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 Altar of the Virgin stood under this window, and here was a
chantry, founded by the Percys. There is a curious ancient carving,
much mutilated, of the Virgin and Child. Archbishop Bowet's Chantry
(1407-1423) was at the east of the south aisle, and his tomb is here,
the finest in the Cathedral, though much mutilated. There are many
monuments in the choir, which are too numerous to mention--the second
son of Edward III. (d. 1344), Archbishop Savage (d. 1507), Archbishop
Sterne (1689), Archbishop Scrope, beheaded by Henry IV., to whose tomb
there was great resort by pilgrims.
The _Crypt_ was mainly discovered after the fire of 1829. It has fine
Norman piers, part of Roger's Cathedral (d. 1181), and contains some
"herring-bone" work of Saxon architecture, the remains of Edwin's
church. The vestry has some very interesting antiquities: an old
Installation Chair, used at the consecration and enthronement of the
archbishops; an old treasury-chest; Prayer-Book and Bible, presented
by Charles I.; an old chained Bible; two _misereres_, left after the
fire; a pastoral staff of 1686; the famous Horn of Alphus, presented
before the Conquest, the title-deed to several acres of land held by
horn tenure; chalices and patens of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries; episcopal rings, and the bowl of the Cordwainers' Company,
formerly belonging to Archbishop Scrope.
The vastness of York Minster, with its forest of clustered pillars,
its unrivalled ancient stained glass, its importance as the
metropolitan church of Northern England, combine to make this splendid
Cathedral one of the most interesting in the kingdom.
OTHER OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN THE CITY
_St. Mary's Abbey_, in the Museum Gardens, founded by Earl Sward in
1050. The present buildings were erected, after a fire in 1137, in
1270, and the Abbey grew to become one of great wealth and
importance. The style is Decorated. On the site of the abbot's house
is the _King's Manor_, or _Royal Palace_, now used as a Blind School.
Near at hand is the _Multangular Tower_, which formed part of the old
Roman wall, and _St. Leonard's Hospital_, founded by King Athelstan in
936 A.D., and rebuilt by Stephen. The Museum is worthy of a visit, and
the _Hospitium_ of the old Abbey, which now contains a good collection
of Roman antiquities and carved stones from the Abbey.
_St. William's College_ (College Street), the famous abode of the
chantry priests of the Cathedral, founded in 1460, is now a series of
cottages.
The city walls should be visited, and the old gates--Mickelgate,
Walmgate, Monkgate, and Bootham Bar. The hall of the Merchant
Adventurers' Company is interesting, and Clifford's Tower, the keep of
the Conqueror's castle, celebrated for the Massacre of the Jews in
1190. Many of the churches are ancient, and have beautifully-carved
doors and interesting old glass. The Church of St. Mary the Younger
has a Saxon tower.
DIMENSIONS
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