EVEN in Margaret Thatcher's home town, where her lifelong beliefs were forged in her father's grocery shop, opinion was sharply divided about their most famous daughter.
Grantham, a 50,000-strong market town in Lincolnshire in England's East Midlands, is where Britain's first woman prime minister spent her formative years.
Born in 1925, it was here where the young Margaret Hilda Roberts was imbued with her economic and political outlook by her grocer father Alfred, a Methodist preacher and a local mayor.
Her conservative philosophies of individual liberty, not spending more than one can afford, a free market and seeing a job through, were forged on the shop floor and in the flat above.
The red-brick building sits on the Great North Road, the historic coaching route from London to York and Edinburgh.
A small plaque on the wall of the shop reads "Birthplace of the Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher, MP. First woman prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
On Tuesday, the day after she died aged 87 following a stroke, a dozen bouquets of flowers lay outside the building, now the blue-painted premises of Living Health, a "chiropractic clinic and holistic retreat".
"An amazing lady", said a message attached to one bunch of daffodils.
Richard Davies, a 34-year-old local councillor for the party Thatcher dominated, the Conservatives, said she fired his interest in politics.
"She shaped the political landscape of this country. I went into politics because of her, because she wanted to do things differently."
But although the area is solid Conservative-voting country, Grantham townsfolk were far from unanimous in admiration for Thatcher.
"She was brilliant at first and then believed in her own myth," said Carolyn Drury, a 70-year-old who runs a theatre.
Outside the Guildhall, where the British flag flies at half-mast, Michael Blocksidge, 39, said: "I am glad she is dead... She closed down the mines and bought the coal from communist countries, our enemies. She was an elitist."
Paul Anthony Tales, a taxi driver in his 50s, said: "She did a lot of harm to the country. She destroyed communities and put hundreds of thousands of people out of work."
However, glowing tributes have been left to her in the town's two books of condolence, one at Grantham Museum and one at the local authority headquarters.
The one at the museum is just inside the entrance, next to a portrait of a smiling Thatcher and a tired-looking bouquet of white roses.
Helen Goral, the museum's chairman, explained: "The book gives a focal point for people where they can pay their respects. We've had calls from people asking us to write a word for them.
"I hope people make peace with her heritage. There is still a lot of anger about what she did.
"She is our most famous export. You can't argue that she was a very influential figure."
A message written by "Jonathan" reads: "You were courageous at a national level during difficult times.
"You must not let your endeavours and success of global significance be clouded by parochial small-mindedness. We are fiercely proud of you."
A man who left his name as Dennis wrote: "You did us proud", while another message read: "A very determined lady who was not always right but believed she had the right reasons."
"The greatest PM since Churchill," read a message from Peter.
Judy Smith, 70, who came to sign the book, said: "She was a world-respected leader. She could compete with men on an equal level. She completed changed the country for the better."
Charles Rolt, 89, a former sales manager, came along with his 79-year-old wife Pauline, both using walking sticks. They gave STG20 ($A29.50) towards the museum's appeal for donations for a Thatcher statue, which was launched last month.
"When she came to power, the unions were about to take power; she broke the unions to put us back on track," he said.
Though it sells Thatcher mugs, the museum's display on the "Iron Lady" is underwhelming.
It has a display case dedicated to the political icon, containing a pair of satin blue shoes, a blue crepe bag, a book on the former premier and a small porcelain effigy.
The case also contains a note she sent the museum reading: "From this town I have learned so much and I am proud to be one of its citizens."
The display sits between one dedicated to physicist Isaac Newton - who went to school in Grantham - and two on the canal.
"It does not do her justice no matter what your political views are. She deserves a more fitting tribute," said Goral.
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