The first tank in the world was built by a Lincoln tractor firm
- Little Willie, 1915
- Built by William Foster & Co
- An agricultural machinery works
- Skills, not pedigree
How Lincoln grew
A cathedral, a tractor works, and the accidental origin of armoured warfare.
Little Willie is built
William Foster & Co, an agricultural machinery firm, produced the world’s first tank prototype. They got the job because they already knew how to build heavy tracked machines for farming — the problem went to people with the skills rather than people with the pedigree.
Foster’s of Lincoln, 1915
The first tanks in the world were built in Lincoln. William Foster & Co, an agricultural machinery firm, produced the prototype known as Little Willie in 1915, and the design work that followed turned a tractor company into the origin of armoured warfare.
It is a strange thing for a quiet cathedral city to have done, and it happened for a mundane reason: Foster’s already knew how to build heavy tracked machines for farming, and the problem was handed to people who had the skills rather than people with the pedigree.
That is a recurring pattern in British engineering, and one worth remembering. The capability was in an agricultural works in Lincolnshire, not where anyone would have looked for it.
What that means if you trade in Lincoln
Lincoln serves an enormous rural county with poor transport links, which makes travel time the dominant factor in almost every enquiry a local business receives.
The city itself is split by a very steep hill into two quite different trading areas, which locals take seriously and outsiders always underestimate.
What Lincoln businesses ask us for
Uphill or downhill
Locals use these as real place names. Using them signals that you actually work here.
Say how far into the county
Lincolnshire is vast. Name the towns you reach and roughly how long it takes.
Rural reliability
When the nearest alternative is 40 minutes away, turning up when you said is the whole proposition.
A cathedral city with an engineering spine
Lincoln runs on three things: the university, the visitor economy around the cathedral and castle, and an engineering base that never entirely went away. The tank came out of an agricultural machinery works, and agricultural and industrial engineering is still a genuine part of what the county does.
The city is also the commercial centre for a very large, very rural county. Lincolnshire is thinly populated and Lincoln is where people come for anything they cannot get in a market town, which gives businesses here a wide catchment and a long average travel distance.
The uphill and downhill split is real and worth knowing. The cathedral quarter at the top of the hill is a visitor economy; the lower city is where most residents actually shop. They behave like two different markets in one place.
How Lincoln businesses sell
Plainly, and with the geography stated. A customer forty minutes out in the Wolds or the Fens needs to know you will actually come to them before they call.
Trades and home services
State your radius. Rural Lincolnshire is a long way across and coverage is the first question customers have.
Agricultural and industrial
A real part of the county economy. Lead with capability, machinery and what you are qualified to work on.
Shops, cafés and hospitality
Uphill trades on visitors, downhill on residents. Say which you are, and put the hill on the page — everyone asks about the walk.
Student services
The university sets a rhythm. Anything aimed at students needs to be right in September and can be quiet in July.
Why FastSites works here
The tank was built by the firm that had the skills rather than the reputation. We are making a similar argument: the right site is often the plain one that does the job, not the elaborate one.
Live in days, published price, built mobile-first and light — rural coverage across the county is uneven. Tell us how far you actually travel.
How well do you know Lincoln?
Five quick questions. Get all five right and you win a 10% off discount code for your website. Every answer is somewhere on this page, so have a read if you get stuck.
Lincoln quiz · 1 of 5
What was the world’s first tank prototype called?
Common questions
The simplest one-page site starts at £15 a month, with the website build included and nothing to pay up front. Every plan and its price is published on the pricing page before you speak to anyone.
Sign-up takes about 3 minutes and the build questionnaire about 5. Most sites are then designed and built within 21 hours, and live within days of the brief being answered.
No setup fee and no hidden extras. Your monthly plan covers the website build and hosting. Done-for-you plans have a 12-month minimum term, then you can cancel any time from your dashboard.
Yes — you can upgrade at any time as your business grows, with no need to start over.