Choir Vault, Oxford Cathedral
Officially known as Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford's diocesan church is unique in many ways and a bit of an anomaly amongst English cathedrals, being not only one of the very smallest of the older foundations but also the only cathedral anywhere to also serve as a college chapel (a strange and not entirely easy marriage of roles to the uninitiated visitor as this feels more a part of Christ Church College than the mother church of Oxfordshire Diocese).
Its history is even more varied, having originally been founded as the monastic church of St Frideswide, a community that ended its days prematurely ahead of the Dissolution when Cardinal Wolsey suppressed it in order to implement his plans to turn the site into his newly founded Christ's College. The western half of the nave was demolished as work began on the college quadrangle in its place and the truncated remainder would have followed had the founder's original vision of a new chapel been realised. In the end Henry VIII continued work on the college after Wolsey's demise and it was refounded as Christ Church, retaining St Frideswide's monastic church as the chapel. He also raised Oxford to the seat of a diocese in 1542, initially raising the newly dissolved Osney Abbey (to the west of the city) to the rank of cathedral but only two years later in 1544 that role was transferred to Christ Church and St Frideswide's / Christ Church College Chapel has served the role of Oxford's cathedral ever since. Osney was abandoned and one of the city's grandest buildings (and perhaps a more suitable cathedral in many ways) has sadly has all but vanished today.
Entering the cathedral for the first time can be a slightly bewildering experience, it is unlike any other cathedral in the country in that the exterior of the building is really quite elusive and inaccessible for the most part being surrounded by private areas of the college complex. There is no west facade, this was demolished to build the vast quadrangle through which it is now entered, thus one walks into the east side of the college quad with little sense that one is about to emerge inside a small cathedral. The other main route for visitors sends them via the former monastic cloister on the south side, and this is the only area where the public gets to see the external appearance of the cathedral in any detail, otherwise only the 13th century central tower (rising from a Norman base) with its short spire asserts itself above the masses of the college's various wings and courtyards.
Inside it is clear that this is still largely a cruciform late Norman church, the short nave and choir beyond the crossing both defined by round Romanesque arches of c1180, though here with a surprising twist, with a double row of inner and outer arches into the aisles, one superimposed over the other at different heights, a quite eccentric design. The outstanding architectural feature here however is the choir vault, a stunning early fan vault uniquely designed with lace-like ribs in stellar formation and hanging pendants, the visual climax of the interior. The east wall with its rose window was redesigned in the Victorian restoration by George Gilbert Scott to replace a large window (a later insertion) that had filled the entire space.
The most interesting area of the cathedral is the collection of chapels that fill the north east corner, the largest being known as the 'Latin Chapel' and containing medieval tombs including the reconstructed base of the former shrine of St Frideswide. There is much 14th century glass in this chapel too, although the very finest ancient glass here is in the chapel off the south transept where the traceries are filled with some of the most beautiful and richly coloured pieces of medieval glass that have survived.
The post medieval glass here however is equally significant and includes a delightful enamel-painted window by the Van Linge brothers, sadly the only complete window of a sequence installed in the early 17th century to have survived the turbulence of the Civil War. Better known is the sequence of Pre-Raphaelite windows designed by Sir Edward Burne Jones, most in his familiarly graceful style but the earliest (the St Frideswide Window) is quite different and full of rich glowing colour.
Exploring the cathedral doesn't take as long as most of its kind owing to the small scale of the building, but a visit isn't complete without taking in the small cloister and the impressive rectangular chapter house on the south side, a vaulted room of c1300 that has notable carvings and surviving medieval paintings in medallions on the vault.
Christ Church Cathedral is a rewarding place to visit, but it can be a little frustrating and less relaxing than most owing to the constant flow of visitors in a relatively small space. Entry to the college isn't cheap and is the only way for non-residents to visit as one cannot view the cathedral in isolation (visitors currently have to follow a pre-set route around the college dining hall before reaching the church). It does make me wonder how this building manages to function as a diocesan church, but whatever the complications it never fails to deliver with its beautiful architecture and stunning glass.
Choir Vault, Oxford Cathedral
Officially known as Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford's diocesan church is unique in many ways and a bit of an anomaly amongst English cathedrals, being not only one of the very smallest of the older foundations but also the only cathedral anywhere to also serve as a college chapel (a strange and not entirely easy marriage of roles to the uninitiated visitor as this feels more a part of Christ Church College than the mother church of Oxfordshire Diocese).
Its history is even more varied, having originally been founded as the monastic church of St Frideswide, a community that ended its days prematurely ahead of the Dissolution when Cardinal Wolsey suppressed it in order to implement his plans to turn the site into his newly founded Christ's College. The western half of the nave was demolished as work began on the college quadrangle in its place and the truncated remainder would have followed had the founder's original vision of a new chapel been realised. In the end Henry VIII continued work on the college after Wolsey's demise and it was refounded as Christ Church, retaining St Frideswide's monastic church as the chapel. He also raised Oxford to the seat of a diocese in 1542, initially raising the newly dissolved Osney Abbey (to the west of the city) to the rank of cathedral but only two years later in 1544 that role was transferred to Christ Church and St Frideswide's / Christ Church College Chapel has served the role of Oxford's cathedral ever since. Osney was abandoned and one of the city's grandest buildings (and perhaps a more suitable cathedral in many ways) has sadly has all but vanished today.
Entering the cathedral for the first time can be a slightly bewildering experience, it is unlike any other cathedral in the country in that the exterior of the building is really quite elusive and inaccessible for the most part being surrounded by private areas of the college complex. There is no west facade, this was demolished to build the vast quadrangle through which it is now entered, thus one walks into the east side of the college quad with little sense that one is about to emerge inside a small cathedral. The other main route for visitors sends them via the former monastic cloister on the south side, and this is the only area where the public gets to see the external appearance of the cathedral in any detail, otherwise only the 13th century central tower (rising from a Norman base) with its short spire asserts itself above the masses of the college's various wings and courtyards.
Inside it is clear that this is still largely a cruciform late Norman church, the short nave and choir beyond the crossing both defined by round Romanesque arches of c1180, though here with a surprising twist, with a double row of inner and outer arches into the aisles, one superimposed over the other at different heights, a quite eccentric design. The outstanding architectural feature here however is the choir vault, a stunning early fan vault uniquely designed with lace-like ribs in stellar formation and hanging pendants, the visual climax of the interior. The east wall with its rose window was redesigned in the Victorian restoration by George Gilbert Scott to replace a large window (a later insertion) that had filled the entire space.
The most interesting area of the cathedral is the collection of chapels that fill the north east corner, the largest being known as the 'Latin Chapel' and containing medieval tombs including the reconstructed base of the former shrine of St Frideswide. There is much 14th century glass in this chapel too, although the very finest ancient glass here is in the chapel off the south transept where the traceries are filled with some of the most beautiful and richly coloured pieces of medieval glass that have survived.
The post medieval glass here however is equally significant and includes a delightful enamel-painted window by the Van Linge brothers, sadly the only complete window of a sequence installed in the early 17th century to have survived the turbulence of the Civil War. Better known is the sequence of Pre-Raphaelite windows designed by Sir Edward Burne Jones, most in his familiarly graceful style but the earliest (the St Frideswide Window) is quite different and full of rich glowing colour.
Exploring the cathedral doesn't take as long as most of its kind owing to the small scale of the building, but a visit isn't complete without taking in the small cloister and the impressive rectangular chapter house on the south side, a vaulted room of c1300 that has notable carvings and surviving medieval paintings in medallions on the vault.
Christ Church Cathedral is a rewarding place to visit, but it can be a little frustrating and less relaxing than most owing to the constant flow of visitors in a relatively small space. Entry to the college isn't cheap and is the only way for non-residents to visit as one cannot view the cathedral in isolation (visitors currently have to follow a pre-set route around the college dining hall before reaching the church). It does make me wonder how this building manages to function as a diocesan church, but whatever the complications it never fails to deliver with its beautiful architecture and stunning glass.