The Cathedral Church of Peterborough eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 137 pages of information about The Cathedral Church of Peterborough.

The Cathedral Church of Peterborough eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 137 pages of information about The Cathedral Church of Peterborough.
pinnacles, that are placed between the gables, are not placed exactly above the central line of the great piers beneath them, but are in each case a little further towards the outer arches; and it will be seen, immediately that this is pointed out, how much the upper part of the facade is thereby improved.  The two great piers may be roughly taken as having for section an isosceles right-angled triangle, the right angle being towards the west.  The mouldings of the arches are supported by a series of banded shafts, six on each side of each arch.  In the spaces between the shafts of the middle arch, but not of the others, are crockets for the whole height, and the innermost cavetto is entirely filled with dog-tooth ornament.  All the shafts have floriated capitals; and the great arches have similar mouldings.  Four sets of ornaments run round each arch; a continuous chevron, a richly floriated roll, a roll with bands, and a series of billets.  Between the arches there rises a clustered shaft which reaches to the level of the highest points of the arches:  here these shafts combine with an ornamented stringcourse which runs in a straight line along the entire front.  In each of the six spandrels are a deeply recessed quatrefoil, two trefoiled arches (like the upper part of a niche), a pair of lancet-shaped niches containing figures, and a beautifully designed hexagonal ornament, with wavy edges, the cusps uniting in a central boss.  The pinnacles on each side of the middle gable are at first square, then there are two octagonal stages, the uppermost pierced, and finally a short spire.  The lowest stage has a double lancet with floriated capitals; the second has a lancet, also with floriated capitals, filling up each face of the octagon; the last stage has round-headed lancets, without capitals, entirely surrounded by zigzags.

[Illustration:  Plan of Central Portion of the West Front.]

The gables are richly ornamented.  At the head of each is a massive cross of very fine workmanship.  Along the edges of the gables are two rows of billets and the wavy ornament.  Just below the crosses are three large statues, in niches of which the gable mouldings form the heads.  That in the centre is S. Peter, with a mitre, the right hand uplifted in blessing, and two keys in the left hand; the other two are S. John and S. Andrew.  Below plain, straight stringcourses, at the foot of these statues, are three rose windows of exceptional grace and beauty.  The central one has eight spokes radiating from a flat medallion enriched with conventional foliage; these support trefoil-headed arches which have their outer mouldings thickly covered with dog-tooth; the whole is bounded by two circular bands, the inner one ornamented.  The two other rose windows have six spokes instead of eight, the trefoiled arches have foliage, and the inner moulding of the bounding circles is continuously waving.  The spokes in all three windows have the dog-tooth on each side.  On each

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The Cathedral Church of Peterborough from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.