Saturday 2 May 2009

Lincoln (in declivio)



"...the hill to the north of the river provided a comanding position for the principal military base for the control of eastern England in the Roman period."

M. J. Jones, 'Roman Lincoln', in N. Pevsner & J. Harris, 'The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire' (1985)




"A new and controversial interpretation of the origins of the cathedral has recently been expounded by Richard Gem. He convincingly suggests that the west front was originally fortified."

N. Pevsner & J. Harris, 'The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire' (1985).


"Soon after William the Conqueror became King of England, there was a general order that many of the bishops' seats should be moved from their present sites (often villages) to major [walled] towns in the various diocese. The new Norman Bishop of Dorchestor, Remigius moved to Lincoln to counter the advances of the Archbishop of York, who had claims in Lindsey".

A. Rodgers, 'A History of Lincolnshire' (1970).




"..for the Bishop's Palace is indeed, as Leland says, 'hanging in declivio'.* This difficult topography called for bold use at different levels.."

N. Pevsner & J. Harris, 'The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire' (1985)

*declivio (m) n. declivity, slope, descent




Vicar's Court, Lincoln. Note the local oolitic Limestone used in buildings thoughout Lincoln.




Lincoln City lamp, Greestone stairs.

"In fact Greestone is a mutilation too. It was Greesen Place, Greesen being the plural of gree, meaning step".

N. Pevsner & J. Harris, 'The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire' (1985).




"The street by which one should approach it [the Cathedral] is justly called Steep Hill. Another approach is by Greestone stairs. The hill rises steeply only from the south."

N. Pevsner & J. Harris, 'The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire' (1985).




The Collection, (2005) a new museum by Panter Hudspith Architects.




Dury Lane (?), Lincoln.




Christopher Wordsworth: nephew of the famous poet, and Bishop of Lincoln during the most part of the nineteeenth century. Note also, the distinctive Lincoln street sign.




"When the nineteenth century began it had become a backwater with a population of only 7,000... But it seized the advantage that the railways offered and developed a new commercial importance as a centre of manufacturing industry, especially of agricultural machinery."

J. Simmons, 'A Selective Guide to England' (1979).

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