Discover Wainfleet All Saints

Wainfleet All Saints offers several points of interest for a stay: the history of Batemans Brewery, listed buildings and places that reveal how the town has developed. The River Steeping also features in local stories and on one of the routes described here. The subjects that interest you most can help you plan your stay in Wainfleet All Saints.

Brewery and milling history

Batemans Brewery has been based at Salem Bridge in Wainfleet since 1874. The tour includes the Victorian Brewhouse and the “Theatre of Beers”. In the cellar, it also includes a tasting of freshly drawn beers from brass beer pumps. The tour combines an insight into the brewery with the chance to sample its beers. If you are interested in brewing history, Salem Bridge is also home to a historic building in its own right: Salem Bridge Mill was built in 1820 and operated until 1920, a full century. Today it belongs to Batemans Brewery and is a listed building.

Churches and historic buildings

All Saints Church is a Grade II listed building. The Church of All Saints was built in 1821 by R. H. Sharpe and P. Atkinson, incorporating some reused medieval fragments. The church also contains two Dutch glass medallions. One dates from around 1555 to 1600. The building date, reused fragments and medallions offer different perspectives on the church, spanning its construction and individual older features.

Magdalen College School is another striking historic building: it is a Grade I listed building and also a Scheduled Monument. The War Memorial Cemetery Gateway is listed Grade II. The archway forms the western entrance to the cemetery on Spilsby Road. A walk around the area lets you see both the different buildings and their specific connections to the cemetery and its surroundings.

Houses 3 to 12 on Barkham Street provide another example of how individual buildings can be examined more closely. They were built for Bethlem Hospital in the style of similar houses constructed for the institution in Southwark. This information applies to these houses, not to the whole street. Magdalen College Museum displays school records, photographs and household items, as well as Wainfleet’s original town charter from 1457. Wainfleet Clock Tower dates from 1899. Together, these places offer a range of subjects for a cultural and historical stay, without being limited to a single period.

The River Steeping, walks and railway station

In the Middle Ages, Wainfleet was an important port. Its role came to an end when the River Steeping silted up. The river also features on the Wainfleet St Mary Walk, which crosses it. The Wainfleet Station Walk offers a different point of orientation: it begins at Wainfleet Station on High Street in Wainfleet All Saints. These descriptions refer to different features of the walks: one mentions the river crossing, while the other gives the starting point.

The station’s history can also be placed in context. It opened to passenger traffic on 24 October 1871; on 28 July 1873, passenger services were extended from Wainfleet to Skegness. These historical dates add the development of rail travel to the history of the town. Along with the medieval port and milling history, they show how different aspects of Wainfleet’s past can be explored. When planning your trip, you can therefore focus on the subjects that interest you most locally: the brewery, architectural history, or the historical connections between the river, walks and railway station.

Discover more destinations: Eastoft, Scunthorpe, Thorpe On The Hill, Horncastle, Kirton, Martin, Kirkby on Bain, Sleaford

For the wider travel overview: Lincolnshire.