Interior of Hereford cathedral chapel vaulted stone ceiling, dedicated to Bishop John Stanbury - 5 College Cloisters, Cathedral Close, HR1 2NG
The fan-vaulted chantry chapel of Bishop Stanbury was one of the last medieval additions to Hereford cathedral, dating from c1480. This delightful, intimate space is entered from the north choir aisle and is chiefly noted for it's beautiful ceiling, though it also contains two fine Arts & Crafts stained glass windows with historical vignettes by Bromsgrove Guild artist , c1923. Hereford Cathedral is a fascinating place, not one of largest cathedrals or considered amongst the most architecturally significant, but one of the most interesting and rewarding nonetheless. It follows the usual cruciform plan for large churches but here the nave is the longest limb, the choir being relatively short for a cathedral, though the church extends further eastwards in the fine retrochoir and lady chapel. there are an eastern pair of transepts too, though here they do not rise above aisle roof level. The central tower dominates the small city's skyline, but much less today than it once did, for originally it was crowned by a tall lead spire, and in addition there was a similar, slightly smaller tower at the west end (without a spire) thus the building's profile was very different to what we see today. Sadly this fine building has suffered several tragedies in it's history, the greatest of which was in 1786, when the west tower suddenly collapsed following an earth tremor, taking much of the nave with it. The architect chosen for the reconstruction was the notorious James Wyatt, who demolished all the remaining upper sections of the nave and substituted them with his own rather bland interpretation of Gothic. He also shortened the nave by one bay and built a rather mean west facade without rebuilding the west tower (the main tower also lost it's spire around this time). The present west facade is a more exuberant rebuilding by John Oldrid Scott from 1902-8. The cathedral has generally been heavily restored throughout the 19th century
Size: 5472px × 3648px
Location: 5 College Cloisters, Cathedral Close,Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK, HR1 2NG
Photo credit: © Tony Smith / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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