Chester Cathedral. (Part One).

Chester Cathedral.

Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Cathedral looking towards the Nave, Left,

and the unusually large South Transept, Right. The 

rebuilding of the Nave and the building of the South Transept commenced in the Early-1300s, but ceased, incomplete, in 1375, and did not recommence until about 1485. The different building dates are revealed in the Flowing Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic Window Tracery.

Photo: May 2012.

Source: Family Album.

Author: Stephen Hamilton.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

Chester Cathedral is a Church of England Cathedral and the Mother Church of the Diocese of Chester, It is located in the City of Chester, Cheshire, England.

The Cathedral (formerly the Abbey Church of a Benedictine Monastery Dedicated to Saint Werburgh) is Dedicated to Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1541, it has been the Seat of The Bishop of Chester.

The Cathedral is a Grade I Listed Building, and part of a heritage site that also includes the former Monastic buildings to the North, which are also listed Grade I. The Cathedral, typical of English Cathedrals in having been modified many times, dates from between 1093 and the Early-16th-Century, although the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times.

All the major styles of English Mediæval architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, are represented in the present building.

The Choir Stalls,

Chester Cathedral.

Photo: 26 October 2015.

Source: Own work.

Author: Iankelsall1

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral and former Monastic buildings were extensively restored during the 19th-Century (amidst some controversy), and a free-standing Bell-Tower was added in the 20th-Century. The buildings are a major tourist attraction in Chester.

The City of Chester was an important Roman stronghold. There may have been a Christian Basilica on the site of the present Cathedral in the Late-Roman era, while Chester was controlled by the Roman Legion Legio XX Valeria Victrix (Twentieth Victorious Valerian Legion).

Chester Cathedral's Galleried Perpendicular Western Portal. with Niches for Statues. Early-1500s. May have been the work of Seth and George Derwall.

Photo: May 2012.

Source: Family Photo.

Author: Stephen Hamilton

(Wikimedia Commons)

Legend holds that the Basilica was Dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. This is supported by evidence that, in Saxon times, the Dedication of an Early-Chapel on this site, was changed from Saint Peter to Saint Werburgh.

During the Dark Ages, Barloc of Norbury, a Catholic Celtic Saint and Hermit, was Venerated at Chester Cathedral with a Feast Day on 10 September. He is known to history, mainly through the hagiography of The Secgan Manuscript; he also occurs in a Litany in the Tanner of The Bodleian Library, Oxford.

English: Saint Werburga (Werburgh).

Anglo-Saxon Princess and Patron Saint of Chester.

Feast Day 3 February.

Chester Cathedral Refectory (Eastern window). 

1916.

Deutsch: Chester ( England ). Kathedrale:

Refektorium - Ostfenster (1916): Heilige Werburga.

Photo: 13 July 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wolfgang Sauber.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 10th-Century, Saint Werburgh's remains were brought to Chester, and, in 907 A.D., her Shrine was placed in Chester Cathedral. It is thought that Æthelfleda turned the Church into a College of Secular Canons, and that it was given a Charter by King Edgar, in 968 A.D.

The Collegiate Church, as it was then, was restored in 1057 by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Lady Godiva. This Church was razed to the ground around 1090, with the Secular Canons evicted, and no known trace of it remains.

The Chancel.

The High Altar has a Reredos, by J.R. Clayton,

of Clayton and Bell, and a Seasonal Altar Frontal

(or Antependium) in the Art Nouveau Style.

Photo: May 2012.

Source: Family Album.

Author: Stephen Hamilton.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Chancel.

In Church architecture, the Chancel (or Presbytery) is the space around the Altar, in the Sanctuary at the Liturgical East end of a Traditional Christian Church, possibly including the Choir. It may terminate in an Apse.

After the exposition of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation, at the Fourth Lateran Council, of 1215, Clergy were required to ensure that The Blessed Sacrament was to be kept protected from irreverent access or abuse; and, accordingly, the area of the Church used by the Lay Congregation was to be screened off from that used by the Clergy.

This distinction was enforced by the development of Canon Law, by which the construction and upkeep of the Chancel was the responsibility of the Rector, whereas the construction and upkeep of the Nave was the responsibility of the Parish.

As well as the Altar, the Chancel usually houses the Credence Table and seats for Officiating and Assisting Ministers. In Anglican and Methodist Churches, it will usually include the Choir. In some traditions, the Pulpit and Lectern may be in the Chancel, but, in others, these functions are considered proper to the Nave.

The word "Chancel" derives from the French usage of "chancel" from the Late-Latin word "cancellus", meaning "lattice". This refers to the typical form of Rood Screen. The Chancel was formerly known as the Presbytery, because it was reserved for the Clergy.

The Chancel is typically raised, somewhat, above the level of the Nave, where the Congregation gathers. It may be separated from the Nave by a Rood Screen, a rail, a Sanctuary Bar, or an open space.

In some Churches, the Congregation may gather on three sides, or in a semi-circle around the Chancel. A Chancel Arch is an Arch which separates the Chancel (Sanctuary or Choir) from the Nave of a Church.

In 1093, a Benedictine Abbey was established on the site by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, and the earliest surviving parts of the structure date from that time.

The Abbey Church was not at that time the Cathedral of Chester; from 1075 to 1082, the Cathedral of the Diocese was the nearby Church of Saint John the Baptist, after which the See was transferred to Coventry.

PART TWO FOLLOWS.