LINCOLN, England, an episcopal city, civic county and parliamentary and municipal borough, the capital of Lincolnshire, on the Witham, at the junction of several railroads, 130 miles north of London. It dates from pre Norman times, was the Roman "Lindum Colons,'" and at the time of the Norman Con quest a fortified town of considerable import ance. The principal edifice is the cathedral, chiefly of early English but with interesting transitional phases, crowning a height, on the summit and slope of which the town is built, 210 feet above the river. Its conspicuous site makes it a familiar landmark for miles around. It is surmounted by three towers, two 180 feet high, and the central tower is 271 feet high. The latter is one of the glories of English ecclesiastical architecture and dates from 1235 to 1317. The celebrated Angel Choir was com pleted in 1280. The total interior length of the building is 482 feet, the nave is 252 feet long, and width, including the aisles, 82 feet. The bell (Great Tom of Lincoln) weighs five tons eight hundredweight. Other prominent build ings are the Saint Mary's Guildhall (12th cen tury) ; the Jews' House, one of the finest•speci mens of Norman domestic architecture in Eng land; the remains of the castle begun in 1086 by William the Conqueror ; the ancient episco pal palace, and the fine old Roman gateway, the Newport Arch, of date 104 A.D., which
spans Hermin street. There is a theological college and a school of art. An extensive trade in corn, flour and wool is carried on, and there are important manufactures of ma chinery and agricultural implements. The municipality possesses valuable estates in Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire and much valuable property in the city. The public utili ties are municipally owned. A new water sup ply was introduced from Elkesley, Nottingham shire, in 1911. The city returns one member to the House of Commons. Pop. of county borough 57,285. Consult Allen, of Lincoln' (London 1833), and Kendrick, A. F., The Cathedral Church of Lincoln> (in Bell's Cathedral Series, London 1898).