Lincoln is one of the few English cities with its own dedicated boiled sweet, named directly after a stone carving that's been perched inside its cathedral for roughly 700 years.
The legend carved in stone
The story goes that two imps were sent by Satan to cause mischief on earth. One ended up inside Lincoln Cathedral, where it smashed furniture and terrorised the choir until an angel turned it to stone mid-mischief, freezing it permanently onto a pillar in the Angel Choir. The second imp reportedly fled. The carving itself is real and still visible today, thought to date from the 14th century, and it became the unofficial emblem of the city — appearing on everything from football club crests to local business branding.
From civic symbol to sweet shop staple
- The carving — a small grinning stone imp, seated cross-legged high in the Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral.
- The sweet — a traditional hard boiled sweet produced by local Lincolnshire confectioners, sold under the Lincoln Imp name as a souvenir and regional speciality.
- The branding — imp imagery has been used by Lincoln City Football Club (nicknamed "the Imps") and numerous local shops for well over a century.
A regional sweet with a genuine landmark behind it
Unlike most named boiled sweets, which borrow a place name for flavour rather than a specific story, Lincoln Imps are tied to an actual, visitable carving — making them one of the more literal entries among Britain's retro sweets, alongside other traditional boiled sweets sold in sweet jars up and down the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the legend behind the Lincoln Imp?
According to medieval legend, an imp sent by the Devil to cause chaos was turned to stone by an angel inside Lincoln Cathedral after it climbed onto a stone pillar and began smashing furniture; the surviving carving, thought to date from the 14th century, still sits high in the Angel Choir.
What are Lincoln Imp sweets?
Lincoln Imps are traditional hard boiled sweets, historically sold by confectioners in the city of Lincoln and named and packaged after the cathedral's famous stone imp carving.
Where can you see the real Lincoln Imp?
The original stone carving is inside Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire, high up in the Angel Choir section, and remains one of the city's best-known landmarks and civic symbols.