Lincoln's Royal Bishop

Geoffrey Plantagenet was an illegitimate son of Henry II.  He was born about 1150, before his father married Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Even though he had not taken holy orders he was appointed Archdeacon in 1171, in 1173 he was elected Bishop of Lincoln and his position was confirmed in 1175.

Bishops of the middle ages were often involved in military battles, Geoffrey was no exception, in 1173 and 1174 he led a campaign to put down a rebellion by his legitimate half-brothers in the north of England.  The King's sons we unhappy about the gifting of three castles, in the inheritance of Henry the "Young King", to John, his youngest son, as part of a marriage settlement.  The rebellion which covered an area from southern Scotland to northern France was put down. Henry and his sons were reconciled.  Henry II ordered 10 castles demolished after the rebellion.

Geoffrey was not remarkable in any religious way but he did clear off the bishop's mortgage and add two bells to the Cathedral.  Geoffrey resigned in 1182 to become Archbishop of York and was ordained in 1191 in Tours, France.

He was the only one of Henry II's sons attending when his father died in 1189.

As Archbishop of York he was in constant dispute with his clergy and the king and, following a dispute with King John in 1207 about taxes, he fled to France where he died in 1212.

 

 

Lincoln's Traffic Problems: A Missed Opportunity?

 

Image from Google Earth

Have you ever thought what the name Outer Circle Road means?  .

In October 1917, towards the end of the First World War, the city council discussed the possibility of building a road from Greetwell Road to Wragby Road.  The war over, in December 1920 the Ministry of Transport agreed to contribute half the estimated cost of £14,210. Like many other projects in this country at that time it was seen as way to give work to the vast numbers of unemployed.  The road was completed in 1922

James Hole & Company Ltd of Newark applied in February 1924 to the Licening Justices for a licence for serving intoxication liquor at proposed premises at the junction of Wragby Road and Outer Circle Road - The Bowling Green Hotel.  The Bowling Green opened in July 1926, Ronnie Sewell, former professional footballer for Burnley and Blackburn Rovers, was the first landlord.

With the building of the St Giles' Estate, a new road was built from Wragby Road opposite Outer Circle Road and called Outer Circle Drive; possibly the powers that be decided "Drive" would be more attractive to the people who were being moved from properties in Stamp End and other parts of the city.

Owners and tenants of 208 to 218 Doddington Road were summonsed to court for "failing to abate a nuisance in regard to drainage", the magistrates were not prepared to make an order, they felt it was the corporations responsibility.  Robert Horton, the owner of 216 & 218, produced a plan provided by the corporation in 1929, when the houses were built, the letter accopanying the plan referred to a proposed "Outer Circle Road"; it seems the intention was to continue the road around the north and west of Lincoln and joining with Newark Road at Swanholme.

There were many complaints about the state of footpaths on St Giles, Outer Circle Drive was often covered by mud, it seems the Corporation didn't have the money to complete Outer Circle Road.

Beaumont Fee

In the Middle Ages Lincoln was divided into three districts: the City, the Close, and the Bail.  The Close and the Bail were self-governing, outside the City's jurisdiction.  These areas were managed through local courts. The freemen made the laws and carried them out, the system was democratic as every freeman was expected to involve himself in the running of a district.

There was another district in Lincoln outside the jurisdiction of the City authorities during the middle ages. Prior to the Norman conquest there were a number of former Danelaw divisions of Lincoln that were ruled by the most powerful citizens.  One of these divisions survived the conquest as a self-governing unit, the manor of Hungate.

Edward II granted Hungate to Henry de Beaumont.  A manor house was built on the west side of the road now known as Beaumont Fee and to the south of West Parade.  The house was known as Vesci Hall (Henry's sister, Isabella de Vesci, was granted the manor before Henry, she held it from about 1312 to 1335), the manor became known as "The Liberty of Beaumont Fee", and was the centre of the control of the Beaumont lands in the east of England.  The definition of "fee" in this context is: an inherited or heritable estate in land

The Liberty of Beaumont Fee was held by the Beaumonts for about 200 years, but their lands were confiscated after the Wars of the Roses.  In 1514 these lands were granted to Lord Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, for his support at the Battle of Flodden.  The manor was sold by the Norfolk family in 1700.  It was then broken up between different owners and lost its privileges.

Vesci Hall appears to have survived until the 1840s when John Hayward, a chemist, built  Beaumont Manor in the Tudor Revival style. Lincoln Corporation bought it in 1927. 

Beaumont Manor

5 to 15 Beaumont Fee

These fine townhouses on Beaumont Fee, built in 1885, were designed by William Watkins for Charles Knowles Tomlinson (1819-1893).

Charles was a chemist in partnership with Charles Hayward (1836-1880), his brother-in-law at 233 High Street and 6 Bailgate.  Henry Hyett managed the shop in the Bail and took over the business after Charles Hayward's death.  Frederick P Watson who succeeded Henry Hyett at 6 Bailgate lived at 5 Beaumont Fee, the house on the far right of the picture.

Charles Tomlinson was born at Toulston Hall in North Yorkshire and lived across the road at Beaumont Manor.

Tomlinson and Hayward filed a patent in 1865 for a sheep ointment preparation, it is not known how successful it was.

The houses are now offices for various businesses including solicitors and archaeologists.