Discovering the Majestic Beauty of Lincolnshire Cathedral

Subhendu Ray

I wake up early every morning to remove the curtains of my bedroom windows and gaze at the breathtaking view of the Lincolnshire cathedral. Its majestic beauty never fails to excite me, prompting me to get up earlier than my usual routine. I spend hours alone, gazing at the cathedral through the window glass!

The Lincoln cathedral is one of the most significant medieval cathedrals in England and the distinguishing landmark of Lincolnshire visible from miles away. The cathedral dominates the city from the top of a great spur of rock, and its spiritual center, the Mother Church of the diocese, the parish church of the county, and a place of national heritage, attracts international pilgrimage. Its construction began in Norman times and has been rebuilt after fire and earthquake in the succeeding centuries.

The cathedral's stunning Gothic architecture contains elements from Romanesque to modern times. It is the finest English Gothic cathedral, and one of the largest, with a length of 482 feet, a crossing tower of 271 feet, a chancel vault of 74 feet, and a nave of 82 feet. The majority of stone used in the construction is local Oolitic limestone. Gems such as the delicate sculptures of the Angel Choir and the fine wood carving in St Hugh's choir add to the cathedral's beauty.

The military significance of the hill was not lost on the Romans who built a fortress for the 9th Roman Legion, and William the Conqueror who ordered a castle built on the same site. Lincoln Castle now houses the Magna Carta Exhibition.

I first arrived in Lincolnshire on September 29, 2007 in the afternoon. The next morning, I stepped forward towards the cathedral, and it was incredibly majestic, as if it stood atop a steep hill to provide security to the people of Lincolnshire and those who come from other places. Since that day, I have visited the cathedral numerous times, and every time I find something new to be fascinated about.

During my second or third visit, I learned from Martin Schoenbeck, an elderly man whom I met in the cathedral yard, that in the 14th century, a lead-encased spire made the cathedral taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, making it the first building to be taller than 525 feet. It remained the world's tallest building until the central spire blew down in 1548 or 1549.

One thing that surprised me was that the oaks used to build the cathedral were illegally brought from Sherwood Forest at Nottingham, as I learned from a news article published in The Guardian on October 15. Inside the cathedral, I explored the tombs and chapels of the bishops and saw the tomb of Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1431. The stone cadaver was a serious reminder that death kisses everyone's forehead, be it a poor man or a bishop.

The architecture of the cathedral left me spellbound. The saint of the cathedral took me and my eleven colleagues for a detailed visit to the cathedral, introducing us to many things. For the first time, I explored the cathedral as a silent teacher, and I was overwhelmed by its beauty. The architectural beauty of the Taj Mahal in India had always been beyond comparison to me, but the Lincolnshire cathedral forced me to initiate a comparison. For me, the cathedral is one of the most precious pieces of architecture in the British Isles, worth any two other cathedrals.