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Grantham




  Place Grantham
  Map Grantham - Lincolnshire dotpng
  Population 38,000
  District South Kesteven
  County Lincolnshire
  Region East Midlands
  Police Lincolnshire Police
  Ceremonial Lincolnshire
  Traditional Lincolnshire
  Constituency Grantham And Stamford
  PostalTown GRANTHAM
  PostCode NG31
  DiallingCode 01476
  GridReference SK915365
  Euro East Midlands


Grantham is a small market town in , which has the sixth highest spire (282 ft) among English churches, and is also home to the country's first Public Library . In 1598, Francis Trigge, the rector of Welbourn gave £100 for a small library of books for the clergy and ''literate laity'' of Grantham. Two hundred and fifty of the original volumes remain and are kept in the parish church.

Two world-famous people are associated with the town are Sir Isaac Newton , who was educated at the still existing King's School, Grantham , and Margaret Thatcher , who attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls Grammar School (K.G.G.S). Thatcher, born in Grantham, is still remembered personally by many inhabitants of the town. Newton actually observed the Apple falling off the Tree at Boothby Pagnell , not Woolsthorpe .

Politically the town is part of the Grantham and Stamford constituency (recently altered), is represented in Parliament by Conservative Party MP Quentin Davies and has a long history of electing Conservative members of Parliament. The local council, South Kesteven District Council, is also Conservative led, with the current political spread as 31 Conservative, 11 Independent, 10 Labour and 5 Liberal Democrat councillors. This change from former Labour leadership reflects the changing demographics of this area. Villages with more Middle Class residents in South Kesteven keep the Conservative proportion of the vote well beyond reach.

Grantham is home to the world's only 'living' pub sign : A , Miss Mary Allen and Miss E F Harburn reported for duty on the ''beat''. Edith Smith had the first powers of arrest from August 1915. ''Edith Smith Way'' is the name of the road outside the Guildhall Arts Centre , parallel to St Peter's Hill. The Angel & Royal Hotel is one of Britain's oldest inns.

During the 1980s the town was twice voted 'The Most Boring Town In Britain' in a national poll. This was partially a backlash to Thatcherism although some locals took a perverse pride in the award and it proved to be a spur for development in the town (for instance a cinema and bowling alley opened soon after).

In 1905, was born, being made in nearby Lincoln by William Foster . It first saw action at the Battle Of Flers-Courcelette on September 15th 1916.

During the famous Dambusters RAF mission in May 1943, the RAF Bomber Command 's No. 5 Group and the operation HQ, as Barnes Wallis nervously learnt the grim news, was in a building which later housed a county council education department, and was built by Richard Hornsby & Sons in 1865, and is now a private house. In 1944 (including D-Day ), this was the headquarters for the USA's 9th (IX) Troop Carrier Command, being known as Grantham Lodge.

, when it went into Receivership in early 2005.

British Manufacturing and Research Company (or BMARC ), on Springfield Road, made munitions for many years. It was owned by the Swiss company, Oerlikon , until 1988 then became part of Astra Holdings PLC, and was bought by British Aerospace in 1992.

The food processing industry now employs the largest contingent of Grantham 's citizens, including Fenland Foods (part of Northern Foods) on the Earlesfield Industrial Estate, GW Padley , and a large frozen vegetable factory ( PAS ) near Easton.

The major claim to fame of Grantham Town Football Club (nicknamed 'The Gingerbreads') is that Martin O'Neill started his management path from there. The club was founded in 1874, and they currently play in the 7,500 capacity (covered 1,950, seats 750) South Kesteven Sports Stadium, (although average attendances are well below capacity) the ground also doubles as the town's athletics stadium.


FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN GRANTHAM

Jessie Lipscomb , sculptress


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