Kesteven County Council

Elected county councils were created in 1889, taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions. Lincolnshire's quarter sessions had long been held separately for the three parts of the county and the city of Lincoln, and so each part became a separate administrative county and Lincoln became a county borough.^[4] Elections were held in January 1889 and the council came into its powers on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first formal meeting at Grantham Guildhall. William Welby-Gregory, a former Member of Parliament for the Conservatives, was appointed the first chairman of the council. At the first meeting there was a debate on where the council should meet, with some advocating meeting solely in Grantham, others arguing for alternating meetings between Grantham and Sleaford, and others advocating a four way cycle of meetings between Grantham, Sleaford, Stamford and Bourne. The council decided to alternate between meeting at Grantham Guildhall and Sessions House, Sleaford.^[5]

In 1925 the council bought Lafford Terrace, a row of 1850s houses on Kesteven Street in Sleaford, converting it to become their main offices.^[6] Plans to add a council chamber to the building were considered but not pursued, and council meetings continued to alternate between Grantham Guildhall and the Sessions House in Sleaford throughout the council's existence.^[7]