Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln (pronounced //) is a
cathedral city and
county town of
Lincolnshire,
England. The City has a population of 85,595, however 259,134 people live in the Greater Lincoln area (which includes the city's principal commuter and satellite communities) [
1].Its twin town is
Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany.
Earliest history: Lindon
The earliest origins of Lincoln can be traced to the remains of an
Iron Age settlement of round wooden dwellings (which were discovered by archaeologists in 1972) that have been dated to the 1st century BC. This settlement was built by a deep pool (the modern
Brayford Pool) in the
River Witham at the foot of a large hill (on which the Normans later built
Lincoln Cathedral and
Lincoln Castle).
The origins of the name Lincoln probably come from this period, when the settlement is speculated to have been named in the
Brythonic language of the
Celtic people as either
Lindu,
Lindo or
Lindun, (or possibly
Lindon or
Lindunon), a name believed to describe either the Brayford Pool itself, 'dark pool' (Lindu) or possibly an early settlement nearby, 'fort on a hill by a pool' (Lindun) [
2]. Whatever the origin of this early name it is known that it was subsequently
latinised in the Roman period to
Lindum (or
Lindum Colonia), which in
Anglo-Saxon became
Lincoln, the modern name of the city.
It is not possible to know how big this original settlement was as its remains are now buried deep beneath the later Roman and medieval ruins, as well as the modern city of Lincoln.
Roman history: Lindum Colonia
The Romans conquered Lincolnshire in 48 AD and shortly afterwards built a legionary fortress high on a hill overlooking the natural lake formed by the widening of the River Witham (the modern day
Brayford Pool) and at the northern end of the
Fosse Way Roman road. That pool is very likely to have given Lincoln its name. One line of thought derives the name from the Celtic
Lindu (modern
Welsh Llyn du), meaning "Dark Pool". It was subsequently
Latinized to
Lindum and given the title,
Colonia when it was converted into a settlement for army veterans.
Lindum Colonia was shortened on the tongues of the later,
English speakers, to become 'Lincoln'.
The conversion to a
colonia was made when the legion moved on to
York (
Eboracum) in the year
71.
Lindum colonia or more fully,
Colonia Domitiana Lindensium, after its founder
Domitian, was established within the walls of the hilltop fortress with the addition of an extension of about equal area, down the hillside to the waterside below.
It became a major flourishing settlement, accessible from the sea both through the
River Trent and through the
River Witham, and was even the provincial capital of
Flavia Caesariensis when the province of
Britannia Inferior was subdivided in the early 4th century, but then it and its waterways fell into decline, and by the close of the
5th century the city was virtually deserted.
410 - 1066
After the first destructive
Viking raids the city once again rose to some importance. In Viking times Lincoln was a trading centre important enough to issue coins from its own mint. After the establishment of
Dane Law in
886, Lincoln became one of The
Five Boroughs in the
East Midlands. Over the next few centuries, Lincoln once again rose to prominence. In
1068, two years after the
Norman Conquest,
William I ordered
Lincoln Castle to be built on the site of the former Roman settlement, for the same strategic reasons and using the same road.
Cathedral
Main article: Lincoln Cathedral
.
|
View of the Cathedral and surrounding area |
The first
Lincoln Cathedral, within its
close or walled precinct facing the castle was commenced when the see was removed from
Dorchester and completed in
1092; it was rebuilt after a fire but was destroyed by an unusual earthquake in
1185. The rebuilt Lincoln Minster, enlarged to the east at each rebuilding, was on magnificent scale, its
crossing tower crowned by a spire reputed to have been 160 m (525 feet) high, the highest in Europe.
Main article:Bishop of Lincoln
.The bishops of Lincoln were among the magnates of medieval England: Lincolnshire, the largest diocese, had more monasteries than the rest of England put together, and the diocese was supported by large estates outside the county.When the
Magna Carta was drawn up in
1215, one of the witnesses was Hugh of Wells,
Bishop of Lincoln. A copy is now preserved in
Lincoln Castle.Among the most famous
bishops of Lincoln were
Robert Bloet, the magnificent
justiciar to
Henry I;
Hugh of Avalon, the cathedral builder canonised as
Saint Hugh of Lincoln;
Robert Grosseteste, the 13th century intellectual;
Henry Cardinal Beaufort, a politician deeply involved in the
Wars of the Roses;
Philip Repyngdon, chaplain to
Henry IV of England and defender of
Wycliffe;
Thomas Cardinal Wolsey.
|
The iconic view of Lincoln Cathedral |
The administrative centre was the Bishop's Palace, the third element in the central complex. When it was built in the late 12th century, the Bishop's Palace was one of the most important buildings in England. Built by the canonised bishop
Hugh of Lincoln, the palace's East Hall range over a vaulted under-croft is the earliest surviving example of a roofed domestic hall. The chapel range and entrance tower were built by Bishop William of Alnwick, who modernised the palace in the 1430s. Both
Henry VIII and
James I were guests of bishops here; the palace was sacked by royalist troops during the Civil War in 1648.
Medieval town
|
View looking towards the top end of Steep Hill |
By
1150, Lincoln was amongst the wealthiest towns in Britain. The basis of the economy was
cloth and
wool, exported to
Flanders; Lincoln
weavers had set up a
guild in
1130 to produce Lincoln Cloth, especially the fine dyed "scarlet" and "green" the reputation of which was later enhanced by
Robin Hood wearing "Lincoln Green". In the Guildhall that surmounts a city gate, the ancient Council Chamber contains Lincoln's civic insignia, probably the finest collection of civic regalia outside London.
Outside the precincts of cathedral and castle, the old quarter clustered around the Bailgate, and down Steep Hill to the High Bridge, which bears
half-timbered housing, with the upper stories jutting out over the river, as
London Bridge once had. There are three ancient churches: St. Mary le Wigford and St. Peter at Gowts are both 11th century in origin and St
Mary Magdalene, built in the late 13th century, is an unusual English dedication to the saint whose cult was coming greatly into vogue on the Continent at that time.
Lincoln was home to one of the five most important Jewish communities in England, well established before it was officially noted in 1154. In 1190, anti-semitic riots that started in Lynn, Norfolk, spread to Lincoln; the Jewish community took refuge with royal officials, but their habitations were plundered. The so-called "House of Aaron" has a two-storey street frontage that is essentially 12th century and a nearby "Jew's House" likewise bears witness to the Jewish population. In 1255, the affair called "The
Libel of Lincoln" in which prominent Jews of Lincoln, accused of the ritual murder of a Christian boy ("
Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln" in medieval folklore) were sent to the Tower of London and 18 were executed. The Jews were expelled en masse in 1290.
During the 14th century, the city's fortunes began to decline. The lower city was prone to
flooding, becoming increasingly isolated, and
plagues were common. In
1409, the city was made a
county corporate.
16th century
The
dissolution of the monasteries further exacerbated Lincoln's problems, cutting off the main source of diocesan income and drying up the network of patronage controlled by the bishop, with no less than seven monasteries within the city alone closed down. This was accompanied by closure of a number of nearby parliamentary abbeys which led to a further diminishment of the region's political power. When the cathedral's great spire rotted and collapsed in
1549 and was not replaced, it was a significant symbol of Lincoln's economic and political decline. However, the comparative poverty of post-medieval Lincoln preserved pre-medieval structures that would probably have been lost in more prosperous contexts.
Civil War
Between
1642 and
1651, during the
English Civil War, Lincoln was on the frontier between the
Royalist and
Parliamentary forces. Military control of the city therefore changed hands numerous times. Many buildings were badly damaged. Lincoln now had no major industry, no easy access to the
sea and was poorly placed. As a consequence of this, while the rest of the country was beginning to prosper in the beginning of the
1700s, Lincoln suffered immensely, travellers often commenting on the state of what had essentially become a "one street" town.
The Georgian Age
By the
Georgian era, Lincoln's fortunes began to pick up, thanks in part to the
Agricultural Revolution. The re-opening of the
Foss Dyke allowed
coal and other raw materials vital to industry to be more easily brought into the city.
The Industrial Revolution
Coupled with the arrival of the railway links, Lincoln boomed again during the industrial Revolution, and several world-famous companies arose, such as
Ruston's,
Smith-Clayton's,
Proctor's, and
William Foster's. Lincoln began to excel in heavy engineering, building diesel engine trains, steam shovels, and all manner of heavy machinery.
The 20th century
Lincoln was hit by a major typhoid epidemic between November
1904 and August
1905, caused by polluted drinking water from
Hartsholme Lake and the
River Witham. Over 1000 people contracted the disease and fatalities totaled 113. Westgate Water Tower was constructed to provide new water supplies to the city.
In the world wars Lincoln naturally switched to war production. The first ever
tanks were invented, designed and built in Lincoln by
William Foster & Co. Ltd during the
First World War and population growth provided more workers for even greater expansion. The tanks were tested on land which is now Tritton road. During the Second World War, Lincoln produced a vast array of war goods, from tanks, aircraft, munitions, and military vehicles. Ruston and Hornsby produced diesel engines for ships and locomotives, then by teaming up with former colleagues of
Frank Whittle and Power Jets Ltd, in the early
1950s, R & H (which became RGT) opened the first ever production line to build gas turbine engines for land-based & sea-based energy production. Hugely successful, it has become the largest single employer in the city providing over 5,000 jobs in its factory and research facilities making it a rich takeover target for industrial conglomerates. They were taken over by GEC in the late 1960s (diesel engine production was transferred to a division of GEC in
Newton-le-Willows), merged with
Alstom of France in the late 1980s, then in 2003 were bought out by
Siemens AG of Germany, now being called Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery. In the post-
war years after
1945, new
suburbs were built, but heavy industry has declined towards the end of the
20th Century mimicking the wider economic profile of the United Kingdom. More people are still employed today in Lincoln however building gas turbines than anything else.
|
Waterside Shopping Centre on the left |
|
rightThe railway crossing on the High Street. |
|
The barriers down, a familiar view in Lincoln High Street |
Lincoln's economy is based mainly on
public administration,
commerce, arable
farming and
tourism.The increase of rail traffic on the East Coast main line following its electrification in the late 1980s (which also caused Lincoln's direct daily passenger service to and from
London King's Cross to be discontinued) has led to many of the freight trains running between
Doncaster and
Peterborough being diverted through Lincoln. This coupled with freight traffic between the
Midlands and the
ports and
oil refineries in the
Grimsby and
Immingham area and local passenger services operating in and out of the Central Station, has led to the High Street
level crossing (which cuts the central shopping area in two) being closed for up to forty minutes every hour. The city's MP and the
chamber of commerce have suggested that this may be deterring inward investment by new employers [
3]. This has been an issue in Lincoln since the 1860s according to Hansard records.
Tourism
The city is a
tourist centre, but is rarely overwhelmed by tourists; those who come do so to visit the numerous historic buildings, including of course,
the Cathedral and
the Castle.
The Collection, of which the
Usher Gallery is now a part, is an important attraction; as is the
Museum of Lincolnshire Life. Tranquil destinations close by include Whisby Nature Reserve and Hartsholme Park, whilst noisier entertainment can be found at
Waddington airfield,
Scampton airfield, base of the
RAF's "
Red Arrows" jet
aerobatic team, the County Showground or the
Cadwell Park motor racing circuit near
Louth.
Lincoln has two higher education institutions, the oldest being
Bishop Grosseteste University College, which started life as a teacher training college linked to the
Anglican Church in 1862. During the 1990's, the college branched out into new subject areas with a focus on the arts and drama.
The larger
University of Lincoln started life as the
University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in 1996, when the
University of Humberside opened a Lincoln campus next to
Brayford Pool, attracting additional students to the city, giving it a refreshing youthful appearance. Lincoln Art College and Riseholme Agricultural College, which had previously been part of
De Montfort University in
Leicester were absorbed into the university in 2001, and subsequently the Lincoln campus took priority over the
Hull campus, and as such the name changed in 2002 to the University of Lincoln. In the 2005/6 academic year, 8,292 full time undergraduates were studying at the university. [
4]
Futher education courses in Lincoln are provided by Lincoln College, which is the largest education institution in
Lincolnshire, with 18,500 students, of whom 2,300 are full time. [
5]
The local newspaper is the Lincolnshire Echo, and the local radio stations are
Radio Lincolnshire on 94.9FM and its commercial rival
Lincs FM on 102.2 FM.
Lincoln has its own
Football team,
Lincoln City F.C., nicknamed "the Red Imps" who play at the
Sincil Bank stadium on the southern edge of the city. The collapse of
ITV Digital who owed LCFC more than £100,000 in 2002 saw the team faced with bankruptcy but the team was saved after a massive fundraising venture by the fans that returned ownership of the club to them where it has remained since.
Lincoln is also home to
Lincoln United F.C and
Lincoln Moorlands F.C.
*
George Boole – pioneer of the
Boolean algebra and
binary notation that would later make
computers possible, who was born in Lincoln in 1815.
*
Jim Broadbent –
Oscar-winning actor who was born in the city in 1949.
*
James Fenton – poet, journalist and literary critic, born in the city in 1949.
*
Sir Neville Marriner - famous conductor who arranged and conducted the music for the film
Amadeus. He attended Christ's Hospital School from 1935-42.
*
Steve Race – radio broadcaster and host of
Radio 4 programme
My Music from 1967-93. He attended
Christ's Hospital School from 1932-39.
*
Paul Palmer – swimmer who won the silver medal in the 400 metres Freestyle at the
1996 Summer Olympics.
*
Jane Eaglen – (opera singer) was born in the city in 1962
*
Lincoln Cathedral*
Saint Hugh of Lincoln*
Lincoln Imp*
Lincoln Castle*
George Boole*
Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln*
Lincoln City F.C.*
University of Lincoln*
Aaron of LincolnOfficial
*
City of Lincoln council*
University of Lincoln.History
*
Florilegium urbanum: provision for electing city officers,
ca 1300, and Francis Hill's discussion
*
Jewish communities in Eastern England: Lincoln
*
History of Ruston & Hornsby.Tourism and pictures
*
Britannia.com*
Daily new digital pictures of Lincoln.*
The Lincoln Book festival.*
The Inside Out Guide to Lincoln website.: Visitor guide publications to the City of Lincoln
Media
*
Radio Lincolnshire 94.9FM*
Lincs FM 102.2*
Lincoln Today* Francis Hill, 1948.
Medieval Lincoln (Cambridge: University Press)
