Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral | ||
---|---|---|
Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Ethelbert the King | ||
Style Gothic (Early English) | | |
Years built | 1079-c.1250 | |
Specifications | ||
Length | 342 ft (104.2m) | |
Nave length | 158 ft (48.2m) | |
Choir length | 75 ft (22.9m) | |
Nave width | 73 ft (22.3m) | |
Width across transepts | 256 ft (78m) | |
Height | 165 ft (50.3m) | |
Nave height | 64 ft (19.5m) | |
Choir height | 62 ft (19m) | |
Number of towers | 1 | |
Tower height | 165 ft (50.3m) | |
Administration | ||
Province | Canterbury | |
Diocese | Hereford (since 680) | |
Clergy | ||
Dean | Sarah Brown | |
Precentor | Andrew Piper | |
Chancellor | James Pacey | |
Laity | ||
Director of music | Geraint Bowen |
Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford[1] in Hereford, England.
A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079.[2] Substantial parts of the building date from both the Norman and the Gothic periods. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.[3]
The cathedral has the largest library of chained books in the world, its most famous treasure being the
Origins
The cathedral is dedicated to two saints, St Mary the Virgin and St Ethelbert the King. The latter was beheaded by Offa, King of Mercia, in the year 794.[2] Offa had consented to give his daughter to Ethelbert in marriage: why he changed his mind and deprived him of his head historians do not know, although tradition is at no loss to supply him with an adequate motive. The execution, or murder, is said to have taken place at Sutton, four miles (6 km) from Hereford, with Ethelbert's body brought to the site of the modern cathedral by "a pious monk". He was buried at the site of the cathedral.[2] At Ethelbert's tomb miracles were said to have occurred, and in the next century (about 830) Milfrid, a Mercian nobleman, was so moved by the tales of these marvels as to rebuild in stone the little church that stood there and to dedicate it to the sainted king.
Before this, Hereford had become the seat of a
Norman period
Hereford Cathedral remained in a state of ruin until
Of this Norman church the surviving parts are the nave arcade, the choir up to the spring of the clerestory, the choir aisle, the south transept and the crossing arches. Scarcely 50 years after its completion William de Vere, who occupied the see from 1186 to 1199, altered the east end by constructing a retro-choir or processional path and a lady chapel.
13th century
Between the years 1226 and 1246, the
Aquablanca
Peter of Aigueblanche, also known as Aquablanca, was one of the most notable of the pre-reformation Bishops of Hereford, who left his mark upon the cathedral and the diocese. Aquablanca came to England in the train of Eleanor of Provence. He was a man of energy and resource; though he lavished money upon the cathedral and made a handsome bequest to the poor, it cannot be pretended that his qualifications for the office to which Henry III appointed him included piety. He was a nepotist who occasionally practised gross fraud.[4]
When
Thomas de Cantilupe
Thomas de Cantilupe was the next but one Bishop of Hereford after Aquablanca. He had faults not uncommon in men who held high ecclesiastical office in his day, however he was a strenuous administrator of his see, and an unbending champion of its rights. For assaulting some of the episcopal tenants and raiding their cattle,
Considerable work was done to the Cathedral at this time to accommodate his cult. Among the works believed to be associated with his cult are works to the north porch, which include the figures of
14th to 16th century: completion of the fabric
In the first half of the 14th century the rebuilding of the central tower, which is embellished with
16th to 18th century
In the war between King and Parliament (the English Civil War) the city of Hereford fell into the hands first of one party, then of the other. Once it endured a siege, and when it was taken the conquerors ran riot in the cathedral and, in their fury, caused great damage which could never be repaired. In the early years of the 18th century, Philip Bisse (bishop, 1712–21), devised a scheme to support the central tower. He also had installed a large altarpiece and an oak screen, and instead of restoring the Chapter House he allowed its stones to be utilised for alterations to the Bishop's Palace.
It was during this period that his brother, Thomas Bisse, was the chancellor of the cathedral. In 1724 Thomas Bisse organised a "Music Meeting" which subsequently became, with the cathedrals at Worcester and Gloucester, the Three Choirs Festival.
1786: Fall of the western tower
On Easter Monday, 1786, the greatest disaster in the history of the cathedral took place. The west tower fell, creating a ruin of the whole of the west front and at least one part of the nave. The tower, which, unlike the west tower of Ely, was in the west bay of the nave, had a general resemblance to the central tower; both were profusely covered with ball-flower ornaments, and both terminated in leaden spires. James Wyatt was called in to repair the damage. As he did at Durham, instead of just repairing, he made alterations which were (and are) not universally popular.
19th-century restoration and 1904 reopening
In 1841 the
The west front was restored by John Oldrid Scott over the period 1902 and 1908.[8]
Between them these restorations cost some £45,000, (equivalent to £4,998,518 in 2021[9]). Since then much else has been done. "Wyatt's Folly", as James Wyatt's west front was often called, has been replaced by a highly ornate façade in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, whose figure is to be seen at the beautiful stained glass which fills the seven-light (i.e. with seven main vertical "lights", or sections of glass) window subscribed "by the women of Hereford diocese".
20th-century extensions
A new library building was constructed in the early 1990s and opened by
21st-century changes
Work on a new Cathedral Green, with pathways, seating and gated entrance to the cathedral was undertaken in 2010 to 2011.
In 2015, landscaping and restoration efforts began at the cathedral, financed by the
Dean and chapter
As of 11 May 2022:[12]
- Dean — Sarah Brown (since 2021 installation)[13]
- Precentor – Andrew Piper (since 9 March 2003 installation)[14]
- Chancellor – Chris Pullin (since 14 September 2008 installation)[15]
Eminent persons
Among eminent men who have been associated with the cathedral – besides those who have already been mentioned – are
Another famous prebendary was
Description
Dimensions
The exterior length of the church is 342 feet (104 m), the interior length 326 feet (99 m), the nave (up to the screen) measuring 158 feet (48 m) and the choir 75 feet (23 m). The great transept is 146 feet (45 m) long, the east transept 110 feet (34 m). The nave and choir (including the aisles) are 73 feet (22 m) wide; the nave is 64 feet (20 m) high, and the choir 62½ feet. The lantern is 96 feet (29 m) high, the tower 140½ feet, or with the pinnacles 165 feet (50 m).
There is decorative work on the
At the northern entrance is a porch and decorated doorway, a good general view is at once obtained. There is a modern rood screen, a spacious and lofty central lantern, and a reredos with a carved spandrel. The Lady Chapel has lancet windows, foliated ornaments and a groined roof. The tomb of Charles Booth, bishop and builder of the porch, is in the sixth bay of the nave on the north side, guarded by the only ancient ironwork left in the cathedral. On the south side of the nave is the Norman font, a circular bowl large enough to allow of the immersion of children.
Great transept and choir
The north transept, rebuilt by Aquablanca in the Decorated period, and
Until its removal in the 1960s there was a wrought iron choir-screen, painted and gilt. Designed by Scott, it was executed by Messrs. Skidmore, of Coventry, from whose works also came the earlier metal screen at Lichfield. After being kept in storage for many years, the screen was completely restored in the late 1990s and re-erected at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The choir, consisting of three Norman bays of three stages, is full of objects of beauty and interest. The reredos, designed by the younger Cottingham, consists of five canopied compartments, with elaborate sculpture representing our Lord's Passion. Behind it is a pier from which spring two pointed arches; the spandrel thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, representing Christ in his majesty, with angels and the four Evangelists; below is a figure of King Ethelbert. Against the most easterly point on the south side of the choir is to be seen a small effigy of this king, which was dug up at the entrance to the Lady Chapel about the year 1700. The Bishop's throne and the stalls, of 14th century work and restored, and the modern book desks and figures of angels on the upper stalls, deserve attention. There is also a very curious ancient episcopal chair.
Misericords
The choir stalls support forty 14th-century misericords. These misericords show a mixture of mythological beasts, grotesques and everyday events, there appears to be no pattern to the content.
In addition to the misericords in the choir, there are five others contained in a row of "Judges' Seats". It is unclear if these were used as misericords, or if they are just ornamentation.
East transept
In the north-east transept, of which the vaulting is supported by a central octagonal pier, a large number of monumental fragments are preserved, forming a rich and varied collection. There is also a beautiful altar-tomb of alabaster and polished marbles erected as a public memorial to a former Dean, Richard Dawes, who died in 1867. The effigy, by Mr. Noble, is a good likeness of the Dean, who was an ardent supporter of the education movement about the middle of the 19th century. The south-east transept contains memorials of several
Lady Chapel
Across from the retro-choir or ambulatory is the spacious Early English Lady Chapel, which is built over the
In the Lady Chapel are
Crypt and library
Though the
The
Mappa Mundi
One of the cathedral's treasures is the Hereford Mappa Mundi, dating from the later years of the 13th century. It is the work of an ecclesiastic who is supposed to be represented in the right-hand corner on horseback, attended by his page and greyhounds. He has commemorated himself under the name of Richard de Haldingham and Lafford in Lincolnshire, but his real name was Richard de la Battayle or de Bello. He held a prebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral, and was promoted to a stall in Hereford in 1305. During the troubled times of Cromwell the map was laid beneath the floor of Edmund Audley's Chantry, beside the Lady Chapel, where it remained secreted for some time.
In 1855 it was cleaned and repaired at the
In the 1980s, a financial crisis in the diocese caused the Dean and Chapter to consider selling the Mappa Mundi. After much controversy, large donations from the
Magna Carta
Hereford is fortunate to possess one of only four 1217 Magna Carta to survive, which in turn is one of the finest of the eight oldest that survive. It is sometimes put on display alongside the Hereford Mappa Mundi in the cathedral's chained library.
Organ
On the south side of the choir is the organ built in 1892 by "Father" Henry Willis, generally considered to be one of the finest examples of his work in the country. The case was designed by Scott.[16]
Organists
William Wood is recorded as organist at Hereford Cathedral in 1515. Notable organists include the 16th-century composers
Bells
Hereford Cathedral houses 10 bells 140 ft (43 m) high in the tower. The tenor bell weighs 34 cwt (1.7 tonnes). The oldest bell in the cathedral is the sixth, which dates back to the 13th century. The bells are sometimes known as the "Grand Old Lady" as they are a unique ring of bells. The cathedral is the main tower of the Hereford Diocesan Guild.[17]
Burials
- Robert of Hereford
- Reynelm
- Geoffrey de Clive
- Robert de Bethune, Bishop of Hereford (1131–1148)
- Robert of Melun, Bishop of Hereford (1163–1167)
- Robert Foliot, Bishop of Hereford (1173–1186)
- William de Vere, Bishop of Hereford (1186–1198)
- Giles de Braose, Bishop of Hereford (1200–1215)
- Hugh de Mapenor, Bishop of Hereford (1216–1219)
- Hugh Foliot, Bishop of Hereford (1219–1234)
- Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford (1240–1268) — his body was exhumed in 1925
- Thomas de Cantilupe, English Saint and Bishop of Hereford (1275–1282)
- Richard Swinefield, Bishop of Hereford (1282–1317)
- Thomas Charlton, Lord Privy Seal and Lord High Treasurer of England and Bishop of Hereford (1327–1344)
- Herbert Westfaling, Bishop of Hereford (1585–1602) — in the north transept
- Augustine Lindsell, Bishop of Hereford (1634)
- Gilbert Ironside the younger, Bishop of Hereford (1691–1701)
- Velters Cornewall (1697–1768), MP for Herefordshire for 46 years
- William Felton (1713–1769), composer
- James Atlay, Bishop of Hereford (1868–1894)
- Philipp Traherne (1568–1645), father of metaphysical poet Thomas Traherne (c.1637–1674) and Mayor of Hereford.
Other buildings
Between the
Gallery
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View from the north-east
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View from south-west
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South transept
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Ceiling bosses in the nave
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Lady Chapel Altar
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Stained glass windows
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A corbel from the restored West Front of Hereford Cathedral
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14th century grisaille glass
See also
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
- Bishop of Hereford
- Dean of Hereford
- English Gothic architecture
- Frederick Ouseley, (Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley), precentor of Hereford Cathedral
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- List of musicians at English cathedrals
- List of organists, assistant organists and organ scholars at English cathedrals
- Romanesque architecture
- Three Choirs Festival
References
- ^ "Diocese". Hereford Cathedral. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Our history". Hereford Cathedral. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ Historic England. "Cathedral Church (1196808)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Strickland 2018, p. 463.
- ^ Strickland 2018, p. 448, footnote.
- ^ Brooks & Pevsner 2012, p. 277 notes that figures "presumably connected with the Cantilupe cult" are displayed above the outer doorway of the north porch. Identifying the figures of a Synagogue, Luxuria and a bagpiper in close proximity, they ask "why?"
- ISBN 0140710256.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "New Library Building". Hereford Cathedral. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ Geggel, Laura (14 April 2015). "Battered Remains of Medieval Knight Discovered in UK Cathedral". MSN News. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015. (not found 9 October 2018) and https://www.archaeology.org/news/3035-150224-england-hereford-knight Archived 10 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hereford Cathedral — Who's Who (Accessed 11 May 2022)
- ^ "Dean of Hereford: 7 July 2021". GOV.UK. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Cathedral post holder named". Hereford Times. 16 January 2003. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Canon takes on cathedral post". Hereford Times. 5 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^
- Details of the main organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- Details of the Lady Chapel organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- Details of the Chamber organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- Shaw, Watkins; Massey, Roy (2005). The organists and organs of Hereford Cathedral (Revised ed.). Hereford Cathedral Organ Committee. ISBN 090464216X.
- ^ Dove, Ronald H. (1982). A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain and Ringing Peals of the World (6th ed.). Guildford: Viggers.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: The Cathedrals of England and Wales: their history, architecture, and associations ; with a series of Rembrandt plates and many illustrations in the text. Vol. 2. London: Cassell. 1906. pp. 17–30..
Sources
- Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2012). The Buildings of England: Herefordshire. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300125757.
- Strickland, Debra Higgs (2018). "Edward I, Exodus, and England on the Hereford World Map" (PDF). doi:10.1086/696540.
- Strickland, Debra Higgs (2022b). "The female presence on the Hereford World Map" (PDF). Different Visions: New Perspectives on Medieval Art. 8: 1–57. ISSN 1935-5009.
External links
- Official site
- Mappa Mundi
- A history of the choristers and choir school of Hereford Cathedral
- Flickr images tagged Hereford Cathedral
- "The Hereford Screen". Metalwork. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 1 April 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2007.