Great Tom Of Lincoln
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Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
, England, is a
Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and is the seat of the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
. Construction commenced in 1072 and continued in several phases throughout the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
. Like many of the medieval cathedrals of England, it was built in the Early Gothic style. Some historians claim it became the
tallest building in the world This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest buildings and structur ...
upon the completion of its high central spire in 1311, although this is disputed. If so, it was the first building to hold that title after the
Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...
, and held it for 238 years until the
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
collapsed in 1548, and was not rebuilt. Had the central spire remained intact, Lincoln Cathedral would have remained the world's tallest structure until the completion of the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...
in 1884. For hundreds of years the cathedral held one of the four remaining copies of the original
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
, now securely displayed in
Lincoln Castle Lincoln Castle is a major medieval castle constructed in Lincoln, England, during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is one of only ...
. The cathedral is the fourth largest in the UK (in floor area) at around , after
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, St Paul's and
York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...
. It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the Victorian writer
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
declared: "I have always held ... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."


History

Remigius de Fécamp Remigius de Fécamp (sometimes Remigius; died 7 May 1092) was a Benedictine monk who was a supporter of William the Conqueror. Early life Remigius' date of birth is unknown, although he was probably born sometime during the 1030s, as canon la ...
, the first Bishop of Lincoln, moved the
episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
(''cathedra'') there "some time between 1072 and 1092". About this, James Essex writes that "Remigius ... laid the foundations of his Cathedral in 1072" and "it is probable that he, being a
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, employed Norman masons to superintend the building ... though he could not complete the whole before his death." Before that, writes B Winkles, "It is well known that Remigius appropriated the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Lincoln, although it is not known what use he made of it."Winkles, B, ''Winkles's Architectural and Picturesque Illustrations of the Cathedral Churches of England and Wales: Lincoln cathedral. Chichester cathedral. Ely cathedral. Peterborough cathedral. Norwich cathedral. Exeter cathedral. Bristol cathedral. Oxford cathedral'', Wilson, 1838, p. 1. When Lincoln Cathedral was first built,
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
granted the parish of Welton to Remigius in order to endow six prebends which provided income to support six canons attached to the cathedral. These were subsequently confirmed by William II and
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
. Until then St Mary's Church in Stow was considered to be the "mother church" of Lincolnshire (although it was not a cathedral, because the seat of the diocese was at
Dorchester Abbey The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, more usually called Dorchester Abbey, is a Church of England parish church in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, about southeast of Oxford. It was formerly a Norman abbey church and was built on the s ...
in
Dorchester-on-Thames Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...
, Oxfordshire). However, Lincoln was more central to a diocese that stretched from the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
to the
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...
. Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092 and then dying on 7 May of that year, two days before it was
consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
. In 1124, the timber roofing was destroyed in a fire.
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
(bishop, 1123–48) rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake about forty years later, in 1185 (dated by the
British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS h ...
as occurring 15 April 1185). The earthquake was one of the largest felt in the UK: it has an estimated magnitude of over 5. The damage to the cathedral is thought to have been very extensive: the cathedral is described as having "split from top to bottom"; in the current building, only the lower part of the west end and its two attached towers remain of the pre-earthquake cathedral. Some (Kidson, 1986; Woo, 1991) have suggested that the damage to Lincoln Cathedral was probably exacerbated by poor construction or design, with the actual collapse most probably caused by a vault failure. After the earthquake, a new bishop was appointed. He was Hugh de Burgundy of Avalon, France, who became known as St
Hugh of Lincoln Hugh of Lincoln, O.Cart. ( – 16 November 1200), also known as Hugh of Avalon, was a French-born Benedictine and Carthusian monk, bishop of Lincoln in the Kingdom of England, and Catholic saint. His feast is observed by Catholics on 16 Novem ...
. He began a massive rebuilding and expansion programme. With his appointment of William de Montibus as master of the cathedral school and chancellor, Lincoln briefly became one of the leading educational centres in England, producing writers such as Samuel Presbiter and Richard of Wetheringsett, though it declined in importance after William's death in 1213. Rebuilding began with the
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
(St Hugh's Choir) and the eastern
transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
between 1192 and 1210. The central nave was then built in the Early English Gothic architectural style. Lincoln Cathedral soon followed other architectural advances of the time – pointed arches, flying
buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...
and
ribbed vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
ing were added to the cathedral. This allowed support for incorporating larger windows. There are thirteen bells in the south-west tower, two in the north-west tower, and five in the central tower (including Great Tom). Accompanying the cathedral's large
bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
, Great Tom of Lincoln, is a quarter-hour
striking clock A striking clock is a clock that sounds the hours audibly on a bell or gong. In 12-hour striking, used most commonly in striking clocks today, the clock strikes once at 1:00 am, twice at 2:00 am, continuing in this way up to twelve time ...
. The clock was installed in the early 19th century. The two large stained glass
rose windows A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
, the matching Dean's Eye and Bishop's Eye, were added to the cathedral during the late Middle Ages. The former, the Dean's Eye in the north transept dates from the 1192 rebuild begun by St Hugh, finally being completed in 1235. The latter, the Bishop's Eye, in the south transept was reconstructed a hundred years later in 1330. A contemporary record, “The Metrical Life of St Hugh”, refers to the meaning of these two windows (one on the dark, north, side and the other on the light, south, side of the building): "For north represents the devil, and south the Holy Spirit and it is in these directions that the two eyes look. The bishop faces the south in order to invite in and the dean the north in order to shun; the one takes care to be saved, the other takes care not to perish. With these Eyes the cathedral's face is on watch for the candelabra of Heaven and the darkness of Lethe (oblivion)." After the additions of the Dean's eye and other major Gothic additions it is believed some mistakes in the support of the tower occurred, for in 1237 the main tower collapsed. A new tower was soon started and in 1255 the cathedral petitioned Henry III to allow them to take down part of the town wall to enlarge and expand the cathedral, including the rebuilding of the central tower and spire. They replaced the small rounded chapels (built at the time of St Hugh) with a larger east end to the cathedral. This was to handle the increasing number of pilgrims to the cathedral, who came to worship at the shrine of Hugh of Lincoln. In 1290
Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I, whom she married as part of a political deal to affirm English sovereignty over Gascony. The marriage was known to be particularly close, and ...
died and King
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...
decided to honour her, his Queen Consort, with an elegant funeral procession. After her body had been embalmed, which in the 13th century involved evisceration, Eleanor's viscera were buried in Lincoln cathedral and Edward placed a duplicate of the
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
tomb there. The Lincoln tomb's original stone chest survives; its effigy was destroyed in the 17th century and replaced with a 19th-century copy. On the outside of Lincoln Cathedral are two prominent statues often identified as Edward and Eleanor, but these images were heavily restored in the 19th century and they were probably not originally intended to depict the couple. Between 1307 and 1311 the central tower was raised to its present height of . The western towers and front of the cathedral were also improved and heightened. At this time, a tall lead-encased wooden spire topped the central tower but was blown down in a storm in 1548. With its spire, the tower reputedly reached a height of 525 feet (160 m) (which would have made it the
world's tallest structure The world's tallest human-made structure is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (of the United Arab Emirates). The building gained the official title of "tallest building in the world" and the tallest self-supported structure at its opening on Januar ...
, surpassing the
Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...
, which held the record for almost 4,000 years). Although still doubted, this is the height agreed upon by the majority of historians. Other additions to the cathedral at this time included its elaborate carved screen and the 14th-century
misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...
s, as was the Angel Choir. For a large part of the length of the cathedral, the walls have arches in relief with a second layer in front to give the illusion of a passageway along the wall. However the illusion does not work, as the stonemason, copying techniques from France, did not make the arches the correct length needed for the illusion to be effective. In 1398
John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
and
Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter o ...
founded a
chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
in the cathedral to pray for the welfare of their souls. In the 15th century the building of the cathedral turned to chantry or memorial chapels. The chapels next to the Angel Choir were built in the Perpendicular style, with an emphasis on strong vertical lines, which survive today in the window tracery and wall panelling.


Magna Carta

Hugh of Wells Hugh of Wells (died 7 February 1235) was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln. He began his career in the diocese of Bath, where he served two successive bishops, before joining royal service under King John of England. He served in the royal administr ...
, Bishop of Lincoln, was one of the signatories to
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
and for hundreds of years the cathedral held one of the four remaining copies of the original, now securely displayed in
Lincoln Castle Lincoln Castle is a major medieval castle constructed in Lincoln, England, during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is one of only ...
. The Lincoln Magna Carta was on display at the British Pavilion during the
1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
. In March 1941, the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
proposed that the Lincoln Magna Carta be gifted to the United States, citing the "many thousands of Americans who waited in long queues to view it" and the US passage of the
Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
Act, among other reasons. In 2009 the Lincoln Magna Carta was lent to the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the larg ...
in
Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The ...
. There are three other surviving copies: two at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
and one at
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...
.


Little Saint Hugh

In August 1255 the body of an eight-year-old boy was found in a well in Lincoln. He had been missing for nearly a month. This incident became the source of a
blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...
in the city, with
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
accused of his abduction, torture, and murder. Many Jews were arrested and eighteen were
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
. The boy became known as Little Saint Hugh, to distinguish him from Saint Hugh of Lincoln, but he was never officially
canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
. The cathedral benefited from these events because Hugh was seen as a martyr, and many devotees came to the city and cathedral to venerate him.
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
mentions the case in "
The Prioress's Tale "The Prioress's Tale" ( enm, The Prioresses Tale) follows "The Shipman's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. Because of fragmentation of the manuscripts, it is impossible to tell where it comes in ordinal sequence, but it is s ...
" and a ballad was written about it in 1783. In 1955 a plaque was put up near "the remains of the shrine of 'Little St Hugh in the cathedral, that decries the "Trumped up stories of 'ritual murders' of Christian boys by Jewish communities."


Features


Lincoln Imp

One of the stone carvings within the cathedral is the Lincoln Imp. There are several variations of the legend surrounding the figure. According to 14th-century legend, two mischievous imps were sent by Satan to do evil work on Earth. After causing mayhem elsewhere in Northern England the two imps headed to Lincoln Cathedral, where they smashed tables and chairs and tripped up the bishop. An angel appeared in the Angel Choir and ordered them to stop. One of the imps sat atop a stone pillar and started throwing stones at the angel whilst the other cowered under the broken tables and chairs. 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. They also are one of the many carved animals on the structure.


Wren library

The Wren Library houses a rare collection of over 277 manuscripts, including the text of the
Venerable Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
.


Rose windows

Lincoln Cathedral features two major
rose windows A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
, which are a highly uncommon feature among medieval architecture in England. On the north side of the cathedral there is the “Dean's Eye” which survives from the original structure of the building and on the south side there is the “Bishop's Eye” which was most likely rebuilt circa 1325–1350. This south window is one of the largest examples of curvilinear
tracery Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
seen in medieval architecture. Curvilinear tracery is a form of tracery where the patterns are continuous curves. This form was often done within pointed arches and squared windows because those are the easiest shapes, so the circular space of the window was a unique challenge to the designers. A solution was created that called for the circle to be divided into smaller shapes that would make it simpler to design and create. Curves were drawn within the window which created four distinct areas of the circle. This made the spaces within the circle where the tracery would go much smaller, and easier to work with. This window is also interesting and unique in that the focus of the tracery was shifted away from the centre of the circle and instead placed in other sections. The glazing of the window was equally difficult as the tracery for many of the same reason; therefore, the designers made a decision to cut back on the amount of iconography within the window. Most cathedral windows during this time displayed many colourful images of the Bible; however, at Lincoln there are very few images. Some of those images that can be seen within the window include saints Paul, Andrew, and James.


Vaults

One major architectural feature of Lincoln Cathedral are the spectacular vaults. The varying vaults within the cathedral are said to be both original and experimental. The vaults especially, clearly define the experimental aspect seen at Lincoln. There are several different kinds of vaults that differ between the nave, aisles, choir, and chapels of the cathedral. Along the North Aisle there is a continuous ridge rib with a regular arcade that ignores the bays. Meanwhile, on the South Aisle there is a discontinuous ridge rib that puts an emphasis on each separate bay. The North West Chapel has quadripartite vaults and the South Chapel has vaults that stem from one central support columns. The use of
sexpartite vault In architecture, a sexpartite vault is a rib vault divided into six bays by two diagonal ribs and three transverse ribs. The principal examples are those in the Abbaye-aux-Hommes and Abbaye-aux-Dames at Caen (which were probably the earliest ...
s allowed for more natural light to enter the cathedral through the clerestory windows, which were placed inside of each separate bay. Saint Hugh's Choir exhibits extremely unusual vaults. It is a series of asymmetrical vaults that appear to almost be a diagonal line created by two ribs on one side translating into only a single rib on the other side of the vault. This pattern divides up the space of the vaults and bays, perfectly placing the emphasis on the bays. The chapter house vaults are also interesting. It is a
decagon In geometry, a decagon (from the Greek δέκα ''déka'' and γωνία ''gonía,'' "ten angles") is a ten-sided polygon or 10-gon.. The total sum of the interior angles of a simple decagon is 1440°. A self-intersecting ''regular decagon'' i ...
al building with a single, central column that twenty ribs rise from. Each separate area of Lincoln can be identified solely by the different vaults of the space. Each vault, or each variation of the vault, is fresh and original. The vaults are attributed to French-Normand master mason Geoffrey de Noiers. de Noiers was succeeded by Alexander the Mason, who developed the nave's more elaborate, but symmetrical tierceron vaulting, the crossing vaulting, Galilee Porch and western facade screen.


Tower clock

A clock by John Thwaite was installed in the north west tower in 1775. This was later improved by
Benjamin Vulliamy Benjamin Vulliamy (1747 – 31 December 1811), was a British clockmaker responsible for building the Regulator Clock, which, between 1780 and 1884, was the main timekeeper of the King's Observatory Kew and the official regulator of time in Londo ...
and moved to the broad tower around 1835. It was replaced in 1880 by a new clock built by Potts and Sons of Leeds, under the instruction of Edmund Beckett QC.
Cambridge Chimes Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
were a feature of the new clock. The machinery, featuring a double three-legged gravity escapement to Beckett's designs, weighs about , with the driving weights being , suspended by steel-wire ropes long, and the pendulum weight of . The beat is 1.5 seconds. The hour hammer is , striking upon Great Tom. The striking trains require winding daily, when done manually it took 20 minutes. The going train required winding twice per week. The clock mechanism contains the inscription ''Quod bene vortat Deus Opt. Max., Consiliis Edmundi Beckett, Baronetti, LL.D., Opera Gul. Potts et Filiorum, civium Leodiensium, Sumptibus Decani et Capituli, Novum in Turri positum est Horologium, A.D. MDCCCLXXX''.


Bells

The South West tower of the cathedral contains a fine ring of 13 bells all cast by John Taylor and Co in Loughborough. The back 8 bells were cast in 1913, with 4 new trebles being added in 1927. In 1948 a flat 6th was added to allow for ringing on the middle 8 bells. The treble bell weighs 5cwt 0qr 2lb, with the tenor weighing 23cwt 3qr 23lb and striking the note D (''nominal 600.0Hz).'' The bells are rung from the section of the tower just above The Great West Front, with the ringing chamber having 3 windows on all but one side. The bells themselves are hung below the louvers to minimise tower movement as much as possible.


Modern history


Wartime history

Lincolnshire was home to many
Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
airfields during the Second World War, giving rise to the nickname of "Bomber County". The station badge for the nearby
RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
depicts Lincoln Cathedral rising through the clouds. Until the opening of the
RAF Bomber Command Memorial The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial in The Green Park, London, commemorating the crews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The memorial, on the south side of Piccadilly, facing Hyde ...
in 2012, the cathedral had the only memorial in the United Kingdom dedicated to Bomber Command's large losses of aircrew in the Second World War. During the war, "priceless British treasures" were placed in a chamber sixty feet beneath the cathedral for safekeeping. This did not include the cathedral's copy of the
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
as it was on loan in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.


21st century

Maintaining the cathedral costs £1.6 million a year. A major renovation of the West Front was done in 2000. It was discovered that the
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es on the east end were no longer connected to the adjoining
stonework Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
, and repairs were made to prevent collapse. It was next discovered that the stonework of the Dean's Eye window in the transept was crumbling, meaning that a complete reconstruction of the window has had to be carried out according to the conservation criteria set out by the
International Council on Monuments and Sites The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...
. There was a period of great anxiety when it emerged that the stonework needed to shift only for the entire window to collapse. Specialist engineers removed the window's tracery before installing a strengthened, more stable replacement. In addition to this the original stained glass was cleaned and set behind a new clear isothermal glass which offers better protection from the elements. By April 2006 the renovation project was completed at a cost of £2 million. Recently, concerns have been growing once more about the state of the West Front, as there has been some stonework falling, which has raised questions as to the effectiveness of the repairs carried out in 2000. The cathedral was used for the filming of ''
The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Langdon ...
'' (based on the book of the same name). Filming took place mainly within the cloisters, and chapter house, of the cathedral, and remained a closed set. The cathedral took on the role of
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, as the abbey had refused to permit filming. Although there was protest at the filming, the filming was completed by the end of August 2005. To make the Lincoln chapter house appear similar to the Westminster chapter house, murals were painted on a special layer over the existing wall, and elsewhere polystyrene replicas of
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
's tomb and other abbey monuments were set up. For a time these murals and replicas remained in the chapter house, as part of a Da Vinci Code exhibit for visitors, but in January 2008 they were all sold off in an auction to raise money for the cathedral. The cathedral also doubled as Westminster Abbey for the film ''
Young Victoria ''The Young Victoria'' is a 2009 British period drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Julian Fellowes, based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Produced by ...
'', filmed in September 2007, and did again in June 2018 for the Netflix Shakespeare film '' The King''. Between 2006 and 2009, 200,000 to 208,000 people visited Lincoln Cathedral annually. In 2010 the figure dropped to 150,000, making it the 16th-most visited attraction in the East Midlands. The fall in visitor numbers was attributed to the cancellation of the
Lincoln Christmas Market Lincoln Christmas Market, held in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, England, is one of the largest Christmas markets in Europe, attracting over 250,000 people over the four-day event. Held around three weeks before Christmas - from the first Thursda ...
that year. The admission fee is £9, with concessions. The cathedral website states; "Everyone is free to enter and gaze at the glory of the nave; you can sit in the peace of the Morning Chapel or visit the shop. If you want to explore further, we do ask you to pay." The cathedral offers tours of the cathedral, the tower and the roof. The peak of its season is the Lincoln Christmas Market, accompanied by a massive annual production of Handel's ''Messiah''. An announcement in January 2020 stated that since 2016, archaeologists had found over 50 burials during the renovations, including a priest buried with a chalice and paten. Among the artifacts recovered was a coin depicting
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...
who was king from 1042 to 1066. During the dig, sections of some extensively decorated Roman buildings and related artifacts were also discovered. Some of the Roman, medieval and Saxon objects were to be displayed at the visitor centre which was expected to open later in 2020. In 2019 the cathedral was featured in the Amazon motoring television series ''
The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 Novembe ...
'', during which the presenters hosted a funeral for the mid-size Ford saloon as part of the third season's final episode.


Cathedral stone

Lincoln Cathedral is one of the few English cathedrals built from the rock it is standing on. It is mostly built from
Lincolnshire Limestone The Lincolnshire Limestone Formation is a geological formation in England, part of the Inferior Oolite Group of the (Bajocian) Middle Jurassic strata of eastern England. It was formed around 165 million years ago, in a shallow, warm sea on the ma ...
. The cathedral has owned the existing quarry, on Riseholme Road, Lincoln, since 1876. As of 2016, the quarry was expected to run out of stone in 2021. The cathedral's stonemasons use more than 100 tonnes of stone per year for maintenance and repairs.


Dean and chapter

As of 10 December 2021: *
Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
Christine Wilson (installed 22 October 2016) * Precentor – Nick Brown (since December 2020 installation, also Subdean from January 2021, in addition to being Precentor) * Chancellor – Paul Overend (since February 2018 installation) * Vice Chancellor – Neil Burgess (temporary post to January 2022) * Residentiary Canon – David Dadswell


Music


Choir and organists

The choir is currently formed of adult singers (who are either lay vicars or choral scholars), and teams of about 20 girls and 20 boys. The cathedral accepted female choristers in 1995. Lincoln was only the second cathedral in the country to adopt a separate girls' choir (after
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...
) and remains one of few which provides exactly the same musical opportunities and equal weekly singing duties to both girls and boys. The choristers can now attend any school and are currently drawn from over ten local schools. The Master of the Choristers (
director of music A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...
) is Aric Prentice, who conducts the choir of boys and men; the Cathedral Organist and assistant director of music is Jeffrey Makinson, who conducts the choir of girls and men. The organist emeritus is Colin Walsh, previously organist and master of the choristers and then organist laureate, and the assistant organist is Alana Brook. The records of cathedral organists at Lincoln are continuous from 1439 when John Ingleton was the incumbent. Notable organists have included the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
composers
William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...
and John Reading and the biographer of
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
, William Thomas Freemantle.


Organ

One of the best examples of the work of "Father" Henry Willis and the last he designed before his death, the cathedral organ dates from 1898. Willis had completed the design by 1885 but a shortfall in funding delayed construction and installation. This was made possible in 1898, after a donation of £1,000 () from Alfred Shuttleworth, an engineer and later chairman of Clayton & Shuttleworth. This, together with other private gifts and a public subscription, allowed work to progress and on Hugh of Lincoln, St Hugh's Day, 17 November 1898, the organ was inaugurated at a service attended by 4,700 people. Willis had intended that the organ be electrically-powered, the first organ in an English cathedral to be powered in this way. As the Lincoln power stations, Brayford Wharf Power Station had not yet been completed, manual power was instead provided by infantrymen from the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, Lincolnshire Regiment. The organ has been restored twice, in 1960 and in 1998. On both occasions the work was undertaken by Harrison & Harrison. It is one of only two Willis organs in English cathedrals with its original tonal scheme. The organ specification is held on the British Institute of Organ Studies#National Pipe Organ Register, National Pipe Organ Register.


Burials

*
Remigius de Fécamp Remigius de Fécamp (sometimes Remigius; died 7 May 1092) was a Benedictine monk who was a supporter of William the Conqueror. Early life Remigius' date of birth is unknown, although he was probably born sometime during the 1030s, as canon la ...
, Bishop of Lincoln (1072–92) – began the construction of Lincoln Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1092, two days after his death * Robert Bloet, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Lincoln (1093–1123) * Robert de Chesney, Bishop of Lincoln (1148–1166?) *
Hugh of Lincoln Hugh of Lincoln, O.Cart. ( – 16 November 1200), also known as Hugh of Avalon, was a French-born Benedictine and Carthusian monk, bishop of Lincoln in the Kingdom of England, and Catholic saint. His feast is observed by Catholics on 16 Novem ...
, Bishop of Lincoln (1186–1200) and Saint (at the time of the Reformation, the best-known English saint after Thomas Becket) * William de Blois (bishop of Lincoln), William de Blois, Bishop of Lincoln (1203–06) *
Hugh of Wells Hugh of Wells (died 7 February 1235) was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln. He began his career in the diocese of Bath, where he served two successive bishops, before joining royal service under King John of England. He served in the royal administr ...
, Bishop of Lincoln (1209–35) * Robert Grosseteste, English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian and Bishop of Lincoln (1235–53) * Eleanor of Castile, Queen Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Edward I, died in Lincoln 1290, monumental full effigy and escutcheoned heart and viscera tomb erected in the Angel Choir *
Katherine Swynford Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III. Daughter o ...
, Duchess of Lancaster (1350–1403), wife of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (son of King Edward III of England) * Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland (1379–1440), wife of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, daughter of the Duke & Duchess of Lancaster * Philip Repyngdon, Bishop of Lincoln (1405–20) and Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal * John Russell (bishop), John Russell, Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England, and Bishop of Lincoln (1480–94) * William Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln (1496–1514) * Sir Edward Lake, 1st Baronet, (1600–1674). Born in Tetney, Lincolnshire. A Lawyer, and Royalist badly wounded at the Battle of Edgehill. Died on 18 July 1674 at Bishop Norton, Lincolnshire. Buried in the cathedral on 20 July 1674. * John Featley * Samuel Fuller (priest), Samuel Fuller (1635–1700) Dean of Lincoln * William Fuller (bishop), William Fuller, Bishop of Lincoln (1667–75) * Sir Richard Kaye, 6th Baronet (1736–1809) Dean of Lincoln * William Hilton (painter), William Hilton RA (1786–1839) artist * Bishop Christopher Wordsworth (1807–1885) Bishop of Lincoln * William John Butler, Dean of Lincoln * The Blessed Edward King (bishop of Lincoln), Edward King (1829–1910) Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology at Oxford, Canon of Christ Church, Bishop of Lincoln 1885–1910. Buried in the Cathedral Cloister, seated statue in bronze by Sir William Blake Richmond in Lincoln Cathedral * Viscount Harry Crookshank


Other memorials

* Air Vice Marshall Sir Edward Arthur Beckton Rice (d.1948) * Rev Charles Wilmer Foster (1866-1935) historian * Welbore MacCarthy (1840-1925), Bishop of Grantham * Bishop Nugent Hicks (1872-1942)


In literature

In Letitia Elizabeth Landon' s poetical illustration ''Lincoln Cathedral'' to a painting by Thomas Allom, she remarks on the derivation of Gothic tracery from 'the arches of the old oak trees'. This was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.


Gallery

File:Flyingbuttress.jpg, Flying buttresses at the decagonal chapter house File:Adam and Eve - geograph.org.uk - 637509.jpg, 12th-century carving of Adam and Eve eating apples File:Beak Head - geograph.org.uk - 637515.jpg, Typical Norman architecture, Norman 12th-century decoration on the west front File:Lincoln Cathedral - the Font - geograph.org.uk - 690770.jpg, The Tournai font File:Lincoln Cathedral Nave 1, Lincolnshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The nave File:Lincoln Cathedral Choir, Lincolnshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The choir File:Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House.jpg, The chapter house File:Lincoln Nave looking East.jpg, Lincoln Cathedral nave, England File:Lincoln Cathedral Angel Choir.jpg, Angel Choir File:Bell Ringers Chapel Lincoln.jpg, Bell Ringers Chapel Lincoln Cathedral File:Lincoln Cathedral Choirs.jpg, Lincoln Cathedral choirs File:Nave Roof space Lincoln Cathedral.jpg, Nave roof space Lincoln Cathedral File:Lincoln Nave.jpg, Lincoln nave File:Lincoln Nave from West wall.jpg, Lincoln nave from the west wall File:Chapter House.jpg, Chapter house File:Lincoln cathedral chapterhouse.JPG, The Chapterhouse at Lincoln Cathedral with
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es surrounding the building


See also

* Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace * Vicars' Court, Lincoln * Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England * English Gothic architecture * Gothic architecture * Gothic cathedrals and churches * List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe * List of cathedrals in England and Wales * List of tallest church buildings in the world * Romanesque architecture * List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson


Notes


Further reading

* ''Lincoln Cathedral: Official Guide'', Diocese of Lincoln * ''Lincoln Cathedral'', Peter B. G. Binnall, Pitkin Publishing, * ''The Grail Chronicles'', E. C. Coleman, The History Press,


External links

* *
Lincoln Cathedral Choir & Old Choristers Association
*
Friends of Lincoln Cathedral

Interactive panoramic tour of the cathedral's interior





Conserving the Dean's Eye window, ''Ingenia'' Magazine
December 2007
Detailed historic record for Lincoln Cathedral
{{Authority control Lincoln Cathedral, Churches completed in 1210 Churches completed in 1311 13th-century churches in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England Anglican cathedrals in England Grade I listed cathedrals Grade I listed churches in Lincolnshire Former world's tallest buildings 1092 establishments in England Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic cathedrals Diocese of Lincoln English Gothic architecture in Lincolnshire Churches in Lincoln, England J. L. Pearson buildings British military memorials and cemeteries Basilicas (Church of England)