Exeter

by Sidney Heath

Of the succeeding church the only contemporary pictorial representations we have are those on early, and somewhat imperfect, seals dating from the end of the eleventh century. The first has a church with cresting of fleurs-de-lis on a hipped and tiled roof, two gable crosses, flanking pinnacles, an arcaded clerestory, and a double door with ornamental hinges, on each side of which is a quatrefoil opening. The second seal shows an arcaded building standing on a stone plinth of four courses, and flanked by towers with conical roofs and ball finials. The roof is surmounted by a large fleur-de-lis, and exhibits an unusual form of tiling. A third seal (1194-1206) shows the west front of the Cathedral with two western towers and a central porch, and a large roof turret. Another view of the west front occurs on the seal of the Archdeacon's official, 1267, and in this example there are three pointed towers, the central one carrying a cross, the others being capped with flag vanes. In the doorway stands a figure of the official. The two Norman transeptal towers still standing give the Cathedral a unique appearance, this arrangement being found nowhere else in England, save at the highly interesting and not far distant Collegiate Church of Ottery St. Mary.

Having thus briefly sketched from pictorial evidence the architectural characteristics of the predecessors of the present Cathedral, we may begin our tour of the building. Exeter is known as a Cathedral of the Old Foundation, as in pre-Reformation days it was served by secular canons, and as such it was not refounded by Henry VIII; so that there has been no break in the continuity of its ecclesiastical history since its original institution in the days of Leofric. With the exception of Carlisle, which was served before the Reformation by Augustinian or Austin canons, all the cathedrals of the Old Foundation were served by secular canons. It must be remembered that although nearly the whole of the architectural merit of the Cathedral lies in the interior, and particularly in the magnificent stone vaulting of the roof, which is the high-water mark of vaulting on a large scale in England, there are several portions of the exterior that are worth noting. Externally the great defect of the building is the low elevation of the body, and the want of a central tower to counteract the heavy effect produced by solid square towers at each transept.

The west front, with its low, embattled screen of figures, is not a very happy architectural composition, and is not to be compared to the west fronts of Lincoln and Peterborough, where the figure sculpture is earlier and better executed than at Exeter. The one redeeming feature of an otherwise unimposing west front, is the Decorated tracery of the great window, now filled with modern, and not very satisfactory, glass in memory of Archbishop Temple, who was Bishop of Exeter from 1869 to 1885.

THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE PALACE GROUNDS

The elevation of this front consists of three stories: the basement screen, containing three portals; above this is the west wall of the nave; and above this again is the nave gable, in which is inserted a smaller window of the same character as the larger one. The apex of the gable has a canopied niche, within which is a much-restored effigy of St. Peter. The sloping walls built on each side, as if purposely to conceal the buttresses of the nave and its aisles, give this portion of the church an awkward perspective, and tend to diminish the apparent height of the whole façade. The screen itself was the last important addition to be made to the fabric by Bishop Brantyngham (1370-94), and it is little more than a low stone scaffolding for holding the rows of figures of saints, kings, and other distinguished persons which fill the niches. An attempt to identify these sixty-five individuals, with the aid of early drawings and still earlier documents, may be said to have established the identities of the majority of the effigies, although they have suffered so much from rough treatment, restoration, and weathering that many of the saintly emblems and regal attributes are difficult to decipher at the present time. Two of the figures, which were broken with falling, were replaced by new and very indifferent figures by Mr. E. B. Stevens.

Some years ago it was found that the whole of this embattled screen was merely a stone veil erected for the purpose of protecting the original west front. One or two stones were removed, a little to the right of the north door of the west entrance, and the inner mouldings exposed. Within the thickness of the wall is a little chapel dedicated to St. Radegund, in which Bishop Grandisson prepared his tomb.

The north side of the Cathedral can be viewed in its entirety from any part of the well-kept lawns, beneath which lie the bones of the citizens of seven centuries, but no stones mark their resting places. The most noticeable feature on this north side is the sturdy Norman tower, corresponding to its fellow on the south side, the original purposes of which are still a matter of much discussion among antiquaries. Built by Bishop Warelwast in the twelfth century, they stood as two distinct and independent towers, until Bishop Quivil, during the rebuilding of the Cathedral in 1280-91, ingeniously opened up the inside walls, supporting the remaining portions of the walls upon arches, thus forming the interiors of the towers into transepts. The exterior of the northern tower is plain walling for part of its height, when it is divided into four stages by horizontal bands, each stage containing elaborate Norman arcading, ornamented with zigzag moulding. It is surmounted with an embattled parapet with a turret at each angle. In the north wall a fine Decorated window was inserted by Quivil for the purpose of lighting his newly made transepts. To make way for this window a portion of the arcading of the first stage was cut away. The towers are similar to each other, and they were formerly capped with spires. In 1752 the spire on the north tower was taken down, that on the south tower having been removed at a much earlier date. Just below the window, on the face of the north tower, are the masonry marks of the gable of a house. This was the old Treasurer's House, wherein Henry VII was lodged when he came to Exeter to put down Perkin Warbeck's rebellion.

Near the north tower is the projecting north porch with its embattled parapet. On the eastern side of the interior are the fragments of what was once a Calvary, and on the central boss of the roof is a representation of the Agnus Dei.

An apartment above is known as the "Dog Whipper's" room, a relic of those days when an official was appointed whose duty it was to keep stray dogs out of the sacred building.