said to mark the grave of a non-juror, the Rev. Thomas Morris, or
Maurice. Wordsworth wrote the following lines on this subject:--
"'Miserrimus!' and neither name nor date,
Prayer, text, or symbol, graven upon the stone;
Nought but that word assigned to the unknown,
That solitary word--to separate
From all, and cast a cloud around the fate
Of him who lies beneath. Most wretched one!
_Who_ chose his epitaph? Himself alone
Could thus have dared the grave to agitate,
And claim, among the dead, this awful crown;
Nor doubt that he marked also for his own
Close to these cloistral steps a burial-place,
That every foot might fall with heavier tread,
Tramping upon his vileness. Stranger, pass
Softly! To save the contrite, Jesus bled."
DIMENSIONS
Length (exterior) 425 ft. Length (interior) 387 ft. Nave, length 170
ft. Nave, height 68 ft. Nave, width 78 ft. Choir, length 180 ft.
Tower, height 196 ft. Area 33,200 sq. ft.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING DATES
Norman (1084-1160)--Crypt, chapter-house, and parts of
other monastic buildings, west bays of nave with aisles,
parts of north and south transepts.
Early English (1224)--Choir with aisles and Lady Chapel.
Decorated (1317-1327)--North side of nave, vault of north
aisle.
(1360)--South side of nave.
(1376-1394)--Refectory, cloisters recased, tower, nave
and choir vault, library, treasury, stalls and north porch.
Perpendicular--Windows in north transept, Prince Arthur's
tomb.
Modern--West window in nave, north window in north
transept, east window in nave, reredos, etc.
[Illustration PLAN OF WORCESTER CATHEDRAL]
LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL
Lichfield has been the victim of Puritan rage and of the over-zeal of
modern restorers, but in spite of this it retains much of its ancient
beauty and its picturesqueness is evident to all. It is one of the
smallest of our cathedrals, but when one sees the three graceful
spires of Lichfield, known as the "Ladies of the Vale," the glories of
its west front and the richness of the carving, one cannot but retain
a warm place in one's heart for this wonderful building which has
passed through such strange vicissitudes of fortune. It has been
be-pinnacled by our modern Gothic confectioners, who have produced
much unnatural "naturalism" in their sculpture; but if we can forget
that much that we see is new, we shall perhaps form some conception of
what the Cathedral was like ere innovators and destroyers laid their
hands upon it.
The history of the Cathedral is full of interest, and carries us back
to the early days of Christianity in England. The heathen King of
Mercia, Penda, long withstood the teachers of the Gospel, but when his
son, Peada, was about to marry the daughter of the Christian King Oswi
of Northumbria, the latter made it a condition that Peada should be
baptised. Forthwith four priests were introduced into Mercia, Diuma
became the first bishop (656), and on the death of Bishop Jaruman, the
fourth bishop, the famous St. Chad was appointed to the vacant see,
who fixed his seat at Lichfield. He was a very holy and humble man,
and became the patron saint of the church. Beautiful tales are told of
him. Near the Church of St. Mary he built a dwelling for himself and
seven brethren. He was deeply affected by the convulsions of nature,
and when the wind blew strongly and the thunder rolled he would always
retire into the church and pray to God to spare His people; and when a
pestilence broke out and his end was near, angel voices were heard
which called him to his heavenly reward. The little Church of St. Chad
was near the well that bears his name. Another Saxon church was built
by Bishop Hedda (691-721) near the present Cathedral, but this has
passed away. The diocese was sub-divided at the close of the seventh
century, and Hereford, Worcester, Lincoln and Leicester were all
separated from the Lichfield See. In the time of Offa, King of Mercia,
Lichfield became an archbishopric, when Higbert was bishop, but this
distinction did not last long. At the Conquest William made his
chaplain, Peter, Bishop of Lichfield, who removed his seat to Chester.
Then Coventry was made the city of the diocese by Bishop Robert de
Lymesey (1087-1117). History is silent concerning the church at
Lichfield, nor does it tell us with any degree of certainty who built
the Norman church which certainly existed here, as its remains were
discovered by Professor Willis. It had an apse, of which the
foundations lie below the present choir, and also a long, square-ended
chapel of twelfth century, destroyed when the Early English choir was
built in the thirteenth. Professor Willis compares the building of
York and Lichfield, and points out the close parallelism.
Unfortunately the soldiers in the Civil War destroyed all the records;
hence we have little to guide us except the history written in the
stones of the Cathedral. A Norman prelate, Roger de Clinton, did much
for the church, but all his work has perished. The diocese was then
called that of Lichfield and Coventry. He died in one of the Crusades.
The Early English builders began to build a new choir about 1200 A.D.,
of which only the lower part of the three westernmost bays and the
sacristy on the south side remain. About 1220 they began to replace
the Norman transepts with Early English work, beginning with the south
transept and ending with the north. The nave was constructed about the
middle of this century and central tower added, and the chapter-house
belongs to the same period of architectural activity. In the last
quarter of the century the west front was begun. At the end of the
century a notable bishop was appointed, one Walter de Langton, Keeper
of the Great Seal and Treasurer of England in the reign of Edward I.,
who incurred the hatred of Prince Edward, afterwards Edward II., and
was several times imprisoned by him. He led a very stormy life, but
found time to begin the building of the beautiful Lady Chapel at
Lichfield, surrounded the close with a wall and a fosse, thus making
it a fortress, erected a grand shrine for the relics of St. Chad and
built the Palace. This chapel was finished by Bishop Northburgh, who
had fought at Bannockburn and been taken prisoner by the Scots, and at
the same time the presbytery and clerestory of the choir were rebuilt
in the Decorated style.
The church was now complete, and very perfect must it have been,
glorious with the best achievements of true English Gothic art when
that art was at its best. Quaint Thomas Fuller describes it as "the
neatest pile in England," and tells us that Bishop Heyworth "deserved
not ill of his Cathedral Church of Lichfield, which was in the
vertical heights thereof, being, though not augmented in the
essentials, beautified in the ornamentals thereof. Indeed the west
front thereof is a stately fabric, adorned with exquisite imagery, of
which I suspect our age is so far from being able to imitate the
workmanship, that it understandeth not the history thereof." Quoting a
saying of Charles V. of Florence, "that it was fit that so fair a city
should have a case and cover for it to keep it from wind and weather,"
he adds, "so in some sort this fabric may seem to deserve a shelter to
secure it." It was also a church rich in relics and costly ornaments,
and kings and nobles loved to adorn it with bounteous offerings, while
the shrine of St. Chad brought many a pilgrim to fill its treasury
when they paid their vows. The fifteenth century made few alterations
to the fabric. Dean Heywood built a library, which has now
disappeared. Some Perpendicular windows were inserted.
At the Reformation Henry's commissioners carried off a vast store of
plate and jewels for "the king's use," and during the Civil War the
Cathedral actually endured a siege, the results of which were most
disastrous. We have recorded how Bishop Langton surrounded the close
with fortifications. The sacred precincts were garrisoned by the
Royalists, who awaited the attack of the Parliamentarians, led by Lord
Brooke, a fierce fanatic, who longed to pull down all cathedrals as
relics of Popery, and extirpate Episcopacy. On St. Chad's day they
began the siege, and Brooke prayed in the presence of his men that
"God would by some special token manifest unto them His approbation of
their design." The "special token" was manifested, but not in favour
of the Roundheads; on the second day of the siege a bullet fired by
"Dumb Dyott," the son of Sir Richard, one of the leaders of the
Royalists, struck Brooke in the eye, and caused his death. This signal
act did not save the Cathedral. The spire was struck by cannon balls,
and fell, and after three days the garrison made terms of surrender.
Desecration and spoliation raged in the once beautiful church. Carved
stalls, organ, stained glass windows--all shared the same fate. Images
were torn from their niches and broken; tombs were rifled, and the
ashes of holy men scattered about with barbarous indecency. Bishop
Scrope's tomb yielded a silver chalice and crozier of much value, and
a pandemonium of ruthless rage filled the church. Prince Rupert came
to Lichfield, and laid siege to the Cathedral, and after ten days
turned out the Roundheads. Here the luckless King Charles came, after
the disastrous fight of Naseby, and again, when the Royal cause was
well-nigh lost, the Parliamentarians besieged the place, and the
king's troops were forced to yield.
The Restoration of the monarchy brought about the restoration of the
Cathedral, which, according to Fuller, "was now in a pitiful case,
indeed almost beaten down to the ground in our civil dissensions."
Bishop Hacket, a worthy and zealous man, was appointed to the see, who
immediately began the stupendous work, and in eight years completed
it, when the church was reconsecrated with much solemnity. King
Charles II. gave "100 fair timber trees" for the restoration, and a
poor statue of the monarch was placed at the west end, and the Duke of
York gave the large window beneath it. Both have now been removed.
Too soon the ruthless hand of the arch-destroyer, Wyatt, was laid on
the luckless Cathedral, who wrought mischief second only to that of
the Puritan fanatics. As the canons felt cold, he walled up the pier
arches of the choir and closed the eastern tower arch with a glass
screen, removed the altar to east end of the Lady Chapel, patched the
piers with Roman cement, hacked away the old stone-work, in order to
make this cement stick, and fixed up a large organ screen between the
nave and the choir. Roman cement became the passion of the hour.
Statues were made of it, old stone-work repaired with it; arches,
mouldings, niches and pinnacles were coated with it. Happily its reign
is over. Sir Gilbert Scott began his restoration in 1856. The
difficulty of the work was enormous. He endeavoured to imitate the
ancient sculpture and stone-work, and restore the Cathedral to the
condition of its Early Gothic purity. Though some of the work has been
severely criticised, we must take into consideration the difficulties
caused by Wyatt and Roman cement which he had to encounter; we must
remember that Gothic revival had not reached its highest development
in 1856, and be thankful that so much has been spared to us of this
once magnificent Cathedral.
EXTERIOR
When we enter the _Close_ we notice that little is left of the
fortifications that once made Lichfield into a fortress. Here and
there a few traces of the walls remain. Lichfield was never a
monastery, so there are no cloisters. The view of the Cathedral upon
entering the close is very striking and beautiful. The colour of the
stone is remarkable, as it is built of red sandstone. The three spires
are extremely graceful. A fine view of them is obtained from the south
side across the lake. The two west spires were built by Bishop
Northbury (1322-1359), and are Decorated. The upper part of the
north-western one was rebuilt, and there has been some renovation of
the other. The old central tower fell during the siege, and was
rebuilt by Bishop Hacket at the Restoration. The style is
Perpendicular, having been built in the fashion of the west tower.
The _West Front_ must have been one of the most beautiful in England,
and has passed through many vicissitudes. It was commenced in 1275,
and completed by degrees, the work being protracted for more than a
century. The ball-flower ornament in the upper stages points to the
later date of the highest part. There are three principal stages. In
the lowest are three doorways, the wall being covered with a rich
arcade of brackets and canopies and statues. The next stage has three
rows of arcading, the lowest extending completely across the front.
The west window divides the two upper arcades. There are windows in
the tower fronts in the third stage, and the wall is covered with rich
canopied arcade. The Puritan soldiers did much injury to the statues
which filled these niches. In 1820 the broken figures were restored
with Roman cement in a barbarous fashion. Sir Gilbert Scott in 1877
began to reconstruct the west front, and placed new statues in the
niches, and endeavoured to reproduce an exact copy of its appearance
in the days of its early beauty. A study of the figures will not be
without interest.
Small figures in central west doorway--on north side--genealogy of
Christ according to St. Matthew from Abraham to the Virgin; on the
south, according to St. Luke from Adam to Joseph. Notice
fourteenth-century carving of Our Lord in Glory inside the porch.
NORTH-WEST DOORWAY
_On North_--
1. Ethelbert, angel, with emblem of the Passion.
2. Edwin, orb.
3. Oswald, dove, with letter, and cross in his left hand.
4. Oswy, casket, with key and cross.
[Illustration Lichfield Cathedral Herbert Railton Distant view of
exterior]
5. Peada, embracing a cross.
6. Wulphere, model of a Saxon church, and a shield.
_On South_--
1. Bertha, cross in her hand, and her daughter kneeling at an altar.
2. Ethelburga, glass and comb.
3. Hilda, angel hovering over her, and pastoral staff in her hand.
4. Eanfled, priest with letter.
5. Ermenilda, laying down crown.
6. Werburga, pastoral staff, and crown at her feet.
SOUTH-WEST DOORWAY
The figures represent the two sources of English Christianity, the
Celtic and Roman missionaries.
_North Side_--
1. St. Aidan, pastoral staff, and St. Chad as a boy in St. Aidan's
School at Lindisfarne.
2. Finan, pastoral staff.
3. Diuma, pastoral staff and banner.
4. Ceollach, pastoral staff, and mitre at his feet, indicating
that he resigned his bishopric.
5. Trumhere, pastoral staff.
6. Jaruman, pastoral staff, and model of a Saxon church.
_South Side_--
1. Gregory, young Saxon slaves at his feet, in the Market Place at
Rome.
2. Augustine, crozier and model of Canterbury Monastery.
3. Paulinus, crozier.
4. Theodore, crozier and scroll.
5. Cuthbert, pastoral staff, and head of St. Oswald in his hand.
6. Wilfrid, pastoral staff, and treading on an idol.
CENTRAL GABLE
1. Our Lord in Glory, in the act of benediction.
2. Moses, the two tables of stone.
3. Elijah, a book.
4. St. Gabriel, holding a lily, the emblem of purity.
5. St. Uriel, open book.
6. St. Michael, in armour, with spear and shield.
7. St. Raphael, pilgrim's staff.
_Highest Stage--South Side_--
8. Adam, clothed with skins, and with a lion at his feet.
9. Abel, shepherd's crook and a lamb.
10. Abraham, fire and knife.
11. Isaac.
12. Jacob.
13. Melchisedec, royal and priestly robes and censer.
14. Enoch, prophesying, with uplifted hand.
15. Methuselah, old man's staff.
16. Noah, ark and olive branch.
17. Daniel.
18. Job, staff, and prophesying the Resurrection.
19. Shem.
_Middle Stage--Upper Tier_--
20. Isaiah, a saw.
21. Hosea, skull at his feet, and scroll, "O death, I will be thy
plagues."
22. Jonah, a fish at his feet, and scroll in his hand, "Salvation
is of the Lord."
23. Zephaniah, holding a torch and scroll, "The great day of the
Lord is near."
24. St. Michael, in armour, with spear and shield.
25. Bishop Hacket, holding the open Bible.
26. Bishop Lonsdale, model of Eton College Chapel at his feet.
27. Bishop Selwyn, his hand resting on the head of a Melanesian
boy. Bishop of New Zealand, 1841 to 1867. Bishop of
Lichfield, 1868 to 1878.
28. Vacant.
_Middle Stage--Lower Tier_--
29. Ezekiel, wheel, with Evangelistic emblems.
30. Joel, locust at his feet, and scroll in his hand, "Jehovah is
God."
31. Micah, with foot upon an idol; and the words, "Who is God like
unto Thee," in a scroll.
32. Haggai, unfinished temple at his feet, and pointing upwards,
and scroll, "Go up to the mountain."
33. St. Raphael, a pilgrim's staff, as a messenger of God.
34. Bishop Clinton, A.D. 1129, model of a Norman church.
35. Bishop Patteshull, A.D. 1240, wearing a chasuble, as shown on
his effigy in the Cathedral.
36. Bishop Langton, A.D. 1296, model of the Lady Chapel at his feet.
37. Vacant.
_Lower Stage of Kings_--
38. St. Chad, A.D. 669, pastoral staff, first Bishop of Lichfield.
39. Peada, A.D. 665, embracing the cross.
40. Wulphere, A.D. 657, shield, and model of Peterborough Monastery.
41. Ethelred, A.D. 657, four scrolls, indicating the four
sub-divisions of the great Mercian Diocese, Lichfield,
Worcester, Hereford and Chester.
42. Offa, A.D. 755, archiepiscopal mitre.
43. Egbert, A.D. 827, orb and sceptre. First sole monarch of Saxon
Britain.
44. Ethelwolf, A.D. 836.
45. Ethelbert, A.D. 860, crown and sword.
46. Ethelred, A.D. 866, holding a book to his breast.
47. Alfred, A.D. 871, a harp.
48. Edgar, A.D. 958, wolf's head; alluding to tribute of wolves'
heads in lieu of money.
49. Canute, A.D. 1017, orb, and looking to the sea; in reference
to his rebuke of his courtiers.
50. Edward the Confessor, A.D. 1042, a dove, and a ring in his
left hand.
51. William the Conqueror, A.D. 1066, _Doomsday Book_ and sword.
52. William Rufus, A.D. 1087, bow and arrow, and hunting horn;
alluding to his death.
53. Henry I., A.D. 1100, holding a book.
54. Stephen, A.D. 1135, orb, dove and sword.
55. Henry II., A.D. 1154, sceptre and sword.
56. Richard I., A.D. 1189, with banneret and battle axe.
57. John, A.D. 1199, signing Magna Charta.
58. Henry III., A.D. 1216, model of Westminster Abbey.
59. Edward I., A.D. 1272, the poisoned arrow.
60. Edward II., A.D. 1307, reversed sceptre; alluding to his
deposition and murder.
61. Edward III., A.D. 1327, the Garter and sceptre.
62. Richard II., A.D. 1377, orb, cross and sceptre.
_Lowest Stage--North to South_--
63. St. Cyprian, sword and book. Archbishop of Carthage.
64. St. Bartholomew, knife.
65. St. Simon, saw.
66. St. James the Less, club and book.
67. St. Thomas, the carpenter's square.
68. St. Philip, cross.
69. St. Andrew, a transverse cross.
70. St. John, pen and book.
71. Vacant.
72. Mary Magdalene, the alabaster box of ointment.
73. The Virgin and Child.
74. Mary, wife of Cleophas.
75. Vacant.
76. St. Peter, keys.
77. St. Paul, sword and book.
78. St. Matthew, wallet.
79. St. James the Greater, staff, book and scallop shell.
80. St. Jude, scroll.
81. St. Stephen, stones and the martyr's palm.
82. St. Clement, anchor and open book.
83. St. Werburga, pastoral staff, clasped book and crown at her feet.
NORTH-WEST TOWER
_Middle Stage--Lower Tier_--
84. Daniel, scroll and flames of fire at his feet.
85. Obadiah, hands lifted up and scroll, "The kingdom shall be the
Lord's."
86. Habakkuk, writing the vision.
87. Malachi, fiery oven at his feet and scroll.
88. St. Uriel, a spear.
89. St. Luke, staff with serpent entwined.
90. Queen Victoria.
91. St. Mark, lion at his feet.
92. Dean Bickersteth.
93. Jeremiah, lamenting destruction of Jerusalem.
94. Amos.
95. Nahum, scroll and an Assyrian idol.
96. Zechariah, candlestick and scroll.
97. St. Gabriel, shield and sceptre.
98. Solomon, sceptre and model of the Temple.
99. St. Helena, the cross, and a model of a Basilica.
100. David, harp.
101. St. Editha, foot upon a crown.
_North-West Tower--Upper Tier_--
102. Eve, a distaff in her hand.
103. Old Figure. This and four others are the only remaining
fourteenth-century figures which have survived the wear of
time and the violence of the Civil War.
104. Sarah, three cakes in her hand.
105. Old Figure. Fourteenth century.
106. Rachel, crook.
107. Deborah, scroll.
108. Old Figure. Fourteenth century.
109. Hannah, with the boy Samuel at her side.
110. Samuel, anointing horn and scroll.
111. Aaron, scroll.
112. Old Figure. Fourteenth century.
113. Old Figure. Fourteenth century.
St. Anthony over the belfry window on south side of south-west tower.
The west window presented by James II. when Duke of York has been
removed and a Decorated window inserted.
Passing round to the north side we see the interesting north doorway,
which is a double one, with five orders, and of Early English style
(1240 A.D.). The dog-tooth ornament is evident. Carved figures appear
in the mouldings. The genealogy of our Lord, beginning with Jesse, is
on the east side; on the west St. Chad and the Apostles. Kings and
prophets appear on the middle moulding, and angels on the inner. These
are good specimens of Early English carving, and are original, though
somewhat restored. A modern figure of St. Anne is in the central
niche, and above a figure of our Lord. The figures of SS. James and
Jude are examples of the hideous Roman cement work which once was so
plentiful here.
Continuing our pilgrimage round the church we see the chapter-house
and the Lady Chapel, which has been too much restored with new niches
and statues of holy women mentioned in the Bible. The lower row (New
Testament) has figures of Priscilla, Anna, Dorcas, Mary of Bethany
with box of ointment, Martha with a dish and cloth, Lydia, Phebe and
Elizabeth; above Esther, Ruth with corn, Naomi, Rizpah, Deborah,
Miriam, Rachel and Rebecca. Passing the so-called mortuary chapels,
probably vestries, we notice a noble figure of the Madonna on south
side, and though the head has been defaced, and the child knocked
away, it remains a beautiful study of fourteenth-century pose and
drapery. On the corners of the sacristy are figures of Godefroi de
Bouillon and St. Chad. The south portal has been much restored. It is
similar to the north doorway, but not so rich in architectural
details. On the tympanum are shields with arms of the diocese, and on
the west the arms of Lady Catherine Leveson, a benefactress of the
time of Bishop Hacket, and an inscription recording her munificence on
the east. A row of niches is over the door, formerly filled with
figures of Roman cement. Happily they have disappeared. The rose
window is very fine.
INTERIOR
We enter the church by the west door, and are struck with the richness
and beauty of the view of the nave and choir, the clustered columns
with richly-carved capitals, the elaborate reredos of marble and
alabaster, and the stained glass of the Lady Chapel. It will be
noticed that the choir inclines considerably to the north. This
difference in orientation is observable in many churches, and has been
interpreted as a figurative representation of the bending of our
Lord's head upon the Cross. We believe that this beautiful fancy has
no authority, and most probably the inclination was accidental. No
records tell us when this nave was built. It is earlier than the west
front, and was begun about 1250, at the time when the Early English
style was being merged in that of the Decorated. There are eight bays.
The piers are octagonal, with many shafts, the capitals enriched with
foliage of Early English type. The triforium has two arches in each
bay, each arch has two sub-arches, with cusped heads, and a quatrefoil
in the tympanum. Dog-tooth ornament is used copiously. The clerestory
windows are triangular, with three circles in each, and a trefoil in
each circle. Mr. Petit stated, "Nothing can exceed this nave in beauty
and gracefulness." The roof was originally of stone. This the
besiegers damaged, and after its restoration the stone vaulting was
found too heavy for the walls and piers; hence it was removed, except
the portions at the immediate east and west end. Wyatt covered the
rest with plaster to imitate the original work. The roof has now been
coloured, so that it is impossible to discover any difference between
the stone and plaster ceiling.