“All the wall below the windows is arcaded with foiled arches, with quatrefoils above them. The wall between the windows is panelled with delicate tracery like that in the windows, and in its three chief tiers contains brackets for figures, with richly carved canopies overhead. Many of these canopies (like the walls) show traces of colour.
“Vaulting shafts of great beauty support one of the grandest Perpendicular roofs that has ever been made. Each boss in the roof is worth minute inspection, and since the restoration (1896) it is possible to see the bosses in practically the same condition as they were when they left the masons’ hands in the Fifteenth Century. With three exceptions they are all representations of foliage.
“It has been said above that the chapel is cruciform. The arms of the cross are represented by the two side chapels, like diminutive transepts on the north and south sides, with oratories above them, to which access is given by small staircases in the angles of the wall. Both these side chapels contain some exquisite fan-tracery vaulting, which is supported upon flying arches, fashioned in imitation of the graceful flying arches in the choir.
“On the north side the chapel contains a full-length effigy of Bishop Goldsborough (who died in 1604) robed in his white rochet, black chimere, with lawn sleeves, scarf, ruff and skull-cap.
“The east window in this chapel is in memory of Lieut. Arthur John Lawford (1885), and is dedicated to St. Martin.
“The chapel above has a vaulted roof with bosses of foliage, and there are small portions of ancient glass.
“The Lady-chapel is one of the largest in the kingdom, and is said, at the time of the Dissolution, to have been one of the richest. A great part of it is said to have been gilded and gloriously ornamented. Traces of the colour can be seen in the mouldings of the panellings and in the carving upon the walls.”—(H. J. L. J. M.)
The Reredos still retains traces of its gorgeous colours. It is very richly ornamented.
The East Window, consisting of nine lights, dates from 1472-1479. The monuments are not especially remarkable. The tiles of the floor and the sedilia are notable.
On our right, as we leave the Lady Chapel, we come to Abbot Boteler’s Chapel (1437-1450). It contains a fine ancient reredos, interesting tiles and a curious wooden effigy of Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror. Critics think it nearly contemporary with the Duke himself. The figure rests on a Fifteenth Century chest.
Next we come to St. Paul’s Chapel (north-west) entered by a doorway. The reredos here is very fine. It was repaired in 1870. St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Luke, by Redfern, ornament the niches.
An ancient stone reading-desk, from which pilgrims to the shrine of Edward II. were addressed, attracts our attention near the door leading into the North Transept. This is originally Norman, cased over with Perpendicular panelling, more developed, however, than that in the south transept. The work here was done in 1368-1373. Angular mouldings are used in the place of round mouldings and the mullions run right up to the roof, which is much richer than that in the south transept. The vaulting of the north transept somewhat resembles the fan-tracery of the cloisters. This transept is 8 feet lower than that on the south side and it is 2 feet shorter.
Beneath the north window is a greatly admired piece of Early English (1240), supposed to have been a Reliquary. The middle of the three divisions is a doorway. Beautifully carved foliage and Purbeck marble shafts are the chief ornamentation.
Opposite, between the tower-piers, is a small chapel, said to have been dedicated to St. Anthony. It is used as the Dean’s vestry.
The South Transept (St. Andrew’s Aisle) was transformed from the Norman in 1329-1337. The vaulting is lierne with short ribs. The walls are panelled.
On the north side of the south transept, we find the Seabroke Chapel.
“The alabaster effigy represents the Abbot in his alb, stole, tunic, dalmatic, chasuble, amice and mitre, with his pastoral staff on his right side. The chapel has been partially restored. Traces of colour are to be seen in the reredos and the roof over it.
“Almost opposite to this, but nearer to the iron gate, is a recessed tomb to a knight in mixed armour of mail and plate, and by his side his lady, with kirtle, mantle and flowing hair. Both wear SS. collars, and this helps to give the age of the monument, by narrowing the date down to a year not earlier than 1399.”—(H. J. L. J. M.)
On the east side the Chapel of St. Andrew occupies a corresponding position to that of St. Paul in the north transept. This chapel has been restored. Some of the best glass in the Cathedral is contained in the east window over St. Andrew’s Chapel. It dates from about 1330 and consists of the head of a white scroll-work of vine leaves, etc., on a fine ruby-coloured ground, and below plain quarries with very simple borders.
Opposite Boteler’s Chapel we find St. Philip’s Chapel (south-east), restored in 1864. There is some dog-tooth moulding near the piscina. A fine Perpendicular arch, supporting the triforium above, attracts attention before the Lady-Chapel is entered.
The Crypt is entered from the eastern door in the south transept. It is one of the five great eastern crypts erected before 1085[5] and consists of an apse, three small apsidal chapels and two chapels underneath the eastern chapels of the north and south transepts.
“Great alterations have from time to time been made in the crypt. The large semicircular columns against the walls, though of great antiquity, are not parts of the original structure, but are casings built round, and enclosing the former smaller piers, and the ribs springing from their capitals are built under, with a view to support the vaulting.”—(F. S. W.)
Through a door in the organ screen in the north aisle of the nave we enter the Cloisters, which are among the most perfect and beautiful in England. They form a quadrangle and each walk is divided into ten compartments. Fan-tracery is thought to have originated here in the vaulting. They were begun by Abbot Horton (1351-1377) and completed by Abbot Froucester (1381-1412).
“The view looking down either of the walks is very fine, mainly owing to the richness of the groined roof, which is the earliest example of the fan-vault. 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. 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. Each walk is divided into ten compartments. In the south walk are the Carrels—places for writing or study, twenty in number, formed by a series of arches, running below the main windows. In each carrel is a small and graceful window of two lights.[6] The very fine view at the angle of the south and west walks should especially be noticed. In the north walk are the lavatories, 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. The windows of the east walk are filled with memorial glass by Hardman (the eighth is by Ballantyne, as is one window in the west walk).”—(R. J. K.)
A small cloister, or slype, opens from the east walk between the cathedral and the chapter-house. This is also called the Abbot’s Cloister. This is Norman in its western portion and Perpendicular beyond.[7] Above this is situated the Chapter Library, a long, dark Perpendicular room with a roof of dark oak, a large Perpendicular window east and a row of small windows on the north side.
Though the cloisters are quadrangular, the length of the four walks is not quite the same. The width (12⅛ feet) and height (18⅛ feet) are alike.
In the North Alley, the Monks’ Lavatory is
“one of the most perfect of its date. It projects 8 feet into the garth, and is entered from the cloister alley by eight tall arches with glazed traceried openings above. Internally it is 47 feet long and 6⅛ feet wide, and is lighted by eight two-light windows towards the garth and by a similar window at each end. One light of the east window has a small square opening below, perhaps for the admission of the supply pipes, for which there seems to be no other entrance either in the fan vault or the side walls. Half the width of the lavatory is taken up by a broad, flat ledge or platform against the wall, on which stood a lead cistern or laver, with a row of taps, and in front a hollow trough, originally lined with lead, at which the monks washed their hands and faces. From this the waste water ran away into a recently discovered (1889) tank in the garth.”—(H.)
From the West Alley the monks entered their great dining-hall; and at the south-west corner a vaulted passage called the Slype lies under part of the old lodging of the Abbots, now the Deanery. In this passage, a sort of outer parlour, the monks held conversation with strangers. In the South Alley the monks studied after dinner until evensong. It has ten windows of six lights and twenty recesses, or “carrels,” below the transoms.
The roof of the East Alley is a perfectly plain barrel vault without ribs. In the south-west corner we find a hollowed bracket, or cresset stone, in which a wick, floating in tallow, was kept to light the passage.
Opposite the fifth bay a doorway, containing some good Norman work, slightly restored, leads into the Chapter-House.
Originally consisting of three Norman bays, it probably, like the chapter-houses at Norwich, Reading, and Durham, terminated in a semi-circular apse. The present east end is Late Perpendicular, and makes a fourth bay. The vaulting of the later part is well groined, and the window is good. The roof of the three Norman bays is a lofty barrel vault supported by three slightly pointed arches springing from the capitals of the columns, which are curiously set back, and separate the bays.
Norman arcading of twelve arches—i.e. four to each bay—runs along the three westernmost bays on the north and south walls.
“The west end is arranged in the usual Benedictine fashion, with a central door, flanked originally by two large unglazed window openings, with three large windows above. Only one of the windows flanking the doorway can now be seen, the other having been partly destroyed and covered by Perpendicular panelling when the new library stair was built in the south-west corner of the room.”—(H.)
Of the four old gateways remaining the finest is St. Mary’s Gate, a typical specimen of Early English work. It leads into St. Mary’s Square. In the northwest corner of the Precincts the famous vineyard was situated.
HEREFORD
Dedication: St. Mary and St. Ethelbert. A Church served by Secular Canons.
Special features: North Transept and East End.
Hereford is situated in the fertile and cultivated valley of the Wye.
“Almost in the midst of the city the sturdy mass of the cathedral building reposes in a secluded close, from which the best general view is obtained. The close is entered either from Broad Street, near the west window, or from Castle Street; the whole of the building lying on the south side of the close between the path and the river. The space between the Wye and the Cathedral is filled by the Bishop’s Palace and the college of the Vicars’ Choral. On the east are the foundations of the castle, which was formerly one of the strongest on the Welsh marshes.”—(A. H. F.)
A stone church was begun here about 830 in honour of St. Ethelbert, the East Anglian king, murdered by Offa near Hereford in 792. At his shrine miracles were wrought. This church was rebuilt in Edward the Confessor’s reign; but was plundered and burnt by the Welsh and Irish. The present building was begun by Robert de Losinga about 1079 and finished by the middle of the Twelfth Century. The most remarkable part of the building is the north transept. This is supposed to have been built by Bishop Aquablanca (see page 177), who was succeeded by Thomas de Cantilupe, the great saint of the Cathedral (see page 178).
Hereford has suffered greatly from calamities and restorations. In 1786 the western tower and west front fell. They were reconstructed by Wyatt. He also shortened the nave by one bay and destroyed the Norman triforium. Repairs and restorations were undertaken in 1841, 1852 and 1858.
The most striking feature of the exterior is the central Tower—of two stories above the roof with buttresses and exhibiting the ball-flower in great profusion. The four pinnacles at the corners were added in 1830. The Lady-Chapel with its tall lancet-shaped windows and bold buttresses is also interesting. On the south side the Audley Chantry projects with great effect; and from the west we gain a good view of the Bishop’s Cloisters, with the square turreted tower called the Lady Arbour, though nobody knows why. Only the east and the south walks now remain. They are Perpendicular with fine window openings and richly carved roof.
We enter the Cathedral by the North porch, completed in 1530. It is of two stages, and projects beyond an inner porch of the Decorated period. The doorway opening into the church is also Decorated.
On entering the Nave, we pass to the west end to get the best general view.
“The nave, which is separated from the aisles by eight massive Norman piers (part of the original church), of which the capitals are worthy of notice, has somewhat suffered by restorations at the hands of Wyatt. The triforium, the clerestory, the vaulting of the roof and the western wall and doorway are all his work; and it must not be forgotten that he shortened the original nave by one entire bay. Walking to the west end, from which the best general view is to be obtained, one is impressed by the striking effect of the great Norman piers and arches and the gloom of the choir beyond. Through the noble circular arches, which support the central tower and the modern screen on the eastern side of it, we see the eastern wall of the choir, pierced above by three lancet windows and below by a wide circular arch receding in many orders. A central pillar divides this lower arch, two pointed arches springing from its capital, and leaving a spandrel between them, which is covered with modern sculpture. In the far distance may be distinguished the east wall of the Lady-chapel and its brilliant lancet lights. Throughout the Cathedral the Norman work is remarkable for the richness of its ornament as compared with other buildings of the same date, such as Peterborough or Ely.
“The main arches of the nave are ornamented with the billet and other beautiful mouldings and the capitals of both piers and shafts are also elaborately decorated. The double half shafts set against the north and south fronts of the huge circular piers are in the greater part restorations.
“Over each pier-arch there are two triforium arches imitated from the Early English of Salisbury. They are divided by slender pillars, but there is no triforium passage. During the Late Decorated period the nave-aisles were practically rebuilt, the existing walls and windows being erected upon the bases of the Norman walls, which were retained for a few feet above the foundations. The vaulting of the roofs of the nave-aisles and the roof of the nave itself were coloured under the direction of Mr. Cottingham.”—(A. H. F.)
In the second bay of the south aisle stands an ancient Font of late Norman design, decorated with figures of the Apostles, on a base with four demi-griffins or lions. Among the monuments in the nave is an alabaster Effigy of Sir Richard Pembridge, in plate and mail armour with his greyhound. He died in 1375. Here are also the effigy and tomb of Bishop Booth (died 1535), who built
the north porch. The handsome iron grille in front of the tomb is of the same date.
The Central Tower rests on massive piers with Norman arches. The entire space is open from the floor of the Cathedral to the wooden floor of the bell-chamber, painted beneath in blue and gold. From this floor hangs a corona of wrought iron, coloured like the screen. The tower contains a fine peal of ten bells.
Through the north arch of the tower we pass into the North Transept, said to be the work of Peter of Savoy, who became Bishop of Hereford. He was called Bishop Aquablanca from his birthplace near Chambéry. He died in 1268 intensely hated. The original Norman north transept was pulled down about 1260 for this new one, rebuilt
“on a design which is perhaps the most original, as it certainly is one of the most beautiful in the history of English Gothic architecture. To the north and west were built enormous windows, with tracery of cusped circles, quite exceptional in their elongation, more like late German than English work. On the east side was built an aisle of exquisite beauty. Its arches, almost straight-sided—its triforium windows, a ring of cusped circles set under a semicircular arch—its clerestory windows, spherical triangles, enclosing a cusped circular window—the composition of the triforium—the north and west windows—are quite unique, except so far as they were copied in later work in the city and neighbourhood. At the south end of the aisle is the exquisite TOMB of Bishop Peter Aquablanca (died 1268); no doubt built in his lifetime. The tomb is as unique as the transept, and chiefly resembles it in design. The inference is that Bishop Aquablanca built the transept. The credit of it, however, is constantly given to his successors, apparently on account of his private vices. But saints as well as sinners have liked to leave memorials behind them in stone; and, moreover, Aquablanca had his good points. To this day four thousand loaves are distributed every year out of funds which he bequeathed. It is recorded, too, that of a fine which was imposed on the citizens for encroachments on his episcopal rights, he remitted one half and handed over the other for works on the cathedral.”—(F. B.)
Aquablanca was succeeded by Thomas Cantilupe, as much loved as the former was hated. Dying on a homeward journey from Rome, in 1282, his bones were removed from the flesh by boiling and carried to Hereford to be placed in the Lady-Chapel. Forty years later he was canonized. Many miracles were effected at his shrine, removed to the transept in 1287. King Edward I. sent sick falcons to be cured and people thronged with large offerings. We shall soon see all that is left of the Cantilupe Shrine.
“The Norman arches opening to the aisles of the nave and choir resemble those which correspond to them on the south side of the church. The transept beyond them was, as we have seen, entirely rebuilt, and is one of the most remarkable examples of the period remaining in England. The unusual form of its arches, and its pure, lofty windows, are sufficiently impressive now; but their effect must have been wonderfully increased when the windows were filled with glass displaying the history and miracles of the sainted Bishop, and when the shrine itself was standing on its pedestal within the eastern aisle, rich with the gold and jewels offered by the numerous pilgrims who knelt daily before it.
“The west side of the transept (which is of two bays beyond the aisle passage) is entirely filled by two very lofty windows of three lights each. The heads of the narrow lights are sharply pointed; and the tracery above is formed by three circles enclosing trefoils. These windows are set back within triangular-headed arches. On the north side is a double window of the same character divided by a group of banded shafts. The triple lights on either side of these shafts, and the foiled circles above them, precisely resemble the windows on the west side of the transept.
“The vaulting springs from clustered shafts, the corbels supporting which, on the east side, are beautiful and singular, and resemble bunches of reeds, terminating in a small open flower. The small heads below these corbels, at the intersection of the main arches, should also be noticed.
“The eastern aisles, lighted by three very beautiful windows, each of three lights, with three quatrefoils in the tracery, are set back within wider arches, as is the case with the windows in the main transept. In this aisle, in a line with the central pier, is the pedestal of the Cantilupe Shrine. This is a long parallelogram, narrowing toward the lower end, and is entirely of Purbeck marble. It has two divisions; the lower closed, like an altar-tomb, the upper a flat canopy, supported on small open arches. Upon this rested the actual shrine, containing the relics of the saint. Cantilupe was Provincial Grand Master of the Knights Templars in England; and round the lower division of the pedestal are fifteen figures of Templars in various attitudes, placed in the recesses of a foliated arcade. All are fully armed, in chain-mail, with surcoat, shield and sword. All are seated, and tread on various monsters, among which are dragons and swine, muzzled. The spandrels in this arcade, and the spandrels between the arches in the upper division, are filled with leafage of the first Decorated period, retaining some of the stiff arrangement of the Early English, but directly copied from nature. In the lower spandrels it is arranged in sprays; in the upper it is often laid in rows of leaves, among which occur oak, maple and trefoil. The whole of this work will repay the most careful examination. (It should be compared with the foliage of the capitals of the shafts surrounding the central pier of the aisle, which is far more stiff and conventional). On the top of the lower division of the pedestal was a brass of the Bishop, of which the matrix alone remains.
“The position of the shrine in this transept may be compared with that of St. Frideswide at Oxford, and with that of St. Richard de la Wych at Chichester. All had an altar immediately adjoining the shrine, which was dedicated to the saint, and at which the offerings of pilgrims were made. In these cases, however, the usual position of a great shrine—at the back of the high altar—was, for some special reason, departed from. At Hereford, this position of highest honour was probably occupied by the shrine of St. Ethelbert.”—(R. J. K.)
Close by is the interesting monument of Bishop d’Aquablanca, just by the north-choir-aisle. This Early English monument was once richly coloured.
The effigy of this foreign priest—Peter of Savoy—lies under a canopy supported by delicate shafts of Purbeck marble, the gables surmounted by floriated crosses, the central cross bearing a figure of the Saviour. The richly canopied tomb under the great north window bears the effigy of Bishop Thomas Charlton, treasurer of England in 1329 (died 1369).
Under the north-west-window is the canopied tomb of Bishop Swinfield (1283-1317). His effigy disappeared long ago, and some unknown figure lies there. The ball-flower is conspicuous in the mouldings of the canopy and behind the tomb there is a mutilated carving of the Crucifixion, surrounded by vine-leaves and tendrils, quite similar to the leafage of the Cantilupe Shrine. In a neighbouring recess decorated with the ball-flower lies the effigy of an unknown lady of the Fourteenth Century.
The North-choir-aisle is entered through the original Norman arch. In the north wall of this aisle in a series of arched recesses (Decorated) lie the effigies of various ecclesiastics. Beyond the first one, Bishop Geoffry de Clive (died 1120), a door opens upon the turret staircase leading to a typical monastic Library, containing more than 2,000 volumes, MSS. and ancient deeds, the accumulations of eight centuries. These are kept in eighty old oak cupboards and the ancient books are chained.
Descending and passing to the corner of the north-east transept we come to Bishop Stanbery’s Chantry, a rich example of late Perpendicular, with two windows on the north side. The ceiling is richly groined. The capitals at the corners of the chapel are very grotesque. Opposite the chantry, on the north side of the choir, is the alabaster effigy of Bishop Stanbery (died 1474).
In the wall of the aisle above is a Decorated window. The glass is in memory of Dr. Musgrave, Archbishop of York, previously Bishop of Hereford. The subject is St. Paul, the story of whose life is continued in the windows of the chantry.
Immediately beyond, the north-east-transept opens. It is Early Decorated, retaining some Norman characteristics. In the centre rises an octagonal pier which helps to carry the quadripartite vaulting, which has good bosses of leafage. This pier gives a peculiar character to this transept. The windows are Early Decorated.
The South transept retains much that is Norman, although it was altered during the Perpendicular period, when two huge windows were cut into the walls. Perpendicular panelling surrounds that in the south wall. The lierne vaulting is also of the same date. The east wall has five series of Norman arcades. Two Norman windows in the clerestory contribute light.
The Denton tomb, with its effigies in alabaster showing traces of colour, dates from 1576.
The organ, in the first archway on the south side of the choir, was the gift of Charles II. It has been twice enlarged.
Effigies of bishops fill the four Decorated arched recesses on the south wall of the south-choir-aisle and on the north wall, under an arch opening to the choir, is the tomb of Bishop De Lorraine, or Losinga (died 1095). Here is also the monument and tomb to Bishop Mayhew, of Magdalen College (1504-1516); some old windows restored by Warrington; and the famous Map of the World, one of the most valuable relics of mediæval geography in existence. It was designed about 1314 by Richard of Haldingham, a Lincolnshire monk. It was discovered more than a hundred years ago under the floor of Bishop Audley’s Chapel.
The South-east-transept, between the retro-choir and the chapter-house, opens into the latter. The style is in the main Decorated, though the window tracery is later quite Flamboyant. One single octagonal pillar separates it from its eastern aisle. From this transept a lovely view of the Lady-Chapel can be enjoyed.
The peculiar darkness of the Choir is due to the arrangement of the transepts, which prevents the admission of light except from the clerestory.
“The main arches of the choir are of three orders, and spring from massive composite piers, with broad, square bases. The capitals of the semi-detached shafts are enriched with leafage and grotesque heads. The triforium in each bay consists of one wide Norman arch circumscribing two smaller, divided by a central shaft, and springing on either side from two massive semicircular piers, with small capitals. Both outer and inner arches spring from these piers. The capitals of the central shafts have square abaci, and are enriched. The tympana of the outer arches are covered with scallop, leaf and billet ornament. At the base of the triforium runs a square string-course, enriched with minute carving. The lozenge ornament prevails round the main arches of the choir, as does the zigzag round those of the nave.
“Broad square pilasters, with semi-detached shafts at their angels, fill the spaces between the piers. They terminate at the spring of the triforium arches in double triangular headings, with crocketed sides and finials of leafage. These headings are Early English, of the same date as the clerestory and vaulting; and between each pair rises a group of so-called vaulting-shafts, with capitals of leafage, terminating at the base of the clerestory; and connected (under the actual base of the clerestory) by a band of open flowers. The clerestory consists of one lofty pointed arch in each bay, divided by a central; on either side is a smaller trefoiled arch. The windows, of two lights, with a quatrefoil in the heading, are placed at the back of the wall-passage, and form in effect a double plane with the large inner arches. They are filled on each side with indifferent stained glass. The choir vaulting is plain quadripartite, with bosses of leafage at the intersections.”—(R. J. K.)
The Choir-stalls are Decorated. Some of the Misereres are quaint. The Bishop’s Throne dates from the Fourteenth Century. The Cathedral also possesses an ancient episcopal chair, which, it is said, King Stephen sat in when he visited Hereford.
Within a great Norman arch of five orders stands the modern Reredos, at the back of which rises a great pier from which spring two pointed arches. The spandrel, or Tympanum, is covered with modern sculpture—the Saviour in Majesty and the Evangelists; and below a statue of King Ethelbert, who was said to have been buried in the first Saxon church somewhere about this spot.
From the Retro-choir we pass into the Vestibule of the Lady-Chapel, the walls of which are broken with transitional Norman window openings,—pointed arches with massive mouldings. The foliage of the capitals is Early English.
Five steps (necessitated by the height of the crypt below) lead up to the Lady-Chapel, very rich Early English, dating from the first half of the Thirteenth Century. It is 24 × 45 feet and of three bays. On the north side each bay contains two large windows; on the south side, the third bay is filled by the Audley Chapel.
“The very rich clustered shafts and arches of the side windows should be especially noticed. The capitals of the shafts are Early English leafage; and there are small heads at the intersections and crowns of the arches. A circle enclosing a quatrefoil pierces the wall above these windows. The vaulting is plain quadripartite, and springs from shafts which descend upon a base raised slightly above the pavement. The modern pavement of the Lady-chapel is laid with red and green tiles in large square panels. The whole design is broad and good in outline; and is somewhat richer at the altar end, which is raised on one step.”
Ferguson has remarked that
“Nowhere on the Continent are such combinations to be found as the Five Sisters at York, the east end of Ely, or such a group as that which terminates the east end of Hereford.”
Many of its features were hidden until the restorations and repairs were undertaken in 1841.
“The glorious EAST-WINDOW consists of five narrow lancets recessed within arches supported by clustered shafts, the wall above being perforated with five quatrefoil openings, of which the outside ones are circular and the centre three are oval. It was as a memorial to Dean Merewether, to whom the cathedral owes so much, that the stained glass designed by Cottingham was placed in the east windows in the narrow lancets that he loved so dearly. It represents scenes in the early life of the Virgin and the life of Christ, the last being the supper in the house of Mary and Martha. In the side windows the visitor should especially notice the rich clustered shafts and arches, the Early English capitals and the ornamentation of the arches. The double PISCINA and AUMBRY south of the altar are restorations necessitated by the dilapidated state of the originals.”—(A. H. F.)
In the central bay on the north side lies the effigy of Sir Peter de Grandison (died 1358) under a canopy of open tabernacle work. The armour is very interesting. Once the effigy was supposed to be Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. On the same side lies Joanna de Bohun, Countess of Hereford (died 1327). Her effigy is a splendid study in costume. She left a large estate to the Cathedral.
A black marble slab, with brass, marks the resting-place of Dean Merewether (died 1850). Dean Berew, or Beaurieu, in the south wall of the vestibule, is one of the best specimens of sculpture in the Cathedral. He died in 1462.
It was not every bishop who could build two chantries; but Bishop Audley (1492-1502) built himself a charming Tudor chapel, two stories high, projecting from the south side of the Lady Chapel, a circular staircase giving access to the upper room. He intended it for his tomb; but as he was translated to Salisbury in 1502, he had the trouble of building another one there, in which he was buried.
“The lower chamber is shut off from the Lady-chapel by a screen of painted stone with open-work panelling in two stages. The chapel is pentagonal in plan, and has two windows, while a third opens into the Lady-chapel through the screen. The ceiling is vaulted, and bears evidence of having in former times been elaborately painted.
“There are five windows in the upper chamber and the groined roof is distinctly good. The boss in the centre represents the Virgin crowned in glory. On other parts of the ceiling are the arms of Bishop Audley and those of the Deanery, as well as a shield bearing the letters R. I. The upper part of the chantry, which is divided from the Lady-chapel by the top of the screen which serves as a kind of rail, may have been used as an oratory; but no remains of an altar have been found. On the door opening on the staircase is some good iron-work, and Bishop Audley’s initials may be noticed on the lock. Standing by the door of this chapel, the visitor has a lovely view westward: two pillars rising in the roof and across the top of the reredos; to the right, the Norman arches of the north transept and further on still the nave.”—(A. H. F.)
From the south side of the Lady-Chapel we enter the Crypt by steps leading down from an Early English porch. It is 50 feet long, and consists of a nave and aisles. Because the crypt was used as a charnel-house, it is called Golgotha. It is lighted by plain lancets.
There are only a few fragments of old glass in the windows, some of the best (early Fourteenth Century) is in one of the lancets on the south side of the Lady-Chapel. The subjects are Christ surrounded by symbols of the Four Evangelists; Lamb and flag; Angel and Marys at the Sepulchre; Crucifixion; Christ carrying the Cross.
A window in the north-east transept contains Fourteenth Century glass, restored by Warrington in 1864: St. Katherine; St. Michael; St. Gregory; and St. Thomas of Canterbury. In the south-east transept a similar window exhibits St. Mary Magdalene; St. Ethelbert; St. Augustine; and St. George. The many memorial windows do not call
for special attention. One, however, in the north transept, erected to Archdeacon Lane Freer, is to be noticed on account of the tracery. It is one of the largest in England of the period of Edward I.
From the south-east transept we enter a narrow passage, the Vicars’ Cloister, that leads to the College of Vicars-Choral (1396). It is a picturesque quadrangle with an inner cloister (Perpendicular, about 1474).
The Bishop’s Palace lies south, between the Cathedral and the river Wye.
WORCESTER
Dedication: The Blessed Virgin, St. Peter and the Holy Confessors, Oswald and Wulstan. Formerly the Church of a Benedictine Monastery.
Special features: Nave; Choir-Stalls; Tomb of King John; Chantry of Prince Arthur; Arcade across transepts and Lady-Chapel; Crypt.
The Cathedral of Worcester is severe and plain; but its very severity appeals to some critics, as do the general lines of the entire edifice.
“The beautiful proportions of the great tower harmonise so well with the general plan and mass of the rest of the fabric that although it has no pride of place like Durham or Lincoln, it still dominates the whole city and vicinity in a great and unmistakable manner. The flat meadow-land of the Severn valley in this part of the county, unbroken westward up to the very foot of the Malvern hills, gives the Cathedral on this side the importance of the chief feature in many miles of landscape. And as one approaches from the eastward, over the slight eminences on which the battle of Worcester was chiefly fought, a glimpse of the tower is the earliest evidence of the existence of the city.”—(E. F. S.)
The history of Worcester Cathedral begins with Oswald, a Benedictine monk, consecrated Bishop of Worcester by Dunstan in 961. Oswald’s cathedral, finished in 983, was destroyed by the Danes in 1041, and rebuilt in 1084-1089 by Wulstan, a monk of Worcester, who became Bishop in 1062. Wulstan placed his church a little to the south of the first one. His crypt still remains,—the most famous crypt in England. Wulstan’s tomb was miraculously preserved when a fire burned parts of the cathedral in 1113, eight years after his death. Miracles were performed and cures effected. Finally in 1203 Wulstan was canonized.
When King John died in 1216, he was buried before the High Altar between the tombs of Oswald and Wulstan.
The Cathedral was dedicated in 1218 in the presence of King Henry III. and bishops, abbots, priors and nobles from all parts of the kingdom.
The church suffered from fires and storms; and the central tower fell in 1175. Rebuilding was frequently a necessity; and, therefore, many styles are to be found throughout the fabric.
Repairs were undertaken between 1702 and 1712, when the choir was paved and when it is supposed that the spires on the corners of the presbytery, transepts and nave were added.
An important series of repairs and restorations were undertaken by Wilkinson from 1748 to 1756. At this period
“the north end of the nave transept was rebuilt, the stone pulpit removed from the nave to the choir, and the latter re-paved with blue and white stone. The old right-of-way through the cathedral was replaced by a more proper and convenient passage round the west end; and many gravestones were removed from the floors of the side aisles of the choir, and from the nave, which were re-paved with white stone. The Jesus Chapel was opened to the nave and the font therein erected.
“The great flying buttresses at the east end were erected between 1736 and 1789. The great west window was rebuilt in 1789, and that of the east end in 1792. In 1812 a new altar-screen and choir-screen were built, and the tall pinnacles taken down after 1832.
“In 1857 began the great restoration of the cathedral under the auspices of Mr. Perkins, the architect to the dean and chapter, whose work was continued and amplified by Sir Gilbert Scott, who was employed after 1864.
“The results of this restoration, probably the most complete and far-reaching undergone by any British cathedral, include the exterior and interior of the tower, the pavements throughout the building; the decoration of the choir and Lady-chapel; all the windows, and almost the whole of the furniture and fittings, including a new reredos, choir-screen, organ and pulpit. The restored cathedral was reopened, with a magnificent choral service on the 8th of April, 1874. Since that date many additions have been made, splendid evidences of the survival of the old local patriotism; for almost everything is due to the munificence of local donors.”—(E. F. S.)
The chief feature is the central Tower, supposed to have been completed in 1374. It has been restored carefully.
“It is of two stages. The first has two lancets on each side, within an arcade of seven bays. Each of the upper stages has two louvred windows surmounted by crocketed canopies, and ornamented by three large sculptured figures in niches, of the whole twelve of which, six are modern. The whole is crowned by an open rail, or parapet, with six spirelets on either side and a crocketed pinnacle at each corner.”—(E. F. S.)
The West End contains one large modern window of eight lights with a wheel window above. The gable, with three small lancet windows, is surmounted by a cross and flanked by two buttresses topped by pinnacles. The doorway in the west front is also modern (1857-1873); but parts of the old Norman doorway have been inserted.
On the north side, the North Porch (24 feet long and 8 feet broad) consists of two bays. The front was restored. The sculptured figures in the canopied niches are Christ and the Twelve Apostles. Above these is a row of saints and then Perpendicular battlements. An exterior turret and staircase lead to the rooms above it, occupied by the porter. Two bays, each with a window, follow; then comes the Jesus Chapel; then one more bay; and then the north-transept, with its gable, cross and pinnacles; then four more bays; then the choir; then three more bays; and, finally, the Lady-Chapel. The south side is similar, with the exception of the projecting Chapel of St. John.
Pinnacles are a striking feature on all sides of the edifice.
On entering we are struck with the long vista, for the closed choir-screen, found in so many English cathedrals, is conspicuously absent. The proportions of the Nave are justly admired. It