I recently was lucky enough to tour the 13th century Greyfriars building in Lincoln, a Grade 1 listed building and possibly the oldest standing Franciscan buildings in England being built around 1230. It was a wonderful, surreal and atmospheric visit.
St Francis created the order, and soon the Franciscans spread far, with many of them being priests and men of learning. The development of towns and cities meant large numbers of homeless and sick, and the franciscans had the mobility to deal with these contemporary problems. They were not tied to monasteries and could take the gospel to the streets and minister wherever they were. They were referred to as greyfriars because of the colour of their habits.
In 1538 the order was expelled as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The surviving building is the remains of the infirmary, and along with its original features it has mid 19th century additions. The friary precinct occupied a large site and had a stone-vaulted first floor added later in the 13th century. Just like Lincoln cathedral, it is amazing to look up when you’re inside and see the amazing vaults above you. There is some great graffiti to spot as well, many are from various school pupils from the 16th century until 1900. The undercroft was a spinning school and there was a mechanics institute from 1833 to 1862. A famous participant of this institute was George Boole.
Other friary buildings including the kitchen, refectory and dormitory were excavated in the 1990s as part of the Central Library redevelopment. And now City of Lincoln Council are looking to relaunch the building as a heritage attraction. The project, called re-imagining Greyfriars is very exciting and I can’t wait until it’s up and running. I hope you’ll come and visit this treasure!
https://www.visitlincoln.com/things-to-do/greyfriars
Janet Stock 
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