The Lady Chapel

This chapel at the east end of the cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. It was built at the end of the 13th century, the first stage in the extension and remodelling of the cathedral into its present form of pointed arches, elegant rib vaults and traceried windows.

Lady Chapels hosting an altar for St Mary were a visible expression of a growing cult of the popular saint, whose biblical story was embellished by later accounts of her as a miracle-worker and Queen of Heaven. The dedications of the flanking chapels relate to the biblical narrative. The chapel on the south has an altar for St Gabriel, the archangel who visited Mary to announce to her that she was to give birth to the Messiah, through which she accepted the Holy Spirt that became the son, and manifested the Holy Trinity of God the father, God the son and God the holy spirit. The chapel on the north is dedicated to St John the Evangelist who was often depicted with Mary standing either side of the cross, a reminder that from the cross Jesus declared that John was to care for Mary, as would a son.

During the Reformation in the 16th century, all chapels in the cathedral ceased to be used for worship and were repurposed as vestries or simply abandoned. The Lady Chapel had been unused for about a century when the Civil War brought the abolition of bishops in 1646 and of deans and chapters in 1649. Cathedrals ceased to function. In Exeter, the extreme Puritan city chamber was in charge of the cathedral building which became a venue for non-conformist worship.

The cloisters, where the library was housed, had been transferred into secular hands and demolished probably in 1655-56. Dr Robert Vilvaine, a local physician, rescued the library collections which were at risk. In December 1657, Dr Vilvaine, was given permission by the city chamber to furnish the old Lady Chapel to house the cathedral library.

The library remained in the former Lady Chapel for more than 150 years until it was transferred to the Chapter House in 1820. The Lady Chapel came back into use for worship (as a ‘Morning Chapel’) in 1828, when antiquarianism and the emergence of Catholic tolerance led to the re-introduction of older patterns of use in English churches. It was re-established as a Lady Chapel during the restoration work carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1871-76. He re-laid the floor which includes roses and fleurs-de-lys, symbols relating to the Virgin Mary.

During the 19th century the windows were filled with stained glass which was shattered when bombs fell nearby on 25 April 1942. The present East window, designed by Marion D Grant, was installed in 1953.