The Three Choirs: A Handbook to the Cathedrals of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester: A Complete Description of the Buildings, a History of Each Diocese and Biographical Notices of the BishopsKing, R. J. (Richard John)
Religion
The Three Choirs: A Handbook to the Cathedrals of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester: A Complete Description of the Buildings, a History of Each Diocese and Biographical Notices of the Bishops
This style of vaulting is entirely peculiar to England; and Professor
Willis has suggested that the school of masons who were employed in this
cathedral may have originated it[22]. The wall sides of the cloisters
are panelled; and the windows, divided by a transom, have rich
Perpendicular tracery. The lights above the transom were glazed. “The
construction of the outer walls is peculiar as to the arrangement of the
buttresses, and the projecting shelf of stone connected with the
transoms of the windows, which was evidently meant as a protection from
the weather for the lower half of the windows,--which was not
glazed[23].” Each walk is divided into ten compartments. In the south
walk are the ‘Carols’--places for writing or study, twenty in number,
formed by a series of arches, running below the main windows. In each
‘carol’ is a small and graceful window, of two lights. (Similar stalls
or ‘carols’ existed at Durham.) The very fine view at the angle of the
south and west walks should especially be noticed. In the _north_ walk
are the _lavatories_, [Plate IX.,] projecting into the cloister garth:
these are very perfect. Under the windows is a long trough or basin into
which the water flowed. The roof is groined. Opposite, in the wall of
the cloister, is the recess for towels, or _manutergia_.
In the east walk are some memorial windows of stained glass; and it is
proposed to fill the whole of the cloisters with glass, forming, when
completed, a History of our Lord. “This scheme was originated with a
view to check the disfigurement of the cathedral by monuments of any
other description.”
XIX. The _chapter-house_ opens from the east walk through a Norman arch
enriched with zigzag ornament. The chapter-house itself (72 ft. by 34)
is a long parallelogram of four bays, three of which are Norman, and the
most easterly a Perpendicular addition. This part is finely groined, and
has a large Perpendicular window. Round the Norman portion [Plate X.] is
an arcade of four arches in each bay. The manner in which the shafts
carrying the vaulting-ribs are set back in the wall, between the shafts
of the arcade, should be noticed. The plain vault has large ribs, 15 ft.
apart. Rude inscriptions and shields are traceable on the wall-arcade.
The floor has been covered with encaustic tiles, copied accurately from
the old work.
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