Hello and welcome to the Lincolnshire Page!
Introduction, By The Lincolnshire Echo's Website (Lincolnshire's Local Paper): "Lincolnshire covers more than 2,200 square miles and is the fourth largest county in England and Wales, with a population of around 619,500."
The Quotes:
The Official Lincolnshire Local Government Website: "North Lincolnshire is an area of rural tranquillity and remarkable natural beauty, where the rolling chalk of the Lincolnshire Wolds meets the lush Ancholme Valley and the unique Isle of Axholme. The past and present are never far apart and there are many attractions and places of interest within easy reach, linked by quiet country lanes and cycle routes."
Henry VIII: "That most brute and beastly of shires."
Well, there you have it! The two bipolar opinions of Lincolnshire, and how very very different they are! Which way you decide is the more accurate is up to you, but I would advise you to bear this in mind:
Lincolnshire's Local Government is bound to want people to come and visit it, so it's obviously going to stress Lincolnshire's better aspects, possibly even overexaggerate them. On the other hand, if the former king of England, Henry VIII himself, is provoked into referring to part of his realm in that manner, he's much more likely to be telling the truth. He wouldn't say things like that if it was a lie, because that would lose him prestige in Europe, if other kings thought that among Henry's possessions was a most brute and beastly shire. So Henry VIII is most likely to tell the truth (especially since he's a king and all: kings don't tell fibs, except when they are OVERstating the goodness of their realm - and there's a terrifying thought, isn't there? What if Henry VIII was exaggerating the benefits and goodness of Lincolnshire? What if calling it a most brute and beastly of shires is actually rather generous? Horror!), and therefore, you are advised not to visit Lincolnshire, or at least to take a good pair of shin pads with you if you do go.