The Interior.

      We shall now proceed with our description of the interior, which contains the finest specimens of Norman architecture in existence, and admired by all men of taste. Nothing can exceed the grandeur of the lofty nave, massive columns, and wide circular arches. The whole pile is chiefly of the early Norman style, wherein the semi-circular arches and massive short columns are the leading features. These are considerably varied in size, moulding, and ornament, in different parts of the edifice.

The Nave comprises fourteen semicircular arches, ornamented with billet and zigzag mouldings, and supported by massive piers. The arches of the triforium are of similar style to those below. The magnificent roof, the work of Bishop Lyhart, the rebus of whose name is of frequent occurrence upon the vault and corbels, is ornamented with 328 historical figures, curiously carved, in a kind of relievo peculiar to itself, being chiefly composed of little figures, most exactly put together, said to be the only work of the kind in existence, being a complete chain of sacred history, beginning at the tower with the Creation of the World; the different days of the creation being disposed of in the several figures in the intersections of the arched work of the roof. The Fall of Man, Noah’s Ark, and incidents in the lives of the patriarchs, are represented in the first seven arches; the rest to the west end represent events narrated in the New Testament. The interior of the nave looks much too long in proportion to the rest of the pile, and the triforium is out of keeping in consequence of its heavy circular arches being too high as compared with those of the tier below, but the piers of the nave, with the grand arches which they support, are splendid specimens of Norman work and decoration.

      The south transept is Norman work modified by a few innovations, and is flanked by square turrets, arcaded at the top and terminating in pinnacles. The north transept is of similar character. The side aisles are low, and the roof of plain vaulting. The west window is of unusually large size, and is of the same design, as regards the tracery, with that in Westminster Hall. This window has been filled in with gorgeously coloured glass, being designed as a memorial of Bishop Stanley, who was buried in the middle of the nave.

In the seventh arch of the north side are the remains of a doorway, with a stone bench, formerly leading into the monks’ preaching yard, now part of the bishop’s garden. Even after the Reformation, and up to the time of the great rebellion, sermons were preached here before the Civic Authorities and the Members of the Cathedral. Between the sixth and seventh pillars is an unpretending inscription to the memory of the learned Dr. Prideaux, formerly Dean of Norwich, author of the “Connection of the Old and New Testaments,” who died November 1st, 1724. The tomb between the corresponding pillars on the opposite side is that of Miles Spencer, Chancellor of the Diocese in 1537. Between the seventh and eighth pillars is the low tomb of Bishop Nykke, who died in 1535. At the eighth pillar a pulpit formerly stood. Bishop Parkhurst’s tomb stands in the next space, between the eighth and ninth pillars.

      The Screen was originally the division between the rood-loft and the chapel of our Lady of Pity. Bishop Lyhart erected the rood-loft, and upon it the principal rood or cross was placed with the representation of the Holy Trinity, to whom this church was dedicated; together with the images of the Blessed Virgin and St. John, and such other saints as were esteemed here. The rood or crucifix, of full proportions, was made of wood, and in most churches was placed in a loft constructed for the purpose over the entrance from the church into the chancel. The nave represented the Church Militant, and the chancel the Church Triumphant. Those, therefore, who would pass out of the former into the latter, must go under the loft; that is, must go under the cross and suffer affliction. But no rood was complete without the images of the Virgin and St. John on either side of the cross, in allusion to St. John xix. 26—“Jesus saw His mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved.”

The Choir contains sixty-two stalls according to the number of the old foundations, namely, a prior, sub-prior, and sixty monks. They are adorned with rich and quaint carvings and canopies, as far as the west pillars of the tower. The “misereres” (projecting brackets on the under side of the seats of stalls in churches), are richly carved and present a great variety of design. Among the stalls the Rev. R. Hart discovered upwards of sixty misereres, and he described them very minutely. In every example that he had seen the space under the ledge is carved in a bold relief, with an ornamented boss on each side to balance, as it were, the centre, whatever it might have been. As may be supposed scriptural or legendary designs are not often found in such a position. There are, however, a few examples.

      The interior of the tower, which is raised on four massive arches, presents three arcades, the upper and lower forming galleries, and the former containing the lower windows of the lantern, which are filled with painted glass. The clerestory and roof of the chancel are the work of Bishop Goldwell. Here is an admirable specimen of engrafting a later style upon the Norman architecture, with as little violence to the eye as possible.

The tomb of Bishop Goldwell stands within the chapel, formerly dedicated to St. James, and with its canopy forms a rich specimen of ornamental sculpture and architecture. On the east side of the fifteenth north pillar is the monument to the memory of the learned Bishop Home, author of an excellent “Introduction to the Study of the Bible.” In the space between the seventeenth and eighteenth pillars was the chapel dedicated to St. Anne, and in the next space was the seat occupied by Queen Elizabeth, when she attended divine service during her visit to this city. The monument to the late Bishop Bathurst now occupies the spot, a sitting statue sculptured in white marble. Not only for its intrinsic merits is this statue of great value, but also because it is the last finished work of Sir Francis Chantrey, who visited Norwich for the purpose of fixing it only a few days before his death. Opposite to this monument is the altar tomb of Sir William Boleyn, now despoiled of its brasses. Sir Thomas Browne tells us in his “Repertorium,” that, during the Commonwealth, “more that a hundred” brasses were reeved in the Cathedral alone—a greater number than the whole county of Norfolk could now supply. Hence our readers may easily understand what an immense number of these interesting memorials must have been lost, independently of the number that have been partially despoiled by the removal of their canopies.

      At the foot of the altar steps, in the middle of the chancel, is the tomb of Bishop Herbert de Losinga, erected by the Dean and Chapter, in 1682, in the place of one destroyed during the civil wars. It has been levelled with the pavement and presents a long Latin inscription from the pen of Dean Prideaux. The east windows of the clerestory were the gift of the Bishop, the Misses Morse, and the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, and were erected between 1840 and 1847. The lower one in the triforium is an obituary window to the memory of the late Canon Thurlow, placed there by his friends. This space had before been occupied by a window with a pointed arch, representing the Transfiguration. The window was removed to the south transept, and the arches of both windows have been restored.

      The bishop’s throne, ascended by three steps, was originally placed at the east end of the church, behind the altar, and raised so high that before the partition was made between the altar and the entrance to Our Lady’s chapel, the bishop had an uninterrupted view from his throne directly in a line through the whole church. The custos, or master of the high altar, annually accounted for the offerings made there, which produced a large sum; and at the annual processions of the city and country clergy, on the feasts of the Holy Trinity and St. Paul, something considerable was realized.

The stone roof of the south transept, as well as that of the north, was raised by Bishop Nykke, about 1501. At the same time, probably, the old Norman arch leading into the chancel aisle was filled with the rich and numerous mullions and tracery, which characterise the last period of pointed architecture. The adjoining aisle leads to the chapel of our Lady the Less, otherwise called Bawchyn’s Chapel, having been dedicated