The Lincoln Edge (or Lincoln Cliff) is a limestone ridge, or escarpment, that runs from Grantham to the Humber, and is only broken twice: at Ancaster, and more emphatically at Lincoln. North of here, it is more commonly referred to as the Lincoln Cliff, as is the area adjacent to it on the flatter eastern side. Viewed from the west, it is an imposing feature in an otherwise level landscape, and is thought to have had an ancient route running along its top.

The Lincoln Edge outside the village of Bracebridge Heath, south of Lincoln, is supposedly haunted by a procession of ghostly monks carrying flaming brands. The monks are said to belong to the Priory of St Katherine without Lincoln (i.e. outside Lincoln’s walls), a Gilbertine priory established in the middle of the 12th century and dissolved in 1538.

Sean McNeaney theorises that the legend of the ghostly monks is a memory of an older pre-Christian tradition that had people venerate freshwater springs found on Lincoln Edge in torch-lit processions.

Speculating that a legend, folk tale, or tradition is actually much older than previously supposed, and often linked with paganism, is a common folklore-making strategy. Consider all the articles that crop up every year around the holidays, suggesting without much evidence that Christmas trees and Easter rabbits are actually pagan survivals. However, imbuing existing folk tales with new or re-discovered origin stories can shed light on the values and priorities of their tellers today.

You can hear about the spectral monks and see the views from up Lincoln Edge in McNeaney’s fine video below, around the four minute mark:

ANNA MILON