2014-08

One day while looking for
something else, I came up
on a matchbox full of brass
Lincoln Imps together with a 1944
guidebook to Lincoln Cathedral and
a poem about the Lincoln Imp.
The treasures brought back so
many memories I decided to revisit
the city. Last time I went by train
it was pulled by a steam engine,
but the journey itself is in a time
warp. The wheels still tap out their
familiar rhythm as they run over
old-fashioned jointed rails and the
three cathedral towers still seem
to change places as the train
approaches the station.
The climb up Steep Hill to the
cathedral hasn’t changed (except it
has got steeper). It was a calm and
sunny day in the city but at the top
of the hill a cool fresh breeze was
blowing.
The south-west corner of the
cathedral is known as Windy Corner
because, according to legend, the
wind is still waiting for the Imp to
come out. The legend of the Lincoln
Imp is centuries-old and there
are several versions of it. In HJ
Kesson’s 1904 poem, the Imp rides
on the wind to Lincoln and decides
to have some fun in the cathedral.
He invites the wind to join him to,
among other things, “cannon the
canons right over the screen”, and,
“blow up the singers bass, tenor and
boy”, and, “The organist, too, shall
right speedily find that I’ll go one
better in raising the wind”.
The wind, however, declines
the invitation for “the wind has his
faults but you’ll find on the whole if
somewhat uncouth, he’s an orthodox
soul; ... When he enters a church, as
the musical know, ’tis only to make
the sweet organ-pipes blow ... And
hence at the Imp he was justly irate,
so in sorrowful anger he said to the
elf ‘No! Here I shall stop, you may go
by yourself.’”
So, the Imp makes mischief
by himself, including breaking
candlesticks over his knee and being
disrespectful to the Saints.
He also “hacked at the lectern and
chopped at the stalls; the tapestry
tore from the sanctified walls.”
While he is in the choir, he sees
some angels and cries “‘Pretty
things, a sackful of feathers I’ll
pluck from your wings,’”. However,
he soon regrest this as one of the
angels turns him to stone.
And there he remains this day
atop a pilar in the Angel Choir, while
the wind outside still awaits his
return.
There follows two pages of
‘Moral’ advising us to be polite and
respectful particularly to angels:
“Don’t ruffle their feathers, just
let them alone, Else, if you’re
converted, ’twill be into stone ... Step
into the Minster, the Imp to behold,
who points to the truth of the tale
that I’ve told.”
Today, it is true that many enter
the Minster seeking The Imp and
and not God. However, God is not
always where we expect him to be.
Ann Lewin’s 2004 poem was
written in the Mary and Martha room
in Edward King House where you
can see the city though one window
and cathedral through the other.
Searching for God she asks:
“Where do we find you? ...
[For] bruised and broken
people live in both aspects,
and
Prayer is made in busy streets
As well as in cathedral calm.
God elusive, slips
Out of the fortress
Built to keep him safe, and
Wanders the streets, looking for
Allies willing to try
The steep hill of connection
And keep him company.”
From No Easy Place, by Ann Lewin
Sylvia Bennett
Impish Behaviour
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
email: office@stchads.org
St Chad’s Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
Page 26 website: www.stchads.org
Church Office: 9 Linden Avenue, Sheffield S8 0GA
Page 27
Tel: (0114) 274 5086
email: office@stchads.org
website: www.stchads.org