PETERBOROUGH SOKE 



PETERBOROUGH 



arcade at the base of the gables, and surmounted hy a 

 taller arcade with plain arched heads. The parapets, 

 pinnacles, and spires which crown the turrets are later 

 additions, and belong to the 14th century. Those of 

 the south tower are the more elaborate, having (in 

 addition to the gabled and crocketed angle pinnacles 

 common to both towers) tall triangular crocketed 

 spirelets carried on open cinquefoiled arches at the 

 base of the spire. In the cardinal faces of both spires 

 are tall, gabled spirelights with two trefoiled lights, 

 and a blank quatrefoil in the head, and above them on 

 the alternate faces smaller gabled spirelets, but the 

 details of the south spire are better than those of the 

 north, and of earlier date ; the spire also is somewhat 

 the taller. 



The towers contain wide stone vices, entered from 

 the angles of the west transept by oblique passages. 

 At the west ends of the gable walls of the transepts 

 the passages come so near the original outer wall-face 

 that blocks of masonry have been added for strength. 



The inner wall of the porch has blank arcades sub- 

 divided and ranging with the doorways, each arcade 

 being designed to hold three figures, the brackets for 

 which remain.' Above is a band of trefoiled arches, 

 and over these a lofty stage containing the windows, 

 with blank arcading between them. In the central 

 bay is a large five-light tracery window of the 15th 

 century, which probably replaces two narrower win- 

 dows, and in each of the side bays two wide lancets, 

 with inserted 15th-century tracery of three lights. 

 The central doorway has a tall arched head of five 

 moulded orders, and five large and four smaller nook- 

 shafts in each jamb, but the outer shafts and orders are 

 hidden by the east end of the vaulted porch which 

 fills the lower part of the middle arch of the front. It 

 is 13 ft. 4 in. wide at the line of the doors, and this 

 span is sub-divided by two arches springing from a 

 central shaft, which has a tall marble base carved with 

 three devils tormenting a bearded layman who wears 

 a long gown tied at the waist with a girdle. 



The side doorways have moulded arches of four 

 orders and five jambshafts, with details like those of 

 the central doorway. All the capitals of the door- 

 ways and arcades have had trefoiled foliage in separate 

 heads on long stalks, but the foliate heads have been 

 nearly all broken away. The sub-bases in all the 

 work of this date, except in the central doorway and 

 the east angles of the triangular piers, are octagonal, 

 while the bases are circular. A characteristic detail 

 of the front is the ornamental string like a row of in- 

 verted crescents which runs above the heads of the 

 doorways, and also beneath the copings and round 

 two of the circular windows in the gables. 



The transept gables, though of similar design, are 

 less elaborate than those of the west front, the circular 

 windows having a cusped inner order but no wheel 

 tracery, and instead of the three niches there are two 

 small quatrefoils flanking the window. The tre- 

 foiled arcades below are of five bays, while the flanking 

 pinnacles rise from octagonal arcaded bases, instead of 

 square bases as on the front. Of the two western 

 towers the southern only rises to the level of the ridge 

 of the transept roof, while the northern has an upper 

 stage, and is the bell-tower of the cathedral. It has 

 tall octagonal angle pinnacles of two stages above the 



plain parapet of the tower, their upper stage having 

 eight open arches, capped by a stone spirelet. Round 

 the upper story of the tower runs an arcade of pointed 

 arches, the three in the middle of each face being 

 pierced for windows, and the lower story of the tower 

 has a similar arcade. 



Whether the south-west tower was ever built to its 

 full height is difficult to say, and no old views give any 

 evidence in favour of the idea ; but in the inventory of 

 30 November, 1539, it is stated that there were ten 

 bells ' in the two steeples of the monastery at the 

 front,' which might be taken to imply something of 

 the sort.' 



In King's' view the north-west tower has a tall 

 leaded wooden spire, while the lower story of the 

 south-west tower is capped by a flat leaded cupola. 



The imagery of the front remains perfect, as far 

 as the three west gables are concerned. In each gable 

 are six figures, one at the apex, one on each side of 

 the circular window, and three in the arcade at the 

 base. The uppermost figure in each gable represents 

 one of the patron saints, St. Peter being in the cen- 

 tral gable. In the spandrels of the great arches are 

 twelve figures, two in each spandrel. No others 

 remain elsewhere on the front, but corbels showing 

 their former position are to be seen in many places, 

 and the Trinity chapel seems to have had at least 35. 



The Trinity chapel, now used as the chapter library, 

 built between the piers of the central arch, is of two 

 stories, the lower part forming a vestibule to the 

 principal doorway of the nave. 



The west arch is segmental, of three moulded orders, 

 with engaged shafts in the jambs, and is flanked by 

 slender buttresses running to the full height of the 

 chapel. Over the arch is a horizontal string, and the 

 spandrels are panelled. The chapel above has a seg- 

 mental-headed west window of six lights with tracery, 

 and similar windows on the north and south, which 

 are now blocked up on the inside. Above the west 

 window is an embattled gable of low pitch with a 

 canopied niche in the apex and a band of flowing 

 tracery below the battlements. On either side of the 

 west window are two canopied niches, and the but- 

 tresses on the north and south have three niches each 

 in their western faces. 



On either side are staircase turrets, three sides of an 

 octagon in plan, embattled at the top and divided 

 into two stages by a string ranging with that over the 

 west arch. In each stage are three shallow recesses 

 with crocketed gabled heads containing a niche for an 

 image with canopy and pedestal, between two narrow 

 square-headed loops. The stairs are entered through 

 doorways set diagonally in the north and south walls 

 of the lower stage of the chapel. This stage is vaulted 

 in two bays, with carved bosses at the crowns and 

 intersections of the ribs. In the eastern bay is the 

 Holy Trinity on the central boss, surrounded by the 

 four evangelistic symbols. At the crow-ns of the wall 

 ribs and transverse arches are an angel with a trumpet, 

 a lion and shield, two doves, and a pelican m piety. 

 In the western bay is our Lady letting fall her girdle, 

 with four angels on the surrounding bosses holding a 

 shield, a palm, a dulcimer, and a harp. The drip- 

 stones of the outer arch are an angel with a viol and 

 another with a bagpipe.* 



1 Or possibly five, as in old views of the 

 front pedestals are shown at the base of 

 the arcades. 



3 Gunton, op. cit. 65, 



» Ibid. 64. 



* Freemasons will notice 



443 



a remarkable 



symbol among the earrings of the porch, 

 and many other marks of interest on the 

 masonry of the church. 



