Sunday, May 17, 2015

Lincoln Castle

I've been meaning to write this post for ages and have only just got round to it.  At the end of April on our wedding anniversary (36 years) we decided to visit Lincoln and see what they had done to the Castle since our last visit many years ago.  We were grateful to Louise who very generously gave us her return tickets to both the castle and cathedral.  You may remember that I featured some photos of the cathedral in one of my Five on Friday posts.

We decided to visit the Castle first so after we had parked the car, which was surprisingly quite easy, we made our way to the entrance.  I hadn't been into the Castle grounds since the 1980s and early 1990s when a friend of ours was curator there and we used to meet up with her and her husband at the Christmas Market and eat in the Wig and Mitre just at the top of steep hill.


As it was still a bit chilly we decided to look around inside first.  The main part of the exhibitions are in the old Victorian Prison building.  The Magna Carta exhibition was fascinating especially the film in the little film theatre but no photos were allowed in there so I can't show you anything.  The staff were very friendly and helpful all the way round.  We went into the female (below) and then the male (above) sides of the prison.

Inside the cells were interpretations of what life would have been like for the prisoners and some of their individual stories were told.

The stories were told on information panels but also by interactive means

short films projected onto the cell walls

and computer touch screen graphics and information.  You can, if you wish, dress up as one of the prisoners or one of the staff.

 In the prison chapel the prisoners were kept separate so they couldn't communicate with each other

After our prison visit it was time to do what I'd most been looking forward to which was walk around the castle walls.  It had got a little warmer and the sun was out but the wind was quite brisk as we ascended the modern, spiral staircase to reach the walls.

 The views were amazing! 

 We spent ages just gazing and absorbing the atmosphere.  I was listening to one of their information tapes too as I walked around but kept pausing it to take in the views.

 As I said in my previous post I love all the 'higgldy piggldy' roof tops in this part of the city

 The walls are quite easy to walk around with numbered stopping point for the commentary.

More roofscapes, I love the tiles and chimney pots.

 The grassy area is where the early prison building was sited before the later one was built.

Halfway round and a view back to the observatory tower

In the distance is Ellis' Mill built in 1798 on the site of an earlier mill.  It is just behind the Museum of  Lincolnshire Life which I featured in an earlier post.

We made our way around the walls, finding interesting views both inside the walls and out.

On the left of the photo above is the 1820s Crown Court and former debtor's prison now the new Heritage skills centre

On the home stretch now - within the walls of the Lucy tower under the trees are the graves of prisoners who were hanged here - just marked by their initials. A bit spooky but quite sad too.

The back of the Victorian Prison

Up to the Observatory tower and right up to the top - this got to my knees a little and the wind was quite robust up here so we didn't stay long.

Back to the entrance and a look in the shop where Paul bought a lovely book on Medieval cookery which is fascinating.  The we decided to have lunch in the cafe just sandwiches and coffee but they were very tasty and well presented.


After lunch we set out to visit the Cathedral but that is another story.

22 comments:

  1. That was a wonderful trip Rosie! Thank you for showing us around. I didn't think the prison cells looked too bad - but I guess staying there would be a different experience altogether! I don't think I would be too fond of medieval cuisine with blackbirds baked in a pie and such like! x

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    1. Some of the recipes look quite paleatable but others just not what we are used too. I expect the cells would have been quite daunting when they were being used. the womens side was much smaller than the men's side:)

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  2. I love that "1820s Crown Court"! It was still Crown Court in the 1970s when I was working there as a journalist! And the red building opposite was the coroner's court. Many a day I spent in there staring across the courtyard to the crown court building, which had something like Virginia creeper growing up the front of it. It used to turn a beautiful, vivid red in autumn. I LOVED covering the court cases. I think I need to go back to see for myself what they've done with the place.

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    1. The crown court is a very pretty building isn't it? I remeber it being covered with Virginia creeper or something like that too. It would be worth a return visit to see what has changed:)

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  3. I've never been in the prison - a great excuse to return to Lincoln - one of my favourite days out! xx

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    1. The prison bit is interesting and some of the stories quite touching. Lincoln is a great day out isn't it?:)

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  4. The prison looks to have been built to a virtually identical design as Oxford Jail. The latter is now a hotel which we stayed in as a pre Christmas treat. It's an excellent conversion, with all the main features preserved, including one cell left in its original state. So much so it was a real sense of déjà vu looking at your photos!

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    1. I've heard about the Oxford prison being an hotel now probaly through you and also Lewis on television - sounds quite an experience:)

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  5. Fascinating Rosie, thank you. I look forward to the next part of the story. x

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    1. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it - another castle next I think:)

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  6. A lovely place. Your roof photo is great. I haven't been to Lincoln for many years, must go back again. x

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    1. I love the roof photo - I think it would make a great painting:)

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  7. Well I've never been to Lincoln, but it looks lovely from up high. Thank you for the tour of the castle.

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    1. Lincoln is a lovely city with lots of lovely old buildings, museums and etc to enjoy:)

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  8. It was lovely to 'revisit' through your blog and I was so glad to be able to get the most out of those tickets as we'd not have used them, certainly not within 6 months! I'm please you were able to enjoy them! Lovely photos and the cookbook looks really interesting!

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    1. Thanks, Louise glad you enjoyed 're-visiting' - we had a lovely time:)

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  9. Congratulations on your anniversary. A lovely tour in part of the country that I no so little of. Thankyou. Katharine

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    1. Thank you, Ketherine we like to have a day out on the actual day if we can. I think you would like Lincoln and its buildings and museums:)

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  10. What a thrilling way to celebrate your anniversary.
    And a generous gift from your friend to hand over the tickets to you and your spouse.
    Awesome....as are your photo shares and narration.

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    1. Thank you - yes it was very generous and much appreciated. glad you enjoyed the post:)

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  11. I have enjoyed looking at your photographs of Lincoln Castle. We staying in Lincoln over Easter and the walls were a lot busier at that time.

    I have had a browse around your blog and I see you like the same sort of places as me :-) Thanks for the explanation of the numbers on the Shrewsbury museum. I wondered what they were when I visited earlier this year.

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    1. Hello and thanks for visiting and leaving a comment . It seems as if we visit the same palces doesn't it? I loved what they have done to the castle and also the new museum at Shrewsbury. I will pop over and visit your blog later tofday:)

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