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
consists of three pointed arches with quatrefoils in the spandrels.
The two inner quatrefoils communicate with lockers at the back, and
were evidently intended for offerings. The upper portion consists of
three arches with Early English capitals to the shafts, and under the
arches were paintings of SS. David, Patrick, and probably Denis, but
these have disappeared.
Another shrine is in the Cathedral, that of _St. Caradoc_, on the
south side of the north transept. He was a Welsh saint, who was
ordained and ministered in the Cathedral of St. David, and dying in
1124 was canonised by Innocent III. Here too are seen two
quatrefoil openings for the reception of offerings.
We need not linger in the choir aisles except to observe the
monuments, and will at once pass to the part of the east end behind
the altar. This part consists of Bishop Vaughan's Chantry on the east
of the presbytery, the ante-chapel, with two chapel aisles, and the
Lady Chapel. This part of the church awaits restoration, for which
funds are needed. With the exception of Vaughan's Chantry and the
ante-chapel, all the building is roofless, exposed to the storms and
rains of this exposed headland, and pitifully beseeches a new roof and
shelter. Several architectural puzzles are presented by this portion
of the Cathedral, which have not yet been entirely satisfactorily
solved. Examining first Vaughan's Chantry or Trinity Chapel, we find a
very beautiful example of Perpendicular work. The roof is a fine
example of fan-tracery, and the whole structure rivals King's College
Chapel, Cambridge, or Henry VII.'s Chapel at Westminster. Before the
construction of this chapel the space occupied by it was left waste,
and was described by Vaughan as _Vilissimus sive sordidissimus locus
in totâ ecclesiâ_. A curious recess of Late Norman work has been
discovered behind the high altar with beautifully-carved crosses.
Above the recess is the figure of an angel, and some relics were found
in the cill embedded in mortar, where they had doubtless been placed
for the purpose of preservation at the Reformation. Recent discovery
has revealed at the east end a beautifully-carved niche and two fine
windows. Here are preserved some interesting Celtic crosses. On the
south is the Chapel of King Edward the Conqueror, and on the north the
Chapel of St. Nicholas. The _Ante-Chapel_ has Early English arches
with a Perpendicular roof. The _Lady Chapel_ in its present form
belongs to the transition from Early English to Decorated. Bishop
Gower added the sedilia, founded a chantry here, and made sundry other
alterations of a Decorated character.
The Cathedral is rich in monuments. The most important are:--
Bishop Gower, south of rood-screen.
Bishop Morgan (1564), south of nave.
Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, father of Henry VII. (1456),
presbytery.
Bishop Anselm le Gras (1247), presbytery.
Two tombs of Knights, on each side of presbytery.
A Priest (Decorated period), in presbytery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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