This edition reports on Stamford heritage collections; planning applications; the events programme; the Urban Group; missing plaques; and spring bulbs.
Stamford heritage collections
After Stamford lost its Museum, much Stamford related material continued to be stored in the museum store. LCC are now proposing to change this and move the material to Lincoln, making it virtually inaccessible to Stamfordians. We are resisting this vigorously.
In addition, the Society has a storage problem. At the moment we have material in various committee members' homes, and in the ex-Stamford Museum. We have been asked to move the material from the Museum as soon as possible. The Local History Society has the same problem, and we have written jointly to the Mercury in a search for alternative storage.
Recent planning responses:
January was a quiet time for planning; we have not commented on anything of major importance.
We are advised that Kier Homes will be reapplying for permission to build homes on the fields off the Kettering Road between Stamford and Wothorpe. A previous application was dismissed on appeal after vigorous objections by the Society and other local groups. We will object again.
Keen eyed members may soon notice the possible temporary removal of the statue of Justice on the former Stamford Hotel on safety grounds due to concerns over the structural integrity of its podium.
It will be reinstated when a structural engineer has established the most appropriate method to remedy any defect. It is not clear yet whether that will require planning permission, as it depends on the scale of any necessary work.
Events programme
Tickets are available from the Secretary. Unless otherwise advised, talks will be in Browne's Hospital at 7.30pm and cost £3.50.
Wednesday April 13th 2016: Our annual members' meeting will be held at Browne's. This is an opportunity to chat informally about the Society, and we hope as many members as possible will join us. It would help with catering if you could let us know if you will be there. There will of course be no charge for this.
Please note the date; other commitments meant we could not hold it in March, as originally planned.
Thursday 2nd June 2016: – talk by Professor Alan Short. Alan Short is The Professor of Architecture at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Clare Hall.
He will talk about his new book, 'The recovery of natural environments in architecture', which challenges the modern practice of sealing up and mechanically cooling public scale buildings in whichever climate and environment they are located. The book tries to unravel the complex history of understanding and perception of air, bad air, miasmas, airborne pathogens, beneficial thermal conditions, ideal climates, climate determinism, the progress of universal international high modernism in architecture with little or no resilience to climate and weather.
Thursday 9th June at 6pm – evening tour of Browne’s Hospital, followed by coffee and cakes. Tickets are available for members only at the special price of £4. Please book as soon as you can, as places are limited.
Saturday 16 July 2016: Our annual evening event at St. Leonard's Priory. We are planning some entertainment as part of this evening; more details to follow.
Wednesday August 17th at 10.30am – a private guided tour of Apethorpe Palace. Please note this will be members only; numbers are limited to 25, so please book with Melanie as soon as possible if you would like to join the group. The cost per ticket is £8.50 and members will make their own way there. Please note this visit is unsuitable for anyone with mobility difficulties as there are a lot of stairs with no seating points
We had hoped to arrange a visit to the Spalding Gentlemen's Society later in the year, but they are planning significant structural repairs, so the tour will not take place until 2017. Instead, Melanie is hoping to arrange a private tour of Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House for late September this year. Octavia Hill was a social reformer and one of the founders of the National Trust. See http://www.octaviahill.org/ for more information.
The second Annual Review
You should all have now received this – we hope you found it interesting. If anyone wants more copies to pass on to friends, please ask.
Cleaning up litter for the Queen
You may have read about this initiative, which aims to help clear up the countryside as a celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday. See the website at www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk for more information.
Urban Group
The Urban Group has been working with the Town Council to get the lighting improved in Red Lion Square; planning permission has been applied for and we hope this work will go ahead soon. Plans are also under consideration for improving the lighting on the Town Bridge, partly funded by a grant from LCC.
Missing plaques
Four of the plaques in various parts of the town, originating from the 1920's have disappeared; the Town Council is planning to replace them, and the Society has been advising on this.
Civic Society Website
I hope you do occasionally take a look at our website; we try to update it regularly. Recently, we have added a selection of new photographs of Browne's Hospital, taken by Tom Dorrington; they are very atmospheric, and different from the more usual photographic style used on our website.
A book for the grandchildren?
We recently gave permission for photos and text from our website about St. Leonard's Priory to be used by a local author. The book has now been published by Fast Print Publishing in Peterborough and is a children's medieval mystery book. There is a website, www.philipmsmith.com which has some details about the book, with a link to Fast Print.
Spring bulbs
Just a reminder that there are numerous bulbs planted at St. Leonard's Priory and also alongside the Bastion in West Street. Do stop and take a look during the spring if you are passing.
After Stamford lost its Museum, much Stamford related material continued to be stored in the museum store. LCC are now proposing to change this and move the material to Lincoln, making it virtually inaccessible to Stamfordians. We are resisting this vigorously.
In addition, the Society has a storage problem. At the moment we have material in various committee members' homes, and in the ex-Stamford Museum. We have been asked to move the material from the Museum as soon as possible. The Local History Society has the same problem, and we have written jointly to the Mercury in a search for alternative storage.
Recent planning responses:
January was a quiet time for planning; we have not commented on anything of major importance.
We are advised that Kier Homes will be reapplying for permission to build homes on the fields off the Kettering Road between Stamford and Wothorpe. A previous application was dismissed on appeal after vigorous objections by the Society and other local groups. We will object again.
Keen eyed members may soon notice the possible temporary removal of the statue of Justice on the former Stamford Hotel on safety grounds due to concerns over the structural integrity of its podium.
It will be reinstated when a structural engineer has established the most appropriate method to remedy any defect. It is not clear yet whether that will require planning permission, as it depends on the scale of any necessary work.
Events programme
Tickets are available from the Secretary. Unless otherwise advised, talks will be in Browne's Hospital at 7.30pm and cost £3.50.
Wednesday April 13th 2016: Our annual members' meeting will be held at Browne's. This is an opportunity to chat informally about the Society, and we hope as many members as possible will join us. It would help with catering if you could let us know if you will be there. There will of course be no charge for this.
Please note the date; other commitments meant we could not hold it in March, as originally planned.
Thursday 2nd June 2016: – talk by Professor Alan Short. Alan Short is The Professor of Architecture at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Clare Hall.
He will talk about his new book, 'The recovery of natural environments in architecture', which challenges the modern practice of sealing up and mechanically cooling public scale buildings in whichever climate and environment they are located. The book tries to unravel the complex history of understanding and perception of air, bad air, miasmas, airborne pathogens, beneficial thermal conditions, ideal climates, climate determinism, the progress of universal international high modernism in architecture with little or no resilience to climate and weather.
Thursday 9th June at 6pm – evening tour of Browne’s Hospital, followed by coffee and cakes. Tickets are available for members only at the special price of £4. Please book as soon as you can, as places are limited.
Saturday 16 July 2016: Our annual evening event at St. Leonard's Priory. We are planning some entertainment as part of this evening; more details to follow.
Wednesday August 17th at 10.30am – a private guided tour of Apethorpe Palace. Please note this will be members only; numbers are limited to 25, so please book with Melanie as soon as possible if you would like to join the group. The cost per ticket is £8.50 and members will make their own way there. Please note this visit is unsuitable for anyone with mobility difficulties as there are a lot of stairs with no seating points
We had hoped to arrange a visit to the Spalding Gentlemen's Society later in the year, but they are planning significant structural repairs, so the tour will not take place until 2017. Instead, Melanie is hoping to arrange a private tour of Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House for late September this year. Octavia Hill was a social reformer and one of the founders of the National Trust. See http://www.octaviahill.org/ for more information.
The second Annual Review
You should all have now received this – we hope you found it interesting. If anyone wants more copies to pass on to friends, please ask.
Cleaning up litter for the Queen
You may have read about this initiative, which aims to help clear up the countryside as a celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday. See the website at www.cleanforthequeen.co.uk for more information.
Urban Group
The Urban Group has been working with the Town Council to get the lighting improved in Red Lion Square; planning permission has been applied for and we hope this work will go ahead soon. Plans are also under consideration for improving the lighting on the Town Bridge, partly funded by a grant from LCC.
Missing plaques
Four of the plaques in various parts of the town, originating from the 1920's have disappeared; the Town Council is planning to replace them, and the Society has been advising on this.
Civic Society Website
I hope you do occasionally take a look at our website; we try to update it regularly. Recently, we have added a selection of new photographs of Browne's Hospital, taken by Tom Dorrington; they are very atmospheric, and different from the more usual photographic style used on our website.
A book for the grandchildren?
We recently gave permission for photos and text from our website about St. Leonard's Priory to be used by a local author. The book has now been published by Fast Print Publishing in Peterborough and is a children's medieval mystery book. There is a website, www.philipmsmith.com which has some details about the book, with a link to Fast Print.
Spring bulbs
Just a reminder that there are numerous bulbs planted at St. Leonard's Priory and also alongside the Bastion in West Street. Do stop and take a look during the spring if you are passing.
RSS Feed
