Well, we’ve helped Margaret and Bryan on a house move before; that time was a Leeds to London trip for their daughter, this time we moved some furniture from their flat in Leeds to their house on James Street in Lincoln. And what a house it is!
It was fascinating to hear about the history of the house. James Street was formerly called Vinegar Lane. This came about during the time that lepers were banished from the city and had to live in the countryside. Their only means of food was supplied by relatives who came along Vinegar Lane to a stone bowl which was filled with vinegar. They would leave the food there and the lepers would then leave coins in the vinegar in payment for the food. It was believed that the vinegar would sanitise the coins and prevent the recipient from catching leprosy.
Margaret and Bryan’s house is built on what used to be the gardens of Lincoln cathedral. It was originally bought by a doctor following a fire in a house called Burghersch Chantry (built on 1345) within the grounds in 1965. The house and land belonged to the cathedral and, as they didn’t have insurance on the building, the only way to raise the funds for its repair was to sell the land.
Fastforward almost 50 years, the doctor sells to Margaret and Bryan and the long and tiresome process of planning permission takes place to build their wonderful house. But it was all worth it. It really is amazing, and the view from the terrace was stunning. Some of the walls on the perimeter of the house are some of the original garden walls from the cathedral.
Margaret allowed me to take a picture from the terrace of Lincoln cathedral. I’d never seen it before but it is truly magnificent. Apparently, when the spire was completed in 1311 it was the tallest building on earth for the next 238 years, even taller than Egypt’s Great Pyramid. And Lincoln Castle has one of the only 4 copies of the Magna Carta that have survived these last 800 years.
I’ll definitely be visiting Lincoln again with the family, it’s steeped in history!
