St. George’s District

The area bordering Wharf Road in the early 19th Century had a concentration of industry. This included several companies – Kitson Empire Lighting Company , Martin Cultivator Co, the Gas Works (Wharf Road), Pick Motor Car Company (Blackfriars Street), and across the river Hunts’ & Phillips’ Breweries ( Water Street) and other engineering works in Barnack Road, etc.

In 1914 some of Stamford’s companies were involved in war production. These included the Kitson Company making torpedo heads and casings and Cuttings of Barnack Road making electrical dynamos for the Navy. These provided employment for many of the fathers of the ‘Stamford Boys’ and also later for the ‘boys’ themselves. Housing was plentiful in the side streets off Wharf Road.

Today this area has changed completely. The industrial companies are no longer here, many have closed. Housing in several streets including Belton Street, Gas Street and Albert Road has been demolished and replaced by small workshops. New housing has been built on the old industrial sites. The Wharf Road car park replaces the Gas Works.

In 1911, St George’s Square was an area of larger, more prosperous looking houses and remains essentially unchanged today.