(_Concluded from page 219._)
_Interior of the Church._
Dr. Milner considers the entire fabric as the work of Bishop de Blois,
with the exception of the front and upper story of the west end, which
are of a later date, and seem to have been altered to their present
form about the time of Wykeham. The vaulting of this part was
evidently made by the second founder, Beaufort, whose arms, together
with those of Wykeham, and of the Hospital, are seen in the centre
orbs of it: that at the east end, by the Saxon ornaments with which it
is charged, bespeaks the workmanship of the first founder, De Blois.
"The building before us," Dr. Milner further observes, "seems to be a
collection of architectural essays, with respect to the disposition
and form, both of the essential parts and of the subordinate
ornaments. Here we find the ponderous Saxon pillar, of the same
dimensions in its circumference as in its length, which, however
supports an incipient pointed arch. The windows and arches are some of
them short, with semicircular heads; and some of them immoderately
long, and terminating like a lance; others are of the horse-shoe form,
of which the entry into the north porch is the most curious
specimen:[3] in one place, (on the east side of the south transept,)
we have a curious triangular arch. The capitals and bases of the
columns vary alternately in their form, as well as in their ornaments:
the same circumstance is observable in the ribs of the arches,
especially in the north and south aisles, some of them being plain,
others profusely embellished, and in different styles, even within the
same arch. Here we view almost every kind of Saxon and Norman
ornaments, the chevron, the billet, the hatched, the pillet, the fret,
the indented, the nebulé, and the wavey, all superbly executed."[4]
[3] The writer of the paper in _The Crypt_, already referred
to, observes that the above arch is not what he
understands by _horse-shoe_: "it is, in fact, one of those
short, wide doorways, used both early and late, the
proportions of which we know not how to describe better
than as the earliest pointed arch curtailed of about
one-half its usual height betwixt the base and capital.
The entrance to St. John's House, Winton, is a good
example."
[4] Milner's Winchester, vol. ii. p. 149.
The lower part of the Nave, as we have already seen, is the most
ancient, and allowed to be the work of De Blois. A portion is included
within the choir by throwing back a high wooden screen, within which
reclines the full-length figure, in brass, of John de Campden, the
friend of Wykeham, who appointed him master of the Hospital. "The
arches which separate the nave from its aisles are pointed; but the
columns are of enormous compass, their circumference being equal to
their height; the capitals are varied, the bases square, and three out
of the four decorated at the angles with huge bosses of flowers. The
roof is simple, with the arms of Beaufort, Wykeham, and others, at the
intersections of the ribs, which spring from corbel heads." The great
western window consists of four parts; on each side are two lights
terminating in a distinct arch; in the centre, one light of larger
dimensions; and over these, a Catherine wheel composed of three
triangles. The whole is filled with painted glass, a small portion of
which is ancient; the remainder was presented in 1788, by Dr. Lockman,
the late master. Dr. Milner terms it curious: but the critic of _The
Crypt_ refers to it as "an exemplification of how much trash and
vulgarity in the art can be crowded into a certain compass."[5]
Beneath this window stands a double doorway, surmounted by a small
quatrefoil window of like colours, enclosed within a pointed arch. The
exterior view of this portal is very fine, and Messrs. Brayley and
Britton place it next to the east end, (which is hardly of later date
than 1135,) in gradation of style, and refer to it as "an elegant
specimen of the time of King John, or the early part of the reign of
Henry the Third."[6] Dr. Milner describes this portal as "one of the
first specimens of a canopy over a pointed arch, which afterwards
became so important a member in this style of architecture:" he also
refers to the window above it as "one of the earliest specimens of a
great west window, before transoms, and ramified mullions, were
introduced; and therefore the western end of the church must have been
altered to receive this and the door beneath it, about the beginning
of the thirteenth century, the eastern extremity of the church being
left, as it still continues, in its original state. There is a plain
canopy, without any appearance of a pediment over the arch of this
window, like that over the portal."[7]
[5] We should imagine _The Crypt_ Correspondent to be no
enthusiastic admirer of ancient painted glass, unless of
the first order of execution. It must be confessed that
some ancient specimens have been immoderately over-rated,
and the olden art has altogether been enveloped in such
mystery as to cause _modern_ attempts to be unfairly
estimated.
[6] Beauties of England, vol. vi. p. 111.
[7] Essays on Gothic Architecture, 1802, p. 144, 148.
"In the North Aisle, a little to the left as you enter from the porch,
stands a very ancient granite font, perhaps of Saxon workmanship; the
basin is round, but the exterior form is square, and, although mounted
on mean stone, still maintains its station upon a raised space of
Saxon brick; a circumstance worthy of remark, as the original
situation of the font has of late occasioned some little controversy.
It is also curious, that the walls on the south side should be far
less massive than those on the north, though both unquestionably of
the same aera. The windows in each aisle are, for the most part,
circular, and each is decorated occasionally with Norman capitals and
groinings."[8] The aisles, on each side, are much lower than the body
of the nave, and in the north aisle is a cinquefoil arch, with Gothic
canopy and crockets, resting on short columns of Purbeck stone, over
an elegant altar tomb. A modern inscription assigns it to "Petrus de
Sancta Maria, 1295."
[8] _The Crypt_, No. vii. p. 168.
The transepts display a variety of arches and windows, of irregular
arrangement, both round and pointed. Some of those in the south seem
to have opened into chancels or recesses, and some probably were mere
cupboards: but in the north wall of the opposite transept are two
arches communicating with the _sick chambers_ of the Hospital, by
opening which "the patients, as they lay in their beds, might attend
to the divine services going forward." Both these transepts are
profusely enriched with embattled and other mouldings. One window on
the east side of each has been so contrived as to throw the light in a
sloping direction into the body of the church, instead of reflecting
it directly, and to less purpose, on the opposite wall; that in the
north retains a portion of its painted glass, but the corresponding
one in the south has been blocked up.
We have already spoken of the aisles attached to the sides of the
choir, and their beautiful embellishments. Each is decorated with
three circular-headed windows, and exhibits a few traces of its
ancient altars. That towards the north contains a very curious
piscina, fixed upon a pillar, and with small holes pierced round a
raised centre, precisely resembling a modern sink. There are likewise
the remains of several pedestals, on which images may be supposed to
have once stood.
"The choir extends, according to modern arrangement, beyond the tower
into the nave itself. The tower rises very nobly upon four slender
columns, terminating in pointed arches but with Norman capitals. The
lantern is lighted by four lancet windows on each side, the two centre
ones not being open. The oaken roof is plain, and supported by very
large beam-heads. Eastward from this point, the vaultings of the roof
are square, with broad, simple groinings. Beneath, are two ranges of
windows, running quite round the chancel, and decorated with an
amazing variety of mouldings. Those below form the grand
characteristic of this venerable pile, being likewise _circular; but
so intersecting one another as to form perfect and beautiful pointed
arches_." This then is the hypothesis of Dr. Milner towards the
settlement of the controverted origin of the _pointed_ or _English_
style of architecture. It is, probably, the most reasonable of all
solutions. Sir Christopher Wren's account of a Saracenic origin was
vague and unsupported; and Warburton's deduction from groves and
interlacing boughs, though ingeniously illustrated by the late Sir
James Hall, has more prettiness than probability. Dr. Milner's
"intersecting hypothesis," as it is technically termed, is brief and
simple: "De Blois," he says, "having resolved to ornament the whole
sanctuary of his church with intersecting semicircles, conceived the
idea of opening them, by way of windows, which at once produced a
series of highly-pointed arches." Hence arose the seeming paradox,
that "the intersection of two circular arches in the church of St.
Cross, produced Salisbury steeple." Conclusive as this hypothesis may
appear, it has been much controverted, and among its opponents have
been men of great practical knowledge in architecture. Messrs. Brayley
and Britton observe "though the specimens referred to by Dr. Milner
may not entirely warrant the above supposition, yet they clearly mark
the gradation by which the Saxon and Norman styles of architecture
were abandoned, for the more enriched and beautiful order that has
conferred so much celebrity on the ecclesiastical architects of this
country."[9] The clever writer in _The Crypt_ remarks "the history of
the science appears so easy and natural according to Dr. Milner's
hypothesis, and so many difficulties must be softened down, so many
discordances reconciled, according to any other, as to go a very great
way towards establishing the credibility of his idea. Here then is a
complete history of an invention, for which every quarter of the globe
has been ransacked. And, be it remembered, that the pointed arch did
not first display itself in those magnificent proportions, which would
have accompanied it from the beginning, if brought over from foreign
climes in its full perfection; but exactly in that want of proportion,
which was the natural result of the intersection."[10]
[9] Beauties of England, vol. vi. p 110.
[10] The specimens at St. Cross were considered by Dr. Milner
to be the earliest instances of the experiment, but the
Abbey of Clugny, and several other edifices have disputed
its claim to priority.--_The Crypt_, No. 8.
To return to the choir. On each side of the altar is curious and
elegant Gothic spire-work; and traces may be seen of ancient stone
work, all that now remains of the high altar. The wooden altar-screen
is described as "execrable enough"; but sixteen stalls in the choir,
which are referred to the time of Henry VII., are ingeniously
ornamented with "carved figures of illustrious scripture
personages."[11]
[11] These have been engraved by Mr. Carter, for his Specimens
of Ancient Sculpture, together with the Brass in memory
of John de Campden, &c.
The pavement throughout the church is still chiefly composed of glazed
tiles, "called and supposed to be Roman; though upon some of them we
clearly see the hatched and other Saxon ornaments," and upon others
the monosyllables HAVE MYNDE (_Remember_) in the black letter
characters used in the fifteenth century. There are passages running
round each story, and communicating with the tower; but, "with all its
magnificence, the general aspect of the interior is sadly disfigured
by a thick coating of yellow ochre." (_The Crypt._)
Such is the venerable pile of St. Cross, surrounded by some of the
finest scenery in the county. Our Correspondent _P.Q._ earnestly
observes "it was in and near this hospital that he was educated; in
its noble church he was a chorister, and his feelings of veneration
for the whole establishment, dedicated to the highest of Christian
virtues, will never be effaced." Would that every heart beamed with so
amiable a sense of gratitude. Reverting to the ancient purposes of the
foundation it is to be feared they are not realized with the poet's
prediction: that
Lasting charity's more ample sway,
Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay,
In happy triumph shall for ever live.--PRIOR.
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