The Lincolnshire town of Grantham was historically an important market town and center of the wool trade which benefitted from its position on the Great North Road, the main north-south route through England, now the modern-day A1 road. The Industrial Revolution and the arrival of the canals and the railways transformed Grantham as new industries became established in the town, and it has grown significantly in the last two centuries. Engineering industries arrived to give employment to many in the town, many of national importance such as blacksmith Richard Hornsby's business repairing carriages and agricultural machinery which later as Ruston Hornsby moved into steam engine production, pioneered the steel plow, produced an early oil engine and created one of the first tracked vehicles. Other companies followed, such as Aveling Barford, specializing in traction engines, tractors, dumper trucks, cranes, road rollers, and aircraft cannon, as well as brewing and a food canning factory. H