Pottergate & Priory Gate in Lincoln

 

Pottergate Arch

Continuing up Lindum Road, having had a good look at the building stones in the boundary wall on Lindum Terrace, I next encountered the Grade I Listed Pottergate Arch. This mid C14 south-east gateway forms the remains of a high wall, which was built to enclose Lincoln Cathedral and the associated properties of the Dean and Chapter.

 

The west elevation of Pottergate Arch

Looking at the front elevation, some of the original Lincoln stone ashlar can still be seen, but it is the restoration in Ancaster stone, with its greyish tones, that dominates the masonry – especially the castellated parapets and other masonry, including lancet windows, to the upper section.

 

The north elevation of Pottergate Arch

The Historic England listing refers to a restoration in 1884, which presumably relates to the opening of the road on its west side, and it is very interesting to see that its current form is very different to that depicted by the artist Peter de Wint, in his painting of 1827.

 

A remnant of the wall to the cathedral close

Before heading up Pottergate, a large section of stone wall to the north-west of Pottergate Lodge caught my eye, which may be a remnant of the wall to the cathedral close. Forming the bulk of the east wall of the adjacent L-shaped brick building, it comprises very large squared blocks of ferruginous limestone, which alternate with much thinner courses of squared rubble masonry.

 

No.2 Pottergate

No.2 Pottergate, with its Lincoln stone frontage, dates to the C16 and was extensively remodelled in the C18, with further raising of the front elevation in the early C19. The latter work can be quite easily distinguished by the thinner courses of masonry, compared to the ashlar that constitutes most of the masonry, and this pattern is also evident in the lowermost courses.

 

No.4 Pottergate

A short distance further up the road, No.4 Pottergate exhibits architectural elements that date back to the C14 and C15, including the coursed rubble masonry to the lower part of the elevation and the infilled arch, which has carved headstops. The oriel window is C16 and various alterations and additions continued from the C17 to the C19.

 

Details of No.4 Pottergate

St. Mary’s School, whose mediaeval fabric is hidden by its C18 frontage, was being scaffolded at the time of my visit. Next door is another extensively remodelled mediaeval house – Graveley Place on Minster Yard – where the blocked early C14 doorway is set in coursed rubble masonry, with a C17 character imposed on the façade by the mullioned windows, which are all restored. 

 

Graveley Place

The adjoining Chancery has C13 origins, with additions through successive centuries to the late C17, with further alterations in the C18 and C19. The gabled brick built Pottergate elevation dates to the late C15, with the canted oriel window and dressings being completely restored with Ancaster stone. 

 

The Chancery

Moving on to the adjoining Choristers' House, built in 1661, the combination of Lincoln stone and red brick again produces a striking visual effect, with the latter being used to raise the steep gables and for the parapet, beneath which a dog toothed pattern is used for decorative effect.

 

The Choristers' House

I have been to several cathedral cities, where the close is full of historic buildings, but I can’t recall seeing a street where so many attractive buildings with different architectural styles are all found next to each other.

 

Priory Gate

At the end of Minster Yard, I finished this leg of my exploration of Lincoln’s historic buildings at Priory Gate, which was built in 1816 with materials reused when the original gateway, 50 metres further to the north, was demolished.

 

A grotesque on Priory Gate

A Walk Up Lindum Road in Lincoln

 

A detail of a boundary wall on Lindum Terrace

At the start of my day out in Lincoln, from the church of St. Mary-le-Wigford until I reached the Stonebow, I had been walking around a relatively flat part of the city, which is underlain by Quaternary river terrace deposits and alluvium that covers the valley of the River Witham.

 

A geological map of Lincoln city centre

Although overlain by man-made deposits of great interest to the archaeologist and current buildings, the underlying bedrock - the Charmouth Mudstone Formation – emerges from beneath these superficial Quaternary deposits and forms the rising ground upon which Broadgate is laid.

 

The Whitby Mudstone Formation

Just beyond the junction with Monks Road, the angle of slope steeply rises to form the escarpment, with the appearance of the overlying Whitby Mudstone Formation, the Northampton Sand Formation and finally the Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, which forms a hard resistant cap to the softer sediments beneath it.

 

A section from the 1973 British Geological Survey map

Walking up Lindum Road, which runs diagonally up the escarpment, Lincoln Cathedral towered above me to the north and, in places where there were no buildings or trees, I was able to get clear views of the escarpment to the south at Canwick Hill.

 

The limestone escarpment at Canwick Hill

With the Usher Gallery and The Collection being closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, although various interesting features can be seen in the surrounding gardens, including a section of Roman wall, I continued up the hill – stopping only to photograph the Lincolnshire College of Art and Design, which has fine examples of decorative brickwork and terracotta.

 

The Lincolnshire College of Art and Design

 

Carrying on up past various listed buildings on the north side of Lindum Road, a stretch of boundary walling on the corner with Lindum Terrace caught my eye, where some of the colours in the stonework were obviously different to the Lincoln stone used in the wall on the south side.

 

A boundary wall on Lindum Terrace

The bulk of the stone is yellowish Lincoln stone, complete with its typical very irregular pattern of fracture, with some similar limestone that contains pale blue/grey colour variation. I had seen both before during my time spent living in Lincoln, however, the wall also contains many blocks of blue/grey limestone with a sharp transition to a rusty orange colour, which I had never seen before.

 

A detail of fractures within Lincoln stone

 

Having since undertaken some desktop research, these would appear to be examples of the basal part of the Lincolnshire Limestone known as the 'Blue beds', composed of very sandy ferruginous limestone that is overlain by a well bedded oolitic limestone known as the 'Nerinea beds' – based on the abundance of this genus of gastropod.

 

A detail of ferruginous limestone

This horizon, known as the 'Silver beds' in Lincoln, is at a lower level than the Lincolnshire Limestone found at Ancaster and further south at Clipsham, Ketton and Weldon, which are uniform, thickly bedded and excellent building stones.

 

Surface lamination on a block of blue hearted limestone

Looking closely, some of the blocks are covered in black, clinker like deposits that are often seen in areas subjected to very high levels of sooty atmospheric pollution. These encrustations can be rich in sulphurous compounds that react with the limestone to produce calcium sulphate, which crystallises in the pores and results in the blistering of the stone and loss of detail.

 

Encrusted stone with a blistered surface

A Walk Up Broadgate in Lincoln

 

A view of Lincoln Cathedral from Broadgate

Leaving the Stonebow, Lincoln High Street continues to follow the route of Ermine Street and passes into the appropriately named Steep Hill – the 4th steepest hill in England with a gradient of 16.12 degrees - before reaching the Cathedral Quarter.

 

A view of St. Swithin's church from Saltergate

Having walked up and down Steep Hill enough times to know how tough this route is on the knees, with no time to peruse the second hand bookshops halfway up while taking a rest, on this occasion I headed east along Saltergate and past St. Swithin’s church to Broadgate.

 

A view of St. Swithin's church from Broadgate

 

This large Grade II* Listed Victorian church, built 1869-1887 in three phrases by James Fowler of Louth, is described by Pevsner as "without doubt his most important church". When living in Lincoln for the second time in 1994 and improving my photographic skills by learning how to use colour transparency film, I went inside it to photograph the Roman altar stone.

 

A foundation stone at St. Swithin's church

With the church being locked due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, I only stopped to note that it is built in Ancaster stone and take a few photos and then had a quick look at the adjacent Grade I Listed Greyfriars, which is the oldest friary building in England and dates back to the C13.

 

A view of Greyfriars from Broadgate

 

The community was expelled in 1538 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and it has been used for many purposes since, including the City and County Museum until this was transferred to The Collection in 2005.

The west elevation of Greyfriars

The building seen today is the remains of the infirmary, dating to c.1230 and it is built in yellowish Lincoln stone, which has developed a light brown patina and is very dirty in places.

 

The south elevation of Greyfriars

 

On its south side, the buttresses and windows were all added in the C19, with further restoration by William Watkins, when the building was restored and converted into a museum in 1907.

 

A C19 window and mediaeval window jambs

I didn’t examine the stonework in detail, but it is interesting to see that the stone used for the C19 windows is very similar, in terms of colour and texture, to the original masonry and, although I don’t know their source, it is quite possible that they came from the same quarry.

 

A view up Broadgate

Crossing over to the east side of Broadgate, from which the best views of Lincoln Cathedral can be obtained, I continued up the hill before stopping to photograph the former Drill Hall, which dates to 1890. Although a red brick building, its castle like design and the Ancaster stone dressings and carved details are quite noteworthy.

 

The former Drill Hall

 

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

Lincoln High Street - Part 2

 

Vermiculated rustication on HSBC bank

Leaving St. Benedict’s Square to continue my day out in Lincoln, my next stop was the Grade I Listed High Bridge, where there has been a crossing of the River Witham at least since the Roman occupation in the 1st century AD.

High Bridge viewed from the east.

The first stone bridge, dating to c.1160, has been extended and altered several times, with the black and white timber framed building that occupies its west side being built in 1540. The stone vaulting on the underside of this bridge is only accessible by boat, with the name Glory Hole given to this narrow section of the waterway by boaters.

 

The passage to the Glory Hole on High Bridge

On this occasion, I was interested in the east side of the bridge, which was added in 1763 when a C13 chapel on the bridge was removed. Built in gritty Upper Carboniferous sandstone, with a lattice like parapet, the corner piers are decorated with a very unusual style of rustication.

 

A rusticated pier on High Bridge

Reaching the junction with Guildhall Street, the ground floor of  the Grade II Listed HSBC bank provides an excellent example of the use of the sandy variety of the Permian Cadeby Formation known as Red Mansfield stone.

 

The HSBC bank

Built in 1848, the ground floor was remodelled in 1883 for the Lincoln & Lindsey Bank and the vermiculated rustication used here is the finest that I have seen during my exploration of historic buildings during the past 40 years.

 

A detail of the plinth at the HSBC bank

 

Together with White Mansfield stone, which I once spent a few months cutting along with Ancaster stone, Red Mansfield was once very popular with Victorian architects – with this stone being sent to London, Leeds, Dublin and many other cities in the British Isles.

 

Permian sandstone used after removal of a nigh safe

Both of these stones are no longer available, with no good matching alternatives available from the UK, which presents a potential problem for restoration. The stone here is still in very good condition and has not needed repair; however, where an old night safe has been removed on the north elevation, it can be seen that the bright red Permian desert sandstone used for infilling the void has quite a different colour and texture.

 

Fine stone carving in Ancaster stone

On the corner opposite the HSBC bank, an unlisted building, which is built in red brick with Ancaster stone dressings, has a two storey oriel window that is very finely carved with a crest, foliage, bunches of grapes and birds.

 

A detail of fine stone carving in Ancaster stone