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.