Similar to everywhere in England, Lincoln is known for their castle and cathedral.
To get to the cathedral and castle, you must first walk through town.
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| Timbered shops, dating to around 1550 |
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| Gate on the High Street |
Once you make it down the High Street (the original Main Street), you have to go up Steep Hill. Literally named for its defining feature.
They should invest in a funicular!
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| Jolly Ducks & Snooty Cats - English shops have the best names |
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| A shop dedicated to Russian dolls! Almost as good as the shop by our house dedicated to Tintin. |
Finally we made it. The cathedral was undergoing some work, so there was scaffolding about. (Not pictured.)
Lincoln Cathedral was the tallest building in the world from 1311 to 1548, taking the title from the Great Pyramid of Giza. However, the central spire collapsed in 1548 bringing its reign to an end.
It's also the 4th largest cathedral in the UK by floor space and once held an original Magna Carta. These days they only have a fascimile, but fear not because an original is a stone's throw away at the castle.
One of the things you're supposed to do is find the imp. There's a story about how the devil sent him down to cause problems while the cathedral was being built, but some angels turned him to stone as punishment. Or something like that. Anyway, after looking a long time in the wrong direction, we found him. (Or, we were next to some people looking in the right direction and figured out our mistake.)
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| He's above the head, perched in the 'V'. Very impy. |
One thing that caught my eye was this very gaunt, skeleton-like effigy under a normal, fancy effigy.
Further research (Googling variations of "gaunt effigy in Lincoln Cathedral") explained that it is a cadaver tomb, and in fact is the oldest surviving one in England. They began to be used in the 14th century after the Plague killed off millions to remind people of their mortality. And now I really want to see this much more extreme example in France.
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| Shot of the back of the cathedral |
After we got our fill of the cathedral, we headed to the castle.
When you walk onto the castle grounds, this is the first building you see. It looked so fake against the cloudy sky, like a movie set. Look at that ivy! It's a Gothic Revival courthouse built in 1826 that's still in use by Lincoln Crown Court.
Lincoln Castle, like other castles we've visited (Dover!), was built by William the Conqueror. That guy really earned his nickname. I took an intense history course in high school with a teacher named Mr. Thompson, which basically consisted of him yelling "1066!" at us over and over. I'm sure he'd be happy to know I'm immersed in that history today.
Anywho, the castle is unusual because it has two mottes! It's one of only two surviving examples of a two-motted castle. What's a motte, you say? It's an earthen mound.
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| This is a motte. |
We took a tour, and our tour guide was excellent. There were the requisite amount of tour-guide jokes, and even an original poem. Highly recommend.
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| Cathedral peeking over the top |
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| View from the medieval wall walk |
There was also a Victorian prison. If you're a Downton Abbey fan, this is where they filmed the Mr Bates prison scenes. (Also, spoiler alert!)
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| Inside the prison |
But the part I liked best was the chapel.
It was built in line with the "separate system," a Victorian form of prison management based on the principle of keeping prisoners in solitary confinement.
The prisoners would walk into this chapel and file in to the rows. Each seat had a door to close it off from the next, and the walls around you were tall, so all you could see was the chaplain, who was on an elevated platform.
The women filed in at the front, so they could see each other but they could never see the men or vice versa.
The best thing about the set-up was that they put mannequins in some of the seats, so when you climbed up to where the sermon would be given, you got quite a scare! Bonus points if you can spot Lyle in there.
It was a good visit, plenty to take up a day. I'm glad we went.
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