A Visit to Lincoln Cathedral

On August 13th nineteen members of Yoxall WI visited Lincoln Cathedral for our annual "picnic". The cathedral is a landmark building in Lincoln which is the county town of Lincolnshire. It is just less than 2 hours away, travelling by coach. We departed from the coach in the Bailgate area of the city where we had plenty of choices for coffee before the guided tour of the cathedral. This area is where the city holds its annual Christmas Market in and around the Castle grounds.



After his conquest 
of England, William the Conqueror started a programme of cathedral building throughout the country.  Remigius was a Benedictine monk who had supported William at the Battle of Hastings.  He became the first Norman bishop and was instructed by King William to move the seat of the diocese from Dorchester on Thames to Lincoln. Remigius began building within the walls of the old Roman upper city and by 1092 enough of the new Cathedral was built so that services could be held. Sadly, Remigius died immediately before the planned consecration in 1092.

Lincoln Cathedral was damaged by fire, possibly during the civil war between King Stephen and his cousin Matilda. The rebuilt cathedral was destroyed by an unusual earthquake in 1185. In 1186, Hugh of Avalon accepted the post of Bishop of Lincoln and began to organise the rebuilding of the Cathedral. Work began in 1192 at the east end and continued until around 1245 when it joined the existing west front. Hugh died in 1200 before the new Cathedral was finished.  Much of the design and construction of the Cathedral was experimental and in 1237 the central tower collapsed. It was replaced by 1311 with a tower topped with a spire making the Cathedral approximately 160m high and reputedly the tallest building in the world for nearly 238 years. All three towers had spires until the central tower's spire blew down in 1548. It was never replaced.

The bishops of Lincoln were among the magnates of medieval England. When Magna Carta was drawn up in 1215, one of the witnesses was Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln. One of only four surviving originals of the document is preserved in Lincoln Castle.

Our well informed guide pointed out various features of interest. One of the stone carvings within the Cathedral is the Lincoln Imp. According to 14th-century legend, two mischievous imps were sent by Satan to do evil work on Earth. After causing mayhem elsewhere the imps headed for Lincoln Cathedral, where they smashed tables and chairs. An angel ordered them to stop but one of the imps started throwing rocks. The angel turned the first imp to stone, allowing the second imp to escape. The imp that turned to stone can still be found sitting atop his stone column in the Angel Choir.

Lincoln Cathedral features two major rose windows. On the north side there is the "Dean's Eye" and on the south side is the "Bishop's Eye". Both of these windows are very beautiful.

We had an excellent guide and all too soon the guided tour was over. Some of our group continued to look around the Cathedral. Then it was time for lunch before a stroll through the city to pick up the coach. The weather had stayed dry and we'd had a lovely day!