Summary. The nave was possibly built 1240-85 in a Gothic Decorated architectural style. Arcades with many statues of heads, a decorated triforium, unusual clerestory windows and a complex ribbed ceiling of plasterwork give it distinction. An original sculpted head of a woman shows a link with King Henry III’s wife.
An 1820 account described the nave as both beautiful and interesting.[1] It has no statues on the external wall, the pillars are solid, large and fluted, the triforium is decorated and the clerestory windows innovative. The roof is a superb example of intricate carpentry and plasterwork. The nave is richly decorated and epitomises Gothic Decorated architecture.
The nave dates from the
time of Bishop Roger Meuland (Mayland)[2] and
was presumably directed by Thomas Waleys (Wallace) master of the fabric in 1268,
who had succeeded William Fitzthomas by this date. It was probably completed by
1285.[3] Meuland
was a kinsman (cousin?) of King Henry III and no doubt facilitated the king’s
interest and patronage in the building of the cathedral.
Original head sculpture at the end of the north nave aisle. Eleanor of Provence, young wife of King Henry III, (she was 12 and he 28 when they married) introduced a new type of wimple to England. This veil, usually of linen or lace, covered a pillbox cap which meant the face was now central and the wimple did not slip over the eyes. Is this Eleanor?
The nave has eight bays and an aisle on the north side and another on the south side. The two westerly bays are slightly wider to accommodate the two western towers and originally there would have been a vestibule or atrium around the middle door. The nave and choir have the same number of pier arches and are of similar length. The total width of the nave (21 m or 69 feet) is also about equal to half its length,[4] and therefore there is a symmetry. The three levels have a harmonious ratio of close to 2:1:1, also seen at Westminster Abbey and Beverley Minster. That means the ground storey occupies one-half of the total height.[5] It was said to show “smooth fluidity of upward movement”. The layout is mostly on a 16.5 feet (5.029 m) grid, a conventional perch or rod length.
Plan of nave.
Nave on a perch gridding of 16.5 feet.
Nave wall
showing general ratio of elements. The original lengths were likely to be a rod
or perch, but that is difficult to prove with changes to the floor level and
roof.
Comparison of nave vaulting with the choir vaulting. Side of nave and roof vaulting showing 6 ribs in each bay. Choir has 7. The current vaulting in plaster closely followed the previous roof in stone; it is in effect a false vaulted roof. The main feature is the prominent longitudinal ridge rib with conspicuous bosses. Unusually, there are no transverse ribs meaning the vaulting is like a “spreading cluster of arcs.” This lack of a transverse rib and instead having a short decorative rib makes the nave roof very different from the choir and transept roof.
Perhaps, the most remarkable feature of the nave is the line of exceptionally tall ‘spherical-triangular’ clerestory windows. Each has trefoil cusped bar tracery. They were modelled on those at Westminster Abbey and resemble the window openings in the north transept at Hereford Cathedral. This is almost certainly an instruction from Henry III.[7]
Clerestory
window.
In 1788-1792, roof bays 2 to 6 consisting of stone and lead were removed and replaced with wood, plaster and slate. It meant the weight of the roof on the nave walls was now one-twentieth the weight of the roof (500 tons estimated) added after the Civil War. The previous heavy roof had caused cracks in the nave walls and pushed both of them outwards by 13–14 inches. The alternative of rebuilding and strengthening the clerestory walls was considered too expensive and dangerous. Scott in the 1850s refused to alter the roof or change the clerestory and instead opted to increase the height of the side aisles to where they were before the Civil War. This gave an extra buttressing.
South side of the nave, c. 1720 drawing, showing the aisle and nave roof before alterations. The nave roof was reduced in height and the aisle roof was raised.
Cinquefoil
decoration
Above all the columns and below the triforium on the
inside wall is a 5-fold wall decoration. It has been speculated it represents
the five wounds of Christ or the five saints who received the stigmata, but to
repeat this along the nave make little sense.
Cinquefoil
decoration nave.
Cinquefoil
decoration on outside of southwest tower and southwest door
Another
theory is the nave was directed by King Henry III and he introduced architectural
features borrowed from his other cathedrals. His wife was Eleanor from Provence
where a particular kind of rose, Rosa gallica, was grown. The red rose
was grown for the production of rose flavoured jam and for use as a medicine;
said to cure many ailments. It became known as the ‘Apothecary’s Rose’. Eleanor
is thought to have brought it to England and her second son adopted it as his
badge. The rose was then widely used by following kings and eventually became
the ‘Rose of England. Is the decoration an emblem for Eleanor and Henry?
Rosa
gallica, a five
petalled rose with a strong scent.
Quatrefoil
and trefoil in the Chapter House at Southwell Cathedral. Its date of 1288 means
it was after Henry III.
Similarities
Architects
have found similarities with the nave architecture and those at other
cathedrals. Lincoln has small capitals with foliate decoration, trefoil
decoration in the spandrels (Angel Choir), double arched openings in the
triforium, similar sculptures in the nave arcades (only in the east end of the
south aisle at Lichfield) and the same vaulting arrangement in the roof.
Westminster has small, spherical-triangular windows and the same vaulting in
the aisles. Southwell has similar blind arcading and decoration in their
chapter house. Wells has the same column shafts.
Base of nave
columns in Wells cathedral
Arcades.
The nave aisles are 55 m (180 feet) long and their outer walls have blind arcading, much restored in 1854. From the Civil War destruction and restoration, the nave arcades were almost wholly plaster. G. Gilbert Scott replaced them with stone in a style that he thought was appropriate. Almost all the upper parts of each arcade have been refurbished, though some masonry deemed reasonable was left untouched.
Arcade from east end of south aisle compared with arcade from
east end of north aisle. The south side arcades show more decoration.
Surprisingly,
the arcades are more decorated on the south side compared with the north side
suggesting construction at different times and with different master-masons. The
arcades are generally similar to those in the Chapter House and those in
Southwell Minster. Some of the decoration is of the highest quality, especially
with the hollowing of the centres of capitals.
There is sculpture in the
spandrels of alternating bays (1, 3, 5) along the south aisle. Why did the
mason not complete every bay? Bay one, appears to have two birds with prominent
claws, bay three has smiling winged ape-like beasts and bay 5 has winged,
clawed, smiling beasts with bared teeth.
Spandrels of
bays 1, 3 and 5 on the south side.
In
bays 3 and 5 in the south aisle wall are two semi-effigies which have defied
explanation. Why display only the head and feet is odd. Britton thought they represented
two old canons of the church and are the same age as the nave.[8]
He even suggested the intermediate parts are hidden within the wall. A review
of ‘semi-effigial monuments’ concluded more appeared in churches in eastern
England and certain parts of Wales and were 13th or 14th-century.[9]
Those viewed from above often had some cross symbolism in the missing middle,
such as, knights might have their armorial heraldry. This suggests something
was displayed on the wall between the head and feet, but has now been replaced
by a memorial stone.
Semi-effigies.
Over
700 sculptured heads have been counted inside and outside of the cathedral,
though it is unknown how many were present at the time of construction. It is
more than any other UK cathedral.
Selection of sculptured heads; most must be Victorian and crafted by the stonemason. The stonemasons knew of sepia drawings held in London of the heads of Lichfield, but the drawings were basic.
[1]
J. Britton, The history
and antiquities of the See and cathedral church of Lichfield. (London: 1820), 40.
[2]
See the post, ‘Bishop Meuland-an enigma’.
[3]
M. W. Greenslade and R. B. Pugh (eds.) 'House of secular canons - Lichfield
cathedral: To the Reformation', in A History of the County of Stafford:
Volume 3, (London, 1970), 140–166.
[4]
R. Willis, ‘On foundations of early buildings recently discovered in Lichfield
Cathedral’. The Archaeological Journal, (1861), 18, 1–24.
[5]
P. Brieger, The Oxford History of English Art (1216–1307), (Oxford:
1957), 185.
[6]
Ibid, 186.
[7]
See the post, ‘King Henry III architect.’
[8]
J. Britton, (1820),46. See note 1.
[9] C. Boutell, Christian Monuments in England
and Wales. An Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the Various Classes of
Sepulchral Monuments which Have Been in Use in this Country from about the Era
of the Norman Conquest to the Time of Edward the Fourth. (London: 1854).
Lichfield is on p155–6.
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