Today
we left our cottage at Strete and headed to Cardiff via Exeter. It was about
9.15am by the time we had packed the car and cleaned up and got on the road. It
was about 11.00am by the time we arrived at Exeter, where we did a 1 hour
guided tour of the cathedral. The founding of the cathedral at Exeter,
dedicated to Saint Peter, dates from 1050, when the seat of the bishop of Devon
and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids. A Saxon
minster already existing within the town (and dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint
Peter) was used by Bishop Leofric as his seat, but services were often held out
of doors, close to the site of the present cathedral building. In 1107 William
Warelwast, a nephew of William the Conqueror, was appointed to the see, and
this was the catalyst for the building of a new cathedral in the Norman style.
Its official foundation was in 1133, during Warelwast's time, but it took many
more years to complete. Following the appointment of Walter Bronescombe as
bishop in 1258, the building was already recognized as outmoded, and it was
rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style, following the example of nearby
Salisbury. However, much of the Norman building was kept, including the two
massive square towers and part of the walls. It was constructed entirely of
local stone, including Purbeck Marble. The new cathedral was complete by about
1400, apart from the addition of the chapter house and chantry chapels. Like
most English cathedrals, Exeter suffered during the Dissolution of Monasteries,
but not as much as it would have done had it been a monastic foundation.
Further damage was done during the English Civil War, when the cloisters were
destroyed. Following the restoration of Charles 11, a new pipe organ was built
in the cathedral by John Loosemore. Charles II's sister Henrietta Anne of
England was baptised here in 1644. During the Victoria era, some refurbishment
was carried out by George Gilbert Scott. As a boy, The composer Matthew Locke
was trained in the choir of Exeter Cathedral, under Edward Gibbons, the brother
of Orlando Gibbons. His name can be found scribed into the stone organ
'screen'. On 4 May 1942 an early-morning air raid took place over Exeter. The
cathedral sustained a direct hit by a large high-explosive bomb on the chapel
of St James, completely demolishing it. The muniment room above, three bays of
the aisle and two flying buttresses were also destroyed in the blast. The
medieval wooden screen opposite the chapel was smashed into many pieces by the
blast, but it has been reconstructed and restored. Many of the cathedral's most
important artefacts, such as the ancient glass (including the great east
window), the misericords, the bishop's throne, the Exeter Book, the ancient
charters (of King Athelstan and King Edward the Confessor) and other precious
documents from the library had been removed in anticipation of such an attack.
The precious effigy of Bishop Bronscombe had been protected by sand bags.
Subsequent repairs and the clearance of the area around the western end of the
building uncovered portions of earlier structures, including remains of the
Roman city and of the original Norman cathedral. Notable features of the
interior include the misericords, the minstrels' gallery, the astronomical
clock and the organ. Notable architectural features of the interior include the
multi-ribbed ceiling and the compound piers in the nave arcade. The 18 m
(59 ft) high bishop's throne in the quire was made from Devon oak between
1312 and 1316; the nearby choir stalls were made by Georg Gilbert Scott in the
1870s. The east window contains much 14th-century glass, and there are over 400
ceiling bosses, one of which depicts the murder of Thomas Becket. The bosses
can be seen at the peak of the vaulted ceiling, joining the ribs together.
Because there is no centre tower, Exeter Cathedral has the longest
uninterrupted medieval vaulted ceiling in the world, at about 96 m
(315 ft). The fifty misericords are the earliest complete set in the
United Kingdom. They date from two periods: 1220–1230 and 1250–1260. Amongst
other things, they depict the earliest known wooden representation of an
elephant in the UK. Also, unusually for misericords of this period, they have
supporters. The minstrels’ gallery in the nave dates to around 1360 and is
unique in English cathedrals. Its front is decorated with 12 carved and painted
angels playing medieval musical instruments, including the cittern,
bagpipe,hautboy, crwth, harp, trumpet, organ, guitar, tambourine and cymbals,
with two others which are uncertain. The Exeter Cathedral Astronomical Clock is
one of the group of famous 14th- to 16th-century astronomical clocks to be
found in the West of England. The main, lower, dial is the oldest part of the
clock, dating from 1484. The fleur-de-lys 'hand' indicates the time (and the
position of the sun in the sky) on a 24 hour analogue dial. The numbering
consists of two sets of I-XII Roman numerals. The silver ball and inner dial
shows both the age of the moon and its phase (using a rotating black shield to
indicate the moon's phase). The upper dial, added in 1760, shows the minutes. The
Latin phrase Pereunt et Imputantur, a favourite motto for clocks and
sundials, was written by the Latin poet Martial. It is usually translated as
"they perish and are reckoned to our account", referring to the hours
that we spend, wisely or not. The original clockwork mechanism, much modified,
repaired, and neglected until it was replaced in the early 20th century, can be
seen on the floor below. The door below the clock has a round hole near its
base. This was cut in the early 17th century to allow entry for the Bishop's
cat to deter vermin that were attracted to the animal fat used to lubricate the
clock mechanism. The Cathedral organ stands on the ornate medieval screen,
preserving the old classical distinction between quire and nave. The first
organ was built by John Loosemore in 1665. There was a radical rebuild by Henry
Willis in 1891, and again by Harrison & Harrison in 1931. The largest
pipes, the lower octave of the 32 ft Contra Violone, stand just inside the
south transept. The organ has one of only three trompette militaire stops in
the country housed in the minstrels’ gallery, along with a chorus of diapason
pipes.
 |
| one of the windows |
 |
| the astronomical clock |
 |
| another window |
 |
| the ceiling |
 |
| more ceiling |
 |
| Exeter Cathedral |
 |
| more ceiling |
After
our tour of the cathedral, which was very interesting, we had lunch at the cathedral
café before setting off for Cardiff. We arrived at our hotel in Cardiff – The Holiday
Inn, just after 3.00pm, so checked in then went across the road to the Cardiff
Castle to catch the ‘Hop On – Hop Off’ bus for a tour around the city. It
lasted around about an hour. Tomorrow we will use the bus again to see a little
more of Cardiff before we head off to our next destination.
We
came back to our room and relaxed till it was time to go to the restaurant for
dinner, then back to watch TV and catch up on blogging, journal writing and
relaxing.
No comments:
Post a Comment