Cold Harbours

 I have discovered 17 places in Lincolnshire named "Cold Harbour", many of them are names of farms, houses or just a patch of land. I have seen many suggestions for the name, the most common is 'a place where a Roman building once stood'.

Unfortunately it is not as exciting as that; if we remove the 'H' from the second word we get Arbour, which some keen gardeners build to make a pleasant shelter to sit beneath on a warm sunny day.

Historically a Cold Arbour is a clump of trees, a ruined building or a depression in the land where travellers could get some shelter from the weather.

The image below is a map showing the location (blue tag) of a cold arbour at the junction of the High Dyke and A52 near Grantham. It's interesting that the public house was called the Blue Harbour, possibly owned by the same Lord of the Manor who owned the "Blue" inns in Grantham.  See https://itsaboutlincoln.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-blue-inns-and-sign.html

When Lincoln's Greatest Roman Treasure was Almost Lost

 

From the original blogpost 31 May 2012

Newport Arch was the north gate of the upper Roman town of Lindum Colonia.  It is now the only Roman arch in the country still open to traffic.  It is the entrance to Lincoln's historic centre that includes most of Roman and Medieval Lincoln.

Newport Arch probably got its name in the medieval period, many houses were demolished for the building of Lincoln castle in the late 11^th century and the displaced residents moved to an area north of what is now known as Newport.  At the time it was open country but soon grew and eventually had its own market.

Built in the 3rd century, Ermine Street passed through it to link Lincoln to another major Roman provincial centre, York.  The arch was enlarged when the city became capital of the province Flavie Caesariensis in the 4th century.  The remains we see today are of the inner arch and a footway on the east side of the arch, the outer arch was demolished in the late 18^th century.  The arch was much higher in Roman times, approximately 2.4 metres of it are below today’s ground level.

More about the design of the gateway was discovered in 1954 when the north-west bastion, a semi-circular  structure, was excavated, the remains of which are still visible.  There would have been another bastion on the north-east side of the gateway, the remains of that are now below the adjoining cottage.

The modern age has brought damage from motor vehicles, the worst of which happened in 1964 when a lorry carrying peas severely damaged the upper part of the arch.  This resulted in its dismantling and rebuilding.  To see an image of the accident please click here.

Lincoln’s Stonebow now stands on the site of the Roman south gate of the lower city

Over 100 more posts @  https://itsaboutlincoln.blogspot.com/p/index-to-blogposts.html

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Boultham Hall

The landed families and entrepreneurs of Lincoln seemed to have a need to show their wealth and success by building grand houses.  Most of the houses lasted for less than 100 years.  There are several reasons for this:

• The improved standard of living of the working class caused by improved wages in the factories and foundries, until the mid 19th century most of the jobs for men were on the land, and for women in service, most of these houses had many live-in servants.  
• "The flower of British manhood" was decimated during World War One, many of the men who were destined to take over the grand city and country houses were lost.  
• Many of the houses were of an age where maintenance costs were spiraling.  The introduction of Death Duties in 1894 and increases in income tax in the early 20th century, by 1918 the rate stood at 30%, meant these houses were becoming millstones.
• There was a severe shortage of building materials after World War One, building materials (e.g. stone, brick, wood, wood panelling and fittings) were more valuable than the standing buildings.

Here we look at the first of eight houses that were built for Lincoln entrepreneurs

Boultham Hall

Boultham Park was bought by Richard Ellison for his illegitimate son Colonel Richard Ellison sometime before his death in 1827. Col Ellison married Charlotte Chetwynd of Staffordshire in 1830.

The hall was built in the mid 1830s and the grounds were laid out. Part of the village of Boultham was within the grounds, this was removed.

A large ornamental lake was dug in 1857 and some Roman remains were found. The hall was re-modeled and enlarged in 1874. The architect was William Watkins of Lincoln.

Col Ellison erected a large monument, in the design of an urn, to Simon, his favourite horse, the monument now stands nearby in Simon’s Green.

Following Col Ellison’s death in 1881, Boultham Hall passed to Lt Colonel Richard George Ellison. Lt Col Ellison had a distinguished military career, during the Crimean War he fought at Alma, Inkerman, Sebastol and the capture of Balaclava. On his return to Lincoln he was met at the railway station by the Mayor and Corporation, who took him in an open carriage with 4 horses to Boultham, where they lunched, and “half the town had cheese and ale”.

Advert for the contents auction

Boultham Hall had extensive grounds: far greater than what we see today, what is now Boultham Park Road was a private road which lead to another private road north of, and parallel to Dixon Street and joined the road to a  gatehouse on the High Street.

High Street Lodge, architect William Mortimer

The original High Street entrance to the grounds of Boultham Hall was where Boultham Avenue now stands, the road and land was sold in the 1880s for the building of houses.

A parallel route to Boultham Hall was opened in 1883, between Peel Street and Dixon Street with a lodge house at its head.

Lt Colonel Ellison was the last resident of the hall. On his death in 1908 it passed to Richard Todd Ellison who sold the Hall and grounds in 1913 to a Nottingham company. The contents of the Hall were auctioned over 5 days in 1913.

During the First World War, the house served as a convalescence home for soldiers.

After the war much of the land was sold for new housing. On 15 May 1929 Lincoln Corporation purchased the Hall and remaining grounds from J A MacDonald and D E Smith, for £6,000 for the creation of a public park.

During World War Two, areas of the park were planted with sugar beet as part of the Dig for Victory campaign. 

Demolition of the Hall in 1959

The grounds were laid out as a public park, the hall was demolished in 1959. The only remaining evidence of the hall is a plinth and steps.

Lodges at the entrance to Boultham Park, built in  the 1870s:

Top, north lodge

Bottom, east lodge.  The gates are from Joseph Ruston's lost Monks Manor on Greetwell Road.

Ruston's initials can be seen above the pedestrian entrance.

Boultham Park Lake in 1933

Other Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Hartsholme Hall
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Eastgate House
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Monk's Tower
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Monk's Manor

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Cold Bath House

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Sibthorp House

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Eastcliffe House

The Old House on Corporation Street

The Crooked House and the Harlequin

Grand House Built on the Sale of Drugs

The Virgin Mary and the Wain Well

Eastgate from Bailgate

The above image shows Eastgate from the Bailgate junction. 

The present road runs east-north-east from Bailgate to the the site of the Roman east gate. The junction of Bailgate and Eastgate would be north of Gordon Road and would run directly east to the gate in Roman times . The road heading west from the junction is now beneath Lincoln Castle, the west gate of the Roman settlement is below and to the north of the Castle’s present day west gate. The position of the road was probably moved during the medieval period to enable easier access to the east gate of Lincoln castle.  

The building on the right of Eastgate is The White Hart Hotel, a former coaching inn dating from the 14th century.  On the left of the junction was an ancient inn, the Angel; a gate to the Cathedral Close stood at this junction between the White Hart and the Angel.  The Angel Yard remains behind the Post Office.

Further down on the left is an Indian restaurant, this was once was The Black Horse Inn dating from 1674, the White Horse Inn was nearby. 

 Across the road, in front of the Cathedral, there is a stone wall which was once a row of buildings; there is a stone head in this wall, the head is possibly one of those removed during the Civil War by Cromwell's men.

In the grounds of the Lincoln Hotel is the base of the north side of the Roman east gate, the gate was still standing, with medieval additions until Sir Christopher Wray had it demolished to extend the garden of Eastgate House. 

The Lincoln Hotel was built in the early 1960s, previously the Eastgate Hotel, and attached to the west wing of the former Eastgate House.  Alfred Shuttleworth, the son of one of the founders of Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co, lived here from the 1890s.  Across the road from Eastgate House once stood the Dolphin Inn and other buildings. Alfred bought all the buildings and had them demolished because they spoilt his view of the Cathedral; he did a great service to the City of Lincoln by doing this but it was very unpopular at the time as the Dolphins was a popular inn.

On the corner of Eastgate and Priorygate stands “The Rest”. The Rest is a late 17th century building which was renovated by Alfred Shuttleworth in 1899 with sham timber cladding. At one time it was available for use by people who had ascended Lindum Road and needed a rest.

St Peter in Eastgate church is on the left side of Eastgate. In common with many churches in Lincoln, St Peter’s was badly damaged during the Civil War. The church was demolished in 1776, a new church was built in 1781 but was inadequate for the growing population of the 19th century and a new church was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and completed in 1870. In 1914 the south aisle, west porch and the choir vestry were added due to the generosity of Alfred Shuttleworth. At the same time, the Nave ceiling was enclosed as a ‘barrel roof’, the Rood Screen erected and St. Margaret’s Chapel, dedicated.

At the Langworthgate and Greetwellgate fork, there was once a well, the Wain Well, which, on 11th August 1498, Joanna Burton fell in. The well was about 66 feet deep plus 6 feet of water so her survival of the fall seemed doubtful, “but according to sworn testimony of nine women”, she was in the well for an hour and she was carried from the well in the arms of the Virgin Mary. It seems strange to me that this wasn’t seen as a miracle, England was still a Roman Catholic country at that time.

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

The South Common, Lincoln's Southern Entrance

Lincoln Cathedral from the top of the South Common

Common Lands are a survival of the medieval age, commons were an essential part of the manorial estate, tenants of the lord of the manor would be allotted a part of the common.  Most of today's common lands are solely for grazing, but previously the land would have had many uses, ie, rights to take wood, graze pigs in the autumn, take sods for fuel.  Much of the common land of this country was lost at the enclosures, it was seen as an opportunity for landowners to claim common land for themselves.  The total common land today in this country totals no more than 4% of the total land area.

The South Common is one of three surviving common lands in Lincoln, the others are the West Common and the Cow Paddle.  The Lincoln commons are "owned by the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Lincoln".  Until 150 years ago there were two other commons, Monks Leys Common, the bulk of which was sold for housing and the remainder was used for the Arboretum; Holmes Common, this was sold to The Great Northern Railway.

Any householder living south of High Bridge had a right to graze cattle on the South Common, although Freemen had rights to graze a greater number.  The area of the common is approximately 180 acres, although may have been reduced because of the recent modifications on the hill section of Canwick Road.

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The Promenade

In 1843 iron fencing was used to surround the South Common and at about the same time a new pathway was established which ran across the crest of the hill and was called the "Promenade", the picture to the right is a postcard that was posted in July 1909

At a location near the top of the common stood a cross, it was here that the mayor, sheriff and other civic dignitaries would greet important visitors to the City.  By 1600 the cross had been removed by "some evil disposed person", the corporation ordered that a stone be placed at the spot as a marker, this too has been lost.

At the south east corner of the South Common once stood the city gallows.

The first Roman legion is believed to have erected a fort on the South Common, it would have been a wooden palisade structure.  Ermine Street crossed the A15 just below Cross O' Cliff Close, running down the common, crossing South Park west of Queen's Park.  Ermine Street divided at the top of the common, a direct route so that troops could be moved quickly to any troublespot, and an easier route for carts, etc.

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First published 17th May 2015