Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Chichester (1901): A Short History & Description of Its Fabric with an Account of the Diocese and SeeCorlette, Hubert C. (Hubert Christian)
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Chichester (1901): A Short History & Description of Its Fabric with an Account of the Diocese and See
Corlette, Hubert C. (Hubert Christian)
Chichester Cathedral
"to put together upon paper all the fragments with certainty
of correctness: so one thing with another, the whole design
was absolutely and indisputably recovered. The only
deviation from the design of the old steeple was this. The
four arms of the cross had been (probably in the fourteenth
century) raised some five or six feet in height, and thus
had buried a part of what had originally been the clear
height of the tower, and with it an ornamental arcading
running round it. I lifted out the tower from this
encroachment by adding five or six feet to its height; so
that it now rises above the surrounding roofs as much as it
originally did. I also omitted the partial walling up of the
belfry windows, which may be seen in old views." [28]
[27] See "Recollections," p. 309. Edited by his son, 1861.
[28] _Ibid._, p. 310.
These statements have been taken from Sir Gilbert Scott's own account
of the work. He further assures us that many portions of the original
moulded and carved work were re-fixed in the new tower. As we have now
in existence so careful an imitation of the former tower, all praise
is due to Sir Gilbert Scott, Mr. George Gilbert Scott, and Mr. Slater,
for the admirable way in which they co-operated, so that their care
has given to posterity this admirable instance in which a lost
specimen of architectural art has been reproduced by successful
copying. But the satisfactory nature of the work is chiefly due to the
preservation of those careful studies of the original which were made
by Mr. Joseph Butler.
In 1867 the wall enclosing the library in the lady-chapel was removed,
and three years later, with the consent of the Duke of Richmond, the
floor was lowered to its original level and the chapel restored in
memory of Bishop Gilbert. Soon afterwards the windows were provided
with new stained glass.
During the last half of the nineteenth century several small portions
of the building were repaired, restored, or rebuilt. The cloister was
carefully restored by the late Mr. Gordon M. Hills. More recently the
roof of the lady-chapel, the two eastern pinnacles of the choir as
well as those two lower ones to the chapels of S.M. Magdalen, and S.
Catherine, have been restored by his son Mr. Gordon P.G. Hills,
A.R.I.B.A., with much care and consideration for the fabric of which
he is the surveyor. The latest act affecting the history of the
building has been the addition of a new north-western tower to take
the place of the unsightly rents and wreckage that have disfigured and
helped to destroy the structure at that part during the last two
hundred years. It was designed by the late Mr. J.L. Pearson, R.A.
[Illustration: SOUTH WEST VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE GARDEN OF
THE BISHOP'S PALACE. _Photochrom Co., Ltd., Photo_. ]
CHAPTER II.
THE EXTERIOR.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account