Marissa Belle

Lincoln residents and visitors are being invited to contribute to a bucket list-style project in the city centre as part of Dying Matter Awareness Week.

People will be welcomed to decorate ‘Before I Die…’ boards and a cardboard coffin at Waterside Shopping Centre between May 8 and 12.

The event, hosted by St Barnabas Hospice is aiming to get people talking about death, dying and bereavement as well as the importance of putting plans in place.

Community Development Manager for St Barnabas Hospice Lisa Gibson said: “Over half a million people die in the UK each year, yet talking about dying, death and bereavement is something that many people find challenging.

“We are hoping that the boards will get people talking and start conversations around dying, death and bereavement.

“Death will have an impact on everyone’s lives at some point and talking about it means we are better prepared to support each other when it does happen.

“People may think it sounds morbid but the boards and coffin project are as much about life as they are death. It is about encouraging people to make the most of the time they have and to put plans in place so they can get on with living.”

Dying Matters Awareness Week runs from May 8 to 14. The annual campaign urges people to talk more openly and make plans for the end of life.

Lisa also said: “People can get involved right across the county as our 27 shops will also be hosting bucket list style window displays which our shoppers can add to.

“Our aim is to get as many people involved in helping us create Lincolnshire’s biggest ever bucket list.”

For more information about Dying Matters Awareness Week, visit www.dyingmatters.org, and for more information about the event from 8 to 12 May, contact Cat Maddy on 01522 559 502 or at [email protected].

Work has begun to create a Google 3D virtual model that will bring the city’s lost medieval buildings back to life.

The project, which is part of the Lincoln Cathedral Connected project, will recreate a number of buildings that once surrounded Lincoln Cathedral.

The Old Deanery and Works Chantry, which hundreds of years ago used to stand where the existing Deanery building is today, will be recreated by using 18th and 19th century drawings and plans produced by artists and historians.

Deanery at Lincoln by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm 1784

The 3D model, which will be completed in June this year, will allow viewers to ‘stand’ in a virtual courtyard and see 360 degree panoramic views of the two Medieval buildings and can be accessed via Google Maps on a PC, laptop, iPad or a smartphone.

The 3D modelling is being developed by Pighill Archaeological Illustration and Lincoln-based firm Allen Archaeology Ltd.

Peter Lorimer, founder of Pighill Archaeological Illustration, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to recreate some of Lincoln’s lost heritage.

“Through virtual means, people will be able to explore not seen before imagery of the courtyard to the north of the Cathedral that was once packed with buildings, archways and gates.

“Lincoln Cathedral is an iconic building throughout the UK and it was an unmissable opportunity for us to reconstruct artwork of a site so historically rich.”

Anne Irving, programme manager of Lincoln Cathedral Connected, said: “Enhancing visitor experience is at the heart of the Connected project and this fascinating piece of work is part of that vision.

“This innovative virtual reconstruction, which will be based on real objects and artist impressions from the 19th century, as well as documentary evidence and archaeological discoveries we have made over the years, is just one of the many projects we are working on which aims to engage the local people and visitors from further afield in the vibrant history of this wonderful building.

“Nothing like this has been done in the Cathedral Close before and we’re very excited for the interpretation to be revealed this summer.”

The Old Deanery was originally the residence of the Dean of Lincoln and the building housed a college of four priests who sang masses for the soul benefactors who had made donations towards the fabric of Lincoln Cathedral.

Most of the building, which stood round a courtyard, was demolished in the early part of the 19th century to give a better view of the cathedral.

Fragments of the chapel that face Eastgate still survive.