81. TREASURY PLATE AND WEATHER VANE
The Treasury today houses a fine collection of church plate on loan from churches throughout Sussex, as well as other items used in the life of the Cathedral. This old weathercock was made in 1638 and erected atop the spire in the same year. In 1861 the great spire of the cathedral – with this weathercock attached – collapsed, telescoping down into the nave below. However, it survived this calamity, and when the spire was rebuilt five years later, this cock once again sat proudly upon its pinnacle. In 1978 however, the old bird was retired and was replaced by a more modern version. PLAN
Chichester Cathedral is famous for its striking modern tapestries, but this old tapestry in the Treasury is worth examination. It appears to show the ascension of Christ, and is beautiful in its colour and detail. • We now leave the Cathedral and walk South along St Richard’s Walk to Canon Lane. At the West end of this lane is a small gateway which leads to a herb garden, and then through to the vast Bishop’s Palace Garden.
The Garden is a great place to relax, and from here there is a lovely view of the Cathedral. This completes our tour of Chichester Cathedral.
I hope you have enjoyed visiting Chichester Cathedral with me. It is an historic cathedral, but one which has moved with the times with its various dramatic touches.
I am happy to receive constructive comments or corrections concerning this website. The best websites are the ones which have no errors! I am grateful to my wife Margie who came with me, and who has proof-read these pages.
The Cathedral has an excellent and informative website, and I have drawn heavily on this and other related sites, particularly the trusted Wikipedia for the text used here. I am happy to acknowledge these sources.
The link for the Cathedral website is:
http://www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/
The photographs which appear on this site are all mine, and can also be found in higher resolution at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/sets/
Paul Scott Site created 10 / 2017 reformatted 3 / 2020