A Chivalry of Knights (or a Rout of Knights)

 The Knights Trail in Lincoln has finished now and has been very successful - apparently more people came to see the Knights than the Barons (two years ago).   We didn't manage to  go on the trail but saw lots of the Knights in their places around the city.  They are now together for a reunion in Lincoln Castle until they are auctioned on Saturday.  I took the opportunity to head up to the Castle to see them all.

 They did look very impressive, forming a guard of honour along the road.

 There were lots of themes, some based around Lincoln and Lincolnshire and some more to do with word play around 'Knights'.

 You can see my friend Rachael's Knight here... (and posts about him/her here and here)

 ...and here.

 Of course, Rachael's was my favourite, but I liked several of the others too.  'The Knight has a thousand eyes' - see what they did there?  This was by Sue Guthrie and the eyes were painted in phosphorescent paint so that they shone at night.

 The fields of Lincolnshire made an appearance on a few.

Others were just really colourful.

 Somehow I had missed this one, which was beautiful.  It was based on images from The Luttrell Psalter and was covered in these weird and wonderful creatures.  It was also painted by Sue Guthrie.

 The artist had painted the images with great skill.

 I liked the more muted colours too.

 There were a few Lady Knights, like this one.

 It was lovely to be able to see them all together.

 I wonder who will buy them on Saturday?

Unfortunately, two of the artists who worked on the Knights have died since completing them. Apparently, flowers have been laid by the Knights as a tribute - what a lovely idea.  Some of the Knights had a few adventures as there was some vandalism (why can't people leave things alone?) and one ended up in the river.  However, they were rescued and restored and looked as good as ever.  There was also an Education Trail for Lincolnshire Schools, who were invited to decorate half sized Knights.  They are on show in the local shopping centre. (If you aren't fed up looking at photos, here they are...)

 The Schools had done a great job with them.

 Lots of them had inspirational words as part of the design.

 I liked the artist Knight on the left of the photo, riding a unicorn.

This Knight had turned into a King, using keys as his crown.

 This one had mosaic tiles with tiny drawings on them.

This one used a bit of pointillism, and his horse was covered in faces of the pupils.  It has been so fascinating to see all the Knights and to follow the progress of Rachael's.  I will keep an eye out to see the auction results.

Knights in progress

Back in 2015, Lincoln hosted some visitors - brightly painted Baron sculptures - to commemorate the Magna Carta.  You can see my posts about them here and here.  The figures were very popular and a boost to tourism for the city. This year, to commemorate the Charter of the Forest and the Battle of Lincoln Fair, there will be another trail, but this time, it's the Knights Trail, which you can find out all about here.  The design for the figures was based on a chess piece and a competition was held to design a Knight.  Our friend Rachael (a really talented artist - she got a First in illustration) created a design and as soon as I saw it, I had a feeling it would be picked...I was right! She is now in the process of bringing her design to life.

She made a start on the horse's nose, covering it with hearts.

 Then she really got going.

 He's going to look amazing!

 I love the cakes...but then, I would!

 He is so bright and colourful.

She is doing a fantastic job, isn't she?  Her particular knight is getting a lot of attention, and children seem to be especially drawn to it.  I also have an idea where I think he will be situated - wouldn't that be spooky if I'm right?  I can see him being extremely popular for photographs too.  

Here are a couple of other artists' designs in progress.  These are being painted in the shopping centre, so I shall be going along again at the weekend to see how they are all coming along.

I shall look forward to seeing them all around the city in the summer.

Barons Auction update

 The Auction of the 25 Barons took place yesterday and raised £167,000, which is an amazing amount, for The Trussell Trust charity.  Three of the Barons went for over £10,000 each.

The 'Bomber Baron' (in the photo above) went for £11,000. The Steampunk Baron was sold for £5,000 and the Roman Soldier was sold for £7,000.  The 'powers that be' are already thinking about what to do next... Follow that!
Here's a link to a report on the auction in The Lincolnite

Farewell to the Barons

 Over the summer, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, (a copy of which is in Lincoln Castle), 25 Barons invaded Lincoln.  Hull had toads, Bristol had Shaun the Sheep and Lincoln had Barons!  They were to represent the 25 Barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta and each was decorated.  They were then placed around the main shopping area of Lincoln and you could join the Trail and find them all.

 A leaflet was produced, explaining about the original Baron, the painted version, the sponsor and the artist.  They were very popular and it was rare to see one without people posing beside him.  They were yarnbombed and were also the subject of a petition to keep them after the event.  However, they were always designed to be a temporary feature, then they would be auctioned to raise money for The Trussell Trust.

They were gathered up and taken to Lincoln Castle where they could be seen before the auction (which is on 1st October).  So, I headed up to the Castle yesterday on a gloriously sunny morning to take some photos.

 The Castle has ancient parts to it, such as the tower and walls and then Georgian and Victorian additions.  It was a prison and is now the Court.  The Court building is the one in the background, covered in a creeper.

 This Roman soldier Baron was one of my favourites.

 The Steampunk Baron stood outside the Assembly Rooms which is one of the hosts for the annual Steampunk Festival.

 The themes for the Barons were many and various: Lincolnshire flora and fauna; the Red Arrows; teachers; Lincoln Cathedral; truck driving; Mayor of Lincoln; Freeman of Lincoln; Steam trains; Bee keeping; young people; waterways; shopping.

 I also liked this Baron with the Lincoln landmarks.

Chris and I didn't go on the trail, but  managed to see a lot of the Barons on the way to and from work and  on various shopping expeditions around the city.

A last view of the Barons.  I hope they will raise lots of money at the auction.  They have certainly brought some colour to a rather dull summer.