Of the picturesque and interesting old towns in which the county of Lincoln is so rich, it may be questioned whether any can excel, or even equal, Stamford. Though unable to claim a life-long acquaintance with this delightful, old-world borough, the present writer confesses to have quickly fallen a victim to her charm, a feeling which time has only served to increase. Possessing, as she does, such strong claims to the attention and appreciation of the historian, the antiquary and the artist, it is small wonder that Stamford has provided the theme for a large number of printed publications, ranging from Butcher’s _Survey of Stamford_ (1646) down to handbooks issued as recently as 1907 and 1908. Chief among these must be reckoned Francis Peck’s monumental _Academia tertia Anglicana, or the Antiquarian Annals of Stamford_, a most exhaustive, albeit a somewhat wordy and diffuse work, issued in 1727. The present brief account of Stamford makes no pretension to originality, and represents merely a compilation drawn from the many excellent works which have already been contributed by other and abler hands, and to the authors of which the writer desires to acknowledge his indebtedness.[82] Situated on the banks of the river Welland, which divides the town into two unequal portions and which here forms the boundary between the counties of Lincoln and Northampton, Stamford presents the peculiarity of a town which is in two counties, in two dioceses (Lincoln and Peterborough), and under two civil jurisdictions, though the municipal borough includes the greater part of both portions of the town. In a volume whose scope is confined to the county of Lincoln, it may savour of trespass to deal with the Northamptonshire portion of Stamford; it is, however, hardly practicable to give an intelligible account of the history of the place without some reference to “Stamford Baron” (as the part south of the Welland has been designated since the middle of the fifteenth century),[83] though every endeavour will be made to introduce as little extraneous matter as possible. The remote history of Stamford is enveloped in a veil of romance which present-day knowledge has perforce torn rudely away. The establishment here of a British University in 863 B.C. by a British prince, Bladud, seems to rest solely on the statement of Merlin of Caledonia, writing in the sixth or early in the seventh century A.D., and the fable need not detain us further.