Lincoln was an
ancient borough, which also held
city status from 1072 when the
Diocese of Lincoln was established. The borough's earliest known
charters were issued by
Henry II (reigned 1154–1189). The city was given the right to appoint its own
sheriffs in 1409, making it a
county corporate, removing it from the jurisdiction of the
Sheriff of Lincolnshire and the
Lindsey quarter sessions. The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a
municipal borough under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Lincoln", generally known as the corporation or city council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the
Local Government Act 1888 to take over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions, Lincoln was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services. Lincoln was therefore made a
county borough, independent from the new
Lindsey County Council. On 1 April 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972, Lincoln was reconstituted to become a
non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities but keeping the same area and name. The separate county councils which had existed for each of the
Parts of Lincolnshire were also amalgamated to create a single
Lincolnshire County Council for the first time, with responsibility for county-level services in the city of Lincoln too. ==Governance==