LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
Sited on a hill, the Gothic towers of Lincoln Cathedral dominate the city; illuminated against dramatic winter skies at twilight. With a vast nave, unique wooden trusses which hold up the roof, vaulted ceilings and imposing limestone and marble columns, it was founded in 1072 by Bishop Remigius. After William the Conqueror embarked on a programme of cathedral building, he instructed the bishop to move his seat to create the second largest diocese in England, including a sweep of land from the Humber in the north to the Thames in the south. The construction of the cathedral, which is the fourth largest in the UK, required a huge task force of skilled labourers and craftsmen, who worked from dawn until dusk. It is estimated that £2,000 a year was spent on the cathedral; the equivalent of approximately £5 million today. In 1185, the cathedral was partly destroyed by an earthquake, leaving only the Norman west front. In 1186, Hugh of Avalon, later St Hugh of Lincoln, took the post of Bishop of Lincoln and organised the building’s reconstruction. Hugh was a popular figure: energetic, compassionate and hardworking, and a great lover of animals. It is said that he pitched in and helped to build parts of the transept and choir. Work commenced in 1192 at the east end. Hugh died in 1200, but construction continued until 1245, when it joined the existing west front. After he was made a saint, a shrine to St Hugh was built into the eastern part of the cathedral; the so-called Angel Choir. His remains were re-interred at a ceremony witnessed by King Edward I in 1280. The rebuilding project did not always go smoothly. In 1237, a central tower collapsed. It had been replaced by 1311 with another, topped with a spire, which made the cathedral 525ft (160m) high. It was said to have been the tallest building in the world for 238 years. But in 1548, catastrophe struck again when the central spire collapsed in a storm and had to be removed. At either end of each transept is a circular stained glass window, known as the ‘eyes’ of Lincoln. One of these, called The Bishop’s Eye, was completed in 1330 and is situated over the south door, where medieval bishops would have entered the cathedral. In the opposite transept, The Dean’s Eye window, with glass first installed in 1220, looks towards the Deanery. It tells the story of the last judgement, and it faces north, because this is the direction where evil was believed to have originated from. It has been recently restored. The Great Tom bell, which tolls on the hour and sounds splendidly festive, has been in place since 1835, and it chimes 40,880 times each year.