Exeter Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter). The Longest Uninterrupted Mediæval Vaulted Ceiling In The World.

Exeter Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter),

with the Vaulted Ceiling - the longest uninterrupted 

Mediæval Vaulted Ceiling in the World.

Photo: 20 February 2016.

Source: Own work.

Author: Edward Swift

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, is an Anglican Cathedral [Editor: Previously Catholic], and the Seat of The Bishop of Exeter, in the City of Exeter, Devon, in South-West England.

The present building was complete by about 1400, and has several notable features, including an early set of Misericords, an Astronomical Clock and the longest uninterrupted Mediæval Stone Vaulted Ceiling in the World.

The Founding of the Cathedral at Exeter, Dedicated to Saint Peter, dates from 1050, when the Seat of The Bishop of Devon and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids.

A Saxon Minster, already existing within the Town, (and Dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Peter) was used by Leofric as his Seat, but Services were often held out-of-doors, close to the site of the present Cathedral building.

In 1107, William Warelwast was appointed to the See, and this was the catalyst for the building of a new Cathedral in the Norman Style. Its official Foundation was in 1133, during Warelwast’s time, but it took many more years to complete.[3]

Following the appointment of Walter Bronescombe as Bishop in 1258, the building was already recognised as outmoded, and it was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic Style, following the example of Salisbury. However, much of the Norman building was kept, including the two massive square Towers and part of the Walls.

It was constructed entirely of local Stone, including Purbeck Marble. The new Cathedral was complete by about 1400, apart from the addition of the Chapter House and Chantry Chapels.

A more-in-depth Article on Exeter Cathedral will be published, soon, on Zephyrinus’s Blog.