Local History

  The Lincolnshire market town of Horncastle can be traced back to before the Roman invasion. It is positioned between the River Waring & the River Bain, which is where the town's name origionates from, "Hurncastre" or "Hynecastre", meaning "Fortress in the corner", although no castle has ever stood there. The library on Warf Road holds one of the few remaining parts of the town's Roman history, containing part of the old Roman wall.
The Church of St. Mary still has it's origional west wall which dates back to the late 12th or early 13th century.

  Horncastle has been recognised as a Roman walled site at least since 1722, but discoveries made over the last two decades have radically changed our view of the site. Roman Horncastle, formally referred to as a `lesser walled town`, is now seen to consist of two main elements: a walled enclosure of about 2 hectares (5 acres) at the junction of the rivers Bain & Waring, and an unwalled settlement covering up to 54 hectares (135 acres) on a slightly higher gravel terrace south of the Waring and east of the Bain.

 According to some sources, Horncastle was probably built about 78 A.D. on the site of an early British settlement.
Abandoned by the Romans about 410 A.D.
Strengthened about the end of the 5th century by the Saxon King Horsea, who was defeated in the battle at Tetford (6 miles away) by the British King Vortimer, who in turn had the fortress almost completely demolished. The walls are now in most parts covered by modern buildings. The walls roughly are a parallelogram 200 yards long by 100 yards wide at the west end and 120 yards wide at the east end. Their thickness was 14 to 16 feet. They are composed of Spilsby sandstone (obtained within 5 miles) cemented by coarse grouting poured into the spaces between the massive blocks.

  There has been much speculation as to whether the Roman Banovallum (Fort on the Bain) really is the Roman station at Horncastle. For so long now this has been the case and there is a Bavovallum House and a Banovallum School in the town. Over the years, many excavation have been carried out and many Roman artefacts and remains have been discovered. This has also been the case in the nearby Caistor, who also claim to be the true `Banovallum`.

  Horncastle is the typical Lincolnshire market town, and in many ways the most interesting. The buildings are mainly red brick, the older ones of local brick which has weathered to a distinctive mellow shade. Modern buildings still fit in – even Woolworth’s, built on the site of Sellwood House (from which Alfred Tennyson married Emily in 1850) isn’t brash in it’s appearance from the market place.

  Stand in the market place and you are not far from the centre of the Roman fortified site of Banovallum. After the Romans left in the 4th century, the Saxons named the site Hyrne-ceastre (castle in the corner). The site suffered many changes of fortune, but through medieval times began to assume the importance as the centre of a rich agricultural area. The turning point was in 1230 when Walter Mauclerk (Bishop of Carlisle) purchased the manor. In his first year there he obtained 3 charters from King Henry III: The right of free hunting in the surrounding woods To hang felons To hold a fair in June The latter became the great August horse fair, but probably not until the roads improved sufficiently and accommodation increased. A large number of buildings date from the late 18th century, which included a large number of inns. When the fair was in full swing, people had to watch their step and their pockets, many stories had been reported of swindles and the like.

  The river running along Wharf Road is the Waring. Which is where Wharf Road got it's name, barges used to tie up along this stretch of the river. It was completed as a canal in 1802 and carried wool, coal, corn, etc.. until the railway was introduced in 1955. The locks then fell into bad repair due to dissuse and the town has suffered floods in 1898, 1912 and the most recent in 1960. The water level of the latter can be seen marked on the side of the building on the corner of Wharf Road and Bull Ring.

  Due to it's age, Horncastle has many interests to historians, ramblers and people in general. There are buildings to see, walks to go on, literature to read and beautiful views to look at. It has been mentioned by many people that Lincolnshire is "flat & boring", on the contrary, Horncastle borders the Fens (the flat bit) and the Wolds (the hilly bit). They each have their own beauty which has to be seen to appreciate.

Nearby Winceby (See the Map Here), held a small but significant battle in 1643. It consisted of cavalry only and is said to be one of the paramount battles which secured the county of Lincolnshire for the Parliament.

There is too much information available to go into details here, so I have included some links which should give you a good insight into the importance of the battle, some of the prominent figures involved and more about the history of the area.

Battle of Winceby
Bolingbroke Castle

Signposted off the A158 between Horncastle and Spilsby.

The Lincolnshire Trust
Banovallum House
Manor House Street
Horncastle
Lincolnshire
LN9 5HF
Tel: 01507 526667

Spacious area giving easy walkways, woods and ponds. Managed in conjunction with the Lincolnshire Trust and Lincolnshire County Council, the contry park and nature reserve run adjacent and consist of two valleys with streams. No dogs are allowed in the park and reserve areas. A large array of woodland animals and birds can be viewed here in their natural habitat. More information can be obtained from The Lincolnshire Trust (see left).