A North Porch. B Nave. C Font. REFERENCES. D West Front. (The outline shews the extent of the Norman nave before the fall of the western tower.) EE Nave-aisles. Central Tower. G Choir. H North Transept. I North Choir-aisle. K North-east Transept. L Vestibule of Lady-chapel. M Lady-chapel. N South-east Transept. O South Choir-aisle. PP Rooms used as Vestries. Q South Transept. RR Cloister. S Site of Chapter-house. T Vicars' Cloister. U Porch and Staircase to Crypt. 1 Effigy of Sir Richard Pembridge. 2 Door into Cloister. 3 Choir-screen. 4 Effigy of Bishop Stanbery. 5 Pedestal of the Cantilupe Shrine. 6 Tomb of Bishop d'Acquablanca. 7 Door to Chapter Library. 8 Bishop Stanbery's Chantry. 9 Tomb of Bishop_ Swinfield. 10 Effigy of Dean Berew. 11 Effigy of a Knight of the Bohun family. 12 Effigy of Joanna de Bohun. 13 Audley Chapel. 14 Monument of Bishop Mayer. 15 Tomb of Sir Alexander Denton. GROUND-PLAN, HEREFORD CATHEDRAL. Scale, 100 ft. to 1 in. HEREFORD CATHEDRAL. PART I. History and Details. I. THE very interesting cathedral of Hereford, which represents an episcopal see existing, it is possible, before the arrival of St. Augustine, (see Pt. II.,) has suffered much from the hand of time, and more perhaps from so-called restoration. On Easter Monday, 1786, the western tower (a later erection than the Norman nave) fell, carrying with it the west front, and greatly injuring the first bay of the nave. The architect Wyatt was then at work on Salisbury Cathedral; and the restoration of Hereford was unhappily placed in his hands. With Wyatt, restoration meant destruction. Between the years 1788 and 1797 he expended a sum of £20,000 on this cathedral; shortening the nave by one entire bay; destroying the Norman triforium and clerestory, which he replaced by others of his own device; and constructing the present west front, which it is to be hoped will not be permitted to exist much longer. In 1841, at the request of the late Bishop MUSGRAVE, a report on the actual condition of the cathedral was drawn up by Professor Willis: from which it appeared that the piers of the central tower 72 Repairs and Restorations. were in a condition of much danger, and that the eastern gable of the Lady-chapel would inevitably fall unless preventive measures were at once taken. Accordingly, these and other repairs and "restorations" were effected between 1841 and 1852, at a cost of £27,000. The architect employed was Mr. L. N. Cottingham; and the then Dean MEREWETHER'S Own superintendence-whose zeal for the restoration of the building cannot be mentioned with too great respect-was unremitting until his death in 1850. Mr. Cottingham was not so completely destructive as Wyatt had been, but he rebuilt rather than restored, and allowed his masons to re-work ancient sculptures. Since the year 1858 the final restoration of Hereford Cathedral has been in the hands of Mr. (now Sir) G. G. SCOTT, and it need hardly be said that the work has been of a very different character. Where reconstruction has been necessary, every stone has been preserved, and, if possible, replaced. Whitewash and other defects have been removed with a sort of wire comb, which effectually cleans the stone, but does not remove ancient tool marks; and the sculpture and foliage consequently remain uninjured. These last works, completed in the year 1863, (when, on the 30th of June, the cathedral was solemnly re-opened,) effectually set forth the original beauty of the building, which ranks among the most interesting cathedrals in England. The extent and nature of the different restorations will be pointed out as we proceed. It is no doubt to be regretted that so much rebuilding should have been necessary; but this has been partly owing to original defects of construction, and partly to the nature of the stone, which was taken, apparently without much care in selection, from quarries in the old red sandstone, near the city. This stone is so much weather-worn in parts as to resemble the face of a sea cliff. Throughout Wyatt's rebuilding and all the restorations, the new stone has been brought from the Caplar quarries near Fawley; from Lugwardine; and from some quarries nearer Hereford; also in the old red sandstone, but yielding blocks of a much harder and more durable character. II. The Saxon Bishop ETHELSTAN (1012-1056) built a church from the foundations; which shortly after the accession of his successor, LEOFGAR, (1056,) was burnt together with the greater part of the city, by the Welsh king Gryffyth. The first Norman bishop, ROBERT DE LOSINGA, (1079—1096,) who found his cathedral in ruins, began to rebuild it, taking for his model the church of Aachen, or Aix la Chapelle,-the work of Charlemagne. This building was so far completed as to be dedicated (in the names of the Blessed Virgin and of Ethelbert King of East Anglia, see § x. and Pt. II.) in 1110, during the episcopate of REINHELM, (1107-1115). The Norman portions of the existing cathedral (the piers of the nave, the choir as high as the clercstory, and the south transept,) belong to Bishop Robert's cathedral. With the exception of • William of Malmesbury. No work of this early period now remains at Aix. |