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 nave has ten bays with Norman arches; the triforium has likewise
Norman arches, but each of these has two sub-arches. The windows of
the clerestory have Perpendicular tracery. The _Ceiling_ is intensely
interesting, and is original Norman work. It has various figures
within lozenge-shaped medallions, viz.:--Agnus Dei, SS. Peter, Paul,
Edward the Martyr, Edward the Confessor, Moses, and other kings,
archbishops, bishops and allegorical and grotesque figures. As we
have seen from the exterior, the walls of the aisles have been raised,
and later windows inserted. The roofs of the aisles were vaulted by
Norman builders. The visitor may discover for himself some mason marks
in the south aisle.
As at Norwich the _Choir_ begins with the two east bays of the nave,
which was the original arrangement, and not unusual in Benedictine
minsters, and extends over the space under the tower, and besides the
apse occupies four bays east of the tower. The gates are good modern
iron-work. The erection of a screen is in contemplation. Two pillars
have been placed in position; but the scheme presents difficulties
which have not yet been solved. The piers are alternately round or
polygonal. This portion was the earliest part of the Cathedral, and
was constructed by Abbot de Sais (1114-1125). The hatchet moulding is
conspicuous. The triforium arches are double, like the nave, and the
clerestory has triple arches, the centre one being the highest. The
apse is particularly fine. The Decorated style is evident in the
windows, which were inserted in the fourteenth century instead of the
old Norman ones, and the hanging tracery of graceful design was then
added. The roof of the choir is late fourteenth-century work except at
the east end where the roof is flat. Here Cromwell's soldiers
discharged their muskets at the figure of our Lord in glory, which
they deemed to be an idol. This ceiling was decorated in 1884 by Sir
Gilbert Scott. The bosses of the rest of the roof are curious. Nearly
all the old glass was destroyed in the Puritan desecration; the
remaining fragments have been placed in the two highest east windows.
The fittings of the choir are modern, except an ancient lectern of
fifteenth-century date given by Abbot Ramsay and Prior Malden, as the
inscription testifies, though it is now scarcely legible. The choir
stalls are remarkably fine, and as the carved figures contain a
history of the Cathedral written in wood, it may be well to record
their names. We will begin with the dean's stall and proceed
eastward:--
1. St. Peter, the Patron Saint.
2. Saxulph (656), first Abbot, afterwards Bishop of Lichfield.
3. Adulph (971), Abbot Chancellor to King Edgar, afterwards
Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York.
4. Kenulph (992), Abbot, afterwards Bishop of Winchester.
5. Leofric (1057), Abbot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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