Part 37

“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.

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.

“The view of the interior is very impressive. Standing at the west end of the nave we cannot fail to admire the magnificent beauty of this noble shrine. This nave of twelve bays, with its clustered columns, its beautiful triforium, and its lofty and firmly proportioned roof soaring to the height of 101 feet, is very striking. A close inspection will show the difference between the piers of the portion finished by Henry III. and the newer work of the Fourteenth Century. The tracery of the triforium openings is very fine. The choir-screen which crosses the nave at the eighth pier, is modern, and also the pulpit. The west window is Perpendicular, and has some Georgian glass containing figures of the Patriarchs. Much architectural beauty has been sacrificed for the sake of ponderous monuments, but many of these have much interest and for many visitors will prove the most attractive features of the Abbey.”--(P. H. D.)

The general effect of the interior has changed little since Washington Irving wrote his sympathetic essay on England’s Walhalla:

“I pursued my walk to an arched door opening to the interior of the Abbey. On entering here the magnitude of the building breaks fully upon the mind, contrasted with the vaults of the cloisters. The eye gazes with wonder at clustered columns of gigantic dimensions with arches springing from them to such an amazing height; and man wandering about their bases shrunk into insignificance in comparison with his own handiwork. The spaciousness and gloom of this vast edifice produce a profound and mysterious awe. We step cautiously and softly about as if fearful of disturbing the hallowed silence of the tomb; while every footfall whispers along the walls, and chatters among the sepulchres, making us more sensible of the quiet we have interrupted.

“It seems as if the awful nature of the place presses down upon the soul, and hushes the beholder into noiseless reverence. We feel that we are surrounded by the congregated bones of the great men of past times who have filled history with their deeds and the earth with their renown.

“I passed some time in Poets’ Corner, which occupies an end of one of the transepts, or cross aisles of the Abbey. The monuments are generally simple; for the lives of literary men afford no striking themes for the sculptor. Shakespeare and Addison have statues erected to their memories, but the greater part have busts, medallions and sometimes mere inscriptions.

“From Poets’ Corner I continued my stroll towards that part of the Abbey which contains the sepulchres of the kings. I wandered among what once were chapels, but which are now occupied by the tombs and monuments of the great. At every turn I met with some illustrious name, or the cognizance of some powerful house renowned in history. As the eye darts into these dusky chambers of death, it catches glimpses of quaint effigies: some kneeling in niches, as if in devotion; others stretched upon the tombs, with hands piously pressed together; warriors in armour, as if reposing after battle; prelates, with crosiers and mitres; and nobles in robes and coronets, lying as it were in state. In glancing over this scene, so strangely populous, yet where every form is so still and silent, it seems almost as if we were treading a mansion of that fabled city, where every being had been suddenly transmuted into stone.”

The =West Window= dates from the reign of George II., whose arms are in the centre. It contains twenty-four large and fourteen small compartments depicting Moses, Aaron and the patriarchs.

The =North-west Tower=, also called =Belfry Tower=, has been called the “Whigs’ Corner,” on account of the monuments there. The glass in the window is old. The =south-west=, or =Baptistery Tower=, used to contain the font (now in Henry VII.’s Chapel). Here are also many monuments and busts. The stained glass window, in memory of George Herbert and William Cowper, was the gift of Mr. G. W. Childs, of Philadelphia.

The nave pulpit was placed here in 1862; and though the inner stone-work of the =Choir-screen= is of the Thirteenth Century, what is visible is modern.

“The splendid arcade which forms the TRIFORIUM is one of the greatest glories of Westminster, for it is filled with tracery similar in every respect to the best window tracery of the Early English period. Above the triforium comes the grand tier of windows composing the clerestory. Each is divided by a single central mullion which, in the older portions, terminates with two plain arches surmounted by a circle foliated in six divisions, and in the newer portions with trefoil-headed arches surmounted by a circle divided into only four parts. The fine vaulting, of which the rib-work is enriched with sculptured bosses at its points of intersection, completes the centre of the nave in such a fashion that its decorative effect is in complete harmony with the richness of the arch mouldings.”--(C. H.)

The aisles are greatly disfigured by the innumerable monuments. Much beautiful sculpture has been cut away to make room for them. The north aisle has one doorway; the south aisle has three, two of which lead into the Cloisters and the third (the most western one) into the Deanery. Above it is the =Abbot’s Pew=, an oaken gallery built by Abbot Islip early in the Sixteenth Century.

The most important monument in the north aisle is that of =Ben Jonson=, with the famous inscription “O rare Ben Jonson.” In the south aisle lies =Major John André=.

The =Transepts= of Westminster Abbey contain some of the most beautiful work that can be found anywhere.

The =North Transept= is entered by the famous =Solomon’s Porch=. It consists of four bays and is bordered with aisles. The eastern aisle is divided into three chapels--St. Andrew, St. Michael and St. John the Evangelist--all of which are filled with monuments.

“The transept end consists of five stages, of which the lowest is composed of four obtusely pointed arches, two of them being doorways. The spandrels are very richly sculptured. In the second compartment is an arcade of six trefoil-headed arches springing from clustered columns. Above this arcade are six lancet windows on slender columns. The soffits of the arches are decorated with sculpture and at both ends there are statues in niches. The fourth stage is a continuation of the triforium arcade. There are three arches, each enclosing two trefoiled arches, with a cinquefoiled circle between them. It is possible that there were once windows in this compartment, but these have been filled up. The transept end is completed by a great rose-window filled with modern stained glass representing the Apostles and Evangelists. Here we find the celebrated CENSING ANGELS.

“The triforium is the place from which we can best see those famous sculptures known as the ‘censing angels.’ The artist who placed these figures in the north and south transepts must have had a genius which brought him nearer to the great Greek sculptors of the Periclean period than any who has lived since their time. What must the central statues have been like to be worthy of such accessories? Perhaps if one had to select the best public statue in England, it would be impossible to overlook the angel on the north transept on the western side. He appears to be literally hovering in the air, or rather--for this the sculptor has most marvellously expressed--he is supposed to be swinging his censer in the presence of his Lord, and to be floating in a sea of light, which forces him to bow his head and avert his face from its dazzling effulgence.”--(W. J. L.)

Among the monuments in the north transept the most interesting are to Admiral Vernon, George Canning, D’Israeli, Gladstone, Sir Robert Peel, William Pitt and Warren Hastings.

The =South Transept= is popularly known as the =Poets’ Corner=, a name given by Goldsmith. It is so crowded with tombs and cenotaphs that the architectural features are rarely noticed. It is not uniform with the north transept though both are of Henry III.’s reign, Early English merging into Decorated. A door in the south wall leads into the =Chapel of St. Faith=, long used as a vestry and now as a chapel for private prayer.

The most interesting tomb here is that of =Geoffrey Chaucer=, who for years lived in a house in the monastery garden pulled down to make room

for Henry VII.’s Chapel. It is a small altar-tomb supposed to date from 1451, with a canopy of Purbeck marble of later date. The memorial window above dates from 1868. Here lie Dryden, Francis Beaumont, Browning, Tennyson and Edmund Spencer among others; and a bust of Longfellow was placed here in 1884.

“The Choir, which has been the scene of so many solemn and memorable services, has no ancient woodwork. The stalls were erected about the middle of the last century. The altar and reredos are modern. There are some large figures, and a mosaic of the Last Supper. Here the coronations of our monarchs take place. The pavement is interesting, as it was brought from Rome by Abbot Ware in 1268, and beneath it he rests with other abbots of Westminster. The sedilia are Thirteenth Century work, and were decorated with paintings. The figures of King Siebert, the first founder, and of Henry III., the munificent re-founder, remain. Above the base of the tomb of Anne of Cleves, one of Henry VIII.’s many wives, is a remarkable painting of Richard II., and behind it some ancient tapestry.”--(P. H. D.)

On the north side of the sanctuary three ancient tombs harmonise perfectly with their architectural surroundings. The most westerly is that of =Aveline of Lancaster=, who died about 1273, a wealthy heiress, daughter of the Earl of Albemarle, who was married in the Abbey in 1269 to Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, younger son of Henry III. A single cusped arch with a high gable in the spandrel of which is a trefoiled panel forms the canopy. Two dogs are at the feet of the effigy draped in flowing mantle. The tomb is Early Decorated. Next comes the tomb of =Aymer de Valence=, Earl of Pembroke (died 1323). The Earl, in full armour, rests his feet on a lion couchant. Beyond is the tomb of =Edmund Crouchback= (died 1296). The effigy of the Earl in chain armour lies under a triple canopy, richly ornamented. The aisles are crowded with tombs and monuments. The aisles of the choir are filled with tombs and monuments.

Behind the altar is situated the =Confessor’s Chapel= containing the famous =Shrine of Edward the Confessor=.