In 1121 Henry I. materially altered the great Foss-Dyke, extending a
matter of eight miles from a great marsh near Lincoln to the river
Trent, to serve the double purpose of draining the adjacent level and of
constructing a high waterway for vessels from the Trent to Lincoln.
For defraying the expenses of draining, it appears that in general a
rate was levied upon all lands in the contiguous wapentakes.
With this preface of the general character of the district, we propose
to give a history of the city from its commencement.
On the summit of a hill close to the river Lindis, which is now called
the Witham, the ancient Britons established a city of considerable
importance from the most remote period of the British history. They
christened the city after the original name of the river. This, on the
invasion of Britain, passed into the hands of the Romans. They made it
one of their chief stations in this part of England and established a
colony. Instead of calling the city something "cester," they appear to
have Latinised the Celtic name, signifying "the hill port by the pool,"
and called it Lindum Colonia. Through process of time and differences of
pronunciation, consequent on the various dialects spoken successively by
the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, the title became abbreviated to
Lin-coln. The date of the Roman occupation is given as being in the year
100 A.D.
Their plan of the city consisted of the form of a parallelogram about
400 yards in length by the same number of yards in breadth, defended by
massive, strong walls and intersected by two streets running at right
angles.
Presumably the extremities of these streets pointed to the four cardinal
points. They terminated in gates, the sole one of which--an excellent
example of Roman architecture in England--is the North Gate, or, as it
is generally called, Newport. It is composed of a central arch, with two
lesser ones, one on either side, and is on a lower level than that of
the street. Through this gate passes the great Roman Road called Ermine
Street, out into the country for a distance of about ten miles or so. To
the south-west of this entrance is supposed to have been a mint. This
seems to be borne out by the discovery of many Roman coins found in the
vicinity. The Exchequer Gate is a very fine specimen of the thirteenth
century. It bears a carved representation of the Crucifixion, which
lends it considerable interest.
At the top of High Street is Pottergate and Stonebow, over which is the
Guildhall. The latter is an ancient embattled structure, rebuilt in the
reign of Richard II.
Besides the Northgate, the Romans appear, according to remains found, to
have contributed the inevitable bath and sudatorium. On their departure
from Britain, Lincoln was made the capital of the kingdom of Mercia by
the Saxons in 518. Vortimer, who endeavoured to oppose them, was slain
and interred here. From 786 Lincoln suffered repeatedly from visitations
of the Danes, control being recovered by Edmund II., according to
agreement with Canute in 1016. Throughout the whole of this period the
only peace the city had enjoyed was when Alfred the Great subdued the
Danes. However, Edmund II., better known as Edmund Ironsides, did not
live many days longer, being murdered at Oxford. Whereupon, in 1017,
Canute took possession of the murdered monarch's territory, in which
Lincoln was included. William I. then came along in 1086, swept away
close upon two hundred houses to make room for the erection of a
castle--on a site which meant the occupation of nearly one-fourth of the
old Roman city.
The Castle still has traces of Norman work, the foundations of which
were formed of enormous beams of wood and a mixture of thin, coarse
mortar, used for pouring into the joints of masonry and brickwork,
usually called "grouting."
In that wonderful survey of his--the "Doomsday Book"--fifty-two parishes
are stated to have composed this city.
The Castle in 1140 figured in the disputes between the Empress Matilda
and Stephen, the latter of whom was crowned here in 1141. Stephen was,
however, made prisoner, but was afterwards exchanged, and lived three
years later to celebrate Christmas here. But prior to this period
Lincoln was for the first time erected into a see in the reign of
William Rufus.
[Illustration: LINCOLN