On the outside of the cathedral next to the walkway that leads to the Cathedral Close is a Latin inscription carved into the stone. Here is a close up
There are 2 hands pointing in opposite directions, the top one pointing to the Cathedral entrance and the bottom hand to the passageway into the Close. The Latin words are curiously written in the form of a puzzle which you have to read up and down, but they roughly translate as:
"Walk that way if you want to pray, walk this way if you want to go through"
Until the 17th century there was no passageway here into the Close and people used the cathedral as a thoroughfare. During the mid 1600s the passageway known as the Slype was opened up with the Latin inscription as a polite reminder!
Ha, I love this "quirky thing." Could the townspeople understand the Latin?
ReplyDeleteSo interesting, too, how the Slype was made.
I loved walking through the slype and into the Close - apart from when maniacal cyclists who refused to believe that the 'no cycling' sign applied to them seemed determined to mow me down.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cathedral with an interesting history!
ReplyDeleteI love finding little quirky things like this!
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