pop (2001e) 646 600; area 5915 km²/2284 sq mi. Flat agricultural county in EC England, UK; county town, Lincoln; chief towns include Grantham, Gainsborough, Spalding; North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire unitary authorities from 1996; bounded E by the North Sea; drained by the Welland, Witham, and Trent Rivers; Fens drained in 17th-c; intensive farming, horticulture, tourism.
For other places with the same name, see Lincolnshire (disambiguation).| Lincolnshire | |
| Geography | |
| Status | Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county |
|---|---|
| Region |
East Midlands (North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are in Yorkshire and the Humber) |
|
Area - Total - Admin. area |
Ranked 2nd 6,959 km² Ranked 4th 5,921 km ² |
| Admin HQ | Lincoln |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-LIN |
| ONS code | 32 |
| NUTS 3 | UKF30 |
| Demographics | |
|
Population - Total (2005 est.) - Density - Admin. |
Ranked 18th 993,300 143 / km² Ranked 15th 678,700 |
| Ethnicity | 98.5% White |
| Politics | |
|
Lincolnshire County Council http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/ |
|
| Executive | Conservative |
| Members of Parliament |
Ian Cawsey, Quentin Davies, John Henry Hayes, Douglas Hogg, Edward Leigh, Shona McIsaac, Gillian Merron, Austin Mitchell, Elliot Morley, Mark Simmonds, Peter Tapsell |
| Districts | |
| Lincoln North Kesteven South Kesteven South Holland Boston East Lindsey West Lindsey North Lincolnshire (Unitary) North East Lincolnshire (Unitary) | |
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England.
The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire is composed of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire and the area covered by the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire.
For the purposes of a general geographical classification the county can be broken down into a number of sub-regions including: the Lincolnshire Fens, the Lincolnshire Wolds, and the industrial Humber Estuary and North Sea coast around Grimsby and Scunthorpe.
A further local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside, and the land south of the Humber became the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. These two areas became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes such as the Lord-Lieutenancy, but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police and are in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.
The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, South Holland, North Kesteven, South Kesteven, and West Lindsey.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5,719 | 657 | 1,769 | 3,292 |
| 2000 | 6,512 | 452 | 2,046 | 4,013 |
| 2003 | 8,419 | 518 | 2,518 | 5,383 |
↑ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Agriculture
The county of Lincolnshire is a major agricultural producer, growing large amounts of wheat, barley, sugarbeet, and oilseed rape.
Services and Retail
According to an IGGI study in 2000 (source), the town centres were ranked thus (including N Lincs and NE Lincs):-
Lincoln Grantham Grimsby Boston and Scunthorpe (equal) Spalding Stamford Skegness Louth Sleaford Gainsborough Brigg Cleethorpes Bourne Horncastle and Mablethorpe (equal)Public services
Education
Lincolnshire is one of the few counties within the UK that still uses the Eleven plus to decide who may attend grammar school.
Transport
Being on the economic periphery of England, Lincolnshire's transport links are less well developed than many other parts of the United Kingdom. The road network within the county is dominated by single carriageway trunk roads (A roads) and minor roads (B roads) rather than motorways or dual carriageways — the administrative county of Lincolnshire is one of the small number of UK counties without a motorway and up until a few years ago, it was said that there was only approximately thirty-five kilometres (twenty-two miles) of dual carriageway in the whole of Lincolnshire.
The county's biggest bus comany is Stagecoach in Lincolnshire, and other small companies also operate.
There is a local joke that Lincolnshire is the only county where most people's second car is a Massey Ferguson (a make of tractor).
Health care
The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest trusts in the country, employing almost 7,000 staff and with an annual budget of over £250 million.
Some of the larger hospitals in the county include:
Boston Pilgrim Hospital Grantham and District Hospital Lincoln County Hospital Skegness and District General HospitalSince April 1994, Lincolnshire has had an Air Ambulance service which was extended to also cover Nottinghamshire in 1997.
People
Lincolnshire is relatively unusual in the composition of its population, being one of the least ethnically diverse counties of the United Kingdom (98.5 percent of the population describe themselves as "white").
Those born in Lincolnshire are sometimes given the nickname of Yellowbellies (often spelt "Yeller Bellies", to reflect the pronunciation of the phrase by the typical Lincolnshire farmer).
Towns and villages
The non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire is characterised by the absence of any major urban area. Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, has a population of 62,000, and the Cleethorpes/Great Grimsby conurbation in North East Lincolnshire has a population of over 100,000.
For a full list of Lincolnshire towns and villages see the List of places in Lincolnshire page.
Culture
Lincolnshire is a rural area where the pace of life is generally slower than much of the United Kingdom.
Language
The accent and dialect words of Lincolnshire are poorly known beyond the county, especially compared to more familiar accents, e.g.
Lincolnshire has its own dialect 'champion', a farmer from the village of Minting called Farmer Wink (real name Robert Carlton), who has produced videos about rural life, narrated in his broad Lincolnshire accent, and who has a regular slot on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. A resident of Woodhall Spa, ironically one of the Lincolnshire settlements least aligned to the county's architectural style, has published a dictionary of words once prevalent in parts of the county.
Food
Lincolnshire has a number of interesting local dishes:
Stuffed chine - this is salted neck-chine of a pig taken from between the shoulder blades of a pig, salted for up to ten months and stuffed with parsley stuffing (other ingredients are normally kept secret). Served cold, it's considered by many in the county to be an acquired taste haslet - a type of pork loaf, also flavoured with sage Lincolnshire pork sausages - most butchers in Lincolnshire have their own secret recipe for these and a competition is held each year to judge the best sausages in the county Traditional Lincolnshire sausages are made entirely from these ingredients - Minced Pork, stale bread crumb (rusk is used nowadays) pepper, sage and salt. Batemans ales - a beer brewed in Wainfleet and served in many pubs in the county and further afieldEvents
Every year the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society which was founded in 1869 stages the Lincolnshire Agricultural Show.
Symbols
The unofficial anthem of the county is the traditional folksong, 'The Lincolnshire Poacher', which dates from around 1776.
According to a 2002 marketing campaign by the charity Plantlife, the county flower of Lincolnshire is the Common Dog-violet.
In August 2005, BBC Radio Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire Life magazine launched a vote for an unofficial flag to represent the county.
User Comments Add a comment…