Part 7

“The full-length figures, one on each side of the door, symbolising the Church and the Synagogue, were both headless when Mr. Cottingham restored the doorway, between 1825 and 1830. Much fault has been found with him for turning the first, which is thought to have been like the other, a female figure, into a mitred, bearded bishop holding a cross in his right hand and the model of a church in his left. The blindfolded ‘Synagogue,’ by her broken staff and the tables of the law held reversed in her right hand, typifies the overthrow of the Mosaic dispensation. Above are figures, two on each side, seated at book-desks under canopies. These are supposed to be the four great Doctors of the Church: Saints Augustine, Gregory, Jerome and Ambrose. Quite at the head of the arch, under a lofty pyramidal canopy, we see a tiny nude figure which represents, probably, a pure soul just released from Purgatory. If this is so, it would account for the flames from which the angels, on each side, bearing scrolls, seem to be rising. It has been suggested likewise that the distorted heads, which alternate with squares of foliage in the wider inside moulding of the doorway, typify the sufferings of the soul in its passage. The outside moulding is also interesting, being a wide hollow in the bottom of which circular holes are cut at intervals. Through these can be seen the broad stem from which spring the leaves that ornament the intervening spaces. The arch-head is ogee-shaped outside, with large external and smaller, but not less rich, internal crockets. The square back to it, and the spaces beneath the corbels, on which the Church and Synagogue figures stand, are filled with noteworthy diapers. The first is divided diagonally into sunken squares, each containing a flower; and the others have lion masks in quatrefoils, with five-petalled roses in the alternate spaces.”--(G. H. P.)

A steep flight of stairs leads from this Transept to =St. Edmund’s Chapel=, south of the Choir. From this we enter the =Crypt=,

“which extends under the whole of the choir and is one of the best specimens of its class to be found in England. The west and east parts are evidently of a much earlier date than the central, which is Early English, and of the same period as the choir above. In building this, the ancient crypt was probably broken through, and in part reconstructed. The earlier portions are distinguished by very massive piers and circular arches. Between the piers are small pillars, with plain broad capitals. It is not impossible that this part of the crypt may date from before the Conquest. At all events, it is the earliest portion of the existing cathedral, and cannot be later than the work of Bishop Gundulf.”--(R. J. K.)

WINCHESTER

DEDICATION: THE HOLY AND INDIVISIBLE TRINITY. FORMERLY THE CHURCH OF A BENEDICTINE MONASTERY.

SPECIAL FEATURES: NORMAN NAVE; TOWER; WEST WINDOW; CHOIR-STALLS; FONT; REREDOS.

Winchester is the largest cathedral in England and affords good examples of every style from pure Norman to early Renaissance. It is the fifth cathedral that has occupied this site, for tradition says that a British church was founded here by Lucius, King of the Britons.

This first church was destroyed in 266 and the clergy martyred during the persecutions of the Christians by Diocletian. The second church, erected under Constantine, was in 515 transformed by Cerdic, founder of the Kingdom of Wessex, into a Temple of Dagon, in which he was crowned in 519 and buried in 534. Cerdic’s great grandson, Kynegils, converted by St. Birinus, the first of Saxon bishops, began the third church which his son, Kenwalk, completed in 648. Kenwalk’s buildings were, in their turn, enlarged and repaired by Swithun, a prior of the Benedictine monastery established here. Swithun, who became Bishop of Winchester and tutor to King Alfred and Ethelwold, was, according to the chroniclers, “a diligent builder of churches in places where there were none before, and a repairer of those that had been destroyed or ruined.” When he died in 862, he was buried, according to his own desire, in the churchyard of Winchester, where “passersby might tread on his grave, and where the rain from the eaves might fall on it.”

When this third church was destroyed by the Danes in 867, portions were restored by Alfred the Great, St. Ethelwold and St. Alphege. St. Ethelwold removed the body of St. Swithun to the golden shrine within the cathedral, now dedicated to St. Swithun, St. Peter and St. Paul; but the Translation being delayed by rain, gave the saint reputation as a weather prophet. Hence the weather on the anniversary (July 15) is foretold by the old rhyme:

“St. Swithun’s Day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain; St. Swithun’s Day, if thou be fair, Forty days ’twill rain na mair.”

One of the features of St. Ethelwold’s cathedral was a magnificent “pair of organs,” of tremendous size and power, with twelve bellows above and fourteen below and seventy strong men as blowers to fill the four hundred pipes. Below, at two keyboards, sat two brethren in “unity of spirit.”

Ethelwold was buried in the southern crypt.

This Saxon church was succeeded by the present cathedral, begun in 1079, by Walkelyn, the first Norman bishop.

Walkelyn was of noble birth and related to William Rufus, who granted him license to search for stone in the Isle of Wight and as much wood from the forest of Hanepinges (on the Alresford road) as his carpenters could take in four days and nights. The wily Bishop collected a large force of men and within the assigned time cut down the whole forest. The King was furious. The new Cathedral was finished in 1093, having been rebuilt by Walkelyn, from the west front to the great tower, including the transepts. He also removed, and with great pomp, St. Swithun’s shrine from the old altar to the new one. Walkelyn died in 1098 and was buried in the nave.

Bishop Lucy, Bishop William of Edington and William of Wykeham are the next three great architects of Winchester.

“It was Bishop Edington who commenced the alteration of Winchester Cathedral into the Perpendicular style; he died in 1366, and the work was continued by William of Wykeham, who mentions in his will that Edington had finished the west end, with two windows on the north side and one on the south: the change in the character of the work is very distinctly marked. Bishop Edington’s work at Winchester was executed at a later period than that at Edington, and, as might be expected, the new idea is more fully developed; but on a comparison between the west window of Winchester and the east window of Edington, it will at once be seen that the principle of construction is the same; there is a central division carried up to the head of the window, and sub-arches springing from each side: it may be observed that whenever this arrangement of the sub-arches occurs in Decorated work, it is a sign that the work is late in the style. Before the death of Bishop Edington the great principles of the Perpendicular Style were fully established. These chiefly consist of the Perpendicular lines through the head of the window, and in covering the surface of the wall with panelling of the same kind. These features are as distinctly marked at Winchester as in any subsequent building, or as they well could be.”--(J. H. P.)

In the eastern part of the Crypt there is ancient masonry undoubtedly belonging to the time of St. Ethelwold; then we find above it the massive Norman work of Bishop Walkelyn; then, to the east, the graceful Early English of Bishop Lucy; along the nave, the Perpendicular columns of Bishop Edington and William of Wykeham, on which rests the exquisite groined roof. Above this roof the great rough-hewn beams cut from the King’s forest by Walkelyn more than eight hundred years ago can still be seen and in a perfect state of soundness.

“In this great church many stirring scenes of English history have been enacted. The early kings made Winchester their home and the Cathedral their chapel. Here it was that Egbert, after being crowned _in regem totius Britanniæ_, with assent of all parties, issued an edict in 828, ordering that the island should thereafter be always styled England and its people Englishmen. Here King Alfred was crowned and lived and died. Here, in 1035, Cnut’s body lay in state before the high altar, over which was hung henceforth for many a year, a most precious relic, the great Norseman’s crown. Here William the Conqueror often came, and wore his crown at the Easter Gemôt; here, too, clustered many of the national legends: St. Swithun here did his mighty works, and here were the forty dismal days of rain; hard by is the scene of the great fight between Colbrand the Dane and Guy of Warwick; in the nave of the church Queen Emma trod triumphant on the red-hot plough-shares as on a bed of roses; hither came Earl Godwin’s body after his marvellous and terrible death, one of the well-known group of malignant Norman tales. It was in Winchester Cathedral that Henry Beauclerk took to wife his queen, Matilda, to the great joy of all English-speaking folk. Here Stephen of Blois was crowned King; and here, on the other hand, the Empress Maud was welcomed by city and people with high rejoicings; here, too, was drawn up and issued the final compact, in 1153, which closed the civil war of that weary reign and secured the crown to the young Prince Henry. He in his turn often sojourned in Winchester, and befriended in his strong way the growing city. The Cathedral witnessed another compact in the dark days of King John: the King was here reconciled to the English Church in the person of Stephen Langton; Henry III. and his Queen Eleanor, were here in 1242; and on May-day of that year ‘came the Queen into the Chapter-house to receive society.’ In 1275 Edward I., with his Queen, was welcomed with great honour by the prior and brethren of St. Swithun, and attended service in the church. The christening of Arthur, Prince of Wales, elder brother of Henry VIII., was here; and here Henry VIII. met his astute rival, the Emperor Charles V. It was in Winchester Cathedral that the marriage of Philip and Mary took place, and the chair in which she sat is still to be seen in the church. The Stuart Kings loved the place. Here in the great rebellion was enacted that strange scene when, after the capture of the city, the mob rushed into the Cathedral, wild for booty and mischief, and finding in the chests nothing but bones, amused themselves by throwing them at the stained windows of the choir. It was at this time that Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes, a Parliamentary officer and an old Wykehamist, stood with drawn sword at the door of Wykeham’s chantry to protect it from violence. Since the days of the Merry Monarch, who was often at Winchester, and loved it so well that he built his palace here, no striking historical events have been enacted within its walls. The church by degrees recovered from the ruin of the Commonwealth time, and has had a quiet, happy life from that time onward, a tranquil grey building sleeping amidst its trees, in the heart of the most charming of all south English cities.”--(G. W. K.)

The best view of Winchester Cathedral is from the top of St. Catherine’s hill, where the great mass rises solemnly over the distant city. Its enormous length is broken by the bold transepts, which extend three bays beyond the aisles. People are, as a rule, disappointed with their first view of the exterior, because of its lack of decoration and the lowness of the heavy Norman tower in the centre. The bright-green turf of the Precincts and the trees, however, make with the grey walls an impressive picture. A short avenue of trees leads through the Close to the western door.

The =West Front= was originally the work of Edington (1345-1366). It is 118 feet in breadth and composed of a panelled gable of Perpendicular style with hexagonal turrets. Immediately under the window in a gallery over the entrance, the bishop used to give his benediction to the people. The figure of William of Wykeham stands in the gable, replacing an ancient bishop removed in 1860. No one seems to know whether it represented William of Wykeham, Bishop Edington, or St. Swithun. Very probably it was the latter, as its companions on the gable were St. Peter and St. Paul, the three patron saints of the Saxon Cathedral.

The great =West Window= is divided by cross mullions into three perpendicular and six horizontal compartments. It is said to be filled with glass, collected from different parts of the building, after the general smashing by the Parliamentary soldiers in 1646. Winston says these pieces are very early Perpendicular glass, and may have been placed together in the window, as we now see them, in Bishop Edington’s time.

“Before entering, the visitor should remark the grand view of the interior obtained through the open central door. The length of Winchester (520 feet from this entrance to the extreme eastern buttresses) exceeds that of any other cathedral on this side of the Alps, with the exception of Ely (560 feet) and of Canterbury, which is about five feet longer than Winchester. A certain coldness, arising from want of colour, is perhaps felt at first; but the eye soon learns to dwell contentedly on the magnificent forest of piers, and on all the graceful details above and around them. The string-course of corbel-heads and the light balustrade of the triforium in the nave should here be noticed as remarkably aiding the general effect.”--(R. J. K.)

The ground-plan shows a nave of eleven bays, a transept of three, a choir of five, a presbytery of three and a Lady-Chapel at the east end of three. All are furnished with side aisles.

Winchester is the longest cathedral in England, and the =Nave= is one of the longest in the world. Fergusson says it is “perhaps the most beautiful nave in England or elsewhere.” The view is overwhelmingly grand and noble and the groining of the roof is striking in the extreme.

The triforium was sacrificed and the old Norman piers, recased, were left to carry the lofty Perpendicular arches and exquisitely vaulted roof. The Perpendicular lining and panelling disguise the fact that the interior is really Norman.

“The nave gains a special grandeur by the vaulting shafts rising from the very floor so that the eye follows them upwards tardily, as if they were more lofty than they actually are, to the capitals whence the groined roof springs. The aisle windows have a beauty worthy of careful notice.

“A striking yet beautiful peculiarity is that Winchester nave, setting an example followed generally in Perpendicular churches, has no proper triforium--a balcony close above the nave arches taking its place. Owing to the thickness of the Norman masonry this arrangement was unavoidable.

“The seven westerly piers on the south side retain the Norman stone-work faced with new mouldings. Norman arches remain behind the triforium wall; Norman shafts may be seen above the vaulting; and Norman flat buttresses are traceable outside between the southerly clerestory windows.”--(G. W. K.)

The Nave of Winchester, therefore, presents one of the most curious examples of transformation from one style of architecture to another; for here we have a perfect specimen of the Fourteenth and

Fifteenth Centuries, yet it is from the ground to the roof the original Norman building begun by Walkelyn. The extreme western part was rebuilt by Edington, who began the transformation of the Nave from the Norman to the Perpendicular, and continued by his successor William of Wykeham (1366-1404).

At Wykeham’s death in 1404 the south side of the Nave was finished and the north begun. The work was continued and finished by his successors, Cardinal Beaufort and Bishop Waynflete (1404-1486). The arms on the bosses of the vault of the nave are those of Wykeham, Cardinal Beaufort and John of Gaunt (the latter’s father); the chained white hart is the device of Richard II. and the lily that of Bishop Waynflete.

Students may compare the Nave of Winchester with the Choir of Gloucester, which is also Norman in plan, “overlaid with a veneer of masonry in the Pointed Style.” The Gloucester Choir is, however, of later date, and instead of showing an amalgamation of the two styles, as at Winchester, the Pointed is added to the Round-arched style.

The curious black basaltic stone =Font= was probably the gift of Bishop Henry de Blois (1129-71), and some antiquarians think that it was brought from Constantinople during the Second Crusade. The carvings represent St. Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of children, and much honoured by the Normans.

“Within the walls the most striking object of interest is undoubtedly the famous Norman font of black basaltic stone, which was probably placed in the church in the days of Walkelyn; it portrays in bold if rude relief the life and miracles of St. Nicholas of Myra. Next after the font may perhaps be noted the fine carved spandrels, Fourteenth Century work, of the choir-stalls, with the quaint _misereres_ of the seats; then Prior Silkstede’s richly carved pulpit of the Fifteenth Century, and the very interesting and valuable Renaissance panels of the pews, put in by William Kingsmill, last prior and first dean, in 1540. The chantries and tombs in this church are of unusual beauty and interest.”--(G. W. K.)

At the west end of the north aisle a square stone gallery called the tribune is part of Edington’s work. It was used as a =Minstrels’ Gallery= on great occasions.

The nave =Pulpit= was a gift from New College, Oxford, in 1885.

In the north aisle there is a monumental brass in memory of =Jane Austen=, the authoress, and near the south-west door are fixed the flags of the 97th Regiment and memorials of the Crimean War. The west window of the south aisle is filled with stained glass to their memory.

On the south side of the Nave and in the second bay from the Choir is =Bishop Edington’s Chantry=. It was somewhat altered when the piers against which it stands were transformed from Norman to Perpendicular. This is the first of a number of very fine chantries, the most interesting of which is that of =William of Wykeham=, which occupies the entire space between two piers of the Nave on the south side in the fifth bay from the west end.

This chapel was built by Wykeham on the site of an altar dedicated to the Virgin, where he used to worship when a boy.

“The design of William’s chantry is very beautiful; and it is one of the best remaining specimens of a Fourteenth Century monumental chapel. The foundation of the altar is still visible. The Bishop’s effigy, the comeliness of which, it has been suggested, may have induced Anthony Wood to describe him as having been of ‘a courtly presence,’ reposes on an altar-tomb in the centre, arrayed in cope and mitre. The pillow at the head is supported by two angels. At the feet three monks are represented offering up prayers for the repose of the departed soul. They are said, but questionably, to represent Wykeham’s three assistants in the cathedral works--William Wynford, his architect; Simon de Membury, his surveyor of the works; and John Wayte, controller.”--(R. J. K.)

The =Choir= is entered through a screen of stonework, by Garbett, decorated with figures of James I. and Charles I., taken from an older screen by Inigo Jones. The figure of Charles I. was much injured by the Parliamentary troops who stabled their horses in the cathedral. It was made by Hubert Le Seur, a pupil of John of Bologna and much employed by Charles I.

The Choir consists of the old choir of the monks under the tower and of the presbytery beyond it. This portion of the cathedral is of various dates: the tower is late Norman; the piers, arches and clerestory of the presbytery are Decorated (about 1350); the screen enclosing it is Perpendicular (the work of Bishop Fox about 1524); the vaulting of the presbytery (also the work of Bishop Fox); and the ceiling under the tower, dates from 1634.

The visitor is struck by the enormous piers of the =Tower=, rebuilt after 1107 when Walkelyn’s tower, under which William Rufus was buried, fell. Many thought “that the fall of the tower was a judgment for his sins.”

“Early in the Twelfth Century occurred the fall of the tower of this Cathedral, celebrated from the peculiar circumstances with which it was accompanied, which are thus described by William of Malmsbury, who was living at the time:--‘A few country men conveyed the body [of the King, William Rufus], placed on a cart, to the cathedral of Winchester, the blood dripping all the way. Here it was committed to the ground _within the tower_, attended by many of the nobility, but lamented by few. The next year (1097) the tower fell; though I forbear to mention the different opinions on this subject, lest I should seem to assent too readily to unsupported trifles; most especially that the building might have fallen _through imperfect construction_, even though he had never been buried there.’ That this was really the case, the building itself affords us abundant evidence, and proves that even the Normans at this period were still bad masons and very imperfectly acquainted with the principles of construction. The tower which was rebuilt soon after the fall is still standing, and the enormous masses of masonry which were piled together to support it, and prevent it from falling again, show such an amazing waste of labour and material as clearly to prove that it was the work of very unskilful builders.”--(J. H. P.)

The tower was originally intended to serve as a lantern; but was ceiled over in the reign of Charles I. In the centre is a medallion of the Holy Family, the date 1634, and medallions of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria.

The very narrow arches opening to the transepts should be noticed.

The =Choir Stalls= are magnificent.