Lincoln Cathedral: A Local Icon Through Curious Eyes
At Magna Radio, being part of the community means celebrating the places that make our area special. Few landmarks capture that better than Lincoln Cathedral.
Recently, one of our presenters, Adam, shared a brilliant moment about his son (in a social video), who’s become a big fan of the Cathedral. That sparked an idea… why not take a closer look at this incredible building, through both grown-up eyes and a child’s sense of wonder?
As a station, Magna Radio is proud to be a Friend of Lincoln Cathedral, and it’s something we’d highly recommend visiting. It’s right here on our doorstep, yet for many people across Lincolnshire, it’s something they don’t visit nearly as often as they should.
For the Grown-Ups: History, Stories and Surprising Details
Lincoln Cathedral isn’t just a beautiful building. It’s a masterpiece of engineering, history and mystery.
Construction began in 1072, not long after the Norman Conquest, and what you see today is the result of centuries of rebuilding, expansion and restoration. Earthquakes, fires and even the collapse of the central tower in 1237 have all shaped the Cathedral into what it is now.
One of its most fascinating claims to fame is that it was once the tallest building in the world, holding that title for over 200 years. Its central spire, which has since been lost, reached a staggering height of around 160 metres. For centuries, nothing on Earth stood taller, reportedly even higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
But it’s not just grand history that makes Lincoln Cathedral interesting. It’s the small, quirky details too.
**High up in the Cathedral’s stonework sits one of Lincoln’s strangest talking points: a tennis ball that has been there since 1914.** The story goes that a boy called Gilbert Bell threw it while playing with his brother, and it became wedged in the mouldings, where it has remained for more than a century. Over the years, it became something of a family legend, with generations of the Bell family returning to check that it was still there.
