HISTORIC
LINCOLN
REVEALED
SUMMER 2014
Welcome to the
27th newsletter from
the Historic Lincoln
Partnership (HLP)
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INSIDE
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Lincoln Castle Revealed
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Doddington Hall Tapestry
Restoration
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Heritage Lottery Fund
Bursary Traineeships
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Visitors enjoying the wall walk at Lincoln Castle
Lincoln Castle Revealed has such a breadth to it that you never know what you’re
going to be doing next. Roman plaster fragments one minute, choosing actors the
next. Proof checking interpretation panels, organising press visits or cursing the
squirrel who gnawed holes in the new lead on the Bath House roof! Keeps the little
grey cells active I suppose. But at last, it’s all been worth while! We’re developing a
new beer to celebrate Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary! This would be the royal ‘we’
as Batemans Brewery are doing all the developing and I am merely a helpful taster.
All in the very early stages, but at the first meeting we test three beers, which instantly
raised it to ‘Top Meeting Ever’ status – I will endeavour to keep my wits about me and
will report further.
As the profile of Lincoln Castle Revealed rises so does the number of high profile
visitors - many from the United States - coming to inspect the work. I was surprised
to find that the special guest within a party from RAF Cranwell was the wife of the
Commander in Chief American Air Force, complete with large security detail. Betty
Welsh seemed to thoroughly enjoy her visit and said she wanted to return to see it
all complete.
The HLF sponsored Children’s Marquee at
the 1000 Years of Traditional Crafts event
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Keep up to date on the very latest
Lincoln Castle Revealed news
and events by emailing
[email protected]
to sign up to the e-newsletter.
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Marketing of the Castle together with the whole tourism offer in Lincolnshire is
going to be very important so we were delighted to welcome Lady Cobham, Chair
of Visit England and James Berresford, Chief Executive of Visit England to a full
day tour of Lincoln. After their visit James said “Both Penny and I were hugely
impressed by the ambition and determination of the partners” he went on to say “The
Castle, Magna Carta and links to the wonderful Cathedral will make Lincoln and
Lincolnshire a must see destination in 2015. Rest assured, Visit England will do all in
its powers to make that the case.” See page 5.
Mary Powell
Programme Coordinator,
Historic Lincoln Projects
Lincoln Castle Revealed
Progress Updates
Needless to say we are involved in endless proof checking of panels
and labels, script writing and looking at material samples, vitally
important but I fear not terribly interesting to report on so I’ve just
picked out a few highlights.
n Over 1700 visitors came to the 1000 Years of Traditional Crafts Event at the end of May. The hard hat tours were incredibly popular and although we managed to squeeze in more tours on the Sunday were still over-subscribed - sorry if you came and were unable to get on a tour.
n You may notice from the picture that the prison has gone back to its original paint scheme. The University of Lincoln did the paint research to establish this and changing it from white to cream has transformed the space.
n Both the glass floor in the Female wing and the stair and lift towers are imminently awaited and we will, as usual, be camera ready to record.
n We visited Realm Projects, the bespoke joiners who are responsible for the interpretation fit out at the Castle. We were delighted with the quality of work for example lovely oak frames that will house the interactive tables, matching oak benches to sit at and models of the Castle that will be cast in bronze and will help to orientate visitors. Very reassuring to see things coming together.
n Eight of the Saxon skeletons have been sent to Leicester University. DNA specialist, Dr Turi King who worked on the remains of Richard III is doing the work. Four of the skulls are suitable for reconstruction and they are at Dundee University to be looked at by facial reconstruction expert Professor Caroline Wilkinson, who also worked on the Richard III project.
n Reports are coming in thick and fast on varying elements of the archaeology: textiles from the burials, leather shoe fragments, Roman coins, clay pipes, paint and plaster fragments, to name but a few that have passed over my desk in recent weeks.
n One of the skeletons appears to be a re-burial, with the body wrapped and carefully placed in the Saxon church wall. Several small fragments of material were found and analysis shows two different textiles, both are linens but one is relatively fine and closely woven and both are better quality textiles than the linen recorded in the sarcophagus burial. Fine linens have been associated with high status burials since the 6th or 7th centuries. Textiles of this sort are not easily datable and they may have come from the original burial, or they may have been used to re-wrap the bones at a later stage. The re-wrapping of bones of revered ecclesiastics in valuable textiles continued to be a common medieval practice. The quality of these textiles suggests that these were the remains of someone revered by the church. See photo page 4.
Left: visitors at the 1000 Years of Traditional Crafts event.
Near right; three photos showing joinery work in progress at Realm Projects.
Far right, top; hard hat tour of the female wing – the concrete floor has been removed and
the glass floor is awaited. Far right bottom; hard hat tour of the male wing, now returned
to its original colour scheme.
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3
Lincoln Castle Revealed continued
n A traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony was held on the 29 May to mark a milestone in the construction of the Magna Carta vault. A carved oak plaque marking the occasion was placed in the roof timbers and this was then covered by the lead roofing. So hopefully it won’t be seen for many years when perhaps in a far distant repair programme it will be uncovered. The day itself was miserable, grey and wet and after four hours of assorted interviews with TV, radio and newspapers I think we’d all begun to forget who we’d told what to or care!
n We used the topping out ceremony to also launch the new Magna Carta guidebook produced by Lincoln Cathedral and written by Carol and Nicholas Bennett. Delighted to say that it is selling very well. It is a complicated series of events both leading up to Runnymede and afterwards, but there is a real clarity in this book which if you want to begin 2015 with the whole story straight in your head, then this is the place to start. Great pictures too and a bargain at £6.99! Cathedral and Castle shops.
n Artist Toby Ward came to the Castle in June to record the stone masons at work. Each day he sent me an email to show progress – here they are working on the North wall.
Anti-clockwise from top left:
Linen from the sarcophagus © The AngloSaxon Laboratory;
Stone masons at work by Tony Ward;
Wet and all interviewed out;
Cllr Nick Worth, Paul Staniforth and Cllr
Colin Davie at the topping out ceremony;
Topping out plaque.
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Visit England, the national tourist board come to Lincoln Castle to inspect the works - see front page
Left to right: Paul Robinson, Cathedral Chapter Clerk; Prof David Stocker, HLF Trustee; Lady Cobham, Chairman Visit England; Lord
Cormack, Chairman Historic Lincoln Trust; Cllr Nick Worth, Lincolnshire County Council; James Berresford, Chief Executive Visit England
Lincoln Cathedral invited to resubmit for HLF Funding
Lincoln Cathedral’s application
to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a
£640,000 development grant and a
stage-one pass for its £13.3 million
‘Lincoln Cathedral Connected’
project has been turned down.
Lincoln Cathedral Connected will give
visitors unprecedented access to the
Cathedral’s collections of archaeological
artefacts, liturgical plate, vestments,
manuscripts and sculpture. There will be
a new and varied programme of events,
outreach activities, lectures, tours and
workshops. The project will also see the
development of new visitor facilities at
the Cathedral, including a brand new
interpretation centre, learning space,
restaurant and gift shop.
Despite this disappointing news, the
Cathedral received positive feedback from
HLF about its plans, including guidance
on how the bid can be improved. A revised
application will be submitted later this year.
The Very Reverend Philip Buckler,
Dean of Lincoln said: “Although we are
disappointed, the Cathedral remains
committed to this project and we look
forward to working further with HLF to
enable this vision to become a reality for our
visitors and residents here in Lincoln.”
Cathy Aitken
Lincoln Cathedral
5
Restoration of the Doddington
The first two tapestries to undergo conservation from the Holly bedroom are
now well under way at the Heritage Skills Centre. We have almost reached the
cobbler and his table of tools on one frame and have already had the dancing
dog and bagpiper pass under our needles on the second frame! We are aiming
to complete the bagpiper and dancing dog tapestry first as it is the larger
of the two. We have set time estimates for each section to try to keep us on
schedule for a finish date by the beginning of October. Although the tapestry
will then need further work including the application of an extra lining with
a dust proof cotton fabric and more investigation into how we are going to
rehang them. We are all getting very excited at the prospect of having our first
tapestry completed.
June has been a busy month for us, not only have we been working hard on the conservation
stitching at the Heritage Skills Centre but we have also been at Doddington Hall helping
take down a second set of tapestries in what is called the Yellow bedroom. Like the Holly
bedroom tapestries, it is a set of six tapestries cut to fit the walls of the bedroom in around
1762. They are extremely dirty with many of the characters’ features obscured by 250 years
of dirt and soot, just like the Holly bedroom tapestries were before they were cleaned. These
tapestries depict scenes from the Trojan war so are quite different to the rural scenes of the
Holly bedroom.
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Hall Tapestries
We were assisted in our efforts by a group of five international students on placement for the
summer from Bishop Grosseteste University. They all worked extremely hard over the course
of seven days to help remove the tapestries from the walls by taking out more than 700 metal
tacks nailed through the tapestries. The tapestries were then lowered, by rolling them onto
large drain pipes one by one. This was followed by the really back breaking work removing
any old linings and vacuuming as much of the loose dirt from both sides of the tapestries
before rolling and packing them for their travels to Belgium to be wet cleaned in September.
This part of the project is being funded by the Doddington Hall Conservation Charity. We
are planning to travel with the tapestries to see them cleaned, so will update you with their
progress in the Autumn newsletter.
Alice, Louise and Sophie
Opposite page:
Top; the dancing dog from the Holly
bedroom tapestry is now out of sight as this
section of tapestry is complete. Below; team
taking down Yellow bedroom tapestry at
Doddington Hall.
This page, top, from left to right:
Louise Joynson; removing loose dirt and
fibres from a tapestry; photographic record of
tapestry condition
Below; vacuuming tapestry.
Welcome to Louise Joynson who joined Sophie and Alice in May; all three are ex University
of Lincoln students and have worked at various studios around the country. You may have met
them over the 1000 Years weekend and seen them hard at work. If not, on bank holidays and
heritage open days, visitors to the Castle can meet the conservators and hear about their work.
If you can’t make these dates some of the timed tours of the Castle drop into the Skills Centre
to view the tapestries. We are also filming the team at work so that you will be able to view
the stitching really close-up! More information in the next newsletter.
Amanda Davey
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Heritage Skills Centre
It’s been a busy first six months in my new role as Manager of the Heritage
Skills Centre. As well as becoming host to the Hands on Tapestries project
we’ve been running taster day courses in a range of craft skills and started our
traditional building skills training with funding from the Heritage Lottery
Fund through the Skills for the Future programme. We’ve also had some
brilliantly attended open days where people have been able to see what we’ve
got going on.
Coming up we’ve got another open weekend for the August bank holiday (23rd to 25th
August) where you can see tapestry conservation in action, find out more about traditional
skills and see drop spindle spinning in action. From September we’ve got more taster and
introductory courses in a range of traditional craft, building and conservation skills. More
information will be going up on the Heritage Skills Centre website shortly www.lincolnshire.
gov.uk/heritageskillscentre.
There are also some great opportunities for young people and those in further education
to gain an understanding of traditional skills through our three day taster programmes.
Opportunities are available to get a general introduction to heritage construction, as well as
more in depth training in traditional joinery, roofing, stonemasonry, plastering and stained
glass. These can be accessed either as individuals or teachers/tutors can contact us directly to
arrange courses to suit your timetable.
Although we can’t be open to the public during the week just yet due to the works on site, we
will be open as part of the free offer from April next year. Until then you are welcome to pop
down and see us on our open weekends and we hope to see you on a course soon!
You can contact the Heritage Skills Centre at [email protected] or on
01522 547311.
Kathryn Banfield
Heritage Skills Centre Manager
Top left; Kathryn Banfield
Left and below; stained glass and stone work skills on display at 1000 Years of
Traditional Crafts
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Elaine Owers, tapestry consultant; Alice Thompson; Lord Cormack
The months roll by at alarming speed
and we have now less than a year to
go before the great celebrations at
Runneymede on 15th June 2015,
which will mark the exact date when
the Barons forced King John to put
his Royal Seal to Magna Carta, the
most important single document in
the history of our country.
Lincoln’s Magna Carta, currently on display
in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston USA
will return from its American Tour, and
its final exhibition place in the Library of
Congress, at the beginning of next year.
Magna Carta year itself will begin with
the four surviving 1215 copies, Lincoln
Cathedrals, Salisbury Cathedrals and the
two which belong to the British Library,
being brought together for the first time
in history for some remarkable events in
London at the beginning of February.
Lincoln’s commemorations will begin in
June with a great service of dedication in
the Cathedral where the Cathedral’s Magna
Carta will be transferred to the safe custody
of the new purpose built Magna Carta Vault
within the grounds of the newly restored and
revealed Lincoln Castle. There will follow,
between the 18th and 22nd June, a Three
Choirs Festival in Lincoln Cathedral. The Cathedral’s own choir will be joined by the choirs
of Peterborough and Southwell Cathedrals. The opening concert, on the 18th June, will
feature the world renowned violinist Tasmin Little, accompanied by Australia’s most famous
pianist Piers Lane. Tickets for this event will be going on sale later this year.
Then, towards the end of June, Lincolnshire’s Great Exhibition, to be housed in the Castle,
the Cathedral Libraries, the Collection and the Usher Gallery, will open and will run until
the 27th September. Full details of some of the remarkable treasures to feature in this
exhibition will be announced in the autumn.
We have decided to designate 2015 as Lincolnshire’s Year of Pilgrimage and those coming
will have the opportunity of acquiring a Pilgrims Badge, featuring Saint Hugh and his Swan.
In medieval times Pilgrims flocked to the Shrine of Saint Hugh, who was canonised just
20 years after his death, in 1220 and the word Pilgrimage resonates through Lincolnshire’s
history. In 1536 the Louth Rising was the most dramatic episode in the Pilgrimage of Grace,
the revolt against Henry VIII’s plan to dissolve the monasteries and make himself head of
the Church of England. Less than a hundred years later the Pilgrim Fathers first set sail from
Lincolnshire.
We shall be appealing to all those who have Lincolnshire connections, whether of birth,
ancestry, education or work, or merely historical interest, to come to our county, and
Lincoln in particular, during 2015 and we shall be welcoming many visitors from the United
States. Lincoln’s ties with America began with a remarkable explorer Captain John Smith
in the early 17th Century nearly 20 years before the Pilgrim Fathers set sail. In the 18th
Century the founding fathers of the newly independent States drew their constitutional
inspiration from Magna Carta and in the 20th Century many brave American airmen flew
from Lincolnshire airfields to defend the values and ideals for which Magna Carta was the
foundation.
2015 is going to be one of the most remarkable years in Lincoln’s history and there will
be a great conference on the 23rd September 2014 when all plans will be revealed and the
Countdown to June will truly begin.
Lord Cormack
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RY A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY A DATE FOR Y
Countdown to
Lincoln Castle Revealed
23 September 2014
You are very warmly invited to Countdown to Lincoln Castle
Revealed which we hope will give you an early look at how
the project is nearing completion.
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When 10am-4pm, 23 September, 2014
Where EPIC Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln LN2 2NA. We think that we will need a large venue for this event and there’s lots of free parking too!
Booking Yes please, there is a choice of presentations to book onto and we really need to know numbers
How Booking is available on www.visitlincolnshire.com or by post to
Lincolnshire County Council, FAO Claire Cooper, 13 The Avenue, Lincoln LN1 1PA
(cheques made payable to Lincolnshire County Council)
Cost There is a charge of £10 per person, Early Bird Booking Discount of £8 per person until August 22
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Refreshments Lunch will be provided
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Format Opening film, followed by presentation on the latest state of Lincoln Castle Revealed; there will then
be a number of sessions to book onto according to your interests, one before lunch, one after.
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Sponsors
Countdown to Lincoln Castle Revealed Booking Form
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Choose two sessions from the following list: please tick boxes
Behind the scenes of Lincoln Castle Revealed – Key figures from the restoration. Sponsored by Robert Woodhead Heritage
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Revealed Archaeology of Lincoln Castle – Latest thinking on our findings from the archaeologists
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Revealing the Stories of Lincoln Castle – Our researchers and members of the Advisory Panel will talk about their work
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Lincoln Cathedral Connected – help to contribute to the planning process for their funding bid
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What does Lincoln Castle Revealed mean for my business?
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Lincoln Castle Revealed goes Digital – new website, Castle Connections and Castle Explorer
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Events to celebrate Magna Carta’s 800th in Lincolnshire
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Lincoln Growth Strategy
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Name _____________________________________________________ Number of people attending _____________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________ Postcode ______________________
Email ______________________________________________________ Tel ___________________________________________________
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Heritage Lottery Fund Bursary Traineeships
Training the next generation of craftsmen and craftswomen has always been a core part of the Works
Department ethos. In 2010 we were fortunate to secure grant funding for training from the Heritage
Lottery Fund, as part of a partnership project with Lincolnshire County Council.
The HLF partner funding enables
Lincolnshire County Council to offer
taster days and short training courses.
The Cathedral is able to offer longer term
training opportunities for those who have
already made their career choice but who
need an extra boost to gain permanent
employment.
The Cathedral Works Department has
become the work experience provider for
16 advanced traineeships, offered in three
intakes over a period of five years. We
are now four years into the project, and
have appointed the final six trainees, who
joined us last month. They are: Adam
Coulson, Heritage Brickwork; Billy
Evans, Painting and Decorating; Sophie
Gwynn, Glazing; Thomas Hart and Sophia
Robinson, Carpentry/Joinery; and Beatrice
Searle, Stonemasonry. They come from a
wide range of learning backgrounds and
experience of their crafts, but they have in
common a passion for their chosen trades,
and a determination to succeed as heritage
crafts professionals.
The traineeships last for 18 months. Each
trainee receives a bursary for living expenses,
and fully paid training costs. The goal is
for each trainee to achieve NVQ Level 3
in Heritage Skills, or the equivalent in their
particular craft. They work as part of the
Cathedral craft teams, and at college on
block release.
Todd Roylance, a Carpentry/Joinery trainee who joined us in 2012, was recently chosen
to represent Lincoln College in their annual German exchange programme with
Kreishandwerkerschaft Coesfeld. Here is his report on the experience:
“
Eight of us went from different trades and we had three German lessons before
we went which taught us the basics. The company I worked for was a family run
joinery firm, which specialised in timber roofing and the manufacturing and fitting
of triple glazed windows.
On the first two weeks I was fitting the triple glazed upvc windows. It was
completely different to the heritage work I do at the Cathedral, but good
experience all the same. I learned that the Germans are very efficient and hard
working people and they were also very friendly. Also I was shocked at the
lack of health and safety. Hard hats and hi-viz vests were never worn and the
scaffolding was not good.
In the last week I was working on the roofing side of the company, which I
enjoyed a lot more. We were on new builds, with roofs of the traditional style
with purlins. The difference was that they had a computer programmed machine
in the company’s workshop that cut all the rafters and purlins to size. So when it
came to putting the roof up it was like a kit form roof. This was very efficient and
quick, but I thought it took a bit of the skill away from the job. It was not like the
traditional methods we use on the Cathedral using hand saws, chisels and hand
planes. All in all it was a great experience. I enjoyed the German food, drink and
even got to see a Borussia Dortmund football match.
”
Times are still very hard in the construction industry, but we have seen measurable results
from this programme. Too many talented college leavers cannot find the opening they need
to gain the hands-on experience that will make them employable. The HLF grant allows us
to provide that vital bridge and is giving hope and opportunity.
Carol M Heidschuster MICWCI
Works Manager and Clericus Fabricae
Left to right: Adam Coulson (Brickwork), Tom Hart (Joiner), Billy Evans (Painter & Decorator), Todd Roylance (Joiner), Beatrice Searle
(Stonemason) and Sophia Robinson (Joiner).
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EVENTS CALENDAR
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Lincoln Cathedral
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Lincoln Castle
For further details about these and other
events please contact 01522 561600, visit
www.lincolncathedral.com or email events@
lincolncathedral.com. Tickets can be
obtained from the Minster Shop or from
www.lincolncathedral.com/shop. Please note
that there is no disabled access to the Wren
Library. Admission charges apply.
For further details about these and other
events please contact 01522 782040 or visit
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/visiting/historicbuildings/lincoln-castle. The Castle is open
10am - 4pm October - March, 10am - 5pm
in April and September and 10am - 6pm
May - August. Admission charges apply.
2-3 August, 10am – 6pm
28 July – 2 August, 10am – 4pm
Lincoln Castle Joust
Art Exhibition – A Company of Painters
5-7 August & 26-28 August, 10am – 3pm
29 July, 7.30pm
My Family Was Here 2014
Music by JS Bach
Admission: £5 - £10
9 August, 7pm
6 – 27 August, 10am – 4pm
George’s Marvelous Medicine
Exhibition - Labyrinth Project
Admission: £6 - £26 (tickets from Drill Hall,
01522 873894)
13 & 18 August, 7.30pm
Play - The Grail
12 – 14 August, 10.15am, 11.15am,
1pm, 2pm
15 – 25 August, 10am – 4pm
Exhibition of Paintings – Landscapes
Story Time Tent
25 August, 7pm
19 - 21 August, 10am – 3pm
Summer Organ Festival
Admission: £5
30 August, 1.10pm
Lunchtime Recital
06 September, 1.10pm
Lunchtime Concert – Medieval Uprising
Tour
13 September, 9am – 4pm
Heritage Open Day
Free admission
13 September, 7pm
Organ Concert - Colin Walsh
Admission: £5
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Castle Square
3rd Saturday each month
Garden Games
23 - 25 August, 10am – 6pm
Birds of Prey
Lincoln Farmers’ Market
27 September, 7.30pm
Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat each week 7pm
prompt
Admission: £8 - £10 (tickets from: www.
thelunacinema.com)
Outdoor Cinema - Mamma Mia
The Original Lincoln Ghost Walks
Adults £4, under 12’s £2 – no need to book,
just turn up (01522 874056).
5 July, 2 August & 26 October, 4pm
– 5pm
The Ghost Bus Tours
28 September, 7.30pm
Outdoor Cinema - Top Gun
Admission: £8 - £10
(tickets from: www.thelunacinema.com)
25 October
Leigh Orpheus Male Choir
Admission: £6
(tickets from www.visitlincoln.com)
Sausage Festival
21 September, 3pm
12-14 September, 10am – 6pm
3 – 6 December
Steampunk Festival
Lincoln Christmas Market
20 September, 1.10pm
Commemoration of the Battle of Britain
service
Free admission
27 September, 7pm
Hallé Orchestra
Admission: £10 - £26
Every effort is made to ensure that details contained in this newsletter are correct.
However, dates and times may change and cancellations may occur, so you are
advised to check details of any event you wish to attend.
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Lincoln you can sign up to our free newsletter. This can be issued by
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Return to: Lincolnshire County Council, Freepost RRZK-BRXK-URAX,
Communities, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YQ
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