Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England. The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire urban area of Lincoln (which includes North Hykeham, Waddington and Birchwood) a population of 104,000.
Construction of the first Lincoln Cathedral, within its close or walled precinct facing the castle, began when the see was removed from the quiet backwater of Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and completed in 1092; it was rebuilt after a fire but was destroyed by an unusual earthquake in 1185. The rebuilt Lincoln Minster, enlarged to the east at each rebuilding, was on a magnificent scale, its crossing tower crowned by a spire reputed to have been 525 ft (160 m) high, the highest in Europe. When completed the central of the three spires is widely accepted to have succeeded the Great Pyramids of Egypt as the tallest man-made structure in the world.
The Romans conquered this part of Britain in AD 48 and shortly afterwards built a legionary fortress high on a hill overlooking the natural lake formed by the widening of the River Witham (the modern day Brayford Pool) and at the northern end of the Fosse Way Roman road (A46). The Celtic name Lindon was subsequently Latinized to Lindum and given the title Colonia when it was converted into a settlement for army veterans. In 1068, two years after the Norman conquest, William I ordered Lincoln Castle to be built on the site of the former Roman settlement, for the same strategic reasons and controlling the same road.
The city is a tourist centre and those who come do so to visit the numerous historic buildings including the cathedral, the castle, and the Medieval Bishop’s Palace.
The Collection, of which the Usher Gallery is now a part, is an important attraction. Housed partly in a recently opened, purpose-built venue, it currently contains over 2,000,000 objects, and was one of the four finalists for the 2006 Gulbenkian Prize. Any material from official archaeological excavations in Lincolnshire is eventually deposited at in The Collection so it is growing all the time.
[caption id="attachment_196109" align="aligncenter" width="459"] Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political science. For many years he was a senior official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He also wrote comedie...
