The Hunt for Lincoln's Imp (Lincoln Cathedral)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Lincoln Cathedral
Date:	27/08/06 (389 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Historical and Religious Significance, Architecture, Da Vinci was filmed here.

Disadvantages: None

Lincoln Cathedral has dominated the skyline of Lincoln for over 900 years and has survived fire, earthquake and collapsed towers in its lifetime. As it is literally a stones throw from the fantastic Lincoln Castle, it is possible to do both attractions and visit some of Lincoln’s shops and bars on a day trip. Lincoln Cathedral was, amazingly, the world’s tallest building for a period of 250 years until 1549.

Entry to the Cathedral costs £4 with £3 concessions available for people on benefits and children age 5-16 pay only £1. Annual passes are also available for those who live locally, for an affordable £15.

It might not feel quite right to have to pay to enter a place of worship, but it costs £50,000 per week to keep the Cathedral open for visitors and to maintain it. At least it is a reasonably affordable entry fee that will not put too many people off entering whether singles or families.

Interestingly when you pay your admission you are simply given a leaflet with the day of the week on the front, and this leaflet apparently lets you re-enter the Cathedral as many times as you want. I’m not sure if this means they lose revenue as it would seem very easy to give your ticket to someone on the way out, giving them a free entry. It was a little strange to say the least.

You can also sign up for a roof tour, which looked fascinating although we did not attempt it. You need to be physically fit, as it involves over 300 stairs and numbers are limited per tour so pre booking is essential.

We did opt to pay more for a self guided Audio Tour, which was available for an extra £1 per head. I have done a few of this kind of tour lately and I have generally found them to be a good way of finding out more about a place than simply walking around and referring to a pamphlet.

The Audio tour lasted around 45 minutes but there were plenty of option extra recordings over and beyond that, giving more information on the history and architecture of the Cathedral.

With its front doors facing to the West, its transepts, the fantastic church within a church that is St Hugh’s choir and the Cloister and Chapter House, Lincoln Cathedral is an impressive building. It wasn’t always this large though. William the Conqueror decided the cathedral of the diocese should be removed from nr Oxford to Lincoln, where the castle had already been established. The building was consecrated in 1092. That Cathedral was not as long as the present cathedral, and indeed its towers were nowhere near as tall.

Fairly early on in its life, a mere 50 years later the Cathedral was thought to have been damaged during the civil war between King Stephen and Matilda. The cathedral was lovingly restored and the wooden roof of the nave was most likely replaced with stone at this time, the two west towers at the entry door were also added.

Tragedy struck again with an earthquake in 1185 and once again there was extensive work carried out. The Cathedral increased in size somewhat considerably, with the addition of the second transept, the cloisters and Chapter House and the style became more gothic.

Around the 14th century more work took place, shaping the Cathedral to how it looks today. Both the West Towers and the central tower were heightened considerably, and the Angel Choir was added to the East Face and was consecrated in 1280.

The audio tour divides the cathedral up into 9 distinct areas. One of the biggest attractions in the Nave is the 12th century marble font. Rather larger than the one I remember in the church of my childhood, the font is decorated with mythical creatures representing good and evil, as a reminder that baptism begins with a cleansing. Just off the Nave is the Morning Chapel, where visitors are reminded to enter quietly. While dating from a period much more recent than the Cathedral itself I particularly liked the Stations of the Cross, carved in wood by William Fairbanks, and had a very modern contemporary feel. These are a long term loan to the Cathedral from the sculptor and represent seven years work.

The North and South Transepts meet under the Central Tower of the Cathedral. Here the stunning Rose Windows – the Dean’s Eye and the Bishop’s Eye - dominate this area. These windows, both positioned over four striking stained glass windows are of an awesome size and packed with detail. A small display near the North Dean’s Eye window highlights the very different designs between the two. The Dean’s Eye window was the object of a recent £2million restoration project, an undertaking which has not been seen in Europe since the Notre Dam restoration over 130 years ago. The restoration took 16 years to complete.

When you stand under the Central Tower in the Crossing area, it is actually quite breathtaking to gain an appreciation of the size of the construction given the age of the Cathedral.

My personal favourite major areas of the cathedral were the St Hugh’s Choir, the Cloisters, and I also liked the Gilbert Pots and hunting down the Lincoln Imp. The Choir, in the centre of the Cathedral dates back 900 years, and is dominated by the impressive organ pipes.

The Cloister and Chapter House were one of the later additions to the Cathedral at Lincoln, and strictly speaking they were not necessary as clergy were not living a monastic life at Lincoln. Nevertheless it is an attractive addition. The ten sided Chapter House is currently housing a very small display about the Da Vinci code as it was used to represent Westminster Abbey in the film. This is a very small display and certainly not worth going to the Cathedral for that alone, but it was an interesting exhibit.

Overall I enjoyed my visit to Lincoln Cathedral and I would say it represents reasonable value for money. If I only had the time to visit the Castle or the Cathedral, I would probably choose the Castle as that provides a broader view on history than the cathedral can. However for anyone interested in both the church and architecture, Lincoln Cathedral will certainly not disappoint.

Visit www.lincolncathedral.com for opening hours and visitor information.

Summary: A beautiful church in a historic and important City.