Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Wednesday, 6 November 2024

Hereford Cathedral (Cathedral Of Saint Mary The Virgin And Saint Ethelbert The King). (Part Seven).



English: Arabesque-like “Diapering” (decorative lines) 
(see mention, below) on the Field of the Shield of 
The See of Worcester, in the Chapel of The Holy Cross, Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
Deutsch: Buntfenster-Wappen mit Damaszierung der Anglikanischen Diözese von Worcester.
Heraldic Description:
“Argent, ten Torteaux, four, three, two, and one.”
Photo: 20 June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Oosoom
(Wikimedia Commons)


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.


At the Northern entrance, is a Porch and decorated Doorway. There is a modern Rood Screen, a lofty Central Lantern, and a Reredos with a carved Spandrel

The Lady Chapel has Lancet Windows, Foliated Ornaments and a Groined Roof. The tomb of Charles Booth, Bishop and builder of the Porch, is in the sixth Bay of the Nave on the North Side, guarded by the only ancient ironwork left in the Cathedral. On the South Side of the Nave is the Norman Font
a circular bowl large enough to allow of the immersion of children.

The North Transept, rebuilt by Aquablanca in the Decorated Period, and restored by Scott, is noted for the diapering (see, above) of the Triforium Arcade, and for the form of the Pointed Arches and Windows, which have so slight a curvature as to resemble two straight lines meeting at an angle. 


The Choir, Hereford Cathedral.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution:
Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)


The North Window is filled with Stained-Glass by Hardman as a Memorial of Archdeacon Lane-Freer, who died in 1863. In this Transept is the tomb or sub-structure of the Shrine of Thomas de Cantilupe, Early-Decorated Work which has been restored.

Of Purbeck Marble, it is built in two stages, of which the lower stage contains fourteen figures of Knights Templars in Chainmail Armour, occupying Cinquefoiled Niches.

Between the North Choir Aisle and the Eastern Aisle of the Transept is the tomb of Peter Aquablanca, the most ancient of the Episcopal Monuments in the Church.

The effigy is an example of a Bishop in full Vestments; the Canopy is supported by slender Shafts. The South Transept is thought by some authorities to be the oldest part of the Cathedral, and it exhibits some Norman Work, notably the Eastern Wall with its Arcades.


“The Psalter”, or “Psalms of David”,
from the 1843 Illustrated Book of Common Prayer 
published by H. W. Hewet. At the top, the Cathedrals of Hereford and Llandaff; in the centre, the Cathedrals of Norwich and Lichfield; at the bottom, the Abbey of St Alban's and the Cathedral of Carlisle.
Date: 1843.
Source: 
Author: H. W. Hewet
(Wikimedia Commons)


Until its removal in the 1960s, there was a Wrought Iron Choir-Screen, painted and gilt. Designed by Scott, it was executed by Messrs. Skidmore, of Coventry, from whose works also came the earlier metal Screen at Lichfield. After being kept in storage for many years, the Screen was completely restored in the Late-1990s and re-erected at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.


The Chained Library,
Hereford Cathedral.
Available on YouTube


The Choir, consisting of three Norman Bays of three Stages, is full of objects of beauty and interest. The Reredos, designed by the younger Cottingham, consists of five Canopied compartments, with elaborate sculpture representing Our Lord’s Passion. Behind it is a Pier, from which spring two Pointed Arches; the Spandrel thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, representing Christ in his majesty, with Angels and the four Evangelists; below is a figure of King Ethelbert. 

Against the most Easterly point on the South Side of the Choir is to be seen a small effigy of this King, which was dug up at the entrance to The Lady Chapel about 1700. 

The Bishop’s Throne and the Stalls, of 14th-Century Work and restored, and the modern Book Desks and figures of Angels on the Upper Stalls, deserve attention. There is also a very curious ancient Episcopal Chair.

PART EIGHT FOLLOWS.

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