The Castle, the King of France and the Dolphins

The Castle

Somerton Castle in 1801

Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham, inherited Somerton from his mother, Eva de Grey, in the mid 13th century, at the time there was a grange on the site. Bek obtained a licence to crenellate at Somerton in 1281. It was built in the style of Welsh castles of the time, quadrangular with circular towers at the angles and linking curtain walls. It was not built as a defensive structure but rather as a demonstration of power and wealth, and an administrative centre for the surrounding country.

The length of the walls was as follows: North 230 ft, South 210.5 ft, East 276.5 ft, West 251 ft.

Bek died in 1311 and Edward I took possession of the castle, granting it to William de Beaumont.

The King of France
On the 20th September 1356, during the 100 Years War, Edward, the Black Prince, against massive odds beat and captured King John II, John the Good, at the Battle of Poitiers.

John was brought to England in May 1357, the party landed at Sandwich and travelled onto Canterbury where, after making offerings at the shrine of St Thomas Becket, they rested for the night. Following two more overnight stops, the party arrived in London on 24th May. John, on his white charger, rode through London to the palace of the Savoy. Late in the summer John and Prince Philip visited Windsor Castle where they enjoyed the sport of hunting.

Towards the end of 1358, a series of restrictions were placed on the captives. On 12th December 1358, Roger de Beauchamp was ordered to watch the captives with 69 men-at-arms and moved them to Somerton Castle, 10 miles south of Lincoln. Four large casks of wine were transported there and a ship carried his goods to Lincolnshire by sea. John only remained there for four months and was transferred to Hertford Castle on 4th April 1359.

King Edward III decided to move his important captives back to Somerton; and appointed William, Baron D'Eyncourt, custodian of the Royal prisoners. Two Baronets Sir John de Kirketon, and Sir John D'Eyncourt, and two knights Sir William Colevill and Sir Saier de Rochford, agreed to the safe conduct of the king of France from Hertford Castle to Somerton. It was agreed that Lord D'Eyncourt and his associates should supply, as a guard during the journey, 22 men-at-arms, 20 archers, and 2 gaytes, all of whom were to dine at the Lord D'Eyncourt's table, at the cost of the king, and were to receive daily the following wages: each of the baronets 4s., each of the knights 2s., each of the esquires 12d., each of the horse archers 6d., each of the foot archers 3d., and each of the gaytes 6d., amounting to 39s. per day; whilst, to make up the sum to 40s. the Lord D'Eyncourt was to have an additional 1s. per day. In accordance with this order, D'Eyncourt commenced the removal of the royal captives from Hertford to Somerton on Monday, the 29th of July, 1359, dining at Puckeridge, and sleeping at Royston. On Tuesday, the travellers dined at Croxton, and slept at Huntingdon, remaining there until the following day. On Thursday they dined at " Gerston" (Glatton?) and slept at Stamford, where they remained over the Friday. On Saturday they dined at Easton, slept at Grantham, and stayed there until after dinner on Saturday, August 4th. After leaving Grantham, and following the straight course of the Roman Ermine Street in the evening they arrived at Somerton. Most of the journey would have followed Ermine Street. 

In February 1360 there were concerns about a possible French invasion to attempt to release the captives, Edward III ordered that they should be imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Following an agreement about payment of a ransom, King John and Prince Philip were released on the 30th June 1360. The King agreed to send hostages to guarantee the payment of the ransom.

The King and his entourage arrived at Dover on 5th July, where he was entertained by the Black Prince. He sailed from Dover in July arriving in Calais where he was held for three months while he obtained the first instalment of the ransom.

1850 Plan of the castle
and earthworks. 
Drawn by J S Padley

Louis, the Duke of Anjou and son of King John, the most important of the hostages, escaped from his captivity and returned to France with other hostages. King John was mortified when he learned of the escape, returned to England and offered himself as a hostage. The palace of Savoy was again his residence, sadly he did not long survive his generous act. Following a short illness in the spring of 1364, John passed away in April 1364, after having made a will, at the age of 44.

Somerton Castle remained in royal ownership until it was sold by Charles I in 1628.

Samuel and Nathaniel Buck's engraving of 

Somerton Castle, 1726.

Today the south-east tower is complete, the house attached to it is said to be Elizabethan (but I suspect it was built in the 19th century). The northeast tower is vaulted, and supported by a single pillar, from which to the sides spring twelve arches forming as many niches in the walls. The lower part of the south-west tower is still visible. The north-west tower and curtain walling no longer exist, probably removed for the development of the farm buildings in the 19th century.

There are remains of moats around the castle with a double moat and earth banks to the south.

The remains of the Northeast tower in 1801

Northeast tower vaulting

The Dolphins

The Dolphins was an Inn northeast of Lincoln Cathedral.  The attached notice was displayed in the inn for many years. There are a few inaccuracies in the notice; the Dauphin wasn't held with the King, it was Prince Philip and Saier de Rochford was not the owner of the castle.  

Was the name a misspelling or an insult to the French?









    A modern copy of the notice
            in the Dolphins

The Dolphins Inn, removed by Albert Shuttleworth
in 1892 to improve his view of Lincoln Cathedral
from his Eastgate House

Recent images of the Castle and Earthworks 

Somerton Castle was bought a few years ago by a local businessman and is now being restored.

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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 transshipping 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 the Brayford 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 opposite some of the ugliest buildings of the 1960s and 70s. 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, 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.

The Temple on the Heath

I remember when I first knew about the Temple Bruer Preceptory, I was studying my Dad's tatty of cloth Lincoln area Ordnance Survey map as a child in the 1950s, across the bottom of the map in large letters were the words "T E M P L E   B R U E R", I was very excited to know that here in Lincolnshire we have a temple.  Soon after my Dad took me to see my newly discovered temple, initially I was disappointed not to see a façade of Doric columns, until my Dad told me the history of the Templars. 

 

I have visited many times over the years and still get a feeling of excitement when I see it.

 The Templars

The preceptory of Templum de la Bruere, or Temple on the Heath, otherwise known as Temple Bruer was founded in the 12th Century by Lady Elizabeth de Calz on land donated by William of Ashby. William was soon afterwards admitted into the fraternity of the house, he later increased the original endowment. Among the other benefactors are John d'Eyncourt, Robert of Everingham, William de Vescy and Gilbert of Ghent. The house appears to have been of considerable size and importance being the administration centre for many of the Templar houses in the area.

In 1306 permission was granted to crenellate the great gate. By 1308 it was the second richest Templar house in England.

The End of the Templars

The story of the suppression of the Templars is well-known, a plot devised by King Philip IV of France with the help of Pope Clement V; Philip owed a considerable financial debt to the Templars.  

The suppression of the Temple Bruer preceptory was carried out on 10th January 1308 by the Sheriff of Lincolnshire, John de Cormel, following orders from Edward II.  William de la More - the last Preceptor of Temple Bruer, and Grand Prior of all England, together with his knights were imprisoned, with those of other Templar houses in the district, in Claxlede Gate and other places in Lincoln. The Templars were held until their trial began on 25th November 1309, the Knights were arraigned in the Chapter House of the Cathedral and tried on the following charges :

• That they concealed the mysteries of their Order from the rest of the world. To this charge they pleaded guilty, but argued that it was not a crime; and that, as they were bound by solemn vows to keep the rites of their Order from public view, it was unfair to assail them on a point which it was impossible for them to resist.

• That the novice on his admission was compelled to spit on the cross and blaspheme and renounce the Saviour. 

• That they were addicted to all manner of debauchery, cruelty, and infanticide, destroying their own children in the fire.

• That the most infamous excesses, crimes, and abominations were practised in their Preceptories. 

• That they secretly worshipped idols—one in the shape of a cat—another in human shape, with three heads, called Behemoth. 

To all these charges they pleaded not guilty, and said that “if their brethren in France had confessed such things they lied, to screen themselves from the torture of the rack.”

Most of the charges were without any foundation, it was their immense wealth that the king wanted.

William de la More would not provide any incriminating evidence to his inquisitors and spent the rest of his life in the Tower of London.

Fuller, a historian, wrote, “their wealth was the principal cause of their overthrow. We may believe that King Philip would never have took away their lives, if he might have took their lands without putting them to death; but the mischief was, he could not get the honey, unless he burnt the bees.”

The remaining Templar knights allied with the Hospitallers.

Preceptors of Temple Bruer

• 1221. John de Lupus.
• 1239. Robert de Screcton, or Sutton. 
• 1260. Fr. Amadeus.
• 1282. Robert de Turville. 
• 1287. Brian de Jay. 
• 1290. Guido de Forcsla. 
• 1300. William de la More.

The Knights' Hospitallers

Following the suppression of the Templars, the Knights Hospitallers took over the Preceptory and in 1338 a commandery of the Hospitallers Order under the same preceptor who commanded the house at Eagle.

In 1338 the revenue of the house was £177 7s. 7d., including the churches of Ashby and Rowston, the free chapel of Bruer, with lands at Bruer, Rowston, Wellingore, Ashby, Brauncewell, and North Kirkby; the expenses were £84 0s. 2d. The clear value of the house at the dissolution was £16 19s. 10¾d., including the bailiwick of South Witham and the farm of half the rectory and the grange of Holme in Heckington, with perquisites of a court

During the 15th century the de Launde family, descendants of William of Ashby, made several attempts to recover the church of Ashby from the Hospitallers, the situation was still unresolved in 1531.

In 1539 Sir Giles Russell was made commander of Temple Bruer, but finding that the house was in a ruinous condition he did not live there and made some effort to get it repaired and put in a better condition. In 1539 he was in Malta, he probably saw little of his commandery before its dissolution in 1541.

Commanders of Temple Bruer

• Robert Cort, from1338
• John Seyvill, from1415
• John Boswell, from 1493
• Thomas Newport, from 1503
• John Babington, from 1531, died in 1534
• Giles Russell, (last commander, from 1539 to 1541)

The fifteenth-century seal of the preceptor of Temple Bruer is a pointed oval representing a castle elaborately designed, with an outer wall of masonry embattled, circular keep embattled, and on it an Agnus Dei.

The Visit of Henry VIII

Tower and Medieval House

Henry VIII with his queen, Catherine Howard, commenced a grand tour of England in 1541, to hold a conference with his nephew, the King of Scotland and secondly to visit Lincolnshire and Yorkshire to observe that the counties were at peace after the disruptions caused by the "Pilgrimage of Grace". The king had a meeting and Sleaford on the 9th of August and dined the same day at Temple Bruer on his way to Lincoln.

Buck's drawing of the preceptory as it existed in 1736

Archaeological Surveys

The Tower c.1800

There have been three surveys of the site, the first was in 1832/3. Henry Chaplin of Blankney owned the property and asked amateur archaeologist and vicar of Scopwick, George Oliver, to examine the site. It seems Rev. Oliver got into the spirit of the allegations made against the Templars and found tunnels and dungeons:

"Some of these vaults were appropriated to purposes that it is revolting to allude to. In one of them a niche or cell was discovered which had been carefully walled up; and within it, the skeleton of a man, who appears to have died in a sitting posture, for his head and arms were found hanging between the legs, and the back bowed forward. (See Plan a.) Immuring was not an uncommon punishment in these places; and an instance of it was discovered a century ago, in one of the walls of Thornton Abbey, in this county. Another skeleton of an aged man was found in these dungeons, with only one tooth in his head. His body seems to have been thrown down, as if from a trap door; for he lay doubled up; and in the fore part of his skull were two holes which had evidently been produced by violence. Underneath the cloisters, between the Church and the Tower, (see Plan 6.,) many human bones were discovered which appear to have been thrown together in the utmost confusion, and lying at different depths; some being very near the surface. Amongst these were the skeleton of a very young child; and the skull of an adult, with a round hole in the upper part, into which the end of the little finger might be inserted, and which was probably the cause of death. Several large square stones were taken up with iron rings attached; and altogether, the ruins exhibited symptoms of violence. We can scarcely forbear entertaining the opinion that these are the remains of unhappy persons who had been confined in the dungeons of the Preceptory, for the Templars and their successors were always in feud with their neighbours; and, as they possessed the power of executing criminals within their own liberties, they would not be very likely to remit, what they might conceive to be the merited punishment of delinquency.

"The circular Church (see Plan) was fifty-two feet in diameter within; and was supported on a peristyle of eight cylindrical columns, with massive bases and capitals, and a series of circular arches profusely ornamented with zig-zags and other Norman enrichments, forming a circular area which occupied exactly one-half of the diameter. And the aisle or space betwixt this colonnade and the exterior walls occupied the other half. The aisle, it appears, had a groined roof ; and a portion of it on the north side contained the tomb of the Founder. On the west was the principal door of entrance, with an ascent of stone steps, and a magnificent porch, the foundations of which remain perfect. In the floor are two coffin-shaped stones, one plain, the other charged with a cross botony in relief."

The light tint shows the vaults and passages beneath the church

The next archaeological excavation was in 1907, under the supervision of Sir William Henry St John Hope. Hope found two sets of stairs leading to the crypt, but he didn't find the cellars or passages referred by Oliver, but there is a suspicion that the purpose of the excavation was to disprove Olivers' findings. Hope did plot more of the site, enabling more accurate artists impressions of the site.

The latest archaeological evaluation was in 2005. Pottery was found dating to the 9th-10th century, and flooring of the time period of the preceptory.

There is a triangle of trees south of the nearby public road, just east of the trees was a small settlement that probably grew up because of the Preceptory.

The surviving tower is now in the care of Lincolnshire County Council.

View a fly-through video reconstruction of the Preceptory by Heritage Lincolnshire
Click here to view the  video

Cold Bath House

Post updated
Go to
https://itsaboutlincoln.blogspot.com/2020/02/cold-bath-house-parish-was-created-in.html

Cottam's Mill by W N Tollerton
(Lincoln Central Library Collection)

Lincoln Markets

In this age of online and supermarket shopping, it is hard to think of a time before national retail chains when the Lincoln shopper had a wide choice of small businesses from which to buy their food. Street markets are one the oldest forms of retailing and Lincoln had a good choice of such markets.  

The Meat Market was on the High Street, it stretched from Dernstall Lock to St. Lawrence's Lane, near the King's Arms Yard.  This market moved in 1774 across Clasketgate (then known as Butchery Street) to an area called the Butchery; next to the earlier Crown Inn.  The Butchery had shops on its periphery with stalls in the centre, it also had its own slaughterhouse.  A cloth market, the Drapery, had existed on St Martin's Lane since the 13th century, it was then known as the Parmentaria.

Newland, the location of the Butter Cross

On Newland stood the Butter Cross, where other products such as milk and egg were sold. John Lobsey, Mayor of Lincoln in 1736, proposed that the Corporation suspend their Civic Banquet for 10 years in order to cover the cost of building a Butter Market that would offer protection from the elements. The Butter Market was built to the north of St Peter at Arches church, which stood on the corner of High Street and Silver Street. Before the building of the Buttermarket, the Skin Market or Peltry occupied part of the site.

If our Lincoln ancestors wanted to buy fish for their Friday dinner they would head for the fish market at Fish Hill (now Michaelgate), the market stood on the grounds of the present Chad Varah House, formerly the County Hospital. The fish market later amalgamated with the meat market at The Butchery. The Poultry Market was on the lower part of Steep Hill.

The 1847 Corn Exchange

Bread made from wheat was too expensive for the ordinary people, they would buy their bread ingredients from the oat market at the junction of High Street and St Mary's Lane (now Street). Unsurprisingly the corn market was on the site of the present Cornhill. This is where farmers would trade their produce.  In 1847 the first Corn Exchange was built on the Cornhill, this building included space on the ground floor for market stalls, relieving the congestion caused by stalls along the High Street from the Cornhill to the Butter Market.  A new building was erected to replace the Corn Exchange and market in 1879.  The Butter Market was demolished in 1938 and the front facade was incorporated into the New Market, where it still stands today.

This is More Important than the Magna Carta

West gate of the Castle

Lincoln Castle reopened in April 2015 following the completion of the £22 million renovation and improvement of the castle. One of the most important features of the work is a new building where Magna Carta will be preserved in ideal conditions and may be viewed by the public.

The improvements to the castle were timed to coincide with the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta in 1215. Magna Carta will not be the only charter on view: Lincoln is the only place where Magna Carta can be viewed alongside The Charter of the Forest, although there is also a copy of The Charter at Durham.

The Charter of the Forest was sealed by the young King Henry III on 6th November 1217. This charter dealt with the rights of the common man, whereas Magna Carta covered issues affecting the barons. “Forest” in this context included not only wooded areas but, more commonly, royal hunting grounds and fields. From Henry II's time these areas had grown and people were regularly outlawed for breaking forest law. The Royal Forests were an important source of wood for fuel and charcoal making, turf for fuel and for the grazing of animals.

The Charter set out a requirement for the King to give up the Royal Forests and to free up the lands that Henry II and King John had made Royal Forests, uniquely giving back to the common man freedom to use those areas.

Charter of the Forest

A clause in The Charter specifically stated that "Henceforth every freeman, in his wood or on his land that he has in the forest, may with impunity make a mill, fish-preserve, pond, marl-pit, ditch, or arable in cultivated land outside coverts, provided that no injury is thereby given to any neighbour." 

The death penalty was abolished for capturing deer and mutilation as a lesser punishment was banned, although law breakers were still imprisoned or fined. The laws of The Charter were enforced in the forests by Verders' Courts.

Magna Carta is seen as the foundation of human rights in countries such as the United States, but the Charter of the Forest may be a more important document for the 'common man' of England and deserves its own celebration in 2017.

(First published 30th September 2014)

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