(1.72km)
Walking
Wainfleet Station Walk
Wainfleet
This small market town is said to stand on the Roman settlement of Vainona. In the Domesday book 1086, Wainfleet is referred to as ‘Wenflet’; the local Lincolnshire dialect transformed this into ‘Waynflete’.
Starting point
Wainfleet Rail Station, High Street, Wainfleet All Saints, Lincolnshire, PE24 2DR
Linked to Public Transport
Points of interest:
‘Wainfleet’ comes from a combination of ‘wegn’ and’fleot’ translating to mean wagon that can cross a stream. In the medieval period this town was a busy port but the River Steeping was silted which put an end to this. Wainfleet boasts a famous local inhabitant as it was the birthplace of William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and founder of Magdalen College in Oxford, he built the Magdalen college school for the purpose to teach 7 local boys Latin and Greek in preparation to move onto the Magdalen college. Waynflete was also the lord Chancellor under Henry VI.
- 1Wainfleet Station
- The station was opened by the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway for passenger traffic on 24 October 1871. The passenger service was extended from Wainfleet to Skegness on 28 July 1873.
- 2Batemans Brewery
- George and Susannah Bateman began their brewery in 1874, initially serving local farmers who compensated their laborers with a mix of produce, cash, and beer. In 1880, George Bateman acquired Salem House, which still houses Batemans Brewery today.
- 3Salem Bridge
- Built in 1820, the Tower mill worked until 1920. Acquired by Batemans Brewery in 1920, it’s now part of the Brewery. Salem Bridge windmill and attached mill building are Grade II listed.
- 4Magdalen School
- Built in 1484 by Bishop William Waynflete, this school, initially Wainfleet Grammar School, became Wainfleet Secondary Modern School in the mid-20th century. In 2007, it transformed, with the upper floor as a local museum and the lower floor serving as a County Library branch.
- 5Barkham Street
- Built in 1847 by Sydney Smirke, this row of 10 houses served the Bethlem Hospital, designed to resemble the tenements in Southwark, London. Bethlem Hospital, a psychiatric institution and prison established from 1811-15, was also expanded by architects P. Hardwick and Sydney Smirke. These Lincolnshire houses likely accommodated similar patients.
- 6Petrol Station
- Storrs were established in Wainfleet back in 1958 and operates as a self service station, it still operates old fashioned petrol pumps on the road side opposite the market place.
- 7Buttercross-Market Place
- The Buttercross, where John Wesley preached, got its name because it stood in the marketplace where people from nearby villages came to purchase local butter, milk, and eggs.
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Poacher Line Station Walks
Enjoy a collection of walking routes accessible by rail. All along the Poacher Line you can find historic landmarks to visit, scenic walks, visitor attractions and monuments that are accessible up and down the award winning Poacher Line railway.
