Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln, England

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LINCOLN

SK9771NE MINSTER YARD 1941-1/9/224 Cathedral Church of St Mary, 08/10/53 cloisters, chapter house and libraries

GV I

Cathedral church with attached cloisters, chapter house and libraries. Established c1072-1092 by Bishop Remigius. Restored and extended following a fire, 1123-1148, for Bishop Alexander. Remodelled c1180-1200 by Richard the Mason and Geoffrey de Noiers for St Hugh of Avalon. Transepts extended and completed c1230-1235 by Michael "magister operis". Crossing tower rebuilt c1240 by master mason Alexander, and heightened 1307-1311 by Richard of Stow. Angel Choir added 1256-1280, probably by Simon de Tresk. Cloisters c1290-1300. Chapter house C13. Song school early C13. Galilee porch, west of south transept, mid C13. Cantelupe Chantry 1355, Fleming chantry 1431 by John Porter, Russell chantry 1494, Langland chantry c1547 by William Kitchin. Old Library c1422. Honywood Library, north of cloister, 1674, by Sir Christopher Wren, with contemporary bookcases. Rooms under west towers c1730 by James Gibbs. Dean Wickham Library 1909-1914 by Hodgson Fowler. Major restorations by James Gibbs, 1725, James Essex, 1761, J C Buckler, mid C19, J L Pearson, 1870-1893, Sir Charles Nicholson and Sir Francis Fox, 1921. Spires removed from towers, 1807. Dressed stone and ashlar, with lead roofs. Romanesque, Early English, Perpendicular and Tudor Revival styles. Latin Cross plan. EXTERIOR: nave with aisles, major and minor transepts, morning chapel, Galilee porch, choir and angel choir, 4 chantries, cloister with library above, chapter house, former library, now cafe. West end, 5 bays, has blind arcade. Elaborate central gable and corner turrets topped with octagonal spires. 3 graduated Romanesque doorways flanked by niches. Over them, an outstanding C12 frieze of biblical scenes. Above, two towers, 2 stages, with octagonal corner turrets, Decorated bell stage openings and traceried parapets. Nave, 7 bays, has flying buttresses and an arcaded clerestory. Buttressed aisles have single lancet windows flanked by blind arches. North-west morning chapel and corresponding former Consistory Court, 4 bays, have each 4 single lancets.

Major transepts, 3 bays, have to east, ranges of chapels and flying buttresses. North and south gables have outstanding traceried round windows, C13 and early C14. Cruciform Galilee porch, c1240, has a vaulted interior and ornate restored doorways. St Hugh's choir and aisles, 5 bays, has flying buttresses, single and double lancet windows, and an arcaded clerestory. Crossing tower, 3 stages, has octagonal corner turrets topped with spires, and a crocketed traceried balustrade. Arcaded lower stages, and bell stage with 2 openings on each side, below ornamented gables. Eastern minor transepts have spire-topped buttresses throughout. To south-west, song school, early C13, 2 bays. To north-east, a chapel remodelled in 1772 by James Essex. Angel choir, 1256-1280, 5 bays, has north and south aisles and flying buttresses throughout. Aisles have elaborately carved off-centre portals, remodelled late C14. Arcaded clerestory has 4-light windows on each side. East end has blind arcading, buttresses with spires, and a crocketed gable. East window has Geometrical tracery with 2 groups of 4 lights. Above it, a 5-light pointed arched window. North side has attached Fleming chantry, c1431, and south side has Russell chantry, c1494, and Longland chantry, c1547, all Perpendicular style with 3-light windows. Chapter house, mid C13, decagonal, has 8 freestanding flying buttresses, quatrefoil frieze and pyramidal roof. In each segment headed bay, a 2-light pointed arched window. Entrance passage, to west, has 2 flanking stair towers with saddleback gables. Cloister, 1296, 9 x 14 bays, has traceried unglazed arcades on 3 sides and an unusual wooden rib vault. To south-east, a vaulted arcaded vestibule. North side has a Tuscan arcade, 9 bays, and above it the Honywood library with