Читать книгу The Cathedrals of Great Britain - P. H. Ditchfield - Страница 9

THE NORTH FRONT

The North Front is new, designed by Sir G. Scott and Mr. Pearson. It is 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. This 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, and will be approached from the interior.

The Interior

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. A list of the most important monuments will be found at the close of our account of the Abbey.

The north-west tower contains the monuments of distinguished members of the Whig party, and has in the window some ancient glass. The south-west tower was formerly the Baptistery. The architecture of the aisles has suffered much from the erection of stupendous monuments. The gallery at the west of the south aisle was erected at the same time as Henry VII.'s Chapel by Abbot Islip, and is known as the Abbot's Pew. The door at the east end is Late Early English. The South Transept is known as the Poets' Corner, on account of the memorials of the votaries of the muses which stand here. The architecture is of very beautiful design in the style of Early English, when it was merging into Early Decorated. In the south wall is the entrance to the Chapel of St. Faith, the door of which was once covered with the skins of Danes. Two tiers of trefoiled arches are above this, and higher still the triforium, the spandrels of the arches being enriched with sculpture. There is no west aisle. Chaucer's tomb will attract most visitors. In the chapel are some ancient paintings of the Crucifixion, St. Faith, and a kneeling monk.

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. A record of the interesting tombs here will be found later. Edward the Confessor's Chapel is a mausoleum of Royal personages, wherein our monarchs have been laid to rest, a portion of the building which always possesses a solemn and pathetic interest. Here is the shrine of the "miracle worker," the pious but weak last Saxon king, St. Edward. It was fashioned in 1269 by order of Henry III., the artificer being one Peter, a Roman citizen. The style of the oldest part, the base of the shrine, is of a Byzantine character. The upper part was probably made by Abbot Feckenham in Mary's reign, in imitation of that which was destroyed in Reformation times. It is difficult to imagine what must have been the splendour of this wondrous shrine when it was adorned with gold and gems, ere the greedy commissioners of Henry VIII. despoiled it of its treasures. Henry III., Eleanor of Castile, in whose honour her loving husband, Edward I., raised the Eleanor crosses wherever her body rested on its last journey to the Abbey, Edward I., and other monarchs rest here. Henry V.'s Chantry is a splendid piece of ornate Perpendicular work, with elaborate sculptured figures representing St. George, St. Denys, and the story of the hero's life, his fights, his coronation, his court. The effigy has been much mutilated. Above the tomb is the monarch's achievement, his shield, saddle and helmet, which were borne in his funeral procession. The coronation chairs have especial interest at this time, especially the famous throne of Edward I., which has under the seat the coronation stone of Scone, brought by him from Scotland. Legends tell us that this stone was the veritable stone used by Jacob as a pillow when he dreamt that wondrous dream at Bethel. There is also the throne of William and Mary, and Edward III.'s sword and shield.

Poets' Corner Westminster Abbey

In the South Ambulatory are three chapels, dedicated to SS. Benedict, Edmund and Nicholas, all of which have interesting monuments which will be noticed later. We now enter Henry VII.'s Chapel, the most perfect example of the Perpendicular style at its best in the country. At the entrance are beautiful bronze doors covered with designs symbolical of the titles of the Royal founder. It is impossible to describe in words the richness and beauty of the interior of this noble chapel. Washington Irving wrote: "The very walls are wrought into universal ornament, encrusted with tracery and scooped into niches, crowded with statues of saints and martyrs. Stone seems, by the cunning labour of the chisel, to have been robbed of its weight and density, suspended aloft as if by magic, and the fretted roof achieved with the wonderful minuteness and airy security of a cobweb." The vault is very beautiful with fan-tracery. The banners of the Knights of the Order of the Bath hang over their stalls. The misereres are wonderfully carved, and are worthy of close examination. The black marble tomb of the founder is considered to be the best example of the Renaissance style in England. It was fashioned by Torregiano. Very numerous monuments are found here, which will be described later. The tombs of Mary Queen of Scots and of Queen Elizabeth have especial interest. Oliver Cromwell's body once lay in the most eastern chapel, but the Royalists at the Restoration wrought vengeance on his corpse, and on that of other regicides, and did not suffer them to remain in these hallowed precincts.

Returning we traverse the North Ambulatory, from which open the Chapels of SS. Paul, John Baptist, Erasmus and Abbot Islip. St. Erasmus was a Bishop of Campania, martyred in the time of the Diocletian persecution. His chapel has a fine, Late Decorated doorway. Abbot Islip died in 1532, and had previously adorned this chapel for his tomb, of which only the base remains. A curious eye will discern his rebus. In the upper chapel are preserved some remarkable wax effigies of deceased monarchs and others, which were used in ancient times in funeral processions. Charles II., Elizabeth, William and Mary, Anne, Duchess of Richmond, General Monk, and a few others have survived the wreck of time.

The North Transept resembles the south and is remarkable for its noble architecture. It is part of Henry III.'s construction. The carving is rich and beautiful, especially the famous sculptures of the censing angels, which are best seen from the triforium. On the east are the three Chapels of SS. John the Evangelist, Michael and Andrew, which are now filled with monuments.

We will now visit the monastic buildings, which may be entered from the south aisle of the nave. The east walk of the cloisters was finished in 1345, and the south and west walks a few years later under the rule of Abbot Litlington. The north walk is a century earlier. From the east walk we enter the Chapter-House. The doorway is remarkably fine, with its sculptured figures in the mouldings. This is one of the finest and largest chapter-houses in England, and was built by Henry III. in 1250. Its plan is octagonal. There is a central, slender, clustered shaft from which the vaulting springs. This vault is a restoration. The windows have beautiful tracery, and are filled with modern glass. The old paintings representing the Second Advent are very interesting. This room has been devoted to many uses. Here the House of Lords used to meet, and here the Records were once kept. The Chapel of the Pyx, a fine Early Norman structure, where "the trial of the Pyx" took place, is not open to the public. Above this and the vestibule was the dormitory, now the library and schoolroom of the famous Westminster School founded by Henry VIII. The cloisters have many monuments. On the south-east lies the little cloister formerly the infirmary, approached by a passage from the east cloister. The refectory was on the south side of the cloister-court, and on the west was the abbot's house, now the Deanery. Permission should be obtained to see the famous Jerusalem Chamber, probably so called from the tapestry which once hung here. Here Henry IV. died, which fact Shakespeare mentions in his play, Henry IV., and many other historical scenes have these walls witnessed.

HENRY V.'S CHANTRY

Kings Buried in Westminster Abbey

Siebert, King of the East Saxons.	Edward V.
Edward the Confessor.	Henry VII.
Henry III.	Edward VI.
Edward I.	James I.
Edward III.	Charles II.
Richard II.	William III.
Henry V.	George II.

List of Monuments

St. Edward's Chapel, or the Chapel of the Kings—

Edward the Confessor.	Edward I.
Henry III.	Eleanor of Castile.
Henry V.	Queen Philippa.
Edward III.	Richard II. and Queen.
Queen Editha and Queen Matilda (good Queen Maud) are buried here.

Henry VII.'s Chapel—

Mary Queen of Scots.	Henry VII. and his Queen.
Queens Elizabeth and Mary.	James I. No monument.

In the "Stuart Vault" are buried—

Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and Prince Rupert.

Lady Arabella Stuart, Anne Hyde, and several Royal children.

In the "Royal Vault" are buried—

Charles II.	Queen Anne.
Queen Mary II.	Prince George of Denmark.
William III.

Under the Nave of the Chapel are buried—

George II. and Caroline of Anspach.

Edward VI. The old altar by Torregiano under which he was laid has been of late years restored.

In "Oliver's Vault" were originally buried—

Cromwell, and other leaders of the Commonwealth; the only body that has remained undisturbed is that of the Protector's daughter, Elizabeth Claypole.

A small sarcophagus contains the bones supposed to be those of Edward V. and the Duke of York.

In this Chapel are also buried—

Addison, to whom a statue was raised in 1809 in the Poets' Corner.

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, an immense tomb.

Nave and Choir—

 Charles James Fox.

 Henry Fox, Lord Holland.

 Major-General Charles George Gordon, bronze bust.

 William Pitt.

 William Wordsworth, seated statue. }

 John Keble, bust. }

 Frederick D. Maurice, bust. } Baptistery.

 Charles Kingsley, bust. }

 Matthew Arnold, bust. }

 Dr. T. Arnold, bust. }

 William Congreve.

 Major John André.

 Charles Robert Darwin, medallion portrait.

 (Sir John Herschell, buried next to Darwin).

 Ben Jonson (buried here—monument in Poets' Corner).

 Sir Charles Lyell, bust.

 Sir Isaac Newton.

Buried here are—

 David Livingstone, }

 Robert Stephenson, } without monument.

 Dean Trench, }

 Sir George Gilbert Scott, }

 Lord Lawrence, bust.

 Sir James Outram (a bas-relief of Relief of Lucknow).

 Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde.

 Dr. Isaac Watts.

 John and Charles Wesley (buried elsewhere).

 Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel.

 Sir Godfrey Kneller, the only painter commemorated in the Abbey.

 William Wilberforce, seated figure.

 Henry Purcell, tablet.

 (Sir William Sterndale Bennett buried here.)

INTERIOR FROM CHAPEL OF ST. JOHN

North Transept—

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham.

Viscount Palmerston, statue.

Sir Robert Peel, statue.

Lord Beaconsfield, statue.

Gladstone (no monument yet erected).

Warren Hastings (buried elsewhere).

Richard Cobden, bust (buried elsewhere).

Poets' Corner—

John Dryden, bust.

H. Wadsworth Longfellow, bust.

Abraham Cowley.

Geoffrey Chaucer.

Lord Tennyson, bust.

Robert Browning (no monument).

Michael Drayton.

Ben Jonson, monument bears same inscription as stone above grave.

Edmund Spenser.

Samuel Butler (buried elsewhere).

John Milton.

Thomas Gray (buried elsewhere).

Matthew Prior.

Thomas Campbell.

Robert Southey (buried elsewhere), bust.

S. Taylor Coleridge (buried elsewhere), bust.

William Shakespeare.

Robert Burns (buried elsewhere), bust.

James Thomson (buried elsewhere).

John Gay (buried?).

Oliver Goldsmith, medallion (buried elsewhere).

Sir W. Scott, replica of bust at Abbotsford.

John Ruskin, medallion.

George Frederick Handel, statue.

Jenny Lind Goldschmidt, portrait head.

W. Makepeace Thackeray (buried elsewhere), bust.

Joseph Addison (buried in Henry VII.'s Chapel).

Lord Macaulay, bust.

William Camden.

David Garrick, full-length figure.

Among those buried here without monuments are—

Sir John and Francis Beaumont.

Sir John Denham.

Dr. Samuel Johnson (monument at St. Paul's).

Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Charles Dickens.

Sir William Davenant.

Richard Hakluyt.

Thomas Parr.

Queen Anne, Richard III.'s wife, is believed to be lying here.

Monuments to Dr. Busby and Dr. Robert South.

Portion of tomb of Anne of Cleves.

Within the rails of the Choir are three old tombs—

Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, married to Henry III.'s son, Edmund Crouchback.

Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, cousin to Edward I., employed as general in wars in Scotland.

Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster.

South Ambulatory—

Supposed tomb of King Siebert.

Chapel of St. Edmund—

William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke (father of above), half-brother to Henry III. This is the only existing example in England of an effigy in Limoges enamel work.

Lord Lytton, black marble slab.

North Ambulatory—

General James Wolfe.

Chapel of St. Paul—

James Watt, statue.

Islip Chapel—

Remains of Islip's tomb form a table by the window.

St. John's Chapel—

Sir John Franklin.

St. Andrew's Chapel—

Sir Humphrey Davy (buried elsewhere), tablet.

Mrs. Siddons, statue.

John Kemble, statue.

Among those who are buried in the Cloisters are—

Thomas Betterton, actor.

Mrs. Bracegirdle, actress.

Aphra Behu.

Samuel Foote.

A tablet in the Cloisters has been put up in memory of seven of the Queen's Westminster Volunteers killed in South Africa, 1900.

Monument to Dean Stanley (Henry VII.'s Chapel).

Archbishop Tait, bust (Poets' Corner).

Window commemorative of—

George Herbert.

William Cowper.

Dimensions

Length of nave	166 ft.
Breadth of nave	38 ft.
Breadth of nave and aisles	71 ft.
Height of nave and choir	101 ft.
Length of choir	155 ft.
Breadth of choir	38 ft.
Length of whole church	511 ft.
Height of central tower	151 ft.
Height of west towers	225 ft.
Area	46,000 sq. ft.

Principal Building Dates

 1050-1100—Fragments beneath pavement of choir, Chapel of the Pyx.

 1245-1269—Choir and four eastern bays of nave, transepts, chapter-house, and north and part of east walk of cloister.

 1330-1350—Cloisters, south and west walks.

 1350-1512—West parts of nave, Henry VII.'s Chapel,abbot's pew, Henry V.'s Chantry, Jerusalem Chamber.

 1739-1741—West front.

 Modern—North front of north transept.

PLAN OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY