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PETERBOROUGH

Peterborough Cathedral is one of the finest Norman cathedrals in England. Founded as a
monastic community in 654CE, it became one of the most significant medieval abbeys in the
country, the burial place of two queens – Mary Queen of Scots, executed by order of Elizaberth I,
and Katharine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife - and the scene of Civil War upheavals. The nave
ceiling is an important relic from the Middle Ages. Made of oak, it dates from about 1220. Only
three other comparable ceilings are known – in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. It is is
decorated with figures consisting of kings, bishops, saints. grotesques and allegorical figures. The
15th C vaulted wooden ceiling in the presbytery is also richly decorated.

For more on Peterborough, click here . . .

LINCOLN

The first known settlement in Lincoln, dating back to the first century BC, was around the Brayford
Waterfront area, giving the place its original name, Lindon: “Lindo” translating as “The Pool” in the
Celtic language. Lincoln was established, as Lindum, in AD48 by the Roman IXth Legion at the
intersection of two great Roman roads, Ermine Street which heads north and Fosse Way which
heads off south west as far as Exeter.

They built a wooden fortress at the top of the hill, later turned into a colonia (retiring home for
soldiers). Lindon was latinised to become Lindum Colonia.

Through the centuries Romans, Vikings, Saxons, Normans and other civilisations have made
Lincoln their home.

In 1068 William the Conqueror arrived in the ruined city and ordered the building of Lincoln
Castle and later Lincoln Cathedral, all on the site of the Roman settlement.

For more on Lincoln, click here . . .

Things to see and do:

Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated by Remigius de Fécamp, the first Bishop of Lincoln, in
1092. It was the tallest building in the world for 238 years (1311–1549), and the first building to
hold that title after the Great Pyramid of Giza, until the central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not
rebuilt. The cathedral is the third largest in Britain (in floor area) after St Paul’s and York Minster,
being 484 by 271 feet (148 by 83 m). It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent
Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: “I have always held… that the cathedral of Lincoln is out
and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any
two other cathedrals we have.”

When King John placed his seal on Magna Carta at Runnymeade in 1215, a copy was brought
back to Lincoln by then Bishop of Lincoln, Hugh of Wells. Lincoln’s Magna Carta is still owned by
Lincoln Cathedral and remains as one of four surviving copies of the document and it can be seen
at Lincoln Castle.

One of its more unusual features is the Lincoln Imp. Folk stories tell that the Lincoln Imp was a
naughty little creature, causing havoc all around the Midlands. When he and his friends arrived at
Lincoln Cathedral, some angels had had quite enough and turned him into stone to make an
example of him. He’s high up at the top of one of the pillars.