Dorres Stalles Rodelofte For the workemanship of the gret west doorre of the saide churche vi li. The sowth and north gret doorres, Eyther at Cs. x li. two dorres entring into the Revestries eyther at iiij li. viij li. vi dorres for particions of the saide Revestries euery of them at xls. xij li. fowre small doorres betwen the saide chapelles Every of them at xiij. iiijd. liijs. iiijd. And fowre doorres at the fowre corners within the saide churche at xx3 the pece iiij li. And soo the workemanship of all the saide dorres amounteth vnto Item waynscot for all the saide dorres is estemed at C and di' At Lvj li. the C besides the cariage ix li. J Item for the workemanship in karving and ioynyng for x hedstalles with their tabernacles of them, That is to say v stalles vppon the oon side of the quere, And other v on the other side, with a pulpyt over the doorre at the comyng in to the same quere. And also for lxiiij principal Stalles with their tabernacles in the vpper degrees. That is to saye xxxij of them on the oon side of the quere, and other xxxij on the other side. And for lvj Stalles in the lower degrees with the foredeskes for the same. That is to saye xxviij of them on the oon side of the saide quere, and other xxviij on thother side. The costes and charges of all which werkes and ordynances to be made according to a plat therof set owte and devised wol amounte by estimacyon vnto L the somme of And for the workemanship in7 karving and ioynyng of the roode lofte with Imagery, tabernacles, dorres Stayers, and euery other of concernyng the same werkes to be made accordyng to the plat therof dyvysed woll extende by estymacion vnto lj li. xiijs. M li. C. MCCC.iiij The works here enumerated would have cost £2893. 14s. Od. The estimate is a rough one, and not always either accurate or consistent, but it is interesting on account of the richness of decoration suggested for the worthy completion of the Chapel. The document must be subsequent in date to the scheme for filling the windows with stained glass, as they are not mentioned in it. In the next chapter we will compare the building as it exists at present with the design and with the history; and subsequently trace the history of the stained glass and the wood-work. CHAPTER X. COMPARISON OF KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL WITH THE WILL OF KING HENRY THE SIXTH, AND WITH THE INFOR- THE dimensions of the ground-plan of King's College Chapel correspond almost exactly with those assigned to it in the Will. The width, taken as at Eton "within the respondes," is just 40 feet, and the length 289 feet, of which the Ante-chapel occupies 120 feet, and the rood-loft 14 feet, as directed. The Will further prescribes a height of 90 feet for "the walls" without further particulars being given. At Eton the corresponding measurement is given "vnto the crestis of the batelment," and it ought perhaps to be so taken here. The walls are actually (fig. 43) 83 feet high to the commencement of the battlements, which are 11 feet high; so that the total height is 94 feet. In the interior, from the floor to the central point of the vault, the height is 80 feet1. The east and west windows are each of nine lights, and the side-windows of five lights. The spaces between the buttresses, on both sides of the Church, are occupied by chapels, which, in the Will, are directed to be so placed in the "body" or Ante-chapel only3. The two 2 1 [This measurement is given on the authority of Mackenzie. See p. 492.] [The Will directs that the east window shall be "of .xj. daies," and the west window "of .ix. daies." It is possible that the copyist may have transposed the numerals in the former case.] 3 [A similar ground-plan had already been employed in the Cathedral of Albi, begun 1382, completed 1397, consecrated 1480. It "consists of an oblong terminated by an apse, and completely surrounded by Chapels... These Chapels are taken between the vast buttresses which support the great vault. Above the Chapels are chambers communicating with each other by small doorways cut in the buttresses, and forming a gallery all round the church." The length, exclusive of E. chapels and W. tower, is 290 feet, span of roof 60 feet, height, from pavement to keystone of vault, 95 feet. The Church of the Cordeliers at Toulouse, erected in 13th century, resembles King's even more closely, for the chapels have no upper story, and the buttresses rise above their roofs. The Church of the Jacobins, in the same town, is also similar. It was begun 1229, completed 1336, consecrated 1385. The Church of S. Catherine at Oppenheim, near Worms (built 1262-1317, consecrated 1322), has chapels "made by enclosing the space between the buttresses with a wall flush with their outer line; the space comprised being covered in with slabs at the level of the sills of the aisle www easternmost, at least, on each side, were plainly intended for vestries, and take the place of the vestry on the north side directed in the Will; for they not only occupy the usual position of those offices, but are entered from the Presbytery through richly molded doors (HH, fig. 42). The Will assigns an altar to each chapel; a direction which, however, was but partially complied with. The westernmost of the two vestries on the north side (ibid. N) is the chantry and burial-place of Dr William Towne, one of the original Scholars, who died 11 March, 1496. It once contained an altar, at which, by his Will, mass was to be said for the repose of his soul by one of the Fellows, to whom an annual stipend of four marks was to be paid. Two other chapels on this side (ibid. V., IX.) have altars, as the plan shews, but it is not known that they commemorate special persons. On the south side the second chapel from the west (ibid. XI.) is the chantry of Dr Robert Hacomblen (Provost 1509-28); that next to it (ibid. XII.) of Dr Robert Brassie (Provost 1556-58)2; and the easternmost (ibid. XVIII.) of John Argentein (Provost 1501-7). There were altars in each of these, but none, so far as we know, in any of the others. The white magnesian limestone from Thefdale or Hudleston is most useful, as at Eton, in determining the portion of the building erected during the reign of Henry the Sixth; for after his deposition the regular supply of stone from Yorkshire ceased, and an oolite from Northamptonshire or Rutlandshire replaced it. The white stone is used for the plinth and basement molds (ab, fig. 43) except in the westernmost bay on the south side (abcd, fig. 42) where the west side of the quadrangle would have abutted against the chapel; for the towers at the west end, to a height of about 8 feet in the northern tower, and 6 feet windows, and thrown open to the nave with a double arch." For further details of these churches, see "The Study-Book of Medieval Architecture and Art," by T. W. King, 4to. London, 1858.] 1 [His will, dated 21 October, 1528, says: "And I will that my body be buried in the myddill Chapel within the body of the new churche of the saide college on the south side whiche I have honored att myne owne propre costes and charge."] 2 [His will, dated 27 July, 1558, says: "I wyll my bodye to be buryed in the middes of the sowth chappell next beneythe the Roodeloft in the kynges Colledge Churche...Item I wyll yt yli be bestoed vppon the aforesayd chappell in the kynges colledge yf I be ther buryed and yf I do not bestowe the sayd summ or part therof vppon the ornament of the sayd chappell in my tyme."] in the southern; and for the west wall to a similar height on each side of the great west door. The east wall and towers are built of it, but it rises only a little higher than the springing of the arch of the east window. In the north and south walls it never rises high enough to bear the roof, the highest level being the string above and touching the hood-molds of the windows (fig. 43, c). This level it attains in the two easternmost buttresses on the north side, but in the westernmost of these it is mixed with other stone. In the third and fourth buttresses it terminates with the second division of the set-off between the second and third stages (ibid. d); in the fifth it terminates four courses below the commencement of the same set-off; and in the sixth at the level of the parapet over the sidechapels. Eastward of this buttress it is used for the walls of the side-chapels; but westward of it it does not rise higher than the sills of their windows. On the south side it does not rise so high as on the north. In the first and second buttresses it terminates near the beginning of the third stage; in the third and fourth at the second division of the set-off between the second and third stages, as on the north side; in the fifth, sixth, and seventh just above the first stage, at the same level in all three; and in the eighth about half way up the first stage. As far as this point the walls of the side-chapels are built of it. In the interior it is used for the lowest courses of the walls separating the chapels of the Ante-chapel, and for the bases of the piers. It is used in a similar way for the east and west walls of the chapels along the south side of the choir; but on the north side these walls have generally been faced with Weldon stone, and Hudleston stone appears only occasionally. It is, however, quite clear from this examination that the whole Church was set out at the beginning, in close correspondence with the dimensions assigned to it in the Will; and the presence of the white stone in the walls of the side-chapels on the north. and south sides of the choir proves that their erection was not an afterthought, but a change of plan adopted from the first. Above the magnesian limestone we find stone from Weldon and Clipsham employed throughout, except for the vaults of the north and south porches, which are built, according to the contract, of a magnesian limestone from Hampole in Yorkshire, |