Elly Sample: Riseholme development central to Lincolnshire food and farming industries

Incredible conservation work at Lincoln Cathedral by some of the finest stone carvers in the country has almost been completed, with the Romanesque Frieze exhibition set to be on display at the new purpose-built visitor centre.

Martin Coward, Tim Crawley, Andrian Melka and Alan Micklethwaite are nationally renowned stone carvers and among the best in the country, and they have been working on the copy carvings that will form part of the Romanesque Frieze exhibition at the Old Deanery visitor centre.

The final adjustments are being made for the purpose-built exhibition gallery, which will give visitors an up close and personal glimpse into the historic stories behind the Romanesque Frieze.

Copy carvings of the original Frieze, which can be found on the West Front of the building, will be on display in the visitor centre. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The carvings are replicas of the ones already up on the West Front, which will soon be scaffolding-free for the first time since the mid-1980s. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Construction began on Lincoln Cathedral’s West Front in the late 11th century. It is believed the series of high relief panels running from the north-west corner of the Norman West Front, known as the Romanesque Frieze, were carved between 1120 and 1160.

The sculptures convey scenes from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and are so impressive given the small number of Romanesque sculptures still surviving in England.

The original carvings are believed to date back to the 12th century. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Applying the finishing touches. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

After being commissioned in 2018 thanks to National Lottery funding, the Dean and Chapter was given the opportunity to have two copies of the Friezes, one on the West Front itself and another to be put on display in the new exhibition centre.

The works will be the final milestone in Lincoln Cathedral’s £16 million National Lottery funded project, which has included landscaping of new external spaces, conservation works to the cathedral’s West Front, constructing the visitor centre itself, and improvements to the 13th century Exchequergate Arch.

The carvers have years of experience and come with national recognition. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

It should be ready by the end of January. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

As a result of all the work, the West Front will soon be scaffolding-free for the first time since 1986, allowing the public to see such masterpieces as the gallery of kings sculptures on the cathedral walls.

Speaking to The Lincolnite in December 2021, director of works and properties at Lincoln Cathedral, Michael Sheppard, said: “It’s a huge honour to work on a project of this scale and magnitude, it’s a really unique opportunity particularly for a cathedral.

“For many of us here it is a career highlight, as these kind of works won’t need to be done again for another 100 to 150 years.

“I might be biased but this conservation work is world class. It is completely bespoke and whatever we do has an implication, so it’s really important that we maintain the original fabric with as little intervention as possible.”

The level of detail makes the copy carving a very difficult job. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The owner of a tea room in Lincoln says he now feels more like his old self after having an experimental COVID drug treatment earlier this month, and is looking forward to reopening his business.

Des Davis, who owns Margaret’s Tea Room in Lincoln, tested positive for coronavirus this month and the symptoms hit him “like a speeding truck” despite having had both doses of the vaccine and a booster jab. He was one of the first people in Lincolnshire to receive COVID-19 drug Sotrovimob, which he had intravenously on January 7, and he said it helped save his life.

The 54-year-old is classed as high risk and clinically vulnerable due to his previous medical history and it was a worrying time for him. Nearly two weeks later he told The Lincolnite he is “feeling fine and 98% recovered” as prepares to reopen his tea room on Thursday, January 20.

Des Davis was one of the first people in Lincolnshire to receive a new experimental COVID drug treatment.

He felt the financial impact of being forced to close his business for more than two weeks due to COVID-19, but he is now raring to go and can’t wait to welcome his guests back to the tea room.

Des, who was the only member of his staff team to test positive for coronavirus, said: “After the first couple of days I felt like I was not fighting it (coronavirus), but recovering from it. It’s only really in the last couple of days that I’ve felt good and recovered from the fatigue of it and I’m ready to reopen the business.

“I’ve had lots of messages from regular guests saying they’re looking forward to coming back. The phone has been ringing off the hook with bookings and it’s nice that people have been watching social media and seen that I’m reopening and are wanting to come back.

“Regular guests who are now my friends have sent me messages of support and I had offers from people to drop shopping off or get anything I needed. I am looking forward to seeing them again.”

Des has also tweaked the menu slightly, adding some new delights such as smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and winter warmer desserts including Bramley apple and custard and golden syrup sponge, while the popular afternoon teas are also back.

Margaret’s Tea Room is open between 11am and 4pm Wednesday to Sunday.

A crash between two lorries and a car caused traffic delays on the A15 north of RAF Scampton on Thursday morning.

Lincolnshire Police, fire crews, and an air ambulance attended the scene of the collision at around 6.30am on January 20, but fortunately only minor injuries were reported, police said.

An eye witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Lincolnite that the two lorries involved were a tanker and a transporter, and everyone was out of their vehicles before emergency services arrived. The road was closed while the incident was dealt with and for recovery of the vehicles.

There is very slow traffic on the A15 southbound at Riseholme Roundabout, according to AA Traffic, who said it is “not helped by the earlier closure of the A15 at RAF Scampton.”

The crash happened on the A15 north of RAF Scampton. | Photo: Lee Morley

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police told said: “We were called to a collision involving two HGVs and a car on the A15 at Brigg Road, Scampton at 5.52am today (January 20).

“One of the HGVs has left the road and is in a nearby field and the road is blocked by the other HGV.”

At around 9.40am police said: “The road is closed between the Scampton roundabout and Caneby Corner, with traffic diverted onto the B1389 while the road is cleared. We would ask people to avoid the area.”