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Lincoln Cathedral continues to be a spiritual place, it is the religious centre of the City, the Mother Church of the Diocese, the parish church of the County, a place of national heritage and a centre of international pilgrimage. It provides a space for God, a place for worship, praise and private prayer.
Lincoln Cathedral, or Lincoln Minster as it is also known, dates from 1072 when William the Conqueror instructed that the bishopric of this, then the largest diocese in England (covering the lands between the river Thames and the Humber), be moved from Dorchester, near Oxford, to Lincoln, where he had already established a castle in the old Roman upper city. The first Norman Bishop of Lincoln, Remigius had previously been a Benedictine monk, and a loyal supporter of William at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The cathedral was finally consecrated in 1092. It has dominated the skyline of Lincoln since then and is a prominent landmark from many parts of Lincolnshire.
Much of this original Norman Cathedral was damaged by a fire in around 1141, at the time of the civil war between Stephen and Mathilda. Alexander "the Magnificent" (Bishop 1123-48) managed to partially restore it using the most advanced architectural style of his era. His contributions include commssioning the famous 12th century Romanesque frieze on the West Front.
In 1185 an earthquake caused structural damage that was repaired by St Hugh (Bishop 1186-1200) from 1192 onwards. He was said to have himself taken part in the architectural work, but his death prevented him seeing the complete outcome of his plans, as the great transept and nave were unfinished.
St Hugh's contribution was in an early Gothic style of architecture, which was different enough from that of the continent that it has become known as English Gothic. Gothic Architecture relied on three key structural devices: pointed arches (rather than round ones), ribbed vaults and flying buttresses. These made it possible to have wider roof spans and to attain a much greater height, which allowed the building to cover a much bigger space, and to have larger windows, for stained glass and much more light.
These techniques were then still new, and as a possible consequence the central tower collapsed in the late 1230's, but was started anew immediately.
In 1255 Henry III approved a petition by the Dean and Chapter to take down part of the Roman city wall to extend the Cathedral. They replaced St Hugh's rounded chapels with a more extensive and lofty east end to accommodate St Hugh's shrine. This new Angel Choir was consecrated in 1280 and became an important centre for pilgrimage until the Reformation.
In the 14th Century the central tower and those of the West end were heightened, and all had spires until 1549 when that of the central tower blew down. With this spire Lincoln Cathedral had reputedly been the tallest building in the world, at 525 feet being 3 foot higher than the great pyramid! The weight of the remaining towers and their spires caused them to lean, until about 1730 when the architect James Gibb created a Narthex at the West end, whose cross walls strengthened their support. The spires were though eventually removed in 1807 for safety reasons, at which point the final form of the Cathedral that is still with us now was at last reached.
I have always held and proposed against all comers to maintain that the Cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles
- John Ruskin
Lincoln Cathedral is built from pale oolitic limestone which is still quarried in the Cathedral's quarry in Lincoln. Internally darker Purbeck marble has been used to give a decorative contrast most visible on the piers of the nave and in the Angel Choir.
The only surviving part of the first Norman cathedral is to be seen in the West Front with the three round headed arches over the doors and the north and south niches. This may have been based on the design of a Roman triumphal arch and could also have been the temporary home of the first Bishop. The West Front was heightened and widened in the 1240's with the addition of the Gothic “screen”.
The nave, transepts, St Hugh's choir and the ten-sided Chapter House are all early English. The nave is huge public space with a tremendous feeling of light and space accentuated by the Victorian stained glass in its side windows.
Two magnificent rose windows light the great transept. The earliest is the Dean's Eye window in the north transept dating from 1220, still with much of its original mediaeval glass depicting the Last Judgement. It is currently undergoing major restoration. The Bishop's Eye window in the south transept is filled with flowing tracery from the decorated period c. 1330.
St Hugh's Choir is one of the earliest examples of English gothic style and is distinguished by the “crazy vaults” the first example of a tierceron vault (where some of the ribs are decorative rather than structural). It contains fine examples of carved choir stalls dating from 1370.
Also noteworthy is the library, one of only two designed by Wren, and built by Dean Honywood on the north side of the cloister c. 1674. It contains an extensive collection of books from the medieval period dating from a copy of the sermons of the Venerable Bede, which was made in the late 10th century, up to date, a span of some 1000 years.
The city of Lincoln is one of England's most beautiful historic cities with over 2000 years of heritage. Visit the Roman remains, the Norman Castle, the Collection (Lincolnshire’s new museum), the Lincolnshire Life Museum, the Usher Gallery and the many small shops in historic Bailgate. See Lincoln Cathedral’s original 1215 Magna Carta on display at Lincoln Castle.
The city hosts a full programme of activities and events including the famous Lincoln Christmas Market held over the first weekend in December each year. For more information contact tourism@lincoln.gov.uk
The county of Lincolnshire is famous for its wide sandy beaches, clear roads, rolling countryside and picture book towns. Visit Stamford, Tattershall Castle, Market Rasen races and Skegness. For more information contact www.visitlincolnshire.com
The Cathedral has a regular programme of events. These include exhibitions in the Chapter House and Medieval Library, concerts, recitals, lectures and study days covering a wide range of literary, art and historical topics.
Our web site www.lincolncathedral.com has a full calendar listing of events.