LINCOLNSHIRE. 



after tfie Normffn conqueit, forr.e of the moft commanding 

 were adopted by the conqueror's captains and barons, and 

 then became heads of extcnfivc 'nrdflitps. To defcribe or 

 difcriininate them, is, and ever will be, imp^ifUblc ; for docu- 

 ments are w.'.nting, and the innovations of the latter occu- 

 piers generally obfcured or annihilated all traces of their pre- 

 decefTors. Exctufive of the R:>:n;in itaticns, there are 

 notices or rcmaiT-s of the following fortifications in this 

 county. Encampment<; at or near Brocklefby, Hibberfton, 

 Broughton, Roxby, Winterton cliffs, Aulkboroiig-h, Yar- 

 borou^h, South Ormfbv, Burwell, Stamf>rd, Cultle-hill 

 near GainPjorough, Winterington, Humiiiijton, L'goldfby, 

 Callle Carleton, Burgh, Brough, north of Cafton, Barrow. 

 Caftles, or remains at Horncalile, Tatter.liiill, a noble re- 

 main, Bounie, only earth-works remaining, Caflor, Somer- 

 ton. Moor Tower, Stamford, Scrivelfby, Torkfey, a fine 

 remain, Sleaford, only earth-works, BoIIingbrook, Lin- 

 coln, with walls and gates, Folkingham, with large foffa:, 

 Kyrae tower, and Hufl'ey tower, near Boilon, Pinchbeck, a 

 moated manfion, Bitham. 



According to the bell authorities, the cpifcopdl fee was 

 ellabbdiedat Lincoln towards the clofe of the eleventh cen- 

 tury, prsvious to which era, the diocefe had confiiled of the 

 two Anglo-Saxon fees of Dorchefter, now a village in Ox- 

 fordfhire, and Sidnacefler a place bordering on the river 

 Trent. The diocefe of Lincoln is the largell in the whole 

 kingdom, notwithftanding thofe of Oxford, Peterborough, 

 and Ely, have been taken from it. It comprehends the 

 counties of Lincolli, Leicefter, Huntingdon, Bedford, and 

 Buckingham, excepting the parifhesof Monks, Rifloroiigh, 

 and Halton, which are peculiars of Canterbury ; and Ab- 

 bot's, Afton, and Winflow, (whicii, with fifteen other 

 pariihes that are in Hertford (hire, and were taken hence, 

 being made of exempt jurildiftion, and appropriated to the 

 abbey of St. Albans, became, on the diflblution of that 

 monaftery in 1541, part of the diocefe of London.) The 

 fee alfo retains the greater part of Hertfordihire, and feveral 

 parilhes in the counties of Oxford, Rutland, and North- 

 ampton. The whole diocefe is divided into fix archdea- 

 conries ; thefe are fubdivided into fifty-two deaneries ; the 

 number of pariihes is ftated by Browne Wdlis to be, in- 

 cluding donatives and chapels, 1517, of v\'hich 577 are 

 impropriated ; and the clergy's yearly tenths in this very 

 extenfivejurifdiftion I'^xl. l^'.td. Camden fays there are 

 630 parifhes in this county. The monafteries, hofpitals, &c. 

 connected with the cathedral and its ecclefiallical eftablidi- 

 mtnt, were very numerous, and fome of very extenfive in- 

 fluence. 



The ecclefiailical architefture of Lincolnfhire ha- long 

 been juiUy celebrated for its magnificence ; and its numerous 

 churches have been the fubje6ts of admiration. It is re- 

 n-.arkable that tiic moil fplendid edifices wliich adorn this 

 dictrid, were erefted chiefly in its lowed and moll fenny 

 fituations, where all communication mull formerly have been, 

 and even to this day is extremely difficult. The ecclefiailical 

 edificjs in the divilion of Lindfey, excepting the cathedral 

 of Lincoln, are in general inferior to thofe in Keftevcn and 

 Holland ; but in the north-ealtern part of this divifion, 

 which is bounded by the German ocean to the call, and the 

 highlands, called the Wolds, to the welt, there are feveral 

 churches, difphying much elegance in their architecture, 

 and built of excellent-rnaterial;. The divifion of Kefteven 

 abounds with churches fplendid both in their plans and de- 

 corations. In the central part, the greater proportion of 

 them is adorned with lofty fpirss ; wiiile many of thofe in 

 the northern and fouthern extremitiis prefent handlbme 

 towers, fre<^ueiitly divided into three or four diflia^ ftones, 



and forr ed of excellent material* anJ naafonry. Tfic dat? 

 of the churches in this divifion, with the exception of thofe 

 of Sempringham and St. Leonard Stamford, is, in few 

 iiiflances, earlier than the thirteenrh century. It is princi- 

 pally in the divifion of Holland that Liner h.fhire Loafts of 

 iuperior excellence in ecclefiafticai architecture ; ?pd it is 

 really furprifing tliat fo many fine monaftic buildings, and 

 facred edifices, ihould have been crefted in a couniy lo in- 

 convenient for travelling, fo unpleafant to the eye, and fo un- 

 congenial with the common comforts of life ; yet in lliis 

 fenny and fvvampy diftrift, are the churches of Boilon, 

 Gofberton, Pinchbeck, Spalding, Hoibeath, Gedney, Long- 

 Sutton, Croyland, and many others, which have a jull 

 claim to univerfal admiration. The charafler and plan of 

 the churches in this divifion vary in different parrs. Some 

 are cruciform ; many have fpires in common with thofe of 

 Kefteven ; while embattled tov^ers at the weft end form the 

 prin-:ipal feature of the remainder. Of the fp'cndid church- 

 at Croyland, only a fmall portion of the original rtructure 

 now remains ; but fufficieiit to fhew that in its entire ttate, it 

 was not inferior to any of our cathedrals, either in fize or 

 architedural ornament. The ftone employed in the ereftion 

 of the edifices of this diftriil is univerfally found to be of an 

 excellent and durable fpecies, ftill retaining at the dillance, 

 ill many inftances, of fix or feven centuries, its original face 

 and firmnefs. 



This county is more noted for its religious than for its civil 

 architefture. Though of great extent, it contains but few 

 manfions of confequence, grandeur, or elegance, and thofe 

 are chiefly of modern ereftion. The following are the 

 principal ; Grimfthorpe caftle ; the feat of the duke of An- 

 cafter-Nodlon J earl of Buckinghamfliire — Glentworth; earl 

 of Scarborough — Broklefby ; lord Yarborough— Belton ; 

 lord Brownlow — Redbourn ; lord WUham Beauclerk Bur- 

 ton ; lord Monfon— Doddington ; lord Delaval — Bloxholm ; 

 Hon.' colonel Manners — Manby ; Hon. Charles Anderfon 

 Pelham — Reveft)y abbey ; fir Jofeph Banks, bart. 



Lincolnftiire, and the counties of Effex, Cambridge, and 

 Norfolk, have been generally defcribed as particularly un-- 

 favourable to health ; . and from their contiguity to the fea, 

 with the nuniei-ous fens, merej, brooks, (See. with which 

 they abound, are commonly ftigmatized as producinor pelli- 

 lential climates; only calculated to excite agues, cramp?,, 

 and rheumatifms. Thefe general maxims, though frequently 

 originating in facts, are too often perverted, or extended 

 beyond due bounds. Lincolnlhire may be faid to be in this 

 predicament : far its name is commonly affociated with fens, 

 ilatnefs and bogs. Thole who refide in, or have travelled ' 

 over it, are enabled to appreciate and define its chara£ier. 

 Arthur Young has pointed out and defcribed many features 

 and places in this county, that may be referred to as par- 

 taking of t;ie beautiful and piclurefque : — "About Belton,'' 

 he fays, " are fine views from the tower on Belmont ; Lyna 

 and the Norfolk cliffs are vifible, Nottingham caftle alfo^ 

 the vale of Belvoir, &c. And in going by the Cliff towus- 

 to Lincoln, there are many fine views. ' From FuUbeck to- 

 Leadenham, efpecially at the latter place, there is a moft 

 rich profpeft over the vale of the Trent to the diftant 

 lands that bound it. Thefe views, over an extenfive vale, 

 are linking, and of the fame features as thofe from the 

 cliff-road to the north of Lincoln, to Kirton, where is a 

 great view both eaft and well to the Wolds, and alfo to 

 Nottinghamfhire. Near Gain (borough there are very agree- 

 able fcenes ; Irom the plantation of H. Dalton, of Ki.aith, 

 and from the chateau battery of Mr. Hutton, of Burton, 

 the view of the windings of the Trent, and the rich level 

 plain of meadow, all alive with ^reat hcrtU of cattle, 



)»oiuided 



