CITY OF DURHAM 



wall is a piscina, seen by opening a door in the 

 wall panelling. 



The oak stalls are of the time of Bishop 

 Ruthall (1509-23) and were brought here to- 

 gether with the bench-ends from the dismantled 

 upper chapel at Bishop Auckland by Bishop 

 Tunstall in 1547.'' Some of the miserere seats 

 are curiously carved; the eastern one on the 



Durham Castle : The Chapel 

 Bench-ends 



north side was found in the old moat, under 

 Mr. Rushworth's premises in Saddler Street, 

 about 1908 and was presented by him to the 

 chapel. The four bench-ends are very fine and 

 are also of the time of Bishop Ruthall; one at the 

 south-east end of the chapel bears his arms (a 

 cross between four martlets, on a chief two roses, 

 slipped) impaled with the see and surmounted 

 with a coronet and mitre. The shield is curious 

 because the bishop's arms are placed on the 

 dexter side and the arms of the see on the sinis- 

 ter, a mistake caused perhaps by the carver 

 having the matrix of a seal for his model. The 



'1 Raine, Auckland Chapel, p. 67, citing Chancellor's 

 Rolls for 1547-8. 



bench-end to the north, immediately opposite, is 

 ornamented to represent a mullioned window 

 and divided longitudinally into three parts with 

 embattled transoms, each subdivision having 

 delicately worked tracery. Of the two bench-ends 

 at the west end, that on the north side bears 

 the arms of the see with a mitre rising from a 

 coronet in a panel having an arched and crocketed 

 ogee head ; the upper portion is finished with a 

 second panel filled with delicate tracery. That 

 on the south is very similar in design. All the 

 bench-ends have richly ornamented detached 

 shafts in front, each of different design, support- 

 ing the figures of grotesque animals, and all are 

 surmounted by poppy heads carved out of the 

 solid, except the poppy head, probably of 

 Bishop Cosin's time, on the north of the entrance. 



The wall panelling, altar and triptych are of 

 oak. They were designed by the late Mr. C. 

 Hodgson Fowler and were inserted in 1887. 

 The panelling is constructed in long rectangular 

 compartments surmounted by a shallow cornice, 

 with carved bosses at intervals. Round the east 

 end it is slightly higher, and is ornamented at the 

 top with inserted tracery. The carving of the 

 triptych is bolder, the Crucifixion occupying the 

 centre panel with other figures in either wing. 

 The two large gilt candlesticks were presented by 

 the first warden in 1836. 



The trusses of the seven bays into which the 

 roof is divided have moulded tie beams with 

 solid spandrel brackets framed to the wall 

 posts, which terminate in shields bearing coats 

 of arms. Each bay has moulded wall plates 

 with the moulding returned across the tie 

 beams, and is itself divided into two com- 

 partments by a heavy central rib ; each com- 

 partment is again subdivided into four squares 

 by light moulded ribs having carved bosses and 

 shields at their intersections. There is little in 

 appearance to indicate that the roof is not all of 

 one date, but a close examination shows that the 

 wall pieces between the second and third bays 

 from the east are divided down the centre, 

 suggesting that a piece has been added on the 

 sides to make it of the same width as the others 

 to the west. The ceiling boards also appear to 

 be narrower in the two eastern bays. The two 

 western bays have been altered of late years 

 and raised slightly, showing the purlins and 

 rafters of the roof, presumably for the sake of 

 the organ. The'second tie beam from the west 

 has been decorated with carved cusping and 

 pendants in order to screen somewhat the break 

 in the ceiling. 



The chapel originally contained a large gallery, 

 now removed, projecting some 14 ft. to 16 ft. 

 from the west wall. It was entered from the 

 circular stairs before mentioned, through a 

 four-centred arched doorway now forming the 

 approach to the organ loft. 



85 



