London, it is one of the youngest of cathedrals in England, having been
formally inaugurated as a Cathedral by King Edward on July 3, 1905. It
was recently restored at a cost of £40,000. Parts of the Norman nave,
dating from the Twelfth Century, were incorporated by Sir Arthur
Blomfield in the new nave built in 1891-1896.
St. Saviour’s stands on the south or Surrey side of London in the
Borough, a district of very little interest in comparison with London
north of the Thames; but very rich in historical associations. After
crossing London Bridge we find this church on our right on a lower level
than the road, which sunken situation prevents a good view of the
venerable pile. Adjoining the church is the Borough Market for fruit and
vegetables and west of it in Park Street, close to Southwark Bridge, is
Barclay’s Brewery on the site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Going down
Borough High Street we pass the site of the old _Tabard Inn_, from which
Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims started on their journey; and still lower
down the street, the successor to the _White Hart_, where Mr. Pickwick
found the immortal Sam Weller. In the vicinity the Marshalsea prison
stood until the middle of the Nineteenth Century, within the sound of
St. Saviour’s bells.
St. Saviour’s is now almost the only remaining landmark of “Old
Southwark.”
Its early history is lost in legend. Stow, on the authority of Linstede,
the last of the priors, attributed the building of the original London
Bridge to the profits made by a ferryman here, who left his money to his
daughter Mary. He tells the story as follows:
“East from the Bishop of Winchester’s house, directly over against
it, standeth a fair church called St. Mary-over-the-Rie, or Overie;
that is, over the water. This church, or some other in place
thereof, was, of old time, long before the Conquest, a house of
sisters, founded by a maiden named Mary; unto the which house and
sisters she left, as was left to her by her parents, the oversight
and profits of a cross ferry, or traverse ferry over the Thames,
there kept before that any bridge was built. This house of sisters
was after by Swithun, a noble lady, converted into a college of
priests, who in place of the ferry built a bridge of timber, and
from time to time kept the place in good reparations; but lastly,
the same bridge was built of stone; and then in the year 1106 was
this church again founded for canons regular by William Pont de la
Arch, and William Dauncey, Knights, Normans.”
Modern historians have made a few corrections in this statement,
particularly as regards the person who changed the nunnery into a
college of priests. This was not a “noble lady,” but St. Swithun, Bishop
of Winchester (832-856) (see page 46). It became a monastery of the
Augustinian order in 1106, and the Norman knights who aided in its
foundation also built the new Norman nave. After a severe fire that
occurred early in the Thirteenth Century, when much of Southwark was
destroyed, the church suffered greatly. Repairs were, of course,
necessary; and the Bishop of Winchester, who took charge, rebuilt the
nave in the lighter Early English style and also the choir and
retro-choir.
Another fire in the reign of Richard II. occasioned other repairs in the
new Perpendicular style which was continued by Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop
of Winchester (1405-1447), who restored the south transept. The Cardinal
was the son of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford. In this church he
married his niece Jane Beaufort to James I. of Scotland in 1423, with
whom the royal poet fell in love during his imprisonment at Windsor.
After the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 St. Mary Overy, which
had already been united with St. Mary Magdalene, was now combined with
St. Margaret’s and in the year of Linstede’s surrender to Henry VIII.
(1540) the three parishes were united under the name of the Collegiate
Church of St. Saviour.
St. Saviour’s was several times repaired and altered in the Eighteenth
Century, and then fell into neglect.
The East End is an enlargement or addition to the choir. It consists, as
we see, of four bays separated by buttresses and surmounted by gables.
Each gable is lighted by a triplet of lancet windows. Larger windows of
the same general style light the bays below. At the north-east corner is
a short hexagonal stair turret. Above the Lady-Chapel rises the East End
or gable of the choir. This has also a three-light lancet window, with a
small circular window with seven cusps above. On the north-east corner
the turret is capped by a pinnacle. Above rises the venerable square
tower--St. Saviour’s best feature.
The =Tower= at the intersection of the nave and transepts was partly built
by Bishop Fox in the Perpendicular style.
“At the intersection of the nave, transepts and choir, rises a
noble tower, thirty-five feet square and one hundred and fifty feet
in height, resting on four massive pillars adorned with clustered
columns. The sharp-pointed arches are very lofty. The interior of
the tower is in four stories, in the uppermost of which is a fine
peal of twelve bells. Externally the tower, which is not older than
the Sixteenth Century, somewhat resembles that of St. Sepulchre’s
Church, close by Newgate. It is divided into two parts, with
handsome pointed windows, in two stories, on each front; it has
tall pinnacles at each corner, and the battlements are of flint, in
squares or chequer-work.”--(E. W.)
The South transept, like the north transept, was built in the Decorated
style in the first half of the Fourteenth Century, but was rebuilt by
Cardinal Beaufort. It has been restored in the style of his time, and
the window of five lights is Transitional in style from Decorated to
Perpendicular.
We enter by the =Doorway= at the south-west, the principal entrance to the
Cathedral.
“In all probability the door was placed in this position when the
Norman nave was built by Bishop Giffard (_circa_ 1106); but its
character was altered by Peter de Rupibus, a century later, to
bring it into harmony with the rest of his Early English work, when
he remodelled the nave in that style.
“The porch that we now have agrees in its main features with the
drawings taken of the earlier one before it was destroyed. A deeply
recessed and acutely pointed arch is divided into two by a central
shaft, with moulded base and foliaged capital. The jambs contain
five shafts on each side, which differ from that in the centre, in
that they are of Purbeck marble, and banded, in pleasing contrast
to the plain stone of their own bases and capitals, and of the
(unbanded) central shaft. In the tympanum of the double doorway
thus formed, there is a pointed arcading, consisting of a central
arch and two smaller arches on either side. The deep soffit of the
arch in which this elegant arcading is enclosed, is adorned with a
series of quatrefoil panels.”--(Geo. W.)
On entering we get a fine view of more than two hundred feet.
The =Nave= was rebuilt in 1890-1897 and is a reproduction of the Early
English nave in nearly every detail. As we look down the long vista we
are reminded of Salisbury. Here, however, we have the magnificent screen
and the handsome East window above it. The clerestory is lighted by
plain lancet windows, enclosed in an elegant arcading.
Walking down the north aisle of the nave we soon come to the most
interesting monument in the Cathedral--the tomb of =John Gower=, who died
in 1408, eight years after his friend Chaucer, to whom the window above
(1900) is appropriately enough a memorial and bears the latter’s
portrait.
“He had been a liberal benefactor to the Church, and founded a
chantry in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, where he was
eventually buried. The chapel and chantry are no more, but the
monument marks the spot, having been restored in 1894 to its first
position. It is in the Perpendicular style, and consists of an
altar-tomb, with a dado, ornamented by seven panels in front, on
which lies the effigy of the poet, surmounted by a canopy of three
ogee arches, with an inner order of five cusps, and terminating in
crocketed pinnacles. There is a pilaster set angle-wise at each
end, banded at the separate divisions of the monument, and also
rising into crocketed pinnacles. There are similar pinnacles
between the arches of the canopy. Behind the canopy is a screen,
divided into open panels of three trefoil-headed lights. The
cornice at the top is modern, and the hands and nose of the figure
are restorations.
“The poet is represented lying on his back, with his hands joined
in prayer, and his head resting upon the three volumes on which his
fame depends, the _Speculum Meditantis_, _Vox Clamantis_, and
_Confessio Amantis_. He is vested in a long dark habit, buttoned
down to the feet, after the manner of a cassock, the ordinary dress
of an English gentleman at the time. There is a garland of four
roses round his head, and at his feet a lion couchant. The SS.
collar adorns the neck, with a pendant jewel, on which a swan is
engraved--the device of Richard II., to whom Gower was Poet
Laureate. On the wall of the canopy, at the foot of the tomb, there
is a sculptured and coloured representation of the poet’s own
shield of arms, crest and helmet. On the back wall of the recess,
above the effigy, there were formerly three painted figures,
representing Charity, Mercy, and Piety, each bearing a scroll with
an invocation, in Norman-French, for the soul of the departed.
After undergoing repainting more than once, with modifications, the
figures were scarcely recognisable in 1832, when the monument was
repaired, but the figures were unfortunately obliterated. The
inscription along the ledge of the tomb, which had also been
destroyed, is now replaced: ‘Hic jacet I. Gower, Arm. Angl: poeta
celeberrimus ac hoc sacro benefac. insignis. Vixit temporibus Edw.
III., Ric. II., et Henri IV.’”--(Geo. W.)
Now we have reached the =North Transept=, supposed to have been originally
a chapel dedicated to St. Peter. It is now used as a sort of museum for
the relics and antiquities of the church--old bosses, chests,
stone-coffins, etc. The large north window was unveiled in 1898 to
commemorate doubly the Prince Consort and Queen Victoria’s Diamond
Jubilee. Its four lights depict Gregory the Great, King Ethelbert,
Stephen Langton and William of Wykeham.
Passing to the tower we can now look upward as far as the floor of the
bell-ringers. The bosses on the new oaken roof date from the Fifteenth
Century. From it hangs a fine =Chandelier= of 1680.
The =South Transept= was rebuilt by Cardinal Beaufort, whose arms we see
on a pier by the transept door. The great south window of five lights,
described by Sir Arthur Blomfield, the designer, as “transitional
between Flowing Decorated and Perpendicular,” is filled with modern
glass. The design is a “Tree of Jesse.”
Returning now to the =Choir= we pause here to study it in detail. It was
built by Peter de Rupibus in the Thirteenth Century, and is Early
English. It consists of five bays. The piers are alternate circular and
octagonal, with plain capitals and well-cut base mouldings. Four arched
openings occur in each bay of the triforium. Corbels with sculptured
heads occur on the arches of the south side.
The =Altar= stands on a platform and above it rises the wonderful =Screen=,
erected by Bishop Fox in 1520. It almost fills the entire eastern end of
the choir.
“The screen is about thirty feet in height, and extends to the main
arcades on either side. Three tiers of canopied niches, ten in each
tier, divided down the centre by a Perpendicular series of three
large niches, all occupied by statues, made up a composition which
was at once ‘a thing of beauty’ and an object lesson on the
Incarnation. The total number of niches (thirty-three) suggested a
mystic reference to the years of our Lord’s earthly life, while the
image of the Pelican ‘in her piety,’ here and there, besides being
a reminder of Bishop Fox (whose peculiar device it was), also
typified the sacrament of the altar. The original materials of
which the screen was built are quoted as ‘Caen and fire-stone,’ for
which Mr. Wallace substituted stone from Painswick in
Gloucestershire, as more easily obtained and agreeing in colour
with the old work.
“The doors on each side will be noticed, with their depressed ogee
headings, which indicate that this screen is of somewhat later date
than the corresponding one (also by Bishop Fox) at Winchester.
Another indication to the same effect has been detected in the
grotesque carvings in the spandrels, which are here of a humorous
character, whereas at Winchester the minor decorations are entirely
sacred, e.g., the Annunciation and Visitation.”--(Geo. W.)
The =East Window= above contains three lancets, the glass representing the
Crucifixion in the centre with St. John on one side and the Virgin on
the other. It is placed in a quintuple arcade. The prevailing colour is
blue.
On the north side of the choir under the first arch we notice the
=Monument of Richard Humble=, a good specimen of the Jacobean period.
Here, under an arched canopy, Richard Humble is kneeling before an
altar, with his two wives behind him. The second one wears a conical
hat.
The =Retro-Choir=, now called the =Lady-Chapel=, was erected by Peter de
Rupibus. It is one of the best examples of Early English extant. Six
slender columns support the groined vault. If we look at it from the
south-east corner we gain a good view showing the altar on the north
side and the =tomb of Bishop Andrews= (died 1626) on the west, an example
of the Renaissance style, with a painted effigy. This Bishop of
Winchester (who often visited St. Saviour’s, the most important church
in his diocese after the Cathedral of Winchester) was buried in a little
chapel east of the retro-choir. The “Bishop’s Chapel,” as it was called,
was destroyed in 1830 and the body of Bishop Andrews was transferred to
its present place.
Of the windows in the Retro-Choir the most admired is the one in the
north side of three lights containing figures of Charles I., Thomas à
Becket and Archbishop Laud. The tracery is in the Decorated style.
Walking along the north-choir-aisle we pass the effigy of a knight and
soon come to the most conspicuous monument in this aisle, that of =John
Trehearne=, servant to Queen Elizabeth and “Gentleman Portar” to James I.
On the top of the tomb are Trehearne and his wife with big ruffs. They
proudly hold a tablet which is a eulogy of Trehearne’s remarkable
qualities. Their four children kneel on a bas-relief below. It is a very
interesting example of Seventeenth Century mortuary art.
A door leads from the north-choir-aisle into the =Chapel of St. John the
Divine=, now famous for the =Harvard Window= in its eastern wall.
“Henceforth the chapel will be associated with the name of John
Harvard, who was born in the parish, and baptised in the church on
29th November, 1607, and its restoration is intended to take the
form of a memorial to that great and good man.
“The first practical step in this direction was taken by the Hon.
Joseph H. Choate, who manifested great interest in the ancient
fabric while he was American Ambassador, and presented the east
window to the chapel in commemoration of John Harvard, founder of
the renowned university which bears his name. The window, unveiled
by Mr. Choate on Monday, 2nd May, 1905, is of three lights,
transomed, as designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and Sons, the glass
being made in America under the supervision of Mr. Charles F.
McKim, the famous American architect. The design is by Mr. John La
Farge. In the central light of the lower division the Baptism of
Christ is depicted, attendant angels occupying the sides. The upper
division contains the arms of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where
John Harvard was educated, and of the Harvard University, with its
mottoes, _Veritas_ and _Christo et Ecclesiae_. The base bears the
inscription, ‘In memory of John Harvard, founder of Harvard
University in America, baptised in this church, Nov. 29, 1607.’
“The window is a noteworthy example of modern work, and the
treatment of the familiar subject is distinctly original, in which
respect, as well as in colouring, it presents a very striking
contrast to the other windows, especially to those of mediæval
character, throughout the church. Perhaps it is fortunate that it
occupies an isolated position in the chapel, where the brilliance
and peculiarity of the colouring are seen to full advantage without
detriment to the other windows.”--(Geo. W.)
We again find our way back to the tower and into the south-aisle of the
nave for the particular purpose of looking at the windows representing
the =Elizabethan players and dramatists=, associated with the Southwark
theatres. Some of them, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger and Edmund
Shakespeare, are buried here. The first of this series of windows is a
memorial to =Edward Alleyn= (1566-1626); next to =Francis Beaumont=
(1585-1616); next to =John Fletcher= (1579-1625); next to =Philip Massinger=
(1583-1639); next to =Shakespeare=, who lived not far from his theatre,
the Globe, in the parish of St. Saviour’s Church.
[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR’S, SOUTHWARK: NAVE, EAST]
[Illustration: WESTMINSTER ABBEY: WEST FRONT]
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
DEDICATED TO ST. PETER. CHURCH OF A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY.
SPECIAL FEATURES: EDWARD THE CONFESSOR’S CHAPEL; SHRINE OF THE
CONFESSOR; THE “POETS’ CORNER”; HENRY VII.’S CHAPEL.
Westminster Abbey, though not a cathedral, is, perhaps, the most famous
church in England. It is, however, visited on account of its historical
associations rather than because of its architecture. Yet architects
know full well that it is the equal of Salisbury, Lincoln, Ely, or
Canterbury. In it all British sovereigns have been crowned since the
days of the Conqueror and in it rest the remains of the nation’s most
honoured dead.
According to tradition, in the Seventh Century, Siebert, King of the
East Saxons, built a church to St. Peter on what was then Thorney
Island. It became known as Westminster.
Dunstan established a Benedictine monastery here; but the Abbey that we
know was begun by Edward the Confessor in 1050. This King died soon
after the Choir was finished in 1065, and was buried there. We gain an
idea of his church from the Bayeux tapestry, which depicts Edward the
Confessor’s funeral. Some portions of it remain below the present Choir.
During William Rufus’s reign the transepts and first bay of the nave
were finished.
Henry III. determined to build a new church in the French style; and
this was begun in 1245 and completed as far as the fourth bay of the
nave in 1269. It is the most finished production of the first half of
the Thirteenth Century in England.
Henry III. also built a Lady-Chapel, afterwards destroyed by Henry VII.
for his exquisite chapel--the most perfect example of Perpendicular
work. During the reign of Richard II. the old nave was reconstructed.
To many, the exterior of Westminster Abbey is not as impressive as St.
Paul’s. It is disappointing in size and somewhat too narrow for its
height. It is only when we enter and see the superb architecture and
impressive monuments that its grandeur and solemnity grow upon us,
notwithstanding the fact that the black-gowned vergers conducting
parties of tourists from tomb to tomb and chapel to chapel, in
business-like fashion, do all they can to dispel reverence by rattling
off stories of Queen Hanne and ‘Enery VII., not always with
unimpeachable accuracy.
“The WEST FRONT is flanked by two towers 225 feet high, built by
Wren and finished by his pupil Hawksmoor, about 1740. In the centre
of the front is the great Perpendicular window, beneath which is a
row of niches. The entrance porch has a groined roof. The nave is
remarkable for its length and height. On the north side we notice
that there is a wealth of buttresses. Strong buttresses support the
aisle walls, and from these flying-buttresses stretch across to the
walls built on the central arcade. The four eastern buttresses
comprise the part of the church finished by Henry III.; the rest of
the nave, with the exception of Wren’s towers, was built during the
last half of the Fourteenth Century and the beginning of the
Fifteenth. The figures in the niches are modern.”--(P. H. D.)
The =North Front= is new, designed by Sir G. Scott and Mr. Pearson.
“It is a very elaborate work and much of it is beautiful; but it
does not seem to harmonise with the rest of the building. There is
a large rose-window; on each side tall buttresses crowned with
turrets and covered with niches. There is an arcade of open-work
below and then some deeply-recessed Early English windows, and
below three doorways under one string-course, the centre one having
a high gable. The door is divided by a pier having a finely-carved
figure of the Virgin and Child. The tympanum is divided into three
panels. In the highest is Our Lord in glory surrounded by angels
and below him are the Twelve Apostles, while in the lowest tier are
figures representing Art, History, Philosophy, War, Legislation and
Science, with the builders of the Abbey, Edward the Confessor,
Henry III. and Richard II. The niches are filled with figures of
persons in some way connected with the Abbey. The Choir is in the
form of an apse, with radiating chapels, planned on the model of
the French _chevet_, according to the taste of Henry III., which he
had cultivated during his sojourn in France. The Lady-Chapel at the
east end, commonly called Henry VII.’s Chapel, is one of the
noblest examples of the best Perpendicular work in the kingdom, and
ranks with St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, and King’s College,
Cambridge. The monastic buildings are on the south side of the
Abbey.”--(P. H. D.)
The ground plan is French, with a French _chevet_ and chapels radiating
from the Choir, and not only in the plan but in the narrowness and
height of the bays of the Choir and in the tracery of the windows.
French characteristics declare themselves. The nave is bordered with
aisles. Beyond the Choir rises the central tower; and on either side the
north and south transepts. The latter is known as the “Poets’ Corner.”
Beyond comes the altar, around which many tombs crowd closely; and
beyond them the North and South Ambulatory. Beyond again runs a circle
of chapels. Then beyond this apse a flight of steps leading to Henry
VII.’s Chapel, also crowded with tombs.
The Cloisters and Chapter-House lie on the south side of the Abbey; and
on the right of the chief or West entrance, we find the famous Jerusalem
Chamber, Jericho, and the Dining-Hall and Court--all part of the old
Palace and demonstrating to strangers from over-sea the close connection
between the religious and civic life of the British nation.
“One never enters the Abbey Church without a thrill of admiration
for the daring genius who raised those lofty vaults. That they were
the first of their kind in England is almost certain, but the name
of their designer does not seem to have been preserved. It is more
likely that he was an Englishman who had studied in France, than
that he was a Frenchman. Certain it is that though the plan, if not
all the design, is purely French, the arrangement of the chapels
being in fact peculiar to Westminster amongst English churches, the
workmanship is very superior to that in any contemporary building
on the Continent.”--(W. J. L.)
The =Nave= is the loftiest in England. It is two feet higher than that of
York Minster.