Lincoln Castle to close for Magna Carta project

Lincoln Castle is to close for three months

Lincoln Castle is to close its gates for more than three months while a £22m project to build a new vault for the Magna Carta is completed.

The four-year Lincoln Castle Revealed project draws to a close on 1 April 2015, when the castle re-opens.

It includes a high-security underground vault, where an original copy of the Magna Carta will be displayed alongside the Charter of the Forest.

Lincolnshire County Council hopes the new vault will attract more visitors.

Lincoln's Magna Carta is one of four surviving copies

Lincoln's copy of the Magna Carta - one of only four surviving originals - will be stored in the vault as part of a "widescreen cinematic experience", charting the story of the document, which is 800 years old in 2015.

"This will make the castle an attraction of international importance, bringing in many more visitors from near and far," said county councillor Nick Worth.

As well as improving disabled access, new features at the castle, which dates from 1068, will include a medieval wall walk with audio guide and a recreation of the on-site Victorian prison.

A "topping out" ceremony at the multi-million pound vault house the Magna Carta was held earlier in the year