A HANDBOOKTOWORCESTER CATHEDRAL.

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL.

A HANDBOOKTOWORCESTER CATHEDRAL./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\WITH 7 ILLUSTRATIONS./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\LONDON:JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.1866.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\WITH 7 ILLUSTRATIONS./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\LONDON:JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.1866.

TOMB OF KING JOHN.

History and Details.

I.Thechief authorities for the architectural history of Worcester Cathedral are—the Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, and theAnnales Ecclesiæ Wygorniensis, compiled by a monk of Worcester at the beginning of the fourteenth century[59]. From these it appears that in the year 1084 BishopWulfstan“began the work of the Minster;” into which the monks entered four years afterwards; and in 1092 Wulfstan helda synod in the crypt, which he had “built from the foundations, and by the mercy of God had dedicated[60].” Wulfstan died in 1095. In 1113 the city of Worcester, with the cathedral church and the castle, were greatly injured by fire. In 1175 the “new tower”—probably the central tower of the cathedral—fell, as many other Norman towers had fallen; and in 1189 another great fire destroyed nearly the whole of Worcester. On this occasion the cathedral escaped; but in 1202, at Eastertide, it was burnt, (igne conflagravit alieno,) together with all the buildings and offices attached to it. During the whole of the year before, however, great miracles had been manifested at the tomb of St. Wulfstan, and many sick persons were said to be cured there daily. Accordingly, on St. Giles’s Day, (Sept. 1,) 1202, Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, came to Worcester with other bishops to enquire into the truth of the reported miracles. Certain monks of Worcester took his favourable judgment to Rome; and in the following year, 1203, St. Wulfstan was canonized by Pope Innocent III., who so far honoured the new English saint as to compose a prayer for his Office.

From this time offerings poured in daily at the tomb of St. Wulfstan; and it was no doubt with the wealth thus acquired by the monastery that the cathedral was restored. In 1207 King John visited Worcester; andafter praying at Wulfstan’s tomb, gave three hundred marks for the repair of the cathedral. He was interred in the church in the year 1216, (see §IX.); and in 1218 the cathedral was dedicated “in honour of the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter, and of the holy confessors Oswald and Wulfstan.” The young King, Henry III., was present, with a great company of bishops, abbots, and nobles; and after the dedication the body of St. Wulfstan was translated to its shrine near the high altar.

The cathedral, up to this period, had been a Norman and transition Norman building. In 1221, on St. Andrew’s Day, during a great storm, the two “lesser towers” of Worcester fell. There is no evidence that the Norman nave terminated in western towers; and Professor Willis has suggested that these “lesser towers” may have flanked the Norman choir of Worcester, like those still remaining at Canterbury. Their fall may have injured the choir, and the ruin thus effected may have assisted the determination of the Bishop and Convent to expend the wealth which was still pouring in before the shrine of St. Wulfstan, in the erection of a more sumptuous church. At any rate, in 1224 the existing choir and Lady-chapel were begun; Bishop William of Blois laying the foundations of the new work of the east front; (novum opus frontis[61]). In 1281the sacrist of the monastery received from the executors of Nicholas of Ely, Bishop of Winchester, a sum of sixty marks, the Bishop’s legacy toward the “rebuilding of the tower,”—no doubt the central tower of the cathedral,—which was not, however, effected for nearly a century, (1374). In the meantime, the Norman nave was partly removed and rebuilt. Bishop Cobham vaulted the north aisle of the nave between 1317 and 1321; and in 1377 Bishop Wakefield vaulted the nave itself.

II. These dates will assist us in examining the existing cathedral. OfSt. Wulfstan’s Church, begun as we have seen, in 1084, the crypt, which extends at present under the choir and aisles, is the only certain relic. But portions of Norman work, belonging, according to Willis, to the first three quarters of the twelfth century, remain in the nave, at the western end of the choir, and in the walls of the great transept. The two westernmost bays of the nave are transition Norman, and there is Norman work of the same period (the last quarter of the twelfth century) in the great transept.

The choir, retro-choir, and Lady-chapel, with the choir-aisles and the eastern transepts, areEarly English, and were commenced in 1224. The nave, with the exception of the two western bays, is of later date,Decorated, (1317-1327,) on the north side; and Decorated with a strong tendency to Perpendicular (circ.1360?) on the south. The central tower is also Decorated,and was no doubt the tower for which the legacy of Bishop Nicholas of Winchester (1281) was intended. The cloisters are Perpendicular.

TheEarly Englishportion of the cathedral (the whole of the church east of the central tower) is by far the most interesting, and affords some very good examples of design and sculpture. On the whole, however, although the entire building deserves, and will repay, careful examination, it can hardly be said to rank among English churches of the first class. The Norman cathedral, which covered nearly the same ground as that which now exists, terminated eastward (as appears from the crypt, §XXII.) in a broad apse, with small apsidal chapels attached at the sides. The ground-plan of the existing building forms a double or patriarchal cross[62], with a square eastern end. The whole north front of the cathedral is seen at once as the Close is entered from the High-street; but although the length (450 ft.) and general mass are imposing, the view is hardly picturesque [Frontispiece]. The transepts do not project far enough to break the long linesatisfactorily, and the whole work of the exterior (including the central tower) is unusually plain. This view has, however, been greatly improved by the recent (1865) lowering of the ground on the north side of the church (including St. Michael’s churchyard) to the depth of at least four feet. No good general point of view can be obtained on the south side of the cathedral.

Since the year 1857 very extensive works, amounting in fact to a rebuilding of much of the eastern portion of the church, have been carried on under the superintendence of Mr. A. E. Perkins, architect to the Dean and Chapter. These will be pointed out as we proceed. It may be said here, however, that besides the great desecration and injury which the building suffered from the troops of Essex in 1642, and again from Cromwell’s soldiers after the battle of Worcester in 1651, it underwent much unfortunate “restoration” during the eighteenth century. Much of the work then done it was desirable to remove; and the condition of the stone in many parts of the cathedral was such as to render extensive repair absolutely necessary[63]. Thestone used by the Norman and Early English builders was from the Higley quarries, near Bridgenorth; these quarries are in the sandstone; as are those at Holt, which were used by the builders of the Perpendicular period. For the repairs and rebuilding (1857-1863) stone has been brought from Ombersley, near Droitwich.

III. The entrance in the west front of the cathedral is said to have been closed by BishopWakefield, (1375-1395); who re-opened the original north entrance, which had been closed, and built the presentnorth porch, through which we enter the cathedral. This is plain and of little interest. The details of the original composition, which had been much mutilated by injudicious repairs, have been carefully restored under the direction of Mr. Perkins; and the lowering of the ground on this side of the cathedral has permitted theremoval of a flight of steps, within the porch, which formerly descended to the level of the nave. The roof is groined.

IV. Thenave(which has undergone, 1863-1865, a complete restoration, externally and internally), is of nine bays, from the west front to the central tower. It covers the same ground as the original Norman nave, portions of which remain—at the north-east angle of the north aisle, (a shaft and capital); on the west side of the outer face of the north door, (a shaft and capital); and in the centre of the second piers from the west, from both of which great Norman shafts project. There is also a series of Norman arched recesses in the south aisle[64]. All these fragments are pure Norman, and belong to the first three quarters of the eleventh century. The two western bays are transition Norman, of the last quarter of the century, and remain in their original state.

The piers of the two western bays are recessed in three orders, and, together with the pointed arches that rest on them, have more Early English feeling than Norman. The capitals of the shafts are of plain Norman character. Thetriforiumis very peculiar. A pointed arch (of which there are two in each bay) encloses three circular ones. Between and beyond these inner arches rise reeded shafts, from the capitals of which springs a zigzag moulding, repeating, in thetympana, the forms of the circular arches. Below and above the zigzag are placed knots of curled leafage, giving a dotted appearance to the whole composition, which has neither the dignity of the earlier Norman nor the grace of the Decorated work east of it. The clerestory has three arches in each bay; the central arch round, with the zigzag moulding, and much higher than the pointed side arches. The window openings, at the back of the central arch, are filled with Perpendicular tracery. “In the pier arches and triforium arches a plain round molding is employed, which runs without a base up the pier, and continuously over the arch, forming an external order or frame to it. A similar molding in front of this runs by the side of a triple group of vaulting-shafts up to the clerestory string, but is there cut off by the later vaulting-shafts.... Continuous moldings are in Norman work usually confined to the inner arches of doors and to windows. But I have observed the molding just described, as framing a group of shafted pier arches, in several cases in the west of England—as at Gloucester, the north side aisle of the choir at Lichfield, and at Bredon Church, near Worcester—the latter evidently the work of the architect of the western compartments of the cathedral[65].” The clustered vaulting-shafts terminate in capitals of transitional character, at the base of the clerestory. The vaulting itself is of the same apparent character (Perpendicular) as that eastward of these two bays; but Professor Willis has shewn that it must have beenerected before (though perhaps not much before) the vaulting of the rest of the nave[66].

The west end of the nave was entirely altered by BishopWakefield, (1375-1395). He closed the western entrance; but the pointed arch, with a circular arch on either side, which, until the late restoration, were seen on the wall below the window, dated only from the last century. Traces of Norman doors, however, were discovered by Mr. Perkins at the ends of the aisles and in the central wall; proving that Bishop Wakefield retained the original wall, and shewing us the extent of the Norman nave. The space above the arches was entirely filled by a large debased window, the glass in which was inserted in 1792. This window has been happily replaced (1865) by an Early Decorated window of eight lights, of the same architectural character as the Decorated work on the north side of the nave, and equally enriched. (It is the gift of the Hon. and Rev. John Fortescue, Canon of Worcester.) The Norman portal beneath this window, the jambs of which were quite perfect, has been opened.

Beyond the two western bays the nave is Decorated on the north side, and early Perpendicular on the south, and the main arches rise much higher. The two sides differ in the capitals and bases of their piers, in the capitals of the vaulting-shafts, in the clerestory arches, and in the ornamentation of the triforium. The north side, which is the earlier, is also the richer.

Leland asserts that BishopCobham(1317-1327) vaulted the north aisle of the nave. This fixes the date of the Decorated work on the north side. The bases of the piers differ from those opposite, and the capitals of the shafts are enriched with excellent leafage, much undercut. This “runs continuously round the pier, being inflected around the shafts, so as to distinguish the groups without separating them, and with the richest effect.” At the angles of the exterior hood-mouldings are small heads of kings and bishops. The triforium has two pointed arches in each bay, each arch enclosing two smaller ones. The shafts which support these arches have capitals of leafage, and the tympana in the heads of the larger arches are filled with sculptured figures. These, before the late restoration, were so greatly decayed as to be quite undecipherable. They have been re-worked as carefully as possible, but in most instances the original subject was completely uncertain. The clerestory consists of three pointed arches, with leafage on the capitals of the shafts, and at the angles of the outer mouldings. The windows at the back are Perpendicular insertions. Professor Willis has been the first to point out that the triforium and clerestory of the two bays adjoining the transition Norman work on this side of the nave, differ from the rest, and are in fact Perpendicular, of the same character as the entire south side. “We may conclude, therefore, that the north side of the Norman nave was taken down first, and that when the portion in the Decorated style had been completed, a pause in the work or a change ofarchitects happened, and the triforium and clerestory of these bays were then completed in a different style[67].”

The vaulting-shafts run upward between each bay in groups of three. The abacus from which the groining-ribs apparently spring, is partly a continuation of the stringcourse at the base of the clerestory, and is gracefully trefoiled.

The whole work on the north side of the nave is bolder and more effective than that on thesouth. We have no record of the construction of this side, but from its strong Perpendicular character it can hardly be earlier than 1360. The clustered pier-shafts have much smaller capitals of leafage than those opposite, and the leafage does not pass round continuously. The design of the triforium resembles that on the north side; but at the junction of the two smaller arches is a bracket, once no doubt the support of a figure which rose against the tympanum of the larger arch. All traces of these figures, however, had disappeared, and they have been replaced by modern sculpture, executed byBoulton, under the direction of the architect. Small ancient figures remain at the sides and intersections of the larger arches.

The clerestory is formed by three triangular-headed arches, of which the centre arch, much higher and wider than the other two, follows nearly the lines of the groining rib. The window at the back of the passage is filled with tracery of Decorated character. The triangular form, which is by no means usual, isthat which prevails in the north transept of Hereford, (see the Handbook for that Cathedral,) built at the end of the thirteenth century for the reception of the shrine of St. Thomas Cantilupe.

The groined vaulting of the nave—the work of Bishop Wakefield in 1377—has ridge and intermediate ribs, with bosses of foliage at the intersections. The nave, which was covered with whitewash by the “restorers” of the last century, has been thoroughly cleaned; and the rich foliage of its capitals is now properly displayed. The present flooring of the nave was laid down in 1748.

On the north side of the nave, in the fourth bay from the east, is the high tomb, with effigies, ofSir John Beauchamp, of Holt, in Worcestershire, (died 1388,) and his wife. The effigies, which are in alabaster, have been terribly defaced. The knight’s armour is a good example. The lady’s head rests on a swan with expanded wings—the crest of the Beauchamps. The panels of the tomb itself are filled with shields of arms. Immediately opposite, on the south side of the nave, is the tomb, with effigies, ofRobert Wilde(died 1608) and his wife. His body rests in this cathedral, but his immortal part—

“Fœlices rapuere animæ, heroesque beati,Illud ad æternas, Elysiasque domos.”

The sides of the tomb, divided into compartments by sun-flowers rising from vases, and the scroll-work at the lower end, deserve notice.

On the south side of the nave, toward the west, isthe canopied tomb, with effigy, ofRichard Eedes, Dean of Worcester, (died 1608). The Dean is represented with moustache and beard, skull-cap, ruff, and gown open in front, with hanging sleeves. Opposite, on the north side, is the tomb, with effigy, of BishopThornborough, died 1641,—the latest recumbent effigy of a bishop in the cathedral: he wears the rochet and chimere with full sleeves.

V. The two western bays of thesouth aisleof the nave aretransition Norman, like the western bays of the nave. The vaulting is quadripartite. The rest of the aisle has late Decorated windows, filled with a kind of flowing tracery, high in the wall, on account of the cloister which runs outside; and into which there are two plainly-arched entrances—the prior’s door in the bay nearest the transept, and the monks’ door in the third bay from the west end. The vaulting of this part of the aisle is lierne.

The wall of this aisle is, however, that of the Norman nave, as is proved by a series of five Norman arched recesses, one opposite to each of the present pier-arches. “Two of these at the east end are filled up with monumental arches of the period of the present south architecture of the nave. This is enough to shew that the semicircular arches existed previously.... They were probably meant to receive the monumental arches of distinguished persons, in the same way as at Hereford[68].”

The monuments in the south aisle are—in the secondbay from the transept, the much mutilated effigy of an unknown ecclesiastic,—probably one of the priors of the monastery, represented as vested for the eucharistic office,—under a canopied recess. The date, according to Mr. Bloxam, is late in the fourteenth or early in the fifteenth century. In the third bay, within a Decorated recess, is the effigy of BishopParry, (1610-1616,) “wearing the rochet and the chimere, the latter reaching a little below the knees;” in the fourth is a Perpendicular altar-tomb, with panelled front, of some unknown personage; in the fifth is the tomb ofThomas Littleton, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, died Aug. 23, 1481. The brass, which represented him in his robes as Judge, was destroyed in the civil wars of the seventeenth century. This is the celebrated Judge whose treatise on land tenures was commented on by Sir Edward Coke in the reign of James I., and has still, in Fuller’s words, an “authentical reputation.” Littleton was born at Frankley in Worcestershire, and was in great favour with both Henry VI. and Edward IV. The Lords Lyttelton, of Hagley, are descended from this family. In the sixth bay is an altar-tomb in a recess for BishopFreke, (1584-1591,) with inscriptions in Greek, Latin, and English. In the two last bays are mural monuments, both byBacon, forSir Henry Ellis, Colonel of the 23rd Regt., (Welsh Fusileers,) who fell at Waterloo; and forRichard Solly, Esq., (died 1804); neither of which deserve much notice. In the westernmost bay has been placed the monument of BishopGauden,(died 1662,) the probable author of theIcon Basilike. His effigy represents him with long hair, moustache, and beard, wearing the rochet and chimere. This monument was formerly against the wall on the north side of the choir, which has been removed. (See §VII.)

The two western bays of thenorth aisleare transition Norman, like those opposite; but the Decorated vaulting (plain quadripartite, with bosses) is carried throughout the aisle, and was the work of Bishop Cobham between 1317 and 1321. The rest of the aisle, including the windows, is Decorated. The west window contains some portions of ancient glass; but is chiefly filled with modern glass of the worst description. In the first bay counting from the west is a monument byWestmacottfor theEarl of Strafford, and the officers and men of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment, who fell in the Indian campaigns of 1845-6. Unlike most memorials of this class, it possesses a little religious character. In the second bay is a monument for the wife ofGodfrey Goldsborough, Bishop of Gloucester, (died 1613). In the third bay is a monument with small kneeling figures for theMoorefamily, of Worcester; date 1613.

The north porch opens from the fifth bay. From the eighth a small Decorated chapel, called theJesus chapel, is entered; which was opened to the nave, as it now is, about 1750, when a new and singularly hideous font was placed in it. The Decorated window on the north side has been filled with stained glass byWailes, as a memorial for the wife of the Rev.Canon Wood. Theeast window of the chapel has been closed. Against the walls are tablets for BishopFleetwood, (died 1683); for BishopBlandford, (died 1675); and for BishopBullingham, (died 1576). The upper and lower portions only of the effigy appear, the intervening wall and inscription dividing them. (Similar monuments exist at Lichfield and elsewhere.) “The dress is not very clearly developed, but it certainly does not appear to have consisted of the episcopal robes. Perhaps he was one interested in the vestiarian controversy of 1564[69].” This monument was removed from the choir wall. (See §VII.)

VI. The piers of thecentral towerare Decorated, with small capitals of leafage, of the same date and character as the south side of the nave. It is certain, however, that a core of Norman masonry remains within them, since Norman work is visible on the choir side of the eastern piers, (see §VII.,) in the roof of the triforium of the choir, and at the south corner of the east end of the north triforium of the nave. The vaulting resembles that of the nave.

Thegreat transepthas undergone much alteration. The walls, as high as the level of the clerestory, are Norman; and, as appeared when they were stripped of their plaster, are built of “uncoursed rubble work, roughly laid with wide joints of mortar[70].” They may belong to the first Norman church; but after the fall of the great tower in 1175 many repairs and changes were made, to which the Norman work now apparent evidently belongs. Further alterations were made in the thirteenth, and again (perhaps by BishopWakefield, died 1395) in the latter part of the fourteenth century. The transept, like the rest of the church, is narrow (32 feet) in proportion to its height (66 feet), and projects only 28 feet beyond the aisle wall. Like the transept at Gloucester, it is without aisles. The circular staircase-turrets which project into the transept at the north-west and south-west angles are peculiar, and are far more decided features than those at Gloucester (see the Handbook for that Cathedral) in the same situations. These are Norman as high as the clerestory, where the change to Perpendicular is marked by a difference of masonry. The masonry of the Norman portion is unusually good, and should be noticed. The scraping of the walls of these towers “disclosed the fact that they are built of stones of two colours, the one a white or rather cream-coloured stone, the other a green stone. These are laid in bands at the lower part, not regularly; but above the doorway the courses are for a short distance alternately white and green in horizontal stripes, after the manner of the cathedrals of Pisa, Siena, and other Italian examples of the eleventh and twelfth centuries[71].” The transition Norman work at the west end of the nave, and the chapter-house, also display this particoloured masonry.

In thesouth transept, the south end has three divisions. The lowest is plain, and shews the Norman wall. In the second are two transition Norman window-arches, now closed. The capitals of the side shafts are of Early English character, and the arches have a broad hollow zigzag moulding. In the uppermost division is a fine three-light lancet window, deeply splayed, and with a passage through the jambs. This has been filled with stained glass, which can hardly be called good, byRogers, from designs byPreedy, as a memorial ofQueen Adelaide. The subject is a tree of Jesse. On the east side of the transept the arch into the choir-aisle is Decorated; and in the adjoining bay a very fine Norman arch, long closed, opens to an eastern chapel. This archway was re-opened in 1862, and through it a very picturesque view is obtained of the chapel beyond. The bays on this side of the transept are divided by a group of transition Norman vaulting-shafts, which terminate at the level of the clerestory, and support later groining.

The east and west walls of this transept were altered in the Perpendicular period, in a manner which recalls the work in Gloucester Cathedral, although the screen of tracery with which the Norman walls have been overlaid is not so complete. On the east side this work begins in the triforium, the openings in which are formed by a series of narrow pierced panels, with transoms and foliated headings. As at Gloucester, the wall behind this screen-work is Norman, and in the course of restoration here the remains of the ancient triforium were discovered, (1863). They are of transitionalNorman character, much enriched. The clerestory above is entirely Perpendicular. A pierced parapet runs along at the base, and slender Perpendicular vaulting-shafts pass through both the triforium and clerestory stages. The west wall has been overlaid more completely with a Perpendicular screen-work, pierced for window openings in all three stages. There is also a Perpendicular clerestory window above the arch of the nave-aisle. Remains of two arches of the Norman triforium have been found on this side of the transept. They are plainer than those opposite, but may possibly be of the same date. The vaulting of the transept is a plain lierne.

On the south side of this transept is a monument designed byAdams, and executed byNollekens, for BishopJohnson, (1759-1774). The bust is fine. There is also a memorial of BishopHurd, (1781-1808.)

In the east wall of thenorth transepta Norman arch has been discovered during the late restorations, occupying the same position as that in the transept opposite, and of the same date. It now remains open, to the thickness of the outer wall. The vaulting-shafts here are Early English, banded, with capitals of Early English foliage. On the north side was a modern Perpendicular window, which has been removed, and replaced by a new window of early Decorated character. The east and west walls have been overlaid with Perpendicular work in the same manner as the opposite transept. The triforium panelling on the east side,which had been built up, has been re-opened and restored. The screen-work on the west wall is only pierced for a window in the clerestory stage.

In this transept are monuments for—(north wall), BishopStillingfleet, (1689-1699,) “jam tibi, quicumque hæc leges, nisi et Europæ et literati orbis hospes es, ipse per se notus;” and (east wall), BishopHough, (1717-1743,) byRoubiliac. A full-length effigy of the Bishop reclines on the top of a sepulchre, upheld by a figure of Religion. The inscription gives due praise to the “unbounded charity, the courteous affability, and the engaging condescension” of the Bishop,—the “ever-memorable President of Magdalen College, Oxford, who providentially for this nation opposed the rage of Popish superstition and tyranny.” A small bas-relief below the effigy represents the President’s expulsion from Magdalen. There is also a tablet for DeanHook, (died 1828,) brother of the more celebrated Theodore Hook.

VII. A flight of steps, rendered necessary by the elevation of the crypt, which extends eastward from this point, ascends to thechoir-screen, between the two eastern piers of the tower; an atrocious composition of lath and plaster, erected in 1812, and shortly, no doubt, to be removed. Some of the small figures in the frieze were taken from misereres in the choir, and will eventually be returned.

Passing beyond the screen, we enter the most interesting portion of the cathedral. The whole building, east of the tower, is far richer and better in detailthan any part of the nave. The convent, in all probability, was receiving larger sums from the pilgrims to the shrine of St. Wulfstan during the thirteenth century, when the choir and the parts connected with it were built, than during the fourteenth, when the nave was erected. By that time the neighbouring churches of Hereford and Gloucester had each their great shrine[72], which must have attracted much of the wealth that would otherwise have found its way into the treasury of Worcester.

Bishop William of Blois is recorded as having “begun the new work of the front” in the year 1224. The plan of the new building involved a great extension of the cathedral eastward. Beyond the site of the crypt, the work was carried “to a length equal to double that of the Norman presbytery, (exclusive of the probable Lady-chapel of the latter,) and so adjusted as to place the central tower of the church exactly midway between the east and west extremities of the entire building[73].” Eastern transepts were also adopted. Professor Willis has been the first to shew the order in which, in all probability, this new work was erected. This is indicated by a difference in the moulding of the vaulting-ribs. “The transverse vault-ribs of the side aisles and centre of the work between the great tower and the small transepts (namely, the present choir) have a hollow mold in their soffits; and this is also the case

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