Monument record MLI83362 - Site of St Mark's church and churchyard, Lincoln

Summary

Site of St Mark's church and churchyard, Lincoln

Type and Period (10)

  • (church, Early Medieval/Dark Age - 950 AD to 1050 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 1050 AD to 1720 AD)
  • (Post Medieval to Late 20th Century - 1786 AD to 1972 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 950 AD to 1550 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 950 AD to 1850 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 900 AD? to 1850 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Post Medieval - 900 AD? to 1850 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD? to 1850 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1150 AD to 1720 AD?)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 900 AD? to 1200 AD?)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

The Church of St Mark was one of twelve medieval parish churches in the 'suburb of Wigford'. It is famously associated with the Venetian empire and a dedication to St Mark of this early date is most unusual in England. It is thought that a cemetery was established here in the mid 10th century and a small timber framed structure, probably the church, was contemporary with it. Some evidence does suggest that this area was used as a burial ground prior to this date and the construction of the timber church. Four pits were recorded during excavations and these appear to form a pad at the base of the pit. These are thought to represent the footings for the timber framed structure. Ninety burials have been attributed to this initial phase of the church. These consist of mainly simple inhumations but there is some evidence of wood coffins. Some pre-conquest pottery and a 9th - 10th century pin were recovered from them together with in all twenty graveyard monuments of the late 10th to early 11th century and a stone packed burial. Eight of the burials are noted as charcoal burials, initially thought to be from this period, there is now some speculation that they may pre-date the church. The timber framed church was replaced by a stone built one in the mid 11th century. A west tower was added as part of general refurbishment after a destructive fire in the mid 12th century, although the theory that a fire caused the rebuild is now countered with an argument that it was merely a case of continued work on the church. Some sixty burials have been found to date from this period, taking the form of simple inhumations, cist burials and two charcoal burials. Three charnel pits were recorded, although the individuals interred in them are thought to have derived from single burials being disinterred as a result of further grave digging rather than disturbance caused by the rebuilding of the church. Two grave markers were found from this period, although one of them may have been a cross. In the 13th century all but the tower was rebuilt, the nave and chancel were enlarged and a north aisle was added. A chapel was added to the north of the chancel in the mid or late 14th century, probably by the Knight family. The Reformation period saw the addition of a large two storey stone porch built of stone re-used from another church (possibly St Edward King and Martyr) with a charnel pit beneath it. The source of the bones in this pit is uncertain, but they may have come from the nearby graveyard of St Edward King and Martyr which was disused by this time. The church was damaged in the Civil War and then appears to have gone into decay culminating with the collapse of the tower in 1720. Despite this apparent decay, the church still received wealthy patronage from the Sibthorpe family in the 18th century. The church was then rebuilt in the Georgian style in 1786. It was then demolished and completely rebuilt, re-using some older stone work, in 1871 in neo-Gothic style. It then remained unchanged until its eventual redundancy and was subsequently demolished in 1972. {1}{2} {3}{4}{5}{6}{7}{8} The fragments of Anglo-Saxon stonework (mostly grave-covers and markers as well as one cross-head and shaft, probably also from a grave marker rather than free-standing) have been extensively described and discussed. {2}{4} This church is first mentioned in documentary sources in 1147-8. {9} The mid 12th century western tower of the church appears to have been a late, derivative example of the 'Lincolnshire Tower' type although no drawings exist to show its appearance. {11}

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Article in Serial: A.J. White (ed.). 1977. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, 1976' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.12, p.76.
  •  Report: Gilmour, B.J.J and Stocker, D.A. 1986. St Marks Church and Cemetery. -.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Steane, Kate. 2001. The Archaeology of Wigford and Brayford Pool. pp.252-86.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Paul Everson and David Stocker. 1999. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Lincolnshire. pp.198-210.
  •  Index: SMR file cards for Lincoln. LINCOLN. SK9770NW; O.
  •  Article in Monograph: Paul Everson and David Stocker. 2001. Vikings and the Danelaw. Five town funerals: Chaper 12.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Jones, Michael, J; Stocker, D.; and Vince, A.. 2003. The City by the Pool including LARA. RAZ 9.60.25, 10.60.25, 11.91.5.
  •  Article in Serial: Edmund Venables. 1888. 'A list and brief description of the churches of Lincoln previous to the period of the Reformation' in Associated Architectural and Archaeological Societies’ Reports and Papers. p 333, no. 10.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1984. The Place-Names of Lincolnshire, Part 1. 1. p 127.
  •  Unpublished Document: St Mark's Parish File. -.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Paul Everson and David Stocker. 2006. Summoning St Michael: Early Romanesque Towers in Lincolnshire. No 34.

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 9737 7081 (56m by 42m)
Civil Parish BOULTHAM, LINCOLN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Oct 11 2021 8:49AM

Feedback?

Your feedback is welcome. If you can provide any new information about this record, please contact us.