Bracebridge Walk

Built on the site of St Catherine’s, a Gilbertine monastery, the Priory Centre is now a community centre. In the past it has also been a place of worship and more recently a DIY store. The Lady Chapel within the complex remains and regular services take place.

The Honington line opened in 1867 to quicken the journey between Lincoln and London and to serve the villages between Lincoln and Grantham. Use of the line declined from the 1930s due to competition from the buses and in 1965 the line was closed, except for the section serving Bracebridge gasworks until production ceased in 1971.

South Common one of three urban commons in Lincoln. Recent archaeological surveys have revealed a number of features on the commons including the line of the Roman road from Lincoln to London, medieval water reservoirs serving St Catherine’s Priory and training trenches for First World War soldiers. South Common covers approximately 80 hectares.

Cross o Cliff Orchard was established by William Best in the latter part of the 19th century and at that time covered approximately 2 hectares. The fruit was picked and sold commercially until the mid 1940s. The orchard contains apple, pear and plum trees, some of which are rarely seen today and have wonderful romantic names like Bolingbroke Beauty and Louise Bonne de Jersey. It is also home to a variety of wildlife and in 2005 was declared a Local Nature Reserve. Owned by the County Council, much of the practical management work is undertaken by local volunteers.

The chimney and old clay pits at the end of Orchard Walk are evidence of a brickworks established during the Lincoln building boom of the 1870s and 1880s. This works amalgamated with three others in the area to form the Lincoln Brick Company. It closed in the early 20th century because of competition from the Peterborough brick works. The old clay pits have been taken over by hawthorn, hazel, elder and dogrose and provide an area ideal for birds and wildlife.

You are now walking along the base of the Lincolnshire Edge, the limestone backbone of the county. The village of Bracebridge Heath sits on top of the edge, or cliff, here. Until 1908, when St John The Evangelist was built as a mission church, villagers had to walk down to All Saints church at Bracebridge to worship.

To the right Lincoln cathedral can be clearly seen.

All Saints is a lovely little church originally built in the 11th century and the nave you see today dates from this time. It was enlarged in the 13th century and the pillars in the south aisle are copies of those in the cathedral. At the same time the chancel was lengthened making it difficult to see the altar from the nave. To overcome this, two windows (one rectangular and one arched) were cut through the chancel wall, making a unique feature of the building. The church was restored in 1875 and the north aisle, vestry and porch added. A look at the outside of the church will show a number of carved stones set into the wall. These are fragments of coffin lids dug up and used when the south aisle was built.