Huntingtower Road in Grantham takes its name from a Scottish peerage title with deep roots in the town's history. The Earl of Dysart, also known as Lord Huntingtower, donated land between Springfield Road and Harlaxton Road, along with £1,000, for a new school for 330 pupils in 1912. The gift came with a condition: the town council had to build a connecting road, which became Huntingtower Road.

The Scottish Connection

The title Earl of Dysart and Lord Huntingtower originated in 1643, when William Murray, a former Member of Parliament for Fowey and East Looe, was granted both peerages. The title passed through Murray's daughters and their heirs until Lady Dysart married Sir Lionel Tollemache. The Tollemache family became a major landowner in Grantham through the Buckminster Estate, which explains why both Dysart Road and Huntingtower Road carry Scottish names.

The School and the Road

Huntingtower Road School opened in 1914, about five years before the road itself was built. Early access was by footpaths, including one running under the railway line. The school was urgently needed. St Anne's had turned away 100 pupils, with places so scarce that if a child failed to attend, their place would be taken and they would go to the back of a waiting queue.

When the council issued a compulsory purchase order on 18 acres of land west of Huntingtower Road and south of Brick Kiln Lane in 1921, the land was valued at £320 an acre. The council planned to develop 200 houses on the site, running from the railway marshalling yards to where KFC now stands at the Harlaxton and Springfield junction.

The Huntingtower Arms

The Huntingtower Arms pub opened in 1915 on the corner of Huntingtower Road and Harlaxton Road, the only pub to open in Grantham during wartime. It received its licence following the closure of the Blue Dog on Watergate. The opening was not without opposition. The Education Committee objected, stating that "a fully licensed house with all its attendant evils and degrading influences" should not be built so close to the school. Supporters of Grantham FC, who played next door, also expressed concern that a public house would distract players.

Historic Footpaths

The pedestrian tunnel under the railway that links the school to the town centre forms part of an ancient footpath between Grantham and Sewstern, known as the Jitty or Station Approach. This route also runs diagonally across Norton Street. A right of way that once ran alongside the railway embankment from Harlaxton Road to the tunnel was named Workhouse Lane, after the institution it led to.