Grantham historic Guildhall , jail and four-sided clock at dusk, St Peter's Hill, Grantham NG31 6PZ

The Guildhall and jail on St Peter’s Hill in Grantham was commissioned in 1866 by Mayor Thomas Winter after criminal Jesse Dale, who was serving 15 years for stealing, twice walked out of the town’s original jail in 1864. This original Guildhall and jail building stood on the corner of Guildhall Street and High Street and dated from 1787. After Jesse’s second escape, the governor at the time William Mayer was sacked and a government inspector condemned the building. The inmates had to be sent to Lincoln. The site of the demolished Guildhall was bought by the Stamford, Boston and Spalding Bank (later Barclays) and is now home to the Goose at the Bank pub. On the current Guildhall site was an old school – The Firs – housed in a former town house. This and the adjoining land were bought for £2, 100. Lincoln architect William Watkins drew up the design for the new building and the work was carried out Mr Wartnaby, of Little Gonerby, for £7, 260.