Tolethorpe Histories By Derek Harrison Stamford Shakespeare Company - 2007 ISBN: 978-0-9554934-0-9 Derek Harrison has researched the history of Tolethorpe Hall from 800 up to the present day. This is now the home of the Stamford Shakespeare Company. In the booklet we discover that the house was occupied for two hundred years by the Burtons who represented Rutland in Parliament, followed by the Brownes, a very important family in Stamford history who lived there for the next three hundred years. In the nineteenth century the house was owned by the Eatons who were part of the Stamford Banking business Eaton and Caley. The Eaton family sold the house and for a short time it was owned by a Cambridgeshire farmer before the purchase in 1977 by Stamford Shakespeare Company. The author relates the excitement when, with little money in the bank, the Company were able to buy the nearly derelict hall with the help of a local businessman Tim Clancy. Members acted as guarantors and the story of them overcoming the difficulties and giving their time and commitment is an inspiration. The house has now been renovated and improvements at the theatre have resulted in better facilities for actors and visitors. The booklet is well illustrated and is a valuable insight into the history of the house and of the Stamford Shakespeare Company. Jean Orpin for RLH&RS