STAMFORD, Lincoln and Northants.--This was one of the boroughs fortified by Edward the Elder, and consequently we find it a royal _burgus_ at the time of the Survey. But Edward's borough, the _Chronicle_ tells us, was on the south side of the Welland; the northern borough, on the other side, may have been the work of the Danes, as Stamford was one of the towns of the Danish confederacy of the Five Boroughs. The Norman castle and its motte are on the north side, and five _mansiones_ were destroyed for the site.[691] There is at present no appearance of masonry on the motte, which is partly cut away, and what remains of the castle wall is of the 13th century. It is therefore probable that the _turris_, or keep, which surrendered to Henry II. in 1153, was of wood.[692] Henry gave the castle to Richard Humet, constable of Normandy, in 1155.[693] It was a very exceptional thing that Henry should thus alienate a royal castle, and special circumstances must have moved him to this act. The castle was destroyed in Richard III.'s time, and the materials given to the convent of the Carmelite Friars. It appears to have been within the town walls, with a bailey stretching down to the river; this bailey is quadrangular. An inquisition of 1341 states that "the site of the castle contains 2 acres."[694] Stamford had risen enormously in value since the Conquest. "In King Edward's time it paid 15_l._; now, it pays for _feorm_ 50_l._, and for the whole of the king's dues it now pays 28_l._"[695] STANTON, Stanton Long, in Shropshire (Fig. 32).--At the time of the Survey, the Norman Helgot was Lord of Corve Dale, and had his castle at Stanton.[696] The castle was afterwards known as Helgot's Castle, corrupted into Castle Holdgate. The site has been much altered by the building of a farmhouse in the bailey, but the motte still exists, high and steep, with a ditch round about half its circumference; there are some traces of masonry on the top. One side of the bailey ditch is still visible, and a mural tower of Edwardian style has been incorporated with the farmhouse. The exact area cannot now be calculated, but it can hardly have exceeded 2-1/2 acres. The manor of Stanton was an agglomeration of four small manors which had been held by different proprietors in Saxon times, so it was not the centre of a soke. The value of the manor had risen.