How to Visit the English CathedralsSingleton, Esther
History
How to Visit the English Cathedrals
Singleton, Esther
Cathedrals -- England
The next great builder was Alexander the Magnificent (1123-1148), nephew
of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury. A fire destroying the roof in 1141
necessitated repairs. Alexander remodeled parts of the church. He added
the elaborate doorways in the west front in 1146; the Norman arcade
along the west front; and built the western towers.
“Part of the west front of Lincoln was built by Bishop Remi, or
Remigius, 1085-1092: the small portion which remains of this work
is a very valuable specimen of early Norman, the more so that the
insertion of later and richer Norman doorways by Bishop Alexander,
about fifty years afterwards, enables us to compare early and late
Norman work, while the jointing of the masonry leaves no doubt of
the fact that these doorways are insertions and, therefore,
confirms the early date of the three lofty arches under which they
are inserted. A comparison of the capitals and details of these two
periods, thus placed in juxtaposition, is extremely interesting.
The wide-jointing of the masonry and the shallowness of the carving
distinguish the old work from the new. Several capitals of the
later period are inserted in the older work, as is shewn on careful
examination by the jointing of the masonry, and by the form of the
capitals themselves: the earlier capitals are short, and have
volutes at the angles, forming a sort of rude Ionic; the later
capitals are more elongated, and have a sort of rude Corinthian, or
Composite foliage.”--(J. H. P.)
In 1185 an earthquake injured the Cathedral; and so, when Hugh of Avalon
became Bishop of Lincoln in 1186, he began to collect money for repairs
and rebuilding. The eastern end of the original Cathedral was removed,
and in 1192 Bishop Hugh laid the foundations of his very original Choir.
The architect was Geoffrey de Noyers. J. H. Parker, who studied Lincoln
Cathedral for thirty years, considers this work of St. Hugh (A.D.
1192-1200) pure Early English Gothic and the earliest building of that
style in the world.
“Canterbury was completed in 1184 and in 1185 St. Hugh of Grenoble,
also called St. Hugh of Burgundy, was appointed Bishop of Lincoln,
and immediately began to rebuild his cathedral. It is therefore
plain that this portion of the building was completed before 1200,
and a careful examination enables us to distinguish clearly the
work completed in the time of Bishop Hugh, which comprises his
choir and the eastern transepts with its chapels. The present
vaults of St. Hugh’s Choir, and of both the transepts, were
introduced subsequent to the fall of the tower, which occurred in
1240.
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