LINCOLN CATHEDRAL

Surely, one of the truly great Gothic cathedrals of not only Britain but of Europe, too......and what a position on top of a hill looking out over and dominating the City of Lincoln. The Diocese of Lincoln originally stretched from the River Humber to the River Thames and the Bishop in charge of such a large Diocese was a very powerful man in Medieval times.

There have been many famous people associated with Lincoln Cathedral including John Smith of Pocohontas fame, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Christopher Wren (who built the Library) amongst others. One of the four signed originals of Magna Carta was housed in the Library but today it is kept in an old prison building within Lincoln Castle, just a few yards away from the Cathedral.

The majority of the photographs below were taken on my visit to Lincoln in 2005 with the final photograph taken last year on another visit.


This magnificent Cathedral dates from around 1072, shortly after the Norman Conquest, and while the Romanesque West Frontage has been retained, the majority of the Gothic building dates from the 12th/13th Century when St. Hugh of Lincoln was the Bishop with later generations adding some wonderful features to the building. I am proud to say that some of my family have worked on the restoration of the building. My great great grandfather and his sons in the mid 1800s were stone masons, cutters and sawyers. My father also told me that he carried me up the stairs to the top of one of the Towers when I was a baby.

At one time those towers were topped by spires and I was told many years ago that they had fallen down at the time of an earthquake around the 13th Century but during my research for this blog I have found information saying that the towers were toppled during a severe storm around 1545.










Being high on a hill, you can usually find that the winds blowing around the Cathedral are very strong indeed and there is the delightful story of one of the mischievous imps who loved to cause all sorts of trouble finding his way inside the Cathedral. When he wanted to leave, however, his leg was injured when the wind slammed the door closed on it and so there he sits into eternity nursing his bad leg way above the Angel Choir. One version also has it that the Imp had a partner and before ending up in Lincoln, the pair of them had put the twist into the spire of Chesterfield Cathedral. Another version of the legend can be found at
http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/lincoln-imp
- the Imp is used by the Lincoln Lacemakers who have him sitting nursing a bobbin lace pillow as their emblem and the football club also have him as their mascot.
You have to look very hard to find the Imp as he is only about 12 inches high but as you walk into the Angel Choir, look at the top of a column on the left hand side and may just see him perched above a bearded face.





The Chapterhouse of Lincoln Cathedral has the most wonderful acoustic properties with whispers being heard from one side by someone on the opposite side. It was here in 1301 that Edward I held a session of Parliament during which he declared his fourth son, Edward of Caernarvon, the first Prince of Wales - he went on to become Edward II.

Edward I married Eleanor of Castile when she was 10 years old and he was 15 but the first of their 15 children was born when she was 20. When she died approximately 8 miles from Lincoln, her heartbroken husband had her body embalmed and transported to London when she was buried at the feet of Edward's father, Henry III, in Westminster Abbey. The journey took 12 days and everywhere the coffin rested overnight, a cross was erected, a replica of one of them being known today as Banbury Cross. Another cross can be seen outside Charing Cross station near Trafalgar Square.








Some of the stained glass windows are absolutely breathtaking such as those below - the Deans Eye and the Bishops Eye




In 2005, the producers of a new film, The Da Vinci Code, had been refused permission to film in Westminster Abbey, so it was decided that the Cloisters here would be used instead.


As well as the main Altar, there are other small chapels within the building such as this Students Chapel, where Holy Communion is offered to the students of Universities, Colleges and Schools.





A number of tombs are within the Cathedral, two of them being those of Katherine Swynford, the Duchess of Lancaster (the wife of John of Gaunt, grandson of Edward III) and their daughter, Joan, the Countess of Westmoreland, the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III. They had been side by side in a prominent position and surrounded with heraldry and brasses until Oliver Cromwell came to power.




When I visited the Cathedral in 2005 there was a magnificent display of wood carvings in the recesses along the North Aisle of the stages of the Crucifixion.

1. Jesus, a man of Truth, is condemned to death by the crowd through their government


2. The Truth is beaten and flogged, and roped to the execution beam.


3. He falls under pressure from without.


4. See the footnote.


5. He is helped by Simon of Cyrene.


6. He is helped by Veronica who wipes his face.


7. See Footnote.


8. Jesus, turning, said "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me but for yourselves and your children".


9. Under pressure from the crowd, he falls for the third time.


10. We strip him of his clothes.


11. Jesus is held down by the crowd as the tools of government drive in the nails.


12. He is executed on the cross.


13. The body of Jesus is held by his mother.


14. He is enclosed into his tomb.


15. Illumination, Awareness, Enlightment, Insight, Inspiration, Understanding.


As old as Lincoln Cathedral is, it's Mother Church, St. Mary's Saxon Cathedral, is close by at Stow, and this will be featured in the next posting in the Lincolnshire Blog.



Footnote : I had a good many other photographs of Lincoln Cathedral but unfortunately my camera malfunctioned and I lost a lot of them including the details of the fourth and seventh woodcarvings.