A Guide to Peterborough Cathedral: Comprising a brief history of the monastery from its foundation to the present time, with a descriptive account of its architectural peculiarities and recent improvements; compiled from the works of Gunton, Britton, and original & authentic documentsPhillips, George S. (George Searle)
History
A Guide to Peterborough Cathedral: Comprising a brief history of the monastery from its foundation to the present time, with a descriptive account of its architectural peculiarities and recent improvements; compiled from the works of Gunton, Britton, and original & authentic documents
Phillips, George S. (George Searle)
Peterborough Cathedral -- Guidebooks; Peterborough Cathedral -- History
In a small chapel, known as the Morning Chapel, dedicated to St. John
and St. James, is some _ancient tapestry_; one piece representing St.
Peter and St. John healing the lame man at the beautiful gate of the
temple; the other representing St. Peter's deliverance from prison. In
the north-east corner is a tablet to the _Rev. John Stevens_, A.M.,
rector of Folksworth, Hunts.; and in the centre of the east wall is a
stained glass window, representing four scenes from the life of our
Lord. Here also are the remains of the woodwork of the _old choir_,
which have been converted into seats, and will serve to show to the
curious its former character and style.
The Organ,
Which is placed above the screen, dividing the nave from the choir, is
a very fine toned instrument, and was built in 1809, by the late Mr.
Allen, of Sutton Street, Soho. It has within the last few years been
much improved and enlarged. It contains forty-eight stops,
viz.:--twelve in the great organ, twelve in the swell, ten in the
choir, eight in the pedal organ, and six couplers. These improvements
were made by H. P. Gates, Esq., of the Vineyard, and are commemorated
by a brass plate on the south side of the organ, inscribed as follows:
"To the praise and glory of God and memory of John and Frances Gates,
this organ was re-built and enlarged at the charge of Henry Pearson
Gates, their son, Anno Domini 1871." The case of the instrument, which
is of carved oak, presents towards the nave, a front in the early
English style, while on the side looking into the choir, the fronts are
decorated, to harmonize with the interior fittings.
The Choir.
As we enter the choir, the bishop's throne, with the stalls, pulpit,
pews, and altar screen burst upon us, all of which are beautifully
carved. The altar screen is composed of a soft white stone, found near
Cambridge; the rest that we have mentioned, is oak, very finely carved
in the decorated style of architecture. The bishop's throne especially,
with its ogee canopies, and elegant and almost fairy-like spire, rivets
the eye of the spectator. The _coup d'oeil_ of the choir is so
strikingly beautiful, from the good arrangement and entire keeping of
the whole, that it can scarcely be surpassed.
At the east end, immediately under the large window, are three tablets
with the names of all the Abbots, Bishops, and Deans from the
foundation of the monastery to the present time, of which the following
is a copy:--
List of the Abbots of the Cathedral,
_With the date of their appointment._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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