Lincoln, Castle and City

Wednesday 26 October 2022. The third and final article on our short stay in Lincoln.

If you have been reading these articles in order, you will know that we spent Wednesday morning inside the cathedral. We came out of the cathedral through the main west entrance overlooking the rear of Exchequer Gate.

Walking through the archways leads us to Exchquer Gate - the area in front of the archway with Steep Hill on the left and Castle Hill directly in front of us.

A cup of tea was what was needed. A small cafe looked inviting and was nicely decorated, but then the drinks came served in cardboard cups. Oh dear... Looking back from Castle Hill to Exchequer Gate and the Cathedral.

The castle grounds were free to enter and walk round. There was a charge of £15 each to go round the buildings and walk on the walls. I wasn't at all sure I was up for climbing up and down spiral staircases so we just had our free entry's worth!

As with so many city castles, Lincoln had retained its use over the centuries as a jail and court. At the opposite end to the main gate through which we had come was today's Crown Courts.

In one corner of the wall a dragon has forced its way into the wall and emerged on the opposite side of the tower known as Cobb Hall. This was a place of execution which saw the deaths by hanging of prisoners take place on the roof.

The castle saw a major battle on 2 February 1141 when during the Anarchy - the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda (aka Maud) - King Stephen's besieging forces were attacked from behind by a force loyal to Maud, led by her half-brother, Robert, the first Earl of Gloucester. They were eventually successful, after a fierce battle at both the castle and in the city streets, King Stephen was captured and taken to Bristol to be imprisoned. Maud assumed the throne for a few months until Stephen was exchanged for Robert of Gloucester who was captured in the Rout of Winchester the following September.

The next battle came in 1217 during the first Barons' War. Prince Louis of France had invaded and proclaimed himself King. Many of England's barons, whose power was diminished due to King John's Magna Carta, supported him until John's death in 1216 when his nine-year-old son, Henry III became king, guided by Sir William Marshall as Regent. In May 1217 Prince Louis had taken the city of Lincoln and was besieging the castle which was held firm for King Henry by a female castellan, Nichola de la Haye. Marshall marched from Stow to the north and gained the north gate of the castle whilst his crossbow men took high positions on the roofs of houses. They rained bolts on the besieging army who were then charged by Sir William's knights and footsoldiers and routed. As it was held that the city had supported Prince Louis by housing his army, the city was sacked and pillaged, this later being cynically referred to as the "Lincoln Fair".

We left this scene of death and destruction and walked (in my case, very gingerly) down Steep Hill. The photo shows the point at which it approaches its steepest point, the posts of its railings can be seen between the groups of people and I walked very slowly holding on with my left hand to the railings and right hand to my walking stick, trying to ignore my back which was saying "What the hell are you doing???" We found a model shop down this stretch and they had a good stock of Hornby and other makes of OO guage model railway locos, rolling stock and accessories.

And so we found ourselves back on High Street, having walked through the Stonebow.

We had lunch and then Miss Franny indulged herself in a bit of shopping before we emerged from a mall onto the River Witham. We were standing on a small pedestrian bridge over the river when something spooked around a million pigeons that were being fed a few yards away. We were not the only ones to duck...

207 High Street is built on the western edge of a bridge over the River Witham. Narrow gaps between it and the adjoining buildings lead down some steps to the banks of the river.

The riverside path takes you underneath a large bridge, wide enough for the path to be known as Brayford Tunnel. A mural has been painted along the walls and the tunnel is both pleasant and smell-free to walk through.

It brings you to Brayford Pool, with a marina and Lincoln University on the southern side and pubs, restaurants and a cinema complex on the north side.

Looking back to the road bridge/tunnel, as you walk west you read "Where are you going?" and now looking east a similar message reads "Where have you been?" I plonked myself on a bench enjoying the weak sunshine and numbing chill factor of the breeze whilst Miss Franny went back through the tunnel to buy herself a pair of boots. "I came out of a different door and had to get my bearings," she said, flicking at the icicles and frozen pigeon droppings that had unknowingly decorated my appendages whilst she had been away...

Before returning to the hotel, we took a stroll back up Bailgate for another cup of tea and to choose somewhere to eat our evening meal. We arrived once more at the Roman Newport Arch and wandered along the narrow street to its right to view the remains of the Roman city wall. Then a couple of hours in the hotel bar lounge where I looked longingly but ultimately and reluctantly self-denyingly at the Guinness pump tap - I'm not now allowed alcohol by doctor's orders. I left the camera in the room whilst we went out for a last meal and walk and we woke on Thursday morning ready to come home, gleefully uncaring that it was chucking it down with rain!

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