Lincolnshire

Coordinates: 53°4′N 0°11′W / 53.067°N 0.183°W / 53.067; -0.183

Lincolnshire
County
Flag
Motto: Land and God
Lincolnshire in England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	East Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber (North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire)
Ceremonial county
Area	6,959 km2 (2,687 sq mi)
• Ranked	2nd of 48
Population (mid-2016 est.)	1,073,300
• Ranked	18th of 48
Density	153/km2 (400/sq mi)
Ethnicity	98.5% White
Non-metropolitan county
County council	Lincolnshire County Council http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Admin HQ	Lincoln
Area	5,921 km2 (2,286 sq mi)
• Ranked	4th of 27
Population	743,400
• Ranked	14th of 27
Density	125/km2 (320/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	GB-LIN
ONS code	32
NUTS	UKF30
Districts of Lincolnshire
Districts	City of Lincoln North Kesteven South Kesteven South Holland Boston East Lindsey West Lindsey North Lincolnshire (Unitary) North East Lincolnshire (Unitary)
Members of Parliament	Nicholas Boles (Con) Nic Dakin (Lab) John Henry Hayes (Con) Edward Leigh (Con) Karl McCartney (Con) Melanie Onn (Lab) Andrew Percy (Con) Caroline Johnson (Con) Matt Warman (Con) Victoria Atkins (Con) Martin Vickers (Con)
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)
• Summer (DST)	British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Lincolnshire (/ˈlɪŋkənʃər/ or /-ʃɪər/; abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the northwest, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders Northamptonshire in the south for just 20 yards (18 m), England's shortest county boundary.^[1] The county town is Lincoln, where the county council has its headquarters.

The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire is composed of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire and the area covered by the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Therefore, part of the ceremonial county is in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and most is in the East Midlands region. The county is the second-largest of the English ceremonial counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in land use. The county is fourth largest of the two-tier counties, as the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are not included. The county can be broken down into a number of geographical sub-regions including: The rolling chalk hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds. In the south east are the Lincolnshire Fens (south-east Lincolnshire), the Carrs (similar to the Fens but in north Lincolnshire), the industrial Humber Estuary and North Sea coast around Grimsby and Scunthorpe, and in the south-west of the county, the Kesteven Uplands, comprising rolling limestone hills in the district of South Kesteven.

History

Lincolnshire derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough of Stamford. For some time the entire county was called "Lindsey", and it is recorded as such in the 11th-century Domesday Book. Later, the name Lindsey was applied to the northern core, around Lincoln, and this emerged as one of the three Parts of Lincolnshire, along with the Parts of Holland in the south-east and the Parts of Kesteven in the south-west, which each had separate Quarter Sessions as their county administrations.

In 1888 when county councils were set up, Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven each received separate ones. These survived until 1974, when Holland, Kesteven, and most of Lindsey were unified into Lincolnshire. The northern part of Lindsey, including Scunthorpe Municipal Borough and Grimsby County Borough, was incorporated into the newly formed non-metropolitan county of Humberside, along with most of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside, and the land south of the Humber was allocated to the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. These two areas became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes such as the Lord-Lieutenancy, but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police and are in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, and West Lindsey. They are part of the East Midlands region.

The area was shaken by the 27 February 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake, reaching between 4.7 and 5.3 on the Richter magnitude scale; it was one of the largest earthquakes to affect Britain in recent years.

Lincolnshire is home to Woolsthorpe Manor, birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton. He attended The King's School, Grantham and its library has preserved his signature, applied to a window sill when he was a teenager.

• 
  Belton House
• 
  Boston Stump
• 
  Gainsborough Old Hall
• 
  Harlaxton Manor
• 
  Normanby Hall
• 
  Tattershall Castle
• 
  Thornton Abbey

Geography

Lincolnshire's geography is fairly varied, but consists of several distinct areas:

• Lincolnshire Wolds - area of rolling hills in the North East of the county designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• The Fens - dominating the South East quarter of the county
• The Marshes - running along the coast of the county
• The Lincoln Edge/Cliff - limestone escarpment running north-south along the Western half of the county

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Lincolnshire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added (£ millions)	Agriculture[a]	Industry[b]	Services[c]
1995	5,719	657	1,769	3,292
2000	6,512	452	2,046	4,013
2003	8,419	518	2,518	5,383

^a includes hunting and forestry

^b includes energy and construction

^c includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Notable businesses based in Lincolnshire include the Lincs FM Group, Young's Seafood, Openfield and the Lincolnshire Co-operative (whose membership includes about one quarter of the population of the county).

Agriculture

Lincolnshire is an agricultural area, growing large amounts of wheat, barley, sugar beet, and oilseed rape. In South Lincolnshire, where the soil is particularly rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops include potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, and onions. South Lincolnshire is also home to one of the UK's leading agricultural experiment stations located in Sutton Bridge operated by the Potato Council, Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research engages in research for the British potato industry.^[2]

Mechanisation around 1900 greatly diminished the number of workers required to operate the county's relatively large farms, and the proportion of workers in the agricultural sector dropped substantially during this period. Several major engineering companies developed in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Grantham to support those changes, perhaps most famously Fosters of Lincoln, who built the first tank, and Richard Hornsby & Sons of Grantham. Most such companies are long gone, and Lincolnshire is no longer an engineering centre.

Today, immigrant workers mainly from new member states of the European Union in Central and Eastern Europe comprise a large component of the seasonal agricultural workforce, particularly in the south of the county where more labour-intensive crops such as small vegetables and cut flowers are typically grown. This seasonal influx of migrant labour occasionally causes tension between the migrant workforce and local people, in a county which is relatively unaccustomed to large-scale immigration. However, as a result of the current economic climate some food production facilities have closed down, this has caused some reduction in the levels of migrant workers. The large number of people from Portugal is still obvious in the town of Boston, and in Grantham the number of Polish workers is apparent.^[3][4]

Elections

Westminster Parliamentary constituencies

General Election 2015 : Lincolnshire and change from 2010
Conservative	Labour	UKIP	Liberal Democrats	Green	Others	Turnout
248,273 +12,771	124,844 +2,210	98,529 +73,511	21,341 -78,254	10,689 +9,569	10,049 -16,955	513,725 +5,884

Overall numbers of seats as of 2015
Conservative	Labour	Liberal Democrats	UKIP	Green
9	2	0	0	0

The Conservative Party won nine seats in the 2010 United Kingdom general election in Lincolnshire, considerably increasing their vote share at the expense of Labour, taking Gillian Merron's Lincoln constituency.

Parliamentary Constituencies
Constituency	District	MP	Party
Boston and Skegness	Boston, East Lindsey	Matt Warman	Conservative
Brigg and Goole	North Lincolnshire (plus part in East Riding of Yorkshire)	Andrew Percy	Conservative
Cleethorpes	North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire	Martin Vickers	Conservative
Gainsborough	West Lindsey, East Lindsey	Edward Leigh	Conservative
Grantham and Stamford	South Kesteven	Nicholas Boles	Conservative
Great Grimsby	North East Lincolnshire	Melanie Onn	Labour
Lincoln	Lincoln, North Kesteven	Karl McCartney	Conservative
Louth and Horncastle	East Lindsey	Victoria Atkins	Conservative
Scunthorpe	North Lincolnshire	Nic Dakin	Labour
Sleaford and North Hykeham	North Kesteven, South Kesteven	Caroline Johnson	Conservative
South Holland and The Deepings	South Holland, South Kesteven	John Henry Hayes	Conservative

Lincolnshire County Council

The Conservatives control the county council, with 58 of the 70 seats. North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are unitary authorities and do not form part of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire.

2009 election

The Conservative Party comfortably controlled the County Council after the 2009 local elections, in which they increased their majority to 43 seats. The Labour Party lost a total of 15 seats including 7 in Lincoln, whilst the Liberal Democrats lost three. The Lincolnshire Independents gained a total of four seats, although one of their number moved to the Conservative group during 2010, increasing the number of Conservative seats to 61. The collective group of the Lincolnshire Independents, the Boston Bypass Party and other independent councillors formed the opposition for the four-year term.

2013 election

In the 2013 County Council elections, the Conservatives lost their overall majority and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and independents. The UK Independence Party made significant gains from the Conservatives, particularly around the town of Boston, due to opposition to Eastern European immigration.^[5]

UKIP were initially the main opposition party with 16 councillors, but six members broke away to form a separate group, UKIP Lincolnshire.^[6]

2017 election

The Lincolnshire County Council election, 2017 took place on 4 May 2017 and saw a local landslide victory for the Conservatives, who won 58 out of the 70 seats. UKIP was left without a single seat. Labour lost four seats, reducing their number of seats to six, the Liberal Democrats were reduced to one seat, and the Lincolnshire Independents were also reduced to a single seat after losing eight seats. Four other independents were elected.

Referendums

1975 European Communities membership

The 1975 EC membership referendum was the first major referendum ever to be held within the county, and saw a large majority of voters approve continued membership of the then European Communities within non-metropolitan Lincolnshire and also Humberside, which included northern parts of historic Lincolnshire. The referendum was held on 5 June 1975 with all the votes counted centrally under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975. The result was declared on the following day.

United Kingdom European Community (Common Market) membership referendum, 1975 Lincolnshire
Choice		Votes	%
	Yes	180,603	74.75%
	No	61,011	25.25%
Vaild votes		241,614	99.82%
Invalid or blank votes		445	0.18%
Total votes		242,059	100.00%
Registered voters and turnout		370,518	63.70%

• The result above only includes non-Metropolitan Lincolnshire as parts of historic northern Lincolnshire made up part of Humberside at the time.

County	Yes votes	No votes	Yes %	No %	Turnout %
Humberside	257,826	122,199	67.8	32.2	62.4

2011 Alternative Vote

The United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 was the first to be held within Lincolnshire since the 1975 EC membership referendum and was only the second time that the people of Lincolnshire have been asked to vote in a referendum. The referendum asked voters whether to replace the present "first-past-the-post" (simple plurality) system with the "alternative vote" (AV) method for electing MPs to the House of Commons in future general elections. The proposal to introduce AV was overwhelmingly rejected by voters with all eight counting areas within Lincolnshire returning significant "no" votes.

United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 Lincolnshire
Choice		Votes	%
	No	232,034	75.19%
	Yes	76,570	24.81%
Vaild votes		308,604	99.49%
Invalid or blank votes		1,593	0.51%
Total votes		310,197	100.00%
Registered voters and turnout		722,210	40.17%

• The result above includes all areas within historic Lincolnshire

The seven shire-districts, and two unitary authorities within Lincolnshire were used as the Counting Areas.

Counting Areas	Turnout %	No votes	Yes votes	No %	Yes %
Boston	39.58	7004133370000000000♠13,337	7003395800000000000♠3,958	77.11	22.89
East Lindsey	42.60	7004340450000000000♠34,045	7004105710000000000♠10,571	76.31	23.69
Lincoln	36.68	7004160990000000000♠16,099	7003695100000000000♠6,951	69.84	30.16
North East Lincolnshire	34.23	7004294840000000000♠29,484	7003954900000000000♠9,549	75.54	24.46
North Lincolnshire	39.57	7004360310000000000♠36,031	7004125420000000000♠12,542	74.18	25.82
North Kesteven	42.95	7004273970000000000♠27,397	7003792600000000000♠7,926	77.56	22.44
South Holland	39.83	7004205420000000000♠20,542	7003560300000000000♠5,603	78.57	21.43
South Kesteven	42.63	7004322170000000000♠32,217	7004112470000000000♠11,247	74.12	25.88
West Lindsey	43.70	7004228820000000000♠22,882	7003822300000000000♠8,223	73.56	26.44

2016 European Union membership

On Thursday 23 June 2016, in the EU referendum, the people of Lincolnshire voted for the second time on the issue of the UK's continued membership of what is now known as the European Union under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015. Of the ten MPs which represented the historic county at the time six MPs Andrew Percy, Martin Vickers, Edward Leigh, Karl McCartney, Nick Boles, Stephen Phillips and John Hayes supported a "Leave" vote with four MPs Matt Warman, Victoria Atkins, Melanie Onn and Nic Dakin who supported a "Remain" vote.

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 Lincolnshire
Choice		Votes	%
	Leave the European Union	380,556	65.98%
	Remain a member of the European Union	196,184	34.02%
Vaild votes		576,740	99.95%
Invalid or blank votes		308	0.05%
Total votes		595,954	100.00%
Registered voters and turnout		780,761	73.91%

• The result above includes all areas within historic Lincolnshire

The seven shire-districts, and two unitary authorities within Lincolnshire were used as the voting areas.

Voting areas	Turnout %	Remain votes	Leave votes	Remain %	Leave %
Boston	77.2%	7,430	22,974	24.4%	75.6%
East Lindsey	74.9%	23,515	56,613	29.3%	70.7%
Lincoln	69.3%	18,902	24,992	43.1%	57.0%
North East Lincolnshire	67.9%	23,797	55,185	30.1%	69.9%
North Lincolnshire	71.9%	29,947	58,915	33.7%	66.3%
North Kesteven	78.4%	25,570	42,183	37.7%	62.3%
South Holland	75.3%	13,074	36,423	26.4%	73.6%
South Kesteven	78.2%	33,047	49,424	40.1%	60.0%
West Lindsey	74.5%	20,906	33,847	38.2%	61.8%

Police and Crime Commissioners

The most recent elections for Police and Crime Commissioners within the Lincolnshire and Humberside police force areas took place on Thursday 5 May 2016.

Lincolnshire Police

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner election, 2016
Party		Candidate	1st Round	%	2nd Round	Total	First Round Votes  Transfer Votes
	Conservative	Marc Jones	39,441	35.22%	8,592	48,033	​​
	UKIP	Victoria Ayling	28,583	25.52%	8,837	37,420	​​
	Labour	Lucinda Preston	25,475	22.75%			​​
	Lincolnshire Independent	Daniel Simpson	18,497	16.52%			​​
Turnout			111,996	20.70%
	Conservative gain from Independent

Humberside Police

Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner election, 2016
Party		Candidate	1st Round	%	2nd Round	Total	First Round Votes  Transfer Votes
	Labour	Keith Hunter	62,010	40.31%	14,118	76,128	​​
	Conservative	Matthew Grove	40,925	26.61%	10,832	51,757	​​
	UKIP	Michael Whitehead	27,434	17.84%			​​
	Liberal Democrat	Denis Healy	23,451	15.25%			​​
Turnout			153,820	22.10%
Rejected ballots
Total votes
Registered electors
	Labour gain from Conservative

Services and retail

According to an IGGI study in 2000,^[7] the town centres were ranked by area thus (including North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas):

• Lincoln
• Grantham
• Grimsby
• Boston and Scunthorpe (equal)
• Spalding
• Stamford
• Skegness
• Louth
• Sleaford
• Gainsborough
• Brigg
• Cleethorpes
• Bourne
• Horncastle and Mablethorpe (equal)

Public services

Education

Lincolnshire is one of the few counties within the UK that still uses the 11-plus to decide who may attend grammar school. As a result, many towns in Lincolnshire have both a grammar school and a secondary modern school. Lincolnshire's rural character means that some larger villages also have primary schools and are served by buses to nearby high schools.

Lincoln itself, however, is primarily non-selective, as is the area within a radius of about seven miles. Within this area, almost all children attend comprehensive schools, though it is still possible to opt into the 11-plus system. This gives rise to the unusual result that those who pass the Eleven plus can attend a Grammar School outside the Lincoln Comprehensive area, but those who do not pass still attend a (partly non-selective) Comprehensive school.

Transport

Being on the economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are poorly developed compared with many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network within the county is dominated by single carriageway A roads and local roads (B roads) as opposed to motorways and dual carriageways – the administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the few UK counties without a motorway, and until several years ago, it was said that there was only about 35 km (22 mi) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire. The M180 motorway passes through North Lincolnshire, splitting into two dual-carriageway trunk roads to the Humber Bridge and Grimsby, and the A46 is now dual carriageway between Newark-on-Trent and Lincoln.

The low population density of the county means that the number of railway stations and train services is very low considering the county's large area. Many of the county's railway stations were permanently closed following the Beeching Report of 1963. The most notable reopening has been the line and two stations between Lincoln and Sleaford, which reopened within months of the Beeching closure. Most other closed lines within the county were long ago lifted and much of the trackbed has returned to agricultural use.

A daily through train service operated between Cleethorpes and London King's Cross via Grimsby, Market Rasen and Lincoln Central until the late 1980s. The Humberlincs Executive, as the service was known, was operated by a HST125 unit, but was discontinued following the electrification of the East Coast Main Line. Passengers now have to change trains at Newark when travelling to and from London. However, the East Coast Main Line passes through the county and one can catch direct trains to London.

A proposed 2 hourly service promised by National Express East Coast (who lost the franchise on 13 November 2009) between Lincoln and King's Cross has yet to start running, though was promised to start running by 2010.

Most rail services are currently provided by East Midlands Trains and Northern. Virgin Trains East Coast and CrossCountry have services which pass through the county, with Virgin Trains East Coast frequently passing and stopping at Grantham on the East Coast Main Line and a daily return train to Lincoln which is at the end of the branch line, while CrossCountry trains stop at Stamford on their way between Birmingham and Stansted Airport. Stations along the Humber are served by TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes. One of the most infrequent services in the UK is in Lincolnshire: the Sheffield-Gainsborough Central-Cleethorpes line has passenger trains only on a Saturday, with three trains in both directions. This line is, however, used for freight.

On 22 May 2011 East Coast started a Lincoln-London service. One train travels both ways each day, and there is a northbound service on a Sunday. East Midlands Trains also run a daily (Mon-Sat) service each way between Lincoln and London St Pancras, though this is a stopping service which takes around 3 hours via Nottingham, compared to Virgin Trains East Coast's service to London King's Cross which takes around 1h 50 minutes.

The only airport in Lincolnshire is Humberside Airport, near Brigg. While small, it serves all of Lincolnshire. Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster is within travelling distance of much of Lincolnshire and provide a wider range of flights.

The county's biggest bus companies are Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes (formerly Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport) and Stagecoach in Lincolnshire, (formerly Lincolnshire Road Car). There are several smaller bus companies, including Brylaine of Boston, Delaine of Bourne and Hornsby's of Scunthorpe'^[8]

A Sustrans cycle route runs from Lincoln to Boston in the south of the county.^[9]

Health care

The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust^[10] is one of the largest trusts in the country, employing almost 4,000 staff and with an annual budget of over £200 million. The north of the county is served by the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Lincolnshire shares the problems of elsewhere in the country when it comes to finding an NHS dentist, with waiting lists of eight months not uncommon.

Some of the larger hospitals in the county include:

• Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby
• Scunthorpe General Hospital
• Boston Pilgrim Hospital
• Lincoln County Hospital

Since April 1994, Lincolnshire has had an Air Ambulance service.^[11] The air ambulance is stationed at RAF Waddington near Lincoln and can reach emergencies in Lincolnshire within 25 minutes. An A&E hospital is only 10 minutes away by helicopter from any accident in Lincolnshire.

Drainage

Separately to the commercial water companies the low-lying parts of the county are drained by various internal drainage boards, such as the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board,Witham 4th District IDB, Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board, or the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board.^[12]

Housing

Lincolnshire is now the second fastest growing county in the UK with thousands of people moving there every year. Over the next two decades Lincolnshire is set to grow both in population and economy with the help of the Government’s Growth Points strategy. Lincolnshire has been awarded £13 million in funding to deliver sustainable development and intensive growth through sites of key regional significance. In essence, the target for Lincoln is 14,000 new homes and 12,000 new jobs by 2026 whilst the target for Grantham is an additional 3,200 homes by 2016 and at least 6,200 by 2026. This housing growth will be supported by the provision for 4,800 jobs by 2016.

Towns and villages

The non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire has no major urban areas, apart from the areas in and around Lincoln, Grantham and Boston. However, the Skegness, Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards areas (and to a lesser extent the Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe areas) along the Lincolnshire coast are becoming increasingly urbanised, as people holiday at large caravan sites during the summer. These holidaymakers are not reflected in census or local population figures, though it is estimated that at the height of the summer months there are over 100,000 such residents in these coastal areas. This has an appreciable impact on the local infrastructure and amenities.

Largest settlements in Lincolnshire by population
Rank	City/ Town	District/Unitary Authority	Population (2011 est.)
1	Lincoln	Lincoln	7005119541000000000♠119,541
2	Grimsby	North East Lincolnshire	7004882430000000000♠88,243
3	Scunthorpe	North Lincolnshire	7004799770000000000♠79,977
4	Grantham	South Kesteven	7004419980000000000♠41,998
5	Boston	Boston	7004413400000000000♠41,340
6	Cleethorpes	North East Lincolnshire	7004395050000000000♠39,505
7	Spalding	South Holland	7004315880000000000♠31,588
8	Skegness	East Lindsey	7004248760000000000♠24,876
9	Gainsborough	West Lindsey	7004208420000000000♠20,842
10	Stamford	South Kesteven	7004197010000000000♠19,701

For a more detailed list of the largest populated towns see the List of settlements in Lincolnshire by population page.

For a full list of Lincolnshire towns and villages see the List of places in Lincolnshire page.

Coastal tourism

The majority of tourism in Lincolnshire relies on the coastal resorts and towns to the east of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The county has some of the best-known seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, which are a major attraction to visitors from across England, especially the East Midlands and parts of Yorkshire. There are three main coastal resorts in Lincolnshire, and several smaller village resorts.

The main county seaside resort of Skegness with its famous Jolly Fisherman mascot and famous slogan "Skegness is so bracing", together with its neighbouring large village coastal resorts of Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards, provides the biggest concentration of resorts along the Lincolnshire Coast, with many large caravan and holiday sites. The resort offers many amusements, beaches, leisure activities and shops, as well as Butlins Skegness, Fantasy Island, Church Farm Museum, Natureland Seal Sanctuary, Skegness Stadium, Skegness Pier and several well-known local golf courses. There are good road, bus and rail links to the rest of the county.

The second largest group of resorts along the coast is the small seaside town of Mablethorpe, famous for its golden sands, and the neighbouring village resorts of Trusthorpe and Sutton-on-Sea. This area also offers leisure activities, and has large caravan and holiday sites. But the area is less developed, with fewer amusement arcades and nightclubs, and poorer road links to the rest of the county; but the area offers a more traditional seaside setting. The rail service to these towns was axed in the Beeching cuts.

The third group of resorts includes the seaside town of Cleethorpes and the large village resort of Humberston within North East Lincolnshire. It has Pleasure Island Family Theme Park, Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and Cleethorpes Pier along with its local golf courses and caravan and holiday sites. Cleethorpes is well-served by road and rail; it is easily accessible from the M180 and the TransPennine Express route to Manchester.

Nature is an attraction for many tourists: the south-east of the county is mainly fenland that attracts many species of birds, as do the nature reserves at Gibraltar Point, Saltfleetby and Theddlethorpe. The reserve at Donna Nook also has a native seal colony popular with nature lovers.

The market towns of the Lincolnshire Wolds (Louth, Alford, Horncastle, Caistor and Spilsby) are also attractive, with several having historic links. The Wolds are quite popular for cycling and walking, with regular events such as the Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival.

Culture

Lincolnshire is a rural area where the pace of life is generally much slower than in much of the United Kingdom. Sunday is still largely a day of rest, with only shops in Lincoln, larger market towns, and resorts and industrial towns of the North Sea coast generally remaining open. Some towns and villages in the county still observe half-day closing on Thursdays. Due to the large distances between the towns, many villages have remained very self-contained, with many still having shops, pubs, local halls and local chapels and churches, offering a variety of social activities for residents. Fishing (in the extensive river and drainage system in the fens) and shooting are popular activities. A lot of the culture in Lincoln itself is based upon its history. The Collection is an archaeological museum and art galley in Lincoln. Lincoln Cathedral also plays a large part in Lincoln's culture, playing host to many events throughout the year, from concert recitals to indoor food markets.

A Lincolnshire tradition was that front doors were used for only three things: a new baby, a bride, and a coffin.^[14]

People

Lincolnshire is relatively unusual in the composition of its population, being one of the least ethnically diverse counties of the United Kingdom (98.5% of the population describe themselves as "white"). Over recent years inward migration by people from ethnic minority communities has increased (particularly to population centres such as Lincoln and Boston) but the absolute number of non-white Lincolnshire residents remains very low.

Recently, the county has also witnessed a growing trend towards immigration of retired people from other parts of the United Kingdom, particularly those from the southern counties of England attracted by the generally lower property prices and the slower and more relaxed pace of life. The relatively high proportion of elderly and retired people is reflected in many of the services, activities and events. Sleaford is considered one of the fastest-growing towns in the East Midlands, with many professional people moving there to benefit from the (relatively) low house prices and crime rate, and the selective education.

Those born in Lincolnshire are sometimes given the nickname of Yellowbellies (often spelt "Yeller Bellies", to reflect the pronunciation of the phrase by the typical Lincolnshire farmer). The origin of this term is debated, but is most commonly believed to derive from the uniform of the 10th Regiment of Foot (later the Lincolnshire Regiment) which featured yellow facings. For this reason, the coat of arms of Lincolnshire County Council is supported by two officers of the regiment.^[15]

Notable people

Lincolnshire has many notable people associated with it, such as:

• Sir Isaac Newton, celebrated mathematician, physicist, astronomer, Biblical theologist, alchemist, Warden and Master of the Royal Mint, the second Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, and President of the Royal Society.
• Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister
• Guthlac of Crowland
• Zack Knight
• Hereward the Wake
• Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln
• Hugh of Lincoln, Robert Grosseteste, Christopher Wordsworth and Edward King, Bishops of Lincoln
• Nicolaa de la Haye
• Lucy of Bolingbroke
• Aaron of Lincoln
• Berechiah de Nicole
• Eleanor of Castile
• Katherine Swynford
• Gilbert of Sempringham, Saint and Founder of the Gilbertine Order
• Henry IV of England
• William Byrd, composer
• William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, Chief Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I
• Havelok the Dane
• Sir John Franklin, Arctic explorer
• Joseph Banks, Botanist and plant collector
• Matthew Flinders, navigator and cartographer
• Halford Mackinder, geographer
• George Bass Explorer of Australia
• George Boole, mathematician
• Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who was appointed as a Grantham-based excise officer in December 1762.
• John Harrison, chronometer innovator
• William Stukeley, antiquarian
• Frank Bramley and Peter De Wint, artists
• Herbert Ingram, journalist
• Alfred Lord Tennyson, Jean Ingelow, Anne Bradstreet, Elizabeth Jennings and Andreas Kalvos, poets
• Richard Foxe, bishop and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
• Anne Askew, Protestant martyr
• John Smyth, founder of the Baptist denomination
• John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Robert Tighe, translator on the Committee for The King James Bible
• John Foxe, aAuthor of "Foxe's Book of Martyrs"
• John Cotton, Puritan
• John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist movement
• Samuel Eyles Pierce, preacher
• Richard Watson, theologian and Methodist writer
• Thomas Scott, Bible commentator and co-founder of the Church Missionary Society
• Captain John Smith, leader of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia,
• Madge Kendal and Sybil Thorndike, actresses
• Arthur Lucan, part of the music hall act Old Mother Riley
• Frank Pick, railway administrator
• "The Acid Bath Murderer" John George Haigh
• Businesswoman and Welsh language translator Lady Charlotte Guest
• Inventor of Crucible Steel Benjamin Huntsman
• Tenor Alfred Piccaver
• Field Marshal William Robertson
• Founder of "The Samaritans" Chad Varah
• Industrialists Joseph Ruston and William Tritton
• R.A.F personnel Douglas Bader, Leslie Manser, Frank Whittle, Guy Gibson
• Victoria Cross recipients Charles Richard Sharpe, Harold Jackson (VC), Guy Gibson, Thomas Colclough Watson and Gonville Bromhead
• Medal of Honor recipient George Green (Medal of Honor)
• Founder of Royal College of Nursing Sarah Swift
• Historian Francis Hill
• Archbishops of Canterbury Æthelhard, Stephen Langton and John Whitgift
• Fashion Designer Charles Frederick Worth
• Hangman William Marwood
• Frontiersman George Davenport
• ballad composer and hymn writer Charlotte Alington Barnard
• Footballer Ted Savage
• Leaders of the Lincolnshire Rebellion Nicholas Melton and Rev.Thomas Kendall

Present day figures include

• Actors Thomas Turgoose, Jim Broadbent, Jonathan Kerrigan, Neil McCarthy and John Alderton
• Actresses Patricia Hodge, Joan Plowright, Liz Smith, Kelly Adams and Sheridan Smith
• Actress and comedian Jennifer Saunders
• Singer and songwriter Ella Henderson
• Radio and TV presenter Nicholas Parsons
• Author of My Mad Fat Teenage Diary (the basis for the television show My Mad Fat Diary) Rae Earl
• Crime writer Colin Dexter
• Astronaut Michael Foale
• Songwriters Bernie Taupin and Rod Temperton
• Military historian and author Bruce Barrymore Halpenny
• Actor and comedian Robert Webb
• Musicians Jane Taylor and Neville Marriner
• Musician and composer Robert Wyatt
• Golfer Tony Jacklin
• Shotputter Geoff Capes
• Swimmers Paul Palmer, Kate Haywood and Brenda Fisher
• Footballers Lee Chapman, Ray Clemence, Chris Woods, and Paul Mayo
• Cricketer Luke Wright
• Fashion designer Antonio Berardi
• Glamour model Abi Titmuss
• Motorcycle racer and television presenter Guy Martin
• Business executive and wife of the Prime Minister, Samantha Cameron
• Newsreader and journalist Helen Fospero
• Television presenter and Children's Author Jason Bradbury
• YouTuber and inventor Colin Furze
• Drum and Bass Producer and DJ J-Wok

Local dialect

In common with most other Northern and Midlands dialects in England, "flat" a is preferred, i.e. /ˈbæθ/ over /ˈbɑːθ/, and also traditionally in words like water, pronounced /ˈwætər/ watter (though such a pronunciation is rarely heard nowadays). Similarly, /ʌ/ is usually replaced by /ʊ/. Features rather more confined to Lincolnshire include:

• Elaboration of standard English /eɪ/ or /iː/ into a complex triphthong approximating, and often transcribed -air- or -yair-. For example: "mate" [m(j)ɛːət]; "beast" [b(j)ɛːəst]; "tates" (potatoes) [t(j)ɛːəts].
• An equivalent elaboration of standard English /oʊ/ – commonly [oː] in Northern England – into -ooa-. For example, "boat" [bʊːət].
• Insertion of an extra schwa into the standard English diphthong /aʊ/.
• Vocabulary: "duck" as a term of endearment or informal address, "mardy" meaning upset or angry, "mowt" (pronounced like mout) for might,"while" as a substitute for standard English "until", "frit" meaning frightened, "grufty" meaning dirty or disgusting, and the inimitable salutation "now then!?" (hello), sometimes written nairn to reflect pronunciation.
• In the north east of the county, around Grimsby and Immingham, the nurse-square merger can be heard, as is also the case along the east coast of Yorkshire and also in Liverpool. Words that take /ɜː/ in RP take /ɛː/ in these areas.

Lincolnshire has its own dialect "champion", a farmer from the village of Minting called Farmer Wink (real name Robert Carlton), who has produced videos about rural life, narrated in his broad Lincolnshire accent, and has a regular slot on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. A resident of Woodhall Spa has published a dictionary of words once prevalent in parts of the county.^[16]

Music

Lincolnshire was historically associated with the Lincolnshire bagpipe, an instrument derided as a coarse and unpleasant instrument in contemporary literature, but noted as very popular in the county. The last player, John Hunsley of Middle Manton,^[17] died in 1851,^[18] and since then the instrument has been extinct.

In 1937, Percy Grainger wrote his Lincolnshire Posy for wind band. The piece is a compilation of folk songs "musical wildflowers" collected by the composer in and around the county of Lincolnshire.

The Lincolnshire Poacher is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and deals with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire.

Food

Lincolnshire has a number of local dishes:

• Stuffed chine – this is salted neck-chine of a pig taken from between the shoulder blades, salted for up to ten months and stuffed with parsley (other ingredients are normally kept secret), and served cold.^[19]
• Haslet – a type of pork loaf, also flavoured with sage (pronounced HAYSS-let or AYSS-let in Lincolnshire but HAZ-let in many other parts of the country).^[19]
• Lincolnshire sausages – most butchers in Lincolnshire have their own secret recipe for these and a competition is held each year to judge the best sausages in the county. Traditional Lincolnshire sausages are made entirely from minced pork, stale bread crumb (rusk is used nowadays) pepper, sage and salt. The skins should be natural casings which are made from the intestines of either sheep or pig.
• Pork pies – the same pork butchers will take a pride in their unique recipe for pork pies.
• Giblet pie.^[19]
• Mutton stuffed with oysters.^[19]
• Plum bread – as with plum pudding, plum refers to dried fruit, namely currants, raisins and sultanas, sometimes soaked in tea.
• Grantham Gingerbread – a hard white ginger biscuit.
• Lincolnshire Poacher cheese – a cheddar-style cheese produced in Alford. Lincolnshire Poacher has won numerous awards over the years including Supreme Champion at the 1996/7 British Cheese Awards and Best British Cheese at the World Cheese awards in 2001/2.
• Batemans ales – a beer brewed in Wainfleet and served in many pubs in the county and further afield.
• There are several small breweries.
• Grimsby is renowned for its fishing industry, and historically Grimsby Fish has carried a premium price. Since the decline of the fishing industry following entry to the European Economic Community in the 1970s this is no longer the case, with the majority of fish sold at the town's fish market being brought overland from other ports. However, Grimsby Fish is still a recognised product, one associated with a particular area that specialises in and has expertise in a particular trade (cf Sheffield steel). In 2009 smoked fish from the town was granted Protected Geographical Indication by the European Union, reflecting the unique smoking methods used by certain local fish companies.^[20]

Craft Chocolatiers can be found throughout^[21][22][23] the county, such as Hansens^[24] in Folkingham.^[25] In 2013 Redstar Chocolate's Duffy's Venezuela Ocumare Milk won a Gold medal as best bean-to-bar.^[26][27] The factory is in Cleethorpes.^[28]

Events

Every year the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, founded in 1869, stages the Lincolnshire Agricultural Show.^[29] It is held on the Wednesday and Thursday of the last whole week of June at its showground at Grange de Lings, a few miles north of Lincoln on the A15. The show was first held here in 1958. First held around the year 1884, it is one of the largest agricultural shows in the country, and is attended by around 100,000 people over its two days. The showground is in regular use throughout the year for a wide range of other events and functions.

Smaller local agricultural shows, such as the Heckington Show^[30] can still be found. Corby Glen sheep fair^[31] has been held since 1238.

Each year RAF Waddington is the home to the RAF International Waddington Air Show. The two-day event attracts around 150,000 people and usually takes place during the first weekend of July. Since its inception over 35 countries have participated, with aircraft from around the globe attending the Lincolnshire Base. Beginning 2017, the event will be held at nearby RAF Scampton.

On the Monday before Easter, an unusual auction takes place in Bourne to let the grazing rights of the Whitebread Meadow.^[33] Bidding takes place while two boys race toward the Queen's Bridge in Eastgate, the end of which dash is equivalent to the falling of the gavel. The whole affair dates back to the 1742 will of William Clay.

The Haxey Hood village competition takes place every January, as it has for over 700 years.

Stamford's Mid-Lent fair sees showmen converge on the town the week after Mothering Sunday, with rides and sideshows filling Broad Street, the Sheepmarket and the Meadows for a week. Stalls selling Grantham gingerbread and nougat are a traditional feature. The following week sees them in Grantham, on the way North for the Summer. Roger Tuby brings a small funfair to Bourne and then to Spalding in Spring and returns in Autumn at the end of the season.

The villages of Tetford and Salmonby hold an annual Scarecrow Festival in May every year.

The Belchford Downhill Challenge which is held every two years: soapbox racers race down the hill at up to 30 km/h. The turnout has been up to 1,000.

In recent years Lincoln Christmas Market, a street market throughout historic area of the city, has been held at the start of December. Around the same time Christmas lights are turned on in Bourne, Sleaford, Skegness, and other towns.

Throughout the summer the Stamford Shakespeare Company^[34] presents the Bard's plays in the open-air theatre at Tolethorpe Hall, which is actually in Rutland.

The Spalding Flower Parade is held in late spring every year. Colourful floats decorated with tulip heads compete for a cup. The tradition was started in 1959 and draws coach tours from across Britain.

Sport

The main sports played in the county are football, cricket and rugby union. Lincolnshire does not have a high sporting profile, mainly due to the lack of facilities and high-profile football teams. Probably the most well known sporting venues in Lincolnshire are Cadwell Park near Louth, where a round of the British Motorbike Championship is held on the last Monday of August every year and the racecourse at Market Rasen

• Two teams from Lincolnshire play in the Football League: Scunthorpe United play in Football League One, while Lincoln City and Grimsby Town play in Football League Two. In non-league football Boston United and Gainsborough Trinity play in the Football Conference North.
• In cricket Lincolnshire are a minor county and play in the Minor Counties Championship.^[35]
• In hockey Lindum Hockey Club play in the North of Lincoln.
• Scunthorpe Rugby Club are the most notable rugby union team from Lincolnshire, and will play in the fifth level of the English league system in the 2017-18 season. Other notable teams include Market Rasen and Louth RUFC, Lincoln RFC, and Boston Rugby Club.
• Lincolnshire is home to one racecourse, at Market Rasen.
• Cadwell Park is the only motor-racing course in Lincolnshire. There is a speedway track in Scunthorpe, home of the Scunthorpe Scorpions, and stock-car racing at a stadium at Orby, near Skegness.
• Lincolnshire is home to the UK roller derby team the Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls, who are sponsored by Motörhead.^[36]

Symbols

The unofficial anthem of the county is the traditional folk song, "The Lincolnshire Poacher", which dates from around 1776. A version of the song was the theme for BBC Radio Lincolnshire for many years.

According to a 2002 marketing campaign by the charity Plantlife, the county flower of Lincolnshire is the Common Dog-violet.

In August 2005, BBC Radio Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire Life magazine launched a vote for a flag to represent the county. Six competing designs were voted upon by locals. The winning submission was unveiled in October 2005.^[37][38] Lincoln has its own flag – St George's flag with a Fleur-de-Lys.

The Lincoln Imp has symbolised cathedral, city, and county for many years.^[39][40] In 2006 it was replaced as the brand of Lincolnshire County Council by the stylised version seen on the header here which has lost even the unique pose of the carving.

Press

The county is home to one daily newspaper, the Grimsby Telegraph which as the name suggests, is published in the town and whose circulation area ostensibly covers North East Lincolnshire, although it reaches as far south as Louth and Alford and as west as Brigg.

There are two further weekly papers which used to be published daily until 2011; the Lincolnshire Echo is published weekly from Lincoln and covers the majority of the county reaching as far north as Louth, and the Scunthorpe Telegraph which covers northern Lincolnshire. All three are ultimately owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust.

There are also a number of weekly papers serving individual towns published in the county by Johnston Press. One of these, the Stamford Mercury claims to be Britain's oldest newspaper, although it is now a typical local weekly and no longer covers stories from the whole East Midlands as the archived copies did.

Television

With the exception of a small area to the south-west of the county,^[41] Lincolnshire is served from the Belmont transmitter,^[42] receiving programmes from ITV Yorkshire and BBC One Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions.

The BBC has, since 2003, provided the area with its twelfth regional service: BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, carrying a local "Look North" news programme from the main studio in Hull, with input from other studios in Lincoln and Grimsby.

ITV Yorkshire provides coverage through its evening news programme "Calendar". Until late 2008 the station provided a separate edition for the Belmont transmitter (although it was still broadcast from Leeds). From January 2009 the area is now covered by a programme that covers the entire ITV Yorkshire region.

From 1959 to July 1974 ITV programmes were provided by Anglia Television (although some coverage could be received from the Manchester-based Granada and ABC Weekend). Based in Norwich the company had news offices in Grimsby.^[43] Following a transmitter change ITV services were provided by Yorkshire Television. This company kept open the offices in Grimsby and opened further facilities in Lincoln, although both of these closed in the mid-1990s.

South-West Lincolnshire receives BBC East Midlands and ITV Central which are broadcast from the Waltham on The Wolds Transmitting Station. Although subject to co-channel interference from the Waltham transmitter, a small number of households in the southern tip of the county^[44] are able to receive regional programming from BBC East and ITV Anglia.

Many villages just west of the Lincoln Edge cannot get a signal from Belmont due to shadowing and instead get their TV from Emley Moor near Huddersfield.

Radio

The area is covered by several local radio stations including:

• Lincoln City Radio The only radio station dedicated to the over-50's in the City of Lincoln and the surrounding villages.
• BBC Lincolnshire Can be heard throughout historic Lincolnshire although its broadcast remit is the present county of Lincolnshire
• BBC Radio Humberside The counties of northern Lincolnshire that were formerly known as South Humberside
• Boundary Sound Newark (closed 2011)
• Compass FM Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham
• Heart Peterborough and South Lincolnshire
• Lincs FM Historic Lincolnshire
• Gravity FM Grantham
• Siren FM Lincoln
• Endeavour FM (formerly Stump Radio) Boston
• Endeavour Radio Boston
• Tulip Radio Spalding and South Holland
• Viking FM Northern Lincolnshire and the East Yorkshire, formerly the constituent areas of Humberside

Military

Because of its flat geography and low population density, Lincolnshire is an ideal place for airfields, and the RAF built prolifically in the county, which has hosted nearly seventy separate bases. With the drawdown of the RAF, most of these have closed, but the RAF retains a significant footprint. For more information on former bases, see List of former RAF stations.

Lincolnshire is currently home to a number of RAF stations, including two major front-line bases: RAF Coningsby, which houses Typhoon jet fighters; and RAF Waddington, where most of the RAF's Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance aircraft are based. Other stations in Lincolnshire include RAF Cranwell, home of all basic Officer training for the Royal Air Force; RAF Scampton, home of the Red Arrows; RAF Barkston Heath, a training airfield; and minor bases such as RAF Kirton in Lindsey, RAF Holbeach, RAF Donna Nook and RAF Digby.

The Army runs Sobraon Barracks, home of 160 (Lincoln) Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), as well as Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham, home to some of the RLC's Phase 2 training. In November 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced that the Grantham site would close in 2020.^[45]

Places of interest

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Museum (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Theatre
	Zoo

See also

• Outline of England
• Custos Rotulorum of Lincolnshire – List of Keepers of the Rolls for Lincolnshire
• Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and is currently represented.
• High Sheriff of Lincolnshire
• Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency) List of MPs for the Lincolnshire constituency
• Lincs Wind Farm
• Lists
  • List of bridges and viaducts in Lincolnshire
  • List of Churches in Lincolnshire
  • List of Civil Parishes in Lincolnshire
  • List of Companies in Lincolnshire – Both current and former
  • List of Forests and Woodland in Lincolnshire
  • List of Monastic Houses in Lincolnshire
  • List of Museums in Lincolnshire
  • List of Parliamentary Constituencies in Lincolnshire
  • List of Places in Lincolnshire
  • List of Public Art in Lincolnshire
  • List of Roman Sites in Lincolnshire
  • List of Schools in Lincolnshire
  • List of Watermills in Lincolnshire
  • List of Waterways in Lincolnshire
  • List of Windmills in Lincolnshire
• Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire
• Stamford Senior Youth Theatre
• 1185 East Midlands earthquake

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lincolnshire.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lincolnshire.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Lincolnshire.

Wikisource has the text of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.) article Lincoln.

• Lincolnshire County Council website
• Lincs FM website
• Visitlincolnshire.com
• Lindcolne Skipfierde: Lincolnshire's Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman re-enactment and living history group
• Lincolnshire Show official website
• Pathe newsreel of motor tractors at 1919 agricultural show, thought to be Lincoln show
• Images of Lincolnshire at the English Heritage Archive

Neighbouring counties
	South Yorkshire	East Riding of Yorkshire	North Sea
	Nottinghamshire		North Sea The Wash
		Lincolnshire
	Leicestershire	Rutland, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire	Norfolk