Part 3

“The light and elegant style of vaulting known as fan-tracery, which is peculiar to this style, with its delicate pendants and lace-like ornaments, harmonises finely with the elaborate ornament of the tabernacle-work ornament. Fan-tracery vaulting is _peculiarly English_. The principle of it began with the earliest English Gothic style, as in the cloisters of Lincoln Cathedral, each stone of the vaulting being cut to fit its place. In France this is never done, each block of stone is oblong, as in those for the walls, and is only made to curve over in a vault by the mortar between the joints.

“Arches are not so acute as in the earlier periods; capitals and bases of columns are distinguished by the shallowness of the mouldings; mullions are carried straight through the arch of the windows; doorways consist of a depressed arch within a square frame with a label above; the label moulding is frequently filled with foliage and the space round the arch parallel; towers are often extremely rich and elaborately ornamented with four or five stories of windows, canopies, pinnacles and tabernacles; porches are also fine, highly enriched with panel-work, buttresses and pinnacles, and often with a richly-groined vault in the interior; and mouldings are generally more shallow than the earlier ones.

“There is an ornament which was introduced in this style and which is very characteristic. This is called the ‘Tudor-flower,’ not because it was introduced in the time of the Tudors, but because it was so much used at that period. It generally consists of some modification of the fleur-de-lis alternately with a small trefoil or ball, and is much used as a crest for screens on fonts, niches, capitals and in almost all places where such ornament can be used. The foliage of this style is frequently very beautifully executed, almost as faithful to nature as in the Decorated style, in which the fidelity to nature is one of the characteristic features. There is comparatively a squareness about the Perpendicular foliage, which takes from the freshness and beauty which distinguished that of the Decorated style. Indeed, the use of square and angular forms is one of the characteristics of the style; we have square panels, square foliage, square crockets and finials, square forms in the windows--caused by the introduction of so many transoms--and an approach to squareness in the depressed and low pitch of the roofs in late examples.”--(J. H. P.)

The woodwork of the Perpendicular period is very beautiful: open timber roofs (met with in the eastern counties), screens and lofts across the chancel-arch and richly carved bench ends exist in considerable numbers.

“The frequent use of figures, simply as corbels between the windows of the clerestory to carry the roof, is a good characteristic of the late Perpendicular style; they are generally of the time of Henry the Seventh or Eighth. The figure used is generally that of an angel, and each angel is sometimes represented as carrying a different musical instrument so as to make up a heavenly choir.”--(J. H. P.)

Among the best examples of late Perpendicular are Henry VII.’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey; St. George’s Chapel, Windsor; King’s College Chapel, Cambridge; and Bath Abbey Church.

In writing of the latter W. D. Howells so beautifully describes this style that no excuse is needed for bringing his definition into this place. He says:

“It is mostly of that Perpendicular Gothic which I suppose more mystically lifts the soul than any other form of architecture, and it is in a gracious harmony with itself through its lovely proportions; from the stems of its clustered column, the tracery of their fans spreads and delicately feels its way over the vaulted roof as if it were a living growth of something rooted in the earth beneath.”

ABBREVIATIONS OF AUTHORS QUOTED

A. A.--Alexander Ansted

F. B.--Frederic Bond J. E. B.--J. E. Bygate

A. B. C.--A. B. Clifton A. C.-B.--A. Clutton-Brock J. C.-B.--J. Cavis-Brown H. C. C.--Hubert C. Corlette

A. D.--Arthur Dimock C. D.--Charles Dickens, Jr. P. D.--Percy Dearmer P. H. D.--P. H. Ditchfield T. F. D.--Thomas Frognall Dibdin

A. H. F.--A. Hugh Fisher E. A. F.--E. A. Freeman F. W. F.--F. W. Farrar W. H. F.--W. H. Fremantle

H.--Hope C. H.--Cecil Hallet L. H.--Leigh Hunt W. H. H.--W. H. Hart

A. F. K.--A. F. Kendrick G. W. K.--Dean Kitchin R. J. K.--Richard J. Knight

L.--Dr. Luckock W. J. L.--W. J. Loftie

M.--Dean Milman J. McC.--Justin McCarthy H. J. L. J. M.--H. J. L. J. Massé

P.--Dean Patrick P.-C.--Dean Pury-Cust F. A. P.--F. A. Paley G. H. P.--G. H. Palmer J. H. P.--J. H. Parker T. P.--T. Perkins

C. H. B. Q.--C. H. B. Quennell

R.--Rickman F. and R.--Field and Routledge

S.--Dean Spence A. P. S.--Dean Stanley E. F. S.--Edward F. Strange G. G. S.--G. G. Scott W. D. S.--W. D. Sweeting

T.--Canon Talbot

W.--Willis Wal.--Walcott A.-à-W.--Anthony-à-Wood C. W.--Winston E. W.--Edward Walford F. S. W.--F. S. Waller G. W.--Gleeson White Geo. W.--George Worley H. W.--Hartley Wither

CONTENTS

PAGE

CANTERBURY 1

ROCHESTER 33

WINCHESTER 46

CHICHESTER 66

SALISBURY 76

EXETER 90

WELLS 107

BATH ABBEY 134

BRISTOL 140

GLOUCESTER 151

HEREFORD 174

WORCESTER 188

LICHFIELD 200

CHESTER 215

MANCHESTER 222

CARLISLE 227

DURHAM 233

RIPON 249

YORK MINSTER 260

LINCOLN 284

SOUTHWELL 313

PETERBOROUGH 319

ELY 334

NORWICH 349

ST. ALBANS 360

OXFORD 375

ST. PAUL’S, LONDON 393

ST. SAVIOUR’S, SOUTHWARK 415

WESTMINSTER ABBEY 425

INDEX 445

ILLUSTRATIONS

Salisbury: Cloisters _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

Canterbury: South Porch 12

Canterbury: Nave, east 13

Canterbury: Choir, east 24

Rochester: West front 25

Rochester: Nave, east 40

Rochester: Choir, west 41

Winchester: Nave, west 52

Winchester: Font 53

Winchester: Choir, east 64

Winchester: West front 65

Chichester 72

Chichester: Nave, east 73

Chichester: Screen 76

Salisbury: North 77

Salisbury: Nave, east 88

Exeter: South-west 89

Exeter: Nave, east 98

Exeter: Choir, east 99

Wells: West front 114

Wells: North Porch 115

Wells: Nave, east 128

Wells: South-west 129

Bath Abbey: West front 136

Bath Abbey: Choir, west 137

Bristol: North 144

Bristol: Nave, east 145

Gloucester: East 154

Gloucester: Tomb of Edward II 155

Gloucester: Choir, east 164

Gloucester: Cloisters 165

Hereford: Nave, east 176

Hereford: North-east 177

Hereford: Choir 186

Worcester: South-west 187

Worcester: Nave, east 192

Worcester: Choir, east 193

Lichfield: West front 200

Lichfield: Nave, east 201

Lichfield: from East window 212

Chester: North 213

Chester: Choir, west 218

Chester: Choir-stalls 219

Manchester: South 224

Manchester: Nave, east 225

Carlisle: South-west 228

Carlisle: Choir 229

Carlisle: East End 232

Durham: West front 233

Durham: Nave, east 240

Durham: Galilee Chapel 241

Durham: Neville Screen 248

Ripon: South 249

Ripon: Nave, east 254

Ripon: Choir, east 255

York Minster: West front 268

York Minster: South 269

York Minster: Choir, east 278

York Minster: Choir, west 279

Lincoln: West front 288

Lincoln: Great West Door 289

Lincoln: Angel Choir 298

Lincoln: Choir, east 299

Lincoln: East Window 306

Southwell: North-west 307

Southwell: Chapter-House 316

Peterborough: West front 317

Peterborough: Choir, east 328

Peterborough: South 329

Ely: West Towers 336

Ely: Choir, east 337

Ely: East End and Lady-Chapel 346

Ely: Lady-Chapel 347

Norwich: East 356

Norwich: Choir 357

St. Albans: North 366

St. Albans: Nave, east 367

Oxford: Tower and Entrance 382

Oxford: Choir, east 383

Oxford: Latin Chapel 392

St. Paul’s: West front 393

St. Paul’s: Choir, east 414

St. Saviour’s, Southwark 415

St. Saviour’s, Southwark: Nave, east 424

Westminster Abbey: West front 425

Westminster Abbey: Poets’ Corner 432

Westminster Abbey: Choir, east 433

Westminster Abbey: Chapel and Shrine of Edward the Confessor 436

Westminster Abbey: Henry VII.’s Chapel 437

Westminster Abbey: Cloisters 440

Westminster Abbey: South-west 441

CANTERBURY

DEDICATION: CHRIST CHURCH. FORMERLY THE CHURCH OF A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY.

SPECIAL FEATURES: BECKET’S CROWN; DOOR OF CHAPTER-HOUSE; WEST DOORWAY; CRYPT.

Canterbury Cathedral presents a beautiful effect when seen from a distance, keeping watch over the city that lies in the valley of the Stour, girdled by hills. On one of these hills stands the village of Harbledown, the “Bob Up and Down,” where Chaucer’s Pilgrims halted, and from which a charming view of the ancient Cathedral is to be enjoyed.

Another fine prospect is gained from St. Martin’s:

“Let any one sit on the hill of the little church of St. Martin, and look on the view which is there spread before his eyes. Immediately below are the towers of the great Abbey of St. Augustine, where Christian learning and civilisation first struck root in the Anglo-Saxon race; and within which now, after a lapse of many centuries, a new institution has arisen, intended to carry far and wide to countries of which Gregory and Augustine never heard, the blessings which they gave to us. Carry your view on,--and there rises high above all the magnificent pile of our Cathedral equal in splendour and state to any, the noblest temple or church, that Augustine could have seen in ancient Rome, rising on the very ground which derives its consecration from him. And still more than the grandeur of the outward buildings that rose from the little church of St. Augustine, and the little palace of Ethelbert, have been the institutions of all kinds, of which these are the earliest cradle. From Canterbury, the first English Christian city--from Kent, the first English Christian kingdom--has, by degrees, arisen the whole constitution of Church and State in England, which now binds together the whole British Empire.”--(A. P. S.)

This great Cathedral stands on the site of the primitive Roman, or British, Church, attributed to King Lucius and granted by Ethelbert, King of Kent, to St. Augustine (who had converted him in 597). It is, therefore, the earliest monument of the English union of Church and State, and the cradle of English Christianity. Pope Gregory had intended to fix the Primacy in London and York alternately; but the sentiment of St. Augustine’s landing in Kent prevailed; and, therefore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the See of which was founded in 597, is still Primate of England. He crowns the King and ranks next to royalty.

The first Cathedral was injured by the Danes in 1011 and it was burned down during the Norman Conquest in 1067. Lanfranc, the first Archbishop after the Conquest (1070-1089), reconstructed both church and monastery from their foundations. Anselm (1093-1109), took down the eastern part of the church and reërected it with far greater magnificence. Ernulf, Prior of the monastery, was responsible for the architecture; but the chancel being finished by his successor, Prior Conrad, and beautifully decorated, became known as the “glorious Choir of Conrad.” Canterbury Cathedral was dedicated by Archbishop William in 1130. Henry I., King of England, David, King of Scotland, and all the Bishops of England were present at what Gervase calls “the most famous dedication that had ever been heard of on the earth since that of the temple of Solomon.” In 1170, Thomas à Becket was murdered here, having fled for protection to the church after a violent scene in his chamber with Henry’s knights. Becket was buried at the east end of the Crypt and remained there forty-six years.

“Most men were persuaded that a new burst of miraculous powers, such as had been suspended for many generations, had broken out at the tomb; and the contemporary monk, Benedict, fills a volume with extraordinary cures, wrought within a very few years after the ‘Martyrdom.’ Far and wide the fame of ‘St. Thomas of Canterbury’ spread. The very name of Christ Church, or of the Holy Trinity, by which the Cathedral was properly designated, was in popular usage merged in that of The Church of St. Thomas. For the few years immediately succeeding his death there was no regular shrine. The popular enthusiasm still clung to the two spots immediately connected with the murder. The Transept in which he died, within five years from that time acquired the name by which it has ever since been known, ‘The Martyrdom.’ The flagstone on which his skull was fractured and the solid corner of the masonry in front of which he fell, are probably the only parts which remain unchanged. But against that corner may still be seen the marks of the space occupied by a wooden altar, which continued in its original simplicity through all the subsequent magnificence of the church till the time of the Reformation. It was probably the identical memorial erected in the first haste of enthusiasm after the reopening of the Cathedral for worship in 1172. It was called the Altar of the Martyrdom or more commonly the Altar of the Sword’s Point (_Altare ad Punctum Ensis_) from the circumstance that in a wooden shed placed upon it was preserved the fragment of Le Bret’s sword, which had been left on the pavement after accomplishing its bloody work. Under a piece of rock crystal surmounting the chest, was kept a portion of the brains. To this altar a regular keeper was appointed from among the monks, under the name of ‘_Custos Martyrii_.’ In the first frenzy of desire for relics of St. Thomas, even this guarantee was inadequate.

“Next to the actual scene of the murder, the object which this event invested with especial sanctity was the tomb in which his remains were deposited in the Crypt behind the Altar of the Virgin. It was to this spot that the first great rush of pilgrims was made when the church was reopened in 1172, and it was here that Henry performed his penance. Hither on the 21st of August, 1179, came the first King of France who ever set foot on the shores of England, Louis VII., warned by St. Thomas in dreams, and, afterwards, as he believed, receiving his son back from a dangerous illness through the Saint’s intercession. He knelt by the tomb and offered upon it the celebrated jewel,[2] as also his own rich cup of gold.”--(A. P. S.)

In 1174 a fire destroyed “Conrad’s Glorious Choir.” Rebuilding was immediately begun under a French architect, William of Sens, who fell from a scaffolding and had to relinquish the work to another William, who completed the Choir and eastern buildings in 1184.

Everything was now in readiness for the removal of the Martyr’s remains. Stephen Langton gave two years’ notice of the intended “Translation”; and a marvellous assemblage gathered from all parts of Europe on July 7, 1220. The Archbishop opened the tomb the night before the coffin was carried to the Shrine above in Trinity Chapel, and the “Vigil of the Translation,” July 6, was kept in the English church until 1537. The great procession to the Shrine was led by Henry III., then aged thirteen. Pilgrims came to the new Shrine, as they had done to the one below, in thousands. Seven great “jubilees” were held before 1530.

“The outer aspect of the Cathedral can be imagined without much difficulty. A wide cemetery, which, with its numerous gravestones, such as that on the south side of Petersborough Cathedral, occupied the vacant space still called the Churchyard, divided from the garden beyond by the old Norman arch since removed to a more convenient spot. In the cemetery were interred such pilgrims as died during their stay in Canterbury. The external aspect of the Cathedral itself, with the exception of the numerous statues which then filled its now vacant niches, must have been much what it is now. Not so its interior. Bright colours on the roof, on the windows, on the monuments; hangings suspended from the rods which may still be seen running from pillar to pillar; chapels and altars, and chantries intercepting the view, where now all is clear, must have rendered it so different, that at first we should hardly recognise it to be the same building.”--(A. P. S.)

At the church door the company of pilgrims arranged themselves “every one after his degree,” and a monk sprinkled their heads with holy water with the “Sprengel.” The great tide of pilgrims then passed through the Cathedral. Sometimes they paid their devotions to the Shrine first, and sometimes they visited the lesser objects first and the Shrine last. In this case, they entered the Transept of the Martyrdom, through the dark passage under the steps leading to the Choir. Before the wooden altar and in the soft radiance of the glorious representation of the Martyr in the transept window (of which there remains only the central band with the donors, Edward IV., his Queen, with their daughters and the two sons who perished in the Tower), while the priest showed them the relics of which he had charge, including the rusty fragment of Le Bret’s sword, which all kissed in turn. Proceeding down the steps on the way to the Crypt, new guardians exhibited in the dim light of a row of lamps suspended from rings in the roof, the actual relics of St. Thomas,--part of his skull cased in silver, which all kissed devoutly, and his shirt and drawers of haircloth.