As a resident of Lincoln, the Cathedral has always been a source of great interest to me -- especially since I started volunteering there in Spring this year. Below the cut: Lincoln's history, the Cathedral's origins and some key facts and dates.
History of Lincoln
The current city of Lincoln has been settled since at least the Iron Age, but the first real emergence of a town was the Roman Settlement of Lindum Colonia,from which the modern day name of Lincoln is derived. Similarly to the cities of York and Coventry, Lincoln was likely to have been a retirement place for Roman soldiers. The site for Lincoln was chosen probably because it was at the junction of roads heading North, South and West into the mainland. It was also easily accessible from the sea via the River Witham.
Fast-forward to the Norman Conquest of 1066 and Lincoln was chosen by William the Conqueror for fortification for much the same reason: the city had flourished in the Viking age due to easy trade, and the existing settlement was built around the only crossing of the River Witham, High Bridge, a location which is still central to today's town centre. Recent archaeological digs have found evidence of an Anglo-Saxon church dating from around the 10th/11th Century (as well as around 8 skeletons) that was likely to have been part of the large neighbourhood pulled down in the 1060s to make way for the Castle and the Cathedral.
Building and Architecture
Built on the orders of William the Conqueror in about 1072, building work started in around 1088 and was completed in time for consecration on May 9th 1092.
The famous Gothic flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings and spires is largely due to various rebuilds; the Cathedral was almost entirely destroyed by a fairly large earthquake in 1185. Medieval additions include the matching stained glass rose windows, The Dean's Eye and The Bishop's Eye. Even so, the experimental Gothic style was not perfect -- it is alleged that the Chapter House collapsed on the congregation not long after its completion! Another point of interest is the now-missing spires that once topped the Cathedral's towers -- each of the three either collapsed or was removed -- which made Lincoln Cathedral the tallest building in the world for over 200 years. Additions to the cathedral continued right through until the 18th Century, when changes were still being made to the cloisters and the library above it.
One of the focal points of the Cathedral even today in the carving of The Lincoln Imp in the central building.
Interesting Facts
At its peak, the Lincoln Diocese with the Cathedral at its centre was the largest and richest diocese in the country, stretching from the Thames to the Humber.
Katherine Swynford, wife of John of Gaunt, is entombed in the Cathedral.
William Byrd, famous Renaissance composer, was Organist at the Cathedral at one point in his life, and he lived in a house behind the Cathedral (nearby the current Chapter House) which is marked with a plaque.
The Lincoln Cathedral Libraries -- comprising of the 1422 Medieval Library and the 1676 Wren Library -- is generally considered to be one of the best Cathedral Libraries in the country, holding surviving copies of the Magna Carta and the Forest Charter as well as first editions of Canterbury Tales and Paradise Lost and a 10th Century manuscript (i.e. older than the Cathedral itself) of Bede's Homilies.
Important Dates
1072- William The Conqueror commissions the building of the Cathedral
1088 - First Bishop Remigius begins to lay the foundations for the Cathedral.
1092 - The Cathedral is consecrated.
1141 - Fire destroys timber roofing.
1185 - Earthquake destroys much of the Cathedral building.
1215 - Magna Carta signed with Bishop of Lincoln Hugh of Wells in attendance.
1422 - Original Cathedral library is opened.
1676 - Christopher Wren Library is completed, commissioned by Dean Michael Honywood.
1541 - Henry VIII visits whilst on tour around the country to quell the recent rebellions in the North against the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Also the only time Cardinal Wolsey, also Bishop of Lincoln at this time, visited Lincoln Cathedral.
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