Chester Cathedral. Part Five.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Chester Cathedral.

Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,

Chester, England.

The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English (or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle, and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building was heavily

restored in the 19th-Century.

Photo: May 2012.

Source: Family Album.

Author: Stephen Hamilton.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Scott's restorations were not without their critics and caused much debate in architectural circles. Scott claimed to have archaeological evidence for his work, but the Liverpool architect, Samuel Huggins, argued, in an 1868 address to the Liverpool Architectural Society, that the alterations were less like restoration and more like rebuilding.

One of the larger changes was to shorten the South Aisle and restyle it as an Apse. The changes also proposed the addition of a Spire above the existing Tower, but this proposal was later rejected. Samuel Huggins's further Paper, of 1871, entitled "On so-called restorations of our Cathedral and Abbey Churches", compelled the Dean to attempt to answer the criticism. The debate contributed to the establishment of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Later in the century, from 1882, Arthur Blomfield and his son, Charles, made further additions and modifications, including restoring and re-instating the Shrine of Saint Werburgh. More work was carried out in the 20th-Century by Giles Gilbert Scott, between 1891 and 1913, and by F. H. Crossley, in 1939.

There is a Garden-in-Remembrance, 

of The Cheshire Regiment, 

at Chester Cathedral.

English: A German trench, occupied by British soldiers, near the Albert-Bapaume Road, at

Ovillers-la-Boisselle, France, July 1916. The Battle of the Somme.

The men are from A-Company, 11th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment.

Français: Tranchée britannique près de la route Albert-Bapaume à Ovillers-la-Boisselle,

en juillet 1916 durant la bataille de la Somme.

Deutsch: Schlacht an der Somme: Britischer Schützengraben im Juli 1916 bei Ovillers-la-Boisselle

an der Straße zwischen Albert und Bapaume.

Magyar: Brit lövészárok az Albert–Bapaume út közelében Ovillers-la-Boisselle-ben,

1916 júliusában, a Somme-i csata alatt.

Italiano: Trincea britannica a Ovillers-la-Boisselle sulla strada tra Albert e Bapaume,

luglio 1916 durante la Battaglia della Somme.

Source: This is photograph Q 3990 from the collection of

The Imperial War Museums (collection no. 1900-13).

Author: John Warwick Brooke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Towards the end of 1963, the Cathedral Bells, which were housed in the Central Tower, were in need of an overhaul, and ringing was suspended. In 1965, the Dean asked George Pace, architect to York Minster, to prepare specifications for a new Bell Frame and for electrification of the Clock and tolling mechanism.

Due to structural difficulties and the cost of replacing the Bells in the Central Tower, it was advised that consideration should be given to building a Detached Bell-and-Clock Tower in the South-East corner of the Churchyard. It was decided to proceed with that plan, and, in 1969, an announcement was made that the first Detached Cathedral Bell Tower was to be erected since the building of the Campanile at Chichester Cathedral in the 15th-Century.

In February 1969, nine of the ten Bells in the Central Tower were removed, to be re-cast by John Taylor & Co as a Ring of twelve Bells with a Flat Sixth. The new Bells were cast in 1973. Work on the new Bell-Tower began in February 1973. Two old Bells, dating from 1606 and 1626, were left in the Tower. On 26 February 1975, the Bells were rung, for the first time, to celebrate the wedding of a member of the Grosvenor family.

English: 17th-Century 

Chancellor's Seat,

the Consistory Court, 

Chester Cathedral.

Deutsch: Chester, England.

Kathedrale: Konsistorium.

Sitz des Kanzlers.

Photo: 13 July 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wolfgang Sauber.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The official opening, on 25 June 1975, was performed by the Duke of Gloucester. The Belfry is known as the Dean Addleshaw Tower, after the Dean of the Cathedral responsible for its construction. The Tower is built in concrete, faced with sandstone at its base. It is the first Detached Bell Tower to be built for a Cathedral in this country since the Reformation. Between the Bell Tower and the South Transept is a Garden-in-Remembrance of the Cheshire Regiment (originally the 22nd Regiment of Foot).

The treasures of Chester Cathedral are its rare Fittings, specifically its Choir Stalls and the 17th-Century furnishing of the Bishop’s Consistory Court in the South Tower, which is a unique survival.

"Crockets", applied to the Finials,

at Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk,

Ostend, Belgium.

Photo: 15 June 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: JoJan.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A Crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture.

It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers, which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs.

When used to decorate the Capitals of Columns, these are called Crocket Capitals.

This element is also used as an ornament, on furniture and metalwork, in the Gothic Style.

The name derives from the diminutive of the French "croc", meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of Crockets to a Bishop's Crosier.

Misericord and Choir Stall,

Chester Cathedral, 

England.

Date: 17 March 2008 (original upload date). (Original Text :16 March 2008).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia. (Original Text : Self-made).

Author; Original uploader was Joopercoopers at en.wikipedia. (Original text : Joopercoopers.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Choir Stalls date from about 1380. They have high, spiky, closely set, Canopies, with Crocketed Arches and Spirelets. The Stall Ends have Poppyheads, and are rich with figurative carving. The Stalls include forty-eight Misericords, all but five of which are original, depicting a variety of subjects, some humorous and some grotesque. Pevsner states that they are "one of the finest sets in the country", while Alec Clifton-Taylor calls them “exquisite” and says, of the Misericords, that, “for delicacy and grace, they surpass even those at Lincoln and Beverley”.

Poppyhead,

carved as a stylised fleur-de-lys,

in Saint Peter's Church, Neatishead,

Norfolk, England.

Photo: 31 May 2007.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: John Salmon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Poppyhead" is a form of carving of the end of a Bench or a Choir Stall. Its name is unrelated to the poppy flower. It is derived, by way of Old French, from the Latin word "puppis", which means the poop, or the figurehead, of a ship. In its simplest, and its most usual form, it has the appearance of a stylised fleur-de-lys. In some cases, it consists of a much more intricate carving; for example,

in Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, Suffolk, England, some of the Poppyheads

represent the Seven Deadly Sins.

In 1844, an Organ, by Gray and Davison, of London, was installed in the Cathedral, replacing an instrument with parts dating back to 1626. The Organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Whiteley Bros of Chester, in 1876, to include harmonic flutes and reeds by Cavaillé-Coll. It was later moved to its present position at the front of the North Transept.

PART SIX FOLLOWS