Interior view

One of the first large buildings to follow Canterbury was the cathedral of Lincoln, rebuilt from 1192 after an earthquake. It had two transepts, an ambulatory with a separate axial chapel, a three-story elevation, and (originally) a sexpartite rib vault. It appears that the master mason of Lincoln wanted to use every architectural form possible and to avoid repeating himself. So Lincoln cathedral became a testing ground which enriched the capabilities of English Gothic. Architects would draw on its repertoire of forms for generations to come.

Especially unusual is the first section to be built, the choir, which was named after its patron, Bishop Hugh of Avalon. It was constructed until 1210 by a master builder named Geoffrey of Noiers. Two inventions in the Lincoln choir turned out to be particularly momentous: the syncopated double-layered blind arcading in the side aisles, and the so-called “crazy vaults” of the high choir.

The photo shows the southern side aisle with the syncopated double-layered blind arcading by Geoffrey of Noiers in the St. Hugh’s Choir.