Lincoln

This partof the world is very flat - except for the hill on which Lincoln Cathedral sits!  A very steep hill, but both Sharn and I proudly walked past people who were having to stop and rest as they ascended!
Lincoln Cathedral atop the hill

We actually spent quite some time in the Cathedral on the two days we were in the city.  The first time we were there we could only see the back half of the building as they were busy setting up for the showing of the animated movie "The Snowman", accompanied by a live orchestra.  But we weren't worried as we had tickets to it and would be able to see that part then.


See below the oval tile above the music stand.

The original console of the organ, used by organists from 1898 to the late 1950's prior to the restoration of the organ in 1960.

Just some of the stained glass
The cloisters

The Cathedral is a beautiful building, one that I liked more than York.   A special place was the Chapter House.  I have learnt a new shape name - it was designed as a decagon!  Built in the 1190's, it has two beautiful windows in each bay, except for the entrance, and has a single pillar supporting the roof with a star vault spreading from it.  No-one was there when I was and so I took the opportunity to have a sing, so I can say is have sung in Lincoln Cathedral!
The Chapter House
The Rose window in the Chapter House 

When we returned the next afternoon, for the movie we took the opportunity to inspect the wonderful "A Table for the Nation".  This is a table made from black oak.  What is black oak you ask?  This 13 metre long black oak was found buried in the Fenland peat and is believed to be about 5,000 years old.  It is thought that this tree would have been in the vicinity of 54 metres high (compared to a 200 year old modern oak at around 24 metres).  

This black oak, found in the year of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, became known as the Jubilee Oak.  It had to be milled on sight as it was too big and heavy to move otherwise, and then the planks were slowly dried, in a purpose built dehumidifier, over a period of nine months.  During this time 1,795 litres of water was extracted, and the planks shrank to half their thickness, and lost 15 centimetres in length, reducing the weight by 1.8 tonnes.  

The resulting table is very beautiful indeed, and will spend a year in Lincoln Cathedral, before moving to another, presumably, equally large space in the country.


After the movie which, we both enjoyed, we hung around and attended a beautiful Choral Evensong. 

Lincoln had much more to offer - interesting old buildings, lovely Christmas decorations, even a monument to the invention of the tank, but I have run out of time.



After five nights and two rest days in Lincoln it is now time to set off towards Kings Lynn, where Sharn, sadly, will leave me.

Comments

  1. Bruce - fellow hikeaholic18 December 2024 at 01:06

    That black oak looks amazing. The birth place of the tank, who knew? :) Still loving the adventures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Janet18 December 2024 at 03:32

    Surprises every day - more to come next post!. The black oak was beautiful to touch - the table was made to be used. https://lincolncathedral.com/table/

    ReplyDelete

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