Lincoln Cathedral a substitute for Westminster Abbey

No less a critic than John Ruskin called Lincoln Cathedral ‘out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Islands’. During my weeklong stay in Lincoln, I couldn’t agree more.I visited the cathedral at least once a day, sometimes for hours, sometimes to look at one feature (the endlessly fascinating west front, for example), and sometimes to attend a service.

Lincoln is one of England’s finest old cities, dominated by its glorious cathedral, high on a hill. It is a small city and so it is easy to get one’s bearings. Wherever I went, it was one of three locations: uphill, downhill or in-between , known accurately as Steep Hill. The famous Christmas markets take place uphill, around the medieval square, which is bookended by a castle and the cathedral.

I wouldn’t have been in Lincoln if it hadn’t been for my husband. He had some work at Lincoln County Hospital and I decided to go along with him. I must admit that I was pretty unenthusiastic about the trip — until I set foot in the cathedral.

Lincoln’s strategic position – close to the East Coast and above the River Witham – established it as Britain’s third city in Norman times. William the Conqueror began building the castle in 1068 on an exposed hill where the wind seems to come straight from Siberia.

The cathedral is next door, as is the ruined Mediaeval Bishop’s Place. The cathedral is visible from up to 25 miles away, but the historic city centre remains heavily fortified by an unfathomable one-way system.

Lincoln Cathedral was built after the Norman invasion, with the size and simplicity of a barrack, but later suffered a fire and an earthquake among other things. Its third rebuilding, under Bishop (later Saint) Hugh of Avalon was in the new Gothic style with attenuated arches and a lively west front.

The cathedral has a fantastically animated Gallery of Kings over the main door – which, being more sheltered, has not suffered as the friezes have. And its interior dances with tongue-poking carvings, fine misericord scenes, a cross-legged , cheeky creature called the Lincoln imp, soaring vaulting (irregularly spaced, to draw the eye) and the shrine of St Hugh himself.

I booked myself on to a tour the first time I visited the cathedral – if you’re not an architecture buff, it’s the stories and details that fascinate. Our guide regaled us with his wit, mentioning the time a visitor, when asked if he had any questions about the cathedral, inquired where the cafeteria was.

Our guide also told us how visitor numbers increased after the cathedral featured in The Da Vinci Code in 2006. Part of the filming took place at Lincoln Cathedral, which was used as a double for Westminster Abbey in London. Officials from the Abbey reportedly refused to allow filming to take place inside, claiming that the book was theologically unsound!

Actors frequently complain that they become typecast, doomed to play the same role over and over again. Lincoln Cathedral seemed to be heading the same way when it was revealed that the historic building would once again act as Westminster Abbey’s ‘double’ in The Young Victoria, produced by Martin Scorsese in 2009.

People from all over the UK reckon Christmas isn’t Christmas without a visit to Lincoln. With the towering cathedral at one end and the stern castle at the other, the setting for Britain’s oldest Christmas market looks somewhat like a film location too!

Our cathedral guide, a fount of knowledge, told us that back in 1982, a grand total of 11 stalls offered seasonal cheer and white wines from Neustadtan der Weinstrasse , Lincoln’s twin city. Last year, some 150,000 visitors ate and shopped at the 300 stalls while listening to Dickensian carollers.

The market’s roots may be German , but now local produce is a feature at the Lincolnshire Larder, our guide added. Plum bread, perfect for Christmas, toasted and buttered, Lincolnshire Poacher cheese with a real bite and mince pies are on offer at the market.

My visit ended with a quick browse around the cathedral shop. Expectedly, copies of The Da Vinci Code were on sale. Who says doubles can’t make the best of their lot? I was ravenous by then and there is little more satisfying in life than high tea and so I went to the Steep Hill Tea Rooms. There I discovered Earl Grey is served in china tea cups and scones on silver, three-tiered trays. Life couldn’t have been more agreeable....