Lincolnshire Historic Places

10/06/2026

Since 2023 Lincoln Castle has hosted a series of concerts with performances by artists such as Madness, McFly and James. Behind the scenes, a key part of our work in the Historic Places Team is looking after the Lincoln Castle in preparation of these events. All major activities in the castle are assessed for their impact on the historic fabric, and measures are always recommended to mitigate harm as much as possible, so not only can we stage fantastic events such as these we also ensure the castle is looked after for future events and people to enjoy.

https://www.lincolncastle.com/events?page=1

29/05/2026

Our Historic Environment Officers have been busy monitoring development on the site of a Roman settlement where some brilliant finds have been unearthed, see below for more information.

📸Thanks to our colleagues Wessex Archaeology for sharing these amazing images!

25/05/2026

On this day 25th of May 1927 the Usher Gallery was opened by the then Prince of Wales. Funded by James Ward Usher, a local businessman who inherited his family jewellers in 1874. Outside of his business, Usher was a keen collector of watches porcelains and antiques, displaying parts of his collection in the window of his shop. Over 30 years Usher had built up a large collection, having never married, two days before his death he made a will. This bequeathed his collection to the City of Lincoln with the instructions that it would be the start of an art gallery; he also left a huge £60,000 for construction costs to ensure one got built in his name, the equivalent of over 3 million pounds today. The gallery continues to grow and is host to names such as Lowrey, Turner and Stubbs.

Find out more about the Usher Gallery here:https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI91501

Photo source: Richard Croft, Usher Gallery, CC-BY-SA-2.0
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Usher_Gallery_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4644921.jpg Last accessed 29/04/2026

Lincoln Museum and Usher Gallery

12/05/2026

It's Lincolnshire Local History Month, and the Central Library in Lincoln are hosting the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology to showcase some of the amazing finds, and wonderful events that are ongoing in our county! Please do come along on the 21st May, 10:30 til 14:30!

11/05/2026

Following last night’s BAFTAs, we have been thinking about famous TV and film stars in Lincolnshire.

Lincoln Cathedral has starred in many different roles such as Westminster abbey in the Da Vinvi code 2006 and more recently as the Notre Dame in Ridley Scott’s 2023 film Napoleon. Its co-stars in Uphill Lincoln have been host to many other tv and film moments such as the use of Lincoln Castle Prison in Downton abbey, to replicate York Prison and Castle square in 2017 as a replica of 1819 Manchester for Peterloo. Lincolnshire is home to many more iconic film and television moments and has the potential to be in many more:
https://www.visitlincolnshire.com/press/lincolnshire-film-tv-location-service/

Leave a comment if you have any filming locations to share…

23/04/2026

Happy St George's Day!
A lovely sunny one this year. We've been trawling our records for references to St George, and found a few we've had to check to see whether they refer to the saint, or the king! We found the Grade II Listed 17th century George and Dragon pub in Billingborough, and the 18th century George Hotel in Alford which is also Grade II Listed.

Much harder to misidentify a dragon! We'll keep our eyes out...

For more information on the buildings, please click the links below!

https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI95856

https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI87493

10/04/2026

Lincolnshire's "Mud and Stud" buildings are a unique and characterful form of traditional construction, and if you're interested to find out more please do come along to see Jenne Pape's talk tomorrow!

01/04/2026

Castles exist all over the world. But in Medieval England, you actually had to get a licence to build one. The ‘Licence to Crenellate’ , as it was known, existed from the 12th to 16th centuries.

It was given by the king (though some powerful nobles issued them too), and granted anyone permission to fortify their property.

Today there are approximately 460 surviving licences, with several examples relating to Lincolnshire. The earliest known licence for Lincolnshire was given in 1142 to William d’Aubigny, the 1st Earl of Lincoln, for a fortification at Gainsborough (presumably at Castle Hills, Thonock).

Another licence appears a few years later in 1146 to Ranulf, Earl of Chester, to build a tower at Lincoln Castle. A ‘Roberto de Tatteshal’ is mention receiving licence in 1231, which is thought to be Robert of Tattershall for his manor at Tattershall, the precursor of Tattershall Castle.

Another licence appears in 1281 for Antonius Bek, Bishop Durham, for his property of Somerton castle (near Boothby Graffoe).

Lincoln Cathedral appears in several licences; numerous licences appear under the ‘Dean and Chapter of Lincoln’ in relation to the ‘Cathedral Close’, the wall that surrounded the Cathedral property, in 1285, 1316 and 1318. Another licence appears in 1329 for the Bishop of Lincoln, granting permission to build a palace (today’s Bishop’s Palace).

Do you think this is the first instance of a planning application in the UK? Let us know you’re thoughts. You can also find out more about the mentioned sites below:

https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI54187
https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI70129
https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI43561
https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI60738
https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI70180
https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI70139

Image Credit: "Lincoln Castle, walls, northeast corner", Tilman2007, CC-BY-SA-4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1388491_Lincoln_Castle,_walls,_northeast_corner_Lincoln_20240519_0195.jpg

28/03/2026

Have a look at these photos from Horncastle! As part of our work enhancing Lincolnshire Historic Record, we have been able to look through a series of photos from East Lindsey. These show the change of one shop front on the High street over a span of about 100 years from the late 19th century. We use the shop’s location next to Lindsey court as a reference point.

This building appears to have been a lot of traditional shop types over the years: grocery, chemist, shoe shop and is now a jewellery shop. It tells us how the economic shifts throughout the 19th and 20th centuries forced the changes we still see on our high street’s today.

Take a look at the HER record here: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI92128

27/03/2026

There are over 80 Historic Environment Record (HER) offices across England, each bringing together all sorts of information about the archaeology, historic buildings and landscapes in its area. Together, they provide national coverage - helping people access trusted local knowledge and supporting the understanding, management and conservation of historic places.

Our Lincolnshire Historic Environment Record is available to be browsed online, for free, for all. If you have questions or are interested in your local area, this is the place to start!

https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/map



https://vimeo.com/1174819186

Find out why Historic Environment Records (HERs) matter now more than ever. Historic England champions  the network of local HERs that capture millions of unique records about our shared past.