Читать книгу How to Visit the English Cathedrals - Singleton Esther - Страница 15

“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

Winchester: Nave, west

Winchester: Font

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.

“The stalls which extend from the eastern tower-piers to the first pier of the nave, are of oak, as black as ebony, and probably exhibit the very finest woodwork of their date and style (which is the best) in the Kingdom. They are early Decorated (Geometrical) work and their canopies and gables bear considerable resemblance to those of the tomb of Edmund Crouchback in Westminster Abbey. This would place their date about 1296. The beauty and variety of the carvings are wonderful. There is no repetition; and the grace and elegance, as well as the fidelity, with which the foliage is represented, are nowhere to be surpassed. The human heads are full of expression; and the monkeys and other animals sporting among the branches have all the same exquisite finish. The mode in which the cusps of the circles in the canopies are terminated, is worthy of attention; and in short, at this period of the revival of wood-carving, no better examples could be found for study and imitation. The misereres below are of early character and interesting. Their date is rather later than those (Early English) in Exeter Cathedral—the most ancient in the Kingdom. The desks and stools in front of the upper range bear the initials of Henry VIII., Bishop Stephen Gardiner, and Dean Kingsmill and the date 1540. The rich pulpit on the north side bears the name of its donor ‘Thomas Silkstede, prior’ on different parts of it.”—(R. J. K.)

The Presbytery is Early English, the work of Bishop Lucy (1189-1204). It has a central alley of three bays. The arcading is very graceful. The presbytery is closed at the sides by screens of stone tracery, most of them erected by Bishop Fox, and bear his motto, Est Deo Gratia. Upon these screens stand six mortuary chests (also the work of Bishop Fox) containing the bones of the West Saxon Kings and bishops removed from the crypt of the old Saxon cathedral into Walkelyn’s church by Bishop Henry de Blois and placed in leaden sarcophagi. The chests are of wood, carved, painted and gilded in the Renaissance Style, which was being introduced into England in Fox’s time.

“The vaulting of the presbytery (of wood) is the work of Bishop Fox (1500-1520), and displays on its bosses, a mass of heraldry besides (at the east end) the various emblems of the Passion together with a number of faces representing Pilate and his wife, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas, Judas, Malchus with the sword of Peter dividing his ear, Peter himself and many others. All are curious and are best seen from the gallery below the east window.

“The east window of the choir is filled with Perpendicular glass, a little earlier than 1525, the work of Bishop Fox, whose arms impaled with those of the sees he held (Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham and Winchester) and his motto Est Deo Gratia are introduced in it.”—(R. J. K.)

Winston thinks that the only part of the glass in its original position consists of the two figures occupying the two southernmost of the lower lights and all the tracery lights except the top central one and the three immediately below it.

“The top central light is filled principally with some glass of Wykeham’s time and all the rest of the window with glass of Fox’s time, removed from other windows. In point of execution it is as nearly as perfect as painted glass can be. In it the shadows have attained their proper limit. It was at this period that glass painting attained its highest perfection as an art.”—(C. W.)

Beyond the tower-piers in the presbytery a plain tomb of Purbeck marble was once the resting-place of William Rufus, killed in the New Forest in 1100 and first buried, as we have seen, under the Tower. His bones were removed in the Twelfth Century by his nephew Bishop Henry de Blois and are now mingled with those of Canute, Queen Emma and two Saxon bishops in one of the mortuary chests on the screen of the Presbytery.

The piers and arches of the Presbytery are Decorated, dating from 1320 and 1350.

At the High Altar of the Choir Queen Mary was married to Philip of Spain in July, 1554, by Bishop Gardiner. In Philip’s train were Alva, the future scourge of the Low Countries, and Egmont, his famous victim. The chair in which the bride sat is preserved in the Chapel of the Guardian Angels.

At the back of the altar rises the magnificent Reredos, dating from the latter end of the Fifteenth Century. In 1899 the final restoration of the screen was completed by filling a niche that had been vacant for three centuries. The altar-rails are of the time of Charles I. A representation of the Incarnation hangs over the altar placed there in 1899, when Benjamin West’s Raising of Lazarus was removed to the South Transept.

“The Reredos is said to have been commenced by Cardinal Beaufort and completed by Bishop Fox and Prior Silkstede. It is an excellent specimen of Perpendicular work, executed in a fine, white soft stone; its elaborately canopied niches, pierced and crocketted pinnacles, pilaster buttresses, and centre projecting canopy, are surmounted at a height reaching nearly to the corbels, with a triple frieze of running leaves, Tudor flowers and quatrefoils. This Reredos is of the same type as those at Christ Church Priory and St. Alban’s, but its dimensions are greater and better proportioned. Its restoration is carried out with remarkable fidelity to the original work. The back is closely panelled in the upper part, and the lower part is richly decorated. No description could do justice to the beauty and effect of the whole work. Milner describes its exquisite workmanship as being as magnificent as this or any other nation can exhibit. The central part was restored as a memorial to the late Archdeacon Jacob.”—(G. W. K.)

On either side of the altar a door opens to the space behind the Reredos, which in early days was the Feretory, a place for the feretra, or shrines of the patron saints.

“The Feretory, or Capitular Chapel, is immediately behind the altar and communicates with the sanctuary. Here the magnificent shrine of St. Swithun, of solid silver gilt and garnished with precious stones, the gift of King Edgar, used to be kept except on the festivals of the saint, when it was exposed to view on the Altar, or before it.

“Many portions of statuary formerly belonging to the Great Screen and other parts of the building are here carefully preserved. From the platform behind the reredos may be observed the admirable connection of Fox’s new with De Lucy’s earlier work.”—(G. W. K.)

The old statue of the bishop, taken from the west front, may also be seen here.

Back of the Reredos again stands the famous Edwardian Arcade, with nine canopies (or tabernacles). Beneath it is the ancient entrance, the “Holy Hole,” leading into the Crypt.

The presbytery aisles are greatly admired. Here we find beautiful examples of Early English work and many splendid monuments and chantries. Beyond lies the Lady-Chapel, with the Chapel of the Guardian Angels on the north side and the Bishop de Langton’s Chantry on the south.

The Lady-Chapel (1470) was founded by Elizabeth of York, Queen of Henry VII., after the birth of her son, Arthur, as a testimony of her gratitude. The arms of Henry VII., Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales—the feathers divided by roses—are among the ornaments.

A plain slab of grey marble in front of the Lady-Chapel is supposed to mark the Tomb of Bishop de Lucy, the builder of all this part of the Cathedral. At the back of the Lady-Chapel a Reredos was placed by Dean Branston in 1876.

Ascending the steps from the transept, we reach the north aisle of the presbytery, and gain a fine view beyond this of the eastern portion of the church, with its splendid chantries and chapels.

With the exception of the extreme east end of the Lady-Chapel, it is all the work of Bishop Godfrey de Lucy (1189-1204), and consequently a very early example of Early English. The design and details are of great beauty. The three aisles or alleys (called procession paths or the via processionum) are separated from each other by three arches on each side and terminate eastward in chapels. These aisles were formed in order to facilitate the circulation of processions.

The north chapel (part of De Lucy’s work) is called that of the Guardian Angels, from the figures of angels still remaining on the vaulting; the south chapel (De Lucy’s work) was fitted up as a chantry by Bishop Langton, who died in 1500. The woodwork is rich and beautiful and the vault elaborate with carved rebuses on his name.

“The north and south walls, as far as the east walls of the two side chapels, are De Lucy’s work, and retain his rich Early English arcade. The eastern compartment on each side, as well as the east wall, have respectively a large Perpendicular window of seven lights with transom and tracery of a peculiar kind of subordination, or rather interpretation of patterns well worth a careful study. The vault is a complex and beautiful specimen of lierne-work. The capitals and bases of the vaulting-shafts are unusual and very beautiful. The carved panelling of the western half of this chapel, the seats, desk and screen of separation, are all excellent, and should be noticed. All this Perpendicular work is due to Prior Hunton (1470-1498) and his successor, Prior Silkstede (1498-1524). On the vault round the two central keys—one representing the Almighty, the other the Blessed Virgin—are the rebuses of the two priors: the letter T, the syllable Hun, the figure of a ton for Thomas Hunton; the figure 1 and the letters Por for Prior: the letter T, the syllable silk, the word sted with a horse below it, the figure 1 with letters as before, for Thomas Silkstede, prior. The walls of this chapel are covered with the remains of some very curious paintings illustrating the legendary history of the Virgin.

“These are all the work of Prior Silkstede, whose portrait, with an inscription, is still faintly visible over the piscina.”—(R. J. K.)

Between the pillars of the central aisle are the Chantries of Waynflete and Beaufort. Both were much injured by Cromwell’s troops and have been restored. The delicacy and beauty of Waynflete’s canopy should be noted. The lily, his device, constantly appears. His effigy lies here.

Beaufort appears in his Cardinal’s robes. He was half-brother to Henry IV. and was bishop, statesman, soldier and banker to the royal family. He is said to have burst into tears at the burning of Joan of Arc at Rouen and to have left the scene. However, he persecuted the Lollards. Between these two chantries lies the effigy of a Thirteenth Century Knight in chain-mail and cross-legged. It is the only ancient military figure in the cathedral. He is either Sir W. de Foix or Sir Arnold de Gavaston.

Beyond the pier which connects De Lucy’s work with the Presbytery on the north side is the Chantry of Bishop Gardiner (1531-1555), the “hammer of heretics,” secretary to Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII.’s ambassador to the Pope regarding his marriage. Bishop Gardiner also married “Bloody Mary” to the King of Spain.

Opposite is Bishop Fox’s Chantry, built by Fox himself. It is the most elaborate chantry in the Cathedral. The arches were once filled with stained glass. The Bishop’s emblem, the pelican, appears everywhere. Fox was secretary and Lord Privy Seal to Henry VII. and founder of Corpus Christi, Oxford. This college restored the Bishop’s chantry. Blind several years before his death, Fox used to be led every day to the small oratory attached to his Chantry.

The visitor should study these chantries, beginning with Edington’s in the Nave and ending with Gardiner’s, for they form a continuous record of the growth and development of Perpendicular and Tudor architecture from 1366 to 1555.

“In no English church except Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s, lie so many men of name. For just as the features of the Cathedral represent all the successive phases and changes of the art of building, until it has been styled a ‘School of English Architecture,’ so it may be said to be the home and centre of our early history. Long is the roll of kings and statesmen who came hither and whose bones here lie at rest. Cynegils and Cenwalh, West Saxon Kings, founders of the church, are here; Egbert was buried here in 838; Ethelwulf also and Edward the Elder and Edred. The body of Alfred the Great lay a while in the church, then was transferred to the new minster he had built, and finally rested at Hyde Abbey. And, most splendid name of all, the great Cnut was buried here, as was also his son, Harthacnut, as bad and mean as his father was great. The roll of kings was closed when Red William’s blood-dripping corpse came jolting hither in the country cart from New Forest.”—(G. W. K.)

The two Transepts are similar. Both have east and west aisles and both are of two periods. The earlier parts are plain rude Norman, massive and grand in effect. The arches, both of triforium and clerestory, are square-edged like the pier-arches below them. They should be compared with Ely Cathedral, the work of Walkelyn’s brother, Simeon. It is interesting to note that the central towers of both fell,—Walkelyn’s in 1107 and Simeon’s in 1321.

The North Transept contains five altars. On the south side against the organ screen is the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, the walls of which are covered with rude wall-paintings illustrative of the passion of our Saviour.

The South Transept is similar to the North transept. In its eastern aisles are two chapels formed by screens of stone tracery work. The south chapel is called Silkstede’s Chapel, from Prior Silkstede, whose name, Thomas, is carved on the screen with the monogram M. A. of the Virgin and a skein of silk, his rebus. The beautiful iron-work is of a later period. A plain black marble slab in Prior Silkstede’s Chapel marks the Tomb of Izaak Walton, “the prince of fishermen,” who died in 1683.

Entrances from both transepts lead to the crypt.

In the west aisle of the south transept is the Chapter-House (formerly the sacristy), above which is the Library. The doorway in the south wall led to the domestic buildings of the monastery.

The Crypt is entered from the north transept. It is Norman, dark and massive, and suggestive of a remote age. It is frequently flooded; for the level of the river seems to have risen since the Eleventh Century. Like other crypts, it serves to show the original plan of the Norman Church. It is in three parts: the western, consisting of the substructure of the original choir; a long aisleless chapel of three bays beneath the present retro-choir; and the substructure of Courtenay’s Lady-Chapel built between 1486 and 1492. Beneath the

Winchester: Choir, east

Winchester: West front

high altar is the sacred well, the centre of Saxon worship before the Cathedral had an existence.

The Roofs of this cathedral also deserve a visit.

“In the roof of the nave may be seen the original Norman shafts running up above Wykeham’s vault, and in those of the aisles the Norman arches of the triforium, best developed at the east end of the nave aisle-roof. The transept roofs show to this day what Bishop Walkelyn did with Hempage-wood. From the leads of the tower there is a very striking view over the city and its environs.”—(R. J. K.)

The Bells hang in the great central tower: three are dated 1734, the others 1737, 1742, 1772, 1804 and 1814. The tenor bell was recast in 1892.

Within the Precincts stood the Royal Castle at the time of the Norman Conquest. This was pulled down by Henry de Blois in the Twelfth Century.