Скачать с ютуб Chichester Cathedral - central tower visit в хорошем качестве

Chichester Cathedral - central tower visit

Chichester Cathedral was built to replace the cathedral founded in 681 by St Wilfrid for the South Saxons at nearby Selsey. The seat of the Bishop was transferred from Selsey to Chichester in 1075. The original cathedral was consecrated in 1108 under Bishop Ralph de Luffa. In 1187, a fire which burnt out the cathedral and destroyed much of the town necessitated a substantial rebuilding, which included refacing the nave and replacing the destroyed wooden ceiling with the present stone vault, possibly by Walter of Coventry. The cathedral was reconsecrated in 1199. In the 13th century, the central tower was completed. The spire was completed in about 1402, and at around the same time or not long afterwards a free-standing bell tower was constructed to the north of the west end to retrieve the bells from the central tower as it was no longer considered safe to ring them there. The towers at Chichester have had a particularly unfortunate history because of subsidence, which explains the positioning of the 15th century free-standing bell tower at some distance from the cathedral. Incidentally, Chichester Cathedral remains, to this day, the only surviving English cathedral with a free-standing medieval bell tower. The south-west tower of the façade collapsed in 1210 and was rebuilt. The north-west tower collapsed in 1635 and was not rebuilt until 1901. The masonry spire was repaired in the 17th century by Christopher Wren. It survived a lightning strike in 1721 and stood for some 450 years after it’s original construction. On 21 February 1861, the late 14th/early 15th century spire telescoped in on itself, thankfully not resulting in loss of life. A fund was set up to raise the £48,000 needed for the rebuilding, and the contributors included Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A replica of the old tower and spire was rebuilt along the original lines by George Gilbert Scott from drawings which had been made by Joseph Butler, architect to the fabric (1847–88). The construction was raised by about 6 feet (1.8m), by Scott and was completed in five years. It now rises to a height of 82 metres (269ft). The rubble from the original spire was used to construct the former West Ashling Congregational Chapel. The Cathedral’s roof is of national importance and extremely rare: beneath the roof covering lies much of the 13th century medieval roof structure, described by the renowned craftsman Cecil Hewitt as “one of the most important roofs in the kingdom”. The old cooper roof has recently been replaced by historically authentic lead, after a considerable number of rainwater leaks. For a number of years, I was a member of the bell ringing team who regularly ring the eight bells in the detached bell tower, and on Wednesday 8th March 2023 I was lucky enough to be invited to join the bell ringers for a specially arranged tour of the central tower. The tower still contains a service bell which is believed to be around 600 years old, and a young bell ringer from Crawley wanted to document the bell as part of his project of documenting every church bell in Sussex (details of his excellent work can be found at https://thebellsofsussex.weebly.com). I have of course been up the detached bell tower more times than I can count over the past 12 years, but this was the first time I have ever visited the central tower! The access alone was interesting, as we went through the roof of the chancel at one point. And once we were in the belfry, we could admire all sorts of stunning views of the city! The bell itself was unusually hung in a small wooden shed in the corner of the belfry and was covered in pigeon muck, but I managed to get close enough to gently chime the bell - it sounded like it was in the key of B Flat. All in all, it was a most fascinating visit, and one which I feel very privileged to have been a part of!