The population of Lincoln more than doubled between 1801 and 1851 and many new houses were built. In June 1846 the railway arrived. The common land around the city had been enclosed and many young people came to make their living.
In Norman times, Lincoln was the third city of the realm in prosperity and importance. The city had its own mint for making coins. The Normans built the Castle, much of which still stands today, on the site of the Roman fortifications, and it was the focus of several military battles during the reign of King Stephen and King John. The Cathedral, the other great landmark of the city, was built during the early thirteenth century and the Bishop of Lincoln at this time was the head of a diocese which stretched from the Humber to the Thames. Lincoln's prosperity was built on the wool trade, and Lincoln cloth was famous throughout Europe
Lincoln declined in prosperity during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, due to changes in cloth manufacture, a decline which was accelerated by the Black Death and many churches closed. Houses stood empty and the city had to beg exemption from paying royal taxes. The Elizabethan years were times of plague, poverty and want in Lincoln, and an attempt to revive the city's cloth trade was largely unsuccessful.