which it was built. It is somewhat obtuse in form, and is surmounted by
an ogee pediment or outer moulding. On each side are four narrow shafts
with carved capitals, an unusual enrichment in this period. Between
those shafts are rosettes and rows of foliage. The bases, both of the
shafts, the pedestals, and the buttresses, are very long, as is usual in
late Perpendicular work. The arch itself has four divisions of
ornamented mouldings, with plain mouldings between them. The ogee
moulding is richly decorated with foliage, and terminates in a lofty
finial reaching to the top of the screen. Below this finial is an empty
niche with a kind of ball-flower ornament at the base. On each side of
this niche is an angel with a censer, with rich foliage below. The
interior of the screen under the central arch is vaulted with carved
bosses. The niches are divided from each other by buttresses decorated
at intervals with pinnacles. The pedestals are long, and richly
ornamented with tabernacle work. The greater part of the ornament of the
screen is massed in the canopies. These canopies are made up of three
inner arches, cusped, immediately above the heads of the kings, and five
outer arches, cusped and gabled, round them. Round these outer arches is
a mass of pinnacles, with three larger, richly-ornamented pinnacles, and
two smaller, above them. Above these are three small figures, apparently
playing on musical instruments, with other figures of the same size, one
on each side of the buttresses. These figures, in their turn, have above
them canopies of much the same character as those below. Above these
canopies is a row of panelling with the plaster angels of Bernasconi
above it, at the beginning of the cornice. The rest of the cornice is
made up of a row of sculptured ornament and a row of cusped arches
terminating in the "Tudor flower" ornament, alternating with rows of
plain moulding.
[Illustration: The Choir Screen.]
The chief fault of this screen is its heaviness, which the mass of
ornament is not bold enough in its parts to lighten. The central
entrance is not cleverly managed, and seems cut out of the screen, as if
to make a way into the choir at all costs. This screen should be
compared to the beautiful rood screen at Exeter, with its three bold
arches and its simple yet delicate decoration. After the fire in 1829 it
was proposed to remove it, and one is almost tempted to regret that it
was not removed. The nave at York would be enormously improved by a
closer connection with the choir. Under any circumstances the nave must
be somewhat cold and ineffective; it would be far less so if the eye
could pass with scarcely a break into the sumptuous choir. The naves of
English cathedrals are too apt to look like splendid museums rather than
places of worship, and this is peculiarly the case with the nave at
York. Doctor Milner has stated, though apparently without authority,
that this screen was taken from the Abbey Church of St. Mary, close to
the cathedral. It is difficult to understand how it could have fitted so
much narrower a building.
[Illustration: The Choir, looking East.]
[Illustration: Bay of Choir--Interior.]
The choir itself, with the retro-choir or Lady Chapel, is divided into
nine bays. It is considerably the largest and loftiest in England, being
over 100 feet high and 99 wide. The altar is three bays from the east
end, and one bay west of the altar are the eastern transepts. The choir
was begun at the east end in 1361, and finished in 1405. There are
differences between the earlier work east and the later work west of the
transepts, which will be pointed out, though the plan of both is the
same.
The plan, allowing for differences in detail caused by the change of
style, is very like that of the nave. It is, therefore, an interesting
example of a Perpendicular building carried out on the lines of an
earlier Decorated design. When the east end of the choir was begun
(1361) the Gothic style was fast reaching its fullest development in
England. The nave of Winchester, a contemporary building, is the finest
example of that development. There, as has been pointed out, the
vertical division made by the vaulting shafts and the mouldings on each
side of them becomes the most important feature in the design. The
window tracery is planned merely as a frame for glass, and not as a
design interesting in itself. Decoration supplied in earlier work by
carved foliage, deep and various mouldings, and elaborate tracery, gives
way to a system of lines emphasising construction as completely as
possible. The contrasts between masses of ornament and blank walls,
which play so great a part in earlier Gothic, disappear; and the only
contrast is between the orderly lines of the stone and the kaleidoscopic
decoration of the windows. Architecture loses much of its fancy and its
delicacy, but becomes more logical, more reasonable, and more organic.
In the choir of the minster this change is only half carried out. There
is a much greater emphasis of line than in the nave, and there is less
delicacy of detail; but the vaulting shafts are no more important, and
the window tracery still plays a considerable part in the design. Hence
the choir lacks that air of decision, that extreme lucidity, to be found
in the design of the nave at Winchester. If it were not for the choir
furniture, the stalls, the throne and pulpit, and the altar, this want
of decision in the design would be much more evident than it is. But the
builders of this choir are not therefore to be blamed. They designed it
as a choir, counting, no doubt, on the effect of the furniture, and as a
choir it must be judged. It might have been expected, perhaps, that a
building designed on the lines of the nave, but without the beauty of
detail of an earlier age, would show all the faults of that nave and few
of its beauties. But this is not the case. The architects were certainly
most skilful; they had the immense advantage of seeing the design of the
nave actually carried out, they understood its faults, and by a few
dexterous alterations they produced a "fair copy" of it, avoiding most
of those faults, and keeping all its structural merits.
As in the nave, the triforium is merely the continuation of the
clerestory, the proportions, of the western bays at least, are almost
the same as those of the nave, and the whole is covered again with a
wooden vault, plastered and ribbed to look like stone; and yet that air
of leanness, flatness, and emptiness, the chief fault of the nave, is
almost entirely avoided.
A comparison of the differences in the two designs, and a demonstration
of the small means by which the success of the later one is produced,
must be both interesting and instructive, but, to be fully carried out,
it would require more space than can be given in this book. We must
confine ourselves, therefore, to pointing out some of the more obvious
changes.
The most curious and important, perhaps, is to be found in the treatment
of the triforium. In the earlier bays east of the eastern transept this
treatment is the same in essentials as on the nave. That is to say, the
triforium is on the same plane as the clerestory, and the triforium
passage runs outside the building. But when the choir proper was begun,
after an interval of some years, the architects, seeing, no doubt, that
the older design was flat and somewhat wanting in relief, were seized by
a happy idea. They set the clerestory windows some inches back, so that
they were no longer level with the interior wall and with the triforium,
and placed the triforium passage in its customary place. The difference
in the design may be easily observed both inside and outside the
building.
By this simple change, a greater relief and depth, a greater contrast of
light and shade, was given to the whole design; and this without
breaking its continuity or harmony in any degree.
The following differences in plan and detail between nave and choir may
also be remarked:--
Besides the transom dividing clerestory from triforium to be found in
the nave, there is a second transom in the choir crossing the openings
of the triforium. This gives a greater fulness and complexity to the
design.
In the eastern bays, below the openings of the triforium, the bases of
the mullions are elongated to about two feet in length, and between them
are cusped arches. These arches and the mullions themselves are set on a
slanting ridge, like the mullions of the triforium in the transepts.
The vaulting shafts also do not terminate altogether at the point at
which the ribs of the vault converge, but the outer ones rise some ten
feet higher than the central one, until they are cut short by the
spreading ribs of the vault. This is a difference characteristic of the
Perpendicular style, which tends to an interweaving of lines, and an
abolition of capitals, where possible.
The mouldings of the main arches also are broader than on the nave, and
the clusters of the piers bolder.
It must also be remembered that, as the floor of the choir rises
gradually to the east, the proportions of the eastward bays are
materially altered, and the main arches are smaller relatively to the
clerestory than in the nave. There is no doubt that this change is a
fortunate one. It is also lucky that it occurs in that part of the
building which otherwise differs least from the design of the nave.
Finally, it must be remembered, in accounting for the greater
effectiveness of the later work, that a choir design is made for
different conditions, and has different objects in view, from that of a
nave.
It has often been remarked that the nave of York, examined bay by bay,
is logical and satisfactory enough. It is only when it is regarded as a
whole, and judged as an avenue of stone, that its faults are evident.
But the choir is not to be judged as an avenue of stone at all.
It is cut in half by the altar. Its lower storey is concealed by the
stalls, and its continuity broken by the eastern transepts.
In the nave, the lowest storey is the weakest. The thin pillars and the
broad arches make too little division between the nave and the aisle.
The whole is seen at a glance, and there is little of the mystery and
shadow generally to be found in a large Gothic interior. Also the actual
design of the pillars is poor. They do not fit well on to the arches
above them. They seem almost insecure.
If these faults exist in the choir, they are concealed by the stalls,
and east of the altar by the change in proportions. The choir itself is
like an enormous college chapel. The aisles exist, but play no part in
the design, which still culminates in the splendid blaze of glass from
the eastern transepts and the great east window, and once culminated on
the still more splendid blaze of the altar.
[Illustration: The Choir, looking West.]
The retro-choir, far too short and wide to be judged as an avenue of
stone, is still more dependent for its effect on its glass. As most of
that glass luckily remains, it is a miracle of airy splendour; one may
see from it what were the objects, and how great the success of the
much-maligned Perpendicular architects at their best.
It is still the custom to regard Perpendicular architects as altogether
inferior to their predecessors; an opinion partly arising, no doubt,
from Mr Ruskin's eloquent exposition of the principle that beauty of
detail is the most vital and important part of architecture; and partly
from the general idea that older work is always better than later. But
Perpendicular artists were not altogether retrogressive. In some
respects they adapted their design more completely to their material
than the older men. Their woodwork, for instance, completely shook off
the forms of stone. Their glass, in spite of all that has been said, is
better decoration of a given space than the patterns of the Decorated
period. This is particularly evident in the nave and choir of the
minster, for the original glass remains on many of the windows
practically undisturbed. The earlier glass is more delicate, and purer
in colour. Its designs are often more interesting pictorially. Look at
the window simply as an isolated example of stained glass, and you will
certainly prefer the earlier work. Look at it as a patch in a whole
system of decoration, and you will be inclined to prefer the later. The
wonderful success, as decoration of fragments of ancient stained glass
pieced together almost at random, goes to prove, almost as clearly as
the pictorial errors of modern designers, that a stained glass window
should be conceived, not as a picture, hardly even as a pattern, but as
a simple arrangement of broken patches of colour. This is what the
designers of the windows in the choir have done, for they have seen that
by that means, and not by the representation of architectural forms,
they obtain the best contrast with the real architectural forms of the
building. At their best, the windows of the choir remind one of patches
of coloured sunlight on running water. It is true that these windows are
really filled with pictures, but these pictures are only an excuse and a
stimulus for the inventions in pure colour of the designer. Without them
his work might seem merely kaleidoscopic. It is his great merit that he
has never allowed his representation of actual things to interfere with
his decorative purpose.
[Illustration: Compartment of Ancient Choir Stalls.]
To sum up, then, this choir has not the delicate and spiritual beauty of
the choirs of Lincoln or Ely. That is never found even in the finest
work of Perpendicular architects; but for stateliness and magnificence
it has not a rival in England. These qualities may be best appreciated
standing midway between the two transepts and in front of the altar.
From that point glittering screens of glass and soaring shafts of stone
are to be seen on all sides; the whole effect is one of triumphant light
and space and colour, not to be surpassed by the splendours even of
Moorish or Italian architecture.
To pass to a more detailed description: the original stalls were
irretrievably ruined by the fire of 1829. An illustration of one of
these stalls from Britton is here given. They appear to have been
magnificent examples of Perpendicular woodwork, and their destruction is
an irreparable loss. There were twenty of them on each side of the choir
and twelve at the west end. The modern stalls erected in the thirties
are a simple imitation, better perhaps than original work of the period
would have been--better, certainly, than might have been expected--but
spirit-less in execution. The modern bishop's throne and pulpit are not
even tolerable. They replaced a throne and pulpit erected in 1740, and,
like the stalls, destroyed in the fire.
[Illustration: Compartment of Altar Screen.]
The fine Perpendicular altar screen was also destroyed by the fire. The
present screen is a careful and very successful reproduction of it. It
has been glazed with very good effect.
The reredos, designed by Street, with reliefs by Tinworth, is made of
terra-cotta and wood, and is not successful either in colour or pattern.
The carvings represent the first hour of the Crucifixion.
The clerestory windows are Perpendicular in style, and contain five
lights. Though the design is not beautiful in itself, like that of the
great east window, it makes an admirable frame for glass. There are
certain differences in detail between the windows of the eastern bays
and those of the western. The windows of the eastern bays are almost
transitional. Certainly their Perpendicular character is not fully
developed. Thus some of their upper compartments diverge to the left and
right, whereas the windows in the choir itself are made up of parallel
and vertical divisions. In the eastern windows, also, a transom runs
through the upper lights of the windows, which is not found at the
western. The tracery of the eastern window is even more filled with
transitional characteristics. As a pattern of tracery, it is wanting in
coherence and subordination, and these faults are painfully evident
outside. But it is so vast, and filled with such magnificent glass, that
the tracery seen from the inside seems hardly more important than the
leads of the glass, and the whole is to be judged simply as a great wall
of glass supported where necessary by stonework made as unobtrusive as
possible.
There are differences also in the eastern and western windows of the
aisles, especially in the interweaving and subordination of the lines of
the mouldings, but these differences are not so obvious as in the
clerestory.
The change in the placing of the clerestory window and of the triforium
passage has been pointed out.
Among other and minor differences the following may be remarked:--In the
eastern bays the capitals of shafts in the triforium run round the
shafts of the main arch of the window.
In the western bays the arches between the mullions of the triforium are
cinquefoiled (they are trefoiled in the eastern bays), and the bases are
much shorter.
All the mullions of the clerestory windows have capitals. The two
central mullions, as in the nave, are thicker than the rest. They rise
also to the head of the arch. The two outer lights are coupled by an
arch above them. The upper lights are broken up into a number of
divisions, vertical and parallel in the choir proper, slightly varied in
direction in the retro-choir. The mouldings are as elaborate and as
carefully subordinated as in the earlier work of the nave.
Below the transom dividing triforium from clerestory is a row of
panelling divided by the mullions of the triforium, which, as in the
nave, are merely a continuation of the mullions of the clerestory. The
arches of the triforium are not ornamented with a gable, as in the nave,
but with a moulding decorated with crockets and ending in a rich finial.
The capitals of the main vaulting shafts are very curious. They consist
of an ordinary row of carved foliage with three pendants ending in small
carved figures with cinquefoiled arches between them. The outer
mouldings of the main arches are cut short by the small outer vaulting
shafts. A little way below them are small heads, as in the nave. The
capitals of the main arches are like those of the nave, but their
foliage is more disconnected. On the north side of the choir are figures
on the capitals. Mr Browne, the enthusiastic and laborious historian of
the minster, has supposed these figures to represent scenes in the
rebellion in which Scrope took part. If the ordinary date given to the
choir be accepted, it was built before that rebellion. But Mr Browne has
endeavoured to prove that the choir was built later than is usually
supposed. It is impossible in this book to do more than mention the
controversy started by him, and to say that, in the opinion of Professor
Willis and others, he has not made out his case. In the four eastern
bays brackets and canopies for statues are attached to the vaulting
shafts below the capitals of the piers. Those east of the altar were
badly altered and restored after the fire of 1829. It should be
mentioned two eastern bays are narrower than the rest for the better
support of the eastern wall of glass, and the western bays for that of
the tower. In the spandrels of the main arches are coats of arms, mainly
of benefactors. The following is a list of these, taken from Murray's
handbook to the minster, and beginning at the north-east end of the
choir:--
1. Two keys in saltire--Chapter of York.
2. Six lions rampant--Ulphus.
3. Three lions passant guardant, a label of three points, each charged
with three fleur-de-lis--Thomas, Duke of Lancaster.
4. Three lions passant guardant, a border--Edmund of Woodstock.
5. A bend between six lions rampant--Bohun.
6. Checky, a fess--Clifford.
7. A cross floré--Latimer.
8. Barry of ten, three chaplets--Greystock.
9. The instruments of the Passion.
10. Three estoiles of six points, a border--St. Wilfrid.
11. Two keys in saltire, a border engrailed--St. Peter.
12. Two swords in saltire, a border engrailed--St. Paul.
13. Seven lozenges conjoined, 3, 3, and 1--St. William. (Archbishop
and Patron Saint.)
14. On a bend, a lion rampant--Musters.
15. A chief, three chevronelles interlaced in base--Fitz-Hugh.
16. On a saltire, a crescent--Neville.
17. 18. A fess dancette--Vavasour.
Those on the south side, beginning at the west end, are as follows:--
1. A cross--St. George.
2. A cross floré between five martlets--Edward the Confessor.
3. Three crowns, 2 and 1--King Edwin.
4. Barry of six, on a chief, two pallets between as many esquires
based--Mortimer.
5. Six lions rampant, 3, 2, 1, with a horn on the west side of the
shield (referring to the famous gift of lands)--Ulphus.
6. A lion rampant--Percy.
7. Quarterly, 1 and 4 a lion rampant for Percy, 2 and 3 three luces
hauriant for Lucy--Percy.
8. A bend, a label--Scrope of Masham.
9. Six osier wands interlaced in cross--Bishop Skirlaw.
10. A bend, a border charged with mitres; over all a
label--Archbishop Scrope.
11. Three water bougets--Roos.
12. A saltire--Neville.
13. On a cross five lions passant guardant--City of York.
14. Three fusils in fess--Montague.
15. A fess between six cross crosslets--Beauchamp.
16. A lion rampant--Percy.
17. France (ancient) and England (quarterly), with a label of three
points--Edward, Prince of Wales.
18. France (ancient) and England (quarterly).
The vault of the choir is of wood, like that of the nave; it is an
imitation of the vault destroyed by the fire of 1829. It is covered with
a network of ribs that obscure the main structural lines of the
vaulting.
The aisles of the choir are of much the same size, design, and
proportion as those of the nave. Their vault is of stone. The windows
are filled with tracery of an unusual transitional character, and
altogether more beautiful and interesting than that of the clerestory.
They are divided into three lights, each terminating in a very obtuse
arch. Above these arches are three others, also obtuse and hardly
pointed. Short mullions run from the points of the lower arches to the
points of the upper. Above the upper arches are three irregular-shaped
openings, arranged pyramidally, the two lower being quatrefoiled, the
upper sexfoiled. The whole is a curious mixture of vertical and flowing
lines. They represent a design, as it were, of which the tracery is
arrested half-way in its process of stiffening from the curved lines of
the Decorated style to the straight of the Perpendicular. Here, as in
the clerestory, the mouldings are delicately varied. The central shafts
alone of the mullions have capitals. On each side of every window are
three shafts, all with capitals.
[Illustration: The Choir in 1810.]
Below the windows runs an arcade of very simple panelling, four
divisions to each window, and two trefoiled arches in each division.
There is also panelling of the same character on each side of the
vaulting shafts between the windows. The windows of the eastern bays are
more sharply pointed than the others. The vaulting shafts of the aisles
have capitals of carved foliage and wings of leafage on a level with the
top of the arcade below the windows. The windows next to the east end
have only two lights.
The eastern transepts stand between the four western and the four
eastern bays. They mark the position of the eastern transepts and towers
in Roger's Norman choir, and are of rather unusual design. They are of
only one bay in width, and do not extend beyond the aisle walls. They
therefore represent a bay of the choir, of which the clerestory and
triforium are removed, and the aisle roof is raised to the height of the
roof of the choir itself. Both outside and inside their effect is
magnificent. Their north and south walls are filled with enormous
windows, containing splendid glass. Of these windows, that on the north
contains scenes from the life of St. William, and is known as the St.
William window; that on the south, scenes from the life of St. Cuthbert,
and is known as the St. Cuthbert window. Both have had their mullions
recently restored.
These windows are divided into five lights, and are crossed by three
transoms. Below these transoms, in each light, are cinquefoiled arches.
The upper lights closely resemble those of the clerestory in design, and
are of the same size. The main arch in these transepts remains, and is
of the same character as that of the other main arches. Above it in each
case is a gallery with panelled openings. Above the main arch, on each
side of the transept openings, are thick clusters of shafts. The lower
part of the windows has double tracery, like the great east window, and
the east windows in the Chapel of Nine Altars at Durham, the inner
tracery consisting of open lights about a foot off the actual tracery,
containing the glass, and of exactly the same design. On each side of
the windows are five canopies and brackets. The arches east and west of
the transepts and opening into the aisles are of the same character as
those opening into the choir. Above them are windows of the same size
and design as those of the clerestory.
In the spandrels of the arches are coats of arms as follow:--
#North Transept--East Side.#
1. A chief, three chevronelles interlaced in base--Fitz-Hugh.
2. A bend, a label of three points--Scrope of Masham.
#North Side.#
1. Three escallopes--Dacres.
2. A fess between six cross crosslets--Beauchamp.
#West Side.#
1. On a saltire, a martlet--Neville.
2. A bend--Scrope of Masham.
#South Side.#
1. Checky, a fess--Clifford.
2. A cross floré--Latimer.
#South Transept--East Side.#
1. A lion rampant--Mowbray.
2. A lion rampant--Percy.
#West Side.#
1. A fess dancette--Vavasour.
2. A blank shield.
#North Side.#
1. A fess between three cross crosslets--Beauchamp.
2. Three escallopes--Dacres.
The stone carving of the retro-choir, as the earlier work cast of the
transepts is generally called, was greatly injured by the fire. After
the fire five of the canopies on the piers were renewed by the mason of
the minster, who treated them according to his own sweet will. The
canopies on the piers next to the altar screen remain untouched. The
eastern bays of the aisles are of the same character as the rest. The
east end of the choir is chiefly filled by the great east window, which
fits into its position better than the west window of the nave, but not
entirely satisfactorily. The mouldings of its arch are decorated with
niches containing figures, and following the curve of the arch. This
curve does not run parallel to that of the vault, which is less acute.
The window itself is set back a little way from the wall, and on each
side of it are mouldings with occasional niches. The outside mouldings
of the window run straight up through the outside mouldings of the arch,
and are cut short by the ribs of the vault. This inter-penetration of
mouldings is found also on the aisle side of the main piers of the
choir, and is more characteristic of later German Gothic than of
English. The wall between the outer mouldings of the window and the
boundaries of the choir is filled with shallow niches, two rows to each
side and four niches to each row. These perhaps were never meant to
contain figures, and are more like panelling than niches. The upper
outside niches on each side are cut into by the ribs of the vault. Below
the east window is a row of quatrefoils, and below them nine divisions
of panelling, in unequal portions, and of the same simple character as
that in the aisles. The upper halves of the three central panels are
filled with niches with rich canopies, each canopy being divided into
three parts. The east end below the windows is now chiefly filled with
uninteresting monuments of the later archbishops. There is no doubt that
the aisles of the choir and the whole of the retro-choir could be better
without the greater part of the monuments in them. The magnificent tomb
of Archbishop Bowet is almost the only fine one to be found in the
retro-choir.
[Illustration: The Virgin and Child (a Carving behind the Altar).]
There has been a considerable controversy about the position of the Lady
Chapel founded by Archbishop Thoresby. This controversy, in which Mr
Browne has endeavoured to prove that Thoresby's Lady Chapel was placed
on the north side of the nave, is far too long and intricate a business
to find a place in this book. It is enough to say that the other
authorities seem unanimously to be of the opinion that the altar of the
Lady Chapel was under the great east window, where an altar, used for
Holy Communion, is now placed. Thither, it is said, Thoresby removed the
bodies of certain of his predecessors. And the tombs of six of these
were existing in the seventeenth century, when drawings were made of
them by Torre, the antiquary.
Brasses were placed over the burial-places of these archbishops, and
were mostly destroyed in the Civil War.
The great east window, like the windows of the transepts, has a double
plane of tracery reaching to about half the height of the whole. Between
the two planes a passage runs at the base of the window, between two
doors which lead to staircases in the turrets on each side of the
windows. These staircases, in their turn, lead to a gallery across the
window on the top of the inner plane of tracery. The view from this
gallery is very fine. The window itself contains nine lights, and these
are divided by two mullions, thicker than the rest, into sub-divisions
of three lights each, each sub-division terminating in an arch formed by
the curving of the mullions. From the top of each of these arches rises
another mullion, the two outer being soon cut short by the arch of the
window, the central one curiously splitting into two thick branches to
right and left in straight lines until they also are cut short by the
window arch. The rest of the upper lights are filled with an infinite
number of small divisions, in which the occasional presence of curved
lines shows the transitional character of the design. The window is
crossed by three transoms, the two lower at equal distances, the upper
close to the one below it. The gallery across the window is formed by
these two upper transoms. The glass in the choir, as in all the rest of
the church, is described in a separate chapter.
The entrance to the crypt is from the north aisle of the choir as it was
in ancient days. There are still remains of the original vestibule to
the crypt, and also the bases and one of the jambs of the Norman door
leading to it.
#The Crypt# itself is very interesting, not only for its own sake, but
for the light it throws on the history of the building of the minster.
The fire of 1829 gave Professor Willis and Mr Browne the opportunity to
make elaborate and prolonged investigations, to which we owe much of the
light which has been thrown upon problems connected with the choirs of
Thomas and Roger.
Before this fire, the only crypt whose existence was known of, was a
small chamber under the platform of the high altar, no wider than the
central aisle of the choir, and only equal to a bay and a half of that
aisle in length. The greater part of this crypt was Norman in character.
The vault was supported by six Norman pillars, and the ribs of the vault
were apparently Norman. But the side piers were Perpendicular, and the
transverse arches of the ribs four-centred, as in late Perpendicular
work. There can be little doubt, Professor Willis says, that this crypt
was a mere piece of patchwork put together, when the present choir was
built, out of old materials which came readily to hand, with the object
of giving support to the platform of the altar, and to provide chapels
and altar room beneath it.
[Illustration: The Crypt.]
After the fire of 1829, the existence was discovered of a large crypt,
stretching westward of the altar platform, and extending under the whole
of the rest of the choir and its aisles. Of this crypt, only the pillars
and the lower part of the walls remained.
At the west end of this crypt a portion had been enclosed in walls and
filled up with earth. The eastern part was vaulted, and had stout Norman
pillars at the side, while in the middle were two rows of smaller single
pillars. The earth has since been removed, and the building laid open,
repaired, and vaulted.
The thicker pillars are of elaborate late Norman work, diapered in a
manner recalling the piers of the nave at Durham. The vault was ribbed.
These pillars were, no doubt, erected by Roger Pont l'Evêque, and enable
us to understand what the character of his choir must have been.
The walls enclosing the western part of the crypt are of peculiar
interest. They are made up of three partitions. The outer wall, 3 feet 6
inches thick, is, no doubt, the work of Roger. The middle wall, 4 feet 8
inches thick, is faced with herring-bone work, and this, and the
coarseness of its workmanship, prove it to be of great antiquity. It is
almost undoubtedly Saxon, and has been supposed, though on slender
evidence, to be part of the original church begun by Edwin in the
seventh century. A bit of this wall is now bare, and may be seen.
[Illustration: Capitals in Crypt.]
The third wall is only 2 feet thick. It probably was also erected by
Roger, but it is composed of older materials of an early Norman
character. It may be from Thomas's choir, if, as is probable, the
earlier choir which Roger pulled down had been built by Thomas. The
stone of this wall is of the same coarse sandstone as the remains of
Thomas's apse under the north transept, and there are traces of plaster
on the stones showing that they had been used for the interior of a
building.
No doubt the outer wall was erected by Roger as a support for his
massive piers, for which purpose the middle wall alone would have been
insufficient. Roger also probably added the thin inner wall, and filled
the whole with earth, for the same purpose.
Close to the remains of the Norman doorway before mentioned, is a low
arch, and the portion of an apse, no doubt the work of Thomas, the apse
being the eastern termination of his transept.
[Illustration: Capitals in Crypt.]
It was from his examination of the side walls of this crypt that
Professor Willis was able to support his conjectures as to the
dimensions and character of Roger's choir. Thus he traced it to the
eastern transept of that choir, in the same place as the present eastern
transepts, and deduced from the extra thickness of the wall in that part
that those transepts had been capped by towers. Beyond this the crypt
was filled up with graves, and there is now no access, but during the
repairs he was able to trace so much of the walls as to make it plain
that Roger's choir had a square ending, and also to mark the situation
of the east end of that choir.
#The Record Room.#--A chantry founded by Archbishop Zouch, but rebuilt
in 1396, during the erection of the present choir, is now utilised as
the record room, and contains the fabric rolls, and other documents
concerning the building and constitution of the minster.
The vestry and treasury date from the middle of the fourteenth century;
like the record room they lie to the south of the choir.
In the vestry is the famous horn of Alphus. It was given by Alph, or
Alphus, son of Thorald, a little while before the Conquest. Alphus laid
it on the altar of the minster, as a sign that he gave certain lands to
the church. The horn is made out of an elephant's tusk. The wide end of
the horn is ornamented with carvings of griffin dogs, a unicorn, and a
lion eating a doe. This carving shows a strong Eastern or Byzantine
influence, and may well have been of Byzantine workmanship. The horn was
lost during the Civil War, but found by Lord Fairfax, who gave it back
to the minster. The silver gilt chain now attached to it was added in
1675. The vestry also contains an oak chest finely carved with the stag
of St. George, and dating from the early part of the fifteenth century,
and the fine pastoral staff plundered from James Smyth, the Roman Bishop
of Callipolis, in the streets of York at the time of the deposition of
James II.
Here also is the Mazer Bowl or Indulgence Cup of Archbishop Scrope. It
is of wood, with a silver rim, and three cherubs' heads for feet. Round
the rim is the following inscription:--
"Recharde, Arche Beschope Scrope grantis on to alle tho that
drinkis of this cope x dayis to pardune, Robart Gubsone,
Beschope Musm grantis in same forme aforesaide x dayis to
pardune, Robart Strensalle."
The cup was originally given to the Corpus Christi Guild, and afterwards
passed to the Cordwainers Company. When the latter were dissolved (in
1808), the bowl was presented to the minster.
The vestry also contains three silver chalices and patens taken from the
tombs of archbishops; the rings of Archbishops Greenfield, Sewall, and
Bowet, also taken from their tombs; and an ancient chain, probably
dating from the fifteenth century.
* * * * *
The minster, for all its size, age, and importance, contains curiously
few tombs of interest. Though most of the earlier bishops were buried
within its walls, not more than three of their monuments are really
remarkable. Only one member of the royal family, William of Hatfield,
the infant son of Edward III., lies there, and very few persons of
distinction. It is not proposed therefore to give a description of any
tombs, except such as are notable for beauty or interest.
#Monuments In The Nave.#--In the north aisle, three bays from the west
end, is a monument of late Perpendicular work, said to be the tomb of
Archbishop Roger, who died in 1181. It is possible that his bones were
transferred here from the choir, though there is no record of such
transference. This tomb was opened and restored in 1862, when some bones
and remains of ecclesiastical vestments were found in it. The
restoration appears to have been arbitrary and inaccurate.
[Illustration: Effigy of Manley.]
The tomb is recessed in the wall of the aisle, and consists of a lower
storey for the coffin with a flat top, with a front of open stone work
in eight divisions, each containing a quatrefoil. Above is a very obtuse
arch with plain mouldings, with a row of "Tudor flower" ornaments on the
top, and a figure of the Virgin in the middle. There are two birds
holding scrolls in their beaks on either side of her. These have been
changed by the ingenious restorers into eagles bearing ears of wheat.
All other monuments of importance in the nave were destroyed by the
Puritans, or at the Reformation.
A word must be said, however, as to the tomb and shrine of St. William,
the patron saint of the minster.
William Fitzherbert was a great-grandson of the Conqueror, and an
opponent of the monks. He was expelled from his episcopacy in 1147, but
returned to it in 1153. He is stated to have performed a miracle
immediately on his return, and died about immediately afterwards in
1154. He is said to have been poisoned, whilst celebrating mass, out of
the holy chalice itself. It was perhaps the peculiar atrocity of his end
which gave him so great a reputation for sanctity. During his life he
does not seem to have been distinguished above other archbishops for
learning, piety, or good deeds. He was not canonised until 1284. It is
difficult to understand either why the minster had not obtained a patron
saint before this time, or why the choice eventually fell upon St.
William. No doubt the authorities felt the want of a shrine fit to be
enriched by the visitations of pilgrims, and were encouraged by the
example of the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury to obtain one as soon
as possible. We can only suppose that they chose St. William for want of
a more distinguished patron. At all events, his shrine never obtained
the celebrity of that of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and in after years
was probably regarded as inferior in sanctity and interest even to that
of Archbishop Scrope in the minster.
He had originally been buried in the nave, where, exactly, is not known,
but it is said that even before his canonisation his tomb was visited by
pilgrims, and was the occasion of miracles. When he was canonised, the
8th of June, the day of his death, was appointed for his festival.
The visit of Edward I. to York in 1283-4 was chosen by Archbishop
Wickwaine as the occasion for the translation of St. William's relics
from his old tomb in the nave to his shrine in the choir. The ceremony
was performed with great pomp in the presence of the King and of his
wife Eleanor. William became one of the King's patron saints, and Edward
gave various gifts of jewels to his shrine.
In the Acta Sanctorum for June 8th, St. William's day, it is recorded
that "Corpus ab imo in altum, a communi loco in chorum Venerabiliter est
translatum."
"His body was translated with all reverence from the lowest to the
highest place, from a common position to the choir."
The shrine was probably placed behind the high altar, and afterwards
between the reredos and the eastern screen, as at Durham and St. Albans.
The bones themselves were deposited in a portable _feretrum_, so that
they might be easily carried in procession.
As in the case of Thomas à Becket, the original place of William's
burial still remained an object of veneration.
It was at the eastern end of the nave, and was covered with a great
superstructure, so large that processions, it is said, were obliged to
divide and march to each side of it.
The head appears to have been kept in a silver jewelled chest separate
from the rest of the body. It was exhibited to worshippers who gave
offerings to it. At the Reformation the head was seized by one Layton,
afterwards Dean, and a follower of Thomas Cromwell; its seizure was one
of the chief causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace.
At this time, also, the shrine was demolished, and also the
superstructure over the saint's original place of burial in the nave. It
is said that no remembrance was left of the spot except a tradition that
the saint had lain under a long marble slab in the nave of the church.
In 1732, during the repairing of the nave of the minster, Drake, the
historian of York, obtained leave to search under the said slab, and
there found a coffin of stone, containing a leaden box, in which were
bones wrapped in sarcenet. There was no inscription by which the remains
could be identified, and they were again buried.
Archbishop Melton was buried near the font, as it then stood, at the
west end of the minster. In 1736, when the new pavement was laid, the
stone covering his grave was taken up, and a lead coffin was discovered,
containing the bones of the archbishop. On the top of the coffin was a
chalice and paten of silver-gilt. Inside the coffin was the pastoral
staff, but no ring or vestments. The archbishop was re-buried in the
same place.
#Monuments In The South Transept.#--In the eastern aisle is the tomb of
Archbishop de Grey, who died in 1255. This, one of the two or three
really fine monuments in the church, is Early English in style, and has
been very little damaged. It consists of an effigy, with a canopy
supported by nine pillars above it. The figure of the archbishop is
clothed in full canonicals. In his left hand is a crozier, and his right
is raised to bless. The feet trample on a dragon, into the mouth of
which enters the butt end of the crozier. On each side of the figure is
a shaft ornamented with bunches of leafage at regular intervals. Round
the head of the archbishop is a gable cusped with censing angels on each
side of it.
The pillars supporting the canopy have fine capitals, and above them are
cusped arches, with richly-carved scroll work in their spandrels. Above
is a further tier of arches, supported by short shafts, also having
beautiful capitals. Above these arches are gables covered with crockets,
and on the gables are elaborate finials. These finials are an addition
of the beginning of the century, and are of plaster. They are the work
of an Italian sculptor, Bernasconi by name, and, considering the
circumstances, are unusually good. Round the tomb is a railing,
presented by Archbishop Markham, also of the beginning of the century,
and of very poor design.
[Illustration: Effigy of Archbishop de Grey.]
To the south of this tomb is the large and elaborate modern monument to
Archdeacon Duncombe, which has nothing, either in workmanship or design,
to recommend.
To the north is the tomb of Archbishop Sewall de Bovill, who succeeded
Archbishop de Grey. His sepulchre, says Drake, was much frequented after
his death by the common people, who reported many miracles to be done at
it. The tomb consists of a plain slab of marble, with a cross upon it,
supported by twelve low pillars, with plain capitals, and trefoiled
arches.
#Monuments In The North Transept.#--In the eastern aisle of the north
transept is the beautiful tomb of Archbishop Greenfield, who died in
1315. This tomb belongs to the most fully-developed period of the
Decorated style. It is ornamented with arcading in front, with gables,
each partition divided by buttresses with pinnacles. Above it is a
canopy with a richly-foliated arch, and a gable with crockets,
terminating in an elaborately-carved finial, with a statue of the
archbishop in the act of benediction on the top. On each side are
buttresses, with elaborate pinnacles. The statue of the archbishop is a
modern addition. On the tomb itself are the remains of a brass. In 1735
this tomb was opened, and a ring discovered in it. Close to the tomb was
the altar of St. Nicholas; and the archbishop was buried in this
position because he died on the festival-day of that saint. This tomb is
also remarkable for the fact that the lunatic Martin hid himself behind
it, in 1829, before setting the minster on fire.
Near at hand, in the same aisle, is the tomb of Dr Beckwith (died 1843).
In the west aisle is a monument to Archbishop Vernon Harcourt (died
1847).
Behind the walled-up arch also in this aisle is a tomb, said to have
been erected either to or by Thomas Huxey, who was treasurer of York
from 1418 to 1424. Huxey himself, however, was buried to the south of
the tomb. It consists of a slab, with the figure of a corpse below it
inside a grating.
[Illustration: Monument of William of Hatfield.]
#Monuments In The Choir.#--We find here many monuments, but few of
either beauty or interest. In the westernmost bay of the north aisle is
the tomb of William of Hatfield, second son of Edward III., who died at
the age of eight, in 1344. The effigy of the prince is fine, though much
damaged. Canon Raine has pointed out that the canopy is ornamented with
the Plantagenista. The head was formerly supported by two angels, which
have been destroyed (Britton). The feet rest against a lion. Drake
relates that the vergers in his time asserted that this was the son of
the Emperor Severus, buried at Acombe Hills, and carried thence to the
cathedral. The statue appears to have been removed from its proper
place, and neglected for a long time.
One bay east, and on the opposite side of the aisle, is the tomb of
Archbishop Savage, who died in 1507. This is one of the latest of the
Gothic works in the cathedral. It is a plain oblong, with four panels,
containing coats of arms on each of the larger sides. It is surmounted
by an effigy of the bishop, with mitre and crozier. Drake states that
above it was a wooden chantry, of which there are now no traces. The
name, _Thomas Dalby_, on the inscription on the tomb, is that of an
archdeacon of Richmond, who is said to have erected the monument.
Farther east, the outer wall of the aisle, as also of the southern
aisle, is almost covered with pompous and ugly monuments, few of them
remarkable either for their design or for the fame of the persons to
whom they were erected. The best, perhaps, is that to Lionel Ingram, who
died at the age of six. It is Jacobean in style, and has a pathetic
Latin inscription setting forth the unusual virtues of the child.
The tomb of Archbishop Sterne, at the east end of the aisle (1683), is
an example of almost everything that a monument should not be. West of
this is the tomb of the unfortunate Scrope, beheaded by Henry IV. It is
of little interest in itself, and was restored after the fire of 1829;
but in the Middle Ages thousands of pilgrims flocked to it, and it was
for a time more popular than the shrine of St. William himself. Henry
IV. forbade offerings to be made to it, and gave these orders to the
clerk of the cathedral.
"Y faces mettre sur la terre entre les pilers et par bonne espace de
hors beilles fuystes et grosses piers de bonne hautesse et lacune iffint
gils i soyent continuellement pour faire estoppoil a les faux foles que
y beignont par couleur de devotion." The offerings were not, however,
thus checked. Close by was the Chapel of St. Stephen, in which was the
chantry of the _Scropes_, and so many offerings in memory of the
archbishop were deposited there that it increased in riches up to the
Reformation.
Farther west, between the aisle and the retro-choir, is the cenotaph of
Archbishop Markham (died 1807), who was buried in Westminster Abbey.
To the north of the eastern altar is the tomb of Archbishop Rotherham,
died 1500. It is a plain monument, Perpendicular in style. The top is a
later addition; the whole was restored after the fire of 1829. The tomb
was opened when a new pavement was laid in 1736, and a vault was
discovered to run under it, in which were bones and a wooden head--"a
piece of extraordinary sculpture for that age"--with a stick thrust into
the neck to carry it on.
Under the east window are the tombs of Archbishops Frewen (died 1664),
and Sharpe (1714), the latter being, perhaps, the ugliest and most
absurd in the minster.
In a line with the monument to Rotherham is the effigy of Archbishop
Matthew (died 1628). His tomb is on the south side of the retro-choir,
and an unknown monument, with bases of pillars which once, no doubt,
supported a canopy. This has been attributed to Sewall de Bovil, who,
however, is buried in the south transept. Between the retro-choir and
the south aisle is the beautiful tomb of Archbishop Bowet (died 1423).
This is one of the finest Perpendicular monuments in the country, and
far the finest in the minster. The stone which covered the grave was
removed from it and used for the pavement in 1736, and the remains were
laid bare, showing the archbishop's episcopal ring.
The canopy consists of an arch of a curious elliptical shape, over which
are three clusters of tabernacle work, with pinnacles between them. The
curious manner in which these clusters are joined to the arch beneath
them, with fan tracery projecting outside the arch, should be noticed.
The whole has been much destroyed.
At the east end of the south aisle of the choir stood the altar of All
Saints, founded by Bowet.
A bay west of this is the tomb of Archbishop Matthew (died 1628), and
north of it is that of Archbishop Musgrave (died 1860).
In the south aisle are the tombs of William Wentworth son of the great
Earl of Stafford (died 1695); Archbishop Lamplugh (died 1691); and
Archbishop Matthew Hutton, (died 1757). All of them, like most of the
other tombs in the choir, remarkable only for ugliness.
[Illustration: Monument of Archbishop Bowet.]
#Stained Glass.#--Undoubtedly the chief glory of the minster is its
glass. There are 25,531 square feet of ancient stained glass in the
church--at least twice as much, that is to say, as in any other English
cathedral, and perhaps more than in any other church in the world. And
this glass is of all periods. There are fragments of Norman in the five
sisters and in some of the windows of the nave; Early English in the
five sisters; Decorated in the nave, and Perpendicular in the choir.
Further, the glass is almost all of very high quality--far higher, for
instance, than that in King's College Chapel, Cambridge--and of infinite
variety of effect. It ranges from the simple, almost uniform scheme of
the five sisters, to the strong contrasts, definite forms, and
glittering colours of the great west window.
It would require years of investigation and the writing of a large book
to give an adequate description of this glass, and this has not yet been
done. Facts, both as to its origin and subsequent history, are almost
altogether wanting. As we see them to-day, the windows are in almost
inextricable confusion. At some time or another, perhaps at the
Reformation, or during the Civil Wars, the glass has been removed from
its setting, and afterwards carelessly pieced together. It is now in the
condition of a puzzle wrongly arranged. Outlines of figures have been
filled with scraps of different colours, male heads fitted to female
bodies, or inserted alone in incongruous surroundings, and glass of one
period mixed with glass of another. Add to this that the glass was
generally renewed and restored by one Peckett about 1780, who inserted
patches and curious geometrical patterns of his own manufacture wherever
possible, and an idea may be obtained of the difficulties which will
beset anyone who tries to write an adequate book on the subject. It is
only possible here to point out the main characteristics of the
different windows and some of the chief points of interest about them.
The glass in the nave is mostly Decorated, with occasional Norman, Early
English, and later insertions. Except in the three west windows, it is
very fragmentary, and includes many of Peckett's additions.
The great west window is one of the most perfect in the church. It
measures 56 feet by 25, and is almost entirely filled with its original
glass, said to have been given by Archbishop Melton in 1338. This is
remarkable not only for the purity and boldness of its scheme of
colours, but for the admirable way in which the design of the glass fits
the elaborate pattern of the tracery. It will be noticed that both the
figures and the architectural ornaments are in bolder relief than in the
earlier glass of the five sisters, or the later of the choir. Some of
the faces of the figures have been restored by Peckett, but not so as to
interfere with the decorative effect of the whole. The window contains
three rows of figures, the lowest a row of eight archbishops, the next a
row of eight saints, including St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James, and St.
Katharine, and above this a row of smaller figures unidentified. The
window at the west end of the north aisle is also very fine. It contains
a Virgin and child, and St. Katharine with her wheel. In one of the
small lights above is a figure of St. Peter, crucified head downwards.
The kneeling figure below is obviously a later insertion, as may be seen
from the incongruous colour of the arch above it.
The first window from the west in the north aisle of the nave is plain.
The other windows are filled with fragments. In the third of these the
top lights have been filled by Peckett, and contain the date of the
insertion, 1779. The rest of these windows are free from Peckett's
additions.
The second of these windows from the east is particularly worthy of
attention. It is said to have been given by a guild of bell-founders. It
was probably the particular gift of the Richard Tunnoc who died in 1330,
after holding the office of Lord Mayor of York. Perhaps he was the head
of the guild.
This window contains a most interesting representation of the casting of
a bell, with an inscription, "Richard Tunnoc me fist," and also of
Tunnoc kneeling and receiving the blessing of an archbishop, probably
Melton. Above the figure of Tunnoc is the picture of a small window, and
this certainly goes to prove that the window was given by Tunnoc
himself. There are bells in the borders of the lights and other parts of
the design.
The west window in the south aisle is as fine as its fellow in the north
aisle. It contains a representation of the Crucifixion, in which the
head of Christ is a later insertion, perhaps of the eighteenth century.
The figure below, as in the corresponding window in the north aisle, is
also of later date.
The first window from the west end is plain. The glass in the other
windows is rather finer, and less fragmentary than in the north aisle.
The second window appears to have been largely restored. The tabernacle
work is very crude in colour. It contains figures of St. Laurence, St.
Christopher, another saint, and three coats of arms below. The top
lights are fine, and perhaps of Perpendicular date.
The third window is one of the richest in colour in the minster, with
its gorgeous arrangement of crimsons, greens, and blues. There are
inscriptions by Peckett, with the date at the bottom, 1789. His deep
blues on the top lights are particularly unfortunate.
The sixth window is also very bright. It probably contains Norman
fragments. All the windows except the fifth contain insertions by
Peckett.
The clerestory window contains fragments and coats of arms.
In the westernmost light of the second window from the west, on the
north side, are portions of an Early English Jesse window. The wheel of
this window, and those of the next five, also contain fragments of Early
English glass. And in the lower lights of the fifth and seventh windows
from the west are remains of the same date.
The wheels in the clerestory windows on the south side of the nave all
contain Early English glass, except the third from the west. There is
also some Early English glass in their lower lights.
The transepts contain less of their original glass than any other part
of the minster. In the south transept there are fragments of
Perpendicular glass in the east aisle, including figures of Michael,
Gabriel, and St. William, and also Perpendicular fragments in the west
aisle. The lowest row of windows at the south end of the transept has
been filled with painted figures by Peckett, only better than the worst
efforts of the Gothic revival. The figures represent Abraham, Solomon,
Moses, and St. Peter. The glass in the five sisters, as has been said,
is Early English of the simplest and most beautiful design. The colour,
an almost uniform scheme of greyish green, is a curious contrast to the
vivid blues and yellows of the period which preceded it, and examples of
which may be seen in the choir of Canterbury. The pattern is an
elaborate but restrained arrangement of the foliage of the Planta
Benedicta (herb benet). The plain border surrounding the Early English
glass was inserted in 1715. At the foot of the central light is a panel
of Norman glass, the subject of which is either the dream of Jacob, or
Daniel in the lion's den.
The glass in the west aisle of the north transept is modern, and of the
worst character. A window by Mr Kempe in the east aisle is almost the
only good example of modern glass in the minster.
The glass in the lancets above the five sisters is modern.
The glass in the choir is almost wholly Perpendicular. As in the nave,
it is very fragmentary and disordered. The change in the character of
the design will be easily noticed. The Perpendicular glass is not so
clear and delicate in colour, and the architectural and other patterns
are less pronounced. As has been said before, however, this glass,
regarded simply as decorative, is perhaps superior even to that in the
nave.
Mr Winton, to whom throughout in this short notice of the windows we are
much indebted, has pointed out that the earliest Perpendicular glass in
the choir is contained in the third window from the east in the south
aisle; in the third and fourth windows from the east in the north
clerestory; and in the fourth clerestory window from the east on the
opposite side. These windows date from the close of the fourteenth
century. There is also an early Perpendicular Jesse in the third window
from the west in the south aisle of the choir. The other windows of the
choir aisles east of the small eastern transepts, as well as the glass
in the lancet windows on the east side of the great western transepts
appear, he says, to be of the time of Henry IV.; the rest of the glass
in the choir is of the reigns of Henry V. and VI., chiefly of the
latter. He notices, also, that the white glass in the windows is
generally less green in tint than usual, and that he has learnt from Mr
Browne that it is all of English manufacture.
The great east window was glazed by John Thornton of Coventry. The terms
of the contract for this work, dated 1405, are extant. They provide that
Thornton shall "portray the said window with his own hand, and the
histories, images, and other things to be painted on it." It was to be
finished within three years. Glass, lead, and workmen were to be
provided at the expense of the chapter, and Thornton was to receive 4s.
a week, £5 a year, and £10 at completion, for his trouble.
The window is 78 feet high and 32 feet wide, and contains nine lights.
It is entirely filled with old glass, except for certain pitches of
modern glass, rather crude in colour, and inserted, it is said, after
the fire of 1829. It contains 200 panels of figures. The subjects in the
upper part are from the Old Testament, reaching from the creation of the
world to the death of Absalom. The lower part contains illustrations
from the Book of Revelations. In the lowest row of all are
representations of kings and archbishops.
In the top lights are figures of prophets, saints and kings. At the apex
of the window is a representation of the Saviour in Judgment.
This window is probably the finest example of Perpendicular glass in
England. The windows in the south aisle are rather fragmentary. In the
first two from the west the top lights are empty.
The second window is remarkable for the delicate modelling and drawing
of the heads. The head of the Virgin reminds one of one of Lippo Lippi's
Madonnas. That of an old man with a beard in the central light is German
in character. If these are compared with the crude and simple design of
the heads in the other windows, it will be obvious that they are of a
different origin. Nothing, however, is known of their history.
The third window has borders by Peckett. It contains the Jesse noted
before.
The fourth window is very fragmentary. It contains a beautiful figure of
a saint in one of the top lights; the other top lights are by Peckett.
In the central division, at the bottom, is the name of Archbishop
Lamplugh, with a coat of arms. (Lamplugh's tomb is close to this
window.)
The last of those windows contain painted glass given by Lord Carlisle
in 1804, and bought from a church at Rouen. It is a representation of
the Visitation, Mr Winton says, taken from a picture by Baroccio, and
dates from the end of the sixteenth century. The upper lights contain
the original glass.
The east window of this aisle is very fine in colouring, and fairly
coherent in design. The subject is not clear.
In the north aisle the east window is also very fine. It contains a
representation of the Crucifixion, with St. John, St. James, and the
Virgin. The first window from the east is very fragmentary.
[Illustration: The East Window.]
The next three are among the finest in the minster. Their beautiful and
unusual arrangement of greys, browns, and blues, should be particularly
noticed. Their top lights are empty.
The other three windows contain paler, and less interesting glass; their
top lights also are empty. The last of these was given by Archbishop
Bowet.
The two great windows in the small north and south transepts contain
scenes from the lives of St. William and St. Cuthbert respectively. They
are 73 feet long by 16 feet wide. They have both been restored, but
their glass is mostly original. The St. Cuthbert window was probably
given by the will of Longley, Bishop of Durham, who died in 1437. It
contains, beside subjects from the life of St. Cuthbert, figures of
members of the house of Lancaster.
The glass in the clerestory is fragmentary, and contains restorations by
Peckett.
The glass in the chapter-house and vestibule is chiefly decorated. There
are, however, fragments of Norman and Early English glass in the upper
lights of the vestibule windows. The glass in the chapter-house itself
dates from the time of Edward II. and Edward III. The design is chiefly
made up of medallions and shields. There are some modern restorations in
the glass; and one of the windows--there is no difficulty in
distinguishing it--is wholly modern. All the glass, excepting the
unfortunate modern example, is of the finest quality.