Lincolnshire's coastal pubs celebrated in new exhibition

Inns on the Edge hopes to encourage people to visit Lincolnshire's historic pubs

An exhibition has opened charting the history of Lincolnshire's coastal pubs.

The display is the culmination of a year-long project, which saw a researcher visit hostelries along a 50-mile (80km) stretch of the coast.

Lincolnshire County Council said the £28,000-a-year post had focussed on recording the "architectural and social history" of pubs from Grimsby to Boston.

Inns on the Edge opens at the North Sea Observatory, in Chapel St Leonards.

The Stump and Candle sits next to the historic Boston Stump

Marc Knighton, Inns on the Edge project officer, said: "There will also be exhibits to help bring back memories from more recent history, with features on the games, drinks and people that make Lincolnshire's pubs special. You can be part of the story to by visiting and sharing your memories with us."

Speaking in 2021 when the project was announced, Ian George, from the council, said the archive wanted to collect stories attached to the pubs before they disappeared.

"Even before the pandemic crisis hit us pubs were closing at an alarming rate," he said.

"And many of those pubs are very historic buildings and we became aware of the fact that our records of historic pubs are not as good as they ought to be and so we're doing something about it.

"If you think about it, in many villages across Lincolnshire the pub is probably one of the oldest buildings in the village and they are a valuable part of of cultural landscape."

The free exhibition records the history of coastal hostelries in Lincolnshire

Historic England has donated £70,000 to the Inns on the Edge scheme.

The exhibition will also be displayed at the University of Lincoln, in June, and Tower Gardens, in Skegness, in August.