THE PROVINCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
XC V.—LLNC 0 LNSHIR E. GEOGRAPHY.
LLNCOLNSHIRE is in so many respects an isolated county, that it seems proper to treat of it separately. It is in size the second county of England, having an area of 277 square miles, or 1,776,738 acres. It forms a great block of territory, with a greatest length of 75 miles, and a greatest breadth of 50 miles. Its eastern neighbour is the German Ocean, against which it opposes two projecting shoulders,—the greater one forming a convex sweep from the Humber to the northern or Fosdyke arm of the Wash, and the smaller shoulder forming a miniature of the other between the northern arm and the southern or Cross-Keys arm of the Wash. The north and north-eastern boundary of the county is the Ilumber ; southward from which it protrudes its north-western shoulder — the Isle of Axholme — into Yorkshire ; the river Trent, which flows into the Humber on the eastern side of this isle, forming in its higher course for some little distance the boundary line between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire on the west. The western boundary is completed by Leicestershire ; Rutlandshire nestles into the south-western frontier of the county, and its southern neighbours are Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, while Norfolk just touches it on its south-eastern extremity. The estuary of the Humber, separating Lincolnshire from Yorkshire, [ forms a great gateway to the county on the north ; while the Trent on the west makes a great water-line of communication with the Midland Counties. The great shoulder of which we have spoken projects into the open sea in one long gentle sweep to the south-east, from the mouth of the Humber to the neighbourhood of Wainfleet ; from which point it turns somewhat sharply to the south-west, and is completed to the Fosdyke Wash by a very regular coast-line, only broken by the month of the river Witlana, which flows into the sea from a north-westerly direction, at the mouth of the Fosdyke Wash. This arm of the Wash itself forms the estuary to the Ilrefftred river, which flows into it from the southwest, while the southern arm plays the same part to the river Nene. Several of the towns of Lincolnshire are seated upon the preceding rivers. The estuary of the Humber is commanded at its mouth by the port of Great Grimsby. Boston is near the mouth of the Witham, and Lincoln at the head of its course to the north-west ; whence, turning southward, it waters Grantham with its upper stream. Gainsborough stands upon the Trent, not far south of the Isle of Axhohne; while MarketDeeping and Stamford are watered by the Welland.
The surface of Lincolnshire is, on the whole, decidedly flat. The sea-coast line is everywhere low, except near Grimsby. Between the Welland and the Nene it has to be protected by a sea-wall, in advance of what is called the old Roman wall, a district of land having been hero reclaimed from the sea, but in earlier ages a considerable forest extended along the present coastline of the county far into what is now the sea. A large part of the estuary of the Wash is filled with sandbanks, dry at low tide. There are two wide spaces of deeper water, however, one off the Norfolk coast, called Lynn Deeps ; the other off the Lincolnshire coast,—the Boston Deeps. Salt marshes occupy the coast between Boston and Waiufleet, and there are some along the estuary of the Humber.
Nearly the whole of the coast is alluvial soil, which occupies indeed in flat lands and marshes a considerable part of the county. It skirts the bank of the Hoonacr and that of the Trent up to Gainsborough, and to the west of the Trent spreads over Thorne Waste or Level, in the midst of which rises the Isle of Axholme. Over this waste once spread a great forest. Time alluvium spreads to the west of the Wash inland from-Wainfleet to the Witham, with a breadth of three or four miles from each bank of that river nearly up to Lincoln, where it is contracted to a narrow strip ; and southward from the Witham it occupies half the breadth of the county. The Wolds of Lincolnshire, a line of chalk downs, extend from Barton-upon-Humber, to Burgh near Wainfleet, for 47 miles, with an average breadth of six miles and a greatest of thirteen miles. They are steepest in their escarpment towards the west, on which side the greeusand and ironsand form narrow belts of land, constituting a range of hills extending from near Market Rana to near Spilsby, nearly parallel to the Wolds. To the westward of these, again, stretches a wide flat, watered by the Aneho/me and the IVillutat, and occupied chiefly by the Oxford clay. Its breadth near the Humber is three miles, near Lincoln 15 miles, and between Sleaford and Spilsby 25 miles, it being partially covered in this part by the marshes of the Witham. It is scarcely above the level of the adjoining fens, and forms a large central valley between the Wolds, with its adjacent lines of hills, and the higher grounds of the oolite strata, which extend southward from the marshes on the Humber, with an eastern boundary marked by a line by Lincoln, Sleaford, and Bourne, to Uffington. Nearly all the rest of time county is occupied by the has formation. The north-western corner is occupied by the new red sandstone or red marl. All round the Isle of Axholme (of red marl) it is covered with the alluvium of Thorne Level, Hatfield Chase, &c. Gypsum occurs plentifully in the Isle of Axholme and on the border of the Trent, and there arc saline springs near Gainsborough.
With its great variety of soils, the produce of the county, both in grain and cattle, is very considerable. The grazing lands are of the finest quality, fattening cattle for the markets being preferred to dairy produce. Some of the drained feria and what are called the warp-lands,—those on which the overflow of the rivers is artificially retained long enough to leave a surface deposit of sand and mud,—are very fertile when cultivated. The abundant straw also thus produced by the warp-lands is used as manure for other less favoured lands. Some of their finest pastures are fed off by horses. Cabbages and carrots are cultivated extensively on the heavy clays and light and deep sands. The water in the lower parts of the county is very bad, and there is no such thing as a spring of pure water in the Fens. These lower grounds, still unreclaimed by drainage, are necessarily productive of fevers. The natural temperature of the county otherwise is not different from that of the Midland Counties, but the general flatness exposes it to the winds, though on the eastern side their coldness is modified by the sea. The lands reclaimed from the sea are generally let out in large farms requiring considerable capital,—elsewhere there are many small properties well cultivated by the owners themselves. The county is noted for its excellent breeds of horses (of remarkable size), oxen (chiefly short-horns), and sheep (long-wooled, resembling the old Leicester, but larger and not quite so much iu request).
The prevailing flatness and the repetition of the Fens have unduly lowered the estimation of the county in a picturesque point of view. In distant and wide sweeps of landscape it is necessarily rich, and these are often beautiful and striking. The well-known writer on agriculture, Arthur Young, vindicates the county from the depreciators of its attractiveness. " About Belton," he says, " are fine views from the tower of Belmont ; Lynn and the Norfolk cliffs are visible, Nottingham Castle, the vale of Belvoir, &c. And in going by the cliff towns to Lincoln there are many fine views. From Fullback to Leadenham, especially at the latter place, there is a most rich prospect over the vale of the 7 rent to the distant lands that bound it. These views over an extensive vale are striking, and of the same features are those from the cliff road to the north of Lincoln to Kirton, where is a great view, both east and west, to the Wolds, and also to Nottinghamshire. Near Gainsborough there are very agreeable scenes," and from private plantations at Knaith, and a battery at Burton, " the view of the windings of the Trent, and the rich level plain of meadow all alive with great herds of cattle, bounded by distant hills of cultivation, are features of an agreeable country. But still more beautiful is that about Trentfall, from Sir John Sheffield's hanging wood, and Mr. Sheffield's ornamental walk following the cliff to Alkborough, where Mr. Goulton's beautiful grounds command a great view of the three rivers ; as the soil is dry, the woods lofty, and the country various, this must be esteemed a noble scenery, and a perfect contrast to what Lincolnshire is often represented by those who have only seen the parts of it which arc very different. The whole line of the Humber, hence to Grimsby, when viewed from the higher Wolds, presents an object that must be interesting to all. This, with the very great plantation of Lord Yarborough, are seen to much advantage from the Mausoleum at Brocklesby." Other writers mention especially the country round Grantham ; the vicinity of Louth ; the noble and very spacious wood at Grimsthorpe, &c. Nor are the Fens without a peculiar and weird attraction of their own.
We have already referred to the principal rivers of the county. The Trent touches its border nearly midway between Newark and Gainsborough, and for about 16 miles separates the counties of Lincoln and Nottingham. From below Gainsborough to its junction with the Yorkshire Ouse (19 miles), its course is almost entirely within the county of Lincoln. It is navigable throughout, and vessels of 150 tons can ascend to Gainsborough. The Bykerdyke, a cutting from the Nottinghamshire Idle, skirts the south of the Isle of Axholtne and falls into the Trent below Gainsborough, affording a navigable water communication to East Retford, while the Thorne skirts the isle on the north-west and also joins the Trent. The Ancholme flows from between Lincoln and Market-Rasen through the valley between the Welds and oolite formations, and is carried by an artificial cut into the Humber to the west of Barton. It is navigable as high as Bishop Briggs. The Taney flows from the south-western escarpment of the Wolds into the German Ocean between Grimsby and Saltileet, and is used for the Louth navigation. The Ladd flows from the same district to the Garman Ocean by several arms, and takes the rest of the navigation of Louth. Its length is about 18 miles. Besides these, the Withem-Eau and Steeping fall into the sea also on the north side of Wainfleet. To the south of Wainfleet the Fens commence, and the water system is very complicated. The Witham, the most important river of the county, rises just within the border of Ratlandshire, and we have already mentioned its course by Grantham, Lincoln, and Boston to the sea. It is fed during its course by numerous streams and water-cuttings. The Welland, rising in Northamptonshire, first touches the border of Lincolnshire just above Stamford, and flows to Deeping and Crowland, where it divides into two arms, one of which passes along the border of the county into the Wash at the mouth of the Nene,—the other (the Old Welland) flows northward to Spalding, and thence, by an artificial channel, into the northern arm of the Wash. There is a navigation up to Stamford either by the natural stream or by artificial canals, with a length of about 28 miles. The Glen river flows from between Grantham and Folkingharn, by Corby, into the Wash at the Old Welland mouth (a course of about 36 miles.) The various canals, drains, and dykes by which the water system of Lincolnshire is perfected and secured are too numerous to be specifically mentioned. Lin. colnshire is now tolerably well supplied with railway communication, and not lying so much out of the direct lines of communication between the North and South of England as the Eastern Counties, falls more within the general system of communication with the whole country ; while its projecting shoulders to the east on the open sea secure for it a considerable amount of originality and purely provincial characteristics. It is, in fact, a modification of Central England, with some of the characteristics of the Eastern Counties superadded, but with a greater predominance of Northern features. Its exposed situation also with reference to the opposite continent of Europe has had a considerable influence in imparting to it, and preserving purely within it to a greater extent than in the case of the Eastern Counties, elements of race and feeling derived from these Continental neighbours.
The population of Lincolnshire, which in 1841 was 362,602, was in 1851 407,222, and in 1861 412,246, so that its rate of increase greatly retrograded during the last ten years, owing chiefly to emigration either abroad or to the more lucrative seats of industry in other parts of England. The county has long been divided into three "Parts," as they are called,—Lindsey (" the Isle of Lindum," formed by the Humber, Trent, Foss-Dyke, Witham, and connected marshes) ; Kesteven (the south-western part of the county) ; and Holland (the remainder, including most of the Fens).
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