Archived News and Events
Chairman's Introduction: Derek Broughton
The Chairman's baton has been passed on four times now. Throughout the years the position has been held by an Archaeologist, a Historian, an Archivist (my thanks to Chris Johnson for all the wisdom, knowledge, guidance and patience imparted over a most effective reign) and now an Engineer!
In all these I'm sure that there has been and will be one unifying factor: a respect of and concern for our own City of Lincoln.
An Engineer for 40 years before the inevitable redundancy "Friday this place is a factory, Monday it will be history" - some of my recollections are published as the chapter 'He's gone to the foundry' in our booklet Boultham and Swallowbeck: Lincoln's south-western suburbs (A. Walker edited, 2013).
In 1999, a few months before the final closure of the Ruston Bucyrus site I was made redundant. Having been for some years an Industrial Volunteer at the Museum of lincolnshire life, and having completed an external conservation course with Nottingham University, I was offered a 'front of house' position at the Museum of Lincs Life and this eventually led to supervision of the volunteer group.
A final retirement in 2013 has confirmed my belief that retirement can be a 'many splendoured thing'. In addition to membership of The Survey of Lincoln, the SLHA Vernacular Architecture and Industrial Archaeology teams, and industrial advisor to the Lincoln city council Historic Environment Panel, it is good to keep in touch with spanners at the Dogdyke Drainage Station.
We must all be conscious of the rapidity with which the built environment of the City is changing. I hope that when this baton is next passed on, The Survey of Lincoln will still be contributing to the documented knowledge of our past and when necessary will remain an effective voice of conscience against those forces that would give us a city not worthy of its past.
I would urge all members, and others, to keep themselves appraised of proposals currently affecting Lincs County Council Heritage Services, and not to hesitate to put pen to paper to relevant councillors to express opposition or support as appropriate for their various intentions.
Derek Broughton
Chairman, The Survey of Lincoln 2017 -
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Mr Stanley R. Jones FSA
We were sorry to learn of the death of Stanley Jones on 9th July 2017 following ill health. Stanley undertook illustrative recording of numerous older buildings near to Lincoln Cathedral and elsewhere in the city. Most of these were published in the four volumes of The Survey of Ancient Houses or in Steep, Strait and High. He was a member of The Survey of Ancient Houses group and became a long-standing member of The Survey of Lincoln. Stanley's funeral was held 31 July 2017.
Some appreciations:
I, like many of us, have enjoyed many pleasant times in his company and drawn on his considerable knowledge of buildings in Lincoln. His expertise was invaluable when I was Heritage Team Leader at City of Lincoln Council, especially on those buildings where Listed Building consent was required and I was advising owners and developers on their pending applications, in particular, if they appeared in his ‘blue books’ (Survey of Ancient Houses). He, as with Tom Baker and Richard and Mary Lucas, now leave a legacy but a big hole in expertise in their fields of knowledge that was accessible to so many. At least with the publication of Steep, Strait and High (and the preceding four publications), we have that knowledge in print. - AW.
Stanley was a great man, all the more so for being so modest. - MJ
Stanley was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (https://www.sal.org.uk). An obituary by Fellows Nat Alcock and Bob Meeson was published in their newsletter Salon in August 2017, and is reproduced below (formatting slightly altered) with the permission of the Salon Editor Mike Pitts.
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Miss Ruth Tinley
We are sad to report the death of member Ruth Tinley on January 2nd 2017. Ruth contributed some articles to our newsletter The Lincoln Enquirer, in issues 9, 19 and 24 and these can be read again.
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Richard and Mary Lucas
Most, if not all, of you will know by now of the tragic accidental deaths of our stalwart members and staunch Lincolnians Richard and Mary Lucas, while holidaying in their beloved Dordogne region. The following note is not intended as an obituary nor a comprehensive life history, but in recognition of just some of the many contributions that they made individually and jointly to their native city.
Richard was a scion of the Lucas building firm, and his family played a significant role in civic life. Richard himself served as a Conservative city councillor 1966-72, while two of his predecessors had been Mayor. Richard’s father ‘Dick’ Lucas was one of the founder members of the Lincoln Civic Trust in 1953. We remember particularly his son’s many prominent activities for the Trust, from whose presidency he retired only last year, while still contributing a retrospective piece for its latest annual report – a publication that Richard and Mary compiled jointly for many years. Lucas’s firm had used St Mary’s Guildhall for many years, until 1975, as its yard(!). It was appropriate then that Richard was prominent in the restoration scheme for the Guildhall, along with its architect Bob Pilling, which was completed in 1986. Here the Trust still resides. Up until the last he was still a member of the team that reviewed and commented on planning applications. He was for several years Chair of the Jews Court (and Bardney Abbey) Trust and was still a Trustee. In addition he served for many years as a governor of his and Mary’s old school (Lincoln Christ’s Hospital), in particular using his shrewd commercial expertise to help it to realise the value of its property assets. He and Mary made useful contributions to the cathedral community. Survey members will recall particularly his anecdotes of life, both personal and civic, in the city in the mid to late 20th century. Some of these have appeared in earlier issues of The Lincoln Enquirer.
His wife Mary (née West), was born into another prominent Lincoln commercial family, and was just as active as Richard in many other ways. Not only did she too write articles for the newsletter, but members of the Survey will remember how she both ensured that the domestic arrangements for our public meetings went smoothly, as well as making regular contributions to our booklet series. Some of these articles were based on first-hand experience, while others were the result of her own researches. She had a very lively mind. Mary had been a French teacher; at times she taught supply. For a while in the early 1990s she was my French conversation tutor. Somehow, Mary somehow found the energy to complete two advanced degrees at Nottingham University, first an MA in local and regional history (1985) and subsequently a PhD thesis (1998) analysing the evidence of wills for religious attitudes in Lincoln at the time of the Reformation. All this was achieved in addition to her duties to four children and later eight grandchildren, to whom generosity and support flowed. I always enjoyed her excellent Xmas puddings, the proceeds from which were donated to the cathedral, where she had also trained as a guide.
Richard and Mary were truly loyal servants of their city, and we shall miss them very much.
MJJ May 2016
Richard and Mary's funeral was held on 6 June 2016, at Lincoln Cathedral
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Lincoln's Population 1801 - 2011 webpages
including maps showing the changing extents of the city's boundary and wards since 1901
Old Lincoln allotment photos webpage
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The Survey of Lincoln is grateful to Bishop Grosseteste University for its generous financial contributions towards the production costs of the reprinted versions of
Monks Road: Lincoln's East End through Time and Uphill Lincoln I: Burton Road, Newport and the Ermine Estate.
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The aim of The Survey of Lincoln is to compile and publish information about the history of the city. Historical documents, archaeology, architectural features and local topography - they all have a part to play in building a vivid picture of what Lincoln was like. Who the earlier inhabitants were, what they did, and where they lived is all part of the giant historical jigsaw we are slowly piecing together. - Chris Johnson (former chairman)
2016 Additions