Wlliliiiliiiiiwiil^ iiiO 'SSI' ; ■ i y >' / ■ ' '. ■ \ CI I b r -^ J -At /„ CATHEDRALS, ABBEYS, AND CHURCHES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. o o n w K < u ft: D pq w U * ^ # Digitized by the Internet Archive in2013 http://archive.org/details/cathedralsabbey01bonn •• *•• CATHEDRALS, ABBEYS, AND CHURCHES OF England and Wales. DESCniPTIVE, HISTORICAL, PIC T OB I A L. EDITED BY Prof. T. Q. BONNEY, D.Sc, LLD., F.K.S., HON. CANON OF MANCHF.STKR. ^pectaf g;6ttion. CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited LONDON, PJItlS, NEir YORK S,' MELBOUItX F.. [all rights resebved.] CONTENTS. PAOB INTRODUCTION xiii The Eev. Pf-Ofessok Bonxey, D.Sc, LL.D., F.E.S., llou. Cauou of Manchester. CANTERBURY 1 Tjie Kev. Canon Bonney. YORK 18 Miss Constance Anderson. DURHAM . 33 TiiK Rf.v. II. B. Tristram, LL.D., D.D., F.E.S., Cauou of Durham. ST. PAUL'S 44 The Rev. Canon Bonney. WINCHESTER ." 59 The Very Hev. G. W. Kitciiin, D.D., Dean of Wiuchester. NORWICH 68 Tns Eev. Augustus Jessoit, D.D. LINCOLN 78 The Rev. E. Yenahi.e.s, Canon and Preccut)!- of Lincoln. LICHFIELD . . .91 The Rev. Canon Bonney. HEREFORD . - 101 The Rev. F. T. IIavergai., I'rcbcnilary of Hereford Cathedrah WORCESTER 107 The Ri;v. I. Cregory Smith, Hon. LL.D., Prebendary of Hereford Cathedral. OXFORD • r.G The Rev. R. Sr. .John Tyrwhitt. SALISBURY 124 Thk Ri-.v. n. T. Armhki.I), F.S.A. RIPON i:!l The Rev. H. D. Cust-Nunn, form(^ily Minor Canon of Ripon. C.P. CONTENTS. CHICHESTER The Late Rev. Peoiessoe Swainson, D.D., Master of Christ's Collega, CaaabnJge. FAOE [ 130 ST. ALBANS The Rev. Canon Bonxey. 145 ROCHESTER The Rev. Canon Bonney. 154 BATH WELLS IIakoi.d Lewis, B.A. Harold Lewis. . IGl 167 PETERBOROUGH The Rev. W. D. Sweeting. 174 CHESTER ELY EXETER The Late Vjiiiy Rev. J. S. IIowiON, D.D., Dean of Chester. The Rev. W. E. Dickson, Preceutor and Sacrist of Ely. The lifcv. II. E. Reynolds, Librarian of Exeter Calheilral. 183 188 198 GLOUCESTER . The Rev. W. Bazkley. 206 BRISTOL . The Yen. J. P. Nokeis, D.D., Arcluleacou of Bristol. CARLISLE . W. N ANSON. 216 223 MANCHESTER The Rev. E. F. Letts, Minor Canon ami Precentor of Manchester Catliedial. . 231 LIVERPOOL The Rev. J. Pulliiii.ank. 234 TRURO E. Caei.yon. NEWCASTLE Thjc Rev. Puofessoij Maxdelt, C'ueiohton, Cauou of Worcester. SOUTHWELL Miss E. Glaisteb. 236 239 . 242 CONTENTS. iii PAGE WAKEFIKLD , . . . .248 W. S. Cameron. BANGOR . . . . . . , , . . . . . 252 The Kev. R. Hay-Hill, LL.B. ST. ASAPH 256 T. McKenny Hughes, WoodwarJiau Professor of Geology at Cambridge. ST. DAVID'S 262 The Rev. W. A. B. Coolidge, formerly Professor of English History at St. David's College. LLANDAFF 268 The Rev. E. A. Fishbourn'e. ST. GERMAN'S 274- The Latk Right Rev. Rowley Hill, D.D., Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man. WESTMINSTER ABBEY 277 The Rev. Caxox Bonney. BRIDGWATER, WESTON ZOYLAND, AND TAUiSTTON. Memories of Sedgmoor . . 291 Harold Lewis. SELBORNE AND EVERSLEY. Two Lovers ot Nature . . . . . .300 William Senior. BOW CHURCH ; ST. JAMES'S, PICCADILLY ; ST. STEPHEN'S, WALBROOK ; ST. MARTIN'S -IN -THE -FIELDS. Specimens of Renaissance in London . . .308 The Rev. Canon Bonney. SHERBORNE AND DORCHESTER. Two FoRSAteEN Bishoprics 317 J. Pendeeel-Brodhttrst. LUTTERWORTH. The Burial-Place Of an Early Reformed . ... 326 The Rev. Caxon Bonney. HEXHAM. A Border Abbey .......... 3oi Charles Clement Hodoes. STRATFORD-ON-AVON. The Church of Shakespeare , . . . . .341 The Rev. Canon Bonney. ST. JAMES'S, WHITEHALL, AND THE SAVOY. Three Royal Chapels . . .348 The Rev. Canon Bonniy. THE SPIRES OF COVENTRY , . . 351 The Rev. Canon Bonney. MONKWEARMOUTH AND JARROW. The Venerable Bede 360 The Rev. G. F. Browne, B.D. iv CONTENTS. PAOK STOKE POGES The " Countey Churchyakd" 367 J. Pe.nderel-Beodhubst. RYE AND WINCHELSEA. Two Old Seaports 375 The Eev. Canon Bontjey. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S, SMITHFIELD. AND ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTIIWARK. Old London Churches ............. 382 Thomas Auchkr. HOLY TRINITY, COLCHESTER; BARNACK ; EARLS BARTON; ST. BENETS, CAM- BRIDGE; AND ST. MICHAEL'S, OXFORD. Remnants of '• Saxon" Churches . . 301 The Rev. Canon Bonney. ST. MARY REDCLIFFE. A Life's Failure . . . . . . . .398 Harold Lewis. ST. MARY'S, WARWICK. Tombs of the Beauchamps . . . . . .405 The Rev. Canon Bonney. CHRISTCHITRCH and ROMSEY. Hampshire Abbeys 412 William Senior. THE CHURCHES OF LEICESTER. The Last Hours of Wolset . . . .420 J. Penderel-Brodhurst. ST. MARTIN'S, CANTERBURY; ST. MICHAEL'S, VERULAM ; ST. MARY- IN- CASTRO, DOVER. Memories of British Churches ........ 428 The Rev. Canon IJonney. GRASMERE AND CROSTHWAITE. The Lake Poets 431 Godfrey Wordsworth Turner. THE PRIORY CHURCH OF ST. JOHN, BRECON 442 Edwin Poole. TEMPLE CHURCH, LONDON; ST. SEPULCHRE'S, CAMBRIDGE AND NORTHAMPTON; LITTLE MAPLESTEAD, ESSEX. Remembrances of the Holy Sepulchre . . 419 The Rev. Canon Bonney. BEACONSFIELD AND HUGHENDEN. Two Quiet Resting-Places .... 457 J. Pj-.NDERI:7.-BrOI)HTTRST. ELSTOW. A Sturdy Puritan .......... 465 The Rkv, Canon Bonney. YARMOUTH AND HULL. Gueat Parish Churches 471 The Rev. J. J. Raven, D.J). ABBEY DORE. KILPECK, AND HEYSHAM. Some Quaint Churches . . . .479 The Rev. Canon Bonney. CONTENTS. ST. ANDREW'S HOLBORN. A Church of Great Preachers . . . . . 48R Thomas Archer. WALTHAM ABBEY AND BATTLE CHURCH. Memories of Harold . . .494 The Rev. Professor Bonney. EYAM. Between the Living and the Dead ........ 501 Godfrey Wordsworth Ttjrner. SHREWSBURY. Churches of the Town and of Battlefield ..... 608 The Rev. I'rofessor Bonney. GREAT HAMPDEN. A Patriot's Grave ........ 515 J. A. J. HO'USDEN. HARROW AND NEWSTEAD. Memories of Byron ....... 523 William Senior. STAMFORD AND HATFIELD. The Graves of the Cecils . . . . .531 The Rev. Professor Bonney. GREAT MALVERN AND TEWKESBURY. Hu.l Side and River Brink . , .537 The Rev. I. Gregory Smith. DUNSTER AND ARUNDEL. Serving Two Masters . . . . . . .543 The Rev. Professor Bonney. CHISWICK AND KEW. Two Artists' Graver . .^50 THfWAS Ahchee. 6 — Vol. 1 We are indibird for the use of Photographs — on pp. 61, 101, 101, in, 124, 169, Sir. 401, am! f-uing page 16S, to Messrs. G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen ; on pp. 52, 388, to Mr. F. G. 0. Sttiart, Southampton ; on pp. m, 181, to Messrs. Beer and Co., Covent Garden ; on p. 216 to Mr. W. IT. Barton, Bristol ; on p. 288 to Mr. S. A. Waller, Margaret Street, Cavendish Sqnare ; on p. 301 to Mr. A. Seeley, Richmond Hill; on p. 361 to Mr. P. Stabler, Sunderland ; on p. 305 to Messrs. Elliott and Fry ; on p. 312 to Mr. J. F. Knights, North Brixton; on p. 335 to Mr. C. C. /lodges; on pp. 304, 305, to Mr. F. M. Good, Winchfield ; on p. 321 to Messrs. Hill and Saunders, Oxford; on p. 365 to Messrs. Doicney and Sons, South Shields; on pp. 93, 344, 380, 413, 452, 484, 504, to Messrs. PouUon and Son, Lee; on pp. 121, 326, 328, 457, 461, 464, to Mesms. Taunt and Co., Oxford; on pp. 41, 60, 64, 125, 176, 180, 185, 192, 232, 253, 316, 317, 441, and facing pp. 70, 186, to Messrs. Frith and Co., ReUjate ; on pp. 405, 440, to Messrs. J. Valentine and Sons, Dundee; on pp. 349, 533, to Messrs. Bedford, Lemere, and Co.; on p. 453 to Messrs. Brown and Sons, Ealstead; on p. 445 to Mr. C. S. Allen, Tenby; on p. 545 to Mr. H. H. Hole, Williton ; on p. 628 to Messrs. R, Allen and Sons, Limited, Nottingham ; and on p. 552 to Mr. C. Henwood, Chiswick. The view of Truro Cathedral, on p. 237, is by kind periuisslon of J. L. Pearson, Esq., iJ.A, the architect. INTRODUCTION. HE cathedrals of England, in design and plan, are more nearly related to those of North- Western France than of any other part of Europe. This is of course only what miglit be expected, seeing that the connection between the two countries was, for so many years, so close, and, for a time at least, the centre of civilisation of tlie united kingdom of England and Duchy of Normandy was on the other side of the Channel. There were of mark among the clergy, and buildings of some fame among the clmrches of England, long before the battle of Scnlac ; but there can be no doubt that, whatever ill may have been done by the invader, he brought witli liim a more learned clergy, and a higher standard in the arts of civilisa- tion, esj)ecially ecclesiastical. One of his first steps was to replace, as quickly as possible, tlio English bishops by Norman prelates ; and these, almost without exception, busied themselves in rebuilding the cathedrals of their dioceses. Of the chief churches anterior to the Norman invasi(jn only a few fragments now remain, incorporated (generally beneath the suriace of the ground) into the build- ings by which they were replaced, but of their architecture we can form some slight idea from the more considerable portions of parochial churches which are still scattered up and down the country. From Earls Barton and Barnack, from St. Michael's at Oxford and St. Benet's at Cambridge, from Holy Trinity at Colchester, and several others which it is needless to name, we see that, except as a matter of antiquarian interest, there is little to regret in the fact that the Norman prelates adopted a policy so "thorough" in their dealings with the archi- tectural })ast. The cathedrals erected by them were at first closely related to the churches of the land in which they had been reared. In what remains of the work of Lanfranc at Canterbury, of Gu-xidulf at Rochester, and of Walkelyn at Winchester, we see buildings which might almost be called copies of the churches which they had left behind in their own Normandy. The workmanship was at first inferior — the cathedrals of England must have appeared to the French visitor as "provincial" or "colonial" in design and execution — full of good intentions unskilfully fulfilled, or of great designs imperfectly executed. But in no long c xiv INTRODUCTION. time the plant from a sunnier soil took root, and became acclimatised. It was . modified by the influences of its environment, and obeyed the laws of growth and development. Eng-lish clmrcli architecture assumed its own characteristics, and became a specific variety, distinguishable from and fully comparable with the indigenous descendants of the French stock from which it had sprung. The distinction, of coarse, becomes more marked as time proceeds ; the divergence becomes readily perceptible in the later period of the Romanesque or round- arched style, to which the name Norman is commonly given ; the influence is only occasionally seen, and that chiefly in the south-east of England, in the first period of the use of the pointed arch, tluit commonly called the Early English ; and after this the differences between the cliurches of England and of North- Western France become so marked as to be perceptible on the most cursory glance. There is, however, not much in common between the English cathedrals and those of Northern G ermany, even at the earliest period ; while the difference is no less marked from those of the more southern parts of France, and still greater from those of Northern Italy. The chief architectural distinctions will be presently noticed. There is, how- ever, another which should not be entirely forgotten — the distinction of site. The French cathedrals, as a rule, stand in the heart of the towns ; they are hemmed in with houses, which in many cases actually rested against, and were encrusted upon their walls, an encroachment which seems to have been per- mitted from a very early period. Thus, as it has been often remarked, not- withstanding all that has been done of late years to clear away these encumbrances, it is extremely difficult to obtain any good general view of the exterior, and it is only when at a distance from the town we see the huge mass of sculptured stone rising high above the subordinated roofs that we can fully appreciate its grand proportions and its vast dimensions. English cathedrals, on the contrary, are generally surrounded by ample open S2:>aces ; this may be in part due to the fact that they were almost invariably connected with some great monastery, that they were not only the mother churches of a diocese, but also what we might call " college chapels," as is still the case with the Cathedral of Christ Church at Oxford. This connection appears nuich more rare in France ; except it be for an episcopal "palace," one treads, on quitting the door of a French cathedral, upon the })avements of the streets, and passes abruptly from the peace within to the turmoil of the city. In this there may be a gain as well as a loss ; perhaps we may have in it some ground for the mutual insulation, once very marked, of the cathedral and the townsfolk. But whetlier or not because they so commonly were incorporated into the spacious precincts of an important monastic foundation, the fact remains that the English cathedrals stand in spaces far more open than is usual in France, and frequently occupy sites remarkably beautiful. INTIiODUCTION. xv The differences also in plan arc considerable ; these arc less conspicuous in tlie older cathedrals, thoug^h even there a distinction may often be noticed. In those of Norman date in England the dominant ground-plan is almost always a Latin cross with well- developed arms. There is no trace whatever of the basilica tvpe, though possibly this may once have been visible in the churches of earlier date in this country, as it is certainly more permanently impressed on those of France. But when we come to the cathedrals built in the Pointed styles, the difference is even more persistently marked. Contrast, for example, the ground- plans of the Cathedrals of Paris, Amiens, Rheims, or Chartres with English buildings. All of these, even the last, cover spaces of ground large in proportion to their length; their area being in the case of Notre Dame (the smallest), 64,108 feet, and of Amiens (the largest), 71,208 feet. Salisbury, which is rather longer than Notre Dame, covers less ground by full 9,000 feet ; and York, which is quite fifty feet longer than Amiens, and is one of the most spacious of our cathedrals, occuj)ies an area but slightly greater. The French cathedrals are generally more lofty* than the English ; this produces a result which, however impressive at first sight, is sometimes open to criticism. Mr. Fergusson says, not without justice: "A great charm of English cathedi-als is their repose of outline ; a French cathedral is surrounded by a multitude of pinnacles, flying buttresses, and other exj^edients, to keep the building from falling. It is true that these objects were made ornamental, but though it is vicious to conceal construction, it is bad architecture to let the devices of construction predominate over the actual outline of the main building itself. Not only does it suggest weakness, but it produces a flutter and a per- plexity that can never be satisfactory. . . . All this exemplifies the observation made above, that the French were always working up to the limits of their strength, always trying to make their piers as light, their windows as large, and their vaults as high as possible; doing all they could, tiud striving to do more, while the soberer English architect, on the contrary, attempted nothing over which he had not full command." French cathedrals not seldom have double side aisles. Chichester alone among English cathedrals lays claim to these, and the peculiarity is confined to the nave. Another distinctive feature of our cathedrals is the ex- treme rarity of a chevct at the east end. AjDsidal terminations were not rare in those of Norman date, but they appear to have been more pleasing to French and Teutonic than to English-born architects, and could not maintain their footing in this country. The original Norman chevet remains with modifications at Norwich and Peterborough, and to some extent at Gloucester. It was retained * The average iu English cathedrals of height to breadth in the centre aisle is 2'36 to ], and is often as low as 2 to 1. In French cathedrals it is commonly 3 to i (as at Westminster Abbey). — Fergusson, " Handbook of Architecture," book viii., chap. i. xvi INTRODUCTION. in the reconstruction of Canterbury, and in a modified form is a feature at the eastern extremity of Lichfield and Wells, but the majority of the English cathedrals are square-ended, so that to obtain a really characteristic example in the Pointed style, we must tui-n from our cathedrals to the Abbey Church at Westminster. The change, in the writer's opinion, is to be regretted. Contrast, for example, the choii' of Laon with that of the neighbouring Cathedrals of Soissons or of Rheims : how poor and flat the termination of the first appears. Hence we find that the east ends of our English cathedrals are the least satis- factory parts. The bold attempt at Durham to solve the difficulty by a perfectly original treatment cannot be called a success ; the oast ends of Lincoln and of York are comparatively poverty-stricken. From the interior, no doubt, the effect of a double row of lancets or of a fine Decorated window is sometimes very striking, but it may be questioned if this atones for losing the rich effect of the con- verging ribs of the roof, and the apparent increase of dimensions which is given by the sweep of the chevct, while externally everything seems sacrificed to the \vindow, and the architect always appears to have been in a difficulty as to how to complete his design. Eastern transepts are a much connnoner feature in England than in France, and these generally are a great enrichment both within and without. Continental architects also, as a rule, appear to have succeeded better with their west fronts than the English. Wells and Lichfield are undoubtedly beautiful, Peterborough and Lincoln are uni(jue, but both are incomplete, and the latter is certainly open to criticism ; York, indeed, is very good, but several, including even Salisbury, are almost failures. It is difficult to find one to compare with the harmonious beauty of Notre Dame at l\xris, or with the magnificence of Amiens or Rheims. In one resjDCct, however, the English architects generally bear away the pahn — in their towers and steeples. This is, perhaps, in great part due to the use made of a central tower — a feature com- paratively rare in France. Laon (which, had all its towers been built, would have been a marvel) and St. Ouon at Rouen show what several of the P>ench cathedrals have lost. We may challenge our kinsmen across the Channel to match the central towers of Canterbury and of Gloucester, or the grou})s of York, Wells, Durham, and Lincoln, the stce})les of Chichester or of Salisbury, or the triple spires of Lichfield, and thus we nuiy venture to assert that there are charms in the architecture of ecclesiastical buildings in England hardly less great than in France. Our cathedrals have been })assing during the last forty or fifty years through a period of restoration in a double sense of the word — ^a restoration to something of their pristine beauty, and a restoration to use. As for tlie former it cainiot be said that the efforts have been invariably successful— the ravages of time or neglect cannot wholly be obliterated in the beauty of a INTRODUCTION. xvii building, any more than on the face of a woman. Let the mouldering stone be replaced by new, the crumbling carving exactly copied, yet the building has lost its interest; it has become a mere model, and is no longer a record of the works and thought of men who lived and played a part in this world. A much "restored" building is hardly better than a copied picture, a manuscript reproduced in photozincography, a scarce old book reprinted in exact fac-simile — it may be instructive, but it loses almost all its interest. Over-restoration has been the fate of not a few cathedrals. Not only has the progress of decay been arrested, not only has the new work been done which was needful for t.he stability and permanence of tlie building, not only (a task involving actual reconstruction, sometimes of a very conjectural kind) have the deformities been excised and the excrescences swept away which an age of architectural barbarism had introduced, but also, not seldom, the architect has been turned loose on the building to work his will almost unchecked, to impress his own individuality on the cathedral, to run up a big bill, to advertise his name, and advance a stage towards knighthood. Whether from interested motives or from sheer ignorance, our English cathedrals, like so many of our churches, have, in many cases, suffered almost as much as they have benefited by the epidemic of restoration through which the land has boon passing. No doubt the mischief has not seldom been the result of well-meaning ignorance. The architect found, or thought he found, a part of the building in a critical condition, and did not possess enough either of knowledge or of genius to reproduce the thoughts of his predecessor and give the world a second, and almost as excellent an embodiment of the same idea. The later restoration is, in this respect, generally much better than the earlier. Scott, for instance, was far more conservative and more capable than Cottingham; but still, even in his case, it may sometimes be doubted whether he has not been over- bold, and has tampered with that which had been better left alone. It must, however, be remembered, as an excuse for the architects and those (supposed to be) in authority over them, that it was often absolutely neces- sary to do something. Our cathedrals, some half a century since, were in many cases in a state of dis-repair that threatened to become dilapidation, and their beauties wore marred by whitewash, by huge wooden boxes, and by all kinds of eighteenth-century abominations. I can remember more than one in its un- restored days, and it was not possible to let things remain as they were. Still zeal, as it so often does in everything connected with religion, has sometimes outrun discretion, and though our cathedrals have rarely suffered from the restorer as those of France did during the Second Empire, though he has rarely worked his will with so little control as he has done at the Fondaco dei Turclii at Venice, and is attempting to do at St. Mark's, yet there has been much mischief per- petrated, together with a very considerable amount c^f good. xviii INTRODUCTION. At any rate we may liopB that the majority of our cathedrals are now structm-ally secure. The catastroplie of Chichester, and that which has only been averted by taking down the central tower of Peterborough, would, in all probability, but for the " Gothic revival" of the nineteenth century, have been a common fate. Structurally, it is probable that, on the whole, our cathedrals suffered more from the neglect of the last century than from any mischief wrought by the iconoclastic zeal of the Puritans. Their injuries rarely went further than the destruction of details, and, in the worst cases, the fifteen years of desecration was not a long enough time to allow the fabric to suffer any serious damage from neglect ; but the long period of utter carelessness, from which the present is a reaction, was most detrimental. In one respect, however, our cathedrals have been more fortunate than those of the Continent. The middle part of the seventeenth century marks an epoch, after which for a very long time all structural changes cease in our cathedrals. The opposite influences both of the Puritans and of the courtiers of the restored Stuart diverted men from attempting to enlarge or beautify structures with whose architecture the age was entirely out of sympathy. This was fortunate. Had not the "church revival" of Laud and the earlier Stuarts been so rudely suppressed, seventeenth-century architects might have been let loose upon our cathedrals to deal with them as did Inigo Jones with old St. Paul's, and as Christopher Wren with the facade of West- minster Abbey. But from that, in most cases, Hanoverian apathy has saved us. It is difficult for the present generation to understand the mental condition of its ancestors during the eighteenth century in relation to the architectural remains of the Middle Ages. There has been during the last thirty years a reaction against the architectm-e of the Renaissance (though the latest craze, dressing as a Florentine of the Medicean epoch, and dwelling in a mansion supposed of the reign of Queen Anne, has produced some turn of the weather-cock). Still, not- withstanding this reaction, and notwithstanding a deliberate preference for "Gothic" instead of Renaissance, on ethical grounds as well as for reasons of taste, few Englishmen would allow the best work of Inigo Jones or of Christopher Wren to fall to ruin, or would attempt to gothicise the present Cathedral of St. Paul. Inconceivable as it may seem, our great-grandfathers appear to have thought that they were actually improving a cathedral when they blocked the vistas of its aisles by screens of plaster and of glass, when they hid the fret-work of a vaulted roof by a flat plaster ceiling, and replaced its carv(^d stall-work by big boxes lined with green baize. All poetic feeling in art appears to have been utterly extinct in England during the later half of the last centmy. While ready to bestow ponderous epithets of admiration on the results of a " classic taste," their architects were rarely able to produce a work which is even tolerable in its kind; all sense of poetry seems to have been smothered INTRODUCTION. xix under beef and pudding, or drowned in beer and port wine. However, except in those cases where, as at Lichfield, Plercford, Salisbiuy, and Durham, Wyatt (whose name it is difficult to write without prefixing an opprobrious epithet) was let loose on a cathedral, the policy of "let alone" was in most cases followed, and the worst sin of commission, except whitewash, wood and plaster work, and hacking at details, was the intrusion of a greater or less quantity of monuments, always conspicuous and often hideous. The feeling of Englishmen, from clownish Squire Western to the more cultured Matthew Bramble, towards the great works of the Middle Ages, can be best summed up in these excerpts from a well-known work of Smollett : " The cathedral (of Durham) is a huge gloomy pile As for (York) minster, I know not how to distinguish it, except by its great size and the height of its spire, from those other ancient churches in different parts of the kingdom which used to be called monuments of Gothick architecture, but it is now agreed that this style is Saracen rather than Gothick, and I suppose it was first imported into England from Spain, great part of which was under the dominion of the Moors." It must not, however, be forgotten that the existence of anything like a conservative spirit in architecture is a thing of extremely modern growth. Media3val builders effaced without a moment's hesitation the work of their pre- decessors. At first there was gain as well as loss in this ; many of our most noblest works in the Early P^nglish and Decorated styles — veritable poems in stone — have replaced simpler and in some cases much less beautiful "Norman" buildings ; but as time went on the changes became more wanton, the improve- ment much less marked. Very much of what was done by the architects of the century preceding the Reformation we could wish undone ; their alterations, with the excej^tion of a few fine towers, have been almost invariably for the worse, and it was generally the oldest work, and historically tlie most interesting work, that suffered most at their hands. The proportions of a Norman nave would be destroyed by raising the roof to enlarge the clerestory windows ; the design of a faQade would be irretrievably spoiled by the insertion of a huge window of the most commonplace character — a mere frame for stained glass. Taste was decaying and, as is usual, was giving place to sumptuousness ; the old faith was dying, and its custodians were trying to galvanise it to life by appealing to suj^erstition — the results are a matter of history. Had the clergy of England headed the reforming movement, the plunder and the wasteful perversion of the property of ecclesiastic corporations in the sixteenth century, the iconoclastic fury of the seventeenth, and the apathy of the eighteenth century, might perhaps have been averted; but the history of the Church, not of England only, is too often the history of lost opportunities, and "too late" is the verdict which posterity is compelled to pronounce upon its efforts. XX INTRODUCTION. Half a century since our cathedrals were too often falling into decay — gloomy, deserted piles, in which a few clerg-y droned through the prescribed duties, and the people of the city felt little interest. All this is changed ; the old exclusive policy of the "cathedral close" is a thing of the past; deans and canons admit themselves to be but ordinary mortals, and work as hard as their brother-men ; the cathedrals are decently, in many cases sumptuously, restored, services are numerous and attractive. The cathedral has become, as it should- be, a centre of religious life and instruction, the great common church of the several parishes of the towai. At all reasonable times it is open, and in most cases the visitor can move unrestricted through all parts where a more special custody is not needed. Not seldom also the cathedral has become a centre of intellectual activity for the town, and the mainspring of every good work. It would be invidious to particularise, for the writer naturally would speak of those which he knows best (though these are not few), but it may be asserted in general terms that life in a cathedral city to one outside the charmed circle of the " close " is now a very different thing to what it was forty or fifty years ago. The English cathedrals are becoming in the land a great power for good (we do not restrict the term to the English Church), and they will, we trust, be yet more so in tlie future. The chief danger to the Church of England at the present day — at any rate from witliin — is zeal without discretion. If the patronage of our catliedrals is wisely bestowed, they will be — like our universities — in the non-political sense of the word, great conservative institutions ; places where men will be found who will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine, or be swayed by every whim of the da}", whether the fashion set towards superstition oi* towards infidelity. It has been admitted that the cathedrals of Britain must yield the palm to their rivals on the adjacent mainland of Europe. But when we come to examine the parish churches, the advantage, so far as my experience goes, is decidedly in favour of our own country. Almost any district here shows a larger proportion of picturesque and interesting churches, especially in the rural parishes, than a corresponding district of Europe. Doubtless many of them liave suffered structurally and in detail. In the sixteenth century the harpies of the Court plun- dered and destroyed ; in the seventeenth century tlie Puritans, blindly iconoclastic, hacked and smashed; in the eighteenth century a careless and ignorant people put brick for stone, and did its best to make all square and cold and bare; while in the nineteenth century tlie little learning of the restorer has proved a dannfcrous thino;, and zeal witliout discretion has done the usual mischief. Still, if ignorant neglect, or even dislike, of Art as a handmaid to Iveligion, has cost us umch in the past, it has secured us far more than it has lost. In those parts of Europe where the Church of Rome was able successfully to resist the INT ROD UCTIOX. x x i movement for reform and to retain her predominance, we are struck by the comparatively modern aspect of so many of the village churches. The work of enlargement or rebuilding went on after the middle of the sixteenth century, just as it had done before, and was practically unchecked till the great convulsion of the French Revolution and the subsequent wars. But the style of archi- tecture was totally changed. The influence of the classic Renaissance had nuide itself felt in every corner of the land. The so-called Gothic architecture had run — as it appears — through its appointed cycle, and with the florid Flamboyant in Franco, as with the mechanically ornate Tudor in Britain, had exhausted its store of vital energy and admitted of no further development. Men could only have copied the old, and this, in the proud sense of life still young and progress still hopeful, they did not care to do. The Renaissance attracted by its novelty and untried possibilities. True, it also was only a revival, a reproduc- tion rather than an invention, but it had been so long disused that the work aiforded a sense of discovery and freshness, and men in adapting the architecture of Imperial Rome to the needs of the sixteenth century not only felt the fascination of the antiquary's research, but also enjoyed some little taste of the pleasure of creation. It was a far cry to the epoch of Hadrian, or even of Diocletian, but the days which had witnessed the completion of many of the great cathedrals of France were as near to them as are those of Queen Anne to ourselves. Thus, from a variety of causes, church building went on vigorously in those countries after it had been greatly — indeed, for a time, almost wholly — arrested in England. The mediaeval structures were swept away with as little ruth as an architect of the Perpendicular period had shown to the work of his Norman predecessors. But the new work was no longer Gothic. Hence, if any of the old remained, the result was a painful incongruity. Besides, the Renaissance style, whatever may be its merits for palaces and cathedrals, does not readily adapt itself to simple mansions and village churches. It seems the natural ally of the long purse and the long pedigree ; it cannot condescend to the wants of the poor and lowly. Thus, on the neighbouring continent there is an abundance of those plain and even mean structures which were now and then inflicted on this country during the last century, when a parish church was perforce rebuilt because it was actually tumbling down. ]\Ioreover, the style of the Renaissance — if one may use a single term for a rather complex idea — itself underwent a decline. The followers of Michael Angelo, of Palladio, and of Bernini failed to imitate the excellences, while they aggravated the faults, of their masters. Exaggeration is mistaken for sublimity ; ornamentation is divorced from construction ; there is neither repose nor dignity nor even significance about the design ; — till we reach the rlepth of degradation in d xxii INTRODUCTION. what is sometimes called the "Jesuit" style of art. Thus, tlie parish churches of this period, if inexpensive, are ])altry ; if costly, are meretiicious. In mediaeval times the village church, like the country maiden, attracted by a simple modesty and homely beauty; now it oscillated between the dii'ty drudge and the painted Jezebel. Thus, though not a few precious relics of olden time remain, the country churches of France, Germany, and Italy are less frequently interesting than our own. In this land the suppression of the monasteries left the nation in pos- session of more churches than it required, all in an excellent state of repair; for liardl}' any j)eriod had been more prolific in church building and church restoration than the century which preceded the final crash. So little need was there for some of the glorious structures which were then left void, that the jackals who shared the spoil which the royal plunderer had left, found an excuse for pulling down not a few, or, as noticed in these pages, grievously mutilating others. Ileuce — in part because there was no need, in part owing to the grow- ing Puritan feeling —there w^as but little church building in England dm-ing the interval between the Reformation and the Civil War. Some monuments, a few cha])els or other structures of slight importance, are the sole ecclesiastical records of the age whicii produced such noble structures as Hatfield and Burghley, as Hardwick and Longleat. However open to strict criticism may be the blended work of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period, I confess to wishing that we had a few fairly important churches in this style, that we might see how far it is applicable to ecclesiastical ])urposes. After the Restoration church building became more frequent, though gener- ally in towns rather than in the rural districts. The Great Fire of London, wherein so many of the City churches perished, gave a magnificent oj)portunity to the architects of that day, and, fortunately, for the hour the man was found. Sir Christopher Wren has left his mark iiulelibly u})on the metropolis, and the hand of the great master or of his imitators may be occasionally seen in other parts of England. Wren had little sympathy with Gothic art, and was most successful when least attentive to its suggestions. Moreover, like most archi- tects of the Renaissance, he evidently preferred to follow Ronum rather than Grecian guides. In this he did well, for, though the work of the latter is, in its way, unrivalled in b(>auty, the style is unfitted for a northern climate, and the problem of giving light to the interior is insoluljle. Altered circum- stances, however, forced the ])ractical Roman designer to grapple with this diffi- culty, and thus his Avork invited imitation by English architects in an English climate. It is easy to point out the defects of the style, not really insuper- able, though commonly too prominent; such as the severance of ornamentation from construction (the successful union of which is one of the greatest glories INTRODUCTION. xxiii of Gotliic arcliitccture), tlio engaged coluinus, the confused facades, and the false suggestiveness of design. It is easy to criticise the City churches of AVren and liis followers. It must be confessed that not seldom the exteriors are bald and unsatisfactory, sometimes almost hideous ; but it cannot be denied that the interiors often are remarkably harmonious, and commonly are admirably adapted to their purpose. It is the fashion, or till lately was the fashion, to despise the w^ork of this period ; but if reasonable service is better than super- stitious veneration ; if, to members of a Reformed Church, to see and to hear are primary requisites in their place of assembly, then Wren and his school may claim to have succeeded where the mediaeval revivalists of later days have signally failed. Moreover, as we shall presently slunv, his school reall>' adopted as their models the structures of the earlier and purer days of Christianity. rather than of those when it was darkened by parasitic accretions and corrupted by noxious superstitions. There w^as, also, even in the style itself, a certain his- torical continuity, for the llomanesque, in its varieties, is the lineal descendant of the architecture of the later Roman Empire. We cannot pass a sweeping condenmation on the churches which Wren has left us in the valley of the Thames without including in it such structures as the basilicas of San Clemente and St. Maria Maggiore — to mention no others — which still remain on the banks of the Tiber. There is no virtue inherent in the cruciform plan for a churcli. It has its undoubted merits for artistic purposes ; it has also its drawbacks. But to talk as if the basilica were the invention of an age of lukewarm Protestantism, or its apsidal sacrarium unfitted for Christian worship, is to ignore history and to outrage common sense. The earliest British churches were probably on the basilica plan, but of more humble design, of inferior execution. With this epoch, however, no perfect link remains to us. The heathen English invaders were ruthless destroyers, espe- cially of the churches of the conquered people. Perhaps the shell of ]>rixworth Church, in Northamptonshire, may be a Roman building. Portions of Roman masonry survive here and there incorporated into newer work, as at St. Mary's in Dover Castle, at St. Martin's, Canterbury, possibly at St. Michael's, Verulam, and in a few other instances. These churches — or rather those with which they are in structural continuity — were restored to use at the conversion of England by Augustine, while in other cases Roman materials were employed in later work, thus affording us a connection with the relics of British Christianity. Many of the churches reared during the following two or three centuries were of wood, but these, of course, have long since perished; the " stave-kirkcr " of Norway, and possi])ly the wooden church of Grecnsted in Essex, may be re- garded as their lineal descendants. But the earlier stone churches appear to have still adhered closely to the basilica model — as in the case of the first XX17 INTRODUCTION. cathedral of Christ Church at Canterbury — though before long the plan was modified, and it ajjjjroached nearer to the later type. The churches of Jarrow and Monkwearmouth, built rather before the end of the seventh century, were erected, as we are told by Bede, "on the Roman model," and remnants of churches dating between the eighth century and the Norman Conquest are still not unfrequent. Of these, the most perfect is the recovered church of Bradford-on-Avon, which is assigned to the earlier years of the eighth century ; this has a comparatively large chancel and a southern porch. Altogether about one hundred and twenty churches in England, still in use, are said to contain important remnants of buildings which were erected prior to the Norman Conquest, or, if in actual date a little later than it, were nevertheless survivals of the old school. Of these — our oldest churches with any approach to perfectness — some instances are given in the present volume. But even before the death of Edward the Confessor, the frequent intercourse with Normandy led to the occasional employment of its architects for the more important works in this country, as in the case of his abbey at Westminster, and probably that built by Harold at AValtham. After the Conquest, began a great epoch of church building, and a fairly clean sweep was made of the earlier and, it must be admitted, architecturally very inferior structures. But before another century had elapsed, not a few of these early Norman churches were replaced by more elaborate buildings. These rapid changes were not seldom compulsory, for it must be admitted that the earlier Norman architects were faulty masons, and some of their workmanship was hardly better than that of a nin(iteenth century jerry-builder. Early Norman foundations had a way of settling, and central towers seemed to tumble down almost as a matter of course ; so that rather late work in this style is far commoner than that which is early. The spirit which produced the crusades seems also to have had its influence on church building, and work dating from the latter part of the twelfth century is common; and very beautiful work it is, combining the grandeur of the Norman with the grace of the Early English. From this time, for rather more than three centuries, the building or reconstruction of cluu-ches went on apace. The architects seem to have had little respect for the work of their predecessors, and swept it away without scruple. It must, indeed, be ad- mitted that the Norman style, like its Roman ancestor, seems to demand a building on a large scale in order to obtain a complete success, while the Early English and the Decorated can charm in the smallest chapel hardly less than in the grandest cathedral. These styles followed one another by gradual and natural development, each lasting nearly a century. Then, or rather before the end of the fourteenth century, the style called Perpendicular came into favour. As to its merits opinions will continue to differ. To myself it always seems over- mechanical and wanting in poetry of conception, but undoubtedly its architects INTRODUCTION. xxv have given us some stately and well-lig-hted churches, and some superb towers, and it seems peculiarly well adapted for domestic buildings. But as destroyers they were even more reckless than their predecessors, because they not only re- built, but also marred by knocking about older work in order to insert their large and often uninteresting windows. Faith was becoming weak, and the flock was getting restive. Its defenders sought to dazzle by splendour and overawe by stately ceremonial. The appeal to the senses, instead of to the reason and the afFections, failed, as it is ever doomed to fail, because it is of man, not of God. Then came the crash, with the results already mentioned. The Reformation injured chiefly the grander buildings ; the Rebellion left its mark impartially on all, though on details rather than on structures. To this followed a period of slower but almost worse destruction. The new churches of the eighteenth century are seldom respectable ; the older fabrics were generally treated even worse than the cathedrals themselves ; they were knocked about in the most ruthless manner, blocked up with pews and galleries, encrusted with hideous monuments, bedaubed with plaster and whitewash. With the nineteenth century some interest in Gotliic architecture revived. The seed sown, though with timid hand and uncertain purpose, in the later part of the preceding century, was fostered into vigorous life by the Church revival which began to attract notice about the commencement of the reign of the present Queen. The first outward and visible signs of the Gothic revival have certainly naught but an historical interest, for their ugliness is something portentous. But better results were soon produced as the fruit of the awakening interest in mediasval work, and now for years every style but Gothic has been an abomination to the Anglican Churchman. The Victorian era has been one of church restoration and church building. The former has been anything but an unmixed blessing. In tlie parish churches even more than in the cathedrals restoration has too often been little better tlian destruction. Architects with little knowledge, and parish priests ^\atliout discretion, have worked their will upon our churches — replacing the old work by modern imitations — and have often deprived them of much of their individuality, and almost all their historical interest. It is liardly possible to speak too severely of the reckless manner in which the sepulchral memorials erected during the latter part of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centiuy have commonly been treated. True, they were occasionally ugly in them- selves ; they were not seldom no ornament to the walls ; they sometimes dis- figured the columns; and the large flat slabs were to some an unpleasing interruption to the regularity of the pavement. But they formed a part of the history of the parish, and so of the nation. They indicated the resting-places of the men who had taken their share, humble though it might sometimes be, in the making of England. Now, crammed into belfry chambers or other hiding-places, separated XXVI INTRODUCTION. i'rom the actual graves of those whom they commemorate, they have lost more than half their interest ; sometimes they have even been wantonly broken up and destroyed. Who, the restorer will defend himself by asking, cares to read of the virtues of a Brown, the opulence of a Jones, or the accomplislnr.eiits of a Robinson, dead a century since? Granted that they were not even ''mute, inglorious Miltons," or " Cromwells guiltless of their country's blood," still they are representatives of the Commonwealth of England, and we have no riglit to pass a sponge over that part of our national liistory when political power began to descend from a titular aristocracy to the yeoman and the merchant. Neither can we foretell that a reversionary interest may not yet be imparted to the tombs of ancestors by more illustrious descendants. Poets and philosophers, statesmen and warriors, have arisen, and will continue to arise, from the ranks of the tradesmen, the tenant-farmers, and the smaller landed gentry, so that the memorials of their humbler ancestors may have an interest in the time to come. Even when the matter is regarded in an aesthetic light, I have my doubts whether the bare wall of rough stone (probably intended from the first to be plastered) is the better for being unrelieved by mural tablets, and whether a neat chequered pavement of black and red tiles, not unlike that of a back kitchen, is preferable to the picturesque irregularity of the old quarries, interrupted by the great stone slabs Avhich covered the actual graves. In the latter part of this work we have attempted to indicate the manifold interest of our abbeys and churches. While it is not intended to be an archi- tectural treatise, care has been taken to give some idea of the great variety in date, in design, and in execution which these buildings afford. No doubt the book could without difficulty have been made more complete in this respect, but illustrated treatises on architecture, which deal with the most typical ex- amples and the variations exhibited by each style in the different parts of the kingdom — a subject of great interest in itself— are readily accessible. We have inclined rather to the associations which gather round the buildings, and to tlieir inseparable alliance witli the history of the country. We have, it is true, our Santa Croce at Westminster and our Pantheon at St. Paul's, but to nuniy a man the quiet churcliyard near the ancestral home has a stronger attraction for tlie last resting-place when life's turmoil is endcnl ; and of Great Britain, more than of any other country, it may be said that the .se])ulchres of her famous men are scattered broadcast over the land. Here are the graves of a whole line of illustrious men, like the Cecils or the Beauchamps ; there is the resting-place of one who was like a solitary star, a Shakespeare or a Burke. Some churches have been made famous l)y the living ratlun- tluni the dead ; their pulpits have been occupied by men ilhistrious for tluur eloquence, tluMr literary power, or their scientific knowledge, by men whose nanu\s will live as INTRODUCTION. xxvii long as England has a literature and our nation a history. Some churches are rich in memories of kings ; some are associated with the busy tide of life ; some are attractive for their very solitude, and instinct with thoughts of contemplative rest. The examples given in the following pages are but grains from a heap ; they have been culled somewhat at random, like wild flowers from the meadow, but it is hoped that the series will prove to be at once in- teresting and fairly representative. One class of churches has alone been excluded — those of the modern Gothic revival. At the present day these obviously have not yet acquired any historic interest, and architecturally speaking they never can have any. They are in no sense a genuine product of the era. They are copies of the work of a dead past, not the natural outgrowth of the requirements and the feeling of a living present. Their plan sometimes, their ornamentation often, is suggestive of beliefs which we have abandoned as superstitious, and of ideas at which our reason revolts. In many cases also they show that the architect cannot rightly frame the shibboleth which ho has attempted to learn ; thus they are like Latin verses, which at worst exhibit the grammatical errors and the misapplied " tags" of the schoolboy, and at best do not rise above the frigid correctness and labori- ous dulness of the prize poems written by the average university scholar. We plume ourselves on the advances which our age has made in science — and they are great indeed. But it is rare that, except in landscape, our foremost painters can cope with the greatest men of olden time. One piece of sculpture dating from the best days of Greek art is worth a whole gallery of modern work ; and in architecture we cannot even claim to possess a style, but copy the works of our forefathers, often as unintelligently as would a Chinese. Must we conclude that, as has happened in the past to many a form of life, the plant of archi- tecture has borne all its possible fruits, and passed through every possible cycle of development ; that henceforth we can but reproduce the works of our forefathers, and must be content with a frigid correctness, and thankful for the avoidance of unintelligent error ? One trusts that this may not be so, but at present architecture, like the Latin of Cicero and the Greek of Demosthenes, seems to be only a dead language, which men may indeed learn to speak correctly, but in which they cannot think freely. ""p^ q. Bonney, ^'M- The Cathedral Churches OF ENGLAND AND WALES. OANTKKBUKY CATHBUKAL, tHOM THE 80UTU-WEBT. CANTERBURY. Among our cathedrals, Canterbury, as is befitting a metropolitan, has a rightful pre-eminence. Few surpass it in picturesqueness of out- line, in beauty, or in interest of architecture. No mistaken zeal of a comparatively late age as at St. Peter's in Rome, no overpowering necessity as at St. Paul's in London, has broken its historical con- tinuity and obliterated all traces of the work of earlier generations. Centuries of history do not, indeed, look down from its towers in so full a sense as from the Egyptian pyramids, for above ground there is no remnant of any structure 2 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Canterbury. earlier than the Norman Conquest; but since this epoch in our annals, generation after generation has left its mark upon the building, and Canterbury Cathedral is a history- writ in stone of every age up to and even beyond tlie English Reformation. We have spoken of St. Peter's at Rome: the Cathedral of Christ Church at Can- terbury, the metropolitan church of the alterius orhis papa, while more venerable as a building, occupies a site not less august. Its title by possession, as a place of worship, may be carried back to the earliest days of Christendom in Britain. We cannot, indeed, fix the precise date when the first church was reared on the little plain in the valley of the Stour, but when the Roman missionaries in the days of Gregory came to win back England to the Church of Christ, Ethelbald gave to Augustine, adjacent to the palace which he transferred to the new-comers, an ancient building which had formerly been a church of the British Christians, and had been erected, so ran tradition, by King Lucius. This Augustine restored — perhaps enlarged and in part rebuilt — and so as the centre of his monastery of Christ Church it became the first cathedral of Canterbury, the mother church of English Christianity. For almost a centmy and a half the restored church remained nearly as Augustine had left it. In conformity witli the Roman custom, neither he nor his immediate successors were buried within its walls, but in the extra-mm-al cemetery of the church of Peter and Paul. But in the year 740, Cuthbert, the tenth suc- cessor of Augustine, obtained permission from the Pope to depart from this Latin custom and to bury the Archbishops of Canterbury in their own church, " to the intent that they might liave their resting-place where they had ruled in honour." Accordingly on his return he erected, " to the east of the 'great cliurch' and almost touching it," a second church, which was dedicated in honour of St. John the Baptist. Within its walls, in due season, his body was laid, and thus began the long scries of archbishops, who, when their work was ended, rested in their own cathedral. Of Cuthbcrt's church also every trace has disappeared, but some have thought that the singular circular termination of the present cathedral, which now bears the name of " Becket's Crown," may be a souvenir of the tomb-house of Cuthbert. In the days of Odo, the latter half of the tenth century, a new roof was needed, and at that time the walls were raised, probably by adding a clerestory. But an evil time was coming in the days of Alphege. The monastery and city were stormed and sacked, the church was plundered and set on fire, the monks were slaughtered, tlie archbishoj:) was dragged away a prisoner to be insulted and at last murdered by the conqueror. Twelve years later, with a Dane upon the throne, quieter times returned, and the remains of the archbishop were translated with great pomp to a resting-place among his predecessors, Canute himself giving his crown of gold as an atonement, to be hung up "at the head of the great cross in the nave." A worse calamity, however, occurred. In one of England's darkest years, that which followed the death of Harold at Senlac, a fire broke out in Canterbury city, cantekbuhv.] the building of the church. 3 and the flames laid hold on the monastery; almost all its buildings, the mother church itself, and the tomb-house of the archbishops, with all their store of relics, perished in the flames. Stigand tlie Englishman was still archbishop, but three years after- wards he was deposed, and Lanfranc the Norman was appointed to the vacant see. ]\Ionastery and church alike lay in ruins, but the new prelate quickly addressed himself to the task of reconstruction. One hundred and fifty Benedictine monks were established in the former, and in seven }'ears the church was rebuilt. In this work, as we are in effect told, all traces of the Saxon church were swept away — he carried out in stone and wood a policy thoroughly Norman. Thus with the first archbishop of that race the chronicle of the present fabric begins. The nave and western towers rest probably on the foundations of Lanfranc's building; portions of his walls yet remain in the lower parts of the two western transepts. The great central tower is raised on piers, which have as their core those which sup- ported the humbler central tower of Lanfranc's church. East of this all is of later date, and in most respects of newer design. As there had been in the Saxon church, and as there is in the present building, so was there a cryj^t beneath Lanfranc's choir, but this, it is almost certain, consisted only of two bays. Lanfranc's choir had not a long existence. It seemed inadequate to the enlarged ideas of the next generation, and in the days of Anselm, Lanfranc's successor, was pulled down and rebuilt on a far grander scale, by Ernulph, prior of the monastery. The work, however, was not completed by him, but by his successor Conrad, whose name was generally attached to the building, which was dedicated with great pomp in the presence of Henry, King of England, David of Scotland, and all the English bishops, in the year 1130. It was in this church — begun by Lanfranc and completed by Conrad — that the murder of Becket and the humiliation of the king took place, shortly after which events (1174) the glorious choir of Conrad became a heap of ruins. A fire broke out in some cottages on the south side of the church, just beyond the monastic precincts; a strong gale was blowing from that quarter; the glowing embers were carried up, hurled against the roof of the church, and dropping through some interstices ignited the woodwork within. The fire smouldered for a while unperceived, and was not dis- covered until it had got firm hold upon the roof. The people flocked to save the pride of their city, working, praying, even raving and blaspheming in the excess of their grief; but all efforts were in vain, and the choir was utterly destroyed, the stones in many parts being so calcined by the heat of the conflagration that rebuild- ing became a necessity. This task was entrusted to one William of Sens, a man " of lively genius and good reputation," under whose charge the work went on from the autumn of 1174 to the year 1178, when " through the vengeance of God or spite of the devil " he fell from a scaffolding and received such serious injuries that he was obliged to give up the charge of the work. He was succeeded by an Englishman, also William by name, by whom the work was completed in the com-se of six years. The CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Ca-nterbuuy. architects followed the lines of Conrad's choir as far as its eastern extremity, where it ended in a chevet, flanked by two towers, and terminated by an oblong chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity. These towers were retained, but the Trinity Chapel was rebuilt on a grander scale and practically incorporated with the building, the floor being raised yet higher to make a more stately resting-place for the relics of the new saint — Thomas of Canterbury — and beyond this, and so considerably to the east of the outermost wall of Con- rad's building, was raised the singular structure called " Becket's Crown," which unfortunately was left incomplete in the upper part. All this part still remains almost un- altered; but the architects had not yet done with Canterbmy. Nave and transepts were rebuilt in the days of Prior Chillen- den, between the years 1378 and 1410, and the great central tower was not carried up to its pre- sent height till the end of the latter century, when Prior Goldstone ruled the monastery. This tower— "Boll BELL HAKKY TOWER. Harry Tower" as it was called, from a small bell hung at the top — replaced the "Angel Steeple," from whose sunnnit a gilded angel, glittering from afar in the sun, first attracted the eyes of pilgrims as they approached the sacred shrine at Canterbury. This was the last great work executed in the cathedral, if we except the rebuilding of the north-west tower in the present century, and it was the crowning glory. It would be im- possible to find its equal in England, difficult in the world. Whatever might be Canterbury.] BELL HAERY TOWER. the faults of the later fifteenth-century architects, and they were not few, they could build towers. The predominance of vertical lines in their designs — often unpleasing, even defeating itself, and causing a feeling of flatness in buildings of less elevation — pro- duces its full effect in one of these lofty structures. We may admire the more ideal perfection of the spires of Salisbury or Chichester or Norwich, and the triple group of Lichfield, but the towers of Glou- cester and of Canterbury — of which in our judgment the latter is much the finer — are a marvellous com- bination of grandeur and of grace. There is, perhaps, no cathedral in England of which the dis- tant view is more impressive than that of Canterbury. It has not the advantages of situa- tion possessed by Durham or Lincoln or Ely. Standing in the open valley of the Stour, it is surrounded — though for- tunately at a distance ^ by higher ground, but it rises above the clustering houses of the city, above the surround- ing meadows and undulating fields, like a three-peaked mountain of stone. The western towers are comparatively low, though lofty enough to break the monotony of the long line of the nave roof, and to lead the eye duly upwards THE CKYPT. 6 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Canterbuuy. towards the central peak. Of these, the southern was completed by Goldstone, having been begun by Archbishop Chichele, while the northern was rebuilt in the present century, being completed in the year 1834. This replaced one of the old Norman towers Avhich had survived the reconstruction of the nave, and bore the name of the " Arundel Steeple," from a peal of bells placed in it during the primacy of that archbishop. The principal entrance to the cathedral, approached from the town through the great gateway, another work of Prior Goldstone, is by the south porch, as it was even in the time of the Saxon structure. This occupies a rather unusual position, as it opens into one of the western towers. It corresponds in style with the nave, and formerly — as we learn from Erasmus — bore on a panel above the doorway sculptured representations of Becket's mur- derers. Through this we enter the nave — a very characteristic work in the Perpendicular style. At the first glance, one of the most distinctive features of Canter- bury Cathedral attracts the eye. It is the commencement of the great ascent by which the pil- grims went up to the house of their Lord — the first of the flights of steps which led to the elevated platform in the retro-choir which supported the shrine of Thomas h Beckct. Commencing beneath the central tower, the floor rises in a gradual ascent of three stages to the foot of the mas- sive screen of stonework, which almost shuts off the choir from the nave, while shorter but steeper staircases lead from the floors of the transepts to the choir aisles. THE CHUIH 8CHBBN. THE BELL HARRY TOWER, CANTERBURY. Canterbury.] THE TRANSEPTS. 7 Thus the nave produces on the spectator the effect of a great hall, and this is increased by the elevation of the aisles and the comparative thinness of the piers which support the main walls. Instead of a triforium there is a panelled wall of stone, forming a part of the design of the clerestory, as though the lower half of a large Perpendicular window had been blocked up. The result of this is comparatively poor, and the nave of Canterbury, notwithstanding the greatness of its scale, is an example of the decadence of ecclesiastical architec- ture, when true poetic feeling was fading away and was being inadequately replaced by an ostentatious effort at magnificence. The nave of Canterbury is nearly of the same age as, and closely resembles, that of Winchester, but in the latter the original Norman piers were transformed, not rebuilt; thus Winchester exhibits a strength of design which is painfully wanting in Canterbury, while a rich balcony to some extent atones lor the absence of a triforium. Doubtless the painted panes, which in ancient days filled all the windows, as at King's College Chapel, in Cambridge, added greatly to the splendour. These iconoclastic zeal destroyed, and all that remains has been pieced together to fill the western window. Since the Puritans completed what a Tudor king began, the nave has been but little altered, except that a considerable amount of new stained glass has been intro- duced. Flags have been hung up on its walls, memorials of warfare by Kentish men in many lands, and monuments, not a few, give some slight relief to the general bareness, though they are but seldom of any particular interest, either architec- turally or historically. The southern transept has a fine stained-glass window, and in the eastern chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, called also the " Warrior's Chapel," is a good piece of Perpendicular work dating from about the year 1400. The centre is occupied by the great altar-tomb erected by Margaret Holland to the memory of her two husbands — John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, half-brother of Henry IV., and Thomas of Clarence, second son of that monarch, killed by a lance-thrust on the field of Bauge, 1421. But at the east end is a tomb of yet greater interest — a stone coffin, over-arched, so that the head alone projects into the building — wherein rests the dust of Stephen Langton, who has left his mark upon the Bible by the division into chapters, and a yet more important mark upon the history of England, as the contriver of the Great Charter. It was a position which "Old Gandolf '' might have envied, for there as he lay beneath the altar stone he could have heard " the blessed mutter of the mass," and tasted " good strong thick stupefying incense smoke ! " But even now the north transept generally obtains the first notice, as it did from the Canterbury pilgrims, for here Becket received the martyr's crown. We must not, however, suppose that there is much left to recall the scene. Since that dark December evening when the deed of blood was done, all the architectural features 3 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Canterbury. of the building have been changed, but some of the ashlar-work in the lower pari of the wall is a remnant of that which echoed to the stroke of sword and tlie groans of tlie murdered man ; some of the slabs in the irregular stone pavement are those which were sprinkled with his blood. In order to obtain a mental picture of the place where Becket died, we must sweep away the noble tomb of Archbishop Peckham and all tlie later monuments. PLACE OV THE MARTYUDOM. We must take away the present staircases and arrange them like those which still remain in tlie southern transept. Wo must replace the sumptuous eastern chapel, with its elaborate vaulting, by a simpler apsidal structure, and the lofty open transept of Chillenden by the massive Norman work of Lanfranc, yet more obstructed by a solid stone gallery, as at St. Stephen's at Caen, and at Winchester, which was supported by a great central column. Through the doorway in the western wall Becket and his terrified attendants entered, followed in brief time — for he would not have it barred — by the four knights. From the stairs he descended out of the gloom to confront his foes. By that colunm the final struggle took place : between CaKTERHi HY.J THE CHOIR. it and the entrance to the Benedict Cliapel the archbishop fell, and on the Ktone pavement the sword of Richard the Breton snapped in twain as he dealt tlmt last fatal stroke which smote off tlie crown of the skull. From the "transept of the martyrdom" flights of steps lead downwards into the crypt, and upwards into the northern choir aisle, or up to the platform already named as beneath the arches of the central tower. Mounting this last, we pass beneath the fine stone screen, a work by an unknown architect in the fifteenth century, and enter the choir. The style is Early English, but it retains, especially in the earlier part, distinct traces of the preceding style, semi- circular arches being freely used. The great length of the building is the first characteristic to impress the mind. We seem to have entered a second church, style and arrangement are so different from that which wc have left. Even the choir of Conrad, without the Trinity Chapel, fully equalled the nave in length, but the design of William gives us the lonorest choir in Eng-land. The next feature is the singular contraction of the walls beyond the eastern transept. This marks the position of the chevet of Conrad's choir, and is caused by the desire of the architect to retain two flanking towers, which escaped the conflagration, while he carried the building on considerably to the east of the ancient Trinity Chapel. In fact, BELI. HARRY TOWER. 10 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Canterbury. the more we examine the plan of the choir, the more we are struck with its singularity. To begin with, its total breadth is somewhat greater than Conrad's choir, and the outer walls in consequence at first expand a little, and the walls of the Lady Chapel and of St. Michael's Chapel make an oblique angle with those of the transept. They then approach together beyond the eastern transept, where the greater of the two ascents to the platform of the high altar is constructed, and lastly attaclied to the chevet we have the structure known as Becket's Crown. Though the unusual elevation of the floor at the eastern part of the building causes the whole to appear rather low for its length, and the above- named contraction of tlie walls produces an effect more singular than beautiful, yet it is impossible to look at the choir of Canterbury, with its well-balanced members, piers, arches, triforium, clerestory, its felicitous combination of Romanesque dignity with the grace of the First Pointed style, and its many exquisite details, without a fervent tribute of admiration to the architect who conceived the design. In the western part he was doubtless strongly influenced by the preceding Norman building, a few fragments of which he had incorporated into his own. His English successor, who took up the work wlien it had advanced to about the level of the eastern transept, appears for a time to have continued on nearly the same lines, so that the work of the two is not easily separable, but on approaching the Trinity Chapel the later architect seems to have emancipated himself from all traditional influences, and terminated the building with a structure which is characteristically Early English in design. The stalls and scats in the choir are quite new, the work of a restoration which was concluded only a few years since. A new organ by Willis has been placed in the triforium, and the old instrument, built by Green in the last century, and enlarged by Hill in 1842, has been incorporated. A defect, patent to the eye, is the reredos. This is an erection of about the middle of the present century, when it replaced an elaborate Corintliian screen, being an imitation " of the screen-work of the Lady Chapel in the crypt." Imitation may be the sincerest flattery, but in stone it is often unsuccessful, as it is here. The predecessor of the Corinthian screen, a fine piece of fourteenth-century work, fell a victim to Puritan zeal. Very different from the present simple aspect of the communion table and its surroundings was the high altar in the days before the Reformation. Richly adorned itself, in a grated vault beneath was a treasury of gold and silver vessels, in presence of which, says Erasmus, Midas and Croesus would have seemed but beggars. As artists we may regret the change, as members of the Church of England we cannot even sigh for the " most idolatrous costly glory cloth " which Laud gave and the Puritans destroyed. Right and left of the altar, and enhancing the glories of the (;hoir, stood formerly the shrines of Alphege and of Dunstan. The one has utterly disappeared ; of the other, the position of its altar is indicated by some diaper work Canterbury.] 2I0NUMENT8 IN THE CHOIR. 11 in the wall. By it are the monuments of Archbishop Stratford, Chancellor of Edward III., with whom he had no small strife, and of Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, victim to the rage of a London mob ; and the screen-work round the choir is the work of Prior Henry d'Estria, in the first decade of the fourteenth century. One other relic of ancient days must be noticed : this is the marble pavement of a part of the choir between the two eastern transepts. Wlien this is disturbed, lead is often found "which has run between the joints of the slabs, and spread on each side below," a supposed result of the great fire of 117-4. In the windows of the north aisle, along which the pilgrims passed on their way to the shrine of the martyred Thomas, is some excellent thirteenth- century stained glass. Here, too, is the fine monument of Archbishop Chichele. Yet further is the stately tomb of Cardinal Bourchier, bishop or archbishop for fifty-one years, who died in the year 1486; and near it a cenotaph to Archbishop Howley, who was buried at Addington. In the basement storey of St. Andrew's Tower was once the sacristy, where was kept a marvellous store of vessels of gold and of silver, with relics yet more precious, such as Becket's pastoral staff, his handkerchief, stained with his blood, and even rags which had served him for the homeliest purpose. These were preserved in a black leather chest, and when it was exhibited the faithful knelt in reverence. The pilgrims retii-od after their visit to the shrine by the south aisle, where are the tombs of Walter, the archbishop elected during Richard's crusade, and Reynolds, once tutor of Edward II., but in the end faithless to him ; and a mark on the wall denotes the place of the monument of Winchelsea, who opposed Edward I. on the question of clerical subsidies, but was open-handed to the poor of his diocese. Anselm, the learned philosopher and the champion of his chm-ch in the "War of the Investitures," rests in the chapel of the tower which bears his name, and from the chamber above watch was kept by night over the treasures of his successor's shrine. This chapel has been lately restored, and a fresco painting of the twelfth century was discovered on the wall, representing St. Paul shaking off the viper into the fire. The shrine stood, as we have said, in the centre of the retro- ch oil' ; an arched stmcture of marble supporting on high the sacred chest wherein the saint's relics were laid. Hither they were brought from their tomb in the crypt below on a memorable day — Tuesday, July 7, 1220 — followed by a crowd of prelates and nobles from either side of the Channel, with the young King Henry III. at the head of the procession. The shrine itself was a wonder of art, " blazing with gold and jewels ; the wooden sides were plated with gold, and damasked with gold wire, and embossed with innumerable pearls and jewels and rings, cramped together on this gold ground." All these treasures, when times had changed, were swept off to the royal treasmy ; the bones of Becket were buried 12 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Cantekhvry. in i\n unknown grave,* the shrine was utterly destroyed, and now only a roughly- paved space enclosed between two mosaics— one composed of rare stones, brought doubtless from the classic ruins of Rome, and one of figures inlaid with composition on white stone — marks the site. A crescent attached to the roof high above, surrounded by staples which may once have supported flags, is probably the last remnant of the varied offerings which were formerly gathered about the shrine of Becket. For many years the martyr's remains occupied this Trinity Chapel in solitary state. At last, at a time of national mourning, Edward the Black Prince was entombed, not as he had directed in the crypt below, but here on the floor above, " on what was then thought to be the most sacred spot in England." The tomb has fortu- nately escaped well from the chances of some five centuries. The brass effigy reposes on an altar-tomb be- neath a canopy ; the featm-es, still uninjured, showing the well-known type of the Plantagenet face. The canopy above yet retains the painting, a quaint representation of the Trinity, with which it once was decorated. From it hang the prince's gauntlets and helm, his surcoat and shield, and the scabbard which once held liis sword ; tliis, incni say, was taken away by the hand of Cromwell. On the north side of tlie cha})el is the tomb of Henry IV. and his second wife, Joan of Navan-c, who sui-vived him. Yorkist stories asserted tliat this did * Accordiup; to ^^ome tlioy were burned. (See a discussioa on the subject, Proceedings Soc. Antiquaries, 1888, p. 116.) A skeleton, of wliicli only a few small bones were uiissinpf, was found, in January, 1888, buried in a stone i-offiu beueath the floor of the eryjjt almost under the site of the shrine. The skull was severely fractured on tlie left side, as if by a violent blow. In the opinion of many these were the relics of the archbishop. (See Archoeologia Canliana, xviii. '257, and Archrxolugia, Ser. 2, vol. iii., p. 211.) THE WEST IRONT, WITH SOUTH PORCH. Canteriiukt.J BECKET'S CROWN. ]-i not contain the king's body, that having been cast into the sea during a storm ; but an examination in the year 1832 showed the tale to be no more true than those of poUticians generally are. East of this king's monument is one to Wotton, first Dean of Canterbury after the Reformation, placed here, it may be, in order to show that the reverence for the great Thomas was indeed a thing of the past. At the feet of the Black Prince is the tomb of Archbishop Com'tenay, his executor, but whether he is buried here is uncertain ; and, yet further east, lies Odo Coligny, Cardinal Cha- tillon, who died at Canterbury as a refugee in the days of Elizabeth. At the extreme eastern end of the chancel stands Becket's Crown, which is an octagon in plan. In this remarkable structure some have seen a memorial of the tomb-house of the Saxon archbishops, others a remem- brance of the seat assigned by Pope Pascal 11. to the alterius orbis papa, in the "corona" in the Lateran; but whatever may have been its motive, the building is the work of English William, and one of the most grace- ful parts of his design. Here, when the shrine was standing in the adjoin- ing part of the cathedral, were the shrines of Archbishop Odo, and of Wilfred of York, with " a golden re- liquary in the form of a head, con- taining some relic of Becket, per- haps the severed scalp." Here also is the tomb of Cardinal Pole, kinsman of Queen Mary of ill memory, the last archbishop entombed in the cathedral. Of late years the patriarchal chair has been brought back to the Corona. Tradition states that it was the throne of the heathen kings of Kent, given by Ethelbert to Augustine, and has ever since been the cathedra of the Archbisliops of Canterbury. It is fashioned of three pieces of Purbeck marble, and is probably of later date than tradition accords to it. By the latest authority (Canon Robertson) it is assigned to the year 1220. One other marked feature of Canterbury Cathedral yet calls for notice — the THR RAPTI8TER\. 14 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Canterhurv. spacious crypt which supports all the eastern part of the building, and causes the long ascent which has been already mentioned. There are four others in England, which like it are anterior to the year 1085. These are Winchester, Gloucester, Rochester, and Worcester, and no cathedral of later date has included a crypt in its design, though one which had previously existed may have been rebuilt. The western or lower part of Canterbmy crypt is the older. A little of Lanfranc's work remains, but in the main it is a relic of the cathedral of Ernulph. The eastern part, beneath the Trinity Chapel and the Corona, was the work of English William. This not only supported the sacred slirine, but also over-arched the spot where for a time Becket's body was laid between his death and its translation. Thus the actual building, beneath whose massive arches in the gloom of a December day the last rites were paid to the blood- stained corpse, that, too, in which a King of England was forced to humble himself before a crowd of monks, remains no longer, but all the western part — that along which the body was brought to burial — is still unaltered. Towards the eastern end of the crypt, enclosed by open stonework of Perpendicular age, is the chapel of our Lady Undercroft, once the richest treasure-house of the cathedral, surrounded in the days of Erasmus by a double rail of iron, and displayed only to a chosen few among the thousands of pilgrims. Near this lies the body of Cardinal Morton, who united the houses of Lancaster and York in the persons of Henry VII. and Elizabeth. In the crypt also is a memorial of the Black Prince, the chantry founded to commemorate his marriage. In the days of Elizabeth a number of French and Flemish refugees, mostly clothiers and silk-weavers, settled at Canterbury ; and the crypt was granted to them by the queen. They set up their looms in the main part, and worshipped in one of the side-aisles. The looms have fortunately vanished with the trade, but the descendants of the refugees still meet in the crypt for worship, after their fathers' ways and in the French tongue. We pass now to the exterior of the cathedral, into the precincts of the great Benedictine monastery of Christ Church. The conventual buildings at Canterbury were situated on the northern side of the cathedral ; that edifice standing near to the boundary of the enclosure, both on the west and on the south. A massive wall surrounds the whole, so that it was like the temple of old, at once a fortress and the house of God. This wall, though of earlier date than the Norman Conquest, was greatly strengthened by Lanfranc. Much is of later date, but probably some parts which still remain are his work. The main approach to the cathedral from the town is by Christ Church Gate, at the end of Mercery Lane — a grand structure in the Later Perpendicular style, built by Prior Goldstone in the year 1517. As we enter this the cathedral, vast in heiglit as in length, at once confronts us. The intervening strip of ground was Caxtekbvky.J THE PRECINCTS. 15 once the cemetery, and that south and east of the choir Avas the monastery garden. Somewhere here was the school fomided by Archbishop Theodore, when he intro- duced the study of Greek, so long- as twelve centuries ago. The comparative narrowness of the open space makes it impossible to obtain a very complete general view of this southern or of the western face. The part of the cathedral which is more immediately opjDOsite to the visitor is the nave of Chillenden, with the southern porch and the comparatively low western tower, whose date has been already given, while from the other end rises on high the magniticent Bell Harry Tower. Near the eastern end of the church, on the northern side, are the ruins of the infirmary, now to a considerable extent freed from the houses into which they had been incorj^orated, and not far off an ancient house which once formed a })art of some guest chambers belonging to the prior. We must not forget to notice a beautiful little Norman structure, Avith an up2)er storey, attached to the north-eastern transept, called the " Baptistery." The name is in- correct, but the lower part was connected with the water supply of the monastery. The passage leading to the cloisters, called the '' Dark Entry," recalls a tale in the " Ingoldsby Legends," and retains a remnant of good Norman work in its arches. The cloisters are Late PerjDcndicular, though some fragments of the Norman structure, through which Becket passed to his death, still remain incorporated into their Avails, and there is a door on the site of that AA'hich com- municated with his palace. The refectory Avas on the north, the chapter-house is on the east. The latter Is a grand hall, built by Archbishop Arundel about 1400- This has been restored, the Prince of Wales attending the re-opening ceremony (1897). There is a fine vieAv of the Bell Harry Tower, with the transept and chapter-house, from near the north-Avest angle of the cloisters. The palace of the archbishop has been swept away, but round the green court on the northern side of the cloisters no inconsiderable portion of the monastic buildings still remains, though often masked by more modern dAvelling-houses. The deanery includes a portion of the prior's lodgings. It also contains an interesting series of portraits of the Deans of Canterbury from the time of Wotton to the present. The ^ TK^ CR.fpT. 16 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Castebbvry. Grammar School occupies the ancient almomy. This, with some adjoining build- ings, was appropriated by Henry VIII., who set up a mint in one part and founded -^ a school in the other. Since then the buildings of the latter have been augmented, as its number and its fame liave in- creased. Its hall is a modern struc- ture, built on the site of one which belonged, it is supposed, to the steward of the monastery courts, but its external staircase is a fine specimen of Nor- man work, and is the only one of its kind that re- mains in England. But all around this court there is much to delight the antiquary, which space for- bids us to describe minutely. We must merely, in conclusion, indicate the porter's gate, also in the main a late Norman structure, in for- mer times the chief entrance from the town to the monastery. An arched door- way in the adjoining street — Palace Street — is almost all that remains of the home of the Archbishops of Canterbury from days long anterior to the Norman Conquest. CHRIST CHUKCH GATE. •'i'ltsaiegrSevmSmor- . , _ Canterbury.! CONCLUSION. 17 Of the lives of its occupants, and of those who in later days have been Primates of All England, we have but spoken incidentally, as space is wanting for a subject so great. For many centuries the history of the see of Canterbury is to no small extent the history of England, and though of later years, since the days of the Reformation and of the great Civil War, the annals have been less eventful and the Archbishop of Canterbury has been less of a prince among the nobles, yet he may have been a power for good certainly not less potent. When we note that the seed once planted here by a band of missionaries has spread unto the ends of the earth, and the daughter churches of the Church of England may be found in all lands, we see in the fabric of Canterbury Cathedral a visible token of how " a small beginning could lead to a great and lasting good," for there is no place in Britain " which carries us more vividly back into the past or more hopefully forward to the future." It should be added that minor restorations and enrichments are frequent. St. Anselm's Chapel has quite recently been restored, a handsome monument has been erected to the memory of Archbishop Tait, and more windows have been filled with stained glass. In 1888 some bones were dug up in the crypt. An injury to the skull suggested the probability that they were the relics of Becket, but a more minute examination does not appear to have confirmed this idea. T. G. BONNEY. RVINS OF THE INFIRMARY CHAPEL. GENERAL VIEW OF YORK. YORK MINSTER. Sill Walter Scott calls this cathedral " tlie most auj^ust of temples, the noble Minster of York," and its most devoted lover can never complain that it has not in every age received its due share of veneration. From the time that Alcuin spread its fame in the comitry of his ado})tion, telling with a son's pride of the beauty of its decorations, the learning of its priests, and the trea- sures of its library, in the court of France, this "glorious temple in the north" has never been without its historians, or its prelates without their biographers. From this overwhelming mass of information it is no easy task to extract and condense a few pages that shall be generally interesting, yet sufficiently explicit. Let us look first at the west front, that ex(piisite specimen of Gothic art, which "has been compared with the celebrated fa(;ade at Rheims Cathedral for richness, sublimity, and beauty of architectural design ; it is certainly not surpassed by that of any church in England in its line proportions, chaste enrichments, or 4 ^^Jm^ m < Eh n o w M o Pi w Eh m s Pi o York] THE WEST FRONT. 19 scientific arrangements." An eight-pinnacled tower rises at each side, and between is a gable with perforated battlement, surmounted by a crocketed pinnacle. The whole front is divided into three parts by massive buttresses, enriched with tabernacle work on every face, and in each of these divisions is an entrance to the church. In the two side ones are three windows, one above the other, the two lower ones Decorated, those in the towers Perpendicular, the upper and lower having enriched pediments. The central doorway is divided into two by a slender shaft, as is not unusual, but the space beneath the deep vaulting of tlie arch is filled with a circular six-light window, wliich is an uncommon, if not unique, arrangement. Over this is a crocketed gable, in the centre of which is a niche containing the statue of Archbishop Melton, who finished the building of the western part of the nave. " He sits, graven in stone, in his archiepiscopal attire, with his hand still raised in the attitude of benediction. Over his head is the finest Gothic window in the world, built in all probability by himself, and still beaming with the glowing colours with wliich he adorned it nearly five hundred and fifty years ago. On either hand is an effigy of a benefactor of the church, the heads of the noble houses of Vavasour and Percy, bearing in their arms the wood and stone which they once gave." The nave was begun by Archbishop Romaine in 1291, and finished by Archbishop Melton in 1330. The aisle windows are Decorated, and so is the clerestory, though rather later in style. It is divided into a centre and two side aisles by seven clustered columns, which support acutely-pointed arches, rising to the height of about forty feet. Above these is the triforium, which forms, so to speak, the lower part of the clerestory windows, as the same mullions continued upwards separate the arcades of the one and the lights of the other. One slender outside column of each cluster, with one still more slender on each side of it, rises straight from the ground to the spring of the clerestory arch, where it branches off into three ribs, which meet those from the opposite side in the groining of the roof. The roof is of wood painted like stone, covered with lead — new since the fire of 1840; the aisles retain their original stone vaulting. In the archives of York Minster are two agreements entered into by plumbers, dated 1367 and 1370, for repairing and covering with lead, where required, that cathedral, the belfry, and the chapter-house. The first time we hear of lead being used was when St. Wilfrid (archbishop 609 — 709), fresh from the glories of the Eternal City, and reinstated in the see of York, grieved to find the church there built by Edwin and Oswald so fallen into decay, set to work on a thorough restoration. He put on a new roof of lead, placed for the first time glass in the windows, so that the birds could no longer fly in and out and defile the sanctuary within, covered the walls with plaster, and decorated the altar. This same Wilfrid was one of the five saints of whom 20 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [York. York can boast; the others are Paulinus, St. Chad, St. John, generally called " of Bererley," and St. William. His life teems with interest. He was a great and good man, though fiery and imperious, and always in hot water. One feels YORK Ml.NSTEK, WtsT KKONT. glad to read tliat though " his life was like an April day, often interchangeably fair and foul, after many alterations he set fair in full lustre at last." The nave is paved in a geometrical pattern, designed by Kent under the supervision of the Earl of Burlington, about 1736; the materials used, partly Huddleston stone, given by Sir Ed-vaid Gascoign, of Parlington, partly-alas, York.] THE PAVING OF THE NAVE. 21 that it must be owned ! — old gravestones cut into shape ! The former pavement must have been interesting and peculiar. It had a row of circular stones about two feet in diameter and two feet apart up each side, and one row of fewer and larger down the middle, supposed to be to show where, on grand occasions the different church dignitaries should stand. The intervening space was filled with graves, all trace of which is, of course, now lost. The only monument of any interest left in the nave is that commonly ascribed to Arch- bishop Roger (though dates are irreconcilable), which being ab- solutely in the wall could not be easily removed, though Drake does tell us that in his time any curious osteologist might have the pleasure of poking his walking-stick through the open work in front, and even touching the coffin ! This Archbishop Roger (1154 ■ — 1181) rebuilt the choir with its crypts, with the archiepiscopal palace to the north of the cathe- dral, and the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre between the two build- ings. He gave one of St. Peter's bones and part of his sandals to the church. These were put into a crucifix of gold, and were among the things sent for the ransom of Coeur-de-Lion, but were afterwards redeemed. He waged long and actively the war with Canterbury about the question of supremacy and " bearing the cross," the right to carry that symbol erect belonging exclusively to the Primate. At the Council of West- minster, September, 1102, Gerard of York kicked over the chair prepared for him, because it was on a lower level than that put for Anselm of Canter- bury. Roger vindicated his claim in an even more amusing and undigni- fied way, and this also at a Council at Westminster. Iluguccio, the Pope's legate, of course sat in the middle, and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York were to be one on each side. When Roger arrived he found that Richard had got there before him and taken the place of honour on the right. What was to be done? He pushed in between the legate and his rival, and ended by THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST. 22 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [York. sitting on his knee ! T)iis the Canterbury people could not quite suffer. They pulled him off, threw him on the ground, and beat and trampled him unmercifully, and when at last they allowed him to rise, it was in sorry plight, with a torn cope and "covered with dust and shame!" and, sad to relate, when he complained to the king (Henry II.) he was only laughed at. Pope Alexander, however, })ut an end for a time to such brawls by settling the question according to the decree of Gregory the Great, which gave precedence to the senior; but on the 20th of April, 1353, a composition was made by the king between the archbishops, which practically made Canterbury the head, though on all public occasions they were to be as equal as possible. In addition to this the Pope ordained that York should be called " Primate of England," but Canter- bury, " Primate of all England." York, however, retains the old privilege of crowning the queens. This is the largest nave in any English cathedral, and, as in the case of that other St. Peter's, in a sunnier city, the proportions are so exquisite that the eye takes some time to realise the size. All is so simple, so grand, and fault-finders add "so cold." Perhaps there is a little want of colour, but where form is so perfect one could scarcely wish, even for the sake of warmth, to risk the loss of pm'ity. Most of the windows retain their original glass, fairly perfect, and here and there a shimmering bit of colour is cast to the ground, but this is never by the oldest glass, which always transmits pure light. No conclusive explana- tion has been given of this, and some say it is a "lost art;" is it not more probably the result of the outside surface of the old glass being roughened by the corrosive action of the weather and producing interference ? * The glass of many of the windows is very much out of plumb, owing to the melting of tlie lead which binds it together during tlio fire of 1840. This catastroplie took place on the night of May 20th, when the whole nave was burnt up to the central tower; this the fire could not pass, as there was nothing in it to burn. It originated in the south-west tower, where some workmen are sxipposed to have left a light. The metal of the melted bells poured down among tlie ruins, and was collected, and for years snuff-boxes, &c., made of " bell-metal," were a staple commodity among the curiosity vendors of the city. The new bells rang for the first time on July 4th, 1844. " Great Peter," who occupies the other tower, does not " utter forth his glorious voice " quite as often as some of us could wish. lie has to be struck by a hammer, because, owing to his enormous weight, the machinery has never been arranged for ringing him. Let us pass up the nave, now noticing a stone dragon which projects from the triforium, and from which at one time hung the canopy of the font, and • Investigations made after these words were written liave shown this to be tlie correct explaualiou- YoHK.1 THE CENTRAL TOWER. 23 now wondering if Charles I. were not right after all when he ordered the organ to he removed because it spoilt the view of the east window. We pause at the south-east corner of the nave. It was upon this spot that An.'hbishop John Romanus stood on April Gth, 1291, to lay the foundation stone of this his great work, and to call down the blessing of the Holy Ghost upon it. What would he look round and see ? To the right Roger's Norman choir, almost above his head the great tower, and beyond it the north transept, both of which his father had built — noble example to any son. The "Five Sisters" would look down on him much as they do now on us; behind him would be the transept and tomb of Walter Gray, and before Iiim the ruins of the Norman nave, built by Thomas, burnt in 1137, and which he was preparing to make even as we see it now. The central tower, the largest in England, was built about 1260 by John Romanus the elder, treasurer of the cathedral, who enclosed the Norman piers in the present many-shafted pillars. It was "clothed upon" by Archbishop Thoresby, with help from his friend and private cha})lain, Walter Skirlaw, afterwards Bishop of Durham, and as William of Wykeham was at that time a good deal in York, and also a friend of the archbishop's, probably so energetic a builder would liave a liand in it too. The bells were removed from it to their present abode about 1401), wlien the lantern tower was made open to the top as at present. The tower is Perpendicular, with a groined roof and two fine windows on each face. A rich arcade runs round it between the arches and the windows, and in each of the eight spaces below this is the coat of arms of some donor to the fabric. This is the same in tlie nave. Across the two eastern pillars of the tower is the magnificent screen so justly celebrated. The carved work of the canopies is very rich. There are seven niches on one side of the central doorway, and eight on the other, containing statues of the Kings of England from the Conqueror to Henry VI. The iron gate was given in tlie early })art of last century by a Mrs. ^lary Wandesford, a maiden lady, who took "brevet rank." She also endowed an "old maids' hospital" for her poorer sisters. York has always been a great place for single ladies, and the memory of five of the number is exquisitely perpetuated in the next lovely object which meets our gaze — the celebrated window of tlie " Five Sisters." It consists of five equal-sized lancets of the most perfect Early English. The sisters are each said to have done one panel in needle- work, and then had it co{)ied in glass by foreign artists, but the exact when and where arc not known. It is a most beautiful specimen of late thirteenth-century painted glass, and the peculiar blending of the grisaille tints is quite unrivalled. This window fills the whole of the end of the central aisle of the north transept, which was built by John Romanus the elder, in the reign of Henry III. 24 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. fYoRK. The south transept was built by Arclibishop Walter Gray at a rather earlier date than the north, and both are good specimens of Early English, and very much alike. It is interesting to notice in the triforium that the large arches, THE CHOIR. which each enclose four small pointed ones, are sometimes round and sometimes slightly pointed, marking one step in the transition. In both the transepts the clerestory and triforium are distinct architectural compositions. Each transept has two aisles, and is divided into three bays. There is a strange monu- ment behind one of the pillars in the north transept, of a man worn to skin and bone. It is in memory of John Haxby, treasurer, died 1424, of whom York.] THE TRANSEPTS. is told the usual legend, that he tried to fast for the forty days of Lent, and so died. Also near here is the very fine tomb of Archbishop Greenfield, behind which the maniac, Jonathan Martin, hid himself. He watched every one out of the minster after evening service, and then piled benches and straw hassocks in a heap under the organ, and put a light to them, causing THE MI.NSTEK, I'KOM THE EAST. the fire of 1829, when the organ and all the choir were burnt. The coloured glass of the bottom part has never been refilled, and it remains clear, as a remembrance. The front of the south transept has a pretty rose window, with lancets underneath, the lower ones spoilt by bad modern glass. This part was restored by Street, under the late dean, and is generally thought to be architec- turally the most perfect of any. The painted grey roof has been removed, and a wood one with emblazoned bosses substituted. In the central bay of the east 26 CATHEDRAL CHVEOUES. fYoBn. aisle is the tomb of the founder, Walter Gray — a noble monument to a noble man. He died ]\Iay 1st, 1255, having been archbishop thirty-nine years. lie is repre- sented in his mitre and robes, his head resting on a cushion, his right hand raised to bless, his left hand holding the pastoral staff, and thrusting it into tlie mouth of a dragon under his feet. Over his head is a massive canopy sup- ported by nine slender pillars, and it was a well-believed tradition that he was buried in this canopy and not in the earth, because as he died under excom- munication he might not be buried in consecrated ground ! But unfortunately for this tale he was never excommunicated, and when the canopy was examined by Drake, the historian, he found notliing more interesting than rubble. Side by side with Walter Gray's is another beautiful monument, a modern one, but in wonderful harmony with the surroundings. It is in memory of the late dean. Dr. Duncombe, the restorer of the transept, and a great benefactor to the church and city. The slender columns of dark grey Purbeck marble, interspersed in the grey stone clusters, form a striking feature in this part of the building ; until a few years ago they were whitewashed, to preserve them from iconoclastic hands. Entering the choir by the door in the screen, the magnificent east window bursts into view. It is the largest in England which retains its original glazing. The number of subjects represented in glass is about one hundred and fifteen, from the Old Testament and the Revelation. The figures are generally about two feet high, the drawing is good, and the faces are exquisitely finished, resembling in style the work of the early Italian painters. It was begun by John Thornton, of Coventry, in 1405. He was to have four shillings a week, and five pounds a year in addition, and to finish it in tlu-ee years, and, if the work were really well done, ten pounds at the end of that time. The architecture of the choir is much the same as that of the nave, though rather later ; the clerestory is Perpendicular instead of Decorated, and the roof more complicated, which is a doubtful improvement. It is made of teak, painted stone-colour. The Norman choir of Roger was in existence till the time of Thoresby (1352 — 1373), and was only removed bit by bit as the workmen came to each part. They began from the east end, and a slight difference in style is discernible in the three eastern bays. One noticeable architectural peculiarity in the choir is the introduction of small transepts midway between the great transepts and the east end. Some think they owe their origin to Roger, and that he meant them for the bases of towers like those of Canterbury — he was Archdeacon of Canterbury before he came to York. Another idea is tliat the long window which extends the whole height of them was designed to throw additional light on the altar, which at one time stood between them. It was put backwards into its present position a hundi-cd years or so ago. This screen is an exquisite specimen of Perpendicular work, in perfect harmony with its York.] THE VESTRY. 27 surroundings, and it is unfortunate that the same cannot be said for the rcrcdos, which is not what one might wish either in form or colour. The moulding of Tin- worth's terra-cotta "Crucifixion" and the wood-carving are both good, but canno< atone for covering so much of the east window. Just below the little transepts stand tlie pulpit on one side, and the archbishop's throne on the other. The carving of their canopies and those of the stalls is very good ; the pinnacles are sometimes thought too slender. Thoresby pulled down the old IManor House at Sherburn, and used the materials for building this choir as far as they would go. In 1385 a contract was entered into for Huddlestone stone, of which the western part is mostly built. Descending a few steps into the south aisle we cross to the vestry, where a great many interesting relics are preserved. First and foremost of these is the horn of Ulphus, a Saxon prince, who, hearing his sons quarrelling about the division of his property, punished them by giving it to the minster (about 1036), and laid his drinldng-liorn on the altar, as the tenure by which it was to be held. It is an elephant's tusk, beautifully carved with winged quadrupeds, thought to be of Oriental workmanship. The lands lie to the east of York, and some of them, at any rate, are still in the possession of the dean and chapter. There are some silver chalices and rings taken from the tombs of the arch- bishops ; a silver pastoral staff given by Catherine of Braganza to her confessor, James Smith ; an ancient chair, rather like the throne of Dagobert, in which several kings are said to have been crowned ; a magnificent oak chest of the time of Henry VI.; a "Mazer" bowl, given by Agnes ^Vyman, wife of the Lord Mayor, to the Guild of Corpus Christi in the time of Richard II., and used at the "love feasts of the Guild" (Archbishop Scrope, according to the legend on the rim, promised forty days' indulgence to all who drank out of it!) until the Reformation, when it came into the hands of the Guild of Cordwainers, and was profaned to the use of a punch-bowl until the beginning of this century ; two velvet-bound books, given to the church by Charles I. ; and last but not least, the head of a wooden effigy of Archbishop Rotherham, the figure, in a coffin, being interred with great pomp, as representing his body, in the minster. He himself was buried at Cawood, having died of the plague, in the year 1500. Adjoining the vestry is the beautiful Decorated room called Archbishop La Zouche's Chapel. He began building it in 1350, intending to be buried there, but was called away in 1352, before it was ready for him, so he was laid in the nave. The archbishop beat the Scots and took their king prisoner in a battle at Bcwre Park, near Durham, while Queen Philippa remained in York to pray for his success. The chapel is now used for the meeting of Convocation. It contains St. Peter's well, in a very picturesque recess. Leaving the vestry, we turn to the right along the south aisle of the choir towards the Lady Chapel. The principal monuments are in this part of the cathedral, 28 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [ V OIIK. and it must be owned there are very few of any great interest or beauty. To the left, by the clioir- screen, is that of Archbishop Dolben, in his youth a RoyaUst soldier. To tlie rij,dit that of tlie Hon. Thomas Wentworth, nephew of the Earl of Strafford. Near this is an amusing inscription to a certain Lady Downe, which after twenty-seven lines enumerating her perfections, refers the enquiring reader to the Gentle- nan's Magazine of May, 1812, for further particulars ! The window next the east end of the south aisle — the meeting of IMary and Elizabeth — origi- nally adorned the east window of St. Nicholas', Rouen, and was given to the dean and chapter by the Earl of Carlisle in 1804. The design is sup- posed to be by Sebastiano del Piombo, a pupil of Giorgione. The splendid tomb of Arch- bishop Bowet, who died in 1423, was injured in the last fire and has not been restored, but in spite of its ruinous con- dition, from either side it is a lovely study of light and shade, a temptation to any artist. It is in the best style of Henry VI.'s tinic, and simi- lar to the tomb of Cardinal Kemp at Canterbury. It fills the space between the two pillars of the easternmost end of the south aisle. In the corresponding position on the north side rests Archbishop Scrope, beheaded for high treason after a mock trial, June 8th, 1405, in a field between Bishopthorpe and York — the first prelate who suffered death in England by any form of law. Between these two monuments are, in various states of repair, memorials to Archbishops Rotherham, Frewen, Matthew, Sewell, and Sharp. We are now immediately beneath the cast window, but cannot see it so well as in the choir, where it has been described, but the stone arcading which doubles each mullion can be well seen, as can the gallery that crosses the window half-way up, the effect of wiiich is beautiful and peculiar. In front of where the present altar THE FIVE 8I8TEK8. York.] MONUMENTS. 29 stands was the gorgeous shrine of St. William, to which his bones were removed from the nave, January 8th and 9th, 128'4, in the presence of Edward I., Queen Eleanor, eleven bishops, and the whole court. Thirty-six miracles are recorded of him, and oil is said to have flowed from his tomb, so no wonder pilgrims flocked to it. The shrine was entirely swept away at the Reformation. Just in front of this is the place where Thoresby laid six of his predecessors, leaving room for himself to rest in their midst. The monument of Archbishop Sterne, which faces down the north aisle, is amusingly realistic. He was a staunch Royalist, and died of the gout, and his statue is half recumbent, with one leg thicker than the other. He was grandfather of Laurence Sterne. Passing the tombs of Charles Howard, Earl of Carlisle, Chan- cellor Swinburne, and Sir Henry Bellasis, and the St. William window in the little transept on the right, we come to the only link with royalty the minster possesses, the toml) of William of Hatfield, second son of Edward III. and Philippa, who died at the age of eight. The face is injured, but the figure is in good preservation. The feet rest on a lion. A series of canopies reaches to the roof. In this aisle are two large triangular boxes, ornamented with beautiful iron-work, in which copes were kept. The first crypt is nearly square. It has a groined roof supported by six short pillars, some of which have Norman capitals, all different. The whole effect is, with the dashes of sunlight that find their way in, quite charming. We descend a few more steps and are in the crypt proper — Roger's glorious work — begun in 1171. Four of the original magnificent pillars remain with their zigzag and diaper pattern, and the remains of four slender pillars round each. Between them are the bases of small columns. Outside these are some walls of the older Norman church, which in some places encase the herring- bone stonework of the Saxon. But the interest of this most interesting place centres in an earthy mound just under the site of the Norman high altar. And so CATHEVRAL CHURCHES. [York. here let us pause. This is the spot hallowed for centuries as that upon which King Edwin was baptised, and where his head was brought home to be buried. Long before that — looming out from the mists of antiquity — we see, if uncritical, King Ebrauc and his chiefs celebrating their pagan rites, and then the Romans with their stately worship, for here stood a temple to Diana, or as some say, Bellona. Then came the dawiiing of Christianity, and the mission of St. Sampson and others, for the light of the Gospel had penetrated these northern glooms before the little Yorkshire boys had charmed St. Gregory in the Roman slave market, and he had sent Augustine to convert us to be " not Angles but Angels." Then, after St. Sampson had been driven away by pagan invaders, came King Arthur to restore the desolated churches ; he left his chaplain, Pyramus, as bishop. Much of this is legend. The first date that stands out clear and certain is April 12th, Easter Day, 627, when Paulinus baptised King Edwin, two of his children, and "many other persons of distinction and royal birth." A little wooden hut was the beginning of York Minster, but over it rose a larger church of stone, which Edwin did not live to finish. That task was accomplished about 642 by Oswald, his successor. It was repaired by St. Wilfrid about 720, and destroyed by fire in 741, rebuilt by Egbert (732—766), first archbishop since Paulinus, and demolished by the Danes. Thomas of Bayeux — chaplain to King William, and first archbishop after the Conquest — rebuilt the church, but it was again burnt in 1137 — this time only partially— along with St. Mary's Abbey and thirty -nine parish churches ! This was in the episcopacy of Thurston, and perhaps his time was too much occupied wdth military matters, and rousing up the monks of St. Mary's, for him to begin any restoration. This work was taken in hand by Roger, his successor, who lived to finish the Norman choir, and the crypt of, which we now speak. St. Olaf, King of Norway, who died in 1030, is said to have sent over to the King of England for the plans of York Minster, to be used in the building of Trondheim Cathedral. The two churches have something in common, but the points of resemblance belong mostly to a later date. The only part of the interior of the building remaining undescribed is the chapter-house, by some considered the gem of all. It is entered from the north transept through a very beautiful doorway, divided into two by a slender shaft, which leads into an L-shaped vestibule. This doorway, with the vestibule beyond, fonns an exquisite study of light and shade. The chapter-house is octagonal in shape with no central pillar, a window on each side with six arches below each, and a seat under each arch separated by pillars of Purbeck marble. All sorts of quaint little carvings are in the canopies of these stalls. One is a devil taking the crown from a king's head ; another a monk and a nun kissing. The original glass, mostly heraldic, of Early Decorated date, remains YcKs] THE CHAPTER-HOUSE. 31 in all except the cast window, which is mostly modern and very humiliating;. The ceiling was covered with frescoes coeval with the building; remnants may be seen in the vestibule. On a pillar by the door is the celebrated inscription, " Ut rosa flos florum, sic est domus ista domorum." The chapter-house was restored in 1844:. It must originally have stood alone, for the vestibule is built both on to it and to the transept. This latter also contains some good carving, and the window arches are peculiar, not having their points in the middle. Northwards from the north transept, and adjoining the deanery, is a stone building with an Early English five-light window very like the " Five Sisters." It is now the minster library, but anciently it was the private chapel of the arch- bishops and adjoined their palace. Of the palace itself nothing remains except a few arches. To his everlasting disgrace. Archbishop Young (1560 — 1568) sold the lead off the roof and pocketed the proceeds, and Roger's palace fell into decay. Young was, notwithstanding, deemed worthy of sepulture in the north aisle of the choir, but the exact place is not known. Looking back along the vale of years, how many memories come thronging up as we gaze upon York Cathedral or linger beneath its over-arching roof ! Kings and saints have knelt where we kneel, have prayed where we pray. Here from age to age have come the warrior in his strength, the old man with his hoary " crown of glory," the sinner with his bm'den, the maiden with her joy. Here (in 1221) the Princess Joan, daughter of King John, though only eleven years old, was married to Alexander II. of Scotland, and here thirty-one years later came her little niece, Margaret of England, to be united to Alexander III. That was indeed a gay Christmas. Henry III. and his queen and court were there, and the royal family of Scotland, to witness the union of the two children. Neither the bride nor the bridegroom was yet eleven ! A thousand knights in robes of silk attended the bride, while the King of Scotland was surrounded by the most distinguished vassals of his crown, and by the highest dignitaries of the Scottish Church. Tournaments and balls and processions suc- ceeded each other for many days ; and such was the number of the guests and the profuse hospitahty of the hosts, that six hundred oxen were killed for one feast. In the inidst of the festivities an attempt was made to get tlie King of Scotland to do homage for his kingdom to the King of England ; but the boy, with a spirit and discretion above his years, refused to take a step of such importance without the consent of the estates of his realm. It Avill be remembered that King William had been entrapped into that very act of homage at York by Henry I. (1175), and placed his spear and shield on the altar. At that altar (January, 1328) another and even more distinguished young couple began their long and happy married life, Edward III. and Philippa of Hainault. He was not yet seventeen, and she was only fourteen years of age. Yet another princess 32 CATHEDRAL CHUKCnES. [York. bride came to York, Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII., when on lier way to be married to James IV. of Scotland (July, 1503). She lodged in the palace of the archbishop, and went more than once to the minster, and St. William's head was brought for her to kiss. She wore a gorgeous dress of cloth of gold. In after-years she would perhaps look back at the days in York as among the palmiest of her life, for her husband hated his father- in-law, and visited his repugnance upon his wife. From wedding to funeral— so is the way of the world. Here was buried the head of King Edwin, founder of the church, and Eadbert, one of his successors on the throne of Northumbria. Here the remains of Tosti, Tiger of the North, brother of Harold, were brought after the battle of Stamford Bridge, to rest quietly at last. Here, when pious hands brought Arch- bishop Gerard home to his grave (1108), the crowd pelted his coffin with stones, because he had died with his head on an astronomical book ! Here is the last home of two of our noblest archbisho^is, Scrope and Nevill, the first put to death by the fourth Henry, the second "done" to death by the fourth Edward, in revenge for the deeds of his brother, the king-maker ; and here was laid in the cold earth the fiery Harry Hotspur. These are the towers which Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York, saw from Cawood ; he was summoned south before he had taken a nearer view. In conclusion, let me quote from old Drake's time-honoured volume : " Let it be then the prayer of all good men that this glorious building, the great monument of our forefathers' piety, may never want a governour less devoted to its preservation than the two last actually were or the present seems to be. That this fabrick may stand firm, and transmit to late posterity the virtues of its founders, and continue, what it has long been, iiot only a singular ornament to the city and these northern parts, but to the whole kingdom." THE EAST WINDOW. Constance Anderson. b- m w o w o Q W o ■< Q DUB-HAM, FROM THE RAILWAY STATION. DURHAM. The central shrine of Northumbrian Christianity, in its situation, its character, and its history, Durham stands unique among the cathedrals of England. The Wear, winding deep in its rocky bed, by a sudden turn forms a peninsula of horseshoe shape ; a mass of cliff, precipitous and woody, rising perpendicularly above the river. From west to east across its centre this islet is spanned by the mas- sive cathedral — the old Benedictine abbey. To the south the crest is occupied by the old monastic buildings, the deanery, and the houses and gardens of the canons. To the north, stretching as far as the isthmus, as if to shield from attack the sacred fane, rises the massive pile of the old castle, with its clustered buttresses, and crowned by its grand feudal keep ; for centuries the fortress of the Prince-Bishops of Durham, and now the home qf the University of the North. The view of this stately mass, ''half church of God, half castle 'gainst tlie Scots," from the viaduct and railway station high on the opposite western slope of the river, is one of surpassing grandeur ; the most magnificent embodiment in stone and mortar of the old English idea of Church and State which our island affords. The contrast between this marvellous position and that of most other monasteries is indeed great. Instead of some retired spot by a river's 5 34 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Dikham. bank, speaking of peace and contemplation, and shadowing a yearning for calm and repose to come, here the church boldly faced the world, in strong antago- nism to the ignorance, oppression, and cruelty which raged in this border-land. One peculiarity meets us at once. From its position on the edge of a pre- cipitous cliff, there is no accessible western front or entrance. The western fayade approaches to within a few feet of the extremity, and the steep slope is built up with massive masonry to form a platform on to which the Norman west door once opened, but which is now wholly covered by the Galilee or Lady Chapel, transferred, contrary to the almost invariable practice, from the east to the west end. The only entrances to the cathedral are, therefore, on the north and south sides, the latter through the cloisters and monastic buildings. We approach it from the north, on which side we have an unbroken view of its whole length, from the wide cathedral graveyard and the great open space called the Palace Green. With the exception of the eastern end and its transepts, the Galilee Chaj^el, and the upper part of the central and western towers, we see the abbey almost as Flambard in 1128 completed the work left by Carilef in 1096. An older and humbler fane, the church of- Aldhune (first Bishop of Durham, 990), had occupied the site on which, on the 12th of August, 1093, Bishop Carilef, in the presence of Malcolm, King of Scotland, laid the foundation stone of the existing church. The old northern porch of the sanctuary, with its chambers above, was destroyed and barbarised by Wyatt at the end of the last century ; fourteenth-century -windows have been inserted in the transepts ; while the upper part of the central tower, including the galleries of the lantern, was gradually rebuilt from 140G to 1474. Much more interesting and beautiful are the imposing western towers, built, no doubt, before the central tower, although we have no record of their exact date. The scries of arcades from the Norman below to the fully-developed Early English clus-tcred shafts of the upper stages, point to their completion at a period not later than the beginning of the thirteenth century. The arcades are formed of round-headed and pointed arches alternately, and the only modern portion are the parapets and turrets, added a century ago, in lieu of the wooden spires covered with lead, which surmounted them till the year 1670. Grand, however, as is the general effect of the north front, the details have been somewhat blurred by the fatal paring of four inches from the whole surface, perpetrated by Wyatt, who irretrievably destroyed the depth and boldness of the mouldings and the pilasters. Let us now enter the sacred building. On the door is still fixed the gro- tesque bronze sanctuary knocker, many and many a time clasped, and not in vain, by some unfortunate offender, to whom the shrine of St. Cuthbert held Durham.] THE NOEMAN NAVE. 35 ANCIKNT KNOCKEK. for centuries a protecting hand, and interposed to save him from the avenger. Watchers remained nig-ht and day in the cliamber above to receive tlie sup- pliant, who was maintained by tlie convent for thirty-seven days. We possess the register of the sanctuary for sixty years, from 14(34: to 1524, with the yiar- ticulars of 380 fugitives, of wliom no loss than 283 were for murder or homicide. No doubt the privilege was often abused, " yet in the rapine and tumult of the Middle Ages, the right might as often be a shield to innocence, as an impunity to crime." When we have entered the church, and look down the nave, we must admit that no grander Norman building exists. It is homogeneously majestic in its wondrous solemnity. " Look at the perfect symmetry of the great arcades, of choir and nave : the pillars are neither too short and broad, nor are they again too lofty and slender, but are admirably adapted to carry out the pro- portions of the whole. Look how the triforium and clerestory, neither dwarfed into insignificance nor made too asserting by their importance, unite with the arcade which support them, and form together a design of perfect and consistent excellence." There is massiveness, without the heaviness which marks the Norman portions of Norwich and Winchester. We said that Durham is the central shrine of Northumbrian Christianity. It shelters the hallowed dust of its two great apostles, Cuthbert and Bedc. As the former is the raison cPetre of the existence of Durham, we will pass at once to his shrine at the east end of the choir, now a sim^Dle massive platform of masonry, projecting into the "Nine Altars," as the east end and transepts are called ; with a slab in the centre, under which lie the coffin and bones of the saint. Very different was its appearance before the visit of the commissioners of Henry VIII. We can yet see in the flooring the sockets that once held the supports of the rich canopy, under which lay the relics of St. Cuthbert, laden with costly gems and gifts, which are said to have surpassed in value those of the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury, "and accounted to be the most sumptuous and richest jewels in all this land." Very shortly must we give the story of our patron saint. A shepherd boy in Scotland, trained in the Abbey of Melrose, a wandering preacher of mighty power from the Tweed to the Forth, he was selected to be Prior of Lindisfarne, and in G85 its bishop, the sixth suc- cessor of Aidan. In the Church of Holy Island he was buried. Fragments of his wooden coffin — the oldest, out of Egypt, in the world — are still, with Saxon 36 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Durham. THE WEST FRONT, FROM THE RIVEK. carving and letters, in the chapter library. In 875, driven by the Danes from Lindisfarne, the monks wandered over moor and fell in Southern Scotland and Northern England, always bearing with them the body of the saint. They halted at Craike, in Yorkshire, at Chester-le-Street and Ripon, and finally settled, in 995, on this lordly seat, then a primaeval forest. Here, under a chapel of Durham.] THE NTNE ALTARS CHAPEL. 37 boughs, they laid the coffin, while Aldhune, the first Bishop of Durham, erected the first cathedral, of which not a trace remains. Carilef's cathedral originally terminated in an apse, in the centre of which was Cuthbert's shrine. This having become ruinous, the present "Nine Altars Chapel" was commenced in 1242, so named from the nine bays of its eastern fa9ade, each of which contained an altar. This singularly beautiful structure is the only post-Norman portion of the cathedral, and is a specimen of the highest perfection of the Early English style. The arcade, with its graceful trefoiled arches supported by slender marble shafts, the lofty clustered columns which divide the bays, with shafts of THE CHOIR, LOOKING WEST. Stanhope black marble and sand- stone alternating, the sumptuously decorated vaulting of the roof, crowded with various and grace- ful sculptures both of foliage and figure subjects, fitly complete the building, in harmony, not in con- trast, with the Norman simplicity of the rest of the structure, the east bay of the choir having been beautifully enriched, both in the capitals and the vaulting, with sculpture, so as to blend harmoni- ously with the later style. As Dr. Green well has asserted, " Truly, no more majestic vaulting crowns any church in our country." Next in importance, as in date, after Cuthbert, of the holy men of Durham, comes the Venerable Bede. To visit his tomb we retrace our steps to the west IN THE NAVE, 38 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Durham. end of the building and enter the GaUlee Chapeh Before reaching it, between the piers just west of the north and south doors, we cross a line of blue marble, eastward of which no woman was allowed to pass, such was the reputed distaste of St. Cuthbert for the sex. This, however, was by no means in accordance with the character of the friend and guide of St. Hilda during his life, and is a monkish invention which cannot be traced further back than four hundred years after his death. We descend by several steps into the Galilee. This chapel was erected about 1175, and is a unique specimen of late twelfth-century work. It consists of five aisles of four arcades each ; the semicircular arches, richly decorated with zigzag, are each supported by two slender shafts of Pm-beck marble, to which were afterwards applied two others of sandstone, so that each column is now a cluster of four shafts, the added ones giving no support to the arch, but having been built merely for appearance sake. The rich simplicity of this chapel renders it one of the most interesting portions of the fane. Its walls were once decorated with fresco, of which a portion remains tolerably perfect, in the north-east recess, with figures of St. Oswald and St. Cuthbert. But the interest of the Galilee centres in the tomb of Bede, covered with a plain slab, and the inscription " Hac sunt in fossa Bedae venerabilis ossa." Bede, though peculiarly Durham's saint, for in this county he was born, lived, and died, yet is the common possession of the English Church. He was not a man of action, but a saint, a student, an expounder of Holy Writ, a man of science. Born at Fulwell, close to Wearmouth, about 074, he spent his whole life in the monas- tery of J arrow, a voluminous author on arithmetic, geography, histor}', astronomy, and theology. At Jarrow, in 735, he died, but his bones were carried to Durham by a monk, who thouglit he ought to be near his beloved Cuthbert, and not till 1370 was he removed from St. Ciithbert's coffin and placed in a magnificent shrine of gold and silver, on tlie spot where his bones still remain. Several MSS., claiming to be in Bede's own handwriting, and one at least unquestioned, are to be seen to this day in the chapter library. The dust of many great men lies by the side of Bode in the Galilee Chapel. Bishop Neville desired to be buried there, and in front of the central altar of Our Lady, which occupied the original western doorway of the abbey, is the massive tomb of Cardinal Langley (1406), the only Bishop of Durham before Bainbridge and Wolsey who attained to that dignity, and who made great repairs in the Galilee, wliich he found in a ruinous condition. The Galilee was in olden times, and is to the present day, the bishop's consistory court. Returning to the choir we may examine the insertions or fixed furniture. One of the most beautiful features of the interior of Durham is the rcredos, or Neville screen, Avliich separated St. Cuthbert's shrine from the high altar west of it. It was built, chiefly at the cost of Lord Neville, in 1380, as a thank- Durham] THE TOMBS. 39 ofPering for the victory of Neville's Cross over the Scotch, and is of graueful pointed architecture, of Dorsetshire stone, though commonly said to be Caen, and till the Reformation had a hundred and seven figures in its niches, the removal of which, though lamented by some, adds to the graceful lightness of the structure. In the next bay, on the south of the choir, is the bishop's tlirone, an integral part of the tomb of Bishop Hatfield, who lies below, with his recumbent figure in alabaster, in pontifical robes, under a beautifully sculptured canopy. The throne above it has once been richly gilded and coloured, and is the loftiest episcopal seat in England. ■ The whole was erected by Bishop Hatfield in his lifetime (1315 — 1381). Of the brass of Bishop Beaumont (1833) onlv the matrix remains. In the north aisle of the choir is a stone bench with the arms of Bishop Skirlaw (1388 — 1405), who is buried close by; and the letters W. D., on the pavement of the sacrarium, mark the resting-place of William Van Mildcrt (1836), the last Prince Palatine of Durham. The only remaining monuments to be noticed are the altar-tombs of Ralph, Lord Neville, who led the English army at the battle of Neville's Cross, 1346, and died in 1367 ; and of his son, John, Lord Neville, and Matilda Percy, his wife, both piteously defaced, and removed to their present position from what was once the Neville chantry in the south aisle. It is true that most of the great early prelates of Dm-liam were buried in the chapter-house, but the tombs of several bishops and of many priors have utterly disappeared in the troublous scenes enacted here. The interior of the cathedi"al was literally gutted by the unfortunate Scotch prisoners, whom, to the number of 3,000, Oliver Cromwell, after the battle of Dunbar, shut up in winter in the cathedral. It is not to be wondered at that they destroyed the wood- work for fuel, and that scarce a fragment of the old stained glass, one of the glories of Durham, remains. The liberality of many friends has, however, within the last few years supplied the place of much that has been destroyed, and few finer specimens of modern stained glass can be found than the compo- sitions which mellow the light in many of these windows. While deploring the devastation which left the interior of the cathedral a desolat*^ waste, at the epoch of the Restoration, it is impossible to read the description of the fane, before the Reformation, as given in " The Rites of Durham," without arriving at the conclusion that the general effect of the whole must have been nmch inferior to what it is at present. A solid stone screen behind the " Jesus altar," at the east end of the nave, entirely cut off the choir; the south aisle was completely blocked by the solid stone wall of the Neville chantry, which occupied its two eastern bays; while thirty altars, with all their elaborate and inhar- monious furnishing, besides nearly as many tombs, must have marred the simplicity of the Norman architecture. Nothing, however, can ever have inter- 40 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Durham. posed to affect the majestic beauty of the long line of the triforium, clerestory, and vaulted roof. It is to Bishop Cosin that we owe the thorough restoration of the interior after 1662. He erected the stalls with the canopy work over them ; a magnificent close screen of elaborately and richly carved oak, surmounted by an organ of Father Schmidt, now all swept away ; and the canopy over the font. This woodwork, though characteristic of the time when it was exe- cuted, harmonised well, by its bold and vigorous carving, with the building in which it was placed. He also paved the choir with white marble, effectively IHE h\hLLi\ lKVNji.ll relieved by chequers of black, which has recently been replaced by a costly and elaborate, though feeble and ineffective tesselated mosaic of Byzantine design. Three most interesting specimens of wood- work of different epochs escaped destruction by the Scotch, only to be reserved for unprovoked demo- lition in the present generation. These were the fine clock-case, under the windows of the south transept, originally erected by Prior Castcll (1404), with later additions by Dean Hunt (1620); an oak screen, which surmounted the platform of St. Cuthbert's slu^ine, one of the few remains, and a very fine one, of the decorative art of the time of Philip and Mary ; and lastly, the splendid ancient reredos of the altar over Cardinal THE GAULKK. Durham. 1 VANDALISM AT DURHAM. 41 Langley's tomb, containing paintings of the early part of the fifteenth century. Of this not a vestige now remains. These acts of vandalism were perpetrated in the years 1844-45. Thus in the course of its history the cathedral has experienced the effects of revolving cycles of epochs of destruction and of intrusion. A few years ago most important but questionable changes were made in its interior fm-niture. The present sumptuous Byzantine pulpit was erected under the lantern ; and opposite to it the massive metal lectern, scarcely to be THji CHOIR. admired either for its material, design, or execution ; while the choii', which since the destruction of Bishop Cosin's woodwork had been open to the nave, was barred by the introduction of the heavy though richly-carved Decorated screen of alabaster, which is not only utterly incongruous in its florid ornamentation with the rest of the church, but entirely cuts the perspective of the reredos and grand east end, when viewed from the nave. It is under the flooring of the chapter-house that most of the illustrious bishops of olden time are laid. This once noble building, adjoining the south transept on the south, but separated by the monk's parlour, is entered from the cloister, and was the flnest Norman chapter-liouse in England. Within it were buried the first three bishops — Aldhune, Eadmund, and Eadred, Carilef and his eleven immediate successors, and Bishop Kellow. The bones of Aidan, first 42 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Dukkam. Bishop of Lindisfariie, were brought licre from Holy Island. It is remarkable that siuco Neville in 14,57, only three of its bishops have been bm-ied in Durham. The treatment of the tombs of those buried in the chapter-house ought not to be forgotten. By an act of barbarism, scarcely credible, in 179G this sj)lendid hall, 77 feet hmg, and paved with the slabs and brasses of sixteen bishops of Durham and many priors, was destroyed in order to make a comfortable room for the chapter. The ke}'stones of the groining were knocked out, when the whole vaulting fell in and crushed the pavement below, not a single inscription of bishop or prior having been preserved or even copied. Of the stone throne at the cast end, in which every bishop, from Pudsey to Barrington, had been enthroned, not a relic remains. Upon the ruins of the western jjortion of the chapter-house a flooring was laid, and the present room erected, part of the old walls being utilised, but the arcading plastered over. The greater portion was levelled and thrown into the deanery garden. In this part have recently been exposed the slabs of Bishojos Flambard, Geoffrey Rufus, and AVilliam de St. Barbara, when, as well as their bones, theii* jDastoral staves, and their episcopal rings set with sapphires (the latter now in the chapter library), were found in the stone coffins. Several of these bishops claim especial mention. First of them is Ralph Flambard, Chancellor of William Rufus, and completer of Oarilef's work. He was the friend of Robert of Normandy, a politician perhaps unscrupulous, but a man of great energy, and of equal liberality, except towards the monks. Not onl}' the cathedral, but the castle and the city owe him much, for he built the exist- ing bridge over the Weai', known as Framwellgate Bridge, probably the earliest example of the elliptic arch in England. His successor, Geoffrey Rufus, was also Chancellor of England under Henry I. Hugh Pudsey, King Steijhen's nephew, and eleventh Bishop of Durham, was one of the most prominent statesmen of his day. He has left his mark on Durham, by the building of Elvet Bridge, the founding of Sherburn Hospital, and especially by the erec- tion of the Galilee Chapel. His illuminated Bible, in four huge folios, is one of the most precious gems in the unique MS. library of the chapter. A great warrior-bishop was Anthony Bek (1283), a man of noble birth, large private fortune, and more at home in court or camp than cluncli. He led 140 knights to the Scottish wars, and received the submission of the king, Baliol, on behalf of Edward I. He was made by the Pope, Patriarch of Jerusalem, by Edward 11. King of tlic Isle of Man, and died king, patriarch, palatine, and bishop. He sold Alnwick Castle to the Percys, founded the collegiate churches of Chcster- le-Street and Lanchester, with deans and prebendaries. The ruins of liis house at Eltham, in Kent, still exist. Very different in character was Richard de Bury (llJo^), tutor of Edward III. and Chancellor of England; but especially distinguished as a scholar . and a great book collector. Among DruHAM.] BISHOPS OF DURHAM. 43 his successors are Fox, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford ; Cardinal Wolsey, who, for the six years he held the see, never visited it, and then, on the death of his predecessor Fox, resigned it for Winchester. He Avas succeeded by Tunstall, translated from London, the bitter opponent to Tyndal's New Testament, who remained bishop till deposed by Elizabeth, although imprisoned on a political charge of treason during the latter part of King Edward's reign. Of later prelates, Cosin, as already mentioned, left his mark on Durham, as did his contemporary. Dean Sudbury, to whom the chapter owes its library. Lord Crewe was his successor, whose political course may be criticised, but who was a noble benefactor to the diocese. The learned Butler, one of the most illustrious, or rather the greatest of the prelates who liave occupied the throne of Durham, only lived for two years after his translation, too sliort a time for him to leave any trace of his episcopate, save a single charge ; nor is he buried here. Of his successors, Bishops Barrington and Baring, not to mention others, have left behind them the proofs of a truly princely liberality. Tlie cloisters, which existed from the earliest times of the monastery, wore rebuilt by Bishops Skirlaw and Langley, but have been much altered. They are enclosed on the south and west by the ancient refectory and dormitory, both now occupied as the chapter library, the latter a magnificent chamber, 194 feet long and 41 wide, still covered with its original solid and massive roof of oak trunks, scarcely touched by the axe. It was divided into forty little wooden cells, one for each monk, and is over a fine crypt, the common liouse of the fraternity. Besides the book-cases, it contains an interesting local archaeological collection, from Roman and Saxon times, of altars, crosses, Anglo- Saxon inscriptions, and much Runic sculpture. In the refectory, now called the old librar}", re-roofed by Dean Sudbury, arc many priceless treasures. Besides the MSS. of Bede and the episcopal rings already mentioned, are the pectoral cross, the gold embroidered stole and maniple, and the Gospels of St. Cuthbert, though the celebrated MS. which once graced the high altar has unaccountably become the property of the British Museum ; while the manuscript chamber contains- one of the most valuable collections of MSS. to be found beyond the precincts of the universities. Finally, Ave claim for Durham, in spite of all that she has suffered from the liand of the spoiler, that she still sits on her rocky height peerless in majesty among the historic fanes of this ancient land. H. B. Teistraai. . IBM f \ I s J i I { 1 1* OLD ST. Paul's, from the south. {After IloUar.) ST. PAUL'S. The site now occupied Ijy the Catliedral of St. Paul, by far the most important ecclesiastical building in the style of the Renais- sance which exists in England, has for long been the position of the mother church of London. Two cathedrals had already been built, had received for generations their crowds of worshippers, and had been swept away, before Sir Christopher Wren laid the foundations of the great structure which now rises from the summit of Ludgate riill. The site, indeed, was holy ground at a still earlier time. Here the Romans had built a temple, and had dedicated it, so antiquaries say, to Diana. Brito-Roman graves, as well as those of Saxon date, were found by Sir Christ()})her Wren in digging the foundations for a part of the cathedral. The temple fell into ruins, like so many other Roman buildings, after their troops had abandoned the island, and in the seventh century Ethelbert of Kent founded a monastery, which he endowed with the manor of Tillingham, in Essex, and dedicated to St. Paul. St. Paul's. 1 THE FIRST ST. PAUL'S. 45 At that time Mellitus, a companion of Augustine, was Bishop of London, and the first of the long series of occupants of this post of labour and honour. Of the details of this, the first church of St. Paul, we are ignorant. Doubtless it was comparatively small in size and rude in style ; but it was destroyed after the Norman Conquest in a fire which devastated London. According to Dean Milman, this happened in the year 1087 or 1088, but there are difficulties in CHArXEH-IlOl'SE AND CLOISTtK, OLD ST. I'AUL b. {After Hollar.) fixing precisely the date. The rebuilding was begun at once by Maurice, then Bishop of London, and some of the materials were taken from the ruins of a strong castle near the Fleet, then called the Palatine Tower, which was William the Conqueror's subscription to the work ; other stone was obtained from Caen, in Normandy. This cathedral, with various modifications, existed till the great fire in the year 1666. Of its appearance old engravings and descriptions enable us to form a fair idea, and in Mr. Longman's "History of the Three Cathedrals Dedicated to St. Paul" plates are given embodying the results of a careful study of the existing materials by Mr. p]. B. Ferrey. At first the new building progressed but slowly ; forty years had passed and it was still unfinished. Then another 46 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Sr. Pml's. great fire — in the year 1136 — broke out and raged all the Av^ay from London Bridge to the Church of the Danes, greatly injuring — some liistorians even go so far as to say destroying — the still incomplete cathedral. At last, however, the work was ended ; and then, in no long time, men began to desire a more sumptuous structure, so in the early part of tlic thirteenth century the central tower was rebuilt, and afterwards the whole of the choir, the work being com- pleted in 1240. Other alterations and important repairs were made towards the end of the same century, but then the building remained almost unaltered until after the Reformation. The Cathedral of St. Paul, as thus completed, was one of the finest in all England. In plan it was cruciform, both choir and nave consisting of twch^e bays. The transepts projected for four bays beyond the outer wall of tlie nave and choir, and from the intersection of these rose a lofty stone tower, crowned by a B\)\ve covered with lead, its summit attaining an elevation of about 4G0 feet, or even more, according to some authorities. In length the cathedral ex- ceeded AVinchester, being at least 596 feet. The ridge of the roof of the choir was 142 feet from the ground; that of the nave sliglitly less; and the wooden spire covered with lead, wliicli rose above the central tower, was probably rather more than 200 feet. The nave, a fine Norman building, internally not unlike that of Gloucester, with a rather plain west front, remained unchanged, at any rate externally, except that the clerestory had been altered and a vaulted roof had been added. The transepts and choir were rich examjDles of the Decorated style, and, unlike almost any other English cathedral, a grand rose window was the chief feature of the eastern end. In the south-west angle, between the nave and transept, was a small cloister, in the centre of which stood the chapter-house ; and at the south side, abutting on the western end of the nave, and probably like it, Norman in style, was a small parish church, dedicated to St. Gregory. The choir, as at Canterbury, was elevated on a crypt, the vaulting of which was above the ground-level. Part of this, after the year 1256, was dedicated to St. Faith and used as a parish church, the old church of that name having been destroyed for the enlargement of the cathedral. A wall and gates surrounded the building, and in the chm-chyard, at the north-east angle, stood the famous Paul's Cross, where our forefathers assembled in fine weather to hear sermons from the most eloquent and learned preachers of the day. East of the cathedral was a school, and a belfry tower, in which hung a noted peal of bells, and to tlie north was the College of Minor Canons, of which the name is still pre- served in Canon Alley. West of this was the bishop's palace ; the deanery was on its present site, and gardens and the early monastic buildings lay to the south. Thujs the cathcdi^al remained till the middle of the fifteenth century. Then 8t. Taul's.] DISASTEnS TO THE CAT LIE DEAL. 47 it was again endang-crcd by its old enemy, fire, for in tlie year 1444 the steeple was struck by liglitnin<^, and was so seriously injured that it was eig'htcen years before its restoration was completed. Yet worse befell it in 1561, after the Reformation, when the steeple was again struck during a storm, set on fire, and utterly destroyed ; and not only this, but the flames caught the roofs on each side, and they also were burnt. The decline of the ancient reverence had now rendered the building, especially the nave, liable to all kinds of desecration; "Paul's Walk " was a general rendezvous and a covered place of exercise, combining the varied attractions of Burlington Arcade and the old Quadrant of Regent Street ; a place where all inventions were emptied and not a few pockets ; the " land's epitome," where men transacted business, gallants swaggered, and strumpets flaunted. A partial repair was indeed effected, but the whole building bore a ruinous appearance in the days of Elizabeth's successor, who took an active part in its restoration. This was entrusted to Inigo Jones, who built a classic west front, and with the best intentions generally maltreated the church. The work of restoration was continued till the crash came which shook down king and bishop, and was carried far enough to diminish our regret at the destruction of the cathedral after the Stuarts came back to the throne. At that time still greater changes were under consideration, including the substitution of a grand dome for the central tower, for neglect and wanton injury combined had wrought great damage during the period of Puritan ascendency; but on September 2nd, 1666, the "great fire" broke out, and before long the flames reached the cathedral. Once more its ancient enemy raged within its walls, and this time more uncontrollably than ever, and "that most venerable church" was reduced to a heap of ruins. These, however, were not long suffered to remain untouched. Dr. Christopher Wren was appointed one of the " Commissioners for the reparation of St. Paul's," as well as principal architect for rebuilding the whole city. He at once fitted up a portion of the ruins for temporary use in public worship, and the commis- sioners proceeded to deliberate upon the next step to be taken, for at present they hesitated between restoration and rebuilding. At first, contrary to the advice of Wren, attempts were made in the former direction, but as time went on the difficulty— one might say the hopelessness — of producing any satisfactory result became more evident, and in 1670 it was determined to clear away the foundations of the old cathedral and prepare to build a new one. Wren liatl already made a design, jDrior to the fire, for a new cathedral, but at the request of Dean Sancroft he now produced a fresh design, which he described as " some- thing coloss and beautiful, conformable to the best style of Grreek and Roman architecture." Of this a model was made, which may still be seen at the South Kensington Museum. The plan is a Greek cross, with the angles filled in by 48 CATHEDRA L CHURCHES. rSr. Paul's quadrants of a circle. The arms are short ; a large dome rises from the centre, and a smaller dome rises from behind the west facade. The novelty of the design, as imperfectly cruciform, displeased the clerg}-, and it was accordingly rejected. Then Wren prepared various designs, one of which was approved by King Charles, licence, however, being given to make alterations. Of this clause Wren fortunately availed himself, construing the permission in the widest sense, so that the present AllE CllLRCH OF ST. I'AITH, THE CKYl'T OF OLD ST. PAUL's. (From a View by Hollar.) cathedi'al has but little resemblance to the design which was approved by his Majesty. In this case second thouglits proved far the best, for the design as originally prepared was distinctly inferior both to the 2^i't3sent building and to that which had been rejected. As to the comparative merits of these two, opinions differ ; but there is a general tendency among the best qualified j udges of the classic style to prefer the present one, although it is in some points admittedly inferior to the older design, as indicated by the Kensington model. All, however, must agree that the design which was honoured by royal approval, and from which evidently London had a narrow escape, was in some respects absolutely hideous. St. Tail's. 1 CLEARING TUE RUINS. 49 On the 1st of May, 1G74, Wren began to clear away the ruins for the new foundations — a work of no little difficulty. To lay these took some time, for Wren was too great a man to run any risk that his building should fall into ruins. He, THB CHOIB, BEPORE THE llEMOVAl. OF THE SCKEEU. (From a Print published I'M.) like tlie Romans, built for eternity rather than for time ; and it was not until June 21st, 1675, that the first stone was laid. The old and the new cathedrals, roughly speaking, occupy the same site, but as the latter is considerably shorter than the former, and as the end of its eastern apse is not far away from the east wall of the earlier building, the present west front is some distance within the boundary of the former one. The work went on, and by April, 1684, more than 50 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. Paul's. a hundred tlioiisand pounds had been expended, the stone being brought from the quarries in the Isle of Porthmd. The choir was opened for divine service on the thanksgiving day for the Peace of Ryswick, December 2nd, 1697, and the dome was completed in 1710. It is painful to relate that the closing years of Wren's work at the cathedral were darkened by -wrongful and insulting treatment. There had been a commission appointed to superintend the progress of the works, the majority of whom were no more fitted for the duty than have been some modern ediles. An idea took possession of their minds that Wren wanted the work prolonged as much as possible in order that he might continue to enjoy his sumptuous salary (£200 a year!) as architect. Accordingly, three years before the close of the seventeenth century, a clause had been inserted in an Act of Parliament which had authorised them to susjDcnd the payment of one-half his salary till the work was finished. When the building was substan- tially complete Wren was still only able to obtain this by petitioning the CroA\Ti. But dlsj^utes about this comparatively paltry sum were not all ; the commissioners continued to meddle with the work and to thwart the architect. Contrary to his strongly-expressed wishes they cooped up the cathedral within an enclosure consisting of a stone wall surmounted by a heavy cast-iron railing, which since, and with such good effect, has been removed from the west front. The iron- work of this was cast from ore smelted In the furnaces of the Sussex Weald, and has thus the one solitary interest of being a monument of a vanished industry. The commissioners Insisted upon crowning the side walls of the cathedral with a balustrade, since this, to quote Wren's words, " was exjDected by persons of little skill in architecture," and by ladies, who "think nothing well without an edging." At last they brought their disputes to a close by a crowning act of insult and ingratitude. As the result of a miserable court intrigue they obtained from George I. the dismissal of the illustrious architect from his office of Surveyor of Public Works. Wren, then in his eighty-sixth year, but in full possession of his faculties, bore this ill-treatment with equanimity, retired to his house at Hampton Court, and resumed his studies in philosoi^hy and theology, until, four years later, he passed quietly away from this world. His successor, a court favourite, named Benson, has received as his reward a place in the " D unclad," without which lils name would already have been forgotten. The principal dimensions of Wren's building are as follows: — The length, Including the portico, is 500 feet; the greatest breadth, across the transept, but without reckoning the porches, is 250 feet; the general width of the nave is 115 feet; but this at the western end is augmented by the projection of the towers. The monuments of old St. Paul's had, of course, been destroyed by the fire, the effigy of Dean Donne in his shroud alone escaping comparatively imhurt ; of the rest only fragments were left. But the loss was less severe than would liave St. Pail's.] WREN'S CATHEDRAL. 61 been the case in some of our cathedrals. The monuments were hardly so numerous, so magnificent, or so interesting historically as one might have exj3ected. Two early Saxon kings rested here— Sebba, the East-Saxon, and Ethelred the Unready. Of royal lineage, after the Norman Conquest, there was only the grand tomb of " Old John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaster." There was also a handsome monument to John de Beauchamp, to which Duke Humphrey's name was perversely afiixed, though he rests, as is well known, at St. Albans. Here, in the da}-s of Paul's Walk, the men of empty pockets lingered, to while away the hour of dinner, and so gave rise to the familiar saying. Some workers of the Elizabethan days had been laid to rest beneath the arches of St. Paul's, among them Nicholas Bacon, father of a yet greater son ; Sidney, brought from the field of Zutphen ; Francis Walsingham, shrewd adviser of Elizabeth, and others less illustrious. These monuments, with the excejDtion of a few fragments, one being a portion of the effigy of Nicholas Bacon, all ^^ei'ished in the flames. For many years after the new cathedral was completed, not, in fact, till 1796, was any monument allowed to be erected within its walls, but since then they have become numerous. Of these the more important will be mentioned later. It has been already mentioned that the ground-plan of the exterior is a Latin cross, at the centre of which is placed the dome, the distinctive feature of the building, rising to a height of about 365 feet. St. Peter's at Rome, with which it is natural to make a comparison, has the following dimensions: — -'Length, 630 feet; breadth, 440; width of nave, 220; and height of dome, 437^." The exterior of St. Paul's consists throughout of two orders, the lower being Corinthian, the upper composite ; its two most distinctive features are the west front and the dome. The former has a noble portico, divided like the rest of the building into two storeys, the lower consisting of twelve coupled columns, the upper only of eight, above which is an entablature and a pediment decorated with sculpture of moderate merit dejDicting the conversion of St. Paul. This portico is flanked by the lower storeys of the western towers ; each of them, where it rises above the mass of the building, consists of a square base supporting a circular turret flanked with columns and crowned by a cupola. The effect of the whole is remarkably harmonious. Difference of opinion will naturally exist as to the results of Classic and of "Gothic" architecture, a preference for the one or the other being the result of natural feeling as well as of education. At the present day the majority prefer the jDoetic beauty of many English and foreign cathedrals in the "Gothic" style to the balanced regularity and ordered magnificence of such buildings as St. Paul's and St. Peter's, just as they would prefer a curve of natural growth to the more elaborate and intricate design that a machine can draw ; but, accepting the fact that the natural bent of Wren's mind and all the influences of his age led him to prefer to build after classic models, we must admit, whether we sympathise in 52 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. Paul's. our inmost heart with the Roman adoptions of Greek designs or even with the originals themselves, that it would be difficult to imagine anything more successful, as a classic work, than the Cathedral of St. Paul. To the writer — one of those who can admire but cannot love the works of the Renaissance — its western front appears far superior to the corresponding faQade of St. Peter's, which, notwith- standing its larger dimensions, has always seemed in this respect poor in conception THB CHOIR. and almost insignificant in effect. The dome, indeed, is more doubtfully superior to that of St. Peter's ; in fact, we ventured to prefer that wliicli Wren originally designed, and which may now be studied in the South Kensington model. The chief external feature of St. Paul's dome is a circular colonnade around the drum, consisting of thirty-two columns, the base of which is some twenty feet above the roof ridge of the church. Every fourth intercolumniation is filled with masonry, which masks the projecting buttresses of the inner shell or true wall of the dome — a most ingenious device. It may, however, be doubted whether the abrupt break produced by the balustrade which crowns this colonnade lias not tlie effect of diminishing the height of the dome and somewhat interfering St. Paul's.] THE DOME. 63 with its harmony of composition. The dome is surmounted by a stone lantern, which is covered by a cupola supporting a ball surmounted by a cross. The device adopted by Wren for insuring- the stability of his dome is unusual, and 4/^i i'PAJJJ ^^^'Wm'm% "f^ r^m i... m § ^.^^.-^.-.....'^-^-^^.im,.,.^:-,-,.-, ■^. ^,^ .,..,^.,...,f.,.^...,.. .^,^,„,^ M..»^„^Af.^/,.m^^^^^,ji,^^....,.. x^ -^ ST. PAUL S, FROM THK SLKKEY SIDE. in a certain sense is an unfair one, because the dome visible from the exterior is to a great extent a mere ornamental shell, and does not support the weight of the lantern. From the upper part of the lower storey of the drum he built up a strong cone of masonry, on the top of which the lantern is carried. Outside of this the roof of the outer dome is constructed, and within it another dome — ■ the one visible from the interior — is built. By this device strength and stability 64 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. iSt. Paul's. are amply secured ; but obviously the dome of Sir Cliristopher Wren is a much less daring effort of the architect than that of Micliacl Angelo or of Brunelleschi, and is liable to the objection of not being what it seems. This, however, opens a question on the ethics of architecture into which we do not propose to enter. The interior of St. Paul's is hardly less impressive than the exterior. Its smaller scale does not, indeed, produce the overpowering sense of vastness which gradually creeps over us in St. Peter's when we begin to realise the scale of every part, and the want of marble and mosaic produces a chilling and an "almost poverty- stricken effect. But we cannot remain long in St. Paul's, especially beneath the dome, without being impressed with the grandeur as well as the harmony of the design, and the defect of colour is due to the building having been left without the finishing touches of the master-hand. St. Paul's Cathedral is even now incomplete, though efforts have been of late years, and are being still made, to bring it nearer to perfection. Certainly there is no cause to regret that the enemies of Wren were obliged, by want of funds, to withhold their hands ; in every possible respect they were acting, as it would seem in mere malice, in tlie direct opj^osite to his wishes. They had prisoned his building within a massive and ugly fence ; they had erected a heavy organ-screen, cutting off the choir from the dome — this also has disappeared during the recent alterations ; and they had bedaubed the interior of the dome with the unsightly paintings of Sir John Thornhill, in this respect also acting contrary to the wish of the architect, who had intended to employ mosaics largely in the decoration of the interior of the building. Some have recently been placed in the spandrels of the arches" supporting the dome, and it is to be hoped that the liberality of the citizens of London will speedily continue this series. The general symmetry of the style employed in St. Paul's Cathedral renders a lengthy description of the interior needless. It is divided by two massive arcades, supported by pilasters, into a body and two aisles, the latter being low compared with the former. The roofs are vaulted ; there is a clerestory but no triforium, the windows being introduced into the curved space formed by the intersection of the vaulting with the outer walls ; this does much to avert monotony from the design. Below the drum of tlio dome is the well-knoAvn Whispering Gallery, a rather conspicuous feature in the interior view, so called from its remarkable acoustic properties, and the jDiercing of the centre of the cupola allows the eye to travel as far as tlie sunnnit of the cone which supports the lantern. The view of the dome from the interior, its great expanse and elevation, is undoubtedly far the most impressive part of the cathedral, which sometimes certairdy does give an opportunity to the lover of Gothic to emjihasise the merits of his favourite style ; but could the dome be completed — as doubtless it existed in the mental conception of the architect — with marble and mosaics. Sr. Paul's] THE GllYPT. 55 gloAving with ricli colour, instead of disfigured with the daubs of Thornhill, even the most unfriendly critic of classic art would have to admit that Christopher Wren liad produced a work which few could rival. In the fittings of the choir is some fine carving by Grinling Gibbons, the most cunning Avorkman in wood that this country has ever seen. Wren liad contemplated the erection of a grand baldachino over the altar. This is now supplied by a marble reredos, which some think more fitted for St. Peter's than St. Paul's. Be this as it may, it is, in our opinion, too large for the building, and thus injures the effect of the apse, while the columns supporting only an entablature — forming a gigantic "post and rail" arrangement — on either side of the centre-piece seem as ugly as meaningless. It will be remembered that the ancient cathedral was supported by a crypt — in which was the Church of St. Faith — and perhaps readers of " Old St. Paul's" may remember the tragedy of which its vaults were the imaginary scene. This feature was retained by Wren, and there is a crypt beneath the whole of the present church ; its vaulting is supported by piers answering to each of the piers above, but of far more massive structure. Those corresponding with the eight great piers which support the dome are of surprising strength and solidity. Again, of these eight dwarf piers, the two to the east are of much larger proportions than the rest, so as " to give to the central chamber enclosed between them . . . the appearance of a rock-hewn cave." In the crypt are interred the many illustrious men who have been honoured with a resting-place in St. Paul's Cathedral, and whose monuments decorate or disfigure tlie church above. Here have been laid many of the greatest artists of England, among them Reynolds, Lawrence, and J. M. W. Turner. Wren himself is buried at the eastern end of the south aisle, and other architects of less note are gathered in tlie same halls of the dead. Soldiers and sailors, too, are there whose lives liave been spent in the service of their country ; and St. Paul's crypt claims for itself the honour of being the resting-place of the greatest admiral and the greatest general in tlie last long struggle of this nation with France. Beneath the very centre of the dome the body of Admiral Nelson was deposited in a black marble sarcophagus, which is elevated above the pavement of the chapel. The history of this receptacle is a curious one : it was designed originally for Cardinal Wolsey, and intended to be j)laced in his memorial chapel at the eastern end of St. George's, at Windsor, now the royal vault. Bat he died in disgrace, and a less honourable place of sepulture • was deemed good enough for his corpse, so the black marble sarcophagus remained without a tenant, until it was at last removed from Windsor to serve as the tomb of Nelson. Near to him rests Collingwood, his brother-in-arms, and the Earl of Nortliesk. To the east in another chamber is laid the body of Wellington. Him a yet grander 56 CATHEDRAL CHURCnES. [St. Pail's. tomb has received. A massive granite pedestal supports a huge sarcophagus of simple form, sculptured from a great block of one of our rarest British rocks. It is that called luxulyanite, consisting chiefly of quartz and black tourmaline, in which minerals, as a ground mass, are scattered large crystals of red felspar. The dominant tint of purple-black is in har- mony with the purpose, while the spots of red relieve the stone from the rather monotonous effect of basalt. No tomb of porphyry for emperor of Rome, nor of greenstone or granite for Egyptian king, sur- passes this sarcophagus of the Iron Duke in sombre magnificence. The funeral car on which the duke's cofiin was borne through the streets of London is placed in an adjoining chamber. The body of the church is well filled with monu- ments, although it was not till very late in the last century that a be- ginning was made. The first erected was to the honour of John Howard, the philan- thropist. Samuel Johnson, though buried in the abbey at Westminster, was the next, followed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and by Sir William Jones, the Oriental scholar. These are placed each against one of the four great piers of the dome. Then " Parliament, . . . perhaps with ill- judging but honourably prodigal liberality, voted large sums for monuments, which could only be expended on vast masses of marble, more to the advantage of the artists than of their sublime art. Fames and victories, and all kinds of unmeaning allegories, gallant THE WELLINGTON UONUMENT. St. Paul's.] THJ^J MONVMENTti. 57 men fighting and dying in every conceivable or hardly conceivable attitude, rose on every side, on every wall, under every arch." In short the monuments in St. Paul's, interesting as they may be historically, are, as works of art, for the most part worthy of an age which, though fruitful in great men and great deeds, seems to have reached the very nadir of taste in everything con- nected with architecture. Among the more modern monuments some im- provement is visible, although perhaps the worst in the whole cathedi-al is that to the memory of the late Viscount Melbourne. Chief among them in splendour, and usually one of the first to attract notice, as it is placed in the chapel on the southern side of the western end of the cathedral, is that erected to the memory of Arthm^, Duke of Wellington. It is very sumptuous, very magnificent, and we believe is generally admired. The materials are white marble and bronze, in themselves perhaps not the haj^piest possible com- bination. The details are well executed, but the design does not strike us as in any way remarkable ; and the figure of the duke appears too large for the sarcojjhagus on which it rests. On the whole it may be said of the Wellington monument, as of many others, that the result produced is not adequate to the money spent. Among the other soldiers commemorated are Ponsonby and Picton of the French war, and Charles James Napier of Scinde, Heathfield of Gibraltar, and Cornwallis, greater in the state than on the battle-field ; Sir John Moore of Corunna, Sir Ralph Abercromby of Egypt, with a host of others of worthy but less splendid fame. Among illustrious sailors we find the monuments of Riou and Charles Napier, of Rodney, of Howe, of Collingwood, and of Nelson. Among authors there are Hallam and Dean IMilman, Samuel Johnson and William Napier. There are Edmund Lord Lyons, Mountstuart Elphinstone, and Heiny Lawrence ; Bishop Heber of Calcutta, and Bishop Blomfield of London, are commemorated. As for Wren, we see a memorial inscription on the entab- lature of a portico in the north transept (removed hither from the more conspicuous position of the organ screen), " Si monumentum requiris, circumspice." The opening out of the choir to the dome by the removal of the screen and organ has been among the more important of the late series of changes. A pulpit also has been erected at the south-east side of the dome, so that its vast area is utilised for services. The work of improvement progresses, and among the additions has been a bell of exceptional size. The cathedral library is in a room over the chapel containing the monu- ment of Wellington; the ancient collection was almost wholly destroyed in the great fire, but the present library contains many valuable books. It owes its beginning to the munificence of Bishop Compton, and has been augmented by many other donors. The proper approach to it is by the " geometrical staircase," 58 CATHEDRAL GHUBCHES. [St. Paul's. one of the sights of the cathedral, a spu-al stau'case attached only to the outer wall — seemingly almost hanging in the air. But on a clear day no one should omit another of the "sights" — the ascent to the gallery above the dome. By this means the great size and the construc- tive massiveness of the cathedral can be better appreciated, and the panorama of London is something marvellous : below are roofs and churches and public buildings; miles of streets, with their endless throngs of foot-passengers and vehicles ; the river, with its bridges, its fleet of boats aiid ships and steamers. It is impossible, witliin these brief limits, to sketch even in outline the careers of the distinguished men who have occupied the see of London. Among them were many who in the Middle Ages were prominent among tlie statesmen and the churchmen of England, but the list of those connected with the present building begins with Compton, who had taken an active part in inviting over the Prince of Orange. Robert Lowth the Hebraist, Charles James Blomfield, and the late primate, Archibald Campbell Tait, are among the more conspicuous of his successors. But among the Deans of St. Paul's have been men of hardly less eminence than among the bishops. Indeed, the deanery has not seldom been either the stepping-stone to a higher rank, or has been held by a bishop. Among the deans of the old cathedral we find the name of Colet, founder of the great school which for so many years had its home in the precincts of the cathedral, but which lias now been transplanted to a more ample space in the suburb of Kensington. Alexander Nowell, author of the catechism used in the Church of England, must not be forgotten, nor Overall, author of the Convocation book, nor Donne, eminent as a preacher hardly less than Colet. At the time of the fire Sancroft was dean. Among his successors at the deanery were Stillingfleet and Tillotson. Later on came the profound thinker, Josepli Butler, who died Bishop of Durham. Dean Seeker afterwards became Archbishop of Canterbury. Dean Newton was noted in his day for his ''Dissertations of the Prophecies." In the present reign there has been Henry Hart i\Iilman, poet and historian, who began both the restoration and the good work of opening the church as a place of worship for the people of London. His annals of St. Paul's must not be forgotten in this place. Henry Longucville Mansel, his successor, was distinguished as a metai)hysician, but had only a brief tenure of ofiice, when he died suddenly, and was succeeded by the present dean, Richard Church, also honourably known in the world of letters. T. G. BONNEY. THB CHOIR, LOOKING EAST. WINCHESTER. In the fair valley of the Itchen, where the downs on either hand draw near together, has stood from prehistoric days a little town which grew to be Winchester, one of the most important capital cities of England. The first authentic records of it are those which have been dug out of the soil, not written in books. During the Roman occupation there was, in all probability, a Cliristian church on or close by the site of the present cathedral ; in the close stood at least one Roman villa; relics of the ancient Church of St. Amphibalus may perhaps still be embedded in the walls of the cathedral cry})t. I'his earlier Christianity was, however, swept away by the Saxon invaders ; not till after the year 635, when King Cynegils was baptised, did the first English church rise from its foundations. It was finished by his son Cenwalh, who endowed it with all the lands round about the city. This first church, rude, no doubt, and small, and in large part built of wood, was dedicated to St. 13irinus, to the Holy Trinity, and to the honour of St. Peter and St. Paul. 60 CATHEDRAL CEURCEES. rWlNCHESTKR. Round this primitive house of God grew by degrees a great reUgious com- munity, though the Benedictines were not finally established here till, at the bidding of St. Dunstan, the secular clergy were turned out in 964, and monks from the great Abbey of Abingdon set in their room by Bishop ^thelwold. He THE NAVE. also rebuilt the church, and in 971 translated into it the relics of the patron saint, Swithun. The new church was completed by 980, and hallowed to St. Swithun as well as to St. Peter and St. Paul. There is a doubt whether this Saxon cathedral was on the site of the present building, or a little to the northward of it ; at any rate, whatever Saxon work there may be in it has been completely incorporated, and we shall not go wrong if we consider that the existing church was begun by J3ishop Walkelyn WiNCHESTEU.] THE NORMAN TRANSEPTS. 61 in 1079. Though to the east it was considerably shorter than it is now, ending, as tlie crypt below shows, witli a noble apse, after the Norman fashion, still the total length was little less than at present ; for it extended some forty feet farther to the westward, as the bases of two grand western towers still testify. The magnificence of this effort of Norman skill and piety may still be understood by any one who will make careful study of the two transepts, which remain almost as Walkelyn left them in 1093. From them we may picture the glory of the long and lofty nave, its mas- sive piers, broad deep triforium, and dignified clerestory. The whole ■V'll CHANTRIES OF POX AND KEAUFOUT. church was of the same height as now ; and the tower was open, as a lantern, from floor to topmost roof. The original tower, however, was not destined to stand long. Soon after William Rufus was buried under it in 1100, whether from faulty construction, or uncertain foundations in the wet ground, or from being weakened by excavating too near the piers ; or whether, as the resentfully pious held, from the cankering wickedness of the Red King's bones — from whatever cause, in 1107 the tower fell in with a mighty crash over the monarch's tomb. In a few years a new tower at the junction of the cross, though the masons feared to raise it to a height ; it was called " Walkelyn's Tower," although erected some time FOX S TOMH. was built sufficient after his 62 CATHEDRAL CHURCH ER. . Winchester. death. It is in itself a noble specimen of Norman work, though ill-proportioned to the height and length of the church, so that it gives it a heavy and dull effect. The monotony of the long nave and the low elevation of the tower make the outside of the cathedral far less imposing than the inside. This grand Norman structure did not long remain unchanged. About seventy years after the finishing of the tower, Bishop Godfrey de Lucy swept away the whole of the Norman Lady Chapel, except the cry2:)t, and broadened the entire church to the width of the nave. He built on wooden piles, which soon gave way ; so tliat his south wall is far out of the perpendicular, and has for centuries worn a look of painful insecurity. Bishop Lucy's work, and especially his arcading, inside and out, forms a charming example of p]arly English style. There is but little in the church of Decorated or ]\Iiddle-Pointed style ; four bays of the choir, unrivalled in grace and richness of mouldings, and the tracery of one or two windows, are all that Winchester can show of the most beautiful and exuberant period of English architecture. Satiated with the rich ornamentation and variety of the period, men, in the latter lialf of the fourteenth century, turned towards a harder and a simpler manner of building, a severe architectural Puritanism. They trusted for effect to height and rej^etition, oven to monotony, and to the upward pointing of reiterated vertical lines. And Winchester Cathedral early felt the influence of this change of taste. First, Bishop William of Edington, then the more famous William of Wykeham, attacked and "reformed" the massive and noble Norman work. Edington began at the west end, altering the facade completely, and converting to modern style two bays on the north and one on the south. His work, carried on from 1360 to 13 06, is one of the earliest examples of strictly Perpendicular architecture. The huge west window, which forms the main feature of the fa9ade, has been mercilessly criticised and condemned by Mr. Ruskin in his "Stones of Venice" (vol. i., chap, xvii.), who first draws a caricature of the window, and then condemns his own creation. The work thus set in hand by Edington was carried through by William of Wykeham, wlio, through his colleges, imposed the unimaginative Perpendicular style on England. He did not pull down the ancient Norman nave, but encased the columns Avith the poor mouldings of tliis later Gothic, clearing away the circular arches which supported the broad triforium, and carrying the work up to a quasi-triforium, with a monotonous though effective clerestory above; the whole crowned by a masterpiece of stone groining, wliich gives to the nave of this catliedral its special character and magnificence. For tliougli somewhat hard in character, and deficient in fancy, the roof is singularly effective, and gives- a marked impression of power and dignity to the whole building. Any one who penetrates into the dark recesses above the vaulting of tlic aisles Winchester.] ADDITIONS OF LANGTON AND FOX. 63 will find in many places heads of Norman columns, and sometimes portions of Norman arches and other early work, which show themselves above the veneering of Perpendicular stonework with which they have been encased below. At the very end of the fifteenth century, Bishop Lang-ton transformed the Early English chapel on the south side of the Lady Chapel into a PcrjDendicular chantry, destined to be his own burial-place. He gave it a new groined roof, covered with bosses carved with the canting heraldry of the time ; he fitted the chapel also with exquisite woodwork, now much defaced and damaged, and placed in the centre a fine tomb, with a brass, since lost. Bishop Fox, his successor, carried on Langton's work,, and brought to bear on the choir of the church the changed tastes of the new age : in his work we find both specimens of Perpendicular style and also Eenaissance ornamentation. He rebuilt the clerestory of the choir, walls, and roof, above the Middle-Pointed chancel arches. In so doing he gave to the eastern part of the church a dignity and interest which it lacked before ; for to him are due the bold flying-buttresses, the most characteristic feature of the building, which support the thrust of the roof, and combine most graceful lightness with a feeling of perfect strength and secm-ity. He also built up the east end of the choir, placing in the central pinnacle a life-like statue of himself. To him also is probably due, in its striking height and exquisite elaboration of detailed canopy work, the finishing of the great reredos, which is repeated, with less happy effect of proportion, at St. Albans. Fox roofed in the choir with wooden vaulting, crowded with ornament, on which the incoming of the "new monarchy" is very distinctly marked. Blazoned shields and coats of arms and royal symbols tell us plainly that England had passed out of the impotence of the Civil Wars into the strong hands of the Tudor kings. The decoration all indicates a warmer though undoubtedly more debased taste, as may perhaps be also seen in the fine east window which we owe to him. Around the presbytery, Fox, in the year 1525, built up a stone screen in the Late Perpendicular style, with a cinque-cento frieze above, marking thereby the tardy invasion into English architecture of the fine Italian taste of the Renaissance. Over the frieze, again, he j^laced six beautiful wooden coffers, to contain tlie bones of English bishops, saints, and kings. Just before and in his day, Priors Hunton and Silkstede pushed out the Lady Chapel some twenty-six feet in the later Perpendicular manner. This additional bay of the Lady Chapel, with its stiff ornament and half-obliterated frescoes, made this church the longest cathedral in England. With the death of Bishop Fox in 1528, the structm-al changes in the fabric come almost to an end. Later additions or alterations were but small ; such as the closing of the fine Norman lantern of the tower by a wooden groining, 64 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. rWl.N'CHESTER. erected under the eyes of Charles L, as we see by the bosses and ornaments ; there is the royal monogram in many forms, and royal badges, and the initials of the king and queen, C.M.R. (Carolus Maria R.), and a large circular medallion displaying in profile the royal pair themselves ; in the centre is an inscription giving us the date of this work, 1634. The library, a lean-to along the end of the south transept, was built to hold Bishop IMorley's books after his death in 1 684 ; and the porch at the west end was restored in the present century. IHB ES.TEHIUU, iKOM THK NOHTU-WJiST. Within the walls the most striking object of interest is the fauKms Norman font of black stone, which was probably placed in the church by Bishop Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen; it portrays in bold if rude relief the life and miracles of St. Nicolas of Myra. Next after the font may perhaps be noted the fine carved spandrels, fourteenth-century work, of the choir-stalls, with the quaint misereres of the seats ; then Prior Silkstcde's richly-carved pulpit of the fifteenth century, and the very interesting and valuable Renaissanc-e panels of the pews, put in by William Kingsmill, last prior and first dean, in 1540. The chantries and tombs in this church are of unusual beauty and interest. Three founders of colleges at Oxfc^rd lie buried here : W}keham, of New College WixcDESTER.] THE TOMBS. 65 and St. Mary's Winton ; Wayiicfletc, of Magdalen College ; and Fox, of Corpus Christ! College. William of ^yykellanl lies buried in the nave, between two of the great ])icrs ; the altar in his chantry has been rcniovod, as have also the statues, otherwise his alabaster effigy and tlie stonework of the canopies remain un- injured ; and the great bishop's serene countenance, with the three characteristic little Benedictines at his feet, has been handed down to later generations in life-like truthfulness. In the retro-choir, on the north side, is William of Wayneflete's splendid chantry ; and just at the rear of the great screen is the tomb of Bishop Fox, a strikingly elaborate example of Late Perpendicular Avork. No effigy of the bishop is here ; he built the tomb himself, and perhaps thought it enough to be seen on the pinnacle outside or in the great east window; there is a richly-ornamented altar and reredos, and behind it a little chamber, still called his study, because in his old age, when blind, the good bishop was daily led thither to sit and rest and pray. On the outside of this chantry, and of that of Bishop Gardiner over against it, are placed two ghastly memento niori figures, such as are not unusual on the monunxents of foreign prelates, evidences of that morbid feeling about death which pervaded the period just before the Reformation, and made men depict on so many walls these emblems of corruption or the corresponding and still more ghastly-humorous dances of Death. In no English church, except Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, lie so many men of name. For just as the features of the cathedral represent all the succes- sive phases and changes of the art of building, until it has been styled a ''School of English Architecture," so it is the home and centre of our early history. Long is the roll of kings and statesmen who dwelt in its shadow, and whose bones here lie at rest. Cynegils and Cenwalh, West-Saxon kings, founders of the church, are here ; Egbert was buried here in 838 ; Ethelwulf also, and Edward the Elder, and Edred. The body of Alfred the Great lay awhile in the church, then was transferred to the new minster he had built, and finally rested at Hyde Abbey. And most splendid name of all, the great Cnut was buried here ; as was also his son Harthacnut, as bad and mean as his father was great. The roll of kings was closed when Red William's blood-dripping corpse came jolting hither in the country cart from the New Forest. Here also lie Emma, lady of the English, whom her mean son, Edward the Confessor, treated so ill; and Richard, the Conqueror's second son, and one of the greatest of Englishmen, Earl Godwin, and his nephew, the Earl Beorn. Of churchmen there is also good store. Besides the prelates mentioned above, St. Birinus and St. Swithun, and Archbishop Stigand, and ^thelwold, parent of the Benedictine priory, Walkelyn, the master-builder, and the saintly Giffard, lie here ; so, too, do Henry of Blois, the first founder of the Hospital of St. Cross ; Peter des Roches 66 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Winchester. also, guardian of the realm in tlie youth of Henry 111. ; and Edinot, builder of the western front, and in later days Peter Mews, and Morley, and Hoadley, with many another of lesser fame. There are but few men of letters here : in a chapel in the south transept Izaak Walton is buried ; and in the north aisle of the nave lies the well-known novelist. Miss Austen. Near the west end of the church is Flaxman's monument to Joseph Wharton, the critic, and head master of Winchester College. There is hard by another specimen of Flaxman's work in a graceful group on the monument to Mrs. North, the bishop's wife. Bishop North himself kneels in effigy (one of Chantrey's masterpieces) at the other end of the church, against the east wall of the Lady Chapel. And finally, in the south transept stands Scott's elaborate memorial to the late Bishop Wilberforce, ill-placed among the surroundings of the massive Norman work. In this great church many stimng scenes of English history have been enacted. The early kings made Winchester their home and the cathedral their chapel. Here it was that Egbert, after being crowned in regem totius Britcmnice, with assent of all parties, issued an edict in 828 ordering that the island should here- after be always styled England, and its people Englishmen. Here King Alfred was crowned and lived and died. Here in 1035 Cnut's body lay in state before the high altar, over which was hung thenceforth for many a year, most precious of relics, the great Norseman's crown. Here William the Conqueror often came, and wore his crown at the Easter Gemot; here, too, clustered many of the national legends : St. Swithun here did his mighty works, and here were the forty dismal days of rain; hard by is the scene of the great fight between Colbrand the Dane and Guy of Warwick ; in the nave of the church Queen Emma trod triumphant on the red-hot ploughshares as on a bed of roses ; hither came Earl Godwin's body after his marvellous and terrible death, one of the well-known group of malignant Norman tales. It was in the Cathedral of Winchester that Henry Beauclerk took to wife Matilda, to the great joy of all English-speaking folk. Here Stephen of Blois was crowned king; and here, on tlie other hand, tlic Empress Maud was welcomed by city and people with high rejoicings; here, too, was drawn u]) and issued the final compact, in 1153, which closed the civil war of that weary reign, and secured the crown to the young Prince Henry. He in his turn often sojourned here, and befriended the growing city. In the dark days of John the king was here reconciled to the English Church in the person of Stephen Langton ; Henry III. and his queen Eleanor were here in 1242 ; and on May-day of that year " came the queen into the chapter- house to be received into the Society " as a kind of honorary member of the convent. In 1275 Edward I. and his queen were welcomed with great honour by tlie prior and brethren of St. Swithun, and attended service in the churcli. The christening of Arthui-, Prince of Wales, elder brother of Henry VIII., Winchester.] MEMORIES OF THE PAST. 67 was here ; and here Henry VIII. met his astute rival, the Emperor Charles V. It was in Winchester Cathedral that the marriage of Philip and Mary took place, and the chair in which she sat is still to be seen in the church. The Stuart kings loved the place ; here in the great rebellion was enacted that strange scene when, after the capture of the city, the mob rushed into the cathedral, wild for booty and mischief, and finding in the chests nothing but bones, are said to have amused themselves by throwing them at the stained windows. It was at this time that Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes, a Parliamentary officer and an old Wykehamist, stood with drawn sword at the door of Wykeham's chantry, to protect it from violence. Since the days of the Merry Monarch, who was often at Winchester, and loved it so well that he built his palace here, no striking historical events have been enacted within its walls. The church quickly re- covered from the ruin of the Commonwealth time, and has had a quiet, happy life from that time onward, a tranquil grey building sleeping amidst its trees, in the heart of the most charming of all South English cities. G. W. KiTCHIN. THE SOUTH-EAST LORNBil. GEiNEKAL VIEW OK NORWICH. NORWICH i/ y vi The ancient bishopric of East Anglia extended over all that large district wliicli now includes tlio counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and the larger portion of the Isle of Ely. The bishojD's chair was first fixed at Dunwich in Suffolk, but the diocese was subsequently divided, the Bishops of Dunwich jn-csiding over Suffolk, the Bishops of Elmham having the oversight of Norfolk only. So things con- tinued for more than three hundred years ; but during the tenth century the two counties were once more united under one diocesan, the Bishops of Elmham being Bishops of East Anglia as before, until in 1078 another change took place — the see was transferred to Thetford, then an iin})ortant and flourishing town, and occu2)ying a convenient and central position, from which the diocese might be worked. At no one of these earlier e})iscopal residences does it appear that there was ever any great church of commanding appearance or magnificent propor- tions, and until the close of the eleventh century it may be said that East Anirlia had never had what we now uiid(>rstand by a cathedral. It was not till it had been determined to make Norwich the scat of the East Anglian bishopric, and not till Herbert Losinga, then Bishop of Thetford, became first Bishop of Norwich, that any serious attempt was made to erect a cathedral church worthy of a great diocese. Bishop Herbert was one of the Norwich.] THE BISHOrS PALACE. 69 foremost men of his time and one of the richest, and Norfolk and Suffolk, esjDGcially the former, were then the most thriving- counties in England. Norwich was the second city in the kingdom ; and the ports on the eastern coast were full of vessels, which carried on a large trade with the continent of Europe, and brought wealth to the merchants, who were not wanting in open-handed liberality. When Bishop Herbert signified his intention to build a great mother church in Norwich, he was supported with numificence by all classes. The first stone was laid in 109G, and the choir is said to have been opened for divine service in five years from its commencement. To understand the real greatness of Bishop Herbert's design, the visitor nuist, before entering the church, take his stand opposite the western door, a few yards from the Erpingham Gate of the close, facing eastward. Before him rises the mighty church. To the left — i.e., on the north of that church — stands the bishop's palace, which, till twenty-five years ago, actually connnuni- cated with the cathedral, and which, in fact, is a survival of the original residence provided by the founder for the bishops of the see. The old Norman cellars and storehouses constructed for this ancient building are still used, and may be seen by the curious who can gain admission to them. Why was this palace built to the north, under the huge shadow of the cathedral, where no sunbeam could get at it from morn to dewy eve, and where it must needs have lain in perpetual gloom ? Because Norwich Cathedi'al was the church of a great monastery, and the abbot's house of a great monastery was almost invariably placed on the north of the monastic buildings. The founder of Norwich Cathedral was a monk before he was a bishop, and in setting himself to carry out his ambitious design he resolved to found a vast monastery, of which the church was only a 2:)ortion, though it might be the most im- portant portion, of his audacious undertaking. In theory the first Bishop of Norwich was first abbot of the great Benedictine house of Norwich — though there never was any actual abbot — and as such he lived, though bishop of the see, on the north side of the clnu-ch of the monastery. The prior and his sixty monks lived on the south, and were the ofiiciating clergy of the sacred edifice. Retaining our position still facing the great western door, and now turning our eyes to the right or southern side of the cathedral, we see before us the wall of the cloister in which the monks for the most part spent their day. Just in the angle between the western wall of this cloister and the cathedral doors stands a building which now serves as the choristers' school, and which a few years ago formed a part of one of the canons' houses and was then used as a kitchen. This was the porter's hall of the monastery, and is well worth a visit. H we enter it we shall see the handsome Norman hall through wdiich any one who sought admission to the monastery in the old days had to pass, and througli 70 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [NoR^^'ICH. which, for centuries, the monks did pass in and out when business or inclination led them away from their seclusion to mix with the busy outer world. To the rig-lit of this porter's hall — i.e., further to the south — the visitor will notice another and a very beautiful fragment of the monastic buildings of which it is difficult to give a satisfactory account. It was evidently a covered portico, open to the air on all sides, and dates from some time in the thirteenth century. As yet no expTanation wholly free from objections has been given of the pm-pose which this construction was meant to serve; and as we have no space for discussing conjectures, we will leave the ruin to be admired, and pass on. Before entering the cathedral, however, it will be well to notice that the two lesser doors — one on the north and the other on the south — of the main entrance have been left as they were,* their plain semicircular arches with the simple mouldings indicating that they date from the twelfth century, and early in that century, before the pointed arch appeared in our architecture. During some excavations made in 1881 the debris which had accumulated in front of the great doors was removed, and the old stone steps, much worn by the feet of generations of worshippers, were exposed. The visitor may see one of these steps trodden into a deep depression — the stone being almost worn through — in the southernmost of the three entrances. The whole work of the central portion of the west front has been altered from its original appearance by taking out the narrow and barbaric doorway of the earlier architect, by removing bodily the whole mass of masonry pierced with small and mean windows which surmounted this doorway, and by substituting for it the enormous west window, which now seems to occupy the whole west front, and which is filled with staring gaudy pictures in stained glass, inserted as a memorial to Bishop Stanley — the father of the late, better known. Dean of Westminster. This immense window was inserted by the executors of Bishop Alnwick, who occupied the see of Norwich from 1426 to liSG. In the span- drels of the central doorway are the bishop's own arms and those of the see, with the inscription "Orate pro Anima Domini Williolmi Alnwyck, EpT." And now let us pass through this great central door. Before us stretches the grand length of the vast nave; with the single excejition of St. Albans, the longest nave in England, for it extends 250 feet to the intersection of the tran- septs. The massive nave piers rise up almost without any relief to the eye a sheer 70 feet, and originally supported a fiat timber roof, which was replaced by the present magnificent stone roof — technically known as lierne-vauUinf) — in the days of Bishop Lyhart, who died in 1472. The two side aisles of the nave support the mighty triforium, along which from end to end two waggons might easily pass abreast. The triforium was originally lighted by narrow semicircular arched * Tlie pinnacles surmounting the flanking turrets, however, are tlie productions of a ninetccnth-ccntury genius. THE NAVE, NORWICH. Norwich.] THE NAVE. 71 Norman windows, which lot in very little light. Tradition says they were destroyed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who complained of the darkness and gloom ; and it is said that Dr. Gardiner, then dean of the cathedral, hacked away the walls and inserted the present hideous windows, which at any rate admit some gleams of sunshine. Till Bishop Alnwick inserted his huge west window the nave at Norwich must have resembled a lonff tunnel, and the liffhtinar 1. IHE EHl'I.NUHAM GATE. ■^. THE ETHELBEUT GATE. 3. ENTKANCE TO THE BISHOP 8 PALACE. of so large an area, filled as it often was from end to end with people, must have demanded a consumption of wax tapers on great festival days which only a very heav}'' charge upon the funds of the monastery could have supplied. Over the great open arches of the triforium rises the clerestory, in which the original Norman windows may still be seen, just as they were more than seven hundred years ago. The nave comprises fourteen bays — i.e., spaces arched over and included between the piers. Three of these bays are, however, included in the choir, which is entered through a heavy stone screen, which 72 CA TUEDRA L CII URCHES. [Norwich. supports the organ. Very soon after tlie Restoration a movement was set on foot to replace tlie old organ, and a subscription was begun in the summer of 1G63, Tlie money required was soon raised, and the new organ placed where it now stands in 1G64. The old organ was destroyed by the mob who broke into the catliedral in 1648, and looted the building, smashing the glass, plun- dering the vestments and ornaments, and robbing all they could lay their hands on. Bishop Hall has giv^en us a most graphic account of the scene that ensued, in his " History of his Troubles." On passing through this screen we see before us the magnificent display which the central tower, with the two transepts and the glo- rious presb}-tery or chancel, affords. The clerestory of the presbytery may per- haps be regarded as the most strikingly beautiful feature in Norwich Cathe- dral. It was erected in the bishopric of Thomas Percy (KioG— 13G9), and was then covered over with a timber roof, which was replaced by the pre- sent stone vaulting in the days of Bishop Goldwell, about a century afterwards.* And Iierc it may be Avell to notice that the roof of Norwich Cathedral is unicpie. No church in liritain can boast of such a glorious stone covering, stretching over an expanse that occupies more than half an acre of ground. With the exception of the timber roofs which surmount the triforium, there is not a single foot of Norwich Cathedral that is not protected by a stone vaulting, and hardly a foot of that vaulting which is not in some way adorned by * lu tlie " Handbook to tlie Easteni Cathedrals," and elsewhere, the clerestory is erroneously attributed to Bishop Goldwell. THE CHOIU, LOOKING EAST. NOKWICH.] ALTERATIONS IN THE CATII KDRAI.. 73 sculpture more or less elaborate. Nor was tins all : the stone was not only carved, but richly adorned with colour, and in every bay the artists represented some Scripture scene. Dean Goulburn some years ago began to remove the white- wash from these sculptures, but was deterred by the great cost of the under- taking, and nothing more has since then been done to them. The renova- tion of the roof of the presbytery has, however, been completed. Here the sculpture consists of little more than the rchiis of Bishop Gold well.* The last portion of this stone vaulting , . was, it is said, executed in the "^ days of Bishop Nix, who died ^1^= in 1536, three months after the ^ |S first Act for the dissolution of _ j| the monasteries had passed. When the sujjpression of Norwich Priory took effect, the monastery and its church had been standing for more than four hundred years. During the first two centuries of this period there can have been very little change in the look of the cathedral inside and out ; during the next two centuries a vast change was effected. On the 17th January, 1362, a terrific hurricane swept over England, and among other in- juries that it wrought was a total destruction of the lofty belfry surmounting the central tower at Norwich. This belfry crashed down upon the roof of the presbytery, reducing the upper portion to a mass of ruins. Bishop Percy set himself to the work of restoration ; hence the erection of the clerestory and the spire. With this began the fashion of "beautifying" — i.e., altering and improving the original design ; and the o})oning out the great west window, the throwing the stone roof over the nave, then over the presbytery, and finally over the transej^ts, followed one another probably with hardly an interval. THE CATllEDUAL, I'llUM Tilli SOUTU-EASX. * A rchus is a term used in heraldry, whereby a name is repi'esented liy a pietorial device upon a shield. In Norwich Cathedral there are at least three good instances. The name of Bi.shop Walter Lyliart is i-epicseuted by a hart lying in water; Bishop Salmon by a shield with three salmon; Bishop Goldwell by a golden bucket and well on the presbytery roof. 10 74 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Norwich. Only four of the many chapels which were once to be seen in Norwich Cathedral remain in anythino^ like their former condition. These are the Jesus Chapel on the north, St. Luke's Chapel and the Beauchamp Chapel on the south of the presbytery, and Bislioj) Nix' Chapel, which occupied the seventh and eighth bays in the south aisle of the nave. St. Luke's and the Jesus Chapels have been very beautifully renovated by Dr. Goulburn. The former serves as the parish church for the inhabitants of the cathedral close. Outside this chapel stands the ancient font of tlie cathedral, which must have been at one time a marvel of exquisite sculpture, and which now serves as an instructive monument of the frenzy of iconoclastic bigotry which in the reign of Edward VI. enacted that all remnants of idolatry should be destroyed. Immediately behind the high altar stood, we are told, the Lady Chapel, which in Bishop Herbert's original design was meant to harmonise with the St. Luke's and the Jesus Chapels. But did Herbert's Lady Chapel ever exist at all ? I am inclined to believe that (although the foundations were certainly prepared) no Lady Chapel existed till Bishop Walter de Suffield erected his Lady Chapel in the middle of the thirteenth century, and that if such a massive appendage as was clearly contemplated by the founder had ever been erected, no sane man would have gone to the vast expense of dem.olishing it less than one hundred and fifty years after it was first built and raising another. Bishop SufHeld did, however, build a Lady Chapel, of which not one stone remains ; the entrance to it from the east end of the choir aisle may still be seen, and the beautiful arches which served as a dovil^le doorway to this chapel are almost the only si:)ecimena of Early English architecture in the cathedral. The monuments in Norwich Cathedral are few and devoid of interest, the destruction and obliteration by the mob in 16^3 of all that was worth preserv- ing having been too complete to leave anything for posterity to admire. Such vestiges of the old grandeur as remain may be easily turned to by the help of the printed cards with which this cathedral is furnished, and which the visitor will find ready for his use hanging up in conspicuous positions on the walls. One beautiful piece of modern sculpture, the last work of Chantrey, and perhaps his masterpiece, is the life-size figure of Bisliop Bathurst, in white marble, which is now placed in tlie south transept. Before we leave the choir one last peculiarity of this cathedral should be re- marked upon. Behind some curtains — in front of which the altar now stands — may still be seen the ancient episcopal throne. It is a stone chair of great weight and very plain in design, and is su])i)orted upon a semicircular arch, which nuiy be seen from the aisle behind the throne. Here the bishop sat on state occasions, and from this he gave his blessing upon the congregation assembled. Round him, but on a level several feet below, stood the assistant priests in a semicircle. The pave- NoawicH] EXTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL. 75 ment is still iiiarkocl with an indenture to indicate the exact position which the bishop's assessors were expected to occupy. This is the only example in England of a bishop's throne being so situated, and it is said to furnish incontestable evidence that the Bishops of Norwich in the twelfth century consecrated the elements at the Eucharist facing not east but west. We have hitherto dealt only with tiie inside of the church, and that, too, but superficially. The external features are almost as full of interest as the interior. The church is best left by the prior's door in the south aisle of the nave.; this leads us into the splendid cloisters, which, like the church, are vaulted over with a stone roof, richly sculptured with scenes from the lives of the saints and Scripture subjects. The prior's door should not be passed through without notice. A cast of this door in plaster of Paris was made for the Exhibition of 1851, and is now deposited in the South Kensington Museum. The lavatory of the monastery, in excellent preservation, may be seen at the southern angle of the western walk, close to the door which once served as the entrance to the monks' refectory. A very striking view of the tower and spire, with the intersection of the southern transc])t and the nave, may be obtained by standing just inside the grass plot — technically called the (/arfh — in front of the lavatory. By far the most imposing view of the whole building, however, is afforded from the extreme end of the grammar school cricket-field within the close, not far from the old water-gate to the westward. No one who has the opportunity should miss walking round the east end and observing the glorious aspect of the flying buttresses ; they bear almost the whole weight of the wonderful stone roof which spans the presbytery. Obviously the delicate shafts and the slight walls which are seen from the interior could never hold up the enormous weight of the ponderous mass of sculptured stone which they seem — but only seem — to be supporting. The monastic buildings at Norwich have almost utterly disappeared. The northern wall of the refectory still remains, however; and some traces of the reader's desk or pulpit may still be recognised. In the eastern walk of the cloisters the entrance to the chapter-house was opened out some thirty years ago, after being blocked up for centuries. The Lady Chapel and the chapter-house were in ruins as early as 1569. The old library was taken down in 157-t. But though so few vestiges of the great priory at Norwich survive, it is otherwise with another and smaller conventual establishment which the cathedral close contained. The grammar school, with the head-master's house, represents a college of six priests with their chapel, and under it a charnel-house, or depository for human bones, which was founded and endowed by Bishop Salmon at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The shell of the school-house is precisely as it was left nearly six hundred years ago, the massive and tena- cious materials of which the walls consist making any removal of the original CATTTEDRAL CTTURCHES. [Norwich. fabric too expensive to be contemplated. The old charnel-house serves now as a gymnasium. The old chapel is used as the great school. The old endowment supports the more modern institution. The two gates of the close are interesting relics of mediaeval grandeur. That which stands immediately opposite the west front of the cathedral was erected at the cost of Sir Thomas Erpingliam, a local worthy, whose name Shakespeare has immortalised. This gate was designed at the beginning of the fifteenth cen- tury. It was probably left unfinished for some time, and completed by an PULL 8 FERRY, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLOSE. inferior architect several years after it had been carried up to the present height of the buttresses, and then for a while abandoned. There is an elaborate description of this gate in Harrod's "Gleanings among the Castles and Convents of Norfolk." The other gate of the close to the southward is St. Ethelbert's, and was built but a few years after the Erpingham Gate. It was the gift of Bishop Alnwick. The upper portion of this gate is a good specimen of inter- mixed flint and stone work, and was executed about seventy years ago. During its eight centuries, of existence on the spot where it still stands up so proudly, Norwich Cathedral has had some bad half-hours. In 1272 the citi- zens, infuriated by the exactions levied upon them by the prior, besieged the close and set the monastery on fire. The flames consumed a large portion of the archives of the monks and of the see, but the cathedral escaped. It was just Norwich.] BISHOPS AND DEANS. 77 ninety years after this tliat the great belfry was blown down, and almost exactly one hundred years after this latter calamity that another fire wrought much mischief. The last conflagration of which any record remains was in 1512, when the vestry was burnt, and all the vestments and "ornaments" were consumed. The marks of this fire may still be seen in the triforium on the south of the presbytery, where the stone has been extensively discoloured by the fierce heat, and the course of the flames may easily be traced to this day by the ineffaceable marks they have left behind them. The central tower has twice been struck by lightning, once in 1271, and again in 1463. AVlien we come to the personnel of the diocese of Norwich, of the great monastery which existed there for so long, and of the chapter which replaced that monastery, and has inhei-ited no mean portion of its original endowments, it is impossible to help being struck by the remarkable absence of any repre- sentative names in the long list of those who have been prominent personages here in their day. Herbert Losinga, the founder, stands out almost a solitary figure conspicuous among the foremost men of his time, alike in politics and litera- tui'e. For more than four centuries after Bishop Herbert's death there is literally not a single Bishop of Norwich or prior of the monastery whose name is known to literature or science, or who has even gained a reputation for pre-eminent sanctity of life. Bishop Parkhurst was the first literary Bishop of Norwich, and appears as a kind of episcopal Sydney Smith of the sixteenth century. Bishop Hall's name will always be honoured, his writings will always be read, and his character always admired ; but he was Bishop of Norwich for scarcely more than a few months ; he came only to show how a devout and brave man can suffer without losing his self-respect, and live the higher life in poverty- and persecution when his face is set heavenwards. Since Bishop Hall's time the Bishops of Norwich have been blameless in character and prudent administrators, as a rule respectable scholars, and sometimes a little more, but representative men they have not been. So it has been with the deans of the cathedral. H we except Dr. Prideaux, author of the "Connection of the Old and New Testament," Dr. Goulburn was absolutely the first Dean of Norwich who ever had the smallest reputation as a man of learning ; the rest have been cyphers. Perhaps no former dean, single-handed, effected so much, or made such great sacrifices, to keep up and adorn the fabric of the cathedral ; certainly no previous Dean of Norwich enjoyed so high a literary reputation, or deserved it so well. Augustus Jessopp. LINCOLN. ^/^,h-^y^^s^^ "Beautiful for situation; the joy of the whole earth: upon the north side lietli the city of tlie great King." These words of the Psalmist rise instinctively to the li|)s as the traveller approaches Lincoln, and sees the cathedral reposing in serene majesty on the lofty brow of its "sovereign hill." "Beautiful" indeed, pre- eminently beautiful, St. Mary's minster is "for situation." Beau- tiful be3"ond all English cathedrals and minsters, with the exception, perhaps, of St. Cuthbert's mighty fane at Durham. There is a brilliant passage in one of Mr. Froude's "Short Studies" which must have been penned with Lincoln vividly present to his mind's eye. Nowhere do you feel more powerfully as you approach that "the cathedral, with its huge towers, majestically beautiful, is the city." Nowhere is the contrast more striking between the vastness of the edifice, standing out clear and sharp with its exquisite beauty of outline and refined harmony of proportions, and "the puny dwelling-places of the citizens," which " creep at its feet " and stream down the hillside in motley confusion. Nowhere do you more vividly realise that " the cathedral is the one object which jjossesses the imagination and refuses to be eclipsed." The approach to Lincoln Cathedral from the lower town reveals to the visitor as he slowly climbs the hill the loveliness of the building, with a gradual and ever -varying development which adds no little to its effect. The summit at last reached, we pass under the vaulted archway of the massive PMwardian gate-house which protects the entrance to the close, and stand awe-struck with tlie marvellous facade that rises before us. We can perhaps hardly call it beau- tiful ; impressive is the more fitting term. A vast wall, unrelieved by buttress or projection, leaps at one bound from base to parapet ; the few windows which break its surface are set so deep in the three rude cavernous recesses — a frag'- ment of the earliest cathedral of Remigius — that they hardly affect the general windowless aspect. Plain almost to savagcness in the Norman centre, the broad lofty wall is saved from monotony by the decorative arcading which i)rofusely covers the later joortion, tier above tier, partly late Norman, partly Early English of more than one date. A sharply-pointed gable finishes the composition in the centre, encrusted with ornamentation of the most exquisite design, the work of the age of Grosseteste. The fagade is terminated at each angle by tall octagonal O CO w X O pi Q W ■J ^] Lincoln.] THE WESTERN FAQADE. 79 stair-turrets, capped with splrelets. From the summit of that to the south the mitred effigy of St. Hugh h:)oks down cahnly on the building wliich owes its present form to his personal munificence, and to the veneration for his saintly memory. On the northern apex is perched "the Swineherd of Stow," blowing his horn to gather his herd, a thirteenth-century " Gurtli," who, according to ancient tradition, gave a peck of silver pennies, the savings of his lifetime, to the building on which he is handed down to all time. Behind this vast broad wall rise the two matchless towers, St. ]\Iary's to the north, St. Hugh's to the south. The lower storeys belong to the age of Stephen, and were the work of the prince-bishop, far more warrior than prelate, "Alexander the Magnificent," in the first half of the twelfth century. The lofty belfry stages, with their spire-crowned turrets, may be placed quite at the end of the fourteenth century. As originally built, these towers were terminated by lofty spires of timber covered witli lead. Time and decay wrought their work upon them. Often threatened, and In 1727 only saved from demolition by a popular tumult, at last, in 1807, they fell a sacrifice to a misjudging economy and a mistaken Idea of synnnetry. Marvellous as tlic fac^ade is, the charge Is, not without justice, brought against it of unreality. Its richly-arcaded walls give no key to the building behind them. This undoubtedly is a fault. There can be no question that the effect of the towers would have been far finer if they had stood out from the ground, without any screen before them concealing their connection with the fabric. But it is worse than useless to find fault, and spoil an enjoyment of what we have by speculations as to what might have been. Let us now pass to the opposite end and examine the east front. To estimate the effect of this facade, as well as of the exquisite eastern limb of the cathedral of which it is the crowning glory, it should be approached from below. Entering the close by another Edwardian gate-house, the cathedral is before us, its grey walls rising in quiet dignity from the smooth greensward. The first portion to come into view is the vast decagonal chapter-house, capped by its tall pyramid of lead, with its widely-spreading flying buttresses, like huge arms propping up the vaulted roof. With the exception of that at Worcester, which is of Norman date, this is the earliest of our polygonal chapter-houses, and though simpler and less ornate than its younger sisters, especially that "rose aiuong flowers," the lovely chapter-house at York, it yields to none in statell- ness of outline. A few steps further the glorious "Angel Choir" comes into vicAV, the first complete specimen of English Gothic art, after it had attained its highest development in the latter half of the thirteenth century. The great east window of eight lights, with its lofty mulllons, simplicity of conception, and pure and bold tracery, is the very noblest specimen of its 80 CATHEDRAL CHURCHE8. Ltxcolx. ;, ri '%^%%:^^»^--' ^7~^!3^-. IHB CATHEUKAL, FUOM UANWICK HILL. date. The riclil}-(:rocketed gable, bearing: in its apex the Virgin Mother with the Infant Saviour in her arms, flanked by tall spire pinnacles of elaborate luxuriance, with its two equally lovely aisle gables, is one of the most delicious of architectural works. Leaving the east end we may pass westwards and watcTi the gradual development of the varied architectural features of the building. First, the side elevation of the Angel Clioir, with its lovely windows, as perfect as the great cast window on a smaller scale, divided by tall gabled buttresses, where pedestals and canopies await — let us hope not in vain — the army of statues which once peopled them. Then follows the deeply-recessed south porch, with its solemn sculptures of the Doom, the seated Judge, the yawning tombs, the rising dead — Lincoln.! THE PORCn. 81 recalling on a smaller scale, more perfectly than any other doorway in England, the vast cavern-like portals of Kheims or Chartres. On cither side of this mar- vellous jjorcli the late l)ut rich monumental chapels of Bishop Russell, the tutor of the boy-king, Edward V., and celebrated by Sir Thomas ]\Iore, on the riglit, and of Bishop Longland— " longa terra mcnsura ejus," as his punning motto has it — - THE CATHEDRAL IU\\tK^, iKOM THE SOUTH-WEST. the persecutor of sacramentaries and ghostly counsellor to Henry VIII., on the left, are dwarfed into insignificance — "mere trinkets for the watch-chain" — by the vast proportions of the building to which they are attached. Tlie high narrow eastern transept, the work of the sainted Hugh of Avalon, with its tall lancets and apsidal chapels, is succeeded after a short interval b}' tlie far more sturdy and less elegant western transept, with its broader windows and ponderous but- tresses, at the intersection of which with the body of the churcli rises tlie glorious 11 82 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Lincoln. central tower, the " Lady Bell Steeple," as it used to be called before a vulgar desire to make tlie great bell known as " Great Tom " bigger still consigned to the melting-pot the lovely little peal of mediaeval bells which formerly day by day rung out the "Ave Maria." An anmsing story, told by Matthew Paris and several of the media3val chroniclers, enables us to fix the date of the lower portion of this tower with precision. In the early years of the episcopate of Robert Grosseteste, the big-headed, lion-hearted asserter of his rights against all con- traveners of them, whether the chapter of his cathedral or the Pope himself, when his claim to visit his cathedral ofhcially had roused the ire of the dean and canons, one of the latter, while preaching in the nave ad pojndiDii, appealed to his hearers against the oppressive acts of the bishop ; "so intolerable were they," he exclaimed, "that if he and his brethren were to hold their peace the very stones would cry out on their behalf." Scared}' were the words out of his mouth when the central tower, then freshly built in a new-fangled style, came crashing down, burying some of his hearers in its ruins. This was in the year 1237. The new tower was immediately begun. Its magnificent upper storey, the crowning glory of the minster, thougii shorn of the tall leaden spire — the loftiest save that of old St. Paul's in the kingdom — destroyed by a thunderstorm in 1548, owes its completion to Bishop John of Dalderly, a prelate whoso Christian virtues gave him a powerful inilucnce while he lived, and obtained for him a popular canonisation which, however, the Curia of Home refused to recognise formally, in s})ite of the repeated petitions of the dean and chapter. It was begun in March, 1307, and was not far from completion in 1311. At this point the circular window, known as the " Bishop's Eye," challenges our admiration. The corresponding window of the north transept, looking over the deanery, was called the " Dean's Eye," symbolising the watchful care the chief officer of the chapter was bound to exercise against the wiles of " Lucifer," to whom it was inferred, from the words of the jjrophet Isaiah, " I will sit on the sides of the north " (Isa. xiv. 13), that gloomy sunless quarter was specially subject. The window of the southern transept, looking over the episcopal palace, was similarly known as the "Bishop's Eye," courting the genial influences of the Holy Spirit. There is no record of its erection, but it was probably connected with the "cultus" of Bishop John of Dalderly, who was buried in this transept, where some fragments of liis once magnificent shrine are still to be seen. At the western angle of the transept stands the " Galilee Porch," a very stately vaulted entrance, cruciform in plan, which was probably erected for the reception of the bishop on state occasions. The episcopal palace lies a short distance to the south, and there is an archway in the close wall, originally opened by the second Nornum bishop, Robert Bloet, by the express }>ermission of Henry I., exactly in a line with this porch. The porch, which is in the Early l.ivroLN.j HISTOli'Y OF THE BUTLDTNCI. 83 English style, both in position and design i;^ ahsolutoly unique. Above it is a chamber, now used as the muniment room, in which the court of the dean and chapter was formerly held. At no point are the vast dimensions of the cathedral more impressive than on turning the angle of the Galilee. An entire new church seems to open upon us, with the long buttressed aisle walls of the nave, the Large gabled north-west chapel, itself a small church, which flanks it, and the western towers. As we advance the Norman work of the lower part of the towers, and the highly-enriched arcaded gables which project from them, become very striking features. From no point is the pictm-esque variety of the outline of the cathedral, with its bold defiance of the conventional, more striking. Before entering the cathedral it will be desirable to give a rapid sketch of its architectural liistory. The earliest cathedral on this site was erected by the first Norman bishoji, Remigius of Fescaup, on the removal of the see from Dorchester- ori-Tliames, about 1072. From the portions that remain at tlie west end, both externally and internally, we sec that it was a fabric of the sternest Norman character, absolutely devoid of ornament. It ended in a short apsidal eastern limb, the semicircular foundations of whicli remain beneath the stalls of the choir. After an accidental fire in 1141, by which the roof was burnt off, the whole church was vaulted in stone, by Bishop Alexander, to wliom we may also assign the very elaborate western doorways, and the lower storeys of the towers. The cathedral suffered severely from the earthquake of 1185, wliich we are told by Roger of Hoveden rent it from the top downwards. The year following, 1180, Hugh of Avalon was appointed bishop. He at once made preparations for the rebuilding of his shattered cathedral, of which the first stone was laid in 1192. Hugh died in 1200, by whicli time he had seen the present ritual choir with the eastern transept completed, and the larger or western transept begun. This portion of the cathedral supplies us with the earliest dated example in England of the pure Lancet Gothic without any trace of Norman influence. Documentary evidence fails us almost entirely for the half-century after the death of Bishop Hugh. During this period the transept was completed, the nave built, and the west front cast into its present shape. The central tower was rebuilt, as has been already stated, after its fall in 1237. The whole of these works are in the same general style, though with many lesser variations, viz., the Lancet Gothic. To the same ])eriod belongs the chapter-house, which was in progress during the episcopate of Bishop Hugh of Wells (1209 — 1235), brother of Bishop Jocelin of Wells, the rebuilder of that loveliest of English catliedrals. The popular veneration for St. Hugh — the earlier bearer of the name — was the cause of the elongation of the eastern limb, by the erection of the Angel Choir, to receive the shrine containing his body, for which work the offerings 84 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Lincoln. of the devotees flocking to the hallowed spot supplied the necessary funds. It was begun about 1255, and completed in 1280, in which year the translation of the saint's body took place, in the presence of Edward I, and his Queen Eleanor, his brother Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, Archbishop Peckham, and an immense concourse of the leading eccle- siastics and nobles of the day. The addi- tion of the "Angel Choir" completed the main fabric of the cathedral. The cloisters were added in the geometrical Decorated style in 129G and the immediately subse- quent years. On entering Lincoln Cathedral, while we are struck by the combination of grace and dignity in the design with richness in detail, and by the general impression of size and space, we cannot fail to feel the want of height. This defect is not so painfully apparent in the nave as in the choir and western transf^pt. In the latter, which is certainly the clumsiest portion of the the vault is absolutely crusliing in its lowness, and cuts off the upper the northern circular window or "Dean's Eye" in a most awkAvard In the choir the strangely unsymmetrical arrangement of the vaulting THE ANGEL CHOIK. building, part of fasliion. LWCOLN.] THE INTERIOR. 85 cells, joined to its lowness, gives an unplcasing effect to an otherwise noble design. This is the more provoking as there is no real want of height in the section of the building itself. But a vast space is lost between the groining and the roof, from the want of courage in the architect to lift the stone vault to a more adequate height. In the nave the vault is actually some feet higher, and the point of the springing of the "-roining- and the form of the arch are so arranged as to make it look higher still. The first impression made by the nave is so perfectly satisfactory that it is only slowly and reluctantly that one begins to notice its de- fects. However, there can be no question that the arches are generally too wide, pro- ducing a sprawling effect and a sense of inadequacy of bearing power. The two westernmost bays are nar- rower, and are so much more pleasing that we can only wish that all had been of the same width, and that the designer had given us eight arches instead of seven. There is some awkwardness also in the way in which the later nave is fitted on to the western towers and the intervening Norman bay. From some unex- plained cause — perhaps no more than an error in the orio^inal settin"^ out of the new nave — the axis of the two divisions is not the ^ ^.o^j^-eu in the cLoisxEut,. 8fi CATHEDRAL CHURCH KS. TLmcoLN. same, so that the west window, and still more distressingly the western arch, are out of the centre of the vista. This want of symmetry is not improved by the tlimsy tracery of the Early Perpendicular window, which has been unhappily substituted for the original Early English triplet of Grosseteste's age. The impression of space and lightness is much increased by two large chapels, opening into the aisles of the nave by an additional arcade at the western end. That to the north has a tall central column of polished Purbcck marble, of wonderful slenderness, almost as fragile-looking as that of the chapter-house at Salisbury. The corresponding chapel to the south, which serves as the Consistory court, wants the central column. The ritual choir is divided from the lantern by an elaborately carved screen of Decorated date, of sufficient depth to contain several vaulted chambers. On either side the choir is fenced off from the aisles by arcadcd stone screens, introduced after the fall of the tower to strengthen the fabric. In the third arch of the south choir aisle a screen Avail, richly panelled in the Decorated style, marks the site of the shrine of Little St. Hugh ; a monument of tlie eagerness to believe the most incredible tales of the vindictive cruelty of the hated Jews, of which so striking an example was presented not long since in Hungary. ]3cneath the now demolished canopy a tiny stone coffin enshrines the remains of a Christian child, "bonnie Saint Hugh of Lincoln," whose body was found in the cesspool of the house of a Jew, Copin by name, wounded, it was said, in hands, feet, and side in blasphemous mockery of the sufferings of our Lord. The whole story, too long to be narrated here, is to be found in ]\ratt]icw Paris, who tells how Copin, on the promise of his life, feasted the ears of his judges with the atrocities stated to have been perpetrated on the child, which the lead- ing Jews from all parts of England had flocked to see ; how the young King Henry IH., happening then to visit Lincoln, annulled the promise as an infringe- ment of his own royal prerogative ; how the miserable culprit, tied to the tail of a horse, was dragged through the streets of Lincoln, and hanged on Can wick Hill, "presented both in body and soul to the prince of the power of the air;" and how, finally, near upon a hundred Jews inculpated by him were carted off to the Tower of London and hanged, and their property confiscated. Few subjects have been more popular in ballad literature than this tale of St. Hugh of Lincoln, the Jew's daughter being usually made to play the part of the murderess. The choir is furnished with three tiers of seats, the upper row of prebendal stalls being surmounted by lofty taljernaclo work of the most consunnnate richness and lightness. They, like the works at the west end, and the vaulted ceilings of the three towers, are due to Jolm of Welbourn, treasurer of the church towards the close of the fourteenth century. The carvings are quaint, and in some cases of a ludicrous character, not very suitable to a religious Lincoln.] THE ANGEL CHOIR, 87 buildinfT-. The poppy-head of the precentor's stall exhibits on one side two monkeys churning ; on a second side we see a baboon, who has stolen the butter, hiding- himself among the trees ; on the third side the thief, having been caught, tried, and condemned, is expiating his crime on the gallows, the two churners pulling the rope, while ho with clasped hands is praying his last prayer. The miserere of a stall on the tier below shows the body of the butter-stealer borne by his hangmen, to bm-ial. This curious series may probably illustrate some once popular but now for- gotten poem. No words can do justice to the consummate beauty of the "Angel Choir," which, in the combination of richness and delicacy of ornament and unstinting pro- fuscncss of sculpture, leaving scarcely a square foot of plain wall anywhere, knows no rival. The name by which it is 2)opularly known is derived from the sculptures of angels with exjjandcd wings, playing on musical instruments, which fill the spandi-els of the exquisitely-designed triforium. In singular contrast to these lovely creations a queer little shaggy Puck or Robin Goodfdlow, with horns and huge flapping ears, sits nursing his right leg at the base of the GKOTESUUE 1-lULilE. first vaulting shaft on the north side, evidently as fond of mischief for mischief's sake as Shakespeare's " shrewd and knavish sprite." Lincoln Cathedral is now decidedly poor in monuments. There are but few, and these not as a rule bearing any great historic name. The whole of the sepulchral brasses, many of them of singular beauty, were torn up by the Parliamentary soldiers after the storming of the castle and the close by the Earl of Manchester in 1644, when, as Evelyn says, the military "shut themselves in with axes and hammers till they had rent and torn off some barge-loads of metal, so hellish an avarice possessed them." Besides despoiling the brasses and carrying off an exquisite full-length metal effigy of Queen Eleanor, whose " viscera " were interred here after her death at the neighbouring manor of Harby, the soldiers inflicted so much wanton injury on the other monuments that, under the influence of the prosaic spirit of neatness and uniformity which prevailed during the last century, not a few decayed memorials of historic interest were ruthlessly removed by those who should have been their guardians. Of the monument of Bishop Grosseteste which stood in the south arm of the eastern transept, once the resort of numerous devotees and the scene of many rejjuted miraculous cures, only a 88 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Lincoln. few shattered frao-ments remain. Not even so much is left of the still more celebrated wonder-working shrine of St. Hugh, the Bishop. This, however, is the less to be regretted, as the whole cathedral may be called his monument. Of Remigius, the dwarfish but energetic founder of the cathedral — "the man of small stature l)ut of lofty soul" — there is a possible but dubious memorial in a sepulchral slab, carved with the tree of Jesse, placed under one of the nave arches. This slab is fractured across the middle, an accident which, we know from Giraldus Cambrensis, happened to Remigius' tombstone from the LINXOLN CA'illEUUAL, I'KOM WiTUAM BANK. falling of the roof-timbers in the fire of 1142; but the carving is certainly later than Remigius' time. Of the thirty prelates who filled the episcopal throne of Lincoln up to the period of the Reformation, of whom by far the greater part were interred within the walls of the cathedral, the monuments of only two survive. These are Bishop Henry of Burghersh (1320 — 1842), the di})lomatic agent of Edward III. in French affairs, whose unquiet spirit, so the tale ran, was doomed to walk the earth in huntsman's garb of Lincoln green, with horn and baldrick, until the lands of which he had robbed his poorer neighbours for the enlargement of his own chase had been restored; and Bishop Richard Fleming (1420 — 1431), by whom the pajDal decree for exhuming the body of Wycliffe, burning it to ashes, and casting them into running water, was carried out at Lutterworth. Lincoln.] THE MONUMENTS. 89 IJoth of tliose moiiuments stand towards the cast cud of the north aisle of the Angel Choir, that of Bishop Fleming in a chantry chapel erected for its recep- tion. Each consists of an altar-tomb carrying a recumbent effigy of tlie prelate in full pontificals. According to the taste of the age, a second effigy, towards the aisle where all might see the ghastly memento mori, represents the decaying corpse of Bishop Fleming. On the aisle wall, facing Bishop Burghersh's monument, is the recessed tomb of his elder brother, Bartholomew, Lord Burghersh, who died in 1356, one of the most renowned of the warriors in Edward III.'s French campaigns, fighting at Crecy in the same detachment with the Black Prince, and sent out to reconnoitre before the battle of Poictiers, Of post-Reformation prelates, the only monuments are those of Bishop Fuller (1667 — 1675), who restored the cathedral after the fanatical outrages of the great Rebellion ; of Bishop Gardiner, whose altar-tomb bears a set of very pleasing sapphics commending the prelate's virtues ; of Bishop Kaye (1827 — 1853), whose white marble effigy, a graceful and dignified work of Westniacott's, reposes in one of the apsidal chapels of the south arm of the lesser transept; and of Bisho]) Wordsworth, presenting a life-size effigy beneath a lofty and elaborate canopy, recently erected in the Angel Choir. The only other ancient monuments are tliose of Sir Nicholas Cantilupe and Prior Wymbush of Nocton, under tall gabled canopies in the retro-choir ; the much mutilated altar-tomb of Kathcrine Swynford, the tardily wedded third wife of John of Gaunt, the mother of Cardinal Beaufort, and great-grandmother of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. ; and that of her daughter, the Countess of Westmoreland, on the south side of the choir. The Easter sepulchre opposite is an exquisite specimen of Decorated canopy work, the base finely carved with the sleeping guards. The font, of black basalt, which stands beneath the second arch on the south side of the nave, is a gigantic specimen of rude Norman work, with a huge square basin carved with griffin-like figures, sup^jorted on four pillars, closely resembling the font of Winchester Cathedral. The cloisters form an irregular quadrangle to the north of the choir, between the two transepts. They are in the Decorated style, with rich traceried windows and a groined roof of oak. Built like many ancient works, with hardly any foundation, the thrust of the vault has forced the walls out of the perpendicular, and completely thrown down the northern walk. The chapter-house, which opens out of the eastern wall of the cloister, is one of the grandest works of the thirteenth century. Its stone vaulted roof is suj)- ported by a central column of clustered shafts. No part of the cathedral is more full of stirring historical reminiscences. Here in the days when Parliaments were migratory, several Parliaments were held by Edward I. and his two successors. 12 90 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Lincoln. Of tliese the most remarkable was that of Edward I., in 1301, by which the Great Charter and the other charters on which the liberties of the subjects rested were confirmed, and the claim of the powerful and ambitious Boniface VIII., as sujDreme Lord of Scotland, to arbitrate between the two countries was firmly resisted, and the political inde2:)ondence of England and England's king of the see of Rome was unhesitatingly asserted. Another Parliament held here by Edward I.'s degenerate son, in 13 16, was disgraced by a squabble between Sir John de Ros and the king's unworthy minion, Despenser, who, regardless of the sacrednoss of the place, struck the former a blow with his fist, drawing blood. Here, too, in 1310, was held the trial of the Knights Templars, before Bishop John of Dalderby, for the crimes of apostasy, idolatry, and gross immo- rality. The evidence, though utterly worthless, was sufficient to secure a verdict of condemnation, with the complete suppression of that once powerful body. None, however, of the English Templars suffered death, their only punishment being an honourable imprisonment in various monastic houses. Here, also, to pass on a couple of centuries, in October, 1536, in the early days of the j^opular rising against Henry VIII. 's proposed suppression and confiscation of religious houses, which afterwards came to a head in Yorkshire in the celebrated " Pilgrimage of Grace," the leaders of the Lincolnshire insurgents, 60,000 strong, assembled for consultation on the royal letters just received, recalling the "rude commons" of the "brute and beastly shire" of Lincoln to their allegiance. Treachery on the part of the leaders was sus^Dected. Two hundred, after retiring to the cloisters for conference, returned with the intent of putting the gentry to tlie sword if they refused to load them against the royal forces which were approaching. They, however, found the chapter-house empty. A side door in the vestibule, now blocked up, then probably concealed by arras, had afforded an unsuspected exit, and in the twilight of that autumnal .evening tlic intended victims made a hurried escape across the minster green to the house of the chancellor, Christopher Massingberd. These are only two or three incidents in the varied and . stirring annals of the Cathedral Church of St. IMary of Lincoln, which from its first erection has been identified more thoroughly than most others with the national life and the events which have shaped the history of our country. KUMUND VeNABLES. LICHFIELD. Antiquarians dispute, tliough leg-ends explain, the origin of the name Lichfield. According to the latter it means " field of the dead," and commemorates the slaughter of a number of Christian converts by the Roman soldiery during the Diocletian persecution. That this derivation is not modern the city arms bear record, as on them we see "an escutcheon of landscape with many martyrs in it in several ways massacred." More historical, yet not without an admixture of legend, is the connection of Lichfield with St. Chad. A mile or so away from the eastern end of the cathedral, beyond "Stowe Pool," may still be seen a low church tower and a cluster of houses which form the village of Stowe. Here St. Chad took up his abode, near a church, perhaps on the site of that now standing, which had been built by his predecessor Jaruman, and from this centre administered the great bishopric of Morcia. Thus Lichfield, though not without some considerable interruption, has been the seat of a bishopric since the middle of the seventh century. Of Chad's piety .and labours, which are doubtless historical, and of the legends which loving memories gathered about the story of his death, there is not here space to tell. The little church and village, the centre of the great Mercian bishopric, began to increase in fame and in size as jDilgrims flocked to the grave of St. Chad. In the days of his successor the see of Mercia was divided, and Lichfield became the head of a more manageable di-ocese. A century later Offa obtained from the Pope for the Bishop of Lichfield the title archbishop, the pall, and jurisdiction over four bishops of ]\Icrcia and two of East Anglia. But this glorification of Lichfield was but of short duration, for after the king's death a new Pope annulled the act of his predecessor. In the eleventh century Lichfield lost for a time the honour of being an episcopal town, for the Norman bishop removed the seat of the see to Chester, the town being considered "inadequate to support the episcopal dignity." Chester, after twenty-eight years, was deserted for Coventry, but in the year 1128, after an interval of rather more than half a century, Lichfield was again, notwith- standing its insignificance as a town, restored to its ancient honour. The date when a chm'ch was first built on the present site is a little uncertain ; but we learn from Bedo tliat St. Chad was buried near the Church of St. Mary, the 92 CATnEDRAL CnUUGHES. rLlCHFIELD. first in Liclificld, and that his remains were afterwards translated to the new Churcli of St. Peter (the present cathedral). Hence this must have been com- pleted some time before 7''35, the year of Bede's death, thouj^h probably it was then a comparatively small and hmiiblc structure. After the Conquest this work of English hands was replaced by a Norman church on a grander scale, the exact date of the rebuilding • being also uncertain ; but this also, with the exception of a few fragments, has been swept away. It was gradually rebuilt, after it liad stood for rather more than a century, the western part of the choir, the oldest })ortion of the present cathedral, having probably been L1CI£1'1EL1J, I'UO.M THE SOUTH. begun about the year 1200. The south transept was next taken in hand, followed some few }'ears later by the north transept ; for one at least of these is known, from an old grant giving a right of quarrying stone, to have been in progress about the year 1235. Next the nave was rebuilt, the work being begun about the middle of the same century ; and the west front, which does not appear to have been constructed quite continuously with the rest, is dated about 1275. The architects now again took in hand the eastern part of the choir. The work executed at the beginning of the century was destroyed, and the present Lady Chapel and presbytery were erected, the former being the earlier, and the whole work, occupying roughly a quarter of a century, being completed about the year 1325. Shice then nothing has been done except by way of improving or restoring the building. Some "Perpendicular" Avindows were inserted in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the central spire was Lichfield.] TWE RESTORATION. 93 destroyed during tlie Civil War of tlie seventeentli century, and was rebuilt after the Restoration by Sir Christopher Wren ; and the minor injuries of the siege, of age, and of perverse architects, have been repaired from time to time, the last work being the restoration of the magnificent west front, which was com- pleted so recently as the year 1884. Wyatt, the destroyer, was let loose on Lichfield in the later part of the last century, and it has cost much to undo his work, tliough happily he left his mark less perma- nently impressed on Lich- field than on some other cathedrals, as he mainly con- fined himself to blocking up the pier arches of the choir, erecting an elaborate organ screen, and glazing the upper portion of the eastern tower arch in order to protect the canons from the cold ; and to removing the communion table to the extreme east of the building, " so as to con- vert the united choir and Lady Chapel into a long aisleless or apteral chapel." These arches were reopened in the year 1856, and four years later the cathedral was placed under the charge of the late Sir G. G. Scott, with the result, to quote the words of the accomplished author of the " Handbook to the Englisli Cathedrals," " that the cathedral has been enriched with a series of works in wood, metal, and encaustic tiles, unexcecded in beauty or in interest by any which have been produced in England during the present century." The great event in the history of Lielificld Cathedral (for generally the annals of the town have been as uneventful as those of a small midland town without a river and without manufactures usually are) was the siege, to which allusion has already been made. The town itself was an open one, but the cathedral had been rather strong!)- fortified by Stephen Langton, its bishop, and THE WEST FllONT. 94 CATTTTJDRAL CHURCHES}. [Lichfield a statesman of mark in tlic roigns of tlio first two Edwards. AAHien tlic strife between kinf^ and Parliament resulted in an appeal to arms, it happened tliat the chief families in the neighbouring districts were strongly Royalist, and so the " close " of Lichfield by their means was occupied by a garrison, and held for the king. This, in the early part of 1643, was attacked by a Parliamentary army under the command of Robert, Lord Brooke. He planted one of his batteries in Dam Street, which runs along a kind of causeway at the eastern end of the "Minster Pool," a sheet of water completely protecting the south side of the close. As Lord Brooke was standing in this battery, a shot fired from the battlements of the central tower by a Mr. Dyott, one of the gentry of the neighbourhood, struck him in the forehead and he fell dead. His fall, however, did not bring a long respite to the cathedral. The attack was resumed under the command of Sir John Gell. Injured by the cannon shot, the central spire fell and crushed in a part of the roof, and the defenders of the cloSe were soon obliged to capitulate. The cathe- dral, battered by the siege, was wrecked by the victors. They defaced the monu- ments, hewed down the carved woodwork, and shattered the stained glass, besides destroying many valuable records of the cathedral and of the city, and added to the injury by sundry wanton insults to the religious feelings of the conquered. After the Restoration Dr. Racket was appointed to the vacant see and to the charge of a ruined catlicdral. No sooner had he come into residence than he began the work of repair. The great spire was rebuilt from a design by Sir Christopher Wren, fortunately so as not to differ conspicuously from the others ; and by the end of the year 1GG9 the work was practically finished and the building reconsecrated. Tlie bishop lived to hear the tenor bell (the first of a peal wJiich he had ordered) rung, and then passed away from this world. The restoration by Bishop Ilacket was by no means complete as to details, and among other things left for future care were the statues adorning the west front, wdiich liad been greatly injured. This Avork, however, was taken in hand in the middle of the last century, when Roman cement was moulded over the ancient stone cores (for they were sometimes little more), and the we-st front emerged from the restorer's hands " spick and span," looking almost brand-new. Of course the details of the restoration were such as might have been expected from the antiquarian science of the time, and the last important work accomplished in the cathedral has been the restoration in stone of the west front and the renewal f)f the statues. Its completion was signalised by a great ceremonial, when the west front was "re- dedicated," in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and others, in the spring of 1884. The result, of course, has l)een that much of the detail is now new work, but the rather crumbling nature of the red stone used in the building has unfortunately made this necessary in more than one part, and it is a very careful restoration, founded upon whatever traces could be discovered of tlic old, LicHFiELD.1 THE WEST FRONT. 95 so that the cathedral now appears far more like its ancient self than it has done for a couple of centuries. The three most notable features of the exterior of the cathedral are the west front, the triple group of spires, and the great length of the roof. It may be doubted whether the last is a good feature, the nave and the choir up to the extreme east end being at the same level. But the other two characteristics are of singular beauty. Individually the spires of Norwich or of Salisbury may bear away the palm ; indeed, the fact that the central spire of Lichfield is a seventeenth-century rebuilding renders the comparison hardly fair. But such a group does not exist elsewhere in Britain. The charm of the triple grouping is admitted alike in towers and spires, and the superiority of a dominant centre as at Canterbmy, Lincoln, or Durham is generally felt ; but at Lichfield the substitution of the perfect for the imperfect form, of the steeple for the tower, places the cathedral in this respect before all others. The "Ladies of the Vale," as the sjiires of Lichfield have been poetically named, are exceptionally beautiful, whether seen from a neighbouring eminence rising above the roofs of tlic town, or from afar, in pleasant contrast with the woods and meadows of the neighbouring country. The west front is certainly one of the most beautiful in England. The central doorway and the great west window (the latter a restoration by Scott), both re- markably fine examples of the richest work in the Decorated style, and the intervening arcades with statues, together with the enrichment of every part of the fa(;ade, produce a very grand effect, while the composition as a whole is singularly graceful. It must be remembered that Lichfield is among ovir smaller cathedrals, the total length being 319 feet; grace, therefore, rather than grandeur is its charac- teristic, and in this, as we have said, it is seldom equalled. The impression produced by the Avest front is hardly diminished on entering the nave, in doing which the beautiful old ironwork on the west door should not be left unnoticed. The clustered piers, supporting the nave arches, are good ; the triforium, arranged so as to consist of a pair of Decorated arches in each bay, rather like that in Westminster Abbey, is especially fine. The clerestory, however, is peculiar, the windows being curvilateral triangles, enclosing three circles with a trefoil in each. It may be doubted whether the composition is wholly judicious, and the following is the verdict of a very excellent judge: "Nothing can exceed this nave in beauty and gracefulness. But in sublimity it is exceeded by many, . . . and the reason seems to be that a bay of the Lichlicld nave is clearly limited in its height. The triforium is made a principal instead of a subordinate feature ; you feel that if by the heightening of the pier-arches it were placed at a different level from the eye much of its beauty would be lost." The aisles are exceptionally narrow, but the wall arcades give them a rich appearance. The 96 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Lichfield. roof of the nave was grievously injured during tlie siege, so tliat only a part is ancient work. Monuments of early date are almost wanting. Tlie blind fury of tlie Pm-itans made nearly a clean sweep of those which existed at the surrender of the cathedral, so that only some nnitilatod fragments remain ; but there are several subsequent to that epoch, among them a very ugly one in the south transept to the memory of the officers and men of the SOth (Staffordshire) Regiment who fell in the Sutlej campaign. A nuirble slab and inlaid brass cross in the opposite wall commemorate Admiral Parker. There are also one or two modern brasses, and among the mural tablets (in itself of no particular beauty) is a small monument with an inscription by Sir Walter Scott to the memory of Miss Seward, a poetess in her day of some note, but now almost forgotten, who lived at Lichfield, and died tliere in the year 1809. A large Perpendicular window has been inserted in the north end of the north transept, naturally to the injury of the architec- tural effect. It was filled with stained glass about seventy years since, and con- sequently can hardly be said to adorn the cathedral. A very beautiful work in metal by Skidmore of Coventry has replaced Wyatt's organ screen. It has the same general character as that at Hereford, and is hardly less elaborate or beautiful. The pidpit, placed against the north-west tower pier, is a modern work in metal by the same artist, and the brass lectern, also modern, is by Ilardman of Birmingham, while a handsome new marble font stands in the nave. The choir and presbytery are eight bays long, and at this point the side aisles cease ; the Lady Chapel, which is not otherwise marked off from the rest of the building, extends three bays farther to the east, and is terminated by an apse (three sides of a hexagon). The original Norman choir had an a])sidal (semicircular) termiiuition, but did not extend beyond a spot between the fourth and fifth piers of the present choir. A square-ended chapel was built cast of it about 1180, but was removed at the beginning of the next century, when the choir was taken down THE UENTKAL SPIKE AND CHAriEU-HOUSE. Lichfield. ] THE LADY CHAPEL. 97 and. replaced by one in the Early En<:^ll.sh style which terminated, at about the position now occupied by the reredos. Then tlio Lady Chapel and retro-choir were erected, about a century later, shortly after which the greater portion of the choir was rebuilt. During the recent restorations Wyatt's work has been all undone; his stalls, with their plaster canopies, have been destroyed (the present are without any) ; the choir has had new seats. The communion table was replaced in the position which the high altar had occupied from the year 1325 up to the days of Wyatt, namely, at the end of the sixth bay of the choir, where its platform is elevated by three steps above the floor of the presbytery, which itself is one step higher than that of the choir. The pavements are composed of marble slabs and encaustic tiles, the latter the work of Minton, while some of the former are ornamented with incised work. The reredos, designed by Scott, is a graceful structure, and the materials used in it (alabaster, marble, fluor-spar, and mala- chite) are all found, or might be found, in the limits of the diocese. The win- dows of the Lady Chapel are filled with stained glass ; the two western ones are of the last centmy, without merit, and may one day be replaced by some more worthy of the position. The remaining seven are filled with glass which once adorned the great Cistercian nunnery of Herckenrode, in the bishopric of Li^ge. This, when the French Republicans had overrun the country and propa- gated their new doctrines of liberty at the point of the bayonet, was suppressed in 1802; the glass which had filled some of its windows was purchased by Sir Brooke Boothby for a sum of £200 ! and during the Peace of Amiens imported into England. The designs are very good, and so is the colour, though the date is rather late (it ranges from 1530 to 1540). Some portions of glass that remained over after filling these seven windows were inserted in the east window of the south choir aisle, and in one of those in the aisle of the south transept. It has been already said that the Puritans deprived Lichfield of nearly all its ancient monuments. Still it is exceptionally rich in tombs of later date, and especially 13 THE CHOIK, LOOKING WEST. 98 CATHEDRAL CHUECHES. [Lichfield. of the present century, which rise above the usual dull if not offensive level of modern times. In the north choir aisle at the eastern end is a knecline: figrure of Bishop Ryder, by Chantrey, which is one of his last works. The figure is good, but the pedestal is not satisfactory ; it was formerly too high, it is now too low. At a similar position in the southern aisle is the first work that brought Chantrey es2)ecially into repute, the "Sleeping Children," a marble monument of exquisite grace, too well known to need any descrij)tion. The children were the daughters of the Rev. W. Robinson, Prebendary of Lichfield, who died in the year 1812. Under the north arcade of the choir, in one of the positions deemed in ancient times most honourable, is a canopied tomb to the memory of John Lonsdale, late Bishop of Lichfield. The design was furnished by Scott, the figure being modelled by G. F. Watts. Another handsome altar-tomb, with a recumbent figure placed in a little chamber on the south side of the Lady Chapel, records the resjiect felt for his successor, George Augustus Selwyn, the last bishop. In the retro-choir is a handsome monument commemorating Dean Howard, and another to the late Archdeacon Moore ; while near the western end of the south aisle are monuments, the one on the southern side to the late Arch- deacon Hodson, who died of cholera while on a tour on the Continent, the other to his distinguished son. Major Ilodson, who fell at the taking of Lucknow. Both these were designed by Mr. G. Street. Farther east is the tomb of good Bishop Hacket, to whom the fabric of the cathedi-al owes so much and his diocese hardly less. The sacristy and treasury are placed east of the south transept, and aj^proaclied from the south choir aisle ; in their walls are incorj^orated some slight remnants of the old Norman cathedral, all, in fact, that is left above ground. In a corre- sponding position on the northern side is the vestibule leading to the chapter- house, which is in plan rather exceptional, being an elongated octagon, two of the sides being double the length of the rest; it is of two storeys, having vaulted roofs supported by a central pillar, the lower one being the chapter-house, the upper the library. The date of the building is about the year 1240, or distinctly later than that of the older part of the choir adjoining, but about the same as that of the north transept. The clustered central column and the arcades round the building are worth notice. The Puritans destroyed the books in the old chapter library, so that those in the present one have been collected since the Restoration, though amon"" them are one or two which were saved at the time of the sack of the cathedral. There are several of value, the most remarkable being the " Gospels of St. Chad." It contains at the present time the Gospels of St. Matt] lew and St. Mark, with a jiart of that according to St. Luke. Traditionally St. Gildas is asserted to be its scribe, and notes in Welsh on the margin of some of the pages give a certain support to the story. One of these states that it was LlCHFIELl).] THE MONUMENTS. 99 presented to St. Teilo, the i^atron saint of Llandaff, by its purchaser, Gellii. Mr. Westwood inclines to refer it to the hitter part of the eighth century, thouo-h he thinks it possibly might be as old as the daj^s of St. Chad. At any. rate, it appears from another entry to have been at Lichfield as early as the year 1020. To most of its bisli02)s, if of eminence, Lichfield has been but a temporary resting-place. One, however, noted as a statesman and as a liberal benefactor to his cathedral and diocese, Walter Langton, died Bishop of Lichfield, and was buried in the Lady Chapel of which he was the founder. Of Hacket's good works we have already s2:)oken, and of the last two bishops, John Lonsdale, a man not less revered than loved, an accomplished scholar, a wise ruler, and a good man ; and George Augustus Sclwyn, translated to Lich- field from the scene of his great mission work in New Zealand, who died at a THE " SLEEPING CHILDREN." ripe age, full of zeal and earnest labour to the last. The Deans of Lichfield do not appear to have made any particular mark upon history, though many of them have been useful in their generation. Li the vicinity of the cathedral there is little of interest. The gates of Stephen Langton's fortifications have been swept away, with the exception of a small portion of one near the south-east angle, though the western gate lasted till the beginning of the present century ; of his walls also little more than occa- sional fragments are visible. Perhaps the best indicated continuous portion of the defences, which resisted for a time the attack of the Puritan forces, is at the eastern end of the close, where a parapet rests upon the lower part of the ancient wall, and gives a view into the fosse, now converted into a garden of one of the canon's houses. From this position we look across level meadows to the little church of Stowe, noted, as said alcove, for its connection with the memory of St. Chad. Langford's palace, with its great hall one hundred feet long, stood at the north-east angle of the close; this, in the year 1687, was replaced by the present structure, a mansion of moderate size and of little architectural interest. For many years previous to the appointment of Bishop Selwyn the usual episco^jal residence was at Eccleshall, in a distant part of the county, and the "palace" at Lichfield was let; but the inconvenience caused 100 CATBEDRAL CnURCHES. [Lichfield. by the separation of the bishop from the more central part of liis diocese and from the cathedi-al tovm was so obvious, that after the death of Bishop Lonsdale the palace at Eccleshall was sold and Lichfield became again the dwelling-place of its bishop. The other houses in the close are of even less architectural interest than that of the bishop, Lichfield liaving been far less fortunate than many of our English cathedrals in preserving portions of its ancient appanages. The best general views of the exterior of the cathedral are obtained from the causeways leading over the Minster Pool (on the lines of Bishop Langton's work), from the neighbom-hood of Stowe, and from the hilly grounds on the south-eastern part of the town. Its characteristics may be thus summed up : it is pleasantly situated on the grassy lawn of its close ; it has proportionately the longest choir in England (always excepting those which have the nave imperfect) ; its stained glass (bought plumes, it must be admitted) is, perhaps, the best of its date ; it glories in the richest west front and the most beautiful group of spires in this country. T. G. BONNEV. THE CHOIK-SIKKKN. HEREFORD "^ Fernleigh. The ancient city of Hereford stands on the banks of the river Wye, in tlie mid.st of a fertile, well-wooded district. On ap- proaching- the town the prospect is not inviting-. The houses are mostly built of very red bricks, and no objects are specially visible except the lofty spires of St. Peter's and All Saints' Churches, and the large square tower of the cathedral. History is altogether silent as to the nature of the fabric which stood here in early Saxon times when Hereford was called It is recorded that bishops of the early British Church were here in the sixth century. In C76 Putta resigned the see of Rochester and came to reside not far from Hereford. Ethelbert, King of East Anglia, was murdered near Sutton, four miles from Hereford, by Offa, the great Mercian king, with some intention of uniting the kingdoms of East Anglia and Mercia. He was buried at Marden, but his body was soon removed to Hereford by a pious noble named Brithfrid. About 830 the church was rebuilt in stone by Milfrid, a nobleman of Mercia, who, " moved by the renown of miracles wrought at the shrine of St. Ethel- bert, sent abundance of money and began from the foundation (circa 830) and perfected a superior church built of stone, which he endowed with royal muni- ficence." This Saxon church stood about two centuries. Bishop Athelstan rebuilt the church in the time of Edward the Confessor. 102 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [IIeueforu. It was but short-lived, being- plundered and burnt in 105G by a combined force of Welsh and Irish, under Griffith, the Welsh prince. Robert of Lorraine, who was consecrated in 1079, and held the see sixteen years, undertook the re- construction of the cathedral for the third time. Bishop Reynelm carried on the work (1107 — 1115), and Bishop Robert de Betun, his third successor (1131 — 1148), com^^leted it. A Latin cross was the ground-plan of the Norman church, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelbert, with three bays for the choir, an eastern apse, a central tower, and eight bays for the nave. The fabric remained unaltered scarcely fifty years, when Bishop de Vcre (1186 — 1199) commenced the eastern transepts. The erection of the Lady Chapel, now used as the parish Church of St. John Baptist, appears to have been carried on from 1226 to 1246. The clerestory of the choir was built about 1250. The north transept was rebuilt in the time of Bishop Aquablanca, and completed by Bishop Swinfield about 1280 to 1288. The building of the north porch, with a large doorway of remarkable design, was the work of Swinfield (circa 1288 — 1290). He built both the aisles of the nave soon after; also the presbytery aisles and the north-east transept before his death in 1316. The building of the central tower, which is profusely adorned with the ball-flower ornament, may have commenced soon after 1320, while that formerly at the west end of the nave was erected about the middle of the fourteentli century. The beautiful chapter-house and its vestibule were erected before 1375, and the cloisters in the following century. Bishop Trevenant (1389 — 1404) rebuilt the south end and groining of the great transept. In the fifteenth century Bishop Stanbury alone made any addition to the fabric by erecting his small chantry (1453 — 1474). Bishop Audley built his chantry 1492 — 1502. Bishops Mayo and Booth made the last additions by erecting the outer porch, now forming the principal northern entrance to the cathedral. The building of the present edifice extended therefore over a period of 440 years. On a2)proaching the cathedral, excellent views of the exterior may be obtained from the well-kept close, especially from the north-east corner. The bishop's palace, the deanery, residences for the canons, and the cathedral school are in close proximity. The college, the residence of the vicars choral, is a picturesque quadrangle attached to the cathedral by its own cloister. The eastern gables of the choir and Lady Chapel were rebuilt from designs by Mr. Cottingham (1841 — 1850), while the greater part of all other restoration has been carried out by the late Sir G. G. Scott (1856 — 1877). The ancient spire — wood covered with lead — was taken down in 1797. The western front, with the clerestory of the nave, were constructed in a most debased style by James Wyatt, who also shortened the nave by one entire bay. These works were under- taken in consequence of the disastrous fall, on Easter lyionday, 1786, of the west Hereford.] EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR. 103 end, whereby half the nave and a western tower were destroyed. The Norman west front contained a deeply-recessed doorway, arcadcd panels, a few effigies, a large window of six lights, two square turrets, and a central foui'teenth-centiu-y tower profusely covered with the ball-flower. The substructure being unequal to this great weight, the north-west corner suddenly gave way, when the whole became a hopeless ruin. Two sides of the bishop's cloisters remain, also portions of the ancient chapter-house, where many monuments and ancient stones are preserved. The architectural details of the fabric generally are so excellent that they will be found worthy of careful inspection. The north transept, Lady Chapel, and clerestory of the choir are peculiarly beautiful examples of Early English work in various stages of development. The roofs of the entire edifice are well covered with lead. Upwards of £50,000 has been expended on the fabric during the last forty years, a large sum being still required to complete the restoration which has thus far been so well carried out. It was the opinion of Welby Pugin fifty years ago that " in this church there is much to admire, a good deal to learn, much to deplore." The points for admiration are now greatly increased, while many unsightly objects have been removed. The cathedral is highly valued by the citizens and all connected with the diocese; the services are conducted most efficiently, and the building is well warmed and lighted, and cleaned with praiseworthy care ; the seats are all free, and the edifice is open during the whole day. Entering the cathedral through Bishoj) Booth's porch and the rich Decorated doorway, a good general view of the interior is at once obtained. The fine massive Norman pillars of the nave, tower, and choir, the superb modern screen, the spacious and lofty central lantern, the reredos with its richly-carved spandrel, the distant view of the Lady Chapel with its rich lancet windows and foliated ornaments, its groined roof and stained-glass windows, the darkness of the choir and the various lights and shades, all combine to imjiress very deeply the mind of the visitor. Commencing the survey of the interior in the north transept, the first object of interest that meets us is the tomb or substructure of the shrine of Bislioj) Thomas de Cantilupe, commonly known as " St. Thomas of Hereford," who died in 1282. It is a rich specimen of Early Decorated work, and has been most carefully restored. The canonisation of this bishojD was effected in 1320, many miracles being wrought — as it is said — at this place. The arms of Cantilupe have been adopted for this see ever since, and the registers of the diocese were com- menced in his episcopate. The most ancient and beautiful of the episcopal monuments in this cathedral is that of Peter de Aquablanca (1240 — 1268). The effigy is a fine and perfect example of a bishop in full vestments. The rich canopy is supported by slender shafts ; the carving throughout is so delicate and rich tliat the tomb is scarcely 101- CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [IIekefokd. surpassed by any of its period. Ten Norman bishops (1079 — 1216) were buried in this cathedral, effigies being placed over their tombs in the fourteenth century. The beautiful little chantry and the tomb of Bishop Stanbury (ob. 1474), who was the first Provost of Eton College, are worthy of careful examination. The effigy, executed in alabaster, although slightly mutilated, is a valuable ex- ample of mediajval vestments. In the north-east transept a large number of monumental fragments are preserved — forming a rich and varied collection. There is also a beautiful altar-tomb of alabaster and polished marbles erected as a public memorial to the late dean, Richard Dawes, 1867. The effigy, by Mr. Noble, is a good likeness of the dean, who was an ardent supporter of the education movement about the middle of this century. The crypt under the Lady Chapel is small but interesting; it is the solitary example of a crypt in an English cathedral built after Norman times until we come to Truro Cathedral. Dean Merewethcr, who preceded Dean Dawes, is buried here. The arduous work of rebuilding the piers of the central tower and other works were accomplished through his zeal. The fc'outh-east transept contains memorials of several Bishops of Hereford. The remains of Bishop Gilbert Ironside (1701), together with his black marble tombstone, were re- moved to this place in 1867, when the Church of St. ]\Iary Somerset, London, was taken down. There are about forty bishops buried in this cathedral, a larger number, perhaps, than in any other church. Here also may be seen a curious effigy of St. John the Baptist, and a fine marble bust, the supjjosed work of Roubiliac. The fine canopied Perpendicular tomb of Bishop Mayo (1516), with effigy fully vested, is on the south side of the altar. In the same place there is a fourteenth -century effigy of King Etliel- TllE TOWEK A>.D NOKTII POUCU. llEUEFoiu).] THE "MAPPA MUNDI." 105 bert, whose murder near tliis city is depicted in the pavement in tlio centre of the choir. Ou the wall of the south aisle, accessible to the visitor at all times, is pre- served the celebrated Hereford " Mappa Mundi" (date circa 1282 — 1300). This is the work of an ecclesiastic, who is supposed to be represented in the right-hand corner on horseback, attended by his page and greyhounds. He lias commemo- rated himself under the name of Richard de Haldingham and Lafford in Lincolnshire. His real name was Richard de la Battayle or de Bcllo. He held a prebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral, and was promoted to a stall in this cathedral in 1305, afterwards becoming Archdeacon of Reading. During the troublous times of Cromwell the map was laid beneath the floor of Bishop Audley's Chapel, where it remained secreted for some time. In 1855 it was cleaned and repaired at the British IMuseum. This is allowed to be one of the most remarkable monuments of its land in existence, being the largest and most interesting of all the old maps, drawn on a single sheet of stout vellum. The world is here represented as round, surrounded by the ocean. At the top of the map (the cast) is represented Paradise, with its river and tree ; also the eating of the forbidden fruit, and the expulsion of our first parents. Above is a remarkable representation of the Day of Judgment, with the Virgin Mary interceding for the faithful, who are seen rising from their graves and being led within the walls of heaven. The map is chiefly filled with ideas taken from ancient historians. There are numerous figures of towns, animals, birds, and fish, with grotesque creatures. The four great cities are made very prominent — Jerusalem, Babylon, Rome, and Troy. Li Great Britain most of the cathedrals are mentioned. A number of ancient objects of great local interest are exhibited in a glass case in the vestry. In the south aisle are two fourteenth-century tombs, with efligies of unknown ecclesiastics. The tomb of Sir Richard Pembridge, Knight of the Garter, in the reign of Edward III., is worthy of special notice as a fine example of the armour of that period. He died in 1375. This is one of the earliest instances of an effigy having the garter on. The Norman font on the south side of the nave is a large circular stone bowl, with figures of the twelve Apostles carved around it, supported by four demi-griffins. Tlie choir is full of objects of much beauty and interest. The reredos con- sists of five canopied compartments, with rich sculpluro, representing our Lord's Passion, erected in 1851 as a public memorial to Mr. J. Bailey, M.P. for this county. At the back of the reredos is a pier from which spring two pointed arches ; the spandrel thus formed is covered with rich modern sculpture, repre- senting Christ in majesty, with angels and symbols of the Evangelists; below 10(5 CATHEDRAL CTURCHES. [Uerefouo. is a figure of King Ethclbcrt. Tliere is also a very curious and early episcopal chair worthy of notice. The bishop's throne and stalls, of good fourteenth- century work, all carefully restored, and the modern book desks and figures of angels on the upper stalls, also deserve attention. The organ is a grand instru- ment, recently built by Mr. Willis. The screen is a most imposing and magnificent object, designed by Sir G. G. Scott, and constructed in 1SG2 by Skidmorc's Art Company. This and the large central corona were conspicuous objects in the 1862 Exhibition. It consists of an arcade of five main arches on a base of Devonshire marble, with a central gable, terminating in a richly- jewelled cross. A variety of foliage is produced out of thin plates of copper. Mosaic panels and jDolished stones in great variety form the chief ornaments. It has seven bronze figures and two massive gates. The tower contains a good and melodious peal of ten old bells. There are forty painted glass windows ; thirty-six arc modern, of varied merit, and four good examples of the fourteenth century. Hereford Cathedral is one of the old secular foundations. Many eminent men in former times were associated with this place, some having been jjro- moted to bishoprics and other high offices. No attempt is made to enumerate them in the present limited space, but they include Robert of Gloucester, the Chronicler, prebendary in 1291 ; Nicholas of Hereford, chancellor in 1377 — -a remarkable man, leader of the Lollards at Oxford; Polidoro Vergil, prebendary in 1507 — a celebrated literary man, author of a most popular history ; Cardinal ^yolscy, prebendary in 1510; Miles Smith, prebendary in 1580, promoted to the see of Gloucester — a very learned man, one of the translators of the authorised Bible, IGll; and Dr. R. D. Hampden, who was bishop of the see 1848 — G8. The library, it should be added, placed in a room adjoining the north transept, contains many old books in MS. chained to their places. Some of them are fine specimens of ancient handwriting, and contain beautiful illustra- tions in gold and colour. Among these one of the most valuable is a unique copy of the ancient Hereford antiphonary of the thirteenth century, in good preservation. Francis T. Havergal. WORCESTER. WoECESTER Cathedral, though not in the first rank,* has a beauty of its own. It has not the massive grandeur of Durliam or Winchester, but it is, especially in the eastern parts, stately and graceful as Salisbury or Lincoln. The variety of styles is pervaded by a remarkable unity of design : for instance, in the arches of the nave and of the choir, dating, these from the thirteenth, those from the fom'teenth century. It stands in the form of a double or "patriarchal" cross, without transept aisles. The tower, though poor in details, is well proportioned. In position it is awkward, midway between east and west ; and the exterior of the cathedral is bare. But, seen from the Shrub Hill, the cathedral rises nobly against the wavy outline of the Malvern Hills ; and on a bright evening in spring or autumn the level rays of the setting sun light up the windows across the Severn with a blaze of glory, as if it were illuminated within for some high festival. Inside, the elevation appears at lirst unsatisfactory, but, as a matter of fact, the width of the nave aisles detracts from the height. The cathedral is rich in reminiscences. Worcester, on a Roman road and beside a great river, naturally became the bishop's seat in the conversion of the Wiccian province, l^ut there are no traces of the rude structure, St Peter's, the mother church of the province when Mercia was an independent kingdom ; nor of the St. Mary's which Oswald raised in the tenth century, a little north- east of the present cathedral — a stately building in those days, with its twenty-seven altars for his monks, who were to supplant their strictly monastic predecessors. Wulfstan found Oswald's catliedral in ruins, the handiwork of Hardicanute's s(^ldiers, sent to chastise Worcester for rising against the ship-tax. In 1084 he commenced a new cathedral, parts of which stand to this day. In 1089 the eastern portion was ready for the bishop and his fifty monks. But within a quarter of a century the roof was destroyed by fire, and the cathedral was again in flames in 1202. In 1218 the cathedral was reconsecrated with much pomp by Bishop Silvester, in honour of St. Mary, St. Peter, St. Oswald, St. Wulfstan, the young king, Henry III., being present with his court. The prince-like bishops of the thirteenth century have left their mark on theii * Willis places it about fouiieeutli iu leugth of tlie cathedrals aud couvoutiuil clmrclics of Enj^laud. 108 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Worcester. cathedral. William of Blois rebuilt the eastern part; Godfrey Giffard added the gilt rings, a special feature of the choir and Lady Chapel ; of Walter Canti- lupe, it is said, a stone effigy remains (see p. 113). In the next century good Bishop Cohham revaultcd the north aisle of the nave, Bishop AVakefield the Uxo most western bays of the nave. Prince Arthur's exquisite little chapel marks the sixteenth century. The cathedral suffered little in the Reformation, much in the Rebellion from Essex's troopers and from Cromwell's. During the Common- THE CATHEDRAL, FROM THE SOUTH-WEST. wealth the usual services here were silenced till April loth, IGGl. In 1812 the restoration of the cathedral throughout began undcu- Perkins, and, after his death, was completed under Scott, in 1870. A fine peal of bells was provided through the exertions of Canon Cattley. The cathedral has passed through many perils from Danish pirates* and Welsh marauders, as well as from the conflagrations so frequent in the Middle Ages, and from civil wars. In 1292 — probably not then only — two rival pro- cessions fought in the cathedral. In 1641 Essex stabled his troopers, it is said, in the nave, exasperated by discovering arms hidden in the precincts. Dm'ing the siege which took place in 1040 a field-piece was slung up to the * An old door, now in the crypt, formerly in the porch, is said to bo covered with the skin of a Dane, who lagged behiud when his comrades retired to their boats below the west end of the cathcdraL Worcester.] ROYAL VISITORS. 109 tojj of the tower; and subsequently tlic lead off the roof was sc^ld, with much else, by auction. The cathedral has been distinguished by royal visits and royal gifts, from King Edgar, in the tenth century, downwards. It was a special favourite with the Plantagcnets. Henry II. aiul Henry III. attended mass here soon after THE CHOIU, WITH KINO JOHN S TO.MB. accession. John, niggardly as he was, could be lavish in his superstitious awe of Oswald and Wulfstan. Edward I. came almost yearly, particularly before his campaigns abroad. Elizabeth visited Worcester in groat state, to the cost of Bishop BuUingham. James II. insulted "the faithful city" l)y preferring a Roman Catholic chapel to the cathedral and a Roman Catholic priest to the bishop. The most solenni pageant of all was the funeral of Prince Arthur, who died at Ludlow, 1502 : the tears and sobs of the crowd attested their sorrow for his untimely end. The cathedral was enriched by the offerings of pilgrims no CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Woucestek. flocking- to the shrines of Oswakl and Wulfstan. The Lady Godiva of Coventry, in the eleventh century, was one of many benefactors. Traces of okl Norman work are fewer and less vivid than they would be, owing to the perishable natui-e of the stone. Striped layers, wliite and green, may be discerned, as at Pisa and Sienna. Tlie hand of tlie Norman builder may be seen in the walls of the transepts, in the junctiu-c of the north wall of the choir with the tower, in the western part of the choir, in the south corner of each western transept (where the circular staircase projects unusually into the cathe- dral), and elsewhere. The eastern arch of the north transept speaks his skill. A Norman shaft remains in the angle at the west end of the south aisle of the choir. Tlie piers of the tower encase a Norman "core."* On the outside of the western end of the nave are vestiges of two Norman doorways, smnnounted by Norman windows, and of a central doorway, decapitated by the great west window inserted in 1380. The crypt is the most perfect relic of Bishop Wulf- stan's work. The two most western bays in the nave are semi-Norman, like the arcade in the chapter-house, and are the work of Bishop Simon, in the twelfth century. Wulfstan's central, tower fell in 1175 from sheer Aveight, as Norman towers were apt to fall. His cathedral had no western towers. In 1221 two small towers fell ; they had probably flanked the northern transept. The i)orch, resembling the porch at Gloucester in the niches and figures, was erected by Bishop Wakefield in 1386, almost the latest pre-Reformation work here. He closed the western entrance overlooking the Severn. In the two western bays of the nave pointed arches are mixed with semicii'cular. Like the pointed Norman doorway in the cloisters, they retain their Norman character, without the Norman configuration. The naves of Ely and Peterborough terminate similarly in Norman pointed work. The eastern part of the nave is Decorated; the middle part is Decorated on the north. Perpendicular on the south ; the foliage of the piers on the north is richer. The Jesus Chapel, with the font, is in the eighth bay from the west end. The pavement of the nave, black and white marble, the ^munificent gift of the late Earl of Dudley in the recent restoration, is more suitable for Italian architecture. The pulpit, also his gift, is elaborately carved in marble and alabaster. The west end of the south aisle is used for the Consistory Court of the diocese. The choir, retro- choir, and Lady Chapel arc singularly graceful, with slender colunms clustering round the piers, and, as it were, " Alternately Framed in ebon and ivory," or like a sheaf of lances (it has been said) in the hand of a giant. This part of the cathedral was commenced in 1224, under Bishop Blois and, with Lincoln * Willis. Worcester.] INTERIOR. i I I and Salisbuiy, is among the oldest specimens in England of the Early English style, -whicli displaced the ponderous architecture of Normandy.* The choir is as high as the nave, but the triforiuni is shorter. In the retro-choir and Lady Chapel, the floor being lower, the shafts are taller, but the horizontal lines of the tiers of arches remain the same; the narrowness of the arches enhances the height. The eastern transepts, like those of Clugny and of St. Bcnoit-sur- Loire— Benedictine monasteries both, as Avas Worcester — are unusually high. The gilt rings round the columns were added by Bishop Giffard in 12G9, j^robably to hide the iron clamps, which here, as at Pcrshore, welded the stonework to- gether, when the slighter colunms began to succumb under the pressure from above. The Norman choir was, as usual, under the tower. The stalls and the misereres, with their quaint carvings, ecclesiastical or social in their meanings, are of the fourteenth century. The canopies are in the style of the Renaissance. The small oriel window. Perpendicular, in the north aisle of the choir, vulgarly called the "peephole," belonged to the sacristan's " checquer," or counting-house, not his vestry, or robing-room. On the opposite side of the choir is St. John's Chapel, with the floor slightly raised. Here, in the soutli wall, is the doorway of the stone staircase leading to the treasury, occuj)icd, it is said, by Cromwell after his victory. It was sometimes used for the confine- ment of refractory monks. There is a modern "Jesse" window in the south-Avest transept behind the organ. Prince Arthur's Chantry is exquisitely rich and delicate in the fan-traceiy of the roof and in the tabernacle-work of the east wall. The tomb is of granite. The adjoining chapel is called the dean's. In the recent restoration the east front of the cathedral was rebuilt in the Early English style, for the sake of uniformity. The painted glass, by Hardman, in the east windoAv, was given by the citizens. The decoration of the vault, too, is by Ilardman. The floor is laid Avitli marble and with ancient encaustic tiles, probably from the monks' kiln at Great Malvern. The sculptures in the spandrels of the arcades resemble those in Wells Cathedral ; they were restored by Boulton. Tlie reredos was erected by Dean Peel to his wife's memory, rather more than twenty years ago ; the figures are almost life-size. Ilis own memorial, of marble, inlaid with a large cross and with the emblems of the Evangelists, forms the back of the reredos. The old woodwork in the choir was restored under Scott's direction. The bishop gave the. throne. The crypt is sj^ecially interesting. The descent into it is from the south-west transept. In 1092, four years after the consecration of it, Wulfstan held a synod of the diocese here. The cross views, through the maze of dwarf Norman pillars, simple and unadorned, reminds one of the mosque at Cordova. The central pillars, said to be distinctive of English architecture, reappear in the * Willis compares the Ludy Chapel with Rochostor. 112 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Worcester. chapter-house. There are only four apsidal crypts in England — at Canterbury, Winchester, Gloucester, and here; and this surpasses the otliers in the number and comparative lightness of the pillars.* These are placed so as to bear the weight of those above ground. The recumbent figure of King John, in the choir, is said to be the oldest regal effigy in England. He closed his inglorious reign at Newark in 1216, and, by his express desire, he was interred here before the high altar, between RVINS OF THE GUESTEN HALL. the tombs of St. Oswald and St. Wulfstan, to be safe in their companionship. The tomb was moved eastwards with the high altar under Bishop Blois, and was replaced here in the reign of Henry VIII. The bishops are swinging censers. A wild beast at the king's feet gnaws the scabbard — perhaps as a conventional representation of evil trampled under foot (" Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder," &c.) — perhaps as denoting the strife betAveen him and his barons. The figures were gilt — a questionable improvement— in the restoration of the cathedral. The tomb, on which traces of colour have been discerned, is by • Willis. WoucnsTKu.] THE MONUMimTS. 118 Alcliurcli, a sacrist of the fiftecntli ccnturv. Horace Walpolo pronounced it worthy of Cavallini. The oldest episcopal effigy here is probably the recumbent figure on the north side of the Lady Chapel, supposed to be of William of Blois, rebuilder of this part. The other two, to the south, are perhaps Bishops Bryan and Ilemendalo. Bishop Gilfard intended for himself a magnificent tomb close to the altar, but the archbishop interposed, and Giffard lies where the chantry of Prince iVrthur was afterwards erected. The tombs of Bishops Cantilupe and Carpenter are said to be in the northern transept, those of Cobham and Bransford in the north aisle of the nave. Philip Ballard, last Abbot of Evesham and first Dean of Worcester, lies just beyond the altar-screen. Two knights in armour, two mediaeval ladies, one apparently of extraordinary stature, are repre- sented by recumbent figures in the Lady Chapel. Judge Littleton, famous for his book, the basis of Coke's " Commentary," ancestor of the Lytteltons of Hagley, is commemorated in the south aisle of the nave ; and Bishop Gauden, rejjuted author of "Icon Basilike," by a small mural tablet. A small slab on the north wall of the Lady Chapel is in memory of Izaak Walton's wife, sister of Bishop Ken. In the north-east transept is a very graceful monument, by Chantrey, to Mrs. Digby. The monument by Roubiliac, in the north-west transept, to Bishop Hough, who, as President of Magdalen College, Oxford, resisted the arbitrary proceedings of James II., is melodramatic and incongruous. In the south- west transept is a memorial to Bishop Maddox, who died in 1759, styled by Nash " Institutor of Infirmaries in this county."* The tomb of the late Lord Lyttelton in this transept, by Forsyth, deserves close inspection. The tomb is of Derbyshire spar, the figure is of alabaster ; the expression and posture are admirable. The cloisters are entered from the south aisle of the nave, the cathedral forming, as usual in Benedictine monasteries, a screen from the north wind for the other buildings, and the cloisters serving as a sheltered ambulatory for the monks. They were damaged in the Rebellion, but are now in good j^reservation. The arcades are of the fourteenth century ; the tracery of the panels is better than that of the windows. The cast Avalk reminded Willis of Gloucester. The narrow slit or orifice in the stonework of the windows was merdy, according to him, to lighten the superstructure ; it niay have been for the prior or sub-prior to supervise the monks, seated in summer-time, three in each window, at their studies. The refectory was, as usual, on the south side of the quadrangle ; since the dissolution it has been used for the cathedral school. It is, like the cloisters, in the Decorated style. The crypt of it is Norman. The Norman lavatory is seen in the south-west corner of the quadrangle, conveniently near the refectory, * 'History of Worcestershire," ii., App. civ. 15 114 CATHEDRAL CnURCIIES. [Wuucester. and the dormitory on the west. Water was conveyed in leaden pijjcs from Henwick Hill till the Eebellion, when tlie pipes were used for ammunition. Passages, or "slypes," lead from the cloisters, one southwards, into the outer court ("curia") of the monastery, one westwards, to the infirmary, one eastwards, bifurcating to the prior's house and to the monks' burying-ground. This last served as the parlour (" locutorium"), where the inmates might speak with pedlars and other visitors. The masonry on the north side is ruder and older than on the other. The library, over the south aisle of the nave, is approached by a winding stair from the north-west angle of the quadrangle. It contains many valuable works, and particularly a digest, in MS., of Roman law, by Vacarius, an Italian canonist, who was brought to England by Archbishop Theobald in Stephen's reign, and who is said to have introduced the study of civil law at Oxford. The well-known slab, bearing only the word " IMiserrinius," near the door of this staircase, marks the grave of the Rev. T. Morris, M.A., a nonjuror, who died in 1748, aged eighty- eight, sorrowing to the last for the fallen dynasty. Wordsworth in his pathetic sonnet mistakes the meaning of the inscription. The chapter-house has been compared to those of Bristol and Rochester.* It is decagonal, with a central pillar, from whicli the vaulted roof springs. The Norman arcading is transitional, like the western bays of the nave (see p. 110). The rebuilding of the upper walls in the fifteenth century was, it would seem, no caprice of fashion, but necessitated by the pressure of tlie roof. The cha2)ter- house is frequently used, by tlie permission of the dean and chapter, for com- mittees, &c., of a religious and charitable kind. But it is not well adapted for acoustic purposes. The monks are said to have ranged themselves in the niches along the walls, and so to have facilitated hearing. Owing to the friable sandstone and to rough usage in days past, there are but scanty remains of other conventual buildings. These, in })lan, resembled tliose of Dnrliam, a river here, as there, flowing below. The ruins of the Gnesten Hall, south-east of the cathedral, close to the site of the prior's house, are very picturesque. It was rebuilt by Prior Bransford, afterwards bishop here, in the fourteenth century. The windows are beautiful specimens of the Decorated style. It was in frequent use for the pilgrims to the shrines of Oswald and Wulfstan. Being too dilapidated to be restored (it had already been re- fashioned for the deanery), the roof of it was given to Holy Trinity Church, Shrub Hill, when the cathedral was last restored. The Edgar Tower, east of the cathedral, was the main entrance into the monastic precincts. Perhaps the gateway of the castle was here, while Urso, after the Conquest, encroached on the monastery even up to the southern walls * Willis. WoHCESTER.] THE DEANERY. 115 of the cathedi-al. The name recalls the son of P^tliolrcd II. ; the fabric is of luucli later date; it is used for the registry. The charnel-house (" capella carnaria") stood north-west of the porch. Bishop Cantilupe endowed it for four priests, and added a prison. In 1036 it was converted into a school for the city, but through damp and neglect it soon fell into decay. The crypt might perhaps be disinterred. The deanery, formerly the palace, and probably so to be again, has some very interesting features, particularly the spacious vaulted chamber below. The front was built in the time of Bishop Hough. The clocherium (or "campanile") rose, with its wooden spire, 150 foot, almost touching the north-east transept. The churchyard cross was on this side, and was used, as at St. Paul's Cathedral, for preaching. Scats for the chief citizens were placed against the north wall of the cathedral. The nave is now employed here, as elsewhere, for this purpose, and listening crowds here, as elsewhere, bear witness to tlie revival of the spiritual energies of our cathedrals. " Florcat ecclesia cathedralis Vigornensis." I. Gregoky Smith. CHUIST CHURCH, KUO.M MEKTON MKADOWS. OXFORD. Though the smallest cathedral church in England, and perhaps in Europe, Christ Church possesses great interest for the architect, both within and without. If there can be a distinctly transi- tional style, this church is in it, and as the term is iised by Sir Gilbert Scott, it is quite admissible here. The use of the word transitional is extremely convenient in discussions on architec- ture, generally speaking; but in this case it is quite neces- sary. We presume a mixture of pure elements may be called a pure mixture; and here we have Romanesque, Norman, and Decorated features, all good of Oxioui).] ST. FRIDESWIDE. 117 tlioir Iviiul. Tlie iiortli-cast walls and turrets niiglit remind one of the Cathedral of Mainz or of Trier, while the chapter-house door is noble Norman, and its Early Decorated w-indows excellent in their way. The architecture, in fact, agrees with the dates now historically assigned to it, that is to say, with the latter i)art of the twelfth century. Dr. Ingram, in his "Memorials of Oxford," exerts himself with great faith and heartiness (and by no means without support of appearances now better understood) to prove that traces of the early work of Ethelred II. still remain. It is a devout imagination, and may well be dear to Christ Church men ; but there is not a shadow of foun- dation for it, in the opinion of Sir a. Scott, Mr. J. F. Parker, and the authorities in general. A short historical sketch is necessary here, beginning, as usual, with credible legend, and excluding the miracles with which the first foundress is credited by Philip, her third Norman prior. The story of St. Fridcswide has passed through his hands, through William of Malmesbury's and John of Tynemouth's, and is found in Leland's "Collectanea." About A.D. 727 an alderman or " subrcgulus " of the name of Didan is discovered ruling over the populous city of (]\Iercian) Oxford, in all honom\ He and his wife Saffrida have a daughter named Fridcswide. She embraces the monastic life with twelve other maidens ; her father, at her mother's death, builds a conventual church in honour of St. Mar}^ and All Saints, and thereof makes her prioress. The munificent kings of Mercia also build inns, or halls, in the vicinity; which account seems to anticipate even Alfred's imagined foundation of University College, and therefore (though we fear on no historic ground) is to be faithfully adhered to as dogma by all members of the larger house. St. Frideswide's death took place 735 — 740, or even later. Her i)riory became a house of secular canons; and her remains were laid beneath the already-existing tower, until their first translation under Prior Philiji THE SHKINE OF ST. FllIDESWIDE. 118 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Oxford. (12th February, 1180), by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to the north choir aisle. She was again translated (10th September, 1289) to a new and more costly shrine in the Lady Chapel, which had been added to that aisle early in the century. Many casualties passed over the site of St. Frideswide's ancient church before her last translation. It was wholly or partly bm-nt in 1015, or in 1002, when certain Danes took refuge in its tower from the massacre of tliat year. It was rebuilt on a somewhat larger scale, and made a "cell" or dcijondency of the great monastery of Abingdon for some years of tlie eleventh century. Its canons were, however, reinstated, but soon after tlic Conquest were dispos- sessed, probably as violating the law of celibacy. A Norman church must then have been erected in place of the old Saxon one, and it is probable that tlic doorway of the chapter-house,* whicli is certainly more ancient tlian any part of the existing church, may have belonged to this. It is marked by fire, which may, however, be referred to the conflagration of 1190, when a large part of Oxford was destroyed. This was nearly sixty years after the accession of Guimond, the first regular prior, who re-establislied tlie foundation as a convent of regular canons of his own Augustinian order ; in which state it continued, till Wolsey's reconstruction, in the midst of the European revival of learning, and on the brink of the Englisli Reformation, which he so well foresaw. But both Guimond, and Robert of Cricklade, his successor, seem to have been wise and well-meaning ecclesiastics ; and a school was con- nected with this convent which has really good claim to bo considered the original germ of the university, and can be so asserted by archaeologists with some historical truth. Robert of Cricklade began the present struc- ture of the church about the middle of the twelftli century. Guimond, who died 1141, luid probably been cmjjloyed in new arrangements of tlie monastic buildings, wliicli tlie change from secular to regular canons would certainly involve. And in 1180 the new buildings were far enough advanced for the translation of St. Frideswide from her sepulchre to her shrine. Their architecture is doubly transitional. They mark a time when builders like Henry de Blois or William of Sens, well versed in theory and skilful in detail, were exerting themselves to perfect the round-arched style, while at the same time the pointed arch was gradually being introduced, and architectural art was undergoing a complete transformation. Everybody knows that Gothic architecture is derived from Roman ; but it is not always remembered that, while the use of the arch and so many great principles of stone construction are due to Roman teachers, they still handed over their style to the northern conquerors in a thoroughly impure condition. Their grand vault and arch system had become * The rest of (liat beautiful building is certaiuly of mucli later date, jjrobably towards tlie middle of the thirteeuth ceutury (Scott's Report, ji 7). OxFouD.] TRANSITIONAL STYLE. 119 encrusted with Greek lintels and pediments. Rome always composed the wrong way, and always would put two beautiful things together with a comparatively bad residt, instead of two comparatively ugly things with a good one. Then just at this time of the twelfth century, when the Northern builders were finally eliminating all traces of the Greek or trabeated structure, the new or pointed arch began to present itself, and was used here and there, as it seems un- consciously, for mere pleasure in its form. This kind of purely transitional architecture may be observed in Christ Church Cathedral, as at Canterbury and Winchester ; in St. Joseph's Chapel at Glastonbury, and the chapter-house of St. ]\Iary's Abbey at York. The pro- portions of the first original may claim to be considered precisely the best possible.* Doubtless it was a beautiful though not a large church, and it is un- fortunate that Wolsey's name must be associated with the lamentable shortening of its nave to one half of the original length, as well as with the lowering of all the roofs. The latter operation strikes the eye of the spectator on entering the quadrangle by the great gate, whence the traces of the old and high-pitched roof are painfully visible below the spire ; and the former, though partly repaired, distresses his gaze as soon as he enters the restored double porch. Wolsey had designed, and in fact had begun to build, a new and magnificent church on the north side of the quadrangle for his new Cardinal College. He was only allowed to complete three sides, including the hall ; and all the works were stopped by his fall in 1529. Henry VIII. refounded the college, to which he gave his own name, in 1532; but suppressed it, and reconstituted the whole foundation, November ■4th, 1516. He then removed the new see of Oxford (erected at Oseney in 1512) to St. Frideswide's, and this last, the present foundation, was styled the Catlie- di-al Church of Christ in Oxford; and comprises a dean and canons with other capitular officers, as well as a large body of students, proper to a college. The ancient church has had a twofold character ever since : it is the cathedral of the diocese, but it is also the college chapel ; and as the Dean of Christ Church is always there, and the Bishop of Oxford very seldom, the academic uses and appearances jDrevail over the ecclesiastical, in a manner which has probably been the reverse of satisfactory to more than one occupant of the see of Oxford. However, the ancient interior, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, must have been one of considerable beauty, which may be in some degree restored by the late repairs. The side arcades of the nave claim special attention. Tlie pillars in the twelfth-century church were solid enough for any purpose of strength ; and the builder therefore ingeniously divided them in their thickness, and left, the half, or halves, which faced the aisle, in their natural proportions, while * Tho tliree westcru bays (out of five) were iTinovcd, but one has beeu i-oceutly rebuilt. "A double equilateral triangle, tlio common base giving the length of tho ti-anscpts," is the original formula. 120 CATHEDRAL CHURCUES. [Oxford. he raised tliose which faced the central nave, so as to embrace the triforium stage. Sir G. Scott is convinced that this was the original design and not the result of alteration, and gives parallel instances at Ramsey, and in the clioii* of These and most of Jedburgh. the principal arches in the church arc round, though two of those which cany the tower and the clerestory windows of the nave are pointed. The thirteenth century brought two great additions to the struc- ture, each beautiful and noble in its Avay : the upper stage of the tower, with its spire; and the chapter-house ; not to mention a second northern aisle to contain the new and more precious shrine of 1289. This was built as a Lady Chajiel, and has since been called the dormitory, being the burial-place of several deans and canons ; which recalls the primi- tive term of coemeieriuui , or place of rest. The original shrine was enclosed within the new one, and some fragments of the latter are still preserved. The curious struc- ture at present existing is really the watching-chamber of the shrine erected in the next cen- tury. It is raised ujion what was in all probability the tomb of the donor of the shrine, and not of St. Frideswide's parents, as is popu- larly asserted. In the next cen- tury a large cha2)el, now called the Latin and formerly the Divinity ChajDcl, was added to the north of the northern choir aisle, by ap})ending two bays eastward to the north-east chapel of the thirteenth century just mentioned. Windows were altered from Norman to Decorated, particularly the three windows at the east end, now restored to their original style. Between tlie two chapels are three interesting THE CHOIR. OxFoun.] LATER ADDITIONS. 121 monuments, the western most probably that of Sir Goor<^e Nowcr^, one of the com2)anions of the Bhick Prince. The next is a jirior's, Robert de P^welmc's, or his successor's, Alexander de Sutton. Between them they completed the translation of St. Frideswide. Further eastward is the tomb of Lady Elizabeth do Montacute, who in 1340 gave the i)resent Christ Church meadow to the convent, in order to maintain a chantry in the Lady Chapel. There were great alterations late in the fifteenth century. The Perpen- dicular style was then extending its rigid rule over England, and various parts of the church were conformed to it. The choir clerestory was remodelled, and the rich vaulting added ; most of the win- dows of the aisles were altered, and the present cloisters were built. The great window of the north transept is of the early sixteenth century, with the wooden roof of the transept and tower ; that of the nave is later. But in 1524 came Wolsey's great scheme for Cardinal College, to which St. Frideswide's was sacrificed, as we have seen. One may and must admire Wolsey, but the loss of his intended Perpendicular chapel, with all its magnificence, is of much less im- portance to the architect and historian than that of the west end of the nave, which he destroyed. He was right on the whole ; he had a perfect apprehen- sion of the revival of knowledge, and if all English prelates had accepted it as manfully as he and others of his mind, the worst part of the Reformation might have been saved to England. He anticipated its academic principle, which was to turn monastic seminaries into houses of religious, useful, and real learning. Monasticism had lasted long and done much, but it was clearly coming to an end, and that in the thoughts of very pious and devoted men. Wolsey was in correspondence with Fox of Winchester and Oldham of Exeter. The former had founded Corpus Christi College about ten years before (1515 — 1517), at first intending to make it a seminary for the Priory of St. Swithin at Winchester, and there is no doubt that ho was dissuaded from that jjurposc by Oldham's terribly accurate vaticination— " What, my Lord, shall we build 16 ENTRANCE niOM THE CLOISTERS. 122 CATHEDHAL CHURCHES. [Oxford. houses and provide livelihoods for a company of monks whose end and fall we ourselves may live to see ? No ; it is more meet a great deal to have care for the increase of learning, and for such as shall do good to the Church and Commonwealth." All three prelates did well and wisely, but contributed to a result which went far beyond their wishes or anticipations ; nor if they had lived could they have ruled the terrors of the ensuing time. Wolscy invites his Cambridge students, of unusual promise, but already tainted with suspicion of heresy. " Some of them," said Dr. London, Warden of New College, " have already had a shrewd name." Some have, indeed, retained it, for among them were Frith and Clark, Sumner and Taverner. Just four years after the date of Cardinal College come Wolsey's directions to Dr. Iligdon, the first dean, for the arrest of Thomas Garret, and his treasures of forbidden books, New Testaments in particular. His friend Antony Dalaber's narrative is given us Ijy Mr. Froude ; it is one of the most graphic and pathetic passages in English history, and it gives us a little sketch of the alarm of heresy, and its intrusion on the Christ Church services. It almost makes one regret the old order of the choir up to twenty years ago, which must still have i*esembled Wolsey's. " Evensong was begun," says Dalaber, " the dean and canons in their grey amices. They wore almost at ' Magnificat' before I came thither. I stood in the choir door, and heard Master Taverner play, and others of the chapel there sing, with and among whom I myself was wont to sing also, Init now my singing and music was turned into sighing and musing. As I there stood, Cometh Dr. Collisford, the commissary (Rector of Lincoln), as fast as ever he could go, bareheaded, as pale as ashes (I knew his grief well enough), and to the dean he goeth into the choir, where he was sitting in his stall, and talked with him very sorrowfully." All had reason, and would have more. Wolsey's destructions in the cathedral may or may not have been partly balanced by his executing tlic choir vaulting ; that he did this, however, is disputed. At all events they were not repaired by Dean Duppa's refitting the choir in no style, or by his munificent and well-meaning present to the church of a quantity of stained glass by Van Linge, for which all the Perjiendicular windoAvs in the aisles were turned into plain two-liglit orifices without tracery. So of the Decorated windows at the end of the choir aisles, &c. But as these and all the worst mutilations have been happily restored under Sir G. Scott, we will not waste wrath or lamentation on the doings of the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. The last repairs have been happily delayed long enough to full into competent hands, and the traces of the original work, and partly those of the fourteenth-century restorations, have been conscientiously followed. This j)aper should not close without some kind of guide or itinerary for the visitor; audit seems to the writer that he will probably come into C^hrist Church OxFoiu).] A TOUR OF THE CHURCIT. 123 under the great gate, and find himself below Wolsey's tower, com})leted by Wren ; with Wolsey's hall on his right, Dr. Fell's northern side of the quadrangle on his left, and only the thirteenth-century spu-e, right before him, to represent our proper subject. Let him look at that, and note the traces of the old high-pitched roof and the difference of the older Norman masonry of the lower part of the towei from the thirteenth century above. (The spire has been again rebuilt as to its topmost part.) Then let him cross the quadrangle to its south-east or right- hand farther corner, under the hall ; let him digress thither, and to the kitchen if he likes — that's not our business — and return to the little cloister quadrangle at the old low level of the buildings. There he will see Guimond's original work, the nave and transept walls ; and he can go on to the perfectly restored chapter-house and look at the Norman door, which Dean Liddcll considers, with apparent truth, to have been part of an earlier church. The room within is one of the most beautiful of its age and style in existence. Then he had better go back into the great quadrangle, and so in at one of the double western doors. If it is a sunny day, the capital effect of warm white stone and brilliant small windows will strike him ; if it is not, the old Norman impression — of low browed arches, as of a rest of warriors — may or may not come to him. Under such vaults the last great race of ravagcrs, who could build as well as destroy, lay down to rest. Thick walls and narrow lights, and peace, of its kind — " No rude sound shall reach thine ear, Armour's clang nor war-steed champing, Trump or pibroch summon here Mustering clan, nor squadron tramping." So the whole frame of the nave, choir, and transepts. The shrine of St. Frides- wide and the best tombs are in the north-east chapel. The new choir furniture is very good ; the reredos is unsuccessful, also the choir glass. The great northern transept window will attract attention. Clayton and Bell have done well in the south aisles ; but of all window-glass the writer knot's, Burne Jones's, by Morris and Faulkner, at the east end of the aisles of the choir, seems most entirely satisfactory, R. St. John Tykwihtt. • THE OMUIU. SALISBURY. The last time that Pugiii was in Salisbury ho stood at the window of a house overlooking the cathedral and exclaimed, "Well, I have travelled all over Europe in search of architecture, but I have seen nothing like this." There is ample justification for such a verdict. The structure itself is vast ; the clear space around is probably with- out a parallel ; the spire is exceptional both for its elegance and its height ; the colour is determined by the same lichen that has grown through the same generations over the entire mass, and in those grey walls rising out of the greensward, the impression undoubtedly is conveyed that there are points in which Salisbury Cathedral stands without a rival in the world. There is one characteristic about its architecture which it shares with St. Paul's Cathedral alone amongst English cathedrals — that it was built all at one period. It is therefore no museum of English architecture, as so many similar churches arc, in which we can study the movements of the art in their several periods. It is from end to end the monument of one single epoch, the first half of the thirteenth century — it was begun in the year H < W O w H O Q ffl {/) <; Salisbury.] THE SPIRE. 125 1220 — built, as seems probable, not altogether apart from Frciicli influence, yet in its severity, its reserve, its stern disdain of ornament, thoroughly English in its spirit, being indeed the completest survival in this country of what has been often thought the best and purest period of English art. The lofty spire, upon which the repute of Salisbury Cathedral is popularly rested, seems to have been no part of the original de- sign. The lantern was at first completed a little above the roof of the nave. The piers and founda- tions below were never in- tended to carry so vast a weight ; and it was not probably till a generation or two had elapsed that some unknown architect, with the daring of a true artist in exhausting the capability of his mate- rial, planned the tower and spire, which have since been recognised as amongst the chief glories of the pile. How near he came to overtaxing the capability of the existing building may been seen internally, from the thrust which the added mass of masonry has caused along the arcades in all dii"ec- tions. To this extent, therefore, the statement must be modified that the entire cathedral was built at one time. Nor must it be forgotten that so large a build- ing necessarily takes years for its construction, and its own groAvth witnesses the transition of art from one epoch to another. Remembering, therefore, that the erec- tion of the cathedral began at the east, proceeded towards the west, and concluded with the s^jire, it is curious to notice how the ornamentation of the several parts marks the progress of English architecture as the years passed on. The ball-flower ornament, for example, does not belong to the period when Salisbury Cathedral was THE LADY CHAPEL. 126 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. ;sAi,isnunY. begun. Accordingly it is not to be seen in the eastern parts of the fabric, but it is found in the western facade* and upon tlie tower, which came so many years later. This cathedral is peculiarly rich in the survival of consecration crosses, which in mediaeval days were carved or painted on the walls of a church. They are to be seen both outside and inside the building-. Those on the inside were twelve in number, three on each wall, to the north, south, east, and west. It seems probable, but not perhaps quite certain, that the number of external crosses was the same. The whole ritual of the consecration is extremely curious, and is described by Durandus, a French bishop who was nearly contemporary with the building of Salisbury Cathedral. The deacon was shut up alone in the church, and his business was to light twelve lamps before the twelve crosses painted on the walls. Meantime the bishop, clergy, and people out- side thrice made the circuit of the building, the bishop sprinkling the walls with water which he had previously blessed. On their entering the church, a cross in ashes and sand was made upon the pavement, and upon the cross the entire alpha- bet was written in Greek and Latin characters. The bishop then made the tour of the interior and anointed the twelve painted crosses with the sacred chrism. The artistic effect of the interior is not at all equal to that of the exterior of the church ; and the question arises as to what is the j)articular rcs})ect in which its builders failed ? why is it that they who were so great and strong outside have become so feeble and so poor within ? It is perhaps open to doubt whether it is the originators who failed at all. Here are at all events many of the same fine qualities within that Avon our admiration without. Here, as on the exterior, there are size, elegance, symmetry, just proportions, modesty of treatment, and many other such attributes. Yet, judged by its OAvni high standard it fails. The present Poet -Laureate is understood to have framed the criticism that it is deficient in m}'stery. This result is no doubt in a great measure due to colour, or more strictly speaking to the absence of right colour. Outside the building Nature has done the exquisite colouring with her mantle of lichen ; internally the present colour-effect is due to suc- cessive generations of men, of whom some have misunderstood and some have even derided the power of colour. As the cathedral has been seen for the last hundred years, and probably for much longer, the whole effect is too light. Until the restoration of the past ten years, when its marble shafts have once again begun to gleam "with their dark polish, and the vaulting of the roof has been robed in modern polychrome, the dominant effect was universally, as indeed it still is in part, that produced by a kind of buff wash. But it may be doubted whether we have any idea of the splendour of this interior as its * Tlio design of the fa(;a(le, tlin grouping of the statues, and the stories severally eouiicctcd with them are giveu at length in the present writer's work entitled " The Legend of Christian Art." SALIS1.UHY.] COLOUR OF THE INTHRIOR. 127 originators meant it to look. Then, no doubt every pillar in the structure being- of marble helped by its dark rich burnish to remove that pale monotony which we have found so painful ; then, arch and wall and groining were from end to end aflame with vermilion in arabesque and saint and angel ; then, every windoAV — -and the wall of this cathedral is ncarl}^ all windows — must have Hashed its jewels on the floor. It must have been a magnificent interior then. The giant- artists of the exterior were not so feeble directly they got within the porch. The colour-system of the cathedral which has been so terribly misunder- stood — the modern arabesques, for example, are painted upon a white ground; the old ones may still be seen to have been painted upon a deep colouring, making a vast difference in the solemnity of the aggregate effect — but the system, whatever it was, was not confined to the inside, but reaches even to the exterior of the church. On the west portal there is an example of what is very rare in this cliuiate — colour on the exterior of a building. Within living memory that door was known as the "Blue Door." The "restoration" by Wyatt in the last century removed much of the colour, and the recent work has removed still more ; but some slight traces of the blue may still be discerned. The same is true of the arcading in the cloisters, where there is still suflficient evidence before the seeing eye for the presumption that their wall- spaces were once covered with cartoons in colour. One difficulty always strikes the eye of the intelligent spectator about the inside of Salisbury Cathedral. There seems to be no kind of an elevation where the high altar could have been placed. The floor seems perfectly flat. The difficulty is removed by a reference to some of the French churches. The altar probably stood— not as we see it at the end of everything — but on a dai's of its own, covered probably with a gorgeous canopy, rich in sculpture and metal-work, with its sujDcrb corona, as we actually know, suspended before it, and girt with every circumstance of splendour. The ritual of Sarum demanded that it should stand free of any wall ; and its probable position was at the intersection of the lesser transept with the choir, where the decoration overhead of all three arms of the fabric, in front of it, leads up to the figure of Our Lord in Majesty. The internal arrangement of Salisbury may serve to correct a poj)ular mistake whereby an expression about "the old monks" is so often hazarded in connection with any and every cathedral. There were no monks at Salisbury ; and the choir-stalls all placed east of the transept may serve to remind us of it. The law is correctly laid down by the eminent French writer Viollet-le-Duc, that non-monastic churches had their choir-stalls east of the transept, whilst monastic churches had theirs to the west, in the nave, or across the transept. The arrange- ment at Westminster compared with that at Salisbury is an example of this. 128 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Salisiiuiiy. A very singular feature in the internal structure is the plinth, carried all round the church, ujDon which the great shafts of the arcade rest. Most probably it was intended for a seat; and in the early days it was perhaps the only sitting accommodation provided in the nave. The sermons of those days, preached in the nave, were certainly not less lengthy than those of our own time ; but the bulk of the hearers must either have stood or have rested the arms and chin upon the crutch-shaped leaning-staff (reclinatorium), which was the precursor of the more comfortable arrangements of modern times. From an artistic point of view there are two or three tombs of exceptional interest at Salisbury. First, there is the thirteenth-century tomb of Bishop Bridport, which has been seriously mutilated by the iconoclastic zeal of the past, but which is still perfect enough to exhibit to us the British architect of that day, in his first efforts to throw off the grim severity of treatment which marks the earliest beginnings of the cathedral. This monument has been copied for the Qystal Palace. The tomb with recumbent effigy of Longspee, Earl of Salisbury, is valuable as a specimen of monumental art partly in wood. Origin- ally it was ablaze with colour, which can still be traced in some 2:)rofusion. Indeed, the whole series of tombs, which in the last century wore arranged down the nave, serves to show that for many generations the old English artists coloured everything. Hero it may still be seen that they painted even their alabaster. Amongst the curiosities of monumental art are two recumbent figures repre- sented as skeletons. Until the recent restoration, only one of these tombs was exposed to view, and it was popularly believed to be the monument of one who had reduced himself to a state of emaciation by excessive fasting. This view received a severe shock when the removal of the old fittings of the choir dis- closed a second tomb of a similar character. Such monuments exist, moreover, in other churches ; and they belong in fact to a period when it was the fashion to represent the mortality of man in this ghastly form. Another curiosity is found in the recumbent figure of the so-called " Boy- Bishop." It was the custom of the mediaeval Church for a few days after the children's festival of St. Nicholas, in December, to allow a parody of ecclesiastical pomp on the part of the children, one of the number being actually invested with the mock dignity of the bishop. The story went that one such boy died during his term of office, and that this was his tomb. In this case likewise the popular story has been exploded by comparative science. Similar monuments in miniature are found elsewhere ; and two explanations of them are possible. Either there was a fashion at one period of constructing monuments of diminutive size, as there was at other jieriods of aiming at colossal size ; or, what is more })robable, the small stone was made to cover the relics of some eminent person when only Salishuky.] THE ''BOY BISHOP." 120 little of them could be recoA^ered. What if, in the present instance, the eminent person was no less a figure than St. Osmund himself— the nephew of William the Con- queror, the founder of the see, and in his use of Sarum, the father of the worship of the whole English Church? His relics — what little had survived of them— were cer- tainly collected at the time of his canonisation in 1457, when there was a great festival at Salisbury, and when no fewer than forty thousand persons came to pass in front of his shrine. There is no trace of any cover for so eminent THE CATHEDRAL, EXTERIOR. 17 130 CATHTIDRAL CHURCHES. [Salisbuhy. a treasure either recorded or surviving in Salisbury Catlicdral unless it be this unexplained stone. One of the most beautiful monuments of Early English art still surviving in the cathedral is the screen which for nearly a century has stood in the north-east transept. This was long thought to have been the original screen dividing the choir from the nave. Subsequent investigation, however, has shown that this could not have been the case ; though from an old jjrint still extant it may be inferred that it was placed in that position as far back as the time of the later Stuarts, when a large organ was erected over it by Renatus Harris, the famous organ-builder of the Restoration period. It is well known that after the tire of London, Renatus Harris supplied organs to many of Sir Christopher Wren's churches ; and as Wren was employed upon Salisbury, it is just possible that the transfer of this fine Gothic screen as a facing for the organ loft may have been effected under his influence. In the present genera- tion Sir Gilbert Scott saw at once that the niches in the screen were meant for seats ; and it is matter for learned conjecture as to where these seats were originally required. H. T. Armfield, F.S.A. RIPON CATHEDRAL. To tliose who have never visited this tine old niinster we may introduce it in tlie words of one of the southern prelates, who, on visiting- it a few years ago, remarked, " I never thought tliat you had such a gem in Yorkshire ; " and certainly, small though it be in size, its many styles of architecture, telling its varied history so well, lend to it an interest of no ordinary kind. It is a A'cry picturesque object, whether viewed from the country above the river Ure, which adds so much to the beauty of the neighbourhood, or whetlier ap- proached from Kirkgate, with its fine west front before us. Visitors to York- shire will miss a great deal if they fail to see this fine old building, and its neighbour, Fountains Abbey. Archaeologists differ in opinion as to its earliest history ; that is, whether the present building occupies the same site as that referred to by the Venerable Bede, or whether the crypt, known as " St. Wilfrid's Needle," does not belong to a second church erected by Wilfrid. We have, however, the authority of the late Sir Gilbert Scott and of Bishop Stubbs for the view that the minster occu- pies the site of the Abbey Church of St. Wilfrid, and, anyhow, this crypt bears such a resemblance to that beneath the Priory Church of Hexham, also founded by Wilfrid, as to leave little doubt as to its origin. This is one of the most interesting relics of pre-Norman times. It is entered from the floor of the nave ; and after descending several steps, and traversing a dark passage forty-five feet long, the visitor reaches a cylindrically vaulted cell, seven feet nine inches wide by eleven feet three inches long, in which are niches of the rudest description. The "needle" has been formed by perforating the wall on the north side, so as to communicate with a passage behind. Many are the opinions hazarded as to its use in early days: one of them that it was a medium for the confessional. To "thread the needle" at Ripon is not so difficult as it looks, and not ST. WILl'llID S NEEDLE, 132 CATHEDRAL ClUJliCllE8. [RiroN a few are tlie folk nowa(Ia3\s wlio arc dragged tlirough by tlio vergers as a sjiecies of charm. A word or two about St. AVilfrld. A great man was he, Avith all his faults; he may be regarded as the star of the Anglo-Saxon Church. It is not THE NAVE, LOOKItlO EASf. often that we meet with such a combination of intellect and energy. Hexham and Ripon are two only of the many monasteries which he founded, and it is no slight honour to have aided the establishment of such abbeys as Ely and Evesham and Southwell. And though, doubtless, many would blame him for his appeals to Rome, he may be admired for the apostolic energy with which he threw himself into the evangelisation of Sussex — its inhabitants no better than heathens — their land desolated by famine — the emaciated natives so des- RlHON.] ST. WTLFRTD'S SlfRfNE. i:W pcrate as, graspinj^ liold of cacli otlicr's liands, to tlirow tlionisolvcs from tlio cliffs into the sea, thus to end their misery. lie died at Oundlc, but his remains were carried, at his own request, to liis old home at Iiipon, being entombed at the south side of the altar. The abbey became one of the three great churches in Yorkshire, and the privilege of sanctuary and the right of usino- the ordeal were among the honours conferred upon it by Athelstan. The boundary of this place of refuge was marked afterwards by eight crosses, sur- THE EXTEKIOE, PHOJI THE SOUTH-EAST. rounding the church, where the Archbishop of York claimed that his bailiffs had the right to meet the homicide, and, after oath, to admit him within the privileged jurisdiction. In after-years not the least profitable of the sources whence the fabric fund was derived was the money contributed by pilgrims at the shrine of St. Wilfrid. There has been much controversy as to the final resting-place of his body, but an indulgence of Archbishop Gray's states that it was then perfect at Ripon, and that it was exhibited to the worshipping be- holders; and it has been recently conjectured by one of the learned that if one of the walls in the crypt were tapped, the remains of the patron saint might still be found. But the present building had a Norman predecessor too, now only represented 184 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Ripon. by the cliapter-house and vestiy, witli tlio walls of the crypt below tlioiii, built either by Archbishop Thomas or Thurstan. With these exceptions the church was rebuilt on an entirely new design by Archbishop Roger of York (1154 — 1181). He was one of the greatest men of his day, and had been in early life a companion of Becket at Canterbnr}". Later, however, he espoused the king's side ; and it was Roger who gave the last account of Becket's doings to the king which led the four knights to determine on his murder, and though Roger purged himself by oath of all evil intent, he was regarded as a participator in the crime. He was one of the leaders in that great revolution of art which converted the heavy Romanesque into the light and lofty Gothic. The design of the nave and choir can only be partially gathered now from the small remains at cither end of the nave, and other portions of the choir and transepts, but it is one of the most valuable specimens which we have of this great transition in architecture. The next change in the building is attributed to Archbishop Gray, and consisted of the addition of the two western towers surmounted by leaded spires, and of the rebuilding of the facade which connects them — an excellent specimen of Early English. About 1280 the east end of the choir gave way, and was rebuilt. In the words of Sir Gilbert Scott — " It stands high among the pro- ductions of this admirable style. Its east window is a peculiarly fine one of seven lights, and all its details are excellent." The church remained thus until the inroad of the Scots in 1319, who set fire to it, and destroyed some of the inmates. And a century had Imt just elapsed when it suffered from the attacks of an enemy even more irresistible than man's violence, in the shape of "thunder and lightning" ; and the lantern tower became so ruinous that an indulgence was granted for forty days to all who gave towards its repair. The result you see as you walk up the nave — the widest of any cathedral in the kingdom, except those of York, Chichester, Winchester, and St. Paul's, measuring eighty-seven feet. For there meets the eye a strange admixture of Romanesque and Perpendicular in the arches supporting the central tow^er: a striking picture of time's ravages, preserving also for lovers of art marks of its stages. The stall-work of the choir, which was begun in 1489, is very beautiful, and the misereres are very quaint. But it suffered nnich damage by-and-by, for in 1593 the central spire was partially destroyed by lightning, and the remainder of it fell after a time, destroying part of the choir-roof and stalls. Four years after- wards the two w^estern spires were removed, for fear of a like catastrophe. In 1842 an Order in Council called attention to the misafo condition of the fabric, and immediate danger was warded off. l^ut in 18G1 it became evident that restoration on a large scale was imperative, and Sir Gilbert Scott was set to RipoN.] THE MONUMENTS. 135 work. Ill so bad a state was the fabric found to be, that the siiikaj^e had pro- duced fissures from the base to the top of the towers! Wonderful were the means adopted to render them safe — the application of very poAverful shoring to the walls, so that the towers were upheld for the time by artificial means, while better foundations were made. It is to be hoped that some day these restored towers may bo surmounted, as of old, with timber and leaded spires. The restoration of the cathedral, which has been so judiciously carried out, at a cost of £10,000, has recently had its effect increased by external improvement in the opening out of the close, under the direction of the present dean. A word or two about the monuments. In the north transept aisle is one that derives its interest not so much from the knight in armoui' representing one of the chivalric race of the ]\Iarkenfiolds, as from its being the only example existing in England of an effigy bearing the unirpie collar of a park-pale and a stag couchant, the badge of Henry IV. Then there is close by a stone j^ulpit, of early Perpendicular character and of unusual form, as it is without a stem. In the nave there is a slab, on which is sculptured in low relief a man on his knees, with a gigantic lion in a grove of trees in the foreground. Tradition says that it covers the body of an Irish j^rince, who died at Ripon on his return from Palestine, whence he brought a lion that followed him with all the docility of a spaniel. It may have been the custom for the chapter tenants to pay their rents on this stone, as it Mms in York Minster on Haxby's tomb. Then there is a bust of the last Wakeman, and first Mayor of Ripon, and a statue of James I. The celebrated bone-house is no more ; it required a pit twelve feet deep to bury its contents in the churchyard. But though the dead bones are gone, there is jDlenty of life in the cathedral services, which are not a little assisted by the tones of a new organ of fine character, whose pnemnatic action has to reach the length of 150 feet, and which possesses 41 sounding stoj^s and 2,646 pipes. II. D. CusT-Nuxx. THE EXTEKIOU, iUUM lilji SOUTH-WEST. CHICHESTER. ^l%i%^X The history of the Cathedral of Chichester is to be learnt chiefly from the study of its arcliitcctural details. Documents inform us only that the sec of the Bishop of the South Saxons was removed from the village of Sclsey to the city of Chichester in the reign of WilHam the Conqueror; that the church, erected at Chiches- ter chiefly by Bishoj) Ralph Luff a, and consecrated in 1108, was largely injured by fire in 1114, and that Ralph was assisted by the liberality of Henry I. in the restoration of his building ; that a second and far more serious fire, extending through the city, occurred in 118G; that the damage occasioned by this was repaired by Bishop Soffrid II. at great cost, and that the church was re- dedicated to the Holy Trinity with great pomp in 1199. Then we read of a licence from King John to bring marble from Purbeck in 1207. Among the remaining archives of the cathedral I have found that in the year 1234 great efforts were made for the reparation of the church, and that in 12139 a contract was entered into to glaze it "with picture and with history" in some, at least, of tlic windows. In 1247 there is a not<3 that moneys left by the Bishop, Ralph Neville, to ])ay his debts to the canons, were devoted, at their instigation, Chiuhestek.J THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH. 137 towards the " completion of a certain stone tower which had remained for a long time unfinished, and which (it was hoped) would now rise in the form of an elegant structure." About the same time we find that the canons remonstrated with the Pope because he had directed that all prebends throughout the country- should remain vacant for twelve months, and their proceeds be devoted to the church of Canterbury. The clergy of Chichester naturally claimed moneys so THE INTERIOR, LOOKING EAST. accruing in Chichester for the repairs of their own cathedral. Once more we are told that Gilbert de S. Leofard (bishop 1288 — l.'i05) constructed from its foundations the Lady Chapel. Then John Langton, Chancellor of England, and bishop for thirty-two years after Gilbert's death, erected the great window in the south transept ; simultaneously, no doubt, he cased with ashlar the transept itself, and built the chapter-room, of which more hereafter. Lastly, in 1411, we hear of a campanile, as being, like other parts of the fabric, deformed and ruinous. These are the only records which we have to prepare us for the lessons which the building itself conveys. 18 138 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chichesieu. These lessons are deeply interesting'. They were first read out by Professor Willis, in one of those masterly lectures with which ho delighted the members of the Archaeological Institute. The Institute visited Chichester in 1853 ; the memoir was published after the spire had fallen in 1861. There can be no doubt that the nave of the church was built in two por- tions. The ceiling originally was flat with the beams exposed. Choir and nave had each a single aisle to the north and south, with triforium galleries over; the transepts had no aisles. So the buttresses of the transepts were slight, for they had no thrust to meet : one may be seen in tlie present muniment room by the side of a larger buttress which became necessary when the roof of the transept was vaulted. The character of the aisles may be learnt by examining the arches leading into the western towers ; they must have had simj^ly cylindrical roofs : the galleries above still exhibit the springing of the arches which sustained their heavier covering. In the nave there was an early subsidence towards the south. Both walls exhibit this. The south is concave in the interior, the north convex, and tlie string-course of the gallery is far from being level. This subsidence must have preceded the fire of 1186 ; for it will be noticed that when the vaulted roof was built (as we shall exj^lain ere long), and the vaulting shafts erected, these vaulting shafts did not follow the curvature of the walls, but were packed up behind with additional stonework where the wall of the church had fallen back. This may be seen, too, in the external parapets. Professor Willis showed that the east end was apsidal. He proved this by a marked feature in the windows of the choir triforium, and his statement is corroborated by a curious fragment — a curved stone slab found recently in the floor behind the present reredos. The altar, no doubt, stood in or near its present position, i.e., va the chord of the arc of the apse; and the bishop's throne was behind the altar, as it was at Norwich, the Lady Chapel extending probably for a couple of bays — and so we have the chiu'ch complete. The windows were all round-headed ; one remains in the aisle of the choir, another may be seen blocked up in the passage between the south porch and the tran- sept. The windows of the triforium were small and low. The south and north walls of the transepts must have resembled in groat measure the western wall of the church. The passage under the upper row of win-dows, the clerestory, ran all round the bviilding. The fire of 1186 gave the occasion for all this to be altered. First it was determined that precautions should be taken against the recurrence of such a calamity, and it was resolved that the church should be vaidted. This entailed the flying buttresses and the vaulting shafts we have spoken of (clearly inser- tions in the older parts of the building). The height of the interior was neces- sarily much diminished. In the meantime the famous Council of the Lateran had Chichester.] SUBSIDENCE OF THE SPIRE. 139 affected the arrang-ements of tlie churches, and all over Europe was scon, to use the words of Gucran<^er, " the reconstruction of our cathedrals on a plan so mysteriously sublime." At Chichester the apse was removed, and the east end of the church made square — the two bays behind the reredos exhibit the date and character of this change — and the Lady Chapel was prolonged and beautified. But the diligent explorer may still see traces of the fire which gave the oppor- tunity for all this, in the discoloured stones of the arches of the choir triforium. An oak beam over the choir was removed in 1862, which bore substantial marks of having been exposed to the severity of the flames in 1186! The piers of the central tower were, like the other piers and walls of the church, composed of rubble stone set in mortar and cased with ashlar. This central tower, even after it was partly rebuilt after the fire of 1186, rose only a little above the gables of the roofs, as was discovered shortly before the fall. The building of the grander tower, which was assigned by Professor Willis to the second quarter of the thii'teenth century (a date which agrees ver}'' satis- factorily with our notice of the "certain stone tower" in 1247), was commenced in ignorance of the extreme weakness of the substructure ; and on the summit of this tower, in the same ignorance, was erected in the fifteenth century the beautiful spire. Subsidence followed, and an attentive visitor may observe in the most eastern bay on the north side of the nave an indication of the apprehen- sions that ensued. The arch is strengthened by an inner arch, diminishing its span. Indeed, the whole of the great works intended to beautify the catliedral increased its weakness. The south-west corner of the tower was weakened by the grand staircase carried up to the chapter-room ; the south transept was weakened by the beautiful window of Bishop Langton ; the north transe^at by the large window placed in it. Attempts, producing not very graceful results, were made to prevent the arches over these windows from sj)reading. Ultimately the weight of the gables was diminished by removing the greater part of the gables themselves. They were replaced by Dean Chandler. But, earlier than this, the bells were removed from the central tower. These were placed, first in the south-west corner of the church ; then the magnificent campanile was erected to receive them. But it seems to have been erected for a further j^urpose. Its massive walls, the strength of its buttresses, and other details show that it was intended to carry a lofty spire. The authorities seem to have despau-ed of saving the central structure of the cathedral itself. The history of the last thirty years has exhibited the reasonableness of these apprehensions. The long desire of Dean Chandler (one of the greatest and most far-seeing of cathedral dignitaries) had been to utilise the nave of the church, and the first special services in a cathedral nave were held at Chichester. He left some money for the building, and his executors, in con- 140 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chichester. junction with an intiuential committee, resolved in 1859 to remove the beautiful but somewhat frail screen which separated the choir from the nave. The com- mittee soon became aware of the danger they had to contend with ; the piers of the tower were found to be rotten. There was no adhesion in the core. Every effort was made to renew the piers, but every effort was useless. A heavy gale on the night of Wednesday, February 20th, 1861, precipitated the calamity ; and on the next day, at about twenty minutes past one in the after- noon, the writer saw the spire move gently and bodily towards the south-west, then it seemed to recover itself, and spire and tower sank out of sight, with little noise, into the centre of the building. With the exception THE CATHEDltAL, FROM THE NORTH-EAST. of the capstone, wliicli fell upon one of tlio flying buttresses of the nave, every stone fell within the church. Tlie weather-cock alone was picked up in the churchyard, and a heap of disintegrated materials filled the cross of the church up to the level of the triforium. We need not describe the rebuilding. The work was placed under the care of the late Sir Gilbert Scott, and it never ceased until the church was re- opened in November, 1867. The Duke of Richmond was mainly instrumental in carrying the work to its successful conclusion, as is connnemorated in the notes left by Sir Gilbert Scott. Much, too, was due to the bishop and the dean. But we must proceed to describe the rest of the church. At some early time the height of the aisles was raised by sacrificing the level of the galleries above, and these galleries became practically useless. Sinmltaneously the arches Chichester.! WREN'S SUGGESTIONS. 141 from the aisles Into the transepts were rebuilt in the Pointed style. The nave (almost alone of English naves) appears to have two aisles on either side. A slight amount of attention will show that this appearance is due to the erection of a series of chapels, three upon the south and two upon the north, at dates slightly varying. These chapels opened into the aisles ; each had its own altar and its own reredos; in some cases a substantial wall. These intervening walls must have been removed at the Reformation, and the present appearance produced. In consequence most of the early windows in the nave have disappeared. One (as we have said already) may be seen, blocked up, in the passage between the south porch and the transept ; another, with its form slightl}' pointed, almost immediately ojiposite. Tlie old string course may be traced at intervals along the original south wall of the nave aisle, showing that the wall of the church was merely pierced when the entrances to the chapels were formed. There is much interest connected with the western towers. The south tower awaits a thorough restoration, when it ought to be made as beautiful a feature of the cathedral as the corresponding tower at Ely. The north tower needs to be rebuilt entirely. For many years there was a tradition that this tower was battered down by the cannon of the Commonwealth, during the famous siege of Chichester. But the writer discovered some years ago a memorandum of a visit of inspection from Sir Christopher Wren, where it was stated that the tower had fallen some fifty years before his visit. The recommendations of the great architect were characteristic of the time and of the man. He said the west end never could have been beautiful or uniform. He advised, therefore, that the remaining tower should be removed, the church cut short a bay, and a fair front erected towards the west. Happily, either he had not influence, or the 142 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chichester. chapter liad not money, to cany out his proposal. This ruined tower was for many years blocked out from the cathedral, but about ten years ago one of tlie arches was opened. It was not deemed safe to open the otlier into the aisle. As he proceeds to the east the visitor should notice the perspective looking diagonally across the church. In the north transept he will see a curious sei'ies of paint- ings, intended to represent the bishops from the foundation of the see at Selsey to the time of Sherborne. These were all painted by an Italian — one Bernardi — during the episcopate of the last-named benefactor of the church. The legends attached to the names are interesting. Then the chapel to the east of this is deserving of inspection. Its one pillar, supporting the floor above, is characteristic, and the vaulting is well worthy of notice. Here, too, may be seen, in part, the exterior of one of the original cathedral windows, and further portions may be examined above in the dilapidated chamber which once con- tained the lil)rary of the cathedral, but of whicli the roof was dropped and the windows almost entirely blocked, within the last two hundred years. In the present library are a few curiosities, as a genuine Abraxas ring, found on the finger of one of the early bishops, whose tomb it was necessary to remove. It was above the level of the floor. Tlien there is a cross of lead discovered on the breast of another bishop, commemorating his absolution. His name is jiot to be seen among the scries painted under Slierborne's order. Another interest- ing relic is the Litany of the great reforming continental prelate, whose death caused sucli joy at the opening of tlie Council of Trent — Archbisliop Herman of Cologne. This was Cranmer's copy, and has liis signature on tlie title-page. There can bo little doubt that this very volunic furnished the model for the English Litany. Passing eastward along the aisle of the choir, the visitor will notice one or two monuments of early bishops, then an interesting stone (originally on the platform behind the reredos) of beautiful design — two hands holding a heart-formed vessel, with the legend fast disappearing, " ici gist le COEVR DE MAVDE . . ." And SO WO pass to the Lady Chapel. The Lady Chapel is said to have been built or rebuilt from its foundations by Bishop Gilbert de S. Leofard. No doubt this bishop repaired and enlarged it. On the roof may be seen some remains of the original beautiful colouring. In one or two of the western bays — west, that is, of the entrance to the chapel proj^er — may be seen the motto of Winchester School, the favourite of Sherborne. In the middle of last century this building was said to be a ruin, and the crypt was placed at tlie disposal of the family of the Dukes of Richmond for a mausoleum. The floor was raised to give the necessary height below, and then the windows were partly plastered up and partly glazed, and the books which had again begun to accumulate were placed in the buildin-g, and a grand fireplace erected against the east window. So it was when Professor ChichestkuJ the lady CEAFEL. 143 Willis paid his visit, and ^ood reason had ho to laineiit that the unfortunate jiosition of the sepulchral vault of the Richmond family had robbed the chai)el of its due proportions. And so it continued until 1867. The upper part of the Avails, Avhicli enclosed the library, was then removed, and tlie beauty of its roof was seen in the choir; and when Bishop Ashhurst Turner Gilbert died in 1870 after an episcopate of nearly thirty years, and the desire was felt to restore to his memory the chapel which had been built by a former Bishop Gilbert nearly six hundred years before, the Duke of Richmond allowed the floor to bo lowered, and an immense improvement was effected. The stained glass, commemorating events in the life of the Virgin, has of course been added since. The visitor, as he passes along, will see the monument of Bishop Sherborne, who held the see during a great portion of the troublous reign of Henry VIII., and the cenotaph of the (;elebrated Dr. Hook, who was dean from 1859 to 1874. He will notice the two curious panels of carved stone, representing, the one the healing of the blind man at Jericho, the other the raising of Lazarus. They were found behind the panels of the stalls, imbedded in the piers, about fifty years ago, and repieced and placed here. The recumbent figure in the south transept is often said to represent St. Richard of Chichester, to whose shrine pilgrimages were made, much to the benefit of the cathedral, before the Refor- mation. But his "shrine" was destroyed at that time, and in the cathedral documents this efiigy is said to be that of Bishop Robert Stratford (1337 — 1362). The canopy that was over this tomb was destroyed at the fall. The adjacent paintings were by Bernardi, and were intended to represent, the one the landing of Wilfrid in the seventh century, the other the petition of Sherborne to Henry VIII. in the sixteenth. Under Bishop Langton's window may be seen the remains of his monument, and also the monument of Mr. Abel Smith, of Dale Park. The ancient sacristry is well worthy of attention, as is also its ancient door and lock. A handsome staircase (to the construction of which attention has already been drawn, as contributing to the weakness of the build- ing) leads from the church to the room above. This room is described as the bishop's chapter-house, and the bishop's seat may still be seen in it. The stair- case was adapted for grand processions. There is in this room a sliding panel, covering the entrance to a secret chamber, where, doubtless, the chief treasures of the church were kept when not in use. There is a record that, when the cathedral was in the power of the Commonwealth forces, one of the servants betrayed the place where the treasures were deijosited. The troops were not likely to have discovered it otherwise. The visitor must not believe that the Lollards were confined here, whatever guides or guide-books may affirm. The "bishop's prison" was in the bishop's gateway. 144 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chichester. The choir of the churcli retains scarcely anything ancient. At some period since Bishop Sherborne's time it had become blocked with pews and galleries, and a clean sweep was necessary, and some of the stalls alone remain of the more ancient structm-e. These stalls are assigned, as in other cathedrals of the old foundation, to the dean, precentor, chancellor, treasm-er, archdeacon, preben- daries, and each officer is installed on his apjDointment with much ceremony, "staff as to spirituals, loaf as to temporals," but the seat is the only property to which he can now claim a right. One of these stalls was found 'to preserve its ancient decoration. The bishop's throne is modern. The reredos (not yet completed) was the first, I believe, in England, in which the Ascension of our Lord replaced the figure of the Crucified. The window of the transept has been recently filled vritli stained glass, the character of which has been found to raise uj) the thoughts and aspirations of some as much as or even more than it is found fault with by others. The glass was executed at Bar-le-Duc, being completed at the expense of the family of the late John Abel Smith, Esq., who was anxious to leave behind him this memorial of liis attachment to the cathedral church of tlie city, whose interests he had watched for many years as its representative in Parliament. We have little space to commemorate the worthies of the cathedral. Most of the bishops of distinction we have named — St. Richard, Langton, Stratford, and Sherborne. Another, Reginald Pecock, fell under the displeasm-e of the Church. To escape burning he recanted ; but he was deprived and banished to one of the abbeys in the Cambridge fen country, where he was allowed to perish by cold. Several distinguished men of later dates have been consecrated to the bishopric of Chichester and then have been translated, as Andrews, Brian Dupjia, Gunning, Patrick, and Maltby. The celebrated Chillingworth was buried in the cloisters. His tomb was opened by the Parliamentary forces, who fired into his coffin, "nee sensit damna sepulcri," as his epitaph runs. The famous Edmund Gibson was canon and precentor before his elevation to the sec of London. The deanery was rebuilt by another notable of his day, Thomas Sherlock, who became successively Bishop of Bangor, Salisbury, and London. I have spoken of the obligations of the church to Dean Chandler. But the most celebrated of all our deans was Dr. Hook, who, after his retirement from his labours at Leeds, devoted the last fifteen years of his life to Chichester, where he penned his great historical work, " The Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury." On leaving Leeds he told his parishioners that, if he did not find at Chichester sufficient work for his energies, he should make work. He found work in the renovating and rebuilding of his cathedral ; he made work in the library of his deanery. C. A. SWAINSON. ST. ALUANS, FIKJM VEKULAM. ST. ALBANS. It is but recently tliat this abbey climch has been entitled to rank among the cathedrals of E^ngland, for the bishopric of St. Albans was only constituted in the year 1877. Previously it had been included in the diocese of Rochester, but when that was limited to the southern bank of the Thames, certain additions were made to the iiart lying north of that river, and St. Albans gave the name to and became the cathedral town of the new diocese ; the Right Rev. T. L. Claughton — at that time Bishop of Rochester — becoming first Bishop of St. Albans. The new-formed diocese has, at present, neither dean nor canons residentiary ; but is fortunate in finding ready to hand one of the grandest and the most interesting churches of England as its cathedral. In few districts are we carried further back in the history of our country than in the immediate neighbourhood of St. Albans. The site of the abbey church was "holy ground" long before the mission of Augustine: on the opposite slope, on the other side of the little river Ver, still remain ruins of the Roman town of Verulamium. Earthworks in the neighbourhood are said to be remnants of the stronghold [oppidum) of Cassivelaunus, chief of the Cassii, which 19 14G CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. Albans. was stormed by the troops of C?esar. Near to or in some part of this was founded the first Roman city built in Britain ; whose site is still indicated by fragments of ruined walls and great tree-covered mounds. It was stormed and sacked by the British forces in the revolt headed by Boadicea, and it was again rebuilt when the Iceni had been subdued bv the legions of Suetonius Paulinus. The event which led to the foundation and the fame of the abbey church is said to have occurred about the end of the third century in the Diocletian persecution. At that time a young Roman of good family, named Alban, was living at Verulamium. Though he was a pagan, one of the Christian priests, who were being everywhere hunted down, sought refuge in his house. In the few days of his sojourn Amphibalus, the fugitive, had gained his host as a convert, and when his hiding-place was discovered Alban dismissed Amphibalus, and wrapping himself in the priest's robes, awaited the arrival of the soldiers. On being taken before the prefect, the deception was of course discovered. Alban declared himself a Christian, and was led forth to Holmhurst, the hill across the Ver, to execution. Miracles, the legend tells us, were duly wrought, but at last the saint's head was smitten off and he was buried at the place of doom. Amphibalus also, before long, was captured and tortured to death at Redburn, a village on the Watling Street Road, about four miles from St. Albans. Time went on, persecution ceased, and the Roman Empire became Christian. The heresy of Peiagius disturbed the peace of the church, and l^rought to England Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes. During their visit the remains of Alban were solemnly exhumed, and a small wooden chapel was built to mark the sacred s2)ot. A synod was also held at Verulamium in the year 401. But evil times were yet to come, when the heathen English invaded the land. The chapel perished ; even the memory of the site was lost. Not till the later part of the eighth century does a continuous history begin for St. Albans Abbey. At that time Offa, King of Mercia, smitten by remorse for a treacherous murder, decided to found an abbey in honour of St. Alban. The nuirtyr's remains were discovered, as chroniclers say, miraculously, by the leading of a star, and a little church was built upon the spot. Off a then departed to Rome, and on his return founded and richly endowed a monastery for monks of the Benedictine order. A little town, as was natural, grew up around the new abbey. Roman Verulamium became wholly deserted, and its ruins the haunts of wild beasts and of evil characters. Shortly before the Norman Conquest it was determined to rebuild the minster. For this purpose Abbot Eadmcr and his successor collected materials, using the ruins of Verulam for a quarry. Its ac- complishment was delayed by the coming of the Norman invader, whom the St. Albans.] POSITION OF THE TOWN. U7 Eiif^lisli monks and their abbot resisted to the utmost of their power, and the work did not begin till Paul of Caen, a Norman, was appointed Abbot of St. Albans by William. With the materials already collected and others from the same sources, lie erected a great church on the ancient site. Many changes have shice been made, as will be described below, but the transepts, central tower, eastern part of the nave, with a few small portions of the (;lioir, were the work of Paul of Caen. The town of St. Albans is built upon the edge of an upland plateau, and straggles downwards towards the river on the west and south-east. Tlio church is built just at the edge of the plateau, where it begins to round off for the descent towards the valley. On the northern side it was near to the houses of the town, which, since the Reformation, have encroached upon its precincts ; on the slopes towards the south stood the monastic buildings. These have dis- appeared with the exception of the principal entrance, a work — though some- what altered in later years — of the latter part of the fourteenth century. Only some inequalities in the turf, or some chance scrap of wall hidden in a garden, mark the site of one of tlie most famous of the Benedictine monasteries of Britain. A glance at the abbey church shows it to be unique in England. The long ridge line of the nave roof, the massive central tower, the prominent tran- septs, like it, except for some later insertions, of the simplest Norman archi- tecture and built of Roman brick, and then tlie great and more varied extension eastward, show that we have before us a building of no ordinary interest and no connnon design. The western front is obviously new, for it was rebuilt onl}' a very few years since. It is, however, to a great extent a reproduction of the fa(^ade which was begun by John dc Sella about the end of the twelfth century, and completed, after interruption, by William of Trumpington. This fa9ade had been defaced in the middle part of the fifteenth century, by tlie insertion of a huge Perpendicular window of mechanical design, and in the suljsequent ill fortunes of the abbey, it had been hacked and patched with the commonest materials and in the most unskilful way, till only the practised eye could recognise the traces of its former beauty. The present facade is com- posed of a centre, flanked by rather lofty wings ending in turrets — slightly in the style of Salisbury — the latter are to a certain extent screens, as the wall is carried up beyond the level of the aisle roof. Each is pierced by a door in front of which is a deep porch, and the upper part is relieved by a double row of arcades, while in the centre is a fine Decorated window, in design rather later than the rest of the fa9ade, and there is a doorway and jDorch below. For the lower stage and for the arcades sufficient fragments of early work were left to enable the architect to reproduce to a great extent the ancient design. 148 ., CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. ALI1AN8. and some portion of the work of John de Sella still remains incorporated in the porches. Shortly before the rebuilding of this facade a new and high pitched roof had been placed upon the nave, which is now terminated by a gable pierced with lancet windows, rising behind an open-work stone balustrade. It may be convenient, while still standing outside the cathedral, to enumerate briefly the main epochs of building or reconstruction which are recorded in its walls. Paul of Caen, as has been said, was the builder of St. Albans Abbey on its present scale. He erected, using as his materials, almost exclusively, Roman bricks, taken from the ruins of Verulam, a church whose dimensions, except at the eastern part, corresponded with the pre- sent. Its total length was 450 feet; its plan was a Latin cross with well developed arms, the nave being 285 feet long ; the choir as usual having an apsidal termina- tion. Partly from the nature of the mate- rials, possibly from a desire to gratify the feelings of the brotherhood, the style of Paul's building is of an archaic simplicity. It seems as if it might be a century older than, instead of almost contem- porary with, the work of Gundulf at Rochester and of Walkelyn at Win- chester. Rather more than a century later the architects began upon the west front. John de Sella pulled down, two or three years before the end of the twelfth century, the Norman western towers, and commenced the erection of a grand faQade in the Early English style, but, as the chroniclers say, he was one of those who began to build without counting the cost, and the work soon came to a standstill. It was, however, completed (except the towers) by William of Trumpington, his successor, by whom the four adjoining ba}'s on the northern and the five on the southern side of the nave were rebuilt. About the year 1256 John de Hertford rebuilt the choir, and began the elaborate group of chapels to the east ; the Lady Chapel, by which the whole was terminated, appears not to have been completed till about the year 1320. Very soon after tliis, in the year 1323, two of the Norman piers on the south side of the nave fell with a great THE TOWER. St. Albans.] HISTORY OF THE BUILDING. 149 crash, and cause J the ruin of about a liundrecl feet of tlic roof. In consequence of tins five bays of the Norman work were rebuilt in the Decorated order. After this little was done till nearly a century had passed, when Whethanistede was appointed abbot. He ruled from 1420 to 1440, and then resigned, but on the death of his suc- cessor in 1452 he was again elected, and so remained in office till his death twelve years later. In his days great changes, mostly for the worse, were made. The hi<'h pitched roofs were removed from the nave, its aisles, and the transepts, and replaced by structures of a lower pitch. Huge windows were inserted in the west facade, and in the two ends of the transept,* and the older work generally was considerably maltreated. Wallingford, appointed abbot in 1476, erected the grand screen behind the high altar, and with this practically ends the history of pre-Reforma- tion work at St. Albans. The building suffered severely after the suppres- sion of the monasteries. In- credible as it may seem, this noble abbey, with its historic memories, would have been destroyed by the ruthless bar- barians who disgraced the English Refornuition, had not the townsfolk of St. Albans come forward and purchased it as their 2:)arish church. At this time a passage was driven through the building east of the retro- choir, the arches connnunicating with the latter being walled up, and the Lady * Mr. J. Cliapplc, wlio was olerk of tlie works to Sir G. G. Scott, and coidiiiued in charge of the restoration after Sir Gilbert's deatli, informs mc tliat tlio reckless way in wliicli Whetliamstede's arcliitects executed their task of "beautifying" the ancient structure, has nearly brought about its ruin. By cutting away tlio solid masonry of the end walls, in order to insert their Imgo windows, they destroyed what was essential- constructively in order to bind together the side walls ; hence these slowly inclined outwards under tlio pressure of the roof, and would probably liave fallen in no loug time had not the late restoration been begun. I am greatly indebted to tlio kindness of this gentleman for much unpublished iuformation connected with the architecture of tlie abbey, and the liistoi-y of its restoration. THE CHOIR, LOOKING EAST. 150 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. Albans. Chapel converted into a school. Visitors who feel inclined to be severe upon the injuries wrou<^ht on this and other parts of the fabric, must bear in mind that the townsfolk had acquired a building- out of all proportion to their wants, the proper maintenance of which would have been a constant and heavy exjDense, and that but for this St. Albans would have been now as the cathedral of Coventry or the neigh- bouring nunnery of Sopewell. Repairs were undertaken now and again in the later part of the seventeenth and in the eighteenth century : one of them being the restoration of the south transept window, blown in by the gale of 1703, but it was not till the present century that any serious attempt at restoration was made. Mr. Cottingham carried on some important works in 1832, and in 1856 some more was done by Sir G. G. Scott. Still, on both these occasions the difficulty of raising adequate funds prevented any very systematic restoration of the building. But in the year 1870 the church may be said to have taken matters into its own liands. On the 1st of August it became evident "that the central tower was cracking up and fall- ing ! " The architect was at once summoned by his clerk of the works, and quickly saw that the reported danger was only too true. The tower was shored up by immense balks of timber, but for more than six months the workmen ran a race with ruin, and only won by a neck. The piers were then strengthened and in i^art re- built, the tower was clamped by iron bolts, and the whole, we may trust, made secure for generations to come. The passage which cut off the Lady Chapel was closed, the school was transferred to the old gateway, and the restoration of the eastern portion of the church was commenced. The next step was to lift the roof off the nave and screw back the walls to a vertical position. After the death of Sir G. G. Scott, it was decided to replace Whethamstcde's roof by one of the original jjitch, and to rebuild the west front. This decision gave rise to great controvei'sy, and to the secession of some of those who up to this period had taken an active })art in the restoration. Into this contest it is not within our purpose to enter. The whole question of restoration is ever a thorny one, and tliere will always be tlie two camps. Our own sympathies are generally with the more conservative, but we must frankly admit that the west front of St. Albans was hopelessly mutilated, and for two centuries at least had been patched with heterogeneous materials of the commonest kind ; Whethamstede's great window being the only media3val feature in respectable condition, and this, as we have seen, was in itself an intrusion. The fa(;ade was past '' restoration ; " the choice lay between the merest rejoair and recon- struction, and there can be no question that even if critics may differ about portions of the present work, it is one worthy of a great cathedral. On entering the nave, we have right and left of us the beautiful Pearly English work of William of Trumpington — arches, triforium, and clerestory. We find our view is somewhat limited by the stone screen, against which once stood the altar of St. Cuthbert, a work of the fourteenth century ; above this now rises the organ, which, on St. Albans.] THE RESTORATION. 151 the eastern side, is supported by a handsome new screen of carved oak. Thus three ba3"s of the nave are now occupied by seats. On the northern side the rude Norman work of Paul of Caen still remains ; on the southern is the Decorated reconstruction described above, which harmonises well with tlie more western part of the nave, but is still more ornate. In the transe})t and tower, of which two stages are visible from within, we have in the main the orig^inal Norman work, and the singular columns of the triforimii cannot but attract attention. So archaic are some of their patterns that some antiquarians have suggested that they once formed a part of the Saxon church. The floor of the northern transept is at a higher level than that of the southern ; the building also rises eastward by a series of steps till the site of the high altar is reached. The south transept leads into a remarkable, rather late Norman, annexe, which formed the slype of the old monastery. The choir is almost closed eastward by the magnificent screen of Wallingford, which once was adorned by figures, and has considerable resem- blance to tliat at Winchester. It has been lately restored, and figures have been replaced in the immerous niches. The choir has been repaved with embossed encaustic tiles, made from an old pattern, which still remained in tlie building, but a considerable part of the floor towards the east is covered witli marble slabs, from most of which, unfortunately, the brasses have been torn away. The arches which separate the choir from the nave are blocked up for the present, but in the one north of the altar is the magnificent chantry chapel of Abbot Ramryge, who died about 1509, and on the south, that of Abbot Whethamstede ; on the floor is temporarily laid a magnificent brass commemorating Abbot de la Mare, the host of John of France. The extreme east of the choir, behind Wallingford's great screen, forms the chapel of St. Alban, in which his relics were jjreserved. At the dissolution of the monasteries the shrine was destroyed, and for long its only memorial was the Pm-beck marble slab in the pavement on which it once stood. But during the late restorations some carved fragments were discovered, which the sujjervisors shrewdly suspected had belonged to it ; careful search was made, under floors and wherever openings had been blocked, with the result that almost the whole of the shrine has been recovered, the pieces have been skilfully fitted together, and this beautiful relic of mediaeval workmansliip has been replaced in its former position. The style is Early Decorated. Another relic, hardly less interesting, has been preserved intact, this is the " Watching Gallery," a richly-carved oak structure in two stages, placed on the north side of the shrine. The lower part contains cupboards, probably for smaller relics and ecclesiastical vessels. South of the shrine is the monumental chantry — erected by Abbot Whethamstede, to Humphrey the "Good Duke" of Gloucester. Though his rank was only equalled by the love borne him by the people, he saw his wife led in penance through the streets on a charge of witchcraft, and was found dead in his bed, not without suspicions that if the Duke of Suffolk 152 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. Albans. and Cardinal Beaufort had wislied it, liis life would have boon longer. A rude painting represents the condition in which his body was found in 1703. So great was the veneration of our ancestors for everything ancient, that for years visitors to the abbey were allowed to carry away the duke's bones as " curiosities ! " Some restorations have been accomplished, besides its restitution to the church. ST. ALUAN S SHRINE. in the eastern part where the retro-choir joins tlie Lady Chapel. This was to a large extent effected by the exertions of a committee of ladies, headed by the Marchioness of Salisbury, but the devastation of this part of the building has been fearful, the carved work in many places having been completely hacked away, and even the ashlar now and then stripped from the walls, so that in parts "restoration," in any strict sense of the word, is impossible. During the work considerable fragments of the shrine of St. Amphibalus were found, and these have been fitted together and placed east of the retro-choir. Though the recovery has been less complete than in the other case, we are enabled to form a very fair idea of the original structure. St. ALBAN8.] MEMORIES OF ST. ALBANS. 153 Of the famous men once connected with the monastery of St. Albans our space does not permit us to write. Kings of England, from the days of the Norman Conqueror downwards, came to pay their devotions at the shrine of the great English saint. Hither was brought Henry VI., a captive after his defeat at the first battle of St. Albans, and here again, released from captivity, he came to offer thanks after the second and far the more fortunate battle. John of France also, after Poitiers, was committed to the custody of Abbot de la Mare. Great men were these mitred abbots ; they even disputed priority with Westminster. They had at one time the power of life and death, and hold large estates. Towards the end of the lists appears the name of Cardinal Wolsey, who held the office in commendain. The members of the foundation were often honourably distinguished for learning. Among them are found the names of Matthew Paris and other chroniclers. Adrian IV., the only English pope, when a young man, in vain sought admission into the order. He was at that time too unlettered for the fraternity. " In the days when an emperor held his stirrup he probably regarded witli complacency his failure at St. Albans." Important changes have within the last few years been made in the process of restoration, or, as some would call it, destruction. The roofs of the transepts have been raised to the same pitch as that of the nave ; their ends, north and south, have been to a great extent reconstructed. In the north one a huge circular window replaces the fifteenth-century intruder ; in the scnith one five lancets liave been inserted, which internally appear of the same height, and exter- nally rise to the centre light, an arrangement gratifying to those who stickle for truth in architectiire. The corner turrets have been "restored;" pictm^esque formerly, they are now hideous. The old windows had not much to commend them, and were vandalisms in their* day ; but they had acquired a certain historical interest of which the new are wholly destitute. These are no more congruous with the rest of the architecture, and are rather commonplace as designs. But the worst act of vandalism — for no milder term can be used — is the destruction of the ancient slype. Its mangled remains are now inserted as "curiosities" in the now structure which replaces it,* and underneath the window of the south transept. It is melancholy to see what mischief zeal without discretion has wrought recently at St. Albans. Liberal as an enthusiast may be, the indulgence of architectural vagaries should not be permitted in a building of national ''^^^^^^*- T. G. BONNEY. * Tli.'it is to say, tlie remains liave been dismembered (after tlie moderu fasliiou of murderiug), aud are fouud iu two places. 20 ROCHESTER. ^<7oft^^^^„?N,s7 The see of Rochester is the daughter of that of Caiiterbmy : the first outpost advanced by Augustine from his settlement in the jDalace of Ethelbert. Its cathedral bears also a strong family like- ness to the mother church. Here, and at London simultaneously, he ^n^ established new sees seven years after his own landing in Thanct. The situation was well selected for a missionary church. Hrofs ceastre — now Rochester — was a fortified station on the line of the great higliway of the Watling Street, commanding the point where it crossed the Medway ; and the bishoj^ric, of which it was the cathedral town, included the western part of Kent. Justus was the first bishoj:*, one of the band who had come to strengthen the hands of Augustine after his arrival in England ; and he, after twenty years of work — at one time troublous, when Ethelbcrt's son relapsed into paganism — was translated to Canterbury. Paulinus, also the great missionary of the North, after his expulsion from York, undertook the charge of Rochester. Here he died, and was buried in the cathedral, of which his shrine was for long one of the chief attractions. Of the building in which he worshipped — the churcli, which according to Bode, was built by Ethelbert himself — no trace remains. The situation by the ]\Iedway, which had once been an advantage, became a banc in the days of the Danish rovers. The cathedral fared no better than Canterbury, and when William the Norman came to England it was greatly ruined. After the Conquest, Gundulf — a friend of Lanfranc's and a mighty builder — was appointed Bishop of Rochester. The earliest jJarts of the present cathedi-al are his work ; to him also the keep of the neighbouring castle as well as the White Tower in London are attributed. Doubts have been expressed concerning his hand in these, and probably most of the cathedral which now remains is of slightly later date, but still the Norman part of Rochester was begun by Bishop Gundulf. As has been already said, there are many respects in which the material fabric of Rochester proclaims its relationship with Canterbury. In an important one however, it differs ; that, though the relics of Paulinus, and still more those of St. William of Perth, brought to it pilgrims and wealth, Rochester never enjoyed that full tide of gifts which flowed into the coffers at the shrine of Thomas, and so does not exhibit that efflorescence of architectural splendour which makes the eastern end of Canterbury in some resjjects unique in England. The plan of Rochester Rochester.] THE EXTERIOR. 155 is siniplci' ; beyond its eastern transept it lias only a comparatively short chancel ; its architecture is less ornate, its shrines occupied less commanding positions. In another respect also it differs from Canterbury, and that for the worse ; it is far more closely hemmed in with building-s, so that it is extremely difficult to obtain a good view of the cathedral, indeed it is better seen from the keep of the old castle than from any position on the ground itself. Externally the cathecb-al cannot be called an impressive building. Small in itself, there is nothing in its outline to enhance its dimensions or appeal to the senses by grace of outline instead of grandeur of size. It is without western towers ; and the central one is low and squat ; at a glance it proclaims itself modern or modernised, and is no better, perhaps worse, than most Gothic of the early Victorian period. We pass from the High Street of Rochester beneath one of the old gateways of the monastery, now almost buried in houses, through a comparatively narrow passage into the precincts of the cathedral. The view, however, of its western part is impeded by the Church of St. Nicholas, which stands immediately to the south of the western end of the nave, and after passing this we reach the little open space in front of the main entrance. Here, if we are readers of Dickens, wo may remember how he has interwoven the chief features of the scene with the story of his last and unfinished work, and if it be summer-time, througli the open west door of the cathedral we may look "down the throat of old time." The west front is not the least noted part of Rochester Cathedral; in its main outlines it is Norman, although it did not escape the vulgar hands of fifteenth- century "improvers," and was disfigured by the insertion of a commonplace Perpendicular window. This has deprived us, as at Norwich and at so many other places, of a perfect and, as far as we can conjecture, a very pretty piece of Norman work. The design consists of a centre of the width of the nave, flanked with turrets, only one of which remains in its original condition, and two wings formed by the side aisles. It is ornamented by a series of arcades, and has an extremely beautiful though rather small centre doorway. The design of this, according to Mr. Fergusson, is Continental rather than English ; two of its shafts are carved with figures, supposed to represent Henry I. and " Good Queen Maud." The nave is in great part Norman, but the fifteenth-century "improvers" rebuilt the clerestory and raised the roof (which is of wood and plain), thereby destroying the harmony of its well-balanced composition. The nave-arches and piers, though simple in design, are good in execution, and tlie triforium, which is made an important feature, is more richly ornamented than is usual. By a subsequent heightening of the side aisles, the usual gallery above the latter has been destroyed, so that the triforium arches are now visible on both sides from within the church. The two last bays to the east are Early English work, and show the influence of the school of architecture which left so conspicuous a mark on Canterbury. So far as one can 156 CA THED TiAL CII JjRGIIES. rHoClI ESTER. judg-e there seems to have been an intention of rebuilding the nave, but this, we may say, fortunately, was not carried out, as thus a very interesting relic of Norman work has been spared. As the connection between the two cathedrals has always been close — Ernulf, once Prior of Canterbury, having been among the Bishops of Rochester, and a zealous architect at both — it is very probable that in the nave of the latter, begun by Gundulf, and perhaps brought very near completion by Ernulf himself, we can obtain some idea of what the Norman nave of Canterbury KOCHKSTKll, Fi;OM THE KI\'^R. was like. The Cathedral of Rochester, and especially its nave, has not fared well. Twice in the twelfth century it suffered severely from fire, but exactly how much and what damage was done on those occasions wo do not know, or in what parts the flames were most destructive. AVlien the castle was besieged in 1204 by Simon of Montfort, his soldiers plundered and grievously injured the cathedral, converting the nave into a stable, setting an example which the Puritans afterwards followed. These were saved the trouble of breaking the stained glass windows — a favourite occupation, as it gratified both iconoclastic zeal, and the destructive impulse in human nature that makes pelting a bottle so pleasurable a pastime — because they seem to have been smashed or stolen after the dissolution of the monastery. The brasses, however, in which, as we can see from their moulds in the monumental ROCIIESTEU] THE CHOTR AND TRANSEPTS. •57 slabs, the church was very ricli, disappeared tlicn, and tlie nave was long- used as a carpenter's shop, several saw-pits being dug in it. Like the two eastern bays, tlie transepts arc Early English, tliough not all of the same date, and they recall the work of the two Williams at Can- terbury. On the southern side of the nave, just west of the transept, is a chapel dedicated to St. Mary, a Perpendicular structure, recently restored ; and in the same transept is the monument to one Richard Watts, a local worthy in the days of Elizabeth, whose memory is kept green by the hospital which he founded and endowed for the night- ly entertain- ment of six vided they be not rogues JWH|'|^||a^^B poor travel- nor proctors." As at Canterbury, the choir is to an exceptional degree shut off from the nave. It is enclosed by a stone screen, and ap- proached by a flight of steps, the latter con- struction being rendered necessary by the crypt beneath the eastern part of the church. In the larger cathedral this arrangement enhances the idea of magnitude, in the smaller it has, we think, an opposite effect. The choir especially seems narrow and cramped. Its architecture is rather heavy, and it produces on the whole an "impri- soned " feeling. The style is Early English, but the exact date is not known; it was, however, com- pleted before 1227. The most marked peculiarity is in Ihe western part of the choir, whicli is entirely shut off from the aisles, and does not seem to have ever communicated witli them^ the wall appearing to be perfectly solid up to the clerestory. The pro- ENTIIANCE TO THE CHAPTER- HOUSE FROM THE TUANSEPT. 158 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Rochester. stalls are wholly without canopies, and the wall behind is adorned with diaper painting, this being a restoration of ancient work. On the north side is a rather narrow aisle, interrupted by a flight of steps ; on the southern a much wider aisle, with a curious roof. From this the crypt is approached, and another flight of steps leads through a doorway into the south-eastern transept. These eastern transepts — entirely open to the choir, and so available during the time of service — with their comparatively broad eastern aisle, give this portion of the choir a spacious aspect, contrasting with the narrowness of the western part, and the architecture in many respects recalls the work of " English William " at Canterbury. Farther east is the short chancel, with its double eastern triplet of lancet windows, one of the late restorations. Purbeck marble is freely used in the decoration of this part, and the contrast between it and the western portion is very singular. In the northern choir-transept was St. William's tomb, and on a flat stone in the middle of the same transept his shrine is said to have rested. St. William was a worthy baker of Perth, noted for his liberality to the poor. He under- took a joilgrimage to the Holy Land, aiid intended to visit the throne of Becket on his way, but without going so far as Gadshill he fell among thieves, who were worse than those on the descent to Jericho, for they left him quite dead. His corpse was brought to Rochester and solemnly interred. Presently miracles began to be wrought at his tomb, and he who had been a pilgrim himself became the cause of pilgrimage in others. The offerings of the faithful paid for the building of the eastern part of the church. St. William was murdered in 1201, and was canonised fifty years afterwards. The pavement of the choir — encaustic tiles — is modern ; so are all the fittings, as well as the communion-table and the handsome reredos. In fact, the whole of this part of the cathedral was remodelled in Sir G. G. Scott's restoration, which was completed some few years since. The nave, as we have said, is destitute of monuments of any interest, but several remain in the choir, Purbeck marble is the material commonly used. In the north choir-transept is a fine canopied monument, greatly restored, which marks the resting-place of Walter de Merton, once Bishop of Rochester and founder of the earliest college in Oxford, if we decline to accept the mythical story of Alfred and University College. He was a clear- sighted man for his age — he died in the year 1278 — for he ordained in the statutes of his new foundation, that if any member of it took the vows of a religious order he should forfeit his fellowshij^. In this transept also are commemorated Bishop Warner and Archdeacon Warner, his son, monuments of the later part of the seventeenth century, and Bishop John de Sheppcy (died 18G0), whose tomb still retains its ancient colouring. Glanville's sarcophagus, though much damaged, will attract notice from its unusual form, and the richly-carved canopy of the recumbent effigy of Bishop Lawrence de St. Martin; Rochester.] TFIE CRYPT. 159 the one belonging to the earlier, the other to the later, 2">art of the thirteenth century. A plain slab on the opposite side is believed to cover the dust of Gundulf, the builder of the cathedral, and near him is the tomb of one of his successors, BishojD Ing-lethorpe, who died in 1291. In the eastern wall of the south- east transept is the noted doorway, leading to the chai^ter-room, a magnificent piece of Late Decorated work, which is supposed to date from about the middle of the fourteenth century. The chapter-room itself is a modern building, a narrow, mean room, with no more architectural pretensions than a scullery ; indeed, on the first sight of it from the exterior one concludes that it is simply part of the back premises of the deanery. Its library, however, contains some interesting books. Some fragments of the original chapter-house are incorporated into the deanery, and the ruined west front, a fine piece of Norman work, together with a portion of the eastern wall of the old cloister, may be seen in the gardens. The position is an exceptional one, and the doorway already mentioned did not lead to it but to the dormitory of the monks. We must not omit to notice the crypt, one of the most interesting parts of the cathedral. As at Canterbury, this is to a considerable extent above ground, and is thus tolerably well lighted; it is approached, as has been said, from the south choir aisle, and extends under the eastern transept and the chancel, and about half of the western or narrower portion of tlie choir. The greater j^art is Early English, of the same age as the choir above. The western part, however, is massive Norman, and is no doubt the work of Bishop Gundulf, and so rather earlier than most of the nave ; for commonly sjpeaking the latter was not begun till the eastern part of the cathedral was well advanced, if not completed. Unfortunately the hydraulic apparatus connected with the organ has been placed in this portion, so that it is now almost impossible to examine the architecture. Outside the cathedral there is not much to delay the visitor. He will wonder at Gundulf's massive and half-ruined tower, more like a part of a fortress than a cathedral, which seems strangely out of place between the two northern transepts. Perhaps the bishop had not quite lost the memory of the Danes, and determined that if ever again plunderers came to his church there should be a safe place of refuge for its treasm^es. Mr. St. John IIojDe, to whom we are much indel^ted for information, considers that it probably stood eastward of the ruined cathedi-al of the English bishops, and bears no direct relation to the present structure. It was after- wards used as a bell-tower. There are some old gateways connected with the monastic buildings, generally much dilapidated, and from most places the noble keep of the old castle — attributed also to Gundulf, but probably slightly later in date — is a prominent feature in every view. A seventeenth- century house has replaced the palace once inhabited by the Bishops of Rochester. In that not a few men of eminence lived. Several of them have already been mentioned, but there 160 CATHEDRAL CEURCHES. [Rochester. is yet one whose remains indeed found no honoured grave, but whose memory will ever adorn the annals of Rochester, and who was to Cambridge a benefactor no less open-handed than was his predecessor, Walter de Merton, to the sister university. This was John Fisher, once chaplain to the Lady Mar- garet, mother of Henry VII., and for thirty-five years Bishop of Rochester, which in the days of his court favour he refused more than once to quit for better pre- ferment. He was a man of exceptional learning and piety, to whose munificence, as a patron of letters, St. John's College at Cambridge bears witness. It was indeed the foundation of his patron- ess, but without him for a foster-father might well have perished in its infancy. But like so many men of gentle spirit and deep religious feel- ing, he clung to the old ways and dreaded the new. Hence after a while he fell out of favour with the king, Henry VIII. He feared change but not death. His conscience forbade him either to consent to the divorce of Catharine, or to take the oath of succession, and for this the tyrant condemned him to die. So the old man went to the scaffold, and as he ojDcned ' This is life eternal," and in T. G. BONNEY. THE WEST DOOH. his Bible liis eye lighted on the verse beginning, that belief he laid his hoary head upon the block. BATH, iltOM THE KlVtli. BATH. The ^■isitol• to Bath, whether he catches his first glimpse of the city from the summit of one of the circle of hills in which it lies embosomed, or sweeps through the valley in a Great Western express, will find from either point of view that one building seizes and fixes his attention. There is much in the natural surroundings of the place to awaken admiration ; there are many graceful spires and church towers to gladden the eye ; and climbing one above another on the hill slopes rise terraces and crescents, the master- pieces of the classic genius of the elder and younger Wood, built of the now beautifully weathered local freestone. But standing forth from all these looms up in tJic centre of the city the Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul, massive and square-built in form, but deriving lightness and elegance from its wealth of lofty windows, its flying buttresses and pierced parapets. The close observer will perceive that it is not ancient in comparison with the cathedrals of England, for it is indeed a most complete specimen of the latest style of pure Gothic architectm'e. But if his mind is fitly prepared to yield to the charms of the place he will be aware that the present city rises, phamix-like, actually upon the ashes of a long- vani.shed predecessor, which flourished before Christianity was the acknowledged religion of Europe. When the Eomans came to Britain they found in the hot springs, which still cause Bath to be a favourite place of human habitation, a means of reproducing one at least of the luxuries of their far-distant Italy, and the warm climate of this sheltered valley, together with the magnificent system 21 1G2 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Bath. of baths wliicli they created, rendered their settlement of Aquae Sidis a welcome oasis in the desert of this humid and sunless island. The traveller wending his way hither in those days along the Julian Way would have gazed upon nearly the same spot as that where the abbey now stands, and would have seen in like manner, dominating the public buildings of Aquae Sulis, the magnificent pagan temple dedicated to Sul Minerva, of which nothing now remains but some beautifully sculptured fragments in the Bath IMuseum. When the country was becoming set- tled under its English conquerors, Osric, an undcr-king of the Kwiccii, is said, on doubtful authority, to have founded a nun- I nery at Bath in G76 ; about 775 the Mercuui king Oifa established here a college of secu- lar canons. Archbishop Dunstan procured their expulsion, and the establishment in their place of a Benedictine abbey which continued, through various changes, until tlie dissolution of monasteries. King Eadgar came to Bath with great pomp, and was crowned in the abbey church on Whit- Sunday. 973. in the presence of a large as- semblage of nobles and monks. Leland bears witness that as late as his time it was customary to elect from among the citizens on Whit- Sunday in every year a king of Batli, in joyful remembrance of the crown- ing of Eadgar. The period of this church's greatest magnificence, however, began when John de Villula was appointed to the see of Wells in 1088. This great benefactor of the Abbey of Batii was a native and originally a physician of Tours, whence he is also called John of Tours ; he had acquired considerable wealth, and by means of it obtained from William llufus grants of the Bath Abbey, and subsequently of the city of Bath. According to the Continental custom, which was then becoming fashionable in England, of re- moving the bishop's stool to the largest town in the diocese, Bishoj) John trans- ferred his from Wells to Bath. In connection with this change he pulled down the old church of the abbey, and set about building a suitable cathedral, which has now completely disappeared, except the bases of some of the pillars, which are to be scon at the east end of the present church and beneath gratings in the nave. Sonie idea of its size may be gathered from the fact that the present INTEKIOR, LOOKING EAST. Bat...] bishop KTNG'8 vision. 163 church only occupies the site of the nave. Bisliop Jolm died ahout 1 122, and was buried in the middle of the proshytciy of his catliedral, where Lcland saw his "Imag-e" overgrown with weeds, while " Al the chirch that he made lay to wast and was onrofid." The removal of the bishoiD from Wells was naturally most unj^alatable to the canons of Wells, who in 1218 won the final adoption of the present title of the see, and a few years later induced the bishop entirely to desert Bath, of which, however, he remained titular abbot and drew the principal revenues. The community was thus very much impoverished, and the priors allowed the cathedral to fall into disrepair, so that Oliver King, who Avas translated from Exeter to Bath and Wells in 1495, found it to be ruined to the foundations. Tliis prelate was the founder of the present church, to tlie building of which it is said he was moved by a dream, which he accepted as a divine revelation. Whilst at Bath, musing one night after his devotions, he saw a vision of the Holy Trinity, with angels ascending and descending by a ladder, near to the foot of which was a fair olive tree supporting a crown, and a voice that said, "Let an Olive establish the croAvn and let a Kin<^ restore the church." This vision he sculptured on the west front of the abbey, adding the words " de sursum est." Bishop) King set about the work in the year 1500, but died three years afterwards, before the south and west parts were covered in or all the walls raised to their proper height. He was assisted by Prior Bird, whose rebus, a W and a bird, is to be seen on various parts of the building. At the dissolution all the glass, iron, bells, and lead were sold off, and the roofless building passed to private owners with the rest of the abbe}^ property, but was presented to the city in 15 GO. Some years after, by the liberality of private persons, the choir was made fit for divine service and the church was reconsecrated and dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul. Dr. James Montague, who was appointed to the see in 1 G08, by his liberality and advocacy effected the completion of the church, in which he is buried under a liandsome porphyry tomb, with a recumbent effigy. Flying buttresses were added to the nave and pinnacles to the embattled turrets in the early part of the present century. In 1860, when Sir Gilbert Scott inspected the church, it was very seriously dilapidated; and between 1864, when the work was commenced, and 1874, wlien it was completed, a thorough restoration was carried out at a total cost of £35,000. This included, beside the renovation of the fabric, the substitution of fan-tracery vaulting, in completion of the original design, for Bishop Montague's ceiling in the nave. At the same time the entire area was made available for service. The master-spirit of the restoration was the late rector, the Rev. Cliarles Kemble, whose munificence and energy were alike conspicuous. His health broke down suddenly at the close of the work, and he died in November, 1874, leaving a void in the public work of the city not easily to be filled. The many stained-glass windows arc modern and of very varying merit. 164 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Bath. The church, folh)^ving its Norman predecessor, is in the shape of a Latin cross with a central tower. The design lias been to give an effect of height, and for this purpose the transepts are very narrow and the clerestory is remarkably lofty, the aisle windows seeming somewhat stunted by comparison. Owing to the narrowness of the transepts tlie tower is not square but oblong in plan. The east front is plain and the aisles of the choir project beyond it, because the original intention was to THE AlSJiEY, FUOM THE NOUTH-EAST. Iniild out a Lady Chapel eastward. The east window, which is of seven lights, is square-headed, and probabl}' occupies the position of the tower arch of the Norman cathedral. Tlie north and south transepts have each long end windows of five lights. The nave consists of five bays and the choir of three. The length from the east to the west window is 225 feet ; the width from the north window to the south is 124 feet ; the width of the church, irrespective of the transepts, 74 feet. The transepts are 20 feet broad, and the tower 162 feet liigli. Passing to the interior, there is no triforium, the sills of the clerestory windows being brought down to the string-course above the arches. Tlie pointed arches, the vaulting shafts running up between the clerestory windows, all direct the eye upward and Bath.] THE "ILLUSTRIOUS dead:' 105 minister to the effect of the chief glory of the church, its intricate and beautiful fan-traccry vaulting. This unique featuic gives the l)uilding a cliarm peculiarly its own. The only chantry chapel is that of Prior ]3ird in the easternmost bay on the south side of the choir, but tlie work upon it is very beautiful. The same cause which stopped the building of the abbey itself prevented the completion of this chapel by its founder. It was furthermore very much cut about in the succeeding centuries and its exquisite decorations buried beneath successive coats of whitewash. In 1833 it was rescued from this state of neglect and repaired by public subscription, and when the abbey was restored the Kemble family caused the unfinished carvings to be completed witli so much skill and fidelity that it is difficult to distinguish the old work from the new. The abbey was a favourite place of interment when Bath was filled with fashionable visitors in the last century, and interments were crowded into it to an extent which would not now be tolerated. At the same time large monu- mental tablets were allowed to bo plastered over the pillars of the nave and choii' and to disfigin-e the building in all directions. It was this which suggested tlie well-known couplet — " These walls, so full of monument and bust, Show how Bath waters serve to lay the dust." They are now, however, neatly arranged beneath the string-course on the walls of the building, none having been destroyed in tlie process. There are two monuments by Flaxman, two by Chantrey, and one by Nollekens to be seen here. Jane Lady Waller, wife of the gallant connnander who held Bath for the Parliament and fought the battles of Lansdown and Roundway down, has a large tomb in the south transept, with effigies of herself and family. James Quin, the actor, whose praise of Bath as an abiding place for the evening of one's days is well known, has a monument with a good medallion portrait, and a very feeling inscription by Garrick. Beau Nash, the famous King of Bath, who ended his days in poverty and was buried at the expense of the Corporation, also rests here ; and so does Rauzzini, the musician, the teacher of Braham, Incledon, and Storace ; Dr. PTaweis, the founder of the London Missionary Society ; Dr. Sibthorp, the botanist ; Dr. Caleb Ilillier Parr}^, a well-known man of science in his day, and father of tlie Arctic explorer; WilHam Melmoth, the translator of Cicero and Pliny; and Dr. Archibald Maclaine, the translator of ]\rosheim's "Ecclesiastical History;" Lady IMiller, whose poetical anmsements at Batheaston Villa acquired more than a local fame ; Sarah Fielding, the sister of the author of "Tom Jones," and herself a novelist; and Parson Malthus, the author of the " Essay on Population." Sir William Draper is not remembered for any of the 166 CATHEDRAL CHUECEE8. [Bath. virtues set fortli in liis pompous Latin c])itapli, but as the subject of the scatliing satire of Junius. Jolni Pahner, M.V. for the city in two Parliaments, estabhshed at Bath the first Theatre Royal out of London; he also j^rojected a reform of the mail service, which, notwithstanding jealousy and obstruction, quadrupled the revenue of the Post Office between 1783 and 1798. A grateful nation, however, never paid him the remuneration agreed upon. He and Ralph Allen, also a Bath man, were the two inventive minds to whom the postal service was most indebted before the time of Rowland Hill. Christopher Anstey, the Bath poet, is not buried in Bath Abbey, but there is a tablet to his memory here, as in Westminster Abbey. Physicians not a few have also mouldered into dust within these walls, which will, indeed, afford a more than usually interesting meditation "among the tombs." Harold Lewis. CO o w Eh o CO WELLS. Wells is said to bo the smallest city in Eii<^land, and the reason is not far to seek. It has no history of its own apart from its ecclesiastical institutions; it has no natural advantages as a place of trade; it has never been a seat of manufactures, and has never had a great and powerful family living in its neighl)ourliood. Ajiart from what nuiy be said on utilitarian grounds as to the projDer place for the centre and origin of the church life of a large diocese, it must be agreed that this sleepy hollow on the south side of the Mendips is a delightful and appropriate home for the calm and uneventful life of a cajiitular body. On the north side of Wells rise the Mendip Hills, detached outliers of which enclose it as in a basin; on the south, indicating the direction of the "island valley of Avilion," is to be seen the clearly-defined outline of Glastonbury Tor, crowned with the tower of its ancient Church of St. Michael, once an important landmark for miles around. What we know of the beginning of the city is that about the year 704 King Ina established a college of secular canons by the great natural wells, which may perhajDS have acquired an odour of sanctity in pagan times. These wells are still to be seen in the l)oautiful gardens of the bishop's palace, and feed the moat which surrounds it. Bishop Beckington (144;3 — 1464), who built the three gateways to the close, also granted the citizens the right to supply a conduit in High Street from the wells by a tM'elve-inch pipe, and therefrom streams of water rijiple down each side of the roadway of the principal street of the city, with an effect as pretty as it is uinisual. The see of Wells was founded in 909, and Athelm Avas the first bishop. John de Villula trans- ferred his seat to Bath about 1092. In 1139 it was decreed tliat the title should be Bishop of Bath and Wells ; but Savaric, having obtained from llichard I. the rich Abbey of Glastonbury, which was believed throughout the Middle Ages to occupy the site of the earliest Christian chm-ch in Great Britain, transferred his seat thither^ and assumed the title of Bishojj of Bath and Glastonbury. But in 1218 the monks of Glastonbury obtained their release from a subjection which was very offensive to them, and the prelates have ever since been Bishops of Bath and Wells. Of their number have been Cardinal Wolsey, Avho held this see in commcndani from 1518 to 1523, when he resigned it to accept the rich bishopric of Durham, being all the while Archbishop of York; and William Laud, who was appointed in 1626, being also Dean of Gloucester, but he was transferred to London in 1628. The most illustrious Bishop 168 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Wells. of Bath and Wells, however, was Thomas Ken, a descendant of a very old Somer- setshire family, born at Berkhampstead in 1G37. lie was a Wykehamist, proceed- ing from Winchester to New College, Oxford, in 1G57. He accompanied Mary, Princess of Orange, to Holland as chaplain, and was also chaplain to the king. His refusal to allow Nell Gwynne to lodge in his prebendal house at Winchester is said to have induced Charles II. to give him this bishopric, to which he was consecrated in January, 1G85. At any rate, Macaulay says of the king, "Of all prelates, he liked Ken the best;" and on the monarch's death-bed Ken was sent for, after the Archbishop of Canterbury had failed to ^Jersuade him to prepare for the end; but it was of no use, though the good bishop's " solemn and pathetic exhortation awed and melted the bystanders." Ken's stainless character won the respect of all his contemporaries, and in his diocese he was in very truth the pastor of his flock. Though Monmouth's men had strij^ped the lead from the cathedral to make their bullets, and had been guilty of more wanton and inexcusable sacrilege, yet when the Rebellion had failed, and the gaols of Dorset and Somerset were crowded with captives, the best friend of the prisoners was Bishop Ken, who impoverished himself in ministering to their needs, and pleaded eloquently, though in vain, for the king's mercy after the Bloody Assize. Ken was one of the seven bishops prosecuted by James II. for refusing to read the Declaration of Indulgence, and bore himself with the utmost dignity throughout that trying period. His peculiar views, however, made him after the Revolution one of the nonjurors, but he abandoned his palace quietly, and counselled passive submission to the rest of his party. He found an asylum Avith Viscount Weymouth in the noble mansion of Longleat, where he died on March lOtli, 1711, and was buried beneath the east Avindow of the parish church of Frome. His years of retirement Avere happily spent in study and in writing hymns. His sermons are now read oidy by the student, but his morning and evening liynms are Avell known. His successor, Richard Kidder, Avas, strange to say, killed with his wife in bed in his palace at Wells by the fall of a stack of chimneys during the great storm of November, 1703. Every side from Avliich the city is approached affords a picturesque vicAv of the cathedral. Fergusson says of it: " Though one of the smallest, it is perhaps, taken altogether, the most beautiful of English cathedrals. Externally its three well- proportioned toAvers group so gracefully Avitli the chapter-house, the remains of the vicar's close, the ruins of the bishop's palace, and the tall trees Avitli Avliich it is surrounded, that there is no instance so characteristic of English art, nor an effect so pleasing produced Avith the same dimensions." The present building dates from the time of I^ishop Joceline of Wells (1206 — 1242), Avho pulled doAvn all the previous building from the Avcst end to the middle of the choir, and rebuilt it, dedicating the building ancAV to St. Andrew in October, 1239. The present nave, tln-ee bays of the choir, the transept, and the central toAver as high as the roof, are generally Wells.] VARIOUS ARCHITECTS. 169 attributed to this bishop, though there are some indications of an interruption of the work and modi- fication of the original design. The work at Wells cannot be exactly compared with the Early English to be seen at Lincoln, Ely, and Salis- bury, because there was evidently a local school of masons here, who continued to work in their own style — which more resembles Norman design, with considerable ornament and having mouldings of special richness — long after the new ideas had been introduced into England. This receives special illustration in the very beautiful nortli or Galilee porch. The building was completed during the Decorated period, the crypt of the chapter-house being assigned to the time of Bishop Bur- nell (1274—1292), and the chapter- house itself to Bislioj) William de la March (1293—1302). The cen- tral tower was finished in 1321, but had to be supported with buttressing arches in 1338. The Lady Chapel was finished before 1326, and the completion of the choir is attributed to Bishops Drokensford and Shrewsbury (1320 — 1340). Of the two western towers, that on the north was carried up by Bishop Harewell (1366 — 1386), and that on the south by the executors of Bishop Bubwith (1407 — 1424). They also built part of the cloisters, which were finished by Bisliop Beckington and his executors, and are therefore Perpendicular in style. We may add here that the total external length of the cathedral is 388 feet; tlie licight of the nave, transept, and choir is 67 feet, and of the central tower 165 feet. Though there is not here such a perfect close as that in which Salisbury Cathedral stands, yet tliere is, fortunately, a broad expanse of turf on the west side of the cathedral, so that the grand and imposing effect of the marvellous west front can be fully studied and enjoyed. The wall space, as well as the six project- ing buttresses which divide it into five compartments, is covered Avith statuary as 22 THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST. 170 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Wells. witli a screen. The figures stand tier above tier, resting npon pedestals, and are sunnoiinted by elegant canopies, supported by shafts of Kilkenny marble. Instead of a great west window there arc three lancet-headed lights, and the piers between these are also covered with sculpture. This magnificent work has evoked the enthu- siastic admiration of Flaxman and Stothard, and indeed of all who have seen it. There is nothing like it in England, and Fergusson declares that it can only be compared with Chartres or Rlieims. Between 1869 and 1876 the chapter spent upwards of £13,000 in levelling the green and in restoring the west front ; all the canopies and shafts were then made good, but the figures were wisely left alone ; but advantage was taken of the opportunity to })hotograph them. Much ingenuity has been bestowed ujDon the task of identifying them, and a very elaborate explanation has been given, but it rests upon no satisfactory foundation, nor does there appear to have been a recorded list of the statues. The modern visitor will probably prefer to the vain labour of endeavouring to name such a list of figures the contemplation of the beautiful effect of the whole work, tinted as it now is by ago with a most soft and delicate grey, and to wonder at the skill of the unknown genius which planned out such a masterpiece of art many centuries ago. The nave consists of ten bays, divided by octagonal j)iers, with clustered shafts in groups of three. The enrichment of the capitals approximates to Norman in character, and illustrates the influence of the local school. Various curious monsters are placed among the foliage. The triforium extends backwards over the whole width of the side aisles ; the solid tympanum which fills each of its lancet-headed openings to the nave is grotesquely carved. The roof has not been altered, though Perpendicular tracery has been inserted in the clerestory and aisle windows. The ribbed vaulting rises from triple shafts which are supported on corbels ; the coloured scroll ornamenting it is a restoration from traces discovered when the whitewash was removed. In the central bay on the south side is the music gallery in throe panels, of Early Perpendicular character. In the fifth bay from the west are two corbel heads of a king and a falling child, and of a bishop with a woman and children. Many fanciful stories have been told about them, but they probably formed su})ports for a small organ. Under the western towers were two cha})els: that on the north was the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the first station in processions ; it is now the Consistorial Court. In the nave are two very beautiful chantry chapels. That on the north side is to Bishop Bubwith, who died in 1421. The screen-work and cornices are very beau- tiful and graceful Per})endicular work. That on the south side is Dean Sugar's, who died in 1489 ; it is very similar in style, with differences which show its later date. Close by is a sixteenth-century stone pul})it, the gift of Bishop Knight. T'lie inverted arches which help to sui)port the tower — forming appropriately Wells] THE TRANSEPTS AND CHOIR. 171 enougli a St. Andrew's cross — arc a curious and inj^enious device to clicck tlie settling of tlio massive superstructure; but thougli the}- are interesting on this ground, it cannot be said tliat they add to tlie elegance of the building. It is upon record that a convocation was hastily called in 1338 to consider the serious settlement of the tower, and that this and auxiliary measures — such as blocking up some of the triforium arches to give a lateral thrust — were then resolved upon. The vaulting of the tower is decorated with fan tracery. The transepts are Early English in style, like the nave, though not of precisely the same date. The carving of the capitals is worthy of note ; those on the eastern side are of much later date, than those on the west, with which much that is grotesque is mingled. In the south transept, for example, is shown a man in the agony of toothache ; another extracting a thorn from his foot ; while on the capital of another pier a theft and its consequences are depicted in four scenes. All these sculptures are done with vigour and a keen sense of humour. In the south transept is the late Norman font and the remains of the fine shrine of Bishop Beckington, besides monuments to other cathedral dignitaries. In the north transept is a curious old clock, constructed by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of Glastonbury, in 1325. It has been renewed and repaired until little of the original remains. But it still boasts four figures who dash round in opposite directions, as if at a tourna- ment, when the hours strike, together with some other quaint mechanical movements. Passing under the Decorated screen supporting the organ into the choir, the visitor sees before him a vista which is one of the most admired features of the cathedral. The first three bays are Early English, those beyond are Decorated work, to which period belong the whole of the clerestory and the rich and beautiful tabernacle work which takes the place of the triforium. The triple shafts of Purbeck marble and the brackets encircled with foliage are very beautiful. The handsome Perpendicular stalls Avere unfortunately removed between 1848 and 1851, and replaced by forty-one stalls of Doulting stone ; the misericords have happily been preserved. The canopied throne is ascribed to Bishop Beckington, but is probably earlier than his time. The east end consists of three arches, resting upon very slender and graceful shafts ; above is some very rich tabernacle work, in harmony with the rest of the choir, and then an east window of seven cinquefoil lights, the arrangement of the tracery being unusual. The glazing represents the tree of Jesse, and is of the Decorated period. The unique feature of the choir is, however, the effect of the low diapered reredos, which conceals only the floor and lower parts of the more easterly portions of the church, and reveals the light and graceful clustered shafts of the retro-choir and the beautiful Decorated windows of the polygonal Lady Chapel. The present reredos is entirely modern, but that it is in harmony with the original design is clearly shown by the arrangement of the shafts 172 CA TIIEDRA L ClI UECHES. [Wells. in the retro-choir, wliich arc ])laced out of line with those at the east end of the choir, thus giving a dehglitful maze-like appearance to the eye, suggested perhaps bv that of the tree-trunks in a forest glade, through which the sun sometimes shines, just as it beams through the stained glass of the magnificent windows of the Lady Chapel and lights up this scene with curious patches of reflected colour. In the north aisle of the choir is the tomb of Bishop William Button (1267 — 127-t), generally called Bishop Button II., as he was nephew of William Button who filled the see from 1248 to 1267. They took their name from a village close to Bath, now called Bitton. His THE CATHF.nRAL. fROM THE SWAN TOOL. tomb is a coffin-shaped slab, with an incised episcopal figure, and is remarkable as almost the earliest example of an incised slab in Em^ope. It was once still more remarkable as a place of pilgrimage for those who suffered from toothache, it being believed until long after the Reformation that the sanctity in which the bishop had died was so great that a visit to his tomb was enough to drive away the malady. In the same transept is the tomb of Bishop Beckington, whose benefactions to the city have already been referred to ; they were recognised by the mayor and corporation by an annual visit to his chantry to pray for the repose of his soul. The chantry has been removed by modern iconoclasts because it projected into the choir, but the tomb remains, and is of a type which was somewhat favoured in those days. On an upper stage is an effigy of the bishop in all the splendour of his episcopal robes ; on a lower a grimly realistic depiction of his corpse in its winding sheet. The tomb of Wells.] CHAPTER-HOUSE AND CLOISTERS. 173 Bishop Drokensford is very fairly carved, and lias a lofty and beautiful canopy. There are several effigies also which have been identified by name with certain of the early bishops, but no reliance is to be placed ujDon the precise accui-acy of the results. The Lady Chapel is, strictly speaking, an octagon deprived of three of its sides by its forming part of the cathedral. Each of the five sides that are left contains a large Decorated window, with glazing of the same period. From the eastern aisle of the north transept a fine staircase leads to the chapter- house. The staircase is lighted by two fine Decorated windows on the west side, and the effect of these, with the double arches at the entrance to the chapter-house on the other side of the stair, and the way over the chain-bridge (a covered way from the vicar's close to the church) between, is most picturesque as one looks up the stairs. The chapter-house itself is octagonal ; it has a central pier, with sixteen clustered shafts, from which the ribs of the vaulting radiate. The corrcsjDonding ribs sj^ring from shafts which are placed at the angles of the walls, between the large Decorated windows, each of which fills a face of the octagon. This chapter- house is one of the glories of Wells Cathedral. The ball-flower ornament is used very freely in its decoration, and the same fancy for grotesque heads at the head of the columns will be found here as in other parts of the building. Beneath the windows runs an arcade with Purbeck shafts and enriched canopies. The cloisters are on the south side of the cathedral, and are of unusual area, but have only tlu'ee sides instead of four. The canons of Wells did not need a cloister in the same sense as monks, and this is merely an ornamental walk, en- closing the burial-ground for the liberty of St. Andrew. It leads, however, to the bishop's palace, which was fortified by Bishops Ralph and Shrewsbury sufficiently to stand a severe siege; The great hall of Bishop Burn ell (1274 — 1292) was the largest episcopal hall in England, but it was allowed to fall into ruins in the last century. Harold Lewis. ;%^L PETERBOROUGH. The city of Peterborough has grown up round the abbey. Until the changes of this century, which within thirty years have in- creased the popuLation threefold, it was essentially an ecclesias- tical borough. The fortunes of the people varied with those of the church. From the time when the little fen village of ]\Iedes- hamstead saw the first establishment of a monastic body, to the prosperous and wealthy foundation of Burgh Saint Peter, and thence to its state of diminished wealth but perhaps increased dignity as the city of Peterborough, the church and town have been inseparably connected. The abbey called the town into existence. The present cathedral is the third minster that has been erected on the same spot. The first was built in the seventh century, founded by a king of the Mercians, Peada, who died before the work was completed. This was entirely destroyed by the Danes in the year 870, in the time of the seventh abbot, Hedda, who was killed in the attack, together with the whole of his monks. It was a century before any attempt was made to remedy this disaster. In the year 971 King Edgar, moved by the story of the desolation of the place — instead of a monastery there being "nothing but old walls and wild woods" — commenced the building of the second church ; and when it was completed came to see it with the Archbishops Dunstan and Oswald, and a great company of nobles. This building suffered much in another Danish attack in the middle of the eleventh century, but it was by an accident, in-lllC, that it was finally destroyed by fire. A quaint legend, recorded by one of the chroniclers, attributes the calamity to an intemperate invocation by the abbot, who was in a choleric mood because the bakehouse fire would not burn and his meal was delayed. The building we now see was commenced within a couple of years of this time. The work proceeded, as was usual, from east to west, and took in all nearly one hundred and twenty years to complete, being consecrated by the Bisliops of Lincoln and Exeter in 12''i7. The choir was ready for divine service in 1143, in which year the convent is said to have entered into their new church. At times the work proceeded Avith good speed, and each year saw some considerable addition ; at other times it languished, for ten or more years together, from want of enterprise or lack of funds. But it is seldom that we can trace so completely rETERBououGii.] A GREAT NORMAN CHURCH. 175 and precisely the gradual advance of the work as we can licre. The original fabric remains, Avith additions, but with no great alterations. At the time of the consecration, much that we now see had not been erected. The bell tower, the western spires, the new building at the east end (often erroneously called the Lady Chapel), and the lantern tower which has been recently reconstructed, have all been added since. With the single exception of Norwich, it will be generally conceded tliat in Peterborough Cathedral we find the grandest and most complete Norman church left in England. It is true that the original Norman tower has perished, removed (it is believed) in alarm at the fate of the massive Ely tower in 1321; and that the windows in the nave aisles have been enlarged, and in other parts of the church altered by the insertion of late tracery ; but it retains its Norman choir and apse, a remarkable series of monumental effigies of early abbots, and wooden Norman ceilings to the nave and transepts, which are unique. The grand western transept and Galilee porch were an after-thought. Originally the building was meant to terminate with two towers, at a distance of three bays east of the present front. Evidences of this are still to be seen in the increased size of the nave piers, which were constructed to support these towers; in the greater thickness of the aisle walls at the same place ; and in other indica- tions easily to be detected by close inspection. It is probable, but not established, that these towers were actually erected. One of the main charms of the interior is to be found in the continuity of style which prevails. As the erection of the nave proceeded, the fashion in architecture was changing. The sturdy mass of the Norman pier was giving way to a pillar of lighter and more elegant construction, and the pointed was beginning to supplant the round arch ; but happily the nave here was finished in the same style as that in which it was begun, notwithstanding this change of fashion; although in many of the details, such as the bases of the piers towards the west, and the heads in the arcades of the aisle walls, the influence of the later style has made itself f^lt. In the western transept itself are some glorious examples of the transition period, large pointed arches being covered with the characteristic mouldings of the Norman style. The finest feature of the cathedral is its west front. This has been described by no mean authoiity as " the grandest portico in Europe." The date of its erection has not been recorded ; but as it is in the best style of Early English architecture, it may be assumed to liave been completed a few years only before the solemn dedication of the whole church, already mentioned, in 1237. A south-west tower has never been built, and it is much to be doubted if the general effect of the western facade would be im})roved Ijy the addition of a second tower. Of the spires, that to the south is by far the more beautiful. It is of early fourteenth-century work, and some feet more lofty 176 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Peterborough. than its fellow, which was erected some eighty or one hundred years later. The graceful combination of pinnacles and spire lights at the foot of the south-west spire is, as a work of art, the most beautiful thing to be seen in Peterborough. But glorious as is this western front, it has some blemishes, detected at once by the artistic eye. The central gable is a true one, being the termination of the nave roof ; but the side ones are to a certain extent a deception, for they have only smaller roofs built on purpose for the gables. And the insecurity of the THE WEST FRONT. whole, built without any buttress on the west, is manifest. This has been in part remedied by the erection of an inner porch with a room above (now the library), which clearly improves the stability of the central arch. This arch is narrower tlian the others, l)ut the gables above have been ingeniously made of the same angle. Of the thirty figures in the niches, some are of Saxon character, and were carved before any of the stones of the building that we now see were in their present places. Two more figures of the same style are built into the wail of the south transe})t. The whole of the west front is in a dangerous rETEUBOUOVOH.] THE WEST FRONT 177 state. For the last quarter of a century hardly a year has passed without some warning having been given of its insecurity. At one time a piece of a pinnacle has fallen; at another a projecting ornament; at another one of the shafts. A few only of the old marble shafts remain in position ; some are wholly gone, some have been replaced by stone shafts from a quarry in the neighbourhood, some by shafts of wood. The northern arch in particular, as can be seen from below, is in a very precarious condition. The precincts are most picturesque. The old Norman gateway at the entrance THE CHOIK. of the close, encased with Perpendicular work ; the late Decorated chancel of the chapel of Saint Thomas a Becket, who was held here in high esteem, many relics, such as paving-stones from the spot where he fell, parts of his dress, and drops of his blood, having been brought hither from Canterbury by Benedict, a monk of Christ Church at the time of the nmrder, afterwards abbot here; the grand early gateway of the abbot's lodge ; the enriched entrance to the prior's quarters ; and the remains of some thirteenth-century buildings on the south — all ranged round the ample close, give a result not attained elsewhere in England. Passing round the south of the minster we come to the laurel court, where can 178 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [PETEUBouoicn. be traced remains of two different sets of cloisters, of tlie lavatory, and of a wall of older date than the present church ; and so pass on to the nuns of the infirmary, which has arches and arcading- of great beauty. What is left of the refectory is now in the private grounds of the bishop. The cloisters themselves have disappeared, as well as the chapter-house and the Lady Chapel. This last formerly stood eastwards from the north transept, where its exact position can be clearly seen. Of tlic six effigies of abbots, which form so interesting a series, one only can with certainty be identified. In 1880 some remains were discovered in a stone coffin beneath one of these effigies, and a small piece of lead was found on which were the words "Abbas Alexan." Alexander of Holderness died in 1226. The figure of this abbot has now been j)laced on a stone plinth, in its original jiosition, under the second bay of the north choir aisle. The latest in date is doubtless that which has suffered most in appearance, owing to its soft and perishable material, while the more ancient ones, being of Purbeck or some other very hard marble, have their mouldings and ornaments, and mostly their features, as clear as ever. One monument, now preserved in the new building, formerly in the churchyard, is of very great interest and importance. It is a coped stone, about three feet long by one foot thick, and between two and three feet in height. By tradition, as well as by description in the annals of the abbey, this stone was erected as a memorial of Abbot Hedda and the monks killed by the Danes in 870. This date is indeed on the stone, but it has been added at a later time. On each side are carved six figures in monastic dress ; but one has the cruciform nimbus of the Saviour. The rude ornamentation of the sloping sides of the head is the Avork of a time some years before the Conquest, though we may hesitate to assign to the stone so early a date as the nintli century. The new building, where tliis monument is now jireserved, is at the extreme. east end of the cathedral, and is the latest of the abbey works, being completed only at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It has some fine, rich Avork, and a stone roof of beautiful fan tracery. Two Archbishops of York, both of wlioni had been monks of the house, Elfricus and Kinsius, are interred here, but without monuments. Kinsivis had been chaplain to Edward tlie Confessor. Of ancient inscripti(ms the church has singularly few. Those that escaped the fury of the Civil War in the seventeenth century fell victims to an indiscriminate zeal for repaving in the eighteenth. Fragments of five or six pre-Reformation inscri})tions at most can now be seen, and of these the only perfect ones have been laid bare in the recent work. The abbots were many of them men of influence in the councils of the nation, a race of statesmen and warriors. Four became archbishops or bishops ; Leofricus was with the army of Harold at Seidac ; Robert of Lindesay, or perhaps a suc- cessor, assisted Henry III. at the siege of Rockingham Castle; Robert of Sutton rFTFHBonouGii.j ROTAL riSTTORS. ' 179 appeared in arms at Nortliampton and elsewhere against the same monarcli, and was alternately laid mider contribution by the king, for his, opposition, and by the barons, for granting money to the king. One abbot, Adulphus, had been chancellor to King Edgar; another, John de Caleto, was chief justice, and went on circuit ; Leofricus was of near kin to the queen of Edward the Confessor ; Brando was uncle to Hereward. On not a few occasions has the soverei^'n been entertained by the abbey at great cost. Stephen came to see the most precious relic of the house, the famous arm of the sainted King Oswald. Henry III. twice visited the abbey, once with his queen and Prince Edward ; and this monarch accepted a present of sixty marks towards the marriage of his daughter with the King of Scotland. In 1273 Edward, now king, paid a second visit to the abbot; in 1302, with his queen, a third; and later on a fourth. The abbot con- triljuted largely towards his expenses in Scotland. Prince Edward, afterwards Edward II., bringing Gaveston with him, was once entertained here. On New Year's Day, 1327, Philippa of Hainault stayed at Peterborough, on her way to be married at York. Twice did Abbot Adam de Boothby receive Edward III. and Philippa ; and once the Black Prince and his two sisters stopped eight w^eeks at the monastery. In 1528 Cardinal Wolsey kept his ]\Ianndy at Peterborough, celebrating high mass on Easter Day. Fourteen bishops lie buried within the church or in .the churchyard. No elaborate monument has been erected to any one of them ; and a stone on the floor, or a tablet on the wall, with sometimes a coat of arms, and the preferments of the deceased prelate, alone commemorates him. A very comely monument, with an effigy, was erected to the memory of Bishop Dove ; but this was destroyed in lGf:3. Among others here interred are the bodies of Richard Cumberland, the philosojihical writer ; White Kennett, the indefatig- able antiquary ; John Hinchcliffe, master of Trinity College, Cambridge ; Spencer Madan, the poet Cowper's first cousin ; Herbert ]\Iarsh, author of many con- troversial works. Two of the bishops, William Lloyd, afterwards of Norwich, and Thomas White, w^ere deprived of their sees as nonjurors. Of the deans, thirteen were advanced to the episcojoal dignity, including John Cosin, of Durham ; Edward Rainbow, of Carlisle ; Simon Patrick, of Chichester and Ely ; Richard Kidder, of Bath and Wells ; Charles Manners Sutton, of Canterbury ; James Henry ]\Ionk, of Gloucester ; Thomas Turton, of Ely. James Duport, professor of Greek at Cambridge, and Thomas Nevill, master of Trinity, were also deans hero. John Williams, the famous Bisho^i of Lincoln ; John Pocklington, the author of " Sunday no Sabbath," persecuted by the Parliament and deprived of his preferments ; John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, are among the more celebrated of the prebendaries. On the west wall of the cathedral hangs a very quaint portrait, with some verses painted on the wall beneath. This is a copy of a picture of Richard 180 CATHEDRAL CllURCEES. [Peterborough. Scarlett, sexton, who died in 1594, at tlio age of iiinety-eiglit. In the verses we read: — " He had interd two queenes witliin this place, And tliis towncs houseliolders in liis lives space Twice over." The two queens were Catharine of Arragon, the first wife of Henry VIII., and Mary of Scots, his sister's grand-daughter. Tlie former was interred in the north THE NORTH TRANSEPT. choir aisle in 15.']G ; the latter in the corresponding position in the south choir aisle in 1587. At one time handsome hearses wore over both these tombs. An account has been preserved of a so-called miracle wrought at the hearse of Queen Catharine ; and, curiously enough, the Westminster tomb of ]\Iary of Scots has been made the scene of miracles. For the divorced wife of Henry VIII. a simple table monument was erected. Some persons who defaced it were imprisoned initil tlie damage was made good. There is no need to reject the familiar story that the minster itself is her noblest monument, being spared, when others were sacrificed, because it had l^ccomc her burial-place. The actual Petehhououoh.] THE GRAVES OF TWO QUEENS. 181 monument was repaired at liis own cost by one of tlie prebendaries, Jolni Taylor, who held a stall from 1G85 to 1726. It is said that he cut the inscription with his own hand. All lias now been wholly removed, and there is left a plain body stone in the floor, with a small broken brass plate, a few inclies long, which when perfect bore the simple words, " Queen Catherine, a.d. m.d.xxx.vi." It is not a little singular that her daughter designed the removal of her body, though the intention was never carried out. Queen Mary of England in her THE CHOIR, LOOKING WEST. will directed "that the body of the vertuous Lady and my most Dere and well- beloved Mother of happy memory, Quene Kateryn, which lyeth now buried at Peterborowh," should be removed and laid near the spot where she herself was to be buried. Tlie body of the other queen was removed to Westminster in 1613, by order of her son, James I. A very stately funeral was celebrated for Queen Mary of Scots. An epitaph, expressed in very strong language, was also inscribed on a tablet, and placed near the vault ; but this was soon taken down. The remains of the hearse and funeral achievements were destroyed in 1643, though the adjacent piers still show where the canopy must have been. A photograph of the king's letter, directing the removal of his mother's body, is hung in a frame close to the spot. 182 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [rFTERT^oRoroH. Tlio same year tliat witnessed tlie wanton destruction of tliese royal memo- rials saw also much more irreparable loss. The soldiers of the Civil War spared little. The ancient records of the chm-ch, with very few exceptions, were burnt; the elaborate altar-screen laid low ; the painted roof of the choir defaced ; the tombs and monuments and brasses nearly all demolished ; the stained-glass windows broken ; and the cloisters, which had an unrivalled scries of such windows, completely wrecked. Through the influence of Oliver Saint John the building was not sold or demolished, but was assigned to tlie townspeople for a workshop as well as for worship. It was with difficulty, after the recent mischief, that the inhabitants made the needful repairs. The Lad}" Chapel was taken down to supply materials for this purpose. One sad memory of this desolation is yet to be seen. At the south of the apse, in the new building, are the remains of a handsome monument, erected by Sir Humphry Orme, as was not unusual in those days, to commemorate himself and his family. He lived to see it de- stroj^ed. And it can still be seen as it was left after mutilation by the axes and hammers of the soldiery. Near this is the solitary instance of a monument of any size and pretension ; it has a life-size figure in marble of Thomas Deacon, a great benefactor to the toAvn, who died in 1721. The two central windows of the apse contain some of the old glass collected from different j^arts of the church; but it is in detached fragments only, and has no coherence. From the pieces of text it may be observed that much of it came from windows repre- senting scenes from the life of the' patron saint. About sixty years ago the lately removed fittings of the choir were erected, as well as a stone organ-screen. The original rood-screen was at the third pier of the nave. In the year 1882 the condition of the lantern tower was found to be most perilous. One of the great piers, that to the south-east, had been bound up with iron and other supports for nearly three hundred years. A careful examination made it apparent that no repairs would be of any avail, and that the whole must be removed and rebuilt. This has now been done ; except that the corner pinnacles, erected by Dean Kipling at the beginning of the present century, have not been replaced. In process of removal many stones were found which had formed part of the original Norman tower, as well as several of Roman and Saxon workmanship. The most interesting discovery has been the site of the early Saxon church. It was cruciform, its chancel being situated where the south transept of the present cathedral has been built ; but its nave was wholly without the existing building. A crypt has been constructed, so that what remains of tliis early church may be always open to inspection. W. D. Sweeting. CHESTER. The present Cathedral of Chester was not the earliest episcopal church of the diocese wliich now bears this name. If we turn to the periods which immediately preceded and followed the Norman Conquest we find Chester, Lichfield, and Coventry co-ordinated as sister cathedral cities, the bishop's title being- taken indifferently from any one of them. This is the reason Avhy three mitres appear ^^^ in the arms of the see of Chester. The kingdom of IMercia was then one vast diocese, which extended far over the north-west of England, including even part of Wales, and reaching to the edge of the territory of the Bishops of Durham. It is the more imjiortant to name this historical fact, because then the Chester Cathech'al of this unwieldy diocese was the fine Norman Church of St. John the Baptist, where a great calamity, in the fall of a magnificent tower, has recently deprived tlie city of Chester of one of its most dignified and characteristic features. The history of this diocese has been, to a most remarkable degree, a history of successive subdivisions. The first important change of tliis kind was the creation by King Henry VIII. of a separate see of Chester, the abbey church of the great Benedictine house of St. Werburgh being assigned as the cathedral church to the now diocese, which was made part of the Northern Province. This new diocese, however, though separated off from Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire, was still enormous ; for besides Cheshire it included the whole of Lancashire and Westmoreland, with parts of Denbighshire, Flintshire, and parts of Cumberland and Yorkshire. Recent changes, indeed, of the most imperative and advantageous kind have been made. It svas over tins vast area, however, that even Bishop Blomfield was the ecclesiastical ruler ; and it must be remembered that we arc thinking here not merely of a large extent of country, but of a population rapidly growing and full of energy. The first of the recent subdivisions was the result of the creation of the see of IJipon in 1836, the second resulted from that of the see of Manchester in 1847, the third from that of the see of Liverpool in 1880. Now the diocese is simply coincident with the county of Chester, which has a proud and well-defined history of its own. It is evident that the building of Chester Cathedral is to bo distinguished from its cathedral-history. We must take as om* starting-point for architectural 184 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chester. description the erection of the Benedictine abbey church. In two respects tliis erection has a distinguished origin. The foundation of tlic house was due to the great feudal lord, Hugh Lupus, a kinsman of William I., who was planted here after the Conquest; and at the head of the Benedictine monks, who came for this purpose from Bee in Normandy, was Anselm, who was made Archbishop of Canter- bury on his return from Chester. From this time onward the structural changes in this chm"ch followed the same course as in other great churches of the country. Each period of architecture can be traced here from about 1100 to about 1500. If we begin now with the church of the time of King Henry I., its Norman ClltbTDK, I'ULM THE WALLS. architecture is not, indeed, at first sight very obtrusive ; yet, when closely examined, it is quite sufficient to lead us to some important conclusions, and these conclusions have been largely aided by discoveries made during the work of recent restoration. The Norman arches on the exterior of the northern wall of the nave, and the unfinished Norman tower (destined now for a baptistery, for which the preparations are already in progress), show that the length of the nave during the time of the early Plantagenet kings was the same as at present. The size and the form of the small north transept remain as they were at this period. It has been ascertained that the piers of the choir were then, in their massive rotundit}^, like the piers of St. John's Church. The lines of curvature of the apsidal terminations on the east have been discovered, and special mention must be made of the recently disinterred and restored Norman crypt, which is on the west side of the cloister, and is now one of the best surviving specimens of Norman architecture in this part of England. Chester.] RESTOIiA TIONS. 185 The reign of King- Edward I. may Lc taken as our next historical landmark for architectural description. Before his visit to Chester the Lady Chapel was built on the east of the choir; and the architects whom he aided were probably engaged upon the choir and its aisles at the time when he was here. As to the former portion of the cathedral buildings, great ingenuity was shown by Sir Gilbert Scott in discovering the correct form of the buttresses, whereby he was enabled at this place THE CHUIU, I.OOKI.NO WEST. to effect a forcible and truthful restoration. As regards the latter, the attention of all who walk on that part of the city wall, which is on the east of the cathedral, must be arrested by a singular cone at the eastern extremity of the south aisle of the choir. This also is a recovery of the past, and it is the result of a shrewd observation of facts by Mr. Frater, who was clerk of the works from 1868 to 1876. The evidence on which the rebuilding of this cone is justified was quite certain. There seems no doubt that it was the result of some fancy of a monk or architect from Normandy; and at Norrey, near Caen, may l)e seen a structural peculiarity of exactly the same kind. In each of these instances the obliteration of ancient features, the happy recovery of which has now been found possible, was chiefly due to the •li 186 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Chester. prolongation of the aisles of the choir in a late period of bad architecture. The south aisle is now arrested at its original point. The cliange observed in the vaulting of the north aisle tells its own story. To the Early Pointed style succeeded in due order that which is termed the Decorated; and good specimens are found of each of its subdivisions in the geometrical tracery of some windows and tlie flowing tracery of others. The former are in the south aisle and in the clerestory of the choir, the latter in the south aisle of the nave and in the east aisle of the south transept. The general impression, however, produced on the eye by these two conspicuous parts of the cathedral is that of the commanding presence of the latest or Perjjendicular style of Gothic architecture. This arises from the large clerestory windows of that date. Those of the nave belong pro- bably to the reign of Henry VII. Those of the transept are earlier in date and l3etter in form. It ought to be added that the great central tower and the exquisite woodwork of the choir belong to the earliest and best part of the Per- pendicular period. The upper portion of the north transept, recently restored, is of the same general date. The great south transept is so remark- able, both historically and architecturally, that it deserves, and indeed requires, a separate mention. In size it is as large as the choir and nearly as large as the nave. This circumstance constitutes it the most singular feature of Chester Cathedral ; and it attracts attention the more because of its contrast with the diminutive size of the north transept. This anomaly, if we may so call it, probably arose in this way, that the Benedictine monks, unable to extend their church to the north, because the conventual buildings were there, pushed it forward to the south, so as to absorb the parish church of St. Oswald. In the end the parishioners recoiled successfully upon the monks, and ol)tained permission to hold their services within the aljbcy church on the old ground. The mouldings of the late doorway inserted in one of the windows on the south of the transept combine with other evidence to attest this fact. The parochial rights within the cathedral continued till the close of 1880; and thus St. Oswald's name is still connected with tiiis part of it ; and it is to be hoped that this association with the good missionary King of Northumbria will never be lost. THE CENTRAL TOWER. Chester.] EISTORLGAL ASSOCIATIONS. 187 Tliis is a good moment for asking attention to tlio soutli transept; for, after many delays and disappointments, an effort is about to be made to effect the complete restoration of its great soutli front, which affords one of the best architectural opportunities that could be afforded. The late Sir G. Gill)ert Scott, under whom the general restoration of the cathedral was for many years con- ducted, looked forward with eager wishes to tliis effort. The enter})risc has now been placed in the hands of his successor, Mr. Arthur Blomficld, whose design is during the present season (1885) in the exhibition of the Royal Academy. To the mention which has been made of the cloister, a few words must be added. In its mouldering decay it is eminently picturesque ; and it is impossible not to regret that the restorative process will soon be inevitable here. The Norman walls on the south and west sides of the cloister have already been named. On the east, where the dormitory used to be, are the chapter-house and its vestibule; both are very fine and unchanged (though extremely different) specimens of the architecture of the thirteenth century. To the same period belong the original parts of the refectory on the north. This noble room has been grievously injured, and it invites and deserves a costly restoration. The pulpit in the south-east corner is unique in its beauty. This cathedral church has had its full share of association with varied historical incidents, and with recollections of eminent men. The names of two who are distinguished in the literary sense during its monastic period must not be forgotten. These were Higden, the author of the " Polychronicon," and Bradshaw, who wrote a metrical life of St. Werljurgh ; nor must we leave without mention St. Werljurgh herself, the kinswoman of the successive princesses who were abbesses of the great house of St. Etheldreda at Ely. King Alfred's daughter had brought her remains to Chester in the time of the Danish troubles, and. founded here a Saxon monastery in her name. To pass to the period of the Reformation, one who suffered in its cause was George Marsh, who was condemned to death in the Lady Chapel, then used as the Consistory Court, and was burnt in one of the suburbs of Chester. The period of the great Civil War was marked here by the severity of Bishop Bridgeman, otherwise an excellent prelate, who caused penance to be done in the cathedral for kind treatment of Prynne, when he came to Chester with his ears cut off, and by the severity of Cromwell's party to Bridgeman himself afterwards. A most remarkable series of men were bishops here between the Restoration and the end of the seventeenth centmy. The first of these was Bryan Walton, fresh from his labour on the "Polyglot" Bible; the last was Cartwright, who went with James II. to Duljlin. Between them came Wilkins, who with Evelyn founded the Royal Society, and especially Pearson, whose remains rest in the north transept under a monument designed by the present architect of the cathedral. In the roof above are the arms of Wolsey. Finally this cathedral is not without nionu- 188 CATHEBBAL CHURCHES. [Chesteh. ments recalling, in an animated manner, incidents of the great American War and of the British conquests in India. Though now the cathedral simply of one English county, it has gathered round itself much interest from a wide circumference, and it will gather more. J. S. HowsoN. ELY, FliOM THE FlSNh. ELY. A SLUGGISH river, fringed by pollarded willows and defined by towing-paths ; wide meadows, and corn-fields of rich fertility, in- tersected by dykes and enlivened by wind-mills ; long lines of embankment which defend these prolific tracts from the incur- sions of winter floods : these are some of the features of the ^leculiar landscape which surrounds the old city of Ely. A gentle eminence, adorned in summer with masses of foliage and groups of flowering shrubs ; clusters of dwelling-houses, mostly of low elevation and mean exterior, raising their roof -ridges and chimneys amid the greenery; crowning the whole, the central object and single point of attraction, presiding over the humble town spread around it, a church of immense length, its ridge broken by a peculiar octagonal lantern, and terminating in a massive and stately tower, flanked by attendant turrets: this is the general view of Ely and its cathedral presented to the traveller arriving from the south. From the northern and from the eastern approaches this commanding pre- sidency of the vast church over the secular buildings is still more conspicuous 190 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Ely. and impressive. At the hamlet of Stuntney, some two miles or less from Ely, a view of the whole group is presented which cannot easily be forgotten; w^hile the huge pile is seen from a curve on the railway, or from the meadows near it, under unexpected conditions which invest it with a grandeur altogether its own. Mounting the hill after leaving the station, we pass along a street, or rather lane, known as the '' Gallery," flanked by low buildings evidently reared in mediseval times, and find ourselves at the west end of the church. A facade, which might have been magnificent, is manifestly spoiled by the absence of the northern arm of the cross aisle, or western transept, which bears the name of the " Galilee." No record exists of the fall or demolition of this northern arm, and the allusions to the Galilee in the chronicles accessible to us are too obscure to enable us to form an accurate judgment as to its dimensions and builders ; nor are we much more fortunate in the references to the porch, which projects from the line of the cross aisle, and, though admirable in itself, certainly contributes to mar the effect of this west front. Before we pass through the porch into the church, it may be well to carry with us a remembrance of the chief historical facts connected with it. They may be summarised thus : — A religious house had been founded in 673 by Etheldreda, a queen or princess of East Anglia, remarkable for personal beauty and for gentleness of character. The church which she built, and which was probably of wood, was burnt in one of the Danish irruptions, probably about 870. About one hundred years later — namely, about 974 — the buildings were repaired and a body of Benedictine monks placed in them by Ethelwold, a zealous partisan and active supporter of Dunstan, the great champion of monasticism. Another century elapsed ; England had passed under the rule of the Normans, who brought with them the love of sumptuous and imposing architecture which has enriched Northern Europe with so many castles and churches. At Ely the newcomers began in 1082 the vast pile before us. We shall keep this brief summary of the local history in our minds as we examine the church ; but the times of Ethel- dreda are too remote, and the chronicles of her life are too largely intermingled with legend and fable, to come within the scope of this work. A fragment of a stone cross, now placed against the south wall of the nave, may perhaps be a relic of her age. " Ovin's Cross" was possibly erected by her steward, Ovini, or Wini, in the neighbouring village of Haddenham, from which it was brought to its present resting-place. We know, however, that the Abljots of Ely before the Conquest were among the most powerful churchmen of their time. Thurstan, abbot in 1066, had been brought up in the monastery, and had Ijocome its head by the favour of Harold, whose cause he most strenuously upheld. For five years — namely, from 1006 to 1071 — the Isle of Ely formed a Saxon stronghold, or Camp of Refuge, r) \^-^.'" < m f i .^ 1 f '1' m m ill -Ml if;'( Tr- !■ ?X '^ ELY CATHEDRAL FROM THE NORTH WEST Ely.] THt: WESTERN ENTRANCE. 191 for all the I'^nglisli who refused submission to the yoke of the forcig-nors. WilHani of Normandy conducted in person tlie military operations for the reduction of the isle; but he was compelled to retire, and it was only by the voluntary submission of Thurstan and the monks that he obtained possession of the Fen fortress, which he garrisoned with Norman troops. Thurstan died in 1072, the last Saxon Abbot of Ely; and after an interregnum of nine years, the first Norman abbot was installed in the person of Simeon, a relative of the Conqueror, and eighty-seven years of age. The stately church before us was commenced by this energetic old man, who reached the age of one hundred. Full of these recollections, we enter and stand on the threshold. Under favourable conditions of light and shade, we doubt if a more striking architec- tural view than this can be presented to the eye. The vista is unbroken as far as- the eastern wall, 517 feet from us, save by light screen-w^ork of open design. Three tall lancets, surmounted by five others, ingeniously worked into the curves of the stone vaulting, terminate and close in the distant point in which the long- lines of walls, roof, and floor are brought together, with an effect surpassing in solemn grandeur", as we think, any composition in which one vast window, as at York or Carlisle, is the chief feature. Tall and narrow arches carry the eye upwards, and give an impression of loftiness which will bear comparison even with that conveyed by Cologne or Amiens, and to which the narrowness of the central alley contributes. Above our heads, as wB still stand upon the door-step, after passing through the porch, rises the great tower. Its second and third stages are open to the pavement, and are adorned with arcading ; its wooden ceiling has been painted with great taste and skill by an accomplished amateur of our own day, Mr. Le Strange, of Hunstanton Hall, in Norfolk. We note that four arches of immense strength and excellent masonry have been built, at some period, beneath the original arches of the tower, sustaining on their shoulders its enormous super- incumbent weight. The nave is of twelve bays, or severies, and as we walk along it we may take note that the arcade of the second stage, or triforium, is of nearly equal height with that of the lower stage, or ambulatory. The walls and mouldings have been in many jjlaces decorated with poly- chrome, abundant traces of which may be seen, brought to light by careful removal of the coats of yellow-wash with which they had been encrusted in later times ; at the tenth bay the chipping away of the piers of the triforium on the north side shows the probable place of one of the "pairs of organs," of which the church possessed three. The aisles are vaulted, and still show traces of rich decoration in colour upon a plastered sui'face ; the great nave itself has 192 CATHEDEAL CflURCIIES. [Elt. been ceiled in recent times with wood, and on this ceiKng, which has a pentagonal section, a vast picture has been delineated with great skill and power by Mr. Le Strange, and by Mr. Gambier Parry, of Highnam Court, near CHOIR OF ELY CATHEDRAL. Gloucester, who, after the death of his old friend and school-fellow, continued the half-finished work. We have said that Abbot Simoon commenced the present church in 1082, probably by laying the foundations of the south transept. His successor, Richard, appointed in 1100, prosecuted the work so far that tlio remains of Ely.] PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 193 Etheldreda, and of three other abbesses, her rehatives, were translated into it with great pomp and ceremony, and were laid in shrines immediately behind the chief altar. This was in HOC. To understand the magnificent interior as we now see it, we must picture to oui'selvcs Richard's church enlarged and enriched, not only by grand western additions, but also by an eastern extension of no fewer than six bays of most per- fect design and workmanship. Abbot Richard had greatly desired the con- version of the abbey into an episcopal see. On his death in 1 1 07, this change was pressed upon the king (Henry I.) by Herve le Breton, Bislioj) of Bangor, who was in tem- porary charge of the abbey. In 1109 he was himself trans- lated from Ban- gor, as first Bishop of Ely; and thence- forward, as we shall see, the embellishment of the church be- came an object of episcopal con- cern. It was Geoffrey Ridel, third bishop (1174 — 1189), who built the great tower and the western cross aisle ; and it was Eustace (1198—1215) who is said to have added the western porch, though this statement is open to considerable doubt. A still more munificent prelate was Hugh of Northwold, Abbot of St. Edmundsbury, consecrated Bishop of Ely in 1229. Dissatisfied with the plain and even rude architecture of Richard, and probably desiring a more stately lodgment for the so])ulchral monuments of the four abbesses, he commenced in 1234 the erection of a new presbytery or retro-choir, which was consecrated in 1252 in the presence of Henry III. and his son, afterwards Ed^^•ard I., then 2o 1. THE EAST END. 2. THE AllliEY GATE. 3. THE GALILEE DOOR. 194 CATHEDRAL CUURGHES. [Ely. a boy of thirteen years, and whicli remains to this day in all its exquisite beauty, unsurpassed and even unrivalled in this country, unless by the "Angel Choir" of Lincoln. Seventy years afterwards — namely, in 1322 — -the central tower, which rose above the intersection of the nave, choir, and transept, fell with a mighty crash, not unexpected, however, by the monks, who for some time had not dared to say the offices beneath the tottering structure. A calamity almost identical in its incidents befell the Cathedral of Chichester a few years ago. A similar disaster has been averted at Peterborough by timely demolition. In both these cases a wise discretion has limited the rebuilders to an exact copy of the original. The year 1322, however, belongs to an era in which the beautiful craft of the architect and builder may be said to have reached its culmination ; and the Abbey of Ely possessed in its sacrist, Alan, surnamed " of Walsingham," a true artist, who saw his opportunity in the ruin which had overtaken his church, and who availed himself of it to such purpose that wo may search Euro2)e without finding a grander example of original design, bold construction, and charming detail than is presented before our eyes in this octagon. Its history is read at a glance. Instead of re-erecting a heavy stone tower on four massive piers, he threw a canopy of wooden groining over a noble area made by removing the four massive piers altogether; and he filled up the corners of the space so gained by diagonal walls ^^isrced with graceful arches below, and above with large windows of admirable proportions, worked into the curve of the groining by an artifice worthy of a master-mind, and which should not escape the observer. A life of Etheldreda is related in a series of carvings happily uninjured to this day. The carpentry of the roof, strong enough to sustain the great weight of a lantern of lead- covered oak, has been admired by a succession of competent judges, with Sir Christopher Wren at their head. Alan removed entirely the eastern ruins of Abbot .Richard's choii", and united the new octagon to Northwold's presbytery by three baj^s of remarkable beauty. In these three bays Ely possesses probably the most perfect examjjle extant of the pure Edwardian or Decorated style. In the six bays of Northwold the Early English style is jjresented, as we have said, in grace and beauty well-nigh unrivalled. Both are marked by a specialty full of interest. It is this: — When Northwold (or his architect) designed the j)resb}'tery, he respected the proportions already establislied by his predecessors, and carried his string-courses forward at the same levels. Alan followed this excellent example in his three lovely bays. Hence the Early English and Decorated styles at Ely differ widely from the types of those styles as existing in perfection at Salisbury and at Lichfield. Ely.] constant changes. 195 Tlio lofty triforium must bo rof^ardcd as a great cliaracteristic and peculiarity of this churcli, and its treatment lias given occasion for the introduction of work of the very highest degree of excellence. The eye ranges with entire satisfaction over the ornamentation lavished upon these nine bays. It is never wearied with admiring the clustered columns of Purbeck marble, boldly carved as to tlieir capitals with masses of foliage, and the long corbels of the same refractory material, each representing a marvellous amount of untiring industry as well as of artistic skill — the low open parapet running along the string-courses; the tracery of the triforium-openings and of the clerestory windows ; above, the rich vault. The changes introduced by successive bishops were not always improve- ments. Thus Bishop Barnet (1366 — 1373), unroofing the triforium of the presbytery to the extent of two bays on each side, filled the arches with glass as windows. This was done, probably, with the intention of throwing more light upon the shrines of the abbesses. Happily the bad example was not followed. Bishop Gray, however (145-t — I-ITS), thoroughly accomplished as he was, altered for the worse many or most of the windows in the aisles ; and it was in his time that the outer walls of the triforia were raised, and the character of the whole structure thereby much altered. Nor must it be supposed that all the bishops were nursing fathers of their cathedral church. Some were too busily occupied with great affairs of the State to concern themselves much with Ely and its abbey. The convent had the right of nominating to the see, but its election was often set aside by the Po^dc. The distinguished sacrist, then prior, Alan, had been elected in 1345, but Thomas de Lisle was intruded by Clement VI. Louis de Luxembourg, Archbishop of Rouen, and afterwards cardinal, was similarly intruded in 1438. That jealousies should have arisen between the bishop, the head of the diocese, and the prior, the head of the convent, can occasion no surprise. Even after the division of the revenues of the abbey on the establish- ment of the see, the position of the prior was one of high dignity and ample emolument. In 1474 we find that he travelled with a retinue of twenty servants. To John of Crawden (or Crowden), elected prior in 1321, the church and abbey were largely indebted for judicious administration and personal munifi- cence. Living on terms of close friendship with Bishop John of Hotham, these two distinguished men, aided as they were by royal favour, secured many privi- leges for the monastery, which may be said to have reached the culminating point of its prosperity under their rule. Crawden greatly improved the secular buildings of the abbey ; and he erected besides a beautiful little chapel or oratory, which still, haj)pily, remains. The cathedral is not rich in monuments. The great bishops, abbots, and 196 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Ely. priors, to wiiom the fabric owes its sumptuous grandeur, lie buried, for the most part, under its pavement ; but we have to deplore in some cases the displacement or destruction of the tombs which commemorated them. Their true monument is the church which they helped to rear and beautify. Turning- from the choir, fitted now witli the beautiful fourteenth-century stall-work of Alan, enriched by modern alti-nlievi, and closed in by an oak screen with brass grilles and gates, we betake ourselves to the Lady Chapel. This superb example of the Decorated style will probably be seen with something like astonishment by those who enter it for the first time. Its erection, begun in 1321, side by side with the vast works entailed on the monks by the fall of their tower, is an instance of indomitable energy characteristic of the times. Bishop Montacute (1337 — 1345), who succeeded the munificent Hotliam, was a large contributor towards its cost, and his body was buried in front of its altar ; but it was not actually finished until 1349. The sculptures with which the interior is profusely adorned, though the figui'es are now, with one single exception, headless, are thought to . betray an Italian band, or the influ- ence of an Italian school of artists. In the days of its glory the whole chapel must have been a perfect store- house of statuary and elaborate cano- pies ; no part of the wnll-space was left undecorated with diapering, exe- cuted in the most brilliant colom-s or carved in the stone itself, and it is not easy to name any example of old masonry of which the execution is more finished and masterly. Every true lover of art must wish to see this English " Sainte Chapelle" cleared of all which now disfigures it, and reverently restored to its pristine beauty. The dissolution of tlie abbey in 1531 fell gently upon Ely. AVlien the prior l)ecainc dean, and when eight canons, three of whom liad been monks. THE WEST DOOR, INTERIOR. OVIN S CROSS. Ely.] ruin and restoration. 197 were establislied in houses of residence near the church ; when eight minor canons, six of wliom had been monks, with eight singing-mon, eight choristers, and the masters of a school for twenty-four poor boys of Ely, were lodged in the old monastic buildings, the change, however important in itself, must have been little more than nominal to those on the spot. But an end had come to the care and devotion lavished on the cathedral. Bishop Goodrich (1534 — 1554), the last episcopal Lord Chancellor, and Bishop Cox (1559 — 1581) were resolute promoters of the Reformation, and cared little for the relics of the past. The Lady Chapel was handed over in the reign of Elizabeth to the parish of the Holy Trinity in Ely as its church, with the usual results. The Parliamentary Survey in 1649, signed "Mr. Cromwell," condemned to destruction many of the conventual buildings which were still standing, though its behests were not always obeyed. The potent Protector is believed to have willingly saved from utter profanation the church with which he was so familiar, for he resided for some years in Ely, and is said to have collected rents, in early life, for the dean and chapter. But the historian and novelist Defoe, in his " Tour Through the Islands of Great Britain," published early in the eighteenth century, speaks of the cathedral as tottering to its fall, and likely, in a very few years, to become a total ruin. From this fate it was saved by timely though tasteless repairs, executed wiih great mechanical ingenuity by Richard Essex, a builder of Cambridge, in the episcopate of Bishop Maw son (1754 — 1770) ; and in 1845 great works of restoration were commenced which have placed the church beyond the reach, we trust, of danger. With these works two names must always be associated: those of George Peacock, dean (1839—1858), and Edward Bowyer Sparke, canon (1829—1879). W E. Dickson. EXETER. The monastic clmrcli of the Benedictines, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Peter, served for the episcopal scat of Leofric, the first Bisliop of Exeter, on that prelate's translation from Crediton, by King' Edward the Confessor, in 1050, and continued to be the cathedral chui'ch until the reign of King Henry I. in 1112. This Saxon cathedral seated two bishojjs — namely, Leofric and Osbern ; the latter, dying in 1102, was succeeded by William Warelwast, a nephew of William the Conqueror, after a lapse of years, occasioned by disputes between the Church and Crown concerning' investitures. "The 'chronicon' of the Church of Exeter assigns to him (Warelwast) the honour of rebuild- ing the cathedral. Of that structure we have remaining the north and south towers, forming the transepts of the present church, and some traces in the Chapels of St. Andrew and St. James, and in the south-east door leading into the cloisters."* This catliedral, commenced by Warelwast in 1112, and com})leted by Bishop Henry Marshall in 1206, may be best described as being a Norman and semi-Norman building, for the change in the form of the arch from that of the semicircular (Norman) to that of the pointed form had commenced in about mid-distance between the eras of these two prelates. Six bishops occu- pied this cathedral, and during the siege of Exeter by King Stephen in 1136 it was greatly damaged. " To the same period we may safely ascribe the small quasi-transepts of the choir," now known as the Chapel of St. Andrew, on the north, and that of St. James, on the south ; to these may be added the Lady Chapel, and tlie two adjacent Chapels of St. Mary Magdalene (north) and St. Gabriel (south), all of which have experienced transmutations by later hands. The chapter-house, originally by Bisho]) Bruere in the thirteenth century, also passed through similar changes under Bisliop Lacy in the fifteenth century. Bishop Bruere also originated the capitular body by the aj)pointment of a dean, and by the elevation of the precentor, chancellor, and treasurer to the position of dignitaries. f He also fitted the choir with stalls and seats, amongst them the curious and unique misereres. | The next important event connected with the history of Exeter Cathedral is its entire transformation from the ponderous Norman and sonii-Nornian character • Dr. Oliver. t Dr. Oliver. t Arclidcafon Frccinaii. M P O CO "^ o m O < Pi P <^ o p:; W W W Exf,t.;k.] QUIVIUS changes. 199 to tliat of the liglitness and elegance of the Decorated period, enierg-ing- as it did from the Early English stylo which it superseded. To Bishop Peter Quivil, an Exeter man, is undoubtedly due the credit of the great design. " To transnuite this, without any pulling do\^al, into a structure of the most airy lightness and grace, was a daring project indeed, the realisation of which was destined to be unremittingly prosecuted, through nearly a whole century, by men every way fitted to the task. And Quivil made the first plunge — " He was the first that ever burst Into that silent sea." His first work was the transformation of the great transeptal crossing from Romanesque ponderousness to Gothic grace. To appreciate the manner in which he initiated the process of translating the massive Norman-French into elegant ]\Iiddle-Pointed English, we must take our stand in the transept crossing : say at the south-west angle, looking north-east. The great features are the mazy windows, fluted arches, branched vaulting, and slender Purbeck shafts, and the pierced balconies attached to the massive Norman walls. Quivil did not, however, as is commonly supposed, originate the pointed transeptal arches. Wliat he did was to enrich the already existing arches and piers, and take down the partition walls, which still extended some way up the towers. But we owe him much more than this. The whole idea of transformation was his ; and we may almost be sure that he left behind him the plans for it. And so entire was the metamorphosis as not unfairly to have won for him the title of " Founder of the New Cathedral," which the Exeter Chronicle (fifteenth century) has given him.* Bishop Bitton succeeded Quivil in 1292, and to him is credited the trans- formation of the choir as his chief work. He also dealt with the Lady Chapel, and those of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Galn-iel ; in proof of this Arch- deacon Freeman quotes the charges for stone, colour, bosses, glass, &c., from the fabric rolls. Among the great changes made by those "master-builders" were those of the insertion of the present wide windows in the place of the narrow ones of the Norman or transition period. The rolls furnish full particulars of the charges for glass and glazing. In 1299 the sum of £170 Gs. 2d. was laid out, and in 1307 a further sum of £156 19s. Id., for repairs, &c. ; great sums when we consider that skilled artisans worked at 3d. per day. The precentor of Exeter Cathedral, and a native of the county of Devon, was elected to the bishopric in 1307, on Quivil's death. Stapeldon was inducted to the see with great pomp, and became a liberal benefactor to his cathedral ; * Art'hilcacon Frcciiiau. 200 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Exeter. for in 1310 the expenses thereon amounted to £383 18s. 8d., and in 1318 to £176 IGs. 5d.* Dr. Oliver says of this prelate: '' That he vaulted a part of his choir is certain ; that he prepared a large stock of materials, glazed several windows, provided a gorgeous canopy over the silver high altar, cannot be questioned ; and to him is assigned the erection of the matchless sedilia on the south side of the sanctuary." He probably re-seated the choir, and, in the opinion of the late Archdeacon of Exeter, the magnificent episcopal throne was his work, ahhougli THE WEST i'RONT, usually attributed to Bishop Bothe at a much later period. Bishop Stapeldon's generosity stimulated a corresjDonding feeling in that of his own church dignitaries, as well as those of other clerics and laymen in his diocese. Dean Lyttlcton calculates that from the beginning of the fourteenth century to the middle of the succeeding one, £1,000 a year was expended upon the cathedral. Stapeldon's successor, James Berkley, occupied the episcopal throne for only the brief period of a few months, and was succeeded by another " master-builder," the famous John de Grandisson,f of royal and noble lineage. Whilst chaplain to Pope John XII. he had obtained that potentate's favourable notice, and at the vacancy was appointed by his Holiness to the see of Exeter in 1327. On taking possession of the see he found the cathedral in an incomplete state, and loaded * Britton and Brayley. t The bishop's sister, ilie Lady Catherine, is the heroine of tlie romantic story of the institution of tlio Order of the Garter. ExETEK.] COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING. 201 with pecuniary difficulties. These in due time were got rid of, and succeeding in 1358 to the wealthy peerage of his brother Peter, Lord Grandisson, the bishop was enabled to carry out and complete the great design so nobly commenced by his predecessor, Peter Quivil, who vaulted the wliole of the nave, including the aisles, inserted their windows, and the great window of the west end. Ad- joining the south side of the principal entrance he constructed the chapel of St. Radegundes as his mortuary cham- ber, on the site of an ancient chapel of similar dedication. Thus, after seventy years from Quivil' s time, was the great work completed in its main features. The magnificent facade of apostolic, saintly, and royal personages was probably added by Bishop Bran- tyngham, or even later bishops, as it possesses many indications of the handi- work of later artists, especially in the Gothic fan tracery of the northern en- trance of the west front. No material injury from fire, sword, or storm was done to the cathedral until the Civil Wars in the seventeenth cen- tury, when the city was taken by the Parliamentary forces under Fairfax, and the cathedral sustained much damage at the hands of its Pm'itan occupants. Extracts have been commonly made from the Rev. Bruno Ryves's paper, the " Mercurius Rusticus," to show the amount of desecration and destruction wi'ought by these persons ; but these accounts are now generally supposed to have been much exaggerated. A partition wall was run up during the Common- wealth at a cost of £150, and the church was divided into two portions, and named respectively East Peter's and West Peter's, for the use of the Presby- terians and Independents. At the Restoration this innovation was removed, by means of an early application to the King and Council by Dean Ward, afterwards bishop of the diocese. Dr. Oliver says, quoting from his biogra- pher: "He accordingly caused the partition to be pulled down, and repaired 26 THE THllONE. 202 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Esetko. and beautified the cathedral; the expenses wlicreof amounted to £25,000. He next bought a new pair of organs, esteemed the best in England, which cost £2,000." A correspondent of the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette to its "Notes and Queries for Devonshire and CornM^all," in 1855, says: " It would seem that the diocesan Church of St. Peter, at Exeter, was provided with an organ at a very early period, though it is a question with the musical antiquary what was the exact character of the instrument referred to in early records under the title which now bears so dis- tinctive a meaning. In the fabric rolls of a.d. 1286 is a charge of 4s. for work about the organs;" and Mr. Ellacombe, in his paper on " Bells," quotes an earlier case from the Record Office, namely, in 1284, where provision is made for repairs of the organ. Roman authorities say that the organ was used in chui'ches as early as A.D. 660. Dr. Hook thinks organs were introduced into the service of the church in the tenth century. The organ-screen is supported by four Purbeck stone pillars, from which spring the groins of three depressed arches. Above these is a row of thirteen compart- ments filled with curious ancient paintings, representing the leading incidents from the Old and New Testament history, as follows, commencing at the nortli end : — 1. Tlio Creation. 2. Adam and Eve in Paradise. 3. The Deluge. 4. Mose.s dividing the Red Sea. 5. Destruction of Solomon's Temple. 6. Building of the Second Temple. 7. The Angel appearing to Zacharias. 8. Tlie Nativity. 9. The Baptism of Christ. 10. Descent from the Cross. 11. The Resurrection. 12. The Ascension. 13. Descent of the Holy Ghost. Archdeacon Freeman is of opinion that the screen, judging of it from its general features, is of the later portion of the Decorated period. Also, during the time of the Connnonwealtli, tlie cloisters, then somewhat dilapidated, were finally destroyed, after partial use as a serge market. Bishop Brantyngham (fourteenth century) and his successor, Stafford, renewed the buildings, of which nothing now remains. In the north tower hangs the great "Peter" bell, said to have been originally brought from Llandaff. Its reputed weight is 14,000 lbs. It is only used as a clock bell. In the south tower there are eleven bells ; ten of these arc rung in peal, the heaviest and finest in tone in the kingdom. The tenor (" Grandisson ") weighs 7,550 lbs. Below, in the north wall, is the curious clock erected by Bishop) Courtenay (fifteentli century), with its motto, " Pereunt et imjHitantur." ExETEK.] THE WINDOWS. 203 Tlie dimensions of the fabric are about as follows: — FEET. Length from west entrance to eastern end of Lady Chapel ..... 380 Breadth of nave and aisles .......... 72 Length of transept . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Breadth of ditto 28^ Height of vaulting from pavement ......... 66 Height of towers . . . . . . . . . . . .130 The great east window and the west window claim a passing notice. Of the former, it wdll be seen that it does not harmonise in style with this portion of the church, being a stage later in date with the rest of the work ; it was enlarged from a gal)le window to its present proportions in the fourteenth centmy. The fabric rolls of 1391 show the agreement entered into by the dean and chapter with Robert Syen, the glazier of the church, for filling the window with old and new glass. It is composed of figures of saints and angels, of armorial bearings, architectural devices and borders ; and of it Dr. Oliver says that, when reading was confined to the comparatively few, instruction was conveyed to the people by these " lively rejDre- sentations of events recorded in the Holy Bible and ecclesiastical history. An appeal was thus made to the head and heart of the sj^ectators ; they became intelligibly reminded of the blessings and graces of the Almighty, were excited to a sense of gratitude, and urged to the imitation of God's servants." Of the great west window the spectator will acknowledge that its tracery harmonises with the completed facade of the building. As it now stands before us, we have the glazing of it, executed, as recorded on the window, in 17G6. The glazier, one William Peckitt, of York, seems to have been unsuccessful in obtain- ing permanency for his colours, designated by Dr. Oliver as " Wm. Peckitt's diluted tints." The head of the window is filled with armorial bearings of the great families of the county, royal badges and devices, and apostolic figures, with St. Peter in the centre light. An old printed description of this window says of it that it " is 37 feet high and 27 broad, besides the coats of arms, probably adorned with supporters, coronets, crests, and mottoes ; the spaces around the figures (which are 5 feet high), between the arms, and in the smaller lights are elegantly filled with mosaic work, Gothic architecture, foliage, &c., the whole together making the most beautiful appearance, perhaps not excelled by any other work of the kind in England." " The church," observes Dean Lyttlcton, " appears to have been newly glazed, or at least a great part of it, about the year 1317, toj/p. Edward IL, with both plain and coloured glass brought from Rouen, in Normandy. Thus, in the fabric rolls in that year : ' In G29 peys de albo vitro empt. apud Rotomagensem xv£ xivs. ixc/.' This was probably ordered for the Lady Chapel. In the roll of 204 CA THEDRA L CH URCHES. [Exeter. 1323, 12 feet of coloured or painted glass is charged at 8s., and 8 feet of i)lain or white at 2s. 3d., so that in ICdward II.'s time painted glass appears to have been no more than 8d. per foot, and plain glass 4d." * Looking through the building from the great western entrance, the eye is led from end to end, embracing and attracted by its lofty and intricate vaulting, organ-case, pillars, and quaint carvings in bosses and corbels ; also its remarkable projecting minstrels' gallery, with sculptured figm-es of instrumentalists. The impression that this vista makes is well described by Charles Knight, in his THE NORTH TOWER. "Old England." He says of it: "It is hardly necessary to say the interior is in many respects surpassingly noble and beautiful. The delicate and numberless pillars, clustering together into so many solid groups for the support of the nave and choir, always a beautiful illustration of a beautiful thought, the power resulting from union, seem to particularly arrest our attention in Exeter Cathedral." The entire range of the north side of Exeter Cathedral may be inspected and taken in at one view from the green on this side of the building, while only the nave, tower, and chapter-house can be seen on the south side ; and, as Archdeacon Freeman remarks, the plan, " as now completed, exhibits perhaps the most perfect specimen in the world of bilateral (or right and left hand) symmetry. Not only does * Cooko's " Topography " (Devon). P'XKTEK.] THE TOWKHS. 205 pillar answer to pillar, and aisle to aisle, and window tracery to window tracery, but also chapel to chapel : St. John l^aptist's to St. Paul's, St. James's to St. Andrew's, St. Saviour's to St. George's, St. Gabriel's to St. Mary Magdalene's; while, to crown all, the grand characteristic feature of our cathedral — the transeptal towers — completes this balance of parts, and was, indeed, tlie primary instance and model of it. From the north side of the building the visitor will notice the interception of the nave and choir by the tv/o massive Norman towers ; and in the north face THE MINSTRELS OALLERY. of the nortli tower the insertion of the large Decorated window. Among recent alterations the great window in the north transept has been filled with stained glass by Hardman. It is the gift of the women of Devonshire, and represents famous women in Bible liistory. That iu tlie south tower was put in to the memory of the late Sir J. Duke Coleridge, father of the present Lord Chief Justice of England. The cloisters have now been partly restored on the south side, and are adapted to the purposes of a library, in which provision will be made for the many valuable MSS. and printed records and books belonging to the capitular body. It should be added that in 1888 the colours of the 11th Devonshire Regiment (2nd Battalion) were placed in the north aisle of the nave, with a suitable inscripr tion. Those of the 9th Royal Lancers may also be seen close at hand, with the famous bronze relief of Marochetti. H. E. Reynolds. GENERAL VIEW EKOM THE EAST. GLOUCESTER. ^^.^^/^ The Church of tlie Holy and Undivided Trinity owes its present dedication and its distinction as a cathedral to Henry VIII.; but it had existed for many centuries before the Reformation as the churcli of the great Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter. Tradition speaks of a bishop and a Christian king at Gloucester in the second century ; but there is no trustwortliy evidence for the story of King Lucius and liis burial in the Church of St. Mary de Lode. It is altogether improbaljle that Christianity had any recognised position in l^ritain until the early j)art of the fourtli century ; but we can readily believe that after the conversion of Constantino, Glevum, a Roman town of great importance, as commanding the passage of the Severn and one of the principal highways into South AVales, became an episcopal see. The battle of Deorham, in 677, swejit away Christianity from the vale of the Severn; and for many years the Romano-British town of Cacr Gleow, or Glou-ceaster, lay desolate and in ruins. Fifty years later the present counties of Gloucester and Worcester, at that time occupied by the Hwiccas, a West Saxon tribe, passed under the sway of the Mercian king Penda. Penda's grandson and successor Ethelred, who was a Christian, made a large grant of land to the Ilwiccian ealdorman or under-king Osric, on condition that he built a monastery at Gloucester, and con- stituted his sister Kyneburg the first abbess. This was in the year 681. Osric was raised to the throne of Northumbria in the }ear 718, and dying in 729, was m 'P o w o K <: u w Eh M W o o Gloucesteu.] GLOUCESTER UNDER THE 3I0NKS. 207 brought to Gloucester, and buried before tlie altar of St. Petronilla, near the grave of his sister Kyneburg-, who had died in 710. Plis chantry chapel, built by William Parker, the last abbot of Gloucester, about the year 1530, lies on the north side of the choir, and his rudely-sculptured effigy, which is pro- bably of about the same date, bears on its breast a representation of a Roman- esque building. On the east wall of the chapel, at the feet of the effigy, these words are still legible: " d^^KJCSl^ IX^X f^i^m2^!Lm\ fmm^ There were three abbesses in succession — Kyneburg, Eadburgh, and Eva — all of them ladies of royal lineage, and two of them queens. Eva, the last of the abbesses, died in 7G7, and was buried, like her predecessors, before the altar of St. Petronilla. Then followed a period of shame and disaster. The nuns were outraged and driven from their abbey, and Ofia, the Mercian conqueror of West Saxons and Britons, would not or could not help them. St. Peter's lay in ruins for fifty years. Beornulph, the Mercian king who was slain in East Anglia in 825, moved with compassion by the ruined state of his predecessor's abbey, is said to have rebuilt it. Instead of a nunnery he made it a college of secular canons or preachers, who di-essed and lived as though they were laymen, and who were for the most part married. In 862 Burgred, King of the Mercians, confirmed all his predecessor's dona- tions to St. Peter's, and freed the canons from all lay service, on condition that they should pray for his soul and the souls of his ancestors. In course of time a rival minster arose at Gloucester, ^thelflsed, the brave Lady of the Mercians, founded another college of canons in honour of the Northumbrian king, St. Oswald, and translated his bones to Gloucester from Bardney. ^thelflied's foundation was known as the New Minster, whilst St. Peter's was " Ealdanhame," the old home. Canute the Dane is said to have driven out the secular canons, and to have substituted for them monks of the order of St. Benedict in 1021. This change, which was destined to be reversed more than five centuries later, was unacceptable to the citizens of Gloucester, and the followers of the portreeve, Wulphin le Rue, fell upon seven of the monks and slew them near the banks of the Severn. Wulphin was compelled to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and only obtained pardon for the crime on condition that he gave two of his best manors — Highnam and Churcham — to the abbey, to provide maintenance for seven monks, who should daily say masses for his soul. The first abbot of the new order was Edric, one of the secular canons, who took the tonsure and the monk's cowl in order that he might enjoy this honour. But Edric's heart was ill at ease. The Benedictine monks were imbued (so the 208 CATUEDRAL CHURCHES. [Gloucesteh. memorial says) with no saving knowledge, nor were they under the restraint of a just conscience ; so troubles came upon them— St. Peter's was spoiled by the Danes, and the monks were driven out. Edric went away disgusted and disheartened, and died, and was buried elsewhere. In 1051 there was a great meeting of Edward the Confessor and his nobles at •-^•^*?m%f^y« '^"fe^^^^ THE CATHEDRAL, FllOM THE NOKTH-WEST. Gloucester. Godwin, Earl of Kent, came there with his sons and a large force, and complained of the wrong done to his people, the burghers of Dover, by Eustace of Boulogne. Two years later there was another meeting at Gloucester to organise a raid on the territory of a Welsh prince. The position of Gloucester as a frontier town gave it an importance in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries inferior only to that of London, York, and Winchester. During the reign of Edward the Confessor the style of architecture A\hicli we call Norman was introduced into England, and soon after the foundation of Westminster, Aldred, Bishop of the Hwiccas, began a new abbey in this style at Gloucester. By the seventh year of the Confessor's reign tlie under-croft, the choir, Gr.OUCESTEU.] COMMENCEMENT OF THE BUILDING. 209 and the chapter-house were completed, and dedicated to St. Peter. The new church was not exactly on the site of Osric's. About this time the boundaries of the town of Gloucester were extended to the north and north-west, and the north-west angle THE SOUTH PORCH. of the old Roman wall was demolished. Aldred seems to have availed himself of the materials and to have occupied the site with his new monastery. In 10G2 Aldred was translated from Worcester to the archiepiscopal see of York, and he retained, as security for expenditure out of his private purse, several manors belonging to St. Peter's Abbey and St. Oswald's Priory. Wulstan, the 27 210 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Glovcfster. second Abbot of Gloucester, went away on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and his abbey was left in charge of two monks and eight young boys. The old con- ventual buildings had been destroyed with the chui-ch, and the work of restora- . tion was arrested before a new day-room, dormitory, and refectory had been erected. Moreover, the treasury of the abbey was impoverished by extraordinary expenditure and by the cupidity of Aldred, Such was the state of things at Gloucester when William the Norman, in 1066, won for himself the crown of England at Hastings. About 1067 Gloucester fell into the hands of the invaders, and Aldred's church was seriously damaged by fire, whether by Normans or Saxons we cannot tell. It is not unlikely that the foundations of the new choir were defective, for Aldred had chosen a site that was full of springs of water. This led to faults in the arches and groining of the crypt. King William recognised the importance of Gloucester as a frontier town, and held his court here at Christmas more than once. In 1072 Serlo, William's chaplain, was installed as abbot, and so destitute was he of funds, that he was driven to seek, and he obtained, pecuniary assistance from the neighbouring Abbey of Evesham. Serlo was a man of deter- mination and energy, and under his rule the fortunes of St. Peter's rapidly improved. William bestowed on the monastery the manors of Barnwood and Brompton, and the Church of St. Peter, Norwich ; his sons Robert, William, and Henry were also generous patrons. The Norman knights, who were encouraged by the Con- queror to seize the lands of the Welsh in the counties of Monmouth, Glamorgan, and Brecknock, quieted their consciences by donations of Welsh lands and churches to Serlo and his successors. Thus the means were provided for the restoration of Aldred's choir and the addition of a nave and conventual buildings. Serlo's first work was to case and strengthen the arches of the crypt and repair the choir and chaj^ter- house. In 1089 he laid the foundation of the nave, and in 1100 the church and monastery were re-dedicated with great honour by Sampson, Bishop of Worcester, and by Gondulf and Henry, Bishops of Rochester and Bangor. Aldred's work may be distinguished by its lack of ornament ; Serlo's workmen used zigzag or chevron moulding, and their masonry was more solid and imposing than that of the earlier structure. It requires more than a glance to realise how much of the Norman work still remains. At first sight the choir and the transepts seem to belong to the fourteenth century, but on furtlior examination it is found that the Perpendicular work is only skin-deep. The panelling has been skilfully attached, as though with cement, to the Norman arches, which have been cut away to receive it. In 1092 AVilliam Rufus held a great Witenagemot, or council of his wise men, in St. Peter's Abbey, and Anselm was compelled, notwithstanding his Gloucestbk.] ROBERT OF NORMANDY. 211 entreaties to be spared the honour, to accept the vacant Archbishopric of Canter- bury. ]\rr. Freeman says that almost everything that happened in the reign of WilHam II, somehow contrived to happen at Gloucester. In 1100 the king was slain in the New Forest, but not without a warning reaching him from Abbot Serlo that some such calamity was overhanging him. All this time, under the sway of Serlo, the abbey was rapidly approacliing completion. Two years after its re-dedication a fire is said to have consumed the town and church of Gloucester. The same story is frequently told in the abbey chronicles. We must suppose that on such occasions only the flat wooden roof or the wooden bell-towers perished ; the walls and pillars, which still bear the marks of fire, remained comparatively uninjured. In 1104 Serlo passed away, and was buried on the south side of the choir, where a bracket monument was in later times erected to his memory. Serlo's successor. Abbot Peter, was distinguished for his love of the fine arts. An example of his taste is preserved in the South Kensington Museum — a latten candlestick, bearing the following inscription : — "ABBATIS PETRI GREGIS ET DEVOTIO MITIS ME DEBIT ECCLESIE SANOTI PETRI GLOECESTRE." This candlestick was probably sold many years after the death of Abbot Peter, when tlie religious houses were called upon to give up part of their treasures to ransom Richard Coeur de Lion from an Austrian prison. The next event of any great interest at St. Peter's was the burial of Robert, Duke of Normandy. He died in Cardiff Castle in 1134, was brought to Gloucester, and reverently buried in front of tlie high altar. There is some difficulty about this statement of the chronicle ; for immediately below the tiled floor of the choir is the groined roof of the crypt, and an inscription on the wall of the chapter-house says: "Hie jacet Robertus Curtus." But the effigy of Duke Robert, carved in Irish bog-oak, which now lies encaged in Abbot Boteler's chapel on the nortli side of the north choir aisle, formerly rested on an altar-tomb in the middle of the choir, and ought to be replaced where Sir Gilbert Scott has laid a parallelogram of red tiles to receive it. Dm-ing the Civil Wars the effigy was broken in 2)ieces by the Parliamentary soldiers ; but Sir Humphry Tracy carefully preserved the fragments, and at the Restoration had them fastened together, repainted, and taken back to the cathedral. The bodies of many other Norman knights were laid to rest in the chapter-house. There are inscriptions in the arcades to Roger Fitz-Milo, Earl of Hereford, Richard Strongbowe Fitz-Gilbert, Earl of Pembroke, Walter de Lacy, Sir Philip de Foye, Bernard Newmarch, Pagan de Cadurcis, and Adam de Cadurcis, all of whom were patrons of the abbey. In 1168 a Cln-istian boy, named Harold, was murdered by Jews at Gloucester. 212 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Gloucester. This was followed by the burial of the martyr, as they called him, in the crypt of the church, and the performance of miracles at his grave. On October 28th, 1216, the young sovereign, Henry III., was crowned in the choir of St. Peter's by the Bishops of Winchester, Bath, Worcester, and Exeter. Six years after this coronation the building of the great central tower was commenced, and the work was completed in 1239, when the abbey church was re-dedicated by Walter de Cantilupe, the patriot Bishop of Worcester. No trace of the Early SHKINE OF EDWARD II. English tower re- mains — in fact little work of this period is to be found in the cathedral. The vault- ing of the nave, com- pleted by the monks in 1242 with their own hands, the reli- quary, if it be one, in the north transept, the arches of the ruined infirmary next the palace garden, and the north-east doorway of the cloisters, are the principal examples. Yet at one time the great tower, the flanking towers at the west end of the nave, the Lady Chapel of the De Willingtons, the stalls in the choir, and much more, were Early English. THE CL0ISTEK8. Gloucester.] THE SHRINE OF EDWARD If. 213 In 1283 Gloucester Hall was. founded at Oxford by tlie GifPards of Brimps- field, on the site of Worcester College; and in 1298 and 1301 we read of monks of St. Peter's proceeding to their doctor's degrees in the presence of abbots, bishops, and nobles. Thus Gloucester took its part in the great revival of learnino-. The examples of Decorated or Edwardian architecture which may be found in Gloucester Cathedral are the windows of the south aisle, with the characteristic ball-flower moulding, the vaulting and buttresses of the same aisle added to the Norman work by Ab- bot Thokey in 1318, the windows in the aisles and chapels of the choir, and the beau- tiful tomb of Edward II. The murder of that king in Berkeley Castle, and his subse- quent burial in St. Peter's Abbey, did more than anything else for the welfare of that monastery. The tide of popular feeling that turned the weak and misguided sovereign into a saint and a martyr swept thousands of pilgrims laden with offerings to his shrine at Gloucester. Then there began to rise, in the new architectural style which Professor Willis in 1860 so plainly showed to have been invented at Gloucester, and of Avliieh the south aisle (1329 — 1337) is the earliest known example, that marvellous adaptation of earlier work, so perfectly unique, the choir of Gloucester Cathedral, and the beautiful cloisters, with their roofing of fan tracery. The flying buttresses in the choir, between the piers supporting the tower, deserve special attention. They were designed for the capitals of the vaulting to rest upon, and do not give any real support to the tower. The east window was erected about 1350. The architect of that date removed the Norman chapel, and widened the sides of the eastern termination of the choir ; then he threw up a vast network of vertical and horizontal mullions, and filled the compartments with painted glass, representing Apostles, saints, kings, and ecclesiastics, as well as the heraldic shields of many of Edward III.'s nobility. An interesting article on this window by Mr. Winslow appears in the Archceological Journal, vol. xx. The same architect took down and rebuilt the Norman gallery which spanned the choir, using over again the Norman ashlar work and chevron moulding. THE CLUISTEKS, FROM THE CLOISTER GAKTH. 214 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Gloucester. The " Wliispering Gallery," as it is called, is pointed out to visitors as oiio of tlie most strildng featui'es of the cathedral. So ingenious is its construction that the faintest whisper at one end is heard distinctly at the other. The cloisters were commenced in 1351, and completed in 1412. Tlie south walk has twenty carols, or cells with windows, where the monks wrote and studied. The north walk has a large trough, which the monks used as a lavatory. Opposite the trough is a recess for the towels. Very few traces are left of the groat dining hall or refectory, which occupied the space on the north side of this cloister walk. The chronicles of St. Peter's terminate with the fourteenth century, and froni this time to the Reformation we are almost entirely dependent uj^on what Leland, the great itinerant antiquary of the reign of Henry VIII., "learned of an ould man made lately a monke of Gloucester " about the later additions and alterations in its structure. In 1421 — 1437 Abbot Morwcnt rebuilt the west end of tlie nave, removed the western towers, and connnenced the transformation of tiie Norman arches into Perpendicular, a work which his death happily arrested when he had completed the western bay. In 1460 the great eastern tower was begun to be rebuilt, and was finished in 1482. In the latter half of the fifteenth century, nearly at the close of the reign of Edward IV., the j^resent Lady Chapel was sub- stituted for the earlier structure of Ralpli and Olympias de Willington. The abbey was now complete, and with its window tracery and painted glass, its frescoes and encaustic tiles, its sculjjtured monuments and vaulted roofing, was the glory not only of Gloucestershire, but of all the west. Alas ! all this was soon to be changed by the hands of the spoilers, with Thomas Cromwell at their head. On the 4tli of January, 1540, the king's commissioners visited the abbey, and demanded its surrender. Abbot Parker was probably dead, though it is not known where he died, or whetlier lie was buried in tlie chantry chapel tliat he liad built for himself at the west end of the tomb of Edward II. ; but tlie prior and the monks were there to sign the fatal deed and receive their j^cnsions. The next year the abbey church was converted into a cathedral; and again, after a lapse of a thousand years, Gloucester had its own bishop. John Wakeman, the last Abbot of Tewkesbury, was raised to the new see, and when he died was taken back to his abbey church, and buried beneath a hideous effigy representing his body in tlie last stages of dissolution. His suc- cessor, John Hooper, who ruled the united sees of Gloucester and Worcester, died a martyr in front of the old abbey gate. It was he who, in 1553, stripped the cathedral church of its "goods, money, jewels, plate, vestments, and orna- ments," and only left tlie chime of bells, which is still the glory of the city, and "one clialys without a paten" for the celebration of the Holy Communion. On entering the triforium of the choir from the spiral staircase, which ascends from the south transept, the attention of the visitor is arrested by a Gloucester.] BISHOPS OF GLOUCESTER. 215 paintings of the "Last Judgment," which was discovered in 1718 behind some wainscoting in the nave. There is the usual contrast between the lot of the "blessed" and that of the "cursed." The interest Hes in the date of the painting. Tlie classic architecture of the "New Jerusalem," and the absence of the Virgin Mother and St. John the Baptist from our Lord's side, are internal proofs tluit the painter was influenced by the Renaissance and the Reformation. Laud was Dean of Gloucester, 1616 — 1621, but he left no trace of his rule. In 1657 the cathedral church was vested by the Parliament in the mayor and burgesses of the city of Gloucester. The younger Pury had a lease of the deanery, and resided there. Tlie present cathedral library had been founded by Bishop Gabriel Goodman in 1629 for the use of tlio diocesan clergy, who, in fact, gave the books. Pury, with the permission of the corporation of Gloucester, refounded it in 1648, and induced his friends to join him in munificent dona- tions of books and money. At one time, during the rule of the great Pro- tector, scaffolding was placed against the Lady Cliapel, with a view to taking it down and selling the materials ; but it was saved by the influence of Pury. In 1660 the cathedral and its possessions were restored to the dean and chapter. In 1665 the organ, which has lately been renovated and improved, was con- structed by Thomas and Rcnatus Harris, a large part of the cost being borne by Anne, Duchess of York, and daughter of Clarendon. Robert Frampton, Bishop of Gloucester, 1681 — 1691, was distinguished as a nonjuror. He lost his bishopric, but retained the living of Standish, where he died, and was buried in 1708. Warburton, the distinguished author of the "Divine Legation of Moses," was Bishop of Gloucester, 1759 — 1779. Josiah Tucker, of whom Bishop Warburton once said that "he made trade his religion," was dean from 1756 to 1799. To this period belongs a very beautiful monument in the nave, designed by Flaxman, to the memory of Mrs. Morley. The sculptor has represented the mother rising from the sea with an infant in her arms. Mrs. Morley died in 1784 during a long voyage, soon after the birth of her child, and was buried at sea. In 1836 the sees of Bristol and Gloucester were united in the person of James Henry Monk. The present bishop, Charles John Ellicott, succeeded William Thompson on his translation to York. He is a distinguished theologian, and has taken a leading part in the revision of the New Testament, as his ])redecessor. Bishop Wakeman, did 340 years ago. During the rule of the late Dean Law the cathedral was carefully restored under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, and a very beautiful reredos was sub- scribed for by the freemasons of Gloucestershire. The Lady Chapel is still ruined and desolate ; but there is not wanting in Gloucestershire either the enthusiasm ur the wealth to restore it to its former short-lived grandeur. "^_ Bazeley. THE CATHEDRAL, SHOWING THE NEW WESTEUN TOWEUS. BRISTOL. A STRANGER reaching Bristol by the Great Western Railway, and driving from the station to the cathedral, may notice that he crosses two bridges — Bristol Bridge, over the Avon, by which he enters what was once the walled city, and the drawbridge over the Froom, by which he leaves it. Before he reaches the steep ascent that leads to Clifton he finds himself in "College Green," an open space some thirty feet above the level of the river Froom, whose grass and sheep and avenues of lime-trees contrast pleasantly with the crowded streets of the old city. Nearly the whole of the south side of College Green is occujiied by the cathedral, and behind the cathedral the whole of the sloping ground down to the river was in ancient days occupied by the various buildings and gardens of the Augustinian abl)ey. This abbey was founded by Robert Fitzhardinge, son of the chief magistrate of Bristol in King Stephen's reign. Bristol Castle was the stronghold of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the greatest scholar and warrior of his time, and the commander of his half-sister the Empress Matilda's army. Hither he brought Stephen prisoner after the battle of Lincoln ; and here he gave shelter to Matilda and her son the Prince Henry, who was educated by one Matthew in Baldwin Street. Henry never forgot the kindness he had received in 13risto], Bkistol.] REMAINS OF THE ABBEY. 217 and enriched Fitzhardinn^e with the confiscated lands of the Lords of Berkeley when lie came to the throne, so enabling him to complete his abbey on a grander scale than he had at first intended. Of these abbey buildings there now remain: (1) the abbey gateway, a Norman archway of singular beauty (recently restored with turrc^t-stair by Mr. Pearson, R.A.) ; (2) a yet older Norman archway, leading out of Lower College Green to the abbot's lodging; (8) some, remains of the abbot's lodging, preserved by Bishop Butler when he re- built the Palace; (4) through a covered passage, what was once the lower cloister, now the choristers' playground, which should be visited for the sake of seeing the south side of the fifteenth-century refectory, the north face of which, in the upper cloister garth, has been modern- ised; (5) the upper cloisters, and, opening into their eastern alley, the chapter-room, one of the finest specimens of a Nor- man chamber in England (ac- cording to Mr. Street), with a vestibule of Romanesque ar- cading that will well rej^ay study. Entering the graveyard, a charmingly secluded garden, from which the south side of the cathedral, with its various jutting cha])els, may be seen to great advantage, the visitor will look down on the blackened ruins of the bishop's palace, burnt by the rioters in 1831. The story may be read in Southey's Diary. It was Sunday morning, October 30th, and Bishop Gray had insisted on preaching as usual, notwithstanding the expostulations of the minor canon, who feared violence. "My young friend," the bishop said, laying his hand on his shoulder, "these are times when we nmst not shrink from doing our duty." As the service proceeded his palace was fired, and reduced to a ruin ere the day closed ; and the cathedral was only saved by the heroism of the sub-sacrist Phillips, who wrenched an iron bar from a foremost rioter and kept the mob at bay until the door was closed and bolted behind him. The bishop had voted for 28 THE ABliEV GATEWAY. 218 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Buistol. tlie rejection of the Reform Bill in the House of Lords, and was as unpopular as Sir Charles Wetherell, the Recorder of Bristol, who had strenuously o})posed it in the Commons. It was in this palace that a long line of bishops had lived during the three centuries from 1542 (when the monastery was dissolved, and the bishopric, with dean and canons, founded) to 1831. Among them Avcre : — Paul Bush, who was required by Queen Mary to resign his see or his wife Edith, and loyal to the latter, retired to Winterbourn: his cadaver monument may be seen in the north aisle of the cathedral; Richard Fletcher, father of the dramatist, whose importunities had troubled the Queen of Scots on the scaffold ; Trelawny, one of the seven imprisoned bishops in James II.'s reign, best known by the lines so often quoted — the refrain of a spirited ballad by "the Cornish Bard" of the last generation, Mr, Hawker, Vicar of Morwenstow — " And shall Trelawny die 1 And shall Trelawny die 1 There's twenty thousand Cornish boys will know the reason why ; " Seeker, for a few years Bishop of Bristol, translated to Oxford and Canterbury ; and then (1738 — 1750) his friend, most illustrious of all, Joseph Butler, the author of the " Analogy of Religion " and those wonderful sermons on Human Nature, who was buried beneath the throne of our cathedral, as an eloquent Latin insciiption bears witness, and a no less eloquent English inscription from the pen of Southey. The ''Butler Tower" (the northern of the two west towers, designed by Mr. Street, and completed by Mr. Pearson) is dedicated to his memory. Coiiybeare was Butler's successor; and a little later (1761 — 1782) came Newton, the author of the Dissertations on Prophecy. In 183G the sees of Gloucester and Bristol were united by Act of Parliament; in 1881 another Act was passed to disunite them, which will take effect so soon as the required endowment is provided. Having thus made the tour of the cathedral precincts, we must take our visitor back to College Green, and ask him to examine carefully the long north front before him. The first thing that will strike him will be the great apparent length of the church. And yet the real length is only 300 feet; but an effect of much greater length is given to it by the want of height, and the want of height is due, as he will soon find out, to the distinguishing peculiarity of the church, the absence of any clerestory. At first it will apjiear as if the church had no side aisles, but was one long aisle, lighted by lofty windows throughout its length, like a college chapel, or ratlier like two college chapels placed end to end, with a tower and transept to mark their juncture. But if he walk to either end he will find out his mistake, and perceive that the church has the full complement of three aisles of spacious width, but of co-ordinate height and under one roof. The question will then force itself upon him: What was the motive for this most unusual design, making the churcii stand altogether alone among our cathedral churches? n.asTOL.1 KNOWLE'S DESIGN. 219 Returning' to liis first point of view, a practised eye will see at once that tlie long- eastern limb is ancient and Edwardian, while the western limb, or nave, witli its western towers, is a modern work, similar in style, only in its details more beautiful. The central tower (whose parapet and pinnacle, removed for safety, ho must kindly restore in his mind's eye) the visitor cannot fail to admire, stately in its proportion and richly arcaded, all its details dating from the fifteenth centuiy, but in its general design clearly Norman. On enquiry he will learn that the eastern limb is the long and spacious choir which, in Edward II. 's reign, Abbot Knowle built up against the Norman tower then standing. He will then see at once that to have added a clerestory would have dwarfed the effect of the stately old tower, and that Edmund Street, the architect of the present nave, was right in repeating Edmund Knowle's peculiar design, only enriching the details, and so leaving the central tower in j^erfect harmony with the rest of the church. In my ''Eai-ly History and Architecture of Bristol Cathedral" (Chillcott, Bristol), I have given reasons for believing that the Norman church had two western towers. And now, in explaining one problem we have solved another. If the church date in style from Edward II. 's reign, why those transoms in the windows? A little thought will remind one of the difficulty of constructing windows so far more lofty than the side windows of any other cathedral he has ever seen, without the additional strength derived from transoms. Then, again, why those buttresses of such unusual projection, almost hiding the intervening windows from one who looks at the church obliquely ? A moment's reflection suggests their necessity to counteract the lateral thrust of a roof of more than 70 feet in total width. Thus, even before we enter the churcli we have almost forgiven Knowle for the audacious originality of his work. When we enter we more than forgive, nay, we rejoice that our greatest modern architect has completed, and by completing interpreted, Abbot Knowle's design. The internal effect is very striking. Standing at the west end, we have before us a lengthened avenue of arcading, as remarkable for its solemnity as for its beauty. Though the vault is only 52 feet above the floor, there is no feeling of depression. This is due perhaps to the form of arch chosen for the vaulting, not flattened, as at Lincoln and York, but boldly pointed, and springing directly through- out the whole length of the church, not from a triforium, but from the pavement. The lofty side aisles, of equal height with the central aisle, are not seen in the perspective. But the light that streams through the arcade on either side traverses the shadows of the roof wonderfully. Tlie visitor should pause for some time ere he leave his station at this west door. Whenever a cross view is obtained, as he proceeds eastward, the side aisles, with their lofty windows, give the effect of spaciousness ; and the purity of the arches between the piers, reminding him by their graceful lancet form of Westminster Abbey rather than of York — the only English churches that have arcades of equal height — will go far to compensate the eye for the want of the 220 CA I'HEDRAL CH URCHES. [Bkistol. familiar triforium and clerestory of our English cathedrals. Not that the [)urposes of a triforium are unfulfilled. A passage on the level of the window-sills traverses the walls from end to end, giving access to every part, for the convenience of the servants of the church. The visitor who is interested in principles of construction will admire the way in Avliich Abbot Knowle and Mr. Street have carried the thrust of the central vault across the side aisles, by what is, in fact, a flying buttress, to the very massive external buttresses akeady noticed. These flying buttresses, or transoms, rest on THE CHOIR. the crown of the transverse arches of the side aisles, and from the centre of each, over the crown of the arch below, there springs a cluster of vaulting shafts. As the visitor moves up the nave, the extreme beauty of Knowle's east window should be observed. The arms of Edward III. in the apex show that it was finished in that reign, about 1330, The elder Pugin thought its tracery worthy of comparison with that of Carlisle. Nor must we omit to turn round and gaze at Mr. Street's rose window over his west portal. He made drawings before he died for all the painted windows of the nave, and begged that they might be executed by Messrs. Hardman. This round window represents in its inner lights the heavenly host adoring our Lord in glory, while the outer circle de^jicts all the several industries of Bristol, which contributed to the building of this nave for the glory of God. The side windows are to illustrate the power of prayer, the ui)i)er lights by incidents from the New Testament, the lower Bkist.,1..] the BERKELEY TOMB. 221 from tlic Old. The silvery crispncss of ITardman's nlnss will give pleasure to every eye. The windows do not enter into competition with oil paintings (the greatest fault stained glass can have), nor are they too dark, but fulfil the true function of a window in transmitting abundant light, and are carefully subordinated to the general architectural effect of the church. Passing through the modern screen, the visitor will be painfully aware of the need of re-arrangement of the choir. AVhen the nave was removed the altar was pushed up to the east end to gain room, and the fourteenth-century stalls followed it. It need hardly be said that this will be set right so soon as funds are forth- coming. The altar will be brought down to its old place (wliere the cusping of the vault marks it), leaving an eastern Lady Chapel and processional path behind the reredos. The side aisles will thus be restored to their proper purpose, and the oak stalls and choir will be brought down to the screen. The organ too may then be removed from its present unsightly j^josition. While standing outside in College Green the visitor may have noticed an Early English chapel, and wondered how it came to lean against Abbot Knowle's later chancel aisle. If he visit this from within he will see the explanation. It was an elder Lady Chapel, of graceful design, opening into the north transept, at a time when this north transept was also of Early English style, still indicated by the shafts of its northern triplet window. As there was sufficient space between this chapel and the Norman church for the widening of the side aisle, Knowle left it standing ; and removing its high-pitched roof (of which the lines are discernible on one of the pinnacles), he made it lean (as now) against the widened Edwardian church. At a later date the double wall that separated it from the cluirch was cut away and its arcading mutilated, to admit the insertion of one of the costly altar-tombs of the Berkeley family. The knight is clad in conical skull-cap or helmet, attached to a hawberk or ti])pct of mail ; the armour is partly mail and partly plate, after the manner of Edward II. 's and Edward III.'s time. The dress of the lady by his side is also that of the fourteenth century : coif, hood or veil, and wimple cover head, neck, and chin. A late inscription describes it as commemorating Maurice, Lord Berkeley, ninth baron, who died 8tli June, 1368, and the Lady Margaret, his mother (daughter of the infamous Roger Mortimer, Earl of March), who died 5th May, 1337; but the lady is more probably Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Hugh Despenser. Three other tombs of the I'erkeleys are to be seen in the south aisle, under the stellated monumental recesses (peculiar to the churches of Bristol, Berkeley, and St. David's). In the easternmost of these recesses, opening into the Berkeley Chapel, lies the second Thomas, Lord Berkeley, who died 1321, and further west the first Lord Thomas (his legs crossed), who died 1243. This effigy and the adjoining one of the second Lord Maurice (died 1281) must have belonged to the older Norman clim'ch. In similar monumental recesses in the sacrarimn we have effigies of Abbot 222 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Buistoi.. Knowlo, the great builder, and next below him Aljbot Newberry in full canonicals; on the south side, adjoining the beautiful sedilia, Newland (or Nailheart), the '* good abbot," who built much of the fifteenth-century work. Knowle's love of natural forms is remarkable. On these stellated recesses we find sculptured the oak-leaf and oak-apple, the vine-leaf, the mistletoe, the thorn, the ranunculus-leaf, with snails carrying their shells over it, and in the vestibule of the Berkeley Chapel the Ammonite of St. Keyna taking the place of the usual ball-flower. The foiu-teenth-century glass of the sacrarium windows is of great value, and should be carefully examined. It may perliaj)s assist the reader if we now give briefly the jmncipal epochs of the church's architectural history, so dating the several parts of the present structure. 1142. — The abbey founded by Robert Fitzhardinge, chief magistrate of Bristol, in whose time Robert, Earl of Gloucester, gave shelter to his half-sister the Empress Matilda, in her struggle with the usurper Stephen ; and here Prince Henry spent his boyhood. The church was consecrated on Easter Day, 1148. 1154. — Henry II. bestowed the confiscated estates of Roger de Berkeley on his old friend Robert Fitzhardinge, who, thus enriched, completed his abbey in the more sumptuous style of the chapter-room. He was the founder of the family of the Berkeleys, Lords of Berkeley Castle, so many of whom arc buried in this chui'ch. The only portions of the Norman church now remaining are the walls and buttresses of the transepts north and south. The line of the old high-pitched roof of the latter may be traced on its south gable, and a small round-headed window in the gable. 121G — 1234. — Abbot David is believed to have built the elder Lady Chapel still standing, opening into the north transept, although Mr. Godwin ascribes it to his predecessor, Abbot John. The east window of this chapel (Geometrical or Early Decorated) was inserted about 1290. 1306 — 1332. — Abbot Knowle began rebuilding the church in the Decorated or Middle Pointed style, completing the choir, but leaving the Norman or Romanesque tower and nave still standing, and laying foundaticms of a wider nave, discovered in 18G5. Berkeley Chapel and Newton Chapel added after Knowle's death, late Decorated. 1481 — 1515. — Al)bot Newland (or Naillieart) remodelled the central tower, reconstructing the roof and windows of the transept in the Tliird Pointed or Perpendicular style, with rich Ucrnc vaulting. 1542. — Dissolution of the monastery and endowment of the church as a cathedral church, with dean and six canons. The ancient Norman nave of Fitzhardinge removed as unsafe. Bristol.] THE NORMAN NAVE. 223 1866—1874. — -Tho present nave built on old foundations. 1887 — 1888. — Western tower completed. It may be well, in conclusion, to put on record the reasons which determined Mr. Street not to attempt to restore the Norman nave removed in Henry VIII. 's reig-n, but rather to build such a nave as Abbot Knowle would have erected in Edward II. 's reign had ho lived to complete his work. In the first place, no traces were left of the ancient Norman nave to guide a restorer except two fragments of the wall of its narrow south aisle ; whereas of the nave designed and actually commenced by Abbot Knowle very interesting remains were left. "We found, on excavating, the foundations which he had laid for the wall of the north aisle, with deep buttresses (like those of the choir), and for a north porch. We found also the spring of the first arch embedded in the buttress which stood against the north-west pier of the central tower ; and built into the prior's lodging (removed in 1867) there was a portion of the south-west angle of the south aisle, where the work was carried up to some height, showing how a triforium gallery was intended to be carried round the nave, as in the choir at the level of the window sills. From these remains it was jjossible to design a nave substantially such as Knowle intended to build, yet sufficiently differenced in detail to make it no mere servile copy of the choir. It will be noticed that the axis of the nave is inclined to that of the choir at a very perceptible angle, as in so many ancient churches. The total length of the church is 300 feet, the width 73 feet; height from pavement to ridge of vault, choir 50 feet, nave 52 feet. By the two western towers of noble dimensions which Mr. Street has added, tlie church is now more distinctly marked as the cathedral in distant views of the city. J. P. NORRIS. CARLISLE. Until the other clay, when the Clmrch of St. Nicholas became the Cathedral of Newcastle, Carlisle was the most northern of our English cathedrals, and it is still the nearest to Scotland. Being the church of a border city, " the bulwark of England against the Scot," the cathedral has not escaped the perils of its position. It fell into the hands of those who destroyed most of the ancient cathedrals of Scotland, in whose eyes the de- facing of churches was a pious work, and they have left their mark upon it to this day. As seen from a short distance outside the city, the peculiarity of its outline must at once strike the observer. It rises in the centre of the town, high above all the other buildings, except the tall cliinnieys of the factories. The long and lofty choir is a noble object, and the tower, though low by comparison and unworthy of the choir, is not dwarfed by the steeple of any other church. But the beholder looks in vain for the long nave, which is so characteristic of a catlicdral church. To the west of the tower only a short piece of the roof is visible, much lower than the choir, and looking not unlikt the chancel of a parish church turned round from east to west. A walk round tlie outside will enable us to comprehend the general outline of the history of the building. It has been originally a Norman minster of moderate size, but of this Norman church nothing apparently remains, save the south transept and a fragment of the nave, its eastern limb having been replaced by a vast and magnificent choir of the tliirteenth and fourteenth centuries, on a scale far exceeding tlie dimensions of the earlier church. It is easy to distinguish the portions of the original structure from the alterations and additions of later times, the Norman builders having used for the outside a grey freestone, whereas all the later work is of the new red sandstone of the district. There is little known about the church beyond the general outline of its history, and in the absence of any fabric rolls there has been much doubt and difference of opinion on many })oints connected with the architecture. According to the connnonly received account, a Norman follower of William Kufus, named Walter, whom he had left at Carlisle to superintend the Caulisle j THE AUSTIN CANONS. 225 building- of the castle and the fortifications, founded within the city a college of secular priests, but died before the church which he intended to build was com- pleted. Henry I. then took u^^ the work, and in the year 1101 founded a house of regular canons of St. Augustine, and made his English confessor and chaplain, Athelwald, the first prior of the new society. At this time Carlisle was in the diocese of Durham, and it was not until LAKLIiLt, IKOM KICKFUUY PARK. "^^f 1133, when Henry I. founded the bishopric, and made Athel- wald the first bishop, that the priory church became a cathedral. The canons of St. Augustine, or Austin canons, as they were called, were not, strictly speaking, monks, though tliey lived together under one roof accord- ing to the rule [rcgula) of their order, and hence were known as regular canons, to distinguish them from the secular canons of the old foundation cathedrals and other collegiate churches, who lived in separate houses, and moved about in the world (seciiium) as the canons of cathedrals do now. The Austin canons had a number of priories in England, but only one of these — that of Carlisle — was a cathedral church, and in this respect, therefore, Carlisle stands alone, all the other cathedrals of the new foundation having been the chmrches of Benedictine monasteries before they were changed by Henry VIII. into chapters of secular canons. From their habit, which consisted of a long black 29 226 CATHEDRAL GHURCfTES. fCarlisle. cassock, a white rocket over it, and over all a black cloak and hood, the Augustinians were called Black Canons. They also wore beards, and a cap upon their heads, which distinguished them from monks, who went bareheaded and shaven. In many Austin foundations the church of the priory was also the church of the parish, the canons occupying the choir, which was hence called ecdesia conventualis canomcorum, and the parishioners occupying the nave, which formed the ecdesia parochialis, so that there were two churches within one. This was the case at Carlisle, and it explains some matters connected with the history of the church which otherwise it would be difficult to account for. Until a few years ago this double use of a building which was architecturally only one church was an existing fact. What remained of the nave was partitioned off from the choir and transepts, and formed the Church of St. Mary; and not- withstanding the improvement that has been effected by throwing open the nave and building a new parish church, it is impossible not to feel some regret at the abolition of an arrangement which had lasted for upwards of seven centuries and a half, and was essentially a part of the history of the place. In the arrangement of their domestic buildings the Austin canons followed the plan of a Benedictine monastery, and grouped them on the south of the church. At Carlisle some of these buildings are still to be seen, but none of them are of the same date as the Norman church. What that church was like when complete we can only tell from a comparison of what remains with other churches of the same period. The nave was originally eight bays long, instead of only two as at present, but it was always shorter than the existing choir. No doubt originally there was a handsome Norman doorway at the west end, but no drawing or description of the original west front remains. In the centre of the Norman church was a tower, probably low, of which the piers are still in situ; and east of the tower was a short choir, supposed to have extended as far as the end of the present stalls, and to have terminated in a round apse. Opening out of each transept by an arch in the eastern wall was a small chapel. The archway can still be seen in the south transept, and it leads into St. Catherine's Chapel, now used as a vestry, and which, though of thirteenth- century date, is built on the foundations of a pre-existing Norman cliapel. Such, in outline at least, was what we may call the Norman church of Athelwald, a plain massive building, with little ornamentation except in the doorways and windows, but with a certain grandeur in its stern simplicity. This Norman cluu-cli is believed to have remained pretty much as it was when completed in the reign of Henry I. throughout the rest of the twelfth century ; and it was not until Henry III. had reigned some thirty years, and half the thirteenth century had passed, that the bishop and canons set themselves to the great work of rebuilding the choir of the cathedral on a vastly larger scale. cakusle] the building of the choir. 227 Judging from the Early English stylo of tho existing aisles, the work must have been begun about the middle of the thirteenth century, probably under the auspices of Sylvester do Everdon, who was bishop from 124G to 1255, and there is good reason to believe that it was roofed in before the death of Bishop Irton, in 1292. The new choir was built with very little regard to the old Norman church, and perhaps it was the intention of the bishop and canons when they had finished the choir to rebuild the nave as well. Possibly this was never done for lack of funds, but it is just as probable that the canons considered it was not their business to improve the nave, and that the j^arishioners might be left to restore their own church. Very beautiful indeed arc those parts of tho present choir which date from the rebuilding in the second half of the thirteenth century, and the whole, if ever it was completely finished, must have been a noble work. Little is now left beyond the north and south external walls, with tlie beautiful lancet windows of the aisles, and the exquisite cinquefoil arcade beneath them. Scarcely was the work finished when, in 1292, tliere was a dreadful fire in Carlisle, which consumed a great part of the city. The priory suffered much. The new choir was left a mass of ruins, the east end, and all except the side aisles, being destroyed. The north transept was also greatly injured, and the conventual buildings perished almost entirely. The rebuilding of the choir progressed only slowly, probably owing to the disturbed state of the country during the Scottish wars, and it must have been quite unfinished when Edward I., who had been detained at Lanercost by sick- ness throughout the winter, came to Carlisle in the last year of his reign to meet his Parliament, and to organise an expedition into Scotland. At this time the cathedral was the scene of two important ceremonies. In it the Papal legate preached to the many strangers whom the presence of the court and parliament had brought together, and then proceeded to solemnly excommuni- cate Robert Bruce, and to pronounce a terrible curse against the usm-jjer of the crowTi of Scotland. A few months later Edward came to the cathedral, and tliere offered up to God the litter in which he had been forced by failing health to nuike his journey to the north. At the door, as if in token of his complete recovery, he mounted his horse for the first time after many months' illness, and rode away through the gateway of the priory to lead his army into Scotland. But he was destined never to reach it ; and at Burgh-by-Sands, on the Solway, within sight of the Scottish coast, he died. After the fire of 1292 the choir was partially rebuilt, but during the reign of Edward II. the work stood still for want of funds. It was not until 1352, when Gilbert Welton was bishop, that the work was 228 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Carlisle. resumed in good earnest. By him and by his successor, Bishop Appleby, great efPorts were made to complete the choir ; and by the help of Edward III., and by subscriptions from the Lucies, the Nevilles, the Percies, and other gentry of the north, the church was at length finished. At this period the triforium and the clerestory, which are in the Decorated style of the fourteenth century, were added to the choir, the east end was raised to its present height, and the whole was roofed in and finished in the interior by a wooden ceiling, re- splendent with colour and gilding. Portions of this ancient ceiling were dis- covered at the late restora- tion, and the present ceil- ing is a reproduction of the old, in design at least, if not in colouring. Its east window is the one point in which Carlisle Cathedral stands unrivalled, and on which its architectural fame chiefly rests. Of its kind it is the grandest window to be seen in England, or even in the world. It is not only unsurpassed in size, it is also unmatched in beauty. Those win- dows that come next to it are a window at Perugia, said to be as large, but not so beautiful in design ; the great window at York, which is not so large, nor so elaborate in the tracery ; and the east window of Selby, which, though it has very fine tracery, is smaller. The window in the lower part is divided into nine lights by eight mullions, of which the two central ones are thicker than the others, and the tracery, it has been computed, is composed of no fewer than 263 THE NAVE. Caklisle.] THE EAST WINDOW. 229 circles, and contains as many as thirteen quatrcfoils. As to the glass, the lower portion is modern, but that in the head of the window is ancient, and well deserves careful inspection. The subject is what is called a " Doom," and forms one connected pictm-e, in which are seen the resurrection from the dead, Christ seated on the throne of judgment, the pro- cession of the blessed to the new Jerusalem in Heaven, and the casting of the lost into the place of tor- ment. A minute ex- amination of this old glass has recently led to discoveries which go to prove that it was not inserted until about forty years after the tracery was finished, and that its date is from 1380 to 1384. The carvings on the capitals of the main pillars of the choir represent the different occupations of each month in the year, and no more interest- ing or perfect series of the kind is knowm to exist. In the choir should be noticed also the fine tabernacle work of the stalls, supposed to have been put in by Bishop Strickland (1400—1419). It was once painted and gilded, and the numerous niches filled with images, but these have been removed, and the angels which formed the pendants have been roughly sawn o£F. The backs of the stalls are decorated with a series of paintings representing the legends of St. Augustine, St. Anthony, and St. Cuthbert, executed in the fifteenth century. THE EAST WINDOW. 230 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Cahlisle. In 1540 the prloiy was dissolved, but it was done without violence. Lancelot Salkeld, the last prior, became the first dean, and two of the old canons regular became prebendaries, or canons, of the new chapter, which was founded by Henry VIII. the year after the priory was suppressed. There was not, as far as is known, any damage done to the cathedral or its ornaments, and the king's charter shows that the services were continued according to the rites of the old religion. The king, however, changed the dedication of the church, and what had been the Priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary became henceforth the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. A good deal of damage must have been done in the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth by the destruction of stained glass, and the defacing of all that might remind men of the old religion. But the mischief done by Protestant enthusiasts, and in later times by neglect or ignorance, has been trivial as compared with the great act of vandalism which was committed in 1646, when Carlisle was besieged and taken by a Scottish army in the name of the Parliament of England. Once again, in 1746, Scottish soldiers filled the cathedi^al, but they were of a different race from the destroyers of the nave, and they were there not as conquerors, but as prisoners. When Carlisle surrendered to the Duke of Cumberland, the Highlanders who had been left to garrison it laid down their arms in the niarket-place, and then went, according to the terms of surrender, to the cathedral, where a strong guard was i)laced over them. Some mischief may have been done at that time, but it was probably not equal to the damage of 1764, when " a general repair was conmienced in the choir, and a great amount of ancient work was destroyed." These repau's consisted in breaking up the fine oak ceiling, and inserting jilastcr groining beneath it, in removing the screens between the choir piers, together ^\'ith the ancient bishop's throne, and in re})lacing them by modern work of poor design. Throughout the last century and the early part of the present one the same destruction of old work went on, but at length, under Dean Tait, better times set in, and the restora- tion, which was so much needed, was begun. Upon the whole the work was judiciously carried out; and though the archaeologist of these more modern days may not aj^prove of all that was done, those who can remember what the cathe- dral was previously will own that a vast improvement has been effected. Looking at the building as a whole, its parts are too unequal in scale to make up together one noble and perfect chm-ch, and even if two-thirds of the nave had not been destroyed, the Cathedral of Carlisle would not have taken high rank amongst the old cathedrals of England. Nevertheless, it has its noble features, and standing in the lofty choir and looking at the great east window, it is possible for the moment to forget even the destruction of the nave. W. Najstson. MANCHESTER. The present Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin, St. George, and St. Denis in earlier times was only a parish clnirch, which first became collegiate in the year 1422, when Henry V. granted a charter to Thomas De-la- Warre, the rector of the parish, who, though a priest, was also lord of the manor. Before that time, as early as William the Conqueror's reign, there had been a church on the wooded rock at the junction of the rivers Irwell and Irk, for in the Doomsday Book we find the following record: "The Church of St. Mary and the Church of St. Michael hold one carucate (about a hundred acres) of land, quit of all taxation except the Dane-gelt." Several traces of a church built of stone about the year 1220 have been found during the recent restorations, yet an author, writing in the year 1650, says that before the collegiation of the parish Church of St. Mary in 1422, the structure was entirely of wood. During the sway of the early barons of ]\Ianchester the church was held by some fifteen rectors, including William de la Marcia (1290), afterwards Bishop of Bath and Wells; Walter de Langton (1299), a great architect, subsequently Bishop of Lichfield; John de Verdun (1313), later on Dean of St. Paul's; and Thomas De-la- Warre (1373), the last rector, who endowed the college and procured the first charter. Provision was therein made for a warden, eight priest-fellows, four deacons, and six boy choris- ters. The first warden was John Huntingdon (1422), a man of great benevolence and piety ; his rebus, a hunting scene and two tuns of wine, may be seen on either side of the choir arch, which he completed, together with the upper portion of the arcades. A fine brass to his memory exists, but is hidden in the vaults. The tliird warden, John Booth (1459), became Bishop of Exeter ; while the sixth (1481) was James Stanley, a scion of the Derby family, and afterwards Bishop of Ely. The Derby Chapel, a large building to the north of the choir, was erected to his memory. The bishop lies buried in the wall of this chapel within a pretty little chantry. On his tomb is a brass representing him in full episcopal vestments. Wardens Walton and Chaderton were respectively raised to the sees of Exeter and Lincoln during the earlier part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, towards the end of which John Dee, a layman and a celebrated alchemist, was appointed their successor. 232 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Manchesteu. Warden Dee, who professed to see visions in crystals, and who was deeply imbued with the superstitions of the age, retired in the early years of James I.'s reign, and died a poor man at Mortlake. The cathedral consists of a nave and aisles, equal in length to the choir and TUB CHOIR SCRliEN. ambulatory; a chajjter-house ; a lofty west tower; and the following chapels: — the Lady Chapel (circa 1313), with a beautiful screen, at the extreme east end of the church; the Jesus Chapel (1506), to the south of the choir, now used as a library; St. Nicholas' Chapel, the oldest chantry in the building (circa 1220), to the south of the nave, and St. George's Chapel to the west of it; St. John Baptist's or Derby Chapel (circa 1510), with the Ely Chantry to the north of the choir; Manchester.] THE INTERIOR. 233 St. James' (circa 1440) and Holy Trinity (circa 1500) Chapels to the north of the nave: north and south porches are now being- added. Wliile the beautiful par- close screens still remain around the choir chapels, they have been removed from those in the nave, thereby increasing the area and making in reality a five-aisled church, the widest in the kingdom with the exception of St. Helen's, Abingdon. This great width, however, is not unpleasantly noticeable, owing to the lofty height of the nave arcades, whose clustered pillars of delicately-moulded red sand- stone support elaborately- carved spandrels, and bold five-light clerestory windows of the Perpendicular order. Between each window is an angel of carved oak pla}'ing' some ancient musical instrument — there are seven with wind instruments on one side, seven with strings on the other, a most unique and beautiful set. The roofs, of solid oak, are almost flat, and panelled with moulded beams and purlins, each intersection being covered by a carved boss. Entering the choir by the richly-decorated organ-screen, we find the interior small and narrow, but filled with exceedingly beautiful stalls, fifteen on each side. They are surmounted by the most elaborate canopies it is possible to imagine. There are niches for over a hundred saints, and the crockets and finials, cusj^ings and piruiacles, are bewildering in their variety and multitude. Nor less interesting are the quaint groups of the subcellse or misereres. Tavern incidents, hunting- scenes, fabulous monsters, combats, legends, all find a place, carved with the most elegant minuteness, and fortunately little damaged by the hand of time. The choir is divided into equal portions by two steps, the lower part being called the Radcliffe Choir, from the family which used it as a cemetery : their brasses once covered the floor, but are now replaced by encaustic tiles. In the upper portion of the choir stands the bishop's throne, a sad contrast to, though an imitation of, the stalls by its side. Little need be said of the sanctuary, which is at present enclosed to the eastward by a stone screen, as an elaborate plan of restoration is in contemplation. It should, however, be mentioned that on the death of Bishop Frascr, the space between the octagonal chapter-house and the east end of the south choir aisle was filled by a monumental chapel, separated from the main building by a handsome oak screen. In the middle of this chapel rises a beautiful alabaster altar-tomb, upon which lies the full-length eftigy of the deceased prelate ; the likeness is an admirable one. On the opposite side of the choir a handsome altar-tomb and Gi'f^gy of Mr. Hugh Birley has been erected. The nave has also been recently enriched with many stained-glass windows of various merit, among which is one to the memory of the late General Gordon. We may add that the dimensions of the cathedral are: length, 215 feet; width of nave, 112 feet; height of tower, 140 feet; and area, 18,340 square feet. Ernest F. Letts. 30 LIVEUPOOL CATHEDRAL, FKOM THE NORTH-EAST. LIVERPOOL. ]\Iany of the recently-formed bishoprics have found already exist- s^^ i^^o churches, either old collegiate institutions or ancient parish >^ churches, to afford not unworthy centres for the new diocesan work. With Liverpool, by far the most important of the new sees, the case has been very different. No observant visitor to the modern Tyre can fail to be struck by the exceeding poverty of her ecclesiastical buildings. The cause of this is to be found in the very recent date of the city's growth. The iidiabitants speak of the " good old town," with this partial justification, that a charter of incorporation was granted so long ago as the reign of King Jolm. But, ecclesiastically, Liverpool was only a chapelry of tlic parish of Walton-on-the- Hill down to the end of the seventeenth centmy. In 1G99 an Act of Par- liament was 2)assed, by which, subject to certain valuable consideration granted to the Eector of Walton-on-the Hill, Liverjiool was made a separate and inde- pendent parish. At a town's meeting liokl soon after the Act had been obtained, L'VBupooL.] A '' PRO-OATHEDRAL." 235 it was resolved to build a new church to be thenceforth the parish church of Liverpool. Plans were approved and the work begun on a site which was then on the very limit of the inhabited part of the town. The church was completed in 1704, and then consecrated under the name of the Church of St. Peter. In this building the throne of the first Bishop of Liverpool is set up. A rectangular, box-like structure, with a western annexe in the form of a tower, and an eastern annexe which serves as the sacrarium, presents externally no features of interest. Internally the case is little better. Galleries, north, west, and south — the last containing the organ— take away from whatever effect the open space might have had. Tlic font is almost hidden away under the western gallery, and the eastern end, with oak carving of very good quality, but of altogether un- churchlike design, is partially concealed by the state cathedra of the bishop. The next most noticeable points of the interior are the gilded and decorated stands in which on high civic occasions the insignia of the mayor and the corj)oration are brought to rest. It is, indeed, as the parish church of one of the largest parishes in England, not in any way as a building, that St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral can have any interest to the visitor. To understand what " Peterses " is to the middle and lower classes of Liverpool, one should be there about three o'clock almost any afternoon and see the endless train of babies brought to be christened ; or, better still, in the street outside (Church Street), between the hours of eleven and twelve on New Year's Eve. I'housands of men completely block the street, and wait there till "Peterses" has struck the hour. Then, and not till then, can they believe that the New Year has actually come. The scheme for providing Liverpool with a worthy cathedral was for several years under the consideration of a committee, but it failed to rouse general en- thusiasm, and was at last reluctantly abandoned by its promoters. For a time, therefore, possibly for this generation, Liverpool churchmen will have to be content with the building of which a sketch heads this notice. It is some com- pensation, however, to know that the bishop and the honorary chapter, headed by the Rector of Liverpool as quasi-dean, have not been prevented by the difficulties arising from the construction of the church, or by the still greater difficulty of complete lack of endowment for the purpose, from organising and bringing to a high degree of excellence the special cathedral services. With a good organist and a well-trained choir, and with the constant attendance of some members of the chapter, the best that can be done is done to set before the clergy and laity of the diocese an example of what the services of the Church are when properly rendered. J. PULLIBLANK. TRURO. The liistory of the catliedral in Cornwall is of peculiar interest. Christianity was probably introduced tliere early in the third century. Soon after the Saxons landed in Britain, and as their conquests spread from east to west, " the Cornish purchased by an annual tribute from Cerdocius permission still to exercise the rights of the Christian religion."* Solomon, King (or Duke) of Cornwall, professed Christianity about the middle of the fourth century. Probably the see of Cornwall commenced about the year 614. Cornwall then and until 927 extended to the River Exe, in Devonshire. In 927 Howel, the then King of Cornwall, resolved not to own the supremacy of Athelstan, gave battle to the Saxon king, and was defeated near Exeter, probably on Haldon Hill (Howeldon ?), and Cornwall became subordinate to the crown of England ; but it was not till nine years later that Cornwall was really conquered : Athelstan then passed with an army from end to end, and to the Scilly Isles ; and one of his acts was to nominate Conan, a native Cornisli bishop, to the Cornish see in the Church of St. Germans, on December 5tli of that year, and from that time Cornwall was an English, not a British diocese. On the death of Burthwold, the last bishop at St. German's, the see of Cornwall was added to that of Crediton ; Lyfing, the nephew of Burthwold, Bishop of Crediton in 1027, also Bishoji of \Vorcester in 1038, became also Bishop of Cornwall in 1042. He was succeeded by Leofric in 1046 in the sees of Crediton and Cornwall ; and in 1050 the two dioceses were united, and the see was fixed at Exeter. Leofric was installed in St. Peter's Church, Exeter, by the Confessor and Editha, his queen, in person, and the union of the sees remained till the passing of the Truro Bishopric Act in 1876, when the now see was founded and the parish Church of St. Mary was assigned as the cathedral church. The first bishop. Dr. Edward White Benson, Chancellor of Lincoln, was consecrated at St. Paul's Cathedral on the festival of St. Mark, 1877, and was installed May 1st of that year by Dr. Temple, Bishop of Exeter, a voluntary restorer (with £800 a year out of his own endowment) of that see which had been taken as one with Exeter by his predecessor Leofric. The new bishop found his cathedral a dilapidated parish church, of no special architectural interest, and the building of a new cathedral was one of * Perr.nii/.al)ul(>o, " The Lost Church Foiiiul," p. 6. Truro.] HT8T0RY OF TRURO. 237 the first necessities. l^Ir. J. L. Pearson, R.A., was selected as architect, and on the 20th of May, 1880, two foundation stones were laid by the Prince of Wales. The design of the cathedral is Early Englisli in style, simple, without pretence of much ornamentation, but very striking- and beautiful, not only as a DESIGN OF THE CATHEDKAL, SOUTH-EAST VIEVT, whole, but in detail. Skill is specially shown in the interior arrangements; all had to be adapted to a limited area, and the power of producing the effect of length, height, and proportion, in the choir, side aisles, and transepts, is here illustrated in great perfection. The natural sloping of the ground towards the east has been turned to advantage for the building of the spacious crypt under the choir, with access by skilfully-formed staircases and archways north and south 238 ■ CATHEDEAL CHURCHES. [Truko. to the clioir above, the soutliern staircase entering into a narrow aisle, or ambu- latory, which unites the new building- to tlie restored south aisle of the old Church of St. Mary. Tlie crypt has been divided by thin wall partitions into various chambers for temporary accommodation, such as a cliapter-room, vestries for the bishop and the clergy respectively, a choir vestry, a singing school, and vest- ment and muniment rooms. These chambers sadly mar the effect of the original design, with its vaulted roof and solid pillars open from end to end. A good chapter-house within the precincts of the cathedral area is included in the unfinished portion of the architect's design. The beauty of the crypt may^ therefore, be some day restored by the demolition of some of its present disfigaroments. The old south aisle of St. Mary's is the low part with tlie seven windows east of the south transept j)orch, shown in the print. At the west end of this a small tower is added for the reception of bells until the large central and western towers are built. West of tlie south porch of the transept is a handsome baptistery, erected as a memorial to Henry Martyn, the missionary, a native of Truro ; and the southern part of the large transept commemorates the episcopate of the first bishop of the new see, and is called Bishop Benson's TransejDt. It will be seen from our engraving that a grand central tower, a small clock tower or campanile, and two western towers, and structural lines of Early English architecture, are the leading characteristics of the design of the cathedral. The entire length is to be 303 feet, the height of the central tower 217 feet from the nave floor, of the western towers about 20J: feet, of the clock tower 135 feet. The spire of the clock tower — the only one completed — is covered with copper ; and the parish bells and a clock with two dials are in place in it. So much of the central tower only has been built as is level with the apex of the choir roof. The completion of this tower, with the whole of the western towers and the nave, with the exception of portions of the two bays adjoining the transept, is now in abeyance. It is estimated that the completed portion — the area of choir and transept — affords accommodation for about 1,400 worshippers, and that, when the nave is added, the building will seat 2,500 persons. The exact amount spent, in- cluding the purchase of houses and land for additional site, consecration expenses, and internal fittings, has been £114,081 lis. 9d. There is no permanent provision for the maintenance either of the fabric or of the services. On the removal of Bishop Benson to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, the great work which he had organised passed into the hands of Dr. George Howard Wilkinson, who was consecrated at St. Paul's on the festival of St. Mark, and installed on the 15th of May, 1883. By him the completed j)ortion of the edifice was consecrated on the 3rd of November, 1887. Edmund CAiiLvoN. NEWCASTLE. The new diocese of Newcastle is fortunate in the possession of a cliurch which is not unworthy of the name of a cathecU^al, though it can never be converted into a cathedral of the ordinary type. It is above all things the chief church of a great town. It stands in the centre of that town's busy life. It bears clear traces of having grown with the prosperity of a growing centre of commerce. It owes everything to the munificence of wealthy burgliers. Its structure is plain and solid, telling of the severity and sternness of northern life in bygone times. The cliurch itself is a symbol of tlie attempts to keep pace Avith the needs of a growing population whicli led to the formation of a see of Newcastle. The original Church of St. Nicholas was consecrated by Bisliop Osmund of Salisbury in 1091. It does not seem to have been a place of much ecclesiastical importance, for Henry I. granted it to the canons of Carlisle. It was burnt down in 1216, and there are still remains of the early transitional work which mark the first attempt at rebuilding. The chief part, however, of the jDresent structure of the nave dates from 1359. In 1368 the transepts were added. The choir was soon afterwards proceeded with, and the east window was due to a citizen, Roger Thornton, who died in 1429. Another citizen, Robert Rhodes, who died in 1474, finished the tower which rises at the west end of the church, and built the spire which is the distinguishing ornament of the structm-e. From these dates it will be seen that the architectural style of the cliurch is flowing Decorated, rapidly passing into Perpendicular. The chief features of the chiu-ch are those which mark the Early Perpendicular style. The entrance at the west end has three doorways admitting into a spacious vestibule, which is separated from the body of the church by a plain wooden screen. The church is seated throughout, and is impressive through its massive simplicity. Its pillars have no capitals, and the plain chamfer of the arches ends in a simple bevel. One step only raises the level of the chancel above the nave, and there are no choir stalls. The aisles of the chancel are as broad as those of the nave. Behind the high altar is a chapel, which is used as a choir vestry. Tlie large organ stands in the north transept, and blocks up an old chapel of St. George. The church is rich in side chapels. It contains nine of these chantries, which were built by citizens 240 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Newcastle. as burying-places for their families, and had separate endowments that masses miglit be said for tlie dead. The plainness and simplicity of the chmxh is accounted for by the early intercourse between Newcastle and Antwerp, and the consequent influence of Flemish models. But this plain massiveness of structure characterises most of the churches of Northumberland, and probably expressed the feclinj^ of northern taste NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST. in a land whore constant warfare led to a Avish for security rather than ornament. The citizens of Newcastle erected a strong and spacious building. Their church was a solid and substantial shell, to which decoration might afterwards be applied. The numerous chantries gave scope for the exhil)ition of individual taste. The church was eminently a civic building. It grew little by little, and is a monu- ment of the public spirit of the citizens. It was conceived in no niggard spirit, being 245 feet long, and as at present arranged can seat 8,000 people. The actual appearance of the church is due to a restoration conducted by Sir Gilbert Scott, between 1873 and 1877. Before that time the chancel was surrounded by a Newcastle.] THE SPIRE. 241 screen, and the nave was left unoccupied during service. Now the entire building scarcely suffices to contain the congregation. The need of the church is additional decoration, which its plain structure was evidently intended to receive. Already the decoration of the chancel lias been begun by the erection of a reredos, a dignified structure of alabaster, designed by a Newcastle architect, Mr. R. J. Johnson, at the expense of a citizen of Newcastle. A bishop's throne has also been set up, and plans have been formed for a choir-screen and choir-stalls. Externally the Cathedral of Newcastle does not appeal to the eye by an imposing mass of buildings. The west front and part of the north side lie along an open square and show their smoke-blackened features ; but the east end is surrounded by other structures which hem it in. The south side of the chancel is concealed by a large vestry-room and library, built in 1736, a good example of the Classical style. The growing trade of Newcastle has absorbed the open space which once surrounded the church, and has thereby stamped still more distinctly a local significance upon the building. The chief architectural feature of the church is its flying spire. On the top of the square tower flying buttresses rise from the four corners and meet to support an elegant tapering spire, which rises to a height of 200 feet. The motive of such an ornament seems to have been the figure of a crown rising on the summit of the building. Other instances of the same treatment are to be found in the spires of St. Giles', Edinburgh, and at St. Dunstan's-in-the-East, London. But the lantern, or flying spire, of the Cathedral of Newcastle surpasses all others in its grace of proportion and elegance of form. Structurally such an ornament is indefensible. It can only be maintained by iron supports. It has little power of resistance either to the wind or to the action of the smoky atmosphere. It needs constant care and frequent repairs. But it is, and has been, the chief feature of all views of Newcastle, and gives picturesqueness to the asjject of the city on whichever side it is approached. All else may be hidden in the blue- grey mist which rolls westwards along the valley of the Tyne; the cathedral spire still points upwards, borne on its soaring buttresses, which seem to cleave the mist and force it to reveal some of the proportions of the tower below. M. Creighton. 31 GENERAL VIEW FKOM THE SOUTH. SOUTHWELL. -4-1- V H The great collegiate Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Soutliwell is in every resjDCct worthy to be advanced to the rank of a cathe- dral. In size and stateliness it excels more than one of the churches long occupied by a bishop's chair, and it is also in plan and character a true cathedral rather tlian a large parish church. Neither is it wanting in strong individuality and peculiar beauty. Approaching from the west, which, though not the most picturesque, is the best point for a first general view, one of these beauties will be found in the massive four-square appearance of the building, a character given by bold horizontal lines carried completely round the nave, by the squareness of the centre tower in outline and ornament, and by the bands of moulding and arcading which cut the western towers into rectangular divisions. Something of this unity of im- pression is now lost by the crowning of the west towers with spires, instead of the parapets and pinnacles which, poor and mean in themselves, repeated the square finish of the centre tower in a manner very pleasing to the eye. Pointed caps, with eaves over the corbel-tables, were probably the original coverings of all three towers. The massive, fortress-like aspect once presented by the west front is much impaired by the enormous Perpendicular window, which, as by. a fissure, divides the towers, and by the round-headed windows with which their lowest storey has been pierced. The west })ortal, now dwarfed by the window above, should be the cliief feature of this front. It is fine in itself ; the arch is of live orders of well-grouped mouldings ; the inner one is not divided by the abacus. The doors are early fourteenth-century work, strengthened by iron -work of singular and beautiful design. Southwell.] NORMAN WORK. 243 On the south side of the nave the Norman windows are modern copies of the original form. The Perpendicular windows are good exam^jles of their time — late fourteenth century. The lower of the two string-courses which encompass the build- ing in firm bands has been brought down to admit these deeper windows, and eked out with the jambs of the old Norman windows. The roofs no longer come down over the corl)el-tables, which are surmounted by parapets of later work. Tlie round windows of the clerestory arc unique in this place, forming one of the special features of the church. On the north side of the nave is a beautiful and uncommon porch, made one with the building by a bold and skilful arrangement of the string- courses. The outer arch has plain mouldings, the inner one is much enriched. The doors are somewhat later than those of the west portal, and are carved and without ironwork. The transepts retain the original Norman windows, and show a rare variation of cable moulding. The zigzag and other string-courses are continued round the transepts ; the former is curiously bent over the small door in the south transept. The gables of the transepts are filled with a kind of herring-bone ornament; the upper parts are a restoration to jthe original roof-pitch. The bear on the north gable is the original creature returned to his watch after many wanderings. No trace was found of his companion, so a lion was carved to match him on the south. The grave and massive central tower fitly sums up the Norman church, with which it is in admirable harmony. The story of the stones of the parapet tells that they came from the transept gables, probably soon after the roofs were lowered, and it is conjectured that the curious pinnacles once flanked these same gables. The Norman church was completed by apsidal chapels east of the transepts, and by a short choir having apsidal terminations to the aisles, but ending in a square chancel, or sacrarium, a very uncommon form for this style. The date of the Norman building is 1100 — 1150. It is not known when the roofs were first lowered ; they were raised again, and the present spires placed on the west towers, 1879—1883. The exterior of the Early English choir is marred by the low-pitched roofs, not yet restored in this part of the church ; the Gothic requires the steep roof more than the Romanesque. This part of the building is as perfect and beautiful an example of its style as the nave and transepts, with which it not only contrasts, but subtly harmonises. Instead of presenting the unequally yoked appearance- that is often found on the Continent when the two styles meet, as at Aix-la-Chapelle, where the effect both within and without is grotesque, hero it shows as a noble and perfect marriage. The great beauty of proportion in the choir is more easily felt than pointed out ; few of the details are uncommon — their singularity lies in happy grouping and exquisite finish. As in the nave, the string-courses and corbel-tables are emphasised and very complete, adding much to the solidity and unity of the 244 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Southwell. wliole. Tlirou<^liout, the moiilding-s are at once bold and refined, grouped in the thoughtful and effective manner characteristic of the period. Every arch has its supporting pillars well defined, and every pillar has its capital and base complete in every member, and delicately proportioned to its size. The dog-tooth is the only ornamented moulding ; it is liberally used in varying sizes, according to the place it occupies; it follows the main string-courses and nearly every arch, it rings the capitals of the window shafts, and adorns the fine buttresses in a piquant and unusual manner. VIKW FKOM THa SOUTH-EAST. The choir is crossed by small transepts, square, and about the width of the aisles; their beauty from without is destroyed by the lowering of the roofs. This is also the case at the east end, which lacks the high gable of the old roof, once in accord with the lofty pinnacles which remain on cither side. This front is remarkable for two tiers of four equal-sized lancets, the even number being very rare in this position. The date assigned for the Early English building is 1230 to 1250. On the north of the chcir is the chapter-house, again a beautiful specimen of style (date 1285 to 1300), The octagonal form and the (restored) lofty roof group admirably with the body of the church, adding greatly to its cathedi-al completeness. The walls are strengthened by massive buttresses. The parapet is a rich band of ornament based on a rare modification of the corbel-table; the windows contain very good geometrical tracery. Southwell.] THE INTERTOR. 245 An^ Early English chapel, opening into the north transept, very interesting in its details, fills the space beyond the chapter-house. To enter the church, it is best to return to the west portal, as the interior is thus better appreciated. The first impression is of too much light, the massive pillars and low arches giving a desire for deeper shadow and more gravity and mystery; but the huge west window lets in the broad daylight in a way the builders did not intend, and we must be content with the warm tint it gives to the yellow stone, and notice the soft shadows taken by the great round j)iers, the simple strength of the arches and of the aisle vaultings. The piers have broad square bases, the capitals are round, with little pro- jection, and the ornament is flat and without emphasis. The tri- forium arches are low and wide ; some filling-in seems to have been planned but never executed. Above, the light from the semicircular clere- story windows is admitted through small arches, having a passage be- tween them pierced in the wall. The jDavement, relaid, retains at the west end portions of the old herring- bone floor. The new barrel roof replaces a flat wooden ceiling. The four lofty arches to the tower have engaged semicircular j^illars. These arches are very beautiful ; the bold cable moulding around them has peculiar features and should be compared with the cables of the transept windows. The transepts have three tiers of windows; below them, at each end, there are two arches in the wall resting in the middle on a round pillar, set close to the wall, but detached from it. The entrance arches only remain of the destroyed apsidal chapels east of the transepts. The Early English chapel opening into the north transept deserves examination ; it is below the level of the present pavement, and was built for two altars. The sharply -pointed arches of THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST. 246 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Southwell. entrance are oddly proportioned, and liave an exuberance of moulding. A stair to the triforium and tower is in the north transept. Over the door is a tympanum stone, much older than the existing church. It is said to represent St. Michael, but the curious Byzantine character of the design and the subordinate figure of David suggest Psalm xci. 13 as a probable interpretation. Tlie parvise, or sacrist's chamber, over the porch, is reached by this stair. In the north transept is now placed the beautiful alabaster monument of Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York. His figure is recumbent on an altar-tomb ; tlic widow and seven children kneel below. The vestments show the form worn by the archbishop, who died 1588. The rood-screen is a fine example of Decorated work, date about 1340, of intricate and singular construction and profuse ornament. The open spandrels of the vaulting, the arches opening west, the stairs right and left of the east arch, are the more uncommon features of this screen. On the east side are six canopied stalls, one of them lined with very good diaper work. The place of the rood is now occupied by the organ. The interior of the choir is a very fine construction, of extraordinary j^urity and beauty of proportion. It was cleared from whitewash a few years ago, and there is a glorious difference between the warm living surface of the stone and the dead limewash, with its lead-coloured shadows. The rosy-tinted perspec- tives into the nave are often very beautiful. The six great arches on each side the choir rest on piers of eight clustered shafts, to which the mouldings above are specially well adapted. The fillet of the succeeding period is just indicated on these shafts, while the base mouldings have an earlier character. All but three of the arches have a bold variety of dog-tooth carried between the mouldings. The triforium and clerestory are here included within one tier of tall lancet arches, liaving clustered shafts ; here the dog-tooth runs between the shafts as well as over the arches ; most of the capitals are plain, except those of the chancel windows. These last have a deep interior sj)lay, and are grouped under hood mouldings. The small transepts of the choir have a very good effect within ; they are about as deep as the width of the aisles, and repeat their square termina- tions; like them, also, they had each an altar on the east, making five in the choir. The vaulting is simple throughout; the great centre rib is carried down between the east windows to a small shaft with peculiar and excellent effect. The side springs of the vault come low down between the main arches on triple shafts ; these are clasped by the great string-course which runs round the choir under the triforium arches. The bosses are of varied and boldly carved foliage, and the ubiquitous dog-tooth is carried along the centre and eastern ribs. The sedilia arc an uncommon piece of rich Decorated work, with curious details, added to the chancel. A pavement of variously coloured Derbyshire marble has recently been placed in the sacrarium. SovTu^vELL.j DOORWAY OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE. 247 From the north aisle a fine Decorated doorway, with a thick wreath of foliage over the arch, di^dded by a carved marble shaft under a trefoil, leads by a short cloister passage to the chapter-house. This cloister has an arcade of trefoiled arches on one side, and on the other a beautiful row of pointed arches, once open to the court, resting on double pillars, the capitals and connecting bars delicately carved Avitli natui'al foliage. This cloister, court, and vestibule are full of interest in design, in construction, and in picturesque effect, which should not be overlooked in the admiration excited by the chapter-house itself and the splendid doorway leading into it. The first impression of this arch is that it is perfectly new, and it is hard to believe that nearly 600 years have passed since the last strokes of that most skilful chisel were given. Its beauty and purity have been its defence against friend and foe ; it has lost nothing but the marble jamb shafts, now replaced, and has never been touched by paint, whitewash, or the scraper. Two wreaths of foliage are carried round the arch, one over a hollow and one over a filleted moulding ; this moulding and the bells of the capitals here and through the building are as perfect under the foliage as if the latter had been laid on as an after-thought. The doorway is divided by a slender stone shaft, the head is fitted by a quatrefoil between two cusped arches, and a rare and lovely leaf ornament is set round these arches. There is no appearance of a door having actually filled this exquisite arch. Within, the varied ornament of foliage, very slightly conventionalised, and relieved by heads, birds, and grotesques, that profusely adorns the arcade, is of spirited and original treatment ; with the doorway it seems to be the independent work of one artist carver, who has, however, subordinated this last finish and adornment to the architectural construction of the beautifully-designed building. It is octagonal in form, having six large windows in the disengaged bays, and a fine vault springing from between the windows and following the octagon form ; the ribs meet in a particularly fine boss. The string-course under the windows connects the termina- tions of the crocketed arcades with the same firm and bold effect seen in the earlier parts of the chm'cli, which, with many details too minute and technical to be pointed out here, show that each builder has studied and caugiit the spirit of his predecessors, in a manner that makes the cathedral of many periods a single and perfect building, telling its one story in many voices, and a fit type of the Church of Christ in every age of the world. E. Glaistek. WAKEFIELD. The Cathedral Church of Wakefield, although not very ancient in tlie structural sense, has been raised on an old foundation. The site is believed to have been originally occupied by a Norman edifice, of which, however, there is but scant mention, although it is known to have remained until the beginning of the rciji^n of Edward III., when John, last Earl of Warren, was tenant of Wakefield for life. Under what circumstances it was demolished there is no record to show. Wakefield was now, however, coming into prominence as a cloth-producing centre ; and it is not unlikely that the Norman church had become too small for the growing population of the parish. The church that took its place was consecrated in 1329 by William de Melton, Archbishop of York. With the exception of the tower and spire, this church was, for some unknown reason, demolished about the middle of the fifteenth century. Another church, which Leland, who visited the town in 1538, speaks of as a new build- ing, was then erected, and it is this building which, with many additions and alterations, has become the Cathedral of Wakefield. The structure may be said to have been in process of restoration since early in the eighteenth century. About a third of the spire was blown down in 1715 ; and after this had been rebuilt it became necessary to restore the south side of the church, which was done in 1724. About seventy years later the same course had to be taken with the nortli side and east end. The spire was repaired a second time in 1802, but it was subjected to the merest patchwork — a little "pointing" here and there, with protecting iron bands at intervals. In 1823 the bands were removed and the spire re-topped and left smooth along its fine vanishing lines. The present spire, which is crocketed and octagonal, was erected as part of a scheme of restoration begun about 1860 by Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A., and continued to a recent period. More than £30,000 has been sj^ent in the improvement of the fabric during the last thirty years. Situated in Northgate, the Cathedral of Wakefield occupies a central posi- tion on high ground. The spire from the base of the tower runs up to 247 feet. It is the highest in Yorkshire, and a conspicuous feature over a considerable area. The cathedral stands clear of buildings, and it is possible to study the Decorated and Perpendicular features of its style on all sides. The western door leads through tlie tower, and, once entered, reveals the composition of the Wakefield] THE 8T0NEW0EK. 2i9 church — a nave and chancel with side aisles that extend the whole length of the buildinf,^ The nave and chancel are under a continuous flat roof, and both are clerestoried. On the south side is a fine porch with a parvise vestry. The building is 180 feet in length and 69 in breadth, and has accommodation for 1,500 worshippers. The stonework of the interior, except in the accessories, is almost entirely free from adornment. The church makes a fine show, how- TllE LNTISIIIOU, LOOKING EAST. ever, externally. The bold crocketing, which is so conspicuous a feature on the lines of the spire, is repeated elaborately on pinnacles rising from arcadcd and panelled parapets over a fine series of four-light windows along the Avhole length of the edifice and at the east end. Over the east window, and in the centre of the parapet, is a fine canopy containing a figure of William do Melton, and surmounted by a cross. The sides and tower are buttressed in gabled stages. The refacing gives the building a fresh look externally, and contrasts curiously with the signs of age on the bays of the nave and the internal walls. The stained glass is modern, and has been introduced for memorial purposes. Dividing the chancel from the nave is an elegant screen of floriated oak of the Jacobean era ; and the stalls in the chancel show some fine tabernacle work. A Percy badge — the crescent and manacles — is found carved on the stall- work, but when or for what reason introduced does not seem to be known. The 32 250 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Wakf.f.fi.i,. ceiling of the nave and chancel aisles shows carved bosses, some of wliich per- petuate the arms of Wakefield, and others the badge of the House of York. The organ case, like the chancel screen, belongs to the time of Charles I. It was the gift of the ill-fated Earl of Strafford. The octagonal font, which rises from a slender shaft, bears the date 16G1 on one of its faces ; on another arc the initials of Charles II., the remainin": faces bearin": the initials of churchwardens. The east end of the south aislC; formerly called " Our Lady's Quire," is the burial- place of the Pilkingtons. It has been thoroughly restored at the expense of Sir Lionel Pilkington, Bart., of Che vet, and is now known as the Pilkington Chantry. It was founded by Sir John Pilkington under authority of letters patent from Edward IV. There are numerous Pilkington monuments in the little chapel, the most elaborate being one to the memory of Sir Lyon Pilkington, who died in 1714; it shows a full-length figure under a canopy, with a long inscription in Latin. The church generally is rich in monumental features. None of the slabs or tablets go beyond the seventeenth century ; but traces of old memorials were found during the Scott restoration. On clearing off the colour-wash from the walls of the chancel, traces of black-letter inscriptions were discovered beneath the stucco. Mr. James Fowler, in a paper on the subject, expresses the opinion that these inscriptions were jDrobably of the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury. But a still more interesting discovery was made. On the removal of the incrustations it was found that all the surface had once been painted, and on lifting a sheet of j^laster from off the south-west spandrel of the choir-arch there was seen the figure of an angel in an attitude of adoration, supposed to have been part of a large picture filling up the whole of the space above the arch. Mr. Fowler, after a careful study of the pigments, assigned 1470 as the pro- bable date of the picture, this being the year in which the body of the church, including the choir, was rel^uilt. Numerous presentations were made to the church during the period of the last restoration, amongst the articles being a very fine reredos of Caen stone and white marble. The original grant of the church was made by William Rufus to the second William de Warren, and was transferred about the close of the eleventh cen- tury to the monastery at Lewes, in Sussex. During the reign of Edward III. (11325) it was allotted by the monastery to Hugh de Spencer the younger. From the Spencers the church passed to the Crown. The next trace is a grant of the church to the Dean and College of St. Stephen, at Westminster, and in the hands of this body it remained till the Dissolution, when it reverted to the Crown. The living then continued in the gift of the Sovereign until 1860, when the patronage was transferred to the Bishop of Ripon and his successors. It has now, of course, passed to the Bishop of Wakefield. The value of the living is £400. American and other readers of Goldsmith's famous story fre(j[uently make Wakefield] THE FORMATTON OF THE SEE. 251 tlieir way to tlio vicarai^e of WakofiolJ, only to be bereft of tlic pleasing fancy tliat they liave discovered the .starting-ground of the EngHsh classic. Dr. Primrose is purely a creation of tlie brain, and there is no reason to believe that Goldsmith ever visited Wakefield, or that the choice of title was more than a coincidence.* But though such visits have an element of disappointment, the tourist will not ro})ont the pilgrimage. Wakefield is itself an interesting spot, and the neighbourhood abounds with antiquities and historical associations. The Order in Council founding the Diocese of Wakefield was issued on the 17th of May, 1888. This was the result of a movement extending over twelve or thirteen years. The see has tlie peculiarity of being almost wholly cut out of another not much more than half a century older than itself. In the year pre- ceding the accession of the Queen the greater part of the West Riding and a portion of the northern division of the county received episcopal privileges apart from York, the ancient Bishopric of Kipon, dormant from pre-Reformation times, being revived for the purpose. In its resuscitated form the diocese of Ripon had some three hundred livings and a population of about eight hundred thousand. By the time the Queen attained her Jubilee, this population had doubled, and the number of livings had gone up to about five hundred. It has been estimated that the amount of money spent in the diocese during the fifty years for church restoration and building must have been close upon a million and a half ; and it is officially known that over a million of this generous total was raised in sums above five hundred pounds. So that with the increase of population there was a corresponding development of Church work. Even in area— over a million and a half of acres — the see was a heavy one to administer ; and as it was an area emljracing many large towns in which church extension had been taken up with spirit, the question whether something could be done to lessen the growing burden on the diocesan began to press for consideration long before relief was found. Dr. Walsham How, the Bishop Suffragan of Bedford, was nominated to the new see early in 1888. Soon after, All Saints, the parish church of Wakefield, was made the cathedral for the diocese; and here, on June 25, 1888, the bishop was installed by the Archbishop of York. Wakefield was then elevated to the dignity of a city. The diocese has an area of 235,000 acres ; the population, which at the census of 1881 was 003,235, will now run well up to 900,000. W. S. Cameron. * An ontliiisiastic sinrlciit of Goldsmith (Mr. Edward Ford) liolds a difEorent opinion. He gives a York- shire application to the novel nearly all tlirough, and states tliat Kirby-Moorside was the scene of many of the incidents. It has been stated also that if Goldsmith had liis mind on the actual Wakefield when he wrote tlie book, the vicar he introduces could be none other than the Rev. Benjamin Wilson, M.A. Mr Wilson, who acquired some reputation as a Greek scholar, began Ills career in Wakefield as Master of the Grammar School, was appointed to tlie vicariate in 1751, and died in 17t>l<, two years before the "Vicar of Wake- field " was published. THE EXTERIOn, FROM THE SOUTII-AVEST. BANGOR. Those who regard the historic monuments of Welsh antiquity from a general standpoint must be content to find fewer evidences of power, wealth, and lavish taste in the principality tlian on tlie other side of the English l)order. A more ancient yet scantier civilisation, tlie natural poverty of moor and mountain, the long struggle for independence, the isolation of a distinct race and language, have tended to produce this result, which is never- theless in some degree atoned for to the sight-seer by tlie beau- tiful setting of tlie jewels which remain in AYales, and to the church (in North Wales at least) by its continued possession of nearly all those rectorial rights which elsewhere became first the appanage of religious houses, and next the prey of the spoiler. In the first rank of these monuments stands Bangor Cathe- dral, the seat of one of the most ancient among existing British sees, dating as it does from the time when Christianity seems first to have gained a per- manent footing in Venedotia or North Wales, and to liave rooted itself in certain definite localities. St. Daniel, or Deiniol, made the first settlement here about 550. His church Avas doubtless of timber, but built on the still existing site, and of structure and dimensions entitling it to a name indicative of high Bangor.] CHURCH AND CATHEDUAL. 253 excellence. It was Bangor, the place of tlio Fair Choir. Tliorc were several such })laces within Celtic limits and similarly designated. Three survive in history, one of them, Bangor-is-coed, with familiar but melancholy interest connected with Saxon encroachment ; Bangor in Carnarvonshire alone retains an ecclesiastical significance. The cathedral as it now stands has all the appearance of a large and liand- some parish church. Parish church indeed it is, for the vicars of tlie parish still INTEKIOU LOOKING WEST. hold in it tlieir parochial services, and these alternate with tliose of a cathedral ; nevertheless we have here not indeed a media3val church throughout, but one of Sir Gilbert Scott's choicest restorations. The centre and transejits are specially effective, tliough the former is seemingly incapable of Ijearing the weight of a tower (once designed to crown the building) by reason of cracks in eacli one of the supporting arches. The style adopted for the new work is the Early Decorated, which was suggested l)y the foundations and other structural remains of the cathedral of 1292, the later-built walls furnishing a perfect quarry of stonework (often richly wrought) of that period. In particular tlie great 2o4 CATHEDRAL CHUh'CHES. [Baxgop.. windows of tlu' iiortli and soiitli transepts are almost exactly \\liat tlioy must have been more than 500 years ag'o, being in a great measm^e formed of the old material put back in its original place. Both outside and. inside of the south transept plain evidences are given of side chapels commenced at the same early period. In the choir or chancel the moi-e modern details, such as the roof and woodwork, are specimens of modern introduction in the same Decorated style, but the original work of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries abounds, and is left untouched in all its naked simplicity. The east window is a fair specimen of its period, but no cusps or other ornaments exist to relieve the ])lain Perpendicular windows facing north and south, which have a general correspondence with the style of the nave arcade, and in point of time just preceded it. As witnesses to a still earlier building, there remain outside the choir on the south a Nornian arch and a Norman buttress ; and dm-ing the late restoration traces could be seen of the Norman apse, both in a semicircular line of foundations very considerably abridging the length of the existing choir, and also in the curvature of the outside masonry of the choir eastward from the south, now barely if at all perceptible. The nave with the western tower is of very late Perpendicular, the work of Bishop Skeffington continued by him till as late as 1532, and not wholly finished till Bishop Rowland's time, 1611. Here the columns and clerestory windows are poor, scarcely worthy of the good modern roof surmounting them, but the windows of the nave aisles are of late Edwardian design, surviving when nearly all else except a portion of the south end of the south transept perished by fire. The walk round the cathedral (233 feet in extreme length with breadth at transepts 90 feet) shows no fm-ther special features. Palace, deanery, canonry, all modern, are pleasantly embosomed in trees, and the group of cathedral buildings receives no accession but from the restored chapter-room, which is also a library containing one great treasure, " The Bangor Use," otherwise called " The Pontifical of Bishop Anian," of the date 1291, a book lost and recovered more than once by the cathedral authorities. Something of an historical sketch is needed to render the structural changes in the cathedral intelligible. King Edgar (959 — 1017), an early })atron of the Churcli of Bangor, must have left that church a wooden erection, for though recent research has revealed three several foundations of the cathedral at its centre, none of these point to a stone building existing before the Conquest. As late as 1102 stone seems first to have been used, when a new cathedral rose on the ashes of an earlier building destroyed in 1071. The few remaining Norman features are of this period. This Norman cathedral again was destroyed in the wars of King Henry III. and Prince David, but the accession of Edward I. brought with it the subjugation of Wales, the establishment of a line of fortresses along the Welsh coast, the nomination to the bishopric of Edward's friend, the Banoou] HISTOETCAL reminiscences. 255 Anian above mentioned, and the rebuilding- in the Early Decorated style of the cathedral about 1291. This is that cathedral whoso design the restoration in our own times has endeavoured to follow out, while preserving later existing features. Here in Bangor (as Shakespeare has it) the archdeacon (a chimney of whose house is still exhibited) map})ed out England and AVales into three parts, for Mortimer one, for Glyndwr one, and one for Harry Hotspur. Yet in the end Glyndwr figures as the ravager and burner of this and of St. Asaph Cathedrals, many of whose dignitaries suffered outlawry for the su})port they had rendered him. The work of destruction took place in 1402, and now for ninety years through the long Wars of the Roses the church waited for the quiet times of Henry Tudor. Then Bishop Deane, or Denis, took up tiie work of rebuilding, himself completing the choir, and building into his walls the old material which offered itself for use, and now has seen tlie light again. For, long after the storms of the Reformation had subsided, and chantries and vestments and even bells had disappeared, and successful rebellion had come and gone, and the church had slept out her long sleep through periods of peaceful revolution and Georgian indifference, in this latter age good people were again minded to beautify this ancient centre of religious life. Twice their efforts were called forth ; choir and transepts, as we now see them, are the result of the former, nave of the second effort of this happy inspiration. Bangor cannot lay claim to many notable men. Kings did not pension their State officers with Welsh preferment. Possibly the notoriety of Bishop Hoadley (1716) may entitle him to a passing word. Appointed because of political con- siderations, he was travelling to his diocese ; but when at Chester, anticipating a reception the reverse of pleasant, he turned tail and never again attempted to visit Bangor through a seven years' occupancy of the see. He it was who gave rise to the well-known Bangorian controversy. One word to the antiquarian who prefers what is really old to any amount of successful imitation. The south transe})t retains its three original buttresses ; they are worth examination, and further valuable as corresponding with the work in the Lady Chapel of Chester Cathedral, whence it may be inferred that Edward I, drew his masons and chief designer. R. H. Hill. THE CATHEUllAL, I'llOM THE KlVEll. ST. ASAPH. The fine position of the old Cathedral Church of St. Asaph has often proved its ruin. You see nothing- of St. David's till you are quite upon it ; hills command Llanda£E and Bangor all around. No one would occupy them for defence, except so far as the mere walls would protect those who took refuge within them. But in troublous times the tongue of hnid which runs down between the rivers Elwy and Clwyd was a position to be occu- pied at once. The only building of any strength upon it was Even in the early days, when it was constructed of wood, its position made it somewhat difficult to take by assault, when weapons of offence were not brought to any great degree of efficiency. But when once entered it was easily destroyed. It is curious how little we can learn about it from history or tradition, nor can we infer much from earthworks, architectural remains, or monuments of any kind. the cathedral. St. Asaph.] FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. 257 For all tlie early part of tlie history of the catliedral, wo can only begin with " they say," referring; to the old Llyfr Goch, or the later writers Browne Willis and Edwards, and various scattered notices, most of which arc mentioned in the carefully-compiled history of the diocese of St. Asaph, by Archdeacon Thomas, to whom I am indebted for nmch kind assistance. If St. Asaph was ever a fortified position, as is stated in one old document, the vallum probably ran just within the palace grounds, and turned up across the hill, so as to include the corner of the kitchen-garden on the THE INTERIOR, LOOKING WEST. (From a ['holograph hy F. Bedford, by permission of Messrs. Catherall and PricharJ.) south side of the cathedral — as there is certainly an artificially made terrace or rectangular earthwork along those lines. The story goes that Kentigern, driven from somewhere in Strathclyde about the year 560, went to St. David's, from which he organised a missionary expedition into the vale of Clwyd, and having overcome the opposition of Maelgwyn, or Maelgwn, erected a church, with monastic buildings attached, at what is now known as St. Asaph, but was at tirst called Llanelwy, " the church on the Elwy," by which name it. is always known in the vernacular. S3 258 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [St. As.vpsi. Century after century rolled by, and in tlie church of Llanelwy, whether the solemn chant may have arisen from day to day, and the monks liave lived a life of contemplation in its quiet cloisters, or whether its precincts may have often witnessed the clash of arms and the revelry of victorious troops, we know not. Almost the first record of it is a story of fire and sword, when the soldiers of Henry III. occupied it in 1247. The earliest relic is a silver penny of Henry IH., found Avith sawn antlers of red deer and various bones of domestic animals in cutting a drain through made-ground in the palace stable-yard. In 1282, also, we read that it was burnt down. It must be noted, however, that when the cathedral emerges from the mists of those troublous story-less times, it is not as a newly-founded institution, but as one that had been long exercising wide influence and jurisdiction, for Bishop Anian liaving quarrelled with Prince Llewelyn in 1274, appealed to the English archbishop and to the king to support his claims, and met with the usual reward of such condvict ; for the English came, and Anian and his neighbours suffered more from his now supporters than from his old opponents. Now we begin to find definite records of a building, some of the stones of which at any rate remain in the cathedral of to-day ; for we learn that Pklward I. made very liberal ofPers, on condition that the cathedral and its staff were re- moved to Rhuddlan, but that this was strongly opposed, and that the cathedral was rebuilt on the old site. There is a small capital of a shaft jjreserved in tlic north transept, which was recently found built into the wall of the nave. This seems to belong to the Norman period. Though it is not improbable that the Early English style did not get down into Wales till late, we can hardly suppose that a cluirch was erected in the Norman style after the time of Edward I. ; and it seems more probable that there had been an earlier building of stone. If so, all records of that Norman church of Arclibishoj) Baldwin's time have been swept away save this one stone. Nor have we much evidence left as to the early English church. When the cathedral was being restored some few years ago, it was not until the work had gone on for some time that Sir Gilbert Scott found sufficient evidence of the character of the early English work to enable him to satisfy himself as to the general features of the chancel windows. There was, as we read in a writ of Henry VI. (1442), another destruction of the cathedral and its surrounding buildings, "in the last wcrre tyme of Wales," when all that the fire could seize "was brent and utterly destroyed" by Owen Glyndwr in 1402, and "no styk laft." In 1482 Bishop Redman repaired the walls which had not been destroyed, re-roofed the cluirch, and placed carved oak stalls and an episcopal throne in the choir. The present stalls do in part represent the original work, liaving St. AsAiH.] THE CATUKDRAIj WALLS. 250 probably been to some extent preserved by the successive coats of paint laid on in former years, and only removed during the late restoration of the cathedral. They have of com\se been restored from time to time, as for instance after the storm of 1714, when part of the tower was blown down, and breaking through the roof of the choir boat down the tabernacle work. The fifteenth-century east window was replaced in 1780, and a window, said to l^e a copy by Egginton of the east window of Tintorn Abbey, was inserted in its })lace. The throne was broken down in the Ci^dl War, and used for feeding cattle in, but after the restoration Bishop Griffith l)uilt a new one. It is not improbable that some portions of the cathedral may have got worked into the old parish church from time to time. There was formerly a chapter-house in the north-east angle between the chancel and the north transept. Any one who examines the walls of the cathedral will see such a mixture of stones of various kinds and different colour that he will be obliged to admit the probability of there having been several successive renovations, in which the material of pre-existing buildings was employed, with new stones introduced each time. The walls show a not un23leasing mixture of the light grey of the moun- tain limestone, with the bright red of the new red sandstone, the pale claret colour of the stained carboniferous rocks, the unstained beds of which have furnished the yellow or grey stones so largely used in the interior, while the massive battlemented tower, 93 feet in height, the most con- spicuous feature in the building, is of white limestone for three-quarters of its height, finished off above in bright red sandstone. This may have been done in 1688, when " greate timber trees were carried out of Jannian Wood, in Beraigne, for and towards the making of a new steeple-lofft or belfrye," or later when the tower was repaired after it had been injured in the great storm of 1714. Through such changes the cathedral came to be what it is, a cruci- form church, 182 feet in length, 108 feet across the transepts, 45 feet high in the nave, and 40 in the chancel, with a tower rising out of the intersection of the transepts and nave. The transepts are, however, cut off by the oak stalls of the choir. Part of the north transept forms a robing-room for the choristers, above which the organ is placed. The soft-coloured reredos of alabaster is somewhat lost in the rich setting of pink and red sandstone, and the architecture did not admit of its being well defined. The south transept is the chapter-room. In this there is an interesting old library, which contains many ancient versions of the Bible and Prayer Book, both in Welsh and English, and other rare and valuable documents. The most striking feature inside is the manner in which the arches between the nave and the two aisles rest on pillars with no capitals, so that the mould- 260 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Sr. Asaph. inj^s run down uninterruptedly from the top of tlic arch to the base of the pillar, as we often find in Fleniisli churches. The clerestory has been restored on the north side, so as to correspond with that which still remained externally visible on the south. The glass in the east window was put up in memory of Bishop Carey in 18G5. The armorial bearings of Bishop Bagot's window, which are now placed in the chapter-room, were taken from the chancel wlien this memorial window was put in, while the central subject was carried off to a small church at the south end of the vale. The whole of the glass is modern. The organ is a fine-toned instrument by Hill of London, added to in later j^ears. There are one or two ancient monuments. In the north transept lies a monumental slab, on which is carved in low relief the representation of a hare pursued by a greyhound, and a shield bearing a lion gardant and four fleurs-de-lis. Un- fortunately there is no inscription to tell us any more about it. Another slab was found during tlie course of the same excavations, on which was carved a floriated cross, but no inscription. Underneatli it were fragments of a latten chalice and paten, on which was roughly cut the figure of a hand, with two fino-ers raised as in blessinf^. On the south wall of the nave is a monumental tablet to Felicia Henians, the poetess, who was a resident in the neighbourhood. There are no earlier memorials of the former occupants of the see except one monument of a lushop, which has l)cen variously identified as that of Anian II., who rebuilt the cathedral 129G, of LI. ap Ynyr, who re-arranged the services in 1314, and of Davydd ap Owen, a great benefactor to the cathedral, who died in 1502. Yet this was the cathedral church of Bishop Morgan, who translated the Welsh Bible of 1588, and contributed to Queen Elizabeth's version of the English Bible ; of Davies and Parry, also translators of the Bible into Welsh or English ; of Lloyd, one of the seven bishops ; of the devout Beveridge ; of Owen, and Hooper, and Halifax, and Horsley. A plain tombstone in the churchyard marks the resting-place of Bishop Isaac Barrow, uncle of the more celebrated Dr. Isaac Barrow, whom he helped to educate. In the south transept there is a full-length figure of Dean Shipley, in white marble, by Ternouth, a pupil of Chan trey. This was put up by subscription in 1829. The chancel is paved with encaustic tiles, set in bands of mottled grey Anglesey marble. Some of the tiles are exact reproductions of old ones found in excavating for the new work. There is nothing to suggest any architectural connection between the cathedral and any of its immediate surroundings. The palace grounds adjoin tlu)se of the cathedral on the west, but there is no part of the i)alace now existing which is known to be of any great antiquity. The east front, or tliat seen from tlie cathedral, was built by Bishop Bagot in 1791, and tlic west front, or that whicli faces the river, was luiilt by Bishop Carey in 1831. St. Asaph.] THE BELLR. 261 There are remains of a very pretty chapel over a holy well near Wig-fair, about two miles up tlie Elwy, which seems to have been served by one of the vicars choral. The great territorial extent of the cathedral dependencies and projjerty in all probability points more to the wide range of the episcopal jurisdiction than to the wealth and importance of the cathedral church. The diocese extends over the whole of Denbighshire and Flintshire, most of Mont- gomeryshire, and considerable portions of Merioneth and Shropshire. There are only two bells, the same that are mentioned by Browne Willis ; an inscription states that tliey were cast out of the material of tln'ee older ones. Metal may well be scarce in a position like tliat occupied by this cathedral, fought over so fiercely by troops to whom a bit of metal was an object for which it was worth risking a battle. Under the watchful care of Dean Bonnor the structure has with pious care been adapted for the services of our da}^ along the lines of the ancient building, as far as data could be gathered for tlie task, and it now stands a small but impressive monument, suggesting rather than telling us its past eventful history. Tnos. McKenny Hughes. OENEIIAL VIEW OF THE EXTEUIOK. (From, a riiatograph hy roulton and Sons, Lee.) ST. DAVID'S. There arc few more interesting- spots in Great Britain tlian "Dewisland," or the "halidom" of St. Da^dd. The wanderer in search of tlie picturesque may well hesitate whether to award the palm to the magnificent cluirch and its dependent buildings, or to the rugged cliffs with their far-reaching views over the great ocean. The student of history may try to picture to liimself the swarm of Irish saints who were taught in the famous school of St, David, or the throng of mediasval pilgrims hastening to pay their devotions at the shrine of the single Welsh saint who has found a place in the calendar of the Western Cliurch. Tlie antiquary will find plenty to occupy him in the cromlechs and other ancient monuments whicli abound in North Pembrokeshire, and may spend much time in unravelling the intricate architectural history of the cathedral buildings. Each will be full}'" repaid for his long journey to this remote corner of Wales, for even now St. David's is sixteen miles from the railway at Haverfordwest, and is reached by an interest- ing drive under the renuiins of Roch Castle, past Newgale Sands, and across the deep-cut Boscastle-like hollow of Solva, during which the modern pilgrim in his carriage may recall the mediaeval proverb that two journeys to St. St. David'8.] the interior. 263 David's were equal in merit to one to Rome, so lon*^ and difficult was the way thither in the olden time. Yet to this distant shrine came not only all true Welshmen, but their Norman conquerors as well, and among them the three greatest of the mediaeval kings of England, viz., the Conqueror in 1081, Henry II. in 1173, and Edward I. in 1281. Indeed it was by a Norman bishop that the present church was mainly built, so that the shrine of St. David formed a bond of union between conquerors and conquered, so widely sejjarated in all other points. The traveller will naturally approach the church from the south-east, passing through the market-place of the little city, with its ancient cross re- stored by the care of Bishop Thirlwall. A steep lane paved with rounded stones (hence known as the "Popples") leads down to the Tower Gate, flanked to the north by an octagonal Early English tower, which does not seem to have been ever completed, and to the south by a circular one coa^val with the portcullised doorway. A few steps more and the first extended view of the cathedral buildings is gained. The spectator looks down on them nestling in the narrow green valley of the Alan, while beyond the stream rises the fine bishop's palace (now in ruins), backed by the crags of Cam Llidi and of Penberry. It is a most striking scene, and grows on one more and more every time one sees it. The eye will at once be caught by the massive central tower, the restora- tion of which ranks among the late Sir Gilbert Scott's most successful and daring feats. For the western piers were so shattered that the tower had to be supported by gigantic balks of timber for months while they were being rebuilt under circumstances of the greatest difficulty and danger. No one, too, can fail to be struck by the fact that the roofed-in part of the clmrch east of the tower is higher than the nave, and by the very complicated ground-plan of the roof- less eastern chapels. The church is mainly built of sandstone from Caerbwdy, one ■ of the neighbouring bays, and its rich grey, reddish, and purple hues add to the picturesqueness of the scene, especially in the recently-restored parts of the building. The architectural history of the church may be briefly summed up thus. The nave, central tower, transepts, and presbytery were commenced in 1180 by Bishop Peter de Leia, in the transition style between Norman and Early English ; but the lower part of the tower and the presbytery were reconstructed after the fall of the tower in 1220. Bishop Gower added the Decorated second stage of the tower in the fourteenth century, and Bishop Vaughan the Perpen- dicular third stage in the early sixteenth century. ]\Iany changes were made by Bishop Gower (sucii as the raising of the aisles of the nave and presbytery, and the insertion of windows in the former), so that the general appearance 20-1 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [Sr. David'.. of the exterior is Decorated. The Lady Chapel was Ijuilt by Bishop Martyn during the great burst of devotion towards tlie Blessed Virgin which characterised the thirteenth century. Descending a flight of steps which passes through a cemetery on the hill- side, we enter the church by the rich southern door, and get our first view of the interior standing at the west end of the nave. And a most wonderful view it is ! The stately rise of fom-teen feet from the west door to the high altar, the gorgeous roof of the nave, the heavy but very ornate rood-screen, the peculiar treatment of the clerestory and triforium which form but one main division, the massive piers (on several of which are traces of ancient paintings), combine to produce a profound impression on the mind of even the much-travelled visitor. The splendid roof is of the early sixteenth century, and is a flat timber ceiling, apparently supported by a series of segmental arches, from the inter- sections of which the most delicately carved pendants drop "in a style of almost Arabian gorgeousncss." The nave itself has been rei^avcd, and is used for the parish services, as well as for the choir services on Sundays. Passing up it, we may linger for a moment to admire Bishop Gower's rood-screen, in the southernmost compartment of which is the tomb of Gowcr himself. A new organ has within this decade been placed on the rood loft : in order to diminish the weight and to avoid blocking the view up and down the church, Mr. Willis has, by an ingenious arrangement, placed the bellows in the south transept at the back of tlic choir stalls. Passing by the altar used for the services in the nave, through a richly- groined passage of two bays, we enter the space beneath the tower, which forms the ritual choir, and is used for the week-day services. It is filled with twenty-eight fifteenth-century stalls, some of the misereres (or movable seats) of which are carved with unusual subjects. One stall belongs to the Sovereign, who holds a cursal prebend, thougli this arrangement may not date farther back than the lleformation. The ceiling, which is of the same date as that of the nave, was slightly raised by Sir G. Scott so as to clear the whole of the four lantern windows. It has been repainted, and emblazoned with the arms of some of the more distinguished bishops of the see. The canojiy of the bishop's throne has considerable dignity, but the excellent work of which it is composed is of two dates. But the chief object to be noticed is the liglit wooden s(;recn which separates the choir from the presljytcry, for though the division is clearly made in all great churches, there is no other case known where the screen remains in 2)ositi()n. Through its open lattice-work Ave catch a glimpse of a great tomb standing in the midst of the presbytery, before the high altar. But it is disappointing to find tluit it is only that of Ednmnd St. David's.] ST. DAVID'S SHRINE. 2G5 Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the father of Henry VII. by his wife Margaret (foundress of Christ's and St. John's Colleges at Cambridge, and of divinity professorships at the two universities). The tomb has occupied its present position since the dissolution of the monasteries, when it was brought hither from the house of the Grey Friars at Carmarthen. For the shrine of St. David is in a position unusual except in Wales, and is on the north side of the presbytery. The stone base only remains, the relics of the saint and the portable THE CHOIll. slu-ine having disappeared at the Reformation. It is one of the four examples still surviving in England, and was constructed in 1275. The roof of the presbytery, which was in a very insecure state, has been thoroughly repaired, and the original colours and blazonry on its ceiling carefully renewed. The masonry of the east end is singularly rich. It consists of three noble lancets, with four smaller ones above. The former (now filled with fine mosaics by Salviati) have been blocked since the early part of the sixteenth century, when Bishop Vaughan erected on the vacant space between the east wall of the presbytery and the Lady Chapel the very beautiful chapel (dedi- cated to the Holy Trinity) in which he was buried. The pierced cross which is seen just over the altar is lighted from Bishop Vaughan's Chapel ; below it, in a recess in the east wall, there were lately discovered a number of human 34 266 CATHEDRAL CHUnCHES. [St. David's. bones embedded in mortar, wliicli were probably placed there for safety at the Reformation, and may possibly include the relics of St. David himself. The cross aisle east of Bishop Vaughan's Chapel forms the vestibule to the Lady Chapel, and is roofed; but the Lady Chapel itself, and the aisles connecting- this part of the church with the aisles of the presbytery, are now in a ruinous condition, though it is hoped that they may speedily be restored. Retracing our steps to the western end, we may leave the church by the north door. A few steps to the left and we find ourselves before the west front of the cathedral. This was rebuilt in 1793, by Nash, .of very perishable stone. In memory of Bishop Thirlwall it has now been entirely remodelled after a design by Sir G. Scott, who, with the help of the drawings preserved in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, has endeavom^ed to bring the whole front back to what it may originally have been. It consists of three one-light windows, over which is a range of five smaller ones, while above the west door is a statue of Bishop Thirlwall, seated, and in the act of delivering a charge. It is a modest west front, but probably quite as rich as is consistent with the simplicity of the exterior of the church. Returning to the north door, one is surprised to see on the right a huge building, with a graceful tower. This is the chapel of St. Mary's College, founded in the fourteenth century, for a master, seven fellows or chaplains, and two choristers, the whole being under the control of the precentor. And if we pass by this ruined building, and go to the east side of the north transept, a fresh surprise is in store for us ; for here is a lofty building overtopping the north transept, to the eastern wall of which it is joined, though separated by a narrow slype from the main mass of the church. The lower stage is the Chapel of St. Thomas, added during the rebuilding of the central tower after its fall in 1220, the very year in which the body of St. Thomas was translated to its final resting- place in the choir of Canterbury. St. David's was clearly determined not to bo behind the rest of the world in honouring the mart}'red archljisliop. In the fourteenth century two upper stages seem to have been added, the former being the chapter-house, the latter the treasury. The floor between these two stages has long since disappeared, and the lofty chamber which has been the result has received a new roof, and has become the chapter librar}', while St. Thomas's Chapel is now used as the cha])ter-house. The restoration of the church has been in })rogrcss hjr the last twenty yours, and (with the exception of the eastern chapels) is now nearly comjjleted. It has been zealously watched over by the present dean (to wliom the thanks of all architectural and historical students are specially due), much of the cost being defrayed by various special gifts, particularly those of the late Rev. John Lucey, and the nmnificcnt bequests of Mr. and Mm. IMontgomery Traherne, of Coedriglan. iiiip:iiiii'iiniir!i;iHh:,ii«ii;i!iiiii,9 if f St. Daviu's.] ST. DA VTD'S STTCCTJSSOn. 267 Tlio oriyinal settlement at St. David's was monastic, 1)ut since Norman times the cliaptcr has been composed of sccidar canons, and. now consists of a dean and four canons residentiary, The bishop, by a vague tradition, raidced as dean, and even now lie occupies the stall which in other cathedral churches is appropriated to the dean. By virtue of 3 & -4 Vict., cap. 113, and of C & 7 Vict., cap. 77, the precentor was given the title and authority of dean, and occupies the corre- sponding stall on the north side. St. David liimsclf flourished in the sixth century, and the Celtic church in this district kept aloof from the Norman church till the consecration in 1115 of the Norman Bernard to the see by Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury. One of the most remarkable persons connected with the church was Gerald de Barri (or Giraldus Cambrensis), who in the twelfth century made several attempts to secure his election to the see. He was the great champion of the claims (for which there is no real evidence) of St. David's to be the metropolitan see of Wales, and has left many lively and interesting narratives and descriptions of St. David's and of Wales generally. Among the more distinguished successors of St. David we may name Peter de Leia (1176 — 1198), the founder of the present church; Henry Gower (1328 — 1347), its second founder; Henry Chichele (1408 — 1J:14), translated to Canterbury; Lyndwood, the canonist (1442 — 1446), Barlow (1536 — 1549), the chief consecrator of Arch- bishop Parker; Laud (1621—1626); Bull (1705—1710), the great theologian; Lowth, the Hebraist (1766); Thirlwall (1840— 1878), the historian of Greece; and the present bishop, William Basil Jones, who in 1856 completed, in con- junction with Mr. E. A. Freeman (the historian of the Norman Conquest), a most exhaustiA'c history of the see and of the district. It is impossible to quit St. David's without a mention of the ruined Chapel of St. Non (St. David's mother), on the cliffs near Caerfai Bay, which is of very early date, and that of St. Justinian (rebuilt in the sixteenth century, but now roofless) on those opposite Pamsoy Island. There has been talk of transferring the see to some more central and more conveniently situated place, but to do so would break that long chain of historical associations which runs back to the sixth century, and is a witness to the identity (in all essential points) of the Church of St. David with the English Church of the nineteenth century. W. A. B. COOLTDGE. THE NAVE AND CHOIR. (,FTom a Photoaraph hy Mr. F. Bedford. By permission of Afrssrs. Catherall and Prichard.) LLANDAFF. Although the Catliodral of Llandaff cannot be compared witli any of the English cathedrals, either architecturally or historically, nevertheless it is one of the most interesting spots in Britain, for here we witness not merely a noble restoration "reflecting undying honour upon all concerned in it," but an actual resur- rection, not of the material fabric only, but of the spiritual fabric as well. It is almost impossible for those who have not witnessed it to realise from what a depth of degradation this charming cathedral has arisen. From its completion in mediaeval times till late in this centiny, its only history has been one of " Decline and Fall." So that though Llandaff claims to be one of the most ancient sees, if not the most ancient, yet practically its bishopric, its cathedral, and its cathedral body are all alike new. No bishop had resided there for about three hundred years. For something like six centuries there had been no dean. LtANnAFF.] RUIN AND DECAY. 269 Tlic cliapfor was merely a iioniinal one, " for as no special residentlarics were ever appointed, the duties falling in)on all alike were avoided by all alike." Of the cathedral itself, half of it had become a roofless ruin, and the other half was hideously disfigured into the similitude of some pseudo-classical temple. The choral service had been suppressed, and the daily service had ceased ; " the practical ecclesiastical establishment consisted of a single vicar ; the choral establish- ment consisted of a single fiddle. ' The late Bishop Ollivant describes his cathe- dral on the day of his enthronement on the 13th March, 1850, in these words: — " Wlien the pre- sent Bishop of Llan- dafp presented him- self at the cathedral to demand installation into his sacred office, the western portion of the building, through which the procession had to pass, was, as it had been for 127 years, a roofless ruin. The beautiful window in the western fagade was dilapidated and unglazcd. A lofty fragment of what had once been a south-west tower frowned haugli- tily upon the desolation be- low, threatening at any moment still further de- struction. Thick branches of ivy had forced them- selves into the joints of the noble columns of the arches ixanuapf cathedral, west from. 270 CATHEDRAL CHURCHES. [T.i.ANnAFP. wliicli liad so long been exposed to wind and weather. One solitary portion of the ancient clerestory had survived, a model of exquisite beauty, wdiich, in the event of any future restoration, the most fastidious architect would feel himself constrained and delighted to copy. Beyond the three roofless bays stood an Italian temple, terminated at the w^est by a wall which crossed tlie nave and side aisles from north to south. Its western front exhibited on its summit two Grecian urns. The inside of it was lighted with round-headed windows ; rosettes of plaster of Paris adorned its ceiling. The choir and stall-work of painted deal were in keeping wdth the style of the building. The floor had been raised by a considerable accumulation of rubbish, beneath which the j^linths of the noble columns lay concealed. The doorway of the crossing wall trans- mitted to posterity the date (1752) of the completion of the Italian building, which, by those wdio erected it, was regarded with intense satisfaction. " The demand of the bishop to be admitted to his throne was responded to by the late excellent and highly respected vicar choral, the only ecclesiastic at that time in residence, having all the cathedral, parochial, and pastoral duties of Llandaff resting upon him. There were at that time no residentiary canons, nor houses of any kind for canons, residentiary or minor, nor even for the dean. There had been no choir since 1691, when the archdeacon and chapter placed upon record in their Act Book that, ' considering the small revenues of this church, and the irregular management of the choir by the singing-men and singing-boys, the choir singing should be put down and discontinued,' in lieu of which the schoolmaster was appointed to give out the singing Psalms, and four jDOunds a year were allowed him for doing it. '' On the opening of the door, in reply to the bishop's sunmions, the musical arrangements of 1G91 were found to be still in force. The nati(mal scliool- master, heading the procession, gave out a Psalm, which was sung by aljout a dozen of his scholars, a bass viol being the only instrument then in the pos- session of the cathedral. In this way the bishop was conducted to his throne ; and, after installation, to the Lady Chapel, in which divine service was then ordinarily performed, the Ijody of the cathedral ImA'ing been for several years disused, as it continued to be for many that followed them, from its unfitness for the celebration of public worship." {Cliaygc, 18G9.) It is only by bearing in mind this apparently hopeless dila})i(lati()n and humiliation into which the calhedral had been suffered to fall that one can duly appreciate the contrast exhilnted by its present architectural conditicm, the beauty of its services, and the efficiency of its staff. There is something exceedingly jjicturesque in the situation of the cathedral as it is usually apjn'oached through the little village-city. It stands on low ground near the river Taff (hence its name Llan-daff — the church by the Taif) ; Llandaff.] the west front. 271 but on the south and west the ground rises abruptly from the very doors of the catliedral; and from the lych-gate above we look down upon the cathe- dral through the intervening trees, and on to the Caerphilly hills beyond. From this point the great defect of the cathedral is very evident — the want of transepts and a central tower. With the exception of the beautiful west front, which is not visible from this point, there is no cathedral character about the exterior — it is nothing more than a village church upon an enlarged scale. The most beautiful portion of the cathedral is the west front, extremely simple in its parts, yet of exceeding dignity. It consists of a gabled centre, divided into three stages, and flanked on each side by a tower, that to the south having a spire. The central jjart is pure Early lilnglish, and fortunately at the restoration needed hardly more than the glazing of the windows. The western doorway, with its round-headed arch, is peculiar and hardly pleasing. Its position exjilains the reason of the round arch instead of a jDointed one ; but owing to the two arches in the lower part of the tympanum, it has all the effect of a mutilated doorway, wanting its central shaft, thougli it never could have had one. The west window consists of three broad lancets, the central one being higher than the others. The whole arrangement of this stage and of the one above it is most effective. " There is no place from which one can get a distant general view, but this is quite counterbalanced by the singular and striking ajiproach from the deanery ; the steep descent coming down almost immediately upon the grand western portal." The tower on the north is Perpendicular, and is massive and sim2)le. It was built by Jasper Tudor, uncle to Henry VII., and replaces an Early English one, of which a portion still remains. During the last century the battlement and pinnacles were blown down in a great storm, so that the present beautiful work is new. On the south side the tower, with its graceful spire, is entirely new. Originally there had been an Early English tower, but it had become a complete ruin, and there was evidence to show that it was bare and j^oor, and quite unworthy of the rest of the beautiful Avest front ; so Mr. Prichard, the architect of the restoration, considered that in this case he was quite justified in replacing it by one of altogether different design. Consequently he has built a tower, which is strikingly effective ; and to this he has added a lofty spire, crocketed, with a handsome open parapet, and a variety of pinnacles at the juncture of the tower and spire, which harmonise well with the rich open-work of the Tudor tower. Mr. Prichard has been blamed for not rebuilding the former tower, no matter how poor it may have been, and also because the general design of the spire and its adaptation to the tower are foreign rather than English, renunding one strongly of the churches in Normandy. But he 272 CATHEDRAL CHURCnES. [Llandapp. certainly has given to the cathedral its most striking feature, and the golden colour of the stone is beautiful. On the north and south sides are two late Norman doorways, the latter being the more highly enriched, though both are of very considerable ornamen- tation. The south door has an outer moulding "closely resembling the ordinary Etruscan scroll — a cu'cumstance," Dean Conybeare believes, " without any other example in our Norman ornaments." The north door is remarkable for having: the do":- tooth moulding, which shows its late character. The internal view from the west door is very striking. There is nothing about the exterior to raise the expectation of svich dignity and grace. As one stands on the stejjs, which descend from the door into the nave, the eye is led along the dignified arcade to the choir and lofty presbytery arch, and on to the well -raised altar, with the splendid Norman arch behind opening into the Lady Chapel beyond. From this point the transepts are not missed, and though the scale is small, yet there is a cathedral dignity whicli is un- mistakable. Beautiful as is the exterior of the west end, its internal treatment is still finer ; for the fall of ground allows a great increase of height, which adds immensely to its effect. It is thus Dr. Freeman describes it: "The height thus gained allows the triplet itself, with a rich array of arch mouldings and jamb- shafts, to occupy the whole width of the church . . . without tlie width of each lancet being made disproportionate. The skill with which the internal and external arrangements, each the better suited for its own position, are adapted to each other deserves our best study and admiration.'' It is almost incredible that it was the intention of the cathedral mutilators in the last century to take down the whole of this west front, together with the three western bays of the nave ! The style of the nave and choir is pure Early English, but of a type which is almost peculiar to South Wales and Somersetshire, a stiffer form which has not quite worked itself free from Norman influence. There is no marked structural difference between nave and clioir. The eye of the visitor is naturally attracted to the great Norman arch behind the altar, with its unique exterior THE WEST ASU NOKTU DOOKS. Llandakf] TITE NORMAN AECTL 273 moulding'. This arch, tog-ether ^yith a rcrodos of the fourteenth century, had been concealed by lath and plaster till the restoration. The reredos, being considered too nuitilated, has been removed into the north aisle, and a new reredos takes its place, the arches of which have been filled with three very fine paintings by Rossetti. But however excellent they may be in themselves, they are not effective in a reredos. It would be here impossible to enter into the differences of opinion as to the origin of the Norman arch, and the singular remains of unfinished work on the south side of the presbytery ; but the following theory of Mr. Freeman's seems to be the most probable, though it is not without its difficulties : — When Bishop Urban, in the twelfth century, removed the British church of St. Dubricius and St. Teilo, his cathedral, which replaced it, must after all have been of very small size, though highly ornamented. The Norman arch would be the chancel arch, and the present presbytery the nave of what must have been an aisleless building. In all probability Urban's church did not extend further than one bay beyond the present presbytery, and the vaulted vestibule now leading into the chapter-house may have been the porch. In the fourteenth century this Norman nave, which up to this time must have remained without any alteration, was altered into the present decorated presbytery, the existing arches being cut through the Norman walls. There are some interesting monuments of the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. One, on the south side of the presbytery, is the tomb of St. Teilo, the second bishop ; on the north side, a very fine one, by Armstead, has lately been erected to the memory of Bishop Ollivant, during whose episcopacy the restoration took place. The Lady Chapel is an early example of the transition from Early English to Decorated. About 183G it was seriously proposed to unite Llandaff to Bristol, which would have given the coujy de grace to the unfortunate see ; but from this it was saved, and under its last two bishops, Copleston and Ollivant, the new era began. In 1840 and 1843 two important Acts wore passed, which resuscitated the dean's office ; and fortunate, indeed, has Llandaff been in its deans — the first three, Bruce-Knight, Conybeare, geologist and archaeologist, and Williams, successfully carrying out the restoration to its final completion. They gave their whole energies to the noble work of raising their ruined minster from the ground. It has well been said : " There may be other churches which in some points come nearer to ideal perfection, but then there is none which has in the same way risen to a new life out of a state of such hopeless ruin." E. A. FiSHBOURNE. 36 RUINS OF ST. GERMAN S. (from a FhotogmpTi fcj/ Mtssrs. rouUon und Son, Lee.) ST. GERMAN'S. Rising, as it were, out of tlie rock, at the entrance to the harbour of Peel, on wliat was formerly St. Patrick's Isle, but y now united to the mainland by a solid causeway, stands the picturesque ruin of St. German's, for centuries the cathedral church of the ancient diocese of Man. Like the sister church of lona, it is no longer the centre of religious life and activity, whence the minister of God went forth to carry on his mission of salvation in the adjacent isles. Its life, its usefulness seem gone. The restorer has done some little with its roofless walls to stay destruc- tion's hand. But its precincts are only now the resting-place of the shipwrecked mariner, its stones an object of curiosity to the tom^ist. Yet even in their ruin they may still be said to do a work for God ; for standing in their desolation at the harbour's mouth, they cannot but remind the hardy Manxman, when he puts to sea, to pray for a blessing as his fathers did. Wliat the date was of the original structure it is impossible to say, but no doubt from very early times there was a church on this spot. And if there St. German's.] TOMBS IN THE RUINS. 275 is truth in the tradition that here Germ an us was consecrated by St. Patrick in 447 the first bishop of the Sodorenses, or Soutliern Isles, we may conckide tluit this was the seat of the Bishops of Sodor and Man. But liowever tliis may be, the cathedral as it now appears was cruciform in shape, built of coarse grey stone from the neighbourhood, and coigned with red sandstone, and con- sisted of a chancel with crypt underneath, transepts, central tower, nave, and south aisle. The length of the chancel is 36 feet 4 inches ; of the nave, 52 feet 6 inches; of the base of the tower, 2G feet; and of the whole, about 114 feet. The width at the intersection of the transepts measures 68 feet 3 inches; height of chancel walls, 18 feet; thickness of walls, 3 feet. The architecture, which is a mixture of the Early English and the Edwardian or Decorated period, gives distinct evidence of the alterations which have been made in the building at various times. In the gable of the north transept, for instance, the doorway is of a very late date, while on the inside there are traces of three windows belonging to three different periods ; and in the south transept the windows are of two different periods. The choir, however, which is the oldest part of the present structure, is generally acknowledged to have been rebuilt by Bishop Simon (1226 — 1247), while the nave and transepts belong to a later period. Of the church itself there are not many circumstances of interest to relate. Within its walls the bishops were enthroned until the close of the last century, when its roofless condition rendered the ceremony impossible. Some few of the occupants of the see are here interred. Wymundus (1151) and John (1154) are stated to have been buried in St. German's, which proves that the present was not the original cathedral. Simon was the first to be interred within the new building; and in 1871, when the chancel was being cleared with a view to restoration, what are supposed to be the remains of this bishop were discovered, with this remarkable circumstance : near his feet were found the remains of a dog, the jaw-bones and some of the teeth being quite perfect. Bishops Mark (1303), Huan Hesketh (1510), John Philips (1633), and Richard Parr (1643), all lie within the sanctuary. But the only tomb of interest is that of Bishop Samuel Rutter. He was the staunch friend as well as the able counselled' of the heroic Charlotte de la Tremouille, and took an active part with her in the memorable defence of Lathom House against the Parliamentary forces under Fairfax. There is also buried here the child of Bishop Wilson, aged but six months, of whom touching mention is made in his private diary: "June 3, 1703, my little Alice died." And we should add that in the nave there is a Runic stone much de- faced, but on which there is still decipherable " — raised this cross to his wife Astrith, the daughter of Utr " (Ottar). The most interesting feature of the cathedral, however, is the crypt beneath the chancel, entered by a steep narrow staircase in the wall, opening from the 276 CATHEDBAL CHURCHES. [Sr, Gekman's. south side of the choir. It is clearly not part of the orig-inal work of Bishop Simon, or if built by him it was at a later date, as it is evident tliat the construc- tion of the crypt led to the raising of the floor to its present level. In length 34 feet, and in breadth 16 feet, it has a curiously ribbed roof, with thirteen groins springing from pilasters on the solid rock, and it is liglitcd by a small aperture under the east choir window. Till 1780 this damp and dismal dungeon was used as the ecclesiastical prison, and at times also as a place of confinement for civil offenders. It was certainly within this wretched cell that Eleanor Cobham, the haughty wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Shakespeare's ''presumptuous dame — ill-nurtured Eleanor," dragged out fourteen weary years of imprisonment for witchcraft. It was here that, during the persecution of the Quakers in the Isle of Man, several of them were imprisoned between 165G and 16G2. But a very practical question remains for our enquiry. Why should the old Cathedral of St. German's still remain a ruin ? Why should the diocese of Sodor and ]\Ian, with an historical interest of more than a thousand years, be lacking in that great centre ^^'hich it once possessed, and which is the privilege of the most recent English bishojiric? There was no doubt some good reason for Bishop Wilson acting as he did when he stripped the lead ofP for roofing the church of the adjoining parish. He was devoted in his love to the Church and diocese. But he was thoroughly practical. He foresaw, perhaps, in the altered circum- stances of the times, when St. Patrick's Isle had ceased to be the residence of the lord and the governing body, that the use of the cathedral whore it stood was now impracticable, and that the services of the Church could more efficiently be carried out on the mainland. That his heart was with the hallowed ])ilc we may be sure, from his making it the resting-place of his little babe. But no doubt what pressed most on those concerned — the patron and the bishop — was the lack of money. The bishop would hardly have consented to a restoration that was unworthy of the former edifice. The Earl of Derby has recorded the hope, that a benefactor might be one day raised up to complete the work. But more than a hundred years have passed away since Bishop Wilson's time — the Church has multiplied in wealth, and her shrines have been restored on every Iiand, yet still St. German's stands a ruin on the rock by Peel. She waits the benefactor to arise. She asks the zeal of Churchmen to make her what she was. R. Sodor and Man. Abbeys and Churches OF ENGLAND AND WALES. EXTERIOR OF HENllY THE SEVEN 111 S CHAPEL. TBE CORONATION CHAIR. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. HE Abbey of Westminster, to use the words of the late Dean Stanley, " is not only Rheims Cathedral and St. Denys both in one, but is also what the Panth(Jon was intended to be to France, what the Valhalla is to Germany, what Santa Croce is to Italy." Siste, viator^ calcas heroa, is nowhere so apt as within its walls. Every stone within the building seems incorporated into the fabric of our national history, every slab of its pavements 36 278 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Abbet. tells of those who have played their part, often for good, sometimes for ill, in the making of England, The date of the first foundation of Westminster Abbey is uncertain. Its earlier history is inextricably entangled with legend. At any rate, before the Romans came — when a British village marked the future site of London city — there was higher up, on the left bank of the Thames, an island or peninsula among the marshes, formed by the confluence of two tributary brooks with the main river. We may well doubt the tale which states that a Roman temple stood on the site of St. Peter's Abbey, although a stone sarcophagus of that age has been dug up near the north buttresses. Time passed; the Romans, left, the English came. The land became more populous, and this spot — the isle of Thorns, as it was called — attracted attention. Being raised slightly above the surrounding fen, and supplied by springs — of which one was till lately indicated by " Dean's Yard Pump" — it came to be selected as a settlement, possibly monastic from the first. The grave of Sebert, king early in the seventh century, is still shown in the Abbey, and he is claimed as its first founder ; but, at any rate, a community of Benedictine monks was established here in the reign of I^dgar. It is, however, to Edward (commonly called the Confessor) that we must look as the originator of the greatness of St. Peter's Church at Westminster. Before coming to the throne he had vowed a pilgrimage to Rome, but had been absolved from this obligation by the Pope on condition of establishing a monastery in honour of Rome's patron saint. Westminster had now become a royal residence, though its palace had not the fame or splendour of after days. The little Abbey near its gates was already of some repute, for it had been dedicated to St. Peter, as the tale went, by the saint himself. This Edward resolved to rebuild. During the later years of his reign he reared, at a vast cost, and by the help of Norman architects, a church almost coextensive with the present building. The Confessor's Minster was no doubt far more elaborate in design and execution than any other church in Britain. St. Stephen's and La Trinity, at Caen, though both of slightly later date, may perhaps give us an idea of its main features. It was cruciform in plan, with three towers, two western, one central, capped by short spires, and with an apsidal east end. No trace of it, however, now remains above ground, though here and there in the monastic precincts a few fragments of wall may be seen, some of them actual remnants of the Confessor's work, others built not long after his death, and in continuance of his plan. Tlie church was only ready for dedication at the close of his reign ; and he was unable to be present at the ceremony. On Innocents' Day, 10G5, he was just able to sign the Charter, the new building was consecrated in the Queen's presence by the hands of Stigand, and on Sylvester's Eve Edward passed away, and a troublous time for England began. m Westminster Abbey.] HISTORICAL. 279 Thus the inaugural events for the Abbey of Westminster were the funeral of its founder and the coronation of his successor — both of them events signi- ficant of its future history. But we will only dwell upon this so far as it affects the fabric itself. That remained with little change for nearly two centuries. One of the first acts of Henry III. was to add a Lady Chapel east of the Norman apse. A quarter of a century later (a.d. 1245) he undertook a far greater work, the rebuilding of tlie whole Abbey. To him we owe a large part of the present structure ; and to his eclectic tastes many of its peculiarities are due. The new church was the outcome both of his religious fervour, which was exceptional, and of his personal feeling towards the English side of his ancestry. It is no less a memorial of another trait in his character — his lavish expenditirre ; for " the royal Abbey, as in the Confessor's time so in Henry's, is absolutely a royal gift." At his death the building was carried westward only one bay beyond the transept. It was continued three bays further by his son, Edward I. For some two hundred years the work progressed slowly, the nave being gradually replaced ; but at the time of the Civil War the western towers were still unfinished. After the Restoration they fell into the hands of Wren, who completed the western fa9ade of the building. Of his addition to the Abbey, we can only say that it is an excellent piece of masonry, and might easily have been yet more incongruous. His design for the finished building will be found on page 287. He also disfigured the details of the front of the north transept. Here, however, a recent restora- tion, directed by Mr. (afterwards Sir) G. G. Scott, has effaced the traces of Wren's unsympathetic hand. But, while the old faith yet prevailed, and before the old style of architecture had yielded to the reviving classic spirit, one great alteration was made in the eastern part of the Abbey : the Lady Chapel — the third Henry's earliest work — was taken down by the seventh Henry, and replaced by one of larger and statelier proportions. It was designed to quiet his conscience by enlisting on his side the Virgin, in whom he had always had " most singulier trust and confidence," to secure that masses should be said, and alms distributed for the welfare of his soul ''perpetually for ever, while the world shall endure" — that is, for some thirty years ; perhaps, also, in consciousness of the weakness of his title to the throne, to set his mark on this which was already one of the most truly national among our edifices, and to make his grave in one of its most sacred places. The Abbey suffered less than might have been expected both at the Re- formation and during the Civil War. As the tomb-house of so many kings, it was dealt with tenderly at the former epoch. There had been no contumacious churchman, whose memory was an offence, in what had been almost a chapel royal. He whose relics were enshrined in its holiest place had been an English king. On the second occasion, when crown and mitre went down before the Puritan, the Abbey had become nationalised. No more striking testimony to tliis 280 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Abhet. can be quoted than the fact tliat the great Protector, witli other magnates of his ag"e, was laid to rest in the easternmost part of its Lady ChapeL So the hand of tlie iconoclast was to a great extent withlield. Natural decay, and tlie dull contempt for medi- aeval work which characterised the last century, have wrought mischief enough ; nevertheless, many of its choicest relics have suffered but little. Disfigured as it is in many parts by incongruous and often hideous monuments, overcrowded with such memorials as it is in all, " the Abbey" still remains one of the most beautiful among our churches, the most interesting THE NORTH TRANSEPT. historic building in the whole of the United Kingdom. Let us enter the Minster by its western door ; for this is the best way of apprehending at a glance its most characteristic features. One, as seen from this point — with Wren's work at our back, and that of Henry VIL hid from view — is the uniformity of the design as a whole. Though, as we have said, almost the whole of the nave is later than the reign of Henry IIL, it produces the impression of a building belonging to the earliest part of the Middle Pointed, or Decorated, Period. Another feature is, for an English Minster, its exceptional .1 1 11 TUANSF.l'T. Westminster Akhey.] ARCHITECTURAL. 281 lieir^ht. Its architecture lias, from the first, been sUi^litly exotic. Both the I*hig-Ush Edward and the English-born Henry made use of French architects, ^yestminster Abbey is not only actually the loftiest ecclesiastical structure in Eng-laiil, Ijut also the highest in proportion to its breadth ; the ratio of the one to the other being 3 to 1, while in most of our cathedrals it varies from 2 to 2*5 to 1. Another charac- teristic, not common, though not unique, is its clievct, or apse. This, too, is French rather than Englisli. The last feature -we will notice is its high orna- mentation. Though, as is usual in buildings of this date, the tracery of the windows and the capitals of the columns are not especially rich in design, the walls are covered with elaborate diapering up to the base of the clerestory. If we may venture on a criticism, the height is almost dispropor- tionate, making the building look a little narrow, and the triforium, beautiful as It Is In itself, rather detracts from tlio effect of the clerestory. An arcade of simpler design, as at Rheims, produces a more har- monious whole. The ritual choir now occupies three bays of the nave. It Is enclosed by a stone screen ; of this the inner stonework dates from the thirteenth century, but the facade is of the nineteenth. Right of the doorway and beneath an arch Is the monument of the first Earl Stanhope ; left, that of Isaac Newton, the mathematician and physicist. The organ, not long since re-arranged and enlarged, is grouped on each side of the screen so as not to obstruct the view. The monuments In the nave, numerous as they have become, are com- paratively modern, few Intcrmciits, at any rate of note, having taken place here before the beginning of the last century. Yet there is now but little room left SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 282 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Abbey. in the floor for graves, or on the walls for memorials. Under the north-west tower, around the cumbrous monument of Fox (removed from the north tran- sept, where the great orator was buried), are grouped those of other eminent Liberals, so that this "has been consecrated as the Whigs' Corner." Over the west door is the statue of Pitt. Under the south-west tower, in the baptist- ery, was the consistory court ; a figure in the window is said to represent the Black Prince. Here is a monument to Addison's friend Craggs, with an epitaph written by Pope. Here, too, are memorials of William Wordsworth, John Keble, Frederick Maurice, and Charles Kingsley — all buried elsewhere. The north aisle shows us the stone beneath which "rare Ben Jonson " is buried in a standing position ; the last resting-place of the great surgeon, John Hunter ; the graves of Spencer Perceval, the mm"dered statesman, and Charles Lyell, great in geology, near that of Woodward, founder of the professorship of that science at Cambridge. John Herschel, the illustrious astronomer, is not far from the monument of Newton, and in fit proximity to the latter is Charles Darwin, hardly less great among naturalists than he among mathematicians. In the south aisle we must not forget to notice the curious Abbots' pew above the Dean's door. Its j)avement, as its walls, tells us of Atterbmy, divine, statesman, and conspirator, who was buried in this familiar spot " as far from kings and Caesars as the space will admit of." Friend's memorial is appropriately near. Congreve, the dramatist, favourite of a duchess, is here ; and, in congenial company, Mrs. Oldfield, whom the pomps and vanities of the world accompanied to her coffin. Admiral TyrcU deserved better of his generation than to be com- memorated by so hideous a monument, which has, however, now assumed less offensive proportions. Many other brave soldiers and sailors have memorials here. Some of the monuments record those whose graves are in the central part of the nave. Among these are several who in our own days have attained to repute. Here rested for a few days the body of George Peabody. Toward the eastern part lie, in one row, G. E. Street, G. G. Scott, and Charles Barry. South of these are placed Lord Lawrence, Colin Campbell (Lord Clyde), and Outram, the Bayard of India. Not far away rests the body of David Living- stone, brought to the African coast from the central wilds by the loving care of his native attendants; and Cochrane, Lord Dundonald, the prey of faction, has here met with tardy justice. Here is a brass to Robert Stephenson, who is interred in St. Andrew's Chapel, and one to Sir Robert Wilson; the former ugly in its realism, the latter ridiculous in its media3valism. The General is represented in full fourteenth century armour ! North and south of the Choir the aisles continue to be crowded with monuments. On the north side we note memorials of Blow, Croft, and Purcell, of Arnold, of Wilberforce, and of Stamford Raffles, and the new altar-tomb of the late Sub-Dean, Lord John Thynne. On Wbstminster Abbey.] STATESMEN AND POETS. 283 the south side are memorials of Watts and tlie Wosleys, of Kncller and PaoH. The murder of Thomas Thynn is "writ in marble;" and among many other brave men is Sir Cloudesley Shovel, " a very gallant man." The north transept, after the interment of Lord Chatham, became "the states- man's aisle." No part of the building is more crowded with monuments, especially with monuments of modern date. It might be compared to a petrified Madame Tussaud's. In several cases the monuments are only memorials, but Chatham, Fox, Grattan, George Canning, and his son, the Viceroy of India, are actually buried here. On the west side, under the arches, are three large monuments : one, the " Great Commoner;" another, three captains in Rodney's fleet; the third. Lord Mansfield. Near these are the statues of Castlereagh and Palmerston and Follett. In the adjoining aisle Lord Aberdeen ("the travelled Thane"), George Cornewall Lewis, Warren Hastings, Jonas Ilanway, Francis Horner, and Richard Cobden, are commemorated ; also Herbert Edwardcs and Vice-Admiral Watson, both of Indian fame, with many more "mighty men of valour." Newcastle, "the loyal Duke," and his literary Duchess, occupy places under the arches on the north side, and east of these is the monument to Sir Peter Warren. The statues of the three Cannings are side by side ; south of them stands Sir John Malcolm, and then Beaconsfield. At the corner is Peel, absurdly clad in a Roman toga. Behind these are the chapels of St. Andrew, St. Michael, and St. John the Evangelist, now thrown together by the destruction of their screens. They, too, are crowded with monuments. The kneeling knights supporting the upper slab of Sir Francis Vere's tomb are admirably executed, as Roubiliac himself testified. That sculptor's ghastly memorial to Mrs. Nightingale is familiar to all. Norris, made fatherless by Anne Boleyn's fondness, with his wife — Queen Elizabeth's "black crow" — rests in St. Andrew's Chapel. Sir George Hollos has displaced the altar of St. John ; Sarah, Duchess of Somerset, that of St. Michael ; and among others recorded on the walls we can only name Mrs. Siddons, Admiral Kempenfelt, and Sir John Franklin. The south transej)t has become the Valhalla of literature. The eastern portion has long borne the name of " Poets' .Corner." The western wall "was early called the ' learned ' or the ' historical ' side." We cannot attempt to enumerate the names of all those who are buried or commemorated here. The paragraph would become a mere catalogue. AVe can only mention some of those for whom it is the actual resting-place. Chief is Chaucer, who ended his life in the Abbey precincts. Tlie monument was erected a century and a half later. Close by are Dryden's tomb and Beaumont's grave. Here, too, lie Michael Drayton and Edmund Spenser, Abraham Cowley and Matthew Prior, Thomas Campbell and John Gay. In or near this transept also are laid Isaac Casaubon, William Camden, Henry SiDclman, Isaac Barrow, David Garrick, Sanmel Johnson, Thomas 284 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. AVeSTMIXSTER AliHEY. Bablngton IMacaulay, and Connop Tlurlwall. The large allegorical monument of the Duke of Argyll and Greenwich, whom readers of the "Heart of Midlothian" THE CHOIR. will rememher, disfigures this transept, but his body was laid in a vault beneath the Cliapcl of Henry VII. In the Choir the fittings are modern, as are the altar and reredos ; the marble pavement is only of interest as the gift of Busby, the great schoolmaster of Westminster Abbey.] SCENE OF THE CORONATIONS. 285 his age. But that within the rails is, for England, an exceptional work ; the materials, in great part spoils of classic structures, were brought from Rome by an Abbot of Westminster, and the mosaic was executed by workmen from that city about the year 1268. The sepulchral memorials around us here go back to earlier times. A beautiful tomb north of the altar commemorates Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III., and founder of the House of Lancaster. Beneath the next arch is the monument of his wife, Aveline, together with that of Aymer de Valence, nicknamed by Gaveston, to his sorrow, "Joseph the Jew." On the south side, behind the sedilia, is the reputed tomb of Sebert, but not, of course, a contemporary work, and beneath the next arch rests the " great Flemish mare," Anne of Cleves. The portrait of Richard II., "the first contemporary painting of an English Sovereign," now hangs in front of some curious tapestry. The begin- ning of many an epoch in English history is brought to mind as we regard this part of the Abbey, for here the Sovereign is crowned, the throne being placed in front of the altar. The homage of the peers is received on another seat, erected beneath the lantern. Each one who can bo said to have really reigned over England has been crowned in the Abbe}^ of Westminster, from the days of William the Norman to those of Queen Victoria; and it has also been the scene of many another act of national worship, such as the Thanksgiving Service on the completion of the fiftieth year of her present Majesty's reign. East of the transepts, north and south, are two little chapels. The northern bears Abbot Islip's name, and in the chantry above are preserved the remains of the waxwork efiigies which used to be carried at royal and other great funerals, and in former days were among the chief attractions of the Abbey. 37 INTERIOR OF HENRY THE SEVENTH 8 CHAPEL. 286 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Abbey. On the south side is the chapel of St. Benedict. In the north ambulatory are those of St. John the Baptist and St. Paul : in the south, of St. Edmund and St. Nicholas. All are crowded with monuments — mostly of Elizabethan and Jacobean times, though among them are some of earlier date. The most in- teresting (in the chapel of St. Edmund) is the tomb of William de Valence, half-brother of Henry III., "the only existing example of an effigy in Limoges enamel work in England," but it has been sadly mutilated. In the same chapel is the effigy of Elizabeth Russell, who, according to the old legend, died from the prick of a needle, " a martyr to good housewifery." The place of chief interest is the Confessor's Chapel, which occupies the remainder of the Choir behind the high altar, and is thus raised considerably above the level of the ambulatory. In the centre of the ancient inlaid pave- ment stands the magnificent shrine erected by Henry III. to contain the body of his sainted predecessor. Though the golden casket which enclosed the coffin has been replaced by a humbler fabric of wood, though the Purbeck marble of the lower part has crumbled, and the glass mosaic has in many places been chijoped away, this is still the most perfect monument of its kind in Britain, for to such as these the Reformation proved exceptionally fatal. A memorial hardly less interesting stands in front of the old screen which backs the reredos. This is the Coronation Chair. It was made by order of Edward L, and first used at his son's coronation. It has served the same purpose without interruption for six hundred years. Beneath it is the stone of Scone, a relic yet more venerable — though we discard the legends of its having served as Jacob's pillow at Bethel, and of its subsequent wanderings — for it was the Palladium of Scotland, and the throning-stool of its kings. The second chair was made for Queen Mary at the joint coronation of herself and William III. Between these are placed the huge sword and shield of Edward III. "Longshanks" lies beneath the third bay to tlie north, his strange order as to the disposal of his body having been thus violated. Beneath the next arch is the stately tomb of Henry IIL, enriched with slabs of Egyptian and Spartan "porphyry," the spoils of Rome. Next comes the monu- ment of Queen Eleanor, ending the line of memorial crosses. Then, beneath a stately chantry, which is extended eastward to overarch the ambulatory, stands the tomb of Henry V., the victor of Agincourt. The body of his wife, Katherine, after many vicissitudes, is now placed near. Opposite to Eleahor lies Queen Philippa ; then comes the monument of her husband, Edward III. ; and lastly the ill-fated Richard II. and his Queen, Anne. All are memorials of the highest interest, on account of their execution as well as of their antiquity. They have not wholly escaped the hand of the iconoclast or of the relic-hunter. Still, as a rule, the injuries are comparatively light, and it has been deemed needless, happily, to invoke the aid of the restorer. John of Waltham, favourite of Westminster Abbey.] HENRY THE SEVENTH'S CHAPEL. 287 Richard II., has been admitted into this august fellowship. Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor, rests near her husband's shrine. Queen Maud lies on the south side, while Elizabeth Tudor and Thomas of Woodstock complete the company of monarchs and their kinsfolk. After the entombment of Henry V. there came a break in the royal ■wren's design for the COMl'LETION OP THE A15BEY. funerals. Henry VI., though, as graphically described by Dean Stanley, he chose him a place near the Confessor, rests at Windsor, as does his rival, Edward IV. But the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster is commemor- ated by the building of a large tomb-house. Henry VII. took down the original Lady Chapel, and erected that which now bears his name. This, though not the largest, is the finest piece of "Tudor" work in England. Although we may hesitate to apply to it Leland's courtly phrase — orbis miraculum — the roof, at any rate, is a marvel of elaboration. The building has side aisles, and is terminated by a chevet of four chapels. The stalls, of contemporary work, are 288 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Ahbey. adorned with the banners and marked by the armorial bearings of Knights of the Bath — of which order the Dean of Westminster is ex officio dean. Near tlie eastern end is the stately monmnent of the founder, Henry VII., and of his wife. The figures are of bronze, the tomb is of marble, adorned with alabaster and with medallions in copper. It is the work of Torregiano, Renaissance rather than Gotliic in design. The grille, however, wrought by English artists, is more in harmony with the chapel. Henry the VII. 's grandson, Edward VI., was interred on the site of tlie altar at which masses were to be perjDetually said for his grandfather's soul. No monument marked the boy-king's grave, but a re- storation of the altar, including two pillars from the original, now serves as a memorial. From his time till the reign of George III. this chapel was the usual burial-place for members of the royal house, but the line of royal monuments closes with the reign of James I., whose body was laid within the founder's vault. A stately monument in the south aisle covers the corpse of his mother, transferred hither from the cathedral of Peter- borougli. By this is a tomb not less worthy of note than the founder's: that of his mother, the saintly Lady Margaret, also the work of Torregiano. In this aisle also lie Margaret Lennox (grandmother of James I.), numerous members of the Stuart family, and other illus- trious personages, including General Monk. At the eastern end of the same aisle lie Charles II., William III. and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, and Prince George of Denmark ; west of the founder's vault are George II. and Queen Caroline, with not a few of their children and grandchildren. In the north aisle a splendid monu- ment commemorates the national mourning for Queen Elizabeth, and in the same grave is buried her less lamented sister Mary. Two children of James I. lie near, and in a small sarcophagus are placed the bones, discovered in the Tower, which were supposed to be the remains of the murdered sons of Edward IV. Few members of any royal family are buried beneath the chapels of the clievet. One is encumbered by the vast monument of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, King James's " Steenie ; " another, no less by that of Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox. In the north-eastern chapel lies John Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire, with his fantastic wife. In the south-eastern is placed the Due de Montjjensier — brother to Louis Philippe — who died an exile in England, in DEAN STANLEY. Westminster Ahhey.] A CONTRAST. 289 1807; and the late Dean, Arthur Stanley, rests by the side of his beloved wife. Over their graves a beautiful altar-tomb has been erected. The easternmost chapel has no monument, but a glance at the inscriptions on the floor is enough. In the vault beneath were laid the Protector Cromwell, with some of his family and friends, chief among them being Ireton, Bradshaw, and Admiral Blake. After the Restoration these were all ejected; most of them were reinterred THE CHAPEL OF THE PYX. outside the Abbey, but the corpses of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were dragged to T}'burn for mutilation and insult. The vault afterwards received some of the illegitimate progeny of the second Charles, but was saved from utter dishonour by the subsequent interment in it of the Duke of Ormond, and of Bentinck, Earl of Portland. What satire could be more bitter than to place a bastard of that Charles who brought England so low among nations, in the very grave from which Blake had been ejected as unworthy! Full of interest as is the exterior of the Abbey, our space forbids us to linger there. Notwithstanding three centuries of change, much still remains of the old Benedictine monastery. There are the venerable cloisters, black with the smoke of London ; there is. the exquisite chapter-house, built by the second founder, and 290 ABBEYS AND CHURCHES. [Westminster Abbey. now, after so many years of misuse, restored to something of its pristine beauty ; there is the massive door which closes the old Norman Chapel of the Pyx, with its grim history, and tlie dark passage which retains portions, at least, of the Confessor's work. Fragments of the Norman dormitory can be discerned in the great schoolroom where generation after generation of scholars has been reared since the days of " Good Queen Bess." At the back of Ashburnham House are some remnants of the ancient Norman refectory. The present house is attributed to Inigo Jones. If it be his design, which is doubtful, it has been greatly altered. Some of the internal decoration is good, but it is difficult to understand, on grounds purely aesthetic, the outcry which was raised a few years ago when the house was trans- ferred to the school. Great Dean's Yard is bordered on the eastern side by a row of houses which still retain many traces of the old monastic buildings. In the Abbots' Hall, built by Littlington, the Queen's Scholars of Westminster School dine, at tables made, it is said, from captured ships of the Spanish Armada ; and between this and the Abbey is yet another hall of the same date — the Jerusalem Chamber. Here — who needs to be reminded of it ? — Henry IV. died ; here the Westminster Confession was drawn up ; here Convocation has often assembled ; here, also, the revisers of the Old Testament held their meetings. In the future, as in the past, changes must come to the Abbey of Westminster. Two are imperatively necessary, and cannot long be delayed : a thorough repair of the fabric, and the addition of a building to serve as a tomb-house. Let us hope tliat in carrying out the former, the hand of the restorer will be as far as possible withheld. Better the crumbling stone, so long as it does not endanger the fabric, than the new-carved capital or tracery ; better, in many cases, even the alterations of an unwise age than the modern imitation of what the original architect may have wrought. Incrustations and excrescences might, indeed, here and there be removed Avith advantage, but even in this it is better to err on the safe side. Still, as the Abbey is already overcrowded with monuments, it is to be hoped that before long the desire of the late and of the present Dean will be accomplished, and an addition be made to the buildings in the form of a cloister or tomb-house, into which some of the most modern monuments might be moved. Beyond this we do not wish to look, though the times are ominous of changes, and there is reason for fear as well as for hope. We part, how- ever, from the Abbey, trusting that Dean Stanley's words may be prophetic : " Here, if anywhere, the Christian worship of England may labour to meet both the strength and the weakness of succeeding ages, to inspire new meanings into ancient forms, and embrace within itself each rising aspiration after Truth and Justice and Love." T. G. Bonney. GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3 3125 01392 1206