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)
In the west end of the north aisle of the nave is the last remaining
relic of the glass which the Dutchman Van Ling painted in Dean Duppa's
time. The rest, which filled the aisle, was removed about twenty-five
years since, on the ground that it made the church too dark. There are
various opinions about this window, which represents Jonah sitting under
his gourd, and the town of Nineveh in the distance. We must confess to
a great admiration for it; the foliage is fine and rich, and if it is a
little over-strong in its green, that only makes it more characteristic
of its age. And, however that may be, there cannot be two opinions as to
beauty of the town in the background, which reminds one irresistibly of
Dürer; and, with its rich brown houses, bluish roofs, touches of greenery,
and fair purple hills beyond, makes the right-hand light of the window
a picture of which one never wearies. The whole is leaded in rectangular
panes, like Bishop King's window.
=Monuments of the Nave Aisles=.--In the south aisle there are two
monuments of interest; that of _Corbet_ (1688) for the characteristic
decoration of cupids and wreath work; that of _Pococke_ for further
reasons. Edward Pococke (1604-1691), whose bust was moved here from the
north aisle by Scott, is represented with pointed beard and wearing the
old tufted college cap. He was the great Arabic scholar of his day;
the first text in Hebrew characters printed at Oxford was published
by him, and his 420 oriental MSS. were bought by the University. Yet
he was condemned, under the Commonwealth, by the Berkshire "Committee
of Scandalous Ministers," on the ground of "insufficiency," his real
offence being that he had used part of the Prayer Book in the public
service. There are two portraits of him in the Bodleian, representing
him with light hair and dark eyes; and a fig-tree which he planted still
flourishes on the south side of the Professor of Hebrew's house. A
striking biography of him has come down to us in a sentence--"His life
appeared to me one constant calm."
=The North Transept= has the unnoticeable peculiarity, that it turns
slightly westward. This is because the choir (into which it is built at
right angles) turns a little to the north, to symbolise, it is said,
the droop of our Lord's head upon the cross. The western aisle of this
transept still remains; the eastern aisle has been lost in the chapels,
of which it now forms the respective western bays.
The north bay of this transept bears the marks in its clerestory of
late Perpendicular restoration; the carved heads on the string-course
above the arch afford an interesting comparison with the Norman heads
above the capitals, and are vigorous sketches of contemporary life. The
capitals in this transept and those in the north aisle of the nave are
strong and varied. The wooden roof of both the transepts was made in the
early sixteenth century, earlier than that of the nave.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account