Chelsea Buckthorp

Lincoln Castle will open its gates and transport visitors back in time at the weekend, transforming its grounds into a scene from Medieval England.

The Medieval Merriment event at the castle will be brought to life with theatrical performances and re-enactments of traditional crafts.

Bestselling author and historian Alison Weir, who recently visited Lincoln to promote her latest book, The Captive Queen, explains why Lincoln is really such brilliant place for rediscovering the past.

In the past she has spent a lot of time in Lincoln researching her books, in particular, while writing a biography of local historical figure, Katherine Swynford.

“When I was researching Katherine Swynford I was up and down from Surrey like a yoyo. I spent my time researching in the cathedral library and around the town.

“I have learnt a lot from my research here because, actually, you’re still essentially living in medieval Lincoln. The Layout is still the same.

“You could do a book on Royal Lincoln and you could pack it.Henry II came here and obviously there is St Hugh of Lincoln.

“Like so many Kings and Queens, Henry VIII came here with Katherine of Howard on progress, and of course part of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I, is buried here.

Her latest novel, The Captive Queen, based on the turbulent life of Elenor of Aquitaine, even features the character Rohese de Clare, countess of Lincoln.

Mistress to the King, she had a reputation for being the most beautiful woman in England, and provides a pivotal turning point in Weir’s story.

Not only does Weir enjoy coming to Lincoln for its history and heritage, she also has enjoyed hosting many events here.

She has also performed at the cathedral alongside local historian Tracy Borman, where they gave a talk on their respective titles The Lady in the Tower and Elisabeth’s Women.

“I always have a wonderful time when I come to Lincoln.

“I started coming here when this [Waterstones, High street] was still Ottakars, I have lost count of the amount of times I have been, and I have to say that one of my events here was one of my landmark events.

“It was promoting my biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1999, and there was such a great turnout, I just thought, I have arrived.It was just such a wonderful evening, and everyone I have done here since has lived up to that.”

Entry at Medieval Merriment at Lincoln Castle cost £7 adults and £5 kids.

The Lincolnite contributors Lauren Westwood (L) and Chelsea Buckthorp (R) strut their medieval outfits for Alison Weir

By Chelsea Buckthorp chelsea

Discussions are taking place over whether or not to offer more schools in Lincoln the opportunity to become academies rather than state schools, and The Lincolnite asked whether you think this would be a good idea.

Becoming an academy would reduce the involvement of local government in the way individual establishments run their school, including how they spend their money.

It would also allow the school to take funding from outside sources such as local businesses or charities. We asked you what you thought of this new scheme:

Adam Pegg, 27, Lincoln

Adam Pegg

“I don’t really know much about it at the minute, but it is probably worth looking into if it could improve education. It depends what kind of students you get there, because different students with different needs might have more individual requirements that the school could cater for better under this scheme.”

Helen Wallace, 23, Lincoln

Helen Wallace

“I think it would be a good thing because head teachers would get more autonomy, and they get to decide what’s best for their school and they get to control their budgets better, which has to be good thing. But on the other side, there could be implications for staff, such as hours and what they’re expected to do, above and beyond their role. So we need further information on that. I also think that because it’s such a new scheme, it has to be trialled, so we’ll see. I’m sceptical though.”

Jamie, Lincoln

Jamie

“It sounds ok in principle. I wouldn’t like to see any pupils not benefit in any way so if they do have individuals that need extra attention, sometimes the money can only come from outside, perhaps. There might be cases in state schools where funding has dropped that would allow them to have free music lessons or things like that, but if they could get extra funding from somewhere else because they were an academy that would surely be a good thing, wouldn’t it?”

Anna Hargens, 22, Nettleham

Anna Hagens

“I suppose the good thing is that becoming an academy gives the school more independence as to some of the directions they want to take. But also, I guess a worry is, whether it could mean some schools might start trying to become more elitist with regards to who they let in, especially if they start striving for better grades. So it’s something I’m not sure whether I agree with or not.”

Chelsea studied English Literature at Kingston University London and has also completed a work experience placement at Morton’s Media. She loves reading, dancing and visiting National Trust sites.