their Norman arcading are next seen. In the former there is some mural
painting much restored--a facsimile of the ancient picture--and over
the chapel is a museum. The latter is a parish church for the
precincts. The windows are sham Norman, having been inserted in the
last century. There is a mutilated font of fifteenth century, carved
with Crucifixion and Seven Sacraments. Above it is the treasury. Here
is a curious oil painting accidentally discovered by Professor Willis,
which was part of a reredos, converted into a table after the Puritan
outbreak. It is sometimes attributed to an Italian artist of 1370, but
there is no reason to suppose that it was not the production of
genuine English art of that period. Even Dean Stanley attributes the
Eleanor bronze to an Italian, Torel, and Professor Freeman calls De
Noyer of Lincoln a "crazy Frenchman," and others ascribe the Exeter
chancel-screen to French workmen. This error of attributing pure
English work to foreign artists has caused a very unjust depreciation
of the skill and genius of our native craftsmen. The subjects of these
paintings are the last scenes of our Lord's life. Other mural
paintings are:--On ceiling of sacrist's room of late thirteenth
century--subjects: Virgin, SS. Catherine, Margaret, Andrew, Peter,
Paul, and Richard of Chichester. On south wall of south aisle--SS.
Wulstan, Edward the Confessor, and others.
The Lady Chapel has been destroyed, as we have said, by Dean Gardiner
in Elizabeth's reign, but happily the doorway remains, the only part
of the Cathedral of Early English workmanship. The profusion of the
dog-tooth ornament is evident. The doorway is formed of a double arch,
with clustered shafts, and was built, together with the Lady Chapel,
about the middle of the thirteenth century by Bishop Walter de
Suffield. Stone was brought from Caen and Barnack for the purpose. The
destruction of these Lady Chapels was a sign of the decay in the
worship of the Virgin, which was so extensively followed in mediæval
times.
There is another chapel on the south; that of St. Mary-the-Less, now
used as the consistory court, built by one Bauchun in the fourteenth
century. An ecclesiastical lawyer, Seckington, added the groined roof
in the fifteenth century. The altar has been displaced by a doorway.
The sculptured bosses represent the legendary history of the Virgin.
We enter the _South Transept_ by a Tudor doorway, over which is some
rich open screen work of fifteenth-century design, under the original
Norman arch. This transept, built by Herbert, is fine Norman work,
with good arcading, the vault being added by Bishop Nykke. This
transept has the oldest coloured glass in the Cathedral, a copy of
Raphael's Ascension, erected by Dean Lloyd in 1790. Here we see the
following _Monuments_:--
Bishop Bathurst (d. 1837), by Chantrey; and memorial tablets to East
Anglian heroes who fell in China and Afghanistan.
The _Cloisters_ are extremely interesting and beautiful. We enter them
by the Prior's Door, a fine Decorated work, having four columns on
each side, with archivolt mouldings, in front of which are seven
canopied niches, with richly-sculptured crockets, containing figures.
The Norman cloisters, probably constructed of wood, were destroyed in
1272, at the time of the citizens' revolt. The east walk was rebuilt
by Bishop Walpole (1289-1299) in Early Decorated style. His successor,
Bishop Salmon, built the south walk, the windows of which show a great
advance in the same style, the windows having flowing tracery. The
west walk has also Late Decorated work, and the north walk has at the
east end an Early Decorated window, at the west end two Late
Decorated, while the other five are Perpendicular in their tracery.
This part was finished by Bishop Alnwyck (1426-1436). The slype and
chapter-house have both been destroyed. The usual plan of Benedictine
monasteries was followed here. The dormitory was on the east side, the
refectory on the south, with entrance at south-west corner, and near
to this is the monks' lavatory, the kitchen being further west. Carved
figures representing the Temptation of Adam and Eve are above this
door leading to the refectory. The locutory or parlour of the monks
was on the west side of the cloisters and the hospitium, and from this
walk the _Monks' Door_ leads us back to the Cathedral. The bosses are
extremely interesting. In the east walk the subjects are foliage, the
four Evangelists, the Scourging, Crucifixion and Resurrection of
Christ, and Nebuchadnezzar eating grass. In the south and west, scenes
from the Book of the Revelation of St. John; and in the north, legends
of the saints--Christopher, Laurence (being burnt on a gridiron); the
dancing of Herodias's daughter before Herod, which represents her as
tumbling rather than dancing, in accordance with the usual conceptions
of mediæval artists.
DIMENSIONS
Length of church 407 ft.
Nave length 252 ft.
Nave to choir-screen 204 ft.
Width of nave 72 ft.
Height of roof 95 ft.
Height of spire (from ground) 315 ft.
Height of tower 140 ft.
Height of spire from tower 174 ft.
Area 34,800 sq. ft.
OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN NORWICH
The _Castle_, of which I have already written.
_Guild Hall_, parts of which were built in 1407, and contains
much that is interesting--portraits of Norwich worthies,
regalia, etc.
_St. Andrew's Hall_, once the Church of the Dominicans, in
Perpendicular style, which has passed through many
vicissitudes, and has some good pictures.
Norwich abounds in interesting churches--
St. John of Timberhill--Norman font, squint; parvise,
principally Decorated.
All Saints--fine Perpendicular font.
St. Michael-at-Thorn--Norman doorway, curious registers.
St. Peter, Mancroft; St. Gregory, Pottergate; St. Giles, St.
Helen's, St. John the Baptist, St. Michael-at-Plea.
The Stranger's Hall is well worthy of a visit, and Norwich
abounds in objects of the greatest interest.
The old "Maid's Head" hotel is one of the most ancient and
interesting hostels in the kingdom.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING DATES
Norman (1091-1145)--Choir, transept with chapels, nave and
tower.
Early English (1244-1257)--Door of Lady Chapel.
(1278-1299)--Ethelbert's gate, east walk of cloisters.
Decorated (1299-1369)--Chapter-house and cloisters, clerestory
of presbytery, Chapel of St. Mary-the-Less, some windows.
Perpendicular (1420-1538)--West front altered, Erpingham Gate,
presbytery restored, vault of nave and transepts, spire,
screen, stalls, some windows, Bishop's Gate.
(1573-1859)--Chapter-house and Lady Chapel destroyed.
[Illustration PLAN OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL]
FOOTNOTES:
[19] _Registrum Primum._
[20] The restorers have been very busy here, and most of the windows
are imitations of Norman work.
ST. ALBAN'S CATHEDRAL
St. Albans, the ancient Verulam, is one of the most ancient towns in
England, and is replete with historical associations. It was the home
of the British chieftain Cassivellaunus before the Romans came.
Boadicea killed many of the people for loving the Romans; and soon
came Christianity, and then the record of the slaying of St. Alban,
Britain's proto-martyr. It was during the Diocletian persecution that
Alban sheltered a deacon named Amphibalus from the fury of the
oppressors, and was himself converted to the Christian faith. Alban
enabled his guest to escape, and was himself seized and slain, many
miracles taking place at his execution. Offa founded a monastery here
in 793, near his manor-house--of which the earthworks remain--and
dedicated it to the saint, finding the remains of the martyr, which he
placed in a reliquary and deposited in the church. The monks
introduced here were Benedictine, of which order this was the chief
house in the kingdom. The town increased, and Ulsi, the sixth abbot,
founded the three churches of SS. Peter, Michael, and Stephen. We need
not dwell on the records of Saxon abbots, many of whom were of Royal
descent. When the Normans came, Paul of Caen, a relative of Lanfranc,
was made abbot in 1077, and rebuilt the church, using the Roman town
of Verulam as a quarry. He found much material collected by the last
two Saxon abbots, who intended to build a new church, but were
prevented by the troubles of the time. The large amount of Roman tiles
used in the construction of the building is apparent. Much of his work
remains in the eastern portion of the nave and in the tower and
transepts. The church was dedicated during the rule of Abbot Richard
D'Aubeny, in the presence of the king, Henry I., his court, and a
goodly number of bishops, in 1115, and a little later we read of the
relics of the saint being deposited in a beautiful shrine and conveyed
to a place of honour in the minster. One Ralph de Gobion, seventeenth
abbot, plundered the shrine in order to increase the territorial
possessions of the Abbey, but his successor, Robert de Gorham
(1151-1167), restored the shrine, and built anew some of the monastic
buildings. This monastery had the high honour of producing the only
English Pope, Nicholas Breakspeare, who was a monk here, and who, in
the time of his prosperity, forgot not his early monastic home. The
noble west front that once adorned this church, ruined by modern
"restoration," was begun by Abbot John de Cella (1195-1214), but the
troubles of John's reign prevented him from finishing it. His work was
continued by William de Trumpington (1214-1235), who placed a lantern
on the tower and rebuilt the west end of the nave. St. Alban's was
fortunate in having a historian among its monks. Matthew Paris lived
here, and died in 1259. He tells us much in his chronicles about the
Abbey he loved so well, of royal visits, of dread plagues, and of the
abbots who ruled here. Here came Edward I. on his way to Scotland,
here his queen's body lay on its last sad journey, and here one of the
Eleanor crosses was raised--alas! now destroyed. There was here a
famous school of chroniclers, who did much for the history of England,
and amongst them were Roger of Wendover, Matthew of Westminster,
Thomas of Walsingham, and many others. A great work was begun in 1256
by Abbot John de Hertford (1235-1260), the successor of Trumpington,
and this was the rebuilding and extension of the eastern arm. The
apsidal termination was removed, the aisles lengthened two bays, a
square-ended central chapel placed at the end, and the Lady Chapel
begun. The work lasted until almost the end of the century, and is
pronounced to be the most perfect example of the art of the age. A
terrible disaster befell the Abbey in the rule of Hugh de Eversden
(1308-1326). A great part of the south aisle gave way, two piers, with
triforium and clerestory roof and south wall, being involved in a
mighty ruin. The abbot set to work to restore the church; he built in
the Decorated style, and finished also the Lady Chapel. The usual
disputes between the monks and townsfolk raged at St. Albans, as in
most places where there was a powerful abbot and a growing town. In
Eversden's time the lordly abbot was compelled by the king to give
way, but his successor regained all his power over the town. He was a
wonderful man, this Richard de Wallingford (1326-1335), who made a
marvellous astronomical clock, and could manage to tell the ways of
the stars and the course of the sun as easily as he could manage the
people of St. Albans. But all disputes did not cease for many a long
year, and frequently the abbot's servants and the townsfolk came to
blows. The work of restoring the south aisle progressed, and was
finished by Abbot Mentmore (1335-1349), who also repaired the north
walk of the cloister, damaged by the fall of the adjoining aisle.
Abbot Thomas de la Mare (1349-1396) was the son of a noble house, and
a favourite of Edward III. After Poictiers the French King John was
brought here, and kept as an honourable prisoner, and afterwards
expressed his gratitude to the courtly abbot for his care. Edward III.
granted leave to the abbot to fortify his monastery, and walls and
gates were much needed a few years later when Wat Tyler and his rebels
besieged it and frightened the abbot and caused much damage. The
rebels suffered here later when the king came, and some he hanged.
Then was the Great Gate, with its prisons and vaults, constructed,
which still stands, mightily convincing of the power of the abbot. Nor
did he forget his church. He paved all the west part at great cost,
and spent large sums on the services. The abbot, John de la Moote
(1396-1401), took some part in dethroning Richard II., and it is said
that the conspiracy was hatched at the abbot's dinner-table. Here they
brought as a prisoner the Bishop of Carlisle, who stoutly defended
Richard at Westminster. The rivalry of the Houses of York and
Lancaster brought trouble to St. Albans. Here was fought the first
battle, and here, in the house of a tanner, Henry VI. was found and
conveyed to London. The second battle of St. Albans was fought here in
1461, when the king's party were victorious, and the Abbey was the
scene of a great thanksgiving service. Great privileges were granted
to the Abbey by Edward IV. Several alterations were made in
Perpendicular times. The walls of the nave aisles were lowered and
their roofs flattened, so that the backs of the Norman triforia were
exposed, and their openings made into windows. Several Perpendicular
windows were also inserted. St. Albans played a great part in the
introduction of printing, and a press was set up in the Abbey. The
earliest book printed here was in 1480, and many other incunabula came
from this renowned press. The era of the Reformation is at hand.
Cardinal Wolsey was abbot here in 1521. The fate of the monastery was
doomed. In 1539 it was surrendered to the king by his creature Abbot
Boreman, and the manors, goods and possessions were soon seized by the
courtiers. Much damage was done in the church; of course, the
beautiful shrines were destroyed. The Abbey church and buildings were
granted to Sir Richard Lee, who soon began to uproot and destroy. The
cloisters were levelled to the ground. Abbot Boreman did good service
in buying the site of the monastery from Sir R. Lee. Then the
townsfolk did nobly. They bought the church from the Crown, and made
it the Parish Church of St. Andrew, and moreover established a Grammar
School in the Lady Chapel. The eastern ante-chapel was walled up, and
a public passage made across the church west of the Lady Chapel. The
knives of the schoolboys improved not the ancient stone-work of this
once beautiful building. Various attempts have been made in successive
ages to keep this Abbey in repair. In 1832 and 1856 much was
accomplished, and the story of the reparation of 1870 under Sir G.
Scott tells of the triumphs of the skill of modern builders, and their
bravery and resolution in saving the fall of the great tower. This
mighty mass began to give way, and the architect discovered that some
dastard attempt had been made to destroy it, after the dissolution of
the monastery, by digging a great hole under one of the piers. The
greatest credit is due to all concerned in the hazardous and most
difficult task of saving the falling tower. The Grammar School was
removed from the Lady Chapel, and much done to restore the building to
its ancient beauty. In 1871 it was raised to the dignity of a
Cathedral; and surely no church more worthily deserved this honour. In
quite recent times injudicious "restoration" has wrought terrible
mischief. The west front has been entirely modernised, and much else
has been "restored" beyond all knowledge of English Gothic art; but,
in spite of all this, St. Albans remains one of the most interesting
buildings in the kingdom, and one can only regret that time has dealt
so hardly with this venerable pile.
[Illustration S^t Albans from the N W]
THE EXTERIOR
As we approach the Cathedral from the south we get a fine view and
notice the great length of the building, its great central tower, and
large amount of Roman tiles used in the construction. These tiles are
1-1/2 inches thick and measure 16 inches by 12. In addition much flint
is used. The piers, arches, towers and staircases are mainly composed
of tiles. Originally the building was covered with cement, which has
almost entirely disappeared. Its plan is that of a Latin Cross, and
originally there were no less than seven parallel apses, all of which
have disappeared. The grand _Tower_ is Norman. Formerly there were
turrets at the four angles, and in the thirteenth century an octagonal
lantern was added; but these have disappeared, and the tower is very
much the same as it was in Norman times. The embattled parapet is
recent. The _West Front_ creates sad reflections, and words are
powerless to convey a sufficiently strong protest against the evils
which have been wrought by the injudicious though well-meaning efforts
of modern restorers. The original Norman west front was removed by
Abbot John de Cella (1195-1214), who began to erect a new one. It was
a magnificent intention, but it was too ambitious for the resources of
the monastery, and the levies of Richard I. for his crusading
exploits, and the confiscations of John, were too much for the abbot,
and put a stop to his enterprise. He intended to build two western
towers, but got no further than the foundations. The front would have
been 160 feet in width, 40 feet wider than Salisbury. Abbot William de
Trumpington proceeded to finish the work, and rebuilt five bays on the
south side of the nave and four on the north. John de Cella's three
deep porches are left to us in some small fragments; the rest is
modern, and owes its erection to Lord Grimthorpe. The _Nave_ shows
three periods of architecture. The eastern portion is the work of Paul
de Caen (1077-1097). On the south side the three easternmost bays are
Norman and were constructed by him. The next five bays are Decorated.
These were begun by Abbot Hugh de Eversden (1308-1326), in whose time
during Divine service two great piers on the south fell, and all the
roof and beams of the south part were ruined. The rebuilding was
finished by Abbot Michael de Mentmore (1335-1349). The four remaining
bays are the Early English work of William de Trumpington (1214-1235).
In Perpendicular times the roof of the aisle was lowered and made
flat, disclosing the triforium openings, but in the recent restoration
the original pitch has been renewed. On this side stood the cloister
court, and against the south wall of the church are seen the remains
of the arches of the north cloister walk. Part of the east walk
cloister left its marks on the west wall of the south transept, but
recent restoration has obliterated them. The south transept is Norman,
the work of Paul de Caen, except the south wall, which has been
entirely rebuilt by Lord Grimthorpe. The tall lancets are an imitation
of "the Five Sisters" of York Minster. Turrets crowned with small caps
stand at each angle of the transept. Below the window are the remains
of the slype, or passage from the cloister to the monks'
burial-ground. The south wall is all that remains of the
chapter-house. On the east side of the transept were formerly two
apsidal chapels, but all traces of these have been removed. They were
destroyed in the time of Edward II. to make room for a sacristy. On
the south of the south chancel aisle is a fine Norman arch leading to
these apsidal chapels. When they were removed the arch was contracted
by the insertion of a pointed arch. A vestry was constructed here in
1846.
This eastern part of the church beyond the third bay from the tower
was built in the latter half of the thirteenth century under the rule
of Abbot John de Hertford, and completed by Abbot Roger Norton
(1260-1290). The Lady Chapel was mainly built under the rule of Abbot
Hugh de Eversden (1308-1326), one Reginald of St. Albans being the
master-mason. It is in the Decorated style, and was begun as early as
1280. Abbot Wheathampstead (1420-1464) embellished it with much
decoration in the Perpendicular style. It was with the ambulatory long
separated from the church by a wall, and used as a Grammar School. A
public path passed through the building here. The north side of the
chapel and presbytery resembles the south. The north door is much
later. The most western part of the wall is Norman. The north transept
is entirely Norman, the work of Abbot Paul. On the east side were two
apsidal chapels, removed in the fifteenth century. The upper part of
the north front was rebuilt by Lord Grimthorpe. The north side of the
nave preserves its Norman character, both in the clerestory and aisle,
except at the west end, where it has been reconstructed in the Early
English style.
On the west of the Abbey is the _Great Gateway_, which is an unusually
important building. The greater part of the present structure was
built by Abbot Thomas de la Mare (1349-1396), but there seems to be
some thirteenth century incorporated with it. Here the abbot held his
court, and dealt out justice to the townsfolk and received his rents,
and transacted other business; and here there were prisons for
rebellious clerks and others. The gateway was stormed by Wat Tyler's
rebels in 1381, who broke into the Abbey and terribly frightened the
abbot and his monks. But vengeance was in store for the rioters,
several of whom were imprisoned here and afterward hanged. After the
dissolution it was used as the Assize Court, and subsequently as a
prison. Then the Grammar School, evicted from the Lady Chapel, found a
home here. All the other monastic buildings have been destroyed.
THE INTERIOR