Note 59 — THE TOWN AND CHURCH OF GRANTHAM

Grantham lay on the way to Boston, the great port for the export of wool. Allusions to the connection with Boston are common: see, e.g., Patent Rolls, 42 Henry III., m. 9d, where the mayor and bailiffs of various Lincolnshire towns, including (the bailiff of) “Graham,” are ordered to provide carts at the King’s cost to carry the King’s wines from Boston Fair to Chester. It will be remembered how at a later date local merchants, members of the Staple of Calais, built their houses in villages near the town.