GAINSBOROUGH, a market-town and river port of Lincolnshire, on the right bank of the Trent, 21 miles above its junction with the estuary of the Humber, and 16 miles N.W. of Lincoln. It consists chiefly of one long well-paved street running parallel with the river, which is here crossed by a fine stone bridge of three arches. It has a neat church erected in 1748, several dissenting places of worship, a town hall, and a small theatre. The old hall called John O'Gaunt's palace is a curious oak-timber framed building, forming three sides of a quadrangle, and having a tower 78 feet high. Gainsborough possesses a free grammar and other schools, an atheneum, savings-bank, dispensary, &c. Ship-building is carried on; and there are manufactures of linseed cake, ropes, malt, and tobacco. Vessels of 200 tons burden can come up to the town. The gross amount of custom duties received at the port in 1852 was £20,637. On 31st
December 1853, 11 sailing vessels of 620 tons, and 5 steam-vessels of 356 tons, were registered at the port; while during that year 214 vessels of 13,292 tons entered, and 237 vessels of 12,725 cleared at the port. Market-day, Tuesday. Pop. (1851), 7506.