It's About Lincoln and Lincolnshire: william watkins

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The 150 Year Old Chemist Shop

Bailgate is one of the oldest streets in Lincoln, much of it approximately follows the north to south line of Roman Lindum Colonia's main street. Some of the buildings date from the 17th century, there is one shop in the street that still has its 19th century owner's name emblazoned above the window: F P Watson

Frederick Percy Watson was born in 1865 in Lincoln, his father also Frederick, was an engineers clerk.. He learned his trade at Allen & Hanbury in London, a manufacturing chemist. Allen & Hanbury were owned by a Quaker family so it is possible that Frederick's family were Quakers, particularly as Frederick's family lived in Beaumont Fee a short distance from the Quaker Meeting House.

1894 Advert

Frederick married Edith Brackenbury in 1895 and they had 3 children. Her father Elijah was a chemist in Bardney near Lincoln.

Henry Hyett was manager of the shop when it was owned by Charles Knowles Tomlinson and Charles John Hayward, he took over the shop in 1880 following the death of Hayward.

Frederick acquired the business at 6 Bailgate from Henry Hyett in the early 1890s, renaming it "F P Watson", the shop still bears his name 100 years after his death.

Frederick died in 1922 at the age of 57, an early death was not uncommon for chemists at time due to their handling of poisons used in various "miracle" remedies.

Charles Knowles Tomlinson built Frederick's parents' house on Beaumont Fee, based on a design by William Watkins.

The Hidden Necropolis

You may think the title of this article is a little dramatic, but the graveyard isn't visible from the road that passes it. Eastgate Cemetery is north of Langworthgate, next to the bowls club.

Joseph Ruston

One of the first graves we came across was that of Joseph Ruston. Most people in Lincoln
would know the name Ruston, He became a partner in the Lincoln firm of Burton & Proctor, Burton didn't approve of the direction that the company was taking and soon left, from this was born Ruston Proctor & Co.

But it wasn't Mr Ruston who interested me. At the foot of the cross are two plaques, the one on the left was badly weathered and had some letters missing but, using software on my computer, I was able to decipher it:

George Bennett married Marion Ruston in 1900. In the 1911 census they lived at North Place, Nettleham Road. They had four children the eldest, Robert Ruston Bennett, aged 9, was at Northdown Hill boarding school in Margate. Apart from four live-in servants they also had a Monthly Nurse, two nurses and an under nurse, all under the same roof. A monthly nurse would care for a mother and her baby, the youngest child was 4, so why so many nurses? Marion died in 1919 at age 53, so it may be her the nurses were caring for.

William Watkins and one of his sons are buried in the graveyard. William and his son, William Gregory, were architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They produced some of the finest buildings in Lincoln and were particularly noted for using terracotta decoration on their buildings. W G Watkins designed St Giles Church using some of the stonework from St Peter at Arches church.

What is most remarkable about the Watkins' family is their longevity:
William Watkins, senior, died in 1926 aged 91
William's wife, Kate Deveraux died in 1931 aged 90
William Gregory died in 1959 aged 90
W.G.'s wife Alice Mabel died in 1968 aged 95

What was their secret?

Louis William Smith was born in Grimsby in 1869 in the 1911 census he listed his occupation as managing director of Clarkes Crank & Forge Ltd. He lived at Holly Grove, South Park.

In 1928 he entered Parliament as MP for Sheffield Hallam, he was knighted on 7th July 1938 and died in March 1939. At the time of his death he was chairman of Clarke's Crank and Forge Ltd.

In the graveyard, there are also monuments to Scorers, Trollopes and Sewells. Unfortunately, there are many gravestones that have been ravaged by the east wind.

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Eastgate House

Eastgate House was built about 1750 for Sir Cecil Wray, the man who had the Roman east gate demolished in 1763 because it was partly in his garden!

Arthur Trollope, stamp distributor, a member of the Lincolnshire Trollope family lived here from about 1840 for 30 years

Robert Gardiner Hill, of the Lincoln Lunatic Asylum, used part of the house for private mental health treatment.

Lincolnshire Chronicle 30th December 1853

Septimus Lowe, the Lincoln Coroner, bought the house in about 1880. Michael Drury designed alterations and additions to the house. Tenders ranged in price from £2,134 to £3,666, the lowest tender was accepted.

Alfred Shuttleworth, the son of Joseph Shuttleworth bought the house in August 1888 and made several additions and improvements to Eastgate House: William Watkins designed additions in 1888, possibly the west wing; Otter and Broughton erected an engine house in 1890; Mortimer and Sons designed a billiard room in 1896.

The Dolphin*, one of the oldest inns in Lincoln, stood at the corner of Eastgate and Priorygate. Alfred Shuttleworth purchased it in about 1892 and had it demolished as it spoilt his view of the Cathedral from his home, Eastgate House, now the Lincoln Hotel. Although the demolition of the Dolphins caused much distress among the people of Lincoln at the time, it is obvious that the northeast view of the Cathedral was considerably improved. It also left room for the erection of Tennyson's statue in 1905.

Alfred Shuttleworth paid for the restoration and half-timbering of the 17th century building on the opposite side of Priorygate. It became known as "Shuttleworth's Rest" and "The Rest". The interior of the ground floor was fitted out with fixed benches so that those who had walked up the hill from lower Lincoln could have a rest.

It now houses the property department of Lincoln Cathedral.

There was a robbery at the house on 17th December 1909, Shuttleworth offered a £100 reward for the conviction of the culprits and recovery of his 27 snuff boxes, valued at over £1,000.

Eastgate House
from Northgate

Alfred Shuttleworth passed away in 1925. Alfred Shuttleworth's executors offered the house for sale in July 1926 with J D Wood & Co of London and J Peacock Rayner of Lincoln. The description included: "Four spacious reception rooms, billiard room, five principal bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, seven servants' bedrooms. Electric light, central heating, stabling, garage, outbuildings. Delightful pleasure gardens. Fruit and kitchen gardens, glasshouses, etc. in all about 4 1/2 acres.

Alfred Shuttleworth's pictures and art treasures were sold at Christie's in London. The first day's sale on 3rd February 1926 included old French and English snuff boxes, bonbonnieres, scent, seals, etc. On the Thursday Chippendale, Sheraton and other English furniture, Persian carpets and rugs. On the 5th February modern pictures and watercolours by many well-known English artists of birds landscapes and Cathedral cities.

Eastgate House became home to Thomas Maynard-Page (1854-1941), a Lincoln solicitor. Part of the house was The Eastgate Court Cafe, operated by "the Misses Green", the cafe was still in business in 1959.

Part of the house became an officer's club during World War 2. The Page family lived in the west wing adjoining East Bight.

Alfred Shuttleworth's west wing,
the only surviving part of Eastgate House.

The main part of the house was demolished in the early 1960s and the reinforced concrete Eastgate Hotel was constructed. The wing that Alfred Shuttleworth built was retained and a new section was built to join the two halves together. Trust Houses bought the hotel when it was completed.

Other Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Boultham Hall
The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Hartsholme Hall
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

Lincoln's Rarest Gem

The Grey or Franciscan Friars were founded by St Francis in 1210, arriving in England about 1224, and Lincoln in about 1230.

In 1237 land was given to the Greyfriars by William de Benningworth, subdean of Lincoln Cathedral and the Corporation gave land "adjoining the Guildhall". The priory covered an area bordered by Broadgate, the river, Free School Lane and spread almost to Silver Street.

The building now known as "Greyfriars" was the ambulatory with a chapel above.

In 1535 the Greyfriars built a water supply to feed their friary. Water was taken from a spring on a hill near the end of what is now Monks Road; from here it was carried by lead pipes to St Swithin's Square. Grey Friars conduit stood in the north west corner of the square.

Following the dissolution the city corporation took over the operation of the water supply, eventually extending it as far as St Peter at Gowts The priory was surrendered in 1538/9. The property was given to John Pope, who sold it to Justice Robert Monson. Monson established a free school in 1568 and in 1574 gave it to the Corporation in exchange for a forty years lease of the parsonage at Hanslope, Buckinghamshire.

In 1612 the undercroft became a House of Correction until the 1620s when the Jersey School, for the teaching of spinning and knitting of wool was established.

In 1833 the Mechanics’ Institute moved into the undercroft, adding a library and newspaper room to the first floor. The Mechanics Institute moved to new premises in 1862 when the Free School was extended into the undercroft. George Boole, a Lincoln man and the inventor of Boolean Algebra was a member of the Lincoln Mechanics Institute. The free School closed in 1900 and by 1905 the building was vacant and, following restoration under the supervision of William Watkins, it opened in 1907 as the City Museum. The first curator was Arthur Smith who remained in the post until 1935, when he retired. Greyfriars was the location of the museum until 2001 when it was moved to the Collection on Danes Terrace.

The building has been mostly unused since the museum moved to new premises. In 2006 it was estimated the cost of repairs to the building would exceed £100,000, rather than spending a reasonable amount of each years budget to improve the building little has been done apart from making the building water tight. City of Lincoln Council and Heritage Lincolnshire have spent the passed few years looking for uses for the building but so far nothing has been decided. It is an outrage that this unique Grade 1 listed building should be allowed to deteriorate.

Click here to see the Buildings at Risk entry

If you feel strongly, as I do, about this neglect please contact your local Lincoln councillor

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.