Kings, Queens and Consorts

Kings, Queens and Consorts

The medieval equivalent of a datestone, dozens of regal sculpted heads adorn the Cathedral architecture, from the House of Normandy to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Read More

Aerial exploration

Aerial exploration

Precision recording from a quadcopter drone by Geoff Watkins of Aerial Imaging South East provides some stunning views and a wealth of new data on the Cathedral architecture.

Read More

Statue Swap

Statue Swap

Two statues flanking the Great West Doors are a statement of the dual patronage of the Cathedral in the mid-twelfth century. Eight-hundred years of weathering and damage have obscured their identities, so exactly who is depicted?

Read More

Demons and Dragons

Demons and Dragons

The medieval sculpture of the Nave Crossing features a bestiary of demons, dragons, imps and grotesques. Why did the builders and patrons of the medieval Cathedral fill their place of sanctity and refuge with such nightmarish imagery?

Read More

Cottingham's Crossing bosses, 1840

Cottingham's Crossing bosses, 1840

The crossing ceiling was rebuilt several times in the C19th. The crossing bosses designed by Lewis Cottingham in 1840 are based on medieval Green Men and grotesques in the Nave Transept and the North and South Quire Aisles and are painted as vividly as they would once have been.

Read More

North Nave Transept haircuts and headwear

Decorative carvings in the form of human heads became popular in church architecture around the turn of the 13th century, fossilising a record of medieval clothing, hairstyles and headwear.

Read More

'Gundulf's Tower' camponile, 13th century

'Gundulf's Tower' camponile, 13th century

The ruins of a camponile (detached bell tower), to the north of the Cathedral has been known as ‘Gundulf’s Tower’ since the 18th century. Though it actually dates from the early thirteenth century, it may be constructed from reused material from Gundulf’s Tufa Stone transept.

Read More