Cathedral lights

In the winter months the interior lights of cathedrals come into their own. The effectiveness of the lighting varies from building to building, with some using artificial light better than others. One of the best effects is lighting that emphasises the basic structure of the building. Today's photograph shows some wall lights in Hereford Cathedral. Here the effect is to emphasises the glass spheres of the lights and to throw a pool of light around them. My under-exposed shot has emphasised this effect.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Peter de Grandison revisited

About five years ago I took a photograph of the tomb of Peter de Grandison (d.1358) in Hereford Cathedral. It is a typical of its date having a sculpture of the deceased on a raised, panelled tomb chest with rib vaulting and canopies above. The smaller figure carvings depict the Coronation of the Virgin and four saints (Cantilupe, Ethelbert, John the Baptist and Thomas Beckett). My focus this time was the depiction of Peter de Grandison and his armoured upper body. This probably received repairs after damage by iconoclasts. However, it outshines many tombs of its date due to the fine detail that was recoloured in a restoration of the 1940s. Incidentally, the surname can be spelled with a single or double s.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Crypt entrance, Hereford Cathedral

At Hereford Cathedral the C13 Lady Chapel was built over a crypt. Both of these spaces are characterised by lancet arches in the Early English style, and they are two of the most interesting features of the cathedral. Entry to the crypt is by quite steep stairs and a door (see lower left of second photograph).

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Font, Hereford Cathedral

Fonts are frequently the oldest feature in a church, often surviving refurbishments and rebuilds. Congregations and clergy seem to value the continuity that the font brings to the building. Hereford Cathedral's stone font dates from the Norman period (C12), as does much of the building itself. It is circular with twelve figures (the Apostles) under arches that rest on spiral carved columns. Above is a key pattern. The base is simpler, made of different stone and features four carvings of lions. The coloured mosaic looks to be nineteenth century.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Tomb effigies

It is commonplace to find  tombs and effigies of the wealthy and influential in England's cathedrals. The sculpted men and women are usually replendent in their finest clothes and armour. They further display their status and connections through coats of arms and references, pictorial and written, to their civil and/or military achievements. Occasionally, however, poignant additions to the display of swagger can be found. The photographs today show the tomb and effigies of Alexander Denton (d.1576) and his wife Anne (d.1566) in Hereford Cathedral. To most viewers the damage inflicted to faces and hands by Puritan iconoclasts of the seventeenth century are the most eye-catching features.

Rather fewer notice the swaddled child with its pillow, tucked by Anne's leg, an indication that she and the child died during childbirth. This touching feature gives the modern viewer a reminder of the precariousness of life at that time and shows how riches could not transcend such losses.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Photographing Hereford Cathedral

 click image to enlarge

A British cathedral is, for the most part, a very big church. It can be situated in a city or a town and sometimes has an open space around it. This space - called a "close" - can vary tremendously in size and for that reason can be helpful to the photographer (a big space) or not so helpful (a small space). The big space makes it easier to compose a shot that includes the whole of the building. Hereford Cathedral has a small space around it which includes several big trees, and beyond this space the buildings of the town press close. The unavoidable consequence of all this is that photographers must search for views from afar that feature just a part of the cathedral. One such is from the beech avenue through Bishop Meadow across the River Wye. But, it is only available when the trees are not in leaf - hence this recent photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Hereford Cathedral reflected

The exterior of the east end of Hereford Cathedral shows clear evidence of the reconstruction in c.1845 when the architect, Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787-1847), took account of the original Early English work in his extensive remodelling. Further renewal was undertaken in c.2000. We made a visit to the cathedral on a day following heavy rain and I was pleased to come across a puddle reflecting this part of the building. It gave some interest to the featureless tarmac area that is used by cars associated with the cathedral. The reflection in the water reminded me of a torn segment of a black and white photograph of the building.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Hereford Cathedral, west front

In 1786 the fourteenth century axial west tower of Hereford Cathedral collapsed. This came as no surprise since construction designed to prevent such an incident had been going on for some time. The rebuilding of 1788-90 by James Wyatt was in a mixed mid to late Gothic style, involved the loss of a bay of the nave, and was evidently inspired by the west end of Winchester Cathedral. Wyatt's efforts were not praised by Victorian restorers of the cathedral and in 1902-8 John Oldrid Scott built what we see today. He chose the Decorated style, small octagonal turrets to north and south where, more commonly, are found substantial towers, and an overall busyness that some find fussy.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Stanbury Chapel, Hereford Cathedral

The Stanbury Chapel is a small chantry chapel in the chancel north aisle at Hereford Cathedral. It was begun around 1480, completed by 1492 and was built for John Stanbury (d.1474) who was the bishop of Hereford from 1453 until 1474. The chapel's Perpendicular architecture reflects the period of its construction, particularly the ornate fan vaulting. The colourful stained glass is by Archibald J. Davies, a member of the Bromsgrove Guild, who worked in the Arts and Crafts style.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Hereford Cathedral - looking west from the choir

click image to enlarge

One of the pleasures of photographing the interior of a large church or cathedral in winter is that, cloudless sunny days excepted, a photograph often combines elements that are lit by artificial light and others lit by natural light. The artificial light usually has an orange tinge while the naturally lit areas have a blue cast. Those distinctions are clear on this photograph - the stonework, woodwork and the tiled floor of the choir are lit by electric light; the massive stonework of the nave columns and the vaulting ribs (with the exception of the arches of the arcades) have the blue cast of natural light entering through the nave windows.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Corona, Hereford Cathedral

These days we are so accustomed to seeing the word "corona" followed by the word "virus" that any other meaning of the word surprises us. In fact, the word comes from the Latin for "crown", and is used as a synonym for that royal head-wear. By extension it is also used to describe a wreath, a ring, a diadem and even the outer atmosphere of the sun that is visible in a total eclipse. Consequently it comes as no surprise to see the word describe the golden "zig-zag" ring that hangs above the altar under the tower crossing of Hereford Cathedral. Incidentally, one of the pearl-like lighting features hangs in each transept and is quite separate from the corona, only looking adjacent because of the point from which I took the photograph.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Hope

 

On a recent brief visit to Hereford Cathedral we came across enormous capital letters spelling out the word "HOPE". They were parked in the south transept and featured lights cycling through a series of colours. I don't know if they were left over from a previous use, were waiting to be used, or were just a generalized exhortation to worshippers and/or visitors. Whatever their purpose their modern incongruity against the medieval stonework prompted a photograph. And caused me to hope that in the UK and across the world 2023 will be a clear and lasting improvement on 2022.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Nave vaulting, Hereford Cathedral

Hereford's Saxon cathedral was rebuilt in 1030-1040 but in 1055 was burnt down by the Welsh. The Normans set about building the cathedral again, and it was consecrated between 1142 and 1148. Thereafter the cathedral was added to down the centuries. However, the building was also subject to a number of collapses and restorations and consequently care is needed to distinguish original from renewed. The nave, for example, has some original, rebuilt Norman columns (though eight bays were reduced to seven), an Early English style gallery (but late C18) by Thomas Wyatt and vaulting, also by Wyatt, made of lath and plaster.The paintwork of the vaulting dates from c.1850 and is by  N.J. Cottingham. George Gilbert Scott, who led a restoration in the later nineteenth century, called it "offensive". Most people today, I think, would not agree with his judgement, seeing in it a subtle richness.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Church flowers

If you want to see cut flowers in their wide variety of colours and forms you can do no better than visiting a good florist's shop. If you want to photograph them, however, you'll need a more sympathetic location because not too many florists welcome people photographing their stock unless they are going to buy it. In my experience the second best show of cut flowers is to be found at church flower festivals where the many individual displays are often themed in imaginative ways. In fact, churches in general and cathedrals in particular usually have several good displays most of the year round. The example in today's photograph, strongly featuring lilies as they often do, was in Hereford Cathedral. I used a bright lens to get a nice out of focus background that hinted at the religious location.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Shrine of St Thomas de Cantilupe, Hereford Cathedral

The stone base (tomb chest) of the shrine of Bishop (later Saint) Thomas de Cantilupe was probably erected for his burial in 1287 at this position in the north transept of Hereford Cathedral. It has six bays on each long dimension and two on each of the shorter ends. Each bay has figures, the earliest known "weepers" in England. A slab of Purbeck marble which formerly held an engraved brass supports an arched upper structure. The brightly painted canopy above dates from 2008 and is the work of several artists. Textile hangings on nearby walls recount the life of Thomas, the most famous Herefordshire cleric.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Restored medieval glass, Hereford Cathedral

In the east wall of the north transept of Hereford Cathedral is a window with medieval glass that was comprehensively restored by William Warrington (1796-1869), one of the earliest stained glass artists working as a medieval revivalist. It features four figures - Saints Katherine, Michael, Gregory and Thomas (of Canterbury) - under tall canopies set in a background of grisaille. The parts of the figures, canopies, and perhaps some of the grisaille, feature fourteenth century glass. For many years this was hidden away in old boxes, and was formerly fixed in some of the windows on the south side of the nave. Warrington comprehensively restored this window combining his own work with the ancient glass. I like what he did though I know some purists feel he should have done less.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The cathedral masons' workplace

Anyone who has taken an interest in the building of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe will at one time or another have read about how the stonemasons set up their workplace next to the building they were constructing. In some of these structures members of the same family worked for generations on the cathedral. A hint of what this may have been like can be glimpsed at Hereford Cathedral where the stone masons have a timber building and a covered shelter in which they carry out their skilful tasks. One was at work recently as we passed by. The extent of their small compound can be seen in the background of this photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Knife Angel

The Knife Angel is a sculpture by Clive Knowles made of over 100,000 blades confiscated by the police. Its purpose is to publicise the dangers of knife crime in the community, and to act as a memorial to those who have lost their life, or in other ways have been affected by, knife crime. The Knife Angel is being hosted in different locations across the country. We saw it near the west door in the cathedral close at Hereford.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Cathedral crossing

Most medieval cathedrals in Britain have a ground plan that is essentially a Latin cross. There are additions to this basic shape in the form of cloisters, chapter house etc, but in essence the footprint of the building is a Latin cross with the shorter head (the chancel) at the east, the longer nave at the west, and the north and south transepts making the two "arms". The point where the transepts meet is called the crossing and above this point (usually) is the cathedral's biggest tower - the crossing tower. Such is the plan at Hereford. Today's photograph shows the view from the north transept looking across the crossing to the south transept.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Socially distanced seating, Hereford Cathedral

The Covid19 pandemic has made us all very aware of the importance of social distancing. Recently we came upon an example of social distancing that made me stop and stare. The nave seating of Hereford Cathedral had been arranged with this in mind and, after decades of seeing naves with tightly packed seating separated only by necessary aisles, it looked decidedly odd. Adding to the oddness is the choice of inexpensive moulded plastic seating. Presumably this was chosen for ease of cleaning.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300