Friday 6 September 2013

Norwich Cathedral

A spontaneous visit to Norwich Cathedral this week provided me with the opportunity to view some incredibly interesting and inspirational ecclesiastical architecture. Norwich's cathedral is famed for its beauty, however having never visited East Anglia before I was keen to experience the charms of the city.

The Cathedral certainly has an eventful history. Began in 1046, the Cathedral was built on the site of two Saxon churches, but after completion it was struck by lightening, damaged in riots, lost its spire to high winds, had works halted by the arrival of the Black Death and was defaced and partly demolished by a Puritan mob.

The building which stands today is certainly an impressive piece of ecclesiastical architecture, with the second tallest spire and second largest cloisters in England the scale of the Cathedral is as grand and pompous as its decorative details.
My favourite part of the Cathedral was its moody cloisters encircling a grassy courtyard. The beautiful stained glass windows look out to the insular labyrinth, while the graves of the dead pave the floor and their coat of arms line the walls, faded and forgotten.