Lincoln Cathedral

A Cathedral is where a Bishop has his seat. In order to be a City in Britain, it used to be necessary to have a Cathedral. I don't know if this is still the case!

Oddly enough, although a Bishop has his Seat at a Cathedral, he is not allowed in the building without the permission of the Dean and Chapter. This can lead to some interesting conflicts at times. Lincoln has had its share of conflict too....

Lincoln is a small city. It maybe has about 35,000 dwellings so it is really not even a large town by some standards. The cathedral dominates the entire city because the position at the top of Lincoln's only steep hill makes it visible from all directions for about 30 miles!

The cathedral quarter contains many fantastic listed buildings and historical places to visit including the castle, the Rest and you can see composer William Byrd's blue plaqued home - he was once cathedral organist.

As a child, I visited Lincoln Cathedral. I remember that, for me, Tennyson's statue in the cathedral grounds was the highlight of a trip to Lincoln.

Tennyson was a poet and he had a DOG! A big hairy dog too- just like mine! A statue with a dog was something really cool. I spent many frustrating hours trying to spot the Lincoln Imp high up in the roof with my poor vision, but Tennyson's dog made up for the failures!

Stained glass served a vital purpose in mediaeval churches and cathedrals. The pictures illustrated Bible stories for ordinary folk who could neither read nor understand Latin. Stained glass windows were vital to the poor as a representation of Christian theology that the clergy felt they should know!

Lincoln Cathedral is possibly the greatest example of Gothic perpendicular architecture. Its domes and high arches allowed for a much lighter and higher structure that could safely incorporate more stained glass than the older Norman structures had. The result is a beauty that is staggering on a sunny day as the light streams in through those Biblical story windows.

England's musical tradition is rife with choral compositions commissioned and performed by Cathedral choirs. Lincoln Cathedral has its own fantastic choir of boy choristers from the Minster School and male "lay vicars" who sing professionally for a small stipend. These days there is also a separate choir with girl choristers instead of exclusively boys. The quality of performance is excellent and worshippers like to listen to the beautiful music chosen and rehearsed by the Cathedral organist.

At Evensong the music is at its greatest, hymn singing is not so much a feature as the focus is on psalms and anthems performed by the choir itself. This makes cathedral music quite exclusive and more performance orientated than the music you will hear in parish churches where choirs are amateur and there is more congregational singing. Some people do not like this exclusivity however.

The Cathedral remains very much part of our lives. We often visit and there are always new things to see. A quiet prayer or meditation in the side Chapel is a way of coming to terms with life or saying thank you for our blessings. We produced an illustrated poem about the building of the Cathedral which features in Tadpole's Illustrated. Tadpole also illustrated the Cathedral guidebook under his real name! Sadly he doesn't earn royalties though.