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Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral – full name ‘The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln’, or sometimes ‘St. Mary's Cathedral’ – is a historic Anglican cathedral that is highly regarded by architectural scholars.
In 1072 the first bishop of Lincoln ordered the construction of Lincoln Cathedral, which was completed in 1092 opposite the castle. This original cathedral was rebuilt around 50 years later following a fire, but was destroyed again in 1185 by an earthquake.
Rebuilding and expansion ensued on a magnificent scale, including a lead-encased wooden spire reportedly reaching 160m (525ft) in height. Not only was this reputedly Europe’s tallest medieval tower, but the cathedral is widely accepted to have been the tallest man-made structure in the world at the time (exceeding Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza, which had held the record for the preceeding 4,000 years). This central spire eventually collapsed in a storm in 1549 and was not rebuilt.
Lincoln Cathedral today is Lincolnshire's largest building, and is Britain’s 3rd largest cathedral (in terms of floor space) after St Paul's and York Minster.
