Things you didn't know about Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire—first among equals

The town of Grantham, on the border between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, gave us the first female police officer in November 1914, the first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Oh, and the world's first diesel engine.

Heard the buzz about the Lincolnshire pub sign?

Grantham is also home to the world's only "living" pub sign—a real beehive perched in a tree and full of live South African bees. The bees have been in residence for almost 200 years, making the sign host to one of the oldest bee populations in the world.

Lincolnshire treats studying with gravity

The village of Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire is where Isaac Newton supposedly saw the famous apple drop that inspired him to discover the law of gravity.

The written word started here

Robert of Bourne, a teacher at Lincolnshire's Bourne Abbey, was the very first person ever to write in English.

Lincolnshire is slow to change

Lincolnshire is one of the least ethnically diverse counties in the UK, with over 98 per cent of the population describing themselves as white.

The famous Lincolnshire Yellowbellies

People hailing from Lincolnshire have commonly been known as Yellow Bellies (though this would sound more like "Yeller Bellies", in the Lincolnshire accent). The origin of this bizarre nickname is hotly debated, with suggestions ranging from local military uniforms and native newts to the yellow Lincoln mail coach and Lincoln Longwool sheep.

Lincolnshire is a hotspot for the golden years

In a 2005 poll, Skegness in Lincolnshire was voted one of the most popular retirement destinations in Britain. Fellow Lincolnshire towns Spalding and Mablethorpe were also highly recommended by older people.

God save our Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire has its own unofficial anthem, The Lincolnshire Poacher, dating from around the time of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The curious connection between Margaret Thatcher and Indiana Jones

Scenes from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark were filmed in Margaret Thatcher's old school in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Let the bells ring out (but not at night)

The cast of the 1955 film The Dam Busters paid for the mechanism that silences the bells in Lincoln Cathedral overnight. They were filming nearby.

Lincolnshire, the home of the tomato

The UK's first tomatoes were cultivated in the UK's first conservatory, just outside Stamford in south-west of Lincolnshire.

Tanks very much, Lincolnshire

The first military tank was designed and manufactured by the British Army in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire is a scene stealer

Lincolnshire is a favourite with film-makers, with Lincoln Cathedral standing in for Westminster Abbey in the 2006 blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. The county has also starred in The Haunting, Pride and Prejudice and Middlemarch.

It's Grim up north

Grimsby, in north Lincolnshire, is supposedly named after a Danish fisherman called Grim.