Poppies Installation, Hereford - a photo on Flickriver

I was lucky to catch this installation at the Cathedral in April 2018, it was only up for a few more days but looked amazing while it lasted.

Hereford Cathedral is a fascinating place, not one of largest cathedrals or considered amongst the most architecturally significant, but one of the most interesting and rewarding nonetheless. It follows the usual cruciform plan for large churches but here the nave is the longest limb, the choir being relatively short for a cathedral, though the church extends further eastwards in the fine retrochoir and lady chapel. there are an eastern pair of transepts too, though here they do not rise above aisle roof level.

The central tower dominates the small city's skyline, but much less today than it once did, for originally it was crowned by a tall lead spire, and in addition there was a similar, slightly smaller tower at the west end (without a spire) thus the building's profile was very different to what we see today. Sadly this fine building has suffered several tragedies in it's history, the greatest of which was in 1786, when the west tower suddenly collapsed following an earth tremor, taking much of the nave with it. The architect chosen for the reconstruction was the notorious James Wyatt, who demolished all the remaining upper sections of the nave and substituted them with his own rather bland interpretation of Gothic. He also shortened the nave by one bay and built a rather mean west facade without rebuilding the west tower (the main tower also lost it's spire around this time). The present west facade is a more exuberant rebuilding by John Oldrid Scott from 1902-8.

The cathedral has generally been heavily restored throughout the 19th century (largely due to the red sandstone of it's construction) and parts of the exterior betray this, particularly the east facades of choir and Lady Chapel. There is still much to enjoy though, especially the 14th century tower with it's rich ballflower decoration. Entry is normally via the grand north porch, whichj has a large upper chapel and staircases either side, formerly for the veneration of relics.

The interior shows much more 12th century Norman work than the exterior suggests, with the main nave arcade, crossing arches, and much of the choir and south transept still substantially Romanesque structures. Aside from Wyatt's 1788 rebuilding of the upper parts of the nave, the rest is mostly of late 13th - early 14th century date, with distinctive window design of the Decorated period found throughout the nave and choir aisles. The most remarkable feature is the north transept, a unique design dating to c1260, where the Gothic arches and window heads are almost triangular in form.

There is a substantial complex of additional monastic buildings, including two cloisters, the main one being south of the nave (only the east and south sides remain) and the Vicar's Choral cloister, accessed via a long walkway off the south east corner, and still inhabited by cathedral staff and thus private. The real tragedy here is the chapter house, of which very little remains. This was once arguably the most exceptionally beautiful in the country, being ten-sided and covered by an exquisite fan vault. It was sadly neglected following the Civil War and demolished soon afterwards, a grevious loss.

The cathedral retains a fine set of 14th century choir stalls with carved misercords complete with the canopied bishop's throne. The font is Norman and features defaced figures of apostles and is guarded by four lions. The stained glass is mostly Victorian with only a few 15th century fragments in a south nave window and some good (but restored) 13th century scenes and grisaille in a Lady Chapel window. The best of the glass is found in the two smallest chapels, the Stanbury and Audley chantries, with Arts & Crafts and stunning contemporary work by Denny respectively. There was a rich Victorian metal choir screen at the crossing by G.G.Scott, but this was removed in the 1950s and is now (after years of storage and neglect) a major feature in the entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. A contemporary candleabrum, the 'Corona', now hangs in it's place.

The set of monumental effigies is one of the most extensive in any English cathedral, but only a few are of the finest quality, and many have suffered later disfigurement, in the case of the medieval bishops' tombs several figures have been quite literally de-faced, whilst the post-Reformation tombs clearly offended Wyatt, who removed their architectural settings altogether leaving only the recumbent effigies randomly placed throughout the church.

But last word must go to the most famous relic of Hereford, the Mappa Mundi, the renowned c1280 map of the medieval World and the star exhibit of the famous chained library, now housed in a modern extension at the south west corner of the cloister.
www.herefordcathedral.org/

Taken in: UK / England / Hereford / Hereford (show map)

Taken on: April 26, 2018

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Sets appears in: • Public Art • Hereford - Poppies Installation more » • Hereford Cathedral « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ60, f/4.8, 1/100 sec, 15mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-TZ60
Aperture:	f/4.8
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	15mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
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