The Stonebow in Lincoln

 

The approach to the Stonebow in Lincoln

When planning my day out to Lincoln in September 2020, I knew that I would have my work cut out to visit the historic buildings on my itinerary - even to just photograph their exteriors. In an ideal world, I would spend a long weekend here but, with the COVID-19 Pandemic limiting the places that were open to the public and having a minimal budget, this will have to wait until another day.

 

The south elevation of the Stonebow

In less than an hour after arriving at Lincoln station, I had already seen the churches of St. Mary-le-Wigford and St. Benedict, St. Mary’s Conduit and various other historic buildings on High Street and my next stop was the Grade I Listed Stonebow, where the Guildhall occupies the upper floor.

 

A view east along the south elevation

 

The first gateway on the site was completed c. 211 AD, in the south wall of the Roman Lindum Colonia, where Ermine Street – the road from London to York – entered the city. After the Viking invasion of England in the late C8, it became known as the Stonebow, derived from the Danish word stennibogi, which means stone arch.

 

A view west along the south elevation

The structure, which archaeological evidence during C19 alterations to the east end suggest it had developed as a barbican, had become unsound by the late C14 and was demolished; however, due to lack of funds available for reconstruction, the present building was only completed around 1520.

Staues of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel

Since the C16, it has been altered several times, with further passageways and an arcade to the west side being added during the 1885-1887 restoration by J.L. Pearson. Although some have been restored, the south elevation has some fine stone carvings, with statues of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel occupying niches on either side of the arch.

 

Various grotesques beneath the statue niches

Beneath the statue niches, there are other fine carvings of human heads, a winged beast and other mythical creatures and, further to the east, the hood moulds above the flat four centre arched windows have carved headstops.

 

Various headstops

The plain north side of the Stonebow has been heavily restored, with large sections at its west and east ends being completely refaced. I didn’t spend any time closely examining the stonework, but it lacks the yellowish colour of the Lincoln limestone, which develops quite a light brown patina, and is Ancaster stone – as seen in repairs and restored window dressings on the south elevation.

 

The north elevation of the Stonebow

Perhaps due to the lack of solid bedrock and inadequate foundations, the structure shows distinct size of settlement, with vertical elements being out of plumb and horizontal sections not being level. In an attempt to add structural stability, tie rods with ornamental anchor plates have been used in several places.

 

A plaque recording the restoration of 1887

Also, the Lincoln stone exhibits its unusual pattern of fracturing and weathering, with the surfaces of the stone having detached in several places. The building has been cleaned and repaired several times, with particular mention given to those that took place in 1930 and 1971, but there are several instances of the use of sand and cement for large areas of repair – a practice that does not meet with modern building conservation standards.

 

A detail of the north elevation