Norwich Cathedral

Soloman and the Cathedral
©Julia Hedgecoe

A view of the Cathedral from the refectory roof
Image by Alan Howard

Building

The Cathedral is built of flint rubble and mortar faced with limestone ashlar, imported from Caen in France (the lighter, smoother stone) and from Barnack in Northamptonshire (greyer, fossil-filled stone). These two types can be seen alternately throughout the building, although this alternation was merely to distribute evenly their structural properties and was not intended to be decorative: originally, the interior would have been plastered and painted over.

The ground plan is almost unchanged from the Romanesque original, with fourteen bays making up an unusually long aisle. One feature to watch for is the shape of the radiating chapels, which consist of two intersecting segments of a circle.

Outside, there has been some alteration of the original, especially on the east side. The gallery walls were doubled in height in the 14th century to improve lighting, and likewise much taller windows were introduced into the clerestory during the 1360s.

Two of the chapels here also postdate the original building, the Bauchon Chapel dating from 1329 and St Catherine's Chapel from about 1375. About a hundred years later, sometime during the period 1472-1501, the 315 foot spire was added - among the English cathedrals, only Salisbury's is bigger.

Norwich comes second only to Salisbury in the size of its cloisters, too. These date from the 13th to 15th century - work was slowed down by financial problems and the arrival of the Black Death in 1349.

The West End exterior, often considered a disappointing feature of the Cathedral, was extensively remodeled during the 18th and 19th centuries, and little remains of the original design there. The Alnwick Porch on The West Front has recently been enhanced with two new statues, one of St Benedict and one of Julian of Norwich

	St Benedict Image by C. Scott Mother Julian Image by C. Scott		Unique statues of St Benedict and Mother Julian St Benedict was the father of the monastic order, the Benedictines, who founded Norwich Cathedral Priory in 1096. When the Cathedral Dean and Chapter decided to commission two new statues to commemorate the new millennium and the 900th anniversary of the Cathedral's foundation, they chose St Benedict as the subject of one of them. Mother Julian of Norwich, a medieval mystic who was the first woman ever to write a book in English, was chosen as the other. Dean and Chapter commissioned local sculptor David Holgate to do the work. He decided that he wanted to use modern day people as the subjects for his statues. He felt that people who lived hundreds of years ago were probably just like people today, "I didn't want them to look like old saints. They had to be 21st Century personalities, even though they were in historical dress." he said. The problem was finding people who David thought would look like either St Benedict or Mother Julian. "To decide what they might look like and try to portray that in stone was certainly quite a challenge" said David who spent a long time looking for people whose features would be just right. Eventually he found the perfect St Benedict, playing Jazz guitar in a restaurant on St. Benedict's Street, Norwich. David picked Robbie Broomhead because of his "wonderful Romanesque face and Roman nose" The guitarist even shaved his head for him! For Mother Julian, David chose a Spanish woman living locally. Adela Gil de Sagredo. "The people of the 14th century would have been quite small and slight. And she had the right sort of face to give this sense of spiritual calm" David explained. Mother Julian has become world famous for her book "The Revelations of Divine Love", about a series of visions she received from God. It is thought that this is the first time anyone has ever commissioned a statue of Mother Julian, who was born in 1342 and spent 40 years of her life there as an anchoress (a nun who remains in one place) in St Julian's Church, Norwich. The book is considered one of the great classics of spiritual literature.The life size sculptures are made from Ancaster stone, from Lincolnshire. Both statues flank spaces either side of the West Porch of the Cathedral, which had stood empty for over 500 years. Now St Benedict and Mother Julian look out over the Close, welcoming Visitors to Norwich Cathedral.

	God the Creator with a lion and a unicorn ©Julia Hedgecoe Roof bosses set within the vault ©Julia Hedgecoe		Cathedral Treasures The Roof Bosses The roof bosses in the nave and throughout The Cathedral, which number 1,106 in total, are unparalleled in Christendom in their range, quantity and theological comprehensiveness. A description of them can only allude to their richness and refer the reader to other more detailed publications (or see Gallery page). They offer an iconography comparable with the stained glass and sculpture at Chartres. They represent what was a unique medium for the theological education of a largely preliterate age. The iconographic programme encompasses the entire Christian history of the world. In the seven eastern bays the Old Testament is represented, while the western bays comprise New Testament scenes. Any selection from the bosses will be highly personal but the representations of Noah, and the scenes from the life of Christ are particularly eye catching. Images of the bosses have been used throughout this website.

The Bishop's Throne is built on Saxon stone foundations
Image by C. Scott

A detail of the new windows by John Hayward

The Seven Sacraments Font

Other Treasures

The Bishop's Throne
The Bishop's Throne high up in the eastern apse, is of exceptional interest. The wooden structure of 1960 is set against fragments of medieval stone which appear to be older than the Cathedral itself. The surfaces of these stones show signs of weathering and the evidence suggests that this occurred before the stones were set up in the present Cathedral; they may have come originally from the Anglo-Saxon Cathedral at North Elmham, although there is no conclusive proof from the evidence now available. It is not an unreasonable conjecture, however, as the transfer of the throne would have been a good means of expressing the continuity of the East Anglia See as it moved again this time to Norwich. (The throne or 'cathedra', which is the seat of the Bishop, gives a cathedral its distinctive name.)

New stained glass by John Hayward and Keith New has been installed in The North Transept. The glass is designed as a collage of sections augmented by some newly painted glass.

The oldest glass in The Cathedral is in the ambulatory, some dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, although this cathedral was not its original location. The huge west window dates from 1854 and was thoroughly cleaned in 1995.

To see more images of our stained glass windows visit the Gallery

Finally, the Seven Sacraments Font in St. Luke's chapel is a beautiful example of a type of font popular in East Anglia in the 15th century. There are only two in other areas, but 38 in Norfolk and Suffolk. The scenes carved round the octagonal bowl are Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Communion, Marriage, Unction of the Dying - then a Crucifixion to fill the eighth space and Penance.
"Seven Sacraments" Font c.1480

This font was badly damaged during the English Civil War by Puritan iconoclasts

The "Seven Sacraments" font originates from the parish church of St Mary-in-the-Marsh, which was demolished in 1564. The parishioners were given use of St. Luke's Chapel, where they still worship.

	The Flagellation of Christ - detail from the Despensar Retable © C. Scott		The Despensar Retable Probably painted in Norwich by a Norwich Artist this is amongst the finest European paintings of its period. Bishop Despencer of Norwich is thought to have given the Reredos to his Cathedral between 1380 - 1400. The five panels show the flagellation, carrying of the cross, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Nothing was recorded about this picture until 1847 when it was discovered masquerading as a tabletop in a room above one of the chapels. It is thought that the painting was hidden from Puritans iconoclasts during the English Civil War. The upper band was damaged and the present board, with the head of Christ on the cross and the top part of the frame, was restored in 1958. Ten heraldic plaques on the border, including that of Bishop Despencer, can be identified, but those lost might have clarified both date and donor. The jewel-like colouring and extraordinarily expressive faces make it an outstanding work of art. It survived the Puritan destructiveness by being used as a table with the painted side turned downwards. It was cleaned and repaired in 1958. Shields in the frame have suggested the theory that the retable was given by Bishop Despenser and other Norfolk notables in thanksgiving for the suppression of the Peasants Revolt of 1381 and it is commonly referred to as 'The Despenser Reredos'.

			Other links Guided Tours of the Cathedral BBC Webcam of the cathedral nave BBC 360° panormaic views of Cathedral Crossing or from the Tower Gallery page for more pictures of Norwich Cathedral Cathedral Shop sells books on the Cathedral building and its treasures Images of the Roof Bosses are by Julia Hedgecoe