Wellingore and Temple Bruer Walks

Navenby, Wellingore and Temple Bruer lie at the western edge of Lincoln Heath close to the Cliff. 'Bruer' comes from the Norman-French word 'bruyere', meaning 'heath'.

These villages are close to the Roman Ermine Street, the road linking London to Lincoln constructed by Army engineers of the 9th and 14th legions during the conquest period. Settlements on the road were restricted to military posts every 10 Roman miles, with stations at Saltersford, Ancaster and Navenby.

For centuries, Lincoln Heath enjoyed an evil reputation as the haunt of highwaymen, but in the last 200 years its poor soils have been improved for agriculture. The Knight's Templar may have enclosed areas of heath to support their manorial 'granges'.

At Temple Bruer only the tower remains of a much larger Preceptory. The original church featured a rounded knave supported by eight pillars in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which in turn followed octagonal Roman temple design. Curiously the remains of an octagonal roman temple were found a mile away at Navenby.