Looking at events from 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 years ago in the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
Join us for a look back at what was in our newspaper in September 2015, 2000, 1975, 1925, and 1825.
Our Rutland & Stamford Mercury Memories is produced thanks to the support of the Stamford Mercury Archive Trust.
10 years ago
A £500,000 appeal will be launched to secure the future of a community space in the centre of Stamford.
The trustees of the All Saints' and St John's Centre on the corner of Scotgate and West Street say fundraising is vital for the building to continue as a meeting facility for the community.
The trustees have already had to repair the roof and the wall surrounding the building and say more work is needed.
Trustee Rebecca Goff said the first step was to find out what the community thought and whether people could get involved.
The building opened as St John's School in 1861. That closed in the 1970s and was handed over to the church trust by Lincolnshire County Council.
Since then the hall has become a meeting place and is used by the church Stamford Scouts and Guides, and it is the home of the Stamford Foodbank. Stamford Amateur Musical Society also meets there and it is used by a variety of exercise classes.
Deepings Library will be run by a team of volunteers and one paid member of staff thanks to a partnership agreement.
The Friends of Deepings Library has agreed to provide volunteers to help run the library in High Street, Market Deeping, alongside a paid member of staff that the group will fund.
The library lost its funding earlier this year as part of Lincolnshire County Council cuts. Had volunteers not come forward it would have been replaced by a mobile service.
Chairman of Friends of Deepings Library Liz Waterland, said: "We are all absolutely delighted that after more than two-and-a-half years of fighting we have secured a true community library."
Initially, the library will be open for 15 hours a week.
25 years ago
A woman who camped out at an RAF base secured a bargain-priced home for a deposit of £99.
A mad flurry of prospective homebuyers flocked to purchase former Ministry of Defence homes at RAF Wittering.
Annington launched the sale of 47 two, three and four bedroom houses on Saturday. They all sold in 24 hours.
Emma Rance, 21, of Rockingham Road, Stamford, camped out at Wittering from Thursday morning to secure her place in the queue.
She said: "There were a fair few people there. Someone I spoke to had travelled from Norfolk and another from Newquay. Luckily I was third in the queue and managed to secure a two bedroom house.
"I am a first time buyer and the mortgage on these houses is a lot less than it would cost to rent somewhere in Stamford. It was freezing camping out but worth it."
Prices started at £41,950 for a two bedroom house. Buyers were asked to pay £99 and Annington paid the five per cent deposit, £250 towards legal fees, £150 towards the survey and stamp duty.
Commuting by train could be made easier if proposals to reopen Deeping St James Railway Station are approved.
The station closed in the early 1960s but services from Peterborough to Lincoln still use the line.
Lincolnshire County councillor for the area Peter Robinson has called for a community survey.
He said: "The criteria on which a station is built is mainly on demand and also the number of passengers and the distance they travel.
“If we look at it from a rail company's point of view, a hundred people a week travelling to and from Peterborough at a charge of 50p for example, is not an incentive for a train to stop. But if people are travelling further afield to London, Lincoln or Spalding at a higher charge then it would be worthwhile.
"A survey needs to be carried out to see if people would use the trains, how often and where they would travel to.”
Deeping St James parish councillor John Lewis said: "When it was closed in the early 1960s the population in Deeping St James and Market Deeping was about 3,500.
That was 40 years ago and the population now is about 14,000."
This deadly stretch of high speed railway line is used by hundreds of passengers everyday.
But the 100 yards of track between Helpston and Maxey has been identified by Railtrack as one of 200 danger spots across the country.
In the aftermath of last week's Hatfield rail tragedy, caused by a suspected broken rail, Railtrack is now carrying out emergency inspections on the line.
An 80mph speed limit has been put in place while tests are carried out.
Villagers in Helpston have already raised concerns about the high speed and increased frequency of trains using the level crossing
Chairman of Helpston Parish Rosemary Morton, who uses the crossing up to six times a day, said: “Several people have had near misses when crossing the level crossing on foot, particularly at Maxey where people have found themselves trapped in the middle."
New England soccer manager Peter Taylor fell in love with the area when he came for an interview for the Leicester City manager's post in the summer and after getting the job he moved with his family to a village on the shores of Rutland Water.
After taking City to the top of the Premiership this month, Taylor became England's care- taker boss on Sunday following the resignation of Kevin Keegan.
The 47-year-old has hardly had a moment to himself but he hopes his tranquil home surroundings will relieve the pressure.
In an interview this week with Mercury sports editor Nick Rennie, Taylor said: "My wife said if you are manager of your country for one game and it never happens again then you will still be a very lucky man.”
Taylor has moved to Rutland with his wife Jenny and daughters Chloe and Lauren.
50 years ago
Williamson Cliff Ltd, of Stamford, have won an export order worth about £100,000 from a Shell refinery in Singapore.
The firm will be supplying 1,100 tons of specialist refractory insulating concrete, which will be installed in the distilling processes of the refinery. Williamson Cliff, who pioneered the specialist ‘spray-on’ heat-resistant concrete technique are one of only three companies in the world who are approved to supply such material to Shell.
WIlliamson Cliff has also been exporting to Nigeria, Trinidad, and New Zealand.
People are taking up Stamford's invitation to 'stay awhile amid its ancient charm.' But the snag is in finding accommodation for all of them.
Stamford's new regional tourist centre in St Mary's Hill has been doing its best since it opened in May.
But limited resources are taxing even Mrs Jean Tilley's ingenuity. Mrs Tilley gives advice to visitors on what to see, how to get there, and where to stay.
"A lot of people don't want to stay in big hotels like the George or the Crown," she said.
"And we only have a few private houses on our list, with very little in between."
Mrs Tilley gets phone calls and letters asking for accommodation suggestions for weeks in advance of Spalding Tulip Parade and the Burghley Horse Trials.
"Even if people would take in visitors just for those weeks it would be a great help,” she said. “Accommodation is our biggest handicap.”
For the second time within a week Oakham Castle has been broken into. It happened on Saturday night, entry being gained by breaking a window at the rear of the building.
An unsuccessful attempt was made to force open a contribution box attached to the back of the main door. The previous Saturday night the intruders attempted to break open a box in which visitors place payments for literature on display.
100 years ago
Miss Sarah Jane Pickwell, whose death occurred at Pointon, was the last of three sisters who resided together. They all passed to their rest within the space of about 17 months. Their united ages amounted to 235 years.
Miss Sarah Jane Pickwell died on the same bed and in the same room in which she was born 74 years ago.
King's Cliffe cemetery curator Mr T Broughton, who has held this office for many years, has resigned, but the parish council decided to ask him to reconsider his decision.
On Tuesday the old windmill in Col. Hodgkin's grounds was demolished. The structure was fired, and, after presenting a magnificent spectacle, collapsed with a mighty crash.
Crowds of villagers watched the blaze, which was filmed. Subsequently fire broke out among the debris, and the fire brigade were engaged from 8pm until 11am next day.
The marriage of Miss Gladys Kay, elder daughter of Mr and Mrs TR Kay, School House, to Mr D Stanton, of Langtoft, was solemnised at the parish church on Monday, the Rev LF Pigott officiating.
The bride, attended by Miss Hilda Kay (sister) and Miss J Stanton (sister of the bridegroom) as bridesmaids, and who was given away by her father, was attired in ivory crêpe thirlene, with shoes and stockings to match, and orange blossom and veil.
200 years ago
We understand from medical gentlemen that a more unhealthy season than the present has not been known for the last twenty years.
There is a great deal of illness in the high districts around Stamford cholera morbus and typhus generally prevail; and in the low situations of this and the neighbouring counties, the mortality for several months past, we understand, has been extreme.
Three men have been fined 3s 4d each for playing at pick during divine service on Sunday.