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)
The North-West Tower is also of Norman construction. It serves as the Baptistry and houses a black marble Font, consisting of a bowl on a large Baluster dating from 1697. The lower part of the North Wall of the Nave is also from the Norman building, but can only be viewed from the Cloister, because the Interior has been decorated with mosaic.
The Early English Gothic Chapter House, built between 1230 and 1265, is rectangular and opens off a "charming" vestibule, leading from the North Transept. The Chapter House has grouped windows of simple un-Traceried form. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes the exterior of this building as a "modest, but rather elegant, example of composition in Lancets", while Nikolaus Pevsner says of the Interior: "It is a wonderfully noble room", which is the "aesthetic climax of the Cathedral". To the North of the Chapter House is the Slype [narrow corridor or passage], also Early English in style, and the Warming Room, which contains two large former fireplaces. The Monastic Refectory, to the North of the Cloister, is of about the same date as the Chapter House.
The Lady Chapel, to the Eastern End of the Choir, dates from between 1265 and 1290. It is of Three Bays, and contains the Shrine of Saint Werburgh, dating from the 14th-Century. The Vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one in the Cathedral that is of stone. It is decorated with carved Roof Bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket. The Chapel also has a Sedilia and a Piscina.
The Choir, of Five Bays, was built between 1283 and 1315, to the design of Richard Lenginour, and is an early example of Decorated Gothic architecture. The Piers have strongly modelled attached Shafts, supporting deeply moulded Arches. There is a Triforium Gallery with four Cusped Arches to each Bay. The Sexpartite Vault, which is a 19th-Century restoration, is supported by clusters of Three Shafts, which spring from energetic figurative Corbels. The overall effect is robust, and contrasts with the delicacy of the Pinnacled Choir Stalls, the Tracery of the windows and the rich decoration of the Vault, which was carried out by the ecclesiastical designers,Clayton and Bell. The Choir Stalls, dating from about 1380, are one of the glories of the Cathedral.
The Aisles of the Choir previously extended on either side of the Lady Chapel. The South Aisle was shortened about 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, and given an Apsidal East End, becoming the Chapel of Saint Erasmus. The Eastern End of the North Aisle contains the Chapel of Saint Werburgh.
The Nave of Six Bays, and the large Aisled South Transept, were begun in about 1323, probably to the design of Nicholas de Derneford. There are a number of windows containing fine Flowing Decorated Tracery of this period. The work ceased in 1375, in which year there was a severe outbreak of Plague in England. The building of the Nave was recommenced in 1485, more than 150 years after it was begun. The architect was probably William Rediche. Remarkably, for an English Mediaeval architect, he maintained the original form, changing only the details. The Nave was roofed with a Stellar Vault, rather like that of the Lady Chapel at Ely and the Choir at York Minster, both of which date from the 1370s. Like that at York, the Vault is of wood, imitating stone.
From about 1493 until 1525, the architect appears to have been Seth Derwall, succeeded by George Derwall until 1537. Seth Derwall completed the South Transept to a Perpendicular Gothic design, as seen in the Transomed Windows of the Clerestory. He also built the Central Tower, South-West Porch and Cloisters. Work commenced on the South-West Tower in 1508, but it had not risen above the roof-line at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and has never been completed. The Central Tower, rising to 127 feet (39 m), is a “Lantern Tower”, with large windows letting light into The Crossing. Its external appearance has been altered by the addition of four Battlemented Turrets, by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th-Century.
The Perpendicular Gothic Cloister is entered from the Cathedral through a Norman doorway in the North Aisle. The Cloister is part of the building programme that commenced in the 1490s and is probably the work of Seth Derwall. The South Wall of the Cloister, dating from the later part of the Norman period, forms the North Wall of the Nave of the Cathedral, and includes Blind Arcading. Among the earliest remaining structures on the site is an Undercroft, off the West Range of the Cloisters, which dates from the Early-12th -Century, and which was originally used by the Monks for storing food. It consists of two Naves, with Groin Vaults, and short round Piers with round scalloped Capitals.
Leading from the South of the Undercroft, is the Abbot's passage, which dates from around 1150, and consists of Two Bays with Rib-Vaulting. Above the Abbot's Passage, approached by a stairway from the West Cloister, is Saint Anselm's Chapel, which also dates from the 12th-Century. It is in Three Bays and has a 19th-Century Gothic-Style plaster Vault. The Chancel is in One Bay and was re-modelled in the Early-17th-Century. The Screen, Altar Rails, Holy Table and plaster Ceiling of the Chancel date from the 17th-Century. The North Range of the Cloister gives access to a Refectory, built by Simon de Whitchurch in the 13th-Century. It contains an Early-English Pulpit, approached by a staircase with an ascending Arcade. The only other similar Pulpit in England is in Beaulieu Abbey.
By the 19th-Century, the fabric of the building had become badly weathered, with Charles Hiatt writing that: The surface rot of the very perishable red sandstone, of which the Cathedral was built, was positively unsightly" and that the "whole place, previous to restoration, struck one as woebegone and neglected; it perpetually seemed to hover on the verge of collapse, and yet was without a trace of the romance of the average ruin".
Between 1818 and 1820, the architect Thomas Harrison restored the South Transept, adding Corner Turrets. This part of the building served, until 1881, as the Parish Church of Saint Oswald, and it was ecclesiastically separate. From 1844, R. C. Hussey carried out a limited restoration, including work on the South Side of the Nave.
The most extensive restoration was carried out by the Gothic Revival architect, George Gilbert Scott, who, between 1868 and 1876, "almost entirely re-cased" the Cathedral. The current building is acknowledged to be mainly the product of this Victorian restoration, commissioned by the Dean, John Saul Howson. In addition to extensive additions and alterations to the body of the Church, Scott re-modelled the Tower, adding Turrets and Crenellations. Scott chose sandstone, from the quarries at Runcorn, for his restoration work. In addition to the restoration of the fabric of the building, Scott designed internal fittings, such as the Choir Screen, to replace those destroyed during the Civil War. He built the Fan Vault of the South Porch, renewed the Wooden Vault of the Choir, and added a great many decorative features to the Interior.
PART FIVE FOLLOWS.
The Early English Gothic Chapter House, built between 1230 and 1265, is rectangular and opens off a "charming" vestibule, leading from the North Transept. The Chapter House has grouped windows of simple un-Traceried form. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes the exterior of this building as a "modest, but rather elegant, example of composition in Lancets", while Nikolaus Pevsner says of the Interior: "It is a wonderfully noble room", which is the "aesthetic climax of the Cathedral". To the North of the Chapter House is the Slype [narrow corridor or passage], also Early English in style, and the Warming Room, which contains two large former fireplaces. The Monastic Refectory, to the North of the Cloister, is of about the same date as the Chapter House.
The Lady Chapel, to the Eastern End of the Choir, dates from between 1265 and 1290. It is of Three Bays, and contains the Shrine of Saint Werburgh, dating from the 14th-Century. The Vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one in the Cathedral that is of stone. It is decorated with carved Roof Bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket. The Chapel also has a Sedilia and a Piscina.
Chester Cathedral's
Clerestory Windows.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family photo.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Deutsch: Stralsund, Deutschland.
Das Foto zeigt Details des Rathauses (außen).
English: The Church of Saint Nicolai, Stralsund, Germany.
The Clerestory Windows are the level between the two green roofs.
Photo: 24 January 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: de:Benutzer:Klugschnacker.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Aisles of the Choir previously extended on either side of the Lady Chapel. The South Aisle was shortened about 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, and given an Apsidal East End, becoming the Chapel of Saint Erasmus. The Eastern End of the North Aisle contains the Chapel of Saint Werburgh.
The Nave of Six Bays, and the large Aisled South Transept, were begun in about 1323, probably to the design of Nicholas de Derneford. There are a number of windows containing fine Flowing Decorated Tracery of this period. The work ceased in 1375, in which year there was a severe outbreak of Plague in England. The building of the Nave was recommenced in 1485, more than 150 years after it was begun. The architect was probably William Rediche. Remarkably, for an English Mediaeval architect, he maintained the original form, changing only the details. The Nave was roofed with a Stellar Vault, rather like that of the Lady Chapel at Ely and the Choir at York Minster, both of which date from the 1370s. Like that at York, the Vault is of wood, imitating stone.
From about 1493 until 1525, the architect appears to have been Seth Derwall, succeeded by George Derwall until 1537. Seth Derwall completed the South Transept to a Perpendicular Gothic design, as seen in the Transomed Windows of the Clerestory. He also built the Central Tower, South-West Porch and Cloisters. Work commenced on the South-West Tower in 1508, but it had not risen above the roof-line at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and has never been completed. The Central Tower, rising to 127 feet (39 m), is a “Lantern Tower”, with large windows letting light into The Crossing. Its external appearance has been altered by the addition of four Battlemented Turrets, by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th-Century.
Chester Cathedral Cloisters.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Photo: 7 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mum's taxi.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Leading from the South of the Undercroft, is the Abbot's passage, which dates from around 1150, and consists of Two Bays with Rib-Vaulting. Above the Abbot's Passage, approached by a stairway from the West Cloister, is Saint Anselm's Chapel, which also dates from the 12th-Century. It is in Three Bays and has a 19th-Century Gothic-Style plaster Vault. The Chancel is in One Bay and was re-modelled in the Early-17th-Century. The Screen, Altar Rails, Holy Table and plaster Ceiling of the Chancel date from the 17th-Century. The North Range of the Cloister gives access to a Refectory, built by Simon de Whitchurch in the 13th-Century. It contains an Early-English Pulpit, approached by a staircase with an ascending Arcade. The only other similar Pulpit in England is in Beaulieu Abbey.
By the 19th-Century, the fabric of the building had become badly weathered, with Charles Hiatt writing that: The surface rot of the very perishable red sandstone, of which the Cathedral was built, was positively unsightly" and that the "whole place, previous to restoration, struck one as woebegone and neglected; it perpetually seemed to hover on the verge of collapse, and yet was without a trace of the romance of the average ruin".
Between 1818 and 1820, the architect Thomas Harrison restored the South Transept, adding Corner Turrets. This part of the building served, until 1881, as the Parish Church of Saint Oswald, and it was ecclesiastically separate. From 1844, R. C. Hussey carried out a limited restoration, including work on the South Side of the Nave.
Chester Cathedral.
Choir seen from the West End.
Collection: A. D. White Architectural Photographs,
Cornell University Library.
Accession Number: 15/5/3090.01045.
Photo: Circa 1870.
Author: Cornell University Library.
(originally James Valentine (1815-1880)).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The most extensive restoration was carried out by the Gothic Revival architect, George Gilbert Scott, who, between 1868 and 1876, "almost entirely re-cased" the Cathedral. The current building is acknowledged to be mainly the product of this Victorian restoration, commissioned by the Dean, John Saul Howson. In addition to extensive additions and alterations to the body of the Church, Scott re-modelled the Tower, adding Turrets and Crenellations. Scott chose sandstone, from the quarries at Runcorn, for his restoration work. In addition to the restoration of the fabric of the building, Scott designed internal fittings, such as the Choir Screen, to replace those destroyed during the Civil War. He built the Fan Vault of the South Porch, renewed the Wooden Vault of the Choir, and added a great many decorative features to the Interior.
PART FIVE FOLLOWS.
