Читать книгу The Cathedrals of Great Britain - P. H. Ditchfield - Страница 13

Table of Contents

The city of Winchester, the ancient capital of England, the Caer Gwent of the Britons, the Venta Belgarum of the Romans, the Royal city of Alfred the Great and of William the Conqueror, was a place of vast importance in the annals of England. Under Cnut it was the capital of a kingdom stretching across the seas to Scandinavia, and under the Normans a large part of France was in subjection to it. Here kings were born and Royal weddings celebrated with great pomp in its grand Cathedral. If Royal patronage could have preserved the glories of ancient Winchester, it would have remained the capital of England; but London was the centre of the commercial activity of the country, and in the end Winchester was forced to yield supremacy to its more powerful rival.

Its ecclesiastical history is no less important. A British church here is said to have been destroyed during the Diocletian persecution (A.D. 266) and restored subsequently and dedicated to St. Amphibalus, the martyr. Heathendom returned with the Saxons, until they were converted by St. Berinus, and by the baptism of King Kynegils the triumph of Christianity was assured. He built a new Cathedral, which was again rebuilt by Bishop Ethelbold (980) and consecrated by Dunstan, and this church remained until the Norman builders came with the Conqueror, and began, under his kinsman, Walkelin, to erect that stately fane which we are now about to visit.

Winchester is unlike Salisbury, which was, for the most part, completed in one period of architecture; the former was the work of several builders at different eras. A large part of the Early Norman Cathedral remains; the crypt and transepts and the core of the walls being all Norman work. The eastern aisles and chapels are the work of Bishop de Lucy (1189-1204), built in the Early English style, during the troubled reigns of Richard I. and John; the noble nave was begun by Bishop Edingdon in 1345, and not finished until the time of Waynflete, in 1496, while the dawn of the Reformation saw the building of the side aisles of the presbytery and the east part of the Lady Chapel. The celebrated William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of Edward III., the founder of the Colleges of Winchester and New (Oxford), was the chief architect of the nave.

We approach the Cathedral by an avenue of stately elms, and reach the west door. The best exterior view is obtained from the north side of the close. The tower is low massive Norman work, built in the time of the first Henry, the first tower having fallen, as some said, because William Rufus, the bad king, was buried beneath it. The west front has been recently restored. It is evidently Perpendicular work, and was probably constructed by Bishop Edingdon.

On entering we are struck by the grandeur and impressiveness of this noble nave: Winchester is the largest Cathedral in England. The whole church is 556 feet in length, and nearly 400 feet of magnificent stone-vault is visible from the west doorway. This nave presents some architectural problems. The style is evidently Perpendicular work of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but the builders of that period transformed much of the original Norman work, which still remains in the piers and walls, into that of the later style. They did not rebuild, but transformed, adding new mouldings, casing, and concealing, though not obliterating, the ancient Norman features. We can trace the work of the successive builders. Bishop Edingdon entirely rebuilt the west front and extreme west portion. Examine the two west windows of the north aisle, and compare them with the third, the work of William of Wykeham, and notice their heavy and less graceful appearance. Wykeham was responsible for the complete transformation of the nave, but lived only long enough to complete the south side. Notice the thickness of the piers. This was caused by casing the Norman piers with Perpendicular stone-work, and the balcony above the arches was necessitated by the work of reconstruction. Wykeham's successor, Cardinal Beaufort (uncle of Henry V., the "rich Cardinal," as men called him, one of Joan of Arc's judges, but withal not so base a man as Shakespeare depicts), continued, and Bishop Waynflete, the founder of Magdalen College, Oxford, completed that magnificent structure which we now see. On each side of the west door are bronze statues of Charles I. and James I. by Le Sueur.

On the bosses of the roof we see some armorial bearings; the lily (the arms of Magdalen College) is the device of Waynflete, and the arms of Wykeham, Beaufort, John of Gaunt and Richard II. (white hart chained) are there represented.

The Minstrels' Gallery or tribune, erected by Edingdon, is at the west end of the north aisle, and the oldest piece of iron grill-work in England of very good design is seen in a neighbouring door. The font is Norman work, the sculptures representing scenes from the life of St. Nicholas of Myra, together with doves and the salamander. The chantry chapels on the south side of the nave are extremely interesting: (1) Bishop Edingdon's Chantry (1345-1366), (2) William of Wykeham's Chantry, which is very beautifully designed. We see the effigy of the distinguished prelate with two angels holding the pillow under his head, and three monks at his feet praying for his soul. Some modern statues have been added at the east end and an ingenious chronogram. In the south aisle there are two monuments by Flaxman (Henrietta North and Dr. Warton), and one to the once famous Bishop Hoadley, the founder of the Bangorian controversy, which shows the Magna Charta by the side of the Bible and the cap of liberty contending with the pastoral staff. Some heroes of the Crimean War are also commemorated. There are memorials of Mrs. Montagu, the founder of the "Blue Stockings," and of Jane Austen.

The pulpit is Jacobean, and was brought here from New College, Oxford. The screen separating the nave from the choir is modern. The bronze figures of James I. and Charles I. formed part of an older screen erected by Inigo Jones. Cromwell's soldiers wrought havoc here as in many other churches and cathedrals. They broke the windows and woodwork, desecrated shrines, and paid much attention to this statue of their king.

On entering the choir we find ourselves immediately beneath the tower, which, as we have observed, is Late Norman work, and notice the immense piers which support it. The former tower having fallen, the builders were determined not to have a similar misfortune, and therefore built these piers abnormally strong and massive. The ceiling was erected in the time of Charles I. (1634), and bears medallions of that ill-fated monarch and his queen. Beyond the tower we see the piers and arches and clerestory of the presbytery, which belong to the Late Decorated period. The noble reredos belongs to the fifteenth century, and has been recently restored, the vacant niches being again filled with statuary. In the centre is the figure of our Lord upon the Cross, with the Virgin and St. John. On each side of the altar are SS. Hedda and Ethelwolf, and in the spandrels of the two doorways some ancient sculptures of the life of the Virgin. Above are figures of SS. Swithun and Berinus, and above the doors SS. Benedict and Giles, and SS. Stephen and Lawrence. In the highest row are SS. Peter and Paul and the four Latin doctors. There are numerous smaller statues of kings and prelates. The whole appearance of the screen is very magnificent.

The woodwork of the stalls is the most perfect in the kingdom, and was constructed in the closing years of the thirteenth century. The carved foliage is remarkable for its grace and elegance. Notice the carved heads and the monkeys and other animals playing amidst the branches. The Misereres are interesting, and are earlier than the canopies. The pulpit was presented by one "Thomas Silkstede, prior," whose name it bears.

In the centre of the presbytery we see the supposed tomb of William Rufus, who was accidentally killed by an arrow when hunting in the New Forest. His ashes, however, do not rest beneath this stone, but are preserved in the chests above the screen, together with the bones of Canute and some Saxon prelates. Cromwell's soldiers rifled the tomb and found therein a chalice, which sacred vessel was usually placed in the coffins of bishops and therefore could not have belonged to the grave of the red-haired monarch. Bishop Fox (1500-1520) did much for this part of the Cathedral. He placed the glass in the east window, which has been much modified. Glass painting at this period had attained its highest perfection as an art, and in its original condition this window must have been unrivalled. The stone screens on each side of the presbytery were also erected by Fox, and six mortuary chests containing the bones of Saxon kings and bishops are placed upon them. Amongst the bones of other illustrious men are deposited in a mingled state the mortal remains of Kynegils, Ethelwolf, the father of Alfred the Great, Egbert, Canute, and many others. The soldiers of Cromwell played havoc with these bones of kings, and scattered them about the Cathedral, hence it is impossible to be certain that these chests actually contain the mortal remains of those whose names they bear. The vault of the presbytery is wooden, and the bosses are interesting.

Behind the reredos is the feretory or place for the shrines of patron saints, with a stone platform at its east end on which formerly stood the shrines of St. Swithun[6] and St. Berinus.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Pilgrims used to pass in procession before these shrines along the stone passage. A collection of fragments of carved work is shown here.

We now visit the north transept and find ourselves in the earliest portion of the Cathedral, built by Bishop Walkelin in the old Norman style. The windows were inserted in the Decorated period, and the ceiling belongs to the last century. The transepts have aisles on the east and west sides and also at each end, over which is a gallery. This is not common in England. At St. Alban's there is a similar arrangement, and in several Normandy churches. The Norman work of the transepts is of two periods. The earlier part by Walkelin (1070-1098) is distinguished by the smaller piers and plain groined vaulting; the later (1107) by the ribbed vaulting and larger piers. When we visit Ely Cathedral we shall notice the similarity of design, the transepts of that building having been erected by Simeon, Walkelin's brother. Under the organ-loft is the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. Notice the curious mural paintings representing the Passion of our Lord which date from the thirteenth century, and the Decorated canopies built against the Norman piers.

We now enter the north aisle of the presbytery and proceed to the extreme eastern portion of the Cathedral. Here seven chantries and chapels are seen which record the memory of illustrious prelates. "How much power and ambition under half-a-dozen stones! I own I grow to look on tombs as lasting mansions, instead of observing them for curious pieces of architecture," wrote Walpole. Almost all the east end was built by Bishop Godfrey de Lucy (1189-1204) at the beginning of the Early English period and is of exquisite design. The north chapel is called that of the Guardian Angels, and is so named from figures of angels in the vaulting. There is a bronze figure of the Earl of Portland here, the treasurer of Charles I. Notice the figure holding a heart. It represents Bishop Ethelmar, half-brother of Henry III., who died in Paris but directed that his heart should be conveyed to this Cathedral.

The Lady Chapel has work of divers periods—north and south walls Early English (De Lucy), east wall and window with small eastern parts of north and south walls Perpendicular (Prior Hunton, 1470-1498, and Prior Silkstede, 1498-1524). The rebuses of these two priors on the vault are curious: T. Hun and a ton (Thomas Hunton), and 1 and Por for Prior; T. Silk and a horse (Thomas Silkstede). Mural paintings by the latter prior representing the legends of the Virgin adorn the walls. The panelling is the work of Bishop Fox.

The south chapel (Early English) is the Chantry of Bishop Langton, who died of the plague in 1500, just before he was translated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. The woodwork of the stalls is very beautiful. The pikes of Cromwell's soldiers wrought havoc here, and we notice that just above the height they could reach with their weapons the woodwork is uninjured. Mediæval artists were fond of puns and rebuses, and here we have Langton's name represented by a long (or musical) note with a ton, and a vine and ton for Winton or Winchester. Winton is also represented by a dragon coming from a ton, referring to Solomon's warning against the wine that is red which biteth like a serpent, etc. An object of much interest is preserved here—Queen Mary's chair upon which she sat when she was married to Philip of Spain in the Lady Chapel. On that occasion there was much feasting and rejoicing in Winchester, though the nation liked not the Spanish marriage, and much ill came to England through that ill-starred connection. De Lucy's tomb in the centre of the retro-choir looks upon the noble work which he built for his beloved Cathedral. On the north of the central aisle is the Chantry of Waynflete, the founder of Magdalen College, Oxford; on the south that of Cardinal Beaufort. Both were much injured by the soldiers. Between these is the effigy of a knight in armour, Sir A. de Gavaston, the father of the favourite of Edward II.

Notice the wall at the back of the feretory, with its beautiful tabernacle work of Decorated period, under which images once stood. The names of the worthies appear below. "The Holy Hole" formerly led to the crypt but has now been closed. On the north side of this wall is Bishop Gardiner's Chantry, who was the leader of the Roman Catholic party at the Reformation and was styled the "Hammer of Heretics." He took a leading part in the Marian persecutions. On the south side is the Chantry of Bishop Fox (1500-1528), the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who bore the pelican as a device.

The south wall of the south aisle of the presbytery is Late Perpendicular work. Another instance of heart burial is recorded on the wall opposite, that of Bishop Nicholas of Ely (1280), and an inscription tells of the burial of Richard, son of William the Conqueror, who was killed while hunting in the New Forest.

We now enter the south transept, the architectural features of which are similar to those of the north transept. Silkstede's Chantry should be visited. This worthy prior loved a rebus, and here carved a skein of silk to represent his name, also the letters thoMAs appear on the screen, the MA being formed differently from the rest to represent his patroness, Mary the Virgin. Isaac Walton's tomb is here, the author of the Angler. There are some good mural paintings. The monument of Bishop Wilberforce forms a conspicuous object in the transept. Adjoining Silkstede's Chapel is the Venerable Chapel, with a fine screen. On the west side are the chapter-room and the old treasury. Passing through the chamber on the south we enter the slype.

The Cathedral

West Front.

The library has some treasures, notably a Vulgate of the twelfth century and some valuable MSS. The crypt is entirely Norman work, except the east part, which is Early English. The cloisters and old chapter-house were destroyed in 1563. The Deanery was formerly the home of the prior; its entrance belongs to the time of Henry III., and the hall within the house to the fifteenth century. Over the dean's stables is a long room which was probably the guest-house for pilgrims; rude carvings can be seen on the beams of the roof probably made by the pilgrims.

Dimensions

Total length, 556 ft.; length of nave, 262 ft.; width of nave and aisles, 88 ft.; height of vault, 78 ft.; area, 53,480 sq. ft.

Principal Building Dates

1079-1093—Transepts, crypt and cores of piers and wall; 1120—central tower rebuilt; 1202—retro-choir and eastern chapels; 1320—presbytery rebuilt; 1360—west front and two bays of nave; 1394-1486—nave reconstructed; 1487—east end of Lady Chapel; 1520—alterations in presbytery by Bishop Fox.

Other objects of interest in Winchester—

The School, founded by William of Wykeham; the Hospital of St. Cross, founded by Henry de Blois in 1136; Hyde Abbey, the resting-place of the body of Alfred the Great; the County Hall, with the so-called Round Table of King Arthur; Wolvesey Castle, the ancient episcopal palace.

PLAN OF WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL