Chichester Cathedral

Shortly after their conquest in AD43 the Romans built a Fort here and named it 'Noviomagus Reginorum'. It was in the 5th century that Anglo Saxons then renamed it Chichester. An important Roman road called Stane Street ran all the way from Chichester to London Bridge, and much of the route still exists today. Needless to say there are still several Roman remains within the area including Fishbourne Palace, the largest Roman domestic building in Britain. 

 Our visit to the Cathedral took us passed The Deanery

  and down St. Richard's Walk - a pathway leading directly into the Cathedral.
Today we have our sights set on seeing the Cathedral's treasures.

Chichester Cathedral's architecture combines both Norman and Gothic styles. Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian, called it "the most typical English Cathedral". Building began in 1076 and took 32 years to complete. The spire rising above its green copper roof can be seen for many miles across the West Sussex meadows. It is a landmark for sailors - the only English medieval cathedral visible from the sea

These figures represent Richard Fitzalan 3rd Earl of Arundel 1307-1376 and his second wife Eleanor, who by his will of 1375 were to be buried together 'without pomp'.
The knight's attitude is typical of the period but the lady's crossed legs where she appears to be turning towards her husband is rare.

 The joined hands, his hand unusually not gloved, was thought to have been the result of 'restoration' but recent research has shown this feature to be original. The monument is one of the earliest known that appears to be showing a knights affection for his wife. 
Philip Larkin was inspired to write his poem 'An Arundel Tomb' following his visit to the cathedral in 1956
Side by side, their faces blurred,
The earl and countess lie in stone,
Their proper habits vaguely shown
As jointed armour, stiffened pleat,
And that faint hint of the absurd -
The little dogs under their feet.

Such plainness of the pre-baroque
Hardly involves the eye, until
It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still
Clasped empty in the other; and
One sees, with a sharp tender shock,
His hand withdrawn, holding her hand.
the rest of the poem can be read here 

This 14th century window is filled with wonderful stained glass designed by Charles Parish in the late 19th century using glass from Lorraine, France. 

Detail showing Christ in Glory

There are two rare, expressive, and important Romanesque sculptures in the Cathedral dating from the first quarter of the 12th century depicting the raising of Lazarus.
In the first panel Lazarus has been dead for four days, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are shown at the town gate of Bethany greeting Jesus and praying that he can be saved. 

In the second panel Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave still wrapped in his shroud strap bindings. I could not understand Mary and Martha's expressions, but having now read the relevant bible passage I understand that their expressions are suggestive of the anticipated odour from the grave. At the bottom of the panel are two little grave diggers struggling to maintain the elevation of the tomb stone.
These sculptures are thought to have originally been part of a chancel screen in the Cathedral, and were discovered hidden away behind some choir stalls in 1827. The panels would originally have been painted and had jewels or semi precious stones in their eyes. 

 The High Altar tapestry was designed by John Piper in 1966, and woven in Aubusson, France.

At the site of the shrine of St. Richard
(Bishop of Chichester 1245-53 canonised in 1262) is an Anglo-German tapestry, designed in 1985 by Ursula Benker-Schirmer which shows religious symbols, some of which have a particular association with St. Richard. The central panel was woven in Germany and the two side panels were woven at West Dean College which is in the countryside just outside Chichester.

A painting by Graham Sutherland entitled Noli me tangere (do not hold me) depicting Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene on the first Easter morning

A vibrant red window designed by Marc Chagall in 1978 based on the psalm 'O praise God in his holiness...let everything that hath breath praise the Lord' 

In the Baptistry a painting of The Baptism of Christ by Hans Feibusch (1951)

and a Font made from polyphant green stone which came from Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. The Font was made and designed in 1983 by John Skelton, a nephew of Eric Gill.

You cannot come so near to the coast without paying the sea a visit, so we clambered up the sand dunes

and took a brisk walk along the beach  

The Great Survivor - Part 3

Here in Derby Cathedral lies Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury 1527 - 1608

A lifelike effigy of Bess of Hardwick which she designed for herself, thus ensuring that even in death she remained in control, an icon of Elizabethan female power. The tomb is made from marble and I strongly suspect local Chellaston alabaster, famed in the middle-ages for its superior quality and transported all across Europe to make fine statuary.

To live for 80 years during the Tudor period was in itself a feat when the average age reached was 35 years. About 25% of people died during birth or before they were 5 years old - it was also common for women to die giving birth. If you survived childhood and your teenage years then you had a good chance of living to your 50s or if lucky your 60s, so Bess's life could be considered charmed. She survived giving birth to eight children, avoided succumbing to any of the countless childhood diseases, and avoided getting smallpox or the dreaded plague.  In her early 60s at a time when most of her contempories would be dead, Bess set about the major task of building her beloved Hardwick. 

Bess's resting place in Derby Cathedral is somewhere that I used to pass twice daily as a six year old on my way to Convent School, where incidentally I was not very happy. You can read my school tale here if you are interested.

The Cathedral is fortunate enough to be filled with the most wonderful ironwork crafted by Derby's Master Ironsmith, Robert Bakewell. He is considered England's greatest and most accomplished wrought iron craftsman. Born in 1682 he went to London to learn his trade under the celebrated French craftsmen Jean Tijou and Jean Montigny at Hampton Court. It is thought Bakewell may have been introduced to Tijou whilst Tijou was working at Chatsworth House which too was built by Bess and her second husband William Cavendish. 

He returned from London to Derby specifically because of the rising prosperity of the town and the wealth of the local gentry. He forged a friendship with Lunar Society founder member John Whitehurst that led to them making weather-vanes together. 
In 1725 Bakewell was commissioned to make an iron screen for the interior of what was then All Saints' Church (now Derby Cathedral), but ended up making a screen for the Mayor's Pew, altar table, communion rail, churchyard gates, and railings to surround many of the monuments. He was apparently paid just under £500 for his work which was actually a princely sum in 1725.

The Mayor's Pew

My brother-in-law was the Mayor ten years ago, and I now wish that I had seen him sitting here in all his mayoral regalia

 We stayed two minutes away from the Cathedral in an hotel that had two wonderful stained glass windows of two notable 'Derbyshire Worthies'.

On the left is Izaak Walton with his fishing rod, and famous book "The Compleat Angler" and to the right Robert Bakewell, who did the wonderful ironwork in the Cathedral holding the tools of his trade.