The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture

by P. H. Ditchfield

The Exterior

We will now walk round the building and note its chief architectural features. Standing at the west end we will examine first the imposing West Front. The central portion with its three recesses are parts of the earliest Norman church of Remigius. It will be noticed that the middle arch has been subsequently raised and pointed. A band of curious sculpture runs across the front, representing scenes from Bible history. They are of Norman character. Noah and the ark, the Deluge, the expulsion from Paradise, scenes from the life of our Lord and Hades are the most curious. The doorways are later than the recesses, and were inserted by Bishop Alexander, "the magnificent," who also built the arcade of intersecting arches above the two side recesses, and the three lower storeys of the towers, in the style of Late Norman. The rest of the screen is Early English work, erected 1200-1250. Bishop St. Hugh had sketched the outline of the new church, and his successors carried it out. Amongst them Bishop Grosseteste did much good work, and his portion is distinguished by the lattice-work ornament which appears in the gable of this front, proclaiming its author. There is a row of Royal statues (William I. to Edward III.) above the central door, which were erected by the treasurer, John de Welbourn (1350-1380). The statue of St. Hugh surmounts the south turret, and the Swineherd of Stow[17] the north turret. The three large windows belong to the time of Henry VI., and at this time the towers were completed, which are Perpendicular work, above the Norman three storeys.

Lincoln Cathedral
Exchequer Gate.

Turning to the south side of the church we see the unique chapel and consistory court, and the curious grotesque popularly known as "the Devil looking over Lincoln." Heavy buttresses support the nave, and flying buttresses connect these with the clerestory. The Galilee Porch was built in 1230, and is cruciform. The name Galilee is attached to chapels at Durham and Ely, and we have already referred to the most probable conjecture with regard to its origin.[18] A profusion of dog-tooth ornament appears here, the characteristic moulding of Early English period. The muniment room is above the porch. The Central Tower is the finest in England, as it is the highest (271 feet), though the spires of Salisbury and Norwich exceed this altitude. Formerly it was capped by an immense timber spire, blown down in the first year of the sixth Edward's reign. Lincoln has suffered from falling towers as have other cathedrals. The two lower storeys were built by Grosseteste in Early English style on the fall of its predecessor in 1237. The lattice-work ornament so freely employed in the work of this bishop is observable here. The upper storey was begun by Bishop Dalderby in 1307 and finished in 1311 in the Decorated style. The timber spire covered with lead rose to a height of 524 feet, and was destroyed by a tempest. Storms and tempests have beat upon this tower for centuries, and occasionally have wrought mischief, but this has been from time to time remedied, and it remains the grandest and most majestic in the world. It is the abode of the famous "Great Tom of Lincoln," the fourth largest bell in the kingdom, recast in 1835. It weighs over five tons, and is 21 feet 6 inches in circumference. The Choir is the work of St. Hugh, the earliest example of Early English. In the Presbytery we see the style developed to his most perfect form, and merging into the Decorated period. The south doorway is especially worthy of notice, with its fine sculpture and splendid tympanum representing the Last Judgment. The Russell and Longland Chapels (Perpendicular) are on each side of this doorway. We notice the magnificent Decorated window of the Angel Choir, on the north side the Chapel of Bishop Fleming (Perpendicular), a doorway of good design; and then we see the chapter-house with its flying buttresses and pyramidal roof. On the north side is the cloister garth and Deanery. The cloisters are usually on the south side, and this position is uncommon. Lincoln was not a monastic church, being served by secular canons, and therefore had no necessity for a cloister court. However, this was built in the thirteenth century, the colonnade on the north side being erected in 1674 by Sir Christopher Wren, together with the library over it, which we shall visit presently. By an act of vandalism the old Deanery was pulled down in 1847 and the present house built, which is devoid of many of the interesting associations of its predecessor. The Cathedral close was surrounded by a wall and protected by strong gateways. Two of these remain, the "Exchequer Gate," opposite the west end, and the "Potter Gate." The old Bishop's Palace on the south of the close was destroyed during the Civil War, and quite recently a new episcopal residence has been erected near the ruins of the ancient house.

The Interior.

As we have already stated, the nave of Lincoln was designed by Bishop Hugh in the Early English style, gradually carried west-ward by his successors, and completed before the death of Grosseteste in 1253. It consists of seven bays. Eight circular shafts of Purbeck marble surround each pier. The mouldings of the arches are deeply cut. Above is the triforium, consisting of two arches, each divided into three sub-arches. Clustered shafts with capitals carved with foliage support the arches. Above each main triforium arch in the clerestory are three lancet windows, and the roof is a fine specimen of English vaulting. Sir Gilbert Scott says that this nave "exhibits an Early English style in its highest stage of development: massive without heaviness, rich in detail without exuberance, its parts symmetrically proportioned and carefully studied throughout, the foliated carving bold and effective, there seems no deficiency in any way to deteriorate from its merits"—an opinion with which few visitors to Lincoln will be inclined to differ.

Under the towers will be noticed the Norman character of the first bay, which is part of the original church of Remigius. The west window, in its present form, is Perpendicular, and was inserted in the place of an earlier one. The Font also belongs to the time of Remigius, and is a fine example of the Norman period. It is of black basalt, square in shape, and has been recently placed upon three steps of Derbyshire marble. Grotesque monsters are carved on the sides of the font. The aisles have lancet windows, and below a beautiful arcade of trefoiled arches, the south side being more elaborate than the north. The bosses have figures carved on them. On the north-west corner is the Morning Chapel, having a central column of Purbeck marble supporting a stone vaulted roof. Here is the pastoral staff of Archbishop Benson of Canterbury, who, when Chancellor of Lincoln, restored this chapel. Opposite to this chapel, in the south-west, is the consistory court. None of the old glass has survived in the nave, and most of the shrines and tombs have been destroyed. The fanatics of the Reformation and Cromwell's soldiers left little of the sepulchral brasses and gorgeous tombs and effigies which once were here. A marble slab, carved with Scriptural subjects, is supposed to represent the tomb of the founder, Remigius. The memory of Dean Hoywood (d. 1681), the founder of the library, is recorded on a tablet, and three slabs preserve the names of Bishops Smyth (d. 1514), Alnwick (d. 1449), and Atwater (d. 1521). The Pulpit is seventeenth-century work, and the lectern is a memorial of Dean Butler (d. 1894).

The great transept contains some of St. Hugh's work. He devised a beautiful double arcade, and his work ends half-way on the east wall in north transept, and half-way the east wall in south transept, measuring from the centre of the building. The rest was built by his successors in the Early English style. The magnificent circular windows at the north and south ends are very striking, and extremely beautiful. The former is known as the Dean's Eye, the latter as the Bishop's Eye, which, with the gable and window above, is in the curvilinear style, and was erected about 1350. The Dean's Eye was placed there about 1220, and has some exquisite ancient glass of that period representing our Saviour in Glory. In the east of this transept are six chapels, dedicated to SS. Nicholas, Denis, James, Edward the Martyr, John the Evangelist and Giles.