George's Chapel. It is of late, and exceedingly rich, Perpendicular
work. Oliver notices that in 1657 the east window and altar were
destroyed to make a passage "into the great church of St.
Peter's-in-the-East, partitioned from West Peter's by a brick wall
erected, plastered, and whitened on both sides by Walter Deeble, at the
expense of £150." The effigy of Sir John Speke rests in the chapel; the
carving behind the figure is very elaborate. His home was at White
Lackington in Somersetshire, and he was the owner of Brampford Speke
near Exeter. To secure the observance of his and his wife's obit, he
endowed the chapel with the "lands, tenements, and hereditaments in
Langford, Frehead, and Ashill, in Somersetshire."
The north window is to the memory of Archdeacon Bartholomew, and was
placed here in 1865.
[Illustration: THE LADY CHAPEL.
The Photochrom. Co. Photo.]
At the other end of the ambulatory is #Bishop Oldham's Chantry#,
dedicated to our Saviour. It was richly restored by Bishop Oldham, who
also restored the Speke--or St. George--Chantry immediately opposite. It
is to this bishop we owe the "delicate and elegant screening which
imparts distance and veiling to all nine chapels and to Prior Sylke's
chantry in the north transept." The walls and vaulting are richly
decorated, and the panelling and rebus at the north-east corner contain
a rebus on the bishop's name (oul-dom), being decorated with owls. In
accordance with his object in restoring the chapel, his body was buried
there and his effigy lies in a niche of the south wall. Oldham was a
part founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, by whose orders the
chapel was restored some years ago. He settled the arms of the
see--gules, a sword erect in pale argent, pommelled and hilted or,
surmounted with two keys in saltire of the last. He was a native of
Manchester, founded the grammar school there, and held the post of
warden. He was a man of very methodical habits, according to Hoker. He
dined regularly at eleven, and supped at five. "To ensure precision he
had a house clock to strike the hours and a servant to look after it.
Should his lordship be prevented by important business from coming to
table at the appointed time, the servant would delay the clock's
striking the hour until he knew that his master was ready. Sometimes, if
asked what was the hour, he would humorously answer, 'As your lordship
pleaseth,' at which the bishop would smile and go away."
#The Lady Chapel.#--It has been suggested that this chapel occupies the
site of the choir in the old cathedral of Leofric. The earliest mention
of it is in a deed of Bishop Bruere's in 1237. It was remodelled by
Bronscombe and Quivil. But the "two pointed arches with solid
piers--totally different from any others in the Cathedral--dividing the
Chapel from the side chapels," though their moulding has been altered
very considerably in order to tally with a later style, show evidence of
much earlier date. The shafts are of Purbeck marble, and the windows,
arranged as in the nave, contain the last importation of glass from
abroad, save that in the transeptal windows, used in the cathedral. The
bosses in the eastern bay, with the evangelists' emblems and head of
Christ, should be noticed. The elaborate fourteenth century reredos is
the work of Grandisson. The central niche contained a figure of the
Virgin, before which a lamp was suspended. The sedilia and double
piscina on the south side are interesting.
The Lady Chapel contains several monumental tombs of interest. Beneath
the arches conducting to the side chapels are the effigies of Bishops
Bronscombe and Stafford.
Bronscombe died in 1280, Stafford in 1419; but with a regard to
symmetry, which is conspicuous in the cathedral, the earlier effigy of
Bronscombe was raised and provided with a new canopy to correspond with
Stafford's tomb on the opposite side. Bronscombe lies on the south side,
at the entrance to, or the north side of, his chapel of St. Gabriel. The
colouring on the effigy must have been uncommonly splendid, and even the
remnants of the patterns have not faded out of all beauty.
[Illustration: BISHOP BRONSCOMBE'S MONUMENT
(FROM BRITTON'S 'EXETER,' 1826).]
Stafford's tomb is on the north side at the entrance to the chapel of
St. Mary Magdalen. It has had to contend with severer enemies than old
age, but shockingly as the effigy has suffered, it still preserves
something of its original beauty and stateliness. The attitude is
simple; the gloved hands of the bishop are joined over his breast in an
attitude of prayer. The face is thin and ascetic, its saintly austerity
being rendered more noticeable owing to the rich mitre that crowns the
head. The folds of the robe are managed with a consummate simplicity and
skill. In Leland's "Itinerary" the bishop's epitaph is preserved:
"Hic jacet Edmundus de Stafforde intumulatus,
Quondam profundus legum doctor reputatus,
Verbis facundus, Comitum de stirpe creatus,
Felix et mundus Pater hujus Pontificatus."
#Tomb of Sir John and Lady Doddridge.#--Sir John Doddridge came of an
old Devonshire family, for in 1285 one Walter Doddridge and his wife
surrendered to the Dean and Chapter of Exeter a right of entrance into
the close from their house in High Street. Fuller says of him that it
were "hard to say, whether he was better artist, divine, Cure, or Common
Lawyer, though he fixed on the last for his publick Profession." He was
second justice of the King's Bench, and gained great renown as a judge
of stern integrity. Sir John was three times married, the lady whose
effigy is here represented being his third wife, Dorothy, daughter of
Sir Amias Bampfylde. She died in 1615. Sir John, who became a judge of
the King's Bench, lived till 1628. He won the nickname of the "sleepy
judge," for he always closed his eyes in court, the better to keep his
attention fixed on the case. The monument is very elaborate, and if not
beautiful is well worth attention on account of its technical qualities
and the probable accuracy of its representation. The dress of Lady
Dorothy Doddridge exhibits a good example of costume; the skirt
embroidered with pansies and carnations; the ruff and cuffs showing old
Devonshire "bone lace." It was no doubt copied from one of the lady's
actual gowns.
On the south side of the Lady Chapel are two most interesting monuments
of early bishops. That towards the east has been assigned to Bartholomew
Iscanus (1161-84), but in all probability it represents one of his far
earlier predecessors. The sculpture is almost archaic in style, the
mitre low, the face bearded, and the type extraordinarily Byzantine. The
left hand holds the pastoral staff, the point of which impales a winged
dragon, with a sphinx-like head, at his feet. In the angles of the
archway at the tomb are the figures of two angels with censers.
The other tomb is that of Simon de Apulia (d. 1223). It presents a great
contrast to that just described. The great advance made in the art of
sculpture is noticeable in the more human character of the face, which
is clean shaven, and the more skilful management of the hands. The
artist, too, seems to have courted difficulties, for the bishop's robe
and mitre are richly jewelled, and the foliage and animal at his feet,
though conventional, are most elaborately designed.
[Illustration: SCREEN OF ST. GABRIEL'S CHAPEL.]
#Bishop Peter Quivil# (1291).--This tombstone in the centre of the
pavement was restored here in 1820 on the representation of Mr. John
Jones of Franklyn; the cross and letters were re-cut under his
directions. The epitaph is "Petra tegit Petrum, nihil officiat sibi
tetrum," and Westcott in his "View of Devon" writes, "which verse was
written in an ancient character, each letter distant from the other at
least four inches; so that this short verse supplied the whole large
circumference, and cost me some labour in finding out and reading it."
Certainly this is one of the most interesting memorials in the
cathedral; indeed, it may be well considered the most interesting, for
it is dedicated to the man by whose genius the whole great design was
begotten. Its simplicity is noteworthy. But Quivil required no elaborate
sepulture; the cathedral itself is his mighty monument, since it was he
who founded--
"A fane more noble than the vestal trod--
The Christian's temple, to the Christian's God."[4]
[4] Richard Clarke Sewell, 1825, Magdalen College.
#St. Gabriel's Chapel.#--This chapel was transformed by Bishop
Bronscombe (1257-80). The vaulting has been recoloured in conformity
with the ancient tints and patterns. The chapel contained several
monuments, but these have been removed to other parts of the cathedral.
Bronscombe transformed the chapel that it might be used for his burial
place. St. Gabriel was his patron saint, and he caused the day of the
archangel to be celebrated with honours similar to Easter Day and
Christmas Day. There is some old glass in the windows. Note the kneeling
figure of the bishop with the scroll: "O Sancte Gabriel Archangele,
intercede pro gratia." The skilful restoration of the south window with
pieces of old glass is one of the most happy results of later work in
the cathedral. The altar slab marked with five crosses, appears to have
been used in Leofric's monument, where it was found in the last century.
It was placed here by Dean Cowie.
#St. Mary Magdalen Chapel#, first mentioned in the Fabric Rolls for
1284. It was probably Marshall's work originally, Bronscombe further
improved it, and Quivil entirely remodelled it. With the exception of
the Perpendicular screen shutting it off from the north aisle, it is of
the same date as the Lady Chapel. The north window is Bronscombe's work,
and the still finer east window, containing a good deal of the early
fifteenth-century glass, is Quivil's. The chapel originally contained an
altar to St John the Evangelist and a figure of the Magdalene, for in
Bishop Lacy's register are the words, "extra vestibulum coram ymagine
Sanctae Marie Magdalene." On the floor of the chapel is a brass to Canon
Langton, dated 1413. He was a cousin of Bishop Stafford. He is
represented kneeling, clothed in a most rich cope and alb, on which is
designed the Stafford knot. His hands are met in prayer. The epitaph
only gives the date of his death, and refers to his relationship with
the above-named bishop.
In this chapel also is a magnificent monument to Sir Gawain Carew and
his wife, and their nephew, Sir Peter. It is in two parts: on the upper
lie the figures of Sir Gawain and his dame, on the lower that of the
more famous nephew, with his legs crossed, an unusual position for a
figure on so late a tomb. Sir Peter and his uncle took an active part in
quashing the rebellion that disturbed the western counties in the reign
of Edward VI. The former died at Waterford, in Ireland, 1575. Sir Peter
Carew sat on the King's Commission of 1552, which summoned the Dean and
Chapter to the bishop's palace, "then and there to answer all demands
and questions concerning the jewells plate and other ornaments of your
cathedrall churche."
In 1857 the monument was admirably restored by the members of the Carew
family, the whole being gilded and coloured.
TOMBS IN THE CHOIR AND CHOIR AISLES.
The first tomb to notice on the north side of the choir is that of the
murdered bishop, Stapledon. The canopy was judiciously restored at the
beginning of the century. From beneath it one observes a great image of
Christ, the pierced hands raised to bless. The wounded feet stand upon a
sphere, possibly to represent His dominion over the world, and an
insignificant earthly king, in scarlet robes, seems to take refuge in
the shadow of the Saviour. Beneath the canopy lies the figure of the
bishop, grasping the crozier in his left hand and a book in his right.
The keys upon his sleeve represent the arms of the see. Above the
monument the arms of the bishop figure on the choir screen, and over the
tombs of Lacy and Marshall the same plan has been observed. This screen
was erected about the close of the fourteenth century.
Below the sacrarium, on the north, are the tombs of the Elizabethan
bishop, William Bradbridge, and that of Bishop Lacy (1420-55). His arms,
"Three shovellers heads erased," may be seen on the screen work above
it. The tomb is despoiled of the brass that once adorned it--said to
have been taken out by the Reformation Dean, Simon Hayes (who also
despoiled St. Radegunde's Chapel), because pilgrims resorted to Lacy's
tomb, and regarded him as a saint.
The next tomb, that of Marshall, is of peculiar interest, and it is
unfortunate that a good view is not easily attainable. It has been
pointed out by a specialist that the ornament on the chasuble is almost
unique, reminding one of the foliage in Early English work. The
medallions at the side are especially interesting.
At the west, near the Speke Chantry, is the remarkable monument,
generally supposed to be the tomb of Sir Richard de Stapledon, an elder
brother of the great bishop whose tragic death we have already described
in the first chapter of this book. He was a lawyer and one of his
Majesty's judges. Prince's quaint description of his tomb is worth
quoting in full: "In a niche in the wall is a monument erected to his
Memory, representing his Figure lively cut in stone sitting on
horseback; where is cut out also in the same, a cripple taking hold of
the foreleg of his horse: which seems to confirm the Tradition, That a
certain Cripple, as Sir Richard was riding into the City of London with
his Brother, lying at the gate, laid hold on one of his Horse's
Fore-legs, and by crossing of it threw Horse and Rider to the Ground; by
which means he was soon slain; and that from this occasion the place
obtain'd the name of Cripple-gate, which it retains to this day." It is
a pity so quaint a story belongs to the realm of legend, for there is no
substantial proof forthcoming of its truth.
[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP STAPLEDON.]
The next monument on this side is an emaciated figure, or _Memento
Mori_, a gruesome style popular in the fifteenth century. It may have
been intended for a cenotaph of Bishop Bothe, the legend, nearly erased,
at the top, being the same as that on his brass in the church of East
Horsley, Surrey, where he is buried.
[Illustration: MONUMENT OF BISHOP MARSHALL
(FROM BRITTON'S 'EXETER,' 1826).]
The monument to Anthony Harvey of Colomb John is of no great interest,
being poorly designed. Its date is 1564. Harvey was steward of the
abbeys of Hartland, Buckland, and Newenham at the time when the
religious houses were suppressed. He is said to have amassed very
considerable wealth; for, in addition to the profits derived from the
spoliation of the above monasteries, he received from Henry VIII
considerable lands belonging to the abbey of Tewkesbury, which he sold,
probably most advantageously, to a clothier of Crediton. Harvey was
connected with the Carews through the marriage of his daughter, and
heiress, with George Carew, Dean of Exeter, the notorious pluralist.
Their son, Harvey's grandson, was created Earl of Totnes, but died
without issue.
At the west end of the south aisle is the monument of Bishop Gary
(1621-26) and a mural tablet commemorating Robert Hall, eldest son of
Bishop Hall, and treasurer of the cathedral. To him Exeter owes a
perpetual debt of gratitude, for, when the city surrendered to Fairfax
in 1646, he took down the Bishop's Throne and concealed it (buried it
according to local tradition), and after the Restoration was able to
re-erect in its proper place the most magnificent Bishop's throne in
England.
Neither the effigy of Bishop Cotton (1621) nor the angel resting on the
sarcophagus of Bishop Weston--a typical Georgian monument--are of much
intrinsic merit. Flaxman's statue to General Simcox, the hero of the
Queen's Rangers in the American War, is the only other notable
monumental achievement in the south choir aisle.
The Peter, or Great Bell, of Exeter is said to have been a gift of
Bishop Courtenay's. This opinion is very much disputed, as the Fabric
Rolls show that there were bells here in the time of Edward II. As early
as 1351 is an entry of 6s. for mending the Peter Bell. Again in 1453,
twenty-five years before Courtenay was created bishop, mention is made
of the spending of twenty pence "in una bauderick pro Maxima Campana in
Campanili Boreali." Oliver, however, acutely points out that this last
entry is dated the very year that Courtenay was appointed Archdeacon of
Exeter, and suggests that "on that occasion he may have offered such
valuable presents." On the 5th November, 1611, the bell was crazed, but
was recast in 1676. Its reputed weight is 12,500 lb. If this is correct,
it is the second largest bell in England. Great Tom of Christ Church,
Oxford, is more than 5,000 lb. heavier, but it easily exceeds its other
rivals, Tom of Lincoln and the Great Bell of St. Paul's, which weigh
respectively 11,296 lb. and 8,400 lb.
* * * * *
#The Chapter House# lies at the south end of the transept beyond the
Chapel of the Holy Ghost. The lower part of the room is the original
building of the early thirteenth century, between 1224 and 1244, and the
face of the wall is decorated with Early English arcades separated by
delicate shafts. This building probably had a stone vaulted roof. Lacy
heightened it, adding lofty Perpendicular windows; and the whole is
completed by a rich tie-beam roof, partly the work of Bishop Bothe
(1465-78), whose arms, with Lacy's, are painted on it (see p. 13). The
east window, recently restored, contains many coats of arms in ancient
glass. Among these is the Austrian eagle quartered with the lion of
Bohemia, reminding us that Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry
III, and lord of Rougemont Castle, Exeter, was about 1260 elected King
of the Romans, thus associating Exeter with the highest secular honour
then known to Europe.
#The Cloister.#--Archdeacon Freeman thinks that originally the cloister
"was confined to the east side, as a necessary communication between the
chapter house and the great south door of the nave." During Stapledon's
time a desire had been evinced to enlarge this cloister; and in 1323
there is a record to the effect that eight heads had been carved for
vaulting the cloister. In the Fabric Rolls are entries that show the
work of building proceeded with some activity and considerable
cheapness. Here are a few extracts that are interesting:
"Twenty-five horse-loads of sand for the cloister, 9d. A thousand lath
nails and healing pins for do. S. Clifford sculpanti 18 capites 3/9: 10
do. 2/-."
By 1342 the work was probably finished to the north, and forty years
later the whole must have been completed. It has been said that the old
cloister was inferior to those of Worcester and Gloucester. But they
must have had considerable merit if Mr. Pearson's restoration really
represents, and there is little doubt it does, the old structure.
It is curious that the cloister, certainly the least offensive and not
the most beautiful part of the cathedral, should have suffered so
severely at the hands of the Puritans. For on the whole the cathedral
proper escaped with but small damage. Professor Freeman, in discussing
the alleged desecrations suffered by St. Mary and St. Peter, after the
entrance of Fairfax and his army into the city, writes thus: "The
account in Mercurius Rusticus, which has given vogue to the common story
is wholly untrue." He further adds: "Some fanatic soldier may, indeed,
according to the story, have broken off the head of Queen Elizabeth,
mistaking her for our Lady. But no general mutilation or desecration
took place at this time. And at Exeter, one form of mutilation, which
specially affected the west front, was not the work of enemies but of
devotees. For ages the country folk who came into the city loved to
carry home a Peter stone for the healing of their ailments." It is only
fair to add that Archdeacon Freeman refers in very different language to
the result of the occupation by the Puritans, but though the decorative
portions of the cloister may have suffered, we cannot account for the
disappearance of the exterior walls without a better reason for their
destruction. It should be noted, however, that in the fifteenth century
the Dean and Chapter bitterly complained of the conduct of the Exeter
boys, who played "unlawfull games as the toppe, queke, penny pryke &
most atte tenys" in the cloister, whereby they were "defowled & the glas
windows all to-brost." But at this time the cathedral and municipal
authorities were far from friendly to each other. Dr. Oliver writes of
the ruins in his day that they "have disappeared with the exception of
part of a fluted column at the west corner of the carpenter's shop."
With the debris small and mean houses were built. On the 30th of
October, 1657, we are given a hint as to what may have been the meaning
of this wanton destruction. Apparently the ground set apart for "the
convenience of the studious and contemplative" was found to have
valuable attributes as a market-place, for on the above day the "Friday
cloth market for serges and other drapery" was ordered to be held in
this place. Commerce did not triumph for long, though, as only three
years later the buyers and sellers were bundled back into South Street.
[Illustration: THE EAST GATE, PULLED DOWN IN 1784.]
A large number of bosses and carvings of the original structure,
discovered during the recent excavations, have been skilfully
incorporated by Mr. Pearson in his restoration. Above the cloister is a
library containing 8,000 volumes, many of them bequeathed by the late
Chancellor Harrington.
#The Close.#--This was an important adjunct to all cathedrals in the
days following the Conquest. We have seen that on one occasion at least
the cathedral church of Exeter was severely bombarded, with the result
that the northern tower differs considerably from the southern in
places. The church, then, we may presume, was intended to be used, when
necessary, as a fortress: but as it was also something else very
different, this necessity was rather shunned than courted. Therefore it
was customary to separate the church from the world by walls and gates
of proved strength. This space so secured formed an outer fortress,
against which the attacks of an enemy must, perforce, have been directed
first. It placed entirely in the hands of the clergy the defence of
their own church, a task they were quite capable of performing with
credit; for Matthew Paris tells us of one bishop of Exeter, Bruere, that
he displayed activity both "spiritual and temporal" in the Holy Land.
The defence of the city, that of the sacred building being thus provided
for, was the business of the captains and men-at-arms. The walls and
gates of the close have vanished, without leaving a trace of their
existence. One privilege, however, yet haunts the place--the corporation
have no jurisdiction over it.
In the close at the north side of the cathedral has been placed a statue
of Richard Hooker, the theologian (1553-1600), author of "The Laws of
Ecclesiastical Polity." The "Judicious Hooker" was born in Exeter, and
was a nephew of John Vowel, alias Hoker, Chamberlain and Historian of
the city.
#The Cathedral Library# was founded by Leofric himself. One of his
principal reasons for translating the see from Crediton to Exeter being
his fear lest the valuable books he had collected should at any time be
destroyed by raiders in an unfortified town.