Lincoln has played an important role in history since its time as a Roman settlement. Subsequently taken over by the Vikings and then the Danes, it became a major trading centre in the East of England and, following the Norman Conquest, the Normans recognised its importance and built their castle there and their cathedral. Today both still stand, although the cathedral was substantially rebuilt after an earthquake in the 12th century. Although Lincoln went into a decline after the Middle Ages, it was fought over by Parliamentary and Royalist forces in the Civil War and the coming of industrialisation saw its fortunes rise again. Many large engineering companies were based in Lincoln and although their presence today is smaller, the city continues to grow.

In this book Daniel J. Codd explores the history of Lincoln through the story of its buildings, people and events through the ages. Readers will discover many little known episodes in this history of the town, both the Uphill area which is home to the Castle and Cathedral and the Downhill area by the River Witham. These include the Cathedral, which has drawn so many people to it since mediaeval times, with its fascinating history and changing use over the centuries, and also the Castle, which was recently home to one of only four copies of Magna Carta, Steep Hill which links the two parts of the city, Uphill and Downhill, why the city was settled in that location and the effects this has had, the canals which brought the Industrial Revolution to Lincoln, and its two present-day universities.

Secret Lincoln explores the less well-known episodes and characters in the history of this cathedral city through the years, bringing to life tales of those who have lived in it and the places they inhabited.

Daniel J. Codd is a lifelong student of history, criminology, folklore, the out-of-place and the paranormal in Britain, a fascination borne out of a belief that truth (including the possibility of the reality of the supernatural) is endlessly more intriguing than fiction. He has previously written full studies of the supernatural and paranormal in Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Somerset and Bristol, and has contributed articles for Paranormal magazine as well as appearing on BBC Radio programmes. Daniel is endlessly intrigued by the anecdotes and accounts of ghosts and other phenomena he frequently receives, and is currently compiling these anecdotes, as well as anything else of interest he finds along the way among the archive material he is constantly trawling through.