The Sage of Kettering and I have been on another day trip, this time to Lincoln. We have also visited a mystery town I shall leave you to guess below, and also at Stow-by-Lindsey, a tiny village west of Lincoln, with a now incongruously large Minster, Anglo-Saxon in origin, having been added to over the years.
It also claims to have the earliest known Viking graffito in England, a carving of a long ship. It is not clear if this was a marauder or a merchant, but he presumably came up river to here, the Humber is not far away.
It also has a curious face on the font.
And an austere interior, perhaps barer than in its glory.
On to Lincoln itself, a city with a fine historic core on its magnificent hill top. The Cathedral dominates the skyline, as well it should. It was reportedly, the tallest building on Earth for nigh on 240 years, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was surpassed by a German edifice, and the spire is now gone, a legacy of either earthquake damage or poor construction. It was made from local limestone quarried nearby.
The Bishop of Lincoln was once a mightily important office, he held sway from the Thames to the Humber, and had much to do with Oxford University. We have already heard of Bishop Grosseteste.
The interior:
The ‘Bishop’s Eye’ South window, modelled on two lime leaves.
and from the interior:
And a rather ornate font.
The Chapter House:
No visit to Lincoln Cathedral is complete without seeing the imp, for a mere 20p he is illuminated, the proceeds going to the choristers’ fund.
The Bishop’s former palace, now mainly ruins, under restoration by English Heritage (with no PC hectoring in its exhibitions, hurrah!) and noted for its vineyards in the 14th Century and recently replanted. It stands just to the south of the Cathedral. It is undergoing significant restoration. Here we look up from the south, the vineyards would be above the wall.
Around the Cathedral, we find the (site of) the house of the noted English composer William Byrd, (the blue house) celebrated for his 1960s 12-string guitar band, which improved on some Dylan and Seeger songs, and gave King Solomon an anachronous lyrical credit for a No.1 on the ‘hit parade’, as they called it back then.
The view from Byrd’s house, probably pretty much as he saw it.
Down the the aptly-named Steep Hill, we find the Norman’s House (formerly called ‘Aaron the Jew’s house’), a fabulously rich financier (you can guess how it ends) but there is some doubt that it actually was Aaron’s house.
And further down the hill, we find the Jews House, from the mid-12th century, adjacent to Jew’s Court. The Jew’s House is now a restaurant, with pork on the menu, oh dear.
There was an foul blood libel spread in Lincoln from the death of an 8-year old boy, Little Saint Hugh as he was called, which provided a pretext for greedy scoundrels to have a pogrom against their creditors.
Around the top of Steep Hill, we had a fine roast beef lunch in the Wig and Mitre pub, washed down with a half of a beer named for Queen Eleanor, who viscera were buried in Lincoln Cathedral before her final journey to London (not that we dwelt on that over lunch, it might make one cross).
The other site of note is the Castle, a fine Norman fortress, built on a former Roman site, but now used for a Crown Court (the main English Criminal court), and within the castle is one of the original Magna Carta Libertatum (they often miss out the ‘of liberties’ bit, ‘What became of Magna Carta?‘ you may ask’. Sadly the Castle has fallen into the hands of the local council, so we did not top up their finances by paying £13.50 each for a wall walk and a view of our birthright.
Also this day, we visited a town, scene of events of some significant historic import, which is often overlooked, perhaps due to its less glamorous American namesake. Can you guess this town? It has a ruined castle on a river:
The church spire was reportedly hit by cannon fire, and was besieged by the Scots.
And some fine buildings: The Corn Exchange, sadly abandoned, awaiting a buyer.
The Town Hall
This elaborate erection
The former Governor’s House (with a whopping clue)
A curiously-named building.
And a free-standing chimney
