Great Northern Railway Branches from Stamford

The ancient market town of Stamford, on the River Welland in Lincolnshire, was an important staging post for travellers using the Great North Road from London to the North. However, with the coming of the railway in the 1850s, its position was jeopardized when the Great Northern Railway main line by-passed the town at Essendine, some 4 miles to the northeast. Local inhabitants feared economic isolation and many blamed the debacle on the Marquis of Exeter, who resided at the nearby Burghley House. He had reputedly objected to the trunk route serving the community whilst allowing the town to be served by the Midland Railway cross-country route from Leicester to Peterborough. To placate the locals, the Marquis financed the building of the Stamford & Essendine Railway, opened in 1856 and worked by the GNR. Unable to compete with the MR traffic to Peterborough, in 1867 a second branch was opened south to Wansford on the London & North Western Railway cross-country route from Northampton to Peterborough.