Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Norwich / A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Episcopal See

by C. H. B. Quennell

Also on this same south side, in the seventh and eighth bays from the west end, two very late windows occur, inserted in the Norman arcading under the original triforium windows; these were inserted by Bishop Nykke to light the chapel he built in two bays of the south aisle of the nave.

The curious raking of the lead rolls to the nave roof is noticeable; the mediaeval builders did this with a view of counteracting the "crawl" of the lead. Lead, under the variations of temperature of the atmosphere, expands and contracts considerably; and from its own weight, and the steepness of the roofs, the contraction takes place in a downward direction, and starts the joints, letting in the weather. This raking of the vertical rolls was a device whereby the old builders in some measure got over their difficulty by inducing a fixed expansion and contraction.

The South Transept projects boldly forward from under the tower; without aisles, its ridge and parapet correspond in height to those of the nave; this narrowness, with the tower and spire showing over behind, gives it an appearance of height, as approached from the lower close. This effect of height is emphasised by the partition of the design in its width, by flat Norman buttresses, with shafts in the angles, and by the flat faces of the flanking turrets. The work, however, is without interest, from the fact that, though the ensemble in some measure has been retained, the whole of the exterior face of the stonework was re-cased by Salvin, 1830-40, during which period various restorations were effected. Before these alterations, the Norman flanking turrets finished with a "Perpendicular" battlementing, enriched with shields and quatrefoils, and with crocketted pinnacles set at the four angles; this battlementing was removed, and the present uninteresting pepper-boxes took their place. No doubt they have it in their favour that they may be more like the original Norman terminations than were those they replaced, which were, however, real "Perpendicular," and these are only sham Norman. Originally, from the eastward side of the south transept, projected a semi-circular chapel, shown on [plan] by dotted lines, and corresponding to that still remaining on the north side of the cathedral. It was part of the original plan, and though we believe no record exists of its destruction, it can safely be premised that its fate came about through the cultus of the saint to whom it was dedicated declining, and consequent neglect and ruin following made its destruction cheaper than its reparation. It was replaced by a sacristy in the fifteenth century, the lines of roof to which can still be seen over on the stonework. This later sacristy was destroyed by the fire of 1509, that burned as well the wooden roofs of the transepts, and necessitated the stone vaults added by Bishop Nykke.

The Diocesan Registry Offices now occupy the space on which once stood the Norman chapel, and later the Sacristy.

The building projecting eastward, south of this space, and marked A on [plan], was once a chapel, said by Blomefield to have been dedicated to St. Edmund. It is now used as the Dean's Vestry in the lower storey, and as the Chapter Clerk's Office in the upper.

At the same time that the later restorations were effected to the south transept, the groined Slype and singing-school above it were destroyed, and the present door in the south transept from the lower close was opened. A pre-restoration view is published of the east end of the cathedral, showing the slype, in Britton's "Norwich." The visitor should also bear in mind that this space immediately in front of the south transept was originally occupied by the Chapter-House, situated as shown by dotted lines on [plan], and separated from the cathedral by the slype. The entrance arches to the chapter-house from the east walk of the cloisters still remain and fix definitely its position; it projected eastward about eighty feet.

The Tower and Spire mark the crossing of the choir and transepts, the tower only being Norman, and square on plan, with flat Norman buttresses, covered with vertical shafts on the face of each. These buttresses start from the level of the parapets to Nave, Transept, and Presbytery, and rise right up until, well over the parapet of the tower, they are finished by crocketted pinnacles. Between these buttresses are horizontal bands of design: the lowest, a Norman arcade of nine arches, three of which are pierced as windows; then, above this, a smaller wall arcade with interlaced arches; and then, above again, the principal feature, an arcading of nine arches, three pierced for windows, and the others filled with wall tracery of diamonds and circles; then, between this last and the battlemented parapet, occur five vertical panels, each comprising two circles, the upper pierced for a window. Above, soaring upward, rises the later crocketted spire. Herbert, the founder, provided the foundations of tower, and probably carried up the walls to the level of the nave roof; the rest of the tower was finished during the reign of Henry I., and is a beautiful specimen of the work of that time; but here again our sentiment and sympathy experience a shock when we learn that the stonework was almost entirely refaced in 1856. The tower was crowned by a wooden spire from 1297; this was blown down in 1361, and probably brought away in its fall some part of the Norman turrets of the tower. It fell eastward, damaging the presbytery so badly that the clerestory had to be rebuilt. The wooden spire was reconstructed probably at the same time, though no record exists of such work, and the present Early Perpendicular turrets were added. The spire, we know, was again overtaken by misfortune in 1463, when it was struck by lightning, and again falling eastward, went through the presbytery roof. The present spire was then constructed in stone by Bishop Lyhart (1446-72), and was finished by his successor, Bishop Goldwell (1472-99), who added the battlements.

It will hardly be necessary to enlarge on the beauty of this spire of Norwich, as the dominant feature, seen from the south-east, rising above the curved sweep of the apse, and strongly buttressed by the south transept, it stands up, clearly defined against the western sky, and points upward, significant and symbolical at once of the ends and aspirations of the church below.