Final
of the National Twelve-Bell Striking Competition at Lincoln Cathedral
Saturday 28 June 2008
A brief history of the
Cathedral
After William
of Normandy had conquered England in 1066, in order to assert his authority
he built a Cathedral and a Castle in strategic places. As part of this
policy he transferred the See from Dorchester on Thames to the fortified
city of Lincoln and built our Cathedral, on the hilltop dominating the
landscape. In 1141, only fifty years after it was completed, a fire destroyed
the wooden roof, and the beautifully carved decoration on the West front
was part of the restoration. Sadly the new stone roof proved too heavy
for the original building and in 1185 an earthquake split the building
apart and only the West front and towers remain.
Hugh of Avalon was consecrated Bishop in the following year, and he set about raising funds and rebuilding in the new French style with elegant pointed arches. He started with the Choir so that the monastic round of services could continue. In 1200, when only the Choir and North transepts were completed, he died and was buried behind the High Altar.
He was a prayerful man who cared for the sick and weak and was greatly loved and (respected by rich and poor alike, and in 1220 he was made a Saint. To make room for the many pilgrims who came to worship at his shrine the East end ofthe Cathedral was extended. Here, above St Hugh's shrine is the infamous Lincoln Imp, carved as a warning that even so near Heaven, temptation still lurks. Comparing elaborate carvings of the 'Angel Choir' with the earlier build illustrates well the development of Gothic architecture during the thirteenth century.
At this time the Chapter House, the first ten-sided to be built, was being finished and several early parliaments were held here, including that in 1301 when the first Prince of Wales was presented to the people.
The main body of the Cathedral was completed by the end of the thirteenth century. In the early fourteenth century the Central tower was raised and a spire added, making it the tallest building in the world, and the Western towers were raised about a hundred years later. The spire on the Central tower blew down in 1548, and the Western spires, which had become unsafe, were removed in 1807 after violent opposition from the citizens of Lincoln, giving us the silhouette familiar to us now. The library designed by Wren was built around 1674.
During the Civil War Parliamentarians caused damage in the Cathedral, and a major restoration took place between 1725 and 1761, thus saving us from the more drastic restoration by the Victorians suffered by many other Cathedrals.
Our workshops are second to none, and our carpenters, glaziers and masons work constantly to keep the fabric in good condition. They developed new technology, being observed all over the continent, when they recently replaced the tracery of the 'Dean's Eye' window - the round window in the North Transept which houses the newly restored early thirteenth century glass, the oldest surviving into the twenty first century.
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The Lincoln Imp |
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