Lincolnshire Historic Places

01/11/2026

Today is All Saints Day!

Everyone is familiar with the common saints; St George, St Mary, St Peter. But what are some of the more unusual saint names? Turns out there’s a few churches in Lincolnshire that have unusual names. We’ve picked a few for you here:

- St Medardus & St Gildardus, Little Blyton: Named after two 6th century bishops, this is the only church in Britian dedicated to these saints. The church still contains many Saxon features. https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI33634

- St Polycarp, Holbeach Drove: Polycarp was a 2nd century bishop of Smyrna, in Turkey. Built in the late 19th century, his Church is the only one found in the Diocese of Lincoln. https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI125591

- St Radegund, Grayingham: Named after the 6th century Princess of Thuringia (modern day Germany), this church, built in the 12th century and underwent several renovations. The tower is a fine example of Early English architecture. https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI50749

What other unusual saints do you know? Let us know in the comments!

(Image: St Radegund's Church)

30/10/2026

Did you know that Lincolnshire is home to a few haunting tales. The Lincolnshire fens have been home to many spooky creatures. This Halloween we thought we would share one of them “The Dead Mans Hand” …

Young lad Tom Pattison decided to cross the Carrs at night, with only a lantern, despite being warned not to as evil spirits lurk there! As he crossed the Carrs his lantern was blown out and at that moment the evil spirits came out of the bog and attacked Tom Pattinson, his friends watched on to witness only a hand reach out of the bog and pull Tom down. His friends escaped but Tom did not return for a week, reappearing at the very spot he vanished, with his hair turned white.

Lots of Lincolnshire’s scary stories come from folk tales, these have been preserved thanks to projects like this: https://lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com/

Photo of the fens. Source: Wikimedia commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stormy_drain,_Lincolnshire_(12797534735).jpg

27/10/2026

🚨Mystery Building Alert 🚨 and we need your help!

This photograph comes from our HER library but we are struggling to identify exactly where it is of. All we know is that it was taken in 1991, somewhere in East Lindsey. Are there any clues in this photo you recognise? Maybe you remember the newsagents...

Photographs are an important source in our recording of Lincolnshire's past, and this one is of particular interest because we think it might depict a mud and stud building.

Please leave your suggestions in the comments! 🔎

Have you spotted any other mud and stud buildings in Lincolnshire let us know here: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/mudandstud

27/10/2026

Unearthed anything of interest recently? Come and see our Finds Liaison colleagues at their next Finds Day!

Bring out your finds!
Come see the Lincolnshire PAS team at Bourne United Charities, The Red Hall, Bourne on Wednesday 18th November, from 10 - 12!

23/10/2026

October is Black History Month, a programme which “acknowledges Black individuals whose leadership, service and professional excellence have made a measurable contribution to British society.” (Black History Month UK).

Mahomet Thomas Phillips (1876- 1943) was a Congolese sculptor, whose work can still be viewed in churches and as part of public memorials across Lincolnshire today.

Mahomet was born in the Congo to Nené Bassa, a local woman of a wealthy family, and Richard Cobden Phillips, an English trader. Historical evidence points to the couple having married, but by 1888 it seems that the relationship had broken down and Richard, as well as Mahomet and one of his siblings, was living in England.
According to the 1891 census, Mahomet and his father were living near Salford. He attended the Manchester School of Arts, before continuing his studies at the York School of Art between 1896 and 1909.

While in York, Mahomet met Mary Ann Morley, who he married in 1899, and the couple shared 3 children. By 1916 they had moved to Peterborough. Shortly after, he was conscripted into the army and served as a signaller within the Royal Field Artillery.

After WWI Mahomet returned to sculpting and completed the figures on the war memorial in Sleaford Market Square (MLI90218) in 1922. It was during this period that he started to work for Bowman & Sons in Stamford and created pieces for the Grantham War Memorial (MLI94935) in St Wulfram’s churchyard and the rood screen in St Chad’s church, Dunholme (MLI53154), amongst many other projects locally and across the country. He became head of sculpting at Bowman and continued to work at the company until his death in 1943.

To read more about Mahomet’s life and work visit the Reimagining Lincolnshire’s online archive: https://reimagininglincolnshire.org.uk/mahomet-thomas-phillips-part-1/

Image courtesy of the Reimagining Lincolnshire project.

19/10/2026

Ever heard of a tin tabernacle?

These unique structures, also known as iron churches, were chapels that were made entirely of corrugated iron. As populations swelled in the towns and cities during the 19th century, there wasn’t enough room in the existing churches to fit everyone in. The tin tabernacles were built as a quick and cheap way to provide a place of worship while more permanent stone structures could be build.

Several of the tin tabernacles survive around the country, we even have a couple here in Lincolnshire! Be sure to look out for them on your travels:

- Methodist chapel, Linwood: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI87178
- St Matthew’s Church, Boultham: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI87373

Image: Linwood Methodist Chapel (credit: Society for Lincolnshire Heritage and Archaeology)

15/10/2026

October is Black History Month, a programme which “acknowledges Black individuals whose leadership, service and professional excellence have made a measurable contribution to British society.” (Black History Month UK).

Footballer William “Willie” Gibb Clarke, born 3 March 1878 in Mauchline Scotland, was the first black football player to score in the English football league. As only the 3rd black player to ever appear in the English football league, and second to represent Scotland internationally, that goal scored for Aston Villa, against Everton, on Christmas Day in 1901 was a significant moment in footballing history. Following this, and a brief stint at Bradford City, Clarke transferred to Lincoln City Football Club and played for the Imps from 1909 to 1912.

Lincoln City Football Club is a huge part of the city's identity and over the last 142 years has been proud to champion talent from all backgrounds. The club was home to the first black player to command a transfer fee in the UK. In 1899 Johnnie Walker, also the first black footballer to play in the Scottish league, was signed to Lincoln for £25. In more recent years, former manager Keith Alexander was a pioneer in being the first black qualified referee in England and one of the first full-time professional black managers within the English Football League. He took Lincoln City to four consecutive play-offs and two finals at the Millennium Stadium. Since his death in 2010 there have been numerous things named in his honour, including a 'house' at one of the city's secondary schools and an award in the UK's Football Black List for those making a difference across football.

Explore Lincolnshire’s hidden and marginalized histories here at: https://reimagininglincolnshire.org.uk/

Picture of William 'Willie' Clarke was featured in the Taddy To***co Co. 'Prominent Footballers' cigarette card series in 1907 while playing for Bradford City F.C
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Clarke,_c._1907.jpg

08/10/2026

October is Black History Month, a programme which “acknowledges Black individuals whose leadership, service and professional excellence have made a measurable contribution to British society.” (Black History Month UK).

Lincolnshire has a rich history that is often more diverse than first thought. For example, did you know that there were 5,000 black colonial volunteers who served in the RAF in Lincolnshire throughout the Second World War?

One such was Flight Lieutenant William “Billy” Arthur Watkin Strachan (1921-1998), who was a pilot for the RAF Bomber Command during WW2, a social activist and, a pioneer of black civil rights in Britain. Originally born in Kingston, Jamaica, following the outbreak of the Second World War Strachan sold all of his possessions and travelled alone to the UK to join the RAF. Based at RAF Fiskerton, Strachan was very impressive as an RAF pilot, surviving 33 operations. Following the war, Strachan was a communist and human rights activist, campaigning for many important causes. During the 1950s, he published the Caribbean News, one of the first monthly black newspaper in Britain.

You can find out more about RAF Fiskerton, home of the Arvo Lancasters flown by Strachan, here... https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI52879

Strachan pictured with Raf Flight Crew (far right). Image source: Wikimedia Commons

06/10/2026

Fancy visiting a 1000 year old church?

This is the Church of St Mary the Virgin at Stow. There had been a church on this site since the 9th century, which was burned down by the Danes in 870AD. The current church was built around c.1034 to 1049, to serve as the ‘Mother Church’ of Lincolnshire, when it was under the Diocese of Dorchester. It underwent several alteration of the centuries, notably undergoing major restorations from 1864 to 1867.

Visitors to Stow Minster - St Mary - Lincolnshire today can observe many of the different architectural styles made during it’s life. You can also see a lump of molten lead, rumoured to be the fragment of when the Danes burned the church down, as well as the graffiti of a longship etched onto one of the walls.

Find out more here on our website: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI52434



Image copyright: David Wright (Wikimedia)

01/10/2026

💛Happy Lincolnshire Day! 💛

It's our privilege to work every day in preserving and promoting Lincolnshire's wonderful heritage, and today we're thrilled to be Lincolnshire Showground sharing our work with hundreds of children from across the county!

We've created an activity looking at the amazing range of resources we have for Castle Bytham - a small village with a very big history. These include an ordnance survey map from the 1800s, aerial photographs from the 1960s and a LIDAR survey from the 2010s. All of these sources show different ways of recording the landscape through time, as well as give us fantastic insights into the archaeology of the area.

For more information, as always, have a look on our Heritage Explorer site to see what you can discover: https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/