The Vicars’ Court or Vicars’ Choral in Lincoln, is situated in the Minster Yard to the south of Lincoln Cathedral. It was founded as a college of priests by

Bishop Sutton Bishop Sutton () is a village on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, within the affluent Chew Valley in Somerset. It lies east of Chew Valley Lake and north east of the Mendip Hills, approximately ten miles south of Bristol on the A368, ...

in the late 13th century. These priests would take services in the Cathedral in the absence of the

Prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

. The Vicars‘ Choral of Lincoln is one of eight such colleges in England, and it is also one of the earliest and best preserved. The great majority of the building survives (although not the hall and the chapel). By 1305 the hall, the kitchen and certain chambers were finished. In 1328 lay brothers were admitted and further houses were built for them During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, the buildings were badly damaged and afterwards were converted into four houses.

Architecture

The buildings consists of four irregular two-storeyed ranges set around a spacious sloping turfed courtyard. The entrance range facing the cathedral with an entrance gateway is from 14th century and has the arms of Bishop Gravesend above the entrance arch. The northern block, on the left, has a near-central 14th century doorway, with a

hood mould In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin ''labia'', lip), drip mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a ''pediment''. This mouldin ...

and mask stops, flanked to left by a four-centred arched window with another hood mould, and a small pointed arched casement window. The southern range has a central flat headed doorway with a keystone and a shield above it. To right are a flat headed window with a three pointed arched lights, and a moulded doorway with hood moulds which are 19th century. Beyond is a single

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d buttress. Above are a large gabled

dormer window A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

s to left with two smaller dormer windows to right. Above is a central canted wooden oriel window on a shaped bracket. At the back are four brick and stone external buttressed chimneystacks, and a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

tower. The interior has several intact

s, and at the north end there is a ground floor medieval ceiling with transverse chamfered beams on double corbels.

''See also'': Residences of other Vicars’ Choral

* Vicars' Close, Wells *Vicars' Court, Lincoln * College of Minor Canons, St Paul's London *Exete

*Herefor

* Bedern, Yor

''See also'': Other Residences in Lincoln Cathedral Close and Minster Yard

* The Old Deanery, Lincoln *

Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace The Old Bishop's Palace is a historic visitor attraction in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. When it was first built, in the late 12th century, it was at the centre of the vast Diocese of Lincoln, which stretched from the Humber to the Tha ...

References

Bibliography

*Antram N (revised), Pevsner N & Harris J, (1989), ''The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire'', Yale University Press. *Jones S. (1987) ''The Survey of Ancient Houses in Lincoln'' Vol. 2. 40-62 *Padley J.S., (1851) ''Selections from the Ancient Monastic Ecclesiastical and Domestic edifices of Lincolnshire, Lincoln'

*Stocker, D.A., (1999). ''The College of the Vicars Choral of York Minster at Bedern: architectural fragments'', The Archaeology of York 10/4, CBA: York. {{ISBN, 1902771028.

External links

*British Listed Building

Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England