WELLS CATHEDRAL.
Wells Cathedral is earlier than any other in Great Britain, for a legend ascribes its origin to Joseph of Arimathæa, who, with eleven companions, arrived soon after the Crucifixion and built a chapel at Glastonbury, and this was even said to be the first church erected in all Christendom. A bishopric was said to be founded at Wells about 904, an abbot of Glastonbury being the first bishop. The cathedral, though one of the smallest, is the most beautiful in England, its group of well-proportioned towers and pinnacles having an enhanced beauty from the picturesqueness of the situation. It suffered considerably in the troublous times of Monmouth’s rebellion, when the rebels tore the lead off the roof to make bullets, and wantonly defaced many ornaments. The great west front contains some choice sculptures, such as can only be equalled by Rheims and Chartres. The breadth of the front is greater than that of Notre Dame or of Amiens, being 147 feet, and thus gives great scope for the variety of the sculpture. There are in the whole of the west front about three hundred figures, half of which are life-size, being those of kings, queens, princes, knights, and mitred ecclesiastics, saints, martyrs, and angels, the whole being a glorious company and goodly fellowship of prophets and worthies. Altogether this is one of the most impressive church fronts either in England or on the Continent.
SOME OTHER ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.
The cathedral of Norwich arose out of a more ancient cathedral built at Dummoc, now Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, in 630; afterwards another was substituted at Elmham in Norfolk, and in 1075 again transferred to Thetford, and in 1091 the place was finally fixed at Norwich. In 1094 the cathedral of Norwich was commenced. The nave is the longest in England except St. Albans, which is 300 feet long, while Norwich is only 250 feet.
The cathedral of Carlisle was begun in 1121, though it was soon destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in 1353. The famous window at the east end has in its lower part more lights or divisions (being nine) than any other decorated window in existence. Its upper portion exhibits the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world, all its parts being in exquisite harmony.
The Exeter cathedral was begun in 1107, as an example of the marvellous and sumptuous architecture of the Normans, and was considered as a powerful contrast to the simple Saxon building it displaced. The west front has in its lower part three rows of figures of apostles, saints, kings, and a few Old Testament characters; and the whole is architecturally of great beauty. The roof of the nave, with its slender vaulting shafts and delicate carving, is graceful and light, and the clustered pillars of Purbeck marble contrast well with the lighter stone of the walls and roof. The minstrels’ gallery is unique, with its row of winged angels in front, each playing on a musical instrument, one of these instruments being a bagpipe. The organ, built in 1665, is said to be the most ancient in actual use.
A monastery for both men and women had been founded at Ely in 673 by St. Etheldreda, which the Danes destroyed. It was rebuilt afterwards, and in 1109 this monastery was made the seat of a new bishopric taken out of the great diocese of Lincoln, and the cathedral built to the north of the old monastery. This church, which is 565 feet long, is often said to be the longest Gothic church in Europe, although others, like the cathedral of Milan, cover more ground. The roof of the nave is decorated with painted figures, and so is the vaulted roof of the octagon.
The diocese of Lincoln was once the greatest in England, till it was subdivided in the reign of Henry VIII. About 1072 the present cathedral was begun, being a substitute for three older sites of smaller sees. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt by St. Hugh of Lincoln, then bishop. In grandeur of situation this cathedral has no equal in England. The stone of which it is built becomes black, but is very durable, and retains its sharpness of outlines. In the great central tower is the bell called Great Tom of Lincoln, founded in 1610, the third in size, being exceeded by Oxford and Exeter.
An old nunnery was founded at Gloucester in 681, and this fell into the hands of the Benedictine monks, who in 1088 began to build a new church. A fire having destroyed it twice, the cathedral was begun about 1239. The great central tower is only ten feet lower than that of Canterbury, built about the same time. The monks themselves were said to have laboured at the roof of it. The great east window is the largest in England, and owing to an ingenious construction is wider than the side walls which contain it; it is also filled with the finest stained glass of the period in this country. At the back of this window is a passage, 75 feet long, which is called the Whispering Gallery, owing to the great facility with which the slightest sound or movement at one end can be heard at the other end.
Like Salisbury, the Chichester cathedral has a spire, which is 271 feet high; and being in that respect 130 feet lower than the former, it is a saying in the locality that the master mason built Salisbury spire and his man Chichester spire. The spire has an ingenious plan inside the top, devised by Sir Christopher Wren, for keeping it from being blown down and counteracting the force of the wind. The spire is exactly central. On entering the nave the eye is at once caught by the five aisles, a peculiarity which distinguishes this cathedral and that of Manchester from all the others, and grand effects of light and shade are produced by those five aisles. Chichester Cathedral was first completed in 1108. One of its bishops was Reginald Pecock, who flourished in 1450, and was considered a great champion of the clergy against the rising Lollards, whom he sneered at as “The Bible-men.”