Lincoln Cathedral

[melodysparks]

Cathedral, a photo by Melodysparks (Chris Preedy) on Flickr.

Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral) is a historic cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Diocese of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years, but the central spire collapsed in the sixteenth century and was not rebuilt. It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared, "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."

William the Conqueror ordered the first cathedral to be built in Lincoln, in 1072. Before that, St. Mary's Church in Lincoln was a mother church but not a cathedral, and the seat of the diocese was at Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Lincoln was more central to a diocese that stretched from the Thames to the Humber. Bishop Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092 and then dying two days before it was to be consecrated on May 9 of that year. About fifty years later, most of that building was destroyed in a fire. Bishop Alexander rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was destroyed by an earthquake about forty years later, in 1185.

Comments

[daisychains1957]

How beautiful is that building, it makes you wonder much the builders actually got to admire their work.

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

Yes beautiful inside and out although I do prefer Lichfield Cathedral myself

[classytart.livejournal.com]

Lincoln Cathedral (I grew up in Louth, Lincs) contains possibly my favourite bit of graffiti in the world. And I am saying that as a fan of both "reclam the strets!" and "Kiss the cops. They're so funny" (both available here in Edinburgh).

In one of the little alcove bits inside, hidden from view unless you peer round, someone has scratched a picture of a tall ship into the wall. It's very old graffiti and really doesn't damage the impression at all.

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

Its amazing in places like that the amount and type of graffiti and the age of some of it too.

You know I might have to pay another visit to Lincoln just to find the graffitti unfortunately you have to pay to walk around the cathedral now.