When did Lincoln become a city?

I came across this question on Google when I was researching something else.  There were several answers, 1072, 1350, 1660, 1837, so I had to find out.

Lincoln had been a port since the time of the Roman Empire, shipping grain and produce to other parts of Roman Britain via the Foss dyke canal (it is not known if the Roman's built the whole of the canal, but they may have built the canal from Torksey to Hardwick near Saxilby) and the River Witham.

The population of Roman Lincoln is believed to be between 6,000 and 8,000.

Within a century of the Roman's departure Lincoln was virtually deserted, it wasn't until the Viking conquest in the late 9th century that Lincoln started to grow again.  By the Norman Conquest Lincoln was a important Viking town.  William I, built his castle here not just because of its superb defensive position but also to subdue the Viking population.  Four years after the building of the castle the building of bishop Remigius' cathedral commenced, enhancing Lincoln's (known as Nicole by the Normans) status even further.  Estimates based on the Domesday Book give a population in Lincoln at that time of about 6,000.

Lincoln grew rapidly in the 12th century, the main driver of this was cloth-making, the famous Lincoln Green used by Robin Hood, and Lincoln Scarlet, for those that could afford it.  By 1150, Lincoln was one of the wealthiest towns in England.  Lincoln cloth-makers travelled to fairs throughout England; Flanders, Castile and Portugal were important export markets. English Kings bought Lincoln Scarlet.

Lincoln became a Staple Town in 1291, exporting wool and cloth to mainland Europe.  Many landowners changed at this time from arable farming to rearing sheep, the Lincolnshire Wolds had been one of the most densely populated areas of the country, the change in farming brought about a decline in the population of the wolds.

Over the years the River Witham became more and more impassable, so much so that in 1369 the Staple was moved to Boston, this on top of the Black Death of 20 years earlier, had a devastating effect on the prosperity of Lincoln.

In an attempt to improve Lincoln's prosperity, Henry IV, by a charter of 1409, raised Lincoln to the status of a county, "The County of the City of Lincoln", this allowed the city to elect two sheriffs, and to receive the taxes previously paid to the county.  Henry also granted a 31 day fair to be held 15 days before and 15 days after 17 November, St Hugh's Feast Day (a 31-day market! Can you imagine Lincoln Christmas Market lasting that long?).

Even after this charter, Lincoln continued to deteriorate and depopulate and in 1461 Edward IV granted a charter that removed the villages Branston, Waddington, Bracebridge and Canwick from the county and added them to "The County of the City of Lincoln".

Lincoln had city status conferred on it by letters patent in 1540, along with 19 other cities, but Lincoln had been known as a city since "time immemorial", in fact since the year 1072.  All the places qualified for city status due to them having a diocesan cathedral

Banks and High Bridge

Joseph Banks, painted 1773 by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Sir Joseph Banks is well-known as a naturalist and botanist, the son of William Banks a wealthy Lincolnshire land owner. Joseph was also a farmer and business man and was instrumental in promoting the Horncastle Canal.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1792 approving the building of the canal; the canal was completed by 1802 but was partially in use some years before this.

In order to make the canal viable it was essential that barges could navigate to and from the Trent: the only route was through Lincoln.  

Richard Ellison had acquired a 999 year lease for the Fossdyke Canal and river Witham in 1740, he dredged and improved the canal and the river east of Lincoln but was prevented by Lincoln Corporation from improving the navigation below High Bridge. Lincoln Corporation earned valuable revenue from porterage fees, barges were unloaded one side of the Bridge and reloaded the other.  The problem was so severe that in exceptionally dry summers it was possible to drive a coach across the bed of the river west of High Bridge.

High Bridge c 1836

The reluctance of the Corporation to act on the navigation under High Bridge forced Joseph Banks to look at alternative routes.  William Jessop, the noted canal builder (locally he built the Grantham and Sleaford canals), was commissioned to investigate a likely route.  Jessop put forward a scheme to route barges from the Fossdyke southwards on the upper Witham to Sincil Drain, in effect by-passing Lincoln. The Corporation realised this would be devastating for the economy of the city and, in 1795, the bed of the river beneath High Bridge was lowered at the expense of the proprietors of the Horncastle Canal. To celebrate the event boards were laid on the dry river bed and a dance took place under the bridge.

The building of the Great Northern Railway from Lincoln to Boston in 1848 dramatically increased the traffic on the Horncastle Canal but in 1854 a line was opened from Kirkstead to Horncastle: the canal closed in 1889.  

See also: Lincoln's High Bridge, Unique In This Country