"A me disce mori, mors est sors omnibus unaMortis ut esca fui mortis ut esca fores.In terram ex terra terrestris massa meabisEt capiet cineres urna parata cinis.Vivere vis cœlo, terrenam temnito vitam:Vita piis mors est mors mihi vita piæ.Iejunes, vigiles, ores, credasque potenti.Ardua fac: non est mollis ad astra via.Te scriptura vocat, te sermo, ecclesia, mater;Te que vocat Sponsus, Spiritus atque Pater."
"A me disce mori, mors est sors omnibus unaMortis ut esca fui mortis ut esca fores.In terram ex terra terrestris massa meabisEt capiet cineres urna parata cinis.Vivere vis cœlo, terrenam temnito vitam:Vita piis mors est mors mihi vita piæ.Iejunes, vigiles, ores, credasque potenti.Ardua fac: non est mollis ad astra via.Te scriptura vocat, te sermo, ecclesia, mater;Te que vocat Sponsus, Spiritus atque Pater."
A punning epitaph, also acrostic in form, but in English, is to be found in the nave, to one Merrett, a barber chirurgeon, who died in 1669.
"T hough only stone salutes the readers eye,H ere in deep silence precious dust doth lye,O bscurely sleeping in Death's mighty store,M ingled with common earth till time's no more;A gainst Death's stubborn laws who dares repine,S ince so muchMerritdid his life resigne.M urmurs and tears are useless in the grave,E lse he, whole vollies at his tomb might have;R est here in peace, who like a faithful stewardR epaired the church, the poor and needy cured.E ternall mansions do attend the just,T o clothe with immortality their dust,T ainted (whilst under ground) with worms and rust."
"T hough only stone salutes the readers eye,H ere in deep silence precious dust doth lye,O bscurely sleeping in Death's mighty store,M ingled with common earth till time's no more;A gainst Death's stubborn laws who dares repine,S ince so muchMerritdid his life resigne.
M urmurs and tears are useless in the grave,E lse he, whole vollies at his tomb might have;R est here in peace, who like a faithful stewardR epaired the church, the poor and needy cured.E ternall mansions do attend the just,T o clothe with immortality their dust,T ainted (whilst under ground) with worms and rust."
In the pillar nearest to the north door in the nave is all that remains of the stoup or bénitier for the holy water. We may probably attribute the wanton damage it has sustained to one of the zealots who ministered here after the Reformation.
South Aisle.—This aisle has five Early Decorated windows. The western four have three lights each; the other, near to the south transept, has four lights, and the tracery in it is slightly more elaborate.
All the stained-glass windows in this aisle were presented to the church by the Rev. C.W. Grove, in 1888, as a memorial to his wife. The windows are by Hardman.
Thefirstwindow,i.e., the westernmost, represents Christ walking on the sea; thesecondrepresents the cripple at the pool of Bethesda; thethird, the raising of the widow's son at Nain; thefourth, the feeding of the five thousand; thefifth, the changing of the water into wine at Cana.
At the west end of the south aisle is a memorial window to Mr. H.P. Moore. This is also by Hardman, and represents the home at Nazareth.
At the easternmost end of this aisle is the door by which access was given the church from the cloisters. The entrance to this door consists of a depressed arch, with a square head over it; the spandrils are pierced with an open quatrefoil. This door stands within the original Norman doorway, which was filled in, and traces of the supporting shaft with its capital may be seen. Above are seven niches, with brackets andcanopies of good carved work. Over the canopy on either side is an angel with a plain shield.
At the restoration of the church this doorway was very carefully dealt with at the cost of the then Mayor, Mr. Thomas Collins. Up to the time of the restoration of the church, 1891-92, this doorway had been walled up with many pieces of broken carved work from other parts of the church. The doors were designed by Mr. J. Oldrid Scott, executed locally, and given by the late Mr. Thomas Collins.
To the east of the cloister door [O] is a tomb with a fine crocketed ogee arch, and with an angel bearing a plain shield in place of a finial. On one of the cusps are to be traced the chevrons of the De Clares, and another bears a lion rampant. Beyond the fact that it was the tomb of a relation of the De Clares nothing definite can be said. Some have thought it to be the tomb of Sir Thomas Morley, the husband of Anne, daughter of Edward, Lord Despenser, and widow of Hugh, Lord Hastings, who died in 1417. It may here be noted that a lion rampant, sable, crowned or, are to be found on one of the shields at Lord Despenser's feet in the Isham register. This tomb is generally known as the Duke of Somerset's tomb, but the arms as they exist show no resemblance to the arms he would be entitled to bear, viz., those of the Beauforts.
In the floor of the south aisle is an interesting stone with an inscription in Norman French, in bold Lombardic capitals running round the border:
(in Norman: Leger de Parr lies here. May God have mercy on his soul.)
i.e., "Leger de Parr lies here. May God have mercy on his soul." According to Bennett, this stone had been moved from some other place in the church.
Up to the time of the restoration the extreme western portion of the south aisle was part and parcel of the Abbey House Estate. In 1883, when the estate was put up for sale, the room thus formed in the church was withdrawn from the auction, and soon afterwards was presented by the then ownerto the Abbey, to be in future an absolute part of the building. In the south wall near this Abbey chamber is a blocked-up doorway which gave access to the Outer Parlour of the monks.
TRANSEPTS AND AMBULATORY OF THE CHOIR.
The whole of the nave, as in most cathedrals, is open to the inspection of the visitor free of any charge; but the choir, the tombs, the chapels and transepts, are reserved, and shown to visitors on payment of a small fee. This fee is payable at the verger's desk at the entrance to the north transept. A further fee is payable by those who wish to photograph in this or in any other part of the building.
North Transept.[12]—The whole of this north transept is taken up with the Grove organ, of which an account is given on p. 98. The dimensions of the transept are 40 feet by 34 feet, and 58 feet in height. For the most part this transept consists of original Norman work, very little altered with the exception of the fourteenth century stone vaulting and the insertion of windows of the same period.
On the north wall of the transept is a tablet, in painted alabaster, to John Roberts. It has been neglected, but it is worth deciphering. It runs: "Here resteth what was mortal of John Roberts of Fiddington, gent. Careful he was to maintain tillage, the maintenance of mankind. He feared God, was faithful to his country, friends, good to the poore and common wealth, just to all men. Who left us Jan. 1631, aged 77." The text is, "For Christ is to mee both in life and in death advantage."
The north side has two small pointed windows with geometrical tracery. Below these are recessed Norman arches. On the floor level the masonry is new, having been built up inside the Early English arch.
On the south side are the backs of the choir stalls. On the west side, in the wall is a large Decorated window containing five lights with flowing tracery. This window was blown into the church in 1819, and then rebuilt.
The eastern wall contains two Norman arches, one of which is merely the continuation of the north aisle, through the transept to the north ambulatory. The other is in the northwall of the transept, and opens into the choir vestry. Over these two arches were formerly two other open arches. One of these, viz., that over the choir vestry, has been walled up, and the other has a circular or rose window. After undergoing repairs the window was glazed by Hardman, in 1892, as a memorial to Mary Anne Moore. The subject is "The adoration of the Lamb." In the central light is the Agnus Dei; while in the other six encircling quatrefoils are angels censing, and representing Blessing, Glory, Honour, Power, Wisdom and Strength. The glass has been designed to give the effect of older glass, and, so far as that is possible, it may claim to be a success.
The North Choir Aisle, looking West.(H.J.L.J.M.)THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE, LOOKING WEST, SHOWING THE BACK OF THE DESPENSER MONUMENT.ToList
(H.J.L.J.M.)
THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE, LOOKING WEST, SHOWING THE BACK OF THE DESPENSER MONUMENT.ToList
This rose window occupies the space which originally was the west end of the original Norman triforium of the choir, to which access was given by the staircase in the north-east corner of the transept.
Theinterior of the towerfor more than three centuries was accessible only from the outside of the church, but is now approached by a staircase in the north-east angle of the north transept. After mounting the first flight, which is somewhat worn, the transept vaulting is crossed by a species of bridge, and at the end of this access is given by a narrow doorway to the first floor of the tower, which contains a large room 33 feet square, with a curiously formed floor. This room has some good Norman work on the walls, and when open to the church, as it was originally, it must have been one of the striking features of the interior from below. That it was open originally may be inferred from the plain treatment of the western side,i.e., the side that would not catch the eye of those using the nave and looking eastwards.
On the floor-level the arcading is practically uniform, with the exception of one column.[13]Above, on the north, south, and east sides is arcading, and still higher in each side are two round-headed window openings.
This spacious apartment owes the form of its curious floor to the vaulting of the lantern-space in the time of Sir Guy de Brien, whose arms are found in the lierne-vaulting which supports the floor. The room was cleared and improved in 1887, when the hanging ringing-chamber was removed, and the floor and ceiling put in good order. The ringing-floor is on the next stage, and the belfry is the floor above.
The clock was erected as a Jubilee memorial in 1887, at a cost of over £200. It is built on the lines of the clocksat Westminster and Worcester Cathedral, and chimes the so-called "Cambridge quarters" as arranged by Dr. Crotch. Small though the clock looks from the level of the churchyard, it must be remembered that it is the massive tower that dwarfs it—the diameter of the face is in reality 8 feet.
Interior of the Tower above the Vaulting.(H.J.L.J.M.)INTERIOR OF THE TOWER ABOVE THE VAULTING.ToList
(H.J.L.J.M.)
INTERIOR OF THE TOWER ABOVE THE VAULTING.ToList
Nothing is known of the place of origin of the pre-Reformation bells, but, arguing from the proximity of Gloucester, it may be assumed that out of the eight bells weighing 14,200 lb. or more, some may have been cast by John Sandre, of Gloucester.
The eight bells were bought from the King's Commissioners for £142,i.e., at the rate of 5 lb. for a shilling. They mayhave been bought to sell again, as the number was soon reduced tofour. In 1612 a fifth bell was added, as a rhyme on the cover of the baptismal register (1607-1629) tells us:
"William Dixon and Thomas HoareMade us that bell which wee ring before,Which men for that good deede praie we they maie thrive,For we having but four bells, they made them five;And out of the grownde this bell they did delveThe 24th of Julie, Anno Dom. 1612."
"William Dixon and Thomas HoareMade us that bell which wee ring before,Which men for that good deede praie we they maie thrive,For we having but four bells, they made them five;And out of the grownde this bell they did delveThe 24th of Julie, Anno Dom. 1612."
Near the arcaded passage in the room in the tower are some memoranda of the changes possible with five bells, rudely engraved in the stonework.
In 1632 the peal was recast and a sixth bell was added, and in 1679 the two newest bells were recast. Two new bells were added in 1696. In 1797 the great or tenor bell was recast. From the time when the bells were overhauled and tuned at Gloucester, in 1837, no further alteration has been made. The present peal is about 500 lb. less in weight than the peal in use at the time of the Dissolution.
From the top of the tower a fine view is to be obtained—Cheltenham, and Gloucester, with its beautiful Cathedral tower, on the south, the Malvern Hills on the west, the Cotswolds on the east and north-east. The Severn and the Avon wind through the landscape, and on the far horizon may be seen the distant hills of Wales.
The old shafting has been chipped away on the west face of the stonework opposite to the north-east tower pier. As one turns round the corner into the north ambulatory or choir aisle, it will be noticed that on the wall is a monument by Flaxman to Lady Clarke; it is small and unobtrusive, but the sculpture is thoroughly good and worthy of a great artist.
On the right hand opposite is the Warwick Chapel (p. 83), of which the glory in part has departed, viz., the decoration in colour and in gold, and much of the architectural detail.
St. James' Chapel.[14]—This chapel (dimensions 28 feet by 24 feet), which opens on to the north transept of the north ambulatory, was from 1576 up to 1875 walled off from the rest of the church and used as premises for the "FreeGrammar School of William Ferrers, citizen and mercer of London." The school ceased to be held here about forty years ago, but the inserted masonry and brickwork was not removed till the restoration of 1875 and following years, when the chapel was restored by the Freemasons of the county. From the time that the chapel ceased to be a school it fell into a bad state of repair, and was open to the sky before the recent restoration, when the present roof of timber, covered with lead—the only wooden roof in the church—was erected and the stonework repaired.
There seems no doubt that this chapel was originally a Norman apse with a vaulted chamber[15]above, like that in the sister transept, and that it was enlarged in the thirteenth century by Prior Henry Sipton. This is distinctly stated in Annals to have been done in the case of the chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas in 1237. No trace remains of any of the work of Prior Sipton owing to the later works carried out in this chapel. The nave of a Lady Chapel was built on the north side of the north transept, and its chancel (the existing northern part of the choir vestry) was carried out to the east, this portion of the chapel being quite detached, as the windows (now blocked up) in the upper part of the south wall plainly show. Access for the laity was given by a door in the nave portion, while the monks had an entrance through the adjoining chapel, which may, after its rebuilding in 1237, have contained two altars, one to St. James and another to St. Nicholas. This theory of the two altars in this chapel would account for much of the confusion in the naming of the chapel by subsequent writers. The vaulting of this chapel is at first sight a difficult problem to solve, as the eastern side is divided into two equal parts, while the western side is divided into two unequal parts. A pillar seems to have stood in the centre, if the lists of noblemen buried (after the battle in 1471) in the two chapels are trustworthy. When the fourteenth century Lady Chapel at the east end of the church was built, theraison d'êtreof the Early English Lady Chapel ceased, and the chapel entrances were enlarged to their present form. Any distinctive features that they had in the way of wall decoration were lost either atthe Dissolution, when part was pulled down, or during the subsequent use of the eastern chapels as a schoolroom.
Passing through into the adjoining chapel on the north, which was probably the chancel of anEarly English Lady Chapel, the visitor will note the great contrast between this and the adjacent chapel. It is very much richer in its ornament, and though it has been terribly mutilated, much work of surpassing interest is still left to us. The north wall contains the remains of a trefoil-headed arcade of great beauty, the spandrils of which show richly carved foliage, the effect of which was further heightened by the application of colour. Of the arcading eleven capitals remain, but only three pillars and bases, the rest having been cleared away.
Wall Arcade in Early English Chapel.(H.J.L.J.M.)WALL ARCADE IN EARLY ENGLISH CHAPEL.ToList
(H.J.L.J.M.)
WALL ARCADE IN EARLY ENGLISH CHAPEL.ToList
In the wall of the present west end is a window decorated with a moulding consisting of two series of chevrons, completely undercut, pointing laterally in contrary directions.[16]Numerous interesting remains of Early English mason's workare in the chapel, and many have been built into the wall on the east side, the most important being remains of a fine altar-piece in Purbeck marble.
There is a window on the east side containing four lights, the subjects, beginning from the north side, being as follows:—(1) The mythical Saxon founders, Oddo and Doddo,A.D.715. (2) The Norman founders,i.e., Fitz-Hamon and Sibylla. (3) Earl Robert, 1089-1123. (4) The Countess of Warwick, 1439. The figures are based on the MS. Chronicle of the Abbey, belonging to Sir Charles Isham of Lamport. This window, the tracery of which is new, is by Bourne of Birmingham, and forms a memorial to a former churchwarden, John Garrison, who died in 1876. The tracery contains the red and white roses of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, appropriately enough, seeing that under the floor, in front of the altar to St. James, are interred the remains of Lord Edmund, the Duke of Somerset, Lord Thomas Courtenay, the Earl of Devon, Sir Richard Courtenay, Lord John Somerset, and Sir Humphrey Hadley, who were beheaded after the battle of Tewkesbury. Sir Thomas Tresham, who also was beheaded at the same time, was buried before a pillar between the altars of St. James and St. Nicholas.
The whole of this part of the chapel was once the choir or chancel of the detached Early English Lady Chapel which was erected early in the thirteenth century. The Annals of Tewkesbury record that in 1239 theChurchof Tewkesbury with a greater altar was dedicated in honour of the glorious Virgin Mary. The word Church might mean this Early English Lady Chapel, which with its nave and chancel would be a model church, although somewhat small in size; but the wordsmajore altariare generally taken to mean the large slab of Purbeck marble now in its place in the choir as an altar slab.
Lady Chapels were not invariably at the east end of the main building. At Bristol there was and is still an elder Lady Chapel which at one time was detached from the main building.
The floor in these chapels is that which was formerly in the choir up to the time of the restoration of the church.
St. Margaret's Chapel.—This is one of the series of the fourteenth century chapels which surrounds the ambulatory of the choir.
An old altar-cloth which was given by Anne, Countess of Coventry, in 1731 to the church was removed to this chapel after the restoration of the building.
The Ambulatory, looking towards St. Margaret's Chapel.Photo. A.H. Hughes.THE AMBULATORY, LOOKING TOWARDS ST. MARGARET'S CHAPEL.ToList
Photo. A.H. Hughes.
THE AMBULATORY, LOOKING TOWARDS ST. MARGARET'S CHAPEL.ToList
A very fine screen of stonework separates this chapel from the ambulatory, the tomb of Sir Guy de Brien (late Decorated—erected in 1390) forming part of the screen.[17]Sir Guy was the third husband of the Lady Elizabeth Despenser who is buried in the tomb on the other side of the ambulatory. In the panelling are the arms of Sir Guy, who was also Lord Welwyn, and those of his wife, who was by birth a Montacute. This knight served Edward III. as standard-bearer at Creçy in 1346, and was a great benefactor to the Abbey. He iscredited with the vaulting of the tower, as his arms occur in the bosses there.
The vaulting, which springs from engaged shafts, is excellent work, like that in the other chapels, and the bosses are worth notice. In the central boss in the ceiling the Coronation of the Virgin is represented, and surrounding it are heads of lions and of men.
An aumbry, lavabo, and piscina are all worthy of study.
St. Edmund's Chapel.—The ground-plan of this chapel is curious, as it is apparently divided into two by a kind of re-entrant pier of masonry, and the easternmost part is screened off from the ambulatory by the curious tomb known by the name of the Wakeman Cenotaph, or the tomb of the starved monk (videp. 94).
In this chapel is a large aumbry, and a very perfect stone coffin which was dug up in the south ambulatory near the Trinity Chapel. The metallic sound given forth by the coffin when tapped seems to be of more interest than anything else to the ordinary visitor. Various interesting fragments of stonework are in the chapel, one being a portion of a tomb. Portions of the font formerly in the Norman chapel in the south transept are also here. Under the painted window is a piscina, more than half of which is modern work. There were, no doubt, two altars,i.e., one in each part of the chapel, but the dedication of the other part is not known.
At the intersections of the vaulting are some unusually interesting carved bosses. For the most part they have reference to the legend of St. Edmund, King and Martyr, viz:—
The head of the king bearing a crown. The king, bound to a tree, being shot at by Danes. A greyhound watching by the body of Lodbrog in the wood, murdered by the king's huntsman. Christ with a halo of glory, triumphing over Sin personified as a monster. St. Michael destroying the dragon. Other bosses are either floral or heraldic, the latter containing the arms of the Despensers. The boss in the centre of the roof is unique, containing a lion being attacked by various other animals,e.g., a horse, a ram, a monkey, wolves, etc.
There is one painted window in this chapel, which was erected in 1877 to the memory of Rev. C.G. Davies, forthirty-one years Vicar of Tewkesbury. The window is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. In effect it is too kaleidoscopic.
The North Choir Aisle and St. Edmund's Chapel.Photo. A.H. Hughes.THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE AND ST. EDMUND'S CHAPEL.ToList
Photo. A.H. Hughes.
THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE AND ST. EDMUND'S CHAPEL.ToList
Opposite to the Wakeman Cenotaph (videp. 95) is the iron grating which is the entrance to—
The Clarence Vault.—This vault [F] contains the remains of George, Duke of Clarence, Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, and his wife Isabelle, who was the eldest daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, commonly known as the "King-maker." The Duchess died at Warwick in December, 1476, from the effects, it is said, of poison. She was buried in the vault which, as the chronicle says, was madeartificialiterbehind the great altar, in front of the door of the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the opening of the tomb was made opposite the entrance of the chapel of Saint Edmund the Martyr. The young Countess, after lying in the choir in state for thirty-five days, was laid in the vault on February 8th. Ten days later her husband, who had been put to death in the Tower—it matters little whether in the butt of Malmsey wine or not—was buried beside her.
Assuming that the tomb was desecrated and pillaged soon after the Dissolution, and again later on in Commonwealth times, we find that in 1709 the royal remains were displaced to make room for the body of a "periwig-pated alderman" by name Samuel Hawling; and later on, in 1729 and 1753, his wife and son were interred there. The site then was lost till it was identified in 1826. In 1829 the Hawling remains were removed, and since then it has remained the Clarence Vault. In 1876 it was fitted with iron gates, and in the pavement over the vault a brass has been inserted with the inscription, composed by Mr. J.T.D. Niblett:—
"Dominus Georgius Plantagenet dux Clarencius et Domina Isabelle Neville, uxor ejus qui obierunt haec 12 Decembris,A.D.1476, ille 18 Feb., 1477.
"Macte veni sicut sol in splendore,Mox subito mersus in cruore."
"Macte veni sicut sol in splendore,Mox subito mersus in cruore."
Or in English—
"Lord George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and Lady Isabelle Neville, his wife, who died, she on Dec. 12, 1476, he on Feb. 18, 1477.
"I came in my might like a sun in splendour,Soon suddenly bathed in my own blood."
"I came in my might like a sun in splendour,Soon suddenly bathed in my own blood."
On the brass are engraved two suns in splendour, the badge of the House of York.
The fourteenth century stone screen-work round the choir side of the ambulatory, particularly at the back of the reredos and the north-east portion adjacent to it, is very interesting work. The lower part is panelled with tracery in low relief, with the arches springing from diminutive heads. All the shafting is ornamented with a small ball-like enrichment. Above the panelling is some open tracery of beautiful design. By reference to the plan it will be seen that much of this original screen-work has been set back several feet, possibly to make room for the Clarence vault.
At the east end of the ambulatory is the arch by which entrance was formerly given to the destroyed Lady Chapel. It is now walled up, and in such a way that it is difficult to picture the appearance of the original work. However, from the battlements of the adjoining south-east chapel it is possible to see the remnants of the vaulting of the entrance to the Lady Chapel.
In the modern cast wall is a window of three lights (by Hardman) in memory of Rev. C.W. Grove, who presented most of the modern glass in the church. The subject is the Pharisee and the Publican. It is not known whether the Pharisee is intended to be a portrait of any one, but the Publican's face is said to be an excellent portrait of Mr. Grove, and the portrait of the lady in the top light (she lacks a halo) is deemed to be an equally good picture of Mrs. Grove.
St. Faith's Chapel.—The site of this chapel is not known for certain, though it is supposed to have been one of the two south-east chapels.
The first and easternmost chapel is the largest of the series of chapels built round the ambulatory. It is pentagonal in form and is 28 feet by 24 feet, opening to the aisle with a richly moulded arch. The vaulting, as in all these chapels, is excellent work, but the student of such things will notice that the masons' work on the chapels on the south side is in even courses, and that the stones are better dressed than in the chapels on the north side of the choir. At the intersections of the vaulting there are some good bosses, chiefly foliage with some heads. In this chapel there are three stone coffins.
The central window (by Kempe) is to the memory ofBenjamin Thomas Moore, for thirty-eight years churchwarden, who died in 1896. Though detail of a most elaborate kind fills the window, yet in appearance it is rather thin, a quality which the clear, strong light that shines upon it as a rule somewhat accentuates. In the central light is St. Faith, to whom this chapel is often ascribed, with St. Agnes on the left and St. Cecilia on the right. There are two other windows, one of four lights and the other of three.
By standing at the entrance to this chapel the visitor will obtain a very fine and interesting set ofcoups d'œilof the different parts of the building. Towards the north there is the view of the work at the back of the altar, and St. Edmund's and St. Margaret's chapels in the background. To the north-west are the tombs at the back of the altar and sedilia; to the west is a good view of the south ambulatory and the south aisle of the nave.
The next chapel,i.e., the middle one of the three on this side, has no known dedication.[18]It is also pentagonal—somewhat irregular, it is true, but its length and breadth are the same—20 feet. There are two windows of three lights.
This chapel has become the museum for the storage of many interesting fragments of destroyed portions of the fabric. Some of the coloured fragments are under glass, others are grouped against the eastern wall. It is to be regretted that no list is hung up in the cases. The larger of the two cases contains in one division pieces of the broken upper part of the sedilia, all finely coloured. In the other division are fragments from the Warwick Chapel and other mutilated tombs in the choir. Most of these were found buried in the choir at the restoration in 1875. There are some iron rings which belonged to the coffin of Sir Hugh le Despenser. They were removed when the tomb was inspected in 1875.
Portions of figures of the De Clares are also in the case—one with an inverted torch, representing Gilbert de Clare, who died, the last male of his line, at the battle of Bannockburn, 1314. Three bases of figures contain inscriptions as follows:
1. Robs. Consull Filius Regis2. Willelms. Comes Glocesr.3. . . . . . e Regis.
Another portion of a figure, in a blue mantle, is said to be Thomas Lord Despenser, the last Earl of Gloucester. It has upon it the arms of Despenser and Clare.
On the wall are some swords which recall the panic caused in 1803 by Napoleon's projected invasion and humiliation of England. It is difficult to see why they or the colours of the Volunteers were removed to this position from the Town Hall.
Against the eastern wall are portions of a beautiful frieze, with ball-flower ornament, and many shields bearing traces of rich colour. There is a fine head, and a curiosity in the form of a coffin of an infant, a portion of a cluster of marble columns, and a figure in camelskin and leather girdle representing St. John the Baptist.
Across this chapel is the tomb of Abbot Cheltenham, who died in 1509 (videp. 95).
The Vestry.—The third of the chapels is the most regular in shape, and is used, as it was in monastic times, as a Vestiarium or vestry. The arch is closed entirely by masonry, built upon the original wall which formed the outer wall of the Norman church. In the walled-up space that corresponds to what is the entrance in the case of the other chapels are a fine tomb and the doorway into the vestry. A description of the tomb will be found on p. 97. The tomb of the Abbot may have been removed from a grave outside the building, but it is not known who was buried in it. Willis ascribed it to Robert Fortington, who died in 1253. A fine doorway, richly decorated, with three elaborately wrought brackets for images over it, gives access to the Clergy Vestry. The door is of oak, plated with roughly wrought metal plates, of which tradition has it that they were made by the monks out of swords and armour found in and around the precincts after the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.
This chapel is profusely enriched with ball-flower moulding, both inside and on the side next the ambulatory. It will be noticed that the windows are small and placed, for the sake of the security of the sacristy, high up in the south wall. In the south wall is a piscina, and close by on the south-east wall must have stood an altar. The window nearer to this has richerdetail than the other two. In the south-west wall a small recess is formed inside a buttress. This may have been used as a safe for plate and other valuables in the charge of the sacristan.
The Vestry Door, South Choir Aisle.(H.J.L.J.M.)THE VESTRY DOOR, SOUTH CHOIR AISLE.ToList
(H.J.L.J.M.)
THE VESTRY DOOR, SOUTH CHOIR AISLE.ToList
A special staircase in the north-west corner, entered from the ambulatory, gives access to the room over the vestry. In this room, which has a fireplace, the sacristan probably slept. He was able from the windows on the stairs to see into the Vestiarium or Diaconum Magnum, and also into the choir. In fact, this view is one of the most interesting in the church. Two large square modern windows give light to this room, and a doorway in the east wall communicates with the space over the vaulting of the ambulatory and chapels. The room had originally a low timbered roof, as will be seen by the holes once occupied by the beams.
There are two tombs of interest built into the wall between the vestry door and the south transept, and space for them has been cut out of the original Norman solid wall. One is quite plain and simple Early English work [M], and contains the remains of Abbot Alan, a man of learning and of considerable note, as he was a friend of Thomas à Becket, the great Archbishop of Canterbury. This is the only tomb of that period now surviving in the church, and it has been thought that he was the first of the abbots who was honoured with an intramural tomb.
Close to Abbot Alan's tomb is another recess which now is without its coffin. The arch is pointed and crocketed with pinnacles at the sides. In the absence of a tomb the chief interest consists in the old encaustic tiles which have been transferred here from other parts of the building, a few of them having been found in 1875 under the then stone pavement of the choir. They are now safe here from the destroying power of the ubiquitous tourist's foot.
On the south-east tower pier is a marble tablet in Renaissance style, erected in 1890 to the memory of Mrs. Craik, the author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," who is said to have written her story whilst staying at the ancient "Bell Inn" near the Abbey gate. The memorial was designed by Mr. H.H. Armstead, R.A., and is gracefully carried out entirely in white marble. The only fault in the memorial is that there is too much work in proportion to the size of the tablet. The topmost portion above the projecting cornice is a charming piece of work, illustrating Charity, but too high above the ordinaryvisitor's head to be seen or appreciated as it should, and the group rather overweights the memorial.
The Apsidal Chapel, South Transept.Photo by A.H. HughesTHE APSIDAL CHAPEL, SOUTH TRANSEPT.ToList
Photo by A.H. Hughes
THE APSIDAL CHAPEL, SOUTH TRANSEPT.ToList
South Transept.—(Dimensions 40 feet 8 inches by 32 feet 10 inches.) This transept has vaulting of the same character as the other, and a large west window, rebuilt in 1820, filled with glass in memory of Thomas Collins, of Tewkesbury.Beneath this window is a deeply recessed doorway (now blocked up) which once gave access to the cloisters. In this recess are to be found some of the old tiles which formerly were in the choir. In the south wall too, like the north wall of the other transept, there are recessed Norman arches with two windows—enlarged later—under the roof. The doorway in this wall formerly communicated with the Chapter House. One of Tewkesbury's glories, the old organ, forms the north boundary of the transept. On the east side there are four large Norman arches. Of these the first is the archway which gives access to the south ambulatory, with a triangular window (of fourteenth century work) over it, occupying the position once taken by the arch of the triforium of the Norman choir. In 1893 this window was glazed with stained glass by Rev. W.H.F. Hepworth in memory of his mother, the subject of the window being Faith, Hope, and Charity.
To the south of this is the large arch which gives access to the Norman chapel with its early Norman groined roof. This chapel will give the student an idea of the original plan of the north transept before the alterations in 1237 and in 1246.
The east window was perforce blocked up when the ambulatory chapels were built, and to give light to the chapel the south-east window was inserted in the apse, no other position for a window being possible, as will easily be seen by reference to the plan.
An anonymous donor presented the Salviati mosaic now in the filling of the east window, but the effect is not good, as too strong a light falls upon the gold background. Probably the work will look better when the south transept is entirely glazed with coloured glass. The subject is our Lord enthroned, bearing a book in one hand, and having the other raised as in blessing. The glass in this window was formerly in the east window of the ambulatory of the choir, and was removed to its present position in 1887. It is a memorial to Mr. A. Sprowle, a former resident of Tewkesbury. The glass is by Clayton and Bell, but the window is very poor and uninteresting.
This Norman chapel[19]was at one time used as the Baptistery, and the font, now in one of the two north-east chapels, was inuse here up to the time of the restoration in 1875. After this restoration the altar from the choir was transferred to this chapel, and the various guilds connected with the church subscribed towards the cost of fitting the chapel for special devotional use. It is used for the daily morning services in the week.
There are remains of a piscina in this chapel, but very much battered. It is to be hoped that money will not be frittered away on any attempt at polychrome decoration of the ordinary kind in the chapel as has been done at Gloucester in the chapel of St. Andrew. Mr. Blunt has thrown out the suggestion as a possible ideal, but the simplicity of the present chapel is far preferable.
Immediately above it is a large vaulted room, similar in shape, but less lofty, open to the transept. Its roof shows traces of having been at one time elaborately painted with frescoes, and the room formerly communicated with the original Norman triforium of the choir. This room has at various times had absurd names given to it, perhaps the most absurd being that of the Nun's Prison. As Mr. Blunt in "Tewkesbury and its Associations" says, there are many people who cannot hear about monks without immediately thinking of nuns. It would seem that the room communicated with the dorter or dormitory, and was designed for invalid monks, who from it might hear mass sung in the church without going downstairs. In the south-east corner of the transept a staircase gives access to this chamber, and communicates with the triforium of the transept, the clerestory of the choir, the vaulting of the ambulatory as well as that of the tower.
Before 1875 a gallery filled up the south transept and two bays of the south aisle, and communicated by means of the organ screen with the similar gallery in the north transept.
In the west wall is a recess, formerly a doorway of Early English work. On the south wall is a brass tablet from the choir pavement, to the memory of Prince Edward.
At the corner of the south transept and the south aisle is a curious recess in the masonry hidden by a curtain.
At the extreme east end of the south aisle, near the niche or recess just mentioned, is a rudely carved head which no doubt served as a cresset.
THE CHOIR.
This part of the building is usually entered from the south ambulatory by the entrance opposite to the door of the clergy vestry. The screen-work at this entrance to the choir was in a ruinous state in the early part of this century, and has been most carefully repaired, and in part renewed.
It is a choir of great beauty, and though at first sight small and low, its proportions are admirable in every way, the length being almost exactly twice the breadth.
From the centre of the eastern tower-piers to the back of the altar the choir measures 63 feet, but the total length from the present oak-screen to the altar is 103 feet. The breadth in its widest part is 33 feet.[20]
The upper part of the choir was reconstructed in the early part of the fourteenth century in its present polygonal form, the Norman pillars being carried up three feet, and fitted on the choir side with Decorated capitals.
The curious effect of the carrying up of the columns will be seen from the fact that the arches which spring from the Decorated capitals do not correspond in pitch with the vaulting in the ambulatory. The latter springs from the original Norman capitals on the columns in the choir (seeillustration,p. 52).
The moulding of these arches of the choir is exceedingly rich, and the outer ones on the north side contain a double moulding of quatrefoil flower ornament.
The easternmost arch is somewhat stilted; the bare wall thus left exposed having originally been concealed by the reredos, or at any rate decorated in some way.
In these alterations to the choir here the Norman triforium had to be sacrificed; and those who wish to see on a larger scale what the original triforium was like must study that at Gloucester. In fact the two choirs alone will form the basis of much interesting study, the Gloucester choir having been left comparatively intact below the clerestory, and veiled over with richly wrought Perpendicular stonework.
The windows and the roof are of about the same date,i.e., early fourteenth century; the roof is anticipatively Perpendicular. A great feature of the choir is the skilful way in which the work of different times has been so effectively combined, and brought into a harmonious whole.