Lincoln
- The Lincoln Burial Board was formed in 1854-5 for the nine parishes of St. Benedict, St. Botolph, St. Mark, St. Martin, St. Mary-le-Wigford, St. Michael, St. Paul, St. Peter at Arches and St. Peter at Gowts. They opened the Canwick Road Cemetery in the summer of 1856. Two funeral chapels were built and a portion of the cemetery set aside for Catholic burials. Canwick Road Cemetary is south of Lincoln and is situated off the Washingborough Road. Tele: 01522-873646.
- St. John and St. Nicholas parishes have a burial ground in Newport. If you walk northwards along the Bail you come to Newport Arch (Roman).
- The Lincolnshire FHS has a burial index for Newport Cemetery, part 2, covering 1901-1942. Order via the Federation of Family History Societies Bookstore.
- St. Peter's in Eastgate and St. Margaret's in the Close have one in Eastgate.
- St. Mary Magdalen and St. Swithin's parishes have separate burial grounds. The Linconshire FHS has the St. Swithin Burial Register (1890-1999) available on four microfiche from the Federation of Family History Societies Bookstore, which allows purchased by credit card.
- All other burial grounds within the city were closed for burial in 1856.
- Details about Lincoln cemeteries are available at Lincoln Council site. Click on Services. [Pam Downes]
- The microfiche version of the Lincoln City burials appears to contain burials for all the Lincoln City parishes. These in turn will have been transferred to the NBI (Nat'l Burial Index). The only exception would be Lincoln Workhouse burials. [Anne Cole]
- Canwick Road Cemetery MIs have been recorded. The only printed copy is at Lincolnshire Archives on the open shelves. The Lincolnshire FHS has published the Cemetery Burial Registers on fiche.
- For the Census, all the parishes were in the Lincoln Home sub-district of the Lincoln Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- For the 1901 census, check our Census Surname Extract page for your kin.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
| Census Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 651 |
| 1851 |
H.O. 107 / 2105 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2360 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3371 - 3372 |
| 1881 |
R.G. 11 / 3239 - 3240 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2591 |
| 1901 |
R.G. 13 / 3060 - 3064 |
- The LFHS has published several marriage indexes for the Lincoln Deanery to make your search easier.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- We have a handful of entries extracted from the register of St. Andrews Church. Your additions are welcome.
- Similarly, we have a token extract from the register of St. Martin Church. Your additions are welcome.
- There were at least eleven chapels here prior to 1841 for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, Reformed Methodists and even the Roman Catholics. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
- The parishes were in the Lincoln Home sub-district of the Lincoln Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which started in July, 1837.
Lincoln is an ancient, well-built city, the capital of a county with the same name (Lincolnshire) and contains more than a dozen parishes (the count depends on the year you seek). It lies 132 miles north of London, 36 miles northwest of Boston and 18 miles southeast of Gainsborough. The city itself is bounded on the north by Riseholme and Nettleham parishes, to the west by Skellingthorpe and Boultham and on the south by Bracebridge and Canwick parishes. The city lies along the old Roman Road known as Ermine Street.
The city covers 5,280 acres, approximately. The city is easily accessed by train or motorcar. If you are planning a visit:
- Lincoln lies where the A15 trunk road is crossed by the A46. It is also the east end of the A57 and the west end of the A158 (another Roman Road).
- Train service still exists and will drop you at the south end of the city.
- Visit our touring page for more sources.
- Traces of the early Briton's hilltop fortifications have been found on the northeast part of the hill, just outside Newport Gate.
- The Roman general Agricola founded a "station" or fortification at Lincoln. Later, the Romans established a "colony" here for retired legionaires. The fort being too small, much of the colony was built south of the River Witham. The Roman army left England in 448, but most of the colonists stayed.
- Lincoln became the capital of Mercia under the Saxon Heptarchy in 585 after more than a century of fighting between Britons, Saxons, Picts and others.
- In 628, Paulinus first preached Christianity in Lincoln. By 690, there is an established Christian church hierarchy throughout England. including the paying of tithes.
- After the Norman Conquest, many monasteries were founded in or near Lincoln. In 1068, William built Lincoln Castle to consolidate his control in the area.
- The Foss Dyke canal was rebuilt (the Romans are thought to have built a narrow, original channel) during the reign of Henry I, allowing navigation by boat and barge from the River Witham to the River Trent.
- In 1110, the city was nearly consumed by a fire. Then in 1185 it sustained considerable damage in one of England's rare severe earthquakes.
- In the early years of the 13th century, Lincoln was a favorite city of King John, who spent many years here. The latter part of that century saw many Jews executed or massacred in Lincoln.
- Gas lighting first came to Lincoln in 1829.
- In 1832, Lincoln Castle, until then property of the Crown, was sold to the county magistrates.
- The city's first city-wide sewering system was installed between 1872 and 1881.
- In April, 1907, the former nineteen civil parishes comprising the city of Lincoln were amalgamated to form one civil parish of Lincoln.
- The national grid reference is SK 9771.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer 272 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our "Maps" page for additional resources.
- The Lawn was opened in 1820 as the Lincoln Asylum, and was the County's first purpose-built hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill. It was founded by Reverend Doctor WILLIS. In the mid 1980's, the hospital became surplus to health authority requirements and was closed. In 1990, The Lawn became a conference centre and site for civil marriages. It now covers about 8 acres. A history display of The Lawn is inside the complex. It is not known what patient records exist, but many patients were supported under the Poor Law Act. Tel: 01522 568-080.
- The Sabraon Barracks are situated at the 'other end' of Burton Road from
the Lincolnshire Life Museum near to the Lincoln boundary, next to the Ermine West estate. The buildings occupied by the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, to give it its proper title, was formerly the Old Barracks built in 1857 for the Loyal North Lincoln Militia. This is situated close to Lincoln Castle and the Lawns Visitor Centre. {David Jassie]
- Lieutenant Walter Wilson of the Naval Air Service and William Tritton of William Foster & Co., based in Lincoln, produced the first landship in secrecy. Its codename, given because the shape of the shell resembled water carriers, was 'tank'. The name, assigned in December 1915, stuck.
- The name of Lincoln comes from a combination of Celtic and Latin, lindo+colonia or "Roman colony by the pool". The name is ancient, and the Celtic portion, Lincoit, refers to the broad pool made by the River Witham at the edge of the old city. The pool was much larger in ancient times than today. About 150 AD, the name appears as Lindon. In the late 7th century, after the Romans had departed, we see the form of Lindum colonia and in the 1086 Domesday Book as Lincolia. The name also became applied, by the 11th century, to the large area around the city, Lincolnshire, by appending the Old English scir, for "district".
A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
- In the third year of George I, the "Liberty of Lincoln" was established to include the four townships of Bracebridge, Canwick, Branston and Waddington with Lincoln City proper. It was the largest such liberty in England.
- For governance, all 23 parishes were in the ancient Lincoln Liberty in the Lincoln City district and parts of Lindsey.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
7,205 |
| 1841 |
13,806 |
| 1851 |
17,536 |
| 1871 |
26,762 |
| 1911 |
61,089 |
- The first school in Lincoln was the Blue Coat School (Christ's Hospital) established in 1602 by Richard SMITH, MD. The Linconshire FHS has the Christ's Hospital Admission Book (1832-1879) available from the Federation of Family History Societies Bookstore, which allows purchased by credit card. The book is a transcript of the register which gives (in most entries) Surname, forename, parish of origin, date admitted, date of baptism, date apprenticed or left, master's name, occupation and "other information". A4 bound book (made in-house) 54 pages. £2.15.
- The Grammar School in St. Swithin's Square has occupied the Grey Friary since 1567.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
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[Last updated: 8-March-2007 - Louis R. Mills]
