Christmas magic in a cathedral city of towers
The hilltop cathedral and ancient castle which stand above the cobbled streets and timbered buildings of Lincoln make it a special place to explore at Christmas
IN THE LOW light of a late afternoon in December, white snow dusts crooked rooftops in cobbled lanes surrounding Lincoln Cathedral. A ringing bell chimes the hour as the soaring Gothic towers pierce the skyline, dwarfing the medieval, Tudor and Georgian buildings in its shadow. Shoppers laden with bags throng the streets of the city’s old quarter, treading carefully as snowflakes settle. Brightly lit, small independent shops, painted peppermint green, cranberry red and pale blue, line The Strait, Steep Hill, and Bailgate, with Christmas treats invitingly displayed in their windows. A model train trundles around a track in the window of a sweet shop, with its shelves of sugared almonds, pink sugar mice and aniseed balls in traditional glass jars. Another shop displays golden brown pork pies and jars of pickles among other regional produce, and there are specialist retailers selling Lincolnshire cheeses and its speciality plum bread. At the top of the hill, in the castle grounds, a roast chestnut seller is doing a brisk trade from his red-painted cart. The mingled scent of warm, spiced cider, mead and mulled wine permeates the air from a temporary village of wooden traders’ huts that springs up every year during December.
For almost 2,000 years, the citadel, or uphill area, and the commercial quarter by the waterside below it have formed the heart of the thriving city of Lincoln. The two are linked by the High Street, which mainly follows the original straight line of the Roman Ermine Street, which connected London to York. Most streets originate from Roman or medieval times, and architectural evidence of the city’s past can be seen in all of them, whether it is the site of a Roman reservoir or the remains of an ancient well at St Paul-in-the-Bail.
Perhaps the most famous of Lincoln’s Roman monuments is the Newport Arch, which is the only surviving Roman gate in Britain that is now open to traffic.
The first settlement in Lincoln dates back to the 1st century BC, and it was based around the waterside area, now known as Brayford Waterfront. This gave the city its original name, Lindon, which derives from a word meaning ‘the pool’ in Celtic. The Romans settled here circa AD50, creating an inland harbour at the waterfront, where the River Witham meets the Fossdyke Canal. They built a wooden fortress at the top of the hill, which was later turned into a colonia: a retirement home for legionaries. Lindon became Lindum Colonia. Lincoln was ruled by the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries. Links to this time can be found in street names such as Bailgate and Danesgate. They traded goods, using local rivers for transport, and the economy boomed, with Lincoln becoming a wealthy inland port.
The city’s fortunes waxed and waned, but the arrival of the railways in the 1840s and the Industrial Revolution cemented its position as a centre for engineering. In 1916, the first tanks were designed and built in Lincoln, and the awe-inspiring machines were paraded through the streets before being put into service in the First World War. Aeroplanes were also
manufactured here. Now, engineering industries are still major employers in the city of 94,600 people, and the opening of the university campus in the Brayford Pool area, in 1996, has invigorated this cathedral city and county town further.
Christmas market
December sees a huge boost in the number of visitors as Lincoln comes into its own for the festive season. In 1982, a Christmas market was introduced, featuring just 11 stalls. Now, the four-day event, starting on the first Thursday in December, is the largest market in Europe, with more than 300 traders selling food, drink, gifts and crafts. Inspired by a German market in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Lincoln’s twin town, the event attracts 250,000 people, with chartered trains arriving from around the UK. The market is so popular that a circular one-way system for pedestrians has been introduced to keep visitors moving safely.
There are old-fashioned fairground rides, with brightly coloured swing boats and carousels, and a big wheel situated on Westgate. The attractions spread over The Lawn, Westgate, and the Medieval Bishop’s Palace, and the smell of sizzling Lincolnshire sausages hangs in the air.
Excited children post letters to Father Christmas in a special mail box.
A rousing brass band plays carols, and as dusk falls, the city is bejewelled with Christmas lights. Lincoln Castle’s medieval walls offer sweeping views over the festive scene and the cityscape, which is teeming with life. Tower and roof tours are conducted at the cathedral for the duration of the market.
Heritage preserved
At the Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Burton Road, sited at the edge of the market area, a Victorian-themed tea shop pops up for the four-day celebration. “Certain areas of the museum are decorated for the season, including the reception and the domestic room sets, which show what life would have been like in the late Victorian and early Edwardian era,” explains Sara Basquill, collections development officer at the museum. “It is a busy time, as the museum is the drop-off and pick-up point for the market’s park and ride service, so visitors will often enjoy a hot drink and a slice of cake with us before they make their journey home.”
The museum houses 150,000 items and aims to represent the life and work of the people of the county from 1750 to