Beyond the scaffolding……

Beyond the scaffolding the new vault to house Lincoln’s Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest reached a significant milestone today.

Security around the documents is of paramount importance, and as part of the new design, Woodhead Heritage has built a subterranean vault within the confines of the Lincoln Castle Prison building. The vault which will be the new home of both historic documents is built to very high security standards. The state-of-the-art vault, designed by architects Arrol & Snell, maintains environmentally-controlled conditions to keep the documents preserved, while allowing visitors to view them together.

Simon Butler, Conservation Manager for Woodhead Heritage, said: “We have been working on the Lincoln Castle Revealed project since it began, and the completion of Magna Carta Vault puts us one step closer to completing this unique project for Lincolnshire County Council.

 “It has of course been a challenge with the many complexities that are often faced when carrying out conservation and restoration works, within the grounds of a Scheduled Ancient Monument.  It has been a fantastic site to work on and we’re delighted to be celebrating this important milestone with a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony.”

County Councillor, Nick Worth said: “Lincoln Castle will be the only place in the world where Magna Carta (1215) and the Charter of the Forest (1217) can be seen together. It will also be the only place to have a dedicated new building and exhibition to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 2015. This will make the castle an attraction of international importance, bringing in many more visitors from near and far – good news for the local economy.”   

Over this coming weekend (31 May  and 1 June),members of the public will have the chance to take part in exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of the conservation work at Lincoln Castle during the 1,000 Years of Traditional Crafts event. (Tours will be booked on the day as numbers are limited and restrictions apply.)

The event will host more than fifty traditional craftspeople, sharing their skills and knowledge, from blacksmithing, pole lathe and willow weaving to stonemasonry, jewellery-making and silver smithing. Visitors will be able to stroll around the special demonstration areas and also have-a-go themselves by trying their hands at one of the short courses taking place in the Castle’s innovative, grass-roofed Heritage Skills Centre, part of the Lincoln Castle Revealed refurbishment.