Minster Yard & the Bishop's Palace

 

Historic stone architecture on Minster Yard

Before carrying on with my exploration of the exterior of Lincoln Cathedral, I went to have a quick look at the cluster of historic buildings that lie on the edge of the escarpment to the south, which includes the Bishop's Palace.

 

The oriel window at Cantilupe Chantry House

Passing Cantilupe Chantry South, which dates back to 1355, the oriel window on its north elevation caught my eye, with shields bearing the crests of Cantilupe and Zouch on either side. Beneath this, there are some original sculpted corbel brackets, with a grotesque and carved head on the east side.

 

Sculpted corbel brackets

This building adjoins the east castellated gateway to the Bishop's Palace, with the gatehouse and gateway tower to Vicars' Court, built in the second half of the C14, and a C19 house next to this – both of which, like the Chantry, are built in Lincoln stone.

 

The gateway to Vicar's Court and adjoining house

I didn’t stop to look at this and proceeded through the gateway down towards the Bishop's Palace, where the lower part of the south wall of the Cantilupe Chantry South had been recently repaired, and I was interested to see that the new stone was damp and covered in efflorescent salts.

 

Repairs at Cantelupe Chantry House

Judging by its colour, which matches the original stonework well, I assume that this is from the Cathedral Quarry to the north of the city, which extracts stone from the ‘Silver Beds’ of the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone.

 

The gatehouse at the Bishop's Palace

Continuing to the Bishop's Palace, I just took a couple of photos and noted that the three stage gatehouse, and its oriel window, has largely been refaced in Ancaster stone, with only small sections of the original Lincoln stone masonry now being visible.

 

The oriel window at the Bishop's Palace

Beyond the Bishop's Palace is the former Edward King House and Diocesan Offices, which has now been converted into the Old Palace Hotel. It was originally built in 1727 and remodelled in 1866 in a Gothic Revival style, but I didn’t stop to investigate it.

 

The Old Palace Hotel

 

At the time of my visit, substantial conservation work was being carried out to the rear of the Bishops’ Palace, which is continuing throughout 2021. After managing to find a place to photograph the rear of the gatehouse, where the original Lincoln stone can still be seen, I retraced my steps to continue my exploration of Lincoln Cathedral.

 

The rear of the gatehouse