Wolsey destroyed half of the nave in order to build Tom Quad. His idea was to erect a magnificent church on a large scale; but in the meantime his fall occurred. In 1546 St. Frideswide’s was made, as already noted, the Cathedral Church of Oxford.
In the Seventeenth Century the tracery of many windows was altered for the sake of glass by the Dutchman Abraham Van Ling, for which old windows depicting scenes from St. Frideswide’s life and ancient arms were sacrificed. In later times some of Van Ling’s windows suffered the same fate, for modern work. One of his windows, however, remains (see page 382). Some of the windows were smashed during the Puritan wars; but on the whole the Cathedral escaped damage.
Christ Church being a royal college, during the Civil War a University regiment of Cavaliers was drilled in Tom Quad; and when Charles I. occupied Oxford, after Edgehill, he held court in Christ Church.
The Cathedral went through the fate of all English cathedrals in the Nineteenth Century; and finally, in 1870, a thorough restoration was undertaken by Dean Liddell and Sir Gilbert Scott, whose conservative alterations and restorations of windows, etc., have brought all the parts of the Cathedral into harmony. The windows of Burne-Jones are a great addition to the charm of the interior.
“The whole church is exceedingly interesting. It fills a niche in the history of English architecture all by itself. It is not the early and rude Traditional work of the Cistercians. On the other hand, it has not yet the lightness and grace of Ripon; still less the charm of the Canterbury choir, Chichester presbytery, Wells and Abbey Dore—Gothic in all but name. In spite of a pointed arch here and there, it is a Romanesque design.
“The work commenced, as usual, at the east, as is shown by the gradual improvement westward in the designs of the capitals. The evidence of the vaulting, too, points in the same direction. In the choir-aisle the ribs are massive and heavy; in the western aisle of the north transept they are lighted; in the south aisle of the nave they are pointed and filleted.”—(F. B.)
Owing to its secluded position it is almost impossible to get a view of the Cathedral; but the tower and spire can be seen from the cloisters.
The Cloisters line three sides of the square only, for the west side was destroyed by Wolsey for the hall staircase, which is surmounted by the Bell Tower, in which the bells from the Abbey of Oseney hang.
“From the same position at the west of the cloister one can enjoy the best view of the tower and spire of the church. One is close enough to see all the detail and yet from this angle nothing is lost of the general effect. On a moonlit evening the effect is particularly solemn and beautiful. From this point also should be noticed the difference in the masonry of the south transept. The lower story is entirely rubble, while the upper story is partly of good ashlar work.
“On the south side of the cloister is the Old Library, as it is now called, which was formerly the refectory of the monastery, and is all that now remains of the conventual buildings. Its large Perpendicular windows, rising like a clerestory above it, look on to the cloister, but they were spoilt on the inside by a staircase, when the building was turned into undergraduates’ rooms. On the other side, facing the meadow buildings, there is a curious little oriel window, its lights now walled up, that once contained the pulpit whence the lessons were read during meals.”—(P. D.)