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 Lost Houses of Lincolnshire - Haverholme Priory

Haverholme is 4 1/2 miles north east of Sleaford. Referred to in Domesday Book as Holm, later becoming Hufreholme and then Hafreholm.

Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln offered a marshy island site near Sleaford to Abbot Gervase of Fountains Abbey in 1137. Buildings were erected by 1139 and a band of Cistercian monks were sent from Fountains to take possession. The monks were unhappy with the site and Bishop Alexander offered them land in the north of the county, where Louth Park Abbey was built.

Alexander then offered Haverholme to Gilbert of Sempringham. Gilbert founded the only English religious order and was unique in accepting men and women into the same houses albeit in separate accommodation.

The number of nuns at Sempringham was increasing and the buildings at Haverholme were ready for occupation. The priory at Haverholme was dedicated to St Mary. St. Gilbert sent nuns, lay sisters and lay brothers to Haverholme, but at first they suffered severely from poverty, Simon Tuchet granted the priory lands in nearby Ashby in 1140. Later benefactors included Henry II, Roger Mowbray and Roger de Lacey.

In 1164 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, "from his angry sovereign in fear of his life, he took refuge in the hermitage belonging to Haverholme Priory, on the edge of the fen, under the guidance of a monk who knew the country."

Gilbert had limited the numbers in the house to 100 nuns and lay sisters, and 50 canons and lay brothers. At the Dissolution the members of the Priory had dwindled down to a small number.

The deed of surrender is dated September 5th, 1539, and by it William Hall, the Prior, and six canons gave up the Priory and all the estates belonging to the Priory, and in return, together with the prioress and seven nuns, received pensions for life varying from £4 to £2 per annum.

The Priory was granted to Edward Lord Clinton, who, by the King's licence, granted half the manor to Robert Carre in 1544, and the other half to William Thorold. The property passed through several owners until it was bought by Sir Samuel Gordon, 1st Baronet in 1763. The property passed, on his death, to Sir Jenison William Gordon, 2nd Baronet. In 1788 Sir Jenison improved and enlarged the building.

The Priory, south and east aspects c. 1800

Sir Jenison died in 1831 and bequeathed the Priory to George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham. Henry Edward Kendall was commissioned to redesign the Priory, the work being completed in 1835. A resemblance to Haverholme Priory can be seen in Carre's Hospital at Sleaford, another of Kendall's designs.

Henry Stormont Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl, was the last owner of the Priory. After World War I, in common with many landed families, the 13th Earl decided to put the Haverholme Priory Estate up for auction.

South aspect c 1925

East end of south aspect and Orangery

The auctioneers were the well-known local firm of Earl and Lawrence and took place on Monday, 9th August 1926 at the Corn Exchange, Sleaford. The Priory sold for £5,400 to a Mr Caley of Manchester who, after the departure of the Finch-Hatton's by 11th October, would demolish the building. A sad end to a fine country house.

There is a story that circulates in the local Sleaford area that the Priory was bought by an American heiress who intended to rebuild it in the United States. The story goes on, she was killed in a train crash, the stone was stored at Liverpool docks and was eventually used to repair dock walls. Sorry to dispel the illusion, it's not true.


Henry S Finch-Hatton's second son was Denys Finch-Hatton, Denys was a white game hunter in East Africa and was killed in a flying accident in 1931. He was the subject of the film "Out of Africa", starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.

St Andrew's Church, Calceby.

In my pre-driving days, I used to travel, with my parents at weekends in the summer, from Lincoln to Mablethorpe via Belchford and Alford. On the crest of a hillock at the side of the Bluestone Heath Road are some ruins. Despite asking a local and checking OS maps, we could not find out what it was.

Remains of St Andrew's Church, Calceby

Fast forward more years than I care to remember, I now know it's the remains of St Andrew's church, Calceby.  

Calceby existed prior to the Norman conquest. It was one of 84 villages in Lincolnshire belonging to Earl Harold who, for a few months in 1066, was King Harold II of England. King William granted the village of Calceby to Earl Hugh of Chester. 'Calceby' is Old Scandinavian: 'Kalfr's village'

At Domesday, Calceby was a thriving village totalling 151 villagers, extensive ploughlands, 1000 acres of meadow and 80 acres of woodland. The village was probably near its peak in the 11th century and suffered a long slow decline. In 1377 60 villagers paid poll tax and 18 families were recorded in 1563. By 1961 the population was just 32.

Aerial Map of Calceby, showing outlines
of various features (Bing)

There are many reasons why a village was abandoned, a plague outbreak is just one. A plague pit was discovered during the widening of Bluestone Heath Road near the village in 1952, possibly dating from the "Great Pestilence" of the 14th century; climate change meant years of poor harvests when many people would leave. But the main reason Calceby and about 100 other villages in the Wolds were destroyed was due to landowners changing from arable to more profitable sheep rearing, therefore fewer people were needed on the land so they moved to the larger centres of population, Alford, Horncastle and Spilsby. A total of 20 farms were abandoned by landowners during the 17th century. The open fields were enclosed by Sir Drayner Massingberd (1615-1689) beginning in November 1672

The last baptism at St Andrew's church was in 1724. The last vicar of St Andrew's, William Pennington, was instituted in 1724. Calceby was united with South Ormsby and Kelsby in 1750. By this time the church was in serious disrepair and in 1756 much of it was demolished and sold to the South Ormsby estate. 

The church of St Leonard, South Ormsby was restored in 1871-2 by James Fowler of Louth. The 12th century round arched doorway in the west wall is said to be from Calceby.

Click link to view side by side image of OS map and LiDAR 

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The Lost Houses of Lincolnshire - Sudbrook Holme

Sudbrook Holm c. 1800

Sudbrooke Holm was probably one of the largest and most impressive country houses near Lincoln.  The house stood near a lake in 200 acres of parkland 5 miles north-east of Lincoln.  Built by Richard Ellison, (1721-1792) in 1780, his son Richard Ellison. (1754-1827) later enlarged the house.

Richard Ellison bought a 999-year lease on the Fossdyke Navigation in 1741 from Lincoln Corporation.  The canal had been neglected for many years, Richard improved the canal and soon barges were able to carry goods to and from Lincoln.  

In 1775 Ellison, Senior formed a partnership with Abel Smith and John Brown to open Lincoln’s first bank, Smith, Ellison and Brown, each partner held equal shares;  Abel Smith was a grandson of Thomas Smith who opened the country’s first provincial bank in Nottingham in 1658.

Richard Ellison the younger was one of the members of parliament for Lincoln from 1796 to 1812.

Sudbrook Park early 20th century

Large amounts of money were spent in furnishing the interior of the house with many art treasures. It was famous for its library of bookcases made to the designs of the acclaimed eighteenth-century architect, Robert Adam. The house had twenty-eight main bedrooms; the principal rooms were decorated in the Adam style with many beautiful ceilings. Plant supplying acetylene gas was used to light and heat the house and an excellent supply of water was drawn from artesian wells.  

The gardens were famous and highly regarded.

Coningsby Charles Sibthorp, J.P. purchased the house and park in 1877, he lived there for over 30 years.

Two new lodges and wrought-iron gates were erected in 1910, the gates were made by Frederick Coldron and Son, ecclesiastical and artistic iron workers and blacksmiths of Brant Broughton. The gates had bells fitted to attract the attention of the lodge keepers. The gates fitted today are recent replacements as the original gates were sold at auction for £95.

By 1911 Coningsby Sibthorp was living at the Dower House at Canwick, but there were still 12 servants living-in at Sudbrook Holme, and 11 servants living-in at Canwick. Coningsby’s wife, Mary, died in 1902 and was possibly the reason he “downsized”.  

Until the mid-nineteenth century most men and women in Lincolnshire were employed in agriculture or worked in service, but the coming of industrialisation meant that owners of large houses were finding it more difficult to employ servants at economical wages.  This situation was exacerbated by the First World War when many women gained new skills working for the war effort.  

Sudbrooke Holme in 1919 and the 1920 Sale Notice

The house and grounds were auctioned at the Lincoln Corn Exchange on Thursday 2nd October 1919.   Included in the sale were several farms 'with most superior houses', two gentlemen's smaller residences, small holdings and accommodation land, consisting of 1938.736 acres. The estate sold for  £50,000, but the house was withdrawn at £15,000.  

Ernest Terah Hooley, the millionaire financier and fraudster purchased the house sometime before 1926; it was announced on 10th January 1926 that Lincoln Corporation had an option to purchase from Hooley. The option lapsed on 5th February 1926.

The house was demolished in 1928, the interiors were carefully removed and fetched much more that the £15,000 that was reached at auction. Today the park and lake are overgrown, modern homes mix with the older estate houses.

Coningsby Charles Sibthorp died in 1932, the last male member of the ancient family that dated back to Saxon times.

It has been suggested that Sibthorp sold the estate due to some loss of fortune, but he left £93,500 in his will which today would be worth around £15,000,000.

Coningsby Charles Sibthorp's great grandmother was Susannah, daughter of Richard Ellison who comissioned the building of Sudbrook Holme

The Temple on the Heath

I remember when I first knew about the Temple Bruer Preceptory, I was studying my Dad's tatty 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

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Cold Bath House

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

Lincoln's 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.