Lincoln Castle & Cathedral

Sightseeing today involved a walk up High Street to the Castle and Cathedral.  The top end of the street narrows giving you an impression of what it might have looked like in the medieval period.  The surface of the street is covered in paving stones and one assumes there would have once been a central open gutter rather than the current footpaths. 

 

We turned right at the top to enter the cathedral through the Exchequer Gate to the main entrance.

The Bishop’s Palace is located on the south side of the Cathedral which is to the right n the above photo.  Most of the palace now seems to be little more than ruins but at one stage it would have been one of the most important buildings in England with the diocese extending from the Humber to the Thames.  Apparently it was sacked during the Civil War and subsequently fell into ruins.

The Chapter House is a traditional round structure with flying buttresses.  A Chapter House is where large meetings are held.  Apparently on 10th January 1308 four Templar Knights were arrested at Temple Bruer by the Sheriff of Lincolnshire on the orders of Edward II and locked up in Clasketgate before eventually ending up in the Chapter House for their preliminary trial.

The cathedral also contains one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta.

 

We then walked due west to the nearby Lincoln Castle.  Along the way I happened to notice a second horse and carriage which was either for hire or being used for a wedding.

Construction of the current castle was started by William the Conqueror,  At the time William’s position in the north of England was very insecure and the castle was the main way of dominating the surrounding land.  It was built on the site of a former roman fort and is unusual because it has two mottes.  It’s one of the best preserved castles in the UK.

It’s rather obvious that some parts of the castle have been extensively restored.  From 1787 to 1878 it served as a debtors prison.  Wikipedia reports “William Marwood, the 19th century hangman, carried out his first execution at Lincoln. He used the long drop, designed to break the victim's neck rather than to strangle, to execute Fred Horry in 1872. Until 1868, prisoners were publicly hanged on the mural tower at the north-east corner of the curtain wall, overlooking the upper town.”  Back then justice was seen to be done!

A trip to B&Q in the afternoon to buy some sand and emery paper in preparation for painting.  The window in the cratch board has now been prepared for painting in anticipation of a guaranteed dry day.  I also managed to complete a small repair on the magnetic latch that holds the rear hatch open.  Shortly after that the heavens opened and it started to bucket down!