Exeter's Architectural Treasure: The Cathedral of St. Peter

The Cathedral of St. Peter in Exeter, England was constructed in various architectural styles. The building is an example of Saxon, Norman, Early English, and Decorated Gothic architecture. All of the styles put together make up the unique cathedral we see today.

Exeter Cathedral was built on the camp of the Roman Army's Second Augustan Legion. Archaeologists think there has been a church in the general region of Exeter Cathedral since the early Saxon period because of archaeological evidence that dates from the 5th century. In 932 King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, ordered a new Minster to be built for the Benedictine monks whose simple home was on the site where the Bishop's Palace stands (Thompson 3). In 1003 the site was sacked by the Danes under Swegan. Swegan's son, Knut, the first undisputed King of all England, rebuilt the Minster of the monks in 1019 (Thompson 3).

In 1050, Bishop Leofric of Crediton saw Exeter as an ideal place to transfer his See. There was a general movement to build Saxon Cathedrals in major towns. Furthermore the walls of Exeter provided better protection than the fields of Crediton (Ford Part 1). Leofric converted the Minster church into his Cathedral. This would be the first major architectural design which was Saxon. King Edward the Confessor, accompanied by his Queen Edytha, crowned Leofric in the Saxon Minster as first Bishop of Exeter (Thompson 4). Twenty-four canons were instituted to help Edward in his Episcopal work and he spent many years rebuilding the monastery's land holdings. Upon his death, he left a large collection of books to the Cathedral Library, several of which survive, including the Exeter Book , a book of early English poetry (dated 970). It is one of four manuscripts containing rare examples of the literature created after the Romans left Britain in the 5th century (Thompson 30). The library also contains the Exon Domesday Book , which records the possessions of the people in the area during the Saxon period.

In 1107 William Warelwast, a nephew of William the Conqueror, became third Bishop of the See and moved to Exeter (Thompson 5). During this time the Normans were known for a type of Romanesque building characterized by round arches and heavy masonry. Norman builders were responsible for the two towers on the north and south sides of the Cathedral. These towers were built in 1114 but were not really transepts because they were solid stone towers. They wouldn't be used as transepts until renovations were made during the 14th century. The Normans also provided the choir, apse, and the foundation for the nave walls that would be built a century and a half later.

In 1224 during the reign of Henry III, William Bruere became bishop. Bishop Bruere reorganised the community on a contemporary model. The Archdeacon of Exeter became Dean and the great offices of Precentor, Treasurer, and Chancellor (still aided by 24 canons) were instituted; the cathedral community has been maintained on these lines ever since (Cathedral Org.). To accommodate these changes, a Chapter House was built during the middle of the 13th century in the new Early English style. This was the first phase of the rebuilding which resulted in the Cathedral one sees today (Cathedral Org.). Bishop Bruere was also responsible for the 50 misericords, (supports or seats of pity) for the clergy that were placed under the seats in the clergy stalls (Thompson 8). In 1257 Walter Branescombe became Bishop of the Cathedral. He commissioned the Lady Chapel and had the choir remodelled in the Decorated Gothic style.

Canon Peter Quivil succeeded Branescombe as bishop in 1280. He is the person credited in the Fabric Rolls with the new work, i.e., the transformation of the Cathedral into a single decorated building (Thompson 10). The Fabric Rolls (1279-1514), recording the building that took place and things that went on in the Cathedral and its grounds, are currently housed in the Cathedral library. The Fabric Rolls are the main source of information about the work of Bishop Branescombe and his successors. They give a detailed account of the activities of each week, noting the names and wages of the workers, the materials used, the cost of the materials, and the source of the materials.

During Bishop Branescombe and Quivil's tenure buttresses were added as a way to increase the height of the building. This new architectural feature made it possible to increase height to the cathedral despite the heavy masonry. Under Bishop Quivil, the inside walls of the towers were removed so that the towers could be used as transepts. Decorated stained glass windows were also added to the towers.

Bishop Quivil's role at Exeter is commemorated in his tomb in the Lady Chapel. The slab of Purbeck marble ten feet long placed over the tomb has the Latin inscription, "A stone covers Peter: no ill befall thee" (Thompson 11). Quivil's successor, Bytton (1292-1308), completed the Presbytery on the open ground between the Saxon and Norman churches, removed the wall of partition where the Norman Apse had been, and unified the interior of the Cathedral (Thompson 11). The Bishop's throne was placed where the new work met the old. The corbels of the choir were also carved in Bishop Bytton's time. When Bytton died the work east of the transepts was finished. Walter de Stapledon who was a Precentor of the Cathedral became the next bishop. His notable gifts to the choir include the organ screen, the stalls, the throne and the Sedilia, or seats for the Ministrants (Thompson 13).

It was under John de Grandisson, appointed bishop in 1327, that the present Cathedral was completed. By 1342 the carved relief sculptures of West Front were in place and painted in bright colors (Ford, Part 2). Grandisson is better known for laying out the Cathedral 'Ordinal' (1337), procedures still in use today, that define how all cathedral services should be carried out (Ford, Part 2). He was buried at the Cathedral in 1369 (Thompson 15).

The 16th and 17th centuries brought many religious changes. In 1534, King Henry VIII became Head of the Church of England and initiated widespread church reform. At Exeter a Protestant named Simon Heynes whitewashed religious wall-paintings, defaced the books in the Cathedral Library (by removing references to the Pope) and tore Bishop Lacy's brass from his monument in order to discourage pilgrims (Ford, Part 3). Later, the strict rules for worship established by Edward VI, and his commissioners, required the dismantling of stone altars and the destruction of all holy images (Ford, Part 3).

Remarkably, during this iconoclastic period the unique collection of carved bosses and corbels at Exeter Cathedral remained untouched and only one statue was lost from the Image Screen (Ford, Part 3). The only holy image that was defaced was one of the carvings of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The most dramatic period in the Cathedral's history occurred in 1646 when Fairfax and Cromwell controlled Exeter and the church authorities were suppressed by the Junta (Cathedral Org). The Cathedral was handed over to the city councilmen who wanted two different groups, the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists to have access to the cathedral. To accommodate the two, a dividing wall was built across the choir screen, with the Presbyterians having the choir and the Congregationalists the nave (Cathedral Org.). Attempts to disperse the library were foiled by the citizens of Exeter. A local physician Dr. Vilvaine moved the books to the Lady Chapel and kept them in good order (Cathedral Org.).

In 1660 the Dean, and later Bishop, Seth Ward (Ford, Part 3) began restoration. Repairs were undertaken on the towers, the choir and the chapter house and the wall separating the nave and choir was removed. The great organ (the case of which survives), considered one of the best in England, was placed on the pulpitum screen in 1665 (Ford, Part 3).

During the 18th and 19th centuries there was increased interest in the architecture. In 1815 John Kendall cleared the exterior buildings abutting the main structure to restore the building's symmetry (Ford, Part 3). Subsequently, the Lady Chapel was restored for worship. In 1870 John Loughborough Pearson rebuilt part of the cloisters. However, only one corner was ever finished because of insufficient funds (Ford, Part 3). Efforts to finish what Pearson started are being undertaken today.

The last major event of significance to the material survival of the Cathedral was the Blitz of May 3, 1942 when the Cathedral suffered a direct hit. On this day German bomber planes descended on Exeter and all but destroyed the city. The twin chapel of St James and St Thomas the Martyr was damaged as were two bays in the south choir although the building had no major structural damage (Cathedral Org.). Only the medieval glass that was removed in 1939 for safekeeping survived making it necessary to replace all of the other glass that was destroyed in the Blitz.

Four windows have medieval glass: the two earliest dating from 1300-1310 are in the chapels of St. Gabriel on the south side and St. John the Evangelist on the east side (Thompson 17). A third medieval window is in the north clerestory opposite the Bishop's throne from 1310-1320 (Thompson 17). According to Thompson, "The east window is the most magnificent and was probably the work of Walter Rouen in 1303-1304 during Bishop Bytton's time" (17).

Since 1945 the bomb damage has been repaired, both towers have been completely restored and the image screen has been conserved. Recently the heating system has been replaced, the electrical wiring has been replaced, extra fire protection has been installed, a new sound system has been fitted and a CCTV is now in operation. Restoration, conservation, and maintenance work is carried out on a daily basis (Cathedral Org).

The Cathedral is 383 feet long and the nave is 68 feet high with the two towers being 145 feet high (Cathedral Org.). Compared to many other Gothic cathedrals, this one is shorter giving it a perpendicular layout because it is longer than it is tall. The floor plan is a basilica with two central Norman towers instead of a westwork. The central towers from the Norman period make Exeter the only truly English cathedral.

The fan vaulting is peculiar to Exeter. Its unbroken length of 300 feet is of a singular beauty. It is the longest true Gothic vaulting in the world. Wooden bosses key the fans together, and one of these at the western end of the nave depicts the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas a' Becket. It shows six figures, the victim on his knees, the four conspirators, and a priest holding up a cross before Becket received the fatal blow.

Another of the many treasures that have been preserved is the image screen on the west front of the Cathedral. The image screen is not the western wall of the nave but it actually covers the buttresses that support the west wall and also hides the north and south chambers that are external to the wall. The north chamber houses the new bread house for the daily distribution of the canon's bread-dole and the south chamber houses the tomb of Bishop Grandisson who was buried there in 1369.

The image screen contains many figures that cannot be identified. Some portray royalists and others portray saints. There is the image of William the Conqueror, Bishop Grandisson, and St. Boniface. Some of the images are badly deteriorated but others have been restored. The lower portion of the screen was completed for Bishop Grandisson. The rest of the screen was completed during the reign of Richard II (1370-1394) (Thompson 19). At one time the image screen was polychromed but over the years the bright paint has worn off of the figures. The figures are fragile and require a wire screen to keep the birds away.

The other major sculptural commissions include the tombs of the former bishops located within the cathedral. Some of the important tombs are the following: the tombs of Bishop Leofric (1072), Bishop Stapledon (1326), Bishop Stafford (1395), Bishop Branescombe (1280), and Bishop Grandisson (1369).

The tomb of Bishop Stafford looks south to the tomb of Bishop Branescombe on the eastern side of the cathedral between the Lady Chapel and St. Gabriel's Chapel. Bishop Stapledon's tomb is to the north of the High Altar. As noted above, Bishop Grandisson was buried between the western wall and the image screen.

The choir screen is another magnificent piece of art in the Cathedral. It was a gift of Bishop Stapeldon in 1325 (Thompson 24). The front panels were originally filled with sculptural scenes (of which only a dove with a cloud remain). The screen was replaced with paintings from the period of Charles II (Thompson 24).

Part of the carving over the bays is from the 14th century and part is from the modern period. The St. Mary altar is to the north of the screen and the St. Nicholas altar is to the south. According to Thompson, "St. Mary's covers the tomb of Henry de Bratton, one of the greatest English lawyers and Chancellor of the Cathedral in the 13th century" (24).

Another sculptural work within the cathedral is the Bishop's throne, located just behind the great organ. It was a gift of Bishop Stapeldon at the time when the choir was being furnished in the early part of the 14th century (Thompson 25). It is attributed to the carpenter Robert de Galmeton (1313-1319). The throne rises nearly 60 feet and is very intricately carved. It is fitted together by wooden pegs instead of iron nails and at the top is a figure of St. Peter that was later modified to look like Lord William Cecil, Bishop of Exeter, 1916-1936 (Thompson 25).

A clock from 1376 is still located in the small chamber in the north tower. The clock, in the north wall of the north tower was the gift of Bishop Peter Courtenay, (1478-1487). The clock was designed to run twenty-four hours and records the phases of the moon displaying a silver face at its fullest, and a black face when no moon is visible in the sky (Thompson 25-26).

The Cathedral has excellent acoustics and was equipped with a number of organs over the centuries. During the Commonwealth of the 17th century an organ was destroyed and replaced by the present one which dates from 1665 and was built by John Loosemore, an Exeter man (Thompson 26-27). The instrument has been rebuilt from time to time. After the Blitz of 1942 it was repaired and ready for use within four years (Thompson 27). According to the locals it has a beautiful tone and sounds very heavenly.

Another important role of the Cathedral is that it has a library. This library is special because it contains the Exeter book, the Exon Domesday Book, and the Fabric Rolls for the Cathedral. The library contains over 20,000 printed books today and is a great treasure for anyone who would like to study medicine, theology, history and law.

On my visit I found the Cathedral to be in excellent condition. It has survived as a very important architectural and spiritual landmark for the town of Exeter. Seeing the Cathedral first-hand was a truly wonderful educational experience that I will never forget.

Exeter Cathedral Organization. (2004). The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter: A Short History of Exeter Cathedral .

Freeman, Philip. The Architectural History of Exeter Cathedral. 1873. Henry S. Eland, High Street & George Bell & Sons.

Hope, Vyvyan and John Lloyd. Exeter Cathedral: A short history and description. Exeter: James Townsend, 1973.

Thompson, Arthur Huxley. The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter. Exeter and London: James Townsend & Sons.