7/25/2023 0 Comments Lincoln impClearly whoever was charged with restoring the stone surrounds of the doorway appreciated the beauty and striking design of the Romanesque carvings and commissioned them to be replaced with replicas. James Essex oversaw extensive restorations of the cathedral in the 1760s, while further restorations were carried out by John Chessel Buckler a century later. The worn nature of the bricks on the left hand side of the image below, compared with the crispness of the Romanesque carvings, lends support to this. It’s unlikely that the carvings we see today are the Norman originals, which would have deteriorated over time. And what a fine thing that has proved for visitors to Lincoln today, as this decision has meant that the stunning and intricate Romanesque designs carved into the Norman doorway still survive today. It’s only by chance that the Romanesque features from the pre-earthquake cathedral still survive today – it’s likely that they were retained to save money. The richly carved kings sit under ornate Gothic canopies, drawing attention away from the earlier carvings around the door. It cuts rather incongruously through the top of the ornate Norman arch that frames the huge doorway. The beautiful “Gallery of Kings” above the largest door is a later addition, dating from the time of the construction of the Gothic parts of the cathedral. Thought to be one of the strongest earthquakes ever felt in the British Isles (possibly with a magnitude of over 5), the quake is said to have caused the old cathedral to “split from top to bottom.” Most of the building was destroyed, leaving only parts of the west front still standing, including sections of the towers and the Romanesque arched doorways that visitors enter the cathedral through today. This earlier, Romanesque cathedral was severely damaged in an earthquake in April 1185. The first incarnation of Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated in 1092, one of the early cathedrals built by William the Conqueror’s regime as a means of dominating the physical and spiritual environment of England. However, the deeply recessed windows and doorways at the base of the west front have an earlier origin. It’s easy to see why Ruskin held this wonderful building in such high esteem.Īs the picture above shows, the dominant architectural style of the cathedral is Gothic – the vast screen of pointed arches on the west front, dating from the 13th Century, is a stunning example of the Early English Gothic style. John Ruskin once described Lincoln Cathedral as being “out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles.” Sitting at the summit of the hill that Lincoln is built on, the cathedral occupies a commanding position over the surrounding area.
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