Chapter III: The Interior (1)

"The most-detailed description of architectural works must fail to convey to the mind so clear and correct an impression, as the graphic representation of the objects themselves does to the eye; and the more laboured the attempt to describe in words the position, the arrangement, the form and magnitude of the several parts, the more the picture becomes confused, and the less likely to answer the purpose" (_Quart. Rev._, No. 37, 179).

How far the above statement is of universal application is not a matter to be here discussed, but it will be appreciated to the full by anyone who attempts to describe, within definite and narrow limits, the many beauties of one of our finest cathedrals, such as Gloucester undoubtedly is.

To fully appreciate the beauty of the cathedral, it must be studied under different aspects and at different times. Much will depend upon the mood of the visitor, much, too, upon the time of day. The Lady Chapel at 7 A.M. is quite a different thing from the Lady Chapel at 10:30 or 12 noon, though always beautiful. The same holds good with the choir and the nave. A slanting light through the south clerestory playing fitfully upon the lace-work of the north side of the choir, or the sturdy pillars of the ever-impressive nave, gives a charm that cannot be described.

How grand a sight, too, it is when the nave is almost in darkness--save for eight or ten small jets of light overhead--to see the choir lighted up, with the organ standing out in strong relief against the blaze of light below and behind it, and now and then a gleam of light showing through as the door under the screen is opened.

Then, again, note and study the marvellous effects of sound in the building. Listen, if possible, from the Lady Chapel, to an anthem by some old composer; listen to Bach's G minor fugue from the triforium of the choir, and hear the echoes rolling from pier to pier; listen to the Hallelujah Chorus sung on some great festival service in the nave, or some simple well-known hymn sung by close upon 3000 people, and the listener will have some idea of the effect that mere sound, taken as such, can produce.

The sound of Stainer's Gregorian _Miserere_, sung entirely unaccompanied, as heard from the great west door, is grand in the extreme. It needs but little imagination to take oneself back, say, four hundred years, and picture the monks singing the very same Psalm.

The tiles in an ancient building are always of interest, and Gloucester contains many that are worth inspection. There are some in the choir and its chapels, and there are some in the Lady Chapel; others may be found near Raikes' monument, exposed to view in the south aisle. There are also some in the south-east chapel of the triforium of the choir. The chapter-house tiles are modern (Minton), but were made after the tiles that were in existence there.

The nave was originally tiled, and specimens have been found when excavations have been made. In the days that are to come, possibly, the Georgian flooring may be taken up, and the tiles now hidden from view will be revealed in places where they have not been broken up, where graves have been dug in the nave and aisles.

Perhaps the weakest point in the cathedral is the modern glass. There is much that shows careful work and thought, but there has been no systematic controlling spirit at work to suggest, to guide, or to check. The chief blots, too, are the so-called memorial windows, and the reason is not hard to find. It is well put by Mr Ruskin, who, in his "Seven Lamps of Architecture," says: "The peculiar manner of selfish and impious ostentation, provoked by the glassmakers for a stimulus to trade, of putting up painted windows to be records of private affection, instead of universal religion, is one of the worst, because most plausible and proud, hypocrisies of our day."

Just imagine the difference in the south aisle, for instance, if there had been a scheme carefully planned beforehand for the windows, instead of the threefold, but haphazard, process of a window offered, a window accepted, a window put up, and no questions asked as to designer or artist. Imagine what the effect might, or would, have been, had the windows, as a set, been designed by Burne-Jones and executed by William Morris, or by other competent artists. Now, unfortunately, these two great artists are dead, and Gloucester has not a single specimen of their work.

The #Nave# as it is (174 feet by 34 1/4 feet long, 67 feet 7 inches high) is quite unique, and differs considerably from other Norman naves, such as are to be found in the cathedrals at Ely, Norwich, or Peterborough, and in the neighbouring abbey churches at Tewkesbury, and Great Malvern.

The unique features here are the great height of the massive circular columns, fourteen in number, and the consequently dwarfed triforium or gallery running over the main arches. There are traces to be seen of the original Norman clerestory under the Perpendicular windows, and, judging from this, the height of the clerestory, as originally constructed, must have been but little less than that of the piers in the nave.

This Norman clerestory was altered at the same time that the roof of the nave was vaulted--viz. in 1242, in the time of Henry Foliot. This work was done by the monks themselves, who thought, as Professor Willis suggests, that they could do it better than common workmen. Their work is made of a light and porous kind of stone, treated with plaster on the under-side, and it was rendered necessary by the previous roof, which was of wood, having been destroyed by fire in 1190. Of this fire the piers certainly show the traces to this day, all having become reddened and slightly calcined. To make the new clerestory the whole of the original Norman work over the arcade of the triforium was removed, with the exception of the jambs of the side-lights (which extended beyond the arches of the triforium) and the wall between them.

Mr. Gambier Parry has also truly said that this work "was not an artistic success. They cut and maimed the features of the fine old Norman clerestory, and placed their thin weak work too low, destroying all the original grandeur of effect.... Here in this first pointed vaulting was a grievous and irreparable injury, destroying all sense of proportion throughout the building."

The vaulting shafts and the abaci are of Purbeck marble, and the capitals are of stone, as are also the corbels, bases, mouldings, and bosses. All the stonework was formerly painted. Mr Waller, who carried out the repairs to the nave, had excellent opportunities of seeing what was left of the painting underneath the many coats of whitewash; he wrote in 1856: "The painting may be thus generally described. The hollow of the abacus of the capitals was red, the lower member of the same, green; the whole of the bell red, the leaves alternately green and yellow, with the stalks, running down, of the same colours, into the red bell of the capital. The vertical mouldings between the marble shafts were red and blue alternately; the lower shafts green and blue, with red in the hollows, and the foliage on these also is green and yellow. Some of the horizontal mouldings are partly coloured also. The bosses in the groining are yellow and green, as in the capitals. All the colouring, which was very rich, was effected with water colours; in one instance only has any gold been discerned, and that was upon one of the bosses in the roof."

The fourteen piers are 30 feet 7 inches in height, or about twice the height of those at Norwich.[1]

The Norman piers have round or cushioned capitals. Their arches have zig-zag work in the outer moulding, and a double cable in the soffit. A cable moulding runs along just above the arches. The grotesque heads on the arches in the nave are said to represent the various mummeries of the Anglo-Saxon gleemen. A frieze of such may be seen at Kilpeck Church, in Herefordshire. It will be noticed how the cable moulding above the arches passes round some of the western vaulting shafts, and is cut away for those at the eastmost end of the nave.

Martin in his "Natural History of England" says: "The only blemish on the church is the enormous size of the pillars in the body of it, which are much too large in proportion to their height, and _would have been reduced to a proper size_, chiefly at the cost of the late Bishop (Benson), had it not been thought that it would have weakened them too much."

Bishop Benson's architect (Mr. Kent), proposed to "flute" the columns, but, finding that the pillars consisted of a stone casing filled with rubble, he changed his plans.

The #West End# of the nave, as also the corresponding portions of the two aisles, was pulled down and reconstructed by Abbot Morewent (1421-1437) in the style known as Perpendicular. It is uncertain whether Morwent's work was built on the same foundation line as the previously existing Norman work. Some have thought that he lengthened the original nave to the extent of one bay. Mr. Hope considers that he curtailed it somewhat, and that the present Deanery building was similarly shortened. Anyone who will take the trouble to space out with a compass the distance between the centres of the piers in the nave on the plan will be inclined to fall in with this suggestion.

Abbot Morwent, according to Leland, intended, "if he had lived, to have made the whole body of the church of like worke." It is a matter for rejoicing that he was not spared to carry out his intentions. His work, though it has been censured, is, as Mr Waller points out, exceedingly good of its kind. Morwent may have found the west end in danger of falling, just as the towers that flanked the Norman west front had collapsed in the twelfth century.

How Morwent would have made the whole body of the church "of like worke" is another matter for speculation. Would he have kept the Norman piers in their present position, and revaulted the roof after the model of his vaulting in the second bay from the west end, or would he have diminished the number of piers so as to give a distance between them equal to the space between the west wall and the first pier he erected? It is difficult to realise how such a herculean task would have been carried out with safety to the fabric.

As to the work demolished by Morwent to make room for his own, it is only possible to hazard the conjecture that the original west front of Gloucester was something like that of the abbey at Tewkesbury, but with the additional finish of two larger western towers. As the two churches were being built almost at the same time, this conjecture seems reasonable.

The #South Aisle# of the nave was originally of Norman work, similar in style to that of the north aisle; but was remodelled and rebuilt to such an extent by Abbot Thokey, in or about the year 1318, that the piers and portions of the south wall are all that remain of the Norman work. He desired probably to preserve the Norman vaulting (similar to that yet existing in the north aisle of the nave), and as the south wall had inclined outwards, and the whole fabric of the aisle was from this cause in danger, he erected large buttresses to prevent further settlement; but failing in this design, he was compelled to take down the Norman vaulting, and he then substituted vaulting of the same style of architecture as the buttresses he had just erected. Such great care could scarcely have been taken in those days to preserve the Norman piers only; the first object must have been to retain, for economical reasons, as much as could possibly be retained of the old aisle. It may be remarked also that the Norman piers incline in some cases as much as one foot towards the south, and the buttresses of Abbot Thokey also incline in the same direction from three to four inches in their whole height. The Abbot's buttresses, therefore, must have gone out of the perpendicular after their first erection, or else the present vaulting would show settlements, which it certainly does not.

The tracery of the windows is unusual in design, and is similar to that in a window of the chapel at Merton College, Oxford. Ball-flower mouldings adorn the aisle windows inside and out between the south door and the steps leading up to the south transept, and the same ornament is repeated in the vaulting of three of the bays and in the triforium of the choir.[2]

Abbot Morwent's work at the west end of this aisle is similar to that in the north aisle.

The #Monuments# in this aisle are not numerous, but are of modern historic interest. Near the west end of the nave is a statue by Silvier to Dr Jenner, who introduced the practice of vaccination. Under the west window of this aisle is an interesting wall-tablet in a canopy to John Jones, who was registrar to eight bishops of the diocese. The background is formed of files of documents, with their seals and dates exposed to view. There is taste in the colouring, and the design is effective. John Jones was M.P. for Gloucester at the exciting time of the Gunpowder Plot. He is said to have had the monument put up in his lifetime, and to have died soon after it was completed.

After passing the south door, a marble sarcophagus, with a bust upon it, will be noticed. This is to the memory of Sir G. Onesiphorus Paul, Baronet, (by Sievier). His name is well-known in connection with prison reforms. Close by is a wall tablet to the widow of Sir Wm. Strachan (1770). The carving, which is very delicate and beautiful, is by Thomas Ricketts, a Gloucester sculptor of considerable skill.

There is also a monument to Rev. Thomas Stock, who, with Robert Raikes, was instrumental in opening Sunday schools.

#The great West Window# contains nine lights which were glazed by Wailes of Newcastle, to the memory of Dr J. H. Monk, Bishop of Gloucester from 1830 to 1856.

The #Font# is situated in the westernmost bay of the south aisle, on the site of the old Consistory Court, formerly railed off from the rest of the nave. The font being of red Aberdeen granite clashes rather with the prevailing grey stone of the building, is very heavy in appearance, and, in spite of the workmanship spent upon it, quite uninteresting. The north side contains a representation of the two prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, separated by the ark; the west side has figures of St. Matthew and Daniel; the south side has figures of St. Mark and St. Luke, and the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, and the east contains the emblems of the Trinity and of baptism.

The #Windows# in this south aisle are the least interesting in the cathedral, and would seem to have been made without much consideration of the fact that they were to go where a south light would come upon them.

The five-light _west window_ of the aisle is in memory of Dr Jenner and his friend Dr Baron. The subjects, appropriately enough, refer to miracles of healing, or restoring to life.

The _first south window_ is to John Elliott, a solicitor, and the subjects are more or less legal. The glass is by Hardman.

The _second window_ (three lights) is in memory of Miss Evans, and was put up in 1861 by Bell of Bristol. The colouring must be seen to be appreciated at its proper worth.

The _third window_ is a memorial to Sir W. G. Davy, K.C.B., who died in 1856, and is buried in the cloister. The glass is by Warrington.

The _fourth window_, to the memory of Sir W. Guise, Bart., is rather kaleidoscopic in effect, owing to its being mainly an armorial window, and, secondarily, historical. The historical portion represents the Coronation of Henry III. in Gloucester Cathedral in 1216, by Gualo (the Papal legate) and Peter de Rupibus, or des Roches, Bishop of Winchester. In the left centre light is Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, and in the right is Joceline, Bishop of Bath.

The glass is by Clayton & Bell.

The _fifth window_ is a memorial window to Mrs. Evans. In colour it resembles the third window, and is by the same artist.

The _sixth window_ is a memorial to Mrs Ellis. It is historical, but bristles with anachronisms.

The _seventh window_ is a memorial (executed by Warrington) to Jeremiah Nettleton Balme.

The _eighth window_ is in memory of Lieut.-Col. Sir Harry Francis Colville Darell, who died in 1853.

#North Aisle.#--This aisle retains its original Norman vaulting. The Norman piers, which correspond to the piers in the nave, are divided into several members, and their capitals are in some cases richly carved. In each bay the jambs and heads are of old work, filled in with Perpendicular tracing. A stone bench along the wall is also Perpendicular.

The door into the cloister at the west end of the aisle contains some very fine work. The wall is panelled on either side, and the panels are said to have formerly had paintings of the twelve apostles. The side niches and the canopy work over the door should be examined.

The door at the eastern end of the aisle by which access is gained to the cloisters and the chapter-house is also of Perpendicular work. Both of these doors have fan-vaulted recesses, like the great west door of the nave. They are so contrived that the doors may open into them and occupy the minimum of space.

Over the east door in the cloisters there were blazoned some years back the arms of the See, the Bishop, the Dean, the Canons, the Darell and Nightingall families.

The west end of the aisle is the work of Abbot Morwent, and is of the same date as his reconstructed west end of the nave--viz. 1421-1437.

The _west window_ in this aisle was filled with glass by Hardman. It is a memorial to Wm. Viner Ellis of Minsterworth. Subject: Events in the life of King Lucius, who is said to have been the first Christian king in this land, and to have been buried in the Church of St. Mary de Lode.

The scrolls contain the monkish lines--

Es merito Celebris ex quo baptisma subisti.
Lucius in tenebris prius idola qui coluisti.

The four figures represent Robert, Duke of Normandy; Thomas of Woodstock, 1397; Humphrey, 1447; William Frederick, 1534; all three of them Dukes of Gloucester.

The _first window_ (or over the west door into cloisters), of which only two lights are open, is a memorial window to Thomas Churchus (1870). The window, which is by Clayton & Bell, is very pleasing in colour.

The _second window_ is to the memory of Mr Price, who died in 1860. The glass is by Ward & Hughes.

The _third window_ contains some old glass in the upper half, restored by Hardman. Much of the lower half is new.

The _fourth window_ is a memorial window to Dr Hall, Master of Pembroke College, Oxford; died in 1843. The glass is by Clayton & Bell.

The _fifth window_, like the third, contains some old glass, restored by Hardman.

The _sixth window_ is in memory of Bp. Hooper, second Bishop of this diocese, and the only bishop of the united sees of Gloucester and Worcester. The glass is by Clayton & Bell.

The _seventh window_ is to the memory of Thomas Turner. The glass is by Clayton & Bell.

The _eighth window_ is a memorial to members of the Darell family, as explained in the inscription in the base.

In the windows of the clerestory are to be seen some fragments of old glass. The windows, which are of three lights, contain portions of ornamental borders with quarry glazing, and some medallions, stars in the foliations, and borders of crowns. Mr Waller thinks it was "probable that all these windows were originally filled with glass of this kind, which is similar in general design to that in the upper tiers of the clerestory windows in the choir."

The tracery of the windows in the clerestory is ascribed to Abbot Morwent, who rebuilt the west front.

The #Monuments# in the north aisle are of no special interest. That to Bishop Warburton at the west end contains an epitaph that is worth reading. Next to it is an ungainly tomb, filling up an enormous wall space, with a depressing effect. Farther eastwards is the tomb by Flaxman to the memory of Mrs Morley, who died at sea in 1784 (p. 121).

The tomb to Alderman Machen, his wife, and family is interesting (1615), and is one of the few tombs that has not been removed from its original position.

The nave is lighted by rows of gas jets along the triforium or gallery, extending over the arches of the nave. The effect is good when the building requires to be lighted by artificial light, but the fumes and smoke from the gas have sadly discoloured the small columns and the arches in the triforium, and no doubt in time to come more serious mischief to the stonework will be developed. The fumes of the gas will also be fatal to the decorative pipes of the organ, and, with the assistance of the fumes from the radiators, will ruin any memorial brass that may be erected in the building.

Wires have been stretched across the nave to prevent the excessive echo from marring the effect of the music, but many curious echoes are to be heard. The mocking sounds that follow upon the sounds of the voice of a preacher, especially when the attendance is small, are very weird. They may be heard best from the last few rows of seats near the west end.

There are still to be found enthusiasts who would like to remove the screens from our cathedrals on the ground that they interfere with the utility and the beauty of the nave and the choir. But these well-meaning people quite overlook the fact that the beauty of the interior would be entirely marred by such a change. Firstly, the organ would have to be chopped into two and stowed away in the triforium, unless these enthusiasts would prefer to revert to an organ-gallery blocking up one of the transepts. Secondly, the stalls would have to be mutilated and rearranged. Certainly, the cathedral would resemble a parish church in some respects, but at a tremendous cost. There would be a vista, too, but the effect of the lofty choir would be lost entirely without the presence of the screen and the organ, and the nave would look more dwarfed in height. There is one more point, too, always forgotten by these enthusiasts--viz. this, that the building was not designed by Henry VIII. at the Dissolution as a parish church. He laid down quite clear and simple rules for the regulation of the cathedral foundation, and he intended the choir to serve, as it had served for the monks before, as the private chapel of those on his new foundation.

The #Choir Screen# was erected in 1820 by Dr Griffiths, to whose memory a tablet has been inserted in the north-west tower pier. Though this screen has its defects, it superseded one by Kent, erected in Bishop Benson's time (1741), of which Bonner, who seems to have appreciated the stucco front applied by the same good bishop to the reredos in the Lady Chapel, says in his "Itinerary" (1796) that it combined the characteristics of the various orders of architecture without any of their good points.

Drawn by F. S. Waller, F.R.I.B.A., from Brown
Willis' Survey of Gloucester Cathedral (1727).]

To give an idea of the original screen arrangement, Mr Hope's description is here quoted:--

"The quire proper is under the Tower, a not unusual Benedictine
arrangement. The original screens at the west end have
unfortunately been destroyed, but from plans made by Browne Willis
(_vide supra_, where Mr Waller's drawing of Browne Willis' plan,
made in 1727, is given) and Carter, while some remains of them
existed, the arrangement can be approximately recovered. I have
advisedly used the plural word 'screens' because they were two in
number. The first consisted of two stone walls--the one at the west
end of the quire, against which the stalls were returned; the other
west of it between the first pair of pillars. There was a central
door, which was called the quire door. The western wall was broader
than the other, and had in the thickness of its southern half an
ascending stair to a loft or gallery above, which extended over the
whole area between the two walls. This loft was called in Latin the
_pulpitum_, and it must not, as it often has been, be confounded
with the pulpit to preach from. It sometimes contained an altar, as
apparently here at Gloucester, and on it stood a pair of organs.
From it also on the principal feasts the Epistle was read and the
Gospel solemnly sung at a great eagle desk. On either side of the
_pulpitum_ door was probably an altar.

"The double screen I have just described was built by Abbot
Wigmore, who is recorded to have been buried in 1337, 'before the
Salutation of the Blessed Mary in the entry of the quire on the
south side,' which he himself constructed with the _pulpitum_ on
the same place _ut nunc cernitur_ says the 'Chronicle,' and parts
of it are worked up in the present screen. The north side of the
quire entry, or perhaps the north quire door, was ornamented with
images with tabernacles by Abbot Horton."

"The second screen, all traces of which have long disappeared, stood between the second pair of piers--_i.e._ a bay west of the _pulpitum_. It was a lofty stone wall, against which stood the altar of the holy cross, or rood-altar, as it was more commonly called, and upon it was a gallery called the rood-loft, from its containing the great rood and its attendant images. The rood usually stood on the parapet or front rail of the loft, but sometimes on a rood-beam crossing the church at some height above the loft. Such an arrangement seems to have existed at Gloucester, for in the sixth course from the top a new stone has been inserted in both pillars exactly on the line where the ends of the rood beam would be fitted into, or rested on corbels, in the pillars."

On either side of the rood altar the screen was pierced by a doorway for processions, and the altar itself was protected by a fence-screen a little farther west.

After showing how the counterpart of these arrangements existed at Durham (_vide Arch. Journ._ liv. pp. 77-119), and describing the Durham nave altar and rood, Mr Hope points out that at Gloucester, as at Durham, "the eastern of the two doorways between the nave and the cloister was shut off by the screen and reredos of a chapel adjoining it on the west. The monks could therefore freely pass through the cloister door without being interrupted by strangers. This eastern door was not only the ordinary entrance from the cloister, but through it passed the Sunday and other processions that included the circuit of the cloister and buildings opening out of it. The procession always returned into the church by the western cloister door, and, after making a station before the great rood, passed through the rood doors in single files, and entered the quire through the pulpitum or quire door."

In the chapel, on the north side (which was perhaps dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr), was formerly, as shown in the plan by Brown Willis, the Blackleech monument, now in the south transept.

When the Benson screen was put up three Abbots were found interred in their robes, and another coffin with two skulls in it. This fact gave a possible clue to the identity of one of the Abbots. One probably was Abbot Gamage, and the two skulls probably belonged to his brother, Sir Nicholas Gamage, and his wife, who were buried near the Abbot.

The present #Organ# was built originally during 1663-1665 by Thomas Harris, the father of the celebrated Renatus or Rene Harris, and the cost was defrayed by public subscription, to which, however, the inhabitants of Gloucester contributed but little. The contract was for the sum of L400, exclusive of the sum for the building of the organ-loft, and the decoration of the pipes and the case. The gilding and painting was entrusted to Mr Campion in November 1664, and the work was finished in December 1666. This artist was celebrated as a painter of heraldic subjects, and the work done by him, chiefly on the large pipes of the Great, is particularly beautiful.

The shield, which has been removed from the west front of the case, was undoubtedly that of Charles II., and two of the large pipes facing the nave bear the letters C.R., with a crown over them. Other arms represented are those of James, Duke of York (king in 1685), and his first wife, Anne Hyde.

The organ was repaired by Bernhard Schmidt before 1683. It was formerly in the gallery of the south transept, over the stalls, but was placed on its present screen in 1820 by Dr Griffiths.

It was improved by Willis in 1847, and again in 1888-89, and further additions are contemplated. The case is of oak, and is a fine piece of Renaissance work. A good view of it can be obtained from the triforium, looking across from south-east to north-west.

The following is a specification (kindly sent by Mr A. H. Brewer, the organist of the cathedral), from which it will be seen that the instrument is worthy of the cathedral:

GREAT ORGAN.
CC to A, 58 Notes.

1. Double Open Diapason 16ft.
2. Open Diapason, No. 1 8ft.
3. Open Diapason, No. 2* 8ft.
4. Claribel Flute 8ft.
5. Flute Harmonique 4ft.
6. Principal 4ft.
7. Twelfth 3ft.
8. Fifteenth 2ft.
9. Mixture
10. Trombone 16ft.
11. Trumpet 8ft.
12. Clarion 4ft.

SWELL ORGAN.+
CC to A, 58 Notes.

13. Double Open Diapason 16ft.
14. Open Diapason* 8ft.
15. Vox Angelica 8ft.
16. Salcional 8ft.
17. Lieblich Gedact 8ft.
18. Gemshorn 4ft.
19. Fifteenth 2ft.
20. Mixture
21. Contra Posaune++ 16ft.
22. Hautboy 8ft.
23. Clarionet 8ft.
24. Cornopean 8ft.
25. Clarion 4ft.

CHOIR ORGAN.
CC to A, 58 Notes.

26. Stopped Diapason 8ft.
27. Dulciana 8ft.
28. Flute 4ft.
29. Clarionet 8ft.
30. Cor Anglais++ 8ft.

SOLO ORGAN.$
CC to A, 58 Notes.

31. Flute 8ft.
32. Clarionet 8ft.
33. Oboe Orchestral 8ft.
34. Tuba Mirabilis 8ft.

PEDAL ORGAN.@
CCC to F, 30 Notes.

35. Open Diapason 16ft.
36. Bourdon 16ft.
37. Ophicleide++ 16ft.
38. Octave++ 8ft.

COUPLERS.

39. Choir to Pedals.
40. Great to Pedals.
41. Swell to Pedals.
42. Solo to Pedals.++
43. Choir to Great.
44. Swell to Great.
45. Solo to Great.++

* Stops so marked are by Harris, 1660. + The swell organ was added
by Willis in 1847.
++ Stops so marked were added in 1898.
$ The whole of the solo organ was added by Willis in 1898.
@ Up to within the last fifteen years there was but one stop on the
pedal organ.

The #Choir#, of the beauty of which but little idea can be obtained from the nave, is entered by visitors, as a rule, from the north aisle of the choir. Its dimensions are--Length, 140 feet; breadth, 33 feet 7 inches; height, 86 feet; east window, 38 feet wide and 72 feet in height.

It dates back to the years 1337-1377--that is, the abbacies of Adam de Staunton and Thomas Horton, in whose time so much was done to alter the character of the building.

Looking upwards the visitor will note the beauty of the vaulting and the bosses placed at the intersection of the ribs. These bosses at the east end of the choir chiefly represent a choir of angels playing on various kinds of musical instruments, and a figure of Our Lord in the attitude of blessing. All the roof was originally probably painted and decorated, but the existing colour and gilding is recent work, having been done by Clayton & Bell. At first sight the groining of the roof looks most complicated, but, if analysed and dotted down on paper, it will be seen to be in reality a simple geometrical pattern. The bosses will repay careful examination with a glass.

Viewed from the door in the screen, the choir looks in very truth a piece of Perpendicular work, as the Norman substructure is then for the most part concealed. A closer examination, however, will prove that the Norman work is all there--that it has been veiled over with tracery from the floor level to the vaulting with open screen-work, fixed on to the Norman masonry, which was pared down to receive it. (_Vide_ page 52.)

Professor Willis points out that "in all cathedrals ... a screen, about the height of the present altar-screen, separated the choir from the side-aisles and transepts; but in this cathedral the screen is carried to the roof, and the result is a beautiful, if not unique choir. This screen of tracery, which formed the sides, was, below the clerestory, merely plastered on to the Norman wall; or the original Norman columns had been chipped down till they harmonised with the general design."

Professor Freeman, in writing of this casing work, said, "Paid for by the offerings at Edward II. shrine, ... to that abnormal worship the abbey of Gloucester owed its present form. I am half inclined to put it the other way, and to make it a new count in the articles of deposition against the unworthy king that this misguided devotion has cost us the minster of Serlo in its perfect form, and hinders us from studying the contrast which we should otherwise have been able to mark between its eastern and its western limb."

We, however, have nothing to do with the question of the merits or demerits of Edward II. The beauty of the casing work compels our admiration. If we want to get an idea of what the choir would have been without the Perpendicular casing we must go to Norwich, and inspect the uncased work in the choir that is there, or else to Tewkesbury.[3]

From a Drawing by F. S. Waller, F.R.I.B.A.]

There is nothing left to prove the original height of the choir, though much of the old stonework has been re-used in the clerestory windows, a practice, as before stated, common throughout the cathedral, the Norman piers and arch-mouldings having in many cases been turned into four-centred arches, and Norman capitals into bases. The casing of the old Norman work with the new by Staunton and Horton is very ingeniously managed, and attention should be given to a feature resulting from the treatment of the ribs of the vaulting, which are very cleverly provided for in the centre of the tower arches. The ribs are apparently supported by a light arch thrown across the lower arches. Something of this sort was necessary, as the only alternative would have been to alter the springing of the vaulting-ribs. These light arches are very graceful and are best seen from the transepts or else from the triforium of the choir. Another feature worth noticing in the tower arches is the way that the two Norman columns are run into one capital at about the level of the arch.

From a Drawing by F. S. Waller, F.R.I.B.A.]

Turning eastwards we next are struck by the loveliness of the #East Window# of the choir. It has a curious architectural effect, for it is actually 5 feet wider than the walls which seem to be its two boundaries. The architect took down the Norman east end, raised the roof, and has given us a window with lace-like tracery. Though it has suffered much mutilation, it has suffered but little from eager restorers, and it is possible to get some idea of its original splendour. It is larger than the East Window at York Minster, being 72 by 38 feet; York being but 78 by 33. Both are beautiful, and one wishes that windows of such beauty could be got now at the original price paid--L138--a large sum for those days, but a sum which; making allowance for the changed value of money, would represent about L2000 of our money.

In 1862 the stonework of the window was in a very unsafe condition, and about L1400 was spent on restoring it. At the same time, acting on Mr Winston's advice, the Dean and Chapter had the glass thoroughly cleaned and releaded.

Owing to Mr Winston's supervision the glass was not restored.

The window, which corresponds admirably with the casing of the choir and the clerestory windows, consists of fourteen lights altogether, six forming the centre, with four on either side. "It is worthy of remark that the tracery, heads, and cusps, as seen from the inside of this window, are not repeated on the outside, a plain transom only crossing the lights. This peculiarity is repeated also in the great west window, and in many other windows in the cathedral." (F. S. W.)

The window represents the coronation of the Virgin Mary, together with Christ, the Apostles, and various saints and kings. All the canopies, and nearly all the figures are composed of white glass enriched with yellow.

Mr Winston's description of the window will be found in the _Archaeological Journal_, vol. xx.

The heraldic shields give a clue to the date of the window, and Mr Winston thinks that it may have been erected by Thomas, Lord Bradeston, to the memory of Sir Maurice Berkeley, who was killed at the siege of Calais, and to commemorate the glories of the campaign in France, which culminated with the Battle of Crecy. The date, therefore, of the original glass would be between 1347 and 1350.

Mr Winston further says that "It would be impossible to meet with white glass that could be more solid and silvery in effect. The red is beautifully varied, and is most luminous, even in its deepest parts, and the tone of the blue can hardly be surpassed." Of the general design, he says that although, "through the size and simplicity of its parts, it is calculated to produce a good effect at a distance; the figures are ill-drawn, ungraceful, and insipid. The shading, though sufficient, both in depth and quantity, if handled with skill, to have produced a due effect of relief--an effect which obviously has been aimed at--is so inartificially employed as to be useful only so far as it serves to impart tone and richness to the composition, and by contrast to increase its brilliancy."

The effect of the choir as a whole, when glazed with its original painted glass, must have been superb. We may be certain that the glass was the best that could be obtained, for the abbey was wealthy, and glass-painting was then a living art. Glass was made at Gloucester, as is shown by the glaziers being numbered among the trade companies and guilds of Gloucester, but there is nothing definite to be said as to the place of origin of the old glass in the cathedral.

Below is the #Reredos#, designed by Sir G. G. Scott, presented by the Treasurer of the Province. It consists of three principal compartments, in which are groups of figures (sculptured by Redfern) intended to represent the Birth, Burial, and Ascension of Christ. The smaller figures in the niches are Moses and David and St. Peter and St. Paul. Above are nine angels, bearing the various emblems of our Lord's Passion. This reredos was unveiled with much pomp and ceremony in 1873, and recently has been profusely gilded.

The commonplace and heavy-topped gas standards mar the effect, such as it is, of the ornate work of the reredos.

Of Abbot Horton's reredos, which was destroyed at the Reformation, only fragments remain. They have been very carefully preserved in the triforium, where an enclosure has been made by placing an old oak screen across one of the Chapels. In this museum most valuable remains have been stored, under Mr Waller's keeping, for many years.

Dean Chetwood, in 1710, erected a wooden reredos containing much good carving. Portions of this remain in the south-east chapel in the triforium of the choir, having been brought back from the parish church at Cheltenham, whither they had been removed in 1807.

Sir Robert Smirke in 1807 put up work which consisted chiefly of panelling, which was affixed to the easternmost wall of the feretory. This was removed in 1873.

When the present reredos was erected "the foundations of Abbot Horton's reredos were discovered, and an accurate plan was taken of the remains (_vide_ illustration, p. 51). Provision had evidently been made by him for keeping relics or treasures here, and, in his time, the back screen, as we now see it, and the reredos, were united together at the top, and covered with heavy stone slabs, so as to make a perfectly secure feretory. Great care was taken during the progress of the present new work to preserve these remains, which can be still seen exactly as they were when first discovered. The foundations of the Norman piers removed by Horton were at the same time temporarily exposed to view." (F. S. W.)

The original "#High Altar# occupied the same site as the present one, and had behind its reredos a narrow space containing cupboards for the principal jewels, and, beneath the altar, two large recesses for the keeping of relics." (W. H. St. J. Hope.)

The #Stalls# (sixty in number), with all their graceful carving, and the misereres, with their grotesque ornamentation underneath, have in part had to be restored, while the sub-stalls are new, dating from Sir Gilbert Scott's restoration, which was finished in 1873.

An engraving (reproduced from Wild) will show what the choir was like formerly. The woodwork here shown has been utilised in making stalls and seats in the east end of the nave for the services that are held there on Sundays during a portion of the year.

In the #Presbytery#, or space between the reredos and the choir, there are some very splendid old tiles; many of them fragments only, but enough to indicate the original beauty of the pavement. From the evidence of the tiles themselves, they were laid down by Thomas Seabroke, R. Brygg (Brydges), J. Applebi, W. Farlei, Joh. Graft(on?). Others dating back to the thirteenth century are also to be found--_e.g._ those to Richard the King of the Romans, who died in 1271.

Many tiles were transferred here from other parts of the cathedral early in the century by Mr Lysons, and this accounts for the presence of tiles of William Malvern, the last Abbot, and some others. The arms of the Brydges family: _Arg. on a cross sable, a leopard's face, or, differenced by a fir-cone gules_, should be noticed, as they seem clearly the same as those on the armour of the unknown knight in the South Transept.

Beautiful tiles, bearing the arms of Edward the Confessor and the Abbey, and many a crowned M. (for Maria) will be found. These latter will be seen in plenty in Great Malvern Priory, where they have been rescued from the pavement, and inserted in the outside wall of the back of the reredos.

One more tile should be noticed near the sedilia. The words impressed in its surface are "_Croys Crist me spe de +_," followed by _A ME_ or _A MARIA_.

These tiles had a narrow escape in the last century, about the time when the nave was paved, when an offer was made to pave the presbytery with marble.

As part of the restoration programme, the re-paving of the choir was undertaken. New tiles, ostensibly copied from the old ones, but of a different size, with an excessive glaze, and very stiff in design and execution have been put down. It is hard to judge what the effect of the tiles would have been, as it has been quite killed by the white marble which has been mixed with them. The glaring white marble in the floor of the presbytery has been inlaid with biblical scenes filled in with black cement. It is possible from the triforium to get a general idea of the crudity and tastelessness of the pavement, which is so composed and arranged that time--the softener of all things--can never make it look appreciably better.

On the south side of the high altar are four #Sedilia#. These have been very much restored, and the niches and canopies filled with figures, by Redfern, representing Abbot Edric, Bishop Wulstan, also Abbots Aldred, Serlo, Foliot, Thokey, Wygmore, Horton, Froucester, Morwent, Seabroke, and Hanley. The general effect is good, but marred by the hideous gas standards.

Over the canopies are three angels playing on a tambour and trumpets. The rod and entwined ribbon with T. O. are supposed to refer to Thomas Osborne, Sheriff of Gloucester 1512-1522, and Mayor in 1526.

#Monuments in the Choir.#--On the north side of the presbytery, near the steps to the high altar, is a monument--long supposed to be a cenotaph--to King Osric. The tomb was opened to satisfy inquisitive desecrators some few years ago, and it was conclusively proved that someone had been buried inside.

On the wall is the inscription: _Osricus Rex (primus fundator) hui_ (_Monasterii_ 681). From Leland, to whom is due the part of the inscription in brackets, we learn that "Osric, Founder of Gloucester Abbey, first laye in St. Petronell's Chappell, thence removed with our Lady Chappell, and thence removed of late dayes, and layd under a fayre tombe of stone on the north syde of the high aulter. At the foote of the tombe is thus written in a wall"--_ut supra_.

This "fayre tombe" was erected in "late dayes" _i.e._ in the time of Abbot Parker, whose arms are in the spandrels of the canopy, dated (1514 to 1539), and Leland must have seen the tomb in all the freshness of its beauty.

The Norman piers, which are cut away to receive the tomb, are decorated as to their capitals with the device of Richard II. _i.e._ the white hart chained and gorged, with a ducal coronet. Formerly these devices were painted on the stone, but in 1737 they were blazoned on thin metal by the Heraldic College, and put in position. From the occurrence of the device in this place it was formerly held that the body of Edward II. was drawn by stages from Berkeley Castle to the abbey.

The other coats-of-arms are those of the abbey (they are blazoned as they should be now--azure, a sword in pale, hilted, pommelled, and crowned, or, surmounted by two keys in saltire of the last), and of Osric as King of Northumbria. Osric is represented as crowned and sceptred (clad in tunic, laced mantle, and a fur hood or collar) bearing the model of a church in his left hand.

The next tomb westwards is, as Leland says, that of "King Edward of Caernarvon (who) lyeth under a fayre tombe, in an arch at the head of King Osric tombe."

The #Tomb of Edward II.# was erected by Edward III., and though it awakens our recollection of a feeble-minded king, and his barbarously brutal murder, it also compels our admiration at the beauty of the work. It has been restored, renovated or re-edified, but in spite of that, appeals to us from the wealth of very highly ornate tabernacle work, the richness, and at the same time the lightness and elegance of the whole. The details too are well worth careful examination. It may be, judging from the expression of the face, that there has been some attempt at portraiture, but repair and restoration have practically made it impossible to settle what would otherwise be an interesting question. The superb canopy has suffered much at the hands of restorers--_e.g._ in 1737, 1789, 1798, and in 1876.

The alabaster figure is possibly the earliest of its kind in England.

The tomb was opened in October 1855 by Dr Jeune, Canon in residence, to satisfy the curious who doubted whether the king had been buried under his tomb. Close by is the chantry tomb of William Malverne (or Parker), Abbot of the Abbey from 1515 up to the time of the Dissolution. It was erected in his lifetime, but he is buried elsewhere.

On the stone screen the carving of the vine and the grapes will be found worthy of notice. The alabaster figure has been terribly defaced, but the chasuble and the mitre can be seen, and the broken staff. Around the base of the tomb are panels. Both sides are alike, containing the Abbot's own arms, and the emblems of the Crucifixion. At the foot is a cross composed of a tree with its branches growing into the shape of a cross. There is a very good tile on the floor with the arms of the Abbey, and some specimens of tiles, with a very fine greenish glaze upon them. Some of the large 7 1/2 in. tiles with the stag--the Abbot's own arms--are particularly good.

On the south side of the choir the bracket tomb or monument, so called from the effigy being placed on a corbel or projecting bracket, should be noted. It is said by some to be Aldred's, by others to be Serlo's monument. The date of the monument is later than either in point of time. The mutilated effigy bears a model of a church in his left hand, and this points to its being the monument to a founder. It is more, than probable that it is to the memory of Abbot Henry Foliot, in whose time (1228-1243) the church was re-dedicated.

The monument, which is Perpendicular and Early English, has been much battered, but it is exceedingly graceful and of an unusual type.

Leland, who visited the Abbey in 1539 or 1540, wrote as follows:--"Serlo, Abbot of Gloucester, lyeth under a fayre marble tombe, on the south side of the Presbytery."

#Glass in the Choir.#--Mention has been made above of the east window, and it remains to notice the others.

In the clerestory on the north side the windows have been restored by Clayton & Bell. They are best seen from the triforium, but are given here as being part of the choir. Following the example of the lights in the east window, these clerestory windows have alternately red and blue backgrounds. Portions of old glass remain in the heads of the windows.

Beginning with the windows west to east the _first_ contains:

(1) St. Zacharias. (2) St. Elizabeth. (3) St. John Baptist.
(4) St. Gabriel.

The _second_ contains:

(1) St. Anna. (2) St. Mary. (3) St. Joseph. (4) St. Gabriel.

The _third_ contains:

(1) St. Peter. (2) St. John. (3) St. James (Major). (This light
is out of its place.) (4) St. Andrew.

The _fourth_ contains:

(1) St. Philip. (2) St. Bartholomew. (3) St. Simon. (4) St. Jude.

The clerestory windows on the south side are filled with stamped quarries with central medallions and coloured borders, made after the model of remains of ancient painted glass.

The choir also contains a peculiarity in its six-light west window. This was rendered necessary by the difference in height of the nave as compared with that of the choir. The choir vaulting is about twenty feet higher than that of the nave. The glass at present in the window consists chiefly of patch-work, arranged by Hardman from pieces collected and saved at different times from other windows in the cathedral. It represents a figure of our Lord, with angels on either side. Below are angels playing on musical instruments.

It is customary to credit the Reformation or the Civil War with most church desecration and destruction, but this window was ruthlessly destroyed by an order of the Chapter in 1679, nearly thirty years after the Civil War was ended, and nearly 140 years after the dissolution of the monastery. The order ran as follows: "That a certain scandalous picture of y'e Holy Trinity being in y'e west window of y'e Quire of y'e said church, should be removed, and other glass put into y'e place." The glass of the window was actually broken up by one of the prebendaries (Fowler by name) with his own hands and feet. His action, considering his views, was incomprehensible; but he was made Bishop of the diocese, after Bishop Frampton was deprived of his see. Beneath the west window is an inscription (restored) in the panelling of the stone work:

Hoc quod | digestum | specularis | opusque | politum | Tullii haec
Ex onere | Seabroke | abbate | jubente.

These two Latin verses record that "this work (viz. the tower) which you see built and adorned, was done by the labour of Tully, at the command of Abbot Seabroke."