62-606: Cross Keys Bridge is a swing bridge that carries the busy single carriageway A17 road which runs from Newark in Nottinghamshire to King's Lynn in Norfolk over the tidal River Nene in Sutton Bridge in the extreme south east of Lincolnshire close to the borders of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and is a major landmark on the route particularly for holiday traffic heading into and out of Norfolk during
124-477: A area known as the "Fosdyke Wash". The rest of the sea boundary runs from Fosdyke to the east of Sutton Bridge , where the current land boundary with Norfolk is located in a narrow area of reclaimed farmland just to the east of the River Nene but until as recently as the early 19th century there was no land border between Lincolnshire and Norfolk as it was separated from each other by the "Cross Keys Wash"
186-474: A bridge in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This England rail transport related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Lincolnshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge ) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around
248-606: A former area of estuary and marshland where the River Nene used to flow out into the Wash and could only be crossed at low tide by a causeway or ferry and was the natural boundary between the two counties. The causeway known at the time as the "Wash Way" was renowned as being particularly treacherous and the safer route was to go into Norfolk from Lincolnshire via the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech and this element remains to
310-665: A through train service operated between Cleethorpes and London King's Cross via Louth , Boston and Peterborough . The part of this line in Grimsby is now the A16 road , preventing reinstatement as a railway line, and a small section of the line is now the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway , with an extension towards Louth in progress. A daily through train service operated between Cleethorpes and London King's Cross via Grimsby , Market Rasen and Lincoln Central until
372-407: A vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canal , for example, allows traffic to cross. When
434-417: A water vessel needs to pass the bridge, road traffic is stopped (usually by traffic signals and barriers), and then motors rotate the bridge horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however, a bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or one-eighth turn, in order to clear
496-764: Is Humberside Airport , near Brigg. East Midlands Airport , the main airport servicing the East Midlands, is within travelling distance of the county. Until its closure in 2022, Doncaster Sheffield Airport near Doncaster was within travelling distance of much of Lincolnshire. The county's biggest bus companies are Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes (formerly Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport) and Stagecoach in Lincolnshire (formerly Lincolnshire Road Car). There are several smaller bus companies, including Brylaine of Boston, Delaine Buses and Hornsby's of Scunthorpe. A Sustrans cycle route runs from Lincoln to Boston in
558-682: Is Wolds Top (168 m, 551 ft), at Normanby le Wold . Some parts of the Fens may be below sea level. The nearest mountains are in Derbyshire. The biggest rivers in Lincolnshire are the Trent , running northwards from Staffordshire up the western edge of the county to the Humber estuary, and the Witham , which begins in Lincolnshire at South Witham and runs for 132 km (82 miles) through
620-656: Is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to the north, the North Sea to the east, Norfolk , Cambridgeshire , Northamptonshire and Rutland to the south, and Leicestershire , Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire to the west. The county town is the city of Lincoln . Lincolnshire
682-406: Is a northbound service on a Sunday. This was increased in 2019 to a service every two hours. East Midlands Railway also run a daily (Mon-Sat) service each way between Lincoln and London St Pancras , though this is a stopping service which takes around three hours via Nottingham , compared to LNER's service to London King's Cross which takes around 1 hour 50 minutes. The only airport in Lincolnshire
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#1732773265043744-606: Is also home to one of the UK's leading agricultural experiment stations , located in Sutton Bridge and operated by the Potato Council ; Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research engages in research for the British potato industry. The Lincoln Longwool is a rare breed of sheep, named after the region, which was developed both for wool and mutton, at least 500 years ago, and has the longest fleece of any sheep breed. The Lincoln Red
806-425: Is an old breed of beef cattle, originating from the county. In the mid 20th century most farms in Lincolnshire moved away from mixed farming to specialise in arable cropping, partly due to cheap wool imports, partly to take advantage of efficiencies of scale and partly because the drier land on the eastern side of England is particularly suitable for arable cropping. Mechanization around 1900 greatly diminished
868-462: Is now the westbound carriageway and the road was on the eastbound side. The railway line was closed in 1965 and the bridge took on its present-day use as a road bridge with one single lane for eastbound traffic and a single lane for westbound traffic. It is a Grade II* listed structure. The Borough of Wisbech was the port authority for this part of the River Nene. The emblem of Wisbech is the cross keys of St Peter . The first bridge, opened in 1831,
930-448: Is now undergoing conversion to a family home but will retain the hydraulics and accumulators , which are housed in a 40-foot (12 m) high tower. The bridge is a notorious bottleneck for traffic within the local area especially during the summer months as significant traffic disruption to the surrounding areas can occur if the bridge is opened to allow shipping to pass though or if major maintenance has to be undertaken for any reason as
992-408: Is one of the few counties in the UK that still uses the eleven-plus to decide who may attend grammar school . As a result, many towns in Lincolnshire have both a grammar school and a secondary modern school . Lincolnshire's rural character means that some larger villages also have primary schools and are served by buses to nearby high schools. Lincoln itself, however, is primarily non-selective, as
1054-573: Is one of the largest trusts in the country, employing almost 4,000 staff and with an annual budget of over £200 million. The north of the county is served by the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust . Some of the larger hospitals in the county include: Since April 1994, Lincolnshire has had an Air Ambulance service . The air ambulance is stationed at RAF Waddington near Lincoln and can reach emergencies in Lincolnshire within 25 minutes. An A&E hospital
1116-642: Is only 10 minutes away by helicopter from any accident in Lincolnshire. Separately to the commercial water companies the low-lying parts of the county are drained by various internal drainage boards , such as the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board , Witham 4th District IDB , Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine , or the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board . Being on
1178-635: Is provided at Riseholme College and in 2016 the University of Lincoln opened the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology. The Central Lincolnshire area covers North Kesteven , Lincoln and West Lindsey . It helps with development and economic planning around the three districts. According to an Intra-governmental Group on Geographic Information (IGGI) study in 2000, the town centres were ranked by area thus (including North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas): Lincolnshire
1240-532: Is represented by ten Members of Parliament (MPs) whose constituencies fall entirely within the county. Small areas of Lincolnshire form constituencies with parts of neighbouring counties, namely the Isle of Axholme (part of Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme ) and the town of Stamford and its surroundings (part of Rutland and Stamford ). Of the ten constituencies entirely within Lincolnshire, six are represented by
1302-509: Is the area within a radius of about seven miles. In this area, almost all children attend comprehensive schools , though it is still possible to opt into the eleven-plus system. This gives rise to the unusual result that those who pass the eleven-plus can attend a grammar school outside the Lincoln comprehensive area, but those who do not pass still attend a (partly non-selective) comprehensive school. The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
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#17327732650431364-458: Is the second largest ceremonial county in England, after North Yorkshire . The county is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,959 km (2,687 sq mi) and a population of 1,095,010. After Lincoln (104,565), the largest towns are Grimsby (85,911) and Scunthorpe (81,286). For local government purposes Lincolnshire comprises a non-metropolitan county , with seven districts, and
1426-647: The Conservative Party , three by the Labour Party and one by Reform UK . Lincolnshire County Council is majority controlled by the Conservative Party, and consists of 54 Conservative councillors, four Labour, four South Holland Independents , four independents , three Liberal Democrats and one Lincolnshire Independent . The county is made up of seven local borough and district councils and two unitary authority areas independent of
1488-647: The East Riding of Yorkshire and a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire to form the new non-metropolitan county of Humberside . The rest of Lindsey, along with Holland, Kesteven and Lincoln, came under the governance of the new Lincolnshire County Council . A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside. The land south of the Humber Estuary was allocated to the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire which became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes, such as
1550-755: The Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve . Although the Lincolnshire countryside is intensively farmed, there are many biodiverse wetland areas , as well as rare limewood forests . Much of the county was once wet fenland (see The Fens ). From bones, we can tell that animal species formerly found in Lincolnshire include woolly mammoth , woolly rhinoceros , wild horse , wolf , wild boar and beaver . Species which have recently returned to Lincolnshire after extirpation include little egret , Eurasian spoonbill , European otter and red kite . The Local Government Act 1888 established county councils for each of
1612-594: The Lord-Lieutenancy , but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police; they are in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are Boston , East Lindsey , Lincoln, North Kesteven , South Holland , South Kesteven , and West Lindsey . They are part of the East Midlands region. North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire are unitary authorities. They were districts of Humberside county from 1974. In 1996, Humberside
1674-513: The Richter magnitude scale ; it was one of the largest earthquakes to affect Britain in recent years. Lincolnshire is home to Woolsthorpe Manor , birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton . He attended The King's School, Grantham . Its library has preserved his signature, carved into a window sill when he was a youth. The geographical layout of Lincolnshire is quite extensive and mostly separated by many rivers and rolling countryside. The north of
1736-603: The shipping ports at Immingham , New Holland and Grimsby . From there, the rest of the southern bank forms the Lincolnshire Coast from Cleethorpes to Mablethorpe and then onto Skegness . From Skegness, the rest of the Lincolnshire Coastline forms the sea boundary and border with Norfolk at the Wash . The coast then at Boston becomes the meeting point of the rivers Welland and Haven in
1798-537: The Cross Keys Bridge Act. The position of the second bridge was approximately halfway between the original and the present day bridge. It was a swing bridge and was used only for road traffic until 1864 when the Midland Railway acquired powers to also use it for rail traffic. When the current bridge was constructed it was hoped that the 1850 bridge could be left in position for rail use however
1860-579: The European Union in Central and Eastern Europe, form a large component of the seasonal agricultural workforce, particularly in the south of the county. Here more labour-intensive crops are produced, such as small vegetables and cut flowers. This seasonal influx of migrant labour occasionally causes tension between the migrant workforce and local people, in a county which had been relatively unaccustomed to large-scale immigration. Agricultural training
1922-484: The Isle of Axholme and Goole . Bedrock in Lincolnshire features Jurassic limestone (near Lincoln) and Cretaceous chalk (north-east). The area around Woodhall Spa and Kirkby on Bain is dominated by gravel and sand. For much of prehistory, Lincolnshire was under tropical seas, and most fossils found in the county are marine invertebrates. Marine vertebrates have also been found including ichthyosaurus and plesiosaur . The highest point in Lincolnshire
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1984-596: The Second World War the relatively flat topography of the county made it an important base for the Royal Air Force , which built several airfields and based two bomber squadrons in the area. During pre-Roman times, most of Lincolnshire was inhabited by the Corieltauvi people. The language of the area at that time would have been Common Brittonic , the precursor to modern Welsh. The name Lincoln
2046-527: The UK is in Lincolnshire: the Sheffield - Gainsborough Central -Cleethorpes line has passenger trains only on a Saturday, with three trains in both directions. This line is, however, used for freight. Hull Trains also stops at Grantham before continuing its journey to either Kings Cross or Hull. On 22 May 2011, East Coast started a Lincoln-London service, initially one train a day each way, and there
2108-640: The UK, there is a legal definition in current statute as to what is, or is not a 'swing bridge' The largest double swing-span bridge in the United States is the 3,250 feet (990 m) long, 450 feet (140 m) navigable span, 60 feet (18 m) clearance George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge . Omaha NE Turn Style Bridge is now a historical landmark. Located 86H674H5+98 Used for rail transport. Connecting Council Bluffs, Iowa to downtown Omaha, Nebraska Lincolnshire Lincolnshire ( / ˈ l ɪ ŋ k ə n ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪər / ), abbreviated Lincs ,
2170-678: The centre to the north of the county. To its east, the chalk hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds , which have been designated a national landscape , occupy the north-east, with a coastal plain and the Lincolnshire Marsh beyond. The west of the vale is demarcated by the Lincolnshire Edge , a long escarpment; at its northern end are the Coversands, an area of heath . Beyond the edge, the western border of
2232-473: The channel. Small swing bridges as found over narrow canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. Many inner cities have swing bridges, since these require less street space than other types of bridges. (A "swing bridge" in New Zealand refers to a flexible walking track bridge which "swings" as you walk across.) In
2294-468: The county begins from where the Isle of Axholme is located near the meeting points of the rivers Ouse and Trent near to the Humber . From there, the southside of the Humber estuary forms the border between Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire . From there, the south bank of the Humber Estuary where the Humber Bridge crosses the estuary at Barton upon Humber , is used primarily for
2356-672: The county contains the eastern part of the Trent Valley and, in the north, part of the Humberhead Levels , with the River Trent itself forming part of the border. Lincolnshire has had a comparatively quiet history, being a rural county which was not heavily industrialised and faced little threat of invasion. In the Roman era Lincoln was a major settlement, called Lindum Colonia . In the fifth century what would become
2418-582: The county council, the two unitary authorities and the district councils, with powers over housing, job creation and public transport, including bus franchising. The following tables show the ethnic and religious composition of Lincolnshire in 2021: Notable businesses based in Lincolnshire include the Lincs FM Group , Young's Seafood , Openfield and the Lincolnshire Co-operative (whose membership includes about one quarter of
2480-472: The county council. The City of Lincoln Council is Labour-controlled. North Kesteven , South Holland and East Lindsey are administered by the Conservatives. South Kesteven is controlled by a coalition of independent, Labour Party, Green Party and Liberal Democrat councillors. West Lindsey is controlled by a coalition of Liberal Democrats and independents. The Borough of Boston is controlled by
2542-466: The county was settled by the invading Angles , who established the Kingdom of Lindsey in the north of the region. Lincoln became the centre of a diocese in 1072, and Lincoln Cathedral was built over the following centuries. The late Middle Ages were a particularly prosperous period, when wealth from wool trade facilitated the building of grand churches such as St Botolph's Church, Boston . During
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2604-438: The county's border with Northamptonshire is just 20 yards (19 m) long, England's shortest county boundary. From there, the border with Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire begins at Sleaford , Grantham , Lincoln and Gainsborough . From Gainsborough, the border with South Yorkshire begins at Haxey and Epworth before looping back to the original north of the county near Scunthorpe with East Riding of Yorkshire at
2666-530: The county's large area. Many of the county's railway stations were permanently closed following the Beeching Report of 1963. The most notable reopening has been the line and two stations between Lincoln and Sleaford , which reopened within months of the Beeching closure. Most other closed lines in the county were lifted long ago and much of the trackbed has returned to agricultural use. Prior to 1970,
2728-476: The county, with LNER trains frequently passing and stopping at Grantham, on the East Coast Main Line and a service every other hour to Lincoln , while CrossCountry trains stop at Stamford on their way between Birmingham and Stansted Airport . Stations along the Humber are served by TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes. One of the most infrequent services in
2790-419: The economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are poorly developed compared with many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network in the county is dominated by single carriageway A roads and local roads (B roads) as opposed to motorways and dual carriageways . The administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the few UK counties without a motorway, and until several years ago, it
2852-455: The eighth century. Modern-day Lincolnshire is derived from the merging of the territory of the Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough of Stamford . For some time the entire county was called "Lindsey", and it is recorded as such in the 11th-century Domesday Book . Later, the name Lindsey was applied to the northern core, around Lincoln. This emerged as one of
2914-673: The late 1980s. The Humberlincs Executive , as the service was known, was operated by an InterCity 125 , but was discontinued following the electrification of the East Coast Main Line . Passengers to/from London now have to change trains at Newark North Gate . However, the East Coast Main Line passes through the western edge of the county and one can catch direct trains to London from Grantham . Most rail services are currently operated by East Midlands Railway and Northern Trains . London North Eastern Railway (LNER), Hull Trains and CrossCountry have services which pass through
2976-486: The local Boston Independent party. The unitary authority North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire councils are administered by the Conservative Party. A non-mayoral devolution deal is proposed for the county, and has received approval from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government as of September 2024. This would lead to the establishment of an Lincolnshire combined authority formed of
3038-705: The middle of the county, eventually emptying into the North Sea at The Wash . The Humber estuary, on Lincolnshire's northern border, is also fed by the River Ouse . The Wash is also the mouth of the Welland , the Nene and the Great Ouse . Lincolnshire's geography is fairly varied, but consists of several distinct areas: Lincolnshire's most well-known nature reserves include Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, Whisby Nature Park Local Nature Reserve, Donna Nook National Nature Reserve, RSPB Frampton Marsh and
3100-547: The number of workers required to operate the county's relatively large farms, and the proportion of workers in the agricultural sector dropped substantially during this period. Several major engineering companies developed in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Grantham to support those changes. Among these was Fosters of Lincoln , which built the first tank , and Richard Hornsby & Sons of Grantham. Most such industrial companies left during late 20th-century restructuring. Today, immigrant workers, mainly from new member states of
3162-740: The only alternative route between Sutton Bridge and King's Lynn is via the A1101 from Long Sutton though the centre of Wisbech itself and the A47 . Tolls were charged on the bridge until 1903. The bridge opens several times a week to allow ships and pleasure craft using the River Nene to pass through to the Port of Wisbech . The bridge was used during the filming of the 2007 adaptation of Philip Pullman 's novel, The Golden Compass . 52°46′00″N 0°11′43″E / 52.76658°N 0.19516°E / 52.76658; 0.19516 This article about
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#17327732650433224-432: The parts of Lincolnshire – Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven – and came into effect on 1 April 1889. Lincoln was made an independent county borough on the same date, with Grimsby following in 1891. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the three county councils and the two county boroughs, effective 1 April 1974. On this date, Grimsby and the northern part of Lindsey (including Scunthorpe ) were amalgamated with most of
3286-436: The population of the county). Lincolnshire has long been a primarily agricultural area, and it continues to grow large amounts of wheat , barley , sugar beet , and oilseed rape . In south Lincolnshire, where the soil is particularly rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops include potatoes , cabbages , cauliflowers , and onions . Lincolnshire farmers often break world records for crop yields. South Lincolnshire
3348-469: The present day as the Cross Keys Bridge at Sutton Bridge provides the only direct access point to Norfolk from Lincolnshire over the River Nene some nine miles north of Wisbech. The border with Lincolnshire to Cambridgeshire begins at Crowland , Market Deeping and Stamford which form the southern boundary of the county with both Peterborough , Rutland and briefly Northamptonshire ;
3410-504: The river authorities decided that two bridges so close together constituted a hazard for shipping, and it was removed. The present Cross Keys Bridge was built in 1897 at a cost of £80,000. Andrew Handyside and Company erected the bridge and Armstrong Whitworth built the engines which supplied the power to swing the bridge and which were installed in the Hydraulic House, a separately listed Grade II* building. The Hydraulic House
3472-616: The summer months. It is the only crossing point for both traffic and pedestrians over the river north of the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech some nine miles to the south of the bridge and provides the only direct link between Lincolnshire and Norfolk. When it was built in 1897, it was the third bridge to cross the Nene in Sutton Bridge. It was originally a dual-purpose bridge serving the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway on what
3534-506: The three Parts of Lincolnshire , along with the Parts of Holland in the south-east, and the Parts of Kesteven in the south-west, which each had separate Quarter Sessions as their county administrations. Lindsay was traditionally split between the North , South and West Ridings of Lindsey . The area was shaken by 27 February 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake , reaching between 4.7 and 5.3 on
3596-432: The unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire . The last two areas are part of the Yorkshire and the Humber region, and the rest of the county is in the East Midlands . The county has a varied geography. The south-west contains part of the Fens , a naturally marshy region which has been drained for agriculture, and the south-east is an upland region. A wide vale runs north-south from
3658-408: Was abolished along with its county council. Some services in those districts are shared with the East Riding of Yorkshire ceremonial county, rather than the rest of Lincolnshire including Humberside Police , Humberside Airport , Humberside Fire Service , and BBC Radio Humberside . Since the 2024 general election and the constituency reorganisation by the 2023 Periodic Review , Lincolnshire
3720-494: Was derived from Lindum Colonia . Large numbers of Germanic speakers from continental Europe settled in the region following the withdrawal of the Romans. Though these were later identified as Angles , it is unlikely that they migrated as part of an organized tribal group. Thus, the main language of the region quickly became Old English . However, it is possible that Brittonic continued to be spoken in some communities as late as
3782-522: Was designed by John Rennie the Younger and Thomas Telford as part of the Wash Embankment works. It was of timber and cast iron construction and opened up rather like London's famous Tower Bridge . However it was found to be awkwardly sited and in 1850, its replacement designed by Robert Stephenson was opened. Local shipowner Richard Young , five times Mayor of Wisbech, was responsible for
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#17327732650433844-546: Was said that there was only about 35 km (22 mi) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire. However the M180 motorway passes through North Lincolnshire , splitting into two dual carriageway trunk roads to the Humber Bridge and Grimsby , and the A46 is now dual carriageway between Newark-on-Trent and Lincoln. The low population density of the county means there are few railway stations and train services, considering
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