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Published: October 6th 2022
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Whilst the second Elizabethan era is over, the first Elizabethan period is very much still with us a few miles south of Stamford, Lincolnshire. It was all quiet, as we headed south on the A1. Another rail strike affecting the usual timetables had not caused the good people of this part of the world to take to their cars. The usual Saturday morning traffic was seemingly heading elsewhere. We skirted off the A1 towards the centre of Stamford and ultimately Burghley House and found the traffic. It was here in the town centre. Stamford is an incredibly attractive town, but it wasn't built for today's motoring. We will return to Stamford later in the blog.
Burghley House is a 5 minute drive outside the town centre and remains the best preserved piece of Elizabethan architecture surviving in England. The construction of Burghley was started by Sir William Cecil in 1555. Cecil was a Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, who rose through the favours to become chief adviser and eventually Treasurer to Elizabeth I. The original floor plan of the house was a letter "E", in tribute to Elizabeth. He maintained her ear and forged ahead with policies to try and
unify the Home Nations, at a time when relations were not always cordial. The current entrance to Burghley was very low key and unusually for a stately home of this type, the parking was free. As Vera is our constant companion, a visit to the interior of the house was out of the question. My research suggested it was not an Elizabethan interior anyway and that Victorian interior designers had been let loose. The entry to the parkland surrounding the property is free, so we set out across the vistas created by Capability Brown. The parkland in the current form was a later addition to the property. Brown set himself up nicely with this commission and was paid roughly a £1,000 a year for 25 years from 1755 onwards. A steady earner indeed. The most prominent features are the lake - a waterproof "blue" clay was fortuitously located on the estate - and the Lion Bridge. The local clay allowed the expansion of a small 9 acre pond into the 26 acre lake seen today. The Lion Bridge has been restored in the last decade and now makes a decent vacant point over the lake towards the house. The original
cost was 1050 guineas. Ironically the Lions from which the Bridge takes it's name are themselves are not original. They apparently weathered between 1778 and 1844. A local stonemason was contracted to replace them.
Today, the parkland was quiet and the domain of day visitors and dog walkers. However every summer the tranquillity is disturbed, as the horse world descends. Burghley ... or to be currently correct, the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials .... plays host to one of the big league 3 day eventing occasions of the calender year. Covid apart, the event has been held every year since 1961. Burghley also hosted no less than 10 World Championships. Big league prize money and serious prestige is on offer. Past winners have included Captain Mark Phillips and Princess Anne herself was a regular. The competition is over for another year and today, pretty much all trace of the event has disappeared. We adjourned for a coffee in the outdoor tearoom down by the entrance to formal gardens, where Vera was permitted. She was surprisingly excluded from the shop. After a picnic in the grounds, we left for Stamford. The traffic had not eased in the intervening 3 hours.
Stamford appeals to the eye. A combination of the local stone and the architecture leaves a pleasant memory on the eye. We parked up on the eastern side of the town centre, having weaved through the gridlock. Whilst not to the extent of our other recent destination of Uppingham, the Stamford School dominated this part of town and was contributing to the traffic. Saturday morning sports had come to an end and the parents were out in force on the collection run. The 2 hour on street space was a lucky find.
Stamford School is longstanding public school, which dates back to the 1530s. Local boy made good, William Cecil, is a former pupil. Today, school attendance comes with either some hefty annual fees if you are not fortunate to gain a scholarship. The school buildings are everywhere close to where we parked, although one of the most traditional is Brasenose House. If the name seems familiar, it is. In the 1300s a number of disaffected students and staff at Oxford (including members of Brasenose College) formed a breakaway institution here - the so called University of Stamford. The college was eventually suppressed, although a replica of the
Brasenose Gate can still be found. The Oxford College retrieved the original door knocker from the earlier gate in the 1890s.
We walked down St Paul's Street towards the town centre. Fika was the chosen coffee stop, which along with Scandimania a few doors down was cornering the local market in fine coffee and Scandi pastries. Aside from a few vacant units, the town was buzzing. Saturday shoppers mingled with school staff and pupils. The High Street opened up into Red Lion Square. It was closed one way to traffic, which lulled some into incorrectly thinking it had been pedestrianised The steeple of All Saints glistened in the sun. I read that the All Saints Brewery behind the Church now brews organic fruit beer on behalf of Sam Smiths from Tadcaster. We walked along to Rutland Terrace - a seriously fine Georgian terrace with views down to the River Welland, where properties change hands well over the £1 million mark.
The River Welland was flowing gently through on a sunny and increasingly warm afternoon. The Town Meadow was busy with families. Children played and ate icecreams. Parents took the opportunity of a bit of peace and quiet. We
snaked back towards town, passing the Town Hall, St Mary's Church and a host of other fine buildings. Stamford looked happy in its skin.
It was time for a spot of football. Stamford AFC were entertaining Daventry Town from Northamptonshire at their out of town ground. Football is often associated with working class industrial strongholds, but Stamford have a long history .... all the way back to 1896 to be precise. The original basis of the club was the Rutland Ironworks merging with Stamford Town, but the more universal name was adopted from the above date. The original ground was at Hanson's Field, right in the town centre. The Burghley estate decided to redevelop the land in 2014 and the Stamford AFC home from 1896 was no more. As new grounds go, the Zeeco is a good one. A sports centre attached provides adequate changing and clubhouse facilities. They have a car park big enough to allow supporters to utilise, rather than just the players, committee and officials. The western terrace is banked nicely and covered to allow vocal support from those who wish to stand. The sports centre side has an impressive 300 seat covered stand pitched on
the half way line. Vera took up residence in her customary manner, perching on the seat between us, for her view of the game. The ground move was meant to be a springboard to greater things, but the team took a while to settle in. After waiting half a season for the first home victory, relegation followed. Stamford are known as "The Daniels", taking the unusual nickname from a certain Daniel Lambert who at the time of his death was classed as the worlds world's heaviest person. Daniel weighed in at a hefty 52 stone 11 lbs, when he had the misfortune to turn up his toes whilst visiting Stamford in 1809. He is buried in St Martin's Churchyard in town. They say it took 20 men to pull his specially made coffin on wheels to the grave site.
The current Stamford team looked a bit more nimble than Mr Lambert and made light work of the visitors from Daventry. Daventry offered very little threat 2 goals in each half saw the home team cruise to the 3 points. The Daniels are perhaps feeling at home in their new ground at last.
Appendix 1 Pitching In Northern Premier League
Stamford AFC 4 Daventry Town FC 0 Venue: Zeeco Stadium, Ryhall Road, Stamford. Lincolnshire. PE9 1US
Date: Saturday 1st October 2022 @ 1500 Hours
Attendance: 344
Scorers: 1-0 Duffy 44 Mins (Stamford) 2-0 Margetts 45 Mins (Stamford), 3-0 Margetts 53 Mins (Stamford), 4-0 Vince 79 Mins (Stamford)
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
One of the 344
A pleasant stroll or meander through Stamford I've gotta say. Your words make the pace like a fine sunny day. Your pics as always designed to please. As usual you get time to attend the local football match. One of a vocal 344 I see. Burghley House is as close as a palace and castle should be so I'll post in our thread of that name. Check it out.