Six years before the death of Henry VIII., to wit, in 1541,
Peterborough was separated from the Diocese of Lincoln and was created
into an episcopal see. The last abbot of Peterborough was appointed
first bishop, with the abbot's house as the episcopal palace, and the
monastery church as the cathedral. To this building, the Norman effort
of Abbot Salisbury, was grafted the architecture of the Early English
style. No pen can so adequately describe the magnificence of the west
front of this cathedral as the brush of Mr. Collins. This artist has
done full justice to his subject, which has evidently been a work of
love to him. In his rendering he has both successfully caught the true
spirit of the church's grandeur, and has managed to incorporate his
distinct individuality. Mr. Collins has shown the same qualities with
regard to the "market-place."
The three lofty and beautiful arches of this west front are Early
English. Perhaps a jarring note to its fine composition is the small
porch, over which there is a chapel to St. Thomas a Becket.
A square tower at the north-west angle and another similar one at the
south-west angle of the nave enrich the general effect. The nave itself
is Norman, and is separated from the aisles by finely clustered piers
and arches of the same style, but lighter than usual in character.
The east end is circular, and there are several chapels of the English
style subsequent to the Early English. They are elegantly designed with
fan tracery, and the windows, since their original foundation, appear to
have been enriched with tracery.
On the south side there is the shrine to St. Tibba, and close to it Mary
Queen of Scots was buried. Her remains were afterwards exhumed and
removed to Westminster.
The north side was graced with a tomb to Queen Catherine of Arragon.
Uneasy was her rest, for Cromwell's troops laid sacrilegious hands on
the tomb. Her royal memory is now perpetuated by a commonplace marble
slab.
Not content with this the Roundheads, as the parliamentary forces were
called, defaced the Cathedral, looted its plate and ornaments, and
pulled down part of the cloisters, the chapter house, and the episcopal
palace. What remains of the cloisters exhibit specimens of Early Norman,
down to the later periods of English architecture, and give some idea of
their former grandeur.
Besides its beauties, this cathedral affords an excellent study of
arches, illustrating the subtleties of every transitional period in
architecture, from Norman to perpendicular.
[Illustration: PETERBOROUGH