Christopher Crane

Christopher Crane is ever so vain,

He wears a crown on his head.

He has it on all the time,

even when in bed.

S is for St Albans Cathedral

St Albans

Alban was our first Christian martyr. His shrine was placed here in 429 and lies behind the 1484 high altar screen. It was formerly known as St Albans Abbey before it became a cathedral in 1877. It is the second longest cathedral in the United Kingdom (after Winchester).

The church we see now started in 1077. Situated outside the city of Roman city of Verulamium there is Roman brickwork in the church’s tower and other parts of the building. 

This is where ‘Early English meets Decorated’ wrote Siân in the guidebook. The four bays in the south nave collapsed in 1323 and they only had ‘Decorated’ in stock for the rebuild.

Extract from my new book, English Cathedrals. Capturing the wonder of these very special places in 60 exciting drawings. Order via http://bit.ly/2tbCoE

PREVIEW MORE HERE http://bit.ly/timhome2go

Rochester Cathedral - estuary breezes in the nave

Rochester

The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary is guarded by a castle and sits close to the Thames estuary. We called in on the way home from Canterbury. We were received through a Romanesque door and tympanum, a semi-circular decorative surface that is part of the door.

Striking about Rochester is a superb Romanesque nave; it survives because the medieval builders ran out of money in the 12thC. The plan was to turn the whole place Gothic. The transepts, central tower and eastern end of Rochester, including the quire, are seamless Early English; however the whopping nave remains Norman. Stand at the central crossing and you can see the join.

Extract from my new book, English Cathedrals. Capturing the wonder of these very special places in 60 exciting drawings. Order via http://bit.ly/2tbCoE

PREVIEW MORE HERE http://bit.ly/timhome2go

‘R’ is for Ripon and Romanesque.

Beneath the crossing at Ripon is what is left of a crypt AD 672; no other cathedral has anything as ancient under its stones. Originally St Wilfred, the missionary, returned from Rome and built his church on a basilican pattern. Every piece was swept away in 950.  In 1080 the Normans moved in.

However Ripon is prized for its Early English and Transitional styles, there is a ripping example of the latter in the south transept wall with a mix of semi-circular and pointed arches.

Sir Ninian Comper, a Scottish born architect and one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects contributes an eastern reredos (1922).  

Extract from my new book, English Cathedrals. Capturing the wonder of these very special places in 60 exciting drawings. Order via http://bit.ly/2tbCoE

PREVIEW MORE HERE http://bit.ly/timhome2go

Portsmouth, a place to catch a tune

The tower of Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury in Portsmouth has long has been a leading light to homecoming ships. The sea is very much part of this engaging church; its weather vain is a Golden Barque.

On the sunny afternoon we visited, a small chamber orchestra was rehearsing for a concert that evening. The sun flooded through the windows of the nave, built on the plan of a Greek cross. There is a simple wooden block model, halfway up in a side aisle, that shows what we have is several churches in one: An early church, and Transitional chancel, some William and Mary Classical, and a cruciform west end (where the music played).

Extract from my new book, English Cathedrals. Capturing the wonder of these very special places in 60 exciting drawings. Order via http://bit.ly/2tbCoE

PREVIEW MORE HERE http://bit.ly/timhome2go