Lincolnshire’s Great Exhibition

• Lincolnshire’s Great Exhibition will run from 26 June to 27 September 2015 at The Collection, Usher Gallery, Wren Library and Lincoln Castle
• This is the first time that such a group of objects has been gathered together in their county of origin; many are rarely seen in public

Lincolnshire’s Great Exhibition gathers together an extraordinary selection of national treasures, all with Lincolnshire connections, from private and public collections. Inspired by the 800th anniversary of Lincoln’s Magna Carta in 2015, it is a celebration of the art and culture, religion, public service and scholarship that have emanated from this ancient county over eight centuries.

Many of Britain’s most influential and creative figures, from politicians to poets, artists to explorers, were sons and daughters of Lincolnshire. Represented in these pages are Sir Isaac Newton, John Wesley and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as Lincolnshire’s great explorers and our first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. A number of illustrious contributors tell these stories, from Lincolnshire saints, through our great mathematicians to the origins of Methodism.

Presented alongside these saints and heroes are treasures from Lincolnshire’s great country houses, as well as spectacular maps, medieval manuscripts and topographical views by the likes of Turner, Girton and De Wint. The unique nineteenth-century Louth Panorama is illustrated, as well as a group of pictures by George Stubbs and one of the most famous fourteenth-century illuminated manuscripts, the Luttrell Psalter.

This lavishly illustrated book, published alongside an exhibition at The Collection, Usher Gallery, Cathedral Library and Lincoln Castle in 2015, is a testament to the rich history and inventive spirit of one of England’s great historic counties.

Dr Nicholas Bennett is a medievalist and former Librarian and Vice Chancellor at Lincoln Cathedral. The essay contributors, many of whom are scholars of international standing and all experts in their field, include Dr Alan Borg, Lord Griffiths and Professor Leonee Ormond.