The Crossing
The bosses
These are among the finest in the cathedral and were beautifully restored by Anna Hulbert in the 1970s. There is a life-sized model of the central boss in the south ambulatory. They can be seen most comfortably using one of the mirror-trolleys.
The pulpitum
In pre-Reformation times, the pulpitum, or screen, divided the public part of the cathedral from the area occupied mostly by priests, i.e. the quire and the presbytery. The screen was designed by Thomas of Witney and constructed between 1317 and 1325. Scott was asked to remove it altogether during his restoration of the1870s, to ‘open up' the church in the way many other cathedrals, Salisbury being one example, were then being ‘improved'. However, he argued its merits and suggested knocking out the apertures on either side of the central doorway to achieve a similar effect.
The paintings at the top of the screen are post-Reformation (from the early 17th century and represent scenes from the Old and New Testaments. They were restored by Eddie Sinclair in the 1990s. The statues that previously occupied the niches obviously offended Protestant eyes!
The 15th century Dutch altarpiece currently on the north side of the feature does not belong to the cathedral, but to Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum.
Above the columns at either end of the pulpitum are some of the finest corbels in the cathedral (difficult to see from ground level), these are believed to have been carved by William of Montacute in 1313.
Print Page