The Cathedral Church of Oxford: A description of its fabric and a brief history of the Episcopal see — John Shaqi
The Cathedral Church of Oxford: A description of its fabric and a brief history of the Episcopal seeDearmer, Percy
History
The Cathedral Church of Oxford: A description of its fabric and a brief history of the Episcopal see
Dearmer, Percy
Christ Church Cathedral (Oxford, England)
The fame of her miracles spread over all England, and multitudes came to
be healed, many of whom went away whole and rejoicing.
But the troubles of the Priory were not yet over. During the priorate
of Philip in 1190, a great fire broke out in Oxford, which destroyed a
large part of the city. St. Frideswide's did not escape, and, though the
church itself does not seem to have suffered materially, it is probable
that the monastic buildings were much injured, the chapter-house and
cloisters among them; for the old Norman doorway has, through all the
changes of seven centuries, borne the red marks of the fire, and bears
them as unmistakably to-day.
This mishap did not mark an era in the architecture of the church; for
nothing can with certainty be pointed to as the work of the last decade
of the twelfth century; nor indeed do we find that any important work
was undertaken till, well into the thirteenth century, the spire was
added. The monks seem to have patched up the ruined chapter-house as
best they could, for it was not till about the middle of the thirteenth
century that the present beautiful room was built. About this time the
second bay of what is now the Latin Chapel was also added.
It seems certain now that the Lady Chapel, though it was undoubtedly
vaulted, and its pillars cut into Early English shafts, was not built for
the first time at this period. Part of the wall between it and the Latin
Chapel remains in all its primitive roughness, while there is no sign of
a wall between it and the north choir aisle. Its east wall is even older,
for it contains one of the eighth century arches already alluded to.
In 1289, Robert de Ewelme being prior, the relics of St. Frideswide were
again translated. "The old coffer," says the Oseney Chronicle, "of St.
Fritheswyda was translated, and placed in a new and more precious one in
the same church, and near the place where the old one had stood." Its
marble base has recently been discovered, and replaced in what seems
to have been its old position. The beautiful northernmost chapel,
called the Latin Chapel, was added in the fourteenth century, the
single Early English bay being incorporated, and the north wall of the
Lady Chapel further opened out, for this purpose. Some of the Norman
windows were also altered to Decorated. The Norman windows at the east
end were replaced by a large five-light window, which was spoilt in
the seventeenth century, and ultimately removed by Sir Gilbert Scott.
Decorated windows of three lights were also placed at the east ends of
the choir aisles, and a four-light window in the Lady Chapel. These all
went in the seventeenth century, but the beautiful window in St. Lucy's
Chapel survived. All the fourteenth century work belongs to a rather
late division of the Decorated style.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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