Lincoln Cathedral

The earliest settlement known now as Lincoln can be traced back to the Iron Age. As with many places, the Romans took over and expanded it and became Lindum Colinia. It became a flourishing settlement accessible from the sea through the River Trent and Witham. Subsequently, the town and its waterways declined. It was largely deserted by the end of the 5th century, although some occupation continued.

During the Viking raids and the Danelaw, Lincoln became an important trading centre. It even had its own mint, and the population increased with the settlement by the Danes. In 1068,  William I ordered Lincoln Castle to be built on the site of the old Roman settlement for the same strategic reasons and controlling the same road, the Fosse Way.

In 1141, Lincoln was the site of a battle between King Stephen and the forces of Empress Matilda, led by her illegitimate half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. After fierce fighting in the city streets, Stephen's forces were defeated, and Stephen himself was captured and taken to Bristol.

By 1150, Lincoln was among the wealthiest towns in England, its economy based on cloth and wool exported to Flanders; Lincoln weavers had set up a guild in 1130 to produce Lincoln Cloth, especially the fine dyed "scarlet" and "green". The legendary Robin Hood only wore woollens of Lincoln green.

By the Thirteenth-century Lincoln was England's third largest city and a favourite of more than one king. In the First Barons' War ,the town was pillaged for having sided with Prince Louis. In the Second Barons' War, of 1266, the disinherited rebels attacked the Jews of Lincoln, ransacked the synagogue and burned the records that registered debts.

Lincoln was home to one of the five major Jewish communities in England. In 1255, the affair called "The Libel of Lincoln" in which prominent Lincoln Jews, were accused of the ritual murder of Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln and were sent to the Tower of London and 18 executed. The Jews were all expelled from Lincoln in 1290.

The dissolution of the monasteries cut Lincoln's main source of diocesan income and dried up the network of patronage controlled by the bishop. Seven monasteries closed in the city alone, as did several nearby abbeys, which further diminished the region's political power. A symbol of Lincoln's economic and political decline came in 1548 when the cathedral's great spire rotted and collapsed and was not replaced.

Between 1642 and 1651, in the English Civil War, Lincoln was on a frontier between the Royalist and Parliamentary forces and changed hands several times. Many buildings were badly damaged. At this time, Lincoln had no major industry and no easy access to the sea. It suffered as the rest of the country was beginning to prosper in the early 18th century, with travellers often commenting on what had essentially become a one-street town.

Lincoln's fortunes began to pick up by the Georgian era, thanks in part to the Agricultural Revolution. Reopening of the Foss Dyke Canal eased imports of coal and other raw materials vital to industry. Coupled with the arrival of railway links, Lincoln boomed again during the Industrial Revolution, Lincoln began to excel in heavy engineering by building locomotives, steam shovels and all manner of heavy machinery.

The fortunes of Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln. The earliest parts of the current building date to 1072, when Bishop Remigius de Fécamp moved his seat from Dorchester on Thames to Lincoln.

The building was completed in 1092, but severely damaged in an earthquake in 1185. It was rebuilt in the Gothic style over the following centuries. The cathedral became the tallest building in the world upon the completion of its 160-metre-high (525 ft) central spire in 1311. Its height surpassed the Great Pyramid of Giza, and held the title until the spire collapsed in 1548 and was not rebuilt.

One of the stone carvings within the cathedral is the Lincoln Imp. There are 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. In the cathedral, they were smashing chairs and tables. 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. 

Lincoln Cathedral features two major rose windows, which are very uncommon among medieval architecture in England. On the north side of the cathedral is the "Dean's Eye", which survives from the original structure of the building, and on the south side is the "Bishop's Eye", which was most likely rebuilt c. 1325–1350. This south window is one of medieval architecture's most prominent examples of curvilinear tracery. 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 most accessible shapes, so the circular space of the window was a unique challenge to the designers.

The solution called for the circle to be divided into smaller shapes, making it simpler to design and create. Curves were drawn within the window, creating four distinct circle areas. This made the spaces within the circle where the tracery would go much smaller and easier to work with. This window is also unique in that the focus of the tracery was shifted away from the centre of the circle and instead placed in other sections. The window glazing was as difficult as the tracery for many of the same reasons; therefore, the designers 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.

The South West tower of the cathedral contains a 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 added in 1927. In 1948, a flat 6th was added for ringing on the middle 8 bells.

Here are some photos of this magnificent cathedral.