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BELL'S CATHEDRAL SERIES:
EDITED BY GLEESON WHITE
AND EDWARD F. STRANGE
PETERBOROUGH
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF
PETERBOROUGH
A DESCRIPTION OF ITS FABRIC
AND A BRIEF HISTORY OF
THE EPISCOPAL SEE
BY
The Rev. W. D. SWEETING, M.A.
WITH FIFTY
ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON : GEORGE BELL & SONS, 1899
PSSf
First Published, February 1898.
Second Edition, Revised^ 1899.
I'RINTEU UY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH.
GENERAL PREFACE.
This series of monographs has been planned to supply visitors
to the great English Cathedrals with accurate and well illus-
trated guide-books at a popular price. The aim of each writer
has been to produce a work compiled with sufficient knowledge
and scholarship to be of value to the student of Archaeology
and History, and yet not too technical in language for the use
of an ordinary visitor or tourist.
To specify all the authorities which have been made use
of in each case would be difficult and tedious in this place.
But amongst the general sources of information which have
been almost invariably found useful are: — (i) the great
county histories, the value of which, especially in questions
of genealogy and local records, is generally recognised ; (2)
the numerous papers by experts which appear from time to
time in the Transactions of the Antiquarian and Archaeological
Societies ; (3) the important documents made accessible in
the series issued by the Master of the Rolls; (4) the well-
known works of Britton and Willis on the English Cathedrals ;
and (5) the very excellent series of Handbooks to the
Cathedrals, originated by the late Mr. John Murray, to which
the reader may in most cases be referred for fuller detail,
especially in reference to the histories of the respective sees.
GLEESON WHITE.
E. F. STRANGE.
Editors of the Series,
514963
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
The chief authorities consulted in the preparation of this
book are named in the text. Besides the well-known works
mentioned in the General Preface, and the " Monastic
Chronicles," there are several that deal with Peterborough
alone, of which the most important and valuable are " Gunton's
History " with Dean Patrick's Supplement, " Craddock's
History," the monographs by Professor Paley and Mr Poole,
and the Guide of Canon Davys. If I have ventured to differ
from some of these writers on various points, I must appeal, in
justification, to a careful and painstaking study of the Cathedral
and its history, during a residence at Peterborough of more
than twenty years.
My best thanks are due to Mr Caster of Peterborough, for
permission to incorporate with this account the substance of
a Guide, which I prepared for him, published in 1893; and
to Mr Robert Davison of London, for his description of
the Mosaic Pavement, executed by him for the Choir. I
desire also to express my thanks for the drawings supplied by
Mr W. H. Lord, Mr H. P. Clifford, and Mr O. R. Allbrow ;
and to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Photochrom
Company, Ld., and to Messrs S. B. Bolas & Co., for their
excellent photographs.
W. D. SWEETING.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Chapter I.— History of the Cathedral Church of S. Peter . . 3
Chapter II. — The Cathedral — Exterior 36
The West Front 39
The Towers .......... 44
The Porch and Parvise ........ 45
The Bell-Tower . 48
The Dean's Door ......... 50
The Lantern-Tower . . . . . . . . 51
The North Transept . . . . . . , .52
The New Building 5^
The South Transept . . '. . , ... 55
Chapter III. — The Cathedral — Interior 57
The Choir . . 60
The Choir Stalls 67
The Pulpit and Throne . . . . . . . . 70
The Organ, Baldachino, and Pavement 72
The Screens .......... 74
The Lectern 74
The New Building . . . . . . . . . 76
The Transepts . . . 77
The Saxon Church ... . . . . . . 80
The Nave . . '. '. 81
The Nave Ceiling 84
The West Transept . . " 87
Altars . . . . 87
Stained Glass .......... 88
The Parvise .90
Monuments and Inscriptions . '. 91
Chapter IV. — The Minster Precincts and City ... . . 99
The Chapel of S. Thomas of Canterbury . . . . .100
The Knights' Chamber . . , 1 01
The Deanery Gateway . . . . . . . . 102
The Infirmary and Cloisters . . . . . . .103
The Palace .......... 106
The City and Guild Hall . 108
The Tithe Barn 1 1 1
Chapter V. — History of the Monastery 112
Chapter VI,— History of the Diocese 127
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
The Cathedral, from the South-East . . . Frontispiece
Arms of the Diocese . Title
The Cathedral and Palace 2
The Cathedral., from the North, c. 1730 7
Remains of Saxon Church ........ 9
Map, 1610 .23
The West Front in the Seventeenth Century ..... 25
Iron Railings, 1721 ......... 27
Finial of the Central Gable of the West Front .... 34
The West Front • • • • 37
Plan of Central Portion of the West Front . . . . . 41
West Porch and Parvise ........ 43
Gates to West Porch ......... 44
South-West Spire and Bell-Tower . 47
The West Front, restored according to Gunton, 1780 ... 49
The Dean's Door 51
Apse and New Building, from the South-East • • • • 53
Plan of Monastery Buildings ........ 58
The Choir 61
View from the Triforium South of Choir ..... 63
North Transept and Morning Chapel . . , . . . 65
The Pulpit . .71
Apse and Canopied Reredos ........ 73
The New Building — Interior 78
The Transepts, looking North 79
Evangelistic Symbols, from Lantern Tower Roof . . . . 80, 81
Boss from Lantern Tower Roof ....... 82
The Nave, looking East . . . . . . . . 83
The Choir and Nave, looking West . . . . . . 85
Head of S. Peter in Ancient Stained Glass 89
Part of the Monks' Stone ........ 92
Saxon Cofiin Lids in North Transept ...... 93
Portions of Abbots' Tombs 94, 95, 96
South Aisles of Choir and Nave 97
South Side of the Close, 1801 99
Cathedral Gateway, 1791 10 1
Door to Palace Grounds from the Cloisters, 1797 .... 104
Door way to Cathedral from the Cloisters . . . . .105
Archway from Cloisters, North- West 107
Church of S. John the Baptist and Guildhall ..... 109
Rose Windows and Details of West Front . . . .117
Tomb of an Abbot, possibly Abbot Andrew, 1201 . . .120
Iron Railings, 1721 .123
Details of Cnasuble on Abbot's Tomb 129
Details of Albs on Abbots' Tombs 133
Plan of the Cathedral ..,,,,,. 135
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER.
Until some fifty years ago, Peterborough remained one of the
most perfect and unchanged examples in the kingdom of the
monastic borough. The place was called into existence by the
monastery and was entirely dependent on it. The Abbot was
supreme lord, and had his own gaol. He possessed great
power over the whole hundred. And even after the See of
Peterborough was constituted, and the Abbey Church became
a cathedral, many of the ancient privileges were retained by the
newly formed Dean and Chapter. They still retained the pro-
clamation and control of the fairs ; their officer, the high
bailiff, was the returning officer at elections for parliament ;
they regulated the markets; they appointed the coroner.
Professor Freeman contrasts an Abbot's town with a Bishop's
town, when speaking about the city of Wells. ^ "An Abbot's
borough might arise anywhere; no better instance can be
found than the borough of S. Peter itself, that Golden Borough
which often came to be called distinctively the Borough with-
out further epithet." And again, " the settlement which arose
around the great fenland monastery of S. Peter, the holy house
of Medeshampstead, grew by degrees into a borough, and by
later ecclesiastical arrangements, into a city, a city and borough
to which the clianges of our own day have given a growth such
as it never knew before."
Situated on the edge of the Fens, some miles to the east of the
great north road, without any special trade, and without any
1 ♦' English Towns and Districts/' 1883, pp. 103, 130.
4 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
neighbouring territorial magnates, it is hardly surprising that
the place seemed incapable of progress, and remained long
eminently respectable and stagnant. In one of his caustic
epigrams Dean Duport does indeed speak of the wool-combers
as if there were a recognised calling that employed some
numbers of men ; but he is not complimentary to those
employed, for he says that the men that comb the wool, and
the sheep that bear it, are on a par as regards intelligence :
" At vos simplicitate pares et moribus estis,
Lanificique homines, lanigerique greges."
In another epigram he derides the city itself, calling it con-
temptuously " Urbicula " ; and he suggests, with a humour
that to modern ideas savours of irreverence, that this little city
of S. Peter's, " Petropolis," unless S. Peter had the keys, would
run away through its ow^n gates.
The great development of the last half century is due to the
railway works at New England, and to the Great Northern
Line making Peterborough an important railway centre. In
1807 the entire population of the city and hamlets was under
3500. In 1843 it was just over 5500, and when the railway
was laid it was not much more than 6000. It has since gone
up by leaps and bounds. In 1861 the population exceeded
11,000; in 1871, 15,200; in 1881, 19,300; and in 1891,
23,600. The private diary of a resident of less than forty
years ago, would read like an old world record. The watch-
man in the Minster Precincts still went his rounds at night
and called out the time and the weather; sedan-chairs were
in use ; the corn-market of the neighbourhood was held in the
open street ; turnpikes took toll at every road out of the town ;
a weekly paper had only just been started on a humble scale,
being at first little more than a railway time-table with a few
items of local news at the back ; a couple of rooms more than
sufficed for the business of the post office.
In 1874 a charter of incorporation was granted, not without
some opposition ; it had been, up to that time, the only city in
England without a mavor, except Ely and Westminster.
An account ot the cnurch which is now the cathedral church
of a diocese that was only constituted in 1541, must of necessity
trace its history for some centuries before it attained its present
dignity, and when it was simply the church of an abbey.
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 5
Three centuries and a half of cathedral dignity have not made
its old name of Minster obsolete ; it is indeed the term
usually employed.^
The village was first known by the name of Medeshamstede,
the homestead in the meadows. There is no evidence that
any houses were built at all before the foundation of the
monastery. There was probably not a single habitation on
the spot before the rising walls of the religious house made
dwelling-places for the workmen a necessity. As time went on
the requirements of the inmates brought together a population,
which for centuries had no interests unconnected with the
abbey. The establishment of the monastery is due to the con-
version of the royal family to Christianity. It was in the
middle of the seventh century when Penda was King of the
Mercians, and his children, three sons, Peada, Wulfere, and
Ethelred, and two daughters, Kyneburga, and Kyneswitha. became
converted to the Christian faith. On succeeding to the throne,
Peada the eldest son, founded this monastery of Medeshamstede.
The first Abbot, Saxulf. had been in a high position at court ; he
is described as an earl {comes) ; and most likely had the practical
duty of building and organising the monastery, as he is called
by Bede the builder of the place as well as first Abbot {Con-
strudor et abbas). This was in the year 654 or 655 (for the
date is given differently by different authorities), and Peada
only lived two or three ) ears afterwards. His brothers in turn
came to the throne, and both helped to enrich the rising
foundation. The elder of the two, however, had lapsed from
Christianity, and killed his own two sons in his rage at finding
they had become Christians ; but afterwards stung with remorse
he confessed his offence to S. Chad, who had brought the
princes to the knowledge of Christ, and offered to expiate it in
any way he was directed. He was bidden to restore the
Christian Religion, to repair the ruined churches, and to
found new ones. The whole story is told with great particu-
larity by the chronicler, and it was represented in stained glass
in the cloisters of the abbey, as described hereafter.
^ A few other cathedrals which were originally churches of monasteries
are still called Minsters, as York (nearly always), Canterbury (occasionally),
Ripon, Southwell, and perhaps more. Lincoln Cathedral though often
called a Minster was a Cathedral from the first, and was never attached to
a monastery.
6 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
The church thus built must have been of considerable
substance, if, as recorded, Peada in the foundation of it " laid
such stones as that eight yoke of oxen could scarce draw one
of them."^ It has nevertheless, utterly perished. We read of
the continued support bestowed by a succession of princes
and nobles, of the increasing dignity of the house, and of the
privileges it acquired ; but there is nowhere a single line de-
scriptive of the buildings themselves. Gunton does indeed
speak of a goodly house for the Abbot constructed by King
Peada ; but he must have been capable of strange credulity if
he imagined, as his words seem to imply, that this very house
was in existence in the time of Henry VJII. He writes thus : ^
"The Royal Founder . . . built also an house for the
Abbot, which upon the dissolution by Henry the Eighth,
became the Bishop's Palace. A building very large and
stately, as the present age can testifie ; all the rooms of common
habitation being built above stairs, and underneath are very
fair vaults and goodly cellars for several uses. The great Hall
a magnificent room, had, at the upper end, in the Wall, very
high above the ground, three stately Thrones, wherein were
placed sitting, the three Royal Founders carved curiously of
Wood, painted and guilt, which in the year 1644 were pulled
down and broken to pieces."
There is no douljt that this first monastery was utterly
destroyed by the Danes about the year 870. The very
circumstantial account given in the chronicle of Abbot John,
derived from Ingulf, is w^ell known ; but as it is entirely
without corroboration in any of the historians who mention the
destruction of the monastery, recent criticism has not hesitated
to pronounce the whole account a mere invention. It is
unnecessary, therefore, to give it here. The account " may
have some foundation in fact," Professor Freeman admits,
"but if so, it is strange to find no mention of it in Orderic."^
But the discredit thrown upon the minutely graphic story of
Ingulf, does not of course apply to the actual fact, of which
there is ample evidence, that the monastery was burnt by the
Danes. Matthew of Westminster says : ^ — "And so the wicked
^ Gunton, p. 4.
^ " Ingulf and the Historia Croylandensis." Jiy W. G. Searlc, M.A.,
Canib, Antiq. Soc, 8vo. xxvii. p. 6$.
^ Scailc : Ingulf, p. 63.
8 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
leaders, passing through the district of York, burned the
churches, cities, and villages . . . and thence advancing
they destroyed all the monasteries {cmiobid) of monks and nuns
situated in the fens, and slew the inmates. The names of
these monasteries are, Crowland, Thorney, Ramsey, Hamstede,
now called Bu"'gh S. Peter, with the Isle of Ely, and that
once very famous house of nuns, wherein the holy Virgin and
Queen Etheldreda laudably discharged the office of abbess
for many years."
The re-edification of the monastery, henceforth known as
Burgh, is due to Bishop Ethelwold, of Winchester, with the
approval and support of King Edgar. This was accomplished
in 972. We have now reached a point where all can take a
practical interest in the subject, because portions of this church
are to be seen to this day. The exact site of the Saxon church
had always been a matter of conjecture until the excavations
made in the course of the works incidental to the rebuilding of
the lantern tower (i 883-1 893^ finally settled the question.
Many students of the fabric supposed that the existing church
practically followed the main outlines of the former one,
possibly with increased length and breadth, but at any rate on
the old site. It is now ascertained that the east end of the
Saxon church was nearly under the east wall of the present
south transep' and the south walls of the south transepts of
both buildings were but a very few feet apart. The dimensions
of the former church- both its length and breadth, were as
nearly as possible half of those of the existing one. A descrip-
tion of the present appearance of the remains will be found in
a later chapter (see page 80).
The Church of Bishop Ethelwold was not without its vicissi-
tudes. Nothing was more promising th'au its origin, and the
circumstances of its building. King Edgar and Dunstan,
whom he had made Archbishop of Canterbury, were very
enthusiastic in extending the growth of monastic influence in
the country. No less than forty Benedictine convents are said
to have been either founded or restored by Edgar Bishop
Ethelwold was entirely of one mind with the King and Arch-
bishop, in the ecclesiastical reforms of the day. Mr Poole
well describes the commencement of the work. " At Medes-
hamstede the ruins were made to their hands, and they at
once commenced the grateful task of their restoration and
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 9
appropriation. As usual, we find certain supernatural interfer-
ences assigned as indications of the divine approval of the
work. It is related how Ethelwold was directed by God, in a
dream, to go to the monastery of S. Peter, among the Mid-
English ; how he halted first at Oundle, supposing that to be
N^k^
?^^itoJj,i.^^.^.;>;.C--,
REMAINS OF SAXON CHURCH ^THE PIERS AND WALLS OF PRESENT
SOUTH TRANSEPT SHADED DIAGONALLY). DRAWN BY W. H. LORD.
the monastery intended ; but being warned in a dream to con-
tinue his eastward course, at length discovered the ashes of
the desolated Medeshamstede. It needs but little ingenuity to
collect from this that Ethelwold, having received some vague
intelligence of the present condition both of Oundle and Medes-
10 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
hamstede, started from Winchester, determined on reaching
either or both ; and that being less pleased with what he saw
at Oundle than he expected, he extended his progress to
Medeshamstede." ^ The Queen is said to have overheard the
Bishop's fervent prayers for the success of his object, and to
have used her influence with the King ; but he probably re-
quired very little persuasion to undertake what was so much to
his taste. It may be mentioned that if we accept the date 972
for the completion of the re-building (the Chronicle gives 970
for its commencement), the very same year witnessed that well-
known scene on the River Dee, when King Edgar held the
helm of a royal barge as it was being rowed by eight vassal
kings.
The King came to visit the monastery thus rebuilt under his
direction. The Archbishops, Dunstan and Oswald, with a
large company of the nobility and clergy attended at the same
time. The King is said to have inspected some old deeds
which had been saved from the general destruction a century
before, and to have wept for joy at reading the privileges be-
longing to the place. He therefore granted a new charter,
confirming all the old privileges and possessions. Since in
this charter no allusion is made to the triple dedication of the
church, but S. Peter alone seems named as the Patron Saint,
it is not unreasonable to conclude that the first church of
Burgh monastery was dedicated to S. Peter only, and that the
dedication of the original minster to SS. Peter, Paul, and
Andrew, was not repeated. Edgar says that he renews the
ancient privileges ^'' pro gratia Sancti Petri'' \ and that certain
immunities shall continue as long as the Abbot and the
inmates of the house remain in the peace of God, and the
Patron Saint continues his protection, " ipso Abbate cum stibjecta
Christi fatnilia in pace Dei^ et siiperni Janitor is Petro patrocinio
illud (sc. coenobiuin) regente" This charter is noteworthy for the
title the King gives himself, ^^ Ego Edgar totius Albionis
Basileus.^'
For some time this establishment continued to flourish.
But the troublous times that followed the Norman conquest
did not leave Burgh undamaged. It plays a considerable part
in the story of Hereward, the Saxon patriot. Situated on the
* "On the Abbey Church of Peterborough." By G. A. Poole, M.A.,
Arch. Soc. Archdeac. Northampton, 1855, p. 190.
HISTORY OF THE CATMEDRAL CHURCM OF S. PETER. 1 1
direct line between Bourne, his paternal inheritance, and the
Camp of Refuge near Ely, it was exposed to the attacks of
both the contending parties. Brando (1066-1069) had made
Hereward, who was his nephew, a knight ; and the patriot
might be credited with a regard for the holy place where he
had been girt at a solemn service with the sword and belt of
knighthood ; but upon Brando's death the abbacy had been
granted to a Norman, doubtless with the intention of making
the place available as a military centre. Hereward joined the
Danes, who had again begun to infest the district, in an attack
upon the abbey. The accounts vary as to the time at which
this attack was made. One says that it was before Turold, the
Norman Abbot, had entered upon possession : another says
that Turold had in person joined Ivo Taillebois in an attempt
to surprise Hereward and his men in the woods near Bourne,
but had been taken prisoner and only released after paying a
large ransom. When dismissed there seems to have been some-
thing in the nature of an undertaking that the Abbot would
not again fight against Hereward ; but as soon as he was free
he organised fresh attacks, obliging all the tenants of the
abbey to supply assistance. In revenge for this Hereward
went with his men to Burgh, and laid waste the whole town
with fire, plundered all the treasure of the church, and de-
stroyed all the buildings of the abbey except the church itself.
Though Hereward spared the church and went away, yet
very soon afterwards the monks, possibly sympathising more
with Hereward than with their Norman Abbot (who had left
them for a time), allowed themselves to indulge in a drunken
revel ; and while carousing, a fire seized upon the church and
other remaining buildings, from which Gunton says they
rescued only a few relics, and little else. But, as Mr Poole
has well observed,^ " we must receive such accounts with some
allowance ; and, in fact, neither was the abbey so despoiled,
nor the church so destroyed, but that there wds wealth enough
to tempt robbers in the next abbacy, and fuel enough for
another conflagration." Therobbers in question were foreigners
who got into the church by a ladder over the altar of SS. Philip
and James, one of them standing with a drawn sword over the
sleeping sacrist. The plunder they carried off was valuable,
but it was recovered when the thieves were overtaken. The
^ Poole, p. 193.
12 PETERBOROUGH CAtHEDRAL.
King, though he may have punished the robbers, retained the
goods so that they were never restored to the abbey.
That Ernulf (1107-IT14) should not have done anything
towards improving the church is a fact that speaks as plainly
as possible of its being already in good condition. Had there
been anything like the desolation that some accounts pretend,
Ernulf would have spared no exertions in his endeavours to
put things right. He came from Canterbury, where he was
Prior, and where he had already distinguished himself as a
zealous builder ; but all that is recorded as due to him at
Burgh is the completion of some unfinished buildings, the
dormitory, the refectory, and the chapter-house. We may feel
confident therefore that the Saxon Church built by Ethelwold
remained substantially as first erected until the time of ErnulPs
successor ; and that the remains to be seen to this day were in
their present position when Edgar and Dunstan visited the place.
These newly erected buildings were all that escaped a terrible
conflagration that occurred in the time of John of Sais (1114-
1125). Hugo Candidus, the chronicler, was an eyewitness
of this fire, and has left us an account of it. On the second
day of the nones of August, being the vigil of Saint Oswald,
King and Martyr (4th Aug. 11 16), through neglect, the whole
monastery was burnt down, except the chapter-house, dormi-
tory, refectory, and a few outside offices. The refectory had
only been in use for three days, having been apparently opened
(as we should say in these days) by an entertainment given to
the poor. The whole town shared the fate of the monastery.
The Abbot was a very passionate man, and being in a great
rage, when he was disturbed at a meal by some of the brethren
who had come into the refectory to clear the tables, cursed the
house, incautiously commended it to the enemy of mankind,
and went off immediately to attend to some law-business at
Castor. Then one of the servants, who had tried unsuccess-
fully to light a fire, lost his temper, and (following the evil
example of his superior) cried out, " Veni\ Diabole^ et msuffla
ignem" Forthwith the flames rose, and reached to the roof,
and spread through all the offices to the town. The whole
church was consumed, and the town as well, all the statues
(or perhaps signa may mean the bells) were broken, and the
fire continued burning in the tower for nine days. On the
ninth night a mighty wind arose and scattered the fire and
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. I 3
burning fragments {carbones vivos) from the tower over the
Abbot's house, so that there was a fear that nothing would
escape the devouring element.
The very next year John of Sais commenced the building of
a new minster. He laid the foundation on the 8th of March
II 18. Much work was probably necessary before a foundation
stone could be laid ; and Abbot John's Chronicle, wherein it
is said that the foundation of the new church at Burgh was
laid, on the 12th of March, in 7, may be speaking of the
actual commencement of the operations ; and Candidus, who
gives the later date, and who was present, may refer to a cere-
monial laying of a stone, after the ground had been cleared
and new designs prepared. The church then begun is the
minster we now see. The works commenced, as we find
almost universally the case, at the east end. The choir is
here terminated by an apse ; and before the eastern addition
was built in the fifteenth century, this apse, with the two lesser
ones at the ends of the choir aisles, must have presented an
appearance of much grandeur.
The Abbot who began the church did not live to see much
progress made, as he died in 1 125. He is said to have worked
hard at it, but how much was finished we do not know. The
next Abbot, after an interval of two years, was Henry of Anjou,
a kinsman of King Henry I. He appears to have been a
scandalous pluralist, restless and greedy, continually seeking
and obtaining additional preferment, and as often being forced
to resign. He was not the man to prosecute such a work as
was to be done at Burgh ; " he lived even as a drone in a hive ;
as the drone eateth and draggeth forward to himself all that is
brought near, even so did he."- It is likely that for eight years
after the death of John de Sais nothing was done to advance
the building. But the Prior of S. Neots, Martin de Bee, who
was appointed to succeed Henry, was continually employed in
building about the monastery ; and in particular he completed
the presbytery of the church, and brought back the sacred
relics, and the monks, on Saint Peter's day into the new
church, with great joy. Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, was
present ; but there was no service of consecration. According
to the Saxon Chronicle this took place in 1140; Abbot John
says in 1143.
^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anno 1128.
14 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Before proceeding further with the architectural history of
the cathedral (as distinguished from the description of it, which
will be given in due course), it may be well to say a few words
upon the principles which have guided the writer in his treat-
ment of the subject. These cannot be better expressed than
in a very pithy sentence uttered by Professor Willis at the meet-
ing of the Archaeological Institute at this very place in iS6i.
" In all investigations of this nature, I am of opinion that it is
requisite to ascertain first whether there exist any contemporary
documents which may throw light upon the history of the
fabric, and then to let the stones tell their own tale." Now
there is an abundance of documentary evidence for our pur-
pose ; but recent criticism has shewn that not all is to be relied
upon as authentic. And the Latin expressions for different
portions of the building can, in many instances, not be inter-
preted with certainty ; while the absence of all reference to
some works of importance (the West Front, for example), is
very mysterious. Most of these documents had been studied
in manuscript by Gunton and Patrick, and the result of their
studies was published in 1686. The work is entitled "The
History of the church of Peterburgh ... By Symon Gunton,
late Prebendary of that church .... And set forth by
Symon Patrick, D.D., now Dean of the same." Gunton was
Prebendary from 1646 to his death in 1676 ; Patrick was Dean
from 1679 till his consecration as Bishop of Chichester in
1689. Most of the documents in question have since been
printed. Two writers in the last half century have published
monographs on the cathedral, both of great value, both treat-
ing the subject after Professor Willis's method. These are G.
A. Poole, formerly Vicar of Welford. whose paper on tlie
Abbey Church of Peterborough was published among the
Transactions of the Architectural Society of the Archdeaconry
of Northampton in 1855, and the late Professor F. A. Paley,
a second edition of whose pamphlet, " Remarks on the Archi-
tecture of Peterborough Cathedral," was issued in 1859. It
by no means detracts from the value of the method employed
that the results of the investigations of these two careful
students of the fabric do not accord with one another. Much
must always be left to inference or conjecture. Since they
wrote many discoveries have been made which have shewn
some of their conclusions to have been inaccurate. But the
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. I 5
rule is a sound one, and indeed it is only by studying the
documents and the fabric together that one can hope to learn
the history of any great building.
Thus, when the chronicle records that Abbot Martin com-
pleted the presbytery, and that then the monks entered into the
new church, we should naturally understand that he built no
more than the existing choir and its aisles. But there can be
little doubt that his work included the eastern bays and aisles
of both transepts. The style of the architecture speaks for it-
self, "the stones tell their own tale," and the most careful study,
and the most painstaking investigations, have failed to detect
the slightest break in the continuity or character of the work.
This applies to the whole of the eastern part of the transepts,
excepting of course the alterations that were made in later
times. As Martin remained abbot till 1 155, it is probable that
he went on with his building after the choir had been opened,
and that this work in the transepts was done in the latter part
of his abbacy, but there is no record of it.
Of Abbot William of Waterville (1155-1175) we are told
that in his time were erected the transepts [ambce cruces) and
three stages of the central tower {ires ystoricB 7iiagistrcB hirris).
This does not contradict what has been said above as to the
eastern part of the transepts being built in Abbot Martin's
time. For the walls and aisles to the east only would be in
position ; and his successor might well be credited with the
erection of the transepts, if he built the ends and western
walls, and roofed in the whole. It is tolerably clear also that
this same abbot must have built the two bays of the nave ad-
joining the central tower. A tower of three stages, presumably
of the massive character that marks all large Norman towers,
must have had some western supports. Two bays of the nave
would act as buttresses ; and it is easy to see the difference be-
tween these two bays and the rest of the nave. Apart from
many minute points of difference which only an expert archi-
tectural student could fully appreciate, there is one conspicu-
ous variation which all can see. This is in the tympanum of
the triforium arches ; in all four instances we notice rugged
ornamentation here which occurs nowhere else in the nave.
Exclusive of the western transept we may assign eighty years
as the period during which the Norman Minster was being
erected. And it is one of the most noteworthy points in con-
l6 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
nection with its architectural history, and one that has produced
the happiest result in the grandeur of the whole effect of the
building upon the spectator, that each successive architect
carried on faithfully the ideas of his predecessors. The whole
work has been continued, as it were, in the spirit of one de-
sign ; and the differences in details, while quite observable
when once pointed out, are yet so unobtrusive that they seldom
attract notice. To mention one such instance, Mr Paley calls
attention to the different ornamentation on the windows of the
south transept when compared with those in the north transept,
as well as to the fact that on the south those windows have
straight sides to the inner surface of the wall, while those on
the north have the sides splayed. He justly argues, from these
and other considerations, that the south transept was built
arst.
To Abbot William of Waterville succeeded Benedict (1177-
1193). Of him we are told that he built the whole nave in
stone and wood-work, from the tower of the choir to the front,
and also erected a rood-loft. He built also the great gate-way
at the west of the precincts, with the chapel of S. Nicolas above
it, the chapel of S. Thomas of Canterbury and the hospital at-
tached to it, the great hall with the buildings connected ; and
he also commenced that wonderful work {i7/ud mir(/icum opus)
near the brewery, but his death occurred before it could be
completed. What this last named great work was we do not
know. It is at least possible that the reference is to the
western transept.
Considerable controversy has arisen as to the work in the
church thus attributed to Benedict. Both chronicles give him
credit for building the whole nave from the tower of the choir
to the front. The wording, however, of the two is so similar
as to cause some doubt as to their being independent authorities.
Granting that some small portion of the nave to the east, as be-
fore described, must have been built as a support to Waterville's
tower, the question remains, what is the front to which this re-
cord alludes? There is of course no doubt that the words
speak of the nave only, exclusive of the front. But was this
the present west front, as now remaining, or was there previously
a Norman front to the church ? There is much to be said on
both sides. Mr Paley believes the latter ; Mr Poole, the former.
And possibly the true solution may be found in a combination
tiistORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 1/
of both theories, though at first sight that seems impossible.
That a west front in Norman times was designed, and in part
built, Mr Paley has shewn most conclusively. He indeed thinks
it was finished, but that is open to considerable doubt. The
evidence on which he proves that two western towers were at
least designed is quite conclusive ; and the whole passage in
which he discusses the matter may be quoted.^ " Proceeding
towards the west end of the nave, v.e observe a very singular
feature. The third pillar from the west end on each side is
considerably larger and wider than the others ; and it also pro-
jects further into the aisles. The arch also, springing from it
westward, is of a much greater span. The opposite vaulting
shafts, in the aisle walls, are brought forward, beyond the line
of the rest, to meet the pillars in question ; so that the arch
across the aisles is, in this part, very much contracted, and, in-
stead of being a mere groin rib, like the rest, is a strong moulded
arch of considerable depth in the soffit. What appears at first
sight, still more strange, the wall of the aisles opposite to the
wider nave-arch just mentioned, is brought forward at least a
foot internally, but again retires to the old level at the last bay ;
so that in this particular part the whole thickness of the aisle-
wall is considerably greater. Not less remarkable is the cir-
cumstance, that the half-pillars on each side of this wider arch
resume the complex ^ form already described at the eastern end
of the nave, though they do not accurately agree either in plan
or details. . . . Now it seems highly probable that it was at
this very spot that it [i.e., a Norman west front] stood, with two
flanking Norman towers at the end of the aisles. The wider
nave-arch, with its massive and complex pillars, was the entrance
into the tower from each side of the nave. The thicker aisle-
wall opposite to it was, in fact, t/ie tower zvall. The larger
and heavier group of vaulting-shafts against the aisle-wall, and
the strong arch spanning the aisle across this point in place of
the groin-rib, were all parts of the tower. . . . The transforma-
tion of the base of these two immense towers into a compart-
ment of the aisle, so similar to all the rest that its real nature
1 " Remarks on the Architecture of Peterborough Cathedral." By F\ A.
Paley, M.A. 2nd Ed., 1859, p. 21.
2 The two eastern pillars of the nave are circular ; and the third pillar
from the tower, on both sides, is "composed of nook-shafts set in rect-
angular recesses against the body of the pier."
c
1 8 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
has never been hitherto suspected, is highly ingenious. It is
only when once detected that the anomalies above mentioned
are at all intelligible."
These arguments prove to demonstration that the intention
was to make the Norman church end at the spot where now
stand the third pillars of the nave ; and that the two western
towers had begun to be built. As an after thought another
bay was added to the nave, with western transept, and last of
all the grand west front was another after thought. But they
do not establish the fact that the towers were ever finished, or
the Norman west front actually erected. The considerations
adduced are perfectly consistent with the theory that the ad-
ditional length of the nave was decided upon while the towers
were still unfinished, and the lower part of the towers trans-
formed as Mr Paley has described. Thus we combine the rival
theories. For Mr Poole ^ maintains that the point, up to which
Benedict's work was carried, must mean the front we now see.
One argument he advances appears unanswerable.^ Of the two
chroniclers, Swapham takes his history down to 1246; Abbot
John ruled from 1249 to 1262. Both these writers therefore,
beyond all question, were alive when the present front was
finished. " Here are two people writing after the present west
front was erected, and for persons before whose eyes the present
west front appeared every day, and speaking of the tower and
of the west front as well-known limits to a certain work. Surely
they not only meant, but must have meant^ the front that then
was, in other words, the west front as it is noivy
The conclusion of the controversy may perhaps not yet have
been reached. But all the difficulties appear to be explained
by understanding that Benedict's work extended to the west
end of the present nave, and that he carried the whole building
further west than was originally intended, and managed to do
this without destroying the lower part of the towers which had
actually been raised.
^ Some of Mr Poole's reasoning, as to the different parts of the nave to
Ixi attributed to different abbots, depends upon an assumption that the
Saxon church was on the site of the present one, and that some part of
the nave was still existing in a ruinous condition while the present choir
and tower were being built. Recent discoveries have proved that this as-
sumption is groundless, for the nave of the Saxon church was beyond the
south aisle of the existing nave.
* Poole, p. 204.
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 1 9
When, therefore, the Norman nave, as originally designed,
was approaching completion, the designers determined upon an
extension of the nave, and a much grander western finish to the
church than had before been contemplated. This idea in-
cluded a dignified western transept, the dimensions of which,
from north to south, should exceed the entire width of the nave
and aisles. This would of necessity involve the lengthening
of the nave, because the monastic buildings came close to the
south aisle of the nave, at the point where the original termina-
tion of the church was to have been, as may be seen by the
old western wall of the cloister, which is still standing.
The two next abbots were Andrew (i 193-1200), and Ach-
arius (1200-12 10). To one or both of these may be assigned
the western transept. By their time the Norman style was
giving place to the lighter and more elegant architecture of the
Early English period, the round arch was beginning to be super-
seded by the pointed arch, and the massive ornamentation which
marks the earlier style was displaced by the conventional
foliage that soon came to be very generally employed. Most
wisely, however, the Peterborough builders made their work at
the west end of the nave intentionally uniform with what was
already built. Very numerous indications of this can be seen
by careful observers. The bases of the western pillars, the
change in the depth of the mouldings, characteristic changes
in the capitals in the triforium range, and especially the grand
arches below the transept towers, which are pointed, but en-
riched with ornamentation of pronounced Norman character,
all point to the later date of this western transept.
At the west wall of the church all trace of Norman work
disappears. The arcade near the ground, the large round arch
above the door, the great west window and its adjacent arches
(not, of course, including the late tracery), are all of distinct
Early English character. The whole of this wall may be held
to be an integral part of the west front, and not of the transept
which it bounds.
When we come to the most distinctive feature of the
cathedral, the glorious west front, we find we have no help what-
ever from the chronicles. Nowhere is there the smallest
reference to its building. Other works raised by the Abbots
of the period are named, but the noble western portico is never
once mentioned. Perhaps the rapid succession of abbots after
20 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Acharius may account for this. The building must have taken
some years, and the credit of the whole cannot be given to one.
There were four Abbots after Acharius before the church was
dedicated. They were Robert of Lindsey (121 4- 1222), Alex-
ander (1222-1226), Martin of Ramsey (1226-1233), and
Walter of S. Edmunds (i 233-1 245). During the abbacy of
this last the church was dedicated on the 4th of October 1237,
(according to the Chronicon Anglice Petriburgense), or on the
28th of Septemper 1238, according to Matthew Paris. The
Bishop of Lincoln, Robert Grostete, took the chief part in the
ceremony, assisted by William Brewer, Bishop of Exeter. The
other chronicle calls the second bishop suffragan of the
Bishop of Lincoln, which may mean no more than that he
assisted on the occasion. The dedication took place in
accordance with the provisions of certain constitutions which
had been drawn up at a council held in London. No doubt
the building had before this been completed. This date agrees
well with the period which all architectural experts accept as
the probable date of the erection of the west front. It may
have been, and probably was, finished some few years before
the dedication. The very fine gables at the north and south
ends of the western transept are of the same date as the west
front.
Considerable changes in the fabric, as well as additional
buildings, belong to the latter part of the thirteenth century.
The documents mention two of these. In the time of Richard
of London (1274-1295), but before his election to the abbacy,
while he was still sacrist, the bell-tower was erected, in which
were hung the great bells which were called Les Londreis, be-
cause he was himself a Londoner, and had caused them to be
brought from London. A previous abbot, John of Calais
(1249-1262), had contributed a great bell to the monastery,
which he had dedicated to S. Oswald. On it was inscribed
the rhyming hexameter y<?;^ de Caux abbas Oswaldo cotisecrat hoc
vas. The other great work of this period was a magnificent
Lady Chapel, since destroyed, begun in 1272 by William
Parys, then Prior, who laid the first stone with his own hand,
and placed beneath it some writings from the gospels. He
lived to see it completed, and at last his body was interred
within it. Its altar was consecrated in 1290, as is recorded in
the register of Bishop Oliver Sutton. It is described as having
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 21
been built of stone and wood, with a leaden roof, and with
glass windows. There was a statue of the Virgin, and round
the walls, or perhaps in the stained glass in the windows,
there were figures of those named in the genealogy, with
a compendium of their lives beneath each. The Prior con-
tributed five pounds of silver and upwards of his annual
revenues towards the decoration of this chapel. From an
engraving in Gunton's History, which may be taken as fairly
representing its appearance, for it was standing in his time,
although the drawing is manifestly inaccurate and must have
been sketched from memory, we gather that the windows were
of the same character as four which are still to be seen, three
of them in the eastern chapels of the south transept, and the
fourth on the north side, near the site of the Lady Chapel.
These are all of excellent geometric work, and precisely of the
date given. This chapel was built, as at Ely, to the east of the
north transept. The position of the roof can be traced on the
east wall of the transept ; and it can be there seen how the
Norman triforium windows were originally arranged. These
being covered by the Lady Chapel, had not been altered like
those in other parts of the church.
Other works of this century, not mentioned in the annals,
are the entire removal of the lower stage of Norman windows
in the aisles, these were replaced by wide windows of five
lights each ; the addition of a parapet to the apse ; the erection
of piscinas and other accompaniments to side altars, at the east
ends of the choir aisles.
For the rest of the architectural history we have no chronicles
to guide us, and are left to the stones themselves. But there
is very little difficulty in fixing at least approximate dates for
all the later work. The most important alteration in the
fourteenth century was the removal of the stages above the
four great arches of the central tower, and the substitution
of a lighter lantern. When this was done, the great round
arches east and west of the tower were changed into pointed
arches, but those north and south were left unaltered.
There is every probability that some signs of insecurity
had made themselves evident. We have seen that three
stages of the Norman tower were erected by Abbot William
of Waterville. Though not so stated we infer from this that
at least one more stage was afterwards added. In any
22 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
case the tower must have been a very massive structure, con-
siderably higher than the present one. In the early part of
this century, in 1321, the great tower of Ely had fallen; and
its fate may have warned the monks of Peterborough to see that
the disaster was not repeated here. This alteration must have
been made, judging by the details of the architecture, in the
second quarter of the century. Above the lantern was a wooden
octagon. The views that are given of this hardly warrant the
admiration that has been sometimes expressed, or the regrets
that have been uttered at its removal. It may have been
designed to carry a wooden spire, such as was afterwards
erected on the bell-tower. But most will agree with the
criticism that it was "a low and unsightly structure." It
hardly rose more than eight or ten feet above the top of the
lantern, and the whole height of the central tower, including
the octagon, was less than the height of the south-western
spire of the front.
To this century belongs the transformation of the triforium
windows all through the nave and choir. Parapets were at
the same time added above the Norman corbel tables. The
change effected in the apse was the most noticeable ; not only
were the two upper tiers of Norman windows replaced by
Decorated ones of larger size, but the three lowest ones in the
centre were altogether removed, and their place taken by lofty
archways, when the new building was built. But we can
judge of their appearance from the two side windows which
still remain ; these, being not now external, have had all the
glass removed ; but the muUions and tracery are perfect, and
even the iron-bars across are still there. At the inner surface
of the wall the five lower windows have very good hanging
tracery, of different designs.
The south-western spire of the west front is also of this
period, probably a little earlier in date than the lantern. This
is of very remarkable beauty, and very much more elegant than
the corresponding spire to the north. The triangular section
of the pinnacles at the base of the spire, the crockets with
which they are enriched, and the open canopies around, com-
bine to produce a most graceful feature. To the latter years
of this century may be assigned the central porch, with room
above, inserted between the two middle piers of the west front.
Some regard this as a blemish ; others as a distinct improve-
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 23
ment. One party maintains^ that it is " an unsightly encumb-
rance, in its present position, seeing that it violates the unifor-
mity of design displayed in the west front " ; the other party
contends '^ that it is " an extremely judicious insertion, and that
it really does, just as if it was intended for that purpose only,
restore its proper dignity to the central arch of the fagade." It
was most likely built as a matter of structural necessity, to
FROM speed's map, i6iO.
secure the stability of the front. From a settlement of the
foundations, or from a failure of the two central piers, or from
the great weight of masonry above, for there are no western
buttresses, the whole must have been in danger of falling.
Mr Paley points out that the " construction of this elegant Uttle
edifice is extremely scientific, especially in the manner in which
I Paley, p, 54. ^ Poole, p. 216,
^4 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
the thrust is distributed through the medium of the side turrets
so as to fall upon the buttresses in front. These turrets being
erected against one side of the triangular columns, on the
right and the left hand, support them in two directions at once,
viz., from collapsing towards each other, and from falling for-
ward. The latter pressure is thrown wholly upon the buttresses
in front, which project seven feet beyond the base of the great
pillars." The room above is called by Browne Willis the
Consistory Court. It is now used for the Minster Library.
The alterations and additions during the Perpendicular
period can be detected at a glance. All the Norman windows
which had remained unaltered were now filled with tracery, not
of particularly good design ; the great west window and the
others in the west wall were similarly treated ; the conical tops
to the transeptal corner turrets were altered into battlements ;
the screens in the transepts were made, and, probably, the
groined wooden ceiling in the choir. The most important
addition was the New Building at the east end of the choir.
This is often erroneously called the Lady Chapel ; but when
this edifice was erected the Lady Chapel to the east of the
north transept, and for more than 150 years afterwards, was
still standing. The new building was begun by Abbot Ashton
v^i438-i47i), whose rebus is to be seen in its decorations, and
finished by Abbot Kirton (1496-15 2 8). In the seventeenth
century the windows were filled with stained glass, but none of
this remains.
In 1 541, the reign of the abbots came to an end, and the
abbey church became a cathedral. For a hundred years the
church itself, as well as all the buildings attached to it, appear
to have remained in their full glory. There is no reason to
discredit the account given of the preservation of this church,
when so many others were dismantled or sold at the suppres-
sion of the monasteries. It was suggested to King Henry
VIII., after the interment here of Queen Katherine of Arragon,
that it would become his greatness to erect a suitable monu-
ment of her in the place where she was buried ; and in reply
the King said he would leave her one of the goodliest monu-
ments in Christendom, meaning that he would spare the church
for her sake. We conclude, however, from what we know of
the state of the fabric in the reign of Charles I., that although
no buildings may have been demolished, yet the church itself
THK WKST PROSPECT, OR FRONT, OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF
PETERBOROUGH IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY,
26 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
was falling into disrepair. No doubt the diminished resources
of the estabhshment, as well as the numerous demands upon
the stipends (never large) of the members of the chapter, most
of whom had duties and claims elsewhere besides having
families to support, materially reduced the amount that could
be annually devoted to the sustentation of the fabric. In the
time of the civil war much wanton destruction took place.
Nearly everything in the nature of ornamentation or embellish-
ment was destroyed. A full account of the mischief wrought
has been preserved. Without particularly naming such things
as books, documents, vestments, and the movable ornaments,
we find the damage done to the fabric itself was terrible indeed.
The organs, "of which there were two pair," were broken
down. All the stalls of the choir, the altar rails, and the great
brass chandelier, were knocked to pieces. The altar of course
did not escape. Of the reredos, or altar-piece, and its destruc-
tion, Patrick writes as follows : " Now behind the Communion
Table, there stood a curious piece of stone-work, admired
much by strangers and travellers ; a stately skreen it was, well
wrought, painted and gilt, which rose up as high almost as the
roof of the church in a row of three lofty spires, with other
lesser spires, growing out of each of them, as it is represented in
the annexed draught.^ This had now no Imagery-work upon
it, or anything else that might justly give offence, and yet
because it bore the name of the High Altar, was pulled all
down with ropes, lay'd low and level with the ground." All
the tombs were mutilated or hacked down. The hearse over
the tomb of Queen Katherine was demolished, as well as the
arms and escutcheons which still remained above the spot
where Mary Queen of Scots had been buried. All the other
chief monuments were defaced in like manner. One in
particular is worth mentioning. It was a monument in the
new building erected to himself by Sir Humfrey Orme in his
lifetime. Two words on the inscription, " Altar " and " Sacri-
fice," are said to have excited the fury of the rabble, and it
was broken down with axes, pole-axes, and hammers. So this
good old knight "outlived his own monument, and lived to
^ The engraving that accompanies this description represents a dignified
altar-piece, but seems taken from a rough drawing, or jiossihly from
memory. On the altar were two tapers burning, an ahns dish, and two
books. The Abbot's chair, of stone, is to the south, facing west.
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 2/
see himself carried in effigie on a Souldiers back, to the
publick market-place, there to be sported withall, a Crew of
Souldiers going before in procession, some with surplices, some
with organ pipes, to make up the solemnity." This monument,
as it was left after this profanity, is still to be seen exactly as
it remained when the soldiers had done their work. The
brasses in the floor, the bells in the steeple, were regarded as
IRON RAILINGS. DRAWN BY O. R, ALLBROW.
lawful plunder. The same would not be said of the stained
glass, of which there was a great quantity. This was especially
the case with the windows in the cloisters, which were " most
famed of all, for their great art and pleasing variety." All the
glass was broken to pieces. Much that escaped the violence
of these irresponsible zealots fell before the more regular pro-
ceedings of commissioners. By their orders many of the
28 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
buildings belonging to the cathedral were pulled down and the
materials sold. This was the case with the cloisters, the
chapter-house, the Bishop's hall and chapel. The merchant
that bought the lead from the palace roofs did not make a
very prosperous bargain, for he lost it all (as Dean Patrick says,
within his own knowledge ) and the ship which carried it, on
the voyage to Holland.
For some time nothing was done to repair the damage. At
length the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Oliver St.
John, obtained a grant of the ruined Minster, which he gave
to the town for use as a parish church, their own parish church
having also gone to decay. This gentleman was doubly allied
to the Cromwell family, his first wife being great-grand-daughter
of Sir Henry Cromwell, of Hinchinbrooke, and his second
wife daughter of Henry Cromwell, of Upwood. He had been
sent upon a distasteful embassy to Holland, where he experi-
enced many indignities ; and on his return, according to Mark
Noble,^ "he protested, that all the favour which he received
in reward for this embassy, was, that he obtained the cathedral
of Peterborough, which was propounded to be sold and
demolished, to be granted to the citizens of that place." The
interest that he took in Peterborough arose from the fact that
he resided at Longthorpe Hall, about two miles off.
The burden of restoring the church to a decent condition
being too great for the inhabitants, they agreed to pull down
the Lady Chapel, and sell the materials. This was done,
except that some portion of the woodwork was utilised in
repairs. The painted boards from the roof were made into
backs for the seats in the choir. An engraving of the choir as
it appeared in the eighteenth century shews these boards.
They are mostly adorned with the letter M surmounted by a
crown, and the three lions of England, in alternate lozenges.
Until the Restoration the church was served by a school-
master of the Charterhouse, Samuel Wilson, appointed by the
London Committee. When the cathedral body was restored,
further repairs were gradually effected, and when Dean Patrick
wrote, he says that the church was "recovering her ancient
beauty and lustre again."
But the same causes which operated to prevent very much
being done for years after the dissolution of monasteries, the
* "Memoirs of the Protectoral- House of Cromwell," ii. 18.
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 29
absence of any special fabric fund, and the inadequacy of the
revenues, again produced the same results. Browne Willis
published his survey of this cathedral in 1742. He says that
considering the pillaging of the church by King Henry VHL,
and the subsequent despoiHng by King Edward VI., and
Queen Elizabeth, " we may less wonder that so large a fabrick
has not had more care taken of it as it ought ; for I cannot but
say, that it is ill kept in repair, and lies very slovenly in the
inside, and several of the windows are stopped up with bricks,
and the glazing in others sadly broken ; and the boards in the
roof of the middle Isle or Nave, which with the Cross Isle is
not archt with stone (but wainscotted with painted boards, as
at S. Albans) are several of them damaged and broken, as is
also the pavement ; insomuch that scarce any cathedral in
England is more neglected." He proceeds to say that the
Dean and Chapter had recently set apart ^700 for repairs, and
intended to apply more money to the same purpose when
certain leases were expired.
While Willis w^as collecting information for his book, Francis
Lockier was Dean. In his time new seats were erected in the
choir which were " very plain and tasteless." They remained
until 1827. A new organ was also obtained. ;^i5oo was
spent on these alterations.
The record of other changes, until the time of Dean Monk,
is meagre. Dean Tarrant (1764-1791) collected the fragments
of stained glass and had them all inserted in the windows of the
apse. He also repaved the church, but most unfortunately with-
out carefully preserving the ancient inscribed monumental stones.
An altar screen and organ screen, from designs by Carter,
were erected ; but neither seems to have possessed much merit.
Dean Kipling (i 798-1822) is chiefly remembered from his
alterations to the lantern tower. He erected unsightly turrets
at the four corners and removed the octagon. These turrets,
commonly spoken of with derision as " Dean Kipling's chim-
neys" were of unsuitable height, and poor detail; they were
terminated with battlements. They were happily removed
when the tower was rebuilt.
Dean Monk (1822-1830) inaugurated and carried out an
extensive scheme of reparation. The appeal to the public for
subscriptions is dated 31st July 1827. It states that the altar
screen, choir screen, and all the woodwork in the choir are
30 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
unworthy of the structure to which they belong : that the Dean
and Chapter had substantially repaired the exterior of the
church at their own expense ; that they had procured plans
from Mr Blore, and an estimate of upwards of ;£5ooo for the
projected work. The members of the chapter in their corporate
capacity had given p^iooo, and had further individually sub-
scribed ;^io5o. The result of this appeal was that by June
1828 a sum of ;^502i iis. had been collected.
The improvements effected before this appeal to the public
was made are enumerated by Britton. As has been intimated,
the cost was defrayed by Dean Monk and the Chapter from
their own resources. The chief repairs and restorations were
these : — new roofs were put to the transepts and bell-tower ;
columns, mouldings, and ornaments in various parts of the
church were renewed; several windows, till then blocked up
with rubble, were opened and glazed, and in some cases the
stonework made good ; the pinnacles, spires, and shafts of the
west front were carefully restored ; two Norman doorways, which
had been obscured for ages, were exposed to view. The work
in the choir included new stalls and seats, pulpit, and throne ;
an altar screen of clunch, filling up the lower part of the apse ;
and an organ screen, also of clunch, with an open parapet, and
enriched with much diaper-work and many canopies, and
adorned on the west face with large shields of arms,^ very
brightly coloured, charged with the heraldic bearings of the
principal subscribers. At first there were only four stalls on
each side of the entrance to the choir; others were added, in
front of the ladies' pews, when Honorary Canons w^ere created
in 1844. This organ-loft did not occupy the place of the
former screen, which was where the monastic choir had always
terminated, at the second bay west of the tower, but was
placed under the eastern arch of the lantern tower. The
former screen was called by Rickman " a barbarous piece of
painted wood- work." It was either sold, or taken by the con-
tractors as a perquisite ; it ultimately found its way into a little
garden at Woodston, just across the river, where it was trans-
formed into a summer-house, or arbour."'^
Great admiration was universally expressed at the conclusion
^ These .shields, which were of metal, are now arranged on tlie walls of
the Hbrary.
* Where the author has often seen it. It was at last destroyed in a fire.
HISTORY OP^ THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 3 1
of this work. It was esteemed a marvel of beauty. Harriet
Martineau, in her " History of England during the Thirty
Years' Peace," thought the re-opening of the choir a matter of
sufficient national importance to be recorded in her book.
She writes thus : " A new choir of great beauty, was erected in
Peterborough Cathedral during this period, and the church was
made once more what it was before it was devastated by the
Puritans." All must admire the enthusiasm and devotion which
brought this restoration to a successful issue, although to the taste
of the present day it would all appear cumbrous and heavy.
In the time of Dean Saunders (1853- 18 78) the choir roof
was painted anew, and much valuable and important work was
done towards securing the stability of the fabric, by under-
pinning some of the walls, and in other ways; but all the
expense was defrayed out of the resources of the Dean and
Chapter, and no public appeal was made for assistance.
Indications of the insecurity of the lantern-tower had begun to
appear, one or more fragments of the masonry having fallen
from a great height ; and for some years before the tower was
condemned as unsafe, a wooden stage had been erected, above
the four great arches, as a protection in case more stones should
fall. The great pier to the south-east had been, time out of
memory, bound all round with strong iron bands. As far back
as 1593, there is an entry among the cathedral accounts, which
mentions that ^47 4s. gd. had been spent on "the great
column near the choir repaired with iron and timber." In
1882 the evidences of failure in the lantern stage were found to
be increasing, and its condition was pronounced dangerous.
Large gaps made their appearance towards the end of the year,
and in January 1883, the greater part of the tower was said to
be in a "state of movement."
It was very soon realised that nothing short of rebuilding the
tower from the foundation would meet the case. The first
stone was taken down on April 5th, and the tower and two
eastern piers were removed by August. The western piers
were soon afterwards condemned, and taken down the following
year. The chief corner stone of the new tower at the north-
eastern pier, was laid with full masonic ceremonial on May 7 th
1884, by the Earl of Carnarvon, acting for the Prince of Wales.
All the stones, as taken down, were numbered, and every one
that could be used again was replaced in its original position.
32 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
During this year there commenced a controversy as to the
correct way of finishing the building of the tower. When the
Decorated lantern was first built, the great arches, east and west, to
the choir and nave, were altered from the round to the pointed
shape. A few of the stones of the original Norman arches
having been brought to light during the work, some persons
wished round arches to be built as at first. Some stones of
the Norman tower were also found ; and it was proposed to
heighten the central tower by one stage of work in the Norman
style, using original stones where possible, and placing the
Decorated stage above it. Others again, wanted a lofty central
spire to be added. The matter was referred to Archbishop
Benson for his decision. In the result the whole was rebuilt
exactly as before, with the exception that the four corner turrets,
erected by Dean Kipling, were not replaced.
In 1886 the tower was finished. The transept ceilings were
repaired in this and the next year. All unsound wood was re-
moved and replaced by good oak. The diamond shapes are
still to be seen, but the black, white, and brown patterns have
been improved away. The discovery of the site of the Saxon
church, which will be described hereafter, was made in 1887.
Steady progress continued to be made in securing the safety of
various parts of the church ; and on July nth, 1889, a temporary
choir having been fitted up, divine service was again held in the
ancient ritual choir, which extended two bays into the nave.
During the next two years many contributors to the general
fund for the restoration, and some others, made gifts of special
objects for the embellishment of the choir. By the end of May,
1892, the mosaic pavement was almost completed, and the
bishop's throne, the pulpit, the litany desk, and eighteen stalls
had been erected. These gifts were solemnly dedicated at a
stately service held on June 2nd, when, after the litany and an
anthem, the special service was taken by the Archbishop of
Canterbury at the altar, and after that Te Deum was sung. A
sermon was preached by the Bishop of Durham, formerly Canon.
The Archbishop and Bishops wore their convocation robes.
Two years later the fitting up of the choir was very nearly
complete, four stalls only remaining to be supplied. At a second
dedication of gifts on May loth, 1894, these additional gifts
were in position ; new organ and case, canopied reredos, re-
table, iron screens inclosing the four eastern bays of the choir,
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 33
pillars and choir gates (part of a design for an elaborate screen),
eight stalls, extension of mosaic pavement, fourteen sub-stalls
and seats for lay-clerks and choristers, altar-rails, and credence
table. Up to this date, since the commencement of the re-
storation in 1883, upwards of ^32,400 had been expended up-
on the fabric, besides more than ;£i 7,800 upon the internal
fittings of the choir. All the woodwork of the choir is now
quite complete.
In speaking of the work that has lately been done at the west
front we touch upon a very delicate matter, and one that has
given rise to no little controversy. The state of insecurity had
been known for years. In the early part of 1896, a scaffold
was raised in order to enable Mr Pearson, the architect of the
cathedral, to make a complete examination of the front, special
causes for alarm having lately been detected. At first it was
believed that underpinning the central piers would secure the
stability of the whole. This was done, as well as the shoring
and strutting to the gables of the two outer arches. The clearing
away of the dirt and rubbish, and the cleaning of the groining,
disclosed greater danger than had been expected, and the
architect recommended the rebuilding of parts of the gables.
Before acting on this advice the Restoration Committee took
the opinion of Sir A. W. Blomfield, and his report not only
confirmed the opinion expressed by Mr Pearson, but said
further that much of the superstructure was so disintegrated,
that it was impossible to render substantial and lasting repair
as it stood, "and that the inner parts of the walls were such as
would not permit of the superstructure being preserved or suc-
cessfully dealt with by any of the well-known expedients fre-
quently recommended and sometimes employed with success."
When it became generally known that the Dean and Chapter
intended to act upon the advice given in these two reports, the
knowledge created the greatest possible excitement. Other
plans were suggested ; the mere removal of a single stone to
make it more secure was declared quite unnecessary ; the taking
down a gable to rebuild it was denounced as Vandalism. Much
strong language and many hard words were used which had
better be forgotten. It certainly seems difficult to explain how
the objectors to the course that had been decided upon could
write of the west front that it was " superficially, in a fair state
of preservation," or that it was *' literally without a patch or
D
34
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
blemish." The present writer was for twenty years a member
of the cathedral foundation, and lived just opposite the west
front. He made a special study of the history and fabric of
the cathedral. Hardly a year passed without something falling
down ; sometimes a piece of a pinnacle, sometimes a crocket or
other ornament, sometimes a shaft. Old engravings of the
S. B. Bolas &* Co., Photo.]
FINIAL OF THE CENTRAL GA«LE OF WKST 1 RON T.
spires show the pinnacles broken. Many of the shafts are
wanting. Some have been replaced in wood. Many wholly
new ones were put up by Dean Monk. And concerning the
north arch, which was notoriously the most dangerous. Dean
Patrick has recorded that Bishop Laney gave ;£"ioo toward the
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. PETER. 35
repairing one of the great arches of the church porch " which
was fain down in the late times." Dean Monk also, in a memoir
of his predecessor Dean Duport/ speaks of the efforts of the
cathedral body to repair the devastation caused by the civil
war, and says "in particular one of the three large arches of
the West Front, the beauty of which is acknowledged to be with-
out rival, having fallen down, it was restored in all its original
magnificence." In an account of the cathedral published by
the writer thirty years ago, he says of this arch : " Its present
state looks dangerous from below. The stones in the arch have
some sad gaps. It is tied up by iron bands, and further pro-
tected within by a great number of wooden pegs, not of recent
construction. When last observed it leant forward 14J inches."
In 1893 he wrote : " there is no doubt that the security of the
whole front is a most serious question that before long must
demand energetic action."
A very great preponderance of local opinion is in favour of
the action of the Dean and Chapter. When it came to moving
the stones, after all the rubbish was removed, it was found that
the mortar had crumbled into mere dust, and could be swept
away ; and that the stones themselves could be lifted from their
positions, wihout the use of any tool. What has actually been
done is this : the north gable has been taken down, and the
outer orders of the moulding of the arch for some feet, and re-
built ; the innermost order has not been moved. Relieving
arches have been put in at the back. The gable is now be-
lieved to be perfectly secure. The cross on the summit was
replaced in its position on July 2nd, 1897. This is what has
been called " the destruction " of the west front.
^ Museum Criticuni, viii., 672.
CHAPTER II.
THE CATHEDRAL — EXTERIOR.
Nearly every cathedral and large abbey church has some one
conspicuous feature by which it is remembered, and with which
it is specially associated in the minds of most persons. Nearly
every one also claims for itself to have the best example of some
one architectural feature, or the largest, or the oldest, or in
some other way the most remarkable. Occasionally the claim
is indisputable, because the boasted object is unique in the
country ; as is the case with the octagon at Ely, the three spires
at Lichfield, the situation and western Galilee of Durham, and
the almost perfect unity of design at Salisbury. Sometimes, if
not unique, there is no question as to the justice of the claim for
superiority ; whether it be for a thing of beauty, like the cloisters
at Gloucester, or the Norman tower at Norwich, or the east
window of Carlisle, or the angel-choir at Lincoln ; or for size
or extent, when the question narrows itself to a mere matter of
measurement.
But it is not always by any means the fact that this prominent
feature, though it is the pride of the inhabitants and a source of
admiration to visitors, is really the most noteworthy thing be-
longing to the church. This seems specially the case at Peter-
borough. Probably nobody speaks or thinks of Peterborough
cathedral without immediately associating it with its glorious
west front. Many believe that there is little else in the building
that is worthy of any particular attention. And yet nowhere
in the kingdom is there to be found a finer and more complete
Norman church. Arches, windows, mouldings, more elaborate
and more grand may no doubt be found elsewhere ; but where
else can we find, as here, choir, transepts, and nave, with all
the original Norman, from ground to roof, with two insignificant
THE CATHEDRAL— EXTERIOR. 39
exceptions, remaining unaltered? It is natural to compare the
three great East Anglian Cathedrals, as all have superb work
of the Norman period. But at Norwich the lower arches in the
choir have been rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, while the
vaulted roof of the nave, raised in the fifteenth century, is less
in keeping with the sturdy architecture beneath it than the
wooden ceiling at Peterborough. At Ely, beautiful as is the
work in the octagon and choir, there is no Norman work east
of the transepts. Of course we are referring to the main arches
and pillars of the building, and not to the tracery of the win-
dows, or to alterations to the walls. The two exceptions men
tioned above are the pointed arches, east and west of the cen-
tral tower, and the removal of the three lowest windows in the
apse.
The greatest attraction to the world at large is undoubtedly
the West Front, which is seen in its full beauty on entering
the close.
The following lines, from Morris's " Earthly Paradise," may
fitly introduce the subject.
" For other tales they told, and one of these
Not all the washing of the troublous seas,
Nor all the changeful days whereof ye know,
Have swept from out my memory : even so
Small things far off will be remembered clear
When matters both more mighty and more near,
Are waxing dim to us. I, who have seen
So many lands, and midst such marvels been,
Clearer than these abodes of outland men,
Can see above the green and unburnt fen
The little houses of an English town,
Cross- timbered, thatched with fen-reeds coarse and brown,
And high o'er these, three gables, great and fair,
That slender rods of columns do upbear
Over the minster doors, and imagery
Of kings, and flowers no summer field doth see,
Wrought in these gables. — Yea I heard withal,
In the fresh morning air, the trowels fall
Upon the stone, a thin noise far away ;
For high up wrought the masons on that day,
Since to the monks that house seemed scarcely well
Till they had set a spire or pinnacle
Each side the great porch. In that burgh I heard
This tale, and late have set down every word
That I remembered, when the thoughts would come
Of what we did in our deserted home,
40 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
And of the days, long past, when we were young,
Nor knew the cloudy days that o'er us hung.
And howsoever I am now grown old,
Yet is it still the tale I then heard told
Within the guest house of that Minster Close,
Whose walls, like cliffs new made, before us rose."
It is rather a porch, or piazza, than a front ; for it consists
of a paved walk of some extent outside the wall of the cathedral
covered at a great height by a vaulted roof which is supported
by the wall and by the three great arches. Mr Fergusson, in
his " Handbook of Architecture,"^ pronounces that "as a por-
tico, using the term in its classical sense, the west front of
Peterborough is the grandest and finest in Europe" : and there
are few that will not agree with him. Professor Freeman
says : ^ — " The portico of Peterborough is unique ; the noblest
conception of the old Greek translated into the speech of
Christendom and of England has no fellow before it or after
it." Exclusive of the spires, and the central porch and parvise,
the dates of which have been given previously, the whole is of
the best and purest Early English style. The effect is certainly
improved by the middle arch being narrower than the others.
But if the gables above had been of unequal angles, the result
would have been far less satisfactory. Wisely, therefore, these
angles have been made equal, and all of the same height : and
the device of the architect to secure this, by making the
central gable rise from points somewhat higher than the others,
is admirable. It is to be observed also that the turrets, or large
pinnacles, that are placed between the gables, are not placed
exactly above the central line of the great piers beneath them,
but are in each case a little further towards the outer arches ;
and it will be seen, immediately that this is pointed out, how
much the upper part of the facade is thereby improved. The
two great piers may be roughly taken as having for section
an isosceles right-angled triangle, the right angle being towards
the west. The mouldings of the arches are supported by a
series of banded shafts, six on each side of each arch. In the
spaces between the shafts of the middle arch, but not of the
others, are crockets for the whole height, and the inneimost
cavetto is entirely filled with dog-tooth ornament. All the
^ " Handbook of Architecture," 2nd cd., 1859, p. 869,
'^ " English Towns and Districts," 1883, p. 29.
42 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
shafts have floriated capitals ; and the great arches have similar
mouldings. Four sets of ornaments run round each arch ;
a continuous chevron, a richly floriated roll, a roll with bands,
and a series of billets. Between the arches there rises a
clustered shaft which reaches to the level of the highest points
of the arches : here these shafts combine with an ornamented
stringcourse which runs in a straight line along the entire
front. In each of the six spandrels are a deeply recessed
quatrefoil, two trefoiled arches (like the upper part of a niche),
a pair of lancet-shaped niches containing figures, and a beauti-
fully designed hexagonal ornament, with wavy edges, the cusps
uniting in a central boss. The pinnacles on each side of the
middle gable are at first square, then there are two octagonal
stages, the uppermost pierced, and finally a short spire. The
lowest stage has a double lancet with floriated capitals ; the
second has a lancet, also with floriated capitals, filling up each
face of the octagon ; the last stage has round-headed lancets,
without capitals, entirely surrounded by zigzags.
The gables are richly ornamented. At the head of each is a
massive cross of very fine workmanship. Along the edges of
the gables are two rows of billets and the wavy ornament.
Just below the crosses are three large statues, in niches of
which the gable mouldings form the heads. That in the centre
is S. Peter, with a mitre, the right hand uplifted in blessing,
and two keys in the left hand ; the other two are S. John and S.
Andrew. Below plain, straight stringcourses, at the foot of these
statues, are three rose windows of exceptional grace and beauty.
The central one has eight spokes radiating from a flat medallion
enriched with conventional foliage; these support trefoil-
headed arches which have their outer mouldings thickly covered
with dog-tooth ; the whole is bounded by two circular bands,
the inner one ornamented. The two other rose windows have
six spokes instead of eight, the trefoiled arches have foliage, and
the inner moulding of the bounding circles is continuously
waving. The spokes in all three windows have the dog-tooth
on each side. On each side of the lower part of these windows
is a trefoil-headed niche containing a figure. Below these,
and resting upon the long stringcourse that runs above the
great arches, are sets of seven trefoil-headed niches, with a half-
niche at each end. Four of these niches are pierced for win-
dows, which have trefoils with pointed heads, though the trefoil
iriXit |)AUilll't»(!3
>]«ll.c.t .front of
4ni=?(LuuH.niiiuiO)/ti awir li^-D u;\i;
f.
WEST TORCH AND I'ARVISE. DRAWN BY W. H. LORD
44
PETERBOROUGH CATHeDRAL.
heads of the niches themselves are round at the top. The
three intervening niches contain figures. All these nine figures
have a nimbus ; and as these, with the three under the crosses,
make up twelve, it is assumed that they represent the Apostles.
The six smaller statues, just above, are said to be kings ; the
twelve below, benefactors. There are thus thirty statues in all,
and most were no doubt carved at the time of the erection of
IRON GATES TO WESI PORCIf. DRAWN BY O. R. ALLF.ROW.
the front ; but two or three appear to be of earlier date, and
may ])ossibly have formed part of the embellishments of the
Saxon church.
The Towers north and south, up to the height of the
parapets, are of the same date as the portion already described.
They are ornamented with blank arcading in six stages, of dif-
ferent dimensions and character ; all is in perfect harmony with
the rest of the composition. The loftiest of the stages of this
THE CATHEDRAL — EXTERIOR. 45
arcading has a sub-division with round arches ; and the stage
above the great stringcourse has round-headed trefoils so as to
be in keeping with the row of similar arches in the gables ; but
with these two exceptions all the arches on the arcades of the
tower are pointed and without cusps. Of the spires which sur-
mount these towers that on the south is by far the more
elegant. It has pinnacles at the corners of square section, and
then another set of triangular pinnacles, resting on open arches
connecting the corner pinnacles with the spire. These
triangular pinnacles are double the height of those at the
corners. All the pinnacles and canopies over the arches have
crockets. This spire is some few feet loftier than that to the
north, though most measurements of the cathedral have hitherto
given them as being of the same height.
The inner wall of the portico, forming the west w^all of the
cathedral, is covered with elaborate arcading, and so also are
the ends, north and south. The designs are nearly a continua-
tion of the arcading on the two towers. There are five lofty
windows, now filled with tracery inserted in the Perpendicular
period, the great west window having been enlarged at the
same time. The two side doorways are exceedingly good,
and should be carefully examined. The central doorway must
have been of still greater beauty ; but the whole of the upper
part of it is hidden by the porch and parvise inserted beneath
the central arch. This doorway is divided by a fine pillar rising
from a well-carved base, with a very curious scene depicted on
it. "It represents," writes Canon Davys,^ "a Benedictine
tortured by demons, and was doubtless intended as a significant
hint to the monks that a sacred calling demands a consistent
life." The portico retains its original Early English vaulting.
The Porch and Parvise beneath the middle arch was
inserted, as has been previously stated, as a support to the two
great piers. It is vaulted in two bays, the first being of the
same dimensions as the inner width of the portico ; the western
bay (of the same size) thus reaches beyond the two great piers,
and the corner turrets and buttresses in all project about seven
feet. This gives a very substantial support to the piers. The
whole composition is very fine, and quite worthy of the great
portico to which it is an adjunct. It must be left to each
spectator to decide for himself if it improves or diminishes the
^ Guide, p. 48.
46 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
effect of the whole. It is of late Decorated date, highly enriched
with profuse carving. The staircase turrets, as well as the
great window are embattled. Possibly there may have been
pinnacles now lost. The spaces north and south, and within
the portico, have tracery on the walls similar to the window.
The groining is very fine. One of the central bosses has a re-
presentation of the Trinity. The Father is represented as the
Ancient of Days, with a Dove for the Holy Spirit above the
shoulder, and the figure of the Saviour on the Cross in front.
Freemasons are recommended to look for a special symbol
which they alone can understand and appreciate.
The floor of the portico is paved with gravestones, some
apparently in their original position. This place was at one
time appropriated as a burial place for the Minor Canons.^
Some of the stones, however, are of mediaeval date, and it
can be seen where the brasses have been wrenched from them :
some of these have been used again for later inscriptions. One
stone bears an incised cross originally filled with some coloured
composition. Some of the wall-shafts have fallen and not been
replaced ; a few have had their place supplied by common
wooden rollers, the knots in the wood being plainly discernible
from the ground.
At the date of publication of this account, the full beauty of
the west front cannot be appreciated, owing to the scaffolding
erected in connection with the measures that are being taken to
ensure its preservation. All the criticisms that have been passed
upon the front, as a termination to the building, cannot be dis-
cussed here. It is clear, however, that the existence of the
portico does away with any objection that could be made (as
has been done with regard to the west fronts at Lincoln, Wells,
and elsewhere), that the front might be considered to hide
rather than to bring out the construction of the nave and aisles.
It is true that the side gables are not the gables of the aisles,
and indeed the roofs that are built against the gables are built
only for them ; but they are a legitimate finish to the great
arches, and to the vaulted roof of the portico. Possibly the
inequality of the great arches may be explained when we reflect
that the central gable is the honest termination of the nave roof ;
^ Sir William Feeld, Peticanon, in his will dated 1558, desires that his
body may be buried in the Gallery before the church door, where all his
fellows are buried. '* Gallery " here is probably a corruption of ' ' Galilee."
THE CATHEDRAL — EXTERIOR.
47
the two central piers were therefore bound to be built so as to
give support to the existing nave roof, and to fit it. The posi-
tion of these piers being fixed, the outer ones might be as dis-
tant as was desired, for the front must of course extend to the
PJtotnchrom Co., Ld., Phofo.'\
SOUTH-WEST SPIRE AND BELL-TOWER FROM THE LAUREL COURT.
entire length of the western transept. It has been commonly
supposed that the three great arches of the Lincoln front sug-
gested the idea to the Peterborough builders. If so, they im-
48 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
proved upon their model. The central arch at Lincoln even
before the round arch was altered, must have been half as 'high
again as the side arches ; and as they all are integral parts of
the wall, and therefore not open, they have somewhat the ap-
pearance of magnified doorways that have been blocked up.
At Snettisham, in Norfolk, is a western doorway protected by
a porch with three open arches ; and this has sometimes been
mentioned when Peterborough west front is a subject of dis-
cussion ; not, of course, as a fitting comparison, but as an illus-
tration of the architectural method employed. At Snettisham,
however, the porch is a small erection even for the church to
which it gives entrance, and does not nearly extend to the en-
tire width of the building.
The following is the quaint description given in " Magna
Britannia," published 1724 : — " The western Front is very Noble
and Majestick of Columel Work, and supported by three such tall
Arches, as England can scarcely shew the like, which are
adorned with a great Variety of curious Imagery. The Form of
Arches is by the modern Architects called. The Bull's Eye, not
Semicircular. The whole is one of the noblest pieces of
Gothick Building in England."
The Bell-tower, that rises from the western transept, and is
seen above and beyond the north gable of the front, is a little
later than the front itself. It is of good workmanship, and
quite in keeping with the older part. There are rows of lancets
in the belfry stage, and the four corner pinnacles are very
similar to the large pinnacles that are placed between the
gables of the front, but all the lancets are pointed, and there
are little gables above each. This tower was once surmounted
by a wooden spire. When this was erected does not seem to be
known. It was not of particularly graceful design, judging from
views of the cathedral taken when it was standing. It was re-
moved in the early part of the present century (see page 25).
Passing round to the north side of the cathedral we are at
once struck with the beauty of the termination of the western
transept. The arcading on the north side of the tower of the
front is identical with that on the west side ; but to the east
there is only arcading in the three upper stages. Mr Paley's
remarks upon the great windows of the western transept may
be quoted. He says ^ they " deserve particular examination,
^ Paley, p, 30.
WEST FRONT OF PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL, RESTORED ACCORDING
TO GUNTON, A.D. 1780.
E
50 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
not only because they are very early and fine specimens of
cusped and traceried windows — indeed, among the best in
the kingdom — but for a remarkable peculiarity in the jambs ;
whereof one side is Norman, with the square capitals to the
jamb-shafts both within and without, and the other Early
English, as are the arch-mouldings and hoods round the whole
arches, which were probably semicircular at first, for at present
the point cuts through a stringcourse inside. The frames of
the entire windows are later work, having no attachment or
bonding to the jambs, as is clearly manifested to the eye."
These windows rise as high as the top of those of the triforium.
Above is a round-headed window with a slightly smaller arch
on each side, with cushion capitals. The gable itself is de-
signedly made to resemble one of the gables of the west
front. It is surmounted by a cross, and bordered by the wavy
ornament ; it has a rose window ; and beneath is an arcade
of five round-headed trefoiled arches supported by shafts,
having at the inner wall three lancet windows. The circular
window is without tracery ; it has twelve cusps. At each
side of the gable is a pinnacle, almost a copy of those on the
front, except that the lowest stage is here octagonal instead of
square.
On the north side of the nave is a single door, now called
the Dean's door, of good Norman work. On each side are
three shafts with cushion capitals slightly ornamented ; and in
the round arches above are different mouldings of the style.
The windows to the aisle, ten in number, are very broad, of
five lights eacli, under depressed arches. The tracery and
mouldings indicate that these were substituted for the original
windows towards the close of the thirteenth century. At the
same time it would seem that the walls above, in the triforium
range, were heightened, because the parapet at the top is of
Early English work, although the three-light windows beneath
it are Decorated, and were not inserted until the next century.
At the foot of the triforium range is the original Norman arcade
of round headed arches : below the existing Decorated windows
is now a blank space of wall, where at first was the Norman
window, rising somewhat higher than the arcade. What the
original arrangement was can be seen on the east side of the
north transept. The Norman clerestory range has been
altered only by having Perpendicular tracery put in the windows,
THE CATHEDRAL— EXTERIOR.
Kl
and by the addition of a Decorated parapet The original
corbel-table was allowed to remain.
The Lantern-tower has on each face two large windows
M P CLIFFORD
THE DEAN S DOOR, NORTH SIDE OF NAVE. DRAWN BY H. P. CT.IFFORD.
with transoms, of three lights. The tracery is that known as net-
tracery. Between these windows is a blank window, if the term
may be allowed ; the tracery exists, but there never was a win-
52 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
dow ; it is in four divisions ; while between the windows and the
corner turrets are similar traceries of two parts. The whole is
surmounted by a parapet above a plain arcade. The corner
turrets are octangular. As at present finished at the top there
is undoubtedly an appearance of their being incomplete.
The west side of the North Transept is a very excellent
specimen of Norman work ; and we find less change here than in
any other part of the cathedral that belongs to the same period.
The tracery of the windows is Perpendicular, but the windows
themselves are otherwise unaltered : at the top of all is a
Decorated parapet, which is here composed of a series of quatre-
foils ; and the parapet to the corner turrets is not Norman. As
tiere is no aisle on the west side of this transept, there has been
no alteration in the wall, as was the case with the nave aisles.
The north end of the transept is similar ; but the shallow
buttresses between the windows rise to a greater height, and
there is another arcade above the upper tier of windows, and a
blank arch in the gable. The gable has crockets, and a cross
at the apex. The lower Norman window in the aisle here is
unlike any others on this side of the church, but there are four
others like it on the south. The upper aisle window here is of
three lights, with a large pointed trefoil above them instead of
tracery.
The east wall of this transept is specially worthy of note. We
can trace the lines of the roof of the Lady Chapel which formerly
stood to the east of the wall ; and beneath this are two bays of
the original triforium range, unaltered except that the windows
are filled in. Between these and the roof are six Early English
lancets. Below are the upper parts of the two great arches
which were constructed as an entrance to the Lady Chapel.
When the Lady Chapel was pulled down in the seventeenth
century these were converted into windows filled with late
tracery in imitation of Perpendicular work, and the lower
part was walled up, except that a doorway was constructed.
This was afterwards blocked up for many years, and only re-
opened during the recent restoration works. The same altera-
tion has been effected in the western part of the choir aisle,
the arches towards the Lady Chapel having been in like manner
made into windows. The lower window nearest the tower is a
very graceful geometric window of three lights, exactly like the
three in the south transept ; the window above is of the same
6'. B. Bolas &= Co., Photo. ^
THE APSE AND NEW BUILDING, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.
THE CATHEDRAL— EXTERIOR. 55
period as all the other Decorated windows of the triforium
range.
Between the Lady Chapel and the north aisle of the choir
was a passage (to which the two great arches were open), and
at the eastern end of it was a small vaulted chapel, the remains
of which are clearly to be seen, including the broken piscina.
Above this were chambers, concerning which Gunton ^ has pre-
served a tradition that they were " the habitation of a devout
Lady, called Agnes, or Dame Agnes, out of whose Lodging-
Chamber there was a hole made askew in the window walled up,
having its prospect just upon the altar of the Ladies Chappel,
and no more. It seems she was devout in her generation, that
she chose this place for her retirement, and was desirous that
her eyes, as well as ears, might wait upon her publick Devotions."
He says also that little is known of her except that she was a
benefactress to the church, and that a wood she bestowed upon
it is still called by her name.
At the extreme east is the New Building. Its side walls are
built in continuation of the walls of the choir aisles, and it has
a square end. It is lit by thirteen large windows, all of the
same design, of which the five at the east end, and the two most
western ot the sides, are of four lights each, the remaining four
having three lights each. Between each pair of the latter there
is no buttress ; there are thus in all twelve buttresses, six being
at the east end. These are massive, having to support the heavy
fan-tracery within. Each buttress has a seated figure at the
top, commonly believed to represent an Apostle ; but the out-
lines are much worn, and it is not possible to distinguish them
by any symbols they may bear. There is a very handsome open
parapet, adorned with ornaments and shields bearing letters or
monograms.
The parapet of quatrefoils, which runs round the sides of the
transepts and choir, is not continued in the apse ; an Early
English parapet, with five circular medallions cusped, having
been erected previously. The Decorated windows of the apse
are particularly fine. The arcade beneath the upper tier, unlike
the arcade in similar positions in other parts of the church, is
here intersecting.
The three beautiful geometric windows in the east wall of the
South Transept, which have three circles in the heads with
^ Gunton, p. 91,
56 PETEkBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
five cusps, are most likely of exactly the same design as the
windows in the demolished Lady Chapel. At the south end of
this transept is a Norman door, and outside are the remains of
a short covered passage which communicated with the cloisters.
These will be described hereafter.
The south side of the nave differs only from the north side
in its having two doorways from the cloisters, in the superior
elegance of the south-west spire, and in the unfinished state of
the south-west tower. The portion of this tower above the roof
Mr Paley pronounces, from the details of the windows on the
east side, to be of much later date than the other tower ; and
he adds that it is hard to see how the roof of the transept was
terminated before this stage was built to abut it. Both towers
are longer from east to west than from north to south.
CHAPTER III.
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR.
The plan of the Monastery given on page 58 has been taken
from one prepared by the late Precentor Walcott of Chichester,
and communicated to "The Building News," in 1878. In this
plan the choir is represented as it was arranged in olden times,
and not as it appeared after it was shortened by the erection of
the organ-screen under the eastern arch of the tower in Dean
Monks time. The position of the ancient buildings is also
indicated, though some of them, as the Lady Chapel, Dormitory,
Chapter-house and Infirmary Chapel, have long been destroyed.
The various portions will be understood by the following
references.
(i) New Building. (2) Reredos, or Altar-screen. (3)
Screens. Recent discoveries have proved that the choir aisles
originally ended, or at least were designed to end, in apses.
(4) High Altar. (5) Entry to passage to Lady Chapel ; a small
chapel to the east. (6) Lady Chapel. (7) Door to it from
north transept aisle. (8) Chapel of S. John. (9) Chapel ot
S. James. (10) Chapel of S. Oswald, the Holy Trinity Chapel
above it. (11) Chapel of S. Benedict. (12) Chapel of SS.
Kyneburga and Kyneswitha, sisters of Peada and Wulfere, the
original founders of the monastery. (13) Choir. (14) Sacristy.
(15) Choir-screen. (16) Front of rood-loft. (17) Nave. (18)
Gate to grave-yard. (19) Gate to Prior's lodging. (20) Minster
close. (21) Gatehouse to Abbot's lodging, with the Knights'
chamber above. (22) Chancel of the chapel of S. Thomas of
Canterbury. (23) Great gateway of the close. (24, 25) Door-
ways from the cloisters. (26) Slype. (27) Parlour. (28)
Chapter-house. (29) Porch. (30) Dormitory. (31) Cloisters.
(32) Lavatory. (33) Refectory. (34) Dark entry. (35) Gong.
58
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
(36) Kitchen. (37) Abbot's lodging. (38) Priors lodging.
(39) Infirmarer's hall. (40) Chapel to Infirmary, dedicated to
S. Laurence. (41) The chancel, and (42) the nave of this
chapel. (43) Hall of Infirmary, the inmates occupying the
aisles. (44) Door to Infirmary. (45) Precinct wall and
PETERBOROUGH MONASTERY (HENEDICTINE). FROM
"the building news," 1878.
Stables. The building to the south of the Infirmary, not
numbered in this plan, is an ancient residence now occupied
by the Archdeacon of Northampton, Bishop of Leicester. The
small building south-west of the front is an old vaulted room,
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 59
now used as a clerk's office, originally believed to have been
the Penitentiary. The old abbey gaol has escaped notice,
though it in part remains. Its door is immediately to the right
upon entering the close through the great gateway.
The Interior. — With few exceptions, to be noticed in due
course, the whole of the interior of the cathedral is in the
Norman style, and many judge it to be the most perfect speci-
men in England. The plan consists of a nave of ten bays, with
aisles, and a western transept ; transepts of four bays with eastern
chapels, the south transept having also a groined chamber to
the west, extending for its whole length ; a choir of four bays,
terminating in an apse, nearly semicircular, with aisles ; and
beyond the apse a large square-ended addition for more chapels,
having a groined stone roof of fan tracery, now known as the
New Building. The ritual choir, as distinguished from the
architectural choir, extends two bays into the nave. This
arrangement is a return to the ancient one used by the Bene-
dictines, the choir in Dean Monk's alterations having been
limited to the portion east of the central tower.
As we enter at the west door we see at a glance the entire
length, and the whole beauty of the admirable proportion of
the several parts. While many may wish that the great arches
of the tower which can be seen from the west end had never
been altered from the round form of the Norman builders, few
will regret that the Decorated arches which took their place
were retained when the tower was rebuilt, instead of having
new arches in the Norman style substituted. The want of
colour which is so marked a defect in many English cathedrals
is not so conspicuous here, because of the painted ceiling.
The Norman work being in the main so complete, it will be
best to begin the description where the building itself was
begun, at the apse. At the west door we stand where the work
was finished. We know when the building commenced, in
1 1 17, but we do not know exactly when the whole was finished
to the western wall ; but, speaking roughly, though not very
far from the truth, we may say that the minster took eighty
years to complete. This may be slightly more than was actually
taken. During that time the work was not continuous : there
were some Abbots who appear to have done little or nothing
towards extending the works, and sometimes accordingly there
was an entire cessation from active operations. Including the
6o PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
west front, we should have to assign nearly 120 years to the
completion of the building.
The Choir. — Up to the commencement of the apse the
choir is of four bays. The pillars are alternately round and
with ten or twelve sides ; all have cushioned capitals, indented
to agree with the mouldings above ; all had a shaft on the
inner side rising to the roof, to support the wooden groining,
but the lower parts of some of these shafts were cut away to
make room for the woodwork of Dean Monk's choir. The
ornamentation throughout is plentiful, but we see nothing but
the billet, the chevron, and the hatchet moulding, all indica-
tive of early work. The triforium has two recessed arches,
beneath the principal arch, divided by a plain shaft. It is
specially to be noticed that all the tympana in the triforium
range are differently ornamented. In each bay of the clerestory
range are three arches, one large and two small ones ; the
capitals to the shafts have the plain cushion (as in the triforium)
and from these shafts a narrower arch connects them with the
outer wall. There is a passage here all round the choir.
Below the triforium a stringcourse of chevrons runs all along.
Between the choir bays and the apse is solid wall, rather
longer than the distance between the central lines of adjoining
piers. Here are two massive half-pillars, reaching to the roof,
undoubtedly meant to be crowned with a round arch like those
to the transepts ; and this seems to shew that the intention was
to vault the apse with stone. The apse is by far the best large
Norman apse remaining in this country. At Norwich, where is
the only possible rival, the lower part only is semicircular and
original, the whole of the upper part being of Decorated date,
and pentagonal. This apse is in five divisions, separated by
clustered shafts which rise to the roof. Originally there were
three tiers of round-headed Norman windows ; the nine windows
in the centre were enlarged and filled with very good tracery in
the Decorated period, and the lower windows also on the other
two sides. When, in the Perpendicular age, the new building
was added, the three lowest windows were removed altogether
and the wall beneath them, leaving three open arches. The
inner wall surface of the five lowest windows has been filled
with elegant hanging tracery of fourteenth century date, the de-
signs being all different. In some cases this tracery is placed
just below the Norman stringcourse, but in others the string-
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR.
63
course has been removed to make room for it. There was no
necessity to convert the two lowest side windows into arches ;
and they accordingly remain there to this day ; but being no
PltoiocJirom Co., Ld., Pkoio.]
VIEW FROM TRIFORIUM SOUTH OF CHOIR.
longer exposed to the outer air all the glass is gone, though the
notches that held it, and the strong bars that protected it, have
been suffered to stay. There was never any ambulatory round
64 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
the apse outside ; we can still see, from the new building, por-
tions of a stringcourse which was external, as well as other
evidences that the apse was the end of the church. It is also
known that there was a highway at the east end of the church,
almost touching it. In the stage corresponding to the triforium
are to be seen on the walls the remains of painted coats of arms,
the shape of the shield suggesting that they are as early as the
thirteenth century ; some also have been cut in half by the later
Decorated alterations.
The choir roof is vaulted in wood. In the time of Dean
Saunders it was repainted with gold and colours. From the
character of the bosses, and the capitals where the wood is
joined to the tall shafts rising from the pillars in the choir, and
from the general ornamentation, it is manifest that this was
constructed towards the end of the fifteenth century. It was at
one time painted all over yellow and white. The carving of the
different bosses is well worth attention. There has not been
discovered any mark or initials that might help us to assign a
positive date. We can see, among other designs, the cross keys
of the patron Saint ; the Saviour on the Cross accompanied by
S. Mary and S. John (this is in the central line, near the tower) ;
three lilies ; three fishes with intersecting tails. The roof over
the apse is flat. It has been decorated from a design by Sir G.
G. Scott, with an emblematical representation of Christ as a
Vine, the Disciples being half-figures in medallions among the
foliage. An inscription bearing upon the subject forms the
border. The general effect will be like, though not identical
with, the original painting in this place. This was one of the
decorations of the church that excited the fury of the soldiers
and others who dismantled the minster in the civil war in the
seventeenth century. "This is the Idol they worship and adore"
was the cry of some of the party ; upon which muskets were
discharged, and the picture wholly defaced. The description of
the design is given in these words :^ "Over this place " (that is,
the altar-screen) " in the Roof of the Church, in a large Oval
yet to be seen, was the Picture of our Saviour seated on a
Throne, one hand erected, and holding a Globe in the other :
attended with the four Evangelists and Saints on each side, with
Crowns in their hands ; intended, I suppose, for a Representa-
tion of our Saviour's coming to judgment."
^ Patrick's Supplement to Gunton, p. 334.
S. B. Bo las &= Co., Photo.\
NORTH TRANSEPT AND MORNING CHAPEL.
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 6y
The flat roof of the apse being lower than the roof of the
choir, the space between the levels is filled with twelve painted
figures.
The whole of the internal fittings of the choir (speaking now
of the ritual choir) are new, and are part of the recent restora-
tion. The new woodwork began to be placed in position in
1890. There is indeed a little old work, which was in the old
choir before it was altered in the early part of this century.
When removed, some of the front desks had been placed in the
morning chapel, though much of the projecting tracery work
was taken off. It was realised, when the existing stall-work was
being designed, that these would be very suitable for use in
their old position. Accordingly, all that could be so used have
been placed again in the choir, with their traceried panels re-
stored ; and the new work is made of the same character. The
New Stalls are of the finest oak, with miserere seats ; the backs
have rich tracery, with raised shields, moulded groined ceilings,
and carved bosses at the intersection of the ribs. They are
surmounted by octagonal canopies, in three stages, the upper-
most containing a niche for a carved figure to each stall, while
other figures, of much smaller size, are to be seen below. A
few have at the back the armorial bearings of the donor, or some
other symbol, such as the masonic emblems in those given by
the Freemasons of England. The names of the cathedral
officers and others to wliom the different stalls are assigned,
have been inscribed on the label at the head of each ; and it
is intended on each to record the donor's name.
With the exception of the first figure, the whole of the larger
figures at the top of the canopies have some special connection
with the monastery or the cathedral. Beginning at the Dean's
stall, and proceeding eastwards, the statues on the south side
represent the following : —
Two at the summit of the Dean's stall, SS. Paul and
Andrew.
1. S. Peter, the Patron Saint.
2. Saxulf (656), the first Abbot.
3. Adulf (971), Abbot, afterwards Archbishop of York.
4. Kenulf (992), Abbot, afterwards Bishop of Winchester.
5. Leofric (1057), Abbot.
6. Turold (1069), Abbot, appointed by William the Con-
queror.
68 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
7. Ernulf (1107), Abbot, afterwards Bishop of Rochester.
8. Martin de Bee (1133), Abbot when the choir was
dedicated.
9. Benedict (1175), Abbot. He built the greater part, if
not all, of the nave.
10. Martin of Ramsey (1226), Abbot.
11. John of Calais (1249), Abbot. He built the infirmary,
probably the refectory, and part of the cloisters.
12. Richard of London (1274), Abbot. He built the north-
western tower.
13. Adam of Boothby (132 1), Abbot.
14. William Genge (1396), first mitred Abbot.
15. Richard Ashton (1438), Abbot. He began the new
building.
16. Robert Kirton (1496), Abbot. He finished the new
building, and built the Deanery gateway.
17. John Towers (1638), Bishop. Previously Dean (1630).
18. Thomas White (1685), Bishop. Nonjuror.
19. William Connor Magee (1868), Bishop, afterwards Arch-
bishop of York.
20. Simon Patrick (1679), Dean, afterwards Bishop of Chi-
chester, and finally of Ely.
21. Augustus Page Saunders (1853), Dean.
22. John James Stewart Perowne (1878), Dean, now Bishop
of Worcester.
The upper figures on the north side are these : —
Two at the summit of the Vice-Dean's stall, Kings Wolfere
and Ethelred.i
1. Peada, King of Mercia, founder of the monastery.
2. Cuthbald (675), second Abbot.
3. Edgar, King of Mercia and Wessex, restorer of the
monastery.
4. Ethelfleda, his queen.
5. Brando (1066), Abbot.
6. Hereward, the Saxon patriot (1070), nephew of Abbot
Brando, and knighted by him.
7. John de Sais (11 14), Abbot. He commenced the building
of the existing choir.
^ King Ethehed resigned his crown and became Abbot of Bardney.
He is here figured with a mitre.
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR. 69
8. Hedda (died 870), Abbot, murdered by the Danes.
9. Robert of Lindsey (12 14), Abbot. He holds a model of
the west front, probably built or begun in his time.
10. Godfrey of Crowland (1299), Abbot. He bears a model
of the gateway to the palace grounds.
11. William Ramsey (147 1), Abbot. He was one of the
donors of the brass eagle lectern still in use.
12. William Parys (died 1286), Prior. He built the Lady
Chapel.
13. S. Giles, the famous Benedictine Abbot, with his tame
hind beside him.
14. Hugo Candidus, the chronicler.
15. Henry of Overton (1361), Abbot.
16. Queen Katherine of Arragon.
17. John Cosin (1640), Dean, afterwards Bishop of Durham.
18. Simon Gunton (1646), Prebendary, the historian of the
church.
19. Herbert Marsh (18 19), Bishop.
20. George Davys (1839), Bishop.
21. James Henry Monk (1822), Dean, afterwards Bishop of
Gloucester and Bristol.
22. Marsham Argles (1891), Dean. Previously Canon
(1849).
The dates in the above lists, unless stated otherwise, are the
dates of appointment. With the single exception of Henry of
Overton, of whom very little indeed is known except that he
was abbot for nearly thirty years, the selection that has been
made appears to be very good. In some way or other all the
persons represented are eminent. The authorities are to be
congratulated upon their including in the series several digni-
taries of the present century.
The smaller figures on the south side are all characters from
the New Testament ; those on the north side are taken from
the Old Testament. The carving on the sides of the two
westernmost stalls is of great interest. The panels on the south
represent the miraculous preservation of the arm of S. Oswald.
This arm was one of the greatest treasures of the house, and was
reputed to be the cause of many cures. The legend is given
hereafter in the notice of Abbot Elsinus, the great collector of
relics. In the corresponding position on the north side is re-
presented the story of S. Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester.
70 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
This has been already related in the historical section. The
litany desk is a piece of excellent work ; it is placed midway be-
tween the seats of the choristers.
The carving on the Pulpit and Throne will repay careful
study. In the niches at the base of the pulpit are four abbots,
chiefly connected with the erection of the building. They are
John de Sais, who holds a model of the apse, Martin de Bee,
William of Waterville, and Walter of S. Edmunds. Round the
main body of the pulpit are four saints in niches, SS. Peter,
Paul, John and James, each easily identified by what is held in
the hand. Between these niches are wide panels carved with
subjects associated with preaching. Abbot Saxulf preach-
ing to the Mercians ; Christ sending forth the Apostles ;
S. Peter preaching after the descent of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost.
The throne is raised on three steps. Above the canopy is a
lofty spire. On the sides of the seat are SS. Peter and Paul.
On the book board are symbolical representations of the virtues
of Temperance, Wisdom, Fortitude, and Justice. In the lower
tier on the canopy are six figures : Saxulf, first Abbot ; Cuthwin,
first Bishop of Leicester ; John de Sais ; Benedict ; S. Hugh,
Bishop of Lincoln, his hand resting on the head of his tame
swan ; and John Chambers, last Abbot and first Bishop of
Peterborough. In the upper tier are four Bishops : Bishop
Dove, the theologian ; Bishop Cumberland, the philosopher ;
Bishop Kennett, the antiquary; and Archbishop Magee, the
orator.
One of the statues over the stalls, that representing S. Giles, has
also a figure of a hind ; in the representation of S. Hugh of
Lincoln on the throne we see a swan. The hind was really a
type of solitude and purity of life, and as such is found in many
ancient carvings and paintings accompanying various Saints.
There is also a legend specially connecting this creature with
S. Giles. In a retreat in a forest in the diocese of Nismes, the
recluse, with one companion, is said to have lived on the fruits
of the earth and the milk of a hind. Some dogs that were out
hunting pursued this hind, and she took refuge in the dwelling
of the Saint. The sportsman. Flavins Wamba, King of the
Goths, treated him with every mark of respect, and gave him
land wherewith to endow a monastery. Of S. Hugh's swan a
long account is given in the "Vita S. Hugonis Lincolniensis "
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR. 7 1
published in the Rolls Series. A swan never before seen at
the place flew to the Bishop at his manor at Stowe directly after
he had been enthroned at Lincoln. He became passionately
i W.. if
i*M Mi
IdBn^S.
1
PJiotocJirom Co., Ld., P7wto.\
THE PULPITs
attached to the bishop, but exhibited no liking for anyone else.
He considered himself bound to protect his master, driving
other people away from him, ''As I myself," wTites Giraldus
72 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Cambrensis, " have often with wonder seen," with his wings and
beak. In this way he was somewhat of a nuisance to the
bishop's household, for no one dared to go near the bishop
when he was resting, for fear of the swan. In the bishop's
absence a keeper attended to the bird, and was allowed to feed
him. but the swan would suffer no fondling. He survived the
bishop for many years.
The new Organ is the gift of an anonymous donor. His
name is of course known to those that are in the confidence of
the authorities, but it is not the donor's wish that it should be
publicly given. He is not a resident of Peterborough. This
organ has been built by Hill & Son, at a cost (including the
case) of ^-^'4,400. The action is tubular pneumatic, the wind
being supplied by a gas engine. The Pedal (with the exception
of two stops, Bourdon and Bass Flute), Great Solo and Swell
Organs, are placed in four bays of the triforium on the north
side ; the Choir Organ and two pedal stops above named are
in the first bay of the north aisle beyond the stalls. The
Console is in the second bay of the aisle. The organ com-
prises 68 stops and 4,453 pipes.
The Canopied Reredos or Baldachino was given by the
eight surviving children of Dean Saunders as a memorial of their
parents. The retable was given by the Old Boys of the King's
School. The reredos is a magnificent erection, and renders
the east end of this cathedral one of the most dignified in the
kingdom. The dais on which it stands is thirteen feet square,
and the summit reaches to the height of thirty-five feet.. Four
large marble columns stand at the corners, from the capitals of
which spring cusped arches, the spandrels being enriched with
mosaic ; while at the angles, above the columns, are figures of
the Evangelists in niches. The large central panel in front has
the figure of Our Lord ; at the back is S. Peter. The material
is Derbyshire alabaster ; the work was executed by Mr Robert
Davison, of London.
The Mosaic Pavement, also the work of Mr Davison,
was the gift of the late Dean and Miss Argles. The following
description of it is from the pen of Mr Davison.
" Passing into the choir from the west, the pavement between
the stalls is of tesselated Roman mosaic, in an effective geo-
metrical j:)attern of squares, and oblongs of red, green and
white marbles. The first bay of the chancel is also in Roman
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR.
73
mosaic, but of more elaborate design, the central portion being
a framework of interlacing cream bands, forming diamond
shaped panels alternating with circles, the centres of these
panels being varied reds and greens ; the framework surrounds
four large panels of Pavonazzo d' Italic, each in six slabs. This
is a beautiful marble of feathery purple grey veinings on a
creamy white ground. This central part is flanked on each
side by a broad band of the same Pavonazzo, which separates
it from the large side panels of a bold design of squares of red,
green and cream placed diagonally, interlaced by white bands ;
Phot ochro 111 Co., Ld., PJioto.\
APSE AND CANOPIED REREDOS.
upon these panels stand the pulpit on the north side, and the
bishop's throne on the south. This bay is approached from
the choir by the first marble step which is in Frosterley, a
marble with beautiful madrepores of light colour on a dark
ground. The next bay is of similar design to the first, but is
approached by two steps of Levanto marble of reddish brown
tint with small veinings of white. The third and fourth bays
are in a marble mosaic called Opiis Alexmidrhiuui^ composed
of various rich marbles of brilliant reds, greens, greys, yellows,
74 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
and creams, divided into the main design by bands of Pavonazzo.
The design of the third bay is divided into three equal panels,
in the centre of which are four large slabs of Cipolino, a charm-
ing marble of a liglit green tint in broad wavy lines on a lighter
ground, which are framed in by a combination of small panels
of mosaic of varied rich patterns of triangles and squares,
which are again enclosed by a broad border of mosaic of white
squares on a ground of light green Vert de Suede. The step
up to this bay, and also the step to the next and to the altar
pace, all of which stretch the full length of the chancel, as well
as the three steps to the altar dais, are in carefully selected
Pavonazzo. The design of the fourth bay is a system of inter-
lacing bands, forming alternately large and small octagons,
between which are squares and oblongs. The small octagons
are rich plaques of marble, while the large ones are divided
radially into eight panels. All these parts are filled with
mosaic of varying patterns and colours. At each end of this
bay is a long panel of overlapping circles, filled in with rich
mosaic. The panel on the altar pace and the three panels on
the altar dais are in the same mosaic, each of a different design ;
the long plaques of marble in the upper panel are red and green
of rich dark m.arbles. The two panels at the side of the dais
are in opus sectile, a design of hexagons of Pavonazzo, with
diamonds of Vert des Alpes between them. The broad band
of red, the whole length of the chancel on the outsides of
the pavement, is of Levanto marble, forming a finish to the
work."
The Screens, enclosing the four eastern bays of the choir,
were given as a public memorial to Dean Argles. They are
of very admirable wrought-iron. The same may be said of
the choir gates. The former are the work of White & Son,
of London; the latter of Singer & Son, of Frome. The
short pillars that support the choir gates, and the unrelieved
backs of the returned stalls, have at present the unsatis-
factory appearance of all unfinished work. A drawing of the
complete design is exhibited in a frame on an adjacent
pillar.
The single ancient object among the fittings in the choir is
the brass eagle Lectern. This was given to the monastery by
William Ramsey, Abbot, and John Maiden, Prior ; it is con-
sequently of late fifteenth century date. An inscription record
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 75
ing the names of the donors, in two Latin Hnes, was engraved
round a projection in the middle of the stem. Centuries of
hard scouring have obliterated this ; but the upper and lower
ends of most of the letters can just be traced. An expert can
satisfy himself that the inscription as preserved by Gunton is
practically correct. It seems to have been this, though it is
not possible to vouch for every letter.
HcEC tibi lectrina dant Petre metallica bina
Tohes Maiden prior et Wills de Ramiseya.
Besides the donors already named, the following became
contributors for special objects, many of them having in addition
given substantial assistance in money to the restoration fund.
The choir pulpit, Bishop's throne, and the cost of cleaning the
whitewash from the nave were given by Dean Argles. Enlarge-
ment of foot-pace, and extension of mosaic pavement, by Mrs
Argles. Decoration of ceiling of lantern tower, and new frames
for the bells, by Mr H. P. Gates. Chapter Clerk. Litany desk,
by Mrs Rigg. Altar ornaments, by Canon Alderson. The
44 stalls were given by Archbishop Magee, Lady Elizabeth
Villiers (7), Lady Louisa Wells, Mr H. P. Gates, Friends of
Canon Clayton, Family of Canon Pratt, Hon. Canon Willes,
Hon. Canon Twells, an ex-chorister of the cathedral, Mr James
Bristow, Mr. W. U. Heygate, Mr S. G. Stopfcrd-Sackville, Mrs
Yard, Mr J. D. Goodman, Miss Pears, Mrs Perry Herrick,
Mrs W. L. CoUins and Mrs H. L. Mansel, Mr Albert Pell,
Mrs Dawson Rowley, The Mayor and Corporation, Mr F.
James, the Freemasons of England (3), Friends of Lady
Isham and Miss Perowne (2), Rev. W. R. P. Waudby, Mr
G. L. Watson, Major - General Sotheby, Mrs Hunt, Rev.
A. Redifer, Mr J. G. Dearden, Mrs Percival, the Misses
Broughton, Rev. S. A. T. Yates (in memory of Mr Charles
Davys Argles), Rev. W. H. Cooper, Mr T. A. Argles,
Mrs Argles.
The choir aisles are vaulted ; the section of the vaulting ribs
is much heavier than in the aisles of the nave, and shews an
earlier date. It has recently been discovered that these aisles,
contrary to what was usually believed, were terminated with
apses and were not square-ended. In the south aisle is traced
on the floor the position of the old semi circular ending. The
76 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAI..
windows here were altered at the same time as those in the
nave aisles : but in the north choir aisle the windows were
taken out and arches formed leading to the passage between
this aisle and the Lady Chapel, the most western arch being
Perpendicular : in the seventeenth century, when the Lady
Chapel was pulled down, these arches were again filled up with
masonry and windows. The third window in this aisle has
escaped alteration in form ; but Perpendicular tracery has been
inserted.
The eastern ends of both aisles were altered in Early English
times. They have now a groined roof of one bay of that period,
and very handsome double piscinas. The aumbry on the north
side in the south choir aisle has been glazed, and is utilised as
a cupboard to hold some curiosities. In the north choir aisle
there is an approach to the morning chapel through a screen ;
but in the south choir aisle the corresponding space is filled by
a Norman monumental arch.
The New Building built beyond the apse is a very noble
specimen of late Perpendicular work. It was begun by Abbot
Richard Ash ton (1438-147 1), and completed by Abbot Robert
Kirton (1496-15 28) : the works seem to have been suspended
between these periods. The roof has the beautiful fan tracery,
very similar on a smaller scale to that at King's College Chapel
at Cambridge. The building is of the width of the choir and
aisles together. It contained three altars at the date of the
suppression of monasteries, "upon each altar a Table of the
Passion of Christ, Gilt."
The central bay has been recently fitted up for early celebra-
tions of the Holy Communion. The junction of this addition
with the original Norman apse is admirable, and should be
specially noticed. Parts of the original external stringcourse
of the apse can be seen. The ornamentation on the bosses of
the roof, and in the cavetto below the windows, and round the
great arches from the choir aisles, is very varied. It must be
sufficient here to indicate some of the designs. Most need
little explanation, but a few are hard to understand. On the
roof may be seen the three lions of England, a cross between
four martlets, three crowns each pierced by an arrow, and
another design. The smaller desigtis include four-leaved
flowers, Tudor roses, fleur.s-de-lys, the portcullis, some unde-
scribable creatures, crossed keys, crossed swords, crossed crosiers,
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 77
crosses, crowns, crowns pierced with arrows, crowned female
heads, an eagle, the head of the Baptist in a charger, an angel,
mitres, three feathers rising from a crown, S. Andrew's cross,
and perhaps others. There are also some rebuses, and some
lettering. On the north wall, in six several squares, are the
letters of the name Ashton interwoven with scrolls ; the letters
AR before a church, and a bird on a tun occur more than once.
This certainly refers to Abbot Robert Kirton ; but what the
bird means is not clear. In the moulding over the large arch
to the south choir aisle are four sets of letters. They form the
last verse of the psalter. The words are contracted : they
stand for Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.
The Transepts, including the arch to the aisles, are of four
bays, and, as has before been pointed out, are of precisely the
same character as the work in the choir. The central piers here
are octagonal. All round the Norman portion of the church,
below the windows, is an arcade of round arches with simple
round mouldings and plain cushion capitals : in the transepts
these have not intersecting heads, as in the choir and nave.
The western sides of the transepts have no proper triforium,
but a passage runs along in front of the windows in the triforium
range. The chapels to the east have Perpendicular screens.
In the north transept those three chapels were made into one
which was used for early service, and called the morning chapel.
We read in the chapter records of a minor canon being appointed
to read the prayers at 6 o'clock, and once at least the hour is
named as 5 o'clock, in the morning. This chapel was fitted up
with some of the desks from the choir ; and, judging from a
number of names and initials that had been cut upon the desks,
it has been conjectured that it was at one time used for the
chapel of the King's School. At the north end is a desk for
the reader or readers made out of two Early English stalls ;
there are three double shafts with admirably carved wooden
foliage in the capitals. A very fine little Norman door leads to
the staircase to the triforium. It should be mentioned that in
the triforium is arranged an excellent series of stones, fragments,
mouldings, and various ornaments, found in different places
during the recent restoration. On the east wall are hung two
large pieces of tapestry, representing scenes from the early
chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, of no special merit. In
all probability these were once in the choir. One window in
78
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
the north transept aisle and all three in the south have fine
geometrical tracery. The three chapels in the south transept
were used as vestries until a few years ago, when the space be-
Photochrom Co., Ld., Photo.]
THE NEW BUILDING FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
neath the bell-tower and part of the north aisle of the nave was
converted into a large vestry for both clergy and choir. In the
chapel here nearest the choir there remains the lower part of
THE CATHEDRAL —INTERIOR.
79
the newel staircase which led to an upper chapel. On the
west side of the south transept has been erected a building
which has in its time served many different purposes. It can
hardly be called an aisle, as there is only access to the transept
by a single ogee-headed doorway, which is a Decorated inser-
tion. This building is of late, almost transition, Norman date :
rhoiocJiyom Co , Ld., FJioto:\
THE TRANSEPTS, LOOKING NORTH.
and is not very many years later than the transept itself. It can
be seen from the cloister court that it had originally three gables.
The roof is vaulted. In an inventory of goods made in 1539,
printed in Gunton, there is one chapel described as the " Ostrie
Chapel," which is believed to refer to this building. In a plan
drawn in Bishop Kennett's time and dedicated to him, the
south part is called " The Hostry Chapel, nov/ the Chapter-
House," and the north part is called the " Chapel of St.
Sprite or the Holy Ghost." In some plans it is called the
vestry. It has also been employed as a muniment room, as
a Chapter-house, and (as now) as a practising room for the
choir.
Near the south-western pier of the central tower access can
So PETEkBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
be obtained to what remains of the Saxon Church. It was
when the foundations of this pier were reached, in 1887, that
the first indications of an earUer building were brought to fight.
First a sofid piece of wall was discovered, and soon after a sub-
stantial piece of cement attached to the wall, running north and
south, which has
since proved to be
the eastern wall of
the north transept
of the Saxon
Church. The
workmen also came
upon a plaster
floor, on which
were remains of
burnt wood, red-
dened stone, and
other evidences of
a conflagration.
As the work of
excavation - pro-
ceeded at intervals,
fresh discoveries
were made. The
walls of the north
transept, choir, and
part of the south
transept, can be
traced. Just out-
side the eastern
wall can be seen
portions of two
EVANGELISTIC SV.MliOL FROM (^-lOINED ROOF OF ^^^XOn tOmOS WhlCll
LANTERN TOWER. DRAWN BY w. H. LORD, wcrc Originally in
the grave - yard.
The width of both choir and transepts is about 23 feet. The
choir was not apsidal. The south wall of ihe south transept
was just beyond the wall of the existing building; the extreme
east end was almost exactly underneath the pillars in the
present transept; the west wall of the south transept of the
Saxon church was under the practising room ; the nave ex-
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR.
8l
tended into the cloister court. Near the south end of the
excavations was discovered a portion of a Saxon altar in situ.
No remains have been found of the nave (see plan, p. 9).
The roofs of both transepts are flat, and, except where rotten
boards have been replaced, original. They are now uncoloured,
but formerly were
painted in black and
white diamond pat-
terns. All the win-
dows at the north
and south ends are
Norman, with Per-
pendicular tracery.
The lantern tower
has a fine groined
roof, carefully re-
stored and well
painted. In the
centre is a repre-
sentation of the
Saviour ; eight col-
oured shields have
the emblems of the
Passion; four have
the evangelistic sym-
bols.
The Nave, not-
withstanding the
years it took to
build, the change of
architecture that was
coming into use as
it was being finished,
and the alteration
in plan that was de-
cided upon towards
the end, is a very complete and almost uniform structure.
There are ten bays, all having round arches ; in the trifo-
rium each large arch has two smaller ones beneath it ; and
in each bay of the clerestory is one high arch and two
smaller ones. The triforium arches in the two easternmost
G
EVANGELISTIC SYMBOL FROM GROINED ROOF
OF LANTERN TOWER. DRAWN BY W. H. LORD.
82
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
bays, on both sides, have the hatchet ornamentation in the
tympanum ; this may either mark the limits of the old Bene-
dictine choir, or may simply suggest earlier work. Almost the
only indication of distinct later work, as we proceed towards
WOODEN BOSS FROM GROINED ROOF OF LANTERN TOWER.
DRAWN BY W. H. LORD.
the west, is in the different forms of the bases of the piers.
The arcading of the aisles curiously changes towards the west
in both aisles, but not at corresponding points; the change
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR.
83
consists in the reversing the interlacing of the arches.
The third pillars from the west end on either side are not
really, strictly speaking, pillars at all. They were built as
supports to two western towers which it was intended certainly
to erect at this point, even if they were not at least in part
built. There are many other little details in the neighbour-
hood of these piers, all confirming Mr Paley's discovery with
respect to these contemplated towers, one at any rate of which
he thinks was actually erected. The pillars are cylindrical
PhotocJiroiH Co., Ld., Photo.]
THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST.
with numerous attached shafts. In addition to the changed
form of the bases, careful observers can detect proofs of later
work in the capitals of the shafts in the triforium. In front of
each pier a shaft rises to the roof ; and on these the original
ceiling rested. On some of the piers in the south aisle, near
the west end, may be seen several very curious masons' marks.
In the nave is a very massive pulpit given in 1873 by the
family of Dr James, for forty years Canon, bearing an inscrip-
tion to his memory. It is from the design of Mr Edward
84 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Barry, and v/as meant to be in keeping with the Norman
architecture of the nave. The central shaft is of Devonshire
marble, the main body of the pulpit of red Dumfries stone,
and some of the smaller pillars are of green Greek marble. At
the angles are four large figures of the Evangelists. There is
also in the nave a wooden eagle lectern, carved by the late
Rev. R. S. Baker, Rector of Hargrave.
The Nave Ceiling is very curious and remarkable. If
originally flat, and supported on the tall shafts last mentioned,
it would be just above the great arch of the central tower
before that was altered from the round form. It is supposed
that this was the case ; and that when the pointed arch was
substituted the central compartment of the ceiling was raised,
and the two outer ones made to slope as we see it now. But
if the Norman roof was flat, its outer compartments would
manifestly not be broad enough to fill the space now occupied
by the sloping sides. And yet there is no alteration in the
style of ornamentation : nor are the diamonds, which are
divided by the line where the slope joins the horizontal
portion, unduly elongated, as would seem to be necessary in
the part nearest the wall. Some change was clearly made
when the Decorated arches were built ; for above the Norman
cornice on which the roof was originally laid, there is now a
length of painted wood containing coats of arms obviously of
later date than the ceiling. It is not possible to pronounce
with certainty on the question. But considering (i), that the
whole ceiling was certainly raised in consequence of the
superior height of the tower arch (2), that no difference can be
detected between the centre compartments and those at the
side in the patterns, and (3), that additional height has been
secured by the Decorated boarding above mentioned, the most
probable solution seems to be that the whole is the original
Norman work, practically unaltered, and that it was never flat,
but had always sloping sides as at present. All agree that the
style of the painting is perfectly characteristic of the period.
'J'he divisions are of the lozenge shape ; in each lozenge of the
central line is a figure, and in each alternate one of the sides.
The middle set has more elongated lozenges than the others.
The borders are black and white, with some coloured lines, in
odd zigzag patterns. The figures, which are mostly seated, are
very quaint and strange. Some are sacred, some grotesque.
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 87
We can see S. Peter with the keys, kings, queens, and
minstrels; we find also a head with two faces, a monkey
riding backwards on a goat, a human figure with head and
hoofs of an ass, a horse playing a harp, a winged dragon, a
dancing lion, an eagle, and other curious devices.
The West Transept extends beyond the aisles. The huge
pointed arches covered with Norman mouldings are very
remarkable. The arcading which goes round the lower part
of the aisle walls was continued round the east sides and the
ends of this transept, but it has all been hacked away, and the
walls now are flat. This has been done within the present
century ; the position of the arcade is very plainly to be seen.
The south end is used as a baptistery, which is railed off.
The font is of a local marble of thirteenth century date ; but
the lower part is modern. For many years it was used as a
flower pot in one of the prebendal gardens, whence it was
removed by Dean Monk and ultimately restored to its original
use. In the early part of the last century a font stood by
the second pillar on the north side of the nave. This had
been erected in 161 5, as appears by an entry in the cathedral
register of that date, when the son of one of the prebendaries
was baptized " in the new font in the bodye of the Cathedral
Church here." The north end of this transept is used as a
vestry. It is screened off, with the adjacent bays of the north
aisle, by some of the woodwork that has been removed from
Dean Monk's choir. From these specimens the general
character of the whole can be easily gathered.
The west wall has no trace of Norman work. The arcade
by the ground consists of pointed arches, though the great
doorway has a round arch ; all have Early English mouldings.
The great doors themselves are of the same date, as shown
by the carved capital at the top. The west window, with its
Perpendicular tracery, is set inside an Early English arch,
which has two lofty lancets by the side ; and in looking at it
from the east it can hardly be detected that this arch is not
the very framework of the window. The very lofty lancets on
the east of the projecting parts of this transept, as well as the
decoration of the arches in the triforium above the aisles,
should be noticed.
The number of Altars in the church was considerable.
They were of course all served by members of the foundation,
88 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
but they had not separate endowments like chantries in a
parish church. Nor does any one appear to have been
associated with any company or guild. There were, besides
the High Altar and that in the Lady Chapel, three in the new
building, one in the little chapel between the choir and Lady
Chapel, one in each choir aisle, two (SS. John and James)
in the north transept, four (SS. Oswald, Benedict, and Kyne-
burga, and the Holy Trinity) in the south transept, two (the
Ostrie Chapel and that of the Holy Spirit) in the building
west of the south transept, one in the rood-loft, most likely four
against pillars in the nave (a bracket on a pillar on the north
side marks the position of one),' and apparently one in the
south part of the west transept. If this enumeration is correct
there were not less than twenty-two. There seems also to have
been an altar in the hearse over Queen Katherine's tomb ;
and, though no mention of them occurs, we should suppose
there must have been one on each side of the entrance
beneath the rood-loft.
Two altar-stones only have been found. One is marked on
a plan made about iSo years ago as being laid down in the
choir a little to the east of where the eagle lectern now stands.
It was subsequently taken up, sawn into three pieces, and
placed beneath the arch leading from the western transept to
the south aisle. Some twenty-five years ago it was again
removed from the pavement and is preserved elsewhere. The
five crosses are large and deeply cut, and are in the form
of cross-crosslets. The other has been taken up from the
pavement quite recently. It is a very curious example, and
one that might well escape notice.^ The stone is of the usual
size, and uninscribed. It is much worn by constant treadings,
and the five crosses are nearly obliterated, though quite dis-
tinctly to be seen. But instead of there being, as usual, one in
each corner of the stone, or nearly so, all the five are towards
the centre of the stone, within a space of about two square
feet.
Of Stained Glass the only ancient examples are some frag-
ments that have been collected from different parts of the
church, mostly as it seems from the cloisters, and put together
* The present writer, who has copied every inscription in the church,
and examined (so he l)elievcd) every stone in the floor over and ovejr
again, never found it out,
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR.
89
in two central windows in the apse. These are well worth
observing with care. No scenes of course can be made out,
but the faces, when examined closel}', are found to be singularly
good. Most of the pieces formed portions of a window or
HEAD OF S. PETER IN ANCIENT STAINED GLASS IN THE APSE.
DRAWN BY W. H. LORD.
series of windows representing incidents in the life of S. Peter.
This is apparent from the few words that can still be made out
pn the labels, which are all fragments of texts referring to that
90 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Saint. A few of the texts have been reversed. Among them
are these : Pasce oves ; domine non erit ; es Christus ; non
sapis ea que ; Beatus es Simon Barjona ; domme honum est 7ios
esse ; super hanc pe ; quia caro ; quern esse dicitis. These
fragments were placed in their present position by Dean
Tarrant. The modern glass is inconsiderable in quantity, and
of no very conspicuous merit. Two in the new building are
perhaps the best. One is to the memory of Dean Butler, " the
offering of his widow " ; the other was given by Canon Argles
(afterwards Dean) in memory of his father-in-law, Bishop Davys,
" Illustriss. Reginae Victoriae Preceptoris." This window takes
the place of one which had been for many years an eyesore,
being filled with blue, green, and yellow glass in a kaleido-
scope pattern. But when first put in, a hundred years ago, it
was much admired. An account of it at the time calls it "a
beautiful window of stained glass in various colours, and formed
by the late Thomas Cooper, an ingenious workman." In the
north choir aisle is a memorial window to Thomas Mills, Hon.
Canon, 1856. In the south transept some in memory of Payne
Edwards, LL.B., 1861 ; Sir Chapman Marshall, Kt, Alder-
man of London, whose son was Precentor here; and James
Cattel, cathedral librarian, 1877. In the north transept are
several given by Mr G. W. Johnson, two in memory of his
father and mother, one to the Prince Consort, and some un-
connected with any names ; there are also two in memory of
George John Gates, i860, and John Hewitt Paley "juvenis
desideratissimi," 1857.
The architecture of The Parvise, over the western porch,
has been already described. It now contains the library,
removed to this place from the new building by Dean Tarrant.
The collection was begun by Dean Duport, who presented
books himself, and obtained more from the Prebendaries and
other persons ; it was afterwards enriched with the whole of
the valuable library of Bishop Kennett, and part of Dean
Lockier's, and has since had many considerable additions.
The manuscripts are not numerous, the chief being the very
important book known as Swapham. The greater part of this
has been printed by Sparkes. His publication includes
Abbot John's Chronicle, The History of Burgh by Hugo
Candidus with its continuation by Swapham, the Chronicle of
Walter of Whittlesey, and two other works. There are also
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR. 91
kept here some of the fabric rolls of the monastery. Bishop
Kennett's library contained a most valuable collection of tracts
and pamphlets published in the latter part of the seventeenth
century. There are also some books of much earlier date, a few
of great rarity. A memorandum written in the Book of
Swapham above mentioned tells us that the Precentor,
Humphrey Austin, had hidden it in 1642 in anticipation of
coming troubles. But Cromwell's soldiers found it, and would
probably have destroyed it ; the Precentor, however, under
pretence of enquiring after an old Latin bible, found out where
it was, and redeemed it for the sum of ten shillings.
Monuments and Inscriptions.— We proceed to speak
of these, treated as a single subject, instead of describing
them at the various parts of the building where they are to
be found.
At first sight it is thought that this cathedral is singularly
deficient in monuments of interest. To a certain extent this
is the case. There are no memorial chantries, such as add to
the beauty of many of our noblest churches ; no effigies of
warriors or statesmen ; no series of ancient tablets or inscrip-
tions that illustrate the history of the neighbourhood ; not a
single brass. With few exceptions all the monuments and in-
scriptions that remain commemorate abbots or other members
of the monastery, or, after the Reformation, bishops, and
members of the cathedral foundation and their families. While
of famous persons known to have been buried within the walls,
such as Katherine of Arragon, Mary Queen of Scots, the Arch-
bishops Elfricus and Kinsius of York, Sir Geoffrey de la Mare,
Sir Robert de Thorpe, and others, no memorials worthy of their
fame and importance are in existence. The wanton destruc-
tion during the civil war in great part explains this ; but it is
sad to remember that numbers of mediaeval inscriptions in the
floor were hidden or destroyed during some well-meaning but
ill-judged alterations in the last century.
First in interest and importance is that known as the Monks'
Stone, now preserved in the new building. It is generally
thought that this was constructed in commemoration of the
massacre of Abbot Hedda and his monks in 870, by the
Danes. It was not till nearly a century later that any attempt
was made to rebuild the monastery. But Mr Bloxam read a
paper at Peterborough in 1861 in which he disputed the
92
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
authenticity of this monument, which had been previously re-
garded as one of the most ancient monumental stones extant.
He pronounced it to be Norman, and not Saxon work, and
some centuries later in date than the massacre of the monks.
He considered the figures did not represent the slain monks
and their abbot, but Christ and eleven disciples. It has been
further conjectured by Bishop Westcott that it may have been
part of the shrine erected over the relics of S. Kyneburga, when
they were removed from Castor to Peterborough in the former
half of the eleventh century. A fragment of sculpture in the same
style is built into the west wall
of the south transept. Even if
the latter years of the ninth
century are deemed too early a
date for the stone, at any rate
the style of the sculpture and
ornamentation seems much
earlier than anything we can
now see in position in the
building itself. May it not
have been erected when the
minster was reconstructed at
the end of the tenth century ?
It was formerly in the church-
yard ; sometimes testators (like
Dr Pocklington) desired in
their wills that they might be interred near it. It has been
usually stated that the stone was erected by Abbot Godric of
Crowland, who died in 941. Unvarying tradition has associ-
ated it with the Danish massacre; its dimensions almost
exactly agree with the earliest records of the stone said to
have been so erected. The cruciform nimbus round the head
of one figure leaves no doubt that it was designed for the
Saviour ; but this had been recognised many years before Mr
Bloxam wrote.
In the north transept, below the level of the floor, and pro-
tected by wooden doors, are several richly ornamented slabs or
coffin lids, of undoubted Saxon date ; and they form a series
which may be considered one of the very best in England.
They are in their original position, the spot on which they lie
being outside the Saxon church and they were then in the
PART OF THE MONKS' STONE.
DRAWN BY W. H. LORD.
tilE CATHEDRAL — INTERtOR.
93
grave-yard. They were discovered in 1888. Tiie interlacing
work, and other carvings, are deeply cut and in excellent pre-
servation.
The six recumbent effigies of abbots are the very best series
of Benedictine memorials in the country. Attempts have been
made to identify them from the character of the carvings. But
as four are certainly of thirteenth century date, and one late in
the twelfth century, and as thirteen abbots ruled during that
period, it may be pronounced
impossible to name each one.
One only, manifestly the latest
in date, and also in poorest
preservation (being carved in
clunch), has the mitre ; this
is now temporarily placed in
the New Building; there is
little doubt that it represents
John Chambers, the last Abbot
and first Bishop. All the
other five abbots are repre-
sented in alb and chasuble,
holding a book (signifying, it
is said, the statutes of the
Benedictine order), in the left
hand ; while in the right hand
is a crosier. In one instance
this is not very clear. Four
have their feet resting on
fanciful creatures, which, in
three cases, hold the lower
ends of the crosiers in their
mouths. Two of these
crosiers, at least, are turned
outwards : this is contrary to
the commonly received opinion that the turning inward sym-
bolised the domestic rule over a monastic house. The head of
one abbot rests on a square cushion. Four of these effigies are
in the south choir aisle ; one of them being beneath the Norman
sepulchral arch raised to commemorate three abbots, John de
Sais, who died in 11 25, Martin of Bee, in 1155, and Andrew,
in 1199. It seems unlikely that the one placed beneath the
SAXON COFFIN LIDS IN NORTH
TRANSEPT. DRAWN BY W.
H. LORD.
94 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
arch should represent one of those three, although usually as-
signed to the latest, Andrew. The next two in the aisle were
found in the ruins of the old chapter-house, and brought into
the church.^ The date of the easternmost is known. It is
more richly ornamented than the rest, and the entire coffin is
above ground, with handsome quatrefoils and other carving.
This commemorates Alexander of Holderness, 1226. It was
found under the woodwork of the old choir which was removed
in 1830, beneath the second arch, on the north of the choir.
The coffin contained the body, in a large coarse garment, with
boots on, and a crosier in the left hand. The boots were what
are called " rights and lefts," and in fair preservation. The
head was gone. A piece of lead was found inscribed " Abbas :
Alexandr : " The remains were gathered
together and re-interred beneath the pre-
sent position of the coffin. At the same
time in all likelihood the effigy that was
already on the spot (one of those that had
been found in the ruins of the chapter-
house) was removed to one of the chapels
in the south transept ; from which place
it was afterwards moved to the New Build-
ing immediately behind the apse, where
now is the monument to Bishop Chambers:
PORTION OF A MONU- and now it has been put on a stone plinth
MENT OF AN ABBOT. on the spot whcrc the coffin of Abbot
Alexander was found, under the mistaken
impression that it was the figure found there in 1830.
The other prae-Reformation memorials are very few. Two
have lately been found concealed by the paving, Abbot Godfrey,
1321, moved from the choir to the north aisle, and sub-prior
Fraunceys, at the east end of the south nave aisle. In the
morning chapel is an early stone with inscription in capitals,
and three stone coffin lids ; other fragmentary inscriptions re-
main in S. Oswald's chapel, in the north choir aisle, and under
the bell-tower.
In the floor on the north side of the choir, near the altar
rails, is a stone with modern inscription recording the burial
* As well as one other, probably the one now under one of the arches on
the north of the choir.
THE CATHEDRAL— INTERIOR.
95
places of Elfricus and Kinsius, both Archbishops of York ; the
former died in 105 1, the latter in 1060. An old guide-book
says that " on the north side, in two hollow places of wall, were
found two chests about three feet long, in each of which were
the bones of a man : and of whom appeared by a plate of lead
in each chest, whereon the name of the person was engraved,"
these names being those given above. The chronicle expressly
records of Kinsius, '■^jacet tumulatus ift
scrinio juxta magnum alt are in parte
borealV^
Queen Katherine of Arragon was buried
in the north choir aisle, just outside the
most eastern arch, in 1535. A hearse was
placed near, probably between the two
piers. Four years later this is described
as "the inclosed place where the Lady
Katherine lieth," and there seems to have
been a small altar within it. Some banners
that adorned it remained in the cathedral
till 1586. About the same time some
persons were imprisoned for defacing the
" monument," and required to " reform
the same." The only monument, strictly
so called, of which there is any record,
was a low table monument, raised on two
shallow steps, with simple quatrefoils,
carved in squares set diamond-wise. En-
gravings of this shew it to have been an
insignificant and mean erection. A few
slabs of it were lately found buried be-
neath the floor, and they are now placed
against the wall of the aisle. One of the
prebendaries repaired this monument at
his own cost, about 1725, and supplied a tiny brass plate with
name and date, part of which remains in the floor. This
monument was removed in 1792. A handsome marble stone
has quite recently been laid down to the Queen's memory
above her grave, with incised inscription and coats of arms.
A tablet has been erected in the south choir aisle to record
the fact that Mary Queen of Scots had been buried near the
spot. Recent explorations have proved that the exact spot was
TOMB OF AN ABBOT
IN NORTH CHOIR
AISLE. DRAWN
BY W. H. LORD.
q6
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PORTION OF MONU-
MENT OF AN
ABBOT.
just within the choir. The funeral took place on the first of
August, 1587. Remains of the hearse between the pillars were
to be seen so lately as 1800. On Oct.
II, 161 2, the body was removed to
Westminster Abbey, by order of King
James I., the Queen's son. A photo-
graph of the letter ordering the re-
moval, the original of which is still in
possession of the Dean and Chapter,
is framed and hung on an adjacent
pillar.
In the south choir aisle is a fine
monument with a life-size effigy of
Archbishop Magee in his robes. It
is carved in pure white marble. On
the side are impaled coats of arms and
an inscription. The likeness is excellent.
The other tablets and inscriptions hardly require detailed de-
scriptions. In the New Building is the
mutilated monument to Sir Humfrey
Orme : no names or dates remain ; at
the top are the words Satigvis lesv Christi
pvrgat 7tos ab omnibvs Peccatis nostris.
Near this is an elaborate erection to
Thomas Deacon, i72i,agreat benefactor
to the town. On a stone to John Brimble,
organist of S. John's College, Cambridge,
1670, we read that he was Musis et musicce
\ i^^Uil devotisshnus, ad ccekstem evecliis Academiam.
Among many inscriptions some interesting
items will be found. John Benson, 1827,
was the " oldest Committee Clerk at the
House of Commons." Humfrey Orme,
1670, was A supremo Anglice senatu ad
superiorem sanctorum coni)e7jtum evocalus.
On the memorial to Bishop Madan, 1813,
are the lines : —
TOMB OF AN ABBOT
IN SOUTH CHOIR
AISLE. DRAWN
BY VV. H. LORD.
In sacred sleep the pious Bishop lies,
Say not in death — A good Man never dies.
On the tablet to Bishop Cumberland, 17 18, are four Latin
THE CATHEDRAL — INTERIOR.
97
lines from Dean Duport's epigram upon the Bishop's confuta-
tion of Hobbes. In the south choir aisle, on the tablet to Dean
Lockier, 1740, is the only instance of the arms of the Deanery
Photochrom Co., Ld., Photo.]
SOUTH AISLES OF CHOIR AND NAVE.
impaling another shield, on a monument. Near this is a
wooden tablet executed in good taste, recording the fact that
the iron screens are a memorial to Dean Argles, whose munifi-
H
98 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
cent contributions to the embellishment of the cathedral are
well known. The Norman arch at the west end of this aisle
has a modern painted inscription, believed to be an exact copy
of the original : —
Hos tres Abbates, Quibus est Prior Abba Johannes
Alter MartimiSy Andreas Ultimus, tinus
Hie claudit Tumulus ; pro Clausis ergo rogemus.
Near this is a tablet to Roger Pemberton, 1695, with a line
from Homer in Greek at the top, thus rendered in Lord Derby's
translation, "The race of men is as the race of leaves." In the
north choir aisle John Workman, Prebendary, 1685, is described
as Proto- Canonicus, probably meaning that he held the first
stall. The tablet to Frances Cosin, wife of the Dean afterwards
Bishop of Durham, was not erected till after the Bishop's
death in 1672, though she died in 1642. The Bishop left
jQ^o by his will for this monument, and prescribed the words
of the inscription. On the very large tablet above the
piscina is a punning motto, Tejiiperantia te Temperatrice^ the
person commemorated being Richard Tryce, 1767.
Last of all we must speak of the one memorial which is
usually looked at first, the famous picture of Old Scarlett, on the
wall of the western transept. He is represented with a spade,
pickaxe, keys, and a whip in his leathern girdle ; at his feet is
a skull. At the top of the picture are the arms of the cathedral.
Beneath the portrait are these lines : —
YOV SEE OLD SCARLEITS PICTVRE STAND ON HTE
BVT AT YOVR FEETE THERE DOTH HIS BODY LYE
His GRAVESTONE DOTH HIS AGE AND DEATH TIME SHOW
His office by theis tokens yov may know
Second to none for strength and stvrdye limm
A scarbabe mighty voice with visage grim
Hee had inter'd two qveenes within this place
And this townes hovseholders in his lives space
Twice over : bvt at length his one tvrne came
What hee for others did for him j he same
Was done : no dovbt his sovl doth live for aye
In heaven : thovgh here his body clad in clay.
On the floor is a stone inscribed : " Ivly 2 1594 R S retatis
98." This painting is not a contemporary portrait, but a copy
made in 1747. In 1866 it was sent on loan to the South
Kensington Museum.
PETERBOROUGH— SOUTH SIDE OF CLOSE IN 180I.
CHAPTER IV.
THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY.
There are many objects of great interest to be seen in the
Minster Yard. This name is not unfrequently given to the
whole of the territory belonging to the Dean and Chapter
surrounding the church. The correct title is, however, as
given above, the Minster Precincts : and it is by this name
that the parish is described, for the Abbey Church, like a few
others, is a parish church, as well as the Cathedral of the
diocese. Although without churchwardens, this parish still
appoints its own overseers of the poor. Old residents dis-
tinguish the Close from the Precincts, limiting the use of the
former expression to the area west of the Cathedral. Contrary
to what all would expect, the great gateway to the west is not
the boundary of the Precincts, for they extend a Httle further
west, and include one or two houses beyond the gateway.
This ancient entrance to the monastic grounds naturally
first arrests the attention. It was built by Abbot Benedict in
the last quarter of the twelfth century. Though it has been
much altered, a considerable part of the original structure
remains. As we see it from the Market-place we observe a
fifteenth century look about it : on closer inspection we see
that a late Decorated arch has been built in front of the
Norman arch, and that a facing of the same date has been
carried above. Here is an arcade, with the al'ternate panels
pierced for windows. On each side of the gateway are also
good Norman arcades ; the doorway in the arcade to the north
opens into a residence, that on the south gives access to the
lOO PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
room above. This was originally the Chapel of S. Nicolas.
On the eastern side of the room is a three-light window,
manifestly a late insertion, and adapted from some other
building. It is said to be part of a shrine which formerly
was in the Cathedral, a portion of which still remains in the
new building. This statement has been repeated over and
over again ; but it is difficult to see any resemblance between
the two.
The chapel over the gateway has been put to various uses
since the dissolution of monasteries. In 1 6 1 7 it was assigned
to the porter as part of his residence. At a later period it was
let. It has served the purposes of a muniment room, a
Masonic lodge room, a tailor's workshop, a practising room for
the choristers, a class-room for the Grammar School. In the
flourishing days of the Gentlemen's Society, when members
met and read papers, and kept up a considerable literary corres-
pondence with learned men in various parts of the kingdom,
its meetings were held here ; and it is now used as the library
of the same society, which was founded here in 1730 as a
branch of the Spalding Society "for the promotion of friend-
ship and literature," though it is understood now to be nothing
more than a circulating library. There are some valuable
books in the collection.
On the left hand, as we pass through the gate, is all that
remains of the Chapel of S. Thomas of Canterbury. It is
the chancel of a much larger building. Originally the chapel was
begun by Waterville and finished by Benedict : it was therefore
of Norman date. The present chancel was built in the latter
part of the fourteenth century. While the east window, with
its graceful net tracery and very elegant cross above, might
suggest an earlier date, yet a glance at the side windows, which
are distinctly of transitional character, tells us that 1360 or 1370
may be assigned as the period of erection. About 1404 the
abbey gave the materials of the nave of this chapel to the
town, to assist in rebuilding the parish church on the present
site ; but the chancel had been too recently built to be removed.
Since the establishment of the Cathedral the chancel seems
always to have been used as the Cathedral Grammar School,
until the year 1885, when the School was removed to new
buildings in the Park Road. It now contains the collections
of the Natural History and Archaeological Society.
THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY.
lOI
All the other ancient buildings on the west, the Plumber's
Office, the Sister House, the Treasurer's Office, have long dis-
appeared. The Minster Almshouses, adjoining the wall of the
Deanery garden, are the only buildings on the north side.
They have no ancient features.
The door immediately to the right of the great gateway as
we enter the close leads
to a vaulted chamber
which was once the gaol.
A few steps bring us to
a very magnificent gate-
way, leading to the
Palace grounds, over
which is a chamber,
called the Knights'
Chamber. This is of
Early English date, with
a fine groined roof. The
gates and postern are
placed at some distance
from the outer archway,
adding greatly to the
dignity and effect of the
whole composition. The
delicate arcading of the
sides, and the excellent
clustered shafts, are good
examples of the period :
unfortunately the bases
of the shafts are now
hidden by accumulation
of earth. On the north
and south faces are long
niches with figures : three
on the north are said to
be King Edward II., and the Abbot and Prior of the period;
those on the south are Apostles. The chamber above is used
as a muniment room.
Much of the line of buildings to the east of this gateway is
modern, but it harmonises excellently with the ancient work.
Near the Cathedral is some mediaeval work, and the office at
GATEWAY TO THE CATHEDRAL IN
I02 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
the end, on the ground floor, has a good stone groined roof.
This is beUeved to have been the Penitentiary.
The Deanery Gateway, at the north-eastern corner of
the close is a fine specimen of architecture. In the spandrels
above the great four-centred arch are two coats of arms, one
with the keys and crosslets, the other with swords and crosses.
These are now^ the arms of the See and the Cathedral respec-
tively : but it is difficult to say what was their special signifi-
cance when this gate was erected. Are we to suppose that the
Abbot and Prior used different armorial bearings before the
Reformation? Above the smaller door is a boldly carved
rebus of the Abbot in whose time the gate was erected, a
church on a tun, Robert Kirton (Kirkton). His initials in
stone are also carved beneath the parapet. Several of the
details are well worthy of attention. We find the Tudor rose
and portcullis : the arms of S. Edward and of S. Edmund, the
Martyr King ; an early instance in stone of the Prince of
Wales' feathers ; and the triangular symbol of the Holy
Trinity. The date is about 1520.
Through an open archway to the east we enter the burial
ground. Until 1804 this was the only place of burial for
the whole city. On the left is the Deanery, but nothing of
antiquity is to be seen from the exterior. In the hall are some
good fragments of old glass, some of it probably part of the
original embellishments of the house, though some may have
been brought from the Cathedral, and some is again quite
modern. Some panels of early date, brought from another
room, have also lately been put up in the hall. The church-
yard has been planted with trees and shrubs, and is well kept.
It has, however, become much more publicly used within the
last twenty-five or thirty years, owing to a thoroughfare for
foot-passengers which has been opened at the north-western
end of the close ; and the usual results of such publicity have
followed in the treading down of the turf and in the damage
inflicted on the shrubs. One of the most striking views of
the Cathedral is seen from the north-eastern corner of the
precincts, near the house known as " The Vineyard." This
was the house occupied by the officers who came down to
superintend the spoliation of the building in 1643. '^ his view
takes in the whole of the great length of the Cathedral, the bell-
tower and the north-western spire forming a very effective group.
THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY. IO3
Passing round the east end and proceeding to the south we
come to the ruins of the Infirmary. Here we may see some
very excellent Early English work, most elegant and graceful.
It was erected about 1260. The plan was similar to a large
church with aisles. The nave was used as the hall, the aisles
were the quarters of the inmates, and the chancel was the
chapel of the institution. Many of the main arches remain,
and the details of the ornamentation and mouldings will repay
careful study. At the west end is a very perfect piece of arcad-
ing. The large arch, seen above a low wall to the east, was
the arch leading to the chapel ; in exactly the same position as
the chancel arch in a church. At each side of this arch is a
lancet never pierced. The main arch is now blocked up, form-
ing a wall to one of the prebendal houses. The dining room
of this same house was the Infirmarer's house, and has much
very interesting Early English work. To the south of the
Infirmary is another ancient house, though much modernised.
This has always been a residence, and is now assigned to the
Archdeacon of Northampton. Before entering the Cloister
court we pass through the old slype, once a simple vaulted
passage, but now open to the sky. It was the means of com-
munication between the Refectory, which was situated to the
west, and the Chapter House, which was on the east side of
the Cloister. Quite recently one of the arches on the west
side has been opened to view.
The Cloister Court is always called the Laurel Court.
The origin of this name is not known. The northern part of
the area covers the site of the nave of the Saxon church ; but
though search was made, during the recent works, for remains
of the old foundations, nothing was discovered. On the south
and west sides are to be seen remains of the arches and groin-
ing, but the appearance of the south wall of the cathedral
suggests that there could not have been any covered alley to
the north, so completely have all evidences of such an erection
been removed. But it is known that there did exist an alley
there, when the Cloisters were complete ; for Gunton, describ-
ing it, says "The Cloyster about four square, in length 168
yards, in breadth 6 yards." The windows, contrary to the usual
practice, were all glazed, and they contained a very fine series
of painted glass, all destroyed in 1643. Gunton gives the
subjects: — "The windows were all compleat and fair, adorned
I04
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
with glass of excellent painting : In the South Cloyster was
the History of the Old Testament : In the East Cloyster of
the New : In the North Cloyster, the Figures of the successive
Kings from King Peada : In the West Cloyster, was the
History from the foundation of the Monastery of King Peada,
to the restoring of it by King Edgar." Each light had two
lines of verse at the foot, explaining the subject matter of the
SOUTH-WEST DOOR TO PALACE GROUNDS FROM THE CLOISTER
IN 1797.
glass above. All the verses in the windows of the west alley
are given ; and from this we gather that there were nine
windows there of four lights each. Although Gunlon only
gives the verses belonging to the west cloister, yet as he said
previously that " every window had at the bottom the explana-
tion of the history thus in verse," it is supposed that similar
legends appeared in all the other alleys of the cloister. The
verses are very quaint.
THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY. 10$
T'he archway at the south-eastern corner is very elegant, the
open quatrefoil above the round arch and below the pointed
^*<'
'i^ii^&!Mmt^
^-^^'Miiiiiiiiiiuiiiiin.
tlPCUFROHo
DOOR-WAY TO CATHEDRAL FROM CLOISTER COURT, NORTH-EAST,
DRAWN BY H. P. CLIFFORD.
arch being especially good. The south wall indicates that
there were two sets of cloisters here, as the remains of early
106 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
English arcading are to be clearly seen. Towards the west
was the lavatory, the remains indicating work of late fourteenth
century date. It is on record that Robert of Lindsey (1214-
1222) erected a lavatory in the south cloister: this would be
contemporary with the Early English work remaining in this
wall, and with the archway to the slype ; but it must have
been removed when the cloisters were enlarged, and another
lavatory, of which w^e see the remains under three arches, built
in its stead. The Refectory was immediately to the south of
this wall : some beautiful carving is to be seen in the Bishop's
garden. The south-western doorway gives access to the
Bishop's grounds. The depth of the hollows behind the carved
foliage above the door is remarkable.
In the west wall are remains of a Norman cloister ; there are
three arches and a door. From the architectural character it
seems almost certain that these are older than any part of the
present Cathedral. William of Waterville (11 55-1 175) '* built
the Cloister and covered it with lead." Canon Davys conjec-
tures that this Abbot in reality repaired and made sound the
old cloisters that had been built by Ernulf (1107-1115), ''whose
recent additions to the buildings of the monastery, we learn,
alone escaped the fire, which consumed the other parts of the
Abbey in the time of John de Sais." One of these arches has
the cheese moulding ; and on each jamb is a small incised
cross, a very few inches long. If these are consecration crosses
they are the only ones that have been noticed in any part of
the Abbey.
On the wall of the building west of the south transept are
some stone brackets. These shew that after the destruction
of the ancient cloister a covered way of some kind was erected
here. Marks can also be seen, in the masonry, which indicate
that the building once had three gables. Two of the Norman
buttresses of the south nave aisle have very curious terminations,
which might well puzzle any observer. They are fireplaces for
the use of plumbers. Passing through the Norman doorway at
the north-western corner of the Laurel Court, we come into a
narrow passage leading to the Minster Close.
In the Bishop's Palace, besides the remains of the Refec-
tory, which, though so scanty, shew what a beautiful building it
once was, there is very little worthy of note. The hall is a
vaulted cliamber, of no great height, with piers to support the
ARCHWAY FROM CLOISTER COURT, NORTH-WEST,
DRAWN UY H. P. CLIFFORD.
lo8 - PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
roof; most of it is part of the Abbot's dwelling, and of thirteenth
century date. The Heaven's Gate Chamber, previously noticed,
built by Abbot Kirton (i 496-1 528), lies to the south-east of the
hall. The chapel was erected by Bishop Magee soon after he
came to the diocese.
The City. — The mother church of S. John the Baptist is the
only parish church in the city of mediaeval date. Until 1856
it was the only parish church in the place. Originally the
church stood east of the Minster. But, following what seems
to be almost a universal law, the main population spread west-
ward as the number of inhabitants increased, and the earlier
buildings were left to the occupation of the poorer class. An
insignificant little house in the old town is traditionally said to
have, been the Vicar's residence. It has some evidence of an-
tiquity about it. The present church was built early in the
fifteenth century. It was opened in 1407 with much solemnity
by Abbot Genge. It is a spacious and dignified building,
having a nave of seven bays ; and there are two bays to the
chancel, besides the sanctuary. The west tower is good, but
hardly of sufficient dignity for such a church. The interior was
reseated, and new roofs added, about fifteen years ago ; they
were designed by Mr Pearson. Much has been since done in
the way of improving the interior by the addition of numerous
stained glass windows. The great defect is the absence of
screen-work : with a handsome chancel screen, and another to
mark off the morning-service chapel in the south aisle, and with
parcloses north and south of the chancel, this would be a grand
church. There is at present an appearance of emptiness, not-
withstanding the excellence of the modern wood-work. In
1891 the south porch was restored to the memory of Dr James
(author of the well-known "Comment on the Collects,"and many
other theological works), formerly Vicar here. In the vestry, at
the west end of the south aisle, is a large picture of King
Charles I. Two curious specimens of early embroidery are
here to be seen. They were once portions of altar-cloths, or
of copes. In each case the work is in the form of a cross,
about two feet long. Each has the figure of the Saviour on the
Cross ; but the details are not identical.
The Guild Hall, in the Market Place, is an effective little
building, dated 1671. The lower part is open, and is used for
the butter market. While sufficient for the transaction of
THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY. Ill
borough business loo years ago, it is altogether inadequate now
to the requirements of a corporation.
Until a very few years ago there was a mediaeval building at
Peterborough of the greatest interest. This was the old Tithe
Barn of the Abbey, situated in the Manor of Boroughbury, on
the Lincoln Road. It was much the finest in the kingdom.
Unhappily the " enterprising builder " has obtained possession
of it, and it has been pulled down, the materials, all Barnack
stone, having been employed in building houses. It was of
good thirteenth century work, and in perfect condition. On the
east side were two large porches, by which a waggon fully
laden could enter the barn. The roof was supported by very
massive timbers rising from the ground, the whole arrangement
resembling a wooden church with aisles. These timbers are
indeed still standing : and the visitor interested in such edifices
should not fail to inspect them.
CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY.
The inhabitants of the Fen country, when first distinguished by
a special name, were known as the Gyrvii. Their district
included the south part of Lincolnshire, the north part of
Northamptonshire, and the greater part of Cambridgeshire.
The southern Gyrvii were a province of East Anglia ; the
Gyrvii of the north appear to have been allied to the East
Anglians, and perhaps inclined to become united with them ;
but they were ultimately absorbed in the great Midland
Kingdom of Mercia. Bishop Stubbs,^ speaking of the early
Fasti of Peterborough, says : "Mercia, late in its formation
as a kingdom, sprang at once into a great state under Penda ;
late in its adoption of Christianity, it seems from the period of
its conversion to have taken a prominent place at once among
the Christian powers. The Chronicle places the conversion in
655, and a very few years saw it the best governed and best
organised province of the Chiirch. In less than thirty years
it was divided into five dioceses, amongst which the place of
the Fen country is more clearly definable. The bishopric of
Lindsey occupied the north of Lincolnshire, reaching to the
Witham : a line drawn from the south point of Nottingham-
shire to the Cam would probably represent the western border
of the Gyrvii ; the border of Cambridgeshire was the boundary
of the dioceses of Elmham and Dunwich. The Fen country
thus falls into the eastern portion of the great Lichfield
diocese, which for a few years after 680 had its own bishop
at Leicester, but was not finally separated from the mother see
until 737;"
* Archaeological Journal, 1861, p. 196.
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY. II3
The date given above for the conversion of Mercia, 655,
is the date of the laying of the foundation of the monastery
of Medeshamstede. Penda had been succeeded on the
throne of Mercia by his eldest son, Peada; and he, in con-
junction with Oswy, brother of King Oswald, determined
to "rear a minster to the glory of Christ and honour of
Saint Peter."
Saxulf (656-675), was the first Abbot. In Bede no men-
tion is made of royal patronage, and the whole credit of found-
ing the abbey is given to Saxulf. Another account represents
him as having been a thane of great wealth and renown, and
that this abbey was dedicated by him " as the first fruits of
the Mercian church." He was made Bishop of Lichfield in
675, but continued to take an active part in the affairs of the
abbey. He died in 691.
Cuthbald (675), is named in the Chronicle as having
been second Abbot. One of this name, possibly the same,
was ruling the monastery at Oundle in 709, when S. Wilfrid
died there. Nothing further is known of him; and nothing
at all of Egbald, who appears in the usual lists as his
successor.
The chroniclers give for the fourth Abbot one Pusa. But
Bishop Stubbs has proved that Bothwin was Abbot from
758 to 789 ; and concludes that the introduction of Pusa into
the list is a mistake, if not a mere invention.
Abbot Beonna came next, probably in 789 or very soon
afterwards. " Possibly this Beonna is the same who was made
Bishop of Hereford in 823, and died in 830."
Ceolred succeeded, and in the year 852 signs a grant of
land as Abbot. Patrick conjectures that he became a bishop,
but does not name his diocese. There is no certainty about
the dates at which these early abbots entered upon their office ;
and possibly some names have been altogether lost. But all
accounts agree that the last Abbot of Medeshamstede was
Hedda ; and that he perished when the monastery was
destroyed and its inmates killed by the Danes in 870. A
graphic account of the circumstances attending this attack is
given by Ingulf; but as authentic historians like Orderic and
Malmesbury have no reference whatever to the occurrences
described by Ingulf, Bishop Stubbs unwillingly is obliged to
consider his version to be a pure romance. But of the fact
I
It4 t>EtERBOROUGrt CATHEDRAL.
itself, the utter destruction of the monastery, there is no
question; nor of the fact that all the inmates, or nearly all,
perished. We read that at Crowland some monks escaped
the general slaughter, and met again, after the departure of
the Danes, and elected a fresh abbot. They then came to
Medeshamstede, and buried the bodies of those that had
been murdered, in one vast tomb. It has been commonly
supposed that the Monks' Stone, before described, was the
stone erected at the time in commemoration of the disaster.
The arguments against this supposition have been already
given.
The Fen monasteries remained desolate for loo years.
During that period the lands were constantly being seized
by different intruders. It was not till the time of Alfred the
Great, who came to the throne in 871, that the invasions of
the Danes were finally checked, and tranquillity restored to the
kingdom. Security being assured, the people began again to
improve their public buildings and the religious houses.
Crowland was the first in the neighbourhood to be restored.
This restoration was effected by Thurketyl. Instigated probably
by his example, Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, encouraged
and supported by King Edgar, rebuilt the monastery of Medes-
hamstede after the old model. The rebuilding was completed
in 972 ; and the name of Burgh was given to the place, and
the old name went altogether out of use.
The first Abbot, after the re-establishment of the monastery,
was Aldulf (971-992), formerly Chancellor to the King. He
is said to have accidentally caused the death of his only son,
and feeling that he could no longer live happily in the midst
of earthly vanities, he endowed this monastery with all his
possessions, and was appointed to govern it. Gunton declares
that the prosperous and wealthy condition of the abbey under
the rule of Aldulf caused its name to be improved into Gilden-
burgh, the Golden Borough. At this time most of the neigh-
bouring woods were cut down and the land brought into culti-
vation. Aldulf became Bishop of Worcester after remaining
twenty years at Burgh ; and in 995 was made Archbishop of
York. He died in May 1002, and is buried at Worcester.
He held indeed the See of Worcester with that of York till his
death.
He was succeeded at Burgh by Kenulf (992-1005). He
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY. II5
is described as famous for his wisdom and learning, and as
having governed his abbey "most admirably and sweetly."
In 1005 he was made Bishop of Winchester, not without
suspicion of a corrupt purchase {episcopatum nununis nundi-
natus fuerat), and died the following year.
The next Abbot, Elsinus (i 006-1055), was remarkable
chiefly for the number of relics he collected, designing thereby
to increase the fame and wealth of the monastery. Dean
Patrick thinks that before Elsinus there was an abbot named
KiNSiNus, whose name he found in one record; but he adds
that if he were really abbot it could at most have been for a
few days or months. The list of relics gathered together by
Elsinus is extensive. At least eighty are enumerated. It
speaks volumes for the credulity of the age when we find in
this list such things as the following : — A portion of Aaron's
rod that budded ; a portion of one of the five loaves that fed
the five thousand ; a shoulder-blade of one of the Holy Inno-
cents ; two pieces of the Virgin Mary's veil ; part of the stone
paten of the Evangelist S. John. The great relic of the house
was the arm of S. Oswald. The date when this was acquired
is not certainly known, some thinking that this period is too
early a date to assign to its acquisition. Bede relates ^ " that
this Oswald, King of Northumberland, was very free and liberal
in giving of alms to the poor ; and one day whilst he sate at
meat, one of his servants told him of a great number of poor
people come to his gate for relief; whereupon King Oswald
sent them meat from his own table, and there not being enough
to serve them all, he caused one of his silver dishes to be cut
in pieces, and to be distributed amongst the rest ; which
Aydanus, a Bishop (who came out of Scotland to convert, and
instruct those Northern parts of England), beholding, took the
King by the right hand, saying, nunqiiam inveterascat haec
manus, let this hand never wax old, or be corrupted ; which
came to pass. This arm was first deposited at Bamburgh, a
religious place in Yorkshire.^ Walter of Whittlesey writing the
story thereof, tells that it was brought to the monastery of
Burgh by Winegotus of Bebeberch, but saith not when, therefore
I cannot conjecture better than that it was by the procurement
of this Abbot Elsinus. It is said that this arm wrought many
cures upon several diseased folk ; and that it was of such fame
' Gunton, p. 12. 2 Properly Northumberland. See Bede's Eccl. Hist. iii. 6.
Il6 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
in the days of King Stephen, as that he himself came to Peter-
burgh purposely to see it ; and offered his ring to S. Oswald,
and also remitted to the monastery the sum of forty marks
wherein it was indebted unto him." It is specially recorded
in the Chronicle that this abbot took advantage of the poverty
of an abbey in Normandy, the district having been afflicted
with a grievous famine, and purchased from it the body of S.
Florentinus, with the exception of the head, for one hundred
pounds of silver.
He was succeeded by Arwinus (1055-1057), a monk of the
house, but he resigned the government in two years. Next
came Leofric (105 7-1066), a very eminent man, said to have
been of royal descent. He was nephew to Leofric, Earl of
Coventry. In the time of this abbot, William of Normandy
invaded England, and Leofric was for some time with the
English army. But in consequence of ill health he was obliged
to leave it and return to his monastery, where he died the
same year. He is highly praised in the Chronicle as ^'■pidcher-
rhmcs Monachoriim^ flos et decus Abbatiimy
Brando (1066-1069), succeeded, and greatly offended King
William by applying to Edgar Atheling for confirmation of his
appointment. He was uncle to Here ward, the Saxon patriot,
and created him knight. At his death a Norman was ap-
pointed, Turold, of Fescamp (1069-1098); but "he neither
loved his monastery, nor his convent him." During the
interval between Brando's death and Turold's arrival, a partial
destruction of the monastery took place. This has been
already described. Some account for Hereward's share in the
attack and in the carrying off of the treasures by supposing that
he meant to restore them when the rule of the Norman Abbot
came to an end. When Turold arrived at Peterborough he
brought with him a force of 160 well-armed Normans. Join-
ing the forces of Ivo Taillebois he attacked the Camp of
Refuge near Ely. The attacking party was repulsed by Here-
ward, and Turold taken prisoner, and only liberated upon
paying a heavy ransom. Soon afterwards the Abbot is said to
have received into the monastery two monks from beyond sea,
"who secretly stole away, and carried many of the Church
Goods with them." At length he was made Bishop in France,
and the monastery trusted they had seen the last of him. But
he was ignominiously expelled in four days, and was permitted,
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY.
117
upon paying a large sum of money to the king, to resume his
abbacy.
Another uncle of Hereward's, Godric (i 099-1 103), brother
ROSE WINDOWS AND DETAILS OF WEST FRONT (BRITTON).
of Brando, became the next abbot. The monks had purchased
from the king the right to elect their own abbot; and Godric,
being considered by this transaction to have committed
Il8 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
simony, was (with the neighbouring abbots of Ely and
Ramsey) deposed by a council held under the presidency of
Archbishop Anselm.
Matthias (1103-1105), was brother of Geoffrey, the Chief
Justice, who was drowned at the foundering of The White
Ship, when Prince William, the King's son, was lost. After
the death of Matthias there was a vacancy of three years, until
Ernulf (1107-1114), Prio! of Canterbury came. He became
Bishop of Rochester, and died in 11 24.
John de Sais (1114-1125), probably came from Sebs, in
Normandy; though he is sometimes called John of Salisbury.
In 1 1 16 nearly the whole town was consumed by a fire that
lasted nine days. It began in the bakehouse of the monastery
and completely destroyed the church and most of the abbey
buildings, the Chapter House, Refectory and Dormitory alone
escaping. In March 11 18 (or, as then written, 1117), the
commencement was made of the building that now exists.
Abbot John died in 1125; and again the King kept the abbey
in his own hands for more than two years.
Henry of Anjou (1128-1133), where he was Abbot, was a
kinsman of the King. He had numerous preferments abroad ;
and after five years here was forced to resign and to betake
himself to Anjou.
Martin de Vecti (1133-1155)? had been Prior of S. Neots.
Gunton considers he came originally from the Isle of Wight,
Vectis ; Dean Patrick thinks he derived his name from Bee,
in Normandy. He was a great builder, and was very in-
dustrious in repairing the abbey, and especially the church.
William of Waterville (n 55-1 175), was chaplain to
King Henry 11. He devoted himself to the building of the
church, and the portion attributed to him has been indicated
in a previous chapter. He was also very attentive to the
management of the estates of the monastery, and to acquiring
new ones; but his business capacity seems to have brought
him into some disrepute and to have raised some enemies, who
accused him to the King ; and by the King's order he was
deposed in the Chapter-house, as Dean Patrick relates^ " before
a multitude of abbots and monks ; being neither convicted of
any crime, nor confessing any, but privily accused to the Arch-
bishop by some monks." It is recorded that he appealed to
* Patrick, p. 284.
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY. II9
the Pope against the sentence of deprivation, but without
success.
Benedict (11 77-1 193), was Prior of Canterbury; and, to-
wards the end of his life, Keeper of the Great Seal. He had
a heavy task at the beginning of his rule in restoring discipline,
which had become lax, and in reforming many evil customs
that had crept into the house. He was an author, and pro-
duced a work on the career of S. Thomas of Canterbury,
whose murder had taken place only seven years before Bene-
dict came to Peterborough. He gave many ornaments and
vestments to the church, and brought several relics; and in
particular some of Thomas a Becket (and those we can
certainly believe were more authentic than most relics),
among which are mentioned his shirt and surplice, a great
quantity of his blood in two crystal vessels, and two altars of
the stone on which he fell when he was murdered. He was,
as might be expected, very zealous in completing the chapel
at the monastery gate which his predecessor had begun to
raise in honour of the martyred Archbishop. Dean Stanley^
speaks of Benedict's acquisition of the relics as "one of two
memorable acts of plunder . . . curiously illustrative of the
prevalent passion for such objects." He says Benedict was
probably the most distinguished monk of Christ Church, and
after his appointment to Peterborough, " finding that great
establishment almost entirely destitute of relics, he returned
to his own cathedral, and carried off with him the flagstones
immediately surrounding the sacred spot, with which he
formed two altars in the conventual church of his new appoint-
ment, besides two vases of blood and part of Becket's cloth-
ing." Benedict, though a member of the house and probably
within the precincts, was not actually present at the Arch-
bishop's murder. Besides his building operations (he built
nearly all the nave of the church) he was very attentive to the
landed property of the house, successfully recovering some
estates which had been alienated.
Andrew (1193-1201) had been Prior. He was "very
mild and peaceable, and made it his endeavour to plant and
establish peace and tranquillity in his flock." Several fresh
acquisitions of land were made in his time, and the monastery
was very flourishing.
^ Historical Memorials of Canterbury, p. 184.
120
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Acharius (i 201-12 14) came here from S. Albans, where
he was Prior. He devoted himself entirely to the administra-
tion of his office, managing the affairs of the monastery with
the greatest care and judgement. He left behind him a
reputation for " order, honesty, kindness and bounty, that from
him posterity might learn how to be-
have themselves both in the cloister
and in the world."
Robert of Lindsey (12 14-1222)
succeeded. This was four years after
the death of his predecessor, during
which period King John had kept the
monastery in his own hands. This
expression, which is of frequent occur-
rence, must be understood to mean
that the king took possession of all
the revenues belonging to the Abbot,
and probably much more from the
property of the monastery, the expenses
of which would be materially lessened
by the mere fact of there being no
Abbot. Robert had been Sacrist here,
and when he was advanced to the
highest office he effected many im-
provements in the furniture and orna-
ments of the church, and in the
buildings, not only of the monastery
itself, but also of the manors and
farms belonging to it. One alteration
TOxMB OF ABBOT ANDREW hc cffcctcd is worth spccial mention ;
(A.D. 1201) IN SOUTH many of the windows of the church
CHOIR AISLE. DRAWN prcviously stuffcd with reeds and straw,
BY w. H. LORD. ^crc glazcd. The civil wars in this
reign brought desolation to many re-
ligious houses : but we do not read that Peterborough suffered.
Robert is said to have written a history of the monastery. He
died in 1222. He had attended the fourth Lateran Council
at Rome, in 121 5; and had fought in person for King
Henry HI. at Rockingham.
Alexander of Holderness (1222-1226), the Prior, was
next appointed. Dean Patrick gives, from Swapham, an
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY. 121
account of a noteworthy agreement that was made for mutual
benefit between this Abbot and the Abbot of S. Edmunds
Bury. The convents " by this league were tied in a bond of
special affection, for mutual counsel and assistance for ever.
They were so linkt together, as to account themselves one and
the same convent : so that if one of the abbots died, the sur-
vivor being desired was immediately to go to his convent ; and
there before him they were to make a canonical election ; or
if already made, they were to declare it in his presence. If
the friars of either place were by any necessity driven from
their monastery, the other was to receive them, and afford
them a familiar refuge and aid : with a place in their Quire
Chapterhouse and Refectory, secundum cofivetsionis suae tempus."
This abbot is said to have been much beloved by the monks.
He died in 1226.
Martin of Ramsey (i 226-1 233), one of the monks, was
chosen to succeed Alexander. He remained only six years.
After his death another monk, Walter of S. Edmunds
(123 3- 1245), was elected. He was a great builder. It was
during his time that the minster was solemnly re-dedicated.
This abbot made no less than three visits to Rome. On the
third occasion he was summoned in consequence of some
irregularity in an appointment to the living of Castor ; but he
seems to have managed his case very adroitly, and to have
escaped all censure by assigning an annuity of ^10 a year to
the Pope's nephew. Another account, however, represents the
abbot as being so distressed at the indignities he suffered at
the Papal Court, that, being unwell before he went there and
his infirmities being increased by his journey, he died very
soon after his return to England. " He left the abbey abound-
ing in all good things ; stored with horses, oxen, sheep and all
cattle in great multitudes, and corn in some places for three
years." He died in 1245.
William de Hotot (i 246-1 249), another monk of the
house, succeeded Walter. He held the office only three years,
when he resigned and was assigned a residence at the manor
of Cottingham, afterwards exchanged for one at Oxney, a few
miles only from Peterborough. It is said that his resignation was
caused by complaints being made of his enriching his own kins-
folk, " whereof he had great multitudes swarming about him," at
the expense of the monastery. But the injury he did could
122 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
not have been very considerable, for his body was brought to
Peterborough to be buried, and he had an honourable com-
memoration in the Church's calendar.
John de CaletO (1249-1262), that is, of Calais, came here
from Winchester, where he was prior. He was related to the
queen. As one of the Chief Justices he went on circuit. But
he seems to have taken the side of the Barons in the civil war,
and is said to have held the ofifice of treasurer to them for the
last two years of his life. He was seldom in residence at
Peterborough, but appointed a very efficient deputy, who after-
wards succeeded him as abbot.
Robert of Sutton (1262-12 74) fought in the battle of
Northampton against the king. The king, coming to assault
the town, "espied amongst his enemies' ensigns on the wall
the ensign of the Abbey of Peterburgh, whereat he was so
angry that he vowed to destroy the nest of such ill birds. But
the town of Northampton being reduced. Abbot Robert, by
mediation of friends to the king, saved both himself and
church, but was forced to pay for his delinquency, to the
king 300 marks, to the queen ;!f 20, to Prince Edward ;^6o,
to the Lord Souch ;^6, 13s. 4d." When the fortune of war
changed and the Barons were victorious at Lewes, " then did
the other side fleece the Abbot of Peterburgh for his contribu-
tion to the king." After Evesham again the king repeated his
exactions, and the unfortunate abbot had to pay enormously.
The total amount that he paid on these several occasions is
put down at a sum which seems almost impossible, being up-
wards of ;£"432o. This abbot attended the Council of Lyons
in 1273, and died abroad as he was returning to England.
He was buried abroad; his heart, being brought to Peter-
borough, was interred before the altar in one of the chapels
in the south transept.
Richard of London (i 274-1 295) is said to have been
born in the parish of S. Pancras. He was a monk of the house,
and while sacrist had erected the Bell-tower and given two
bells. A great deal of litigation was carried on in his time,
and he and the abbey were fortunate in having in one of the
monks, William of Woodford, a man of great skill and judge-
ment, to conduct the different cases before the courts. So
uniformly successful was he and so wisely did he act as coad-
jutor of Richard when he became very old and infirm, that
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY.
123
he was elected to the abbacy on the death of Richard of
London in 1295.
William of Woodford (1295-1299) only lived four years
after he became abbot. After him came Godfrey of
Crowland (1299-1321), the celerarius of the monastery. He
IRON RAILINGS. DRAWN BY O. R. ALLBROW.
is very highly praised in the chronicles for the various services
he rendered to the abbey. More than once he was at the
heavy charge of entertaining the king and his court, and he
contributed largely to the expenses of the war with Scotland.
Adam of Boothby (1321-1338), one of the monks, was
a man of great " innocence and simplicity " His revenues were
124 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
much employed in contributions to the king's expenses and in
royal entertainments ; and his energies devoted to divers legal
difficulties connected with manors, wardships, repairs of
bridges, rights of hunting, and the like. Of the last eleven
abbots, whose rule extended over a period of 124 years, all
but one had been monks of the place.
Henry of Morcot (1338-1353) in all probability was also
one of the monks, but this is not so recorded. And the same
may be said of all the remaining abbots, but the historians do
not say so until the time of WiUiam in 1471. At the same
time it is never said that any of them came from elsewhere.
Robert of Ramsey (i 353-1 361) ruled for eight years, and
nothing else is known about him.
Henry of Overton (1361-1391) was abbot during the
commotions in King Richard II.'s reign. The tenants with
others rose up against the abbey, intending to destroy it. The
Bishop of Norwich " coming to the assistance of the monastery
with a strong power, forced the villains to desist from their
enterprise : nay, dispersed them, and took some of them, and
killed others ; the rest, taking the church for sanctuary, which
they intended to have destroyed, were there run through with
lances and swords ; some of them hard by the altar, others by
the walls of the church, both within and without."
Nicholas (1391-1396), William Genge (1396-1408)
the first mitred abbot, John Deeping (1408-1438) in turn
succeeded. Nothing remarkable is told of them. The name
of the last and the names of the next two are really the names
of places; but the prefix "de" seems now to have been
discontinued, and the place-name to have become a surname.
Abbot John resigned his office the year before he died.
Richard Ashton (1438-147 1) took great pains about the
regulation of the services in the church, and drew up a
customary out of the ancient usages of the place.
William Ramsey (1471-1496) appears to have devoted
his time to the management of the estates and to upholding
the territorial privileges of the house. If the epitaph formerly
to be seen on a brass on his tomb is to be believed, he was a
man prudent, just, pious, esteemed by all, chaste, kind, and
adorned with every virtue.
Robert Kirton (1496-1528) has left several proofs of his
energy in building, signing, as it were, the stones with his
HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY. 12$
autograph. His rebus, a kirk on a ton, sometimes accompanied
by the initial of his Christian name, is to be seen in the New
Building, which he completed, on the Deanery gateway, and on
the graceful oriel window in the Bishop's Palace. The chamber
to which this window gives light still retains the name originally
given of " Heaven's (Tate Chamber." Much other work done
by him towards the beautifying of the church and buildings
has perished.
The last abbot was John Chambers (i 528-1 540). One
incident of considerable interest is related as having taken
place in his first year. " Cardinal Wolsey came to Peterburgh,
where he kept his Easter. Upon Palm Sunday he carried his
palm, going with the monks in procession, and the Thursday
following he kept his Maundy, washing and kissing the feet of
fifty-nine poor people, and having dried them, he gave to every
one of them i2d. and three ells of canvas for a shirt ; he gave
also to each of them a pair of shoes and a portion of red
herrings. On Easter day he went in procession in his cardinal's
vestments, and sang the High-Mass himself after a solemn
manner, which he concluded with his benediction and remis-
sion upon all the hearers." This abbot was a native of
Peterborough, and was sometimes known as John Burgh ; and
on the brass placed on his tomb he was called "Johannes
Burgh, Burgo natus." A monumental effigy was also erected
to him, "made of white chalkstone"; and this is almost
certainly the figure now placed (temporarily) at the back of
the apse. This abbot was B.D. of Cambridge and one of
the king's chaplains. It was during his time that Queen
Katherine of Arragon was interred in the minster. The well-
known story that the building was spared by the king out of
regard to the memory of his first wife is told by Dean Patrick
in these words: — ^" There is this traditional story goes con-
cerning the preservation of this church at the dissolution of
abbeys : that a little after .Queen Katherine's interment here
(which Mr G. mentions), some courtiers suggesting to the king
how well it would become his greatness to erect a fair monu-
ment for her, he answered, ' Yes, he would leave her one of
the goodliest monuments in Christendom,' meaning this church,
for he had then in his thoughts the demolishing of abbeys,
which shortly after followed." Abbot Chambers surrendered
^ Patrick, p. 330.
126 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
the monastery to the king in 1540, and was appointed guardian
of the temporaUties, with a pension of ;£266, 13s. 4d. and
100 loads of wood. The king divided the whole property of
the abbey into three parts, retaining one-third for himself, and
assigning the other parts upon the foundation of the see to
the Bishop and Chapter respectively. If the annual value of
the portion he reserved for his own use may be taken to be
exactly one-third of the possessions of the abbey, the entire
property must have been worth as nearly as possible ;£"2 2oo
per annum. The last abbot became the first bishop.
It is remarkable that of the two queens buried at Peter-
borough, the body of one has been removed to Westminster
by the orders of her son, and that a similar removal had been
previously designed for the body of the other. Queen
Katherine's daughter. Queen Mary, left directions in her will
that ''the body of the virtuous Lady and my most dere and
well-beloved mother of happy memory, Queen Kateryn, which
lyeth now^ buried at Peterborowh, " should be removed and
laid near the place of her own sepulture, and that honourable
monuments should be made for both. It would have been
a singular coincidence if this intention had been carried out
CHAPTER VI.
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE.
The Abbey Church was converted into the Cathedral of
the newly-founded diocese of Peterborough by deed bearing
date September 4, 1541. The counties of Northampton and
Rutland were the limits of the new see. The king's original
plan for the establishment of bishoprics out of the confiscated
estates of monastic establishments was too generous to be put
into practice. He designed the foundation of no less than
twenty-one new sees. In this scheme Northamptonshire and
Huntingdonshire were assigned to the diocese of Peterborough ;
and, considering the situation of the new cathedral, this would
have been a more satisfactory arrangement than the one which
was ultimately carried out. The only change that has been
made in the limits of the diocese is that, in the year 1839, the
county of Leicester was detached from the see of Lincoln and
joined to Peterborough.
As has been said above, the first bishop was John
Chambers ( 1 54 i-i 5 56). He was consecrated ^ in the minster
on the 23rd of October 1541, by Thomas (Thirlby), Bishop of
Ely, Robert (Blyth), Bishop of Down, last Abbot of Thorney,
Suffragan of Ely, and Thomas (Hallam or Swillington), Bishop
of Philadelphia, Suffragan of Lincoln. Strype has an account
of his costly funeral. The two memorials to him in the church
had been erected by himself in his lifetime.
David Pole (i 556-1 559) is generally held to have been a
relative (some say a nephew) of Cardinal Reginald Pole. He
was Dean of the Arches. He was not consecrated till August
1557, and so held the bishopric less than two years, being
deprived by Queen Elizabeth in June 1559. He lived quietly
in London till his death in 1568.
^ Stubbs' Episcopal Succession, v>. 79-
128 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
Edmund Scambler (i 560-1 584) in the Roman index of
books prohibited is called Pseudo-Episcopus, no doubt because
there was another Bishop of Peterborough, Pole, still living.
He alienated many of the lands and manors of his bishopric
to the queen and to her courtiers ; and as a reward he was
translated to Norwich, where he died ten years later.
Richard Rowland (i 584-1600) was Master of Magdalene,
and afterwards of S. John's, Cambridge. He was present at
the funeral of Mary Queen of Scots. He was buried at the
upper end of the choir, but no stone or monument exists to his
memory.
Thomas Dove (i 600-1 630) was Dean of Norwich. He
was^ " a lover of hospitality, keeping a very free house, and
having always a numerous family, yet was so careful of posterity
that he left a fair estate to his heirs." He was buried in the
north transept. "Over his body was erected a very comely
monument of long quadrangular form, having four corner
pilasters supporting a fair table of black marble, and, within,
the pourtraiture of the bishop lying m his Episcopal habit."
This was destroyed in 1643. There was a long Latin inscrip-
tion in prose and verse, and among the verses these occur : —
" Hoc addam : Hie ilia est senio argentata Columba
Davidis, coelos hine petit ille suos."
This monument was erected by the bishop's eldest son, Sir
William Dove, Kt., of Upton.
William Peirse (1630-16 3 2) was promoted from the
Deanery. He only remained here as bishop two years, when
he was translated to Bath and Wells. " A man of excellent
parts, both in divinity and knowledge of the laws : very vigi-
lant and active he was for the good both of the ecclesiastical
and civil state." He was silenced during the civil war, but
restored in 1660. On his tombstone, at Walthamstow, it is said
" Templum Cathedrale Wellense reparavit, Episcopate Palatiian
exccdificavit, coclis maturus terris valedixit an. cct. 94 salut. id'iQ.^^
Augustine Lindsell (i 632-1634) was Dean of Lichfield.
He was translated to Hereford after being bishop here two
years, but died within a few months.
Francis Dee (i 634-1638) was Dean of Chichester. " He
was a man of very pious life and affable behaviour." He
^ Gunton, p. 82.
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE.
129
founded scholarships and fellowships at S. John's College,
Cambridge, of which he had been Fellow, for boys from the
King's School, Peterborough, of his name or kindred. In
1637 Archbishop Laud reported to the King that "My Lord
of Peterborough hath taken a great deal of pains and brought
his diocese into very good order." He left by will ;£ioo
to the repairs of the Cathedral, and the same amount to the
repairs of S. Paul's. He was buried in the choir, near the
throne.
John Towers (163 8-1 649) was one of the King's chap-
lains. He was promoted from the Deanery. He protested,
with eleven ether bishops, against the
opposition that was made by the Parlia-
mentary party to their taking their seats
in the House of Lords, in which protest
it was declared that all laws, orders,
votes, or resolutions, were in themselves
null and of none effect, which in their
absence from Dec. 27th 1641, had been
passed, or should afterwards be passed,
during the time of their enforced absence.
For this they were committed to the
Tower, and kept there four or five
months. Being set free he was allowed to
return to Peterborough, but his revenues
were taken away. Living here in a state
of continual alarm, he betook himself to
the king's forces at Oxford, where he
remained until the surrender of the place.
Coming back here in 1646 his health
failed, and he died about three weeks
before the king was beheaded. He was
buried in the choir.
No successor was appointed until the
Restoration. Benjamin Laney (1660- 1663) was then made
Bishop. He was Dean of Rochester, and had been Master
of Pembroke, Cambridge. He was translated to Lincoln in
1663, and to Ely in 1667. He died in 1675, ^^^ ^^ buried at
Lambeth.
Joseph Henshaw (1663--1679) was Dean of Chichester.
He died suddenly on March 9, 1679, on his return from
K
DETAILS OF CHASUBLE
ON EFFIGY IN
SOUTH CHOIR AISLE.
I30 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
attending service at Westminster Abbey. He was buried at
East Lavant in Sussex, where he had been rector.
William Lloyd (1679-1685) was translated from Llandaff,
and was further translated to Norwich in 1685. He was
deprived of his see as a Nonjuror in 1691. He lived at Ham-
mersmith till his death in 1710. He was the last survivor of
the seven deprived bishops. It is singular that his namesake,
William Lloyd, bishop of S. Asaph, should have been one of
the seven bishops committed to the Tower by King James H.
in 1688 ; but he had no scruples about taking the oaths to the
new sovereigns, and became afterwards Bishop of Lichfield,
and ultimately of Worcester.
Thomas White (1685-1691) was one of the seven com-
mitted to the Tower, and also one of the seven deprived in
1 69 1 as Nonjurors. He attended Sir John Fenwick on the
scaffold. This bishop, with his predecessor, Bishop Lloyd, the
deprived Bishop of Norwich, were two of the consecrators of
the Nonjuring Bishops, Hickes and Wagstaffe. There were
really ten bishops (including Archbishop Sancroft) who refused
the oaths to William and Mary ; but the Bishops of Worcester,
Chichester, and Chester died before the time fixed for the de-
privation. Bishop White lived in retirement after he left his
diocese. He died in 1698, and his funeral is mentioned in
Evelyn's Diary, under date June 5th : " Dr White, late Bishop
of Peterborough, who had been deprived for not complying
with Government, was buried in St Gregory's churchyard or
vault, at St Paul's. His hearse was accompanied by two Non-
juror bishops, Dr Turner of Ely, and Dr Lloyd, with forty
Nonjuror clergymen, who could not stay the office of the
burial, because the Dean of St Paul's had appointed a conform-
ing minister to read the office, at which all much wondered,
there being nothing in that office which mentioned the present
king." Lathbury remarks on this retirement from the grave,
that it was a singular circumstance, and contrary to the practice
of the Nonjurors in many other cases.
Richard Cumberland (i 691-17 18) had a reputation as a
philosophical writer. The only memoir of him is to be found
in the preface to Sanchoniathon^ s History,^ a posthumous
work, in which his chaplain (and son-in-law) thus describes his
^ P. 12; quoted in the account of Bishop Cumberland in the Penny
Cychpcedia^ viii. 229.
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE. 13I
appointment : — " The king was told that Dr Cumberland was
the fittest man he could nominate to the bishopric of Peter-
borough. Thus a private country clergyman, without posting
to Court — a place he had rarely seen — without suing to great
men, without taking the least step towards soliciting for it, was
pitched upon to fill a great trust, only because he was fittest
for it. He walked after his usual manner on a post-day to the
coffee-house, and read in the newspaper that one Dr Cumber-
land of Stamford was named to the bishopric of Peterborough,
a greater surprise to himself than to anybody else." His
chaplain speaks of the bishop's character, zeal, and learning
in terms of unqualified praise. One of the bishop's sons,
Richard, was Archdeacon of Northampton, and father of
Denison Cumberland, Bishop of Clonfert and of Kilmore.
This last named married a daughter of Dr Bentley, the famous
Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and one of their sons
was Richard Cumberland, the dramatist. Bishop Richard
Cumberland is buried in the Cathedral, and a tablet to his
memory remains in the New Building.
White Kennett (1718-1728) had been Dean. He was a
most industrious writer, many of his works, which are upwards
of fifty in number, being most laborious. His manuscript
collections in the British Museum are also of great value. He
is best known from his antiquarian tastes and studies, and for
having directed the attention of his clergy to the value of
parish registers. It would seem that before his time no tran-
scripts of parish registers were ever sent to the Bishop's Registry
at Peterborough. The earliest transcripts now to be found
date only from the beginning of his episcopate, except that, in
a few instances, some incumbents appear to have sent the
entries for six or eight years previously. Notwithstanding the
efficiency of his predecessor he "found the irregularities of
the diocese great and many." The Cathedral service was
negligently conducted, many clergy were non-resident, some
small benefices had been left unfilled. Many other abuses
were discovered from time to time. Bishop Kennett was
most active and conscientious in administering his office, and
thoroughly re-organised the diocese; but his strong political
partisanship made for him a great number of enemies. The
enmity he raised came to a culminating point while he was
still dean. An altar-piece representing the Last Supper had
132 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
been painted for Whitechapel Church.^ In this Judas was
painted turning round to the spectator, and was intended to
represent Kennett. We do not know whether the likeness in
itself was sufficiently good to be recognised, but the intention
was sufficiently indicated by a black patch in the centre of the
forehead, just under the wig. Kennett always wore such a
patch, to hide a scar which had remained after being trepanned
in early manhood. Judas is, moreover, represented as clean-
shaven, being the only figure so drawn except the Evangelist
S. John. Great scandal and excitement were caused by this
picture, and it was removed. It ultimately found a home at
S. Albans Abbey, where it may still be seen (patch and all),
but no longer in the position it once occupied over the high
altar. Bishop Kennett died in 1728, and is buried in the
New Building.
Robert Clavering (1728-1747) was consecrated Bishop
of Llandaff in 1725, and translated to Peterborough in 1728.
He is buried here, but no memorial exists.
John Thomas (1747-1757) was Canon of S. Paul's. He
was translated to Sarum in 1757, and to Winchester in 1761.
He was preceptor to Prince George, afterwards King George
III., who used to visit him at Farnham Castle. In the early
part of his episcopate he had a namesake on the bench, John
Thomas, formerly Dean of Peterborough, who was made
Bishop of Lincoln in 1744, and of Sarum in 1761; and
during the latter part another namesake, John Thomas,
Bishop of Rochester from 1775 to 1793. Bishop Thomas of
Winchester died in 1781, in his 85th year, and is buried in
his cathedral.
Richard Terrick (175 7-1 764) was Canon of S. Paul's.
He was translated to London in 1764, and died in 1777.
Robert Lamb (i 764-1 769) had been Dean. He is buried
at Hatfield, where he had been rector.
John Hinchcliffe (i 769-1 794) is an instance of a man,
rising from an inferior station to positions of the greatest emi-
nence. His father was a stable-master in London. Proceed-
ing from Westminster School to Trinity College, Cambridge,
he obtained a Fellowship there. He afterwards, through a
gentleman of wealth to whom he was tutor, secured some very
^ A full account of this famous picture with an engraving is given in
Northamptonshire Notes and Queries^ iv. 209.
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE.
133
influential friends, and became Head Master of Westminster
School, Chaplain to the King, and Master of Trinity. This
last appointment he continued to hold with his bishopric until
1789, when he was made Dean of Durham. A memoir
published at the time of his death describes him as learned,
assiduous in his duties, obliging in his manners, and honest
and sincere in his religious and political principles. He died
in 1794, and is buried in the cathedral.
Spencer Madan (i 794-1813) was a prebendary and
king's chaplain, and first cousin to the poet Cowper. He
DETAILS OF APPARELS OF ALBS ON EFFIGIES IN CHOIR AISLES.
came back to Peterborough from Bristol, to which see he was
consecrated in 1792. He is buried in the New Building.
John Parsons (1813-1819) was Master of Balliol and
Dean of Bristol. He was a man of great mark and influence
at Oxford, where he died and was buried. There is a monu-
ment to him in the chapel of Balliol.
Herbert Marsh (i 819-1839) was the author of many
controversial works. He was translated to this see from
Llandaff, where he had been bishop since 1816. He was
buried in the New Building — the last bishop interred in the
cathedral.
George Davys (1839- 1864) was Dean of Chester, and
had been preceptor to Queen Victoria. He was buried in
the Cathedral Yard; the Queen sent one of her carriages
with servants in state liveries to attend the funeral as a mark
of her affection and esteem.
Francis Jeune (1864-1868) had been Dean of Jersey,
Master of Pembroke, Oxford, and Dean of Lincoln. His
134 PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
eldest son is now the well-known judge. Bishop Jeune is
buried in the Cathedral Yard.
William Connor Magee (i 868-1 891) was Dean of Cork.
He was translated to the Archbishopric of York, but died
within a very few months, May 5th, 1891. He is buried in
the Cathedral Yard, where a massive cross of Irish marble has
been erected over his grave. In the south choir aisle of the
cathedral there is also a recumbent effigy, the likeness to the
deceased prelate being most remarkably good. His career is
so recent and his eminence so well known that it is un-
necessary to speak of them.
Mandell Creighton (1891-1897) had been Canon of
Windsor, and previously of Worcester. He was translated
to London when Bishop Temple became Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Hon. Edward Carr Glyn (1897) Vicar of Kensington,
Chaplain to the Queen, is the present bishop.
Without giving a list of all the Deans, it may be mentioned
that four became Bishops of Peterborough, namely, Peirse,
Towers, Kennett, and Lamb ; John Boxall was also Dean of
Norwich and of Windsor ; Richard Fletcher was successively
Bishop of Bristol, Worcester, and London; George Meriton
was removed to the Deanery of York; Thomas Nevill be-
came Dean of Canterbury ; William Gee was removed to the
Deanery of Lincoln ; Henry Beaumont was Dean of
Windsor ; John Cosin became Bishop of Durham at the resto-
ration of King Charles II. ; Edward Rainbow became Bishop
of Carlisle ; Simon Patrick was made Bishop of Chichester,
and afterwards of Ely; Richard Kidder became Bishop of
Bath and Wells ; Richard Reynolds was Bishop of Bangor,
and then of Lincoln ; John Thomas was Bishop of Lincoln,
and then of Sarum ; Charles Manners Sutton became Bishop
of Norwich and Dean of Windsor, and ultimately Archbishop
of Canterbury ; James Henry Monk became Bishop of
Gloucester and Bristol; Thomas Turton, Dean of West-
minster and Bishop of Ely ; and, lastly, John James Stewart
Perowne is the present Bishop of Worcester. There have
been in all, thirty-eight deans and of these no less than
fifteen have become bishops.
PLAN
OF
Peterborough Cathedral.
%J^
[T.O.
DEANS OF PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
1 541 Francis Abree, B.D.
1543 Gerard Carleton, B.D., Canon of
Westminster.
1549 James Curthop, M.A., Canon of
Christ Church.
1557 James Boxall, LL.D., Archdeacon of
Ely, Warden of Winchester, Dean
of Norwich, Dean of Windsor.
1560 William Latimer, D.D., Archdeacon
of Westminster.
1585 Richard Fletcher, D.D., Bishop of
Bristol, of Worcester, and finally of
London.
1590 Thomas Nevill, D.D., Master of
Magdalene, and afterwards of Trin-
ity, Cambridge, Canon of Ely,
Dean of Canterbury.
1597 John Palmer, D.D., Prebendary of
Lichfield, Master of Magdalene,
Cambridge.
1607 Richard Clayton, D.D., Archdeacon
of Ely, Master of Magdalene, and
afterwards of S. John's, Cambridge.
1612 George Meriton, D.D., Dean of
Booking, Dean of York.
1616 Henry Beaumont, D.D., Dean of
Windsor.
1622 William Peirse, D.D., Prebendary
of S. Paul's, Canon of Christ
Church, Bishop of Peterborough,
and afterwards of Bath and
Wells.
1630 John Towers, D.D., Bishop of
Peterborough.
1638 Thomas Jackson, D.D., Prebendary
of Winchester, President of Corpus,
Oxford.
1640 John Cosin, D.D., Prebendary of
Durham, Archdeacon of Cleveland,
Master of Peterhouse, Dean of
Durham.
1660 Edward Rainbow, D.D., Master of
Magdalene, Cambridge, 15ishop of
Carlisle.
1664 James Duport, D.D., Master of
Magdalene, Cambridge, Professor
of Greek, Prebendary of Lincoln,
1679 Simon Patrick, D.D., Canon of West-
minster, liishop of Chichester, and
afterwards of Ely.
1689 Richard Kidder, D.D., Prebendary
of Norwich, Bishop of Bath and
Wells.
1691 Samuel Freeman, D.D.
1707 White Kennett, D.D., Archdeacon
of Huntingdon, Prebendary of
Lincoln and of Sarum, Bishop of
Peterborough.
1718 Richard Reynolds, LL.D., Prebend-
ary and Chancellor of Peter-
borough, Bishop of Bangor, and
afterwards of Lincoln.
1721 William Gee, D.D., Canon of West-
minster, Prebendary and Dean of
Lincoln.
1722 John Mandeville, D.D., Archdeacon
and Chancellor of Lincoln, Canon
of Windsor.
1725 Francis Lockier, D.D.
1740 John Thomas, D.D., Canon of West-
minster and of S. Paul's, Bishop of
Lincoln, and afterwards of Salis-
bury.
1744 Robert Lamb, D.D., Bishop of
Peterborough.
1764 Charles Tarrant, D.D., Canon of
Bristol, Dean of Carlisle, Preben-
dary of Rochester, Prebendary of
Sarum.
1 79 1 Charles Manners Sutton, D.D.,
Bishop of Norwich, Dean of Wind-
sor, Archbishop of Canterbury.
1792 Peter Peckard, D.D., Prebendary of
Southwell, Master of Magdalene,
Cambridge.
1798 Thomas Kipling, D.D.
1822 James Henry Monk, D.D., Professor
of Greek, Cambridge, Canon of
Westminster, Bishop of Gloucester
and ]>ristol.
1830 Thomas Turton, D.D., Professor of
Mathematics, Regius Professor of
Divinity, Cambridge, Prebendary
of Lincoln, Dean of Westminster,
Bishop of Ely.
1842 George Butler, D.D., Headmaster
of Harrow.
1853 Augustus Page Saunders, D.D.,
Headmaster of Charterhouse.
1878 John James Stewart Perowne, D.D.,
Prebendary of S. David's, Canon
of Llandaff, Margaret Professor of
Divinity, Cambridge, Bishop of
Worcester.
1891 Marsham Argles, D.D., Canon of
Peterborough.
1893 William Clavell Ingram, D.D., Hon.
Canon of Peterborough.
Bell's Cathedral Series.
Profusely Illustrated. Cloth, crown Zvo, IS. 6d. net each.
NOW READY.
ENGLISH CATHEDRALS. An Itinerary and Description. Compiled
by James G. Gilchrist, A.M., M.D. Revised and edited with an
Introduction on Cathedral Architecture by the Rev. T. Perkins,
M.A., F.R.A.S.
BRISTOL. By H. J. L. J. Masse, M.A.
CANTERBURY. By Hartley Withers 3rd Edition, revised.
CARLISLE. By C. K. Eley.
CHESTER. By Charles Hiatt. 2nd Edition, revised.
DURHAM. By J. E. Bygate, A.R.C.A. 2nd Edition.
ELY. By Rev. W. D. Sweeting, M.A.
EXETER. By Percy Addleshaw, B.A. 2nd Edition.
GLOUCESTER. By H. J. L. J. MASSfi, M.A. 2nd Edition.
HEREFORD. By A. Hugh Fisher, A.R.E. 2nd Edition, revised.
LICHFIELD. By A. B. Clifton. 2nd Edition, revised.
LINCOLN. By A. F. Kendrick, B.A. 2nd Edition, revised.
NORWICH. By C. H. B. Quennell. 2nd Edition.
OXFORD. By Rev. Percy Dearmer, M.A. 2nd Edition, revised.
PETERBOROUGH. By Rev. W. D. Sweeting, M.A. 2nd Edition.
RIPON. By Cecil Hallet, B.A.
ROCHESTER. By G. H. Palmer, B.A. 2nd Edition.
ST. DAVID'S. By Philip Robson, A.R.I.B.A.
ST. PAUL'S. By Rev. Arthur Dimock, M.A. 2nd Edition.
SALISBURY. By Gleeson White. 2nd Edition, revised.
SOUTHWELL. By Rev. Arthur Dimock, M.A. 2nd Edition, revised.
WELLS. By Rev, Percy Dearmer, M.A. 2nd Edition, revised.
WINCHESTER. By P. W. Sergeant. 2nd Edition, revised.
WORCESTER. By Edward F. Strange.
YORK. By A. Glutton Brock. 2nd Edition, revised.
Preparing.
CHICHESTER. By H. C. Corlette, A.R.I.B.A.
ST. ALBANS. By Rev. W. D. Sweeting, M.A.
ST. ASAPPI'S and BANGOR. By P. B. Ironside Bax.
GLASGOW. By P. Macgregor Chalmers, I. A., F.S.A. (Scot).
LLANDAFF. By Herbert Prior.
Uniform with above Series. IS. 6d. net each.
ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, CANTERBURY. By Rev. Canon
Routledge, M.A., F.S.A. 24 Illustrations.
BEVERLEY MINSTER. By Charles Hiatt. 47 Illustrations.
WIMBORNE MINSTER AND CHRISTCHURCH PRIORY. By
Rev. T. Perkins, M.A., F.R.A.S. 65 Illustrations.
TEWKESBURY ABBEY AND DEERHURST PRIORY. By H.
J. L. J. Masse, M.A. 44 Illustrations.
BATH AiBBEY, MALMESBURY ABBEY, AND BRADFORD-ON-
AVON CHURCH. By Rev. T. Perkins, M.A.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. By Charles Hiatt. ^Preparing.
Bell's Handbooks to Continental Churches.
Profusely Illustrated. Crown Stjo, cloth, 2S. 6d. net each.
CHARTRES: The Cathedral and Other Churches. By H. J. L. J.
Masse, M.A. {Ready.
ROUEN: The Cathedral and Other Churches. By the Rev. T.
Perkins, M.A. {Ready.
PARIS (NOTRE-DAME). By Charles Hiatt. {Preparing.
Opinions of the Press*
"For the purpose at which they aim they are admirably done, and
there are few visitants to any of our noble shrines who will not enjoy their
visit the better for being furnished with one of these delightful books,
which can be slipped into the pocket and carried with ease, and is yet
distinct and legible. ... A volume such as that on Canterbury is exactly
what we want, and on our next visit we hope to have it with us. It is
thoroughly helpful, and the views of the fair city and its noble cathedral
are beautiful. Both volumes, moreover, will serve more than a temporary
purpose, and are trustworthy as well as delightful. " — Notes and Queries.
' ' We have so frequently in these columns urged the want of cheap,
well -illustrated, and well -written handbooks to our cathedrals, to take
the place of the out-of-date publications of local booksellers, that we are
glad to hear that they have been taken in hand by Messrs George Bell
& Sons." — St. James'' s Gazette.
" The volumes are handy in size, moderate in price, well illustrated, and
written in a scholarly spirit. The history of cathedral and city is in-
telligently set forth and accompanied by a descriptive survey of the
building in all its detail. The illustrations are copious and well selected,
and the series bids fair to become an indispensable companion to the
cathedral tourist in England." — Times.
"They are nicely produced in good type, on good paper, and contain
numerous illustrations, are well written, and very cheap. We should
imagine architects and students of architecture will be sure to buy the
series as they appear, for they contain in brief much valuable information. "
— British Architect.
" Bell's ' Cathedral Series,' so admirably edited, is more than a descrip-
tion of the various English cathedrals. It will be a valuable historical
record, and a work of much service also to the architect. The illustrations
are well selected, and in many cases not mere bald architectural drawings
but reproductions of exquisite stone fancies, touched in their treatment by
fancy and guided by art." — Star.
"Each of them contains exactly that amount of information which the
intelligent visitor, who is not a specialist, will wish to have. The dis-
position of the various parts is judiciously proportioned, and the style is
very readable. The illustrations supply a further important feature ; they
are both numerous and good. A series which cannot fail to be welcomed
by all who are interested in the ecclesiastical buildings of England." —
Glasgow Herald.
"Those who, either for purposes of professional study or for a cultured
recreation, find it expedient to * do ' the English cathedrals will welcome
the beginning of Bell's 'Cathedral Series.' This set of books is an
attempt to consult, more closely, and in greater detail than the usual
guide-books do, the needs of visitors to the cathedral towns. The series
cannot but prove markedly successful. In each book a business-like
description is given of the fabric of the church to which the volume
relates, and an interesting history of the relative diocese. The books are
plentifully illustrated, and are thus made attractive as well as instructive.
They cannot but prove welcome to all classes of readers interested either
in English Church history or in ecclesiastical architecture. " — Scotstnan.
"They have nothing in common with the almost invariably wretched
local guides save portability, and their only competitors in the quality and
quantity of their contents are very expensive and mostly rare works, each
of a size that suggests a packing-case rather than a coat-pocket. The
* Cathedral Series ' are important compilations concerning history, archi-
tecture, and biography, and quite popular enough for such as take any
sincere interest in their subjects." — Sketch.
LONDON; GEORGE BELL AND SONS
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
This book is due on the last date stamped below, or
on the date to which renewed.
Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.
22Mar'59CSl
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General Library
University of California
Berkeley
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14963
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY i
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