The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture — John Shaqi
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 a large western bay with chapels, three other bays, and a
large space beneath the west wall of the dome. It has three storeys,
the lofty arches, a storey which in a Gothic church would be termed
the triforium, and a clerestory. Grand Corinthian pilasters are
attached to the massive piers, with wonderfully-wrought capitals,
which support the entablature. The arches spring from smaller
pilasters joined to the larger ones. Great arches springing from the
triforium piers span the nave, and between these arches are
dome-shaped roofs. High up there are festoons of carving. The aisles
have three large windows, and Composite pilasters adorn the walls and
support the vault. The north chapel at the west end is the Morning
Chapel, and is adorned with mosaics and modern glass, in memory of
Dean Mansell (1871). The south chapel is called the Consistory, and
once held Wellington's monument, to which the marble sculptures
refer. Here is an unusual _Font_ of Carrara marble.
The _Dome_ is supported by immense and massive masonry. Above the
arches a cornice runs round, supporting the _Whispering Gallery_. Then
the dome begins to curve inward. Above is a row of windows, set in
groups of three, separated by niches recently filled with statues of
the Fathers, and then the dome is completed and painted by Sir James
Thornhill with scenes from the life of St. Paul. These are too faint
and too far distant to be easily observed. The painter nearly lost his
life through stepping backward in order to see the effect of his
brush, and nearly fell from the scaffold. His companion just saved his
life by flinging a brush at the painting, and Thornhill rushed forward
to rescue his work, and thus his life was saved.
The _Pulpit_ is made of rich marble, and the lectern was made in 1720.
The modern _mosaics_ are of unique interest, and add much to the
beauty of the Cathedral. To Sir William Richmond the credit of this
work is mainly due, and for some of earlier portions to Mr. G.F.
Watts, R.A.
The _Transepts_ have good windows, representing (north) the twelve
founders of English Christianity, and south, the first twelve
Christian Saxon kings, and also a window in memory of the recovery
from illness of His Majesty Edward VII. when Prince of Wales.
[Illustration Woodwork South Choir Aisle]
The _Choir_ has some wonderfully-carved stalls by the famous Grinling
Gibbons, and these bear the names of the prebendaries attached to the
Cathedral, with the parts of the Psalter which each one had to say
each day, an arrangement similar to that at Lincoln.
The _Reredos_ is a noble example of modern work, and is worthy of
close examination. Behind it is the Jesus Chapel, containing a
monument of Canon Liddon. The mosaic decorations of the choir are the
work of Sir William Richmond, and are worthy of the highest praise.
MONUMENTS
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