Southwell
Central Tower & N Transept
The Transepts are beautiful specimens of the work of Norman builders, and are full of interest. Originally there were apsidal chapels on the east side of both transepts. One has been destroyed, but the arch which connected it with the church can be seen in the wall, with its zigzag and cable mouldings. The Norman chapel on the east of the north transept has been replaced by a Late Early English building which will repay careful study. There were formerly two altars here, as the piscinæ and aumbreys show. The old Norman arch is replaced by two pointed arches of unequal width. The windows are later insertions, and belong to the Decorated period. There is an upper storey, formerly the treasury, now the library. The chapel has been recently restored, and is a most interesting architectural study. Returning to the north transept we see a curious tympanum over the belfry doorway, with strange carving representing the teaching of Psalm xci. 13: "The lion and the dragon shalt Thou tread under Thy feet." Other interpretations are given of this subject, but this is the one usually accepted by scholars. It is also said by some to be Saxon, but this is incorrect. There is a very similar sculpture in the church of Charney Bassett, Berks. Here is the fine alabaster tomb of Archbishop Sandys (d. 1588). He is represented in his episcopal robes, and the details of his dress are important, as they show what the vestments of a bishop really were in the time of Elizabeth, a point often disputed by English Churchmen of to-day. The east arch of the central tower has some curious sculptured capitals hidden by the organ which belong to the twelfth century. Beginning on the south side, the subjects are lamb and dove, Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Nativity or Resurrection, Last Supper, bishop saying Mass, the Blessed Trinity, and the Virgin and Child.
A stone Screen of rich Decorated work separates the transept from the choir, over which is now the organ (a modern instrument). The screen is richly ornamented, and a noble specimen of the work of the period. There are three arches opening to the space beneath the tower, separated by slight piers of clustered shafts, the capitals carved with foliage of a Late Decorated character. The walls of the screen support the old rood-loft, access to which is gained by two staircases.
Entering the Choir we see on each side of the doorway three prebendal stalls with misereres, on which are carved some foliage. The bishop's stall was once occupied by Cardinal Wolsey. The choir, as we have said, was built by Archbishop Grey in Early English style (1230-1250). There are six arches, with piers of eight clustered shafts. The dog-tooth moulding is conspicuous in the arches, and on the vaulting of the roof. It will be noticed that the triforium and clerestory are blended together. The east window consists of two rows of lancets, the lower ones containing old glass brought from Paris in 1815, where it was formerly in the Chapel of the Knights Templar. The Baptism of our Lord; Raising of Lazarus (Francis I. is to be seen in a crimson cap); Christ entering Jerusalem (Luther is near our Lord, Louis XI. and the Duke of Orleans); the Mocking of our Lord (the figure of Dante appears).
The Sedilia were erected in 1350, and are good Decorated work. They have the unusual number of five seats on the same level. The arches are ogee-shaped, and are richly carved. The sculptured figures are remarkable, and represent the Creation and the Redemption. Beginning at the east we see the Father holding the world (two groups uncertain), Joseph's Dream, the Nativity and Flight into Egypt.
The Lectern belonged to the monks of Newstead Abbey, who threw it into the lake to hide it from the commissioners of Henry VIII. Its date is about 1500. The choir aisles had several altars, as we see from the piscinæ and aumbreys which are left. We will now visit the Chapter-House, and pass through the vestibule which leads to it, entering by a beautiful doorway in the north aisle. The transition between the Early English work of the choir and the Decorated style of the chapter-house is very gradual. The doorway, with its two arches and shafts of Purbeck marble, is remarkably fine. There is a small cloister court, with a stone-covered well. In the vestibule we see the walls covered with beautiful arcading of lancet arches of an Early English character. The capitals are beautifully carved with foliage. There is a curious boss of sculpture representing a secular priest shaking the regular monk by his hair, which figuratively depicts the supremacy of the former in the church of Southwell.
The Chapter-House (1285-1300) is described by Ruskin as "the gem of English architecture," and all architects agree in singing the praises of this noble building. It much resembles that of York, but is smaller and perhaps more beautiful. It is octagonal, has no central pillar, and is remarkable for its fine sculpture. The historian of Southwell says: "The foliage everywhere is most beautiful: the oak, the vine, the maple, the white-thorn, the rose, with a vast variety of other plants, are sculptured with exquisite freedom and delicacy; and no two capitals or bosses or spandrels are found alike. Everywhere we meet, in ever-changing and ever-charming variety, with some fresh object of interest and admiration. Figures are introduced amid the foliage, heads with branches issuing out of their mouths, birds and lizard-like monsters. In the capitals a man reclines beneath a tree, puffing lustily at a horn, or a goat is gnawing the leaves, or a bird pecking the berries, or a pair of pigs are grunting up the acorns, or a brace of hounds just grabbing a hare. All this is the work of no mere chiseller of stone, but of a consummate artist; than whom it may be doubted whether any sculptor, of any age or country, ever produced anything more life-like and exquisitely graceful." The entrance doorway is remarkably fine and is worthy of close study. The main arch is divided into two by a slender shaft, and over them is a quatrefoiled circle, of beautiful design. The leaf ornament is largely used, both in the smaller arches and in the main arch. Filleted rounds and hollows are the other mouldings used.
Southwell once contained the shrine of a Saxon saint—St. Eadburgh, Abbess of Repton (d. 714). "The Pilgrim's guide to the Saints of England" (a MS. in the British Museum, written in 1013) states that "the shrine of St. Eadburgh is still at Southwell," but no trace of it can now be found. There are several incised monumental slabs in the minster which have been cut and set in the floor. There is a Latin inscription to the memory of William Thorton, a chorister of the church, and the humble epitaph of William Talbot, who was a shining light in his day and died 1497, is of pathetic interest:—
"Here lies William Talbot, wretched and unworthy priest, awaiting the resurrection of the dead under the sign of the Cross."