A Walk in Half-Timbered Lincoln

Lincoln is fortunate in its number of half-timbered buildings, many of which have survived for 500 years or more.  Built at a time of prosperity most were later painted in dull colours when Lincoln no longer had the wealth it once had, and not the stunning black and white we see today.

Anyone who knows Steep Hill will understand why I am starting at the top!

Visitors will find the Tourist Information centre very usefully set on Castle Hill between the Cathedral and the Castle at:

Leigh-Pemberton House

Leigh-Pemberton House was a merchants house when it was built in 1543.  Extensive restoration was carried out by the National Provincial Bank in 1929 & 1970 and presented to the Dean & Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral on 31st May 1979; the building was named after the then chairman of National Westminster Bank, Robin Leigh-Pemberton.  The ground floor is used as a Tourist Information office and the upper floors are self-catering accommodation.

The building stands over Via Principalis, the Roman road that runs north to Newport Arch and via Steep Hill.

38-39 Steep Hill

​38 & 39 Steep Hill dates from the 16th century, with late 18th and 19th-century modifications.

The Harlequin

The Harlequin Inn (once known as the Harlequin and Columbine, when it was connected with the theatre on Drury Lane) dates from the 15th century, first recorded as an inn in the mid 18th century.  In 1931 it was refused the renewal of its alcohol licence as "structurally unsuitable". George Shelton was an antique furniture dealer for about 30 years and then it was the Harlequin Galleries, an antiquarian bookshop, for almost 50 years until it closed a few years ago.

The Crooked House

The Crooked House at the top of Michaelgate is well known, and is probably one of the most photographed buildings in Lincoln after the Cathedral, Castle and Stonebow.

This house looked like any other terraced house until the 1930s. At that time there was a major slum clearance throughout the city; in areas close to the factories and foundries of the Waterside, even Jews Court was in danger of being lost until it was rescued by the Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (now The Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology).  In late 1933, a demolition order was issued for numbers 34, 36, 38 and 40 Michaelgate. When demolition of number 40 began it was discovered there was a half-timbered building behind the brick façade.  The owner of the house asked the council to rescind the demolition order.  Permission was granted by the Minister of Health subject to it not being used for human habitation.   

Dating from the 16th century, the house has 18th, 19th, and 20th century alterations. Dressed stone and brick, with close studded first floor with rendered nogging. Pantile roof. 2 storeys, 2 bays. Street front has a replica plank door to the left, and to the right, a 2-light sliding sash. Above, to the right, a C20 casement. South gable has a 20th century door to left and a 20th century casement above. Gable framing has curved braces and corner posts. (https://historicengland.org.uk/)

The house was acquired by Lincoln Council and renovated to its original style; it became one of the oldest council houses in England.  The house is still owned by the City of Lincoln Council and managed by the National Trust.

Click here to read about the interior of the house

Dernstall House

Dernstall House dates from the late 15th century, altered in the 17th and 18th centuries and restored in 1969.

​

The Cardinal's Hat

The Cardinal's Hat building is thought to be named after Cardinal Wolsey and dates from the 15th or 16th century.  Originally the home of the Grantham family, after which the nearby street was named later becoming an inn, it remained so until the early 19th century, when it was known as the Cardinal's Cap.  In 1872 it was the premises of Albert W Hall, grocer & baker, established in 1790.  Over the years it became a furniture store until the St John's Ambulance made it their county headquarters and the building was renovated in 1952.

​After almost 200 years it is now a public house again.

High Bridge

High Bridge on Lincoln’s High Street is the oldest surviving bridge with buildings on, in this country. It marks the spot where the Roman Ermine Street crossed the Witham by way of a ford; a bridge was built in the 2nd century.

The river was much wider than today and High Bridge was thought to be made of five arches; today only one arch remains.

There were many bridges like High Bridge in the middle ages; London Bridge for example, but all the others have long since disappeared; the only other bridges with buildings on them in England are Frome Bridge dating from 1667, and Bath’s Pulteney Bridge of 1773.

The Green Dragon

The Green Dragon is a four-gable half-timbered building dating from the 16th century.  It was probably built for a wealthy Lincoln merchant, and bought by the Common Council of the City of Lincoln from Thomas Grantham in 1569.  By 1624 it was known as the Great Garrettes, it remained as tenements and shops until the 1950s.

There was a major restoration of the building in the late 1950s, and the Green Dragon public house moved here from an adjoining brick-built building on the east side of the present building.

The Treaty of Commerce

The Treaty of Commerce is one of the most central pubs in Lincoln; many other central pubs have closed since the 1970s.  The name is said to have come from an 1860 trade treaty with France.  It was named Treaty of Commerce in 1867.  Owned by Ind Coope from 1911.  The plaster and timber frontage was added in 1926 for Ind Coope.

Became O'Donoghues Irish Bar in the 1990s, renamed Honest Lawyer from October 2000 to November 2001.  Reverted to The Treaty of Commerce in November 2001, when it was acquired by Bateman's Brewery

Whitefriars House

By Alfred Ernest White c1880 - Art UK,
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45247605

Sadly only one wall now exists of Whitefriars House, but it has been protected from the elements by the building on the opposite side of Akrill's Passage.

It was called Whitefriars because it was once thought to be part of the Whitefriars Priory; but during the re-development of the Midland Station the remains of the priory was discovered.

By Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13622278

The original building dates from the 15th century and it has suggested that it could be the former vicarage of St Mary le Wigford.  It was restored in the late 20th century and a shop front added.

It is difficult to get a good photograph of the building so I have used a photograph from when the neighbouring building was rebuilt.

Banks and High Bridge

Joseph Banks, painted 1773 by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Sir Joseph Banks is well-known as a naturalist and botanist, the son of William Banks a wealthy Lincolnshire land owner. Joseph was also a farmer and business man and was instrumental in promoting the Horncastle Canal.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1792 approving the building of the canal; the canal was completed by 1802 but was partially in use some years before this.

In order to make the canal viable it was essential that barges could navigate to and from the Trent: the only route was through Lincoln.  

Richard Ellison had acquired a 999 year lease for the Fossdyke Canal and river Witham in 1740, he dredged and improved the canal and the river east of Lincoln but was prevented by Lincoln Corporation from improving the navigation below High Bridge. Lincoln Corporation earned valuable revenue from porterage fees, barges were unloaded one side of the Bridge and reloaded the other.  The problem was so severe that in exceptionally dry summers it was possible to drive a coach across the bed of the river west of High Bridge.

High Bridge c 1836

The reluctance of the Corporation to act on the navigation under High Bridge forced Joseph Banks to look at alternative routes.  William Jessop, the noted canal builder (locally he built the Grantham and Sleaford canals), was commissioned to investigate a likely route.  Jessop put forward a scheme to route barges from the Fossdyke southwards on the upper Witham to Sincil Drain, in effect by-passing Lincoln. The Corporation realised this would be devastating for the economy of the city and, in 1795, the bed of the river beneath High Bridge was lowered at the expense of the proprietors of the Horncastle Canal. To celebrate the event boards were laid on the dry river bed and a dance took place under the bridge.

The building of the Great Northern Railway from Lincoln to Boston in 1848 dramatically increased the traffic on the Horncastle Canal but in 1854 a line was opened from Kirkstead to Horncastle: the canal closed in 1889.  

See also: Lincoln's High Bridge, Unique In This Country

The Bridge of Sighs

James Mayfield was a boot and shoe dealer at 19 Waterside North (a little west of the present Mayfield Bridge), he was born in Louth in 1805. 

James noticed that the shops in the Sincil Street area south of the river were much busier than his was. The nearest crossings of the river were at High Bridge and Magpies Bridge, he had little passing trade from the Sincil Street area. In November 1867 he asked the Corporation to contact the Great Northern Railway (the lessees of the river Witham) to get permission to build a bridge over the river at the north end of Sincil Street.

“The Mayor remarked that there was already an order on the books for the erection of a bridge on the site Mr Mayfield mentioned, and when the funds of the Corporation admitted of it, no doubt the bridge would be erected. (Laughter)” - Lincolnshire Chronicle 23/11/1867.

The original bridge, photograph taken in the 1930s prior to the slum clearance on Waterside North. The 'Sackville' lanterns have been replaced by more conventional lamps 

The Corporation asked for tenders for the manufacture and erection of the bridge, the following quotations were received: M Penistan, Lincoln, £147; D Barnes, Lincoln, £160; F Binns, Lincoln, £170 6s; C de Berne and Co., Manchester, £185; J T B Porter and Co., Lincoln, £216 3s.

The Corporation had received about £65 from public subscriptions and agreed that the lowest quotation would be accepted providing the promoters of the bridge (headed by James Mayfield) provide £70 within 14 days of the meeting. “Mr Brogden said the thanks of the public were due to Mr Mayfield for the energy and perseverance he had displayed in promoting the movement, and he would suggest that the structure should be named ‘The Mayfield Bridge’.” (Laughter)

The bridge was completed in April 1869 at a total cost of £154 2s (£154.10) and designed by Drury and Mortimer of Lincoln. ‘Sackville’ gas lanterns were fitted at each end of the bridge; patented by Gregg and Son of Dublin they were circular in plan and free from sidebars which would otherwise cast broad shadows, a reflector in the top enhanced the light from the lantern.

The 1869 bridge, the New Bridge Inn on the left and Savoy cinema on the right. 

Penney and Porter Ltd surveyed the bridge in 1923, in their opinion the bridge was unsafe and submitted a quotation for the supply and erection of the ironwork for a new bridge. The bridge was periodically repaired but no major restoration works were completed.

The condition of the bridge was next raised at a Corporation meeting in March 1940. It was at this meeting that the nickname for the bridge was coined: ‘The Bridge of Sighs’ due its poor condition. There were concerns about movement of “people from places of entertainment in the case of an air raid”, due to its condition and lack of width. The bridge was further discussed in September of the same year and it was agreed that due to the war it would be difficult to find sufficient materials to restore or replace the bridge. 

The original bridge was eventually replaced in 1958, this bridge was replaced in 1991 and again in 2001.



The 1869 bridge and the 1958 bridge shortly before the removal of the earlier bridge. Note the wooden planks used to support the side of the 1869 bridge.


The 1958 Bridge

​What of James Mayfield? James sold his boot and shoe business to Thomas Mawby in 1874 and became licensee of the Globe Inn on Waterside South, moving to Edmonton, London in 1881 to open a boot and shoe shop; he died there in 1887.


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Lincoln's High Bridge, Unique In This Country

by itsaboutlincolnHigh Street passes over the original Norman stone bridge, erected about 1160, possibly replacing one made of wood. 

 

High Bridge on Lincoln’s High Street is the oldest surviving bridge with buildings on, in this country. It marks the spot where the Roman Ermine Street crossed the Witham by way of a ford, a bridge was built c2nd century.

The river was much wider than today and High Bridge was thought to be made of five arches, today only one arch remains.

There were many bridges like High Bridge in the middle ages, London Bridge for example, but all the others have long since disappeared, the only other bridges with buildings on in England are Frome Bridge dating from 1667 and Bath’s Pulteney Bridge of 1773.

At the Reformation there were as many as 52 religious buildings in Lincoln, one of them was the chapel dedicated St Thomas the Martyr which stood on the eastern side over the vaulted arch of the bridge. The chapel was paid for by Lincoln Corporation c 1200. Following the Reformation the Corporation converted the chapel into a house, it was let as a hall to the Company of Tanners and Butchers, and finally a warehouse until it was demolished in 1763. An obelisk was then erected which was also a water conduit that brought water from near the end of Monks Road. The original pipes for this were laid by the brothers of Greyfriars in the early 16th century. The obelisk was removed in 1939 due to concerns about the strength of the arch supporting it. A reconstruction of the obelisk can be seen at St Mark's Shopping Centre.

The Glory Hole,
showing medieval ribbing

The river route under the bridge was once named "The Murder Hole", bodies could be dropped in the water here without being seen and, with luck, would float downriver to Boston and onto the Wash. 

The maximum height of 9 feet and width of 22 feet together with an awkward angle under the bridge sets a limit on the size of vessels that can use the Witham from Brayford Pool to Boston, and vice versa. It now has the much happier name "The Glory Hole", this may come from the difficulty of getting large vessels through, there would be some "glory" when a boatman made it through!

Until the 1790’s the river was not navigable all year, in summer the bed of the river was often dry; there are tales of horse and coaches driven across the river in summer just west of High Bridge. Joseph Banks (1743-1820), the botanist and naturalist had commissioned the building of the Horncastle Canal, he could see that revenues on his canal would by severely restricted by the problems at High Bridge. The Corporation was reluctant to improve the navigation under the bridge because they earned porterage from the trans-shipping of cargoes. This reluctance forced Joseph Banks to look at alternative routes. William Jessop (1745-1814), the noted canal builder (locally he built the Grantham and Sleaford canals), was commissioned to investigate a likely route. Jessop put forward a scheme to route barges from Brayford Pool southwards on the upper Witham to Sincil Drain, in effect by-passing Lincoln. The Corporation realised this would be devastating for the economy of the city and, in 1795, the bed of the river beneath High Bridge was lowered at the expense of the proprietors of the Horncastle Canal. To celebrate the event boards were laid on the dry river bed and a dance took place under the bridge.

1902/3 Reconstruction

The buildings on High Bridge were renovated and put back to their original half-timbered design in 1902/3 under the direction of architect William Watkins. Jettied forward of the first-floor are carvings of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

The High Bridge remains an architectural gem, Stokes coffee shop is an excellent place to enjoy a coffee. R W Stokes Co. has ground and blended coffee here for over 100 years.

Either side of the shops on High Bridge there are steep narrow steps leading towards Lincoln’s Brayford Pool, where barges and ships loaded and unloaded their cargoes. From the footpaths on the west side you can get an excellent view of the rear of the shops.

Further Reading:

The Oldest Canal in the UK

Britains Best Place

See Also: Banks and High Bridge