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Warmington church stands proud on high ground overlooking the main road up the north-eastern fringe of Edgehill. The church is of mainly 13th to 14th century date and is built of the local ironstone which always adds such character with it's delightful golden-brown hue.
The colouring of the stonework is also most apparent within the nave and aisles, which are separated by solid Transitional style arcades (the pillars are Norman in character, while the arches they carry are pointed, though still partially Romanesque in spirit). There is some interesting tracery in the north aisle, particularly the pentagram design in the east window. The chancel betrays later detailing from the 14th century, most notably the fine sedilia with its cusped canopies. Frustratingly I missed the chance to see inside the two-storey extension on the north side on this visit, assuming it to be just another locked vestry, but externally it seems to be a more significant structure.
The windows of the church are largely plain-glazed, though there is stained glass of the Victorian period in the chancel and west window of the tower (none of it terribly exciting).
St Michael's church is normally kept open for visitors during the day, and is well worth a look.
All Saints at Sapcote was our last church of the day (or rather the last we were lucky enough to find open!) and a nice one to end on, a handsome 14th & 15th century structure with a slender west tower and spire which looked particularly well in the final bursts of evening sunshine. It was well after 6pm so we didn't hold out much hope of getting in here, but open door and nice couple who were still stewarding inside happily surprised us (I think they would have been only holding out for another quarter of an hour or so before locking up again).
The interior is light and cheerful, the nave appears unusually wide, though this is in part the illusion of the broad bit low chancel arch. There is only one side aisle on the north side and the chancel beyond is smaller and appears more restored. Most noticeable feature of interest (which all but accosts you on the way in) is the fine late Norman font , an attractive piece adorned with stylized leaf carvings. There is also some attractive glass, the east window being by Powell's and the south nave window having some fetching more recent glass by Clare Dawson.
Sapcote church is normally kept locked outside of services, so either good timing or prior planning will be necessary to see inside (unless like us one visits on Ride & Stride in September!).
Duston today is incorporated into the western suburbs of Northampton, but the parish church of St Luke in its enclosed and leafy churchyard retains the oasis of calm feel of a village church. It dates mostly to the 13th and 14th centuries and was originally cruciform, as witnessed by the central tower (somewhat oblong on form). The local ironstone has a rich patina and a warm orange-brown hue which looks most attractive on a sunny day.
Within the narrow crossing beneath the tower splits the church into separate spaces and the nave has been re-orientated with an altar at the west end to make better use of the building's layout, thus the nave is now the main focus for worship with the chancel retained as a chapel. There are several amusing medieval corbel carvings throughout the church, those in the chancel depicting musicians being particularly notable.
St Luke's is not usually open outside of service times though does open on Sunday afternoons for cream-teas in summer. I arrived at midday shortly after the morning service and was made very welcome.
St. John’s Church is one of the oldest medieval architectural monuments in Latvia. Church was built in the beginning of 13th century during the Christianization of Baltic’s for the purposes of the Livonian Holy Order because residence of the order was located in Cēsis; therefore Cēsis became one of the most important German power centers in the Baltic’s from 1237 up to 1561.
from:
www.latvia.travel/en/sight/cesis-st-johns-church
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Cēsu Svētā Jāņa evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca ir luterāņu dievnams, kas atrodas Cēsīs. Tā ir viena no vecākajām gotiskajām mūra baznīcām Latvijā un lielākā viduslaiku bazilika Latvijā ārpus Rīgas. 16. gadsimtā tā kļuva par vienu no Ziemeļlatvijas reformācijas centriem. 1582. gadā baznīca kļuva par katoļu katedrāli, bet kopš 1629. gada tā ir luterāņu baznīca. Baznīcā ir apglabāti daudzi 15. un 16. gadsimta Livonijas valstsvīri — vairāki Livonijas ordeņa mestri — Johans Freitāgs fon Loringhofe (1494), Valters fon Pletenbergs (1535), Hermans fon Brigenejs (1549) un Cēsu bīskaps Andrejs Patrīcijs Nideckis (1587).
A large, early gothical castle founded around 1059. This is just the southern part, the whole castle can´t be captured in whole. It´s rich history contains many sieges and reconstructions, but the worst damage came in the communist era with damaging unsensitive restoration work, but in the modern time it´s being restored to historically true state.
St Nicholas's church at Hintlesham stands beside the busy main road, set back in its pleasant churchyard and surrounded with plenty of trees to shelter it from the nearby thoroughfare. It is a grander building than one often sees in these villages west of Ipswich, its nave being flanked by aisles. Externally all has been rendered except for the west tower where the flint remains exposed.
Within the church the nave is a fairly light space whilst the chancel beyond is more gloomy and mysterious. This is where the most interesting features are to be found, with several memorials to the recusant Timperley family adorning the walls. The 19th century glass here subdues the light, and some of the patterned quarries are of an unusual design. At the west end of the nave is the handsome late medieval font, its panels surprisingly filled with foliate designs and shields rather than more specific imagery (which helped it to survive undamaged).
This is another church which happily normally welcomes the casual visitor.
Ely Cathedral is in the top rank of the great English cathedrals, and indeed earns its place among the best of medieval churches internationally for its unique architecture and astonishing beauty. It is a church I've visited several times over the years and never fails to impress, its form at once imposing and strikingly individual. Owing to the flatness of the surrounding countryside it is visible from afar as a major landmark, which makes approaching this tiny city all the more enticing.
The church was founded as an abbey by St Etheldreda in 672 and didn't achieve cathedral status until the foundation of the diocese in 1109. Much of the present building dates from the following years, with the nave and transepts still substantially as they were built (aside from a few altered windows and later ceilings) and a fine example of Norman / Romanesque architecture. A little later during the 1170s the soaring west tower and western transepts were added which would have created a magnificent facade when complete and of a type rarely seen in this country. The style is richer with more use of ornamentation than before, but also many of the arches (particularly the upper parts of the tower) are pointed, making it an early example of the transition to Gothic (the octagonal top storey is from two centuries later, but follows the original overall plan in form, if not detail). The north-west transept however collapsed in the late 15th century and was never rebuilt, leaving the front of the cathedral will the curiously lopsided but not unattractive west front we see today. The Galilee porch that projects from the base of the tower dates from the beginning of the 13th century, only a few decades later but now fully Gothic in style.
The Norman eastern limb had been fairly short so the next major building phases saw the great eastward extension of the presbytery built in Gothic style in 1234-50. It makes an interesting contrast with the earlier parts of the building being so rich in style, externally punctuated with pinnacles and flying buttresses and profusely ornamented withing, making the Romanesque nave and transepts seem somewhat austere by comparison. Then in 1321 an ambitious new lady chapel was begun at the north-east corner, but soon afterwards work was delayed by unforeseen events.
In 1322 the old Norman central tower collapsed, bringing down with it most of the old Romanesque choir (but not the recently built presbytery beyond). The aftermath left the cathedral with a gaping hole at its heart, but this must have inspired those charged with its recovery, and under the direction of Alan of Walsingham the crossing was rebuilt in a unique way; rather than build a new tower of a similar form the central piers that supported it were entirely cleared away along with the adjoining bay of nave, transepts and choir to create a much larger octagonal central space. This then rose to become the unique central tower that Ely is so famous for, the Octagon, a combination of a lower octagonal tower built of stone crowned by a delicate lantern built of wood and covered with lead externally. The result is an incredible, piece of architecture, and the view inside of the open space rising to the curved vaults above on which the glazed lantern appears to float is unforgettable.
After the Octagon and beautifully spacious and richly adorned Lady Chapel were completed there was no more major work at the cathedral. The transept roofs were replaced in the 15th century with the wooden hammerbeam structures we see today, adorned with large angel figures in the East Anglian tradition. The most significant late medieval additions are the two sumptuously decorated chantry chapels built within the end of each choir aisle, each a riot of later medieval ornament and Bishop West's also being remarkable for its fusion of Gothic and Renaissance detail. The cloister appears to have been rebuilt at a similar stage though sadly very little of it survives today.
Sadly the Reformation saw a wave of iconoclasm of particular ferocity unleashed here in Ely. The most telling reminder is the Lady Chapel with its richly ornamented arcading carved with hundreds of small scenes and figures, all brutally beheaded (not a single head survives). Free standing statues in niches have all gone without trace, but in the case of Bishop West's chantry chapel the topmost figures were carved in relief, so these were hammered away leaving the mutilated remains as a testament to zealotry and intolerance. Most of the stained glass appears to have also been removed around this time, so there was surprisingly little damage here during the Civil War a century later as the Puritan frenzy had already been unleashed.
A corner of the north transept collapsed in 1699 but was rebuilt almost identically, a rare early example of such an exacting approach to reconstruction. The classical form of a window and doorway below are the only reminders of the rebuilding, some say with advice from Christopher Wren whose uncle had been bishop here decades earlier (Wren knew the cathedral as a result, and the Octagon is believed to have inspired his plans for St Paul's, as the ground plans of the Octagon and his domed central space at St Paul's are remarkably similar).
The cathedral saw further changes in the 18th century when the structure was in need of repair. James Essex was called in to repair the Octagon and the wooden lantern was stabilised but its external was appearance simplified by stripping away much of its original detail. The medieval choir stalls had originally sat directly underneath the Octagon with painted walls on either side, but these were removed at this time and the stalls relocated further east to the position they are in now. Sadly the Norman pulpitum screen at the end of the nave was also removed (the earliest of its kind to survive in any cathedral).
By the mid 19th century tastes had changed again and the Victorian preference for richness over Georgian austerity saw the cathedral restored under the direction of George Gilbert Scott. He restored the Octagon lantern to something much closer to its original appearance and added new screens at the crossing and behind the altar. Stained glass gradually filled the cathedral again and it remains one of the richest collections of Victorian glass in the country. The ceiling of the nave which had been left plain for centuries was given a new richly painted finish with scenes from the Old & New Testaments, begun by Henry le Strange but finished by Thomas Gambier Parry after the former had died halfway through the project. Gambier Parry also undertook the lavish redecoration of the interior of the Octagon lantern.
The cathedral has remained little change since and is one of the rewarding in the country. There is much of beauty to enjoy here beyond the architecture, with many interesting tombs and monuments from the medieval and post-Reformation periods. There is a wealth of stained glass of unusual richness; not everyone appreciates Victorian glass (indeed Alec Clifton Taylor was quite scathing about the glass here) but while it is very mixed I find much of it is of remarkably high quality.
Since 1972 the Stained Glass Museum has been housed in the nave triforium (originally on the north side, it was later transferred to the south where it currently remains). This is the only collection in the country solely devoted to the medium and is a great ambassador for it, with fine pieces covering a range of styles and illustrating the development of the art through the various backlit panels on show in the gallery.
Visitors can usually take tours to ascend the Octagon and even the west tower on more select days. Tours do get booked up though so it took me many visits before I could make my ascent, but happily this time I finally managed it and it was a wonderful experience I won't forget. Frustratingly I was unable to ascend the west tower since I was at a symposium on the day when tours were held so I hope to have better luck next time.
For more historical detail and context see below:-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_Cathedral
For entry fees and tower tours see the cathedral's website below:-
Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1541, it has been the seat of the Bishop of Chester.
The cathedral is a Grade I listed building, and part of a heritage site that also includes the former monastic buildings to the north, which are also listed Grade I. The cathedral's construction dates from between the 10th century and the early 16th century, having been modified a number of times throughout history, a typical characteristic of English cathedrals; however, the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times. All the major styles of English medieval architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, are represented in the present building.
The cathedral and former monastic buildings were extensively restored during the 19th century (amidst some controversy), and a free standing bell tower was added in the 20th century. In addition to holding services for Christian worship, the buildings are a major tourist attraction in Chester and the cathedral is used as a venue for concerts and exhibitions.
History
The city of Chester was an important Roman stronghold. There may have been a Christian basilica on the site of the present cathedral in the late Roman era, while Chester was controlled by Legio XX Valeria Victrix. Legend holds that the basilica was dedicated to Saint Paul and Saint Peter. This is supported by evidence that in Saxon times the dedication of an early chapel on this site was changed from Saint Peter to Saint Werburgh. In 958 King Edgar granted land to the Minster of St Werburgh in Chester.
During the Early Middle Ages Barloc of Norbury, a Catholic Celtic saint and hermit, was venerated at Chester Cathedral with a feast day on 10 September. He is known to history mainly through the hagiography of the Secgan Manuscript; he also occurs in a litany in MS Tanner 169* of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
In 907 Chester was refortified against the threat from the Vikings, and shortly afterwards the minster was founded or refounded, and Werburgh's remains were transferred there from Hanbury, probably by Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. The collegiate church, as it was then, was restored in 1057 by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Lady Godiva. This church was razed to the ground around 1090, with the secular canons evicted, and no known trace of it remains.
In 1093 a Benedictine abbey was established on the site by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, with the assistance of St Anselm and other monks from Bec in Normandy. The earliest surviving parts of the structure date from that time. The abbey church was not at that time the cathedral of Chester; from 1075 to 1082 the cathedral of the diocese was the nearby church of St John the Baptist, after which the see was transferred to Coventry. In 1538, during the dissolution of the monasteries, the monastery was disbanded and the shrine of Saint Werburgh was desecrated. In 1541 St Werburgh's abbey became a cathedral of the Church of England, by order of Henry VIII. At the same time, the dedication was changed to Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The last abbot of St Werburgh's Abbey, Thomas Clarke, became the first dean of the new cathedral, at the head of a secular chapter.
Although little trace of the 10th-century church has been discovered, save possibly some Saxon masonry found during a 1997 excavation of the nave, there is much evidence of the monastery of 1093. This work in the Norman style may be seen in the northwest tower, the north transept and in remaining parts of the monastic buildings. The abbey church, beginning with the Lady Chapel at the eastern end, was extensively rebuilt in Gothic style during the 13th and 14th centuries. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the cloister, the central tower, a new south transept, the large west window and a new entrance porch to the south had just been built in the Perpendicular style, and the southwest tower of the façade had been begun. The west front was given a Tudor entrance, but the tower was never completed.
In 1636 the space beneath the south west tower became a bishop's consistory court. It was furnished as such at that time, and is now a unique survival in England, hearing its last case, that of an attempted suicide of a priest, in the 1930s. Until 1881, the south transept, which is unusually large, also took on a separate function as an independent ecclesiastical entity: the parish church of St Oswald. Although the 17th century saw additions to the furnishings and fittings, there was no further building work for several centuries. By the 19th century, the building was badly in need of restoration. The present homogeneous appearance that the cathedral presents from many exterior angles is largely the work of Victorian restorers, particularly George Gilbert Scott.
The 20th century has seen continued maintenance and restoration. In 1922, the Chester War Memorial was installed in the cathedral grounds and dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the First World War and later the Second World War. In 1973–75 a detached belfry, the Addleshaw Tower, designed by George Pace, was erected in the grounds of the cathedral. In 2005 a new Song School was added to the cathedral During the 2000s, the cathedral library was refurbished and relocated. It was officially reopened in September 2007.The cathedral and the former monastic buildings were designated as Grade I listed buildings on 28 July 1955.
In October 2021, the abbey's gateway was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million injection into the government's Culture Recovery Fund.
Architecture
Chester Cathedral has an east–west axis, common to many cathedrals, with the chancel at the eastern end, and the façade to the west. The plan is cruciform, with a central tower (as is usual in English monastic churches), but is asymmetrical, having a small transept on the north side remaining from an earlier building, and an unusually large south transept. As the plan shows, the asymmetry extends to the west front, where the north tower remains from the Norman building, and the south tower is of the early 16th century. At the eastern end, the symmetrical arrangement of the aisles was lost when the end of the south aisle was demolished and rebuilt in an apsidal shape. The nave, choir and south transept have wide aisles on either side, and are lit by clerestory windows and large multi-light windows in each of the three cliff-like ends. To the north of the cathedral are monastic buildings, including the cloister, refectory and a rectangular chapter house. The façade of the building is abutted on the north by later building
External appearance
Like the cathedrals of Carlisle, Lichfield and Worcester, Chester Cathedral is built of New Red Sandstone, in this case Keuper Sandstone from the Cheshire Basin. The stone lends itself to detailed carving, but is also friable, easily eroded by rain and wind, and is badly affected by pollution. With the other red sandstone buildings, Chester is one of the most heavily restored of England's cathedrals. The restoration, which included much refacing and many new details, took place mainly in the 19th century.
Because the south transept is similar in dimension to the nave and choir, views of the building from the south-east and south-west give the impression of a building balanced around a central axis, with its tower as the hub. The tower is of the late 15th century Perpendicular style, but its four large battlemented turrets are the work of the restoration architect George Gilbert Scott. With its rhythmic arrangement of large, traceried windows, pinnacles, battlements and buttresses, the exterior of Chester Cathedral from the south presents a fairly homogeneous character, which is an unusual feature as England's cathedrals are in general noted for their stylistic diversity. Close examination reveals window tracery of several building stages from the 13th to the early 16th century. The richness of the 13th-century tracery is accentuated by the presence of ornate, crocketted drip-mouldings around the windows; those around the perpendicular windows are of simpler form.
The façade of the cathedral is dominated by a large deeply recessed eight-light window in the Perpendicular style, above a recessed doorway set in a screen-like porch designed, probably by Seth and George Derwall, in the early 1500s. This porch formed part of the same late 15th-century building programme as the south transept, central and southwest towers, and cloister. Neither of the west towers was completed. To the north is the lower stage of a Norman tower, while to the south is the lower stage of a tower designed and begun, probably by Seth and George Derwall, in 1508, but left incomplete following the dissolution of the monastery in 1538. The cathedral's façade is abutted on the north by a Victorian building housing the education centre and largely obscured from view by the building previously used as the King's School, which is now a branch of Barclays Bank. The door of the west front is not used as the normal entrance to the cathedral, which is through the southwest porch which is in an ornate Tudor style.
Interior
The interior of Chester Cathedral gives a warm and mellow appearance because of the pinkish colour of the sandstone. The proportions appear spacious because the view from the west end of the nave to the east end is unimpeded by a pulpitum and the nave, although not long, is both wide and high compared with many of England's cathedrals. The piers of the nave and choir are widely spaced, those of the nave carrying only the clerestory of large windows with no triforium gallery. The proportions are made possible partly because the ornate stellar vault, like that at York Minster, is of wood, not stone.
Norman remnants
The present building, dating from around 1283 to 1537, mostly replaced the earlier monastic church founded in 1093 which was built in the Norman style. It is believed that the newer church was built around the older one. That the few remaining parts of the Norman church are of small proportions, while the height and width of the Gothic church are generous would seem to confirm this belief. Aspects of the design of the Norman interior are still visible in the north transept, which retains wall arcading and a broadly moulded arch leading to the sacristy, which was formerly a chapel. The transept has retained an early 16th-century coffered ceiling with decorated bosses, two of which are carved with the arms of Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.
The north west tower is also of Norman construction. It serves as the baptistry and houses a black marble font, consisting of a bowl on a large baluster dating from 1697. The lower part of the north wall of the nave is also from the Norman building, but can only be viewed from the cloister because the interior has been decorated with mosaic.
Early English
The Early English Gothic chapter house, built between 1230 and 1265, is rectangular and opens off a "charming" vestibule leading from the north transept.[28] The chapter house has grouped windows of simple untraceried form. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes the exterior of this building as a "modest but rather elegant example of composition in lancets" while Nikolaus Pevsner says of the interior "It is a wonderfully noble room" which is the "aesthetic climax of the cathedral". To the north of the chapter house is the slype, also Early English in style, and the warming room, which contains two large former fireplaces. The monastic refectory to the north of the cloister is of about the same date as the chapter house.
The Lady Chapel to the eastern end of the choir dates from between 1265 and 1290. It is of three bays, and contains the Shrine of St Werburgh, dating from the 14th century. The vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one in the cathedral that is of stone. It is decorated with carved roof bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket. The chapel also has a sedilia and a piscina.
Decorated Gothic
The choir, of five bays, was built between 1283 and 1315 to the design of Richard Lenginour,[1] and is an early example of Decorated Gothic architecture. The piers have strongly modelled attached shafts, supporting deeply moulded arches. There is a triforium gallery with four cusped arches to each bay. The sexpartite vault, which is a 19th-century restoration, is supported by clusters of three shafts which spring from energetic figurative corbels. The overall effect is robust, and contrasts with the delicacy of the pinnacled choir stalls, the tracery of the windows and the rich decoration of the vault which was carried out by the ecclesiastical designers, Clayton and Bell. The choir stalls, dating from about 1380, are one of the glories of the cathedral.
The aisles of the choir previously both extended on either side of the Lady Chapel. The south aisle was shortened in about 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, and given an apsidal east end, becoming the chapel of St Erasmus. The eastern end of the north aisle contains the chapel of St Werburgh.
The nave of six bays, and the large, aisled south transept were begun in about 1323, probably to the design of Nicholas de Derneford. There are a number of windows containing fine Flowing Decorated tracery of this period. The work ceased in 1375, in which year there was a severe outbreak of plague in England. The building of the nave was recommenced in 1485, more than 150 years after it was begun. The architect was probably William Rediche. Remarkably, for an English medieval architect, he maintained the original form, changing only the details. The nave was roofed with a stellar vault rather like that of the Lady Chapel at Ely and the choir at York Minster, both of which date from the 1370s. Like that at York, the vault is of wood, imitating stone.
Perpendicular Gothic
From about 1493 until 1525 the architect appears to have been Seth Derwall, succeeded by George Derwall until 1537. Seth Derwall completed the south transept to a Perpendicular Gothic design, as seen in the transomed windows of the clerestory. He also built the central tower, southwest porch and cloisters. Work commenced on the south west tower in 1508, but it had not risen above the roofline at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, and has never been completed. The central tower, rising to 127 feet (39 m), is a "lantern tower" with large windows letting light into the crossing. Its external appearance has been altered by the addition of four battlemented turrets by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century.
Former monastic buildings
The Perpendicular Gothic cloister is entered from the cathedral through a Norman doorway in the north aisle. The cloister is part of the building programme that commenced in the 1490s and is probably the work of Seth Derwall. The south wall of the cloister, dating from the later part of the Norman period, forms the north wall of the nave of the cathedral, and includes blind arcading. Among the earliest remaining structures on the site is an undercroft off the west range of the cloisters, which dates from the early 12th century, and which was originally used by the monks for storing food. It consists of two naves with groin vaults and short round piers with round scalloped capitals.
Leading from the south of the undercroft is the abbot's passage which dates from around 1150 and consists of two bays with rib-vaulting. Above the abbot's passage, approached by a stairway from the west cloister, is St Anselm's Chapel which also dates from the 12th century. It is in three bays and has a 19th century Gothic-style plaster vault. The chancel is in one bay and was remodelled in the early 17th century. The screen, altar rails, holy table and plaster ceiling of the chancel date from the 17th century. The north range of the cloister gives access to a refectory, built by Simon de Whitchurch in the 13th century. It contains an Early English pulpit, approached by a staircase with an ascending arcade. The only other similar pulpit in England is in Beaulieu Abbey.
Restoration
By the 19th century the fabric of the building had become badly weathered, with Charles Hiatt writing that "the surface rot of the very perishable red sandstone, of which the cathedral was built, was positively unsightly" and that the "whole place previous to restoration struck one as woebegone and neglected; it perpetually seemed to hover on the verge of collapse, and yet was without a trace of the romance of the average ruin". Between 1818 and 1820 the architect Thomas Harrison restored the south transept, adding corner turrets. This part of the building served until 1881 as the parish church of St Oswald, and it was ecclesiastically separate. From 1844 R. C. Hussey carried out a limited restoration including work on the south side of the nave.
The most extensive restoration was carried out by the Gothic Revival architect, George Gilbert Scott, who between 1868 and 1876 "almost entirely re-cased" the cathedral. The current building is acknowledged to be mainly the product of this Victorian restoration commissioned by the Dean, John Saul Howson. In addition to extensive additions and alterations to the body of the church, Scott remodelled the tower, adding turrets and crenellations. Scott chose sandstone from the quarries at Runcorn for his restoration work. In addition to the restoration of the fabric of the building, Scott designed internal fittings such as the choir screen to replace those destroyed during the Civil War; the roof had also been melted down to make musket balls. He built the fan vault of the south porch, renewed the wooden vault of the choir and added a great many decorative features to the interior.
Scott's restorations were not without their critics and caused much debate in architectural circles. Scott claimed to have archaeological evidence for his work, but the Liverpool architect, Samuel Huggins argued in an 1868 address to the Liverpool Architectural Society, that the alterations were less like restoration and more like rebuilding. One of the larger changes was to shorten the south aisle and restyle it as an apse. The changes also proposed the addition of a spire above the existing tower, but this proposal was later rejected.[38] Samuel's further paper of 1871 entitled On so-called restorations of our cathedral and abbey churches compelled the Dean to attempt to answer the criticism. The debate contributed to the establishment of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
Later in the century, from 1882, Arthur Blomfield and his son Charles made further additions and modifications, including restoring and reinstating the Shrine of St Werburgh. More work was carried out in the 20th century by Giles Gilbert Scott between 1891 and 1913, and by F. H. Crossley in 1939.
Bell tower
Towards the end of 1963 the cathedral bells, which were housed in the central tower, were in need of an overhaul and ringing was suspended. In 1965 the Dean asked George Pace, architect to York Minster, to prepare specifications for a new bell frame and for electrification of the clock and tolling mechanism. Due to structural difficulties and the cost of replacing the bells in the central tower it was advised that consideration should be given to building a detached bell and clock tower in the southeast corner of the churchyard. It was decided to proceed with that plan, and in 1969 an announcement was made that the first detached cathedral bell tower was to be erected since the building of the campanile at Chichester Cathedral in the 15th century. In February 1969, nine of the ten bells in the central tower were removed to be recast by John Taylor & Co as a ring of twelve bells with a flat sixth. The new bells were cast in 1973. Work on the new bell-tower began in February 1973. Two old bells dating from 1606 and 1626 were left in the tower. On 26 February 1975 the bells were rung for the first time to celebrate the wedding of a member of the Grosvenor family. The official opening on 25 June 1975 was performed by the Duke of Gloucester. The belfry is known as the Dean Addleshaw Tower, after the dean of the cathedral responsible for its construction. The tower is built in concrete, faced with sandstone at its base. It is the first detached bell tower to be built for a cathedral in this country since the Reformation. Between the bell tower and the south transept is a garden in remembrance of the Cheshire Regiment (originally the 22nd Regiment of Foot).
Fittings and glass
Choir Stalls (about 1380) and Rood Screen (late 19th century)
The treasures of Chester Cathedral are its rare fittings, specifically its choir stalls and the 17th-century furnishing of the bishop's Consistory Court in the south tower, which is a unique survival.
Choir stalls
The choir stalls date from about 1380. They have high, spiky, closely set canopies, with crocketed arches and spirelets. The stall ends have poppyheads and are rich with figurative carving. The stalls include 48 misericords, all but five of which are original, depicting a variety of subjects, some humorous and some grotesque. Pevsner states that they are "one of the finest sets in the country", while Alec Clifton-Taylor calls them "exquisite" and says of the misericords that "for delicacy and grace they surpass even those at Lincoln and Beverley".
Organ
In 1844, an organ by Gray & Davison of London was installed in the cathedral, replacing an instrument with parts dating back to 1626. The organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Whiteley Bros of Chester in 1876, to include harmonic flutes and reeds by Cavaillé-Coll. It was later moved to its present position at the front of the north transept. In 1910 William Hill and Son of London extensively rebuilt and revoiced the organ, replacing the Cavaillé-Coll reeds with new pipes of their own. The choir division of the organ was enlarged and moved behind the choirstalls on the south side. The instrument was again overhauled by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool in 1969, when a new mechanism and some new pipework made to a design by the organist, Roger Fisher, was installed. Since 1991 the organ has been in the care of David Wells of Liverpool.
Stained glass
Chester suffered badly at the hands of the Parliamentary troops. As a consequence, its stained glass dates mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries and has representative examples the significant trends in stained glass design from the 1850s onwards. Of the earlier Victorian firms, William Wailes is the best represented, in the south aisle (1862), as well as Hardman & Co. and Michael Connor. Glass from the High Victorian period is well represented by two leading London firms, Clayton and Bell and Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The Aesthetic style is represented by Charles Eamer Kempe. Early 20th century windows include several commemorating those who died in World War I.
There are also several notable modern windows, the most recent being the refectory window of 2001 by Ros Grimshaw which depicts the Creation. The eight-light Perpendicular window of the west end contains mid-20th century glass representing the Holy Family and Saints, by W. T. Carter Shapland. Three modern windows in the south aisle, designed and made by Alan Younger to replace windows damaged in the Second World War. They were donated by the 6th Duke of Westminster to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the cathedral and contain the dates 1092 and 1992 to reflect the theme of "continuity and change".
Features
The west end of the nave is dominated by an eight-light window in the Perpendicular Gothic style which almost fills the upper part of the west wall. It contains stained glass designed by W. T. Carter Shapland dating from 1961 and depicts the Holy Family in the middle two lights, flanked by the northern saints Werburgh, Oswald, Aidan, Chad and Wilfrid, and Queen Ethelfleda.
The stone nave pulpit was designed by the restorer R. C. Hussey and the lectern, dated 1876, is by Skidmore. The mosaic floor of the tower bay was designed by John Howson (Dean, 1867–1885) and executed by Burke and Co. The same firm installed the mosaics which decorate the wall of the north aisle, depicting the patriarchs and prophets Abraham, Moses, David and Elijah. They were designed by J. R. Clayton of Clayton and Bell, and date from 1883 to 86.
Monuments in the nave include those to Roger Barnston, dated 1838, by John Blayney, to Nicholas Stratford (Bishop, 1689–1707), dated 1708, to George Hall (Bishop, 1662–1668 (d.)), to Edmund Entwistle, dated 1712, to John and Thomas Wainwright who died respectively in 1686 and 1720, to Robert Bickerstaff who died in 1841 by Blayney, to William Smith (Dean, 1758–1787 (d.)) by Thomas Banks, and to William Mainwaring, dated 1671.
The most famous feature of the quire is the set of choir stalls, dating from about 1380, and described above. The lectern, in the form of a wooden eagle, symbol of John the Evangelist, dates from the first half of the 17th century. The candlesticks also date from the 17th century and are by Censore of Bologna who died in 1662.
With these exceptions, most of the decoration and the fittings of the quire date from the 19th century and are in keeping with the Gothic Revival promoted by the Oxford Movement and Augustus Welby Pugin. The restored vault of the quire is typical of the period, having been designed by Scott and decorated and gilded by Clayton and Bell.
The quire is entered through a screen designed by George Gilbert Scott, with gates made by Skidmore. The rood was designed by Scott, and was made by F. Stuflesser. The bishop's throne or "cathedra" was designed by Scott to complement the choir stalls. It was constructed by Farmer and Brindley in 1876. The reredos and the floor mosaic date from 1876, and were designed by J. R. Clayton. The east window has tracery of an elegant Decorated Gothic design which is filled with stained glass of 1884 by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.
The 13th-century Lady Chapel contains the stone shrine of Saint Werburgh which dates from the 14th century and which used to contain her relics. The shrine, of similar red sandstone as the cathedral, has a base pierced with deep niches. The upper part takes the form of a miniature chapel containing statuettes. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was dismantled. Some of the parts were found during the 1873 restoration of the cathedral and the shrine was reassembled in 1888 by Blomfield. A carving of St Werburgh by Joseph Pyrz was added in 1993. Also in the chapel are a sedilia and a piscina. The stained glass of 1859, is by William Wailes. The chapel contains a monument to Archdeacon Francis Wrangham, made by Hardman & Co. and dating from 1846. In 1555, George Marsh, Martyr stood trial here accused of heresy.
North quire aisle
The north quire aisle has a stone screen by R. C. Hussey and an iron gate dated 1558 that came from Guadalajara. At the east end of the aisle is the chapel of St Werburgh which has a vault of two bays, and an east window depicting the Nativity by Michael O'Connor, dated 1857. Other stained glass windows in the north aisle are by William Wailes, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, and by Clayton and Bell. The chapel contains a piscina dating from the 14th century, and monuments to John Graham (Bishop, 1848–1865) dated 1867, and to William Bispham who died in 1685, Other monuments in the north aisle include a tablet to William Jacobson (Bishop, 1865–1884), dated 1887, by Boehm to a design by Blomfield.
The small Norman transept has clerestory windows containing stained glass by William Wailes, installed in 1853. The sacristy, of 1200, has an east window depicting St Anselm, and designed by A. K. Nicholson. In the north transept is a freestanding tomb chest monument to John Pearson who died in 1686, designed by Arthur Blomfield and carved by Nicholas Earp, with a recumbent effigy by Matthew Noble. Other monuments in the transept include one to Samuel Peploe, dating from about 1784, by Joseph Nollekens. The wall monuments include cenotaphs to members of the Cheshire (Earl of Chester's) Yeomanry killed in the Boer War and in the First and Second World Wars. At the corner of the transept with the north aisle is a 17th-century Tree of Jesse carved in whale ivory. A niche contains a rare example of a "cobweb picture", painted on the web of a caterpillar. Originating in the Austrian Tyrol, it depicts Mary and the Christ-Child, and is based on a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
The chapter house has stained glass in its east window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne and grisaille windows in the north and south walls, dated 1882–83, by Blomfield. It contains an oak cope cupboard from the late 13th century. The front of the chapter house was rebuilt to a design by Hussey.
South choir aisle
The south aisle was shortened in about 1870 by Scott, and given an apsidal east end, becoming the chapel of St Erasmus. The stained glass in the apse window is dated 1872 and is by Clayton and Bell. Below this is a mosaic designed by J. R. Clayton and made by Salviati, and a fresco painting by Clayton and Bell, dated 1874. Elsewhere the stained glass in the aisle is by Wailes, and by Hardman & Co. to a design by Pugin. The aisle contains the tomb of Ranulf Higdon, a monk at St Werburgh's Abbey in the 12th century who wrote a major work of history entitled Polychronicon, a monument to Thomas Brassey (a civil engineering contractor who died in 1870), designed by Blomfield and made by Wagmuller, a monument to Samuel Peploe (Bishop, 1726–1752) who died in 1752, and three painted monuments by a member of the Randle Holme family.
South transept
The south transept, formerly the parish church of St Oswald contains a piscina and sedilia in the south wall. On the east wall are four chapels, each with a reredos, two of which were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, one by Kempe and the other by his successor, W. E. Tower. The south window is dated 1887 and was made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne to a design by R. C. Hussey. Other stained glass in the transept is by Clayton and Bell, by C. E. Kempe and by Powell.
The monuments include those to George Ogden who died in 1781, by Hayward, to Anne Matthews who died in 1793, by Thomas Banks, to John Philips Buchanan who died at Waterloo in 1815, to the first Duke of Westminster, designed by C. J. Blomfield, and two memorial plaques to members of the Egerton family. On the wall of the southwest crossing pier are monuments which include a cenotaph to the casualties in HMS Chester in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 who included the 16-year-old John Cornwell VC. The west wall of the south transept has many memorials, including cenotaphs to the Cheshire Regiment, the Royal Air Force and the Free Czech Forces.
Cloisters and refectory
The cloisters were restored in the 20th century, and the stained glass windows contain the images of some 130 saints. The cloister garth contains a modern sculpture entitled The water of life by Stephen Broadbent. The refectory roof is dated 1939 and was designed by F. H. Crossley. The east window with reticulated tracery was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and is dated 1913. The stained glass in the west window, depicting the Creation, was designed by Ros Grimshaw and installed in 2001 to celebrate the Millennium. On the refectory's west wall there is a tapestry depicting Elymas being struck with blindness which was woven at the Mortlake Tapestry Works in the 17th century from one of the Raphael Cartoons. The heraldic paintings on the north wall represent the arms of the Earls of Chester.
Library
Main article: Chester Cathedral Library
A library has been present since the time of St Werburgh's Abbey, and following the dissolution of the monasteries it became the cathedral library. It continued to grow over the centuries, but by the 19th century it had become neglected. Between 1867 and 1885 it was enlarged and in the 1890s new bookcases were added. A further reorganisation took place in the 1920s but by the 1980s the contents were contained in five separate sites around the cathedral. A programme of repair and re-cataloguing of the contents was instituted. During the 2000s more work was carried out and the refurbished library, housed in three rooms, opened in 2007. The library is available for research and for organised visits by groups.
Ministry
Dean — Tim Stratford (since 8 September 2018)
Canon Missioner & Vice Dean — Jane Brooke (since 11 September 2010 installation; Acting Dean, 2017–2018)
Canon for Worship and Spirituality – Rosie Woodall (since 20 May 2023 licensing)
Services
The cathedral is a place of Christian worship, with two services held daily, and four or five each Sunday. There is Holy Communion each day, and Choral Evensong each day except Wednesday. There is a sung service of cathedral Eucharist every Sunday.
Music
The Organist and Master of the Choristers is Philip Rushforth, Head of Music Outreach and Assistant Organist, Dan Mathieson and Sub-Organist, Alexander Palotai. There are lunchtime organ recitals weekly on Thursday at 1:10pm, immediately following Holy Communion. The monthly program of music is available on the cathedral's website.
The hymn-writer William Cooke (1821–1894) was a canon of Chester.
Organists
The earliest recorded appointment of an organist is of John Brycheley in 1541. Notable organists include the composers Robert White and John Sanders, conductor George Guest and the recording artist Roger Fisher.
Choirs
The choral tradition at Chester is 900 years old, dating from the foundation of the Benedictine monastery. In 1741 Handel heard the first recital of his Messiah at Chester. There are usually eight choral services in the cathedral each week. Chester has a cathedral choir of male lay clerks, choral scholars, boy and girl choristers and a Nave Choir which is of mixed voice. They rehearse in the Song School, built on the site of the former Monks' Dormitory. In addition to singing at services, the choir perform in concerts, tour abroad, and make recording on CDs. There is no choir school at Chester, so the choristers come from local schools. The Nave Choir, which sings Compline on Sunday evenings and in other services, also takes part in concerts, and undertakes tours. Having been founded during the 1860s, it is the longest-running voluntary cathedral choir in Britain.
Activities
Apart from services, a variety of events such as concerts, recitals, exhibitions and tours are held at the cathedral. There are weekly lunchtime organ recitals each Thursday, and concerts by the Chester Cathedral Nave Choir.
The cathedral and precinct are open to visits both by individuals and by groups. The former Refectory of the abbey is used as a café. The Refectory, the Cloister Room, the Chapter House, and the Vestibule can be hired for meetings, receptions and other purposes.
Burials
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (c. 1047 – 27 July 1101), first in the cemetery of Saint Werberg, reburied in the Chapter House
Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester (1070–1129)
Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, and his wife Maud of Gloucester, Countess of Chester
Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232)
Ranulf Higden (c. 1280–1364), chronicler
John Pearson, Bishop of Chester (1673–1686)
Samuel Peploe, Bishop of Chester (1725–1752)
John Graham, Bishop of Chester (1845–1865) — in the cemetery
George Clarke of Hyde, former Colonial Governor of New York, America between 1736 and 1743
Frederick Philipse III, a wealthy landowner from New York, America, who was loyal to the British Colonial Government and forced to quit his estates.
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the England-Wales border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester (a unitary authority which had a population of 329,608 in 2011) and serves as its administrative headquarters. It is also the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington.
Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. One of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the Danes. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester was granted city status in 1541.
The city walls of Chester are some of the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. It has a number of medieval buildings, but many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations, originating from the Black-and-white Revival movement. Apart from a 100-metre (330 ft) section, the walls are almost complete. The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period. Tourism, the retail industry, public administration, and financial services are important to the modern economy. Chester signs itself as Chester International Heritage City on road signs on the main roads entering the city.
The history of Chester extends back nearly two millennia, covering all periods of British history in between then and the present day. The city of Chester was founded as a fort, known as Deva Vitrix, by the Romans in AD 70s, as early as AD 74 based on discovered lead pipes. The city was the scene of battles between warring Welsh and Saxon kingdoms throughout the post-Roman years until the Saxons strengthened the fort against raiding Danes.
Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Chester came under the Earl of Chester. It became a centre of the defence against Welsh raiders and a launch point for raids on Ireland.
The city grew as a trading port until the power of the Port of Liverpool overtook it. However the city did not decline and during the Georgian and Victorian periods was seen as a place of escape from the more industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool.
Roman
The Romans founded Chester as Deva Victrix in AD 70s in the land of the Celtic Cornovii, according to ancient cartographer Ptolemy, as a fortress during the Roman expansion north.
It was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee, or directly from the British name for the river. The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based at Deva. A civilian settlement grew around the settlement, probably starting as a group of traders and their families who were profiting from trade with the fortress. The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in Britannia built around the same time at York (Eboracum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta); this has led to the suggestion that the fortress may have been intended to become the capital of the province rather than London (Londinium).
The civilian amphitheatre which was built in 1st century could sit between 8,000 and 10,000 people, is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain, and is also a Scheduled Monument. The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the only rock cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain. The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century. Although the army would have abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia the civilians settlement continued and its occupants probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders in the Irish Sea.
Sub-Roman and Saxon period
The Roman withdrawal from Britain was effectively complete by 410 and the Britons established a number of successor states. The area of Chester is thought to have formed part of the kingdom of Powys, whose early kings claimed descent from the exile Vortigern. Chester is generally identified with the Cair Legion ("Fort Legion") listed as one of the 28 cities of Britain in the History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius. In Welsh legend, King Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle against the Saxon invasion at the "city of the legions" and later St Augustine came to the city to try and subjugate the Welsh bishops to his mission. In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the Battle of Chester and probably established the Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on.
The Anglo-Saxons adopted the native name as the calque Legeceaster, which over time was shortened to Ceaster and finally corrupted to Chester. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia on what is considered to be an early Christian site and known as the Minster of St John the Baptist, Chester (now St John the Baptist's Church), which later became the city's first cathedral. In the 9th century, the body of Æthelred's niece, St Werburgh was removed from Hanbury in Staffordshire; in order to save its desecration by Danish marauders, she was reburied in the Church of SS Peter & Paul—later to become the Abbey Church and present cathedral. Her name is still remembered by the St Werburgh's Street which passes beside the cathedral. The Saxons extended and strengthened the city walls to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until Alfred seized all the cattle and laid waste the surrounding land to drive them out. In fact it was Alfred's daughter Æthelfleda, "Lady of the Mercians", who rebuilt the Saxon burh. In 907, she dedicated a new church to St Peter.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that, in 973, King Edgar came to Chester following his coronation at Bath. He held his court in a place located in what is now called "Edgar's Field", near the old Dee bridge in Handbridge. Taking a barge up the River Dee from his court to the Minster of St John the Baptist, Edgar supposedly took the helm of the vessel while it was rowed by six or eight tributary "kings" (Latin: reguli, lit. "little kings").
The Chronicles of Melrose and of Florence of Worcester describe that "eight petty kings, namely, Kynath, king of the Scots, Malcolm, king of the Cumbrians, Maccus, king of several isles and five others, named Dufnall, Siferth, Huwall, Jacob and Juchill, met him there as he had appointed and swore that they would be faithful to him, and assist him by land and by sea".
After the kings swore fealty and allegiance they rowed him back to the palace. As he entered he is reported to have said that with so many kings' allegiance his successors could boast themselves to be kings of the English.
Middle Ages
After the 1066 Norman Conquest and the Harrying of the North, the Normans took Chester, destroying 200 houses in the city. Hugh d'Avranches, the first Norman earl (it was first given to a Fleming, Gherbod, who never took up residence but returned to Flanders where he was captured, and later killed) was William's nephew. He built a motte and bailey near the river, as another defence from the Celts. It is now known as Chester Castle and was rebuilt in stone by Henry III in 1245, after the last of six Norman earls died without issue.
Chester's earls were a law unto themselves. They kept huge hunting forests - Hugo was said to have 'preferred falconers and huntsmen to the cultivators of the soil', and Ranulf I converted the Wirral farmlands into another hunting forest. Before Ranulph, Hugo's son had inherited at the age of seven but died in the White Ship, along with the king's heir, William, on his way to England from France, where he was educated under the guardianship of Henry I. Earl Ranulf II, Ranulph's son, even helped to capture King Stephen in 1140, and ended up controlling a third of England after supporting Henry II's claim to the throne.
Other earls were Hugh II, Ranulf III and John the Scot. The traditional independence that Chester had under the earls was confirmed by a charter of Richard II in 1398 stating that 'the said county of Chester shall be the principality of Chester'. The earls are remembered with their shields on the suspension bridge over the river Dee, and again on the Grosvenor Park lodge.
The first earl had endowed a great Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh in 1092 (on the site of the church of dedicated to St Peter and St Paul). The monastery was dissolved under Henry VIII in 1540 and was rededicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary to become Chester Cathedral. Previously, the first Chester Cathedral was begun in 1075 by the first Norman Bishop of Mercia, Peter de Leya after the See was moved from Lichfield in Chester. De Leya's successor moved the See to Coventry and it later returned to Lichfield. St John's became the co-Cathedral and Collegiate Church.
There is a popular belief that it was the silting of the River Dee that created the land which is now Chester's racecourse (known as the Roodee), on which a stone cross still stands which is said to have been erected in memory of Lady Trawst who died as a result of an image of the Virgin Mary called Holy Rood falling upon her in Hawarden church a few miles down the river). But the Roodee was in existence as early as the 13th and 14th centuries, so it cannot have been created by later silting. The silting which led to the creation of the Roodee, in its current form, is well established on a sequence of post-medieval maps dating from the later 16th century. It has also been established by archaeological evaluations and excavations in the area of the Old Port, known as the Roodee tail. Physical evidence for the silting of this area of the city is shown by the building of the 14th-century port watch tower, now known as the Water Tower, which projects from the north-west corner of the city walls. This tower was originally built out into the river. Maps of the 16th century, its archaeological form and related documentary evidence all demonstrate this.
Despite stories to the contrary, the weir above the Old Dee Bridge was not built by the Romans but by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester between 1077 and 1101 to hold water for his river mills. The purpose of the weir on the river was to keep water levels high for these mills, one of which gave rise to the traditional song "Miller of Dee", which reflects the attitude of the happy miller who was granted a monopoly on grinding. It also prevents the salty tidal waters from entering the Dee fresh water basin.
Chester's port flourished under Norman rule. In 1195 a monk, Lucian, wrote 'ships from Aquitaine, Spain, Ireland and Germany unload their cargoes of wine and other merchandise'. In fact wine was imported through only four other English ports. During the 13th century Chester was famous for its fur trade and even by the mid-16th century the port was importing large amounts of fur and skins. In 1543 one ship alone brought in '1600 shhep fells, 68 dere, 69 fawne skins and 6300 broke (badger skins)' .
However the estuary was silting up so that trading ships to the port of Chester had to harbour downstream at Neston, Parkgate, and "Hoyle Lake" or Hoylake.
Chester's first known mayor was William the Clerk. The second known mayor was Walter of Coventry, who served between 1241 and 1245. The town's third mayor was Walter de Livet (Levett) who was named as mayor in a royal decree from May 1246. (Walter of Coventry and Walter de Livet may be the same person.) During early Chester history, the mayor often held his position for 10 years or more; apparently the early mayor's terms were open-ended.
Tudor and Stuart times
Originally the port was located to the north of the Watergate just below the city wall. To the south of the Watergate the Roodee existed in smaller form than today. The map sequence shows the river moving its course from against the wall north of the Watergate out to its current location between 1580 and approximately the 1830s. By the first edition OS map the river had reached its current position. However, it is apparent that some rivulets and inlets have been lost since, although some have been identified in archaeological work on the site of the former House of Industry and Gasworks.
In September 1642 tension between King Charles I and Parliament was growing and civil war looked like it might be a possibility. Charles visited Chester and ensured the election of pro-royalist mayor William Ince. In March 1643, leading Chester royalist Francis Gamull was commissioned to raise a regiment of foot to defend the city. Colonel Robert Ellis, an experienced soldier, was asked to construct outer defences to the city. A series of earthworks were constructed around the city from Boughton through Hoole and Newton to the Water Tower. The earthworks consisted of a ditch and mud wall with a series of 'mounts' or gun platforms were added along with turnpike gates on incoming roads.
Parliamentary forces began to lay siege to the city of Chester. In the early morning of 20 September 1645, parliamentary forces overran the eastern earthworks at the Boughton turnpike and captured the east suburbs of the city up to the walls. They began to construct cannon batteries within range of the city.
A cannon battery placed in St John's churchyard breached the city walls on 22 September near the Roman amphitheatre. A hole some 25 feet wide was made with thirty-two cannon shots. Following the breach an attempt was made to storm the city, but the defenders repelled the charge. According to an account at the time by Lord Byron, the breach was stopped up with woolpacks and featherbeds from all parts of the town. One can see to this day the repairs made to the wall, the section of which is next to the Roman Gardens (see photo below).
On the evening of 23 September 1645, King Charles I entered the City of Chester with 600 men via the Old Dee Bridge. He stayed the night at Sir Francis Gamull's house on Bridge Street. Also during the evening Sydenham Poyntz, a Parliamentarian in pursuit of the King's forces, entered Whitchurch (15 miles to the south) with 3000 horse. A battle looked likely.
Later that evening the King became aware of Poyntz's movements, as a messenger was intercepted at Holt. A decision was made to send out Lord Gerrard's horse troops and five hundred foot soldiers in the morning.
On the morning of 24 September 1645 the Battle of Rowton Heath occurred in moor land called Miller's Heath near the village of Rowton, two miles to the south east of Chester on the modern A41 road. Parliamentary forces crushed the Royalist loyal Cavaliers. The city was under siege at the time by the Parliamentary army. Royalist forces were coming to lift the siege and join up with Scottish allies, but were intercepted by Parliamentary Forces outside Chester.
The engagement lasted all day starting at 9am and continued throughout the day in three stages as Royalists were pushed back towards the City and its walls. The battle was mainly conducted on horseback with musketeers supporting the cavalry's flanks. As the battle went on into the afternoon, more troops were ordered to march out of the Northgate in support of the Royalists on Rowton Moor, but this decision was too late—the battle was already lost.
As the fighting reached the suburbs it was watched by King Charles I and Sir Francis Gamull from Chester's Phoenix Tower (now also called King Charles' Tower) on the city walls. The King quickly withdrew to the Cathedral tower, but even this was not safe, as the captain standing next to him was shot in the head by musket fire from the victorious Parliamentarians who took residence in the St John's Church tower.
The battle cost the lives of 600 Royalists and an unknown number of Parliamentarians. Among the Royalist dead was Lord Bernard Stuart (1622–1645) Earl of Lichfield, the king's cousin. His portrait is displayed in the National Gallery.
Also slain at the same time was William Lawes (1602–1645) a noted English composer and musician. He was buried in Chester Cathedral without a memorial. He was remembered by the king as the 'Father of Musick' and his portrait as a cavalier hangs in the Faculty of Music at Oxford.
Today there is a small memorial to the battle in the village of Rowton. It consists of a brief history and a battle plan of field at the time.
The next day the king slipped out of Chester and crossed the Old Dee Bridge en route to Denbigh. He left instructions for the city to hold out for 10 days more.
By 1646, after having refused to surrender nine times and with Lord Byron at the head of the city's defences, having only spring water and boiled wheat for lunch — the citizens (17,000) had already eaten their dogs — a treaty was signed. The mills and the waterworks lay in ruins. When the exultant Puritan forces were let loose on the city, despite the treaty, they destroyed religious icons including the high cross, which was not erected again for over three centuries. In 1646 King Charles I was proclaimed a traitor beside its base.
Worse was to come. The starved citizens then bore the full brunt of the plague, with 2099 people dead from the summer of 1647 to the following spring.
In 1643 Sir Richard Grosvenor petitioned the Assembly to enclose the Row which ran through the front of his town house on Lower Bridge Street, and his request was granted. At the time he was employed in the Royalist army as a Commander. Some speculate that perhaps the room was being used to organise the Royalist Resistance in Chester. In the years after the war, people further down the street also asked for the Row to be enclosed. Eventually Lower Bridge Street lost its rows. The only trace can now be found at number 11.
Most of Chester was rebuilt after the Civil War. There are many fine half-timbered houses dating from this time still standing today.
Chester port declined with most of the ships going from the colonies now going to Liverpool, although it was still the major port of passenger embarkation for Ireland until the early 19th century. A new port was established on the Wirral called Parkgate, but this also fell out of use. The road to the port of Chester was called the 'Great Irish Road' and ran from Bristol to Chester.
Georgian and Victorian eras
The port declined seriously from 1762 onwards. By 1840 it could no longer effectively compete with Liverpool as a port, although significant shipbuilding and ropemaking continued at Chester. It was once thought that Chester's maritime trade was brought to an end by the silting of the River Dee, although recent research has shown this was not the case. It was the use of larger ocean-going ships that led to the diversion of the trade to the relatively young town of Liverpool and other locations on the River Mersey, which had long been rivals to Chester, such as Runcorn.
In the Georgian era, Chester became again a centre of affluence, a town with elegant terraces where the landed aristocracy lived. This trend continued into the Industrial Revolution, when the city was populated with the upper classes in fleeing to a safe distance from the industrial sprawls of Manchester and Liverpool.
Edmund Halley (of comet fame) was the deputy controller of Chester Castle for a short time and on 10 May 1697 recorded a fall of one inch hailstones in the area. William Molyneux was in exile here from Ireland in 1691 and was working on his book Dioptrics published in London the following year.
The Industrial Revolution brought the Chester Canal (now part of the Shropshire Union Canal) to the city (which was dubbed 'England's first unsuccessful canal', after its failure to bring heavy industry to Chester) as well as railways and two large central stations, only one of which remains. The building of the route to Holyhead involved one particularly notable tragedy, when a cast iron bridge over the river Dee just by the Roodee race course, collapsed. The Dee bridge disaster sent shock waves through the whole nation because there were many other bridges of similar design on the growing national rail network. Robert Stephenson was the engineer to the new line, and he came in for heavy criticism at the inquest held locally. The design was faulty, and many other bridges had to be demolished or replaced. In an attempt to strengthen the brittle cast iron girders of the bridge, Stephenson added tough wrought iron straps along the length of the spans, but, far from improving the structure, added little or no extra strength. A Royal Commission was set up to investigate the problem, and they confirmed the conclusions of the Railway Inspectorate that the design was wrong.
A leadworks was established by the canal in 1799; its shot tower, which was used for making lead shot for the Napoleonic Wars, is the oldest remaining shot tower in the UK.
The Ruskinian Venetian Gothic Town Hall was ceremoniously opened by Prince of Wales in 1869; its design, following a public competition held to replace the Exchange building, which had stood at the centre of Northgate Street until it burnt down in 1862, was by William Henry Lynn (1829–1915) an Irish architect with a practice in Belfast. Along with the Cathedral Church of Christ & the Blessed Virgin Mary, it still dominates the city skyline. The Volunteer Street drill hall was completed in 1868. The three clock faces were added in 1980.
The Eastgate clock was also built at this time, and is a central feature as it crosses Eastgate street, and is part of the city walls. The clock is very popular with tourists, and this has given it the grand title of the second most photographed clock in the UK (perhaps even the World) after Big Ben.
St Michael & All Angels at Ledbury is not only one of Herefordshire's grandest parish churches but also one of its most rewarding. There is much to enjoy in this ancient building from its unusual architectural features to its interesting monuments and top quality glass.
The church is set back from the town's main street and accessed via a narrow cobbled alleyway, the view of its soaring spire beckoning the visitor onward. Upon arriving at the churchyard gates this massive building reveals itself to be full of surprises, most noticeably the tower and spire being detached from the main building and standing a short distance to the north of a beautifully detailed chapel on the north side (formerly dedicated to St Katherine) whose large windows are enriched with ballflower ornament. To the right the mass of the three-gabled west front greets the visitor, centred around the original Norman west doorway with its carved capitals.
Much of the Norman building still remains but aside from the west door the building has been modified and extended in the following centuries to the point that most of the exterior now appears to be of 13th or 14th century date. The detached tower dates back to the 13th century in its lower stages, but the topmost belfry stage and the tapering spire above are an 18th century addition by architect Nathaniel Wilkinson of Worcester. The spire is nonetheless remarkable for its sheer height, and visitors can often ascend the tower to its base during the summer months.
Inside the church initially has a vast, almost barn-like feel owing to the great space and somewhat low level of light, particularly as the eye is drawn towards the chancel which almost disappears into the gloom at first sight. The church is lit by a series of tall windows but the light they admit is more limited by the extensive collection of stained glass (though fortunately most of this is exceptionally good). The chancel is the oldest part, retaining its Norman arcades with intriguing porthole-like oculi above that would have been originally glazed as a clerestorey before the aisles were enlarged. On the north side (almost acting as a transept) is the former chapel with its large Decorated windows that is now separated by a glazed screen and is referred to presently as the chapter house. It contains some old fragments of glass and a fine effigy of a 13th century priest.
Throughout the church there are tombs and monuments of interest (not all well lit so at times the eye needs to adjust to the darkness) from the medieval period to the 19th century. Most of the windows on the south side are filled with rich late Victorian glass by Kempe, whilst in the north side is a more varied display with good examples of Pre Raphaelite, Arts & Crafts and more modern work by Burne Jones, Christopher Whall and John K.Clark respectively, in my opinion the most outstanding windows in the church.
Ledbury church is normally kept open and welcoming for visitors to this popular, tourist-friendly market town. It is well worth a visit, a well above average church!
Ely Cathedral is in the top rank of the great English cathedrals, and indeed earns its place among the best of medieval churches internationally for its unique architecture and astonishing beauty. It is a church I've visited several times over the years and never fails to impress, its form at once imposing and strikingly individual. Owing to the flatness of the surrounding countryside it is visible from afar as a major landmark, which makes approaching this tiny city all the more enticing.
The church was founded as an abbey by St Etheldreda in 672 and didn't achieve cathedral status until the foundation of the diocese in 1109. Much of the present building dates from the following years, with the nave and transepts still substantially as they were built (aside from a few altered windows and later ceilings) and a fine example of Norman / Romanesque architecture. A little later during the 1170s the soaring west tower and western transepts were added which would have created a magnificent facade when complete and of a type rarely seen in this country. The style is richer with more use of ornamentation than before, but also many of the arches (particularly the upper parts of the tower) are pointed, making it an early example of the transition to Gothic (the octagonal top storey is from two centuries later, but follows the original overall plan in form, if not detail). The north-west transept however collapsed in the late 15th century and was never rebuilt, leaving the front of the cathedral will the curiously lopsided but not unattractive west front we see today. The Galilee porch that projects from the base of the tower dates from the beginning of the 13th century, only a few decades later but now fully Gothic in style.
The Norman eastern limb had been fairly short so the next major building phases saw the great eastward extension of the presbytery built in Gothic style in 1234-50. It makes an interesting contrast with the earlier parts of the building being so rich in style, externally punctuated with pinnacles and flying buttresses and profusely ornamented withing, making the Romanesque nave and transepts seem somewhat austere by comparison. Then in 1321 an ambitious new lady chapel was begun at the north-east corner, but soon afterwards work was delayed by unforeseen events.
In 1322 the old Norman central tower collapsed, bringing down with it most of the old Romanesque choir (but not the recently built presbytery beyond). The aftermath left the cathedral with a gaping hole at its heart, but this must have inspired those charged with its recovery, and under the direction of Alan of Walsingham the crossing was rebuilt in a unique way; rather than build a new tower of a similar form the central piers that supported it were entirely cleared away along with the adjoining bay of nave, transepts and choir to create a much larger octagonal central space. This then rose to become the unique central tower that Ely is so famous for, the Octagon, a combination of a lower octagonal tower built of stone crowned by a delicate lantern built of wood and covered with lead externally. The result is an incredible, piece of architecture, and the view inside of the open space rising to the curved vaults above on which the glazed lantern appears to float is unforgettable.
After the Octagon and beautifully spacious and richly adorned Lady Chapel were completed there was no more major work at the cathedral. The transept roofs were replaced in the 15th century with the wooden hammerbeam structures we see today, adorned with large angel figures in the East Anglian tradition. The most significant late medieval additions are the two sumptuously decorated chantry chapels built within the end of each choir aisle, each a riot of later medieval ornament and Bishop West's also being remarkable for its fusion of Gothic and Renaissance detail. The cloister appears to have been rebuilt at a similar stage though sadly very little of it survives today.
Sadly the Reformation saw a wave of iconoclasm of particular ferocity unleashed here in Ely. The most telling reminder is the Lady Chapel with its richly ornamented arcading carved with hundreds of small scenes and figures, all brutally beheaded (not a single head survives). Free standing statues in niches have all gone without trace, but in the case of Bishop West's chantry chapel the topmost figures were carved in relief, so these were hammered away leaving the mutilated remains as a testament to zealotry and intolerance. Most of the stained glass appears to have also been removed around this time, so there was surprisingly little damage here during the Civil War a century later as the Puritan frenzy had already been unleashed.
A corner of the north transept collapsed in 1699 but was rebuilt almost identically, a rare early example of such an exacting approach to reconstruction. The classical form of a window and doorway below are the only reminders of the rebuilding, some say with advice from Christopher Wren whose uncle had been bishop here decades earlier (Wren knew the cathedral as a result, and the Octagon is believed to have inspired his plans for St Paul's, as the ground plans of the Octagon and his domed central space at St Paul's are remarkably similar).
The cathedral saw further changes in the 18th century when the structure was in need of repair. James Essex was called in to repair the Octagon and the wooden lantern was stabilised but its external was appearance simplified by stripping away much of its original detail. The medieval choir stalls had originally sat directly underneath the Octagon with painted walls on either side, but these were removed at this time and the stalls relocated further east to the position they are in now. Sadly the Norman pulpitum screen at the end of the nave was also removed (the earliest of its kind to survive in any cathedral).
By the mid 19th century tastes had changed again and the Victorian preference for richness over Georgian austerity saw the cathedral restored under the direction of George Gilbert Scott. He restored the Octagon lantern to something much closer to its original appearance and added new screens at the crossing and behind the altar. Stained glass gradually filled the cathedral again and it remains one of the richest collections of Victorian glass in the country. The ceiling of the nave which had been left plain for centuries was given a new richly painted finish with scenes from the Old & New Testaments, begun by Henry le Strange but finished by Thomas Gambier Parry after the former had died halfway through the project. Gambier Parry also undertook the lavish redecoration of the interior of the Octagon lantern.
The cathedral has remained little change since and is one of the rewarding in the country. There is much of beauty to enjoy here beyond the architecture, with many interesting tombs and monuments from the medieval and post-Reformation periods. There is a wealth of stained glass of unusual richness; not everyone appreciates Victorian glass (indeed Alec Clifton Taylor was quite scathing about the glass here) but while it is very mixed I find much of it is of remarkably high quality.
Since 1972 the Stained Glass Museum has been housed in the nave triforium (originally on the north side, it was later transferred to the south where it currently remains). This is the only collection in the country solely devoted to the medium and is a great ambassador for it, with fine pieces covering a range of styles and illustrating the development of the art through the various backlit panels on show in the gallery.
Visitors can usually take tours to ascend the Octagon and even the west tower on more select days. Tours do get booked up though so it took me many visits before I could make my ascent, but happily this time I finally managed it and it was a wonderful experience I won't forget. Frustratingly I was unable to ascend the west tower since I was at a symposium on the day when tours were held so I hope to have better luck next time.
For more historical detail and context see below:-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_Cathedral
For entry fees and tower tours see the cathedral's website below:-
Of all the churches I planned to see on this excursion this was the one that I was the most excited about, not only is Blythburgh one of Suffolk's finest but among the best and grandest parish churches in the country, all the more surprising in this rural location. I'd known about it for decades, so it was most satisfying to finally get to see it for myself.
Holy Trinity at Blythburgh dates mostly from the 15th century, a grand essay in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The first impression is of flint walls punctuated by a mass of windows, especially in the clerestorey above, along with the building's great size and length. The is much ornamental carving around the windows and parapet, most strikingly the carved figures that stand in place of pinnacles. The tower by contrast appears rather plain, a stern sentinel watching over the building; this is in part due to storm damage in 1577 which brought down the steeple and is likely when the belfry windows lost their tracery and received their current boarded-over appearance. The south porch below makes a grand statement and beckons us to enter, noting the unusual survival of a water-stoup.
Inside a vast space is revealed, well lit by mostly clear-glazed windows and and filled with ancient woodwork. Not only is this church beautiful it is also delightfully authentic, having undergone little restoration over the centuries (it must have been a heavy burden for such a small community) and thus is a place of real ageless atmosphere, most of the furnishings are pre-Victorian and the only coloured glass is the collection of medieval fragments in the traceries of a few windows.
The most impressive feature is the roof, retaining much of its original painted decoration and angel figures down the centre, also retaining much colour. This feature was familiar to me from so many photos in books, but in finally seeing it with my own eyes it lost none of its impact. It extends almost the full length of the building as there is little structural division between nave and chancel.
After absorbing the beauties above attention should go to the riot of medieval carving at ground level, where all the nave pews retain their 15th century bench-ends with figurative carvings, some with subjects from the Acts of Mercy and Seven Deadly Sins, not all in great condition but a remarkable survival nonetheless. In the chancel the stall fronts bear surprisingly well preserved rows of carved canopied apostles, not necessarily in situ as much of the woodwork looks reconstructed but the figures themselves appear to be rare medieval survivals.
This is a church to spend some time in and soak up its special atmosphere. Being on a bit of a mission that day I didn't have time to sit peacefully as one should, but it was the longest stop on my itinerary, and one of the most rewarding, I'd happily return.
This is one of the 'must see' churches of Suffolk and is always open and welcoming by day accordingly. For the third time that day I met a couple doing a similar excursion to me and we briefly chatted about what a joy it is to visit, I urge others to do likewise.
St John's sits at the entrance to Spon Street, that rare enclave of medieval architecture in Coventry's mostly post-war city centre. Being on the fringe of city's heart it generally gets less attention from visitors, thus one feels that in any other setting it would be far more celebrated, George Gilbert Scott, who restored the church in 1877, considered it 'one of the most beautiful churches in England'. The church luckily escaped major damage in the November 1940 Blitz that destroyed so much else in the city, beyond the loss of much (but not all) of it's Victorian stained glass.
The church was founded in 1342 by Queen Isabella, mother of Edward III, but most of what we see today is 15th century work, though evidently of different phases. The church sits on a relatively small site, but what it lacks in length and width it gains in height, and with it's tapering and unusually narrow clerestorey windows and central tower it gives the impression of a cathedral in miniature. The tower has oddly corbelled-out turrets at it's corners, an over-exaggeration of the original design by Scott; his main intervention on the exterior otherwise was the renewal of much of the stonework, since warm red sandstone is one of the least resistant to weathering.
The interior is surprisingly light for a sandstone church, the result of the large Perpendicular windows and extensive clerestorey that creates a 'glass cage' effect in the higher parts of the church. It is also rather narrow, which accentuates the proportions and sense of height further, a good example of architectural limitations and constraints turned to an advantage. There are some good medieval carvings surviving higher up, but otherwise aside from the fine Perpendicular architecture itself the impression is largely of early 20th century High Church Anglican worship, as most of the furnishings appear to date from this time, though they are nonetheless attractive and sympathetic to the building.
The lack of any relics of the Middle Ages in wood or glass or monuments of later periods is explained by the history of the church, since it actually ceased to be used for worship in the 1590s and for several centuries suffered various indignities of secular use, such as a prison for Scottish rebels captured after the Battle of Preston during the Civil War in 1648 (these rebels, loyal to the King, were shunned in the Parliamentarian held city, thus the phrase being 'Sent to Coventry' was born!). Other uses included as a stables, a market and a winding and dying house for cloth, before being eventually restored to church use in the 19th century. We should be glad that being put to other uses at least preserved the structure through it's centuries of hibernation.
The church possesses an interesting mixture of stained glass, from Victorian and Edwardian pieces that survived the bombing, to the more prominent and colourful windows installed in the 1950s. However it is interesting to note how the postwar glass here predates the nearby Cathedral's windows by only a few years, but is still highly figurative and traditional in approach, thus still a far cry from the revolutionary new works that Coventry became famous for less than a decade later.
St John's is generally open on Saturday mornings but otherwise kept locked owing to concerns over security. Sadly it has suffered attacks from stone-throwing idiots on several occasions in recent years (I have repaired minor damage to several of the windows here) but the parishoners remain welcoming and friendly in spite of a difficult environment. It is a lovely church and well worth a visit.
For more detail and images see it's entry on the Warwickshire Churches website below:-
warwickshirechurches.weebly.com/coventry---st-john-the-ba...
An example of a typical medieval stone keep of the lesser nobility in central Europe, mostly to be found in small villages or on isolated hills. The massive stone residential tower (which had at least one storey) was surrounded by a clay wall and a trench. The keep in Proseč was first mentioned in 1391, and possibly vanished in the 16th Century because in 1538 only the village is mentioned in contemporary documents.
St Nicholas's Parish Church in Nuneaton provides the sort of stately and attractive landmark architecture this town sorely needs, though it is sadly somewhat marginalised by the current road layout, which has left it separated from the town centre by part of the ring road.
Most of the present building dates from the fifteenth century, and is a grand example of a prosperous looking town church, with aisles to nave and chancel and an elegant nave clerestorey (inside spanned by the original gorgeous panelled ceiling).
The interior is elegant, attractive and very light, owing to whitewashed walls and a lack of stained glass (all the Victorian glass was destroyed by wartime bombing, except for one window in the south chapel).
As in common with most churches in this part of Warwickshire, the church is generally kept locked outside of services.
So much has been said in praise of St Mary's church in the Redcliffe area of Bristol that it seems rather pointless trying to go into further detail here beyond saying that its repute is truly well deserved, this being the church that Elizabeth I called "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."
St Mary Redcliffe is a wonderfully complete vision of English late Decorated / early Perpendicular Gothic architecture which is broadly unified stylistically. The present building mainly dates from 1292-1370 and has a cathedral-like form and scale, fully cruciform with nave, choir and transepts flanked by aisles in each case and the church culminating in a Lady Chapel at the east end. The tower is at the north west corner and crowned by a tapering spire (truncated by a lightning strike in 1446 and only rebuilt in 1872) and a landmark for the surrounding area (visible as one arrives in Bristol by train as I did, being so close to the station). However the most dramatic architectural feature of the exterior is the unique two-storied hexagonal porch on the north side which is the main entrance to the church. This porch has much unusual ornament in its carved doorways and details and within is a joy to behold with its vaulted ceiling, a beautiful introduction to the church beyond.
Inside the nave the glory of the interior becomes clear, flooded with light from the many great aisle and clerestorey windows and crowned throughout by vaulted ceilings of a variety of beautiful designs, all studded with gilded roof bosses. It is a breathtaking interior to behold and a feast for the eyes. As one progresses further down the church through the aisles and transepts one encounters tombs and effigies to various medieval worthies of Bristol and whilst most of the medieval glass has disappeared beyond a few collected fragments (located in the chapel at the north west corner under the tower) there are some huge swathes of Victorian glass and some rather more rewarding postwar glass in the Lady Chapel adding a rich splash of colour at the far end of the building.
It is impossible to really do this architectural gem justice with words so I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking. All I can add is that this is one of the loveliest buildings in the country and a masterpiece of English medieval art and architecture. It shouldn't be missed and is happily normally open to visitors on a daily basis.
St Andrew's at Foxton, Leicestershire, the first church of a crawl on Heritage Saturday (the best time to visit Leicestershire as many churches are normally locked, though this one is normally open).
Highlights here include a fine Norman font, a striking Millennium window and a few roof carvings (for those with a longer lens).
Of all the churches I planned to see on this excursion this was the one that I was the most excited about, not only is Blythburgh one of Suffolk's finest but among the best and grandest parish churches in the country, all the more surprising in this rural location. I'd known about it for decades, so it was most satisfying to finally get to see it for myself.
Holy Trinity at Blythburgh dates mostly from the 15th century, a grand essay in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The first impression is of flint walls punctuated by a mass of windows, especially in the clerestorey above, along with the building's great size and length. The is much ornamental carving around the windows and parapet, most strikingly the carved figures that stand in place of pinnacles. The tower by contrast appears rather plain, a stern sentinel watching over the building; this is in part due to storm damage in 1577 which brought down the steeple and is likely when the belfry windows lost their tracery and received their current boarded-over appearance. The south porch below makes a grand statement and beckons us to enter, noting the unusual survival of a water-stoup.
Inside a vast space is revealed, well lit by mostly clear-glazed windows and and filled with ancient woodwork. Not only is this church beautiful it is also delightfully authentic, having undergone little restoration over the centuries (it must have been a heavy burden for such a small community) and thus is a place of real ageless atmosphere, most of the furnishings are pre-Victorian and the only coloured glass is the collection of medieval fragments in the traceries of a few windows.
The most impressive feature is the roof, retaining much of its original painted decoration and angel figures down the centre, also retaining much colour. This feature was familiar to me from so many photos in books, but in finally seeing it with my own eyes it lost none of its impact. It extends almost the full length of the building as there is little structural division between nave and chancel.
After absorbing the beauties above attention should go to the riot of medieval carving at ground level, where all the nave pews retain their 15th century bench-ends with figurative carvings, some with subjects from the Acts of Mercy and Seven Deadly Sins, not all in great condition but a remarkable survival nonetheless. In the chancel the stall fronts bear surprisingly well preserved rows of carved canopied apostles, not necessarily in situ as much of the woodwork looks reconstructed but the figures themselves appear to be rare medieval survivals.
This is a church to spend some time in and soak up its special atmosphere. Being on a bit of a mission that day I didn't have time to sit peacefully as one should, but it was the longest stop on my itinerary, and one of the most rewarding, I'd happily return.
This is one of the 'must see' churches of Suffolk and is always open and welcoming by day accordingly. For the third time that day I met a couple doing a similar excursion to me and we briefly chatted about what a joy it is to visit, I urge others to do likewise.
St Andrew's at Foxton, Leicestershire, the first church of a crawl on Heritage Saturday (the best time to visit Leicestershire as many churches are normally locked, though this one is normally open).
Highlights here include a fine Norman font, a striking Millennium window and a few roof carvings (for those with a longer lens).
The church of All Saints at Trysull is a largely 14th century sandstone building (with earlier origins) with a nave flanked by spacious aisles, lightened by a plaster finish within. The interior has an early 19th century feel thanks to much of the glass being of this date along with the rebuilding of the south aisle, but much of the woodwork is significantly earlier, particularly the chancel screen which appears to be late medieval. The most important features are the elements of 14th century glass incorporated into the east window, including heads in the traceries and small figures of Mary and St John (presumably from a Crucifixion group).
I found the church open and welcoming to visitors, despite this being one of the last rural villages before the West Midlands urban sprawl.
A desolated chateau built in 1569 on base of a 12th Century gothique castle. It was for Centuries owned by Czech archbishops, in the beginning being a stone fort, later widened to a castle, from which a part still exists - the three bastions, the walls between them, and the high cylindrical tower in the middle. The chateau was in reasonable shape in 1948, when it was nationalized by the state, but was not well maintaned in the communist era, and is in bad shape (the oldest walls are almost falling down). An extensive reconstruction began in 2019, which should rescue this interesting building.
St Benedict's at Horning lies in a peaceful spot down a leafy lane to the east of the village. The most noticeable features at first glance are the tall west tower and the rendering of the north nave wall where an aisle has clearly been removed, leaving the arcade embedded in the north wall.
Inside the dominant impression is of plain windows and dark woodwork along with the asymmetrical effect of the nave with two arcades but only one surviving side aisle to the south. The most important features are to be found in the stall ends in the chancel, with a few fascinating late medieval carvings.
I found this church open and welcoming and well worth a look.
Burton Overy is an attractive village with a church to match, St Andrew's being a mostly 14th/15th century structure in yellow/brown ironstone with limestone dressings giving that two-toned look that is such a pleasing feature of so many of Leicestershire's churches. It sits within a generously sized churchyard which adds so much to its picturesque charm.
The building consists of two main vessels, the nave and chancel that greet the visitor on approach and the north aisle and larger north chapel (whose east ends are similarly designed with large Perpendicular traceried windows side by side).
Within the church is darker and more atmospheric, the light level kept lower owing to a reasonable amount of Victorian glass. The medieval chancel screen remains in place and the nave roof is supported by some amusinglly quirky corbels.
This is an attractive and rewarding building to visit and happily is (or certainly was pre Covid) normally open for visitors during the day.
Wormleighton is a peaceful spot, well off the beaten track in the ironstone belt of south-east Warwickshire. The main approach through the village takes one past the attractive gateway to the manor house (whose tower might deceive the unsuspecting into thinking it is the church at first glance!) and then the church is located further up the narrow lane on high ground that overlooks it. St Peter's is a delightfully rustic building dating back to the early 13th century with a solid square west tower and an aisled nave and chancel with 14th century modifications and a modest 15th century clerestory.
Inside there is a feeling of antiquity with the sturdy ironstone Transitional nave arcades and a sense of lightness from the rendered walls and largely clear glazing. There are several features of interest here but the most significant one is the wonderful early 16th century chancel screen carved with rich traceried panelling and a few carved crowned heads. Such an impressive surviving medieval rood screen is a rarity in Warwickshire and this is of particularly fine quality (its impact however is slightly diminished by the red curtains partially obscuring it, but then we can't begrudge the congregation wanting to stay warm!).
This is a lovely church well worth seeking out, normally kept open I believe though this was the first time I'd had a proper look inside (on a previous visit many years ago we arrived just in time for a service to start so couldn't do more than look through the door!). A tranquil spot with much of antiquity to reward the visitor.
St Mary's at Pillerton Hersey, a most attractive south Warwickshire church. The interior is light and airy, with some interesting woodwork, particularly the superb 15th century panelled nave ceiling, studded with sprouting foliate bosses.
The windows are almost wholly clear glazed, which lightens up the interior and allows glimpses of the lush foliage outside, giving the light a slightly greenish tint (more literal in the case of the bizarrely coloured glass in the chancel squint!).
All Saints at Dickleburgh sits on the main road through the village, its east end poking out of the foliage towards the roadside to announce its presence. At first sight this church is rather lost amongst the trees of its pleasant churchyard, revealing itself in parts, but is actually rather a grand building.
Dickleburgh church is one of those impressive 15th century East Anglian churches with a fine display of windows along the clerestorey and aisles on either side below. There are playful touches of flint flushwork on the tower parapet but mainly on the south porch which makes for an enticing entrance.
Within there is a great sense of space, the aisles are of a substantial volume and separated from the nave by rows of slender columns. The overall sense it has to be said is that the Victorian restoration has left its mark in many of the furnishings and the Hardman glass in the east window, but there are several older features that are really enjoyable here. The chancel has some interesting memorials and the font at the opposite end is a handsome example of the typical local design of the 15th century , but pride of place here goes to the late medieval woodwork separating chancel and nave: only the lowest part of the former rood screen survives but it the four decorative rosette panels that comprise its two flanks are a riot of delightful (and often humorous) ornamentation with all kinds of figures, faces and animals, sensitively restored with something like their original colouring. It is a real joy and the greatest treasure of this church.
We found Dickleburgh church open and welcoming on our late morning (pre Covid) visit and thoroughly enjoyed it, though others have not always been so lucky, as Simon's entry on the Norfolk Churches site below reveals!
Window by Burlison & Grylls c1918 in the south aisle.
St Michael & All Angels church at Bugbrooke dates back mainly to the 13th & 14th centuries and is an attractive structure with a west tower and spire built of warm toned and richly patinated stone.
Inside the surfaces have been stripped back to the stonework though it retains more light than some, despite having much late Victorian glass. The chancel is a rather gloomier space adorned with memorial tablets to members of the Whitfield family.
The church is generally kept open and welcoming to visitors via a new entrance in the north porch.
The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. The priory was surrendered in 8 December 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. The area was later used to test the D-Day landing vehicles, and was visited by Winston Churchill. The ruins are now Grade I listed and in the care of English Heritage.
Gatehouse ruins
Kirkham Priory gatehouse ruins. The armorials of various benefactors are visible sculpted on stone escutcheons
The Gatehouse of Kirkham Priory, built c.?1290–95, is a specimen of English Gothic medieval architecture. It is a rare survival of such a gatehouse, comparable to that of Butley Priory in Suffolk. It has a wide arch of continuous mouldings with a crocketed gable running up to the windows, with sculptures of S.George and the Dragon on the left, and David and Goliath to the right. Above the arch is Christ in a pointed oval recess, plus two figures below of St. Bartholomew and St. Philip, in niches. There are also many escutcheons with the armorials of the various benefactors of the Priory, including the arms of de Ros, Scrope, de Forz, Vaux, FitzRalph & Espec (3 cart-wheels, each with 6 spokes).
The church of St Nicholas at Willoughby is the result of a complete rebuilding in the early years of the 16th century, ending with construction of the west tower which was finished in 1536. It is thus quite unusual for find a small church like this from the early Tudor period, manifesting a kind of rural Perpendicular. We don't alas have the entire late medieval building though since the chancel was rebuilt again at the beginning of the 19th century and its external rendering contrasts sharply with the rest of the building.
Inside the shallow arches of the nave betray the late medieval rebuilding, though the flat plaster ceilings suggest late Georgian remodelling, probably contemporary with the rebuilding of the chancel. The font in the south aisle however is 13th century and the oldest feature of the church, clearly from the previous building.
The church has generally been kept locked outside services though on my previous visit in the early 90s keyholder details were given. This time I was very fortunate to meet a nice lady on my way through the churchyard who just happened to have a key and kindly let me inside, and suggested that in future the church may be kept open more regularly.
www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/church-o...
Heading over the Gloucestershire border Dymock church was my first port of call, and a fascinating building it is too. Tucked away in its leafy enclosure of a churchyard St Mary's is still largely a Norman building though with many later modifications. The section of blind-arcading on the south side of the chancel is the biggest initial indication of 12th century work (formerly this would have been connected to the now lost apse, replaced by the usual square termination in the following centuries). The south doorway in the porch is also Norman work with a foliate design on the tympanum. The tower with its short spire at the west end is a 15th century addition.
Upon entering the church one is first distracted by the window to the left of the Norman doorway, for this contains 15th century glass, presumably gathered here from another window inside the church (I don't think I've seen this situation before, where the church's most valuable remaining medieval glass is relegated to the porch, but at least it can be easily studied).
Inside the nave is rather dark and tunnel-like thanks to the long Norman walls (sadly scraped of their plaster in the Victorian period) that become more punctuated towards the east end by windows and arches into chancel and transept. A plaster ceiling above at least dispels some of the gloom below. It is an intriguing space that takes some time to explore, with a few memorials and older features of note, and some early windows by Kempe.
Dymock church is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors (when signing the visitors book I noticed I'd just missed out on bumping into some friends here from Stroud just the day before!).
St Andrew's church at Westhall wasn't one I was familiar with on my previous visit to the area, if I had realised what I was missing on that occasion I may have changed my itinerary to include it. Subsequently learning of it along with the recommendations of those who know it convinced me that my next trip to Suffolk had to somehow include it, thus my plans for this excursion were largely built around making sure I didn't miss it again.
One can see why this church isn't as well known as it should be, it isn't the easiest one to find and stands some distance from the small village of Westhall itself, hidden away down a leafy lane. It is still somewhat elusive once one has even entered the churchyard, being beset by so much foliate cover that I could only get a full view of the building from the north side. It already promises good things, a fairly large 14th century building of chancel, nave and south aisle with the tower at the west end of this beside a fine Norman doorway. The tower was actually built in front of the original Norman facade and its main doorway which is still preserved within, thus one shouldn't neglect the small room at the west end of the south aisle when exploring inside.
One enters however via the north porch and finds within a spacious interior with that delightful sense of antiquity that churches spared by over-zealous Victorians posses. Above is a fine old roof which springs from carved angels, still with their original colour though alas iconoclasts have sadly deprived us of their wings and heads (why is it iconoclastic zealots so embrace beheading?!). Ahead the east window retains some non-figurative 14th century glass in its reticulated traceries, while on both sides of the church significant sections of medieval wall-painting survive.
The best features here however are the medieval fittings that remain, most notably the Seven Sacrament font, one of the very best survivors; sadly it too has suffered from a frenzy of iconoclasm, though it may be the case here that the projecting details of the figures were hacked away to allow them to be more easily plastered over, which might also account for how well preserved the original colouring is (extremely rare on any font) and the remarkable small figure reliefs applied in gesso inbetween each panel (possibly a unique survival). The base of the rood screen also survives with its painted iconography, which includes yet another rarity in the depiction of Christ's transfiguration amongst the figures of saints.
Westhall church is a real treat and certainly deserves to be better known, a place of much charm and great interest that was happily normally open and welcoming to visitors in pre-Covid days. For more on the church see Simon's entry on his Suffolk Churches site below (it is mainly thanks to his recommendation that I came here, and much appreciated it was too).
The first church of the day with a non-Marian dedication, St Peter's stands a short distance out of the village of Elmsett itself and thus shares the tranquil setting of so many village churches in this area. It appears to be mostly of 13th/14th century date and follows the familiar pattern of west tower, nave without aisles and chancel along with an ancient timber-framed south porch.
The interior is calm and bright, clear glazing in all windows adds to the brightness, though the greenish tone of the glass used in the chancel warms the light with a touch of colour at the east end, drawing the eye. There is a simplicity to this space that is more charming than austere. There are several post-Reformation furnishings and fittings of note including an especially handsome Jacobean pulpit (brought here more recently).
This attractive space is happily normally kept open and welcoming to strangers who may wish to enjoy it or seek a place of solace.
The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey. The priory was surrendered in 8 December 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. The area was later used to test the D-Day landing vehicles, and was visited by Winston Churchill. The ruins are now Grade I listed and in the care of English Heritage.
Gatehouse ruins
Kirkham Priory gatehouse ruins. The armorials of various benefactors are visible sculpted on stone escutcheons
The Gatehouse of Kirkham Priory, built c.?1290–95, is a specimen of English Gothic medieval architecture. It is a rare survival of such a gatehouse, comparable to that of Butley Priory in Suffolk. It has a wide arch of continuous mouldings with a crocketed gable running up to the windows, with sculptures of S.George and the Dragon on the left, and David and Goliath to the right. Above the arch is Christ in a pointed oval recess, plus two figures below of St. Bartholomew and St. Philip, in niches. There are also many escutcheons with the armorials of the various benefactors of the Priory, including the arms of de Ros, Scrope, de Forz, Vaux, FitzRalph & Espec (3 cart-wheels, each with 6 spokes).
Ancient medieval architecture and many half timbered houses, most of them are original and well maintained.
Photo August 2, 2020, Issigeac - history (+/-1250) after 770 years in time.
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Details
Issigeac - History
Issigeac - a picturesque small village with many 13th to 15th century medieval timbered houses circling a church and a 17th century Bishop's Palace. The weekly market and brocante market is very popular with a nice variety of products and goods. Also, enjoy the local restaurants, it will sure make your visit complete. This village should be listed as one of the "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France" because it's exactly that type of a nice quaint French villages to visit.
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Photo - Richard Poppelaars.
© About Pixels Photography: #AboutPixels in #Issigeac #France / #architecture #medieval
Italien / Toskana - San Gimignano
San Gimignano (Italian pronunciation: [san dʒimiɲˈɲaːno]) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form "an unforgettable skyline". Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant' Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The "Historic Centre of San Gimignano" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, pecorino cheese and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.
Territory
The municipality of San Gimignano extends for 138 km² and is located on a hill in Val d'Elsa. The altitude difference is between a minimum of 64 meters a.s.l. in the plain of the river Elsa near Certaldo at a maximum of 631 meters in the area of Cornocchio.
History
In the 3rd century BC a small Etruscan village stood on the site of San Gimignano. Chroniclers Lupi, Coppi and Pecori relate that during the Catiline conspiracy against the Roman Republic in the 1st century, two patrician brothers, Muzio and Silvio, fled Rome for Valdelsa and built two castles, Mucchio and Silvia (now San Gimignano). The name of Silvia was changed to San Gimignano in 450 AD after Bishop Geminianus, the Saint of Modena, intervened to spare the castle from destruction by the followers of Attila the Hun. As a result, a church was dedicated to the saint, and in the 6th and 7th centuries a walled village grew up around it, subsequently called the "Castle of San Gimignano" or Castle of the Forest because of the extensive woodland surrounding it. From 929 the town was ruled by the bishops of Volterra.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development was also improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighbouring hills, in particular saffron, used in both cooking and dyeing cloth and Vernaccia wine, said to inspire popes and poets.
In 1199, the city made itself independent of the bishops of Volterra and established a podestà, and set about enriching the commune with churches and public buildings. However, the peace of the town was disturbed for the next two centuries by conflict between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, and family rivalries within San Gimignano. This resulted in competing families building tower houses of increasingly greater heights. Towards the end of the Medieval period, there were 72 tower houses in number, up to 70 metres (230 feet) tall. The rivalry was finally restrained when the local council ordained that no tower was to be taller than that adjacent to the Palazzo Comunale.
While the official patron is Saint Geminianus, the town also honours Saint Fina, known also as Seraphina and Serafina, who was born in San Gimignano 1238 and whose feast day is 12 March. The Chapel of Santa Fina in the Collegiate Church houses her shrine and frescos by Ghirlandaio. The house said to be her home still stands in the town.
On 8 May 1300, San Gimignano hosted Dante Alighieri in his role as ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.
The city flourished until 1348, when it was struck by the Black Death that affected all of Europe, and about half the townsfolk died. The town submitted to the rule of Florence. Initially, some Gothic palazzi were built in the Florentine style, and many of the towers were reduced to the height of the houses. There was little subsequent development, and San Gimignano remained preserved in its medieval state until the 19th century, when its status as a touristic and artistic resort began to be recognised.
Description
The city is on the ridge of a hill with its main axis being north/south. It is encircled by three walls and has at its highest point, to the west, the ruins of a fortress dismantled in the 16th century. There are eight entrances into the city, set into the second wall, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. The main gates are Porta San Giovanni on the ridge extending south, Porta San Matteo to the north west and Porta S. Jacopo to the north east. The main streets are Via San Matteo and Via San Giovanni, which cross the city from north to south. At the heart of the town are four squares: the Piazza Duomo, on which stands the Collegiate Church; the Piazza della Cisterna, the Piazza Pecori and the Piazza delle Erbe. To the north of the town is another significant square, Piazza Agostino, on which stands the Church of Sant' Agostino. The locations of the Collegiate Church and Sant' Agostino's and their piazzas effectively divide the town into two regions.
Main sights
The town of San Gimignano has many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. As well as churches and medieval fortifications, there are examples of Romanesque secular and domestic architecture which may be distinguished from each other by their round and pointed arches, respectively. A particular feature which is typical of the region of Siena is that the arches of openings are depressed, with doorways often having a second low arch set beneath a semi-circular or pointed arch. Both Romanesque and Gothic windows sometimes have a bifurcate form, with two openings divided by a stone mullion under a single arch.
Culture
San Gimignano is the birthplace of the poet Folgore da San Gimignano (1270–1332).
A fictionalised version of San Gimignano is featured in E. M. Forster's 1905 novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread as Monteriano.
M. C. Escher's 1923 woodcut San Gimignano depicts the celebrated towers.
Franco Zeffirelli used San Gimignano as a stand-in for the town of Assisi in his 1972 Saint Francis of Assisi biopic Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Most of the "Assisi" scenes were filmed here
Tea with Mussolini, a 1999 drama about the plight of English and American expatriate women in Italy during World War II, was filmed in part in San Gimignano. The frescoes that the women save from being destroyed during the German Army's withdrawal are inside the Duomo, the town's main church. The account of this episode is, to a large extent, fictional, because, although there are reports of intended retribution against the town, there is no evidence of a plan to destroy the churches. However, the reference to risk of cultural destruction is historic, as the Allies bombed the area for ten days.
In the 2005 novel The Broker by John Grisham, Joel Backman takes his second of three wives on vacation in Italy to keep her from divorcing him. They rent a 14th-century monastery near San Gimignano for a month.
A 15th-century version of the town is featured in the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed II.
(Wikpedia)
Piazza della Cisterna is a piazza in San Gimignano, Italy. It has a triangular shape with a slight natural slope and is connected to the nearby Piazza del Duomo by an open passage. The pavement is brick and the piazza is surrounded by houses and medieval towers. There are presently 5 towers onto the square or very near it and the bases of other five are visible on the facade of the various palaces, plus one, the Ridolfi tower, which is no longer in existence having collapsed in 1646 onto the family palace, thus making this relatively small area a concentrate of medieval architecture. In the south-west corner, the piazza meets the Arc of Becci, (l'arco dei Becci), an ancient city gate. The arc is flanked by the massive rectangular towers of Becci (torri dei Becci) on the left and Cugnanesi (torri dei Cugnanesi) on the right.
Past the access to via di Castello, which led down to the original Bishop’s castle, the northern side is characterized by the renaissance Cortesi Palace, which includes la torre del Diavolo, and extends along the north side of the square including the old houses of the Cattani family. There remains of two pre-existing towers are clearly visible onto the facade of the Cortesi Palace.
The west side is adorned with various towers, like the twin towers of Ardinghelli and the tower of palazzo Pellari visible over the roofs.
History
The piazza is located at the intersection of two main streets of the village of San Gimignano: la via Francigena that run north to south and la via Pisa - [[Siena]that runs east to west]. The piazza was used as a market and a stage for festivals and tournaments. Originally the area was divided in two squares by the palace and tall tower of the Ridolfi family, the Piazza dell’ Olmo in the inferior and western part and the Piazza delle Taverne in the eastern side and with the cisterna in the middle. In 1646 the tall Ridolfi tower suddenly collapsed, destroying the palace and thus the two squares were merged into one, the Piazza della Cisterna.
The piazza is named after the underground cistern (Cisterna) built in 1287. The cistern is capped by a travertine octagonal pedestal, which was built in 1346 under the mayor Guccio Malavolti whose coat of arms with the ladder is carved onto the stones, and is close to the center of the square.
(Wikipedia)
San Gimignano ist eine italienische Kleinstadt in der Toskana mit einem mittelalterlichen Stadtkern. San Gimignano wird auch „Mittelalterliches Manhattan“ oder die „Stadt der Türme“ genannt. Die Stadt liegt in der Provinz Siena und hat 7717 Einwohner (Stand 31. Dezember 2019). Sie gehört neben Florenz, Siena und Pisa zu den von Touristen meistbesuchten Zielen in der Toskana.
Allgemeines
Der historische Stadtkern ist seit dem Jahr 1990 Teil des Weltkulturerbes der UNESCO. San Gimignano besitzt noch einige der mittelalterlichen Geschlechtertürme, die in anderen Städten nur als Stümpfe erhalten blieben. Im Mittelalter versuchten die Patrizierfamilien, sich in der Höhe ihres Geschlechterturmes zu übertreffen, obwohl ein luxuriöses Leben darin nicht möglich war. Von den einst 72 Geschlechtertürmen existieren in San Gimignano heute noch 15. Die beiden höchsten, der Torre Grossa aus dem Jahr 1311 und der Torre della Rognosa, weisen eine Höhe von 54 bzw. 51 Metern auf. Die Zisterne auf der Piazza della Cisterna entstand 1287 und wurde 1346 durch den Podestà Guccio Malavolti erweitert.
Geografie
Die Stadt liegt ca. 40 km südwestlich der Regionalhauptstadt Florenz und ca. 28 km nordwestlich der Provinzhauptstadt Siena an der Via Francigena und im Elsatal. San Gimignano liegt in der klimatischen Einordnung italienischer Gemeinden in der Zone D, 2 085 GR/G.
Zu den Ortsteilen gehören Badia a Elmi (94 m, gehört teilweise zu Certaldo), Castel San Gimignano (377 m, gehört teilweise zu Colle di Val d’Elsa), Pancole (272 m), Santa Lucia (268 m) und Ulignano. Weitere wichtige Orte im Gemeindegebiet sind Montauto (277 m), Monteoliveto (275 m) Ranza und San Donato (357 m). Größter Ortsteil ist Ulignano mit ca. 690 Einwohnern.
Die wichtigsten Flüsse im Gemeindegebiet sind der Elsa (4 von 81 km im Gemeindegebiet) sowie die Torrenti Foci (4 von 15 km im Gemeindegebiet) und Riguardi (7 von 7 km im Gemeindegebiet).
Die Nachbargemeinden sind Barberino Tavarnelle (FI), Certaldo (FI), Colle di Val d’Elsa, Gambassi Terme (FI), Poggibonsi und Volterra (PI).
Geschichte
San Gimignano soll bereits um 300 bis 200 v. Chr. von den Etruskern besiedelt worden sein. Erstmals dokumentiert wurde der Ort 929. Den Namen erhielt die Stadt von dem heiligen Bischof von Modena, San Gimignano. Es heißt, er habe das Dorf vor den barbarischen Horden des Totila geschützt.
Diese Stadt verdankt ihre Existenz der Via Francigena (Frankenstraße). Auf diesem Hauptverkehrsweg des mittelalterlichen Italiens zogen Händler und Pilger vom Norden nach Rom. Der Ort bildete sich als Marktstätte zwischen dem frühmittelalterlichen Castello und der Pieve, dem Vorgängerbau der Collegiata. Ein erster Stadtmauerring wurde im 10. Jahrhundert angelegt. Dessen Verlauf markieren zwei noch erhaltene Stadttore, im Norden der Arco della Cancelleria und im Süden der Arco dei Becci.
Vom 11. Jahrhundert an dehnte sich das Stadtgebiet entlang der Frankenstraße in nördlicher und südlicher Richtung aus. An die Existenz des früheren Castello erinnern die Via di Castello, eine der ältesten Straßen, und die Kirche von San Lorenzo, die bei der Zugbrücke lag. Mindestens seit dem Jahr 929 gehörte das Kastell den Bischöfen von Volterra. Diese Bischöfe waren es auch, die die Herrschaft über die sich ausdehnende Stadt ausübten. Erst 1199 gelang es den von den Bürgern gewählten Konsuln, Verträge ohne die Zustimmung des Bischofs zu unterzeichnen. San Gimignano war nie Bischofssitz, sondern gehörte zum kirchlichen Verwaltungsbezirk (Diözese) Volterra und erlangte somit auch keine Stadtrechte. Trotzdem verlief die politische Entwicklung der Landkommune in ähnlichen Schritten wie die der großen Städte. Die Regierung der Konsuln wurde durch den Podestà (einem gewählten Administrator) abgelöst. Diesem standen ein kleiner und ein großer Rat zur Seite. Dem großen Rat gehörte eine bemerkenswert hohe Zahl von 1200 Mitgliedern an, obwohl San Gimignano nur 6000 Einwohner hatte.
Die freie Kommune stritt bis ins 14. Jahrhundert mit den Bischöfen von Volterra in langjährigen Kriegen um Besitzrechte. Sie musste gegen die Nachbarorte Castelfiorentino, gegen Colle und Poggibonsi zu Felde ziehen und nahm auf der Seite des guelfischen Florenz an den großen Machtkämpfen des 13. Jahrhunderts teil. Auch innerhalb der Stadtmauern setzten sich die Kämpfe zwischen Guelfen (Welfen) und Ghibellinen (Waiblinger) fort. Es kam zu blutigen Familienfehden zwischen den Familien der Salvucci (Ghibellinen) und der Ardinghelli (Guelfen).
Ab Mai 1300 hielt sich Dante Alighieri in diplomatischer Mission in San Gimignano auf. Vom 15. Juni bis 15. August 1300 amtierte er als eines von sechs Mitgliedern des Priorats, des höchsten Gremiums der Stadt. Im Jahre 1319 versuchte er in seiner Funktion als führender Florentiner Politiker vergeblich, die verfeindeten Parteien zu versöhnen. Eine Kommune wie San Gimignano konnte sich im 14. Jahrhundert nicht mehr neben den Großmächten behaupten. Im Jahre 1348 wurde die Stadt neben Kriegsverlusten und Familienfehden durch die Pest stark geschwächt. Vier Jahre später, im Jahre 1352, begab sich die Stadt unter den Schutz von Florenz.
Die Blütezeit der Stadt dauerte 160 Jahre an, ihr Wohlstand beruhte auf Handel und dem Anbau von Safran, mit dem man Seidenstoffe färbte. Die Frankenstraße verlor im Spätmittelalter allmählich an Bedeutung, weil der Handel die bequemeren Wege durch die weitgehend trockengelegten Sümpfe der Ebenen vorzog. Die Stadt, die einst Gesetze gegen übertriebenen Luxus erlassen hatte, verarmte.
Hochrenaissance (ca. 1500 bis 1530) und Barock (1575 bis 1770) hinterließen in San Gimignano so gut wie keine Spuren. Die Stadt war niemals ein eigenständiges Kunstzentrum. Künstler aus Siena und Florenz malten die Fresken und Altartafeln. Die Paläste und Kirchen zeigen pisanische, sienesische, lucchesische und florentinische Stilmerkmale. In San Gimignano ist die Zeit scheinbar im Jahr 1563 stehengeblieben. Der erste der toskanischen Großherzöge, Cosimo I. de’ Medici, entschied, es dürfen „auch keine geringen Summen“ mehr in diese Stadt investiert werden. Das musste akzeptiert werden, und so ist San Gimignano geblieben, wie es damals war.
(Wikipedia)
Gloucester Cathedral is one of England's finest churches, a masterpiece of medieval architecture consisting of a uniquely beautiful fusion of Norman Romanesque and Perpendicular Gothic from the mid 14th century onwards. Until the Reformation this was merely Gloucester's Abbey of St Peter, under Henry VIII it became one of six former monastic churches to be promoted to cathedral status, thus saving the great church from the ravages of the Dissolution.
The most obviously Norman part is the nave, immediately apparent on entering the building with it's round arches and thick columns (the exterior is the result of Gothic remodelling). Much of the remainder of the building is substantially the Norman structure also, but almost entirely modified in the later Middle Ages inside and out, the result of the great revenue brought to the abbey by pilgrims to the tomb of the murdered King Edward II in the choir. It was this transformation of the Norman church that is credited with launching the late gothic Perpendicular style in England.
The gothic choir is a unique and spectacular work, the walls so heavily panelled as to suggest a huge stone cage (disguising the Norman arches behind) crowned by a glorious net-like vault adorned with numerous bosses (those over the Altar with superb figures of Christ and angels) whilst the east wall is entirely glazing in delicate stone tracery, and still preserving most of it's original 14th century stained glass. The soaring central tower, also richly panelled with delicate pinnacles, is another testament to the abbey's increasing wealth at this time.
The latest medieval additions to the church are equally glorious, the Lady Chapel is entered through the enormous east window and is itself a largely glazed structure, though the original glass has been reduced to a few fragments in the east window, the remainder now contains beautiful Arts & Crafts stained glass by Christopher and Veronica Whall.
The early 16th century cloisters to the north of the nave are some of the most beautiful anywhere, being completely covered by exquisite fan vaulting, with a seperate lavatorium (washing room) attached to the north walk as a miniature version of the main passages.
There is much more of interest, from 14th century choir stalls with misericords to the comprehensive collection of tombs and monuments of various dates, including the elaborate tomb of Edward II and that of Robert Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror. The stained glass also represents all ages, from the 14th century to the striking contemporary windows by Tom Denny.
Further areas of the cathedral can be accessed at certain times, such as the Norman crypt under the choir and the triforium gallery above.