Slide Shows on Cathedral and Church Architecture - by Michael G Hardy

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Peterborough Cathedral

Details of Slide Show - by Michael G Hardy

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Contents, Important Dates, and Number of Slides Shown

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Description of Slide Show

 

I regard Peterborough Cathedral as the most complete Norman Cathedral in England, and as such deserves to be better known. With the help of 19th century wood carvings and 20th century glass, we commence Part One by tracing the early history of this site where an important monastery was founded in the mid 7th century forming a link between the churches of the North and the South. After the Danish raids, it was re-founded in 960 as a Benedictine Abbey, and the present building was started in 1118. All the original walls of the church still survive, built with a profusion of Norman arches. Building work started with the apse, and it is the only one to survive in England in any of our greater churches. We look at how subtle changes were made to the solid design as work progressed from east to west. We also take particular note of how decoration was gradually introduced, mainly in the form of patterns carved on capitals. Their random nature really shows that individual masons were allowed to experiment and develop their own geometric styles as work progressed. Three arms of the church still have their original wooden ceilings, including the wonderful and unique painted ceiling of the nave which dates from around 1220. We look at how plans were changed during work to extend the nave at its western end, and we see that the final work inside the church was done in the Early English style, but in a remarkable way to conform with the existing Romanesque work. My photographs in this show are taken from high and low levels within the cathedral, and are thus able to include such details as the wooden windlass constructed at the time the west front was being built, but still surviving 800 years later.   

 

In Part Two of this show, we look at the incomparable west front where the Early English style was allowed to develop to its full potential. Three massive arches dominate the wide west front, the only original decoration and statues being crammed into the small gables above the arches. This was all finished about 1238 when the whole building was consecrated. In the 14th century a spirelet was added to each end of the west front, and a Perpendicular porch added within the centre arch. This itself would be a significant building on its own, but it is truly dwarfed by the earlier arch in which it stands.

Next we look at two other projects in the Perpendicular style. Firstly is the wooden ceiling of the eastern arm, a clever combination of flat centre and vaulted sides, dating from around 1400. There was then only one other major building work added to the building. This was at the far east end, where a retro-choir was added around the Norman apse. It was built at the very beginning of the 16th century, undoubtedly by the famous architect of the late Perpendicular era, John Wastell. The fan vaulting of this 'new building' is justly famous and surely encouraged him to build further examples elsewhere.

We consider some famous burials of the 16th century, and see that at the Dissolution the Abbey became one of Henry VIII's new cathedrals. Much destruction was to follow a century later, during the Civil War. We look at some of the 19th century restoration work, including the rebuilding of the central crossing and the tower.

In the Full Version only we finish by looking at some remains of the monastic buildings that still survive, over 460 years after the monastery was dissolved. They have now found a variety of new uses.

 

Please note that no mention is made in this show of the fire in November 2001 which caused terrible smoke damage to stone and woodwork in the cathedral. I am pleased to say that it has not caused severe damage to the structure of the cathedral, but items such as the organ will take literally years to be restored. The fire has also caused a devastating setback to the years of work that had already been done in restoring the incredible painted wooden ceiling of the nave.

 

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Timings of Slide Show:

Peterborough Cathedral

 

Full

Version

Abridged

Version

Part One

  46 minutes

39 minutes

Part Two

  46 minutes

35 minutes

TOTAL

92 minutes

(maximum)

74 minutes

(minimum)

 

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Contents, Important Dates, Number of Slides Shown

 

Please note that some of the dates quoted are only approximate

 

Part One

Subject

Date

Full

Version

Abridged

Version

Introduction

x

8

7

1st Anglo-Saxon Foundation 655 - 665 9 8
2nd Anglo-Saxon Foundation 960 - 972 12 6
Norman Conquest and Hereward 1066 - 1070 4 3
Fire Destroys 2nd Abbey 1116 2 2
Building of 3rd Abbey started 1118 1 1
Apse started 1118 13 13
Chancel 1118 - c1140 25 24
Transepts 1145 - 1160 34 29
St Oswald's Arm x 7 x
Transepts Ceilings c1160 10 7
Nave c1160 - c1190 22 17
Nave Main Arcade Capitals c1160 - c1190 15 15
Nave Aisles and Wall Arcades c1160 - c1190 17 17
Nave completion c1190 2 1
Nave Ceiling c1220 19 19
Nave Western Extension - Introduction x 6 4
Nave Western Extension - Interior c1195 - c1230 16 12
Nave Western Extension - Windlass c1200 5 4
Nave Western Extension - Exterior c1195 - c1230 12 9

Conclusion of Part One

x

1

1

Total Slides in Part One:

240

199

 

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Part Two

Subject

Date

Full

Version

Abridged

Version

West Front Completion (and subsequently) x 36 33
Consecration of entire building 1238 2 2
Barnack Stone and Alwalton Marble x 5 2
Bishops' Monuments 1193 - 1226 7 6
West Front - Spirelets 14C 9 7
West Front - Porch 1380 9 9
Chancel Ceiling c1400 10 10
New Building (at east end) 1496 - 1508 21 20
Katharine of Aragon burial 1536 3 3
Dissolution 1539 1 1
Cathedral Status 1541 1 1
Mary Queen of Scots burial 1587 3 3
Robert Scarlett burial 1594 6 5
Civil War 1643 3 3
Cloisters and Lady Chapel demolished c1645 & c1650 7 4
Medieval Stained Glass x 6 6
Apse Ceiling painted 1860 4 4
Central Tower rebuilt 1883 - 1886 20 16
Presbytery and Choir refurnished 1886 - 1894 12 12
Eagle Lectern c1480 1 1
Clock from c1450 5 5
New Bells hung in NW Tower 1986 5 5
Hanging Rood in Nave 1975 3 3
Conclusion (Abridged Version) x x 2
Cloisters x 7 x
Other Monastic Buildings x 26 x

Conclusion

x

8

x

Total Slides in Part Two:

220

163

 

Slide Show on "Peterborough Cathedral"

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This page last modified on 15th December 2005