Bells Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Carlisle | Page 4

Decorated portions of the choir were now put in hand: the triforium,

clerestory, and upper part of the east end, as well as the tracery and
much of the mouldings of the east window and the roof. The carving,
hitherto unfinished, was now completed; but, as the style had developed
in the mean-time, we once more find examples of decidedly early work
with much later work both above and below. The roof inside was
finished with a very fine panelled ceiling. The building was finished
1375-1400, and in the roof were placed the arms of those who had
helped in the rebuilding--the Lacys, the Nevilles, and the Percys.
The material used for the new choir was red sandstone, both for the
interior and the exterior, giving in some cases a curious patched
appearance to the walls.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL AND PRECINCTS. From an old Plan
in Lyson's "Magna Britannia."]
About 1380-1384 the east window was filled with glass.
In 1392 the cathedral once again suffered from fire, and the damage
was repaired by Bishop Strickland (1400-19). No efforts appear to
have been made to bring the nave into correspondence with the
extended choir, and the end of the thirteenth century marks the close of
the cathedral's history in the direction of its enlargement and
beautifying.
On a review of the cathedral we find in the aisles thirteenth-century
work, on a small scale, in its perfection.
The south aisle shows development of window tracery, and the gradual
steps taken towards uniting single lights under one arch.
Tracery carried to its perfection can be seen in the east window.
Early English carving is shown in St. Catherine's Chapel, especially in
the corbels; and the more naturalistic carving which was developed at
a later period, is exhibited in the corbels of the roof of the choir and the
capitals of the piers. The latter afford the most complete representation
of the seasons known to exist. On the south side (from east to west) are

the first six months, and on the north side (west to east) the remainder.
About 1401, William Strickland being Bishop of Carlisle, the tower was
rebuilt on its original scale, probably because the foundations would
not permit one to be erected proportioned to the size of the choir. It
was capped by a short wooden spire covered with lead; this, however,
was removed in the seventeenth century.
The forty-six stalls in the choir, erected on a plinth of red sandstone,
belong to this period (1401-19). The elaborate tabernacle work by
Prior Haithwaite (1433) was originally gilded and coloured, and the
niches were filled with images.
Prior Gondibour (1484-1507) painted the backs of the stalls. The
remains of some screens he added to the choir may still be seen in St.
Catherine's Chapel.
He had the roof painted in red, green, and gold, on a white ground;
painted the choir pillars white, diapered with red roses nearly 12
inches in diameter, and with the letters I.H.C. and J.M. in gold; and no
doubt finished whatever decorative work of the choir still had to be
done.
Laurence Salkeld, last prior, and first dean, erected the very fine
Renaissance screen on the north side of the choir, near the pulpit. It
bears his initials, followed by the letters D.K. (Decanus Karliolensis),
of his new title.
The priory was surrendered to the Crown in January 1540, and the last
prior--Salkeld--was made dean of the chapter founded by Henry VIII.
The revenue was at that time estimated at £ 481 per annum. Five years
later, June 1545, the present foundation was settled, and the dedication
changed to that of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.
We get a glimpse of the cathedral in the first half of the seventeenth
century, in the record left by some officers who visited the English
cathedrals in 1634. Carlisle they curtly speak of as "more like a great
wilde country church" than a fair and stately cathedral.

After the capture of the city in 1645 the parliamentary troops pulled
down part of the nave in order to repair the fortifications. It is very
probable that the Norman church was partly built of stones taken from
the Roman wall; and it is strange to find the western part of the same
church being destroyed nearly six hundred years after in order to
repair the city walls.
George Fox, the intrepid founder of the Society of Friends, came to
Carlisle in 1653 and preached in the cathedral. Some of the
congregation being opposed to him, he was guarded while preaching,
by certain soldiers and friends who had "heard him gladly." At length
the "rude people of the city" rushed into the building, and made a
tumult, so that the governor was forced to send musketeers to quell it.
Fox thus describes the scene, in