Lincoln's magnicifent Cathedral (Lincoln Cathedral)

Member Name: micksheff

Product:	Lincoln Cathedral
Date:	16/01/08 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of history

Disadvantages: Admission charges

No visitor to Lincoln can fail to see its Cathedral, which along with Lincoln Castle dominates the town and both of these impressive landmarks can be seen from many miles around.

Construction of the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, to give it its full title, began in 1092 although it was not until 1311 that it was completed. At that time it was not only the tallest building in Britain but the tallest building in the world and remained so for the next 200 years. It originally stood 525 feet (160 metres) tall but during the 16th century disaster struck and the main tower collapsed, which was never rebuilt. Today Lincoln's Cathedral stands just a measly 271 feet (83 metres) high. In fact Lincoln Cathedral has seen its fair share of disasters and has also survived an earthquake and a serious fire.
Lincoln Cathedral is located right in the centre of the historic town and is not really something that you would struggle to find as it is well sign-posted from the corner of all of the narrow, cobbled streets.

I visited Lincoln Cathedral at the beginning of December 2007. My main reason for visiting Lincoln was for the Christmas Market but since both the Castle and the Cathedral are all very close to one another it is actually possible to visit all three attractions at the same time. Prior to this visit I had only ever been here once before, although I was quite young and I don't remember a great deal about it.
There is a charge to enter Lincoln Cathedral, something that I found quite surprising, although this charge is seemingly justified by the fact that the upkeep of this place is £50,000 per week.

The current admission charges are:
Adults - £4.00
Concessions - £3.00
Children (aged 5-16) - £1.00
Children under 5 - Free

When you enter the Cathedral and part with your money you are given a leaflet but tour guide books cost a further £3.95 so it can work out to be quite an expensive visit. There are also a number of different guided tours that can be taken including floor tours, roof tours and tower tours. These take place at various different times throughout the week but usually have to be arranged in advance because they do fill up quickly. I visited on Sunday when no guided tours take place. Photography is allowed inside the cathedral providing that it is not for commercial use.
The first two things that struck me about Lincoln Cathedral close up was its huge size and also the fact that it looked very white and clean.

With such a grand exterior one would expect something quite spectacular inside and it has to be said that I was not disappointed. There is plenty to see inside other than the standard items that you would expect like the stained glass windows and fancy gold ornate decorations. If you are visiting for the first time a guided tour or a tour guide book would be useful but I was fortunate to be with a friend that once worked as a tour guide in Lincoln as she pointed out many of the main features to me.
The Angel Choir and Shrine to St Hugh was one of the items that was pointed out to me. This is small chapel or to describe it another way it is small a church within the Cathedral. This is also the area where the Lincoln Imp is to be found although hunting it down is still a bit of a challenge. There are many different myths and legends associated with the Lincoln Imp but my favourite one is that the Devil sent two mischievous imps to do evil work on Earth. They caused destruction all across England and eventually turned up in Lincoln Cathedral where they regularly tripped up the Bishop and smashed tables and chairs. Then one day an Angel turned one of the imps to stone but the other one escaped.

After the Angel Choir and Shrine to St Hugh the imposing West Front was pointed out with its Romanesque Frieze. I also saw the tomb of Katherine Swynford and the breathtaking stained glass windows of the Dean's Eye and Bishop's Eye.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Lincoln Cathedral but due to the cost it is probably somewhere that I would not be in a big rush to visit again.

The Cathedral is open during the following times.
Summer:
Monday to Friday from 7.15am until 8pm
Saturday and Sunday from 7.15am until 6pm

Winter:
Monday to Friday from 7.15am until 6pm
Saturday and Sunday from 7.15am until 5pm

Summary: Dating from the 11th century Lincoln's Cathedral dominates the town