Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England

The medieval cathedrals of England, which date from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings that constitute a major aspect of the country's artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity.

As cathedrals, each of these buildings serves as central church for an administrative region (or diocese) and houses the throne of a bishop (Late Latin ecclēsia cathedrālis, from the Greek, καθέδρα).

[4] One of the points of interest of the English cathedrals is the way in which much of the history of medieval architecture can be demonstrated within a single building, which typically has important parts constructed in several different centuries with no attempt whatsoever to make the later work match or follow through on an earlier plan.

In 597 Pope Gregory sent Augustine as a missionary from Rome to Canterbury where a church was established and run initially by secular canons, then Benedictine monks from the late Saxon period until 1540.

Although all cathedrals gathered donations from worshippers and pilgrims; in practice major building campaigns were largely, or entirely, funded from the accumulated wealth of the bishop and the chapter clergy.

The possession of the relics of a popular saint was a source of funds to the individual church as the faithful made donations and benefices in the hope that they might receive spiritual aid, a blessing or a healing from the presence of the physical remains of the holy person.

A growing awareness of the value of England's medieval heritage had begun in the late 18th century, leading to some work on a number of the cathedrals by the architect James Wyatt.

In this part of the church are often located the tombs of former bishops, typically arranged either side of the major shrine, so the worshipping congregation symbolically comprised the whole body of clergy of the diocese, both living and dead, in communion with their patron saint.

The choir is sometimes divided from the nave of the cathedral by a wide late medieval pulpitum screen constructed of stone and in some instances carrying a large pipe organ,[4] notably at Exeter, Gloucester, Lincoln, Norwich, Rochester, St Albans, Southwell, Wells and York.

The elaborate wooden font-covers, raised by ropes and pulleys when the font was needed, that most acquired in the later Middle Ages were a favourite target of Protestant iconclasts, and rarely survive.

By comparison, the largest cathedrals of Northern France, Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, Rouen, Reims and Chartres, are all about 135–140 metres in length, as is Cologne in Germany.

[5] The typical arrangement for an English Gothic east end is square, and may be an unbroken cliff-like design as at York, Lincoln, Ripon, Ely and Carlisle or may have a projecting Lady Chapel of which there is a great diversity as at Salisbury, Lichfield, Hereford, Exeter and Chichester.

This is particularly the case at Wells where, unlike most Gothic buildings, there are no vertical shafts that continue from the arcade to the vault and there is a very strong emphasis on the triforium gallery with its seemingly endless and undifferentiated row of narrow arches.

The Norman architecture is distinguished by its round-headed arches, and bold tiers of arcades on piers, which originally supported flat wooden roofs of which two survive, at Peterborough and Ely.

Many cathedrals have important parts in the Geometric style of the mid 13th to early 14th centuries, including much of Lincoln, Lichfield, the choir of Ely, and the chapter houses of Salisbury and Southwell.

[44] Further development included the repetition of Curvilinear or flame-like forms that occur in a great number of windows of around 1320, notably in the retro-choir at Wells and the nave of Exeter Cathedral.

[2][4] In the 1330s, when the architects of Europe were embracing the Flamboyant style, English architecture moved away from the Flowing Decorated in an entirely different and much more sober direction with the reconstruction, in highly modular form, of the choir of the Norman abbey, now cathedral, at Gloucester.

The Perpendicular style, which relies on a network of intersecting mullions and transoms rather than on a diversity of richly carved forms for effect, gives an overall impression of great unity, in which the structure of the vast windows of both clerestory and east end are integrated with the arcades below and the vault above.

[45] During the 15th century, many of England's finest towers were either built or extended in the Perpendicular style including those of the cathedrals of Gloucester, Worcester, Wells, York, Durham and Canterbury, and the spires of Chichester and Norwich.

In a still more elaborate form with stone pendants it was used to roof the Norman choir at Oxford and in the great funerary chapel of Henry VII at Westminster Abbey, at a time when Italy had embraced the Renaissance.

The façade, huge cloister and polygonal chapter house were then constructed by Richard Mason and were completed by about 1280, the later work employing Geometric Decorated tracery in the openings of windows and arcades.

The earliest part of the building at Worcester is the multi-columned Norman crypt with cushion capitals remaining from the original monastic church begun by St Wulfstan in 1084.

It is famous for the Norman crypt with sculptured capitals, the east end of 1175–84 by William of Sens, the 12th- and 13th-century stained glass, the "supremely beautiful" Perpendicular nave of 1379–1405 by Henry Yevele,[48] the fan vault of the tower of 1505 by John Wastell, the tomb of the Black Prince and the site of the murder of St. Thomas Becket.

Its most significant feature is its nine-light Flowing Decorated east window of 1322, still containing medieval glass in its upper sections, forming a "glorious termination to the choir"[4] and regarded by many as having the finest tracery in England.

[4][23] Built between 1093 and 1490, Durham Cathedral, with the exception of the upper parts of its towers, the eastern extension known as the Chapel of Nine Altars, and the large west window of 1341, is entirely Norman and is regarded by Alec Clifton-Taylor as "the incomparable masterpiece of Romanesque architecture".

Double aisles give it the widest nave of any English cathedral (115 feet); and it also has the richest set of late medieval choir stalls and misericords (1505-09) in the country.

[52] Built between 1096 and 1536, Norwich Cathedral has a Norman form, retaining the greater part of its original stone structure, which was then vaulted between 1416 and 1472 in a spectacular manner with hundreds of ornately carved, painted, and gilded bosses.

Its fame lies in its harmonious proportions, particularly from the exterior where the massing of the various horizontal parts in contrast to the vertical of the spire make it one of the most famous architectural compositions of the Medieval period.

Canon Smethurst wrote "It symbolises the peaceful loveliness of the English countryside..., the eternal truths of the Christian faith expressed in stone..."[4][23][54] Built between 1220 and 1420, Southwark Cathedral had its nave demolished and rebuilt in the late 19th century by Arthur Blomfield.

Architectural details, such as window tracery designs, were not executed as scale drawings, but were incised full-size onto a large flat gypsum tracing-floor, examples of which survive at York and Wells.

A winter view showing Durham Cathedral with three large towers looming high on a craggy cliff above a river bordered with snow-covered trees, a weir and a house.
Durham Cathedral , above the River Wear.
View of the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral on a bright day. The building is of pale stone with three large towers and much ornate Gothic detail. People are entering through a richly sculptured side porch.
The See of Canterbury was founded in 597 by St. Augustine.
An interior view of the nave of Rochester Cathedral, looking towards the east. The nave has Norman arches and a flat wooden ceiling, beyond which there the stone vault of the choir. The cathedral is divided by a stone screen on which rest two section of richly decorated organ pipes.
Rochester Cathedral was a foundation of secular canons from 604 to 1076, then Benedictine until 1540 when it reverted to a secular chapter.
A detail from an ancient stained glass window shows Becket being murdered by several men.
The relics of the murdered archbishop, Thomas Becket, brought great wealth to Canterbury Cathedral .
The photo shows the altar of St. Alban's Cathedral, behind which rises a large stone screen with tiers of statues, and a crucifix, centrally placed.
The reredos in St. Alban's Cathedral was severely damaged in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was reconstructed with new statues in 1888.
This longshot of the interior of Southwark Cathedral shows both the nave, with crisply detailed pointed arches, and the older structure beyond. A number of visitors are silhouetted against the pale stone.
The nave of Southwark Cathedral was built by Arthur Blomfield in the 1890s.
An external view of the Chapter House at Lincoln against a dark cloudy sky. The polygonal building has a steeply pointed lead roof, paired pointed windows and huge flying buttresses with splay out all around the building like spider's legs.
Lincoln Cathedral had a chapter of secular canons, for whom the earliest polygonal chapter house was built.
View along a stone cloister passage showing the conically shaped sections of the vault, and the carved stone panelling of the walls.
The fan-vaulted south range of the cloister at Gloucester Cathedral , which was a Benedictine Abbey from 1022 to 1539.
A view in the choir of York Minster with girl choristers and male lay clerks in blue cassocks standing in the richly carved choir stalls.
Choir practice at York Minster .
View of the north side of the nave at Lincoln showing wide arcade arches supported on tall slim columns surrounded by shafts of dark marble. The aisle windows are full of stained glass. Beneath them runs a wall arcade in which is displayed a modern set of Stations of the Cross carved in different recycled timbers.
The nave of Lincoln Cathedral
The plan of Salisbury Cathedral is a long Latin cross with an additional smaller transept towards the eastern end. A wide square at the crossing of the western transept marks the location of the central tower. A porch juts from the nave on the north side. A chapel extends from the square eastern end.
The plan of Salisbury Cathedral shows many features that are typically English.
This exterior view at Winchester, taken from near the north west corner of the cathedral, and with a war memorial statue in the foreground, looks acutely along the north side of the building, showing it receding into the distance.
Winchester Cathedral is the longest medieval church in the world, 169 metres (554 ft).
This interior view at Winchester shows the whole length of the nave, which has huge stone piers that appear to comprise clusters of upward-sweeping stone shafts. The stone vault has ribs which sweep up to a point like the branches of trees in a forest. The overall effect is visually spectacular.
The nave of Winchester, gives an impression of height as well as length, but at 24 metres (78 ft) it is half the height of Beauvais.
A view of the city of Lincoln showing the three towers of the cathedral rising high above the town
Lincoln Cathedral has three towers, with the central tower 83 metres (272 ft).
The facade of Exeter Cathedral appears to have been constructed in three layers. In the first layer there is the gable of the cathedral with a traceried window which peeps over the battlements of the second layer. This layer, which is battlemented, includes the lower aisles and a large western window which has within its arch a circular pattern of elaborate stone lace. Across the entire lower front of the building stretches a stone screen with three doors into the nave and the aisles. The screen is tiered with niches containing numerous statues.
Exeter Cathedral has a screen with much original sculpture.
The west front of Wells, unlike Exeter, presents a unified and balanced composition. However, the towers look truncated because they were intended to have spires that were not built.
Wells Cathedral has towers, a sculpture gallery and lancet windows.
The appearance of this facade, which is described in the text, is overwhelmingly and majestic.
The Early English facade of Peterborough Cathedral is unique.
The square east end of Ripon Cathedral is defined by strongly projecting buttresses terminating in gables and pinnacles. There is a large decorated east window with tracery in a circle like the west window at Exeter.
Ripon Cathedral has a "cliff-like" east end typical of English Gothic.
This faded postcard of Lichfield Cathedral shows a delicately coloured engraving of the cathedral with three tall slim spires rising against sunlit clouds above a gliding river.
Lichfield Cathedral , postcard, 1888.
One of Constable's best-known works, this shows Salisbury Cathedral with its single tall spire lit by sun against a stormy sky. It is viewed through an arch made by two tall trees.
Salisbury Cathedral , oil painting, John Constable, 1820s.
an interior view of the nave at Wells as described in the text. The nave terminates abruptly in a structure known as St Andrew's Cross, which was inserted to support the tower.
In Wells Cathedral the horizontal is emphasised, rather than the vertical.
This view shows a vaulted ceiling of great complexity with many small interconnecting ribs. There are carved and gilt stone bosses wherever the ribs meet.
Lierne vault at Winchester
This interior view of Peterborough shows part of the very long nave and the chancel with no screen dividing the building. The structure is mostly of a unified Norman appearance with three levels of simple round-topped arches, only the tall arches of the central tower being Gothic. Other visible features are the ancient painted ceiling, the medieval choir stalls and the modern Rood, which has a gilt wooden figure of Christ on a red cross suspended high in front of the tower arch.
The Norman interior of Peterborough Cathedral .
A view into the south transept at Salisbury shows a harmonious arrangement of lancet arches rising in three tiers of various sizing and grouping. The details are enhanced by narrow attached shafts of dark-coloured Purbeck marble. The ribbed vault is of a simple form.
Lancet Gothic at Salisbury Cathedral .
The interior of the nave at Exeter shows a great richness and diversity of decoration. Above the Gothic arcade runs an ornately sculptured blind gallery, above which rise clerestory windows full of Geometri tracery. The wide western window of nine lights beneath an upper rose fills the western end. The vault has many ribs of strong profile, which spring out in clusters like palm branches.
Decorated Gothic at Exeter Cathedral .
This interior view at York shows the Gothic style becoming less about projecting forms and more about surface treatment. The walls, vault and east window are all covered with a decorative net-like tracery. The pattern of the vault ribs resembles interconnecting stars.
The Perpendicular choir of York Minster .
This picture of Chichester Cathedral shows the Norman windows of the Nave clerestory, the Early English windows of the tower, the Geometric windows of the aisles and the large Perpendicular window of the transept. The spire is a Victorian restoration.
This view of Chichester Cathedral shows four distinct architectural styles.
Salisbury Cathedral from the East showing features of the North Facade and grey masonry spire. The exterior shows the same harmony in the groupings of simple windows that is apparent in the interior view.
Salisbury Cathedral , 1220–1380.
View of the cathedral with a large tower seen across the river.
Worcester Cathedral , 1084–1504.
The fan-vaulted cloister of Gloucester Cathedral .
The Decorated Gothic exterior of Chester Cathedral .
Manchester Cathedral was a collegiate church, rather than an ancient cathedral or abbey.