34 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[February, 



the ground for controversy respecting the age of the cathedral, it would 

 seem to be destroyed by the recent discovery of a M. S. entitled 

 " Ritua Officii divini ecclesice Tornac," and dated 1656. This gives 

 a list of tile various fetes formerly celebrated in the Cathedral, and 

 points out the 9th of May (which was then annually celebrated), as 

 the anniversary of the dedication of the church, in the following 

 words: " Dtdicatio ecclesice, est feslivus dies in populo intra muros. 

 Triplex est cum octavti et duplex prinue classis ; " and then, "fideliscel 

 novce, anno 1066." Monsieur T. Le Maistre d'Anstaing, who mentions 

 this MS. in his very interesting work on the Cathedra!, 5 remarks that 

 doubtless there were more consecrations than one, as for example that 

 of the choir, and those after partial restorations ; but that this being 

 the first, was properly regarded as the most important, and, being duly 

 observed, had been handed down to the date of the MS. alluded to. 



In a comparatively short space of time after this date, if the his- 

 torian Jean Cousin is to be believed, the choir becoming too small 

 and probably being injured by the events of troublous times, was 

 cleared away to make room for a more magnificent structure. Cousin 

 states, that the first stone of the new choir was laid in 1110; and that 

 it was finished about 80 years afterwards or more. His authority for 

 this statement, however, does not appear. According to certain old 

 chroniclers quoted by M. d'Anstaing, it was vaulted in 1242, at the 

 expense of Walter de Marvis; but it would seem that divine service 

 had been performed in it previous to that date, its dedication being 

 ascribed to the year 1200. 



At the end of the twelfth century, pointed architecture was but just 

 developing itself, so that we must conclude either that the choir 

 of the Cathedral of Tournay is one of the earliest monuments of that 

 style, or that the received statements are erroneous. I am iuclined to 

 believe the former. 



In concluding these remarks on the Cathedral of Tournay, it is 

 gratifying to be able to say, that the sum of £20,000 has been voted 

 by the nation (to be expended in ten years) for the restoration of this 

 noble building, and that under the direction of M. Renard, the archi- 

 tect, there is every reason to expect it will be carried out eflicientlv. 



When speaking of the Town Hall at Louvain, the writer intended 

 mentioning, that what is stated to be the original drawing of the west 

 front of the Cathedral of that town is preserved there, together with 

 a very elaborate and beautifully executed model of the same in stone 

 as it was executed, with a singularly lofty tower and spire in the cen- 

 tre, and another on either side of it ; only one of the side towers, 

 however, is shown. The drawing is on vellum, ft. high and 2 feet 

 '.1 inches wide, and is coarsely but carefully executed. The model is 

 about 24 feet high and 7 feet 6 inches wide at the base, and is now in 

 an excellent state of repair. The centre spire, which is said to have 

 been above 500 feet high (an extraordinary elevation, exceeding, by 

 100 feet, that of the spire of Salisbury Cathedral) was destroyed in 

 160G by a storm, and in its fall ruined the side towers. 



clusio alterius. Ainsi il demeure demontre que la Catliedrale de Tournai ne 

 fut pas detruite ft cette epoque. et qu'elle rtsista ft 1'invR.sion Normande. En 

 effet. eelui qui a vu ce nolle edifice, et constdere l'Spaisseur des colonnes ce 

 sa partie romane, la solid ite des materiaux employes a sa construction, 

 n'hlsitera pas ft reconnaitre qu'avec de tels materiaux il existait des con- 

 ditions de duree que Ton ne retrouve pas dans les eglises des provinces 

 Rhenanes, et qu'ainsi s'explique pourquoi Notre Dame de Tournai a pu 

 resister ft une epoque on tant d'autres editices relig ; eu.N ont succombe. Au 

 lieu d'etre eonstruite romme les eglises des bonis du Rliin en un calcaire 

 sablonneux. friable et de peu de duree, la basilique de Tournai est eonstruite 

 en calcaire anthraxifere, espece de marbre ties dur, et laisant feu sous le 

 briquet. Pom detruite un edifice aussi gigantesque, et compose de pierres 

 aussi solides et aussi massives, il faudrait de milliers d'uuvriers et un iravail 

 de plusieurs annees. Or, les Normands avaient tuute autre chose a t'aire que 

 de passer leur temps ft un tel ouvrage. Aussi, tous les chroniqiietirs et les 

 histonensde Tournai ont parle de la Catliedrale, etl'on ne trouve, dans leurs 

 ecrils, aucune indication d'oii Ton pourrait induire que ce vaste monument 

 aurait ele detruit et reconstruit ft la suite de 1 'epoque earlovingier.ne. Au 

 contraire. preuve certaine que 1'editice etait dejft Lien vieux ft cette epoque. il 

 est constant que le chceur roman fut demoli vers la fin du Xle sietle. et qu'en 

 Ian 1110. 1 on commenca la construction du cliaur nctuel, 1'un des monu- 

 ments les plus vastes et les plus hardis de 1'art goiliique.'' 



« " Recherches sur I'Histoire et V Architecture do I'Eglise Catliedrale de Noire 

 Dame de Tournai. 1842. 



6 " Histoire de Tommy par Jean Cousin,'' Douay, MIX XX. 



The interior of the Cathedral affords an excellent specimen of 

 pointed architecture. The choir is separated from the nave by a 

 highly decorated rood-loft of three arches with numerous sculptured 

 figures under canopies. Above the loft is a rood of very large size, 

 with figures of the Virgin and St. John at the foot (without which a 

 rood was not deemed complete) profusely adorned with colours and 

 gilding. 



The font, situated at the west end of the nave, has an elaborate 

 Gothic crane of iron attached to the wall near it, for the purpose of 

 supporting the cover, now removed. One of the chapels in the north 

 aile of the nave has a balustrade or low screen of coloured marbles, 

 exquisitely sculptured in the style of Louis XIV. And under the arch 

 which separates the choir from its side aile, on the north side of the 

 grand altar, is a sculptured stone tabernacle of very elaborate richness, 

 reaching the whole height of the arch, perhaps about 30 feet. It is 

 a hexagon in plan, tapering upwards to a point, and is supported on six 

 small pillars round its circumference, and one in the centre. 7 



The pulpits found in the Belgic churches are in many cases re- 

 markable for their large size, the profusion of materials employed, 

 and their elaborate workmanship, rather than for good taste and pro- 

 priety. The pulpit in the cathedral under notice (situated as most 

 of them are, on the south side of the nave) represents the conversion 

 of St. Paul. The saint and his horse are on the ground; on the west 

 side of thein stands the figure of a man gazing with astonishment, if I 

 remember rightly, at the miracle; a huge mass of rocks and trees sup- 

 porting angels and birds forms the chair itself. Behind rise two lofty 

 fir trees, from the stems of which, about midway, extends the canopy 

 or sounding board, adorned with angels and other carved decorations. 



The pulpit in the Cathedral at Malines (a most interesting town) 

 represents the same subject, but is differently arranged. St. Paul and 

 his horse are on the ground at the foot of a mass of rock forming the 

 body of the pulpit. Our Saviour on the cross, the Virgin, and other 

 figures, enter into the composition ; a stem of a fallen tree serves as 

 a rail to the stairs : and a continuation of the rock work, from which 

 the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove, descends over the head of the 

 preacher, forms the canopy. 



In the church of St. Andrew, at Antwerp, the pulpit represents 

 Andrew and Peter called from their nets by our Saviour. It is as- 

 cribed to Van Hool and Van Gheel. The pulpit in the Cathedral of 

 the same city is a curious composition, consisting of twining shrubs 

 and birds, said to be the work of Verbruggen. This artist also exe- 

 cuted the pulpit in St. Gudule, at Brussels, which represents the 

 expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, and is perhaps better 

 known than any of those I have already mentioned. The pulpit at 

 Notre Dame, in Brussels, is a representation of Elijah fed by ravens. 

 In some cases part of the sculpture is in wood and part in marble ; as 

 for example, in the Cathedral at Ghent, where the pulpit is of large 

 size and elaborate design, embracing many figures. 



In 1S38 the writer laid before the Royal Institute of British Archi- 

 tects, a series of drawings illustrative of the ruins of the ancient 

 monastery of St. Bavon in the city last mentioned, namely Ghent. 

 These remains are situated in the old citadel on the eastern side of 

 the town near the Antwerp Gate, a quarter not generally visited. 

 They consist chiefly of a large rectangular building unroofed, the 

 remains of cloisters, and a small octagonal building of two stories, 

 (known as the chapel of St. Macaire) communicating with the cloisters 

 and standing within the square court surrounded by them. The ac- 

 companying sketch (Fig. 3,) represents the interior of the lower story 

 of the chapel which is much more perfect than any other part of the 

 building. It is vaulted with rubble stone with flat shallow ribs di- 

 verging from the centre, and terminating in large corbels of columnar 

 form. The vault has been covered with stucco, and ornamented with 

 colours, now for the most part destroyed. One of the eight sides of 

 the building is wider than the others, for the purpose of admitting a 

 double archway of the cloisters, and a second side is occupied by an 



7 In the church at Leau, a place little known, there is a tabernacle of 

 somewhat similar outline in the style of the Renaissance, and of very extra- 

 ordinary workmanship. 



