Lincoln's Industrial Revolution

In The Decline and Rise of Lincoln I wrote about how Lincoln fell from its position as one of the most important cities in England to a rural backwater hardly able to support itself. Now I will cover the times when Lincoln grew in prosperity again but never regained it’s former importance. In 1821 Lincoln’s population was 11,776, while Boston’s, which gained the Staple from Lincoln in 1369, stood at 10,373.

Lincoln was about to go through immense change, Richard Ellison had purchased a 999 year lease on the Fosdyke Canal in 1740 and set about improving navigation on the canal and the river Witham east of Lincoln. Farm produce and others goods could be sent from Lincoln by barge to other parts of the country and coal and lime could be brought in. Lincoln, surrounded by agriculture, was late in embracing the Industrial Revolution.

It was the 1840s when the Industrial Revolution arrived in Lincoln.  These people made a massive contribution to the growth of prosperity of Lincoln, click on the links to learn about their companies
William Rainforth
Nathaniel Clayton and Joseph Shuttleworth
Richard Duckering
Robert Robey
William Foster
Joseph Ruston
John Cooke

... and many more here

Lincoln's Waterside Industrial Area Today 

Lincoln was one of the last major centres of population in England connected to the railway, the Midland Railway arrived in Lincoln in 1846 and the Great Northern in 1848, bringing with them traffic delays on Lincoln’s High Street.

In the period 1841 to 1861 Lincoln’s population grew by over 50% to almost 21,000, the population of St Swithin’s and St Peter at Gowts parishes, where most of the engineering firms were based, almost doubled.  At the end of the 19th century the population of Lincoln was 48,784 more than three times that of Boston.

Clayton & Shuttleworth's Iron Works in 1869

Bread and Cheese Hall

Bread and Cheese Hall

by itsaboutlincoln

In 1889 Ruston, Proctor & Co accountants certified that over the previous 7 years the company had made an average profit of £50,000 per year.  The same year Joseph Ruston converted Ruston, Proctor & Company into a public company, for this he received £465,000 and he rewarded his most senior employees with shares to the value of £10,000.

The following year demand was made by his workers for a pay rise, he refused the request with the reply:

“I hope you’ll let me get bread and cheese out of my business!”  After this Joseph Ruston was nicknamed ‘Mr Bread and Cheese'.

 In the same year, he paid for a new Drill Hall for the First Lincoln Volunteer Company to be built at Broadgate, on the site of Newsum's fire-damaged woodyard. Inevitably the new building became known as ‘Bread and Cheese Hall’.  He could afford the cost as in 1890 the business made a profit of £96,000!  

The Drill Hall was opened by Edward Stanhope, Secretary of State for War on 24th May

1890.  The building was designed by Major F H Goddard of Goddard and Son, Lincoln.  Built by H S & W Close of Lincoln of brick and Ancaster stone, with embattlements and watchtower, it provided a military aspect to its 55 ft frontage.

The gateway is 10 ft wide with the Royal Arms carved out of stone above.  On the right was the officers’ room with an apartment 24 ft by 18 ft, to the left was the Adjutant’s apartment of the same dimensions with an office for the Sergeant Major.  The hall beyond was 140 ft long by 50 ft wide.  The floor of the hall was specially constructed to deaden the noise of drilling men, made of blocks 10in by 2.5 in by 1.5 in, laid in pitch on a solid concrete foundation.

There was also a soup kitchen with coppers and appliances of every type for use at times of need, no doubt it came in useful for the typhoid epidemic of 1904/5.

Above the hall was a balcony for 150 people and a recreation room.

There was an armoury of sufficient size to store the arms of the whole battalion.  On the north side of the hall was a 50 ft by 50 ft gymnasium.

It had been suggested that Ruston knew that to give his employees an increase in wages to his employees would probably put other local engineering companies out of business!   But is that too kind to an entrepreneur who was well known for his hard business head and tough negotiating style?