  Dedication: St. Peter. Church of a Benedictine Monastery. Special Features: The West Front; the New Building. The great fenland monastery of St. Peter, the holy house of Medeshampstead, attracting houses around it, grew into a borough, and finally into a city—Peterborough. The village was first called Medeshampstead—homestead in the meadows. For centuries the settlement had no interests outside the monastery. In the Seventh Century Penda, King of Mercia, and his family were converted to Christianity, and it was his son Penda who founded the monastery here in 654. The first monastery was destroyed by the Danes in 870. It lay in ruins for a hundred years. With the religious revival under Duncan and King Edgar, the holy house of Medeshampstead was rebuilt by Bishop Ethelwold, of Winchester, and henceforth known as the Burgh. The foundations of the old Saxon church still remain under the east wall of the south transept. It is related that when King Edgar visited the monastery and saw some old deeds he wept for joy on reading the privileges of the place and granted a new charter renewing and confirming these. The church seems to have been, even in those days, dedicated to St. Peter. The Abbey flourished for a time; then it was plundered by Hereward, the Saxon leader, and suffered also from fire while the John de Sais, who was then Abbot (1114-1125), began the building of a new minster, the one that we now see. As usual the work was begun at the east end. The choir was finished with an apse. A small apse also terminated each choir-aisle. The whole church was in progress of building for eighty years. This was all Norman work of course. The western transept, dating from the close of the Twelfth and beginning of the Thirteenth Century, shows a change. “The Norman style was giving place to the lighter and more elegant architecture of the Early English period, the round arch was beginning to be superseded by the pointed arch, and the massive ornamentation which marks the earlier style was displaced by the conventional foliage that soon came to be very generally employed. Most wisely, however, the Peterborough builders made their work at the west end of the nave intentionally uniform with what was already built. Very numerous indications of this can be seen by careful observers. The bases of the western pillars, the change in the depth of the mouldings, characteristic changes in the capitals in the triforium range, and especially the grand arches below the transept towers, which are pointed but enriched with ornamentation of pronounced Norman character, all point to the later date of this western transept. “At the west wall of the church all trace of Norman work disappears. The arcade near the ground, the large round arch above the door, the great west window and its adjacent arches (not, of course, including the late tracery), are all of distinct Early English character. The whole of “When we come to the most distinctive feature of the cathedral, the glorious west front, we find we have no help whatever from the chronicles. Nowhere is there the smallest reference to its building. Other works raised by the Abbots of the period are named, but the noble western portico is never once mentioned.”—(W. D. S.) According to Matthew Paris the church was dedicated in 1238 by the Bishop of Lincoln, Robert Grosseteste. In the Thirteenth Century many changes were made. The bell-tower was built, and bells from London, called Les Londreis, were hung in it. The Lady-Chapel (now destroyed) was built in 1272 at the east of the north transept (as at Ely). In the Fourteenth Century the great round east and west arches of the central tower were changed into pointed ones, perhaps because the tower at Ely had fallen in 1321 and the monks wanted to strengthen theirs. Then they began to change all the triforium windows in the nave and choir from Norman to Decorated. Next, the central porch was added to the west front. During the Perpendicular period all the Norman windows that had not been altered were now filled with Perpendicular tracery; the great west window was also brought up to date, the battlements were added to the corner turrets, and the New Building tacked on to the East End of the choir. A popular story related that Henry VIII. spared the church because his queen, Katherine of Aragon, was buried there. At any rate, he made Peterborough a cathedral in 1541, when he suppressed the monasteries. The great historical event in connection with Cromwell’s soldiers made sad havoc. Dean Patrick informs us that “The next day after their arrival, early in the morning they break open the church doors, pull down the organs of which there were two pair. “Then the soldiers enter the quire, and their first business was to tear in pieces all the common prayer-books that could be found. Next they break down all the seats, stalls and wainscot that was behind them, being adorned with several historical passages out of the Old Testament. “Now behind the communion-table there stood a curious piece of stone-work, admired much by strangers and travellers: a stately skreen it was, well wrought, painted and gilt, which rose up as high almost as the roof of the church, in a row of three lofty spires, with other lesser spires growing out of them. This now had no imagery work upon it, or anything else that might justly give offence, and yet because it bore the name of the high altar, was pulled down with ropes, lay’d low and level with the ground. “Over this place, in the roof of the church, in a large oval yet to be seen, was the picture of Our Saviour seated on a throne; one hand erected and holding a globe in the other, attended with the four Evangelists and saints on each side, with crowns in their hands, intended, I suppose, for a representation of Our Saviour’s coming to judgment. This was defaced and spoilt by the discharge of muskets. “Then they rob and rifle the tombs and violate the monuments of the dead.... “When they had thus demolished the chief monuments, at length the very gravestones and marbles on the floor did not escape their sacrilegious hands. For where there was anything on them of sculptures or inscriptions in brass, these they force and tear off. “Having thus done their work on the floor below, they are now at leisure to look up at the windows above. “Now the windows of this church were very fair, being adorned and beautified with several historical passages “Thus, in a short time, a fair and goodly structure was quite stript of all its ornamental beauty, and made a ruthful spectacle, a very chaos of desolation and confusion, nothing scarce remaining but only bare walls, broken seats and shattr’d windows on every side.”—(P.) The old story of neglect—“scarce any cathedral in England is more neglected,” wrote Browne Willis in 1742—is told of Peterborough in the Eighteenth Century; but in 1764-1791 Dean Tarrant collected all the fragments of stained glass and inserted them in the two central windows of the apse. They deal chiefly with scenes in the life of St. Peter. The late history of the Cathedral is only that of repairs, restorations, and gifts. We enter the Minster Precincts by the western gateway, built by Abbot Benedict, in the Norman style, in the Twelfth Century. It was altered at the end of the Fourteenth Century. The approach is monastic in the extreme. The room over the gate was once the Chapel of St. Nicholas. After passing through this gate, on the left hand we see all that remains of the Chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury (Fourteenth Century). The various gateways, doors, arcades, and remains of ancient buildings “A fine view of the best feature of Peterborough, the west front, is immediately opened with a foreground of smooth turf. The great portico, with its three arches, eighty feet high, of pure Early English style, is unlike anything else in England, and inspires universal surprise and admiration. It was built on the old Norman church, but does not actually touch the western walls. “The spires of the portico are of different sizes and designs. The northern does not group well with the transeptal tower behind it, and there is a certain confusion to the eye when so many towers are in our view. The southern transeptal tower was never carried above the roof. The central tower over the choir after being repeatedly repaired and restored, fell in 1884, destroying the interior fittings and stalls, but, on the whole, doing less damage than might have been expected. The tower has been rebuilt, but not to the old pattern, and the four corner turrets have disappeared.”—(W. J. L.) The West Front, with its three magnificent doorways and original wooden doors, was the work of Abbots Zachary and Robert of Lindsay (about 1200 to 1222). “Immediately before us we see the noble West Front ‘the pride and glory of Peterborough,’ the finest portico in Europe. With the exception of the porch, the style is pure Early English. On the north and south are two lofty turrets, flanked at the angles with clustered shafts, and crowned with spires. Between these are three pointed arches, supported by clustered shafts, six on each side with foliated capitals. The central arch is narrower than the rest, but its mouldings are ornamented with crockets and dog-tooth. A string-course runs along the top of the arches, and the spandrels have trefoils, quatrefoils and niches with statues. Above the string-course is a series of trefoiled arches, some of which have statues. Between the three gables are pinnacles much ornamented. The gables have circular win “We now notice the Porch with the parvise over it. This was built late in the Fourteenth Century in order to give additional strength to the west front and act as a kind of buttress to the piers of the central arch. The design is very beautiful. The entrance has an obtuse arch, and above a Perpendicular window with elliptical arch. Buttresses empanelled with niches stand on each side. It has a stone vault of good design. One boss is curious, representing the Trinity. The attitude of the Saviour shows that the figure was designed by a freemason, and bears witness to the antiquity of that fraternity. The parvise is now a library.”—(P. H. D.) In the latter years of the Fourteenth Century the central porch, with its upper room, Parvise, was added between the two middle piers of the west front. It has been regarded by some critics as a blemish and by others as an improvement, but it was probably a necessity for the purpose of extra stability. “The construction of this elegant little edifice is extremely scientific, especially in the matter in which the thrust is distributed through the medium of the side turrets so as to fall upon the buttresses in front. These turrets being erected against one side of the triangular columns, on the right and the left hand, support them in two directions at once, viz., from collapsing towards each other, and from falling forward. The latter pressure Turning now to a description: “It is vaulted in two bays, the first being of the same dimensions as the inner width of the portico; the western bay (of the same size) thus reaches beyond the two great piers and the corner turrets and buttresses in all project about seven feet. This gives a very substantial support to the piers. The whole composition is very fine, and quite worthy of the great portico to which it is an adjunct. It must be left to each spectator to decide for himself if it improves or diminishes the effect of the whole. It is of late Decorated date, highly enriched with profuse carving. The staircase turrets, as well as the great window, are embattled. The spaces north and south, and within the portico, have tracery on the walls similar to the window. The groining is very fine. One of the central bosses has a representation of the Trinity. The Father is represented as the Ancient of Days, with a Dove for the Holy Spirit above the shoulder and the figure of the Saviour on the Cross in front. Freemasons are recommended to look for a special symbol which they alone can understand and appreciate. The floor of the portico is paved with gravestones, some apparently in their original position. The place was at one time appropriated as a burial-place for the Minor Canons.”—(W. D. S.) This porch hides the fine central doorway, which is divided by a central pillar. A Benedictine monk tortured by demons—probably a hint to the brothers—is carved upon it. “With a few exceptions, the whole of the interior of the Cathedral is in the Norman style, and many judge it to be the most perfect specimen in England. The plan consists of a nave of ten bays, with aisles and a western transept; transepts of four bays, terminating in an apse, nearly semicircular, with aisles; and beyond the apse a large square-ended addition for more chapels having a “As we enter at the west door we see at a glance the entire length and the whole beauty of the admirable proportion of the several parts. While many may wish that the great arches of the tower which can be seen from the west end had never been altered from the round form of the Norman builders, few will regret that the Decorated arches which took their place were retained when the tower was rebuilt, instead of having new arches in the Norman style substituted. The want of colour which is so marked a defect in many English cathedrals is not so conspicuous here, because of the painted ceiling.”—(W. D. S.) There is no Norman work at the west wall. The great doorway has a round arch, but the arcade at the base consists of pointed arches. The mouldings here are Early English; and it is inside an Early English arch that the West Window of Perpendicular tracery is set. We may note that the glass is modern and a memorial to officers and soldiers who were killed in the South African War. The West Transept extends beyond the aisles. The enormous pointed arches have Norman mouldings. In the south end is a Font of the Thirteenth Century; the north end is a vestry. “As we enter we notice the distinctive character of the Norman work of which this Cathedral is a notable and excellent example. In the extreme west there is a blending of the two styles of Norman and Early English, but the monks of Peterborough clung tenaciously to their old ideas and to Norman and Romanesque models, and right up to the end of the Twelfth Century built in this style, not from any desire to imitate the work of their predecessors “There is a grand uninterrupted view of the whole length of the Cathedral from west to east. It will be observed that the lower arch is Decorated, and this adds to the beauty of this view. Before leaving the west we notice some dog-tooth carved in wood, which is somewhat rare.”—(P. H. D.) The Nave consists of ten bays, with Norman arches. The triforium arches are Norman; the clerestory windows are Perpendicular. The ceiling is very peculiar and very interesting, and is, moreover, original Norman. “All agree that the style of the painting is perfectly characteristic of the period. The divisions are of the lozenge shape; in each lozenge of the central line is a figure, and in each alternate one of the sides. The middle set has more elongated lozenges than the others. The borders are black and white, with some coloured lines, in odd zigzag patterns. The figures, which are mostly seated, are very quaint and strange. Some are sacred, some grotesque. We can see St. Peter with the keys, kings, queens and minstrels; we find also a head with two faces, a monkey riding backwards on a goat, a human figure with head and hoof of an ass, a horse playing a harp, a winged dragon, a dancing lion, an eagle, and other curious devices.”—(W. D. S.) The Choir begins with the two east bays of the nave (the same arrangement occurs at Norwich), and runs through the space under the tower and takes up four bays east of the tower. The piers are alternately round and polygonal. “This portion was the earliest part of the Cathedral, and was constructed by Abbot de Sais (1114-1125). The hatchet moulding is conspicuous. The triforium arches are double like the nave, and the clerestory has triple arches, the centre one being the highest. The apse is particularly fine. The Decorated style is evident in the windows, which were inserted in the Fourteenth Century instead of the old Norman ones, and the hanging tracery of graceful design was then added. The roof of the choir is late Fourteenth Century work except at the east end where the roof is flat. Here Cromwell’s soldiers discharged their muskets at the figure of our Lord in glory, which they deemed to be an idol. This ceiling was decorated in 1884 by Sir Gilbert Scott. The bosses of the rest of the roof are curious. Nearly all the old glass was destroyed in the Puritan desecration; the remaining fragments have been placed in the two highest east windows. The fittings of the choir are modern except an ancient lectern of Fifteenth Century date, given by Abbot Ramsay and Prior Malden, as the inscription testifies, though it is now scarcely legible. The choir-stalls are remarkably fine. The carved figures contain a history of the Cathedral written in wood.”—(P. H. D.) Passing behind the High Altar we come to the Retro-Choir, or New Building: “The New Building built beyond the apse is a very noble specimen of late Perpendicular work. It was begun by Abbot Richard Ashton (1438-1471) and completed by Abbot Robert Kirton (1496-1528): the works seem to have been suspended between these periods. The roof has the beautiful fan tracery, very similar on a small scale to that at King’s College Chapel at Cambridge. The building is of the width of the choir and aisles together. “The junction of this addition with the original Norman apse is admirable, and should be specially noticed. Parts of the original external string-course of the apse can be “It must be sufficient here to indicate some of the designs. Most need little explanation, but a few are hard to understand. On the roof may be seen the three lions of England, a cross between four martlets, three crowns each pierced by an arrow, and another design. The smaller designs include four-leaved flowers, Tudor roses, fleur-de-lys, the portcullis, some undescribable creatures, crossed keys, crossed swords, crossed crosiers, crosses, crowns, crowns pierced with arrows, crowned female head, an eagle, the head of the Baptist in a charger, an angel, mitres, three feathers rising from a crown, St. Andrew’s cross, and perhaps others. There are also some rebuses and some lettering. On the north wall, in six several scrolls, the letters AR before a church and a bird on a tun occur more than once. This certainly refers to Abbot Robert Kirton; but what the bird means is not clear. In the moulding over the large arch to the south choir are four sets of letters. They form the last verse of the psalter. The words are contracted: they stand for Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.”—(W. D. S.) The relic of greatest interest in the New Building is the famous Monks’ Stone, which, according to tradition, was constructed in commemoration of the massacre of Abbot Hedda and his monks by the Danes in 870. Critics are divided in opinion. Some think it Norman, but many accept the theory that it is Saxon work. In 1887 remains were found of the original Saxon church, which was sacked by the Danes, rebuilt and visited by King Edgar and Dunstan. Traces of the fire that destroyed it were also found. The east wall stood at the piers of the present south transept. Queen Katherine of Aragon was buried in the north-choir-aisle outside the most eastern arch (1535). This was violated by the Puritans. Dean In the south-choir-aisle a tablet tells us that here Mary Stuart was buried in 1587, just within the choir. The body was removed to Westminster Abbey in 1612. Remains of the hearse between the pillars were seen as late as 1800. These royal arms and escutcheons were also defaced and torn by the Puritans. The Transepts are Norman, and characteristic Norman mouldings are universal. A Perpendicular screen in each separates the transept from a sort of eastern aisle, divided by pillars into chapels. In the North Transept the two chapels of St. John and St. James have been thrown into one—now the Morning Chapel. Some old Saxon coffin lids are preserved here. The chapels of St. Oswald, St. Benedict, and St. Kyneburga and St. Kyneswitha still remain in the South Transept. West of the South Transept we come to the old Chapter-House (very small), now a music room. It is late Norman, but it has a Perpendicular doorway. At the north-east corner of the close we come to the Deanery Gateway, leading to the Deanery. It is a fine specimen of Late Perpendicular, and was The north side is very fine. The arcading on the side of the tower is identical with that on the west front. Next we must notice the big windows of the western transept, early and fine specimens of cusped and traceried windows. The jambs are very peculiar because one side is Norman with square capitals, and the other side Early English. The arch of the window reaches as high as those of the triforium. Above is a round-headed window, and the gable, surmounted by a cross and bordered with the wavy ornament, contains a rose-window. Pinnacles, resembling those on the west front, adorn the sides of this west transept. The nave rises in five stages: a tier of small lights separates the triforium from the aisle. The Dean’s Door on this side of the nave is Norman. The three shafts on either side, with their cushion capitals, carry round arches with characteristic and different mouldings. There are ten windows, very broad, of five lights each, under depressed arches. They were inserted in the Thirteenth Century. The parapet at the top is Early English. The north transept has seven stages of windows (Perpendicular), and blind arcades and a battlemented gable, flanked by octagonal turrets. Here we gain a view of the lantern tower, rebuilt in 1884. Then we come to the choir, and “The east end of Peterborough is rather peculiar. There remains the old Norman apse with Decorated windows inserted, and this is surrounded by what is called the New Building, though it is 400 years old, formed by extending the walls of the choir and building a square end to the Cathedral. This was erected by Abbot Kirton. His work possesses the best features of Perpendicular style. It is richly ornamented and when we examine his work we cannot say that the glories of Gothic achievement had quite departed. We see the twelve buttresses, each terminated with a seated figure, usually said to be one of the Apostles.”—(P. H. D.) Turning round the east end we come to the ruins of the Infirmary, erected about 1260. Some fine arcading is still to be seen. Afterwards we come to the Slype, once vaulted, but now open to the sky, which formerly connected the Refectory with the Chapter-House, on the east side of the Cloister. Only the south and west walls of the Cloister Court remain. This is always called Laurel Court, though the origin is unknown. The south side of the Cathedral is more beautiful than the north, from which it differs by having two doorways into the nave from the cloisters, and a very fine south-west spire, early Fourteenth Century work. A beautiful view of this spire and the bell-tower is obtained from Laurel Court. |
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