Lincoln
was home to one of the five most important Jewish
communities in England, well established before it was
officially noted in 1154. In 1190, anti-semitic riots that
started in King's Lynn, Norfolk, spread to Lincoln; the
Jewish community took refuge with royal officials, but their
habitations were plundered. The so-called 'House of Aaron'
has a two-storey street frontage that is essentially 12th
century and a nearby Jew's House likewise bears witness to
the Jewish population. In 1255, the affair called 'The Libel
of Lincoln' in which prominent Jews of Lincoln, accused of
the ritual murder of a Christian boy ('Little Saint Hugh of
Lincoln' in medieval folklore) were sent to the Tower of
London and 18 were executed. The Jews were expelled en masse
in 1290.
During the 13th century, Lincoln was the third largest city
in England and was a favourite of more than one king. During
the First Barons' War, it became caught up in the strife
between the king and the rebel barons, who had allied with
the French. It was here and at Dover that the French and
Rebel army was defeated. In the aftermath of the battle, the
town was pillaged for having sided with Prince Louis.
However, during the 14th century, the city's fortunes began
to decline.
The lower
city was prone to flooding, becoming increasingly isolated,
and plagues were common. In 1409, the city was made a county
corporate. The Dissolution of the Monasteries further
exacerbated Lincoln's problems, cutting off the main source
of diocesan income and drying up the network of patronage
controlled by the bishop, with no less than seven
monasteries within the city alone closed down. This was
accompanied by closure of a number of nearby parliamentary
abbeys which led to a further diminishment of the region's
political power. When the cathedral's great spire rotted and
collapsed in 1549 and was not replaced, it was a significant
symbol of Lincoln's economic and political decline. Between
1642 and 1651, during the English Civil War, Lincoln was on
the frontier between the Royalist and Parliamentary forces
and therefore changed hands several times. Many buildings
were badly damaged. Lincoln now had no major industry, no
easy access to the sea and was poorly placed. As a
consequence of this, while the rest of the country was
beginning to prosper in the beginning of the 18th century,
Lincoln suffered immensely.
By the
Georgian era, Lincoln's fortunes began to pick up, thanks in
part to the Agricultural Revolution. The re-opening of the
Foss Dyke canal allowed coal and other raw materials vital
to industry to be more easily brought into the city. Coupled
with the arrival of the railway links, Lincoln boomed again
during the Industrial Revolution, and several world-famous
companies arose, such as Ruston's, Clayton's, Proctor's and
William Foster's. Lincoln began to excel in heavy
engineering, building diesel engine locomotives, steam
shovels and all manner of heavy machinery. Lincoln was hit
by a major typhoid epidemic between November 1904 and August
1905 caused by polluted drinking water from Hartsholme Lake
and the River Witham. Over 1,000 people contracted the
disease and fatalities totalled 113, including the very man
responsible for the city's water supply, Matthew Robinson of
Baker Crescent. Westgate Water Tower was constructed to
provide new water supplies to the city. In the world wars,
Lincoln switched to war production. The first ever tanks
were invented, designed and built in Lincoln by William
Foster & Co. during the First World War and population
growth provided more workers for even greater expansion. The
tanks were tested on land now covered by Tritton Road (in
the south-west suburbs of the city). During the Second World
War, Lincoln produced a vast array of war goods, from tanks,
aircraft, munitions and military vehicles.
(courtesy
of wikipedia) |
