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Grantham is a Market Town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire , England . Located along the course of the River Witham , twenty-four miles (39 km) to the south-southwest of the city of Lincoln , it has a total resident population of 34,592. The town is best known as the place where , and later went on to be the commandant of the UK's women's police force, from the 1920s up to 1940. She helped to set up women's police forces in other countries, including Germany . Edith Smith had the first powers of arrest from August 1915. GEOGRAPHY AND ADMINISTRATION Grantham once lay within the ancient Loveden Wapentake in the Soke of Grantham in the Parts of Kesteven . Political representation Politically the town is part of the Grantham And Stamford constituency and is represented in Parliament by Labour Party Member Of Parliament (MP) Quentin Davies . Davies had been elected to the seat as a member of the Conservative Party before Crossing The Floor to join Labour ; the constituency has a long history of electing Conservative members of Parliament. The local authority - South Kesteven District Council - is currently Conservative led, with the current political spread as 35 Conservative, 15 Independent, 2 Labour and 6 Liberal Democrat councillors. HISTORY Etymology The origin of the name "Grantham" is uncertain, though is said to probably be Old English Language "Granta+ham", meaning " Granta 's village", and appeared as early as 1086 in the Domesday Book in its present form of Grantham.Mills, A.D. (1991) ''"A Dictionary of English Place-Names,"'' Oxford University Press. PREHISTORY Late neolithic vessels from a burial were found at Little Gonerby, in the north of the town, in 1875. MAY Jeffrey (1976) ''Prehistoric Lincolnshire'' page 84, published by History of Lincolnshire Committee Military history During the famous trained pilots in the war, and was not an operational base. Industrial history In 1905, , from which Compression-ignition principle the Diesel Engine also evolved, being manufactured in Grantham from July 8th 1892. In 1909, Hornsbys showed the British Army their invention, who were bemused, but took the idea no further than that, although they subsequently bought four caterpillar tractors in 1910 to tow artillery. A short time later, Hornsbys sold the patent for the Caterpillar Track in 1914 to The Holt Manufacturing Company of California , USA for $8,000, having only sold one caterpillar tractor commercially. Hornsby's design was far ahead of anything else around at the time. Thanks to the ownership of the patent, this company would become the world-dominating Caterpillar Inc. Tractor Company. Benjamin Holt even claimed to be the real inventor. In December 1914, the British Army 's Colonel Ernest Swinton saw one of Holt's caterpillar tractors towing a piece of artillery, and realised its literally ground-breaking role as an attack vehicle. One year later the tank was born (utilising Hornsby's initial designs), being made in nearby Lincoln by William Foster . It first saw action at the Battle Of Flers-Courcelette on September 15, 1916.In 1918 Hornsbys amalgamated with Rustons and the company became Ruston and Hornsby. , 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 who then closed the site. The food processing industry now employs the largest contingent of Grantham's citizens, including Fenland Foods (part of factory (PAS) near Easton . The Woodland Trust is based on ''Dysart Road''. There is a small FM transmitter near the town's bypass on ''Gorse Lane'' from which Radio Lincolnshire can be heard on 104.7 and Lincs FM on 96.7. LANDMARKS The main local landmark is the impressive parish church of St Wulfram's , 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. Grantham is home to the world's only 'living' pub sign : a beehive of South African Bee s perched in a tree since 1830. ''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. ’ novel Nicholas Nickleby . Also in the town is the Blue Pig . Much of the town's property is owned by Buckminster Estate, since the days of the Earl Of Dysart . Nearby are many historic houses including Belton House , Harlaxton Manor , Stoke Rochford Hall (training centre of the NUT ), and Belvoir Castle (in Leicestershire ). TRANSPORT Grantham Railway Station is served by the East Coast Main Line (between the stops for Peterborough and Newark Northgate ), Nottingham To Skegness Line , and Liverpool To Norwich Line . The town has the A1 main road from London to Edinburgh running past it (the town was bypassed in 1962). The main shopping High Street, until recently, was part of the busy A52 (which runs to nearby Nottingham ), and ''Wharf Road'' and ''London Road'' (next to Sainsbury's ) still are. There is a motorway-style service station at the north end of the bypass, on the roundabout. This roundabout is in the process of being circumvented by a new junction . SPORT Grantham Town Football Club is the local football team, currently playing the Unibond Premier Division. 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 (one of only three in Lincolnshire), next to the Grantham Meres Leisure Centre on ''Trent Road''. NOTABLE PEOPLE
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