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These details supplement information provided in the cathedral on the stand What is important about where you are standing?

The Crossing & Pulpitum

Changes to the Pulpitum

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The Crossing & Pulpitum

The forest of ribs in the cathedral’s high vault stretches unbroken from the east wall of the quire to the west wall of the nave: uniquely so, as there is no central tower at Exeter. On either side the great north and south Norman towers were opened up into the new Decorated Gothic building to form transepts. The centre of the building where the transepts branch out is known as the ‘crossing’.

Photo by Peter Smith, Newbery Smith Photography

The pulpitum on the east side of the crossing separates the nave from the quire. It reserved the quire for the canons, vicars choral and choristers with a setting of privacy and mystique for the high altar. It also provided extra altar spaces at the crossing with sculpted imagery above and a platform for the organ and for reading the Gospel during the Mass.

In order to accommodate the existing dimensions of the Norman towers, the crossing bay is the largest in the cathedral. There are more ribs and bosses in the crossing vault than in any other medieval vault of this type (a ‘tierceron’ vault). The large central boss of the cathedral is carved with a mounted figure in armour fighting three dragons. This represents the Christian soul’s lifelong battle with the temptations of ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’. It was appropriate to include this battle between good and evil in front of the pulpitum, where the 13 niches originally contained groups of statues with the central theme of judgement. Complementing these medieval reminders of the battle with evil during life, followed by judgement after death, there was a beam high up above the screen which supported a great cross, proclaiming the Christian message that Jesus died in order that believers should be saved.

Beyond the screen, suspended in front of the high altar was a further reminder of Christian salvation. Here consecrated bread from the Mass was stored in a container in the shape of a dove, symbolising the holy spirit.

The pulpitum statues, together with the beam and great cross, were destroyed during the Reformation. The paintings now in the niches were added in the early 17th century. These scenes from the Old and New Testaments are probably based on woodcut illustrations in bibles of the period.

Click here for the list of subjects in the pulpitum panels

Changes to the Pulpitum

The upheavals of the English Civil War and the overthrow of the monarchy also affected the English Church. In 1646 legislation abolished the bishops; followed three years later by deans and chapters. Their properties, including cathedrals, were forfeited to the government.

For a while, Exeter Cathedral was used for worship by two groups of non-conformists. The extreme Puritan Exeter city chamber was in charge of the cathedral and chapter house as well as the city’s churches when, in December 1656, they decreed that all the city churches were to be united and worship was to take place in the former cathedral. The Presbyterian citizens of Exeter were to worship in the east end of the cathedral building, called Peter’s the East, whilst the other part of the building, called West St Peter’s, was to have a separate, Independent, congregation led by Oliver Cromwell’s personal chaplain, Lewis Stukeley.

Both groups wanted to hold their services at the same time, so in late 1657 the city chamber paid for a brick dividing wall to block all of the arches leading from the crossing into the quire. A public entrance into Peter’s the East was created by knocking though the east wall of the Speke chapel.

This change was short-lived. King Charles II reclaimed the throne in 1660, and the English church was restored, including the return of bishops, deans and chapters to cathedrals. In Exeter Cathedral, the brick wall was taken down, work began on restoring the building and cathedral services resumed.

Before restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott

The pulpitum came under threat in the 19th century when there was pressure from local clergy to remove it and to use the cathedral as a large parish church. It was argued that the pulpitum was a later addition and not part of the early 14th-century work. This was disproved. Sir George Gilbert Scott was strongly opposed to the idea of removing it. Today, its structure is the result of complex changes which he agreed with the dean. Scott removed an added frieze. He took out two sets of stairs that formed solid walls either side of the central entrance. Strengthening braces then had to be added to support the weight of the organ. A new spiral staircase was provided on the south side for access to the organ console. New metal gates replaced solid wooden doors at the entrance to the quire for better visibility. Scott found in a store the original doors with openwork tops designed by Thomas of Witney in the early 14th century and he re-purposed this ancient woodwork as gates into the passages where the stairs had been.

The two altars beneath the pulpitum were eventually re-instated in 1933, after a gap of more than 350 years.

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Subjects of Pulpitum Paintings

North Face:

  • The Creation of the World

Front: left to right:

  • The Creation of Eve from the rib of Adam in the Garden of Eden
  • The Great Flood with Noah’s ark floating safely in the background
  • Moses and the Israelites after they have safely crossed the Red Sea, with the pursuing Egyptian army being swallowed up in the sea.
  • The destruction of the first (i.e. Solomon’s) Temple in Jerusalem, including the removal of precious items from the Temple and the capture of important people who were taken before the King of Babylon and put to death.
  • The re-building of the walls of Jerusalem with the re-built Temple in the background.
  • The central panel is of an angel appearing to the elderly priest Zechariah in the Temple when the angel announces to Zechariah that his elderly wife Elizabeth is to give birth to a child, John the Baptist.
  • The birth of Christ in a stable.
  • John the Baptist baptising Christ in the River Jordan.
  • Christ’s body being placed in his tomb after his crucifixion.
  • Christ’s resurrection from the tomb surrounded by startled soldiers.
  • Christ’s ascension into heaven leaving footprints on the ground.

South Face:

  • The Holy Spirit descending upon a group of people with the Virgin Mary in the centre, shown as small flames (or ‘tongues of fire’) above their heads.