The Stately Homes of EnglandJewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
History
The Stately Homes of England
Jewitt, Llewellynn Frederick William
Historic buildings -- England
The entrance to the chapel is on the north side, near to the west end.
The different parts of the chapel appear to be of about the following
dates, viz.:—
The south aisle, and centre circular column of its arcade, A.D. 1160.
The five windows of this aisle are each of a single light and pointed.
The capital of the circular column of the arcade has been cut so as to
fit the arches subsequently erected over it. The lower west window,
and the north aisle (except the doorway), and the north arcade, are
about _A.D._ 1310. A window of this aisle formerly existed to the east
of the doorway, but was blocked up when a staircase was made in the
vestibule of the chapel, to give access to a small room. The chancel,
the clerestory of the nave, and the south arcade, except the circular
column, are of about 1425, at which time the glass of the east window
was put in by Richard Vernon, as recorded in an inscription on the
window itself. The bell-turret is supposed to have been erected by
William, son of Richard Vernon, about 1455. The letter W, supposed
to be his initial, is carved on the outside of its wall, towards the
court-yard. The blocking up of the window of the north aisle, and the
construction of the entrance doorway, may be of the same date. William
Vernon married Margaret de Pype; and the Pype arms are on one of the
south windows of the chancel.
The partial removal of the whitewash of the chapel walls, in 1858, led
to several discoveries of the former arrangements of the building, and
of the coloured decorations of the walls; and, were it desirable, a
complete restoration of the interior to its former state would not be
difficult.
There were two altars in the chapel—one at the east end, as usual,
and one under the east window of the south aisle. This latter was, no
doubt, a chantry. The stone slabs which formed the tops of the altars
still exist, and are raised, to the extent of their thickness, above
the floor: the east altar-stone is 8 feet by 3 feet, and is 8 inches
thick, the edge being a fillet of 3 inches, and a chamfer; the surface
is so decayed that only one of its original five _crosses pattée_ now
remains.
The altar-stone of the south aisle is 5 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 6
inches, the edge showing a fillet and chamfer. The five _crosses
pattée_ on it are still perfect. The piscina in the chancel still
remains, recessed in a fenestella.
The sill of the south window, near the altar, is low, so as to form a
sedilia bench. In the middle of the sloping sill of the east window
a step has been cut, no doubt for the crucifix to stand on; and on
each side of it is a similar step, probably for candlesticks. On the
east wall, on each side of the window, is a stone bracket, probably to
support an image.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account