Monument record MLI70129 - Lincoln Castle (except modern buildings), Lincoln

Summary

Lincoln Castle, built in 1068.

Type and Period (8)

  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 1050 AD? to 1350 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 1050 AD? to 1350 AD?)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD? to 1799 AD?)
  • ? (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 1050 AD? to 1350 AD?)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD? to 1799 AD?)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1150 AD to 1699 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Lincoln Castle's foundation dates to 1068. It was built in the south-west corner of the old Roman station, covering thirteen and three-quarter acres including the ditches. In the curtain wall are two principal gates, one to the east opening up to the upper city and the other to the west opening direct into the field. The Norman keep is a fine example of a shell keep. The Norman works consist of the curtain, gateways, observatory tower and the keep. Cobbe Hall and the additions to the Observatory tower and the eastern gateway are probably the works of Thomas of Lancaster, Earl of Lincoln, who held the Castle from 1312 to 1322. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5} A major geotechnical investigation into the stability of Lincoln Castle was undertaken in 1990. The City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit were appointed to undertake watching briefs of the various trial trenches, test pits and boreholes excavated. In the area of the North Bank, east to west aligned surfaces were identified in trial trench 4, and the extension to Cobb Hall was exposed in test pit 5. Roman and medieval pottery and bone fragments were also found here. In the area of the West Bank, bone and a few fragments of Roman pottery were found. In the South Bank area, three courses of steps onto a base of stone were found. {6}{7} Thirteen trial pits were excavated at Lincoln Castle in 1991, in order to assess the archaeological impact of the proposed digging of service trenches in the castle grounds. 19th century and undated features were present, but no definitely earlier material was observed. {8}{9} A watching brief was undertaken in May 1992, during ground investigations outside Lincoln Castle's West Gate, conducted to inform the proposed construction of a bridge between Lincoln Castle and The Lawn. Two trial pits and a borehole were excavated, but no dateable material was identified and the results were inconclusive. {10}{11} A trench at the West Gate, originally excavated in 1983, was re-opened in 1992, to ascertain whether it had cut into the foundations for the West Gate. The re-evaluation confirmed that the bottom of the trench had indeed been cut into the foundations for the West Gate by about 0.4m, under the misconception that the layer was natural limestone brash. This supposition was proved incorrect as the excavation moved westwards, revealing a more substantial foundation approximately 2m to the west of the gate entrance. {12}{13} A watching brief was conducted between September 1992 and February 1993, during the groundworks for the re-opening of the Castle West Gate. Evidence for a possible entrance causeway and stepped footings to the north tower of the gate were recorded. {14}{15} A watching brief was conducted between January 1992 and April 1993, during the excavation of trenches for new services in the castle grounds. Considerable disturbance to the interior of the castle was recorded, and few datable layers could be identified. {16} A watching brief was conducted in 1993, during remedial works on Lincoln Castle's West Bank. The results were essentially negative. {17} A watching brief was conducted in September 1993, during a geotechnical investigation of the retaining wall at the base of Lincoln Castle's Observatory Tower Mound. The excavation of three test pits was begun, but had to be curtailed for health and safety reasons. Nevertheless, a second wall was revealed behind the current retaining wall, quite likely the result of an earlier attempt to stabilise the mound. {18} An investigation was conducted in 1995, to inform proposed conservation works to a retaining wall, built against the north bank of Lincoln Castle, behind nos. 41 - 59 Westgate Road. Five trial pits were dug but the excavated material consisted solely of modern rubble and garden dumps and no archaeological material was identified. {19}{20} A watching brief was conducted in September 1996, during repair works to an electricity cable in the grounds of Lincoln Castle. The excavation was confined to the original service trench for the cable, and no new archaeological material was encountered. {21}{22} A watching brief was conducted in 1996, during further stability works on Lincoln Castle's West Bank. The work revealed the layered stratigraphy seen previously in 1993, which consisted of bands of sandy earth and limestone, interleaved with bands of limestone fragments of various sizes. No dating evidence was recovered however. {23}{24} A watching brief was conducted during the installation of a new gas main at Lincoln Crown Court. A metalled path was revealed, and although undated, it appeared to lead towards the west gate of the Castle (see PRN 70128). {25}{26} A summary of the archaeological investigations at Lincoln Castle's West Gate was produced in two stages, in 2000 and 2003. They include details of earlier investigations undertaken in the 1980s. {27}{28} A conservation plan for the castle was completed in 2001. The plan included a comprehensive study of the history and development of the castle site, and an evaluation of all the known archaeological investigations to date. The plan also included a condition survey and assessment of the significance of all of the various structures and components of the castle complex and its immediate surroundings. The condition survey identified a range of issues affecting the preservation of the site and suggested measures in which they could be addressed. {29} A resistivity survey was conducted in selected areas within the walls of Lincoln Castle. Detailed survey identified a range of electrical anomalies, a number of which almost certainly reflect traces of former buildings or walls. A series of anomalies may reflect traces of the former gaol block and County Hall. Within the Lucy Tower, a penannular shaped anomaly appears to indicate the position of an internal structure(s) around a central courtyard. {30} Two trial trenches were excavated within the Lucy Tower, investigating the east and west recesses. The recesses were proved not to have been original to the plan of the tower. Pottery evidence suggested that the tower was undergoing repairs during the 13th century. This may be related to damage inflicted during the Battle of Lincoln Fair in 1217. Roof tile of late 12th to 13th century date suggests that structures were present within the tower. The intervention in the western recess uncovered a stone with an elaborate mason's mark depicting a fish. The intervention in the eastern tower revealed remains of a doorway and staircase which was probably related to a structure shown on documentary sources. The doorway appears to have been blocked in the early 13th century, although the structure appears to have survived until the 19th century. {31}{32} A survey of the historic graffiti in Cobb Hall was carried out. Several previously unrecorded carvings were identified. These include a heraldic shield which has been identified as belonging to the Mortimer family, probably John de Mortimer who was in Edward I's army against Scotland in 1290. Many of the medieval graffiti were probably carved by troops temporarily resident in the castle. These carvings include crosses, figures of men and animals and also several simple geometric carvings which may be game boards. There appears to be little graffiti from the late medieval and post-medieval period until the 17th to 18th century. {33} A possible historic door opening in the Lucy Tower was investigated. Medieval stonework was recorded behind the 19th century masonry, and elements of the north side of the passageway survived although there was no evidence for the survival of the south side. {34} During a watching brief on the Observatory Tower mound, above the car park, evidence of Victorian terracing was seen relating to the period when this site was used as an ornamental garden with tea room. A large quantity of residual medieval and Roman pottery was also recovered. This probably originated in the material of the mound itself which would have been disturbed during terracing. It may also have come from soil brought in from elsewhere during terracing. {35}{36} A new conservation plan for the castle was completed in 2009. The plan again included a comprehensive study of the history and development of the castle site, and an evaluation of all the known archaeological investigations to date. The plan also included a new condition survey and assessment of the significance of all of the various structures and components of the castle complex and its immediate surroundings. A range of issues affecting the preservation of the site was again identified and measures in which they could be addressed were suggested. {37} A trial trench evaluation and borehole survey was carried out in February 2009, within the area of the former Debtor's Yard and the Airing Court (the latter is now used as a stone yard) at Lincoln Castle. The four trial trenches produced residual medieval finds, while seven boreholes were inserted into the Debtor's Yard (now a car park), in an attempt to obtain a profile across deposits at the base of the Lucy Tower motte. The results were not conclusive, but the survey appeared to have located deposits relating to the buried extent of the mound. {38}{39} An evaluation programme consisting of a topographic and photographic survey followed by the excavation of a single evaluation trench was carried out on the south-western part of the Lucy Tower motte and surrounding gardens following tree clearance. The topographic survey showed that the motte had undergone alterations in the 19th century but is otherwise considered to be in its original form. The 19th century alterations include the encroachment of Castle Moat House itself on the lower slopes and also a network of paths up the mound which survive as shallow terraces and remains of a zig-zag path. The evaluation trench revealed remains of possible stone structures which are interpreted as traces of a west wing to Lucy Tower. It is suggested that the west wing may have fallen out of use early, maybe in the 13th century, leaving vestigial traces that were later recorded and misinterpreted in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is also suggested that this building, along with the tower, motte and eastern wing, were built inside the southern defences of the castle, which would have been formed by the remains of Roman defences. The current southern curtain wall may have been built as an internal wall which later became the main southern wall of the castle after its defences contracted. It is likely that the Roman remains formed the southern defences of the castle until the 13th century. {40}{41} Two trenches were excavated in July to August 2010, as part of an evaluation on the North Lawn of Lincoln Castle (PRN 70129a although also at SK 97537 71856, for trench 2). Evidence for a late 11th to 12th to early 14th century stone building, possibly a Norman hall, in the form of stone rubble walls and a possible earth and stone bank was revealed. Three hearths were also excavated, one of which contained an iron knife blade, a pre 13th century iron barrel padlock, a fragment of bone mount or plaque and pottery dating from the early to mid 11th to 12th centuries. Other features which were revealed were a pit with mid 11th to mid 12th century Stamford ware pottery, a possible ditch which contained a pottery assemblage broadly dating to the late 12th century, a sherd of residual late Saxon local ware pottery and animal bone from high quality meat and a possible pit contained a late 10th to late 11th century pottery assemblage. A metalled surface constructed of limestone rubble signals the demolition of the stone structure. Various robbers trenches (dating from the 17th to 19th century) were also revealed showed that the walls for a possible cellar and a 14th century stone building which may have survived until the late 18th century were robbed out in the post-medieval period (see PRN 71146). {42}{43} A measured survey and archaeological appraisal of the west mural wing of Lucy Tower was undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists in March and April 2011. Four phases of remodelling and additions were revealed. {44} An evaluation was conducted in 2011, in the eastern courtyard of Lincoln Castle (PRN 70129b). Layers containing about thirty fragments of 12th to 15th century pottery, including Glazed Lincoln ware, Toynton ware jugs, Potterhanworth ware and shell tempered ware and animal bones were revealed, suggesting activity on the site marking the beginning of the castle occupation. The animal remains include venison and other game indicative of an elite diet. A robber trench and ceramic building material suggests the erection of a building within the bailey of the castle in the mid 12th to mid 13th century. It was probably stone built and heated with a partly glazed tiled roof, decorative glazed ridge tiles and a louvre for smoke ventilation, all suggested from artefactual evidence. Animal remains from normal domesticated animals and more elite foods such as eel and veal were found in association with the building. A fragment of metal spur was also found. All of this evidence suggests that this was a high status building. Robber trenches which were dated to the 17th century, originally excavated to remove the wall stone, suggest that the building existed until the 17th century. {45}{46} A new conservation plan for the castle was completed in 2011. The plan again included a comprehensive study of the history and development of the castle site, and an evaluation of all the known archaeological investigations to date. The plan also included a new condition survey and assessment of the significance of all of the various structures and components of the castle complex and its immediate surroundings. The new survey again identified a range of issues affecting the preservation of the site and suggested measures in which they could be addressed. {47} Archaeological work at Lincoln Castle during 2013 has revealed further evidence of early activity on the site of the castle. As well as the main archaeological excavation between the east prison wings, where the bases of medieval walls and range of Georgian drainage features have been revealed, there has been a small excavation taking place in advance of constructing the foundations for a disabled lift shaft. Earlier stages of the project had already identified a series of medieval walls and a staircase nearby. However, refinement of engineering requirements meant that further work was required and therefore, another evaluation trench was excavated. The work in a small hole, 3m by 3m, was started in January 2013 and by February the upper areas already encountered had been recorded and removed and at this time the excavation started going into deeper deposits. The team initially started to encounter fragments of bone and then intact burials in an east-west orientation associated with stone walls located in two sides of the excavation. The remains of one person seemed to have been placed in a textile and then placed deliberately in part of the wall foundation. The overlying mortar had preserved the weave of a fine cloth. There was no dateable material associated with the burials and radiocarbon dating is currently being undertaken. These burials appear to be part of an organised Christian burial ground and lie inside a structure which pre-dates the building of the Norman castle. It is thought at the moment that this structure is the remains of either an Anglo-Saxon or an Anglo-Scandinavian church. In the side of the excavation was also revealed the profile of a limestone coffin with a lid. This was aligned with the skeletons being excavated but only the one side was revealed. This was enigmatic; intact and complete stone coffins are a rarity in the Anglo-Saxon period and it must have belonged to a person of status or wealth. There is an 8th century reference to a ruined stone church in Lincoln, but this has never been located. We know that Lincoln was an important place where the missionary Paulinus built a church 'of remarkable workmanship' in the 7th century and that Paulinus met an important local man called Blaecca. It is possible that Blaecca may be one of the kings of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey. The archaeologists used an endoscope to gain a restricted view into the coffin, enough to recognise that there is a skeleton inside in quite good condition, but details are hazy. It is not possible to determine whether there are any decorations or inscriptions on the lid of the coffin. However, the archaeologists are hopeful that eventually we may get permission from English Heritage to remove and examine the coffin. Although it would have to be removed without endangering it and its surroundings. Below the burials are the remains of two Roman townhouses, dated by pottery, one older than the other but both demolished at the same time and close to one of the walls was the remains of a baby burial. In July 2013 the excavations reached 5m and had to stop because of health and safety regulations, it would be interesting to see whether earlier remains lie beneath the Roman walls but this may not be possible. One intriguing aspect is that, having undertaken a number of archaeological excavations over the last few years across the whole of the castle site, these lie at variable depths, as shallow as half a metre in some cases and over 5m in others. What is clear is that the Normans changed the local landscape substantially in order to build their castle, in the process burying the remains of previous residents and their immediate environment. {48} The tree inside the walls of the Lucy Tower keep was made the subject of a Tree Preservation Order in 2013 because of its contribution to the visual amenity of the area. {49} Osteological analysis was conducted on the eleven human skeletons that were recovered during the archaeological excavation at Lincoln Castle between April and June 2013. There were four male and three female individuals, with age-at-death ranges from 18/25 years to 36/45 years. Two children died aged between 10 and 14 and two other children died aged between two and a half and six and a half years. There was also the body of a new born. Most of these bodies came from the christian burial ground that pre-dates the Norman castle. A number of these individuals were buried in wood coffins, and some of them were wrapped in shrouds. However, one burial differs from the others in terms of its burial type and importance as it was inside the monolithic limestone sarcophagus. One particular adult male burial is thought to have been a votive offering, possibly a priest. The new born was of Roman date and was discovered within a drain. It was possibly another votive offering. The remaining burials were discovered within post-Roman wall foundations and date to around the 10th to mid-11th century AD. {50}

Sources/Archives (50)

  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. SAM 1.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 97 SE.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.505.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1988. AM 107. SAM 1.
  •  Scheduling Record: MINISTRY OF WORKS. MOW 819. -.
  •  Report: Allot & Lomax Consulting Engineers. 1990. Lincoln Castle Stability Investigation Geotechnical Report. -.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Lincoln Castle Stability Investigation: Archaeological Recording. -.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Lincoln Castle Services. CLAU site code: CAS91.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Lincoln Castle Services. LCNCC 2005.221.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Castle/Lawn Link Trial Pit Investigation. CLAU site code: LL92.
  •  Report: Geotechnical Engineering Ltd.. 1992. Ground Investigation at Lincoln Castle. SM/P/5896.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Re-Examination of 1983 Trench at West Gate of Lincoln Castle. CLAU site code: LL92.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1992. Lincoln Castle re-examination of 1983 trench at West Gate. LCNCC 2002.106.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Castle-Lawn Link. CLAU site code: LL92.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Castle-Lawn Link. LCNCC 2002.106.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Lincoln Castle Service Trenching: Archaeological Recording. CLAU site code: CAS91.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Lincoln Castle West Bank Remedial Works. CLAU site code: CBA93.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Lincoln Castle Observatory Tower Mound - Retaining Wall: Archaeological Recording of Trial Pits. CLAU site code: CASB93.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1995. 41 - 59 Westgate, Lincoln. CLAU site code: WAA95.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1995. 41 - 59 Westgate, Lincoln. LCNCC 118.95.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1996. Lincoln Castle, Electricity Cable Trench. CLAU site code: CASC96.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1996. Lincoln Castle, Electricity Cable Trench. LCNCC 142.96.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1996. Lincoln Castle, West Bank Stability Works: Archaeological Watching Brief. CLAU site code: CBB96.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1996. Lincoln Castle, West Bank Stability Works: Archaeological Watching Brief. LCNCC 19.96.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1997. New Gas Main, Lincoln Crown Court, Lincoln Castle. CLAU site code: CAS97.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1997. New Gas Main, Lincoln Crown Court, Lincoln Castle: Archaeological Watching Brief. LCNCC 11.97.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. Jan 2000. Lincoln Castle West Gate. Archive Completion Stage 1. -.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. Jan 2003. Lincoln Castle West Gate Archive Completion, Stage 2. -.
  •  Report: Colin Hayfield. 2001. Lincoln Castle Conservation Plan. -.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. May 2004. Lincoln Castle Resistivity Survey. -.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2008. Lucy Tower, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln: Archaeological Evaluation. LCC 08.
  •  Archive: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2008. Lucy Tower, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln: Archaeological Evaluation. LCNCC 2008.130.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2008. Historic Graffiti Survey: Cobb Hall, Lincoln Castle. LCC 08.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2008. Investigation of Historic Door Opening, Lucy Tower, Lincoln Castle. -.
  •  Report: Allen Archaeological Associates. 2008. Archaeological Watching Brief: The Observatory Tower, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. LINC 07.
  •  Archive: Allen Archaeological Associates. 2008. Archaeological Watching Brief: The Observatory Tower, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. LCNCC 2007.145.
  •  Report: Anderson and Glenn. 2009. Lincoln Castle Conservation Plan. -.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2009. Heritage Skills Centre, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. Archaeological Evaluation. PYL09.
  •  Archive: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2009. Heritage Skills Centre, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. Archaeological Evaluation. LCNCC 2009.27.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2010. Castle Moat House, Lincoln: Archaeological Evaluation. LML 10.
  •  Archive: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2010. Castle Moat House, Lincoln: Archaeological Evaluation. LCNCC 2010.108.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2010. Archaeological Evaluation and Watching Brief at North Lawn, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. NLL10.
  •  Archive: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2010. Archaeological Evaluation and Watching Brief at North Lawn, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. LCNCC 2010.102.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2011. Historic Building Investigation of the West Mural Wing, Lucy Tower, Lincoln Castle. LCC11.
  •  Report: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2011. Archaeological Evaluation at the Eastern Courtyard, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. SCL11.
  •  Archive: Field Archaeology Specialists. 2011. Archaeological Evaluation at the Eastern Courtyard, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln. LCNCC 2011.89.
  •  Report: Alan Baxter & Associates. 2011. Lincoln Castle Conservation Plan. -.
  •  Article in Serial: Lott, Beryl. 2013. 'Archaeological excitement at Lincoln Castle' in Historic Lincoln Revealed. Summer 2013, pp.6-7.
  •  Unpublished Document: LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL. 2013. Tree Preservation Order Lucy Tower Tree, Lincoln Castle. Castle No.1.
  •  Unpublished Document: Curtis-Summers, S.. 2014. Osteological Analysis of Human Remains from Lincoln Castle. SCS site code: LCRP 13.

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Grid reference Centred SK 9747 7187 (249m by 275m) Surveyed
Civil Parish CASTLE, LINCOLN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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