Exeter Cathedral, George Townsend, 19th Century, Exeter

Lithograph of Exeter Cathedral, George Townsend, 19th Century, Exeter

This view of Exeter Cathedral from the north-west provides fine detail of the Norman architecture of the North Tower alongside the flying buttresses, the pointed arches, and the North Porch in the later Gothic style. Notice the iron railings which surrounded the cathedral in Townsend’s day. Otherwise, the view remains the same.

The decorative attributes to each side of the image refer to the history of the city of Exeter. On the left can be seen the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword which were granted to the city by Henry V11 in 1497 and are displayed in the Guildhall to this day. This group also shows the City Mace which is carried in processions by the Mace Sergeant and a shield bearing the city’s insignia of a castle. On the right of the image are the mitre and crozier of the Bishop of Exeter, displayed alongside the arms of the Cathedral of St Peter bearing the crossed keys symbol of the saint and a scroll being the foundation charter of 1050. Townsend shows the Cathedral as belonging both to the City of Exeter and to the Diocese of Exeter in equal measure.

This image is an engraving printed on paper in the mid-nineteenth century.

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Exeter Cathedral