Historic Lincoln

Historic Lincoln. Lincoln's Timeline. Welcome to Lincoln, one of England's most beautiful Cathedral cities, also one of the UK's fastest growing and most vibrant tourist destinations. 2,000 years of history are just waiting to be explored in Lincoln, one of England's oldest cities, where each era has left its own mark and played its part in shaping the city that we see today., Historic Lincoln , The first syllable of Lincoln's name is derived from the pre Roman 'Lin' which refers to the Brayford Pool. An Iron Age settlement has been found on islands in the pool, and many metal objects were placed in the River Witham downstream of Lincoln as offerings., The Roman army arrived around AD50-60 and latinized the name to 'Lindum'. The hilltop was occupied by a timber legionary fortress until around AD 80. Its site was then utilized as a colonia, a town for retired legionaries which grew to become one of Roman Britain's most successful cities. The present-day name is derived from Lindum Colonia., Following the Roman withdrawal in AD 410 the city became largely depopulated, and it was only the coming of the Vikings from the late 9th century which stimulated Lincoln's revival to urban status., By the time of the Norman Conquest it was again a large and prosperous place, and under William the Conqueror the castle was commenced in 1068 and the cathedral in 1072. Lincoln's famous copy of Magna Carta was brought to the cathedral in 1215. During the medieval period, thanks partly to the cloth trade, Lincoln was one of the most important cities in England., It fell into decline but later revived. again, and became an important centre for heavy engineering in the late 19th century., End of 12th Century , Lincoln's prosperity continues, much of it based around the cloth trade. Richard I granted Lincoln the right to self-government., 1215 , Lincoln's famous copy of the Magna Carta is brought to the Cathedral., 13th century , From the middle of the 13th century, Lincoln's fine cloth ceased to have such a wide sale, owing to Flemish competition, and the city went into decline., 14th to 17th centuries , In the later Middle Ages, the Black Death and the loss of trade privileges to Boston saw Lincoln decline in size and importance. Many houses were demolished and new ones were often poorly constructed. In 1644 and 1648 Lincoln was attacked during the Civil Wars and the city damaged by fighting and looting., 1700's , Gradual rebuilding of the city with some buildings repaired with stone taken from decaying medieval buildings. The city gained County and City Assembly Rooms, a theatre and News Rooms - providing a lively social scene for nobility and gentry of the city and surrounding countryside., Mid-Late 18th century , Improvements to the Fossdyke canal, River Witham and High Bridge led to increased commercial activity on the waterways, with small industries springing up along the banks of Brayford Pool and the River. Turnpike Trusts improved main roads leading to Lincoln., Lincoln's first bank established by Abel Smith and Richard Ellison, lessee of the Fossdyke. Smith Ellison provided credit for commercial ventures in the city and became the biggest private bank outside London., 1840's , The Midland Railway wins the battle to bring the first railway line to Lincoln with its branch line from Nottingham. Until 1985 the city had two stations, belonging to the Midland and the Great Northern. The level crossing over the High Street remains notorious to this day! Lincoln's prosperity continues apace, fuelled by the coming of the railways and the entrepreneurial industrialists who built companies housed in mills, factories and engineering works. The population of Lincoln also boomed and many new houses were built - the first gas and electricity works were also established. Lincoln remained an important centre for engineering and was to play a important role in the First World War. William Foster's engineering company used their expertise in building tracked agricultural vehicles to develop the design for tanks; just one year from the original designs being drawn up the first tanks went into action in France., Ruston's received their first aircraft contract in 1915 and went on to build some of the most famous fighting aircraft of the war. In all, they supplied 2,750 aircraft and 3,200 engines-more than any other manufacturer., University opened in 1996, but construction began 1994-5.