I had a good night’s sleep and was awoken by both the alarm clock and the construction workers refurbishing the White Hart Hotel on the opposite side of the road. I thought that 7am was a little early for such noisy activities to be taking place.

We crossed the courtyard to the breakfast room where we chose a window table. Breakfast was as good as I remembered it and, this time, I was able to relax and enjoy it.

The weather was lovely so we decided to visit Lincoln Castle for the wall walk and to see the Magna Carta and Forest Charter. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was a cheaper day ticket option that allowed us to experience both of these for a reduced price. However, when we started to buy our tickets, we were disappointed to find out that the Magna Carta had been removed the previous morning and that only a replica was on view so we bought a ticket for the wall walk only. The views over the city and into the castle precinct were well worth the climb up the stairs, the lift being out of order.

After the lofty heights we descended the hill, the long way round, into the lower town where we caught the end of the Freedom Parade which was celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 65th anniversary of the granting of the Freedom of the City to RAF Waddington.

Before heading to the Lincolnshire Museum we had lunch in Madame Waffle where I chose cherry bakewell with morello cherries; it was delicious.

We always enjoy the displays in the Lincolnshire Museum but on this occasion, we particularly wanted to see the Roman dodecahedron found nearby during an archaeological dig. It is one of the largest of only 33 dodecahedrons found in the United Kingdom and, despite research, it is not known what the object was used for.

Afterwards, we had time to spare so we returned to the Cathedral in search of the Lincolnshire Imp which I knew was located in the Angel Choir, to the left of the ‘Our Lady of Lincoln’ sculpture. As luck would have it, we arrived just as a tour guide was explaining the area. I was patient and waited until she shone her torch on the little imp and explained why he might have been carved there.

Back in our room we played a board game, 7 Wonders Duel (I lost miserably) before getting ready for our anniversary meal in a restaurant, La Trattoria da Vincenzo located at the bottom of Steep Hill. The food was delicious but the restaurant was lacking in atmosphere.

After dining we embarked on the challenging walk up Steep Hill stopping off at the Wig & Mitre for a nightcap before returning to Castle View for the evening.

Runnymede, the birthplace of democracy.

THE MAGNA CARTA TRUST

The memorial and the land on which it stands is vested in the Magna Carta Trust under the chairmanship of the Master of the Rolls. The principal object of the Magna Carta Trust is the perpetuation of the principles of Magna Carta. The Trust also maintains and cares for the up-keep of the Memorial which was commissioned by the American Bar Association.

THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION MEMORIAL TO MAGNA CARTA

The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe RA and dedicated on the 28th July 1957 in ceremonies attended by over 5,000 people. Built of Portland Stone and supported on eight octagonal pillars the Memorial is a domed classical Temple in the Greek Style. In the centre is a pillar of English Granite inscribed:

‘TO COMMEMORATE MAGNA CARTA
SYMBOL OF FREEDOM UNDER LAW’

Surrounding the memorial are Eight English Oak Trees. Two further oak trees on either side of the path were planted by HRH the Duke of Gloucester in 1987 and the Prime Minister of India in 1994.

MAGNA CART THROUGHOUT THE AGES

After the third and final amendment in 1225 by King Henry III, the Magna Carta was confirmed in 1297 by King Edward I and placed on the first or ‘great’ roll of English Statute thus becoming the first constitutional document in the World. It has throughout the Ages formed a basis for law and democracy in the civilised world. Seen by every Englishman as a safeguard for their constitutional rights against unjust and arbitrary rule, the tenets of the Magna Carta have been upheld and used extensively throughout history.

During the Tudor and Stuart reigns of the 16th and 17th centuries religious intolerance and persecution was rife. By the early 1600’s Puritans no longer tolerated by the Church and Crown set off to seek a new life of religious tolerance in the new world of the American Colonies. In 1620, upon the Mayflower, the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from Plymouth taking with them a copy of the Magna Carta. The principles of the Charter granting – ‘Freedom under the Law’ – went on to form the basis for the Constitution of the United States and later the Bill of Rights, of which Thomas Jefferson said:

‘ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL IN LIFE, LIBERTY
AND IN THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.’

This pursuit of equality and liberty as laid down in the Magna Carta brought about the abolition of the Slave Trade by William Wilberforce and President Abraham Lincoln.

Magna Carta is still, in the twentieth century, some 780 years after its inception forming the basis for Human Rights. Its passages were quoted by Nancy Astor in the battle for votes for women during the Suffragette Movement of the early 1900’s. The principles of Magna Carta formed the basis for Human Rights during times of war under the Geneva Convention and in times of peace in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on the 10th December 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The constitutions of India and the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe have enshrined key elements and principles first established by Magna Cart.

Information about the Magna Carta Trust can be found here.

This oak tree, planted with soil from Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, commemorates the bicentenary of the constitution of the United States of America. It stand in acknowledgement that the ideals of liberty  and justice embodied in the constitution trace their lineage through institutions of English law to the Magna Carta, sealed at Runnymede on June 15th, 1215. Planted December 2, 1987 by John O. Marsh, Jr., Secretary of the Army of the United States of America.