a fine Perpendicular work in good preservation, though the figures
which once adorned it were destroyed at the Reformation. He founded
Jesus College, Cambridge, and built Ely Palace. On the east is the
inscription, "_Johannes Alkoc Epus Eliensis hanc fabriciam fieri fecit
1488_." In this aisle are the supposed arm of Northwold's chair, which
he brought from his abbey (the sculpture represents the wolf with St.
Edmund's head in his paws), and the tombs of Bishop Marson (1771),
Bishop Patrick (1707), and Basevi, architect of the Fitzwilliam
Museum, Cambridge.
In the retro-choir are the monuments of Bishop Allen (1845), Canon
Fardell (1819), Cardinal Louis de Luxembourg, Bishop, 1444, and an
early muniment chest.
At the east end of the south aisle is Bishop West's chantry (1534), a
beautiful chapel in the Late Perpendicular and Renaissance style. The
carving is very elaborate, with delicate tracery. This Bishop was the
champion and chaplain of Catherine of Arragon, Henry VIII.'s queen.
Above his tomb, in seven small niches, are deposited the bones of six
Saxon bishops and of Earl Bryhtnoth, killed by the Danes in 991, who
exclaimed when he died, "God of Nations, I thank Thee for all the joy
I have had in life." Here are the tombs of Bishops Woodford (1885),
Sparke (1836), Keene (1781). In the south aisle are--an ancient
gravestone of Norman date, representing Michael carrying to heaven the
soul of a bishop, with the inscription, "_St. Michael oret pro me_";
Bishop Hotham (1337), Canon Selwyn (1875), Dean Steward (1557), last
prior and first dean of Ely; Bishop Gunning (1684), author of _The
Prayer for All Conditions of Men_; Bishop Goodrich (1554), a zealous
reformer, destroyer of images and shrines, compiler of "Duties to God
and Neighbour," in the _Catechism_; Bishop Heton (1609), Dean Tyndall
(1614), and other monuments.
The _Lady Chapel_ is a superb structure, with its beautiful sculptured
work, one of the finest specimens of Decorated architecture in the
kingdom in spite of the cruel mutilation to which it was subjected at
the Reformation. It was completed in 1349, but the east window is a
little later and shows evidence of the approach of the Perpendicular
period. An arcade of sculptured canopies runs round the walls, of
extremely delicate carving. The mythical history of the Virgin and of
Julian the Apostate appear in the spandrels, and the bosses of the
roof have some sculptured figures representing the Crucifixion,
Ascension, Annunciation, the Virgin crowned, the Virgin and Elizabeth,
and some which cannot be distinguished.
* * * * *
[My thanks are due to the Dean of Ely for his kind assistance in
interpreting the history of the Cathedral which he knows and loves so
well.]
DIMENSIONS
Total length 517 ft.
Length of nave 230 ft.
Breadth of nave 78 ft.
Height of vault 70 ft.
Length of transept 190 ft.
Diameter of octagon 65 ft.
Height of west tower 215 ft.
Area 46,000 sq. ft.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING DATES
1083-1189--Transepts, nave, lower stages of tower, monks' and
prior's doorways.
1189-1254--Galilee porch, presbytery, upper stages of
tower.
1316-1349--Lady chapel, octagon, choir, windows of triforium of
presbytery, buttresses, Prior Crauden's Chapel, stalls.
1388-1534--Highest stage of tower, chapel and some
windows.
1699--North-west corner of north transept and doorway.
[Illustration PLAN OF ELY CATHEDRAL]
NORWICH CATHEDRAL
Norwich, the capital of East Anglia, is a delightful city, beautifully
situated on the winding Wensum and full of the charm of the
associations of mediæval times. The hill on which the castle stands
carries our thoughts back to Saxon days, to King Uffa in the sixth
century. Saxon, Dane and Norman held sway here. It was also the city
of the Dutch. The cruelties of Alva sent Flemings and Walloons, who
came with their silks and threads and worsteds and implements, and
made the textile manufactures the glory and fortune of the county.
Here kings kept their Christmas feasts, and in no less royal fashion
did the old Dukes of Norfolk, when Norwich was the gayest of episcopal
cities. Very independent were the turbulent burghers, who often
contended with the monks and bishops for rights and privileges, as
when in 1272 they quarrelled over the tolls of a fair, and sacked the
Cathedral, and in 1549 when Kett the tanner raised his formidable
rebellion, which was with difficulty subdued. Few cities can rival
Norwich in the interest of its associations and the treasures of
antiquity which here abound.
THE CATHEDRAL--ITS HISTORY
The See of Norwich was created in Norman times, Dunwich, Elmham and
Thetford having previously been the episcopal seats. In the time of
Rufus there was a general transference of bishoprics to the larger
towns, in accordance with a decree of a church synod, hence in 1094
Norwich had the honour conferred on it by Bishop Herbert de Losinga,
who two years later commenced his Cathedral. This bishop obtained his
preferment by simony, and it is said built the church in expiation of
his crime. Beginning at the east end "he finished the church as far as
the altar of St. William,"[19] which was on the north side of the
present screen. This included the choir and transepts with the two
chapels and two bays of the nave. His successor, Bishop Eborard,
finished the nave. Herbert built also a Bishop's Palace, and a
monastery of Benedictine monks was attached to the Cathedral. A
curious scene was witnessed here in 1144 when a number of Jews were
tried for the ritual murder of the boy saint, St. William of Norwich,
in Thorpe Wood, whom they cruelly tortured. The houses of the Jews
were plundered, and in memory of the miracle-working boy a chapel was
built on the scene of his murder, and a shrine erected in the
Cathedral.
Fire played its usual destructive part here, as elsewhere, in 1171,
and the church was repaired and perfected by Bishop John of Oxford in
1197. In the Early English period there seems to have been little
progress, except the building of the Lady Chapel at the east end by
Walter de Suffield (1244-1257), which was destroyed in the time of
Queen Elizabeth. The entrance only remains.
Very stormy times befell the Cathedral at the end of the thirteenth
century. The city was sacked by the revolting barons in 1266, and a
few years later a dispute arose between the citizens and the prior
about the right of tolls to a fair held in the Tombland at
Whitsuntide, which were of much profit to the monastery. It was the
same story which is told of many towns, the quarrels of the burghers
and the ecclesiastics. In 1272 the disputants fell to blows, and some
of the citizens were slain. They arrested some of the men of the
monastery for murder, and an interdict was hurled by the prior against
them. Moreover, he imported three barges-full of mercenaries who
plundered the burghers' houses and killed and wounded many. Reprisals
followed. The citizens stormed the Priory and Cathedral, routed and
slew the monks and their mercenaries, set fire to the buildings, and
pillaged the church. Such violence against the Church was then unheard
of, and dire punishment was inflicted on the citizens of Norwich. The
Pope excommunicated them, Henry III. deprived them of their liberties,
and ordered 3000 marks to be paid towards the restoration of the
Cathedral. New gates and gatehouses were erected by order of the Pope
in order to prevent the renewal of such sacrilege, and St. Ethelbert's
Gate was built at the close of the thirteenth century to guard the
precincts. History concludes that the violence of the fierce prior was
the main cause of the trouble, and not the obstinacy of the people.
The work of restoration was immediately begun and the church
reconsecrated in 1278 in the presence of King Edward I. and his queen
and a grand assembly of bishops, knights and nobles, when Bishop
Middleton was raised to the see. His successor, Bishop Ralph de
Walpole, began to rebuild the cloisters, which were continued by
Bishop Salmon, and form some of the largest and most beautiful in the
country. Their style is mainly Decorated, but there is some
Perpendicular work constructed in Bishop Wakering's time, who was a
great persecutor of the Lollards (1416-1425). The chapter-house was
erected by Walpole.
In the time of Edward IV. troubles sore oppressed the diocese. Bishop
Anthony, who was of a violent and imperious spirit, rendered himself
very obnoxious to the monks, and was poisoned by his servants, and six
years later the Black Death is said to have carried off 50,000
inhabitants. This was in the time of Bishop Bateman, buried at
Avignon, a mighty prelate who compelled the powerful Lord Morley to do
penance in the Cathedral for killing the bishop's deer.
The lofty spire was blown down by a fierce hurricane in 1361, and
rebuilt by Bishop Percy, who rebuilt also the clerestory. His
successor, Henry de Despencer, was a very warlike prelate, who ruled
with an iron hand. He crushed the revolting peasants in 1381, and
fought in the Netherlands for Pope Urban VI. against the adherents of
his rival, Clement. The vicissitudes of prelates were great in those
days; both he and his successor, Totington, were imprisoned by the
king. Bishop Alnwick (1426-1449) began to alter the west front, and
Bishop Lyhart put in the large west window and built the rood-screen
and vaulted the nave. During the rule of Bishop Browne (1436-1445) the
quarrel between the burghers and the monks again broke out, and the
former besieged the monastery, for which conduct the king deprived
them of their rights and liberties. A fire occurred in 1463, caused by
lightning striking the spire, and did much damage to the presbytery,
which was restored by Bishop Goldwell (1472-1499), who also finished
the spire. Fire again did much damage in 1509 during the rule of
Bishop Nykke or Nix (1501-1536), whose reputation was not so
unblemished as his name (_snow_). The transept roof was destroyed,
which Nykke rebuilt in stone. The dissolution of monasteries soon
followed in 1538, and Norwich shared the fate of the rest. The
Cathedral foundation was renewed, the last prior being made the first
dean. The church suffered from the usual acts of spoliation and
desecration at the hands of the Commissioners of Edward VI. and the
Puritans. Dean Gardiner (1573-1589) destroyed the chapter-house and
the beautiful Lady Chapel. Bishop Hall (1641-1656) thus alludes to the
misdeeds of the Puritans:--
"It is tragical to relate the furious sacrilege committed under
the authority of Lindsey, Tofts the sheriff, and Greenwood;
what clattering of glasses, what beating down of walls, what
tearing down of monuments, what pulling down of seats, and
wresting out of irons and brass from the windows and graves;
what defacing of arms, what demolishing of curious stone-work,
that had not any representation in the world but the cost of
the founder and the skill of the mason; what piping on the
destroyed organ pipes; vestments, both copes and surplices,
together with the leaden cross, which had been newly sawn down
from over the green yard pulpit, and the singing books and
service books were carried to the fire in the public market
place; a lewd wretch walking before the train, in his cope,
trailing in the dirt, with a service book in his hand,
imitating in an impious scorn the tune, and usurping the words
of the Litany; the ordnance being discharged on the guild day,
the cathedral was filled with musketeers, drinking and
tobaccoing, as freely as if it had turned ale-house."
The citizens joined eagerly in the work of spoliation and burned in
the open market, by order of the court of assembly, "Moses and Aaron,
and four Evangelists that came from the Cathedral, and some other
superstitious pictures."
The Restoration of the Monarchy caused the restoration of the
Cathedral. A new organ and church plate were presented, and since that
time much restoration has taken place, which has greatly enhanced the
glory and beauty of this ancient House of God.
THE EXTERIOR
We enter the Cathedral precincts by the Erpingham Gate, built by Sir
Thomas Erpingham, a knight who fought at Agincourt, and is mentioned
by Shakespeare (_Henry V._, Act IV). The style is Early Perpendicular.
Notice the figures of saints in the arch moulding, the donor's
kneeling figure in the niche above the arch, his arms and those of his
two wives on the buttresses, and the word _Yenk_ (think) on the
shafts. The other gates are that of St. Ethelbert, Early Decorated,
much restored, built by the citizens in expiation of their sacrilege
in 1272, and the Bishop's Gate leading to the Palace, built by Bishop
Alnwyck in Early Perpendicular style.
[Illustration EXTERIOR VIEW OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL]
Entering by the Erpingham Gate, on the left is the Grammar School,
formerly the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, founded by Bishop
Salmon in 1315. Below was a charnel-house, now used as a gymnasium.
The porch was added by Lyhart at the end of the fifteenth century.
Here Nelson was educated, and George Borrow and many other
distinguished men.
The _West Front_, in spite of its noble window, is far from being a
satisfactory compilation. The injudicious restoration of 1875 has had
much to do with this. Portions of the original Norman work remain in a
great part of the wall, two side doors, arcades and windows above. The
main doorway was erected by Bishop Alnwyck, who seems to have cased
the old Norman with Perpendicular work--an arch of the old work was
uncovered by Dean Goulburn. The same bishop left money for the great
Perpendicular window of nine lights, which was erected by Bishop
Lyhart. We can see the result of perverse modern restoration by
comparing the present front with those shown in earlier illustrations,
and discover that the towers flanking the great window have been cut
down and shorn of their cupolas, and also the turrets at the extreme
north and south have suffered a like deprivation, and some inelegant
pinnacles erected instead, while the battlemented parapet has been
removed, and some ridiculous little round windows inserted. Certainly
the efforts of modern architects have not been crowned with success.
The best view of the long nave is obtained from the upper close, or
from the cloister garth. The wall is divided into three storeys.
Behind the cloisters some late windows have been inserted in the
aisle. Above the cloisters we see a Norman arcade with Norman windows
over it, which have been blocked up; above them a row of Perpendicular
windows, with a battlemented parapet, and above this a row of Norman
windows, and parapet added later. Two Perpendicular windows were
inserted at the west end by Bishop Nykke. Norman buttresses divide the
windows. The north side resembles the south, and is enclosed by the
bishop's garden.
The south transept is Norman, but it has been recased with new stone,
and pyramid caps set on the turrets in imitation of Norman work,
instead of some Perpendicular turrets which these replaced. Why will
architects and restorers thus destroy the history of a building
written in stone by trying to imitate what they imagine to have been
the original form? On the east is the dean's vestry, formerly a
chapel. The chapter-house and ancient slype have been destroyed, also
an apse-shaped chapel on the east side of the south transept.
The _Choir_ in its lower storeys resembles the nave, with its Norman
arcade, windows, and inserted Perpendicular windows, but it has a
lofty clerestory of Late Decorated style supported by flying
buttresses, erected by Bishop Percy, when the fall of the spire
destroyed the old Norman clerestory. Carved figures surmount the
summits of the exterior buttresses. There are projecting Chapels of
St. Mary-the-Less (Decorated), St. Luke and the Jesus Chapel
(Norman).[20] The Lady Chapel was destroyed by iconoclastic Dean
Gardiner, as we have mentioned, who regarded Lady Chapels as relics of
Popery. The north front is very similar to the south, and needs no
separate description.
The chief glory of Norwich is its _Tower_ and _Spire_. The tower is a
very fine example of Norman work. At the four corners are noble Norman
buttresses, crowned with crocketed pinnacles, added in Early
Perpendicular times, when the fall of the old wooden spire had carried
away the original Norman ones. On the surface of each wall are three
Norman arcades, and in the upper and lower three of the arches have
been pierced with windows, and above are two rows of small circular
windows. The spire is Perpendicular work, erected by Bishops Lyhart
and Goldwell towards the end of the fifteenth century. May it long
escape the fate of its predecessors, one of which was blown down in
1361, and the other struck by lightning, on each occasion causing
considerable damage to the church.
The _Bishop's Palace_ is on the north, founded by Bishop Herbert, but
subsequent alterations have left little of the original structure.
Some of the original vaulting is in the basement, and the ruin in the
garden is the remains of the great hall built by Bishop Salmon in
1318. In the chapel are monuments to Bishop Reynolds (1661-1676) and
Bishop Sparrow, a learned divine, who assisted in the revision of the
Prayer Book in 1661.
There was a curious open-air pulpit, with a cross over it, somewhat
similar to Paul's Cross in London, on the north, in what was known as
Green Yard. Galleries were erected around it, and good accommodation
provided for the mayor and his officers, with their ladies, who came
in summer time to hear the sermons.
THE INTERIOR
The view of the nave from the west end is magnificent. A long vista
of Norman arches, and beautiful expanse of vaulted lierne roofing, is
most impressive. A fine screen, with organ above it, prevents a full
view of the whole interior, but this detracts nothing from the
grandeur of the view.
The nave has fourteen piers on each side, divided into seven bays, two
arches to each bay. The lower arches, and those in the triforium, are
about equal. Each pier has several shafts attached. A lofty shaft runs
up the face of the main arch to support the roof. The zigzag and
billet mouldings will be observed on the arches. The clerestory is
Norman, and has triple arches. The first Norman prelate, Herbert,
built the nave as far as the two most eastern bays, and his successor,
Eborard, finished it. The old Norman roof was destroyed by fire in
1463, when Bishop Lyhart, who loved to display his punning rebus, a
stag lying in water, erected the lierne stone vaulted roof, which is a
noble specimen of its kind. The bosses are very interesting, and
contain a full epitome of Bible history from the Creation to the
Descent of the Holy Spirit, and include the terrors of Hades and the
Final Judgment. One boss is absent, and through the hole in the roof
it is conjectured that on Whitsunday a white pigeon was released and a
burning censer swung, as an eyewitness testifies to a similar
representation in old St. Paul's. There is a somewhat similar custom
in Florence at the present time.
[Illustration A Bay N side of Nave.]
We notice in the west the large window erected by Lyhart, with modern
glass, and the Norman arch over the door. The north aisle has
Decorated windows inserted in the Norman walls. A reconstruction of
the roof was made in the fifteenth century, when the walls were raised
and Perpendicular windows added, and the slope of the roof changed
into one much less steep. The _South Aisle_ differs little from the
north. In the centre was Bishop Nykke's Chapel, which he devised for
himself, to perpetuate a not very desirable memory. Here we have Late
Perpendicular work in the vaulting and windows. Few monuments or
brasses escaped the destructive hands of the Puritans. In the aisles
there are a few--the altar tomb of Sir T. Wyndham and four wives; Dean
Prideaux (d. 1724), a distinguished divine, the author of _The
Connection between the Old and New Testament_, Sir John Hobart,
Attorney-General to Henry VII. (1507); Bishop Parkhurst (1574).
The _Choir_ occupies the space between the two last arches of the
nave, being shut off from it by an interesting stone _Screen_. The
lower part of this structure is ancient, having been erected by Bishop
Lyhart in Perpendicular style. The upper portion was added about 1830.
Two altars stood near the central door, one dedicated to the boy saint
of Norwich, St. William, slain by the Jews. The scanty remains of
these altars mark the site of two chapels, over which were the
rood-loft and organ, destroyed by the iconoclastic Puritans, whose
sacrilege and abominable riotings have been already mentioned in the
records left us by Bishop Hall. At the Restoration Dean Croft
endeavoured to remedy the result of their evil deeds, and fashioned a
new organ which, with additions and improvements, remains and stands
over the screen.
Modern taste has removed some of the obstructions erected in times
when the ideas of beauty and fitness were defective, and the
alterations and improvements of the east end were not concluded till a
few years ago. The stalls are very good Perpendicular work, fashioned
at the time when the art of wood-carving had attained its highest
development. The _misereres_ are specially worthy of examination. The
old popular legend is often repeated concerning them, that if one of
the monks fell asleep during service, and caused the bench to fall, he
was condemned to severe penance. This idea has no foundation in fact,
as the raised seat was designed, as its name implies, out of _pity_
for the infirmities of the brethren, and not for any idea of
punishment. The bishop's throne and pulpit are modern, and the lectern
is good Decorated work.
The presbytery was damaged on two occasions by the fall of the tower,
and these accidents obliged subsequent repairs and alterations, which
were constructed in the style then in use. Hence we have blended with
the old Norman work the Decorated clerestory of Bishop Percy
(1355-1369), and the Perpendicular roof of Bishop Goldwell, erected a
century later. The lower arches were altered by the same bishop into
the Perpendicular style, and his name is preserved in the canting
rebus--gold and a well. The old Norman triforium remains. The vaulting
of the roof is curious. Between each pair of clerestory windows is a
niche, and from the heads of these spring the ribs, which form a
beautiful example of lierne vaulting. The eastern termination is the
original Norman apse, built by Bishop Herbert. The old bishop's throne
is particularly interesting, chiefly from its position in the centre
of the apse, with the presbyters' seats on each side. This idea was
probably derived from Rome, where this position was not uncommon,
though unusual in this country. The bishop's throne at Torcelli is a
well-known example of this use. The present altar is modern, and also
the present floor, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield.
[Illustration Ancient Bishop's Throne]
The following are the principal _Monuments_:--
A slab marks the resting place of Bishop Herbert, the founder;
Goldwell's Chantry and tomb; Bishop Wakering's tomb (d. 1425); Bishop
Overall (d. 1619); Sir W. Boleyn (d. 1505).
The _North Transept_, built by Herbert, has good Norman arcading, and
a vault erected by Nykke. The clerestory resembles the nave. There was
at the east an apsidal chapel dedicated to St. Anne, but it is now
closed and used for baser purposes. A processional path runs round the
presbytery. On the north side is a curious bridge, which was connected
with the Reliquary Chapel, now destroyed, situated on the exterior of
the church. This bridge was an ante-chapel to that in which the
relics were stored, and is adorned with mural paintings. Probably
relics were exhibited here for the worship of the pilgrims, who went
in procession along the path below.
[Illustration Bridge North Aisle of Presbytery.]