Lincolnshire is a large county; in England the biggest after Yorkshire. It is divided into the three parts; Holland in the south-east, Kesteven in the south-west and Lindsey in the north.
It is a very flat county, extending from the fenland in the south and round the Wash, all the way along the North Sea coast north to the Humber Estuary. The Humber marks its northern edge, across which lies the East Riding of Yorkshire, and it borders Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire in the south. Westward are Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, while Yorkshire’s West Riding adjoins the eastern part of Lindsey; the Isle of Axholme.
The North Sea coast runs into the sea with long tidal mudflats and sandy beaches for its whole length, so that the tide may run out a mile from where the map shows. The southern end of the county’s coast is part of the Wash. Lincolnshire is mainly flat with a great deal of drained fenland particularly in the south of the county. There is one remarkable range of hills; the Lincoln Edge, a narrow ridge which runs in a straight line almost due north for some forty miles, through Lincoln and on, though “the Heights” as it is known, will rarely reach even 200 feet above sea level. Only the Lincolnshire Wolds in western Lindsey and the hills spreading out of Leicestershire into Kesteven have any claim to altitude. The drained marshlands which make up much of the county have been turned into rich arable lands.
The City of Lincoln stands on the Lincoln Edge, tumbling down to the River Witham and up again. It is a city of mediæval charm, with sword and mitre at its peak: a large castle and larger cathedral, the twin powers of their time.
At the northern edge of the county are the Humber towns, Cleethorpes and Grimsby. The latter is a port town. Immingham too, near Grimsby, is a main port for the Norwegian trade. At the very opposite end, on the southern border with Northamptonshire, Stamford is a jewel built in rich Barnack rag stone, which has made it every producer’s favourite regency film set.
County Facts
County Town: Lincoln
Main Towns: Boston, Bourne, Cleethorpes, Gainsborough, Grantham, Grimsby, Holbeach, Lincoln, Louth, Scunthorpe, Spalding, Stamford.
Main Rivers: Trent, Welland, Ancholme, Witham, Brant, Glen, Bain, Steeping.
Highlights: Boston Stump; Carr Dyke, Bourne; Lincoln Cathedral; Skegness; Tattersall Castle; the Wolds.
Highest Point: Normanby Top in the Lincolnshire Wolds, 551 feet.
Area: 2,646 sq miles
County Flower: Common Dog-violet
County Day: 1st October (Lincolnshire Rising 1536)
