cresting of the roof, the flying-buttresses and the north porch.
The Norman towers, in connection with the long unbroken roof,
should perhaps be regarded as constituting the specialty of Exeter.
At all events, the peculiarity of their present position is so
great and so striking as at once to attract attention; and the
question of their place in the original Norman church is one of
very considerable interest. Each tower consists of six stages, the
two lowest of which are plain: the other four have blind arcades
and circular window openings, the details and arrangements of which
vary in the two towers. At the angles are square buttresses, which
rise above the uppermost story. The south tower is Norman
throughout; that on the north was altered by Bishop Courtenay for
the reception of the great bell from Llandaff, and its final stage
is Perpendicular. The _fleur-de-lis_ cresting of the roof is of
lead (with which the whole of the roof is covered), and its form is
very graceful and effective. The flying-buttresses derive a very
grand effect from the fact that the aisle-roofs slope outwards, and
not, as usual, inwards. Resulting also from this peculiarity are,
the great height of the aisles on the exterior, and an unusual
development of the clerestory, without any intervening space
between it and the aisle-roofs; and within the nave, the absence of
the triforium; the place of which is, however, indicated by the
blind arcade above the piers. The north porch with its triple
canopy is part of Grandisson’s work, and very beautiful.”--(R. J.
K.)
Many people are at first disappointed with their first view of the =West
Front= and more particularly of the =Screen= with its noble array of
statues. The impression that it produces has been well described by W.
D. Howells, who writes on his visit to Exeter:
“To the first glance it is all a soft gray blur of age-worn
carving, in which no point or angle seems to have failed of the
touch which has blent all archaic sanctities and royalties of the
glorious screen in a dim sumptuous harmony of figures and faces.”
Now let us examine it more in detail.
“The west front, usually regarded as the latest work of Bishop
Grandisson, who died in 1369, is of very high interest; and
although it cannot compete with those of Wells or Lincoln (both of
earlier date), may justly claim great beauty as an architectural
composition. It recedes in three stories, the lowest of which is
formed by the sculptured screen; the second contains the great west
window, on each side of which is a graduated arcade; and in the
third, or gable, is a triangular window surmounted by a niche,
containing a figure of St. Peter, the patron saint of the
cathedral. The SCREEN deserves the most careful examination. It is
pierced by three doorways, and surrounded by a series of niches, in
which are the statues of kings, warriors, saints and apostles,
guardians, as it were, of the entrance to the sanctuary. These
figures are arranged in three rows. From pedestals crowned with
battlements spring angels, each of whom supports a triple pilaster,
with capitals. The statues on these capitals, forming the second
row, are for the most part those of kings and knights; above the
canopies which surmount them appears the third row, chiefly saints
and apostles. The positions of the angels are admirably varied.
“The two statues with shields of arms in niches above the upper row
are certainly those of Athelstan and Edward the Confessor, the
Saxon king who expelled the Britons from Exeter, and the founder of
the existing bishopric. In all these figures the general
arrangement of the hair as well as the fashion of the crowns and of
the armour, are those of the reign of Edward III., in which the
work was probably completed.
“The platform above the screen no doubt served, as in many foreign
cathedrals, as a station from which the church minstrels and
choristers might duly welcome distinguished persons on their
arrival; and from which the bishop might bestow his benediction on
the people. The three doorways are much enriched. Round that in the
centre, within the porch, is a moulding of carved foliage which
deserves notice. On the central boss of the groining is a
representation of the Crucifixion. The recess within the south
doorway contains two sculptures, The Appearance of the Angel to
Joseph in a Dream and The Adoration of the Shepherds. Both, like
the figures on the screen, have suffered not a little from time,
and the assaults of Cromwell’s Puritans.”--(R. J. K.)
Exeter is distinguished among English cathedrals in not having a central
tower. This gives the exterior a unique appearance and the interior
gains by the absence of tower piers to block the view. Exeter has,
therefore, the most open and impressive vista of any English cathedral.
The screen being low, the whole design is immediately comprehended. It
has been compared to the Cathedral of Bourges.
In our walks through Exeter it may be well to remember that Quivil’s
architect determined to see what he could do with lowness and breadth.
“Everything should be broad and low, outside as well as inside.
Look at the east end of the choir--its two arches broad and low;
above it the great window--broad and low. Nowhere but at Exeter do
you find these squat windows with their truncated jambs; here they
are everywhere--in the aisles, in the clerestory, in choir,
chapels, transepts and nave; even in the great window of the
western front: broad and low windows everywhere. Still more
original is the external realisation of the design; central tower
and spire, western towers and spires, alike are absent. Long and
low, massive and stable stretches out uninterruptedly the long
horizontal line of nave and choir. Breadth gives in itself the
satisfactory feeling of massiveness, steadfastness and solidity;
and this is just what is wanting in the all-too aërial work of
Salisbury and Beauvais; vaulted roofs at a dizzy height resting on
unsubstantial supports and sheets of glass. But the Exeter
architect has emphasised this satisfactory feeling of stability
still further. The window tracery is heavy and strong; the vault is
barred all over with massive ribs; in the piers there are no
pretty, fragile, detached shafts; the massive clustered columns
look as if they were designed, as they were, to carry the weight of
a Norman wall.”--(F. B.)
The heaviness was counteracted by transparency: the arrangement of the
windows flood the Cathedral with light; for the aisle and clerestory
are almost a continuous sheet of glass.
“Another distinctive feature in Exeter as in Salisbury, is that the
architect produces his effect mainly by architectural means--is not
driven to rely on sculpture. All the principal capitals have
mouldings not foliage. Only in the great corbels of the vaulting
shafts and in the bosses of the vault does he permit himself
foliage and sculpture. Wonderful carving it is; the finest work of
the best period, when the naturalistic treatment of foliage was
fresh and young. Very remarkable these corbels are, with their
life-like treatment of vine and grape, oak and acorn, hazel leaf
and nut. Unfortunately the corbels, and still more the bosses, are
so high up that their lovely detail is thrown away; and they are
out of scale.
“And the patterns of the window tracery are wonderfully diverse. It
is not, as in Lichfield nave or King’s College Chapel, where every
window is like its neighbour; when you have seen one, you have seen
all. Here, all down each side of the church every window differs.
In dimensions, in general character, they agree; in details they
differ; each window is a fresh delight; we have, what even in
Gothic architecture we rarely get--diversity within
simplicity.”--(F. B.)
First we examine the splendid =Nave=.
“The first view of the NAVE is rich and striking. Its present
length is 140 feet. The view looking east is intercepted by the
organ, which is placed above the screen at the entrance to the
choir; but the general impression, notwithstanding a want of
height, is that of great richness and beauty. The roof especially,
springing from slender vaulting shafts, studded with delicately
carved and varied bosses, and extending unbroken to the east end of
the choir, is exceeded in grace and lightness by no other of the
same date in the kingdom and by few on the Continent. The carved
bosses, all of which retain traces of colour, represent foliage,
animals (near the centre of the nave is a sow with a litter of
pigs), grotesque figures, heraldic shields, subjects from early
‘bestiaries’ and romances, such as the centaur with a sword, and
the knight riding on a lion toward the eastern end, heads of the
Virgin and Saviour, the Passion and Crucifixion, and in the centre
of the second bay, the murder of Becket. Grandisson wrote a life of
the great Archbishop, which remains in MS., but was very popular in
its day. The episcopal figure on the adjoining boss may either
represent Becket or Grandisson himself. Clustered pillars of
Purbeck marble (contrasting well with the lighter stone from
Silverton and Bere) of which the walls and roof are constructed,
separate the nave from the aisles and divide it into seven
compartments or ‘bays.’
“The corbels between the arches, which support the vaulting shafts
of the roof, are, perhaps, peculiar to this cathedral, and should
be especially noticed. They are wrought into figures, twisted
branches and long sprays of foliage, and afford excellent examples
of the very best period of naturalism. Every leaf is varied and the
character of the different kinds (here for the most part oak and
vine) is admirably retained. The second corbel on the south side of
the nave exhibits the Virgin treading on an evil spirit, and
carrying the Divine Infant. Above is her coronation. The
easternmost nave-corbels display on the north side Moses with his
hands supported by Aaron and Hur; and on the south the risen
Saviour, with cross and banner. The brackets at the foot of these
corbels are crowned heads; and possibly represent Edward I. and
Edward II., the first beardless as usual, the other more defaced.
The second corbel on the north side represents St. Cecilia, with a
somewhat grotesque angel listening to her music.
“A blind arcade, taking the place of the triforium, deeply recessed
and arranged in groups of four arches under each bay, runs above
the nave arches; and in the central bay on the north side projects
the Minstrels’ Gallery, an arrangement for the accommodation of
musicians on high festivals, which occur in this perfection nowhere
else in England. There are, indeed, other examples at Wells and at
Winchester, but of far less interest and importance. Each of the
twelve niches into which its front is divided contains the figure
of a winged angel playing on a musical instrument and surmounted by
a rich canopy. The instruments beginning from the west are, a
cittern, bagpipes, flageolet, crowth or violin, harp, an unknown or
unseen instrument (the fingers are put close to the mouth),
trumpet, organ, guitar, wind instrument, tambour and cymbals. The
two corbelled heads below, supporting niches, are possibly those of
Edward III. and Philippa. The manner in which the hands and arms
are raised above the heads is unusual. Above the arcade and
minstrels’ gallery is the clerestory, along which a gallery is
pierced in the thickness of the wall.
“The windows of the nave, all of the best and purest (geometrical)
Decorated, are said to exhibit a greater variety of tracery than
can be found in any other building in the kingdom. They are
arranged in pairs, on opposite sides of the cathedral; so that no
two side by side will be found to resemble each other. The varied
and graceful patterns of the lead-work should also be noticed. The
stained glass in the great west window is, for the most part,
modern and worthless (it dates from 1766) injuring the beauty of
the window itself by its entire want of harmony and meaning. The
ruby glass in this window is said to be some of the latest that was
manufactured in England before M. Bontemps revived the art.”--(R.
J. K.)
Walking back to the west end, we stop to examine the =Chantry of St.
Radegunde=,
“constructed in the thickness of the screen by Bishop Grandisson
for the place of his own sepulture. His tomb formerly existed here,
but it was destroyed by Elizabeth’s visitors and the high-born
prelate’s ashes scattered ‘no man knoweth where.’”--(R. J. K.)
Opening from the first bay of the Nave is the small =Chapel of St.
Edmund=, of earlier date than the Nave. In the fifth bay, on the same
side, is the =North Porch=. In the last bay on the south side is an Early
English doorway that formerly opened into the cloisters; and between the
first two buttresses on the south side a finely carved consecration
cross attracts our notice.
The Pulpit dates from 1684.
The =Transepts=, one bay each, occupy the space under the towers. East of
the =North transept= is the =Chapel of St. Paul=, built by Quivil and now
used as a vestry. In the corner we find the tomb and chantry of =Sylke=, a
sub-chanter, who founded this chantry in 1485 and was buried in it in
1508. His effigy lies here. Against the east wall are memorials to the
soldiers of the 20th, or East Devon Regiment who fell in the Crimean
War. Here is also the famous clock which has two dials. It is supposed
to date from the reign of Edward III.
A door below the clock opens to the stairs into the =North tower=, in
which is hung the =Great=, or =Peter Bell=, the second largest bell in
England. It weighs 12,500 pounds.
“The Peter bell was crazed on Nov. 5, 1611, most probably from a
too violent ringing in commemoration of the Gunpower Plot, and was
recast in 1676. Its diameter at the mouth is 6 feet 3 inches; its
height nearly 4 feet 8 inches. It is, of course, never rung, but
the hours are struck on it by an enormous hammer. The visitor who
happens to be in the tower at the time of striking will experience
a new sensation,--the humming of the great mass of metal lingers
for many minutes among the huge beams and rafters. A superb view of
the city surrounded by trees and gardens, of the river and of its
junction with the sea at Exmouth, is obtained from the top of the
tower, the upper part of which (of Perpendicular character) was
raised and adapted by Bishop Courtenay for the reception of Great
Peter, which he brought from Llandaff.”--(R. J. K.)
The =South Transept= is a counterpart of the north, and the =Chapel of St.
John the Baptist=
[Illustration: EXETER: NAVE, EAST]
[Illustration: EXETER: CHOIR, EAST]
(also Quivil’s work) corresponds with St. Paul’s opposite. In the Tower
are eleven bells, ten of which are rung in peal. They date from the
Seventeenth Century. Between this Transept and the Chapter-House lies
the =Chapel of the Holy Ghost=, formerly used as a baptistery. It is
Norman. The Chapter-House, opening from what is still called the
=Cloisters= (although the cloisters were demolished during Cromwell’s
rule), was begun in the Thirteenth Century and finished in the
Fifteenth.
When Bishop Grandisson dedicated the =High Altar=, Dec. 18, 1328, he wrote
to the Pope that the Cathedral, then half finished, would be superior in
its kind to any church in France or England.
“High as this praise was, the beauty of the vaulted roof and the
extreme grace of the details are proofs that it was scarcely
exaggerated. The roof bosses and corbels are of the same character
as those in the nave; but the latter are even more admirable in
design, and far more varied in foliage. Maple, oak, ash, the
filbert with its clusters of nuts, and the vine with fruit and
tendrils, could hardly be reproduced more faithfully. On the corbel
above the organ-screen, on the north side, is a Coronation of the
Virgin and on that beyond it a Virgin and Child with censing
angels.”--(R. J. K.)
The =Choir=, Decorated, is very fine:
“We approach the choir, entered by a door in the beautiful screen
supporting the organ. This was the old rood-screen, on which
formerly stood the rood, or figure of our Lord on the Cross. It was
erected in the Fourteenth Century.
“The bosses of the vaulted roof are worthy of especial examination,
so remarkable are they for the delicacy of the carved foliage. The
choir has been carefully restored in recent years, and the stalls,
pulpit and reredos are modern and were designed by Sir Gilbert
Scott. Notice the old misereres, which are very remarkable and
probably the oldest and most curious in England. The foliage
denotes the Early English period and they were probably designed by
Bishop Bruere (1224-1244). Notice the mermaid and merman on the
south side, the elephant, knight slaying a leopard, a minstrel,
etc. The lofty bishop’s throne was erected by Stapledon, and is
said to have been taken down and hidden away during the Civil War
period. The painted figures represent the four great
bishops--Warelwast, Quivil, Stapledon and Grandisson. The sedilia
by Stapledon are very fine. Notice the carved lions’ heads and the
heads of Leofric, Edward the Confessor and his wife Editha. The
east window is Early Perpendicular, inserted by Bishop Brantingham
in 1390, and contains much old glass.”--(P. H. D.)
The =miserere seats= (Thirteenth Century) are curious and beautiful. They
are probably the earliest in England.
“They are fifty in number and their subjects are of the usual
character,--foliage, grotesques, animals (among which is an
elephant) and knights in combat, whose heater shields, flat helmets
and early armour are especially noticeable. Remark, on the _south_
side of the choir a mermaid and a merman holding some circular
instrument between them, the elephant mentioned above and a knight
sitting in a boat drawn by a swan, an illustration of the romance
of the _Chevalier au Cygne_. On the north side a knight attacking a
leopard, a monster on whose back is a saddle with stirrups, a
minstrel with tabor and pipe, a knight thrusting his sword into a
grotesque bird and a mermaid holding a fish. The Early English
character of the foliage, as well as its graceful arrangement,
should be noticed throughout.”
“On the south side, the superb BISHOP’S THRONE towering almost to
the roof. This was the gift of Bishop Bothe (1465-1478). It is said
to have been taken down and hidden during Monmouth’s
Rebellion.”--(R. J. K.)
“The Bishop’s Throne (A.D. 1316), intended for his Lordship with a
chaplain on either side; ‘a magnificent sheaf of carved oak, put
together without a single nail, and rising to a height of 57 feet.
The lightness of its ascending stages almost rival the famous
_sheaf of fountains_ of the Nuremberg tabernacle. The cost of this
vast and exquisitely carved canopy (about twelve guineas) is
surprisingly small, even for those days. The carved work consists
chiefly of foliage, with finials of great beauty, surmounting
tabernacled niches, with a sadly untenanted look, however, for lack
of their statuettes. The pinnacle corners are enriched with heads
of oxen, sheep, dogs, pigs and monkeys.’ Next came what is perhaps
the most exquisite work in stone in England, as the throne is
unparalleled in woodwork--the SEDILIA; the seats of the priest to
the east and to the west of him, those of the Gospeller and
Epistoler. The sedilia have been preferred even to the shrine of
Beverley and the Lady-Chapel of Ely. ‘The canopy of the seat
nearest the altar,’ says Mr. Garland, ‘deserves particular
attention. It is adorned with a wreath of vine leaves on each side,
which meet at the point and there form a finial; and never did
Greek sculptor of the best age trace a more exact portrait of the
leaf of the vine, nor design a more graceful wreath, nor execute
his design with a more masterly finish.’ It is regrettable that the
carving of the sedilia is attributed to a Frenchman.”--(F. B.)
Of the high altar and reredos, perhaps the most magnificent in Europe,
carved at the same period, not a fragment remains.
The two most important tombs in the choir are those of =Bishop Lacey=, who
died in 1455, and =Walter de Stapledon=, who was murdered in London in
1326. Lacey has but a plain slab at which many miracles are said to have
been done. Bishop Stapledon lies under a Perpendicular canopy, a fine
figure holding a crozier with his left hand and a book with his right.
Under the canopy is a figure of the Saviour, and at its side the small
figure of a king crowned and wearing a scarlet robe, supposed to be
Edward II. Bishop Stapledon’s body was removed from London to Exeter
Cathedral by the Queen’s command and interred with great magnificence.
From the choir two chapels open. On the north, =St. Andrew’s=, very early
Decorated, is exactly like the opposite one, =St. James’s=. Beneath the
latter is the ancient =Crypt=. Both chapels have chambers above them.
Beyond the Choir, the ambulatory, or procession-path (Early Decorated),
with =Speke’s Chantry= on the left or north and =Bishop Oldham’s= on the
right or south, leads to the =Lady Chapel=. This was built by Quivil, and
is remarkable for its beautiful foliage carvings, old reredos, graceful
openings to the chantries on either side and magnificent east window.
“Quivil first transformed the Lady-Chapel; to him are due the
shafts, sedilia, double piscina, and the vaulting, the
rib-mouldings of which are of earlier character than those of the
choir; and the windows, which closely resemble those of Merton
College, Oxford, which we know was commenced in 1277. In the centre
of the Lady-Chapel Bishop Quivil is buried; he died in 1291. The
chapels on either side may have been remodelled or partly
remodelled by Bronescombe; but the east windows are later in style,
and are Quivil’s. The piers hereabout are very interesting. Those
of the Lady-Chapel looking into the side chapels are composed of
four columns. The north-east and south-east piers of the choir have
clusters of eight shafts instead of four; while in the pier between
them the cluster of eight is developed into a cluster of sixteen
columns. Finally notice that these piers are set diamond-wise, with
four flat faces, and the angles to the north, west, south and
east.”--(F. B.)
In the centre of the pavement is the tombstone of =Bishop Peter Quivil=
(died 1291), author of the present plan of the cathedral. Other effigies
of bishops are interesting works of art, but those of =Sir John= and =Lady
Doddridge= are very curious. Sir John (died 1628), one of James I’s
judges of the King’s Bench, was called “the sleepy judge,” because he
always sat on the bench with closed eyes; but more interesting is Lady
Doddridge, who wears a rich dress brocaded with roses and carnations and
also a remarkable ruff and headdress.
Under the arches opening from the Lady-Chapel to the side chapels are
tombs of =Bishops Bronescomb= and =Stafford=. Bishop Bronescomb’s effigy
(1280), on the south side, is a fine piece of carving. Stafford’s
opposite (1419) is of alabaster, and it is famous for the rich
tabernacle-work above the head.
We have been long attracted by the lovely =East window=. Now we can see
the details.