Lincoln Townscape Assessment. St. Rumbold's Inherited Character Area Statement

Transcription

1 Lincoln Townscape Assessment St. Rumbold's Inherited Character Area Statement May 2008 Page 2 of 16

2 Table of Contents Page Overview 2 Historical Development 2 Urban form 3 Views 6 Condition of Buildings and Streetscape 6 Use 6 Relationship to City and Surrounding Areas 6 Key Townscape Characteristics 6 Appendix 1: Character Area Attributes 8 Appendix 2: List of RAZs 10 Appendix 3: List of Monuments 13 Appendix 4: List of Ecological Sites 14 Appendix 5: Historical Components which influence the current character 15 Page 3 of 16

3 Overview St. Rumbold s Character Area is bounded to the west by Broadgate and to the south by the River Witham. To the north the boundary runs to the south of smaller buildings and plots - along Unity Square, to the south of and 32 Friars Lane, to the west and south of 9-25 Rosemary Lane and the former Wesleyan Day School, to the north of St. Swithin s burial ground, and to the west and north of the Lincoln College site on Montague Street/Monks Road. To the east the area is bounded by Montague Street (from Monks Road and Abbey Place), the northern, western and southern boundaries of Croft Street, the western side and the rear of 9-24 Croft Street (including the car-park), Coningsby Street, and Stamp End between Coningsby Street and the Witham. The area includes St. Rumbold s Street, Waterside North, Brook Street, Croft Street, Friars Lane, Rosemary Lane, the east side of Broadgate, south side of Monks Road, west side of Montague Street, south side of Coningsby Street and west side of Stamp End. St. Rumbold s has an incoherent urban townscape, despite being close to the city centre, including large buildings of differing style and materials, smaller residential and commercial buildings, broken building lines with frequent gaps and many large unattractive open areas (e.g. surface car-parks which cover nearly a third of the Character Area). The buildings are from different periods, with some survivals from the Georgian and Victorian period, including earlier inns along Broadgate, and many larger buildings from the 1960s and 1970s, including Waterside House with distinctive facades with curved brick features. Some earlier townscape elements survive including Roman and medieval city defences (Broadgate lies on top of a filled-in defensive ditch), medieval and post-medieval street pattern including the lines of Friars Lane and Rosemary Lane, and pre-1842 field boundaries such as the boundary line of St. Swithins churchyard. The area is quite cut-off from the city centre by the high traffic volumes and barriers along Broadgate and limited crossings at surface level, and bordered on the south by the Witham. It is a very quiet area with limited permeability (partly due to larger block sizes and the barriers to west and south) and limited pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The streets, often not overlooked by people, with limited pedestrian and vehicle traffic, areas behind security railings and unkempt sites give a negative impression, and one of being unsafe for pedestrians at night. The Witham waterfront has simply a road and verge alongside the canal and is very quiet with limited active building frontages and mostly car-parks facing on to it. However, there are attractive views along the south side of the Witham including the industrial buildings, as well as views of landmark buildings situated outside the area, such as the Cathedral, Doughty s Mill, and St. Swithin s and St. Hugh s churches. Historical Development St. Rumbold s has a long and complex history as part of the city of Lincoln. The River Witham marks the southern boundary of the area. It may have been canalised as early as Roman times to allow vessels from Lincoln a means to reach sea routes, as well as acting as an early focus for trading activity. Monks Road follows the line of the east-west road from the medieval Clasketgate gate, which itself followed in part the likely line of the Roman road issuing from a gate in the lower defences. Its name probably derives from Monks Abbey, the remains of which lie to the east of the area. Part of Broadgate follows the line of the Roman and medieval lower city defences. Broadgate was partly constructed on top of the filled in ditch, possibly as early as the 16 th century. St. Rumbold s area formed part of the significant medieval suburb of Butwerk, which was situated outside the lower city defences. The alignment of many of the roads, including Friars Lane, Rosemary Lane, and Croft Street probably date from the High Medieval Era and Post-Medieval period. Unity Square was the location of a Post-Medieval pig market and its present width probably reflects the requirements of the market space. Page 4 of 16

4 Figure 1 Canalised route of the River Witham Some street names also reflect links with the medieval era. The name of Friars Lane may refer to the nearby former Blackfriary. St. Rumbold s Street may have been named after the medieval church of the same name, although the church was actually located further north. Sparrow Lane was named after the Sparrow family. Croft Street took its present name from St. Hugh s Croft, where St. Hugh s fair was held from the early 15 th century until The name of the Stamp/Stamp End area of river may date from the Early Modern Era, possibly meaning (the place by) the weir or dam (Cameron, 1985). Following the post-medieval decline of Lincoln and the Butwerk suburb most of the area was turned over to agricultural use. The boundary of St. Swithin s churchyard follows a pre-1846 field boundary, as does the northern boundary of St. Hugh s car-park on Friars Lane. The oldest building in the area is the former Magpies Public House, which dates from 1790 and has now been converted to residential use. Magpie Square was named after it. During the Victorian period a rapidly growing industrial sector and growing population led to the construction of a mixture of residential, commercial, civic and industrial buildings on what had in some cases been enclosed agricultural fields. Much of the present townscape dates from this time although the large-scale industrial buildings have largely disappeared. However, the boundaries of Waterside North car-park define the site of the former Wellington foundry. Some of the small-scale terraced housing remains. This mix of large and small-scale waterfront development is typical of industrial towns in the East Midlands. Brook Street was laid out in the 19 th century and is named after Brook s brewery, previous occupiers of the site. Typical examples of terraced housing from the period can be found on Croft Street and St. Rumbold Street. John Cooke s Lindum Plough Works on Monks Road was established in 1857/8, the site now occupied by Lincoln College, while Chester s engineering works on Rosemary Lane was converted to residential use at the start of the 21 st century. St. Swithin s cemetery dates from It was closed in 1899 and has been in recreational use since the early 20 th century. Some of the buildings associated with the Arnold & Co. bottling plant of the late 19 th century have been incorporated into the Lincolnshire Archives Office. Montague Street Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over the Witham constructed in 1878 and paid for by public subscription, proving a link to the factories on Waterside South for workers housed in the Monks Road area. Thorn Bridge was re-built in 1940 to carry four lanes of traffic over the Witham. St. Rumbold s has continued to host residential and commercial uses into the 21 st century. The 20 th century saw the demolition of large numbers of Victorian buildings to make way for redevelopment in a mainly Modernist style during the 1960s and 1970s with examples of the large building footprints typical of development in Lincoln at this time including the Anglian Water Authority offices on Waterside North and the YMCA building on Croft Street. Urban form The topography provides a gentle slope down from the busy Monks Road to the River Witham. Page 5 of 16

5 The buildings in St. Rumbold s are of a widely differing scale with differing form, setback, details and materials. For example, the larger buildings, which date mainly from the Post-War and Modern Periods, are of brick, (of colours varying from yellow through various shades of red to brown), steel cladding, or concrete. Some have flat roofs. Some of the larger buildings of 4-7 storeys fill most of their plot (e.g. the 1950s telephone exchange and the 1970s multi-storey car-park on Unity Square); others have some basic landscaping around such as Waterside House, which also has distinctive curved brick features. Figure 2 Multi storey car-park off Unity Square A few smaller one to two-storey commercial buildings exist as well as smaller civic buildings such as the 1970s YMCA building on Croft Street. Isolated pockets of smaller Victorian back of footway terraced housing survive with a dense, fine grain, e.g. Brook Street, with red Albion brick, plain detailing, 2 storeys with gable roofs of Welsh slate or concrete tiles, and mid-roof brick chimneys. There are many replacement plastic doors, windows and rainwater goods. Figure 3 Late Victorian/Edwardian housing along St. Rumbold s Street There is no specific differing style of corner and edge buildings, except for the two-to-three storey brick building, with slate roof, which was the former 18 th -century inn fronting on to Broadgate at Thorn Bridge, now converted to a residential apartment Page 6 of 16

6 block. This is of a similar scale to buildings bordering Broadgate in the St. Hugh s Character Area, Lindum Hill and most of the buildings on the west side of Broadgate. The ratio of the width of the road to this scale of building provides the broad characteristic of this important street in Lincoln as well as a commanding view from Broadgate of the cathedral within its setting of the lower buildings and trees on the surrounding hillside. A key feature of St. Rumbold s is the group of large areas of medium/large surface car-parks (some in poor condition), open green space in poor condition (St. Swithin s cemetery and poor quality grass areas around some buildings), fenced off land, and disused/derelict land (e.g. the petrol station site on Broadgate). Surface car-parks occupy nearly a third of the whole Character Area. Together with the lack of enclosure in most of St. Rumbold s, and the widely varying scale and form of the buildings, these open areas contribute to an area which does not have a coherent urban character that might be expected so close to the city centre. Figure 4 Surface car-parking with St. Rumbold s Character Area This character is reinforced by the relative quietness of the area due to its division from the city centre by the busy traffic on Broadgate and limited crossing points at street level and its division from the south by the Witham and large scale industrial areas. Together with the large urban blocks this contributes to more limited east/west and north/south pedestrian movement and vehicle traffic than would be expected within the area, except to car-parks during peak times. Taken together with the lack of active frontages overlooking the streets, this can give the area an unsafe feeling, especially at night. The area has uses, for example car-parks that are servicing the city centre rather than providing an area-based function. The only civic space, St. Swithins Cemetery, is in poor condition with a lack of seating, which results in gravestones being used as seats, and is used as a dumping ground. The street pattern is of a rough, irregular grid. St. Rumbold s Street follows a sinuous line with some narrower secondary mixeduse streets coming off it. The wider Unity Square is in the north of the area. The footpaths and carriageways are of tarmac with concrete kerbs and are mostly in reasonable condition. There are a few remaining stone kerbs and cast-iron rainwater channels (e.g. below St. Swithin s burial ground). The street furniture is modern and cluttered; some in poor condition. There are also relatively few mature trees in the area. Page 7 of 16

7 Figure 5 varying land use and changeable building scale along the sinuous route of St. Rumbold s Street The Witham waterfront has a roadside appearance and is very quiet with limited active building frontages and mostly car-parks facing on to it. However, there are attractive views along the south side of the Witham including the repeating vertical rhythms of industrial buildings of the 19 th century. Landmark buildings from outside the Character Area can be seen within St. Rumbold s, including the cathedral, Doughty s mill (which provides a fine terminating view along Friars Lane), Lincoln College, St. Hugh s and St. Swithin s churches. Views There are commanding views along Broadgate towards the cathedral as well as many good views of the cathedral in other parts of the area. Good views of St. Hugh s and St. Swithin s churches can also be seen in St. Rumbold s area. There is also a fine terminating view along Friars Lane to Doughty s mill. The views from the top of Vine Street and many other roads to the north of Monks Road to the south escarpment cross the area. Condition of Buildings and Streetscape The buildings are in reasonable condition, except that the Victorian terraced housing has lost many original doorways, windows and rainwater goods. The open spaces in the area are in poor condition, including the disused former petrol station, car-parks with unkempt appearance with a variety of surfaces and wild plant growth. There are some areas of disused land behind railings. Use There are a variety of uses in the area including civic (the YMCA, church, city archives and multi-storey car-park), some short residential streets and apartment blocks and a few commercial uses (e.g. Autoglass and the telephone exchange). However, much of the land is used for car-parks or has no clear use. Relationship to City and Surrounding Areas Despite its closeness to the city centre the area is relatively quiet due to its division from the city centre by the busy traffic on Broadgate and limited crossing points at street level, and its separation from the south by the Witham and large-scale industrial areas. Page 8 of 16

8 Key Townscape Characteristics Incoherent urban townscape with developments of varying scale and many large open areas, which are either disused or used as surface car-parks Large 20 th century buildings, of differing style and materials, plus smaller residential and commercial buildings including a few surviving Georgian /Victorian buildings on Broadgate Some early townscape elements survive including: o Roman and medieval city defences Broadgate lies on top of a filled-in defensive ditch o Medieval and post-medieval street pattern including the lines of Friars Lane and Rosemary Lane o Pre-1842 field boundaries such as the boundary line of St. Swithins churchyard The area is quite cut off from the city centre by the heavy traffic along Broadgate Very quiet area with limited permeability and limited pedestrian and vehicle traffic outside rush hours The area can have an unsafe feel deriving from the unused sites and inactive plot frontages (i.e. where there are no overlooking buildings with regularly spaced doors and windows) The Witham waterfront is quiet with simply a road and verge alongside the canal, and with little landscaping and no buildings directly addressing the canal Good views of landmark buildings situated outside the area, such as the Cathedral, Doughty s Mill, and St. Swithin s and St. Hugh s churches Page 9 of 16

9 Appendix 1: Character Area Attributes Character Area Type: Mixed use Predominant Period: Modern (1967 to Current day) Secondary Period: Late Victorian/Edwardian (1869 to 1919 AD) Average Building Density: High Location Type: Inner city Average Building Type: Detached Page 10 of 16

10 Appendix 2: List of RAZs Stamp End causeway Local roads St Hugh's fairground, Butwerk City docks 1) wharves along Waterside North east of the wall and the Blackdyke The swine, beast and sheep markets in Broadgate, St Rumbold's Churchyard and Sheep Square Housing in Butwerk suburb Quarries in the cliff face east of the city Thorngate Castle Wigford eastern shoreline - La Gulle, Old Eye and Thorngate Lower City defences Friary of the Sack and the Kyme Chantry St Bavon St Augustine St Peter ad fontem St Clement-in-Butwerk Wetlands Stamp End lock and causeway The wetlands Enclosed pasture and meadow east and west of the city Working class housing of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Newport, the Bail, the lower city and Wigford. Working-class housing estates c in Newport, Newland, Butwerk Wigford and elsewhere Fossdyke, Brayford and Witham navigations Montague Street Bridge Smithies Heavy engineering works Food processing industries and brewing industry Elementary Schools Intermediate road routes Local road routes Thorn Bridge, Melville Street St Swithin (new site) The Jurassic Way Early crossing points and the Stamp End Causeway Hill side springs, streams and pools Valley floor deposits Limestone uplands Waterside installations Northern hill slope area with springs and possible secular occupation Stamp End Causeway Valley Floor deposits Roads entering the city Suburban development east of the walled city The defences Stamp End causeway Cemeteries Quayside east of High Bridge Riparian deposits Central elements of former Roman city and Roman network Stamp End causeway Riparian deposits Stamp End causeway Local roads Beggarsholme market in Butwerk City docks 1) wharves along Waterside North east of the wall and the Blackdyke Housing in Butwerk suburb Quarries in the cliff face east of the city Thorngate Castle Wigford eastern shoreline - La Gulle, Old Eye and Thorngate Lower city defences Page 11 of 16

11 Friary of the Sack and the Kyme Chantry St Bavon St Augustine St Peter ad Fontem St Clement-in-Butwerk Wetlands Page 12 of 16

12 Appendix 3: List of Monuments Croft Street (53.229, -0.53) Bakery, Unity Street (53.230, -0.53) 12 Rosemary Lane (53.229, -0.53) Anglian Water Authority, Waterside House, Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Coningsby Street (53.229, -0.53) 28 Sparrow Lane (53.229, -0.53) Sparrow Lane (53.229, -0.53) 1-15 Brook Street (53.229, -0.53) 2-20 Brook Street (53.229, -0.53) 2-20 St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.53) Montague Street (53.229, -0.53) 10 Montague Street (53.229, -0.53) 1-15 Unity Street (53.230, -0.53) 1-11 Coningsby Street (53.229, -0.53) 9-18 Croft Street (53.229, -0.53) Baggholme Road (53.229, -0.53) Montague Street (53.229, -0.53) Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Croft Street (53.229, -0.53) Montague Street (53.229, -0.53) Coningsby Street (53.229, -0.53) Montague Street and 4-8 Coningsby Street (53.229, -0.53) Brook Street (53.229, -0.53) Roman wall, Monks Road (53.231, -0.53) Bavins Passage, Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Winns Yard, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.53) Elliotts Court/Cottages, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Fosters Yard, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Fosters Mill Yard, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) Mill Court, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) Coningsby Street (53.229, -0.53) Fishermans Court, Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Montague Street (53.230, -0.53) YMCA Building, Croft Street (53.229, -0.53) Unity Street, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.53) 47 Waterside North. Sloop Inn (2) (53.228, -0.53) 56 Waterside North. Carpenters Arms (53.228, -0.53) 7/8 Croft Street. Heneage Arms Public House (53.229, -0.53) 63-4 Waterside North. Steam Packet Public House (53.228, -0.53) 47 Waterside North. Sloop Inn (1) (53.228, -0.53) Ragged School, Sparrow Lane (53.229, -0.53) St Swithins Cemetery, Rosemary Lane. (53.230, -0.53) St Hughs Croft (53.230, -0.53) Finkle Street (53.229, -0.53) Fresholme Lane (53.229, -0.53) Godslove House (53.229, -0.53) Sparrow Lane (53.229, -0.53) The Stamp / Stamp End (53.228, -0.53) Butwerk suburb (53.230, -0.53) Baggholme Road (53.230, -0.53) Rosemary Lane (53.230, -0.53) St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Friary of Friars of the Sack, Waterside North (53.229, -0.53) Monks Road (53.231, -0.53) Wall, Rosemary Lane (53.229, -0.53) 46 Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Page 13 of 16

13 24-30 Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Wesleyan Day School, Rosemary Lane (53.230, -0.53) Rosss Row, Rosemary Lane (53.229, -0.53) Commodore Court, Waterside North (53.228, -0.53) Beehive Court, Sparrow Lane (53.229, -0.53) St Augustines cemetery, St Rumbold Street. (53.229, -0.53) St Augustines Church (53.229, -0.54) St Bavons Church (53.230, -0.53) Roman road Monks Road (53.231, -0.53) Roman road? E/W at Grantham Street (53.231, -0.54) Late Roman defences. Ditch (53.233, -0.54) E/W street at be73 (53.230, -0.54) Medieval building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Medieval inhumation, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Medieval furnace, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Mid-Late Roman building, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman building, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman bath, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman building, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman wall, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman timber building, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Early-mid Roman linear feature, Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) Post-medieval kiln, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Saxo-Norman-Medieval building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Saxo-Norman-Medieval building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Saxo-Norman-Medieval building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Saxo-Norman-Medieval pit, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman gully, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman fence, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon-Saxo-Norman timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon stone surface, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Late Saxon timber building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Roman ditch and gully, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Post-medieval foundations, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Post-medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Post-medieval lime kilns, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Post-medieval cobbling, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Medieval walls, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Medieval cobbled surface, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Early medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Early medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Early medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Early medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Early medieval building, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) Multi Storey Car Park, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Save Petrol Station, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Medieval-post medieval building, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Roman road and ditch, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Late Saxon building, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Late Saxon-Medieval building, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Late Saxon-Medieval building, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Post-medieval foundations, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Page 14 of 16

14 Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) St Clements Church in Butwerk (53.230, -0.54) 11 Broadgate, O Rourkes Public House (53.229, -0.54) Rose and Crown / Unicorn Inn. Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Royal Oak Public House, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Peacock and Woolpack Public House, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Delhi Place, Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) Friars Place, Friars Lane (53.230, -0.54) 18 Broadgate (53.230, -0.54) 5-9 Friars Lane (53.229, -0.54) Wheatsheaf Inn Stables and offices, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) 17 Friars Lane and 8.5 Unity Square (53.230, -0.54) 2-3 Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) National Telephone Company Stores, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) Rumbles Passage, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Burleys Passage, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Rumbles Court/Sharps Passage, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Penistans Yard, Broadgate (53.229, -0.54) Telephone Exchange, St Rumbold Street (53.229, -0.54) The Riverside, Magpies Square (53.228, -0.54) Magpie Square/Magpies Square (53.228, -0.54) Roman structure?dock St Rumbolds Street (53.229, -0.54) Witham in the Late Roman period (53.229, -0.54) Witham in the early medieval period (53.229, -0.54) Witham in the high medieval period (53.228, -0.54) Witham in the late medieval period (53.228, -0.54) Jackson Court/Jacksons Court, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Bells Passage, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Winns Yard, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Sheriffs Court, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) Witham Houses, Waterside North (53.228, -0.54) 7 Magpies Square (53.229, -0.54) Page 15 of 16

15 Appendix 4: List of Ecological Sites Rosemary Lane Disused Burial Ground River Witham, Central East Page 16 of 16

16 Appendix 5: Historical Components which influence the current character Bridge / Inter-war Canal / Roman Colonia Field Boundary / Early Industrial Footbridge / Late Victorian/Edwardian Road / Roman Colonia Road / High Medieval Road / Early Modern Road / Late Victorian/Edwardian Defences / Roman Colonia Defences / High Medieval Market Place / Early Modern Public House / Early Industrial Terraced Housing / Late Victorian/Edwardian Factory / Late Victorian/Edwardian Cemetery / Post-railway expansion Offices / Modern Car park / Modern Page 17 of 16