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ARCHITECTURAL RESTORATIONS IN OXFORD.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL.

The spirit of restoration, and especially of church restoration, has been rife in Oxford for some time past, but never has it been carried on with greater vigour than within the last year.

The first work of restoration, which is by far the largest and most important in progress at the present time, is that of Christ Church Cathedral, which I shall attempt to describe briefly, and endeavour to give to those who are unable to visit Oxford and see for themselves, a slight sketch of what has been accomplished up to the present time. This work was commenced about eighteen months ago, and so great an alteration has been made, especially in the internal appearance of the cathedral, that I think many old Christ Church men and others who remember it in all its former ugliness would find it hard to recognise in the now beautiful and handsome cathedral the once poor and insignificant building called by courtesy the cathedral, but being in reality little more than a college chapel; but, in order to avoid being misunderstood, I must explain that I refer to the poorness and insignificance not of the whole building, but of the former internal arrangements of the church, which were so cleverly managed that it was almost impossible to detect what the plan of the Cathedral formerly was intended to be. But all this is now altered, and under the able direction of Sir Gilbert Scott we have now a building more worthy to be called a cathedral.

Before referring to what has been done more recently I will briefly attempt to sketch the whole restoration and alteration in the interior and exterior of the fabric commenced last year. Formerly the whole of the interior of the walls was covered with plaster, which has now been scraped off and the stone in many places re-dressed; the roof of the nave, which is a substantial one of wood, remains intact, but that of the choir has been entirely restored, and is now a very handsome one of stone, elaborately carved; and, whilst mentioning the roofs, I should add that the lantern has been opened to view, in consequence of the removal of the bells, and of the chamber in which they were hung, which adds very greatly to the architectural beauty of the building.

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The next portion of the restoration which I wish to notice is that of the windows, and especially that of the east Window, which has been restored to its original plan of two separate upright windows, with a rose window above. The rest of the windows, which were probably of a Norman character originally, have been restored in their later style of the 14th and 15th centuries, with the exception of two windows in the south aisle of the choir, which have been restored in their primitive or Norman style.

The organ, which formerly stood in the south transept, has now been moved to the extreme west end, the choir being placed under the lantern; and in consequence of the removal of the organ, a curious old chapel, which had been used as the verger's house, was brought to light, and has since its restoration added considerably to the general effect of the building. The old screen, which is of 17th century work, and accords with the style of the organ, is placed immediately under it, but considerably farther back than it originally stood, thus giving more room in the nave than formerly; and behind the organ a fresh bay will be added to the building, thus giving it greater length, from which the organ-loft will be approached. The north-east side of the building has been greatly improved by the removal of the screens between the pillars which formerly cut off St. Frideswade's Chapel, and of several of the monuments which greatly disfigured the walls and pillars, although one still remains—namely, a large sculptured figure in a sitting position of Dean Cyril Jackson, which, being placed in an unfortunate position, with its back to the east, does not by any means enhance the architectural features of this side of the building; but doubtless the good dean will be so placed that his form in marble may look upon the good work of the restoration now accomplished, and not be permitted to turn his back upon what he must, if living, have rejoiced to see.

One of the most important interior works which have been carried out during the long vacation has been the entire reseating of the nave and choir, which has been done in a very handsome style, and although the canopies of the dean's and canons' stalls are not yet finished, the general effect is very good. The position of the stalls is entirely altered, for since the removal of the organ to the west end the stalls have been carried up from that place and placed in the choir, the only fault being the extreme light colour of the wood, which, combined with the glare of white walls and the absence of painted glass in the east and other windows, gives an unpleasant look of brightness to the eye, which will doubtless be toned down to a great extent when the painted windows, to be put up in memory of two late undergraduates of the house—F. Vyner and Manuel Dasent, whose sad deaths must still be fresh in the memory of many—and those promised by Mrs. Corfe are fixed in their places.

With regard to the exterior of the building I must confine my remarks to a few lines, though I fear that my account is already too rambling. The tower and the spire have been thoroughly restored, and not before they wanted it, but the chief external restoration is that of the cloisters, the roof of which, formerly of hideous plaster, has now been built of handsome stone, and of the entrance door to the cathedral, which in consequence of the lowering of the quadrangle between the cathedral and the old library buildings, is now approached by a flight of steps, which terminate in a porch, if one may call it so, though in reality part of the cloisters. The cloisters have been carried on a considerable distance west of the doorway, but as this end of the building is not yet complete, the eventual appearance of it is not at present quite evident.

The fine peal of bells, which have been for some time removed from the tower of the cathedral, in consequence of the unsafe state of that tower, have been hung in what some people call a wooden campanile, but others, with a greater respect for accuracy of description, a meat-safe or bathing machine, which we are told is only put up until a stone tower is built over it; but that stone tower is to cost some 10,000l., and where is that to come from? But, alas! the subject is too painful, and the utter ugliness of the offending box baffles all description; and to those who walk through Tom Quad I would say, “Shut your eyes,” or having previously read a very amusing pamphlet upon this wretched box by D. C. L. (which initials read backwards will recall the well-known name of a witty don of the house), criticise this horrible object as he does.