How to Visit the English CathedralsSingleton, Esther
History
How to Visit the English Cathedrals
Singleton, Esther
Cathedrals -- England
“The east window is early Perpendicular and was inserted by Bishop
Brantingham about 1390. The stained glass with which it is filled
is for the most part ancient and very fine. Much of it dates
apparently from the first half of the Fourteenth Century (temp.
Edward I. and II.) and was removed from the earlier window; the
shields below are those of early bishops and benefactors; the
figures of saints above, most of which are to be recognised by
their emblems, deserve careful notice. Beginning with the lowest
row, and at the left hand, are St. Margaret, St. Catherine, St.
Mary Magdalene, St. Barbara, the Virgin and Child, St. Martin, St.
Peter, St. Paul and St. Andrew. All these figures are under very
rich and varied canopies. The first three and the last three are of
the first period; the others of Brantingham’s time. In the _middle
row_ are St. Sidwell, or Sativola, believed to have been a British
lady of noble birth, and contemporary with St. Winifred of Crediton
(first half of the Eighth Century). Her legend asserts that she was
beheaded by a mower at the instigation of her stepmother, who
coveted her possessions, near a well outside the walls of Exeter.
In the window St. Sativola appears with a scythe in her left hand,
whilst at her right is a well with a stream of water flowing from
it. These emblems may either form a rebus of her name (scythe-well)
or refer to her martyrdom. Beyond St. Sidwell are St. Helena, St.
Michael, St. Margaret, St. Catherine, Edward the Confessor and St.
Edmund. All the figures in this row are of Brantingham’s period.
The three figures in the uppermost row are Abraham, Moses and
Isaiah. These are of the first period. The tone of colour
throughout this window is very fine and solemn. The heraldry in the
upper part of the window is modern. In the north clerestory windows
of the central bay are four headless figures of early Decorated
character. The beautiful running pattern forming the ground on
which they are placed should be noticed.”--(R. J. K.)
In the =north-choir-aisle= is a curious tomb with a cross-legged effigy of
a Fourteenth Century knight in armour with one esquire at his head and
another holding a horse at his feet. This is supposed to be a memorial
to Sir Richard de Stapledon, a brother of the Bishop.
Returning as we came, we pass the =Chantry of St. George=, founded by Sir
Thomas Speke in 1518. It is a mass of rich carving. The effigy of the
founder lies within.
Opposite is =Bishop Oldham’s Chantry=, also a mass of carving, where the
owl in the panels refers to his name (the word _old_ is pronounced
_owld_ in Lancashire, where the Bishop was born). The Bishop’s effigy
lies in a niche in the south wall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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