Cloister Ruins, Peterborough Cathedral
Former monk's lavatorium in the ruins of the cloisters at Peterborough.
Peterborough Cathedral is one of England's finest buildings, an almost complete Romanesque church on an impressive scale sitting behind one of the most unique and eccentric Gothic facades found anywhere in medieval Europe. The church we see today is little altered since its completion in the 13th century aside from inevitable 19th century restorations and the serious depradations of Civil War damage in the mid 17th century.
The bulk of the church is 12th century Norman, retaining even its apse (a rarity in England) and even the original flat wooden ceilings of nave and transept. The nave ceiling retains its early medieval painted decoration with an assortment of figures set within lozenge shaped panels (mostly overpainted in the 18th and 19th centuries but the overall effect is preserved). The 13th century west facade is the most dramatic and memorable feature of the building, with three vast Gothic arches forming a giant porch in front of the building, a unique design, flanked by small spires and intended to be surmounted by two pinnacled towers rising just behind the facade, though only that on the north side was finished (and originally surmounted by a wooden spire which was removed c1800). The central tower is a surprisingly squat structure of 14th century date (with a striking vaulted ceiling within) and along with its counterpart at the west end makes surprisingly little presence on the city's skyline for such an enormous building. The final addition to the church prior to the Reformation is the ambulatory around the apse, a superb example of late medieval perpendicular with a stunning fan-vaulted ceiling.
Given the vast scale of the building it is perhaps surprising to learn that it has only had cathedral status since 1541, prior to that it had been simply Peterborough Abbey, but it was one of the most well endowed monastic houses in the country, as witnessed by the architecture. It was once the burial place of two queens, Katherine of Aragon lies on the north side of the choir and Mary Queen of Scots was originally interred here before her son James I had her body moved to the more prestigious surroundings of Westminster.
Sadly the cathedral suffered miserably during the Civil War when Parliamentarian troops ransacked the church and former monastic buildings in an orgy of destruction, much of which was overseen by Cromwell himself in person (which helps explain its thoroughness). Tombs and monuments were brutally defaced, and nearly all the original furnishings and woodwork were destroyed, along with every bit of stained glass in all the vast windows (only the merest fragments remain today in the high windows of the apse). Worse still, the delightful cloisters on the south side, once famed for the beauty of their painted windows, were demolished leaving only their outer walls and some tantalising reminders of their former richness. The magnificent 13th century Lady Chapel attached to the north transept (an unusual arrangement, similar to that at Ely) was another major casualty, demolished immediately after the war so that its materials could be sold in order to raise funds for the restoration of the cathedral following the Cromwellian rampage.
In the following centuries much was done to repair the building and bring it back into order. There were major restorations during the 19th century, which included the dismantling and rebuilding of the central tower (following the same design and reusing original material) owing to impending structural failure in the crossing piers.
What we see today is thus a marvel of architecture, a church of great beauty, but a somewhat hollow one owing to the misfortunes of history. One therefore doesn't find at Peterborough the same clutter of the centuries that other cathedrals often possess (in terms of tombs and furnishings) and there are few windows of real note, but for the grandeur of its architecture it is one of the very finest churches we have.
For more history see the link below:-
Cloister Ruins, Peterborough Cathedral
Former monk's lavatorium in the ruins of the cloisters at Peterborough.
Peterborough Cathedral is one of England's finest buildings, an almost complete Romanesque church on an impressive scale sitting behind one of the most unique and eccentric Gothic facades found anywhere in medieval Europe. The church we see today is little altered since its completion in the 13th century aside from inevitable 19th century restorations and the serious depradations of Civil War damage in the mid 17th century.
The bulk of the church is 12th century Norman, retaining even its apse (a rarity in England) and even the original flat wooden ceilings of nave and transept. The nave ceiling retains its early medieval painted decoration with an assortment of figures set within lozenge shaped panels (mostly overpainted in the 18th and 19th centuries but the overall effect is preserved). The 13th century west facade is the most dramatic and memorable feature of the building, with three vast Gothic arches forming a giant porch in front of the building, a unique design, flanked by small spires and intended to be surmounted by two pinnacled towers rising just behind the facade, though only that on the north side was finished (and originally surmounted by a wooden spire which was removed c1800). The central tower is a surprisingly squat structure of 14th century date (with a striking vaulted ceiling within) and along with its counterpart at the west end makes surprisingly little presence on the city's skyline for such an enormous building. The final addition to the church prior to the Reformation is the ambulatory around the apse, a superb example of late medieval perpendicular with a stunning fan-vaulted ceiling.
Given the vast scale of the building it is perhaps surprising to learn that it has only had cathedral status since 1541, prior to that it had been simply Peterborough Abbey, but it was one of the most well endowed monastic houses in the country, as witnessed by the architecture. It was once the burial place of two queens, Katherine of Aragon lies on the north side of the choir and Mary Queen of Scots was originally interred here before her son James I had her body moved to the more prestigious surroundings of Westminster.
Sadly the cathedral suffered miserably during the Civil War when Parliamentarian troops ransacked the church and former monastic buildings in an orgy of destruction, much of which was overseen by Cromwell himself in person (which helps explain its thoroughness). Tombs and monuments were brutally defaced, and nearly all the original furnishings and woodwork were destroyed, along with every bit of stained glass in all the vast windows (only the merest fragments remain today in the high windows of the apse). Worse still, the delightful cloisters on the south side, once famed for the beauty of their painted windows, were demolished leaving only their outer walls and some tantalising reminders of their former richness. The magnificent 13th century Lady Chapel attached to the north transept (an unusual arrangement, similar to that at Ely) was another major casualty, demolished immediately after the war so that its materials could be sold in order to raise funds for the restoration of the cathedral following the Cromwellian rampage.
In the following centuries much was done to repair the building and bring it back into order. There were major restorations during the 19th century, which included the dismantling and rebuilding of the central tower (following the same design and reusing original material) owing to impending structural failure in the crossing piers.
What we see today is thus a marvel of architecture, a church of great beauty, but a somewhat hollow one owing to the misfortunes of history. One therefore doesn't find at Peterborough the same clutter of the centuries that other cathedrals often possess (in terms of tombs and furnishings) and there are few windows of real note, but for the grandeur of its architecture it is one of the very finest churches we have.
For more history see the link below:-