Bells Cathedrals: Chichester | Page 3

essential that we should know exactly how much of the
building was finished by a certain year, or what stage towards
completion had been reached at any particular time; it is sufficient at
present that we should be able to indicate the general trend of the
operations,--and this would suggest the conclusion that, having
prepared so much as was necessary about the chancel, the builders went
on busily, after the dedication, to deal with the transept and the nave.
Then followed those four early bays of the nave which are nearest to
the east.
It is quite safe to assume upon various grounds that the work had been
carried on successfully up to this stage early in the twelfth century; but
neither the documentary evidence available, nor the condition of the
fabric, enables us to venture more than this surmise concerning its
condition at that time.
Between 1114 and the time of the second and serious fire in 1187, the
remainder of the whole scheme planned a hundred years before was
apparently finished.
The first fire had excited some public interest in the great enterprise at
Chichester, and from this an impetus was derived which helped
towards its execution, after the small damage caused by the fire had
been quickly repaired, for by about the year 1150 the four western bays
of the nave, with its aisles, must have been complete. It should be
understood that the fire in 1114 did not lead to any change in the

character of the church such as was occasioned by that other fire which
shall be considered presently; but the work had quietly continued, so
that the aisles of the nave were vaulted by about 1170-1180, the
lady-chapel was completed, and in 1184 all was ready for the second
ceremony of consecration which then took place. It has been assumed
that this act implies that the whole of the original scheme had been
executed. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that again there are
but few authentic records to show in what manner the work had been
carried on, nor are there many indications of the way in which the
necessary materials and money were provided to help it forward. But it
is interesting to notice that in 1147 William, Earl of Arundel, gave to
the see that quarter of the city in which stood the palace of the bishops,
the residences of the canons, and the cathedral church. This grant of
land confirmed the see in its possession of all that part of the city now
within the bounds of the close.
[Illustration: THE WEST FRONT, ABOUT 1836. _from Winkles's
Cathedrals_.]
What, then, was the plan of that church which was designed to suit the
requirements set down by Bishop Ralph Luffa? The ground-plan at the
end of the volume shows the building as it now remains, after many
alterations have been made in the original scheme; but the arrangement
is still, in its main features, much the same as was at first devised. The
usual plan was adopted, and this was the provision of a nave and
chancel having a transept between them so as to make the form of a
cross. The nave had aisles along its whole length. These were extended
on both sides eastward of the transept, and continued as an ambulatory
round a semicircular apse. The transept also had a small apsidal chapel
on the east side of both its north and south arms. At the point of
intersection between the transept and the nave the supports of the
central tower rose. Between this and the west end there were eight
arches in each of the arcades opening north and south from the nave
into the aisles. Beyond the crossing towards the east there were three
similar arches in the arcades which connected the apse with the large
piers of the central tower. These three bays, together with the apse,
enclosed the chancel; and this comprised the sanctuary, which was that

part within the apse itself, and also the presbytery, or choir of the
priests, which occupied the remaining space between the apse and the
arch into the transept beneath the tower. At a later date the
accommodation of the choir was increased by making it occupy part of
the space farther to the west. Possibly it projected into the nave. At the
west end of each of the aisles of the nave a tower was placed, and
between these two towers was the chief public entrance to the church.
From the subsequent history of the structure it would appear that the
two western towers had been built up and finished, so far, at least, as
was necessary to allow of the completion of the nave with its aisles and
roofs. The same may be concluded of the central tower.