THE EXTERIOR
Of the building as originally constructed, practically the whole, as far
as the outline is concerned, may be said to remain as it was at the
beginning of the twelfth century. The massive Norman nave, the slype or
covered passage that is between the Deanery and the north-west wall of
the cathedral, the two transepts with their turrets, the choir with its
various chapels and aisles, the chapter-house, and the Abbot's cloister,
are all parts of the original building, although later additions have
partly concealed them.
In Mr Waller's "Notes and Sketches of Gloucester Cathedral"[1] a very
interesting view is given of the cathedral stripped of every addition of
a later date than the original structure, and by his permission it is
here reproduced.
With reference to this sketch Mr Waller says:
"This sketch is given to shew what is left of the old Abbey Church
of the twelfth century, and looking to the fact that it was not too
reliable a structure to begin with, as regards foundation and
settlements (not forgetting the "earthquake"), it certainly is
wonderful what extraordinary liberties have been taken with the old
fabric, and what really great risks have been incurred. Look at and
consider this sketch with reference to the building as it now
stands, and excepting in the aisles of the Choir, the north aisle
of the Nave, and part of the Chapter-Room, where the original
vaulting remains, it will be seen that it is a _mere shell_, the
walls have been pulled about in the most reckless manner, and in
all directions, and in the Choir they have actually been pared down
and an outer casing has been entirely removed--large pieces have
been cut out of the piers for the introduction of monuments
(mediaeval, not modern!), window heads have been removed to make way
for the more recent works, and nearly the whole of the Cathedral
has been covered with a sort of applique work of mullions and
tracery, erected chiefly in the fourteenth century (see sketch on
plate 4). The large central Tower (forty feet square on the leads)
has been built on the old Norman walls; new walls, new vaulting,
and new roofs have been erected on old foundations; and, strange to
say, scarcely a settlement of any kind can be seen in any of the
building operations which have been undertaken since 1200! It is
not too much to say that a man of the present day who would even
suggest such works as have been here successfully accomplished,
would be most severely condemned; but in those days the Abbots had
only themselves to please, there were no well-educated reporters
and writers to discuss their doings in morning papers: they felt,
therefore, quite at their ease, hoping for the best, and in this
instance succeeding admirably, not only as regards their own wishes
and intentions, but in leaving for posterity a splendid
architectural history in stone."
"The plan of the building is cruciform, and consists of a Nave and
Choir, with Aisles on the north and south sides of each; North and
South Transepts, at the intersection of which with the Choir rises
the Tower; and at intervals round the Choir Aisles are four small
apsidal Chapels. At the east end is the Lady-Chapel, prior to the
erection of which, a fifth Chapel, similar in form and dimensions
to the other four, existed at the east end; as may be seen in the
plan of the Crypt."
[Illustration: NORMAN REMAINS
Remove from the Building all that has been erected since
A.D. 1200, and this sketch will be found to fairly
represent that which is left of the Church of the 11th
and 12th centuries.
From a Drawing by F. S. Waller, F.R.I.B.A.]
The whole building, according to Professor Willis, is full of peculiar
fancies, which all appear to be characteristic of a school of masons who
were extremely skilful, and glad of an opportunity of showing their
skill. The mediaeval masons, he thinks, were "perfectly practical and
most ingenious men; they worked experimentally: if their buildings were
strong enough, there they stood; if they were too strong, they also
stood; but if they were too weak they gave way, and they put props and
built the next stronger." That was their science--and very good
practical science it was--but in many cases they imperilled their work,
and gave trouble to future restorers.
The arrangement of the buildings differs in one very essential point
from almost every other in the kingdom. The cloisters and the claustral
buildings were, as a rule, on the south side of the church, for the sake
of shelter, and also of sunshine. At Gloucester they are on the north
side of the church, the reason being (according to Mr Fosbroke) that
when Aldred laid the new foundations farther south, the cloisters found
themselves on the north side.
Dallaway has said very truly that "Few churches in England exhibit so
complete a school of Gothic in all its gradations from the time of the
Conquest as the Cathedral of Gloucester." This is true with the
exception that of "Decorated" architecture there are but few examples,
and it is probable that very little new work was done in connection with
this cathedral until the monastery became vastly enriched by Abbot
Thokey's policy in causing the body of Edward II. to be brought from
Berkeley Castle for interment in his abbey. It is said that the amount
of offerings made at the tomb during the reign of Edward III. was enough
to have entirely rebuilt the abbey. In consequence of this the Cathedral
is full of some of the finest examples of the styles known as
"Transition from Decorated to Perpendicular" (anticipative
Perpendicular) and pure "Perpendicular"--a style which, in Professor
Willis's opinion, originated at Gloucester. From every side there is
something to interest the careful observer.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.]
As a rule, visitors see it first from the south side, and the south-west
general view is one of the best, equalled, but not surpassed, by that
from the north-west. The north view from the Great Western Railway, with
the school playing-fields in the foreground, makes a striking picture,
but it is more sombre than the picture formed by the south front. Viewed
from the north-west corner of the cloister-garth, the pile is seen
perhaps at its best. From this point it is easy to study so much of the
varied architecture of the whole, and with little effort to transport
the mind back for a space of four hundred years. The eye first rests
upon the turf of the garth, now tastefully laid out after many years of
comparative neglect. Flanking the garth on every side are the exquisite
windows of the Cloister--a cloister which no other can surpass. Above
the Cloister will be seen on the eastern side the sober, impressive
Norman work of the Chapter-House in which so much of our English history
has been made. To the south of this is the Library, built close against
the walls of the north transept, which tower above, and lead the eye
upward to the great tower which, "in the middest of the church," crowns
the whole.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, FROM THE NORTH-WEST CORNER OF THE
CLOISTERS.]
Looking for a moment at the Norman windows in the north aisle, one sees
how they have been altered in their details since they were built,
though their bold outline remains the same. The windows in the
clerestory tell the tale of a later time, probably that of Abbot
Morwent.
The #West Front.#--Compared with many others of our cathedral fronts,
this front may seem to be of less interest, but it has the great beauty
of simplicity, which prevents it, when viewed in the foreground, from
killing the rest of the picture. The buttresses of the great window are
ingeniously pierced, so as not to cut off the light; and the parapets,
also of pierced or open work, should be carefully noted.
Plain transoms cross the lights, whereas in the inside the tracery and
cusping is elaborate. This will be noted also in the east window of the
choir and elsewhere.
Of the western towers which formerly existed no traces now remain. The
north-west tower, owing to badly-made foundations, collapsed in the
latter half of the twelfth century between 1163-1179.
A south-west tower was begun in 1242 by Walter de St. John, Prior at the
time, and subsequently Abbot for a few weeks, and it was finished by his
successor, John de la Feld.
When Abbot Morwent altered the west end and front, the western towers
disappeared altogether. This front was restored carefully, where
necessary, in 1874.
The #South Porch.#--This portion of the building is the work of Morwent,
who was Abbot from 1421-1437. The rich front of what Bonner called
"Saracenic work," was formerly disfigured by an uninteresting dial with
the motto _Pereunt et imputantur_. This was removed at the Restoration,
when the canopies were restored, and niches filled with statues by
Redfern. Over the doorway in the centre, stand St. Peter and St. Paul,
and the four Evangelists. Below are King Osric and Abbot Serlo, the two
founders of the Abbey Church. The four figures in the niches of the
buttresses represent St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St.
Gregory. The windows of the porch have been formed by piercing the
internal tracery. This has a very curious effect when viewed from the
inside. From the outside the windows do not seem unusual.
[Illustration: The Tower from the Palace-yards Drawn by E. J. Burrow.]
#The Porch# was in such a very ruinous state, that it was scarcely
possible to use any of the old stone on the outside. Within, the old
work can be seen, and the bosses are worthy of attention. Over the porch
is an unfinished parvise. The doors are very good specimens of
fifteenth-century work.
The #South Transept# (or St. Andrew's Aisle), as far as the walls are
concerned, is thought by some to have been built by Serlo, but there
have been so many alterations in the exterior that it is difficult to
say anything with certainty. Fosbroke, writing at the end of last
century, noted that there was an inscription on the outside wall making
mention of one William Pipard, who was sheriff of the county about sixty
years after Serlo's time. The windows have been enlarged and much
altered, and later tracery has been inserted.
In spite of the many alterations and some restoration, the south front
of this transept contains much interesting Norman work, which has been
re-used in a very clever way. The square flanking towers, with their
later spires, the arcading over the head of the window, and the graceful
curve in the battlement are all worthy of attention, and will serve to
confuse visitors before they realise that the Norman architecture is
concealed under a later casing, and that there is a great deal of old
work re-used in the new.
There is a curious buttress, too, which goes across the west window of
this transept to strengthen the south-west corner of the great tower. In
fact, the south side of the church is the only side that, as builders
say, has "settled" at all.
In 1867 a Roman tesselated pavement was discovered near the south front
of this transept.
#The Tower.#--Of all the exterior beauties, the most striking is the
beautiful and graceful tower. Placed where it is, almost in the centre
of the long line of the nave, continued in the choir and Lady Chapel, at
the point where the transept line intersects it, it is the chief feature
of the massive pile. All else seems to be grouped with a view to the
enhancing of the effect of the central position of the tower. The other
members of the building seem merely to be steps, by means of which
approach can be made to it. It is the grandest and most impressive
feature of the outside. No matter from whence one looks at it, the charm
is there. Seen from the gardens in the side streets close by when the
pear-trees are in bloom, or in the full blaze of a hot summer day, or
again later in the autumn when the leaves are beginning to turn, or,
better still, in snow time, it is always full of beauty. On a bright hot
day the pinnacles seem so far off in the haze as to suggest a dream of
fairyland. On a wet day, after a shower, the tower has the appearance of
being so close at hand that it almost seems to speak. Viewed by
moonlight, the tower has an unearthly look, which cannot well be
described. The tower is 225 feet high to the top of the pinnacles, and
the effect of it is extremely fine. From the main cornice upwards, the
whole of the stonework is open, and composed of what at a distance
appears to be delicate tracery, and mullions, and crocketed pinnacles.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL IN 1727. From an old Print.]
It is, in all probability, the third tower that has been built since
Aldred's time. There are piers still remaining of the Norman tower
erected by Serlo in the years that elapsed between 1089 and 1100; and,
as we are told in the "Saxon Chronicle," that in 1122 a fire which
originated in the upper part of the steeple burnt the whole monastery,
it must be inferred that the superstructure was of wood. A hundred years
later it is known that the great eastern tower was built with the help
of Helias of Hereford. This tower was in great part taken down by the
monk Tully, and rebuilt in the Perpendicular style in the time of Abbot
Seabroke (1450-1457).
The #Bells# at Gloucester are peculiarly interesting from the fact of
their age, and from the fact that they escaped the clutches of the
despoilers at the time of the Dissolution. The truth of the matter seems
to be that all the "Churche goods, money, juells, plate, vestments,
ornaments, and bells" had been inventoried and handed over to the king's
commissioners in Bishop Hooper's time. The commissioners returned to the
Dean and Chapter "to and for the use and behouf of the seid Churche, one
chalys being silver and whole gilte without a paten waying xi oz. and
also one grete bell whereuppon the cloke strykithe, and eight other
grete bells whereupon the chyme goethe hangynge in the towre there
within the seid church save and surely to be kept untill the King's
Majesty's pleasure shall be therein further knowen." This was dated May
27th, 1553, and as the king died within three months his pleasure in the
matter was never "further knowen," and Gloucester rejoices still in its
bells.
The chimes[2] play four tunes, which are changed every other day. The
first tune was composed by Dr Jefferies in 1791; the second by Dr Hayes,
who died 1777; the third by Dr Malchair, 1760-1770; and the fourth by Dr
Stevens. The composers of the second and fourth tunes were both natives
of Gloucester, and at one time choristers in the cathedral.
[Illustration: THE SOUTH PORCH (SINCE THE RESTORATION).]
"The shape of the east end of the old Church, as will be seen by a
reference to the ground plan and plan of the Crypt, is partly round and
partly polygonal; round as regards the outer wall of the main building
and the inside and outside of the small Chapels in the Crypt, but
polygonal in the interior walls of the main building in the Crypt;
whereas on the ground-floor the main building and the Chapels are all
polygonal.[3] An examination of the remains of the Eastern Arches, as
seen above the last Norman piers eastward of the Choir, shows the
direction of the lines distinctly, following as they do the lines of the
Crypt below, but with less heavy construction. The whole of the edifice,
with the exception of the Lady Chapel and the Cloisters, remains, as
regards general outline, as it stood in the early part of the twelfth
century. (See illustration, p. 15.) The Nave with its large circular
columns, the slype adjoining the Deanery (probably indicating the extent
westwards of the Norman Towers prior to the erection of the present west
end), the North and South Transepts, with their Turrets at the west and
east angles, the Choir and its Aisles and Chapels, the Chapter-House and
Abbot's Cloister, although more or less masked by later additions, are
all parts of the original building."
The method of joining the Lady Chapel to the choir is best noticed from
the outside. It is a piece of exceedingly clever and graceful
construction, and there is the minimum of obstruction to the light
passing through to the east window, and the maximum of support to the
elliptical east window.
Another interesting feature in this part of the exterior is the
construction of the two passages--chiefly of re-used Norman work--which
make up the greater part of the so-called Whispering Gallery--_i.e._ the
passage connecting the north and the south triforium of the choir.
One of the distinguishing features of the exterior of the building is
the variety and arrangement of the battlements and pinnacles. Bishop
Benson did his best to spoil the effect of those on the Lady Chapel by
removing the upper part of the parapet and by substituting other
pinnacles. These have been restored, but the east-end pinnacles do not
seem quite in keeping with Gloucester. Viewing the Lady Chapel from the
north side, the play of light through the windows on the south side has
a very grand effect. Under the east end of the Lady Chapel is a passage
which has given rise to much speculation in bygone times.
The #Lady Chapel# at the time of its erection was carried out to the
farthest limit of the land possessed by the Abbey, shown on the plan at
F.F. As the east wall of the chapel was actually on the western boundary
wall the passage was made to give access from the north to the south of
the grounds, without the need of going right round the precincts by the
west front.
Modern improvements have increased the facilities for studying and
admiring the building. In 1847-8 the garden was laid out, and from it
the outside can easily be carefully examined.
[Illustration: PISCINA IN THE TRIFORIUM.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This is now out of print.
[2] They have lately been undergoing repair, and will soon be in
working order again.
[3] James Fergusson, writing to Mr. Waller on the above subject,
says: "It is curious that polygonal forms should be used in this
country in the eleventh century, whilst at Caen and on the Continent
generally circular forms prevailed well into the twelfth century."