Page 74 - The Gonzaga Record 1987
P. 74
lecterns in the shape of eagles representing John the Evangelist are made
of brass. One is pure brass and four hundred years old.
After that we went to the crypt. The first thing I noticed in the crypt
was the slope of the floor. It sloped quite noticeably towards the east. The
next thing I noticed was blocks of wood protruding from the arches.
When I tapped them with my knuckles they were as hard as rock. After
eight hundred years in place I thought that they would fall to pieces
under my fingers. The reason they were there was to hold up the stones
and also to soak in any water so that the wood would swell. Mr Coady
told us that the crypt was first used as a cemetery and when they were
cleaning it out, ten thousand cartloads of human bones were removed.
The coffins were made of lead or stone and because they were too heavy
to carry up the steps, the coffins were broken open, the bones taken out
of the crypt and transported away. After that the crypt was used as
Dublin's first market. Then it was used as a tavern. More and more
people sold wine and ale in the crypt so that it became a hell. The wine
was imported from Spain. In the crypt there are statues of King Charles
and lames 11 and also a stocks for criminals which is four hundred years
old. There is a mummified cat and a mouse which was found in the old
organ. Probably one day the cat chased the mouse into the organ and
neither could get back out and the noise of the organ killed them. Also
there is an old tabernacle and a cardboard model of Christchurch. The
architecture in the crypt is Romanesque.
Coming out of the crypt we went next to the south transcept which was
built in 1174. There three styles of architecture were displayed. The
Romanesque style, the Classical style and the Early English style which
was one of the forerunners of the Gothic style. There is a passageway all
around the Cathedral high up at the level of the stained-glass windows
and this is where the Augustinian Monks slept after their chapter house
was burned down. Unlike Strongbow the master builders did not need
chunks of wood to hold their Romanesque arches together so the arches
are much more elegant. In this room there is a standard with the
inscription: Parish of Dublin and Glendalough.
Next we proceeded under the Early English arch to the chapel of St
Laurence's Chapel. Behind the altar is a flower-like design. Also there is
another standard with the same inscription as the first.
The next building that we proceeded to was another adjoining chapel,
the chapel of St Laud. This is probably the most historic part of
Christchurch along with the crypt for two reasons. The first reason is that
the 3,460 tiles in this chaper are the original tiles from which the pattern
of the other tiles are copied. The tiles depict begging foxes which
represent the Augustinian Monks begging for food. They were called
foxes because they had a plan for getting into houses. They knocked on
the front door and crept around and went in the back door. The second
reason is that when St Laurence O'Toole, the first Irish Archbishop of
Dublin, died, because the transport in those days was not good, his body
72
of brass. One is pure brass and four hundred years old.
After that we went to the crypt. The first thing I noticed in the crypt
was the slope of the floor. It sloped quite noticeably towards the east. The
next thing I noticed was blocks of wood protruding from the arches.
When I tapped them with my knuckles they were as hard as rock. After
eight hundred years in place I thought that they would fall to pieces
under my fingers. The reason they were there was to hold up the stones
and also to soak in any water so that the wood would swell. Mr Coady
told us that the crypt was first used as a cemetery and when they were
cleaning it out, ten thousand cartloads of human bones were removed.
The coffins were made of lead or stone and because they were too heavy
to carry up the steps, the coffins were broken open, the bones taken out
of the crypt and transported away. After that the crypt was used as
Dublin's first market. Then it was used as a tavern. More and more
people sold wine and ale in the crypt so that it became a hell. The wine
was imported from Spain. In the crypt there are statues of King Charles
and lames 11 and also a stocks for criminals which is four hundred years
old. There is a mummified cat and a mouse which was found in the old
organ. Probably one day the cat chased the mouse into the organ and
neither could get back out and the noise of the organ killed them. Also
there is an old tabernacle and a cardboard model of Christchurch. The
architecture in the crypt is Romanesque.
Coming out of the crypt we went next to the south transcept which was
built in 1174. There three styles of architecture were displayed. The
Romanesque style, the Classical style and the Early English style which
was one of the forerunners of the Gothic style. There is a passageway all
around the Cathedral high up at the level of the stained-glass windows
and this is where the Augustinian Monks slept after their chapter house
was burned down. Unlike Strongbow the master builders did not need
chunks of wood to hold their Romanesque arches together so the arches
are much more elegant. In this room there is a standard with the
inscription: Parish of Dublin and Glendalough.
Next we proceeded under the Early English arch to the chapel of St
Laurence's Chapel. Behind the altar is a flower-like design. Also there is
another standard with the same inscription as the first.
The next building that we proceeded to was another adjoining chapel,
the chapel of St Laud. This is probably the most historic part of
Christchurch along with the crypt for two reasons. The first reason is that
the 3,460 tiles in this chaper are the original tiles from which the pattern
of the other tiles are copied. The tiles depict begging foxes which
represent the Augustinian Monks begging for food. They were called
foxes because they had a plan for getting into houses. They knocked on
the front door and crept around and went in the back door. The second
reason is that when St Laurence O'Toole, the first Irish Archbishop of
Dublin, died, because the transport in those days was not good, his body
72
