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
Here are two carved panels of very early character, which
legendary lore tells were brought from Selsey when the bishop's stool
was transferred to Chichester. It is quite possible that they are
Saxon, and the style of art has a Byzantine appearance. The subjects
are the Raising of Lazarus and Our Lord at Bethany with Mary and
Martha. A door on the left leads to the vicar's vestry, and then we
come to the _South Transept_, which resembles the north. The walls on
both west and east are Norman. On the south is a very beautiful window
inserted by Bishop Langton (1305-1337), one of the finest Early
Decorated windows in England. The glass is modern and hideous. The
paintings here on the back of the choir stalls are interesting. They
are the work of Theodore Bernardi, an Italian artist, who settled in
Flanders and afterwards came to England, and with his son lived at
Chichester. Bishop Sherbourne employed him to decorate his Cathedral.
The paintings here represent the foundation of the see at Selsey by
Caedwalla, and the foundation of four prebends by the bishop and Henry
VIII. The soldiers much injured the paintings, which were restored by
Bishop Mawson, who employed an inferior artist and thus destroyed much
of their merit. The saintly Bishop Richard has a monument here. On the
east is the Chapel of St. Pantaleon, a Nicomedian martyr, which
retains its piscina. It is now used as the canons' vestry. On the west
is the entrance to the _Sacristy_, a large room, now used as a music
room, with a vaulted ceiling. Above this is the old consistory court
where heretics were tried. Lollards were often examined and condemned
here, and behind the seats there is a sliding door leading to what is
commonly known as the Lollards' prison. It was probably either a
treasury or evidence chamber. Langton's tomb, the builder of the
beautiful window, is below that fine structure. He died in 1336.
The _Choir_ is long and narrow and has been much restored. The design
is Early English, though much of the old Norman piers was retained.
The carving in the triforium is very beautiful. The screen is modern.
The stalls were erected in Bishop Sherbourne's time, and are of carved
oak and inferior to many. The dean's and precentor's stalls are new.
The old throne was much defaced by the soldiers under Waller. A new
one was given by Bishop Mawson (1740-1754) and this has given place to
a modern one. The reredos and altar are modern.
DIMENSIONS
Total length 393 ft.
Length of nave 155 ft.
Width of nave 90 ft.
Height of nave 61 ft.
Length of choir 115 ft.
Length of transept 131 ft.
Height of spire 277 ft.
Area 28,000 sq. ft.
BUILDING DATES
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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