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The bishop who created our cathedral
spire
June
6, 2003
Goldwell Road
(Hall Road)
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| The chantry tomb
of Bishop James Goldwell, who rebuilt the spire
of Norwich Cathedral in the 1480s. Inset a gilded
well, the symbol of Bishop Goldwell. |
NEXT time you look up at the towering spire of Norwich
Cathedral, think of James Goldwell … the man we
have to thank for this wonderful and majestic landmark.
This road is named after Bishop Goldwell — just
one of the powerful men who dedicated his life to the
building and rebuilding of Norwich Cathedral.
Generations of men helped turn Herbert de Losinga’s
vision into a reality over the centuries.
When Herbert founded the cathedral and its Benedictine
Priory towards the end of the 11th century, Norwich
was already one of the top five towns in the country.
The work to build our cathedral went on and on, and
when Losinga died, others took his place, men with great
vision and determination … and one of them was
James Goldwell.
The end of the 15th century and the beginning of the
16th century was a great building phase, sparked by
a disaster during the incumbency of Walter Lyhart (1446-1472).
In 1463, the timber spire, the replacement built by
Bishop Percy, was struck by lightning.
The fire which followed destroyed the spire, the organ
loft and the nave’s timber roof.
Lyhart decided to replace the timber roof with stone
vaults covering the 14 bays of the nave.
This was embellished by an unrivalled collection of
roof bosses, which is now a major feature of the glory
of Norwich Cathedral and one of Europe’s architectural
treasures.
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| The spire of Norwich
Cathedral |
The architect was probably Reginald Ely, who had worked
at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.
His task was completed in about 1472, the year of Lyhart’s
death, but the Bishop left 2,200 marks to his successor,
James Goldwell (1472-1499), to continue the work. And
what a grand job he did. Goldwell extended the stone
vault to cover the presbytery, a revolutionary construction
for its time.
He also rebuilt the spire, this time using brick encased
in stone and raising it daringly higher than any of
its predecessors. This is essentially the same spire
which soars over Norwich today. At 315 feet (96 metres),
it is the second highest in England.
Both Lyhart and Goldwell were extraordinary benefactors
and will always be remembered.
Bishop Goldwell’s rebus, a gilded well, appears
on 97 of the 132 bosses studding the presbytery roof,
and his chantry tomb of pure Gothic beauty is crowned
by an enormous golden well. It is the only monument
of its kind in England which survived the Reformation.
The road name was approved by Norwich City Council in
1972.
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