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RECONSTRUCTING THE ROMANESQUE CLOISTER OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2019

Roland B Harris*
Affiliation:
Roland B Harris, 61 The Street, Hindolveston, Norfolk NR20 5DA, UK. Email: roland@roland-harris.com

Abstract

Works to the south side of the Gothic cloister at Norwich Cathedral in 1900 produced a series of finely sculpted double-capitals, which have long been identified as deriving from the Romanesque predecessor that was progressively demolished and replaced in 1297–1430. Additional discoveries in 1900 included twelfth-century voussoirs and jamb stones, which probably came from one of the larger doorways – perhaps to the chapter house – that opened off the cloister. These fragments have attracted considerable interest since 1900, almost entirely focused on art historical analysis of the subjects, style and date of the historiated double-capitals. Discovery of further fragments from the Romanesque cloister during works to the easternmost bay of the south walk (Bay 15) in 2018, however, allows us to understand more of its architecture. Although lacking the impressiveness of the earlier finds, these newly revealed sculpted stones include voussoirs and a shaft from the cloister arcades, and allow reconstruction of the overall form of the twelfth-century cloister. Moreover, the discovery of the use of calc-sinter – a faux marble sourced from the Eifel aqueduct – for the shafts of the arcades reveals that the Romanesque cloister had a hitherto entirely unsuspected lavishness.

Type
Research paper
Copyright
© The Society of Antiquaries of London, 2019 

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