Castle Hill

Castle Hill is actually a square. From wherever you stand within it, you can survey 2,000 years of Lincoln's history, in the layout of the streets and the buildings along them. Just as in Roman times, the city's main commercial thoroughfare today is along High Street, passing up Steep Hill and through Castle Hill into Bailgate: this is approximately the line of Ermine Street, linking the north and south city gates., During Saxon and Viking times, the upper city could well have been used as an enclosure for the ruling elite. After the Norman Conquest, this was certainly the case. The castle, built within five years of William's invasion, occupied this entire area and ruled itself as a separate entity until the 19th century. The main entrance, leading off Castle Hill, dates from the strengthening of the castle's fortifications in the 12th century., Since medieval times, Castle Hill has been lined with shops and other buildings, demolished or modernised with each passing era. An example is the medieval church of St Mary Magdalene, rebuilt several times. The early 16th-century half-timbered house, now the Visitor Information Centre, is Tudor Lincoln's presence on the square., Georgian Lincoln is represented on the north side by the imposing Judges' Lodgings, built for assize judges visiting the city, the adjacent three-storey brick building, as well as the building on the western comer of Steep Hill. There is a Victorian red-brick opposite on the eastern comer. Several houses on the south side of Castle Hill were demolished in the 1930s, so that the castle walls could be more clearly visible., A market was held in Castle Hill in the 19th century, which may have dated back to the Norman period. It is fitting that this is now the site of Lincoln's best known event, the Christmas Market.