Part 12

“The Tudor work (1485-1519) is exceptional in importance. It includes the north entrance and other late portions of the western screen, two exquisite chapels both built by Bishop Oldham--his own chantry (St. Saviour’s) on the south side of the retro-choir, the Speke chantry (St. George’s) on the north--and in addition, Prior Sylke’s chantry on the north transept. All this work is admirable in design and execution. In Oldham’s chantry is a charming series of owls with the scroll _Dam_, a rebus on his name, proceeding from the beak of each little owl. To Bishop Oldham also (1504-1519) is due the grand set of stone screens--one of the glories of the cathedral--no less than ten, which veil all the nine chapels and Prior Sylke’s chantry, and add fresh beauty to the beautiful choir.”--(F. B.)

At the extreme end of the east aisle is the =Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene=, probably the work of Bishop Bronescomb, who died in 1280. The east window, which resembles that of the opposite chapel of St. Gabriel, contains some stained glass of the Fifteenth Century. In this chapel a fine Elizabethan monument to Sir Gawain Carew, his wife and their nephew Sir Peter should be noticed. It dates from 1589. A staircase here leads to the roofs of the north-choir-aisle and of the ambulatory. The views of the Cathedral obtained here are very fine, especially of the flying-buttresses.

=St. Gabriel’s Chapel= is similar to that of St. Mary Magdalene. Bishop Bronescomb’s patron saint was St. Gabriel the Archangel, whose feast was, in consequence, celebrated in Exeter Cathedral with the same solemnity as those of Christmas and Easter. A monument by Flaxman to =General Simcoe=, who died in 1806, having distinguished himself at the head of the Queen’s Rangers during the American war, and a splendid statue of =Northcote=, the painter, by Chantrey claim attention.

Finally summing up the characteristics of this glorious fane:

“Whatever else the student and lover of Gothic architecture omits, he must not omit to visit Exeter. He will find it fresh and different from anything he has seen before. Its unique plan, without central or western towers, the absence of obstructive piers at the crossing, the consequently uninterrupted vista, the singleness and unity of the whole design, the remarkable system of proportions, based on breadth rather than height, the satisfying massiveness and solidity of the building, inside and outside, and at the same time the airiness and lightness of the interior, the magnificence of its piers of marble, the delightful colour-contrast of marble column and sandstone arch, the amazing diversity of the window tracery, the exquisite carving of the corbels and bosses, the abundant and admirable Tudor work, the wealth of chantries and monuments, the superb sedilia, screen and throne, the _misereres_, the vaults, the extraordinary engineering feats from which its present form results, the originality of the west front and of the whole interior and exterior, place Exeter in the very forefront of the triumphs of the Mediæval architecture of our country.”--(F. B.)

WELLS

DEDICATION: ST. ANDREW.

SPECIAL FEATURES: WEST FRONT; EAST END; INVERTED ARCHES IN NAVE; CHAPTER-HOUSE; CARVINGS OF CAPITALS; CHAIN-GATE.

The site of this beautiful cathedral had long been sacred to the Britons on account of its wells, or springs, when the early Christians on coming to Glastonbury placed these waters under the protection of St. Andrew. King Ina’s house of secular canons was established here in 704, not far from the older Glastonbury, which, according to legend, was established by Joseph of Arimathea. At the beginning of the Tenth Century, a new bishopric was founded by Edward the Elder for the province of Somerset; and the Abbot of Glastonbury was made Bishop of Wells.

“Seen from a distance, the picturesque group of towers and pinnacles derives increased effect from the beauty and variety of the surrounding landscape. On one side rises the long ridge of the Mendips, with its rocky outliers; whilst in the southern distance the lofty peak of Glastonbury Tor lifts itself above the marches, marking the site of what was generally believed, throughout the Middle Ages, to have been the earliest Christian church in Britain, if not the first in Christendom. The Cathedral itself seems to nestle under its protecting hills; and the waters of the Bishop’s moat, sparkling in the sunshine, indicate the spring or great well which led King Ina to establish his church here, and which had perhaps rendered the site a sacred one as well in the days of the Druids as in those of that primitive British Christianity which disappeared before the heathendom of the advancing Saxons.

“From whatever direction the visitor enters the Close, he must pass under one of the three gatehouses built by Bishop Beckington (1443-1464), all of which display his shield of arms and his rebus,--a beacon inflamed issuing from a tun or barrel. Over the Chain-Gate passes the gallery which connects the Vicars’ College with the Cathedral. The gate, called the Penniless Porch, opens to the Market-place; but the Cathedral will be best approached for the first time through Browne’s gate, at the end of Sadler-street. From this point an excellent view of the west front is obtained, rising at the end of a broad lawn of greensward, bordered with trees. The Cathedral close of Wells is scarcely so picturesque as those of Salisbury or of Winchester. It is more open, however, and its short, bright turf contrasts very effectively with the grey stone of the buildings which encircle it and with the grand old church itself. This, with the exception of its pilasters of Purbeck, is built throughout with stone from the Doulting quarries, about nine miles from Wells.”--(R. J. K.)

During the rule of Robert (1135-1166) discord and jealousy between the men of Bath and Wells rose to such a pitch that it was determined the bishops should in future be styled “of Bath and Wells” and elected by an equal number of monks and canons from the abbey and collegiate church. Bishop Robert rebuilt and repaired the Saxon cathedral which had fallen into decay. Robert’s work has entirely perished. The next builders were Bishop Reginald Fitz-Jocelyn (1171-1191) and Bishop Jocelin of Wells (1206-1242), who rebuilt the Cathedral as we see it to-day. Jocelin was able to consecrate parts of it in 1239.

Jocelin, the great “maker of Wells,” bishop from 1206 to 1242, and his brother, Hugh (afterwards Bishop of Lincoln), were natives of Wells; here Jocelin served as canon and Hugh as archdeacon. Both were rich. Hugh, who lavished money upon Lincoln, also gave much to Jocelin for Wells. Jocelin spent his entire fortune upon his beloved Cathedral. This Jocelin must not be confused with the earlier Reginald Fitz-Jocelyn, bishop from 1171 to 1191.

“The part which he built, there can be little doubt, included the three western bays of the choir (which then formed the presbytery), the transepts, north porch and the eastern bays of the nave. That is to say, on entering the church, one is looking upon Reginald’s work, and not Jocelin’s; for, although the rest of the nave was completed by Jocelin, it was done in accordance with Reginald’s original plan. It is of great importance to remember this fact, since until recently the nave, with the other parts just mentioned, was attributed by Professor Willis, Professor Freeman, and most authorities to Jocelin.”--(P. D.)

Jocelin also built the famous west front and began the Bishop’s Palace.

In 1248 an earthquake did some damage to the central tower, and repairs were at once undertaken. The canons generously contributed funds which were augmented by the help of a local saint. Bishop William Bytton, nephew of the bishop of the same name (who lies in St. Catherine’s Chapel), died in 1274; and his remains soon began to cure the toothache. His tomb in the south-choir-aisle was visited by sufferers, and the famous western capitals in the transept doubtless refer to their cures.

For the next fifty years and more, much was done to the Cathedral by the energetic John de Godelee, dean from 1306 to 1333, who finished the Lady Chapel in 1326.

In 1318 the canons voluntarily offered a fifth of their salaries to raise the central tower, which was carried up three more stages and finished in 1321; and in 1325 they began new stalls, each canon having agreed to pay for his own stall. In 1337 and 1338 the whole church was thrown into dismay on account of fractures in the tower; for the tower appears to have sunk deeply into the earth, owing to pressure on the arches. All the masonry was disturbed; and in order to remedy this trouble, the curious double arches were inserted, to help support the strain. The original arches were also patched up and filled in with great blocks of stone and strengthened in various ways.

Much was due to Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury (1329-1363), who was buried before the High Altar in the Choir he had founded. He also finished the Palace begun by Jocelin. Bishop Harewell, who died in 1386, gave two-thirds of the cost of the south-west tower called by his name; and the executors of Bishop Bubwith finished the northwest tower that bears his name.

Bishop Beckington built the lovely gateways, and Dean Gunthorpe (died 1498), the Deanery.

The eastern walk of the Cloister and the Library above date from between 1407 and 1424; and the western and southern Cloister walks, between 1443 and 1464.

“Late researches have shown that Bishop Reginald began the present church and that the Early English work should be divided into four periods: (1) The three western arches of the choir, with the four western bays of its aisles, the transepts and the four eastern bays of the nave, which are Reginald’s work (1174-1191), and so early as to be still in a state of transition from the Norman. It is a unique example of transitional building, and Willis calls it ‘an improved Norman, worked with considerable lightness and richness, but distinguished from the Early English by greater massiveness and severity.’ The characteristics of this late Twelfth Century work are bold round mouldings, square abaci, capitals, some with traces of the classical volute, others interwoven with fanciful imagery that reminds us of the Norman work of Glastonbury; while in the north porch, which must be the earliest of all, we even find the zigzag Norman moulding. (2) The rest of the nave, which was finished in Jocelin’s time--that is to say, in the first half of the Thirteenth Century--preserves the main characteristics of the earlier work, though the flowing sculptured foliage becomes more naturalistic, and lacks the quaint intermingling of figure subjects. (3) The west front, which is Jocelin’s work, and alone can claim to be of pure Early English style. (4) The chapter-house crypt, which is so late as to be almost Transitional, though, curiously enough, it contains the characteristic Early English dog-tooth moulding which is found nowhere else except in the west window. From this, we reach the Early Decorated of the staircase, the full Decorated of the chapter-house itself, the later Decorated of the Lady-Chapel, the transitional Decorated of the presbytery, and the full Perpendicular of the western towers. Much of the masonry in the transepts, choir, choir aisles, and even in the eastern transepts, bears the peculiar diagonal lines which are the marks of Norman tooling. This does not, of course, prove that any part of Bishop Robert’s church is standing, for mediæval builders were notoriously economical in using up old masonry, but it does show that there are more remains of his work in the building than was generally supposed.”--(P. D.)

The Cathedral was much damaged during the Reformation and also during Monmouth’s rebellion in 1685, when the Duke’s followers stabled their horses in it and enjoyed a barrel of beer on the high altar.

There is a nave of nine bays, a space under the tower, a choir opening eastward of it and two transepts (each of four bays) with aisles opening north and south. The choir from the screen to the high altar occupies six bays; a retro-choir of two bays lies behind the altar; and beyond it again is an apsidal Lady-Chapel. The west front has been much admired, but some critics consider it too heavy for the short towers that abut on it. The windows of the nave and transepts are Decorated. The windows of the choir are more ornate, although in the same style, and those of the Lady-Chapel are still more so. The central tower (Perpendicular) is entirely covered with panelling. There is no spire. On the south side large cloisters open from the south-western tower and from the western aisle of the south transept; but there are only three walks, there being none on the north side. The Chapter-House is approached from the north side of the choir by a short passage and a flight of steps: a crypt lies under it. A beautiful porch, with parvise, opens into the sixth bay of the north aisle. From the eastern aisle of the north transept the Chain-Gate passes to the Vicars’ College, a double row of picturesque houses, dating from 1360.

“The Chain-Gate, in its association with the Chapter-House and the Vicars’ Close, is unique. The incline of the steps, easily to be distinguished from without, gives the corner a character quite its own. And the entrance to the Green by this gate, with the Cathedral on one side, balanced by the varied gables and roofs of the houses opposite, is particularly striking. The exterior of the Chapter-House comes into full view; the great central tower stands boldly up against the sky; the eastern gable presents its curious apex, and the Lady-Chapel below stands like a thing separate from the rest. Beyond, and under the Chain-Gateway, an arch admits to the Vicars’ Close--a charming street, lined on either side with diminutive dwelling-houses, once the separate residences of the vicars choral. At the top of the close is a small Perpendicular chapel with a library above. The interior is profusely--almost grotesquely--decorated in a manner to remind one to some extent of those strange little oratories so frequently met with in other parts of Europe. But to many it will possess a certain charm, despite its florid adornments, not often realised in this country. The Vicars’ Hall, a considerable portion of which is of the Fourteenth Century, with additions of a tower and other features, probably by Bishop Beckington, stands at the bottom of the street and communicates through the gallery of the Chain-Gate with the Chapter-House staircase, and thus with the cathedral. By this gallery the choristers passed into the church.”--(A. A.)

The celebrated =West Front=

“consists of a centre, in which are the three lancets of the western window and above them a gable receding in stages, with small pinnacles at the angles; and of two wings or western towers, projecting beyond the nave, as at Salisbury. The upper part of these towers is of Perpendicular character. That to the north-west was completed by Bishop Bubwith (1407-1424), whose statue remains in one of the niches: that to the south-west was the work of Bishop Harewell (1366-1386). Both these towers, fine as are their details, have a somewhat truncated appearance; and it is probable that the original Early English design terminated at the uppermost band of sculpture. The three western doors are of unusually small dimensions, perhaps in order to leave ample room for the tiers of figures which rise above them. Six narrow buttresses at the angles of which are slender shafts of Purbeck marble, supporting canopies, divide the entire front into five portions. The whole of the statues which fill the niches are of Doulting stone.”--(R. J. K.)

Many visitors are at the first sight disappointed at the mutilated and archaic expression of the figures; but they have commanded the greatest admiration ever since old Fuller wrote: “The west front of Wells is a masterpiece of art indeed, made of imagery in just proportion, so that we may call them _vera et spirantis signa_. England affordeth not the like.”

The =West Front= should be considered as a great screen intended for the display of statuary rather than as the west termination of the nave. The stone population, numbering about three hundred life-size or colossal figures, is only equalled by that of Rheims and that of Chartres. All critics agree that these statues, so notable for their graceful draperies and spiritual expressions, rank with the contemporary masterpieces of Italy and France. They are thought to have been made by Italian sculptors at the time when Niccola Pisano was reviving sculpture in Italy under the inspiration of classical models. The kings, queens, princes, knights and nobles wear the costume of the Thirteenth Century. The other figures are prophets, angels, martyrs and “the holy church throughout the world.”

Unlike the monumental west fronts of France, with their splendid porches and doors, the doors of Wells have been compared to “rabbit-holes on a mountain-side.”

The western towers projecting beyond the aisles of the nave give additional breadth to the west front. The arrangement resembles that of Rouen. The two towers are very similar. Both have two belfry windows on each side and a stair turret on the outer western angle. The spires were never added.

The =Central Tower= is Early English to the level of the roof, and the two upper stages are Decorated. From its summit a beautiful view is to be enjoyed.

The =North Porch= (Norman) is the oldest part

of the church. Some architects consider it the finest piece of architecture at Wells.

“The entrance is doubly recessed and has the zigzag ornament among its mouldings, an indication, if not of its early construction, at least of lingering Norman traditions among its builders. These mouldings deserve the most careful attention. The outer or dripstone, is formed of a very beautiful combination of Early English foliage. Square panels on either side of the arch contain figures of mystic animals, one of which is a cockatrice. The gable above has a blind arcade, in the centre of which a small triplet gives light to a parvise chamber. From the buttress at the angles rise slender spire-capped pinnacles. The buttresses themselves are flat and narrow.

“The interior of the porch is divided into two bays, and its walls are lined with a double arcade, the upper row of arches being more deeply recessed than the tower. The vault springs from a central group of triple shafts. The sculptures of the capitals on the east side possibly represent the death of King Edmund the Martyr (A.D. 870),--bound to a tree as a mark for the Danish arrows and afterwards beheaded. The figures are well designed, and full of life and character. The double doorway leading into the nave displays, like the exterior arch, the Norman zigzag.”--(R. J. K.)

On entering the =Nave= the visitor is at once struck by the noble proportions, the impression of great length, the broad horizontal band of the triforium, and the wealth of spirited and varied carving of the capitals and corbels; but the most striking feature of all is the great inverted, or double, arch that struts across the central piers forming a St. Andrew’s Cross, by which name it is generally known, and giving a grotesque (we are almost tempted to say Chinese) appearance.

“Undoubtedly the first thing that the stranger notices in Wells Cathedral, and the last that he is likely to forget, is the curious contrivance by which the central tower is supported. Of the three pairs of arches (the upper arch resting inverted upon the lower) which stretch across the nave and each of the transepts, that in the nave is seen at once, and lends a unique character to the whole church. At first these arches give one something of a shock, so unnecessarily frank are they, so excessively sturdy, so very English, we may think. They carry their burden as a great-limbed labourer will carry a child in a crowd, to the great advantage of the burden and the natural dissatisfaction of the crowd. In fact, they seem to block up the view, and to deform what they do not hide.

“That is the first impression, but it does not last for long. Familiarity breeds respect for this simple, strong device, which arrested the fall of the tower in the Fourteenth Century, and has kept its walls ever since in perfect security, so that the great structure has stood like a rock upon the watery soil of Wells for nearly seven centuries, with its rents and breaks just as they were when the damage was first repaired. The ingenuity, too, of these strange flying-buttresses becomes more and more evident; the ‘ungainly props’ are seen to be so worked into the tower they support, that they almost seem like part of the original design of the first builders. One discovers that it is the organ, and not the arches, that really blocks the view, and one marvels that so huge a mass of masonry can look so light as to present, with the great circles in the spandrels where the arches meet, a kind of pattern of gigantic geometrical tracery. Indeed I think no one who has been in Wells a week could wish to see the inverted arches removed.

“To appreciate the work fully, it should be looked at from some spot, such as the north-east corner of the north transept, whence the three great pairs of arches can be seen together. The effect from here is very fine, especially when the nave is lighted up and strong shadows are cast. The extreme boldness of the mouldings, the absence of shafts and capitals and of all ornament, give them a primitive vigour, and their great intermingling curves, which contrast so magnificently with the little shafts of the piers beyond, seem more like a part of some great mountain cavern than a mere device of architectural utility.”--(P. D.)

The general effect of the Nave is that of length rather than height, largely due to the continuous arcade of the triforium which leads the eye irresistibly eastwards, and the comparatively restricted height of the Cathedral has been increased by bold vaulting, and by the way the lantern arches fit into the vault. A little study will show the visitor the separation between the late Twelfth Century work of Reginald de Bohun, or Fitz-Jocelyn, and the Thirteenth Century work of Jocelin. These differences lie in the masonry and the carved heads and the capitals.