By a somewhat convoluted sequence of events, Edward Stanhope, born in London, became a respected benefactor to Horncastle and its people.
The lordship of the Manor of Horncastle had been held by the various Bishops of Carlisle since 1229 and leased to the grandfather of Sir Joseph Banks in 1714. This was inherited by Sir Joseph and upon his death in 1820 the title passed onto his wife, thereafter the lease was inherited by the Stanhope family.
During the time that James Banks Stanhope held the lease he took the opportunity to purchase it when the see of Carlisle relinquished ownership of the title in 1856. The estates and Lordship of the Manor of Horncastle were inherited, from his cousin, by Edward Stanhope in 1885.
Edward Stanhope was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford where he studied law. In 1874 he was elected as the conservative Member of Parliament for Mid Lincolnshire. This constituency was abolished in 1885 and Stanhope became MP for the new constituency of Horncastle. During his nineteen years in Parliament Stanhope held many important offices including Under Secretary of State for India, President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State for the Colonies and Secretary of State for War.
In an act of generosity, Stanhope offered the Market Place, The Wong, the Pig Market and their respective revenue in tolls to the Local Board of Health for the benefit of the people of Horncastle. At a public meeting in 1892 the people passed a resolution accepting the valuable gift that had been in private hands for nearly seven centuries. Around this time the old buildings that stood on the Market Place were demolished leaving us with the clear area we see today.
When Stanhope died of a heart attack in 1893 a memorial was erected in the Market Place leaving us with a permanent reminder of his generosity towards the town and its people.
