On the afternoon of Saturday 21 October, following the AGM, SLHA members were given an update on the Heritage Lottery Funded work, Lincoln Cathedral Connected, by Anne Irving, the programme manager.  She described the scope of this huge project and gave details of the archaeology already revealed in the main development site on the north side of the Cathedral.

For the second part of the afternoon members were given a choice of guided tours, both within easy walking distance of the meeting venue in Bailgate. Mick Jones, former City Archaeologist, took a group to the principal Roman sites in uphill Lincoln and explained their function and significance. Chris Page, one time curator of the museum, took a second group around some of the more important exhibits at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life.

Lincolnshire Day (Sunday 1 October) 2017 was celebrated in style with a full day of displays, activities and talks and a heritage walk, organised jointly by the SLHA and the Kirton in Lindsey Society.

This successful and enjoyable day took place in Kirton Diamond Jubilee Hall and included displays from History and Heritage Organisations around the county, Bookstalls, a Heritage Trail, and a Heritage Walk, Craft Activities for families and a Music and Folklore presentation.

Lincolnshire sourced refreshments including Ploughman's, Hot Dogs, Plum Bread, were on offer in addition to a raffle for a Lincolnshire Food themed hamper plus many other exciting prizes. A special highlight was a visit from BBC Lincolnshire's Pirate Gold seeking an essential clue.

Feedback from stall-holders, attendees and speakers has all been very positive and the Kirton in Lindsey Society have also received very good feedback. It appears this is exactly the type of event people appreciate and several people are asking when the next SLHA Roadshow is going to take place and where!

A guided Heritage Walk around Kirton-in-Lindsey was led by Martin Hollingsworth and an entertaining journey through the Lincolnshire Farming Year in Music, Stories and Song, was presented by Tom Lane, Nigel Creasey and Terri Clarke.

Thanks everyone who participated and supported this event and to the Kirton in Lindsey Society and Diamond Jubilee Hall for making everyone so welcome.

Kathy Holland

Illustrations: Chris Hewis in full flow on the Foss Dyke (top) and youngsters posing as 'Green Men'

The annual SLHA study tour took a group of over 30 members on a 5-day visit to Cornwall. Accommodation was provided at the Exeter University campus in Penryn.

The first day covered a wide range of archaeology in West Penwith (the extreme west of the county), beginning with Gurnard's Head near Zennor (field patterns, lynchets, coastal features), moving to the Boscawen-Un stone circle and ending the afternoon at the splendid Chysauster Romano-British settlement (English Heritage).

The next morning, free in Falmouth (Maritime Museum for many), was followed by a choice of the Eden Project or the Wheal Martin Museum of the china clay industry, both near St Austell.

The final full day was spent around the tin mines on the extreme west coast, starting at Geevor (conducted tour, underground experience), continuing to Levant (beam engine) and concluding on the cliff top at Botallack (spectacular cliff top views).

The tour was superbly organised by Ken Hollamby in conjunction with Travel Wright of Newark. Expert local information was provided by Pete Herring and Adam Sharpe.

Photos: Left - Chysauster; Centre - Botallack; Right - Gurnard's Head

On Saturday 24 June a group of SLHA members toured the Isle of Axholme to look at some of the key industrial heritage sites.

We began at Keadby (lifting bridge, lock, river port, power station, wind farm) and then moved to the nearby Vazon Bridge (unique sliding mechanism) at Keadby Junction, noting the water tower en route. A drive along the A18 past the Pilfrey Bridge (complex of drains, including a syphon) took us to visit Dirtness Pumping Station (fine building brick building with 1867 origins).

The drive south then took us past Sandtoft (ex-RAF station, now trolley bus museum), Tunnel Pits Bridge (River Torne, pumping stations), Epworth Turbary (peat cutting) and into Epworth (railway bridge abutments, gasworks site, tower mills) for our picnic lunch stop near the former Belton Brickworks.

In the afternoon we travelled south-east to Owston Ferry (museum, pumping station, motte & bailey), followed by West Stockwith (canal basin) and finally Misterton Soss (River Idle, twin pumping stations).

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Special thanks to Chris Lester who organised the event and also to Angus Townley for providing much local knowledge, and to volunteers at Dirtness and Owston Ferry Pumping Stations for opening their buildings and spending time with us to explain how things worked.

We are grateful to Waitrose for permission to use their car park in Searby Road, Lincoln, to assemble at the beginning of the day.

On Saturday 20 May 20 a group of eleven society members visited Little Walsingham in Norfolk. This was a joint meeting organised by the SLHA Building Recording Group (RUBL) and the Norfolk Historic Buildings Group.

RUBL's interest in Walsingham was triggered by the Norfolk Group's excellent study of Little Walsingham published in 2015. This could well be a model for studies of buildings in some of Lincolnshire's urban settlements.

The visit started in the village hall where members of the Norfolk Group presented the building recording work they have done in the county since their formation in 2000 and gave a detailed look at the buildings we were to see in the afternoon.

After lunch we divided into two groups to walk through the village, stopping to look at buildings we had heard about in the morning. Little Walsingham has been a pilgrimage centre since medieval times.

The Norfolk group have recognised a class of buildings not usually seen elsewhere. These are two-storey buildings with exceptionally long, undivided first floors. These buildings cluster around the religious houses and are interpreted as pilgrim hostels. Now that they have been identified we expect more will turn up.

The high point of the village walk was a visit to Friday Cottage in Friday Market where the owner generously allowed us to look around the building's interior.

The afternoon finished with a round-up of the day's activities in the village hall. The Norfolk Group will be visiting Lincoln in 2018 to look at RUBL's activities. Already there is co-operation between the two groups.

Norfolk are starting a study of the Norwich company Boulton and Paul who, in the nineteenth century, developed a large range of flat-pack corrugated iron buildings which were exported all over the world. (An example of a Boulton & Paul building in Lincolnshire is the Cottage Museum in Woodhall Spa.) One of our members has a keen interest in corrugated iron and will be meeting members of the Norfolk group in July.

On Saturday 22 April a group of fifteen SLHA members were led by Neil Wright on a walking tour which included many important buildings and features close to Spalding's town centre.

Beginning in the Market Place we traced the few surviving fragments of the medieval Priory and paused to look at the enigmatic Abbey Buildings, a brick range with stone dressings. Passing the former Sessions House built by Charles Kirk in 1842, we spilled on to the platform of the railway station, once the hub of frequent services passing in six directions from the town, now barely used.

A steady walk along the line of the former Westlode Drain - with several stops along the way - took us to Chain Bridge Forge where we were given an informative talk about the smithy and its history by Geoff Taylor.

Turning south and following the banks of the Welland, we passed fine houses and impressive warehouses on our way to the town bridge, the parish church of St Mary & St Nicholas and our final destination of Ayscoughfee Hall.

Two hours had sped by in which we had learned a great deal about this fenland town and had seen to a wide range of attractive historic buildings.