How to Visit the English CathedralsSingleton, Esther
History
How to Visit the English Cathedrals
Singleton, Esther
Cathedrals -- England
“The Norman arches opening to the aisles of the nave and choir
resemble those which correspond to them on the south side of the
church. The transept beyond them was, as we have seen, entirely
rebuilt, and is one of the most remarkable examples of the period
remaining in England. The unusual form of its arches, and its pure,
lofty windows, are sufficiently impressive now; but their effect
must have been wonderfully increased when the windows were filled
with glass displaying the history and miracles of the sainted
Bishop, and when the shrine itself was standing on its pedestal
within the eastern aisle, rich with the gold and jewels offered by
the numerous pilgrims who knelt daily before it.
“The west side of the transept (which is of two bays beyond the
aisle passage) is entirely filled by two very lofty windows of
three lights each. The heads of the narrow lights are sharply
pointed; and the tracery above is formed by three circles enclosing
trefoils. These windows are set back within triangular-headed
arches. On the north side is a double window of the same character
divided by a group of banded shafts. The triple lights on either
side of these shafts, and the foiled circles above them, precisely
resemble the windows on the west side of the transept.
“The vaulting springs from clustered shafts, the corbels supporting
which, on the east side, are beautiful and singular, and resemble
bunches of reeds, terminating in a small open flower. The small
heads below these corbels, at the intersection of the main arches,
should also be noticed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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