It is said that Stamford can claim to have been the last place to shelter King Charles I. as a free man; for, after spending a night at a house on Barnhill as the guest of a Mr. Wolph, he passed out under cover of darkness accompanied by two friends, and made his way to the headquarters of the Scottish army near Newark, only to be basely sold by them to the enemy immediately afterwards. The gateway by which the King departed still exists, but was considerably altered by the well-known antiquary, Dr. Stukeley, who occupied the premises in the eighteenth century. From the close of the Civil War, Stamford has enjoyed a period of unbroken peace and quiet prosperity. Before the advent of railways the town was an important posting station from its position on the Great North Road. The immense range of stabling at the back of the famous old “George Inn” sufficiently testifies to the amount of coaching and posting traffic which passed through Stamford during the period in which these were the recognised methods of travelling. The fact that the main line of the Great Northern Railway was taken through Peterborough, instead of through Stamford as was first contemplated, resulted in the latter town being left for a time somewhat in a back-water, though at the present time the railway facilities are admirable. The rapidly increasing use of motor vehicles seems likely to revive to some extent the conditions of the old coaching days; but, like many another venerable and historic town, Stamford seems to have wrapped herself in an atmosphere of dignified repose which even the clamorous passage through her main streets of a stream of turbulent automobiles appears powerless to disturb. In bringing these memories of old Stamford to a close, the writer is only too conscious that he has been able to do but scant justice to his subject. If, however, any reader be tempted hereby to visit this fascinating old town and thus to supply by his own observation and research all that in these pages is lacking of historical and topographical description, assuredly he will not be disappointed. TATTERSHALL CASTLE AND CHURCH BY THE EDITOR The ancient castles of this country, almost without exception, are full of interest to all sorts and conditions of men and women. The remote antiquity of the rude hill-top fortresses of Cornwall, Wiltshire, and Wales; the huge earthworks of Old Sarum; the story of a gallant defence like Newark; the close association with history of the Tower of London, and with the magic of romance like Conisboro’, Kenilworth, and Carlisle, find devotees for each. Often, too, castles are among the most picturesque objects of picturesque scenery, as Manor Bier, Dunolly, and Tantallon may testify; while to the archæologist they present a world of interest as their plans, their builders, and their history are discussed, occasionally with a wordy vigour which recalls the fights their walls have witnessed.