A prominent Poet from Lincolnshire

• Alfred, Lord Tennyson was the most successful poet of the Victorian era who became Poet Laureate. He was born in the idyllic hamlet of Somersby in the Lincolnshire Wolds.  You can see his house in Somersby (privately owned) or go to Stockwith Mill (now closed to the public) and follow the path….He was known for much poetry including this – “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

Scientists and Statesmen

• Sir Isaac Newton, a great British inventor and the man who discovered gravity, was born and brought up at Woolsthorpe Manor near Grantham. Today visitors can discover more about Newton and his discoveries at this 17th-century farmhouse – including mathematic graffiti that he scribbled on walls. In the grounds see the famous apple tree that inspired his thoughts on gravity.

• John Harrison. 1642–1727. Clockmaker. Lincolnshire’s inventor of the chronometer in 1759. Without accurate measurement of time navigators found the calculation of longitude impossible. The measurement of Longitude was made possible by the development of an accurate maritime chronometer by the Lincolnshire-based watchmaker, John Harrison of Barrow on Humber.

• Margaret Thatcher was born in Grantham on 13 October 1925. She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery shops.

Authors, Actors, Astronauts and Adventurers

• Sir Joseph Banks was raised at Revesby Abbey, south of Horncastle and had a huge influence on Lincolnshire due to the draining of the Fens… His interest in exploration led to his voyage on the infamous shop Endeavour, to assist Captain Cook on his travels to the South Seas and Australasia. You can still get a peak up through the estate at the Abbey at Revesby, currently still under renovation and there is tropical conservatory commemorating the species collected by Sir Joseph Banks on Cook’s voyage to Australia at the Sir Joseph Bank’s Centre at the Lawns in Lincoln.

• Captain John Smith was born in the village of Willoughby and attended the grammar school in Alford. He is regarded as one of the country’s most famous explorers.  In 1607 he became an important leader of the first permanent settlement in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia and from thence grew his relationship with the Indians there including the legendary Pocahontas.

• Sir John Franklin was born in Spilsby. He made 4 journeys to the Arctic and charted over 1,000 miles of its coast. A statue commemorating this famous explorer stands in the market place in Spilsby.

• Matthew Flinders, navigator and cartographer who named Australia, was born and brought up in the market town of Spilsby. The market place is dominated by a statue of the explorer.

• Did you know Jim Broadbent, one of Britain’s best loved actors, was brought up in Lincolnshire? The Broadbent Theatre in Wickenby was named after his father who was one of several who converted it from a Methodist Chapel in 1971.  Jim Broadbent is the Honorary President.

• Did you know that Inspector Morse was an invention and not real?! Some people do! And that Colin Dextor who invented him was born and raised in Stamford, Lincolnshire?

• How many people know about the successes of Michael Foale, a famous astronaut from Lincolnshire?

Did you Know?

Those born in Lincolnshire are sometimes given the nickname of Yellowbellies (often spelt “Yeller Bellies”, to reflect the pronunciation of the phrase by the typical Lincolnshire farmer). The origin of this term is debated, but is most commonly believed to derive from the uniform of the 10th Regiment of Foot (later the Lincolnshire Regiment) The officers of this regiment would wear bright yellow waistcoats on the battlefield.