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HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES

OF THE

OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
A SERIES OF HIGHLY-FINISHED ENGRAVINGS,
Exhibiting general and particular Views, Ground Plans, and all the architectural Features and
Ornaments in the various Styles of Building in our
ecclesiastical Ctufices*
BY JAMES STORER.
¦J ealle englaj "j ealle jiihcpije men jinbon hif tempel. Alfred.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.
VOL. IV.

HLontron :
PUBLISHED BY RIVINGTONS; MURRAY; HATCHARD; CLARKE;
TAYLOR; AND SHERWOOD, NEELY, AND JONES.
MDCCCXIX.
COE, Printer, Little Carter Lane, St. Paul's.

ms 4-

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES

CATHEDRAL CHURCH

altslmrp*

1 he diocess of Salisbury is of great antiquity, and most probably
derived its origin from the primitive British Christians. The first see
was at " Shireburne," after the tonsure controversy had subsided. Ina,
king of the West Saxons (whose excellent code of laws has been pre
served to the present day), feeling the necessity of rendering his sub
jects truly religious, resolved to increase the number of bishops. After
the death of Hedda, bishop of Winchester, about 702, he divided that
see into two bishoprics, and selected Sherborn for the see of the
new diocess, which was to extend over the counties now called Dorset,
Wilts, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. The pious and learned Aid-
helm or Adelme, said to be king Ina's nephew, and by Capgrave his
son, was appointed the first bishop of Sherborn in 705. The talents,
learning, and virtues of this prelate were well calculated to give im
portance to his see, and shed a lustre on the holy religion which he
professed*. Unfortunately he lived to occupy it only four years,
and^was succeeded by Fordhere. A succession of respectable prelates f
* We pass over the ridiculous miracles of lengthening timber-beams, Sec. ascribed to Aid-
helm, to notice his style, which is happily characterized by Malmesbury, in a manner worthy
a modern and philosophical critic : his writings, observes this learned monk, " have less liveli
ness in them than required by critics, who estimate style highly, but set Httle value upon
sense : unreasonable judges, not knowing that the modes of writing vary with the manners of
nations, as the Greeks are wont to write with a closeness of language, the Romans with a splen
dour of diction, and the English with a pomp of words. In all the ancient charters we may
perceive how much delight is taken in certain abstruse words derived from the Greek. Aid-
helm, however, acted with more moderation ; he used exotic words only seldom, and of neces
sity, introducing his sound sense in the garb of eloquence, and decorating his most violent
assertions with the colours of rhetoric j so that, on a full consideration of him, you would at
once think him to be a Greek from his smartness of style, swear him to be a Roman by his
neatness of diction, and nnderstand him to be an Englishman from his pomp of words."
t Among them Ealkstan or Alfstan is distinguished as a great warrior, who conquered the
kingdoms of Kent and of the East Saxons for Egbert, fighting always victoriously against the
Danes, or whoever opposed him. Godwin says that he basely set up Ethelbald against his fa
ther Ethelwolf, and obliged the latter to divide the kingdom with his son. This is a serious
charge; yet when we remember that the deceased Athelstan (according to Whilaker, this
prince had only turned hermit, and was called St. Neot), a natural son of Ethelwolf, had pre
viously enjoyed the same power, instead of censuring the bishop we should rather applaud
him for exalting the respectability of a legitimate son, and thereby marking his attention ta
mora-i character. Jt is said, that he held this see fifty years. Asser, another bishop of this see,
(a)

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 905.
filled this see till 898, when it remained vacant seven years. Edward
the Elder having obtained absolute possession of the throne, deter
mined to improve the religious state of his people, which had suflFered
much by the Danish invasions, and with Plegmund, archbishop of
Canterbury (and formerly divinity-reader to king Alfred), called a
synod, in which it was decreed that the province of the West Saxons
should be divided into seven bishoprics *. The good archbishop, about
905, accordingly consecrated bishops for Cornwall, Devon, Somerset,
and Wilts, in addition to those previously established. The see of Wilts
was occasionally at Sunning and Ramsbury, but chiefly at Wilton. It
had ten bishops ; Hermann de Eotharingia was the eleventh, when the
see of Sherborn becoming vacant, he united it to Wilton. The con
duct of this prelate, who was a native of Flanders, and chaplain to
Edward, exhibits a curious mixture of caprice and ambition. Al
though raised to rank and honour, he became discontented, petitioned
the king, and had almost obtained the removal of his see from Wilton
to Malmesbury. The abbot and monks strenuously opposed tbe mea
sure, and engaged earl Godwin to prevent it in the cabinet council.
The haughty Fleming then pettishly resigned, or rather abandoned (in
1055 Bromton, 1050 Higden) his episcopal charge, went to the con
tinent, and became a monk of St. Eertin, where he remained three years.
Time, however, and an ascetic life, soon brought him to reason f.
who, according to Godwin and Isaacson, was consecrated in 879, and died in 883, has been sup
posed to be the same as Asser, archbishop of St. David's, who was consecrated in 905 or 909.
This Welsh prelate was certainly the author of Alfred's life; and the Annals, published in his
name, in which a sentence occurs, stating that an Asser, bishop of Sherbom, died in 909.
" The mention of his death in /lis own Annals," observes Whitaker, Life of St. Neot, " proves
that Asser undeniably not to be himself." Nevertheless Stevens, in his additions to the Mo-
nasticon, Dr. John Smith, appendix to Bede's Eccle. Hist, and many other writers, very impro
bably pretend that it is the same person, the bishop of Sherborn and the annalist. Godwin
with more probability, mentions the opinion that the former was chancellor to the latter'
and that they were relations. It is however very incredible that our Asser lived till 909, as
Swithelm succeeded him in 834, and afterwards travelled into the East, where the apostle
Thomas had preached tlie gospel, and brought thence many precious stones. He was succeeded
in 889 by Ethelwald, or Ethelward, a younger son of king Alfred. Asser Menevensis appears bv
his Annals to have lived to 914. The Wilton prelate, Brithwold, is also mentioned by Malmes
bury, as redeeming some lands from the crown for Glastonbury abbey, when the sum stipu*
lated being deficient a penny (obolus), he " magnificently threw his own ring into the mass*
after exhibiting the workmanship upon it, to shew his zeal for the abbey." '
* Malmesbury says, qnmque episcopal, pro duobus facere, only five bishoprics made out of
two; but he omits to mention that Sussex now formed a part of the West Saxon territories
and that Chichester should have been included. He gives Athelm or Adeline to Wells Edulf
to Crediton, Athelstan to Cornwall, Fidestan or Frithstan to Winchester, and Werstan to Sher
bom, but overlooks the appointment of Ethelstane to Wilton ; which either took place at the
same time, or very shortly after, although Warton says in 910.
t The manner in which this effect is expressed by an abbot, clearly shews what were the
feelings of monks in all ages, and how absurd were their pretensions to contentment which in
a necessary precursor to all pious duties. " Sed (observes Bromton, writing from personal ex
penence and observation), ut scope fit in talibus, repentino impetu religionis frigescente Her'
mannus rediit." After stating this usual and natural consequence, the cooling of a reli-nous
fit, he relates the causes abovementioned, which contributed to bring this worthless prelate to
our country again. Aldred, bishop of Worcester (who was translated to York), managed the
concerns of his bishopric during his absence. Some authors, and among them the writer 0*
fbj

A. D. 1075.] WILTSHIRE,
Accustomed to the luxuries of a court, and the obsequious attention
of flatterers, the homely familiarity of a foreign convent were not
well adapted to soothe his perturbed mind. The report, it is said, of
Godwin's death * having also reached him, he no longer hesitated in
returning to England. Again possessed of his bishopric, and Elfwold
bishop of Sherborn dyingf, he claimed the royal promise to unite
Wilton and that see. This furnished him with a change. Wilton,
however, for amenity of -situation, well deserved the honours it en
joyed of being a royal burgh and a regal residence J. But Sherborn
was doomed to share the same fate as Wilton, and ceased in a few
years to be the seat of a prelate. The apparent causes of its becoming
a see, as being the retreat of a hermit §, and most probably one of the
places to which the early British Christians had retired, perhaps rather
contributed to hasten than retard its fall. Hermann eagerly availed
himself of the decree of 1075, for removing episcopal seats from vil
lages to large towns, and transferred his see from Sherborn to
Old Sarum, the Sorbiodunum \\ of the Romans, and the <Seato6grtj
or #?arust>!>t:ij$ of the Saxons. Tbe clergy justly murmured at the
change ; and besides complaining of the bleakness of tbe situation,
and the want of water, they compared their cathedral church, im-
the Antiquitates Sarisburtenses, have called Aldred bishop of Winchester; but there being no such
name of a bishop in that see, a modern author has thought proper to question the fact entirely.
A reference to the original writers, X Scriptures, instantly removes this error.
* Godwin died of a surfeit, or was suffocated -by a piece of meat, at the table of king Ed
ward, in 1053, so that the period of his death renders it difficult to reconcile with that of the
report reaching Hermann in France. The fact however of this prelate's enacting the fool and
knave, by running away, appears unquestionable.
t The exact period of Elfwold's death is doubtful; it seems to bavebeen between 1050 and 1058.
t Alburga, the sister of Egbert, founded a monastery in Wilton, and occasionally resided
there when the king himself was at Sarum.
§ This spirit of sequestration, or retirement, prevailed equally among the Saxons as well as
the Britons. St. German's was chosen for the Cornish see, while Leskard was the capital,
David, bishop of Caerleon, in the sixth century, removed his see to the village, now called St.
David's, on a peninsular extremity of Pembrokeshire, exposed to the Atlantic ocean. In like
manner Sherborn was raised to prelatical dignity. Its Saxon name, Scire burn, means a clear
brook (or burn, in the northern dialect), and therefore agreeable to the pastoral fancy of a her
mit. Abbot Myer told Leland, that " he had redd'e in Latine bookes of his house, that Sher
burne was callid Clare Fons." It was also called Fans Argenleus, as appears by the foHowing
curious extract, furnished by the same author. " Offa, rex Est-Anglorum peregre proficiscens,
ad cognatum suum Alkmundum, in Saxonia (Wessex as opposed to Mercia) commoiantem,
pervenit, ibique Edmundum ejusfilium in hseredem adoptavit." Ex vita Edwoldi fratris Ed-
rnundi. " Edwoldus -tAtam hereiniticam duxit apud Fontem Argenteum in Dorsetshir." Doubt
less the cell was that noticed by Leland : " St. John hermitage by the mille, now down." As
to the cathedral, which was converted into an abbey church, that part of it had only a thatched
roof, should not be allowed to detract from the real grandeur of the edifice. A century before
Leland's visit, i. e. about 1440, " a preste of Al-Halowis shot a shaft with tier into the toppe of
that part of S. Mary chirch, that devidid the est part that the monkes usid, from (that which)
the townesmen usid; and this partition, chauflcing at that tyme to be thakkii yn the rofe, was
sette a fier ; and consequently al the hole chirch (the lede and belles melted) was defacid."
|J " In Sorbiodunum we recognize the Celtic words Sorbio dry, and dun a city ; and in the
more modern appellation of Searbyrig, the Saxon words S&r dry, and byrig a town, so that
Romans and Saxons designated it the dry city." See Sir R. C. Hoare's Jncient Wilts, a superb
work, which unfolds with unequalled fidelity the primitive history not merely of a province,
»utof the whole nation with respect to the arts and iroplamenu of civil life.
<C)

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, [A.D. 1092.
mured within a vast and strong fortress, to the ark of God shut up in the
temple of Baalim. Hermann being a foreigner, had none of that in
tuitive wisdom which natives generally possess in adopting their build
ings to the peculiar climate, and therefore founded his cathedral
church on a hill exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and inside
of a fortification also, instead of the valley, which was protected by a
castle, sheltered from the winds*, and watered by a clear stream,
meandering over a fertile soil. He did not, indeed, live to finish the
edifice he began, but died either in 1076-7 or 8. Osmund, a Norman
baron, created earl of Dorset and lord chancellor, was his successor.
He completed the church began by Hermann, and endowed it with
considerable revenues, which are specified in a charter dated at Hast
ings, April 5, 1091, confirmed by William Rufus, and signed by seven
counts, the archbishop, nine bishops, and nineteen other persons, in
all thirty-seven, and not three, as has been erroneously stated. This
charter is piously issued in tbe name of the Holy Trinity, while Osmund
modestly styles himself merely " bishop of the church of Salisbury,"
he " canonically grants for ever" several towns, the church of Sher
born, &c. the " church of Salisbury with its tenths and appendages,
and two and a half hides of land f in the same town, &c." " a moiety
of every oblation which shall be oflered upon the principal altar J,
¦except the ornaments, and the whole oblations of the other altars," &c.
On the fifth of April, 1092, Osmund, assisted by tbe bishops of
Winchester and Bath, dedicated the new church. It is said that the
belfry being burnt by lightning §, was deemed an ill omen of the
* A very just apprehension of the winds appears to have been felt by the people of the west
of England in all ages, and this awakened their natural sagacity to contrive how to evade them.
" When the Britons of Cornwall," observes Whitaker, *' first fixed a church upon a site, they
did as tbe Britons and Saxons of Cornwall equally do to this day, overlook all fear of dampness
in the predominating dread cf winds : they therefore chose a ground sheltered from the winds
though it was moist in itself, for the position of their church ; and the Saxons chose another
more moist, but more sheltered, for their college." In the erection of the present cathedral of
Salisbury, this indigenous consideration has had due influence.
t AU the estimated quantities of land in a hide are totally incompatible with this state
ment ; we must therefore adopt the ingenious Mr. H. P. Wyndham's opinion, as expressed in
. the learned and critical preface to his translation of " Wilescire from Domesday Book " that it
is an uncertain portion of land worth annually twenty Norman shillings, and therefore varying
in extent according to the quality. — Walter de Eurus, d'Eureux, or Devereux, owned the castle
and perhaps sold to OBmund the land here given.
t " Before the time of pope Gregory called the Great, the dead were always buried out of
the town ; but saying mass for the dead being then invented, sepulture became the source of
great gain, as every one left largely to have masses said to pray his soul out of purgatory ; the
better to secure these fees, the clergy made burial grounds round the churches. The principal
altar was called also the high altar, and dedicated to the patron saint, as this of Sarum was to
the Virgin Mary, the offerings here were more sumptuous than others. By ornaments we are
to understand things for the use of the church, as plate, images, crucifixes, ampuls 'candle
sticks, basins, biers, vestments, pixes, crosiers, mitres, chests of relics, philatories tabernacles
chalices, censers, chrismatories, copes, chesables, altar-cloths, serta or garlands, buckles " &c*
i Perhaps this is a mistake, as it has been erroneously stated that Knyghton says the'stopfc
was blown down, whereas he explicitly mentions only the roof, tectum, not turris. "This year
the tower (turris) of Wynchcomb church was struck with lightning, it perforated the walls
knocked down the head of a crucifix, and (most impiously) broke the right thigh of an image
OU

A. D. 1099.] WILTSHIRE.
church's stability ; and Knyghton states that the roof was blown off
the fifth day after its dedication. Every thing, indeed, conspired to
make an impression on the mind that it could be only a temporary place
of worship, notwithstanding its elegance and the immense sums which
subsequent prelates bestowed on its decorations. The famous Petrus
Blesensis, of transubstantiation notoriety, who wrote about sixty
years after its erection, bestows on it his obtestatory denunciation.
" Sarum is a place exposed to the wind, barren, dry, and solitary ; a
tower is there, as in Siloam, by which the inhabitants have for a long
time been enslaved. The church of Sarum is a captive on a hill ; let
us therefore, in God's name, go down into the level, where the val
leys will yield plenty of corn, and the champaign fields are of a rich
soil." This city, however, flourished for several years. That it was
one of the most powerful and populous places in England at this
period must be inferred, from the circumstance that king William sum
moned here, in 1085, all the estates of England and Normandy, arch
bishops, bishops, abbots, counts, barons, knights, &c. to swear allegi
ance * to him. Osmund completed bis work by placing secular canons
on the foundation, and in order to have them enlightened, learned,
and pious men, wrote books for their instruction, and the service of his
church, particularly the " Ordinale secundum usum f Sarum," trans
cribed others, and, it is added, with his own hands bound and illumined
several to form a library. He died in December 1099, and to sate the
avarice of a miser, pope Calixtus III. his name was deified % in 1457.
of Mary ! The church was then filled with fetid vapours, when the monks with holy-water and
relics of saints (as potent spells as any of Macbeth's witches) made processions round it. In
London more than 600 houses and several churches were injured by a hurricane. In the church
of Arcubus two men were killed, and six rafters of the church weire driven into the ground, so
that scarcely a sixth part of them appeared. The same tempest (turbo) blew off (dejecitj the
roof (tectum) of Salisbury church, the fifth day after Osmund had dedicated it." X Scrip, p. 2364.
* This, said Blackstone, in the first editions of his Commentaries, " seems to have been
the era of formally introducing the feudal tenures by law (after compiling Doomsday Book), and
probably the very law thus made at the council of Sarum is that which is still extant," enact
ing that all freemen shall swear on their fealty, &c. to be faithful to the king, &c. But mili
tary tenures were previously introduced, which proves the correctness of the lord chief justice
Ellenborough's remark, that the " Commentaries" made their author a learned judge, rather
than a learned judge the "Commentaries." Feudal tenures existed under Edward Confessor,
and were the result of necessity, the mere consequence of incessant wars, and not any great
invention or grand system of policy introduced by the Normans.
t In justice to Osmund's fame it must be observed, that he was not author of all the devo
tional books in the use of Sarum. The Hone B. Virginia, Breviarum and Missale contain many
absurd and even scandalous sentences, such as the story of the devil and St. Bernard, the non
sensical prayer for "ardor without discretion," the prayers to St. Wilgefortis, to the 11,000
maids, to Mary, to Apollonia for the tooth-ach, Sigismund for fevers, Sebastian and Roche for
the plague, the amorous addresses to Miss Etheldreda, &c. &c. See " Reflexions upon the De
votions of the Roman Church," with translations of the prayers, hymns, &c. 8vo. 1674, a work
of considerable merit; and he must be a very insensible man, or more influenced by prejudice
than piety, who would not occasionally either smile or sigh in perusing it.
t An interesting account of the miracles ascribed to him, and the correspondence with the
pope respecting his canonization, will be found in Mr. Dodsworth's work, extracted from the
records preserved in the chapter. It furnishes some curious additions to the history of human
credulity and knavery, as well as facts demonstrating the cupidity, to say no worse, of the
0>J

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1138;
Roger, a Norman, succeeded. He was a curate to a small church,
in the vicinity of Caen, when prince Henry, being out on a military
enterprise, accidently entered the chapel, and with his companion!
heard him say mass. Roger, who knew something of soldiers' disposi
tions at church, read * the prayers so very expeditiously, that mass
was ended before some thought it well begun. All applauded so dex
trous a priest, and the prince, pleased with the circumstance, desired
him to follow the camp, with which he cheerfully complied. Roger
possessed little learning, but considerable subtilty and adroitness, and
was therefore very successful in whatever he undertook. So perfectly
did he acquire his master's esteem, that when Henry came to the
throne, he declared that " Roger would sooner be tired of asking than
he of bestowing." Lands, churches, prebends, and whole abbeys were
given to him ; he became his chancellor, and bishop of Salisbury.
The office of chief justiciary, he modestly refused, till persuaded to
it by the other bishops. He thus acquired great wealth and influence f .
The king, advancing in age, required an oath of allegiance to his
daughter, the empress Maud, which our bishop and the other nobles
willingly tendered. He died soon after, and Roger, forgetting his oath
to his benefactor, assisted in raising Stephen to the throne. For this
he has been accused, and with apparent reason, of gross ingratitude and
perjury. His apology, which may satisfy a papal casuist, is, that
Maud engaged not to marry without the consent of the states, which
she did not perform, and thereby forfeited their allegiance. At this
period, however, the crown of England was rather elective than he
reditary, consequently our prelate was under no obligation but his
oath. The subsequent conduct of Stephen, a brave and generous war
rior, seems an " equivalent" %. to the bishop's error in this case;
for although he acted some years entirely by his advice, and raised
his relations, one to be the treasurer, and another chancellor of Eng
land, he treated our prelate with ingratitude and cruelty in his old
age. A dispute arose between bishop Roger's servants and those of
the earl of Brittany ; our old prelate and his relations were summoned
court of Rome. This trade was the staple manufacture of the papal dominions. The Rev. Mr.
Bowie, Archaeolog. ix. 39-44, has given some particulars of Osmund's deification.
* This practice still continues in Spain, and even in Portugal. A poor Spanish chaplain
will read over the prayers and perform the whole ceremonies of the mass in eleven minutes and
a half ! for this he receives a peseta (about 10d.), and proceeds to something else. This is called
public worship, and it is certainly as innocent as loitering over the prayers (which are all read
in a low and inaudible voice), and occasionally gloating at the women who attend tlie mass .
t " He constructed (says Leland) the castle of de Visas (Devizes) and Sherborn ;" the lat
ter was esteemed one of the first in Europe, and began one at Malmesbury. He brought his
brother [rather his nephew, although Wikes, almost his cotemporary, calls him brother]
" Alexander from France, and- made him bishop of Lincoln ;" this friend emulated him " in
building the superb castles of Newark, Lefford, and Banbury."
t See lord Halifax's " Anatomy of an Equivalent," which now merits particular attention..
m

A.D. 11S4.J WILTSHIRE.
before the king j they all appeared except Nigell, bishop of Ely, who
retired to Devizes, and fortified himself in the castle. This aggra
vated the evil ; the king immediately carried bishop Roger aud the
chancellor, his natural son (for bishops in those days might have mis
tresses * but not wives) to Devizes, and there threatened to hang
young Roger if the castle did not immediately submit. To prevent
this, our aged bishop, a fond parent, interfered, and bound himself by
a solemn oath, not to taste food till the castle had surrendered. The
determined Nigell, however, held out three days, before he opened
his gates. Stephen also seized a great part of our bishop's wealth ;
this grievance, with his long fast and his advanced age, threw him into
a fever, and he died in December 1139. Roger added to the secular
canons introduced by his predecessor, and it is believed raised the
number of dignitaries to fifty-two, which the church retained till the
reformation. Stephen himself, Maud, Henry II. and king John, all
evinced their liberality to our church, which in grants, privileges, and
immunities, was very highly favoured f.
Stephen, opposed in the nomination of his favourite, kept the see
vacant two years. Joceline de Bailul, a native of Lombardy, was
then appointed. He was twice excommunicated by the nefarious
Becket for giving his consent to the archbishop of York's coronation
of the younger Henry. Joceline directed the affairs of our church
with great moderation ; he retired to a convent about a year before
his death, and took the habit of a Cistertian monk. He died in 1184,
and notwithstanding his monkish piety (t'accusi di pieta, non de ri-
gorej, it was considered no diminution of his religious character that
he had a natural son +, Fitz-Joceline, who was bishop of Bath, and
ultimately of Canterbury. In consequence of the troubles occasioned
by the refractory and rebellious Becket, our see remained vacant five
years, and Henry appointed commissioners to collect its revenues §.
* The Romish clergy even at present are not too rigid in this respect ; yet Capgrave, Vita
St. GiXdce makes abbot Carilefus refuse to see even the queen Altrogodis, declaring " that so
long as he lived he would not see the face of a woman, neither should any woman come within
his monastery which he had built, our lord commanding him. It doth not become us who are
accounted of the family of Christ, to sell the seeing of us unto women} or for gaining of lands to
adventure our souls to the enemy of mankind."
t See Dodsworth's " Historical Account of the episcopal See and Cathedral Church of Sa
lisbury," a work by far the most accurate, complete, and even elegant, which has hitherto ap
peared, or can appear, for some time to come on this subject. If Stevenson's edition of Ben-
tham's Ely did honour to the Norwich press, so will Dodsworth's history exalt that of Salisbury.
t Human nature is the same in the present as it was in that age, but art had not then so
completely triumphed over it, otherwise we should no more have heard of our good bishop's
sons than we now do of those of the vicar apostolic of the  district. The Rosseau system
was then happily unknown, and the pious bishops Roger and Joceline acknowledged their off
spring, and raised up good members of society.
§ The want of money was want of power in our kings of that age, and every means were
adopted to procure both. Richard in 1194 issued a proclamation for holding a tournament be
tween Salisbury and Wilton j and that "every earl that shall tourney there shall give tous
CO

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, fA- **• 1227-
It was afterwards occupied by Hubert Walter and Herebert Poore or
Pauper ; the latter dying in 1217, was succeeded by Richard Poore,
who had been eighteen years our dean, two years bishop of Chichester,
and was finally translated from Salisbury to Durham in 1228 (some
accounts say 1226), where he paid off the debts of his predecessor.
The time had now arrived for the removal of our church to a more
auspicious situation. Bishop Richard Poore well knew the incon
veniences to which the clergy were subjugated by the soldiery of the
castle, and although the walls had been suffered to decay, when the
kings discovered the effects of castles in the hands of turbulent and dis
loyal barons, yet the military authority still existed ; the governor's
right to forage at pleasure among the peasantry was still unimpaired.
Other causes were no less efficient with the clergy for removing their
church. Some of them were occasionally debauching the female rela
tives of the Castellans, which was retaliated by every possible contri
vance to annoy them. King John, also, in revenge for the pope's
tyranny, imprisoned all their concubines *, and levied heavy fines on
them for their liberation. These grievances had long been the source
of incessant broils ; but such was the deplorable vassalage to a foreign
priest, that the king and states of the realm, could not move the- site
of a church from a hill to a valley, without the pope's bull or
licence, and even this was obtained merely by money and misrepresent
ation f. Our prelate being then authorized to remove his church into
the valley called Merrifield, Henry III. granted by charter % to the
bishop, dean, and chapter, the whole ground selected for the site of
" New Saresbury," with all the prerogatives of a city, the same as Win
chester, making the bishop lord of the soil, sole proprietor of all the
local customs, and other immunities, empowering him to erect bridges,
roads, &c. for the convenience of his clergy, and the inhabitants of
twenty marks, a baron ten marks, and a knight that hath lands four marks, and he that hath
no lands shall give two marks." Officers were appointed to receive these fees, and the tourna
ment was held near Stratford.
* On this head we shall cite the words of Italian and Roman Catholic historians. " Sic-
come in quei tempe (1210) rari erano in Inghilterra gli ecclesiastici che non avessero concu&ine ;
Giovanni, zelante della puntuale osservanza dei canoni le fece imprigionar tutte, vendendo cara
a ciascuna la loro liberazione." Martinelli, Star. tPInghil. — " Dopo lo stabilimento del celibato
f'ra il clero, observes Sastres, l'uso delle concubine fra gli ecclesiastici divenne si generate, che l'is-
tessa corte di Roma fu costretta a tolerarlo ; ed i vescovi in Inghilterra stabilirono de* regola-
menti riguardo a bastardi, che ne resultavano." Saggi sutla Gran Bretagna.
f " The truth ofthe matter is (says Hollnshed), the souldiers of the castle and chanons of
Old Sarum fell at oddes, insomuch that after often brawles, they fell at last to sadde brbwes."
In thc " Salisbury Ballad," by Dr. Walter Pope, the friend of the excellent bishop Ward, the
causes are intimated. " The soldiers and churchmen did not long agree,
For the surly men with the hilt on,
Made sport at the gate, with the priests that came late
From shriving the nuns of Wilton."
t This charter is dated January the 11th of Henry III, or 1227, but there must have been
some previous grant to tlie bishop, before he began to build his cathedral.
Oi)

A. D. 1225.] WILTSHIRE.
the new city, who were also exempted from all tolls, pontage, passage,
stallage, carriage, &c. throughout the realm. The king reserved
only the advowson of the bishopric, and the bishop became feudal lord
of the city and its precincts, holding markets, courts of justice, &c.
This, says Leland, was " the ruin of old Saresbyri and Wiltoun.
For afore this, Wiltoun had twelv paroch churches, or more, and
was the hed town of Wileshir." A road was made to Salisbury and
a bridge over the Avon, near Hamham, which " was a village before
the erection of New Saresbyri, and there was a church of St. Martin
longging to it."
The next consideration was the raising of funds sufficient to build
a new cathedral. For this purpose, the bishop and dean (Adam de
Ivelcestre) issued a decree, in which they and all the canons and vi
cars in a convocation bind themselves to pay, by quarterly instalments,
one fourth of their entire incomes during seven years. This instru
ment was dated " on the day of Sts. Processus and Martinianus," in
1218. Preachers were also appointed to collect through the country
the contributions of the pious. Mean time a wooden chapel to the
Virgin Mary was built, and consecrated at Easter -, on the feast of the
Trinity, 1219, the bishop also consecrated a cemetery, and it was decreed
that the translation from Old Sarum should take place on the follow
ing feast of All Souls. On the 28th of April 1220, the foundation of
the present church was laid. Our prelate (says William de Wenda, an
eye-witness, then precentor and afterwards dean), expected the king.
His majesty, however, was engaged treating with the Welsh, at Shrews
bury, and the bishop amidst numbers of people, laid tlie first * stone
for pope Honorius, the second for his grace of Canterbury, and the
third for himself. William Longespee, earl of Sarum, being present, laid
the fourth stone ; his countess, Elaide Vitri, the fifth ; and after them
the dean, chapter, and several others. Many of the nobility return
ing from Wales, came to Salisbury and laid stones, thereby binding
themselves to a contribution for seven years. The fabric being suffici
ently advanced to admit the performance of public worship, the clergy
were summoned to attend the first service, when the bishop on the
vigil of St. Michael, in 1225, being Sunday, consecrated three altars ;
the first in the. east part in honour of the Trinity and All Saints, on
which henceforward the mass of the Virgin was to be daily sung. He
then dedicated another altar in the north part of the church to St. Peter
* Henry's charter says the first stone was laid in the king's name. The testimony of an eye
witness, Wanda, must be received, otherwise the account which Godwin gives is not contrary
to the manners of that age. " Pandolf, pontifical legate, says he laid the five first stones, one
for the pope, another for the king, a third for earl Salisbury, a fourth for the countess of Salis
bury, and the fifth and last for the bishop,"
cv

SALISBURY CATHEDRAE, [A.D. 125&.-
and the Apostles, and a third in the south, to Stephen and other martyrs.
On the following Thursday the king, and his justice Hubert de Burgh,
visited the cathedral ; the former offered ten marks of silver, a piece of
silk, and granted a yearly fair of eight days duration ; the latter, a
volume of the Old and New Testament, adorned with precious stones,
and the relics of many saints. At the feast of tbe Trinity, in 1226,
the bodies of bishops Osmund, Roger, and Joceline, were removed
from Old Sarum and deposited in the new church.
The building of the cathedral now advanced very slowly; the
funds of the clergy were completely drained by the extortions of the
pope, and what little the people could devote to pious purposes was
artfully carried off under the pretext of crusades. Dwelling houses
were also required in the new city. But the papal rapacity had lost
all limits, and Honorius unblushingly demanded a yearly rent from
every religious establishment in England. Our bishop nobly refused
this iniquitous imposition, and his holiness was so enraged that he
ordered the tenths to be rigorously collected, and threatened the bishop
with excommunication if they were not instantly paid. Disappointed
in one project, his infallible highness had recourse to another ; deter
mined to have money, he now attacked our bishop and the king of
France, either to send out reinforcements to the crusaders or money
to those already in Palestine. In this also he failed, and the bishop of
Salisbury, in the name of the king, declined all efforts of crusading in
the existing state of things *. Bishop Poore being now translated to
Durham, Gregory IX. demanded the nomination of two prebendaries
in every diocess in England. This likewise was refused, but he con
trived to send above 300 Italians to fill tbe first vacant benefices f.
Robert Bingham was elected successor to bishop Poore, in Decem
ber 1228 ; he applied himself to complete the buildings of the cathe
dral, but although he lived till November 1246, and built St. Thomas's
church, and Harnham bridge, he left the works still unfinished, and
the see burdened with a debt of 1700 marks. His successor, William
of York, was no more fortunate ; iEgidius de Bridport, or Gyles de*
Bridlesford, had the pleasure of seeing the cathedral completed, when
he solemnly dedicated the church to the Virgin Mary, on the 30th"
September, 1258, king Henry, the archbishop of Canterbury, and a
great number of prelates and nobles being present. According to the
account delivered to the king, the expenses of the building amounted
* See Rymer's Foedera, vol. i. p. 303-4.
t The pope himself wished tovisitEngland.butnotwiUistandingthesuperstition ofthe king
and people, " the king's council liked not thereof, alledging that the Romans rapines and
simonies, had 6nough stained England's purity, though the pope himself came not personally
to spoil and pray upon the wealth of the church."
(kj

£.». 1350.] -WILTSHIRE.
at that time to 40,000 marks, or £26,666 : 13 : 4 sterling. But the
cathedral had not then attained its actual sublimity ; the nave, aisles,-
choir, and transepts, the body of the building, indeed, were unques
tionably the same as we now see them ; but a story of the tower and
the whole spire have been added since, and most probably about a cen
tury* after the dedication. Unfortunately no record has since been
discovered to say who was the architect of the spire f -3 but its boldness-
of conception, its magnitude, so much greater than that of Chichester,
to which it bears much resemblance, and much more elegant than that
of Norwich, all conspire to excite regret that we cannot here desig
nate the man whose genius and skill produced such an admirable
structure. Although this spire is considerably higher than St. Paul's,
London, yet the pyramid and tower exactly harmonize in the most
graceful proportion. The low situation, indeed, of the whole edifice,
* Dugdale observes 5 " there is a patent ofthe first year of king Henry VI. 1423, which re
cites, that the stone tower standing in the middle of Salisbury cathedral is become ruinous,
and empowers the dean and chapter to appropriate 50&. annually for repairs." Hence he infers,
that the " repair was made, and tower rebuilt, with the addition of a spire," which he supposes
to have been finished not later than 1429; for in that year sir Walter Hungerford had licence
from the king to appropriate the great tythes of Cricklade, and the reversion of the manor,
called Abingdon's court, *' to the dean and chapter of Salisbury cathedral, to maintain the tall
spire steeple of that fabric in repair." Had the spire been just erected, it could not then have
required repairing, and it is very unusual to find such prudential grants so long before they can
be really wanted. Mr. Dodsworth, who, with the church records all before him, has investi
gated this point with equal talents and diligence, concludes that the spire was built between the
years 1335 and 1375, later than that of Chichester, which tradition ascribed to the same archi*
tect. It is true, much alarm prevailed respecting the state of the spire, towards tlie end of the .
fourteenth century, and even later many chapters were held on the subject; but, as sir .
C. Wren observed, when he repaired it in 1668, the original architect had his fears, he added " a
most excellent bandage of iron to the upper part of the arcade, embracing the whole on the out
side and inside of the tower, with uncommon care.— -This is, perhaps, the best piece of smith's
work, as also the most excellent mechanism of any thing in Europe of its age." Seven other.
bandages hoop as it were the spire together, besides one round its basement, at the eight doors
opposite the parapet of the tower, The whole structure, indeed, is most ingeniously conceived
to possess the greatest strength with the most slender materials. It has even been struck with ¦
lightning several times, without experiencing any material injury; and in June 1741, it was
actually set on fire by this powerful element, the hole in a beam which it burnt before being
discovered may still be seen. Much has been said about its being twenty-three inches from a
perpend iculaiv but this perhaps took place by a settlement even before it was completed; cer
tain it is that no change of its declination has ever been recorded. Mr. Wyatt states that " the
south-west pier is sunk seven or eight inches, and the north-west half as much ; this has occa- f
sioned the leaning of the tower and spire to the south-west." The two, however, are so admi-*.
rably bound together by arches and counter- arches, inside and outside ; the winding stairs in
each ofthe corner piers of the tower, and the tabernacles with four door-ways in the spire, all*
contribute to make it as durable as the nature of its materials will admit. The roof is estimated
to contain 2641 tons of oak timber, and under it are 6ix or seven cisterns of water in case of fire.'
t The origin of spires is envolved in the same obscurity as that ofthe pointed arch. Dug
dale considers the spire of old St. Paul's, finished in 1221, as one of the first, and Warton ; who
ascribes them to the Saracens, instances Norwich in 1278. Whenever turrets and pinnacles
became general, spires were likely soon to follow; but much confusion has arisen, particularly
in our Latin chroniclers, for want of distinct terms, to designate towers, steeples, and spires,
and also by the misapplication of these terms. It appears, however, that the practice of build
ing spires, like many other useful arts, travelled from Greece to Rome, and thence to England,
although it is no less certain that the spires in England, and particularly that of our cathedral,
greatly surpass any thing of the kind ever constructed in foreign countries. Dallaway truly
observes " it has never been equalled." Views still remain of buildings in Corinth with spires,
and also some in ancient Rome, and we know that they existed in France before the crusades.
Ducarel has given an account of spires on St. Stephen's, Caen, which was begun 1064, and
finished in 1077 i but the spires may be the work of English artists at a subsequent period,
(V

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. [A. D. 1789.
contributes to diminish both its apparent and real grandeur, and stran
gers, unaware of this circumstance, can never believe that the body of
the church is so very large, and the spire so high, till they actually
enter them, till they traverse the one and ascend the other.
Having traced the history of our cathedral church to its final com
pletion, we have only to mention that bishop Beauchamp, with more
vanity than taste, had a chapel erected outside the aisle of the lady
chapel, for which several buttresses were cut away, and the structure
(decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile) in a very dissimilar style, appeared
an unnatural excrescence. Another chapel was also erected at the
eastern end of the building by the Hungerford family. An entrance
porch had likewise been constructed at the north end of the western
transept, most probably to imitate in some measure the Martyrdom at
Canterbury, when it was the fashion to worship Thomas Becket. The
intruded chapels greatly weakened the building, and endangered the
existence of the whole east end. But thanks to the liberality and taste
of bishop Barrington, and the talents of the late Mr. Wyatt, all
these defects were judiciously removed in 1789, the cathedral restored
to its primitive simplicity and beauty, while all the monuments of an
cient art were carefully preserved * and placed in parts of the building
more congenial to their respective characters, and more consonant
with the general harmony of the edifice. It is admitted by Bentbam
to be the only cathedral church which never had any intermixture of
styles, and cited by Hawkins as " the first instance of the pure and
unmixed Gothic in England." The elegant buttresses \, which had
been sacrilegiously cut away to gratify private vanity, are now all re
stored, and the exterior proportions of the building are so admirably
adjusted, the harmony of parts so complete, that it would be as wise
* On repairing the lady chapel, several coffins were discovered lying near the surface ; they
contained perfect skeletons, and at the head of each a chalice and patten were found ; one of
these is of silver gilt, and the design and workmanship are by no means inelegant. In the same .
coffin were found a gold ring set with an agate, and a wooden crosier in a decayed state. In the .
centre of the patten is the hand of a bishop engraven, in the act of giving benediction ; it also *
bears the evident remains of linen which had probably covered the wafer as it decayed adhering
lo it. The ring is large, and supposed to be that of investiture j the stone is perforated, and
may probably have been in a rosary. It is conjectured that these articles belonged to bishop '
Nicholas Longespee, son of the earl Salisbury of that name, as there is an account of his
having been buried near thc spot where they were found. In removing the tomb of Beauchamp
another ring set with a sapphire was discovered of much ruder workmanship. These remains are
deposited in the muniment, house, an octangular structure on the south side of the church.
Dodsworth's Guide, and Gottgh's Sepulchral Monuments.
t In almost all other Gothic structures the buttresses either excite a degree of apprehension
that the building is weak and likely to fall, or appear but clumsy after-thought devices, to give it
strength and durability; but here they are real ornaments, although simple in themselves, and
devoid of all sculptured work. As to the antiquity of buttresses (the name of which is derived
from the French arc-botttants), they were originally used at the ends of buildings. Whitaker,
(cathedral of Cornwall) suys they " were used by the Britons of Cornwall in the seventh century."
Hence perhaps have been derived our ideas of the butt end of any thing. The. earliest mention
of lateral buttresses in England, occurs in the Itinerary of William of Worcester, who speaks
of ,'ibotrasaes"atWare, in Hertfordshire.
Cm)

A.D, 1790.] WILTSHIRE.
to attempt improving tbe figure of tbe human body by adding or
subtracting a limb, as to improve the external character of Salisbury
cathedral, by adding or subtracting a single part. Nor is its interior
less admirably harmonious in itself than the exterior. The same unity
of design and consonance of object appear throughout. The few mo
numents which were necessarily removed, are placed in more proper
situations between the pillars of the nave, or in the aisles of the tran
septs ; and all the ornaments in the Beauchamp and Hungerford chapels
have been judiciously appropriated to respectable purposes. The
vulgar Grecian screens, introduced by sir Christopher Wren, have
been removed ; the lady chapel thrown into the chancel, the altar
carried to the east end of the building, and fitted up with some of the
finely-sculptured Gothic niches found in the chapels ; the episcopal
throne, prebendal stalls, and choir, are equal in elegance and delicacy
of Gothic ornaments to any thing in the kingdom. The screen at the
entrance of the choir, the organ * loft, the slight elevation of the
chancel, the slender yet lofty columns, the mosaic painted windows,
the distant prospect of the Saviour in the east window, diffusing light
as rising up from his tomb, and over it the upper eastern window f,
with the enchanting representation of the brazen serpent, all conspire
to give grandeur and sublimity, to shed " a dim religious light," and
dispose the mind to the exercise of thehighest and noblest of our mental
faculties, grateful adoration of the benign author of our existence J.
To preserve this fine building c( the dean and chapter in 1808, set
* This fine instrument was built by Mr. Green, and is a present of his majesty. «* Muni-
ficentia Georgii terlii, principis dementi ssimi pientissimi optimi, patris patriae et imjusce dice-
ceseos incolae augusti ssimi." The value of the gift was enhanced by the very gracious manner
it was bestowed. His majesty asked bishop Barrington, whom he knew to be the projector and
patron of the intended improvements, what they were, and how the expense was to be defrayed.
His lordship described the several alterations, and observed that a new organ was much wanted,
but he feared it would greatly exceed the means^which depended solely on the voluntary contri
butions of the gentlemen in Berkshire and Wiltshire, the counties of which the diocese consists.
The king, who has " said more good things than any other gentleman in his dominions,'*
immediately replied, " I desire that you will accept of a new organ for your cathedral, being
my contribution as a Berkshire gentleman." Dodsworth,
t The painted window above the altar is from a design of Reynolds 5 it is twenty-three feet
high, and possesses no peculiar excellence ; but that of the adoration of the brazen serpent, con
sisting of twenty-one figures, designed by Mortimer, and executed by Pearson, is unquestionably
one of the finest pieces of the kind extant. The amateur should go up to the ambulatory to
observe this exquisite production of human genius, and study the figures of adoration, agony, &c.
t These indispensable alterations, tasteful and judicious as they were, nevertheless occa
sioned some momentary dissatisfaction. Invidiousness, some doting prejudices about things
as they are, and the latent but powerful influence of that sentimental fanaticism which affected
public taste during the American war, and which subsequently convulsed Europe, misled some
intelligent Protestants, and in the awakened dread of puritanical barbarity, induced a most
irrational devotion to every thing reputed ancient. Time and experience, however, have effect
ually dissipated all these fancies. As to Mr. John Milner, who for his calumnies on Protestants
was made a vicar apostolic, aD.D. (which deceives many, and often procures him the atten
tion merited by such graduates of an English university), and lastly a papal bishop, his scurri
lous garrulity respecting the improvements in our cathedral is beneath notice. Hia quarto
pamphlet, of which unfortunately for him he has published a second edition, after his first
wrath might have subsided, is issued forth as a " Dissertation on the modern Style of altering
ancient Cathedrals;" and it is perhaps impossible to name a tract so replete with errors, idle
Cn)

SALISBURY CATHEDKAI-, [A.D. 181$.
apart one eighth of their fines for its repair 5 but this being found in
sufficient, a general chapter was held in 1813, where it was determined
to contribute two and a half per cent, on all fines for this purpose. The
hishop and dean liberally agreed to make a similar allowance from all
the fines of lands attached to their respective dignities, as well as their
prebends." With these funds (and the judicious care of its conser
vators), there is little doubt of Salisbury cathedral * long remaining
one of the most perfect buildings of the kind extant. The cloisters are
in fine preservation. The highly curious chapter-house, which had parti
cular stalls for the respective dignitaries, suffered much by the rebelli
ous fanatics. It is octangular, supported by a slender central pillar. The
Bible history from the Creation to the passing of the Red Sea was sculp
tured above the arches round it, but the work is greatly defaced ; yet
¦enough remains to prove that some of the sculptures were graceful and
*legant (especially three female heads on a capital in the south-west
corner) , although it has been unthinkingly asserted that " there is neither
grace, taste, nor proportion in the figures themselves.'' The floor is
paved with glazed tiles, called Norman. As to the monuments f in the
declamations, falsehoods, and misrepresentations. He asserts that the pedestals of the deli
cate columns in the chancel are covered by raising the pavement, yet his more honest draughts
man very correctly shews them distinct and entire ! The clergy of Winchester are doubUess
much obliged to him for the improvements which he generously suggests to them in their ca
thedral ; and above all for the images and emblems of idolatry which he proposes placing in the
high altar. But of such a writer it is superfluous to say more. We cannot expect much fidelity
of representation from those who adopt the system of holding no faith with persons differing
from them in opinion. If any one has been deceived by Milner, let him come to our cathedral, and
see with his own eyes. Nay, more j should it happen to be the day of communion, he may per
haps be surprised, if an inhabitant of London, to see so many young and beautiful communicants
in so small a parish as the Close. He will perhaps then discover that the sublime effects of the
edifice admirably correspond with the simplicity and solemnity of this impressive ceremony.
* The establishment consists of dean, precentor, chancellors of the diocess and church,
treasurer, archdeacons of Sarum, Wilts, and Berks, sub-dean, sub-chanter, forty-five prebends,
four of which are annexed to the bishop, dean, &c.<sixof the prebendaries are residentiary
canons, four vicars choral, seven lay-vicars or singing men (formerly there was only six) one of
whom is organist, eight choristers, &c. At the Reformation the church had above 2000 ounces
of silver in images of Mary, Osmund, censers, &c. chests of relics, tabernacles, biers, &c.
t The monument of the boy-bishop, as it is called, has excited much attention. It is
covered with an iron grating, and is a stone image of a HtUe boy, habited in episcopal robes,
with a mitre on his head, a crosier in his hand, and at his feet a kind of dragon or monster.
Mr. J. Gregory has discussed this subject in his dissertation, " Episcopus pueroruvi in die Inno-
gentium ; or a Discovery of an ancient Custom in the Church of Sarum, making an anniversary
Bishop among the Choristers." In the statutes of our church it is observed, *' The Epis-
copus Ckoristarum was a chorister-bishop, chosen by his fellow children upon St. Nicholas's
day." The reason of this day being chosen is thus stated in the record of this festival. ** It
is sayed that his fader hyght Epiphanius and his moder Joanna, &c. And whan he was born,
&c. they made him Christen, and caled him Nycolas, that is a inannes name, but he kepeth
the name of a child, for he chose to kepe vertues, meknes, and simplenes, and without malice.
Also we rede while he lay in his cradel he fasted Wednesday and Friday : these dayes he would
souke but ones of the day, and therwylh held him plesed : thus he lyued all his lyf in vertues
with this childes name. And therefore children don him worship before all other saints."
From that day till Innocents' day the episcopus puerorum was to personate a bishop, and dis
charge all his functions except that of saying mass ; his fellow choristers were to play the part
of prebendaries, yielding to their bishop canonical obedience. In case the chorister-bishop
-died within the month, his exequies were solemnized with a pomp corresponding to his as
sumed rank ; he was buried in all his ornaments, and hence the origin of the monument still
remaining in our cathedral. The custom, although common on the continent, was almost pe-
.culiar to Salisbury in thta country j and we have no reason to regret that the ridiculous farce of

A. D. 1613.] WILTSHIRE.
church, their present situations and names will be found accurately
laid down in the Ground Plan. The mural monuments * merit attention,
particularly some of the finely executed modern ones. Flaxman's
figure of Benevolence, -exhibiting the good Samaritan, to commemo
rate W. B. Earle, has much interesting merit, although the left hand
and fingers of the female are bad? the right is also ungraceful, and she
J*..^Ji!2!iLJ2^£j£2EI!![y' ^ne sarae art^sts Gothic monument to
W. Long, esq. is much superior ; the canopy, screen, and the figures
at each side, are finely aud correctly executed. This attempt at Gothic
architectural ornaments is highly laudable as well as promising.
But Bacon's monument of the immortal author of "Hermes," chal
lenges the liveliest admiration, not less for the exquisite delicacy and
grace of the figure, than the classical conception and execution ofthe
whole piece. The medallion is a fine profile of this ever- admirable
writer of the Dialogues on Happiness, &c. The tablets recording the
•demise of the dignitaries f have in general little variety. Yet the walls
are spacious enough to exhibit memorials of them, provided none but
the virtuous were suffered to be so honoured. The names, indeed, of
the sanguinary and igneous bishops Erghum and Waltham, who burnt
the virtuous Wiclifites J with so much satanic fury, are properly suffered
representing the massacre of the Innocents in a kind of drama extended no farther ; however
it is still continued and repeated in some parts of Spain, and was, till the revolution, performed
in several provinces in the south of France and Italy.
* Salisbury has produced many great men in every department of human knowledge. The
historian John of Salisbury, although a friend of Becket, thus describes popery: " scribes and
Pharisees sit in the church of Rome, laying intolerable burdens on men's backs. The legates
swagger as if fiatan were let loose to scourge the church; they eat the sins of the people while
the true worshippers, who worship the father in spirit and truth, and dissent from their doctrine,
are condemned for schismatics and heretics. Let .Christ then shew us the right way." This
great man died in 1 189, long before Wiclif or Luther. See Mag. Britan. Bishop Thomborough.
the poet Massenger, the artist GreenhUl, and a multitude of other writers received existence
and the rudiments of education in our city. The first earl of Chatham was born in Stratford j
but this statesman's popularity is now on the decline ; patriotism and opposition to the govern
ment are no longer considered synonymous, and it will soon require the great virtues of the son
to shield the errors of an ambitious and despotic father. But one of the greatest ornaments of
our church. Dr. Thomas Bennet, vicar of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, should be particularly
noticed among native and patriotic authors. His '' Confutation of Popery," and all his works
are so elegant, nervous, clear, convincing, learned, and logical, that they are worthy precursors
of the great Harris's " Philological Enquiries." In natural history also we find many distin
guished characters, and were it permitted to instance a royal physician (Dr. Maton), the learned
and scientific vice-president of the Linnean Society, Salisbury has contributed its portion to
the natural as well as philological sciences.
t In the episcopal palace there are finely executed portraits of all the bishops since the re
volution. Among the paintings in this palace are two fine landscapes, executed by bishop Fisher
himself (the preceptor of her royal higness princess Charlotte of Wales), which are not unwor
thy the pencil of an artist.
t Wiclif was summoned before Erghum at Oxford, but the bishop was soon embarrassed
¦by thc great reformer. The good citizens of Salisbury were also his disciples, and were perse
cuted by this bigotted prelate. Half the people of England were then Wiclifites nr Lolhardt
(i. e. constant singers, from- lollen to sing and hard diligent), yet, strange to say, now that they
are all Protestants, very few of them know any thing of his great and immortal labours. The
Rev. Mr. Baber of the British Museum has republished Wiclif 's translation of the New Test
ament, and whether considered as a history of our language or a key to the scriptures, it is
extremely valuable. The translation of the Bible has never yet been published 1 this is a national
disgrace, and we trust the learned and ingenious editor of the New Testament will immediately
,""« called on and enabled to discharge this public duty.
(v)

SALISBURY CATHEDEAL. [A.D. 1814.
to sink in oblivion ; but those of Jewel*, Abbot, Earle, Seth Ward,
F. R. S. Burnet, Sherlock, and Douglas, V.P. S. A. &c. must ever be
cherished. It would, indeed, be difficult to produce in any country a
more extensive series of great and illustrious, of learned, pious, and good
men, than what we find in the see of Salisbury. Even in the dark ages
of ignorance, barbarity, and unlimited superstition, with the few ex
ceptions before noticed, our cathedral has been peculiarly fortunate in
possessing men of learning, talents, and worth, in all its dignities,
from Osmund and Poore, down to the present day, to the elegant
Alison, the accurate Coxe, and the profound Daubeny. While our
church can boast of such characters, our religion must always remain
permanent and pure, our country great, illustrious, free, and happy.
* Jewel, the founder, or rather augmenter of the library, which contains a collection of
veTy valuable, classical, and other books, many on Saxon and northern literature, besides above
100 MSS. from the tenth century to the invention of printing. So highly were these books
esteemed, that " we find," gays Dodsworth, " copies of indentures regularly executed between the
bishop and chapter, relative to the loan of a Bible and Psalter, furnished to the bishop, appa
rently for his use in the service of the church, and which be was bound to return in case of
translation, or his executors in case of his death." — Abbot, distinguished by the singular letter
which king James addressed to him, respecting the right of kings. See Welwood's Memoirs.—
Earl, author of Microcosmography, a most excellent moral work, of which Mr. P. Bliss has
edited a new edition, and added many curious notes. — Ward, the amiable mathematician, whom
Dyer, Hist. Cambridge, has traduced by confounding him with Dr. Samuel Ward, obtained the
restoration of the chancellorship of the garter, which was held by the bishops of Salisbury,
from Edw. III. to Henry VIII.— Douglas, author of *' the Criterion of true and false miracles,"
the most effectual antidote against p-jpal and other delusions which ever appeared.

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
LENGTH. Outside, 473 feet, western transept 229 feet 7 inches ; Inside 449, the nave being
229 feet 6 inches, clioir 131, und lady chapel or chKiicel t?8:6 ; the western transept 203:10; eastern
do. 143. WIDTH, Outside ot the west front 111: 4, nave and aisles 99 :4 ; western transept and
aisle 81 :4; eastern do. do. 65 ; Insid&af nave andchoir from pillar to pillar 34 ;3; aisles from
pillar to wall 17:6; western transept 34 : 10, its aislel5:6; eastern transept 24 : 10, its aisle 14.
HEIGHT of vaulting in nave, choir, and transepts 81; aisles and lady chapel 39:9; outside pa
rapet wall and nave 87, do. aisles 44, roof 115, west front 130, of the parapet on tower 207, tower
and spire to tlie cro?s> 399:10; brertdth ot tower from east to west 51 :2, north to south 50:6. The
cloisters outside are ]g5 leet, inside 181 and 13 wide. The chapter-house is 58 feet interior dia
meter. The above- coi rect admeasurements are by Mr. fisher, clerk of the works, with the addi
tions of Mr. Dodsworth, which we have also verified.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Plate I, Represents the South Side of the cathedral from its west, nearly to its eastern extre
mity. The range of building before it is the bishop's palace, with lawn, walks, and shrubberies.
Plate 2, Shews the North Forch, the North Transept, and part of the Nave. In the fore-ground
of this view formerly stood a useless bell-tower, which was taken down when the drains of
stagnant water were filled up, the tombstones laid flat, and the whole churchyard made a
smooth and salubrious green in 1790.
Plate "i. In this view appears the Wall ofthe South Cloister, the Chapter- house, and the South
Transepts, with part of the nave.
Plate 4. A view in the Cloisters from the West; over the eastern cloister is the library, above
which is seen part ofthe Cliapter-house.
Plate 5. The West Front, shewing part of the cloister wall and the nave. The few statues which
now remain in the niches have nearly lost all character by decay.
Plnte 6, Represents the South-east End of the Choir and Chancel, with the side aisle of the lat
ter, part of the South-eastern Transept and the Spire.
Plate 7- The Interior, taken from the north aisle of the nave, shewing the SouUiern End of the
Western Transept; the monuments appearing are those of John de Montacute and Osmund.
Plates, Is a distant representation of the Cathedral from the North-east of Old Sarum; on the
ri&;lit side upon a high rampart appears the principal entrance to the citadel, with fragments
of the walls, from which across the foss is a narrow raised way leading from the castle to this
ancient city. To the west of this view was the site of the original Cathedral.
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SALISBURY.

Of Wilton.

Adeline

705

Fordhere

709

Herewald

737

Ethelwuld

Denefrith

Wigbert

Eahlstan
818
Edmund
868
Etheleage
872
Alfry or Alfsius
Asser
Swithelm
(884)
Etbelward
(887]
Of Sherborn.
Werstan died in
918
Ethelbald
Sigelm
Alfred
Wulsin
940
Alfwold
958
Etbelric
978
Ethelsius
980
Britbvrin
1009
Elmer
Brinwin
Elfwold
Of Wilton, or Sunning
and Ramsbury
Elhelstane
906
Odo Severus
920
Osulf
934
Aifstan
970
Alfgar or Wolfgar
981
Siricius
986
Aluricus
989|
Roger, Osbert, Sereo
Robert died in 1111
Robert Cliichester
Robert Warlewast 1140
Henry
John of Oxford 1 165
RobertJordan 1192
Eustaehius 1195
Richard Poore H97
Adam de Ilchester 1215
William de Wanda 1220
Robert de Hertford 1238
R.de Wykebampton 1257
Walter Scam mei 1274
H. de Braundeston 1284
Sim. de Mitcham 1287
Pete r of Savoy 1 290
W. Ruffatus de Cas-
sineto 1309
BISHOPS.
Bri th wold 995
Hermann 1043
Of Sarum.
Osmund 1078
Roger 1107
Joceline 1142
Hubert Walter 1189
Herbert Pauper 11 94
Of Salisbury.
R. Pauper or Poore 1217
Robert Bingham 1229
William of York 1247
Giles de Bridport 1256
Walter de la Wyle 1263
R. de Wickhampton 1270
Walter Scammel 1284
H. de Braundeston 1287
Law. de Hawkburn
W. de la Corner 1289
Nicholas Longspee 1291
Simon deGandavo or
, Ghent 1297
Roger de Mortival 1315
Robert Wyvil 1329
Ralph Erghum 1375
John Wnlthain 1388
Richard Metford 1395
Nicholas Bubwith 1407
Robert Hallam 1407
John Chandler 1417
Robert Neville 1427
William Ayscough 1438
R. Beauchamp 1450
Leonel Woodville 1482
Thomas Langton 1484
DEANS.
Raymond de la Goth 1 31 0
Bertrand de Farges 1346
Reynold Orsini 1347
Robert Braybroke 1380
T. de Montacute 1385
John Chandler 1404
Simon Sydenham 1418
Thomas Browne 1430
Nicholas Billcsdon 1434
Adam Moleyns 1441
Richard Leyat 1446
Gilbert Kymer 1449
James Goldwell 1463
John Davyson 1473
Edward Cheyne 1499
Thomas Rowthall 1505
William Atwater 1509
John Longland 1514
Cuthbert Tonstall 1521
Raymund Pade 1522
John Blythe 1493
Henry Deane 1500
Edmund Audley 1502
Laur. Campeggio 1524
Nicholas Shaxton 1534
John Capon 1539
Peter Petow, Franc.
Mallet 1557 & 1558
John Jewel 156O
Edmund Gheast 1571
John Piers 1577
John Coldwell 1591
Henry Cotton 1598
Robert Abbot 1615
Martin Fotherby 1618
Robert Tounson 1620
John Davenant 1621
Brian Duppa 1641
Hum. Henchman 1660
John Earl 1663
Alexander Hyde 1 665
Seth Ward 1667
Gilbert Burnet (1) 1689
William Talbot 1715
Richard Willis 1721
Benjamin. Hpadley 1723
Thomas Sherlock 1734
John Gilbert 1748
John Thomas 1757
R. Hay Drummond 1761
John Thomas 1761
John Hume 1766
Hon. S. Barrington 1782
John Douglas 1791
John Fisher 1807
Peter Vannes 1539
William Bradbridge 1563
Edmund Freke 1570
John Piers 1571
John Bridges 1577
John Gordon 1604
John Williams 1619
John Bowles 1620
Edmund Mason 1629
Richard Baylie 1635
Ralph Brideoake 1667
Thomas Peirce 1675
Robert Woodward 169)
Edward Young 1702
John Younger 1705
John Clarke 1727
Thomas Green 1757
Rowney Noel 1780
John Ekins 1786
Charles Talbot 1809
(1) Mr. Dodsworth has discovered among the records of the cathedral an original copy of
Magna Charta, which this veracious prelate was falsely accused of concealing or destroying.
Errata.— V.f, line 11, for "Henry" read " Stephen,"— P. i, line S3, for"Wenda" r. "Wanda."
— P. k. line 5 from bottom, for "Bridlesford" read " Bridport," — V.l, for " a story" read
" two stories."— P. 0, Hne 11, after the word " octangular" insert " the vaulting i»."
INDEX TO SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.
*** Tke italic letters indicate the pages marked at the bottom of the left side;
thus, (a) (b) fyc. and the letter N for note.

Adeline's talents and style characterised,
a N.— Alf Stan's morality vindicated, a N. —
ABser not Asser Menev. AN.— Athelstan be
came St. Neot, a N. — Alison, prebend, author
of admirable Sermons and Essays on Taste,
&c. q. — Abbot Carilefus's dread of women,
g N. — Aldred erroneously called bishop of
Winchester instead of Worcester, 6N,
Beauchamp chapel, m. — Bishops, distin
guished ones, a & q ; blood-thirsty ones, p ;
list of, r. — Boy-bishop, history and monument
of, a N ; a custom still extant in Spain, parti
cularly in Corunna, ib. — Buttresses, origin of,
mN. — Baber's WicliPs New Testament, p N.
—Bishoprics, new, 6 and n; — Bishops' mis
tresses and concubines, g ik. h N . — Barring-
ton, (bishop) liberality and taste, m. — Breth-
wold's generosity, I N. — Batt-end, m N. —
Bridport dedicated the present cathedral, fc.—
Bennet, Br. T. his works, p N.
Commentaries, Blackstone's, c— Chapel of
wood consecrated, i. — Lady chapel repaired,
ficc. m; and episcopal rings found in it, ib. N.
—Chapter-house, its roof supported by a cen
tral pillar, and ornamented with some graceful
sculpture, o.— Chatham, (first earl of) his
birth-place and character, p N. — Concubines,
h N. — Cathedral built by Poore and Bingham,
i, k, and I; expense of, ib.; its tower and
spire, JN; set on fire by lightning, J; im
proved by Wyatt,n N.— Cloisters, &c. pi. 4. —
Coffins found, mN. — Cornish Britons dread
winds, d. N.— Cornwall, bp. of, 6.
Dead, burial of, made a source of revenue by
popes, d N. — Dean and chapter's liberal grants
for repairing the cathedral, n.— Deans, list of,
r.— Dimensions of the cathedral, g.— Descrip
tion of the plates, ib.— Dodsworth's Hist, of
S. Cathedral, authentic, original, and unri
valled, g N. j discovers the builders of the
tower and spire, I N.— Douglas, bp. his cha
racter, q.
Establishment, present, of the cathedral,
o N.— Ellenborough, lord chief justice, eN.—
England, crown of, elective,/.
Funds for building the cathedral, i and o.—
Foundation, t.— Fisher, present bp. landscapes
painted by, pN.— Fisher, Mr. dimensions of
the cathedral, q.
Godwin, earl, his death, cN.— Godwin, bp.
his account of building the cathedral, iN.—
Gregory's account of the boy-bishop, oN. —
Creek style, oN.- Green, organ built by, n N.
Henry HI.'s charter for New Saresbury, h.
—Hungerford chapel removed, m; see the
ground-plan.— Hide of land, d. N.— Harris, J.
ni9 monument and works, p N.— Hermann's
character, 6; removed his see from Wilton
to Sherborn, c— Hoare, sir R. C. c N.
Interior of the cathedral, pi. 7.— Italian au
thors record the libertinism of the English
priests and religious, ft; above 300 Italians
holding English livings, k.
John of Salisbury truly describes popery,
p N.— Joceline's character, g\— Jewel improved
the library, q.
King George III. gave the organ, n Nj his
ready wit, ib.— King Stephen's (erroneously

printed Henry's) promised liberality to bishop
Roger, /.
Lolhard's, meaning of, p N. — Longspee, earl
of Sarum, i N. — Longspee, m, n,
Malmesbury's character of Aldelme's style,
aN. — Monks oppose the removal of the see
from Wilton to Malmesbury, b. — Maud, em
press, allegiance to,/. — Milner, Mr. John, his
delusive titles, n; his misrepresentations con
tradicted even by his own plates, o N ; an ex
ample of a papal bishop without any Christian
spirit, ib. — Merryfield, ancient site of Salis
bury, ft.— Maton, Dr. a great naturalist, p N.
— Muniment-house, its contents, m. — Money,
want of, by our kings, g N. — Monuments, o, p,
and ground-plan. — Magna Charta, original
copy of, in the records of the cathedral, disco
vered by Dodsworth, r.
Nicholas, St. legend of, 0 N .
Osmund, his talents, and merits, d; built
the church in Old Sarum, ib. ; erroneous ac
counts of his church being injured, now first
corrected from Knyghton, ib.; not author of
all the Sarum devotions, eN.; his body re
moved to Salisbury, k. ; tomb, pi. 7, and
ground-plan ; deified, t.
Pope's bull to remove the cathedral of Sa
rum to Salisbury, ft ; the plundering tyranny
of the popes, k ; one of them refused permis
sion to visitEngland.ib. ; Honorius demanded
a yearly rent from the English clergy, fr.—
Poore, bp. began building the present cathe
dral, ft.— Pope, Dr. W. p N.— Plates, descrip
tion of, q.— Palace, episcopal, paintings in, p. ;
view of, pi. l.
Roger, bp. his rapid reading, /; his casuist
ry, ib. j in his old age persecuted by Stephen,
g.— Ring of investiture, m.— Retirement, c N.
Sarum, old, clergymen of, c; cathedral and
see in, d; a populous city, e; the king held
his states here, ib.; ruin of, and Wilton, i;
distant view of, pi. 8.— Saxon bishops, their
character, a. — Salisbury, the city of, A; cathe
dral erected, i; diocess of, n N— .Wicklifites
abounded in, p; learned men of, tfc.— Sculp
ture in chapter-house, o; and monuments, p.
— See held at Sunning and Ramsbury, b; at
Sherborn and Wilton, c— Sherborn, origin of,
c N.— Spire, according to Dodsworth, proba
bly began about 1335 by Nich. Portland, and
completed by Richard de Farleigh, who built
Bath and Reading abbeys, I N ; its admirable
structure, ib.— Smith's work, ib. ; its great
height, ib. — Spires, origin of, iN. — Screen,
Grecian, removed, and a gothic one restored,
«. — Spanish chaplain, /N.
Tower, two stories added to it, and perhaps
the spire, I ; error respecting that of Old Sarum,
eN.— Timber in the roof,./N,
Vicar-apostolic, licentiousness of a, now Irv
ing in England, g N.
Wanda's narrative of building and conse
crating the cathedral, j.— Wren, sir C. survey
of the spire, &c. iN.— Wyatt, Mr. judicious
architectural alterations, ro.— Windows paint
ed, «.— Wicklifites persecuted in Salisbury,
p N. — Ward, bishoo. rpr«.*"»-«J *¦>-,- •

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES

CATHEDRAL CHURCH AND SEE

Wells.

1 he early progress of Christianity in the district now termed Somer
setshire is much involved in positive fable, or is, at the best, left
indistinct and unsatisfactory by the scanty and confused records of
those writers who are usually received as credible. It is in an Anglo-
Saxon age that we find a safe foundation for the commencement of
church-history, in regard to this county. Ina, king of the West
Saxons, whose long and prosperous reign vvas greatly distinguished by
the promulgation of a judicious legislative code, wbich yet remains',
founded here, in the year 704, a collegiate church, dedicated to St.
Andrew the apostle. The same -munificent king rebuilt the neigh
bouring abbey of Glastonbury ; and, as we are told by Brompton, the
structure which he there raised was of a superb character, and lasted
until the destructive incursions ofthe Danes. The buildings at Wells
had probably little pretension to grandeur, even in the esteem of the
rude age in which they were constructed. The collegiate ecclesiastics
were at first only four in number, and the endowment appears to have
been slender, until augmented by Cynewulf, king of Wessex, about
the year 766. This youthful king bestowed on the institution .eleven
manses and farms ; a benefaction, as may be presumed, quite sufficient
for the religious uses and respectability of the establishment, but
which afforded no means of ostentatious splendour.
In this appropriate mediocrity of condition the college of Wells is
believed to have remained, until a memorable epoch in the annals of
the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy. In the practice of a policy not unfre
quent in many subsequent ages, king Edward the elder kept numerous
bishoprics vacant for a considerable length of time ; for which in
fringement of ecclesiastical rights he experienced the penalty of ex
communication from Rome. To appease the head of the church, he
I Wilkiti's's Leges Saxonicse, p. 14—97.
Ca)

WfcLLS CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1088.
filled seven sees in one day"; and, at this time, the collegiate founda
tion of Wells was erected into a bishopric, and the district now de
nominated Somersetshire was constituted the diocess of the new
prelate. Athelmus, or Athelm, was the first bishop of Wells ; and
the year 905 is usually mentioned as that in which he was consecrated.
He was promoted to Canterbury, and was succeeded by Wlfhelm,
who has been noticed by several historians as a pious and learned
man. In the time of this latter prelate the foundation of a cathedral
church was laid at Wells; but no part of the structure that wa&
commenced under his notice, remains at present for the gratification
of the curious examiner. Brithelm, fifth bishop in the order of suc
cession, is chiefly memorable for having erected the jurisdiction of
Glastonbury (which monastery was rendered independent of episcopal
authority by king Ina), into an archdeaconry. Giso, who had been
chaplain to Edward the Confessor, was elected to this see during his
absence on an embassy to Rome, and was consecrated in that city. He
attained the dignity of the mitre in a' tempestuous season, but evinced
equal courage and discretion in his struggles for maintaining the rights
of his see. In the contests between the family of earl Godwin and the
pious king Edward, Harold, son to that earl, and brother to the
queen, despoiled this church of its valuable ornaments, ejected the
canons, and took possession of their revenues 3. The complaints of
the bishop met with no redress from the king ; but his excellent
consort, the neglected and suffering Editha, exerted her feeble influ
ence to atone for the ravages committed by her family, and bestowed
on the bishop the two manors of Mark and Mudgeley. During the-
reign of Harold, our prelate lived in banishment; hut, on the acces
sion of the conquering William, he was restored to his see, and
regained the greater part of its estates. He had shewn fortitude in
adversity, and his prosperous years were dedicated to the improvement
of his church, and the welfare of those connected with it. The
number of canons was increased by this bishop, and a provost ap
pointed as their president*. He also erected for their use suitable
domestic buildings, and a cloister. It is said by Collinson, that he
likewise " enlarged and beautified the grand choir of the cathedral."
Such was the state of this bishopric ; thus respectable its revenues,
appendant buildings, and official appointments ; when John de
Villula was promoted to tbe see, A. D. 1088. This churchman has
2 Malmsb. 48.
3 These acts of violence Were not entirely unprovoked; When Harold was banished by
king Edward, hla'estates were confiscated, and much of his property was bestowed on the
cathedral of Wells.
4 This office was abolished by bishop Robert, about the year 1139.

A.D. 1192.] SOMERSET3HJRE.
been already noticed in our account of the abbey-church of Bath ;
but the innovations which he effected require that his character and
actions should be again placed in review. It is believed that he had
practised in early life as a physician at Bath ; a circumstance that
may assist in explaining the memorable predilection which he evinced
for that city >. After committing considerable dilapidations at Wells,
by destroying the dwellings of the canons, and the cloister constructed
for their use, he ventured on the bold action of removing the see ;
and, renouncing tbe title by which the head of this diocess had been
hitherto distinguished, styled himself bishop of Bath. The principal
events by which his episcopal domination was distinguished, have
been stated in their due place"; and it only remains to observe, in
tbe present article, that the removal of the see did not fail to cause
serious animosity between the canons of Wells and the monks of
Bath. The contention between these parties was carried to an ex
tremity of violence on the demise of Godfrey, the second and final
prelate who confined his title to the city of Bath. Robert, a monk of
Lewes, in Sussex, was chosen third bishop of Bath ; but he judged it
expedient to compromise the existing differences, by making tbe fol
lowing ordinations : " That from henceforth the bishop should be
nominated from both places, and precedence should be given, in the
title, to Bath. That, in the vacancy of the see, a certain number,
delegated from each church, should elect their successive bishops.
That, after the confirmation of such election, the bishop elect should
be enthroned in both churches, and first in that of Bath. That the
bishop's chapter should be constituted of both bodies, so that all
grants and patents should be confirmed under both their respective
seals." This prelate entered, with reprehensible zeal, into the political
struggles between king Stephen and the empress Maud. His activity
of disposition was more suitably evinced in extensive improvements,
afforded by his means to the cathedral church of Wells; which struc
ture, we may readily suppose, had experienced entire neglect from his
immediate predecessors.
The prudential modification adopted hy bishop Robert, for termi
nating all disputes respecting the see of this diocess, shortly expe
rienced interruption. Savaricus, who was advanced to the mitre in
the year 1192, is described as possessing a restless and enterprising
disposition. Wheii his sovereign, Richard I. was detained, on his
5 Mr. Warner (Hist, of Bath, p, 63.) describes Villula as " a man who, though nothing
more than an empiric, had found means to accumulate a large fortune by practising physic,
and imposing upon the ignorance and credulity of the invalids who flocked to the healing
waters of Bath, in search of case and health."
6 History, &c. of Bath Cathedral, pages (f) and fa).

WELLS CATHEDRAL, [a^ 1X1366.
return from Palestine, by the emperor of Germany, this bishop, who
was related to the emperor, offered himself as one of tbe hostages for
securing the payment of the captive king's ransom. As a recompense
for this service, he obtained from Richard a grant for the abbey of
Glastonbury to be thenceforwards attached to tbe bishopric of Bath
and Wells. He subsequently removed the see, and styled himself
bishop of Glastonbury. It was not likely that tliis act of aggrandize
ment should long remain uncontested. In the time of his successor,
Joceline Troteman (often termed de Wells, from the place of his
nativity), tbe monks of Glastonbury earnestly struggled for a restora
tion of their ancient abbatial form of government; and ultimately
obtained that privilege. The bishop then renewed the conciliatory
title of Bath and Wells; in which judicious practice he has been
imitated by all who have succeeded him on the episcopal throne of
this diocess. Few names in our list of prelates are more deserving of
local veneration, or general respect, than that of Joceline de Wells.
It has been often remarked in previous sections of this historical pub
lication, that the piety of the early and middle ages, however simple
and sincere, was chiefly manifested in benefactions to the splendour of
church-architecture, and to the increase in number and opulence of
ecclesiastics connected with the performance of religious ceremonials.
Of such a character we accordingly find the modes in which bishop
Joceline evinced his zeal for the interests of Christianity. He founded
several prebends, and was, in other respects, a munificent contributor
to the revenues aud prosperity of the see. The principal efforts of his
liberality were directed towards the improvement of the cathedral
buildings ; and the work there performed under his patronage, still
remains, and acts as a noble and grateful monument to bis memory.
Walter Giffard, who was consecrated to this see in 1264, was
appointed lord high chancellor in the following year, and was after
wards translated to York. Several succeeding prelates also filled' with
credit high offices in the state ; but our attention is more immediately
demanded to such as have attained a local interest, by an exemplary
practice of their pastoral duties, or by other circumstances closely
connected with the diocess. Robert Burnell, elected A. D. 1275,
amassed a large fortune, whilst exercising the duties of treasurer and
lord chancellor of England. He sat at Wells for eighteen years, and
considerably augmented the palatial residence. Ralph de Salopia,
promoted hither in 1329, is recorded as an eminent benefactor to the
buildings of bis see. By him was founded the college of vicars ; and
he is, likewise, said to have erected several mansions on the episcopal
estates. John Harewell, consecrated in 1366, was chaplain to Edward
CM

A. D. 1547-] SOMERSETSHIRE.
the black prince. He contributed largely to the erection of the south
west tower of the cathedral, and towards the expense of glazing the
great western window. Nicholas Bubvvith, translated to this see from
Salisbury, is commemorated as a great benefactor to our church.
Thomas de Beckington, consecrated in 1443, was a native of Beck-
iugton, in Somersetshire. After receiving the rudiments of education
in Wykeham's school, at Winchester, he was removed to New Col
lege, Oxford ; and afterwards became chancellor of that university.
He assisted in the instruction of king Henry VI. and received several
valuable preferments, as rewards for the care which he evinced in the
exercise of that duty. A large part of the wealth which he acquired
in the diligent discharge' of his numerous important offices, he liberally
employed in public works. His munificence was not confined to the
buildings of his see, although it was chiefly directed towards them7.
In regard to the cathedral of Wells, he shares with bishop Joceline
in the fame of splendid benefaction. Oliver King requires particular
notice in the history of this diocess, on account of the attachment
which he exhibited towards the city of Bath, and the memorable
attention which he paid to the monastic buildings of that place. The
abbey-church of Bath had been considered, by many preceding pre
lates, chiefly as a nominal appendage to the dignity of their mitre.
This prelate, induced, as is said, by " a vision which he beheld,"
commenced the re-edification of that neglected structure. Bishop
King was succeeded by Adrian de Castello, who entered England
on a mission from the pope. This agent of the court of Rome
viewed the bishopric merely as a profitable source of revenue,
and contented himself with drawing from it pecuniary emolument.
He was deprived of his numerous preferments, for plotting against
pope Leo X. ; but our diocess gained no immediate advantage from
his fall. Throughout four years the see was held in commendam by
cardinal Wolsey; who had, indeed, previously rented its produce of
the sordid Adrian. In th^ time of William Knight, elected to this
see A.D. 1541, an act of parliament was passed, vesting the right of
election in the dean and chapter of Wells, who were thereby consti
tuted one sole chapter.
It js a painful, but an imperative, duty, to place the brand of his
torical obloquy on those who have disgraced a situation, calculated to
call forth the dignity of religious and moral excellence in an exem
plary form. The name of William Barlow compels us to the perform
ance of this obligation. He was promoted to this see in 1547. having
7 Amongst numerous instances of his public spirit, and friendly disposition towards archi
tectural improvements, it may be noticed that he was a great contributor to the buildings of
Lincoln College, Oxford.
ft)

WELLS CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1664.
previously sat as bishop of St. Asaph and St. David's. In the history
of tbe latter see we found cause to denounce him as a man of a
rapacious and unprincipled character8. Unhappily he brought with
him his evil propensities, when promoted to this more affluent diocess.
By sale, and by interested exchange, he greatly injured the revenues
of the see, and appears to have regarded many of its buildings merely
as articles of personal aggrandizement. These unjustifiable actions were
performed during the reign of Edward VI. ; and, on a change of admi
nistration, when Mary acceded to the throne, he judged it expedient
to fly to a foreign country, universally execrated, and (which to such
a man was, too likely, an affliction still more severe) scarcely enriched.
We have the consolation of not finding his parallel in our diocesan
annals. Amongst the prelates who have occupied this see since the
reformation of religion, many have been distinguished for mental
energy, and for the brightest perfection of correct understanding, —
consistency of moral conduct.
James Montagu, promoted hither A. D. 1608, resided much at
Wells, in the exercise of a due pastoral care; and improved, at a con
siderable expense, the palaces of Wells and Banwell. The loyalty
of William Laud, and the firmness which he evinced in times of pecu
liar trial, induce us to lament his fate, and to look with tenderness
on his failings. This distinguished prelate was translated hither from
St. David's, in 1626; and was advanced from this see to London,
A. D. 1628. His subsequent elevation to Canterbury, and his digni-
fied fall, are narrated in the general history of the country. William
Pierce, removed to this see from Peterborough, in the year 1632,
encountered the shock of those innovations which were attendant on
the civil war of the 17th century. This respectable prelate was de
prived of his mitre by the parliament; and important injuries were
inflicted on the buildings of the see, by the agents of fanaticism. One
Cornelius Burgess obtained possession of the palace at that melancholy
juncture, and reduced the structure to a state of ruin, for the purpose
of selling the materials. The gatehouse he preserved entire, but con-
tumeliously let it out as an habitation for persons of tbe lowest order.
Bishop Pierce emulated the best of the deprived prelates in patience
under long suffering, and regained his ecclesiastical sway, much to the
satisfaction of his diocess, on the restoration of Charles II. Few
succeeding prelates are more deserving of minute biographical attention
than Thomas Kenn, or Ken, who was promoted to this see by the
direct appointment of his sovereign, in 1684. This conduct redounds,
in a marked degree, to the honour of the volatile Charles, as Dr.
8 Hist, of Cathedral Church of St. David's, page (I).
CfJ

A. J). 1691.] SOMERSETSHIRE.
Kenn had recently evinced an unbending dignity of demeanour, by
refusing to resign a house which he held at Winchester, as prebend of
that cathedral, for the use of Eleanor Gwynne, during a visit of the
court. He attended the king in his last hours, and prevailed on the
expiring Charles to receive a visit, at that awful season, from the
consort whose society he had despised in times of health and gay
anticipation. According to the friendly biographer of our prelate,
the king " asked pardon" of the injured Katherine, " and had her
forgiveness before he died." Dr. Kenn advanced some of the best
interests of his diocess, by instituting schools in the principal towns ;
and for the instruction of the poor children educated in those semina
ries, he wrote and published his useful " Exposition of the Church
Catechism." He was one of the seven bishops committed to the
Tower of London, for opposing the reading of king James's declara
tion of indulgence ». Whilst thus disdaihful of the frowns of tyranny,
when engaged in support of the church, he cherished rigid notions
respecting the duties of allegiance; and, on the accession of king
William, be retired, and " relinquished his revenue, though not his
care," with a clear conscience and a generous mind. The pressing
necessities of life now compelled him to dispose of the whole of his
property, except his books. He subsequently retired to Longleat, in
Wiltshire, the house of his patron, lord Weymouth, where he lived in
studious seclusion10. Queen Anne highly respected his real worth,
and granted to him a yearly pecuniary assistance; which honourable
allowance he expended in charitable donations. This zealous, faith
ful, and pious man, died in the year 1710, at the age of seventy-
three". Dr. Kidder, who succeeded to the bishopric, and was con
secrated A. D. 1691, unhappily perished, together with his lady, by
9 It was the severe fate of bishop Kenn to be suspected of disloyalty by the bigoted James,
and to be rejected by the protestant successor of that weak king, through an apprehension of
his attachment to the ** old" forms of religion. The dislike which he incurred, on both occasions,
would appear, now that time has lessened every incentive to passionate decision, to have sprung
from his honest warmth of feeling, and rigorous disdain of all courtly modifications of opinion.
The purpose of biography, in delineating peculiarities of character, is often greatly advanced by
a single and brief anecdote. The following would appear to be of that complexion :— Tbe humane
mind of bishop Kenn was impelled to a generous sympathy with the sufferings of those persons
who were imprisoned, in consequence of being taken in rebellion against the ruling power, under
the duke of Monmouth. The compassion which he bestowed on these unhappy prisoners gave
much offence at court, and all his subsequent actions were watched with a close and jealous eye.
It is related by his biographer, (Short Account of the Life of Bishop Keun, p. 17) that, " upon
the preaching of one of the two sermons now published, and in the king's own chapel at White.
Noll (which sermon seems wholly intended against both the popish and fanatick factions, then
united at court}) and it being misrepresented to the king (who had not been present at divine
service), but sending for the bishop and closetting him on the occasion, received nothing in
answer, but this fatherly reprimand j that if his majesty had not neglected his own duly of being
present, hi* enemies had missed this opportunity of accusing him : — whereupon he was dismissed."
10 An excellent portrait of bishop Kenn is still preserved at Longleat, now the residence of
the marquis of Bath.
11 The above particulars are chiefly derived from " a Life of Bishop Kenn, published by his
descendant, W. Hawkins, esq."
CgJ

W^LLS (JATUjEXJBAL, [a. D. 1802.
the fall of a part ofthe palatial building, in fhe memorable storm of
1703. Amongst several excellent prelates who adorned this see in the
18th century, must be gratefully remembered the names of Hooper
and Wynne, both of which bishops were promoted to this diocess from
that of St. Asaph. The equally estimable divines, Willes and Moss,
had previously occupied the episcopal chair of St. David's. Richard
Beadon, D. D. our present respected prelate, was translated hither
from Gloucester, in the year 1802.
The cathedral church of Wejls is considered, by most examiners,
to be one of the noblest piles of ancient architecture amongst those
numerous splendid structures which act as impressive memorials of
tbe piety and munificence of our forefathers. Unlike the majority of
cathedral-buildings in this country, the fabric now under consideration
contains, however, no vestiges of Anglo-Norman workmanship. The
building is uniformly in the pointed style, whilst it displays several
modifications of that luxuriant character of architecture. The exterior
is conspicuous for grandeur of design and richness of ornament. Its
august towers impress feelings of reverence, on a first and distant
view : the mind is filled, and gratified, by its variety and splendour of
parts, on a closer inspection. It is believed that the most compre
hensive view of this fine edifice is presented on the south-east, a point
of prospect which we have selected for one of our engravings. The
lady-chapel — the varied windows of the choir,, and those ofthe tran
septs, and the elaborate beauty of the great central tower, are there
exhibited, whilst an idea is conveyed of the solemn effect of the whole,
when combined as one venerable architectural object.
No single part of the exterior is calculated to excite the attention
so forcibly as tbe west front. This face of the building emulates the
western fronts of the cathedrals of Peterborough and Lincoln, in a
gorgeous display of the statues of tutelary saints and benefactors ; the
niches in which they are placed being generally adorned by rich
canopies, supported by slender pillars of polished Purbeck marble.
The sculpture is, in the greater number of instances, well executed ;
but there is no direct testimony for believing it, as is commonly re
ported, to be the work of Italian artists. The figures are nearly of the
size of life, and are chiefly placed on three stories, made by different
divisions of prominent buttresses. The number of niches in the re
spective divisions is various, some containing only one, and not any
cornprising more than four. On a fourth story is a continued range
of niches, filled with unattired figures, rising out of tombs and
graves, intended (although not uniformly with a decorous solemnity
of design) to represent the awful hour of resurrection. The whole
("0

A. D. 1,239-] SOMERSETSHIRE.
of this, upper series? of sculpture is indifferently executed, and not en
titled to attentive inspection. A considerable number of basso-relievos
hi likewise, dispersed i% every amenable part. The erection of this
superb portion of the structure is principally ascribed to bishop Joce-
liue, in the early part of the 13th century ¦ at which time a taste for
covering the facades of cathedrals with rows of niches, devoted to the
enshrinement of statues, first grew into use. The statues, when last
accurately examined, amounted in number to 153 ; and, although
they have in many instances experienced mutilation and decay, they
still rank amongst the least injured of similar bold and beautiful ex
amples of an ancient fashion in the decoration of ecclesiastical struc
tures1*. In the centre of this front, over the door of entrance, is a
19 The curiosity of the ordinary, as welf as the antiquarian examiner, has been naturally
excited towards a discovery of the persons intended ta he commemorated by the numerous
figures presented on this facade. The devastating hand of time, almost equally destructive oi*
traditionary history, and of works carved in stone, has left no authentic traces towards the
accurate designation of each sculptured personage. But, in the absence of direct testimony,
some light has been borrowed from an ancient writer, aided by the ingenious observations ol a
modern antiquary, which are of sufficient-interest for insertion in this place, although it may
be necessary to hold in remembrance that they are candidly submitted by their respectable author,
the late Mr. Gough, as probable surmises, rather than as conclusive information.— William of
Worcester (I tin. p. 285), noticing this cathedral, describes the sculpture at the west-end as
consisting of " rows of great images, of the New and live Old Law" In thc course of his remarks
upon this intelligence, Mr. Gough, in an essay inserted in Carter's " Specimens of Ancient
Sculpture and Painting,*' observes, " that, it is evident many subjects of the sculptures there
presented, are1 taken from tbe New Law, dr New Testament, beginning at the bottom with the
centre statue over the west door, representing the Virgin and Child, orthe Deity ; over these
the Father and Son, or it may have been the Father crowning the Virgin, and ascending through
a series of saints, angels, and apostles, to Christ on the top.— Thus far, at least, coincides with
William of Worcester's description.- It may not be altogether so easy to follow him in tlie
statues which, he says, were taken from the Old Law, or Old Testament. Though it was no
uncommon thing to borrow groupes of Old Testament history, to adorn religious buildings, we
do not recollect any instances of single figures borrowed frpm it-; nor, indeed, is it so easy to
adapt characteristics to such figures, as to those taken from the New Testament, where, every
apostle, or saint, has his, or her, attribute., And it is further to be observed, that in the west
front, are intermixed some few figures of different style; — female, crowned and roVtieoV
In regard to " three great buttresses, with three rows of great images of the Old Law,"
mentioned by William of Worcester, on the north-west side (in occidcntali et bnriali parte) Mr.
Gough remarks that, '* if we should admit some of them to represent kings and prophets of the
Jews, still there will be found, intermixed. Christian kings, bishops, and warriors, together with
several female statues, without any distinguishing attribute, except crowns. If, again, we
apply this reasoning to buttresses, placed by William of Worcester on the south-west side, and
charged with images of the New Law, we shall find all the statues to be of a period posterior,
indeed, to tbe New Testament history, but strictly Christian, and so far conformable to his idea
ofthe New law." The figures ** siding the great west door," Mr. Gough mentions as being
chiefly kings and bishops, who were benefactors to, or who filled, this see.— " The number of
sovereigns of Weseex, from, and including, Ina, who founded this see, to the annexing of that
kingdom to his own by Ethclbert, was eight; and we find just that number among the statues
in one division, vis. seven kings, and one queen, Sexhurga, who stands alone. Two other
queens there represented, may be the two consorts of lna, Ethelburga, and Dcsburgia. Then
with regard to bishops cf this see, if we follow Godwin's catalogue we shall find Jocelyne was the
twenty-first in succession, from the first establishment of the see; and, accordingly, we may
discover in two divisions, just that number of mitred figures, sitting and standing. The only
reason for supposing bishop Jocelyne to be represented by the pontifical figure, sitting alone, at
the top ofthe front of the south-west buttress, is the circumstance of having a coat of arms under
his feet; though it must be confessed, we are not certain what were his family arms. There are
six more mitred statues, on the return of buttresses at the north-west angle. These I would
suppose to be some of the sixteen who succeeded Jocelyne, to Beckington, the next great
benefactor to this church ; and that the others once occupied niches, now vacant, on this fine
front. The figures which remain after the several assignments, must be lost in the crowd of
monks, nuns, knights, and noblemen, connected with the church*, who have nothing to make
them outlive their own, or the nearest succeeding age."
(i)

WELLS CATHEDRAL, [A, D. 1415.
window of lofty proportions ; and the whole is flanked by towers>
which are additions to the first design, and are not in a correspondent
style of architecture. The tower on the sgutb-west was erected by
bishop Harewell, with the aid of several pious contributors, about
1366, and now contains eight bells, much celebrated for harmony of
tone ; that on the north-west was built under the notice of bishop
Bubwith, in the year 1415.
The great quadrangular tower, placed in a central situation over
the area formed at the intersection of the nave, the choir, and the
west, or principal transept, derives an august character from its massy
proportions, whilst the objection of a gloomy and preponderating
weight of aspect, likely to proceed from that circumstance, is obviated
by the numerous lights pierced in its spacious fronts, and tbe plenitude
of ornaments with which it is enriched. At the angles are quadran
gular turrets, adorned with statues in an upper division, and termi
nating in crocketed pinnacles. A pierced and embattled parapet sur
rounds the platform of the tower ; and, at equal distances between the
angular turrets, rise over each front of the elevation two aspiring pin
nacles, embellished with crockets. The north side of the cathedral
presents several architectural features of peculiar attraction. The
north porch, or principal door of entrance in this division of the struc
ture, commands the admiration of the spectator, and is not less curious
in particular parts than striking from general display. Few doorways,
of the pointed form, are of so massy and elaborate a character. The
arch is composed of numerous receding members, amongst which are
conspicuous two broad and bold mouldings, exhibiting the duplicated
zigzag of the circular, or debased Roman, style, interspersed with
leaves ; and is sustained, on each side, by numerous slender columns,
having three unornamented torus bands near the centre of each shaft.
The capitals present foliage, some grotesque carvings, and the sculp
tured representation of a human figure, bound and pierced to death by
the arrows of several assailants. This piece of historical sculpture,
which extend? through several capitals, is possibly allusive to the mar
tyrdom of St. Sebastian. On the facing of the north porch, placed
one on each side of the arch of entrance, are two pieces of sculpture,
rudely executed, which would appear to be relics of a more ancient
edifice, and were probably inserted here, as venerable antiquities, on
the renovation of the pile.
Proceeding towards the east, on the same side of the building
tbe light and beautiful divisions of the octangular chapter-house, al
though detached from the architectural outlines of the main structure
assist in completing its attractions and grandeur. The heads of the
(k)

A. D. 1239.J SOMERSETSHIRE.
windows are enriched by intricate ramifications of stone-work ; the
parapet is pierced in two divisions, the lower comprising arches of the
pointed form, and that above presenting a range of quatrefoil com
partments. At each angle rises a turret, richly embellished after it
surmounts the parapet, and terminating in a crocketed pinnacle. The
lady-chapel, attached to the east end; of the cathedral, is greatly dis
similar in style to other parts of tbe exterior, but is so evidently an
addition to the original design, that the expanded windows and rami
fied mullions of the fifteenth century, may be allowed their just share
of admiration, without the alloy of objections, as to a want of con-
gruity in styles, by the most fastidious architectural antiquary. The
whole of the cathedral, with the exception of ornamental particulars,
is composed of free-stone, dug in the neighbourhood of Doulting, a
village about seven miles from Wells, towards the east.
Previous to a notice of the interior, we shall mention the chief
constituent parts into which this cathedral church is divided. Its plan
comprises a nave, with two side aisles ; north and south transepts,
intersecting the nave and choir ; a choir with side aisles ; and a short
transept at tbe eastern extremity of the choir. To the east of the
altar is the lady-chapel ; and, on the south side of the church, is
a spacious cloister. Concerning the architectural history of this
cathedral, few ancient documents, of a satisfactory character,
have hitherto been discovered and communicated to the public. It
is, indeed, a subject of just regret, that the history and descrip
tion of so fine and interesting a structure, should have been treated
with unfeeling neglect hy an author who undertook the task of
collecting, for public information, the principal historical and de
scriptive particulars relating to that western district of England in
which the city of Wells is situated. Mr. Collinson, the historian
of Somersetshire, notices the architecture of this church in terms too
general to impart information, or even to gratify curiosity; and
produces no authorities for the dates to which he ascribes certain parts.
From the results of his hasty statements we are, however, justly
taught to believe, that the " greater part of the building, as it now
stands, was erected by Joceline de Welles, about the year 1239." Mr,
Gough, in that contribution to Carter's " Specimens of Ancient Sculp
ture and Painting," which we have quoted in a previous page, echoes
Godwin in observing, that bishop Joceline took down the greatest part
of the church, from the presbytery westward, and rebuilt it on a more
spacious and beautiful plan. In a local publication, which is useful in
many particulars, and demands especial notice in the present place, on
account of the influence which it necessarily obta'uts over the opinion

WELLS CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 1239.
of casual visitors, it is said that " the most ancient part of the building
is the nave, transept, side aisles, and a part of the choir, as far as the
third window towards the east." These parts the author ascribes to
bishop Robert, whose works, in regard to this edifice, were performed
about the year 1150. Whilst no writer claims authority for his
assertions, either in documents preserved in the episcopal archives, or
in the pages of such ancient chroniclers as are printed, or are otherwise
accessible to public inspection, an eligible estimate of the probable eras
at which the respective portions of the fabric were erected, must be
attained, in the most desirable way, by an examination of tbe prevailing
architectural character. We believe that, after a faithful notice,
however brief, of the different parts of the huilding, the reader will
have little hesitation in concluding that the existing fabric is princi
pally the work of the two bishops Joceline and Beckington, although
occasional erections, alterations, and improvements have been made by
intervening prelates, in attention to the notions which obtained in
their times, concerning a due magnificence in ecclesiastical architecture.
The nave is divided from its aisles by arches uniformly pointed,
and of a contracted, but regular, form. These arches are sustained
by eighteen weighty and clustered columns, nine on each side. The
bases are plain, but the capitals are charged with much florid orna
ment, comprising a great variety of grotesque figures. Above is a tri-
forium, the arches of which are pointed, and of regular construction.
The groining of the ceiling consists of simple intersecting ribs, or
cross-springers, which rise from corbels projecting between the
windows. Tbe same terms of delineation apply to the principal, or
western, transepts. It is almost superfluous to observe, that such
architectural features as are here described bear no reference to the
reign of Stephen, at which time a re- edification of the cathedral took
place under bishop Robert. The pointed style was not then methodised
into an order ; and, even in the subsequent reign of Henry 11. had not
passed the boundary of a crude and imperfect character, as may be
instanced in the choir of Canterbury cathedral. On the contrary, we
have, in the nave of the present building, strong indications of simi
litude to the cathedral of Salisbury, erected in the reign of Henry 111. ;
in the time of which king, A. D. 1239, the renovated structure of
Wells was newly dedicated by bishop Joceline. The tower is supported
by four massy columns, strengthened by inverted arches. The sides are
ornamented by tiers of small arches, divided by slender pillars ; and
the vaulting is richly decorated, the cross-springers proceeding from
corbels which project from the supporting columns.
The choir is lighted by twelve windows, in the pointed form be-
(m)

A.D. 1450.] SOMERSETSHIRE.
sides a large and splendid window at the east end. Six of these win
dows (three on each side, towards the east) are evidently of a later
date than those in the western part. The whole of the choir appears,
indeed, to have undergone progressive and important alterations. Its
decorations are, at present, of an elaborate description, and the sides
exhibit a gorgeous display of tabemacle-work, pinnacles, and the
countless variety of minute embellishments imparted to English archi
tecture by the best-encouraged artists in the most prosperous days of
that luxuriant style. The groining of the roof no longer exhibits the
simplicity observable in the uave. The ribs branch into tracery- work,
and are abundantly ornamented, at their intersections, with foliated
orbs and various devices. Parts ofthe improvements bestowed on the
choir may be safely attributed to John de Drokensford, Ralph de Sa-
lopia, and John Harewell, all which bishops are commemorated as
contributors to the cathedral buildings in the fourteenth century; but
other divisions bear incontestible marks of the munificence of bishop
Beckington. The great east window occupies the whole breadth of
the building, and consists of seven compartments. The head of the
arch is enriched by tracery, and the whole is filled with painted glass.
On the sides of the choir are stalls forthe dignitaries, canons, and
prebendaries, separated by slender pillars of wood, and surmounted
with canopies. The episcopal throne, on tbe south side, is a beautiful
fabric of stone, constructed under the direction of bishop Beckington •
but disfigured, and rendered equivocal as to its material, in the view
of the cursory observer, by a thick coat of paint.
The area between the high altar and the lady-chapel is occupied
by several clustered columns, of slender proportion, sustaining arches,
and constituting a curious, and, perhaps, unique feature of architec
tural arrangement. The chapel of the virgin' is open to view from the
east end of the choir, and is one of the most richly-adorned, and elegant,
of similar extraneous erections. This beautiful structure was built under
tbe direction of bishop Beckington, and is" lighted by five windows.
The heads of the arches are ramified into numerous compartments, of a
trefoil form,, and tbe whole are filled with painted glass. The vaulting
of the roof is finely groined/ the ribs uniting in the centre, and their
intersections being variously adorned. Several chapels of a less im
portant character are contained within the walls of the cathedral. To
the east of the bishop's throne, on the south side of the choir, is a
small but highly-ornamented chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, in which
is placed tbe tomb of bishop Beckington. Thi? is a table monument,
of open workmanship, displaying, oh the upper slab, the effigies of
the deceased, ancf revealing, in the tower compartment, an awful me-
(n)

WELLS CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1818.
morial of the mutable state of humanity— a ghastly skeleton — expres
sive of the forlorn condition of that form, when in the last stage of
decay, which commanded so much respect when animated by health,
and attired in robes of pontifical dignity. In the upper part of the
nave, on the south side, and occupying the space between two of the
pillars which divide that part of the cathedral from its aisle, is an ele
gant chapel erected by the executors of bishop Beckington, in the 15th
century. This fabric is composed of stone. The ceiling is groined;
and, on the principal face of the structure, are five figures, finely sculp
tured, and placed in niches surmounted with delicate tabernacle-work.
On the opposite side of the nave, and likewise filling the space between
two of the clustered columns, is a sepulchral chapel, devoted to the
memory of bishop Bubwith, in which that prelate lies interred.
The monuments are numerous, and several possess considerable
interest. The memorials erected to the bishops Bubwith and Beckington,
have been already noticed. Several of the early prelates were also, with
exemplary propriety, interred on the spot which had claimed the
exercise of their extensive pastoral duties ; and the same walls enclose
the remains of many excellent bishops in succeeding ages, down to a
recent period. William de Marchia, bishop of Wells, who died A. D.
1302, lies beneath a monument of the altar form, which supports his
effigies in the attire of pontifical dignity. Bishop Harewell, noticed in
a preceding page as a contributor to the buildings of his episcopal
church, is buried in the south aisle of the choir. At the feet of his
effigies are placed two hares, the rebus of his name. The monumental
tributes to bishops interred here iu periods subsequent to the reforma
tion, demand notice from the frequent eminent worth of the persons
commemorated, rather than from splendour of design or excellence of
execution. There are various monuments to private persons, which
would require attention in a more extended topographical survey.
The inscription on one of these possesses so much genuine pathos
and elegance, that no account of our cathedral can approach to
wards a satisfactory character, without its insertion. The monument to
which we allude is erected to the memory of Thomas Linley, esq.
who died in the year 1795 ; and likewise to that of two of his
daughters (one of whom was wife of the late R. B. Sheridan, esq.) and
an infant grand-daughter. The poetical inscription is presented
beneath. '* 14 "In this bless'd pile, amid whose favoring gloom
Fancy still loves to guard her votary's tomb,
Shall I withhold what all the virtues claim,
The sacred tribute to a father's name i
And yet, bless'd saint 1 the skill alone was thine
To breathe with truth the tributary Une >
ft)

A.D. 1818.] SOMERSETSHIRE.
Quitting the cathedral for a notice of its appendant buildings, the
chapter-house is first entitled to consideration. This structure adjoins
the north transept, and is of an octangular form. The roof is finely
vaulted, and supported by a central column of Purbeck marble,
clustered, and affording in its apex the source whence the ribs of the
groining diverge. The walls are embellished with canopied niches,
corresponding in number with the stalls in the chair. Beneath this
building is a crypt, or vaulted apartment. The groin-work in the
roof of this division of the structure (locally said to have been formerly
used as the sacristy) springs from the basement part of the same
clustered column which supports tbe roof of the chapter-room. The
cloister is on the south side of the nave, and communicates with the
transept. The east side of this religious ambulatory is ascribed to the
time of bishop Bubwith, and contains, in an upper story, a library,
founded by bishop Lake, in 1620. The south and west divisions of
tbe cloister were chiefly erected during the prelacy of Beckington. In
various parts of the building are observable his accustomed rebus — once
supposed to be ingenious, although now deemed puerile — a beacon>
placed in a ton I
The present members of this cathedral, are, besides tbe bishop, a
dean (with the prebend of Curry annexed) ; a precentor ; a chancellor ;
a treasurer ; three archdeacons ; a sub-dean ; forty-six prebendaries ;
five priest- vicars; eight lay-vicars ; six choristers ; one sacrist; three
assistant clerks, and certain inferior oflicers. The diocess of Bath and
Wells is divided into the three archdeaconries of Wells, Taunton, and
Bath ; which are again subdivided into thirteen deaneries, and four
hundred and eighty-two parishes.
The bishop's palace presents, in its outline and more ancient parts,
a curious and impressive memorial of the repulsive manners of former
ages. The walls surrounding this building enclose seven acres of land,
and are accompanied in their circuit by the additional protection of a:
fosse, or moat. The whole structure was originally of a corresponding
The roem'ry of departed worth to save.
And snatch the fading laurel from the grave :
Ahd, oh ! my sisters, peaceful be your rest.
Once more reposing on a father's breast;
You, whom he lov'd, whose notes so soft, so clear.
Would sometimes wildly float upon his ear,
As the soft lyre he touch'd with mournful grace,
And Recollection's tear bedew'd his face.
Yes, most belov'd, if ev'ry grateful care
To soothe his hours, his ev'ry wish to share ;
If thc fond mother and the tender wife
Could add fresh comfort to his eve of life ;
If youth, if beauty, eloquence could charm,
Genius delight him, or affection warm ;
Your's was the pleasing task from day to day,
Whilst Heav'n approv'd, and Virtue led the way." William lAnley.
Cv)

WELLS CATHEDRAL, SOMERSETSHIRE. [A. D. 1818.
character, and wore the aspect of a castle inhabited by a lay- baron in
the ages of factious contention. Such a mode of architecture was no*
unusual in the palatial dwellings of prelates, and other dignified church
men, in the middle ages, a surviving instance of which practice may be
noticed in the ancient part of Durham castle ; and the remains of such
edifices assuredly act as most grateful memorials of the national
blessings arising from a reform of religion, and an amelioration of
manners. It appears that an embattled form was bestowed on the
episcopal palace of Wells, towards the termination of a necessity for
castellated precautions in this country, by bishop Ergbum, who was
translated hither in the year 138S. The plan of the structure, as
enlarged and fortified by that prelate, comprehends two courts. On
the south side of the outer court, or ballium, stood the great hall;
which noble room was in length 120 feet, and in breadth nearly 70
feet. This part of the building is now in a state of ruin, having been
destroyed by sir John Gates, in the reign of Edward VI. ; a period at
which the pretension of religious reform was too frequently used as an
excuse for indiscriminate plunder. The present residence is situated on
the east side of the same court, and is a spacious building, containing
a chapel, and many handsome apartments, which have been greatly
improved by the present bishop.

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
LENGTH from east to west 371 reet; do. from the west door to thechoir lgt feet; do. of tlie
choir, about 106 feet ; do. of the space behind the choir to the lady-chapel 22 feet ; do. ofthe lady-
chapel 17 reet; do. of the cross aisles from north to south 135 feet.— BREADTH of the body
andsuie aisles 67 feet; do. of the lady-chapel 33 feet; do. of the west front 235 feet —HEIGHT of
the vaulting 67 feet ; do of the gTeat tower iu the middle lfjO feet ; do. of the towers in the west
front 1 30 feet — LENGTH ot the south cloister 155 feet; do. of the east cloister, about 159 leet ;
do. ofthe west cloister, about 164 feet.

DESCRIPTION OF TUB PLATF.S.
Plate 1 . A View of the Crypt under the Chapter-house. The roof of this apartment is supported
by eight substantial columns. In the centre is a massive pier, surrounded by eight small
pillars, of a similar character with those in othe.- parts ofthe Crypt.
Plate 2. The West Front. The numerous Statues on this facade chiefly consist of the representa
tion of scriptural characters, and the effigies of kings, bishops, and various contributors to the
buildings of the Cathedral. The Towers by which this Front is flanked are of a more recent
date, as is explained in our history of the Cathedral.
Plates. A South-east View of the Exterior of the Cathedral, (taken from a garden belonging to
Mr. Foster) shewing the whole perspective of the structure in that direction. The octangular
building at the east end is the Lady-chapel.
Plate 4. Presents a delineation of the Noi th-east aspect of the Cathedral. The elegant Chapter
house, of an octangular form, constitutes a principal feature in this View.
Plate 5. The Entrance to the North Porch ; a spacious pointed arch, supported on each side by
eight columns, alternately duplicated and single. Interspersed in the loliagt of the capitals,
lo the left of the entrance, are some curious pieces of sculpture.
Plated. An Interior View from the South Transept, looking towards the west." The Font appears
in the front. In the distance is seen the Nave. Between the columns is shewn part of bishop
Beckington's Chapel.
Plate 7. The West side of the Cloister. At the farther end is an ornamented doorway, leading
to the South-west Tower of the Cathedral.
Plate 8. The Chapter-house. The walls of this superb room are decorated with niches, and the
apartment is lighted by eight windows, the heads of which are filled with rich tracery,
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BATH AND WELLS.

Of Wells.

Aldhelm

905

Wifeline

915

Elphege

Wlfhelm

Brithelm

958

Kineward

973

Sigar

975

Alwyn

995

Burwold

1000

Leoving

1008

Ethelwin

1012

Brithwyn

1013

See Vacant.

Merewith
1027
Dudoca
1031
Giso
1059
Of Bath.
John de Villula
1088
Godfrey
1123
Of Bath and Wells.
Robert
1135
See Vacant.
Reg. Fitz-Jucelitie
1174
Of Glastonbury.
S. Barlowinwac
1192
Elphege
970
Sewold
Benediotius
1151
Peter
1159
Waiter
1175
Gilbert
1198
Robert
1205
Thomas
1223
Walter
1261
Ivo
1150
R. de Spakeston
116o
Alexander
1180
Lionius
1205
Ralph de Lechlade
1218
Peter de Ciceter
1220
William de Merton
1236
Johannes Saraeenus 1241
Giles de Bridport
1253
Edward de la Knoll
1256
Thomas de Button
1284
William Burnell
1292
W. de Haselshaw
1295
Henry Husee
1302
John de Godelegh
1305
Richard de Bury
1332
Wibert de Littleton
1334
Walter de London
1335
John de Carlton
1350
Stephen de Pympel
1361
John Fordham
1378
ft)
BISHOPS.
Of Bath and Wells.
Joceline Troteman 1205
See Vacant.
Roger 1244
William Bitton 1248
Walter Giffard 1264
William Button 1267
Robert Burnell 1274
William deMarchia 1293
Walter Haselshaw 1302
J. de Drokensford 1309
Ralph de Salopia 1329
John Barnet 1363
JohnHarewel 1366
Walter Skirlaw 1386
Ralph Erghum 1388
Henry Bowet 1401
Nicholas Bubwith 1408
John Stafford . 1425
T. de Beckington 1443
John Phreas 1464
Robert Stillington 1465
Richard Fox 1491
Oliver King 1495
Adrian de Castello 1504
Held in commendam Four
Years, by
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
John Clerk 1523
William Knight 1541
William Barlow 1547
Gilbert Bourne 1554
Gilbert Berkely 1559
Thomas Godwyn 1584
John Still 1592
James Montagu 1608
Arthur Lake 1616
William Laud 1626
Leonard Mawe 1628
Walter Curie 1629
William Pierce 1632
Robert Creighton 1670
Peter Mews 1672
Thomas Kenn 1684
Richard Kidder 1691
George Hooper 1703
John Wynne 1727
Edward Willes 1743
Charles Moss 1774
Richard Beadon 1802
ABBOTS.
Stigand
1067 [Aelsig
PRIORS.
1075
Thomas deWynlon 1289
Rob. de Cloppecote 1301
Robert de Sutton 1332
Thomas Christy 1333
John de Irford 1340
John de Walecot
John de Dunster 1406
DEANS.
Thomas de Sudbury
Nicholas Slake
Henry Beaufort
Thomas Tuttebury
Thomas Stanley
Richard Courtney
Thomas Karniche
Walter Metford
John Stafford
John Forest
Nicholas Carent
William Witham
John Ganthorp
William Cosyn
Thomas Winter
Richard Woolman
Thomas Cromwell
W. Fitzwilliams
John Goodman
William Turner
1381 1396 13971401140214101413 141314231425 1446146714721498 1526152915371540 1548
1550
John de Tellisford 1411
William Southbroke 1425
Thomas de Lacock 1 447
Richard . 1476
John Cantlow 1489
William Bird 1499
William Holway 1525
Robert Weston 1570
Valentine Dale 1574
John Herbert 1589
Benjamin Heydon 1602
Richard Meredith 1607
Ralph Barlow 1621
George Warburton 1631
Walter Raleigh 1641
DeaneryVacant 14 Years.
Robert Creighton 1660
Ralph Bathurst 1670
William Graham 1704
Matthew Brailsford 1713
Isaac Maddux 1733
John Harris 1736
Samuel Creswicke 1739
Hon. F. Seymour 176S
George W. Lukin 1799
Hon. H. Ryder, bp. .
of Gloucester 1512
INDEX TO WELLS CATHEDRAL.
*#* The italic letters indicate the pages marked at ihe bottom of the left side;
thus (a) (b) fife, and the letter N. fornote.
Athelmus, first bishop of Wells, b; pro
moted to Canterbury, ib.
Barlow, bishop, e; greatly injured the re
venues of the see, /; fled to a foreign country
universally execrated, ib. — Beadon, Richard,
present bishop of Wells, A.— Beckington,
bishop, e ; became chancellor of Oxford Uni
versity, ib. ; assisted in the insiruction of
Henry VI, ib.; received several preferments,
as a reward for the exercise of that duty, ib. ;
employed a large part of his wealth in public
works, ib.; a great contributor to the build
ings of Lincoln College, ib, N.— Brithelm,
bishop, erected the jurisdiction of Glastonbu
ry into an archdeaconry,6. — Bubwith, bishop,
a great benefactor to the cathedral, e. — Bur
gess, Cornelius, obtained possession of the
palace in the time of the civil wars, /; re
duced the structure to a state of ruin, forthe
purpose of selling the materials, ib.; let out
the gatehouse as dwellings for the poor, ib. —
Burnell,J}ishop, considerably augmented the
palatial residence, rf.
Castello, bishop, entered England on a mis
sion from the court of Rome, e; deprived of
his preferments for plotting against Pope Leo
X, ib.— Cathedral, notice of the injuries sus
tained by the buildings in the time of the civil
wars,/; description of, ho; uniformly in the
pointed style, ft; exterior, ib. ; plan, I; win
dows ofthe choir, ft; erection ofthe west
front ascribed to bishop Joceline, i ; numbers
of statues on that front, ib. ; Mr. Gough's
description of those statues, ib. N. ; western
towers, k ; great or central tower, ib. ; north
side of the cathedral, ib. ; north porch ib. ;
sculptured figure.supposed to allude to the mar
tyrdom of St. Sebastian, ib. j nave and tran
septs, to j groining of the ceilings ib.; choir,
description of, m n; episcopal throne, n.—
Chapelsof the Virgin, and St. Mary, n. — Chap
ter-house, k. — Christianity, early progress of,
involved in obscurity, a. — Collegiate church of
Wells, o ; founded by king Ina, ib. ; erected
into a bishopric, 6. — Cynewulf, king of Wes-
sex, bestowed on the collegiate church eleven
manses and farms, a.
Diocess, its divisions, p.
Editha, Queen, 6 ; bestowed on bishop Giso
the two manors of Mark and Mudgeley, ib.
Giffard, bishop, d; Giso, bishop, chaplain
to Edward the Confessor, 6; elected to this
see during his absence on an embassy to Rome,
ib. ; lived in banishment during the reign of
Harold, ib. ; restored to his see on the acces
sion of William, I, ib. ; number of canons in
creased by him, ib. ; said to have enlarged
and beautified the grand choir, ib. — Godfrey,
bishop, c.
Harewell, bishop, chaplain to Edward the
black prince, rfe; contributed largely to the
erection of the south-west tower, e; and to
wards the expense of glazingthe great western
window, ib.— Harold, king, b ; despoiled the
church of its ornaments, ib. ; ejected the ca
nons, and took possession of their revenues,
ib.— Hooper, bishop, A.

Ina, King of the West Saxons, a ; his reign
distinguished by the promulgation of a legis
lative code, ib. ; founded* a collegiate church,
ib. ; and rebuilt the Abbey of Glastonbury, ib.
Kenn, bishop, /; refused to resign a house
for the use of Eleanor Gwynne, g; attended
Charles II. in his last hours, ib. ; prevailed on
the king to receive a visit from queen Kathe
rine, ib. ; instituted schools in his diocess,
ib. ; published an "Exposition of the Church
Catechism," ib. ; one of the bishops com
mitted to the tower by James, ib. ; anecdote
of him, ib. N. ; received a yearly pecuniary
assistance from queen Anne, g-— Kidder, bishop,
perished by the fall of part of the palatial
buildings, ft; King, bishop, e ; paid attention
lo the monastic buildings of Bath, ib. ; com
menced the re-edification of the Abbey church
of that city, ib. — Knight, bishop, e ; an act
of Parliament passed in his time, vesting the
right of election in the dean and chapter of
Wells, ib.
Lady chapel, k. — Laud, bishop, /; trans
lated hither from St. David's, ib.
Members, present, of the cathedral, p.—
Montagu, bishop, /; improved the palaces of
Wells and Banwell, ib. — Monuments, bishop
Beckington's in chapel of St. Mary, no;
bishop de Marchia's, o; bishop Harcwell's,
ib.; Thomas Linley's, ib. ; beautiful inscrip
tion on the latter monument, ib, N. — Moss,
bishop, A.
Palace, episcopal, p q ; an embattled form
bestowed on it by bishop Erghum, q ; ground
plan, ib. ; great hall, ib. — Pierce, bishop, de
prived of his mitre by the parliament,/; re
gained his ecclesiastical sway on the restora
tion, ib.
Robert, bishop, c ; a modification adopted •
by him for terminating disputes respecting
the see, ib. ; entered with zeal into the poli
tical struggles between Stephen and the Em
press Maud, ib.
Salopia, bishop, an eminent benefactor to
the cathedral buildings, rf; founded the col
lege of vicars, ib. — Savaricus, bishop, e; ob
tained from Richard I. a grant for the Abbey
of Glastonbury to be attached to the bishopric
of Wells, d ; removed the see, and styled
himself bishop of Glastonbury, ib.
Troteman, bishop, often termed de Wells,
d ; renewed the conciliatory title of bishop of
Bath and Wells, ib. ; founded several pre
bends, ib. j a munificent contributor to the
prosperity of the see, ib. ; improved the ca
thedral buildings, ib.
Villula, bishop, 6; supposed to have prac
ticed in early life as a physician at Bath, cj
Mr. Warner's observations on his character,
ib. N. ; removed the see and styled himself
bishop of Bath, c.
Willis, bishop, A.— Wlfhelm, bishop, 6;
foundation of a cathedral church laid at Wells
in his time, ib. ; no part of that structure now
remaining, ib— Wolsey, Cardinal, held this
see in commendam four years, e.— Wynne,
bishop, ft.

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES

CATHEDRAL CHURCH

TOncJjester,

1 here are perhaps no authentic records of Christian temples existing
hi any part of Britain earlier than at Winchester. Christianity, indeed,
appears to have been promulgated in this country above a century be
fore tlie building of a church at Caer-Gwent, or White City, the Bri
tish appellation of the modern Winchester*. But no satisfactory,
circumstantial, or contingent evidence can be adduced to disprove the
tradition of a Christian church being founded here by a person called
Lucius,about A.D. 180. The statement does not rest on such prejudiced
authority as the compilers of Roman Catholic legends, called a Mar-
tyrology, but on the broad basis of a generally admitted fact, which
is leceived rather as probable than as undeniable. To reject it entirely
as fabulous would betray more of the pride of scepticism than the lova
of truth ; to make it an article of religious belief might be compatible
with Mohammedan superstition, but certainly not with the rationality
of Christian piety. The possibility and probability of the fact, in th©
present case, are fully sufficient. A Christian cannot be displeased
with the idea of bis religion extending so early and so far west, still
less a Briton at the erection of a church in his country. That there
was a British tributary prince, named Lucius, we may safely believe 5
that he openly embraced Christianity under the tolerant auspices of
the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, seems not inconsistent wilh
historical truth and the state of Britain, notwithstanding the indiscri
minate negation of Carte f ; but whether he was the son or grandson of
the person called Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus or Cogidunus, or Ca.
ractacns alias Arviragus, it is superfluous here to inquire. If he was
* The oldest writers call it Caer Gwenl or Gnene, which Ptolemy seems to have adopted in
O'-jivtu, and the Romans in t-'enta Belgarum. The monks afterwards wrote it Winttmia, and
the Saxons, who produced the greatest change in every thing, wrote it JVintan-ceaster, and
subsequently Wintancestir, Winteceaster, Wincester, and Winchester,
t Both Carte and Gibbon seem to have formed, their opinions on tliis subject, without taking
the trouble of investigating the original authorities ; the latter indeed evinced a motive for dis
believing it ; but the assertions or opinions af such men on a point of history, where Bound
judgment is necessary, pass for nought, when they are directly contradicted by such true philfc-
•ophers as Usher, Stillingfleet, and Burgess.. %
00 E

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. P. 180.
horn about 115, possibly he derived some knowledge pf the Christian
religion from the disciples of St. Paul. When advanced in life, it is
said he and his queen were baptized by two Roman missionaries, Fuga-
tius and Damianus or Duvianus *. In this country, the Christian reli
gion had not been so formidable to the Roman government as to in
duce its persecution ; Lucius, therefore, availing himself of the peace
ful character of the Antoninps, might safely indulge his pious feelings by
raising a respectable edifice for public worship in the Roman Verity
now Winchester. He has accordingly been considered as the first
monarch who embraced Christianity, and built a church for its pro
fession. To assert, however, that he founded twenty-eight churches
in as many different cities then extant in Britain, and forming the chief
seats of the Flamines, or pagan priests, seems an unnecessary experi
ment on human credulity. It tends only to awaken scepticism respect
ing the more probable and better authenticated fact, that he raised in
Venta a Christian church from the ground, although not " upon a scale
of grandeur and magnificence which has never since been equalled ;" nor
did he " bestow on it the right of sanctuary, and other privileges f."
The building or existence of the church, which afterwards became a
bishop's see, is the sole unequivocal fact. Rudborne's statement of
his annexing to it a monastery, with a chapel, dormitory, and refec?
tory, for monks, long before such societies were either practicable or
instituted, is rejected even by Dr. Milner himself, as incredible, false,
and absurd. It is difficult also to attach much credit to his account of
the church's dimensions, and still more so to its figure. According tq
this writer, the church built by Lucius was in the form of a crucifix,
209 paces (at least 600 feet) long, eighty broad, ninety- two high,
and the transept ISO paces long. These proportions are neither com
patible with the Grecian style of architecture which then prevailed,
nor with that which has since been called Gothic. This circumstance,
indeed, may favour the veracity of the historian, as tending to show
that his statements are not merely theoretical or imaginary probabili
ties X. It is however in the highest degree improbable, that Lucius
* Perhaps thc latter name has been preferred in consequence of that of Damian, a noto
rious robber, appearing in the papal pantheon, and still worshipped on the 27th of September.
t This is asserted by Thomas Rudhqrne, a Winchester monk of the fifteenth century, who,
with Westminster Matthew, asserts that Lucius conferred the privileges of Dunwallo Malmu-
tius (a pagan, supposed to live 500 years before Christ), or the right of asylum on the church of
Winchester. The absurdiiy of these pagan privileges, and the utter incredibility of thc whole
tale of indulging churches and cemeteries with the right of sanctuary or asylum, have been
sufficiently exposed by sir H. Spelman, Mr. W. Clarke, and by Dr. Pegge, Archaeol. vol. iii.
As to tlie privilege of sanctuary, it was instituted by pope Boniface V. about 622, the epoch of
Mohammed, and was an institution worthy of such an impostor.
t If these innocent conjectures, which are here adduced only to convey an idea how Roman
Catholic writers make out a connected history of their church, were of any importance
we should soy that thc British prince, if such a one ever existed, in building a church erects j

A.D. 180.] HAMPSHIRE,
at the same time erected an edifice for the clergy nearly COO feet long
and 120 broad; neither the number nor wealth of the Christian
teachers of that period, and still less their austere principles, will ad
mit of their having such a splendid dwelling. This also is equally irre
concilable with the fact, that temples of Apollo and of Concord were
situated immediately contiguous to the cathedral, which was dedicated
to the Saviour by Fugatius and Duvianus. These missionaries, it is
said, were sent at the request of Lucius, by the Roman bishop Eleu-
therius, and they consecrated a bishop for this church, called Dinotus,
or Devotus. However this may be, there cannot be a doubt that the
religious edifice or structure then raised in Venta formed the model
for all the subsequent buildings during the days of the Saxons, and that
a rude imitation of the Roman* pillars and circular arches still ap
pears in the transept of the existing cathedral. This is the true origin
pf the opus Romanum or that style of building denominated Saxon,
and by some superficial writers, Norman -f.
In attributing the consecration of this cathedral to Romish mis
sionaries, it has been wished to infer hence that the see of Rome had,
ahvays spiritual authority over Britain, and that F'elltherius by this
act obtained the same power over Winchester, which his successors
claimed a thousand years later. The very contrary, however, is the
fact ; and whatever might be the state of religious knowledge in this;
country during the life of Lucius, even bishop Mihier is constrained to
admit, that " it seemed best to him and his prelates (without any refer
ence to the bishop of Rome), that the same hierarchy should be ob
served, which had before obtained among the Flamiues, or heathen priests;
According to this, London, York, and. Caerleon, became metropolitan
sees ; and hence Venta, although Ihe favourite of Lucius, and probably
a palace for himself also, and that both structures are included in the dimensions given by the
monkish chroniclers : otherwise the whole must be a contemptible fabrication ; for no Chris
tian church could then be built of greater extent than the heathen temples ; and it is well ob
served by an enlightened critic (Quarterly Rev. Np. 6.), that " in provincial cities they were
mere chapels in their dimensions, but of exquisite proportions and highly adorned, like the
Maison Quarree at Nimes."
* " When the Romans," observes governor Pownall, " held possession of our isle, they
erected every sort of building and edifice of stone, or of a mixture 0f stone and brick, and
universally built with the circular arch. The British learned their arts from these masters, and
they were practised in Britain after they had been lost in France, by the ravages and desolation,
which the continent experienced, When the cities of the empire in Gaul and the fortresses on
the Rhine were destroyed, Co.nstantius Chlorus, A. D. 298, sent to Britain, and employed Bri
tish architects in repairing and re-edifying them. By thus drawing off the British architects
and mechanics, and by the subsequent devastation of the island, all use and practice of the
Roman art were lost," Archaeol, ix. — As the Scots and Picts contributed to the expulsion of
the Romans, so also did they introduce a less expensive mode of building in wood : more Sco-
forum non de tapide, sed de robore. King, Munimenta Antiq. has adduced more particulars in
proof of the generally received opinion, that the arts of building, like religion, have travelled.
from the east to the west. See Haggit's Essay on Gothic Architect, in answer to Milner.
t It is unanimously admitted, that the only difference between the Saxon and Normari
buildings consists in their dimensions, the latter being of greater magnitude than tlie former^
but this cannot be called a style or new invention.
'fit » a

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, [A.D. 5K>£
tbe capital* of his dominions, was left destitute of that pre-eminence
to which, as the chief city in the west, it was otherwise entitled."
Venta, it appears, enjoyed its religion and repose above a century,'
till the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian f about 303, brought
destruction to the cathedral and death on its ministers, Happily their
sanguinary rage existed only two years, till checked by Constantius
Chlorus; and the famous edict of Constantine the J Great in 312 re
stored the professors of Christianity to the enjoyment of all the rights
of humanity and civil justice. The cathedral of Venta was then (with
the contributions of tbe pious) rebuilt, but on a much smaller scale,
according to Milner, about 313, and said to be dedicated to the ima
ginary St. Amphiballus. Most probably it was only defaced by the
Maximian destroyers, and not levelled to the ground. The task of
demolition would have been arduous j that of reparation appears to
have occupied five years §. Between the period of its first erection
and reconstruction a great decay of art had taken place j the Gothic
age was advancing, and both wealth and science had yielded on the
one hand to brutal ferocity, and on the other to the most passive and
enthusiastic piety. In this condition of things it is not To be expected
that Venta experienced much improvement, till it finally fell under the
barbarous Jutes || about 516, when its cathedral was converted into a
* It is still matter of controversy where the dominions of Lucius were situated : the weight
of probability seems in favour of Winchester j but as to the time and place of his death and
burial no'hing is accurately known, except that he is not buried in his cathedral. Some sup-i
pose him interred at Gloucester, others at York ; and the Germans, with considerable plausi
bility, represent him as propagating; the gospel in Bavaria and Switzerland. With him how
ever terminated his dynasty, as the Romans afterwards governed directly by their own officeis,.
and not hy native tributary princes.
t Even Gibbon, with all his zeal to blacken the character and conduct of the Christians
and exalt that of the Romans, is obliged to admit that Maximian was an ignorant, illiterate,
savage, and superstitious military b*>or. See Roman Emp. c. xvi.
t It is worthy of remark, as a proof at least of original intellectual superiority (for the infi
dels will not deny that Christianity is more rational and philosophical than the gods of Greece
and Rome), that the first Christian king and first Christian Emperor were both Britons.
§ The story of its being dedicated by bishop Constans, son of the emperor Constantine, to
a St. Amphiballus, martyr, Peodatus being thc superior of the clergy, who then served the ca
thedral, seems a mere tissue of monkish conjectures, unsupported by any authentic record,
and unworthy of attention. An amphiballus is a large cloak or mantle, like a monk's surplice,
encompassing the body on both sides ; such were the sheep skins which the monks or hermits
originally wore as an outside dress, and which were called snperpcliceum. Hence this coarse
piece of clothing has been metamorphosed, like the sepulchre of Christ, into a saint, made
the converter of a man called St. Alban, and has also been honoured by having thededication of
Winchester cathedral ascribed to it. Surely it is full time that such fables were banished from
the ecclesiastical history of Britain. "Certain it is," avows the papal bishop Milner, "that
some martyrs, whose names were unknown, have been inserted in the calendar by a name drawn
from some adventitious circumstance, as for example, St. Adauctus. See Martyrol. Rom." If
then an infallible church and its infallible councils can thus multiply the number of its Gods,
thus fabricate names for its unknown saints, is it surprising that rational men should reject
the whole papal system as a cunningly devised imposture, a disgraceful and unchristian per
version of religious truth }
|| It seems most prohable as the Jutes peopled Kent and the Isle of Wight, that they also
took possession of Venta, which they called Wiiihxn, with the usual addition of ceaster. This
must he Inferred from Bede, who lived at a period so near the invasion, that he could scarcely
be misjed on the subject. The Jutes or Jutlanders, were also called Giotti, and Fitce, whence
(dj

K. D*. 636.] HAMPSHIRE.
temple for the preposterous rites of Woden, Thor, and Friga. In
this state it remained till restored to its original destination by Kinigils,
after this Saxon Monarch's conversion to Christianity. The propaga
tion of religion among the West Saxons has been attributed to a Sc.
Birinus*, a man of uncertain origin, and still more dubious works,
He is represented as converting the joint-kings Kinigils and Quinthelin
in 635, and from them obtaining the rank of a bishop at Dorchester
in 636. Birinus we have before noticed in the history of Lincoln
Cathedral, p. (d). Kinigils is represented as taking down, with more
fanaticism than prudence, the original church of Winchester, because
it had been polluted with the exercise of pagan rites, in order to raise
up a virgin one in its place. He died however before commencing his
pew building, a circumstance rather surprising, since the miracle-
working Birinus might have either kept him alive or raised him from
the dead, to build his church, and not trust this sacred duty to the
word of his pagan son. Cenowalch violated his promise to his dying
father, and thought no more of building, till another miracle awake-
the appellations Vttti and Gevissiy Winchester being the capital of the latter. An observer can,
¦till recognize a difference between the people of Kent and the other parts of England. " The
Jutes," says Milner (in a felicitous conjecture, which atones for the want of historical fidelity),
" having retained their original name of Getse or Goths (conducted by Woden from the Palus
Maeotis to the shores of the Baltic), were the chief and most respectable of the three kindred
tribes (Angles, Saxoris, and Jutes) who invaded Britain. It is probable also, from their having
penetrated farther north than the others> that they were the most valiant ; and that they were the
most handsome is generally allowed by those who have seen their descendants in the Isle of
Wight, where they have remained in a great measure undisturbed and unmixed."
* The tale of Birinus is so ludicrously absurd, and at the same time so well calculated to
weaken the strong holds of superstition, that Dr. Milner's version of it merits insertion here.
Birinus, a priest or a monk, or a something we know not what, was directed by pope H-onorius
to be ordained by Asterius, bishop of Genoa, and perhaps to learn Saxon in that city prepa
ratory for his mission to Britain. " Proceeding from Genoa, through France, our apostle eame to
the sea-port in the channel, from which he was to embark for our island. Here having performed
the sacred mysteries, he left behind him what is called a corporal [in allusion to the body of
Christ], containing the blessed sacrament; which he did not recollect until the vessel in which
he sailed was some way out at sea. It was in vain to argue the case with the pagan sailors who
"steered the ship, and it was impossible for him to leave his treasure behind him. In this ex
tremity, supported hy a strong faith, he stepped out of the ship upon the waters, which became
firm under his feet [congealed into ice, we suppose, by another miracle far surpassing that of the
Saviour], and walked in this manner to the land ; having secured what he was anxious about,
he returned in the same manner on board the vessel, which had remained stationary [by the soli
dity of the water doubtless !] in the place where he left it. The ship's crew were of the na
tion to which he was sent, and being struck [as well they might] with the miracle which they
had witnessed, lent a docile ear to his instruction. Thus our apostle began the conversion.
of the West Saxons before he landed upon their territory. This prodigy is so well attested
by the most judicious historians [i.e. monkish compilers of holy legends], that those who
have had the greatest interest to deny it, have not dared openly lo do so." Hist. Winchest.
vol. i. p. 90. The concluding assertion is singularly bold and fanatical. The persona alluded
to as not tiering to deny it, are bishop Godwin and the truth-telling Fox ; the former takes no
notice whatever of thia compound miracle, wisely judging it beneath contempt j and the latter
bestows on it the only correct appellation in our language, that of a lie. We sincerely pity the
man who could record such absurdities, which no real Christian can conscientiously endure,
and no man of common sense believe. " What lover of truth," justly observes the Quarterly-
Reviewer, No. 6, ** can forbear to exclaim against the fetters imposed on intellect itself by a
Roman Catholic education, which have completely disqualified a man of vigorous understanding
'from distinguishing between the testimony of an evangelist and that of a monk of the twelfth
century !" . See thjs story admirably told in " A New Defence of tho Holy Roman Churchy8
by the author of " Hore Sotiurisc," the late worthy A. Serle, esq.
CeJ

WINCHESTER CATHEDKAli [a. D. 6?<).
fled him to a sense of his duty. Pope Gregory had recommended
the conversion of heathen temples into churches, but Cenowalch
thought it more noble to raise a new and more splendid edifice ; and, as
usual with the monkish historians, they record his having prepared
most comfortable cells for them and their helpmates. The building
finished, says Milner, " our apostle St. Birinus came to our city and de
dicated this famous seat of his successors in the name of the Holy Tri
nity, and of St. Peter and St. Paul, in the year of our Lord 548* (64S) ."
Winchester however did not immediately become the see ; Birinus re
turned to Dorchester, where he died, and was succeeded by Agilbert, a
Frenchman, we are told, educated in Ireland. This bishop, although he
has received the papal apotheosis, was not esteemed by Cenowalch, be
cause he could not speak Saxon f in a manner to be useful as a teacher.
His majesty, therefore, very properly resolved to find a remedy for this
defect, and divided the diocess of Dorchester into two, allowing the weak
Agilbert to remain in the original see, and had AVina, an English
man of great talents, consecrated bishop of Winchester. Agilbert,
with more of the haughtiness of political power, than the meekness of
Christian benevolence, was greatly enraged at this reflection on his
talents, and without regarding the interests of religion, insolently
resigned his episcopal charge, and returned to France. For this vin
dictive pride and treason to the cause of religion, he has since been
enrolled among the gods of modern Rome. By his democratic intrigues,
however, he effected the resignation of Wina, who is called by Milner
an " unworthy prelate," for no other reason than because he was an Eng
lishman, and perhaps evinced little disposition to yield obedience to any
, foreign power, to any thing but his God and his king. He was translated
to the see of London, and that of Winchester remained vacant four years,
till Agilbert succeeded in fixing his nephew Eleutherius in that chair.
This French bishop was succeeded by Hedda, an illiterate man, ac
cording to Bede, who substituted superstition for learning and piety, and
whoremoved the corpse of Birinus J from Dorchester to Winchester, and
with it his episcopal chair, about 676. This was the fifth bishop of Dor-
* This date 548 occurs in tbe author's first volume, p. 95, and vol. ii. p. 5, although it is evi
dently wrong, and should be C4S. In vol.'i. p. fio, Cenowalch, or Kenewalk, is represented as
dying in 574. There are many other chronological errors and inconsistencies in Milner's his.
tory, which the limits of this work do not admit of particularizing. In nearly the same paee3
¦ It is stated in tlie first volume that Kinegils begun rebuilding the cathedral ;* in the second it
is asserted that he died when he had only collected the materials for it. Cenowalch is also-
supposed to have derived much architectural aid from the famous abbot, St. Bennet Biscop, his1
friend, who brought skilful masons, glaziers, and artificers from Italy and France.
t Milner supposes, after Verstcoan, that the Saxons and French at that period spoke dialects
ofthe same language ; but thc editor of the Hampshire Repository has refuted this position.
t In the Hist, and Anliq. of Winchester, « vols. 12mp, attributed to the Rev. Mr. Wavel, it
' is stated that Hedda removed the body of Birinus to Winchester in 673, previous to the seer
being removed thither. See History of Lincoln Cathedral, p. (ej,
(!)

A. D. 8*9.] HAMPSHIRE.
Chester and Winchester and the fourth prelate belonging to these sees
that has been deified. He was succeeded in 703 by the learned Daniel,
the historian of the South Saxons, and of the Isle of Wight. To him has
also been ascribed the memoirs of a wonder-working person called St.
Chad. During the prelateship of Daniel, the see of Chichester was
taken from that of Winchester, to meet the spiritual exigencies of ex
tended Christianity and increased population. In 741 or 744 he re
signed his charge, in consequence probably of old age. Humfred was
his successor ten years ; Kinebard was bishop twenty-six, and was fol
lowed by Athelard, who was translated to Canterbury. About 790
Egbald was consecrated bishop, but dying shortly after, Dudda, Ke-
nebirth, Almund, and Wigthen or Wighten, successively filled tins
see till 829. Herefiith or Herefrid was the next bishop ; he was slain
by the Danes when attending king Egbert at the battle of Channouth,
about 833. Edmund, Helmstan, and king Ethelwolf were the suc
ceeding bishops, till the latter ascended the regal throne, when the re
nowned St. Swithin * became the occupant of this chair about 838.
Ethelwolf, although a bishop, had children, and resigned the govern
ment of Kent, Essex, and Sussex to his illegitimate son Athelstan. Ne
vertheless he is extolled by bishop Milner as " the good king.'' He
was so fortunate on several occasions as to chastise the temerity of the
Danes, and obliged them to direct their marauding expeditions to the
coasts of Neustria, which they conquered, when the country was called
Normandy, and the people Normans or North-men. From his demise
till the invasion of the Normans, the see of Winchester was occupied
by seventeen Saxon or English bishops subsequent to Swithin ; Adferth
or Alfrith, a prelate of great learning, was translated to Canterbury ;
Dunhert, who died in 879, left lands to repair the cathedral, which
was devastated by the Danes, and it is supposed he had the honour of
crowning Alfred ; Denewulf, the reputed swine-herd f, in whose cot
tage in Athelney Alfred was concealed; Athelm.who went to Rome;
Bertulf, of whom little is known J ; St. Brithestane or Frithstan,
* Swithin has been aptly called the English god of rain, and he seems to perform the same
office as Ojtxfi^joj.did among the Greeks; the Athenians however were much less liberal in this re
spect than the Roman Catholics, for although they adopted foreign deities, and raised altars
to them, yet their worship was not permitted without a public decree, and could not be intro
duced by individuals (see Acts of Apost. xvii. 18). In the Roman Catholic church many have
been introduced without such a legal ceremony. Swithin's nocturnal pedestrian excursions have
been aptly compared to those of Nnma, who " nocturne conciliebat amicus :" the latter however
were not stained with such foul hypocrisy.
t This exaggerated tradition is satisfactorily explained by Whitaker in his Life of St. Neot,
-p. 244, where he shows that it was a dairy-house to which Alfred fled, accompanied by a chosen
band of his assistants. It is probable that the vulgar tale was derived from that of Baucis and
Philemon, in the 8th book of the Metamorphoses, as the monks were more familar with Ovid
than Horace or Juvenal.
t-Here Milner involves the subject in questions respecting papal authority, overlooks the
existence of Athelm and Bertulf ^between 379 acid 909), pretends that the see was vacant seven
Ct)

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. 1). 100^
who resigned in 939, and consecrated St. Briustan*, another pupil of
St. Grimbald f; St. Elfege the bald, uncle to the notorious St. Dun
stan, was consecrated in 934 *, Elfin or Elsin, an ambitious prelate,
sought the pall of Canterbury, but was frozen to death in the Alps
on his way to Rome to procure it ; Anthelm or Brithelm was suc
ceeded hy St. Athelwald or Ethelwold +, like Swithin, he was a native
of Winchester, and rebuilt the cathedral, enriched it with subterra
neous crypts §, supplied it with water, made several canals, and improved
tbe country; dying in 9S4, Elfege the martyr was consecrated by
Dunstan, and translated to Canterbury in 1006; Kenulf or Elsius,
became bishop two years, and was followed by Brithwold || or Ethel-
years, till the holy Roman father becoming quite outrageous, threatened excommunication,
when a grand synod was held, new sees erected, and bishops appointed. AU this is a pretty
flourish in behalf ot\ the pope's supremacy.
* Briustan, like Swithin, was fond of solitary walks, and often prayed in the churchyard.
One night, it is recorded, on finishing his devotions among the tombs, he cried out requiri'.unt
\n pace; when, lo ! a great multitude of souls answering all together with one loud voice, ejacu
lated Amen, and awakened all the country round for miles witli the sound.
t As to this Grimbald, notwithstanding the ponderous authority of Dr. Milner, and the
much more learned and ingenious researches of Whitaker, we must be pardoned tor suspecting
that he was not a Frenchman, but an Italian singer, destined by Alfrtd to be precentor in Win-
Chester cathedral. That he never was a professor at Oxford, Whitaker in his St. Neot has placed
beyond a doubt. But the comprehensive mind of Alfred perceived that tbe civilization ofbooifi
hright be accelerated by music as well as the study of languages, and that it was necessary to
have a good professor of " sweet sounds," a cantatorem optimum ; Grimbald was encouraged t«
settle in Winchester.
t •* His episcopal chair," Milner gravely states, " long remained an object of popular rene-
ration and awe j" it being believed that those who sat in it, if negligent of their duty, were
punished with terrific sights, &c This contemptible superstition is recorded with as much
apparent approbation. as the unnatural celibacy of the cleigy, and tlie miracles of Dunstan in
supporting his celibacy by fire and sword. Hume, Rapin, &.c. are censured for denouncing
Dunstan's insolence to king Edwy, and the monkish writers are marshalled to prove that it was
the king's mistress and not his queen that Dunstan had branded in the face with red hot irons
and hamstrung ; but if the major part of our historians have erred a little, Dr, Milner errs still
farther on the oilier side, in defending the conduct of a ferocious brute, who could tnus treat a
woman, for what, at the very worst, in the language of his church, was only a natural, and
not a deadly, sin. Even this papal vicar-apostolic himself is obliged to acknowledge that the
¦bishops and monks of that period were sunk in every possible kind of natural and unnatural
Vice, yet they were not burnt and mutilated like the ill-fated female companion ofthe king.
Mor does he anathematize popes Innocent VIII. and Alexander VI. who more than five centu
ries later filled the churches and religicus houser-with sixteen of their illegitimate children.
§ Crypts, Canfessitmes or Martyria were the burial-place of martyrs. Milner says, " aU that
remains \ isible of the wurk of Ethelwold are tlie crypts or chapels, the walls, pillars, and groin
ing of winch" remain in much the same state as that in which he left them, and are executed in
a linn and bold, though simple and unadorned manner, which gives no contemptible idea of
tSaxon art.*' Tlie chief alterations are a new crypt with pointed arches made under the eastern
fxtremif-y of the lady chapel, and masses of masonry raised in various parts either as sepul*
chres, or to support the fabric over them, which in these parts is defective. The entrance int»
them in the Holy Hole (behind the chapel in rear of the altar), was obstructed by bishop Fox,
ami another marte from the Water Close under the south-east aisle of the building, and near the
south-east wall of ihe transept.
|| It was probably during this bishop's reign that the barbarous murder of the Danes took
place, to which king Ethelrcd was at least privy. The massacre began in Winchester, and there
also were those indecent revels, called hock title sports, instituted by Ethelred in memory of the
pari: which the English women had borne in it. Those who were not ferocious enough to kill
their inmates, contented themselves hy hocksMnning or houghing them, by cutting thtir harn-
-itrings, and disabling them for war. In this operation the women were particularly active,
using scythes, reaping hooks, and every kind of edged instruments. Hence the hocktide amuse*
luents, still practised in some parts of tlie country the third' Monday after Easter, when women
•tie men Us t iii their chairs, from which they are not liberated without some vulgar indignities*'

A. D. 10S3.] HAMPSHIRE.
wold till 1015 ; then Alsimus or Elsinus wore the mitre till 1032 or
1038, when the famous Alvvyn * ascended the episcopal throne. He
died in 1047, five years before queen Emma, when Stigand became
bishop of Winchester ; and a few years afterwards also got possession
of Canterbury, from which he was deposed as being illegal, about
1070, and died a prisoner in Winchester castle. Thus miserably ter
minated the life of the last Saxon bishop of this cathedral.
We have now closed the reign of the Saxon church, The sees of
England, after the Normans gained the ascendancy, were all filled by
foreigners, chiefly Lombards, Provencals, and Italians. The machinery f
of popery then triumphed over the spirit of Christianity. Winchester
fell into the hands of Walkelin, a chaplain and relation to the Norman
William. It was iu this city that many of the most grievous political
measures were first projected or adopted, such as the curfew hell,
and the general inquisition or estimate of all property for the purpose
of taxation in the doomsday book or " roll of Winchester." Walke
lin, being exalted to the see of Winchester in 10/0, was influenced
by the same spirit of his countrymen in making every thing Norman ;
even the very language was to be that of Normandy. In 1079 he
commenced rebuilding the cathedral, although it was not quite a cen
tury since Ethelwold had rebuilt and dedicated it to St. Swithin. A
story is told of his obtaining permission from his cousin, the conqueror,
to take as much timber for his building as he could cut and carry away
in three days from the wood of Hanepinges, now Hempage. The
bishop, with some Jesuitical zeal, availed himself of this grant, and
assembled as many persons (in 1086) as swept away the whole wood
in the time specified. In 1093 his church was finished, and dedicated
to St. Swithin on the 15th July ; the next day, it is confusedly stated,
workmen began to level the old cathedral, " leaving nothing standing
at the end of the year, except the high altar and one porch J." This
* For a supposed criminal intercourse between this bishop and queen Emma, " the pearl
•f Normandy," and mother of Edward the Confessor, the widowed queen is reported to have
passed the fiery ordeal in this cathedral, walking barefooted over nine red-hot ploughshares
placed iu a line, without experiencing the smallest injury, or even knowing the precise moment'
when she was conducted over them by two bishops. This talc is not mentioned by any of the
older writers, as Huntingdon, Malmesbury, &c. but by Higden, the polychronicler, in the
middle of the fourteenth century, and is altogether unworthy of belief. These miraculous
ploughshares were reported to be buried in the west cloister of the cathedral, and- no doubt
contributed to enrich the monks by the donations of thc superstitious.
t It w^is, says Hume, not till after the eighth century had commenced that any appeals
were made to the popej and even four years after .the Norman conquest the foot of a popish'
legate had not polluted the soil of Britain. The conduct of such intriguers may be interred
from that of Gravina in Spain, in support of the Inquisition and against the laws, even in 1813. .
t To comprehend the actual works of Walkelin, observes the papal bishop, and reconcile
contradictions, it is necessary to admit that Ethelwold's church " had the same limits to the*
east that the church has had ever since, but that it did not extend so far westward, probably
by 150 feet, as Walkelin afterwards built it. .Consequently the ancient church, high altar,'
tower, transept, and habitations pf monks were woie easterly than afterwards placed," Thi*
(i)

Winchester cathedral, [a.d. 1107.
1s flttt very consistent with another tradition, namely, that only eight
years after completing Walkelin's cathedral, and one after the
death of Rufus, " a certain tower in the cathedral fell" and covered
this king's tomh with its ruins. The people, strongly impressed with a
sense of his vices, interpreted this disaster to indicate the wrath of
heaven at his having received Christian burial. No heavy body falling
from the present tower could strike this tomb, which is situated be
tween the choir and chancel. This Saxon structure, however, was
evidently designed to serve as a lanthorn to the choir, and its eleva
tion contributed to render the place more solemn and impressive ; an
effect which was greatly impaired by the introduction of screens and
partitions* The transept bears the same Saxon f features of the
tower 3 the chief degradations it has experienced since Walkelin are
confined to the windows, which have at different periods been subjected
to the caprices of gothic fancy. In some the circular arch and billet
ed moulding remain, while a pointed window with gothic mullions
are inserted beneath them ; others have been made to undergo an
almost total change, and the catherine-wheel window in the north
front has been introduced since the original erection. From this
period down to the sixteenth century every bishop and prior sought to
earn an apotheosis by rebuilding or refounding (as it has been called)
this church. After Walkelin, bishops Giffard (who built a palace in
may be true, but it does not account for the position of the fallen tower, unless it can be
proved (which is not altogether improbable), that the west end of the present choir was part of
the nave of Ethelwbld's building. That some Saxon artists sought security for their enmity to
William, by building the transept and tower, under the auspices of Walkelin, seems credible
enough. The tower is a noble shaft, 150 feet high (Milner says 140), and one third its height
in diameter. * A more striking instance of the absurdity and pernicious effects of these partitions could
not be mentioned than the Grecian work of Inigo Jones, at the west entrance of the choir. To
eay nothing of the preposterous association of columns and capitals, with the pointed, pyra
midal, funereal-like ornaments of Gothic structures, its existence in its present situation ia
altogether an unnatural excrescence, serving nnly to conceal the almost unrivalled stone screen
^ast of it. To aggravate the evil, the painted glass in the windows over the choir has been taken
away and plain glass'substituted, in consequence of which the glare of light is equally offensive
and destructive of the scenic effect. The exquisite workmanship of some parts of the ancient
clone screen makes one lament its incongruities and position. The funerary vases, generously
but not very tastefully placed in its niches {the ancient abode of the papal gods Amphiballus,
Swithin, and others) by prebendary Harris at the beginning of last century, do not harmonize
With the other decorations. Lastly, West's picture of Christ raising Lazarus has shut out the
table of the Comrriandments and Lord's Prayer from the view of Christian worshippers, to give
place to the representation of a doctor curing a patient, while a few ordinary persons look oh.
Let us hear the papal bishop Milner t " Where has a Reynolds or a West been able to" animate
their saints, and particularly the Lord of Saints, with that supernatural cast of features, with
that ray of Promethean light [a most heathen comparison from the ruthless castigatorof HoadleyJ
which a Raphael and a Rubens have borrowed from heaven itself wherewith to inspire them ?'•
We answer with Lavater, that even the best are weak and unnatural crudities of men's fancies j
and as to De Vinci's Eternal Word creating the Universe, it is an abortive effort of impiety to
peroonify Omnipotence, and has ended only in producing a monster 1
t In the foreign specimens of the architecture of the middle ages, we see no very decisive
symptom of the peculiar enrichments, the chevron mouldings, the eagles' sculls, basso relievos,
&c. which, the Saxons so much affected in their highly ornamented arches and door-ways*
These, it is not impossible, may have been imltalidni of the chaste enrichment* which belong
to the pure DQriCr—Quarterly Review, No, 11.
00

A; D. 13G6.] HAMPSHIRB.
Southwark), Henry de Blois (brother of king Stephen), and R. de
Toclyve, suffered the cathedral to pass unmutilated. But the next
prelate was Godfrey de Lucy, who, according to the Winchester
annals, begun and completed the tower. Kudhorne asserts, what is
favoured by internal evidence, that it was finished during the life of
Walkelin. To reconcile these contradictions, Dr. Milner alleges that
there must have been two towers, and that the Saxon work east of the
high altar with a small tower over it (perhaps on the site of the present
chancel) being decayed, were repaired by Lucy in 1200. After this the
bishop agreed in 1202, with a confraternity of workmen, probably free
masons *, to rebuild the whole east end of the church with the lady
chapel, as tar as it originally extended, in five years. He died however
a year before it was finished, and was buried in the centre of the works
he had projected. Still the business of remodulating was continued ;
the progress of the pointed architecture was equally rapid and general ;
pointed and lancet arches with cuspidated shoulders, spreading co
lumns, flowered tracery vaulting, shelving and ornamented buttresses,
turrets and pyramidal pinnacles, decorated with torches or crockets,
canopied nitches, statuary friezes and corbels, ramified mullions, his
torical windows, and tabernacled door-ways, became parts of every
high finished building. Winchester must necessarily be in the fashion
of other cathedrals, and bishop William de Edingdon, treasurer and
chancellor to Edward III. actually commenced (in 1366) rebuilding
the nave, though he lived to finish only tbe first two windows f with
their corresponding buttresses and a pinnacle on the north side, and
the first window with a buttress and pinnacle on the south side, at the
west end of the cathedral. His more fortunate successor, William of
Wykeham, completed what he had began. This memorable patron of
learning employed Wm. Winford as architect, S.Membury as surveyor,
and the monk J. Wayte as controller of the works. This architect, it
* The question respecting Freemasons being the original architects of our cathedrals, has
been revived and adopted by sir James Hall, in his splendid Essay on Gothic Architecture,
published in 1813. The opinion is plausible, and it accounts for the uniformity of manner, and
the changes in that manner rather by centuries and epochs than countries. The other parts of
this ingenious author's theories, ascribing the origin of the pointed arch to wicker-work, and
defining the compartments in windows, groining, and tracery in cietings, &c. by the ramifica
tions and branches of trees, may amuse the fancy with curious and even exact analogies, but
they add little to our stock of knowledge, and do not inform or satisfy the judgment.
t In opposition to this statement, which is adopted by Milner, Mr. Brayley, with his usual
acuteness and accuracy, in his account of Hampshire (Beauties of England, vol. vi.), considers
the windows as distinctly marked to be the work of Edingdon, because the trefoils in every
compartment, both inside and outside, instead of being cusped are cordated or heart-shaped,
and accompanied with certain foliated carvings, which have been imitated by bishop Fox at the
east end ofthe church. The- same ornament appears in the church of Edington, Wilts, which
was built by this bishop in the place from which he derived his name. This is a corroborative
circumstance, which seems fully to justify Mr. Brayley's conclusion, " that the whole, or nearly
the whole of the west front, must be considered as the work of Edyngton ; and though not so
beautifully proportioned as some other parts of the cathedral, is yet executed in a style highly
creditable to his taste and judgment."
ru

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1530/
appears, made his pinnacles lighter, his windows loftier and narrower,
having only three mullions instead of four, and in other respects pursued
his own taste in completing the nave, without much regard to mathe
matical uniformity. His work, however, was not entirely a new
erection, but a remodelling*; as the original Saxon pillars maybe
traced, observes Milner, " not only at the steps leading to the choir,
where there was a sufficient reason for not casing them, but aloft,
amidst the very timbers of the roof on both sides of the nave, through
the greater part of its extent, corresponding to those in the transept.
The pointed arches also between the columns of the first story have been
formed within the circular ones of the Saxon second story. These
facts offer an explanation of the excessive massiveness of the columns,
it being necessary to case the Saxon pillars with Gothic clusters."
The west front, nave, and choir being now finished chiefly in the
pointed style of architecture, the eastern part, from the tower to the
low aisles, said to be built by dc Lucy, still retained their original Saxon
features f; these it was deemed necessary to remove, and it is con
jectured that if bishop Fox had lived longer (he died in 1528), he
would have operated in like manner on the tower and transept. Per
haps the circumstance is not to be regretted; and however defective the
cathedral may be in point of uniformity, it excels in variety, while it
exhibits a characteristic trait of exterior ornament with a good genuine
old English heart. In addition to the lady chapel finished by Fox at
the east end of the cathedral, prior Silkestede about the same time
annexed to its eastern extremity a chapel or sanctuary, and altar about
fifty-six feet in length, and containing three spacious windows crowded
with ornaments, and other parts besmeared with devices of the founder.
Did our limits permit, we should here describe some of the interesting
monuments which abound in this cathedral. On entering the nave, the
chantry of Wykeham J appears under the fifth arch of the south aisle.
* Prior Thomas of St. Swithin's says, that Wykeham " a fundamenlis reparavit ac etiam
renovavit" ecclesiam, Lowth, App. Lite of Wykeham. Chaundler is more definite ; "corpus
dicta? ecclesiae cum duabus alis & omnibus fenestris vitreis, a magna occidentali fenestra capi
tal'! usque campanile a funde usque ad summum de novo TepaTaiit, & voltas in eisdem, opere
curioso, constituit." Augl. Sacr. v. ii. In addition to this historical evidence, there is also
demonstrative proof that the style of architecture only was altered by Winford, as some recent
alterations in the &hji'e or passage on the south side of the cathedral, occasioned the removal of
part of a wall or buttress adjoining the west door, and leading to the Close, when the Saxon
ornaments, billet, and circular mouldings were exposed to view, and are still to be seen.
t At the east end of the cathedral there are some indications of its having originally been
circular, a circumstance not noticed either by Milner or Brayley. It is probable that the eastern
termination of the Saxon church was semicircular, although not particularly specified by the
chroniclers. It would appear that such forms are of great antiquity, all men prefering circular to
angular figures j and even in the South Sea islands, among the savage Otaheiteans, we find the
houses of the chiefs have an oval figure. See TurnbuU's Voyage round ihe World, 4to. 1813.
t " The marble figure of this great man," observes Milner, " is dressed in the complete
(popish) episcopal costume of mitre, crosier, gloves, ring, cope, tunic, dalmatic, alb, sandals*
&cr which of late have been*'properly gilt and coloured." ' '
(m)

A.D. 1600.] HAMPSHIRE.
Nearly opposite to it is the very carious old font* in the north aisle,
which has occasioned much controversy, and nourished more supersti
tion. Advancing towards the choir we previously come to the steps under
the ancient rood-loft f, with the tomb and chantry of bishop Eding-
* The font in this cathedral has attracted very unusual attention, and puzzled antiquaries
extremely. Dr. Milner supposes he has at length solved the conundrum, and explained tlie
hieroglyphical figures on its sides, by means of the Golden Legends of saints and the Sarum
Breviary. Two shies, the north and east, of this font, are very similar to that in Lincoln. It
is covered on the top and four sides with rude carving j the ornaments on the top and two sides
consist of Saxon zigzag, pellets, Sec. with doves, emblematic of the Holy Ghost (similar to what;
are seen on ancient Christian monuments in the catacombs at Rome), which appear breathing
into phials supposed to contain the two kinds of sacred chrism used in baptism. The dove is
represented in various attitudes, with a salamander, emblematic of fire, in allusion to the bap
tism in Mat. iii. a. The other two sides are more curious, and have been generally supposed toi
represent the history of Birinus, and his voyage to England. Under this impression the anti-^
<juity of this font was carried back to the seventh century. Dr. Milner now offers another and
more plausible conjecture. Baptism by immersion, he believes, was in use till the tenth cen
tury, and was performed in a bath, called a baptistery, being a building distinct from the church,
and consequently this font, which is calculated only for aspersion, cannot be of an older date ;
mitres were not used as episcopal ornaments before the tenth century, although something
approaching their figure, or that of a rude crown, appears on the head of the priest, with his
.crosier, in this piece of sculpture. The most distinct human figures on this font, are the effigy
of a bishop, four other persons, a child, and a Saxon church on the south side j two of the per
sons have joined hands, another holds a bird, the fourth has extended arms covered with a robe,
and the child is sitting. On the west side are two effigies of a bishop, a crescent-like boat with
three persons, a child lying flat, two recumbent, one erecf, three recumbent heads, and a man
standing with an instrument like the helm of a boat, raised up in the manner of an ax for
striking. These characters are supposed by Milner to represent the miracles of St. Nicholas,
bishop of Myra, in Lyria, the patron of children, and the hymen of the papal theogony, whose
altars remained entire in France during all the horrors of the revolution. The first act of N icho-
las, in which by the way there is nothing miraculous, was his giving money to a nobleman in
distress, who was tempted to make a traffic of his daughters. Nicholas was rich, and being
pleased with the damsels, left them purses of gold every night in their bedchamber, with which
they obtained husbands. This incident, bishop M. thinks, is commemorated on the south
aide of the font, where the father is represented as thanking Nicholas, his daughters having got
married, and the church appearing in the distance. The next is Nicholas's voyage to the Holy
Land, when he was threatened with shipwreck j but being more wise and powerful than St. Paul,
he appeased the storm, and avoided the apostle's fate. At Alexandria he cured the sick j but his
chief glory, after procuring husbands to the three fair sisters, was that of saving the lives of
three young men condemned to death in Myra, by his speedy arrival just at the moment the
executioner had raised the ax to chop off their heads. The last incident supposed to be here,
represented, is that of a miracle performed by Nicholas long after his death. A childless noble
man prayed to St. Nicholas for a son ; this good generative god, as his votaries well know, is
not deaf, and he gave the man his prayer, for which he was to receive a gold cup in return. The
cup was made, but as the son wasliving, and the vow forgotten, he thought to give Nicholas an
inferior one. Another cup was made, and the nobleman set out on his voyage to Myra, with
his son and the second cup, to present it to Nicholas ; but the boy and first cup both tell over
the vessel into the sea, and the dejected father proceeded to Myra, where he repented and
prayed, when to his great joy and astonishment his son with the cup came walking into the
church! Hencethe reason of the child lying at the end of the boat. Such are the eastern romances
which are enlisted to explain the sepulture of this celebrated font. Part of these scenes would
apply equally well to St. Clement, who was drowned in the sea with an anchor tied to his neck,
and which turned into a magnificent church and altar under the water. At the place also where
this holy man expired, the sea becomes dry seven days every year, and allows the people to.
¦walk in to worship at his altar, which is at other times covered many fathoms with water. As
to the age of the font, Mr. S. Carte thinks it uncertain, the monks not being interested in bap
tism, but in burying. (Archaeol. x.)— Rev. Mr. Denne (Id. xi.) supposes that Lincoln and "Win
chester had parochial altars or chapels, which accounts for their having fonts ; and as the
monks derived advantage from the baptismal chrism, the parochial clergy were enjoined to
supply it annually and pay the fee ; but many of them were economical, and made it serve two
or three years, although the remnant at the end of every year was ordered to be burned.
t Its use is thus described by Milner. " At the top of the steps leading to the choir
is the spot which was formerly covered by the pulpitum. This answers to the ambo in thc
basilica of the primitive church, and was used for reading or chaunting the lessons of the
rfivine-office, as likewise foT containing the organ and tlie ininttrelsey in general,' which accorn-
Cn)

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, [a.D.,1634.
don on the south aisle. The entrance to the choir is obstructed by a
modern partition, justly reprehended by every spectator. The choir and
chancel haying crypts under them are elevated some steps above the
flooring of the nave and aisles. The cieling of the tower, which forms
part of the choir, is the work of Charles I. in 1634 ; that of the
chancel or presbytery is attributed to bishop Fox. The stalls in the
choir are conjectured to be older than the nave, and are ornamented
with finely-carved work, as misereries*, canopies, &c. The pulpit is
executeo* in cane- work, and bears the name of prior Silkestede ; oppo
site to it is a Corinthian episcopal throne. Behind the altar is the
stone screen already noticed : under the three arches on each side
of the chancel are six mortuary chests, containing the bones of
the. Saxon kings, Kinigils, Adulphus, Kenulph, Egbert, and Ed
mund. In rear of this altar-screen is an apartment, also enclosed
with a screen on its east side, called a capitular chapel. This was the
site of the magnificent shrine of Swithin, composed of gold, silver,
and precious stones, and has been denominated by modern writers
the Sanctum Sanctorum f . On the south side of this criapel is Fox's.
chantry ; and opposite to it is the last mausoleum of the papal bishops j
pan'ied the choir below. From the circumstance of the lessons being here read, it is in some
countries called the Jube (in consequence of beginning with the words Jube, Domine, &c.) i and
because a great crucifix was always, placed in the front of it towards the people, it has also
obtained the name ofthe Rood. Loft. The rood or crucifix, with the attendant figures of the
Bleesed Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist, which formerly stood here, were very precious,
as well for their antiquity as tlieir value; being the legacy of Stigand, and composed of the
precious metals. Beneath the crucifix, on the parapet of this loft and the spandrils of the
arches supporting it, the histories of the Old and New Testaments were curiously carved, and
beautified with colours. These being placed directly before the body of the people assembled
in the church, formed a series of instructive lessons, which were legible to the most illiterate."
With respect to the instructive powers of these legible lessons, the writer of this can speak
from, personal experience. In tlie cathedral of Valencia, in Spain, is a highly-finished rood-
loft, where are some carvings of designs taken from the Bible history ; but so very instructive
are they, that few even of the officiating clergymen can tell to what they refer. It is ludi
crously absurd to suppose that illiterate persons who cannot read, or if they could are not
allowed to read, the Bible, can comprehend the import of sensible figures imagined from Divine
Revelation. It should seem, however, as if papists themselves were conscious of their inutility,
if not of their danger, as such sculptures are now rarely found in papal churches.
* " That small shelving-stool," says Milner, *' which the seats of the stalls formed when
turned up in their proper postition, is called a Miserere. On these the monks and canons of
ancient times, with the assistance of their elbows on the upper part of their stalls, half sup
ported themselves during certain parts of their long offices, not to be obliged always to stand or
kneel. This stool, however, was so contrived, that, if the body became supine by sleep, it
hatu rally fell down, and the person who rested "upon it was thrown forward into the middle of
the choir. The present usage in this country is to keep them always turned down, in which
position they form a horizontal seat, an indulgence that was very rarely granted to those who
kept choir in ancient times." He must have very little knowledge of the human mind, and still
less of the true nature of Christian worship, who can suppose any man capable of praying in
spirit and in truth, while he is thus suffering bodily uneasiness from a narrow seat, or any other
human device, to distract his attention. Had bishop Milner ever once attempted to raise up
liis mind towards Infinite Power and Goodness, he must have found his total inability under
such circumstances. He may, indeed, have commanded his tongue and lips, but not his mind!
and heart one entire minute in an irksome situation.
t This term seems to have electrified the historian of Winchester, inflamed his superstition,
and ended by an explosion in Greek, with which he is little acquainted. ** He is not at home
on classic ground." Quart. Rev. No, 6. See hia misinterpretation of bishop Andrews' epitaph,
0>)

A.D. 1800.] HAMPSHIRE.
that of the roasting Gardiner, whose bones " are handled and thrown
about every day in the year,'' as a standing memorial of the fate of
the wicked even in this world*. To the east of the capitular chapel is
de Lucy's tomb. It appears probable that the similarity of the name
Lucy to Lucius gave rise to the notion that it was also the sepul
chre of the latter. In the western end of this part are the Holy Hole,
and the tomb formerly supposed to be Swithin's, but now deemed to
be that of Silkestede ; east of these are the chantries of cardinal Beaufort
and bishop Waynflete ; and still farther east is the lady chapel with,
its stalls and paintings -j- ; on the south-west side of it is Langton's
chantry and on the north-west the Guardian Angel chapel. In the
north aisle and north end of the transept there is little to arrest atten
tion. In the south end of the transept were two chapels, with the cale
factory and dormitory of the monks, adjoining the eastern cloister.
We have now passed the era of the glorious reformation, when
the building or repairing of churches, the erection of magnificent
chantries and luxurious mausoleums, the endowments of altars, the
burning of lamps, tbe multiplication of images, and the accumula
tion of legacies for perpetual masses and prayers for the dead, have
ceased to be the saviours of souls, the ladders by which the most
wealthy and most wicked soonest attained the highest heaven. From
the downfal of the Saxon church, the prototype of the present esta
blishment, may be dated tbe ascendancy of popery in this country, and
from that period till the reformation the idols of Moloch usurped the
altar of the living God. The restoration of apostolic faith " overthrew
the idols, removed the high places, and destroyed the graven images."
This however was not effected without violent resistance ; and the bloody
reign of Mary and her mitred executioner, Gardiner, evinced at once
the extremes of virtue and vice in our country. We might then see, as
a Spanish historian has well observed, " talents overcome, torrents of
blood shed in the most barbarous and cruel manner, virtue persecuted
and sacrificed, and injustice triumphant if." Happily the moral picture
since the re- establish ment of true religion amply consoles us for the
horrors accumulated on the innocent and beneficent reformers. Yet,
however great may be the force of truth on some occasions, it has not
been able to shield the Protestant bishops of Winchester from the
* We admire the natural wish of bishop Milner, who invokes the sepulture of Gadiner'a
bones in the words of Horace for Archytas. But while we respect the voice of humanity let us
ioot abuse justice j we must not forget by whose means Ridley, Latimer, &c. wanted a sepulchre;
by whose contrivance " Their ashes flew, — No marble tells us whither."
t This place seems to be similar to the t^tc^^o^tfi, or worship of Ceres, the nourisher of
mortals, among the Greeks. See Mariolatria or Mary-worship condemned, Luke xi. 27, 98.
t «* Los talentos malogrados, los lazos de la sangre rotos del modo mas barbaro y mas vilp
la virtud perseguiday Bacrificada, la injusticia triunfante," O^imtana's Lives,
(v)

"WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, HANTS. [A. D, 1813k
ferocious libels of Milner, nearly all of whom (about twenty-one from
the reformation to the present day), have been traduced in some
respect or other hy this papal bishop and politician. It was, indeed,
natural that the dissolution of Swithin's priory should excite his ire;
but Kingesmell, the forty-first and last prior (since its origin in 970),
shares his abuse for becoming the first Protestant dean of the cathedral
in 1539. Since that period its bishops and cleans have been distinguished
at least for their talents and learning, however superstitious bigots may
vainly seek to decry their superior virtues and Christian piety. It is,
however, the duty of historians to be impartial ; and had we discovered
in Protestants those gross deviations from rectitude, or even weakness,
which so repeatedly occur in the lives of monks, cardinals, and popes,
they should not have passed unnoticed. We wish not to speak evil of
dignities, still less to ascribe turpitude where it is possible to be inno
cent. We regret the necessity of using in the nineteenth century the
same language as our enlightened reformers did in the sixteenth; but
idolatry is still predominant, and too many self-called Protestants begin
to think it harmless. We should rejoice if the facts stated in this brief
sketch tend to disabuse even one individual of this fatal error.

DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
Extreme length from west to east 5S4 foot ; breadth from north to south 208. NAVE 351
fret lone, 86 broad, including The aisles, and 78 high. CHOI it 138 feet long, 40 broad, and the
same height as the. nave. CHANCEL 93 feet long. IK AKaEPT. 208 teetiong. Thc Lady Chapel
is 5(5 feet, lontf ; the Cloisters wtic 179 l[1 length and the same, in breadth.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Plate !, Exhib,tB the great West Doorway, through which appear the columns and groining of
tlie nave, the eastern window of the choir, and the stone screen at the back of the altar. The
Grecian partition which separates the nave from the choir is omitted.
Plate 2. West Front and great West Window, which contains some richly-stained glass, with
the doors into the nave and aisles, and the open gallery over them, said to be originally
designed for the convenience of the bishop in his pontificals, when attended by his clergy, t»
give his blessing on certain occasions to the people assembled in front, or to absolve them
from any censure which they had incurred. The beauty of the fine towers on each side of the
window is greatly impaired by the clumsy square buttresses.
Plate 3. A North-west View, shewing the north transept and part of the nave; there is an
entrance to the transept under a low arch ; the shafts of the columns supporting it are nearly
covered with earth ; immediately within is an apartment separated from the rest of the tran
sept, and used as a workshop by masons and others.
Plate 4. A distant Prospect of the cathedral, including the picturesque ruins of Wolvesey castle,
which form the foreground. The origin of this memorable palace, is ascribed to Kinigils and
Cenowalch, and said to have been repaired and enlarged by bishop Henry de Elois in 1 138.
King Edgar imposed it as a tribute on Ludwall, a Welsh prince, to find him 300 wolves' headt
every year, and deposit them with the bishop, at his palace in Winchester, which hence
derived the name of Wolvesey* After paying this tribute three years, he was unable to procure
any more wolves' heads, either by hunting in his own territories, or by purchase in any other
part of the island. Thus were these animals extirpated, and our woollen staple protected.
Pinle 5, Represents the north-cast of the building with the Lady Chapel and sanctuary, contain
ing the north windows of the Guardian Angel chapel, &c.
Plate 6. A south view taken from the dean's garden; part ofthe deanery library appears in front.
Plate 7, Pourtrays the south side of the nave and wist side of the south transept, with the slype
or arched passage leading from the cloisters to the east of the building.
plate 8, Shews the Interior of the north transept ; in the upper story are seen the Saxon arched
passages or trifaiia in the wall. This transept is now in so ruinous and degraded a state that
the public have lately been denied access to it. Formerly the walls were decorated with paint*
ings, and it still retains traces of its primitive magnificence.
d)

i£iS&r-;v;>?;:.i

91

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BiblukjJ. Jtp'ijJfij by Jhtrveail/ttlit £ Jen& JtatfteJCa-Ib*

wikchestkr cathebial,
Shewing ttu groining of ftteliaof

2 _ Great West Door.
¦ 3_GaUery for Minstrels
4-,-Tomb & Chantry ofW^af Wykeharrv
5  Ancient Font. 
6 —BeEdmytons Torrib & Chantry
7 '—Grecian Screen 
8^ Entrance to Choir.
9— Hilars of the Great Tower. 
10 _ Chapel now used- as a. Workshop .
71— Enclosed Chapels.
12-Chapels. 
13 — dndent CatJuv 
14—Lanthom 
15 —Entrance to the Slype
16 Staircase to the Dormitory. 
17~Door of S.lhtncept.rM  ;.
18— Calefactory 

19 '¦_ Silkestedes Chapel 
20-Venerable D°.
21 —Steps to the Choir aisles.
21^Tomb of WmJtutus 
23— Steps lo the Chancil 
24—Mortziary Oiests. 
15 ^.Communion Table 
26— Capitular Chapel 
Z7— Chantry of Bp. Gardner.^.
28-D?  Be Far 
29— D°.  2? Wain fiefs .
30-W  -Card 'Beaufort^
31— Tomb of Be De Liny __
32—BeZanytons To?nb ,VV
33^ Earl of Fortlands T>/nl>.„.
34—Oiapel af the Virgen 
35 — Sanctuary 
" These neurits are inserted from
J)1'. Milner.

A/-/u7ied JfjujjBi4.by Jiwwoadjfofa A Jan*

635
650663670
676703744754780790

803

829-34

Birinus
Agilbert
Win a
EleutheriusHedda
Daniel HumfrideKinchard
Athelard Egbald DuddaKineberth
AlhmundWigthenius Herefrid
Edmund Helmstan 837
Swithin 852
Adfertb or Athelred 863
Dumbert 871
Denewolf 879
Athelin 887
Bertulf 892
Fritbstan 909
Briustan 932
Elphegus Calvus 935
Elisinus 951
Briibelin 958
Ethelirald 963
Elphegus or Elfege 984
Dinotus or Devotus in
the Second Century.
Brithnoth "963
Brithwold 970
Alfric 1006
Wulfsig 1023
Vacant.
Simeon 1060
Godfrey 1080
Geoffry I 1107
Geoffry II. 1111
Eustachius 1114
Hugh 1120
Geoffry III. 1126
Ingulph 
Robert I. 1130
Robert II. 1136

William Kingsmell,
last prior of St.
Swithin'sandfirst
dean 1540
Sir John Mason 1549
Edmund Steward 1553
John Warner 1559
Francis Newton 1565
John Watson 1570

WINCHESTER. BISHOPS.

Kenulf

1006

William Wykeham

1367

Brithwold

1006

H. Beaufort, (card.) 1404

Elsine or Eadsine

1015

William Waynfleet

1447

Alwin

1032

Peter Courtney

1480

Stigand

1047

Thomas Langton

1493

Walkelin or Wal

Richard Fox

1500

chelm

1070

T. Wolsey, (card.)

1529

Vacant Ten Yea

¦s.

Stephen Gardiner

1531

William Giffard

1107

John Poynet

1550

H.deBlois Blesensis 1129

John White

1556

Vacant Three Years.

Robert Home

1560

Richard Toclivius,

John Watson

1580

Tocliffe or More

1174

Thomas Cowper

1583

God. de Lucy

1189

William Wickham

1595

Sir P. de Rupibus*

1205

William Day

1595

Vacant Five Years.

Thomas Bilson

1597

William de Raley

1244

James Montague

1616

Vacant 1249-60

Lane, Andrews

1618

Ethelmar -f-

1260

Richard Neile

1627

John of Exeter, Ox

-

Walt. Curie

1632

on or Gervase %

1262

Vacant Ten Years.

Nicholas Eliensis

1268

Brian Duppa

1660

John de Pontys

1282

George Morley

1662

Henry Woodlock

1305

P. Mews

1684

John Sandall

1316

Sir J. Trelawney, bt. 1707

Regin. Asser

1320

Charles Trimnell

1721

John Stratford §

1323

Richard Willis

1723

A. de OrJtonorTarl

Benjamin Hoadley

1734

ton

1333

John Thomas

1761

William Edingdon

1346

Hon. Br. North

1781

PRIORS.

Walter I.
1171
Nic. de Tavente
1305
John
1175
Richard de Enford
1309
Robert III.
1187
Alexander Heriard
1332
Roger
1214
John de Merlow
1349
Walter II. died in
1239
W. de Thudden
1361
Andrew
1240
Hugh de Basyng
1361
Walter III.
1243
Robert de Rudbone
1384
J.deCaletoorChauz 1247
Thomas Nevyle
1394
William de Tanton
1249
Thomas Shyrborne

Andrew II.
1296
William Aulton
1444
Ralph Russel
1265
R. Marlborough
1447
Valentine
1265
Robert Westgate
1457
John de Dureville
1276
Thomas Hunton
1470
Adam de Farnham
127.9
Thomas Silkestede
1493
W. de Basyng I.
1284
Henry Brock
1524
W. de Basyng II.
1284
W. Kingsmell
1536
Henry Wodelock
1295
(Resigned in 1539)
DEANS.
Law. Humphrey
1580
William Trimnell
1721
Martin Heton
1548
Charles Naylor
1729
George Abbot
1599
Zachariah Pearce
1738
Thomas Moreton
1609
Thomas Cheyney
1747
John Young
1616
Jona. Shipley
1760
Alexander Hyde
1660
Newton Ogle
1769
William Clark
1665
Robt. Holmes
1S04
Richard Meggot
1679
Thos. Rennel
1805
John Wickart
1692
* He wished to bribe the guards of the castle in Devises to murder their prisoner, Hubert
de Burgh; chief justiciary, &c. to John and Hen. III. t Henry lll.*s halfrbrother, but never
consecrated. % At his death Richard More was fleeted, but set aside by the archbishop,
% Translated to Canterbury.
(r)
INDEX TO WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL.

*#* The italic letters indicate the pages
thus, (a) (b) Sfc. and
Asylum, right of, falsely attributed, 6 N. ;
when instituted, ib.— Architects, British, in
the third century, c N. — Amphiballus, a
cloak, metamorphosed into a papal saint, the
cathedral dedicated to it, ri; worshipped, ib.
N. — Agilbert, a French intriguer,/; could not
speak Saxon,/. — Arches, pointed, progress of,
I. — Ambo, what, n N.
British metropolitan sees, c. — buildings,
Saxon and Norman, diifer only in dimensions,
c N.— Britons lurnished the first Christian
king and Christian emperor, a proof of their
superior intellects, d N. — Birinus, his adven
tures, e ; his miracles exposed by the Quarterly
Keviewer, ib. N. ; dedicated Winchester ca
thedral,/; Ms corpse removed to Winchester,
ib. — Briustan, loud-sounding miracle wrought
by, /iN. — Brayley, Mr. describes Edingdon's
building, contrary to Milner, I N. — Baptism,
by immersion, used till the tenth century, n
N. — Bishops, list of, r.
Church, Christian, in Winchester since 180,
a; fabulous extent of, ib. — Christianity early
established in Britain, o; not dangerous to the
Roman government, b. — Caractacus, who, a. — ¦
Carte prejudicedly denies the early propagation
of Christianity in Britain, a N.— Consecration
of Winchester gave no authority to the pope,
*.— Cenowalch, apostatizes, e. — Chichester,
see of, taken from that of Winchester, g.-~
Crypts, described, AN. — Circular, a form of
building adopted, even by sav?;>es, in early
ages, m N.— Chrism, baptismal, advantageous
to the monks, n N. — Chair, Grymbald's, su
perstitious notion of, h N. — Chancel, or pres
bytery, cieling of, o. — Corporal, what, eN.
Denewolf, the swine-heard, tradition of, ex
plained, g N. — Dunstan's cruelty defended by
Milner, ft N. j his conduct iinpaidonable, ib.
— Dimensions of the cathedral, q, — Deans,
list of, r.
Education, Roman catholic, destroys the
intellect, e N. — Ethelwolf, bishop and king,
had children, yet praised by Milner, g1.— Em
ma, queen, tale of her passing the fiery ordeal,
for a criminal intercourse with bishop Al-
wyn, i N.
Font described, n; in parochial churchesj
ib. N, — Figures, carved, of no use for instruc
tion to the illiteiate, o N.
Gibbon's motives for denying Christianity
in Britain, nN.j admits the savageness of
Maximian, t/N. — Grimbald, only an Italian
singer at Winchester, /iN.— Gardiner's bones,
still uncovered, a. standing judgment, p. — Gal
lery, west from, designed for the bishop to give
benedictions, q,
Huggit, answer to Milner on Goth. arch, c
^J. — Hierachy, first Christians retained that of
the pagan Flamincs, c. — Hedda, an ignorant
prelate, /. — Hock-tide sports, what, ft N. —
Hall, sir J. adopts the notion of freemasons
being the architects of Europe, I N.j his
wicker work addressed to the fancy, and not
the judgment, ib.
Jutes, origin and character of, d N. — Jube,
what, o N. — Idolatry still prevailing, must be
censured, as it was at the reformation, q.
Errata.— V. g, note *, line 7» for " conciliebat amiciae," read "conciliabat arnica"— p. n, note *,
ltth line from bottom, for "sepulture" read "sculpture." — p. p, note *, Ist line, for "Gadi-
ftci's" read "Gardiner's,"— p. j, last line but two, for "trifaria" read "triforia."

arked at the bottom of the left sides
the letter N.for note,
Kinigils, fabulous history of, e.
Lucius, the first Christian king, a; probable
tradition, a; erroneously said to found SS
churches, b; his life doubtful, d N.— Legates,
their conduct, t N.
Monasteries, falsely said to be erected, &.—
Martyrs, papal, anonymous and imaginary, d
N.— Miserere, what, oN. — Milner, rejtcts the
tale of monks, in the second cent. 6 ; a papal
bp. acknowledges fabulous saints, dN.j trace*
the origin of the South Saxons, e N. ; relates
the tale of Birinus, ib. , erroneously supposes
the Saxons and French used the same lan
guage,/ N.; his numerous chronological er
rors, ib. ; endeavours to support papal supre*
macy, ftN. ; his heathenish praises of pictures,
k N-; describes the supposed history of the
font, n N. ; ignorant of the true nature of
worship, and of Greek, oN.; libels the pro*
testant prelates, q. — Mitres, when intro
duced, n N.
Nicholas, bp. of Myra, the papal hymen,.
his marvellous story said to be represented on
the font, nN.j part applicable to Clement,
ib. — Normans, origin of, g.
Opus Romanum, Saxon building, c.
Pownal on Roman and British architecture,
c N. — Ploughshares deposited in the west
cloister, d N. — Pope, appeals to, when com
menced, i N. — Pictures of infinity, all abortive
efforts of impiety, k N. ; those of Christ rais
ing Lazarus improperly substituted for the
credence table, ib. — Pulpitum, what, nN.-
Popery, rose on the ruins of the Saxon church,
p ; its atrocities under bloody Mary, ib. ;
again assumes distinction among protest-
ants, q. — Plates, description of, 5. — Priors,
list of, r.
Quinthelin, king, converted, e.
Rudbome, a monk and fabulous historian,
b. N. — Review, Quarterly, No. 6, on ancient
temples, cN.; No. 11, on Saxon ornaments,
k N. — Rood-loft, described, n N. ; in Valen*
cia, ib. — Reformation overthrew the idols, p.
Sanctuary, privilege of instituted, 6 N. ;
Scots, builders with wood, cN. — Serle's New
Defence, &c. eN.— Swithin, the god of rain,
compared to the Grecian one, g N. j his pri
vate nocturnal amours, ib. — Screen, absurd
grecian one, k N. — Saxon archit. ornamts. not
seen on the continent, k N. ; Saxon work still
existing in this cathedral, m.— Sanctum Sanc
torum, what, 0.
Tower, fall of, incompatible with the Nor
man statements, k.
Vases, funerary, ill placed in the ancient
stone screen, k N.
Winchester, origin of the name, a; place
where the Norman issued his most grievous
measures, {.— Walkelin, reputed builder of the
cathedral,!; swindled the king, ib.—Wyke-
ham's chantry, m; his costume, ib. N.— .
Worship, impracticable, when sitting uneasy,
0 N. ; of Mary condemned, pN.; of foreign,
deities not permitted by the Greeks without
an express decree, g N.— Wolves destroyed, q,
— Wolvesey castle, plate 4 ; origin of its
name, q.

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES
OF THE
CATHEDRAL CHURCH AND SEE
OF
Worcester-

1 he diocess of Worcester * is of Saxon origin ; but at what period
the city was founded, or blessed with the Christian faith, cannot now
be ascertained. Every circumstance in its history tends to prove that
it must have been the seat of Roman art, although no direct historical
record of the fact now remains to shew it. A British church existed
here long before the conversion of Wolfere, king of Mercia, to
Christianity, but it did not become an episcopal see till about 680
(Heming says 670, and Godwin, with more probability, 679), when
Ethelred, king of Mercia, at the instance of Osric bis viceroy, concur
red with archbishop Theodore in establishing a bishop of the Wiccians
in Worcester. Tadfrid was nominated to tbe new see, but dying be
fore his consecration, Bosel was consecrated by Theodore. This pre
late found a church in Worcester, dedicated to St. Peter, which he
adopted for his cathedral, and which in the next century was com
monly called St. Mary's f. Saxulf, bishop of Lichfield, is sup
posed to have been the founder of St. Peter's church. But of this
establishment very little is known, nor do we find any notice of either
* Etymologists have not agreed respecting the origin of its name. By Nennius it is writ
ten Caer Guarangun, supposed to be the Brannogeniu'm of Ptolemy. Carte derives Its ancient
appellation Huicca and the Latin Wiccia, from the British Hukh, a hog ; the people were called
Huiccii and Guiccii, or Jugantes, according to Whitaker, who also traces the Ordo-Vices to
*' the honourable Vices, or Great Huiccii ;" the latter possessed Wales, and were the conquerors
of the Worcester Huiccii. The Cornavii succeeded, and were called Wig-antes. By the Saxons
it was called Weogare-ceaster, Wegeorna-ceaster, and Wire-ceaster. According to Camden's
remark on Joseph of Exeter, the latter name was derived from the forest of Wire ; but Mr.
Green observes, that this forest is too remote, and is also in part of Shropshire. A cotempo-
rary writer, Mr. J. N. Brewer, overlooking these observations, expresses his surprise "that
nobody has ever supposed it possible that the forest of Wyre may have extended to the south
ward, or Severn's banks, and that Wire-cestre may have signified the camp or castle of the
Wyre." This ingenious conjecture was before made, and answered. The Wirecester of the Dooms
day Book was probably derived from Wigora or Wigracester, and this again from Wic-war-
cester, the city of the men of Wiccia. The derivation of Camden from Wic or Wiches, the
salt-springs, seems untenable. Wiga-erne, signifying the warrior's lodge with the Saxons, pro
bably gave birth to Wigerna, Wigracester, Wigornceaster, Wirecester, and Worcester.
t " The church of St. Peter, in Worcester, it is most probable, was built of stone, as it
was still in being in the time of St. Wulstan, who sometimes kept his midnight vigils in it.
(Angl. Sax. 11. 247). When or by whom it was demolished we have no account. It is even un
certain where it stood. "-f-Green.
(a)

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [i. D. 959.
church or see till 743, when St. Mary's church is mentioned in a
charter of king Ethelred. During this period our prelates lived in a
manner approaching somewhat to the simplicity and voluntary piety
of the apostolic ages. They were influenced by no fantastic rules of
mechanical devotion, no capricious regulations of some vain indivi
dual, who sought his own reputation more than the glory of God, and
the welfare of his fellow men. The bishops, at least in the first ages
of the Anglo-Saxon church, were truly the heads of the clergy, and
the fathers of the people ; the clerks or members of their cathedrals,
who performed the regular service, were called their family, and they
lived in a cenobitic manner in the vicinity of the cathedral. The
bishops had also the superintendance of all the congregated bodies of
the faithful in their diocess, and they exercised these functions often
with truly paternal solicitude, profound wisdom, and enlightened zeal.
Were not men so prone to error and change, it would be impossible to
believe that such rational establishments could have ever degenerated
into such stupid idolatry in the course of a few centuries after. All
general measures respecting the church were regulated by synodal de
crees • these synods were gradually abolished as the popes gained as-.
cendancy. At such assemblies, the bishop of the diocess always pre
sided, and their discussions contributed very materially to diffuse prac
tical knowledge among all classes of the people, both clergy and laity.
Hence the popes felt the necessity of extirpating them, as the surest
means of arresting the progress of knowledge and unadulterated reli
gion. Bishop Wilfrith obtained one of those decrees for annexing the
monastery of Wudiandun (now Wythington, Gloucestershire) to his
see of Wigrincestre, after the death of its abbess. His successor Mil
dred, to whom it devolved, transferred it to lady .<3£thelburga, the head
of a religious establishment in Worcester, on condition that both
should, on her demise, become the property of the cathedral church
and see in this city. Many grants and privileges of the Mercian mo
narchs and nobles to the convent of St. Mary have also been pre
served ; but these papers are generally believed to be posterior fabri
cations, when monk-craft had attained its climax.
The weak and licentious king Edgar becoming the executor of his
favourite Dunstan's cruel aud unnatural opinions, the cathedral esta
blishments * were now revolutionized, the experience of centuries con-
* It has been said that Worcester may boast of possessing one pope, four saints, seven lord
high treasurers, eleven archbishops, besides chancellors, lord presidents, &c. but it has incal
culably greater cause to be grateful for having had the protestant martyrs, bishops Latimer and
Hooper. The former particularly, who first taught us the use of the Bible in his ever memora
ble injunction to his clergy, " that ye and every one of you provydeto have of yourowne a Hole
Byble, yf ye can convenyently, or at lcaste a New Testament, both in Latin and Englishe," &c.
(b)

A. D. 969.] WORCESTER.
temned, and all the pious zeal and indefatigable perseverance, which
had even extended a knowledge of Christianity before civilization in
our island, were treated with the most malign ingratitude. Even the
talents and the labours of the great Alfred were no longer appreciated.
The social and rational part of the clergy were every where expelled
from their livings in order to support the ambitious or the fanatical;
and from this period we may date the origin of monkery, which after
wards wantoned in its abominations. Ethelwold, bishop of Win
chester, and Oswald of Worcester, were the aspiring coadjutors of
Dunstan. These three prelates ruled the king and his kingdom. Ethel
wold was, like the archbishop, violent and precipitate ; he drove out
the seculars instantly. Oswald was more cautious ; his first manoeuvre
was frequent attendance and performance of divine offices at the con
ventual church of St. Mary. This artifice attracted the crowd from
the cathedral, and raised his reputation for extreme sanctity. With
the multitude a name and semblance have always been sufficient, and
accordingly Oswald's wishes soon superceded, in the minds of the vul
gar, the authority of the decalogue and the moral law. " He found
a fit tool in Cyusige or Wynsige, one of the clerks of his college 5
this man he made cyrcweard, orkeeper of the sacred vessels, shrines, and
records of St. Peter's church, in the room of Athelstan ; to this he
added the vicarage of St. Helen's, at that time a most lucrative bene
fice, having eleven parochial chapels dependant on it/' Like modern
usurpers, Oswald endeavoured to insure the success of his measures by
heaping* the riches plundered from the secular clergy on bis followers
* Oswald's grants of lands to his friends and fautors were confirmed by the king, and im
posed a kind of feudal tenure on them. According to Spelman, his tenants were to perform all
the duties of horsemen, pay all dues, and perform all rights belonging to the church ; swear to
be in all humble subjection to the bishop, as long as they hold lands of him j furnish him with
horses, perform all the work about the Bteeple of the church, castles, and bridges ; fence the
bishop's parks, and furnish him with hunting weapons when he went to hunt ; and, finally,
they were lo obey the bishop in all things as a sovereign lord, and after the expiration of three
lives, the lands reverted to the bishopric. Hence we see that our prelate had no objection to be
himself a secular baron, to hold 300 hides of land and two mitres, although he would not tole
rate a secular canon. During his thirty-two years prelacy in our see, and in conjunction with
tbe archbishopric of York, he issued 70 such grants, disposing of 190 hides of land. Two of
these were given to persons who were distinguished. In 985, the archbishop gave to Godinge,
a priest, three hides at Bredicot, and one yard-land at Genenofre, and seven acres of meadow at
Tiberton, upon condition that he should be the amanuensis of Worcester see, and write all things
that should be necessary to be inscribed in its registers. This Godinge performed with ability,
and wrote many books for the see. The other grant was to bis faithful man JElfstan, of one
Manse at Ichington, Warwickshire, in 991 j he was the father of St. Wulstan, one of our pre
lates, and like most of thc married clergy in that and all subsequent ages, much more virtuous
than the celibataires ; he died a monk of this church. The number of seculars in this college,
observes Green, at different times, may be collected from the signatures to the leases granted
by the bishop and his venerable family. A provost, seven presbyters, and a deacon, assented to
a grant of bishop Alhun in 849 ; a provost and 14 clerks composed bishop Werfrith's iamily ia
872 and 88g ; 13 sign with biBhop Koenwald in 9S4 ; Oswald had at first 18, when two died, or
were expelled j the addition of St. Mary*s society, consisting of 10, augmented his number to
56. This was his complement between 969 and 982, when the sudden reduction of this number
proves that he had expelled five or six. This sainted prelate ol two mitres, however, was a

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 983.
and assistants. " To Wulfgar, another collegiate priest, he gave, in
969, the church of St. Peter by the south wall ; and for his life, and
two lives after his, the manor of Batenhale. He thus found means to
gain over so many of the canons, that no obstruction was made to the
surrender, which, in that year, Wynsige as cyrcweard made of the keys
of St. Peter's cathedral to the monks of St. Mary's for ever. Nay,
out of the eighteen seculars, of whom the college consisted before, we
find but two (Alfred and iElfstan) wanting in the subscriptions to
bishop Oswald's charters in 977- -5£lfred had been a collegian in the
time of bishop Koenwald, and probably died in the interval between,
969 and 977- Wynsige and four of the other clerks of the college,
actually submitted to the monachal discipline, and became regulars
professed. The rest were permitted to keep their stalls, and obliged to
acquiesce in being subordinate oflicers to a society of monks."
Our historians have generally believed, although the evidence is
extremely defective, that according to the acts of bishop Wulstan's
synod, the cathedral church of St. Peter and its endowments were
surrendered to the monks of St. Mary in 969, when the latter became
the cathedral see of Worcester. In St. Peter's church an episcopal
throne had been erected by Saxulf, the last of the Mercian bishops,
who placed in it about 680 secular canons. The conventual church of St.
Mary being too limited for the cathedral service, Oswald commenced
the erection of a new church. To a prelate so opulent, possessing the
revenues of two extensive sees, and so popular, this could be no very
arduous undertaking. The site of the new edifice was the churchyard
of the deserted cathedral of St. Peter, and supposed to be the ground
now occupied by the west end of the nave in the present church. In
983 Oswald finished the building, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and
raised in it no less than twenty-eight altars ! Why he should have
erected more altars than he had canons, to read prayers does not appear.
The plunder of the married presbyters of St. Peter's had continued se
veral years; but it was not completed till Oswald finished St. Mary's,
which henceforward became the cathedral of Worcester, and con
tained, says Malmsbury, only regular Benedictine monks to the total
exclusion of the married clergy. According to Heming, Oswald was
accustomed to preach, like the first promulgators of the Christian
greater revolutionist than Wolsey or Henry VIII. and contrary to all law and justice he disin
herited the married clergy of seven different monasteries in the diocess of Worcester. To mask
the robbery, h.e procured the pope's sanction, instead of a synodal decree. The monks after
wards forged charters of king Edgar to vilify the clerks, asserting that they preferred theii
wives to their beneflces,, Oswald also had much less reason than Henry VIII. for such confis
cation of, property ; but the monks were much more cruel and. unjust than the- king; the latter
humanely provided a subsistence for the cloistered religious by pensions or livings, while the
former dispossessed whole families, men, women, and children, turning them out either to
beg or starve !
(A)

A. D.1069.] WORCESTER,
faith, to large assemblies of people in the open air*, previous to the
erection of this cathedral church. As he resided chiefly here and very
rarely at York, it was natural that he should construct a sumptuous
stone edifice for his see. The ridiculous tales and acts called miracles,
attributed to him, are unworthy of notice. But whatever may have
been the character of his cathedral, its duration was of no great ex
tent, as it was devastated by the sword and fire in 1041, when our city
became the prey of Hardicanute's savage soldiery. It is, however,
difficult to believe, that such a stone building could be rendered incapa
ble of repair, or that public service, during forty years, was never
after performed in it. Had it been a useless ruin, it is not probable
that Wulstan II. f should have manifested so much feeling + on taking
it down to erect another. In 1084 this prelate laid the foundation of
a new cathedral church, and finished it in 1089, with the monastery,
which was called " Monasterium S. Mariae in Cryptis §.*' There is one
circumstance respecting this new church, part of which still con
stitutes the choir and lady chapel of the existing building, that merits
particular attention. It was the custom in that, as well as in succeed
ing ages, to raise funds for building churches and monasteries by the
sale of licences to commit crimes, which were softened down into
the papal denomination of indulgences. But, to the eternal honour of
Wulstan ||, he despised such resources ; and to the utmost extent
* On these occasions our prelate took his station near St. Peter's church, at the cross which
" was erected over the stone monument of duke Wiferd and his lady Alta, who had been bene
factors to that church. The monument was deemed an admirable work of art, which was taken
down by archdeacon Alric, in the time of Edward the Confessor, in order to enlarge the choir
of St. Peter's. Duke Wiferd's monument seems to have been at the end of High-street ; for at
the distance of a mile northward another stone pile was erected with similar sculpture, which
was called the White Stane, and gave name to a district or tithing without the city, called Whit-
stanes to this day." Staveley and others have stated, that it was the custom of our Christian
ancestors, before churches were built, to preach in any convenient area, in the open air, where
crosses or crucifixes were erected ; hence they derive the origin of crosses in public places, and
observe that divine service was performed at St. Paul's cross, in London, a custom which was
continued on special occasions till the reformation. The fact of preaching is unquestionable ;
but the invention of crosses is comparatively modern ; otherwise had the practice prevailed even
so early as the time of Augustine, it is very improbable that such a gross misrepresentation of
the crucifixion, as nails being driven into our Saviour's feet, could ever have -been tolerated,
contrary to the well-known Roman mode of crucifying in that age.
t The first Wulstan has been nicknamed the " Reprobate," by the monks; moat probably
because he was too moral and pious to tolerate their rapacity and licentiousness.
X It is recorded that this worthy prelate wept when he saw the workmen demolish the ori
ginal church ; and on being consoled with the common-place observation of improvement, he
replied, " J think far otherwise ; we poor wretches destroy the works of our forefathers, only
to get praise to ourselveB ; that happy age of holy men knew not how to build stately churches,
but under any roof they offered themselves living temples unto God, and by their examples ex
cited those under their care to do the same; but we, on the contrafy, neglecting the care of
souls, labour to heap up stones."
<j This name is by no means very delicate ; but it is much more so than many of the epi
thets attached to Mary in Roman catholic countries, even in the present age.
U He was bot-h. at Long~Ichington, Warwickshire. His father's name was .ffilfstan, his mo-
ther'ftUlgeva, whence his own name was compounded into Wulstan. This couple, agreeable lo
the fashion of the age, separated; and the one became a monk ahd the'othef a nun, in
Worcester convents. Wulstan himself took the habit and order of a monk in this church
Ce)

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 109O.
of his knowledge, would never consent to efiFect even a good end by
bad means*. Notwithstanding the restless spirit of innovation, and no less un
governable propensity of making good better, the principal part of St.
Wulstan's church still remains. Its original plan was a simple cross,
a form well adapted to allow great numbers of people to see and hear
a speaker placed in the centre. Its principal entrance was at the west
end by a vestibule or porch, which now forms the great or western
transept. As no trace of an aperture appears in the walls of this
transept, it is hence inferred that it must have formed the west front
of Wulstan's fabric. " From this ante-temple or narthex," observes
the judicious Green, " of the original cathedral, the entrance to its
nave (the present choir) was under the rood loft, where now the or
gan is placed. Two descents into the crypt were then open ; the one
under the present ascent to the north aisle of the choir, the stone steps
into which being still visible within it, and the other now in use, and
remaining under the ancient ascent, through the great Saxon arch into
the vestries on the south. This Saxon arch, at the west end of the
vestry, formed a collateral entrance into the cathedral, from the pre
sent great transept ; there was a corresponding arch on the north side
leading to the ancient lodging of the sacrist. The limited extent of
this appendage, which never could have gone eastward beyond the
first window of the north aisle of the choir, together with its situation,
shew it to have been erected for a peculiar aud select service f. The
sacrist having the charge of the church and its furniture, this structure
might be the repository of the sacred vestments and altar implements.
A small stone balcony having glazed windows and a flight of stone
steps within the wall, underneath which was a door of communication
with the church, now closed up, are still visible between the entrance
ofthe north aisle of the choir and its first window." From the obser
vations of Willis, Abingdon, and others, we may presume that Wul*
from bishop Brihteage, who ordained him deacon and priest; his progress was master or
guardian of the children, next chanter, then cyrcweard or treasurer, at length prior, and finally
bishop. He wa9 consecrated by Aldred of York, in consequence, says Flor. Wigor. of archbi
shop Stlgand's suspension. This architectural prelate being an Englishman, and never out of
England in his life, could know no models but such as his country contained.
* It may also be recorded as a noble trait in the moral character of our city, that the
sale of indulgences seems never to have been practised here, as in other dioceses, neither by
Wulstan nor by any other bishops, at least till the prelacy of John Barnet, who, in 1362,
granted forty days indulgence to those who prayed for the souls of the benefactors of the ca
thedral. Another proof of moral temperance is the fact that only one in 35 annually die.
t The conjecture that it '* might have served as a vestry for the bishop," is very improbable.
Papal bishops usually vest in their own palaces, and did they not, it is altogether incompatible
with their dignity to go up and down stairs on such occasions, when they have to distribute
. benedictions with their hands by wholesale, as a farmer sows corn by broad cast. It may have
been an armory, the same as we still find in or near Danish churches. Oswald was of Danish
origin, and nearly related to Odo of Canterbury.
Cf)

A.D. 1155.] WORCESTER.
Stan's cathedral had a central or principal tower, as it is recorded
that the new one fell down in 1175, and two smaller ones, say the
Worcester annals, were destroyed hy a storm in 1222.
The crypt or croft * furnishes the most unquestionable evidence of
the great antiquity of this building ; its form is similar to the ancient
Roman basilics, particularly that of Constantine. Like the crypts of
Canterbury and Oxford, its ornaments abound in grotesque figures.
Along its eastern extremity is a series of ornamented arches below the
lower tier of windows. Its extent is limited to the choir and its aisles,
including the eastern transept and the two vestries on the south side of
the south aisle of the choir. Many of the figures on the different parts
of this ancient structure are decayed, or destroyed to make room for
monuments. At the east end of the north aisle, a mitred devotee is
represented kneeling, and offering a church on the altar ; above him in
rear a dove is descending, while an angel is ready to receive his offer
ing. This was probably designed either for Oswald or Wulstan
himself. In the south aisle an angel is represented as instructing a
devotee to build a church, the pious man afterwards gives his plan to an
architect ; also, Christ sitting in judgment, the resurrection of the dead,
and the wicked delivered over entering the mouth of hell, prefigured by
a monster, with capacious jaws open to receive his prey. " Respecting
those sculptured figures," observes Mr. Green, " we find at the west end
portion of the church, all of them directing their looks eastward, which
may be considered as very strong evidence that the western extremity of
Wulstan's sanctum sanctorum was formed at this division ofthe present
cathedral ; for it may be remarked, that all the other heads or masks,
applied as ornamental brackets, are made to look across the building at
the opposite or corresponding head, among which are those of kings and
bishops, but too similar to attract attention." Many of these " cha
racters are well conceived and as well executed." The foliage on the
capitals is luxuriantly wrought, and tbe zigzag mouldings are neatly
formed. A corbel table ornament, as it is sometimes called, is carried
round immediately under the parapet of the whole external eastern
part of this building. It seems probable that the east end of the crypt,
which contained many of the privileged altars, and particularly those
reputed successful in depopulating purgatory, was a visible object in
the original choir of Wulstan's church, and remained so till the age of
bishop Giffard. At first the present choir was the nave having a crypt
under it, and the part now called the lady chapel was the original
* The Saxon croft, German krufft, and Latin crypta, are of the same import and origin, from
x wtm. Should any one doubt this, he may consult the facts adduced by professor Marsh,
in his admirable Hone Pelmgica, and dissertation on the .ffiolic Digamma, which this learned
Christian and profound philosopher has used for a very different purpose,
Ce)

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1218.
choir. In the pure ages of Christian worship the principal altar was
at the east end, with the bishops throne [somewhat in the rear of it;
but when the doctrine of transubstantiation became general, and
the host an object of adoration, which must be exhibited to the
people, the high altar was then placed in the most conspicuous situa
tion. This was an act of compassion to the women, who were excluded
from the choir of the monks, and yet must see and worship a cup and
wafer. By the erection of a transept at the east end of the choir this
purpose was obtained, or by removing the high altar westward to the
spot, where the cross aisles afforded an open space for the adoring
multitude. Hence we have a cause for the adoption of that seemingly
preposterous and irrational plan, a double cross for churches. It does
not appear that Wulstan * had any idea of such a thing as the lady
chapel in his church ; and according to Willis, it was not till June
1292, that Nicholas the sacrist " adorned the church with tables of
images placed on each side of that of the Virgin Mary." About this
period the wife of Joseph was stiled Regina cceli or ccelorum, and the
clergy had then vowed and sworn eternal antipathy to all living wo
men in order to, husband the fervour of their devotion to a dead one.
The cathedral of Worcester, like most similar edifices, twice ex
perienced the desolating effects of fire. The monks affirmed that Wul
stan prophesied this conflagration, and even declared, that the tomb
of the founder and the mat on which people kneeled before his shrine,
were neither damaged nor even discoloured by the smoke, nor did any
ashes fall on them. Nevertheless one monk, two convent servants,
and fifteen citizens perished in the flames, which took place June 14,
1113. On this occasion the walls of the cathedral sustained little in
jury; but in April 17, 1202, the effects of another conflagration were
more serious. It was some years after this calamity before the edifice was
restored ; king John was buried in it ; but it was not till June 7, 1218,
that, in the presence of Henry III. and his nobility, bishop Sylvester
dedicated the cathedral to the Virgin Mary, the Apostle Feter, and
Sts. Oswald and Wulstan ; " the great altar was dedicated to St.
Mary and St. Oswald, and the middle one to St. Feter and St. Wul
stan." The church being now re-edified on the foundation of WuJ-
* This good and great prelate, Lanfranc wished to depose merely because he could not speak
the Gallic. jargon of that age, and he must have shared the fate of other English prelates, had
he not evinced great firmness in resisting the iniquitous attempt, by depositing his crosier only
on the tomb of his deceased monarch and benefactor. When prior of the church between 1051
and 1062, he erected a bell-tower near the north end of the present eastern transept ; it was art
octagon 61 feet in diameter, and 60 high, the walls being 10 thick. Afterwards this base was
surmounted withaapire 150 feet high, covered with lead, whence it was called the leaden spire.
This clocherium was taken down in 1647, when men thought they served God by waging war
against steeples and bells, and its materials sold for 6172. 4s. 2d.
(h)

A, D. 1224.] .WORCESTER.
stan *, the next bishop, W. de Blois, who consecrated the bells of the
leaden spire in 1220, determined to augment and improve it. In 1224
he laid the foundation of a new work or nave to the church, which was
not very improperly called a front. Here we discover much architectural
skill and address in adaptation. The two ends only of the west front
(now western transept) were injured by the fire. The west side of this part
was supported by flying buttresses, one of which, attached to its external
south-west side, may still be clearly traced, arising between the two
first windows from which the south wall of the nave commences. Of
its corresponding buttresses, on the north side, no appearance remains.
" But we are attracted by trje ingenuity of the architect in his manage
ment of the double buttresses within, similar in form and height to the
one first mentioned. The shaft of the inner buttress on the south side
has been transformed into the first or easternmost pillar of the nave,
and the lower part of its curve, arising from the capital, forms the
western limb of the first arch, from the apex of which it is continued,
and intersects two arches of the first series of arcades above, and joins
the south-west column supporting the tower, parallel to the spring of
the transverse principal arch of the nave to the east. The shaft of the
second or outer buttress, forming the second pillar, being curved in a
parallel direction with the first, traverses both the lower and upper
arcades, and joins the supporting column of the tower in a propor-
tionably higher part. The corresponding buttresses oh the opposite
or north side are precisely similar, excepting that in the outer one,
the lower part of its curve, apparently discontinued over the second
arch, is seen only to rise from the foot of the upper arcade over the
first pillar, whence it reaches the supporting north-west column of the
tower. In this manner were those lofty and projecting buttresses
(originally on the outside of this west front of the ancient church),
incoiporated, and made a part of those noble ranges of columns and
arches which form the magnificent nave of the present cathedral."
There is yet another peculiarity in our cathedral, which has excited
considerable speculation ; we mean the form and height of the two
* In 1089, forty-eight years after the destruction of Oswald's church, Wulstan enclosed St.
Oswald's relics in a new shrine at the expense of 73 silver marks. This as well as the former
shrine, it is probable, was of the portable kind, and brought forth on emergencies to form
processions, and ward off any impending calamities. Whatever may have been the miraculous
influence of these relics ia more ignorant times, it is certain that the last service but one to which
they were called, did not add much to their imaginary reputation. In 1139, when the army of
the .empress Maude attacked our city, St. Oswald's relics were carried from gate to gate with all
the musical powers ofthe choir before them. The procession however neither charmed nor
frightened the assailants, who eagerly seized the occasion, when the citizens trusted to ashes
rather than arms, stormed the city, set it on fire in many places, and plundered it without
mercy. It appears that an English letter of Henry VI. was extant last century, in which this
monarch requested the priory to flatter St. Oswald by a.procession. of his dust, to send down
some rain, a dry expedient indeed, the issue of which history has not recorded.

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 1380.
western arches of the nave and aisles. Without entering into a minute
detail of the circumstantial evidence, it appears unquestionable that
these arches are really " an authentic vestige of St. Oswald's cathe
dral," and that bishop Blois first connected them with the eastern part
of the building. The work of this bishop (as well as all subsequent re
pairs) is entirely composed of the Ombersley red stone, which is very
different from that in the arches alluded to, and in the transepts,
choir, and lady chapel. This circumstance and the fact of their being
lower than the other arches of the nave and the columns more massy,
sufficiently prove that they could -not have been built by Blois or any
subsequent bishop. That two detached arches should be raised by Wul
stan seems in the last degree probable, consequently the inference is
irresistible, they must have belonged to Oswald's cathedral. The mo
dulation of the corresponding north aisle was probably effected by
bishop Cobham, when he vaulted that aisle, or by bishop Wakefield,
when he completed the west front. But however this may be, it is
evident that the design of Wulstan, or his architect, must have em
braced the entire plan of the edifice, otherwise it is impossible to be
lieve that such admirable, and in some respects unequalled, proportions
should have been accidental. He must have most judiciously and cor
rectly "designed the whole of its relative dimensions in that curious
order of regular arrangement, that each cross now occupies its re
spective extent of space on its own scale of proportion, and although
raised at different periods, and formed to stand independent of each
other, they are found so combined as to compose the double cross per
fect and complete in all its parts *." Nor does it appear that Wulstan's
* The following singularly determinate proportions of our cathedral, as stated by Mr. Green,
sufficiently prove that no inconsiderable science was employed in its erection, and that its ar
chitects could scarcely be ignorant of Euclid's Elements of Geometry. — " 1. The area of the
Saxon arches from east to west being 45 feet, is equal to one-fourth the length of the nave, or
180 feet. — 2. The length of the nave is equal to the distance from the west end of the choir to
the great east window — 3. The breadth of the western transept being 39 feet, is equal to one
fourth its length, or 128 feet. — 4. The same is equal to the breadth of the great window, or 32
feet. —5. The distance from the nave to the eastern transept being ISO feet, is just the length
of the latter. — 6. The choir from ihe west entrance to the steps of the altar being 90 feet is pre
cisely half the length of the nave. — 7. The length of the lady chapel, including the breadth of
the eastern transept to the east end of its aisles, being 74 feet, is equal to its breadth. — 8. The
breadth of the aisles of the lady chapel and choir being each 18 feet and a half, are together 37,
which is just the width of the choir and lady chapel. — 9. The depth of the recess for the great
east window from the aisles ofthe lady chapel is 16 feet, being equal to half the breadth of the
window. — io. The distance from the eastern transept or back of the altar to the great east win
dow being 60 feet, is just equal to half the length of the eastern transept. — And ll. The height
of the tower from the floor of the western transept, over which it rises in the centre of the
building to the points of its pinnacles, being 196 feet, or equal to the length of the nave (ISO),
and half the breadth (16 feet) of this transept."— The relative proportions in the plan of this
cathedral, which is a double cross, are not less scientific than the general dimensions are sym
metrical. The eastern transept, erected by Wulstan, furnishes a common measure for all the
other parts of the edifice ; it is governed by the measure of an echo, or 60 feet, the other parts
being either multiples or aliquot parts of this measure. Thus the length of the lady chapel is
an echo, the choir two, and the eastern transept itself two. The western transept, completed
by bishop Blois, is about two and one-tenth, and the nave three echoes in length.

A.D. 13S6.] WORCESTER.
building has experienced so much alteration * as some similar struc
tures. The new nave, which bishop Blois did not live to finish, and to
which he converted the remains of Oswald's church into a vesti
bule, no doubt contributed to render tbe whole church darker. This
inconvenience soon became so apparent as to occasion an attempt to
remove it, and from the observations of Leland, we may venture to
conclude, that the windows were widened and new modelled by bishop
Wakefield, who finished the work began by Blois, united the nave and
west end, and had the great west window put in. The mention of the
latter as distinct from his other additions, has been deemed a proof
that it was an alteration in 13S0, and not an original erection. The
opening of the magnificent west window, (which was remodelled in
1J89, as the east one was in 1792) doubtless rendered it' necessary to
build up the entrance beneath it, traces of which still appear in a low
but spacious arch, now filled up with stone work. Hence the neces
sity of another entrance, and accordingly the present north porch, op
posite the centre arch of the nave, was erected in 1386 f.
It has been supposed that the lady chapel was constructed between
the period of king John's burial in 1216, and the reconsecration of the
church in 1218 ; but the inquiry is now of little importance, to the his
tory of the edifice J. Bishop Sylvester, after dedicating the church,
* The two arches at the west ends of the north and south aisles of the choir were most pro
bably round Saxon ones, similar to the adjoining ones on the east side of the two ends of the
western transept. Bishop Giffard (Lei. It.) added the small shafts " representing grey marble,
which are of artificial stone, fastened by rings of gilt copper to the originally unadorned columns
of the choir of the lady chapel, and the whole series of windows in this ancient part of the
cathedral," These remain firm and entire, whereas the slender pillars of real marble have gene
rally split and crumbled to pieces.
t During the building of the nave, many bones were disinterred and scattered on the
ground ; bishop Blois immediately raised a chapel, which he called the charnel-house, on the
north side of the cathedral, endowed it, and appointed three chaplains to perform daily services
for the souls of those whose scattered bones were deposited in its vault. His successor, W. de
Cantelupe, in 1265 completed the chapel, dedicated it to Sts. Mary and Thomas, and gave it four
chaplains ; in 1287 bishop Giffard angmented the number to six. The funds being inadequate
to such an establishment, the chapel fell to decay, and at the reformation was granted by the
king to the dean and chapter of Worcester. It afterwards passed to the possession of different
individuals, till it became the leasehold property of J. Price, LL. B. who took part of it down to
build a new house, and inclose the tenement. The only remains of this chapel are in part ofthe
north and south walls, and the crypt entire j the latter is 58 feet long, 22 broad, and 14 high,
having a great quantity of bones curiously piled up in two rows, from west to east, between
which theTe is a passage. The entrance to it at the west end being closed up, a window on the
south side is now the only place of access.
% On the separation, observes Mr. Green, of the ancient choir from the original nave, or
the change of this nave into a choir, and the original choir into the lady chapel, an enclosure
w&s formed of the four sectional pillars of the eastern transept, consisting of a series of small
arcades on the north, east, and west sides. In 1794, on removing the two inner pilasters in the
centre of the altar screen, to admit the picture (Descent from the Cross, presented by him),
the arcades were discovered, and also some vestiges of inscriptions. Other alterations were
occasioned by the erection of bishop Bullingham*s tomb, and on the south side by that of
Arthur's chapel ; the small pillars on both sides are precisely similar. About the same period
the wall above this tomb was raised to secure a dangerous failure visible in the north aisle of
the choir. Similar means were adopted to support the fabric in the dean's chapel. Probably
these parts of the eastern transept were damaged by the fall of the ancient tower which sur
mounted the intersection,
(0

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, [A. Di 13*2, -
had Wulstan's corpse removed and placed in a sumptuous sbrine ; but
he imprudently or indecently divided his bones, and even sawed one of
them in two with his own hands, in consequence of which, say Flo
rence and our annalists, Wulstan did when dead what he would not do
while living, revenge a personal insult by putting his successor to
death. St. Oswald's remains experienced a similar fate* ; but although
the Danes were never wanting in vindictiveness, either the monks for
got to record the name of his victim, or Oswald generously pardoned
the injury. The chief changes in or additions to the walls of our ca
thedral had now been made. The elegant north porch and Jesus cha
pel f, which at present contains the font, were erected on the comple
tion of the nave. In 1225, the building actually used as the deanery
was raised by William de Bedeford, the twenty-third prior, who designed
it for his own resfdence and that of his successors. Wulstan de Brauns-
ford, first prior, and afterwards bishop, built the Guesten hall in 1320,
for the hospitable entertainment of strangers J. This noble structure,
now the audit-hall, which is 68 feet long and otherwise proportionate,
continued to be the guesten court, held monthly, for adjusting petty
differences among the tenants of the establishment till the days of
Charles I. " The building is still sacred to hospitality ; and the noble
entertainments furnished here at the annual audits, do honour to one
of the most eminent capitular bodies, established by one of the great
est of our kings." The present § cloisters were constructed about
1372 ; of the former ones, to which king John, in 1207, gave 100
marks for their repairs, no account remains. In the west cloister are
still seen vestiges of the lavatory, which was supplied with water from
Henrick-hill, nearly a mile distant, and across the Severn. The chapter
house, which is a decagon, 58 feet in diameter, and 45 high, was built
about the same period as the cloisters. It is supported by a jointed
small central column, and around it are first an unbroken series of
semi- circular niches, next a series of intersecting arches interrupted by
* In the Harleian MSS. we find the following item; " Seynt Oswalde and Seynt Ulstans
rrede, with selvr and gylte— and certen relyquies of seynt Oswalde and seynt Ulsta — , coveryde
with selvr." — The pious bone-worshippers were indulged with one other view of their dear-loved
idt)ls, before they were finally consigned to the fate of all mortal clay. In 1538, the shrines of
Wulstan and Oswald were taken down, and their bones with those of bishopde Constantiis, laid
in-lead, and buried at the north end of the high altar, now probably under the Mosaic work in
the north aisle of thc lady chapel. During this process, however, we are told, the lightning
and'thunder were so excessive, that the people thought the whole church must have been de
stroyed j but it seems these wonder-working relics had then only the power of making a noise
without in the least injuring even a heretical edifice. In 1 541 the tombs were removed.
+ Over both these structures lodgings were made for the church-watchmen (the powers
of Oswald and Wulstan being insufficient for this purpose), and a fire-place is found in each*
1 t Among the many absurd rules of the monks was that inhospitable and even immoral one
of not allowing strangers to dine with them in the refectory-- ¦ Had the manners of these men
been holy and'good,then interdicting the influence of tlieir example was a crime against society.
, . v The vaulting of the cloisters is adorned with numerous sculptures, particularly on the
key-stone of the centre arch in the north one, where the ViTgin'and child, the four Evangelists
and angels are represented. A series of the kings of Israel is also pourtrayed, but defaced*
(mj

1374.]

WORCESTER.

columns, which rising above the cornice, and between the windows,
become imposts to the ribs of the vaulting; and lastly, a series
of pointed windows, each having three mullions, and terminating
with three oblong quatrefoils. The noble elegance of this struc
ture is perhaps not surpassed by any other in the kingdom. It now
serves the double purpose of a council room and library*; the
latter has received, in modern times, great additions, and is still im
proving. Coeval with the chapter and cloisters is the refectory, now
the college hall and king's school ; it is attached to the south cloister,
and is ofthe same length, being 120 feet long and thirty-eight broad.
The next structure in the order of time, was the central tower of the
cathedral. In 1281 the executors of bishop Nicholas/ according to
his will, paid sixty marks towards re-edifying the tower ; but this ob
ject was not effected till 1374, when the present beautiful one was
finished. The variety and elegance of its sculptured tabernacle work,
particularly on the upper story, and the figures + between the win
dows of the bell room +, contribute to render it perhaps one of the
first towers in existence. The corners are terminated by lofty open
work turrets surmounted with pinnacles, forming an elegant and
natural termination of this exquisite fabric. About the end of the
seventeenth century the chapter expended several thousand pounds in
erecting those turrets and repairing the tower, which contributes not
merely to the beauty but also to the strength and solidity of the whole
edifice. This part being finished, the next work was vaulting the
whole building. Bishop Cobham in 1327 vaulted, at his own expense,
the north aisle with Stone ; this is the first mention of any lapidious
vaulting in our church. It is said this prelate also vaulted some other
parts of the cathedral in like manner. In 1375 the chapel of Mary
Magdalen was vaulted; in 1376 the choir, western transept, and altar
* Godiva, consort of Leofric, duke of Mercia, among other presents to the monks of the
cathedral, gave them a library. But it was not till the prelacy ol bishop Carpenter in 1461, that
this necessary appendage was rendered useful ; this prelate established a library in the charnel
house, and endowed it with ten pounds a year to a librarian. In 1641 the library was removed
to the chapter-house. The original library is supposed to have been in one of the apartments
ofthe south aisle extending along the whole side of the building, and where also the ancient
school was kept. The ascent to this part is at the south-we6t corner of the' cathedral* on the
outside, and cut off from all communication with the other parts of the church. It has been
converted into a depositary or muniment room, were recordB, wills, &c. are saidy preserved.
t On the west side are the statues of two bishops and a king, the latter is uncovered and
with a beard ; on the north, the Virgin and child occupy the centre niche with Oswald on her
right and Wulstan on her left; on the east a king (probably Edward III. in whose reign the
tower was completed) is in the centre, and a prelate on each side of him, perhaps Nicholas de
Ely and William Lynn ; and on the south a king in armour with robes and crown (probably
Henry III. who was present at the consecration) and on each side a bishop, the one hold ing a
church in his hand and the other a crosier. ' ' *
_t- There are now eight bells in the tower.-bearing the following inscriptions j <« God save Our
king, 1640. . In honoreSci. Wolstan. Epi. Richardo Eedes Decano, 1602. 3. G. B, M. Hoc opus
insptcito. Jesu virtute faveto. Miserere Deus rheus : habeo nomen Gaufreus. (Arms of France
and England). I sweat ly toaling, men do call, To taste on meate that feads the soule, 1648."
in J

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL. [a. D. 1560.
of St. Thomas ; and in 1377 the nave and south aisle, library and
treasury, were vaulted over. The style of these vaultings* partakes
of the ages of Henry III. and Edward II. The last work of papal ages
in this cathedral is prince Arthur's chapel, chantry or mausoleum ; it
was erected in 1504, and abounds in all the diversified ornaments which
appear in Westminster Abbey and King's College chapel, Cambridge.
Owing to the fortunate discovery of the late Mr. Valentine Green, and
tbe liberality of the honourable dean St. John, a very considerable part
of the exquisite sculptures in this chapel, which were concealed by
plaster since the days of Elizabeth, are now exposed to public view.
Its finely-executed statues, it appears, were treated as images, and to
preserve them from total destruction it was deemed prudent to cover
them over with plaster. To Egwin, the third bishop and first abbot
of Evesham, has been attributed the introduction of images into the
churches of Britain ; and the worship, it is said, of an image of the
Virgin Mary gained great fame to the church of Worcester, not only
in England, but also in foreign countries. Whatever may have been
the particular notions of this bishop, it is now impossible to determine ;
but it is certain, that all the descriptions which monkish writers have
given of his images, bear unequivocal internal evidence of being the in
vention of much later ages. " On the 10th of January, 1549, all the
images on the high altar, and throughout the church, and all the other
churches of Worcester, were destroyed ; and on the 17th May 1560,
the cross and images of our lady were burnt in the churchyard f." The
cathedral then abounded in chapels J, many of them containing or
gans §, which were chiefly demolished by dean Barlow in 1550.
We have now traced the ecclesiastical history of Worcester down
to the period of the reformation, when Henry VIII. re-modelled the
whole establishment in 1541. Henry Holbeach alias Randes, was
elected prior of Worcester in 1535; in 1540 he surrendered his
* The key-stones are ornamented with various sculptures ; in the lady chapel the
Virgin and child, bishops Oswald and Wulstan, and king Edgar appear at full length on these
intersections of the ribs j the key-stones of the choir are decorated only with foliage. Angels,
bishops, kings, and monks are scattered there among extensive vaulting, and the manner in
which the figures are mutilated proves that they must have been expressive and characteristic.
t Bishop Blandford's MS. A very large image of Mary, held in great reverence, was found,
when stripped of the vests which covered it, to be the statue of a bishop, 10 feet high I See
Burnet, Collier, Staveley, &c. For a* more philosophical account of the difference between
the principles and morals before and after the reformation, see professor Marsh's inestimable
" Comparative View of the Churches of England and Rome."
X The allegation of Thorndike, " that it was an early custom to bury the remains of the
bodies of eminent saints, especially martyrs, under those stones on which the eucharist was
celebrated," is insufficient to account for such numbers of chapels and chantries j a more
powerful cause was the increase of individual favouritism, which multiplied saints, and every
one possessing adequate fortune, raised and endov.ed an altar to his particular god.
5 The chapel of St. Edmund had a pair of organs, that of St. George another, besides the
great organ ofthe choir. Such a number of organs in one church is extraordinary, and is but
faintly imitated in the noblest efforts of our triennial music meetings.
Co)

A. D. 1541.] WORCESTER.
priory, and changing bis title, became first dean of tbe protestant see,
ten prebendaries * or secular canons having succeeded tbe monks j\ The
diocess of Worcester was then diminished J, but not its character for
piety § and fidelity. In this respect it has some peculiar features; its
loyalty || to its kings, and its enormous sacrifices in their cause, are long
since recorded in the general history of the country. The number and
high character of its prelates are well known by their works as well as
by their monuments in the cathedral. Above thirty of our bishops
have been interred here ; and their monuments, with those of king
John, prince Arthur, and other distinguished characters, appear either
in the accompanying views, or in the ground plan. King John's mo
nument (see pi. 8), has attracted no inconsiderable attention during
several centuries ; and latterly, in consequence of opening the tomb ^f
* The entire establishment consists of a dean, 10 prebendaries, io minor canons, an orga
nist and master of the choristers, eight lay-clerks, 10 choristers, two school-masters, 40 king's
scholars, two sextons, two vergers, two butlers, one manciple, two cooks, 10 beadsmen, and
two porters. Nine ofthe prebends are in the gift of the crown, and the other is annexed to the
Margaret divinity chair, Oxford. The bishopric, formerly much larger, now consists of nine
deaneries, containing 116 rectories, 75 vicarages, 21 curacies, and 4L chapels.
t Their plate at the dissolution, amounted to 4,439 ounces of silver, although much
of it was not weighed; besides " 3 holly crossys of gold" and precious stones, weighing 60
ounces, " 3 rich myters with golde, perlys, and precious stones," not weighed; and " 2 chales
of golde," eacb 40 ounces ; altogether 140 ounces of gold.
t " In 1336," observes Dr. Nash, " there were 391 acolites, 379 sub-deacons, 154 deacons,
and 123 priests, ordained in "Worcester. Before Gloucester and Bristol dioceses were taken out
of Worcester, the ordinations were very numerous. Bishop Hemenhale, who presided only in
1337, ordained an incredible number." Price, Not. Dioc. MS.
§ That we may not be suspected of partiality in this respect, we shall cite the words of
an intelligent modern writer, Mr. Brewer. " It is impossible not to notice the very praise
worthy manner in which the Sunday service is performed in the choir ; not as a task to be run
over, but with a decorum worthy of the place, and accompanied by a suitable sermon. For here
there is not a choir with a few stalls (there are 52, the same as erected in 1397), which forbid
entrance to all but those who choose to pay; but there are many pews below, as well as gal
leries, which are always well filled, whilst with a due regard to the accommodation of the hum
blest worshippers1 of their Maker, there are comfortable seats arranged in the centre, which
always contain a respectable and attentive auditory." — Beauties of Worcestershire.
0 Hence our city certainly well-merited the royal favour and the honour of having a royal
manufactory; the latter is now worthy of such patronage, and it can be safely affirmed, that
the Worcester porcelain is equal, if not very superior, to any made out of , China. The vulgar
notion of its being more frangible than the French porcelain has been repeatedly proved erro
neous, and the French themselves now admit its excellence in every thing but in the vulgar,
gaudy, and fleeting colours, which are congenial with the French character, and intolerable to
English simplicity and " unadorned elegance."
If The account of the opening of this tomb is curious ; after removing the effigy, the sides of
tomb were found full of rubbish, below which were two strong elm boards enclosing a stone
coffin with the royal corpse, which lay exactly like the monumental figure, and had been dressed
similarly, except that a monk's cowl was substituted for the crown. The bones of the head
were 'a little deranged, both the jaw-bones were detached, although the upper one contained
four sound teeth ; some grey hairs still existed on the top of the cranium: the arms, thighs,
and legs were found nearly perfect, and vestiges of the nails remained on the toes of the right
foot. About the abdomen were large pieces of mortar, from which it was inferred that tho
corpse had been removed from its original place of interment. The body had been covered with
a robe, supposed to be of crimson damask with embroidery, parts of which still appeared near
the knee; the cuff of the left arm remained on the breast, and a sword with a scabbard, the
latter of which was tolerably perfect, had been placed in the left hand; the legs had a kind of
ornamental covering which was tied at the ancles, but it could not be determined whether in
the manner of boots or modern pantaloons. The coffin is of Higley stone, and different from
that ofthe tomb; the body measured five feet six inches and an half long, and had then been
above &80 years under ground, One or two of the teeth and some of the vertebrae, are now in
the museum of Mr. Barrat, of Gloucester.
Cp)

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL. [a. D. 1S15.
in July 1797. and finding the skeleton of this monarch almost entire.
A less mixed feeling perhaps may be awakened by the tomb of William,
duke of Hamilton, who fell at the battle of Worcester in 1651. But
whatever may be our respect for heroism and fidelity, yet a still higher
sentiment must be excited on viewing the perishable monuments of
such men as bishops Bullingham, Stillingfleet, Hough, &c. Of the
" incomparable Stillingfleet," who first placed the irrevocable seal of
ignorance, bigotry, and superstition on the forehead of all who oppose
the reformation, it is indeed impossible to think without being animated
by his piety, invigorated and improved by his morality, as well as in
structed by his extensive knowledge and irrefragable arguments. As a
divine lie was apostolical, as a theologian truly philosophic, and as a
man the firm friend of humanity and justice, the champion of liberty
and of the rights of the poor, and the avowed opponent to tyranny
and peculation. Many of his successors also merit the grateful admi
ration of their country, particularly the late Dr. Hurd, whose elegant
pen, it was admirably observed by his sovereign on that occasion
" placed a mitre on his head." The subsequent visit of the royal family
to our city in 17S8, and their reception at the episcopal palace, where
two full-length paintings of their majesties commemorate the event,
sufficiently confirm the previous judgment and merit of these exalted
characters. To record such lives is the happiness of the historian.
DIMENSIONS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
External LENGTH from buttress to buttress east and west 426 feet; Internal, 304 ; of the
lady chapel 00 ; choir including the organ loft 120 ; nave from west transept to the west end (in
cluding the two low arches of Oswald's church which occupy 45 feet) 180: of tlie western transept
128; and of the eastern 120. BREADTH of the choir and lady chapel with their aisles 74 feel;
e.tch aisle being 18 1-half feet; of the uave and its aisles 78, each aisle being 21; of the western
transept 32; and the eastern 25 feet. HEIGHT of the choir ceilioe 68; of the nave and western
transept 00; ol the tower to the battlements 166; turrets and pinnacles 30; iron vanes 4; -total 200
feet. Circumference of the pillars ofthe tower 39 feet each ; that of the other pillars varies from
12 to 24 feet. The crypt in its central division is 67 feet long and 30 broad ; its north aisle 63 long
and 15 broad ; its south one 55 long and 16 broad. The vault under the vestries and south ot tlie
crypt, supposed to be .i sepulchral chapel, is 45 feet by 15. The glass of the great east window is
45 reet by 27; that of the west 45 by 24 1-half feet. The east cloister is 125 feet long; the others
120 by IB wide. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Plate 1, Shews the whole North Side of the building from the North Porch or principal entrance,
including Jesus Chapel, now the baptistery, nave, tower, and north ends ofthe transepts.
Plate 2. Part of the North and East Cloisters, Chapter-house, South End of the Western
Transept, &c.
Plate 3. Presents a View of the great East Window, East End of the Lady-chapel, and its fly-
buttresses; north-east ofthe eastern transept and the east-end of St. Michael's parish church.
Plate 4. Part of the Bishop's Palace, West-end of the Cathedral and the River Severn, which
washes the walls of the Palace Garden j this interesting and elegant view is rendered peculiarly
picturesque and beautiful hy the Malvern hills in the distance.
Plate b. Interior of the Nave looking North-west; here one of the arches of Oswald church ap.
pears with the Saxon ornaments around the arches ofthe second story, great west window, &c.
Plate 6. The Eastern Cloister and Chapter-house— to the right is the King's School.
Plate 7. A View from the Dean's Garden ; in which appears the south end of the eastern tran»
sept, south aisle of lady chapel, part ofthe tower, &c.
Plate 8. The Choir looking Eastward ; on the left is the richly carved .and very elegant stone
pulpit, having on its front pannels the emblems of the Evangelists, and under them the arms
of England and of the sec ; before it is the tomb of king John, and on tlie south-east prince
Arthur's chapel.
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WOMCE § TEK CATHEDKAL ,
Shewina l2ie qroimno oftfte Moot".

Z^Tart or' S* Oswalds' Ch.-  
3 33- Xtwc t~ side aisles 
4^C7ozstc?-s 
5  Z<iv<itory  _~ 
t>  Tlie JSi/tps School 
7  2z?ttranee to JD?- 
8— WJh wA-s Tomb 
9  Trmcipal cntrwice 
10 — To/ti2> of S,'TBcazuykamp Je Tadv _ _
JL-3.Hct: Wide- Tsor&Zady. 1 _ . .
22  Tcsus Chapel-  .
23 H-JiTUrances t<? the Cloisters 
24-  Pa/sage to the deanery 
25  Chapter House 
1C  Entrance- to D?  
27.27^-lsav/ts to tlie Hoof. 
26. Jf^C Judge Street 
29-D?J8?2Tcuah, 
20 _ Western Tiznsept  - 
'22 — BV Jolmsons Z&mT 
22-TF2dkddoa: J>* 
23.23 23-C?wzr 8c side aisles. ^ , 
Z4- 24-JVestnes 
2b — Stone Tuipit. 
Z6 — TSrig Jo7ms 2£on?  ,
21 '_ Duke 2Zzmi2tons Z>f 
28 _ Jrince TLrtfzur's Oiantry 
ZS— Comnaatum Table-.  . 
30  'Eastern transept.
32J2J3.3*f-Tomos oFWGauien,,
StifiuyfleetTt
35 _ Lady Ona-ch  .
36 '_ Consistory Court. . .  .
37.38:39 -Supposed stone coffins of IP*
Oswald, Sylyestcr.Widstan, orZlais.

AMuhBlltBf2jBi5.fy She™e*d A

Tatfrith BaselOftfororOstfor
Egwine WilfredMildred
WeremundTilhere Eathored DenebertEadbert
Alhune or Alwin
Werefrid jEthelhun
Wilfrith orWilferth
Kinewold DunstanOswald
AdulfWulstan I.
Leoffius or Leoferth :
Brihteage Livingus
Aldred or Ealdred
Wulstan II.
Sampson
Theulf or Thewold
Simon John de Pageham
Alured or Alfred
Roger Baldwin
Will, de Northale
Robert Fitz-Ralph
Henry de Soilli
Winsige/EthelstanjEthelsinAtheism II.
Godwin
vEthehvinSt. Wulstan
jElfstan
jEgelredThomas Nicholas GaurinRalphDavid Osbert
Ralph de Bedeford
Henry Holbech
John Barlow
Philip Hawford
Seth Holland
J. Pedor or Pedder
Thos. Wilson
Francis Willis
R. Eedes
James Montague
Arthur Lake
0)

WORCESTER. BISHOPS.

680

J. de Constantiis

1195

Jerom. dcGhinucci

1523

680

Mauger or M .tiger

1198

Hugh Latimer

1535

691

Walter de Grey

1214

John Bell

1539

692

Silvester de Evesham 1216

Nich. Heath

1548

710

W. de Blois

1218

John Hooper

1552

743

Wal. de Cantilupe

1237

Nich. Heath restoredl553

775

Nicholas de Ely

1266

Rich. Pates

1554

778

Godfrey Giffard

1268

Edwin Sandys

1559

782

W. deGaynesberuwel302

J. Calf hill (nominated)

798

Wal. Reginald

1307

Nich. Bullingham

1570

822

Wal. deMaydenstonl3L3

John Whitgift

1577

859

Tli ihk's Cobham

1317

Edmund Freake

1584

873

Adam de Orlton

1329

Rich. Fletcher

1592

915

Sim. de Monteaeute 1333

Thos. Bilson

1596

922

Thos. Hemenhale

1337

Gervase Babington

1597

929

Wols. deBraunsford 1339

Henry Parry

1610

957

J. de Thoresby

1349

John Thomboroughl6l6

960

Reginald Brian

1352

John Prideaux

1641

992

John Barnet

1362

See Vacant Ten Years.

1002

W. Wittlesey

1363-4

Geo. Morley

1660

1023

W. Lynn

1368

John Gauder

1662

1034

H. Wakefield

1375

John E.irle

1662

1039

Tideman de Winch-

Robt. Skinner

1665

1046

comb

1395

Walter Blandford

1671

1062

R. Clifford

1401

Jas. Fleetwood

1675

1096

T. Peverell

1407

Wm. Thomas

1683

1113

Philip Morgan

1419

Edwd. Stillingfleet

1689

1125

Thos. Polton

1425

Wm. Lloyd

1699

1151

Thos. Bourgchier

1435

John Hough

1717

1158

John Carpenter

1443

Isaac Madox

1743

1164

John Alcock

1476

James Johnson

1759

1180

R. Morton

1486

Hon. B. North

1774

1184

John Gigles

1497

Richard Hurd

178.1

1191

Silvester Gigles

1498

Folliot Herbert

1193

Julius de Medicis

1521

W. Cornwall

1808

980986

1051
10601062 1084
1113 1124 1143
11431145114615411544 1553
1557 1559
15711586159616041608

PRIORS.
Senatus 1189
Peter 1196
Randulf de Eveshan»1203
Silvest. de Evesham 1215
Simon 1216
Wm. Norman 1222
Wm. de Bedeford 1224
Rich. Gundicote 1242
Thomas 1252
Rich. Dumbleton 1260
Wm. of Cirencester 1272
Rich. Feckenham 1274
Philip Aubin 1287
Simon de Wire 1296
JohndelaWyke 1301
Wolstan de Braunsford
DEANS.
Joseph Hall 1616
William Juxon 1627
Roger Man waring 1633
Christopher Potter 1636
Richard Holdsworthl646
John Oliver 1660
Thos. Warmestry 1661
W.Thomas 1665
George Hickes 1683
William Talbot 1691

Simon de Botiler 1339
Simon Crompe 1339
John de Evesham 1340
Walter Leigh 1370
John Green 1388
John Malvern 1395
John Fordham 1423
Thomas Ledbury 1438
John Hertilbury 1444
Thomas Musard 1456
Robt. Multon 1469
Wm. Wenloke 1492
Thomas Mildenham 1499
John Weddesbury 1507
Wm. Moore 1518
H. Holbech 1535
Francis Hare 1715
Jas. Stillingfleet 1726
Edm. Martin 1747
John Waugh 1751
SirR Wrottesley 1765
William Digby 1769
Hon. Robt. Foley 1778
Hon. St. Andrew St.
John 1783
Arthur Onslow 1795

INDEX TO WORCESTER CATHEDRAL.
*#* The italic letters indicate the pages marked at the.bottom of the left side;
thus (a) (bj fyc. and the letter N.for note.

Arthur, prince, chapel of, p.— Alhun, bp.
grant of, c N. — Armory, / N. — Altars, nu
merous, d. — Architect, ingenuity of, c. — An
glo-Saxon communities very judicious and sa
lutary, t.
Bosel, bp. founded a church, a. — Bishops*
vestry, /.—Blois, bp. built the nave, i, I, &
N. — Bedeford,prior, built deanery,ro. — Brauns-
ford built the Guesten hall, ib.— Blandford,
bp. MSS. of, o N. — Bullingham, bp. monu
ment of, q. — Bishops, list of, r. — Bones in
terred, iN.— Brewer.Mr.his mistake, a N.; his
praise of the service on Sunday, p N. — Bar-
rat, Mr. has some of king John's teeth, j>N. —
Baptistery, q. — Barlow, dean, demolishes or
gans, o. — Bishopric formerly more extensive,
p N. ; number of rectories, churches, Stein, ib.
Christianity, unknown at what period it was
promulgated in Worcester, a. — Cornavii, a N.
— Church, St. Mary's, first cathedral, a & 6.—
Cyreweard, office of, c. — Crypt, or croft, ori
gin and description of, g & N. — Charnel-
house, I N. — Chapter-house and cloisters built,
m. — Carpenter, bp. established a library, n N.
—Churches of England and Rome, compara
tive view of, o N. — Cathedral, huilt by Oswald,
d; augmented by Wulstan, c; dedicated to the
Virgin Mary, &c. h; re-edified and enlarged by
tp. Blois, i; arches of Oswald's buildg. still re
maining, k. — Cobham,bp. modified and vaulted
north aisle, ib. &N.; curious proportions of,
fcN.j dimensions of, q. — Cantelupe, bp. com
pleted the charnel-house chapel, I N. — Cruci
fixion, misrepresentation of, e N. — Charters
forged, d N.— Chapels and chantries, why nu
merous, o N.— Clergy, married, the most virtu
ous, cN.
Dunstan, his cruelty, &c. 6. — Danes, vin
dictive, m. — Deans, list of, r. — Dimensions of
the cathedral, q.
Ethelred establishes a bishop of Worcester,
a. — Etymologists, contradictions of, a N. —
Edgar, the tool of Dunstan, b.— Ethelwold,
bp. another ruler of the king, c. — Egwin, bp.
first introduced image-worship into English
churches, o.— East window, view of, pi. S. —
Establishment, cathedral, actual state of, p N.
Feet, Saviour's, not nailed, e N.— Fires,
effects of, h. — Family of the Saxon bishops,
number in, c N.
Grants, fabricated, 6; Oswald's, cN.— Gallic
jargon, unintelligible to a Worcester prelate,
AN.— Godivre gave a library to the monks, n
N. — Green, Mr. his explanation of the figures
in the crypt, g- ; his curious proportions of the
cathedral, k N.; discovers the sculptures in
prince Arthur's chapel, o. — Godinge, wrote se
veral books forthe see, cN.
Henry VIII. more just and humane than
the monkish prelates, d N. — Hardicanute's ra
vages, e.— Henry VI. desired a procession of
Oswald's dust, for rain, i N. — Henry Hol-
beach, last prior and first dean, o& p.— Hoop
er, bishop, and martyr, b N. — Hamilton, duke
of, his monument, 3.— Hurd, bp. a distin
guished writer, ib.
Images of Mary, h ; introduced into English
churches, 0; burnt, ib.; a large one of the

virgin, when stripped, proved to be the statue
of abishop, ib.— Israel, kings of, mN.— Indul
gences granted by bp. Barnet,/N. ; never sold
here, ib.
King John contributed to repair the clois
ters, m; buried here, i; his tomb opened, ju;
his coffin, ib. ; state of his body, &c. ib.—
King George III. remark of, on bp. Hurd, <?.—
Key-stones sculptured, o.
Lanfranc wished to depose Wulstan, h N.—
Leland, observations of, I. — Lady-chapel not
conceived by Wulstan, h ; proportions of, k N. ;
built in 1217, J.— Longevity,/ N.— Latimer, bp.
and martyr, 6N.
Mary, image of, whose worship was cele
brated, 03 convent of, 6; monks of, d; crypt
of, indecent name, c & N . ; when called regina
coeli, A. — Mary Magdalen, chapel vaulted, n.—
Monks, absurd rule of, m N.— Marsh, profes
sor, g, & o N.
Northern, what, /. — Nash, dr. his account
of ordinations, p N. — Nicholas, bp. contributed
to re-edify the tower, n.
Osrick assisted in establishing a bishopric,
t. — Oswald the most artful enemy of the secu
lars, c ; bestowed the plunder on his coadju
tors, ib.; built and dedicated the present ca
thedral, d; more cruel to the seculars thaa
Henry VIII. to the monks, ib. N. ; preached in
the open air, e ; of Danish origin, and a rela
tion of Odo, archbp. / N. ; altar dedicated to
him, A; new shrine of, i N. ; two arches of his
building still extant, k ; his' remains divided,
m j full length statues of, in various parts of
the church, 0.— Organs, numerous in the ca
thedral, o N.— Ordinations formerly very nu
merous, and nearly 1000 persons ordained in
one year, pU.
Peter, St. his church built of stone, a N. ;
married presbyters of, plundered by Oswald,
d; originally the cathedral, ib.— Priors, list
of, r. — Porcelain, Worcester, superior to any
in Europe, p N.— Plate at the dissolution^ N.
Roman basilico, form of, g. — Royal visit, q.
Stalls, p N.— Staveley on public preaching,
eN.— Saxon arches, I N-— Stilling Beet, an un
equalled writer^. — Saxulf, erected a throne, d.
— Sanctum Sanctorum, g.—See boast of having
had a pope, saints, archbishops, &c. I N.
Thorndike on burying religious persons, oN.
Vestry, bishops, / N. —Vaulting, first of
stone, n.
Worcester, etymon of, a N. ; bishop of, ib. j
church of St. Peter, ib; salubrity of, /N.j
royal manufactory in, p N.— Wulstan, his
sensibility, c j granted no indulgences, ib; an
English architect, of original genius, / N . ; re
built the cathedral, e; choir of, made the
nave, &c.g-; his building little altered, l;
made a saint of, and his church dedicated to
him, /; ; enshrined, and his bones sawn asun
der, m; his bones buried after the reforma
tion, when they could only make a noise, ib. ,
N. ; origin of his name, eN.— Worshippers of
bones, m N.— Worship, in the cathedral, con
ducted with great propriety, p N.— Wiferd,
duke, monument of, eN,— War against stee
ples and bells, A.N.

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES

METROPOLITICAL CHURCH

iorfc.

J. he period at which a metropolitical church was established at York,
and the circumstances connected with an event so important in eccle
siastical annals, have necessarily excited much ingenuity in speculative
writers, and a correspondent proportion of more valuable labour in
persons desirous of separating simple facts from the exaggerations of
fancy, and the misrepresentations of prejudice. The reader has been
reminded, in many previous pages, of the deficiency which prevails in
regard to credible historical testimony respecting the progress of Chris
tianity, during the sway of the Romans in Britain, and in the early
ages of their Anglo-Saxon successors. According to Matthew of
Westmiuster, William of Malmsbury, and other cloistered authors,
York constituted an archiepiscopal see within the second century after
the first preaching of the gospel. But the assertions of such writers
are principally of use, as themes of discussion with those curious
students in antiquity, who delight in establishing the resemblance of
probability on the basis of conjecture. The rational historian of Chris
tianity feels little concern in the result of the inquiry 3 — for mere
shadowy names, or casual transactions, unconnected with the vital
interests of the church, are all that could be produced, even if the
suspicious allegations of monkish writers were proved to be worthy of
acceptance. The earliest satisfactory intelligence, relating to this arch
bishopric, is afforded by venerable Bede. On his authority, chiefly, are
presented tbe following particulars, which have met with reception
amongst the most critical and judicious investigators of history in
every succeeding age. — In the year 625, shortly subsequent to the first
partial conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, through the ministry of
Augustine (an event which has met with many remarks in our history
of Canterbury cathedral), the propagation of Christianity in the North
was accelerated by tbe marriage of Edwin, king of Northumbria,
(aj

YORK CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 627.
with the daughter of Ethelbert, king of Kent. This lady had been
bred in the christian faith by her celebrated mother, the protectress of
Augustine ; and, rising superior to the effect of evil examples which
thickly accumulated around, she persisted in stipulating, as an article
of marriage with the Northumbrian king, that she, and her attend
ants, should be allowed the free exercise of their religion. The libe
ral Edwin agreed to this condition, and eventually became himself a
proselyte to the christian faith, as enforced by the arguments of Pau-
linus, the spiritual guide of his queen, and one of the missionaries
sent to England by pope Gregory. On Easter-day, 627, tlie king,
together with most of the distinguished persons who composed his
court, received baptismal benediction from the hand of Paulinus, in
the city of York.
Paulinus, as we are told, had been previously consecrated arch
bishop of the North by Justus, who exercised archiepiscopal power in
the South. He was now solemnly placed in that situation by his
regal convert ; and shortly after received his pall from Honorius, who
had succeeded to the papal throne. In the person of this prelate we
view that efficient foundation of the see, which is usually received as
the earliest date of its authentic history. It must, indeed, be futile
to go higher in the stream of time for events of a credible character,
or of solid interest, when we observe that Paulinus found, within the
whole city of York, no religious temple deemed sufficiently capacious
and respectable for the baptism of king Edwin and his courtiers, but
was constrained to raise, for that memorable celebration, a fabric
composed of wood. The piety of Edwin led to the immediate com
mencement, of a more durable pile, at once the monument of so im
portant an occurrence, and a dignified seat of episcopal care.
The progress of events generally connected with this archiepis.-
copal see, will be discussed in our biographical notice of the prelates
most conspicuous for actions of a public or a local import ; whilst the
history of those cathedral buildings which moved onwards in grandeur
proportioned to the power of the archbishops, will meet with attention
in pages devoted to an architectural account of the existing beautiful
fabric. Paulinus appears to have ably fulfilled the duties of his arduous
situation. Unusual, indeed, were the energies of mind required in
the prelate who first endeavoured to win by argument, and to amend
by example, the unlettered and ferocious tribes of the North! Tbe
aid of the governing power was necessary in times so barbarous, even
to the secure dissemination of those doctrines which partook of no
party spirit, aud had no possible aim but that of encouraging mankind
Cb)

A. D. 713.] YORKSHIRE.
in a study of their best interests. Whilst Edwin occupied the throne,
the exertions of our archbishop were attended with more success than
could have been anticipated by the warmest zeal of piety. His acti
vity was unbounded, and his views comprehensive ; as an instance of
which it may be remarked that he built, at Lincoln, a church of
stone, which was not only much admired as a structure, but was
attended by numerous converts, including persons of an elevated rank.
This prosperous procedure of our religion experienced a lamentable
interruption through the death of the powerful Edwin, who fell in a
battle with Penda, king of the Mercians, in the year 633. Deprived
of his protecting arm, the rising spirit of truth struggled in vain
against the murmurs of a pagan and factions multitude. Convinced
of the utter hopelessness of perseverance, Paulinus retired to Kent,
and passed the remainder of his life in the exercise of pastoral duties
as bishop of Rochester.
Wilfrid, the third archbishop, was one of the most distinguished
prelates of the age in which he flourished. His early aspirations after
knowledge were greatly favoured by a journey to Rome, then the
emporium of science and literary intelligence. His improvement
in the useful and ornamental arts, whilst engaged in foreign travel,
was of unquestionable benefit to his native country, and entitles him
to an honourable place amongst those early ecclesiastics who aug
mented the temporal advantages of society whilst prosecuting religious
labours.' Owing to the convulsed state of the times, Wilfrid vvas
twice expelled from his see. During the years of his expulsion, two
archbishops were successively appointed. Bosa, who attained this
mitre in 677, shortly subsequent to the removal of Wilfrid, is memo
rable as the first archbishop that was buried in the cathedral of York.
Wilfrid (second of that name, and sixth archbishop) has obtained
an unpleasing notoriety in ecclesiastical annals, as tbe prelate who
commenced a dispute with the archbishops of Canterbury, respecting
priority of rank.* Whilst the acknowledged primate of our northern
1 Wilfrid is deservedly celebrated for the numerous architectural piles which he raised, to
che honour and advancement of the christian faith. Amongst these the churches of Hex
ham, in Northumberland, and Ripon, in Yorkshire, were the most splendid. The former
church was greatly superior to any which had been erected by the Anglo-Saxons, and is a
favourite subject of allusion with critics in the history of our ancient architecture. Thc life of
thia archbishop was written by Eddius, contemporary with Bede; and is one of the most
curious pieces of biography extant. The principal cause of Wilfrid's expulsion from York,
proceeded from his opposition to the measure adopted by Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury,
in dividing the diocess of York into two, and subsequently four, bishoprics. During the period
of his expulsion, Wilfrid had the gratification of converting the kingdom of the South Saxons ;
thus completing the reception of Christianity throughout the whole of the Saxon octarchy.
2 We attribute the commencement of this dispute to Wilfrid, on the authority of William
of Malmsbury. The contest for precedency between the two archiepiscopal sees came to an
open ruptnre in the time of Thomas II. (twenty-seventh archbishop of York) and produced,
through many succeeding ages, scenes of indecorous altercation, injurious to the real interests
(CJ

YORK CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1068.
church was thus struggling for an augmentation of titular dignity, the
sovereigns of the different Anglo-Saxon states were engaged in wars,
which led, with sanguinary but sure steps, to the consolidation«of
those petty governments beneath one massy and comprehensive crown.
It is lamentable to find the attention of our prelate bestowed, in times
so perilous, on an article of episcopal and personal splendour. The
aera called loudly for the exercise of different energies. But war and
ambition engrossed the minds of nearly all ranks at this gloomy period;
and we have, therefore, little cause to regret that the see of York lay
vacant for several years after the decease of the second Wilfrid. Al
bert, consecrated in 767, was a native of York, descended, as is be
lieved, from a noble family. He is described as having made con
siderable literary attainments during his youth ; and he afterwards
augmented and matured his stock of knowledge, by journeys to
Rome, and other eminent seats of learning. His love of science
reflects honour on the period in which he flourished, and was dis
played, with peculiar munificence, in a restoration of his cathedral
church.3 The conduct of the churchmen who attained episcopal power in
England at the time of the Norman Conquest, is invariably a subject
of curious inquiry ; and is obviously of peculiar interest in regard to
those who were advanced to the raetropolitical sees. — When William,
duke of Normandy, triumphantly entered England, and assumed its
crown, the see of York was occupied by the Saxon Aldred. The cha
racter of this prelate appears to have been well adapted to the troubled
ages in which he lived, as far as boldness and policy were required :
concerning that tender spirit of true charity, and humility of religious
demeanour, which form the christian priest's best attributes, at all
times, and in all ranks, his biographers are silent. In fact, this pre
late occurs, in the record of our public annals, chiefly as a successful
politician. Viewed in this light, the fortitude which he displayed
under circumstances of unusual difficulty, is calculated to surprise the
reader who duly recollects the abject state of many Anglo-Saxon dig
nitaries at the same eventful period of history.4 Aldred was indebted
of the christian church. The order of precedency was, established, as it now exists, during the
pontificate of John Thoresby, forty-fourth archbishop, temp. Ed. 111.; at which time it was
arranged that the archbishop of Canterbury should be styled primate of all England, and the
archbishop of York, primate of England.
3 Atcuin, an ecctesinstic employed by Albert, as joint architect with Eanbald (afterwards
advanced to the archbishopric) in rebuilding the cathedral, has left a curious poetical memorial
of his patron, and the work in which he was engaged, intituled De Potil\fiabus et Sanctis Eccle*
sice Ebor. published by Dr. Gale, in 1691.
I It has been Btated that this prelate treated the haughty Norman conqueror with little per
sonal respect. The following anecdote displays William I. in a light very different from that
in which he is ordinarily considered. Offended, as we are told, with the sheriff of Yorkshire,
(d)

A. D. 1191.] YORKSHIRE.
for his first elevation to Edward the Confessor. On the decease of
that king, he became the partizan of Harold, and performed the cere
mony of his inauguration. The refusal of Stigand, archbishop of
Canterbury, to render the same service to the conqueror, afforded a
favourable opportunity of political advancement to the more pliant
Aldred. He crowned the victorious Norman ; and retained archie-
piscopal authority until the time of his death, in 1069. This prelate
had sufficiently shewn, in contributions to the churches of Beverley
and Gloucester, that fondness for architectural magnificence which
corresponded with his habitual love of power and ostentation ; but
the term for which he presided over the province of York, subsequent
to the advent of the Normans, was too brief to admit of his display
ing a rivalry in splendour with the prelates of the new dynasty. The
honourable opportunity of evincing an enlarged spirit in architectural
design and arrangement, devolved on his Norman successor.
Thomas (the first archbishop of that name) possessed piety, ta
lents, and liberality for the creditable exercise of the important duties
to which he became subject. The destructive operations of the united
Danes and Northumbrians, had reduced the cathedral, in the year
1069, to a state bordering on utter ruin. He achieved the restitution
of the fabric upon a noble scale ; and regulated the constitution of the
see, to its lasting benefit.5 William, the thirtieth bishop, was nephew
of king Stephen, and is memorable as having received canonization,
which distinction was conferred about one hundred and twenty-five
years after his decease. Saint William presided little more than twelve
months in the see of York ; and his name is chiefly entitled to notice,
in an historical survey so succinct as the present, on account of a gor
geous shrine, formerly existing in our cathedral church, at which,
according to monkish writers, numerous miracles were worked, through
the influence of his canonized remains.
Geoffrey Plantagenet, consecrated in 1191, was natural son of
king Henry II. by Rosamond de Clifford. Historians differ in regard
to the general character of this distinguished person ; but no writer
of consideration denies that in his demeanour, as archbishop of York,
be was entitled to the uniform approbation of the judicious and disin-
nur archbishop hastened to Westminster, and appeared before the king, habited in pontifica-
libus, and attended by a numerous train. He accosted his sovereign with a heavy curse, if he
did not grant his suit. William, either through surprise or policy, bent his knee to the impe
rative churchman. The attendant nobles indignantly interfered, and would have assisted in
promptly raising the king from a situation bo unusual; but Aldred exclaimed, "Stand off 1 let
him lie there : it is not at my feet, but at those of St. Peter, he is prostrate."
5 Willis, in his " Survey of Cathedrals," observes that archbishop Thomas I. "divided the
estate of the church into prebends, appointing a dean, precentor, chancellor, and archdeacons,"
as those dignitaries remain at the present day.
(*)

YORK. CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 1466.
terested. Walter Grey, who succeeded this illustrious prelate, was a
favourite counsellor and minister of king John. His conduct in a
political capacity is, perhaps, open to some censure ; but those who
treat upon the history of the see to which he was promoted by the
favour of his sovereign, have the pleasing duty of recording many
instances of munificence, which are truly estimable monuments to his
fame, since his moderation, in regard to personal expenses, was suffi
ciently observable to cause the imputation of parsimony.6 William de
Melton, who was raised to this see under the immediate protection of
king Edward the Second, evinced a becoming liberality of disposition,
and a due attachment to the diocess, by splendid contributions to the
cathedral and contiguous buildings. John Thoresby, forty-fourth
archbishop, also claims the grateful applause of posterity, for his im
provement of the cathedral-church. Thomas Arundel, translated
hither from Ely, in 1388, affords the first instance of an archbishop
removed from this see to that of Canterbury.
Richard Scrope has obtained an unhappy celebrity in history, from
the zeal with which he entered into a rebellion against king Henry IV.
At this distant day, when party feelings have entirely subsided, few
will refrain from approving the loyal attachment which our prelate
displayed towards the ill-fated Richard II. But the sword, especially
when exercised on a question of political ascendancy, ill became the
hand professedly devoted to the ciosier. Warmth of temper is usually
accompanied by imbecility of judgment; our armed bishop having, as
has been said, " too much sincerity for a politician," was trepanned into
a deceptive convention. Disbanding the forces which he was not calcu
lated to command, he was consigned to the scaffold, and was beheaded
in afield near Bishop Thorpe, where he had formerly resided in archiepis-
copal dignity. His calamitous end afforded the first instance of a
bishop suffering death in England by any form of law. George Ne
ville, fifty-second archbishop, was brother of the powerful earl of
Warwick, who performed so distinguished a part in the wars between
the bouses of York and Lancaster. The inthronization feast of this
prelate was conducted with such unusual splendour, that it has been
considered worthy of notice in general histories of Great Britain.7
6 This prelate founded the sub-deanery and succentorship, together with two prebends in
our cathedral-church. By him was purchased the house, since called White Hall, which was
for a long lime enjoyed by his successors, as a residence in London while attending parliament
ary duties, under the name of York Place. It must, likewise, be noticed that he bought, and
settled on the see, the manor of Thorpe (now called Bishop Thorpe), where is the only
remaining palace attached to theaichbishopric.
7 This feast took place on the 15th of January, 1466; and is supposed to have been the
most magnificent entertainment ever given by an English subject. An idea of theplenty which
prevailed may be conveyed by observing that 1000 " muttons," or sheep, and 2000 pigs, were
provided. Amongst articles at present unknown to the tables of English banqueters may be
Cf)

A. D. 1566.] YORKSHIRE.
The decease of archbishop Bainbridge, who perished by means of
poison, administered by an Italian priest, his servitor, made way for
a prelate of transcendant celebrity, cardinal Wolsey. Our limits pre
clude us from an investigation of a character, so intricately blended
with the labyrinths of state transactions. When we reflect, however,
that the public impression respecting Wolsey's political conduct, is
usually received from the writings of the calumnious Polydore Vergil,
and those who copy the insinuations of that base chronicler, we may
readily suppose that an exaggerated idea prevails, respecting the im
perfections almost inevitable to the perilous soil of unexampled prospe
rity. As archbishop of York, the character of Wolsey demands little
attention. Himself acknowledged, when sinking on a bed of extreme
suffering and utter despondency, that his active services had been ren
dered to his king rather than to his God ! He did not visit the seat of
his archiepiscopal dignity, whilst inflated with a plenitude of political
power. In the year 1530, when disgraced at court, he repaired to
the palace of Cawood, and made preparations for a public entry into
York, and a magnificent inthronization. It is well known that he
was arrested for high treason, before he could carry these intentions
into effect, and died at Leicester, lamenting the fatal error of devotion
to an earthly power, which " forsook him in his grey hairs !"
Robert Holgate, advanced to this see in 1544, must unhappily be
noticed as one of the most venal instruments of king Henry VIII.
Within a month after the translation of this accommodating prelate
from Landaff to York, he alienated to the crown, sixty-seven manors ;
for which act of pillage, he appears to have received ample personal
recompense. In the reign of Mary, and during the prelacy of Nicholas
Heath, most of these estates were restored. Strict justice requires
that we should mention the faithful statement of Willis, who observes,
" that the see of York owes more than a third part of its present
revenues to queen Mary and archbishop Heath." At the time of
Mary's death, our prelate was chancellor of the realm ; and, under the
authority of that office, he convened the nobility and commons, for
the purpose of protecting the succession of Elizabeth. In common
with thirteen other bishaps, who adhered to the ancient form of
religion, he was expelled his see by the new queen ; but Elizabeth
honoured him with personal friendship, and is said, by the author of
the Speculum Anglorum, to have frequently visited him in his
retirement. noticed 6 wild bulls, 400 swans, 104 peacocks, 204 cranes, 204 bitterns, 400 heronshaws, and IS
" porpoises" and seals. At this festival were present the duke of Gloucester (brother to Ed
ward IV.), and nearly all the nobility, bishops, and leading men in the kingdom.
Cg)

YORK CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 1641-
The bull of pope Paul the fourth, confirming the election of this
prelate, was the last instrument of the kind acknowledged in the see of
York. In the list of succeeding prelates, we find men distinguished in
ecclesiastical annals for piety, talent, and the only just criterion of a
qualification for the exercise of exalted power  self-government.
Edmund Grindal, successively bishop of London, archbishop of York,
and primate of all England, as archbishop of Canterbury, was a
zealous assistant in the great work of reformation, and was, conse
quently, one of the select members of the protestant church appointed
to hold disputations with tbe romanists, in the reigns of Edward VI.
and Elizabeth. In his last venerable years he became blind, and was
desirous of resigning the public duties which he had no longer capacity
to fulfil to the satisfaction of his conscience ; but was prevented by
the will of his sovereign. Edwin Sandys emulated the best virtues,
and most useful talents, of his predecessor. This prelate was one of
the eight divines appointed to argue with the same number of Roman
catholics before the two houses of Parliament. Tobias Matthew was
greatly celebrated as an eloquent and energetic preacher. His talents
were' held in high esteem by queen Elizabeth and James I. ; but he
has not left any traces of merits so peculiar, as to justify the extraordi
nary terms of commendation bestowed by the writer of his epitaph in
our Cathedral.' During the early part of those troubles which convulsed England
in the 17th century, the archiepiscopal mitre of York was sustained by
Richard Neile. The unshaken loyalty of this prelate, and his strenuous
efforts towards the preservation of the church, as established at the
sera of temperate reformation, caused his name to be execrated by the
puritanical party ; but it should never be forgotten, that the utmost
malignity of his revilers left untouched his reputation for private worth.
John Williams, who was raised to this archbishopric in 1641, had
taken part with the king in the beginning ofthe troubles, but afterwards
went over to the parliament, and commanded at the siege of Conway
castle. This want of stability procured him general and merited
contempt. On the temporary subversion of the hierarchy, he retired
to Wales, where he died, neglected by the parliamentarians, and
8 This epitaph is a curious instance of that inflated style of composition which defeats its
own object, and really operates to the discredit of thedeceased, by enforcing comparisons which
cannot stand the test of dispassionate examination. In the long and tedious Latin inscription
to the memory of this prelate, we are told, that " Greece will not, hereafter, have more cause
lo boilst of her Chrysostom, than England of her Matthew. The virtues with which he adorned
the archbishopric exceed the province of thesculptor;— history alone can do them justice." After
t lie lapse of nearly two hundred yearB, we search in vain the pages of general history for the name of
Tobias Matthew. Locally, his name often occurs, on account of a contribution of books, made
by his widow to thc cathedral library.
(h)

A. D. 1745.] YORKSHIRE.
despised by the royalists.* Richard Sterne, consecrated in 1664, had
been chaplain to archbishop Laud, and attended that prelate on the
scaffold. His depth of erudition, and personal respectability, assisted
in convincing the world that the clergy who had suffered exclusion
under the authority of parliament, were calculated to reflect honour,
and to confer benefit, on christian society.
John Sharpe, seventy-fifth archbishop, may be held forth, with
honest pride, as one of the most able and exemplary prelates that adorn
the annals of the reformed church. In regard to his talent for the
dignified situation to which he was nominated shortly after the
Revolutiou of 1688, it may be sufficient to cite the remark of bishop
Burnet : " By the appointment of Sharpe to the archbishopric of York,
the two metropolitical sees were filled by the two best preachers of our
time." — It must he nearly superfluous to observe that Tillotson filled
the see of Canterbury at that period. Thomas Herring, promoted hither
from Bangor, in 1743, has been said, and perhaps without exaggeration,
to have united in his person the most amiable qualities of the best of
his predecessors. " The magnificence and penetration, without tbe
pride, of Wolsey; the mildness and moderation, without the timidity,
of Sandys ; the learning of Sharpe, with the politeness and affability
of Dawes." This prelate evinced great courage and discretion at a
period of peculiar difficulty, the disturbed year 1745. At this crisis
he came forward, and declared to his clergy, " that he should think
it no derogation from the dignity of his character, or the sanctity of
bis function, in times when the religion and liberties of his country
were at stake, to change his pastoral staff for a musket, and his
cassoc for a regimental coat." His conduct on this occasion is more
decidedly entitled to our approbation, as it arose from religious con
viction and a principle of civil allegiance, rather than from a personal
attachment to the governing power. Robert Drummond distinguish
ed himself by the sermon which he preached on the coronation
of his present majesty. In this pious, manly, and patriotic discourse,
are contained some fine maxims of government, equally calculated for
the honour of the prince and the advantage of the people. To this able
prelate succeeded William Markham, whose virtues, still fresh in recol-
9 The principal buildings of our cathedral were happily preserved from important depreda
tion, during these disastrous wars. Willis, and several other writers, state this freedom from
serious injury to have arisen from the liberal orders of forbearance given to his fanatical soldiers
by sir T. Fairfax. The care of the general could not, however, prevent those deluded persons
from destroying several pieces of venerable sculpture, and stripping the grave-stones of all
effigies and in:ciip!ions, engraved on metal. Drake, in his "Eboracum," pointedly remarks,
" that it was more the poor lucre of brass, than, zeal, which tempted these miscreants to the
latter act; for there was no grave-stone, which had an inscription cut on itself, that was defaced
by any thing but age throughout the whole church."
0)

YORK CATHEDRAL, [A.D. 115-1.
lection, are universally acknowledged. The honourable Edward
Venables Vernon, eighty-third, and present archbishop, was pro
moted from the see of Carlisle to that of York, in the year 1808.
Previous to a descriptive account of the present cathedral church,
it must be desirable to present some brief notices respecting the
structures, of inferior extent and beauty, which occupied the same site
in centuries preceding the Norman Conquest. We have already
observed that a cliurch, composed of stone, was founded at York by
king Edwin, in 617. This building fell into dilapidation, during the
wars which speedily ensued between the Northumbrians, and Penda,.
king of Mercia ; but was repaired and improved by archbishop Wilfrid,
about tbe year 669. The re-edified structure experienced great damage
from fire, in 741, and is said to have been wholly taken down, and
rebuilt by archbishop Albert, who was promoted to this see in 767-'°
This Anglo-Saxon edifice appears to have been of a durable character,
and to have possessed much comparative grandeur. Assisted by repairs,
it probably stood until 1069, when we are told that the Cathedral was
unintentionally reduced nearly to the ground, by conflagration. In
that year the Northumbrians, aided by the Danes, took arms against
the government of William I. The Norman garrison of York set fire
to certain houses in the suburbs of the city, lest they should prove
serviceable to the enemy ; and the flames accidently spread to buildings
not designed for destruction, including the venerable church.
Such was the situation of the see when Thomas, our first Anglo-
Norman prelate, received the pall. This prelate rebuilt the cathedral
on a more noble scale than had been hitherto adopted ; but the struc
ture on which he bestowed such exemplary attention was destroyed by
a casual fire, which likewise consumed the greater part of the city, in
the year 1137- After this lamentable accident, the church lay in
ruins until the time of archbishop Roger, promoted A. D. 1154, wbp
commenced, and successfully prosecuted, a re-edification of the eastern
division of the building. No relic of the works executed under his
notice now remains, unless we suppose, with the author of " Ebo
racum," that the crypt formed a part of the renovations which he
effected. The most ancient portion ofthe existing pile (with the ex
ception of the crypt) was erected in the reign of Henry III. The
principal divisions may be justly said to present the noblest specimens
extant, of the architectural style which prevailed in the fourteenth
century." 10. The curious poetical work of Alcuin, through which n due notion of the architectural
munificence of Albert is transmitted to posterity, has been mentioned in our biographical
allusions to this eminent prelate.
11 It will be useful to state, in this place, the dales usually ascribed to different parts of
(k)

A. D. 1819.] YORKSHIRE.
This cathedral-church (often termed York Minster) is, indeed,
allowed, even by such examiners as are free from local prepossession,
and found their estimate on extensive and candid comparison, to excel
in beauty and magnificence most ecclesiastical buildings of the middle
ages. In viewing the exterior, our attention is first demanded to the
west front. This splendid fagade, is not more conspicuous for ple
nitude of ornament, than for an attractive harmony of design. The;
elevation is architecturally divided into three parts ; tbe principal ob
jects being the grand entrance, and the spacious window by which it is
surmounted. The four buttresses, which form the lines of division,
are enriched with many niches, frequently containing statues ; and
other pieces of sculpture are introduced at the angles. Above the four
grand dividing buttresses rise the two western towers, — the upper divi
sions being incongruous in design to tbe prevailing character of the
structure, but commanding the admiration ofthe spectator.
On tbe south side we find, to the extent of the nave, a fine ac
cordance with the style of the west front. The architecture is here
chastened in point of ornament, but the decorations are still numerous,
and the buttresses are adorned with niches and statues. The transept,
although of an earlier date, and less elegant in design than the nave,
presents a superb object. The choir is equal in height, and nearly
assimilates in character, with the western part of the church. The,:
procedure of our national architecture in richness of embellishment,
during the leign of the third Edward, is decisively exhibited in the
east front. This facade, like that towards the west, is chiefly divided
into three architectural parts, by buttresses of unusual elegance. The
great east window has been termed, by the historian of York, " the
finest window in the world," and is, assuredly, of exquisite beauty."
the edifice. We commence with the most ancient, and notice the principal buildings according
to priority of construction, rather than adjacency of parts. — The crypt is said by Mr. Drake
(author of Eboracum, or the History and Antiquities of the City of York) to have been •' re
built" by archbishop Roger, about the year 1171. But, from the style of architecture, it is
unquestionably of an earlier date, and was probably constructed during the prelacy of Tho
mas I. shortly after the year 1070. The south transept was built by Walter Grey, about 12S7 ;
and the north transept by John le Romaine, treasurer of this church, about 1269. Archbishop
John le Romaine, son of the last-named person, commenced the erection of the nave, in 1291 3
but this part of the fabric was not completed until the time of archbishop de Melton, about the
year 1330. The west front was erected under the auspices of this latter prelate. The present
choir was begun by archbishop Thoresby, in 1361, and appears to have been chiefly executed
during his prelacy, which extended to 1373. The chapter-house has been strangely attributed,
by Drake, and several other writers, to the time of Walter Grey, who built the south transept.
We are not aware of any documents which authenticate the aera of its erection, but, from the
prevalent architectural mode, it waB certainly built in the fourteenth century. The central tower
is said by Drake to have been commenced in 1370, and finished *' in 6even or eight years." But,
from the style of architecture, it is probably of a more recent date, and would appear to have
been chiefly constructed in the latter part of the fifteenth century. The upper parts of the two
western towers were erected in the reign of Henry VI.
12 In the frieze beneath this window are seventeen bustos, the size of life ; the flwt repre
senting a king, supposed to be Edward III. and the last a bishop, said to be archbishop Thores by.
At the summit of the window is a statue of that prelate, which appears to hayf- been placed thT*,
CU

YORK CATHEDRAL, [a. D. 1S19.
The north side, as regards the exterior of the choir and nave, is simi
lar in character to that upon the south. But an accession of archi
tectural grandeur is here obtained, in the beautiful proportions and
rich embellishments of the chapter-house. We present an engraving
of this side of the cathedral, as viewed in a north-west point of ob
servation. The fine elevation of the chapter-house ; the transept,
evincing the rude, but impressive, style of pointed architecture in its
earliest stage ; and the great central tower, rising in all the stately
splendour ofthe fifteenth century; unite in forming a scene of extra
ordinary magnificence.
The plan of this cathedral chiefly comprises a nave, with side
aisles ; a western, or principal transept, with aisles ; a choir, also
having lateral aisles ; and a lady's chapel, now thrown open to the
aisles of the choir. Two windows of the choir rise to the whole
height of the building, and, projecting from the main line of this
part of the cathedral, produce a second, or eastern transept, of small
extent. On the north, the chapter-house communicates with the
principal transept, by means of an ornamental avenue ; and there are
several buildings, of subordinate interest, connected with different
parts of the edifice.
The expectations created by an external view are surpassed on an
examination of the interior. In the nave we behold, free from inno
vation, a fine example of the style which prevailed early in tbe reign
of Edward III. the "Augustan age of English architecture." The
arches are ofthe most felicitous proportions of which the pointed form
is susceptible ; the windows are richly, but not exuberantly, adorned
with tracery: — every part is ornamented, whilst no circumstance of
redundant embellishment is seen in any direction. The windows of
the nave, in common with those of nearly every part ofthe cathedral,
are sumptuously decorated with painted glass.'3 The capitals of the
columns, and tbe knots in the groined ceiling, display much curious
historic and hieroglyphical sculpture ; and various armorial carvings
are introduced in other parts.
The principal transept is one of the richest examples remaining of
that first regular modification of the pointed style in this country,
which is usually denominated early English architecture. The arches
in grateful remembrance of thc completion of the cathedral under his auspices. On the second
tier of tlie octangular buttresses at the angles, are statues of the two knights, Robert de
Vavasour, and Robert de Percy, who furnished stone and wood, from their respective estates,
towards the re-edification of the cathedral. Statues of tlie same benefactors also occur on the
west front.
13 The principal window of the west front is divided, by mullions, into eight lights, the head
being enriched with beautiful tracery. The painted glass in the lower divisions, represents the
eight earliest archbishops of York, and eight saints.
tmj

1S19.]

YORKSHIRE.

are of a contracted and devious form, whilst mouldings of chevron-
work, and other ornamental particulars of the Anglo-Normans, are
partially retained, — blended with growing refinements in that improved
style afterwards displayed, with transcendant beauty, in superior parts
of this edifice.
The tower, constructed at the intersection of the nave and choir,
is supported on four pointed arches, in the spandrils of which are
sculptured armorial devices. The interior is worked in tiers of niches,
surmounted by an open gallery of stone ; and the whole is illuminated
by eight windows, two on each side ; — thus constituting the fabric of
perforated masonry, termed a lantern.
The screen which separates the nave and choir is extremely superb,
and is enriched with statues of the English kings, from the time of
the Conqueror down to Henry VI.'4 Proceeding eastward, and enter
ing the choir, we find, in that part of tbe fabric, the same leading
principles of architectural design as in the nave ; but a rising affection
towards excess of ornament is visible in the subordinate parts, — a
memorable denotation of the instability of taste, in a walk of art so
open to vicissitude as that of ancient English architecture, the favour
ite soil of fanciful experiment. The sublime effect of this part of the
cathedral is greatly heightened by the magnificent east window, which
is almost unrivalled in elegance of design, and splendour of " storied
glass.'"5 The solemn aisles of this stupendous fabric acquire an additional
interest from numerous sepulchral monuments. The list of illustrious
personages here interred commences with archbishop Bosa, who died
in 687 ; but, in the various renovations of the structure, the ashes of
Anglo-Saxon kings, and early prelates, were too frequently treated
with a barbarous want of veneration, and are now indiscriminately
mixed with common dust.'6 The greater number of the archbishops,
M The figure of Henry VI. is said, by the historian of York, to have been taken down in
compliment to his regal successor, " as the common people bore so high a veneration for the
memory of this sanctified king, that they began lo pay adoration to his statue." The statue of
James I. now supplies tbe vacancy produced on the above occasion.
15 This celebrated window is nearly the same height and breadth as the choir, or central
division of the eastern part of the cathedral. The part beneath the springing line of the head
of the window, is in three ascending divisions. In width, nine divisions are produced by means
of stone mullions. The head is ramified into tracery of a beautiful character. Each part is
filled with pictured glass, representing events in sacred history, kings, saints, and mitred,
ecclesiastics. Tlie glazing of this window was commenced, at the expense of tbe dean and
chapter, in the year 1405, under a contract with John Thornton, of Coventry, who stipulated
to conclude the whole within three years.
16 it will be unnecessary to ascend to remote ages, in order to shew the little reverence
evinced for sepulchral memorials by those who have regulated many alterations in our cathedral
buildings. The church was newly paved in the year 173a, after a design by the late lord Burl
ington and Mr. Kent. At that time the numerous grave-stones in the western parts of the
church (which, as we are told by one writer, disfigured the ancient flooring) were worked into
the new pavement, the material being deemed extremely useful— after the erasure of tbe in-
(n)

YORK CATHEDRAL, [A. D. 1819.
since the re-edification of the cathedral commenced by Walter Grey,
are buried within these walls ; and several of their monuments afford
instructive examples of the state of the arts in respective ages. The
funeral memorials to other persons are, in many instances, equally
calculated to excite the sympathy of the moralist, and to gratify the
curiosity of the student in sculptural decoration.
Descending beneath the dreary tracts allotted to the dead, we
enter the crypt, which subterranean part of the cathedral is worked
under the eastern portion of the choir. The arches of the vaulting
are circular ; the pillars short and massy, their capitals shewing a
studied diversity of embellishment. The whole of this gloomy divi
sion of the structure is evidently the production of an early Anglo-Nor
man age, and is, probably, a relic of the edifice constructed by
archbishop Thomas, shortly after the conquest.
The principal building appertaining to the cathedral, but uncon
nected with the architectural design of the structure, is the Chapter
House. This beautiful fabric is of an octangular form, having, in
each of the eight compartments, except that which forms the entrance,
a window of elegant proportions, enriched with delicate tracery. The
stalls for the dignitaries are superbly canopied, and surmounted with a
gallery of exquisite workmanship. It may, indeed, be affirmed that
the peculiar magnificence of English architecture has been rarely dis
played in a more brilliant light, when exercised upon a contracted
scale, than in this choice specimen, proverbially the " fairest flower"
of the pointed style.1' Some extravagancies occur in the sculptured
capitals of those taper pillars of marble which separate the stalls, and
in the numerous pendants. We there view, exhibited in broad, and
scriptions 1 The following particulars respecting the old pavement are extracted from Drake's
Eboracum. " At our entrance into the church, before we look upwards, and dazzle our eyes
with the loftiness and spaciousness of the building, it will be necessary first to cast them on the
ground. Here, in the old pavement of this church, were almost an innumerable quantity of
grave-stones, many of which formerly shone like embroidery, being enriched with the images,
&c. in brass, of bishops, and other ecclesiastics, represented in their proper habits. In the
same pavement were a number of circles, which ranged from the west end up the middle aisle,
on each side and in the centre. They were about forty-four on a side, about two feet distance
from one another, and as much in diameter. Those in the midst were fewer in number, larger,
and exactly fronted the entrance of the great west door, that circle nearest the entrance in this
row being the largest of all. We take all these to have been drawn out forthe ecclesiastics
and dignitaries of the cliurch lo stand in, habited according to their proper distinctions, to
receive an archbishop for installation, or on any other solemn occasion. The dean and the other
great dignitaries, wc presume, possessed the middle space, whilst the prebendaries, vicars, sa
crists, priests at altars, &c. belonging to the church, ranged on each side) and, altogether,
when clad in their proper copes and vestments, must have made a glorious appearance."
17 The chapter-house of York is scarcely ever not iced by topographical writers, from the time
of Camden down to the present day, without the citation of the following verse, placed on the
wall of the building by an ancient architectural enthusiast :
" Ut Rosa flos florum
" Sic est domus ista domorum."
This inscription cannot be more expressively translated than in the words of Mr. Drake : " the
chief of houses, as thc rose of flowers."
fl>)

A. D. 1819.] YORKSHIRE.
sometimes indelicate features, the angry allusions which the regular
clergy among the Roman Catholics were wont to cast upon the
seculars, and which constituted the satire (perhaps the lampoons) of
unlettered ages. It must, however, be remarked, that, on subjects
more general, but not less capricious, the sculptor has expressed, with
almost unparalleled felicity, those wild indications of genius which can
be ranked under no other classes of design than the sti ange, the fearful,
and the grotesque. The library was formerly in an eligible apartment
at the south-west angle of the south transept, but has been lately
removed to a buildiug on the north-west of the Cathedral."
The chief members of this cathedral church, besides the archbishop,
are a dean ; precentor ; chancellor ; sub-dean ; four archdeacons ;
twenty-eight prebendaries ; a sub-chantor ; and five vicars-choral, in
priest's orders. There are, also, seven lay-clerks, or singing-men ; six
choristers ; four vergers, &c. The archbishop collates to all the
dignities, except the deanery.
The only palace now belonging to this archiepiscopal see, is
situated in Bishopthorpe, a small village in the vicinity of York,
towards the south. The original palatial structure on this estate was
erected by Walter Grey, in the reign of Henry III. shortly after that
prelate purchased the manor, for the use of himself and his successors
in the see. The buildings have, however, been re-edified at various
times. Considerable alterations were made by the archbishops Dawes
and Gilbert ; but the most extensive improvements were effected by
archbishop Drummond. When this prelate was translated to the see
of Tfork, he found the palace incommodious, and possessed of little
elegance, although much expense had been previously incurred in its
restoration. The improvements commenced under his direction were
begun about 1763, and tbe whole were completed in the six following
years. The chief front and portico, which evince great excellence in
architectural design, were finished in the year 1769, under the direc
tion of Mr. Thomas Atkinson, an architect residing in York. The
noble gateway, at the approach to the archiepiscopal demesne, was
erected in 1765. '» The fine gardens attached to the palace were ori-
18 The greater part of the hooks here reposited was bequeathed by the widow of archbishop
Matthew, whose name has occurred in a previous page. Many subsequent benefactions ha-.e
taken place, and the library is now of considerable value. The works chiefly relate lo divinity
and history. The most curious articles are the manuscript collections ofthe late Mr. Torre,
comprising extracts from the original records of this see, which were of great use to Mr. Drake,
in his History of the City of York and its Cathedral Church. — It may not be undesirable to
remark, in this place, that many local antiquities, of some interest, are preserved in thc vestry
of the cathedral.
19 Antiquarian curiosity may be gratified by observing that thc chief part of the stone used
in constructing this gateway, and the renovated front of the palace, was brought from the ruined
palace of Cawood, which formerly appertained to this sec.
(P)

YORK CATHEDRAL. [a. D. 1819.
ginally formed by archbishop Sharpe, but have been greatly improved
by his successors. The whole palatial structure and its dependencies,
are, in their present state, well adapted to those purposes of dignified
hospitality which are incumbent on the primate of England. The
liberal attentions of archbishop Drummond were not confined to the
buildings of the palace. He also re-edified the archiepiscopal chapel,
adding windows of stained glass, executed by Mr. Peckitt, of York.
It must, also, be mentioned, that the parochial church of Bishop-
thorpe was rebuilt at the instigation of this prelate, and chiefly at his
individual expense.
The deanery is a building of some antiquity, but considerably
defaced by several modern windows, introduced to the principal divi
sions. It may not be superfluous to repeat the remark, that <e this is
the only house within the ancient close, inhabited by its proper owner,
in right or' tbe church to which it belongs."
The diocess of York comprehends nearly the whole of Yorkshire;
all Nottinghamshire ; and part of Northumberland; which extent ot
ecclesiastical jurisdiction is divided into four archdeaconries. The
bishoprics subordinate to this metropolitical see are those of Durham ;
Carlisle 5 Chester; and Sodor and Man.

DIMENSIONS OF TIIE CATHEDRAL.
Extreme LENGTH from east to west is 524 feet; LENGTH of the principal transept, from
north to south, 222 feet. From the west end to Llie choir door, C6l feet. LENGTH of the choir,
135 leet; ol the space behind the altar, 26 feet; and of the lady-chapel, 69 feet. HEIGHT ofthe
vaulting in the nave , 99 feet ; ofthe two western toweis, 196 feet; ofthe central, or lantern, tower,
£13 feet. The octangular chapter-house is (33 ieet in diameter.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Plate I. An Interior View of the South Aisle, shewing the Window at the east end, which
is richly ornamented with painted glass. Underneath this Window is the monument of the
Hon. T. W. Wentworth, third son of Edward lord Rockingham, who died In 1723. On the
left is seen part ofthe great East Window, which rises nearly to the height ofthe Choir, and
exhibits much architectural heauty. It must be noticed, as a curious, and almost unique,
feature, that a gallery of open stone-work proceeds across this window, at the head of the
second scries of lights.
Plate 2, Represents the Interior of the North and South Transepts, with part of the Nave. In
the central part of the intersection are seen part of three of those lofty pointed arches which
sustain the Great, or Lantern Tower. Above, is displayed a portion of the decorated interior
ofthe same open Tower.
Plate 3. A View of the two Western Towers, with part of the Naive and its Aisle.
Plate 4. An Exterior View, taken from the North-west, and shewing the great central Tower,
the Nave and its Aisle; the North Transept; and the Chapter-house. Wc have already ob
served that this plate strongly exhibits each of the three styles of architecture which pi evail
in York Cathedral.
Plate b. This View is taken from the Dean's Garden, and shews the ancient, but partially
modernized, Garden-front of thc Deanery. In the distance the Cathedral rises with unusual
magnificence. The parts here exhibited to observation are the Central and two Western
Towers; thc end of thc South Transept j and part of the Choir, comprising that lofty pro
jecting Window which constitutes one part ofthe Second, or Eastern, Transept.
Plate 6, Represents the Crypt under the eastern part of the Choir. In the distance is seen part
ofthe Aisle ofthe Choir.
Plate 7. Is a View of the Chapter-house, from the East. On the left are seen parts of the North
Transept and itB Aisle.
Plate 8. A North-west View of the Archiepiscopal Palace, taken from the Banks of the Ouse,
(1)

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TOIRK CATIEBIAL,
Shewing t?ie t/rt'i//w</ it tfic Ri'of

2 TlT'JT Entrance 
3 Vest Tmrrs 
4 Jrc2ih.pILyerss Mvi
v 2Vai e  ...-
0 FcTlt.. 
7 Za/trftarn . _ - .  . -
$ Transef*t 
9 Snail entrance- . 

10 ^.4rchoF TfaZcerde Grab's Mcnx.
22 Df. . . Ehnpwns 2)
12 £ntr,mce to Choir.. . . _ .  «
23 jfreffi? fyraenrzeZH Man
i+Trr-ie 2YstfieZJ} D\
15 TaZpit.
2o.drJJ>r*T7ir<mt 11 Entranoo to t2m Chapter 722
16 Chafrter J2jtuSi
1$ Canszstery Gnat.
Il' Vestry
ZL Outer D.
22 Chmr.
23 Dean, Sryan 2Tydgns Tiimh.
24-^rc2ibJ' Savages Df
25 ST Tf?1 Gets Mm
ZCjLr<M?2Zu&ms D
Zl Df. . Ee&arir Df
28 Df. . ZjntplupX' 'D°.
2$ Zady 2£ny Eenmcks Df.
30 Stane GrfTins.  
32 Jltar.  
SZ Mm,* or' Henry Mcalcj Esaf. . .
33 De. . . . Sir Oearj/e SaviUc 23ar*
3+^drJib? StemeLr Mm* 
35 ZaJv feeds . . Df. ... 

Mrcfit? fo <>pr's Man''' 
37 2)". .FrewenJ D* 
38 Df. .jBrfforfams D°. 
39 DI. . Z£ztc2iews' Df 
40 Df . . SeweZZs Df. 
41 Df - . Sharp's Df. 
42 Df. . Dowrts STrnne.  '
43 27iaJ Watson WmtwartffsM
4-1-jLrMFDitrss D". 
¦ffi Mm? a/' Wf Wt-ntw.Tth
Earl of'' Stafford. 
¦k> ZoJy (JiapeZ  - :

Paulinus 625
See Vacant Twenty Years.
Cedda 664
St. Wilfrid 667
Bosa 677
St. John of Beverley 687
Wilfrid 11. 718
See Vacant about Twelve
Years.
Egbert 743
Albert 767
Eanbald I. 781
EanbaldH. 797
Wulsi, or Wulwi 812
Wymund 831
Wilfere 854
See probably Vacant for
several Years. (1)
Ethelbald 900
RedwardorRodewald 921

Wulstan I.

930

Oseitel

955

Atbelwald

971

St. Oswald

971

Adulph

993

Wulstan II.

1003

Alfric Puttoc

1023

Kinsine

1051

Aldred

1061

Thomas I.

1070

Gerard

1101

Thomas II.

1109

Thurstan

1114

Henry Murdac

1140

Hugo, or Hugh
Will, de St. Barbara
Robert de Gant 1142
Robert de Botevillin

1186
1189 1191
1206

1244

Hubert Walker
Henry Marshall
Simon de Apulia
Hamo
Roger de Insula
Galf. de Norwico
Fulco Basset
William
Walter de Kyrkham
Sewal de Bovil
GodfreydeLudeham 1256
Rogerde Holderness 1258
Will, de Langton 1265
Rob. de Seardeburg 1279
Hen.de Newark 1290
Will, de Hamelton 1298
Reginald de Gothe 1309

YORK.
ARCHBISHOPS.
St. William 1153
Roger 1 1 54
See Vacant Ten Years.
Geoff. Plantagenet 1191
See Vacant Four Years.
Walter Grey 1216
Sewal de Bovil 1256
Godfrey de Ludeham 1 258
Walter Giffard 1266
William Wiekwaine 1279
John le Romaine 1285
Henry de Newark 1296
Thos. de Corbridge 1299
Wm. de Greenfield,
or Greenville 1305
William de Melton 1315
Wm. de la Zouch 1340
John Thoresby 1352
Alexander Neville 1374
Thomas Arundel 1388
Robert Waldby 1396
Richard Serope 1398
See Vacant about Two
Years.
Henry Bowet 1407
See Vacant Two Years.
John Kenipe 1425
W. Bothe, or Booth 1452
George Neville 1464
L. Bothe, or Booth 1476
Thos. de Rotheram 1480
Thomas Savage 1500
Christ. Bainbridge 1508
Thomas Wolsey 1514
DEANS.
Will, de Pyrering 1310
Rob. de Pyrering 1312
Will.de Colby 1332
Will, de la Zouch 1333
Phil, de Westmi 1347
Tailerand, Ep. Alban
Joseph Anglicus 1366
Adam 1381
Ed. de Strafford 1385
Roger Walden
Richard Clyfford 1392
Thomas Langley 1401
John Prophete 1407
Thomas Polton 141 6
Will. Grey 1421
Robert Gilbert 1426
William Fetter 1437
Richard Andrews 1454
Robert Bothe 1477
Chris. Urstwyre 1488
William Sheffield 1494

See Vacant One Year.
Edward Lee 1531
Robert Holgate 1544
Nicholas Heath 1555
Thomas Young 1561
See Vacant nearly Two
Years.
Edmund Grindal 1570
Edwin Sandys 1576
John Piers 1588
Matthew Hutton 1595
See Vacant One Year.
Tobias Matthew 1606
George Monteign 1628
Samuel Harsnet 1629
See Vacant One Year.
Richard Neile 1632
John Williams 1641
See Vacant Ten Years.
Accepted Freweu 1660
Richard Sterne 1664
John Dolben 1683
See Vacant Two Years.
Thomas Lamplugh 1688
John Sharpe 1691
Sir W.Dawes, Bt. 1713
Laneel. Blackburne 1724
Thomas Herring 1743
Matthew Hutton 1747
John Gilbert 1757
Robert Drummond 1761
William Markham 1777
Hon. Edward Venables
Vernon 1791

Geoffry Blythe
ChrUt. Bainbridge
James Harrington
Thomas Wolsey
John Younge
Brian Higden
Richard Layton
Nicholas Wotton
Matthew Hutton
John Thontburgh
George Meritun
John Scott
Richard March
William Sancroft
Robert Hitch
Tobias Wickham
Thomas Gale
Henry Finch
Richard Osbaldeston
John Fountayne
George Markham

1496
15031507 1512
151415161539
1544 1567
158.9 1617
1624166016631664
1676 169717021728
1747 1802

(1) Considerable difficulty occurs in arranging the succession of bishops at this period*
During the episcopacy of Wilfere, the invading Danes commenced those ravages in which York
severely participated. In naming Ethelbaldas the successor of Wilf ere, we have taken William
of Malmsbury as our authority.
Plate 9 (omitted in the List of Plates) is thc entrance to the Chapter-house Vignette, 'fitly
to Vol. IV.
/.)

INDEX TO YORK CATHEDRAL.
The italic letters indicate the pages marked at the bottom of the left side ;
thus (a) (b) tye. .and the letter N. for note*
the select members of the protestant church
in the time of Edward IV. and Elizabeth, ib.
Heath, archbishop, the estates, which were
alienated to the crown by archbishop Holgate,
restored through his influence in the reign of
queen Mary, g; death, ib. ; expelled his see
by Elizabeth, ib. — Herring, archbishop, ij
his character and exemplary conduct during
the rebellion of 1745, ib.— Holgate, archbishop,
g; alienated to the crown sixty-seven ma
nors, ib.
Library, p ; greater part of the books be
queathed by the widow of archbishop Mat
thew, ib. N. ; contains the manuscript col
lections of the late Mr. Torre, ib.
Markham," archbishop, i. — Matthew, arch
bishop, his talents held in high esteem by
Elizabeth and James I. ft; notice of his epi
taph, ib. N. — Melton, archbishop, contri
buted to the cathedral and contiguous build
ings, /.—Members, present, ofthe cathedral,
p. — Monuments, numerous in this cathedral,
n o. Neile, archbishop, ft.— Neville, archbishop,
brother of the earl of Warwick, /; his in-
thronizaLion feast described, ib. N.
Palace, archiepiscopal, p ; the original
structure erected by Walter Grey, ib. ; ex
tensive improvements effected by archbishop
¦Drummond, ib. — Paulinus, archbishop, be
stowed tlie baptismal benediction on king Ed
win, b; raised a fabric, composed of wood,
for that celebration, ib. ; built a church of
stone at Lincoln, c; retired to Kent, and was
appointed bishop of Rochester, ib. — Planta
genet, archbishop, natural son of Henry II. e;
his character, ib. — Plates, list of, q.
Sandys, Edwin, one of the divines appoint
ed to argue with the Roman catholics before
the two houses of parliament, ft. — Scrope,
archbishop, entered into rebellion against
Henry IV. /; beheaded in a field near Bishop-
thorpe by order of that king, ib. — Sharpe,
archbishop, one of the most able prelates of
his time, i.— Statues of Henry VI. and James
I. nN.
' Thoresby, archbishop, order of precedency
established in his time, c d N. — Thomas,
archbishop, restored the cathedral after it
was destroyed in 10G9, e; divided the estate
of the church into prebends, ib. N.— Thores
by, second archbishop of that name, /. — Til-
Jotson, archbishop, i.
Vernon, hon. Edward Venables, present
archbishop of York, k.
Wilfrid, third archbishop, one of the most
distinguished prelates of his age, c; twice
expelled his see, ib. j founded the churches
of Hexham and Ripon, ib. N.— Wilfrid, sixth
archbishop, cj commenced a disputewith thc
archbishops of Canterbury respecting priority
of rank, ib. — William, archbishop, nephew
of king Stephen, e ; received canonization, ib.
Williams, John, h; commanded at the siege
of Conway castle, ib.; retired to Wales,
where hedied, ib. — Wolsey, card. g. , arrested
for high treason, and died at Leicester, ib.

Albert, archbishop, a native of York,
supposed to have descended from a noble fa-
«»ly,rf; journeyed lo Rome, ib. j rebuilt the
cathedral, ib. — Alcuin, an ecclesiastic em
ployed by Albert in rebuilding the cathedral,
d N ; left a poetical memorial of his patron, ib.
—Aldred, occupied the see at the time of the
Norman Conquest, d ; his character, ib. ; anec
dote of him, ib. N.; indebted for his elevation
to Edward the Confessor, c; crowned William
the Conqueror, ib. ; time of hii death, ib. ;
contributed to building the churches of Bever
ley and Gloucester, ib,— Arundel, Thomas,
translated hither from Ely,/; the first arch
bishop removed from this see to that of Can
terbury, ib.
Bainbridge, archbishop, poison administered
to him by an Italian priest, g\— Bishopthorpe,
church of, rebuilt by archbishop Drummond,
q — Bosa. tbe first archbishop that was buried
in this cathedral, c— Bugtos, seventeen be
neath the great east window, I N.
Cathedral, reduced to a state bordering on
ruin by Ihe Danes and Northumbrians, e; a
church composed of stone founded by king
Edwin, k ; reduced to a state of ruin in time
of war, ib.; repaired by archbishop Albert, ib. ;
reduced nearly to the ground by conflagration,
and rebuilt by archbishop Thomas, ib. ; again'
destroyed by fire, ib. ; the eastern division
rebuilt by archbishop Roger, ib. ; most ancient
part ofthe present building erected in time of
Henry III. ib. ; dates at which"different parts
ofthe cathedral were erected, ib. N. ; descrip
tion of the building, I o-f often termed York
Minster, /; exterior, ib. ; south side, ib. ;
choir, ib. ; east front, ib.; north side, m;
plan, ib. ; interior, ib, ; nave, ib. ; principal
transept, ib.; tower, n ; lantern, ib. screen
enriched with statues of English kings, ib. ;
great east window, ib. j aisles, ib. ; the old
pavement described byDrake, n o, N.— Chapel,
archiepiscopal, re-edified by archbishop Drum
mond, q. — Chapter House, o p; citation of a
verse placed on the wal I of the building, ib. N. ;
sculpture on the capitals of the pillars, o p.—
Christianity, the propagation of accelerated by
the marriage of Edwin, king of Northumbria,
a.— Crypt, supposed to have been built by
archb'ishop Thomas, o.
Deanery, q. — Diocess, extent of, ib. — Drum
mond, archbishop,i; preached a sermon on
thc coronation of his present Majesty, ib.
Edwin, king, married to the daughter of
Ethclbert, king of Kent, 6; became a proselyte
to thc christian faith, ib. ; received baptismal
benediction in pie city of York, ib. ; erected
a church at York, ib. ; killed in battle, c.
Gardens attached to the palace, p q,— Grey,
archbishop, favourite counsellor and minister
of king Juhn, /; founded the sub-deanery,
succentorship, and two prebends, ib. N. ; pur
chased White Hall, as a London residence for
the archbishops, ib. ; settled on the see the
manor of Thorpe, ib.— Grindal, Edmund, suc
cessively bishop of London, archbishop of
York, and archbishop of Canterbury, ft; one of

AN

ELUCIDATION

PRINCIPLES

Cttgltsj) Architecture.

INTRODUCTION.
In all ages the raising and adorning of sacred structures have
encouraged the genius and excited the emulation of mankind.
Ornamental architecture first appeared in edifices dedicated to
the services of religion ; and as nations increased in power or
wealth, their public buildings were decorated with the richness
and variety of their temples.
The origin of that species of architecture usually denomi
nated Gothic, is a subject on which science and industry have
been employed from the time of its disuse, A. D. 1520, to the
present era. The first inquirers, the architects of Italy and Eng
land, impressed with the sublimity and beauty of the moulder
ing remains of Greece and Rome, viewed with a prejudiced
eye this style of building ; and since time has developed
its merits and defects, authors have given opinions so varied
and numerous, as to defy the possibility of further originality :
to select and adopt those theories, best founded on exist
ing examples, must be the object of future investigators.
On a subjeet so interesting, it is to be regretted, that suffi
cient data cannot be ascertained at once to convey conviction
and to limit the bounds of fanciful conjecture.
By the increasing wealth and magnificence of the pontiffs,

10
the Capital of the world shone forth with renovated splendour.
Under their patronage religious structures were raised in purity
and taste, rivalling the classic remains other former grandeur '.
The encouragement given to the revival of Roman architecture
led to a contempt of every other2, and the architects of this coun
try, inclined to adopt the same manner as their brethren on the
continent, began their object by depreciating a style they
had never studied3 ; hence arose the term Gothic (before
adopted by the Italians) . About the commencement of the
twelfth century some of the characteristic forms of the pointed
style appeared in this country, whether originating here, or
borrowed from edifices on the continent, has not hitherto
been satisfactorily decided. Sir Christopher Wren derives this
style from Arabia, and believes it to have been introduced to
this country by the Crusaders*. Bishop Warburton, in his
notes to Pope's Epistles, supposes the Goths invented this
species of architecture, endeavouring to imitate the solemn
and beautiful scenes of nature, as seen in an extended avenue
of lofty trees. The Rev. James Bentham 5 and the Rev. J.
Milner 6, suppose the pointed arch to have originated in this
country from the intersection of semi-circular mouldings, ob
servable amongst the ornaments of the enlarged Saxon or Nor
man edifices ; and the latter author imagines the peculiar en-
1 See Bonani, Historia Templi Vaticani, the works of B ramante, Michael
Agnolo, Palladio, &c. &c.
2 See the notes to Captain Grose's Preface to the Antiquities of England
(Wren's Parentalia, pages 306, 297). This industrious and learned antiquary
observes, that " Two flat stones, with their tops inclining to each other, and
touching, form the rudiments of the pointed arch."
3 Walpole's Anecdotes on Painting, page 10T. " Inigo Jones, Sir Chris
topher Wren, and Kent, who certainly understood beauty, blundered into the
heaviest and clumsiest compositions, whenever they aimed, at imitations of
the Gothic."— Walpole, pp. 108, 109.
4 Sir Christopher Wren calls this style Saracenic ; and an elegant modern
writer supposes the Saracenic to be formed out of a combination of the Grecian
and Roman, wivh a mixture of Moorish or Saracenic, Egyptian, Persian, and
Hindoo. See Mr. Payne Knight's Inquiry into the Principles of Taste.
5 History of the Cathedral Church of Ely.
6 History and Survey of the Antiquities of Winchester.

11
richments gradually to have arisen after this new form of the
arch was adopted7. In the church of St. Cross, built A. D.
1 1 37, are windows with the pointed arch. Lord Orford ob
serves, " Shrines for reliques were probably the real prototypes
of this fine species of architecture ; it was a most natural tran
sition for piety, to render a whole church, as it were, one
shrine. The Gothic style seems to bespeak an amplification of
the minute, not a diminution, ofthe great8."
From a similarity of ornaments in the baptisteiy of Pisa,
built A. D. 1 132, and other buildings in Italy of that period,
with those of the pointed style, the Rev. James Dallaway 9 has
conjectured, " that some of the members of Gothic ornament
originated with Italian architects at Pisa 10," &c. • Mr. Murphy,
7 See History of Winchester, and Essays on Gothic Architecture, 2nd.
edit. Rev. J. Milner's Essay, page 132, &c
8 In the fourth volume of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edin
burgh, is an Essay on the Origin and Principles of Gothic Architecture, by Sir
James Hall, Bart. This gentleman attributes the pointed arch to the inter
section of bending rods, and the various characters of the style to the combi
nations of the same material, and in confirmation of the truth of this system
has formed a willow cathedral.
9 Observations on English Architecture, Military, Ecclesiastical, and
Civil. 10 The baptistery at Pisa, built by DiottiSalvi, in 1153, is a circular build
ing, whose external diameter is 160 Roman palms, supporting a coved roof
-and lantern. The exterior elevation is divided into three parts, the lower or
basement division contains twenty arches, rising partly perpendicular, and
at the top forming a semi-circle, from twenty three-quarter columns with
Corinthian capitals. From these capitals the arches rise without an impost,
after the debased Roman manner; between the columns are long narrow win
dows, with circular heads, and a kind of weather-moulding supported by a
bracket or corbel. Above the arches is a cornice which serves as the plinth
for the columns of the second division. These columns are smaller, and double
in number, supporting similar arches. From every two of these arches arises
a pyramid, with leaves running up the external angle, and surmounted by a
figure. There are pinnacles between each pyramid, ornamented as i n the pointed
style. The superior division consists of double pilasters, supporting pediments
and pinnacles, and in the dome are likewise canopies with all the peculiarities
of the pointed order. The whole height, including dome and lantern, is 250
palms. It is also to be remarked, thatthe windows in the superior division are
separated by a raullion, forming a quatrefoil on tbe top.

12
in his splendid publication on the church of Batalha, after
having stated the tendency of every ornament to the general
pyramidal form, says, " it appears evident from these in-
stances^ that the pyramidal form actually exists throughout
the several component parts, and the general disposition of
the edifice approaches as near to it at least as the ordonnance
of ah historical painting, which is said to be pyramidally
grouped. Hence we may comprehend the reason why the arch
was made pointed, as no other forms could have been intro
duced with equal propriety in a pyramidal figure, to answer
the different purposes of uniformity, fitness, and strength ; it
is in vain, therefore, that we seek its origin in the branches of
trees or in the intersection of Saxon or Grecian circles, or in
the perspective of arches, or in any other accidental or fortui
tous circumstances. The idea of the pointed arch seems
clearly to have been suggested by the pyramid, and its origin
must consequently not be attributed to accident but to ordina
tion1'." The late Rev. G. D. Whittington, in his Historical Survey
of the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of France 12, after having ex
amined the various edifices in that country, and compared
the different examples with specimens of the same eras in
England, forms the following opinion : " In the twelfth cen
tury a new character of building suddenly appeared, and spread
itself over the greatest part of Christendom. This has in latter
times been called the Gothic style, out of a silly contempt,
though it did not arise till long after the Goths were melted
down and lost among the nations of Europe. It has not the
most distant similarity either to Grecian or Roman architecture,
and its origin has been the subject of much controversy. We
are of opinion, that it is of eastern extraction, and that it was
11. Murphy's Batalha. Introduction, pages 3 and 4.
12. See the preface, pages 6 and 7. This work was intended to form a
part of an elaborate treatise on the rise of Gothic architecture in Europe. The
premature death of the elegant and accomplished writer prevented its further
progress.

13
imported hy the crusaders into the west. AU eastern buildings,
as far back as they go (and we cannot tell how far), have
pointed arches, and are in the same style ; is it not fair to sup
pose that some of these are older than the twelfth century, or
that the same style existed before that time ? is it at all proba
ble that the dark ages of the west should have given a mode of
architecture to the east ? We conceive, therefore, that the cru
saders introduced the fashion of the pointed arch, and the first
ornaments of the style, which are few and simple ; but the
richness it gathered in process of time, and the improvements
and alterations we observe in it from its first rise in the twelfth
to its extinction in the fifteenth century, are owing to the
munificent encouragement of the church, and the vast abilities
of the freemasons ofthe middle ages. These scientific persons
have great claim to our admiration, from the richness and
fertility of their inventive powers ; by them this eastern style
was transplanted into the west, and under them it was so much
altered and amplified, that it assumed almost an entirely new
appearance, from which circumstance the confusion and un
certainty which prevails respecting its origin has for the most
part arisen."
The same author questions the propriety of calling this mode
the English style of architecture ; since no contemporary churches
in this country could vie with the magnificent edifices at Rheims
and Amiens. The late Mr. Barry attributes the Gothic style to
the corruption of the Grecian and Roman manner, and pro
duces many examples to prove that the pointed arch, with the
peculiar ornaments, arose from this source13. Notwithstanding
some intemperance of his language when writing on this subject,
he seems to have felt the general effect of that style which it
was his object to depreciate1*. To recapitulate all the various
13 See the works of James Barry, Esq. historical painter. Fragment or
Materials of a Letter to Mr. Burke, on Gothic Architecture, page 123.
14 In his letter to his most distinguished friend and patron, Edmund
Burke, Esq. dated from Paris, November 6, 1765, he writes " The nave of
the church at Beauvais is really very striking ; it is Gothic, and has, I think,
incomparably a better effect than any thing I ever saw before."— Page 25.
B

14
opinions of authors would far exceed the limits of this work.
Every lover of architecture must feel grateful for the labours
bestowed, tending to direct the attention to those sacred struc
tures, which constitute the most valuable ornaments of the
British empire 15. In proceeding with the object of this Trea
tise, it will be desirable to avail ourselves of the information
suggested by each respective theory, while investigating some
prominent examples, with a view of ascertaining the rise of
this unique and captivating style.
With the declining grandeur of the Roman empire, archi
tecture, together with other arts and sciences, degenerated ; the
simple and elegant decorations of Roman and Grecian art are
vainly sought for in the first Christian churches built at this pe
riod16. The ancient temples, appropriated generally to one among
the numerous deities of Polytheism, were of comparatively small
dimensions, the Christian church intended for the accommoda
tion of a multitude, necessarily occasioned many deviations from
the accustomed manner 17. The unusual breadth of these edifices
required columns in the interior to support the expansion of the
roof, and the superior elevation of the centre division gave rise
to the pyramidal form ; hence arose the necessity of an upper
tier of windows to light the nave and choir. The horizontal
15 The patronage of his present Majesty, the labours and munificence of
the Antiquarian Society, and the many splendid publications on this subject,
within the few last years, have eminently tended to direct the public taste to
English architecture.
16 See the church built at Rome by Constantine the Great, in Bonani's
Historia Templi Vaticani, A. D. 324, and for the state of the arts at this
period, Gibbon's Decline and Fall ofthe Roman Empire, chap, 14.
17 Itaque Constantinus, juxta morem ejus temporis, Basilicam suam erexit
in earn formam dispositam, non servatis adamussim regulis, quibus juxta
morem antiquum Basilicas erigendas esse, postea docuit Leo Baptista Albertus
de re-aedificatoria : "Basilicas enem," ait ille, " aream habere oportet ita
comparatam ut sit earum longitudp ad lalitudinem dupla. Latitudo arae
dividetur in partes novem, ex quibus dabuntur quinque ambulation! mediae,
singulis autem porticibus binae. Turn et longitudo itidem in partes dividetur
novem, ex his una dabitur sinui tribunalis, amplitudini vero tribunalis in fau-
cibus dabuntur duae, &c." His regulis neglectis (quas tamen apud antiquos
in usae fuisse insertum est), Constantinus Basilicam aedificavit in modum
crucis, &c. — Bonani, J. V. caput 11, page 11.

15
cornice was afterwards omitted, and the semi-circular arches
between the columns forming the roof, and springing from the
capital without an impost. These innovations, naturally arising
from extent of magnitude, form the basis of some of the lead
ing principles afterwards reduced to a system. Our Saxon
ancestors, in their confined and massive structures, rudely
imitated the debased architecture then prevailing, sculptured
with the wild and grotesque fancies of the age 18. Soon after the
conquest, from the accumulation of wealth in the possession of
the Norman prelates, they were enabled to cultivate a purer
taste in their edifices by adopting, on an enlarged scale, the
prevailing manner, associated with a simpler and more ele
gant mode of decoration; but the affinity of the two styles
is apparent by examining their early structures.- The Abbey
church of St. Stephen, the exterior and interior of the abbey
church of the Holy Trinity, both at Caen, in Normandy,
and built by William the Conqueror, A.D. 1064, are striking
examples of simplicity and grandeur^. By the partiality of
13 Anglo-Norman Antiquities, by Dr. Ducarel, page 101. Among the
Saxon buildings mentioned by this author are Stewkeley Church, in Bucking
hamshire ; Warwick Church, near Carlisle, in Cumberland; the old Guild
hall at Exeter (now pulled down); Studland Church in Dorsetshire; Bar-
freston Church in Kent ; two door-cases of the Church of Patricksbourne in
Kent ; the Church of Crowle in Lincolnshire ; Iffley Church in Oxfordshire ;
part of the Church of Hales Owen in Shropshire, aud St. Kenelin's Chapel
there ; St. James's Steeple at St. Edmondsbury in Suffolk ; Tutbury Church
in Staffordshire ; the Chapel of St. Mary adjoining to the south side of the
parish church of Kingston upon Thames, in Surry ; the doorcase ofthe portal
of Pidmore Church in Worcestershire; the undercroft of Worcestershire
Cathedral ; the Chapel of St. Mary in Criptis, in York cathedral ; the
remaining part of the Hospital of Leonard in York ; the porch of Ouse
Bridge Chapel at York ; the pillars and arches in the ancient Chapel of
St. William on Ouse Bridge, at York; Addle Church, near Leeds, in
Yorkshire ; the church porch of St. Dennis, in Walingates at York ; Edward
tbe Confessor's chapel at Islip, in Oxfordshire ; St. Peter's Church in Oxford;
the porch of St. Margaret's Church at York ; the portal of St. Magdalen's
Chapel adjoining to the Bishop's Palace, at Hereford ; the undercroft of Can
terbury Cathedral ; the staircase leading to the registry, near Canterbury
Cathedral; the north front of the Benedictine priory at Canterbury; Green-
sted Church, in Essex ; the Church in Dover Castle, &c.
19 Anglo Norman Antiquities, page 51, &c.

16
Edward the Confessor this manner soon became generally
diffused; the confined buildings of the Saxons were eclipsed
by the lofty and ornamented structures now erected. The
towers of Exeter, and Durham Cathedral, Castle Acre Priory,
Norfolk; parts of Rochester, Ely, Peterborough, and Glou
cester Cathedrals; with many other buildings, evince the
taste and skill displayed at this period. On comparing the
early structures of Normandy with those in England, we find
the buildings in the latter more ornamented than those in the
former ; many of the enrichments peculiar to the Saxons are
engrafted on the enlarged Saxon or Norman style, while the
edifices in Normandy, of ah earlier period, are examples of a
chaste simplicity. These ornaments, adopted or invented by
the; Saxons, and occasionally used in this country, are very
rarely found, excepting in a few of the first examples in the
pointed style58.
It has been already observed, that the Christian church
required an internal magnitude unknown to the ancients, and
the necessary distribution of columns and windows gave rise
to the pyramidal form, one of the leading principles.
Transverse sections of Constantine's church, as given by
Bonani, built A. D. 324, to the abbey church of Bath built
A. D. 1532, have necessarily this form. Arches springing from
the capitals of columns, without the intervention of horizontal
cornices adopted by the Normans from the debased Roman
manner, gave rise to another peculiar principle ; namely, the
ribs or mouldings forming the vaulting, and issuing from the
extremity of the capital. To obtain an equal distribution of
light the Normans multiplied their small windows; these
frequent perforations in the walls required external supports
or buttresses ; but such are less frequent in their buildings than
in the pointed style, where the windows became a prominent
feature from their magnitude and decoration, and thereby
20 For accurate descriptions and examples of the enrichments peculiar, to
Saxon, and what has been termed Norman buildings, see the twelfth volume
of the Archtelogia, or the Essays on Gothic Architecture, published by Taylor,
Holborn.

17
rendering buttresses attached to each pier absolutely necessary
for the preservation of the fabric : these necessary additions,
by subsequent skill being crowned with spires or pinnacles,
became highly ornamental, and another characteristic principle
of the pointed manner. Mouldings projecting over the tops
of windows and doors, supported by a human head or a
flower, in order to prevent the rain from falling on the
inside, are observable in the baptistry at Pisa", and the
earliest Norman edifices"; these mouldings consisted gene
rally of two or three members, formed for the express pur
pose of throwing off the water ; the ingenuity of latter ages,
from this simple principle, invented decorations of the most
beautiful and elaborate workmanship, sometimes rising to
the whole height of the structure. Most of the characteristic
forms gradually proceeded from the deviations adopted in
the buildings erected in Rome, after the establishment of
Christianity ; and it is not improbable that the change in the
religious sentiments of mankind may have facilitated the
alterations in architecture which took place. Patronage and
employment cause the growth of genius ; and however illiterate
and barbarous mankind may have become, yet, with the vene
rable and pure models remaining of ancient art, some faint
imitations could have been easily made, had not an abhorrence
of objects associated with the rites of the exploded religion in
some measure sanctioned a capricious novelty of decoration.
It still remains to account for the origin of the first essential
principle, the pointed arch, which gave at once a decisive cha
racter, unlike the Roman, Saxon, Norman, Moorish, or any
other kind of architecture known or practised in the world.
The form itself is visible in the various productions of nature,
21 Weather-mouldings, or canopies over windows, are observable in the
elevation given.in Ducarel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities of St. T,h°nias l'Abhatu
near Caen, plate 7, a building said to be prior to the Conqueror. ,
82 Mr. Smirke, Jun. amongst various drawings submitted to the Society
of Antiquarians, has presented some of this edifice ; but Sir H. Englefield, has
proved that all the ornaments in the pointed style found in these structure",
are later additions.

18
observable in leaves, flowers, &c. and in the inclination of op
posite and bending branches of trees ; artificially in the inter
section and perspective of circular arches : considered as a form
only, it must have been familiar to the mind from the earliest
ages ; its adoption in architecture is the only point to be con
sidered. Accident can have no place ; it must have been the result
of a reflecting mind, necessary to complete the required
propriety and general fitness of the structure with the pyramidal
form in view. To the scientific mind the pointed arch was
an essential or concomitant, in order to produce that general
harmony and sublimity of effect, forming the very intent and
essence of the fabric; Mr. Murphy justly observes, that " its
origin must consequently be attributed, not to chance, but to
ordination." The riches and extent of territory subject to England, on
the accession of Henry II. to the throne, enabled his prelates,
whose power and wealth were unrivalled, to rebuild their
churches according to the new manner lately introduced.
Among the early examples, Salisbury cathedral proves that
unity of design was the ultimate object of architectural science.
In this edifice many of the enlarged Saxon enrichments are
retained. At this period " all foreign improvements, such as
they were in literature and politeness, in laws and arts, seem
now to have been in great measure transplanted in
England2*." Artists of other nations flocked hither, and
found ample encouragement from their scientific employers54.
The master masons were incorporated by papal authority, and
removed themselves to the different abbeys and churches as
required; and they reduced to a regular system, subordinate to
23 Hume's Hist, of England, A. D. 1189.
24 Walpole, in his Anecdotes on Painting in England, observes, " that as
alt the other arts were formerly confined to cloisters, so undoubtedly was ar
chitecture too, and that when we read that such a bishop or such an abbot
built such and such an edifice, they often gave the plans as well as furnished
the necessary funds." The histories of our cathedrals bear ample testimony
of the truth of this observation.

19
the pyramidal principle, the various detached ornaments ob
servable in other fabrics on the continent. The freemasons
received the blessing of the Pope56, and were first encouraged
in England by Henry III. where they were constantly employed
till the close of Gothic architecture'6. To these associated
bodies, aided by the advice and assistance of the wealthy and
scientific guardians of the church, may be attributed the uni
formity and regularity observable in the decorative part of the
pointed style which flourished in this country for a long series
of years, while during the same period it was declining on
the continent, torn by intestine divisions. Such was the real
strength and power of the church that, at a later era, while
civil discord between the houses of York and Lancaster filled
with blood and misery the kingdom from one extremity
to the other, ecclesiastical structures were raised in all the
pride of art. From this cause, notwithstanding some of the
rudiments may have been derived from the continent, no
country possesses so many structures, and in so pure and uniform
a style, as can be found in the British empire. The appellation
of English architecture is due, when it is considered that in no
other country can this manner of building be studied free from
heterogeneous and discordant parts. From 1250 to 1450 this
system of architecture was in its highest state of perfection;
whatever is valuable for correctness and delicacy of execution,
25 Dallaway, page 45.
26 Masons, or aselect society of initiated persons, were employed by Caesar
on all public structures in Britain. St. Alban was a great patron, A. D. 303, and
king Alfred the same. Their history, as a society, is blended with that of the
various public buildings until the time of Inigo Jones, grandmaster, A.D. 1603.
In the reign of Edward the fourth they were so powerful as to call for the inter
ference of government, they influencing for the rates of labour, &c  See
Preston's Illustrations of Masonry.
The fraternity of masons in England admitted no other profession until
the reformation, when their employment and consequence were lost. The
alchemists, by giving them work, first joined them, until at length, by the
union of Rossicrucians with the worshipful society of masons, the manners
and occupations of the latter were lost in the blaze of the intellectual pursuits
of the former, retaining only the name and the masonic emblems. This union
took place under the auspices of Inigo Jones, G. M. 1636.

20
general harmony of parts, or beauty and originality of orna
ments, will be found in the various edifices and sepulchral
memorials erected during these periods :-rafterwards, an infi
nity of ornaments without variety, a profuseness of heraldic
sculptures, and a peculiar angular minuteness in the mouldings
prevailed, unknown in the earlier examples, where convex and
concave, mixed with angular forms, afford a pleasing variety.
It must however be admitted, that in structures decorated in
the florid or latter style, although the eye is wearied in tracing
the labyrinth of angles and the constant repetition of trifling
parts, they afford a solemn and pleasing whole27. About 1520
a sudden change took place ; the pointed style fell amidst the
ruins of the grandeur and power of papal jurisdiction in this
country. Holbein and Inigo Jones introduced the classic archi
tecture ; and while the latter had power by his structures to show
the purity of his taste, a novel style in this country was adopted
with felicity. The wretched architecture of succeeding times
shows the violent struggle between the pointed and the classic
manner, and this mixture of discordant principles continued to
the seventeenth century. Happily, the encouragement given
and the taste displayed by the nobility, joined with the
science and skill of our architects and artists, in exhibiting
the beauties of the Grecian and Roman manner, have enabled
us to erect buildings in all the grandeur and simplicity of
ancient times58. To his present Majesty we are indebted for
removing the veil which obscured the beauties of our own
style during these periods. The example shown by his Ma-
27 The structures in the latter, or florid style, were chiefly executed by
foreigners ; and, notwithstanding they belong to the same system, their varia
tion from the early manner is equal to that between the Corinthian and the Com
posite order. Pietro Toreggiano, a Florentine, was employed about Henry
the seventh's chapel and tomb; most ofthe artists employed by the same king
were foreigners.
28 Among the splendid works exhibiting the venerable remains of anti
quity, the Ionian Antiquities, Stuart's Athens, &e. display with astonishing
accuracy the treasures of Greece ; numerous publications likewise present us
with the splendor of ancient Rome.

21
jesty in erecting structures after this manner was followed by
many of the nobility and gentry, whose generous patronage,
aided and completed by public approbation, is sufficiently appa
rent by the many edifices erected and erecting, and the splen
did publications continually offered to the public.
The object of this work is to place in a striking point of
view the ornaments with their arrangements peculiar to the
pointed style; to attain its purity, a scrupulous attention is
necessary to those principles observable in the formation of
mouldings and enrichments, as well as their general combi
nation. To the experienced architect the principles here laid down
may be so obvious as to be deemed almost useless; the many
heterogeneous attempts to erect buildings in the pointed man
ner prove, however, that they are not sufficiently known or not
sufficiently attended to. Nothing can be more offensive to the
eye of taste, than an indiscriminate mixture of ornaments
belonging to every species of architecture ; how often is this
seen, where a less expense would have produced a fair and
consistent specimen ! The character and beauty of all archi
tectural subjects, in whatever style designed, depends on the
purity and judicious arrangement of their ornaments. The
pointed style requires extent and variety of construction, to
be adopted with advantage. Pointed arches are ill adapted to
cob-walls or thatched roofs. The ornaments of classical archi
tecture would be equally ill adapted to offices of a secondary
character, appended to a large edifice. Unless forming part of a
general whole, can there possibly be any propriety in erecting
offices whose appearance at once impresses on the mind a
transitory duration of not more than fifty years from the weak
ness of the materials employed in the style of the fourteenth
century ? while the grand feature of the principal fabric, built
in the Roman manner, cannot be anterior to the sixteenth.
Every species of decorative architecture has its peculiar
beauties, greatly depending on the judicious choice of
situation. What sublime impressions are conveyed by the
c

22
massive Grecian, temple, built on the rocky promontory ! while
the same temple erected in a, confined situation loses its cha
racteristic charms. The pure Roman style is desirable for civil
edifices, uniting elegance with utility. The English, or pointed
style, for sacred purposes stands unrivalled ; from the facilities
of combination the architect raises the mind " beyond this
visible diurnal sphere." In the sequestered vale, or above
the hanging wood, its turrets and spires claim affinity with the
spreading oaks ; and, on an extended plan, may be made sub
servient both to grandeur and convenience. The judicious
application gives to each its characteristic features ; the misap
plication tends to the injury of all. The injudicious mixture
which has lately been adopted is to be lamented. It is certainly
possible to unite in the same domain the various styles of archi
tecture ; but separations of wood or water should intervene. A
connected building must be of one style internally as well as
externally ; and the grounds, by their venerable shade and
lengthened avenues, should assimilate with the edifice.
In this work simplicity of arrangement has been attempted,
and only the peculiar forms noticed, that all attempts in
the pointed style may preserve their purity, and prevent that
assimilation with the Grecian or Roman manner, often
producing structures really belonging to no system of archi
tecture whatever.
Sir William Chambers observes, " As in many other arts,
so in architecture, there are certain elementary forms which,
though simple in their nature and few in number, are the
principal constituent objects of every composition, however
complicate or extensive it may be." Eight regular mouldings
form the basis of the ornamental parts of the Roman architec
ture. What astonishing effects have been produced by a few
deviations from the classical manner in the pointed style ! The
examples in this work are chosen from the cathedral of Exeter,
built during the era of the pure Gothic. This cathedral is
celebrated for its grandeur and simplicity of design, ,and the
arrangement and execution of the ornamental parts. , The in-

23
terior, although not remarkable for extent or altitude, is highly
impressive from its general harmony. In the recapitulation of
the essential principles, the parts common to all are omitted ;"
for, as Mr. Barry observes, " the differences between Grecian
architecture and that of China, Egypt, Persia, and the Gothic,
appears to consist in the ornamental parts. They have all the
essentials of necessity in common ; the fulcrums are perpendi
cular, and there is something at top and bottom resembling
capital and base ; in order to prevent the weight of the build
ings from sinking the trunk of the tree or fulcrum into the
ground, they have used a broad stone or step, and continued
range of plinth ^ and that it may not rot at top, they have put
on an abacus or tile, to carry off the water clear of the
fulcrum ; and the covering or roofs are pointed or raised in the
middle, in order to prevent any lodgements of snow, rain, &c.
that may annoy the building. The simple nature of the thing,
common use, and a few years experience, would teach thus
much — the Indian hovel and the Grecian temple have this in
common." Mouldings, therefore, common to all, as toruses, fillets, &c.
are omitted, unless there is a peculiarity in their distribution".
Mr. R. Mitchel, in the Essay accompanying his Plans and Views
of Buildings, 1801, observes, "If we consider how scrupu
lous the antients were in giving correct proportions to their co-
29 Objections have been made on the subject of calling the architecture
prevailing from A. D. 1066 to 1200, Norman, but Mr. Burdon, in Britton's
Architectural Antiquities, vol. iii. asserts the propriety of the term.
Normandy and England formed but one empire during those periods, and
the most friendly intercourse existed long before ; the artists engaged them
selves to either country according to the patronage offered them. We must
acknowledge that the Normans possessed the wealth of the church in this
country; by their power they commanded the talents ofthe age, and emulated
each other in the magnificence and extent of their buildings, most of which
are destroyed, or now mouldering away. The energies of that period claim
the gratitude and admiration of posterity, by a praiseworthy distribution of
tbe gifts of fortune, and a liberal encouragement of industry and talents-
talents afterwards brilliantly displayed in that unique style which forms the
subject of this work.

24
lumns, and that it was their unvaried opinion that these could
not be dispensed with unless by abandoning every thing that
was graceful or beautiful in architecture; when we reflect that a
style of architecture, as is the case in the Gothic, has since
been invented and established in practice, in which correct
forms or strict proportions have been disregarded; and, not
withstanding which, effects are produced in this style of archi
tecture, which in certain cases make stronger impressions upon
the mind than can be effected by the Greek or Roman, it will
then be confessed, that in the whole circle of human know
ledge there is no example of so astonishing a revolution taking
place in any other art or science." — Pages 14 and 15.

THE PRINCIPLES

ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE.

THE PRINCIPLES

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The peculiar characteristics of the pointed style may be
divided into four general and seven secondary principles.
The Four General Principles are,
I. The pyramidal form, observable in the general fabric,
and in the minute ornaments composing canopies, shrines, &c.
II. Buttresses, or external supports; these counteracted
the pressure of the vaulted roof, wood-work, and the external
covering of lead, &c. However massive the walls, the magni
tude of the windows required these supports to be attached to
the piers.
As in the transition from the primitive hut to the splendid
temple, so from a projection added from necessity arose
beauty, harmony, and grandeur of design.
The bold projections, and exuberant richness of composi
tion displayed in the western fronts of our cathedrals, arise
from the abutments built to resist the pressure of the internal
arches, dividing the nave and choir from the aisles; sur
mounted by pinnacles, they break the horizontal lines of an
extended building.
The buttress erected in the western front of the abbey
church of St. Stephen's, at Caen, in Normandy, built about
1061, and the buttresses built by Henry VII. about 1500, at
Westminster, demonstrate the progress of architectural en
richments. The enlarged Saxon or Norman support was simple in its
form, and of small substance ; the windows being narrow, the
piers were consequently stronger, requiring less support. In

v«

28
after times, when the pointed style began, the windows were
enlarged, divided by mullions and tracery, the vaulting ele
vated, requiring in the buttress bold projections, and consider
able substance, adorned with mouldings, pinnacles, &c.
In the light and elaborate work displayed in shrines, cano
pies, &c. the buttress was a leading feature, however small the
composition. Plate 1st. The front of St. Stephen's, at Caen.
AAA A shows the primitive buttresses. In this ex
ample is also seen the deviations from the regular
Roman architecture. Coupled columns of very
small diameter, and of considerable height, a small
facia, without architrave, frieze, or cornice. In the
circular arch are some of the Saxon enrichments.
Plate 2d. An elevation and side view of a buttress
in the pointed style, taken from the cathedral at Exe
ter. This example shows the progress of enrich
ments, the enlarged windows, vaulting, &c.
A. Front view or elevation.
B. Side view, showing a section of one half of the
building.
C. Column supporting the nave, &c.
D. Stone vaulting.
E. Timber work, with external covering of lead.
F. Pinnacles.

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III. The peculiar form of the arch, composed of segments
of circles, and also of nearly straight and undulating lines, ter
minating in a point at the centre, constituting the pointed arch.
The most ancient arch was narrow at the base, called the
lancet form. The most correct arch has been considered that
which is described by two segments of circles, drawn from an
equilateral triangle ; in general the arch most in use is broader
at the base.
In the latter, or florid style, as observable in King's College
Chapel, Cambridge, and Henry the Seventh's Chapel, at
Westminster, the form of the vaulting was much depressed, or
flattened. In tombs, shrines, &c. arches of this form are very common.
Plate 3d. Are shown lines of various arches, with their
respective dates.
A. The narrow, or lancet form, prevailing in Salisbury
Cathedral, &c.
B. An arch formed by segments of circles, drawn from
the exterior points of an equilateral triangle.
C. One of the series of arches in the choir of Exeter
Cathedral, built by Bishop Quivil, A.D. 1288.
D. The arch of Bishop Bronscombe's Tomb, A.D. 1283.
E. Ditto of Bishop Stapledon's, A. D. 1330.
F. The depressed arch of the florid manner.
IV. The clustered column. In the Grecian and Roman
architecture, the shaft of the column was composed of one
cylinder, gradually diminishing towards the top, one sixth of
its diameter. All parts of the composition were regulated
by the size of the column at the base. The clustered column
in the pointed style forms an aggregate of small cylinders,
and cylinders divided by mouldings ; and sometimes a column
consisted of one cylinder only. No rules regulated either the
diameter, or height; the shaft continuing the same size from
the base to the capital. D

30
The cylinders were always so arranged as to appear nearly
insulated from the surrounding parts, the whole being con
nected by the base and capital. In some instances, when a
single shaft is carried up a considerable height, it is divided by
a small horizontal moulding, similar in form to the member
marked D, in Plate 6.
As no rules regulated the proportions of the column, it may
be imagined that no pleasing general effect could be created;
but the attentive observer of our sacred structures will, by their
general harmony, discover that the builder's eye comprehended,
in one glance, the whole composition, from the base of the
column to the centre of the vaulting. The prominent cylinder
of the clustered column, leading the eye to the diverging ribs
, of the vaulting, uninterrupted by horizontal lines, connected
the vaulting with the column. This presents a complete con
trast to the Grecian or Roman manner, where horizontal lines
prevail. To this distinctive character may be attributed the
cause of the solemn and impressive emotions which the mind
feels on viewing buildings erected in the pointed style, and
which are seldom created, in an equal degree, by any other
system of architecture. For columns of various forms, see
Plates 4, 8, 9, 13, 14.
Having explained the four primary principles, consisting of
1st, the pyramidal form; 2d, the external supports, or but
tresses; 3d, the pointed arch; and 4th, the clustered column;
it now remains to treat of seven secondary principles.
I. Clusters of mouldings, or ribs, issuing from the extremity
of the capital, or from a corbel, spreading over the surface of
the roof. In the Grecian, or Roman manner, the architrave
sets perpendicular with the upper part of the shaft, giving the
capital a considerable projection from the superstructure. In
this style, the mouldings occupy the whole of the upper surface,
having only a small projection for the finishing moulding.
See Plate 4, A B.
This principle is always attended to in the general fabric,
as well as in smaller works of canopies, shrines, &c.

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Plate 4th. A. A capital of one of the columns, com
posed of a single shaft of Purbeck marble. The
mouldings of this capital are used throughout the
church. Being placed above the eye, the deeply
under cut hollow at C is finely seen, and gives great
elegance to the whole composition; this effect can
not be shown in the Plate.
B. A capital of a semi-clustered column, proceeding
from a corbel similar to that given in its general form
in Plate 5- D D, are small hollows sunk in the face of
the wall at E, which show how attentive the artists
were to that lightness of appearance, which is one of
the greatest beauties of the pointed style. This Plate
elucidates the 4th primary, and the 1st and 3d se
condary principles.
II. Corbels, or supports, formed according to the taste, or
caprice, of the artist, from masses of foliage, with or without
figures, as heads of kings, queens, bishops, grotesque forms of
animals, &c. These corbels were placed as they were required,
to support mouldings, galleries, niches, &c; and, in general,
they display workmanship of unrivalled execution, particularly
in foliage and flowers. The corbels usually terminate in an
upper moulding, which is filled up, as in the capitals, by the
ribs they support. This principle extends generally, and in all
smaller ornamental compositions.
Plate 5th. — A corbel, or support, from which springs
the semi -clustered column marked B, in Plate 4.
A. The semi-clustered column.
C. The moulding of the base.
B. elevation and plan ofthe erown, or weather moulding.
This plate elucidates the 4th primary, and thp 2d and 3d
secondary principles.
III. The peculiar forms and combinations of mouldings.
Some are composed of conjoined ovolo's, meeting in an angle,
or small band ; others by undulating lines, whose plans give
the forms of the pointed arch, used in tombs, &c.

32
, Fillets, or bands, so situated as to present to the eye acute
angles. In the Grecian, or Roman mouldings, the fillets are
always perpendicular ; in the pointed seldom so ; with deep
under-cut hollows, &c. The effect of these forms is peculiarly
striking, from the dark shadows thrown ; and, however minute
or trifling these distinctions may appear, no imitations can be
correct, without paying the utmost attention to the peculiarities
forming the basis of this principle. See Plates 6, 17.
Plate 6th. — 1. The impost mouldings extending
through the Church.
A. A moulding formed of an ovolo and an undulating
line, meeting in the centre in an angle.
B. Inclined fillet.
C. Deeply under cut hollow.
D. A moulding formed of ovolo's, conjoined in the
centre by a small fillet.
2L The cornice of a sepulchral memorial, over a repre
sentation of the fleeting state of humanity, a skeleton in its
winding sheet. This example is more modern than the first.
3. The impost mouldings of bishop Stapledon's tomb.
4. Mouldings over the effigies of Lord Mahon.
E. Shows the superior, or weather mouldings, supported
by a corbel.
IV. The diverging from the horizontal and perpendicular
lines of the lower mouldings. In the mouldings forming the
tracery of screens, windows, &c. the superior division, or upper
mouldings, divide the general composition into regular parts.
The lower mouldings, from the flexibility occasioned by their
diverging, as required according to the design, give an un
bounded scope to the genius of the artist. From this principle
arises a facility of decoration, most extensive and various. All
the variety and richness observable in the tracery of windows,
screens, &c ; the labyrinthing windings in the vaulting ; the
peculiar forms of triangles, quatrefoils, cinquefoils, leaves, &c.
acquire their source in this happy deviation from former rules.

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A system of decorative architecture, quite original, and distinct
from any other mode practised in the world.
This principle preponderates in «very ornamental compo
sition, and is the cause of that exuberant richness exclusively
belonging to the pointed style. The simple« manner is shown
in Plate 3, in the example marked G. The astonishing exten
sion of this principle, and its further application, willY be ob
vious in the various subjects forming the present work. -rSee
Plates 9, 12, 16, 20, &c.
V. Weather, or crown mouldings, surmounting, and de
tached from the other parts of the mouldings. This principle
gives the origin of canopies over windows, arches, doors, &c.
The superior moulding is always introduced in the interior as
well as the exterior of the building ; and the same principle is
observed in every ornamental composition decorating shrines,
sepulchral memorials, &c.
Plate 5, marked B ; and Plate 6, in the example 4, marked
E, show this moulding. See also Plate 9, in which this part
of the composition arises from corbels of human heads.
VI. Tracery, or open work, as seen in windows, or screens,
and also over the surface of walls in shrines, tombs, &c. It is
in all cases to be observed, that, in forming tracery, the larger
members of the mouldings separate the composition into regular
divisions; and all the exuberance observed is formed by tlie in
ferior members. This principle, arising from the 4th, is peculiar
to this style of architecture, and is the cause of its uncommon
richness. The tracery of the Church of Batalha^ in Portugal, as pre
sented to us by Mr. Murphy, notwithstanding it was built by a
subject of the British Empire, shows an exuberance of imagi
nation, very dissimilar to the manner adopted in the pure
pointed style, partaking of the peculiar forms belonging to the
Moorish embellishments. The general system of dividing the
composition into regular divisions by the superior mouldings, is
equally observable in the latter, or florid style.
The Plates 12, 16, 20, &c. illustrate the principle here
stated.

34
VII. The introduction of foliage and flowers is a leading
and prominent feature in all ornamental compositions. This is
opposite to the Grecian, or Roman architecture ; the enrich
ments there introduced being always subordinate, and confined
to the forms of the mouldings in which they are placed. The
external angles of pinnacles, pediments, &c. are adorned with
highly-projecting leaves, commencing from the base of the
pyramid, &c. to the apex; these leaves are called creepers; the
apex or top, crowned by a quatrefoil, formed by an assemblage
of leaves, &c. is called a finial or crocket. See Plates 2 at F
and 22.
Too much attention cannot be paid to the profiles adopted
by the artists of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; to
these enrichments ; and to the very peculiar raffling, &c. The
delicacy of execution, and undercutting,. is astonishing.
Having explained and illustrated the four primary, and
seven secondary principles, I shall now endeavour, by the
following plates, to point out in what manner each example
will further elucidate them. The same principles will, by
experience, be found to apply to every composition in the
English, or pointed style of decorative architecture. Simple
as this system may be, it cannot be too much impressed on the
memory, as every specimen of our venerable fabrics will tend
to illustrate the application. It may be stated that this work
is too confined to give a complete knowledge of the subject ;
it is presumed, however, that enough is here explained to
direct the attention of the student to the minute, as well as
the general combination of parts, absolutely necessary to be
engraven on the memory, in order to preserve the purity of
English Architecture.
Plate 7th. — A part of one of tbe sides of the east
window, taken below the springing of the arch.
The external line on the plan, shows the upper moulding
of the capitals ; the second the ribs ; the third line the
columns and mouldings. The effect of light and shade

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produced is very great, by the deep hollows, and particularly
by the bold projections of the moulding marked A.
B. The line of the glass.
Plate 8th. — The base and plan of the column, &c.
taken from the organ-gallery, or rood-loft.
The base at A, for variety and richness is unequalled
by any architectural composition of the same kind.
C. The plan of the plinth; the interior line, the plan of
the moulding at A. The mouldings of the capital
are given in Plate 4, at A.
The exterior line of the plan at B shows the extremity
of the upper moulding of the capital ; the second,
the ribs issuing from it; the third line, the shaft of
the column.
D. A moulding of the arch.
R. The superior moulding.
Plate 9th. — An elevation and section of the triforia,
or upper galleries.
A. Elevation.
B. Section.
Tliis example displays in its composition the 3d and 4th
primary, and the 2d, 4th, 5th, and 6th secondary principles.
The galleries continue uninterruptedly on each side through
the building, affording a complete interior communication, by
apertures through the piers, to within a few arches of the
eastern end. These apertures are shown in Plate 1 1 .
Plate 10th. — An arch of the grandest composition, in
bishop Grandison's Chapel. Within it was his tomb,
destroyed during the civil wars of the seventeenth
century.
A. The capital and base at B, together with the form
of the column, are given in Plate 13.
CC. The plans of the arch.

36
Plate 11th. — An elevation taken from the triforia, or
galleries, as shown in Plate 9, of the sides of the
upper windows.
A. A side view of the capital marked B, in Plate 4,
with the semi- clustered column.
B. The same moulding already described in Plate 7.
The continuity of this moulding increases, in a great degree,
the effect of light and shade, and a judicious division of the
ornamental parts. The ribs of the vaulting are also shown,
gathering over the apertures of the windows. The plan is
marked with letters corresponding with those on the elevation.
C. A section of the mouldings composing the vaulting.
Plate 12th. — The stone screen dividing the choir from
the aisles. This example shows the 4th and 6th
secondary principles. The mullion A A, separates the
composition into regular divisions. All the diverging
parts arise from the inferior mouldings forming a part
of A, and the plan of the same marked B. The
lesser mullion, marked C, diverges on each side,
forming the pointed arches from the moulding
marked 1. The smaller divisions are composed by the
mouldings marked 2. The profile of the upper
moulding at D, with the open work at the top, which
generally terminated every composition in the English
style.
Plate 13th. — The examples shown in this plate are
very peculiar in their form and enrichments. They
constitute part of the tomb of bishop Grandison, A.D.
1340, placed under a very magnificent arch, shown in
Plate 10. These examples illustrate the 4th primary
and 3d secondary principles.
Plate 14th. — Elevation and plan of the eastern side
of a chapel dedicated to St. James, now used as the

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priest-vicar's vestry. Simplicity and elegance are
united in this composition. In the central division
is a finely carved piscina, or lavacrum ; and on the
projections under the windows, the ampullae, &c.
were placed. The application of this design, in many
cases, will be obvious to the experienced architect;
illustrating the 3d and 4 th primary, and the' 1st and
3d secondary principles.
Plate 15th. — An elevation of the interior, showing one
complete arch, of the twelve, which separate the nave
and choir from the aisles. This example, displaying,
in one view, the beauties of the English style, con
nects many of the detached designs given in this
work. The plates are numbered the same as the
numbers shown on the side, where the examples are
situated. The grandeur, and beauty of the vaulting,
gathering over the apertures of the upper tier of
windows, exhibits a bold and impressive effect of
architectural science.
Plate 1 6th. — A part of the south wall of the aisles,
showing one window, with the columns, &c. between.
In describing the screen, Plate 1 2th, the division of
the subject into regular parts, by superior mouldings
was explained; and the same principle will be further
elucidated by this example. It will be found that all
windows of elaborate tracery are divided in the same
manner. The semi-mullion on the sides A A, and
the mullions marked BB, divide the tracery into large
compartments. The mullions marked C C, provide
the inferior mouldings composing the secondary
divisions, and the ramifications, diversified into
every form which the fertile genius of the artist
could imagine. The windows in this cathedral have
more variety of tracery than perhaps any others, every

38
window on one side varying in design, those on the
opposite side corresponding in form. Among the
many beautiful examples, exhibiting the extension of
the fourth secondary principle, few are superior to
the west window of York Cathedral.
Plate 17th. — Mouldings of Bishop Bronscombe's tomb.
A. A section of the side of the tomb, taken from the
part marked A, Plate 18.
B. The mouldings of the base.
C. The mouldings of the pedestal marked C, Plate 18.
D. The upper cornice.
These sections illustrate the peculiarities forming the 3d
secondary principle.
Plate 1 8th. — Bishop Bronscombe's tomb. This prelate
died, A. D. 1281. The letters are the same as in
Plate 17; and show where the sections are taken
from. This tomb is in excellent preservation, and is
a fine specimen of the arts at that early period.
Plate 19th. — The ornaments decorating the walls, and
part of the roof, of Bishop Oldham's Chapel. This
bishop died, A. D. 1 523. These are interesting speci
mens of the latter, or florid, style.
A. One division of the ornaments on the walls.
B. A part of the ceiling. Owls decorate the walls and
roof. The bishop's arms were, sable, a chevron or,
between three owls proper, on a chief of the second,
three roses gules.
Plate .20th.— An elevation of the front of Bishop
Oldham's chapel. In this design the partiality shown
for introducing heraldic sculptures is very striking.
This bishop was chaplain to the Duchess of Richmond,
the mother of Henry the Seventh. In the front we
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Plate 21st. — Ornaments of Speke's chapel, of the
same period.
A. A division of the ornaments on the wall.
B. A part of the ceiling.
Plate 22d. — South side of the three stalls near the
altar. This example is given to elucidate the
seventh secondary principle. The beauty and deli
cacy of the carving cannot be exceeded.
Plate 23d. — A section of the Church. This section
shows the mathematical skill of our ancestors.
A semicircular arch intersects the stone vaulting, and
terminates in the centre of the side walls; the
extremities of the catenarian arch would fall about
the centre of the side buttresses. The pinnacles not
only contribute to the beauty, but, by their weight,
add to the strength of the building. The whole
nearly forms an equilateral triangle, which form is
best adapted to durability. There is seen the east
window, the side of which affords the subject for the
7th Plate.
It is necessary to observe that to restrict all modern
attempts in this system of ornamental architecture, to the
buildings, shrines, tombs, &c. already executed, would lend to
fetter genius, and prevent its general utility. After having
examined, and studied with attention, the examples remaining,
the more extensive and various the artist can render the com
binations, provided the purity of English Architecture is
preserved, the more useful that style becomes; affording, at
the same time, many opportunities for the display of talents.

40

An Explanation of some Terms used in the English Style of
Architecture, and in describing the ancient Churches of
this Country.

The Altar.— This was the most highly-enriched, and
splendid part of the furniture in ancient Catholic churches.
The Altars, properly so termed, were, in numerous instances,
taken down, and their place supplied by the communion-table,
in the reign of Elizabeth, A. D. 1 559. (See Burnet, vol. iii.
p. 368). It may be curious to cite, from the Antiquarian
Repertory, the following- passage, relating to the entire demo
lition, in the civil wars of the 1 7th century, of those which
were spared by the agents of reformation. " The destruction
of Altars during this puritanical frenzy was so general through
out the kingdom, that there is not, at this time, in England
or Wales, one to be found of greater antiquity than the Resto
ration ; this fact was lately ¦ discovered, upon an inquiry of
some judicious antiquaries, with a view to the erection of an
Altar in the Church of St. Catherine, near the Tower, that
should. correspond with that ancient fabric; and this want of
an authentic exemplar for erections of this kind, will account
for the heterogeneous appearance in our cathedrals, and other
churches, of Gothic choirs, terminated by columns and pilas
ters, in the style of modern buildings."
Apsis. — The circular part at the east end of ancient churches.
Bays, or Days. — The ancient name for separate lights in a
window. Boss, or Orb. — An architectural ornament, introduced, at
the intersections of the ribs in groined ceilings. The Boss was
often intended to convey moral instruction, or historical infor
mation, by means of sculptured devices, rebuses, or armorial
badges. Buttresses. — A mass of masonry attached to, and pro
jecting from,, the external surface of the , wa,ll? .serving to

4i:
counteract the pressure of the vaulting, &c. In buildings
ascribed to the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Normans, the walls
are of so great a thickness that we find few external buttresses.
Where they occur, in this style of architectute, they have only
a slight projection, and are usually quite destitute of ornament.
The inferior solidity of the walls in structures erected in the
English, or Pointed, style, united with other causes, Jed to the
frequent introduction of buttresses. In tins mode of building,
they are generally very prominent, and are often surmounted
with enriched pinnacles. -.-
Campanile.— A bell tower. The tower for the reception
of bells is well known to have been usually attached to the
body of the Church, and to have been commonly placed at the
west end. Sueh^ however, was not uniformly its situation. It
was, sometimes, detached from the sacred fabric, particularly in
the instances of abbey- churches. The cathedrals of Chichester-,
Salisbury, and Worcester, had each a Campanile, distinct -frojn
the church. The bell-tower of the first-named structure is
still remaining, at the N. W. angle of the cathedral-'dose. In
Italy (according to the remark of Mr. Dallaway), the Campa
nile is invariably detached from the main building.
Charnel, or Carnary. — To most large cemeteries, or
consecrated burial-places, there was attached a charnel, "it
being esteemed," says an ingenious catholic writer, " a pious
act, and arguing a belief in the general resurrection, to collect
every fragment of the human frame which happened to be dis
persed, and to dispose of it, in the most decent manner, in a
place appointed for that purpose." To the Charnel, or Carnary,
was usually annexed a chapel, in which prayers were offered up,
" for the repose of the forgotten dead to whom the said frag
ments belonged."
Clerestory. — A range of windows, placed above those
constructed in the main walls of the building. "
Cloisters. — The ancient canons enacted that cloisters
should be built near the church. Their four sides had parti
cular designations; the western side was appropriated: to the

42
schools ; the side "next the church to moral reading ; and the
two other sides seem to be conjoined with the duties of the
church and chapter. The centre of the quadrangle was a green
plot, with a tree in the midst.
The cloister, or claustrum, however, in the simplicity of its
first mode of construction, appears to have been designed chiefly
as a covered walk, or ambulatory, for the exercise, and the
coli tempi ative or conversational recreation, of the religious,
within the boundary of their own walls. It has been described
as an imitation of the peristyle of the Greeks, and the piazza
of the Italians. Originally, it was of small proportions and of
plain architecture ; but was gradually enlarged, in conformance
to the increased splendour of ecclesiastical establishments ; and
many cloisters became, at length, conspicuous examples of
beauty in decoration. The advantages to health, study, and
tranquil relaxation, afforded by their covered walks, were so
obvious, that they were progressively appended to nearly every
eatbedral, and large monastic church, in this kingdom. Al
though in very dissimilar stages of preservation or decay,
instances of the architectural talent bestowed on the cloisters
attached to opulent religious foundations, are still to be wit
nessed in many parts of England. The most richly ornamented
cloister now remaining, is that on the north side of Gloucester
cathedral, which was finished in 1390. At Norwich is, also, a
cloister of abundant decoration, the chief parts of which were
erected at different times between the years 1297, and 1430,
through the liberality of various affluent contributors, From
the above examples we may, perhaps, be induced to admit that
a modern writer is not guilty of exaggeration, when he observes
that these buildings were, at length, " found to admit of the
full embellishment of the shrines and chapels, existing in other
parts of the church." To heighten the dignity of effect, and
to add to the warmth and comfort of the ambulatory, the win
dows, at least in the upper part, were filled with painted and
storied glass. The walls were also painted in fresco. Some
times, the claustral ambulatory consisted of two stories, as in

43
the instance of that appended to the old cathedral of St. Paul,
London. On the walls of that cloister was painted the Dance
of Maccabre (Holbein's Dance of Death). No architects
appear to have bestowed so much attention on the claustrum,
as those of our own country. It is remarked by Mr. Dallaway,
that, on the continent, almost every convent has its cloisters ;
and those annexed to the great churches are probably the best;
but they are chiefly plain, unornamented enclosures, for the
purposes of exercise and devotion.
Clustered Column. — Shaft, or body of the column,
formed of small semi-circular parts, joined towards a common
centre; the cylinders were sometimes divided by hollow spaces,.
or mouldings. The time at which columns of this description
were first introduced, together with some further particulars of
information, are thus stated by Mr. Essex (Archseol. vol. iv.)
" In the middle of the 12th century, many alterations were
made in the style of architecture ; and the bases and capitals,
ofthe pillars, and very often the pillars themselves, surrounded
with small shafts, were made of marble highly polished.
Marble was used for these purposes until the latter end of
Edward the Second's reign, though the other parts of buildings
were executed with common stones, of moderate dimensions,
and laid in the same manner as in the preceding ages. But in
the following reign we find that marble was much neglected
(either on account of the great labour required in cutting and
polishing, or because they found that the fine polish that was
given it was not of long continuance); and before the end of
Edward the Third's reign, it was quite disused.
Corbel. — A support projecting from the face of the wall,
and usually carved in a grotesque head, or a flower, a mass of
foliage, &c. From corbels issue columns, ribs of the vaulting,
&c. ' Lord Orford (Anecd. of Painting, vol. i. p. 3.) attributes
the introduction of corbels, thus fantastically carved, to
Marchion of Arezzo ; but Mr. Whittington, in the Appendix to
his work on " Gothic Architecture," observes, that " projecting
figures and heads, supporting consoles, like the corbels of

44
Gothic buildings," are to be found in the remains of the baths
of Dioclesian at Rome, as represented in " Adams's Views."
Creepers. — Are leaves carved on the outward angles of
pinnacles, canopies, spires, &c.
Crypt. — A vaulted, subterranean apartment, constructed
beneath many ancient churches. The dreary recesses so termed,
have given rise to much antiquarian speculation. That they
were originally, in some instances, connected with devotional
purposes, is evident from the writings of Richard, prior of
Hexham ; who, in describing the church of that place, notices
the " crypts, with oratories subterraneous, having winding
passages leading to them." It will be recollected that beneath
the old cathedral of St. Paul's were situated, in what was called
" the crouds," two places appropriated to divine worship ; —
Jesus chapel, and the church of St. Faith. In the " under
croft," or crypt, of Canterbury cathedral, is also still existing
the " Walloon Church." In regard to the antiquity of these
gloomy apartments, it may be remarked that they are usually
constructed in the circular (Saxon or Norman) style of architec
ture. That they were sometimes used as places of sepulture is
extremely probable ; but an intelligent modern antiquary sup
poses that they were not, in general, designed for such a
purpose, but were originally intended as sanctuaries. (See
Letter from T, Walford, Esq. F. S. A. to Mr. J. Norris Brewer,
Beauties of England and Wales, Introd.)
Fan-Work. — Is the name bestowed on the ornaments of
that species of fretted roof, upon a diminutive scale, which
consists in the frequent " reduplication of a small vault,
springing from four semicircular groins at the angles, which
rest upon pilasters."
Finials.— The flowers, or foliage, terminating spires,
pinnacles, &c.
Flying Groins. — Composing vaulting with galleries over,
issuing from corbels only.
Galilee. — This is the name bestowed on the porch,
formerly placed at the west end of most large churches;

45
instances of which are still remaining at Durham and Ely
cathedrals. " In these porches," says Dr. Milner, " public
penitents were stationed; dead bodies were sometimes deposited,
previously to their interment ; and females were allowed to see
the monks of the convent, who were their relatives. We may
gather from a passage of Gervase, that, upon a woman's apply
ing for leave to see a monk, her relation, she was answered, in
the words of scripture: " He goeth before you into Galilee;
there you shall see him." The appropriation of the name is
thus explained by Mr. Millers; " As Galilee, bordering on the
Gentiles, was the most remote part of the Holy Land from the
holy city of Jerusalem, so was this part of the building most
distant from the sanctuary, and was occupied by those unhappy
persons, who, during their exclusion from the mysteries, were
reputed scarcely, if at all, better than heathens." On the
abrogation of canonical penances, inconsequence of the frequent
crusades, the Galilee, or penitential porch, became unnecessary;
and was superseded, greatly to the embellishment of the struc
ture, by a broad and lofty window, sometimes engrossing
nearly the whole of the west end.
Horse-shoe Arch. — This species of arch is not of frequent
occurrence, and is formed by an arc of a circle somewhat
greater than the semi-circle.
Lanthorn. — This term, as applied to architecture, signi
fies that part of the tower of a church which is perforated, and
left open, so as to produce the effect of the louvre on the
interior. Of this architectural production we have fine speci
mens in the cathedral churches of Ely and Peterborough. As
nearly the whole inside of the lanthorn, or perforated tower,
is intended to be seen from below, the windows and side arches
are generally much wrought and ornamented.
Nodi — Are the ornaments covering the intersections of the
ribs of the vaulting (See Boss, or Orb).
Piscina, or Lavacrum— Is a hollow and perforated basin
of stone, placed in a small niche, or fenestella, cut in the sub
stance of the south wall. It is usually situated near the sedilia,
F

46
being evidently designed for the use of the altar, which formerly
adjoined that part of the church; but it is not unfrequently
found alone in the south walls of chancels and aisles. Some
times the piscina has a double hollow, both perforated, or
having a small hole in the centre. Where two drains occur,
it is believed that one was designed to carry away the water in
which the priest's hands had been washed, and the other to
receive that in which the chalice had been rinced. The con
secrated host, which time or accident had rendered impure,
was also dismissed through the same channel. The fenestella,
or niche, is generally ornamented, and is sometimes divided
into an upper and lower compartment, the former of which
acted as a receptacle for the cruets, or ampullae, holding the
consecrated wine and water.
It may not be superfluous to remind the reader, that we
frequently see, in ancient churches, a small square cavity in
the south wall of the chancel, distinct from the piscina. It is
said, in the Work termed " Ecclesiastical Topography," (Arti
cle Bedfont Church), that " this was the sacrarium or almery ;
and might have been used as a deposit for books, or to preserve
the chalices and silver cruets used in the celebration of the
mass. Such an one, above or near a piscina, was generally
appropriated to the reception of the cibori.um, or vessel con
taining the eucharist for the sick, which was consecrated from
time to time, as the use 6r*taleness of it might require."
The Porch, — So frequently appended to the south door
of our ancient churches, has been described as " the shadow,
or faint relic, of the Porticus of warm climates." It is said by
the late Mr. Wilkins, in the 1 3th volume of Archseologia, that
church-porches are never found in the circular (Saxon or Nor
man) style of architecture. But Mr. Stevenson, in his additions
to Bentham's History of Ely Cathedral, shows that this is an
erroneous assertion. The pofcheS of St. Margaret's, York,
and of the abbey church at Malmsbury, are both in the circular
mode. This appendage to our churches is connected with
several curious particulars of ancient usage. We are told, by

47
one of our best legal writers, that " the south door of the church
was the place at which canonical purgation was performed; i. e.
where the fact charged upon a person could not be proved by
sufficient evidence, and the party accused came to the said
door of the church, and there, in the presence of the people,
made oath that he was innocent." .The same writer adds,
" that plaints were heard, and determined, at the church door;
for which reason large porches were built over them." The
justice of these assertions is proved by an ancient author
(EadmerJ, who observes, that even " suits of the whole realm
were determined at the south door of Canterbury Cathedral, as
in the highest court of the king." The greater part of the
matrimonial ceremony was, likewise, performed in the porch.
Thus, Chaucer mentions his " Wife of Bath," as receiving her
husbands at the " church-dore." A recollection of these
ceremonies, and the sanctity which they imparted to the door
and its protecting porch, will enable us to account for the
numerous instances in which Saxon, or Norman door-cases are
stUl remaining on the south side of churches, which have been
otherwise renovated entirely in the pointed style.
Presbytery. — This term was formerly applied to the
chancel, or east end of a church, but is now disused.
Ribs — Are masses of mouldings, spreading over the surface
of the vaulted roof.
Roodlofts. — Galleries across the nave, at the entrance of
the choir, or chancel. The rood-loft acquired its name from
the great crucifix which was placed there, with its front towards
.the congregration. Besides the rood, or crucifix, it was also
customary, in great churches, to introduce sculptured figures
of sanctified personages ; as the Virgin Mother, and St. John
the Evangelist. It is observed by Dr. Milner that the rood-
loft (originally termed the pulpitum) " answers to the ambo in
the basilics of the primitive church, and was used for reading,
or chaunting, the lessons of the divine office ; as likewise for
containing the organ, and the minstrelsy in general, which
accompanied the choir below." It may assist the recollection

48
of the reader to observe, that the roods were taken down from
English churches, in consequence of an order of Government
issued in the year 1547; at which time the royal arms were
substituted for the cross, as may still be seen in many churches.
Such texts of scripture as condemn the use of images were,
also, then ordered to be written on the interior parts of church
walls. Sacristry. — A place where is kept the plate, &c. belonging
to the church. By old authors this word is sometimes written
sextry. Tanner (Pref. to Notit. Monast.) describes the sacrist,
as " the sexton, who took care of the vessels, books, and
vestments belonging to the church; looked after and accounted
for oblations at the great altar, and other altars and images
in the church; and such legacies as were given either to the
fabric or utensils. He, likewise, provided bread and wine for
the sacrament, and took care of burying the dead."
Screen. — A division composed of wood, or stone, separating
the chapels from the principal building, the choir from the
aisles, &c.
Sedilta — Are stone seats, found on the south side of
churches; they are often much ornamented, and vary in number
from one to five. Many opinions have been formed respecting the
use for which these canopied recesses were designed. Some have
thought them constructed for the accommodation of the
ecclesiastics whose office it was to visit churches; and others,
for the bishop while performing consecration; but it is now
supposed to be likely, by the most judicious antiquaries, that
they were intended as seats for the priest, deacon, and sub-
deacon, in the celebration of mass. The variation in number
does not prevent our believing that they were formed for the
use of customary priests, officiating in the ordinary celebration of
divine service, according to the Catholic rites. In the ill-en
dowed churches of small parishes, where one priest alone per
formed sacred duty, one seat only was provided. In the cele
bration of high mass among the more Wealthy, the three minis
ters named above would be attended, for the increase of splen-

49
dour, by an officer termed, ceremoniarius, or by tvyo persons of
that description. This officer was attired almost as sumptuously
as the priests. He bore in his hand a white wand; and his
duty was not much unlike that of a prompter, or marshal of the
ceremonies. It may be observed that the sedilia are often con
siderably elevated above the pavement of the church. In such
instances they were, undoubtedly, ascended by steps, which
appear to have been temporary, and were probably of wood.
Shrines — May be concisely defined as the sepulchres, of
Saints. They were, in fact, the repositories of tliebones, and
other reliques, of canonized persons ;,and, as such, they, became
objects of great reverence with the superstitious, and the sources
of considerable emolument to the churchmen by whom they
were erected. In order to convey a due understanding of the
term shrine, it may, however, be desirable to enter on some few
sentences of explanation. By this word, in its common ac
ceptation, is meant the fixed monument of the saint ; which
was an erection of considerable magnificence, and generally of
rich stone work. Within this gorgeous monument were enclosed
portable parts, denominated feretra ; which contained the
bones and reliques. When the feretory encased the whole
body of the sanctified personage, it was moved and exhibited to
the public on grand anniversaries only. If (as was often the
case), it enclosed a single relique, or divers small reliques of
different saints, it was borne in procession on less dignified,
though still important occasions. Some of the principal shrines
now remaining (although divested of their feretories, and more
solid treasures) are those of Edward the Confessor, at Westmin
ster; Bishop Cantilupe, at Hereford; of St. David (now ruinous),
in the cathedral of St. David's; of St. Werburgh, (mutilated)
at Chester; and of St. Frideswide, at Oxford. These are costly
monuments of stone, with the exception of St. Frideswide's, the
material of which is wood.
Spandril. — The space between an horizontal line drawn
from the top of the arch, and the line forming the arch,
Subsillia.— These are stalls of wood, situated an the qhoir

50
of ancient churches. They are usually surmounted by canopies,
and are often elaborately carved and enriched. The following
remarks occur in the History of Winchester : " That small
shelving stool, which the seats of the stalls formed, when turned
up in their proper position, is called a miserere. On these the
monks and canons of ancient times, with the assistance of their
elbows on the upper part of the stalls, half supported themselves
during certain parts of their long offices, not to be obliged always
to stand or kneel. This stool, however, is so contrived that, if
the body became supine by sleep, it naturally fell down, and
the person who rested upon it was thrown forward into the
middle of the choir. The present usage, in this country, is to
keep them always turned down, in which position they form a
firm horizontal seat."
Tracery. — A general term used for the ornamental parts
of screens, vaultings, heads of windows, &c. being the part of
the composition where the mouldings divide the space into
quatrefoils, cinquefoils, trefoils, &c.
Triforia. — Galleries, or upper ways round the fabric.
Besides the advantage of an uninterrupted communication with
the different parts of the building, formerly tapestry, and diverse
ornaments, were suspended on festivals; and here the nuns
occasionally attended during divine service. These galleries,
or triforia, are frequently seen in cathedral and other churches ;
and were often added to buildings of considerable antiquity, for
the purpose of rendering them more lofty, or commodious.

THE END.

Coef Printer, Little Carter-lane, St. Paul's.

ERRATA.
Page 10. — Note 1, for Bonani, read Bonanni.
Page 14. — Note 17, dele comma after esse, line 3.
Line 4, for enem, read enim — and for ita, read ita.
Line 5, insert a comma between the words comparatum and ut.
Line 10, for uss, read usu.
Line 11, for J. V. read T. V. — and for Bonani, read Bonanni.
Page [9. — Note 26, line 12, for Kossicrucians, read Rosicrucians.