The tomb of Bishop Goldwell stands within the chapel, formerly dedicated
to St. James, and with its canopy forms a rich specimen of ornamental
sculpture and architecture. On the east side of the fifteenth north
pillar is the monument to the memory of the learned Bishop Home, author
of an excellent “Introduction to the Study of the Bible.” In the space
between the seventeenth and eighteenth pillars was the chapel dedicated
to St. Anne, and in the next space was the seat occupied by Queen
Elizabeth, when she attended divine service during her visit to this
city. The monument to the late Bishop Bathurst now occupies the spot, a
sitting statue sculptured in white marble. Not only for its intrinsic
merits is this statue of great value, but also because it is the last
finished work of Sir Francis Chantrey, who visited Norwich for the
purpose of fixing it only a few days before his death. Opposite to this
monument is the altar tomb of Sir William Boleyn, now despoiled of its
brasses. Sir Thomas Browne tells us in his “Repertorium,” that, during
the Commonwealth, “more that a hundred” brasses were reeved in the
Cathedral alone,—a greater number than the whole county of Norfolk could
now supply. Hence our readers may easily understand what an immense
number of these interesting memorials must have been lost, independently
of the number that have been partially despoiled by the removal of their
canopies.
At the foot of the altar steps, in the middle of the chancel, is the tomb
of Bishop Herbert de Losinga, erected by the Dean and Chapter, in 1682,
in the place of one destroyed during the civil wars. It has been
levelled with the pavement and presents a long Latin inscription from the
pen of Dean Prideaux. The east windows of the clerestory were the gift
of the Bishop, the Misses Morse, and the Dean and Chapter of the
Cathedral, and were erected between 1840 and 1847. The lower one in the
triforium is an obituary window to the memory of the late Canon Thurlow,
placed there by his friends. This space had before been occupied by a
window with a pointed arch, representing the Transfiguration. The window
was removed to the south transept, and the arches of both windows have
been restored.
The bishop’s throne, ascended by three steps, was originally placed at
the east end of the church, behind the altar, and raised so high that
before the partition was made between the altar and the entrance to Our
Lady’s chapel, the bishop had an uninterrupted view from his throne
directly in a line through the whole church. The custos, or master of
the high altar, annually accounted for the offerings made there, which
produced a large sum; and at the annual processions of the city and
country clergy, on the feasts of the Holy Trinity and St. Paul, something
considerable was realized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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