The Lincoln Imp
It was said that if anyone came to the bishop of Norwich without a present the bishop’s wife would look on him as ‘the Divell lookes over Lincoln'.
A legend runs that the devil wanted to get into Lincoln Cathedral and was riding the wind outside. He slipped inside leaving the wind forever blowing round the Cathedral. A local rhyme goes...
The devil hopped up without a limp,
And at once took shape as the 'Lincoln Imp,
And there he sits a top of the column,
And grins at the people who gaze so solemn.
The hairy, cloven-hoofed, horned carving that sits cross-legged is now the emblem of the city.
Another story says that two imps were sent by the Devil to invade the Cathedral. They smashed tables and chairs and tripped up the Bishop. An angel manifested and one imp began to hurl rocks at it. The angel turned the imp to stone but its companion escaped.
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