History
Saxon Villa (now no 32 Saxon Street) was one of 5 original houses built in 1849. Saxon Villa was built by local builder/architect Mr Wray.
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The house was built on land adjacent to the western ‘wall’ of the former Saxon settlement (a line now partly marked by Saxon Street and Mildmay Street.) The 1851 map of Lincoln clearly shows the line of the Saxon wall (or embankment) running under the stable building that is now Stables B&B.
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We are told that the original outbuildings comprised of a Hay Loft, Livery Stable, Saddlery, and wash house. The Hayloft is the original double storey building that now makes up Bedrooms 1 and 2 on the St Nicholas side of the property.
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The entrance hall to the Bed and Breakfast was originally a passage that linked the yard with the adjoining orchards (remnants of the orchard are 2 old apple trees, still producing fruit in the present fruit garden). The stable stalls were in a single storey building that has been rebuilt as the Kitchen/dining Room. The Garden room is partly on the site of the saddlery. The wash house building incorporated a deep (20ft) well that originally supplied its water. This well is in the corner of the current courtyard. In 1904/5 Lincoln suffered an outbreak of typhoid that was traced back to the contaminated water supply coming from Hartsholme lake and the River Witham. At this time clean water was distributed to residents of the city.
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Archive photographs show people queuing with buckets on Burton Road to collect their water ration. We are told that one of the sources of clean water was Saxon Villa’s well. We are unsure as to when the stables saw their last horses, but were told that for many years one of the former stable boy still used to spend his afternoons sitting on a bench in the Saxon Street corner of the gardens. He past away peacefully in his sleep sat in the grounds of the house where he spent so much of his working life.
The current owners moved into the property and started refurbishment in 1998. The main garden features mature borders with Rhododendron and Box along their length and are dominated by an old Weeping Willow tree. The trellis that divides the main garden from the Fruit Garden is covered with Climbing Roses and Clematis.
Besides the old Cooking Apple trees the Fruit Garden has Eating Apples, Plums, Gooseberry, Red currant, Blackcurrant, White currant, Quince, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Grapevines that run along top of the trellis in the yard. If you stay at Stables B&B it is quite likely that you will be offered home made preserves made from the gardens fruit with your breakfast. 2006 saw the first bottles of white wine made from the grapes from garden.
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The current owner's moved into the property and started refurbishment in 1998. The main garden features mature borders with Rhododendron and Box along their length and are dominated by an old weeping willow tree. the trellis that divides the main garden from the Fruit Garden is covered with Climbing Roses and Climentis. |
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By 2006 it became apparent that time had taken its toll on the former stables and that action needed to be taken in order to preserve what was left of the building.
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Lkr Architects were commissioned to help design a conversion that would remain sympathetic to the buildings history whilst providing the modern luxuries required for top Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
Lincoln building firm TMN Developments worked with architects and local planners to build to a design that incorporates the original stable openings as full length windows in the dining room, reproducing decorative brickwork on the new double storey extension to match the old building, and changed the upstairs door from street to hayloft to a window (in bedroom 2). The original wooden roof beams in bedroom 2 have been left as they were in its previous life – unpainted, with original heavy nails still visible.
PHOTO GALLERY
We hope that you are able to enjoy a stay at Stables B&B and ‘soak up’ the rich history that Uphill Lincoln has to offer. Roman walls and arches, Saxon Relics, Medieval buildings down Steep Hill and the High Street, the Norman Castle, Magnificent 15th Century Cathedral, 18th Century Windmill, and the Victorian legacy all within a short walk.