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 Southwell
is England's smallest cathedral city.
The parish church of St Mary
the Virgin became Southwell Cathedral in 1884 when the new
diocese of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire was carved out of
the archdiocese of York. However, it had been the mother
church of Nottinghamshire since the 12th century overseeing,
like Ripon and Beverley, part of York's great diocese.
Like the two other churches
Southwell bears the title minster, which was applied to some
monastic foundations and collegiate churches.
The group of secular canons
who served the collegiate churches were known as a College
and at Southwell the whole of the collegiate body eventually
numbered 60.
The Archbishop of York also had
a palace here and by the 13th century Southwell was a cathedral
city in all but name.The earliest church on the site was established
by Archbishop Oskytel in 956 AD.
The church contained the shrine
to St Eadburgh and soon became a place of pilgrimage. Some
small pieces of tessellated paving and an 11th century tympanum
depicting St Michael and the dragon and David rescuing the
lamb from the lion, have survived from this early church.
At the beginning of the 12th
century Archbishop Thomas II wrote to the people of Nottinghamshire
asking them to provide alms for the building of the church
of St Mary, Southwell and, in return, releasing them from
their obligations to York. The archbishop's letter has been
preserved at Southwell.
Southwell Cathedral is a classic
example of a Norman church. Its outstanding feature is the
unusual pyramid steeples which are seen on no other English
cathedral. Although these steeples are very much in the spirit
of the original design, they were actually added at the end
of the 19th century. The rest of the exterior, however, is
rather unexciting and does not prepare the visitor for the
spectacular interior.
The Norman nave, together with
the towers and transepts, has survived almost unaltered since
the 12th century and is one of the finest examples of Romanesque
architecture in England. The massive carved columns, with
triforium and celestory, are built of cream Mansfield stone
and give a wonderful feeling of lightness to the interior.
At the beginning of the 13th
century the east end (the first part of the Norman church
to be constructed) was replaced by one of the finest Early
English choirs ever built. In the early years of 14th century
this was joined by one of the most beautiful of Decorated
pulpitums. These features, together with the splendid fixed
canopied stalls, help make Southwell one of most distinguished
churches in England.
However, Southwell's greatest
glory is its chapter-house, built in the last decade of the
13th century. Although this is one of the smaller surviving
chapter-houses, the profusion of spectacular carving makes
it quite exceptional The stonemasons at Southwell immortalized
the trees and hedgerows of the countryside and there is a
wealth of oak, apple, hawthorn and many others on capitals,
arches, spandrels, doorways and bosses. The beasts of the
forest also appear along with the 'green man' of folklore
and many other flights of fancy. The stone carving of Southwell's
chapter-house and pulpitum is considered to be some of the
finest in England.
As Southwell was not a monastery
it survived the Reformation but the Civil War brought much
damage and the archbishop's palace was totally destroyed at
this time. In 1711 the south-west spire was struck by lightning
and the roof of the nave and central tower were lost.
At the end of the 18th century
James Wyatt was called in to advise on the state of the building
but the work of restoration was handed over to the local architect,
Richard Ingeleman. His work in the early-19th century also
included the creation of assembly rooms, a grammar school
and a suitable residence for the Chapter.
Southwell lost its collegiate
foundation in the middle of the 19th century but it was only
demoted for a short time for in 1884 the minster church became
the cathedral of the new diocese of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
Ewan Christian was commissioned
to work on the building and was responsible for the western
spires that replaced those removed at the beginning of the
century.
The cathedral's other treasures
include the impressive tomb of Archbishop Sandys, who died
in 1588 (the year of the Armada), constructed from the famous
Nottingham alabaster.
The magnificent lectern came
originally from Newstead Abbey but at the Dissolution of the
Monasteries the monks threw the lectern into the lake. In
1805 a dean of Lincoln bought the lectern from an antique
dealer and presented it to Southwell.
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