February 875 A.D. Chester Abbey, Cheshire—Founded by Secular Canons; Destroyed in Danish Raids, 875; Refounded by Aethelfaed, Daughter of King
Alfred, 907; Benedictine Monks, 1092;
Dissolved 1540; Episcopal Diocesan Catheral; Province of York; 201 Miles
Northwest of London, about 2200 As the Crow Flies
Chester Cathedral
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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Chester Cathedral
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Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary
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East side of the
Cathedral
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Chester Cathedral
Location in Chester
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Location
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Country
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England
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Website
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Architecture
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Richard Lenginour (1272–1314);[1] Nicholas de Derneford
(?)(1316–31);[1]
William Rediche(?) (1461–90s);[1] Seth and George Derwall (1495–1530s);[1] Thomas Harrison, George Gilbert Scott. |
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Specifications
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Length
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355 feet (108 m)[2]
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75 feet (23 m)
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78 feet (24 m)
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Tower height
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127 feet (39 m)
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Administration
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Clergy
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Jeremy Dussek, Canon Precentor & Sacrist
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Peter Howell-Jones, Vice-Dean
Jane Brooke, Canon Chancellor & Canon Librarian Peter Jenner, Residentiary Canon (part-time) |
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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 medieval architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, are represented in the present building.[1][3]
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. In
addition to holding services for Christian worship, the cathedral is used as a
venue for concerts and exhibitions.
Contents
History
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,[4] while Chester was controlled by Legio XX
Valeria Victrix.[5] Legend holds that the basilica was dedicated to St Paul and Saint Peter.[6] 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.[7]
During the Dark Ages Barloc of Norbury, a Catholic Celtic saint and hermit,[8] 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;[9] he also occurs in a litany in the Tanner of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.[10]
In the 10th century, St Werburgh's remains were brought to Chester, and 907 AD her shrine was placed in the church.[11] 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. 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.[12]
The Bishop's Throne was created in the 19th century
in the style of the 14th century choir stalls
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.[13] 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 St John the Baptist, after which the see was transferred to Coventry.[14] In 1538, during the dissolution
of the monasteries, the
monastery was disbanded and the shrine of Saint Werburgh was desecrated.[15] In 1541 St Werburgh's abbey became a cathedral
of the Church of England, by order of Henry VIII. At the same time, the dedication was changed to
Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The last abbot of St Werburgh’s Abbey, Thomas Clarke, became the first dean of the new cathedral, at the head of a secular chapter.[16]
Although little trace of the
10th-century church has been discovered, save possibly some Saxon masonry found
during a 1997 excavation of the nave,[17] there is much evidence of the monastery of 1093.
This work in the Norman style may be seen in the northwest tower, the north transept and in remaining parts of the monastic buildings.[15] The abbey church, beginning with the Lady Chapel at
the eastern end, was extensively rebuilt in Gothic style during the 13th and 14th centuries. At
the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the cloister, the central tower, a new south transept, the large west window and a new
entrance porch to the south had just been built in thePerpendicular style, and the southwest tower of the façade had
been begun.[1] The west front was given a Tudor entrance, but the tower was never completed.[3]
In 1636 the space beneath the
south west tower became a bishop's consistory court. It was furnished as such at that time, and is now
a unique survival in England, hearing its last case, that of an attempted
suicide of a priest, in the 1930s.[15][18] Until 1881, the south transept, which is unusually
large, also took on a separate function as an independent ecclesiastical
entity: the parish church of St Oswald.[19] Although the 17th century saw additions to the
furnishings and fittings, there was no further building work for several
centuries. By the 19th century, the building was badly in need of
restoration. The present homogeneous appearance that the cathedral presents
from many exterior angles is largely the work of Victorian restorers, particularly George
Gilbert Scott.[20]
The 20th century has seen
continued maintenance and restoration. In 1922, the Chester War
Memorial was installed in the cathedral grounds and dedicated to the fallen soldiers
of the First World War and later the Second World War.[21] In 1973–75 a detached belfry, designed by George Pace, was erected in the grounds of the cathedral.[3] In 2005 a new Song School was added to the
cathedral.[11] During the 2000s, the cathedral library was
refurbished and relocated. It was officially reopened in September 2007.[22] The cathedral and the former monastic buildings
were designated as Grade I listed buildings on 28 July 1955.[3][23]
Architecture
Cathedral
Plan
Chester Cathedral has an
east-west axis, common to many cathedrals, with the chancel at the eastern end,
and the façade to the west. The plan is cruciform, with a central tower (as is usual in English monastic churches), but is
asymmetrical, having a small transept on the north side remaining from an earlier building, and an unusually
large south transept. As the plan shows, the asymmetry extends to the west
front, where the north tower remains from the Norman building, and the south tower is of the early
16th century. At the eastern end, the symmetrical arrangement of the
aisles was lost when the end of the south aisle was demolished and rebuilt in
an apsidal shape. The nave, choir and south transept have wide aisles on either side,
and are lit by clerestory windows and large multi-light windows in each of the three cliff-like ends.
To the north of the cathedral are monastic buildings, including the cloister, refectory and a rectangular chapter house. The façade of the building is abutted on the
north by later buildings.[3][24]
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1. West door
2. South tower & Consistory court 3. North tower 4. Nave 5. Crossing 6. Choir 7. Lady Chapel 8. South porch 9. South aisle 10. South transept 11. South door 12. South choir ailse/St. Erasmus chapel 13. North aisle 14. North transept 15. North Choir aisle |
16. St. Werburgh's Chapel
17. Vestry 18. Vestibule 19. Chapter house 20. Slype 21. Monk's Parlour with Song School above it. 22. Refectory 23. Shop 24. Undercroft 25. Abbot's Passage 26. Cloister 27. Cloister garth 28. Reception 29. Memorial garden |
a. Font
b. RAF Memorial chapel c. Monument to 1st Duke of Westminster d. Cheshire Regiment Memorial e. St Mary Magdalen Chapel (Children's Chapel) f. St. Oswald's Chapel g. St. George's Chapel (Cheshire Regiment) h. St. Nicholas' Chapel i. Choir Stalls j. Bishop's Throne k. High Altar l. St. Werburgh's Shrine m. East Window |
n. organ
o. Bishop Pearson's Tomb p. Cobweb painting q. Night Stairs r. Day Stairs s. Wall Pulpit t. Lavatorium u. Norman entrance to refectory v. Carells w. Scriptorium x. Fountain and Sculpture y. Education centre z. WCs |
External appearance
Like the cathedrals of Carlisle, Lichfield and Worcester, Chester Cathedral is built of New Red Sandstone, in this case Keuper
Sandstone from the Cheshire Basin. The stone lends itself to detailed carving, but
is also friable, easily eroded by rain and wind, and is badly affected by
pollution. With the other red sandstone buildings, Chester is one of the most
heavily restored of England's cathedrals. The restoration, which included much
refacing and many new details, took place mainly in the 19th century.[25]
The sandstone exterior (from the south west) has
much decorative architectural detail but is heavily restored.
The west front with recessed Perpendicular window
and portal
Because the south transept is
similar in dimension to the nave and choir, views of the building from the
south-east and south-west give the impression of a building balanced around a
central axis, with its tower as the hub. The tower is of the late
15th century Perpendicular style, but its four large battlemented turrets are the work of the restoration architect George
Gilbert Scott.[3] With its rhythmic arrangement of large, traceried
windows, pinnacles, battlements and buttresses, the exterior of Chester Cathedral from the south presents a fairly
homogeneous character, which is an unusual feature as England's cathedrals are
in general noted for their stylistic diversity.[26] Close examination reveals window tracery of several building stages from the 13th to the early 16th century.
The richness of the 13th-century tracery is accentuated by the presence of
ornate, crocketted drip-mouldings around the windows; those around the perpendicular windows
are of simpler form.
The façade of the cathedral is
dominated by a large deeply recessed eight-light window in the Perpendicular
style,[13] above a recessed doorway set in a screen-like porch
designed, probably by Seth and George Derwall, in the early 1500s.[1][13] This porch formed part of the same late
15th-century building programme as the south transept, central and southwest
towers, and cloister.[1] Neither of the west towers was completed.[27] To the north is the lower stage of a Norman tower,
while to the south is the lower stage of a tower designed and begun, probably
by Seth and George Derwall, in 1508,[1] but left incomplete following the dissolution of
the monastery in 1538. The cathedral's façade is abutted on the north by a
Victorian building housing the education centre and largely obscured from view
by the building previously used as the King's School, which is now a branch of Barclays Bank.[28] The door of the west front is not used as the
normal entrance to the cathedral, which is through the southwest porch which is
in an ornate Tudor style.
Interior
Norman architecture in the north transept
The font stands under the Norman north-west tower
The interior of Chester
Cathedral gives a warm and mellow appearance because of the pinkish colour of
the sandstone. The proportions appear spacious because the view from the west
end of the nave to the east end is unimpeded by a pulpitum and the nave, although not long, is both wide and high compared with many
of England's cathedrals. The piers of the nave and choir are widely spaced,
those of the nave carrying only the clerestory of large windows with no triforium gallery. The proportions are made possible partly because the ornate stellar vault, like that at York Minster, is of wood, not stone.[15][24]
Norman remnants
The present building, dating
from around 1283 to 1537, mostly replaced the earlier monastic church founded
in 1093 which was built in the Norman style. It is believed that the newer church was
built around the older one.[11] That the few remaining parts of the Norman church
are of small proportions, while the height and width of the Gothic church are
generous would seem to confirm this belief. Aspects of the design of the Norman
interior are still visible in the north transept, which retains wall arcading
and a broadly moulded arch leading to the sacristy, which was formerly a chapel.[3] The transept has retained an early 16th-century coffered ceiling with decorated bosses, two of which are carved with the arms of Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.[19]
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.[3] 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.[11]
The Lady Chapel, Early English Gothic, (1265-90)
The Choir, Decorated Gothic, (1283-1315)
Early English
The Early English
Gothic chapter house, built between 1230 and 1265, is rectangular and opens off a
"charming" vestibule leading from the north transept.[24]The chapter house has grouped windows of simple
untraceried form. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes the exterior of this building
as a "modest but rather elegant example of composition in lancets"[24] 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, also Early English in style, and the warming room, which contains two
large former fireplaces.[29] The monastic refectory to the north of the cloister
is of about the same date as the chapter house.[1]
The Lady Chapel to the eastern
end of the choir dates from between 1265 and 1290.[1] It is of three bays, and contains the Shrine of St Werburgh,
dating from the 14th century. The vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one
in the cathedral that is of stone.[24] 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.[3]
Decorated Gothic
The building of the nave, begun in 1323, was halted
by plague and completed 150 years later.
The choir, of five bays, was
built between 1283 and 1315 to the design of Richard Lenginour,[1] 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.[30] The choir stalls, dating from about 1380, are one
of the glories of the cathedral.[24]
The aisles of the choir
previously both extended on either side of the Lady Chapel. The south aisle was
shortened in about 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, and given an apsidal east end, becoming the chapel of St Erasmus. The eastern end of the
north aisle contains the chapel of St Werburgh.[3]
The nave of six bays, and the
large, aisled south transept were begun in about 1323, probably to the design
of Nicholas de Derneford.[1] 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.[1] Remarkably, for an English medieval 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.[24]
Perpendicular Gothic
From about 1493 until 1525 the
architect appears to have been Seth Derwall, succeeded by George Derwall until
1537.[1]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, southwest porch and cloisters. Work commenced on the south west
tower in 1508, but it had not risen above the roofline at the time of the
dissolution of the monasteries, and has never been completed. The central
tower, rising to 127 feet (39 m),[1] 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.[3]
The Cloister Garth and Refectory
Former monastic buildings
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.[1] 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.[31] 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.[32] It consists of two naves with groin vaults and short round piers with round scalloped capitals.[3]
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.[33] Above the abbot's passage, approached by a stairway
from the west cloister, is St 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 remodelled in the early
17th century. The screen, altar rails, holy table and plaster ceiling of
the chancel date from the 17th century.[32][33] 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.[32]
Restoration
Much of the exterior stonework has been refaced in
the 19th and 20th centuries.
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".[27] Between 1818 and 1820 the architectThomas
Harrison restored the south transept, adding corner turrets.[28]This part of the building served until 1881 as the
parish church of St Oswald, and it was ecclesiastically separate.[19] From 1844R. C. Hussey carried out a limited restoration including work on
the south side of the nave.[3]
The most extensive restoration was carried out by the Gothic
Revivalarchitect, George
Gilbert Scott, who between 1868 and 1876
"almost entirely re-cased" the cathedral.[13][15] The current building is acknowledged to be mainly
the product of this Victorian restoration commissioned by the Dean, John Saul Howson.[34] In addition to extensive additions and alterations
to the body of the church, Scott remodelled the tower, adding turrets and crenellations.[3] Scott chose sandstone from the quarries at Runcorn for his restoration work.[35] 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.[a] 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.
Scott's restorations were not
without their critics and caused much debate in architectural circles. Scott
claimed to have archaeological evidence for his work, but the Liverpool architect, Samuel Huggins argued in an 1868 address to the Liverpool
Architectural Society, that the alterations were less like restoration and more
like rebuilding. One of the larger changes was to shorten the south aisle and
restyle it as an apse. The changes also proposed the addition of a spire above
the existing tower, but this proposal was later rejected.[34] Samuel's further paper of 1871 entitled On so-called restorations of our
cathedral and abbey churches compelled
the Dean to attempt to answer the criticism. The debate contributed to the
establishment of theSociety for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.[36]
Later in the century, from
1882, Arthur Blomfield and his son Charles made further additions and
modifications, including restoring and reinstating the Shrine of St Werburgh.
More work was carried out in the 20th century by Giles Gilbert
Scottbetween 1891 and 1913, and by
F. H. Crossley in 1939.[3]
The Cheshire Regiment Memorial Garden
Bell tower
Main article: Addleshaw Tower
Towards the end of 1963 the
cathedral bells, which were housed in the central tower, were in need of an
overhaul and ringing was suspended. In 1965 the Dean asked George Pace, architect to York Minster, to prepare specifications for a new bell frame
and for electrification of the clock and tolling mechanism. Due to structural
difficulties and the cost of replacing the bells in the central tower it was
advised that consideration should be given to building a detached bell and
clock tower in the southeast corner of the churchyard. It was decided to
proceed with that plan, and in 1969 an announcement was made that the first
detached cathedral bell tower was to be erected since the building of the
campanile at Chichester
Cathedral in the 15th century. In February 1969, nine of the ten bells in the
central tower were removed to be recast by John Taylor & Co as a ring of twelve bells with a flat sixth.[37] The new bells were cast in 1973.[38] Work on the new bell-tower began in February 1973.
Two old bells dating from 1606 and 1626 were left in the tower. On
26 February 1975 the bells were rung for the first time to celebrate the
wedding of a member of theGrosvenor family. The official opening on 25 June 1975
was performed by the Duke of
Gloucester. The belfry is known as the
Dean Addleshaw Tower, after the dean of the cathedral responsible for its construction.[37] The tower is built in concrete, faced with
sandstone at its base. It is the first detached bell tower to be built for a
cathedral in this country since theReformation.[39] Between the bell tower and the south transept is a
garden in remembrance of the Cheshire Regiment(originally the 22nd Regiment of Foot).[17]
Fittings and glass
The Consistory Court of 1632
Choir Stalls (about 1380) and Rood Screen (late
19th century)
The treasures of Chester
Cathedral are its rare fittings, specifically its choir stalls and the
17th-century furnishing of the bishop’s consistory court in the south tower,
which is a unique survival.[15]
Choir stalls
The choir stalls date from
about 1380. They have high, spiky, closely set canopies, withcrocketed arches and spirelets. The stall ends have poppyheads and are rich with figurative carving.[40] The stalls include 48 misericords, all but five of which are original,[19] depicting a variety of subjects, some humorous and
some grotesque. Pevsner states that they are "one of the finest sets in
the country",[40] while Alec Clifton-Taylor calls them “exquisite”
and says of the misericords that “for delicacy and grace they surpass even
those at Lincoln andBeverley”.[24]
The organ of Chester Cathedral
The rood screen
Organ
In 1844, an organ by Gray & Davison of London was installed in the cathedral, replacing
an instrument with parts dating back to 1626. The organ was rebuilt and
enlarged by Whiteley Bros of Chester in 1876, to include harmonic flutes and
reeds by Cavaillé-Coll. It was later moved to its present position at the
front of the north transept. In 1910 William Hill and Son of London extensively
rebuilt and revoiced the organ, replacing the Cavaillé-Coll reeds with new
pipes of their own. The choir division of the organ was enlarged and moved
behind the choirstalls on the south side. The instrument was again overhauled
by Rushworth and
Dreaper of Liverpool in 1969, when a new mechanism and some new pipework made to a
design by the organist, Roger Fisher, was installed. Since 1991 the organ has been in
the care of David Wells of Liverpool.[41]
Stained glass
Chester suffered badly at the
hands of the Parliamentary troops.[24] As a consequence, its stained glass dates mainly
from the 19th and 20th centuries and has representative examples the
significant trends in stained glass design from the 1850s onwards. Of the
earlier Victorian firms, William Wailes is the best represented, in the south aisle (1862),
as well as Hardman & Co. and Michael Connor. Glass from the High Victorian
period is well represented by two leading London firms, Clayton and Bell and Heaton,
Butler and Bayne. The
Aesthetic style is represented by Charles Eamer
Kempe. Early 20th century windows
include several commemorating those who died in World War I.
There are also several notable
modern windows, the most recent being the refectory window of 2001 by Ros
Grimshaw which depicts the Creation.[42] The eight-light Perpendicular window of the west
end contains mid-20th century glass representing the Holy Family and Saints, by
W. T. Carter Shapland. Three modern windows in the south aisle, designed and
made by Alan Younger to replace windows damaged in the Second World War. They
were donated by the 6th Duke of Westminster to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the
cathedral and contain the dates 1092 and 1992 to reflect the theme of
"continuity and change".[43]
Tour of features
The font at the end of the
north aisle
The nave lectern and tiled
floor
Nave
The west end of the nave is
dominated by an eight-light window in the Perpendicular Gothic style which
almost fills the upper part of the west wall. It contains stained glass
designed by W. T. Carter Shapland dating from 1961 and depicts the Holy Family in the middle two lights, flanked by the northern
saints Werburgh, Oswald, Aidan, Chad and Wilfrid, andQueen Ethelfleda.[44]
The stone nave pulpit was designed by the restorer R. C. Hussey and thelectern, dated 1876, is by Skidmore.[45] The mosaic floor of the tower bay was designed by Dean Howson and executed by Burke
and Co. The same firm installed the mosaics which decorate the wall of the
north aisle, depicting the patriarchs and prophets Abraham, Moses, David andElijah.[3] They were designed by J. R. Clayton of
Clayton and Bell, and date from 1883 to 86.[45]
Monuments in the nave include
those to Roger Barnston, dated 1838, by John Blayney, to Bishop
Stratford, dated 1708, to Bishop Hall
who died in 1668, to Edmund Entwistle, dated 1712, to John and Thomas
Wainwright who died respectively in 1686 and 1720, to Robert Bickerstaff who
died in 1841 by Blayney, to Dean Smith who died in 1787 by Thomas Banks, and to Sir William Mainwaring, dated 1671.[45]
A beer-swilling man with the
rear end of a pig
Choir
The most famous feature of the
choir is the set of choir stalls, dating from about 1380, and described above.
Thelectern, in
the form of a wooden eagle, symbol of John the
Evangelist, dates from the first half of
the 17th century.[46]The candlesticks also date from the
17th century and are by Censore of Bologna who died in 1662.[40]
With these exceptions, most of
the decoration and the fittings of the choir date from the 19th century
and are in keeping with the Gothic Revival promoted by the Oxford Movement and Augustus
Welby Pugin. The restored vault of the
choir is typical of the period, having been designed by Scott and decorated and
gilded by Clayton and Bell.[30]
The choir is entered through a
screen designed by George Gilbert Scott, with gates made by Skidmore. The rood was designed by Scott, and was made by
F. Stuflesser.[3] The bishop’s throne or “cathedra” was designed by Scott to complement the choir stalls. It was constructed
by Farmer and
Brindley in 1876. The reredos and the floor mosaic date from 1876, and were designed by J. R. Clayton. The east
window has tracery of an elegant Decorated Gothic design which is filled with
stained glass of 1884 by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.[40]
The Chancel- the High Altar
has a reredos by J.R. Clayton of Clayton and Bell, and a seasonal altar frontal in the Art Nouveau style.
Sedilia and one of a pair of
candlesticks in the choir
Lady Chapel
The 13th-century Lady Chapel
contains the stone shrine of Saint Werburgh which dates from the
14th century and which used to contain her relics. The shrine, of similar
red sandstone as the cathedral, has a base pierced with deep niches. The upper part takes the form of a miniature
chapel containing statuettes. During the dissolution of the monasteries it was
dismantled. Some of the parts were found during the 1873 restoration of the
cathedral and the shrine was reassembled in 1888 by Blomfield. A carving of
St Werburgh by Joseph Pyrz was added in 1993.[47]Also in the chapel are a sedilia and a piscina. The stained glass of 1859, is by William Wailes. The chapel contains a
monument to Archdeacon
Francis Wrangham, made byHardman & Co. and dating from 1846.[48] In 1555, George Marsh, Martyr stood trial here
accused of heresy.[49]
North choir aisle
The north choir aisle has a
stone screen by R. C. Hussey and an iron gate dated 1558 that came
from Guadalajara. At the east end of the aisle is the chapel of St
Werburgh which has a vault of two bays,[50] and an east window depicting the Nativity by Michael O'Connor, dated 1857. Other stained
glass windows in the north aisle are by William Wailes, by Heaton, Butler and
Bayne, and by Clayton and Bell. The chapel contains a piscina dating from the
14th century,[3] and monuments to Bishop Graham dated 1867, and to William Bispham who died in
1685,[48] Other monuments in the north aisle include a tablet
to Bishop
Jacobson, dated 1887, by Boehm to a design by Blomfield.[40]
The Nativity Window in the
Chapel of St Werburgh, by Michael O'Connor (1853)
North transept, sacristy and chapter house
The small Norman transept has
clerestory windows containing stained glass by William Wailes, installed in
1853.[51] The sacristy, of 1200, has an east window depicting St Anselm, and designed by A. K.
Nicholson. In the north transept is a
freestanding tomb chest monument to Bishop
Pearson who died in 1686, designed by Arthur Blomfield and carved by Nicholas Earp,
with a recumbent effigy by Matthew Noble. Other monuments in the transept include one to Samuel Peploe, dating from about 1784, by Joseph Nollekens. The wall monuments include cenotaphs to members of the Cheshire (Earl of Chester's) Yeomanry killed in the Boer Warand in the First and Second World Wars.[3] At the corner of the transept with the north aisle
is a 17th-century Tree of Jesse carved in whale ivory. A niche contains a rare
example of a "cobweb picture", painted on the web of a caterpillar.
Originating in the Austrian Tyrol, it depicts Mary and the Christ-Child, and is based on a painting by Lucas Cranach
the Elder.[52]
The chapter house has stained
glass in its east window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne and grisaille windows in the north and south walls, dated 1882–83, by Blomfield.[53] It contains an oak cope cupboard from the late 13th century.[54] The front of the chapter house was rebuilt to a
design by Hussey.[29]
South choir aisle
The south aisle was shortened
in about 1870 by Scott, and given an apsidal east end, becoming the chapel of St Erasmus.[3]The stained glass in the apse window is dated 1872
and is by Clayton and Bell. Below this is a mosaic designed by
J. R. Clayton and made by Salviati, and a fresco painting by Clayton and Bell, dated 1874. Elsewhere the stained glass in
the aisle is by Wailes, and by Hardman & Co. to a design by Pugin.[51] The aisle contains the tomb of Ranulf Higdon,[32] a monk at St Werburgh's Abbey in the
12th century who wrote a major work of history entitled Polychronicon,[55] a monument to Thomas Brassey (a civil engineering contractor who died in 1870),
designed by Blomfield and made by Wagmuller, a monument to Bishop Peploe who
died in 1752, and three painted monuments by a member of the Randle Holme family.[51]
The south transept has window
tracery in the Flowing Decorated style
Altar in the south transept
with a reredos depicting scenes of Mary of Bethany
South transept
The south transept, formerly
the parish church of St Oswald contains a piscina and sedilia in the south wall.[19] On the east wall are four chapels, each with a reredos, two of which were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, one by Kempe and the
other by his successor, W. E. Tower.[3]The south window is dated 1887 and was made by Heaton,
Butler and Bayne to a design by R. C. Hussey.[28] Other stained glass in the transept is by Clayton and Bell, by C. E. Kempe and by Powell. The monuments include those to
George Ogden who died in 1781, by Hayward, to Anne Matthews who died in 1793,
by Thomas Banks, to John Philips Buchanan who died at Waterloo in 1815, and to the first Duke of Westminster, designed by C. J. Blomfield.[45] On the wall of the southwest crossing pier are
monuments which include a cenotaph to the casualties in HMS Chester in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 who included the 16-year-old John Cornwell VC. The west wall of the south transept has many
memorials, including cenotaphs to the Cheshire Regiment, the Royal Air Force and the Free Czech Forces.[3]
The Cloisters
The Water of Life by Stephen Broadbent
Cloisters and refectory
The cloisters were restored in
the 20th century, and the stained glass windows contain the images of some
130 saints.[32]The cloister garth contains a modern sculpture entitled The water of life by Stephen Broadbent.[56] The refectory roof is dated 1939 and was designed
by F. H. Crossley.[57] The east window with reticulated tracery was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and is dated 1913.[58] The stained glass in the west window, depicting the Creation, was designed by Ros Grimshaw and installed in
2001 to celebrate the Millennium.[59] On the refectory's west wall there is a tapestry depicting Elymas being struck with blindness[32] which was woven at Mortlake in the 17th century from a cartoon by Raphael. The heraldic paintings on the north wall represent the arms of the Earls of Chester.[59]
Library
Main article: Chester
Cathedral Library
A library has been present
since the time of St Werburgh's Abbey, and following the dissolution
of the monasteries it became the cathedral library.[60] It continued to grow over the centuries, but by the
19th century it had become neglected.[61] Between 1867 and 1885 it was enlarged and in the
1890s new bookcases were added.[62] A further reorganisation took place in the 1920s
but by the 1980s the contents were contained in five separate sites around the
cathedral.[63] A programme of repair and re-cataloguing of the
contents was instituted. During the 2000s more work was carried out and the
refurbished library, housed in three rooms, opened in 2007.[64] The library is available for research and for
organised visits by groups.[22]
Ministry
A defaced misericord showing the Virgin and Child framed by pelicans, symbols of Christ's love for
the Church.
Carving from the Dean's Chair
Chapter
- Vice-Dean – The Revd Canon Peter Howell-Jones (since 25 September 2011 installation)[65]
- Canon Precentor & Sacrist – The Revd Canon Jeremy Dussek (since 13 September 2014 installation)
- Canon Chancellor & Canon Librarian – The Revd Canon Jane Brooke (since 11 September 2010 installation)[66]
- Residentiary Canon (part-time) – The Revd Canon Dr Peter Jenner (since 2012)
Services
The cathedral is a place of
Christian worship, with two services held daily, and four or five each Sunday.
There is Holy Communion each day, and Choral Evensong each day except
Wednesday.[67]
Music
The Director of Music is
Philip Rushforth and the Assistant Director of Music is Benjamin Chewter; they
are assisted by an Assistant Organist, Geoffrey Woollatt.[68] There are lunchtime organ recitals weekly on Thursday.[69] The monthly program of music is available on the
cathedral's website.[70]
Organists
See also: List of musicians at English cathedrals
The earliest recorded
appointment of an organist is of John Brycheley in 1541.[72] Notable organists include the composersRobert White and John Sanders, conductor George Guest and the recording artist Roger Fisher.[72][73]
Choirs
The choral tradition at
Chester is 900 years old, dating from the foundation of the Bendedictine
monastery. In 1741 Handel heard the first recital of his Messiah at Chester.[18] There are usually eight choral services in the
cathedral each week. Chester has a cathedral
choir of male lay clerks, choral scholars, and boy and girl choristers. They rehearse in the Song
School, built on the site of the former Monks' Dormitory. In addition to
singing at services, the choir perform in concerts, tour abroad, and make
recording on CDs. There is no choir school at Chester, so the choristers come
from local schools.[74] There is also a mixed choir of adults, the Nave
Choir, which sings Compline on Sunday evenings and in other services. This choir also takes part in
concerts, and undertakes tours. Having been founded during the 1860s, it is the
longest-running voluntary cathedral choir in Britain.[75]
Activities
Apart from services, a variety
of events such as concerts, recitals, exhibitions and tours are held at the
cathedral.[76] There are weekly lunchtime organ recitals each
Thursday, and concerts by the Chester Cathedral Nave Choir.[77]
The cathedral and precinct are
open to visits both by individuals and by groups.[78] The former Refectory of the abbey is used as a
café.[59] The Refectory, the Cloister Room, the Chapter
House, and the Vestibule can be hired for meetings, receptions and other
purposes.[79]
Burials
- Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (c. 1047 - 27 July 1101), first in the cemetery of Saint Werberg, reburied in theChapter House
- Samuel Peploe (bishop), Bishop of Chester (1725–1752)
- John Graham (bishop), Bishop of Chester (1845–1865) – in the cemetery
- George Clarke of Hyde, Former Colonial Governor of New York, America between 1736 to 1743
- Frederick Phillips, A wealthy landowner from New York, America, who was loyal to the British Colonial Government and forced to quit his estates.
Gallery
Stained glass windows
The Lady Chapel
has Lancet Gothic windows with mid-19th-century glass by William Wailes(1859) depicting the Passion,
Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.
The south
transept window, Flowing Decorated Gothic, with High Victorian glass by Heaton
Butler and Bayne (1887)
The west window
is Perpendicular Gothic with 20th-century stained glass by
W. T. Carter Shapland (1961). The Holy Family with Saints Werburgh, Oswald, Aidan, Chad, Wilfrid, andEthelfleda
The three Westminster
windows by Alan Younger (1992)
celebrate the 900th anniversary of the cathedral.
See also
References and notes
Notes
Citations
- Jump up^ White, Kevan W. (17 September 2007). "Deva Victrix-Castra Legionis". Roman-Britain.org. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d "History". Chester Cathedral. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- Jump up^ "St John the Baptist, Chester, Cheshire". The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- Jump up^ "Chester Cathedral". University of London & History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
- Jump up^ English Heritage. "Former monastic buildings to Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Chester (1376397)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Chester Cathedral". University of London & History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- Jump up^ Nicholson, Nicholson, rev Valerie Scott (2004), "Huggins, Samuel (1811–1885)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press), retrieved 5 July 2013((subscription or UK public library membership required))
- ^ Jump up to:a b Lewis, C. Kenneth (1987). "Dean Addleshaw Tower". Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. Archived fromthe original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
- Jump up^ "Chester, Cath Ch of Christ & BVM". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council for Church Bell Ringers. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- Jump up^ The Organ, Chester Cathedral, archived from the original on 16 January 2012, retrieved 28 February 2008
- Jump up^ Burton, Edwin (1913). "Ranulf Higden". The Catholic Encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia Press. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
Sources
- Bowerman, Anthony (1996), Chester Cathedral, The Secret Past, Chester: Chester Cathedral, ISBN 0-9522434-2-3
- Clifton-Taylor, Alec (1967), The Cathedrals of England, London: Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-20062-9
- Cowen, Painton (2003), Six Days: The Story of the making of the Chester Cathedral Creation Window, Bristol: Alastair Sawday Publishing, ISBN 1-901970-33-7
- Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
- Hiatt, Charles (1911) [1898], The cathedral church of Chester; a description of the fabric and a brief history of the episcopal see, London: G. Bell, p. 115, OCLC 841718720
- Morris, Edward; Roberts, Emma (2012), Public Sculpture of Cheshire and Merseyside (excluding Liverpool), Public Sculpture of Britain 15, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, ISBN 978-1-84631-492-6
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Hubbard, Edward (2003) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press,ISBN 0-300-09588-0
- Starkey, H. F. (1990), Old Runcorn, Halton: Halton Borough Council
- Tatton-Brown, Tim; Crook, John (2002), The English Cathedral, London: New Holland, ISBN 1-84330-120-2
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