LINCOLN, a city and county (of itself), locally in the county
of Lincoln, of which it is the chief town, 132 miles (N. by W.) from
London, containing, with the parishes of Bracebridge, Branston,
Canwick, and Waddington, which constitute the liberties of the city,
and exclusively of the parishes of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Paul
in the Bail, and part of the parish of St. Margaret in
the Close, which are in the wapentake of Lawress,
10,367 inhabitants. This place was founded by the
ancient Britons, on the summit of a hill near the river
Lindis, now the Witham, from which it derived its
name, and has been distinguished, from the most remote
period of British history, as a city of considerable
importance. After the invasion of Britain by the
Romans, that people made it one of their principal
stations in this part of the island, and established here
a colony, which, in reference to the ancient British name
of the place, they called Lindum Colonia, to which,
through all the variations and contractions in its orthography
by the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, the present
appellation, Lincoln, may be distinctly traced. The
Roman city was in the form of a parallelogram, four
hundred and thirty yards in length, and four hundred
in breadth, defended by strong walls, and intersected at
right angles by two streets, at the extremities of which were
four gates, of which the northern, now called Newport
gate, partly remaining, forms one of the most interesting
relics of Roman architecture in the kingdom; it consisted
of three arch-ways: the central arch is sixteen
feet in span, and twenty-two and a half in height above
the ground, and is formed of large rough stones apparently
laid without mortar; one of the lateral arches is built
up, and the other open. To the south-west of the gate
is a considerable angular fragment of a Roman building,
supposed to have been the mint; and there are various
portions of the original fortifications, besides the remains
of a bath and a sudatorium.
After the departure of the Romans from Britain,
Lincoln was made the capital of the kingdom of Mercia
by the Saxons, in opposing whom, Vortimer, who had
greatly signalized himself, was slain, and interred here.
During the repeated encounters which had previously
taken place, the city had suffered great injury, and, for
the security of its new inhabitants, it was substantially
repaired; that part without the gate of Newport,
which had been originally occupied by the Britons,
was entirely rebuilt, and fortified with walls and a moat.
In 786, the Danes took the city by assault, but it was
retaken by the Saxons; and during these conflicts, which
were resumed with extreme obstinacy, the northern
suburb was completely destroyed. At length, on the subjugation
of the Danes by Alfred the Great, tranquillity was
restored; but under his successors the invaders renewed
their attacks, and ultimately, in the partition of the kingdom
between the contending parties, Lincoln, with the
rest of the kingdom of Mercia, came into the possession of
Canute. At the time of the Conquest, a castle was erected
here by William the Conqueror, which occupied nearly
one-fourth part of the Roman city, and to make room for
the erection of which, not less than two hundred and
forty mansions were taken down. In Domesday-book the
city is stated to have contained fifty-two parishes; and
it became the residence of a succession of monarchs,
who contributed greatly to adorn it with a variety of
splendid buildings, the numerous vestiges of which, in
various parts of the town, convey but a faint idea of its
former grandeur and importance. In 1140, the castle
was surprised by the forces of a party in the interest
of the Empress Matilda, and subsequently besieged by
Stephen, aided by the inhabitants; but the Earl of
Gloucester coming to its assistance with a powerful
army, Stephen was made prisoner; and being
afterwards exchanged for the earl, who was subsequently
captured, he regained his liberty, and after
his restoration to the throne, celebrated the festival
of Christmas here, in 1144. Henry II., on the death
of Stephen, after being crowned King of England
in London, underwent the ceremony of coronation
a second time at Wigford, a little to the south of
this city. John, in the 3d year of his reign, received
here the homage of David, King of Scotland,
and, during his struggle with the barons, the inhabitants
remained steadily attached to his cause, and
withstood the attempts of the opposing army for a
considerable time; but the city was taken at last by
Gilbert de Gaunt, afterwards created Earl of Lincoln.
The castle was retaken by a party of royalists,
after having been defended for nearly twelve months;
but falling again into the hands of the barons, John,
while marching to attack it, with a powerful army, lost
all his carriages in crossing the washes. After the death
of this monarch, his son, Henry III., assisted by the inhabitants
of Lincoln, who adhered firmly to the royal
cause, continued the war with the barons, who, assisted
by Louis, the Dauphin of France, laid siege to the
city, but were vigorously repulsed by the inhabitants;
many, endeavouring to escape, were drowned in the
river Witham, and several others were taken prisoners.
The castle, after remaining for a considerable length of
time in the possession of the Crown, came into that of
the celebrated John of Gaunt, who made it his summer
residence, and is said to have erected a palace here.
Edward I. held parliaments m Lincoln, in 1301 and
1305; Edward II. in 1316, and the year following;
and Edward III. in the first of his reign: it was also
visited by Henry VI., who held his court in the bishop's
palace; and Henry VII., after the battle of Bosworth
Field, spent three days here, where he made a
splendid procession, and offered up public thanksgiving
for his victory over Richard III.
During the parliamentary war, the inhabitants embraced
the royal cause, and the city was alternately in
the possession of the contending parties, from both of
whom it sustained considerable injury, more especially
in its ecclesiastical edifices, which, during their occupation
of the city, were converted into barracks, by the
soldiers of Cromwell's army. Among the disastrous
events which have befallen Lincoln may be recorded
the great storm in 701, which occasioned the destruction
of one hundred and twenty houses, and many public
buildings. In 1110, an accidental fire nearly consumed
the whole city; and in 1185 it was greatly damaged
by an earthquake. It may also be mentioned that,
on the 27th of July, 1255, eighteen Jews were executed,
for the alleged crime of crucifying a child, and many
more were murdered by the enraged mob.
The city is pleasantly situated on the summit and
declivities of an eminence rising from the river Witham,
the suburbs extending for a considerable distance along
the vale to the north and south; in the upper part the
streets are narrow, and the buildings, with the exception
of those connected with the cathedral, arc of
somewhat mean appearance; the lower part consists
principally of one spacious street, and, under an act of
parliament recently obtained, many judicious alterations
and improvements have been effected. It is paved,
and lighted with gas, by a special act, and is supplied
with water from three public conduits, of which that
near St. Mary's church, Wigford, is an elegant building
in the later style of English architecture, decorated with
a pierced parapet; and that near the High Bridge is
ornamented with a handsome obelisk, erected in 1763.
The air has been rendered more salubrious by the draining
of the fens, a large tract of ground on both sides of
the river, consisting of one hundred thousand acres,
for which an act of parliament was obtained in 1762.
The city library, established in 1812; the new permanent
library; and St. Martin's parochial library, established
in 1822; and the medical library, instituted in
1825, are well supported; and there are two newsrooms
and several book societies in the town. The theatre
is opened annually in September, October, and November;
and assemblies are held in the city and county
assembly-rooms. The races take place in September; a
handsome stand has been recently erected on the course.
In various parts of the town are the remains of the numerous
monastic and other establishments which formerly
flourished here; of these, the remains of John of
Gaunt's palace are distinguished by a beautiful oriel
window of fine composition; and a building, said to have
been the stables belonging to the palace, has a finelyenriched
Norman arch, with some interesting details of
early English architecture: of the castle, which occupied
the south-eastern angle of the Roman city, very
little remains, except part of the outer walls, which were
seven feet thick, and the gateway tower; the site has
been appropriated to the erection of the county gaol and
other buildings.
At the time of the Norman survey Lincoln was
distinguished for its commercial importance, and Edward
III. granted a charter to the weavers, prohibiting
the exercise of that trade within twelve leagues of
the city, but this decree, in 1351, was abolished by
another, called the statute of cloths, and in the following
year, on the removal of the staple of wool from
Flanders, it was established in this town, to which was
also granted the staple of lead and leather. From the
time of Edward HI. till the commencement of the
eighteenth century the trade of the town declined: there
are now no manufactures, and the trade is principally in
corn and wool. The Fosse dyke, a Roman work of considerable
importance to the interests of Lincoln, by
means of which a communication was obtained with the
river Trent, and which Henry I. cleared out and deepened,
had again become innavigable, from the accumulation
of sand in its channel, and, in 1741, a lease of twothirds
of it was granted, for nine hundred and ninetynine
years, at a rent of £ 50 per annum, and of the re-
maining third, for ninety-nine years, at £25 per annum,
by the corporation, to Mr. Ellison of Thome, by whose
spirited exertions this canal was cleared from its obstructions
and re-opened in 1745: it was subsequently
widened and made deeper in 1826, and at present forms
a line of communication, twelve miles in length, from the
Witham to the Trent, completing the navigation from
Boston and the eastern coast to the Humber, the Ouse,
and to the several canals in the counties of Derby, Nottingham,
Stafford, and York. The market, on Friday, is
held for corn in a spacious square, called Corn Hill, in the
parish of St. Mary; for butter and poultry, in a neat
building near the church of St. Peter at Arches, erected
in 1736; for butchers' meat, in a bxiilding erected by the
corporation in 1774, adjoining Butchery-lane, and divided
into convenient shambles; for fish, at the High
bridge; and for cattle, in the Beast-square, on the
south of the city gaol. The Spring markets are on the
Thursday before the fifth Sunday in Lent, and every
alternate Thursday till the April fair (which commences
on the third Tuesday in that month, and continues four
days), the Friday in Easter week, July 5th, the Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday after Sept. 12th, October
6th, and November 28th; a market for fat cattle is
held every other Wednesday, and there are statutes for
hiring servants, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Fridays after
old May-day.
Lincoln has, from an early period, enjoyed many privileges
by prescription, and was formerly governed by a portreeve:
under the charter grantedby Charles I., in 1628, by which
the government is vested in a mayor, twelve aldermen, two
sheriffs, four coroners, twenty-six common council-men,
and four chamberlains, assisted by a recorder, town
clerk, steward of the borough-mote courts, sword
bearer, mace bearer, and subordinate officers. The
city, with a district of twenty miles around it, was
erected into a county in the 3d of George I., under the
designation of the City and County of the City of Lincoln.
The mayor is annually elected on the 14th of September,
when the senior alderman, who has not previously
served, is usually appointed to that office; one of the sheriffs
is appointed by the mayor, and the other is chosen
by the corporation, from those who have filled the office
of chamberlain: the chamberlains are appointed by the
mayor from among the freemen, at a court leet on the
Monday after the festival of St. Michael, and are liable
to fine or imprisonment for refusing to serve. The mayor,
and the aldermen who have passed the chair, are justices of
the peace for the city and county of the city. The freedom
of the city is inherited by all the sons of a freeman, or
acquired by servitude, purchase, or gift of the corporation;
among the privileges is that of depasturing a greater
number of cattle on the common lands than a non-freeman.
The justices for the city hold quarterly courts of
session, for all offences not capital; a court of petty
sessions weekly, for the city and liberties; and a court
of record every alternate week, at which the sheriffs
preside, for the recovery of debts to any amount,
but which has nearly fallen into disuse. A court of
requests is held by commissioners appointed by an act
passed in the 24th of George IL, for the recovery of
debts under 40s. The guildhall is an ancient embattled
structure, rebuilt in the reign of Richard II.: the south
front consists of a fine arched gateway, flanked with
two round towers; in a niche in the eastern tower is
a statue of the angel Gabriel holding a scroll, and in a
corresponding niche in front of the western tower is a
statue of the Virgin Mary treading on a serpent; above
the gateway, and in front of the towers, are the city
arms and others, finely sculptured. The sessions-house
for the city is a neat brick edifice, erected in the New
road, in 1809; and behind it is the city gaol and house
of correction, containing six day - rooms, six airingyards,
in one of which is a tread-wheel, and three solitary
cells, the whole adapted to the classification of
prisoners, and surrounded by a lofty brick wall. The
assizes for the county are held in the new county hall,
an'elegant structure erected, in 1823, after a design by
Smirke, at an expense of £40,000; and the petty sessions
for the parts of Kesteven are held here, on the
first Friday in every month, at the Rein Deer inn:
those for the parts of Lindsey are held every Friday
at the Judges' lodgings, an elegant mansion erected
on the Castle hill, at the expense of the county, for
the accommodation of the judges of assize. The
county gaol stands on the south side of the area enclosed
within the castle walls: it is a spacious structure
of brick, containing, in addition to the keeper's
house and apartments for the confinement of debtors,
twelve day-rooms, and eight airing-yards; the privilege
of walking in the castle grounds is occasionally
allowed to prisoners whose health may require that
indulgence, and the airing-yard, appropriated to the use
of the debtors, comprehends an area of more than two
acres; the buildings are constructed on the plan of Mr.
Howard, and are in every respect well adapted to the
classification of prisoners, and capable of being enlarged
to an almost indefinite extent. The city first exercised
the elective franchise in the 49th of Henry III., since
which time it has continued to return two members to
parliament: the right of election is vested in the freemen
generally, whether resident or not, of whom more
than one thousand two hundred polled at the last cbntested
election; sheriffs are the returning officers.
Lincoln was first erected into a see in the reign of William
Rufus, when, in pursuance of the decree of a synod held at
London, for the removal of all episcopal sees to fortified
places, Remigius, Bishop of Dorchester, fixed upon this city
as the seat of that diocese, and purchased lands for the
erection of a church, an episcopal palace, and other requisite
buildings; having built the church, Remigius died previously
to its consecration, and his successor, Robert Bloet, completed
his design, beautified the cathedral, and increased the
number of prebends. The diocese, which was originally
very extensive, was, in the reign of Henry II., curtailed
by the separation of a part, to form that of Ely; and, in
the reign of Henry VIII., it was still further diminished,
by the separation of those districts which constitute
the sees of Oxford and Peterborough. It is still one of
the most extensive and valuable in the kingdom, and
comprehends six archdeaconries, fifty-seven deaneries,
and one thousand three hundred and eighty parishes;
and at the Reformation its revenue was £2065. 12. 6.
The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop,
dean, precentor, chancellor, subdean, six archdeacons,
fifty-two prebendaries, four vicars, eight vicars choral,
organist, seven poor clerks, eight choristers, seven
Burghurst chaunters, &c. The cathedral, dedicated
to the Virgin Mary, is situated on the summit of
the hill, near the castle, and, from its commanding
station, forms a conspicuous and magnificent object, of
which the stately towers are seen from a distance of
twenty miles, in almost every direction; the original
buildings, soon after their completion by Bishop Bloet,
were greatly injured by an accidental fire, and repaired
by his successor, Bishop Alexander, who, to prevent the
recurrence of a similar calamity, covered the aisles with
a vaulted roof of stone, the pressure of which being
too great for the strength of the walls, St. Hugh, a
subsequent bishop, rebuilt the church in the reign of
Henry II., upon a plan then newly introduced, and
greatly enlarged it by taking down the east end, and rebuilding
it upon a more extensive scale, and it has been
subsequently embellished and increased by various
succeeding bishops. The prevailing character of this
noble building is the early style of English architecture,
of a peculiarly rich kind, intermixed occasionally with
the decorated and later styles-; the form is that of a
double cross; the west front is partly in the Norman
style, intermixed with the richest character of the early
English; the doorways are richly moulded and decorated
with sculpture and statuary; over the central entrance
are statues of several of the kings of England, and
above is a noble window, highly enriched with tracery:
the western towers are of the Norman character in
the lower stages, and of the early English in the upper;
they are one hundred and eighty feet high, and at each
angle of the front are octagonal turrets, crowned with
pinnacles. A lofty and magnificent tower rises from
the intersection of the nave and the principal transepts,
to the height of two hundred and seventy feet, formerly
surmounted by a spire, which, in 1547, fell down, and
greatly damaged the roof: there were also spires on the
western towers, which were taken down in 1807. The
length of the building is five hundred and twenty-five
feet; the breadth, measuring along the principal transepts,
two hundred and twenty-two feet, and along the eastern
transepts, one hundred and seventy feet. The nave, of
which the roof, as well as those of the aisles, is finely
vaulted, and supported on piers of peculiar richness,
and arches of graceful form, is spacious, and lighted
by a range of clerestory windows; at the end of the
north transept is a fine circular window of the early
English character, and at the extremity of the south
transept is one of the most beautiful specimens of a
decorated circular window now extant. The choir, which
is separated from the nave by an elaborately-carved
stone screen, is remarkably rich in its decorations, and
beautiful in its style; the east window, of eight lights, is
a fine composition of flowing tracery, of the decorated
character; and over the altar is a good painting of the
Annunciation, by the Rev. W. Peters, R. A.: the piers
and arches which support the roof are in the richest
character of the early English style; and the bishop's
throne and the prebendal stalls are beautiful specimens
of tabernacle-work, highly enriched. The Lady
chapel, and some smaller chapels adjoining it, are
peculiarly elegant; and in various parts of this magnificent
structure are features of uncommon interest
and impressive beauty. Among the numerous monuments
are some of exquisite design; under an arch
to the south of the Lady chapel, and in the south
aisle, are those of Bishops Russell and Longland, whose
effigies are finely sculptured; in the north-west tower
is the celebrated bell, called Tom of Lincoln, the weight
of which is nearly five tons, and the tone peculiarly fine.
Prior to the Reformation the cathedral was distinguished
for its immense wealth, and the sumptuous costliness of
its decorations; Henry VIII. is said to have taken from
its treasury two thousand six hundred and twenty-one
ounces of pure gold, and four thousand two hundred
and eighty-five ounces of silver, exclusively of two
gorgeous shrines, one of St. Hugh, of gold, the other
of St. John de Alderby, of massive silver, and numerous
pearls and precious stones of the most costly description.
Three sides of the cloisters are yet remaining
in their original state, and exhibit a fine specimen of
the decorated style; and on the fourth side is the library,
of later erection, containing an extensive collection
of books, and some curious Roman antiquities; in the
centre of the quadrangle, and at some depth below the
surface, a beautiful tesselated pavement was discovered
a few years since, over which a covering has been placed,
to protect it from injury. On the east side of the
cloisters is a passage leading to the chapter-house, an
elegant building in the form of a decagon, of which the
finely-vaulted roof is supported on a single pillar in the
centre. There are some remains of the episcopal palace,
and of the conventual buildings connected with this
extensive establishment, which, in grandeur, beauty, and
antiquity, holds a prominent rank among the ecclesiastical
edifices in the kingdom.
Lincoln formerly contained fifty-two parish churches,
of which number, thirty-four were destroyed prior to
the time of Edward VI.: it comprises at present th«
parishes of St. Benedict, St. Botolph, St. John Newport,
St. Margaret in the Close (part of which is in the wapentake
of Lawress), St. Mark, St. Martin, St. Mary le
Wigford, St. Mary Magdalene in the Bail and Close,
(part of which is in the wapentake of Lawress), St. Michael
on the Mount, St. Nicholas Newport, St. Paul in
the Bail, St. Peter at Arches, St. Peter in East-gate, St.
Peter at Gowts, and St. Swithin; and the parishes of
All Saints Bracebridge, All Saints Branston, All Saints
Canwick, and St. Michael, Waddington, which are within
the county of the city; all of them being within the
archdeaconry and diocese of Lincoln. The living of St.
Benedict's is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800
royal bounty, and £1200 parliamentary grant, and in
the patronage of the Prebendary of North Kelsey in the
Cathedral Church: the church is an ancient building
retaining some portions of Norman architecture. The
living of St. Botolph's is a perpetual curacy, endowed
with £400 private benefaction, and £400 royal bounty,
and in the patronage of the Prebendary of St. Botolph's
in the Cathedral Church. The living of St. John's New-
port is a vicarage not hi charge, endowed with £400
royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Prebendary
of Dunholme in the Cathedral Church; the church has
been demolished. The living of St. Margaret's in the
Close is a perpetual curacy, united with that of St. Peters
in Eastgate, endowed with £600 royal bounty, and in
the alternate patronage of the Precentor and the Prebendary
of Haydor in the Cathedral Church: the church
was taken down in 1778, and soon afterwards rebuilt.
The living of St. Mark's is a perpetual curacy, endowed
with £800 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the
Precentor of the Cathedral Church. The living of St.
Martin's is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's
books at £4. 13. 4., endowed with £8 per annum private
benefaction, £600 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary
grant, and in the patronage of the Prebendary
of St. Martin's in the Cathedral Church. The
living of St. Mary's Wigford is a discharged vicarage,
rated in the king's books at £5. 3. 9, and in the
patronage of the Prebendary of Gretton in the Cathedral
Church: the church retains considerable portions
of its ancient Norman character. The living of St.
Mary Magdalene's in the Bail and Close is a discharged
rectory, rated in the king's books at £5, endowed with
£200 royal bounty, and £1400 parliamentary grant,
and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter. The
living of St.Michael's on the Mount is a perpetual curacy,
endowed with £ 1000 royal bounty, and £800 parliamentary
grant, and in the patronage of the Precentor
of the Cathedral Church: the church is of comparatively
modern erection. The living of St. Nicholas
Newport is a vicarage not in charge, in the patronage of
the Dean and Chapter: the church has been demolished.
The living of St. Paul's in the Bail is a discharged rectory,
rated in the king's books at £2. 5 10., endowed
with £600 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant,
and in the patronage of the Archdeacon of Lincoln. The
living of St. Peter's at Arches is a discharged rectory,
rated in the king's books at £5. 12. 8., endowed with
£200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the
Crown: the church has been elegantly rebuilt as the
corporation church, and is fitted up in an appropriate
style. The living of St. Peter's in Eastgate is a perpetual
curacy, united with that of St. Margaret's in the Close in
1778, endowed with £400 royal bounty, and in the alternate
patronage of the Precentor and the Prebendary
of Haydor in the Cathedral Church; the church has
been rebuilt. The living of St. Peter's at Gowts is a
perpetual curacy, endowed with £600 royal bounty,
and £1000 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of
the Precentor of the Cathedral Church; the church is
an old edifice, and has considerable vestiges of its ancient
Norman character. The living of St. Swithin's is
a perpetual curacy, endowed with £ 800 royal bounty,
and £200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage
of the Precentor of the Cathedral Church: the church
is of late erection. There are places of worship for
general and particular Baptists, the Society of Friends,
the late Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Independents,
Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians, and a
Roman Catholic chapel.
The free grammar school was founded, in 1567, by
Robert Monson, Esq.: a school, formerly supported by
the Dean and Chapter, in the Cathedral Close, has been
united with it, and is supported jointly by the Dean
and Chapter, who appoint the head master, and pay
two-thirds of his salary, and by the corporation, who
pay the remainder, and the salary of the usher, each
amounting to £50 per annum; there are about twentyfive
boys, who are taught gratuitously in this school:
the premises form a part of the old Franciscan priory,
which was fitted up for that use in 1583, by the
founder of the school. The Blue-coat school was
founded, in 1602, by Richard Smith, M. D., who endowed
it with the manor and some lands at Potter-Hanwarth,
for the maintenance, education, and clothing of
twelve poor boys, which number, in consequence of the
improvement in the funds, the governors have augmented
to fifty, who are admitted from the age of
seven till eight, and after remaining in the school until
fourteen years of age, are apprenticed, with a premium
of £16, and two suits of clothes each: the governors
consist of the mayor, a gentleman resident in the city,
another resident in the Close, the junior residentiary
canon of the Cathedral Church, the senior alderman,
the recorder, and the town clerk. The Jersey school was
founded, in 1693, and endowed with £700, bequeathed by
Henry Stone, of Skellingthorp, Esq., for maintaining a
master to teach children to spin jerseys, and afterwards
to employ and pay them for their work; but the introduction
of machinery has diminished the value of
this institution. A free school in the Bail was endowed
with lands producing £ 12 per annum, by Mr. Wilkinson,
for the instruction of twelve poor boys, and
placed under the direction of the Governors of the
Blue-coat school. The National school, established in
1813, and supported by subscription, affords instruction
to three hundred boys and two hundred girls, to whom
articles of clothing are distributed at Christmas. The
county hospital, a spacious and handsome brick building,
erected in 1769, and supported by voluntary subscription,
has been productive of much benefit to the
city and its neighbourhood; it is under the direction of
a committee, and is attended by three physicians and
four surgeons; the average expenditure is about £ 1300
per annum. The general dispensary was established
in 1826, and is supported by subscription: the poor
who require attendance at their own houses, are visited
by the house surgeon, and by the dispensing apothecary,
who supplies them with medicines. The lunatic
asylum is a spacious handsome edifice, two hundred
and sixty feet in length, and having a portico of the
Ionic order in the centre, erected in 1820, from a design
by Mr. Ingleman, at an expense of £15,000, and containing
apartments for fifty patients, with warm and cold
baths, and every requisite accommodation: the building
and the grounds occupy three acres and a half: the
establishment is under the direction of a president
vice-president, and a committee of governors, who are
chosen from the principal subscribers; it is open tfl
patients of every class, who are expected to contribute
towards the expense in proportion to their ability.
The lying-in hospital was instituted in 1805, and
is supported by subscription. The Dorcas Society is
also supported by subscription, and has been found
to contribute material assistance in supplying the poor
with articles of clothing. There are various other establishments,
and numerous charitable benefactions for
the relief of the poor, among which may be noticed a
bequest by John Smith, Esq., of lands now producing
£ 600 per annum; a legacy by Lady Margaret Thorold
of Marlston, in 1731, of £1500 South Sea annuities,
for the purchase of lands nowproducing £ 60 per annum;
the great tithes of Glenham, bequeathed by T. Sutton,
Esq., founder of the Charter-house, London, and various
others.
Among the numerous monastic establishments which
anciently existed here were, a nunnery founded prior
to the erection of the cathedral, the site of which is
occupied by the Dean's house; an hospital for lepers,
near the city, founded by Remigius, first bishop of
Lincoln, or, according to other authorities, by Henry I.,
of which, in the reign of Edward HI., the revenue
was £30; a priory of Gilbertine canons, founded by
Robert, second bishop of Lincoln, and dedicated to St.
Catherine, of which, at the dissolution, the revenue was
£270. 1. 3. a priory of Benedictine monks, dedicated
to St. Mary Magdalene, and a cell to the abbey at York,
founded prior to the reign of Henry II., of which the
remains, now called Monks' house, about half a mile
to the east of the city, consist of the walls of several
apartments and a small chapel; a house of Franciscan
friars, the foundation of which is uncertain; houses of
Carmelite and Augustine friars, the former founded in
1269, and the latter in 1291: within the Close was
founded, in 1355, by Sir Nicholas de Cantelupe, a college
of priests to officiate at the altar of St. Nicholas,
in the cathedral; besides various others, of several of
which, traces maybe distinctly perceived in various parts
of the city and its environs. The Jews' house is an ancient
edifice of curious design, and belonged to Belaset de
Wallingford, a Jewess, who was hanged in the reign of
Edward I., for clipping the coin. Near Brayford water
are some vestiges of a fort called Lucy Tower, between
which, and the castle was a subterraneous communication;
and in the city is a chalybeate spring of considerable
strength. Lincoln gives the inferior title of earl to
the Duke of Newcastle.