Queen who died more than 700 years ago, remembered in Grantham

A PLAQUE was unveiled at Grantham Guildhall this morning, replacing an elaborate memorial destroyed in the English Civil War.

It is in honour of Eleanor of Castile who died more than 700 years ago in the small Nottinghamshire village of Harby.

The wife and consort of Edward I of England in 1290, Eleanor’s death  it also marked the end of a marriage that had lasted for 36 years.

Her body was taken to Lincoln, six miles away then to London on an open bier.

The first stop was made in Grantham probably in St Peter’s Chapel which may have once stood on St Peter’s Hill.  At each of the 12 stops, her body was laid up in front of the altar of a church or chapel

In the three years following her death, a series of crosses were placed in the towns and villages where she had rested during the journey from Lincoln to Westminster – the so-called Eleanor Crosses – including London’s Charing Cross.

At 9.00am today, Grantham Civic Society unveiled a plaque on St Peter’s Hill to mark the place.

For some years cyclists from the great church in Trafalgar Square of St Martin in the Fields have been taking part in a charity cycle ride from Harby to London.

They raise money for St Martin’s work for the underprivileged. They stay overnight in Grantham and give up their August Bank holiday weekend to do the cycle ride of a round trip of over 200 miles.

They inspired Ruby Stuckey MBE to start a project in 2012 to create a commemorative stone plaque on St Peters Hill. Ruby was honoured for her founding of the Grantham Passage movement whereby homeless people are given meals via Grantham churches.

Grantham Civic Society took on the project and the plaque was designed by St Wulfram’s church architect Graham Cook and produced by Skillingtons a local Grantham firm of stone masons.

Head stone mason Derren Rose has carved the figures of Edward and Eleanor and completed the entire plaque.

SKDC have supported the project and with local fund raising helped by the cyclists the £6,000 cost of the plaque has been raised.

The Grantham Cross was one of the last to be built and was a notable feature of the town for nearly four hundred years until was demolished in about 1645 during the Civil War, due to attitudes similar to Islamic State today.

This was the case in most towns of the 12 resting places, although many have been restored.

Based on information supplied by Brian Stagg, Grantham Civic Society.