A defining feature of English Gothic style that distinguishes it from the style in France is the fact that many elements that appeared structural were in fact only decorative (Draper). The Lincoln Cathedral is distinguished for its exceptionally elegant construction in addition to being the first major building project in distinctly English Gothic style (Draper).
Lincoln Cathedral features a huge vaulted nave with stained glass side windows, a common feature in Gothic architecture (Bowley). (The ceiling of the nave was originally made of wood, but was replaced with stone faults after the 1141 fire) (Draper). The transept boasts two large rose windows, called the Dean’s Eye and the Bishop’s Eye (Bowley). The Dean’s Eye window faces north, to ward off evil, while the Bishop’s Eye faces south to welcome attendees ("Lincoln Cathedral").
The Angel Choir, one of Lincoln's most praised architectural features, is divided into five bays, each of which is divided by two arches, and each of those is divided again by two sub-arches (Kendrick). The choir uses elaborate column shafts to support the vaulting (Kendrick). The spandrels of the Angel Choir are filled with sculpted angels which give the choir its name (Kendrick).
An angel in the spandrels of the angel choir
St. Hugh’s Choir may be the most significant feature in the cathedral. It is known for its “crazy vaults,” which first introduced a longitudinal rib to vaults, a feature that later became widely used in Gothic architecture (Draper). The asymmetrical appearance of the vaults defined the ribs as arbitrary features to be placed by design, not by structural necessity (Draper). Although this type of vaulting was not visited again until the Late Gothic period, it established that ribs could be used as decorative objects, defining the geometry rather than the structure of buildings (Draper). The effect of the vaults is that the ceiling cannot be read as a series of distinct vaults, but instead appears as one continuously vaulted space (Lang). Some think that the reason for this asymmetrical vaulting is to accommodate a third clerestory window in three of the four bays, to represent the Holy Trinity (Lang).
The asymmetrical ribs of the vaulted ceiling over the choir are a topic of great interest for those studying Gothic architecture.