GRANTHAM, a parish, county of LINCOLN,
comprising the borough and
market-town of Grantham,
and the township of Manthorp
with Little Gonerby,
in the soke of GRANTHAM,
and the townships of Harrowby
and Spittlegate, in the
wapentake of WINNIBRIGGS-and-THREO,
parts of KESTEVEN,
and containing 6077 inhabitants,
of which number, 4148 are in the town of Grantham,
24 miles (S. by W.) from Lincoln, and 111 (N. by W.)
from London, on the great road to York. This place
being situated on the Ermin-street, which now forms
part of the turnpike-road, is supposed to have been a
Roman station, but there is no evidence of its having
been occupied by that people , and of the origin of a castle
to the east of the church, near the river Witham, of
which the foundations are said to have been dug up,
nothing satisfactory is recorded. The manor was held
by Editha, Queen of Edward the Confessor, and continued
in the crown till the reign of Henry III. A
house of Franciscan, or Grey friars, was established
here in 1290, the remains of which have been converted
into a place of public entertainment, and the relics
of a preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers, formerly
existing here, now form part of the Angel Inn. During
the parliamentary war Grantham was an object of interest
with the contending parties, and the scene of the
first advantage gained by Cromwell over the royalists.
The town is pleasantly situated on the river Witham
near the vale of Belroir, and consists principally of
four spacious streets, paved, and lighted with oil; the
houses are in general of respectable appearance, and in
the several approaches to the town many substantial
and handsome houses have been recently erected; the
inhabitants are well supplied with water. The theatre.,
a neat brick building, is occasionally opened, and assemblies
are held at the guildhall. The environs are pleasant,
being adorned with several seats and villas. There
is no manufacture of importance: the trade is principally
in malt, corn, and coal, of which large supplies
are sent to the chief towns in the adjoining counties
By act of parliament in 1793, a navigable canal, commencing
within a quarter of a mile of the town, has
been constructed, which joins the Trent at Nottingham.
The market is on Saturday, and is extensively supplied
with corn; and in every alternate week there is a large
mart for live stock; the fairs are on the first Monday
in Lent, Holy Thursday, July 10th, October 26th, and
December 17th, for horses and cattle.
The government, by charter of incorporation granted
by Edward IV., is vested in an alderman, recorder,
twelve burgesses, and twelve common council-men, assisted
by a town clerk, coroner, escheator, and subordinate
officers; the alderman and burgesses are justices
of the peace within the borough and liberties, which constitute
the soke of Grantham, comprising the parish
of Grantham (with the exception of the townships of
Harrowby and Spittlegate), and the parishes of Barkston,
Belton, Braceby, Colsterworth, Denton, Great
Gonerby, Hartaxton, Londonthorpe, Great Ponton, Sapperton,
and South Stoke, which are exempt from the
jurisdiction of the sheriff for the county, and subject to
the bailiff of the liberties appointed by the corporation,
who acts as sheriff. The freedom of the borough is inherited
by birth, and acquired by servitude, gift of the
corporation, or by purchase; in the last mode a nonresident
pays twice as much as an inhabitant. The corporation
hold quarterly courts of session for offences
arising within the soke; and a court of record every
Monday, under the charter of James I., for the recovery
of debts not exceeding £40, at which the alderman and
the recorder preside. The guildhall, a neat and commodious
edifice, was rebuilt in 1787, and, in addition to the
courts, contains a spacious assembly-room. The conv
mon gaol and house of correction is adapted to the classification
of prisoners, and comprises six wards, six dayrooms,
and six airing-yards, with a tread-wheel: it has
fourteen separate cells, and is capable of receiving forty
prisoners. The borough first received the elective franchise
in the 7th of Edward IV., since which time it has
returned two members to parliament: the right of election
is vested in the freemen not receiving alms,
whether resident or not, the. number of whom is upwards
of eight hundred; the alderman is the returning officer.
The living comprises the united vicarages of North
and South Grantham, in the archdeaconry and diocese
of Lincoln; the former, with the vicarages of Great
Gonerby and Londonthorpe, is rated in the king's booKS
at £ 19. 4.7., and the latter, with the vicarages of Braceby
and Little Gonerby, at £17. 15. 7.; they are in the
alternate patronage of the Prebendaries of North and
South Grantham in the Cathedral Church of Salisbury.
The church, dedicated to St. Wulfran, is a magnificent
structure, partly in the early, and partly in the decorated,
style of English architecture, with a very lofty
tower, surmounted by an elegant spire richly crocketed:
the tower communicates with the nave and
aisles by three finely pointed arches, and the interior
displays much variety in the piers and arches which
support the roof; the chancel has a range of small clerestory
windows, and a stone screen of exquisite design:
under the. eastern part of the church is a crypt. Among
the numerous monuments, those of the greatest beauty
are to the memory of Sir Thomas Bury, Chief Baron of
the Exchequer in the reign of George I.; Sir Dudley
Ryder, Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench; and
Captain Cust, R. N., who fell in the action at Port Louis,
in 1747. The vestry-room contains a valuable library,
presented to the parish by Dr. Newcome. There are
places of worship for Huntingtonians, Independents, and
Wesleyan Methodists. The free grammar school was
founded in 1528, by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester,
who endowed it with the revenue of two chantries,
which, prior to the dissolution, belonged to the church
of St. Peter, the endowment having been subsequently
augmented by Edward VI.: the annual income exceeds
£700, the surplus of which, after payment of the salaries
to the masters, is appropriated-to the establishment of
exhibitions to Oxford and Cambridge, to which all scholars
who have been two years in the school are eligible.
Sir Isaac Newton, who was born at Coltersworth, about
eight miles from Grantham, received the rudiments of his
education in this school. A charity school for girls was
founded by Mr. Hirst; and a Lancasterian school for
boys, and another for girls, are supported by subscription.
There are some almshouses, and various charitable
bequests for the relief of the poor. Near the town
is a chalybeate spring, but the water is not much used.
This town was the native place of Bishop Fox, founder
of the grammar school; and of Dr. John Still, who
held the see of Bath and Wells in the reign of Elizabeth,
and who is supposed to have been the author of
" Gammer Gurton's Needle," the earliest comedy extant
in the English language. Grantham gives the title of
baron to the family of Robinson.