Local historian, author and Chair of the Grantham Civic Society, Dr John Manterfield, conducted two talks around the church as part of South Kesteven District Council’s county celebration.
The Magnificent Seven, all visible in St Wulfram’s Church are:
- Sir Thomas Bury; Chief Baron of the Exchequer who died in 1972. Sir Bury amassed a fortune and is commemorated by a marble monument in the church.
- Captain William Cust; the younger brother of Sir John Cust of Belton, Speaker of the House of Commons. William was a naval hero who was accidentally killed by a cannonball in 1748.
- Rev Richard Stevens; a man whose career in the church was largely aided by the support of the Duke of Rutland and his son, the celebrated Marquis of Granby. Rev Stevens died in 1771.
- Sir Dudley Ryder; achieved greatness as a lawyer becoming Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench based in London but had a country seat at Harrowby. He died in 1758.
- Edmund Turnor; member of the Turnor family of Stoke Rochford Hall. His monument is unusual in incorporating a variety of marbles, designed by a Peterborough sculptor. He died in 1789.
- Charles Clarke; was the last member of a family of apothecaries and surgeons that had lived in Grantham High Street for over two centuries. One of his ancestors provided the lodgings when Isaac Newton was in Grantham. He died 1796.
- Lieutenant Rupert Hardy Parker; killed at Passchendaele in 1917. His monument is a unique design made from alabaster and the epitaph reflects the loss felt by his family.
- Six individuals spanned the 18th Century Georgian period and one was killed in the First World War.
Dr Manterfield spoke on the history of each individual and their families, adding some little known facts including:
- Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench and with a country seat at Harrowby, established the principal of summing up in trials.
- Captain William Cust of Belton House joined the Navy aged just 14. His monument cost £250 in 1748 when it was created, equivalent to £75,000 today.
- Reference to Rev Richard Stevens, whose church career was supported by the Duke of Rutland and his son, the Marquis of Granby, helped to explain the proliferation of pubs called the Marquis of Granby. The pubs were supported by the Marquis and, in some cases, helped with funding.