The Lady Chapel and its Flanking Chapels

The construction of the Lady Chapel and the flanking chapels had reached window-sill level when Bishop Walter Bronescombe died in 1280.

Under his régime the Gothic rebuilding of the cathedral had started, and he had chosen the southern chapel of  St Gabriel as his burial place. The bosses of the Lady Chapel are the most accessible in the cathedral, because they are readily seen; they are also among the best carved.

Apart from those showing the heads of the four Evangelists and that of the Risen Christ over the altar, none of them has an obviously religious theme, although from the time of its construction until the Reformation the chapel housed the cathedral's large collection of Holy Relics. {image of list of relics} It was much visited by lay-people, so the subjects of the bosses must, in fact, have held quite a profound religious significance for both the laity and clerics.

The vaults of all three chapels were cleaned and repainted during George Gilbert Scott's restoration of 1870-77. Medieval paint lines were followed in redecorating the Lady Chapel vault, but those in the flanking chapels now have a rather garish appearance, the detail of the bosses being almost obscured by gold paint.

Among the interesting tombs of these chapels are:

A In the Lady Chapel: A 12^th-century recess tomb in Purbeck marble of an  early bishop (Bishop Bartholomew or possibly a retrospective memorial for Leofric), the tomb of Bishop Simon of Apulia (d1223) and the fine early 17^th-century tomb of Judge John Dodderidge (d 1628) and his wife, Dorothy (d 1614);

B In the St John the Evangelist Chapel: The tomb of Bishop Stafford (d 1419). His effigy, in alabaster (gypsum), is covered with post-Reformation graffiti.

Other memorials include a floor brass to Canon William Langeton (d 1413), a relation of Bishop Stafford's, and the ornate Carew family tomb of Sir  Gawen Carew (d1589) and his wife and Sir Peter Carew (d 1575). Both men were knighted by Henry VIII and were obviously very proud of the family's heraldry (the tomb is covered with their family coats-of-arms). {image of tomb shields}. A relation, Sir George Carew, produced a guide to the heraldry of Devon in 1588.

The glass of the chapel was removed to a place of safety during the Second World War.

C Bishop Bronescombe (d 1280) lies in the St Gabriel Chapel. His magnificent effigy, carved from black basalt (probably in London) retains its original enamel. The tomb chest and the canopy are from the early 15^th-century. 

The effigy, the finest in the cathedral, was one of the ‘treasures' that was put in a safe place during the war. {image of Bronescombe effigy}. 

Because so many of them are buried here, Exeter is sometimes known as ‘the cathedral of bishops'.  

Print Page