صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

tions and reformations since then, it still retains that | cathedral, and added the screen. Bishop Goldwell, title and the privileges attached to it. By the Municipal Reform Act the corporation of Norwich now consists of a mayor, sixteen aldermen, and forty-eight councilmen.

But we must proceed with our survey of the city. The Cathedral, of course, claims the chief place in our regard. Though neither the largest nor the finest of our cathedrals, and though its parts are of very different dates and styles, yet it is a truly magnificent and imposing edifice. Of this cathedral we are able to trace the erection of all the principal portions. The oldest part of the cathedral is as old as the see of Norwich. Herbert, surnamed the Liar, as we have said, having been deposed from his bishopric of Thetford for some ugly doings, undertook a pilgrimage to Rome in order, if it might be, to induce his Holiness to restore him to his office. He was successful in his mission. The Pope restored him to his dignity, imposing on him, however by way of penance, the task of building a few churches and monasteries out of the enormous wealth he had accumulated. On his return, in 1091, Losinga, as he had obtained power to do, removed the see from Thetford to Norwich, and immediately made arrangements for the erection of his cathedral. For the site he purchased from the citizens a low piece of marshy ground, called the Cow-holm, which had probably at no very distant period been completely under water, but was now used as a pastureground. This tract he carefully and effectually drained, and in 1096, laid the foundation of his cathedral, and close by it that of a palace for himself, and a priory, which was to contain a principal and sixty monks. He lived to see a good part of his church erected, and died in 1119. It was completed by his successor, Eborard, who died in 1149, but had been deposed from his office four years previously. An old account, however, delays the completion of the cathedral till the time of John of Oxford, who died in 1200; but it is more probable that he only restored a part of it which had been injured by a fire. Of this original church the choir, nave, aisles, transepts, and tower, with a couple of chapels attached, yet exist, though considerably altered by the insertion of more modern windows. In the riot of 1272 the whole structure was so much injured by the citizens, that it was found necessary to rebuild it. On the completion of the repairs in 1278, the cathedral was re-consecrated in the presence of the king, Edward I., and a large number of the nobility. The repetition of this solemn ceremony is commonly urged as a proof of the entire reconstruction of the pile; but it is more probable that the ecclesiastics intended by it to mark their sense of the desecration of the church by the violence of the citizens. The spire erected by Bishop Walpole in 1295 having been blown down, the present one was raised, and the tower somewhat altered by Bishop Percy about 1361. The west end, with the great window, was built by Bishop Alnwyck about 1430. In 1463 Bishop Lyhart raised the stone roof of the nave, repaired and adorned other parts of the

in 1480, added the upper part of the east end of the choir, with the clerestory windows and flying buttrssses; and finally, in 1510, Bishop Nix erected the stone roof of the transepts.

But

We have thus traced the cathedral to its completion; we must follow it a little further, in order to see how it was shorn of much of its original splendour. The first attack upon it was at the suppression of monasteries, and during the early years of the Reformation, when the royal commissioners caused it to be stripped of many of its pictures, crucifixes, images of saints, and other 'superstitious ornaments;' and destroyed much of its elaborate carved work. they were gentle as compared with the puritanic visitors of the Commonwealth time. Joseph Hall was Bishop of Norwich then, and he has left us a most graphic account of their proceedings in his tract entitled Hard Measure." "It is no other than tragical," he says, "to relate the carriage of that furious sacrilege, whereof our eyes and ears were the sad witnesses, under the authority and presence of Alderman Linsey, Toftes the sheriff, and Greenwood. Lord, what work was here! what clattering of glasses! what beating down of walls! what tearing up of monuments! what pulling down of seats! what wresting out of iron and brass from the windows and graves! what demolishing of curious stone-work, that had not any representation in the world, but only of the cost of the founder and of the skill of the mason! what tooting and piping upon the destroyed organ-pipes! and what a hideous triumph on the market-day before all the country, when, in a kind of sacrilegious and profane procession, all the organ-pipes, vestments, both copes and surplices, together with the leaden cross which had been newly sawed down from over the green-yard pulpit, and all the service-books and singing-books that could be had, were carried to the fire in the public market-place : a lewd wretch walking before the train, his cope trailing in the dirt, with a service-book in his hand, imitating in an impious scorn the tune and usurping the words of the Litany used formerly in the cathedral. Near the public Cross, all these monuments of idolatry must be sacrificed to the fire; not without much ostentation of a zealous joy in discharging ordnance, to the cost of some who professed how much they had longed for that day.-Neither was it any news upon the guild-day to have the cathedral, now open on all sides, to be filled with musketeers, waiting for the mayor's return, drinking and tobacconing as freely as if it had turned alehouse." We learn from Sir Thomas Browne's Repertorium' that in adapting the cathedral for their service, the Puritans, in order to show their abhorrence of superstition, placed the seats of the aldermen at the east end of the choir, and the mayor's seat in the middle at the high altar, and removed the pulpit and altered the whole arrangements of the sittings of the congregation.

At the Restoration the cathedral was, of course, in some measure repaired, and a new organ was erected.

[graphic][merged small][ocr errors]

Since then it has been at different times repaired or restored in parts, but it still bears strong evidence of the terrible treatment it received.

The cathedral consists of a nave and aisles, a transept, ⚫ a choir, a chancel with aisles continued round the semicircular east end, and four chapels. From the intersection of the choir and nave springs the tower and spire. On the south side is a nearly perfect cloister. The entire length of the church is 411 feet, of the transepts 178 feet; the breadth of the nave and aisles is 72 feet. The height to the top of the tower is 140 feet, to the top of the spire 315 feet. These proportions, with the help of our engravings, may assist the reader in forming an idea of the size and general appearance of the building.

As a whole the cathedral is best seen from the river side, near Sandling Ferry, on the lower slope of Mousehold-hill. (Cut, No. 3.) So seen, the circular east end with its flying buttresses, the noble tower and lofty spire, and the long transepts, form a striking and majestic composition. Incongruities, that somewhat mar the general effect when seen from a nearer point of view, do not then catch the eye. But, indeed, it cannot be seen, as a whole, from any nearer position, owing to the lowness of its site and the various buildings that surround it. The eastern end, too, which is that turned to the river, is by far the grandest. The western end, in spite of its noble window, has but a meagre appearance. The embellishments' added to this end some years back, have been recently removed,

an alteration which has much improved its character. When examined closely there is found much to admire in the several features of the exterior, but little that is of that surpassing grandeur which is seen in some other of our cathedrals. The choir has a fine appearance; the light clerestory, with its rich perpendicular windows and bold flying buttresses, and semicircular termination, rising out of the massive Norman base has a very picturesque effect, though it is not in accordance with architectural style. The Norman transepts with their arcades have also a fine effect. But it is the tower and spire that is the most important feature of the exterior. The tower is the loftiest and most elaborate of the Norman period remaining in England, and has an appearance of richness and solidity that is very admirable. The spire is the loftiest in the kingdom with the exception of that of Salisbury cathedral, to which it must also yield in grace of proportions. This, however, is a very handsome one. It is encircled with several horizontal bands, and the angles are richly crocketed. A remarkable instance of hardihood is mentioned in connection with this spire. On a Sunday in July, 1798, a sailor boy, thirteen years old, obtained permission of the sacrist to go up into the tower during the performance of the service. From the tower he ascended the interior of the spire, till he reached the highest window, through which he made his way to the exterior, and then, assisted only by the crockets, which are above a yard apart, climbed to the finial that crowns the summit of the spire. On this

[graphic][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

"In service high and anthems clear,"

reverberating along the lofty vaults, while the pealing
organ is swelling the sound with notes that worthily
echo the inspired sentiment.
Norwich Cathedral has no old

"Storied windows richly dight Casting a dim religious light,"

and it suffers in consequence. The painted windows

A few fragments are all that have escaped these ruthless iconoclasts. The coloured windows in the apse are recent, and alone are too small to produce any very decided impression; but they are well as a beginning. At the time the windows were destroyed, the cathedral was stript of nearly all its monuments also. Sir Thomas Browne says, in his Repertorium,' that "about a hundred brass inscriptions were stolen and taken away from the tombs." No brasses remain now, and, indeed, the cathedral has very few monuments of any kind. One of the monuments destroyed by the commonwealth men was a curious one of the fighting bishop Spenser, who has been spoken of before, which had properly enough a helmet and sword as well as a mitre sculptured upon it, and over all a representation of the archangel Michael with his drawn sword. The most valuable of the old episcopal monuments left, and the only one that has a statue, is that of Bishop Goldwell, which stands in the choir. It is a highly enriched work, consisting of a marble altar-tomb, with a recumbent figure of the bishop in full episcopal vestments, of the most elaborate workmanship; over the tomb is a richly-carved canopy. Browne made out a complete list of the monuments that remained after the spoliation, and as far as possible, by help of the old sacrist, of those that had been destroyed. He also adds a list of those "other bishops who might be buried in the church;" but of whom "no history or tradition remaining of the place of their interment, in vain we endeavour to design and point out the same." There is one very interesting modern monument. It is in memory of the late excellent diocesan, Bishop Bathurst, who died in 1887, at the age of ninety-three. The bishop's statue is in a sitting position; and Chantrey, whose work it is, has given to the features an expression of calm thoughtful benevolence that is as happy as characteristic. The statue is further interesting as one of the last works of the great sculptor, who died within a few days of his visit to Norwich in order to superintend its erection.

narrow footing, at a height of above three hundred feet, he walked twice round, and then in presence of the vast crowd who had assembled, and were watching him with breathless anxiety, he amused himself for some time in twirling round the weathercock. He at length descended in safety in the same way that he had ascended. A somewhat similar though less perilous feat is related, it will be remembered, of Lord Clive. The interior is far more imposing than the exterior of the cathedral. As you enter it the enormous Nor-it once had were destroyed by the puritanic mallet. man piers and columns in the nave, supporting the heavy circular arches and the two tiers of lighter arches above them, and the splendid stone roof, spanning all and in a long vista stretching before you, produce a feeling of awe in the mind that is not lost while you remain within the sacred walls. You feel subdued in the presence of the magnificent work which has here been devoted by man to the service of his Maker. When you can examine the building in detail the impression is little diminished. The roof of this nave is wonderfully fine. It is highly elaborate in design, and is ornamented with a series of above three hundred figures from Scripture history, reaching from the Creation of the world to the Day of Judgment. In its carvings this roof is probably unique. The roofs of the transepts, of a later date and inferior in execution, are decorated with between eighty and ninety similar figures. The choir has perhaps, a still more striking effect than the nave, to which the semicircular apse at the end largely contributes. In general character the choir resembles the nave; but it is more florid in its details, and is still loftier, the roof being eightythree feet above the floor. The clerestory, or upper story, is of exceeding beauty, and adds an airy gracefulness to the solider parts beneath. The screen and stalls are elaborately and richly carved. Many improvements have been made in the interior of the cathedral, and especially in the choir, within the last few years; but one remains to be accomplished that would greatly add to the majesty of the general effect —we mean the removal of the organ from its present unfortunate position on the rood-loft, where it entirely destroys the long vista, which, from the noble series of triple arches and splendid dome roofs of the lofty choir and nave, would be of uncommon magnificence. The organ is considered by musicians to be a good instrument, and the choristers are of acknowledged excellence. The position of the choristers is very unusual. Instead of being placed in the centre of the choir, they are ranged along the front of the organgallery-a deviation from the ordinary practice which we are unable to account for, but we suppose has been adopted for some sufficient reason. The stranger who is fortunate enough to be present at the performance of the cathedral service, will not fail to acknowledge the impressive manner in which it is conducted. And very cold must his heart be, and feeble his imagination, if his whole soul be not stirred and elevated as he listens to the sublime though simple words of Scripture

The cathedral aisles, the chapels, and much more, will repay examination. Here they must be passed over. But the visitor should not leave the cathedral without strolling through the cloisters, which are generally considered to be the largest and finest in England. They form a square of about 174 feet, and are 12 feet wide. They are of the most elaborate construction, and remain in excellent preservation, giving one, in fact, a very tolerable conception of what those places were like when the old monks used to assemble in

them for exercise or study. These cloisters, although at first sight they appear to bear a strong resemblance throughout, do in fact differ considerably, and form, on that account, a valuable study for an architectural antiquary, and a not unamusing object of examination for one who is not at all an antiquary. They were begun by Bishop Walpole in 1297; but though proceeded with by several of the bishops, they were not completed till the prelacy of Bishop Alnwyck, about 1430. The beautiful tracery of the arches, and other characteristic parts, exhibit all the progressive variations of the style known as the Decorated, and show in the portions of latest construction the early forms of the Florid or perpendicular tracery; and yet, although thus differing in the style of the several parts, the whole, as is so often the case in the better examples of Gothic architecture, appear quite in keeping. The stone vaulting of the roof is much admired; the groins are, as it were, fastened at the points of intersection by massive bosses, on which are carved scriptural figures, ranging with those on the roofs of the nave and transepts of the cathedral. A door at the south-west corner deserves notice. It was just within the doorway, or under the porch, that in olden times parties were accustomed to take their stand when about to be married. Here the priest used to join their hands, and perform the greater part of the marriage ceremony. This door was the one employed for the purpose here, and this use of it is indicated by a sculptured representation of the espousals of our first parents on the tympanum, or space within the arch above the door. Near the door are the lavatories, wherein the old monks used to wash their hands previous to entering the refectory at dinner time. Above the lavatories are niches, but the figures that once stood within them are wanting. The canopies over the niches have some rather curious carving.

of 1272, when among other things they destroyed the church of St. Ethelbert, which stood on the spot now occupied by the gateway. Over the arch is a chapel, but it has not been used as a place of worship since the Reformation. The lower part, which is the original building, is of stone; the upper part is comparatively recent, and is constructed of black flint, inlaid rather curiously with stone-work. In the spandrels of the arch is sculptured a representation of St. George attacking the dragon. Above this is a series of niches with crocketed canopies. The central niche is occupied by a defaced statue; the others are blank. The gateway has been greatly injured; it has been recently repaired-but no care is taken to preserve the rich carved work, which the boys of the neigbouring school daily spend a part of their play-hours in pelting with large stones, to the exceeding amusement of the passers-by. Erpingham Gate is much inferior as a work of art, but is in far better preservation than St. Ethelbert's Gate. It consists of a very lofty arch, round the mouldings of which are thirty-eight small statues within canopied niches. A statue of the builder, in a kneeling position, is placed over the centre of the gate. Other statues, with animals, flowers, and different figures, are spread over the surface. The gate was erected by Sir Thomas Erpingham in 1428, as part of the penance enjoined on him for having adopted the principles of Wickliffe. The Erpingham gateway stands before the west front of the cathedral, to which it serves as the principal entrance; the Ethelbert Gate is the chief, and at night the only entrance to the precincts. On St. Martin's Plain is St. Martin's, or the Bishop's Gate, which is used as the state entrance to the palace. It is of later erection than either of the others, but is in a worse state. It sadly needs repairing. By the riverside at Sandling Ferry is an old gate-house, which served as the water-gate to the precincts, and is now Adjoining the cathedral is the Bishop's palace, a attached to the ferry. It is a plain rude structure, building that we leave undescribed. The gardens are formed of black flints,-a crazy-looking pile, as seen very beautiful, and from them parts of the cathedral, from the river, the roughest bit of picturesque' now which cannot be elsewhere seen, have a striking appear-visible in Norwich, and as such it finds a place in the ance. In the garden is a fine ruin of the ancient hall of the palace, which the puritans, after using for awhile as a sermon-room, destroyed. The only relic of the old priory that Herbert founded in conjuction with his cathedral, stands near the Dean's house; but this fragment is believed not to be of so early a date as the primal bishop. It consists of three massive clustered columns, which at the time they were brought to light, on pulling down the old dormitory in 1803, are said by Mr. Repton (Archæologia, v. xii.) to have retained traces of the colours, yellow, crimson, black, and green, with which they were originally adorned.

Not the least curious or picturesque of the old architectural appurtenances of the magnificent establishment are the gateways which lead to the cathedral precincts. The oldest and finest of these is that dedicated to St. Ethelbert, of which we give an engraving. (Cut, No. 4.) It was constructed by the citizens as part of their atonement for the mischief they did in the great riot

sketch-book of every artistical visitor to the old city. It consists of a low and singularly flat principal arch, alongside which is a small postern. Over the arch is a room in which the keeper lives. The whole seems fast going to ruin.

The only object that could enter into competition with Sandling Ferry in that variety of picturesqueness which we have mentioned, is the bridge, about a hundred yards above it, which we have inserted in our sketch-book. (Cut, No. 2.) Bishop's Bridge is the oldest bridge remaining, and is one of the most curious remains in the city. It was built in 1295, and belonged to the see of Norwich till 1393, when it was transferred to the citizens. It is a strange patched-up structure of stone and flint and brick. It has three odd-looking arches: over the central arch is a rude representation of the city arms, and inside the arch are some grotesque heads. Fairs used to be held on the bridge at Easter and Whitsuntide; the former is now kept in the Castle

« السابقةمتابعة »