The Angel Choir

We visited Lincoln Cathedral today ...

William the Conqueror had a castle in Lincoln and in 1072 decided to have a cathedral built there too. It was built of local Lincoln limestone, and took 20 years to build.

In 1141 a fire destroyed the roof which had to be replaced, and in 1185 an earthquake shook the cathedral and split it from top to bottom. Most of the old Norman cathedral was pulled down, and only the West front survived.

In 1186 Bishop Hugh raised money for the cathedral to be extended in the new Gothic style, and the work carried on after his death. The cathedral grew from the East and eventually joined up with the old West front. It is now enormous and there are huge pillars holding up three rows of arches which rest on top of each other.

Twenty years after Bishop Hugh died, he was made a saint and thousands of pilgrims flocked to the cathedral to pray at his tomb. The whole East end of the cathedral was rebuilt to make more room, and the Angel Choir was added. It is called the Angel Choir because there are angels depicted high up in the stonework of the walls.

I have blipped the vaulted roof of the Angel Choir large , because you can see the detail of all the original stonework and I like the contrast between the curves and rectangles.