Lincoln Townscape Assessment St George's Inherited Character Area Statement September 2008 Page 2 of 18
Table of Contents Page Overview 2 Historical Development 3 Urban form 4 Views 10 Condition of Buildings and Streetscape 10 Use 11 Relationship to City and Surrounding Areas 11 Key Townscape Characteristics 11 Appendix 1: Character Area Attributes 13 Appendix 2: List of RAZs 14 Appendix 3: List of Monuments 15 Appendix 4: List of Ecological Sites 16 Appendix 5: Historical Components which influence the current character 17 Page 3 of 18
Overview St. George s Character Area is a mainly residential area with some light industrial/commercial buildings that extends either side of Long Leys Road on the western side of the city. It is situated on the lower slope of the north escarpment and as a result has a gentle incline towards the east, which has strongly influenced views into and out of the area. The uses here have arisen because of its location on the edge of the city. Although separated from the built-up area of the city by open space including allotments, fields, parkland and common land, it is still close in terms of proximity. This urban fringe location, separated from the city and with large areas of land available was chosen for a hospital (for infectious diseases) and industries that required a large uptake of land. Although these uses have been retained to some extent, the Character Area has been steadily expanding as a residential area since the 1960s, probably due to the good access to both the city and the bypass, and the rural views it has retained of open fields and common land. Several elements of the area s historical development are still visible in the current landscape. For example, the southern boundary of the Character Area marks the medieval route of Cliffgate, an important western access route into the city. The orientation of former fields is retained in the boundaries of some development plots such as the northern boundary of the Mitchel Drive development and the east/west boundary between properties along Albion Close and the Curtis industrial site. These fields date from when the area was enclosed by Act of Parliament during the Early Industrial Period. There are also earthworks associated with former brick pits in the rear plot of Travis Perkins yard. From the late 1840s bricks were produced at a number of sites within the Character Area, including the West Cliff and Albion brickworks. Two rows of terraces also survive that were probably associated with the brickworks, and buildings from the hospital built here in 1904. During the Modern Period, increasingly large residential developments were constructed on open land on and on part of the hospital site to the south and north of Long Leys Road respectively. Long Leys Road is a strong linear feature and all phases of development have a strong relationship to it. Buildings accessed directly off Long Leys Road generally face on to the road, creating an active frontage. Each development tends to have a single access road off Long Leys Road, sometimes with more minor internal roads leading from it. Houses within development units tend to face on to internal roads and the outer boundary of the site is lined with back gardens and the rear of properties. Because of this piecemeal development over an extended period of time, there is limited pedestrian access and no vehicular access between the different phases of development. The rural setting of the Character Area is a strong feature. The gentle gradient of the escarpment, combined with the strongly defined boundaries of the built-up area, mean that from many places there are views on to agricultural land, grassland and pasture. From the Character Area there are views to the north east on to the properties that line the ridge of the north escarpment and the undeveloped areas beneath. To the south and west there are views on to agricultural fields and West Common. To the south east the Cathedral is visible on the skyline with the city spreading down the hillside. Within the Character Area there are several surviving features of the former Victorian landscape including the hospital, the industrial area and two rows of terraced houses. The hospital complex contains many buildings set within extensive grounds with gardens and areas of car parking. Surviving Victorian elements include the main hospital building, Gervas House, a lodge and the boundary wall along Long Leys Road, all of which are constructed in red brick. Two rows of terraced houses survive from the Late Victorian/Edwardian Period and a single detached villa that belonged to the owner of the Albion brick works. The Industrial Terraces have a painted render façade, pitched slate roofs, very little decoration and mainly horizontal sliding sash windows. The Oakleigh Terrace houses were built two decades later, have exposed red brickwork and much higher levels of decoration. The light industrial/commercial units, on the site of the former brickworks, are positioned close to Long Leys Road to enable good access. Buildings are individual, low-level units of one-to-two storeys built with a steel frame and a variety of cladding materials including red brick and corrugated iron. They are positioned in the middle or rear of their plot, often with car parking or a yard to the front. Later residential developments, built in several distinct phases by different developers in the Post-War and Modern Periods, share many common characteristics. For example, the form and size of properties are generally similar within build units and use a limited number of standard building plans. They are mostly detached bungalows or two-storey houses positioned within their own plots with gardens to front and rear. Decorative elements include bay windows, rendered semi-circles above windows, key stones above windows, imitation stone sills and lintels, blocked-in windows, and corbels beneath the eaves. Front doors are located in various positions on the front façade, are mostly made from upvc and often have glazed panels. Despite variation in the form and style of properties, many architectural components, such as windows, doors, and other fixtures and fittings remain identical throughout build units. Page 4 of 18
Variations between developments include the way that building density in later phases tends to be higher, and properties tend to occupy comparably smaller plots than earlier houses in the Character Area. They are also positioned closer to the footway increasing the sense of enclosure along streets. Some of the 1960s properties along Long Leys Road have a greater degree of variation, suggesting that these properties may have been developed individually. Public/private boundaries are frequently indistinct, and often take the form of a border of low planting, low brick walls or wooden fencing, or a vague transition from grass/hard standing to the footway. To the rear boundaries between properties are generally wooden fences. There are a number of open space and natural elements within the Character Area including deep grass verges, some with mature tree planting. The main open space resource in the Character Area is private gardens. The close proximity of the Character Area to West Common also helps to make it a very green area. Several compacted earth footpaths have been laid out around the perimeter of different build units. These now have quite overgrown vegetation, contributing to the rural character of the area. In terms of vitality the area seems quite quiet during the day, although Long Leys Road has a fairly steady flow of traffic that gets heavier at peak times of the day for getting in and out of the city. Good access to both the city and the bypass has made the Character Area popular as a residential area. Its position amidst areas of undeveloped land has resulted in views over open space that gives it a semi-rural quality. Overall it is a transitional area between urban and rural that has characteristics of both the city and the country. Historical Development The current character of St. George s Character Area largely consists of a series of mid-to-late 20 th -century residential estates, which have overwritten a former rural and industrial landscape lying along the north escarpment slope approximately 1 km from Lincoln city centre. The former rural character remains in many parts of the area, in particular along the southern edge of the area where it borders West Common. The escarpment slope in the Character Area is likely to have fulfilled a variety of functions since the Roman Military Era [60-90 AD]. During this time the area was part of the early city s territorium, a swathe of land surrounding major Roman fortresses in which agricultural production and services were dedicated to the service of the legion. The area may have also been a focus for small-scale open quarrying, probably in the form of localised areas of digging, especially around any limestone, ironstone, gravel or clay outcrops that occurred along the escarpment slope. The quarrying of materials is likely to have occurred in subsequent periods, especially when the city was expanding, such as the High Medieval Era [850-1350 AD]. Shallower parts of the escarpment slope will also have continued to be either cultivated and/or grazed from the Roman Military Era, and during the High Medieval Era much of the land within the Character Area was incorporated into West Common. The large field, which was one of three such fields around Lincoln, was farmed and used for grazing by inhabitants of Lincoln who possessed common rights to make use of the open land. The original medieval route of Cliffgate, which was an important western access route into the city by at least the 13 th century, ran along the southern boundary of the Character Area. The road would have been important in the development of the city as a market centre during the High Medieval and Early Modern Eras. During the Early Industrial Period much of the common land around Lincoln was enclosed by Act of Parliament, entailing the redefinition of West Common and the division of land with a rectilinear system of fields. West Common, the northern boundary of which forms the southern boundary of the Character Area, was redefined to its current shape. Field boundaries associated with the enclosure of land during this period remain apparent in the west of the Character Area, and have influenced much of the layout of later development. The orientation of former fields is retained in the boundaries of some development plots such as the northern boundary of the Mitchel Drive development, the dog-leg boundary between Oakleigh Drive and Mitchel Drive, the east/west boundary between properties along Albion Close and the Curtis Industrial site, and the rear plot boundaries of 3-40 Albion Crescent. Growth of the city during the Early Industrial Period, and particularly in the following Post-Railway Expansion Period [1846-1868 AD] and Late Victorian/Edwardian Period [1869-1919 AD], created a demand for building materials, in particular brick. Bricks were brought in by canal from Gainsborough and by rail from Nottingham; however, the growing needs of the city were also met by brickworks within the Character Area. From the late 1840s bricks were produced at a number of sites within the Character Area, including the West Cliff and Albion brickworks. Earthworks associated with the brick pit of the latter works remain apparent in the rear plot of Travis Perkins yard. Most of the houses in the west end of the city, immediately to the east of the Character Area, were built using bricks made at the Albion and West Cliff brickyards. Two rows of terraced housing probably associated with the adjacent brickworks survive in the Character Area (e.g. Oakleigh Terrace and Industrial Cottages). The Late Victorian villa at 54-55 Long Leys Road was also built in the Late Page 5 of 18
Victorian/Edwardian Period for the owner of the Albion brickworks. Figure 1: Oakleigh Terrace is one of two rows of terraced housing probably associated with the adjacent brickworks survive in the Character Area. Located on the rural western fringe of the City, the Character Area attracted a number of small houses and cottages such as Wintringham House and The Garden House, which survive along the south side of Long Leys Road. In 1904, the City Hospital for Infectious Diseases was established on the current site of St. George s Hospital. A few of the original buildings survive, including Gervas House and the lodge at the entrance to the hospital grounds. To protect patients from airborne viruses the hospital site was enclosed with a tree-lined border, the southern and western stretches of which partly survive. During the Inter- War Period [1920-1945 AD] Gervas House was extended, and the hospital expanded to the west on the current site of the housing development along Manrico Drive and Berilldon Drive. The site to the west was developed as an American forces hospital in WW2 and used as a general hospital until the latter part of the 20 th century. Allotment gardens in the west of the Character Area were also established towards the end of the Inter-War Period, and the short row of houses at numbers 46-56 were built on Long Leys Road. During the following Post-War Period [1946-1966 AD], residential housing developed around Albion Crescent and Albion Close, and small-scale industry was located along Long Leys Road, including Curtis bacon factory and a builders merchants which is now a stables immediately to the west. During the Modern Period, increasingly large residential developments were constructed on open land on part of the hospital site to the south and north of Long Leys Road respectively. Urban form The St. George s Character Area is mainly a residential area with some light industrial/commercial buildings that extends either side of Long Leys Road, which connects the western side of the city to Saxilby Road (A57). It is situated on the lower slope of the north escarpment and as a result has a gentle incline towards the east, which has strongly influenced views into and out of the area. The uses in the Character Area have arisen because of its location on the edge of the city. Although separated from the built-up area on the western side of the city centre by a band of open space that includes allotments, fields, parkland and common land, it is still close in terms of proximity. In the Late Victorian/Edwardian Period, this resulted in it being chosen for uses such as a Page 6 of 18
hospital (for infectious diseases) and industries requiring a large uptake of land. Although these uses have been retained to some extent, the Character Area has been steadily expanding as a residential area since the 1960s. This is probably due to the good access it provides to both the city and the bypass, whilst retaining views of open fields and common land, emphasising its rural setting and separation from the city. Figure 2: Although separated from the built up area on the western side of the city centre by a band of open space that includes allotments, fields, parkland and common land, it is still close in terms of proximity. Long Leys Road is a strong linear feature and all developments in the Character Area have a strong relationship to it. Buildings accessed directly off Long Leys Road generally face on to the road, though there a setbacks of varying degrees, and this creates a continuous building line along the road and an active frontage. With the exception of two rows of Victorian terraced houses and a short row of semi-detached houses from the Inter-War Period, these houses belong to one of several different building phases during the Post-War and Modern Periods. These houses were constructed in development units, i.e. within the extent of the land ownership available to the developer at that time, and as a result, there is usually a single access road off Long Leys Road, sometimes with a number of smaller, internal roads leading off it. The houses in these developments all face on to the internal roads and the outer boundary of the site is lined with back gardens and the rear of properties. Because of this piecemeal development over an extended period of time, there is limited pedestrian access and no vehicular access between the different phases of development. The rural setting of the Character Area is also a strong feature. This results from the combination of open spaces in close vicinity to the area. To the north and west there are agricultural fields, to the east is the upper slope of the north escarpment, to the south east are a variety of open spaces including grassland, scrub, plantations and a park, and to the southwest is West Common, a large area of common land that forms a large part of the transition between the built-up area of the city centre and the agricultural fields on the western boundary of the city. The gentle gradient of the escarpment, combined with the strongly defined boundaries of the built-up area, mean that from many places there are views from the Character Area on to agricultural land, grassland and pasture. Within the Character Area there are several surviving features of the former Victorian landscape. These include the hospital, the industrial area and two rows of terraced houses. The current hospital is made up a complex of several buildings within extensive grounds that include a large garden, several large grass verges, areas of planting and car parking. Surviving Victorian elements include the main hospital building, Gervas House, a lodge directly to the east of this building and the boundary wall along Long Leys Road. There are also several buildings built in the Modern Period including several low one-storey buildings, many of which are set around a central courtyard or garden area. Other buildings belonging to the hospital complex have since been demolished and redeveloped for housing such as the American forces hospital from WW2 that was later used as a general hospital. Gervas House and the nearby lodge are both constructed in red brick and are two to three storeys high, though the former is on a much grander scale. They have a mixture of surviving wooden vertical sliding sash windows and replacement upvc windows, slate roofs and a variety of projections and decorative features such as deep eaves with corbels, gabled windows in the roof, stone sills, a stone doorway with imitation columns and a stone coat of arms on the chimney stack of lodge building. They are set within the hospital grounds and shielded from view from the road by a surviving Victorian red-brick wall that is approximately five Page 7 of 18
feet high. Figure 3: There are several surviving features of the former Victorian landscape including Gervas House and the nearby lodge. They have a variety of projections and decorative features such as deep eaves with corbels, gabled windows in the roof and stone sills. The light industrial/commercial units in the Character Area are built on the site previously used for brick pits during the Late Victorian/Edwardian Period. They are positioned close to Long Leys Road to enable good access. The buildings occupying the various plots are generally low-level units of one to two storeys built with a steel frame and a variety of cladding materials including red brick and corrugated iron. They are large individual buildings positioned in the middle or rear of their plot, often with car parking or a yard to the front. The public/private boundary between these sites and Long Leys Road varies but includes a low brick wall with green and yellow painted railings above, and more natural boundaries such as a grass verge lined with trees and shrubs concealing the Curtis building from view from the road. Figure 4: The public/private boundary between light industrial sites and Long Leys Road varies but includes a grass verge lined with trees and shrubs that conceals buildings from view. The Character Area also contains two rows of terraced houses that were built in the Late Victorian/Edwardian Period and the Page 8 of 18
single detached villa (now two properties) built for the owner of the Albion brick works. The terraces are generally two storeys high and two bays wide. Individually they have a vertical emphasis but as a group they take on a horizontal emphasis due to the repeating rhythm of windows, doors and chimneys. The Industrial Terraces have a painted render façade, pitched slate roofs, very little decoration and mainly horizontal sliding sash windows. The ones on Oakleigh Terrace that were built two decades later have exposed red brickwork and much higher levels of decoration. For example, there are several moulded string courses underneath the eaves, cresting along the ridge of the roof, and windows with white casements and surrounds painted in a second colour. Some of the terraces have kept their original paintwork maintained and in these cases the colour of the window surrounds is also used for the guttering, the drain pipes, the door and its surround, and the railings above the wall to the front of the properties. They also have other decorative features such as margin lights above the doors and cambered brick arches above the windows, doors and alleyways. A number of these properties have replacement doors and windows in dark wood or upvc. The detached villa is also built in red brick but has square brick bay windows on the ground floor with their own slate roof. There is also a small amount of decorative brickwork under the eaves and round the top of the bay windows. The door is set within a deep recess that has a decorative square brick projection around the arched doorway and is lined with darker bricks. The door itself is partially glazed and flanked on both sides by panels that are also partially glazed. Figure 5: The properties on Oakleigh Terrace have several elements of building decoration. including moulded string courses underneath the eaves, cresting along the ridge of the roof, and windows with white casements and surrounds painted in a second colour. The smallest phase of housing development in the Character Area is the row of eight semi-detached properties built in the 1920s that look directly out over West Common. These properties, possibly associated with neighbouring industrial uses in the area, are built in red brick with hipped, pantile roofs. They vary from the later residential developments in the Character Area in that they were built in a much smaller number, are semi-detached and all face directly on to Long Leys Road. They have quite large setbacks from the road with a driveway and/or garden to the front. Each property has a large projection to the front with a bay window to the ground floor, a gabled roof above that has barge boards in the apex, and boarding that is sometimes painted with imitation beams in a vertical or fanned pattern. Several have had later extensions added such as garages. The later residential developments, built in several distinct phases by different developers in the Post-War and Modern Periods, share many common characteristics. The form and size of properties in the Character Area are generally similar within build units, which are often designed using a limited number of standard building plans. The majority of houses are detached bungalows or two-storey buildings; however, there are a handful of terraced rows and one apartment building, which are generally associated with social or affordable housing. They are positioned within their own plots and have gardens to front and rear. The Page 9 of 18
width of houses generally varies according to building height, with the majority of two-storey properties being two to three bays in width, and bungalows varying from two-bays width to up to five-bays width. Bungalows are mostly arranged with their short axis parallel to the street, whereas the majority of two-storey houses are square in plan. They are generally detached properties in their own plots that face on to the street and have gardens to both front and rear. Many properties, both houses and bungalows, have projecting gabled wings to the front. Garages vary between developments; in earlier phases they are generally integrated into the property whereas in later developments they tend to be single-storey detached units set at the back of the driveway. Properties have a medium-to-high solid-to-void ratio. Windows are mostly horizontal in orientation, although some of the most recent properties are more traditional in style with vertical openings and details, including sash windows. Front doors are mostly made from upvc, often have glazed panels and are located in various positions on the front façade. There is a wide variety of roof types including hipped and pitched, though a small number also have half-hipped roofs (Oakleigh Terrace). Roofs generally have their ridgelines running parallel to the street, though several have gable ends with deep eaves facing the road. Projections on properties are commonly found on the front of buildings within some build units, and include bracketed bay windows at ground-floor level, a small number of single-storey or two-storey bay windows, and frequent brick or wooden porches. Some porch roofs are integrated with bay window and or adjacent garage roofs. Despite variation in the form and style of properties, many architectural components, such as windows, doors, and other fixtures and fittings remain identical throughout build units. By and large, the most recent housing displays a greater degree of variation through the varying use of decoration and projections. Building density is marginally higher, and properties tend to occupy comparably smaller plots than earlier houses in the Character Area, and are set back closer to the footway, increasing the sense of enclosure along streets. The increasingly varied character of houses in more recent built units illustrates a move by developers to design and construct more individual properties from the outset, aimed at satisfying the desire of potential homeowners for a distinctive and personalised home. However, the use of a range of standard designs, details and materials within build units demonstrates the economies of scale of mass developments and their construction with a finite set of building materials. Some of the 1960s properties along Long Leys Road have a greater degree of variation, suggesting that these properties may have been developed individually. They vary in height from two to three storeys but are generally three bays wide and with an integrated garage. They are constructed in brick but the colour varies, and some have cladding in different materials such as tiles. Figure 6: Some of the 1960s properties along Long Leys Road have a greater degree of variation, suggesting that these properties may have been developed individually. They are generally three bays wide with an integrated garage. Grass verges and communal green spaces are a strong feature of the 1960s development along Albion Crescent in particular. Page 10 of 18
The mature trees here are well established and break up the built environment. There is a much lower sense of enclosure due to the lower height of buildings (one to two storeys), the way they are set well back from each other due to the width of the road, and their large setbacks. However, even in the higher density parts of the Character Area, the gradual incline of the slope maintains the low sense of enclosure to some extent as open fields are never far away. In additional to rural views, there are a number of open spaces and natural elements within the Character Area. There is a large area of open space within the grounds of the hospital and in some parts of the Character Area there are deep grass verges, some with mature tree planting. In the case of the entrance to Albion Crescent there is a second road set back behind the grass verge that provides access to the properties that look out over Long Leys Road. There is also a large open space with mature trees at the northern end of the 1960s part of the Albion Crescent development. In the later phases of development there are fewer grass verges. Within the development off Berrildon Drive there are several gap sites currently used as public open space, but the size and location of these sites suggest that they were intended for either buildings or play areas that have not yet been constructed. The main open space resource in the Character Area is private gardens. Gardens to the front of properties in particular help to create a fairly green and natural environment. The gardens are more established in the earlier phases of development but in time the later phases will also develop. One noticeable variation, however, is that the earlier phases of development tend to contain more tree planting than later schemes, which tend to have low-level shrub borders and areas of grass. The close proximity of the Character Area to West Common also helps to make it a very green area. Figure 7: Grass verges and communal green spaces are a strong feature of the 1960s development along Albion Crescent in particular. The mature trees break up the built environment and the wide verges contribute to a much lower sense of enclosure. Public/private boundaries are frequently indistinct, and often take the form of a border of low planting, low brick walls or wooden fencing, or a vague transition from grass/hard standing to the footway. Boundaries between properties vary. Where there is a front wall to the property there is also a wall or fence boundary between adjoining properties. In contrast, where the public/private boundary is undistinguished the boundary between properties is also undistinguished. To the rear boundaries between properties are generally wooden fences. Boundaries to the side and rear of properties that back on to public footpaths tend to be solid brick walls. Page 11 of 18
Figure 8: On the St. George s Hospital development, boundaries to the side and rear of properties that back on to public footpaths tend to be solid brick walls. Several public footpaths have been laid out around the perimeter of different build units. These are compacted earth footpaths that have been able to develop naturally and now have quite overgrown vegetation. This contributes to the rural character of the area that is created by the views on to neighbouring pasture and agricultural areas, and by the simple wooden fencing around West Common. Parts of the boundary along Long Leys Road is also planted with trees and a bit overgrown in places, for example the trees outside the Curtis building and hedge along the allotments on the western side of the road. In terms of vitality the area seems quite quiet during the day. There is more activity around the houses on Albion Crescent, possibly indicating that these properties are popular with retired residents. Long Leys Road has a fairly steady flow of traffic that gets heavier at peak times of the day for getting in and out of the city. The industrial units generate a limited amount of daytime traffic. Views The position of the Character Area on the lower slopes of an escarpment has resulted in a wide range of views out in different directions. To the north east there are views over the undeveloped parts of the escarpment on to the rear of properties on Middle Street, which line the top of the escarpment. This also includes views of Sobraon Barracks, which is a strong feature on the escarpment. To the north west there are views on to Burton Fields, the agricultural land on either side of the bypass to the north west of the City. To the south there are views on to West Common, and to the south east there are glimpses of the top of the Cathedral and the buildings beneath it on the slope of the escarpment. Condition of Buildings and Streetscape The residential areas in the Character Area are generally in good condition, although some road surfaces that have not been adopted by the Local Authority are in need of repair. The buildings within the hospital complex are in a good condition and the overall unity of the site has been maintained through the retention of the original red-brick front wall to the front of the main building along Long Leys Road. It is the industrial units in the area that are in a poorer condition as these often have car parking areas in need of resurfacing, buildings in need of some repair and minimal investment has been made in the public/private boundary. Page 12 of 18
Figure 9: The industrial units often have car parking areas in need of resurfacing. Use There is a variety of uses in the Character Area. There are buildings that are used as industrial units, as places of worship and as a hospital, but the majority of the Character Area is residential. Relationship to City and Surrounding Areas The Character Area has an edge-of-town location that made it popular for buildings that were needed for the functioning of the City but were not necessarily desirable in the city centre, such as a hospital which was associated with infectious diseases, and industrial buildings that needed large sites. Later residential development has made this area more of a commuter area that benefits both from good access into the City and out to the bypass, and from semi-rural views over West Common, farmland and the escarpment. As such it is a transitional area between urban and rural that has characteristics of both the built-up areas and the open spaces that surround it. The low, simple wooden fence around the Common helps to add to this sense of rurality. Key Townscape Characteristics Mainly residential area with some light industrial/commercial buildings that extends either side of Long Leys Road on the western side of the city. Situated on the lower slope of the north escarpment and as a result has a gentle incline towards the east, which has strongly influenced views into and out of the area. Uses have arisen because of its location on the edge of the city. Although separated from the built-up area of the city by open space including allotments, fields, parkland and common land, it is still close in terms of proximity. This urban fringe location, separated from the city and with large areas of land available was chosen for a hospital (for infectious diseases) and industries that required a large uptake of land. Although these uses have been retained to some extent, the Character Area has been steadily expanding as a residential area since the 1960s, probably due to the good access to both the City and the bypass, and the rural views it has retained of open fields and common land. Elements of historical development that are visible in the current landscape: o The southern boundary of the Character Area marks the medieval route of Cliffgate, an important western access route into the city. o The orientation of former fields is retained in the boundaries of some development plots such as the northern boundary of the Mitchel Drive development and the east/west boundary between properties along Albion Close and the Curtis industrial site. These fields date from when this area was enclosed by Act of Parliament during the Early Industrial Period. o Earthworks associated with former brick pits remain apparent in the rear plot of Travis Perkins yard. From the late 1840 s bricks were produced at a number of sites within the Character Area, including the West Cliff and Albion brickworks. o Two rows of terraced housing probably associated with the adjacent brickworks survive in the Character Area (e.g. Oakleigh Terrace and Industrial Cottages). o Gervas House and its associated lodge are surviving elements of the City Hospital for Infectious Diseases opened in 1904. o During the Modern Period increasingly large residential development were constructed on open land on part of the hospital Page 13 of 18
site to the south and north of Long Leys Road respectively. Long Leys Road is a strong linear feature and all phases of development have a strong relationship to it. Buildings accessed directly off Long Leys Road generally face on to the road, creating an active frontage. Houses within development units tend to face on to internal roads and the outer boundary of the site is lined with back gardens and the rear of properties. Because of this piecemeal development over an extended period of time, there is limited pedestrian access and no vehicular access between the different phases of development. The rural setting of the Character Area is a strong feature. The gentle gradient of the escarpment, combined with the strongly defined boundaries of the built up area, mean that from many places there are views on to agricultural land, grassland and pasture. Within the Character Area there are several surviving features of the former Victorian landscape. These include the hospital, the industrial area and two rows of terraced houses. The hospital complex contains many buildings set within extensive grounds with gardens and areas of car parking. Surviving Victorian elements include the main hospital building, Gervas House, a lodge and the boundary wall along Long Leys Road, all of which are constructed in red brick. The light industrial/commercial units are positioned close to Long Leys Road to enable good access. Buildings are individual, lowlevel units of one to two storeys built with a steel frame and a variety of cladding materials including red brick and corrugated iron. They are positioned in the middle or rear of their plot, often with car parking or a yard to the front. Two rows of terraced houses survive from the Late Victorian/Edwardian Period and a single detached villa that belonged to the owner of the Albion brick works. The Industrial Terraces have a painted render façade, pitched slate roofs, very little decoration and mainly horizontal sliding sash windows. The Oakleigh Terrace houses were built two decades later, have exposed red brickwork and much higher levels of decoration. Later residential developments, built in several distinct phases by different developers in the Post-War and Modern Periods, share many common characteristics: o The form and size of properties are generally similar within build units and use a limited number of standard building plans. o The majority of houses are detached bungalows or two-storey buildings. o Single access road off Long Leys Road, sometimes with more minor internal roads leading off it. o Positioned within their own plots and have gardens to front and rear. o Width of houses generally varies according to building height, with the majority of two-storey properties being two to three bays in width, and bungalows varying from two-bays width to up to five-bays width. o Many properties, both houses and bungalows, have projecting gabled wings to the front. o Garages vary between developments; in earlier phases they are generally integrated into the property whereas in later developments they tend to be single-storey detached units set at the back of the driveway. o Decorative elements include bay windows, rendered semi-circles above windows, key stones above windows, imitation stone sills and lintels, blocked-in windows, and corbels beneath the eaves. o Front doors are located in various positions on the front façade, are mostly made from upvc and often have glazed panels. o Despite variation in the form and style of properties, many architectural components, such as windows, doors, and other fixtures and fittings remain identical throughout build units. Variations: o Building density in later phases is marginally higher, and properties tend to occupy comparably smaller plots than earlier houses in the Character Area, and are set back closer to the footway increasing the sense of enclosure along streets. o Some of the 1960s properties along Long Leys Road have a greater degree of variation, suggesting that these properties may have been developed individually. Public/private boundaries are frequently indistinct, and often take the form of a border of low planting, low brick walls or wooden fencing, or a vague transition from grass/hard standing to the footway. To the rear boundaries between properties are generally wooden fences. There are a number of open space and natural elements within the Character Area including deep grass verges, some with mature tree planting. The main open space resource in the Character Area is private gardens. The close proximity of the Character Area to West Common also helps to make it a very green area. Several compacted earth footpaths have been laid out around the perimeter of different build units. These now have quite overgrown vegetation, contributing to the rural character of the area. In terms of vitality the area seems quite quiet during the day although Long Leys Road has a fairly steady flow of traffic that gets heavier at peak times of the day for getting in and out of the city. From the Character Area there are views to the north east on to the properties that line the ridge of the north escarpment and the undeveloped areas beneath. To the south and west there are views on to agricultural fields and West Common. To the south east the Cathedral is visible on the skyline with the city spreading down the hillside. The Character Area has an edge-of-town location and this influenced the uses that developed here such as a hospital and industry. Good access to both the City and the bypass has made it popular as a residential area. Its position amidst areas of undeveloped land has resulted in views over open space that gives it a semi-rural quality. Overall it is a transitional area between urban and rural that has characteristics of both the city and the country. Page 14 of 18
Appendix 1: Character Area Attributes Character Area Type: Residential Predominant Period: Modern (1967 to Current day) Secondary Period: Late Victorian/Edwardian (1869 to 1919 AD) Average Building Density: Medium Location Type: City fringe Average Building Type: Detached Page 15 of 18
Appendix 2: List of RAZs Intermediate distance roads Common quarries in the cliff faces north-west and south of the city The city's arable fields Enclosed pasture and meadow east and west of the city Un-enclosed pasture west of Newland, and West Common Middle Class house building between the Wars Brick and tile manufacture Isolation Hospitals around West Common Intermediate road routes The Racecourse Sports Grounds Reception aerodrome on West Common 1915-1918 Limestone uplands Legionary 'prata' and 'territorium' Northern and southern hill slopes Racecourse Kiln and associated industrial zone Land around city potentially usable for settlement and agriculture Intermediate distance roads Common "diggings" in the cliff faces north-west and south of the city Un-enclosed pasture west of Newland Lincoln common fields Page 16 of 18
Appendix 3: List of Monuments Roman farm or villa, Lower Long Leys Road (53.247, -0.56) The Garden House, Lower Long Leys Road (53.240, -0.56) Albion Close (53.242, -0.56) Albion Crescent (53.243, -0.55) 46-53 Lower Long Leys Road (53.239, -0.55) Social Education Centre, Long Leys Road (53.244, -0.56) 54-55 Lower Long Leys Road (53.240, -0.55) Industrial Cottages, Long Leys Road (53.242, -0.56) Oakleigh Terrace, Long Leys Road (53.241, -0.56) Mission Room, Lower Long Leys Road (53.242, -0.56) Wintringham House, Lower Long Leys Road (53.240, -0.56) St Christophers Mission Church, Lower Long Leys Road (53.241, -0.56) Brick Yard, Long Leys Road / Albion Crescent (53.242, -0.56) Albion Brickworks, Long Leys Road (53.240, -0.55) Roman buildings, Lower Long Leys Road (53.248, -0.56) Roman inhumations, Lower Long Leys Road (53.248, -0.56) Cliffgate (53.237, -0.55) Church, Long Leys Road (53.247, -0.56) Dawber House, St Georges Hospital, Long Leys Road. (53.245, -0.55) St Georges Hospital, Long Leys Road (53.244, -0.56) Page 17 of 18
Appendix 4: List of Ecological Sites West Common Whittons Park Hobbler's Hole and Newt Hollow West Cliff Old Quarry, Burton Road Land North West of Lincoln Relief Road Land South of 32-38 Albion Crescent Page 18 of 18
Appendix 5: Historical Components which influence the current character Allotments / Inter-war Field Boundary / Early Industrial Historic Earth Works / Early Industrial Quarry / Roman Military Quarry / High Medieval Page 19 of 18