Great Northern Railway Branches from Stamford
By Peter Paye. Published by Lightmoor Press, Lydney, Gloucestershire. 2017.
Price £25 - ISBN-13: 978-1911038245
This well illustrated hardback book of 176 indexed pages with black and white images and
diagrams, is to be commended for its production values and erudition. It provides a
comprehensive history of the railway branches from ‘Stamford East’ station linking the town,
via Ryhall and Belmesthorpe, to the Great Northern Railway at Essendine. It also covers the
Stamford to Wansford section in Northamptonshire.
The book contains much of interest to the local reader, outlining the origins and history of the
routes, as well as technical details concerning timetables, locomotives, rolling stock, track,
bridges, level-crossings and signalling. There is also a section on the people who operated the
railway.
This book will appeal to those living in the eastern part of the county, those interested in its
transport connections and, of course, rail enthusiasts.
RBP
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The Complete Guide to the Parish Churches of
Rutland
By Andrew Swift
Published in 2014 by Velox Books, Leicester - Softbound - 114 pages – A4
ISBN: 978-0-9575701-2-2 - Price £15 plus £3 for courier delivery
The Parish Churches of Leicestershire
By Andrew Swift
Published in 2013 by Velox Books, Leicester - Volume 1: Ab Kettleby to
Launde Abbey Chapel
Softbound - 286 pages – A4 - ISBN: 978-0-9575701-0-8
Price £20 plus £3 for courier delivery
Volume 2: Leicester’s Medieval Churches to
Wymondham
Softbound - 311 pages – A4
ISBN: 978-0-9575701-1-5 - Price £20 plus £3 for courier delivery
All three books available from local bookshops, Rutland County Museum or
via andrewswift.co.uk
Andrew Swift, a geologist with a passion for historic buildings, has published three
books about the Anglican churches of Leicestershire and Rutland. Volume 1 of The
Parish Churches of Leicestershire covers Ab Kettleby to Launde Abbey Chapel, and
Volume 2 covers Leicester’s Medieval Churches to Wymondham, a total of 316
churches in the two volumes. The Complete Guide to the Parish Churches of
Rutland covers all 50 churches in the county, including Normanton.
The author, an honorary visiting fellow at the University of Leicester, is quoted as
saying ‘I’m interested in history and became fascinated with churches and their
place in social evolution over time’.
All three books follow the same format – a main photograph of the outside of the
church, around 400 non-technical words on the history, features and general design
of each building as well as anything else of interest, and a full page of up to 15
colour photographs to illustrate the text. Volume 1 of the Leicestershire books has a
foreword by the Bishop of Leicester and volume 2 has a good bibliography. Likewise,
the Rutland book has a foreword by the Bishop of Peterborough and a bibliography.
There are of course other books on the churches of Rutland – including the Victoria
County History for Rutland, volume II, Canon John Prophet and Tony Traylen’s
Churches of Rutland, Gillian Dickenson’s Rutland Parish Churches Before
Restoration, Leonard Cantor’s The Parish Churches of Leicestershire and Rutland
and Pauline Collett’s The Parish Churches of Rutland (reviewed in the April 2013
issue of this Newsletter). All bring something different to the reader and the new
volume on Rutland churches is no different.
If, like me, you enjoy exploring the parish churches of Leicestershire and Rutland,
you may want to buy all three of these excellent new publications.
Robert Ovens
