Bell's Cathedrals: St. David'sRobson, Philip A. (Philip Appleby)
History
Bell's Cathedrals: St. David's
Robson, Philip A. (Philip Appleby)
St. Davids Cathedral
Two of the effigies cannot be with certainty identified, and we have
only the tradition handed down by Browne Willis: “I should guess them to
have been erected for Bishops of S. David’s, tho’ they have a Tradition
here, that one belongs to a Chancellor, or, as some say, a Chantor; and
the other to a Treasurer of this Church.”
However, we know that =Bishop Gower’s Tomb= occupies (No. 25) the southern
compartment of the screen. He died in 1347, and is represented as vested
eucharistically with a mitre and pastoral staff veiled in his left hand,
and at his feet is a lion. The right hand is broken and was originally
in the act of benediction. Before the rebellion Browne Willis[70] stated
that this tomb was “inclos’d to the South and West with a Brass
Pallisade: Upon the Facio of which, was this Inscription:[71]
‘=Hic jacet= Henricus Gower, =Structor Palatii & hujus Ecclesiae.
Menevensis Archiepiscopus qui obiit, &c.=’”
But on pp. 19 and 71 he corrects himself, on the authority apparently
of an eye-witness, and gives the following as being more correct:
“Henricus Gower, =Episcopalis Palatii constructor=.”
“The Rebels took that, and all the Brass upon the other Tombs of the
Church, quite away; and now there are Wooden[72] Rails in Lieu of the
Brass Pallisade. His body lies at length in his Episcopal Robes.” On the
south side of the altar-tomb are eight figures of the Apostles in
relief.
[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP MORGAN IN NAVE.]
The altar-tomb in the second bay from the east on the south side of the
nave is to Bishop John Morgan (1496-1564). The whole is in Bath stone.
The mitred bishop is sculptured at full length in his chasuble,
dalmatic, stole, alb, and maniple, and holds his veiled pastoral staff.
He wears somewhat unusual gloves. Two kneeling angels support the
cushioned head. Freeman[73] is very hard on the architecture of this
tomb: “The head, foot, and north side of the tomb are
[Illustration: BISHOP GOWER’S TOMB.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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