Visit Alkborough Places

Welcome to Visit Alkborough Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Alkborough

  

Alkborough Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Alkborough

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Alkborough history

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Neolithic

The earliest evidence of settlement in the area has been found near Kell Well (a spring on the ridge to the south of Alkborough and the west of Walcot) in the form of a stone axe head, flint arrowheads and other finds thought to date from the Neolithic period.

Bronze Age

Artifacts including a beaker, dating from the early Bronze Age (2350 BC–1501 BC), were unearthed in 1920, in the grounds of Walcot Hall.

Iron Age

During the late Iron Age, Alkborough lay within the territory of the Corieltauvi tribe. During the Late Iron Age it was part of the Corieltavii tribe.

Roman

Pottery sherds dating from the 1st to the 4th century AD have been found in the fields south of Countess Close. These finds, along with a pot containing a small hoard of Roman coins, indicate the possibility of a Romano-British Settlement here.

Medieval

The former Alkborough Benedictine Priory Cell was founded before 1052. It was a cell of three monks, a secular chaplain, and a prior. The cell was dependent on Spalding Priory from 1052 to 1074. It ceased to exist as a monastic house in 1220.

Wartime

Alkborough Flats was home to a bombing range during the Second World War. The bombing range took the form of a chalk marker and two observation posts. Bombers would take off from RAF Elsham, and drop smoke bombs on the target. During one bombing run, a horse was killed, and another bomb narrowly missed a group of children sledging.

Alkborough landmarks

Julian’s Bower

Julian’s Bower is a unicursal turf maze, 43 feet (13 m) across, of indeterminate age. According to Arthur Mee’s book Lincolnshire the maze was cut by monks in the 12th century. Others think that while the feature is of Roman origin, it was later used by the Medieval Church for some sort of penitential purpose.

Countess Close

Countess Close (National Monument No. 32622; North Lincolnshire Sites and Monuments Record (NLSMR) No. 44) is a rectangular earthwork lying a few yards to the south of Julian’s Bower. It measures approx. 80 m × 90 m internally. It was recorded by the 18th century antiquary, William Stukeley on a visit to the area.

St John the Baptist Church

Early records show a church here in 1052, and the tower is of typical Saxon design. The oak reredos behind the altar was made by the famous Robert (Mouseman) Thompson (also known as Mousey Thompson) of Kilburn.

Alkborough tower mill

The tower mill at Alkborough was built circa 1860 of red brick and tar, originally for the milling of cereals. It replaced a post mill which was recorded as still standing in 1853. It remained in wind operation until 1916 (but continued with engine operation for a short while thereafter). The mill retains two millstones in situ on the first floor.

Walcot Hall

Walcot Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian country house which stands in 22 acres of parkland in the hamlet of Walcot some 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Alkborough. It was built in the mid to late 18th century for Thomas Goulton, modified in the early 1800s and partly demolished in 1964.

Kell Well

Kell Well is a spring that discharges from a point just below the top of The Cliff escarpment, west of Walcot. It was first recorded by Abraham de la Pryme following his visit in 1697. The waters of the spring were once believed to have had petrifying properties.

Low Wells

Low Wells is a spring that discharges from a point just the south side of Prospect Lane, north of (and several yards below) St John the Baptist Church. The well takes the form of three low brick arches behind a long rectangular trough, into which the water flows.

Apex Light

By a quirk of the Alkborough & Walcot parish boundary, the Trent Falls light known as Apex Light lies within the parish. This is despite its being ‘attached’ to the opposite bank of the River Trent. It is located at 53°42′01″N 0°41′29″W / 53.700376°N 0.691336°W (Apex Light)

Alkborough geography / climate

Alkborough is situated on an escarpment formed of Triassic Mudstone, known as The Cliff, which runs roughly north–south. The steep mudstone escarpement is to the west, with a shallow slope to the east formed from shale of the Lower Lias in the Jurassic system.

Alkborough Flats

Alkborough Flats is an area of low-lying arable farmland of nearly 990 acres (4 km) situated at the “Confluence of the Rivers” (Trent Falls) where the Rivers Trent and Ouse join to form the Humber Estuary. Flood defences, built in the 1950s to protect the area, have been breached to allow water to reclaim the land at high tide and in times of flooding. New grassland will be managed to encourage biodiversity, with reedbeds, lagoons and grazing areas.

Walcot

Walcot is an outlying hamlet situated to the south of Alkborough, and within the same parish. The hamlet is located in the same area as the village of Alkborough. Walcot was originally called Walcot.

You can visit Alkborough places with Walkfo Alkborough to hear history at Alkborough’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Alkborough has 11 places to visit in our interactive Alkborough map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Alkborough, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Alkborough places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Alkborough & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 11 audio facts unique to Alkborough places in an interactive Alkborough map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Alkborough Places Map
11 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Alkborough historic spots	Alkborough tourist destinations	Alkborough plaques	Alkborough geographic features
Walkfo Alkborough tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Alkborough

  

Best Alkborough places to visit

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Alkborough has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Alkborough’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Alkborough’s information audio spots:

Visit Alkborough plaques