Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
|
LINCOLNSHIRE , an eastern See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. by the See also:Humber, E. by the See also:German Ocean and the See also:Wash, S.E. for 3 M. by See also:Norfolk, S. by See also:Cambridgeshire and See also:Northampton-See also:shire, S.W. by See also:Rutland, W. by See also:Leicestershire and See also:Nottingham-shire and N.W. by See also:Yorkshire . The See also:area is 2646 sq. m., the county being second to Yorkshire of the See also:English counties in See also:size . The See also:coast-See also:line, about 1 xo m. in length, including the Humber See also:shore, is generally See also:low and marshy, and artificial See also:banks for guarding against the inroads of the See also:sea are to be found, in places, all along the coast . From See also:Grimsby to See also:Skegness traces of a sub-marine See also:forest are visible; but while the sea is encroaching upon some parts of the coast it is receding from others, as shown by See also:Holbeach, which is now 6 m. from the sea . Several thousand acres have been reclaimed from this See also:part of the Wash, and See also:round the mouth of the Nene on the See also:south-See also:east . The deep See also:bay between the coasts of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, called the Wash, is full of dangerous sandbanks and silt; the navigable portion off the Lincolnshire coast is known as the See also:Boston Deeps . The rapidity of the tides in this inlet, and the lowness of its shores, which are generally indistinct on See also:account of mist from a moderate offing, render this the most difficult portion of the See also:navigation of the east coast of England . On some parts of the coast there are See also:fine stretches of See also:sand, and See also:Cleethorpes, Skegness, Mablethorpe and See also:Sutton-on-Sea are favourite resorts for visitors . The See also:surface of Lincolnshire is generally a large See also:plain, small portions of which are slightly below the level of the sea . The south-east parts are perfectly See also:flat; and about one-third of the county consists of See also:fens and marshes, intersected in all directions by artificial drains, called locally dykes, delphs, drains, becks, Teams and eaux . This flat surface is broken by two ranges of calcareous hills See also:running See also:north and south through the county, and known as the See also:Lincoln Edge or Heights, or the Cliff, and the Wolds . The former range, on the See also:west, runs nearly due north from See also:Grantham to Lincoln, and thence to the Humber, traversing the Heaths of Lincolnshire, which were formerly open See also:moors, See also:rabbit warrens and See also:sheep walks, but are now enclosed and brought into high cultivation .
The Wolds See also:form a See also:ridge of bold hills extending from Spilsby to See also:Barton-on-Humber for about 40 m., with an See also:average breadth of about 8 m
.
The Humber separates Lincolnshire from Yorkshire
.
Its ports on the Lincoln-shire See also:side are the small See also:ferry-ports of Barton and New See also:
The low lands adjoining the tidal reaches of the Trent and Humber, and part of those around the Wash have been raised above the natural level and enriched by the See also:process of warping, which consists in letting the See also:tide run over the See also:land, and retaining it there a sufficient See also:time to permit the See also:deposit of the sand and mud held in See also:solution by the See also:waters
.
See also:Geology.—The See also:geological formations for the most part extend in parallel belts, nearly in the line of the length of the county, from north to south, and succeed one another in ascending See also:order from west to east
.
The lowest is the Triassic See also:Keuper found in the Isle of Axholme and the valley of the Trent in the form of marls, sand-See also: The Upper Lias enters the county at Stainby, passing by Grantham and Lincoln where it is worked for bricks . The Lias thus occupies a vale about 8 or tom. in width in the south, narrowing until on the Humber it is about a mile in width . To this succeed the Oolite formations . The Inferior Oolite, somewhat narrower than the Lias, extends from the boundary with Rutland due north past Lincoln to the vicinity of the Humber; it forms the Cliff of Lincoln-shire with a strong escarpment facing westward . At Lincoln the ridge is notched by the See also:river Witham . The See also:principal member of the Inferior Oolite is the Lincolnshire See also:limestone, which is an important See also:water-bearing bed and is quarried at Lincoln, Ponton, Ancaster, and Kirton Lindsey for See also:building stone . Eastward of the Inferior Oolite lie the narrow outcrops of. the Great Oolite and See also:Cornbrash . The Middle Oolite, See also:Oxford clay and See also:Corallian is very narrow in the south near Wilsthorpe, widening gradually about See also:Sleaford . It then proceeds north from Lincoln with decreasing width to the vicinity of the Humber . The Upper Oolite, Kimeridge clay, starts from the vicinity of Stamford, and after attaining its greatest width near Horncastle, runs north-north-west to the Humber . The Kimeridge clay is succeeded by , the Spilsby sandstone, Tealby limestone, Claxby ironstone, and carstone which represent the highest See also:Jurassic and lowest Cretaceous rocks . In the Cretaceous See also:system of the Wolds, the Lower See also:Greensand runs nearly parallel with the Upper Oolite past South Willingham to the Humber . The Upper See also:Green-sand and See also:Gault, represented in Lincolnshire by the Red See also:Chalk, run north-west from Irby, widening out as far as Kelstern on the east, and See also:cross the Humber . The Chalk formation, about equal in breadth to the three preceding, extends from See also:Burgh across the Humber . The See also:rest of the county, comprising all its south-east portions between the Middle Oolite See also:belt and the sea, all its north-east portions between the chalk belt and the sea, and a narrow tract up the course of the Ancholme river, consists of alluvialdeposits or of reclaimed marsh . In the See also:northern part See also:boulder clay and glacial sands See also:cover considerable tracts of the older rocks . See also:Bunter, See also:Permian, and See also:Coal Measure strata have been revealed by See also:boring to underlie the Keuper near Haxey . Gypsum is dug in the Isle of Axholme, See also:whiting is made from the chalk near the shores of the Humber, and See also:lime is made on the Wolds . Freestone is quarried around Ancaster, and See also:good oolite building stone is quarried near Lincoln and other places . Ironstone is worked at several places and there are some blast furnaces . At . Woodhall See also:Spa on the Horncastle See also:branch railway there is a much-frequented See also:bromine and See also:iodine See also:spring . See also:Climate, Soil and See also:Agriculture.—The climate of the higher grounds is healthy, and meteorological observation does not justify the reputation for See also:cold and See also:damp often given to the county as a whole . The soils vary considerably, according to the geological formations; ten or twelve different kinds may be found in going across the country from east to west .
A good sandy See also:loam is See also:common in the See also:Heath See also:division; a sandy loam with chalk, or a flinty loam on chalk See also:marl, abounds on portions of the Wolds; an argillaceous sand, merging into rich loam, lies on other portions of the Wolds; a See also:black loam and a rich See also:vegetable See also:mould cover most of the Isle of Axholme on the north-west; a well-reclaimed marine marsh, a rich See also:
Where a large number of them were bred, nests were constructed for them one above another; they were daily taken down by the gooseherd, driven to the water, and then reinstated in their nests, without a single See also:bird being misplaced
.
Decoys were once numerous in the undrained See also:state of the Fens
.
See also:Industries and Communications.—Manufactures are few and, relatively to the agricultural See also:industry, small
.
The See also:mineral industries, however, are of value, and there are considerable agricultural See also:machine and See also:implement factories at Lincoln, Boston, Gains-See also:borough, Grantham and See also:Louth
.
At Little Bytham a very hard brick, called adamantine See also:clinker, is made of the siliceous clay that the See also:Romans used for similar See also:works
.
Bone-crushing, tanning, the manufacture of oil-cake for cattle, and rope-making are carried on in various places
.
Grimsby is an important See also:port both for See also:continental See also:traffic and especially for See also:fisheries; Boston is second to it in the county; and Gainsborough has a considerable traffic on the Trent
.
Sutton See also:Bridge is a lesser port on the Wash
.
The principal railway is the Great Northern, its See also:main line touching the county in the S.W. and serving Grantham
.
Its principal branches are from See also:Peterborough to See also:Spalding, Boston, Louth and Grimsby; and from Grantham to Sleaford and Boston, and to Lincoln, and Boston to Lincoln
.
This See also:company works jointly with the Great Eastern the line from See also: The Great Central railway connects the west, See also:Sheffield and Doncaster with Grimsby, and with See also:Hull by ferry from New Holland . Canals connect Louth with the Humber, Sleaford with the Witham, and Grantham with the Trent near Nottingham; but the greater rivers and many of the drainage cuts are navigable, being artificially deepened and embanked . See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the See also:ancient county is 1,693,550 acres, with a population in 1891 of 472,878 and in 1901 of 498,847 . The See also:primary divisions are three trithings or See also:Ridings (q.v.) . The north division is called the Parts of . Lindsey, the south-west the Parts of Kesteven, and the south-east the Parts of Holland . Each of these divisions had in See also:early times its own See also:reeve or gerefa . Each constitutes an administrative county, the Parts of Lindsey having an area of 967,689 acres; Kesteven, 465,877 acres; and Holland, 262,766 acres . The Parts of Lindsey contain 17 wapentakes; Kesteven, exclusive of the See also:soke and borough of Grantham and the borough of Stamford, 9 wapentakes; and Holland, 3 wapentakes . The municipal boroughs and See also:urban districts are as follows: — I . PARTS OF LINDSEY.-Municipal boroughs—Grimsby, a county borough (pop . 63,138), Lincoln, a See also:city and county borough and the county See also:town (48,784), Louth (9518) . Urban districts—See also:Alford (2478), Barton-upon-Humber (5671), See also:Brigg (3137), See also:Broughton (1300), Brumby and Frodingham (2273), Cleethorpes with Thrunscoe (12,578), Crowle (2769), Gainsborough (17,660), Horncastle (4038), Mablethorpe (934), See also:Market Rasen (2188), Roxby-cum-Risby (389), Scunthorpe (6750), Skegness (2140), Winterton (1361), Woodhall Spa (988) . 2 . PARTS OF KESTEVEN.—Municipal boroughs—Grantham (17,593), Stamford (8229) . Urban districts—See also:Bourne (4361), See also:Brace-bridge (1752), Ruskington (1196), Sleaford (5468) . 3 . PARTS OF HOLLAND.—Municipal borough—Boston (15,667) . Urban districts—Holbeach (4755), Long Sutton (2524), Spalding (9385), Sutton Bridge (2105) . In the Parts of Holland the borough of Boston has a See also:separate See also:commission of the See also:peace and there are two See also:petty sessional divisions . Lincolnshire is in the Midland See also:circuit . In the Parts of Kesteven the boroughs of Grantham and Stamford have each a separate commission of the peace and separate courts of See also:quarter sessions, and there are 4 petty sessional divisions . In the Parts of Lindsey the county boroughs of Grimsby and Lincoln have each a separate commission of the peace and a separate See also:court of quarter sessions, while the municipal borough of Louth has a separate commission of the peace, and there are 14 petty sessional divisions . The three administrative counties and the county boroughs contain together 761 See also:civil parishes .
The ancient county contains 58o ecclesiastical parishes and districts, wholly or in part
.
It is mostly in the See also:diocese of Lincoln, but in part also in the dioceses of South-well and See also:York
.
For See also:parliamentary purposes the county is divided into seven divisions, namely, West Lindsey or Gainsborough, North Lindsey or Brigg, East Lindsey or Louth, South Lindsey or See also:Horn-See also:castle, North Kesteven or Sleaford, South Kesteven or Stamford, and Holland or Spalding, and the parliamentary boroughs of Boston, Grantham, Grimsby and Lincoln, each returning one member
.
See also:History.—Of the details of the English See also:conquest of the district which is now Lincolnshire little is known, but at some time in the 6th See also:century Engle and Frisian invaders appear to have settled in the country north of the Witham, where they became known as the Lindiswaras, the See also:southern districts from Boston to the Trent See also:basin being at this time dense woodland
.
In the 7th century the supremacy over Lindsey alternated between See also:Mercia and See also:Northumbria, but few See also:historical references to the district are extant until the time of See also:Alfred, whose See also:marriage with Ealswitha was celebrated at Gainsborough three years before his See also:accession
.
At this See also:period the Danish inroads upon the coast of Lindsey had already begun, and in 873 Healfdene wintered at Torksey, while in 878 Lincoln and Stamford were included among the five Danish boroughs, and the organization of the districts dependent upon them probably resulted about this time in the grouping of Lindsey, Kesteven and Holland to form the shire of Lincoln
.
The extent and permanence of the Danish See also:influence in Lincolnshire is still observable in the names of its towns and villages and in the See also:local See also:dialect, and, though about 918 the confederate boroughs were recaptured by See also:Edward the See also:Elder, in 993 a See also:Viking See also:fleet again entered the Humber and ravaged Lindsey, and in 1013 the district of the five boroughs acknowledged the supremacy of Sweyn
.
The county offered no active resistance to the Conqueror, and though See also:Hereward appears in the Domesday Survey as a dispossessed under-See also:tenant of the See also:
In Kesteven the wapentakes of Aswardhurn, Aveland, Beltisloe, Haxwell, Langoe, Loveden, Ness, Winnibriggs, and Grantham Soke have been practically unchanged, but the Domesday wapentakes of Boothby and Graffo now form the See also:wapentake of Boothby Graffo
.
In North-See also:riding See also:Bradley and Haverstoe have been combined to form Bradley Haverstoe wapentake, and the Domesday wapentake of Epworth in Westriding has been absorbed in that of See also:Manley
.
See also:Wall wapentake in Westriding was a See also:liberty of the See also:bishop of Lincoln, and as See also:late as 1515 the See also:dean and See also:chapter of Lincoln claimed delivery and return of writs in the See also:manor and hundred of Navenby
.
In the 13th century See also:Baldwin See also:Wake claimed return of writs and a market in Aveland
.
See also: Stow archdeaconry is first mentioned in 1138, and in 1291 included four deaneries, while the archdeaconry of Lincoln included twenty-three . In 1536 the additional deaneries of Hill, Holland, Loveden and Graffoe had been formed within the archdeaconry of Lincoln, and the only deaneries created since that date are East and West Elloe and North and SouthGrantham in Lincoln archdeaconry . The deaneries of Gartree, Grimsby, Hill, Horncastle, Louthesk, Ludborough, Walshcroft, Wraggoe and Yarborough have been transferred from the archdeaconry of Lincoln to that of Stow . See also:Benedictine See also:foundations existed at Ikanho, See also: |