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Lincoln after a stop on the way to visit our friends in Mrs Thatcher’s home town of Grantham

We stayed opposite Lincoln castle and a stone’s throw from Lincoln cathedral (see above).

We attended an early evening screening of several short films at the luxurious Lincoln Everyman cinema – after which there was a panel discussion

Today we visited three sites of interest. The Cathedral, the Jews House on Steep Hill (this is now a bookshop run by the local history society) and the Castle – which displays two fragments of the Magna Carta of 1215 (it was rewritten and expanded in 1217)on which so many of our present day legal rights are based and, which also established that not even monarchs are above the law.

The castle also once housed a prison and today, inside the castle grounds, is Lincoln’s crown court.

Even the modern visitor facilities have doors modelled on cells

We met a pinstriped and gowned barrister taking the air, wig in hand. I asked him if he was in favour of retaining wigs (he is) and Jeremy asked if was for or against retaining trial by jury. “Keep trial by jury” was his verdict.

We walked around the castle ramparts

And had magnificent views from up on high

Views, outside and below inside, of the extraordinary cathedral which is nearly 1000 years old and the most magnificent such structure I have ever seen.

I had more than a passing interest in Lincoln – its cathedral and the second blood libel and myth that was spread from this city in 1244 and whose lies were only publicly refuted by the church in 2009

The shrine of Little Hugh within the Cathedral

The first blood libel began in Norwich in 1144 when a boy, William, was found murdered and the small Jewish population was accused of the crime said to be a ritual killing. The local sheriff offered the Jews protection snd King Stephen dismissed the allegations.

The next blood libel occurred in Lincoln in 1255 when another child, little Hugh, was found dead and once again the small local Jewish population were implicated without any evidence. Sadly king Henry III condemned the accused and 90 Jews were imprisoned with 18 of them being hanged.

These terrible false accusations and blood libel myths have led to prejudice and discrimination against Jews for hundreds of years down the ages and throughout the world. It is only in very recent history that the Church has admitted that these were lies. There is still much more to be done.

This shocking history was part of the inspiration for my first book, “Jews Milk Goats” (Amazon)