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Title: Bell's Cathedrals: St. David's
Author: Robson, Philip A.
Language: English
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BELL’S CATHEDRAL SERIES
SAINT DAVID’S
[Illustration: _Photo. F. Frith & Co._
ST. DAVID’S CATHEDRAL, FROM THE N.E.]
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF
SAINT DAVID’S
A SHORT HISTORY AND
DESCRIPTION OF THE FABRIC
AND EPISCOPAL BUILDINGS
BY
PHILIP A. ROBSON, A.R.I.B.A.
WITH FIFTY [Illustration] ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS 1901
Dedication.
TO THE
MEMORY OF
THE VERY REVEREND
JAMES ALLEN, M.A.,
DEAN OF ST. DAVID’S,
OF
TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
THIS SHORT HISTORY
IS DEDICATED
IN THE HOPE THAT ST. DAVID’S
MAY EVER FIND SUCCESSORS TO BENEFIT BY
THE EXAMPLE OF THIS HER MOST SELF-SACRIFICING
AND CAREFUL OF CUSTODIANS.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
This treatise is little more than a careful digest of numerous works, of
the more important of which a list is given. A sincere note of
obligation is due to Messrs. Jones and Freeman’s scholarly and accurate
_History of St. David’s_ and to Mr. John Murray’s _Handbook to the Welsh
Cathedrals_; but the list is given quite as much to assist future
students as to emphasise those writers to whom the author has been under
special obligations.
Those who may wish to visit St. David’s will find it remarkably
inaccessible, and they will be well advised to travel to Haverfordwest
by train, sleep there, and drive on, over the sixteen miles and
seventeen hills, to St. David’s on the next day. For cyclists there is a
much better road from Letterston station, but the other is preferable
from the picturesque point of view.
The illustrations are mostly from the author’s own photographs, but his
special thanks are due to Mr. A. David and Mr. Morgan, to whose hearty
co-operation on the spot a large meed of whatever success they may
attain is unhesitatingly given. The general views are from photographs
by Valentine, Frith and Co., and Poulton; the general measured drawings
are reduced from the elaborate plans of J. Taylor Scott, F.R.I.B.A.,
which won the silver medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects
in 1882; a few illustrations are taken from old prints in the author’s
collection, and for some reproductions we have been indebted to the
excellent plates in Messrs. Jones and Freeman’s _History of St.
David’s_.
PHILIP A. ROBSON.
PALACE CHAMBERS,
9, BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER.
LIST OF PRINCIPAL WORKS CONSULTED
OWEN’S DESCRIPTION OF PEMBROKESHIRE. London, 2 vols., 1603 [reprinted
1892 and 1897], 8vo, pp. xxviii and 286, and pp. iv and from 287-578,
paper covers. Edited with notes and appendix by Henry Owen (Cymmrodorion
Record Series, No. 1).
CAMBRIA TRIUMPHANS. London (A. Crooke), 1661, folio, pp. 256; a
preliminary in sixes and three folding plates of arms; Russia extra; two
vols. in one; numerous woodcuts. _Note._--Very rare. Briant’s, £30 9s.;
Heathcote’s, £29 18s. 6d.
A SURVEY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. DAVID’S AND THE EDIFICES
BELONGING TO IT, AS THEY STOOD IN THE YEAR 1715. London, 1717, sm. 410,
pp. xii, 202, vii, panelled calf. By Browne Willis. Illustrated “with
draughts,” consisting of two treble-folding plates opposite p. 1, “The
Iconography” (_i.e._, plan) and “South Prospect,” and opposite p. 91 a
double-folding plate containing fifty-two shields. Very rare. Towneley
copy sold for £1 11s. 6d. Considering its date, a most excellent book.
HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE PARISH OF ST. DAVID. London (E. Harding),
1801, 4to, pp. viii and 206, boards. By George W. Manby. Nine whole-page
aquatints. _Note._--Rare, but amusing rather than veracious when not
copying Browne Willis.
THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF ST. DAVID’S. London and Tenby, 1856, 4to,
pp. xii, 400, cloth. By W. B. Jones, M.A., and E. A. Freeman, M.A.
Illustrated. _Note._--The best work on the subject.
CAMBRIAN JOURNAL. Vol. iii., London, 1856, 8vo; contains an elaborate
review of J. and F.’s History, with illustrations.
ST. DAVID’S. THE CATHEDRAL OF SS. ANDREW AND DAVID. Tenby, n.d., but
reprinted from the _Cambrian Journal_, 1864, 8vo, pp. 18, paper covers.
By M. E. C. Walcott.
HANDBOOK TO THE CATHEDRALS OF WALES. 1st ed., 1873, pp. xx and 334, 2nd
ed., 1887, post 8vo, pp. 334, cloth [by R. J. King], illustrated.
_Note._--2nd edition was revised by the late Dean Allen.
ST. DAVID’S; ITS EARLY HISTORY AND PRESENT STATE. London and Derby,
1868, sm. 8vo, pp. 42, limp cloth. By an Ecclesiologist (Fox). Three
illustrations.
H.M. COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT ON CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. London (Eyre and
Spottiswoode), 1883, folio (pp. 24 on _St. David’s_), irregularly
paged.
ST. DAVID’S (Diocesan Histories). London (S.P.C.K.), Brighton, and New
York, 1888, post 8vo, pp. x, 254, fancy cloth. By W. L. Bevan, M.A. With
map. _Note._--Best history of the Diocese.
THE BUILDER. Vol. lxiii., No. 2,600 (Cathedral Series). An article,
three full-page plates (including a good plan) and sketches. Folio.
London, December 3, 1892.
A GUIDE TO THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. DAVID’S, THE BISHOP’S PALACE, AND THE
COAST CHAPELS. London (Jones and Evans), Tenby (Mason), 1896, crn. 8vo,
pp. 90, paper covers. By Travers J. Briant.
PEMBROKESHIRE ANTIQUITIES. Solva (H. H. Williams), 1897, 8vo, pp. vi.
and 84, paper boards (consisting of reprints from the _Pembroke County
Guardian_ by various authors). St. David’s is mentioned on pp. 8, 34,
37, 53, 68, and 77.
THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW. Vol. v., Nos. 27, 8, 9, folio. London, 1899;
many photographic illustrations by P. A. Robson.
CATHEDRAL ORGANISTS. London (Novello), 1899, 8vo, pp. xii and 142,
cloth. By John K. West (St. David’s, pp. 76 and 77).
LIST OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
List of Works consulted xi
I. THE SITE AND GENERAL HISTORY OF THE FABRIC 2
Previous Churches--Bishop de Leiâ--Fall of the Tower 4
Bishop Gower--The Perpendicular Period 5
The Civil War--West Front rebuilt--Scott’s Restoration 6
II. THE EXTERIOR 9
The Cathedral Precincts 9
The Church 11
The Tower 12
The South Side 14
The South Porch 14
The South Transept 16
The East End 16
The Ruined Chapels 19
The North Side 19
The Library or Chapter House 19
The North Transept 20
The North Doorway 20
The West Front 21
III. THE INTERIOR--THE NAVE 23
The Font 28
The Rood Screen 30
The Organ 32
THE CHOIR AND TRANSEPTS 36
The Parclose Screen 44
The Stalls 44
The Chapel of St. Thomas 46
The Chapter House or Library 47
The Throne 48
The Sedilia 48
THE SHRINE OF ST. DAVID 50
THE SHRINE OF ST. CARADOC 54
The Aisles of the Presbytery 55
THE CHAPELS EAST OF THE PRESBYTERY 57
Bishop Vaughan’s or Trinity Chapel 60
The South Chapel Aisle 65
The Ante Chapel 65
The Lady Chapel 66
The North Chapel Aisle 68
MONUMENTS IN THE CHURCH (otherwise than in the
Eastern Chapels) 71
Bishop Gower’s Tomb 71
IV. THE PRECINCTS 83
THE CLOISTERS AND ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 83
THE BISHOP’S PALACE 85
The Parapet 88
The East Chapel 89
The Bishop’s Hall and Study 89
The Great Hall 89
The West Chapel 92
APPENDIX I.--BISHOPS of St. David’s 93
Precentors and Deans 94
Organists 95
APPENDIX II.--Extracts from Sir G. G. Scott’s Report, 1869 97
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
St. David’s Cathedral from the N.E. _Frontispiece_
Arms of the See _Title-page_
The West Front before the restoration of 1862 2
The Cross and Cathedral Tower 3
St. David’s from Speed’s Map 5
South-west View before the restoration of 1862 7
South View about 1700 9
Plan of St. David’s, 1806, by John Carter 10
Top of the Tower 11
Ceiling of Central Tower 13
South Elevation (drawn by J. Taylor Scott) 15
South Doorway 17
The Nave, looking East 22
Elevation of a Bay of the Nave, looking East (drawn by J. T. Scott) 24
Norman Shaft with Re-carved Capital 25
Details of Pier Arches (from Jones and Freeman) 26
Carved Panels and Arch-ornaments in the Triforium (from Jones and
Freeman) 26
Groining of Rood Screen showing the flying ribs 31
The Rood Screen and Organ 33
The Presbytery in 1856 (from Jones and Freeman) 36
The Choir and Presbytery, 1895 37
The Parclose Screen 43
Arch between the S. Transept and Choir Aisle 45
Double Piscina, St. Thomas’s Chapel 46
The Sedilia 49
The Shrine of St. David (Base) 51
The Shrine of St. Caradoc (Base) 55
Screen of Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 57
Roof of Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 59
Recess in Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 61
Bosses on the Cornice 62
Window in Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 62
Niche 63
Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 64
View from Ante Chapel to Lady Chapel 66
Sedilia and Tomb in Lady Chapel 67
The North Chapel Aisle 68
Tomb of a Priest, N. Chapel 70
Tomb of Bishop Morgan 72
Bishop Gower’s Tomb 73
Tomb of a Knight 77
Abraham Stone 79
North Doorway of Nave 80
The College of St. Mary (after H. Gastineau) 82
The Bishop’s Palace, 1779 (after Paul Sandby, R.A.) 86
Section of Chimney in Kitchen 89
Bishops’ Palace 90
Bishops’ Palace; View of Courtyard (from Jones and Freeman) 91
Gable-Cross lying in Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel 96
Plan of the Cathedral _At end_
[Illustration: THE WEST FRONT BEFORE THE RESTORATION OF 1862.
(_The figures in the foreground are those of Sir G. G. Scott, Dean
Allen, Prof. E. A. Freeman, the Bishop and Mrs. Jones._)]
[Illustration: THE CROSS AND CATHEDRAL TOWER.]
ST. DAVID’S CATHEDRAL
CHAPTER I
THE SITE AND GENERAL HISTORY OF THE FABRIC
The see of Minevia, or St. David’s, was founded in the sixth century. It
has always included the whole of Pembrokeshire, and is by far the most
important of the four Welsh sees--St. David’s, St. Asaph, Bangor, and
Llandaff. The impressively wild and open scenery which surrounds St.
David’s gives it also a natural advantage irrespective of its greater
size. But the site of the cathedral cannot be regarded as satisfactory,
being close to the little river Alan, on almost marshy ground. Its
drainage has consequently always been a source of trouble and expense.
In questioning the founder’s choice of site it must always be clearly
remembered that the buildings were originally monastic, and that
seclusion, combined with a good natural water supply, were regarded by
the old monastic builders as primary essentials. Once selected by St.
David, however, this site has always been regarded with veneration by
those who in later times added to the original foundation.
The existing church is not less than the fourth on this site. The
monastic church was destroyed by fire in 645 and the second in 1088, and
the third was that visited by Henry II. in 1171 and 1172 (_vide_
Giraldus). The first view of the church generally seen is that from the
south-east and from almost on a level with the top of the central tower.
The _tout ensemble_ is certainly remarkable, and few thoughtful visitors
fail to find a pigeon-hole in their memory for this first impression,
which is invariably conjured up by the name “St. David’s.”
Calixtus II. (Pope 1119-1134) canonised St. David in 1131,[1] and the
church was solemnly dedicated to him in conjunction with St. Andrew, to
whom the previous church had been dedicated. Of this primitive British
church, which St. David himself founded long before the coming of St.
Augustine, nothing is now visible. For in 1180 Peter de Leiâ, the third
Norman bishop (1176-1198), replanned the whole building. Indeed, in
consideration of the works being in progress (1189), the Cardinal Legate
excused the bishop, Giraldus, and certain others from joining in the
Crusade, provided that they contributed towards the expenses of those
going and towards the completion of St. David’s Cathedral. It is to this
Bishop de Leiâ that St. David’s, even as we see it now, mainly owes its
grandeur.
But soon after the completion of the new church the central tower fell,
seriously damaging all the adjacent parts, which were rebuilt, including
one stage of the tower, by 1248. The foundations, however, on the wet
site caused further trouble, and it was not till 1866 that they were
properly laid and the tower secured by the late Sir (then Mr.) G. G.
Scott. In 1248 an earthquake shook the building in a serious manner, and
probably started or aggravated the curious outward inclination of the
nave arcade, which can be seen in the illustration, p. 22. The fall of
the tower also necessitated alterations in the buildings which had just
been erected to the east of the crossing, and no doubt the earthquake
also prevented any attempt to complete the stone groining of the nave,
for about the year 1500 huge buttresses were added on the north or river
side to prevent further settlements. Bishop Martyn (1296-1328)
completed De Leiâ’s plan by adding the Lady Chapel; but his immediate
successor, Bishop Gower (1328-1347), has, more surely than any
prelate--not excepting De Leiâ--left his impress on the present
buildings. Under his direction a stage was added to the tower; the south
porch was built; the walls of the aisles were raised to their present
height and preparations made for vaulting; the eastern chapel to the
south transept and alterations to those east of the north transept were
carried out; the aisles received Decorated windows and their walls
buttresses; and the very remarkable Rood-screen and its adjuncts were
then first added. Of his splendid episcopal palace across the Alan more
anon.
[Illustration: FROM SPEED’S MAP OF PEMBROKE.]
In the Perpendicular period the principal alterations were the renewal
of the main roofs; the addition of the huge buttresses on the north side
of the nave; the vaulting of the chapel just east of the Presbytery, and
the addition of one more stage to the tower. It should be noted that
this was the only period in which the difficulties of vaulting were
overcome, although extensive preparations for a sexpartite system had
been made.
Nothing of note was done to the fabric for a long period after this,
till Bishop Field whitewashed the cathedral internally in 1630! Then we
find that during the Civil War much damage was done, traces of which can
be easily found in the ruined chapels east of the Presbytery. The
transepts and Lady Chapel were stripped of their lead, and consequently
fell into a state of ruin. The roofs of the former were reconstructed in
1696, but the vaulting to the latter did not fall till nearly eighty
years later. Sundry precautions were taken to prevent the main fabric
from falling into absolute ruin--_e.g._, the southern arch of the tower
was filled up; but St. David’s had fallen on evil days, and it is not
till nearly 1800 that we read of a subscription for rebuilding the West
Front from plans by Nash which are said to have been approved by the
Society of Antiquaries. The frontispiece to this chapter shows this
front as it was before Scott’s great restoration of 1862. The additions
from 1800 to 1862, as given by Messrs. Jones and Freeman, make extensive
reading, but do not count for very much in the building. The Chapel of
St. Thomas, east of the North Transept, was converted into a Chapter
House 1827. During the forties the South Transept was re-arranged as a
parish church and the seventeenth-century vestry was treated as a kind
of eastern aisle. Butterfield added some Decorated windows--notably the
great North Transept window--and the north aisle of the Presbytery again
received a roof.
In 1862 Scott was requisitioned by Bishop Thirlwall to examine the
fabric and make a report on its proposed complete restoration, and in
1869 he was able, in his second report, to announce the satisfactory
repair of the tower. This work was one of extreme difficulty, as will be
seen from the Appendix (see p. 97). The church was then for the first
time properly drained; and the next parts to be taken in hand by Scott
were the Choir, Presbytery and their aisles, and after that De Leiâ’s
original Transitional work, at a cost of about £40,000. This amount
included Willis’s organ, and the reconstruction of the West Front in
memory of Bishop Thirlwall (of which latter the Very Rev. James Allen,
[Illustration: SOUTH-WEST VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL BEFORE THE RESTORATION
OF 1862.]
afterwards Dean, was the inaugurator). Dean Allen contributed in a most
generous way towards the restoration, as, _inter alia_, the expenses of
the renovation of the North Transept, St. Thomas’s Chapel, Library, and
Treasury, and the roofs of Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel and the ante-chapels
he defrayed entirely. The Rev. J. M. Treherne and his wife each gave
£2,000 by legacy, and the latter gave an annual subscription of £200
during her life.
It is most welcome news that the present Dean and Chapter have already
started a fund for the final section of the restoration, viz., that of
the ruinous eastern chapels, wherein is exquisite work being surely
destroyed. And it is hardly too much to expect that the Welsh will not
fail to respond to this dual opportunity for at once reverencing their
Patron Saint and removing what is to-day indeed a national reproach.
[Illustration: SOUTH VIEW ABOUT 1700, FROM AN OLD PRINT.]
CHAPTER II
THE EXTERIOR
=The Cathedral Precincts.=--The wall of the Close, which extends to almost
a mile, dates from 1330, but of the four GATEWAYS only one remains.
This, to the south-east of the cathedral, is the main entrance to the
Close from the secular part of the city. It is about 60 feet high, and
the gateway is flanked on the north by an early Decorated (or
Transitional) octagonal tower--once the janitor’s lodge--and on the
south by a semicircular tower of an earlier character. This latter was
probably a detached bell-tower and contained a prison. It also formed a
Record Office and Consistory Court. The Precentor’s house abuts on the
southern enclosure; the Chanter’s orchard is to the south-west; the
Archdeacon has his residence to the west, and north of this is another
for the Archdeacon of Brecon; beyond this again are the Chancellor’s,
the Archdeacon of Cardigan’s, and the Treasurer’s houses. Adjoining the
bridge is a prebendal house.
[Illustration: PLAN OF ST. DAVID’S, 1806, BY JOHN CARTER.
A. Tower Gateway; B. City Wall; C. Cathedral; D. Bishop’s Palace; E. St.
Mary’s College; F. Garden; G. Great Hall; H. Kitchen; I. Bishop’s Hall;
K. West Chapel; L. Cloister Garth; M. God’s Acre (graves); O.
Subordinate Cathedral Buildings.]
On the north side of the Nave and parallel with it, but separated by the
Cloister garth, are the remains of the College of St. Mary; to the north
of its dignified tower are traces, possibly, of the infirmary, and to
the north and east of this again are the remains of the houses of the
Master and seven Priest-fellows of St. Mary’s, forming three sides of a
quadrangle, on the north side of which was an entrance gateway tower.
Across the Alan to the north-west are the attractive ruins of Bishop
Gower’s once splendid palace.
[Illustration: TOP OF TOWER (S.W. ANGLE) AND TENOR BELL.]
=The Church.=--An important feature in the general exterior appearance of
St. David’s is the walling material. Greys, reds, and purples, and
mottle-blends of all three, lend a peculiar richness and warmth to the
building on a sunny day, and the converse in wet weather. The quarries
from which the cathedral stone was obtained are at Caerbwdy, in the
immediate neighbourhood, and as these are almost the oldest sedimentary
rocks known, it is conjectured that some part of this locality existed
as an island in more than one primæval sea.[2] This ancient cathedral,
then, of the British Church has the distinction of being built of more
primitive stone than any other important building in the country. Many
things combine to render the general character of the exterior
architecturally uninteresting. There is a decided feeling of dignity,
but not of the grandeur with which one is apt to associate the idea of a
cathedral. It lies low; the roofs are of a flat pitch, with the
exception of those of the transepts; the highly picturesque and
exquisite ruin of Bishop Gower’s palace to the west, with its chequered
rampart, and the immense amount of new material used in the very
necessary restoration, at present combine to mask the real age of the
cathedral; and, finally, there is no hint of the gorgeous work within.
=The Tower.=--Few Norman towers, situated on the crossing of the nave,
transepts, and choir, have not fallen[3] or been in extreme danger of
doing so owing to the early architects having a very limited knowledge
of the weight of superimposed masses and of the thrust of arches, which,
as the orientals declare, “never rest.” The central tower of St. David’s
was no exception; it fell in 1220. But it can hardly be that any tower
has suffered worse than has this one from injudicious attentions even
till the general restorations under Sir G. Scott in 1862. After the fall
of 1220 the western piers and arch were allowed to remain, and the other
three arches and piers were rebuilt from the ground. This, however, did
not deter Bishops Gower and Vaughan adding, the first a Decorated and
the latter a Perpendicular stage on to the same faulty substructure. In
the rebuilding after the disaster of 1220 apparently but little effort
was made towards fully introducing the new style in vogue. In fact, it
is one of the most curious features of the whole of the details of the
building that all the work is behind the accepted contemporary types in
the matter of architectural advancement.
Internally the one old arch remaining is, of course, more or less
semicircular, but the three new ones are pointed and consequently the
string-course above them is carried at a higher level. Over this
string-course on the west side is an arcade of pointed arches with
slender shafts and foliated capitals. A corbel composed of a fox’s head
carries the centre shaft. Altogether these form a graceful combination
of shafts, corbels, and large bowtells with shaft-bases. Above is the
characteristic Norman billet string-course.
[Illustration: CEILING OF CENTRAL TOWER.]
Bishop Gower’s stage, above a string with the ball-flower ornament,
contains on each face a tall two-light window, having pointed arches
opening to a wall-passage, and externally a niche on either side. The
third storey (of Bishop Vaughan, c. 1515) has a top-heavy effect and a
most unusual parapet, with polygonal angle-shafts and a set of eight
pinnacles. There are at present three bells, and the one that is used
most and strikes from the clock is outside on the tower roof under a
wooden diminutive belfry. There are two bells at the west end on the
nave floor. Apparently there was an octave in the middle of the
fourteenth century, when the bells were recast and the largest was lost
at sea. About 1690 there were five (some cracked), and in 1748 the
Chapter ordered that the four large bells should be taken down as they
were both useless and dangerous, and in 1765 two were sold. The upper
part of the interior of the tower consists of an elaborate wooden vault,
which was raised by Scott and finely emblazoned. As the roof of the
tower must obviously have been raised at least twice before, it seems
hardly necessary for Scott to apologise (_vide_ Report, 1869, Appendix)
for doing so again. His success, however, is very patent.
=The South Side.=--Beginning at the west end, the first noticeable feature
is the =South Porch= in the second bay, with the parvise or first floor
chamber. The inner doorway has been, as Freeman[4] justly says, “one of
the most magnificent displays of ornament in the whole building ... and,
contrary to the common rule, the original Norman doorway has given way
to a later successor.... The present doorway is Decorated (Bishop Gower,
1328-47), without shafts, but with a superb display of sculptured
decoration, besides crockets and the ordinary four-leaved flower. The
arch is adorned with a series of sculptures, which are sadly mutilated,
but in which we may still trace the familiar representation of the Root
of Jesse. The position, however, necessarily involves some
singularities, and, as in the better known example of the Dorchester
window, the genealogy is by no means easy to follow. The western impost
is occupied by what appears to be a figure of Adam, with Eve issuing
from his side; the other supports the recumbent figure of Jesse, from
whom springs the branch, along which the figures are introduced,
somewhat after the manner of the Norman medallions at Iffley. Some of
the figures may still be discerned reading at desks; David with his harp
may also plainly be seen, as well as a representation of the
Crucifixion. Over the apex is an effigy of the Holy Trinity, with angels
on each side bearing censers. The doorway has pinnacles at the sides,
but they are cut off by the vaulting of the porch, which is plain
quadripartite, springing from corbels,
[Illustration: SOUTH ELEVATION.
_Drawn by F. Taylor Scott._]
among which we may observe the ornament called the mask, the only
example of that form to be found in the cathedral.” This porch is the
work of Gower, and the peculiar mouldings are readily traceable to the
same artist who designed the rood-screen. Scraps of the previous Norman
doorway, which was done away with by Gower, are still to be seen in the
plinth. At one time there were five steps in the porch, but these were
removed in 1885. The entrance to the upper chamber (added by Vaughan, c.
1515) is obtained from the nave by a turret-stair, and the room is now
used as a clerk-of-work’s drawing office.
In 1849 Butterfield renewed the tracery of the aisle windows as it
originally was in Decorated times, but it is not very attractive.
The Clerestory is Norman, of ashlar work, and the windows are rather
wide, stumpy, and round-headed, with flat pilaster-like buttresses
between each pair. But the restoration has deprived the exterior of much
of its interest, although one can easily imagine that those of the next
century will enjoy a very pleasing contrast between the purples of the
Caerfai buttresses and the yellows of the window dressings, which are of
Somersetshire oolite.
=The South Transept= still retains the outline of the arch of the great
south window which was blocked up when the four existing Perpendicular
windows of four lights each were inserted. A double buttress supports
the south-east corner of the transept, and behind this is the present
Chapter House.
=The East End.=--The south Presbytery aisle was put into proper repair at
the time of the general restoration, and new windows were inserted. The
upper tier of windows at the east end of the Presbytery have been well
restored also by Scott, and his own description[5] may well be given:
“In restoring the eastern arm of the church, a question arose
which, though but slightly suggested in my first Report, grew upon
my mind as we proceeded to such a degree, that it was more than a
twelvemonth before I could make up my mind as to which course to
take. The case was this:
“This wall of the church had originally side walls, much lower than
at present, with a high-pitched roof, and was constructed with
some view to stone groining, though it is clear that this was never
carried out, and was, in fact, deliberately relinquished.
“The east end had two ranges of windows, three most magnificent
lights below and four above.
[Illustration: SOUTH DOORWAY.]
“In the fifteenth century the high roof was taken off, the side
walls raised by the addition of some six feet of dead wall, the
gable lowered, and a very flat, though handsome roof placed upon
the walls thus altered; at the same time the upper tier of lancet
windows was removed, all but the outer jambs, and the space they
occupied converted into a single window in the Perpendicular style,
with a very flat arch.
“Sometime later still the three great lancet lights below were
walled up, owing to the erection of Bishop Vaughan’s chapel behind
them.
“Finding that the dead wall, thus added to the sides, was a
_perfect mine_ of the _débris_ of the ancient upper tier of
windows, that the Perpendicular window substituted for them was so
decayed as to require renewal, and that the timbers of the late and
low-pitched roof were much decayed, it was a tempting idea to
restore this limb of the church to its ancient design, and to add
groining (if not of stone, at least of oak) as at first
contemplated; while opposed to this was the judicious rule laid
down by Messrs. Freeman and Jones, the historians of the cathedral,
that when ancient alterations had become stereotyped as a part of
an historical monument, all change in them not included under the
term _restoration_ is set down as to be in itself reprehended, only
to be justified by special circumstances, the burden of proving
whose existence rests, in every case, with the innovator.
“This rule would certainly demand the repair and retention of the
later roof, and even, at first sight, of the later window, and
between these conflicting views I for a considerable time
oscillated, in a way which may have appeared weak to others, and
was certainly most painful to myself.
“I eventually took an intermediate course, which I think will be
admitted to be justified by the result.
“As regards the roof, though it was so bad as to necessitate its
being taken down, and though all its main beams (I think) but one
had to be renewed, the remainder, including much good carving and
many armorial bearings, was capable of reparation. As regards the
original intention of groining, I found unquestionable proofs that
it had been relinquished, if not by the original builders, yet
certainly by the reconstructors after the fall of the tower in
1220, for these builders had inserted niches just where the
vaulting would come. They had also erected the upper range of
lancet lights at the east end in a form incompatible with vaulting.
“These considerations led me at length to determine to relinquish
the idea of groining, and to return to my first intention of
restoring the later and existing roof.
“The case, however, was different with the upper east windows, for
not only was the later insertion so decayed as to demand renewal,
but on searching below its cill we found those of the original
lights still _in situ_, while on working the mine of _débris_ which
existed in the dead walls added to the original sides, we found not
only evidence sufficient to show the precise design of the ancient
eastern lancets, but sufficient to go a considerable way in
reconstructing them with their own ancient materials, though we
found no details to enable us to complete either the high gable or
its flanking turrets.
“While, then, I arrived at the conclusion that the
fifteenth-century roof should be restored, I also felt convinced
that, as regards the lancet lights, I had discovered just such
_special circumstances_ as would justify and almost demand the
restitution of their original forms.
“The design of the windows, thus reproduced from their original
materials after being for four centuries immured, is very excellent
and interesting. Internally they form a continuous arcade,
supported on little clusters of light shafts, while externally--the
lights being narrow, and the piers between them wide--the latter
are occupied each by a double niche, a fellow to which flanks
either jamb, so that while the arcade within consists of four
arches, that without is formed of four _groups_ of arches, making
twelve in all--four being windows and eight niches. The details of
all are excellent; unfortunately, however, the roof of Bishop
Vaughan’s Chapel prevents the external group from being seen with
any effect, though within we have now, so far as the forms of the
windows go, the ancient arrangement complete, and a most effective
and beautiful one it is.”
On the east wall of the tower the various weather-courses of previous
roofs are visible, which make a not unnatural appeal to the imagination
of the spectator. For the great defect of the exterior generally is that
the roofs are of such a very flat pitch.
=The Ruined Chapels=--on the south KING EDWARD’S, on the east that of OUR
LADY, on the north of ST. NICHOLAS, and the Ante-Chapel--will be
described later, as it is only by an unfortunate chance that they are
now roofless (except the last), and will, we hope, shortly be correctly
regarded as part of the interior if the proposed restoration takes
place.
Not far from the east end of the Lady Chapel is the spring which St.
David is credited with creating. Giraldus[6] has a very pretty legend
concerning this spring, which was known as St. Mary’s Well. It seems to
have been of somewhat variable quality, as its waters were sometimes
changed into milk and at others into wine. Sir G. Scott, however, with
scant respect for its saintly origin, caused it to be drained!
=The North Side= is much the more interesting of the two. After passing
the chapels we come to a very curious three-storied building, the roof
of which is higher than that of the cathedral. On the ground-floor was
the Chantry of St. Thomas, now a vestry, entered from the east side of
the north transept, and above this the turret stair from the north aisle
of the presbytery leads to the old Chapter House, now the Library, and
above this again is a disused room, once the Treasury.
No parallel has yet been found for this remarkable building, which
Freeman (1856) very accurately describes thus:[7]
“It is continued from the face of the north transept, which it
slightly exceeds in point of elevation. The external work is
Decorated; the east is flanked by two flat buttresses of very
singular character, which are terminated by rich pinnacles, now
mutilated. Equally singular is the buttress dividing its two bays
on the north side; flat at the bottom, after its first stage its
projection becomes angular, and so runs up the whole height of the
wall, becoming much smaller in its upper portion; its pinnacle is
quite destroyed (but is now restored). At the junction with the
transept a staircase is attached, in a singular and almost
indescribable way, to the upper portion of the broad pilaster at
the north-east corner of the transept....The east end has a very
strange appearance, having three windows over each other, and a
niche, not unlike a window, above all; that in the third stage is a
blocked spherical triangle (now restored). The lower part of the
wall is of ashlar, the occurrence of which is so rare in the
exterior of this church; the upper is of rubble, excepting the
buttresses.”
Butterfield is responsible for the large Decorated window in the =North
Transept=, and Scott raised the roof to its original pitch and rebuilt
the north-west angle turret. In the west wall are two Transitional
windows (but the northern one has long been filled in), and above is a
corbelled parapet. Below, but at a lower level than the transept floor,
is a doorway to the cloisters, with a semicircular outer arch having a
solid tympanum and segmental head within. At a contemporary period half,
and much later the whole, of this entrance was built up, and in the
recess thus formed was placed a lavatory and drain.
The east wall of the cloisters connects St. Mary’s College with the
north transept. An imposing view is obtained on going through the door
at the north-east corner of the cloisters. We now see the north side of
the nave, with flying buttresses supported on huge masses of masonry,
the ruins and graceful tower of St. Mary’s and, in the distance across
the Alan, the magnificent ruins of the episcopal palace.
The =North Doorway= (see p. 80) corresponds in position to the south
porch, and is a good example of a Transitional (Norman to Early English)
doorway, but it is much decayed. The principal ornament is, like those
in the arcade, a kind of hybrid composed of the Norman chevron and the
Early-English dog-tooth ornaments. There is a depressed arch to this
doorway, which, with other evidence, leads us to suppose that it has
been higher. Another feature which calls for comment--it is the same in
the arcade but in less marked degree--is that no matter what the size of
the stone, a complete part of the ornament has been carved upon it, thus
obtaining an irregular but not unpleasing effect.
The present =West Front= is from a design by Sir G. G. Scott, who based it
upon a drawing which he found in the library of the Society of
Antiquaries showing the church as it was before Nash’s alterations.
The illustrations on pages 2 and 7 show Nash’s design of 1793, which
seems to have received the sanction of the Society of Antiquaries. The
figures that appear in the first are Bishop Jones, Professor Freeman,
the authors of the best history of St. David’s, Dean Allen, and Sir G.
G. Scott. This execrable composition was a hopeless conglomeration of
Norman, Decorated, and Perpendicular, with a couple of heavy-arched
buttresses, which were apparently standing as recently as 1887.[8] The
rebuilding of the _West Front_ was undertaken at a cost of about £4,000
as a memorial to Bishop Thirlwall, who first seriously began to restore
the church in 1864, and his statue stands over the west door. The
material is Caerfai stone from the neighbouring quarries of Caerbwdy,
and suffers from its newness in appearance. In fact the design and the
purple stone combine to give the whole front a very heavy appearance,
which only years of exposure to the sea air will partially remedy.
[Illustration: _Photo. J. Valentine._
THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST.]
CHAPTER III
THE INTERIOR--THE NAVE
At the South Porch, by which the visitor usually enters, the ogee-headed
holy-water stoup should be noticed, and a general view be made of the
church, as it is most unusual and has a character all its own. The
majority of the work is that of Bishop Peter de Leiâ (1176-1198), and is
therefore Transitional in character; that is to say, it is at the point
of fusion between Norman and Early English. The pointed arch of the
latter is not yet adopted, but the round (more or less) arch is still
employed, probably in some degree to avoid the greater height otherwise
entailed, but the details verge on the purity of the most refined Early
English. De Leiâ evidently intended sexpartite groining to form an
internal ceiling, but an earthquake and the fall of the tower doubtless
instilled caution--even if funds were forthcoming--and the project was
never carried out. The exceedingly rich ceiling, however, of Irish oak
does not make one regret this circumstance, for its very bizarrerie and
semi-arabesque character, coming so closely in contact with the great
Norman arches, combine to make the interior of St. David’s one of
unusual beauty. The more so, by contrast, on entering from the almost
bald exterior.
“Possibly the circumstances which conduced to the lack of external
ornament may have led its designers to counterbalance this deficiency by
a superabundance of internal decoration. Certain it is that very few
structures of the same size equal this cathedral in richness and
elaborateness of execution lavished upon this portion of the interior.
In fact, much of the solemnity of a Romanesque nave is lost, an effect
which is
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF A BAY OF THE NAVE, N. SIDE.
_From a Drawing by J. Taylor Scott._]
certainly far better produced by more massive proportions and a greater
extent of unadorned surface.”[9]
[Illustration: NORMAN SHAFT WITH RE-CARVED CAPITAL, EASTERN PIER IN S.
NAVE ARCADE. (See p. 27.)]
But although we miss the characteristic massiveness of most Norman
naves, we also enjoy the freedom--which may fairly be claimed as the
structural note of this interior--from their attendant heaviness. In
fact, the very large span of the arches detracts from the size of the
piers, the actual bulk of which is great.
[Illustration: DETAILS OF PIER ARCHES.
(From J. & F. p. 58.)]
[Illustration: CARVED PANELS AND ARCH ORNAMENTS IN THE TRIFORIUM.
(From J. & F. p. 58.)]
The details of the arcade are of an interesting character. The piers are
alternately round and octagonal (irregular), with attached shafts at the
cardinal points. Towards the aisles the shafts are clustered, being
intended for vaulting. The plinths are more varied than is usual, but
the tongue of foliage, which is a favourite method of ornamenting the
space caused by the change from the square to the round or octagonal, is
here conspicuous by only one example, and that a timid one on the south
side. The bases are of quite an Early English type, with the usual
hollow, but the capitals prove an instructive study. The most frequent
type of these is the rather common “cushion,” which the Transitional
carvers have vivified in the most exquisite way by, apparently,
experimenting with several forms of stiff-leaved foliage, some of which
approach more nearly to the classic type than is usual in this country,
and least of all was it to be expected at the land’s end of Wales. On
the south side towards the east is one of special beauty, where one sees
how the carver has treated the Norman cushion cap as a boss on which to
let his fancy play. The arches are of exceptional richness and
elaborately moulded towards the nave--in fact, just as little of the
Romanesque character as is consistent with the Norman arch is retained.
The westernmost arches, being narrower in span than the others, are
skilfully kept the same in height by being pointed, and the details
differ; which prompts the suggestion that De Leiâ, finding his nave
somewhat short in appearance, decided to lengthen it by another bay, and
was only confined by the river Alan, which at the north-west corner even
now runs quite close to the foundations. A strong horizontal line is
carried east and west, close above the Norman hood-moulding, which,
combined with the great width of the nave and the huge span of the
arches, conduces towards the feeling of stuntedness already noticed in
the exterior.
The deeply recessed clerestory of round-headed windows is curiously
amalgamated with the triforium of couplets having pointed arches; in the
spandril between each of which latter are elaborately decorated circles,
some with a kind of rude dog-tooth star and others with a kind of
eternal interlacing which looks something like an interwoven horseshoe
pattern. In other instances, as at Southwell Minster, the triforium
absorbs the clerestory, but at St. David’s it retains its character and
becomes a screen to the passage over the arcade. The result is a very
rich confusion. The amalgamation of distinct members not only precludes
either the usual appearance of a church with or without a triforium, but
the treatment of the triforial arches themselves is clever without being
pleasing (see illustrations, pp. 22, 24, 25). The arches which enclose
both the triforium and clerestory are again very rich, and the
ornamentation is carried down their whole length without shafts or
cappings. Clustered shafts with the Norman cushion capitals having
square abaci receive the shafts of the wooden ceiling.
Of the previous nave-roof we have no date, but very possibly it may have
resembled that at Peterborough or St. Alban’s, as something similar
seems to have existed at Llandaff. The present roof is generally
accredited to the Treasurer, Owen Pole (1472-1509), and in all
likelihood that of the choir may be also.
“This very singular, if not unique, structure is, in its
construction, simply a flat ceiling of timber laid upon the walls;
but, by some, certainly unjustifiable, violations of the laws of
architectural reality, such as are not uncommon even in the stone
roofs of that period, it is made to assume a character wholly its
own, and which it is very difficult to describe in an intelligible
manner. By the employment of vast pendants, which at the sides take
the form of overlapping capitals to the small shafts already
mentioned, the ceiling appears to be supported by a system of
segmental arches effecting a threefold longitudinal division of the
roof, and crossed by a similar range springing from the walls. Of
course these arches in reality support nothing, but are in fact
borne up by what appears to rest on them. Notwithstanding this
unreality and the marked inconsistency of the roof with the
architecture below, notwithstanding that its general character
would have been much more adapted to some magnificent state
apartment in a royal palace, still the richness and singularity of
such an interminable series of fretted lines renders this on the
whole one of the most attractive features of the cathedral. Both
the arches themselves, and the straight lines which divide the
principal panels, drip with minute foliations like lace-work in a
style of almost Arabian gorgeousness. It is much to be regretted
that this ceiling cuts off the top of the western arch of the
lantern, which at once spoils the effect of the latter, and gives
an unpleasant appearance to the unfinished pendants of the ceiling,
when seen from behind, out of the choir. Still this very view of
the roof, in which hardly any other part of the nave is visible, is
wonderful in the extreme” (J. & F., p. 59).
Having noticed the details and their curious effects in the nave, the
observant visitor still feels that he has not fully explained to his
satisfaction the complete secret of its bizarre effect. It only unfolds
itself on measuring and levelling. The whole nave floor slopes
considerably--more than two feet--from east to west, following the
natural fall of the ground, and the arcades slope outwards respectively
north and south, and, in consequence, their piers lengthen as one nears
the west end. A settlement, owing to the very wet site and bad
foundations, probably aided by an earthquake (1248) and the unusual
width of the nave (for a Norman church) are enough to account for these
peculiarities; and the slope of the nave floor seems to have been
purposely so devised for the sake of drainage in flood-time.
At the west end of the south aisle, on three octagonal steps, stands the
=Font=. Its original shaft is missing. The marble base is octagonal, and
rudely arcaded with sixteen pointed arches, but no part is specially
beautiful.
The nave aisles do not call for any very special remarks. At the east
end of both will be seen traces of the original vaulting, and on the
north side the vaulting-shafts are taller than on the south. Also on
that side the Perpendicular flying-buttresses are seen which make such a
strange show outside, where once was the cloister garth, with their huge
props. Speaking of the aisles generally, Freeman says: “It must be
remembered that none of these preparations for vaulting were ever
carried into effect. This is, indeed, no unusual phenomenon, yet there
is certainly something striking in so many designs for a stone roof
being traced out upon the same walls, and none of them being ever
brought to perfection. In the nave aisles it may perhaps be accounted
for by the strange and untoward shapes which the great width of the pier
arches compelled the lateral arches of the vaulting to assume; it may
have been found actually impossible to vault the aisles either at this
(1328-1347) or the earlier Romanesque period. But this argument does not
apply to any of the other unfinished vaults in the church of whatever
date.”[10]
The interior of the west front has been as nearly as possible restored
to its former state, but has now no triforium passage. There are a
couple of tiers of windows over the original west entrance. All the
lights are round-headed and are set in a Norman rear-arch.
Some of the nave piers still show traces of polychromatic decoration. On
the north and south sides, on the easternmost pier but one, are the
remains of some frescoes, as also on the middle pier of the south
arcade. But Bishop Field’s white-wash of 1630, which was removed about
1830 under the careful superintendence of the Ven. Archdeacon Davies,
doubtless spoilt whatever beauty these mural decorations ever had.
It requires considerable discernment to distinguish very clearly what
the designs are, but Freeman[11] made out that on the third southern
pier (from the east) is a representation of the Blessed Virgin seated
beneath a canopy. The figure is within a vesica, vested in a cope and
has a nimbus; beneath which is an inscription, “Virgo Maria.” Above is
our Lord and the emblems of the four Evangelists, and on the small
attached shafts are figures of seven candlesticks, evidently referring
to the vision of St. John.[12]
On the south-east face there is a full-length crowned figure of a king
in plate-armour with the basanet and camaille, holding a sword and
standing under a canopy. On the left arm is the initial =H=, which--the
date of the plate-armour with knee-caps and elbow-pieces
corresponding--has been taken to denote Henry IV.
On the two other piers are achievements of arms which Freeman[13] states
to be “a banner bearing a bend, a shield party per chevron, and a casque
with crest and mantlings, the crest being a head crowned.”
=The Rood Screen.=--The elaborate rood-screen, which separates the nave
and choir, projects into the nave nearly half a bay. A daïs[14] of three
steps in height occupies the remainder of the bay. The entrance to the
choir is vaulted in two bays, and there are some very unusual flying
groin-ribs, which are shown in the illustration. The work is
unmistakably that of Bishop Gower (1328-1347), and was perhaps the
completion of the Decorated scheme which he inaugurated throughout the
fabric. On the sunny south side the tomb of the Bishop gains by contrast
with the heavy arch-shadow.
On the north side, facing the nave is a peculiarly flat and shallow
arcade in three bays, which formed a kind of reredos to the altar of the
Holy Cross--the piscina being on the north. On the oblique side, facing
north-west is a doorway with a semi-octagonal arch leading to the roof
and organ loft.
On the south side of the western bay are two tombs, and on the north
one, all of which will be described with the monuments in the nave (see
p. 71).
The backing to the screen was, when Freeman wrote, solid, and he
surmised, with some accuracy, what Sir G. G. Scott found on his
restoration of the screen. In Scott’s words:[15]
“I mentioned in my first Report the massive stonework, some seven
or eight feet in thickness, which blocked the rood-screen, and
which I suppose to have been added to strengthen the tower piers.
On examination this was found originally to have been hollow, but
to have been filled up solid for the purpose suggested. The
entrance to the choir was through a roof and uncouth archway in
this vast wall, but on searching the contents of the
[Illustration: GROINING OF ROOD SCREEN, SHOWING THE FLYING RIBS.]
wall the _débris_ was discovered of the original archway, and of
the side doorways into the hollow spaces. These details were found
to be parts of a beautifully groined space, closely resembling the
existing archway through the rood-screen, and forming a second,
though varied, bay of that beautiful entrance. We have been
enabled to reconstruct this feature, using the old remains so far
as they would go. This beautiful addition to the choir was wholly
beyond anything I had anticipated.”
In the _Computus_ under 1492 is an entry recording that the sum of 100
shillings[16] for materials for a work which would seem to be for the
blocking up of the screen, and no doubt the constant trouble arising
from the weakness of the western tower arch rendered some such course
imperative.
In De Leiâ’s time, or rather later, the screen probably stood between
the tower piers, as the bases of their eastern responds are raised above
those of the nave and suggest an earlier screen and its platform. And it
is not unlikely that the pleasing incongruity of the western side of the
screen is due to the retention of some portions of earlier work. There
are two steps to the first bay of the screen, and on the second stand
the wrought-iron gates (1847), and to the second bay there are three
more steps before we reach the level of the choir. Gower’s
characteristic ornaments and mouldings are somewhat lavishly bestowed
about the screen, and doubtless his statue was intended to stand in the
niche on the south side towards the nave above the curious aperture
fitted with intersecting tracery. For a description of the tombs, see p.
71.
Along the length of the screen runs an oak cove cornice--possibly
Butterfield’s work--copied from an existing piece which is original. The
arches are fitted with late Perpendicular tracery, very white in
appearance, and the springers of the vaulting seem not to have been
completed. The groining has now been finished and an oak cornice added,
and on the rood-screen is the organ. In 1571 30_s_. seems to have been
paid for taking down the rood-loft, but it is now almost impossible to
be sure what precisely this meant.[17]
The views north, south, east, and west are well worth the little walk on
to the organ-loft level. Various details are well seen from this height,
notably the interior of the tower, the nave-roof, and the general
arrangements and fittings of the choir.
=The Organ.=--The present organ and case can hardly be
[Illustration: THE ROOD-SCREEN AND ORGAN.]
described as things of beauty, though in point of tone the instrument is
undoubtedly strong, yet sweet. It was built by Messrs. Willis in 1883,
and is almost entirely new. Like the organ at Winchester, it used to
occupy the north lantern arch, and was re-erected there in 1843 by
Lincoln of London, but the present instrument stands on the rood-screen,
care being, however, taken that it should obstruct as little of the view
as possible. The tubular pneumatic system has been here adopted, and
there are three manuals. A few points concerning the previous organs may
be of interest, as it is not unusual to neglect this branch of
archæology. According to tradition the present position of the organ is
the original one. Browne Willis[18] says: “The Organ, before the
Rebellion Stood in the Rood-Loft, under the _West_ Arch, and fac’d the
Altar; it is now removed to the _North_ Arch: It is a new one, and those
that are Judges, say, a pretty good one.” This amusing criticism gives
further evidence to the notion that Browne Willis did not visit the
church before--or at any rate very recently before--he wrote his
interesting but somewhat unreliable little survey, which has now become
very rare in any form. The items--“Et Sol Willō Warryn organizanti
40ˢ” and “to yᵉ mʳ of yᵉ children for keeping of yᵉ
organs and teaching of yᵉ quoristers, £10,” and others from the
_Liber Communis_, imply the existence of an organ in 1490, 1492, 1557
and 1565. In the last year the magnificent sum of 6d. was spent on two
stops “for yᵉ great organs,” from which we may infer that our organs
of to-day are far larger than in 1565. At any rate some small organ
might easily have stood under the western arch of the tower, although
this arch was then built up as it “fac’d the altar.”[19]
“Probably the tradition of the organ having stood there, led Browne
Willis to suppose that the arch had been recently built up. However
this may be, there are strong signs of its having occupied that
position subsequently to the erection of the wall. The balustrade
which surmounts the canopies of the stalls projects at this point,
as if to give greater room for a small organ; and the door which
pierces the wall, and is apparently coeval with it, is not set in
the centre, where it would have interfered with the organ, but near
the northern pier of the arch. This seems to have been the usual
place of the organ in our churches, and to have been retained from
the mere force of habit to the present time, when, from the greater
size of our instruments, it is far less convenient.”[20]
A new organ was built in 1581--“ad usum divini servitii”--but was ruined
in the great rebellion.[21] The ever-interesting Manby, however, gives
another account, by which the organist, hearing some rebel discussing
the demolition of the organ, and fearing that he might lose his
position, dropped a stone from the loft and killed a Roundhead, an
“aids-du-camp.” The organist fled and thus diverted attention from his
instrument, having found a hiding place in the great bell by holding on
to the clapper! This same bell the rebels stole, but their vessel was
wrecked off Ramsey Sound, and the superstitious still say that the
tolling of this bell presages a great storm!
It is clear there was an organ in 1691, as Precentor Ellis, in his
answer to Bishop Watson’s Visitation Articles, says: “I answeare that we
have an Organ, but out of order, for how long I doe not remember.”
Early in the eighteenth century Bernard Schmidt, the celebrated builder
of that in St. Paul’s Cathedral, constructed an organ as the result of
an order of the Chapter (1695), by which £10 was, for five years, to be
set apart “out of the allowance to the Master of the Fabric”; and in
1698 each canon was ordered to advance £10 towards the new organ, for
which the canons had expressed a great desire.
A very interesting communication from Archdeacon Davies to Archdeacon
Yardley, of August 3, 1740, gives further particulars:
“What Particular time yᵉ new Organ was set up here, I cannot be
positive, but do believe, from yᵉ accounts, it must be in the
year 1704 or 1705. What Exact Su[~m] it stood yᵉ Chapter In, I
cannot for certain say, but am apt to think, from Various Items in
various Years picked up about it, in their Accounts it could not be
less, including all Charges, than £300, whatever More; and in a
very little time after it was set up, they were at a Considerable
Expense in repairing it again, after it had been damaged by a
Storm, which uncovered yᵉ very part of yᵉ Roof of yᵉ
Church under which it lay, and exposed it to yᵉ Rain and yᵉ
open Sky; and they were obliged to have an Organ Builder (down from
London I think) at a great Expense to put things to rights again.
“Upon looking over some loose Papers in yᵉ Chest at St. David’s,
I have found these Receipts from Mr. Bernard Smith of London, Organ
Builder (who made this Organ at St. David’s) for yᵉ Summe of
£290 paid to Him only upon that Account. So that when yᵉ Charge
of bringing it down, yᵉ Necessary workmanship here, and other
articles relating to it are put together, I dare say, before it
could be compleatly set up, yᵉ Expense was much nearer to £400
than £300.”[22]
This organ seems to have been used till that consisting of a choir organ
and swell was put up by Lincoln in 1843 (as already noted), and the old
case “of Norway oak”[23] was re-used. Six of the present stops are
Father Smith’s originals.[24]
In the present restoration this organ was removed, and, to the very
great discredit of all concerned, the splendid case with carvings if
not actually by, certainly worthy of, Grinling Gibbons, was allowed to
be broken up. A few of the best pieces were recently put together and a
neat organ-screen constructed for the Church of St. Martin,
Haverfordwest. A brief list of organists will be found on p. 95.
[Illustration: THE PRESBYTERY IN 1856.
_Drawn by J. H. Le Keux_ (_from Jones & Freeman_).]
THE CHOIR AND TRANSEPTS.
On passing through the rood-screen up five steps from the daïs the choir
is reached, which affords one of the most
[Illustration: _Photo: F. Frith & Co._
THE CHOIR AND PRESBYTERY IN 1895.]
pleasing prospects in the cathedral. This view gains by comparison with
the nave because of the latter’s over-intricacy, which complication is
avoided in the choir by the absence of a triforium. There are four
Transitional bays of very good proportions, if we except perhaps a
tendency to heaviness in the alternately round and octagonal piers. Here
we have--what the nave-bay design so much wants--strong vertical lines
in the clustered shafts. The Transitional vaulting-shafts stop a little
above the string over the arcade, and continuing them are slender
Decorated ones with elaborate capitals. The clerestory lights (also
Transitional) are beautifully detailed with a bold kind of chevron.
The east end is one of the finest pieces of Norman blending with Early
English in the cathedral, or, for the matter of that, in the kingdom. It
is composed of three lancets below and four above, Sir G. G. Scott
having restored it to the state in which it was after the rebuilding of
1220, consequent upon the fall of the tower, except that Bishop
Vaughan’s Chapel has made it desirable that the three lower lights
should not be open as they originally were. They are now filled with
mosaics.
In the fifteenth century, when the Perpendicular window was inserted,
the stonework of the previous wall and upper tier of lights was used for
heightening the side walls. Finding these walls to be a mine of the
_débris_ of the earlier windows, and the Perpendicular window in a bad
state of decay, Scott determined to replace the old work.
After the fall of the tower the rebuilders were astonishingly
conservative in their avoidance of novelty. It cannot have been from any
want of ability, and we incline to the belief that it was the result of
a genuine desire to make the new work harmonise with that in the nave
and, by re-using a certain amount of old material, to relieve a possibly
not overflowing exchequer of a larger disbursement. In the fifteenth
century the steep-pitched roof of cradle-pattern, marks of which remain
on the tower, was removed, the gable lowered, and the walls at each side
raised about six feet. A roof of very flat pitch (as now) and the
Perpendicular east window were added.
Finally, when Bishop Vaughan added his chapel behind the east end the
lower lancets were walled up. During the Civil War the lead was stripped
from the aisle roofs and the main arcades of the presbytery were filled
up by walling, and the huge props to the roof were inserted which appear
in Freeman’s view. The eastern windows are deeply recessed, and the
banded shafts have caps of stiff-leaved foliage, and angels form the
termination to the hood-moulding. Just below the cills is an early
example of an embattled band, almost Greek in its severity, and beneath
this again are numbers of intersecting semicircular arches with a ball
ornament.
After four centuries of immurement the upper range of lights are
restored to their former arcaded glory, behind the graceful shafts of
which runs a passage. The restored portions are readily recognisable by
their being made of oolite, whilst the original stones are all of purple
Caerfai. These windows are now filled with stained glass by Hardman, the
gift of the Rev. J. Lucy. The subjects are the Last Supper, Gethsemane,
the Transfiguration, and the Nativity. The large lower lancets are
filled with mosaics by Salviati, which are good of their kind. They form
a fixed reredos, and were also part of a memorial by the Reverend John
Lucy, Rector of Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire, to his ancestor, William
Lucy, Bishop of St. David’s, 1660-1677. The designer of the mosaics as
well as the glass above was Powell, of Hardman’s glass works in
Birmingham.
“The subjects are--in the central window, the Crucifixion, with the
attendant figures of the Virgin and St. John; the Magdalene kneels
at the foot of the cross. In the side windows are full-lengths of
‘Ecclesia’ and ‘Synagoga,’ the Christian Church and the Jewish. In
a predella below the central mosaic is a representation of the
brazen serpent, with figures of Moses and Aaron. Below the others
are--St. David distributing alms to the poor, and St. David
addressing the Synod of Llandewi Brefi. Each of the larger subjects
has a rich architectural canopy, and a broad border of very
beautiful design surrounds the whole....
“Immediately under the Crucifixion are the words, ‘Ecce Agnus Dei,
ecce qui tollit peccata mundi’; and below again, within an arcade
of three arches are the brazen serpent, Moses, and Aaron--one
bearing his rod, the other his ‘rod that budded.’ Under the figure
of Ecclesia is St. David, in a grey monastic robe, bestowing alms.
Under Synagoga, he is addressing the Bishops at Brefi.... He stands
in the centre, while the Bishops are seated round, with a white
robed Abbot in the foreground.”[25]
The golden ground which backs the mosaics sets off advantageously the
delicate garb and pale flesh-tinting of the principal figures. The
borders and other ornaments are rich and varied in colour; and
considering that the east end of the presbytery is somewhat dimly lit,
it was unquestionably desirable that the designs of the mosaics should
be firm in drawing. The heads are perhaps the best part, which is no
small achievement, being as a rule the worst executed. The effect of the
mosaics, with their shimmer of gold, and solemn figures lighting up the
dark wall of the sanctuary, is by no means bad, and, moreover, they
harmonise with the deep hues of the surrounding stonework. There is a
pleasing fitness, too, in the “Old coat” of the Lucys being placed in
the pavement of the presbytery, and stained glass above--a memorial no
less of the former Bishop than of the giver of these handsome
decorations.
Under the central recess on a brass is:
“In honorem Dei, et in memoriam Gulielmi Lucy, S.T.P., hujus
Ecclesiæ Cathedralis regnante Carolo Secundo, præclari episcopi;
has picturas murales et fenestras superne pietate adductus, dat
dedicat Johannes Lucy per multos annos Hamptoni Luci Rector, A.D.
1871.”
The panelled roof of the presbytery is of flat pitch, and dates from the
period of Owen Pole’s treasurership (1472-1509), to whom also that same
feature of the nave is attributed. Scott restored the ancient
decorations, ignoring that of the seventeenth century, when he was
forced to repair and largely renovate the much-decayed beams, &c. The
beams are so large that considerable difficulty was experienced before
suitable oaks could be found; these were eventually procured from Salop,
Radnor, Hereford, and the Forest of Dean. The main bosses are richly
blazoned with shields and gilt, and the armorial bearings include those
of Bishop Robert Tully (1461-1481), Bishop Richard Martyn (1482-1483),
and those of Edmund, Earl of Richmond, impaling Lady Margaret. Freeman
says[26] “the arms of Tully and Martyn occurred also in the clearly
contemporary upper east window.” If this was contemporary glass we trust
it has been carefully preserved. The entry in 1490, which is repeated in
1492, “Et sol 9£ 4ᵈ. Dʳ ⁱ Oweno Pole Mʳᵒ operis ad usũ fabriciæ
per venerabilẽ patrem Robertū nuper Menev. Epūm per suas litteras
patentes assignat,”[27] seems to imply an annual payment, and that
probably this roof was completed soon after this date. The colouring is
rather bright in black, white, and red, and the ornaments are on a
ground of yellowish white. The shields adorn their original positions,
and those not mentioned above are France and England quartered, Edward
V., Richard III., Henry VII., Rhys ap Tudor, Bishop Gomeg, and that
assigned to Rhodri Mawr, King of Gwynedd, killed 877. The corbels
receiving the walling shafts had lost their decorations, and Scott
re-blazoned them with the arms of the Bishop, Dean, Canons, and
Archdeacons of 1864.[28]
The rise from the choir to the eastern bay containing the altar is of
four steps.[29] The tiles in the presbytery are excellent examples of
fifteenth-century encaustics in the usual red-brown and yellow, set
diagonally. Some are, of course, modern, and these are good copies of
the old ones, which are decorated with the arms of Edward III., the
Berkeley and Beauchamp families, and the Tudor rose. Near the sedilia
are some ancient bordering tiles. From the continual repetition of the
Berkeley arms Freeman traces these encaustics to the celebrated Malvern
factory.[30]
On the second step of the presbytery, and at about its centre, is a
squared mortice. This may have received the stem of the reader’s
lectern, which was distinct from those often found in the nave. It may
possibly have received even the processional cross or the cross which
Alcuin tells us was placed in this position on Good Friday to be kissed
by both the clerics and the laity.
The altar slab of grey sandstone and its supports of oak are new. These
are kept clear of the east wall, as there is a peculiar opening into
Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel just behind. A description of this will be found
on p. 62. On the floor near the altar and behind it are placed sundry
altar slabs brought from disused altars. One of these (to the south),
being only 14¾ inches by 9 inches, is let into a larger stone. It is
marked with the usual quintette of crosses and seems to be a picked
piece of Caerfai stone in fine state, from which we may infer that it
probably was used as an “altare portabile.” In the history of St. David
we read of one of these altar stones which was presented to him by the
Patriarch of Jerusalem. King suggests[31] that this stone may have been
a “seal” for a reliquary or receptacle for altar relics, and if so, this
one and
[Illustration: THE PARCLOSE SCREEN, E. SIDE.]
that recently unearthed in the Jesus Chapel of Norwich Cathedral are the
only known ones extant.
The woodwork in the choir has many points of interest, notably the
=Parclose Screen=, which is unique. It divides the presbytery and choir,
and serves to emphasise the ancient three-fold ritual arrangement of
nave, choir, and presbytery. Freeman considers the position of this
screen very remarkable “in this country at least,” and the only churches
with analogous indications that he can instance are Malmesbury and
Dorchester. These divisions were usually well marked in large churches,
but not with an actual screen. In the middle of the fourteenth century
the parclose seems to have been moved to make room for Bishop Morgan’s
throne, but as it always occupied a corresponding position, it is not
unlikely that we here find a very ancient tradition in the church of St.
David’s.
Apart from its position, however, the screen itself is not particularly
noteworthy. The style is Decorated, verging towards Perpendicular. The
upper part is open and filled with sexfoiled tracery, and the lower is,
as usual, panelled. The centre is devoted to a wide entrance, and at
different dates three others have been pierced.
The =Stalls= are inscribed as follows:[32]
SOUTH RETURN. NORTH RETURN.
1. Decanus. 15. Præcentor.
2. Archᵈ Meneue. 16. Archᵈ Brecon.
3. P. Llan Dewi. 17. P. S ᵗⁱ Nicholi.
SOUTH SIDE. NORTH SIDE.
4. P. Cursalis. 18. P. Langan.
5. P. Treflodⁿ. 19. P. Cursalis.
6. ..... 20. ....
7. Vicʳ Episcop. 21. Succentor.
8. P. Cursalis. 22. P. Cursalis.
9. P. Cursalis. 23. P. Cursalis.
10. P. Cludeu. 24. P. Caer-Fai.
11. .... 25. ....
12. P. Caer-Farchell. 26. Archᵈ Cardigⁿ.
13. Archᵈ Carmarⁿ. 27. P. Aurea.
14. Cancellarius. 28. Thesaurarius.
The constructional arches in the transepts are pointed throughout, with
an occasional decorative circular arch, but are
[Illustration: ARCH BETWEEN THE S. TRANSEPT AND THE CHOIR AISLE.]
much plainer than those in the nave and choir. “The peculiar character
of the more slender shafts has freer scope than in the nave and choir,
where a more massive pier is employed; we may observe the general
omission of the neck-moulding and the use of the ogee keel as at
Llandaff. The latter is here applied very curiously, being, in several
members, doubled and set laterally, the effect of which is by no means
pleasing, though it may have had some influence on the architecture of
the period.”[33]
[Illustration: DOUBLE PISCINA, ST. THOMAS’S CHAPEL.]
The transepts are approached from the nave--not, as is usual, through an
open arch, but through original Transitional doorways. The wall which
contains these doors effectually cuts off the view from the transept to
the nave, and also serves somewhat to make the contrast between the
elaborate nave and the rather bare transepts less marked.
The =Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr=, north of the north transept, and
the buildings above form one of the many unique points of St. David’s.
On reference to the ground-plan it will be seen that this remarkable
building is placed at an unexpected angle, the reason for which is not
apparent and remains unexplained.
The year of the fall of the tower--1220--was also that in which the body
of St. Thomas, the martyred primate of Canterbury, was translated from
the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral to the choir. St. David’s, in common
with many other great churches, determined to dedicate a chapel to his
memory. In 1329 this chapel was probably remodelled, when Sir R. Symonds
gave his manor of St. Dogmell to secure two chaplains to celebrate daily
mass for his soul and his wife’s at the altar of St. Thomas. It has the
only original completed Decorated vaulting in the building (except the
south porch), and two stages were added above, making the building
taller than the transept and giving the remarkable external effect seen
from the north-east. The chapel has served as a chapter-house, library,
and vestry, and on its south side has a very beautiful double piscina,
in character purely Early English. The trefoiled heads are
characteristically moulded and the spandrils richly carved, one with
stiff-leaved foliage, another with a bird and foliage, and the third
represents a fight between a man and a devil which is trying to devour
another man. This piscina is interesting, apart from its beauty, as
showing that the Early English architects could work purely in that
style when they desired, and that in all probability their use of
Transitional detail was prompted by their artistic sense and desire to
make their work harmonise with their predecessors’. The vaulting rises
from octagonal shafts with round flowered caps, and the bosses at the
crossing of the ribs are elaborate. One contains the head of our Lord,
and another a similar subject, but the Head censed by angels.
The storey above was the original =Chapter House=, later the Grammar
School, now the =Library=. This position is, we think, unique for a
chapter-house. It is very plain and has a mediæval recessed closet; also
a fine Decorated fireplace (and in it a most unworthy stove), which is
obviously the work of Gower, as it is almost precisely similar to one in
the residential part of his palace over the river. There are also some
Early English bracket capitals, one foliated and the other with the
nail-head, probably to carry lights. On the cill of the north window is
a fragment from the old organ-case, showing how well it was worthy of
being, at any rate, attributed to Grinling Gibbons.
The room above this (third stage) was used as the Treasury, but is not
of any great interest.
Scott did away with an unsightly temporary wooden stair leading to the
chapter-house from the transept, and re-used the original entrance from
the north choir aisle; but we do not consider the present arrangement
very satisfactory, as it still has a temporary appearance.
The =Throne= (Bishop Morgan, 1496-1505) stands on the south side of the
choir, and is a peculiar structure, rendered the more puzzling by being
a blend of Decorated and Perpendicular, judging by the detail. If the
Decorated parts, however, are not of that period, they are copied from
similar work on the parclose screen. There are three seats, the centre
being the Bishop’s, and the others probably for the Canonici
Collaterales. Above are innumerable crocketed canopies, pinnacles,
pediments, &c., terminating in a kind of open spire. The total height is
little short of thirty feet.
At the time of the restoration of the tower all the woodwork in the
immediate vicinity had necessarily to be removed, and under Scott’s
direction was extensively repaired, “the greatest care being taken to
preserve the ancient work as nearly untouched as possible.”
The =Sedilia= are of a pleasing Perpendicular design, with a cornice in
oak of a peculiar white colour, which leads one to suppose that they
were once coloured. The canopy work and coved cornice are better in
detail and general design than those of the stalls. The buttresses which
divide the seats are pierced with tracery, and are surmounted with
crocketed pinnacles.
The oaken stalls--like almost all the woodwork in the choir--belong to
the Perpendicular period, and were erected during the episcopate of
Bishop Tully (1460-1480). They have plain arms, but the return stalls
and those of the Chancellor and Treasurer are decorated with grotesque
heads. The misereres are also conceived in a serio-humorous vein, some,
indeed, being very unusual, the monks being represented as suffering
from _mal de mer_ and crapula. One carving exhibits a cowled fox
offering the wafer to a goose with a human head, which Freeman thinks
may have some bearing on the religious controversy of the time.[34] He
also regards the cowled fox as “the carver’s version of the proverb
‘Cucullus non facit monachum.’”
[Illustration: THE SEDILIA.]
The decanal stall was formerly assigned to the Bishop as Dean, and
accordingly inscribed _Dom. Epī._, but when the Precentor in 1840
assumed the title of Dean[35] this was changed. It will be observed that
the seats of most dignity are the extremes, and the western end and
southern side take precedence. As in the arrangement of stalls which
existed in the colleges of Abergwili and Llanddewi Brefi, founded by
Bishop Beck in this diocese, the Bishop’s Vicar (Subdean) sits on the
decanal side, and the Subchanter in a similar position on the
Precentor’s side.
The delicate silver altar-cross was designed by Mr. T. G. Jackson, and
is a choice addition to the cathedral plate. The east end hangings are
at once recognisable as one of the happiest of Mr. Bodley’s exquisite
designs.
THE SHRINE OF ST. DAVID.
This shrine, which is, and always has been, one of the most important in
the country, occupies a very modest position in the presbytery, viz.,
the third bay from the east on the north side. It is, however, rather a
base and a frame for a _movable_ feretrum, for we know it was carried to
battle. Although the shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster and
St. Thomas à Beckett at Canterbury--to mention two great instances--were
placed behind the high altar with much dignity and with plenty of room
for pilgrims to circulate, yet it seems most likely that the somewhat
extraordinary position of the shrine of the patron Saint of Wales is due
to a retention of an ancient British custom.[36] The tombs of St. Trilo
and St. Dubricius rest in similar places in Llandaff Cathedral, and that
of St. Ninian at Whitherne, in Galloway, occupies an identical position.
On the other hand, Dr. Rock[37] writes: “I cannot bring myself to think
that the shrine stood anywhere but _behind_ the high altar, in its full
dignity and splendour;” which, however, has not been the case, certainly
since the fifteenth century, as the stone altar stood against the east
wall of the presbytery.
We are inclined to think that the monks divided these relics, which were
so infinitely precious that kings came to venerate, and that some were
kept in a movable shrine or feretory, and that the remainder were shown
in a recently
[Illustration: _Photo, J. Valentine._
THE SHRINE OF ST. DAVID.]
discovered recess behind the high altar.[38] Probably these are the same
relics which were found in the lower part of the recess run with mortar
and formed into a solid mass, evidently to prevent desecration. The
relics have been extracted and are carefully preserved in the cathedral.
St. David, whom Walcott[39] gives as Bishop from 519-542 (when he
presumably died), was canonised by Pope Calixtus II. (Guido of
Vienne)[40] 1119-1124, and judging by the numerous Edwardian coins found
in the neighbourhood the shrine attained the height of its celebrity
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Bishop Gower was thus
able to build his magnificent palace as a hostelry for the many
distinguished pilgrims. Amongst the kings who paid homage to St. David
were William I. in 1081,[41] when he subdued Wales, and this shrine
doubtless formed in some sense a common bond between conquerors and
conquered; Henry II., on his way to and from Ireland (1171-1172) when he
gave _inter alia_ two velvet copes “for the singers in serving God and
St. David,”[42] and it was while waiting here for a fair wind that Henry
is reported to have learnt from a bard that King Arthur was buried in
the Isle of Avalon; whilst the last royal visit recorded is that of
Edward I. and Queen Eleanor in 1284.[43]
It appears that the remains of St. David’s confessor, St. Justinian,
were translated from Porthotinan, near St. David’s, to a new tomb in the
cathedral in which he himself was also subsequently interred.[44] But it
is not clear at what date the relics were translated to a movable
feretory. However, it is certain that it was portable, as in 1086 it was
stolen and despoiled.[45] In spite of William of Malmesbury definitely
stating that the relics were transferred to Glastonbury in 946,[46] they
were still in their place when Henry II. made his pilgrimage, and a
century later (1275) we find Bishop Richard de Carew building a new
shrine which agrees with the general architectural character of the
existing structure.[47] But we find that the relics, or some of them,
were inclosed in a portable shrine long after this. An Extent of the
Bishop’s lands made in the year 1326 informs us that the burgesses of
St. David’s were bound to follow the Bishop in time of war with the
shrine of St. David for one day’s journey in either direction,[48] and
under a statute of Bishop Nicholas the chantry priests were enjoined to
carry the shrine in procession on the instructions of the precentor or
president of the Chapter.[49] Yet the evidence[50] of those who
certainly saw the shrine before the Reformation, convinces us that this
structure is the same that anciently bore the name, and, as Freeman[51]
says, “the term feretrum, in spite of its etymology, was continually
applied to standing shrines, as, for instance, to the celebrated shrine
of St. Cuthbert at Durham.” By a statute[52] of Bishop Beck, 1287,
recited and confirmed by Bishop Gower in 1342, three officers are
directed to take charge of all things given or left “tam ad fabricam,
quam ad Feretrum, sive caput.”
The style of the shrine is Early English merging towards Decorated. The
base extends from pier to pier of the third arch from the east on the
north side of the presbytery. On this are three low chamfered and
pointed arches, about 12 inches high, and four deeply-sunk quatrefoils
occupy the spandrils; the recesses beneath the arches are also about 12
inches in depth and backed with a stone wall. The outer quatrefoils are
merely ornamental, but the two central ones communicate with lockers at
the back for offerings. Above these arches is a flat table, restored in
many places, on which rested the movable feretory and which also bears
the principal structure of three arches and round shafts. The capitals
are rather Early English in character, as are the heads[53] at the
junctions of the arches, but the crocketed hood-moulding and label
running across the archway are most undesirable Perpendicular additions.
The arches contained frescoes on the wall at the back. According to
Browne Willis,[54] “_St. David_ himself is painted in his
Pontificalibus; and on each side of him is a Bishop Saint; one by the
Inscription is known to be _St. Patrick_ (to the west); the other is
somewhat defac’d.” It is a figure in episcopal attire and said to be St.
Denis. He goes on to say that the whole was formerly surmounted by a
wooden canopy--“a fair Arch of Timber work painted”--and marks of this
remain. The back--towards the north choir aisle--is supposed to be
imperfect. It has three low rounded arches, the centre being the widest,
and over each was a chamfered quatrefoil, and between these were two
rather high niches. A string runs round the each opening, but does not
run along the base of the quatrefoils. Quite recently stones were to be
seen in the pavement hollowed by continual friction with the knees of
the pilgrims. Undoubtedly this shrine suffered when the presbytery
arcade was walled up owing to the collapse of the aisle roofs, but now
that all is dry and in good repair the three saints might well be
repainted.
THE SHRINE OF ST. CARADOC.
Often mistaken for, somewhat similar to, and of about the same date as,
the shrine of St. David, is that of St. Caradoc on the south side of the
north transept (dedicated to St. Andrew), where he was buried by his own
express wish near the altar of St. Stephen. He died in 1124, and at the
instance of the historian Giraldus was canonised by Pope Innocent
III.[55] The tomb consists of a round arch, with a stone shelf below
supported by a wall in which are two pointed arches and a couple of
quatrefoils chamfered inwards. Above the arch is a small portion of wall
containing some air-holes. It has been suggested that as this transept
has been dedicated to St. Andrew, one of the patron saints of the
Church, that it was designed as a receptacle of relics of that
saint.[56]
=The Aisles of the Presbytery=, except for sundry attractive monuments,
are not very interesting, but have undergone various changes. After the
fall of the tower they were reconstructed in the prevalent Transitional
style. In the Early English period the wall of the south aisle was
rebuilt further south.[57] The old roofs were removed, the walls raised,
and new windows inserted in the Decorated period by Bishop Gower
(1328-1347). Three hundred years later they were in a ruined condition.
In the general restoration of the latter part of this century they have
been re-roofed and extensively repaired.
[Illustration: THE SHRINE OF ST. CARADOC.]
The capitals of the pier-shafts on the aisle side resemble those in the
presbytery, but the piers themselves are peculiar. A group of shafts is
attached to each pier; these, however, finish below the capitals of each
pier with a bracket. It has been supposed that these were intended for
figures, and it is quite likely that this may have been the best way the
Transitional architects saw of avoiding a raw appearance when they gave
up their groining system.
The eastern walls of the presbytery aisles both show the very steep
pitch of the early roof, which apparently remained till the walls were
raised by Gower.
In the south-east angle of the north aisle is a doorway leading to the
arcaded passage in front of the main east windows. Scott restored the
original Decorated windows, which he found much decayed on the north
side; but on the south side, where no remains of the tracery were extant
“and even the jambs were so shattered that it was only by a fragment
here and there that the mouldings were recovered,”[58] the tracery he
introduced was “founded on fragmentary evidence from other parts of the
church of the same date.” But this archæologic proceeding has not
resulted in any specially beautiful design, though, doubtless, it was
the best thing that could be done.
The modern roofs are decidedly good and solid--of a Decorated character
and well carven.
The north choir aisle is different to the south on account of the Chapel
of St. Thomas, which blocks up the westernmost bay. A modern wooden
staircase near the west end of the north aisle leads to the
chapter-house.
The large north window in the north transept was inserted in 1846 by
Butterfield. It is based on one at Sleaford, Lincolnshire, and replaced
another of late and inferior design. The west wall of both transepts is
of De Leiâ’s time, and the remainder, after the fall of the tower, about
1220. The north transept is dedicated to St. Andrew, and his altar stood
in the central eastern arch and the south transept was known as the
Chanters’ Chapel, with an altar dedicated to the Holy Innocents and
almost certainly one to St. David. This transept had at first but a
single chapel (Decorated), with a space between it and the aisle of the
choir, but in the sixteenth century these two were joined and the chapel
became a vestry. In this century, when the south transept was fitted up
as a parish church it formed the eastern aisle. Scott restored the
original arrangement.
[Illustration: SCREEN OF BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
The transepts show more clearly than any other part of the church the
influence of the west of England on Welsh architecture, and it is
remarkable that it should have started thus early. The Transitional and
even Early English architecture at St. David’s and Llandaff resembles in
mouldings that at Slymbridge and in foliage some of the great
Gloucestershire churches. It is not surprising that the later splendid
Perpendicular and Decorated examples of Somerset and the Bristol
district should have made their impress felt in Wales. But this Early
English connection certainly seems wonderful.
THE CHAPELS EAST OF THE PRESBYTERY.
The chapels at the far east end of the church are extraordinarily
extensive and most remarkable for a comparatively small cathedral like
St. David’s. This being so it is best to refer to the plan, which will
simplify what seems bewildering in mere description. Generally speaking
the ground-plan may be considered as an extension of the main body of
the church, terminating in a Lady Chapel, with aisles continuing those
of the choir for part of the length. But, inasmuch as no part of the
cathedral seems to have attracted the attention of the various prelates
who were successively benefactors to the church, more than this; and, as
the changes were numerous and but little regard appears to have been
paid to preceding plans, the inevitable result is a kind of
architectural _pot-pourri_. It is, however, a very attractive medley.
De Leiâ’s church clearly terminated at the existing east wall of the
presbytery and aisles, and apparently at the time of the rebuilding
occasioned by the fall of the tower in 1220, no attempt was made to
lengthen the church eastwards. It is not unlikely, however, that shortly
before the time of the earthquake of 1248 a Lady Chapel or retro-choir
was contemplated and even begun, but discontinued. As we see it now it
is also not improbable that the original plan may have been followed,
with many changes in detail in the succeeding centuries. The aisles
continuing those of the presbytery are connected by a sort of
retro-choir or ambulatory--embracing the space now occupied by Bishop
Vaughan’s Chapel between it and the east wall of the presbytery. This is
all Early English, _i.e._, thirteenth century, work. Bishop Martyn
(1290-1328) completed the present ground-plan by adding his Lady Chapel.
Bishop Gower (1328-1347), the Menevian Wykeham, raised the north and
east walls of the north chapel aisle and rebuilt the south and east
walls of the south aisle from the ground, probably on Early English
foundations. Also, this aisle was projected a few feet in an easterly
direction and many changes made in the Lady Chapel, where Gower founded
a charity in 1334. Bishop Vaughan (1509-1522) appropriated the space
east of the presbytery which was described[59] as “vilissimus sive
sordidissimus locus in totâ ecclesiâ,” and converted it into the
beautiful chapel which bears his name. Previous to this we can find no
early references to this space which was walled in north,
[Illustration: ROOF OF BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
south, east, and west (according to Freeman) and may previously never
have been roofed. With regard to this numerous suggestions have been
made which do not seem entirely satisfactory. At any rate the east
windows of the cathedral were glazed and required light, which we
venture to suggest may have been obtained from the open passage left
for pilgrims to reach the ancient recess in the east wall, which is
apparently _in situ_ and bears unmistakable marks of having been
polished by use. And, that the remainder of the space was screened off
and roofed for the immurement of a recluse, who could perhaps watch
unseen the movements of the pilgrims. It must be remembered also that
stealing relics carried its own absolution. This might account, too, for
its filthy state which necessitated the four pence of 1492[60] to clean.
In those days an unusually large sum. In making this Trinity Chapel,
Bishop Vaughan blocked up the lower east windows of the cathedral and
probably added the upper tier shown on p. 36, and then added his
fan-traceried roof and other ornaments.
The Lady Chapel and the ambulatory or vestibule were evidently twice
prepared for vaulting before Bishop Vaughan actually completed the
scheme, but during the Civil War it was denuded of lead, which
eventuated in its collapse about 1775 and in the erection of the
extraordinary modern buttresses which prop up the inner walls of the
chapel and its aisles.
This brief general description may help the visitor to realise the many
changes which produced these peculiar eastern adjuncts, and we will now
discuss each more in detail.
=Bishop Vaughan’s, or The Trinity, Chapel.=--This chapel is a peculiarly
subtle example of Perpendicular, and retains both its internal and
external roofs. Freeman, who does not usually pay high tribute to any
phase of Perpendicular, says,[61] “Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel is an
extremely fine specimen of late Perpendicular, and that of the best
kind, and is the more conspicuous, as being the only portion of the
cathedral of any merit or importance belonging to that style. It
exhibits the same chasteness of design and delicacy of execution which
distinguishes King’s College Chapel, opposed alike to the meagreness of
Bath Abbey and the corrupt form and overdone ornament of Henry the
Seventh’s Chapel. The arches, one on each side, which divide the chapel
from the aisles, command admiration for the justness of their
proportions and the purity of their detail, being well moulded, and
having shafts with good capitals and bases; the stone screens also with
which they are fitted up increase the effect of elegant richness. It is
much to be regretted that they should remain exposed to the effect of
the weather, even comparatively sheltered as they are by the main body
of the cathedral.
[Illustration: RECESS IN BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
The roof is of excellent fan-tracery, consisting of two bays, running
north and south, with a small portion of panelled barrel vaulting at
each end. It rises from shafts, of which the central ones at each end
are corbelled off. The eastern one would have interfered with the altar
of the chapel, the western with the doorway[62] which then opened behind
the high altar, and whose arch may still be traced.” The angel which
acts as a corbel over the Transitional recess is very finely conceived
and carved, as also are the bosses of sculpture on the screens. Indeed
they are as fine as anything the Perpendicular men ever did. The recess
itself is shown on p. 61. The centre cross is 2 feet 3 inches square and
is cut out of a stone 1 ft. 9 in. thick, the four spandrils between the
arms being pierced through to the high altar. The height of the top of
the cill is about 3 feet from the present floor of the chapel and 1 ft.
6 in. from that of the sanctuary. As already mentioned,[63] the lower
part was found to contain human bones, run into a solid mass with mortar
to prevent desecration, which probably was done at the time of the
religious changes in the sixteenth century. The other crosses
surrounding the large one are probably some of those cut for dedication
purposes; and as the lowest at any rate is earlier than the centre, it
is probably a once much venerated relic of St. David’s own church before
that of De Leiâ.
[Illustration: BOSSES ON THE CORNICE.]
On the opposite side of this chapel--_i.e._, in the wall between Bishop
Vaughan’s Chapel and the ante-chapel--is more finely detailed
Perpendicular work.
[Illustration: RECENTLY DISCOVERED WINDOW IN BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
In 1898 an interesting discovery was made, and our view was taken the
same year immediately after. On the west side of this wall stood the
altar to the Holy Trinity, with a tall canopied niche on each side.
On either side of these again traces of a four-centred arch showed
faintly through the smooth ashlar at the back, and on removing the
ashlar two beautiful windows were disclosed. They have their saddle-bars
and stancheons _in situ_, in some places almost rusted through, and it
is clear that the windows have not been, nor were they intended to be,
glazed. Another interesting point is that they seem scarcely to have
been finished before they were walled up again, for the masonry has not
even been rubbed down. This seems so unusual a treatment for windows of
such refinement, that one is tempted to conjecture that some zealous
subordinate of the Bishop’s, anxious to give him a pleasant surprise,
had, during his absence, caused these windows to be made, but on his
return the incensed prelate promptly ordered their immurement. A squint
was, however, left in the centre light of each window, so that from the
Trinity Chapel altar the celebrations at those at the east end of the
north and south aisles could be seen. When removing the masonry in 1898,
it was decided to leave these squint-stones in order not to destroy an
important link in the history of these windows.
[Illustration: NICHE, BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
Curiously enough, the backs of the windows, towards the ambulatory are
different from the fronts (one of which we illustrate) and have merely
four-centred arches.
[Illustration: BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL.]
At the north end of this chapel is the tomb of Archdeacon Hiot and that
of Sir John Wogan, recently brought here for the sake of preservation.
The former stood in the chapel of St. Nicholas. Bishop Vaughan’s own
tomb is in front of the altar, the leger-stone once bearing a brass on
which was engraved his effigy.[64]
Several Celtic stones bearing crosses, which were found at Pen Arthur,
are at present in this chapel. The earliest--from the eighth to the
eleventh century--Professor Westwood found doing duty as a gate-post on
a farm. The holes show the marks where the hinges were. At the top, on
the left, can be read Α Ω and (?) JHS. On the right is XPS, cut after
the corner was broken away, and below is “Gurmarc.” On the back is
another cross of a still earlier character. It is supposed to have
commemorated some battle fought in the neighbourhood, and was found on
the moor.
=The South Chapel Aisle.=--On coming through the east door of the south
choir aisle we enter the Chapel of King Edward the Confessor, and we
notice on the right a Decorated recess said to have contained the
monument of a priest; but the great buttresses, which meet the eye
looking east, are only temporary supports and in no sense form part of
the original design. Opposite the Decorated recess is the tomb of a
knight (8), but unfortunately this has been badly treated at the hands
of the buttress builders. On the north side of the altar is a piscina
with a pointed arch, cinquefoiled, and a projecting bracket of
singularly bold design which seems to interrupt the Decorated
string.[65] A curious groining boss, apparently in order to preserve it,
is let into the wall to the west above the piscina. It is carven into
the form of three beasts (asses or rabbits) with long ears. The
peculiarity of the design, which is met with elsewhere, is that there
are only three ears, yet each beast has its full complement.
=The Ante-Chapel.=--Briant (p. 57) says this chapel is known locally as
the _Chapel of the Seven Sisters_, on account of the seven hideous heads
which are said to be types of the beauty of South Wales. We can find no
such record.
This narrow space, which intervenes between Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel and
the Lady Chapel to the east, is separated from the aisles by pairs of
very elegant Early English arches north and south, and Freeman is of
opinion that they differ slightly in date. The capitals have a delicate
nail-head moulding not to be found elsewhere in the cathedral. One of
the arches on the southern side has a figure lying down doing duty for a
corbel which was designed to carry the vaulting; it is, however, more
curious than beautiful. A segmental relieving arch in rough ashlar
embraces both arches. In this chapel was found the “Abraham” stone now
placed in the south transept (see p. 79).
[Illustration: VIEW LOOKING N. IN ANTE-CHAPEL TO LADY CHAPEL.]
This chapel is roofed with a neat Perpendicular vault and lit with a
poor Perpendicular window, and a couple of depressed arches (_i.e._,
with their springing below the capitals) open into the =Lady Chapel=. An
enormous buttress, however, is an unsightly necessity to prevent the
wall above these arches falling eastwards. Our view (page 67) is taken
from the east, looking west, and shows one of these arches and, on the
south side, the fine Decorated tomb of Bishop Martyn. The composition
was that of a five-foiled arch, with open foliations between crocketed
pinnacles rising from octagonal attached shafts with floriated
capitals, all beneath a lofty straight-sided canopy. The detail seems to
point to Bishop Gower as the author. The canopy blocks an Early
Decorated window and cuts through a string, but its finial was evidently
utilised as a corbel by Bishop Vaughan for his vaulted roof, traces of
which are clearly discernible in the view at the south-west corner.
[Illustration: SEDILIA AND TOMB, S. SIDE OF LADY CHAPEL.]
The sedilia, of three seats, is a fine design by Gower, the finials of
the crocketed ogee arches forming bosses in the cornice as in some of
his other designs.
The cross lying on the ground is one which once stood on the east end of
the presbytery, probably designed by Sir G. Scott from an old example.
Nearly opposite is a recess for a tomb which seems to have been similar
to that of Bishop Martyn. This was wrongly supposed to be that of Bishop
Houghton, who founded and was buried in his own chapel of St. Mary’s
College, not St. Mary’s Chapel, hence confusion. Archdeacon Yardley
conjectures with plausibility that Gower erected these two tombs to his
immediate predecessors, Martyn and Beck[66] (1280-1328). Externally, and
to some extent even now internally, the Lady Chapel has assumed the
appearance of a Perpendicular building, but as a matter of fact it is,
in the main, a blend of Early English and Early Decorated.
[Illustration: THE NORTH CHAPEL AISLE.]
=The North Chapel Aisle.=--At the east end of this aisle stood the altar
to St. Nicholas, and in the south-east corner is a trefoil-headed
piscina with a quatrefoil drain. The changes which took place in the
Early Decorated period in this aisle are not so extensive as those of
the same date in its sister, where the whole of the southern and eastern
walls were rebuilt, but the result is even more of a patchwork in
appearance. The walls were raised, windows inserted and preparations
made for vaulting, but, nevertheless, the round Early English vaulting
shafts (c. 1248) appear below the octagonal ones of the Decorated
period. On reference to the plan it will be noticed that the Lady Chapel
is not on the central axis of the choir, and that between it and the
north aisle is a space, which, we cannot but think, was occasioned by
the timidity which we find throughout the cathedral in dealing with
vaults. The north wall of the Lady Chapel was thus moved inwards to
reduce the span and obtain--as they undoubtedly did, from whatever
cause--a much better proportioned building. The monuments in both aisles
are much decayed owing to their long exposure to the weather. East of
the screen opening to Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel is a small piece of a
Decorated tomb canopy, but the chapel arch has cut through the
remainder. “Its existence seems to prove that the ‘waste place’ now
occupied by the chapel must have been closed at the sides by walls;
although there must surely have been some door or entrance, however
narrow.”[67] Just beneath[68] this crocketed fragment of a canopy is a
small stone with a finely-conceived representation of a crucifixion in
relief with the figures of SS. Mary and John, obviously placed here for
preservation; and low down under this is an altar-tomb with a panelled
arcade, which once bore the figure of a priest in eucharistic vestments,
and above the panelling the inscription, “Orate pro Anima Johannis
[Hiot] nuper Archi....” which indicates that it was the monument of John
Hiot, Archdeacon of St. David’s, who died in 1419.
In this aisle a chantry was founded early in the fourteenth century by
Sir John Wogan, of Picton, Chief Justiciary of Ireland under Edward the
First, and it is conjectured that the two monuments opposite (_i.e._, in
the north wall) were erected by and to members of this family. The one
to the west (No. 2) is a mutilated figure of a knight in chain armour
about the date of Henry III.; the other (No. 1) is an exceedingly fine
example of a recumbent, eucharistically vested priest having
[Illustration: TOMB OF A PRIEST, N. SIDE OF N. CHAPEL.]
his feet resting on a dog and his hands clasped. The head rests on a
canopy of a spherical triangle crocketed. Freeman (p. 120) notes that a
similar canopy occurs elsewhere in the cathedral, also in a small tomb
in the chancel of Carew Church, and in an external tomb at Nangle in
Pembrokeshire. But it is the main arch or canopy of the tomb that is its
chief glory, and, strangely enough, the part least noticed by previous
writers. The subtlety and delicacy of the mouldings is worth careful
examination. The under side of the arch has been elaborately cusped, and
might easily be restored. The top member is curved back to admit of a
very unusual form of crocket, viz., two ivy leaves point to point, well
conventionalised and most effective. At the west end this springs from
the head of a greyhound, the other is defective. On the whole we are
inclined to think that the priest’s effigy has been placed here as a
convenient spot for its preservation and is a later insertion. Beneath
is some panelling consisting of triangles trefoiled, but it is very
flat and tame and in great contrast to the skilful treatment of the
upper part. The material is Caerfai stone. Browne Willis shows on his
plan[69] two monuments under the third and fourth windows of this aisle
from the east, and calls them “Knights Templars”--possibly also
Wogans--but they no longer remain.
MONUMENTS IN THE CHURCH OTHER THAN IN THE EASTERN CHAPELS.
Beginning with the remarkable rood-screen, we find three ecclesiastical
effigies. During the excavations for the new foundations of the
tower-piers and shoring it was necessary to disturb the tombs in the
rood-screen, but the remains were carefully and severally restored to
their original resting-places, and such rings, chalices, crosiers, and
other valuables as were found were removed by the Chapter. The most
interesting of these objects are in the Chapter House under glass. They
comprise a Decorated gilt bronze pastoral staff (probably Gower’s) with
a fragment of its standard, two chalices, and a quantity of cere cloth.
Two of the effigies cannot be with certainty identified, and we have
only the tradition handed down by Browne Willis: “I should guess them to
have been erected for Bishops of S. David’s, tho’ they have a Tradition
here, that one belongs to a Chancellor, or, as some say, a Chantor; and
the other to a Treasurer of this Church.”
However, we know that =Bishop Gower’s Tomb= occupies (No. 25) the southern
compartment of the screen. He died in 1347, and is represented as vested
eucharistically with a mitre and pastoral staff veiled in his left hand,
and at his feet is a lion. The right hand is broken and was originally
in the act of benediction. Before the rebellion Browne Willis[70] stated
that this tomb was “inclos’d to the South and West with a Brass
Pallisade: Upon the Facio of which, was this Inscription:[71]
‘=Hic jacet= Henricus Gower, =Structor Palatii & hujus Ecclesiae.
Menevensis Archiepiscopus qui obiit, &c.=’”
But on pp. 19 and 71 he corrects himself, on the authority apparently
of an eye-witness, and gives the following as being more correct:
“Henricus Gower, =Episcopalis Palatii constructor=.”
“The Rebels took that, and all the Brass upon the other Tombs of the
Church, quite away; and now there are Wooden[72] Rails in Lieu of the
Brass Pallisade. His body lies at length in his Episcopal Robes.” On the
south side of the altar-tomb are eight figures of the Apostles in
relief.
[Illustration: TOMB OF BISHOP MORGAN IN NAVE.]
The altar-tomb in the second bay from the east on the south side of the
nave is to Bishop John Morgan (1496-1564). The whole is in Bath stone.
The mitred bishop is sculptured at full length in his chasuble,
dalmatic, stole, alb, and maniple, and holds his veiled pastoral staff.
He wears somewhat unusual gloves. Two kneeling angels support the
cushioned head. Freeman[73] is very hard on the architecture of this
tomb: “The head, foot, and north side of the tomb are
[Illustration: BISHOP GOWER’S TOMB.]
adorned with rectangular panels having their upper angles rounded off
without any kind of foliation, and exhibiting cases of interpenetration
in its worst form. Altogether the architectural ornaments are extremely
poor, and nearly resemble much of the German work of that period.” This
unnecessarily severe censure is, however, tempered with discriminating
praise of the sculpture: “The sculpture, on the other hand, is extremely
spirited and graceful, as well that of the principal figure, as those of
the smaller images which adorn the sides. In the two panels on the north
side there are six images of Apostles; six more evidently decorated the
south side, but these have been cut away to make room for a pew. At the
foot there is a group representing the resurrection of our Saviour,
sculptured in alto-relievo with remarkable grace and freedom. At the
head there is a griffin, Bishop Morgan’s bearing, supporting a shield
with the letters W and I, or J, in a cypher. Whose initials they may be,
we are at a loss to say; the heraldic bearing taken in connection with
authority almost contemporaneous leaves us in doubt to whom we are to
attribute the monument. This tomb, with its very advanced sculpture, and
very debased architecture, is a striking commentary on the state of the
arts at that important period of transition; and it is extremely curious
to observe the corruptions of the latter art manifesting themselves in
tombs in the first instance. The monument of Henry VII. in Westminster
Abbey, is of course a remarkable case of the same kind.”
Opposite Morgan’s tomb, under the eastern window of the south aisle, is
a Decorated recess containing the tomb of an unknown priest (No. 27),
all in Caerfai stone. The canopy is very fine.[74] It is part of a
concave-sided octagon, at the points of which are radial finials. This
form is to be found in Bristol Cathedral, and “is clearly a development
of the idea which produced the semi-octagonal doorways in the
rood-screen and the palace.”[75] Gower’s characteristic ornaments--the
pellet, four-leaved flower and wave-moulding--spring from octagonal
shafts with a big projection. On each side is a pinnacle having an odd
and ugly decoration at the offsets, but it is on the whole preferable to
Gower’s customary flat quatrefoil. The altar-tomb is of plain ashlar,
and on it lies a priest in eucharistic vestments, his head on a double
cushion carried by angels, and at his feet a dog.
There are some slabs with crosses near here and some shells before the
daïs, which once contained matrices of the brasses, with figures about
half full size to William Wilcock (1502) and Richard Ragader[76] (1530),
prebendaries of St. Nicholas and masters of St. Mary’s College Chapel,
which will probably account for several unidentifiable slabs in the
choir and elsewhere.
The monument occupying the most important position in the presbytery is
that (No. 6)[77] to Edmond Tudor, Earl of Richmond, son of Owen Tudor
and Queen Catherine of Valois (widow of Henry V.) and father of Henry
VII., who died in 1456, and was buried in the church of the Grey Friars
at Caermarthen.[78] But at the dissolution the remains and the tomb were
together brought to St. David’s. The position is close to the shrine of
St. David, and, as it was unusual to permit any interment in the
immediate vicinity of a great shrine, it may be well to note that this
tomb was not placed here till after the probable shrine of St. David had
been removed. The altar-tomb is in Purbeck marble, and is ornamented
with shallow Perpendicular quatrefoils reticulated. Each panel has a
shield in the centre, and a brass occupied the leger-stone. These
inscriptions were restored by Jones and Freeman[79] from some drawings
bound up with a MS. in the possession of the Earl of Cawdor. On the
verge:
_“Under this Marble Stone here enclos’d, resteth the Bones of that noble
Lord_ Edmond, _Earl of_ Richmond, _Father and Brother to Kings, the
which departed out of this World in the Year of our Lord God, a thousand
four hundred fifty and six, the first Day of the Month of_ November; _on
whose Soul, Almighty_ Jesu _have Mercy. Amen.”_
On the tomb (at its foot probably) was:
_“Heu! Regum Genitor, & Frater splendidus Heros,_
_Omnis quo micuit Regia Virtus, obit._
_Herculeus Comes Ille tuus_, Richmondia _Duxque_
_Conditur_ Edmundus _his modo Marmoribus._
_Qui Regni Clypeus, Comitum Flos, Malleus Hostis,_
_Vitæ Dexteritas, Pacis Amator erat._
_Hic meditare Vians Te semper vivere posse!_
_Non morieris Homo? Nonne miselle vides_
Cæsar _quem Tremeret Armis, nec vinceret_ Hector
_Ipsa devictum Morte ruisse Virum?_
_Cede Metrum Precibus: Dat Regum Conditor Almus_
_Ejus Spiritui Lucida Regna Poli_.”[80]
The length and sentiments of the inscription, however, hardly atone for
the fact that this is a mean ornament to so important a person, and one
cannot help contrasting it with that of his illustrious son--King Henry
VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
With St. David’s shrine we have already dealt (see _ante_, p. 50).
Turning to the corresponding arch on the south side of the presbytery,
we find two tombs (Nos. 17 and 18). One (18) in Purbeck marble supports
the figure of a bishop eucharistically vested and mitred, with a veiled
pastoral staff in his left hand. The right hand is raised in
benediction. Browne Willis conjectures[81] that this was the tomb of
Bishop Gervase or Jorwerth (1215-1229), but later[82] he definitely
states that it was unknown, but “_was unanimously assur’d to me to be
the Monument of_ Bishop Jerworth.” It is possible that the figure (which
is later than 1229) was placed over the remains of Gervase, during whose
episcopate the present presbytery was largely erected. A pastoral staff
(copper gilt) and part of its wooden stave, of a rich design, were found
near here in 1844, and, Freeman notes[83] “is at present in the
possession of the Bishop of S. David’s.”
The other (No. 17) is to Bishop Anselm le Gras (1231-47), according to
the inscription on the trefoiled canopy supported by angels and adorned
with foliage:
PETRA PRECOR DIC SIC ANSELMUS EPISCOPUS EST HIC.
The Bishop is in relief and wears eucharistic vestments, with a rich
mitre and pastoral staff unveiled but turned outwards, and the right
hand is in the act of benediction. There is a kind of nimbus to the head
and at the feet are two dogs, one of whom is pierced by the staff.
Proceeding to the next arch further east immediately behind
[Illustration: TOMB OF A KNIGHT AT THE BACK OF THE SEDILIA.]
the sedilia, there is a recumbent figure in the armour of the late
fourteenth century. This is attributed to Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of
South Wales.[84] “The head, which has the conical basanet and camaille,
is reclining upon a casque surmounted by the crest, _On a chapeau a lion
sejant_. The body armour is covered by a jupon, on the breast and back
of which are embroidered the wearer’s arms _[Gules,] within a bordure
engrailed [or,] a lion rampant [of the second]_. It is not quite clear
whether the jupon, which falls in a fringe round the hips, is meant to
have sleeves, or whether the figure has a hauberk with short sleeves,
those of the tunic appearing beneath them. The hands are clasped; there
is a richly decorated belt and sword; the legs have complete plate
armour, with genouillères; the feet have spurs, and rest on a lion.”
In a corresponding position in the north choir aisle is another very
similar tomb (No. 11), evidently of a member of the same family,
probably by the same designer. The head lies on a double cushion, and
the heraldic bearings on the jupon have a label of three points.[85] The
general conclusion seems to be that these monuments are to Lord Rhys ap
Tewdwr and his son Rhys Gryg. Before the restoration they stood under
the same arches in the presbytery, not, as now, in the aisles.
Under the easternmost arch of the presbytery on the south side is a
mutilated figure of a priest (No. 20) in the eucharistic vestments of
Bishop Gower’s time, which is commonly attributed to Giraldus
Cambriensis,[86] but on slight authority. The head rests on a double
cushion supported by angels, the hands are clasped (holding the Host)
and the feet lie on a dog. Opposite in the south choir aisle is a fine
slab (No. 22), with a cross floriated with branches in relief. The
chamfered edge bears the following inscription in Lombardic letters:
SILVESTER: MEDICUS: IACET: HIC: EIVS[que] RUINA:
MONSTRAT: QVOD MORTI: [non]: OBSISTIT: MEDICINA:
[Silvester the physician lies here, and his dissolution proves that
medicine withstands not Death.]
Under the easternmost window in this aisle is the effigy of a vested
priest with raised hands. The recess is Decorated, and has a foliated
canopy which is remarkable as being the only instance of ball-flower in
the church except that in the Decorated stage of the tower. In the
westernmost bay (No. 21) is a much worn tomb of an ecclesiastic holding
a book in his right hand.
The easternmost bay of the north side of the presbytery (No. 13) is
occupied by the monument to Thomas Lloyd, Treasurer (d. 1613). The
inscription states that it was here placed by his son Marmaduke:
Counsel-at-law of the Middle Temple. It is shown on page 45. At its back
is a Decorated recess, but the effigy has gone. The inscription is:[87]
MARMADUCUS LLOYDE ARMIGER JURISCONSULTUS ET MEDII TEMPLI SOCIUS HOC
FECIT IN PERPETUAM PATRIS SUI CHARISSIMI THOMÆ LLOYD HUJUS ECCLESIÆ
CATHEDRALIS THESAURARII MEMORIAM QUI OCTAVO DIE MENSIS MARTII AÑO
REGNI SERENISSIMI REGIS JACOBI DECIMO OBIIT ET HIC JACET.
In the north transept are the tomb of St. Caradoc (see p. 55), and the
effigy of a priest beneath a Decorated canopy.
In the south transept, near the nave, is an incised slab with a
floriated cross having the head of a priest appearing above it through
an opening in the stone.
[Illustration: ABRAHAM STONE (CELTIC).]
In the east wall of this transept are two fragments of very ancient
Celtic slabs. The more important of the two is to Bishop Abraham, and
was found in 1891 in the east wall of the ante-chapel.[88] It is
inscribed with curious characters:
PONTIFICIS ABRAHAM FILII HIC HED[OM] T ISAC QUIESCUNT.
A very fine interlacing Celtic cross springing from a root is the
principal attraction of the stone. The uncarven outer circle terminates
at the head with a neat little Maltese cross having an incised border
and a slight depression at the end of each arm. The Greek alpha and
omega appear in the corners, and below are the sacred monograms. Bishop
Abraham (1076-78) was killed when the Northmen pillaged St. David’s in
1078, but it is not known in what way his sons were especially gifted
that so fine a memorial should have been erected to their memory.
Near by is another stone of a similar character of which nothing is
known. In the new Chapter House the back can be seen, but the large
Latin cross with which it is ornamented seems later.
[Illustration: NORTH DOORWAY, NAVE (_see p. 20_).]
[Illustration: THE COLLEGE OF ST. MARY FROM THE S. W.
_From an engraving after H. Gastineau._]
CHAPTER IV
THE PRECINCTS--THE CLOISTERS AND ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
The College of St. Mary was founded conjointly by John of Gaunt, Duke of
Lancaster, his wife Blanche, and Bishop Adam Houghton in 1377, but it
was endowed solely by the Bishop for the maintenance of a Master and
seven Priest-Fellows, who were bound by a solemn oath to live in strict
obedience to such regulations as the founder thought fit to ordain. The
priests wore the same dress as the vicars-choral, and were under the
control of the Precentor or Treasurer of the cathedral. They were bound
to say the Hours and Masses of Requiem and perform certain services in
the church. Any view from the northern side of the cathedral must
include the graceful proportions of St. Mary’s, and it is surprising how
well these buildings group with those of the cathedral. The cloisters
and the cloister-garth, which separate the two buildings, date from
about the same time as St. Mary’s and doubtless were common to the
members of both foundations. The Early Perpendicular chapel is built on
a large crypt, being quite contiguous to the river Alan, not unlike the
chapel and hall of Magdalene College, Oxford. At the south-east angle
was a Sacristy, with an upper chamber built over the cloisters, which
had alleys to the north, west, and east; the latter running from the
college to the north wall of the transept. As at Hereford, therefore, a
covered way existed between the cathedral and the college.
To the north of the cloisters was the square occupied by the college; on
the north side of which, again, was the principal entrance. And on the
south side of the square stood the chapel of which we now see the
remains, showing that it must have been a very fine building of its
kind. The elegance of the proportions and subtlety of the detail betray
the hand of a very skilful architect. The dimensions of the chapel are
69 ft. × 23 ft. 9 in. × 45 ft. high. It was lit by three windows in each
side 24 ft. × 9 ft. broad each, and the east window must have been a
grand affair, as it occupies the whole of the east wall. The tower is 70
ft. high, to the north of which are the remains of the Infirmary.[89]
The cathedral cloisters, unlike most English cathedrals, never had an
alley next the church, and it is most probable that no cloister existed
before the time of Bishop Houghton.
But so fragmentary are the remains of the cloister and so complete its
destruction that we will only give a brief outline of its state as
inferred by Freeman, that the visitor may understand the ruins.
A reference to the plan will best locate the cloister, but it will be
noticed that the massive western buttresses, which take the thrust of
the nave, show traces of the cloister wall. Also the wall-arcade and
vaulting-springers are visible on the south wall of the chapel of St.
Mary’s. The sacristy to the chapel, which has a piscina, was over the
eastern alley, and under this can be seen the lines of four bays of the
cloister and part of a fifth. Apparently the east side of the cloister
was never completed, as the buttresses show no sign of additions;
therefore, although a covered way was obtained between the cathedral and
college, the north door remained as a separate entrance from the
prebendal and other houses.
The crypt[90] on which the chapel stands is roofed with a simple
elliptical barrel-vault and rear arches of small lights cut into it on
the northern side. Below the tower was the cloister entrance, but the
steps up to the chapel have quite disappeared. The landing at the top of
these steps and two bays to the north formed an ante-chamber to the
chapel, and a turret-stair on the northern or garden side led down to
the domestic buildings as well as to a room over the vestibule. This
room had two windows, one of which looked into the chapel, as at St.
Cross. It will thus be seen that there could not have been a west
window.
The chapel is in four bays, but as the eastern bays were utilised, on
the north by the existing recess for the founder’s tomb and on the south
by the sacristy, there are only three windows. The great east window--as
well as others--was denuded of much ashlar-work and tracery to help in
Nash’s extraordinary concoction the west window of the cathedral.[91]
This great east window filled up almost the whole of the wall, and must
have been a fine example of the best sort of Perpendicular. Indeed, it
would not be impossible to reconstruct it even now.
There is a legend (found by Browne Willis in an Elizabeth manuscript)
that Houghton was excommunicated by the Pope Clement, and that he
retaliated by returning the compliment, and further pictorially
displayed the event in stained glass.[92] Clement died, however, in
1352, before Houghton was made bishop, but was succeeded by Innocent VI.
The names may thus have got confounded, or the Pope may have been the
Anti-Pope, Robert of Geneva, known at Avignon as Clement VII. Although
the story is of doubtful authenticity it is quite in accord with
Houghton’s vigorous character, being as he was the friend of Chaucer and
John of Gaunt. He also established several ordinances for the diocese,
which shows that he was no mere figure-head. He held the office of
chancellor for two years.[93]
The tower of the chapel--the only part yet undescribed--was evidently
designed for a broached spire, as is shown by the squinches within. But
a settlement, owing to the close proximity of the river, evidently not
only prevented further weights being imposed, but caused the south-west
angle buttress to be added which is so prominent (_vide_ p. 82).
Of the collegiate domestic buildings there only remain a few vaults,
except a single entrance, with a four-centred arch, to the north.
THE BISHOP’S PALACE.
After crossing a bridge to the north-west of the cathedral we pursue a
most picturesque alley, whence a good view of the tower and north side
is obtained, and shortly, on the left-hand side, we come to the entrance
to the =Bishop’s Palace=.[94]
In the times before Gower (1328-47), who built the whole of this once
magnificent palace, there undoubtedly was some
[Illustration: THE BISHOP’S PALACE, 1779.
_From an engraving after Paul Sandby, R.A._]
sort of episcopal residence or guest-house, as Kings Henry II. and
Edward I. were here entertained. However, not only is there no trace of
a pre-existent building, but this of Gower is a superb ruin. It is said
that we have to thank the scandalous Bishop Barlow (1536-49) for
initiating the work of destruction, removing, as he did, the lead from
the roofs to provide marriage portions for his daughters who married
five bishops. He also attempted to remove the see to Carmarthen.
“Barlow’s letter to Cromwell on this subject strongly urges the removal,
partly on account of the inconvenient situation and partly because the
hopes of Protestantism rested on getting rid of the _religio loci_.”[95]
“It is hardly necessary to say that many churches, even of inferior
ecclesiastical rank, greatly surpass St. David’s Cathedral in extent and
in positive beauty, though certainly there is none which could so well
occupy its peculiar position; of the Palace, on the other hand, it is
hardly too much to affirm that it is altogether unsurpassed by any
existing English edifice of its own kind. One can hardly conceive any
structure that more completely proclaims its peculiar purpose. It is
essentially a palace and not a castle; we have not here the moat, the
tower, the frowning gateway, or any feature proclaiming, if not an
intention of hostility, at all events a state of things involving the
necessity of defence. The prominent parts are the superb rose-window of
the hall and the graceful spire of the chapel, importing an abode, not
of warfare, but of hospitality and religion.”[96]
With all due deference to Messrs. Jones and Freeman, however, the great
arcaded parapet, which is certainly the most noticeable feature of the
building, gives at least a hint that Bishop Gower had an _arrière
pensée_ against defence. As the close was fortified, it was not
necessary to make any elaborate preparations against attack; but it will
be noted that, although there is no moat, the river Alan--then much
larger than now--runs past one side, and that on the others there were
very few windows, and those small; in fact, most of the remainder opens
on to the great quadrangle, which was self-contained. Let us look at it
again from another point of view. Eliminate the parapet, and what do we
find? Truly, except for an excellent plan and mere bulk, nothing at all
extraordinary from an architectural point of view.
A particular description must be given to the =Parapet=. It consists of a
series of arches, with a hollow ornamented by Gower’s four-leaved
flower, carried down on octagonal shafts, which rest on corbels of
considerable variety about two feet down the wall. Above the arcade is a
corbel-table carrying a projecting battlemented cornice. The battlements
have extremely narrow embrasures and loopholes. The sills of the arcade
are steeply slanted outwards, and the jambs show the old shape of the
roof and finish with a neat weathered projection. Great richness is
obtained above the arcade from the various coloured stones employed.
They are set in squares, alternately purple and grey, in the voussoirs
of the arches and the spandrils above them, and make a mellow and
harmonious chequer-work which greatly adds to the character of the whole
building.
A similar parapet is only known to occur in two other buildings (also
attributed to Gower), viz., Swansea Castle and Lamphey Palace, near
Pembroke.
We can place the date of the building about 1340, as an ordinance by
Bishop Gower, dated May 27, 1342, orders that only certain buildings
belonging to the bishop be kept in repair,[97] which includes the
palace. Architecturally, the arrangements are excellent. The leading
idea is a great quadrangle, but so skilfully broken up with projections
that the monotonous rectangular effect of the square gives place to a
most pleasing and picturesque variety, and although the main portion is
kept about the same height throughout, yet the most dignified chambers
are given due prominence and the parts of lesser importance treated with
a fit reticence.
The building is raised on crypts, which, however, were evidently used
for domestic offices from the windows (once glazed) and the divisions.
The vaults are of the plain barrel description, without ribs, although
there are some which rather suggest ribs. These vaults do not run
longitudinally, as under St. Mary’s Chapel or, indeed, the chapel in the
palace; the reason being that divisions, for living purposes, were
necessary on both floors.
On entering the quadrangle, which is about 170 feet square, we find a
small building immediately to the left which many call the =East Chapel=.
The West Chapel (K)[98] was probably not built till later, and then
probably this little one became the Bishop’s private chapel. There are
indications of a way through to the ante-room adjoining in the
south-west wall, and a passage also leads to the lower floor.
The =Bishop’s Hall= (I, about 60 ft. by 23 ft.) is approached from the
quadrangle by seven modern steps and a porch with a semi-octagonal arch.
The point of the octagon is at the centre of the opening, and resembles
that leading to the rood-loft in the cathedral. The small window in the
porch has two five-foil lights.
The Hall was lit by two windows to the north-west and four to the
south-east. Possibly the recess, which cuts into the window at the south
angle, may have contained the refectory pulpit, and behind it was a
passage and stair leading to the minstrels’ gallery.
There was a diagonal entrance (just above the head of the I on plan)
leading from the Bishop’s Hall to his =Study= or private apartment. Just
by this entrance there is also a way down. There are two fireplaces and
chimneys, and as there are indications of a divisional wall there were
probably two rooms, the further of which has a blocked doorway and may
have been utilised before the main entrance was built. H is the
_Kitchen_ (about 26 ft. by 23 ft.), to the west end of the Bishop’s
Hall. This room is very interesting, as it was evidently domed, and
later a wall had to be built to support it. The chimney, which was
standing in 1857 when Messrs. Jones and Freeman published their book, is
now lying in a mass on the floor. As this is a good object lesson to the
modern flimsy designers of to-day, the dimensions will not be without
interest: flues, 1 ft. 11 in.; outer walls, 1 ft. 3 in., inner, 1 ft.
[Illustration: SECTION OF CHIMNEY.]
On the northern side of the kitchen was an aisle leading behind the
Great Hall, and so out to the garden.
=The Great Hall= is approached from the quadrangle by a fine porch, richly
adorned and of the whole height of the building. The entrance is an
unusual one at so early a period.
[Illustration: BISHOP’S PALACE: GREAT WHEEL-WINDOW OF BANQUETING HALL.]
It is about 9 ft. wide by 11 ft. 6 in. high, and has an ogee six-centred
arch, but the flight of steps are somewhat inconvenient, as the tread is
about fourteen inches and the rise about eleven and a half. Above were
two niches containing statues of King Edward III. and Queen Philippa.
Fragments of one remain now, but where is the other? It seems sad that
this should have disappeared within the last few years.
[Illustration: BISHOP’S PALACE: GENERAL VIEW OF COURTYARD LOOKING
TOWARDS ENTRANCE TO GREAT HALL.
(_From Jones and Freeman._)]
The Hall itself is a magnificent stately apartment, even unroofed as it
is. It measures 116 feet by 31 feet, but this includes a smaller chamber
of about 30 feet which was originally a withdrawing room. At the south
corner is a staircase (down and up), and another at the east leading to
the turret. A doorway from the kitchen aisle is now blocked. In the
south-east wall is an exceptionally beautiful rose-window. The centre is
an upright quatrefoil, and at the cardinal points radiate four strong
mullions, and in between each of these are three lesser ones. The heads
are of the trefoil kind. The inner circle is not concentric with that
enclosing the tracery, but is dropped a little to create, as was often
done in these circular windows, an optical delusion. Thus the splay at
the top is considerably less than at the bottom, but _looks_ about the
same. Gower’s four-leaved flower is again in evidence in the hollow at
the outside edge of the splay. Bedrooms in two floors occupied the
western end of the hall.
The =West Chapel= is entered from the northern corner of the hall, and
projects from the main building. There must have been a fine window to
the east judging by its proportions, and it has niches with canopies
outside. A large arched piscina can be seen on the south wall inside,
and at the east corner a double-bodied grotesque. In the north-east
angle is the belfry turret, which terminates in a very pleasing broached
spire; but the porch, which occupied the angle between the chapel and
the domestic buildings, is all destroyed.
Of the _Domestic Buildings_ to the north-west less remains than of any
other part. The well of the palace is to be seen in a crypt, and a fine
example of a stone chimney-place with brackets, like the one in the
library of the cathedral, is also worthy of notice. The northern side
was probably used for stables, and the foundations for the enclosing
wall on the north-east side can still be traced.
In conclusion, it must be remembered that the very high regard in which
St. David’s was held as a pilgrims’ haven, particularly in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and that the Bishop was bound to
entertain all who came, necessitated a very large guest-house, and here,
indeed, was one which was deemed worthy of the attention even of royalty
on many occasions.
APPENDIX I.
BISHOPS OF ST. DAVID’S.[99]
[601] David
Cynog
Teilo
Ceneu
Morfael
Haerwnen
Elwaed
Gwrnwen
Llunwerth
Gwrgwyst
Gwgan
Clydawg
Eineon
Elfod
Ethelman
Elanc
Maelsgwd
[831] Sadurnfen
Cadell
Sulhaithnay
840. Novis
Idwal
Asser
Arthwael
Samson
Ruelin
[961] Rhydderch
Elwin
Morbiw
873. Llunwerth
944. Eneuris
Hubert
Ivor
[999] Morgeneu
Nathan
Ieuan
Arwystl
[1023] Morgeneu
1023. Ervin
1039. Trahaearn
[1061] Joseph
1061. Bleiddud
1071. Sulien
1076. Abraham
1078. Sulien (again)
1088. Rhyddmarch
1096. Griffri
1115. Bernard
1147. David Fitz-Gerald
1176. Peter de Leiâ
1204. Geoffrey de Henelawe
1215. Iorwerth, alias Gervase
1230. Anselm de la Grace
1284. Thomas Wallensis
1256. Richard de Carew
1280. Thomas Beck
1293. David Martyn
1328. Henry de Gower
1347. John Thoresby
1350. Reginald Brian
1353. Thomas Fastolfe
1361. Adam Houghton
1389. John Gilbert
1397. Guy Mone
1408. Henry Chicheley
1414. John Catterick
1415. Stephen Patrington
1418. Benedict Nicholls
1433. Thomas Rodburne
1442. William Lyndwood
1447. John Langton
1447. John Delabere
1460. Robert Tully
1482. Richard Martin
1483. Thomas Langton
1485. Hugh Pavy
1496. John Morgan
1505. Robert Sherborne
1509. Edward Vaughan
1523. Richard Rawlins
1536. William Barlow
1548. Robert Ferrar
1554. Henry Morgan
1559. Thomas Young
1561. Richard Davies
1582. Marmaduke Middleton
1594. Anthony Rudd
1615. Richard Milbourne
1621. William Laud
1627. Theophilus Field
1635. Roger Mainwaring
1660. William Lucy
1677. William Thomas
1683. Laurence Wornack
1686. John Lloyd
1687. Thomas Watson
1705. George Bull
1710. Philip Bisse
1713. Adam Ottley
1723. Richard Smallbrooke
1730. Elias Sydall
1731. Nicholas Claggett
1742. Edward Willes
1743. Hon. Richard Trevor
1752. Anthony Ellis
1761. Samuel Squire
1766. Robert Lowth
1766. Charles Moss
1774. Hon. James Yorke
1779. John Warren
1783. Edward Smallwell
1788. Samuel Horsley
1793. Hon. William Stuart
1800. Lord George Murray
1803. Thomas Burgess
1825. John Banks Jenkinson
1840. Connop Thirlwall
1874. Basil Jones
John Owen
PRECENTORS[100] (DEANS FROM 1840).
1224. Richard
W----
[1237] Philip
[1254] Richard Pue
[1287] John de Swinssey
[1300] Thomas Barry
1328. Richard de Musselwick
[1334] David Barret
1339. Adam Houghton
[1352] David Ley
[1399] John Noke
1413. Thomas Wollaston
1437. Hugh ab Owen
1486. Richard Machen
1492. John Howell
1509. Lewis ap Rhys
1534. Thomas Lloyd
1547. Thomas Young
1554. Morgan Phillips
1558. Thomas Young
1560. Thomas Huett
1591. Roger Gyfforde
1596. William Hinton
1631. Griffith Higgs
1660. William Thomas
1663. Richard Watson
1677. John Ellis
1693. Charles Pryse
1696. Hugh Powell
1717. John Davies
1733. John Pember
1735. Joseph Hill
1753. John Morgan
1774. John Jekyll
1777. Francis Wollaston
1816. Richard Richardson
1839. Llewelyn Lewellin (assumed the title of Dean in 1840)
1878. James Allen
1897. Evan Owen Phillips
1897. H. Howell
ORGANISTS OF ST. DAVID’S CATHEDRAL.[101]
Walter Warryn 1490
Priest Vicars[102] officiated from 1490-1563
John Norman 1509-1522
Thomas Elliott 1563-1577
Priest Vicars officiated in turn 1577-1713
R. Mordant 1713-1714
(Lay Vicar Choral)
Henry Mordant 1714-1719
(Son of the preceding Lay Vicar Choral)
Richard Tomkins 1719-1719
(Lay Vicar Choral)
William Bishop 1719-1720
(Lay Vicar Choral)
Henry Williams 1720-1725
Matthew Maddox 1725-1734
(Lay Vicar Choral)
Matthew Philpott 1734-1793
(Lay Vicar Choral)
Arthur Richardson 1793-1826
(Lay Vicar Choral, also tuner of the organ. Died 1826?)
John Barrett 1827-1851
(Lay Vicar Choral)
William Peregrine Propert, LL.D. and M.A., Cantab.;
Mus.B., Oxon. 1851-1883
(A Lay Vicar Choral of the Cathedral. During the restoration of
the Cathedral, 1864-1883, the organ was not in use)
Frederick S. Garton 1883-1894
(Organist of St. Martin’s, Haverfordwest, 1894)
D. John D. Codner 1894-1896
(Born 1851. Organist of St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, E.C.)
Herbert C. Morris, F.R.C.O. 1896
(Born at Coventry, June 18, 1873)
[Illustration: GABLE CROSS LYING IN BISHOP VAUGHAN’S CHAPEL. (_See_ p.
67.)]
APPENDIX II
EXTRACTS FROM SIR G. G. SCOTT’S REPORT TO THE DEAN AND CHAPTER, 1869
By reference to my first Report, addressed to the Dean and Chapter in
1862, it will be seen that, while the entire building was reported to be
in a state of the most severe dilapidation, and some portions actually
in ruins, the greatest immediate danger was to be apprehended from the
tower, the crushed condition of two of whose sustaining piers rendered
its fall an event by no means improbable--a catastrophe which would
probably involve the destruction of a large portion of the church.
Before, therefore, embarking upon any other works of restoration, it was
determined to take immediate measures for the removal of this great
danger, and, while the first contract united with this the restoration
of the choir, the actual work in the first instance undertaken,
excepting only some necessary works of drainage, was limited to this
“article of a standing or a falling church.”
At the risk of being tedious, I will repeat here a detailed description
of these most dangerous and difficult operations, which I wrote
immediately after their completion, in a private Report to the Bishop:--
“I do not hesitate to tell you that the operations thus in the main
completed, have caused me the greatest anxiety; for, although it has
been my lot to apply the same process to five other central towers, and
though I have, in each instance, undertaken it not without much
trepidation, I have never met with a case so serious, and involving so
great an amount of apparent and actual danger, as that of your
Cathedral; for not only is the tower far larger and of vastly greater
weight than any other on which I have been called to operate, but its
two western piers were more alarmingly shattered than anything I have
witnessed elsewhere. I take the liberty of quoting the following passage
from my first Report, as showing what were my impressions on this point
after my original survey, and they have been more than verified by the
result:--
“‘The present condition of the tower is in the highest degree alarming,
and till it is restored to a state of security, it is quite useless to
think of any extensive reparation of other parts of the building.
“‘The western piers consist each of two portions, the parts towards the
nave belonging to De Leiâ’s work of the twelfth century, and those
towards the transepts having been added after the catastrophe of 1220.
Of these, the older or western portions are literally, at least so far
as they are open to examination, shattered to fragments, and the same
process has extended itself in a less degree into the later or eastern
parts of each pier; in fact, the only security which the tower has from
actually falling, is the buttressing it sustains from the walls of the
transepts and the nave, though the latter have themselves severely
suffered under the undue pressure thus brought upon them.
“‘The arch facing the nave is very much injured, and the wall which it
sustains, up to the commencement of the later stages, is utterly
disintegrated, so much so as to render it dangerous very closely to
investigate the defects; and the same state of disintegration extends
itself some feet into the north and south walls, but especially the
former, which is at this point crushed throughout its whole thickness.
“‘It will be seen from what I have stated, that the whole remaining
portion of the first tower is crushed and left at the mercy of the
various walls which abut against, and, so to speak, bolster it up; and
that this terrible failure extends itself to a certain distance into the
later and, in themselves, better constructed portions; in fact, that of
the four supports of the tower, two are sound, and two wholly
untrustworthy.’
“It will be seen from the above, that the object to be aimed at was
little (if anything) less than the rebuilding from their foundation of
two of the four piers which sustained the tower, each of them bearing a
load of 1,150 tons, which had to be supported by timber shoring during
the operation.
“Our first work, however, was to take measures for binding together, and
otherwise strengthening the tower itself, so as to avoid the danger of
its becoming fractured, or otherwise injured, during the reconstruction
of its supporting piers; and this was rendered the more necessary by the
disintegrated state of the lower walls immediately resting on the
arches, and the enormous cracks by which the north and south walls were
rent throughout their entire height. This object was attained by the
introduction of permanent iron ties of great strength, at several
different levels, binding all the walls together; by the use of
temporary girders of massive timber-work round the exterior of the
tower, throughout the greater part of its height; and by repairing with
new stone and strong cement many parts of the disintegrated walls.
“The shoring by which the weight of the western half of the tower has
been temporarily supported is of three descriptions--1st, direct
supports under the western, northern, and southern arches (the two
former consisting of timber framing, and the latter being provided by an
old stone wall, by which the arch was blocked); 2ndly, vertical shores
of immense strength, supporting “needles,” or horizontal masses of
timber, passing through the walls; and 3rdly, by ‘raking’ or inclined
shores abutting against the walls in all directions, and both supporting
weight and preventing lateral motion. All these had to be provided with
firm foundations, having to bear the actual weight of the tower. The
magnitude of the work may be judged of when I mention that, of the six
main supports of the ‘needles,’ two consisted each of _nine_, and the
others of _six_ full-sized balks of timber, bound together into one mass
by irons, and thus making timber supports, the first 3 feet 6 inches
square, and the others 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 4 inches in thickness,
and all of them 36 feet in length. The ‘needles’ are of oak, 2 feet 4
inches deep and 2 feet 4 inches thick, and shod with wrought iron. The
raking shores are arranged in systematic groups, giving supports at all
heights, from immediately over the piers to nearly the top of the tower.
“The shoring has required the use of nearly 12,000 cubic feet of timber.
“The state of the west wall of the tower was rendered alarmingly
apparent by the difficulties encountered in making the holes for the
‘needles.’
“Mr. Clear, the Clerk of the Works, and myself, foreseeing some
difficulty, arranged a plan by which, before cutting through the wall, a
sort of tunnel of strong stone should be formed through it, by inserting
the stones, one at a time, in the shattered rubble work, and then
removing the enclosed wall. This was done, with some difficulty, to a
depth of 2 feet from either side, but as the wall is 6 feet thick, there
remained 2 feet in the middle untunnelled, and when the enclosed wall
was attempted to be removed, the middle mass began to pour out like an
avalanche, which was only stopped by the immediate insertion of
sand-bags, and by subsequently running the wall from above with liquid
cement, and thus solidifying the disintegrated rubbish.
“These systems of supports having been completed, the actual operations
commenced, and for this another and less permanent system of shoring was
requisite. If the main shoring may be compared to the solid masses of an
army, those I am now speaking of may be viewed as the _skirmishers_.
They consist of needles and props inserted immediately above the part to
be operated on, and supporting a portion of the shattered pier while
that below it was renewed, and as soon as this was effected, a new
needle was inserted above the first one, to make way for the renewal of
another batch, each lower needle being in its turn removed, when that
above it was secured. Besides this, however, endless extemporised
precautions had at every hour to be taken, to provide against
contingencies which were ever arising; blocks of timber inserted under
stones threatening to fall; struts and shields against masses in danger
of bursting; sand-bags, &c., against the rushing out of the avalanches
of rubbish; temporarily running together, with liquid cement, of parts
which, though eventually to be removed, had not yet been reached, and
threatened, if not consolidated, to bury the workmen in their ruins. All
these, and many more precautions, had to be taken to meet the exigencies
of every day and every hour; and when it is considered that each pier
took months to reinstate, that these dangerous operations could not, in
many cases, be suspended day or night, and that the Clerk of the Works
would never leave the spot while any dangerous work was pending, you may
judge of the wearing anxiety which he and others engaged in the work
have undergone.
“By the process I have thus briefly sketched, the entire piers,
excepting a small central portion, have been rebuilt from their
foundations to their capitals; the new stone-work having to be inserted
a little at a time, has been aided, in all cases, by strong copper
cramps, so as to tie its courses together in their circuit round the
pier.
“All the stones are laid in strong cement, and all that remains within
of the old work is run together at each course with liquid cement till
it will hold no more. I saw, myself, ten pails full of this material
poured into a single hole.
“The stone made use of is the purple stone of the neighbouring cliffs,
and closely resembles the old stone, though somewhat harder, and is
worked in a similar manner. Any old stones which are unshattered (of
which I regret to say that but very few were found) have been re-used.
“I had hoped that the southern pier, which was the second operated upon,
would have proved less dangerous than the northern one, but on a close
examination of it, just before the work on it was commenced, I found
that it was really as much shattered as the other had been, and, in
point of fact, was ready to burst at the middle of its height. The Clerk
of the Works, when he reached this point, told me that a cat could walk
in and out of the cracks which intersected the pier!
“I have been the more minute in describing our operations, and the state
in which we found the old piers to be, because, when such a work is
completed, there is a tendency to forget, or to discredit, the danger
which has been avoided; indeed, to any one who sees the piers as now
reconstructed, it would be impossible to believe that the tower could
have stood on such masses of shattered fragments as those which they
have replaced.”
At the time that the above description was written the shoring had not
been removed. This has now been the case for several years, and the
piers, I am thankful to say, have sustained the weight perfectly.
When the crushed substructure had been thus rendered trustworthy, we not
only proceeded with the restoration of the remainder of the choir, which
formed a part of the same contract, but your orders were given to
proceed also with the repairs of the upper portions of the tower, which
were sadly dilapidated, and with the aisles of the choir, one of which
had long been in ruins and roofless, and the other in but little better
condition.
(For extract here see pp. 16-19, _ante_.)
I have had to bear some little ridicule for taking down the dead wall,
by which the sides had been heightened, and building it up again. I can
only say that the roof having been of necessity temporarily removed, and
these additions to the walls, being devoid of any character or value of
their own, being a mine of wealth in the debris they contained, I simply
worked them _as a mine_, and having obtained the treasure which lay
hidden within them, I reconstructed them with their old materials.
In doing this we discovered the curious eaves-course and gutters of the
original roof, which is of a remarkable construction, and is now exposed
to view with some restoration.
Among the timbers of the later roof were found portions of that of the
earlier date, shewing that it was perfectly plain, though massive, and
of the cradled form so usual at early periods.
The design of the early stonework of the eastern arm, apart from its
intrinsic merits, is interesting from the evidences it presents of its
_double_ date, being a union of the original work of Bishop De Leiâ
(begun in 1180) with that resulting from the reparations after the fall
of the tower in 1220. The tower falling eastward would of course destroy
the parts immediately adjoining it, and it would appear that it, by the
fall of its upper portions, must also have reached and damaged the
eastern wall.
We accordingly find that, while the eastward portions of the side walls
and the lower parts of the east end are of the original date, the
western bays of the sides and the upper parts of the end are of the
later date. This is made very manifest on the south side of the
clerestory by a triforium passage, originally communicating with that in
the south transept, but which was omitted in the reconstructed parts,
thus cutting off the communication.
Curiously enough, we also find that in the reconstructed portions of the
sides a very marked preparation was commenced for vaulting, which,
however, was suspended at a few feet in height, and on one side niches
added just where the groining arches would come; while at the east end
the upper range of windows (as already mentioned) was designed without
reference to vaulting.
We made a curious discovery in the eastern end, where a walled-up arch
was visible below the cill of the central window in Bishop Vaughan’s
Chapel (formerly the exterior of the end). On opening this we found it
to be a deep recess into the thickness of the wall, at the back of which
are some ornamental crosses of the older period, in the principal of
which (which is very beautiful) the intervals between the arms of the
cross are perforated through into the interior, opening just behind the
high altar, as if to allow a person while kneeling in the external
recess to participate in the services going on within.
Returning for a moment to the choir roof, I will mention that we have
restored it precisely to its old form, retaining every part not unfitted
by decay. The chief exceptions are the beams, which were hopelessly
decayed, and which were of so great a size as to cause us much
difficulty and delay in obtaining trees of sufficient size to contain
them. They were eventually procured from Radnorshire, Shropshire,
Herefordshire, and the Forest of Dean.
The old roof was decorated throughout with colour, which has been
carefully restored. The panels had been repainted in the seventeenth
century, in a discordant style; these have been now decorated in a
manner agreeing with the older work.
The roof contains ancient shields, bearing the arms of Bishop Tully, the
Earl of Richmond, Roderic the Great, Bishop Martin, Owen Poole,
treasurer to the church; the arms of France and England quartered; those
of Edward V., Richard III., and (perhaps) Henry VII., of Rhys ap Tudor
and of Bishop Young. Those which were affixed to the corbels had been
obliterated, and have been supplied by the arms of the present bishop,
dean, canons, and archdeacons, thus marking the period of the
restoration.
The walls, pillars, arches, &c., of the eastern arm, are now put into a
thorough state of repair; and the beauty of the interior will be greatly
increased by the munificence of the Rev. John Lucy, of Hampton Lucy, in
Warwickshire, who, as a memorial of Bishop Lucy, a member of the ancient
family to which he belongs, has undertaken to fill the upper tier of
windows in the east end with stained glass, and the lower tier (blocked
up by Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel) with Venetian enamel mosaic work, the
opaque co-relative of stained glass, though a much more costly form of
art. This will give to these noble lancets just the relief and beauty
which they had lost when deprived of their light, and that in a form
more unique and striking than stained glass itself. I had in my first
report suggested for these blank windows that “possibly some more
durable kind of decoration (than painting) may be introduced,” and Mr.
Lucy’s benefaction precisely meets the want.[103]
The aisles of the eastern arm, which owing to their ruined condition had
been walled off, have now been opened out and brought back to a perfect
state, which of course brings out the beauty of the interior in a very
marked degree. In opening the second arch from the east the old sedilia
were found. They are of wood, and of the fifteenth century. These have
been carefully restored. The piscina, which occupied the south-eastern
arch, is too ruined for its design to be recovered, though I think that
a beautiful basin dug up in the churchyard must have belonged to it.
Three arches on the north side are occupied by ancient tombs (including
the substructure of St. David’s shrine). These are a good deal ruined,
and must be in some degree restored. The tombs similarly placed in the
northern arch of the tower, and which had to be removed for the repairs,
have been carefully replaced.
The aisles of the choir have been twice prepared for vaulting, first in
the original structure, and again when the aisles were widened, and the
walls raised and remodelled, by Bishop Gower. I doubt whether in either
case it was carried out, as I could find no evidences of it on the inner
side, and after some perplexity I determined not to attempt it, but to
cover them with handsome oak roofs, suited in character to Bishop
Gower’s work.
The windows were in a most ruined condition. We found on the north side
evidences of the old form of their tracery, which we have followed.
Those of the south aisle had no remains of the tracery left, and even
the jambs were so shattered that it was only by a fragment here and
there that the mouldings were recovered. These were found to be
curiously varied, out of four windows two only being alike. The tracery
introduced has been founded on fragmentary evidences from other parts of
the church of the same date.
One thing caused us a little puzzle: we found the remains of windows in
_all four bays_, though the westernmost of them would be blocked up by
the eastern aisle of the transept. On close scrutiny, however, we found
that the place of this aisle was at first only occupied by a single
chapel,[104] with a space between it and the aisle of the choir, which
had been at a later period built over, so as to form the aisle which
stopped the window in question. This we have restored to its older form,
at the same time repairing the adjoining stair turret of the transept,
which was in a dangerous state.
I will now return to the space beneath the tower, which in this church
is the _choir_ proper, as containing the stalls; the eastern arm of the
church being more correctly the _presbytery_.
The great engineering works already described necessitated the temporary
removal of the stalls. They have subsequently been restored to their old
position, and have undergone a most careful process of reparation. On
close examination they were found to have been deprived of many of the
more delicate of their decorative details. These have been or still are
in process of being restored from fragments, more or less extensive,
which have been discovered; the greatest care being taken to preserve
the ancient work as nearly untouched as is possible. The whole is a very
excellent and interesting specimen of ancient woodwork, and retains
traces of coloured decoration, including some armorial bearings.
The same process of careful reparation has been applied to the Bishop’s
throne, and the unique screen, which severs the choir proper from the
presbytery, neither of which have been moved from their positions, but
have been repaired as they stood. The similarity of the panels of the
lower parts of the screen and the throne, show them to be practically
one work. I suppose their date to be late in the fourteenth or early in
the fifteenth century. Both are very curious and valuable ancient works.
I am aware that the conservative manner in which they have been dealt
with has provoked some criticism from those who undervalue these relics
of ancient workmanship. For myself, I do not hesitate to express my high
satisfaction at the manner in which they have been both preserved and
restored; and I trust that the hand of spoliation and innovation will
never be permitted to tamper with the works I have thus endeavoured to
hand down in their integrity to future generations.
(For extract here see pp. 30-32, _ante_.)
One thing I will mention which stands, I think, alone, as a deliberate
deviation on my part from the old work.
Bishop Gower, in building the middle stage of the tower, had made it
form a fine lantern storey to the choir. Late in the fifteenth or early
in the sixteenth century, wooden groining had been introduced, which,
strangely enough, cut Gower’s lantern windows in two, entirely hiding
their traceried heads. I have done away with this desight, by lifting
the wood groining a stage higher, so as to show Gower’s windows in their
integrity, which forms the lantern into a very fine feature. I trust
that, as regards the general principle of _conservative restoration_,
this exception will be accepted as one of the class which _proves the
rule_. The wood groining was decorated with colour, and has been
repainted.
* * * * *
Since the date of the last Report the works have been proceeding. The
restoration of the roofs of the nave and south aisle with their ceilings
has been accomplished. The clerestory of the nave has been fully
restored externally and internally; some of its windows which had been
walled up have been opened out, and the whole of them have been
reglazed.
In carrying out this portion of the work it was found that the parapets
had been corbelled in the same manner as those of the presbytery,
although the corbels had been cut off flush with the face of the wall.
Fortunately in a sheltered corner next the tower two or three of the
corbels remained in a perfect state; these have been the guide in the
restoration. The parapet was probably of less height originally, but the
position of the sixteenth century roof would not allow of the height
being kept lower than at present.
The ceiling of the south aisle, which until lately was open, showing the
rough timbers above, has been panelled in completion of the ancient
design. The parapet and pinnacles have also been repaired.
The walls internally of the nave and south aisle and the piers and
arches have been cleaned, restored, and pointed.
The north transept has been groined in oak, carrying out the design
which had been commenced in stone. The modern roof, which was truncated
and of very slight timbers, has been strengthened, and the pitch carried
up to fit the fifteenth century gable. The ruined pinnacle at the
north-west angle has been completed.
Whilst speaking of this transept, it will be well to call attention to
the doorway on the western side, which was originally of considerable
width, but at a period very shortly after its erection was narrowed,
the later jamb with its shaft, cap, and base being precisely like the
original jamb which remains built up in the wall; and at a still later
period the doorway appears to have been walled up to form a recess, in
which was placed a hollowed stone sink with a stone shoot projecting
through the wall.
The roofs of Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel and of the cross aisle eastward
(page 6) have been thoroughly repaired and releaded.
The works now in progress (July, 1873) are the reparation of the roof of
the north aisle of the nave and the restoration of the upper part of the
Chapter-house building. The windows in the north aisle, two of which
have lost their tracery, are being restored, and the walls internally
will be cleaned.
The modern roof of the Chapter-house building, which has for years been
in a very unsafe condition, is now being removed, and will be replaced
by a new roof covered with lead. The walls, &c., of the upper part of
the building will be restored as far down as the floor of the
Chapter-house. This will include the completion of the triangular window
in the gable, and the windows in the north side of the uppermost storey
or “Treasury.” The window in the north wall of the Chapter-house has
enough of its tracery remaining to enable the design to be completed
with certainty, and will be restored. The pinnacles flanking the eastern
gable, which are of very curious design, will be completed.
The cost of these works on the Chapter-house building is being defrayed
by one of the Canons Residentiary, to whose liberality the new roof and
groined ceiling of the north transept, and the renewal of the roofs of
Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel, and of the adjacent ante-chapel are also due.
Now that the substantial repair of the nave with its aisles is so nearly
completed, the nave should without further delay be paved and provided
with fittings for the parochial services.
The pavement of the north transept should follow, with the restoration
of St. Thomas’s Chapel, stone tracery being substituted for its present
wooden window-frames, and an open screen for the existing partition
between it and the transept.
The south transept should be dealt with in a similar manner to the
northern one. The unseemly condition of its roof is rendered more
apparent by contrast with the restored roofs and ceilings of other parts
of the church.
There would still remain the porch, with sundry external repairs to the
north and south aisles. There is also the eastern group of unroofed
chapels, for which some provision should be made, to prevent further
dilapidation to their walls and injury to the delicately wrought tombs
still remaining within them.
It is unnecessary at present to give estimates for the works enumerated
above, or for the amelioration of the western front.
The extent to which these very desirable objects will be effected, must
depend on the liberality with which the present appeal is responded to.
The outlay and liabilities up to the present time are--for the Drainage,
£500; the Tower, with the Presbytery and its Aisles, £15,700; the South
Transept Chapel and Stair Turret, £600; the Nave and its Aisles, £6,500.
CHISWICK PRESS: PRINTED BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
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DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
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“ from crossing to E. wall of choir 56 “
Width of nave and choir 68 “
Length along transept 131 “
“ of crossing (E. to W.) 30 “
Area 21,950 sq. ft.
[Illustration: S^{T}. David’s Cathedral. S. Wales., Ground Plan]
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Jones and Freeman, p. 140.
[2] King’s “Handbook to the Cathedrals of Wales” (Murray), 1887, p.
115.
[3] Winchester central tower fell 1107; Ely central tower in 1321.
[4] J. & F., p. 54.
[5] Report, 1869, p. 16.
[6] Giraldus, “Vita S. Dav.” Ang. Sac. ii. 634.
[7] J. & F., pp. 72-73.
[8] King’s “Handbook,” 1887, plan p. 105.
[9] J. & F., p. 56.
[10] J. & F., p. 161.
[11] P. 127.
[12] King’s “Handbook,” p. 123.
[13] P. 128.
[14] Pronounced _Dice_ locally.
[15] _Vide_ Scott’s Report, 1869.
[16] “El sol pro factura muri in solaris Ste. Cyencis calce & lapid’
& aliis nēriis ad idem opus pertinent, ut palet per billam inde
examinat, 100_s_.”--_Lib. Comm._ vol. i., p. 24.
[17] Lib. Com., vol. i., p. 47.
[18] “A Survey of the Cathedral Church of St. David’s” (1715), 8vo,
London, 1717.
[19] Browne Willis, p. 8.
[20] J. & F., p. 94.
[21] Manby’s “History and Antiquities of the Parish of St. David’s,”
1801, pp. 20, 30. “Mens. Sac.,” vol. i., p. 23.
[22] J. & F., p. 95. “Mens. Sac.,” vol. ii., Appendix, fol. 54.
[23] “Mens. Sac.,” vol. i., p. 23.
[24] “Guide to St. David’s,” &c., T. J. Bryant, 1896, 12mo, p. 49.
[25] King’s “Handbook,” pp. 143, 144.
[26] J. & F., p. 163.
[27] “Lib. Comm.,” vol. i., p. 15, an. 1490.
[28] _Vide_ Appendix.
[29] _Vide_ Plan, _at end_.
[30] J. & F., p. 129.
[31] “Handbook,” p. 147.
[32] J. & F., pp. 84-85.
[33] J. & F., p. 65.
[34] J. & F., p. 86.
[35] 3 & 4 Vic., c. 113, § I. _Vide_ also p. 94.
[36] J. & F., p. 105.
[37] “Church of Our Fathers,” vol. iii., p. 473.
[38] See _post_, pp. 61, 62.
[39] McKenzie Walcott’s “St. David’s,” p. 17, and “Anglia Sacra,” vol.
ii., p. 640.
[40] Two other doings by this Pope are worthy of passing notes. (1)
Being a Frenchman, he was the first to make France a traditional ally
of the Roman See. (2) He concluded the celebrated Concordat of Worms,
1122, by which the rights of the Roman Church in relation to the Crown
were defined.
[41] Given as 1079 in “Anglia Sacra,” p. 649.
[42] “Brut y Twwysogion, sub annis.” Haddan and Stubbs, vol. i., p.
377.
[43] “Anglia Sacra,” p. 651: “Annales Cambriæ,” in ann. 1284.
[44] “St. Justinianus martir 5 die decembris in vigilia Sancti
Nicholai; jacet in capella in ecclesia Sancti David sub ejus tumba,
confessor Sancti David.”--Itinerarium _Willielmi de Worcestre_
(Nasmyth, 1778, p. 164).
[45] “Anno MLXXXVI. Scrinium Sancti David de Ecclesiâ suâ furator, &
juxta civitatem ex toto spoliator.”--_Anglia Sacra_, vol. ii., p. 649.
[46] Gale, “Scriptores,” vol. xv., p. 299.
[47] “Anno MCCLXXV. Incœptum fuit Feretrum Beati David in Ecclesiâ
Menevensi.”--_An. Sac._, p 651.
[48] “Mens. Sac.,” vol. i, pp. 255-257.
[49] “Lib. Stat.,” p. 299.
[50] “Browne Willis’ Survey,” pp. 54-55. and 69.
[51] J. & F., p. 105.
[52] “Lib. Stat.,” p. 24.
[53] Removed from the back recently. J. & F., p. 103.
[54] P. 69.
[55] “Anglia Sacra,” vol. ii., p. 547.
[56] Fenton’s “Pembroke,” p. 84.
[57] Freeman, p. 155. King’s “Handbook,” p. 148.
[58] Report, 1869, p. 21.
[59] George Owen’s MS. history, see Fenton, p. 98.
[60] J. & F., p. 152.
[61] J. & F., p. 70.
[62] During Scott’s restoration this was subsequently found to be a
recess only (of De Leiâ’s period).
[63] P. 52.
[64] Briant, p. 67.
[65] J. & F., p. 96.
[66] “I take it to be This Bp. who began S. Mary’s Chapel, & that He
lies buried in it on yᵉ N. Side, which Tomb is by Mistake said to
be Bp. Houghton’s.” “Mens. Sac.,” vol. i., p. 49. J. & F., p. 121.
Fenton, p. 87, _note_.
[67] King, “Handbook,” 1873.
[68] On Plan No. 4.
[69] Browne Willis, opp. p. 1.
[70] J. & F., p. 71.
[71] Browne Willis, p. 4.
[72] Now wrought iron (_vide_ opposite).
[73] P. 108.
[74] Finton, p. 423, gives a similar design.
[75] J. & F., p. 159.
[76] “Mens. Sac.,” p. 232.
[77] See p. 36.
[78] Fenton, p. 73.
[79] P. 112.
[80] J. & F., p. 112, from Browne Willis.
[81] “Survey,” p. 12.
[82] Pp. 68-69.
[83] J. & F., p. 113.
[84] J. & F., p. 114.
[85] For a learned disquisition on these tombs see Jones and Freeman,
pp. 114-116.
[86] Browne Willis, p. 101.
[87] J. & F., p. 116.
[88] T. J. Briant, p. 54.
[89] McKenzie Walcott, p. 16.
[90] Formerly a charnel-house (Browne Willis, p. 25).
[91] See plates, pp. 2 and 7.
[92] King, 1887, p. 239; Briant, p. 71.
[93] _Vide_ Campbell’s “Lives of the Chancellors.”
[94] Reference to the plan on page 10 is here desirable.
[95] J. & F., p. 330.
[96] _Ibid._, p. 189.
[97] J. & F., p. 190; _Lib. Stat._, p. 24.
[98] The references are to the plan on p. 10.
[99] J. & F., pp. 358, 359.
[100] The List of Precentors is from Eardley as far as the middle of
the eighteenth century, from the Cathedral Registers from then to
1854. Freeman (footnote p. 358) states that the Registers have never
been very carefully kept, but both lists were revised by Le Neve’s
“Fasti” (ed. Hardy); the accuracy of this latter, however, is not very
remarkable.
[101] Condensed from pp. 76-77 “Cathedral Organists,” by J. C. West,
8vo, London, 1899, which was apparently compiled from information
supplied by D. J. D. Codner.
[102] “Mens. Sacra.”
[103] The stained glass and mosaics have since been fixed. Mr. Lucy
has also undertaken the repair of the Earl of Richmond’s altar-tomb in
the presbytery.
[104] This chapel was added in the fourteenth century, being a part of
Gower’s work. Its extension into an aisle was probably of modern date.
It will be seen that the old base-moulds concealed by that extension
still remain.
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