some ways this is not without compensation; for the cathedral church
was, and is, not only splendid as a building, but the centre of the
spiritual life of the diocese. It is, therefore, appropriate that it
should seem most beautiful to the dwellers in the villages and hamlets
beyond the city, giving them, as it were, a kind of property in the
building, which they might not have felt had it been less visible.
Nearing Exeter by train, from the Plymouth side, the noble roof and
towers are seen above the red houses of the city. The site, indeed, was
well chosen. Below the hill on which the city stands are gardens gay
with flowers and fair apple orchards. Above, there is a blue sky richer
and deeper than is usual in England. On all sides but one stretches the
beautiful Devonshire country, meadow, hedgerow, and wooded hill. On that
side the Exe flows rapidly, broadening as it goes, towards the sea.
Southward but a few miles, the blue channel waters creep up against the
yellow sand dunes. No cathedral, not even Lincoln, boasts a more lovely
and appropriate position. "In the minds of all early Christians," says
Mr. Ruskin, "the church itself was most frequently symbolized under the
image of a ship," There is no country so saturated with traditions of
the sea as Cornwall and Devon. "Exe terra"--out of the earth--is
sometimes declared to be the derivation of the name Exeter. Maybe this
was only the grateful jest of some seaman who found himself, after the
winter storms, gliding up the quiet river with the city walls rising up
before him. Yet the remembrance of such western heroes as Raleigh and
Drake, who bade their followers sit well in order, and strike--
"The sounding furrows, for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset and the baths
Of all the Western stars until I die,"[2]
makes one realize how fit it is that the towers of the cathedral should
look across the country to the "deep waters," and be to the mariner as
the masts of a vessel whereon was safety, however fierce the storm.
[2] Tennyson's "Ulysses."
[Illustration: EXETER CATHEDRAL, FROM AN ENGRAVING BY DANIEL KING,
c. 1650.]
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL--FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.
The Photochrom. Co. Photo.]
From many parts of the surrounding country fine views may be obtained,
from Waddlesdown, Alphington Causeway, and many a canal and river bank.
A closer view may seem at first disappointing. Every writer has echoed
Dr. Oliver's regret that it should be surrounded "by dwelling-houses of
such disparate character." But even a nearer survey is, with patience,
rewarded. The towers, exquisitely traceried windows, sculptured
doorways, and magnificent roof, easily persuade us to forget its mean
surroundings.
#The Towers.#--To many these will be the most interesting portion of the
building. The exterior of no other cathedral boasts so unusual a
feature. Their position is extraordinary and has given rise to endless
controversies. It has been suggested that they were meant to stand as
western towers, and that the building was to stand east of them, and
that, as an afterthought, they were converted into transepts. But Canon
Freeman, in his history,[3] dismisses this view as merely attractive.
They would certainly be more elaborate, he thinks, if they had been
built as western towers, but they have neither portal nor ornamental
work. Indeed, up to more than half their height they have very much the
appearance of fortresses. It may well be that they served as such in
Stephen's time, for the northern one was severely battered. It differs
somewhat in detail from that on the south side, there being an
interlacing arcade half-way up, possibly being so rebuilt when the
devastation caused by the siege was being repaired. There are six stages
on each tower, but only the uppermost four are in any way ornamented.
These have blind arcades and window openings of circular form; but the
details differ slightly on each. The turrets at the angles of the
summits, and the battlements were added in the fifteenth century, but
the effect is not inharmonious, and the original details are well
preserved. According to an old seventeenth-century print, the north
tower formerly had an attic with a pyramidal roof. This was probably an
addition when the great bell was first hung (see p. 74). The effect of
these transeptal towers is so fine as to make us regret their rarity. A
case in which they were obviously imitated is to be seen in the fine
parish church of Ottery S. Mary, Devon. There are also most practical
reasons in their favour, and a consideration of them tends to increase
one's wonder that they should not be found more frequently. In the first
place it is possible to get a continuous, uniform, stretch of vault, the
roof being broken by no central tower. Also the plan is simplified, and
nave and choir have more architectural continuity. Again, by building
transeptal towers and discarding the usual central tower, the interior
escapes a danger it is often hard to overcome, the difficulty of holding
up the central tower. It is quite possible that Warelwast was far-seeing
enough to anticipate this trouble. The histories of other cathedrals
prove it to be a very real one. In 1107 the tower of Winchester fell in.
At Salisbury the spire is still a constant source of anxiety, despite "a
complex arrangement of iron bands and ties," which has been reinforced
more than once. The tower of Chichester collapsed in 1861. There is a
legend of the fall of a central tower at Christchurch Priory, and other
warnings could be cited, such as Hereford, Selby, Peterborough, and
Wells.
[3] "Architectural History of Exeter Cathedral," by Philip
Freeman, Archdeacon and Canon of Exeter (Bell), 1888.
Originally these two towers were cut off, by two arches underneath, from
the body of the church. But Quivil, wishing to enlarge the interior, did
so by "throwing the Tower spaces into it."
#The Roof# is one of the most striking features of the building,
especially as it is seen from a distance. The long line of the ridge of
nave and choir, unbroken by a central tower, give it a unique
distinction amongst English cathedrals. The delicate cresting of
fleurs-de-lis, and the pinnacles which crown the supporting buttresses
obviate any impression of heaviness, and together with the long series
of clerestory windows, alike in form yet differing in their admirable
tracery, give a singular impression of beauty.
#The North Porch.#--This was the northern entrance of the Norman church,
and from the outside it is possible to trace the line where the
fifteenth-century front was added to the old structure. It is decorated
with seven canopied niches in the style of that period. These, however,
remained vacant until 1920, when they were filled with statues, by Mr.
H. Read of Exeter, representing the patron saints of England and the
Allies: St. George, St. Denys, St. Joseph; SS. Cyril and Methodius; St.
Vladimir, and St. Ambrose. The roof is vaulted, and on the central boss
is a finely-carved Agnus Dei. Within a recess of the eastern wall are
three headless figures, representing, in the centre, the Crucifixion,
St. Mary and St. John standing on either side. Over the inside doorway
is a niche that probably once held a figure of the Virgin.
[Illustration: THE NORTHERN TOWER.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
[Illustration: EXETER CATHEDRAL--THE WEST FRONT.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
#The West Front# is one of the features which gives a peculiar character
to this cathedral. In the wealth of imagery on the projecting screen
which forms the lowest stage of the front it is second only to Wells
amongst English cathedrals. The actual west wall of the church is the
work of Bishop Grandisson, who formed on the south side of the central
doorway the small chapel of St. Radegunde as a burial place for himself.
The greater part of the end wall of the nave is filled by a large window
with remarkably beautiful tracery in its head. The date must be about
1350. Above this is a battlemented parapet sloped at each end to follow
the lines of the aisle-roofs. Above this parapet appears the gable of
the main roof in which is inserted a triangular window, with elegant
tracery, lighting the space between the vault and outer roof. At the
apex of the gable is a niche containing a small statue of St. Peter.
The screen, which forms the lowest stage of this front, must have been
finished in Brantyngham's time, though it seems probable that it was
designed if not begun by Grandisson. It contains eighty-eight figures,
in three rows, representing angels, warriors, kings, and saints. Their
costume and armour are characteristic of the fashions of Richard II.'s
reign. The lowest row consists of angelic figures each sustaining a
triple pilaster with capitals. On these capitals stand the statues of
the second row, a long line of knights and kings, above which are the
angels and apostles of the third row. Above the third row stand two
figures, said to represent Athelstan and Edward the Confessor. The
former once drove out the Britons from the city; the latter, as we know,
founded the bishopric.
This group of statues has been the subject of a monograph by Miss E.K.
Prideaux, who shows that the intention was to symbolize the Heavenly
Jerusalem, where angels, saints, and monarchs unite to honour the
enthroned Saviour and His Blessed Mother, who, as representative of the
Church Triumphant, is being crowned by her Son. The Coronation of the
Virgin was depicted in the central group immediately over the great
doorway, the figures being those of St. Peter, Our Lady, Our Lord, and
St. Paul. At some unknown date the statue of the Virgin was destroyed,
and a figure intended to represent Richard II was substituted in 1818.
Two other figures, assigned to James the Less and King William I, are
modern reproductions by Alfred Stevens; some new heads were also added.
Many circumstances have combined with the action of time to injure these
sculptures: but the general effect is rich if somewhat heavy. Above the
screen is a platform, from which the bishop probably blessed the people,
and the minstrels welcomed with song the approach of royal or
illustrious visitors.
The three doorways in the screen are worthy of notice, being richly
decorated. That on the south side is the most beautiful, and contains
two fine pieces of sculpture, one generally declared to be an angel
appearing to Joseph in a dream, the other certainly recording the
Adoration of the Shepherds. The central porch is decorated with
sculptured foliage, and the Crucifixion is exhibited on the central boss
of the groined roof tracery.
[Illustration: PORTALS OF WEST FRONT.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
[Illustration: THE NAVE, FROM THE SOUTH TRANSEPT
(FROM BRITTON'S 'EXETER,' 1826).]
THE FABRIC OF THE CATHEDRAL.
THE INTERIOR.
Fine as is the exterior, the interior of the building is quite as
beautiful. Restoration of an unusually careful and discreet style has
done much to revive the deteriorated splendours of the place. Sixty
years ago the nave was filled with hideous and cumbersome pews, and such
work as had been done towards keeping the place in repair was in the
worst possible taste. But a change has been wrought of the happiest kind
in recent years, so that no cathedral in the country can boast a more
admirable interior.
It has been the custom to deplore the lack of elevation, and its lowness
has compelled comparisons with the cathedrals of France. But this
objection is, surely, rather trivial. For though the long vaulted roof,
uninterrupted the whole length of the building, might tend to take away
from the appearance of height, the work on the roof itself, the delicate
ornaments on capitals and windows, do much to atone for this effect. To
the ordinary visitor, it may safely be asserted, lack of height will
only be obvious when pointed out to him.
#The Nave.#--Little of the Norman masonry is now to be seen, yet it is
clear that when Marshall completed Warelwast's design he found the nave
finished. To quote Canon Freeman, whose book, too technical for the
general public, is of incalculable value to the student: "On the
interior face of both north and south walls of the nave aisles,
disturbances of masonry occurring at regular intervals indicate the
position of a series of Norman pilasters, the base of one of them having
recently been found _in situ_ beneath the stone seat. Outside, and
corresponding to the position of each several pilaster, may be observed
either flat buttresses of Norman form and masonry, or else traces of
their removal. These remains, linking together the obviously Norman
towers and the massive west wall, point to the conclusion that the
Norman cathedral, as Marshall found it, included the entire nave."
When the changes began, the Fabric Rolls, if they "do not entirely
desert us," give us but meagre help, so that the exact date and cost of
each detail is only to be guessed at. Stapledon probably intended, as
early as 1325, to begin the work of recasting the nave. In that year he
made purchases of "15 great poplar trees bought for scaffolds, and 100
alder trees." Further entries tell us of seven and eightpence worth of
timber "bought by the Bishop at London," and "48 great trees from
Langford." The work hitherto attempted by Stapledon did not demand an
outlay of this kind; so, though Grandisson gets the honour of having
finished the nave, something is due to Stapledon for having given the
initiative. The large balances of the preceding nine years had left a
great sum of money in the latter's hands, and a donation of Stapledon's
further increased that balance by the substantial sum of £600. In
January, 1333, is a record of William Canon's bill for marble he had
been commissioned to furnish. He had agreed to supply the Purbeck
pillars for the nave, receiving £10 16s. for eleven large columns, and
5s. a-piece for bases and capitals. This is one of the most interesting
items we have of the building and cost of the cathedral, and occurs
fortunately at a time when such information is unusually scanty. In
addition to the above-mentioned Purbeck marble, stone from the quarries
of Caen in Normandy, and other places nearer home, was procured in large
quantities. In 1338 the bishop gave permission to the Dean and Chapter
to obtain from his agents at Chudleigh "twelve suitable oaks from his
wood there." About 1350 the building of the nave was completed. It was
extensively restored in recent years under the guidance of Sir Gilbert
Scott. The Purbeck columns had fallen into a most dilapidated state, and
were carefully repaired, the material used being obtained from those
spots which had supplied the original builders.
The view of the nave as one enters the west door is most impressive. Its
full height of seventy feet is not dwarfed by the unhindered stretch of
roof. The groined and ribbed roof itself is of marvellous beauty and
springs from slender vaulting shafts, of which the bosses are
exquisitely carved with a strange mixture of religious and legendary
figures, foliage and animals. The artists seem to have ransacked the
whole universe for subjects, and to have interpreted their ideas with
great cunning. The corbels that support the vaulting shafts are equally
elaborately carved.
[Illustration: THE NAVE, LOOKING WEST.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
[Illustration: CORBELS AND BOSSES (FROM BRITTON'S 'EXETER,' 1826).
(2) Virgin and Child. (3) Minstrel and tumbler. (4)
Coronation of the Virgin. (5) Murder of S. Thomas
(Becket), from Nave. (6) From Lady Chapel. (7) From
Choir. (8) and (11) Heads popularly identified with
Edward III and Q. Philippa. (10) The Virgin and her
Coronation. (See Prideaux and Shafto, "Bosses and
Corbels of Exeter Cathedral.")]
They consist of figures and foliage, and the variety of subjects chosen
is no less surprising than the skill the artists have shown in the
realization of their ideas. Whether they are peculiar to Exeter or not,
it may be safely said that one could not easily find their equals either
in design or execution. The subjects treated are too numerous for
detailed treatment in this place, but the carving of vines and acorns
and oakleaves will be readily admired.
[Illustration: THE MINSTRELS' GALLERY.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
The nave has seven bays, and the arcades are supported by clustered
pillars of Purbeck marble, showing various tints of blue and grey. There
are sixteen shafts in each pier corresponding with the eight subordinate
mouldings in each pair of arches, and the diagonal position of each
cluster adds much to its graceful appearance. In the retro-choir there
are earlier examples of this kind of pier, showing how the builders
experimented with the grouping of the shafts before they attained the
perfect proportions of the pillars in the nave and choir. It seems that
they utilized the Norman pillars as the central core round which to
group the Purbeck shafts. The triforium, in groups of four arches, is
unusually low, and rests on small clustered columns, broken in one place
only on the north side to make way for the Minstrels' Gallery.
#The Minstrels' Gallery.#--This is the most beautiful gallery of its
kind to be found in England, its twelve decorated niches containing
figures of musicians. The musical instruments represented include the
cittern, bagpipe, hautboy, crowth, harp, trumpet, organ, guitar,
tambour, and cymbals, with two others which are uncertain. The tinted
figures of the angels, standing out against an orange-coloured
background--each in a separate niche with an elaborately carved
canopy--playing upon the various instruments, are admirably carved and
most graceful in form and arrangement. The two niches on either side of
the gallery contained figures of St. Mary and St. Peter; the niches are
supported by corbelled heads of Edward III and Queen Philippa. Edward
III created the Black Prince Duke of Cornwall in 1337, and made the city
of Exeter part of the duchy. "The city," according to Izacke, "being
held of the said duke, as parcel of the dutchy, by the fee farm rent of
twenty pounds per ann." To this connexion has been traced the erection
of the gallery, for such duchies "were territorial realities," and the
prince would be received by minstrels chaunting in the gallery whenever
he paid a visit to his feudal dependency. It is asserted that it was
first used after the battle of Poictiers, when the Black Prince brought
with him to England, visiting Exeter _en route_ for London, the captured
French King. But Professor Freeman thinks the Duke did not pay a visit
to Exeter at that time, and that local tradition refers really to a
later date when "he came home as a sick man" not long before his death.
The lofty character of the clerestory above the gallery, and set
somewhat farther back, is remarkable. The tracery of all the windows is
of the best type of the fourteenth century and is unrivalled by that of
any other English cathedral of similar date. In their main features the
opposite windows are alike, though they vary in detail.
[Illustration: BAYS OF NAVE, WITH THE MINSTRELS' GALLERY
(FROM BRITTON'S 'EXETER,' 1826).]
[Illustration: THE 'PATTESON' PULPIT.
The Photochrom Co. Photo.]
#St. Radegunde's Chapel.#--On the south side of the main entrance and
within the thickness of the western wall is the chapel of St. Radegunde,
one of the most interesting in the cathedral. As early as 1220 a deed
belonging to the Chapter makes mention of this chapel "within St.
Peter's cemetery," and is dated in the mayoralty of one Turbest and
attested by the then bishop, Simon de Apuliâ. Grandisson, in accordance
with the custom of his day, while completing the work of transforming
the cathedral, looked out for a suitable place of burial for himself. He
chose this chapel, and in 1350 the Fabric Rolls contain a reference to
the glazing of the windows and the better securing of them with nine
bars of iron. In accordance with a clause in his will, "Corpus vero meum
volo quod sepeliatur extra ostium occidentale Ecclesiae Exon. ita
celeriter sicut fieri poterit," his remains were placed under the low
arch in the east of the chapel. Here they lay for many years, but in the
later years of Elizabeth, apparently without creating any public
indignation, his tomb was rifled and his ashes scattered to the "four
winds." There seems to be no good reason why religious fanaticism should
have caused the tomb of so great and good a man to be despoiled. Two
interesting details are the carved figure of Christ on the roof and the
holes in the stones from which the lamps were formerly hung.
#St. Edmund's Chapel#, in the north-west corner of the nave, was part of
the Norman church, and was incorporated in his new work by Bishop
Grandisson. In it is a large font of modern Gothic style, presented in
the nineteenth century by Archdeacon Bartholomew.
#The Font.#--At the south-west side of the nave stands the
chalice-shaped font of white marble, purposely made in 1644 for the
baptism of Henrietta Anne, youngest child of Charles I, afterwards
Duchess of Orleans, who was born in Exeter during the Parliamentary
wars. The font is said to have been made in a fortnight, which may
account for the inferior character of the sculpture. But if not of
artistic merit, it is certainly of historic interest, and after being
set aside for some years, was replaced in its present position in 1891,
and is now always used for baptisms.
#The Patteson Pulpit# was placed in the nave in 1877. It is of Mansfield
stone, and is a beautiful example of modern sculpture. The panels
represent the Martyrdom of St. Alban, the embarkation of St. Boniface
and his companions for Germany, and the natives of Nukapu, Melanesia,
placing the body of Bishop Patteson in a canoe. The Martyred Bishop is
shown wrapped in a native mat, a relic still preserved in his family.
MONUMENTS IN THE NAVE
The great west window was filled with stained glass in 1904 in
commemoration of Dr. Temple, Bishop of Exeter 1869, of London 1885, and
in 1896 Archbishop of Canterbury. Figures in the lower lights represent
the most notable Bishops of Exeter from Leofric to Frederick Temple.
The monument under the west window commemorates services and losses of
the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, which, as
the 32nd Regiment, greatly distinguished itself during the Sepoy revolt
in India in 1857-8.
On the north-west is a mural tablet with medallion portrait
commemorating Richard Blackmore, the author of _Lorna Doone_, 1825-1900.
The three lights of the small window above are filled with stained glass
in connexion with this memorial. The corresponding window on the south
side was filled with stained glass by Dean Cowie.
The largest monument in the north aisle is that to the memory of
officers and men of the 9th Lancers who fell during long and
distinguished service in India.
Farther on is a large brass, of no particular merit, to the memory of
the men of the 2nd Battalion of the North Devon Regiment who fell in the
Afghan War of 1880-81. It is surmounted by two regimental flags.
Above a mural tablet to Lieutenant G.A. Allen is a window of stained
glass erected to the memory of the 11th Earl of Devon. The colour scheme
is particularly good, and the design, representing Jacob's dream, is not
unsuccessful.
A plain tablet to the memory of Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the famous
musician, is the only other monument in the aisle of general interest.
In the same aisle have recently been placed the colours of those
battalions of the Devons who served in the great European War, 1914-18.
To complete the examination of the nave we must cross to the south
aisle, in the first bay of which is the ancient doorway, probably built
by Bishop Bruere, leading into the cloister. At the end of the aisle is
the monument of Colonel John Macdonald, who died in 1831, a son of the
celebrated Flora Macdonald. The most eastern window of the aisle is
filled with stained glass representing four bishops of the Courtenay
family. Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter, will be recognized as he
holds the great "Peter" bell, his gift to the cathedral, which hangs in
the north tower. He is the bishop alluded to by Shakespeare (_Richard
III._, Act iv, Sc. 4):