Chapter 6

THE CATHEDRAL--EXTERIOR.

Nearly every cathedral and large abbey church has some one conspicuous feature by which it is remembered, and with which it is specially associated in the minds of most persons. Nearly every one also claims for itself to have the best example of some one architectural feature, or the largest, or the oldest, or in some other way the most remarkable. Occasionally the claim is indisputable, because the boasted object is unique in the country; as is the case with the octagon at Ely, the three spires at Lichfield, the situation and western Galilee of Durham, and the almost perfect unity of design at Salisbury. Sometimes, if not unique, there is no question as to the justice of the claim for superiority; whether it be for a thing of beauty, like the cloisters at Gloucester, or the Norman tower at Norwich, or the east window of Carlisle, or the angel-choir at Lincoln; or for size or extent, when the question narrows itself to a mere matter of measurement.

But it is not always by any means the fact that this prominent feature, though it is the pride of the inhabitants and a source of admiration to visitors, is really the most noteworthy thing belonging to the church. This seems specially the case at Peterborough. Probably nobody speaks or thinks of Peterborough cathedral without immediately associating it with its glorious west front. Many believe that there is little else in the building that is worthy of any particular attention. And yet nowhere in the kingdom is there to be found a finer and more complete Norman church. Arches, windows, mouldings, more elaborate and more grand may no doubt be found elsewhere; but where else can we find, as here, choir, transepts, and nave, with all the original Norman, from ground to roof, with two insignificant exceptions, remaining unaltered? It is natural to compare the three great East Anglian Cathedrals, as all have superb work of the Norman period. But at Norwich the lower arches in the choir have been rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, while the vaulted roof of the nave, raised in the fifteenth century, is less in keeping with the sturdy architecture beneath it than the wooden ceiling at Peterborough. At Ely, beautiful as is the work in the octagon and choir, there is no Norman work east of the transepts. Of course we are referring to the main arches and pillars of the building, and not to the tracery of the windows, or to alterations to the walls. The two exceptions mentioned above are the pointed arches, east and west of the central tower, and the removal of the three lowest windows in the apse.

The greatest attraction to the world at large is undoubtedly =the West Front=, which is seen in its full beauty on entering the close.

The following lines, from Morris's "Earthly Paradise," may fitly introduce the subject.

"For other tales they told, and one of these Not all the washing of the troublous seas, Nor all the changeful days whereof ye know, Have swept from out my memory: even so Small things far off will be remembered clear When matters both more mighty and more near, Are waxing dim to us. I, who have seen So many lands, and midst such marvels been, Clearer than these abodes of outland men, Can see above the green and unburnt fen The little houses of an English town, Cross-timbered, thatched with fen-reeds coarse and brown, And high o'er these, three gables, great and fair, That slender rods of columns do upbear Over the minster doors, and imagery Of kings, and flowers no summer field doth see, Wrought in these gables.--Yea I heard withal, In the fresh morning air, the trowels fall Upon the stone, a thin noise far away; For high up wrought the masons on that day, Since to the monks that house seemed scarcely well Till they had set a spire or pinnacle Each side the great porch. In that burgh I heard This tale, and late have set down every word That I remembered, when the thoughts would come Of what we did in our deserted home, And of the days, long past, when we were young, Nor knew the cloudy days that o'er us hung. And howsoever I am now grown old, Yet is it still the tale I then heard told Within the guest house of that Minster Close, Whose walls, like cliffs new made, before us rose."

It is rather a porch, or piazza, than a front; for it consists of a paved walk of some extent outside the wall of the cathedral covered at a great height by a vaulted roof which is supported by the wall and by the three great arches. Mr Fergusson, in his "Handbook of Architecture,"[20] pronounces that "as a portico, using the term in its classical sense, the west front of Peterborough is the grandest and finest in Europe": and there are few that will not agree with him. Professor Freeman says:[21]--"The portico of Peterborough is unique; the noblest conception of the old Greek translated into the speech of Christendom and of England has no fellow before it or after it." Exclusive of the spires, and the central porch and parvise, the dates of which have been given previously, the whole is of the best and purest Early English style. The effect is certainly improved by the middle arch being narrower than the others. But if the gables above had been of unequal angles, the result would have been far less satisfactory. Wisely, therefore, these angles have been made equal, and all of the same height: and the device of the architect to secure this, by making the central gable rise from points somewhat higher than the others, is admirable. It is to be observed also that the turrets, or large pinnacles, that are placed between the gables, are not placed exactly above the central line of the great piers beneath them, but are in each case a little further towards the outer arches; and it will be seen, immediately that this is pointed out, how much the upper part of the facade is thereby improved. The two great piers may be roughly taken as having for section an isosceles right-angled triangle, the right angle being towards the west. The mouldings of the arches are supported by a series of banded shafts, six on each side of each arch. In the spaces between the shafts of the middle arch, but not of the others, are crockets for the whole height, and the innermost cavetto is entirely filled with dog-tooth ornament. All the shafts have floriated capitals; and the great arches have similar mouldings. Four sets of ornaments run round each arch; a continuous chevron, a richly floriated roll, a roll with bands, and a series of billets. Between the arches there rises a clustered shaft which reaches to the level of the highest points of the arches: here these shafts combine with an ornamented stringcourse which runs in a straight line along the entire front. In each of the six spandrels are a deeply recessed quatrefoil, two trefoiled arches (like the upper part of a niche), a pair of lancet-shaped niches containing figures, and a beautifully designed hexagonal ornament, with wavy edges, the cusps uniting in a central boss. The pinnacles on each side of the middle gable are at first square, then there are two octagonal stages, the uppermost pierced, and finally a short spire. The lowest stage has a double lancet with floriated capitals; the second has a lancet, also with floriated capitals, filling up each face of the octagon; the last stage has round-headed lancets, without capitals, entirely surrounded by zigzags.

The gables are richly ornamented. At the head of each is a massive cross of very fine workmanship. Along the edges of the gables are two rows of billets and the wavy ornament. Just below the crosses are three large statues, in niches of which the gable mouldings form the heads. That in the centre is S. Peter, with a mitre, the right hand uplifted in blessing, and two keys in the left hand; the other two are S. John and S. Andrew. Below plain, straight stringcourses, at the foot of these statues, are three rose windows of exceptional grace and beauty. The central one has eight spokes radiating from a flat medallion enriched with conventional foliage; these support trefoil-headed arches which have their outer mouldings thickly covered with dog-tooth; the whole is bounded by two circular bands, the inner one ornamented. The two other rose windows have six spokes instead of eight, the trefoiled arches have foliage, and the inner moulding of the bounding circles is continuously waving. The spokes in all three windows have the dog-tooth on each side. On each side of the lower part of these windows is a trefoil-headed niche containing a figure. Below these, and resting upon the long stringcourse that runs above the great arches, are sets of seven trefoil-headed niches, with a half-niche at each end. Four of these niches are pierced for windows, which have trefoils with pointed heads, though the trefoil heads of the niches themselves are round at the top. The three intervening niches contain figures. All these nine figures have a nimbus; and as these, with the three under the crosses, make up twelve, it is assumed that they represent the Apostles. The six smaller statues, just above, are said to be kings; the twelve below, benefactors. There are thus thirty statues in all, and most were no doubt carved at the time of the erection of the front; but two or three appear to be of earlier date, and may possibly have formed part of the embellishments of the Saxon church.

=The Towers north and south=, up to the height of the parapets, are of the same date as the portion already described. They are ornamented with blank arcading in six stages, of different dimensions and character; all is in perfect harmony with the rest of the composition. The loftiest of the stages of this arcading has a sub-division with round arches; and the stage above the great stringcourse has round-headed trefoils so as to be in keeping with the row of similar arches in the gables; but with these two exceptions all the arches on the arcades of the tower are pointed and without cusps. Of the spires which surmount these towers that on the south is by far the more elegant. It has pinnacles at the corners of square section, and then another set of triangular pinnacles, resting on open arches connecting the corner pinnacles with the spire. These triangular pinnacles are double the height of those at the corners. All the pinnacles and canopies over the arches have crockets. This spire is some few feet loftier than that to the north, though most measurements of the cathedral have hitherto given them as being of the same height.

The inner wall of the portico, forming the west wall of the cathedral, is covered with elaborate arcading, and so also are the ends, north and south. The designs are nearly a continuation of the arcading on the two towers. There are five lofty windows, now filled with tracery inserted in the Perpendicular period, the great west window having been enlarged at the same time. The two side doorways are exceedingly good, and should be carefully examined. The central doorway must have been of still greater beauty; but the whole of the upper part of it is hidden by the porch and parvise inserted beneath the central arch. This doorway is divided by a fine pillar rising from a well-carved base, with a very curious scene depicted on it. "It represents," writes Canon Davys,[22] "a Benedictine tortured by demons, and was doubtless intended as a significant hint to the monks that a sacred calling demands a consistent life." The portico retains its original Early English vaulting.

The =Porch= and =Parvise= beneath the middle arch was inserted, as has been previously stated, as a support to the two great piers. It is vaulted in two bays, the first being of the same dimensions as the inner width of the portico; the western bay (of the same size) thus reaches beyond the two great piers, and the corner turrets and buttresses in all project about seven feet. This gives a very substantial support to the piers. The whole composition is very fine, and quite worthy of the great portico to which it is an adjunct. It must be left to each spectator to decide for himself if it improves or diminishes the effect of the whole. It is of late Decorated date, highly enriched with profuse carving. The staircase turrets, as well as the great window are embattled. Possibly there may have been pinnacles now lost. The spaces north and south, and within the portico, have tracery on the walls similar to the window. The groining is very fine. One of the central bosses has a representation of the Trinity. The Father is represented as the Ancient of Days, with a Dove for the Holy Spirit above the shoulder, and the figure of the Saviour on the Cross in front. Freemasons are recommended to look for a special symbol which they alone can understand and appreciate.

The floor of the portico is paved with gravestones, some apparently in their original position. This place was at one time appropriated as a burial place for the Minor Canons.[23] Some of the stones, however, are of mediaeval date, and it can be seen where the brasses have been wrenched from them: some of these have been used again for later inscriptions. One stone bears an incised cross originally filled with some coloured composition. Some of the marble wall-shafts had fallen, and their places had been filled by stone substitutes. Others had been cheaply replaced by wood. The stone shafts still remain, but the wooden imitations have all been replaced by new marble which was specially quarried for this reconstruction.

Wood had also been used for the repair of the battlements on the gable of the porch under the centre arch of the west front. These have, of course, been reconstructed in stone. All the criticisms that have been passed by amateur architects upon the front, as a termination to the building, cannot be discussed here. It is clear, however, that the existence of the portico does away with any objection that could be made (as has been done with regard to the west fronts at Lincoln, Wells, and elsewhere), that the front might be considered to hide rather than to bring out the construction of the nave and aisles. It is true that the side gables are not the gables of the aisles, and indeed the roofs that are built against the gables are built only for them; but they are a legitimate finish to the great arches, and to the vaulted roof of the portico. Possibly the inequality of the great arches may be explained when we reflect that the central gable is the honest termination of the nave roof; the two central piers were therefore bound to be built so as to give support to the existing nave roof, and to fit it. The position of these piers being fixed, the outer ones might be as distant as was desired, for the front must of course extend to the entire length of the western transept. It has been commonly supposed that the three great arches of the Lincoln front suggested the idea to the Peterborough builders. If so, they improved upon their model. The central arch at Lincoln even before the round arch was altered, must have been half as high again as the side arches; and as they all are integral parts of the wall, and therefore not open, they have somewhat the appearance of magnified doorways that have been blocked up. At Snettisham, in Norfolk, is a western doorway protected by a porch with three open arches; and this has sometimes been mentioned when Peterborough west front is a subject of discussion; not, of course, as a fitting comparison, but as an illustration of the architectural method employed. At Snettisham, however, the porch is a small erection even for the church to which it gives entrance, and does not nearly extend to the entire width of the building.

The following is the quaint description given in "Magna Britannia," published 1724:--"The western Front is very Noble and Majestick of Columel Work, and supported by three such tall Arches, as England can scarcely shew the like, which are adorned with a great Variety of curious Imagery. The Form of Arches is by the modern Architects called, The Bull's Eye, not Semicircular. The whole is one of the noblest pieces of Gothick Building in England."

=The Bell-tower=, which rises from the western transept, immediately behind the north gable of the front (p. 37), is a little later than the front itself. It is of good workmanship, and quite in keeping with the older part. There are rows of lancets in the belfry stage, and the four corner pinnacles are very similar to the large pinnacles that are placed between the gables of the front, but all the lancets are pointed, and there are little gables above each. This tower was once surmounted by a wooden spire. When this was erected does not seem to be known. It was not of particularly graceful design, judging from views of the cathedral taken when it was standing. It was removed in the early part of the last century (see page 25).

Passing round to the north side of the cathedral we are at once struck with the beauty of the termination of the western transept. The arcading on the north side of the tower of the front is identical with that on the west side; but to the east there is only arcading in the three upper stages. Mr. Paley's remarks upon the great windows of the western transept may be quoted. He says[24] they "deserve particular examination, not only because they are very early and fine specimens of cusped and traceried windows--indeed, among the best in the kingdom--but for a remarkable peculiarity in the jambs; whereof one side is Norman, with the square capitals to the jamb-shafts both within and without, and the other Early English, as are the arch-mouldings and hoods round the whole arches, which were probably semicircular at first, for at present the point cuts through a stringcourse inside. The frames of the entire windows are later work, having no attachment or bonding to the jambs, as is clearly manifested to the eye." These windows rise as high as the top of those of the triforium. Above is a round-headed window with a slightly smaller arch on each side, with cushion capitals. The gable itself is designedly made to resemble one of the gables of the west front. It is surmounted by a cross, and bordered by the wavy ornament; it has a rose window; and beneath is an arcade of five round-headed trefoiled arches supported by shafts, having at the inner wall three lancet windows. The circular window is without tracery; it has twelve cusps. At each side of the gable is a pinnacle, almost a copy of those on the front, except that the lowest stage is here octagonal instead of square.

On the north side of the nave is a single door, now called =the Dean's door=, of good Norman work. On each side are three shafts with cushion capitals slightly ornamented; and in the round arches above are different mouldings of the style. The windows to the aisle, ten in number, are very broad, of five lights each, under depressed arches. The tracery and mouldings indicate that these were substituted for the original windows towards the close of the thirteenth century. At the same time it would seem that the walls above, in the triforium range, were heightened, because the parapet at the top is of Early English work, although the three-light windows beneath it are Decorated, and were not inserted until the next century. At the foot of the triforium range is the original Norman arcade of round-headed arches: below the existing Decorated windows is now a blank space of wall, where at first was the Norman window, rising somewhat higher than the arcade. What the original arrangement was can be seen on the east side of the north transept. The Norman clerestory range has been altered only by having Perpendicular tracery put in the windows, and by the addition of a Decorated parapet. The original corbel-table was allowed to remain.

=The Lantern-tower= has on each face two large windows with transoms, of three lights. The tracery is that known as net-tracery. Between these windows is a blank window, if the term may be allowed; the tracery exists, but there never was a window; it is in four divisions; while between the windows and the corner turrets are similar traceries of two parts. The whole is surmounted by a parapet above a plain arcade. The corner turrets are octangular. As at present finished at the top there is undoubtedly an appearance of their being incomplete.

The west side of the =North Transept= is a very excellent specimen of Norman work; and we find less change here than in any other part of the cathedral that belongs to the same period. The tracery of the windows is Perpendicular, but the windows themselves are otherwise unaltered: at the top of all is a Decorated parapet, which is here composed of a series of quatrefoils; and the parapet to the corner turrets is not Norman. As there is no aisle on the west side of this transept, there has been no alteration in the wall, as was the case with the nave aisles.

The north end of the transept is similar; but the shallow buttresses between the windows rise to a greater height, and there is another arcade above the upper tier of windows, and a blank arch in the gable. The gable has crockets, and a cross at the apex. The lower Norman window in the aisle here is unlike any others on this side of the church, but there are four others like it on the south. The upper aisle window here is of three lights, with a large pointed trefoil above them instead of tracery.

The east wall of this transept is specially worthy of note. We can trace the lines of the roof of the Lady Chapel which formerly stood to the east of the wall; and beneath this are two bays of the original triforium range, showing two of the simple Norman windows. Between these and the roof are six Early English lancets. Below are the upper parts of the two great arches which were constructed as an entrance to the Lady Chapel. When the Lady Chapel was pulled down in the seventeenth century these were converted into windows filled with late tracery in imitation of Perpendicular work, and the lower part was walled up, except that a doorway was constructed. This was afterwards blocked up for many years, and only reopened during the recent restoration works. The same alteration has been effected in the western part of the choir aisle, the arches towards the Lady Chapel having been in like manner made into windows. The lower window nearest the tower is a very graceful geometric window of three lights, exactly like the three in the south transept; the window above is of the same period as all the other Decorated windows of the triforium range.

Between the Lady Chapel and the north aisle of the choir was a passage (to which the two great arches were open), and at the eastern end of it was a small vaulted chapel, the remains of which are clearly to be seen, including the broken piscina. Above this were chambers, concerning which Gunton[25] has preserved a tradition that they were "the habitation of a devout Lady, called Agnes, or Dame Agnes, out of whose Lodging-Chamber there was a hole made askew in the window walled up, having its prospect just upon the altar of the Ladies Chappel, and no more. It seems she was devout in her generation, that she chose this place for her retirement, and was desirous that her eyes, as well as ears, might wait upon her publick Devotions." He says also that little is known of her except that she was a benefactress to the church, and that a wood she bestowed upon it is still called by her name.

At the extreme east is the =New Building=. Its side walls are built in continuation of the walls of the choir aisles, and it has a square end. It is lit by thirteen large windows, all of the same design, of which the five at the east end, and the two most western of the sides, are of four lights each, the remaining four having three lights each. Between each pair of the latter there is no buttress; there are thus in all twelve buttresses, six being at the east end. These are massive, having to support the heavy fan-tracery within. Each buttress has a seated figure at the top, commonly believed to represent an Apostle; but the outlines are much worn, and it is not possible to distinguish them by any symbols they may bear. There is a very handsome open parapet, adorned with ornaments and shields bearing letters or monograms.

The parapet of quatrefoils, which runs round the sides of the transepts and choir, is not continued in the apse; an Early English parapet, with five circular medallions cusped, having been erected previously. The Decorated windows of the apse are particularly fine. The arcade beneath the upper tier, unlike the arcade in similar positions in other parts of the church, is here intersecting.

The three beautiful geometric windows in the east wall of the =South Transept=, which have three circles in the heads with five cusps, are most likely of exactly the same design as the windows in the demolished Lady Chapel. At the south end of this transept is a Norman door, and outside are the remains of a short covered passage which communicated with the cloisters. These will be described hereafter.

The south side of the nave differs only from the north side in its having two doorways from the cloisters, in the superior elegance of the south-west spire, and in the unfinished state of the south-west tower. The portion of this tower above the roof Mr Paley pronounces, from the details of the windows on the east side, to be of much later date than the other tower; and he adds that it is hard to see how the roof of the transept was terminated before this stage was built to abut it. Both towers are longer from east to west than from north to south.

Of the two doorways from the cloister to the cathedral, that at the east end of the north walk, which is called the Canons' door, is a fine specimen of Norman work. The arch is of four orders supported by nook-shafts with plain cushion-capitals. The innermost order has a very uncommon moulding--large chevrons with a fleur-de-lis in the angles. The outermost order has a double zigzag moulding, and a double-billet hood moulding surrounds the whole arch. The other archway at the west end, called the Bishop's door, is an insertion of the thirteenth century, with bold tooth-ornament on each side.