51 quirky features of Norwich Cathedral that you can go and find

I have always loved Norwich Cathedral as it is beautiful and atmospheric. But it turns out that it is also loaded with a hotchpotch of history as building started in 1096.

The more I learn about it, the more fascinated I become. So here are my recommendations for what to look out for should you ever visit the cathedral.

1) The Elizabethan grave of Thomas Gooding
Thomas was a mason of the cathedral. He paid a fair amount of money to be buried upright because he believed this would give him an advantage come judgement day. At the base of his memorial is a typical of its time, poignantly death-focused inscription:

'All you that do this pass bye
Remember death for you must dye
As you are now even so was I
And as I am so shall you be
Thomas Gooding here do staye
Wayting for God's judgement day'

If you look at the skeleton, you will see there is poor knowledge of anatomy.

2) The grave of the baby that died before she was born.
I have been told that this is because of the shift from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian one but I have yet to stumble across something that explains this fully. (Actually I recently read it was to do with two calendars running concurrently - a 'normal' one and a legal one). Whatever the explanation, the dates certainly show a death date (February 20th 1736) before the birth date (April 13th 1736).

3) The musket ball still lodged in the side of a grave.
This is said to be from the Civil War (1642 - 1651) when in 1643 a mob of city folk broke into the cathedral and removed pictures, books and statues, took them to the market place and burnt them. However, this is in dispute as an elderly man claimed to remember it being just a hole and if it had been an authentic lead ball, it would be more squashed through impact. The original hole, however, could still have been made by a musket ball. The effigy on the tomb, along with the font in a nearby chapel, were both vandalised at this time. The grave is of Bishop Goldwell (bishop from 1472 until 1499) and he was responsible for some significant rebuilding of the cathedral including the current spire and the stone roof of the presbytery. He was also the first Englishman to own a printed book.

The bashed up effigy...

....the smashed up font.....things did well to survive the Civil War.

In a rather old book in the cathedral library, I found this description of the unrest of the Civil War in the cathedral written by the bishop at the time: Bishop Joseph Hall. '....what clattering of glasses, what beating down of walls, what tearing down of monuments, what pulling down of seats and wrestling out of irons and brass from windows and graves; what defacing of arms, what demolishing of curious stonework, that had not had any representation in the world, but the cost of the founder and the skill of the mason.....the cathedral was filled with musketeers drinking and tabacconning, as freely as if it had turned alehouse.'

4) The steps worn down
- by many, many years of use.

 

5) The four corbels

These are found decorating one of the book cupboards in the cloisters. Their faces are full of character. There is a hooded man with extraordinarily large nostrils, a king, a mitred ecclesiastic and a bare-headed man.

6) The bosses in the cloisters.
There are loads of bosses decorating these monks' corridors. They vary from pagan to completely bizarre. For example - from the green men....

....to strange goings on....

...to the downright bizarre.

I like the bosses along the south (and to some extent the west) side of the cloisters best as they seem to particularly unworldly. I think it's because they are meant to be depicting scenes from Revelations which (without much knowledge of the Bible) I understand to be one of the more sensational books in the New Testament. This first one is supposed to be a horse riding out of hell. The last one is heaven fighting with hell. Smashing stuff.

Lions were as mythical as dragons and griffins to the medieval person.

There are even two naked men who look to be defecating -one over the door to the Chapter House.

7) The graffiti.
There is a lot of graffiti and a guide told me he was still discovering more. The historical approach to graffiti did not replicate our modern attitude to it as it was once far more usual and acceptable to carve your initials into a cathedral wall.

Here are some examples. There is the Elizabethan man - with ruff, buttons and doublet. (You need a torch to be able to see it).

...the North Sea cog (boat)...

...a music stave...

... many initials and dates...

....churches or houses?...

This is a late medieval curse that names the Keynfford family. 

And some more modern graffiti (from 1968)

8) The copper font
This is a relatively modern addition. It was once used in the process of toffee making in the Norwich Rowntrees factory before it closed down in 1999. I remember when Norwich smelt of chocolate.

9) A mosaic of medieval stained glass
- put together with 'important medieval glass' from the cathedral that survived the Reformation, patchwork style. It commemorates Sir Thomas Erpingham who fought at the Battle of Agincourt.

Look out for the centaur playing bagpipes....

.....and Moses with light coming out of his ears. In Exodus, Moses was said to be radiant after meeting with God. (Other translations made the beams of light, horns - symbols of power.)

10) The clues to how decorated the once cathedral was....
....before the Reformation, the iconoclasts of Edward VI's reign and the damage that happened during the Civil War. This picture shows remnants of a painting telling part of Herbert de Losinga's story - including his sin of simony. I read something recently that said Herbert was quite charismatic and could reduce his congregation to tears with his sermons. That aside, there are little snippets of colourful paintings and decoration on the arches and vaults throughout the cathedral. When you visit Catholic and Orthodox churches on the continent, you get a sense of how the cathedral must have once been.

The censing angel

11) The new stained glass windows....
....by abstract painter John McLean and installed in 2014 (so the newest of all the windows). They cast a pleasant colourful light down this part of the aisle.

12) The shrine to William
A 12 year old Christian boy called William was found murdered on Mousehold Heath in 1144. There was much controversy at the time and the local Jews were ultimately blamed for the murder. It is an interesting story that appears to be mostly about antisemitism. This part of the cathedral is know as the 'Chapel of the Holy Innocents' - a space dedicated to the victims of cruelty, persecution and intolerance - which you could argue William was - though whose intolerance or cruelty it was is not certain.

William was buried in the cathedral but his tomb had to be moved a couple of times to accommodate the traffic of pilgrims attending the grave. (It was known to be at the site of his shrine and in Jesus' Chapel at different points.)  At the peak of this 'traffic' (around 1150), there was a miracle reported to have happened every ten days! Such tombs were maintained as they attracted donations and therefore were great assets for the prior. William is probably still buried somewhere in the cathedral - but his tomb is no longer marked.

13) The pretty weird carvings
There are many strange carvings dotted around the place. There are some great faces high up in the Presbytery near the alter - one of a really happy face and another, opposite, of a tragically sad face. (I have merged the two photos of them together here - they are actually on opposite pillars). Please forgive the poor quality of my photos - I ran over my camera with my car.

These animal-like heads that are eating other heads, are quite odd and possibly Saxon. They are found in the north transept. They are particularly significant because they go against the Norman principle of using carvings only to support and complement architecture (like corbels) - thus their inclusion could represent that fact that Christianity reigned strong long before the Normans arrived. However, I also read in another book that Herbert de Losinga deliberately incorporated them to make the opposite statement - along the lines of 'I take all that went before forward with me now I am in charge!' The latter seems more likely as the Normans did build the cathedral.

14) The misericords.

These were merciful ledges upon which monks could surreptitiously perch for some relief during sustained periods of prayer in a standing position. They can also be lowered to create full seats. Below the ledges are lots of exampled of beautiful carvings. As one depicts a griffin being speared and another of Norwich football team - I am guessing they are quite varied in age. They survived the attacks of iconoclasts probably because their content has very little to do with the bible and a lot more to do with the contents of the medieval mind.

I read somewhere the speculation that the owl surrounded by smaller birds was making fun of a bishop who tended to over-share his wisdom. However, I have also read that the owl represents the synagogue and therefore this depicts the synagogue's resistance to Christian wisdom.

My all-time favourite misericord is in the north choir. It shows a lion being suckled by a mermaid. It represents temptation. The dolphins viciously gobbling up fish at the side link to the centrepiece in theme (this is not always the case). They show the fate of those who succumb to temptation.

15) The bosses in the nave.
Although they are too far away to be photographed well with my camera, the bosses in the nave tell the story of the bible - starting with the old testament at the altar end, with the birth of Christ just over halfway as you travel backwards. There is a book with photos of the bosses on sale in the cathedral gift shop (see below). There are also several medieval 'interpretations' of the bible. Without knowing what an Egyptian chariot looked like, for example, the local carver represented one as medieval Norfolk farm cart.

Other things I have learned about the bosses and nave ceiling include:
• There are unicorns on Noah’s ark.
• The red sea is actually painted red. (This is clearly visible without binoculars)
• The serpent’s tree in the Garden of Eden is in a pot. This is a clue to the fact the masons based their carvings on the Medieval Norwich Mystery Plays – which would have travelled around Norwich’s Street on a cart – thus the pot.
• Noah plants a vineyard to celebrate dry land after the flood and then proceeds to get drunk.
• Jacob has a lot of roof dedicated to him probably because 15th Century Norwich’s wealth came predominantly from the wool trade – so local people would have identified with rural depictions of sheep care.
• The Tower of Babel looks remarkably like one of the medieval city gates of Norwich.
• The current roof was built in 1463 to replace the wooden one destroyed by fire and the spire collapsing onto it.
• Bishop Lyhart (his large black slab of a grave can be found under the alter) sold some of his estate to fund the roof. Medieval stonemasons were in high demand at the time – so there might have been considerable search for the right person to lead the project.
• The bosses were painted over during the reformation (far too ornate for the puritans) and then uncovered in 1870.

Just three of my favourites from 'Norwich Cathedral Nave Bosses' by Paul Hurst ARPS

 

The Tower of Babel

The creation of light

The flooding of the Red Sea

The roof of the nave.

While we're in the nave - I like this snippet: the nave would have been overwhelming to the folk of the middle ages. In the eleventh and twelve centuries naves were the only large indoor places and were used for more than just worship e.g. gatherings on feast days, processions and meetings. They would not have had the seating in place as it is now for these occasions. The cathedral was built as two churches - the nave for the public and the other end for the monks.

16) The censing angel hole
The bosses are interrupted by a hole in the nave roof. As early as 1401 - an angel was hung from here. Apparently it would have been swung over the heads of the congregation. It was also used for releasing doves - according to one book although how that would have been done is anyone's guess.

On a recent visit around Easter - such an angel was hanging from the hole.

17) The casual approach to inscriptions
The earliest examples of floor monuments show a very casual approach to letter carving - as replicated in hand-written works of the time. This example shows how there was little forethought to letter placement. See how the word 'departed' is split and the 'th' of the date put over the number.

18) The Bishop's Ceremonial Door

This was the door that took the bishops from the palace to the cathedral via the north transept. Originally the effigy of St Felix was positioned outside this door and the strange Saxon beasts mentioned before are found above the door inside. 

19) The effigy of St Felix
It was originally believed that this was an effigy of Herbert de Losinga - the bishop who founded the cathedral. However, turns out - it is in fact St Felix who converted East Anglia to Christianity in the seventh century. It is thought that Felixstowe might have been named after him.

 

I found this picture of St Felix in his original position: on the outside above the Bishop's ceremonial door when it was still believed to be the effigy of the founding bishop. It was moved to its current position in 1968 to protect it from the elements.

20) The founder's tomb and commemorative slab
This was made in 1996 to commemorate 900 years of the cathedral. Situated at one end of Herbert de Losinga's tomb it depicts:
1) the devil running off with the money de Losinga paid to secure the post of bishop at Thetford (this 'sin' is called simony - he later asked for the Pope's forgiveness for this and that pope said, yes, sure fine - as long as you go back and build a cathedral to make amends) The amount he paid was £1000 - equivalent to about a million now.
2) someone carrying the bishop's throne in front of him
3) Norfolk Broads reeds
4) a mason and
5) (I think) a boat carrying the stone than came from Caen to build the cathedral.

21) The raredos that survived the Civil War and Reformation
This is found in St Luke's chapel. It survived the Civil War and the Reformation (when under the Protestantism of Edward VI, images, altars and stained glass were ordered to be destroyed) because it was turned upside down and used as a plumber's table. It remained 'lost' for 200 years and rediscovered in 1847 when Professor Willis dropped his pen under the 'table' in a meeting. Being an art historian, he instantly knew he had discovered something significant. It includes the colour 'Norwich Red' (like a lot of old paintings from the city) - a vibrant pigment that made the city famous until the early 1800s.

 

The raredos was given to the 'warrior bishop' Henry Despenser as an act of gratitude for his part in quashing the local version of the Peasants Revolt in 1381. This not only included capturing the leader John Litester, it also included sitting in judgement of him, condemning him to death for treason, hearing his confession, absolving him of his sins and accompanying him to the scaffold to administer a last blessing. This seems a bit 'good cop, bad cop' to me!

22) The Reliquary Arch
This arched over the north side ambulatory and was accessed by a staircase from the presbytery. Now you climb a modern replica of these stairs to the treasury. The arch was was built in 1424 to house the cathedral's relics for pilgrims to visit although the arch itself predated the chapel. The space itself is more interesting than the contents of the newly added treasury in my opinion. The arch on the north side of the treasury was the site of the door of the Relic Chapel. Here the relics would have been stored and/or displayed.

I am sad that the Cathedral's Seal box is not on display in the treasury - which is a two compartment box that was the home of two seals that needed four separate keys to open each side - to prevent anyone acting without consensual agreement.

23) The 'Jacks'
Two 'Jacks' in Jacobean clothes stand over the door of the south transept. They once used to sound each hour until complaints forced them to be disconnected because they were disturbing the devoted congregation. (There is another clock that can be seen in this position outside the cathedral. It is reputed that the Jacks were also once stolen and retrieved from a stall on Norwich Market.

24) The story carved in the bosses of the Bauchun Chapel

This story is told through the bosses on the ceiling in Bauchun Chapel but seemingly in random order. It was a popular medieval story linked to Chaucer's Canterbury Tale: 'The Man of Lawes'. It tells the story of an emperor who leaves his wife under the protection of his brother while he goes to war. Fearing the brother's inappropriate advances, the empress imprisons him. When the emperor returns, the brother unjustly accuses the empress of having made advances towards him. The emperor believes the brother and not his wife and orders her to be killed. Fortunately, a knight rescues her from death and takes her home to look after his young son. The knight's brother falls in love with the empress but she rejects him. Through jealousy the brother kills the child and frames the empress by putting a knife in her hand while she is asleep. As a punishment, the knight banishes her to a desert island. While on this island,  the Blessed Virgin teaches the empress how to cure leprosy using a plant. She is eventually rescued and sent back to the knight where she cures his brother who has developed leprosy. She shows this mercy because he confesses to his prior wrongdoings. She returns to her husband and the same happens -she cures his brother upon his confession. However, at the end, her old life is unappealing and she decides to enter a convent!

The Bauchun Chapel was once used as the cathedral court but the notorious case of the Vicar of Stiffkey (and his link to prostitutes) in the 1930s drew so many people it had to be moved to London. The Vicar's ceremonial de-robing still happened in this chapel though.

25) The scandal of the pregnant nun....
....or so I was told! When I originally posted this I received feedback that the pregnancy was nonsense and that she wasn't a nun. However, what I find fascinating is that such a rumour existed, that I heard it from a choral scholar at the cathedral and looked at and believed the subtle 'pregnancy bump'. This rumour might have come about by the fact that this young woman had affection for the Bishop Bertram Pollock (1863–1943) (as demonstrated in several poems she wrote about him) that caused him some embarrassment. Things get twisted. Her name was Violet Vaughan Morgan and she died of Spanish flu in 1919 aged just 20. Her parents commissioned the statue two years after her death.

26) The stained glass window in the Bauchon Chapel
This was fitted in 1964 and shows significant players in history from East Anglia of the religious sort. You can spot Herbert de Losinga with his completed cathedral behind him, William Bauchun - a monk who helped with the building and he holds his chapel in his hands and St Julian of Norwich with her crucifix and her book; Revelations in Divine Love.

The Benedictine Window

The founder of the cathedral

27) The depiction of Henry II that survived the Reformation

In the reformation Henry VIII ordered that all images of St Thomas Beckett be destroyed as this saint was very much a representation of the church opposing the monarchy. Luckily this 'royalty humbling' boss survived showing Henry II in just under-garments carrying St Thomas' coffin. His servants are holding his clothes.

28) A break in building because of the plague
The present cloisters took a long time to complete (from 1297 until 1430). In the north walk of the cloisters there is an abrupt change in decoration that occurs because of the plague of 1349. The time gap this change represents is actually about 60 years. The plague - not being in any way discriminatory - significantly reduced the population of craftsmen including masons. When the work was eventually continued, the perpendicular style was adopted because it required less skill and labourers could be shown how to complete such decoration.

 

The two arches on the left of the north walk are in the earlier, 'Decorated' style. Those on the right are the 'Perpendicular' style. Furthermore the window in the north-west corner is the only one made out of wood. This was meant to be temporary measure with a plan to replace it with stone. This never happened.

 

29) The monks played Nine Men Morris
Carved into the seating in the cloisters are what is left of a few games of Nine Men Morris. This is even more entertaining to imagine because it would have been played in silence because of the monks' vow. Further along the same walk are the three doors to the no-longer-there Chapter House where monks would have held meetings and therefore certainly did speak. However, there is a slight possibility that the holes for Nine Men Morris post-date the monastic years - even so, they are still interesting.

30) The Carnary Chapel
After death, the poor people of medieval Norwich would have been simply wrapped in a woollen shroud and buried in a shallow grave. This often meant a skeleton would reappear above the soil a few years later. As bones were believed to hold the soul and therefore considered sacred, Bishop Salmon founded the Carnary Chapel in 1316 so that such bones from the overcrowded churchyards of Norwich could be placed in the undercroft. Mass was held in the chapel above the bones. It's now part of the Norwich School.

And I made it into the crypt once -just imagine it full of bones.

31) For the monks' ablutions
In two bays of the cloisters can be found the troughs for the waste water that would have been used by monks in ritual washing. There would have been pipes and taps and relatively sophisticated plumbing - for its day. Post cleansing, the monks would then walk in to the refectory under a boss depicting Eve tempting Adam with the apple - presumably a warning against gluttony.

32) The monument to Osbert Parsley

Osbert Parsley was a singer in the cathedral for fifty years (1535 - 1585) which spanned the reigns of four monarchs who, at the time of the Reformation, declared that services be held in different ways. He started in the latter part of Henry VIII's reign when services were held in Latin, he would have sung in English during Edward VI's reign, back to Latin for Mary I and a return to English for Elizabeth I. He actually sang when Elizabeth worshipped in the cathedral during her visit to Norwich in 1578.

33) The pelican that does not resemble a pelican

Much of the decoration in the cathedral is prone to medieval (mis)interpretation. The pelican that pecked the blood from its own chest to feed its young is a symbol of Christ, however, the person who made this clearly did not know what a pelican looked like. It dates from around 1380 - 1410 and survived the the ransacking of a Puritan mob in May 1643 by being buried outside. Unfortunately when it was recovered some years later, the chicks were missing.

34) A wonderful epitaph

It says, 'HERE LYE Y CORPS Y GHOST IS GONE TO JOY Y WHICH IN LIFE IS SOVGHT AT LENGTH IS FOVND IN CHRIST ALONE SEE WHAT ADVANTAGE DEATH HATH BROUGHT GEORGE MARCH VERGER OF THIS CHVRcH 1640. The 'c' in the church is above the rest of the word - presumably added when the mistake was realised.

35) A slightly more egocentric bishop
After Bishop Lyhart's admirable work in 1463 of replacing the wooden roof (damaged by a lightning strike) with a stone roof, his successor: Bishop Goldwell (1472-1499) completed the repair work. He rebuilt the spire (it is the one we seen now) and he also vaulted the presbytery in stone. However, unlike Bishop Lyhart's nave bosses that mostly tell the story of the bible, Goldwell made 97 of the 135 carvings in the presbytery his rebus: a golden well.

He also (almost definitely) has a misericord dedicated to him in the south choir (second row far left when facing the seats). His mitre is squashed by the pressure from above which is supposedly humorous. It is generally believed that this shows a true likeness.

 

36) The alter slab for relics
Called a 'mensa' this slab of Barnack Stone (the stone from Northamptonshire that was used in the cathedral but was cheaper than the lighter stone from Caen) has a small hollow in it for the containment of relics. it was originally found in the floor but now sits in the altar of the Jesus Chapel.

37) A boost in holiness
Another place for relics is a little square hole in which they were placed to give the bishop, sitting on the throne above, extra religious power!

38) A kiwi
A kiwi in the sail represents the fact the Earl of Orford (who this window is a memorial for) died on his way to New Zealand. I was originally looking for a fruit when I read this!

39) The old chapel ruins

Outside the cathedral to the east, you can see the remains of part of the Lady Chapel - which was larger than the more modern one that now sits in its place. It is clear reminder that the cathedral has changed over the centuries.

40) Another reminder of death

Extremely faint but still visible is the thrice repeated word ,'morieris' (thou wilt die) and three skulls above the tiny chantry of Prior Bozoun who died in 1480. Thanks prior. On (very) close inspection the skulls show varying degrees of decay.

41) Dean anxiety
This is the memorial to Dean Fairfax (d. 1702). His successor, Humphrey Prideaux covered up this tomb until a couple of references that he saw akin to 'bragging of rebellion': Nasebiani (Naseby) and Pii (pious) (relating to the Civil War) were removed. He justified his actions based on the idea that it could incite civil unrest in people who saw it. The references have been clumsily scraped off. One stated how Fairfax's parliamentarian uncle had a role in the victory over the King at Naseby.

42) Possibly the tomb of....

....Dame Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I's great, great grandmother who died in 1484.

 

43) The spiral pillars
These are decidedly Norman in style and look slightly out of place. The two that can be seen are matched by a further pair that are now embedded in the pillars of the pulpitum screen. You can see a small part of one of these pillar at the north end of the pulpitum. These four pillar once created the 'canopy' under which stood an alter. The last pillar to be built was the one in the south west corner and there has been speculation that the top part was left blank indicating the time when Herbert de Losinga died. He really wanted to see the cathedral completed within his lifetime - but failed. He died in 1119 and the cathedral was completed in 1145.

...and the partially uncovered pillar that is embedded in the pulpitum...

44) The west window

This 19th century window's most interesting feature for me is that it received much criticism for being too bright and colourful at the time of its creation. Because of this, a dark varnish was applied to the outside in 1883 to quell the brightness, and the criticism. Some of the varnish was accidentally removed in 1993 - so the Dean directed that all the varnish be removed. It's now as vibrant as it was originally.

45) The 'Dark Entry'

This doorway in the south-east corner of the cloisters was probably called the dark entry in the 1700s because coffins were placed in the passageway beyond - awaiting burial in the garth (the grassy square inside the cloisters). Diagonally across, the pillars and tracery of the first bay (garth side) were removed, so coffins could be carried through to their burial place. I have since been told it was actually where monks were placed once death was imminent.

46) Royal figures
In the south-west corner of the cloisters, above the monks' washing troughs, four carvings of two kings and queens can be found. It was only on closer inspection that I realised they were from the twentieth century (and not medieval) and are in fact George V and Queen Mary in one bay and George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the mum) in another. They actually show a good likeness. I learnt that these were positioned here in 1938 in honour of the royal support given for the restoration of the cloisters.

 

47) Coats of arms in the cloisters
These are a relatively modern addition painted in 1938 and commemorate the family which donated to have that particular bay restored. All except this one.....

...which shows the coat of arms of Elizabeth I. This was positioned here to commemorate a banquet that was reputed to have taken place in the cloisters during Queen Elizabeth's visit to Norwich in 1578. This has now been proven not to be true and the plaque that once marked this banquet in a bay further east has been removed.

A map of the cathedral drawn about 1948

48) Bishop John Overall
There are very few reliefs depicting faces in memorials in Norwich Cathedral but Bishop Overall is one person to have such a legacy. He was only Bishop of Norwich for a year (1618-19) but previously, as an academic, had been very involved in the translation from Latin to English that produced the King James Bible. His wife Anne, said to be a beauty, became bored  having been left at home for so long while John pursued his career. She went to York, where she had an affair with a courtier (Sir John Selby). Lewd ballads (see below) circulated gossip around London. When Overall found out, he went to fetch his wife immediately and after her return, no more is mentioned about her and she disappears from records. Overall either kept her on a very tight reign or something even more sinister might have happened.

The Dean of St Paul's did search for his wife
And where d'ye think he found her?
Even upon Sir John Selby's bed,
As flat as any flounder.

49) Graves underfoot Unlike graves in most church graveyards, in the cathedral considerably older dates can be found. Those I have noticed as I perused them included in the south transept the grave of Katharine Smith because unlike most graves, it tells you a little, unhappy story. It declares that Katharine, 'after a long and painful illness departed with fortitude and patience aged only 20. 

Also the quite frank grave (near the entrance to St Luke's chapel) of Ain Brett who died in 1681 aged 85. Amazing to think Elizabeth I was on the throne when he was born. 

In the north transept, the small grave of a toddler can be found.

And nearby the grave of Thomas Ivory and his wife Hannah Lacey. Thomas Ivory was a architect and builder of  Norwich's Octagon Chapel and Assembly House.

50) The chantry Chapel of Bishop Nykke

Bishop Nykke (or Nix) (b. 1447 - d. 1535 - bishop from 1501) was a very conservative bishop and strongly opposed the Reformation and  in his time five heretics were burnt including the reformer Thomas Bilney. After witnessing Bilney's death, Bishop Nix is reported to have said, "I fear I have burned Abel and let Cain go". His loyalty to the pope over the king earnt him some time in prison but he was returned to Norwich and died at the age of 88, blind. He is buried in the cathedral. He created his chantry chapel (where masses could be said for him in perpetuity) in the 7th and 8th bays of the south aisle of the nave. As you encounter it, you can see how these two bays are considerable different from the others: far more ornate with carvings and with more pointed arches (Tudor Gothic style). This chapel was once sectioned off.

51) The weepers on Bishop Wakering's Tomb

Bishop Wakering's (bishop from 1415 - 1425) is the oldest (partially) surviving tomb in the cathedral. Along the side of the tomb are weepers. Weepers are anonymous carvings that represent the mourners of the deceased. This tradition stopped after the 1400s. 

What I love is each of the seven weepers hold a symbol of Christ's Passion (the short period before the death of Jesus) but one, which should be holding a sponge, has been erroneously or cheekily carved into a skull.