Brayford Pool is very much one of the most dynamic parts of modern Lincoln, rising from the ashes of its post-industrial decline to become a vibrant and bustling hotspot.
With the new arrival into our city of scores of new residents over the past weeks, in the form of students, I thought it would be pertinent to introduce them to a few of the city’s key features and help to explain their heritage and history, with this instalment focusing on the beloved Brayford Pool.
Lincoln has always revolved around its pool. Even before the settlement that we know as Lincoln (or Lindum Colonia to give it its ancient name), archaeological evidence points to houses along its banks. It was the Romans, however, that truly recognised the importance of the body of water and utilised it to the fullest extent.
Realising that the location of the pool, just outside the gates of Lincoln, the Romans not only deepened on the pool to create a large inland port with access to the North Sea, but also dug the impressive Foss Dyke to the pool’s west in the third century, linking the River Trent and the settlements in central Britannia to Lincoln and the wider world. This important canal would lead to the impressive rise of Roman Lincoln from colonia to provincial capital by the fourth century.
The departure of the Romans, however, coincided with the decline of the city, as without a strong, unified political system, trade into the pool dramatically decreased, dragging Lincoln down with it. This was to be fairly short-lived though, as by the eighth and ninth centuries Lincoln would again find its pool bustling with trade. The Vikings controlled the area under the Dane’s Law, allowing Lincoln to once again become prosperous as an important trading centre within the greater Norse world.
Photo: Joshua Potter for The Lincolnite
This new lease on life for Lincoln and its lake continued into the Anglo-Saxon and later the Norman period, as the importance of its connections with the Trent and the Sea ensured the city again became a regional power, with the wharves exporting its famous wool and the warehouses on the banks storing various goods from throughout the kingdom and beyond. This importance was cemented in charter by Edward I in 1291, making Lincoln a staple town, ensuring that all regional trade must be conducted in the city.
As was seen after the departure of the Romans nearly a millennia before, however, Lincoln and its pool soon found that no matter how great the climb, the fall afterwards was always felt particularly hard. By 1400, Lincoln had lost its title of staple town to Boston, which offered better links to the sea, and soon the pool and the canal which sprang from it fell into deep decline, becoming horribly silted by the 17th century to the point where the Foss Dyke was unnavigable. This would only be fixed by an act of Parliament in 1671, which dredged the river and the canal, improving links to Boston for the region.
This seemingly insignificant decree by Parliament was to have a great effect on the city, leading to the second revival of the Brayford into a mighty inland port. With the rise of the industrial revolution and the difficulties in road travel (due to a tricky combination of highwaymen and general disrepair), there was a dramatic increase in traffic along the waterways of the Midlands and soon freight poured back into Lincoln as its waterfront once again teemed with stores, pubs and the general hustle and bustle of a city going places. This boom continued through the 20th century, but unfortunately for the pool it would be passed by in favour of new technologies.
The arrival of the trains in the 1840s provided direct competition to the waterways as a means of freight transport. To compound difficulties, the Foss Dyke and Witham were in need of dredging again, but as the cost was extremely high, they were leased to the Great Northern Railway who, determined to end the chances of competition, simply allowed them to silt up once more. The end result was that while Lincoln continued to steadily grow as a city, the once great Brayford slowly sunk into disuse and decay. Until by the 1960s its waters were laden with the wrecked hulls of many barges. Full of derelict warehouses, factories, the old train yards and several rough and ready pubs, the future of the Brayford and its waterfront looked bleak. Fanciful plans for filling it in were even mentioned.
Over the last thirty years, however, the area has seen a dramatic overhaul, thanks in no small part to the university, which took over the train depot and maintenance buildings on its south bank. In this period the old has been torn down (with the exception of the Royal William IV pub) and a wide array of eateries, hotels and leisure businesses have taken their places. Within the pool itself is a large marina of pleasure craft and houseboats.
The Brayford has once again been reopened for trade, though now it deals in ideas, education and entertainment. To some in Lincoln, the new waterfront is something out of place, not fitting with the traditional look of the city. Though to many others, including the new students, it is symbolic of the modern, re-energised Lincoln: a city on the up and going places once again. Once again that growth focuses on its pool: once, and now the beating heart of the city.
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Cory Santos is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Lincoln who specialises in the social history of Britain during the Second World War. Besides his main research focuses, he also enjoys local history and the interesting tales it often turns up.
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Few people attended the second Kill the Bill protest in Lincoln on Saturday, as Extinction Rebellion activists stood alone on the High Street to campaign against a proposed policing bill that could make many protests illegal.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire gathered at Speakers’ Corner to oppose plans for the latest Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which could curtail protesting rights if passed through parliament.
Extinction Rebellion were the main representatives at the protest. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Under the proposed bill, police officers will be given greater powers to put a stop to any protests, as well as determining start and finish times for them, and controlling noise levels.
A few stopped to talk with the protestors, but most just went about their day walking down Lincoln High Street in the first weekend that non-essential shops and beer gardens reopened.
The Lincolnite spoke to one of the rebels at the protest, to find out the reasons behind the march.
They said: “This draconian bill cannot go ahead, it needs to be taken apart and re-evaluted completely.
“People have been walking past us shaking their heads, but they don’t realise that it’s their freedom we are fighting for.”
The Lincolnite photographer Steve Smailes captured some pictures from the protest.
Signs were put up by the works at Speakers’ Corner on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A 19-year-old man is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash on the A52 on Friday evening.
The single-vehicle crash, involving a white Suzuki Splash, happened in the westbound lane of the A52 between Barrowby and Sedgebrook at around 7.20pm on Friday, April 16.
The driver of the car is now in hospital after suffering serious injuries, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Officers believe the driver had travelled from Grantham on the A52 at Barrowby before the crash.
Anyone who has dashcam footage or saw the vehicle before the incident is being asked to call 101, quoting incident 420 of April 16.
Alternatively, you can email [email protected], using the same reference in the subject box.
It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.