A large group of SLHA members gathered at Bishop Grosseteste University on Saturday 20 April to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of SLHA.

INTRODUCTION and OVERVIEW

Andrew Walker, Chair of SLHA, gave an introductory talk on the theme of ‘Reflections & Looking to the Future'.

He began with an overview of the events of 1974, international, national and local, which included the Flixborough disaster and the unpopular creation of Humberside.

Andrew (photographed below) then explained the evolution of SLHA with a ‘family tree’ going back to 1843 and the acquisition of Jews’ Court in 1932 which became the society’s headquarters in 1988.

SLHA has published a quarterly magazine, annual journal, History of Lincolnshire series and a wide range of other books. Andrew detailed the changes that have taken place in their production.

He concluded with thoughts on the future of SLHA and suggested that such questions as geographical range, subject matter, diversity of membership, engagement with higher education providers, accessibility and digitisation need examination.

LOCAL HISTORY

Mark Acton looked at three people who had played different parts in the society in the previous fifty years and how they have been remembered.

Flora Murray served the society for more than seventy years and gave her name to our annual awards scheme.

Terence Leach organised many visits to Lincolnshire towns and villages as well as compiling still popular publications. The Terence Leach Memorial Lectures were established to help us travel around the county and form links with local groups.

Dennis Mills was a prolific writer who was largely responsible for introducing Heritage Open Days to Britain.

John Manterfield examined the meaning of local history and its development over the past fifty years with reference to W.G. Hoskins and Joan Thirsk.

He paid tribute to the other organisations in the county involved in local history such as the Lincolnshire Family History Society, Lincoln Record Society, Civic Trusts and Societies, the Universities as well as the many town and village groups.

John finished by pondering the future of SLHA with ideas as to building membership, book sales, cross-pollination within the society and other Lincolnshire organisations along with better use of websites and social media.

Jean Howard delivered a heartful plea on the difficulties facing the hundreds of churches in Lincolnshire with declining congregations and incomes.

She illustrated the wide range of differing building materials and architectural styles found around the county. Jean stressed the need tor locals to take care of their heritage even if they were not churchgoers themselves.

She explained how SLHA hoped to make the public aware of church heritage by recording images of buildings facing closure and arranging talks, visits and conferences.

Photos: Mark Acton, John Manterfield, Jean Howard 

INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY

Stephen Betteridge opened by giving a definition of the term Industrial Archaeology and explained the development of interest in the topic, particularly over the last 60 years. Examples of National as well as more local sites of IA interest and significance were given.

The activities of the IA Team were explained. Examples include organising regional as well as SLHA conferences on IA topics, site visits, fieldwork to record sites of interest and contributing to SLHA’s rich and varied collection of publications.

Neil Wright has a long association with IA. He was a member of one of the constituent groups that formed SLHA.

Neil’s illustrated talk highlighted examples of a range Lincolnshire’s many and varied sites of IA importance and interest, some of which are now lost through demolition.

His talk emphasized the importance of recording industrial sites and buildings as their disappearance can be swift and unannounced.

Stewart Squires concluded by describing the processes that resulted in the production and publication of the SLHA "Ironstone Mining in the Lincolnshire Wolds” book.

Research for the book included interviewing retired miners, local community events that encouraged interest in the topic and resulted in information exchange, field work to examine the sites as well as resulting in a lasting legacy of this under-appreciated example of Lincolnshire’s extractive industries.

Photos: Stephen Betteridge, Neil Wright, Stewart Squires 

ARCHAEOLOGY

Mick Jones gave a general introduction to Lincolnshire archaeology over the past 50 years. He pointed out that investigations into the county's buried archaeology were only put on to a formal basis with the establishment of the Lincoln Archaeological Research Committee in 1945. This group concentrated mainly on Roman Lincoln, but important discoveries were made over the next 30 years, with local volunteers heavily involved.

At the same time other field projects in the county, such as those on Winterton Roman Villa, Goltho medieval village and work at Dragonby and Ancaster, were led by other agencies such as Nottingham University.

The Lincoln Archaeological Trust was establishedin 1972to undertake rescue excavations in the city, covering the prehistoric to post-medieval periods. Other bodies were created to cover the rest of the county.

The highlights of the Trust's achievements included the Roman civic centre and early churches at St Paul in the Bail, the Viking-period occupation at Flaxengate, the recording and analysis of the Norman St Mary's Guildhall, and the various waterside sites including Brayford Pool where there was evidence for Mesolithic occupation.

Tribute was also paid to the achievements of the friends group FLARE, which was integrated into the Society in 2009.

Tom Lane reported that until relatively recently one of the least investigated and least understood areas of Lincolnshire had been the Fenland.

Building on earlier survey work by such luminaries as Sylvia Hallam and, subsequently, Brian Simmons and Hilary Healey of the then South Lincolnshire Archaeological Unit, English Heritage funded a large-scale and Fen-wide fieldwalking programme, along with subsequent limited excavations, all backed up by specialist palaeoenvironmental investigations. Known overall as the Fenland Projectthis work, along with its extensive publication programme, continued from 1981 through to the late 1990s.

In Lincolnshire this resulted in 32% of the Fenland being fieldwalked and consequently many hundreds of sites being discovered, including, most notably, saltmaking sites from the Late Bronze Age to Medieval periods and an unexpectedly high number of Early and Middle Saxon sites. Limited excavation followed on a small selection of sites and demonstrated the actual and potential presence of high-quality organic remains.

Richard Watts finished the session by discussing some of the more recent significant advances in Lincolnshire’s archaeology. These included the National Mapping Programme’s study of aerial photography, and the Portable Antiquities Scheme, both of which have led to the identification of tens of thousands of new archaeological sites, features and finds across the county.

Major development projects such as the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, and academic studies, notably the Universities of York and Sheffield’s investigation of Viking and Medieval Torksey, have dramatically enhanced our understanding.

Arguably, the most important achievement in recent years has been the increased accessibility of information on the county’s archaeology through the various Historic Environment Records, and the availability of a huge range of resources, including historic maps, aerial photographs, lidar data, archaeological reports, historic newspaper articles, all available via a variety of excellent and easily accessible online websites. Finding information about the county’s history and archaeology has never been easier.

Photos: Mick Jones, Tom Lane, Richard Watts 

 

On Wednesday 20 March, Pippa Adams and Helen Noakes of SPA (the Strategic Pipeline Alliance) gave an account of the huge project to undertake research on and archaeological survey of the route of a new pipeline under construction that is currently crossing the county north to south.

Various types of modern survey techniques were used to assess the surviving archaeological remains along the route, which included a number of Iron Age and Roman settlements.

One of particular interest was a possible Roman villa close to the line of Ermine Street between Bracebridge Heath and Waddington, which featured on an episode of 'Digging for Britain' a few months ago.

Although the site work is largely complete, the team now has to analyse all the data and finds, but we hope to learn more when they are ready to present us with a digest of the results.

MJJ

The achievements of a relatively unknown Lincolnshire man, Samuel Forster (1709-1776), were described by John Manterfield at the SLHA Sunday Special on 17 March.

Forster, born in Welby, is commemorated in a substantial memorial in St Wulfram’s Church, Grantham, which has recently been refurbished.

This man was a distinguished attorney who worked for Sir John Brownlow of Belton, who had recently been created Viscount Tyrconnel.

Forster not only helped put the affairs of the baronet on a secure financial footing, but also acquired considerable wealth himself.

Image: Sir John Brownlow, First Viscount Tyrconnel (1690-1754)  

Ken Redmore gave an interesting Zoom talk on 6 March on the history of the church of St John the Baptist in Burringham.

Before 1856 there was no church in the village and Ken explained why it was decided to build one, who subscribed to the building fund and why the ‘rogue’ architect Samuel Sanders Teulon might have been chosen to design it.

Ken showed the original plans and how they differed from the completed project. He also compared and contrasted the building with Teulon’s only other brick church in Lincolnshire, St Peter’s in New Bolingbroke.

SLHA is planning to have an open day at Burringham during Heritage Open Days in September.

MA 

On 22 January, a group of almost thirty members of the Society visited the Lincolnshire Museum Store on St Rumbold's Street. We were guided by Dawn Heywood, Senior Collections Development Officer, and her colleague Lisa Mitchell.

The first-floor store houses the main finds archive, consisting of material - mainly from excavations in the city and county - that required no special environmental controls - pottery, tile, animal bone, etc. There is a vast amount of material, the sites in the city being particularly prolific.

The system whereby excavation teams communicate with the Museum and transfer material, including the paper archive, to the long-term care of the Museum, was explained.

The other area visited was the sensitive store, where material requiring conservation and environmental controls, including organics such as wood and leather, was stored in airtight containers.

Dawn showed the impressive range of armour, and one or two objects of Greek, Egyptian, and even African origin that had come into the Museum's collection. We also saw a range of artefacts of particular interest, from early prehistoric axes through to post-medieval ceramics.

It was a very enjoyable event for all, and one likely to be repeated, as it had been fully booked. Lincolnshire Museums and the SLHA have organised a similar event for Society members to visit the Usher Gallery and its store on 29 February.

(MJJ) 

A very well attended heritage inspired craft workshop led by Kathy Holland took place at Jews’ Court Lincoln on 31 January.

The session began with a discussion about the history and origins of St Valentine’s Day leading into how this special day was celebrated by the Victorians.

The group looked at a varied selection of Valentine cards and images, both affectionate in nature and also some of the so-called ‘vinegar’ variety.

After discussing various crafting and embellishment techniques from the Victorian period, the group proceeded to create a greeting card, decoupaged ‘heart’, and decorate a gift box inspired by nineteenth century design ideas.

Illustration: colourful valentines made in the workshop

Liz Bennet, Chief Executive Officer of The Ropewalk at Barton upon Humber, gave an on-line talk for SLHA on 24 January.

She outlined the history of the Ropery which began with the purchase of land alongside the Haven in 1801.

Imported natural materials – sisal, hemp and manila – were the raw materials used for early rope making, to be followed by man-made fibres such as nylon and polypropylene.

Wartime brought special demands on this industry; wire ropes were added to the range of products.

Ropemaking ceased in 1999 and the striking 400-metre-long building was converted into an arts centre (The Ropewalk) with café, retail area, workshops and historic display space.

In his contribution to the Sunday Special held in Nettleham on 21 January, Neil Wright told the story of the Corporation Building in Boston’s Market Place which was completed in 1772.

This imposing three-storey brick terrace, built by Boston Corporation, originally consisted of four houses (perhaps the first ‘council houses’ in England) with business premises on the ground floor. Occupying a space in the centre of the terrace, with open access to Market Place and the riverside quay behind, was a fish market with a law court above. 

The buildings have been modified considerably over the years - especially at ground floor level - but it is still possible to appreciate many of the original Georgian features.

Photo: East elevation of Corporation Building (Stewart Squires) 

At the Sunday Special held in Nettleham on 21 January, Richard Croft described the work done in preparing the Lincoln Local List. This is a record of buildings and other structures which, whilst not suitable for statutory listing, are of considerable importance for their architecture or place in the community.

Richard and members of the SLHA Building Recording Group (RUBL) have compiled an impressive list of about 400 such buildings. The meeting was shown photographs of many Lincoln houses and commercial buildings which are usually overlooked but which have considerable architectural merit.

It is confidently expected that the City Council will accept the list and give these buildings special consideration when making planning decisions.

Photo: Salvation Army Citadel, St Botolph's, Lincoln (Richard Croft)

At the Sunday Special event in Nettleham on 21 January Tom Bell of PCAS Archaeology described the work he undertook with colleagues on the former Lindsey Centre site in Gainsborough over a 4-week period in summer 2023.

Evidence, principally from the numerous post holes uncovered, suggested that the area had been part of the town’s medieval market

Tom’s presentation tellingly reflected the practical frustrations of field archaeology; scorching weather and a spell of heavy rain both created very challenging conditions for this investigation.

Photo: Demolition team at the Lindsey Centre.