West Midlands Hereford Cathedral

Built overlooking the River Wye, this has been the site of Christian worship since the C8th and the diocese of Hereford is one of the oldest in the country. It was never a monastic site and was little affected by Henry VIII and the Reformation.

Ethlebert, King of the East Angles had come to ask Offa, King of Mercia for the hand of his daughter in marriage. Ethlebert was murdered around 794 and his body was buried in the cathedral. Ethelbert was proclaimed a saint and miracles were linked to his tomb. A stone cathedral was built dedicated to the saint. This was plundered and burnt in 1055 by the Welsh. Ethelred’s shrine and many treasures were lost.

A Norman Cathedral was built in 1107-48 by Robert de Losinga, the first Norman Bishop, next to the original cathedral. It became an important centre of learning and scholarship. It was the standard Norman cruciform design with nave, presbytery and transepts. The Choir and chancel are quite short as they were not needed for the monks. The nave still retains its round Norman pillars with chevron carving around the arches.

The Lady Chapel beyond the presbytery was added in 1220, and is an example of transitional architecture. A crypt was added beneath it, one of the last to be built in England.

The north transept was rebuilt in the C13th and side aisles added by Bishop Peter of Aigueblanche, (or Aquablanca) who lavished money on the cathedral. These are Early English in design. His tomb is under an arch between the north transept and north choir aisle.

The north transept contains the tomb of Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe who died in 1282. Many miracles were attributed to him and he was canonised in 1320. It is thought that Mappa Mundi was brought to the Cathedral as part of the canonisation campaign. His shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage, and the North Transept had to be extended.

In 1349, St Thomas of Cantilupe’s bones were transferred to a new shrine in the Lady Chapel. The cathedral raised enough money from pilgrims to fund the building of the central tower with its wonderful ball flower decoration. The north and south east transepts were reconstructed and a chapter house was built.

The large window in the clerestory of the nave date from the C14th.

The cloisters were added in the C15th and another tower added to the west end of the nave. Part of the south transept was rebuilt. The north porch was added at the start of the C16th.

Bishop John Stanbury who died in 1474 added a beautiful perpendicular chantry chapel with a fan vaulted ceiling next to the north east transept for the saying of masses for his soul. His tomb is opposite between the high altar and North choir aisle.

Bishop Edmund Audley who died in 1524 built a chantry chapel with a painted wooden screen on the south side of the Lady Chapel. He had become Bishop of Salisbury when he died and has another chantry chapel in Salisbury cathedral.

The Reformation had little effect on Hereford Cathedral as it was not a monastic cathedral. The shrine of St Thomas of Cantilupe in the Lady Chapel was destroyed and the Lady Chapel became a chained library. The chantry chapels were no longer used. In 1559, a set of royal injunctions was sent to Hereford which stated sermons were to be preached regularly. The clergy were to avoid adultery and fornication. They were to pray for the Queen. They were to keep hospitality and help the poor.

During the Civil War, the lead of the chapter house roof was stripped and melted to provide ammunition. The library and brass collection were plundered. The chapter house was demolished later.

The annual Three Choirs festival involving the choirs of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester Cathedral began in the early C18th,

In 1786, the west tower collapsed on Easter Day, destroying the west front and the back bay of the nave. Architect James Wyatt designed a new west end and shortened the nave by one bay. He rebuilt the upper parts of the nave. The spire was removed from the central tower. However his rather plain design for the west front wasn’t popular .

By the C19th, the Cathedral and close were in a very poor state of repair and there was a major restoration under the supervision of LN Cottingham and later George Gilbert Scott The organ was moved from the pulpitum (the central screen between the nave and choir). It was given a new case and the organ pipes painted. The high altar and arch behind it were restored and a new reredos added by Cottingham . The chained library was moved from the Lady Chapel to a room above the north transept.

The unloved west end was replaced in 1908 by John Oldrid Scot with a highly ornate facade. The west window commemorated the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.

A new library building was built in the 1990s and now houses the chained library as well as the Mappa Mundi. There is a separate charge for entry to these, which is through the ship.

The stone base of the tomb of St Thomas of Cantilupe in the north transept was restored with a new brightly coloured upper section (feretory). On the end panel is a painted scene of the Virgin and Child holding the Mappa Mundi


Website

Plan

cont....

 

[Eleanor]

Visiting Hereford Cathedral

Entry is through the North porch.

Nave and transepts
The nave with its round Norman pillars and arches is the oldest part of the Cathedral. The side aisles, clerestory windows and vaulted ceiling are C14th.

The stone font in front of the west door is Norman and was large enough for the complete immersion of an infant. It rest on four carved lions. The now much eroded and defaced images were of the twelve apostles.

At the back of the nave are the stalls of the Consistory Court which were reconstructed from the C14th choir stalls complete with their misericords. This was the ecclesiastical court handling church matters.

The tomb of Richard Pembridge who died in 1375, is at the back of the nave between the columns of the south arcade. He fought at the battles of Crecy and Poitiers and was made a Knight of the Garter by Edward III.

His right leg is replacement of the original which had been damaged in the C17th and replaced by a wooden one. A new alabaster leg was made in the C19th. The wooden leg is displayed next to his tomb.

On the south wall near Sir Richard Pemberton is the Special Air Service memorial and stained glass window dedicated in 2017 to mark the 75th anniversary of the SAS regiment.

Near this is the brass memorial to the dead in South Africa Wars.

The crossing still has its Norman arches.

Suspended from the crossing is the lovely silver gilt corona installed in 1992 and representing the crown of thorns. It has 14 candles, representing the 14 deaneries in the diocese. The zig zag pattern replicates the dog toothing carving on the Norman arches

The eastern wall of the south transept still retains the original Norman architecture with round topped arches and blind arcading. The rest is C15th perpendicular architecture. The stained glass window is late C19th and designed by CE Kempe. It represents ‘The glorious company of the apostles praise thee’ from the Te Deum

In the arches are three tapestries that were commissioned by the Dean and Chapter in thanksgiving of 1300 years of Christianity. The tapestries using traditional dyes and weaving techniques, were woven in Namibia, as that was the only place with looms large enough to weave them. They represent the
• the Tree of Knowledge (or Disobedience) in the Garden of Eden
• the Tree of Obedience or the Deposition (Christ being taken down from the cross).
• the Tree of Life from the Book of Revelation.

Set in the south wall is the tomb of Bishop Trefant (or Trevenant) who died in 1404. In front of it is the tomb dating from around 1566, of Alex Denton and his wife, Anne along with their child wrapped in swaddling clothes. Anne and her child had both died in childbirth. (Denton remarried and died ten years later and is buried in All Saints church, Hillesden in Buckinghamshire.)

On the wall opposite the tapestries is a German triptych dating from about 1530. The central panel depicts the Adoration of the Magi.

Near it is an icon of St Anne with the Blessed Virgin Mary and Our Lord. The south transept had a chapel dedicated to St Anne as Bishop Trefant requested to be buried in it. Bishop Spofford added the perpendicular window in the mid C15th to ‘light up the altar of St Anne.’ The icon was placed here in 2016 in memory of Elizabeth Layton Jones who was a supporter of the Friends of Hereford Cathedral, and a reminder of the link.

The north transept was rebuilt in the Early English style by Bishop Peter of Aigueblanche in the C13th.

His tomb is set under an arch between the North Transept and North Choir Aisle. This is the earliest surviving tomb in the Cathedral and one of the finest examples of its kind in Britain. It is suitably impressive to reflect his importance.

The main feature of the north transept is the shrine of Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe who died in 1282 and was canonised in 1320. In 1349, his bones were transferred to a new shrine in the Lady Chapel, but this was destroyed during the Reformation. The original tomb survived destruction and is one of the best preserved medieval shrines. Round the base are figures of Knights Templar in chainmail armour. The Bishop was the Provincial Grand Master of that Order in England. The brightly coloured upper section known as the feretory was added in 2008. On the end panel is an image of the Virgin and Child holding the Mappa Mundi.

On the walls are hangings depicting the life of St Thomas.

Set in the wall is the tomb of Bishop Thomas Charlton who died in 1344 and was also Lord High Treasurer, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In front is the magnificent memorial to the late C19th Bishop James Atley

Set in the floor are memorial brasses.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Choir and chancel
The base of the walls and the chancel arch are Norman. The clerestory and vaulted ceiling were added in the C13th. The organ was moved here during the C19th restorations.

The choir stalls with their misericords and the Bishop’s Throne are C14th. The Bishop’s Throne is very plain compared with others and is one of only three wooden medieval thrones to survive.

Set in an arch just in front of the Chancel arch is the tomb of Bishop Robert de Losinga. He was responsible for building the Norman Cathedral and was its first Norman Bishop.

The Chancel is small compared with the rest of the Cathedral. The lovely carved reredos was designed by Cottingham and has scenes from the Passion of Christ.

The site of St Elthelred’s Shrine is marked by a roundel in the floor.

In a corner is the Sacrament House, which contains the Host used during communion.

The north and south choir aisles form an ambulatory around the choir and chancel for pilgrims visiting the Shrine of St Thomas de Cantilupe. The walls are lined with the tombs of previous bishops.

Near the tomb of Peter of Aigeblanche (Aquablance) in the north choir aisle is the tomb of C13th Bishop Huge of Mapenore.

The tomb of Bishop Stanbury is in the north choir aisle opposite his Chantry Chapel, where masses were said for his soul. He was confessor to Henry VI and a founder of Eton College. Round the base of the tomb are figures of saints although their heads were defaced during the Reformation.

His Chantry Chapel, created in 1480, is a wonderful example of Perpendicular architecture with a fan vaulted ceiling. The altar has a wooden triptych with the Virgin and Child in the centre.

Set in the wall is another tomb of Bishop John Stanbury

The lovely stained glass windows date from 1923 and are a notable example of Arts and Crafts stained glass. As well as images of Hereford Cathedral, they also show Stanbury with plans for Eton College as well as the completed College.

The tomb of the C12th Bishop, Robert de Bethune, is in wall of the south choir aisle

The splendid C16th canopied tomb of Bishop Richard Mayew is on the opposite side near the high altar. The weepers around the base of his tomb represent saints and were damaged during the Reformation.

At the end of the choir aisles are additional small transepts. The north east transept contains the tomb of the C19th Dean Richard Dawes. The stained glass window contains some C14th glass at the top. The images are of saints including Thomas a Becket.

Below it are two lateC13th or early C14th cross slab coffin lids.

The south east transept is the more interesting with its tombs, brasses and C17th pulpit.

The effigy of the late C15th Dean John Hervey is now looking very sorry for itself.

On the opposite wall is the C14th Tomb of Bishop Lewis Charlton. Next to it is the memorial to C17th Bishop George Coke. Only the effigy is the original, as the canopy was added by his descendants at the end of the C19th.

On the floor is the brass of Sir John Delabere with his two wives and 21 children. He was a prominent figure in Herefordshire society, serving as a Member of Parliament and sheriff of the county multiple times.

Just beyond the south east transept is St John’s Walk with its carved wooden beams. Dating from the C16th, the walkway linked the cathedral to the College Cloisters and was built to shelter the Vicars Choral on their way to sing at the services in the Cathedral.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

The Lady Chapel
At the far east end of the cathedral is the Lady Chapel which was built over the crypt. At the entrance by the pillar supporting the simple ribbed ceiling, is a modern shrine to St Ethlebert.
Although his shrine was destroyed by Welsh raids and his relics dispersed, his cult persisted. This modern memorial is thought to be close to the site of his original shrine. The images around it tell the story of Ethelred’s life and Martyrdom.

Steps lead up to the Lady Chapel. The stained glass in the lancet windows and the brightly coloured altar screen are the work of Cottingham.

On the north wall are the tombs of Peter de Grandisson and Joanna de Bohun.

Peter de Gravison who died in 1358, had married into the powerful Mortimer family. He had joined the uprising against Edward II, but his brother guaranteed his good behaviour. He seems to have found favour under Edward III. His polychrome tomb is a splendid example of C14th monument art. The canopy depicts the coronation of the Virgin, with the figures of St John the Baptist and Pope Gregory I on the right, and the figures of St Thomas à Becket and St Dominic on the left. It has been carefully restored.

Next to him is the monument to Joanna de Bohun, Countess of Hereford who died in 1337 and left land to the cathedral which supported ten new vicars.

On the south wall, behind a painted wooden screen, is the Audley Chantry Chapel built around 1500 by to Bishop Edmund Audley.

He had become Bishop of Salisbury when he died in 1524 and has another, equally impressive Chantry Chapel in Salisbury Cathedral.

It has a wonderful fan vaulted gilded ceiling and a simple altar with a picture of the Virgin and Child above.

The wonderful stained glass windows were installed in 2007 and are the work of Tom Denny. They are based on the poetry of the C17th poet Thomas Traherne, who was born in Hereford.

The Crypt
The Crypt is reached down stairs from the Lady Chapel and dates from the late C12th or early C13th. It is one of the few examples of a crypt built after the Norman period and is one of the last crypts to be built in England. It has octagonal pillars and a Gothic vaulted ceiling.

At one end is an altar which is a memorial to Basil Webb, a Welsh Guard who was killed aged 17, at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. The central panel of the stone reredos depicts Basil as a Roman Soldier along with St Michael and St Ethelbert.

On the floor on either side of the altar are two now much eroded and unidentified effigies.

At the back is what is described as the ‘cider tomb’ of Andrew Jones who died in 1497 and his wife. He was a highly regarded cider maker and benefactor of the cathedral. His feet rest on a barrel of cider.

Allow plenty of time for a visit as there is a lot to see in the cathedral. There is the architecture and the history as well as the stories of the people buried here. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit the Chained Library or Mappa Mundi.