The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884Various
History
The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884
Various
Archaeology -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
altered and improved its condition. He pointed out the semi-Norman
arches of the nave, purified from coats of whitewash, the roof cleaned,
the side aisles repaved, and the windows restored. Then he led them into
the south transept, which not long since was little better than a barn,
and assigned as the place for a Welsh service, to which a new roof and
new windows had been added by benefactors now deceased. He then took
them through a series of ruined side chapels to the Lady-chapel, now
bare and roofless, though full of the purest architectural details.
Thence the party were conducted to Bishop Vaughan’s chapel, behind the
high altar, rich with a roof of fan tracery, which is scarcely to be
matched except at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. He also pointed out
the front and the back of the marble slab on which rested the shrine of
St. David, once an object of pilgrimage inferior in interest and in the
number of its devotees only to that of St. Thomas of Canterbury,
reminding them that in the old days two pilgrimages to St. David’s were
always regarded, in canonical penance, as equivalent to one journey to
Rome--according to the old monkish rhyme, “Roma semel quantum bis dat
Menevia tantum.” The Dean next showed the progress of the works in the
north transept, and then led the party into the cathedral vestry or
chapter-house, formerly St. Thomas’s Chapel, where he showed them a
small collection of ecclesiastical relics, including the tops of two
episcopal croziers, the top of a processional cross, two episcopal
rings, and some chalices which had been buried along with some of the
older bishops. He also displayed here the cathedral plate, the communion
service, platen, and chalice, on which Messrs. Lambert and Loftus Brock
offered some descriptive remarks. The Dean having completed his
peregrinations and description of the fabric, a vote of thanks to him
for his kindness was proposed by Mr. Thomas Morgan, F.S.A, and seconded
by Mr. E. Walford, M.A., who, in a few words, contrasted the present
state of the cathedral, after its recent repairs, with its new roofs,
decorated interior, and rebuilt west front, with what he remembered of
it forty years ago, when it was little more than a large barn-like
structure, covered with a mixture of whitewash and whitey-brown paint
from end to end; he also congratulated the Dean and Chapter on the
conservative way in which the work of restoration had been carried out.
In the evening the Dean entertained at dinner at his house, in the
Close, the leading members of the congress, whom he kindly invited to
meet the Bishop.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account