When we come to the period of the Roman occupation, we might, in view of the fact that the great military road, Erming or Ermine Street, crosses the Welland close to the present town, expect to find evidences of a considerable Roman settlement at this important point of the road. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, that, with the exception of some comparatively insignificant discoveries to the west, between Stamford and Tinwell, nothing has at present come to light which can be said to point to the existence of a settlement in Roman times on the site of the present Stamford. Possibly the proximity to the south and north, respectively, of the important stations of Durobrivæ (Castor) and Causennæ[84](Ancaster) may have rendered it unnecessary to establish another and intermediate station. At any rate the fact remains that we cannot adduce any proof of the existence of a settlement or village here till Saxon times, and it is probable, therefore, that the name Stamford or Stanford (a name of Saxon origin, from _stan_, stone, and _ford_) is the first and only one which the place has borne. The name doubtless had reference to the ford by which, before the erection of a bridge substantial enough for horse traffic, communication between the two sides of the Welland was maintained; and though we find, as is commonly the case with place-names, many variations of spelling, such as Staunford, Staunforth, Staundforde, &c., the name has remained substantially the same. The earliest contemporary reference to Stamford is found in a charter of Wolfere, King of Mercia, dated 664, wherein “all that part of the town of Staunforde ... beyond the bridge,” is stated to belong to the Abbey of Medeshamstede (Peterborough).[85] It appears, therefore, that even at this early date the town occupied both sides of the river, and was, we may fairly suppose, a place of some size. A few years before this, namely, in 658 (if we may believe the testimony of Prior Wessington of Durham, writing in the fifteenth century),[86] was founded the earliest religious house in the Stamford district. This was St. Leonard’s Priory, erected by Wilfrid, the friend of Oswy, King of Northumbria, and afterwards Bishop of York. Wilfrid bestowed this new foundation upon the monastery of Lindisfarne, where he had received his education, and on the removal of the monks from Lindisfarne to Durham, the Priory of St. Leonard, Stamford, became a dependency of Durham. The site of this priory (of which more anon) is about a quarter of a mile eastward of the present town. [Illustration: STAMFORD, FROM THE MEADOWS.] The ninth century was a period of stress in this part of England, and Stamford was called upon to furnish a contingent of young fighters to defend the country against the marauding Danes. The Danes, however, proved too strong, and Stamford soon fell under the foreign yoke and was joined with Lincoln, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham to form the Danish “Five Burghs.”