Skip to content

Hunting the hidden stories of Lincoln Cathedral

Eleanor Maslinin Lincoln
Amber Gash/BBC Two women laugh as they stand in a cathedral yard. The woman on the left is wearing a beige trench coat with a blue and white scarf and has long brown hair. Next to her is an older woman with white curly short hair, a yellow high-vis coat and lanyard. Behind them are houses and a medieval stone gatehouse.Amber Gash/BBC
The BBC's Eleanor Maslin with tour guide Dorothy Moss outside Lincoln Cathedral

It is one of Britain's largest and most beautiful churches, but beyond the familiar architecture and history, Lincoln Cathedral is full of little-known stories just waiting to be told - from one of the oldest surviving tennis balls to a mischievous "servant of the devil".

Tour guide Dorothy Moss is peering up at the ball, which has been lodged high up on a wall since 1914 and now matches the colour of the stone.

"The story goes that it was someone who lived here in the minster, presumably clergy, and the son had been told he could go and play tennis, but he must not hit the ball against the cathedral," she explains.

The boy was called Gilbert Bell and, back in 2005, his nephew, David, who was 78 at the time, contacted the cathedral to ask for his ball back.

"We said, what tennis ball? We didn't know anything about it," Dorothy says.

"He was told he could have it back when we get going with scaffolding on this side. I think he will be long gone, I certainly will be."

Steve Stringer A close-up of an old tennis ball that is wedged in-between two stone pillars on a stone cathedral wall. It has gone a dark grey colour to match the pillars surrounding it.Steve Stringer
The tennis ball wedged into the cathedral's stonework has been there since 1914

The ball is believed to be among the earliest surviving examples in the UK, and is two years older than the earliest proper tennis ball held in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, which dates from 1916.

"If you go to Wimbledon, you can tell them we've got an older one," Dorothy adds.

The foundations of the cathedral were laid in 1072 and the building has continued to evolve ever since.

In fact, one of the latest additions pays tribute not to Biblical or historical figures, but to the cathedral's longest-serving member of staff.

Stuart Boyfield has been working on the site for 48 years and, positioned high up on the cathedral wall, faithfully overlooking his place of work, is a stone carving in his likeness.

It was made to mark his 30th anniversary in the job and shows him holding a bunch of keys, a lantern and a tool basket on his back, reflecting his work in building services.

BBC/Lincoln Cathedral A composite image of two photos. On the left is a man wearing a yellow high-vis coat and rectangular glasses smiling into the camera as he points up at a statue on a cathedral. On the right is a close-up of the statue in a medieval style, showing a man in a sitting position holding keys and a lantern with a hooded shroud over his head. The window of a cathedral can be seen behind it.BBC/Lincoln Cathedral
Stuart Boyfield points to the carving of him, high up on the cathedral walls

As we stroll down the south side, by chance we spot the real Stuart.

He is full of enthusiasm as he comes over to tell us about the carving.

"I feel brilliant about it, I'm part of the cathedral's fabric, it's a great honour," he says.

"When you've worked somewhere for so long, it becomes more than a job, it's just a way of life.

"It was made 18 years ago, so I'm not sure what I'm getting for my 50th year, we'll see."

Eleanor Maslin/BBC A stone bat carving is peeking through a dark slit window of a cathedral. Its feet can be seen resting on top of the window with its wings outstretched beside it. The window is cut in a yellow brick wall.Eleanor Maslin/BBC
A mischievous bat peers in through a window

We wander to the opposite side of the church, Dean's Green, which can be seen from the cathedral cafe, on a mission to spot a cheeky little bat.

We scan our eyes across the windows and pillars – and then we spot two little feet, a pair of outstretched wings and little ears.

The bat hangs above one of four arrow-slit windows, close to the beautiful rose window known as Dean's Eye, and is peering mischievously inside.

Dorothy tells us: "He's looking in to see if he can get in and do some mischief.

"People are scared of bats, so they are possibly servants of the devil trying to squeeze in and can't get in."

An intricate stone carving of a hunting scene situated around the pillar of a cathedral. Two dogs can be seen at the bottom, with one looking up towards a fox hiding higher up. Another dog can be seen to the left of the pillar.
This hunting scene was added to the cathedral in 2005

The Dean's Eye is one of the highlights of a building considered to be a medieval masterpiece.

By the 14th Century, it was the tallest building in the world, only for the spire to collapse in 1548.

While the original design was Norman, the cathedral has been influenced by many architectural styles over the years.

Among the modern additions is an intricate carving of a hunting scene above the north-east doorway.

It depicts the sweet faces of a horse, hounds and a fox, and was placed there to commemorate the ban on fox-hunting, which came into force in February 2005.

Lincoln Cathedral A dark piece of stone work on the floor of a cathedral with surrounding dark brown seats. The view looks across the choir towards a large stained glass window with intricate stonework.Lincoln Cathedral
The 'Cantate Hic' stone marks the best spot for singing

After entering the interior, we come across an old grey stone that reads "Cantate Hic" – Latin for "sing here" – in the floor of St Hugh's Choir.

It marks the best spot for singers to stand to be seen and heard all around the cathedral.

The cathedral choir still sings most days during term-time and its choristers include 40 boys and girls from 16 local schools.

Highlights in the calendar include concerts of Handel's Messiah at Christmas, Bach's Passions during Lent and collaborations with the military bands of the RAF.

Eleanor Maslin/BBC The stonework inside a cathedral. Two arches move away from each other and in the middle is a head carved into the stonework. Above it is an imp - a little creature with its mouth open - and above that is a carved display resembling flowers.Eleanor Maslin/BBC
Can you spot the Lincoln Imp here?

Of course, we cannot end our tour without taking a look at the mischievous Lincoln Imp – arguably the most famous symbol of the city, which is included in the football club's badge and on numerous local door knockers.

As the tale goes, the devil sent out his imps to play and the wind blew two of them to Lincoln. One flew into the cathedral and was attempting to destroy the Angel Choir, when an angel appeared and turned it to stone.

To this day, you will find the petrified imp high on a pillar above the choir.

Perhaps it is not such a bad place to spend eternity, enjoying such magnificent surroundings.

Watch our tour of Lincoln Cathedral

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

More on this story
Related internet links