Friday 2 August 2013

Lincoln



Lincoln is a small city in two distinct parts.  In some ways it is a pair of market towns.  The two parts are known locally as Uphill and Downhill.  the two are linked by the famous Steep Hill.  I shall treat the two parts separately.

Uphill is, as its name suggests, on top of the hill.  the hill is a limestone ridge called the Lincoln Cliff, that runs from the Humber in the North down the western side of Lincolnshire towards Grantham.  East of Lincoln, the ground slopes fairly gently to the Rasen and Witham valleys.  West of Lincoln, the scarp slope  drops steeply (Steep Hill!) to the Witham and Till flood plains and on to the Trent.

Uphill Lincoln is the original Roman Colonia from which Lincoln derives its name.  There are some small Roman remains here but not much.  What there is has been repaired and adapted over the last two thousand years.  Photographically, the only significant Roman relic is Newport Arch.  In Roman times, this was the northern entry into the city through which runs Ermine Street.  This arch was incorporated into the 'new' city walls by the Normans and now incorporates a porter's lodge which is still in use (and modernised).

There are other Roman relics (cistern, wall in West Bight) but there these are not interesting photographically.

The Normans have left a great deal in Lincoln and this is very interesting.  The two most obvious are the castle and the cathedral.  Building the castle was the first thing the Normans did on reaching Lincoln but the current building is slightly later but still Norman.  The most obvious part of the castle is the curtain wall and this offers a lot of photographic opportunities.  It is possible to walk about three quarters of the way around the castle, the southern wall being blocked by modern (Victorian) housing.

In the south-eastern corner of the curtain wall is an observatory tower which usually flies the Union Flag (I think it always flies the flag, but familiarity breeds contempt and I don't take as much notice as I might) and a keep in the middle of the southern wall.







There are also a lot of photographic opportunities inside the castle grounds.  The downside is that there is an admission charge and, once inside, they tolerate amateur photography but not professional photography without permission so you cannot sell any photographs taken inside the castle walls.  Inside the castle walls are a number of Georgian buildings including a chapel that has photographic potential.  This includes solitary confinement pews where each prisoner could see the priest but not each other.

The castle also, incidentally, houses one of the for remaining original Magna Cartas.  This is stored in dim light  to preserve it.  While you may photograph it  if you wish, you are not allowed to use flash so photographing it is just about impossible.  Still worth looking at, mind, if only for the calligraphy.

If you do pay the admission charge, it is well worth your while to climb the curtain wall.  You can walk most of the way around the castle - at least, when I visited four or five years ago you could.  Part of the wall was not accessible due to restoration works.  From up there, you have amazing views of Lincoln and the surrounds.  This is the only place in Lincoln from where it is possible to see the entire cathedral in one go.  My earlier comments about professional photography do not apply to pictures taken from the castle.

The cathedral is an amazing building.  The same comments apply to the cathedral as to the castle.  Entry costs (currently £6.00 which can get you in daily for a year) and amateur photography is allowed but not professional without permission.  Access to the cathedral is from the West Front.

Lincoln Cathedral is one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals in Europe (not just my opinion, but generally shared).  Work started on the cathedral in 1072 and is ongoing.  the structure we have now is not being altered but there is ongoing repair and restoration which results in new carvings.  The big downside of the restoration work is that significant parts of the cathedral are covered in scaffolding and will be for many years to come.  As one part is finished, the scaffolding moves to another part.    I am hoping to live long enough for all the work to be done and to be able to see the cathedral with no scaffolding at all.

Cathedrals are strange buildings because they have four fronts and no backs.  Approaching the cathedral from the city you first come to the West Front.  This is where the main entrance is.  The core of this  is solid Norman with rounded arches (known as Norman or Roman arches).  the doorways have concentric lines of carvings which are a mixture of stylised animals and geometrical patterns. There are three doorways in this Norman part and over each is a serpent which are reminiscent of Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent of Norse legend.  These carvings always remind me that the Normans were only one hundred years away from being Vikings themselves.







Around the Norman core of the West Front is a more modern and more graceful Gothic extension. This dates from 1140-odd with a frieze dating from 1123 to 1148 and a line of kings and queens. interestingly, in the aftermath of the civil war, the iconoclasts removed the heads of these kings and queens.  Later, the Victorians restored this part of the cathedral and replaced the missing heads with new, bearded heads - including the queens!


The South Front has little to commend it photographically although there are new carvings between the south and south-east transepts.

Photographically, the most interesting part of the exterior of the cathedral is the East Front. Here you will find the Chapter House which is decagonal in plan and surrounded by flying buttresses.  This is seen to best advantage early to mid morning - after around 11.00 am (GMT) it will be in shade.  There are also several small (i.e. person sized) doors hidden away which can be interesting.  The East front is also a good place to get refreshments as there is a refectory here that sells tea, coffee, cakes and light meals. There are also public toilets available.




From the East Front there is a road running down hill.  This is Pottergate and contains a number of houses in a variety of architectural styles dating back eight hundred-odd years.  At either end of Pottergate is an archway that used to be the access/exit from the Cathedral Close wall.  To me, this area cries out for monochrome photography.

Between the castle and cathedral is a square called Castle Hill.  On the cathedral side this is bounded by the Exchequergate.  This was originally the formal entrance to the Cathedral Close.  This building is not Norman but does date from very early on in the life of the cathedral - a date of around 1300 is the best that I can find.  There are three arches in the Exchequergate that give through views between Castle Hill and the Cathedral Close.  Leading away from Castle Hill is the Bailgate which is one of Lincoln's main shopping streets.  This leads to the Roman/Norman Newport Arch already mentioned.  South from Castle Hill is the famous Steep Hill leading the traveller down to the Downhill shopping area.  This hill is well named and is not really for the infirm.  At the bottom of Steep Hill is the High Street.  This is pedestrianised down to the railway station and is a normal traffic bearing road below the station.

Part way down the pedestrianised portion you come across the Stonebow (from the Norse "stennibogi" meaning a stone arch).  This is a fourteenth century archway that used to sit in the medieval city walls. This Stonebow houses eh guildhall and Mayor's Parlour.  Continuing down from the Stonebow we have a normal modern shopping area with all the chain shops you would expect.


Worthy of note (at least photographically) is the Witham river and the medieval bridge over it dating from 1160.  On this bridge is a row of shops dating from 1550.  Either side of these shops are steps leading down to the river bank.  On of these is known as The Glory Hole.  Going down one of these steps will take you to the Brayford Pool.  On one side of teh the Pool is the University of Lincoln in a number of modern buildings.  On the opposite side is a cinema and a number of restaurants.





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