ARCHITECT, English
(active 1073-1092 in Lincoln)

Exterior view

1073-92
Photo
Cathedral, Lincoln

The construction of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary in Lincoln was started in 1073 and completed by 1092, when it was consecrated. It was extensively rebuilt during the Gothic period in the Early English style. All that remains of the original building is the central section of the façade, built of hewn stone, and with narrow openings that look like the arrow-slits on a castle.

Remigius, who had previously been the almoner at the monastery of Fécamp, was made bishop in 1067. In 1072, as part of the reforms made to the dioceses after the Norman Conquest, the bishop's see of Dorchester on Thames was moved to Lincoln; the cathedral was built on the fortified Lincoln Hill, above the River Witham. As Remigius died on the eve of the consecration, it was undertaken by his successor, Robert Bloet. All that remains Remigius's building is the central section of the façade built of hewn stone, and with narrow openings that look like the arrow-slits on a castle. Because of excavations, it is possible to make a reliable reconstruction of its appearance: a two-bay façade with twin towers was connected to a nine-bay columned nave and aisles, a projecting transepts with tribunes that was initially in two sections, and a choir composed of five chapels in echelon. The rectangular sides of the side apses were a common feature in churches in Normandy. The cathedral itself must have been a galleried basilica.

The photo shows the central part of the west façade.

View the ground plan of Lincoln Cathedral.