New plans to house Magna Carta inside Lincoln Castle

A copy of the Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215 to every county in England

Lincolnshire County Council has announced new plans to put the Magna Carta back on public display in Lincoln Castle.

The council originally wanted to house the exhibit in the building currently used by the crown court, which is situated inside the castle grounds.

But plans to move the court away from the castle were abandoned by HM Courts Service.

The new plans are for the Magna Carta to be housed in a purpose-built vault.

'Great atmosphere'

Mary Powell, tourism development manager for the council, said the plan is to rephase the works and do them in a different order.

"When we found out that the crown court were not able to leave to our timetable we decided to revamp the Victorian prison first," she said.

"It is a huge space with a great atmosphere and we have a great selection of diary archives from the prison and some great stories to tell.

"The Magna Carta will be housed in a vault in some rundown buildings to the side of the prison with its own entrance.

"We didn't want to house the Magna Carta inside a prison."