The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture

by P. H. Ditchfield

The Cantilupe Shrine

This aisle contains the remains of the Cantilupe shrine, which was a source of much revenue to the church, derived from the pilgrims who flocked hither. The date of the tomb is 1287, and the details are worthy of study. It is made of Purbeck marble. The lower part has fifteen figures of Knights Templar, of which order the bishop was Provincial Grand Master. The details of the armour are very exact. Curious monsters appear at the feet of the knights. The foliage is excellent Early Decorated, retaining some of Early English features. Other monuments are Bishop Westfayling (1602), John Philips, author of The Splendid Shilling (1708), Bishop Charlton (1329), Bishop Field (1639), Dean D'Acquablanca (1320), and brasses to Dean Frowcester (1529) and Richard Delamare and his wife (1435). Near at hand is the beautiful monument of Bishop D'Acquablanca (1240-1268), the finest in the Cathedral. (Concerning the unenviable repute of this bishop, see the history of the see). The tomb was originally elaborately coloured.

The South Transept has much Norman work. The east wall is entirely Norman, and has five ranges of arcades. Perpendicular windows have been inserted in south and west walls, and the lierne vaulting belongs to the same period. Bishop Trevenant (1389-1404) is said to have been responsible for this later work.

The monuments in this transept are:—Sir Alexander Denton and his wife (1566), an altar tomb with alabaster effigies. The latter died with her infant, who is represented as a "chrysome" child, i.e., one who dies within a month of its baptism, and wears its white baptismal robe. Bishop Trevenant, who was responsible for the Perpendicular alterations, is buried here; his effigy has been much mutilated. Masons' marks are observable, and the Norman fireplace is said to be unique.

The Choir is full of interest. The main arches and triforium are Norman, the clerestory and vaulting Early English (circa 1250). The carving of the capitals exhibits foliage and grotesque heads, and the lozenge ornament appears round the arches. The headings of the pilasters between the piers are Early English. The clerestory windows consist of one lofty pointed window and a small trefoiled one on each side. The reredos was designed by Cottingham, the architect at the restoration in 1850, and represents the Passion of Christ. A curious effect is produced by the central pillar and arches in the retro-choir appearing through the arch at the east of the choir, and presenting a broad spandrel, on which are carved some modern figures of our Lord and St. Ethelbert. The stalls are good Decorated work with rich canopies and some curious misereres, with carvings representing a pair of wrestlers with ropes round their necks, an irate cook throwing a dish at a troublesome guest, etc. Some are modern. The Throne is also Decorated, and there is the remarkable old chair already mentioned, on which Stephen is said to have sat on the occasion of his visit here. The Organ has some parts of the instrument presented by Charles II. The monuments in the choir are those of—

Bishop Trilleck (1360), an excellent brass; Bishop Stanbery (1474), whose chantry we shall see in the west choir aisle; Bishop Giles de Bruce (1215), with model of church in his hand; Bishop Bennett (1617). We notice the small figure of St. Ethelbert on a bracket on east pier on south side, of fourteenth century.

In the North Choir Aisle the wall has Decorated arched recesses, which contain the effigies of Bishop Godfred de Clive (1120) (executed in Perpendicular period); Bishop Hugh de Mapenore (1219); Bishop Richard de Capella (1127). Bishop Stanbery's Chantry (1453-1474) is entered from this aisle, and is Late Perpendicular. It is very richly ornamented with tracery and panelling and shields and has a groined roof. It is a good example of the over-elaborateness of Late Perpendicular work.

The North-East Transept is Early Decorated, the original apsidal termination being altered in the latter part of the thirteenth century. Traces of Norman work are still evident. There is a central octagonal pier which supports the vaulting. There are monuments here of Dean Dawes (1867); Bishop Godwin? (1633) (the tomb is certainly earlier and cannot be his); and the altar tomb of Bishop Swinfield (1316), though the effigy upon it is not his. The ball-flower moulding is plentifully used. Proceeding onwards we come to the Retro-Choir or ambulatory, which is Transitional Norman. The chevron and diamond moulding on the ribs of the vaulting point to its Late Norman date. There was evidently an ambulatory and Lady Chapel in Norman times, and the windows on each side of the vestibule show that formerly these walls were outside walls, and the windows were glazed. Here is a monument of Dean Beaurieu (1462), which is of some interest on account of the accurate carving of the dress, and the rebus boar and rue leaves; and there are some late brasses.

The Lady Chapel is remarkably fine, being very rich Early English. Its story is difficult to read, as the architect Cottingham redressed the old stone-work and made complications in 1840-1850. He rebuilt the east gable. Five narrow lancets form the east window, and above are five quatrefoil openings. The glass was erected to the memory of Dean Mereweather, to whom the Cathedral owes so much. The subject is the life of the Virgin. The aumbrey and piscina are reproductions. On the north there is an interesting but somewhat conglomerate tomb. The effigy is supposed to be Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, in the reign of Edward III., but the canopy is Perpendicular, and the figures in the arches were discovered elsewhere and placed here, except the two mutilated central ones, our Lord and the Virgin. The others are SS. John Baptist, Cantilupe and Thomas of Canterbury. The Countess of Hereford, Johanna de Bohun (1327), lies here, a great benefactress, whose effigy and tomb are worthy of study. On the south is the Audley Chantry, erected by Bishop Audley (1492-1502), who constructed another chantry at Salisbury, whither he was translated, and where he was buried. It has two storeys, and a curious and interesting screen separates it from the Lady Chapel. There are traces of considerable colour decoration. The chapel has five sides, with two windows in the lower and five in the upper storey. The central boss of the vaulting in the upper chamber or oratory has a figure of the Virgin crowned. The window west of this chapel has some good fourteenth-century glass. Beneath the choir is the crypt, of Early English date, and is the only example of a crypt constructed later than the end of the eleventh century. It is called "Golgotha," on account of its being used as a charnel-house.

The South-East Transept is similar to its opposite. It has monuments of Bishop Charlton (1369); Bishop Coke (1646); Bishop Ironside, who died in London, 1701, and was buried in a city church, which was destroyed in 1863, and the body brought here. This was the bishop who, as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, resisted the action of James II. in regard to the expulsion of the Fellows of Magdalen College.