Lincoln is dominated by its cathedral, one of the earliest begun after the Norman conquest and the tallest building in the world (160m) until the collapse of the central spire in 1548.

The core block of the west front, onto which the vast gothic screen and towers were added, dates from the 1080s. Two statues sit atop the spires: on the left (north) is the so-called swineherd of Stow, who reputedly gave his life savings to the construction of the cathedral, and on the right (south) is St. Hugh, the former bishop of the cathedral who befriended a swan.
The shrine of Little St. Hugh held the body of a child supposedly murdered by Jews in 1255. Several of them were executed and, in 1290, Edward I expelled all Jews from England, a situation which lasted until the civil war.
Queen Eleanor of Castile, born in Burgos, was the wife of Edward I. In life, she profited from the persecution of the Jews, and in death she was commemorated by tombs in Westminster and in Lincoln's Angel Choir, and with a series of memorial crosses starting at Charing Cross. The Angel Choir also hosts the shrine to St. Hugh.