Bell's Cathedrals: Southwark Cathedral Part 6

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo._ _G.P. Heisch._ THE HARVARD WINDOW.]

The window is a noteworthy example of modern work, and the treatment of the familiar subject is distinctly original, in which respect, as well as in colouring, it presents a very striking contrast to the other windows, especially to those of mediaeval character, throughout the church. Perhaps it is fortunate that it occupies an isolated position in the chapel, where the brilliance and peculiarity of the colouring are seen to full advantage without detriment to the other windows.

It is hoped that this generous gift inaugurates the restoration of the old chapel to its original dignity, as a worthy memorial to him whose name will henceforth be inseparable from it. The intention is to equip it with an altar and other necessary fittings for use at early celebrations and small gatherings of people, at present without accommodation. A new vestry for the clergy is badly wanted, as well as for the choir, whose ca.s.socks and surplices now hang in the adjacent aisle.

The =South Choir Aisle= is lighted by a small lancet above the entrance porch representing the Good Shepherd; by another lancet to the memory of John Herd, an inhabitant; and by a window of three lights. The last commemorates George Gwilt, the distinguished architect who did so much for the restoration of 1832-3, elsewhere described.

Two tablets in the same aisle are worth noticing. The first is a bra.s.s, dated 1652, on the pier between the choir and aisle entrance, in memory of Susanna Barford, who died at the early age of ten years and thirteen weeks. The inscription quotes her as, "The Non-such of the world for Piety and Vertue in soe tender years." Below these words there is an epitaph in rhyming couplets and complimentary terms, separated from the inscription by a death's head and crossbones, and a pair of wings supporting an hourgla.s.s, on the dexter and sinister sides respectively. This is the only bra.s.s with any approach to antiquity in the Cathedral, though the matrix of another, evidently thought more worthy of a private collection, has been detected in one of the recesses, lately described, in the opposite aisle. The other memorial is a plain marble slab, scarcely seen in the darkness between the windows. It commemorates Abraham Newland, the model chief cashier of the Bank of England, whose strict notions of duty would not allow him to sleep a single night off the premises during the twenty-five years of his appointment. He died in 1807, two months after taking his pension, leaving 60,000, in the funds, to his landlady. This inexpensive memorial is a token of her grat.i.tude.

The =Organ=.--On the south side of the aisle is the organ-chamber erected by Sir Arthur Blomfield and Sons, after much discussion as to a suitable place for the new instrument, for which it was eventually decided to build the chamber over part of the site once occupied by the Magdalen Church. The old organ used to stand in the gallery at the west end of the debased nave, and was since removed to the north transept. When it was finally taken down it was unsaleable as a musical instrument, and had to go for what it would fetch as so much wood and metal. Some relics of it have, however, been preserved in the shape of the large gilded angels which adorned its front. These are now stored above the tall iron safe in the Harvard chapel. The present organ and the chamber which contains it were both presented by the late Mrs. Robert Courage as a memorial to her husband.

The new organ, built by Messrs. Lewis and Co., Limited, is of peculiarly rich and pleasant tone. It contains more than 4,000 pipes and consists of four manuals, with a system of interchangeable composition pedals, the whole embodying the most recent improvements for altering and combining the stops, and working the instrument to the best advantage with the least exertion. The action is electro-pneumatic, and the wind is supplied by a rotary hydraulic engine.[31]

Imbedded in the pavement at the entrance to this aisle there is an interesting collection of =Roman tesserae=, which have been carefully preserved as an evidence of the antiquity of the site.

=The Tower.=--A great difference is to be noticed between the arches of the east and west sides and those of the north and south. The former are evidently of the same age (thirteenth century) as the nave and choir, while the others indicate that the transepts were not built till the following century. There is an important difference also between the north and south arches, in that the shafts of the former stop considerably short of the ground, whilst those on the south are carried down to the pavement.

The moulding of the western arch is supported by the heads of a king and queen (uncertain), and on the southern side of the eastern, or choir, arch there is the head of a bishop.

Above the arches there is an open arcade on the four sides of the tower, which communicates with the roof above the nave, choir, and transepts. The comparatively modern ceiling, which limited the view upwards within the tower, has now been removed, and the roof raised to its original level beneath the ringers' floor. This new roof is of oak, in which some bosses from its fifteenth century predecessor have been inserted. Pendent from it is the fine =Chandelier= of wrought iron and bra.s.s, presented to the church in 1680 by Dorothy Applebee, who was buried within the sanctuary two years later. This chandelier had been transferred to the choir during the degradation of the old church, in which position it was by no means without precedent in ancient churches, but its original place here was in the tower, to which it has been restored.

Sir Arthur Blomfield's work included the complete restoration of the tower windows and the interior walls.

The =Pulpit= comes from a relative of the Rev. W. Curling, the chaplain commemorated in one of the Lady Chapel windows, and is intended as a personal memorial to the same man. It is a delicate piece of carved oak, somewhat out of character with the ma.s.sive stone-work around it, and is approached by a staircase still more slender in appearance. The carving, however, is well executed, and many notable sermons have already been preached from it, which, thanks to the sounding-board, have been tolerably well heard throughout the church.

The =Lectern= was presented by Mrs. Richard Hunt, in memory of her husband. It is of bronze with a bra.s.s pedestal, and represents an eagle holding a dragon in his claws.

The =North Transept= differs materially from the south in the dimensions and character of the windows, which in the south transept are larger and more elaborate. In the north transept there are three on each side, those next the tower being simple lancets, the others of two lights without tracery. All these at present contain plain gla.s.s.

The two-light windows are exact reproductions of the originals, from fragments of which they were first restored by Mr. Wallace in 1833.

The exceptionally large window on the north side is the gift of Mr.

F.L. Bevan, and was unveiled by the Duke of Connaught on 22nd June, 1898, in double commemoration of the Prince Consort and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The present window, by Mr. Kempe, takes the place of an inferior one set up in 1861 to the memory of Prince Albert shortly after his death.

It contains in its four lights the figures of Gregory the Great, King Ethelbert, Stephen Langton, and William of Wykeham. The subjects were chosen as ill.u.s.trating important stages in the history of England and the National Church, which it is sought to epitomize in the decoration of this representative Cathedral.

It is supposed that this transept once formed a chapel dedicated to St. Peter, and was screened off from the tower for that purpose. This probably accounts for the fact that the piers of the tower arch are left plain to the height of about 12 ft., above which begin the six cl.u.s.tered columns similar to those which rise from the ground level on the south side. The conjecture is supported by the discovery of an aumbrey at the eastern end of the north wall, which of course implies an altar and a chapel. The transept is now used as a sort of ecclesiastical museum for antiquities previously distributed about the church. Perhaps the most interesting, certainly the most ancient, of these is a stone coffin, with a portion of the lid of Purbeck marble, discovered during the restorations. There was a skeleton within it, but _whose_ it is impossible to say, though the ornamental design on the lid points to the twelfth century, and to a person of importance.

It bears a raised cross of unique pattern at the head of a stem which obviously extended to the foot of the coffin. The arms of the cross are of equal length and terminate in chain-work, the angles of intersection being occupied by representations of the sun, crescent moon, and stars. The symbolism of these figures has been variously interpreted, and, as the coffin bears no date or inscription, it has given rise to much speculation as to whether its occupant was one of the Priors or a crusader. The skeleton, though said to have been discovered in an almost perfect condition, contained no key to the mystery.

A relic of the Norman age is preserved in the north wall, above the aumbrey, viz., a portion of a string-course with billet moulding--a further evidence of the age of this part of the church. The arches between the choir and nave aisles are worth notice as architectural curiosities. The former shows a strange angular introduction in the moulding of its southern side. The latter has an acute arch, without moulding, constructed within it, apparently to strengthen the walls.

On the floor by the eastern wall lies one of those charnel house memorials, in the shape of a ghastly and desiccated human figure, of the kind not uncommon in tombs of the sixteenth century. To whose tomb this figure belonged there is no evidence to show.

Against the east and west walls are piled some curious bosses from the old oak roof erected in 1469, after the stone roof had fallen down.

There were originally about a hundred and fifty of these grotesque specimens of wood-carving, but there are now only about one-third of them left, including those placed in the new roof within the tower.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo._ _G.P. Heisch._ CARVED BOSSES FROM THE CEILING OF THE OLD NAVE (FIFTEENTH CENTURY).]

The fine chest against the western wall was presented about the middle of the sixteenth century by Hugh Offley and Robert Harding, Aldermen and Sheriffs of London, who were related by marriage. The chest is made of oak, with various fancy woods inlaid, _e.g._, walnut, pear, cherry, box, rosewood, ash, yew, holly, and ebony, distributed over the surface so as to bring their colours into agreeable contrast in the design. This appears to represent the facade of a cla.s.sical building, the panels on the front of the chest being divided by the pilasters of the architecture. The central panel contains the first owner's initials, "H.H.O." The others hold the crests and armorial bearings of the two families.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo._ _G.P. Heisch._ THE AUSTIN MONUMENT (NORTH TRANSEPT).]

On the western wall of this transept there is a remarkable monument, which cannot be better described than in the words of John Strype:

"_The Austin Monument_," he says, "is emblematical of Christ and of the Resurrection, according to the pious fancy of the devout Mr. Austin, who set it up at first. First, there is the representation of a rock, upon which is writ 'Petra erat X.T.S.', _i.e._, the Rock was Christ. Down this rock runs a stream of water, and through this same rock is creeping a serpent; whereby he strips off his old skin, which hangs on that part which is not yet got through. At the foot of this rock, and out of it, grows up standing corn, on which is a label with these words, 'Si non moriatur, non reviviscit,'

_i.e._, if it dieth not, it liveth not again. Underneath this corn, upon the basis, is this significant motto, 'Nos sevit, fovit, lavit, coget, renovabit,' _i.e._, He hath sown, cherished, washed us, and He shall gather us together, and renew us. Upon the top of this rock standeth an angel; in his left hand a sickle, his right hand pointing up towards the sun shining in his glory, with a label upon the lower rays of it, 'Sol Just.i.tiae,' _i.e._, the Sun of Righteousness. On the right and left sides of this monument are instruments of husbandry hanging by a riband out of a death's head, as ploughs, whips, yokes, rakes, spades, flails, harrows, shepherds' crooks, scythes, etc., over which is writ, 'Vos estis Dei Agricultura,' _i.e._, ye are G.o.d's husbandry. On the outside of these, on the right and left, are two harvest men with wings, the one with a fork, the other with a rake behind him. They are in light garments, sitting, and leaning their heads upon their hands, their elbows resting upon their knees, as weary and tired, and resting after their harvest work; and having straw hats on, very comely; underneath them these words, 'Messores congregabunt,' _i.e._, the reapers shall gather. Under all this is a winnowing fan, within which is the representation of a sheet of parchment, as it were, stretched upon it; on which is writ the inscription."

The inscription (Latin) agrees in its figurative language with the character of the monument. It practically states that William Austin had the tomb constructed, while he was yet alive, as a burial-place for his wife, his mother (Lady Clarke), and himself, and that the three were laid there in succession in 1623, 1626, and 1633. William Austin was a barrister, who wrote a number of devotional pieces in verse and prose. He died on 16th January, 1633, and his second wife published them in 1635, "as a surviving monument of some part of the great worth of her ever-honoured husband." The son William, like his father a poet and a lawyer, was also buried at St. Saviour's.

Another noteworthy monument is that on the north wall to =Lionel Lockyer=, inventor and patentee of the miraculous pills, "Radiis Solis Extractae," to be taken early in the morning against fogs, contagious airs, and all diseases known and unknown, to improve personal beauty, and make old age delightful. The glowing epitaph of twelve lines is at once a eulogy on the man, and a bold advertis.e.m.e.nt of the medicine.

Lockyer died on 26th April, 1672. An air of sanctimonious benevolence will be noticed on the face of the rec.u.mbent doctor--probably a faithful portrait--not unlike the expression given to the quack doctor in one of Hogarth's famous pictures. The face of the cherub above wears a look of intense agony, which frivolous people are wont to attribute to the panacea. Higher up on the same wall there is a Hatchment, with the armorial bearings of the person to whom it refers, and the motto _Resurgam_. The conspicuous place and large characters look as if specially chosen with reference to the fabric, to which the word may well be applied.

On the east wall hangs an escutcheon of the arms of Queen Anne, with the motto _Semper eadem_. The arms seem to have been painted over some previous heraldic achievement, which includes the figures of "Justice"

and "Mercy," or two similar characters, standing on a platform in the middle of a Rotunda. There is a peculiarity also in the omission of the year, which is usually given with the Royal Arms hung up in churches. The escutcheon is said to have been brought from the neighbouring Sessions Court, and set up in the first instance in the choir, to commemorate the visit of Queen Anne, when she came to hear Dr. Sacheverell. Appearances seem to show that it was repainted, and the Queen's initials inserted, to suit the occasion.

The =South Transept=.--The solid panels, noticed outside as diminishing the effect of the great south window, are accounted for in the interior, where the mouldings of two lofty arches occupy the wall, their apices reaching to the window sill. These the restorer has wisely left intact, and the window, seen from within, appears in admirable proportion, and well suited to its place. It is of five lights, and occupies the entire breadth of the transept. The style is described by the architect, Sir Arthur Blomfield, as "Transitional between Flowing Decorated and Perpendicular." Presented by Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., in memory of his daughter, the glazing of this fine window was entrusted to Mr. C.E. Kempe. He has taken as his subject the "Tree of Jesse," as a connecting link between the scripture subjects represented elsewhere, and the modern historical windows, whether commemorating distinguished clergy or laity of the Catholic Church.

There was formerly a doorway cut through one of the arches beneath this window. The s.p.a.ce is now filled up, restoring the arcading to its original state, and the entrance transferred to the eastern wall, where the inner porch occupies the s.p.a.ce beneath the organ front.

There are three windows above, of three lights each, corresponding with those on the opposite side, except in the tracery. The window over the door, as well as that facing it, is in memory of Mr. Henry Wood, Warden of the Great Account (1899-1900). The six divisions in each contain the same number of figures from the Old Testament, viz., in the eastern window, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph; and in the western, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Hosea, David, Ezekiel.

Both these windows are due to Sir Frederick Wigan, who presented them in 1900.

Next to the "Wood" window, on the western side, there is another fine one to the memory of Elizabeth Newcomen, a great benefactress to the neighbourhood, buried in the church in 1675.[32]

This window came from the Governors and Scholars, past and present, of the school which she founded, and from the parishioners. The gla.s.s is by Kempe. The figures in the upper division are St. John Baptist, Elijah, and Malachi; and in the lower, Zechariah, Solomon, and St.

Elizabeth, the last a tribute to the lady's own Christian name.

It will be seen from this description that there are three windows awaiting subjects (and donors) in the south transept, two on the eastern, and one on the western side. The whole series is intended to ill.u.s.trate the Gospel genealogy and the Incarnation, in continuation of the idea suggested in the Jesse Tree.

The most important monuments in the south transepts are those of John Bingham, Richard Benefeld, William Emerson, and the Rev. Thomas Jones.

The "Bingham" monument (1625) was formerly in the Magdalene Church, whence it was removed to the west side of this transept when the church was destroyed. An arched recess, flanked by consoles, contains a half-length coloured effigy of the deceased, in gown and ruff. Below this is a panel, surmounted by arches and supported by pilasters, enclosing a tablet, with the inscription to John Bingham, Sadler to Queen Elizabeth and James I. The spandrels of the arch above the figure contain the arms of the City of London and the Sadlers'

Company. The family arms surmount the whole. Bingham is quoted in the inscription as "a good benefactor to the parish and free school"; besides which he was one of the Trustees to whom the church was conveyed by James I, and we have to thank him and his _confreres_ that it has not gone the way of the Priory buildings formerly surrounding it.

The "Benefeld" monument (1615) is chiefly interesting for its quaint Latin epitaph. This speaks of his remains as purified by the frankincense, myrrh, amber, etc., which symbolise the discipline of life.

William Emerson and his family, ancestors of the better known Ralph Waldo, were also good benefactors, especially to the poor of the parish, who still enjoy the pensions founded by their bounty. The inscription on William Emerson's monument (1575) describes him as having "lived and died an honest man," and concludes with the warning, _Ut sum sic eris_, ill.u.s.trated by a small _memento mori_, in the form of a skeleton, rec.u.mbent on the base.

An ornamental marble tablet (1762), on the south wall, commemorates the Rev. Thomas Jones, who died of a fever contracted during his parochial visitings, and was buried in a vault in the "Little Chapel of Our Lady." He was chaplain at St. Saviour's from 1753 till he died at the early age of thirty-three. A faithful and zealous evangelical pastor at a period of general debility in the Church of England, he was hampered throughout his ministrations by the governing body, who not only had the right of selecting their ministers, but exercised a jealous censorship on their teaching and practice, when they showed any tendency to "unsoundness" or undue enthusiasm. Above the tablet containing the inscription there is a bust of Mr. Jones, in the clerical dress and necktie of his date, with a cherub on each side.

The architectural differences between the north and south transepts are largely accounted for by the rebuilding of the latter, in the fifteenth century, by Cardinal Beaufort.

On a pier by the transept door his work is commemorated in a sculptured and coloured representation of his arms--the fleur-de-lis of France, quartered with the lions of England--surmounted by a cardinal's hat, with its ta.s.selled strings, twisted into a true-lover's knot, pendent on either side.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ARMS OF CARDINAL BEAUFORT.

_From "Church Bells."_]

Henry Beaufort, born in 1377, was a natural son of John of Gaunt by Catherine, widow of Sir Hugh Swynford. His parents were married in 1396, and their issue legitimated by Richard II in the following year; but the b.a.s.t.a.r.dy is supposed to be indicated in the _bordure compony_ surrounding the shield. Henry Beaufort was translated to Winchester in 1404, in succession to William Wykeham. He was raised to the cardinalate in 1426, and died in 1447. Among the famous marriages that have taken place in the church, perhaps the most famous is that between James I of Scotland and the Cardinal's niece, Joan Beaufort, in the year 1423, when the wedding banquet was served in the adjacent Bishop of Winchester's palace.

In the restoration by Sir Arthur Blomfield, the windows of both transepts were rebuilt, the pointed roofs raised to their old level, and the walls underpinned and refaced (externally) with Box Ground and Bath stone, in place of the inferior material employed in 1830, care being taken to place the stone in the natural direction of the strata.