A tour of Hereford Cathedral - Part 1

This week I thought a tour of Hereford Cathedral might be a good idea. It has a number of beautiful and fascinating things inside, including a modern memorial to St Ethelbert which is unexpectedly beautiful.

Hereford Cathedral has, like most churches of its size, suffered from depredations and “restorations” over time.

The west front you see above is 19th century, as are other parts of the nave and chancel while a good portion of the nave was rebuilt in the 18th century. The collapse of a west tower in the 18th century was responsible for much of the modern interpolations. While the new bits are not totally authentic, they are not bad, to a casual eye.

The origins of the see of Hereford go back to the 7th century, and the first cathedral building was early 11th century. Unfortunately it was burned down by Welsh raiders/rioters. This was a common risk in Herefordshire as the border wars went on for centuries. The oldest parts of this church are therefore late 11th century but little remains of that. As always seems to happen when I visit a cathedral, events foxed me with a wedding rehearsal in the nave so my photos of it are limited. Instead I focussed on some of the more interesting and older parts.

Even if reproduction, much is well done, such as these clearly modern pillars done in Norman style.

The font is 12th century, with an unusual decoration at the top. The figures stand under individually sculpted arches which may represent the Apostles.

It’s clear that the figures were deliberately excised, most likely in the 17th century Puritan period.