What is known of the building of the Lady Chapel has already been told in Chapter I. and in the account of the choir and presbytery. The founder of the chapel, Bishop Langton, was buried here, but his tomb was afterwards removed to the south side of the high altar. Shaw tells us of the monument at one time "in the east part of the chapel, towards the south," of Robert Master and Catherine, his wife, and says that "the drawing in Dugdale's 'Visitation' represents them each under a round arch, in the attitude of prayer at a desk." No trace is left of this monument.
As might be expected from what has been given of the history of the cathedral, there is none of the old glass belonging to it remaining; but in spite of this, all the nine windows of the Lady Chapel have very beautiful old glass in them. This glass is not Mediæval, but belongs to the sixteenth century, and the whole of it is a comparatively recent acquisition for the cathedral. That in the seven most eastern windows, and known as the Herkenrode glass, was put in at the beginning of the century; and the other two windows which, until recently, held modern glass, bearing the arms of various dignitaries of the cathedral, have recently been enriched by old glass of probably very nearly the same period as the other.
The nine windows, for the purposes of explanation, may be numbered in succession 1 to 9. No. 1, being the first window on the north, and No. 9, the first on the south, contain, therefore, the more recently acquired glass. This is supposed to have come from the Low Countries; but, at any rate, about the middle of the century it was brought to England, and lay for years in some cellars in London, where it was forgotten. Finally, it was purchased from the representatives of the Marquis of Ely. The glass shows the arms of the kingdom of Aragon, and amongst other mottoes, that of Charles V.
No. 1. The lower compartment is a symbolic picture on the subject of Baptism. Out of the waters in the fountain come the children, to be received by their guardian spirits, while above are figures representing Faith, Fortitude, and Love, and still higher is a representation of the Divine Presence. No. 9 is a pictorial representation of the legendary Death of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin is represented lying in a canopied bed, surrounded by the apostles, who have been summoned to gather round her death-bed: they are all present except St. Thomas, who has been detained at the baptism of a royal prince. Above is a representation of the Virgin entering into glory.
As stated above, these two windows had originally coats of arms in them, and a reproduction of the arms appears in the tracery of the windows, No. 1 having those of the dean and chapter in 1803, and No. 9 those of the bishops of the diocese from Bishop Hacket to that date.
The glass in the other seven windows—the Herkenrode glass—was purchased in 1802 by Sir Brooke Boothby, who discovered it in Belgium, where it had been hidden for protection from the French. It had been taken from the dissolved Abbey of Herkenrode, near Liege. There were three hundred and forty pieces, each about twenty-two inches square, and some of them are marked with dates between 1530 and 1540. Sir Brooke is said to have given two hundred pounds for it; but it has since been valued at fifteen thousand pounds. He, however, most generously sold it to the dean and chapter for the modest sum he had paid for it. It turned out that there was enough to fill the seven windows it now occupies in the Lady Chapel. Some portions have been used in other windows of the cathedral, which have been already described.
There is a considerable difference in appearance between this glass and that in the other two windows. The subjects depicted in the latter are very distinct, while in the former they are more confused, and it must be said that the Herkenrode glass is much faded. Still, the whole of it is very beautiful, and if it does not satisfy those who crave after the Mediæval stained glass, it is certainly some of the finest glass of the kind to be found in England. The designs have been conjectured to be by Lambert Lombard, the first, and one of the most famous, of the Italianised Flemish School of the sixteenth century; and the other glass belongs to the same period.
The abbey at Herkenrode was founded in 1182, and belonged to the Cistercian Order. It became noted for the miracles performed there; from which reason, no doubt, it acquired great wealth, and increased so much in size that it was almost like a small town. All the nuns were of noble family. A history of the abbey was published in 1744, and a copy was presented to the cathedral library by Sir Brooke Boothby. The book contains a view of the abbey buildings, in the centre of which is seen the church. In the third window of the Lady Chapel is a similar picture of the church. Windows Nos. 2 and 3 contain portraits of founders and benefactors of the abbey, with their patron saints. The other five windows, Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show scenes in the life of Christ.
The following is a brief description of these windows:—