The Asylum and the Duelling Doctor

The need for a lunatic asylum in Lincoln had been discussed since the opening of the County Hospital, one of the main promoters of this was Dr Willis of Greatford, the man who treated George III for his madness.  Money for the Asylum was raised through public subscription, some subscribers gave as much as £100 (Worth £9,728.58 today).

 The Lincoln Lunatic Asylum is a Greek revival building designed by Richard Ingleman (1777-1838). Building commenced in 1819 and the Asylum opened for patients on 6th April 1820. It was Britain's first purpose-built Lunatic Asylum and became the first asylum in the country to achieve total abolition of mechanical restraint in 1837.

The buildings stand on grounds of 8 acres, west of Lincoln Castle, which was deliberately planted with trees to shield the patients from "poisonous miasmas" which came from the industrialised parts of Lincoln. 

The Asylum, led by Dr Edward Parker Charlesworth (see below) pioneered new ways of treating mental illness, without the use of restraint and barbaric methods to control patients.
One of the early Medical Superindents was Robert Gardiner Hill, who was a leading doctor in the field of mental illness.

Following the opening of the County Lunatic Asylum at Bracebridge Heath in 1852, there was an increasing emphasis on fee-paying patients. The Asylum was re-named as The Lawn Hospital for the Insane in 1885. 

New kitchens, waiting rooms and offices were built in 1893, designed by W Scorer of Lincoln.
Nurses Hostel was built in 1938 and is now the Charlotte House Hotel
​
The Hospital was taken over by the National Health Service in 1948 and was finally closed in 1985. The City of Lincoln Council purchased the Lawn in 1986 for £425,000, following extensive refurbishment the complex opened in 1990 as catering and events venue. 

 R W Stokes Ltd purchased the buildings only for £1,000,000 in 2015 for their headquarters and barista training.  

Edward Parker Charlesworth

Edward Parker Charlesworth was born in 1783 in the village of Ossington, Nottinghamshire, the son of John Charlesworth, the local rector. After undergoing initial training at Horncastle under Dr E. Harrison, he studied at Edinburgh University where he graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1807.

In 1805 he married Susannah Rockcliffe, daughter of Dr Rockcliffe of Horncastle.

Dr Charlesworth acquired a large practice in Lincoln and in 1808 he was appointed physician to Lincoln County Hospital, which was then on Michaelgate.

​The Lincoln Lunatic Asylum – a private hospital for the mentally ill –  Dr Charlesworth was appointed as visiting physician.

​His methods were revolutionary – and unpopular – in his work to change the restraint methods employed by medical staff in the majority of mental hospitals. His efforts were soon recognised and an order banning hospital attendants from using restraint or violence was made.

In 1824 he became involved in an argument with Charles Sibthorp of Canwick Hall. Angry words were exchanged at a turnpike meeting which culminated in a duel being fought between the two men. The duel took place on 9th August 1824 in a secluded place between the Carholme and the Burton Plantation. Although shots were fired both men missed and honour was satisfied.

Dr Charlesworth died of paralysis on 21st February 1853 and was buried in St Margaret’s Churchyard, Lincoln.

A statue by Thomas Milnes (1813-1888) was erected in his honour in the grounds of The Lawn and unveiled on 12th July 1854

Robert Gardiner Hill

Robert Gardiner Hill was born in Louth, Lincolnshire in 1811 and was educated at Guy’s and St.Thomas’ Hospitals and qualified as a M.R.C.S. (Member of the Royal College of Surgeons) and a L.S.A. (Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries) in 1834. In the same year he was appointed house surgeon to the General Dispensary at Lincoln, in 1835 he was elected Medical Superintendant at the Lincoln Lunatic Asylum.

"After he left Lincoln Asylum in 1841 Robert Gardiner Hill went into general practice in Lincoln with another doctor - Harvey - but after a few years started a private mental hospital in Lincoln (note: Eastgate House). ​

"Apparently he was extremely popular in the town for his good work and in 1851 they made him mayor ..... Robert Gardiner Hill then took a private home at Brentford but after two or three years bought Shillingthorpe Hall near Lincoln to do the same type of work on his own.

"He then went back to London and took over Earls Court House where he prospered and died." (Typed note in Dr Harold Gardiner-Hill's Family Book)

He married Charlotte Brown in Lincoln in 1841. He was Mayor of Lincoln in 1853.
His ‘non-restraint’ method, which was ‘a procedure with momentous results to the insane’, led to the widespread practice of this principle in England.
He died of a stroke at his home, Earls Court House, Old Brompton, London, in 1878.

Sources: Obituary: British Medical Journal

Horse Racing at the Carholme

Horse Racing in Lincoln has a long history.

The first horse racing in the area is thought to have taken place at Temple Bruer: The Knights Templars, seeking a break from jousting and tournaments, would wager on the results of races held among themselves. After the dissolution of the Order farmworkers would hold races at the end of harvest.

The first recorded race was on 12th February 1597, when "the mayor's charges for a scaffold at the horse race" were approved. This must have been a wooden framed tiered stand so that spectators would have a good view of the race.

In April 1617 King James stayed in Lincoln for a few days:

" On Thursday (3rd April) thear was a great horse race on the Heath for a cupp, when his Majestie was present, and stood on a scaffold the Citie had caused to be set upp, and withall caused the race a quarter of a mile long to be raled and corded with rope and hoopes on both sides, whearby the people were kept out, and the horses that rouned were seen faire."

George 1 also visited Lincoln races in 1716, putting up £100 guineas in prize money himself.

Horse racing moved to Waddington Heath, a four mile long course, and remained there until 1770. It is believed that horse racing then continued near Dunholme for the next 20 years

In 1793 horse racing moved to the Carholme on the West Common at the edge of Lincoln. Most of the horses entered were local to the area until in 1806, when a Gold Cup of 115 Guineas was instituted.

At first a temporary wooden shed was erected for the important visitors at the meeting. In 1826 The Grandstand was erected by the Corporation.

The provision of the grandstand and improvements to the course and turf was at a cost of £7,000; a large sum of money in 1826. The improvements meant that more people could enjoy the spectacle of horse racing on the Carholme.

But in 1831 Lincoln was still regarded as an unimportant racing venue. The New Sporting Magazine of that year says, "The utter insignificance of these races would not have entitled them to a place in our monthly notices but for the extraordinary scene that occurred in the third day.":

700 or 800 "thimblemen"* including many dishonest characters moved from race meeting to race meeting to cheat people out of their winnings, turned up at the Lincoln meeting.

They were very successful in the first two days, but on the third day the racegoers attacked them with clubs and sticks. At first the thimblemen held their own; but a large number of horsemen arrived and routed them. Then the local people destroyed their stalls and caravans.

The royal purse of One Hundred Sovereigns, given to several Towns in England, to be run for mares only, in order to improve the breed of blood horses, and the ' Gold Cup ' or Subscription Plate of One Hundred Pounds. Many famous horses ran at the Carholme course in the early 19th century, among them:
Eclipse, Redshank, Carnaby, Volage, Bessy Bedlam, Bullet, Ballad Singer, Fleur-de-lis, Laurel, Lucy, Mullatto, Fortitude, Briuda, Lottery, Gallopade, Varnish, Marie, La Fille Mai Garde, Nancy.

The 1826 Grandstand

The winning of the Lincoln Gold Cup by Bessy Bedlam was celebrated by the naming of a public house at 33 Steep Hill in her honour. By 1857 it was re-named Fox & Hounds.

Jumps were added to the course in 1843 but were not a popular addition to the racing.

The Lincolnshire Handicap was first run in 1849, was won in that year by Media, a filly belonging to Lord Exeter; and in 1874 the race was won by the famous Fred Archer, then only a boy, on a horse called Tomahawk. Gradually Lincoln became more popular, and the Spring Meeting in particular assumed the importance to racing it retained until the closure. A second, larger grandstand was erected in 1897, designed W Mortimer, a well respected local architect, and built by William Wright. At the Spring Meeting in 1900the starting-gate was first used in a race for 2-year-old fillies, a feature of racing in which Lincoln can claim to be a pioneer.

The spring meeting, held in March, was the opening meeting of the flat racing calendar.

The winners of the Lincolnshire Handicap from 1926 to 1937 were, in chronological order:

King of Clubs (1926), Priory Park (1927), Dark Warrior (1928), Elton (1929), Leonidas (1930), Knight Error (1931), Jerome Fandor (1932), Dorigen (1933), Play On (1934), Flamenco (1935), Over Coat (1936), Marmaduke Jinks (1937) -     

Click on "Flamenco" to see the horse win the 1935 Lincolnshire Handicap.

The New Stand in 1897

Racing moved to Pontefract from 1942 to 1945 and never really recovered after World War II.
​
In 1964 the Horse Race Betting Levy Board announced they would not support the course after 1966. A meeting of the City Council was held 21st July 1964 in the Guildhall where it was decided that horse racing at the Carholme would cease immediately, therefore the last race was held on 18th March 1964, ending a tradition of almost 200 years of racing on the Carholme.

The 1826 grandstand was demolished in 1966.

The 1948 Lincolnshire Handicap had the largest number of runners - a total of 58!

Lincoln Racecourse Regeneration Company was formed in 2010 to bring racing back to Lincoln but it was opposed by the City Council and many West End residents, so the course is destined to remain unused for the foreseeable future.

*The word "thimbleman" has passed into obscurity but this is the best definition I have found:
"thimblerigger: one who practises the trick of thimblerig; a low trickster or sharper. Also thimbleman."
A thimbleman may also "nobble" horses.

The Legend of the Head in the Wall

 If you walk Along Lincoln's Eastgate from Bailgate towards Langworthgate you will come across a high stone wall on the north side of the Cathedral.  Look up and you will see a stone head sticking out of the wall.

The "Legend of the Head in the Wall" is not very well known, even to the people of Lincoln.  If you go on the "Lincoln Ghost Walk" you will be told that the Dean of Lincoln had it placed there to remind those in holy orders that they must be temperate in their drinking habits.

The version I prefer is the one told me by my father many years ago:

"The husband had gone out for a drink at the White Horse Inn, across the road, (where the restaurant is now).  The wife became anxious when it was time for bed and he hadn't arrived home, so she opened the sash window and looked out.  While she had her head out of the window the sash failed and the window came crashing down and broke her neck.  The husband arrived home much later to find the lifeless body of his wife through the window."

The head was carved and placed in the wall as a memorial to the unfortunate lady.

In my view the logical explanation for the head is that it came from the Cathedral when Cromwell's men decapitated many of the statues and some jolly fellow thought that it would be a wheeze to put it in the wall!

This and other stories about Lincoln can be read in: 

It's About Lincoln: Snippets of History

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 Crooked House and the Harlequin

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 no 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 C18, C19 and C20 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 right, a 2-light sliding sash. Above, to the right, a C20 casement. South gable has a C20 door to left and a C20 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

Walk on to Steep Hill and you will see another old half-timbered building:

The Harlequin Inn (also 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 over 50 years until it closed a few years ago.

Other Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Boultham Hall
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

Grand House Built on the Sale of Drugs

Lincoln Companies - James Dawson & Son Ltd.

James Dawson was born in Welton near Lincoln in 1836. He moved to Sheffield in the mid-1850s and was making boots and shoes, employing 4 men. James married Mary Skelton at St George's, Sheffield in 1858. By 1868 he was back in Lincoln selling boots and shoes at 15 Sincil Street. 

1880 he recognised the need for leather belts for all the machinery that was being manufactured in Lincoln and other places in the UK. He formed a company with Walter, his son, and William Posnett, the belting works opened at Unity Square in the same year. The company grew rapidly.  In 1881 a Dawson belt was shown at the Lincolnshire Show 2ft 4in (0.71 metres) by 60 ft (18.3 metres), weighing 3 cwt (152 Kg)

Dawsons gained a "First Order of Merit" in 1887 at the Adelaide Jubilee Exhibition for Leather machine belting, over the years there were many other awards for their belting. The Belting works moved from Unity Square to New Boultham about 1890.

Posnett left the company in 1892 and the company was incorporated as a private limited company on 10th March 1896 with a capital of £70,000 in £10 shares, becoming James Dawson & Son Ltd.

The Lincona V belt for motorcycles was introduced in 1902 and in 1908 Balata belting was introduced using the sap from the South American Balata tree.  James, the son of the founder, invented the Balata rubber process.

Walter left the company and became a farmer, and another son, George, became managing director.  James Dawson senior retire in 1902 and died on 24th April 1912, Sadly George died in March 1912. Following the deaths of his father and brother, James became managing director, he was chairman of the company from 1922.  James, his son and a grandson of the founder, became managing director.

Dawsons had large contracts during World War One for infantry equipment and other war material.

The Lincona laminated V belt was introduced in 1920 for use with industrial machinery. V Rubber ropes were made available from 1931 as a modern version of the Balata belt.  The Speedona V transmission rope was added to the range of products in 1934 for use with centre drives.

Dawsons expanded the size of their factory with the purchase of the Poppleton's sweet factory from the company's receivers in July 1936  

James Dawson (born 1872) died at Sutton on Sea on 13th October 1936, his home was Welbourn Manor.  He left £81,852.

In 1978 Dawson's became part of Fenner plc and are at the forefront of hose and ducting manufacture with manufacturing facilities in the UK and China. On 31st May 2018 the Fenner Group became part of Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin Sca the owners of the Michelin Tyre Company.

Dawsons have always been a major employer in Lincoln and today are Lincoln's second-largest employer. Of all the manufacturing companies established in Lincoln in the 19th century, Dawson's is the only one that retains its original name.

Click here to read about Poppleton's confectionery factory.

More Lincoln Companies:

Lincoln Companies - Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co.
Lincoln Companies - Clayton & Shuttleworth
Lincoln Companies - H Newsum & Sons Ltd
Lincoln Companies - W Rainforth & Sons
Lincoln Companies - James Dawson & Son Ltd.
Lincoln Companies - Penney & Porter Ltd

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Sibthorp House

Sibthorp House was located on the High Street just north of the present-day magistrates' court.  Built during the 16th century, the single-storey facade was replaced in the Queen Anne Style in the early 18th century for John Sibthorpe, M.P.  Sibthorpe had planned to add an upper storey but died in 1716 before the work could be carried out.  His widow, Mary Sibthorp, stopped the building and soon afterwards bought Canwick Hall.

Her story was a sad one, in 1726 she lost her son Gervase, aged only 16 and the next year Mary's eldest son, John, aged 22, who, with their parents, were buried in the family vault of St Mark’s church. 

The lower rooms were large well-proportioned apartments but the upper rooms were garrets opening into one another and quite out of keeping with the lower rooms of the house.  The house incorporated a very early mansion of which we know nothing, probably dating from the 14th century.  In the lower part of the back of the house were Gothic doorways and at right angles with it another part of the ancient building.

For many years it was the Inland Revenue tax office, the LNER locomotive control depot and later British Railways Eastern Region Offices.

In 1938 a Rhesus Monkey named Jacko travelling by rail from Liverpool to Grantham escaped from a crate and climbed onto the roof Sibthorp House, removed tiles and entered the roof space.  He was eventually recaptured by using another monkey to entice him into a room into Sibthorp House.

Sibthorp House was demolished in 1962 and modern shops and offices were built on the site, also named Sibthorp House.

Other Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Boultham Hall
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 - Eastcliffe House

The Old House on Corporation Street

The Crooked House and the Harlequin

Grand House Built on the Sale of Drugs