How to Visit the English Cathedrals

by Esther Singleton

“There are two windows toward the east, the soffetes of which are ornamented with a gigantic ball-flower; and the peculiar foliage on some of the capitals should be remarked. Under each of the windows was an altar, the steps and piscinæ of which remain. The altars were separated by a screen, the marks of which were visible in the old pavement. Between the chapel and the aisle the wall is pierced by the peculiar arch of Abbot Knowle; and under it, in the thickness of the wall, is an altar-tomb much ornamented and containing five shields charged with the coats of the Berkeley, Ferrers and De Quincey families. The tomb in its present state is no doubt that of Thomas, Lord Berkeley (died 1321), whose wives were of those families; but the lower part, with its very fine foliage, is of Early English date, and may possibly have been removed from another part of the church.”—(R. J. K.)

The Lady-Chapel is of the same date as the Choir. The east end was rebuilt about 1280 and a window with geometrical tracery, consisting of foliated circles, was inserted. Until 1895 it was used as a chancel. It is 42 feet long and 32 feet broad and consists of two bays. It is lighted by five windows. The central one is a Jesse window, and each of the four side windows has a transom with rich tracery below. This rich tracery we noticed from the street. In a good light relics of the ancient painting on the walls, representing angels, each with a golden nimbus, can be seen.

The Reredos of the Lady-Chapel is partly Abbot Knowle’s work and partly Perpendicular. On the first bay of the south side are the Sedilia, restorations of the original cut away to make room for an Elizabethan tomb of Sir John Young and his family. They are in four divisions with rich canopies of leafage supported by shafts of red serpentine.

The various recesses contain tombs and effigies of dignitaries of the Cathedral, and, while the general lines of these recesses are similar, there is much variety in the treatment of details.

The splendid East Window is pure Decorated and of great beauty in tracery and design. Most of the glass is old, which adds another charm to the lovely effect of the tracery. There is much beautiful silvery white glass from which the brilliant colours sparkle with great effect, and we have no difficulty in tracing the Tree of Jesse:

“The lower lights are separated by vine tendrils into oval panels, twenty-one in all. In the lowest tier in the centre is Jesse with David on the right and Solomon on the left hand. To the left of the latter are the prophets Micah, Haggai, Malachi; to the right of David are Jeremiah, Daniel and Amos. In the next tier the central figure is the Virgin and Child with Hezekiah on the left and Ahaz on the right, the four kings, David, Solomon, Hezekiah and Ahaz, representing the descent of the promise. To the left of Hezekiah are the prophets Jonah, Habakkuk, Zechariah; and to the right of Ahaz are Isaiah, Ezekiel and Hosea. Above these two rows of regular panels are three panels, containing four subjects—the central one giving us the Crucifixion, with our Lord in glory in the upper part of the light. In the right hand light is the Virgin Mary, in that on the left is St. John.

“In the head of this window there are now seventeen blazons of arms. In the quatrefoil at the top—the arms of England as used before the time of Edward III., viz., the three lions; in the two trefoils immediately below are Berkeley of Stoke Gifford (L), Berkeley of Berkeley Castle (R).

“Most of the glass in this upper part is original and is supposed by Mr. Winston to date between 1312-1322, as the arms of Gaveston, who was murdered in 1312, are not in the window, while the arms of De Bohun, who was slain in open rebellion in 1322, are clearly here. The glass, then, is of Knowle’s time, and being contemporary with the masonry, affords a rich example of the harmony of form and colour about which one hears so much but which one so seldom sees. It is probable that the tracery of the window may have been designed for Abbot Knowle by the builder of the window at Carlisle, also an Augustinian house. There is a strong resemblance in the two windows, both of which are excellent work.”—(H. J. L. J. M.)

The four side windows contain rich and interesting glass of the same date. The one bearing the arms of Mortimer, Earl of March, has a picture of the Martyrdom of St. Edmund, the last of the native kings of East Anglia, who taken prisoner by the Danes in 870 refused to abjure his faith. He was put to death. Here we find, according to legend, the grey wolf watching over the severed head. The costume of the soldiers gives us 1320 as the date of this magnificent window. Beneath St. Edmund are an archbishop and two knights, bearing the arms of the Berkeleys.