July 11, 2012 10.31 am This story is over 140 months old

Lincoln Castle wall circuit plans revealed

New views: Planning documents are giving a glimpse into the full wall head circuit in progress at Lincoln Castle.

Newly published planning documents are giving a glimpse into the full wall head circuit in progress at Lincoln Castle.

The first phase of the works is underway as part of a £20 million project to completely revamp Lincoln Castle.

Part of the project will be a full tour of the castle walls, with entrances from the north, east and west curtain walls.

This will be done with new balustrading and walkways, and also proposed a new lift tower and stairway, located next to the main entrance to serve the eastern curtain wall.

The lift tower would mirror the form of adjacent military turrets and other circular masonry features, offering a striking juxtaposition to the bailey.

New wall head and bridge extensions will also be put in place, which mirror that already adopted for the first phase of the works.

The new lift and stairs would be concealed from the view of those approaching the castle from the east, giving uninterrupted views of the eastern curtain wall from Castle Square.

This requires significant repair of the east, north and west masonry fabric, and repair techniques have been devised to deal with water shedding and frost damage issues.

Once the Lincoln Castle project is completed in 2015, the entrance fees to the castle grounds will be scrapped.

Other future attractions include a new Heritage Skills Centre, and a new vault to showcase Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest, complete with a cinema space as well as a new cafe and shop on site.

Impressions of the Magna Carta vault by Joanne Gibson