“Henricus Gower, Episcopalis Palatii constructor.”
“The Rebels took that, and all the Brass upon the other Tombs of the Church, quite away; and now there are Wooden[72] Rails in Lieu of the Brass Pallisade. His body lies at length in his Episcopal Robes.” On the south side of the altar-tomb are eight figures of the Apostles in relief.
TOMB OF BISHOP MORGAN IN NAVE.
The altar-tomb in the second bay from the east on the south side of the nave is to Bishop John Morgan (1496-1564). The whole is in Bath stone. The mitred bishop is sculptured at full length in his chasuble, dalmatic, stole, alb, and maniple, and holds his veiled pastoral staff. He wears somewhat unusual gloves. Two kneeling angels support the cushioned head. Freeman[73] is very hard on the architecture of this tomb: “The head, foot, and north side of the tomb are
BISHOP GOWER’S TOMB.
adorned with rectangular panels having their upper angles rounded off without any kind of foliation, and exhibiting cases of interpenetration in its worst form. Altogether the architectural ornaments are extremely poor, and nearly resemble much of the German work of that period.” This unnecessarily severe censure is, however, tempered with discriminating praise of the sculpture: “The sculpture, on the other hand, is extremely spirited and graceful, as well that of the principal figure, as those of the smaller images which adorn the sides. In the two panels on the north side there are six images of Apostles; six more evidently decorated the south side, but these have been cut away to make room for a pew. At the foot there is a group representing the resurrection of our Saviour, sculptured in alto-relievo with remarkable grace and freedom. At the head there is a griffin, Bishop Morgan’s bearing, supporting a shield with the letters W and I, or J, in a cypher. Whose initials they may be, we are at a loss to say; the heraldic bearing taken in connection with authority almost contemporaneous leaves us in doubt to whom we are to attribute the monument. This tomb, with its very advanced sculpture, and very debased architecture, is a striking commentary on the state of the arts at that important period of transition; and it is extremely curious to observe the corruptions of the latter art manifesting themselves in tombs in the first instance. The monument of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey, is of course a remarkable case of the same kind.”
Opposite Morgan’s tomb, under the eastern window of the south aisle, is a Decorated recess containing the tomb of an unknown priest (No. 27), all in Caerfai stone. The canopy is very fine.[74] It is part of a concave-sided octagon, at the points of which are radial finials. This form is to be found in Bristol Cathedral, and “is clearly a development of the idea which produced the semi-octagonal doorways in the rood-screen and the palace.”[75] Gower’s characteristic ornaments—the pellet, four-leaved flower and wave-moulding—spring from octagonal shafts with a big projection. On each side is a pinnacle having an odd and ugly decoration at the offsets, but it is on the whole preferable to Gower’s customary flat quatrefoil. The altar-tomb is of plain ashlar, and on it lies a priest in eucharistic vestments, his head on a double cushion carried by angels, and at his feet a dog.