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Visit Stamford and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:
Stamford, Lincolnshire. This quiet town, richly fashioned from mellowed local stone, is one of the finest examples of sustained architectural dignity in England. In Danish times it was selected capital of the Fens and one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw. Its charter was granted by Henry III in 1254, with the start of ecclesiastical building. Much damage was done during the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century, but gradually present-day Stamford began to emerge. It has many ancient churches, Queen Anne houses and Georgian mansions, with vaulted crypts and stone-tiled roofs to mark the ages in between. Groups of almshouses, known as “callises”, were founded all about the town by rich wool merchants, who traded with France through Calais. One of these old people's hospitals is the alms-house near the bridge over the River Welland, which was built by Lord Burghley in 1597; the best preserved is Browne's Hospital in Broad Street, a superb foundation endowed by William Browne in the reign of Henry VII and called the Hospital of All Saints. In the little chapel here there are a Tudor screen in excellent condition and much stained glass of considerable beauty. The audit room of the hospital contains a magnificent l6th-century refectory table and distinguished carved bench-ends. The oldest building in Stamford is the ruined chapel of St Leonard's Priory, founded in the 7th century by Wilfrid, Bishop of York.
In the 14th century some students quarrelled with the authorities at Oxford and established alternative colleges at Northampton and Stamford. When, in 1336, their differences were made up and the students returned to Oxford, they left behind them the association of names in Brasenose Hall and the impressive gateway, a pointed arch in the wall of the ancient grammar school, which still survives.
The Church of St Mary is built around a 13th-century tower, with a 163-ft spire added a century later. Most of the nave was rebuilt in the 15th century as was the notable chapel of the golden choir, so called because of the stars of gold studding the beautiful painted roof, where each star frames a laughing or grotesque face. The golden choir is completed by a modern east window ascribed to Christopher Whall and portrays the Madonna with an archangel. The two lesser lights show Adam carrying a spade and Eve a distaff. Among other churches of architectural interest is All Saints, dominating Red Lion Square, of which the great tower and spire are Perpendicular and most of the work inside is 13th-century. The impressive timbered chancel roof is adorned with painted angels with outspread golden wings.
Daniel Lambert, the biggest Englishman ever, lies buried in the churchyard of St Martin's, near the gateway to Burghley Park. When he died in 1809, aged 39 and 5 ft 11 in. tall, he weighed nearly 53 stone. Sir Malcolm Sargent is also buried at Stamford.
Nearby cities: Peterborough
Nearby towns: Bourne, Corby, Oakham, Uppingham
Nearby villages: Alnmouth, Alnwick, Amble, Bamburgh, Beadnell, Beanley, Belford, Bilton, Birling, Boulmer, Clipsham, Cottesmore, Craster, Easington, Eastfield, Edith Weston, Edlingham, Eglingham, Ellingham, Embleton, Empingham, Foxton, Glanton, Hepburn, High Buston, Howick, Lesbury, Long Houghton, Lucker, New Bewick, Newham, Newton-on-the-Moor, North Charlton, North Sunderland, Preston, Rock, Ryhall, Seahouses, Shilbottle, South Charlton, Stretton, Swarland, Swinhoe, Warenford, Whittingham
Have you decided to visit Stamford or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:
- a Stamford bed and breakfast (a Stamford B&B or Stamford b and b)
- a Stamford guesthouse
- a Stamford hotel (or motel)
- a Stamford self-catering establishment, or
- other Stamford accommodation
Accommodation in Stamford:
Find availability in a Stamford bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.