82. CHOIR STALLS
These exquisite early 14th-century oak choir stalls, where the priory monks once sang their daily offices, are an outstanding survival.
83. CARVED FIGURES
Richly decorated with human figures, tiny heads and carved animals surrounded by luxuriant curling leaves, these carvings are thought to be the work of a Norfolk craftsman and master carpenter. At right is another of the Choir carved figures – a green man. A green man sculpture is a sculpture, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. It is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of growth each spring. [Photo Credit: Cathedral photos]
84. ORGAN
The 19th-century Cathedral Organ is an unique instrument with a special history. It was the largest organ on show at the 1851 Great Exhibition, and was installed in Winchester Cathedral in 1854.
85. SOUTH CHOIR AISLE WINDOWS 1, 2
We leave the Choir and return to the South Choir Aisle with its grand stained glass windows. The window at left has a variety of scenes and the words Patience and Fortitude. In this second window are pictured eight saints, the first four being angels. Clockwise from top left these are: St Michael, St Gabriel, St Ariel, St Raphael, St Paul, St John, St James, and St Peter.
86. BROWNLOW NORTH MONUMENT
In this part of the aisle there is a monument to Bishop Brownlow North (1820). The Latin inscription was written by Dean Rennell. Bishop North is buried with his wife in the nave. The bishop was a Trollope like character: he owed his bishopric – from which he drew the vast revenues for over 40 years - to his half-brother, Lord North, the Prime Minister. For some years he resided in Italy with his fashionable wife.
88. WILBERFORCE TOMB
Centred in the transept is the ornate tomb of Samuel Wilberforce (1805 – 1873), a Bishop of the Cathedral.
89. FISHERMEN’S CHAPEL AND ITS ANGLER’S WINDOW
Along the East wall of the South transept we have the Venerable Chapel and the Fishermen’s Chapel. This delightful Fishermen’s Chapel has unusual furnishings, and is a place of pilgrimage for anglers from all over the world. In its stained-glass window, donated by fishermen in England and America in 1914, there is an endearing small portrait of the ‘Father of Angling’ Izaak Walton sitting peacefully reading, his fishing rod beside him. Izaak Walton was the author of ‘The Compleat Angler’.
90. FISHERMEN’S ALTAR
The altar and candlesticks are rough hewn. There are fish and marine fossils around the altar. A version of Michaelangelo’s ‘Pietà’ can be seen at left.
91. MORLEY LIBRARY
Steps at the end of the South transept lead up to the beautiful 17th-century Morley Library. This houses a collection of rare books bequeathed by Winchester’s Bishop Morley, and still boasts its original carved shelves. He also left money to buy ‘two globes of the best and largest size’, one terrestrial and one celestial. [Cathedral photo]
92. WINCHESTER BIBLE
We move next to the Williams Room with the famous Winchester Bible. This is the largest and finest of all surviving 12th-century English bibles. A single scribe wrote out its text in Latin, while artists worked its exquisitely illuminated capital letters. Their glowing colours, including gold and lapis lazuli, are as intense today as 800 years ago. [Cathedral photo]
93. NAVE ALTAR
Just West of the Choir is a large platform bearing the altar and the paschal candle. This is a focal point of the Cathedral, from where the Eucharist is generally served. In the Middle Ages, Winchester Cathedral had a paschal candle that was sixty feet tall!
94. ‘CROSSING’ CEILING
Above the platform is a beautiful ceiling. One might be tempted to think of this as the crossing, although strictly it is not, as the transepts cut the axis of the Cathedral above the Choir. Note the Bishop of Edingdon chantry at left here.
95. SOUTH NAVE, EAST END
Leaving the central altar area, we turn to the long nave South aisle. We note the tall arcade arches and the strong perpendicular style. The Very Rev. Sykes wrote of the nave “Well might the visitor who enters … gasp with amazement" – a comment which could apply equally to the side aisles. Walking up the aisle we admire the first of the many colourful stained glass windows along this aisle.
96. HAMPSHIRE MEMORIAL
Most cathedrals have at least one war memorial, usually commemorating those of the cathedral community who gave their lives for their country.
97. SOUTH NAVE WINDOWS 2, 3
The second window and memorial were erected by the county of Hampshire to the sacred memory of the officers and men of the Hampshire Regiment who died in the South African War, 1899 – 1902. The South aisle windows have a variety of themes. One of the more interesting is this window at right by Hugh Easton. It commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George V. It was unveiled by Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F Kennedy, when ambassador to England in 1938. It shows Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror set either side of Christ depicted as ‘King of Kings’.
98. SOUTH NAVE
Continuing along the South nave we pass three more windows with colourful depictions of saints and Bible characters. Below each window is a memorial recording the life and dates of an historical figure.
99. WEST WINDOW SOUTH
We finally come to the West wall. Above the South entry is a window of quite different colouring. The four panels across the centre show Joshua, Gideon, David and Jonathan. Below are pictures of four kings. The outer kings are Ethelbert and Alfred the Great.
100. GREAT WEST WINDOW
Our eyes are drawn to the great West window. This was built by Bishop Edingdon in the 14th century, with glass completed by Bishop Wykeham later in the 14th century. Originally the stained glass represented prophets and saints, but it was destroyed by parliamentary troops during the civil war in 1642. The West window was re-assembled randomly in 1660 when the monarchy was restored, so the present windows are constructed from 14th century glass, but with no particular pattern. You might spot this detail!
101. WEST SIDE STATUES
Beneath the West window stand several royal figures. To the left of the main entry stands King James I. To the right of the main entry stands King Charles I. On the North side of the entry and next to the steps up to the Cathedral treasury stands another statue of James I. These statues reflect the Cathedral’s rich history of links with royalty. This completes our tour of Westminster Cathedral.
CONCLUSION
Preparing a comprehensive website on Winchester Cathedral is an almost impossible task – perhaps a life’s work! So I have had to make choices along the way, and perhaps not always the wisest choices. If you think there is some special feature that should have been included here, please contact me – send a photo, or some text, or a link. Similarly if there are any errors, I would like to know: the best websites are those without errors.
As usual with my websites, I take little credit for the text, and have drawn heavily on the Cathedral’s excellent ‘Winchester Cathedral’ books and website, as well as other websites. A few photos are not mine too, and these are acknowledged in the text.
The Cathedral website can be found at
http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
A collection of my photos used on this site can be found at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/sets/
I am grateful to my wife Margaret who has proof-read this site, and who let me bully her (in a kind understanding way) into making the long trip to England and visiting Winchester. She now agrees that it was all worthwhile (I think!).
I regret that we only had one day in Winchester: the town and Cathedral deserved more time!
Paul Scott Site created 07 / 2014 ; reformatted 06 / 2020.
