Norwich Cathedral, England

Norwich Cathedral was founded in 1096 by Bishop Herbert de Losinga. The cathedral was built with an accompanying monastery. The original wooden roof was replaced with stone in the 1400s and 1500s. The spire is 315 feet tall, making it second only to Salisbury's in England. The building still looks quite impressive, especially with the recent (i.e. 2001) addition of statues of St. Benedict (founder of Western monasticism) and Mother Julian (better known as Julian of Norwich, the popular medieval holy woman) by the west doors.

Norwich Cathedral

The West Doors (click to enlarge)

Off to the right is an old entrance that now serves a more modern part of the grounds--the cafe and book shop. This entrance also leads into the cloister which was the hub of monastic activity back in the day. Another new addition (this one in 2002) is the Jubilee Labyrinth, symbolic of the journey of life for Christians. One true path leads to the center, following the Way. J enjoyed the labyrinth quite a bit!

Old entrance

J in the labyrinth

A bit lost

Another view of the spire

The Prior's Door

The interior of the church shows the simple, rounded Norman arches of the 11th century surmounted by the 14th/15th century stone ceiling.

Nave

Some of the ceiling decorations

The baptismal font is also new and was previously used by a Norwich chocolate factory, so it doesn't look as holy as it might.

Baptismal font

The main altar in the nave is dedicated to the Holy Cross.

Main altar

On the way to the altar is the Peace Globe, which we used to light candles. The "Peace Globe" idea originated in Scandinavia and the candles are intended as prayers for peace, but J and L prayed for other things when they lit theirs.

Peace Globe

Other typical features are the two pulpits and the bishop's chair or cathedra (from which "cathedral" gets its name).

Pelican pulpit

More elaborate pulpit

Bishop's chair

The oak stalls in the choir date back to the 1400s.

Doorway to the choir

The choir

At the east end of the church is the high altar with some impressive stone work above it. Also of note is the original cathedra right above the high altar at the back of the apse. That spot is the traditional location for the bishop's chair dating back to 300s when large churches were built on the model of the Roman basilicas, which were law courts where the judge sat in the very back.

Approaching the high altar

The high altar with cathedra

Arches above the altar

Behind the high altar is a reliquary niche that originally had relics of saints. Now it has an icon of the Resurrection.

Icon of the Resurrection

The ambulatory around the back of the high altar leads to several chapels, including the Jesus Chapel with a 1510 painting of the Wise Men, the St. Saviour's Chapel dedicated to the Royal Norfolk Regiment, and St. Luke's Chapel which has a 1380 Reredos showing Christ's Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension. This was saved from destruction during the Reformation because it was used as a table top for a craftsman!

Jesus chapel altar

St. Saviour Chapel with regimental colours

St. Luke Chapel

Medieval Reredos (click to enlarge)

As with all ancient churches, many tombs are scattered throughout. Near the center is the Chantry Tomb of Bishop Richard Nykke who rebuilt the vaults of the transepts after a fire in 1509.

Not much to see, actually

The Skeleton tombstone commemorates Thomas Gooding, who died around 1600.

Thomas Gooding tomb

The tomb of Bishop John Pelham (1812-1894) is more regular.

John Pelham tomb

Bishop Goldwell's tomb is near the center of the church. He funded the building of the spire in 1480.

Goldwell's chantry tomb

View of the bishop

View of his dog!

The church has some other nice statues and stained glass.

Female statue (maybe Julian of Norwich?)

Life of Christ in stained glass

Wicker angel (near the peace globe)

The Norwich Horror

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Matthew, 5:24

On Sunday in Norwich we had a "best of times, worst of times" mass. We were at the Roman Catholic cathedral for 11 a.m. mass. In the huge nave, we selected a pew near the front so we could see the priest and the readers. It was awe inspiring to sit in the flood of blue light coming from the stained glass window so high above us. J snuggled into mommy's lap and whispered, "I'm so happy to be here." Mommy was thrilled to hear this and whispered back "Do you feel God touching your heart?" J replied, "Yes! This place is like a playground for my heart." Wonderful! Thank you, Lord. Soon L snuggled onto my lap, too and the children began quietly snuggling and nuzzling each other. Thank you, Lord. The best of times.

However, it is hard to remain in a state of grace. About 30 minutes into the service, the children were playing separately. J sort of followed along with the service. L played with some tiny dolls on the pew. J decided to join L's game and he crossed over to sit with her, but he tripped on the kneeler and crashed into L from behind, crushing her painfully against the pew. L took this as an unprovoked attack and, once freed, attempted to exact revenge by fastening her teeth into J's arm. Mommy yanked just in time so L only got a taste of his shirt sleeve. She was outraged and proceeded to howl her protest to the world. Remember all those pews we walked past to sit in the front? A loudly protesting L was carried past them all. In the cry room Mommy tried to explain to L that J had hurt her by accident. L didn't buy it. Eventually she calmed down enough to return to the pew. Alas, L has learned the old Klingon proverb--revenge is a dish best served cold. Back in the pew L took a toy, showed it to J (as in, want to play with this?) and then threw it as hard as she could into one of the neighboring pews. L needed another timeout and the walk of shame repeated itself. At the sign of the peace, L sat on her hands so that J couldn't grab her hand and shake it against her will. The worst of times.

L did not follow the advice of the scripture passage above and walked up to communion in a huff. Even afterward, she would not give J so much as a stuck-out tongue. It was a very long mass.

As with all challenges, this too has passed. L and J are friends again. At least for now...

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Norwich

The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Norwich, England, is a fine example of the Victorian Gothic revival church. Begun in the late 1800s by George Gilbert Scott Junior, it was finished in 1910 by his brother John Oldried Scott. The donor who made it possible was Henry Fitzalan Howard, the 15th Duke of Norfolk. He gave it in thanksgiving for his marriage to Lady Flora Abney Hastings.

The church initially served as the parish church for Roman Catholics in Norwich. In 1976 the Diocese of East Anglia was created and the church became the cathedral for the diocese, i.e. the church of the East Anglian Roman Catholic bishop. What an East Anglican Roman Catholic bishop would be is unclear, but would probably make a great story. But I digress...

The exterior is beautiful but a little difficult to photograph. The cathedral is on a hill but has a fairly busy road curving around it and a lot of buildings surrounding it, not allowing for a good wide shot. We took this photo from the interior garden.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Norwich

To enter the church, we had to come in through a small side door at the back of the nave. The lintel of the door has a nice arch of saints.

Lintel of the side entrance

The nave is about 150 feet long with a large and airy atmosphere, that was enhanced by the incense they used at the 1100 Sunday Mass we attended.

Nave

Two side altars caught my eye. First is the Our Lady of Czestockowa icon and memorial to the Polish men and women who died fighting the Second World War. There is a large Polish community in Norwich and the cathedral has a Mass in Polish on Saturday evenings.

Our Lady of Czestockowa

Further up is a small altar to Saint Anthony, which is charming because the child Jesus is more hugging him than just standing by him.

Saint Anthony

In the north transept is a large stained glass window dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. Hence the window is known as the Queen's Window. Other biblical women are also depicted, including Esther, Judith, and the Queen of Sheba.

Queen's Window

To the left of the main altar is the Lady Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham.

Lady Chapel

Behind the main altar is the Chapel of the Saints of East Anglia. The modern painting is of St. Felix, St. Etheldreda, and St. Edmund. This chapel is used for daily masses and is flooded with light and color by the stained-glass above.

Chapel of the Saints of East Anglia

Nearby is a nice colored bas-relief of the Annunciation.

Annunciation

In the back of the church is a small display of papal regalia from when Pope John Paul II visited.

From the Pope's visit

After Mass was over, we walked into an attached building where the Cathedral shop and the Refectory are located. This area also has access to the garden which was full of people due to nice weather. A man was practicing his clarinet. L wanted to give him some money (as we often do for buskers) but he didn't have a hat or his case open. We assumed he was just practicing and didn't make a donation.

Soon enough we were off to other adventures in Norwich, like finding a place for lunch. We probably should have eaten at the Refectory since we had some trouble finding food. Eventually we came across a coffee shop that was still serving breakfast. The children were excited to eat pancakes for lunch!

Norwich, England

We visited Norwich with the ambition to see a lot of the sights in the town. We came on a Sunday and started with the Church of England Cathedral, then drove over to the Roman Catholic Cathedral for Mass at 11 a.m. By the time that was done, it was lunch time. After a leisurely lunch, the children were ready to go back to our hotel. So we missed the castle, though it looked more like a keep than a castle. We did see some things as we were walking around.

The neighborhood of the Norwich Cathedral (the COE one) is called Tombland. The name seems a little ominous, but in fact it was just a market place for the Saxons. The word merely means "open space" which is convenient for a market and for constructing a cathedral.

A Tombland hotel, not the last place you will stay!

A large gate leads into the cathedral area, which includes a school and a large open green lawn with a statue of Nelson on it.

Gateway to the Cathedral

Same gateway from the Cathedral

School entrance (closed on Sundays!)

Nelson statue

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is near the pedestrianized center of the town. We walked down St. Giles Street after Mass where we found the cafe for lunch. We also saw the Church of St. Giles on the Hill which looked pleasant enough though we did not go inside.

St. Giles on the Hill Church

Further down the street is a very fancy hotel, St. Giles House, with a Waffle House next door! We were surprised to see a restaurant named the same as a popular American chain. Sadly, it looked nothing like an American Waffle House.

St. Giles House Hotel

Waffle House Restaurant

Further down the road changes to Guildhall Hill conveniently enough right at the Guildhall.

Norwich Guildhall

The Guildhall is across the street from the Norwich Market. We saw the World War I memorial which overlooks the market and has the castle peeping out over it.

World War I Memorial

On the other side of the market is St. Peter Mancroft Church. We were surprised by the massiveness of the tower in the front of the church.

St. Peter Mancroft Church

We turned up a side street from here and in ten minutes we were back at the car by the Roman Catholic cathedral. J was tired out after five minutes, so I gave him a piggyback ride, which meant no more photography. We had a pleasant time in Norwich and maybe we'll come again to see the other good sights, like the castle and St. Julian's Church and Dragon Hall!