The origins of the Wigford suburb and St Mary-le-Wigford church
The suburb of Wigford is one of the southern suburbs of the city of Lincoln, located in the county of Lincolnshire; in the northeast part of the English East Midlands. The city of Lincoln was originally founded on a Jurassic limestone ridge, known as the Lincoln Edge, at a location where a glacial river valley, the river Witham, passes through. The (Roman) city was founded on the part of the ridge that overlooked, and descended down to, the north bank of the river Witham. At that location could be found the Brayford Pool, with the river Till entering it from the west and the river Witham entering it from the south. From the Brayford Pool, these waterways then flowed eastwards (then south eastwards) as a widened river Witham, and thus in turn created the associated wider river Witham valley.
Prehistoric archaeological artefacts, dating from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age have been found at various locations on both side of the Witham valley and within the valley itself, including at one of the earliest known crossing river points at Stamp End lock (and slightly further to the east, at locations such as Fiskerton) as this was where natural gravel terraces descended to the river edges and created a fordable location where the ancient track way known as The Jurassic Way may have passed through. Dating from the late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age, remains of an ancient timber causeway were discovered at Fiskerton, along with an assortment of swords, axes and spearheads, that may have been thrown into the water as votive offerings. The prehistoric crossings points were located much further east of the Brayford Pool, than the later-established Roman / Medieval crossing points.
Following the Roman invasion of Britain in A.D.43, their armies and frontier advanced steadily northwards, taking five or more years to reach the territory of the Corieltauvi tribe in Lincolnshire. The Roman military fortress (for the 9th Legion), which was built on the ridge overlooking the Witham’s north bank, was established in A.D.61, or a few years thereafter (though it may have been preceded by an earlier fortress, south of the Witham). By the end of the 1st century A.D., the fortress had developed into a colonia, a settlement for retired veterans, (as the 9th Legion had moved up to Eboracum (York) in A.D. 71) and the city thus gradually grew and extended down the ridge to the north bank of the Witham.
South of the Witham, the Roman roads Fosse Way and Ermine Street approached Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) directly, through what was later to be known as the Wigford area. Ermine Street (from London) and the Fosse Way (from Leicester, Cirencester and Exeter) met approximately where the modern junction of the High Street and King Street (Wigford) are now located. Ermine Street then continued northwards through Wigford, Lincoln and on into northern Lincolnshire. Excavations at 181- 183 High Street revealed traces of a sand island that had once stood within the Witham. At that location (approximately where the High Bridge now stands) and at other locations within Wigford, the archaeological evidence possibly indicates that the Roman road builders established embankments, cut and re-cut roadside ditches and set up cross-river (and cross-marsh) timbered causeways in order to keep the road into Lincoln maintained. The presence of the Roman roads in turn encouraged the common-practice establishment of Roman roadside cemeteries (i.e. at Gowts Bridge, south of Monson Street and on the South Common) and a few traces of Roman domestic “strip buildings” have also been found. By the 5th century A.D. however, the Roman town of Lincoln seems to have gone into decline (or at least, traces of the Anglo-Saxon occupation period are far more difficult to identify) and its suburb of Wigford seems to have suffered in a similar way, with virtually no archaeological traces of Post-Roman or pre-Viking activity in the suburb until the late 9th century.
The name of Wigford is derived from the word-element wic, which has several distinct meanings in terms of place-names. It could be translated from the Latin word vicus (meaning a Romano-British settlement, immediately outside a defended place), or it could alternatively denote a village associated with a dairy farm (such as the Lincolnshire river valley villages of Anwick, Butterwick or Canwick). During the 7th – 9th centuries however, the word wic (or vik), used in an Anglo-Scandinavian language context, also began to be used to denote a specialised (riverside) trading and industrial settlement that was located near to a pre-existing large settlement, such as at Nantwich (Cheshire), Harwich (Southampton), Greenwich (London) or Yorvik (York). It is thus probable that Wigford (also referred to as Wikford or Wykford) derived its name from being a riverside trading settlement / suburb (on the south bank and crossing point of the Witham) that then began to extend (or re-extend) further south, gradually, along the line of the old Roman road (the Fosse Way).
The Wigford suburb extended southwards from the bridge, for more than 1.5km, with properties (eventually) along both sides of the old Roman road (which later became the High Street). The boundaries of this Lincoln suburb were defined by the 12th century, by the Sincil Dyke on its eastern and southern sides, and by the River Witham on its northern and western sides.
The earliest known post-Roman archaeological evidence for occupation in this suburb (pottery fragments), date from the late 9th – early 10th century, but the evidence from this period is confined to the (northern) Upper Wigford area; which only extended as far south as The Great Gowt ditch (not the southern Sincil Dyke). Due to very few earlier Anglo-Saxon pottery fragments being found in the Upper Wigford area; the current conclusion is that there was very little activity in this vicinity before the late 9th century (Viking) period. Later 10th century Anglo-Scandinavian pottery deposits have been found in similar locations and in similar quantities, which seem to indicate that occupation was continuous, once the suburb had become established. The large amounts of 11th and 12th century pottery found at the St Benedict’s Square (1985) and the Homes Grain Warehouse (1972) excavations also help to confirm the amount of activity and occupation on either side of the street (from St. Peter-at-Gowts northwards), during the 10th – 12th century period.
There has been little archaeological investigation south of the Great Gowt ditch but a study of 19th century maps (drawn by Padley and others) shows that to the south of the Great Gowt, the High Street extended southwards, to a point north of St. Botolph’s church, where it then began to become gradually wider and wider (forming a triangular-shaped Green in plan) as it extended further southwards. South of the Great Bargate bridge, the Green’s eastern boundary was partly delimited by the adjoining western boundary of the Malandry Leper hospital (Holy Innocents) and the Green’s western boundary was delimited by the course of the Newark Road (the old Fosse Way) and later also by The Holy Sepulchre Hospital. The triangular Green itself was referred to as Spital Green or Swine Green (and may also have been referred to as Lincoln Green – as mentioned in the medieval legend of Havelock the Dane), all names perhaps hinting at the Green’s market trading role.
The later Sincil Dyke (southern part) cuts across the middle of the Green, from west to east, and was in turn crossed by the (12th century) stone bridges at Great Bargate and Little Bargate. This would suggest an 11th century date for the Sincil Dyke (Wigford’s southern boundary), especially considering that the 11th century Malandry Leper hospital (Holy Innocents) and The Holy Sepulchre Hospital were also 11th century foundations, and were described as being “outside” the city. This would also imply a late 10th / early 11th century date for any new domestic buildings that were present in this southern part of the suburb.
Considering the archaeological evidence for 10th century occupation within the Wigford suburb, it could be conjectured (as in the case of nearby St. Marks) that St. Mary-le-Wigford church was possibly founded as a timber-framed nave and chancel in the same period (but this cannot be proven, as no detailed archaeological excavation work has taken place within St. Mary-le-Wigford church or its yard). There are three late 10th century (Anglo-Scandinavian period) decorated stone fragments incorporated within the fabric of the existing church tower (i.e. within the south jamb of the tower arch, is a highly-decorated grave cover fragment; an incomplete stone cross fragment is reused in the northern face of the bell-chamber, and another fragment has been reused in the round-headed window in the west face of the tower). If these three Anglo-Scandinavian fragments could be confirmed as originating from the Mary-le-Wigford site (which at present, they cannot), then the argument could be made that these represent a late 10th century / early 11th century stone building, that preceded the present (11th century?) tower and the surviving “original” western nave wall / corners.
Due to the absence of written records, the age of the church tower may only be approximately determined; by examining its various architectural traits, and then equating them to historical periods in which those methods of construction and sculpture were known to have been practiced.
The entire structure of the tower was originally constructed from small, cut stones. Many, or all of these stones, appear to be a reused Romano-British type, known as saxa quadrata or petit apparail. A Roman memorial stone has been re-used as the church dedication stone and it is incorporated into the lower west face of the tower, at the (southern) side of the former door arch (which itself is still intact but now serves as an office window, since the restorations of 1975).
The lower original (Latin) inscription on the stone reads: “Dis Manibus / nomini Sacri / Brusci fili(i) civis / Senoni et Carsso / unae coniugis / eius et Quinti f(ilii)”.
It is translated as follows: “To the departed spirits and to the name of Sacer. Son of Bruscus, a citizen of the Senones and of Carssouna, his wife and of Quintus, his son…”
Reading upwards, from the base of the triangular (gabled) top of the stone, the later (Old English) inscription reads: “Eirtig me let wircean / and fios godian / Criste to / lofe and sancta / Marie XP”.
It is translated as follows: “Ertig had me built and endowed to the glory of Christ and St. Mary, XP”.
Eirtig appears to be the name of affluent church benefactor with Anglo-Scandinavian family origins but nothing more is known about this person.
The tower at St. Mary-le-Wigford is not "bonded" with (part of) the west wall of the nave but is instead "butted" against it, which thus implies that the tower was either built immediately after the completion of the nave and chancel, or some time after it. It has been suggested that the church Dedication stone (naming Eirtig as the benefactor) is only referring to the tower, not the nave and chancel (as these could have been paid for, by one or more different benefactors; wealthy noblemen or merchants). However, there is no evidence (or surviving tradition) of a separate Dedication stone for the nave, or a separate dedication for the nave at St Peter-at-Gowts church. Both churches (St. Mary-le-Wigford and St. Peter-at-Gowts) seem to have later-added towers dating from the 11th century, and each tower incorporates some form of dedication stone.
At St. Mary-le-Wigford the tower door (west face) carries a broad chamfer in the jambs and arch head. The chamfer is now stopped 1 metre (40”) above the threshold, but the lower stones are clearly replacements. The imposts carry a very broad chamfer but they are not returned along the western face of the tower. They do however, carry an incised chequer-board decoration; an early Norman (11th century) decorative form that appears to be original, if re-cut, in some locations.
The internal tower arch, located in the west wall of the nave / east wall of the tower is over 20 feet (6 metres) in height; and is formed by a single ring of precisely cut radial voussoirs. It has plain jambs and bold chamfered impost blocks, decorated with the same incised chequerboard motif found on the tower west door imposts. Only the western half of the north door impost is original. The other stones appear to be copies, possibly made when the arch was unblocked in 1871.
The four bell-chamber openings (each) consist of a pair of semi-circular arch heads with precisely cut radial voussoirs. Several of the voissoirs over the west openings are given the semblance of an arch of many more stones by incised radial lines. They also have an incised chevron decoration towards the extrados. The imposts carry a bold chamfer, which is not returned onto the external faces, except above the mid-wall shafts. This type of bell-chamber opening is associated with the architectural period 1066 - 1086 A.D., which is also referred to as either the Anglo-Norman or the Romanesque period (an architectural style practiced across Europe in the late 10th to early 12th century).
