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
two turrets crowned with pinnacles; the Latin Chapel of beautiful
Decorated design, erected in the fourteenth century, and the Lady
Chapel, the east wall of which is part of the old Saxon church, and
Mr. Park Harrison has discovered the remains of three Saxon apses
which are perhaps the remains of the earliest Saxon church, the Church
of St. Frideswide, built by Didan early in the eighth century.[9] A
Decorated window has been inserted here. We must now notice the
_Tower_ and _Spire_, a beautiful feature of the Cathedral. The lower
storey is Late Norman, similar to the style of the nave; the belfry
and the spire are Early English. This spire ranks with that of
Barnock, Northants, and New Romsey, Surrey, as being one of the
earliest in the kingdom. It was restored by Scott. The pinnacles at
the angles of the tower are modern but accurate copies of the ancient
ones. The spire is octagonal, and is what is termed a broach spire,
_i.e._, it rises from the exterior of the tower walls and not from the
interior of a parapet as in the later spires.
[Illustration Oxford Cathedral]
THE INTERIOR
Entering by the new porch from the quadrangle and passing under the
organ-screen we see a Cathedral, small, indeed, but possessing
features of peculiar interest. In its main plan it is possibly the
church of Ethelred begun in 1004, but finished in Late Norman times
when Robert de Cricklade or Canutus was prior (1141-1180).[10] The
piers of the _Nave_ are alternatively circular and octagonal. There is
a very unusual triforium. Arches spring from the capitals of the
piers, and in the tympana are set the triforium arcade. From half
capitals set against the piers spring another series of arches at a
lower level than the others we have mentioned, and above the curve of
these is the triforium arcade. Very few examples of this curious
construction are found in this country. The carving of the capitals is
graceful, and though it differs somewhat from the stiff-leaved foliage
of Early English style, it somewhat resembles that character. The
clerestory belongs to the period of transition between Norman and
Early English. The central arch of the triple windows is pointed, and
the others, which are blocked up, round. The corbels and shafts which
support the roof are Norman, but the brackets are Perpendicular,
erected by Wolsey, who intended to build a stone vault. The present
fine timber roof belongs to his time, or a little later. The stalls
and seats are modern. The screen is Jacobean, above which is the
organ, a fine instrument enclosed in a Jacobean case. The pulpit
belongs to the same period and is very interesting, especially its
grotesque carving. The central tower has fine and lofty arches, and
its appearance has been improved by the removal of the ceiling which
formerly existed here. A curious subterranean chamber was discovered
here in 1856. It contained two aumbries, and was evidently intended
for the keeping of some treasure, possibly of the monastery, or of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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