The Interior
The Nave was formerly used as the Parish Church of St. Mary, and was filled with high pews and galleries. These have all been cleared away, and it is possible to admire the plain and massive Norman building, which now, alas! consists of only two bays, the rest having been destroyed in the Civil War period. Before that act of vandalism there were eight bays. The work before us, for the most part, belongs to the earliest church, begun by Walter, finished by Henry I. about 1130. Formerly a low ceiling shut out the triforium and clerestory from our view, but this, too, has happily been removed. The piers are low (14 feet high, 17 feet in girth), the arches being semi-circular, some of the capitals having evidently been carved later with some Early English foliage. The triforium consists of plain, open, round-headed arches, and is a little later than the main arcade. The clerestory has in each bay three arches, resting on shafts with carved capitals. The west end is modern. The tattered colours of the Cumberland Regiment tell of the Indian Mutiny, and there is a window in the south aisle to the memory of the men who died in that melancholy time. Sir Walter Scott was married in this nave, when it was a church, in 1797, to Miss Margaret Charlotte Carpenter. The font is modern and also the organ.
The North Transept was rebuilt by Bishop Strickland in the fifteenth century, and its north end was again rebuilt in modern times. Here a large modern window of Decorated design has been erected in memory of five children of Archbishop Tait, who died here of scarlet fever when Dr. Tait was dean. In the west wall is an Early English window, which is a good example of plate-tracery. The arch of the choir aisle is Decorated; the roof is modern. Crossing over to the south transept we notice the piers which support the Tower. These are Norman, and have additional columns erected by Bishop Strickland when he rebuilt the tower. The latter have foliated capitals, and are in the Perpendicular style. On the capitals of the eastern arch are the badges of the Percy family—the crescent and fetterlock. The most famous scion of this house—Hotspur—was governor of Carlisle. On the western side are the rose and escallop shell, badges of the Dacres and Nevilles.
The South Transept is both narrow and shallow, being only one bay in length. The east side is Norman work; there is an arch with zigzag ornament and cushion capitals, opening into the choir aisle. A second Norman arch opens to St. Catherine's Chapel. The window and door on the south are both modern, and have much elaborate decoration, which is scarcely in keeping with the Norman work surrounding it. The triforium and clerestory resemble those of the nave. St. Catherine's Chapel stands on the site of a Norman chapel, and is in the Early Decorated style or Late Early English. It was founded by John de Capella, a wealthy citizen, and is now used as a vestry. The screen is Late Decorated, and is of great beauty. The doorway between the aisle and chapel formerly led to a well, now closed. "A similar well exists in the north transept, but has been long covered. Besides supplying water for the use of the church, such wells may have been of special service in border churches, which, like this of Carlisle, served as places of refuge for the inhabitants in cases of sudden alarm or foray" (Murray's Handbooks). The following monuments are in the transepts:—
Robert Anderson, "the Cumberland Bard" (1833); Bishop Fleming (1747): Prior Senhouse (temp. Henry VII.); and there is a curious Runic inscription, written in Norse, which, being translated, is: "Tolfihn wrote these runes on this stone."
We now enter the Choir by the door in organ-screen. This is one of the finest in England—spacious, lofty, well-proportioned and rich in all its details. The arches of the main arcade are Early English, as the mouldings and dog-tooth ornament testify. These remained after the fire of 1292, and were retained. The piers are Early Decorated, and were evidently built to support the arches after the fire. The capitals were carved later in the Late Decorated period, when the upper parts of the choir, triforium, clerestory, roof and east end were rebuilt. The builders were probably Bishops Welton and Appleby (1353-1395). When the choir was rebuilt in Early English times, the architect determined to enlarge it, and as the monastic buildings on the south prevented any expansion in that direction, the south piers of the choir retained their old position, while the north were moved further northward, and a new north aisle added. Thus the choir and the tower and nave are not quite symmetrical, and there is a blank wall at the north-west end of the choir which is thus accounted for. The details of the architecture of the choir merit close attention, especially the sculpture. Small figures of men, animals and monsters are mingled with the foliage. There are some admirable representations of the seasons, beginning with the second capital on the south, counting from the east end. There is a very fine timber roof, constructed about the middle of the fourteenth century. The scheme of colour decoration is, unfortunately, not original. The East Window is one of the finest Decorated windows in the kingdom. The stone-work is new, but it is believed to be an exact reproduction of the original. It has nine lights. The glass of the upper portion is ancient, dating from the reign of Richard II. It represents the Resurrection, Final Judgment and the New Jerusalem. Hell is depicted with the usual mediæval realism. Below is modern glass, representing scenes from the life of our Lord. The Stalls are Late Perpendicular, erected by Bishop Strickland, and are excellently carved. The tabernacle work is generally attributed to Prior Haithwaite (circa 1433). There are some quaint and curious misereres, the carvings representing grotesque monsters, such as dragons and griffins, fables such as the Fox and the Goose, and a great variety of subjects. A Renaissance screen, erected by Salkeld, the last prior, divides the west bay of the presbytery from the north choir aisle. The altar, throne, lectern and pulpit are modern. There is a fine brass to the memory of Bishop Bell (1495) on the floor of the choir.
Passing to the North Choir Aisle we notice the Early English character of the arcade and windows. The latter have two lights, and have deep mouldings and dog-tooth ornament. The wall arcade is particularly graceful. The last bay eastward was built when the east window was erected, and is Late Decorated, and in the last bay west-ward there is a Perpendicular window. The vault was constructed after the fire of 1292. The two sepulchral recesses in the north wall are remarkable. They are of Early English character, and have a chevron moulding which is said to be unique. It is conjectured that the effigy in one of these recesses is that of Silvester of Everdon (1254), and that the other was intended for Bishop Hugh of Beaulieu, who died in Burgundy. In another bay is an aumbrey wherein treasures of plate and other valuables were stored. There is a late brass to the memory of Bishop Robinson (1416), formerly Provost of Queen's College, Oxford. Archdeacon Paley (1791), the learned divine whose Evidences of Christianity is still a divinity text-book at Cambridge, lies buried here. The curious paintings on the back of the stalls, of late fifteenth-century execution, always interest visitors to the Cathedral. They illustrate the lives of St. Anthony and St. Cuthbert, with descriptive verses under each scene, and there is a set of figures of the Apostles with the words of the Apostles' creed traditionally assigned to each. The Retro-Choir is very narrow and is of the same date as the window. Bishop Law's monument is here (1787), carved by T. Banks, R.A. The South Choir Aisle resembles that on the north. The two western windows are later than the Early English ones in the opposite aisle. There are monuments here of Bishop Waldegrave (1869), Bishop Barrow (1429) (or Welton, 1362), Bishop Goodwin (1891), Dean Close (1882).
The screen here is like that opposite by Prior Gondibour, who did so much to decorate his Cathedral, and to whom the paintings are assigned. The back of the stalls on this side has a representation of scenes from the life of St. Augustine, or, as curious descriptive verses call him, the "gret doctor Austyne."
Dimensions
| Length of nave | 39 ft. |
| Breadth of nave | 60 ft. |
| Height of nave | 65 ft. |
| Length of choir | 134 ft. |
| Breadth of choir | 72 ft. |
| Height of choir | 72 ft. |
| Height of tower | 112 ft. |
| Area | 15,270 sq. ft. |