Local events

Ten little gems
Did you know that piped water for the town was provided by the Greyfriars monks in 1314?... More

Markets, fairs, carnivals
The town has had a market for more than 1,000 years, and from 1484 to 1634 it actually had two... More

Town's history

First footings
About 4,000 years ago farmers used bronze tools to clear woods between the Witham and Mowbeck... More

Royal charter
Grantham 'officially' became a town on March 8, 1463, under a Royal Charter granted by Edward IV... More

Wool and iron
Agriculture played a great role in the early centuries of Grantham. The fertile land produced crops... More

People and places

St Wulfram's Church
Built in the 1100s on the site of a Saxon church, St Wulfram's is known as the Glory of Grantham... More

Margaret Thatcher
Britain's first woman Prime Minister was born on October 13, 1925, above a shop at 1 North Parade... More

King's School
King's School, possibly once St Wulfram's Church song school, is one of the oldest in the country... More

Sir Isaac Newton
Newton's lifetime of discoveries started at King's School, Grantham where he was head boy... More

Grantham Journal

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Margaret Thatcher

Britain's first woman Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, was born Margaret Hilda Roberts on October 13, 1925, at 1 North Parade, above her father Alfred's grocery shop.

He was a town councillor and alderman, and Mayor in 1945. His interest in current affairs and politics influenced Margaret, who went to Huntingtower School and then, at the age of 10, to Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School.

In 1943, Margaret was appointed joint head girl of KGGS. She was head girl for only a fortnight because she was offered a place at Somerville College, Oxford University, to study chemistry.

Margaret returned home the following year as a temporary teacher at the Boys' Central School.

Her political ambitions emerged at Oxford. She became chairman of the University Conservative Club in 1946.

After graduating from Oxford, she worked as a research chemist for a plastics firm and then a food company.

In 1950, at 23, she stood as Conservative candidate at Dartford, but was unsuccessful.

In 1951, she married Denis Thatcher, who ran his family's paint firm. Twins Carol and Mark were born in 1953.

She was now a barrister, but returned to politics in 1959, elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in North London.

She was popular with the press. Many articles about her lifestyle and family appeared in magazines.

Between 1961 and 1964, Mrs Thatcher was joint parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. From 1970 to 1974, she was Secretary of State for Education and Science, only the second woman to be a Conservative Cabinet minister.

She provoked protests by abolishing free school milk in primary schools and was given the nick-name 'Milk-snatcher Thatcher'.

A year later, Mrs Thatcher replaced Edward Heath as leader of the Conservative party following two General Election defeats, and became Prime Minister in 1979.

Her forceful style of leadership quickly earned her another nickname - Iron Lady.

In 1982 she oversaw the successful recapture of the Falkland Islands after a 10-week Argentine occupation. She won a landslide victory in the General Election the next year.

In 1987, she won again, the first Prime Minister this century to win three consecutive terms of office, although the Conservatives gained only a little over 40 per cent of the total votes.

Mrs Thatcher dominated policy-making, cutting the powers of trade unions and privatising state industries.

The introduction of the 'poll' or Council Tax in 1989 led to violent protests.
Her popularity within the Conservative party waned and after a leadership election she resigned in November 1990. She left politics the following year and gave lectures around the world.

In 1992, she became Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

She returned to Grantham on several occasions, the last time in 1993 to sign copies of her book The Downing Street Years. She signed a copy for her old school "To Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, with gratitude for an excellent education."

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