them was very different from that of Edingdon. They retained the Norman piers and walls so far as was practicable, removing portions of the triforium and clerestory, and bringing each bay into its present condition, in a manner to be subsequently described. De Lucy's Lady-chapel was lengthened after 1470. Until 1500 the Norman aisles of the presbytery remained untouched. They were then taken down and replaced by the present aisles, in imitation of Wykeham's work in the nave. Thus, with the exception of the transepts, the great Norman cathedral of Walkelin was changed or transformed, in the course of about four centuries, into the existing church; which still retains, on the exterior, the massive forms and somewhat heavy outlines of its first constructors. There is no portion of the cathedral which does not call for the most careful examination. Whilst the transformation of the Norman work into rich Perpendicular may be considered as the specialty of Winchester, the Norman transepts, the Early English of De Lucy's buildingearly in the style, but of singular grace and beautyand the Perpendicular of the eastern Lady-chapel, are all most striking and characteristic of their respective periods. The grand series of chantries which the cathedral contains is also very noticeable. Bearing these changes in mind, we may proceed to examine the cathedral in detail. II. The exterior of the cathedral [Plate I.], in spite of the enormous mass which it presents, is at first sight disappointing, owing chiefly to its unusual want of decoration, and to the lowness of its heavy Norman tower. The venerable walls, however, contrast very pleasantly with the bright, close sward and the fresh leafage of the precincts. The best distant view is that from the top of St. Catherine's Hill, where the whole vast extent of the cathedral is seen, rising solemnly above the ancient city. "The great length of the church is pleasingly broken, as at Ely and Peterborough, by the bold projection of its transepts, which here extend, as usual in England, three bays beyond the aisles, their section being the same with that of the nave."* De Lucy's addition to the Norman cathedral is marked by the lower roofs at the east end. (See post, § XXVII., for a farther notice of the exterior.) A short avenue of trees leads through the Close to the western door, by which the visitor should by all means enter. III. The west front [Frontispiece and Plate II.—It was restored in 1860] is, as has been said, the work of Bishop EDINGDON (1345–1366), who replaced with it the Norman towers and entrance, shortening the entire nave by about forty feet. The present front is plain and not very imposing, and can have been but a poor substitute for the original western end, with its towers. (See APPENDIX, note II.) Edingdon's work is confined to this west front, together with two bays of the nave aisle on the north side, and one on the south. a Fergusson's Handbook of Architecture,' p. 859. |