The Nave and Ceiling of
Winchester Cathedral.
Photo: 27 May 2018.
Source: Own work.
Author: Cc364
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text is from Wikimedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Winchester Cathedral is a Cathedral of The Church of England, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest Cathedrals in Europe, with the greatest overall length of any Gothic Cathedral.[2]
Dedicated to The Holy Trinity,[3] Saint Peter, Saint Paul and, before The Reformation, Saint Swithun,[4] it is the Seat of The Bishop of Winchester and centre of The Diocese of Winchester. The Cathedral is a Grade I Listed Building.[3]
The Cathedral was founded in 642 A.D. on a site immediately to the North of the present site. This building became known as The Old Minster. It became part of a Monastic Settlement in 971 A.D.
Winchester Cathedral is a Cathedral of The Church of England, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest Cathedrals in Europe, with the greatest overall length of any Gothic Cathedral.[2]
Dedicated to The Holy Trinity,[3] Saint Peter, Saint Paul and, before The Reformation, Saint Swithun,[4] it is the Seat of The Bishop of Winchester and centre of The Diocese of Winchester. The Cathedral is a Grade I Listed Building.[3]
The Cathedral was founded in 642 A.D. on a site immediately to the North of the present site. This building became known as The Old Minster. It became part of a Monastic Settlement in 971 A.D.
Winchester Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Photo: 8 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
License: CC BY-SA 3.0"
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Old Minster was demolished in 1093, immediately after the Consecration of its successor.[6] In 1079, Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester, began work on a completely new Cathedral.[6] Much of the Limestone used to build the structure was brought across from quarries around Binstead, Isle of Wight. Nearby Quarr Abbey [Editor: On The Isle of Wight] draws its name from these workings, as do several nearby places such as Stonelands and Stonepitts.
The remains of the Roman trackway, used to transport the blocks of Limestone, are still evident across the fairways of The Ryde Golf Club, where the Stone was hauled from the quarries to the Hythe at the mouth of Binstead Creek, and thence by barge across The Solent and up to Winchester.
Winchester Cathedral
showing The UK’s second-longest Cathedral Nave
(after Saint Alban's Cathedral).
Date: 2006.
Source: http://www.wyrdlight.com
Attribution: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
WyrdLight.com
Author: Antony McCallum.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The building was Consecrated in 1093. On 8 April of that year, according to the Annals of Winchester, “in the presence of almost all the Bishops and Abbots of England, the Monks came with the highest exultation and glory from The Old Minster to The New Minster: On The Feast of Saint Swithun, they went in Procession from The New Minster to The Old Minster and brought thence Saint Swithun’s Shrine and placed it with honour in the new buildings, and, on the following day, Bishop Walkelin’s men began to pull down The Old Minster.”[6]
A substantial amount of the fabric of Bishop Walkelin’s building, including Crypt, Transepts and the basic structure of The Nave, survives.[7] The original Crossing Tower, however, collapsed in 1107, an accident blamed by the Cathedral's Mediæval Chroniclers on the burial of the dissolute William Rufus [Editor: King William II] beneath it in 1100.[6]
Its replacement, which survives today, is still in The Norman Style, with Round-Headed Windows. It is a squat, square structure, 50 feet (15 m) wide, but rising only 35 feet (11 m) above the ridge of The Transept Roof.[8] The Tower is 150 feet (46 m) tall.[9]
Winchester Cathedral Nave.
Photo: 8 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
License: CC BY-SA 3.0"
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)
Under William of Wykeham (1367–1404), the Romanesque Nave was transformed, re-cased in Caen Stone and remodelled in the The Perpendicular Style,[13] with its Internal Elevation divided into two, rather than the previous three, Storeys.[14] The Wooden Ceilings were replaced with Stone Vaults.[13]
Wykeham's successor, Henry of Beaufort (1405–1447) carried out fewer alterations, adding only a Chantry on The South Side of The Retro-Choir, although work on The Nave may have continued through his Episcopy.[15]
His successor, William of Waynflete (1447–1486), built another Chantry in a corresponding position on The North Side. Under Peter Courtenay (Bishop 1486–1492) and Thomas Langton (1493–1500), there was more work. De Luci's Lady Chapel was lengthened, and The Norman Side Aisles of The Presbytery replaced.
In 1525, Richard Foxe (Bishop 1500–1528) added The Side Screens of The Presbytery, which he also gave a Wooden Vault.[10] With its progressive extensions, The East End is now about 110 feet (34 m) beyond that of Bishop Walkelin's building.[16]
King Henry VIII seized control of The Catholic Church in England and declared himself Head of the new Church of England. The Benedictine Foundation, The Priory of Saint Swithun, was Dissolved. The Priory surrendered to the King in 1539. The next year, a new Chapter was formed, and the last Prior, William Basyng, was appointed Dean.[17] The Monastic buildings, including the Cloister and Chapter House, were later demolished, mostly during the 1560–1580 tenure of the reformist Bishop, Robert Horne.[18][19]
Winchester Cathedral.
Available on YouTube at
It was removed in the 1820s, by when its style was felt inappropriate in an otherwise Mediæval building. The Central Bay, with its Archway, is now in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge;[20] it was replaced by a Gothic Screen by William Garbett, the Surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, along with other repairs conducted by him, its design based on The Great West Doorway of The Nave.[21]
This Stone Structure was removed in the 1870s to make way for a Wooden one, designed by George Gilbert Scott,[22] who modelled it on the Canopies of the Choir Stalls of the Monks (dating from around 1308).[23]
Scott's West-facing Screen has been much criticised, although the carving is of superlative workmanship and virtually replicates the earlier, albeit finer, carving of the Early-14th-Century East-facing Return Stalls on to which it backs. The displaced Bronze Statues of the Stuart Kings were moved to the West End of the Cathedral, standing in Niches on each side of the Central Door.
Scott's work was otherwise conservative. He moved the Lectern to the North Side of the Quire, beside the Pulpit, facing West, where it remained for a Century before returning to its present central position, now facing East.
Restoration work was carried out by T. G. Jackson in 1905 – 1912. Waterlogged Foundations on the South and East Walls were reinforced by the Diver, William Walker, packing the Foundations with more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks. Walker worked six hours a day from 1906 to 1912 in total darkness at depths up to 20 feet (6 m), and is credited with saving the Cathedral from total collapse.[24] For this he was awarded the MVO.[25]
Breast Star of Knights/Dames Grand Cross of The Royal Victorian Order.
Awarded by The Monarch of The United Kingdom
and The Dominions (1896–1952), Commonwealth Realms (since 1952).
This Decoration was awarded to the Diver, William Walker (see, above),
who was credited with saving Winchester Cathedral from collapse
in the years 1906 - 1912.
Date: 31 January 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Robert Prummel.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The total estimated cost of Heating and Lighting was £10,000, and the works programme ran until 1938. A local firm, Dicks and Sons, was appointed to undertake the work. It was headed by Miss Jeanie Dicks, the first female member of The Electrical Contractors Association.[26] It was discovered that replacing the Gas Lights in the Choir-Stalls with Electrical Lights involved running cables through the Crypt. Some Coffins had to be removed and were reverently reburied. Jane Austen’s Coffin was moved gently to one side.[27]
1869 Engraving showing an idealised, young, Jane Austen,
based on a sketch by Cassandra Austen.
Jane Austen's Coffin, located in Winchester Cathedral, had to be moved to one side when Electrical Cables were laid in the 1930s (see, above).
Date: 1870.
Author: James Andrews.
(Wikimedia Commons)
In July 1934, a "Festival of Music and Drama" was held, supported by the new Friends Organisation, with the aim of “helping the effort which the Dean and Chapter are making to raise £6,000 this year for the purpose of lighting and heating the Cathedral.”
The Festival included a Play, “The Marriage of King Henry IV”, written for the occasion, musical programmes, an exhibition “The Work of The Broderers”, and viewings of the Cathedral Library treasures. Dean Selwyn’s book, “The Story of Winchester Cathedral”, was published in the same year.[27]
Funerals, Coronations, and Marriages, that took place in Winchester Cathedral.
The Funeral of King Harthacanute (1042);
The Funeral of King William II of England (1100);
The Coronation of Henry the Young King and his Queen, Marguerite (1172);
The Second Coronation of King Richard I of England (1194);
The Marriage of King Henry IV of England and Joanna of Navarre (1403);
The Marriage of Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain (1554).
The Marriage of King Henry IV of England and Joanna of Navarre (1403);
The Marriage of Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain (1554).
Memorials and Artworks in Winchester Cathedral.
In The South Transept, there is a “Fishermen's Chapel”, which is the burial place of Izaak Walton. Walton, who died in 1683, was the author of The Compleat Angler and a friend of John Donne. In The Nave Sanctuary, is the Ship's Bell from HMS Iron Duke, which was The Flagship of Admiral John Jellicoe at The Battle of Jutland in 1916.[28]
“HMS Iron Duke”.
The Flagship of Admiral John Jellicoe at The Battle of Jutland (1916).
The Ship's Bell is in The Nave Sanctuary of Winchester Cathedral (see, above).
This File: 22 March 2012.
User: Parsecboy
Source: “Journal of The United States Artillery”, Volume 41 (1914).
(Wikipedia)
A statue of Joan of Arc was erected when she was Canonised as a Saint by Pope Pius XI in 1923. The statue diagonally faces the Chancery Chapel of Cardinal Beaufort, who was an influential figure in English Politics at the time of her trial and execution in Rouen in 1431. He is sometimes incorrectly represented as presiding over her trial, but she was actually interrogated by Pierre Cauchon. [29]
The Crypt, which frequently floods, houses a statue by Antony Gormley, called Sound II, installed in 1986, and a modern Shrine to Saint Swithun. There is also a statue in the Retro-Choir of William Walker, the Deep-Sea Diver (see, above) who worked under water in the Crypt between 1906 and 1912 underpinning The Nave and shoring up the walls, along with a bust of him in the Cathedral Grounds near the Refectory.[25]
A series of nine Icons were installed between 1992 and 1996 in the Retro-Choir Screen, which, for a short time, protected the Relics of Saint Swithun that were destroyed by King Henry VIII in 1538. These Icons, influenced by The Russian Orthodox Tradition, were created by Sergei Fyodorov and Dedicated in 1997. They include the local Religious figures Saint Swithun and Saint Birinus.
The Cathedral's huge Mediæval Stained-Glass Great West Window was deliberately smashed by Cromwell's Forces after the outbreak of The Civil War in 1642.[30][31] After The Restoration of The Monarchy in 1660, the Broken Glass was gathered up and assembled randomly, in a manner something like Pique Assiette Mosaic Work.
The Crypt, which frequently floods, houses a statue by Antony Gormley, called Sound II, installed in 1986, and a modern Shrine to Saint Swithun. There is also a statue in the Retro-Choir of William Walker, the Deep-Sea Diver (see, above) who worked under water in the Crypt between 1906 and 1912 underpinning The Nave and shoring up the walls, along with a bust of him in the Cathedral Grounds near the Refectory.[25]
A series of nine Icons were installed between 1992 and 1996 in the Retro-Choir Screen, which, for a short time, protected the Relics of Saint Swithun that were destroyed by King Henry VIII in 1538. These Icons, influenced by The Russian Orthodox Tradition, were created by Sergei Fyodorov and Dedicated in 1997. They include the local Religious figures Saint Swithun and Saint Birinus.
The Stained-Glass Windows in Winchester Cathedral.
The Cathedral's huge Mediæval Stained-Glass Great West Window was deliberately smashed by Cromwell's Forces after the outbreak of The Civil War in 1642.[30][31] After The Restoration of The Monarchy in 1660, the Broken Glass was gathered up and assembled randomly, in a manner something like Pique Assiette Mosaic Work.
There was little attempt to reconstruct the original pictures, although some small sections do have less abstract images. Some surviving fragments are on display at The Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in Australia,[32] including examples of the signature Blue Colour found only in Winchester Stained-Glass.
The Epiphany Chapel has a series of Pre-Raphaelite Stained-Glass Windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made in William Morris's workshop. The foliage decoration above and below each pictorial panel is unmistakably by William Morris, and at least one of the figures bears a striking resemblance to Morris's wife Jane, who frequently posed for Dante Gabriel Rossetti and other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Ceiling Fan-Vaulting,
Winchester Cathedral.
Source: Own work.
Author: Josep Renalias
This file is licensed under the
This File: 8 February 2008.
User: Lohen11
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Knowles’ Cross in Winchester Cathedral.
The Guardian Angels' Chapel had a new Cross Dedicated during a Service of Sung Eucharist at 11:00 hrs on 13 July 2001. The Cross, by Justin Knowles, sits in a Sandstone Niche. The Cross was made from Cerulean Blue Glass (Cerulean meaning "Sky-Blue") by the Czech Glass Artist, Jan Frydrych. It sits on a Plinth of Black Granite, with White Flecks.
The Guardian Angels' Chapel had a new Cross Dedicated during a Service of Sung Eucharist at 11:00 hrs on 13 July 2001. The Cross, by Justin Knowles, sits in a Sandstone Niche. The Cross was made from Cerulean Blue Glass (Cerulean meaning "Sky-Blue") by the Czech Glass Artist, Jan Frydrych. It sits on a Plinth of Black Granite, with White Flecks.
The Bells in Winchester Cathedral.
The Cathedral possesses the only Diatonic Ring of fourteen Church Bells in the World, with a Tenor Bell (the heaviest Bell) weighing thirty-six long hundredweight (4,000 lb; 1,800 kg).[33] The Back Twelve Bells were all cast by John Taylor and Company in 1937. They were augmented to fourteen Bells when two new Trebles and a 4♯ (Sharp 4th) were added in 1992 by The Whitechapel Bell Foundry.[34] Also, there is an 8♭ (Flat 8th) which was Cast by Anthony Bond in 1621.
Cultural Connections in Winchester Cathedral.
Nowadays, the Cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in Winchester on 18 July 1817. Her funeral was held in the Cathedral, and she was buried in The North Aisle. The inscription on her Tombstone makes no mention of her novels, but a later Brass Tablet, paid for from the proceeds of her first biography, describes her as "known to many by her writings".[35] There is also a Memorial Window in her honour by C. E. Kempe.[36]
Another fascinating collection of history of a great work of church architecture. Thank you, Zephyrinus!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing man was the engineer, “The Diver,” William Walker, who at obvious great risk to himself shored up the foundations of Winchester Cathedral the South and East walls 1905-1912, working underwater most of the time.
I know Zephyrinus knows the often overlooked history of these great stone monuments, which is that they, too, despite their soaring serenity, can have catastrophic and generally unforeseen collapses, at least before the day of modern computerized engineering assessments and super micro measurements, which can now often foretell a potential disaster.
But in fact, as with the famous, or infamous, tower collapse of Hereford Cathedral (1786), Chichester Cathedral’s towers’ two collapses (1635 & 1861), Lincoln Cathedral’s spire collapse (1548), and the near collapse of York Cathedral’s tower (the original had already collapsed in 1407) that in 1967 was fortunately diagnosed in time (the upper structure had an enormous 30’ crack not immediately visible from the ground, and the tower was settling so much that the engineer examining measures that it was over 2’ out of plumb! A miracle it was standing), these great stone edifices only “appear” timeless—-as Zephyrinus knows better than I!
Remember the famous riddle about “time?”
“This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, and flowers: Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal,..”
Even cathedrals, which seem timeless, are threatened by time. Amazing.
Thank you for your history of Winchester Cathedral—-and William Walker who saved it!
Thank You, Dante Peregrinus, for your welcome Comment. You are quite right, of course, to point out that these magnificent Cathedrals are, as always, man-made and made of stone and, therefore, are not perfect. Collapses are not uncommon and many fatalities have ensued.
DeleteTherefore, let us always give thanks for our Cathedrals still standing and for the reason that they were built in the first place.
I am delighted to say that I have visited every one of the Cathedrals that you mentioned. And all are still standing !!!
Especially poignant for me was, when visiting York Minster, to discover that the Minster was built directly above the original Headquarters of the Roman VI Legion that had occupied York.
The Roman remains, including a whole original Roman High Street, complete with buildings and Frescoes, is accessible for visitors. All these remains came to light when the urgent reinforcements were being undertaken a few years ago (as you mentioned, above) to save the Tower of York Minster from collapsing.
It was only when I was walking along the roof of York Minster that I discovered I suffered from Vertigo !!!
In Domino.
A Roman street—under York Minster—yet another amazing ‘Zephyrinus Fact’ we would never have known. Thank you again.
DeleteI will read and reread this article you put together, as many others on the amazing history of great holy sites of Christendom. Deo Gratias!