January 24, 2022 10.42 am This story is over 26 months old

Lincoln Cathedral on way to being scaffolding-free for first time in three decades

Minster Yard will close to vehicles in meantime
The cathedral west front has had scaffolding on it for over 30 years. That is about to come to an end. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
By Local Democracy Reporter

Removal of the steel support frames on Lincoln Cathedral’s West Front is under way, and once complete it will see the area scaffolding-free for the first time in 36 years.

Due to ongoing conservation works of the Romanesque Frieze and the subsequent copy carvings that will be going inside the new visitor centre at the Old Deanery, the West Front has seen plenty of scaffolding in recent years.

However, that is about to change as those works gradually come to an end. The project to clean and protect the Romanesque Frieze carvings started in 2016 after £1.5 million of national lottery heritage funding, and scaffolding has been up there from previous conservation works long before that.

Lincoln Cathedral’s Romanesque Frieze has been the subject of a large conservation project, and that is now almost complete. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Lincolnite was told the works were set for completion in mid-January, to allow for the West Front to be scaffolding-free for the first time since 1986.

Lincoln Cathedral has now announced that from Monday, January 24 to Friday, February 4, Minster Yard will close to vehicles to allow for the safe removal of steel frames from the building.

The scaffolding is being taken down, and Minster Yard will close to vehicles in the meantime. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Visitors can still access the cathedral via the visitor centre, and if you are attending services you should enter through the judgement porch.

The removal of the scaffolding comes at a perfect time for Lincoln Cathedral, as it prepares to play host to Luke Jerram’s magnificent ‘Museum of the Moon’ exhibition between Monday, February 7 and Sunday, February 27.

Meet the stone carvers hard at work to bring the Romanesque Frieze exhibition to life at Lincoln Cathedral. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

It will also allow visitors to the cathedral to see all of the wonderful carvings on the Romanesque Frieze, both on the walls themselves, and with the copy carvings at the visitor centre.

Read: ‘World class’ Romanesque Frieze exhibition set for unveiling at Lincoln Cathedral visitor centre