Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of York: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Archi-Episcopal SeeClutton-Brock, A. (Arthur)
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of York: A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Archi-Episcopal See
Clutton-Brock, A. (Arthur)
York Minster
be given of the glass in these windows and those of the aisles, together
with the rest of the glass in the minster. There is a curious moulding
running round the arches of the windows and springing from the capitals
of the vaulting shafts, which bends towards those arches to a point a
little way above the capitals from which they spring, and then runs
parallel and close to their mouldings. The vault is of wood covered with
plaster. The ribs are elaborate in design, but not very successful. The
fact that the vaulting is not of stone deprives the mouldings and bosses
of all sharpness and delicacy. From the capital of the vaulting shafts
and for about 91/2 feet above them these ribs are of stone: the
division between wood and stone is marked by a curious and heavy
moulding. The aisles of the nave are bolder in design and altogether
more satisfactory than the nave itself. Like the nave they are unusually
wide and lofty. In the two farthest bays to the west, above which are
the western towers, the rough wooden roof, which has never been covered
with a vault, may be seen. These bays are separated from the bays next
to them by strong arches with thick shafts and mouldings, which were
built for the support of the towers. The shafts supporting this arch on
the outer side are five in number. The shafts corresponding to them in
the other bays of the aisle, to which the ribs of the aisle vaults
converge, are only three. All these shafts have finely-carved capitals
of leafage. The vault of the aisles is of stone, with only structural
ribs, finely moulded and with carved bosses. The aisle windows are, like
those of the clerestory, of the geometrical Decorated style, but of an
earlier and simpler, uniform, design. They each contain three lights,
and there is no variation or subordination of mouldings in the mullions.
Unlike the clerestory windows, they are somewhat deeply recessed. The
mouldings of their arches are broad and bold, and are supported by five
shafts with capitals. Above the three lights of the windows are three
quatrefoils, pyramidally arranged. On each side of these windows, in the
space between the windows and the vaulting shafts, is plain stone
panelling terminating in an arch with a crocketed gable above it, ending
in a finial which reaches to about the level of the spring of the window
arch. On each side of this gable are grotesque carved figures. A small
pinnacle is rather strangely inserted on each side of the arch at the
point at which it springs. Below the windows there is a rich arcade,
with buttresses between the divisions ending in pinnacles. Each division
is filled with a geometrical pattern of two panels, each panel ending in
a trefoil, with a circular trefoil in the head of each division, and a
crocketed gable, terminating in a rich finial above it. All the
mouldings of this arcade are very delicate. In the north aisle, and in
the second bay from the west, is a doorway, which opened to a Chapel of
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