The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and ArchitectureDitchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson)
History
The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture
Ditchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson)
Cathedrals -- Great Britain; Church architecture -- Great Britain
The ecclesiastical history of Carlisle reflects its civil history. As
we have said, St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and his successors ruled
over this city and district for many years. When William II. restored
the city and raised the castle, one Walter, a noble and wealthy
priest, who was left as governor by the king, set to work to build a
church and priory. But death stayed his hand, and Henry I. completed
the task, and established here a monastery of Augustinian canons in
1121. In 1133, on the advice of Thurstan, Archbishop of York, he
established a see here, and Udelulf became the first bishop. The
Cathedral, begun by Walter and finished by Henry I., was of the usual
Norman character. Its plan was cruciform, and it had a nave with
aisles, transepts with a low tower at the crossing. The architect was
Hugh, Bishop (1218-1223), formerly Abbot of Beaulieu, Hants, who
brought with him to Carlisle the traditions of a splendid style of
architecture. In the early part of the thirteenth century the Norman
choir was taken down, and rebuilt in the Early English style. Two
fires did much damage, especially the one that raged in 1292. The work
of rebuilding was at once commenced, and a more imposing plan was
projected, but a long time elapsed before it was completely carried
out. At length, about the middle of the fourteenth century, the choir
was completed in the Decorated style, a new triforium, clerestory roof
and east end being erected. The Late Decorated east window, which was
finished at this time, is one of the most beautiful in the world. Fire
again injured the Cathedral in 1392, especially the north transept,
which was restored by Bishop Strickland (1400-1419), who also rebuilt
the tower above the roof, and crowned it with a wooden spire. The
monastery was dissolved at the Reformation, and a Cathedral
establishment formed, consisting of a dean and canons. In Mary's reign
Owen Oglethorpe was made bishop, who, "being a good-natured man and
pliable," according to Fuller, crowned Queen Elizabeth, "which the
rest of his order refused to do." He was, however, deprived on account
of "certain principles of stubbornness instilled into him." The Civil
War did terrible damage to the Cathedral. During the siege Puritan
soldiers were quartered in the sacred building, "who did after their
kind," and, moreover, after the capture of the city, in order to
repair the fortifications, they pulled down a great portion of the
nave, and used the stones for that purpose. In the rising of 1745
Charles Edward, the Pretender, as we have said, occupied Carlisle, and
installed in the Cathedral, as bishop of the see, a Romanist named
James Cappoch. When the Duke of Cumberland arrived and recaptured the
city, Cappoch allowed himself to be taken prisoner, and was hanged.
The church was again used as a barracks, and many of the poor Jacobite
prisoners were confined here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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