Lincoln Cathedral 
Lincoln Cathedral as seen from the tower of Lincoln Castle.
See all photos and larger sizes in our Lincoln Cathedral Photo Gallery.
The very impressive facade of Lincoln Cathedral.
East end and Chapter House.
South side, with west towers on the left and central tower on the right.
A stone pig looks out from a pinnacle high on the south side.
Nave of Lincoln Cathedral, looking east.
The Bishop's Eye stained glass window in the south transept.
Ceiling vault of the north transept and the Dean's Eye window.
South nave aisle, looking east.
Lincoln Cathedral's cloister.
Lincoln Cathedral (officially the Cathedral Church of St. Mary in Lincoln) dominates the skyline of the city of Lincoln and can be seen from 30 miles away. Its 271-foot central tower is the second tallest in England.
History
William the Conqueror ordered the first cathedral to be built in Lincoln in 1072. The church that existed before that, St. Mary's Church, was a mother church but not a cathedral. Bishop Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092. He died two days before it was to be consecrated on May 9 of that year. About 50 years later, most of that building was destroyed in a fire.
Bishop Alexander rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1185. Only the central portion of the West Front and lower halves of the western towers survive from this period. King Henry II of England approved the election of Hugh of Avalon, a Carthusian monk and later a saint, as Bishop of Lincoln in 1186. St. Hugh died in 1200 before his plan for the rebuilding was completed.
The western end of the cathedral was always where remains today, but the eastern end was moved eastward each time the cathedral was enlarged: The eastern wall of the Norman building (1073) was in the middle of what is now St. Hugh's Choir. The eastern end of the Early English building (1186) was in what is now the Angel Choir behind the High Altar.
The existing structure was finished by about 1280, but repairs and remodeling have continued. There have been repeated problems with the spires (removed in 1807) and towers, which were sometimes thought to be in danger of collapsing. This was despite attempts to shore up the towers by digging underneath them to increase support, an early attempt of what is a common engineering project today on such building as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Lincoln Cathedral and its bishops have had a leading role in the history of England. The Magna Carta was signed by the Bishop of Lincoln amongst others, and one of only two remaining copies resides in the cathedral's library.
Today, over £1 million each year is spent on keeping Lincoln Cathedral in shape. The most recent project completed was the restoration of the West Front in 2000. About 10 years ago it was discovered that the flying buttresses on the east end were no longer connected to the adjoining stonework, and hasty repairs had to be made.
The problems arise because the building techniques used were groundbreaking at the time, and the builders were literally making it up as they went along. Previously there were only Norman churches, which were short, dark, and with thick walls and small windows. The introduction of Gothic style made churches bright and spacious, but they were writing the rule book at the same time, and it was literally trial and error.
Worryingly though, parts of the ceiling of the nave have started to fall, requiring green netting to be slung under it to catch any pieces as the only alternative to shutting the cathedral. The outside has fared little better as tourists have had to dodge pieces of falling masonry creating the need for urgent repairs of some decayed stonework. Despite its structural problems, Lincoln Cathedral remains much loved and is visited by over 250,000 tourists a year. The peak of its season are the Lincoln Christmas Market and a massive annual production of Handel's Messiah.
Lincoln Cathedral is Gothic in style, particularly the Early English and Decorated periods. The central tower rises to 271 feet and remains the tallest cathedral tower in Europe today without a spire.
The tower originally carried a lead-encased wooden spire that rose 525 feet, but this collapsed in 1549 during bad weather. Lincoln Cathedral was the first building to ever exceed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, thereby becoming the world's tallest structure, and remaining that for more than two centuries until the collapse of the spire.
In the Seamen's Chapel (Great North Transept) is a window commemorating Lincolnshire-born Captain John Smith, one of the pioneers of early settlement in America and the first governor of Virginia. The library and north walk of the cloister were built in 1674 to designs by Sir Christopher Wren.
Among the persons interred in Lincoln Cathedral are:
- St. Hugh of Avalon, in the Angel Choir
- Richard Fleming (died 1431), Bishop of Lincoln, in the first cadaver tomb ever, in a chantry on the north wall. His moldering corpse is realistically depicted below his effigy.
- Katherine Swynford and her daughter Joan Beaufort, in a chantry on the south side of the sanctuary
Map
Below is a location map and aerial view of Lincoln Cathedral. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Lincoln Map or get our free Google Earth download.
| Address: | Minster Yard, Lincoln, England |
| Phone: | 01522/544544 |
| Hours: | June-Aug Mon-Sat 7:15am-8pm, Sun 7:15am-6pm; Sept-May Mon-Sat 7:15am-6pm, Sun 7:15am-5pm |
| Cost: | Admission £4 adults, £3 seniors, students, and children. |
| Tours: | Guided tours: Oct.-Feb., daily at 11 and 2; Mar.-Sept., daily at 11, 1, and 3; Roof tours: weekdays at 2, Sat. 11 and 2. |
| Tips: | Tours of the cathedral roof are fascinating. The cathedral is best seen from the 14th-century Exchequer Gate arch in front of the cathedral, or from the castle battlements beyond. |
Sources
- Personally visited (September 11, 2007)
- Lincoln Cathedral - official website
- Reviews of Lincoln Cathedral - TripAdvisor
- Lincoln Cathedral - Paradoxplace
- Lincoln Cathedral - Churchmouse
- 360° View of Lincoln Cathedral's Nave - BBC Lincolnshire
