Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-04
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL.
Old Norman Works Discovered
While Repairs Were in Process.

From a Letter in the London Times.
Some few months ago you enabled
me to record the discovery of one of
Lanfranc's original tower piers en-
bedded within the northwest pier of
the great Angel Steeple OF the cathe-
draL Following upon this. some fur
Their notes may possibly not be with
out interest to many OF your readers.
The portion Of the Norman pier dis
closed proved to be the central shaft of
that part OF the pier which carried the
Norman tower arch across the north
transept, and we find that Prior Chill
| lendens men cut away parts of the
north side of the Norman pier and add :
4 ed largely to its southern inner side
They planned their new tower the same
| size as Lanfrancs externally, but
thickened its walls materially inter-
nally.
OF the shaft in question we have
been successful in finding the capital
in situ-a simple cushion of early Nor
man design and of very considerable
projection. The Norman arch spring
was some fifteen feet below the pres
ent one.
! BY these discoveries we are better
enabled to gauge the scheme of this
part of the Norman church, hitherto
somewhat conjectural.
| Quite apart from these incidental
matters OF archaeological interest, the
| wisdom of undertaking the work of
consolidating the tower piers has been
| amply justified by the practical results
obtained
BY the aid Of the grouting machine
we have been able to introduce LAO
gallons of liquid cement grout into the
cavities Of the pier. This can be visu-
allied by regarding 1t as its equivalent
| in a close grained solid material 1t
| would just make solid column the
| full height Of the pier as measured
from the nave floor. and two feet by
one foot in area. 1t is hardly surpris-
| ing that a composite structure contain
| ing such cavities, and sustaining SO
great a weight, showed many signs of
stress. a source Of anxiety which those
in charge Of the fabric are glad to be
| free from.
The rebuilders OF the nave were evil
IDENTIFY aware that they We're dealing
| with problem Of some delicacy. They
seem to have tied together the old
work and the new by lead plugs. run
them. At what intervals apart these
were inserted we do not know, but
one such is now exposed just under
the Norman capital
The pier having been SO much
strengthened by our recent successful
operations, IT has been possible to
leave a small recess in which Lam
francs capital can be seen from the
moor, a point OF no small a0Oed inter-
est in the building.
The scaffolding has now been re-
moved and transferred to the south
west pier also in a fractured condition,
but which we shall strengthen in the
same manner, and we hope with equal
success.
Incidentally I may perhaps refer to
an interesting oil painting which has
lately come into my possession. 1t is
inscribed "Thos. Johnson fecit Cam
terbury Quire as in 1857. Ye prospecte
from we Clockhouse." Johnson drew
for Dugdale, and 1T is on record that
Mr.. Johnson of Canterbury showed the
Royal Society in 1885 (when Sir Chris
topher Wren. one of it's founders. was
a prominent member) a curious pros
pect of the cathedral drawn by himself
In oil colors Whether this is that iden-
teal work or not, 1t introduces its au-
thor to us as an English architectural
painter of no little skill and of PAINS
taking accuracy. He shows with mi
nute-almost ographic-exactnes
the condition. at the close of the COM
monwealth. Of the interior of the choir
as seen from Prior Chillenden's pull
pitum or screen. upon which the clock
stood. 1t is a singular record OF the
building soon after the depredations Of
Richard Culmer (Blue Dick). His
myrmidons are depicted at their fell
work, breaking the windows and bat
, tering the ancient. and at that time
still surviving, thirteenth century
stalls; but the real value of the paint
ing lies in its laborious detail, which
is exact, even to the number of stones