Sir Francis Hill continues in this volume his majestic history of his native city. Medieval Lincoln appeared in 1948, and was reissued in 1965; Tudor and Stuart Lincoln was published in 1956. This third volume, first published in 1966, covers the period of the industrial revolution and parliamentary reform, the time of' the Napoleonic war and the post-war depression. As in previous volumes, local history is taken as a microcosm of the social history of the nation. Sir Francis works from primary sources, many of them unpublished; these give the feel of the period in a direct and vivid way....

Sir Francis Hill's volumes on the history of the City of Lincoln are a historical monument for which it is not easy to think of a parallel. Written by a distinguished (and very busy) public man, they are works of patient scholarship. They give a survey of the growth and development of one of England's ancient boroughs: a county town, a cathedral city, and a centre of trade and industry. Medieval Lincoln, first published in 1948 and now reprinted, is recognized as a model of what local history should be. It is based on primary sources, it is local without being parochial, and uses a close...

Drawing from a wide range of local sources, Sir Francis describes Lincoln as it underwent major change: with the advent of the railways, this ancient cathedral city, hitherto predominantly a market centre, became an industrial city. Sir Francis discusses all aspects of life in the Victorian city, political and municipal reform, the continuing influence of the gentry, the growth of non-confomity and the recovery of Anglicanism, the awakening of the cathedral to new life, and population growth with its attendant social problems - housing, public health and education. Throughout, the author's...