Nearby villages include Hemswell to the west, Glentham to the east, and Glentworth to the south-west.

Spital-in-the-Street lies on Ermine Street, a Roman road that runs in a straight line for 32 miles (51 km) between Lincoln and the Humber Estuary, passing through no villages north from Lincoln until Broughton 25 miles (40 km) away.

[citation needed] Hermits, or 'Eremites' dwellers in the eremos or wilderness, sometimes placed their Hermitages in remote spots, often on highways, to extend hospitality to travellers.

[3] In 1396 Richard II granted to Thomas de Aston, Canon of Lincoln, leave to build a house "adjoining the west side of the chapel for the residence of William Wyhom the Chaplain and of certain poor persons there resident and their successors",[This quote needs a citation] and before the end of the 14th century it had buildings sufficient for these poor persons.

It escaped Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries only to be later seized by Elizabeth I for the Crown and sold.