Calling Stamford residents and Middlemarch fans! Market day tomorrow... (Sat 18 Aug)

[OfftoPenzance]

Hello Stamfordians,

Going to Stamford tomorrow for the Farmers Market and the Traditional Market. Excited to see Stamford at last, having been a fan of the BBC Middlemarch tv series filmed in Stamford (that's currently on iPlayer) since 1994.

First that hardy perennial - it must get busy on market days. Where is best to park? We're coming up the A1 from the South. We'll try to leave early, but may not get there until 10 am.

Apart from the markets, what else is good to do in Stamford? Does it have an interesting museum? Any nice cafes/coffee shops? Independent shops? That sort of thing.

I have a question for any who were Stamford locals circa 1994 re the street market scenes, shown as Dr Lydgate rolls into town on the stagecoach, full of hope for the future and expecting to turn Middlemarch into a centre of medical excellence (oh dear, poor chap, what a hope). Is this in fact the same Traditional Market that happens every week in modern day Stamford? Did the TV people get the regular stallholders dressed up in 1830s costume and let them play themselves?

Thanks for your help!

I found this list of BBC Middlemarch locations:

2 King's Mill Lane, Stamford, UK
(The Green Dragon)

3 All Saint's Place, Stamford, UK
(the Lydgate's house)

Assembly Rooms, 22 St George's Square, Stamford, UK
(Bulstrode's Bank)

Barn Hill, Stamford, UK
(Tertius Lydgate arrives by stagecoach)

Browne's Hospital, Broad Street, Stamford, UK
(The Old Infirmary)

Church of St George, St George's Square, Stamford, UK
(St Botolph's)

Junction of Austin Street and King's Mill Lane, Stamford, UK
(Pioneer newspaper offices and print works)

9 High Street St Martin's, St Martins, Stamford, UK
(Mawmsey the Grocers)

St George's Square, Stamford, UK
(main square in Middlemarch)

St Mary's Street, Stamford, UK
(the Vincy's house, the Plymdale's house, Spooner the jeweller's, Turnbull the estate agent's)

Stamford Arts Centre, 27 St Mary's St, Stamford
(The White Hart Inn)

Sorry, that should be Saturday 19th August, not 18th. Or have I got confused, and the Farmers Market is actually today (Friday)?

Tea-time bump.

The best place to park is North st car park.. just go across the rd and down the gully and you're on Broad st for the market.

The George makes a good G&T.
Burghley House is interesting, lovely grounds for free.

But I’m afraid that’s all I know.

Thanks very much for the parking advice.

Burghley House looks amazing. But which house did it depict it in BBC's Middlemarch? Not Freshitt, Lowick or Tipton. Is it Quallingham? Or perhaps it was used for interior shots?

If anyone else from Stamford sees this thread - does Stamford have a Famous Food? Like Stilton cheese/Melton Mowbray pork pies/Cornish pasties/Bakewell tarts...

The farmers market is on Friday @OfftoPenzance! You've missed it

If you like period drama, did you know the ‘town, ribbon dropping’ scene and others in Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly version) were filmed in Stamford. The area around the arts centre.

Yep, you're right - a Google reminds me that both the Farmers and the Traditional markets are on a Friday! Whoops. (My excuse is I've not been very well this week... not been terribly with it...!)

Farmers Market is every second Friday of the month - so next is Friday 8 September, no? Will put it in my diary.

Never mind! We'll have a nice day trip to Stamford tomorrow anyway.

Does Stamford get very touristy in summer? (Not that it could possibly be worse than the city we currently live in!)

I lived in Stamford more than 20 years ago. I worked at pub called Dr Thirstys. I doubt it's still there.

It has a nice cheese shop if that helps?

Melton Mowbray & Stilton aren't far away...

It's lovely that you're excited to see Stamford. Just shows, it takes all sorts... 😇

I'm going to Burghley tomorrow. My friend was The RC priest in Stamford for a while, it's a lovely town.

Again if you like period drama locations, Belton House near Grantham was Rosings.Park in 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Stamford is lovely and Burghley House is definitely not to be missed. There is loads to do in the area. Rutland Water is close by.
Are you just doing a day trip?

I think Belton is pre book only at the minute. If you watched BBC In the 80's, it was where Moondial was filmed.

We happened to visit Stamford once when they were having the Georgian Festival. Loads of people were walking round dressed in late 18thc/early 19thc costume and thundering up and down in horse-drawn carriages bowing to bewildered tourists. There were troops mustering on The Meadows and country dances happening on the streets. Great fun.

Stamford Georgian Festival sounds great. It's supposed to be biennial - was the last one in 2019 before Covid? But it looks like the local Council has cut its funding:

https://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/funding-fears-could-put-an-end-to-festivals-9293517/

We're just doing day trips at the moment.

I like the look of Stamford because, unlike most high streets in England, no developer seems to have come along and torn a great hole in the middle of it to erect an anonymous modern bank, branch of Boots, or a concrete shopping centre that's now half empty.

In my home town in the 1970s, the management of the local Woolworths colluded with the local Council to trash the central network of narrow Victorian/Georgian streets in order to build a crappy shopping centre - with a big ugly fuckoff new Woolworths of course - so as to keep up with Harlow New Town. Of all places.

I like places like Ilfracombe - I know it's a bit 'deprived', but it has an almost perfectly preserved Victorian high street.

I live near Stamford (in a village between Oakham and Stamford), it’s alright, full of wanky Londoners to be honest.

But it is nice enough for shopping, lunch etc.
Burghley is crap at the moment as it’s in preparation for the eventing next month but it’s one of our go to places usually to walk.

The mid lent fair is my favourite though. We always go to that.

Burghley is lonely today, though the water garden is full of annoying kids. Shame you can't see the formal gardens as they are private. But it's been well worth the visit.

They open the formal gardens now and again, I’ve been. It’s usually at the beginning of the season. We went on opening day the other year and they were open which was nice 😊

I asked about it and they said they were private. Only the sculpture and surprise garden open.