Clock This: Lincoln (Part 1)

For an historic city, there are surprisingly few clocks in Lincoln. But there are always clocks to be found if you look hard enough.

Let's start our tour at the south end of High Street (which incidentally follows the approximate route of Fosse Way, the Roman road of 60 - 90 AD).

St Botolph by Bargate is the first point of call. The church was founded in the late 12th century, but was comprehensively rebuilt in 1721 and again in 1878.

The clock is fairly standard, and indeed lacks the central patterned segment that many others have.

Jonathan Whiting Funeral Directors is actually in Queen Street, but the premises can be seen from High Street. And whilst taking the pictures you get strange looks from the clientele of The Golden Cross pub on the main road.

Another church, this time St Peter at Gowts (Gowts being the local watercourse). Originally dating from the 11th century, the building underwent major restoration and alterations in 1852 and 1887.

Whilst it has one up on its neighbour St Botolph by Bargate by virtue of having a nicer looking clock, it loses points by the fact that it is a non-functioning timepiece.

If you are "fanatical about kebabs" then you need to get yourself along to Topkapi a little bit further up High Street.

The timepiece is what I call an adornment clock - not a proper structural one or a mounted one that is site specific. But a clock is a clock, and so it is included here.

The third church on our tour is St Mary le Wigford. This is originally 11th century with 12th and 13th century additions, restored in 1872 and with later additions in 1877 and 1975. Truly a building that has developed over time.

Another building with a long history is the Stonebow, where High Street meets Guildhall Street.

The arch dates from 1520, whilst the clock is a much later addition of 1889 (although replacing an earlier one from 1835) by Potts of Leeds.

High Street turns into Steep Hill, a highly appropriate name for a road that takes you from the lower part of the city at 20 metres above sea level to the upper part at 73 metres.

Our first resting point on the ascent is that this "adornment" clock.

I was rather disappointed by Timepiece Repairs further up Steep Hill at number 43. Given the name, you might expect a pristine, fully functioning clock adorning the building, but what you get instead is this (albeit detailed) picture of a clock.