J. Conway (James Conway) Walter

Born in 1831 and died in 1913, James Conway Walter was an English clergyman, poet, and author closely associated with Lincolnshire. He is best known for writing historical works about the region, including A History of Horncastle, from the earliest period to the present time, Records of Woodhall Spa and Neighbourhood, and Records, Historical and Antiquarian, of Parishes Round Horncastle.

Walter's writing has an appealing local focus. Rather than aiming at grand national history, he paid careful attention to towns, villages, churches, and community memory, preserving details that might otherwise have been lost. That makes his work useful not only for general readers but also for anyone interested in genealogy, local history, or the character of rural England.

Although he also wrote poetry, his lasting reputation comes from these richly detailed county histories. They offer a window into Lincolnshire as it was remembered and recorded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.