Bells Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Exeter | Page 5

south gate, was found guilty and executed
accordingly. Perhaps, had the office of chaunter not been endowed,
Walter Lechlade might have continued for many long years to chaunt in
sonorous voice "matins, vespers, obits, and the like." At any rate the
story is worth telling, being an interesting picture of manners in the
middle ages. It will be found given, with many interesting details, in an
appendix by Canon Hingeston-Randolph to his edition of the Register
of Bishop Quivil (p. 438).
Quivil's successor was Thomas De Bytton, Dean of Wells. Under his
guidance the work of transformation planned by his predecessor was
loyally continued, for he faithfully adhered to the original design.
Though Bytton appears to have been less active outside his diocese
than many of the Exeter bishops, his mode of life must have
commended itself to a large circle. A grant of forty days' indulgence
was the reward of all those who availed themselves of his spiritual
ministrations, or offered prayers for his prosperity during his life and
after death. Among the signatures appended to the document notifying
this singular privilege are those of numerous archbishops and bishops,
among them being those of the archbishops of Cosensa and Jerusalem,
and Manfred, Bishop of St. Mark's, Venice. "The seal of Manfred," Dr.
Oliver says, "is perfect; he stands robed, with a piece of embroidery on

his alb. The crozier is simply curved. His legend is S. MANFREDI.
DEI. GRA. EPISCOP. SCI. MARCHI." It was dated at Rome in the
year 1300. Possibly Bytton's great learning, by which he had risen to be
Professor of Canon Law at Oxford and Pope's Chaplain, was partly the
reason of so notable a compliment. But the noble work he was doing in
the cathedral church of his diocese, we may hope, had not a little to do
with the honour. For to him we owe the entire transformation of the
choir with its aisles. Bytton's labours were, indeed, very great. We hear
of large quantities of stone procured from Barley, and of sandstone
from Salcombe and Branscombe. He also put a good deal of stained
glass into the windows; so that in the eleventh year of his episcopate
the following item is recorded: "Master Walter le Verrouer for setting
the glass of the upper gable and of eight upper windows, and of six
windows in the aisles of the new work, in gross, £4 l0s." Bytton was
succeeded, in 1308, by Walter de Stapledon, the most famous of all the
bishops of Exeter. A younger son of Sir Richard Stapledon of Annery,
his appointment was the first of a succession of aristocratic
nominations. He, too, had been a professor of canon law at Oxford, was
a chaplain to the Pope and precentor of the cathedral church of Exeter.
The feast given after his enthronement was unusually splendid, the
revenues for a whole year being spent on the festivities. It seems as
though, conscious of his great talents, he determined to signalize his
accession to the episcopal office by some event of unusual
magnificence. It must be remembered that Exeter was at this time one
of the largest and richest sees in England. As Professor Freeman has
pointed out, "The Bishop of Exeter, like the Archbishop of York, was
the spiritual head of a separate people." Stapledon set about expediting
the work of transforming the cathedral into the Decorated style in
vigorous fashion. The Fabric Rolls record that he himself gave the
(then) enormous sum of £1,800 towards defraying the cost. His
generosity encouraged others to subscribe liberally towards the
building fund. One of his first duties was to complete the choir, a
payment being made to William Canon of £35 2s. 8d. for "marble from
Corfe for the columns." But the choir was really Bytton's, the new
bishop had only to give to it "a few final, though not unimportant,
touches." Still he found plenty of work to hand that might receive the
impress of his sole initiative. He designed and completed the triforium

arcade above the choir arches, and directed the colouring of the choir
vault, the total expenses for oil and colour being estimated at £1 9s.
7¾d. By these "final touches" the transformation of the choir into the
Decorated style was completed. But Stapledon determined to further
enrich his already beautiful church with accessories of surpassing
splendour. He erected a high altar of silver, also the beautiful sedilia,
and though there has been a good deal of dispute about the matter, the
more trustworthy authorities attribute to him the bishop's throne of
carved wood. At any rate, in 1312, there is a charge of £6 12s. 8½d. for
"timber for the bishop's seat." The altar, unfortunately, has disappeared,
but it is reputed to have cost a sum equivalent to £7,000 of our