The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description Of Its Fabric And A Brief History Of The Episcopal SeeSweeting, W. D. (Walter Debenham)
History
The Cathedral Church of Peterborough: A Description Of Its Fabric And A Brief History Of The Episcopal See
Sweeting, W. D. (Walter Debenham)
Peterborough Cathedral
The parapet of quatrefoils, which runs round the sides of the transepts
and choir, is not continued in the apse; an Early English parapet, with
five circular medallions cusped, having been erected previously. The
Decorated windows of the apse are particularly fine. The arcade beneath
the upper tier, unlike the arcade in similar positions in other parts of
the church, is here intersecting.
The three beautiful geometric windows in the east wall of the =South
Transept=, which have three circles in the heads with five cusps, are
most likely of exactly the same design as the windows in the demolished
Lady Chapel. At the south end of this transept is a Norman door, and
outside are the remains of a short covered passage which communicated
with the cloisters. These will be described hereafter.
The south side of the nave differs only from the north side in its
having two doorways from the cloisters, in the superior elegance of the
south-west spire, and in the unfinished state of the south-west tower.
The portion of this tower above the roof Mr Paley pronounces, from the
details of the windows on the east side, to be of much later date than
the other tower; and he adds that it is hard to see how the roof of the
transept was terminated before this stage was built to abut it. Both
towers are longer from east to west than from north to south.
Of the two doorways from the cloister to the cathedral, that at the east
end of the north walk, which is called the Canons' door, is a fine
specimen of Norman work. The arch is of four orders supported by
nook-shafts with plain cushion-capitals. The innermost order has a very
uncommon moulding--large chevrons with a fleur-de-lis in the angles. The
outermost order has a double zigzag moulding, and a double-billet hood
moulding surrounds the whole arch. The other archway at the west end,
called the Bishop's door, is an insertion of the thirteenth century,
with bold tooth-ornament on each side.
CHAPTER II.
THE CATHEDRAL--INTERIOR.
The plan of the =Monastery= given on page 58 has been taken from one
prepared by the late Precentor Walcott of Chichester, and communicated
to "The Building News," in 1878. In this plan the choir is represented
as it was arranged in olden times, and not as it appeared after it was
shortened by the erection of the organ-screen under the eastern arch of
the tower in Dean Monk's time. The position of the ancient buildings is
also indicated, though some of them, as the Lady Chapel, Dormitory,
Chapter-house and Infirmary Chapel, have long been destroyed. The
various portions will be understood by the following references.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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