GRANTHAM

town, South Kesteven district, administrative and historic county of Lincolnshire, England, on the River Witham. The town is an important junction on the railway line from London to Scotland. Its chief industry is mechanical engineering, notably the production of diesel engines and road rollers. Of Saxon origin, Grantham is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086), and its royal charter of incorporation was granted in 1463. In the Middle Ages Grantham grew prosperous from the wool trade. Located there is St. Wulfram's Church, one of England's finest medieval churches. The fine 18th-century George Hotel was made famous by Charles Dickens in Nicholas Nickleby (1839). Pop. (1991) 33,243.