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
Since that eventful scene the transept has been rebuilt. The stones
around us, except it be the pavement, did not witness that bloody
deed. When the nave was rebuilt by Chillenden this part of the church
was much transformed. Portions of the old Norman walls built by
Lanfranc remain, but the main character of the building is
Perpendicular. The door is the same by which the murderers entered,
part of the wall, and probably the pavement, wherein is a small square
piece which marks the actual spot where Becket fell. The great window
was given by Edward IV., and has figures of his queen, his daughters,
and the two princes who were murdered in the Tower. The west window is
modern, and represents scenes from the life of Becket. There are
monuments here of Archbishop Peckham (1292), the oldest in the
Cathedral, and Archbishop Warham (1532), who crowned Henry VIII., and
was the opponent of Wolsey and the friend of Erasmus. A door at the
east end of this transept leads to the _Dean's Chapel_, formerly the
Lady Chapel, built by Goldstone in Perpendicular style. The monuments
here are to Dean Fotherby, Dr. Bargrave, Dean Boys with his books, and
Dean Turner, a favourite of Charles I.
The daily crowd of pilgrims who visited the scene of the martyrdom in
mediæval times used to pass on to the shrine of St. Thomas by the
north choir aisle, on their way to his shrine, and we will follow in
their steps. In this aisle we see much of the original Norman work of
Archbishop Anselm's choir, erected under the supervision of Prior
Ernulf. William of Sens added many architectural details and made some
alterations, but he seems to have intended to preserve the special
features of the earlier work. The roof was, however, raised, and the
clerestory of Ernulf's building converted into the triforium windows
of William of Sens. The latter brought with him the use of the chisel,
the former carving his ruder ornamentation by means of an axe. William
also introduced the pointed arch. Here is the monument of Archbishop
Tait. Three "squints" will be observed in the west wall. Two apsidal
chapels are at the east end, dedicated to SS. Stephen and Martin. In
the aisle there is some ancient glass of thirteenth-century work,
which is of extreme beauty, also an old desk with ancient Bible. An
ancient mural painting should be noticed, representing the conversion
of St. Hubert. Next we visit the _Chapel of St. Andrew_, now the
vestry, which has some traces of colour decoration. It was built by
Prior Ernulf, and was formerly the sacristy, where relics of Becket
were preserved in a chest, together with a quantity of vestments.
Beyond this, to the north, was the treasury, which was well protected
by a massive door. The treasures of costly plate and jewels at
Canterbury were of enormous value. In the aisle on the south side
there is the splendid tomb of Archbishop Chichele (1443), whom
Shakespeare represents in _Henry V._ as instigating the war with
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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