Hereford Cathedral
Encyclopedia
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford
in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi
, a mediæval map
of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.
s, namely Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Ethelbert the King. The latter was beheaded
by Offa, King of Mercia
in the year 792. Offa had consented to give his daughter to Ethelbert in marriage: why he changed his mind and deprived him of his head historians do not know, although tradition is at no loss to supply him with an adequate motive. The execution, or murder, is said to have taken place at Sutton, four miles (6 km) from Hereford, with Ethelbert's body brought to the site of the modern cathedral by 'a pious monk'. At Ethelbert's tomb miracles were said to have occurred, and in the next century (about 830) Milfrid, a Mercian nobleman, was so moved by the tales of these marvels as to rebuild in stone the little church which stood there, and to dedicate it to the sainted king.
Before this, Hereford had become the seat of a bishopric
. It is said to have been the centre of a diocese as early as the 6th century. In the 7th century the cathedral was refounded by Putta
, who settled here when driven from Rochester by Æthelred of Mercia. The cathedral of stone, which Milfrid raised, stood for some 200 years, and then, in the reign of Edward the Confessor
, it was altered. The new church had only a short life, for it was plundered and burnt in 1056 by a combined force of Welsh
and Irish
under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
, the Welsh prince; it was not, however, destroyed until its custodians had offered vigorous resistance, in which seven of the canons were killed.
was consecrated to the see
(made Bishop
) in 1079 and undertook its reconstruction. His work was carried on, or, more probably, redone, by Bishop Reynelm
, who was next but one in the succession, and reorganized the college of secular canons attached to the cathedral. Reynelm died in 1115, and it was only under his third successor, Robert de Betun, who was Bishop from 1131 to 1148, that the church was brought to completion.
Of this Norman
church, little has survived but the choir
up to the spring of the clerestory
, the south transept
, the arch between the north transept
and the choir aisle, and the nave
arcade. Scarcely 50 years after its completion William de Vere
, who occupied the see from 1186 to 1199, altered the east end by constructing a retro-choir or processional path and a Lady Chapel
; the latter was rebuilt not long afterwards—between the years 1226 and 1246, during the Early English style—with a crypt
beneath. Around the middle of the century the clerestory, and probably the vaulting of the choir, were rebuilt, having been damaged by the settling of the central tower. Under Bishop Aquablanca (1240–68), one of Henry III
's foreign favourites, the rebuilding of the north transept was begun, being completed later in the same century by Bishop Swinfield, who also built the aisles of the nave and eastern transept.
who rebuilt the north transept. Aquablanca came to this country in the train of Eleanor of Provence
. He was undoubtedly a man of energy and resource; though he lavished money upon the cathedral and made a handsome bequest to the poor, it cannot be pretended that his qualifications for the office to which Henry III
appointed him included piety. He was an unblushing nepotist
, nor was he afraid to practise gross fraud when occasion called for it. When Prince Edward
came to Hereford to deal with Llywelyn the Great
of Gwynedd
, the Bishop was away in Ireland on a tithe-collecting expedition
, and the dean and canons were also absent. Not long after the Bishop's return, which was probably expedited by the stern rebuke which the King administered, he and all his relatives from Savoy were seized within the cathedral by a party of barons, who deprived him of the money which he had extorted from the Irish.
In the first half of the 14th century the rebuilding of the central tower, which is embellished with ball-flower ornaments, was carried out. At about the same time the chapter house
and its vestibule
were built, then Bishop Trevenant
, who presided over the Bishopric from 1389 to 1404, rebuilt the south end and groining of the great transept. Around the middle of the 15th century a tower was added to the western end of the nave, and in the second half of this century Bishops Stanbury
and Edmund Audley
built three chantries, the former on the north side of the presbytery, the latter on the south side of the Lady Chapel. Bishops Richard Mayew
and Booth, who between them ruled the diocese from 1504 to 1535, made the last additions to the cathedral by erecting the north porch, now forming the principal northern entrance. The building of the present edifice therefore extended over a period of 440 years.
was condemned to walk barefoot through the cathedral to the high altar, and the bishop himself applied the rod to his back. Bishop Cantilupe also wrung from the Welsh
King Llewellyn some manors
which he had seized, and Cantilupe;after a successful lawsuit against the Earl of Gloucester
to determine the possession of a chase near the Forest of Malvern; dug the dyke which can still be traced on the crest of the Malvern Hills
. Excommunicated by Archbishop of Canterbury
John Peckham
, he went to the papal court in Orvieto to plead his case with the pope. He moved with the court to Montefiascone where, already ill, he died in 1282 before his case was fully resolved. His flesh was buried in the monastery of San Severo outside Orvieto and his heart and bones were brought back to England. His bones were placed in a shrine at Hereford Cathedral where they became a focus of a huge pilgrimage cult. Rome was urged to canonize him, and among the evidences of his saintliness which his admirers appealed to, in addition to the miracles of healing wrought at his shrine, were the facts that he never ceased to wear his hair-shirt, and would never allow even his sister to kiss him. The testimony was regarded as conclusive, and 40 years after his death, in 1320, the bishop's name was added to the roll of saints. His arms were adopted for those of the see.
s. These misericords show a mixture of mythological beasts, grotesques and everyday events, there appears to be no pattern to the content.
In addition to the misericords in the choir, there are five others contained in a row of "Judges Seats" It is unclear if these were used as misericords, or if they are just ornamentation.
In the war between King and Parliament (the English Civil War
) the city of Hereford
fell into the hands first of one party, then of the other. Once it endured a siege
, and when it was taken the conquerors ran riot in the cathedral and, in their fury, caused great damage which could never be repaired. In the early years of the 18th century, Bishop Bisse
(1712–21), devised a scheme to support the central tower. He also had installed an enormous altar-piece and an oak screen, and instead of restoring the Chapter House he allowed its stones to be utilized for alterations to the Bishop's Palace.
It was during this period that his brother, the Rev Dr Thomas Bisse, was the Chancellor of the Cathedral. In 1724 Thomas Bisse organised a "Music Meeting" which subsequently became, with the Cathedrals at Worcester
and Gloucester
, the Three Choirs Festival
.
, 1786, the greatest disaster in the history of the cathedral took place. The west tower fell, creating a ruin of the whole of the west front and at least one part of the nave. The tower, which, unlike the west tower of Ely
, was in the west bay of the nave, had a general resemblance to the central tower; both were profusely covered with ball-flower ornaments, and both terminated in leaden spires. James Wyatt
was called in to repair the damage. Although, as he did at Durham
, instead of just repairing he made alterations which were (and are) not universally popular.
work was begun, instigated by Dean Merewether, and was carried out by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
and his son, Nockalls. Bishop Bisse's masonry, which by this time had been found to be useless, was swept away from the central tower, the lantern was strengthened and exposed to view, and much work was done in the nave and to the exterior of the Lady Chapel. When Nockalls Cottingham drowned on a voyage to New York in September 1854 George Gilbert Scott
was called in, and from that time the work of restoring the choir was performed continuously until 1863, when (on June 30) the cathedral was reopened with solemn services. The Bishop of the diocese
, Dr. Hampden, preached in the morning and Bishop Wilberforce preached in the evening. In his diary, the latter Bishop characterizes his right reverend brother's sermon as "dull, but thoroughly orthodox"; but of his own service he remarks (not without complacency), "I preached evening; great congregation and much interested."
The west front was restored by John Oldrid Scott
over the period 1902 and 1908
Between them these restorations cost some £45,000, a lot in the 1800s (equivalent to some £3,706 683 in 2007 http://www.measuringworth.com/index.html). Since then much else has been done. "Wyatt's Folly", as James Wyatt's west front was often called, has been replaced by a highly ornate façade in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee
of Queen Victoria
, whose figure is to be seen at the beautiful stained glass
which fills the seven-light (i.e. with seven main vertical "lights", or sections of glass) window subscribed "by the women of Hereford diocese".
There is decorative work on the Norman architecture
columns and arches of the nave built by Bishop Reynelm's stonemasons. Until 1847 the pavement which had been laid down in the nave completely hid the square bases on which the piers rest. Double semi-cylindrical shafts run up their north and south faces, ending in small double capitals at the height of the capitals of the piers themselves. In the south aisle of the nave are two 14th century church monument
tombs, with effigies of unknown ecclesiastics. The tomb of Sir Richard Pembridge, Knight of the Garter in the reign of Edward III
, is a fine example of the armour
of that period, and it is one of the earliest instances of an effigy wearing the garter. A square-headed doorway gives access from this aisle to the Bishop's Cloister.
At the northern entrance is a porch and Decorated doorway, a good general view is at once obtained. There is a modern rood screen
, a spacious and lofty central lantern, and a reredos
with a carved spandrel
. The Lady Chapel has lancet window
s, foliated ornaments and a groined roof. The tomb of Bishop Booth, the builder of the porch, is in the sixth bay of the nave on the north side, guarded by the only ancient ironwork left in the cathedral. On the south side of the nave is the Norman font
, a circular bowl large enough to allow of the immersion of children.
by Scott, is remarkable for the diapering
of the triforium arcade, and for the form of the pointed arches and windows, which have so slight a curvature as to resemble two straight lines meeting at an angle. The north window is filled with stained glass
by Hardman as a memorial of Archdeacon
Lane-Freer, who died in 1863. In this transept is the tomb or substructure of the shrine of Bishop Cantilupe, early Decorated work which has been restored. Of Purbeck marble
, it is built in two stages, of which the lower contains 14 figures of Knights Templars in chainmail
armour
, occupying cinquefoiled niches; the Bishop was Provincial Grand Master of that Order in England. Between the north choir aisle and the eastern aisle of the transept is the tomb of Bishop Aquablanca, the most ancient of the episcopal monuments in the church. The effigy
is an example of a bishop in full vestments; the canopy is supported by slender shafts; the carving throughout is delicate. The south transept is thought by some authorities to be the oldest part of the cathedral, and it exhibits some Norman work, notably the eastern wall with its arcades.
Until its removal in the 1960s there was a wrought iron choir-screen
, painted and gilt. Designed by Scott, it was executed by Messrs. Skidmore, of Coventry
, from whose works also came the earlier metal screen at Lichfield
. After being kept in storage for many years, the screen was completely restored in the late 1990s and re-erected at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London.
The choir, consisting of three Norman bays of three stages, is full of objects of beauty and interest. The reredos
, designed by the younger Cottingham, consists of five canopied compartments, with elaborate sculpture representing our Lord's Passion. Behind it is a pier from which spring two pointed arches; the spandrel
thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, representing Christ in his majesty, with angels and the four Evangelists; below is a figure of King Ethelbert. Against the most easterly point on the south side of the choir is to be seen a small effigy of this king, which was dug up at the entrance to the Lady Chapel about the year 1700. The Bishop's throne and the stalls, of 14th century work and restored, and the modern book desks and figures of angels on the upper stalls, deserve attention. There is also a very curious ancient episcopal chair.
case also designed by Scott. It houses an instrument built in 1892 by Henry Willis
, generally considered to be one of the finest examples of his work in the country.
", dating from the later years of the 13th century, hung, little regarded, for many years. It is the work of an ecclesiastic who is supposed to be represented in the right-hand corner on horseback, attended by his page and greyhounds. He has commemorated himself under the name of Richard de Haldingham and Lafford in Lincolnshire, but his real name was Richard de la Battayle or de Bello. He held a prebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral
, and was promoted to a stall in this cathedral in 1305, afterwards becoming Archbishop of Reading. During the troublous times of Cromwell the map was laid beneath the floor of Bishop Audley's Chantry, beside the Lady Chapel, where it remained secreted for some time. In 1855 it was cleaned and repaired at the British Museum
. It is certainly one of the most remarkable monuments of its kind in existence, being the largest but one of all the old maps, drawn on a single sheet of stout vellum
. The world is represented as round, surround by the ocean. At the top of the map (the east) is represented Paradise
, with its river and tree; also the eating of the forbidden fruit and the expulsion of our first parents
. Above is a remarkable representation of the Day of Judgment, with the Virgin Mary interceding for the faithful, who are seen rising from their graves and being led within the walls of heaven. There are numerous figures of towns, animals, birds, and fish, with grotesque creatures; the four great cities, Jerusalem, Babylon
, Rome, and Troy
, are made very prominent. In Great Britain most of the cathedrals are mentioned. In the 1980s, a financial crisis in the diocese caused the Dean and Chapter to consider selling the Mappi Mundi. After much controversy, large donations from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
, Paul Getty
and members of the public, kept the map in Hereford and allowed the construction of a new library to house the map and the chained libraries from the Cathedral and All Saints' Church. The centre opened in 1996 on May 3.
. The remains of Bishop Gilbert Ironside (1701), together with his black marble tombstone, were removed to this place in 1867 m, when the Church of St. Mary Somersetm in Upper Thames Street, London, was taken down. Here also may be seen a curious effigy of St. John the Baptist, and a fine marble bust, believed to be the work of Roubiliac
. The handsome canopied Perpendicular tomb of Bishop Mayo (1516), with effigy fully vested, is on the south side of the altar. In the south-east transept, again, is a doorway that opens into the Vicars' Cloister, an interesting piece of Perpendicular work which leads to the college of the vicars choral.
Across from the retro-choir or ambulatory, is the spacious and beautiful Early English Lady Chapel, which is built over the crypt
and approached by an ascent of five steps. Of the five beautiful lancet windows at the east end, each with a quatrefoil opening in the wall above it, Fergusson remarked that "nowhere on the Continent is such a combination to be found"; and he brackets them with the Five Sisters at York Cathedral and the east end of Ely Cathedral
. They are filled with glass by Cottingham as a memorial of Dean Merewether, who is buried in the crypt below, and is further commemorated here by a black marble slab with a brass by Hardman, recording his unwearied interest in the restoration
of the cathedral. In the Lady Chapel are church monument
s of Joanna de Kilpec and Humphrey de Bohun
, her husband. The former Countess of Hereford was a 14th-century benefactress of the cathedral who gave to the Dean and Chapter an acre
(4,000 m²) of land in Lugwardine
, and the advowson of the church, with several chapels pertaining to it. On the south side of the Lady Chapel, separated from it by a screen of curious design is the chantry erected at the end of the 15th century by Bishop Audley, who, being translated to Salisbury
, built another there, where he is buried. His chantry here, pentagonal in shape, is in two storeys, with two windows in the lower and five in the higher.
is small, it is of special interest, as the solitary example of a crypt in an English cathedral built after the Norman period until we come to Truro Cathedral
– for the crypt of St. Paul's is only a reconstruction. To its use as a charnel house
it owes the name of Golgotha.
The library contains mainly old books in manuscript
chained to their places, some of them fine specimens of ancient handwriting, containing beautiful illustrations in gold and colour. Two of the most valuable are a unique copy of the ancient Hereford antiphonary of the 13th century, in good preservation, and a copy of the Gospels at least a thousand years old, in Anglo-Saxon
characters. Another treasure is an ancient reliquary of oak, bequeathed to the cathedral by Canon Russell, who is said to have obtained it from a Roman Catholic family in whose possession it had long been. It is covered with copper plates overlaid with Limoges enamel representing the murder and entombment of St. Thomas of Canterbury
.
was stripped from its roof, and we have already recalled how Bishop Bisse most inexcusably completed its ruin. The Bishop's Palace, the Deanery
, residences for the canon
s, and cathedral school
are in close proximity to each other. The College, the residence of the vicars choral, forms a picturesque quadrangle
.
, the chronicler, prebendary
in 1291; Nicholas of Hereford, chancellor in 1377, a remarkable man and leader of the Lollards at Oxford
; John Carpenter, town clerk of London
who baptized there on December 18, 1378; Polydore Vergil
, prebendary in 1507, a celebrated literary man, as indeed with such a name he ought to have been; and Miles Smith
, prebendary in 1580, promoted to the See of Gloucester – one of the translators of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible
.
Another famous prebendary was Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey, who was appointed to a stall in 1510. The list of post English Reformation
prelate
s includes Matthew Wren
, who, however was translated to Ely in the year of his consecration (1635); Nicholas Monck
, a brother of the George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
, who died within a few months of consecration (1661); and two bishops around whom ecclesiastical storms raged, Benjamin Hoadley and Renn Dickson Hampden
. Hoadley, by his tract against the Non-jurors and his sermon on the Kingdom of Christ, provoked the Bangorian Controversy
and so led to the virtual supersession of Convocation from 1717 to 1852; the appointment of Hampden to this see by Lord John Russell
in 1847 was bitterly opposed by those who considered him latitudinarian
, including the Dean of Hereford, and was appealed against in the Court of Queen's Bench. Dr. Hampden went his way, which was that of a student rather than that of an administrator, and ruled the diocese for 21 years, leaving behind him at his death, in 1868, the reputation of a great scholar and thinker.
to survive, which in turn is one of the finest of the eight oldest that survive. It is sometimes put on display alongside the Mappa Mundi
in the cathedral's chained library
.
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi
Hereford Mappa Mundi
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a mappa mundi, of a form deriving from the T and O pattern, dating to ca. 1300. It is currently on display in Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England...
, a mediæval map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.
Origins
The cathedral is dedicated to two patron saintPatron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
s, namely Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Ethelbert the King. The latter was beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
by Offa, King of Mercia
Offa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
in the year 792. Offa had consented to give his daughter to Ethelbert in marriage: why he changed his mind and deprived him of his head historians do not know, although tradition is at no loss to supply him with an adequate motive. The execution, or murder, is said to have taken place at Sutton, four miles (6 km) from Hereford, with Ethelbert's body brought to the site of the modern cathedral by 'a pious monk'. At Ethelbert's tomb miracles were said to have occurred, and in the next century (about 830) Milfrid, a Mercian nobleman, was so moved by the tales of these marvels as to rebuild in stone the little church which stood there, and to dedicate it to the sainted king.
Before this, Hereford had become the seat of a bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
. It is said to have been the centre of a diocese as early as the 6th century. In the 7th century the cathedral was refounded by Putta
Putta (bishop of Hereford)
Putta was a medieval Bishop of Rochester and probably the first Bishop of Hereford. Some modern historians say that the two Puttas were separate individuals....
, who settled here when driven from Rochester by Æthelred of Mercia. The cathedral of stone, which Milfrid raised, stood for some 200 years, and then, in the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
, it was altered. The new church had only a short life, for it was plundered and burnt in 1056 by a combined force of Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the ruler of all Wales from 1055 until his death, the only Welsh monarch able to make this boast...
, the Welsh prince; it was not, however, destroyed until its custodians had offered vigorous resistance, in which seven of the canons were killed.
Norman period
Hereford Cathedral remained in a state of ruin until Robert of LorraineRobert of Hereford
Robert of Hereford was a priest who became Bishop of Hereford following the Norman Conquest of England.-Life:...
was consecrated to the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
(made Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
) in 1079 and undertook its reconstruction. His work was carried on, or, more probably, redone, by Bishop Reynelm
Reynelm
Reynelm was a medieval Bishop of Hereford.-Life:Reynelm's origins are unknown, but Gundulf of Rochester, the Bishop of Rochester, may have been his patron, as a letter of 1101 implies that Gundulf ordained him a priest...
, who was next but one in the succession, and reorganized the college of secular canons attached to the cathedral. Reynelm died in 1115, and it was only under his third successor, Robert de Betun, who was Bishop from 1131 to 1148, that the church was brought to completion.
Of this Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church, little has survived but the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
up to the spring of the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, the south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
, the arch between the north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
and the choir aisle, and the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
arcade. Scarcely 50 years after its completion William de Vere
William de Vere
-Biography:The son of Aubrey de Vere II and Adeliza of Clare, probably the fourth of five sons, and brother of Aubrey de Vere III first earl of Oxford, de Vere spent part of his youth at the court of King Henry I of England and his second wife, Queen Adeliza of Leuven. Little is known of his...
, who occupied the see from 1186 to 1199, altered the east end by constructing a retro-choir or processional path and a Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
; the latter was rebuilt not long afterwards—between the years 1226 and 1246, during the Early English style—with a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
beneath. Around the middle of the century the clerestory, and probably the vaulting of the choir, were rebuilt, having been damaged by the settling of the central tower. Under Bishop Aquablanca (1240–68), one of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
's foreign favourites, the rebuilding of the north transept was begun, being completed later in the same century by Bishop Swinfield, who also built the aisles of the nave and eastern transept.
Bishop Aquablanca
One of the most notable of the pre-reformation Bishops of Hereford, who left his mark upon the cathedral and the diocese, was Bishop AquablancaPeter of Aigueblanche
Peter of Aigueblanche was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. A nobleman from Savoy, he came to England as part of the party accompanying King Henry III's bride Eleanor of Provence. He entered the royal service, becoming bishop in 1241...
who rebuilt the north transept. Aquablanca came to this country in the train of Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....
. He was undoubtedly a man of energy and resource; though he lavished money upon the cathedral and made a handsome bequest to the poor, it cannot be pretended that his qualifications for the office to which Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
appointed him included piety. He was an unblushing nepotist
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
, nor was he afraid to practise gross fraud when occasion called for it. When Prince Edward
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
came to Hereford to deal with Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
, the Bishop was away in Ireland on a tithe-collecting expedition
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
, and the dean and canons were also absent. Not long after the Bishop's return, which was probably expedited by the stern rebuke which the King administered, he and all his relatives from Savoy were seized within the cathedral by a party of barons, who deprived him of the money which he had extorted from the Irish.
14th to 16th century: completion of the fabric
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
and its vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
were built, then Bishop Trevenant
Thomas Trevenant
Thomas Trevenant was a medieval Bishop of Hereford of Welsh descent. He was nominated on 5 May 1389 and consecrated on 20 June 1389. He died on 29 March 1404.-References:...
, who presided over the Bishopric from 1389 to 1404, rebuilt the south end and groining of the great transept. Around the middle of the 15th century a tower was added to the western end of the nave, and in the second half of this century Bishops Stanbury
John Stanberry
John Stanberry was a medieval Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Hereford.Stanberry was probably born at Morwenstow, Cornwall. He was provided as the Bishop of Bangor 4 March 1448 and was consecrated on 23 June 1448. He was translated to Hereford on 7 February 1453. He died on 11 May 1474.-References:...
and Edmund Audley
Edmund Audley
Edmund Audley was Bishop of Rochester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of Salisbury.-Life:Audley graduated BA in 1463 at University College, Oxford...
built three chantries, the former on the north side of the presbytery, the latter on the south side of the Lady Chapel. Bishops Richard Mayew
Richard Mayew
Richard Mayew , also written Mayo, was an English academic, who became Bishop of Hereford and a diplomat for Henry VII of England.Mayew was born in Hungerford in Berkshire...
and Booth, who between them ruled the diocese from 1504 to 1535, made the last additions to the cathedral by erecting the north porch, now forming the principal northern entrance. The building of the present edifice therefore extended over a period of 440 years.
Thomas de Cantilupe
Thomas de Cantilupe was the next but one bishop of Hereford. He had faults not uncommon in men who held high ecclesiastical office in his day, however he was a strenuous administrator of his see, and an unbending champion of its rights. For assaulting some of the episcopal tenants and raiding their cattle, Lord CliffordLord Clifford
Lord Clifford may refer to:*Baron Clifford;*Baron Clifford of Chudleigh;*Baron de Clifford.or, incorrectly, to one of the Clifford Baronets....
was condemned to walk barefoot through the cathedral to the high altar, and the bishop himself applied the rod to his back. Bishop Cantilupe also wrung from the Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
King Llewellyn some manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
which he had seized, and Cantilupe;after a successful lawsuit against the Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
to determine the possession of a chase near the Forest of Malvern; dug the dyke which can still be traced on the crest of the Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...
. Excommunicated by Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
John Peckham
John Peckham
John Peckham was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Franciscan friar about 1250. He studied at Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas...
, he went to the papal court in Orvieto to plead his case with the pope. He moved with the court to Montefiascone where, already ill, he died in 1282 before his case was fully resolved. His flesh was buried in the monastery of San Severo outside Orvieto and his heart and bones were brought back to England. His bones were placed in a shrine at Hereford Cathedral where they became a focus of a huge pilgrimage cult. Rome was urged to canonize him, and among the evidences of his saintliness which his admirers appealed to, in addition to the miracles of healing wrought at his shrine, were the facts that he never ceased to wear his hair-shirt, and would never allow even his sister to kiss him. The testimony was regarded as conclusive, and 40 years after his death, in 1320, the bishop's name was added to the roll of saints. His arms were adopted for those of the see.
Misericords
The choir stalls support forty 14th-century misericordMisericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s. These misericords show a mixture of mythological beasts, grotesques and everyday events, there appears to be no pattern to the content.
In addition to the misericords in the choir, there are five others contained in a row of "Judges Seats" It is unclear if these were used as misericords, or if they are just ornamentation.
16th to 18th century
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
) the city of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
fell into the hands first of one party, then of the other. Once it endured a siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
, and when it was taken the conquerors ran riot in the cathedral and, in their fury, caused great damage which could never be repaired. In the early years of the 18th century, Bishop Bisse
Philip Bisse
Philip Bisse was an English bishop.-Life:He was born in Oldbury-on-the-Hill, Gloucestershire, the son of John Bisse, a clerk and educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, ordained in 1686 and graduating M.A. in 1693. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March, 1706. He was...
(1712–21), devised a scheme to support the central tower. He also had installed an enormous altar-piece and an oak screen, and instead of restoring the Chapter House he allowed its stones to be utilized for alterations to the Bishop's Palace.
It was during this period that his brother, the Rev Dr Thomas Bisse, was the Chancellor of the Cathedral. In 1724 Thomas Bisse organised a "Music Meeting" which subsequently became, with the Cathedrals at Worcester
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
and Gloucester
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
, the Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
.
1786: Fall of the western tower
On Easter MondayEaster Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
, 1786, the greatest disaster in the history of the cathedral took place. The west tower fell, creating a ruin of the whole of the west front and at least one part of the nave. The tower, which, unlike the west tower of Ely
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
, was in the west bay of the nave, had a general resemblance to the central tower; both were profusely covered with ball-flower ornaments, and both terminated in leaden spires. James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
was called in to repair the damage. Although, as he did at Durham
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
, instead of just repairing he made alterations which were (and are) not universally popular.
19th-century restoration and 1904 reopening
In 1841 the restorationVictorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
work was begun, instigated by Dean Merewether, and was carried out by Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...
and his son, Nockalls. Bishop Bisse's masonry, which by this time had been found to be useless, was swept away from the central tower, the lantern was strengthened and exposed to view, and much work was done in the nave and to the exterior of the Lady Chapel. When Nockalls Cottingham drowned on a voyage to New York in September 1854 George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
was called in, and from that time the work of restoring the choir was performed continuously until 1863, when (on June 30) the cathedral was reopened with solemn services. The Bishop of the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
, Dr. Hampden, preached in the morning and Bishop Wilberforce preached in the evening. In his diary, the latter Bishop characterizes his right reverend brother's sermon as "dull, but thoroughly orthodox"; but of his own service he remarks (not without complacency), "I preached evening; great congregation and much interested."
The west front was restored by John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
over the period 1902 and 1908
Between them these restorations cost some £45,000, a lot in the 1800s (equivalent to some £3,706 683 in 2007 http://www.measuringworth.com/index.html). Since then much else has been done. "Wyatt's Folly", as James Wyatt's west front was often called, has been replaced by a highly ornate façade in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, whose figure is to be seen at the beautiful stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
which fills the seven-light (i.e. with seven main vertical "lights", or sections of glass) window subscribed "by the women of Hereford diocese".
20th Century extensions
A new library building was constructed in the early 1990s and opened by HM The Queen in 1996.21st Century changes
Work on a new Cathedral Green, with pathways, seating, and gated entrance to the Cathedral was undertaken in 2010 to 2011.Bells
Hereford Cathedral houses 10 bells 140 ft (42.7 m) high in the tower. The tenor bell weighs 34 cwt (1.7 tonnes). The oldest bell in the Cathedral is the sixth which dates back to the 13th century. The bells are sometimes known as the "Grand Old Lady" as they are a unique ring of bells. The Cathedral is the main tower of the Hereford Diocesan Guild.General description of interior
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
columns and arches of the nave built by Bishop Reynelm's stonemasons. Until 1847 the pavement which had been laid down in the nave completely hid the square bases on which the piers rest. Double semi-cylindrical shafts run up their north and south faces, ending in small double capitals at the height of the capitals of the piers themselves. In the south aisle of the nave are two 14th century church monument
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
tombs, with effigies of unknown ecclesiastics. The tomb of Sir Richard Pembridge, Knight of the Garter in the reign of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, is a fine example of the armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
of that period, and it is one of the earliest instances of an effigy wearing the garter. A square-headed doorway gives access from this aisle to the Bishop's Cloister.
At the northern entrance is a porch and Decorated doorway, a good general view is at once obtained. There is a modern rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
, a spacious and lofty central lantern, and a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
with a carved spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
. The Lady Chapel has lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s, foliated ornaments and a groined roof. The tomb of Bishop Booth, the builder of the porch, is in the sixth bay of the nave on the north side, guarded by the only ancient ironwork left in the cathedral. On the south side of the nave is the Norman font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, a circular bowl large enough to allow of the immersion of children.
Great transept and choir
The north transept, rebuilt by Bishop Aquablanca in the Decorated period, and restoredVictorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by Scott, is remarkable for the diapering
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
of the triforium arcade, and for the form of the pointed arches and windows, which have so slight a curvature as to resemble two straight lines meeting at an angle. The north window is filled with stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
by Hardman as a memorial of Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
Lane-Freer, who died in 1863. In this transept is the tomb or substructure of the shrine of Bishop Cantilupe, early Decorated work which has been restored. Of Purbeck marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
, it is built in two stages, of which the lower contains 14 figures of Knights Templars in chainmail
Chainmail
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
, occupying cinquefoiled niches; the Bishop was Provincial Grand Master of that Order in England. Between the north choir aisle and the eastern aisle of the transept is the tomb of Bishop Aquablanca, the most ancient of the episcopal monuments in the church. The effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
is an example of a bishop in full vestments; the canopy is supported by slender shafts; the carving throughout is delicate. The south transept is thought by some authorities to be the oldest part of the cathedral, and it exhibits some Norman work, notably the eastern wall with its arcades.
Until its removal in the 1960s there was a wrought iron choir-screen
Hereford Screen
The Hereford Screen is a great choir screen designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and made by Coventry metalworking firm Skidmore & Co. for Hereford Cathedral, England in 1862. It was one of the Gothic Revival works in iron of the nineteenth century...
, painted and gilt. Designed by Scott, it was executed by Messrs. Skidmore, of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, from whose works also came the earlier metal screen at Lichfield
Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...
. After being kept in storage for many years, the screen was completely restored in the late 1990s and re-erected at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London.
The choir, consisting of three Norman bays of three stages, is full of objects of beauty and interest. The reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, designed by the younger Cottingham, consists of five canopied compartments, with elaborate sculpture representing our Lord's Passion. Behind it is a pier from which spring two pointed arches; the spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, representing Christ in his majesty, with angels and the four Evangelists; below is a figure of King Ethelbert. Against the most easterly point on the south side of the choir is to be seen a small effigy of this king, which was dug up at the entrance to the Lady Chapel about the year 1700. The Bishop's throne and the stalls, of 14th century work and restored, and the modern book desks and figures of angels on the upper stalls, deserve attention. There is also a very curious ancient episcopal chair.
Burials
- Robert of HerefordRobert of HerefordRobert of Hereford was a priest who became Bishop of Hereford following the Norman Conquest of England.-Life:...
- ReynelmReynelmReynelm was a medieval Bishop of Hereford.-Life:Reynelm's origins are unknown, but Gundulf of Rochester, the Bishop of Rochester, may have been his patron, as a letter of 1101 implies that Gundulf ordained him a priest...
- Geoffrey de CliveGeoffrey de CliveGeoffrey de Clive was a medieval Bishop of Hereford.-Life:Clive's nationality and origins are unknown. He was a royal clerk or chaplain for King Henry I of England before being nominated to the see of Hereford. He was consecrated on 26 December 1115 at Canterbury by Archbishop Ralph d'Escures. He...
- Robert de BethuneRobert de BethuneRobert de Bethune was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. The son of a knight, he became a teacher before becoming a canon, a type of monk, by 1115. He was elected prior of Llanthony Priory in the middle 1120s, and was named bishop by King Henry I of England in 1130...
, Bishop of Hereford (1131–1148) - Robert of MelunRobert of MelunRobert of Melun was an English scholastic Christian theologian who taught in France, and later became Bishop of Hereford in England. He studied under Peter Abelard in Paris before teaching there and at Melun, which gave him his surname. His students included John of Salisbury, Roger of Worcester,...
, Bishop of Hereford (1163–1167) - Robert FoliotRobert FoliotRobert Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford in England. He was a relative of a number of English ecclesiastics, including Gilbert Foliot, one of his predecessors at Hereford. After serving Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln as a clerk, he became a clerk of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester...
, Bishop of Hereford (1173–1186) - William de VereWilliam de Vere-Biography:The son of Aubrey de Vere II and Adeliza of Clare, probably the fourth of five sons, and brother of Aubrey de Vere III first earl of Oxford, de Vere spent part of his youth at the court of King Henry I of England and his second wife, Queen Adeliza of Leuven. Little is known of his...
, Bishop of Hereford (1186–1198) - Giles de BraoseGiles de BraoseGiles de Braose was Bishop of Hereford from 1200 to 1215.-Early life:Giles was the second son of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber. His father was a landholder on the Welsh Marches, who gained the favour of King John of England in the early years of John's reign. Giles' mother was Maud of St...
, Bishop of Hereford (1200–1215) - Hugh de MapenorHugh de MapenorHugh de Mapenor was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. Although educated and given the title of magister, or "master", the details of his schooling are unknown. Mapenor was a clerk for Giles de Braose, his predecessor as bishop. Later, Mapenor served as Dean of Hereford before being elected as bishop...
, Bishop of Hereford (1216–1219) - Hugh FoliotHugh FoliotHugh Foliot was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. Related somehow to his predecessor at Hereford, he served as a priest and papal judge as well as being an unsuccessful candidate as Bishop of St David's in Wales. In 1219, he was appointed Bishop of Hereford...
, Bishop of Hereford (1219–1234) - Peter of AigueblanchePeter of AigueblanchePeter of Aigueblanche was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. A nobleman from Savoy, he came to England as part of the party accompanying King Henry III's bride Eleanor of Provence. He entered the royal service, becoming bishop in 1241...
, Bishop of Hereford (1240–1268) - his body was exhumed in 1925 - Thomas de Cantilupe, EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
SaintSaintA saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and Bishop of Hereford (1275–1282) - Richard SwinefieldRichard SwinefieldRichard Swinefield was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. He earned a doctor of divinity degree as well as holding a number of ecclesiastical offices, including Archdeacon of London, before being named bishop. While bishop, he worked to secure the canonization of Thomas de Cantilupe, his predecessor,...
, Bishop of Hereford (1282–1317) - Thomas Charlton (bishop), Lord Privy SealLord Privy SealThe Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
and Lord High TreasurerLord High TreasurerThe post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...
of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Bishop of Hereford (1327–1344) - Herbert WestfalingHerbert WestfalingHerbert Westfaling , 1531/2–1602, was Anglican Bishop of Hereford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford....
, Bishop of Hereford (1585–1602) - in the north transept - Augustine LindsellAugustine LindsellAugustine Lindsell was an English classical scholar and bishop of Hereford. In church matters he was advanced by Richard Neile, and was a firm supporter of William Laud. As a scholar he influenced Thomas Farnaby.-Life:...
, Bishop of Hereford (1634) - Gilbert Ironside the youngerGilbert Ironside the youngerGilbert Ironside the younger was an English churchman and academic, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford from 1667, Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Hereford.-Life:...
, Bishop of Hereford (1691–1701) - James AtlayJames AtlayJames Atlay was the 98th Anglican Bishop of Hereford, from 1868 to 1894.James Atlay was the son of Rev Henry Atlay and Elizabeth Rayner Hovell. Educated at Oakham School, he entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he held a fellowship from 1846 to 1859...
, Bishop of Hereford (1868–1894)
Organ
On the south side of the choir is the organPipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
case also designed by Scott. It houses an instrument built in 1892 by Henry Willis
Henry Willis
Henry Willis was a British organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era.-Early Life and work:...
, generally considered to be one of the finest examples of his work in the country.
- Details of the main organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- Details of the Lady Chapel organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- Details of the Chamber organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
- The Organists and Organs of Hereford Cathedral
Organists
- 1517 William Woode
- 1527 Richard Palmer
- 1536 John Slade
- 1538 John Hodges
- 1581 Thomas Mason (Master of the Choristers)
- 1582 John BullJohn Bull (composer)John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:...
- 1586 Thomas Warrock(e) (see Fitzwilliam Virginal BookFitzwilliam Virginal BookThe Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...
) - 1586 Thomas Mason (acting organist)
- 1591 John Fido (1st tenure)
- 1592 John FarrantRichard FarrantRichard Farrant was a composer of English church music, also a choirmaster, playwright and theatrical producer noted for creating the Blackfriars Theatre that hosted children's companies.Very little is known about him...
- 1593 John Fido (2nd tenure)
- 1595 John Gibbs
- 1596 John Fido (3rd tenure)
- 1597 William Inglott (until 1609 or later) (see Fitzwilliam Virginal Book)
- 1630 Hugh Davis (possibly earlier)
- 1660 John Badham
- 1688 Henry Hall
- 1707 Henry Hall, junior
- 1714 Edward Thompson
- 1720 Henry Swarbrick
- 1754 Richard Clack
- 1779 William Perry
- 1789 Miles Coyle (formerly organist of St Laurence's Church, Ludlow)
- 1805 Charles James Dare
- 1818 Aaron Upjohn Hayter
- 1820 John Clarke Whitfeld (also Whitfield)
- 1832 Samuel Sebastian WesleySamuel Sebastian WesleySamuel Sebastian Wesley was an English organist and composer.-Biography:Born in London, he was the eldest child in the composer Samuel Wesley's second family, which he formed with Sarah Suter having separated from his wife Charlotte. Samuel Sebastian was the grandson of Charles Wesley...
- 1835 John Hunt
- 1843 George Townshend Smith
- 1877 Langdon ColborneLangdon ColborneLangdon Colbourne was an cathedral organist, who served at Hereford Cathedral.-Background:Langdon Colbourne was born on 15 September 1835 in Hackney London.He studied organ under George Cooper.-Career:Organist of:*St...
- 1889 George Robertson SinclairGeorge Robertson SinclairGeorge Robertson Sinclair was an English cathedral organist, who served at Truro and Hereford cathedrals.As a young man, Sinclair was destined for the Anglican priesthood, but in 1880 his father died and Sinclair needed to earn a living immediately. He became the first cathedral organist of the...
- 1918 Percy Clarke HullPercy HullSir Percy Clarke Hull was an English organist and composer who revived the Three Choirs Festival during his time as organist of Hereford Cathedral from 1918 to 1949...
- 1950 (Albert) Meredith Davies
- 1956 (Alfred) Melville CookMelville CookMelville Cook was a British organist, conductor, composer and teacher.- Biography :Alfred Melville Cook was born in Gloucester. He was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral and articled pupil there under Herbert Sumsion . He also studied with Herbert Brewer and Edward Bairstow...
- 1966 Richard Hey LloydRichard Hey Lloyd-Biography:Richard Lloyd was born near Stockport, Cheshire. He was a chorister of Lichfield Cathedral and was educated at Rugby School where he held a music scholarship. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar . He took the Music Tripos and holds the Cambridge degree...
- 1974 Roy MasseyRoy Massey (musician)-Biography:Roy Massey was born in Birmingham and was educated at Moseley Grammar School, Birmingham, and the University of Birmingham. He took the Birmingham degree of B.Mus...
- 2001 Geraint BowenGeraint Bowen (musician)Geraint Bowen is an English conductor and organist. He is artistic director of the Hereford Three Choirs Festival.He became organist and director of music at Hereford Cathedral in 2001. He is also conductor of the Hereford Choral Society...
Assistant organists
- F. J. Livesey 1883–1884
- Allan Paterson 1884–1889
- Ivor AtkinsIvor AtkinsSir Ivor Algernon Atkins was the choirmaster and organist at Worcester Cathedral for over 50 years . He is well known for editing Allegri's Miserere with the famous top-C part for the treble...
1890–1893 (later organist of Worcester CathedralWorcester CathedralWorcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
) - Edgar C. Broadhurst 1892–1895 (later organist of St. Michael's College, TenburySt. Michael's College, TenburyThe College of St. Michael and All Angels, in Tenbury Wells Worcestershire was a boys school founded by Frederick Ouseley in 1856 to provide a model for the performance of Anglican church music. Choral services were performed daily in term time, and the college possessed a library that contained...
) - Percy HullPercy HullSir Percy Clarke Hull was an English organist and composer who revived the Three Choirs Festival during his time as organist of Hereford Cathedral from 1918 to 1949...
1898 – c. 1912 (served in the First World War until 1918 when he became organist of Hereford Cathedral) - W. R. Carr c. 1912 (probably replaced Percy Hull during the war)
- Ernest Willoughby 1919–1923
- Reginald Harry West 1924–1935 (later organist of St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh)
- Colin Archibald Campbell Ross 1935–1940 (later organist at St Paul's Cathedral, MelbourneSt Paul's Cathedral, MelbourneSt Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
and Newcastle CathedralNewcastle CathedralSt Nicholas's Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Its full title is The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas Newcastle upon Tyne...
) - Christopher John Morris 1940–1942
- Colin Mann 1942–1949
- Ross Fink 1950–1953
- Michael Illman 1953–1958
- Michael Burton 1958–1962 (later organist of the Church of St John the Baptist, Frome)
- Roger FisherRoger Fisher (Organist)Roger Fisher is a concert organist and pianist from Woodford, Essex.He attended Bancroft's School and went on to the Royal College of Music, studying with Herbert Howells and Harold Darke. He gained ARCM, FRCO and CHM diplomas, and also won the Geoffrey Tankard Prize for Organ playing...
1962–1967 (later organist of Chester CathedralChester CathedralChester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly St Werburgh's abbey church of a Benedictine monastery, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
) - Robert Green 1968–1984
- David Briggs 1985–1988 (later organist of Truro CathedralTruro CathedralThe Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
and Gloucester CathedralGloucester CathedralGloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
) - Geraint BowenGeraint Bowen (musician)Geraint Bowen is an English conductor and organist. He is artistic director of the Hereford Three Choirs Festival.He became organist and director of music at Hereford Cathedral in 2001. He is also conductor of the Hereford Choral Society...
1989–1994 (later organist of St David's CathedralSt David's CathedralSt David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...
and Hereford Cathedral) - Huw Williams 1995–1998 (later sub-organist at St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
) - Peter Dyke 1998–
See also (Music)
- Three Choirs FestivalThree Choirs FestivalThe Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
- Frederick OuseleyFrederick OuseleySir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, 2nd Baronet was an English composer, organist, and musicologist.He was born in London, the son of Sir Gore Ouseley, and manifested an extraordinary precocity in music, composing an opera at the age of eight years. In 1844, having succeeded to the baronetcy, he...
, (Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley), precentor of Hereford Cathedral
Mappa Mundi
In the north choir aisle is Bishop Stanbury's late Perpendicular chantry, a charming little structure with fan-vaulted roof and panelled walls, lighted by two windows on the north side. The alabaster effigy, although slightly mutilated, is a valuable example of mediæval vestments. On the wall of the opposite choir aisle, the celebrated Hereford "Mappa MundiMappa mundi
Mappa mundi is a general term used to describe medieval European maps of the world. These maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps an inch or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which was 11 ft. in diameter...
", dating from the later years of the 13th century, hung, little regarded, for many years. It is the work of an ecclesiastic who is supposed to be represented in the right-hand corner on horseback, attended by his page and greyhounds. He has commemorated himself under the name of Richard de Haldingham and Lafford in Lincolnshire, but his real name was Richard de la Battayle or de Bello. He held a prebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
, and was promoted to a stall in this cathedral in 1305, afterwards becoming Archbishop of Reading. During the troublous times of Cromwell the map was laid beneath the floor of Bishop Audley's Chantry, beside the Lady Chapel, where it remained secreted for some time. In 1855 it was cleaned and repaired at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. It is certainly one of the most remarkable monuments of its kind in existence, being the largest but one of all the old maps, drawn on a single sheet of stout vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
. The world is represented as round, surround by the ocean. At the top of the map (the east) is represented Paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
, with its river and tree; also the eating of the forbidden fruit and the expulsion of our first parents
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
. Above is a remarkable representation of the Day of Judgment, with the Virgin Mary interceding for the faithful, who are seen rising from their graves and being led within the walls of heaven. There are numerous figures of towns, animals, birds, and fish, with grotesque creatures; the four great cities, Jerusalem, Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, Rome, and Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, are made very prominent. In Great Britain most of the cathedrals are mentioned. In the 1980s, a financial crisis in the diocese caused the Dean and Chapter to consider selling the Mappi Mundi. After much controversy, large donations from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
, Paul Getty
Paul Getty
Sir John Paul Getty KBE , born Eugene Paul Getty, was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book collector. He was the elder son of Jean Paul Getty, Sr...
and members of the public, kept the map in Hereford and allowed the construction of a new library to house the map and the chained libraries from the Cathedral and All Saints' Church. The centre opened in 1996 on May 3.
East transept
In the north-east transept, of which the vaulting is supported by a central octagonal pier, a large number of monumental fragments are preserved, forming a rich and varied collection. There is also a beautiful altar-tomb of alabaster and polished marbles erected as a public memorial to a former Dean, Richard Dawes, who died in 1867. The effigy, by Mr. Noble, is a good likeness of the Dean, who was an ardent supporter of the education movement about the middle of the 19th century. The south-east transept contains memorials of several Bishops of HerefordBishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
. The remains of Bishop Gilbert Ironside (1701), together with his black marble tombstone, were removed to this place in 1867 m, when the Church of St. Mary Somersetm in Upper Thames Street, London, was taken down. Here also may be seen a curious effigy of St. John the Baptist, and a fine marble bust, believed to be the work of Roubiliac
Louis-François Roubiliac
Louis-François Roubiliac was a French sculptor who worked in England, one of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, "probably the most accomplished sculptor ever to work in England", according to Margaret Whinney.-Works:Roubiliac was largely employed for portrait...
. The handsome canopied Perpendicular tomb of Bishop Mayo (1516), with effigy fully vested, is on the south side of the altar. In the south-east transept, again, is a doorway that opens into the Vicars' Cloister, an interesting piece of Perpendicular work which leads to the college of the vicars choral.
Lady Chapel
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
and approached by an ascent of five steps. Of the five beautiful lancet windows at the east end, each with a quatrefoil opening in the wall above it, Fergusson remarked that "nowhere on the Continent is such a combination to be found"; and he brackets them with the Five Sisters at York Cathedral and the east end of Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
. They are filled with glass by Cottingham as a memorial of Dean Merewether, who is buried in the crypt below, and is further commemorated here by a black marble slab with a brass by Hardman, recording his unwearied interest in the restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
of the cathedral. In the Lady Chapel are church monument
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
s of Joanna de Kilpec and Humphrey de Bohun
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG was an important medieval English noble during the reign of King Edward III of England.- Lineage :...
, her husband. The former Countess of Hereford was a 14th-century benefactress of the cathedral who gave to the Dean and Chapter an acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
(4,000 m²) of land in Lugwardine
Lugwardine
Lugwardine is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, to the east of Hereford.-External links:...
, and the advowson of the church, with several chapels pertaining to it. On the south side of the Lady Chapel, separated from it by a screen of curious design is the chantry erected at the end of the 15th century by Bishop Audley, who, being translated to Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, built another there, where he is buried. His chantry here, pentagonal in shape, is in two storeys, with two windows in the lower and five in the higher.
Crypt and library
Though the cryptCrypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
is small, it is of special interest, as the solitary example of a crypt in an English cathedral built after the Norman period until we come to Truro Cathedral
Truro Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro is an Anglican cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It was built in the Gothic Revival architectural style fashionable during much of the nineteenth century, and is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom...
– for the crypt of St. Paul's is only a reconstruction. To its use as a charnel house
Charnel house
A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves...
it owes the name of Golgotha.
The library contains mainly old books in manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
chained to their places, some of them fine specimens of ancient handwriting, containing beautiful illustrations in gold and colour. Two of the most valuable are a unique copy of the ancient Hereford antiphonary of the 13th century, in good preservation, and a copy of the Gospels at least a thousand years old, in Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
characters. Another treasure is an ancient reliquary of oak, bequeathed to the cathedral by Canon Russell, who is said to have obtained it from a Roman Catholic family in whose possession it had long been. It is covered with copper plates overlaid with Limoges enamel representing the murder and entombment of St. Thomas of Canterbury
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
.
Other buildings
Between the cloisters, the Bishop's and Vicars', both on the south side of the cathedral, are the remains of the Chapter House. In the troubles of 1645 the leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
was stripped from its roof, and we have already recalled how Bishop Bisse most inexcusably completed its ruin. The Bishop's Palace, the Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
, residences for the canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
s, and cathedral school
Hereford Cathedral School
Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day school, with around 520 pupils aged between the ages of 11 and 18. It has four houses, named Langford , Stuart , Somerset and Cornwall Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day school, with around 520 pupils aged...
are in close proximity to each other. The College, the residence of the vicars choral, forms a picturesque quadrangle
Quadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
.
Dimensions
The exterior length of the church is 342 feet (104.2 m), the interior length 326 feet (99.4 m), the nave (up to the screen) measuring 158 feet (48.2 m) and the choir 75 feet (22.9 m). The great transept is 146 feet (44.5 m) long, the east transept 110 feet (33.5 m). The nave and choir (including the aisles) are 73 feet (22.3 m) wide; the nave is 64 feet (19.5 m) high, and the choir 62½ feet. The lantern is 96 feet (29.3 m) high, the tower 140½ feet, or with the pinnacles 165 feet (50.3 m).Eminent persons
Among eminent men who have been associated with the cathedral – besides those who have already been mentioned – are Robert of GloucesterRobert of Gloucester (historian)
Robert of Gloucester wrote a chronicle of British, English, and Norman history sometime in the mid- or late-thirteenth century. The Chronicle survives in some 16 manuscripts, ranging in date from the early fourteenth to mid-fifteenth centuries, and was of considerable interest to contemporaries...
, the chronicler, prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
in 1291; Nicholas of Hereford, chancellor in 1377, a remarkable man and leader of the Lollards at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
; John Carpenter, town clerk of London
John Carpenter, town clerk of London
John Carpenter, the younger , was a noted Town Clerk of London. He was elected as Town Clerk to the City of London during the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI. He was the author of the first book of English common law, called Liber Albus . He was a member of the English Parliament from London in 1425...
who baptized there on December 18, 1378; Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document...
, prebendary in 1507, a celebrated literary man, as indeed with such a name he ought to have been; and Miles Smith
Miles Smith
Miles Smith was a scholar, theologian, and bibliophile.-Life:He attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford, but graduated from Brasenose, in the same University, where he "proved at length an incomparable theologist." In time, he became resident canon of Hereford Cathedral and earned his Doctor of...
, prebendary in 1580, promoted to the See of Gloucester – one of the translators of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Another famous prebendary was Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Thomas Wolsey, who was appointed to a stall in 1510. The list of post English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s includes Matthew Wren
Matthew Wren
"Matthew Wren" is also a British actor who appeared in BBC children's show Trapped!.Matthew Wren was an influential English clergyman and scholar.-Life:...
, who, however was translated to Ely in the year of his consecration (1635); Nicholas Monck
Nicholas Monck
Nicholas Monck was bishop of Hereford and provost of Eton. He was the younger brother of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle....
, a brother of the George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II.-Early life and career:...
, who died within a few months of consecration (1661); and two bishops around whom ecclesiastical storms raged, Benjamin Hoadley and Renn Dickson Hampden
Renn Dickson Hampden
Renn Dickson Hampden , was an English Anglican clergyman whose selection as Bishop of Hereford formed a minor cause celebre in Victorian religious controversies.-Biography:...
. Hoadley, by his tract against the Non-jurors and his sermon on the Kingdom of Christ, provoked the Bangorian Controversy
Bangorian Controversy
The Bangorian Controversy was a theological argument within the Church of England in the early 18th century, with strong political overtones. The origins of the controversy lay in the 1716 posthumous publication of George Hickes's Constitution of the Catholic Church, and the Nature and...
and so led to the virtual supersession of Convocation from 1717 to 1852; the appointment of Hampden to this see by Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
in 1847 was bitterly opposed by those who considered him latitudinarian
Latitudinarian
Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England practices but who felt that matters of doctrine, liturgical practice, and ecclesiastical organization were of relatively little importance...
, including the Dean of Hereford, and was appealed against in the Court of Queen's Bench. Dr. Hampden went his way, which was that of a student rather than that of an administrator, and ruled the diocese for 21 years, leaving behind him at his death, in 1868, the reputation of a great scholar and thinker.
Magna Carta
Hereford is fortunate to possess one of only four 1217 Magna CartaMagna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
to survive, which in turn is one of the finest of the eight oldest that survive. It is sometimes put on display alongside the Mappa Mundi
Mappa mundi
Mappa mundi is a general term used to describe medieval European maps of the world. These maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps an inch or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which was 11 ft. in diameter...
in the cathedral's chained library
Chained library
A chained library is a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, which is sufficiently long to allow the books to be taken from their shelves and read, but not removed from the library itself...
.
See also
- List of Bishops of HerefordBishop of HerefordThe Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
- List of Deans of Hereford
- List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandArchitecture of the medieval cathedrals of EnglandThe medieval cathedrals of England, dating from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings which together constitute a major aspect of the country’s artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity. Though diversified in style, they...
- English Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic architectureEnglish Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
- Romanesque architectureRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...