| Norwich Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity | |
 | |
 Norwich Cathedral | |
| Location | Norwich,Norfolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Authorisingpapal bull | 300945 |
| Consecrated | 24 September 1101 (reconsecrated 1278) |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Norman,Gothic |
| Years built | 1096–(1121–1145) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 124 m (407 ft)[1] |
| Nave length | 76.8 m (252 ft)[1] |
| Width | 54.9 m (180 ft)[1] |
| Nave width | 21.9 m (72 ft)[1] |
| Nave height | 21.9 m (72 ft)[1] |
| Spire height | 96 m (315 ft)[1] |
| Bells | 5 (formerly 10) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Norwich (since 1094) |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Graham Usher |
| Dean | Andrew Braddock |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Ashley Grote |
| Organist | David Dunnett |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | The Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity |
| Designated | 26 February 1954 |
| Reference no. | 1051330 |
Norwich Cathedral, formally theCathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is aChurch of England cathedral in the city ofNorwich,Norfolk, England. Thecathedral is the seat of thebishop of Norwich and the mother church of thediocese of Norwich. It is administered byits dean and chapter, and there are daily Church of England services. It is a Grade Ilisted building.[2]
Construction of the building was begun in 1096 at the behest of the first bishop of Norwich, Herbert de Losinga. When thecrossing tower was the last piece of the Norman cathedral to be completed; measuring 461 ft (141 m) and 177 ft (54 m) wide, the cathedral was the largest building inEast Anglia. Thecathedral close occupied a tenth of the total area of the medieval city.
The present structure of Norwich Cathedral is primarilyNorman, being made offlint andmortar and faced with a cream-colouredCaen limestone. The cathedral was damaged during the riots of 1272; repairs were completed in 1278. The cloisters, begun in 1297, are the fourth largestcloisters in England. The presentspire—the second tallest in England at 315 ft (96 m)—is a stone structure built in 1480, that replaced one made of wood. In about 1830, the southtransept was remodelled by the architect Anthony Salvin. A new hospitality and education facility byHopkins Architects was opened byElizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2010.
Norwich Cathedral once had the earliestastronomical clock in England. Thecathedral's bosses are one of the world's greatest mediaeval sculptural treasures, having survived theiconoclasm of theTudor andEnglish Civil War periods.
In the year 672, theArchbishop of Canterbury,Theodore of Tarsus, divided theKingdom of East Anglia into twodioceses: one coveringNorfolk with itsepiscopal see atElmham; the other coveringSuffolk with its see atDunwich. During much of the 9th century, because of theDanish incursions, there was nobishop at Elmham; in addition the see of Dunwich was extinguished and East Anglia became a single diocese once more. Following theNorman Conquest, sees were moved to more secure urban centres, that of Elmham being transferred toThetford in 1072, and finally to Norwich in 1094.[3] The new cathedral was dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity.[4] As with the Norman cathedrals atBath,Winchester,Worcester,Canterbury,Rochester,Durham, andEly, it incorporated apriory ofBenedictine monks.[5]
The structure of the cathedral is primarily in theNorman style, having been constructed at the behest of the first bishop of Norwich,Herbert de Losinga, who had bought the bishopric for£1,900 before its transfer from Thetford.[4] It still retains the greater part of its original stone structure. AnAnglo-Saxon settlement and two churches were demolished to make room for the buildings and acanal cut to allow access for the boats bringing the stone and building materials which were taken up theRiver Wensum and unloaded.[6]
The cathedral was damaged after riots in 1272,[4] which resulted in the city paying heavy fines levied byHenry III,king of England[6] The cathedral was re-consecrated in the presence ofEdward I of England onAdvent Sunday, in 1278.[4]
The first spire of wood covered in lead was completed in 1297 but was blown down during a storm in 1362, its fall damaging the east end of the building.[4][7] In 1463 the 2nd spire was struck by lightning, in flames it collapsed through the nave roof causing a fire so intense it turned some of the cream-coloured Caen limestone a pink colour.[6][dead link] In 1480 the bishop, James Goldwell, ordered the building of a new spire encased in stone and finished in 1485 which is still in place today.[7]
The composer and 'singing man'Osbert Parsley worked at Norwich Cathedral for 50 years, until his death in 1585.[8] The cathedral was partially in ruins whenJohn Cosin was atNorwich School in the early 17th century and the former bishop was an absentee figure. In 1643 during the Civil War, an angryPuritan mob invaded the cathedral and destroyed allRoman Catholic symbols. The building, abandoned the following year, lay in ruins for two decades. Norwich bishopJoseph Hall provides a graphic description from his bookHard Measure:[9]
It is tragical to relate the furious sacrilege committed under the authority of Linsey, Tofts the sheriff, and Greenwood: what clattering of glasses, what beating down of walls, what tearing down of monuments, what pulling down of seats, and wresting out of irons and brass from the windows and graves; what defacing of arms, what demolishing of curious stone-work, that had not any representation in the world but of the cost of the founder and skill of the mason; what piping on the destroyed organ-pipes; vestments, both copes and surplices, together with the leaden cross which had been newly sawed down from over the greenyard pulpit, and the singing-books and service-books, were carried to the fire in the public market-place; a lewd wretch walking before the train in his cope trailing in the dirt, with a service-book in his hand, imitating in an impious scorn the tune, and usurping the words of the litany. The ordnance being discharged on the guild-day, the cathedral was filled with musketeers, drinking and tobacconing as freely as if it had turned ale-house.
The mob also fired theirmuskets. At least one musket ball remains lodged in the stonework. Only at theRestoration in 1660 would the cathedral be restored.
In the 1830s the south transept was remodelled by the English architectAnthony Salvin. In 1930–1932 a newLady Chapel, designed byCharles Nicholson, was built at the east end, on the site of its 13th-century predecessor, which had been demolished during the late 16th century.[10]
The cathedral is included as one of the "Norwich 12", a list of the city's most iconic buildings produced as part of an initiative launched in 2008 by the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust.[11][12]
In 2004 the newrefectory (winner, National Wood Awards 2004),[13] byHopkins Architects andBuro Happold, opened on the site of the original refectory on the south side of the cloisters. Work on the newhostry, also by Hopkins Architects, started in April 2007 after the 'Cathedral Inspiration for the Future Campaign' had reached its target of £10 million. It was opened byQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 4 May 2010. The new hostry has become the main entrance to the cathedral. Space has been provided within the hostry for temporary art exhibitions.
In July 2019, a 17 m (56 ft) highhelter-skelter was constructed inside the cathedral, partly for the purpose of attracting more visitors and also giving people a better vantage point for viewing the roof bosses. Reaction to the installation of the slide was mixed,Gavin Ashenden, former chaplain to the Queen, described it as "poisoning the medicine" a church offered.[14] In August 2019,Jonathan Meyrick, theBishop of Lynn, gave a sermon and sangWords by theBee Gees from halfway down.[15]
As of 3 February 2023:[16]
Building of the cathedral started from the east end in 1096, with the nave being completed by around 1120.[23] The entire cathedral was completed by 1145, when thecrossing tower was built.[24] The cathedral was constructed fromflint andmortar and faced with cream-colouredCaen limestone.[6] The present spire, a stone structure that replaced one made of wood and covered withlead, was added in 1480.[7]
Following the riots of 1272, repairs to the building were completed in 1278.[4] Some of the windows were replaced with ones in theGothic style during the 13th century.[23]
Thecloisters was begun in 1297 and finally finished in 1430 after theBlack Death had plagued the city. The system of building remained the same over this period, though the details, in particular the tracery of the openings facing the cloister garth, did change.[25] Following the destruction caused by the collapse of the spire, theclerestory of the choir was rebuilt in thePerpendicular style.[4][7]
In the 15th century, the cathedral's flat timber ceilings began to be replaced with stonevaults;[23] the nave was vaulted underWalter Hart (bishop, 1446–1472), the choir and the Bauchun Chapel (on the east side of the south transept) underJames Goldwell (bishop, 1472–1499) and the transepts after 1520.[26][27] The system of vaulting is of atierceron vault with Lierne ribs forming patterns of lozenges and stars along the ridge. The vaulting was carried out in a spectacular manner with hundreds of ornately carved, painted andgildedbosses studding the liernes.[28]
Measuring 461 ft (141 m) and 177 ft (54 m) wide at completion, Norwich Cathedral was the largest building inEast Anglia.[29] The ground plan remains entirely as it was in Norman times, except for that of the easternmost chapel. The cathedral has an unusually longnave of 14 bays. Thetransepts are withoutaisles and the east end terminates in anapse with anambulatory. From the ambulatory there is access to two chapels of unusual shape, the plan of each being based on two intersecting circles.[7] This allows more correct orientation of the altars than in the more normal kind of radial chapel.
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The tower, the most ambitious of all the Norman towers to have survived in England,[24] is decorated withgeometrical circles,lozenges and interlacedarcading.[7]
The spire is of brick faced with stone, supported on bricksquinches built into the Norman tower.[7] At 315 ft (96 m) high, the spire is the second tallest in England; only that of Salisbury is taller at 404 ft (123 m).
Norwich Cathedral has the second largest cloisters in England, only exceeded by those atSalisbury Cathedral.[30] It has two-storeys, the only example of its kind in England and nearly 400 carved stone ceilingbosses.
The eastern end of the cathedral, near to thesanctuary, is in the form of an apse Thetribune (the vaulted area within the apse) is unusually tall, and containspiers with largecapitals.[31]
Norwich no longer has itsrood screen, which would have been used to support the great crucifix. It was located one bay west of thepulpitum (the screen that separated the nave from the choir).[32] The aisles are vaulted in stone, but lackribs.[33]
The Anglican cathedrals at Norwich, Salisbury, andEly are the only ones that have noring of bells.[34] Theastronomical clock at Norwich Cathedral was one of the earliest mechanical timekeepers made in England.[29]
The medieval stained glass windows in the cathedral, which was largely destroyed during theEnglish Reformation,[35] sustained further damage during theEnglish Civil War.[36] The glass in the west window was designed byGeorge Hedgeland, and was installed in 1854.[35]
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Thebosses of Norwich Cathedral are one of the world's greatest mediaeval sculptural treasures, and certainly a near miraculous survival of theiconoclasm from theTudor and English Civil War periods. They have been described by the church historianCharles John Philip Cave as "undoubtedly the most important series in the country".[37] There are over 1,000 bosses; the earliest subjects are natural, mostly flowers and foliage. Then come figural representations such as foliate men, acrobats, mythical animals, hunting scenes and single bosses which show a story such as events from the lives of the saints. Then there are narratives which tell a story in a sequence of bosses. The nave vault shows the history of the world fromthe creation. Later bosses revert to foliage or formal subjects such ascoats of arms.[27] The bosses can be seen most clearly in the cloisters, where they are lower than those elsewhere. The east range has much foliage, and a sequence of thePassion of Jesus. The north range has theResurrection and scenes ofMary, mother of Jesus and the saints. The south and west walk have theApocalypse, as well as theAnnunciation andHerod's Feast.[27] Catalogues of the cloister bosses have been published byM.R. James (1911),[38] with drawings of the bosses of the north walk.
During theMiddle Ages, the monks assembled eight times daily for thecanonical hours, and the greater part of their services was recited while standing. In time, somemonasteries fitted stalls with ledges for the monk to lean against. The so-called 'misericords' were literally an act of mercy. Most of the misericords are carved with a central subject and two supporters positioned on either side.[39]
There were likely to have once been 70 choir-stalls at Norwich, which were allotted to the bishop and his seniorclerics, and 60monks. There are 64 survivingchoir-stalls, of which all but four have misericords dating from the early 15th century onwards; it is possible that the more senior clergymen were able to choose the theme for the carving on their own misericord. The elbow rests were also intricately carved. Many of the supporters in Norwich's choir-stalls are connected with their central subject, as in the case of the misericord for BishopRichard Courtenay, which is a seated monk who supporters are a bishop tending sheep, and by a representation of the bishop asChancellor of Oxford. The fire of 1463 at Norwich damaged many of the stalls, whose replacements were given new misericords.[40]
The misericords in Norwich Cathedral can be categorised by their designs. A group known as Wakering's have ledges that are curved and ribbed,battlement patterns, and are carved with the coats of arms of thepatrons who helped to pay for the rebuilding of the choir. The so-called Goldwell misericords have more rounded ledges and a pair of lobes. The two Nykke misericords have characteristically carved seat edges.[41] The subjects chosen appear to be random in nature, with a wide selection of real andlegendary animals, tasks, events, people (both actual and imaginary), representations of theseven deadly sins, and stories (mostly non-Biblical) being carved.[42]
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In St Luke's Chapel, behind the altar, is a late 14th century altarpiece, known as the Despenser Retable orDespenser Reredos. It was named after the Bishop of Norwich,Henry le Despenser (1369–1406). During thePeasants' Revolt of 1381, Despenser's forces successfully contained the revolt in Norfolk, and the reredos may have been commissioned as an act of thanksgiving.Shields in the border of the painting are associated with others who led the defence against the peasants. The reredos was rediscovered in a damaged state in 1847, having been reversed and used as part of a table.[43]
Thecopperbaptismal font, standing on a moveable base in the nave, was fashioned from bowls previously used formaking chocolate in the NorwichRowntree's factory, and was given to the cathedral after the factory closed in 1994.[citation needed] Since 2013, the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey (NMGS) has recorded a large amount of medieval graffiti, includingorgan music inscribed on two four-linestaves, on the interior stone surfaces of the cathedral.[44]
Norwich Cathedral's organ is one the largest in the UK. It was built by local builderNorman and Beard in 1899, but was later damaged in a fire in April 1938. ACymbelstern with six bells and a rotating star was added to the organ in 1969.[45] In 2017 the dean, the Very Rev Dr Jane Hedges, revealed that the cathedral was planning to spend £2 million on rebuilding the organ and supporting its existing choirs.[46] In 2022–23 the Durham-based company ofHarrison & Harrison carried out a major rebuild of the organ, which was inaugurated in November 2023.[47]
Most of the records of the organists at Norwich Cathedral have survived.[48] The earliest organist recorded is Adam the Organist, who was employed in 1333.[49] Notable organists have included the composersThomas Morley,[50] andHeathcote Dicken Statham.[51]
Norwich Cathedral's choirs are directed by the Master of the Music,Ashley Grote.[52] There are places for around 20 boys aged from 7 to 13, attend Norwich School and itsLower School, with at least half of their school fees being paid by the Norwich Cathedral Endowment Fund.[53]
Girls were introduced to the choir in 1995. There are places for 24 girls, aged from 11 to 18, who are drawn from across Norfolk. They sing evensong once a week (alternately on their own and with the men) and at least one SundayEucharist a term.[54]
The choir has 12 men, six of whom are choral scholars; the others are professional singers.[53] The men sing with the boy choristers at five services a week, and often more at special times of year such as Easter and Christmas.[53]
The cathedral church's five bells are hung in the central tower;[55] four are engraved with the medievalmerchant mark of Brasyers of Norwich.[56] The bells, which are tuned to aminor key,[57] were used for the regular services, whilst an additional group of five so-called 'greater' bells were hung in a detachedbell tower; these were used to celebrate important religious festivals.[55] They were heavier than those hung in the cathedral church.[58]
As with similar large churches, the tower was close to the entrance of the lay citizens' cemetery, and was surrounded by craft shops.[59] It is possible that the bell tower was built to enable the citizens of Norwich to hear the bells being rung during a festival or a funeral.[60] The tower was targeted during the Norwich riots of 1272, who captured it and fired arrows and missiles down upon their enemies. After being rebuilt using limestone during the 1310s, and a lead spire was added.[58][61] The location of the building, which was demolished by 1569, was lost until 1956, when masonry was accidentally exposed after the area was dug up for a newwater main.[62]
The cathedral's mediaeval records state that one of the central tower bells was named 'Blessed Mary', and that.the largest bell in the tower was called 'Lakenham'. The locations of two other named bells, called 'Stratton' and 'Stockton', are unknown.[55]
| Number | Name | Date[63] | Maker[63] | Inscription[64] | Diameter[63] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | One named "Blessed Mary" | medieval | Brasyers | Fac Margareta nobis hec Munera leta | 28.375 inches (720.7 mm) |
| 2nd | medieval | Brasyers | Andrea quesumus, famulorum suscipe Vota | 30.375 inches (771.5 mm) | |
| 3rd | 1635 | John Brend | – | 33.5 inches (850 mm) | |
| 4th | medieval | Brasyers | Subbeniat digna, donantibus hanc Katerina | 37.5 inches (950 mm) | |
| 5th | 1469 | Brasyers | Sum Rosa Pulsata Mundi, Maria bocata. Orate pro aia: Roberti Brethenham Monachi Norwici | 41.5 inches (1,050 mm) |
The precinct, orcathedral close, is enclosed within the limits of the former monastery. It is bordered by the Tombland area (the Anglo-Saxon market place) and the Wensum. It contains buildings from the 15th to the 19th centuries, including the remains of an infirmary. The close has an area of 85 acres (34 ha) and is notable for being located within the city'sdefensive walls. In medieval times it occupied a tenth of the total area of the city.[65]
The grounds also house many of the buildings of Norwich School,[66] as well as statues of the leading military and political figure, theDuke of Wellington and theBritish Naval officerAdmiral Nelson,[67] and the grave of the British nurseEdith Cavell, who was executed for helping Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I.[68]
There are two gates leading into the cathedral grounds, both on Tombland. The Ethelbert Gate takes its name from aSaxon church that stood nearby. The original gate was destroyed in the riot of 1272, and its replacement was built in the early 14th century. It has two storeys, the upper originally a chapel dedicated toSaint Ethelbert and decorated withflushwork.[69] In 1420 the soldier and administrator SirThomas Erpingham, benefactor to the city, had the gate which bears his name built, sited opposite the west door of the cathedral and leading into the close.[70]
The cathedral and other churches in thediocese were featured in the 1974 BBC documentaryA Passion for Churches, presented by the English poet and writerJohn Betjeman.[71] In 2012, the cathedral and the adjacent Bishop's Palace were featured in theBBC Four documentaryThe Medieval Mind: How to Build a Cathedral.[citation needed] The cathedral was featured in the 2016 BBC Four documentaryThe Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich.[72]
Norwich Cathedral was used as a location for the 1971 BBC Christmas ghost storyThe Stalls of Barchester, based on the story byM. R. James.[73] It was also used as a location for the 2013 filmJack the Giant Slayer,[74] and in the 2017 feature filmTulip Fever.[75]
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