Lincolnshire originally derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough of Stamford. For some time the entire county was called ‘Lindsey’, and it is recorded as such in the Domesday Book. Later, Lindsey was applied only the northern core, around Lincoln, and emerged as one of the three ‘Parts of Lincolnshire’, along with the Parts of Holland in the south-east and Kesteven in the south west.

In 1888 when county councils were set up, Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven each received their own separate one which survived until 1974; the northern part, with Scunthorpe and Grimsby, went to the newly formed Humberside (abolished in 1996).

The Romans had a strong presence in the county but after they left in the fifth century, their many works gradually fell into ruin and disrepair. Incoming groups of Angles settled heavily in the northern part of the county, which was later raided by the Vikings in the 9th century. Scandinavian settlers followed the raiders and left their legacy in many Lincolnshire place names.

Common Lincolnshire surnames revealed from the census collections at TheGenealogist.co.uk include Clark, Jackson, Thompson, Cook, Harrison, Parker, Marshall and Chapman. In 1841, Richardson and Wilkinson were also in the top 20, as were Ward and Hill in 1911.

In the Middle Ages the Witham valley between Boston and Lincoln had the highest concentration of abbeys and monastic foundations in the country. Conversely the county had surprisingly few castles.

Fairs at Stamford, Grantham, and Stow Fair were established, and lasted throughout the period. Corby Glen sheep fair has been held more or less unchanged every year since 1238.

Sheep farming and the wool trade brought new wealth to the area, and underwrote the building of many fine churches. An important medieval book, the Luttrell Psalter, forms the basis for nearly every schoolbook illustration of the period. It lay unregarded in the church at Irnham until the early 20th century when it was saved for the nation.

During the Protestant reformation, Lincolnshire had strong pro-Catholic sentiments, and on 2 October 1536 an anti-Anglican peasant rebellion broke out. The leaders of this rebellion were local peasants and Catholic priests. King Henry VIII responded by dispatching an army of 3,000 soldiers to quell the rebellion.

During the English Civil War, Lincolnshire was part of the Eastern Association, the Parliamentarian alliance. On its western border lay the Royalist strongholds of Newark on Trent and Belvoir Castle. Lincolnshire was therefore raided and defended by the respective parties.

Lincolnshire has been predominantly agricultural throughout its history, and remains so. In the late 1930s, despite its coastal holiday industry, fishing industries, iron mining and smelting and heavy machinery manufacturing, Lincolnshire was large enough to give an impression of being a largely unvisited, peaceful agricultural backwater until World War Two, when its flat terrain was used extensively for RAF airfields.

Data from census analysis provided to this magazine exclusively by TheGenealogist.co.uk reveals that the population grew far less than in many other counties in the 19th century: from 1841 to 1911 it only rose from 360,000 to 560,000. In both years the most common occupations listed were in agriculture, although the growing importance of ports such as Grimsby is reflected in 1911 with a large number of dock labourers and fishermen.

The Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln is a key place to visit; the county record office is also in the city (lincolnshire.gov.uk ).