Grantham During the Interregnum

Grantham had considerable local importance as a garrison town for both sides during the first Civil War. Its situation on the Great North Road gave it additional military and strategic significance. The Hallbook contains the recorded minutes of Grantham Corporation; it reflects the fates of successive aldermen who joined the Royal forces, went as hostage to Lincoln, and suffered imprisonment in Nottingham castle, and it provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the townspeople during this time of crisis. Householders were forced to pay taxes to both sides in the war, as well as shouldering their normal burden of taxation. Besides contributing to poor relief, their time and talents were also in demand for many tasks, including paving the streets, reinforcing the banks of the Witham, maintaining the town wells, doing watch and ward, paying quarteridge, and removing refuse from the streets. This latest volume of the Lincoln Record Society provides much evidence about the local impact of hostilities on the social and economic life of the town.