The Cathedrals of Great Britain: Their History and Architecture

RIPON CATHEDRAL

The historical associations of Ripon carry us back to very early times. Alcfrid, Prince of Deira, was lord of the soil in the seventh century, and in 660 bestowed on Eata, Abbot of Melrose, a portion of the ground at Ripon whereon to erect a monastic foundation. After the expulsion of the Scottish monks the same prince gave the monastery to St. Wilfrid, who, after he became archbishop, erected a church. This was of the basilican type, with which St. Wilfrid had made himself familiar during his sojourn in Italy. With the earlier monastery was associated the holy Cuthbert, who was the Hostillar. Wilfrid was ordained at Ripon, and here he resided when his episcopal seat was usurped by Ceadda (or Chad). The site of the old monastery was on the north-east side of the present Cathedral, bounded by Stammer Gate and Priest Lane. Wilfrid built his new monastery about 200 yards west of the old buildings. There is some doubt about the position of his church. It is the pronounced opinion of the learned that the famous Saxon crypt under the present church is really his work. Did he build an earlier church, and that which stood over this crypt later? Possibly so—but, in all probability, we may conclude that the monastic buildings only occupied the site on the west of Stammer Lane, and that his church stood over his crypt. This church was a very famous one. It is recorded that he brought workmen from Italy, who wrought in the Roman manner. It was fashioned after the model of a basilica, and constructed with wrought stones from the foundation, and had divers pillars and porticoes. It was dedicated to St. Peter, and splendid was the feast of the dedication. Here St. Wilfrid, after all the trials of his wandering life, was buried. For a brief space Ripon enjoyed the rank of an episcopal city, being so raised by Archbishop Theodore, and then for a thousand years the see was in abeyance, until in 1836 another Bishop of Ripon was appointed.

But much happened during this long interval. When the Danes terrified the land, in 995, came Bishop Aldune, bearing the body of St. Cuthbert, and stayed here three months until they set out and found peace at Durham. Before this Odo of Canterbury, coming into these northern parts, had pity on the desolation of Ripon Church, wrought by the "harrying" of Eadred of Northumbria in 948, and caused a new work to be edified where the minster now is. After the Conquest hard was the hand of William pressed upon his northern subjects, who liked not his yoke, and all this land was devastated by the Norman conquerors. But with the Conquest came peace, and soon some building was evidently set on foot here, though the chroniclers are silent. In later Norman times Archbishop Roger de Pont l'EvÊque (1154-1181) began the building of the existing church, incorporating some portion of the older structure. His work is Transitional, and furnishes a good example of the gradual development of Early English style. Archbishop Walter de Grey (1216-1255) carried on the good work and built the west front with its flanking towers, adorned with lofty spires of timber and lead. The next alteration was carried out at the end of the thirteenth century, when Archbishop John Romanus determined to rebuild the eastern part of the choir, and for this purpose granted an indulgence of forty days to those who should help forward the work. This work was in all the glory of the Decorated style. The Scots made a ferocious raid in 1319, when the people of Ripon took refuge in the church, which suffered much from the attacks of the enemy. Archbishop de Melton repaired some of this damage, which was chiefly confined to the roofs, screens, stalls, and other woodwork, and Archbishop Thoresby (1352-1373) was very eager to continue this restoration and beautify the minster. He probably built the Lady Chapel. A century elapsed, during which the clergy do not seem to have been remarkable for zeal or earnestness, and then the lantern tower was so much shaken and broken that the greatest part thereof had already fallen, and the rest expected to follow, and speedy remedy was found immediately necessary. Archbishop Booth in 1459 adopted the usual and efficacious plan of granting an indulgence of forty days to all who should assist in re-edifying the steeple. The work was immediately begun, and a great era of church building was inaugurated. The canons awoke from their lethargy and worked vigorously. They rebuilt much of the tower, and then set themselves to entirely rebuild the Norman nave, which was in great decay and ruin. It was a great work, and nobly done. The fall of the tower had broken much of the woodwork of the stalls; so these indefatigable canons made new ones. It was only the dissolution of the Establishment which checked their progress, and prevented them from finishing their work. The church was despoiled of all its wealth, and in Elizabeth's time, when Archbishop Sandys applied for an endowment, he could obtain "nothing but fair and unperformed promises." Elizabeth loved not this northern town, the people of which clung to the "old Religion," and took an active part in the rising of 1569. Many of them were hung for their pains. James I., however, restored the constitution of the collegiate chapter, and granted to it many of its old privileges and an assured income. During the Civil War Ripon escaped fairly well, save that the Puritan soldiers broke much of the beautiful glass in the east window, and perhaps were guilty of causing other damage, of which history telleth not. In 1660 the wooden spire, which had suffered by lightning in 1593, fell, and damaged the roof of the choir. This was repaired, and the other wooden spires on the west towers removed lest they, too, should fall. Since then there have been several restorations. In 1861 the church was placed in the hands of Mr. Scott, afterwards Sir Gilbert, who made a very complete renovation of the building, the details of which we will examine when we inspect the Cathedral.

Ripon Cathedral from North
Evening

In 1836 an episcopal see was erected at Ripon, and Charles Langley, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, became its first bishop.

The Exterior

Although Ripon is not a Cathedral of the first magnitude or splendour, yet it is a stately structure, and greatly superior to many of our ecclesiastical buildings. It possesses also some features of profound interest, and the story of its building is attractive. Approaching the church from the market-place by Kirkgate we see the beautiful West Front, which compares favourably with most others, except perhaps York, Lincoln, Peterborough and Wells. It has much dignity and beauty. It consists of a gable between two square towers. The nave, built by Archbishop Roger, was Late Norman or Transitional, and to this Archbishop Grey added this faÇade in the best and purest period of the Early English style. In the lowest storey are three deeply-recessed doorways, with detached shafts. Round and hollow mouldings are used, and the dog-tooth ornament, the hall-mark of the Early English style, is plentiful. The doors are old. Above are five-lancet windows, and above them another row of five lancets of unequal height. The dog-tooth is used in the mouldings. The towers have four stages. In the lowest is an arcade of trefoiled arches, and above lancets. Nail-head moulding is used in the string-courses. When the spires were pulled down in 1660, battlemented parapets were added, and later the pinnacles. The whole front has been much restored. There is a fine peal of ten bells in the south tower. There were formerly some old bells, one of which is said to have been brought from Fountains Abbey, but these have all been recast, and their interest has vanished. The nave has six bays, and was built in Perpendicular style in 1503. The south side is earlier than and superior to the north. The arches of the windows are less acutely pointed, and the buttresses have three stages, are crocketed, and have large finials. The pitch of the roof has been lowered since the nave was built.

The Great Buttresses
Ripon

The Central Tower was rebuilt on the south and east sides in Perpendicular times, while the north and west retain Roger's work. It was formerly capped by a spire. Returning to the north side we see the north side of the nave, which is later than the south. There are six buttresses, which project widely and have two stages with crockets and finials, and grotesques. The arches of the windows both in the aisles and clerestory are very acute, and those of the latter have five lights. From this point we see the original faces of the central tower, built by Roger (1154-1181), which has round-headed windows. The presence of dog-tooth shows the approach of the Early English style. The North Transept is also part of Roger's church and the best example of his work; it has round-headed windows. The parapet is later. We notice two sculptured stones in the north-west buttress, with rich scroll-work, evidently Saxon, and probably taken from Wilfrid's church. The doorway in the north side is remarkable, having a plain trefoil head rising from a corbel-like projection, and is flanked by three receding detached shafts with foliated capitals. The Choir has three bays of Transitional Norman work, but the windows are Decorated. The remainder of this side was built late in the thirteenth century and is Decorated. The east end, with its grand window, is very fine. Massive buttresses stand on each side of the front with octagonal turrets. In the north turret there is a small chamber which was probably a reclusorium. The east window is flanked by heavy buttresses. The gable was rebuilt by Scott. The window (51 feet by 25 feet) is a magnificent specimen of Early Decorated work, one of the finest in England. On the south side we see the three eastern windows are Decorated as on the north, but the rest are Perpendicular. On this side is a building which retains some of the earliest Norman work in the Cathedral, probably built by Thomas of Bayeaux, archbishop (1069-1100). This building has three storeys—a crypt, the chapter-house and the Lady Chapel (erected in the fourteenth century), which we shall examine later. The South Transept retains much of Roger's Transitional work, but the east side was altered and rebuilt in Perpendicular times. On the south side is a fine doorway contemporary with the transept and resembling somewhat that on the north.

The Apse
Ripon Cathedral

The Interior

Entering by the west door we see a fine and imposing Nave, with tall and graceful piers that support without any intermediate triforium a range of lofty windows of elaborate tracery. This nave was constructed in the Perpendicular period, as we have said, and the main arcades stand on the foundation of Roger's earlier church. The latter had no aisles. These the sixteenth-century builders added, taking as their western starting-point the northern and southern extremities of the west tower. Hence the nave is unusually wide (87 feet), and exceeds all other cathedrals except York, Chichester, Winchester and St. Paul's. There are many points of architectural interest. The west bays opening into the tower are Early English. On either side is a lofty thirteenth-century arch, with plain mouldings, and capitals deeply undercut. Above is a blind arcade of four arches enclosed in a circular arch—this occupies the triforium stage; and the clerestory has a triple window, the centre round-headed, the side ones pointed. The west end, with its ranges of lancets, is most effective. The glass is modern. The next bay shows us clearly the character of Roger's church, and eastward we come to the Perpendicular work of the early sixteenth century, which appears to be earlier than it really is. The traditions of the earlier style lingered on amid the hills and dales of Yorkshire, while the architects and townsfolk of less remote places had developed the more familiar details of the Perpendicular period. The roof is modern. The arch of the tower facing us is part of Roger's church, but there is a curious mass of masonry on the south pier which was erected by the Perpendicular builders, when want of funds or the dissolution of the chapter prevented the completion of the design. The contrast between the materials of the old building and the new in the nave will be noticed. The former is fashioned of yellow gritstone, the latter of white limestone. The aisles are Perpendicular work erected about 1503. The vaulting is modern. In the south aisle is the font, or rather there are two fonts. The earlier one reposes in the corner, and is Roger's work; the later is Perpendicular. Ripon is not very rich in monuments. In this same aisle there is a curious altar tomb with a slab of grey marble, upon which is carved the figure of a lion and near it that of a man kneeling. Tradition states that it covered the body of an Irish prince, who died here on his return from Palestine, whence he had brought a lion that followed him like a dog. There is some old glass, fragments of which have been collected in the window near the font. In the North Aisle at the west end is the consistory court. The old Saxon Crypt deserves close attention and has occasioned many conjectures and much antiquarian disputing. It is undoubtedly very early, and may with safety be assumed to have been part of St. Wilfrid's church. After descending several steps and passing along passages, which have two niches in the wall, we arrive at a cylindrically vaulted chamber (7 feet by 11 feet), and on the north side is the famous "St. Wilfrid's Needle." Formerly the superstition attached to it was that no unchaste woman could with safety pass through it; now we are told that if a virgin "threads the needle" she will be married within a year. This needle is only an enlargement of one of the niches which were doubtless used for lights. Recent excavations have been made here, which revealed the remains of an altar, a passage round the chamber, and a quantity of bones which were probably relics. It is conjectured that this was a relic chamber, and was built under the church of Wilfrid. It is impossible to touch upon all the interesting problems which this curious chamber suggests, especially as affecting the position and form of Wilfrid's early Saxon church.

The Transepts retain, with the exception of the east wall of the southern member, Archbishop Roger's Transitional work, when Norman architecture was slowly developing into Early English. There is a niche on the east side of each transept. A Perpendicular arch forms an entrance to the North Transept from the north aisle, and on the north of this is a round-headed window. The triforium has two broad arches in each bay with a central detached shaft, while the clerestory has three arches, the centre round, the others pointed. In the north wall there are three round-headed windows in the highest stage. The mullions in the windows in the second stage are later insertions. On the east is the Chantry of St. Andrew, the Markenfields' Chapel. Outside the aisle is the effigy of Sir Thomas (1497), with that of his lady, and another Sir Thomas lies in the chapel (notice the armour and collar). This family lost its estates in the rising in the time of Elizabeth. Also there is the monument of Sir Edward Blackett of Newby (1718). The South Transept resembles the north, except that its east side is Perpendicular. The aisle is called the Mallorie Chapel, and there is a tablet to the memory of Sir John Mallorie of Studley, who defended Skipton Castle for Charles I. There are some ancient mural paintings, which may be seen when going to the library.

The Choir-Screen is Perpendicular, and has beautiful enriched tabernacle work. Above the door is a representation of God the Father with angels. Above the screen is the organ. The Choir is a delightful architectural study, as the work of three periods are blended here—Transition Norman, Decorated and Perpendicular. The three western bays on the north are Roger's work, Transitional Norman. The three bays opposite were injured by the fall of the tower and renewed in Perpendicular style. The rest of the choir was renewed in the Decorated style of the fourteenth century. The three bays on the north resemble the work in the transept. The group of vaulting shafts is very fine. The triforium openings are glazed like the clerestory. A change was made in Perpendicular times. Before the triforium arches opened into the aisles, but the roof of these was lowered in 1459, and the openings filled with glass.

There is some of Roger's work in the other bays, the earlier work being altered and converted into that of the Decorated style. In the clerestory there is tracery on the inner side of the opening as well as the outer. The foliage of the carving is very beautiful. The roof is modern, but some very interesting ancient bosses have been re-inserted. Some of the subjects are:—the Good Samaritan, the expulsion from Paradise, the Virgin with lilies, the crucifixion (modern), a bishop, a king, an angel. The east window is remarkably fine, one of the best Decorated windows in England. All the old glass was destroyed by Cromwell's soldiers, and the modern glass is but a sorry substitute.

The woodwork of the Stalls is for the most part of excellent fifteenth-century execution. Rich tabernacle work rises at the back of the stalls. Several of the eastern canopies are modern. The finials are curious; some represent an elephant and castle with figures of men fighting, and a monkey. The misereres are interesting; the carvings represent many curious grotesques, fables and Scripture subjects. We notice Samson carrying the gates, Jonah and the whale, fox and geese, lion and dogs, griffins and rabbits, etc. The sedilia should be noticed. They have been restored, but much old work remains of Late Decorated style. A close examination of the grotesques should not be omitted. The pulpit and lectern are modern.

The North Choir Aisle follows the architecture of the choir. Here once stood the famous shrine of St. Wilfrid. The South Choir Aisle is very similar to the opposite one. Here is a lavatory, and a piscina at the east end marks the site of a former altar. Above the west bay was a chantry chapel, now used for part of the organ. There is a monument in this aisle to Dean Fowler (1608). On the south is the Chapter-House and Vestry. The Crypt below formed part of the Early Norman church existing here before the rebuilding by Archbishop Roger. It is generally attributed to Thomas of Bayeaux (1070-1100). The vault is supported by square pillars with plain capitals. The windows have a double splay, which is a sign of almost Saxon work. The east end is apsidal. This crypt was formerly filled with bones. There are some interesting stone coffins preserved here.

Returning to the Chapter-House we notice the stone benches where the canons once sat in conclave. The vaulting is very fine, of Late Transitional work, almost Early English. This chamber was built by Roger. An arcade runs along the north wall. The windows are circular, the piers round, and have circular bosses and capitals. Some curious fifteenth-century alabaster carvings are preserved here, the subjects being St. Wilfrid, the Coronation of the Virgin and the Resurrection. The Vestry is evidently of the same date as the chapter-house, and once formed part of the same building, the partition wall being much later. It has an apse with the remains of an altar and the treasury occupied the apse on the south. Above these chambers is the Lady Loft, the date of which is uncertain; it was probably built about 1330, and is Decorated in style. It is strange to find a Lady Chapel in this position. The room is now the library. It possesses some interesting incunabula and a few MSS.

Dimensions

Total length	270 ft.
Length of nave	133 ft.
Breadth of nave	87 ft.
Height of nave	88 ft.
Length of choir	95 ft.
Height of tower	110 ft.
Length of transept	130 ft.
Area	25,280 sq. ft.

Principal Building Dates

Saxon—Wilfrid's crypt.
Norman (1070-1100)—Portions of chapter-house, vestry and crypt below.
Transition (1154-1181)—Three bays of north side of choir, portions of nave, piers adjoining west and central towers, transepts.
Early English (1215-1255)—West front and west tower, vaulting of chapter-house and windows.
Early Decorated—Two eastern bays of choir and east window.
Perpendicular—South and east sides of central tower, east side of wall of south transept, two bays south side of choir, nave.

Ripon has some other important and interesting ancient buildings. There is the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, rebuilt in 1674, with an old chapel of the twelfth century. The Hospital of St. Anne, founded in the fifteenth century, though rebuilt in 1869, has its old chapel, with piscina and altar stone, and there are many other old houses in this city. Near here is the famous Fountains Abbey.

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