A Pattern of Building
Written and presented by Alec Clifton-Taylor
4: Stamford, Lincolnshire
' It's as fine a built town all of stone as may be seen, with several very good churches ... much finer than Cambridge ...'
And it's still the local limestone which Celia Fiennes saw in 1697 that gives Stamford its unity and essential character.
For many, especially before the by-pass was built, Stamford was a grinding traffic-jam on the old Al as the road followed a tortuous dog-leg course through the middle of the town - a course determined to this day by the site of the ancient Danish burh. But this lovely town, full of fine buildings, Was the first to be designated a Conservation Area under the Civic Amenities Act of 1967. It possesses five handsome churches, lovely houses splendid in carved ornament and detail, and roofs made <' the famous stone slates from nearby Collyweston. There's also an excellent collection of civic regalia and just across the River Welland stands Burghley House, William Cecil 's prodigious mansion set in a masterpiece of landscape designed by Capability Brown.
Photography KEN WESTBURY Film editor ANDY HORVITCH
Executive producer BRUCE NORMAN Producer DENIS MORIARTY