BY
PRESERVATION
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
FRONTISPIECE.
WATCHING-CHAMBER OF ST. PRIDESWIDB'S SHRINE,
FROM THE LATIN CHAPEL
OXFOED CATHEDEAL
BOOK OF THE CHAPTER-EOU SE.
HANDBOOK
CATHEDRALS OF ENGLAND,
OXFORD.— PETERBOROUGH.— NORWICH.—
ELY.— LINCOLN.
NEW EDITION.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1881.
LONDON : .
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFOKD STREET AND CHAUING CROSS.
PREFACE.
HPHE present division of the "Handbook to the
Cathedrals of England" embraces those of
Oxford, Peterborough, Ely, Norwich, and Lin-
coln ; the five Cathedrals which may be broadly
classed as the "Eastern Division," since Oxford
and Peterborough were originally included within
the great diocese of Lincoln.
The descriptions have been drawn up after
careful personal survey, and with the assistance
of the best and most recent works on each
Cathedral. No one has done more toward
ascertaining the true history of our Cathedrals
than Professor Willis, who combines in a remark-
able degree a knowledge of the theory and
practice of architecture with the learning neces-
sary to unravel and understand the documents
bearing on the history of the buildings them-
selves. His published works and the most
trustworthy reports of his lectures have been
&
v
freely used. Acknowledgments of much valu-
able assistance is also due (amongst others) to
Mr. J. H. Parker and to the Eev. G. A. Poole.
A description of the painted ceiling at Ely was
kindly furnished by Mr. Le Strange, whose death
has occurred since the volume was in type,
— a loss, at Ely and elsewhere, which will not
readily be supplied.
In describing each Cathedral the same plan
has been followed for the present volumes as
for those of the Southern Division. Eeference
to each portion of the description will be made
easy by a very full Index, which will be given
at the conclusion of the entire series.
KICHAKD JOHN KING.
The much-lamented death of Mr. K. J. King
has rendered it necessary that the task of revising
the " Handbook to the Eastern Cathedrals "
should be entrusted to another Editor, who has
spared no pains to make the Work both accurate
and complete. Each of the five Cathedrals has
been re-visited with an express view to this
Edition. The descriptions have been compared
with the actual buildings, and every detail has
been carefully verified. Necessary corrections
have been made, omissions supplied, and the
whole has been, as far as possible, brought down
to the date of publication. Works of repair and
adornment, more or less extensive, have taken
place in all the Cathedrals comprised in this
volume; but none of them, with the exception
of Oxford, has undergone such a complete
restoration as to require any considerable altera-
tion in the text of the original Edition. At
Oxford, however, the restoration and re-arrange-
ment has been so thorough, embracing every
part of the Church in a greater or less degree,
and involving the addition of so many new
features, that it has been found necessary entirely
to re-cast the architectural description, and to
re-write a considerable part of it. The late
Sir Gilbert Scott's valuable Eeport, so far as
it bears on the history and characteristic features
of the fabric, by the kind permission of the
Dean of Christ Church, has been printed as an
Appendix. In the other Cathedrals notices of
alterations of arrangement and works of restora-
tion have been inserted in their proper places
in the text. The most important of these are
I 2
v raa.
the works carried out at Ely in the completion
of the stonework of the octagon, which has been
brought to a happy conclusion as a memorial
to the late Dean Peacock; and the decoration
of the interior of the lantern, and of the eastern
portion of the nave roof, by Mr. Gambier Parry.
That gentleman has kindly furnished a descrip-
tion of the pictorial and decorative work carried
out by him in pursuance of the plan commenced
by the late Mr. Styleman Le Strange. It now
only remains for the authorities of that Cathedral
to undertake the rebuilding of the North- Western
Transept, and Ely Cathedral, for the grandeur
and beauty of its architecture, the variety of
its styles and perfection of its details, as well
as for the unstinted munificence and admirable
taste with which its restoration has been carried
out, may not unjustly claim one of the very
first places among the Minsters of our land.
The second Part of each of the separate
Cathedral Handbooks, containing a short History
of the See with Biographical Notices of the
principal Bishops who have filled it, has also
undergone careful revision. The early annals of
some of the foundations, especially Peterborough
and Oxford, have been corrected and expanded ;
vii
while the Lives of the Bishops have been in
most instances made fuller and more accurate.
In this portion of the Work the Editor has
drawn largely from Mr. Freeman's "History of
the Norman Conquest," and Dean Hook's " Lives
of the Archbishops of Canterbury." Dean Goul-
burn's magnificent folio on the History and
Architecture of Norwich Cathedral has been a
storehouse of materials for the annals of that
See and its Bishops. Professor Stubbs's " Early
Fasti of Peterborough" has supplied authentic
information as to that monastic house, freed from
the forgeries of mediaeval annalists. For the
early history of St. Frideswide's, Oxford, the
Editor is indebted to Dr. Bright, the Eegius
Professor of Ecclesiastical History in that Uni-
versity, by whom that part of the Work has
been entirely re-written. Canon Perry's admi-
rable Biography of St. Hugh of Avalon and his
predecessors, together with that of Bishop Gros-
tete, have thrown much new light on the early
episcopal annals of the See of Lincoln, of which
advantage has been taken.
In the revision of the architectural history and
description the Editor has gratefully to record
his obligations to many friends who have aided
viii |jrtfaa.
him with their counsel and co-operation, and, in
some instances, looked over the proof-sheets. Of
these he has pleasure in specifying — at Norwich,
Dean Goulburn, and Mr. Spaull the able and
intelligent Clerk of the Works at that Cathedral ;
at Ely, Dean Merivale, Canon Luckcock, and
Precentor Dickson; at Peterborough, Dr. West-
cott ; and at Oxford, the Dean of Christ Church
and Dr. Bright. For the corrections and addi-
tions in his own cathedral of Lincoln, he alone
is responsible.
EDMUND VENABLES.
The Precentory, Lincoln,
Oct. 29, 1880.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
EASTEEN CATHEDKALS.— PAET I.
PAGE
FKONTISPIECE — "Watching-chamber of St. Frides-
wide's Shrine, from the Latin Chapel ; described . 25
TITLE-PAGE — Door of the Chapter-house . . 36
PLAN ........ 4
I. General View from the North-east, from one of the
Canons' Gardens ...... 7
IT. The Pulpit before the alterations . . .11
The plan of the pulpit is remarkable, being not, as
usual, half an octagon, but five sides of a heptagon.
III. The Choir ....... 15
IV. Part of the Eastern Lantern-arch and Eoof of
Choir ........ 16
V. Zouch's Monument . . . . .19
VI. Tomb of Sir George Nowers . . . .22
VII. The Prior's Tomb, from the Latin Chapel . . 22
The buttresses, &c., of the tomb are much mutilated,
but in the drawing they have been restored from the
same parts still remaining on the opposite side.
VIII. Monument of Lady Montacute . . .23
IX. Panel on the West End of Lady Montacute's
Monument ....... 24
X. Bosses from the Latin Chapel .... 28
0f
6 *£0r0 — continued.
PAGE
XI. Monument of Bishop King, in its original place . 33
The mullions at the back of the recess were destroyed,
but have been restored from the indications still
remaining. [Since this view was taken, the monument
has been removed further West — between the aisle and
St. Lucy's Chapel.]
XII. Interior of the Tower, with one of the Squinches
of the Spire .... • 35
XIII. Interior of the Chapter-house . . . 37
Since this view was taken, the floor of the Chapter-
house has been lowered to its original level.
XIV. Roundels of Stained Glass in the Chapter-house. 38
IN THE TEXT.
One of the Windows in the Latin Chapel . . 28
Poppy-head in the Latin Chapel .... 30
Capital and Corbels in South Aisle of Choir . . 34
Spire Light 35
Boss in the Chapter-house ....
Window in the Tower ..... 41
Original Top of the Spire . . . . . . 42
FRONTISPIECE — General View from the North-east . 116
In this view some of the trees are omitted or lowered
in order to shew the building.
TITLE-PAGE — The Abbot's Gate-house, now the Gate-
way of the Bishop's Palace . . . .120
PLAN 76
I. The West Front 80
II. One of the Circular Windows of the Western Gables 81
ist of fUasirstimts. xi
continued.
PAGE
III. Wooden Capitals ..... .84
IV. The Nave, from the West end . . . .87
V. Portion of the Painted Ceiling of the Nave . . 92
In this engraving the colours of the figures, &c., are
marked heraldically. The portion is taken across the
nave, so that the line across the page is north and south,
the large lozenges occupying the flat part of the roof,
and the halves the sloping parts.
VI. Effigy of one of the early Abbots, in the South
Aisle of the' Choir ...... 106
VII. The Ketro-choir, or " New Building " . . 107
VIII. The so-called Monument of Abbot Hedda and
his Monks 110
FRONTISPIECE — View from the South-east . . . 179
TITLE-PAGE— St. Ethelbert's Gate . . . .181
PLAN • . . . .140
I. The Nave, from the West end . . . . 144
II. Stalls in the Choir 153
This is the easternmost portion on the north side.
III. Misereres in the Choir ..... 153
IV. The Lantern, Presbytery, and Apse . . .156
The panelling has been removed from the lower arches
of the apse since the view was taken, and they have
been thrown open to the aisle.
V. Windows from the Clerestory of the Presbytery . 157
VI. The Eagle Lectern 163
VII. The Prior's Door . 173
xii Jftsi of Illustrations.
U 0 r fa it jj — continued.
PAGE
VIII. The Lavatories in tbe Cloisters . . . 177
IX. The Erpingham Gateway . . . .181
IN THE TEXT.
Device of Bishop Lyhart ..... 147
Boss in the Cloisters . . . . . . 176
Foiled opening in Crypt of Grammar school . . 184
FRONTISPIECE— General View, from the South-east . 285
TITLE-PAGE— The Prior's Door . . . .280
PLAN 218
I. Interior of the Galilee Porch . . .222
II. The Nave, from the West end . ... . 228
III. The Octagon and Choir, from the South-west . 239
IV. One Bay of Bishop Hotham's work in the Choir . 252
V. The East End and Eeredos . . . .257
VI. Monument of Bishop de Luda . . . .258
VII. Monument of Bishop Eedman . . . . 262
VIII. Early Coffin-lid in the South Aisle of the
Choir 269
IX. The East End 277
X. Prior Crawden's Chapel, from the South-east. . 282
XL Interior of Prior Crawden's Chapel . . . 282
XII. View of the West end, from the South-west . 285
IN THE TEXT.
Sculpture on Bishop Northwold's Tomb — Martyrdom
of St. Edmund 260
South Aisle of Choir — Exterior .... 278
Sculpture from the Prior's Door .... 280
pst of Illustrations, xiii
FRONTISPIECE — South-west View, from Brayford . 398
TITLE-PAGE — The Cloisters, with Fragments of An-
cient Sculpture . . . . . 385
PLAN . .326
I. The West Front 332
II. The great West Door 334
III. The Nave, from the West end . . . . 340
IV. Capitals from the Doorway of the North Choir
Aisle 351
V. Circular Window in the North Transept: the
"Dean's Eye" 352
VI. Circular Window in the South Transept : the
"Bishop's Eye" 355
VII. The Angel-choir, from the South-west . . 360
VIII. The Easter Sepulchre 367
IX. Capital, from North Aisle of Angel-choir; do.,
Arcade, North Aisle of Choir . . . .375
X. Intersecting Arcade, South Aisle of Choir . . 380
XI. Intersecting Arcade, Choristers' Vestry . . 380
XII. Lavatory and Fireplace in the Choristers'
Vestry . . 382
XIII. Interior of the Chapter-house, looking South-
west ........ 387
XIV. The Galilee Porch . . . . .394
XV. The South-east Porch ..... 395
XVI. The East End . . . . . . 397
XVII. The Chapter-house, from the South-east . . 397
XVIII. Exterior of the Choir Aisle, South side . . 397
XIX. View from below the Vicar's Court . . .398
xv
PAGE
|T i n t a i n — continued.
IN THE TEXT.
Arched Kecess 333
Corbel, North-east Transept .... 370
Pillar and Section, North-west Angle of East
Transept 373
Stone Beam 392
OXFORD CATHEDEAL.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
Architectural History, I.-IT 5-6
Nave, III .. 6-8
Arcade and Triforium, IV 8-9
RoofofNave,V 9-10
Aisles, Organ-screen, Western Vestibule, VI 10-12
Windows and Stained-glass in Aisles, VII 12-13
Lantern Arches, VIII 13-14
Choir, Vaulting, East-end, Altar, &c., IX 14-18
North Transept, X 18-20
North Choir-aisle, XI 20-21
Lady-chapel, Monuments, XII 21-24
Watching Chamber of St. Frideswide, XIII 24-27
Latin Chapel, XIV 28-31
South Transept, XV 31-32
St. Lucy's Chapel, XVI 32-33
South Choir-aisle, XVII 33-34
Belfry and Spire, XVIII 34-36
Chapter-house, XIX. 36-39
Cloister, XX 39-40
Eefectory, XXI 40
Tower and Spire, XXII 40-42
Exterior View, XXIII 42-44
GREAT QUAD.
A Entrance to Chapter-hr/use.
a Watching Chamber of St. Frideswide.
b Tomb of Lady Montacute.
c Tomb of Prior Sution (?).
d Tomb of Sir George Nowers (?).
e Tomb of Zouch.
i Tomb of Bishop Xing.
m Entrance to Transept.
n Entrance to Nave.
o Dean's Entrance.
GROUND-PLAN, OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
Scale, 100 ft. to 1 in.
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PAET I.
J|ist0rij antr
I. THIS Cathedral was originally the church of St.
Frideswide's priory, the history of which will be
found in Part II. In the year 1522 the priory was
surrendered to Wolsey, who had selected it as the
site of his new college. Extensive alterations and
additions were at once commenced by the Cardinal;
but on his attainder in 1529 the foundation fell into
the hands of the King, and the works were stopped.
Three years later (June, 1532), the college was re-
founded by Henry VIII. It was again surrendered
in 1545 ; and in 1546 Henry re-established it, and
transferred to it the see of Oxford from Oseney. It
has retained the name of Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis
Oxoniensis given to it in the King's foundation charter ;
and the ancient church of the priory has ever since
served both as the cathedral church of the diocese
and as the chapel of the college.
II. The nave, choir, central tower, and transepts
(as far as the roofs) are late Norman, and were
erected during the priorate of EGBERT OF CRICK-
LADE or CANUTUS, who succeeded the first prior, Gui-
mond, in 1141, and of his succesor, PHILIP. At the
VOL. II. PT. I. B 3
request of the latter, Feb. 12, 1180, the relies of
St. Frideswide were ' lifted up ' from her grave below
the tower of the new church, and translated to
a shrine above ground by the hands of Richard,
Archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of the
Bishops of Winchester, Ely, and other prelates, a
papal legate, and a large assemblage of clerks and
laymen. The new building must at that time have
been nearly if not quite completed a. The choir, like
the nave, has north and south aisles of the same
period. A Lady-chapel, adjoining the north aisle of
the choir, was added towards the middle of the thir-
teenth century ; and in the first half of the fourteenth
the further addition of the so-called ' Latin chapel '
was made. The roofs of the nave and choir have
been commonly ascribed to Cardinal Wolsey, but are
probably of an earlier date.
The cathedral thus contains examples of the various
styles from late Norman to Perpendicular. Of these
the original Norman work is the most valuable and
interesting. But it may safely be said that a careful
examination of the entire building — which is the
smallest of English cathedrals — will repay the visitor,
and will disclose many more points of interest than he
may at first be prepared to expect.
III. The only good external view of the cathedral is
a The translation is recorded in a MS., de Miraculis 8. Frides-
widse, in the Bodleian, According to this narrative, a light
issuing from the relics of the Saint was seen shining above the
tower of her church, eight years before the translation, — a proof
that the tower was completed in 1172.
^Ps
obtained from the garden of one of the canons' houses
[Plate I.], (see § xxn.). The west front and nearly-
half of the nave were destroyed by Wolsey, for the
sake of his intended collegiate quadrangle ; and the
church is now usually entered from " Tom Quad "
by a new western approach of two panelled arches,
formed through one of the former canonical houses.
The nave originally extended as far as the fronts of
the canons' houses in the great quadrangle ; and con-
sisted apparently of seven bays. Of the original
nave Wolsey destroyed all but four bays ; a fifth has
been recently added, and the walls of the church have
been carried quite up to the eastern wall of the
quadrangle. The organ-screen has been erected to
the west of the third bay from the east, the organ
and its loft filling up the fourth. The fifth is left
open as a vestibule. The old west window has
necessarily disappeared. The improvement of the
general proportions of the interior consequent on
the change is very great.
It has been supposed that Wolsey's plan for adapt-
ing the monastic church to the purposes of his college
was to form the choir and transepts into a long chapel
with an ante-chapel, such as those of Magdalen and
New College ; and to arrange the remaining portion
of the nave for divinity lectures and such collegiate
ceremonies as required additional space. The whole
was to be altered in the style of the age, and deco-
rated with a magnificence befitting the splendid scale
of the Cardinal's foundation. This work would be
8 <D*forb (Cat^bral.
stopped by his fall in 1529, which put an end to
his grand collegiate design. Much of this is, how-
ever, mere speculation, and it is probable that the
vaulting and other work usually assigned to Wolsey
is really of earlier date.
IV. The architectural character of the Norman work
in both nave and choir is the same ; although there
are some indications that, as was commonly the case,
the latter is of slightly the earlier date. Both, how-
ever, are of late Norman or Transitional date ; and
may be safely assigned to the thirty years following
Robert of Cricklade's appointment in 1141 as Prior
of St. Frideswide's. The massive pillars of the nave
are alternately circular and octagonal. From their
capitals, which are large, with square abaci, some
decorated with very rich volutes and foliage, spring
circular arches with well-defined mouldings. These
are, in fact, the arches of the triforium; which is
here represented by a blind arcade of two arches,
set in the tympanum between the main arch and
the sub-arch of the aisle b. The clerestory above
is decidedly transitional ; and consists of a pointed
arch with shafts at the angles, and supported on
b It has been suggested that these arches, set in the tympanum,
were originally the clerestory openings of a Saxon church, the
walls of which were raised by the Norman architect. During
the visit of the Archaeological Institute to Oxford in 1850, how-
ever, an opening in the roof of the aisle was made under the
direction of Professor Willis ; and it was then seen that a single
arch encloses the two at the back, according to the usual
arrangement of a Norman triforiurn.
gafr*. 9
either side by low circular arches, which form the
openings of a wall-passage.
The arches of the aisles spring from half-capitals
set against the inner side of the pillars, and are plain,
with a roll hood-mould towards the nave. The crown
of these arches is considerably below the main capitals
of the pillars, from which spring the upper or triforium
arches. The half-capitals assist in carrying the vault-
ing of the aisles. The whole arrangement, rare on
the Continent, is very unusual in England, where,
indeed, it would be impossible to point out a second
example on so grand a scale0. It should be remarked
that much apparent height is given to both nave and
choir by the lofty pillars and the double row of arches.
The interchange of circular and octagonal pillars, the
pointed arches of the clerestory, and the details of the
capitals and bases, which nearly approach Early
English, sufficiently prove that the nave was the last
portion of the Norman church that was completed.
V. The vaulting-shafts of the roof spring from
plain conical corbels between the upper arches. The
corbels and shafts are Norman ; but the brackets which
they support, and which assist in carrying the existing
roof, are enriched Perpendicular, and form part of the
preparations for the vault of stone with which it was
the evident intention to have covered the nave. This
plan, however, was never carried out ; and was pro-
c It occurs in the transept of Eomsey Abbey, Hants, in the
choir of Jedburgh, and a similar arrangement existed on a far
more magnificent scale at Glastonbury.
10
bably soon exchanged for that of the present timber
roof, which may be of Wolsey's time, and is an excel-
lent specimen of its class. It is of low pitch, with
the beams supported on low semicircular arches, that
form having evidently been selected in order to adapt
the roof to the arches of the lantern tower. The
square panels of the rafters are filled in with a star-like
ornament.
VI. The arrangement of the half-capitals will be
best seen in the aisles of the nave ; the vaulting and
windows of which are Transitional and almost Early
English. The mouldings of the vaulting-ribs vary ;
those in one bay of the south aisle should be noticed
for their unusual beauty.
With the exception of the fifth bay which, as has
been said, is left open as a western vestibule, the whole
of the nave from the lantern to the organ-screen is
fitted up with good plain oak benches, ending in carved
standards with poppy-heads. These are arranged
chapel-wise, longitudinally from east to west. The
arches are filled in with open ironwork.
The organ-screen is a very ornate piece of Jacobean
work, dating from the time of Dean Duppa (1629 —
1638), removed to its present position from the
eastern lantern arch. The pulpit, at the west angle
of the south transept, is, however, far more inte-
resting and remarkable. It is probably of the same
date as the screen. The grotesque carvings on its
sides, — " strikingly similar to others of about the
same date in some of the old houses in Holywell,"
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
THE PULPIT, BEFORE THE ALTERATIONS
11
are especially worthy of attention. [Plate II.] The
original canopy, terminating in the symbol of the
pelican, which had been transferred to the former
episcopal throne, has been restored to its place.
Some of the monuments which have been removed
from the positions they disfigured have been placed in
the western bay of the nave. On the north wall are
those of Bishop LLOYD (died 1829) and Dean GAISFORD
(died 1855) ; on the south wall Dean and Bishop FELL
(died 1686), with an inscription written by Dean
Aldrich ; on the west wall, Dr. E. BURTON, Eeg. Pro-
fessor of Divinity (died 1856), and Dr. NICOLL, Eeg.
Professor of Hebrew (died 1828). Affixed to the first
southern pillar of the nave is the monument of
BISHOP TANNER, the antiquary (died 1735). Oppo-
site to it is that of GEORGE BERKELEY, the justly
celebrated Bishop of Cloyne (died 1753, during a
temporary visit to Oxford). The panegyric on his
monument is emphatic and appropriate : " Si Christi-
anus fueris, si amans patrise, utroque nomine gloriari
potes Berkleium vixisse." On his grave below is
inscribed Pope's line —
" To Berkeley every virtue under heaven."
On the wall west of the pulpit is that of Dean
ALDRICH (died 1711), with a bust and a curious
emblem of death — a crowned skull with wings at
the back — beneath it. Dean Aldrich was a man of
considerable learning and varied accomplishments,
and was the author of the "Compendium of Logic,"
12
now somewhat obsolete. His musical compositions
have better claims to a protracted life. His anthems
and cathedral services are well known; and his
catch, " Hark ! the bonny Christ Church bells," may
be mentioned with respect within bearing of the bells
themselves. All Saints' Church, in the High Street,
attests his architectural powers.
VII. Early in the seventeenth century the whole of
the windows of the aisles of the nave and transept
were altered from three lights to two lights without
tracery, to receive the coarse and heavy stained glass
of Abraham Van Linge, presented by the munificent
but tasteless Dean Duppa. Very recently all, with one
exception, have been restored back again to their
previous Perpendicular design, and are in process of
being filled with memorial glass by Messrs. CLAYTON
AND BELL. The one unaltered window is that at the
west end of the north aisle, which retains Van Linge's
glass, representing Nineveh, with Jonah sitting under
the shadow of the gourd. Of the north aisle windows
the first commemorates Cyril E. Page (died 1873) ; the
second, S. J. Fremantle (died 1874). Those in the
south aisle commemorate respectively, beginning from
the east : (1) G. G. M. Dasent, drowned 1872, rotat. 23 ;
(2) J. B. Walter, drowned 1870, when helping others
submerged by the breaking of the ice at his father's
seat at Bearwood; (3) (the one unaltered Norman
light), G. E. Luke, drowned 1862; (4), above the
door into the cloisters, G. G. Fortescue, of Boconnoc,
died at Algiers, 1858, by WAILES. The glass of the
Central &ote. Crgpt. 13
west window of this aisle represents Faith, Hope, and
Charity, by Morris, from a design by Burne Jones. On
the walls of this aisle are monuments to Dr. EDWARD
POCOCK, Professor of Arabic and Hebrew, with a
bust (died 1648), and Dr. GODFREY FAUSSETT, Lady
Margaret Professor (died 1853).
VIII. The very fine and lofty arches of the central
tower are circular towards the nave and choir, but
pointed towards the transepts. They are all four,
however, of the same transitional character ; and no
doubt formed part of the works executed during
the priorates of Canutus and Philip. The mould-
ings of the circular arches resemble those of the
upper arches of the choir ; the transept arches
spring from piers composed of three nook-shafts
and have a broader and plainer soffete than those
leading to the nave and 'choir. The cutting off of the
lower portions of the vaulting-shafts from the faces
of the lantern-piers indicates that, as was usual in
Norman minsters, the ritual choir was placed under
the tower and extended into the nave. The lantern
was till recently shut in, just above these arches, by
a flat panelled ceiling of timber, probably inserted
when the bells were brought here from Oseney. It
has now been opened to the base of the belfry-stage.
The lower stage is surrounded with an arcade of very
small arches resting on massy shafts, the capitals of
which spread in an unusual manner, and are much
enriched. Above is another arcade of taller arches,
in the angles of which are round-headed windows,
14
seen without, on either side of the original roof-
line.
During the repairs of 1856, a small crypt or subter-
ranean chamber, 7 ft. long, 7 ft. high, and 5J ft. wide,
was discovered in the centre of the church, immediately
under the eastern tower-arch. It was constructed of
rude stone- work, coated with plaster; and had two
small recesses or * ambries,' north and south. Its date
and original purpose are by no means certain. It has
been conjectured — that it may have been a portion of
an original crypt, as at Ripon and Hexham ; — that it
may have been the first resting-place of St. Frideswide,
carefully preserved when the Norman church was com-
menced on the site of the Saxon ; — that it may have
been the secret place with which every monastery was
provided, and in which the treasures of the house were
hidden in times of danger ; — or that it may have been
constructed for the keeping of the University chest,
which, for some time during the thirteenth century,
was deposited in a ' secret place ' within the church of
St. Frideswide.
IX. We now pass into the choir, eastward of the
tower; the Norman portion of which is of the same
general character as the nave. Dean Duppa's wood-
work and the heavy monuments no longer divert the
eye from the beauty of the roof and the picturesque
view northward through the chapels. The present
stalls and benches, occupying a little more than two
bays, are from Sir G. G. SCOTT'S designs. The aisles
are screened off by light open iron-work executed
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
THE CHOIR
<£|jmr. 15
by Skidmore, which in the western bays projects
and forms a curved canopy over the canons' stalls.
The design and execution are excellent, but the effect
cannot be said to be pleasing. At the west end the
stalls of the dean and sub-dean are surmounted by
lofty wooden canopies, terminating in statues. Below
the choir steps stands a very gorgeous brass eagle
supporting a copy of the sacred Scriptures, richly
bound in velvet with filigree metal-work.
On the south side, beyond the stalls, stands a very
elaborate and costly but not very pleasing episcopal
throne, erected as a memorial to Bishop Wilberforce
by the clergy and laity of his former diocese. A
portrait bust of the bishop with mitre and pastoral
staff, which barely escapes caricature, is a conspicuous
feature. The canopy consists of carved pediments
enclosing a kind of imperial crown, and ornamented
with figures of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and
St. Frideswide.
The choir comprises five bays. All the pillars are
circular ; the capitals, though exhibiting much carving,
especially on the north side, are less elaborate, and
the abaci heavier than elsewhere in the church ; the
mouldings of the upper arches have the simple roll
throughout. [Plate III.] These features indicate that
the choir, although of the same late character as the
rest of the Norman work, was the first part of the
church completed. The arrangement of the triforium
and side aisles is the same as in the nave.
The groined roof of the choir, a magnificent example,
16
is usually attributed to Wolsey, but on insufficient
evidence at variance with that afforded by the archi-
tecture. Sir G. G. Scott (see APPENDIX I.) calls atten-
tion to the similarity of the vaulting to that of the Di-
vinity school which was probably executed about 1478.
Although not without indications of declining art, this
rich vault adds greatly to the effect of this part of the
cathedral. The lantern-like pendants, which occupy
the place of vaulting-shafts, may be compared with
those in the choir of Christ Church, Hants, of rather
earlier date ; and especially with those in the timber roof
of the college hall, of which they are nearly facsimiles.
The grotesque heads terminating these pendants imme-
diately within the choir arch should be noticed. The
roof itself terminates against this arch with a series
of figures under rich canopies running round its
eastern side. [Plate IV.] The vaulting-shafts next to
the tower, the corbels of which represent the heads of
a king and of a monk, are entirely Perpendicular. In
the others the Norman corbels remain, and Perpen-
dicular capitals have been fitted to the original shafts.
The alteration includes the whole of the choir above
the triforium arches, and its commencement is marked
by a flowered cornice at the base of the clerestory.
The Norman walls above this cornice, however, were
not removed ; and the wall-passage of the clerestory is
the same as that in the nave, although its original
masonry is hidden beneath the rich panelling of the
window jambs. Similar panelling appears on each
side of the windows, and on the roof as far as the
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE IV.
PART OP THE EASTERN LANTERN ARCH, AND ROOF OF CHOIR
fet (Snb. 17
pendants. Its flatness, as well as the ungraceful form
of the cusps in the rear arches of the windows are
indications of a somewhat late date, which may also
be traced in some of the details of the roof itself,
especially in the foliation of the straight ribs d.
The east end has been subjected to a complete recon-
struction by Sir G. G. SCOTT, who has reproduced the
original Norman fenestration, of which sufficient traces
d It is traditionally asserted that the materials of Oseney
Abbey were used for the alteration in the cathedral. But
Oseney remained in its integrity at the time of Wolsey's fall ;
and if any portion of its stone or wood-work was used here, it
must have been during the refitting of the interior in 1630.
There is evidence (see Gutch's Collectanea Curiosa, vol. ii.) that
Wolsey's materials were duly paid for. The building accounts
of " Cardinal College " exist among the Chapter-house Kecords,
16-19 Henry VIII., and are very curious and interesting. Among
the entries occur the following : — " Paide for workinge and
kervynge the Halle rouff of the sayde Colleage — cij, iij". iiijd.
New niakinge and carvinge of the vaute of the Churche Kouff of
the said Colleage cccijld. xs." This last entry probably refers not
as has been supposed to the choir vault of the cathedral, but the
very magnificent new church Wolsey had commenced, to which a
subsequent entry, " the vault of the roof of the new Church " refers.
A curious letter remains from the society of Magdalen College to
Wolsey (Ellis, 2nd series, vol. ii.), who had asked the use of
certain quarries belonging to the College for his work at Christ
Church. "Quorsum enim spectat," runs the reply, "ut tu,
Princeps maxime, et cujus sapientia jam totuin Christianum
orbem in stuporem converterit, petas potius quam imperes, ut
liceat Celsitudini tuse ad opus pientissimum, videl. hoc sacro-
sanctum Asylum, uti lapidicinis nostris ; qua) haud dubie, si
omnino aureae essent, quales apud Persas jactitantur montes,
nunquam tamen vel minimse beneficiorum tuorum parti respon-
dere valuissent."
VOL. II. PT. I. 0
18 <D*forb
were discovered in the east wall. The, Early Decorated
window of five lights, reduced in the seventeenth
century to three lights, has been removed, and we now
see two tall richly moulded Norman windows, with an
intersecting arcade between them. Above is a wheel
window of ten radiating trefoil-headed lights. The
whole is filled with excellent stained glass by Messrs.
CLAYTON AND BELL. On either side of the wheel is a
short, sturdy Norman shaft, with a richly sculptured
capital, supporting a very narrow arch. In each side-
wall of the sacrarium a Norman window formerly
blocked has been opened.
The altar of cedar is finely elevated on five steps of
richly veined marble. A new reredos executed by
Mr. Brindley, Jun., from Mr. Bod ley's designs, was
erected in 1880. It represents the Crucifixion, with
figures of the Blessed Virgin and St. John in the
centre, with St. Michael and St. Stephen on one side
and St. Gabriel and St. Augustine on the other. The
figures are carved in rosso antico. The pavement of
the sacrarium and choir increases the general effect
of richness. Incised slabs, representing the Christian
virtues break the reticulated sacrarium pavement and
run down the centre of the choir.
X. For the aisles of the choir, see §§ xm., xvn.
The transepts, like the nave and choir, are late Norman
and of the same date. The arrangement of both was
originally the same ; and both had eastern and western
aisles. In the south transept, however (§ xvi.), the
west aisle has been removed to make room for the
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE V.
ZOUCH'S MONUMENT,
19
cloister walk. The north transept, which we now enter,
retains both its aisles. The aisle windows have been
restored to their original design. Each bay of the
aisle to the east has been broken through to form later
chapels of larger size. In the transepts the clerestory
windows are round-headed.
The transept itself consists of three bays. The
vaulting of the west aisle is carried from half-capitals,
as in the nave and choir aisles. Both transepts have
flat timber roofs ; but it was apparently the intention
that both should have enriched stone vaults like that
of the choir. The two northern bays of the clerestory
in the north transept shew the commencement of the
work, and have been converted from Norman to late
Perpendicular, very much in the same manner as the
clerestory of the choir. The windows, however, are
unlike those of the choir in being arched, not square-
headed. Beneath the windows is a horizontal moulding
enriched with flowers, the soffetes are panelled, and a
wall-rib indicates the proposed form of the vault. The
remarkable and not very pleasing stone screens between
the pillars of the eastern aisle, with circular openings
formed by the original Norman arch and by the top of
the screen below, through which the eastern chapels
were entered, have been removed, and the eye misses
a unique and curious feature.
Against the north wall of this transept is the tomb
of JAMES ZOUCH (died 1503), a monk of the priory,
whose profession of a scribe is indicated by the pen-
case and inkhorn on the panels. [Plate V.] He left
o 2
20 <D*f0rtr Csifcebral.
money toward the vaulting of the church ; a proof that
this alteration had been intended, and probably partly
completed, before the priory passed into the hands of
Wolsey. In the western aisle are mural tablets to
Bishop JAMES, of Calcutta, and Professor ELMSLEY
(died 1824). The very fine sitting figure of Dean
CYRIL JACKSON (died 1819), by Chantrey, placed here
in 1820, has found a much more appropriate place in
the library.
The large five-light window with restored Perpen-
dicular tracery, at the end of this transept, contains
painted glass by Messrs. CLAYTON AND BELL, given by
the Marquis of Lothian, in 1875, in memory of his
brother and predecessor in the title, representing the
triumph of Michael the Archangel and the celestial
host over the Evil Angels. The window is undeni-
ably a very striking one, though the predominance of
fiery-red is too pronounced. The subject runs across
the window, neglecting the mullions.
XL The north choir-aisle, which was entered from
this transept through one of the screens already men-
tioned, is Transitional and part of the original church.
The east window, of three lights with restored tracery,
contains some very beautiful glass by BURNE JONES,
representing the story of St. Cecilia in some very
lovely figures of clear silvery tints. It was erected in
1873 by Dr. Corfe, the organist of the cathedral. The
vaulting of the roof should, however, be noticed, and
compared with that of the nave-aisles. In the latter
it is pure Early English in its forms, and has pointed
21
arches ; in the choir-aisles it is pure Norman, and the
arches are circular. This is of course another indica-
tion (see § ix.) that the choir was the portion of the
church which was first completed ; and that the nave-
aisles were the last. In the north choir-aisle is a
monument, with a bust, for Dean GOODWIN (died 1620).
XII. Adjoining the choir-aisle, and entered from
the central eastern bay of the transept, is the Lady-
chapel, of Early English architecture, and added towards
the middle of the thirteenth century. As the city wall
closely adjoined the east end of the cathedral, it was
impossible to add the Lady-chapel in that, the most
usual, direction. The north wall of the choir-aisle
was therefore broken through, and Early English piers
and arches constructed in each bay, the Transitional
vaulting-shafts of the aisle remaining undisturbed.
The western arch is circular, and was that of the
eastern transept-aisle. The second bay from the east
is supposed to have been the place of St. Frideswide's
shrine. The vaulting shews considerable traces of
decorative painting.
The east window of four lights, of restored flam-
boyant tracery, is filled with stained glass by BURNB
JONES, in memory of FREDERICK G. VTNEE, who was
murdered by brigands in Greece, April 21, 1870,
erected "by his sorrowing contemporaries at Christ
Church." The figures represented are Samuel, David,
St. John and Timothy, clad in white robes, as por-
traying youthful courage and purity. The drawing is
very beautiful, especially in the figure of David. The
22
red nimbi are of doubtful taste. The tracery is
occupied with foliage of a dull green.
The monuments which remain in the Lady-chapel
are, perhaps, more interesting than the architecture
of the chapel itself. They are arranged under the
arches on the north side. The first, westward, com-
monly called that of Sir Henry de Bathe, is more pro-
bably the tomb of SIR GEORGE NOWERS (de Nodariis)
(died 1425). [Plate VI.] His very fine effigy affords
a good example of armour, which is, however, earlier
in character than 1425. (It may be compared with
that of the Black Prince at Canterbury.) If the effigy
be really that of Sir George Nowers, it may have been
prepared during his lifetime. It is, however, too
small for the tomb on which it lies. The panels below
are filled in with shields of arms. The second monu-
ment, under a very rich early Decorated canopy, is
said to be that of Prior GUIMOND (died 1141), but can-
not possibly be of his time. [Plate VII.] Both tomb
and effigy are of the reign of Edward I. (circ. 1300) ;
and although the Norman prior under whom the re-
ligious foundation of St. Frideswide was re-established
(see Part II.) may have been thus honoured long
after his death, it is more probable that the monu-
ment is that of PRIOR SUTTON. The sides of the
canopy present a front of three pedimented, cinque-
foiled arches, enriched with a profusion of ball-flower.
The canopy is groined within from end to end. " The
prior is represented vested, with the amice about his
neck with the apparel ; in the alb, the apparels of which
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VII.
THE PRIORS' TOMB FROM THE LATIN CHAPEL
jajjti, JJIomintenis. 23
appear at the skirt in front, and round tho close-fitting
sleeves at tlie wrists ; with the stole, and dalmatic, or
tunic — which it is somewhat difficult to say : these two
latter are not sculptured, but merely painted on the
effigy, and are only apparent on a careful examination ;
over these is worn the chasuble. This vestment is
very rich, and ornamented with orphreys round the
borders, over the shoulders, and straight down in front.
Hanging down from the left arm is the maniple. The
boots are pointed at the toes, and the feet rest against
a lion. There is no indication of the pastoral staff ;
the hands are joined on the breast." — M. H. Bloxam.
The third monument, a rich altar-tomb, its sides
panelled and furnished with figures, is that of ELIZA-
BETH, LADY MONTACUTE (died 1353), [Plato VIII.] ;
who is erroneously said to have built the Latin chapel,
and who gave to St. Frideswide's the meadow now so
well known as Christ Church Meadow, for the main-
tenance of two priests at her chantry in the Lady-
chapel (see APPENDIX II.). She was the daughter of
Sir Peter de Montfort, and wife successively of William
de Montacute and Thomas de Furnival ; by the former
of whom she had four sons and six daughters. Lady
Montacute wears a sleeveless robe, red, and flowered
with yellow and green, fastened in front with a row
of ornamented buttons. The close-fitting sleeves
belong to an inner vest, of a different colour and
pattern. Over the robe is a mantle, fastened in front by
a large and rich lozenge-shaped morse, raised in high
relief. " The mantle, of a buff colour, is covered all
24 ©*for
over with rondeaux, or roundels, connected together by
small bands, whilst in the intermediate spaces are
fleurs-de-lys. All these are of raised work, and deserve
minute examination. They are apparently not exe-
cuted by means of the chisel, but formed in some hard
paste or composition, laid upon the sculptured stone,
and impressed with a stamp." — M. H. Bloxam. Of
the small figures at the sides of the tomb, those north
represent two daughters of Lady Montacute, who were
successively Abbesses of Barking in Essex. " Sculptured
effigies of abbesses, especially of this period, are rare ;
and I know but of one recumbent sepulchral effigy
of this class, — in Polesworth Church, Warwickshire.
This is a fact which renders these the more interest-
ing."— M. H. B. On the south side is a bishop, no
doubt Simon of Ely (1337—1345), a son of Lady
Montacute. The secular costume of the remaining
figures, male and female, on both sides, is varied and
full of interest. At each end of the tomb, east and
west, is a very beautiful quatrefoiled compartment, —
that at the head containing the Virgin and Child be-
tween the emblems of the Evangelists St. Matthew and
St. John [Plate IX.] ; that at the foot a female figure
in relief, with long flowing hair, probably St. Mary
Magdalene, between the emblems of St. Mark and
St. Luke. The shields in the upper angles of the
panels are those of Montfort, Montacute, and Furnival-
XIII. The fourth monument on this side is that
known as the Shrine of St. Frideswide, but which really
seems to have been, as Professor Willis has suggested,
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE IX.
TANEL ON THE WEST END OF LADY MONTACUTE'S
MONUMENT.
Sjjriiw nf St. ^riksfmbe. 25
the watching chamber which, here as elsewhere, adjoined
the shrine for the protection of the gold and jewels
which enriched it e. It consists of four stages ; the
two lower forming an altar-tomb of stone with a stone
canopy ; the two upper of wood, enclosing a chamber
reached by a stair from the Latin chapel. [Frontispiece J]
It belongs to the end of the fifteenth or beginning of
the sixteenth century ; and may very possibly, as Dr.
Ingram suggests, have been erected during the primacy
and under the patronage of Archbishop Morton (died
1500), who had been Chancellor of the University,
and a great benefactor to it. On the altar-tomb are
the matrices of two brasses, said to have represented
Didan and Saffrida, the father and mother of St.
Frideswide; but whether this tomb is of the same
date as the superstructure is uncertain. The mitred
head-dress of the lady belongs to the middle of the
fifteenth century, and is the only portion of costume
indicated by the outlines of the figures, which alone
now remain.
To this chapel on its completion the shrine of St.
Frideswide was removed and placed in a new and
more costly receptacle, prepared long before, not far
from the spot where it formerly stood, Sept. 10, 1289,
in the presence of the Bishop of Salisbury, the Earl
of Cornwall, and other distinguished personages,
Robert of Ewelene being the prior. The saint
8 This chamber may be compared with the very similar wooden
erection on the north side of the shrine of the saint at St. Alban's,
and the fabric known as Bishop Hotham's shrine at Ely.
26
herself was regarded as the patroness of Oxford, and
was popularly called " The Lady," and was occasion-
ally represented with an ox at her side. An ancient
tradition, derived from the fiction about her royal
suitor (see Part II.), asserted that if a king of England
entered her city he would be unfortunate : in defiance
of which, Henry III. performed his devotions before
the shrine in 12 64, and within six weeks was signally
' unfortunate ' in the battle of Lewes.
The relics of the saint, although they were, of
course, removed from their shrine on the visitation
of Henry the Eighth's commissioners, were neverthe-
less preserved ; and were again " made accessible to
the veneration of the faithful" by Cardinal Pole.
On the accession of Elizabeth they were once more
interred below the floor on which the shrine had
originally stood. Peter Martyr, Divinity Professor at
Christ Church during the reign of Edward VI., had
brought within the college walls his wife, named
Catherine Cathie ; who, like the wife of Luther, had
been a professed nun. She died before Mary's acces-
sion, and was buried in the cathedral. Cardinal Pole
directed that her remains, which had been laid near
the sepulchre of the holy virgin St. Frideswide, should
be cast out from holy ground ; and they were accord-
ingly taken from her coffin and flung into a dunghill
at the back of the deanery. Elizabeth ordered that
the body should be restored to decent burial. This
order was obeyed by interring the remains within the
grave of St. Frideswide herself. " The married nun
Pmrammt 0f gofrtrf gurion. 27
and the virgin saint were buried together, and the
dust of the two still remains under the pavement in-
inextricably blended f." The Jesuit Sanders, after ex-
pressing his indignation at this sacrilege, says, " this
impious epitaph was added, ' hie jacet religio cum
superstitione.' " " Although," says Fuller, " the words
being capable of a favourable sense on his side, he
need not have been so angry e." There is a plain
tref oiled aumbry in the east wall. In the pavement of
this chapel there is a small monumental brass to
Edward Courtenay, son of Hugh Courtenay, the son
of the Earl of Devon, and also one to John Fitzwalter.
On the pier between the tomb of Sir George Nowers
and that of the prior is the monument of EOBEKT
BURTON, author of the well-known "Anatomy of
Melancholy," who died in 1639. From 1599 he had
been a student of Christ Church, and held till his
death the vicarage of St. Thomas, in Oxford. The
monument displays his bust, which, as seen in profile,
is certainly marked by the melancholia which is said
to have destroyed him. At the sides are a sphere and
a calculation of his nativity. The inscription, written
by himself, and placed here by his brother William
Burton, the historian of Leicestershire, runs thus : —
" Faucis notus, paucioribus ignotus
Hie jacet
Democritus Junior
Cui vitam dedit et mortem
Melancholia."
f Fronde, Hist. Eng., vol. vi. p. 468. * Worthies— Oxfordshire.
28
XIV. The northern, or Latin Chapel (so called
from the Latin service formerly read in it as the
daily college prayers), properly St. Catherine's Chapel,
is Decorated h. The
western arch was ori-
ginally that of the
transept aisle. The
wall of the Lady-
chapel has been cut
through, and some-
what large masses of
it worked into the
piers. The vaulting
is Decorated, with
gracefully turned
arches and bosses
enriched with foliage,
among which appears
that of the water-
lily, still a native
of the Cherwell and
the Isis. [Plate X.]
The four side windows (north) of three lights, have
h Professor Willis suggested that the architectural character
of this chapel indicates too early a date to allow of its having
been the work of Lady Montacute, and documentary evidence
satisfactorily proves that Lady Montacute did not erect a new
building, but founded her chantry in the adjacent chapel of St.
Mary, or the " Lady Chapel." It is probable that the Courtenay
family contributed to the erection of this chapel : their device
appears in one of its windows (see APPENDIX II.).
One of the Windows in the Latin Chapel.
JTaim C Impel. 29
very graceful flowing tracery. Three of them are
partially filled with excellent stained glass of the
fourteenth century, which deserves the most careful
attention. Figures of saints under tabernacles occupy
each light. This glass was restored to its place by
Dean Liddell after a long period of banishment. The
fourth window has stained glass in memory of Arch-
deacon Clerke. An entirely new east window, with
very heavy and strangely incongruous Venetian tracery,
has been inserted as a memorial of Dr. BULL, Canon
of Christ Church (died 1859). The glass, designed
by Mr. BURNB JONES, has been executed by Messrs.
POWELL, and deserves especial notice. The subjects
are from the legend of St. Frideswide ; who in the first
light is seen at school ; founding her nunnery with
the chief of her companions ; and sought in marriage
by the messengers of the Mercian king : in the last
subject the king with his forces is approaching to carry
her on7. In the second light she is seen leaving Oxford,
and descending the river to a place of safety ; the King
of Mercia is then shewn ravaging the country about
Oxford : and St. Frideswide appears among the swine.
In the third light she retreats to Binsey; the king
finding no trace of her, returns sorrowfully. Her
companions join her at Binsey; where she becomes
distinguished by miracles and alms-deeds. In the
fourth light the king again seeks her ; she flies to
Oxford ; the battle is shewn between the Mercians and
the men of Oxford : and the king is struck blind with
a waving shaft of lightning. The last subject is the
30
(Dsforfc
death of St. Frideswide, whose story will be found
more at length in Part II. In the tracery above are
the ship of souls convoyed by angels, and the trees of
life and of knowledge. The harmonious colouring
of this glass, the excellent character of the several
designs, and the beauty of the details, especially of
the water-plants and
animals introduced,
deserve especial no-
tice and commenda-
tion.
This chapel is fitted
up with a series of
side stalls with west-
ern returns. The
stalling is unusually
fine, and affords some
very good examples.
It is much later
than the chapel itself,
and part of it had
been apparently pre-
pared for the choir
by Wolsey. One of
Poppy-bead in the Latin Chapel, the poppy-heads TG-
presents the Cardinal's hat supported by angels.
The emblems of the Evangelists, and the sacred
monogram, I.H.S., appear on others. The altar is
that which stood in the choir until 1872. On the
south side stands the former throne, now serving
31
as the 'Cathedra' of the Eegius Professor of Divi-
nity, who lectures in this chapel. This last is made
up of fragments of wood-work of various dates.
Against the western wall is a monument to Dr. BULL
(died 1853), below which is a mural brass to Dr.
MOZLEY, late Eegius Professor of Divinity (died 1878).
The epitaph dwells on his rare gifts as an apologetic
theologian. In the pavement are brasses to Dr.
OGILVIE, Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology (died
1873) ; Dr. SHIRLEY, Regius Professor of Divinity
(died 1866); Dr. BAENES (died 1859) ; and Archdeacon
CLEREE (died 1877).
XV. Re-crossing the church, we enter the south
transept. The original arrangements here were pre-
cisely the same as those of the transept opposite. The
same rudimentary groining will be noticed in both.
The western aisle, however, was destroyed, probably
in order to form the cloisters, before Wolsey's altera-
tions; and the third, or southern, bay of the entire
transept was secularized, and long formed a portion of
the verger's house. This bay has been recovered to
the church, and forms a groined vestry below and a
platform above, where are preserved many curious
architectural relics, including fragments of the shrine
of St. Frideswide. Here also is a curious piece of
Norman sculpture, till lately forming a portion of an
external buttress, which was perhaps the base of the
Cross of the priory — " the Cross of the Lady Frides-
wide," but certainly never could have formed a portion
of the « altar ' or ' shrine ' of St. Frideswide, as sug-
32
gested by Dr. Ingram. The subjects represented are
the Fall of Man, the Sacrifice of Abraham, the Giving
of the Law, and a fourth which has not been de-
ciphered.
The face of this division towards the church is en-
tirely of modern design ; but every other part is a
careful restoration of original work. The view of the
interior from this platform is one of great beauty and
interest. From no point can the architectural features
of the church be more comprehensively grasped. In
the gable of the transept a very beautiful short Deco-
rated window of five lights, with intersecting mullions,
has been opened. Below it the Norman wall-passage
and stumpy columns will be noticed. In the spandrils
of the arch of the south choir-aisle are two corbels,
representing an angel and a king, the purpose of which
is quite uncertain, though it has been conjectured that
they may have assisted in supporting some kind of
gallery towards the tower. They are of later date
(Perpendicular?) than the arch itself. Against the
west wall is an Ionic monument to Sir EDWARD
LITTLETON (died 1654), and against the south wall one
to Viscount BROUNCKER (died 1645), and his lady (see
APPENDIX III.).
XVI. The second bay of the transept-aisle, pro-
bably the chapel of St. Lucy, formerly serving as a
vestry, but now thrown into the church, is Norman
with the exception of its eastern wall, which was
rebuilt in order to receive a Decorated window of
very beautiful and unusual character. The tracery
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
MONUMENT OF BISHOP KING-, IN ITS ORIGINAL PLACE.
JB0ttf|j Clxair-aisk 33
is flamboyant, and commences far below the spring
of the arch. It is filled with very gorgeous painted
glass, some of which is ancient, including the mar-
tyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, whose head has
been replaced with white glass.
XVII. The south choir-aisle is entered from this
transept. It is of the same date and character as the
aisle opposite. Some indistinct remains of painting
may be traced against the pillars of the eastern bay.
This aisle contains some stone coffin-lids.
The Decorated east window of three lights has been
restored, and filled with very beautiful stained glass
as a memorial to EDITH LIDDELL (died 1876). Two o
the side-windows, restored Norman, contain glass in
memory of Dr. JELF (died 1871). The third, an un-
altered Norman opening, contains stained glass (pro-
bably by Van Linge), representing EGBERT KING, the
first Bishop of Oxford, fully vested, with the ruins of
Oseney, of which he had been abbot, in the back-
ground1. The arms are those of King, impaled with
the abbey of Oseney and the see of Oxford. (Plate XI.)
The glass was given by Henry King, afterwards Bishop
of Chichester, and his brother John, both of whom were
canons of Christ Church in the time of Charles I., and
were descended from the Bishop's brother William.
During the Eebellion this window was taken down
and preserved by a member of the family.
Near this window, between the aisle and the chapel,
1 This, it is said, is the only authentic view remaining of this
great abbey. It represents the condition of its ruins about 1630.
VOL. II. PT. I. D
34
now stands the canopied altar-tomb of Bishop KING
(died 1557. See Part II.). This monument was ori-
ginally placed in the choir, and was removed to its
present situation by the canons Henry and John King ;
and in fact its unornamented back shews that it was
intended to stand against a wall.
In this aisle is a very late Perpendicular piscina,
with very bold square flowers in the jamb. The
curious corbels supporting the transverse groining
ribs should be noticed (see woodcut).
Capital and Corbels, South Aisle of Choir.
XVIII. The visitor who desires to ascend the
tower, the arrangements of which are curious and in-
teresting, will commence the ascent from the vestry.
The upper, or belfry-stage, which is Early English, is
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
INTERIOR OF THE TOWER, WITH OJSIE OF THE BQUINCHEfl
OF THE SPLRE.
gdfrg aiibr Sfpitt.
35
internally octagonal ; the subordinate faces, which
are much smaller than the cardinal, being formed by
chamfering off the angular turrets. The * squinches,'
or small arches above these faces, support the
spire. [Plate XII.] A wall -passage runs round
this chamber, piercing the slender piers between the
window-arches, the corbels supporting which should
be noticed. The bells
which formerly hung
in this chamber were
those of Oseney Ab-
bey, where they hung
in the great western
tower represented in
the window above
Bishop King's monu-
ment. The fame of
their melody was
widely spread before
their removal to
Christ Church, and
their names were thus
recorded in a rude
hexameter : —
" Hautclere, Douce,
Clement, Austyn, Marie,
Gabriel, et John."
They are now removed to the new tower erected
above the hall staircase, from Mr. Bodley's designs.
A narrow and awkward passage leads upward to
D 2
Spire Light.
36 dteforir Ca%brHl.
the lower part of the spire, in which the Early
English spire-lights (see wood- cut, p. 35) deserve
examination. These have a double plane of tracery ;
the mullion and quatrefoil in the head being re-
peated in the inner arch. The outer arches have
two transoms, which, like the mullions, are square.
Transoms are rare during the Early English period,
but occur also in belfry-towers at Bampton and at
Witney, both in Oxfordshire.
XIX. The entrance to the chapter-house, on the east
side of the cloisters, is transition Norman, and appa-
rently of the same date as the church. [Title-page.']
It is an arch of four ' orders ' or divisions, the two
inner of which are richly ornamented with zigzag
moulding. The two outer rise from shafts, the
capitals of which on the south side are plainly
cushioned ; on the north they are elaborately sculp-
tured. An ornamented label surrounds the external
arch. On either side of the doorway is a semi-
circular-headed window of two lights plain without,
but within ornamented with the same label as the
doorway. The vaulting of the cloister roof which
had been broken off very near this doorway, has been
restored in wood, at a higher level, so as to clear
the arch.
The cliapter-hou&e, which is, as usual in monastic
buildings, divided from the transept by the Slype, a
plain barrel-vaulted passage, was rebuilt during the
very best Early English period, of which it affords
an excellent example. It may be compared with the
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XIII.
INTERIOR OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE.
37
chapter-house at Lincoln, also Early English, but
somewhat later in the style k, with the Early English
chapter-house at Salisbury, both of which, it should
be remembered, were attached to cathedrals of far
greater wealth and importance than the priory of
St. Frideswide, and with the chapter-house at Chester,
which is nearly of the same date and character.
[Plate XIII.] The purity of its style, however, and
the interest of its details entitle this chapter-house
to a high rank, especially now that it has been re-
stored to its original condition. The transverse wall
which divided it has been removed and the ancient
level restored throughout. The room forms a paral-
lelogram, divided into four bays, the vaulting of
which springs from clustered shafts supported on
brackets. The eastern end is especially beautiful.
An arcade of five arches fills the entire bay. The
three central arches are pierced for windows, deeply
recessed, and are in fact double, the inner arches
resting on slender clustered shafts with foliaged
capitals, the outer or window-arches resting on single
shafts attached to the wall. Of these outer arches
those north and south are blank. The three central
ones are pierced, and form a very striking triplet,
each light of which is crossed by a transom, with a
later four-centred arch beneath. The foliage and
ornaments of the clustered shafts and capitals, as
k It should be remembered that until the reign of Henry VIII.
Oxford was in the diocese of Lincoln, and that the same company
of workmen may have been passed from one place to the other.
Boss in the Chapter-hous
38
well as those introduced between the arcade and the
roof, are most grace-
ful and deserve all
possible attention.
The two eastern 15ays
on the south side,
and the eastern bay
on the north, have
similar arcades of
three arches, the cen-
tre arch of which,
now blocked up, was
originally open as a window. The details of these
arcades are less rich than those of the eastern, but
should be noticed, as well as the grotesque corbels
which support the vaulting-shafts, and the bosses
at the intersection of the vaulting-ribs, which are
curious and elaborate. One of them represents the
Virgin, crowned, presenting an apple to the divine
Infant.
The chapter-house contains a chest covered with
rich flamboyant panelling, a finely carved Elizabethan
table, and some wainscoting of the same period, all
well deserving of attention. On the roof are some
remaiDS of ancient painting, St. Peter and St. Paul
being easily discernible, and the windows contain
some interesting stained glass. [Plate XIV.] In
the east wall is the foundation-stone of Wolsey's
College at Ipswich, bequeathed to the Dean and
Chapter in 1789 by the Rev. Richard Canning,
Cloister. 39
Eector of Harkstead and Freston in Suffolk, who
found it built into a wall. The inscription (at
length) runs, "Anno Christi 1528, et Eegni Henrici
Octavi, Eegis Angliae 20, mensis vero Junii 15,
positum per Johannem, Episcopum Lidensem." This
Bishop was John Holt, titular Bishop of Lydda,
and probably a suffragan of Lincoln.
XX. The cloister originally formed a square, but
the west walk and part of the north shared the fate
of the west front of the church, being removed by
Wolsey in order to form the staircase leading to the
hall of his college. The basement of the northern
part of this walk has been discovered and made good
during the late restoration. What remained of the
north walk was converted into a muniment-room.
But the whole of this side has now been completed
and restored to its original destination. The fine
lierne groined roof has been made good throughout.
On its walls are the monumental tablets ejected from
the interior. The cloisters and refectory are tra-
ditionally said to have been built with funds
bequeathed for the purpose by Lady Montacute,
but the work is certainly of much later date. The
vaulting — which is peculiar — and the windows cannot
be earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century,
judging from the character of some of the bosses.
The panelling of the sides of the windows should
be compared with that introduced in the clerestory
of the choir, with which it agrees even to the
character of the cusps. This cloister quadrangle
40
was the scene of Cranmer's degradation !. In the area
are the bases of the ancient lavatory.
XXI. The ancient refectory of the priory rises
above the south walk of the cloister, but has been
converted into sets of rooms. On the north side its
large and handsome Perpendicular windows of three
lights, remain. On the south side a curious little
polygonal projection will be noticed once containing
the reading pulpit.
From this point the visitor should remark the
difference of masonry in the wall of the south tran-
sept. The upper story is of good ashlar work : the
lower, in which are round-headed window-openings,
is rudely built of rubble. Some have imagined that
this lower story belonged to an earlier church, the
walls of which were raised by the Norman builders.
But the fact is that this rubble-work was originally
an inside wall covered by the sloping aisle-roof. The
windows formed the openings of a triforium space
above the aisle, as in other Norman cathedrals, such
as Norwich, Ely, and Peterborough.
XXII. From the cloister also a good near view is
obtained of the central tower and spire. The lower
story of the tower, as high as the belfry-stage, is late
Norman, of the same date as the nave : the belfry-
stage itself and the spire which surmounts it are
Early English. On each side of the lower story the
line of the ancient high roof may be seen, rising
1 Hook, Lives of the Archbishops, vol. vii. p. 386.
Spirt. 41
nearly to the string below the belfry. On either side
of the roof-line is a
round - headed win-
dow. At each angle
is a circular turret,
which is continued
through the Early
English belfry-stage,
but diminished in
size, and ornamented
with a slender and
graceful arcade. Each
turret terminates
above the belfry-stage
in a pinnacle si-
milarly ornamented.
These pinnacles are
modern; but are faith-
ful, or, more truly, servile imitations of the ancient
ones; of which not only the original features, but
those resulting from the wear and tear of six cen-
turies, have been too exactly copied. An arcade is
carried round the walls of the belfry-stage, the two
central arches of which, on each side, are pierced for
windows.
The spire, " an impressive and noble work, though of
low proportions " (Sir G. G. Scott), if not absolutely
the most ancient, is one of the earliest in England. It
is octagonal, with circular ribs at the angles ; and
of the ' broche ' form (i.e. it rises from the exterior of
Window in the Tower.
the tower walls), like most others of that early period.
Its projecting eaves are supported by a corbel-table of
pointed arches. In the cardinal faces, near the base,
is a single range of projecting spire-lights, much re-
sembling the windows of the belfry-stage. The upper
I part of the spire,
above the lights, was
rebuilt at the same
time as the pinna-
cles ; but the beauti-
ful finial of foliage
with which it origi-
nally terminated was
not reproduced. The
old spire-point has
been re-erected in one
of the canons' gar-
dens, where it may
still be seen. (For
the interior of the
tower and spire, see
§ xvm.)
XXIII. The only
exterior view of the
north side and east
end of the cathedral
is to be obtained from
Original top of the Spire.
the garden of the
canon's house which adjoins it ; to enter which per-
mission must, of course, be asked. [Plate I.] The
dxtmor $iek 43
best point of view will be found to be the north-east
corner of the garden, from which the eastern end with
its gabled chapels, the north transept with its turrets
and pinnacles, and the central tower and spire, form
a mass sufficiently varied and picturesque. The tran-
sept is flanked by square turrets, resembling those at
the east end, and nearly of the same date. They are
capped with slender spires, ornamented with shafts
and having conical terminations. These are tran-
sitional, and earlier than the terminations of the
tower turrets, with which they should be compared.
The transept-turrets have blind arcades, the arches of
the two lower ranges of which are pointed, the upper
circular. At the angle of the transept-aisle rises a
square turret, terminating in a spire having crockets
at the angles, and in the west face a niche containing
a statue of St. Frideswide. The upper part of the
turret, with the figure, is of early Perpendicular
character. The Latin Chapel here exhibits a very
fine composition with its dignified gabled buttresses,
and elegant windows of flowing tracery. This praise
must be withheld from the unfortunate Venetian
eastern window, the effect of which is even worse than
from within. The east end, which is a good example
of late enriched Norman, consists of a gable, which
has been lowered, between two square turrets, which
in all probability terminated originally in slender
spires, such as still remain at the north transept
gable. The turrets are enriched with blind arcades,
the uppermost of which has pointed, the lowest inter-
44
secting arches. The eastern elevation, as restored by
Sir G. Gr. SCOTT, is singularly beautiful. Its chief
feature is a large Transition Norman wheel-window,
the spokes being formed of shafts with capitals, the
blank spaces being relieved by rich paterae. There
are two tall Norman lights below the wheel and a
blind arcade above it.
The square eastern end is perhaps another indi-
cation of late or transitional work. The earlier
Norman choirs generally terminated in an apse.
The alterations commenced in the clerestory of
the transept (§ x.) should here be noticed from the
exterior.
APPENDIX I.
(faxticnd from % Report of j$ir dfjeorge $xibjeri Utott,
JUNE SRD, 1869.
IT seems certain that the old church of the Nunnery of
St. Frideswide was burnt at the beginning of the eleventh
century, and it is said that it was subsequently rebuilt,
repaired, or enlarged by King Ethelred II. Dr. Ingram
evinces great anxiety to prove that traces of his work still
exist, but I need hardly say there is not a shadow of
foundation for such a supposition.
The Monastery was granted by the Conqueror to the Abbey
of Abingdon as a cell, but no new buildings are mentioned,
though the ruinous condition of the old ones is alluded to.
After some changes in its constitution, the monastery
was, in 1111 or 1122, made over to the Canons Regular
of St. Augustine under Guymond (Chaplain to King
Henry I.), their first Prior, who ruled the Priory till 1141.
It is not mentioned that he rebuilt the church, and it is
more probable that his first attention would be rather
directed to the monastic buildings, as the transfer from
secular to regular canons would necessitate wholly new
arrangements.
It is probable that the doorway to the chapter-house, with
the wall on either side of the same, is a part of his work.
The church, being in a style distinctly transitional, rather
than purely Romanesque or Norman, was probably built by
his immediate successor. Browne Willis says the two
succeeding priors finished the church. All we know of
46 d*f0rb Caijjtbrsl.
it from documentary evidence is that it was sufficiently
advanced in 1180 to allow of the translation of the relics of
St. Frideswide from her sepulchre into the new shrine, at
which solemnity the Archbishop and many great dignitaries
were present.
In 1190 a large part of the city of Oxford was destroyed
by fire, and the Priory of St. Frideswide did not escape.
It is clear, however, that the church itself did not materially
suffer, though in all probability the monastic buildings were
much injured, and among them I think the chapter-house,
and the cloister which ran along in front of its entrance,
must have suffered severely, for the old Norman doorway
and the adjoining wall are to this day reddened by fire.
The architecture of the church agrees perfectly with the
date thus assigned to it. Nor is that architecture merely
one amongst the many varieties which the ever-changing
progress of medigeval art produced. It is much more than
this. It is in some respects the most important of all its
phases, being the transition between two of the most marked
styles which architecture has ever assumed.
Koman architecture, from the reminiscences of which all our
mediaeval styles have sprung, had overlaid a construction
essentially arcuated with features borrowed from the trabeated
buildings of Greece, and it unhappily had been left to periods
of declining civilization and art to eliminate these incon-
sistencies and to develop a truly arcuated style. In Western
Europe it was not till the twelfth century that the style,
thus generated under unfavourable circumstances, began in
good earnest to free itself from semi-barbaric details, and to
take vigorous steps towards asserting its claims to being a
really refined and artistic form of architecture. It was just
at this juncture that the building under consideration was
erected ; and one hardly knows whether to regret or rejoice
that the prospect at that moment (and only, as it were, for
a moment) held out of the perfecting of the round-arched
style into a high and refined form of art was at the very
$. 47
same moment threatened with disappointment by the intro-
duction of another form of arch which was destined to bring
about the entire transformation of the architecture of Western
Europe.
Oxford Cathedral, then, represents the juncture of a douUe
transformation in architectural art, — the earnest strivings of
a period of revived civilization for a high and refined form
of art in building, — taking the direction of perfecting and
elevating the existing round-arched style — accompanied,
almost unconsciously, and evidently without an idea of its
ultimate consequences, by the introduction here and there of
another form of arch.
At no previous period of mediaeval architecture had the
details or the workmanship evinced such rapid advance, nor
at any subsequent period do we find evidences of more earnest
determination to perfect the art they had in hand. Every
detail bears witness to the most careful study ; the profile of
every moulding shews refined and subtile art. The foliated
ornament assumes a noble character, evidently evincing a
study of the ancient Greek, which was effected through
a Byzantine medium ; and the same, though yet unpurged
from relics of a barbaric element, may be traced in the figure-
sculpture ; while the workmanship, even to the tooling of the
stone, is often so beautiful that our modern masons find it
impossible to imitate it.
The church, as at first completed, was of singularly uni-
form and homogeneous design. It seems to have had a
nave of eight bays in length, a choir of five bays, and
transepts of three bays. If so, the proportion of the plan
seems to have been precisely that which some writers pro-
nounce to be the best — that in which a double equilateral
triangle of the whole internal length gives by its common
base the internal length of the transept *.
a The dimensions given by William of Worcester in his Itinerary
throw some doubts on these proportions.
48
The transepts had western as well as eastern aisles, which
had not, apparently, been contemplated by the builder of
the Norman chapter-house, the entrance to which was placed
in a line with the main wall of the transept, as is the case
where no western aisle exists. The same is the case at
Westminster, where the church of the Confessor probably
had no western transept aisles ; and the result of their sub-
sequent adoption led to the cloister and the aisle interpene-
trating one another in a unique manner. At St. Frides-
wide's it more probably led for a time to the omission (as
at Wells) of the northern walk of the cloister, and, at a later
period, to the removal of the difficulty by the destruction of
the aisle to allow of the completion of the cloister.
One of the most remarkable features in the design of the
church is the mode of dealing with the side arcades. The
small scale of the building would, in the natural course of
things, render the pillars and arcades low and of stumpy
proportions. This has been obviated by the ingenious expe-
dient of dividing the pillars and arches, as it were, into two
halves in their thickness, the half facing the aisle retaining
its natural height and proportions, but that facing the central
space being so raised as to embrace the triforium stage, the
openings of which appear between the two ranges of arches ;
the clerestory ranging above. This has been fancied by
some to be the result of alteration, but it is clearly the ori-
ginal design. Nor is it without precedent ; for we find the
same of earlier date, in part of the abbey church at Romsey,
and also in the choir of Jedburgh ; and the same, of perhaps
a few years' later date, and on a far more magnificent scale,
and with pointed arches, existed at Glastonbury.
The arches are for the most part round, though two of
those carrying the tower, those of the higher vaulting (so far
as they can be judged of), and those of some minor features,
were pointed. Among the latter may be mentioned the
clerestory windows of the nave — which, with the vaults
of the aisles of the nave, and some other details, seem to
shew the nave to have been of a slightly later date than
the choir and transepts. The central tower had a lantern
story (of two ranges of arcading) open to the church.
The designs of the ends of the main arms of the cross
are in great measure lost, excepting the facts that they were
flanked by turrets, that the east end had a large circular
window, with other windows below it, and that the south
transept had a continuation across its end of the clerestory
stage of arches, etc.
Only one of the aisle windows now remains, but there are
two windows of the same range (now walled up) in the
projecting eastern bay of the choir. These are of excellent,
though simple, design. One original doorway only exists,
and that of a very minor class, and is walled up and other-
wise injured. The two chapels which existed in the eastern
aisle of each of the transepts appear to have had deep
recesses for their altars.
The most prominent among the additions of the thir-
teenth century is the upper stage of the tower, with
its spire — an impressive and noble work, though of low
proportions.
The Norman chapter-house was, in all probability, much
injured by the fire of 1190. I should imagine that it was
temporarily repaired, as the present charming structure must
be of considerably later date, probably towards the middle of
the thirteenth century.
Were its proportions not spoiled by its division by a
modern wall into two parts, it would be one of the most
elegant rooms of its period and scale.
During this century a second aisle was added on the north
side of the choir, including an extension eastward by one
bay of the north-eastern chapel of the north transept.
The former of these additions I conceive to have been
intended as a new position for the shrine of St. Frideswide,
as we find that in 1289 the shrine was removed to a new
VOL, II. PT. I. E
50
position in a new and more precious shrine, "near to the
place where the old one stood."
This must have been long subsequent to the completion of
the new aisle, but it is expressly stated of the new shrine
itself that it " had been several years before prepared."
The prior at the time of this re-translation was Robert
de Ewelme, who resigned the office two years later, and it
was in all probability his successor, Alexander de Sutton,
who chose the arch between this aisle and the addition to
the north-eastern chapel as his place of sepulture, and whose
beautiful canopied tomb still occupies that position.
Many minor alterations were effected during the fourteenth
century. As, for example : — The original east windows were
removed, and a large Decorated window of five lights substi-
tuted ; the east windows of the choir aisles were replaced by
three-light Decorated windows. The east window of the
second north aisle of the choir was replaced by a four-light
Decorated window. The great west windows were also
replaced by a large Decorated window, of which the jambs,
arch, and mullions still exist, though removed when the
church was shortened. A Decorated window of five lights
was also introduced in the upper stage of the south transept
front, over the roof of the chapter-house (as I have recently
discovered). The northern chapel at the east of the south
transept was also rebuilt (as regards its eastern wall) ^in
the same style, with a very beautiful window of three
lights.
The greatest work, however, of this period was the addi-
tion of a large chapel to the north of the second north aisle
of the choir. This was founded by Lady Elizabeth de Mon-
tacute", whose beautiful effigy occupies the westernmost of
the two arches of its own date which separate it from the
aisle which contained St. Frideswide's shrine.
" See, however, APPENDIX II.
. 51
The erection of this chapel obliterated the original north-
east chapel, which had been enlarged in the previous cen-
tury, but its history may still be read in the pier, partly of
the twelfth and partly of the thirteenth century, and the
arch of the last-named century, which remain towards
the south-western angle of the present chapel. The chapel
is of four bays in length, each containing a large three-
light window with flowing tracery. The eastern window
was probably of five lights. Like the other chapels, it is
vaulted. Externally it has a hi°h gabled roof.
All the works of this century in the church seem to belong
to the later division of the style, and to have a certain
degree of similarity in their detail.
To the fifteenth century probably belongs the curious
structure now called the shrine of St. Frideswide, but
really the watching-chamber to the shrine. It formed, pro-
bably, the tomb of its donors. A structure somewhat
similar remains at St. Alban's, and is known as the Watch
Tower.
It is not easy to distinguish with certainty between
what was done late in this century and early in the next ;
but, between the two, considerable alterations appear to have
been effected, the general tendency of which was to give to
certain parts of the church the character of a structure
of the Perpendicular style.
These works may be thus enumerated. The re-construction
of the clerestory of the choir with its vaulting; the com-
mencement of a somewhat similar alteration of the north
transept, with the introduction of a large Perpendicular
window to the same ; the rebuilding of the wall of the north
aisle of the nave, and the re-modelling, in a great degree,
of those of the south aisles of nave and choir, and the
western aisle of the north transept ; and, lastly, the re-
construction of the cloister, with the removal of the western
aisle of the south transept.
E 2
52
By these alterations all the side windows of the aisles with
a single exception, were converted into three-light Perpen-
dicular windows, as also were such of the end windows
as had not been already altered.
It had been customary to attribute the vaulting of the
choir to Wolsey ; this (apparent) error was, I believe, first
perceived by the late Dr. Shirley. He pointed out to me
the evidence he had obtained , at the time of my former
survey, but I regret that I cannot now recollect it, beyond
the similarity of the vaulting to that of the Divinity School,
which was probably executed about 1478 c.
The bay of re-constructed clerestory and incipient vaulting
c I have adopted this view, so far as the evidence before me
has enabled me to form an opinion, though the two entries in the
Journal of Expenses in building Cardinal College relating to the
vaulting of the choir may appear to negative it. Mr. Parker,
in his Oxford Guide, unhesitatingly (and probably on this evi-
dence) ascribes the vaulting to Cardinal Wolsey, and goes on to
say that a continuation of the work was commenced in the north
transept, but was suspended on his fall.
Now, nothing would appear more natural than that, after the
choir had been vaulted, the same operation should be continued
in the transept; and. I quite hold it to have been the case. But
we gather from Browne Willis that this continuation was not
commenced by Wolsey, but some thirty years before he took the
College in hand, by the will of Zouch, a monk of the monastery,
whose tomb still remains beneath the window of the transept ;
so that this throws a doubt at once upon the greater work having
been Wolsey's.
Had the first entry only existed, which speaks of the " new
vault of the roof of the quere within the said college," it would
appear decisive in favour of Wolsey having vaulted the choir of
St. Frideswide, — but the second entry speaks in very similar
terms of " the vault of the roof of the new church" which leads
one to suppose that both may refer to the intended church rather
than to the existing one. It seems on the whole to be an open
question, which additional evidence may settle either way.
|. 53
to the north transept, including probably the great north
window, was not erected till the beginning of the following
century, having been paid for by a bequest of one James
Zouch, a monk of this church, who died in 1503, and was
buried under the great window.
Besides the last-named work, it is probable that the flat
roofs of the nave and transepts are of the sixteenth century,
as well as the unfortunate shortening of the nave to one-
half of its original length — the only work connected with
the church with certainty to be attributed to Wolsey, who,
it would appear, had commenced the erection of an entirely
new and very magnificent edifice d.
The cutting off a bay from the south transept was probably
effected after his time.
The concealment of the lantern story of the tower may
belong to this century.
During the seventeenth century the choir was refitted
by Dean Duppa, who also with munificent intention pre-
sented to the church a large quantity of stained glass by
Van Linge.
It is much to be deplored that, to suit this glass, which
was designed in very wide lights, many of the windows
which received it were so entirely altered that their design
was quite lost. Such was the case with all the Perpen-
dicular windows in the aisles, thirteen in number, which
had each three lights with tracery heads, but were changed
into two-light windows without tracery. Those to the
south aisle of the nave had their mullions transferred to the
inner face of the wall. The Decorated windows of three
lights which terminated the choir-aisles were similarly
converted into plain two-light windows ; the beautiful four-
4 I may mention, however, the fittings of the north chapel, of
which one stall-end has the Cardinal's hat carved upon it : may
these have been prepared for his intended new church ?
54 @xioti flstfctbral.
light window to the second north aisle of the choir wa*
similarly treated. The five-light Decorated east window of
the north chapel was converted into a three-light window.
The great north transept window was impoverished in its
tracery, as was probably the case with the great west
window ; and at the end of this century the same process
was applied to the great east window, which was reduced
from five to three lights.
To this century also belong the rather curious stone
screens which sever the eastern chapels from the transepts,
and many monuments, some of which have mutilated the
old architecture while they add interest to the building.
The south porch also may belong to this date, and I fancy
there has been a diminutive porch opposite to it.
******
To the architectural and ecclesiastical antiquary, every stage
in the history of a sacred edifice has its value, and possesses
an interest of its own, so that the obliteration of the work
of any one period is like tearing out a leaf in the visible
history of the structure. Where this historical interest
ceases it is difficult to judge. One would hardly say that it
applies to mere mutilations or ill-judged alterations of late
periods, though some of the works of such times may be
worthy of respect.
I have sometimes attempted to lay down a rule that all is
to be respected which is antecedent to the extinction of our
national architecture in the sixteenth century ; and this, if
not taken exclusively, may be in the main right. Yet one
must admit that some works anterior to that great change
may be questionable as to their claims for preservation, and
certainly some works of later date possess such claims.
It follows that, if we adopt that rule in the main, its
application must be open to a certain amount of judicious
eclecticism, while this should rigorously exclude mere indi-
vidual fancies and preferences.
I- 55
The historical sketch which I have above attempted is
sufficient to show that, while what remains of the original
fabric of the twelfth century possesses an interest superior to
any later portions, each addition nevertheless has a share of
interest belonging to itself, till we arrive at the mere mutila-
tions of late periods.
As any attempt to restore the original design, pure and
simple, would obviously involve the destruction of parts
which no one would for a moment hear of losing, it seems to
follow that where such restoration would, in minor cases,
cause the loss of parts, which, though of dubious merit, still
belong to the history of the building during the continuance
of our national styles of architecture, such restorations should
not be attempted without serious consideration.
APPENDIX II.
IT is commonly asserted that the so-called Latin (properly
St. Catherine's) Chapel was erected by the Lady Elizabeth
Montacute as her own chantry. This, however, is erroneous.
In the foundation-deed of her chantry she expressly directs
the masses and other offices to be said " within the chapel of
the Blessed Mary," i.e., the adjacent chapel to the south.
The prior and convent, also, in their " first ordinance " with
regard to the foundation are still more explicit ; " in Capella
Beatse Marise juxta feretrum Sanctse Frideswidse." The two
chaplains were also bound to attend the daily mass "de
Beata Maria " in " the said chapel " (JRegistr. S. Frideswidas).
The documents relating to the foundation of this chantry do
not contain a word about the erection of a new chapel, and,
in fact, the foundress' bequest before long proved inadequate
to the maintenance of the two chaplains specified. The
Courtenay family probably contributed to the building of
St. Catherine's chapel, and their device appears in one of the
windows, as it does on Edward Courtenay's brass. St.
Catherine, it may be mentioned, was regarded as the patroness
of students in theology, and she is specially named in one of
the " Lives of St. Frideswide " as having appeared, accom-
panied by St. Cecilia, to the dying saint.
APPENDIX III.
THE south transept has a special historical interest from the
graves and monuments contained in it, which recall the
period when Christ Church was occupied by Charles T. as
his royal residence, and the city of Oxford his (almost) last
remaining stronghold. Within the transept lie several dis-
tinguished royalists : Viscount Brouncker, chamberlain to
Charles II. when Prince of Wales, died 1645 ; Viscount Gran-
dison, who died at Oxford of wounds received in the attack
on Bristol in 1643; Sir John Smith, who, in the battle of
Edgehill, " redeemed the banner royal," was knighted on the
field by King Charles, and died of his wounds in 1644, astat.
28; Sir W. Pennyman, Governor of Oxford, died 1643 ; Sir
Edward Littleton, Keeper of the Great Seal, who, during the
" execrable siege of this city," took up arms for " the royal
majesty," and whose funeral sermon was preached by Henry
Hammond, then canon, in 1645.
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
PART II.
ftsiorg of % %tt, forty ^ari $fote of %
prmdpal §isljops.
HpHE history of St. Frideswide, the site of whose priory is
•*• now occupied by the college and cathedral of Christ
Church, has been involved in so much legend and uncer-
tainty, that it is scarcely possible to ascertain the amount
of truth which it may really contain. No life exists which
is nearly contemporary. William of Malmesbury and Prior
Philip of Oxford have both told the story of the saint ; the
first in his Gest. Pont. Aug. (p. 315, Eolls Series), the second
in a narrative which remains in MS. in the Bodleian. Ex-
tracts from what seems to have been an earlier life of St.
Frideswide are preserved in Leland's Collectanea, p. 279.
Early in the eighth century, according to the legend,
St. Frideswide or Fritheswyth, was born at Oxford, of
which city and district her father, Didan, was the ruler.
Her mother's name was Saffrida. With a zeal then by no
means unusual among noble Saxon ladies, Frideswide, who
had been educated by a devout nun named Elgiva, early
devoted herself to a monastic life, and induced twelve of
her companions to follow her example. Her father, Didan,
built a convent for her within the walls of Oxford, which
he dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints. But Algar, King
of Mercia, the province within which Oxford was situated,
demanded Frideswide in marriage ; and as his entreaties
Jbiorg 0f % |)riorg. 59
were ineffectual, he determined to carry her off by force.
She fled to " Benton," probably Bensington, where she and
two nuns, who accompanied her, found refuge among the
woods, in a "deserted sheltering-place for swine V By one
account, Algar pursued her, and she returned " by secret
paths b," to Oxford, and when all but overtaken, imprecated
a judgment upon him, and he was forthwith struck blind.
By another, he threatened destruction to Oxford, assuming
that she was concealed within it ; and so, at " the north
gate c," incurred this supernatural infliction.
After a time, Frideswide chose for herself and a few of her
nuns a place of more entire seclusion at Thornbury, now
Binsey, a quiet spot " thick-set with trees," near Oxford.
When her life drew to an end, she returned to her convent,
and died there on the 19th of October, in 735 or 740, or,
according to Alban Buller, later in the century d. The legend
abounds in miracles and visions. Imagination has clearly
been at work in ante-dating by more than a century the
importance of Oxford e, and in adding a " King Algar " to
the Mercian line. But that Frideswide did found a nunnery
on this spot, and died there after a life of monastic piety,
may be taken as certain. Nor can we doubt that her founda-
tion, together with the treasure of her sacred remains, was
the original and ecclesiastical, as Edward the Elder's castle
was the later and temporal nucleus, of the rising border
town. After some timef the nuns were succeeded by
secular canons, who held the church, when, in 1015, some
followers of two murdered Danish Earls (Sigeferht and
* MS. Life of St. Frideswide, and Capgrave, Nova Legenda,
p. clii.
b Malmesb., Gest. Pontif., p. 315.
c Lives of the Saints, Oct. 19, Mabillon gives the date 735.
(Annal. Benedict, ii. 101.) d Ibid.
6 Oxford first appears in the Saxon Chronicle A.D. 912.
f Capgrave says that the church was burnt by Danes (Nova
Legenda).
60
Morkere), being worsted in the attempt to avenge their
lords, fled into its tower, and the pursuers, unable to dis-
lodge them, set fire to the building and burned them with
it. Ethelred II., by way of making amends for this sacri-
lege, repaired and enriched the church. This, at any rate,
is what William of Malmesbury tells us he had read in
the archives of St. Frideswide B. In another work he gives
rather fuller details, and speaks of the fugitives as " Danes
condemned to death h," as if he were referring to the massacre
of St. Brice's day in 1002, with which, indeed, the charter
ascribed to Ethelred, in the beginning of the Registrum
SanctcB Frideswide, connects the incident ; and although
this charter is rejected by Kemble and Freeman, it has been
suggested that Malmesbury, in the former passage, may
have mistaken the statement of which he had taken notes '.
In either case it is quite probable enough that Ethelred
should have become a benefactor to what the Charter makes
him describe as "rnyne owen mynster in Oxenford;" and
it was afterwards said that, in consequence of his enlarge-
ments, " sepulchrum quod ante fuerat in parte meridionali
medium ex tune esse contigit k." The canons of St. Frides-
wide were registered in Doomsday as holding of the King
lands which they had held in the time of King Edward :
which seems to dispose of the story that Edward had com-
pelled them to make way for monks, and that Harold II.
reinstated them \ The " Eegi strum," followed by Capgrave,
certainly says that after Ethelred's time and before the
Conquest, "a certain king" made over St. Frideswide's to
the Abbot of Abingdon, but that after some years the
canons regained their own. If such a transfer and restora-
tion took place, it was more probably after the compilation
« De Gest. Regum. h De Gest. Pontif.
1 James Parker, in History of Oxford, p. 24 ; he accepts the
Charter. k MS. Life.
1 Leonard Hutten, ap. Hearne's Textus Roffensis, p. 302.
Ipistorjr of % |JriorjT. 61
of Doomesday than before the Conquest m. All that we can
be sure of is, that, according to the account of the contem-
porary William of Malmesbury, " there were in his time
very few clerics " at St. Frideswide's, " and they lived as
they pleased," until " that place was given by Eoger, bishop
of Salisbury, to Guimond, a canon who was excellent as a
scholar, and not despicable as a monk n. Bishop Roger, of
whom the same writer tells us that " by asking, or buying,
or if need were by seizing," he had drawn many churches
into his grasp °, and who is known, from an extant deed, to
have exchanged a piece of land "near St. Frideswide's
church " with the Abbot of Abingdon, for some other pro-
perty p, was likely enough to have acquired rights over
the minster itself ; and he made a good use of them when,
most probably at Henry I.'s request q, he gave the church
to Guimond or Wimond, who was the King's chaplain,
an Augustinian canon regular, and a man of energy, of
zeal for learning, and, according to a story traditional at
St. Frideswide's, of some humour withal r. On taking
possession, in 1122s, he proceeded thereupon to establish
an Augustinian community in place of the secular canons,
and became first of a line of priors of " St. Frideswide's,
Oxon." It is by no means improbable that a monastic
school established by this " excellent scholar," as Malmes-
m Tanner (but with little probability) thinks it happened
twice,- before and after the Conquest (Notit. Mon.).
• De Gest. Pontif., p. 316. ° Historia Novella, 1. 2.
p Hist. Monast. Abingdon, ii. 76, Rolls Series.
q The Registrum, representing the wish to claim an actual
" royal founder," ascribes the grant to Henry I. Doubtless
he sanctioned it ; but Malmesbury, followed by Wendover
(Flores Hist. ii. 188), is explicit in ascribing it to Bishop
Roger.
r See it in Dugdale, Monast. ii. 135.
• The date 1122 is given in the Registrum, and is more pro-
bable than the earlier date given by Wendover.
62
bury describes him, became one of the first germs of the
University *. We are told that he held office for nineteen
years, Robert de Cricklade, or Camitus, succeeded him,
and was succeeded, some time before 1180, by Philip.
The confirmation of the privileges of the priory by
Adrian IV. (Nicholas Breakspear, the English Pope) was
addressed to Prior Robert. The various additions to the
church, and the history of its greatest treasure, the shrine
and relics of St. Frideswide, have been noticed at length in
Part I. The site of the priory was at last fixed upon by
Wolsey as a suitable one for the foundation of his new
college ; and accordingly, in the year 1522, Prior Burton was
induced to surrender the establishment into the hands of the
King, who transferred it to the Cardinal. A bull for its sup-
pression was obtained from Clement VIII. in April, 1524,
who issued further bulls, granting permission to Wolsey to
suppress about forty-two small religious houses, the revenues
of which were to be applied to the Cardinal's two colleges
at Ipswich and Oxford. Henry confirmed the foundation
of the latter college, July 13, 1525, and four days later the
foundation-stone was laid by John Longland, Bishop of Lin-
coln, who preached a Latin sermon in St. Frideswide's
church, from Proverbs ix. 1, " Sapientia aedificavit sibi
domum." The alterations commenced in the priory church,
and the destruction of part of its nave, in order to adapt it
for the purposes of the new establishment, which was dedi-
cated to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, St. Frideswide,
and All Saints, and styled " Collegium Thomas Wolsey Car-
dinalis Eboracensis," have already been described in Part I.
Wolsey's complete design embraced a society of one
hundred and eighty-six persons ; a small portion of whom,
including a dean and eighteen secular canons, were at once
settled in temporary lodgings. The new buildings rose
* Anstey, Introd. to Munimenta Academica, vol. i. p. xxxiv.,
Rolls Series.
63
slowly. Many hundred workmen, including artists of all
kinds, were employed on them. The works were stopped,
however, on Wolsey's attainder in 1529, and the foundation
fell into the King's hands by surrender (Henry being
scrupulously observant of forms in his most despotic acts)
made " in the Chapel," January 15, 1531. On July 8, 1532,
it was refounded by Henry himself, under the name of
King Henry VIII.'s College, but dedicated as before, and a
dean and twelve secular canons were placed in it. Ten
years later, in 1542, he formed a new diocese of Oxford, out
of part of the vast diocese of Lincoln, and fixed the seat of
the bishop at St. Mary's, Oseney ; but, in the spring of 1545,
he exacted a surrender from the newly-founded chapter, and
doomed their glorious church to piecemeal ruin. At the
same time he suppressed his own college by a like process ;
but as it was impossible to keep the diocese of Oxford
without a cathedral church, and scandalous to undo all that
had been done by his authority for the interests of learning
at St. Frideswide's, he determined to combine a college with
a cathedral, and accordingly, on November 4, 1546, the
church of St. Frideswide, which had been for nearly seven
years the chapel of " Cardinal College," and afterwards for
about thirteen years the chapel of " King Henry's College,"
became by letters patent the " cathedral church of Christ
in Oxford ;" the late dean of Oseney becoming dean, with
eight canons under him. Bishop King, who had from the
first been " Bishop of Oxford," did not make his home at
Christ Church, but at Gloucester Hall.
The first bishop of Oseney and of Oxford was —
[A.D. 1542 — 1557.] EGBERT KING, descended from an old
Devonshire family, which professed to trace itself upwards
to the stock of the kings of Wessex. Robert King had
been early admitted as a Cistercian monk at Rewley (Royal-
lieu), near Oxford. He afterwards became abbot, first of
Thame and then of Oseney; and 1535 was consecrated
suffragan of Lincoln, under the title of Bishop of Rheon,
64
in the province of Athens. In 1542 he became Bishop of
Oseney, and in 1545 Bishop of Oxford, as already men-
tioned. Little or nothing is known of his real character,
which may not necessarily have been unworthy one be-
cause, as Strype informs us, " he passed through all the
changes under King Henry, King Edward, and Queen
Mary ; " or because " when suffragan he preached at St.
Mary's in Stamford, where he most fiercely inveighed
against such as used the New Testament," whilst in Queen
Mary's reign he was "a persecutor of the Protestants."
He died in 1557, leaving a considerable personal estate to
his nephew, Philip King ; " which it seems," says Fuller,
" was quickly consumed, so that John King, Bishop of
London (son of Philip), used to say he believed there was
a fate in abbey money no less than abbey land, which
„ seldom proved fortunate, or of continuance to the owners V
For an example of this branch of the " ancient Devonshire
family," see the introduction and notes to Bishop Henry
King's " Poems and Psalms," edited by the Kev. J. Hannah.
London, 1843.
Not many of the successors of Bishop King in the see of
Oxford have been men of celebrity. The see remained
vacant for ten years after his death, when
[A.D. 1567 — Oct. 1568] HUGH CURWEN was translated to it.
He had been dean of Hereford and Queen Mary's Arch-
bishop of Dublin, and Chancellor of Ireland * ; but preferring,
u Church History.
x Curwen was a " moderate Papist," according to Fuller, who
explains the fact that " no person, of what quality soever, in all
Ireland, did suffer martyrdom " in Queen Mary's days, by the
following singular, and not very credible story : — " About the
third of the reign of Queen Mary, a pursuivant was sent with
a commission into Ireland to empower some eminent persons to
proceed with fire and faggot against poor Protestants. It hap-
pened, by Divine Providence, this pursuivant at Chester lodged
in the house of a Protestant inn-keeper, who having got some
inkling of the matter, secretly stole his commission out of his
UI mtb r£8. 65
according to Godwin, the " tranquillity and repose " of Ox-
ford, he procured his translation thither. In the following
year, " very decrepid, broken with old age and many state
affairs," says Fuller, he died at Swinbroke, near Burford,
and was interred in the parish church there.
For twenty years (1568—1589) the see of Oxford was
again vacant. Fuller asserts, what was probably the truth,
that " the cause that church was so long a widow, was the
want of a competent estate to prefer hery." Browne
Willis says of Elizabeth's arbitrary acts of spoliation,
"she took away the best of the estates, and kept the
bishoprick vacant forty-one years of her forty-nine years'
reign" (i. 417). At length
[A.D. 1589 — 1592} JOHN UNDERBILL, Kector of Lincoln College,
one of Queen Elizabeth's chaplains, and himself a native
of Oxford, was appointed to it, " being persuaded," writes
Browne Willis, " to accept it in the way of a better. But
it proved very much out of his way. For ere the first-fruits
were paid, he died in great discontent and poverty." He
was buried in the choir of his cathedral.
A vacancy of eleven years [1592 — 1604] again occurs,
[A.D. 1604 — 1618] JOHN BRIDGES, Prebendary of Winchester
and Dean of Salisbury, was appointed on the accession of
James I. A " competent estate," though by no means a
cloak-bag, and put the knave of clubs in the room thereof.
Some weeks after, he appeared before the Lords of the Privy
Council at Dublin (of whom Bishop Curwen a principal), and
produced a card for his pretended commission. They caused
him to be committed to prison for such an affront, as done
on design to deride them. Here he lay for some months, till
with much ado he got his enlargement. Then over he returned
to England, and quickly getting his commission renewed, makes
with all speed for Ireland again. But before his arrival there,
he was prevented with the news of Queen Mary's death ; and
so the lives of many, and the liberties of more poor servants of
God, were preserved." — Worthies — Westmoreland.
' Worthies— Oxfordshire.
VOL. II. PT. I. V
great one, had by this time been found for the support of
the see ; and the succession of bishops continues henceforth
unbroken.
[A.D. 1619, translated to Durham 1628.] JOHN HOWSON, stu-
dent and canon of Christ Church, was consecrated, says
Fuller, " on his birthday, in his climacterical, he then
entering upon the sixty-third year of his age." He was a
writer of considerable reputation ; his four sermons " against
the Pope's supremacy," "enjoyned on him by King James
(to clear his causeless aspersion of favouring Popery),
and never since replied unto by the Eomish party, have
made him famous to all posterity," according to Fuller.
He was one of the original members of Chelsea College,
founded by James I. for the defence of the Church of Eng-
land, and " to afford divines leisure and other conveniences
to spend their time wholly in controversy, and maintain
the Reformation against Papists and Dissenters." A provost
and seventeen fellows were established in it, besides two
historians, " who were to transmit the affairs of Church
and State to posterity*." The design, however, soon proved
an entire failure ; and the buildings and endowments were
afterwards appropriated to their present use — the support
and maintenance of superannuated soldiers. Bishop Howson
died in 1632.
[A.D. 1628, translated to Norwich in 1632.] RICHARD CORBET,
Dean of Christ Church. (See NORWICH CATHEDRAL.)
A.D. 1632—1641.] JOHN BANCROFT, Master of University
College, was the nephew of Richard Bancroft, Archbishop
of Canterbury. He recovered much land, which had been
alienated, for his college, and did much for his see, the
revenues of which were still but scanty. He obtained the
royalty of Shotover for it, and annexed to it in perpetuity
the vicarage of Cuddesdon, " where he built a fair palace
and a chapel, expending on both about three thousand five
« Collier, Church History, pt. ii. bk. 8.
Skinner 10 C0mptoir. 67
hundred pounds1." " Cujus munificentias " (said the Oxford
Orator to the King at Woodstock) " debemus, quod incerti
laris mitra, surrexerit e pulvere in palatium." The palace
was burnt during the civil war, but was afterwards rebuilt
by Bishop Fell, and was restored and enlarged by Bishop
Wilberforce. Bishop Bancroft was buried in the parish
church of Cuddesdon.
[A.D. 1 641, translated to Worcester 1663.] ROBERT SKINNER,
was translated to Oxford from the see of Bristol. Bishop
Skinner was imprisoned during the civil war, and expelled
from his see. He remained in obscurity until the Restora-
tion, when he was elevated to the see of Worcester. He
died in 1670 at the age of eighty, the last English Bishop
who had been consecrated before the Great Rebellion
[A.D. 1663—1665.] WILLIAM PAUL, Canon of Chichester and
Dean of Lichfield ; collected materials for the restoration
of his palace at Cuddesdon, but died before the work was
begun. He was buried at Baldwin Brightwell, in Oxford-
shire, where his monument remains.
[A.D. 1665, translated to Worcester 1671.] WALTER BLAND-
FORD, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, was consecrated
by the Bishops of London, Gloucester, and Exeter, in the
chapel of New College.
[A.D. 1671, translated to Durham 1674.] NATHANAEL CREWE,
Fellow of Lincoln and Dean of Chichester. For a full
notice of this bishop, who died in 1721, see DURHAM
CATHEDRAL.
[A.D. 1674, translated to London 1675.] HENRY COMPTON,
Canon of Christ Church, and Master of St. Cross, near
Winchester, was the youngest son of the second Earl of
Northampton, killed fighting on the side of the King at
Hopton Heath in 1643. As Bishop of London, King
Charles appointed him guardian of his nieces, the Princesses
Mary and Anne ; the marriage ceremony for both of whom
» Fuller, Worthies— Oxfordshire.
F 2
68 (Dsforfc Catljtteal.
was afterwards performed by Bishop Compton. During
the reign of Charles, Bishop Compton made himself con-
spicuous by his endeavours to reconcile the Protestant
Dissenters to the Church of England, and by his opposition
to Rome, — services which were remembered to his dis-
advantage on the accession of James. A pretext was soon
found for suspending him from the discharge of his episcopal
functions, to which he was not restored until September,
1688. The Bishop, however, at once joined the party of
the Prince of Orange ; and was the first, after William's
arrival in London, to sign the declaration which had been
set on foot at Exeter. He assisted at the coronation of
William and Mary ; and, until his death in 1713, laboured,
but without effect, to bring about the reconciliation of
Dissenters with the Church. Bishop Compton was one of
the ten Bishops to whom, in conjunction with twenty
Anglican divines, a revision of the Book of Common
Prayer was entrusted by William III. in 1689. This, it
need hardly be said, was never carried into execution".
[A.D. 1676—1686.] JOHN FELL, son of Samuel Fell, Dean of
Christ Church, was perhaps the best and most liberal pre-
late by whom the see of Oxford has till recent days been
filled ; and may almost be regarded as the second founder of
Christ Church. At the age of eleven he was placed on the
books of the college as student by his father ; and during
the siege of Oxford by the Parliamentarian troops, he served
with the Royalists, devoting himself to the cause of King
Charles with not less zeal than his father, who died, it is
said, of grief, at his parsonage at Sunningwell, on the same
day (Feb. 1) in which he heard the news of the King's
execution. The future bishop remained in seclusion until
the Restoration, when he was made Prebendary of Chiches-
ter and Canon of Christ Church, and in November, 1660,
succeeded as Dean. He immediately commenced the im->
b See the proposed alterations in " Procter's History of the
Book of Common Prayer," Appendix, Sect. I.
69
provement and decoration of his college, towards which he
contributed very considerable sums. His father, about
1640, had built the staircase leading to the hall, with its
very rich fan-tracery ; and had commenced the north side
of the great quadrangle. This was now completed, as was
the western gateway, the octagonal tower surmounting
which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. In 1680
the famous bell, Great Tom (still, 1880, the largest in
England, owing to the failure of the great bell at West-
minster), which had been brought from Oseney and hung
in the tower of the cathedral, was recast, and placed in this
octagon. Parts of the chaplains' quadrangle, and the
range of rooms looking towards the Long Walk, and known
as " Fell's buildings," were also the work of the Bishop.
Many of the best advowsons belonging to the college were
bought by him ; and by his will he established ten exhibi-
tions for undergraduate commoners. In order that he
might superintend the works in the college, he was per-
mitted to retain his deanery in commendam after his
elevation to the bishopric, in 1676. He rebuilt the palace
at Cuddesdon, for which the materials had been collected
by Bishop Paul. On his death in 1686, he was interred
in Christ Church Cathedral (which he had restored to order,
after the troubles of the Rebellion), where his monument
bears the following inscription, by Dean Aldrich : — " Desi-
deratissimi Patris pietatem non hoc saxum, sed hsec testen-
tur mcenia; munificentiam,hujus locicedificia ; liberalitatem,
alumni; quid in moribus potuit reformandis, hsec cedes;
quid in publicis curis sustentandis, Academia ; quid in
propaganda religione, Ecclesia; quam feliciter juventutem
erudierit, Procerum families ; quam prseclare de republica
meruit, tota Anglia ; quantum de bonis literis, universus
orbis literatus" This praise was far from being unmerited,
according to Antony Wood, who declares that Bishop Fell
was " the most zealous man of his time for the Church of
England ; a great encourager and promoter of learning in -
70
the University, and of all public works belonging there-
unto ; of great resolution and exemplary charity, of strict
integrity, a learned divine, and excellently skilled in the
Latin and Greek languages." He was a great patron of
Wood, whose " History and Antiquities of Oxford " was
translated into Latin at the charge of Bishop Fell, and
partly by the Bishop himself. His own most important
work is the " Life of Hammond," first printed in 1660.
[A.D. 1686 — 1687.] SAMUEL PARKER, a * chamaelion ' Church-
man, who is only distinguished for his share in James II.'s
attack on the liberties of Magdalen College. He was
educated " among the Puritans at Northampton," and
afterwards at Wadham and Trinity Colleges, Oxford, in the
latter of which he became alive, after the Restoration, to the
superior advantages of conformity. In 1663 he took Orders,
and was afterwards much patronised by Sheldon, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury. As a courtier, his servility procured
him the favour of James II., who in 1686 made him
Bishop of Oxford, and by a royal mandamus constituted
him President of Magdalen. (The well-known story of
this intrusion, which need not be detailed here, will be
found in Macaulay's " History of England," vol. ii., and in
Bloxam's " History of Magdalen College.") Bishop Parker
subsequently declared himself prepared to embrace Roman-
ism, and wrote in defence of transubstantiation. He never
openly abandoned the English Church, however, and died
at Magdalen College, March 20, 1687. He was buried in
the chapel.
[A.D. 1688 — 1690.] TIMOTHY HALL, an obscure person,
originally a Nonconformist, raised to the episcopate through
the influence of James II., in October, 1688, whilst the
Revolution was imminent. He died " miserably poor," in
April of the following year.
[A.D. 1690, translated to Lichfield 1699.] JOHN HOUGH, the
President of Magdalen, chosen by the Fellows of his Col-
lege in opposition to the wishes of the King, who had
71
nominated to the presidency, first Antony Farmer, and
then Bishop Parker. Hough was in consequence expelled,
together with twenty-five of the Fellows. From Lichfield
he was translated to Worcester in 1717. He died in 1743.
(See WORCESTER.)
[A.D. 1699, translated to Salisbury in 1715.] WILLIAM TALBOT,
Dean of Worcester. In 1721 he was translated to Dur-
ham, and died 1730.
[A.D. 1715, translated to Canterbury, 1737.] JOHN POTTER.
He died 1747. (See CANTERBURY.)
[A.D. 1737, translated to Canterbury 1758.] THOMAS SECKER ;
was translated to Oxford from Bristol. He died 1768.
(See CANTERBURY.)
[A.D. 1758, translated to Salisbury 1766.] JOHN HUME, like
his predecessor, had been consecrated to the see of Bristol.
He died 1782.
[A.D. 1766, translated to London 1777.] ROBERT LOWTH,
translated to Oxford from St. David's, to which he had been
consecrated in the same year, 1766.
[A.D. 1777, translated to Hereford 1788.] JOHN BUTLER,
died 1802.
[A.D. 1788—1799.] EDWARD SMALLWELL, translated from
St. David's.
[A.D. 1799, translated to Bangor 1807, and thence to London
1809.] JOHN RANDOLPH, died 1813.
[A.D. 1807—1811.] CHARLES Moss.
[A.D. 1812—1815.] WILLIAM JACKSON.
[A.D. 1816—1827.] EDWARD LEGGE.
[A.D. 1827 — 1829.] CHARLES LLOYD.
[A.D. 1829, translated to Bath and Wells 1845 ; died 1854.]
RICHARD BAGOT.
[A.D. 1845 — 1870.] SAMUEL WILBERFORCE, translated to Win-
chester 1870 ; died 1873.
[A.D. 1870.] JOHN FIELDER MACKARNESS.
PETERBOEOUGH CATHEDRAL.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
History, I.-1 1 77-78
Gate-house, III 79
West Front, IV. -VI 79-84
Western Porch, V 83-84
Western Transept, VII 85-87
Nave, VIII 87-91
Ceiling, IX 92-93
Nave Aisles, X 93-94
Scarlett's Picture, XI 94
Central Tower, XII 94-96
Transepts, XTII.-XIV 96-100
Treatment by Cromwell's Troops, XV 100-101
Choir, XVI 101-105
South Choir-aisle, XVII 105-107
New Building, XVIII 107-109
Monuments, XIX.-XX 110-114
North Choir-aisle, XXI 114-115
Exterior, XXIL-XXIII 115-118
Cloister, Refectory, Infirmary, XX IV 118-120
Abbot's Gate-house, Bishop's Palace, Deanery,
Toot Hill, XXV 120-123
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL,
THE ABBOT'S GATE-HOUSE. NOW THE GATEWAY OF THE
BISHOP'S PALACE
A Portico, or West Front.
B Western Transept.
C Nave.
D Principal Transept,
E Choir.
F betrochoir, or "New Build-
ing."
G Music-School.
* *
«• +
* *
* c *
* *
* «•
* +
• «.0l»T«ft«
1, 2. Closed Doors formerly opertiny into the Lady-chapel.
§. Monument of Abbot Andrew.
4, 5, 6. Effigies of Abbots.
7. Monument, Kaid to be that of Abbot Hedd<i and his Monk!.
8. Monument of Thomas Deacon.
9. Effigy of an Abbot.
10. Stone marking the original tomb oj Mary Queen of Scoto.
11. Tomb of Queen Catherine.
12. Early English Capitals of wood removed from the Choir.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL
2cale. iQO ft. to I in.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL'.
PAET I.
ist0rg
I. THE Cathedral of Peterborough was the conventual
church of one of the most important Benedictine abbeys
in England, founded towards the middle of the seventh
century by Peada, the first Christian King of Mercia.
On the dissolution the church was spared, owing, it is
said, to its containing the remains of Queen Catherine
of Arragon. It became the cathedral of the new dio-
cese, which embraced the counties of Northampton and
Rutland. (See Part II. for a full history of these
changes.) John Chambers, the last abbot, was created
the first Bishop of Peterborough.
II. The dates and architectural character of the
principal portions of the cathedral are as follows : —
Choir and eastern aisles of transept (1118 — 1133, Ab-
abbots John of Seez and Martin of Bee), early Norman.
Transept, and probably a small portion of the nave
* It is proper to acknowledge the great use which has been
made in the following account of Mr. Paley's " Remarks on the
Architecture of Peterborough Cathedral." London, George
Bell, 1869.
78 |jeierb0r,ottjglj
(1155—1177, Abbot William of Waterville), middle
Norman.
Nam (1177 — 1193, Abbot Benedict), late Norman.
Western transept (also, in all probability, part of Abbot
Benedict's work), transition Norman.
West front and remains of the Lady-chapel, Early
English.
Eastern aisle, or New building (begun 1488, completed
1496—1528, Abbots Ashton and Kirton), Perpen-
dicular.
From the apse of the choir to the west front, there-
fore, the cathedral affords an excellent example of the
gradual changes in style from early Norman to fully
developed Early English ; whilst the Perpendicular
work of the " New building " is of scarcely less value.
Peterborough takes the highest place among English
cathedrals of the second class, if it may not justly
claim a place among those of the first class. It
certainly possesses one unique feature, — the grand
triple-arched portico of its west front. The entire
church is built of Barnack stone, — a close-grained
and most durable freestone from the quarries near
Stamford, known as the " hills and holes of Barnack,"
which had been worked from a very early period, and
to which Northamptonshire is indebted for the ma-
terials of the many fine churches which distinguished
the countyb.
b These quarries became exhausted before the fifteenth cen-
tury; for in Barnack Church itself, the alterations of that
period are in a different stone, and not in the old Barnack
stone of which the rest of the church is built.
«afc-&<rosr. 79
III. Before entering the Close, the visitor should
place himself in front of the singularly picturesque
market-house, and remark the view of the west front
and the western gateway of the abbey precincts, rising
just as they did six hundred years ago above the old
' burgh ' or town, which gradually sprang up under the
protection of the Benedictines. The buildings group
well, although it is to be regretted that no good un-
impeded view of the cathedral is to be obtained at
this distance.
The western gate-house was originally the work of
ABBOT BENEDICT (1177 — 1193), under whom the nave
of the cathedral was erected. The Norman vault of the
gateway is groined with cross-ribs carrying a roll-
moulding similar to the vaulting of the aisles ; and a
Norman arcade remains on either side, one of the
arches of which, north and south, is larger than the
rest, and is pierced for a door. The west front has
been faced with Decorated work. A fine pointed
arch framing the Norman arch behind, and a Per-
pendicular story above the gate has taken the place of
Benedict's chapel of St. Nicholas. The window above
the arch on the east side was part of a shrine, the
rest of which remains in the cathedral0.
IV. It was at this gateway of "Peterborough the
Proud," as the abbey was popularly called, that all
visitors, of whatever rank, put off their shoes before
e A plate in Bridges' " Northamptonshire " shews the east
front of this gate with an additional story, both being arcaded,
and with octagonal corner turrets.
80
entering the holy precincts; a pilgrimage to which,
in certain cases, was regarded as equivalent to a
visit to Rome. As he passes beneath the arch, a most
striking view of the west front of the cathedral breaks
upon the visitor. On the left is the chancel of Becket's
chapel, founded by Abbot Benedict, and now forming
a part of the Grammar-school. On the right hand is
the ancient gateway of the abbot's, lodgings, now that
of the episcopal palace (§ xxv.), and in front, across
an open space of greensward, rise the three great
arches of the west front, or, strictly speaking, the
gigantic west porch, for the two piers are entirely
detached, and stand several feet in advance of the
actual wall of the west front.
This porch, which is of the purest Early English
architecture, dates, in all probability, between the
years 1200 and 1222, during which period Acharius
and Robert of Lindsey were abbots. It is remarkable
that neither of the local chroniclers has recorded the
building of it, nor that of the western transept behind
it. The work, however, "seems about coeval with
the chapter-house at Lincoln, and the west porch at
Ely, both of which were built shortly after 1200, and
have very florid and elaborate details." ..." The
fineness of the masonry, and the close jointing of the
deeply-moulded arch-stones, are unsurpassed by any-
thing of this period in the kingdom3."
The front [Plate I.] consists of three enormous
d F. A. Paley, " Kemarks on the Architecture of Peterborough
Cathedral," p. 33.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE I.
THE WEST FRO^T.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
ONE OF THE CIRCULAR WINDOWS O7 THE WESTERN G-ABI
tfftesi <f«rat. 81
arches, eighty-one feet in height, that in the centre
being narrower than the other two. The arches are
supported by triangular piers, entirely and boldly
detached from the west wall. They are faced with
banded shafts; and beyond them, north and south,
rises a square turret, capped with a spire and pin-
nacles. The arches themselves support gables, much
enriched with arcades and niches, and having in
each a circular or 'rose* window. [Plate II.] A
turret, terminating in a small spire, rises between
the gables. The work of arches, gables, and turrets
is entirely Early English; but the spires and pin-
nacles which terminate the flanking turrets are late
Decorated additions. Those of the north turret are
much the plainer. The height of the southern spire,
which is the loftier, is 156 feet ; the width of the west
front being exactly the same.
All the details of this front deserve the most careful
examination. The capitals and leaf-ornaments of the
shafts which line the piers, as well as the mouldings
of the arches themselves, are of pure Early English
character, and very graceful. The manner in which
a clustered shaft ascends in front of the piers and
between the arches, and terminates below the square
basement supporting the turrets between the gables,
should especially be noticed. These turrets are
octangular, and in two stages ; the upper of which is
pierced by narrow lights, bordered by a chevron
moulding. The spires which cap them rise slightly
above the gables. The gables themselves are of
VOL. II. PT. I. G
82
equal height and width. The very ingenious manner
in which they are made to correspond, in spite of the
inequality of the three great arches below them, will
be seen at once by a comparison of their bases. On
each gable is an open cross, that in the centre being
the richest. In a niche in the central gable is a
mitred figure of St. Peter with the keys. In the cor-
responding niches north and south are those of St. Paul
and St. Andrew ; the church having been dedicated to
these three saints by the bishops of Lincoln and Exeter
(Grostete and Brewere) in 1237, when the west front
must have been recently completed e. In the niches
on either side of the circular windows are six small
figures, said to be those of the six kings of England
from the Conquest to the time of the erection of the
front. Below, and placed in a most graceful arcade
at the base of each gable, are nine figures of apostles,
each of which has a circular nimbus. Figures of
saints and ecclesiastics, which can no longer be iden-
tified, are placed in the spandrils of the great arches.
The flanking turrets are enriched with blank arcades,
of varying size and details. The spire and pinnacles
which crown the south turret are Decorated (circ. 1360),
e This consecration took place most probably in obedience to
a decree of the Council of London (convened in the same year,
1237, by the Cardinal Otho, Legate of Pope Gregory IX.), which
ordered that all churches and cathedrals, " not having been con-
secrated with holy oil, though built of old," should be solemnly
dedicated within two years. This consecration in obedience to
a general order, is of course no evidence as to the date of the
completion of the building ; a remark which applies to many
other churches consecrated at this period.
$0rc|j of lilest Jtcmt. 83
and of extreme beauty. Those of the north turret are
of less elaborate and much inferior design.
V. Between the central piers of the front, -rising to
about half their height and slightly projecting beyond
them, is a parvise, or porch with an upper chamber, of
late Decorated character, and apparently added about
1370. The porch is much enriched, and is in itself
a fine composition. It decidedly interferes with the
symmetry of the front ; but its insertion seems to have
been rather a question of necessity than of taste. It
was probably erected " as an abutment against the west
front, which, by a bulging outwards of the pillars or
a settlement of the foundations, was falling forward
toward the west. It was, in fact, overweighted by
the stone spires and pinnacles of the flanking towers,
which those structures, having no proper buttresses,
were ill adapted to bear. . . . The construction of
this elegant little edifice is extremely scientific, espe-
cially in the manner in which 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 forward. . . . The latter
pressure is thrown wholly upon the buttresses in
front, which project seven feet beyond the base of the
great pillars V
The bosses on the vault of the porch should be
f F. A. Paley.
G 2
84
noticed. On one of them is an unusual representation
of the Trinity — the Father exhibiting the wounded hand
of the Son, with the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.
The room above now serves as the Chapter library.
The collection, which was mainly formed by Bishop
Kennet and his registrar the Rev. Joseph Sparke, con-
tains some valuable examples of early printed books.
VI. The west wall of the church, within the great
arches, is enriched with arcades. In the opening of
each arch is a doorway with a window above it, the
latter being very late Decorated or Early Perpen-
dicular insertions. The doorways are unusually
fine. That in the centre is divided into two arches
by a shaft, the base displaying a Benedictine tortured
by demons— a perpetual " sermon in stone " for the
monks. The wooden doors themselves are original,
as is shown by the dog's-tooth moulding on the in-
terior framework, and the Early English capital in the
centre. [Plate III.] An Early English vaulted roof
connects the fa§ade with the west wall of the church.
"As a portico," says Mr. Fergusson, "using the
term in its classical sense, the west front of Peter-
borough is the grandest and finest in Europe ; though
wanting in the accompaniments which would enable it
to rival some of the great fa9ades of Continental cathe-
dralsg." There is no similar arrangement on an im-
portant scale in England, although on the Continent
it is not uncommon, as at Amiens and Chartres h. No-
* Handbook of Architecture, p. 869.
h The large and lofty arches in the (Norman) west front of
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE III. '
WOODEN CAPITALS.
ON THE INSIDE OF THE GREAT WEST DOOR.
IN THK EASTERN AISLE OF THE NORTH TRANSEPT.
85
where is the triple entrance to the sanctuary — typical,
it is usually considered, of the Holy Trinity — grander,
or more emphatically marked. The effects of light
and shade produced by the great piers and arches of
this " majestick front of columel-work," as Fuller calls
it, are wonderful. The upper portion of the space
within them is generally in deep shadow, even at sunset,
when the rest of the front is glowing with rosy light :
this moment should be watched for by the visitor, —
and the effect of a full moon is still more impressive.
One arch of the front, which had fallen from the havoc
of the Parliamentary soldiers in 1643, was rebuilt
by Bishop Laney, and the entire front was repaired
and restored before 1830, by Dr. Monk, then Dean of
Peterborough, afterwards Bishop of Gloucester.
VII. On entering the cathedral we find ourselves in
the west transept, extending across the nave, and pro-
jecting one bay beyond the aisle on either side. This
transept was an addition to the Norman nave during
the period of the great transition of styles, and, like
the nave itself, was probably the work of Abbot
BENEDICT (1177—1193; see § VIIL). The naves of
Lincoln may possibly have given the original idea to the archi-
tect of Peterborough. " I confess that to my eye it has always
appeared as a glorious conception, though one not often to be
repeated. Had its flanking towers been completed in the same
style, the two great towers which backed it up completed with
their spires, and the odd little chapel which has been thrust
into its central arch been omitted, I know few points to which it
would yield in grandeur, and none in originality," — Sir G. G.
Scott, Lectures on Medixval Architecture, vol. i. p. 191.
86
the neighbouring cathedrals of Ely and Lincoln ter-
minate in a similar manner; but the west transept
of Ely is probably earlier (1174—1189), and that of
Lincoln later (1209—1220) than the west transept
of Peterborough. The vaulting and arch-mouldings
are of transition Norman character, and much en-
riched. Two lofty well proportioned arches on either
side support towers, of which, except one stage of the
north tower, no portion above the roofs has been com-
pleted. The tall transomed windows of three lights
at the north and south ends of this transept, beyond
the towers, deserve careful examination. The eastern
jambs will be found to be Norman, the western Early
English. The tracery is Decorated, with hanging
trefoil cusps below the transoms. In the eastern and
western walls are lancets, filled with Perpendicular
tracery. The Norman clerestory windows above are
filled with Perpendicular tracery. The intersecting
Norman arcade of the nave aisles was continued round
the east walls and north and south ends of this transept,
but has been most unhappily chiselled away. The
bases remain on both sides, and the shadowy form of
the arcade may still be traced on the walls. The
western wall is proved to have been a somewhat later
addition by the Early English arcade, pierced for three
doorways, which runs along it1. Above each door-
way is a window with Perpendicular tracery. A
wall-passage runs through their jambs.
1 This question is fully discussed in Mr. Paley's pamphlet,
p. 29.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLAT
THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END.
87
The bells, which hang in the north-west tower, are
rung from the floor. The restored Early English
font is placed under the great south window. In the
south wall is a lovely little Decorated piscina. The
view up the nave-aisles, with their long perspective of
circular vaulting-ribs, is very striking.
VIII. The nave [Plate IV.J is throughout Norman,
the work of Abbots WATEEVILLE and BENEDICT (1155
— 1193), and a continuation of the choir, which was
completed in 1133. Peterborough is one of three Nor-
man cathedrals, the other two being Ely and Norwich,
which are separated by no great distances, and may
be advantageously compared. Of these the earliest is
Norwich (1091 — 1119), the original design of which
has been least interfered with, and which still affords
the most perfect example of an early Norman church
remaining in England. The nave of Ely, completed in
1174, is nearly contemporary with that of Peterborough,
which it greatly resembles. Peterborough, however, re-
tains its Norman choir and apse ; and its ground-plan is
only second in interest to that of Norwich. The dimen-
sions of the actual nave exceed those of either Ely or
Norwich : —
Peterborough, Ely, Norwich,
f (from west, transept to (from western
Length of nave< western piers of ceil- transept to (to the choir screen.
( tral tower.) octagon.)
211 ft. 203. 200.
Width of nave ) ,. 28
(without aisles). $ J "• 34>
Height. 81 ft. 72-9. 72.
The choir of Norwich, however, as was the case at
Peterborough before the alterations of 1830, is ex-
tended into the nave, which measures 250 ft. to the
central tower ; and at Ely the grandeur of the later
additions, the great west tower and the octagon, pro-
duces an effect to which Peterborough offers no parallel.
At Peterborough, however, the design has been less
subjected to alteration than in the other two, and it
may be pronounced to exhibit the finest Norman
interior in England. The view eastward at Peter-
borough is intercepted by the organ, which is placed
over the choir- screen : the windows of the Norman
apse, however, are seen beyond it; and the wooden
ceiling of the nave, which is probably the original
one, gives an especial interest to the interior of this
cathedral.
The nave, which consists of ten bays, has massive
cylindrical piers, with smaller shafts set against them,
and well moulded circular arches k. The triforium,
which closely resembles that of Ely, has a wide semi-
circular arch, with zigzag moulding, embracing two
smaller ones, divided by a single shaft. The clerestory
above has three semicircular arches (of which that in
the centre, higher than the rest, springs from slender
shafts, set on the capitals of those below), circumscribed
by a pointed hood-moulding. The nave, "from the
tower to the west front," is expressly said by the
k The third pier, counting from the east, however, and that
in the second bay from the west end, have nook-shafts set
in angular recesses against the body of the masonry. The
original plan may have been that they should have ranged
alternately with the cylindrical, as at Ely. This may have
been changed by Benedict.
89
chroniclers of Peterborough to have been the work of
Abbot BENEDICT (1177—1193). It has been suggested,
however, that his predecessor, Abbot WATERVILLE, who
built the central tower, must necessarily, in order to its
safety, have completed some portion of the nave. Mr.
Paley has accordingly pointed out some differences
which may mark the point of junction between his
work and Benedict's. In the third bay from the
west, the central column of the triforium arch, "as
well as that of the clerestory above it, has its capitals
enriched with Early English foliage in place of the
plain cushion-capital which is elsewhere seen1. This
seems to mark that the Norman work of
Benedict is assimilated, or imitative, i.e. built in con-
formity with the rest in a style then becoming obso-
lete m." Beginning with the fifth pier from the west
on the north side, the mouldings of the bases of the
piers onwards to the west end are Early English,
the rest being plain Norman. On the south side
this change is made on the west side of the second
pier from the west end. In the two easternmost
bays, on each side, the tympana of the triforium are
hatched, like those of the transepts, whilst all the
rest are plain. The courses of stone in the first
four piers on each side vary from twenty to twenty-
four; those westward, from twenty-five to twenty-
seven courses (counted from base to capital exclu-
1 This change is also to be seen in the jamb shafts of the
triforium in the eighth and ninth bays from the west.
m Paley, p. 19.
90
sively). The hood-mould of the two eastern arches
is deeper than the rest ; the capitals of the shafts
plainer and heavier. The distinction in this direction
appears to be sufficiently marked. A more evident
change at the west end, first pointed out by Mr. Paley,
is thought by him to indicate the termination of
Abbot Benedict's work in that direction. " The third
pillar from the west end on each side is considerably
larger and wider than any others" — being really a
piece of walling rather than a pier — " and it also pro-
jects further into the aisles. The arch also, springing
from its 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 instead of
being a mere groin-rib, like the rest, is a strong
moulded arch, of considerable depth in the soffete.
What appears at first sight still more strange, the
wall of the aisle opposite to the wider nave-arch just
mentioned is brought forward at least a foot in-
ternally, 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 n."
These peculiarities shew that at this point two Norman
towers were originally planned. "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, the
n Paley, p. 12.
91
tower wall" In the south triforium gallery, also, there
is the springing of a transverse arch at this point, evi-
dently the eastern arch of a south-west tower, intended
to have been erected there. There is, however, no
satisfactory reason for believing these towers to mark
the western termination of Abbot Benedict's work.
The Chroniclers, Robert Swaffham and Abbot John,
(the former of whom was for some years contemporary
with Benedict himself), assert expressly that the nave
("a turre usque ad frontem") was constructed by
Benedict. The present Early English portico was in
existence when they wrote, so that their ' front ' can
be no other than the western wall of the west transept.
Benedict's original design seems in fact to have been
changed during the progress of the work. The towers
were abandoned, and two more bays were added to
the nave, besides the western transept. This was
also an afterthought, and is entirely of transitional
character, distinct from that of the nave, with the
exception of the one capital and of the bases before
mentioned, which agree in style with this transept,
and the two additional west bays, which approach to
it. The capitals of the triforium-shafts and of the
main piers in these two bays are worthy of special
notice.
The bases of the piers shew that the south side of
the nave was built before the north side, to complete
the cloister area0.
0 The Rev. G. A. Poole, in a most valuable paper — " On the
Abbey Church of Peterborough "—read before the Architectural
92
IX. A single shaft rises from the floor to the roof
between the bays of the nave. These shafts formerly
supported the rafters of the painted ceiling. When
the tower-arches were changed from round to pointed,
this remarkable ceiling, which is clearly of the
twelfth century, was raised from a flat form to its
present shape, flat with sloped sides [Plate Y.]
It is painted in lozenge-shaped divisions, of .which
the central and alternate lines on each side contain
figures, most of which are seated and represent royal
and ecclesiastical personages intermixed with very
curious grotesques. These are in colours. The
bordering and smaller lozenges are painted in black
and white, with narrow red lines. The painting on
the upper part of the western and eastern walls,
between the present ceiling and the Norman cornice
on which it originally rested, is work of the fourteenth
century, when the tower arches were altered and
the Norman ceiling was raised to fit them. On
the western wall there are shields of arms of the
fourteenth century, and the character of the painting
is quite distinct from that of the ceiling itself. The
semicircular shafts which separate the bays of the
nave (commonly called vaulting-shafts), are all ter-
minated in the same manner, sloped off at the top
to the Norman string-moulding, which forms a
Society of Northampton, in 1855 (and printed in their Transac-
tions), maintains that Benedict was the builder of the entire
nave and western transept, in accordance with the statements
of the chroniclers. Mr. Paley's view will be found in his " Ke-
marks on the Architecture of Peterborough Cathedral."
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL. PLATE V.
PORTION OF THE PAINTED CEILING OF THE NAVE.
Cnling of $afe. 93
cornice ; and on each shaft is a sort of tongue, evi-
dently part of the original design, so that they
never had, nor were intended to have, capitals;
nor is there any trace of capitals in the walls above
the ceiling, as has been rashly asserted; the side-
walls are in fact not high enough above the ceiling to
admit of them. The original design was evidently
intended for a flat painted ceiling, such as was the
usual covering of an early Norman nave, and indeed
of any wide central space, whether nave, or chancel,
or transepts. Examples of this form of ceiling, though
of much later date, may be seen at St. Alban's and
Eomsey Abbey. It has been reproduced by Mr.
Burges with good effect at Waltham Abbey. On the
Continent there are many examples of flat ceilings of
the twelfth century, although we are not aware that
any have retained their ancient painting. This re-
markably interesting ceiling may therefore be unique.
X. The vaulting of the side aisles is Norman, with
bold and massive cross-ribs carrying a bowtel. An
arcade of intersecting arches runs below the windows,
which are Early Decorated insertions. They are un-
usual in form, of five lights, under a segmental arch,
the lights running up the head of the arch with in-
cipient tracery, late in the thirteenth century. The
triforium is now lighted by large Decorated windows
(circ. 1360), of three lights. It had originally a steep
roof, sloping outward.
In the third bay (from the west) of the south aisle,
is the "Abbot's door," — an Early English doorway
94 Jjtterfiflfimjff CstfcebraL
opening into the western walk of the ancient cloister,
and corresponding with another door in the south
cloister which was that of the Refectory (XXIV.).
In the ninth bay is another door which opened into
the eastern walk, corresponding with the entrance to
the ambulatory which led to the Infirmary. This
door is a Norman one, of three orders, and much
enriched.
XI. On the north side of the great west door hangs
a portrait of " Old Scarlett," the sexton who interred
Catherine of Arragon and Queen Mary of Scotland,
and who died in 1594, aged ninety-eight. The arms
above are those, of the see of Peterborough. The in-
scription runs, —
" You see old Scarleit's picture stand on hie,
But at your feete here doth his body lye.
His gravestone doth his age and death time show,
His office by thes tokens you may know.
Second to none for strenth and sturdye limm,
A Scarebabe mighty voice with visage grim.
Hee had interd two Queenes within this place
And this townes Householders in his lives space
Twice over ; But at length his own turn came ;
"What hee for others did for him the same
Was done : No doubt his soule doth live for aye
Iii heaven : Tho here his body clad in clay."
The portrait is curious as an example of costume,
but is scarcely a fitting ornament for the nave of a
cathedral.
XII. The central tower, at the intersection of the
nave and eastern transept, was originally built by
Abbot WATERVILLE (1135—1177), and formed a lantern
Central £jote. 95
of three stages p, beneath which was placed the choir
of the monks, which extended three bays into the
nave. It subsequently proved, however, too heavy for
the central piers to support ; and in order to prevent
the fall of the tower (which had actually taken place at
Ely and Winchester), it was taken down nearly as far
as the crowns of the great arches. The east and west
arches were altered from semicircular to pointed ; the
Norman arches, north and south (which have chevron
mouldings) remain. " The pointed hoods inserted above
the two round arches mark real arches of construction,
devised to remove the weight from the crowns of the
latter. The strong courses of masonry for this pur-
pose may be seen from below when the sun shines
brightly on the walls q." The Norman pillars and
capitals remain, but have been adapted to the new
work. The upper portion and capital of the north-
east pier are Decorated. The lantern is Decorated
(circ. 1340?), with two lofty windows on each side,
filled with Decorated tracery. Graceful vaulting-shafts
of wood, in groups of three, carry the lierne roof, in
the central boss of which is the Saviour holding a globe.
The wooden vaulting, as well as the lightness of the
entire lantern, were no doubt rendered necessary from
the mischief which the weight of the Norman tower
had already caused to the south-east pier, which is much
p Mr. Paley suggests that the type of this tower still exists,
in the fine central tower at Castor, four miles from Peter-
borough.
" F. A. Palov.
96
crippled, and bound with iron. The great pillars on
the east side have, in fact, " settled very considerably
on their foundations, dragging down their adjoining tri-
forium and clerestory arches in a remarkable manner."
Against the north-east pier of the lantern has been
erected, from the designs of the late Mr. Edward
BARRY, a very ornate pulpit in memory of the late
Dr. James (died 1878), by the members of his
family. It is of red Mansfield stone, supported on
polished marble columns, and is much too large
and self-asserting for its situation. An oaken eagle
lectern stands in the centre.
XIII. The eastern side of both transepts, as has
been already stated, belong, like the choir, to the
earliest part of the church, built by Abbots JOHN OP
SEEZ and MARTIN OF BEO (1118—1133). The rest
of the transepts is the work of Abbot WATERVILLE
(1155 — 1177). The arrangement of both transepts is
the same. Each consists of three bays. The termina-
tion of each, north and south, is alike ; both having
three tiers of semicircular-headed windows (the two
upper in the lines of the triforium and clerestory),
with a wall-arcade below the lowest tier. A curious
bas-relief of very early date, representing two figures
between palm-trees (?), inserted in the west wall of
the south transept deserves notice. The western wall
of both transepts has the same arrangement of windows,
except that the clerestory tier resembles that of the
nave in having a high central light with a lower arch
(forming an arcade passage) on either side. From some
transepts. 97
indications, — such as that the lowest tier of windows
have the billet-moulding above them, and that the
windows show some differences on the two opposite
sides in their splaying, and other marks — Mr. Paley
infers that the work of the transepts was commenced
on the south side, where it was at first executed in
imitation of the older work of the choir and eastern
transept-aisles, and completed on the north side in
rather a plainer manner. The windows throughout
the transepts (except those in the eastern aisles) are
filled with Perpendicular tracery. Those at each
end of the transepts have been partially filled with
modern painted glass by Messrs. HEATON AND BUTLEK,
and GIBBS, which, though it cannot be highly com-
mended, is of great value in subduing the light
which formerly flooded the church.
The eastern aisles are divided from the transept by
massive piers, alternately round and octangular, sup-
porting arches which are slightly stilted. They have
plain cushioned capitals. A billet-moulding surrounds
each arch, which has a moulded rib in the soffete. The
triforium above resembles that in the nave, and has
some of the tympana partially hatched. The clerestory
is the same as on the west side : vaulting-shafts rise to
the roof between the arches : a chevroned stringcourse
runs at the foot of the triforium ; a plain moulding
above it. The ' heaviness ' of the masses, and the style
of ornamentation (the billet, chevron, and indented or
hatched moulding are alone used), sufficiently indicate
the early date of these aisles which precisely resemble
VOL. II. PT. I. H
98
the choir in all their details. " It seems to be one
continuous piece of work throughout." The difference
between this portion and the rest of the transept will
be at once recognised by comparing the mouldings of
the entrance arches of the choir-aisles with those into
the nave-aisles opposite.
The ceilings of both transepts are of the same date
as that of the nave, which they resemble except in
being plainer: they are painted black and white, in
lozenges. Unlike the nave ceiling, however, these of
the transepts remain in their original position, and
have never been raised. They may therefore lay
claim to a yet higher antiquity.
XIV. The eastern aisle of the north transept is
divided from the transept itself by oaken screen-work,
of Perpendicular date, but of no very high interest.
It contained originally the chapels of St. John and
St. James. Some stalls and canopies removed from
the choir are placed against the north wall, among
which three Early English shafts with gilt capitals
supporting Jacobean canopies should especially be
noticed [Plate III.]. In Compton Church, Surrey, are
some small wooden arches of the same date, which
may be compared. The east wall below the windows
is hung with tapestry of the sixteenth century, — relics
in all probability of hangings which formerly adorned
the choir, — representing the delivery of St. Peter from
prison, and the healing of the lame man at the gate of
the Temple. The windows of this aisle are filled with
Perpendicular tracery, — except that nearest to the
99
choir, wliicli is Geometrical. A Norman doorway in
the north wall opens to a staircase leading to the
roof. The two closed arches in the northern and
central bays on the east side, now containing very
late Perpendicular windows, formed the entrance to
a very beautiful Lady-chapel of the Early English
period (1274), which after the Restoration was de-
molished for the sake of the materials, in order to
repair the great damage which the cathedral had
received from Cromwell's troopers r.
The east aisle of the south transept has three
Geometrical three-light windows, of the same design
as the single one in the opposite transept, the tracery
consisting of foliated circles only. This aisle was
divided into three chapels, dedicated to St. Oswald,
St. Benedict, and St. Kyneburga, by stone partitions
' This Lady-chapel must have been a magnificent structure,
rivalling that of Ely, which is in the same situation. The lower
part of the weather-moulding of the gable of the roof can be seen
against the outer wall of this transept, and shews that the chapel
was considerably higher than this side wall. A fragment of its
external doorway is built into the buttress at the north-eastern
corner. The southern bay of the aisle of the transept on the
east side has an early Decorated window, like those in the
south transept aisle, which shews the pattern of those of the
Lady-chapel. There was the width of one bay between the
Lady-chapel and the north aisle of the choir, and a groined
chantry chapel was erected in the eastern part of this space in
the fifteenth century, of which there are traces in the aisle wall.
The piscina still exists. Towards the west there was a ves-
tibule to the Lady-chapel, of which the Decorated arches, now
built up, remain in the wall of the first and second bay.
Above the chantry was a female recluse's cell, with a squint
commanding a view of the altar of the Lady-chapel.
H 2
100
of the same date as the aisle itself, one of which has
an interesting Norman arcade. Brackets and aumbries
belonging to the altars remain in the walls. Similar
divisions for chapels exist in the transepts of Ely
and Lincoln Cathedrals.
A Decorated doorway in the west wall of this tran-
sept opens to a quinquipartite vaulted aisle, of tran-
sition Norman character, now used as the choristers'
music school. It was anciently known as the " Chapel
of the Ostrie," — a corruption, according to Mr. Paley,
of ' hostelry ' or guest-house, but certainly a misnomer.
It was probably the sacristy, as at Ely.
XV. Though some has been erected in the last few
years, the cathedral still suffers from the want of
stained glass — always of great service in increasing
the effect of Norman architecture. It was richly
furnished in this respect, and retained the greater part
of its ancient fittings until long after the Reformation ;
but in 1643 Peterborough was visited by Cromwell
himself, on his way to besiege Crowland ; and it is pro-
bable that no English cathedral was more completely
" set to rights," or underwent more wanton destruction
at the hands of the Parliamentarian troopers. In spite
of special orders to " do no injury to the church," they
broke open its doors, and proceeded to shatter the win-
dows, to pull down the fittings of the choir, to destroy
the organ and the monuments, including those of the
two queens, Catherine and Mary, and to break in pieces
the superb reredos of carved stone, painted, gilt, and
inlaid with plates of silver. The narrative in the
Cljoir. 101
Mercurius Rusticus asserts, that " one of tlie soldiers
having charged his musket to shatter down the four
Evangelists, in the roof, above the Communion-table,
by the rebound of his own shot was struck blind."
The cloisters were then pulled completely down (the
windows had been filled with stained glass of unusual
beauty), and, with the exception of the original charter
of foundation, and the Chronicle known as " Swap-
ham," the charters and evidences belonging to the
cathedral were burnt or destroyed. The soldiers
appropriated such rich church vestments as they could
find ; and until their departure they were daily exer-
cised by their officers in the nave of the cathedral.
XVI. This unusual havoc will account for the pre-
sent condition of the choir ; all the ancient furniture
of which has disappeared. Before the restoration set
on foot by Dean MONK, the ritual choir was under-
neath the lantern, as at Chichester and Gloucester, and
formerly at Hereford and Ely, and the organ-screen
enclosed the first bay of the nave. There was a second
screen, as at Norwich, one bay further west. The heavy
organ-screen, of white stone, was executed under the
direction of Dean Monk, before 1830 ; and the stalls
and woodwork are also of this date: the whole de-
signed by the late Mr. BLOEE. If they fail to please,
allowance should be made for the period when the
work was done. Much credit is due to Dean Monk
for originating a movement and forming a school of
workmen which soon improved, and led the way to
what has followed in other cathedrals. At the west
102
end under the organ there are four box-stalls on either
side, surmounted with canopies. The three arches to
the north and south are filled with private box-pews,
with tabernacle-work above entirely hiding the massive
piers. In front of these a row of stalls has been
added. Below these are three tiers of carved pews and
benches with poppyheads. Above are pewed galleries
blocking up the arches. The choir, as far as the apse,
is of four bays ; its massive piers being entirely hidden
by the tabernacle- work of the stalls. The arrange-
ment and details of triforium and clerestory resemble
those of the eastern transept-aisles. The piers, how-
ever, which alternate with the round ones, are ten and
twelve-sided instead of octangular. The triforium
exhibits two sub-arches, supported by a tall slender
column, within a circumscribing arch of two orders,
all much enriched. The tympanum of the two first
bays from the east are pierced with one and four
circular holes respectively. The tympana of all the
others, except the easternmost to the south, are hatched.
The proportions of the triforium are unpleasing, the
central shaft being too lofty, which causes the sub-
arches to intrude too much on the tympanum. The
choir was the recorded work of the two Abbots, JOHN OF
SEEZ (1118—1125), and MARTIN OF EEC 1133-1125);
the intervening Abbot, HENRY OF ANJOU (1127 — 1133),
did nothing for it. "He lived," says the Saxon
Chronicle, " 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. He did there no good,
neither did lie leave any there." It is probable that
little more than the foundations were completed by
John of Seez.
The apse, or eastern end of the choir, notwithstand-
ing the changes which have been made, in order to
connect it with the New Building beyond, still remains
a very fine example of a Norman termination. It should
be compared with the slightly earlier eastern apse of
Norwich (the work of HERBERT LOSINGA, died 1119).
A Norman arch, of which only the pillars remain,
now ending above the capitals in niches, originally
divided the apse from the choir. A modern screen,
of Decorated character, richly diapered in gold and
colour, extends round the apse. Above the level of
this screen were originally three tiers of Norman
windows, five in each tier. The three central windows
of the lowest tier are fringed with flamboyant hanging
with tracery, c. 1360, and look into the New Building ;
portions of the roof, and the stained window (to the
memory of Bishop Davys, by HEATON AND BUTLER) at
the extreme eastern end being visible through them.
The whole series is set in rich ogee canopied arches,
under square hood-moulds. The two side-windows of
this tier also contain flamboyant tracery, which remains
perfect, and shews the grooves for the glass which
once filled them. The triforium openings, in the
second tier, whilst they retain their circular head-
ings, are, like the clerestory windows above them,
filled with tracery of flamboyant character, which
was no doubt inserted at the same time. An inter-
104=
secting Norman arcade is seen below the triforium
window range, at the back of the wall-passage in
which they are set. All these windows are filled with
stained glass, most of which is modern and far
from good ; that in the central window of each tier
contains ancient fragments collected from different
parts of the church, by Dean Tarrant, 1764 — 1791.
Norman pilasters run up between the windows. The
slight depression in the arches of the three central
openings in each tier should be noticed.
The flat roof of the apse, like the eastern screen,
has been excellently decorated from the designs of
the late Sir G. G. SCOTT. In the centre is the Saviour
in majesty; surrounding Him, in medallions placed
among the branches of the vine on the pale-blue
ground of the ceiling, are half-figures of the Apostles.
The whole bordered by an inscription : " I am the
Vine," &c. This design reproduces that which origin-
ally formed the decoration of the ceiling above the
high altar, which was destroyed by Crom well's soldiers,
April 22, 1643.
The roof of the choir dates apparently from the close
of the fifteenth century. It is of wood, with carved
bosses. The whole has been coloured, the bosses gilt,
and medallions containing angels painted between the
groining-ribs. Whatever may be age of this roof,
"it seems to indicate that the choir was not covered
with a flat ceiling, like the nave and transepts, but
probably with an open timber roof, something like the
nave of Ely Cathedral. Had there been a flat ceiling,
Sf0ttt{y Cjjoir-Bisle. 105
it would surely have been retained for the sake of
uniformity3."
MLFKIC (died 1051) and KINSI (died 1060), Arch-
bishops of York, were buried on the south side of the
choir. The latter had been a monk of Peterborough.
XVII. The South choir-aisle, which we enter from
the transept, is of the same date as the choir itself.
This aisle, and the corresponding aisle on the north
side, are much disfigured by the heavy wooden galleries
above the choir-stalls, with their arched supports stair-
cases and gangways. The windows are early Decorated,
of the same date and character as those in the nave.
An intersecting Norman arcade, plainly moulded,
lines the wall beneath them. (It may be here re-
marked, that among the differences to be noted
between the choir and the transepts is the distinction
of their wall-arcades; that of the choir-aisles being
intersecting, that of the transepts single.) The vault-
ing is the same as that of the eastern transept-aisles.
At the west end of the aisle, under a heavy Norman
arch enriched with billet-moulding, is an effigy attri-
buted to Abbot ANDREW (1193—1200). He treads on
a dragon, the mouth of which is pierced by his staff:
in his left hand he holds a book. Eemark the rich
' apparel ' ornamenting his outer robe. The book,
which is usually placed in the hands of Benedictine
abbots, is supposed to represent the statutes of their
Order. The difference between an abbatial and episco-
pal staff should also be noticed. The bishop's is
• F, A. Paley.
106
generally mucli enriched, and turned to the right, or
outwards, indicating an external jurisdiction; the
abbot's plain, and turned to the left, or inwards,
denoting a domestic rule. On the wall above the
effigy are the following lines : —
" Hos tres Abbates quibus est prior Abba Johannes,
Alter Martimis, Andreas ultimus, unus
Hie claudit tumulus. Pro clausis ergo rogemus."
Three more effigies of early Abbots [Plate VI.], said to
have been brought from the chapter-house, are placed
under the south wall of this aisle. All hold a book.
The two easternmost (the last of which is a good ex-
ample) are of early Decorated character. Another much
shattered effigy is placed under the wall of the choir.
A plain black marble slab, without the south door
of the choir in the last bay, marks the tomb in which
the remains of Mary Queen of Scots rested until their
removal to Westminster. The execution of the Queen
took place on February 8, 158f ; but it was not until
July 30, 1587, that her body was brought from Fother-
ingay to Peterborough for interment. It was con-
veyed by torchlight, in a ' chariot ' covered with black
cloth, and was met at the entrance of the cathedral by
Bishop Howland, who conducted it in solemn pro-
cession to the vault prepared for it, in which it was
immediately laid. On the following day a funeral
service was performed, the Countess of Bedford being
chief mourner. The Bishop of Lincoln preached ;
and the heralds broke their staves', and cast them
into the vault. Twenty-five years afterwards the
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VI.
KFFIG-Y OF ONE OF THE EARJL.Y ABBOTS, IN THE SOUTH
AISLE OF THE CHOIR.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE V
THE RETRO-CHOIR, OR "NEW BUILDING
0f <$umt Sferg. 107
body, at the request of James I.*, was removed to
Westminster, under the care of the Bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, and was interred where it now lies,
Oct. 11, 1612. A lofty « herse,' hung with black
velvet, was erected over Queen Mary's resting-place
at Peterborough, and was removed, with the body, to
Westminster. John Chambers, the last abbot and
first bishop of Peterborough, was interred in this
aisle, near the grave of Queen Mary.
The extreme eastern bay of this and of the opposite
aisle is Early English, and has slender vaulting-
shafts, with a leafed boss in the centre of the roof.
In the south wall of each is a good double piscina of
the same design with that in the south-west transept.
The two bays thus formed chapels at the ends of
the choir-aisles ; the original Norman terminations
of which, according to Mr. Paley, were square, and
not apsidal.
XVIII. The so-called New Building [Plate YIL],
which now forms the eastern end of the cathedral, was
commenced by Abbot ASHTON in 1438, but not com-
pleted until the time of Abbot KIKTON (1496—1528).
It was formerly shut off from the church and used as
the library. It is entered from the choir-aisle, through
an arch with square ornaments, characteristic of Per-
pendicular work, in the hollow of the moulding. The
Tudor rose, the pomegranate of Catherine of Arragon,
the fleur-de-lys, the rebus of Abbot KIETON (a « kirk '
* The King's autograph letter remains in the possession of the
Dean and Chapter.
108
on a tun), and some armorial bearings, appear among
these ornaments.
The New Building itself — the view across which,
beyond the arch, is a fine one — is a long parallelogram
of five bays, and forms, in effect, a third transept, ex-
tending across the eastern end of the church. A
similar eastern transept existed at Fountains Abbey,
and still remains at Durham, where the " Chapel of
the Nine Altars," as it is called, was the work of
Bishop POOEE (1228 — 1241). This transept was pro-
bably erected to furnish additional altar space. But
of the altars it contained and of their accessories no
traces remain. In almost all its details — groined roof,
windows, exterior battlement, and buttresses — this
building so closely resembles King's College Chapel
at Cambridge, that, it has been suggested, " the same
master-mind would seem to have conceived bothu."
The beautiful fan-tracery of the roof should especially
be noticed. The late Professor Willis considered
" the workmanship of this vault the most perfect of
any that he had examined "" [The Vaults of the Middle
Ages, p. 43]. The arms on the bosses are those of
England, Edward the Confessor, and Peterborough.
The windows were orignally filled with very fine
stained glass, which was destroyed in 1643. The
u King's College Chapel was in building at the same time as
this transept, and, as at Peterborough, the work was stopped for
some time after its commencement. The foundations were laid
in 1446 : (at Peterborough, in 1438). After a long interval the
building was recommenced in 1479, and completed about 1532 :
(Peterborough recommenced in 1496, and was completed in 1528).
% gcfo gttilbmg. 109
central east window has been recently filled with glass
to the memory of Bishop Davys by his son-in-law
Canon Argles, from the designs of Messrs. HEATON
AND BUTLER, and the southernmost window to that of
Dean Butler, by Messrs. CLAYTON AND BELL.
The manner in which the Norman choir-apse is
squared, so as to adapt it the New Building, should
be remarked. The Norman shafts and Norman wall of
the apse remain ; and at the side of the entrance-arches
these shafts are fitted with Perpendicular capitals.
Portions of the Norman stringcourse, much weather-
worn (for it must be remembered that before the erec-
tion of the New Building the apse was uninclosed),
may also be observed — as well as the Flamboyant
tracery still remaining in the two windows, north
and south. " The body of the aperture in the three
easternmost is left open, and continued down to the
ground in the form of lofty archways, though the
lower parts are now blocked by the modern altar-
screen, as they were formerly by steps leading from
the back of the high altar. The marks of these steps
may yet be seen in the south-eastern archway, withia
the chapel, as well as the hinges of folding-doors, by
which the retro-choir, or space behind the high altar,
was enclosed V
x Paley. " We have now gradually built up what may well
be called a noble minster, and a glance at the plan thus com-
pleted will shew a Latin cross, the feet resting on two steps, and
the head terminating originally in an apse, to which, however,
a transept yet farther east has been added. Here, then, we
have a cross of that form which is commonly found in old re-
XIX. On entering the New Building from the south
aisle, a much shattered Jacobean monument will be
seen in the wall to the left hand. This is that erected
during his own lifetime by Sir Humphrey Orm for
himself and his family. Before Sir Humphrey's death
his monument was reduced by Cromwell's troopers to
its present condition. Under the first arch at the back
of the apse is a small monument of considerable in-
terest. [Plate VIII.] This was long supposed to be
the stone erected by Godric, Abbot of Crowland, over
the monks of Medeshamstede (the ancient name of
Peterborough), who, with their abbot, Hedda, were
slaughtered by the Danes in 870. They had already
destroyed Crowland, and were assaulting Medes-
hamstede, when the brother of the Danish Jarl,
presentations of the Kood, where the figure of the Crucified is
attended by the Blessed Virgin and the Beloved Disciple, kneel-
ing one on either side, ou a step at the foot of the cross, while
the inscription over the head appears on a scroll crossing the
upper part of the tree. . . . We have, then, in the ground-plan
of Peterborough the highest and most completely developed
symbolism of the doctrine of the Cross, of which a Christian
Church is capable. ... I would rather suggest than assert,
that the upper step of the two, which is found in all churches
with a western transept only, as Wells, for instance, and Peter-
borough before the addition of the fasade, is fairly to be as-
signed to the two sainted witnesses of our Lord's death; and
that the yet lower step is to be assigned to the approach of the
disciples generally . . , And in the lowest place even, of this
lower step, is well placed the galilee, the porch of penitents,
and the court where their penance was to be awarded." — Rev.
G. A. Poole, " On the Abbey Church of Peterborough " (in the
Transactions of the Architectural Society of the Archdeaconry
of Northampton).
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VIII.
CALLED MONUMENT OF ABBOT HEDDA AND HIS MONKS.
ill
Hubba, was killed by a stone thrown from the walls.
In revenge, after an entrance had been forced, the Jarl,
with his own hand, slew the Abbot and all the sur-
viving monks. The abbey was plundered and burnt.
After the Danes had left the country, a few of the
Crovvland monks returned to their ruined monastery,
and chose Godric for their abbot. Having arranged
his own community as far as possible, he visited
Medeshamstede, where he collected the mangled bodies
of the monks, — eighty-four in number, says the pseudo-
Ingulphus — and interred them in one large grave,
over which he raised " a pyramidal stone, three feet
high, three feet long, and one foot broad, on which
were cut the images of the deceased abbot and his
monks." Every remaining year of his life, it is said,
Godric paid a visit to this stone, and pitched a tent
over it, in which he said masses during two days, for
the repose of those buried beneath.
This story, it should be remarked, rests solely on
the spurious narrative of Ingulphus, the Chronicler of
Crowland ; and although the tomb agrees very closely
with the measurements given above, it was demon-
strated by Mr. M. H. Bloxam, at the meeting of the
Archaeological Institute at Peterborough in 1861, that
it is work of the early part of the twelfth century. It
is a mass either of Purbeck, or of a somewhat similar
marble, full of minute shells. Large holes have been
bored in it, three on one side, and two on the other,
probably for the purpose of fixing candlesticks. On
either of the upright sides are six much-worn figures,
112 IJeterbxmragjj <£a%brsl.
the details of which it is very difficult to distinguish.
All have the nimbus — a plain circular beading round
the heads of all, except one of the figures on the east
side, which has the cruciform nimbus distinctive of
our Lord, indicated by double lines proceeding from
the head to the exterior beading. The hair of a figure
on the west side is arrayed in rays, or semicircles.
The dress of all is alike, — a long robe with a shorter
sleeved vestment over it. The emblems they carry
seem to vary; most have books ; some bear palm-
branches. All are under a circular arcade, with a kind
of double leaf-ornament springing from the intersec-
tions. The sloping top of the stone is divided into
four partitions, with rude sculpture of leafage and
birds, one of which may perhaps represent a peacock,
a favourite emblem of the Resurrection. Circles and
knots of intersected lines mark the early character of
the whole work. The two ends are plain, except that
on the south side the date 870 has been carved in
modern Arabic numerals.
This monument at all events deserves the most
careful attention. The figures are in all probability
those of our Saviour and His Apostles, who are usually
represented as carrying books ; although the dress is
that of the twelfth century. It is not impossible,
however, that the monument (which may in reality be
that of an early abbot) is the actual stone described by
the pseudo-Ingulphus, whose narrative has been proved
to be a composition of much later date.
XX. On the adjoining wall is the monument of
Jffotrantcnts. 113
THOMAS DEACON (died 1721), founder of a charity-
school at Peterborough, and in many other ways a
benefactor to the city. He reclines on the summit of
his sarcophagus, attired in a Kamillies wig, and resting
one hand on a skull, whilst with the other he points
to the record of his virtues behind him. The effigy of
an abbot, of Early English date, is placed in the recess
behind the altar, and on the wall above are tablets
commemorating Bishops HINCHCLIFFE (died 1794),
MADAN (died 1813), MARSH (died 1839), and DAVYS
(died 1864), whose graves below are marked by monu-
mental slabs. The hanging tracery of the arch above
exhibits in the centre a concave socket, intended to
receive the apex of the great crucifix, to keep it in its
place. On the adjoining wall to the north is the monu-
ment of Bishop CUMBERLAND (died 1718). Bishop
Cumberland's volume, De legibus Natures disquisitio
pJiilosopJiica — a refutation of Hobbes — is thus referred
to in the inscription on this monument : —
" Macte, malse fraudis domilor, defensor honesti
Legum NaturaB, justitiseque pugil.
O quantum debent, quas laeserat Hobbius, ainbas,
Recta simul Eatio, Eeligioque, tibi ! "
The lines are from a poetical address to the Bishop
by Duport, dean of Peterborough (died 1679), whose
own monument remains on the wall of the north choir-
aisle, beneath the second window. The epitaph of
Dean Duport (who was Eegius Professor of Greek in
the University of Cambridge) is couched in the most
exaggerated terms of panegyric: " Graeca poesi si
VOL. II. FT. I. I
114:
non supra Homerum, saltern pari incedens gradu . . .
quern ut alterum plane Homeruin, quatuor vindicant
Collegia."
Under the north window-opening of the apse is a
monument formed of fragments of various dates, which
seem to have been arranged at a very late period as
a memorial of some unknown person. The Perpen-
dicular portions belonged to a shrine which contained
relics of St. Ebba, — part of which now serves as a
window in the gatehouse (§ in.). St. Ebba was the
instructress of St. Etheldreda of Ely and the sister
of St. Oswald of Northumbria, whose arm was one of
the greatest treasures of Peterborough. (See Part II.)
XXI. The north choir-aisle resembles the south ;
the first bay forming an Early English chapel, with
a piscina in the south wall. The two westernmost
bays, now blocked, opened into the Lady-chapel. In
the next bay one of the original Norman windows has
been preserved — filled during the present century with
Perpendicular tracery. It overlooks a slab of blue
stone, close to the north choir-door, beneath which still
rest the remains of Queen CATHEEINE OF AEBAGON. We
may appropriate the words of Mr. Paley, in contem-
plating " the humble grave of one to whose existence,
though it maybe but incidentally, this nation owes the
greatest change that ever was brought about in it, and
upon the accident of whose burial here depended the
preservation of this fine abbey and its conversion into
a cathedral church. There is no monument in England
that can fairly be called more deeply interesting than
oi (tttEit Catlmnx. 115
this one, though few, indeed, of those who daily tram-
ple on it, and are fast obliterating the simple words,
'Queen Catherine, A.D. 1536,' appear to entertain a
thought about it. Not one in five hundred, we dare
aver, recals her dying words in Shakespeare's ' King
Henry VIII.:'—
' When lam dead
Let me be used with honour : strew me o'er
With maiden flowers, that all the world may know
I was a chaste wife to my grave : embalm me,
Then lay me forth : although unqueened, yet still
A queen, and daughter to a King, inter me.' "
Many banners, with heraldic devices and royal
achievements, hung above this tomb; and a lofty
herse, covered with a black velvet pall marked with
a cross of silver tissue, and enriched on the sides with
the arms and badges of Arragon, remained on it until
the destruction wrought by Cromwell's soldiers. Queen
Catherine, the closing scene of whose life it is scarcely
possible to imagine otherwise than as Shakespeare has
painted it, died at Kimbolton Castle, in Huntingdon-
shire, Jan. 8, 1535, and was interred in this aisle with
much of the state befitting " a queen, and daughter to
a king."
XXII. Passing out of the cathedral we enter the
churchyard on its north side ; the gateway into which
has, close adjoining it, a battlemented arch of entrance
to the Deanery — built by Abbot KIRTON, who completed
the New Building. The same arms and emblems appear
on it as on the bosses and ornaments of his work in the
i 2
cathedral. His rebus — a church on a tun — is placed
over the smaller door. The quiet beauty of the church-
yard, well kept and judiciously planted, will at once
attract the visitor. An excellent view of the exterior
of the cathedral is obtained from it ; the best general
point being towards the north-east angle [Frontis-
piece], where the rich Perpendicular New Building,
the Norman apse towering above it, and the many
lines of towers and spires group most picturesquely,
and are well contrasted by the surrounding foliage.
The group formed by the north-west transept, with
its tower and gable, and the north spire of the west
front, should be noticed soon after entering the church-
yard. The transept-gables are Early English, of the
same date and character as the west front, and of great
beauty. The first stage of the north transept tower
above the roof is transition Norman, of the same date as
the transept ; the upper stage and pinnacles are Early
English, but of later date than the west front. It was
formerly crowned with a spire of timber and lead, the
work of Abbot RICHAED OF LONDON, while still prior,
about 1270, which was taken down before 1800.
The windows of the nave-aisles (Early Decorated,
§ x.), triforium (Decorated, § xvi.), and clerestory
(Perpendicular, § xvi.), may here be well observed.
Flat, pilaster-like buttresses run up between each bay —
Norman as high as the stringcourse above the aisle
windows, and Decorated above. The upper part may
have been added when the aisle walls were raised.
In the fourth bay a very rich Norman archway marks
dfotadbr. 117
the "Prior's Door." The Norman arcade above the
aisle windows shews the arrangement of the old tri-
forium, which is seen more perfectly on the east wall
of the north transept. The parapet above the clere-
story is a late Decorated addition.
The north front of the main transept deserves
notice, since it contains the original Norman window-
openings filled with Perpendicular tracery. On the
eastern side, the door leading into the Lady-chapel
(now destroyed) remains, and the two arches which
opened into the space between it and the church
(see note p. 99), in the wall of the north choir-
aisle. (§ xiv.)
XXIII. The exterior of the eastern apse is much
enriched, and very striking. Buttress-turrets, capped
with spires, rise at its junction with the choir. An
intersecting arcade passes round below the upper tier
of windows ; and in the parapet above, which is an
addition of the early Decorated period, are circular
medallions, enclosing trefoils, from which half emerge
figures of kings and ecclesiastics. The manner in
which the Norman windows were enlarged and altered
(§ xvi.) is well seen here.
The New Building has very massive, plain buttresses
between each bay, on each of which, as in the apse of
Norwich, is placed the sitting figure of an apostle,
with our Lord holding an orb in the centre. A rich
and graceful parapet fills the space between. This
has suffered much from time and decay; but the
initials (R. A. — Eichard Ashton, and E. K. — Eobert
118
Kirton) and devices (an ash-tree on a tun and a church
on a tun) of the builders, may still be traced on it
and on the buttresses. On the parapet are also the
alternate monograms (I.H.C. and M. (Jesus and Mary) ;
and the stringcourse over the east window has the
name Karton (Kirton). On that of a window on the
south side, it is spelt backwards — Notrak.
The central tower., as has already been said, dates
about 1340. It has two windows on each side, with
a blind arcade of rich tracery between and beyond
them. At the angles are octagonal turrets. The
tower was originally surmounted by a wooden octagon,
" which perhaps bore, or was intended to bear, a timber
spire, covered with lead y." The octagon was removed
by Dr. Kipling (who became Dean of Peterborough in
1798). The turrets, which rise above the tower, were
added at this time, and were evidently imitated from
those (Norman with a later battlement) at the end of
the great transept.
XXIV. A passage leads, west, to the Laurel Court,
the site of the cloister destroyed, as has already been
mentioned, by Crom well's troopers in 1643. The
original Norman cloister was remodelled in the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries, the southern and western
walls being left standing. A Norman arch remains
in the western wall ; the " cheese moulding " of which
indicates its very early date. Dedication crosses will
be observed on its jambs.
The southern wall of the cloister shews thirteen
y Paley.
Jlark Cloister. 119
divisions. Two of these correspond to the extremities of
the eastern and western walks, so that there were eleven
window-spaces opening into the cloister garth. The
eastern part of the wall is Early English and of excel-
lent design. The first and last bays contain doorways
of remarkable beauty. The westernmost, opening
into the Refectory, has a segmental door-arch with a
very rich hollow moulding of foliage, under a pointed
arch, the tympanum between the two containing an open
quatrefoil set between foliage and lacertine animals.
The easternmost, giving access to the Dark Cloister,
has a segmental head under a pointed arch, also with
a quatrefoil in the tympanum. The Early English
design, with blank arches, remains in the five eastern-
most bays ; but in the five further to the west very
rich Perpendicular lavatories, which may be com-
pared with those at Gloucester, and deep panelled
recesses have been built in front of the earlier wall.
Traces of the Early English refectory, which
stretched along the whole side of the cloister, mea-
suring 162 feet by 42 feet, with the arcading and
aumbries of the north wall, are to be seen in the
garden of the palace. The site of the chapter-house,
on the east side of the cloister court is occupied by an
ugly modern house. Between it and the south transept
lay the slype and the parlour. Leaving the Laurel
Court at the south-east corner, the visitor will notice
the traces of the half columns and vaulting of the
dark cloister of two dates, running southward to the
infirmary. To the east (the left hand) was the site
120
of the dormitory. Passing along the road further
eastwards, we reach the remains of the Early English
infirmary, built by Abbot JOHN DE CALETO (1248-1261).
This building, which should be compared with those
of earlier date at Ely and Canterbury and the frag-
ment existing at Norwich, followed the ordinary type
of a nave with side aisles, constituting the hall and
cubicles of the sick monks, and a projecting chancel
which formed the chapel. This arrangement enabled
the invalids to hear divine service, and even see the
sacred mysteries, as they lay on their beds or couches.
The beautifully-proportioned arches of the nave, ori-
ginally of ten bays, remain, partly built into modern
houses. Further east the Infirmary Chapel, dedicated
to St. Lawrence, is converted into a canonical house.
The triple chancel arch, now blocked, deserves notice.
Attached to it, at the north-east corner, is a very
interesting Early English house, which has been well
restored. The portion at the west end may have been
the infirmarer's "table-hall." To the south of the
Infirmary the north wall of an Early English
building, now transformed into a canonical house,
marks the site of what has been variously designated
as the cellarer's lodgings, or the " Deportum," or
" Hall of Disport."
XXV. Returning to the Close, before the west front,
the abbot's gate-house [Title-page], on the south side,
leading to what was once the abbot's residence, and is
now the episcopal palace, should be especially noticed.
The arrangement of this gate-house is very remarkable.
's <8ai*-{j<raae. $is|j0p's palace. 121
It is of three vaulted bays in depth, the inner bay
being separated from the outer part by a transverse
wall, containing a large arch of entrance and a postern.
The external bays are of the whole width. It is of Early
Decorated character, A.D. 1319 (when a licence was
granted to crenellate " a gateway and two chambers "),
with a groined roof springing from clustered shafts ; an
arcade lines its interior walls ; at the angles are square
turrets, in each of which is a niche containing a figure ;
a third figure is placed in the gable. The arrangement
on either side of this gateway is the same. The
statues on the north side are those of King Edward II.,
Abbot Godfrey of Crowland, and the prior of the
abbey, wearing the Benedictine habit. On the south
side are St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Andrew, the three
saints to whom the church was originally dedicated.
Above the gateway is a room called the Knights*
Chamber, in which guests of distinguished rank were
lodged : the windows of this room are later than the
gateway itself.
The bishop's palace, though chiefly modern, con-
tains a fine vaulted under-crypt, supported on pillars,
circ. 1226, and two oriels of the chamber known as
"Heaven's Gate Chamber," built by Abbot Kirton
(1496-1528), and bearing his rebus.
The deanery was the residence of the Prior, and
retains some considerable portions of a hall of the
thirteenth century, and an elaborately enriched gate-
way, also bearing Abbot Kirton's rebus.
North of the main gateway, leading into the Close,
122
is the chancel of a chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury,
originally founded by Abbots Wm. Waterville and
Benedict, — the latter of whom had been a monk of
Canterbury at the time of Becket's murder, of which
he wrote a narrative z. The nave was pulled down by
Abbot Genge, to build St. John's Church, 1405. The
chancel, which now serves as the Grammar-school, is
very late Decorated. The beautiful reticulated tracery
of the east window deserves notice, as does the pierced
cross on the gable above it. Beyond it it to the north
are the new buildings of the grammar-school, fairly
appropriate in style.
On the north side of the cathedral is a singular
earthen mound, known as the " Toot-hill a," said to have
2 After Benedict had been appointed Abbot of Peterborough,
in 1176, " finding the great establishment almost entirely des-
titute of relics, he returned to his own cathedral, and carried off
with him the flag-stones immediately surrounding the sacred spot
(of Becket's murder) — with which he formed two altars in the
conventual church of his new appointment — besides two vases of
blood, and parts of Becket's clothing." — Stanley's Historical
Memorials of Canterbury ; from Robert of Swaffham.
* At Caernarvon, an eminence outside the town, commanding
an extensive view, is known as the " Twt-Hill." " Tote-Hill " is
a mediaeval word for a beacon or look-out station, derived from
the verb to " tote " or " tout," to look or peep, connected pro-
bably with the A.-S. tatian, to project. In * Piers Ploughman's
Creed,' we read
" Than toted I in at a taverne, and there I aspyide
Two frere Cannes."
A " touter " is one who looks out for custom. Its use in our
early language is evidenced by the following passages from
Wycliffe's Bible :— Is. xxu 5, "Sett the bord, bihold in a
iiL" 123
been the site of a tower built by Turold, the first
Norman Abbot, for the defence of his monastery.
Similar mounds are found attached to Norman for-
tresses (as at Canterbury and Oxford). There is one
also of a like character adjacent to the great gate
of Ely Cathedral. The name of that attached to
Westminster Abbey is still preserved in "Tothill
Fields."
toothill," alias, " Biholde thou in to a toting place : " v. 6, « Go
and put a tootere," alias, " Go thou and sette a lookere : " v. 8,
" Up on the tooihill of the Lord I am stondende contynuelly hi
day ; " alias, " I stonde contynueli hi dai on the totyng place of
the Lord ;" Jer. xxxi. 21, " Ordeyne to thee a toting place."
PETEKBOBOUGH CATHEDBAL.
PART II.
f istorg of t!jc &«, foitfe Sfcirrt gotices of i(r*
nrmnpal
THE great Benedictine monastery of Peterborough, which
became one of the wealthiest and most important in
England, was founded, according to the Saxon Chronicle, in
the year 655, by King Oswi of Northumbria, and Peada,
son of Penda, King of Mercia. Penda, one of the last and
fiercest of the Saxon pagan chieftains, was defeated and
killed in November of the same year in a great battle with
Oswi, on the river Aire in Yorkshire. Oswi succeeded to
the power of the Mercian king, but gave the province of
the Southern Mercians to Peada, son of Penda, who about
three years before had embraced Christianity, and had
married Alhflede, daughter of Oswi. Peada was murdered
during the Easter festival of the following year, (656) ; but
between that time and the previous November, Diuma, one
of four Christian priests carried back into Mercia by Peadu
after his own conversion, had been consecrated Bishop of
the Middle Anglians and Mercians by Finan, Bishop of
Lindisfarne ; and the two princes, Oswi and Peada, had, in
the words of the chronicler, " come together, and said they
would rear a minster to the glory of Christ, and the honour
of St. Peter." This was Peterborough, the first monastic
establishment, and (with the exception perhaps of Lichfield,
the seat of the Mercian bishopric) the first resting-place of
Christianity in central England.
jjhstorg of % g^fog. 125
The site chosen for the new monastery was at a place
called Medeshamstede, ' the meadow homestead,' in North
G-yrvva-land (gyr, A.-S. ' a fen '), one of the many districts
tributary to the main kingdom of Mercia, and which must
have been specially dependent on the province of the
Southern Mercians assigned by Oswi to Peada. The foun-
dations were laid on a rising ground above the river Nen,
overlooking a wide extent of fen-country on one side, and
a rich district of woods and meadows on the other. The
work was commenced in the presence of Peada and Oswi,
who, in the words of the Saxon Chronicle, "began the
ground wall and wrought thereon." It was then entrusted
to a monk named Saxulf. Three years afterwards, the
Mercians threw off the rule of Oswi, reasserted their in-
dependence, and set up Wulfere, brother of Peada, and
a younger son of Penda, as their king. Wulfere was
a Christian, and greatly favoured the rising monastery at
Medeshamstede ; which on its completion is said to have
been " hallowed in the names of St. Peter, St. Paul, and
St. Andrew" by Deusdedit, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Itharnar, Bishop of Rochester, and many other bishops,
in the presence of Wulfere and his brother Ethelred. Of
its consecration, about 657 A.D., there is no doubt, and it was
probably performed by Deusdedit, but all the details are
unhistorical, and rest on authorities not earlier than the
12th century. Saxulf became the first abbot, and con-
tinued to preside over the monastery he had built (" Abbas
et constructor," he is called by Bede), until in 675 he was
consecrated to the see of Mercia by Archbishop Theodore.
Wulfere's charter of foundation is an undoubted forgery,
and the confirmation by Pope Vitalian appended to it has
no pretensions to genuineness. The pretended bull of
Pope Agatho is also a shameless forgery. By it the abbot
of Medeshamstede took precedence of all others north of
the Thames ; he was constituted legate of Rome over the
whole of England, and " if any Briton had a desire to visit
126
Rome, and could not by reason of its distance," he might
repair to this monastery, there offer up his vows, and
receive absolution and the apostolical benediction.
Medeshamstede was nourishing, and, if the story told in
the chronicle of the Pseudo-Ingulph contains historical
elements, sheltered a brotherhood of eighty monks, when it
was attacked and destroyed by the Danes under Hubba,
in the year 870, as has already been related. (Pt. I. § xix.)
It remained in ruins until about 966, when Athelwold,
Bishop of Winchester, as distinguished a ' constructor ' or
architect under King Edgar, as his successor, William of
Wykeham, was under Edward III., caused it to be rebuilt,
together with many other religious houses which had been
destroyed by the Northmen. It was henceforth — probably
from being surrounded with a wall of defence — called
Burgh, " a similitudine urbis," says William of Malmes-
bury. The name of ' Gildenburgh ' was sometimes given
to it, from a part of the minster-roofs having been gilt by
Abbot Leofric ; but it finally took and kept that by which
it is at present known, Peterburgh, from the dedication of
its great church to St. Peter.
Numerous relics, including the incorruptible arm of
St. Oswald of Northumbria, some earth from the battle-
field on which he fell, and the body of St. Florentin,
brought from Normandy, were acquired for his convent
by Abbot Elsi, who died in 1055. In 1053 Arnwig re-
signed the abbacy to Leofric, nephew of the great Earl of
that name, who stood so high with favour of Edward the
Confessor and his queen that he was allowed to hold five
abbeys at once — Burton, Coventry, Crowland, Thorney,
and Peterborough. His influence was equally great with
Harold, who conferred benefactions on the abbey — the
only instance recorded of gifts made by him to a monastic
foundation — and whom he followed with his monks to the
field of Senlac, from which he returned to his monastery
wounded and weary, and died there on the night of All
fistorg 0f tlje gJbfog. 127
Hallows. The monks without delay chose their provost,
Brand, as his successor, and sent him to Edgar the Atheling
for the confirmation of his appointment. This quiet
ignoring of his claim to the throne of England awakened
William's fierce wrath, which was only appeased by
the gift of forty marks of gold. Brand held his abbacy
for a very short time, dying November 27th, 1069. The
vacant post was bestowed on a Norman named Turold,
once a monk at Fecamp, but recently by William's appoint-
ment Abbot of Malmesbury. He was, writes the local
chronicler, " a very stern man," whose rule at Malmesbury
had been tyrannical, and "the story runs that William
picked him out as being more of a soldier than a monk, as
the fittest man to rule the great house of Peterborough,
now that it was threatened by Hereward and his fellow
outlaws in the Fens." [Freeman, u. s.t iv. 458.] Before
the new abbot, who had set out with an hundred and sixty
armed Frenchmen, could reach Peterborough, the monastery
had been sacked and burnt by Hereward and his followers,
in conjunction with Sweyn and his Danes, whom he had
joined in the Isle of Ely. The rich spoil of the " Golden
Borough " was carried off by ship to Denmark, the monks
were dispersed, and Turold, on reaching the place, found
only one sick monk left in the infirmary, " and the empty
church standing in the midst of the blackened ruins of the
monastery." On Turold's death, in 1100, the monks, who
had given the King three hundred marks to be allowed to
choose their own abbot, elected Godric, an Englishman,
brother of their former abbot Brand. He sat in the synod
held at Westminster in 1102, which denounced the preva-
lent slave trade as "the wicked merchandize by which
men were still used to be sold in England like brute
beasts/' He was soon deposed, however. The abbey re-
mained in the King's hands for four years ; and from this
time Churchmen of Norman birth alone were permitted to
hold the high dignity of Abbot of Peterborough. Those of
128 Jjtferfarnmgjy Caffyebrai
especial note were Ernulf, Prior of Christ Church, Can-
terbury, who became Bishop of Rochester ; John of Seez,
who commenced the choir of the existing cathedral, after
a fire in 1116, which consumed the greater part of the
monastery; Martin of Bee, who completed the choir and
transept-aisles, and who governed the monastery with great
prudence during the troubled times of Stephen; William
de Waterville, and Benedict, who completed the nave,
(the latter was Creur-de-Lion's Keeper of the Great Seal) ;
Ilobert de Sutton, who first joined the side of the Barons,
and then that of Henry III., and was compelled to pay
heavy fines in consequence ; Richard Ashton, and Ilobert
Kirton, who built the eastern transept, or New Building ;
and John Chambers, the last abbot and first bishop. The
monastery had steadily increased in wealth and importance ;
and at the time of the dissolution it was one of the richest,
though scarcely the best-conducted in England. Many of
the English monarchs had visited it on their way to or from
the north. Edward III., his queen, and court kept the
Easter festival at Peterborough in 1327, on which occasion
the abbot, Adam de Botheby, expended nearly £500.
Cardinal Wolsey kept the same feast at Peterborough in
great state in 1528; but although the abbey expended
enormous sums in entertaining its royal and noble visitors,
the local rhyme characterizing the great monasteries of the
ions indicates that it was scarcely so liberal to those of
lower degree : —
" Ramsay the bounteous of gold and of fee,
Crowland as courteous as courteous may be,
Spalding the rich and Peterborough the proud,
Sawtrey by the way
That poor abbaye
Gave more alms in one day
Than all they."
John Chambers, the last abbot, Fellow of Merton and
Dean of St. Stephen's, Westminster* who, in the words of
dt^amtars 10 Jitambkr. 129
Guiiton, the historian of Peterborough, *f loved to sleep in
a whole skin, and desired to die in his nest," resigned the
abbey to Henry VIII. on the 1st of March, 1540. He was
then granted an annual pension of £260 ; but in the fol-
lowing year, letters patent were issued for converting the
monastic church into the cathedral of a new diocese, which
was to extend over the counties of Northampton and Kut-
land, hitherto comprised in the great diocese of Lincoln.
The church is said by Lord Herbert of Cher bury, on the
authority of Holinshed, to have been spared as a monu-
ment to Catherine of Arragon. Henry VIII., according to
a somewhat apocryphal story, replied to a suggestion,
" How well it would become his greatness to erect a fair
monument for her," " Yes ; I will leave her one of the
goodliest in the kingdom," — meaning this church.
[A.D. 1541 — 1556.] JOHN CHAMBERS retained the abbot's resi-
dence as his palace ; and the new diocese was endowed
with a third part of the property of the abbey, amounting
to the yearly value of £733, (equal to about £14,660 of
our money); the other two parts being assigned to the
King, and to the newly-established chapter, consisting of
a dean and six canons. Bishop Chambers erected for him-
self in the cathedral a monument with an effigy, which
was destroyed in 1643.
[A.D. 1557, deposed 1559.] DAVID POOLE, Fellow of All
Souls, chaplain to Henry VIII., Chancellor of Lichfield,
Archdeacon of Salop and of Derby, Canon of Exeter, and
Dean of the Arches ; was deprived for denying the supre-
macy of Queen Mary ; " being esteemed a grave person
and very quiet subject," says Antony Wood. He was
committed to custody, but soon liberated, and died on one
of the farms belonging to the see. He was buried in the
cathedral.
"A.D. 1560, translated to Norwich 1584.] EDMUND SCAMBLER,
educated at Peter House, Prebendary of York and West-
minster, had been chaplain to Archbishop Parker. During
VOL.n. PT. I. K
130
his long episcopate at Peterborough, he alienated much of
the land belonging to the see ; " As if," says Gunton,
" King Henry had not taken away enough, and the Bishop
himself would take away more." The greater part of the
alienated estates passed into the hands of Cecil, who sur-
rounded his mansion-house at Burleigh with the spoils of
the see of Peterborough. At the commencement of the
Keformation, and during the reigns of Edward VI. and
Mary, the alienation of Church property had gone so far,
" that in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, statutes were
made disabling ecclesiastical proprietors from granting
away their lands except on leases for three lives, or twenty-
one years. But an unfortunate reservation was made in
favour of the crown. The Queen, therefore, and her cour-
tiers, who obtained grants from her, continued to prey upon
their succulent victim0." Cecil, however, was not more
" mercenary and rapacious " than the rest of Elizabeth's
courtiers, with the exception of Walsingham, " who spent
his own estate in her service, and left not sufficient to pay
his debts." (See ELY, Part II.— Bishop Cox.) The Bishop
of Peterborough was not less active in the work of aliena-
tion after his translation to Norwich ; and Lord Keeper
Puckering petitioned the Queen to confer the see of Ely on
Scambler, when eighty-eight years old, in order that he
might give him a lease of part of the lands. This second
translation never took place ; and by an act in the first
year of James I., conveyances of bishops' lands to the
crown are made void : " a concession," says Hallam, " much
to the King's honour.'
[A.D. 1585—1600.] RICHAKD ROWLAND, Master of St. John's
College, Cambridge. In 1594 he was disappointed of the
archiepiscopal see of York, which he had " much endea-
voured after." During his episcopate, Mary Queen of
Scots was buried at Peterborough. The sermon on this
occasion, however, (from Ps. xxxix. 5, 6, 7,) which " made
« Hallam, Const. Hist., ch. iv.
JBoht to Ifeiwg. 131
a great noise among factious people," was preached by
William Wickham, Bishop of Lincoln.
[A.D. 1601—1630.] THOMAS DOVE, Fellow of Pembroke Hall
and Dean of Norwich, a chaplain of Queen Elizabeth's,
who was wont to call him " the Dove with silver wings,"
from his excellent preaching and reverend aspect. He
kept great hospitality during his long episcopate.
[A.D. 1630, translated to Bath and Wells 1632.] WILLIAM
PIERS, Dean of Peterborough. (See WELLS CATHEDRAL.)
[A.D. 1633, translated to Hereford 1634.] AUGUSTINE LIND-
SELL, Fellow of Clare Hall, Prebendary of Lincoln and
Durham, Dean of Lichfield. Bishop Lindsell, whose
learning was considerable, was the editor of " Theophylact
on St. Paul's Epistles," fol. 1636.
[A.D. 1634—1638.] FRANCIS DEE, Fellow of St. John's,
Cambridge, Chancellor of Salisbury, and Dean of Chi-
chester.
[A.D. 1639 — 1649.] JOHN TOWERS, Fellow of Queens',
Cambridge, Prebendary of Westminster and Dean of
Peterborough. The " great commission for draining the
fens " was opened at Peterborough soon after this bishop's
accession. The commissioners sat for some days in the
great hall of the palace ; and their decisions were hence-
forth known as "Peterborough law." The troubles of
the civil war fell heavily on Bishop Towers, whose
cathedral suffered more than any other in England from
the fanatic soldiery. (Part I. § xv.) He was himself for
some time in attendance on the King, and having been,
says Willis, " outed of all by the iniquity of the times,"
died in obscurity, Jan. 10, 164f, " twenty days before his
great master King Charles."
). 1660, translated to Lincoln 1663.] BENJAMIN LANEY,
appointed after twelve years' vacancy of the see, had been
Master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and Dean of Ro-
chester. He had attended Charles II. during his exile.
Dr. Cosin, consecrated to the see of Durham at the same
K 2
132
time as Bishop Laney to that of Peterborough, had been
Dean of Peterborough before the troubles, and returned to
his former charge on the Restoration. The cathedral of
Peterborough, which remained in a ruinous condition for
many years after the desecration, had been partly restored,
and was used by the inhabitants as a parish church. He
rebuilt one of the great western arches which had fallen
down. Dean Cosin, installed Dean Nov. 7, 1640, "re-
newed the ancient usage," and " settled the church and
choir in a proper order."
[A.D. 1663—1679.] JOSEPH HENSHAW, Fellow of All Souls,
Dean of Chichester, author of Horce Succesivce, a book of
some reputation in its day. " Having lived not very hos-
pitably in his diocese," writes Brown Willis, he died
suddenly in London, and was buried near his wife in the
church of East Lavant, Sussex, which living had been
bestowed on him by Archbishop Laud.
[A.D. 1679, translated to Norwich 1685.] WILLIAM LLOYD,
translated to Peterborough from Llandaff. Bishop Lloyd,
who died in 1710, was the longest lived of the Nonjuring
bishops. He was deprived 1690. (See NORWICH.)
[A.D. 1685, deprived 1690.] THOMAS WHITE, also a Non-
juror. Educated at St. John's, Cambridge, Chaplain to the
Princess Anne, and Vicar of Newark. He was one of the
seven bishops sent to the Tower. He died 1698.
[A.D. 1691 — 1718.] RICHARD CUMBERLAND, a native of Lon-
don, educated at St. Paul's School, and Magdalene College,
Cambridge, became successively Rector of Bampton, Ox-
fordshire, Chaplain to the Lord Keeper, Sir 0. Bridgeman,
1668, and Rector of All Saints, Stamford, 1680. " He had
no pretension to quick and brilliant talents," writes his
great grandson, Richard Cumberland, author of "The
Observer." " His mind was fitted for elaborate and pro-
found researches, as his works more fully testify." Bishop
Cumberland was the author of a refutatioa of the ' free
principles ' of Hobbes, entitled De Legibus Natures Dis-
f0 Clarxerirrg. 133
quisitio Philosopliica, a book which, between the years
1672 (when it first appeared) and 1750, was several times
reprinted, in Latin and English, both at home and on the
Continent. Besides some lesser works, Bishop Cumberland
also wrote Origines Gentium Antiquissimce, or, " Attempts
for Discovering the Times of the First Planting of Na-
tions." London, 1724. His monument remains in the New
Building, with an inscription already noticed. (Part I. § xx.)
[A.D. 1718 — 1728.] WHITE KENNETT had been eleven years
Dean of Peterborough, and is perhaps the most distin-
guished prelate who has ever filled the see. Bishop Ken-
nett was born at Dover in 1660, was educated at West-
minster and Oxford, and became successively Vicar of
Ambrosden, in Oxfordshire, Eector of Shottesbroke, Berk-
shire, and Dean (1708) and Bishop of Peterborough.
Bishop Kennett is best remembered, however, for his lite-
rary labours. Besides many smaller works in which he
replied to the arguments of Atterbury respecting the
history and rights of the Convocation, Bishop Kennett
wrote " Parochial Antiquities : a History of Ambrosden,
Bicester, and the Neighbourhood." 4to., 1695 : this book
was republished by Dr. Bandinel, (Oxford, 1818,) and is
still of considerable interest and value ; " A Complete
History of England," 3 vols. folio, 1706 (the third volume
alone is Kennett's, and contains the history from Charles T.
to William III.) ; and " A Eegister and Chronicle, Eccle-
siastical and Civil," 2 vols. folio, 1728. (Part I. § xx.)
The chapter library at Peterborough was greatly en-
riched by the care of Bishop Kennett, and of his registrar,
the Rev. Joseph Sparke, editor of a collection of chronicles
which has now become rare, entitled Historice Anglicanw
Scriptores Varii. London, folio, 1723. The volume con-
tains many of the chronicles connected with the abbey of
Peterborough.
[A.D. 1729—1747.] ROBERT CLAVERING was translated to
Peterborough from Llandaff.
134 g.et£rb0r0ttg|j CaijrebraL
[A.D. 1747, translated to Salisbury 1757.] JOHN THOMAS,
tutor to George III. (See SALISBURY.)
[A.D. 1757, translated to London 1764.] RICHARD TERRICK
(See ST. PAUL'S.)
[A.D. 1764 — 1769.] ROBERT LAMB, previously Dean of Peter-
borough 1744.
[A.D. 1769—1794.] JOHN HINCHCLIFFE, Master of Trinity
College, Cambridge ; which position he retained after he
became Bishop of Peterborough, until in 1789 he was
appointed to the Deanery of Durham, which he held with
his bishopric until his death.
[A.D. 1794 — 1813.] SPENCER MADAN, educated at West-
minster School, and Trinity College, Cambridge, of which
he became a Fellow 1750. He was appointed Prebendary
of Peterborough in 1770, and became Bishop of Bristol in
1793, from which he was translated the next year.
[A.D. 1813—1819.] JOHN PARSONS, born at Oxford 1761,
educated at the Cathedral School, Christ Church, and at
Magdalen College, became Fellow of Wadham 1785, and
was elected Master of Balliol 1798. He afterwards was
appointed Dean of Bristol, and in 1813 Bishop of Peter-
borough. He retained the Mastership until his death. He
died at Oxford, and was buried in the chapel of Balliol
College.
[A.D. ] 819— 1839.] HERBERT MARSH, born in 1757, educated
-at St. John's College, Cambridge, of which he became a
Fellow 1782. He resided some years at Gottingen and
Leipsic, when he became acquainted with German theology,
which he afterwards introduced into England, in the work
by which he is chiefly known, his translation of J. D.
Michaelis' " Introduction to the New Testament." Having
received a pension from Mr. Pitt for a political pamphlet,
he returned to England in 1800, and became Lady Mar-
garet Professor in 1807, which chair he occupied till his
death. In 1816 he was consecrated Bishop of Llandaff,
and in 1819 was translated to Peterborough.
ta tae*. 135
[A.D. 1839—1861] GEORGE DAVYS, Preceptor to Queen Vic-
toria, Dean of Chester 1831-1839.
[A.D. 1864—1868.] FRANCIS JEUNE, Master of Pembroke
College, Oxford, and Canon of Gloucester 1843, Dean of
Lincoln 1864.
[A.D. 1868.] WILLIAM CONNOR MAGEE, Dean of Cork 1864,
Dean of the Vice-Koyal Chapel, Dublin, 1866.
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
Architectural History, I.-II 141-143
West Front, III 143-144
Nave, IV 144-147
Nave Vaulting, Y 147-149
Nave-aisles, VI .. .. 149-151
Organ-screen and Ante-choir, VII. 151-152
Choir-stalls, Misereres, VIII 152-155
Central Tower, IX 155-156
Presbytery and Apse, Monuments, X.-XI 156-163
Transepts, XII.-XIII 163-167
Choir-aisles, X1V.-XVII 167-173
Jesus Chapel, XV 169-170
Apse, Bishop's Seat, Lady-chapel, XVI 170-171
St. Luke's Chapel, Beauchamp Chapel, XVII. .. 171-173
Cloisters, XVIII 173-178
Exterior, XIX 178-180
Bishop's Palace, XX 180-181
Gateways, XXI 181-183
Grammar-school, XXII 183-184
Distant Views, XXIII 184-185
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
FRONTISPIECE.
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH-EAST
NORWICH CATHEDRAL,
ST ETHELBEBT'S GATE
A Nave.
B Central Tower.
CC Transepts.
D Chapel of St. Osyth(?)
E Choir.
F Ap*e.
G Eastern Aisle, or Retro-choir.
H Jesus Chapel.
I <S2. Luke's Chapel.
K jSt'fe o/ Lady- chapel, destroyed.
L Beauchamp Chapel.
M Cloisters.
N Site o/ Chapter-house, destroyed.
9 .Door tnio Cfose.
10 Entrance to Vestry.
11 Queen Elizabeth's seat.
12 Tomb of Sir Mm. Boleyn.
13 Monument of fip. Overall.
14 Tomb o/ flp. Goldwell.
15 -Site o/ 7'omb o/ ^ir 2%o*. Erping-
ham, destroyed.
16 Entrance to St. Stephen's Chapel,
destroyed.
It Vault crossing aisle.
18 Monument of Sir Thos. Windham.
19 Remains of Bishop's Throne.
20 Entrance to Lady-chapel, de-
stroyed.
21 .Font.
22 Monument of Bp. Wakerirtg.
GROUND-PLAN, NORWICH CATHEDRAL. Scale, 100 ft. to i in.
1 l Bp. Nitfs Vha/ntry.
2 Tomb of Chancellor Spencer.
3 Tomb of Bp. Parkhurst.
4 Tomb of Sir John Hobart.
5 South-west door to Cloister.
6 South-east, or Prior's door.
1 1 Ante-choir— Chapel of Our
'
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PART I.
I. THE changes of the East Anglian see, and its
history before its removal to Norwich in 1094, will be
found noticed at length in Part II. The first stone of
the existing cathedral was laid on a spot of ground
called the " Cowholme," in the manor of Thorpe, at the
eastern part of the Lady-chapel, by Bishop HERBERT
(called LOSINGA, 1091—1119) in 1096. The building
itself, with the priory, was so far completed in 1101
that sixty Benedictine monks were then placed in the
latter. Bishop Herbert's work comprised the choir
and its aisles, the transept, and the eastern portion of
the nave. Bishop EVERAED (1121, deposed 1145) car-
ried on and completed the nave. In the year 1171 the
church was much injured by fire, but was restored by
JOHN OP OXFORD (1175 — 1200). The Lady-chapel,
which was destroyed by Dean Gardiner in the reign
of Elizabeth, was added at the eastern end by Bishop
WALTER OF SUFFIELD (1215—1247). In 1272, the last
year of the reign of Henry III., the church again
suffered greatly from fire, during a fierce struggle be-
142 Sforfokfc <£a%bral.
tween the monks and the citizens of Norwich. It was
restored, and was solemnly consecrated in honour of
the Holy Trinity on Advent Sunday, 1278a ; on which
day also Bishop William Middleton was enthroned.
The Bishops of London, Hereford, and Waterford, and
the Archbishop of Seez assisted at the consecration ;
and the king, Edward I., his queen, and court were
present. The Beauchamp chapel was added during the
Decorated period, but its exact date is unknown. The
clerestory of the choir was rebuilt by Bishop PERCY
(1356—1369), after being crushed by the fall of the
spire in the hurricane of 1362. The vault was added
by Bishop GOLDWELL (1472—1499). The west front
was altered by Bishop ALNWICK (1426, translated 1436),
partly during his life, and partly by his executors after
his death in 1449. The vaulting of the nave was the
work of Bishop WALTER LE HART (1446—1472), after
a disastrous fire in 1463. He also rebuilt the spire,
which had been struck by lightning, and had been the
cause of the conflagration. To Bishop Gold well, to
gether with the vault of the presbytery, may be ascribed
the alteration of its lower range of arches, under one
of which, on the south side, his tomb stands. Bishop
NYKKE, or Nix (1501 — 1536), added the vaulting
of the transepts, after a fire in 1509, and altered
two arches of the nave on the south side to form a
chantry chapel. The cloister, commenced by Bishop
a "Quo die ecclesiam Norwicensem, nunquam antea dedi-
catam, dedicavit Ep. Will de Middleton." — Cotton, ap. Anyl.
Sacr. i. p. 441.
ffifcsi cfrmtt. 143
Walpole in 1297, was completed by Bishop Alnwick
in 1430.
II. -The Norman work of the cathedral, and the
magnificent series of lierne vaults above the nave,
choir, and transepts, are its most important features.
No English cathedral (with the exception, perhaps, of
Peterborough) has preserved its original Norman
plan so nearly undisturbed. " Although retaining the
chevet termination of the continental cathedrals, the
general plan of this church differs most essentially
from them. Its great length as compared with its
breadth is such as is never found on the Continent ;
and the bold projection of the transepts is also a purely
English feature, though in this instance hardly carried
to the extent which the length of the nave required.
A central and two western spires or towers " — (Norwich
never possessed these latter) — " were absolutely in-
dispensable to complete such a design as this, which
could never be made to look short by such an addition,
while they would have the full value of their height
from the lowness and extreme length of the church V
III. Leaving for the present the gateways leading
into the Close (see § xxi.), we commence our examina-
tion of the cathedral with the west front, which, origin-
ally Norman, was greatly altered by Bishop ALNWICK
(1426, tr. to Lincoln 1436). The central door was
completed during the lifetime of the Bishop, and
displays in its spandrils his own arms and those of
the see, with the inscription, " Orate pro anima Domini
0 Fergusson's Handbook of Arch., p. 857-
144 gtorfoicfc <Ea%brHl.
Wilhelmi Alnwyk Epi." On either side are canopied
niches, from which the figures have disappeared. The
original Norman west front remains behind Bishop
Alnwick's additions, which were merely built up
against the old wall, disturbing it as little as possible.
The window above was added by the Bishop's executors
after his death in 1449, in accordance with the direc-
tion of his will. It is of great, perhaps disproportion-
ate size, although the tracery with which it is filled is
good and resembles as nearly as possible that of the
west window of Westminster Hall. Norman turrets rise
on either side ; and the fronts of the aisles, with their
doors and windows, are also Norman. The pinnacles
which crown the flanking turrets are due to Mr. Blore,
by whom the front was restored. Owing to deficient
bonding between the new work and the old, it became
dangerous two years since, rendering extensive repairs
necessary, which are not yet completed (1880).
IV. The nave [Plate I.], which we now enter, is
throughout Norman, with the exception of its vaulted
roof and of the chapel constructed by Bishop Nix in
the south aisle. Its western part is assigned, and with
probability, to Bishop EVEKARD (1121 — 1115), who no
doubt followed the original plan of his predecessor,
Bishop Herbert.
The nave, which extends 252 feet from the western
door, and comprises fourteen bays to the intersection
of the transepts, is the longest in England, with the
exception of that of St. Alban's, which extends to
290 feet. Four bays, however, are included in the
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE I.
THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END.
145
choir and ante-choir. The great open arches of the
triforium, which at once attract attention, thus form
a more peculiar feature in the general view of the
nave than its unusual length. The arrangement occurs
in early Norman work on the Continent, but is found
in no other English cathedral. There are, however,
examples in some important churches, as at Southwell
Minster and Waltham Abbey.
The nave piers are unusually massive, and alternate
regularly in design as far as the ninth pier from the
west end. On the east and west faces of the first pier
are circular half-piers, with cushion capitals. On the
inner faces of the second are three semi-attached shafts,
with plain caps. A single shaft set in the angle of
each pier supports the outer arch, which is decorated
with the billet-moulding. A second shaft in the alter-
nate piers runs up to and supports the outer triforium
arch. The faces of the piers towards the nave have
alternately four shafts and one ; i.e. two vaulting shafts,
and one, and two shafts running up to the triforium
arch and none. The bases of the piers, which had been
much injured by the burning timbers at the time of
the great fire of 1463, have undergone a Perpendicular
transformation.
The triforium, of which the arches are scarcely less
in size than those of the nave below them, extends
over the whole space of the aisles, and is lighted by
segmental-headed Decorated windows inserted at the
back, the exterior walls being raised to receive them.
The original triple Norman arcades remain beneath the
VOL. II. PT. I. L
146 gtorfoitjj
later windows, with double wall-shafts between them in
the southern triforium, which are destroyed in that to
the north. The outer wall has been raised to a con-
siderably greater height in the two easternmost bays,
and taller windows inserted, the roof being set with
an inward slope to gain additional light to the choir.
On the whole north side of the nave, and as far as
Bishop Nix's chantry on the south side, the outer arch
of the triforium is eccentric to the sub-arches. The
alternate courses of darker and lighter stone in the tri-
forium arches should be noticed. Throughout, the
triforium arches have triple shafts on their inner sides,
and a zigzag moulding above them. The clerestory
is set back within a wall-passage, forming a series of
triple arches, as at Oxford. The central arch, at the
back of which is the window, is raised on slender
shafts, resting on the capitals of those below. A billet-
moulding surrounds this arch. The clerestory lights
are Norman. The capitals and bases of piers and
shafts are throughout plain, except in the western part
of the wall-arcade of the southern triforium.
The alteration of the western doorway is at once
evident from within, the original Norman arch remain-
ing above Bishop Alnwick's Perpendicular insertion.
A lofty Norman arcade of two arches remains on either
side of the doorway. The two northern arches are
some inches higher than those south ; and following
the indication thus afforded, it will be seen that through-
out the nave all the arches on the north side are
slightly higher than those opposite, — a fact for which
147
it is difficult to account, but from which we may per-
haps conclude that one side of the nave was completed
before the other.
V. The beautiful lierne-vault of the nave was the
work of Bishop WALTER LEHART (1446 — 1472), the
original Norman roof, which was of wood, having been
destroyed when the spire of the cathedral was struck by
lightning in 1463. The vaulting-shafts are of the same
date as the roof itself. They descend alternately to
the level of the triforium and clerestory. The latter
having to meet a pair of Norman vaulting-shafts are
united by an awkward fork resembling a water-pipe,
similar to what is seen in the lantern of Gloucester.
Bishop Lehart's de-
vice,— a hart lying
in the water ( Wa'ter
Lie-hart), — altern-
ates with an angel
bearing a shield
on the corbels at
the bases of the
longer shafts. The bosses of the roof, 225 in number,
are carved with minute figures, which form a com-
plete sacred history, beginning at the tower end with
the Creation, and ending with the Last Judgment.
All were originally painted and gilt. The vault was
washed stone-colour in 1806, but was cleaned and the
colouring partially restored in 1872. The bosses
have been made the subject of an elaborate de-
scription, illustrated by photographs, written by Dean
L 2
148 gorfoitk <&a%bral.
Goulburn, and published by Mr. Stacy of Norwich.
In the centre of this roof, between the west door and
the choir screen, is a circular opening of some size.
Similar openings exist in the roofs of Durham and
Exeter Cathedrals, and in other vaults of the Decorated
and Perpendicular periods; and it has been con-
jectured that they served for censing the church on
great festivals, and for other occasional ceremonies c.
The great west window is best seen from the upper
part of the nave. It is filled with stained glass by
HEDGELAND, as a memorial of Bishop STANLEY, who died
in 1849. The design is of more pictorial character than
usual, but the result is very far from pleasing. The
subjects are — the adoration of the Magi, the finding of
Moses, and the Ascension, after KAFFAELLE ; the brazen
serpent, after LE BKUN ; and Christ blessing little chil-
dren, after WEST. In the centre of the nave, over the
c Harrod, Castles and Convents of Norfolk, p. 270. Mr.
Harrod quotes the following passage from Lambarde's Topo-
graphical Dictionary : — " I myself, being a child, once was in
Paule's Church at London, at a feast of Whitsontide, wheare the
comyng down of the Holy Ghost was set forth by a white pigeon
that was let to fly out of a hole that is yet to be seen in the
mydst of the roof of the great ile ; and by a long censer which,
descending out of the same place almost to the very ground,
was swinged up and down at such a length that it reached
at one swepe almost to the west gate of the church, and with
the other to the queer stairs of the same, breathing out over
the whole church and companie a most pleasant perfume of such
swete things as burned therein." A curious account of similar
ceremonies in the great church at Dunkirk early in the last
century will be found in the fourth volume of Ellis's Letters
Illustrative of English History, Fourth Series.
149
grave of Bishop Stanley, is a black marble slab, the
inscription on which should be read.
VI. The nave-aisles are covered by a plain quadri-
partite vault, without ribs, springing from shafts set
against the piers of the nave, and from half-piers with
semi-attached shafts against the opposite wall. The
bays are divided by a plain arch, slightly horse-shoed.
Decorated windows have been inserted ; and a blank
arcade, of five arches in each bay, fills the wall below
them. In both aisles some of the original Norman
window-splays, with shafts at the angles, remain.
In the north aisle, in the fifth bay stands a mag-
nificent altar-tomb of Purbeck marble with richly
panelled sides, removed from the Jesus Chapel. It is
that of Sir THOMAS WYNDHAM and his four wives, and
formerly stood in the Lady-chapel. The brasses are
lost. A mural monument above it, to a lay clerk named
Parsley, has a quaint inscription that may reward
perusal. Between the sixth and seventh pillars lies the
learned Dean PRIDEAUX, author of the " Connection of
Sacred and Profane History," d. 1724. In the eighth
bay an Early English door with segmental head and
curious carving in the spandrils, now blocked up,
opened to the green-yard of the priory, in which was a
cross where sermons were occasionally preached. In
the ninth bay is a memorial window by WASHINGTON,
for WILLIAM SMITH, d. 1849, for forty years Professor
of Modern History at Cambridge. In the tenth bay
is an altar-tomb with a beautiful panelled face, from
which the brasses have been removed. It is that of
150 gorfowjj <&a%brHl.
SIR JOHN HOBART, Attorney-General to Henry VII.
This monument was enclosed in a chantry.
In the south aisle the windows of the sixth bay have
been filled with stained glass as a memorial for mem-
bers of the family of Hales, by WAILES. The seventh
and eighth bays were converted into a chantry by
Bishop Nix (1501 — 1536). The sides of the piers and
the vaulting are much enriched with panels and tracery
of late Perpendicular character. The Bishop's arms
occur in the spandrils ; and at the east end, forming
the reredos with a pillar-piscina at the south-east
corner, are three canopied niches. The iron-work on
which the ' sacring-bell ' hung, remains ; but the railing
which surrounded the chapel, together with a stone
bracket which projected into the nave, were destroyed
by the Puritans. The windows of this chantry are
filled with stained glass to Sir SAMUEL BIGNOLD, by
HABDMAN, with silvery canopies, and to Sir ROBERT
HARVEY, by O'CONNOR, the colours of which are much
too glaring. ' In the seventh bay is the tomb of Chan-
cellor SPENCER, on which the rents of the dean and
chapter were formerly paid; and in the ninth is the
plain altar-tomb of Bishop PARKHURST (1560 — 1575),
from which the brasses have been removed. Against
the wall is the monument of Dean GARDINER (1573 —
1589), who pulled down the ruined Lady-chapel ;
and against the pier at the foot of Chancellor Spencer's
tomb, a mural monument for Dean HENRY FAIRFAX,
one of the Fellows of Magdalen who resisted James II.
In the last bay of this aisle toward the east, and in the
151
fifth bay from the west, are doors opening to the clois-
ters. (See § xvin.) On the west side of the eleventh
pier is a painted mural monument to William Inglott,
organist of the cathedral (died 1621), depicting Art
and Age crowning him.
VII. The ninth pier on either side differs from all
the rest, and is circular, with a spiral ribbed orna-
ment, like that of the piers at Durham. These piers
mark the original extent of the choir, which, as usual
in Norman cathedrals, stretched beyond the central
tower, and comprised two, and with the western screens
and chapels four, bays of the nave. The pier now
incorporated with the organ-screen will prove on
examination to have been originally of a similar cylin-
drical form. Beyond this point eastward, the vaulting-
shafts are cut short about half-way, to prevent their
interfering with the stalls and the vault of the western
chapels, and terminate in corbel-heads. A skeleton
peeps out grimly under the plaster of the wall-arcade
at the end of the south aisle.
The organ-screen at present crosses the nave at the
east end of the eleventh bay. The lower part, which
is ancient, has been restored, and was no doubt the
work of Bishop Lehart, whose arms and device appear
in the spandrils of the entrance. The projecting
upper part, which was completed in 1833 by Mr.
Salvin, is heavy and ugly, and its effect is by no means
improved by the decoration of the organ which stands
above it. Extending westward, between the piers on
either side of the screen door, were small chapels with
152 Jujrfamlj (Catfecbrnl
altars; that on tlie north dedicated to St. William, a
boy said to have been crucified by the Jews in 1137
(see Part II., Bishop EVERAHD, and compare the notice
of " Little St. Hugh," Lincoln Cathedral), that on the
south to St. Mary. Both were destroyed during the
Rebellion. The reredoses of these chapels remain,
but their character is almost obliterated by restoration.
The pillar-piscina of that to the north may still be
seen, as well as the cluster of shafts on either side of
the entrance which supported the vault that roofed in
these chapels westward.
The ante-choir, which fills the space under the organ-
loft, between two piers, was the chapel of our Lady of
Pity. Its upper portion is cut off by the floor of the
organ-loft, which forms a huge gallery, from which,
till recently, the cathedral service used to be sung.
Galleries above the stalls still encumber the choir on
either side. The walls north and south are covered
with a Perpendicular panelling. Till 1854 the
side-aisles were blocked by solid walls, broken by
doors. They are now filled with stone screens, glazed ;
that to the north having formed part of a screen
separating the Jesus Chapel from the north-east aisle
of the choir, from which it was most unwarrantably
removed.
VIII. The choir itself extends beyond the screen to
the extreme eastern apse, the graceful curve of which,
seen beyond the Norman arcades of the central tower,
is very picturesque and striking. Bishop Lehart's roof
extends to the western piers of the tower. The lower
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE
STALLS I.N THE CHOIR.
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE III.
MISERERES IJS1 THE CHOIR
JJUscrms. 153
arches of the choir have now plain mouldings, instead
of the billet seen in the nave. In other respects the
two bays west of the tower differ not at all from those
of the nave. The stalls [Plate II.] are arranged on
either side of the choir as far as the transept. They
are sixty-two in number, for the prior, sub-prior, and
sixty monks. Their carving and details, which are
Perpendicular and probably of the middle of the
fifteenth century, are excellent and deserve the closest
examination. Remark especially the birds serving as
crockets, and the curious circular heads at the folia-
tion-cusps of the arches. The paint with which these
stalls were encrusted at the general " repair and beau-
tification " in 1806 has been removed, and the broken
portions carefully restored.
The misereres below [Plate III.] are still more in-
teresting than the stalls, and are of two periods : the
earlier, dating probably from the commencement of
the fifteenth century, are distinguished by a ledge or
seat with sharp angles ; the later, which date from the
end of the same century, have a ledge rounded at the
sides, and sinking inward at the centre. They have
been carefully examined and described by Mr.
Harrodd. All will repay careful notice; but the
most interesting are as follows : —
South side of choir, beginning west.
2. A lion and dragon biting each other. The grouping
very spirited.
d Castles and Convents of Norfolk. The descriptions which
follow are Mr Harrod's.
154 gtorfckfc <&a%bral
3. A rose-tree.
6. A man seated, reading. Right, a shepherd, with his
flock about him. Left, a group of scholars ; two with books,
two fighting : the master taking cakes from a basket.
10. A man and a woman, in civil costume ; the lady with
a rosary, the man with a long girdle.
12. A crowned head.
16. Two male figures, preparing to wrestle.
Corporation-pew, south of choir.
23. A large human head, supported by foliage.
28. A schoolmaster scourging a child : his scholars about
him.
30. A fox running away with a goose, pursued by a woman
with a distaff ; meanwhile, a pig feeds from a pot, and other
pots and pans are thrown about in the melee.
North side of choir, beginning west.
4. A knight in armour.
5. A huntsman, with stag and dogs.
7. A knight and lady. The arms on either side are Wing-
field (right} and Boville (left). Sir Thomas Wingfield married
the heiress of Boville in the latter part of the reign of
Edward III.
13. A man in armour, sitting on a lion, and tearing open
its jaws.
16. A man riding on a boar.
17. A large owl, with small birds about it.
18. A man drinking, upset by a boar.
Corporation-pew, north of choir.
23. A man riding on a stag.
28. A castle.
29. A monkey driving another in a wheelbarrow.
Central &ote, 155
The Bishop's throne was erected by Dean Lloyd,
towards the end of the last century, " in resemblance
of ancient Gothic workmanship."
IX. The central tower, the first story of which is
early Norman, and probably part of Bishop Herbert's
work, is open to the roof, as a lantern. The upper
stories are also Norman, but of later date. The tower
is raised on four very lofty circular arches, having
semi-attached shafts in front and in the rebates.
Above, on all four sides, are three arcades, all cir-
cular-headed, the upper and lower pierced with pas-
sages leading to the roof. The lower arcade is of six
arches on each side. That in the centre is narrower
than either of the others, and merely relieves the
wall, " except in the extremity of each face, where
it is pierced by a large circular aperture, which goes
quite through the wall." The upper arcade of three
arches is the loftiest, and is pierced for windows.
Two large shafts support each a group of smaller ones,
from which the arch springs within which the window
is set, all the shafts being " admirably proportioned
to the great height at which they are placed." The
windows are filled with stained glass, which produces
a singularly good effect. Above this arcade the lan-
tern is closed by a flat wooden ceiling of the worst
possible design, which it is hoped may be speedily
removed.
The transepts (§ xn.) which open south and north
from the tower, were formerly separated from the
choir, and encumbered by huge galleries. They were
156 Ifarfoicb <&a%bral,
thrown into it during the alterations of 1851, and have
been filled with oaken benches almost to the very end.
X. The portion of the choir [Plate IV.] which ex-
tends eastward of the tower has been greatly altered,
although the original Norman ground-plan remains
unchanged. The roof and clerestory had been crushed
in 1362 by the fall of the spire. The clerestory was
then built by Bishop Percy. The present stone vault
was erected by Bishop GOLDWELL (1472-1499), who
also transformed the arches on either side, as far as
the apse, from Norman to Perpendicular. Bishop
Percy's roof of finely-moulded oaken timber, originally
intended to be seen from below, still remains above
the stone vaulting.
The original design of the presbytery seems to have
differed in no respect from that of the nave. The
Norman arches of the triforium, which are without
the zigzag ornament of those in the nave, remain un-
touched; but the shafts running up in front of the
piers have been cut away, except at the junction of
the choir with the apse, where the shafts once sup-
porting the great arch have been altered, but their
Norman capitals retained.
The triforium should be ascended for the sake of the
view ; that from the centre of the apse is remarkably
grand, commanding the whole length of the church to
its west window. In the walls at the back of the tri-
forium, below its segmental-headed Decorated win-
dows, are the original triple Norman windows, now
closed, between which are double wall-shafts, once
NORWICH CATHEDRAL. PLATE IV-
THE LANTERN, PRESBYTERY AND APSE.
157
supporting the semi-arches of the triforium roof. The
capitals on the south side are somewhat richly carved,
though so far removed from the eye.
Bishop Percy's clerestory is very light and grace-
ful. Groups of slender shafts, rising in a line with
the triforium arches, form an arcade in front of the
lofty four-light windows [Plate V.], between which are
tall ogee-headed niches. They assist in carrying the
groined ceiling, eighty-three feet from the pavement,
which is, however, not so rich as that of Bishops
Lehart or Nix. The windows of the apse, and on the
south side of the choir, are flamboyant ; those on the
north Perpendicular. " The bosses, which are so ela-
borate and varied in the nave, are here very poor, the
bishop's rebus (a well, or) forming the subject of the
majority." (Harrod.) " In the centre of the roof . . .
is a small round hole, from which, I believe, hung the
light of the Sacrament, the usual place of which was
before the altar, and not above it. From hence, at
Easter, might the light have been let down to fire the
great sepulchre light. The hole is not a forced one ;
it was made when the roof was built." — (Id.)
The apse, which, like the eastern part of the choir,
was originally early Norman, and the work of Bishop
Herbert, is semicircular as far as the top of the tri-
forium. The clerestory, added by Bishop Percy, is
pentagonal ; and the manner in which the change is
effected deserves notice. The lower part of the apse
consists of five arches, once closed but now open.
They have the zigzag ornament, and the shafts of
158
their piers are much enriched. They were originally
closed half-way up, and contained stone benches for the
clergy. The bishop's throne remains in a shattered
state in the central arch (see the original arrange-
ment in the aisle behind, § xvi.). This was the most
ancient position for the episcopal chair — at the back
of the high altar ; a position which it still occupies in
some Continental churches, as it formerly did at Can-
terbury. The eastern part of the choir has received
much well-directed renovation at the cost of Dean
GOULBURN. The original levels have been restored,
and the Norman bases laid bare two feet below the
Perpendicular bases. A fragment of a Norman arch
(a restoration) will be noticed on the north side.
The apse and sacrarium are paved with POWELL'S
glass mosaic, with slabs of porphyry and other rich
marbles interspersed. Bands of vine-foliage surround
the Holy Table.
The inlaid altar-table, designed by Mr. A. W.
BLOMFIELD, of great richness and appropriateness of
design, stands in the centre of the chord of the
apse.
The triforium arches of the apse are slightly below
the level of those in the choir. They are five in
number ; and their groups of shafts, with the space
seen at the back of the arches, lighted by windows
filled with stained glass, produce a very fine effect.
The capitals here are slightly more enriched than in
the choir. Two grotesque heads serve as brackets on
either side of the first pier. The clerestory of the
159
apse has the same wall-passage as the rest of the pres-
bytery. The glass with which its windows are filled
is entirely modern, by WARRINGTON. The triforium
window below is a memorial to Canon Thurlow, and
is tolerably good.
The view looking westward from the apse should
be noticed. The unusual height of the choir (83 feet)
as contrasted with that of the nave (72 feet), and the
open arcades of the central tower, are the features
which most attract attention.
XI. The four lower arches on either side of the
presbytery, between the apse and the central tower,
once closed behind and converted into recesses covered
with florid tracery, were opened about 1875. The
fronts of the piers between the arches are also covered
with tracery and tabernacle-work. Above the arches
are square panels with shields of arms, in all of
which the bull's head of Boleyn is conspicuous ; and
the whole is crowned by a pierced parapet which
rises above the base of the triforium. The small
turrets in the tabernacle-work perhaps refer to the
castle which forms the arms of Norwich. The
shields, which are those of Boleyn with quarterings,
constitute a "memorial of Sir William Boleyn of
Blickling, who died 1505, and whose monument was
in the first arch on the south side; and we may
therefore conclude that his screen-work was erected
by the Boleyn family after his death e."
" The Norman workmen had built this end of the
e Harrod, Churches and Convents of Norfolk, p. 289.
160 gforfoicfe Ca%braL
choir slightly out of the straight line, so that a line
drawn through the centre of the nave would strike
the east end of the presbytery some inches south
of the actual central point of it. The Perpendicular
walls have been built so as in some measure to cor-
rect this deviation ; and the consequence has been,
that the central shaft of the two eastern arches on
the south side, would, if it had been left in its place,
have overhung the parapet; but it has been com-
pletely removed, and the wall made flat up to the
spring of the arches. All the shafts in the same
position on the north side are pared down in a
similar way f."
In the recesses on the north side of the choir,
are —
1. (beginning from the west) mural tablets for
Bishop HORNE (died 1792) and Dean LLOYD (died
1790).
2. The monument of Dr. MOORE (died 1779) ;
whose periwigged head is in grotesque juxtaposition
with a cherub making a very ugly face, and drying
his eyes with what seems to be his shirt. On a
panel in front of the pier is a tablet for the youngest
son of Bishop HALL, who died in 1642.
4. The fourth recess on this side is known as
" Queen Elizabeth's seat," because it was prepared
for that Queen's occupation on her visit to Norwich,
as Bishop Freake's guest, in 1578. At the back of
this recess is a quatrefoiled hagioscope or squint,
f Harrod, Churches and Convents of Norfolk, pp. 285, 286.
UTonwnwtts m (Cjjoir. 161
affording worshippers in the aisle a view of the
altar before the later work was erected in front of it.
Another similar hagioscope is said to have existed on
the opposite side of the presbytery. The Perpen-
dicular panelling of this recess is modern, and was
constructed at the time the arches of the apse were
stopped up (before 1785). Before that time this
recess was filled in with a plain partition, reaching
to within a foot of the spring of the arch. The
Perpendicular bases are on a higher level than those
of the other recesses, there having been a flight of
steps leading up to the bridge-chapel, across the
procession path (§ xiv.). Chantrey's statue of Bishop
Bathurst, originally placed here, has been removed
to the South Transept.
On the south side, beginning from the east, the
tomb in the first recess is shewn as that of Sir
William Boleyn (died 1505), father of Thomas
Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, and great-grandfather of
Queen Elizabeth. Blickling, about thirteen miles
from Norwich, was the property of the Boleyns
before its purchase by the Hobarts ; and is generally
thought to have been the birth-place of Anne Boleyn,
who is known to have spent her early years there.
The tomb is, however, modern, of red-brick plastered
over, and was set up when the Presbytery arches were
blocked up. The slab which covered this tomb, now
in the aisle floor, bears the matrix of a female efligy.
2. In the second recess is the monument of Bishop
OVERALL (died 1619), with a quaint coloured bust
VOL. II. PT. I. M
162 gorfaicfc
looking out from a niche above. The monument was
placed here by his friend and secretary, John Cosin,
after his own elevation to the see of Durham.
3. The third recess contains the chantry of Bishop
GOLDWELL (1472—1479), the builder of the present
clerestory and roof of the cljoir. The recess was not
closed by a wall, like the others, and is now glazed
at the back. The canopy of the tomb, covered with
Perpendicular tracery, divides the arch. The trellis-
work tracery of the vaulting should be remarked.
The altar-tomb, of which the sides are enriched with
ornamented panels, is at the south-west corner of the
recess ; and in the space, east, an altar was placed by
Bishop Goldwell during his lifetime, dedicated to the
Holy Trinity, SS. James the Greater and the Less,
the r credos of which remains. The effigy, which has
been painted and gilt, is interesting in spite of much
injury, and is remarkable as being " the only instance
of the monumental effigy of a bishop, prior to the
Eeformation, in which the cappa pluvialis, or proces-
sional cope, is represented as the outward vestment
instead of the casula, or chesible." — (M. H. Bloxam.)
Beneath the cope is the dalmatic, the ornamental
border of which runs the whole length of the effigy.
Beneath the dalmatic is seen the border of the tunicle,
and beneath this, again, the fringed ends of the stole,
and finally the skirt of the alb. The amice surrounds
the neck. The maniple hangs over the left arm. The
lower part of the pastoral staff has the vexillum,
or scarf, swathed round it.
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VI.
THE EAGLE LECTERN
1G3
In front of the high altar was the monument of
Bishop Herbert, founder of the cathedral. It was
much injured at the Rebellion; and of a new one,
which was erected in 1682, and taken down by Dean
Pellew to make room for the communicants, the slab
alone now remains fixed in the pavement. The very
beautiful bronze lectern [Plate VI.] of late Decorated
character, which was for a long time hidden among
useless lumber in the Jesus Chapel, deserves careful
attention. A pelican " in her piety," with her claws
resting on a globe, forms the support. Round the
base are three small figures, added in 1845 : a bishop
with pastoral staff, giving his benediction; a priest
with chalice; and a deacon wearing his stole over
his right shoulder.
XII. The transepts, like the choir and the lower
part of the central tower, are no doubt the work of
Bishop HERBERT. The general arrangement in both
is the same as that of the nave and choir ; they vary,
however, in details. The north and south ends of
both consist of three stories, in the lower of which
are two windows with a blind arcade between, and in
both the upper stories three Norman windows, from
which Perpendicular tracery has been removed. Be-
tween the windows rise vaulting-shafts, the upper
part of which is cut off by Bishop Nix's roof. The
north and south ends of both transepts have been
divided from the rest of the church by modern panelled
screens. Till within a comparatively recent period
the last bay of the South Transept was cut off by
M 2
164 jforfcitjj C a%bral.
a wall (shown in Britton's ground-plan), and was
annexed to the prison of the Close.
In the south transept, the lower part of the walls are
lined by a Norman arcade ; on the east side an inter-
secting arcade, with greatly elongated shafts, fills the
triforium space of the first bay on the east side,
behind which a staircase ascends to the upper stories
of the tower. The west wall shows two rows of
triple Norman windows. A bad stained window, of
the Ascension, executed by the wife of a former Dean,
judiciously removed from the apse, has found a place
here. The monument of Bishop SCAMBLER (1585 —
1595) is on the west wall, as well as a memorial brass
to the officers and men of the 9th (East Norfolk)
Eegiment of Foot who fell in China and Japan ; and
on the east wall is a monument to those of the same
regiment who fell in the Afghan campaign of 1842.
Here also is placed Chantrey's fine sitting figure of
Bishop Bathurst (died 1837), the latest work of the
sculptor, removed from the north side of the choir.
A clock, with figures of James I.'s time, which struck
the quarters with their axes, formerly stood here ;
and was probably the successor of a very curious
one erected between 1322 and 1325, with elaborate
machinery, resembling that of the clocks at Wells
and Exeter g.
The very rich roof of the transept was the work of
Bishop Nix (1501—1536). "Its bosses illustrate
£ This clock has been described (from the Norwich Sacrist
Kolls) by Mr. Way in the Archaeological Journal, vol. xii.
in ^str. 16
the early history of Christ, the Presentation, the
Baptism, the Disputation in the Temple, and some
of the early miracles."
The south transept, like the north,- had an apsidal
chapel projecting from it easterly; which has long
disappeared. At the south-east angle is the vestry,
a long vaulted room of the Decorated period, with a
chamber above it. It has been suggested that the
vestry was originally the sacristy ; and that the upper
room was a chapel of St. Edmund h.
In the vestry was preserved the altar-piece of the
Jesus Chapel, now in the choir-aisle at the east end
(§ xv.) ; a picture, according to Dr. Waagen, " of great
significance in the history of English painting." " It
contains, in five compartments, the Scourging, the
Bearing the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection,
and the Ascension ; and judging from the forms of
art, may have been executed between 1380 and 1400.
Here that idealistic tendency so often mentioned is still
throughout adhered to ; the well-arranged drapery is
of great softness ; the colouring powerful, and in
many of the heads of great warmth ; finally, the
treatment in size-colours broad, and in full body.
Both the figures and the raised elegant patterns of
the gold ground entirely resemble the indubitable
English miniatures of the same period ; so that there
is no question in my mind as to the English origin
of this picture. Excepting the Bearing of the Cross,
of which much has fallen off, the preservation may
h Harrod, p. 301.
166
be called good, and a glass over it prevents any
further mischief1." An engraving from this altar-
piece will be found in the Norwich volume of the
Archaeological Institute, together with a paper on
the subject by Mr. Albert Way, who (as does Mr.
Digby Wyatt) considers it a work of the Siennese
school (circa 1370). The heads, he observes, espe-
cially that of St. John, " recal strikingly the works
of Simone Memmi. That artist, however, died as
early as 1345."
The Norman arch opening from this transept into
the south choir-aisle, was filled with a screen- work of
rich late Perpendicular tracery by ROBERT BRONDE,
of Catton, the last Prior but one, 1504—1529. A
doorway opens below the screen-work. The design
is exceedingly elaborate, but graceful. It may be
compared with that of the screens (of somewhat later
date) with which Wolsey filled the Norman arches
at Oxford. The iron-work of the lock should be
remarked, with the Prior's initials, E.G., P.N.
(Robert Catton, Prior Norwicensis). The arch lead-
ing from this transept into the aisle of the nave
is filled with stone screen-work, bearing the initials
of Canons Wodehouse and Sedgwick.
XIII. In the north transept, over a door at the
north end, is a Norman wall-arcade, curiously orna-
mented above with a billet-moulding disposed in
triangular arches, with a rudely-carved animal's head
projecting between them. An arcade of semicircular
Art Treasures in Great Britain, vol. iii. p. 437.
167
arches, witli the billet-moulding, against the east
wall of the transept, marks the position of a stair-
case leading to the tower, the doorway to which with
its chequered tympanum, deserves notice. The bosses
of Bishop Nix's roof relate to the Nativity, and to the
events immediately succeeding. The eastern apsidal
chapel (possibly St. Osyth's) remains, but must be
entered from without; the communication having
been closed between it and the transept? (see § xix.).
The screen between this transept and the north choir-
aisle is modern, and its carvings deserve attention.
To make room for it, however, a, fine Early Eng-
lish doorway (given in one of Britton's plates) was
destroyed.
XIV. The aisles, which extend quite round the
choir, and from which three apsidal chapels pro-
jected at the east end, were Bishop Herbert's work.
The details closely resemble those of the nave-aisles.
On the floor of the north choir-aisle, which we now
enter, is a "remarkable Purbeck coped coffin-lid,"
discovered in 1781, buried face downward in the
pavement, . . . . " presenting the very unusual addi-
tion of a bevilled edge, in which an inscribed brass
was inserted entirely round it." — (Harrod.) The brass
itself has disappeared, although the nails remain. It
is possibly the monument of Prior NICHOLAS DE
BEAMPTON (died 1268) ; " but if so, it must be a very
early example of the brass fillet." A long raised
seat along the wall above this coffin-lid marks the
site of the monument of Sir THOMAS EKPINGHAM,
168
the " good Sir Thomas " of Agincourt (see § xxi.).
It has long been destroyed. A chapel (St. Stephen's
or St. Andrew's) was entered through the arch which
remains in the opposite wall, and corresponded with
the Beauchamp chapel in the south choir-aisle. No
portion of this Chapel now remains. On the wall
adjoining is the Elizabethan monument of Dame
Elizabeth Calthropp, died 1582. The procession
path is spanned by a bridge-chapel, accessible both
from the altar platform by steps of which traces
remain, and from the aisle by a newel staircase
recently restored carried through the vault which
supports the chapel. This vault, ribs and all, is of
chalk, of Early Decorated character. It has evi-
dently been lengthened at both ends. In the eastern
bay is the quatrefoil hagioscope or squint, already
noticed (§ XL). In common with all mediaeval ar-
rangements the use of which was not immediately
obvious, this opening was, in the last century, sup-
posed to have been made for hearing confessions,
and the vault bore the name of the " Confessionary."
An examination of the levels completely disproves
this hypothesis. Another hagioscope, now destroyed,
is said to have commanded the altar from the south
aisle. Ascending the restored spiral staircase it
will be seen that the quadripartite vaulting of the
chapel is decorated with painting. To the west,
the Blessed Virgin, between St. Margaret and St.
Catherine ; to the east, St. Andrew, St. Peter, and
St. Paul; to the north, St. Martin, St. Nicholas,
!«ww Cfeapd. 169
and St. liichard ; to the south, St. Edmund, St. Lau-
rence, and a bishop wearing a sword, with Our Lord
surrounded with natural foliage, the Thorn, in the
centre. There was a reredos, which, with the para-
pets, had been " recently taken down " in 1735.
From this chapel there was access to a chamber
above the destroyed chapel, known as " the Sanctuary
men's chamber." The gallery over the vaulting in the
aisle, according to Mr. Harrod, " might contain a
pair of organs for assisting the service here and in
Jesus Chapel adjoining V'*
XV. Immediately beyond this vault, is Jesus
Chapel; one of the three apsidal chapels which ter-
minated the Norman cathedral toward the east. It
is formed by intersecting circles, like the correspond-
ing chapel in the south aisle; the apse or eastern
end being a smaller semicircle. Jesus Chapel was
entirely altered during the Perpendicular period,
when its present windows were inserted. The
manner in which the original Norman arcade has
been converted into a piscina and sedilia, deserves
notice. An altar-piece formerly in this chapel is
now preserved in the vestry (§ xn.). The original
fresco painting, of Norman date, has been restored,
" perhaps with too little reserve " (Dean Goulburn).
The general effect is crude and staring. The win-
k Churches and Convents of Norfolk, p. 293. The Easter
sepulchre at Northwold, in the county of Norfolk, " has an
arched aperture in a similar position to this quatrefoil, com-
municating with the sacristy adjoining."
170 Sforfeitfc (Eatfetbral.
dows are filled with stained glass by HARDMAN and
POWELL "to the honour of the Blessed Lord and
Saviour, and in memory of his good and kind master
Edward Goulburn, Sergeant-at-law, to whom, under
God, he owes what he has to offer, by John Bulli-
vant, of Exeter." The table of the altar deserves
notice. It consists of a slab of grey Barnack stone,
with a piece of Purbeck marble inlaid, bearing, as
well as the slab, five incised crosses, the whole sup-
ported on twisted marble shafts. The room above the
Jesus Chapel, on the triforium level, has been con-
verted into a museum of architectural fragments and
archaeological curiosities, including some elaborate
semi-Norman fragments, some rich Renaissance terra-
cotta bricks from a chimney in the Locutory, the
doorway of Bishop Wakering's Chapel, &c.
XVI. The original arrangement of the apse is here
seen at its back. The arches were filled with a stone
screen, terminating about half-way up, and forming,
on the inner side, a series of benches or sedilia for
the clergy. The central arch had a stone chair or
throne for the bishop, raised on steps at the back of
the altar. (Portions of this throne still remain,
walled up on the western side of the arch.) The
side screens are ornamented at the back with an
arcade of intersecting arches. At the back of the
bishop's throne is a circular- headed recess. It has
been suggested that Bishop Herbert Losinga, the
founder, or Roger Bigod, Constable of Norwich
Castle, whom Bishop Herbert seems to have regarded,
's tffcspd. 171
as co-founder with himself, and who was certainly
interred in the cathedral, may have been buried here.
The Early English doorway, a double arch, with
a central shaft and quatrefoil above, recently opened,
gave admission to the Lady-chapel, built by Bishop
WALTER or SUFFIELD (1245 — 1257), and destroyed
by Dean Gardiner in the reign of Elizabeth. Its
foundations, proving it to have been of considerable
size, have been traced ; as well as those of the apsidal
Norman chapel, destroyed by Bishop Walter, which
corresponded with those still remaining north-east
and south-east.
Nearly opposite St. Luke's Chapel is an arched
recess, which once contained the effigy of Prior
Thomas Bozoun (died 1480). Above are painted
three skulls, representing three ages of life, with
morieris thrice repeated.
XVII. St. Luke's Chapel, in the south choir-aisle 5
resembles the Jesus Chapel opposite. It serves as
the parish church of St. Mary-in-the-Marsh ; and
has been "restored," and filled with chairs, and
contains two painted windows by HAEDMAN. The
font, of Perpendicular date, is much enriched with
sculptures of the seven sacraments and the Cruci-
fixion. These have been much mutilated, and the
figures are headless. Above St. Luke's Chapel is
the Treasury and Muniment-room.
A chapel, incorrectly called the Beauchamp Chapel
(or St. Mary the Less'), (a corruption of the name of
the founder, William Bauchun, temp. Edward II., as
172 jtorfoitfc
old as Sir Thomas Browne), opens south, next to
St. Luke's. The south window of this chapel, of
late Decorated, the Perpendicular canopied niche at
the east end, which perhaps contained a statue of the
Virgin to whom the chapel was dedicated, and
the bosses of the groined roof, which illustrate her
life, death, and assumption, the gabled piscina on
the south wall, and the diaper painting of the walls,
— should all be noticed. The Beauchamp Chapel
has long served as the Consistory Court, and the rich
groined vault, a century later than the fabric, is said
to have been put up by one Seckington, an eccle-
siastical lawyer who practised here.
Next to this chapel stood that of John Heydon, of
Baconsthorpe (died temp. Edward IV.), an active
adherent of the House of Lancaster.
In the last bay of this aisle was the entrance to
Bishop Wakering's Chapel, long since entirely de-
stroyed. It is said to have been used as the Chapter-
house after the earlier one was pulled down. In
some ill-advised repairs made about 1841 the entrance
doorway, a fine Perpendicular design, was removed,
and the compartment made to correspond with the
Norman work, to the obliteration of a piece of his--
tory. In 1847, to the east of this door, above the
ground level, a small anchorite's cell in the thick-
ness of the wall is said to have been discovered, with
a grated opening commanding the high altar. A
similar cell was attached to the north choir-aisle at
Peterborough Cathedral (see p. 114).
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
ATE
THE PRIOR'S DOOR.
Cloisius. Jlrior's J10or. 173
At the back of the choir, opposite this chapel, is
a long stone seat, with panelled front, and small
figures. It formed part of the monument of Bishop
WAKEBING (1416 — 1462), which was shattered during
the rebellion.
XVIII. Crossing the south transept, which has been
already described, we pass into the cloisters through
a door at the north-east angle. They are among the
most beautiful, and with the exception of Salisbury,
are the largest in England. The roof, the bosses of
which are covered with elaborate carvings, deserves
the most careful examination.
The Norman cloister was destroyed in the fire of
1272 ; and the present structure was commenced by
Bishop EALPH WALPOLE in 1297. It was continued,
according to William of Worcester, by Bishop SALMON
and others, between the years 1299 and 1325 ; and
completed, by different benefactors, between the years
1403 and 1425. Mr. Harrod, however, seems to be
perfectly justified in asserting that the cloisters were
begun and completed during the Decorated period,
and that the portions said by Worcester to have been
built between 1403 and 1425 were in reality only
repaired and altered at that period.
The eastern and southern walks are those assigned
by William of Worcester to Bishops Walpole and
Salmon, and said to have been built between 1297
and 1325. The Prior's door through which we pass
into the cloister, is of this date, and of very unusual
character [Plate VII.]. Under radiating canopies
174 Jbrtoub (f utbcbrul.
which cross the mouldings of the arch, are sculptured
— at the apex the Saviour in majesty, with an angel
in the niche immediately below on either side; in
the two lower niches on the west side, St. John the
Baptist and Aaron (?) (this figure may perhaps re-
present an Archbishop with the pall and high mitre ;
smaller figures are placed under the feet of each) ; in
those on the east side Moses and David. The Law
and the Gospel, or the priesthood and the 'regale,'
seem to be thus typified.
The large and beautiful windows of the east walk
are all early Decorated, and, like the others in the
cloister, were originally glazed in their upper por-
tions. The bosses of the roof contain subjects from
the four Gospels, together with some very beautiful
knots of foliage. Three niches or sedilia, with cano-
pies resting on four heads, of a peasant, a bishop,
a king, and a priest, are now built up in the east
wall, close without the prior's door. Their original
use is unknown1. In the sixth bay a door of very rich
design, ornamented with crockets finials and cusps,
now walled up, led into the 'slype,' or passage be-
tween the transept and chapter-house, destroyed when
the south front of the transept was restored. The open
arches beyond led into the chapter-house itself, which
1 u A recess in the same position at Wenlock, having three
lofty arches toward the cloister, was pointed out, at the visit
paid to that priory by the Institute in 1854, as a specimen of the
Trisanticz of Ducange. Whether these were sedilia appro-
priated to a similar purpose or not, I am unable to say."-
Harrod, Churches and Convents of Norfolk, p. 308.
Cloiste, Soafy an* ftfest ffilalhs. 175
has long been destroyed. The walled-up door beyond,
with a well-worn entrance-step, was probably that
leading to the staircase of the dormitory. The so-
called " dark entry," a vault at the south end of this
walk, formed an approach to the Infirmary, which
stood southward of the cloister. Three bays of the
southern arcade of this building are still standing,
of Transition Norman. The Infirmary was turned
into a workhouse for the poor in 1744. In 1804 it
was pulled down, with the exception of the fragment
still standing.
The south walk, built by Bishop SALMON (1299—
1325), has a slight difference in the tracery of its
windows, which are of more advanced Decorated
character. The greater part of the bosses of the
roof illustrate the Revelation of St. John. Other
subjects are added, from sacred and legendary his-
tory. That engraved overleaf evidently represents
the dedication of a church. At the angle of the
south and west walks a very fine view of the cathe-
dral and its spire is obtained. Here also the original
disposition of the triforium may be seen. The roof
sloped from close under the clerestory to the two
worn Norman arcades in the exterior wall. All above
these arcades is Decorated work.
The ivest walk is said by William of Worcester to
have been built early in the fifteenth century™; but
m A curious error in the transcripts of William of Worcester
led to much antiquarian discussion until it was recently cleared
up by Mr. Harrod. Worcester was made to say that the walk
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VI
THE LAVATORIES IN THE CLOISTERS.
Cloisters. 177
wall of the Refectory remains perfect, with the range
of Norman windows which originally lighted it on this
side. The south wall has been destroyed above the
height of nine feet. At the east end of the Refectory
are some interesting Norman chambers preserving traces
of decorative colours. These till recently, formed part
of a prebendal house. The ancient lavatories [Plate
VIII.], in the first two bays, have Perpendicular arches
and niches at the back. In the next bay but one is
a door which led into the Guesten hall, pulled down
by Dean Gardiner ; of which an Early English porch
covered with ivy, and a fragment of an Early English
window, remain in the adjoining garden. A door in
the last bay next the nave opens into the locutory or
Parlour, now the choristers' schoolroom, but till re-
cently the kitchen of a prebendal house. It is a fine
room of four bays, barrel-vaulted, divided by broad
flat ribs. The eastern part is Norman, the western
Early English, with windows in that style at the
end.
The subjects from the Revelation are continued in
the roof-bosses of this walk. The external face of
this side of the cloister, towards the Close, is pierced
with six rude circular windows with double splays,
formed of flint ; they are evidently of the same date
as the wall, and are supposed by the Rev. J. Gunn
to be of Saxon date. The interlacing Norman
arcade on the eastern side of the wall, in the room
above the cloister, has been evidently built on to an
earlier wall.
VOL. II. PT. I. N
178
The nor^ walk of the cloister contains eight Per-
dicular windows, set in Decorated frames ; one early
Decorated at the east end, and two late Decorated at
the west. The bosses represent the legends of dif-
ferent saints, together with a few subjects from the
New Testament. In the westernmost bay is the
Monks' entrance into the church, a door of elaborate
Perpendicular character, with tabernacles and statues
carried up the jambs and over the head.
All the walks have an upper story, lighted by small
windows looking into the quadrangle. That above
the north walk is a mere wall, but the space behind
it had formerly a lead roof.
XIX. The exterior of the central tower and spire
may be well seen either from the south walk of the
cloisters, or from the Lower close. The tower was
gradually refaced 1845 — 1856; but iW Norman arcades
and ornamentation have been carefully preserved. The
flanking turrets, with their reed-like shafts, are Nor-
man as high as the foot of the spires which crown
them. These spires are Perpendicular ; as is the para-
pet of the tower itself. The arcades and circular
openings of the tower may be compared with those of
the Norman transeptal towers at Exeter, — which are,
however, of somewhat later date. The spire, which
rises gracefully between the pinnacles of the turrets,
replaces one probably of wood covered with lead,
which had been burnt by lightning in 1463, and was
rebuilt by Bp. Lehart. Its height, from the battle-
ments of the tower, is 169 feet. The entire height
(Ssimor. Cljmr. (East €nir, 179
from the ground is 313 feet, — exceeding that of the
spire of Chichester (271 feet), and of Lichfield (258
feet), but falling much short of Salisbury (404
feet).
The face of the south transept has been re-cased by
Salvin, a pror-ess which has deprived it of much of its
antique character. The conical spires which terminate
the square Norman flanking turrets are modern. At
the same time the groined slype leading from the
cloister eastwards and the picturesque Singing-school
above it, were destroyed, a new south door opened, and
the history of the building so far falsified.
The exterior of the choir is well seen from the Lower
close. Flying buttresses, added at a later period, car-
ried from the wall of the triforium, connect it with
Bishop Percy's noble clerestory above (see § x.). Seated
figures of the apostles form the pinnacles of the but-
tresses ; and the clerestory itself, which is flat-roofed,
is surrounded by a battlemented parapet. At the
south-east and north-east angles of the choir project
the Norman apsidal chapels formed of intersecting seg-
ments of circles, rising in two stories. A blind arcade
passes round below the upper story, which has a second
arcade of large and separated arches. Each chapel
has three windows below ; one at the east end, one to
the west, and one looking respectively north and south.
The general view of the cathedral from the south-
east [see Frontispiece] comprehends all these details.
That from the north-east should be looked out for
toward sunset, when a very fine effect is occasionally
N 2
gorfoicfc
produced. The visitor should pass beyond the Lower
close, to the portion of the Precincts known as " Life's
Green," and place himself as near as possible to
the north wall of it. The various lines of the choir
and transept, with trees clustering between them, and
the tower and spire rising in the background, form a
composition of unusual grace and beauty.
From the east end of the north transept projects a
chapel in a ruinous condition, probably that of St.
Osyth. It has long been used as a storehouse. It ap-
parently resembled in every respect the eastern chapels
of the choir. The vaulting, filled in with flints, and
carried on even with the large Norman arch formerly
opening from the transept, should be noticed. The
east window was altered in the late Decorated period.
The north transept retains its ancient front. In a
niche over the door is a statue said to represent the
founder, Bishop Herbert.
XX. The Bishop's palace, which was formerly con-
nected with the north transept by a vaulted passage,
was founded by Bishop Herbert, but almost entirely
rebuilt by Bishop SALMON (1299 — 1325). It has been
much altered and added to at different times ; but still
contains some portions which may have belonged to
Bishop Herbert's work. The vaulted cellars are
curious. Bishop Salmon's great hall was destroyed
after the Rebellion; at which time it was used by
the Puritans as a " preaching-house." The entrance
gatehouse, standing as an ivy-clad ruin in the garden,
is the only portion remaining. The Bishop's chapel
NORWICH CATHEDRAL.
PLATE IX.
i
THE EKPINGHAM GATEWAY.
la ^rennets. 181
was built by Bishop Keynolds in 1662, across the
south end of Bishop Salmon's hall. It contains the
monuments of Bishop EEYNOLDS himself (1661 —
1676), and of his successor, Bishop SPARROW (1676
— 1685), both of whom are buried in it.
XXI. The principal entrance to the palace is through
a fine Perpendicular gateway, built by Bishop Alnwick
about 1430. Its wooden doors bear the rebus of Bishop
Le Hart. Far more interesting, however, are the two
gateways leading into the Precincts ; both of which
deserve especial notice. The earliest is St. EtJielberf s
Gate [Title-page], at the south end of the close ; built
by the citizens of Norwich as part of the fine for the
disturbances of 1272, to replace the gatehouse then
burnt by them. The lower part is accordingly good
early Decorated. The upper portion, of intermixed
flint and stone, was restored early in the present cen-
tury. The chamber above the archway was, as a
chapel, dedicated to St. Ethelbert. In the last cen-
tury, it was used as the concert room of a tavern, to
which use the gatehouse had been converted. In the
spandrils of the principal arch are figures of a man
with a sword and round shield, attacking a dragon.
On the side towards the Close is a Decorated window,
and some ancient flint panelling. The entire gateway
is a good example of the period.
The second, or ErpingJiam Gate [Plate IX.], stands
opposite the west front of the cathedral, and it is said
by Blomefield to have been built by Sir Thomas
Erpingham (Shakespeare's "white-headed" knight,
182 $orfoicfc
who fought at Agincourt), as a penance imposed on
him by Bishop Spencer, on account of his former
patronage of Wickliffe and the Lollards. The truth of
this story, however, has been entirely disproved by Mr.
Harrod. It seems to have arisen from the misreading
of the word " yenk," think— answering to the " have
mynde " or prayer for remembrance which appears on
many brasses0, which is placed on labels in front of
the gate. This word was read by Blomefield as
" pena," and on this slender foundation, together with
the fact that Sir Thomas's statue above is "on his
knees, as if begging pardon for his offence," the story
of the penance was constructed. The arms of Sir
Thomas and of his two wives appear on the gate ;
which therefore could not have been erected until
after his second marriage, which took place about
1411. Bishop Spencer, who is said to have imposed
the penance, had died in 1406.
The gatehouse itself " consists of a noble, well-pro-
portioned arch, supported on each side by a semi-hex-
agonal buttress; arch, spandrils, and buttresses being
covered with sculpture. The arch-mouldings are di-
vided into two parts ; the outer one containing a series
of fourteen female saints, the inner one twelve male
saints, admirably executed, with a light and elegant
canopy over each. Four labels with the word * yenk '
are placed between the bases of the shafts of the main
n The same motto, "yenk," "is placed several times in
brass labels on a stone commemorating a Curzoun in Bylaugh
Church." — Harrod.
Grammar- stljool anb Crgpl. 183
archway, across clusters of oak-leaves and acorns, from
which the pedestals of the lower figures emerge. The
canopies are masses of luxuriant foliage, designed
with the most exquisite skill. The spandrils contain
the device of the Trinity on the left, the arms of Erp-
ingham on the right. The buttresses are covered with
shields and devices of the families of Erpingham,
Clopton, and Walton (those of Sir Thomas Erping-
ham's wives), and bear on the top two figures of
ecclesiastics The upper part of the gate is
much plainer than the rest, and is of flint with stone
dressings. In the centre, under a canopy of the same
period as the other sculptured decorations, is a kneel-
ing figure of Sir Thomas Erpingham0."
XXII. The open space west and north of the cathe-
dral served as a general cemetery ; and in it, on the
left hand, between the Erpingham gate and the west
door of the church, Bishop Salmon, about 1316, built
a charnel-house, with a chapel of St. John the Evan-
gelist above it. The chapel now serves as the Gram-
mar-school ; and the crypt, in which all bones fit for
removal were " to be reserved till the day of resurrec-
tion," now serves, partly, as a playing place for the
boys. In this crypt were two altars, of which traces
remain. At one of them a mass was said daily for the
souls of the founder and his family, for all bishops
of the see, and for the souls of all those whose bones
were carried thither. The porch by which the gram-
mar-school is entered was added by Bishop Lehart,
0 Harrod, p. 264.
184
(1446 — 1472), and deserves notice for its unusual
character. Kemark also the foiled openings (see
woodcut) giving
light to the crypt.
On the lawn op-
posite the school
is a statue of Lord
Nelson, who for
a short time was
a pupil here.
XXIII. The
scanty remains of
the monastic build-
ings which adjoin
the cloisters have
already been noticed (§ xvni.). The present deanery,
a little east of the south-east angle of the cloister,
contains some Early English portions, which pro-
bably belonged to the prior's apartments. On the
north side is the Prior's Hall, lighted by two fine
two-light windows of late thirteenth- century work,
now used as the kitchen. A noble wide Perpendicular
arch forms the entrance to a broad stone staircase
leading to the principal apartments.
The Chapter library, which comprises a good col-
lection of books (although without any that call for
especial notice), is preserved in one of the buildings
in the Precincts.
XXIV. The best distant views of the cathedral—
which, however, are none of them very satisfactory —
Distant $ufos. 185
are to be gained from the castle hill, from the new
church at Thorpe, and from Household-heath. Mouse-
hold forms the high ground east of the city, and was
the spot on which Kett, the " tanner of Wymond-
ham," fixed his camp during the rising of the Norfolk
peasantry in the reign of Edward VI.
NOBWICH CATHEDBAL.
PART IL
f istmcg 0f % Sw, foitfe ^jwrt Jfrto 0f
fyt principal Htsbflijs.
A FTER the death, in the year 616, of Ethelbert of Kent,
**• who had received and been baptized by St. Augustine,
and partly in consequence, according to Bede, of the tem-
porary apostacy of his son Eadbald, the Bretwaldaship, or
predominating influence among the Anglo-Saxon princes,
passed into the hands of Rsedwald, King of the East
Anglians. Rsedwald, during a visit to Kent, had adopted
Christianity, and had been baptized: but he afterwards
relapsed into paganism, and gave a place in the same
temple to the altar of Christ and to that of his ancient
gods*. It was whilst an exile at the court of Rsedwald
that Eadwin of Northumbria received the mysterious visit
which prepared the way for his conversion by Paulinus
after his restoration to the throne b. This event belongs to
the early history of the see of York ; but it was not without
influence on the kingdom of East Anglia. Eorpwald, the
son of Rsedbert, was converted by Christian missionaries
a "Atque in eodem fano et altare haberet ad sacrificium
Christi, et arulara ad victimas daemonionim ; quod videlicet fanum,
rex ejusdem provinciae Alduulf, qui nostra aatate fuit, usque ad
suum tempus perdurasse et se in pueritia vidisse testabatur."—
Bede, H. E., lib. ii. c. 15.
b See the narrative in Bede, H. E., ii. 12.
H*e tstablis^b at Jmtfoitjj. 187
(possibly by Paulinus himself) sent into his kingdom by
Eadwin. On the death of Eorpwald, East Anglia became
once more heathen ; but Christianity was finally established
by Sigeberht, brother of Eorpwald, who had been converted
whilst an exile in Burgundy. About the year 630, FELIX,
a Burgundian missionary to whom Sigeberht may have
owed his own conversion, was duly appointed by Honorius,
Archbishop of Canterbury, to the see of the East Anglians,
among whom his labours seem to have been eminently
successful. St. Augustine had landed on the coast of
Thanet in 597; and East Anglia thus "assumes a regular
place in the ecclesiastical scheme of England" little more
than a quarter of a century later.
[AJ>. 630—647.] EELIX established his see at Dummoc, or
Dummoc-ceastre, now Dunwich, a seaport on the coast of
Suffolk. Dummoc had been a Roman station, as is suffi-
ciently proved by the remains which from time to time
have been discovered there ; and besides the advantage of
its port, its walls may still have been strong enough to
afford some protection. It was, moreover, connected with
the interior by ancient, perhaps British, roads, which led in
one direction toward Bury St. Edmunds, and in another
toward Norwich. At Dummoc, Sigeberht built a palace
for himself, and a church for Eelix: but soon after the
establishment of the see he resigned his crown in favour of
his kinsman Egric, and retired to a monastery which he had
himself founded. In 635, during an invasion of East Anglia
by the Mercians, under Penda, Sigeberht was dragged un-
willingly from his cloister, and compelled to be present on
the battle-field ; where, however, professionis suce non imme-
mor, he refused to carry weapons, and was only distinguished
by a rod (virga) which he held in his hand. Sigeberht fell in
this battle. In his kingdom, says Bede, " desiring to imitate
those things which he had seen well arranged in Gaul, he
founded a school in which boys might be taught letters,
with the aid of Felix, the bishop whom he had received
188
from Kent, and who furnished them with pedagogues
and masters, after the Kentish fashion." Bede gives 110
locality for this school; yet the passage, without the
slightest reason, has been looked upon as recording the
foundation of the University of Cambridge, — a place which,
at that period, was not even within the limits of Sige-
•berht's kingdom.
Sige"berht was succeeded by Anna, father of EtJieldreda,
the sainted foundress of Ely (see that Cathedral), and of
three other daughters, Sexburga, Ethelburga, and Wiht-
burga, — all of whom, at different periods, embraced the
monastic life.
The successor of Felix in the see of Dummoc was —
[A.D. 647 — 652.] THOMAS, who had been his deacon, and who
was a " Gyrwian," or inhabitant of the fenland.
[A.D. 652 — 669.] BERCTGILS, surnamed Bonifacius, a Kentish-
man, appointed by Abp. Honorius, and
[A.D. 669 — 673.] BISI, succeeded. Bisi was present at the
council of Hertford, held under Abp. Theodore in 673, at
which it was proposed to " increase the number of bishops
as the number of the faithful increases." No determina-
tion was come to by the synod : but Bisi soon afterwards
became incapable, from a severe illness, of discharging his
episcopal functions, and Abp. Theodore proceeded accord-
ingly to divide his diocese. A new see was established at
Mmham in Norfolk, to which BADUWINI was appointed.
Bisi was deposed, and the see of Dummoc was filled by
Mcci.
[A.D. 673—870.] Erom the division of the East Anglian
diocese to the year 870, in which occurred the great irrup-
tion of the Northmen and the martyrdom of St. Edmund,
the sees of Dummoc and of Elmham seem to have been
duly filled, although it is scarcely possible to establish the
exact years of succession. Little more than the names of
the bishops has been recorded. HUMBERT, Bp. of Elmham,
is said to have fallen by the side of St. Edmund in battle with
S*je at dEImjjam aito &Ijet£or&. 189
the Danes (870). " Nor was there another bishop of East
Anglia for more than eighty years, when JEthelwulf was
consecrated by Archbishop Oda, and the two sees united in
one. In fact, the compelled Christianity of Guthorm and
his followers, whom Alfred suffered to take possession of
the country, did not hold out any very secure prospects to
a bishop ; and till some time after 921, paganism was very
probably the profession of a majority in East Anglia c."
[A.D. 956—1070.] From the consecration of JSthelwulf to
that of Herfast, the first Norman bishop, East Anglia con-
tained but a single see — that of Elmham. The will of Bp.
THEODRED, who died about 975, has been printed by
Kemble, and is a document of considerable interest ; but
of the remaining bishops we have little more than the
names : and even of these the true arrangement is uncer-
tain. EGELMAR, the last Bishop of Elmham, was the brother
of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and was deposed,
together with him, in a synod held at Winchester in the
year 1070. (See CANTERBURY — ABP. STIGAND). Stigand
liad himself held the East Anglian see for a short time,
before the accession of Egelmar.
[A.D. 1070 — 1086.] HERFAST, one of the Conqueror's chap-
lains, partly in obedience to the decree of the council of
London (1075), which ordered the removal of bishops' sees
from villages (villulai) to more important towns, transferred
the East Anglian see from Elmham to Thetford, the Eoman
Sitomagus, and one of the principal towns of East Anglia
before, and for some time after, the Norman Conquest.
Malmesbury, however, who " gives Herfast but a moderate
character, either for learning or hospitality," asserts that
he made the change " ne nihil facere videretur (ut sunt
Normanni famse in futurum studiosissimi d.") Heriast had
o J. M. Kemble, « The Bishop of East Anglia, "in the Norwich
volume of the Archaeological Institute.
d De Pontii, lib, u. There is reason to believe that the transfer
190 gorfokk Catfetbral.
been a monk of Bee, and had obtained a considerable repu-
tation for learning there, before the arrival of Lan franc.
Lanfranc exposed his entire ignorance, and drew upon
himself in consequence the resentment not only of Herfast
but of William of Normandy, which was not appeased with-
out difficulty. Herfast seems to have retained the favour
of William after the Conquest, since it was the King him-
self who placed him in the East Anglian see.
[A.D. 1086—1091.] WILLIAM DE BEAUFEU, one of the
"King's Clerks," succeeded.
[A.D. 1091 — 1119.] HERBERT LOSINGA was the bishop who
removed the see from Thetford, and fixed it permanently
at Norwich, in accordance, apparently, with the original
intention of the Conqueror.
The place of Bishop Herbert's birth is doubtful, but
there is strong reason for believing him to have been
born at a manor called Esham, in the hundred of Hoxne, in
Suffolk. Educated probably as a Benedictine, he became
Prior of Fecamp, in Normandy, and was brought thence
to England by William Kufus, who appointed him his
sewer, and made him Abbot of Ramsey. The chroniclers,
with Malmesbury at their head, declare that he bought
his bishopric for a sum of £1900, and that he pur-
chased at the same time the abbacy of Winchester for his
father. Verses recording the simoniacal dealings of the pre-
late have been preserved : —
" Proh dolor ! Ecclesise nummis venduntur et aere ;
Filius est Praesul, Pater Abbas, Simon uterque.
Quid non speremus si nummos possideamus ?"
But Malmesbury adds, that if Bishop Herbert sinned in his
of the see to Thetford was only a temporary arrangement, and
that the Conqueror from the first intended to fix it at Norwich.
The Doomsday Survey records at Norwich, — " In the proper
court of the bishop, 14 mansurae which King William gave to
Arfast for the principal seat of the bishopric" The reason for the
temporary transfer to Thetford is quite uncertain.
£ce at Jforfoit|f. fjarbtrt f csmga. 191
earlier days, he amply redeemed his errors by his subsequent
virtuous life and good deeds, — " pras se semper, ut aiunt,
ferens Hieronymi dictum, ' Erravimus juvenes, emendemus
Herbert removed his see from Thetford to Norwich in
the year 1094; and two years afterwards laid the first
stone of the existing cathedral. (See Pt. I. § i.) Norwich,
the ancient Yenta Icenorum, was then, as it still is, by
far the most populous and important place in the east-
ern counties ; and the site of the new cathedral was over-
looked by the great Norman stronghold which Rufus had
but just constructed on the highest ground within the city.
A letter of Herbert's to his overseers, or appares, seems
to describe the progress of the structure, and "delineates
a lively picture of the hive of workmen at the cathedral:" —
"Languet opus, et in apparandis materiis nullus vestcr
apparet fervor. Ecce regis et mei ministri fervent in
operibus suis ; lapides colligunt, collectos afferunt, campos
et plateas, domos et curias implent ; et vos torpetis." The
church, however, was not entirely completed during Her-
bert's episcopate. (See Pt. I. § i.) "Many passages in
his epistles shew him to have laboured under infirm health
during, at least, his latter years He appears, notwith-
standing, to have been always ready to obey his Sovereign's
call, or that of the church ; and there are, I think, intima-
tions that, with more vigour of constitution, he would have
been the successor of Anselm at Canterbury. This mental
activity led him, in 11] 6, to embark with Radulfus de Tur-
bine, the new Archbishop, in an embassy to Rome, with
a view of arranging the long-disputed points respecting
investitures, and the legislative authority in England ; but
the exertion seems to have been fatal to him. On his
return he fell sick at Placentia ; and although he became,
after some time, sufficiently convalescent to admit of his
return by easy stages to Norwich .... yet nature yielded
on the 22nd of July, either of 1119 or of 1120 (for it is
192
uncertain which,) and he was buried before the high altar
in his cathedral church." (Harrod, p. 241.)
The epithet Losinga, l Flatterer,' was perhaps not applied
to Bishop Herbert until after his death. His ' Epistles,'
which are curious and interesting, although they throw
little or no light on his own life, were recently discovered
in a MS. belonging to the Burgundian Library at Brussels,
and have been published (Bruxelles, 1845). The whole
of the letters of Bishop Herbert have also been given to
the world in an English dress, together with his Latin
sermons, and a carefully prepared biography by Dean
Goulburn, and the Eev. H. Symonds, the late Precentor of
Norwich (Parker, 1878). They sufficiently prove that
Herbert was a man of high literary attainments, and, for
the most part, shew us a kind-hearted and benevolent
prelate. One among them, however, addressed to the
brethren at Thetford, in which he excommunicates " cer-
tain malicious persons who during last week have broken
into my park at Humersfield, and killed in the night the
only deer which I had there," indicates that Bishop Herbert
could be fierce on occasion : — " May the flesh of those," he
writes, " who eat my stag's flesh rot away as the flesh of
Herod rotted, who shed innocent blood for Christ. . . Let
them have the anathema maranatha unless they quickly
repent and give satisfaction. Fiat ! Fiat ! Fiat ! This
excommunication I ordain, my beloved brethren, not be*
cause I pay much regard to one stag, but because I would
have them repent and confess, and be corrected for such
an offence e."
In addition to the cathedral of Norwich, and its adjoin-
ing priory, Herbert is said to have built five other churches ;
two at Norwich, one at Elmham, one at Lynn, and one at
Yarmouth.
[A.D. 1121 ; deposed 1145.] EVERARD, Archdeacon of Salis-
bury, succeeded. He was the son by a second marriage of
e Harrod, jx 326
193
Robert of Montgomery, first Earl of Arundel. Previously
to becoming bishop he had been chaplain to his predecessor,
and to the king. Little is known of him, beyond the fact
that in the year 1145 he retired from Norwich. Accord-
ing to Henry of Huntingdon he was deposed on account of
his cruelty: — "Vir crudelissimus, et ob hoc jam depo-
situsV The more probable account, given in the Regis*
trum Primum of Norwich, is that, being greatly harassed
by the civil war then going on, he presented to two
powerful lords the towns of Blickling and Cressingham,
belonging to his see, with the view of securing the re-
mainder, and with the full intention of reclaiming them as
soon as he could ; and that for this act of sacrilege he had
to quit his bishopric. The confession of his crime, made
to Pope Eugenius IV. (1145-53), is printed by Dean Groul-
burn (" History of the See of Norwich," p. 88),
From Norwich, Bishop Everard retired to Fontenay, near
Mont Bard, Cote d'Or, where he had built an abbey, the
foundations of which were laid in 1139. " He fixed his
retreat upon a mountain in the neighbourhood of the newly
erected abbey, on the south side of which he caused a
modest palace to be built, of which numerous ruins remain
in a wood, with a walled-in park, and roads fenced by
thick thorns." Everard died in 1150, and was buried
under the great altar of the abbey church, where a monu-
ment was erected to his memory. The original stone with
its inscription disappeared at a very early period, and it is
believed to have been replaced soon after by another, with
the following inscription : — " Hie jacet Dominus Ebrardus
Norvicencis Episcopus, qui edificavit Templum istud 6. "
Bishop Everard had the true Norman instinct for build-
ing ; and the nave of Norwich Cathedral is attributed to
him. (Pt. I. § iv.) It was during his episcopate that the
f H. Huntingdon, De Contemptu Mundi, quoted by Wharton,
Anylia Sacra, i. p. 408, (note).
6 Harrod, from Norfolk Archaeology, vol. v.
VOL. II. PT. I. 0
194
boy " St. William " was said to have been crucified by the
Jews (March 22, 1144). His shrine formerly stood on the
north side of the choir-screen. (Pt. I. § vn.) A similar
story is localised in many other towns, both in England
and on the Continent ; some remarks on the amount of
historical truth contained in the accusation against the
Jews will be found in LINCOLN CATHEDRAL (Pt. II.,
BISHOP LEXINGTON), in whose time the murder of " sweet
Hugh of Lincoln " took place according to Matthew Paris.
[A.D. 1146 — 1174.] WILLIAM DE TURBE, a monk of the priory
attached to the cathedral, was elected on the deposition of
Everard. During his episcopate the church suffered much
from fire. (Pt. I. § i.)
He was an intimate friend of the warlike Bishop Nigel
of Ely, their confidential intercourse only ceasing with the
death of the latter in 1174. In 1150, by royal command,
the two prelates assembled in the palace gardens, with the
abbots of St. Edrnundsbury and Holm, and most of the
East Anglian barons, for the purpose of trying Sir Hobert
Fitzgilbert, and others, for a conspiracy. The abbot of
St. Edmund's pleaded their exemption from jurisdiction as
knights of his. This plea was- allowed, and the knights
subsequently received the royal pardon. De Turbe was a
warm partizan of Becket, at whose command, in 1167, he
excommunicated Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in de-
fiance of the king's officers, who had been sent to prevent
him. The Earl's lands were put under an interdict ; and
when, shortly after, some of the clerks in his retinue
ventured to celebrate mass, they too were placed under
excommunication. Tidings of these proceedings having
reached the ears of Henry II. at Oxford, he was greatly
incensed, and through his legates obtained an order from
the Pope for immediate absolution the following year.
Bishop De Turbe complied, but the next year (1169) he
was summoned to answer before the king for the excom-
munication, together with Gilbert, Bishop of London, when
lojnt 0f ©*forb. 195
both received the royal pardon. Misfortunes clouded the
Bishop's latter years. In 1172 the cathedral and con-
ventual buildings were devastated by fire. Two years
later (1174) Norwich was pillaged by Hugh Bigod and the
Earl of Leicester ; shortly after, Jan. 17, 1175, he died.
" De Turbe's character," writes Dean Goulburn, " seems to
have been a combination of extremes : at one time weak,
at another determined ; now indolent, now zealous ; often
cautious and calculating, but more frequently impulsive,
and even fool-hardy — a weakness, however, which made it
more loveable, because more human h."
[A.D. 1175-1200.] JOHN OF OXFORD. He restored and com-
pleted the cathedral. (Pt. I. § I.) John of Oxford (so
called from his native place, where his father was a
burgess) belonged to the class of statesman-bishops, and
took a leading part in the political and ecclesiastical events
of his day, especially in the controversy between Henry II.
and Becket, in which he was the archbishop's most
vigorous opponent. In this character he presided at the
Council of Clarendon (1164), and was sent on an embassy
to Pope Alexander III. at Sens, and to the Council of
Wurtzburg. In 1165 he was made Dean of Salisbury,
contrary to the injunction of Becket, by whom he was
excommunicated. At the patching up of a reconciliation
between Henry and Becket, 1166, he was sent to escort
the archbishop to England. When the King of Scotland
had fallen into Henry's power at the battle of Alnwick,
John negotiated the treaty of Falaise (1175), by which
Scotland became dependent on the English crown. As a
reward for his services, he was made Bishop of Norwich,
Dec. 14 of the same year. In 1176, the year following his
elevation to the see of Norwich, he conducted the Princess
Joanna, daughter of Henry II., to Sicily, where she mar-
ried the King, William the Good. In 1179 the Bishop of
11 Goulburn, History of the See of Norwich, p. 174.
o 2
196 Jtortoitfc
Norwicli was appointed one of the Itinerant Justices for
deciding civil and criminal pleas within the eastern coun-
ties, first appointed by Henry II.1 In 1179 he was one of
the English representatives at the third Lateran Council.
In 1186 he assisted at the marriage of William of Scotland,
and in the same year was present at the Council of Marl-
borough, and at that of Pipewell in 1189, after having
taken part in the coronation of Richard I. In the general
crusading fervour he took the cross and started with
Richard for Palestine, 1190, but obtained exemption from
the Pope. In 1191 he was present at the Council of
Reading, when Longchamp was impeached; and in 1197
sat as Judge in the Court of Exchequer. He died June 2,
1200. He was a learned and a pious writer ; and a list of
his works, which were chiefly historical, is given by Bale.
[A.D. 1200 — 1214.] JOHN DE GRAY, was one of three bishops
(the other two were Peter de Roches of Winchester and
Philip of Durham) who, in spite of all the insults and
oppressions heaped by King John on the Church and coun-
try, continued his firm partizans and the instruments
of his exactions. John de G-ray, who had been Arch-
deacon of Cleveland, and subsequently of Gloucester, and,
in 1189, one of Henry the Second's Justices Itinerant, be-
came Bishop of Norwich in the year 1202 ; and in 1206, on
the death of Hubert Walter, was, by the King's influence,
elected to the primacy. The monks of Canterbury, how-
ever, who had been divided into two parties, — one of which
had chosen their sub-prior, Reginald, — appealed to Rome.
Innocent III. annulled both elections, and appointed Ste-
phen Langton. (See CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, Pt. II. —
ARCHBISHOP LANGTON.) The long quarrel between King
John and the Pope, which produced the famous Interdict,
and which terminated in the King's resignation of his crown
to Pandulf, was the result.
* See Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 337 (ed. 1855).
gantalf glasta. 197
In 1211 Bishop de Gray was appointed Grand Justiciary
of Ireland. In 1214 he died at St. Jean d'Angely, in
Poitou, on his return from Kome. His body was brought
to England, and interred in the cathedral at Norwich.
The Interdict had ceased in the same year.
[A.D. 1222—1226.] PANDULF MASCA, the legate of Pope
Innocent III., — who had received King John's submis-
sion in the church of the Templars, and who had subse-
quently raised the Interdict, — was the next Bishop of
Norwich. The see, however, had remained vacant for
seven years (1214 — 1222), during the struggle between
King John and his barons, and the commencement of the
reign of Henry III. Pandulph, after his election, proceeded
to Kome, where he was consecrated by Pope Honorius III.
The " practice of purchasing the support of Eome by en-
riching her Italian clergy" had been commenced by John ;
but it attained its highest pitch during the long reign of
Henry III., and after causing many popular outbreaks,
was at last one of the grievances set forth by the revolted
barons, under Simon de Montfort. " Pope Honorius writes
to Pandulf, not merely authorizing, but urging him to
provide a benefice or benefices in his diocese of Norwich
for his own (the Bishop's) brother, that brother (a singular
plurality) being Archdeacon of Thessalonica. These
foreigners were of course more and more odious to the
whole realm ; to the laity as draining away their wealth
without discharging any duties ; still more to the clergy
as usurping their benefices ; though ignorant of the lan-
guage, affecting superiority in attainments; from their
uncongenial manners, and, if they are not belied, unchecked
vices. They were blood-suckers, drawing out the life,
or drones fattening on the spoil of the land. All existing
documents show that the jealousy and animosity of the
English did not exaggerate the evilj."
•> Milman's Latin Christianity, vol. iv. p. 308.
198 jtarfoxcfc Caifctfcral
As Bishop of Norwich, Pandulf procured the grant to
himself of the first-fruits (primitice) from all the eccle-
siastical benefices in his diocese. His successors continued
the same exaction until the accession of Bishop Ralph of
Walpole in 1289. Pandulf died at Borne, Sept. 16, 1226,
and was buried at Norwich.
[A.D. 1226—1236.] THOMAS BLUNVILLE, nephew of Hubert
de Burgh, Lord Chief Justiciary, Clerk of the Koyal Ex-
chequer. After his death the see remained vacant for three
years ; when
[A.D. 1239—1244.] WILLIAM OF HALEY, Treasurer of Exeter
and Prebendary of Lichfield, was appointed. In 1228 he
was made a Justiciary, and (1231'— 1235) was one of the
Justices in Eyre. In 1244 he became bishop-elect of
Winchester, and died at Tours in 1250. (See WINCHESTER
CATHEDRAL.)
[A.D. 1245 — 1257.] WALTER SUFFIELD, whose reputation in
the University of Paris was considerable, succeeded. He
is said to have been totius divini ac humani juris peritis-
simus, and was chosen accordingly by Pope Innocent to
conduct a valuation of ecclesiastical revenues throughout
England. " This valuation was entered upon record, called
the Norwich tax, and was afterwards made use of upon the
grant of subsidies and assessments of the clergy V Bishop
Walter built the hospital of St. Giles at Norwich, and
added the Lady-chapel at the east end of his cathedral,
pulled down by Dean Gardiner in the reign of Elizabeth.
(See Pt. I. § i.) During a great dearth, the Bishop sold
much of the silver plate he possessed, and distributed the
proceeds to the poor ; among whom the reputation of his
charity and great virtue became widely spread, and
miracles were said to be wrought at his tomb in the Lady-
chapel. He died at Colchester in 1257.
[A.D. 1258—1266.] SIMON OF WALTON. One of the King's
k Collier, Church History.
§isfnrp Sfcirngrrg. 199
chaplains, but more of a lawyer than an ecclesiastic. He
acted as one of the Justices Itinerant or in Eyre, 1246 —
1250, and in 1253 and 1255 was placed at the head of his
Commission. In 1259, the year after his consecration, he
was summoned to attend the King at Shrewsbury, for his
Welsh campaign. He lived to see the battles of Lewes
and Evesham, but died before the sack of Norwich by
the outlawed barons in 1266, in the first few months
of the episcopate of his successor,
[A.D. 1266 — 1278.] KOGEB SKIBNYNG, a monk of the house.
During his episcopate much of the priory and portions of
the cathedral church were greatly damaged by fire, which
broke out during an attack on the priory by the citizens.
Constant disputes between the monks and the men of
Norwich concerning the right of the former to a toll on the
merchandize brought to the great fair, held annually at
the time of the festival of the Holy Trinity, at last broke
into violence. Two accounts of this tumult have been
preserved : the first by Bartholomew Cotton, a monk of
the priory1— which is, of course, the monastic history
of it ; the second in the Liber de Antiquis Leyibus of the
Corporation of London m, probably obtained from commu-
nication with the Corporation of Norwich, and giving
the version of the citizens. The two accounts differ much
as to the causes which led to the fire, but nearly agree
as to the amount of damage done by it. "Certain of
them " (the citizens), says Cotton, " without the tower
of St. George, with catapults, threw fire into the great
belfry which was above the choir, arid by this fire they
burned the whole church, except the chapel of the Blessed
Mary, which was miraculously preserved. The dormi-
tory, refectory, strangers' hall, infirmary, with the chapel,
1 See it in Wharton's Anglia Sacra, i. 399.
m This very curious account is given at length by Mr. Harrod,
Castles and Convents of Norfolk, pp. 250-253.
200
and almost all the edifices of the court, were consumed
by fire." " As the fire waxed stronger," says the London
account, " the belfry was burned, and all the houses
of the monks, and also, as some say, the cathedral church ;
so that all which could be burned was reduced to ashes
except a certain chapel, which remained uninjured." The
roofs and ceilings, which were no doubt of wood, were at
this time entirely destroyed; the Norman stone-work of
the nave suffered little ; that of the choir was probably
more injured.
The year of this attack on the priory (1272) was the last
year of the long reign of Henry III., who came to Norwich
to investigate the affair, and who died at St. Edmundsbury
after leaving the city. After long disputes, during which
Norwich was placed under an interdict by the Bishop,
Edward I. in 1275 decided that the citizens should, within
three years, pay 3000 marks to the prior and convent, for
the restoration of the church and other buildings ; that the
Corporation should give a golden pyx (? — " Unum vas au-
reum ... ad tenendum Corpus Christi super altare ") of ten
pounds' weight for the high altar, and that the interdict
should be at once removed n. St Ethelbert's gate, usually
said to have been built by the citizens in expiation of their
attack on the priory, was probably built with the money
thus paid. The King's decision permits the prior and con-
vent to make their new entrance wherever they pleased °.
[A.D. 1278 — 1288.] WILLIAM MIDDLETON— in 1273 Vicar-
General of Archbishop Kilwardby, and Dean of the Arches
and Prebendary of St. Paul's, and in 1276 Archdeacon of
Canterbury — dedicated the cathedral in the name of the
Holy Trinity on the day of his enthronizaticn, Edward I.
n Cotton, ap. Angl Sac., i. 400.
0 " Dicimus insuper et ordinamus ; quod dicti Prior et Conventus
faciant ex quacunque parte voluerint introitum dicti Prioratus,
absque damno vel praejudicio alieno." — Cotton, p. 401.
SMpoLe, Salmon, anb gtgermht. 201
and his queen being present, with the Bishops of London,
Hereford, and Waterford, and a large concourse of nobility.
The roofs had by this time been restored. Bishop Middleton,
who was distinguished as a canonist and civilian, was for
some time Edward the First's Seneschal at Bordeaux ; " qui
in esculentis et poculentis aliis prse cseteris magnatibus
Anglias ibi moram trahentibus, se exhibuit recommen-
datum p." He died at Terling, in Essex, and was buried
in the Lady-chapel of the cathedral.
[A.D. 1289, trans, to Ely 1299.] RALPH WALPOLE, Arch-
deacon of Ely. (See ELY.) According to Blomefield, his
election displeased the whole diocese, and his unpopularity
was so great that everybody cursed the convent in general
and the electors in particular. In 1298 he attended the
marriage of the King's daughter Elizabeth to John Earl of
Holland at Ipswich. The eastern walk of the cloister is
attributed to Bishop Walpole.
[A.D. 1299—1325.] JOHN SALMON, Prior of Ely ; Lord Chan-
cellor from 1319 to 1323. " His career was more that of
a counsellor in political affairs than that of an ecclesiastical
administrator" (Goulburn). Bishop Salmon was one of
the envoys sent to the Court of France to arrange the mar-
riage of Edward II. with Isabella, " she-wolf of France."
He proved a thorougly loyal counsellor to his ill-fated
King, and attended on him in his campaign against the
Scots, 1311-12. In 1325 he went on an embassage to
France, the fatigue and anxiety of which proved fatal to
him. He died soon after landing from his voyage across
the channel, at Folkestone Priory, July 6, 1325. Bishop
Salmon built a hall and chapel for his palace at Norwich,
together with the south walk of the cloister, and the
chancel chapel, now the Grammar-school.
[A.D. 1325 — 1336.] WILLIAM AYERMIN ; a most scandalous
example of the time-serving, unprincipled Churchman,
P Cotton.
202
greedy of preferment, true only to his own selfish and
ambitious objects, destitute of principle, and incapable of
gratitude. Few prelates have ever basked so long in royal
favour, or obtained so many preferments in succession "
(Goulburn}. In early life we find him a junior clerk in
the Chancery. In 1316 he became Master of the Rolls,
and in 13'J4 Keeper of the Privy Seal. He held no less
than twelve prebends in different cathedrals and collegiate
churches. In 1319 he was taken prisoner by the Scots,
and in 1324 was sent to treat with Robert Bruce. In
1825, while in Rome as ambassador, he was made Bishop
of Norwich by papal bnll in place of Robert Baldock, the
elect of the monks. On the waning of Edward the
Second's fortunes, in 1326, he transferred his allegiance to
Isabella, and openly espoused her cause, receiving fresh
honours and emoluments as the price of his treachery. In
that same year he became Chancellor, and in 1331 Trea-
surer. He ended his disgraceful life in 1336.
[A.D. 1337—1343.] ANTONY BEK, nephew of Antony Bek,
the powerful Bishop of Durham, and Patriarch of Jeru-
salem, Dean of Lincoln, and a retainer of the Pontifical
Court ; appointed, like Ayermin, by papal bull, against the
wishes of the convent. "His reckless and imperious
demeanour irritated all with whom he was officially con-
nected. Not only his inferiors, but even those set over
him, not excepting even the Primate himself, he treated
with contempt" (Goulburn, p. 433). He resisted the
Archbishop's claim to visit the cathedral, and raised the
citizens against him. By his arrogant and despotic con-
duct he incurred the hatred of his monks, at whose
instigation, it is said, his servants administered poison to
him.
[A.D. 1344 — 1355.] WILLIAM BATEMAN, a native of Norwich,
of which his father was a distinguished citizen, educated
at Cambridge ; in 1328 he was made Archdeacon of Nor-
wich by Ayermin, and in 1343 became Dean of Lincoln ;
gasman, $teg, anfc Spjenm. 203
and about the same time went as ambassador of the Kings
both of England and France to the Court of Rome. He
was chosen Bishop of Norwich at the same time, both by
his own convent and by the Pope. He proved a vigorous
defender of the rights of his see, compelled Eobert, Baron of
Morley, who had broken into certain of the Bishop's parks,
to perform public penance, in spite of the King's threaten-
ing letters. Bishop Bateinan died at Avignon, where, with
Henry Duke of Lancaster and other nobles, he had gone
on an embassy from Edward III., to arrange, under the pre-
sidency of Pope Innocent VI., the English claims to certain
portions of French territory. During his episcopate more
than fifty-seven thousand persons are said to have perished
in Norwich alone, from the plague called the " Black Death."
Following the examples of Walter de Merton (see ROCHES-
TER CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.,) at Oxford, and of Hugh de
Balsham, Bishop of Ely, at Cambridge (see ELY CATHE-
DRAL, Pt. II.), Bishop Bateman founded Trinity Hall at
Cambridge, for the study of civil and canon law.
[A.D. 1356—1369.] THOMAS PERCY, brother of the Earl of
Northumberland, intruded by the Pope at the instance
of Henry Duke of Lancaster, though only twenty -two
years of age. During his episcopate the spire of the cathe-
dral was struck by lightning, and the masses of stone
which fell from it did serious mischief to the choir, of
which the clerestory was rebuilt in its present graceful
form by him.
[A.D. 1370—1406.] HENRY SPENSER, grandson of the favour-
ite of Edward II., had been, with an elder brother, in the
pay of the Pope, Hadrian V., during his war with Bernabo
Visconti of Milan. By the Pope he was named Bishop of
Norwich ; and he brought with him to England the love of
arms, and the skill in the use of them, which had in effect
procured him his bishopric. During the insurrections of
1381, whilst Wat Tyler and his followers advanced on
London, the men of Norfolk and Suffolk rose in great force,
204
and made Litster, a dyer of Norwich, their captain. " Spen-
ser, the young and martial Bishop of Norwich ... at the
head of eight lances and a few archers, boldly arrested one
of the ringleaders. A few knights gathered round him.
Armed from head to foot, with a huge two-handed sword,
he attacked an immense rabble, hewed them down, put the
rest to flight, seized the captain, a dyer of Norwich, and
reduced his diocese to peace by these victories, and by
remorseless executions'1." " A a later period, when the
Lollards, by preaching against pilgrimages, endangered the
interests of Our Lady of Walsingham, Bishop Spenser
swore that if any of WyclifTs preachers came into his
diocese, he would burn or behead him. ' Faith and religion,'
says Walsingham, 'remained inviolate in the diocese of
Norwich'.'"
In 1315, the ninth year of Kichard II., " just at the time
when the schism had shaken the Papacy to its base, and
Wycliif had denounced both popes alike as Antichrist,
and had found strong sympathy in the hearts and minds of
men ... for the first time a holy civil war is proclaimed in
Christendom, especially in England, the seat of these new
opinions— a war of pope against pope. The Pontiff of Home
promulgates a crusade against the Pontiff of Avignon."
The Papal schism had commenced in 1375, when Robert of
Geneva, by the influence of France, was elected pope in
opposition to Urban VI. : Robert took the name of Clement
VII. France and Scotland were at first the only adherents
of Clement. In the autumn and winter of 1382, however,
Flanders had been invaded by the young King of France,
Philip Van Artevelde had fallen at Roosebecque, and the
country had been compelled to submit to Charles VI., who
obliged all the conquered towns to recognise Clement VII.
as Pope. Accordingly, the Bishop of Norwich directed his
crusade against Flanders, as being then in effect French
i Milman, Latin Christianity, vol. vi. p. 133.
* Id. vi. 134 (note).
205
territory*. "Public prayers are put up, by order of the
Primate (William Courtenay), in every church of the realm,
for the success of the expedition into Flanders. The bishops
and the clergy are called on by the Archbishop to enforce
on their flocks the duty of contribution to this sacred pur-
pose. Money, jewels, property of all kinds, are lavishly
brought in, or rigidly extorted ; it is declared meritorious
to fight for the faith, glorious to combat for the Lord. The
same indulgences are ganted as to crusaders in the Holy
Land'."
" But, after all, the issue of the expedition, at first suc-
cessful, was in the end as shameful and disastrous as it was
insulting to all sound religious feeling. The Crusaders
took Gravelines ; they took Dunkirk ; and this army of the
Pope, headed by a Christian bishop, in a war so-called re-
ligious, surpassed the ordinary inhumanity of the times.
Men, women, and children were hewn to pieces in one vast
massacre. After these first successes, the London appren-
tices, and the villains throughout the kingdom, were seized
with a crusading ardour. They mounted white cloaks, with
red crosses on their shoulders, red scabbards to their swords,
and marched off defying their masters. Many religious,
monks and friars, followed their example. The Crusaders
1 A very full and interesting account of the crusade will be
found in M. Kervyn de Lettenhove's Histoire de Flandre, vol. ii.
(ed. 1853).
* Milman, Lat. Christ., vi. 132. The form of absolution is thus
given by Collier (Eccles. Hist., bk. vi. cent. 14), from Knighton.
" By apostolical authority committed to me for this purpose, I
absolve thee, A.B., from all thy sins confessed, and for which thou
art contrite ; and from all those which thou wouldest confess,
provided they occurred to thy memory. And, together with the
full remission of thy sins, I grant thee the assurance of the reward
of just persons in the life to come. I grant thee, moreover, all
the privileges of those who undertake an expedition to the Holy
Land, and the benefit of the prayers of the Universal Church,
either met in synod or elsewhere."
206 $oxfaritb
had neither the pride nor consolation of permanent suc-
cess. The army of Spenser returned as ingloriously as it
had conducted itself atrociously. He had 60,000 meny
besides auxiliaries from Ghent. Before Ypres he failed
shamefully. At the first approach of the French army he
withdrew to Gravelines, and was glad to buy a safe retreat
by the surrender of the town V
It need hardly be said that the crusade of Bishop Spen-
ser was more an affair of policy than of religion, and that it
was mainly the result of hostility between France and
England. On the failure of the expedition, the young King,
Kichard II., in a frenzy of rage, ordered the temporalities
of the see of Norwich to be seized, on pretence that the
crusade had been countermanded by the King's writ when
it was on the point of sailing, and that the Bishop had taken
no notice of the writ. The temporalities were soon re-
stored ; but a few years later a suit was preferred against
him in the Court of Chancery, in which the Bishop came
off victorious. On the accession of Henry IV., Bishop
Spenser, with other enemies of the Duke of Lancaster, was
thrown into prison ; but in 1401 " his ability, his services,
and his manifest popularity with the people, made it
convenient to Henry to grant him his pardon " (Goulburn,
p. 454). In the same year the statute " de hseretico
comburendo " was passed, which Spenser declared he would
put in force with the utmost rigour against any Lollards
who might be found within his jurisdiction ; he would
"make them either hop headless, or fry a faggot." He
was taken ill suddenly while performing matins, and died
Aug. 23, 1406.
[A.D. 1407—1413.] ALEXANDER TOTTINGTON, Prior of the
convent, whose election was opposed by the King, was at
last consecrated at Gloucester, Oct. 23, 1407.
[A.D. 1413 — 1415.] KICHARD COURTENAY, second son of
u Milman, Latin Christianity.
t0 Jftrkke. 207
Philip Cotirtenay, son of Hugh, Earl of Devon, and nephew
of Archbishop Courtenay. Preferments fell thickly upon
him. In 1402 he was made Dean of St. Asaph ; 1403,
Canon of York; 1408, Canon of Wells; 1409, Dean of
that cathedral ; and in 1407, Chancellor of Oxford. He
accompanied Henry V. on his expedition to France, and
died at the siege of Harflenr. He was brought to West-
minster Abbey for interment.
[A.D. 1416 — 1425.] JOHN WAKERING, Archdeacon of Can-
terbury, Master of the Rolls, and Keeper of the Privy
Real : was present at the Council of Constance, 1414.
[A.D. 1426, trans, to Lincoln 1436.] WILLIAM ALNWICK,
Keeper of. the Privy Seal, and Archdeacon of Salisbury.
His works in the cathedral have been noticed, Pt. I. § in.
(LINCOLN.)
[A.D. 1436—1445.] THOMAS BROWN, Dean of Salisbury, was
translated to Norwich from Rochester, during his absence
at the Council of Basle. He stood firmly for the liberties
of his Church against the citizens of Norwich.
[A.D. 1445 — 1472.] WALTER HART, or LE HART, Provost of
Oriel College, Oxford, confessor to Margaret of Anjou, was
sent by Henry VI. to Savoy, on a mission to the Antipope
Felix, and had some share in inducing him to abdicate, —
by which act the long papal schism was at last closed.
Bishop Walter's work in the cathedral has been noticed
(Pt. I. § v.).
[A.D. 1472—1498.] JAMES GOLDWELL, ambassador of Ed-
ward IV. at the Papal Court, Archdeacon of Essex, and
Dean of Salisbury. Little is recorded of him beyond his
great work in the choir of his cathedral, noticed at Pt. I.
§ x. His tomb, with effigy, remains on the south side of
the choir (Pt. I. § XL).
[A.D. 1499—1500.] THOMAS JANE, Fellow of New College,
Oxford.
[A.D. 1501 — 1536.] RICHARD NYKKE, or Nix, " a person of
very slender character," in Collier's words, succeeded ; who,
says Godwin, " in spite of his name, had little of snow in
208 ibrbitb Cstfctbral.
his breast." Bishop Nykke had been Archdeacon of Exeter
and Canon of Windsor. He took the oath of supremacy,
and, according to Fox, five persons suffered in his diocese
on this account, and on the question of transubstantiation.
Toward the end of his life Nykke became blind, and was
said " to have offended the King (Hen. VIII.) signally by
some correspondence with Rome, and was kept long in the
Marshalsea, and convicted, and cast in a prsemunire1." " But
this relation," says Collier, " goes only upon conjecture, and
looks improbable, even from Nix's age and behaviour, for
he was a very old man, and had been blind for many years ;
and as he could have no prospect of advantage from such
a correspondence, so neither did he manage like one that
would risk his fortune for any religion. . . . The true cause
of his conviction and imprisonment was this : the town of
Thetford, in Norfolk, made a presentment upon oath, before
the King's judges, in proof of their liberties ... The Bishop
taking this as a check upon his jurisdiction, cited Richard
Cockerell, Mayor of Thetford, and some others, into his
court, and enjoined them, under penalty of excommunica-
tion, to summon a jury of their town, and cancel the former
presentment. For this the Bishop was prosecuted in the
King's Bench, cast in a praemunire, and had judgment exe-
cuted upon his person and estate, pursuant to the statute.
This was done in the beginning of the year 1534. The King
afterwards, upon his submission, discharged him out of
prison ; however he was not pardoned without a fine, with
part of which it is said the glass windows of King's College
Chapel in Cambridge were purchased7."
In his own cathedral Bishop Nykke constructed the
existing roofs of the transept (Pt. I. § xn.) ; and arranged
his own chantry in the nave (Pt. I. § vi.).
[A.D. 1506, resigned 1550.] WILLIAM RUGG, or REPPS, Abbot
of St. Bennet of Holm, which abbacy he retained with the
bishopric. During the vacancy of the see " the King took
x Burnet. * Eccles. Hist., Pt. n. bk. ii.
fugg 10 &tambl*r. 209
into his own hands all the manors of the bishopric. For
the seizing this large endowment there was nothing given
in exchange but the Abbey of St. Benet's in the Holm, the
Priory of Hickling in Norfolk, and a prebend in the colle-
giate church of St. Stephen's, Westminster. This exchange
was confirmed in Parliament *."
The Bishop of Norwich, in right of this exchange, is still
titular Abbot of Holm.
Bishop Rugg alienated much of the diminished property
of the see, — no doubt to his personal advantage ; but on
complaints made to the King (Edward VI.) he was com-
pelled to resign the bishopric, — paying a fine of £900, and
retaining a pension of £200 for life. Leland the anti-
quary, who was intimately acquainted with him, describes
Bishop Rugg as " a spotless man, and a most accomplished
theologian." The Norwich priory was finally suppressed
after his accession, and the Dean and Chapter duly in-
stalled in its place.
[A.D. 1550, trans, to Ely 1554.] THOMAS THIRLBY, the first
and last Bishop of Westminster. (See ELY.)
[A.D. 1554—1558.] JOHN HOPTON, Chaplain to Queen Mary :
at whose death he is said to have died of grief. Many Pro-
testants suffered in his diocese during his episcopate.
[A.D. 1560 — 1575.] JOHN PARKBURST, born at Guildford in
Surrey ; the tutor of Bishop Jewel, and an exile with him.
He is said to have " repaired and beautified " his palace at
Norwich, where he died. His tomb without the brasses,
remains in the nave. (Pt. I. § vi.)
[A.D. 1575, translated to Worcester 1584.] EDMUND FREAK,
translated to Norwich from Rochester.
[A.D. 1585 — 1594.] EDMUND SCAMBLER, translated from Pe-
terborough. Bishop Scambler alienated much at Peter-
borough (see that Cathedral, Pt II.) ; and did the same
at Norwich. His monument was destroyed by the Puritans.
« Eccles. Hist. Pt. n. bk. ii.
VOL. n. PT. i. p
210 gorfoitk Cs%brsl.
[A.D. 1594 — 1602.] WILLIAM REDMAN, Archdeacon of Can-
terbury.
[A.D. 1602—1617.] JOHN JEGON, Master of Bene't College,
Cambridge.
[A.D. 1618 — 1619.] JOHN OVERALL, translated from Lich-
field ; " a discreet presser of conformity in his diocese,"
says Fuller ; and one of the most learned of English con-
troversialists. He had the character, according to Antony
Wood, of being the " best scholastic divine in the English
nation." He was the correspondent of Grotius and Gerard
Vossius ; but it is best known in England by his so-called
"Convocation Book," written, says Bishop Burnet, "on
the subject of Government, the divine institution of which
was very positively asserted." The treatise, which con-
sists partly of canons and partly of introductory and ex-
planatory dissertations on the matter of the canons, was
duly sanctioned in the Convocation of 1610 ; but it " did
not see the light until many years after it was composed,
when it was published by Archbishop Bancroft, to justify
the principles of the Nonjuring party. It was, however,
a strange oversight in Bancroft's party to publish the book,
as there are several canons in it which clearly lay down
that a de facto government is, when completely established,
to be held in the light of a de jure government ; and it was
upon the very grounds set forth in this book, that Dr.
Sherlock took the oaths to King William4."
The composition of the latter part of the Catechism
(containing an explanation of the Sacraments) is generally
attributed to Bishop Overall. " It was added (in 1604) by
royal authority, * by way of explanation,' in compliance
with the wish which the Puritans had expressed at the
Conference at Hampton Court ; and with two emendations
was afterwards confirmed by Convocation and Parliament
m 1661V
" Perry's History of the Church of England, vol. i. p. 178.
* Procter on the Book of Common Prayer, p. 391.
gisfcops derail to tfwbtt. 211
The monument for Bishop Overall, erected by his secre-
tary, Dr. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, has been already
noticed (Pt. I. § XL). In the inscription he is declared to
be " Vir undequaque doctissimus, et omni encomio major."
[A.D. 1619, translated to York 1628.] SAMUEL HARSNET.
[A.D. 1628, translated to Ely 1631.] FRANCIS WHITE.
[A.D. 1632 — 1635.] EICHARD CORBET, born at Ewell in Surrey,
was translated to Norwich from Oxford. Corbet was a
distinguished wit ; and although one of the bishops who
carried out the Laudian discipline with a high hand, was
scarcely himself an example of religious living. He could
not restrain his facetiousness even on the most solemn
occasions. " One time, as he was confirming," says Aubrey %
" the country people pressing in to see the ceremony, said
he, * Bear off there, or I will confirm ye with my staff.'
Another time, being to lay his hand on the head of a man
very bald, he turns to his chaplain, and said, { Some dust,
Lushington,' —to keep his hand from slipping. The Bishop
sometimes would take the key of the wine-cellar, and he
and his chaplain would go and lock themselves in and be
merry. Then, first he lays down his episcopal hat — ' There
lies the Doctor.' Then he puts off his gown — ' There lies
the Bishop.' Then 'twas, ' There's to thee, Corbet,' and
* Here's to thee, Lushington.' "
A more favourable character is given of Bishop Corbet
by Fuller, who calls him " an high wit and most excellent
poet, of a courteous carriage, and no destructive nature to
any who offended him, counting himself plentifully repaired
with a jest upon himd." His poems, which are noticeable
as illustrations of the period, were published after his death,
under the title of Poetica Stromata, 1648.
[A.D. 1635, translated to Ely 1638.] MATTHEW WREN. (See
ELY CATHEDRAL, Part II.)
c Lives, ii. 203, quoted in Perry's History of the Church of
England.
d Worthies — Surrey.
212 gorfoul} <Ea%braI.
[A.D. 1638 — 1641.] BICHARD MONTAGUE, translated from
Chichester. For a sketch of Bishop Montague's life, which,
happily for himself, ended before the breaking out of the
Civil War, see CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL, Part II.
[A.D. 1641 — died 1656.] JOSEPH HALL, translated to Norwich
from Exeter. A short life of this excellent bishop will be
found in EXETER CATHEDRAL, Part II. To the notices
there quoted may be added " the eloquent tribute of the
venerable Bishop Morton to the merits of his friend : ' God's
visible, eminent, and resplendent graces of illumination,
zeal, piety, and eloquence, have made him truly honour-
able and glorious in the Church of Christ6.' "
In December, 1641, Bishop Hall, with the Archbishop
of York and eleven other prelates, was committed to the
Tower, for protesting against the validity of laws passed
during the enforced absence of bishops from Parliament.
He was soon afterwards released on giving security for
five thousand pounds, and returned to Norwich, where he
remained unmolested until April 1643. His property was
then sequestered as that of a " notorious delinquent." He
was expelled from his palace, and treated with all possible
insult, till he withdrew to the parish of Heigham, where
he was permitted to remain in comparative security until
his death, in 1656. The present " Dolphin Inn " at Heigham
— a house with the date 1615 on its front — was the resi-
dence of Bishop Hall ; who was buried in the adjoining
church. His monument with a " cadaver," an emblem
then greatly affected, still remains.
In his " Hard Measure " Bishop Hall has given the
story of his sufferings ; and from it the following picture
of the desecration of the cathedral is extracted: — "It is
tragical to relate the furious sacrilege committed under
the authority of Linsey, Toffs the sheriff, and Greenwood :
• Quoted in Perry's History of the Church of England, vol. i.
p. 629.
fall to Jlogb. 213
what clattering of glasses, what beating down of walls,
what tearing down of monuments, what pulling down of
seats, and wresting out of irons and brass from the win-
dows and graves ; what defacing of arms, what demolish-
ing of curious stone-work, that had not any representation
in the world but of the cost of the founder and skill of the
mason; what piping on the destroyed organ-pipes; vest-
ments, both copes and surplices, together with the leaden
cross which had been newly sawed down from over the
greenyard pulpit, and the singing-books and service-books,
were carried to the fire in the public market-place ; a lewd
wretch walking before the train in his cope trailing in the
dirt, with a service-book in his hand, imitating in an im-
pious scorn the tune, and usurping the words of the litany.
The ordnance being discharged on the guild-day, the cathe-
dral was filled with musketeers, drinking and tobacconing
as freely as if it had turned ale-house."
[A.D. 1661—1676.] EDWARD KEYNOLDS, who had joined the
Presbyterian party during the Civil War ; afterwards be-
came Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and Bishop of Nor-
wich. He was accused of deserting his party for prefer-
ment ; but Blomefield (Hist, of Norfolk) gives him a high
character ; and his works have often been reprinted. He
was interred in the chapel of his palace at Norwich.
[A.D. 1676—1685.] ANTONY SPARROW, was translated from
Exeter. Bishop Sparrow, the well-known author of the
" Eationale upon the book of Common Prayer," was born
at Depden, in Suffolk. At Norwich, according to Blome-
field, he obtained the* 'praise and commendation of all
men." Little is recorded of his public life, either here or
at Exeter.
[A.D. 1685, deposed 1691.] WILLIAM LLOYD, had been suc-
cessively Bishop of Llandaff and Peterborough. He was
deposed as a Nonjuror, and lived at Hammersmith until
his death in 1710.
[A.D. 1691, translated to Ely 1707.] JOHN MOOEB.
214 gforfoicfc Caifcebral.
[A.D. 1708, translated to Winchester 1721.] CHARLES TRIM-
MELL.
[A.D. 1721, translated to Ely 1723.] THOMAS GREEN.
[A.D. 1723—1727.] JOHN LENG.
[A.D. 1727 — 1732.] WILLIAM BAKER, translated from Bangor.
[A.D. 1733, translated to Ely 1738.] ROBERT BUTTS.
[A.D. 1738, translated to Ely 1748.] SIR THOMAS GOOCH,
translated to Norwich from Bristol.
[A.D. 1748 — 1749.] SAMUEL LISLE, translated from St. Asaph.
[A.D. 1749, translated to London 1761.] THOMAS HAYTER,
Preceptor to George III.
[A.D. 1761 — 1783.] PHILIP YOUNG, translated from Bristol.
[A.D. 1783, translated to St. Asaph 1790.] LEWIS BAGOT,
translated from Bristol.
[A.D. 1791— 1792. j GEORGE HORNE, President of Magdalen
College, Oxford, 1768, Dean of Canterbury 1781, author of
" A Commentary on the Psalms," and Sermons which
obtained great celebrity ; also of " Letters on Infidelity."
[A.D. 1792, translated to Canterbury 1805.] CHARLES MAN-
NERS SUTTON.
[A.D. 1805 — 1837.] HENRY BATHURST.
[A.D. 1837 — 1849.] EDWARD STANLEY. A Memoir of Bishop
Stanley has been published by his son, A. P. Stanley, D.D.,
Dean of Westminster. Second Edition, 1880.
[A.D. 1849, resigned 1857.] SAMUEL HINDS, Dean of Car-
lisle 1848-1849.
[A.D. 1857.] JOHN THOMAS PELHAM.
ELY CATHEDEAL.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
Architectural History, 1 219—221
Dimensions, II 221—222
Galilee, III 222-224
West Tower, IV 224—226
South-western Transept, V 226—228
Nave, VI 228—229
Nave Ceiling, VII 229—233
Nave-aisles, VIII 233—234
Windows of Nave-aisles, IX 234—237
Transepts, X , 237—239
Octagon, XI.-XIV 239—247
Choir, XV 247—250
Presbytery, XVI 250—252
Western Bays of Choir, Stalls, &c., XVII 252—256
Reredos, XVIII 256—258
Monuments in Choir, South side, XIX., North
side, XX 258—262
North Choir-aisle, XXI 262—264
Retro-choir, XXII 264—265
Bishop Alcock's Chapel, XXIII 265—266
Bishop West's Chapel, XXIV 266—269
South Choir-aisle, Monuments, XXV.-XXVI. .. 269—272
Chapter Library, XXVII 272
Lady-chapel, XXVIII 272—275
Upper parts, XXIX 275
Exterior, XXX.-XXXI 276—279
Cloisters, Monks' and Prior's Doors, XXXII. .. 279—281
Infirmary, Deanery, Prior's Lodge, Prior Crawden's
Chapel, &c., XXXIII 281—283
Bishop's Palace, XXXIV 283—284
General Views, XXXV 284—285
ELY CATHEDEAL.
THE PRIOR'S DOOR.
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PART I.
Jjistavn anb Details.
I. THE foundations of the existing Cathedral of
Ely were laid by SIMEON, the first Norman abbot
(1082 — 1094) of the great Benedictine monastery
established about the year 970 by Athelwold, Bishop
of Winchester, on the site of the convent of St. Ethel-
dreda, which had been destroyed by the Northmen.
(See Pt. II.) Simeon, who was by birth related to
the Conqueror, had been Prior of Winchester, and
was the brother of Walkelin, first Norman bishop of
that see, who also re-built his cathedral.
The church thus commenced was so far completed
by Simeon's successor, Abbot RICHARD (1100 — 1107),
that he was able to translate into it from the Saxon
church the bodies of St. Etheldreda (to whom, con-
jointly with St. Peter, the building was dedicated"),
and of the other three sainted abbesses, her sisters
• " Ecclesiam suara a prtedecessore suo inceptam aodificavit."
— Thomas Eliensis, Anglia Sacra, torn. i. p. 613. This may either
mean that he completed the church (which was subsequently
enlarged and altered); or — which is more probable— that he
only completed the choir and transepts. It is certain that the
nave is of much later date tlmn the time of Abbot Richard.
220 {Bi
St. Sexburga and Withburga, and her niece St.
Ermenilda. No further record exists of the progress
of the work until Bishop GEOFFRY RIDEL (1174—1189)
is mentioned as having " completed the new work to
its western end (usque occidentem), together with the
tower nearly to the summit." Bishop EUSTACE (1198
— 1215) built a Galilee (or western porch). Bishop
HUGH OF NORTHWOLD (1229 — 1254) pulled down the
Norman presbytery, and extended it six bays east-
wards in seventeen years, 1235 — 1252. In the year
1322, during the episcopate of JOHN HOTHAM (1316
— 1337), Abbot Simeon's central tower fell; as his
brother Wakelin's at Winchester had fallen in 1107.
The octagon, by which the tower was replaced, was com-
menced in the same year (1322), and completed in 1328 :
the lantern above it, begun in 1328, was finished in
1342. The western portion of Bishop Hugh's choir,
which had been ruined by the fall of the tower, was
rebuilt, chiefly at the expense of Bishop Hotham, who,
at his death, left money for the purpose. The work
was commenced in 1338. The Lady-chapel, the erec-
tion of which was mainly due to JOHN OF WISBECH, a
brother of the monastery, was commenced in 1321,
and completed in 1349. Chantries at the eastern ends
of the choir-aisles were built by Bishop ALOOCK (1485
—1500) and Bishop WEST (1515—1553).
From these dates it will be seen that the cathedral
contains examples of the different periods of Gothic
architecture, from early Norman to late Perpendicular.
The chroniclers of the abbey have recorded the exact
glaimsk 221
date of nearly every portion of the building ; which
thus acquires the highest possible value and interest
for the student of architecture. Nor are the examples
which it affords anywhere exceeded in beauty or im-
portance. The Galilee and eastern portion of the choir
take rank among the very best works of the Early
English period ; whilst the octagon, the western choir,
and the Lady-chapel are probably the finest examples
of pure Decorated to be found in England. It should
also be mentioned here, that the restoration of the
cathedral, commenced by the late Dean PEACOCK, and
carried on by his successors, Deans GOODWIN (the pre-
sent Bishop of Carlisle) and MEKIVALE, is one of the
most perfect and elaborate that has anywhere been
attempted. The whole was under the direction of
the late Sir G. G. SCOTT.
The church is built throughout of stone from Bar-
nack in Northamptonshire. Purbeck marble is used
extensively for decorative shafts and capitals ; and
some of the interior mouldings and ornaments are
worked in a soft white stone, called " clunch," found
in the neighbourhood of Ely.
II. Ely Cathedral, which measures 537 feet from
the exterior of the west porch to the exterior eastern
buttresses, is one of the longest Gothic churches in
Europe ; although others (as for example the cathedral
of Milan) cover much more ground. Owing probably
to its situation, no very important town ever rose up
about the monastery. The houses which line the streets
are unusually small and low ; and the long ridge of
222 <£{
the cathedral roofs with, their towers and pinnacles
lifts itself above them on every side. Other English
cathedrals form only part of the cities in which they
stand : here the cathedral is in fact the town ; and
nowhere else perhaps in England is there so complete
and suggestive a picture of what a great monastery —
such as Glastonbury or Melrose — must have resembled
whilst its buildings were yet entire, and its church
formed a landmark for all the surrounding district.
III. Leaving the exterior and the best general points
of view (§ xxxv.) for the present, we enter the cathedral
by the Galilee or western porch. [Plate I.]. Mr. Essex,
the architect employed by the Dean and Chapter
in the extensive repairs of the cathedral carried on
in the latter half of the last century, advised the de-
molition of the Galilee and south-western transept as
" neither useful nor ornamental, and not worth pre-
servingb." Happily his advice was not taken in either
instance. The Galilee is usually attributed to Bishop
Eustace (1198 — 1215), but though there is no doubt
that this prelate did erect a "Galilee" at the west
endc, the character of the architecture forbids us to
regard the present Galilee as his work. It certainly
exhibits a fuller development of the Early English
style than the work of Bishop Northwold, which was
not commenced till nearly twenty years after Bishop
Eustace's death. The thickness of the walls and other
b Report, MSS. Essex, ii. 261, Add. MSS. British Museum.
c " Ipse construxit a fundamento novam galileam ecclesise
Eliensis versus occidentem sumptibus suis." — Angl. Sacr. i. 634.
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLATE I.
INTERIOR OP THE GALILEE PORCH
Galilee. 223
marks, more evident in Bentham's day than now, ren-
der it not improbable that the present Galilee was a
transformation, in a later and more highly ornamental
style, of the plainer work of the earlier prelate. The
main arch of entrance circumscribes two smaller
foliated ones, which spring from a central group of
shafts, the intermediate space being filled with tracery.
Above the entrance is a triplet window, originally
lighting a room above the porch. The high-pitched
roof was lowered by Essex. The outer walls, north
and south, are lined by four tiers of arcades, the two
uppermost of which have foliated arches.
Within, the porch, which is 43 feet in length, consists
of two bays, simply vaulted. The wall of each bay is
divided into two stories by arcades, very gracefully
disposed. Eemark especially the excellent effect given
to the lower arcade by its divisions of outer and inner
arches, and by the effective manner in which the front
shafts intersect the arches of the arcade behind them
in somewhat the same manner as in the wall-arcades
of St. Hugh's choir at Lincoln. The same idea is
also more fully carried out in the tabernacle-work
of the Lady-chapel. The outer arches are enriched
with the dog-tooth moulding. The arch through
which the cathedral is entered, is divided, like the
arch of entrance to the porch, into two, by a group of
shafts. The rich exterior mouldings and the leafage
of the capitals of the shafts should all be noticed. The
whole has been restored, with the addition of columns
of polished serpentine and oaken doors, with iron scroll
224 <5J
work, at the cost of Mrs. Waddington, of Twyford,
Hants.
The name Galilcea, ' Galilee,' applied to this western
porch by the chroniclers of Ely, is used elsewhere, as
at Lincoln and Durham, to denote additions of some-
what less sacred character than the rest of the building ;
perhaps in allusion to " Galilee of the Gentiles." The
Galilee at Durham forms a large chapel at the west
end of the nave, and was appropriated to the use of
women, who were not permitted to advance into the
actual church of the stern St. Cuthbert.
IV. Entering the cathedral, the visitor finds himself
within the great west tower, through the eastern arch
of which a superb view is commanded up the nave
[Plate II.], past the arches and graceful tracery and
rich hues of the lantern, and beyond the elaborate
screen, to the coloured roof of the choir and the stained
glass of the distant eastern windows.
The tower, originally the work of Bishop GEOFFEY
RIDEL (1174 — 1189 d), was much altered and strength-
ened during the Perpendicular period ; when the tran-
sition Norman arches were contracted by those which
now exist. The zigzag moulding above marks the
extent of the original arches. The work, after the
d The extent of Bishop Ridel's work is uncertain. " Novum
opus usque occidentem cum turre usque ad cumulum fere per-
fecit." — Monach. Eliensis, ap. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, i. p. 631.
The " novum opus " may possibly refer to the nave as well as
the west transept. The upper portions of the tower and western
transept are Early English, and may belong to the episcopate of
Bishop Eidel's successor, William Longchamp (1189—1198).
Ceiling of % fate. 225
erection of the upper or Decorated story of the tower,
(see § xxxi.), had probably shown signs of weakness ;
and the fall of the central tower in the preceding cen-
tury no doubt led the monks to apply a remedy to this
one in due time. Two tiers of arcaded galleries, the
arches of which have trefoil headings, run round above
the pier- arches ; and above, again, are three pointed
windows in each side. On the west side, the lower
arcade is pierced for light as well as the upper. The
window over the entrance, filled with modern stained
glass, was inserted early in the present century.
The interior of the tower was begun to be restored
in 1846 ; when a floor above the lower arches was re-
moved. The present painted roof, 115 feet from the
pavement, was designed and executed by the late Mr.
H. L. Styleman Le Strange in 1855, the work taking
him twelve weeks.
The style of decoration is that which prevailed in
England about the close of the twelfth century, when
this part of the tower was completed. The subject,
placed appropriately at the entrance of the church, is
the Creation of the Universe. Stems and branches of
foliage embrace and sustain five circles placed cross-
ways. In the upper circle toward the east, is depicted
the Dextra Domini, the "Eight Hand of the Lord,"
as the emblem of the Almighty Father. The central
circle contains our Saviour in an aureole, in the act of
exercising creative power. In His left hand He holds
the globe of the world : and He is surrounded by the
sun, moon, and stars. Above Him is written the text,
VOL. II. PT. I. Q
226
" I am before all things, and by Me all things consist."
In the circle beneath is the Holy Dove, brooding over
the waters of the newly created earth. Rays of light
proceed from the Dextra Domini in a threefold manner,
and embrace within their influence the other two per-
sons of the Godhead. In the other circles are figures
of cherubim and seraphim holding scrolls, on which
are the words, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of
Sabaoth." Round the whole is the text from Reve-
lation, iv. 11, — " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power ; for Thou hast created
all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were
created."
It was while this work was in progress in 1845 that
Mr. Basevi, the architect of the Fitzwilliam Museum
at Cambridge, fell from the upper roof, and was killed
on the spot. He was buried in the north choir-aisle,
where a brass commemorates him.
V. Bishop Ridel's original plan embraced a western
transept opening from the tower, and flanked by octa-
gonal turrets at the angles. The north-west transept
fell (at what time is uncertain), and was never re-
built, though a happily unsuccessful attempt to do so
seems to have been made in the Decorated period.
The south wing, till a few years since shut off from
the church by a plaster wall, and used as a workshop
and lumber-room, has been thoroughly restored and
thrown open ; and although Essex advised the Dean and
Chapter to pull it down, no part of the cathedral more
deservedly challenges attention for the elaborate rich-
of St. Canitt. 227
ness of its architectural decoration. The whole is
probably the work of Bishop Ridel, and affords in its
successive stories a very instructive example of the
progress from the Norman to the Early English style.
The lower stories are covered with tiers of blind
arcades, of which that in the centre has interlaced
arches. The second tier from the top consists of a
low arcade with trefoiled heads, above which are
windows with pointed arches carried by banded
clustered shafts, and other characteristics of the Early
English period. The square abacus, however, is used
throughout. On the east side are two circular arches,
much enriched with zigzag; one of which opens to
the nave-aisle, the other to the apsidal Chapel of St.
Catherine, which, long in ruins, was rebuilt in 1848,
and is now used for early morning prayer. The walls
are lined with an arcade in two tiers. The stained
glass of the windows is by WILMSHURST ; the Baptism
of our Lord after a picture by Bassano, the Saviour
with little children, from a well-known design of
Overbeck's. The deep hues of the Bassano have a
striking effect, but the colours are much too vivid to
be pleasing. The glass of the other windows is by
WAILES.
The floors of transept and chapel have been laid
with diapers of stone and Purbeck marble, with an
incised border filled with coloured cement. The mas-
sive square font of Transitional character, standing on
polished marble shafts, was one of the many gifts
of the late Professor Selwyn. The ceiling of the
Q2
228 ' «I
transept is coloured in square panels of red and
green, with angels displaying the red cross and
sacred monogram, appropriate to its destination as
a Baptistery.
VI. The naie [Plate II.], which we now enter, is a
good specimen of later Norman ; and may be compared
with the neighbouring Norman nave of Peterborough,
which must have been in building at the same time. The
nave of Ely, begun and partly built by Abbot Eichard,
must have been fully completed before 1174, the date
of the succession of Bishop Eidel. The work is plain
throughout ; the eastern end, the part first built, being
slightly the plainest, but the height of the arches, which
are slightly stilted, as well as the slender shafts of the
triforium and clerestory, sufficiently indicate its late
character. It consists of twelve bays, alternating in
design, as at Norwich ; the early Norman nave of which
cathedral should be compared with the later Norman of
Ely and Peterborough. The arrangement of the piers
at Norwich is much simpler and ruder than at Ely,
where the semi-attached shafts of the mo-re complex
piers already approach the Transition. The arches are
recessed in three orders, with plain roll- mouldings.
In the triforium above, a wide and lofty circular arch,
of the same character and nearly the same height as
the pier-arch, comprises two smaller arches, carried by
a tall slender shaft with a cushion capital. The tri-
forium extends over the aisles, the walls of which
were raised and Perpendicular windows inserted, in
1469. The clerestory in each bay is formed by an
ELY CATHEDRAL.
THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END
229
arcade of three semicircular arches, that in the centre
being a little higher than the other two. At the back
is a round-headed window. A stringcourse with the
billet-moulding passes along at the base of the tri-
forium, and a plain roll above and below the clerestory.
Slight differences may be noticed between the two
sides of the nave. Vaulting-shafts, in groups of three,
rise between each bay on the south side, except the
easternmost ; on the north side, a single circular shaft
is set on a square pilaster. A marble cherub under
the soffete of the third arch from the west till lately
marked the position of the font, the canopy of which
it was supposed to support.
The dimensions of this nave are given as follows —
length, 230 feet ; breadth (with aisles), 77 feet 3 inches ;
height, 87 feet.
VII. The roof of the nave as originally constructed
was probably finished internally with a horizonal
ceiling from wall to wall, as in the transepts of Peter-
borough and at St. Alban's and the choir of Eomsey.
This was the most usual mode in Norman times, where
no stone vault existed. The external form, as well as
that of the transept roofs, appears, from the weather-
ings still existing, to have been truncated. In con-
sequence, however, of the deviation from the original
plans made by Alan de Walsingham when he erected
the central lantern, it became necessary to re-construct
the roof over this portion of the building ; and the
result was the high-pitched form which exists at the
present day, internally braced with a series of inter-
230 (Ei
lacing timbers iu such a manner as to form an irregu-
lar polygonal roof sufficiently high to surmount the
newly inserted lantern-arch. This roof seems to have
received no kind of finish until, after the painting of
the tower ceiling, it was determined to extend the
decoration to that of the nave, the roof of which was
accordingly coated with boards about 86 feet from the
pavement. The paintings on the roofs of the six
westernmost bays, like those of the tower ceiling,
are the work of Mr. Le Strange, who had spared
no labour in the examination of manuscript au-
thorities for Norman ornamentation, and of existing
remains of Norman painting in English and foreign
churches. The work was commenced by Mr. Le
Strange in 1858, and carried on to the close of 1861,
by which time the six western bays were completed.
At his death in July, 1862, the design and painting of
the remaining six bays were committed to Mr. Gambier
Parry, of Highnam, in Gloucestershire, and completed
by him at Christmas, 1864. The general design of
Mr. Le Strange's work was cast upon the model of the
Jesse tree, which was itself to be incorporated into
the work as the latter part of the history. But as the
painting advanced, the introduction of large sacred
subjects seemed far more desirable on so enormous
a surface, each of the twelve bays containing nearly
1000 superficial feet of painting ; and the thread of
the design has been thus carried on, the subjects in-
creasing in richness of colour and interest of design
as they progress eastwards, culminating, as Mr. Le
gaofs of fafo gags. 231
Strange had originally intended, in a " Majesty," or
the glorified manhood of Christ, the object of uni-
versal adoration.
The scheme of the design is the illustration, both
in its divine and its human aspects, of one great
subject — " an epitome of the sacred history of man as
recorded in the Scriptures" — from his creation by
" the Word of God " to the Lord's return in glory.
The twelve subjects thus completed, beginning at
the west end of the nave, are in the
1st bay. The Creation of Man.
2nd. The Fall of Man.
3rd. The Sacrifice of Noah.
4th. The Sacrifice of Abraham.
5th. The Vision of Jacob.
6th. The Marriage of Boaz and Buth, from whom springs
Obed the father of Jesse.
7th. Jesse ; represented in the ancient manner, as lying asleep ;
— " There shall come forth a Kod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots."
8th. David, and musicians, angels, &c., attendant on him.
9th. The Annunciation.
10th. The Nativity of Christ.
llth. The Adoration of the Incarnate Word by the world,
represented by Jewish Shepherds and Gentile Kings.
12th. The Majesty. The Adoration of all the Heavens. The
Lord seated in the centre on a Throne, encircled by a
rainbow, and with the sea of glass before it, has above His
Head the Seraphim. The Twelve Apostles are seated to
the right and left. To the north stand the Archangels
Gabriel arid Raphael, with the blessed rising at their feet.
To the south are Uriel and Michael, the latter thrusting
his spear into the dragon's mouth, typical of the final
232 <$l
victory over evil. The principal figures throughout the
series are from 9 to 10 feet high.
These central subjects are supported by full-length
figures of the Patriarchs and Prophets, carrying
scrolls bearing words of their own, predictive of the
coming and work of the Messiah. The arrangement
in the first nine bays is as follows : —
North Side. South Side.
1. Jacob. 1. Abraham.
2. Balaam. 2. Job.
3. Nathan. 3. Moses.
4. Joel. 4. Jonah.
5. Hosea. 5. Amos.
6. Isaiah. 6. Micah.
7. Haggai. 7. Daniel.
8. Ezekiel. 8. Jeremiah.
( Nahum . j Zechariah.
9' IZephaniah. 9> (Malachi.
Evangelists, two on each side, are the supporters
in the tenth bay. The eleventh and twelfth bays,
properly speaking, have no supporters. In the
eleventh bay Magi (S.) and shepherds (N.) are so
arranged as to carry on the effect of lateral figures.
In the twelfth bay the picture extends entirely across
the ceiling.
Along either side of the ceiling is a border of busts,
exhibiting the generations of our Lord up to Adam,
as successive links in a chain, according to the ge-
nealogy given by St. Luke. The series begins at
the east end with the head of Joseph, round which is
233
written " which was the son of Heli," and continues
crossing the nave in alternate groups of three, till it
reaches the west end, where the figure of Adam is
contained in the central medallion of the first bay,
round which is inscribed, " which was the Son of
God."
The whole of this gigantic work was executed in
»itu, on deal-boards nailed upon the rafters of the roof.
The artists had to paint lying on their backs, with
the scaffolding impeding their view, and never able
to see their work uninterruptedly at a sufficient dis-
tance to enable them to judge of it in the various
stages of its progress.
VIII. The vaulting of the nave-aisles springs, as
at Norwich and Peterborough, from triple wall-shafts
between the windows, and semicircular shafts, alter-
nately single and in groups of three, at the back of
the piers. A wall-arcade runs below the windows of
both aisles. A stringcourse ornamented with zigzags
runs above this arcade the whole length of the south
aisle, but is only seen in the easternmost bay of the
north aisle. In the south aisle, the door in the fifth bay
(counting from the west) opened into the west walk
of the cloisters. The wall-arcade west of this door
is lower than that east of it. The door itself was the
prior's entrance, and is much enriched on the exterior
(See § xxxn.) The monks' entrance from the eastern
walk of the cloisters is in the eleventh bay. In the
sixth bay is a pedestal supporting the fragment of a
stone cross, which in all probability is a relic of the
234 <£Ig
age of St. Etheldreda. It long served as a horse-block
at Haddenham, in the Isle of Ely ; and was removed
to its present position by the care of Mr. Bentham, the
historian of the Cathedral. On the pedestal is the
inscription, in Eoman capitals, "Lucem tuam Ovino
da Dens, et requiem. Amen." " Ovini," or " Wini,"
was, as Bede tells us6, the name of the steward and
principal " house-thegn " of Etheldreda; whom he
had accompanied from East Anglia about the year
652, on her first marriage with Tondberct, chief of
the South Gyrvians. [See Pt. II.] Winford, a manor
near Haddenham, may not impossibly retain the name
of Wini, who embraced the monastic life under St.
Chad at Lichfield f. The cross may perhaps have been
erected by Wini himself, on land granted him by
Etheldreda, or by Tondberct. At any rate, the almost
pure Roman lettering may very well be of his time.
The view from this point down the aisle into the west
transept, the elaborate wall-arcades of which are alone
visible, is a singular one. The break in the wall-
arcade of the north aisle in the sixth bay marks the
site of the entrance to the former parish church of
St. Cross, destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth, when
the Lady-chapel was assigned to the parishioners
instead of it.
IX. The first bay of the north aisle toward the west
e Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 3.
f The music of the angels, who came to warn St. Chad of his
approaching death, was heard only by Wini. See the very
curious narrative in Bede, H. E. iv. 3.
235
has been enclosed, apparently as a chapel ; a pointed
arch of Early English character having been built
within the original Norman arch of the nave.
The windows of the north aisle are Perpendicular
insertions. Those in the south aisle have nearly all
been restored to their original Norman form. There
are no windows in the first two bays, but the very
rich wall-arcading of the north-west transept is con-
tinued. Nearly all the windows in both aisles are
filled with modern stained glass, by different artists,
and of various degrees of merit. In the south aisle,
beginning at the west end, the subjects and artists are
as follows : —
1. The Creation. The Expulsion from Eden. The Offerings
of Cain and Abel. (HENRI and ALFRED G-ERENTE.)
2. The Ark. The Flood. Noah's Sacrifice. (ALFRED GE-
RENTE.)
3. The Annunciation. The Salutation. The Nativity.
(WARRINGTON.)
4. Babel and the Confusion of Tongues. (HOWES.)
5. Abraham with the Angels. Expulsion of Hagar. Bless-
ing Of Jacob. (GlBBS.)
6. Passover. Death of the First-born. Departure of Israel-
ites. (HOWES.)
7. Fall of Jericho. Passage of Jordan. Eeturn of Spies.
(WAILES.)
8. The Story of Samson. (ALFRED GERENTE.)
9. The Story of the Venerable Bede. (WAILES.)
10. David Anointed ; playing before Saul ; chosen King ;
and reproved by Nathan. (HARDMAN.)
11. Judgment of Solomon. Building and Dedication of the
Temple. Visit of the Queen of Sheba. (MooRE.)
236 ®I
In tlie north aisle the subjects are : —
1. Adam Tilling the Ground. Cain Ploughing. Abel with
Sheep. Adam and Eve discovering the body of Abel.
(COTTINGHAM.)
2. The History of Lot. (PREEDY.)
3. The Death of Sarah. Purchase of the Cave of Macpelah.
Burial of Abraham. (PKEEDY,)
4. Gideon. The Flight of the Midianites. (WARD.)
5. The History of Samuel. (WARD and NIXON.)
6. David and the Minstrels. (OLIPHANT, from designs by
DYCE, E.A.)
7. History of Elijah. (WAILES.)
8. Do. do. ( Do. )
9. History of Elisha ( Do. )
10. History of Hezekiah ( Do. )
11. History of Jonah. (HEDGELAND.)
12. History of Daniel. (LussoN of Paris.)
Of these windows, many were the gifts of the artists,
and others were designed as memorials for different
persons connected with the cathedral.
A tablet towards the eastern end of the north re-
cords the paving of the nave in 1676 by Koger Clop-
ton, Eector of Downham. The present pavement, of
pleasing but unobtrusive design, exhibiting bands,
zigzags, and circles of different coloured stone, was
laid down in 1869, from a legacy of Bishop Turton,
aided by other contributions. The cost of the pave-
ment of the aisles, in black and white chequers with
reddish central bands the whole length, was defrayed
in 1873 by Bishop Harold Browne and Mr. William
Gibbs.
fransepts. 237
A niche of elaborate workmanship attached to the
eleventh pier on either side, towards the aisle, marks
the position of the screen of the original Norman choir,
which remained in situ till Essex's rearrangement of
the interior in 1770.
X. The great or principal transepts are the only
portions of the church which contain any remains of
the original Norman work of Abbot Simeon and his
successor. Both transepts, which are three bays deep,
have east and west aisles ; and the lower story in both
is early Norman (1082—1107). The arches of this
story are much ruder than those of the nave, and have
plain, square-edged soffetes carried on equally plain
piers, one of which on each side is a huge cylinder.
In the north transept, the capitals of the piers on the
east side are enriched with small volutes. These
eastern aisles were originally built to form chapels.
The walls dividing them still exist in the northern
wing, and the separate bays serve as vestries. The
walls were removed in the southern wing in 1814, and
the whole space forms the Chapter Library, the arches
towards the transept being walled up. On the walls
of the central chapel of the north wing remains of
Norman painting may still be seen. At the N.E.
angle is the modern entrance to the Lady-chapel
(§ xxix.). The triforium and clerestory on the east
and west sides are late Norman, of the same general
design as in the nave.
Both transepts originally had the aisle carried
across the end wall, precisely like those still existing
238 <£lg
at Winchester, built by Simeon's brother, Walkelin,
forming a continuous gallery on the triforium level.
These terminal aisles were taken down at some later
period and replaced by galleries of semicircular
moulded arches of much less projection, behind which
may be seen the central semi-pier or respond of the
aisle-vault. In the north transept this arcade is pierced
by two round-headed windows ; there are two more on
the triforium range, and above, two tall transomed
three-light Perpendicular windows. In the south tran-
sept the arcade is lower, and the wall above it is lined
with a blank arcade of intersecting arches. Above,
again, are two ranges of round-headed windows, and
in the gable a broad, low, segmental-headed late Per-
pendicular window, of seven lights.
Both sides of the south transept are enclosed. The
eastern aisle (as we have said) now serves as the
Chapter Library. (See § xxvm.) On these arches
the Norman scroll-work has been restored in modern
colours. The west aisle, which serves as a vestry,
is shut off by a low wall lined with an intersecting
Norman arcade, in which is a richly-carved oak door,
brought originally from Landbeach, with the cock and
other devices resembling those in Bishop Alcock's
chapel (§ xxiv.). The Norman colouring has been
restored in this aisle with good effect. This transept
is used for Diocesan Conferences, meetings for Church
societies and other kindred purposes. It contains a
curious piece of tessellated pavement, discovered be-
tween the choir and the Lady-chapel.
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLATE III.
THE OCTAGON AND CHOIR, FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
239
The transept roofs are open and are somewhat plain
examples of the hammer-beam. The projecting brackets
have figures of angels with expanded wings. The whole
of the roofs have been repainted, — the angel-brackets,
the main beams, and the bosses, in red, gold, and
green ; the boarding of the roof itself in a very effective
pattern of black and white.
The whole of the windows at the north and south
ends of the transepts, as well as those in the west aisle
of the north transept, have been filled with stained
glass. It would be tedious to particularize their
artists and subjects. Those in the south transept are
chiefly by the brothers Gerente : those in the north
transept by M. Lusson and WAILES of Newcastle.
XI. We have been describing the cathedral in due
order ; but the attention of the visitor will from the first
have been withdrawn with difficulty from the central
octagon [Plate III.], — "perhaps the most beautiful and
original design to be found in the whole range of Gothic
architecture." The first impression here is almost be-
wildering, so great is the mass of details pressing for
notice, so varied and unusual the many lines and levels
of piers, windows, and roofs, all glowing with colour,
and intersected with the most graceful and delicate
tracery. There is perhaps no architectural view in
Europe more striking — when seen under a good effect
of light, on which all such views so greatly depend —
than that across the octagon of Ely from the angle of
the nave-aisles.
The Norman tower erected by Abbot Simeon had long
240 ${g
been threatening ruin, and the monks had not ventured
for some time to sing their Offices in the choir, when,
on the eve of St. Ermenilda (Feb. 12, 1322), as the bre-
thren were returning to their dormitory after attending
matins in St. Catherine's Chapel, to which the services
had been transferred, it fell, " with such a shock and
so great a tumult that it was thought an earthquake
had taken place." The great mass of the tower seems
to have fallen eastward, crushing the three bays of the
Norman choir, but doing little damage to the nave.
No one was hurt, and the Chronicler of Ely remarks,
as an especial proof of the Divine protection, that the
shrines of the three sainted abbesses, Etheldreda,
Sexburga, and Withburga, which stood at the eastern
end of the choir, escaped without the slightest injury.
The prior, at this crisis in the history of the cathedral,
was John of Crawden (now Croydon, a village in the
south of the county), a man of great " administrative
skill, who met with promptness and judgment the emer-
gencies of his position." — Rev. D. J. Stewart. He had,
as sub-prior, elected on the same day as himself, May
20, 1321, Alan of Walsingham, who succeeded him as
prior in 1341. After holding the office of sub-prior
for a few months he was chosen sacrist, in which
capacity his name has become inseparably connected
with the architectural history of Ely Cathedral. (Ibid.)
Under his care the ruins were cleared away, and the
work of the octagon begun. This was completed, as
high as the upper stringcourse, in 1328. The vault and
lantern were then commenced ; but these are entirely
(Ddagon. 241
of wood, and as it was difficult to find timber of
sufficient strength, the work advanced more slowly.
It was finished in 1342. The cost of the entire struc-
ture was £2,400 6s. lid. ; a sum of which it is diffi-
cult to estimate the proportional value, but which was
perhaps equal to about £60,000 of our money.
Alan of Walsingham alone, " of all the architects of
Northern Europe, seems to have conceived the idea of
getting rid of what in fact was the bathos of the style
— the narrow tall opening of the central tower, which,
though possessing exaggerated height, gave neither
space nor dignity to the principal feature. Accord-
ingly, he took for his base the whole breadth of the
church, north and south, including the aisles by that of
the transepts, with their aisles in the opposite direction.
Then, cutting off the angles of this large square, he
obtained an octagon more than three times as large as
the square upon which the central tower would have
stood by the usual English arrangement g." The octagon
is thus formed by four larger and four smaller arches.
The larger open to the nave, choir, and transepts ; the
smaller to the aisles of all four. At the pier-angles
are groups of slender shafts, from which springs a ribbed
vaulting of wood. This supports the lantern, likewise
octagonal in shape, but set in such a manner as to have
its angles opposite the faces of the stone octagon below,
and consisting of a series of enriched panels, with
eight windows above them, small shafts at the angles
of which support a richly groined and bossed roof. The
* Fergusson, Handbook of Architecture.
VOL. II. PT. I. E
242 d&{
entire roof, above the piers of the octagon, forms " the
only Gothic dome in existence, though Italian archi-
tects had done the same thing, and the method was in
common use with the Byzantines V
XII. The great eastern arch of the octagon rises
above the vault of the choir ; the space between which
and the arch is filled with open tracery. Above the
crown of each of the great arches, in the space
between it and the vaulting, is a trefoil containing
the seated figure of a saint.
The details of the four smaller sides of the octagon
are admirable, and demand especial notice. The
hood-mouldings of the principal arches rest on sculp-
tured heads; of which those north-east probably
represent Edward III. and his queen, Philippa,
during whose reign the work was completed; those
south-east, Bishop Hotham and Prior Crawden, who
presided over the see and the monastery at the time ;
h Fergusson. The exact place of Alan of Walsingham's
interment is unknown. His epitaph has been preserved, and
ran thus : —
" Flos operatorum, dum vixit corpore sanus
Hie jacet ante chorum Prior en tumulatus, Alanus.
Annis bis denis vivens fuit ipse Sacrista,
Plus tribus his plenis Prior ens perfecit et iata,
Sacristariam quasi funditus aedificavit ;
Mephale, Brame, etiam, huic ecclesiae cumuiavit.
Pro veteri turre, qua) quadam nocte cadebat,
Hanc turrim proprie quam cernitis hie faciebat ;
Et plures sedes quia fecerat ipse Prioris,
Detur ei sedes coeli, pro fine laboris."
He died apparently in the year 1364.
. Wttbofos. 243
and those north-west are supposed to represent Alan
of Walsingham, the sacrist and architect, and his
master of the works. The heads on the south-west
arch cannot now be identified. In the angle of each
pier is a projecting niche, once containing a statue.
These niches rise from large brackets supported by
a group of slender shafts, the capitals of which are
sculptured with the story of St. Etheldreda. (See
§ xui.) The wall above and between the niches is
panelled with tabernacle- work in three divisions, each
of which contains a bracket enriched with foliage,
bearing statues of the Apostles by Kedfern. Some
carved heads here, and in the corbel-table above, re-
presenting the sixteen prophets, should be noticed.
Above, again, is a window of four lights, the arrange-
ment of which is especially beautiful and ingenious.
The window itself fills the whole bay of the vault, and
is necessarily sharp pointed and narrowed toward the
top. At the height of the four great octagon arches,
however, an inner arch is thrown across, the space
between which and the crown of the vault is filled
with open tracery, corresponding to the blind tracery
which covers the wall above the greater arches. A
passage along the base of these windows communi-
cates with the clerestories of nave and choir.
These windows have been filled with stained glass,
by WAILES. Those south-east and north-east repre-
sent the principal persons belonging to the story of
St. Etheldreda, including her parents, her two hus-
bands, St. Wilfrid, St. Dunstan, &c, That north-
R2
244 fcl
west contains eight representative figures, William
the Conqueror, Henry I., Henry III., Edward II. ;
Abbot Simeon, the founder of the church; Hervey,
the first bishop ; Bishop Northwold, and Alan of
Walsingham, the builders of the presbytery and
octagon respectively. That south-west displays
Edward III., Queen Philippa, Bishop Hotham, and
Prior Crawden, — in whose time the octagon was
first constructed ; and Queen Victoria, the late Prince
Consort (in his robes as Chancellor of the University of
Cambridge), Dr. Turton, Bishop, and Dr. Peacock, then
Dean, of Ely, who represent its modern restoration.
XIII. The story of St. Etheldreda will be found
at length in Part II. The subjects of the sculptures
below the niches in the octagon, beginning from the
north-west corner of the north transept arch, and
proceeding to the right, are as follows : —
1. The marriage of Etheldreda with Egfrid of
Northumbria. The figures supporting Etheldreda
are apparently those of her uncle, Ethelwold, King
of East Anglia, and her elder sister, Sexburga, after-
wards Abbess of Ely. (Her father and mother,
Anna and Hereswitha, were dead at the time of this
her second marriage.) Wilfrid, the famous Bishop
of Northumbria, is celebrating the marriage. The
Bishop's cross and aspersorium, or holy-water sprink-
ler, are borne by attendant monks.
2. The dedication of St. Efcheldreda in the convent
of Coldingham. The abbess, St. Ebba, aunt of King
Egfrid, is supporting her veil. Bishop Wilfrid is
giorg of St. $%teba. 245
blessing Etheldreda, who kneels before an altar, 011
which is her crown. At the back of the Abbess are
attendant nuns, one of whom carries her pastoral staff.
3. North angle of choir-arch. St. Etheldreda's
staff bursts into leaf. [See Part II.] She is asleep,
watched by her companions. Behind is her staff, in
full leaf and bearing fruit. The sculptor has repre-
sented a medlar rather than an ash, the mystic tree
of the old Saxons, into which, according to the
legend, the staff developed.
4. South angle of choir - arch. The miracle at
Coldeburch's Head. [See Part II.] On the rock,
round which the sea is flowing, are St. Etheldreda
and her two companions, Sewenna and Sevara. Eg-
frid and his attendants are riding round the rock,
amazed at the miracle.
5. East corner of south transept-arch. The in-
stallation of St. Etheldreda as Abbess of Ely by
Bishop Wilfrid. Remark the distinction between the
pastoral staff of an abbot and a bishop ; one turned
inward, the other outward, marking internal and
external jurisdiction.
6. West corner of south transept-arch. The death
and " chesting " of St. Etheldreda. The first divi-
sion represents the last moments of the saint; who
supports her pastoral staff in one hand, whilst Huna,
her priest, lifts the consecrated host at her side. In
the second division she is placed in her coffin, which
Bishop Wilfrid is blessing. Weeping nuns fill the
background.
7. South corner of nave-arch. Ymma loosed from
his fetters by the masses of Tunna and the interces-
sion of St. Etheldreda. [See Part II.] The Ab-
besses Sexburga and Withburga also appear, and two
angels attend them.
8. North corner of nave-arch. The translation of
St. Etheldreda. [See Part II.] Her sister, the
Abbess Sexburga, is lifting the body, which is found
uncorrupted and flexible. Bishop Wilfrid, and Kine-
frid, the physician, are describing the events to three
royal personages.
The costume of all these figures, it need hardly be
said, is that of the reign of Edward III. The expres-
sions and attitudes are good and characteristic; but
the work is scarcely so refined or so imaginative
as that of the earlier sculptures at Wells and
Salisbury.
Against the north-east pier of the choir-arch stands
a richly-carved pulpit of Caen stone, resting on a
cluster of detached Purbeck marble columns, from
a design by Sir G. G. SCOTT, erected from a legacy
by Miss Allen, daughter of Bishop Allen.
XIY. The vaulted roof of the octagon has been
very effectively coloured; and the whole, including
the lantern and the pinnacles and external stone-
work, has been restored as a memorial of the late
Dean Peacock, who was the first to set on foot the
general repair and decoration of the cathedral. The
internal decoration of the octagon is due to the
voluntarily bestowed labour and artistic taste of Mr.
©flagon. 247
Gambier Parry. The motive of the design is taken
from the 150th Psalm. Surrounding the central boss,
a grand piece of fourteenth-century oak carving,
representing Our Lord in Majesty, is painted a
galaxy of seraphim on a grey-blue ground. Below
the eight windows, which are filled with coloured
glass, are thirty-two richly traceried panels, in
groups of four, on each of which is painted a stand-
ing angel, playing on a musical instrument of the
date of the lantern, on backgrounds alternately of
chocolate and blue. Below these is a series of smaller
panels bearing the sacred monogram, the Cross and
the Crown. The long spandrils of the groining are
decorated with flowers, leaves, and golden fruit, with,
in Mr. Parry's own words, " all those suggestions
of adoring Nature that medieval art could apply."
The space between the great eastern arch and the
vault of the choir is filled in with rich tracery,
the central panel of which contains the Crucifixion,
with angels on either side. The whole has been
well described as " the result of cultivated genius
and religious fervour, studiously striving to make art
a teacher of Divine truth." The total expense of this
internal decoration has been about £2500.
The architectural views from the octagon are su-
perb. That down the nave should be especially
noticed, for the grandeur produced by its great
length, extending beyond the tower into the west
porch.
XV. As in Norwich Cathedral, and in many other
248 <$l
conventual churches, the choir of the monks at Ely ex-
tended beyond the central tower, and after that had
fallen,, beyond the octagon, to the second pier of the
nave. So it continued until 1770, when it was re-
moved to the six eastern bays of the cathedral. At
the commencement of the present restoration the
arrangement of the choir was again altered; and it
now begins at the eastern arch of the octagon, and
embraces seven bays ; the two easternmost, beyond
them, forming the retro-choir.
The choir is divided from the octagon by a very
beautiful oaken screen, with gates of brass. This is
entirely modern, and designed by Sir G. G. SCOTT.
An excellent effect is produced by the double planes
of tracery in the upper divisions of the screen; the
cresting of which, with its coronals of leafage, should
be especially remarked. Lofty pinnacles of tabernacle-
work rise on either side, above the stalls of the bishop
and dean. The screen, notwithstanding its great elabo-
ration, is sufficiently light and open to permit the use
of the octagon as well as of the choir, during service.
Of the seven bays of which the choir consists, the
four easternmost (as well as the two beyond, which
form the retro-choir) are the work of Bishop HUGH OF
NORTH WOLD*, whose building was dedicated Sept. 17,
1252, in the presence of Henry III. and his son, after-
1 Bishop Hugh's work embraced the whole of the eastern limb,
excluding the three western bays afterwards destroyed by the
fall of the tower. It was seventeen years in building, and
cost, according to the Hist. Eliensis {Aug. Sac.)., i. p. 636),
£5040 18s. 8d.; a sum equalling about £120,000 at present
C^oir. gags. 249
wards Edward I., then about thirteen years old. The
three western bays, in which the stalls are placed,
were commenced in 1338, the year after the death of
Bishop Hotham, who left money toward the work;
and were completed during the episcopate of THOMAS
DE LISLE (1345 — 1362). The division between the
two portions is very sharply marked, not only by the
difference of style, but by an ascent of two steps, and
by broad shafts of stone which rise to the roof, and
are in fact the original Norman shafts which stood at
the turn of Abbot Simeon's apse j, which, carried by
him little above the foundations, was converted into
a square-ended presbytery, as at Komsey, St. Cross,
and Oxford, by Abbot Richard, to receive the shrines
of the four sainted abbesses. Their capitals, which
are Early English, were added when the presbytery
was lengthened.
The continuity of the leading horizontal lines
throughout the building deserves notice. Professor
Willis has called attention to the fact that the relative
altitudes of the three divisions of the elevation, the
pier-arch, the triforium space, and clerestory, remain
the same from the west end of the nave, through the
transepts, to the extreme east end, the floors of the
triforium and clerestory galleries maintaining one and
the same level. The spacing of the piers is also about
the same. In fact, the distribution and proportion of
j The foundations of this apse supporting those of the square-
ended presbytery, have been traced below the pavement of the
present choir.
250 <BIg
the parts laid down by the Norman designers has
been rigorously adhered to in all subsequent altera-
tions of the fabric.
XVI. The eastern portion of the choir — the Early
English work of Bishop Hugh of Northwold— should
first be examined. The piers are of Purbeck marble,
cylindrical, with eight attached ringed shafts, the
capitals of which are enriched with leafage of late
Early English character. Knots of similar foliage
are placed between the bases of the shafts. The hood-
moulding has the dog-tooth ornament. At the inter-
sections are bosses of foliage, and there are large
open trefoils in the spandrils. Long corbels of leafage
descending to the intersections of the arches carry the
triple vaulting-shafts, ringed at the springing of the
triforium arches (in a line with the capitals of the tri-
forium shafts) and rising to the level of the clerestory,
where they terminate in rich capitals of leafage. Cor-
bels, shafts, and capitals are of Purbeck marble.
, The triforium arches greatly resemble those below
in mouldings and ornaments ; and are subdivided by
a central group of shafts. In the tympanum above is
an open quatrefoil, with bunches of leafage on either
side. Pointed quatrefoils also appear in the spandrils.
The triforium extends backwards over the choir-aisles.
In the latter half of the fourteenth century the exterior
walls were raised, and large windows with Decorated
tracery inserted by Bishop Barnet (1366—1373),
with the view of lessening the gloom of the low-
windowed Early English triforium. In the two
Cjjorr. (Eastern portion. 251
westernmost bays of Bishop Hugh's work, however,
the roof of the triforium gallery was removed alto-
gether; and the inner arcade replaced by glazed
windows, of late Decorated character, feeble and want-
ing in depth, similar to those of the triforium east-
ward. A flood of light was thus poured down upon
the most sacred portion of the church — the choir-altar,
the shrines of St. Etheldreda and the other abbesses,
as well as on the tomb of Bishop Barnet himself,
' standing in the second of these bays on the south side.
These windows are now filled with stained glass by
WAILES. The original arrangement may still be seen
outside the cathedral on the south side, where Bishop
Hugh's exterior walls and window-openings remain
(see § xxxi.).
The clerestory windows are triplets, set flush with
the outer wall. An inner, open arcade rises above the
triforium, thus forming a gallery. The arches toward
the choir are supported by shafts of Purbeck. The
roof of this Early English portion of the cathedral is
of simple quadripartite vaulting. The vaulting-ribs
are arranged in groups of seven. The bosses at the
intersections are carved in foliage, with the exception
of two toward the west, which represent a bishop
seated, with crozier and mitre, and the coronation of
the Virgin.
The foliage of all Bishop Hugh's work deserves
careful examination. The arrangement in the corbels
of the vaulting-shafts varies, and should be remarked.
The bunches in the tympana of the triforium approach
252 gig Catbbral
to a decided imitation of nature, and should be com-
pared with the foliage in Walsingham's work to the
west of it, where the naturalism is fully developed.
The juxtaposition of the two works is through-
out very instructive ; and the visitor should proceed
at once to examine the three western bays of the choir,
before turning to the modern reredos, or to the various
monuments, which will be afterwards noticed.
XVII. The three western bays were completed, by
Bishop Hotham, between the years 1345 and 1362.
[Plate IV.] The arrangement on either side is pre-
cisely that of Bishop Hugh's work, as that reproduces
the Norman arrangement; but the superior beauty
will at once be recognized. The lower arches, and
those of the triforium, have square bosses of foliage
attached to their mouldings in a very striking manner.
The trefoils in the spandrils differ in form from Bishop
Hugh's, and the long corbels are carved with natural
oak-leaves. A low, open parapet runs along at the
base of the triforium and clerestory ; which latter is
set back within a rear arch, as in Bishop Hugh's work ;
but this arch is foiled, and extends over the whole
space. The tracery of the triforium and of the clere-
story windows is exquisitely rich and graceful, but
somewhat wanting in vigour and too widely spaced.
The work was begun on the south side, and the tracery
in the head of the triforium arch in the first compart-
ment on that side differs from the quadruple loop seen
in the five remaining bays. A large canopied niche
will be noticed between the first and second bays of the
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLATE IV.
w^^j^aw{^^^^,^^?-^^'-'^f — ,,, Au,!,.^t;.c-Kj,;.;.'_ •>..
F^Jr^:y^V--i^prf- r T *?• *- • - ^»' - ^- r r& *" r^Sr- r- »-S*- i
ONE BAY OF BISHOP HOTHAM'S WORK IN THE CHOIR
ajrs. 253
triforium to the soutli. The lierne- vaulting of the
roof should be compared with the earlier and simpler
vault east of it. Its bosses have been gilt, and the ribs
coloured red and green. The corbels of the vaulting-
shafts, which are of " clunch " stone, are blue, with white
and gold-tipped leafage : the trefoils in the spandrils
deep-blue, powdered with golden stars. The roofs of
the triforium, seen through its arches, are coloured
in patterns of black, white, and red. All the clerestory
windows have been filled with stained glass by WAILES,
displaying figures of doctors and martyrs.
The arms of the seek, and of Bishop Hothain1, the
principal contributor toward the work, are placed in
the spandrils of the first bay on the south side. A
figure of St. Etheldreda may possibly have stood
beneath the canopy which still remains between the
first and second bays on the same side.
It is probable that these three western bays form the
best example of the pure Decorated period to be found
in England ; and we may safely adopt Mr. Fergusson's
assertion, that their details " are equal to anything in
Europe for elegance and appropriateness m."
k Gules, 3 ducal coronets, or.
1 Barry of ten, az. and arg. ; on a canton, or, a martlet sable.
m Handbook of Architecture. The architectural student will
find a comparison of the following portions of Ely and Lincoln
Cathedrals, which form an almost complete series, ranging from
the commencement of Early English to the perfect development
of Decorated, full of interest and instruction : —
Choir of Lincoln, 1192—1200.
Nave of Lincoln, 1200—1220. [Eastern
254 (Bi
The organ, which has been entirely rebuilt by Hill,
occupies a position differing from that of any other
in England, and projects from the triforium of the
third bay on the north side. Its hanging case, a
superb mass of carving, coloured and gilt, but with
much of the oakwork judiciously left in its natural
tint, is entirely modern, and deserves especial
notice.
The stalls extend throughout this portion of the
choir. All those at the back formed part of the
original fittings, begun in 1338, and have been care-
fully restored. They are constructed in two stages,
the lower of which is recessed; over the seats and
from the front rises a series of panels, with over-
hanging canopies. These panels are filled with
modern sculpture in wood by M. Abeloos, of Louvain,
with the exception of the Nativity, which is by Philip ;
the south side with subjects from the Old Testament,
the north from the New. All the panels, both on
the south side and on the north, have been com-
pleted. These represent — south, beginning from the
west, (1) Creation of Man ; (2) Creation of Woman ;
(3) Adam in Paradise ; (4) The Fall of Man ; (5) The
Expulsion; (6) Adam and Eve at work; (7) Cain
killing Abel ; (8) Noah building the Ark ; (9) The
Deluge ; (10) Noah's Sacrifice ; (11) Promise to
Abraham; (12) Isaac carrying the Wood; (13)
Eastern portion of Ely choir, 1229 — 1252.
Presbytery, or "Angel choir" of Lincoln, 1256 — 1283.
Western bays of Ely choir, 1345—1362.
fffcoir-stslb. 255
Abraham's Sacrifice ; (14) Isaac blessing Jacob ; (15)
Jacob's Dream; (16) The Burning Bush; (17) The
Passover ; (18) Moses striking the Eock ; (19) The
Brazen Serpent; (20) Keturn of the Spies; (21)
David anointed by Samuel ; (22) Queen of Sheba's
Visit ; (23) Jonah ; (24) Elijah's Ascent to Heaven.
On the north side are — (1) The Annunciation; (2)
The Salutation ; (3) The Nativity ; (4) The Presenta-
tion in the Temple ; (5) The Offering of the Kings ;
(6) The Flight into Egypt ; (7) The Murder of the
Innocents ; (8) Our Lord Disputing with the Doctors ;
(9) The Baptism; (10) The Temptation; (11) The
Miracle at Cana; (12) The Transfiguration; (13)
Mary anointing our Lord's Feet ; (14) The Betrayal ;
(15) Our Lord before Caiaphas ; (16) The Mocking ;
(17) Pilate washing his Hands ; (18) The Scourging ;
(19) "Behold the Man!" (20) The Crucifixion; (21)
The Burial; (22) The Eesurrection ; (23) Our Lord
at Emmaus ; (24) The Unbelief of Thomas ; (25) The
Ascension. All are excellent in execution, but some-
what deficient in expression ; those on the south side
are the best. The details in other portions of these
upper stalls, the exquisite leafage, the designs in the
spandrils, and the figures at the foils of the canopies
deserve the most careful notice. The colour of the
whole is unusually pleasing.
The sub-stalls are new. The finials display angels
holding musical instruments ; and at their ends in the
upper range is a series of small figures representing
the builders of the various portions of the cathedral,
256 <gl
from St. Etheldreda, who holds the model of a Saxon
church, to Bishop Alcock, who exhibits his chapel.
All were designed by Mr. J. Philip, and are not un-
worthy of the ancient work with which they are
associated.
The brass lectern in the centre of the choir is a gift
of the late Canon E. B. Sparke, in memory of the late
Mr. Styleman Le Strange.
On the floor — which has been paved with polished
marble combined with encaustic tiles — is a memorial
brass for Bishop HOTHAM, entirely new ; and that of
Prior CRAWDEN (or Croyden), died 1341, which has
been restored. This brass has a hollow floriated cross,
with a small figure of the Prior at the foot. The
inscription runs, —
" Hanc aram decorat de Crauden tumba Johannis
Qui fuit hie Prior, ad bona pluria, pluribus annis.
Presulis hunc sedes elegit pontificari,
Presulis ante pedes ideo meruit tumulari."
The last two lines allude to the fact that, on the
death of Bishop Hotham, Prior Crawden was unani-
mously elected by the monks as his successor; that
the election was annulled by the Pope, who appointed
Simon de Montacute ; and that he was buried at the
feet of Bishop Hotham.
XVIII. We may now return to the eastern portion
of the choir, where the altar and the reredos first claim
attention. The altar is raised on five low steps, the tiles,
mosaics, and inlaid marbles of which deserve notice.
The altar-cloth, embroidered by the Misses Blencowe,
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLA'
THE EAST END AND REREDOS.
257
is among the best modern works of the kind. In
the centre is a figure of the Saviour. The inscription
runs, " Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi dona nobis
pacem. Agnus Dei miserere nobis."
The altar-screen or reredos [Plate V.], designed by
Sir G. G. SCOTT, was the gift of John Dunn Gardner,
Esq., of Chatteris in Cambridgeshire, as a memorial
to his first wife. Immediately over the altar are five
compartments filled with sculpture ; above which rises
a mass of rich tabernacle- work. The sculptures, which
are in alabaster, represent — Christ's Entry into Jeru-
salem ; Washing the Disciples' feet ; the Last Supper ;
the Agony in the Garden ; Bearing the Cross. Shafts
of alabaster, round which a spiral belt is twisted in-
laid with agates and crystals on a gold ground, divide
these compartments, and support the arches above.
The tabernacle-work is crowded with figures of angels
bearing the instruments of the Passion, and with me-
dallion heads in relief: those on the north represent
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel ; those south, the
four Doctors of the Latin Church — Jerome, Ambrose,
Augustine, and Gregory. Each compartment termi-
nates in a gable, of which that in the centre is highest.
In this gable is the Saviour with Moses and Elias on
either side ; above is a medallion of the Annuncia-
tion ; and on the highest point a figure of our Lord in
Majesty. On the side gables are figures of the four
Evangelists, with their emblems on the crockets. In
trefoils, set in the gables, are projecting busts ; those
north representing Mary Magdalene and Mary the
VOL. II. PT. I. S
258 ©Ig CH%braI.
mother of James ; those south St. John the Baptist
and St. John the Divine. On spiral pillars between
the gables are figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity,
north ; and of Justice, Prudence, and Fortitude, south.
All the details of this very important work of modern
art — in which the spirit rather than the letter of ancient
examples has been followed — deserve the most careful
observation. Much gold and colour has been applied
to the figures, and to other portions of the sculpture,
under the direction of Mr. Hudson.
XIX. Beginning on the south side of the choir, the
first monument in the fourth bay from the west (the
first of Bishop Northwold's work), is that of WILLIAM
OF LOUTH (de Luda, 1290—1298 ; see Part II.)
[Plate VI.], a fine and unusual design. It consists of
a lofty central arch, with smaller openings at the sides.
The arches are crowned with gables, much enriched,
and terminating in pinnacles and finials of leafage.
On the floor beneath the central canopy is a slab with
the figure of the bishop, from which the brass has dis-
appeared. In the bases of the east and west arches
are figures of the four Evangelists ; in the tympanum
of the central gable is the Saviour in Majesty. The
original colouring has been restored, but the effect is
not pleasing. The shrine of St. Etheldreda, the patron
saint of the monastery, stood in the'centre of the pres-
bytery, a little beyond De Luda's monument, in a line
with the second pair of piers of Northwold's work.
The high altar was placed a little to the west, in a
line with the first pair of these piers.
ELY CATHEDRAL.
MONUMENT OF BISHOP DE LUDA
in <ft|joir. 259
In the fifth bay is the Purbeck marble altar-tomb of
Bishop BARNET (1366—1373), with good quatrefoils
at the sides and ends. The brass has been destroyed.
In the sixth bay is the tomb of JOHN TIPTOFT, EARL
OF WORCESTER, — the most accomplished nobleman of
his time, and one of the Englishmen mentioned
by Leland (another was William Gray, Bishop of
Ely), who travelled to Italy in order to become dis-
ciples of the younger Guarini, at Ferrara. The Earl,
who had been Edward the Fourth's Constable of
England, was an ardent Yorkist : and after the suc-
cess of Warwick's expedition in 1470, he was found
concealed in a tree in the forest of Weybridge, was
tried before the Earl of Oxford, beheaded, and buried
in the Tower. His two wives, whose effigies rest on
either side of the Earl's, were alone buried in Ely.
The monument is a fine example of late Perpendicular.
It is a high altar-tomb, with a canopy of three arches
and a screen of open-work in two stages rising above
it. The pendants between the arches are noticeable ;
as are the patterns of leafage, for the most part ivy
and oak. The Earl is in armour, but wears a coronet.
In the seventh bay on this side has been placed the
tomb of Bishop HOTHAM (1317 — 1334) ; originally sur-
mounted by the so-called " shrine," which in the recent
restoration has been placed in the sixth bay on the
north side. Before Essex's alterations, the whole
structure stood in the centre of Bishop Hotham's
magnificent fabric. That architect removed it to the
north side of the presbytery. In front is a graceful
s2
260
CailjtbraL
arcade. The six iron rings inserted in the upper
slab of Purbeck possibly supported the herse.
XX. On the north side, the altar- tomb in the
seventh bay, opposite Bishop Hotham's, is that of
HUGH OF NOETHWOLD, the builder of the presbytery
(1229—1254), much dilapidated, but of high interest.
The base is modern. On it rests the effigy of the
Sculpture on Bishop Nortbwold's Tomb.
bishop fully vested, with smaller figures and sculp-
tures at the sides and foot. At the foot is represented
the story of St. Edmund, of whose great monastery
at Bury Bishop Hugh had been abbot. The King is
seen tied to a tree and shot at with arrows by the
Danes ; on one side he is beheaded, on the other is
the wolf of the legend, which protected the head of the
royal martyr". On one side of the principal effigy are
" This is the usual interpretation of the figures : but it seems
more probable that the figure holding a short sword, above the
Stort|y C^oir-gitsU. 261
the figures of a king (St. Edmund), and of Bishop
Hugh as abbot and monk : on the other three repre-
sentations of St. Etheldreda, as queen, abbess, and
nun. The two great monasteries over which Bishop
Hugh had presided were thus commemorated. The
shafts supporting the canopy are curiously enriched
with foliage.
In the sixth bay stands the so-called shrine of Bishop
HOTHAM, which, as we have said, formerly stood cen-
trally in the lower part of the choir, just behind the
reredos of the choir-altar, in the midst of his own
glorious fabric. The shrine consists of two stories,
the lower of which has open arches, groined within ;
the upper is enclosed. At the intersections of the
upper arches are monastic heads ; and in front, those
of a king and queen. The work is very good, and
should be remarked. The exquisite foliage on the
spandrils deserves close attention. The tomb of
Bishop Hotham, now on the south side of the choir,
formerly stood within the arches of the lower story.
The upper arches were originally filled with sculpture ;
and on the top was a lofty ' branch ' for seven great
tapers. It is not impossible that the upper portion of
this tomb may have served as the watching-chamber
for the shrine of St. Etheldreda. It resembles in its
arrangements the watching-chamber of St. Frideswide's
at Oxford. (See that Cathedral.)
king, is that of a protecting or avenging angel ; and that the
so-called wolf is the evil spirit in animal form, inciting the
Danes to the murder. It is distinctly hoofed.
262 <B
In the fifth bay is the effigy of Bishop WILLIAM
KILKENNY (1255 — 1257), who died in Spain (see
Part II.), but whose heart was brought to Ely for
interment. The effigy is a very fine and perfect speci-
men of Early English, with censing angels at the
head. The vestments and morse which fastens them
should be remarked.
The last monument in the fourth bay is the chantry
of Bishop EEDMAN (1501—1506) [Plate VII.], with a
very elaborate Perpendicular canopy. There is a space
for the altar at the foot of the tomb, and a reredos
above. The arms of the Bishop and See, and the em-
blems of the Passion, are placed on shields in various
parts of the tomb.
XXI. We now pass into the north choir-aisle; the
first three bays of which, westward, are Decorated,
and of the same period as the western choir ; the re-
maining portion is Early English, and part of Bishop
Hugh's work. The distinction between the two por-
tions is evident in the roof, which is rich lierne in
the Decorated work, and plainly vaulted, with bosses,
in the Early English — and in the Purbeck capitals of
the shafts of the main piers, of which the Early
English are enriched with leafage, the Decorated
being plain.
The broad aisle-windows are late Decorated, devoid
of originality, copied, with slight variations, from one
of Bishop Hotham's windows. Those in the eastern
bays were put in by Bishop Gray, opposite to his
monument under the last arch. The whole are filled
ELY CATHEDRAL.
MONUMENT OF BISHOP REDMAN.
Jtorilj Cljoir-aislc. gjoramttnis. 263
with modern stained glass. The screen-work at the
back of the stalls, and the stone staircase to the organ-
loft are modern. Opposite this staircase is a very
rich Decorated doorway, with huge niches in the
jambs, much mutilated, formerly obscured by Dean
Caesar's monument, through which the Lady-chapel
was approached. (§ xxvu.) On the wall at the back of
the stalls are the monuments of Bishop FLEETWOOD,
1723, and his son Archdeacon Fleetwood, 1737.
On the floor of this aisle is the brass of the architect
BASEVI, who was killed by a fall from the western
tower in 1845. Under the window in the sixth bay is
the monument of Bishop SIMON PATRICK (1691-1707),
displaying marble drapery with gilt fringe and tassels,
cherubs, urns, and pyramids. " Pientissimus senex,"
runs the inscription, " placide animam Deo reddidit,
31 Maii, 1707 ; a. rotat. 81." In the seventh bay is
that of Bishop MAWSON (1754-1771), and in the eighth
that of Bishop LANET (1667-1675), " facundia ama-
bilis ; acumine terribilis ; eruditione auctissimus ....
Hunc monarchic et hierarchies ruinae feriebant impa-
vidum ; hunc earundum instauratio ad thronum Petro-
burgensem, Lincolniensem, Eliensem, extulit hor-
rentem." The window above Bishop Laney's tomb
is filled with stained glass by WARD, as a memorial
for Canon Fardell (died 1854). The subject is the
Parable of the Wise and Foolish Yirgins.
At the west end of this aisle, between it and the
eastern aisle of the transept, is the monument of Dean
(died 1636), happily removed from the blocked
264 til
entrance of the Lady-chapel. It has been restored,
and is a good example of the time.
XXII. The retro-choir, behind the altar, is part of
Bishop Hugh's work, as has already been mentioned.
The eastern end is filled with two tiers of windows ;
the lower consisting of three very long lancets, with
groups of Purbeck shafts at the angles, very rich
mouldings, and elongated quatrefoils in the spandrils ;
the upper, of five lancets, diminishing from the centre,
and set back, as in the clerestory, within an arcade
supported by shafts. The manner in which this arcade
is made to fill the eastern end, and the consequent
form of its arches, are equally noticeable. The gold
and colour of the roof-bosses have been carried into it
with excellent effect. The windows are filled with
stained glass by WAILES; representing, in the lower
lights, the history of our Lord, in a series of me-
dallions, commencing from the figure of Jesse at
the bottom of the south lancet. The upper windows
contain figures of the Apostles, with the Saviour in
Majesty at the top of the central light, and beneath,
four events which occurred after the Crucifixion.
These windows were put in from a bequest of Bishop
SPAEKB, died 1836, whose kneeling figure is seen at
the bottom of the north lancet.
Immediately at the back of the altar-screen is a
slab of rich Alexandrine mosaic, a memorial of Bishop
ALLEN, died 1845. The work, which is very elaborate,
but scarcely very beautiful, cost £1000. Here is also
a monument, designed by Scott and executed by
Mnkrfos. glmrammt of gr. glill. 265
Philip, to the memory of Dr. MILL, died 1853, Fellow
of Trinity College, Cambridge, Canon of Ely, and
once Principal of Bishop's College, Calcutta. The
monument consists of an altar-tomb, of alabaster and
serpentine, garnished with marble mosaic and hard
stones polished, bearing a recumbent effigy of Dr.
Mill in his doctor's robes. The figure is in copper,
and was formed by the electrotype process. At the
feet are two kneeling figures — one an Oriental, the
other a Cambridge student. Between the retro-choir
and the north aisle is the tomb-stone of Bishop GRAY
(1454-1478), stripped of its brasses. This monu-
ment occupied the last bay on the north side. Its
stone canopy was destroyed when the stalls were re-
moved to the presbytery in 1770. A curious memorial
of the position of the tomb exists in an early example
of block-printing representing Bishop Gray's arms,
pasted to one of the marble shafts.
On the opposite side, flanking Bishop West's chapel,
is the lofty and elaborate monument of Bishop LEWIS
OF LUXEMBURG, Archbishop of Kouen and Bishop
of Ely (1431-1443), long hidden by Essex's screen
and altar arrangements. The effigy is mutilated and
headless. The three-arched canopy is of excellent
design and exceedingly rich.
XXIII. At the end of the north aisle is the chapel
of Bishop ALCOCK (1416—1501 ; see Part II.), de-
signed in all probability by himself, since he was
" Controller of the royal works and buildings " under
Henry VII. The walls are fretted with a mass of
266 (gi
tabernacle- work, very elaborate, but heavy and clumsy.
It must have been wonderfully rich when crowded
with figures, all of which have now disappeared. The
details, however, hardly bear comparison with the
better Decorated work of the choir. The roof is
richly groined in fan-tracery, with a central dependent
boss. The windows, which are early Decorated, seem
to have been retained by Bishop Alcock from the
original termination of the aisle. The chapel is
entered by doors west and south. On the north side
is the Bishop's tomb, with a window at the back con-
taining some remains of ancient stained glass. A
door opens to the small space behind the tomb, pro-
bably the Bishop's chantry, forming an arrangement
very unusual and beautiful. Upon the tomb itself,
and in the glass of the east window, is the Bishop's
rebus or device — a cock on a globe. His shield of
arms (three cocks' heads) is over the south door. The
original stone altar remains at the east end, but raised
on modern supports. Remark the curious bosses under
the brackets on either side, representing ammonites
projecting from their shells and biting each other.
Above is placed a stone found in opening a grave
near the chapel, and bearing the inscription " Johannes
Alcock, Eps. Elien. hanc fabricam fieri fecit 1488."
The chapel has been partly restored, and the floor laid
with encaustic tiles.
XXIV. Opposite, at the end of the south choir-
aisle, is the chapel of Bishop WEST (1515— 1534), the
walls of which are panelled with tabernacle-work, and
gis^op ftllesi's Cjmpel. 267
crowded with figures, though not to such an extent as
Bishop Alcock's. The design and ornamentation are
much lighter and more elegant than in that chapel.
In this chapel the influence of the " renaissance " is
at once evident. Italian ornamentation is especially
noticeable in the brackets of the lower tier of niches,
and in the lower part of that over the door, which
displays a figure in the costume of Francis I. The
ceiling, too, is a good example of the conversion of
Gothic fan-tracery into the later panelled roof, having
deeply moulded ribs with pendent bosses, and panels
painted with arabesques and figures of cherubs. Round
the lower brackets runs the Bishop's motto, " Gracia
Dei sum quod sum," which also appears over the
door, on the exterior. The ornament round this door
should be noticed, as well as the remains of colour.
The ornaments have been white, on a blue ground.
The original iron-work of the doors should also be
remarked. The tomb of Bishop West is on the south
side of the chapel, under a window which contains
some fragments of old glass. The sculptured figures
and ornaments have been terribly shattered, possibly in
obedience to the injunctions of the Protector Somerset
in 1547, for the " general purification of the churches,"
which ordered that " from wall and window every
picture, every image commemorate of saint or pro-
phet or apostle, was to be extirpated and put away
' so that there should remain no memory of the same °.' "
These orders were no doubt perfectly obeyed ; but
0 Froude, Hist, Eng., vol. v. p. 37.
268 &{
works so recently completed as this chapel, still
fresh in colour and gilding, would at once attract
attention, and were probably the first to suffer. The
chapel here may be compared with that built by
Bishop West in the parish church of Putney, Surrey,
his birth-place.
Over Bishop West's tomb is a range of seven small
pedimented arches, of Alan of Walsingham's exquisite
Decorated work, fitted in under a late segmental arch,
below which is an inscription recording the removal
to this chapel, in 1771, of the bones of seven bene-
factors of the church of Ely, whose names are
recorded in small arches beneath : — Wulstan, Arch-
bishop of York, died 1023 ; Osmund, a Swedish
bishop, died about 1067 ; Alwin, bishop of Elmham,
died 1029 ; ^Ifgar, bishop of Elmham, died 1029 ;
Ednoth, bishop of Dorchester, killed by the Danes in
1016 ; Athelstan, bishop of Elmham, died about 996 ;
and Brithnoth, duke of Northumbria, killed in battle
by the Danes 991. Bishop Osmund, who came to
England from Sweden when a very aged man, remained
for some time attached to the household of Edward
the Confessor ; and then ended his days at Ely. Duke
Brithnoth had visited the monastery before setting
out to attack the Northmen on the coast of Essex, and
bestowed many manors on the monks, on condition
that, if he fell in battle, they should bring his body
to Ely for interment, which they did. The remains
of these seven benefactors were first interred in the
Saxon church; and were removed to the Norman
ELY CATHEDRAL
P III
EARLY COFFIN-LID IN THE SOUTH AISLE OF THE CHOIR.
feoir-aisle. 269
cathedral in 1154. The small coffers which contained
them were afterwards placed in the north wall of
Alan of Walsingham's choir ; where they were found
when the choir was altered (see § xv.) in 1770. They
were then re-interred in the chapel.
At the end of the chapel, under a window filled with
very heavy dark stained glass by Evans (representing
the four Evangelists, with St. John the Baptist in the
centre), is a high canopied altar-tomb for Bishop
SPARKE, died 1836.
XXV. In its architecture the south choir-aisle
generally resembles the north ; but with marked
differences between the plan of the vaults of the two
aisles, the mouldings of the ribs, and the irregularities
in the masonry, shewing conclusively that the work
was begun on the south side. The window adjoining
Bishop West's chapel is a memorial for ASHLEY
SPARKE, " qui obiit in armis Balaclava, Oct. 25, 1854."
On the floor under this window is a remark-
able fragment of a monument displaying very early
sculpture, found in 1829 in St. Mary's Church,
Ely, beneath the flooring of the nave. [Plate VIII.]
An angel with wings raised above the head, bears in
the folding of his robe a small naked figure (the soul)
apparently of a bishop, since a crozier projects at the
side. The hands of this small figure are spread open
in front, thumb touching thumb. The angel wears a
kind of cope, ornamented at the sides. Eound his
head is a large circular nimbus with a jewelled rim ;
and the wings are thrown up grandly at the back,
270 <&I
filling nearly all the upper part of the arch under the
canopy. This is raised on long shafts, and shews a
mass of buildings with circular arches above the head.
On the inside rim is the inscription, " Sc S. Michael
oret p' me." The slab, the lower part of which is
gone, is of Purbeck marble. The work is no doubt
very early Norman, and of the highest interest. The
seventh bay, from the west, exhibits a large blocked
arch, in which has been placed the marble recumbent
effigy of the late Professor SELWTN (died 1875) by
Mr. Nicholls.
XXVI. Against the south wall the monument in
the sixth bay is of Bishop GUNNING (1675—1684), a
reclining figure leaning his mitred head on his left
elbow: "Vitam egit caelibem, angelicam," says the
inscription. In the fourth bay is the very striking
alabaster effigy of Bishop HEATON (1600—1609). He
wears a scull-cap, his raised hands are clasped in
prayer, and he is attired in a richly figured cope, a
very late example of this vestment ; — in the third bay
that of Eobert STEWARD, Esq. (died 1570), in a richly
coloured heraldic tabard, reclining uncomfortably with
his left elbow supported by a helmet ; — in the second
that of Sir Mark STEWARD (died 1603), with an
effigy clad in complete armour, of which it is a good
example, reposing under a Doric temple; — in the
first bay the white marble effigy of Bishop ALLEN, in
his episcopal robes, rising and looking around with
wonder, by Ternoult, not too good.
On the other side of the aisle at the back of the
grass 0f Sisfeop tobricjj. 271
stalls are the monuments of Bishop MOORE (1707 —
1714), an amateur physician as the inscription in-
dicates : —
" Jam licet improba mors satiet se corpore Moori
Pragsulis et Medici ; sed nee inultus obit ; " —
blubbering cherubs watch on either side of the monu-
ment;— of Bishop BUTTS (1738 — 1747), with bust;
and of Bishop GREENE (1723 — 1738), with an urn
between composite columns.
On the floor are the matrices of many brasses which
have disappeared ; and two good perfect ones, the first
for Dean TTNDALL, Master of Queens' College, Cam-
bridge, died 1614, who is represented in his robe, with
a square-cut beard. The inscription runs —
" Usquequo, Domine, Usquequo. The body of the worthy
and reverende prelate, Umphry Tyndall, doth here expect
the coming of our Saviour.
" In presence, government, good actions, and in birth,
Grave, wise, courageous, noble was this earth.
The poore, the Church, the College, say here lies
A Friend, a Dean, a Master, — true, good, wise."
On a small brass plate was a curious inscription,
which appears to have been restored away, recording
( Tyndall by birth,
" Ursula < Coxee by choice,
lllpcher in age and for comfort."
The other brass is that of Bishop GOODRICH (1534 —
1554), very interesting as an example of the episcopal
vestments worn after the early Eeformation. In his
right hand he holds the Bible ; and the great seal of
272 <£{
England hangs below. Goodrich was made Lord
Chancellor in 1561. "Magnus tandem Angliee factus
Cancellarius " runs the inscription, " charior ne Prin-
cipi propter singularem prudentiam, an amabilior
populo propter integritatem et abstinentiam fuerat
ad judicandum est perquam difficile." Observe the
renaissance character of the ornaments on the chasuble
and other vestments. The iron gates of the choir-
aisles are modern, by Skidmore: that of the south
aisle being a gift of G. Alan Lowndes, of Barrington
Hall, Essex, that of the north aisle, of the late Dean
Peacock; very rich and excellent in design. The
flowers and corn in the upper part of that leading into
the south aisle, coloured and gilt, should be specially
remarked.
XXVII. The Chapter Library is arranged in the
east aisle of the south transept, which was long since
enclosed for the purpose. The collection is principally
historical and theological; but it contains nothing
calling for especial notice.
XXVIII. Through a passage opening from the
north-east corner of the north transept we enter the
Lady-chapel, which was formerly approached through
the canopied arch already noticed in the north
choir aisle. When perfect, it was one of the most
beautiful and elaborate examples of the Decorated
period to be found in England ; and it will still amply
repay the most careful study, as "a perfect store-
house of statuary and elaborate tabernacle- work "
(Stewart). But the proportions are not pleasing.
273
It is decidedly too broad for its height, and it suffers
from excess of decoration. On the destruction of the
church of St. Cross this chapel was assigned to the
parishioners of Holy Trinity as their parish church.
In this character this beautiful building was allowed
to sink to the lowest depths of degradation. The
interior was filled with square pews of the rudest
make. The rich sculpture was coated with successive
layers of whitewash. Damp and decay seemed to claim
Walsingham's lovely creation as their own. The last
few years, however, have witnessed a favourable
change. The interior has been fitted with open oak
benches, the whitewash has been cleared away, and the
whole building has received repair and restoration.
The first stone of the Lady-chapel was laid on the
Festival of the Annunciation, 1321, by Alan of Wal-
singham, architect of the octagon, who was at the time
sub-prior of the monastery. The work was continued
for twenty-eight years under the superintendence of
John of Wisbech, one of the monks, and finished in
the time of Bishop de L'Isle, 1349, when Alan of
Walsingham had become prior, in which year John of
Wisbech is recorded to have died of the plague. John,
whilst digging the foundations, is said to have found a
brass pot full of money, with which he paid the work-
men as long as it lasted p. He received contributions
also from different quarters; and the Bishop, Simon
de Montacute, gave largely toward the work, — "like
Simon the high-priest, the son of Onias," says the
p Monach. Ellens., ap. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, i. p. 651.
VOL. II. PT. I. T
274 (gig Catjycbral
Monk of Ely, " who in his life repaired the house
again, and in his days fortified the temples'1."
Although John of Wisbech superintended the work,
the architect was in all probability Alan of Walsing-
ham. The chapel is a long parallelogram of five bays,
with five windows on either side, the tracery in which
is alike. The east end is nearly filled by a large
window of seven lights, the design of which is un-
usual, and suggests the approaching change from
Decorated to Perpendicular. At the west end is
another large window, differing in tracery, inserted
by the executors of Bishop Barnet in 1374. Both
east and west windows have transoms. The roof
is an elaborate lierne-vault, resembling that of the
Decorated portion of the choir. Between all the side
windows is rich tabernacle-work with canopies, from
which the figures have disappeared; and along the
wall beneath runs a series of niches and complex
tabernacle- work, upon which every possible decoration
of architecture sculpture and painting has been un-
sparingly bestowed. This is formed by three arches
in each bay, with projecting canopies, and spandrils
above filled with sculpture. This arcade, with its
brackets and canopies, deserves especial notice. The
reredos below the east window was probably the work
of Bishop Fordham, 1390. "The masonry of the
middle pair of mullions of the window, which are
of unusual solidity, shews that the reredos and east
window were originally combined with some decorative
* Ecclus. 1. 1.
fabg-tljapel. 275
structure which stood on a solid platform extending
across the chapel, considerably raised above the level
of the floor. A large figure of the Virgin, often men-
tioned in the chapel-keeper's rolls, probably obstructed
the middle light from the sill of the transom " (Rev.
D. J. Stewart, p. 141). The whole has been terribly
shattered. The Protector's injunctions were obeyed
but too well; yet much of the foliage and lesser
details has remained uninjured beneath the succes-
sive coats of whitewash, now happily removed.
The position of this Lady-chapel is unusual. The
Lady-chapel at Peterborough, of earlier date (1278),
but now destroyed, was, however, similarly placed.
Other examples of Lady-chapels added elsewhere than
at the eastern end, occur at Oxford, Rochester, Durham,
and Bristol. In nearly all these cases, the most honour-
able position, at the eastern end of the church, was
reserved for the shrine of the local saint, — as St.
Cuthbert at Durham, and St. Etheldreda at Ely.
XXIX. A staircase in the north transept leads to
the upper parts of the cathedral ; the most interesting
portion of which is the timber bracing of the roof of
the octagon, added some time after its completion, in
order to strengthen the entire work. A fine interior
view, looking westward, is obtained from the passage
at the base of the upper tier of windows at the east
end ; and a vast panorama of the fens and lowlands of
Cambridgeshire, with the Ouse winding through them,
is gained from the summit of the western tower, which
is ascended from the south-west transept.
T 2
276 tfig CstfcefcsL
XXX. Passing out of the cathedral by the western
porch, we proceed to notice the exterior. Beyond the
ruined north-west transept, the fall of which has
already (§ v.) been noticed, a view is obtained of the
great western tower -, the greater part of which was the
work of Bishop EIDEL (1174 — 1189). The gradual
development of the Early English style may be traced
in its successive stories. The octagon itself, with its
buttressing turrets, was added during the Decorated
period; and was originally crowned with a slender
spire of wood, which was removed at the end of the
last century. The pierced openings in the parapet
of the tower and in the upper part of the buttress
turrets occasionally produce beautiful and unusual
effects of light.
The Perpendicular windows inserted in the triforium
of the nave in 1469 may here be remarked ; as well as
the buttressing turrets, with their spire-like termina-
tions, at the end of the great transept. A portion of
the north-west corner of this north transept fell in
1699 ; but was rebuilt, and the original stone-work
carefully replaced, under the care of Sir Christopher
Wren. The part rebuilt may, however, be readily
traced on the exterior, though scarcely within. The
east wall of the north transept, being partially hidden
by the Lady-chapel, was happily allowed to remain
unaltered, and deserves attention as the only part of
the exterior where the original design of the Norman
triforium and clerestory can be seen, the triforium wall
preserving its ancient height.
ELY CATHEDRAL.
THE EAST END
faxtmor. 277
The central Octagon, from whatever part it is ob-
served, groups well with the lines of the transept
and nave, and with the transept turrets. The wide
under portion is flat roofed, with turrets at the angles :
between which runs a pierced parapet. The very
beautiful tracery of the windows in the smaller sides
of the octagon should here be noticed from the ex-
terior ; as well as the arcade above, pierced with lights
for the inner roof, six in the larger sides, three in
the smaller. The lantern rises in two stories, with
slender buttresses at the angles. The upper story
was originally designed for bells, which remained
there till 1669, when the chapter accounts shew a
charge for removing them. The bell-frames existed
till the repairs by Essex. The groovings worked by
the bell-ropes are still to be seen in the timber-work
within. The whole has very recently sustained a
complete restoration, including the completion of the
spirelets crowning the octagonal angular turrets —
which were left unfinished circa 1330 — as a memorial
of the late Dean Peacock.
XXXI. Buttresses with high pinnacles rise between
the bays of the Lady-chapel ; above the .east window
of which is a series of niches, once filled with figures.
The East End of the cathedral itself (Bishop Hugh's
work) is a grand example of Early English [Plate IX.];
and rises in fine contrast with the short green turf
which closes quite up round it. Buttresses with
niches and canopies rise on either side of the three
tiers of windows (the uppermost of which lights the
278 €1;
roof), the clustered shafts dividing which, with all
their mouldings and details, will amply repay notice.
One of the principal buttresses has been crowned with
a crocketed pinnacle from the designs of Mr. Salvin,
at the cost of Mr. Beresford Hope. It can hardly be
called successful. Eemark also the varied forms of
the foiled ornaments in the spandrils and in the gable.
The alterations made by Bishops Alcock and West
at the extremities of the aisles may also be here
observed.
Passing to the south side of the choir, remark the
South Aisle of Choir — Exterior
Clnstaf. 279
flying buttresses with their lofty pinnacles which
unite the wall of the triforium with the clerestory.
These are of Decorated character, and were no doubt
added when the triforium itself was altered, early in
the fourteenth century. (See § xvi.) The original
form of the triforium windows may be seen in the two
bays of the choir between the Decorated work and
Bishop Hugh's. The change made here has already
been pointed out from within. (§ xvi.) The southern
wall and coupled lancets of Bishop Hugh's triforium,
with the cornice of trefoiled arches, still remain in
these two bays.
The windows of the eastern aisle of the south tran-
sept, now lighting the Library, are very pure examples
of late Early English — two-light with cinquefoiled
circles in the head.
The recessed Perpendicular window in the upper
part of the south transept is curious, and should be
noticed.
XXXII. Traces of the slype, or passage to the ceme-
tery, may be seen at the south end of this transept.
The Cloisters themselves lay as usual under the south
side of the nave. Their extent can be accurately traced
by walls and foundations, but of the actual cloister
very little is left, beyond a fragment of the east walk
which forms a covered entrance to the south aisle of
the nave, and a portion of the north walk, preserved,
we are told, to make a wall for the Dean's garden.
Part of this walk has been roofed over to serve as
a choristers' vestry and library. These remains of the
280 <£l
cloister are of the latest Perpendicular, erected in
1509, and are of little interest. Two Norman door-
ways, much enriched, open into the nave on this side
of the church. That at the eastern end of the nave-
aisle was the Monks' entrance, and has a trefoiled
heading, with figures holding pastoral staves in the
spandrils, and twisted dra-
gons above. The foliage and
mouldings, which are very rich
and involved, indicate, like the
heading of the doorway, its late
or transitional character. The
lower entrance, at the south-
west angle of the cloisters, was
the Prior's door [Title-page],
and is far more elaborate than
that of the monks. In the tym-
panum is the Saviour within
Sculpture from ttaa Prior's Door. an elongated aureole, SUp-
ported by angels. The curious grotesques and orna-
ments deserve careful notice. Both doorways may be
compared with the Norman work in the lower part
of the west front of Lincoln Cathedral, which is of
similar character, and nearly of the same date. The
Chapter-house, which stood in the open space to the
south of the south transept, has entirely disappeared.
The exterior of the south-west transept indicates
the different dates which have already been pointed
out from within. (§ v.) The upper portion of the
transept walls, and of the lofty octangular flanking
guilbings. 281
turrets, are Early English, the lower part late Norman.
Buttresses, flat in the under story, and passing first
into double shafts and then into a single one, run up
in the centre of each side, and divide the tiers of
windows and blind arcades.
XXXIII. The remains of the Conventual Buildings
are extensive and interesting. The most ancient por-
tions are a Norman crypt under part of the Prior's
Lodge, and some Norman fragments in the long build-
ing stretching north of " Ely Porta " — the great gate
of the monastery. This range of buildings was built
on vaults, and consisted of a series of long narrow
rooms, which may have been used for the accommoda-
tion of guests. It now serves as the Free School of the
College and the houses of the Head Master and of the
Precentor. The whole mass of the buildings, gray and
picturesque, with their ivied walls, their green courts
and gardens, covers a considerable space, and suggests
the great size and importance of the ancient monastery.
A short distance east of the south transept are the
piers and arches of the Infirmary, of late Norman date,
built into the walls of the canons' houses, to which its
central aisle forms a passage of entrance. The mould-
ings of the arches and all the details deserve notice.
The Infirmary was built on the usual model. Its
plan was that of a church with nave, side-aisles, and
chancel, the former serving as the common hall, the
beds being placed in the aisles, and the chancel form-
ing the chapel of the sick brethren. The nave is of
nine bays ; the chancel of four bays, with a projecting
282 0l
sacrarium, wliicli preserves its vaulting, being incor-
porated in one of the canonical residences. The
roofless nave is still crossed by the chancel arch of
Transition-Norman character. On the north side was
the "Gent-hall," built by Alan of Walsingham, as
a hall for those who were recovering from sickness.
It now forms a canonical house, and is little altered.
The basement retains three vaulted bays. At the
west end are five Early English arches, each of which
incloses a double arch, which is again subdivided into
two, belonging to the " dark cloister " leading into the
Infirmary from the vaults under the dormitory, which
ran southwards from the wall of the south transept.
A fragment of this vault exists in the offices of one of
the canons' houses, now blocked up.
The Deanery has been constructed from the ancient
Guesten Hall, dating from the thirteenth century, and
still retains its long roof, with a foiled opening in
the upper part of the west wall. The Priors Lodge
extended beyond it, south; and was built round a
small quadrangle. The high windows of the prior's
great hall remain in a house adjoining Prior Crawden's
Chapel [Plate X.], — a small but very interesting ex-
ample of a domestic chapel, of Decorated date, founded
by Prior John of Crawden, who died in 1441, and pro-
bably designed by Alan of Walsingham. The window-
tracery, the niches, and the ancient tiles at the altar
should all be noticed. [Plate XI.] The chapel, which
had been converted into bed-rooms, has been restored.
The adjoining house, occupied as a canonical resi-
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XI.
INTERIOR OF PRIOR CRAWDEN'S CHAPEL.
gmwrg. 283
dence, also formed part of the Prior's Lodge. The
vaulted basement is the oldest part of the monastery
existing, and may have been built in Abbot Simeon's
time. A magnificent hall was erected over it in the
reign of Edward III., of which there still remain
traces of a large window which lighted it from the
south, a door arch, and a fireplace, which is " perhaps
the most magnificent example of a fourteenth-century
fireplace in England. Its detail is very elaborate, and
it has four beautiful brackets, which appear to have
been intended for candlesticks r."
At some distance south is " Ely Porta," the prin-
cipal entrance to the monastery, begun in the year of
Prior Buckton's death, 1396. The room above the
archway is appropriated to the use of the King's
Grammar-school, founded in 1541 by Henry VIII.,
and placed under the control of the Dean and Chapter.
On the north side of the monastery an entrance
remains beneath a tower opposite the Lady-chapel.
The residences of the Sacrist and Elemosynarius were
in this range of building, abutting on the street. The
canonical residence which forms the eastern portion
of this range, was the old almonry. Like most mo-
nastic offices, it consisted of a long narrow building,
with a vaulted basement. This last still exists, and
is divided by a row of octagonal columns down the
centre. There are traces of a triplet in the east gable.
XXXIV. The Bishops Palace, west of the cathedral,
r Parker's Domestic Architecture (Fourteenth Century),
p. 277.
284 $I
dates for the most part from the time of Henry VII.,
of which it is a good example. The turreted wings
were built by Bishop ALCOCK (1486 — 1501), whose
arms are on the front of the eastern wing. The
gallery adjoining the western wing was the work
of Bishop GOODRICH (1534—1554), temp. Edward VI.
A gallery formerly crossed the road, leading from
the north-east wing of the palace to the south-west
transept of the cathedral.
In the palace is preserved the very curious " Tabula
Eliensis;" a copy (which cannot be earlier than the
time of Henry VII.) of one which formerly hung in
the great hall of the monastery. The "Tabula"
represents forty Norman knights, each in company
with a monk, and each having his shield of arms above
him, with his name and office. The knights are said to
have been placed by the Conqueror in the monastery,
after the taking of the Isle of Ely : they became so
friendly with the monks, that on their departure the
brethren " brought them as far as Haddenham in pro-
cession, with singing;" and afterwards placed the
"Tabula" in their hall for a perpetual memory of
their guests. The meaning and true history of the
"Tabula" are quite uncertain, and can scarcely be
even guessed at. None of the monastic historians of
Ely refer to it. It will be found engraved in Bent-
ham's "History of Ely," and in Fuller's "Church
History."
XXXV. The best general view of the west front
will be obtained either from the end of the lawn
ELY CATHEDRAL.
PLATE X
VIEW OF THE \VEST END, FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.
285
fronting the Bishop's Palace, or from a point at the
side of the lawn, about halfway down. [Plate XII.]
From the north-east corner of the Market-place there
is a good view of the east end of the cathedral ; and
the south front of the west tower and transept rises
very grandly above the road by which Ely is ap-
proached from the railway station. A striking view
of the nave and western tower may be gained from the
end of the lane of houses in which are the arches of
the Infirmary. (§ xxxm.) From this point the open
spaces between the buttress-turrets, and the great
western tower, as well as the open lancets of the
turrets themselves, produce very striking effects.
Of the entire cathedral, the best general views are —
from a bridge over the railway not far from the station,
on the east side [Frontispiece], and that from the
mound in the park on the south side near the Ely
Porta, now known as Cherry Hill. The enormous
length of the vast structure is well seen from here.
There is an excellent distant view from Stuntney-hill,
a slight rise on the Newmarket-road about two miles
from Ely. The cathedral is as completely a landmark
to the whole of the Fen country as is the great tower
of Mechlin to the lowlands of Brabant ; and its glories,
thus recorded in monastic verse, are still the pride of
the entire district : —
" Hsec sunt Elyse, Lanterna, Capella Marise,
Atque Molendinum, multum dans Yinea vinum.
Continet insontes, quos valiant nndique pontes :
Hos ditant montes ; nee desunt flumina, fontes.
Nomen ab anguilla ducit Insula nobilis ilia."
\
TE XI
Bly by St-merea
stroyed durmg fte pe at ^ » cf wincliester
970 was refoundedbj **ffi&J*l*j*
for Benedictme monks, to U o{ ^ great
the seat of a new ««>, taken Cambridgeshire.
and r^n , the w bo
King" of tue *-, border-land between
.
^n</iia -Sacra, vol. u
St. <B%lbreba. 287
beret the Isle of Ely as her dower ; and on her husband's
death, three years after her marriage, she retired there, in-
duced as much by the solitude as by the protection afforded
by the surrounding marshes. Her widowhood continued
for five years, when she was again sought in marriage
by Egfrid of Northumbria. Etheldreda is said to have
made a vow of perpetual virginity, which was respected by
both her husbands, and in the twelfth year of her marriage
with Egfrid she obtained his leave to put into execution
a long-formed project, and received the veil from the hands
of Bishop Wilfrid, at Coldingham in Berwickshire, where
St. Ebba, aunt of King Egfrid, had founded a monastery b.
Egfrid, however, soon repented of his permission, and set
out for Coldingham with a band of followers, intending to
take his Queen from the monastery by violence. By the
advice of the Abbess, Etheldreda fled, to take refuge in her
old home at Ely ; and immediately on leaving the monastery,
with her two attendant nuns, Sevenna and Severa, she
climbed a hill named Colbert's Head, on which she was
seen by Egbert and his followers. A miracle, however, was,
according to the legend, wrought in her favour. The sea
swept inland, and surrounded the hill, on which the three
consecrated virgins remained in prayer for seven days,
until Egbert, who had tried in vain to approach them,
retired in despair. A spring of fresh water broke forth
from the rock at the prayer of Etheldreda ; and the ascend-
b Dr. Hook's judgment of St. Etheldreda, although without
doubt true in itself, seems hardly to make sufficient allowance for
the difference between the seventh century and the nineteenth.
" Her fanaticism had in it a tinge of insanity. In defiance of
Scripture, of decency, and of common sense, she repudiated her
marriage vow, and encouraged in her folly by the less excusable
folly, if not worse, of Wilfred, she determined to separate from
her husband and become a nun. Egfrid, with whom the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury (Theodorus) agreed, regarded the separa-
tion in the light of a divorce, and married again." — Lives of the
Archbishops of Canterbury, vol. i. p. 150.
288
ing and descending footprints of the three nuns, "impressed
on the hill side as on melted wax," were long afterwards
appealed to in proof of the miracle. Continuing her flight
to Ely, Etheldreda halted for some days at Alfham, near
Wintringham, where she founded a church; and near this
place occurred the " miracle of her staff." Wearied with
her journey, she one day slept by the wayside, having fixed
her staff in the ground at her head. On waking she found
the dry staff had burst into leaf; it became an ash tree, the
"greatest tree in all that country;" and the place of her
rest, where a church was afterwards built, became known
as 'Etheldredestow.'
On her arrival at Ely, Etheldreda commenced (A.D. 673)
the foundation of a monastery for both sexes, as was then
not uncommon ; the site of which she fixed at Cradendune,
about a mile south of the existing cathedral, where, accord-
ing to a later tradition, a church had been founded by St.
Augustine. Erom this place, however, the building was
almost at once removed to the high ground where the
cathedral now stands, — from which the original church of
St. Etheldreda was placed a short distance westward. St.
Wilfrid, the famous Bishop of Northumbria, installed
Etheldreda as abbess of the new community, which, with
the exception of Peterborough, and perhaps of Thorney,
was the earliest of the great monasteries of the fens0.
Etheldreda ruled it until 679, when her deathbed was
attended by her " priest," Huna, who buried her in the
churchyard of her monastery, and himself spent the rest of
his life as a hermit, on one of the islands of the marshes d.
c The dates of the foundations of the principal fen-land mo-
nasteries are as follows : — Peterborough (Medeshamstede), A.D.
664 ; Thorney (Ancarig ?) circa 665 (?) if the charter inserted in
the Bodleian MS. of the Saxon Chron. is to be trusted ; Ely, 673 ;
Crowland, 719 ; Ramsey, 974.
d Now known as * Honey" (Huna's) Island, not far from
Manea.
: of % Pimaslerg. 289
A remarkable miracle is recorded by Bede as having oc-
curred in the year of her death. A youth named Ymma,
who had been one of Etheldreda's house-thegns, was des-
perately wounded in a battle on the Trent, between Egfrid
of Northumbria and Ethelred of Mercia. He lay senseless
for a day and a night, and then, recovering, managed to
drag himself from the battle-field, when he was taken
prisoner by the Mercians. But no chains could bind him.
They fell off perpetually at the " third hour of the day,"
when his brother Tunna, the abbot of a monastery, who
thought him dead, used to say a mass for his soul. He
was at last set free, and the merits of his former mistress,
St. Etheldreda, were thought to have assisted in loosing the
chains of the captive. Sexburga, sister of St. Etheldreda,
who had married Erconbert of Kent, and on his death had
founded a monastery in the Isle of Sheppey, had withdrawn
to Ely during Etheldreda's lifetime, and became abbess on
her death. Sixteen years later she determined to translate
the body of her sister into the church, and for this purpose
sent out certain of the brethren to seek a block of stone
from which a shrine might be made. They found a coffin
of white marble among the ruins of Roman Grantchester,
close to Cambridge), and in this the body of the Saint,
which was found entire and incorrupt, was duly laid, and
removed into the church*. Sexburga was afterwards
herself interred near it, as was her daughter Ermenilda,
the third abbess. The bodies of Sexburga and Ermenilda,
both of whom were reverenced as saints, were afterwards
enshrined, and were removed, together with that of St.
Etheldreda, into the existing cathedral. The three abbesses,
• " Invenerunt juxta muros civitatis locellum de marmore albo
pulcherrime factum, operculo quoque similis lapidis aptissime
tectum Mirum vero in modum ita aptum corpori virginis
sarcophagum inventum est, ac si ei specialiter prseparatum fuisset ;
et locus quoque capitis seorsum fabrefactus ad mensuram capitis
illius aptissime figuratus apparuit." — £eda, If, E., lib. iv. ch. xix
VOL. II. FT. L U
290
together with St. Withburga, another sister of St. Ethel-
dreda, who founded a monastery at Dereham in Norfolk,
but whose relics were afterwards removed to Ely, were
regarded as the especial patronesses of the Isle of Ely;
and such was the sanctity conferred upon the soil by the
holiness of their lives, and by the possession of their relics,
that Thomas of Ely, who wrote the history of his monastery
in the twelfth century, suggests, as a more fitting etymo-
logy than "eel's island," the Hebrew words El, 'God/ and
gey ' earth,' as though the island had been marked out from
the beginning for God's especial service f. The translation
of St. Etheldreda, or St. Awdrey, as she was generally
called, was celebrated on the 17th of October, when pil-
grims nocked to her shrine from all quarters. A great
fair was then held adjoining the monastery, at which silken
chains or laces, called ' Etheldred's chains/ were sold, and
displayed as 'signs* of pilgrimage. The word 'tawdry*
(St. Awdrey) is said to be derived from these chains, and
from similar 'flimsy and trivial' objects, sold at this fair.
St. Werburga, the fourth abbess, daughter of Ermen-
ilda by King Wulfere of Mercia, was buried at Hanbury in
Staffordshire, and was afterwards translated to Chester, of
which church and monastery she became the great pa-
troness. (See CHESTER CATHEDRAL.) She is the last abbess
whose name is recorded. The monastery was destroyed
during the Danish invasion of the year 870, when Crow-
land and Peterborough also perished ; and although a body
of secular clergy was soon afterwards established on its
site, Ely had entirely lost its ancient importance, when the
monastery was refounded in 970, by Athelwold, Bishop
of Winchester, who was also the restorer of Peterborough.
Athelwold purchased the whole district of the Isle of Ely
from King Eadgar, and settled it on his monastery, which he
f " Digne quidem Insula tali onomate signatur ; quse ab initio
Christianitatis et fidei in Anglia Dominum Jesum Christum mox
credere caepit et colere." — Thomas Eliensis, i. 33.
pbtorg of % Hlonaetag. 291
filled with Benedictines, over whom he placed Brythnoth,
Prior of Winchester, as abbot. Among the king's gifts
to the monastery were a golden cross filled with relics,
which had been part of the Bishop's "purchase money,"
and his own royal mantle, of purple embroidered with
gold e.
From the year of this second foundation until the Con-
quest, Ely continued to increase in wealth and importance,
and its abbots were among the most powerful Churchmen
of their time. From the reign of Ethelredto the Conquest
they were Chancellors of the King's Court alternately
with the abbots of Glastonbury, and of St. Augustine's,
Canterbury, each holding the office for four months. It
was when approaching Ely at the Feast of the Purification,
when the abbot entered on his office, that Knut is said to
have composed the famous verse, — which, however, in its
present form is at least two centuries later : —
"Merie sungen the Munech.es binnen Ely
Tha Cnut ching rew ther by.
Howe ye cnites noer the lant,
And here we thes Muneches sseng."
The Atheling Alfred, son of Ethelred, after his seizure
at Guildford in the year 1036, was conveyed to Ely, where
his eyes were put out, and where he died. Some of the
earlier years of the Confessor's life were spent in the
Saxon monastery, on the altar of which he had been
solemnly presented when an infant.
The history of the monastery, at the time of the Con-
quest, belongs to that of England. Thurstan, the abbot,
was born at Wichford, near Ely, and had been brought up
in the monastery from a child. He espoused the cause of
Edgar Atheling ; and from 1066, the year of the Conquest,
to 1071, the island formed a Saxon stronghold, which was
only taken at last with considerable difficulty. Hereward,
the English champion, escaped at this time; but nearly
8 "De qua Infula [a mitre] facta est."
292 (gig <f a%bral
all those who had taken refuge in the island fell into
the hands of the Norman king. The Abbot had already
become weary of the long resistance, and had visited
William secretly at Warwick, in the hope of making his
peace with him. He was condemned, however, to pay a
fine of a thousand marks, and hardly escaped deposition
at the council of Winchester. He died in 1072, the last
Saxon abbot of Ely. Theodwin, a monk of Jumieges, and
Godfrey, who had come to England with Theodwin, ruled
the monastery in succession from 1072 to 1081 (the first
alone with the title of abbot), but without receiving the
benediction and investiture. During Godfrey's govern-
ment of the monastery, its ancient rights and privileges
were judicially examined by a court held at Kentford on
the Suffolk border, and all were restored to it entire, as
in the year of King Edward's death. In 1081 Godfrey
became Abbot -of Malmesbury ; and
[A.D. 1081—1093.] SIMEON, Prior of Winchester, brother of
Walkelin, Bishop of that see, and a relative of the Con-
queror, was appointed Abbot 01 Ely, who had been brought
up as a monk at St. Ouen, when already in his eighty-
seventh year. He recovered for his monastery the lands
which had been allotted to the Normans during the siege
of the island, and, like his brother Walkelin at Win-
chester, he laid the foundations of a new church. (Pt. I.
§ i.) He died at the age of one hundred. On his death
the abbey lands were seized by Ealph Flambard, the
minister of Rufus, and no abbot was appointed until the
accession of Henry I. in 1100; when
[A.D. 1100—1107.] RICHARD, son of Richard Earl of Clare,
succeeded. He had been educated in the Abbey of Bee,
in which he spent thirty years of his life, obtaining cele-
brity for his knowledge of philosophy and divinity. He
completed the eastern portion of the new church (Pt. I.
§ i.), and removed into it (Oct. 17, 1106) the bodies of the
sainted Abbesses, St. Etheldreda, Sexburga, Ermenilda,
i&jjHr&. fetiion of ijrt Sisjjaprb. 293
and Withbnrga. According to Thomas of Ely, Abbot
Richard's church was one of the noblest in the kingdom.
"Ut ad perficiendum idem opus (Ric. Abbas) studiosius
insisteret, et huic operi solum vacaret, totum studium
specialiter admovit ; tamque decenti forma et quantitate
quantum potuit, quoad vixit, ecclesiam a predecessore suo
inceptam edificavit ; ut si fama non invideat, et merito et
veritatis titulo (utpote mendax veritatem non detrahat) in
eodem Regno cunctis ecclesiis vel antiquitus constructis,
vel nostro tempore renovatis, jure quodam compositionis et
subtilis artificii privilegio et gratia ab intuentibus merito
videatur preferenda." — (Lib. Eliensis, ii. cap. 143.) The
conversion of the abbey into an episcopal see was first
suggested by Abbot Richard, and was only prevented by
his death. He was, however, the last abbot. Hervey le
Breton, Bishop of Bangor, who had fled from the dangers
of Wales to the court of Henry, was appointed " Adminis-
trator " of the abbey, until the election of a new abbot.
He found the monks not unfavourable to the proposed
change, which the King also approved. The consent of
the Bishop of Lincoln was procured by the grant to his see
of the manor of Spaldwick, belonging to the abbey ; and
in 1108, the Council of London, presided over by Arch-
bishop Anselm, consented to the creation of the new
bishopric. Hervey himself proceeded to Rome for the
Papal confirmation of the see, with which he returned in
1109 ; and on June 27, in that year, he was himself
transported from Bangor, as the first Bishop of Ely. Con-
stant disputes with the Bishop of Lincoln, concerning his
rights over the monastery, were perhaps the earliest in-
ducements to the creation of the new see ; but the great
size of the diocese of Lincoln is expressly mentioned in the
letters of the King and of Anselm to the Pope, Paschal II. ;
and it is also said that the King (Henry I.), aware how
strongly the Isle of Ely was fortified by nature, was
anxious to divide the great revenues of the abbey, and
294 ®l
thereby to render it less powerful in case of insurrection,
by placing a bishop at its head.
The constitution of Ely, after its erection into a bishop-
ric, resembled that of the other conventual cathedrals
of England, — Canterbury, Winchester, Worcester, Bath,
Rochester, Norwich, and Durham ; in all which sees the
bishops were also regarded as, in effect, abbots of the con-
ventual establishments attached to them h. The immediate
government of the monks, however, devolved on the prior,
whose place in the choir was the first stall on the left
hand. The bishop retained that on the right hand, which
he had already occupied as abbot. The full number of
monks in the abbey was seventy, but this was rarely com-
plete. The election of the bishop lay, nominally, with the
prior and the monks, but was in fact constantly interfered
with by king and pope, as elsewhere '.
[A.D. 1109—1131.] HEBVEY LE BRETON, the first Bishop of
Ely, was greatly occupied in arranging the government of
this see, which he left " possessed of much greater privi-
leges, rights, and immunities than most others in the king-
dom k." He divided the lands and revenues of the mona-
stery between himself and the monks, — not altogether to
the satisfaction of the latter ; and " discharged himself and
his successors from any obligation to support, build, or
repair the fabric of the church, or any part thereof, leaving
it entirely to the care of the monks V Succeeding bishops,
h " In Anglia sunt hodie xvii Episcopatus : in octo eorum sunt
Monachi in sedibus Episcopalibus. Hoc in aliis provinces aut
nusquam aut raro invenies ; sed ideo in Anglia hoc reperitur, quia
primi prsedicatores Anglorum S. Augustinus, Mellitus, Justus,
Laurentius Monachi fuerant. In aliis novem Episcopalibus sedi-
bus, Canonici seculares." — AnnaL Waverleienses, ad ann. 1152.
1 " The custom of this convent was for the whole body to elect
seven as their proctors ; after which these seven proceeded to the
election of the bishop." — Bentham's Ely, p. 149.
k Bentham's Ely. ' Id.
gisjjfljjf fjgel. 295
however, as we have seen (Pt. I.), notwithstanding this
"discharge," contributed largely toward the repair and
rebuilding of their cathedral.
[A.D. 1133 — 1169.] NIGEL, Treasurer of Henry I., and nephew
of the powerful Bishop Roger of Salisbury (see that Cathe-
dral, Pt. II.), was consecrated to the see of Ely after it had
been vacant for nearly two years. Like Bishop Roger,
Nigel was immersed in the troubles and intrigues of the
reign of Stephen, whom he at first supported. He emptied
the monastic treasury to supply his personal wants, and
stript oif the silver from the shrine of Etheldreda to defray
the pecuniary obligations his extravagance had incurred.
At the council of Oxford in 1139, however, when Stephen,
who seems to have feared their joining the side of Matilda,
seized the bishops of Sarum and Lincoln, he would also
have seized Bishop Nigel of Ely, had he not managed to
escape to the castle of Devizes, then belonging to the
Bishop of Sarum. Stephen laid siege to the castle, and
threatened Nigel with the deaths of Bishop Roger and his
son, if it were not at once surrendered. Nigel consented to
the surrender on condition of his own liberty, and he with-
drew to Ely, where he was joined by some of Matilda's
adherents, and prepared to defend the place. But Stephen
followed so rapidly that the Isle was surprised before Nigel
could make any resistance. He himself escaped and joined
the Empress Matilda at Gloucester. On Stephen's capture
at Lincoln, Nigel recovered his see, and contrived to retain
it until the King's death, in 1154. Henry II. made him
one of his Barons of the Exchequer, " as he was judged to
have most exact knowledge and skill in the forms and pro-
ceedings of that court," which he restored from the confu-
sion into which it had fallen during the previous reign.
At Ely Bishop Nigel built a castle, of which no traces
remain ; and at Cambridge he founded a hospital in honour
of St. John the Evangelist, which continued under the care
of his successors until 1510, when the lands and site of
296 «I
it were surrendered to the executors of Margaret, Countess
of Kichmond, who established on this foundation the pre-
sent College of St. John.
[A.D. 1174—1189.] GEOFFEY RIDEL, Archdeacon of Can-
terbury, a royal chaplain and one of the Barons of the
Exchequer, succeeded after a vacancy of four years. His
adherence to the King's side during the struggle with
Becket, and his excommunication by the Archbishop, who
writes of him as " archidiabolus noster, haud archidiaco-
nus," rendered it necessary for him, on his election, to
take an oath that he had "in no way contributed to the
death of the Archbishop." Bishop Geoffry continued in
high favour with the King, Henry II., after his elevation
to the see of Ely. In 1179 he was made Chief of the
King's Itinerant Justices in Cambridgeshire and seven
adjoining counties. He was one of the executors of King
Henry's will ; and died at Winchester, whilst waiting there
to receive the new King, Richard Coeur de Lion, on his
arrival in England. At Ely, Bishop Geoffry carried on the
" new work," and the western tower. (Pt. I. § 4.)
A.D. 1189—1197.] WILLIAM LONGCHAMP, a Norman of
low birth, became Chancellor and Grand Justiciary of
Richard I., who procured from the Pope Bishop William's
nomination as Papal Legate, but not before he had paid a
thousand marks for the dignity. On Richard's departure
for the East, the Bishops of Ely and Durham were en-
trusted with the government of the kingdom south and
north of the Trent. Longchamp, however, soon after the
King's departure, arrested his colleague; and "assuming
the utmost pomp and state, treated the kingdom as if it
were his own, bestowing all places in Church and State on
his relations and dependents." After a struggle with
Prince John, the Bishop shut himself up in the Tower of
London (which he had surrounded with a deep foss, to be
flooded from the Thames), but was compelled to fly thence
to Dover, where, as he was waiting on the beach, disguised as
JTongtjjamp. instate. 297
a woman, for the ship in which he was to cross the channel,
he was discovered, and imprisoned in the castle. On the
intercession of other English bishops, however, he was
released, and passed to Normandy, where he remained
until Eichard's return. In spite of the character given by
most of the chroniclers to William Longchanip, he found
able defenders in his own time, amongst whom were Peter
of Blois, and Nigel Wireker, the monk of Canterbury,
both of whom praise his justice and his gentleness. It is,
moreover, not a little in his favour that Kichard at
once restored him to his confidence, and re-appointed
him Chancellor, which office he held until his death at
Poictiers in 1197, whilst proceeding on an embassy to
the Pope. He was buried in a Cistercian abbey named
Pinu (?) : but his heart was brought to Ely, and en-
tombed before the altar of St. Martin.
A.D. 1189—1215.] EUSTACE, Treasurer of York and Dean
of Salisbury, an especial favourite of King Eichard, who
made him his Chancellor on the death of William Long-
champ, was elected Bishop of Ely, at Walderoil, in Nor-
mandy, by the Prior and Convent, summoned thither for
this purpose by the King. He was one of the three bishops
who (March 24, 1208) published the famous Interdict of
Pope Innocent III. With the Bishops of London and
Worcester, Eustace at once fled the kingdom, but returned
with Stephen Langton in the following year, at John's
request, in order to attempt an arrangement, which failed,
and the Bishop of Ely again left England. He returned
with the other bishops, after John's submission, on St.
Margaret's Day (July 20, 1212). Two years afterwards
(Feb. 1215) Bishop Eustace died at Reading, and was in-
terred in his own cathedral. The Galilee, " Nova Galilea,"
was his work. (Part I. § in.)
On the death of Eustace, the monks elected Geoffry of
Burgh, Archdeacon of Norwich, but revoked his election
before it was published, and chose EGBERT OF YORK,
298 61g dat^bral
whom the King (John) refused to confirm. Eobert, how-
ever, held the see, without consecration, for nearly five
years, assuming to himself all the rights which belonged
to it. He was a partizan of Lewis of France, and on the
death of John crossed the channel, and " published false
rumours of the King's death, to raise disturbances in this
kingdom, and promote an invasion." A letter was accord-
ingly despatched in the name of the young King, to the
Pope, entreating him to annul Robert's election, and to
provide a proper person for the see, since the Isle of Ely
was the strongest place in the kingdom, and there was
danger that Robert would give it into the hands of Lewis m.
Accordingly,
[A.D. 1223—1225.] JOHN PHERD (John de Fontibus), Abbot
of Fountains, was preferred to the see by Papal authority.
[A.D. 1225 — 1228.] GEOFFRY OF BURGH, Archdeacon of
Norwich, who had been elected five years before, suc-
ceeded. He was brother of the famous Hubert of Burgh,
Earl of Kent, and is said to have been a man of consider-
able learning.
[A.D. 1229—1254.] HUGH OF NORTH WOLD, Abbot of St.
Edmundsbury, had been one of the King's Itinerant
Justices for Norfolk, in 1227 ; and in 1235, after he be-
came bishop of Ely, was sent ambassador, with others, to
Raymond of Provence, to conclude a contract of marriage
between his daughter Eleanor and the young King,
Henry III. Matthew Paris, his contemporary, especially
praises the piety, hospitality, and liberality to the poor,
of Bishop Hugh, who did much for his see, and for the
convent. The presbytery or eastern portion of the cathe-
dral was his work. (Pt. I. § xvi.) At the dedication
feast (Sept. 1252) he entertained magnificently the King,
m " Certum est enim, quod civitas Elyensis est optima munitio
regni nostri ; et quod dictus Robertus ibi extitit preintrusus, ut,
sicut res se habuit, reciperetur ibi Dominus Ludovicus." — Rymer,
Foedera, I p. 229.
of Jffltoftg. fitgfe of §al^am. 299
Prince Edward his son, and a great company of nobles
and prelates. The shrines and relics of the sainted ab-
besses were solemnly translated into Bishop Hugh's new
building, and he was himself buried behind the high
altar, at the feet of Etheldreda. His remarkable monu-
ment has been already described. (Part I. § xx.)
[A.D. 1255 — 1256.] WILLIAM OF KILKENNY, Archdeacon of
Coventry and Chancellor, was consecrated at Belley, in
Savoy, by Boniface Archbishop of Canterbury. He re-
signed the office of Chancellor on becoming Bishop of Ely.
Bishop William was highly distinguished as a canonist
and civilian ; and in 1256 was sent to negociate a treaty
between Henry III. and Alfonso of Castile, which he lived
just long enough to complete. He died on the 22nd of
September in that year, at Segovia, where he was buried.
His heart was brought to Ely, and deposited on the north
side of the presbytery, where his cenotaph, with effigy,
remains. (Pt. I. § xx.)
[A.D. 1257—1286.] HUGH OF BALSHAM, sub-prior of Ely,
was chosen by the monks in opposition to the wishes of the
King, who had recommended Henry of Wingham, his
Chancellor. The King accordingly refused to confirm the
election, although the Chancellor consented to withdraw his
pretensions. The King then endeavoured to get Adam de
Marisco elected, a Franciscan whose learning had brought
him into great repute at Oxford. Hugh, however, appealed
to Rome, and obtained the confirmation of his election from
the Pope, Alexander IV., by whom he was consecrated.
Hugh of Balsham is best remembered for his foundation
of the first endowed college in Cambridge; in direct
imitation of that which his contemporary, Walter of Mer-
ton, Bishop of Rochester, had just founded at Oxford. (See
ROCHESTER CATHEDBAL, Pt. II. — WALTER DE MERTON.)
The statutes of Merton College, Oxford, were ratified by
the founder and the King in 1274. In 1280 Bishop Hugh
obtained a licence from Edward I., for founding a college
300 €Ig Ca%bral.
of students in Cambridge, " secundum regulam scholar mm
Oxon. qui de Merton cognominantur." He at first in-
tended to have converted the hospital of St. John, founded
by his predecessor, Bishop Nigel, into a college ; but
changing his plan, he placed his scholars in "hostels,"
near St. Peter's Church, which he assigned to their use.
The college subsequently became known as St. Peter's
College, or "Peter House." The University celebrated
annually a solemn commemoration of Bishop Hugh's
death, which occurred in 1286. He was buried in his own
cathedral, before the high altar.
[A.D. 1286 — 1290.] JOHN OF KIKKBY, Canon of Wells and
of York, Archdeacon of Coventry and Wimborne, also
Treasurer of Edward I., was only in deacon's order when
elected. He was ordained priest by Archbishop Peckham
at Feversham (Sept. 21), and consecrated the day after at
Canterbury. As Treasurer, John of Kirkby was arbitrary
and exacting, and in 1289, when the Parliament refused
to grant an aid in discharge of the King's expenses in
France, until Edward himself returned, the Treasurer
levied heavy contributions throughout the kingdom, on
his own authority. Such exactions were afterward ren-
dered unlawful by the statute 25 Edw. I. (1297), which
renounced as precedents the "aids, tasks, and prises"
before taken, and decreed that they should be no more
taken " but by the common assent of the realm V Bishop
John died at Ely, and was interred in his own cathedral.
[A.D. 1290—1298.] WILLIAM DE LUDA (of Louth), although
Archdeacon of Durham, was not in deacon's orders when
elected. After his ordination as deacon and priest, by
Archbishop Peckham, he was consecrated bishop by the
Primate, assisted by seven of his suffragan bishops, in St.
Mary's Church in Ely, where a provincial council was
being held, concerning a subsidy to be granted to the King
» Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. iii. p. 3. (ed. 1855.)
falpb of BKalpok. $okrt ol (ixforft. 301
by the clergy. Bishop William was Treasurer of the King's
Wardrobe, and is called by T. Wikes, a contemporary
historian, " vir magnificus et eminentis scientise." In 1296
the Bishop of Ely was one of the commissioners appointed
to settle the conditions of a truce between France and
England ; and in 1297, after the King (Edw. I.) had ordered
the temporalities of the clergy to be seized (see CANTER-
BURY CATHEDRAL, Pt. II. — ARCHBISHOP WINCHELSEA).,
Bishop William was one of the chief mediators between
the clergy and the King (who was himself at Ely in
that year), and is said to have arranged the payment of
the fifths by the former. The Bishop died on March 27,
1298. His beautiful tomb remains in the cathedral. (Pt. I.
§ xix.)
[A.D. 1299—1302.] KALPH OF WALPOLE was translated to
Ely from Norwich, by the authority of the Pope, after the
convent had been unable to agree in their election. As
Bishop of Norwich, Bishop Ealph had enjoyed a high
reputation for learning and piety, and at Ely he reformed
many abuses, corrected the discipline of the monks, and
revised the statutes of the convent, making some addi-
tions of his own. He was buried in the cathedral.
[A.D. 1302—1310.] ROBERT OF ORFORD, Prior of the Convent,
having been elected by way of compromise, Archbishop
Winchelsea refused to confirm the election on the ground
of his being illiterate. He appealed to Pope Boniface, who
confirmed the election and consecrated him bishop. He
refused to be installed by the Archdeacon of Canterbury,
but took his seat by virtue of Papal authority. He was
buried in his cathedral.
[A.D. 1310—1316.] JOHN OF KETENE (Ketton), had been
Almoner of Ely. During his episcopate the Bishop of
Glasgow, who had been sent to Rome to answer for his
disloyalty to Edward II., was sent back to England by the
Pope to be " kept in safe custody " until peace should be
restored between England and Scotland. He was retained
302 di
for some time at Ely. Bishop John was interred in the
cathedral.
[A.D. 1316—1337.] JOHN HOTHAM, one of the most dis-
tinguished benefactors of the church of Ely, had been
much employed in public business, and on foreign em-
bassies, before he became Bishop of Ely, and took a leading
part in most of the public transactions of the feeble reign
of Edward II. In 1317, the year after his consecration, he
was made Treasurer of the Exchequer, and in the fol-
lowing year Lord Chancellor. At the fight of Myton-upon-
- Swale (Oct. 1319), when the English were routed by the
Scots, under Robert Bruce, the Bishop narrowly escaped
being taken prisoner. He was afterwards appointed one of
the commissioners who arranged a truce with the Scots for
two years; and in 1323 received the King's commission
for settling the affairs of Gascony, then in great disorder.
Bishop Hotham joined Queen Isabella on her landing (Sept.
1326) at Orwell in Suffolk ; and in January 1327, after
the abdication of Edward II., the Great Seal was again
delivered to the Bishop of Ely, who "caused to be en-
graven on the lower part of it, two flowers of the arms
of France °."
During his first chancellorship, Bishop Hotham obtained
from Edward II. a confirnation of all the former rights
and liberties of the church of Ely ; and in 1329 he procured
a grant from the Crown to the prior and convent, entitling
them to the custody of the see on every vacancy, during
which time they were to receive the profits. He bought
for the see much land adjoining the manor of Holborn,
which had been given to the see by Bishop John of
Kirkeby, and which from this time became one of the
chief palaces of the bishop of Ely. During his episcopate
the beautiful Lady-chapel was begun (1321) at Ely (Pt. I.
§ xxvu.) ; and the lower part of the octagon was com-
m Bentham, from Rymer, Feed., iv. p. 243.
JSimon of $p0ttia£ute. 303
pleted, together with much of the woodwork of the lantern.
(Pt. I. § xi.) The cost of these great works was chiefly
defrayed by the convent; but Bishop Hotham, at his
death, left money for the rebuilding of the first three bays
of the choir, which had been ruined by the fall of the
tower. (Pt. I. § xv.)
Bishop Hotham died at Somersham, January 14, 1337,
and was interred in his cathedral, behind the altar of the
choir (" ad partem orientalem altaris in choro, versus mag-
num altare "). The shrines of St. Etheldreda and the three
Abbesses were placed between two altars — the high altar
at the extreme east end of the cathedral, and the " altar of
the choir," which stood nearly at the junction of Bishop
Hugh's work and Bishop Hotham' s. It has already (Pt. I.
§ xx.) been suggested that the upper part of Bishop
Hotham 's monument may have served as a watching-
chamber for the shrines. It has been stripped of its orna-
ments and figures, which are thus described : — " Ipse autem
sepultus est . . . . sub quadam pulchra structura lapidea,
cum imagine Episcopi de alabastro, super tumulum ipsius
erecta, cum 7 candelabris ex uno stipide decentissime pro-
cedentibus ; et circa siquidem imagines de creatione hominis
et ejectione ejusdem de Paradiso ; quatuor etiam imagines
regum armatorum, et 4 dracones [banners] ad 4 partes
ejusdem structural p."
[A.D. 1337 — 1345.] SIMON OF MONTACUTE was translated
from Worcester. The convent had elected their prior,
John of Crawden, a man of great worth, — whose brass has
already been noticed (Pt. I. § xvii.); but their proceedings
were set aside by the bull of Pope Benedict XII., which
directed the translation to Ely of the Bishop of Worcester.
Bishop Simon was a younger brother of William Lord
Montacute, the first Earl of Salisbury of that creation,
who was advanced to his new dignity in the same year
p Hist. Eliensis, ap. Angl Sacr., i. 648.
304 €I
(1337) in which, his brother was translated to Ely. During
this bishop's episcopate the lantern of the octagon and the
new portion of the choir were completed, and the Lady-
chapel was in progress. This, however, was not completed
until 1349. Toward this work the Bishop gave large sums,
and was buried before the altar of the new chapel.
[A.D. 1345 — 1361.] THOMAS DE LISLE, intruded by the
Pope, Clement VI., in place of Allan of Walsingham, Prior
of the Convent, and architect of the octagon, whom the
monks had elected. He had been Prior of the Dominicans,
at Winchester, and was at Avignon on a mission to the
Pope from Edward III., when the vacancy of the see
of Ely was announced. In accordance with the policy of
Edward III. (see CANTERBUEY, Pt. II. — ARCHBISHOP
STRATFORD), Bishop de Lisle was compelled, on his return
to England, to " make a formal renunciation of all words
contained in the Pope's bull of provision that were prejudi-
cial to the King and the rights of his crown, and to declare
that the holding the temporalities of the see proceeded of
the King's grace and favour, and not by any authority from
the Pope q." Bishop de Lisle was a haughty and magnificent
prelate, little in favour either with his convent or with the
King. He is said, however, to have been an able preacher,
and to have been zealous in discharging this duty of his
office throughout his diocese : — " Egregius namque praadi-
cator extitit ; et per varia loca suae diceceseos discurrens,
velut fidelis dispensator et prudens, familise Dominicaa men-
suram tritici distribuendo, verbum Dei in populo sibi com-
misso ferventi animo disseminavit r." At Bishop de Lisle's
consecration a glass vessel full of wine which stood on the
altar broke suddenly, — "sine tangentis manu;" an omen,
according to the chronicler, of the troubles he was to endure
as bishop. For the greater part of his episcopate he was
« Bentham, p. 160.
r Hist. Eliensis, ap. AngL Sacr., i. 655.
$is|jop» g)e fhle anb garnet. 305
engaged in constant disputes with Blanche Lady Wake, a
daughter of Henry Earl of Lancaster, and a powerful ad-
versary. Her estates in Huntingdonshire adjoined the
Bishop's manors ; and questions of " limits and boundaries "
led at last to manslaughter, to the loss of the King's
favour, and to the Bishop's summons to the bar of the
King's Bench. Bishop de Lisle, dreading imprisonment,
fled to the Pope at Avignon, where, whilst the questions
were still in debate, he died (June 1361), and was buried
in a house of Dominican nuns there.
On his death the Pope appointed Reginald Brian, Bishop
of Worcester, to the see of Ely, who died of the plague
before his translation. The convent then elected, by royal
licence, John Bockingham, Keeper of the Privy Seal ; but
the Pope by another provision appointed
[A.D. 1632, translated to Canterbury 1366.] SIMON LANGHAM,
Abbot of Westminster, and Treasurer of England. It was
on his translation to Canterbury, in 1366, that the monastic
rhymes appeared : —
" Exultant coeli quia Simon venit ab Ely
Cujus in adventum flent in Kent millia centum.'*
(See CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, Pt. IT.)
[A.D. 1366—1373.] JOHN BARNET, Archdeacon of London
1359, Bishop of Worcester in 1362, Treasurer of England,
and translated to Bath in the following year, was, when
very old and infirm, translated to Ely, by papal provision.
During his episcopate the King replaced the stock and
"implementa episcopatus," on the ten chief manors or
palaces belonging to the see of Ely ", which had been made
away with in the last five years of Bishop de Lisle's life,
whilst he was at Avignon and the temporalites were in the
* These were — the palace at Ely ; Ely-house, Holborn ; Bishop's
Hatfield and Hadham, in Hertfordshire ; Somersham, in Hunt-
ingdonshire; Balsham and Ditton, in Cambridgeshire ; Downham,
Wisbech Castle, and Doddington, in the Isle of Ely.
VOL. II. PT. I. X
306 0i
King's hands. The bishops were, henceforth, compelled to
take an oath, at the west door of their cathedral, on the
day of enthronization, to leave this stock entire, or its
value, to their successors.
Bishop Barnet died at Hatfield in 1373, and was buried
at Ely, where his monument remains. (Pt. I. § xix.)
[A.D. 1374., translated to York 1388.] THOMAS FITZ-ALAN
OF ARUNDEL. In 1836, whilst still Bishop of Ely, Arundel
was made Lord Chancellor. During his holding of the see,
he nearly rebuilt the palace in Holborn. In 1388 he was
translated to York, and thence, in 1396, to Canterbury.
(See that Cathedral, Pt. II.) As archbishop, Arundel is
chiefly memorable for his persecution of the Lollards. He
died Feb. 1414.
[A.D. 1388—1425.] JOHN FORDHAM, Dean of Wells, and
Keeper of the King's Privy Seal, a favourite of Richard II.,
and by him made Lord Treasurer 1386, was translated by
Urban VI. to Ely, from Durham, to which he had been
appointed by the Pope in 1381. The translation was not
to the Bishop's advantage, since Durham was a see of far
more wealth and importance than Ely. Little is recorded
of this Bishop during his long episcopate of thirty-seven
years.
[A.D. 1426 — 1435.] PHILIP MORGAN was translated by papal
provision from Worcester. He was an eminent civilian,
and had been chaplain to Henry V., who had employed
him on many embassies. On the death of Archbishop
Bowet, 1423, Morgan was put forward by the party of the
Duke of Gloucester, and elected his successor in the see
of York. Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, was the favourite of
tf'j Beaufort party, and on Morgan's applying to the Pope
Martin V. for the confirmation of his election, he refused,
saying he had nominated Fleming to the vacant throne.
The Royal Council threatened Fleming with a prgemunire,
and he found it convenient to allow the Pope to translate
him back to Lincoln, the Council meanwhile accepting
3&rais he Utombarg. 307
Kemp, Bishop of London, for York, and requiring the
papal sanction to Morgan's translation to Ely. During his
episcopate the University of Cambridge claimed entire
freedom from the bishop's jurisdiction, on the authority
of two bulls, of Honorius I. (A.D. 624) and of Sergius I.
(A.D. 689) ; of which they judiciously professed to have
only copies. The University appealed to Pope Martin V.,
who appointed the Prior of Barnwell, and John Deping,
Canon of Lincoln, to determine the matter. Their sen-
tence, afterwards confirmed by Pope Eugenius IV., was in
favour of the University.
[A.D. 1438—1443.] Louis DE LUXEMBTJBG, Archbishop of
Rouen, who had long supported the English interests in
France, was, at the recommendation of Henry VI., ap-
pointed by the Pope " perpetual administrator " of the see
of Ely, after the convent had elected Thomas Bourchier,
Bishop of Worcester ; whose election (although the Pope
had at first confirmed it) was annulled. Louis de Luxem-
burg was the brother of the Count of St. Paul ; and had
been Chancellor of France and of Normandy, for Henry VI.,
under the Regent Bedford. The Regent, on the death of
his first wife, married Jaquette, daughter of the Count of
St. Paul, and niece of the Bishop *, who in 1436 was elected
Archbishop of Rouen. From this see, however, he probably
had little benefit ; since, on the decline of the English in-
fluence in France, he withdrew from the latter country,
and established himself in England; where in 1438 he
was placed in full possession of the " temporalities and
spiritualities" belonging to the see of Ely. "He could
not be elected Bishop of Ely without a violation of the
institutions of the Church of England, or without exposing
the electors to the penalties of a prasmunire. Nevertheless
* After the death of the Regent Bedford, his widow married
Sir Richard Wodevile (Earl of Rivers), by whom she was the
mother of Elizabeth, Queen of Edward IV.
x 2
308 til
he could be appointed administrator of the see ; and not-
withstanding the opposition of Archbishop Chicheley, who
for a while resisted this aggression upon the liberties of the
Church, the Archbishop of Rouen was put into full pos-
session of the see of Ely by the King, the Pope and Bishop
Bourchier concurring in the arrangement u." In 1439 he
was created cardinal-priest by the Pope, Eugenius IV. ;
and in 1442 cardinal-bishop. He was hardly ever resident
in his diocese, the affairs of which he regulated by his
vicars-general.
Cardinal de Luxemburg died at Hatfield, Sept. 1443.
His bowels were interred in the church there ; his heart
was deposited in his metropolitan church at Rouen ; and
his body at Ely, on the south side of the presbytery, " near
the altar of relics," where his monument remains. (Pt. I.
§ xxn.)
[A.D. 1443, translated to Canterbury 1454.] THOMAS BOUR-
CHIER, whom the monks had before elected, was now trans-
lated to Ely from Worcester. The convent, however,
seems to have repented of its choice. " We only gathered
from him flowers instead of fruit," says the monk who
writes his life," as from a useless tree. Except on the day
of his installation he would never celebrate mass or solemn
service in his cathedral *." For his life as Archbishop, see
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, Pt. II. His death occurred in
1486. His episcopate of fifty-one years, as Bishop of
Worcester and Ely, and as Archbishop, was one of the
longest on record in the English Church y.
u Dean Hook, Archbishops, vol. v. p. 280.
x Ang. Sac. i. 671.
y In the notice of Archhishop Bourchier (CANTERBURY CATHE-
DRAL, Pt. II.) his episcopate is said to have been the longest on
record in the English Church. This is an error. It was the
longest up to that time ; but has since been exceeded in length
by those of John Hough (1690-1743), Bishop successively of
Winosarely ; of Oxford, Lichfield, and Worcester — 35, Thomas
drag a«b gTorton. 309
[A.D. 1454 — 1478.] WILLIAM GRAY, the King's Procurator
at Rome, was appointed by Pope Nicholas V., on the
recommendation of Henry VI. Bishop Gray was educated
at Balliol College, Oxford, to which he was afterwards a
considerable benefactor (the library was partly built by
him, and furnished with books); and in 1440 he was
Chancellor of the University. On his return from Rome
he was made Treasurer of England. In 1467 he was
p]dward the Fourth's commissioner for arranging a peace
between that king and Henry of Castile; and in 1471,
1472 and 1473, he was the chief English commissioner for
treating of peace with James III. of Scotland. Bishop
Gray died at Downharn in 1478, and was interred in his
cathedral, where his monument, stripped of its effigy and
brasses, remains. (Pt. I. § xxn.)
The strengthening of the western tower (Pt. I. §§ iv.
xxx.) was effected during the episcopate of this Bishop,
who gave largely towards the work.
[A.D. 1479, translated to Canterbury I486.] JOHN MORTON ;
who was made in the same year (1479) Lord Chancellor.
His learning as a civilian early brought him into notice ;
and he was especially patronized by Archbishop Bourchier,
whom he succeeded. It was this bishop who was sent to
the Tower by Richard III. when Protector ; and his sub-
sequent services to Henry VII., when still Earl of Rich-
mond, procured his nomination to the primacy. A longer
notice of Archbishop Morton will be found in CANTERBURY
CATHEDRAL (Pt. II.).
As Bishop of Ely, Morton attempted one of the first
works on a large scale with a view to a thorough drainage
Bishop of Sodor and Man (Jan. 1698-March 1755) — 57 years ;
of Shute Harrington, Bishop of Llandaff, Salisbury, and Durham
(Oct. 1769-March 1826)— 56 years and 6 months ; and of E. V.
Vernon Harcourt, Bishop of Carlisle and Archbishop of York
(November 1791-November 1847)— 56 years. Bishop Wilson's
is therefore the longest English episcopate.
310 4Bi
of that part of the fens called the North Level. The canal
or cut which he caused to be dug, for a distance of forty
miles, from near Peterborough to the sea, by Guyhirne and
"VVisbech, is still called by his name, "Morton's Seam."
" He had a lofty brick tower built at Guyhirne, where the
waters met, and * up into that tower he would often go to
oversee and set out the works.' This Bishop was the first
to introduce into the district the practice of making
straight cuts and artificial rivers for the purpose of more
rapidly voiding the waters of the fens — -a practice which
has been extensively adopted by the engineers of the
present dayV
A curious account of Morton's installation as Bishop of
Ely, when he walked barefoot for two miles from his palace
at Downham to his cathedral, " in rochetto, cum bediis in
manu sua, dicendo orationes Dominicas per viam," and of
the subsequent feast at the palace, will be found in
Bentham's History of Ely (Appendix, xxix. xxx).
[A.D. I486 — 1500.] JOHN ALCOCK, one of the best architects
of his time, and Controller of the royal works and buildings
under Henry VII., was translated to Ely from Worcester.
He was born at Beverley in Yorkshire, and educated
at Cambridge. In 1462 he was appointed Master of the
Rolls ; and after serving on different embassies, was created
Bishop of Rochester in 1472. Thence in 1746 he was
translated to Worcester ; and in 1486 became Bishop of
Ely. By Edward IV. he had been appointed "preecep-
tor " to the young prince, afterwards Edward V. ; but was
removed from his office by the Protector Richard.
At Cambridge Bishop Alcock procured the suppression
of the nunnery of St. Radegund, which had become con-
spicuous for its irregularities ; and founded in its stead the
college now known as Jesus College. He built much at
all his manors ; and constructed a great hall and gallery
• Smiles' Lives of the Engineers, vol. i. p. 29.
gisjjflps gUimtan mtb jSiardeg. 311
(now destroyed) in his palace at Ely. His beautiful chapel
has been described (Pt. I. § xxxm.).
Bishop Alcock died at Wisbech Castle, Oct. 1, 1500.
[A.D. 1501 — 1505.] KICHARD REDMAN had been Abbot of
Shap, in Westmoreland, and in 1471 was made Bishop of
St. Asaph, where he rebuilt the cathedral, which had been
burnt by Owen Glendower about 1404 (see ST. ASAPH).
Bishop Redman became entangled in the affairs of Lambert
Simnell in 1487 ; but seems to have acquitted himself to
the satisfaction of Henry VII., who made him one of the
commissioners of the peace with Scotland in 1492, and in
1495 translated him to Exeter ; thence in 1501 he passed
to Ely.
Through whatever towns Bishop Redman passed on his
journeys, if he remained so long as one hour, he caused a
bell to be rung that the poor might come and partake of
his charity, which he distributed largely. His monument
remains in the cathedral. (Pt. I. § xx.)
[A.D. 1506 — 1515.] JAMES STANLEY was the third son of
Thomas Stanley, created Earl of Derby in 1485. The
powerful interest of his stepmother, Margaret, Countess of
Richmond and Derby, was probably the cause of his pro-
motion ; " the worst thing she ever did," writes Baker :
" armis quam libris peritior." He died, according to God-
win, " without performing any one thing deserving to be
remembered ; " arid it is true that his moral conduct, in
Bentham's words, "will by no means bear the strictest
scrutiny." He built a manor-house at Somersham, how-
ever, for the see, and did much for the collegiate church
at Manchester (see MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL), where he
died (March 1515) and was buried. A MS. history of
the house of Derby, quoted by Bentham, thus concludes
the life of Bishop Stanley : —
" Hee did end his life at merrie Manchester,
And right honourable lies buried there,
312 {gig Ca%bral.
In his chappell, which he began of free stone.
Sir John Standeley made it out, when he was gone.
God send his soul to the heavenlie companie !
Farewell, godlie James, Bishoppe of Elie 1 "
[A.D. 1515 — 1533.] NICHOLAS WEST, son of a baker at
Putney, educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge,
Archdeacon of Derby 1501, Dean of Windsor 1510, early
became distinguished for his knowledge of civil and canon
law, and was patronized by Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas
More. He was throughout his life much employed in
public affairs and on embassies, under Henry VII. and
Henry VIII. ; the latter of whom he attended at the
" Camp Drap d'Or." In 1515 he was made Bishop of Ely,
and is said to have lived in greater splendour than any
other prelate of his time, having more than one hundred
servants. Two hundred poor were daily relieved at his
gate. His learning and acquirements were very consider-
able, and are especially praised by Bishop Fisher. He was
a zealous advocate on the side of Queen Catherine ; and
the loss of the King's favour on that account is said to
have hastened his death, which occurred April 28, 1533.
At Putney, his native place, he built a chantry adjoining
the parish church, which still remains. His superb chapel
in the cathedral has been noticed (Pt. I. § xxiv.)-
[A.D. 1534— 1554. J THOMAS GOODRICH, son of Edward Good-
rich, of East Kirby in Lincolnshire, was educated at
Cambridge, where he soon became eminent as a canonist
and civilian. In 1529 he was appointed one of the Uni-
versity syndics, to report concerning the lawfulness of the
King's divorce, which he supported ; and after more than
one lesser preferment, was by the King's favour (whose
chaplain he had become) advanced to the see of Ely.
Bishop Goodrich was a zealous supporter of the Re-
formation; and the general injunctions (1541) for the
removal of images, relics, and shrines, were executed with
great speed and decision in his cathedral and throughout
k aitb i^irlbg. 313
his diocese. The great shrines of St. Etheldreda, and of
the three other sainted abbesses, were at this time removed
and destroyed. In 1540 the Bishop of Ely was appointed
by Convocation one of the revisers of the New Testament ;
and the Gospel of St. John fell to his share. In 1548 he
was one of the "notable learned men" associated with
Cranmer about the " Order of Communion " — the first form
of the English Office in the Book of Common Prayer*.
He was a member of the Privy Council under Henry VIII,
and Edward VI., and was employed on several embassies,
and on much state business. In 1551 he was made Lord
Chancellor ; an office which he held until the accession
of Mary in 1553, when the seals were taken from him,
although he was allowed to retain his bishopric. His arms
remain in the oriel of the gallery in the palace, which he
largely repaired and adorned. His brass — a very in-
teresting example of the episcopal vestments of this period
— remains in the cathedral. (Pt. I. § xxvi.)
[A.D. 1554 — 1570.] THOMAS THIRLBY, Archdeacon of Ely
1534, and Dean of the Chapel Koyal, was appointed by
Henry VIII. to the bishopric of Westminster, wheo, in
1540, on the dissolution of the abbey, it had been erected
into an episcopal see. On the accession of Edward VI., in
1550, the new bishopric was dissolved, and Thirlby was
translated to Norwich ; thence he was removed to Ely, by
Queen Mary, on the death of Goodrich, and was soon after-
wards sent ambassador to Home, to represent the state of
the kingdom, and promise obedience to the Apostolic See.
The ceremony of degrading Archbishop Cranmer was per-
formed by Thirlby, who was observed to weep during it.
" He cannot be followed," says Fuller, " as some other of
his order, by the light of the faggots kindled by him to
• Procter on the Book of Common Prayer, pp. 20-23. " This
was not a full Communion Office, but an addition of an English
form of communion for the people to the Latin Mass."
314: €I
burn poor martyrs, seeing he was given rather to prodi-
gality than cruelty V But although he is said to have
alienated much of the land which had been assigned to the
Westminster bishopric, he did much for the see of Ely,
since he procured from the Crown the advowson of eight
prebends attached to it. Bishop Thirlby continued in
favour for a short time after the accession of Elizabeth,
but on refusing the oath of supremacy he was committed
to the Tower, whence he was removed to Lambeth, where
he lived for ten years under the guardianship of Arch-
bishop Parker. He died at Lambeth in 1570, and was
buried in the parish church there.
[A.D. 1559—1581.] RICHARD Cox, born at Whaddon, Bucks,
was educated at Eton, and at Cambridge ; in which Univer-
sity he was, according to Fuller, one of the " most hope-
full plants." Wolsey removed him to his new college
at Oxford ; and he afterwards became Master of Eton,
chaplain to the King, and tutor to the Prince, afterwards
Edward VI. He received various preferments from the
Crown, and was the first dean of the cathedral church of
Oxford — first at Osney, and then at Christ Church ; with
which deanery he held that of Westminster in com^
mendam. Throughout the reign of Edward, Cox was an
ardent reformer, and found it necessary to take refuge at
Frankfort during the Marian persecution. He returned on
the accession of Elizabeth, and took an active part in the
settlement of religion during the first years of her reign.
He was a coadjutor of Archbishop Parker in the prepara-
tion of the "Bishops' Bible," and urged the adoption of
" usual words " and the avoidance of " inkhorn terms." He
also assisted Parker in drawing up the " Thirty-nine Arti-
cles," being regarded by him as one on whose principles and
good sense he could entirely rely. In 1559, on the depriva-
tion of Bishop Thirlby, he was consecrated to the see of Ely,
b Worthies — Cambridgeshire.
gisjjap fe. 315
from which, under the pressure of the Queen and cour-
tiers, he was compelled to alienate many of the best
manors. As bishop-elect, Cox, in conjunction with.
Parker, then archbishop elect of Canterbury, and some
other bishops, petitioned the Queen that she would
forbear exchanging lands for tenths and impropriate rec-
tories, on the vacancy of the different sees, which, by an
act passed in her first parliament she was entitled to do.
The petition was without effect, and fourteen manors be-
longing to the see of Ely were at this time exchanged for
tenths and impropropriations of much less value. The
Lord Keeper Hatton subsequently procured the alienation
of a portion of the Bishop's property at Holborn ; and it
was on making resistance to this spoliation that Cox
received the celebrated letter from the Queen : —
"Proud Prelate, — You know what you were before I
made you what you are ; if you do not immediately
comply with my request, by God I will unfrock you,—
ELIZABETH."
" The names of Hatton Garden and Ely Place (« Mantua
va3 miseras nimium vicina Cremome ') still bear witness to
the encroaching Lord Keeper and the elbowed Bishop0."
In consequence of this and many similar vexations, the
Bishop, now of great age, was desirous of resigning his see,
and in February, 1580, he seems to have obtained the
Queen's consent to his doing so. He died, however, July
1581, still Bishop of Ely, and was interred in his cathedral,
near the tomb of Bishop Goodrich. His monument, a brass,
no longer exists.
The see continued vacant for more than eighteen years
after the death of Bishop Cox, during which, time the
Queen received the whole profits. The administration in
"spirituals" was under commissioners appointed by the
Archbishop. At last
>
• Hallam, Const. Hist., vol. i. p. 224. (ed. 1855).
316 &l
[A.D. 1600—1609.] MARTIN BEATON, Canon of Christchurch,
1582, Dean of Winchester, 1589, was appointed. Like his
predecessor, he was compelled to alienate much of the pro-
perty of his see. His tomb, with effigy, remains in the
cathedral. (Pt. I. § xxvi.)
[A.D. 1609, translated to Winchester 1619.] LANCELOT
ANDREWES. (For the life of this bishop, who whilst at
Ely spent large sums in repairing the residences attached
to the see, see WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.)
[A.D. 1619—1626.] NICHOLAS FELTON, Master of Pembroke
College, Cambridge, 1616, translated from Bristol. He was
one of those employed by James I. on the translation of
the Bible.
[A.D. 1628 — 1631.] JOHN BUCKERIDGE was appointed, after a
vacancy of a year and a-half. He had been Fellow, and
afterwards President, of St. John's, Oxford, where he was
tutor to the future Primate, William Laud. Buckeridge
"was devoted to the cause of the Eeformed Church of
England," and wielded with ability " the two-edged sword
of Holy Scripture" against the Papists on the one side,
and against the Puritans on the other. A treatise written
by him, entitled "De Potestate Papas in Temporalibus,"
was very highly esteemed, and was unanswered by the
Romanists. He was one of four divines appointed by King
James — the others being Bishops Andrewes and Barlow,
and Dr. King, afterwards Bishop of London — to preach be-
fore him at Hampton Court, with the object of bringing the
Presbyterian Scots to a right understanding of the Church
of England d." In 1611 he became Bishop of Rochester,
whence in 1628 he was translated to Ely, through the
interest of his former pupil, Laud, then Bishop of Bath and
Wells. " In this case, and by every means in his power,
Laud endeavoured to show his gratitude for the great
benefit he had derived from the instruction and example
of this good man, equally distinguished for his orthodoxy
d Hook, Archbishops of Canterbury, vol. xi. p. 5.
317
and his learning e." His reputation for learning and as a
preacher was considerable.
[A.D. 1631—1638.] FRANCIS WHITE, translated from Norwich,
Dean of Carlisle 1622, Bishop of Carlisle 1626, and Bishop
of Norwich 1629, translated to Ely 1631. He was buried
in St. Paul's Cathedral. He was regarded as " a man of
learning, a good preacher, and an excellent disputant and
polemical writer."
[A.D. 1638—1667.] MATTHEW WEEN, eldest son of Francis
Wren, citizen and mercer of London, had been chaplain to
Lancelot Andrewes when Bishop of Ely, and was afterwards
made chaplain to James I., by whose appointment he was
sent, with Dr. Maw, to attend Prince Charles during his
expedition to Spain, "with all the requirements for a
comely celebration of the worship of the Church of Eng-
land." He subsequently accompanied King Charles to
Scotland, in ] 633. Wren was an excellent hater of Puri-
tans, an unflinching adherent of Laud, a strong supporter
of the royal authority, and so highly in favour with the
King, that Laud was said to be jealous of him. After
many lesser preferments, he was made Bishop of Hereford
in 1635 ; in the same year he was translated to Norwich,
and in 1638 to Ely.
As Bishop of Norwich, Wren, " a man of a sour, severe,
nature," according to Lord Clarendon,- — a " wren mounted
on the wings of an eagle," in Bishop Williams' words, —
carried out the Laudian discipline with a high hand. The
Puritans declared it was the greatest persecution on record.
" In all Queen Mary's time," said Burton, " there was not
so great a havoc made, in so short a time, of the faithful
ministers of God." Eight hundred and ninety-seven ques-
tions were distributed throughout the diocese for the unfor-
tunate churchwardens to answer ; prayers before sermons
were silenced ; and at length Bishop Wren was able to
report something like uniformity in his diocese, although
6 Hook, Archbishops of Canterbury, u. s.
318 6I
in the midst of deep-seated discontent. In the diocese of
Ely the Bishop found less occupation : but he had dis-
covered sundry abuses in Cambridge and the adjoining
district, before, in 1641, after protesting with other bishops
against their exclusion from the House of Lords, he was
sent with them to the Tower. He was set at liberty for
a short time in 1642, but was again arrested before the
close of the year, and remained in confinement for eighteen
years, — "displaying great patience, resolution, and firm-
ness of mind." He outlived the Rebellion, was set free in
March 1660, and after the King's return, in May of the
same year, was replaced in the see of Ely. As a thank-
offering he built the chapel at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge,
where he had been educated, and was interred therein in
1667. His diary, and other notices of this Bishop, — whom
Hallam contemptuously dismisses as "one Wren, the
worst on the bench," — will be found in Wren's Parentalia.
Ely Cathedral remained unprofaned, and the service was
duly performed in it, until January 1641 ; when Cromwell
as Governor of Ely, made, says Carlyle, " a transient ap-
pearance in the cathedral one day, memorable to the
Eeverend Mr. Hitch and us." He had already written to
Mr. Hitch, requiring him " to forbear altogether the choir
service, so unedifying and offensive, lest the soldiers should
in any tumultuary or disorderly way attempt the reforma-
tion of the cathedral church." Mr. Hitch paid no attention,
and Cromwell accordingly appeared in time of service,
" with a rabble at his heels, and with his hat on," and
ordered the " assembly " to leave the cathedral. Mr. Hitch
paused for a moment, but soon recommenced : when
" ' Leave off your fooling, and come down, Sir,' said Oliver,
in a voice still audible to this editor ; which Mr. Hitch did
now instantaneously give ear to d."
[A.D. 1667—1675.] BENJAMIN LANEY, Master of Pembroke
t Carlyle's Cromwell, vol. i, pp. 145, 146 (ed. 1857).
$aneg to Stonier. 319
College, Cambridge, 1630, Prebendary of Winchester 1631,
Prebendary of Westminster 1639, lost all his preferments,
and was ejected from his Mastership, 1644, for refusing the
Covenant. He was one of Charles the First's chaplains,
and attended him at the Treaty of Uxbridge, and after-
wards shared the exile of Charles II., by whom on the
restoration he was made Bishop of Peterborough : thence
translated to Lincoln in 1663, and thence to Ely in 1667.
He rebuilt part of the episcopal palace, and was interred
in the cathedral. (Pt. I. § xxi.)
[A.D. 1675—1684.] PETER GUNNING, a preacher of consider-
able celebrity, and a vigorous defender of the principles of
the Church of England during Cromwell's Protectorate,
was born at Hoo in Kent, and educated at the King's
School, Canterbury. After the Eestoration he was ap-
pointed to the Mastership of Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge, and to the Margaret Professorship, from which he
was transferred to the Mastership of St. John's, and the
Regius Professorship of Divinity. In 1670 he became
Bishop of Chichester, and was thence translated to Ely.
His monument, with effigy, has been noticed (Pt. L
§ xxvi.>
[A.D. 1684, deprived 1691.] FRANCIS TURNER, son of the
Dean of Canterbury, was educated at Winchester (where
his name remains on the wall of the cloisters, near that of
his friend Ken), and at New College, Oxford. In 1670 he
became Master of St. John's College, Cambridge ; in 1683
Dean of Windsor ; in the same year Bishop of Rochester;
and in 1684 was translated to Ely. He was one of the
seven bishops who were sent to the Tower, and was de-
prived, as a Nonjuror, in 1691. The rest of his life was
passed in complete retirement. He died in 1700, at Ther-
field, in Hertfordshire, where he had been Rector, and was
buried in the chancel there, which he had "decorated,"
re paved, and wainscoted, at his own expense. His only
memorial is the word Expergi&car on the stone which
320 <BI
covers his vault. He had erected a monument to his wife
in the same church.
Bishop Turner is best remembered for his intimate
friendship with the excellent Bishop Ken, who was asso-
ciated with him in the principal events of his life. Both
bishops were present at the death-bed of Charles II.
[A.D. 1691 — 1707.] SIMON PATRICK was perhaps the most
distinguished bishop who has filled the see of Ely since the
Reformation. He was born at Gainsborough, in Lincoln-
shire, in 1626, and was educated at Queens' College, Cam-
bridge. In 1662 he became Rector of St. Paul's, Covent
Garden, "where by his excellent instructions and example
he gained the entire love and esteem of his parishioners,
and more especially by continuing with them all the time
of the great plague in 1665." Charles II., to whom he
was chaplain, made him Dean of Peterborough in 1672.
i Under James II. he was an active defender of the Church of
England, and in 1686 Patrick and Dr. Jane had a con-
ference with two Roman priests, in the presence of the
King and of the Earl of Rochester, whom James was
desirous of converting to Romanism. On this occasion the
King declared that " he never heard a bad cause so well, or
a good one so ill, maintained." Soon after the Revolution
(Oct. 1689), Patrick, who had been much employed in
settling the affairs of the Church, was promoted to the see
of Chichester, vacant by the death of Bishop Lake ; and in
July 1691, on Bishop Turner's refusing to take the oaths
of allegiance to William and Mary, he was translated to
Ely. Bishop Patrick died in the palace there in May 1707,
and was interred in the cathedral, where his monument
remains. (Pt. I. § xxi.)
Simon Patrick is highly praised by Bishop Burnet, and
his learning and unblemished character have been duly
appreciated by writers of all parties. His " Paraphrases
and Commentaries on the Scriptures " are of great value,
and his sermons and lesser tracts, many of which have
giskags fairick to Jieent. 321
lately been reprinted, take good rank among the works of
English Churchmen of that period. Whilst Dean of Peter-
borough he completed and published a History of that
Church, which had been compiled by Simon Gunton, a
prebendary of Peterborough.
[A.D. 1707—1714.] JOHN MOORE, Fellow of Clare Hall, and
Rector of St. Andrew's, Holborn, who became Bishop of
Norwich in 1691, on the deprivation of Bishop Lloyd, was
on the death of Patrick translated to Ely. An important
collection of books and MSS., made by him, was after his
death bought by George L, and given to the University of
Cambridge.
[A.D. 1714 — 1723.] WILLIAM FLEETWOOD was translated
from St. Asaph, to which see he was consecrated in 1708.
In 1712 Bishop Fleetwood published four sermons, with
a preface, in which he strongly defended the principles of
the Revolution, endangered, as was then generally believed,
by the Jacobite intrigues of the Ministers. The book was
ordered to be burnt by a ministerial majority of the Com-
mons, but its author was rewarded on the accession of
George I. by his translation to Ely.
[A.D. 1723 — 1738.] THOMAS GREENE, Master of Corpus
Christi College, Cambridge, and Archdeacon of Canter-
bury, was translated to Ely from Norwich.
[A.D. 1783—1748.] ROBERT BUTTS, also translated from
Norwich, was a descendant of Sir William Butts, physician
to Henry VIII.
[A.D. 1748—1754.] SIR THOMAS GOOCH, Bart., Archdeacon
of Essex, and Master of Caius College, Cambridge, 1716,
became Bishop of Bristol in 1737, whence he was trans-
lated to Norwich in 1738, and thence to Ely in 1748.
[A.D. 1754 — 1770.] MATTHIAS MAWSON, Master of Corpus
Christi College, Cambridge, 1724, Bishop successively of
Llandaff (1730) and Chichester (1740), whence he was
translated to Ely.
[A.D. 1771 — 1.781.] EDMUND KEENE, translated from Chester.
VOL. II. PT. I. Y
322 <EJ
[A.D. 1781—1808.] JAMES YORKE, Bishop successively of
St. David's and Gloucester.
[A.D. 1803—1812.] THOMAS DAMPIER, translated from Ro-
chester.
[A.D. 1812—1836.] BOWYER EDWARD SPARKE, translated
from Chester.
[A.D. 1836 — 1845.] JOSEPH ALLEN, translated from Bristol.
[A.D. 1845—1861] THOMAS TURTON, Fellow of Catherine
Hall, Regius Professor of Divinity, Cambridge, 1827—1843 ,
Dean of Peterborough 1830—1842, Dean of Westminster
1843—1845.
[A.D. 1864 — 1873.] EDWARD HAROLD BROWNE, translated
to Winchester, Fellow of Emmanuel, Vice Principal of
Lampeter 1843, Canon Residentiary of Exeter 1857
Norrisian Professor of Divinity, Cambridge, 1854 — 1864.
[A.D. 1873.] JAMES RUSSELL WOODFORD.
LINCOLN CATHEDEAL
Y 2
CONTENTS.
PAGES
Architectural History, 1 327-329
General Description, II 329-332
West Front, III.-IV. .. 332-338
Western Entrance, V 338-340
Nave, VI 340-343
Aisles of Nave, VII 344-346
Western Chapels, VIII 346-347
Central Tower, IX 347-348
Great Transept, Chapels, Rose-windows, X 349-356
Organ-screen, XI 356
Choir, XII-XIII 356-360
Angel Choir, Sculptures, XIV 360-367
Easter Sepulchre, Tombs, Altar-screen, XV. .. 367-369
North Choir-aisle, XVI 369-370
North-east Transept, XVII 370-374
North Aisle of Angel Choir, XVIII 374-376
East Window, XIX 376-377
Eetro-choir, Monuments, XX.-XXI 377-379
Bishop Russell's Chapel, XXII 379-380
South-east Transept, Vestries, XXIII 380-382
South Choir-aisle, Little St. Hugh's Shrine, XXIV. 382-384
Cloister, XXV 384-385
View of Central Tower, Great Tom, XXVI. .. 385-387
Chapter-house, XXVII 387-389
Library, XXVIII 389-390
Ascent of West Front, Sir Joseph Banks's View,
Stone-beam, XXIX 390-393
Exterior, XXX.-XXXI 393-395
Old Palace, Deanery, Chancery, Vicars' Court, &c.,
XXXII. 395-400
LINCOLN CATHEDEAL.
THE CLOISTERS, WITH FRAGMENTS OF ANCIENT SCULPTURE
A A A .Norman Recesses and Doorways in
West Front.
B Western Porch. { Over it is the Stone
Beam, crossing from C to D.)
C North Tower, (St. Mary's).
D South Tower, (St. Hugh's].
E E Chapels in the Wings of the West
Front. F Nave. G Morning Chapel.
H Consistory Court. K Central Tower.
L North Transept. M South Transept.
N Galilee Porch. O Choir.
P North Choir-aisle.
Q South Choir-aisle.
It North-eastern Transept.
S South-eastern Transept.
T Retro-r.hoir, (Angel Choir).
U Bp. Fleming's Chantry.
V #;>. Russell's Chantry.
W South-eastern Porch.
X .Bp. Longland's Chantrt
Y Cloister. 7, Chapter -house.
1 Chapel of Si. Thomai.
2 Chapel of St. John the Evang.
3 St. Anne's Chapel, re-dedi-
cated to St. Edward.
4 Chapel of St. James.
5 Chapel of St. Denis.
6 Chapel of St. Nicholas.
7 Chapel of St. Hugh.
8 Chanel of St. John Baptist,
9 Dean's Chapel.
1 0 North-east Entrance.
1 1 Bishop* leming's Monument.
12 Mon-uin. of Lord Burghersh.
GROUND-PLAN,
13 Monum.ofRob.deBurghersh.
14 MonumentofBp. Burghersh.
15 Mmument of Sir Nicholas
de Cantilupe.
16 Monument of Prior Wim-
bishe.
17 Cantilupe Chantry.
18 Memorial of St. Hugh.
19 Tomft o/ J>. Fuller.
iu Gardiner Monuments.
21 Easter Sepulchre.
'."'2 Monument of the Duchess of
Lancaster.
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL —
23 Monument of the Co
of Westmoreland.
24 Chapel of St. Paul.
25 Chapel of M.Peter.
26,27 Ancient Choristers' Vf
28 Principal Vestry.
29 Mrme of Little St.Hui
SO, 31, 32 Anciently one t
the «' Camera Comtnt,
33 Vestibule to Chapter-h
S4 Staircase to Library.
36 WeW. 37 Jtont.
33 Remigius' Tomb.
Scale. 100 ft. to 1 in
LINCOLN CATHEDKAL.
PART I.
antr
I. The see of Dorchester (see Pt. II.) was removed
to Lincoln by BEMIGIUS OP FESCAMP, the first bishop
after the Conquest, about the year 1075. Eemigius at
once commenced the erection of a cathedral, which
was sufficiently far advanced in 1092 to admit of its
consecration. Four days before that chosen for the
purpose, however, Bishop Eemigius died, and the
church was consecrated during the episcopate of his
successor, EGBERT BLOET (1094 — 1123). In the year
1141 a great fire occurred, after which Bishop ALEX-
ANDER (1123 — 1148) replaced the wooden roof of the
nave with a vault of stone. In 1185 this Norman
cathedral, according to Eoger of Hoveden, was " cleft
from top to bottom by an earthquake." Its rebuilding
was commenced by Bishop HUGH OP GRENOBLE (1186 —
1200), better known as " St. Hugh of Lincoln." The
existing choir, the eastern transept, the first bay of the
eastern side of the great transept, north and south,
are unquestionably the work of St. Hugh. The Chap-
ter-house has also been attributed to him, in corse-
328 f intoltt
quence of a misprint in Wharton's "Anglia Sacra,"
but this building is certainly of a later date. The
completion of the great transept, may perhaps be
assigned to the episcopate of this successor, WILLIAM
OF BLOIS (1203 — 1209). The nave was carried on dur-
ing the time of Bishop HUGH of Wells, 1209—1235,
and completed in the episcopate of Bishop EGBERT
GKOST&TE (1235—1253). To Grostete may be attri-
buted the Early English portion of the west front, and
the two lower stories of the central tower. It should
be remarked, however, that the distribution of these
several portions is somewhat arbitrary. All that
is certainly known is that the cathedral was not
finished by St. Hugh; since in 1205 a royal letter
was issued, appealing to the faithful throughout the
diocese for funds towards the completion of so
noble a work (" tarn nobile opus." In the same let-
ter it is called " egregia structuraa"). The character
of the work itself, however, proves that it must
have been continued until its completion with but
little interruption. The plans of the architect
employed by St. Hugh named Geoffry de Noiersb,
* The letter will be found at length in the Eev. J. Hunter's
volume of Chapter-house documents — (Rotuli selecti ex Capit.
Domo, &c.).
b Of what country Geoffry de Noiers was a native remains
uncertain. A long discussion on the subject will be found in the
" Gentleman's Magazine," from Feb. to June, 1861. No less
than thirteen places called Noiers have been pointed out in
different parts of Fiance. Mr. Dimmock, however (Gent. Mag.,
June 1861), proves that u de Noiers " was an hereditary English
name (with a Northamptonshire family) in St. Hugh's time.
Character of its ®arlg (ghtglisjj ^rajjitecte. 329
were in the main carried out during the succeeding
episcopates c.
The presbytery, or 'Angel choir,' begun in 1255,
when the city wall was removed by royal licence for
the lengthening of the choir, was completed before
the year 1280, when the shrine of St. Hugh was
removed into it. The cloisters were the work of
Bishop BUTTON (1280—1300), and the upper part
of the central tower of Bishop JOHN OF DALDERBY
(1300—1320). The south end of the great transept,
with its circular window, probably dates from the
episcopate of HENRY OF BURGHERSH (1320 — 1340);
and the upper part of the western towers is Per-
pendicular work of about 1400.
II. By far the greater part of Lincoln Cathedral
is accordingly of Early English date : and although
Salisbury (begun 1220, completed 1258) and West-
minster (begun 1245, completed 1269) are in some
respects grander and more complete examples, Lincoln
has an especial interest from the fact of its having been
commenced so long before either. Although it has
been frequently asserted that the architecture of this
cathedral displays French influence, M. Viollet-le-Duc,
whose authority on this point scarcely admits of dis-
Hence the architect of Lincoln may have been a born and
thoroughbred Englishman.
0 The Metrical Life of St. Hugh, written during the lifetime
of his successor, Bishop Hugh of Wells (and admirably edited
by the Kev. J. F. Dimock, Lincoln, 1860), contains a very curious
and interesting description of St. Hugh's cathedral. It will be
found printed at length in the APPENDIX, Part III.
330 fincoln
pute, has declared that, after the most careful examina-
tion, he could not find " in any part of the cathedral
of Lincoln, either in the general design, or in any
part of the system of architecture adopted, or in the
details of ornament, any trace of the French school of
the twelfth century (the lay school from 1170 to 1220),
so plainly characteristic of the cathedrals of Paris,
Noyon, Senlis, Chartres, Sens, and even KouenV This
fact, which greatly increases the probability that the
architect Geoffry de Noiers was an Englishman, gives
us good reason to claim for St. Hugh the distinction
of having been " the first effectual promoter, if not the
actual inventor, of our national and most excellent
Early English style of architecture6;" and in point
of interest, renders it difficult for any other church to
exceed Lincoln Cathedral. In size and importance it
may be regarded as the third great church of the Early
English period in England, the whole of the interior,
except the presbytery, being of this age ; " and this
part follows so immediately after the rest as not to
produce any want of harmony, but merely a degree of
enrichment suitable to the increased sanctity of the
altar, and the localities surrounding it*."
In grandeur of situation, Lincoln has no rival among
English cathedrals. It rises on its " sovereign hill,"
a conspicuous landmark from every part of the sur-
d M. Viollet-le-Duc's letter appeared in the " Gentleman's
Magazine" for May 1861. It is, however, so interesting and
important that it will be found nearly at length in the AP-
PENDIX, Part III.
e J. F. Dimock. f Fergusson.
Starw. fflfesi Jroni. 331
rounding country [see Frontispiece] ; and its towers
are in full view as the traveller ascends the steep
" New Koad " towards the Close. On passing under
the archway of the gatehouse known as " Pottergate,"
the east end of the building, and the Chapter-house
with its flying buttresses, first appear. The road then
proceeds close under the south side of the cathedral,
the lines of which are varied by projecting chapels
and porches to an unusual extent. An entire new
church seems to open after passing the Galilee porch,
and finally the west front appears, with the towers
rising behind it. No other cathedral is richer or more
varied in its outlines, and few can be exceeded in the
interests of its details. This unrivalled effect results
entirely from the grandeur of the building itself, and
from that of its situation. The eastern end rises above
a level plot of greensward, but the grey stone of the
building is not relieved by trees or gardens, and the
houses which line the Close are scarcely picturesque.
The cathedral is built throughout of stone from the
oolite beds in the immediate neighbourhood, which,
although it blackens on exposure to the air, is almost
indestructible, and completely retains the sharpness of
its sculpture. The marks of the toothed chisels, with
which it was worked, are visible on many parts of the
interior. The Purbeck marble, used for shafts and
capitals, is by no means so durable, and much of it has
completely decayed.
The most direct way of approaching the Cathedral
from the city below, is by the High Street, which
332 f itttolu
climbs the hill in a straight line, following the old
Ermine Street. The Close or Minster Yard is entered
by the Exchequer Gate, a lofty Edwardian gatehouse
of three stories, forming part of the fortifications of
the close erected by royal licence in 1319. Both the
centre and side archways are groined in brick. The
corbel-heads deserve notice. The east front is broken
by octagonal staircase turrets. A second gatehouse of
equal dimensions stood a few yards further to the
west, but was pulled down in 1816.
III. On passing under the archway of the gate we
have immediately before us the west front [Plate I.],
which, notwithstanding its flatness, its want of win-
dows, and its striking mixture of styles, is grand and
impressive, and deservedly ranks high among the
fagades of English cathedrals. Its effect is no doubt
greatly increased by the western towers, which rise
immediately behind it ; but it well deserves examina-
tion for its own sake, and for the interest of its details.
The distinction between the earlier and later Norman
and Early English work is at once evident. The
central portion, containing the five archways, belonged
to the Norman cathedral of Eemigius, of which it pre-
sents the only external trace remaining. The inter-
secting arcade above the two principal circular arches,
like the doorways within the recesses, belongs to the
later Norman of Bishop ALEXANDER. The rest of the
front itself is entirely Early English, and was proba-
bly the work of Bishop GROSTETE (1235—1253). The
windows above the three principal doorways are very
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE I.
THE WEST FEONT
SSEest Jrffttt. JJtorman |JQrtimt.
333
early Perpendicular, and were probably inserted by
Treasurer JOHN OF WELBOURNE, circ. 1370.
The Norman portion of the front consists of three
lofty recesses, of which that in the centre is the
highest and widest.
At the foot of each
of these recesses is a
round - headed door-
way, and beyond the
side recesses are two
lower arches enshrin-
ing niches semicir-
cular in plan. The
masonry and capitals
of these recesses de-
serve especial notice.
The capitals are
thoroughly charac-
teristic of early Nor-
man work; and the
masonry is one of
the best examples of
"wide jointed." The three principal recesses were
originally terminated by gables, similar to those still
existing on the north and south flanks. The weather-
mouldings of the gables of the two side recesses may
be seen within, behind the Early English wall. The
whole arrangement resembled, on a smaller scale and
in an earlier style, that of the west front of Peter-
borough. On the incorporation of this Norman front
Arched Recess.
334:
with the Early English work, the gables were removed,
the central recess was heightened, and the circular arch
was changed to pointed. The spring of the Norman
arch is evident, immediately below the " trellis " work
(usually ascribed to Grostete) which lines the wall.
Its original height was 75 ft. The present Early Eng-
lish arch rises to more than 80 ft.
The three doorways, within the recesses, were pro-
bably inserted by Bishop ALEXANDER (1123 — 1148).
They are late Norman in character, and a careful ex-
amination of the masonry will shew that the walls in
which they are set are of earlier date. The central
doorway [Plate II.] is the earliest and by far the
richest, and though it has unhappily been subjected
to restoration, and some parts are modern, its orna-
ments and mouldings deserve notice. On the shafts
are grotesque figures, arranged in pairs and entangled
in rings of leafage, one of which is attacked by ser-
pents; another bites his thumb: birds and animals,
the dove, the lion, the lamb, &c., placed back to back,
fill the interspaces in other shafts. The Corinth-
ianesque capitals of the southern jamb of the north
door also merit attention. They are scarcely to be
equalled for freedom and elegance by any in England.
These three entrances may be compared with those
at Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire. These are much
ruder, and probably earlier than the Lincoln doorways,
but the general character of ornament is the same.
Above the two exterior recesses, and stretching at
intervals across the Norman portion of the front, is
Sojlgtes. 335
a band of remarkable sculptures which must have
been removed from some earlier building and ap-
plied to the decoration of his new front by Remigius.
Beginning at the left hand, north, we have above
the smaller side recess — (1) The torments of the
Lost ; (2) Our Lord's descent into the jaws of Hades.
Within the recess (left) (3) Six full-length figures
of Saints in converse; (4) Our Lord surrounded by
the Evangelistic symbols, bearing a sheet containing
souls; (right) (5) The Supper at Emmaus; (6) a
double subject (above) Angels receiving the soul of
a dying Man ; (7) (below) A Fiend casting lost Souls
into the mouth of the Abyss ; (within the central
recess, right) (8) The Expulsion of Adam and Eve
from Paradise. (Between the central and southern
recess) (9) Man condemned to Labour. (Within the
southern recess, left) ; doubtful, perhaps the Conse-
quences of the Curse of the Fall ; (10) Childbirth (?) ;
(11) A Woman spinning (?) or Samuel and Eli (?) ;
(right) Our Lord instructing a Disciple. Above the
smaller recess (11) Noah and his Son building the Ark ;
(12) Daniel in the Lions' Den; (13) Noah and his
Family in the Ark ; the animals below; (14) The going
out of the Ark; (15) God's communing with Noah,
or His Covenant with Abraham. (Within the ringers'
chapel, on the old outside south wall) (16) The Deluge.
The three large windows in the recesses are later
insertions. The great west window is attributed, by
Leland, but erroneously, to Bishop WILLIAM ALNWICK
(1436 — 1450), who commenced the rebuilding of the
336
west front of Norwich, and whose executors erected the
great west window of that cathedral. (See NORWICH.)
The two side windows are of the same style and date.
All are certainly considerably earlier than Alnwick,
and are probably to be assigned to Treasurer Wei-
bourne. The cinquef oiled opening at the head of
the central recess is Early English, like the arch
in which it is set. Over the central doorway are the
figures of eleven kings, under enriched canopies,
" placed there under the active, but tasteless, superin-
tendence of the Treasurer, John of Welbourn, about
1370. The costume and details may possibly contain
some archa3ological interest, but so wretched are the
design and workmanship of these carvings, that they
furnish matter of painful edification in tracing the
rapid decline which may be effected upon the sen-
sitive existence of fine art during one century only."-
C. H. Cockerell. These indifferent sculptures are not
to be compared with the admirable figures of the
Angel choir (§ xiv.), which are just one century
earlier. The figures in the round-headed niches on
either side of the central recess were placed there
in one of the repairs of the last century. Clumsy
modern mitres have converted them into bishops.
IV. Beyond and above the Norman work the whole
of the front is Early English, and was probably
completed by Bishop GROSTETE (1235—1253). The
breadth of the Norman portion (100 feet) is that of the
nave. The Early English wings have at their angles
octagonal turrets, capped with spires, and a gable, much
cfront. 6arlg dEnglisfj fioriiojr. 337
enriched, rises in the centre of the front , immediately
above the principal recess. The flanking turrets project
unusually, and cast deep shadows. The front is covered
with a series of arcades and ornaments, and was once
crowded with figures, brackets for supporting which
still remain. The bosses sculptured with human heads
in the upper stringcourses, angl at the intersection of
the arcades, are admirable, and deserve careful notice.
The central gable, however, and the upper part of the
arch beneath, are the best and richest portions of
the front. The arrangements and minute details of the
gable, with the small statues which remain in its niches,
are excellent examples of the purest Early English.
The raised " trellis-work" of the masonry, which occurs
also on the interior and exterior of the central tower,
should be noticed: it is the general characteristic
of Grostete's work. The cinquefoiled window in
the head of the arch was regarded by Rickman as
" nearly unique, from the exquisite workmanship of
its mouldings, which consist of openwork bands of
flowers." The ' foliage in the cusps is especially
admirable. On the central boss of the vaulting
in the recess is carved the Expulsion from Paradise.
The parapet, which extends on either side between
the gable and the turrets, is an addition of the four-
teenth century. The spires which cap the turrets are
crowned by statues ; of which that south represents
St. Hugh, that north is known as the " Swineherd of
Stow," a porcarius who, according to the local legend,
gave a peck of silver pennies toward the building of the
VOL. II. PT. I. Z
338 fmtoltt (ffatfeebraL
cathedral. The swineherd is in the act of blowing
a horn, and the figure has sometimes been regarded as
the rebus of Bishop Bloet (Blow it), — a pun which,
although perfectly in accordance with the taste of
the fifteenth century, hardly agrees with that of the
thirteenth. The existing figure dates only from 1850 ;
but is a fac-simile of the original " Swineherd,"
preserved in the cloisters (see § xxv., and Title-
page).
The entire breadth of the west front is 173 ft. ; its
height (below the gable) 83 ft.
V. The western porch, which we now enter, and the
porches on either side, beneath the towers, were much
altered by Treasurer WELBOUENE circa 1370, and their
vaulting is of his time, as is the panelling and arcade
which line the walls. The modern arches, which en-
cumber and destroy the effect of these porches, were
added about 1727, in order to provide additional support
for the west towers, the Norman bases of which have
been seriously crushed by the lofty belfries added in the
fifteenth century, which have also forced out the whole
west front. It has been recently found necessary to
take down and rebuild a considerable portion of the
south-west or St. Hugh's Tower, with its newel stair-
case, and to tie the fa9ade to the fabric behind with iron
bars, which it is hoped will have arrested all further
mischief. On the north side of the central porch is a
tablet for the officers and men of the 10th (or North
Lincolnshire) Eegiment who fell in the campaign of
1845-6 on the Sutlej, and in that of 1848-9 in the
jjottfces. 339
Punjab ; below which another tablet commemorates
those of the same regiment who lost their lives in the
Indian Mutiny, 1857-58 ; and to the south, erected in
1775, is a tablet for Bishop WILLIAM SMITH (1496 —
1514), the founder of Brasenose College, Oxford, who
was buried at the entrance of the nave, and whose brass,
as the present inscription records, was destroyed by
the " Cromwellii flagitiosus grex." This vestibule is
divided from the nave by a light Gothic arch, erected
by Essex towards the latter part of the last century ; on
either side, north and south, may be seen one of the
Norman clerestory windows of the earlier church, with
Grostete's lattice-work filling the wall above.
On either side of the north and south porches are
chapels, forming the wings of the west front, and pro-
jecting beyond the aisles. That to the north is ap-
proached through a dark narrow passage, above which
is a chamber inaccessible except by a ladder, which
has been regarded as a prison, but was more probably
a strong-room for the treasures of the church in times
of war or civil troubles. In the north-west angle of
the chapel beyond it (lighted by a circular window
seen in the west front) is a recess, resembling one of
those in the Norman front, of which this wall formed
the north return. Both the chapels have an entrance
doorway to the west, which, after having been built
up almost from their erection, have not long since
been opened. The chapel beyond the south tower is
known as St. Hugh's. The walls (which retain some
original thirteenth - century border - painting) are in-
z 2
340 fincoln Catfetbral.
scribed with the " names of the Company of Ringers
of our blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln ;" the earliest
dating from 1614. Both chapels have wall-arcades,
and both have Early English groined vaults.
VL Leaving for the present the ascent of the western
towers, which is made from these chapels (see § xxrx.),
we enter the nave. [Plate III.] The first impression
here, on a visitor fresh from Ely or Peterborough, is
perhaps slightly disappointing. Lincoln wants the
colossal strength of those great naves ; and the wide
spacing of the piers, with their apparent want of
solidity, allowing the eye to embrace almost the whole
area at once, lessens the overpowering effect of the nave,
though very far from rendering it, as Mr. Fergusson
has styled it, " almost a failure." It is much to be
regretted that the Purbeck marble shafts being covered
with yellow wash, the interior has lost one of its dis-
tinctive features. The coldness of the vaulted roof,
which is white, without colour or gilding on the bosses,
and the position of the organ, which intercepts the
view eastward, otherwise a very fine one, also assist in
lessening the general effect. The wonderful improve-
ment exhibited in the north transept, where the marble
has been made good, and the colouring and gilding of
the roof restored, and in the Angel choir, where the
Purbeck marble shafts have been refreshed, increases
the desire for the extension of the same measures to the
rest of the edifice.
A remarkable irregularity of plan is seen at the west
end of the nave, and should here be noticed, " The
.
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE III
THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END.
mi of lafo. 341
axis of the choir is continued in a straight line nearly
to the end of the nave, and then breaks off suddenly to
the north, and falls into the axis of the Norman west
front." Mr. Penrose, who has pointed out this peculi-
arity, suggests as an explanation, that the architect who
built the choir intended to have given the axis of the
nave an obliquity with respect to that of the choir,
such as is found in many English and foreign cathedrals,
(Peterborough and Norwich for example), " otherwise
there was no occasion for him to have built that part of
the church out of paTallel with the axis of the Norman
work." The builders of the nave, however, no doubt
intending to clear away all the Norman work, and to
build an entirely new west front, carried out the axis of
the new work in a continuous straight line. " Eeckoning
from the central tower, five of the seven architectural
bays of the nave are about 26 by 6 ft. in extent from
east to west ; the sixth and seventh are 21 by 3 ft.
We may suppose that at the time the building arrived
at the sixth arch, economical reasons suggested the
incorporation of the Norman work in the clumsy way
in which we see it ; and the contraction of the span of
the last two arches, and a sudden lowering of the vault
by about 2 ft. (over the sixth arch from the east), are
the signs of the sacrifice of architectural propriety
at which this saving was effected. Had seven bays
been carried out, of the same breadth as the first five,
and with a deep porch, perhaps similar to that of
Peterborough externally, the whole of the consecrated
area [that of the Norman church] might have been
342 f hrarlrt
covered by a uniform structure of simple proportions.
We, indeed, may be thankful for the archaeological
interest which this circumstance has preserved to us
in the remains of Bishop Eemigius's west front, and
admire in the exterior the skill and beauty with which
the Early English front is composed around the Nor-
man nucleus ; it nevertheless cannot be denied that the
interior suffers greatly from this irregularity, which, it
may be safely affirmed, formed no part of the original
intention of the architect8."
The details of the nave and its aisles, however, are
of the utmost beauty, as would be at once evident if
the wash were removed with which they are at present
covered. The entire nave is generally assigned to
the episcopate of Bishop HUGH OF WELLS (1209 —
1235), and is throughout, of course, Early English.
It consists of seven bays, from the west towers to the
transepts ; the slender piers are set at unusual dis-
tances, and give an impression of greater space than
that which is afforded by the actual width of the nave,
(42 ft.) which, however, exceeds that of the naves of
Ely (30 ft.) or Peterborough (35 ft.). The details of
the piers vary: some exhibit eight ringed Purbeck
marble detached shafts, set round a central core of
Lincoln stone, while others are solid clusters. Of the
former plan there are three on the north side and four
on the south. The piers on the opposite sides of the
g F. C. Penrose, An Inquiry into the system of Proportions
which prevail in the Nave of Lincoln Cathedral. (Lincoln Vol.
of the Archaeological Institute.)
* mtb Visits. 343
nave only partially correspond. The bases on the north
are somewhat higher from the pavement than on the
south. The capitals on the south side also differ
from those north, and are perhaps somewhat earlier.
The leafage of all deserves careful examination. Over
all the arches are hood-mouldings, springing from
small heads.
The triforium is arranged in groups of three arches,
circumscribed by a larger one (two groups in each
bay), with foiled openings in the tympana, and a trefoil
in the spandril between the two circumscribing arches.
The two westernmost bays being narrower, there are
only two instead of three sub-arches under each
circumscribing arch. The clerestory — in the upper
mouldings of which the dog-tooth ornament appears —
is in groups of three arches. The capitals of the trifo-
rium and clerestory are the same on both sides of the
nave. Slender triple vaulting-shafts rise from corbels
of foliage at the spring of the lower arches ; and the
vault itself spreads in groups of seven ribs, with bosses
of foliage at the intersections with the central rib.
The names of different persons who were concerned in
the building or decoration of this part of the church
were formerly to be seen, painted on the vaulting^
These have all been concealed by the whitewash,
with the exception of the name of " Wilhelmus Paris,"
which is still visible in the centre of the nave, not
far from the great towerh.
h The other names were Helias Pictor, Walterus Brand,
Wilhelmus Baldwin, Kicardus de Ponte, and Eobertus Saris.
344 fhwoiit
VII. The aisles of the nave vary in detail, although
there is probably little difference in their dates. The
quinquipartite vaulting of both springs from wall-
shafts set between the windows, alternately single
and in groups of five, with vertical bands of dog-
tooth running up between the shafts. The wall of
the north aisle is lined by a continuous arcade of tre-
f oiled arches, set on shafts, detached from the wall,
in groups of three. There are four arches in each
bay, and every fifth arch is intersected by the
vaulting-shaft, detached, and raised on a base pro-
jecting beyond the bench of the arcade. In each
bay are two lancet-lights, and the detached vault-
ing-shaft between them reaches to the stringcourse
above the arcade. If the whole of these shafts
were properly cleaned, the effect would be ex-
quisitely light and graceful. There are probably
few more interesting examples of an Early English
wall-arcade.
In the south aisle the wall-arcade is not continuous.
There are five arches in each bay ; and the vaulting-
shafts, none of which are detached, are set against
the wall between them. The abacus of the capitals
is continued along the wall as a horizontal string-
course. The dog-tooth occurs in the mouldings of
the arcade (which is not the case in the north aisle) ;
there are bosses of foliage at the spring of the
arches ; and the corbels at the bases of the shafts
between the windows and the capitals of the
shafts are all carved with foliage, while many of
SSinbofos of % Aisles. 345
those opposite are quite plain. It is scarcely pos-
sible to say which aisle is the earlier, although the
north partakes more of the character of St. Hugh's
work in the choir-aisles. Beneath the second arch
on the south stands a vast square Norman font, of
black basalt, which, after having been long placed in
the Morning Chapel, has been brought back to its
former position and used for its original purpose.
The bowl is raised on a central pillar, with four
shafts at the angles. Winged lions and monsters are
sculptured on the sides, and a broad leaf-ornament in
the four upper corners. This font should be com-
pared with those at Winchester and St. Michael's,
Southampton.
All the windows in the north aisle, and in the
south, are filled with memorial stained glass. Those
in the north are entirely by Messrs. WARD and
HUGHES. Those to the south are by different glass-
stainers, and, with the exception of the first four to
the west, which are by the Revs. A. and F. SUTTON,
cannot be considered good. The high tombs and
brasses in this part of the church were destroyed by
the " Cromwellii flagitiosus grex " during the Civil
War. Close within the great western door were
those of Bishop GYNWELL (died 1363), Bishop AT-
WATER (died 1521), Bishop ALNWICK (died 1450), and
Bishop SMITH (died 1514). The society of Brasenose
College placed a tablet to the memory of their founder
(Bishop Smith) on the wall of the west porch in
1775. Beneath the last arch on the north side of
346
the nave was placed in 1872 a curiously carved
coffin-lid, identified by the Rev. G. Ayliffe Poole with
that of Remigius, removed to the cloisters with the
other monumental slabs, in the repaving of the nave
in 1782. It is carved with a kind of genealogical
tree of Christ, forming three vesicas, containing
David, the Virgin Mary and Our Lord, with Adam
and Eve standing at the foot, and Moses and Elias
and other subsidiary figures at the sides. It bears an
inscription by Bishop Wordsworth.
VIII. Opening into the aisles of the nave, at its
western extremity, are two Early English chapels of
somewhat later character than the nave itself. The
walls of each are lined with arcades of pointed
arches. They are divided from the aisles by low
walls, ornamented with an arcade of trefoil-headed
arches rising from triple shafts, slightly varied on
the two sides. That to the north is pierced with
two Decorated quatrefoiled circles, commanding a
view of the altar. The southern wall has two low-
arched openings, protected by shutters. The chapel
to the south is said to have been dedicated to the
Holy Trinity, and now serves as the Consistory
court. The vaulting is sexpartite, without a central
column. On the south wall there is a double
piscina, the circular basins of which have stone
lids. The north, or morning chapel (used for early
Morning Prayer), has four bays of quadripartite
vaulting, supported by a central group of eight
keel-shaped Purbeck marble shafts, bound with
Central Cote. 347
pointed fillets and deserving special attention for
their grace and beauty, which have recently been
polished. In the east wall is a double piscina, the
shafts of which have square abaci, the only example
in this cathedral. The altar-pace is elevated two
steps. A corbel -head in either wall marks the
position of a rood-beam.
IX. The central, or rood-tower, — now, from a cor-
ruption of the latter word known as the Broad tower,
— is partly open as a lantern, and is supported by
four enormously massive piers, composed of twenty-
four alternate shafts of Lincoln and Purbeck stone,
with rich capitals of Early English leafage. Four
lofty arches, with the dog-tooth ornament in their
mouldings, rise above these piers ; their spandrils are
hatched with trellis-work. Above is an arcade of six
arches on either side, arranged in groups of three ;
vaulting-shafts, springing from enriched corbels, di-
vide each group. A second arcade, of eight arches
on either side, arranged in groups of four, and having
two arches on either side pierced for windows, rises
above. The vaulting of the roof is of later date
than the rest of the work, having been erected by
Treasurer Welbourn, circa 1375. The first story
(above the roof) is attributed to Bishop Grostete,
(1235 — 1253). The piers may perhaps belong to the
work either of St. Hugh or of Bishop Hugh of Wells,
although they must have been greatly strengthened
and enlarged by Grostete. The upper part of the
tower was added by Bishop DALDEBBY (1300 — 1320),
348
who, about tlie year 1306, issued an indulgence of
forty days to all who assisted in its completion. The
first Early English tower fell about the year 1240 —
"propter artificii insolentiam * " — after which the
rebuilding was commenced by Bishop Grostete.
According to Matthew Paris, the fall occurred
during a sermon preached by one of the canons
in denunciation of this famous bishop, who was
at variance with his Chapter. " If we should hold
our peace," exclaimed the canon, "the very stones
would cry out" — "etsi nos taceamus, lapides re-
clamabunt ; " at which words the stonework of the
tower fell.
The view westward from beneath the central tower
is a very striking one, owing to the depth of the
western porch, in which the great window is set.
This window is filled with modern glass, the work
and gift, like so much of that which now decorates
the cathedral, of the Eevs. A. and F. SUTTON. Some
ancient glass, of a silvery hue, remains at the apex
of the window. The spandrils of the arch, as well as
the splays of the window itself, are covered with a
trellised ornament. Above is the rose-window, with
a small arcade at its sides. The very graceful form
of this opening is well seen from this point; and
its effect is much aided by the stained glass — a figure
of Bishop Kemigius — placed in it by Mr. Tennyson
D'Eyncourt.
1 Bened. Abbas, who says the tower fell in 1237. 1240 is the
date given by Matthew Paris.
6rcat fens*f. 349
X. The great transept, opening north and south
from the central tower, was commenced by St. Hugh,
who, however, only laid the foundations, and com-
pleted the first bay on either side. The details of
these portions resemble those of the choir; and a
comparison with the nave will at once shew the
difference. Both transepts have eastern aisles; and
the arrangement of the piers, triforium, and clere-
story is much the same as that of the choir. The
difference of the treatment of the bay next the tower
on either side will be noticed. The design corre-
sponds to that of the first bays of the choir, which,
like these, were re-constructed after the fall of the
tower in 1237. The west side of both transepts has
five lancets, corresponding to those of the aisles of the
nave, and a pointed wall-arcade below. The triforium
space is occupied by a continuous arcade pierced for
windows. Each bay of the clerestory has two lancets.
The vaulting is sexpartite. The vaulting-shafts run
up alternately from the ground and from the string-
course below the triforium. The north transept has
been well and carefully restored by Mr. Pearson.
The yellow wash has been removed, the marble shafts
restored, the bosses of the vaults gilt, and its deco-
rative colour reproduced with excellent effect.
The eastern portion of the aisle in both transepts
is raised on two steps and divided into three bays
or chapels by projecting stone screens of the same
date as the aisle itself. The sides and ends of the
screens are ornamented with arcades. In the north
350 fincoln flatfctbral.
transept tkey retain their original gabled capping, with
a finial at the end, and leafage in the front gables.
In the south transept the most southerly of these
chapels was dedicated to St. Giles (or St. Thomas),
and has a large late Decorated bracket against the
south wall. The Perpendicular tomb below is that of
Sir George Taylboys. In it is the grave of Dean Ward
(died 1860), with an Aberdeen granite cross on its
coffin-slab. The two lancets of the chapel above are
filled with feeble coloured glass to his memory. The
central chapel was St. Andrew's (or St. John the
Evangelist's), and shews against its east wall an arcade
of pointed arches, on double shafts, standing one behind
the other. In the third chapel, originally dedicated
to St. Anne, a chantry of four chaplains was founded
by Henry Duke of Lancaster, who caused the chapel
to be re-dedicated in honour of St. Edward the
Martyr. At the back is St. Hugh's double wall-
arcade, resembling those in the choir-aisles ; and on
a screen in front is a shield bearing the arms of
England and France quarterly. Under the arch
of the screen, which is of stone, the others being of
wood, is the inscription, "Oremus pro benefactori-
bus istius ecclesise," with the figures of the four
chantry priests, now headless.
In the south-west angle of this transept are the
doors of the Galilee porch (see § xxx.). Against the
west wall of the transept are the basement and sup-
ports of the silver shrine of ST. JOHN OF DALDEEBT,
Bishop of Lincoln (1300—1320 : see Part II.). It
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE IV.
CAPITALS PROM THE DOORWAY OF THE WORTH CHOIR AISLE.
Jloorfcrag of (ftljoir-aisl*. . $frrilj femttpt. 351
was no doubt with the object of doing especial
honour to this shrine that the south end of this
transept was altered, and the beautiful rose-window
inserted (see post). " At the very same time,"
observes Mr. Poole, " the authorities of Chichester
were paying the like homage to the memory of
St. Kichard, their local saint j."
The doorways [Plate IV.] opening from this tran-
sept into the choir-aisles should be especially noticed.
They belong to the last period of Early English,
ranging between that style in its purity and the first
Decorated, or " Geometrical." The doorways recede
in four orders, with shafts of Purbeck at the angles.
The spaces between the shafts are filled with the
dog-tooth and rose ornaments ; the capitals are en-
riched with leafage, among which are sculptured
dragons, owls (two on the south door are especially
quaint), and small human figures : above is a very
rich open band of leafage. The blank trefoils in
the spandrils, and the cresting, are additions of the
last century.
In the north transept the southernmost chapel
was dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle, the next
to St. Denis, and the third to St. Nicholas (or
St. Michael). The double wall-arcade in the first
chapel extends partly into the central one, and is
there exchanged for a single arcade of trefoiled
arches. The visitor should notice the stone with
nine holes for playing at a game (Peg Merrill), of
j Transactions of Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society.
352 ^hrtolw Ca%bral.
which many examples are to be seen in the cloisters
of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury ; the monu-
mental trefoiled stone of Simon of Barton, Arch-
deacon of Stow, 1280 ; and that of Dean William of
Lessington, 1272. The doorways into both the choir-
aisles are of the same date and character, but differ
in some of their ornamentation.
The most remarkable portions of both transepts,
however, are the windows in their south and north
terminations. The end of the north transept has a
door opening towards the Deanery. This is protected
on the outside by a deeply recessed porch under
three gables, which deserves attention from the
singularity of its design. The central column and
horizontal lintels of the double archway are very
unusual. On either side of the door is a lancet
window, filled with very admirable old glass, which
deserves notice. That to the west contains angels
with musical instruments. An arcade of seven
pointed arches, five pierced for windows containing
old silvery glass, covers the wall above ; and above,
again, is a large " rose " or " wheel " window,
[Plate V.], retaining its original stained glass, —
" One of the most splendid, and in its present state
one of the most perfect works of the thirteenth cen-
tury."— C. Winston. The window itself, which is
probably part of St. Hugh's design, and may date
soon after 1200, is filled with plate tracery, and on
the exterior is delicately ornamented. The lightness
and grace of the small open flowers and grotesque
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE V.
CIRCULAR WINDOW IN THE NORTH TRANSEPT,
THE "DEAN'S E^E."
in ^orilj transept. 35tt
heads between and at the sides of the different circles,
are admirable. The stone-work on the interior is
"in a condition of great rudeness, owing to the
repairs which have been made from time to time "
for the preservation of the glazing. The subject of
the glass is, " The Church on earth and the Church
in heaven." " The central part of the window " (the
central quatrefoil, and the four large spaces round it)
"is occupied with a representation of the blessed
in heaven, with Christ sitting in the midst." Each
of the four trefoils in the angles between the large
spaces contains the figure of an angel, tossing a thu-
rible. The eight small circles at their sides contain
four-leaved ornaments. " The sixteen circles which
form the outer part of the window set forth the
mysterious scheme of man's redemption, and the effi-
cacy of the Church. In the topmost circle is repre-
sented our Saviour seated on a rainbow, and display-
ing the Five Wounds. The two next circles on each
side the window contain angels supporting the cross,
and other instruments of the Passion. In the next
circle on each side are holy persons in the act of
being conducted to heaven by St. Peter and other
saints. The two next circles on each side are, or
have been, occupied with a representation of the
general resurrection; and each of the lowest five
circles is filled either with the figure of an arch-
bishop, or of a bishop in Eucharistic vestments k."
k C. Winston, Painted Glass in Lincoln Cathedral. (Lincoln
Vol. of the Archseol. Institute.)
VOL. II. PT. I. 2 A
354 jphuofo <EH%brsI.
" The extraordinary intensity and vividness of the
colours, tho strength and boldness of the outline, the
tallness of the figures, their vigorous and spirited atti-
tudes, and classical air of their heads, — also the con-
ventional character of the foliaged ornaments, as dis-
played in the borders and white patterns, and which
resemble the ornaments of the contemporary sculp-
tures,"— are all characteristics of the Early English
style of glass-painting, and are all traceable in this
window, which "also exhibits the general principles
of composition common to any Early English window
that contains a number of pictures. Each picture, the
design of which is always very simple, is placed in a
panel having a stiff-coloured ground, and well-defined
border. The panels are also embedded in a stiff-
coloured ground. Very little white glass is used, so
that the window consists of a mass of rich and varie-
gated colouring, of which the predominant tints are
those of the grounds. The design, owing to the
smallness of its parts, is confused when seen from the
floor of the transept." — C. Winston. The best position
for examining it is from the gallery of the triforium
or clerestory.
The end of the south transept has three wide Early
English arches below; above which are four lancet
windows, filled with ancient stained glass brought
from other parts of the cathedral. In the lowest
panel of the second window from the west is depicted
Herodias' daughter dancing before Herod, whose ban-
quet is represented in the panel above. The lady is
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VI.
CIRCULAR WINDOW IN THE SOUTH TRANSEPT:
THE "BISHOP'S EY"E "
ftrsnstpi. 355
turning a somersault and vibrating her red-stockinged
legs in the air. Above is the Last Supper, St. John
reclining on our Lord's bosom. Above, again, is our
Lord's Apprehension and the Kiss of Judas. In the
uppermost panel is our Lord bearing a redeemed
soul in the fold of His robe. In the next window,
our Lord and St. Peter walking on the water, and
the ship of St. Nicholas, may be identified; above
is a rose-window of extreme richness [Plate VI.],
the date of which is about 1330, and which is quite
as remarkable as an example of the pure Deco-
rated period as the window in the opposite transept
is of the Early English. Pugin has compared the
tracery to the fibres of a leaf. The window is set
back within a foiled arch, the jambs of which are
filled with a hollow ornament of very unusual cha-
racter, and of somewhat doubtful effect. The stained
glass in the window consists of fragments collected
from different parts of the cathedral, and for the most
part Early English. The great richness of the
colouring is quite as noticeable here as in the window
opposite.
According to the symbolism of the different parts
of the church, in the " Metrical Life of St. Hugh,"
(written between the years 1220 — 1295), these win-
dows typified the Bishop and the Dean — " Ecclesise
duo sunt oculi1;" the Bishop looked toward the south,
the quarter of the Holy Spirit, as though inviting His
influence ; the Dean toward the north, the region of
1 See the entire passage in Part III.
2 A 2
356 Lincoln Ca%braL
Lucifer (Is. xiv. 13), in order to watch against his
advances.
XI. The organ-screen through which we enter the
choir, is a very beautiful work of the early Decorated
period, and deserves careful attention. It comprises
four recessed tabernacles on either side of the central
doorway, with very rich, ogee canopied arches, sepa-
rated by detached buttressed piers. The tabernacles
are groined continuously behind. Each division is
subdivided by a shelf, enriched with leafage below.
The tabernacle-work in the upper part, the grotes-
ques at the angles of the arches and on the brackets
on either side of the door, and the frieze of leafage
over all, are alike exquisite in design and execution,
belonging to the very best period of Gothic art. The
diaper, once richly coloured, is partly modern.
The organ, which is placed upon the screen, is by
Allen (1826).
XII. The choir, from the organ-screen to the altar,
now consists of seven bays. Of these, the first five
are St. HUGH'S work (1186 — 1200), and were pro-
bably the earliest part of his cathedral. It is here
that we may conceive him labouring with his own
hands, according to the description in the " Metrical
Life " :—
"Non solum concedit opes, operamque suorum,
Sed proprii sudoris opein ; lapidesque frequenter
Excises fert in calatho, calcemque tenacem m."
The eastern transept (also St. Hugh's work) opens
m Life, p. 32. (See Part III.)
C^oir. 357
on either side of the fifth bay. The two easternmost
bays of the choir belong to the later work (1255 —
1282) ; and together with the three bays at the back
of the altar-screen, form the presbytery, generally
known as the " Angel-choir" from the sculptures in
the spandrils of the arches. The enlargement of the
church was rendered necessary by the thronging of
pilgrims to the shrine of St. Hugh, who had been
canonised in 1220, and whose remains were solemnly
translated into the new building, Oct. 6, 1280, at the
cost of Bishop Thomas Bek, who was consecrated to
the see of St. David's on the same day (see Part II. —
BISHOP SUTTON).
The piers of the first four bays of the choir (as far
as the opening of the transept) originally consisted of
cylindrical shafts of Purbeck marble surrounding a pier
of Lincoln stone. After the fall of the central tower,
several of these piers were more or less cased, for
the sake of strength, to the great detriment of their
beauty. The classical character of the capitals —
showing Corinthian forms with Early English foliage,
[Plate IX.] should be especially noticed, as one of the
indications of a style earlier than that of the nave.
The triforium is in double groups of two arches, cir-
cumscribed by a larger one. The tympana are pierced
with foiled ornaments of various forms, which on the
south side are singularly distorted, and the capitals of
the shafts greatly resemble those of the piers below.
The clerestory is disposed in triplets, with small
trefoiled openings carried on shafts, in the thickness
358 Jiwcote (Katytfcrsl.
of the wall between them and the groining of the
roof. The greater part of these are filled with modern
stained glass by the Eevs. A. and F. BUTTON, which,
being too heavy in its hues, darkens the choir to an
undesirable extent. Vaulting-shafts spring from late
corbels between the piers. Before the introduction of
the stalls they descended to the ground. The lower
part and the bases may still be seen beneath the
floor of the stalls, where also a portion of the curved
wall of the apse of Kemigius' cathedral remains in situ.
The vault itself has groups of four ribs, passing to a
central rib, with bosses of foliage. By a singular
eccentricity the vaulting-cells are not, as is usually
the case, opposite to each other, nor do the circum-
scribing ribs meet on the ridge-line. The effect is
not pleasing.
The first bay within the choir has some peculiarities
which deserve notice. Between the shafts of the
triforium is a four-leaved ornament, so raised and
exaggerated as to suggest the Norman zigzag. The
shafts themselves are clumsy clusters of cylinders,
forming a solid mass without capitals, too large for
the arch they support. The vaulting is sexpartite,
the clerestory containing two lancets, the vaulting-rib
being carried between them. The main arches are
ornamented with the dog-tooth. The arches have a
hood-moulding, which ends abruptly on each side to
the east; and on the south side, together with the
mouldings of the arch, is singularly ringed. These
two bays evidently underwent a reconstruction after
<%ir. Stalls. 359
the fall of the tower, by which they must have been
seriously damaged.
The comparison afforded between this portion of
the choir and the later Early English work of the nave
and the early Decorated of the Angel-choir, is very
interesting and instructive. The leafage especially
is much more antique in its forms and arrangements
than that which appears in the nave.
The stalls are arranged between the organ-screen
and the opening of the eastern transept. They are of
the late Decorated period, the work of Treasurer Wei-
bourn (1359—1380), and are "executed in the most
perfect manner, not only as regards variety and beauty
of ornamental design, but in accuracy of workmanship,
which is frequently deficient in ancient examples of
woodwork." — A. W. Pugin. The light and graceful
canopies are carried quite round the choir. The
carving of the misereres, which display the usual
foliage, animals, and figures, is especially admirable.
The two monkeys churning and afterwards hanging a
third, who had stolen their butter, on the poppy-head
of the Precentor's stall, deserve notice. The bishop's
throne is modern (1778). The richly carved pulpit
was erected from the designs of Sir G. G. SCOTT, in
1866, as a testimonial to the exertions of the present
Bishop of Nottingham (then Prebendary Trollope) in
the cause of Ecclesiastical architecture. It is orna-
mented with statuettes of the Evangelists, St. John
Baptist, and St. Paul ; and with reliefs of the preaching
of Moses, the Baptist, St. James, and St. Paul. An
360 fxntoln <Ta%braI.
ancient stone in the pavement, inscribed " Cantate
Hie," marks the position of the litany desk. In the
centre of the choir is a brass eagle, with the date 1667.
XIII. The piers of the arches opening to the
eastern transept belong to St. Hugh's work. They
were strengthened and altered, however, when the
Decorated work was added eastward, and the capitals
of the shafts were at the same time entirely changed
on the north side of the choir ; on the south side
those of the vaulting-shafts on the south-west angle
remain of the Early English design. The difference
between St. Hugh's work and the Decorated, and the
manner in which the two are here made to combine
are worthy of careful attention.
Two oaken beams pass across each transept opening
at the spring of the lower arches, and at the level of
the triforium. The piers had given way to a con-
siderable extent before they were thus strengthened,
owing, it has been suggested, to insecurity in the
foundations : since the fosse of the Eoman city crossed
the cathedral at this place, and its continuations north
and south are still visible. The beams are now con-
cealed by a wretched ornamentation of pasteboard
Gothic, constructed in the latter part of the last
century. The iron fencing and gates which separate
the choir from the transept are ancient, and very
good, with the exception of their cresting, which is
modern and not too good.
XIV. The arrangement of the Decorated work
of the Angel-choir [Plate VII.] closely resembles that of
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE VII.
THE A.NGEL-CHOTR, FROM THE SOUTH-WEST
jjrtsbjfcrj, 0r g^igel -choir. 361
St. Hugh's work, but differs, of course, in details and
enrichment. The Angel-choir, which must have been
completed in the year 1280, and commenced about
1255, consists altogether of five bays, two of which
extend westward of the altar-screen. The piers have
banded shafts, with rich capitals. A line of the dog-
tooth ornament surrounds the arches. In the spandrils
are blank trefoils. The triforium has two arches in
each bay, each arch subdivided into two, with quatre-
foils in the tympana. Clusters of shafts with very rich
capitals, and leafed ornaments between the shafts,
divide and support the arches, the mouldings above
which are much enriched. The Purbeck marble shafts
throughout the Angel-choir have been cleansed from
yellow wash and renovated, to the great improvement
of the general effect. In the spandrils are the figures
of angels, which give the choir its popular name. The
large clerestory windows above are of four lights,
with quatrefoils in the headings, and a double plane
of tracery. The vaulting-shafts spring from corbels
between the arches enriched with foliage and small
flowers. Below the corbels, and at the termination of
the hood-mouldings of the lower arches, are small
heads of kings, ladies, monks, and peasants, which
deserve notice. The grotesque below the second cor-
bel on the north side (counting from the east — it is in
the retro-choir) represents an elf with large ears, and
may perhaps be regarded as illustrating the mediaeval
folk-lore. The groining of the roof, which springs in
groups of five ribs, has bosses of excellent foliage.
362 |Tht£0ltt
The vaulting has been denuded of its original plaster
covering, which has imparted a rude unfinished air to
an otherwise exquisite design. Throughout this work,
however, the foliage is still somewhat conventional,
and wants much of the naturalism of that decorating
the Easter sepulchre (§ xv.), with which it should be
compared : it is in fact intermediate between that and
the Early English foliage of St. Hugh's work and of
the nave. A comparison of the four periods will shew
the gradual but steady progress of Gothic art. The
Early English portion of the choir of Ely (see that
Cathedral), dating between 1229 and 1254, and the
superb Decorated portion of the same choir, com-
menced in 1338, may also be advantageously compared
with the choir of Lincoln.
The sculptured figures of angels which fill the
spandrils of the triforium arches, rank among the
very best examples of Early English art, and will
reward a very careful study. With few exceptions,
the style of design and execution might be applied
to works of the present day ; " and ample compensa-
tion for all defects will be found in the vigour, fresh-
ness, and originality of idea which abound in them.
They betray no trace whatever of the stiff Byzantine
style so frequent in the English sculpture of the pre-
ceding century, and which was still adhered to in the
works of the contemporary Italians — Cimabue, Gaddi,
Duccio, and others; no formal constraint or super-
stitious enthusisiasm, nor any undue employment of
allegory (with which they are reproached) offend us in
in % Spanbrils. 3G3
the sculptures of Lincoln ; all the freedom and natu-
ralness attributed subsequently to Giotto, who was but
an infant when these works were executed, are here
anticipated, and strike us in every instance. Complete
emancipation from any known prototype or prevailing
manner is apparent ; the artist dealt with his subject
and material with all the originality and freedom of a
master11." All are carved in the same stone (the
Lincoln oolite) employed- in the architecture of the
cathedral. They were wrought in the sculptor's
workshop, and subsequently placed in their positions
— a fact which is plainly shewn in the wings of the
angel with a hawk on his wrist, on the south side of
the choir ; across these wings the joints of the stone
were not adjusted in the building exactly as they had
been wrought in the workshop.
In Mr. Cockerell' s estimate of the value and great
beauty of these sculptures all will agree ; but there
seems by no means sufficient ground for the elaborate
explanation which he has given of the series. The
arrangement of the triforium admits of three spaces
between the arches, — a smaller one at either end, and
a third, of double size, in the centre. The five bays of
the choir thus contain fifteen spaces on either side ; the
sculptures in which are thus explained by Mr. Cockerell :
First bay on the south side, beginning at the south-east
angle.
1. Angel of the Day-spring.
" C. K. Cockerell, Ancient Sculpture in Lincoln Cathedral.
(Lincoln Vol. of the Archseol. Institute.)
364 y main Catferimd.
2. Angel of the Patriarch David.
3. Angel with scroll, alluding to the prophecies in the
Psalms.
Second bay.
4. Angel with trumpet, sounding the fame of David.
5. Angel of Solomon.
6. Angel with scroll : " possibly alluding to the prophecy
of Ahijah." (1 Kings xi. 31.)
Third "bay.
7. Angel with double trumpet : (the prophecy verified, and
the kingdom divided).
8. Angel with pipe and tabret : representing the fallen
state of Israel. " The pipe and tabret are in their feasts/'
9. Angel of Daniel, with sealed book. (Dan. xii. 9.)
Fourth bay.
10. Angel of Isaiah. An abortion under his feet. " The
children are come to the birth." (Isaiah xxxvii. 3.)
11. Angel of Ezekiel, with hawk. (Ezek. xvii. 3, 4.)
12. Angel of Jeremiah, " penetrated with grief and
despondency."
Fifth bay.
13. Angel of the twelve minor prophets.
14. Angel holding a small figure (the human soul) towards
15. The Virgin, with the Holy Child. An angel censes
them. "A surpassing composition which may serve to
celebrate a school."
North side of choir, beginning at the north-west angle.
First bay.
16. Angel holding the crown of thorns.
17. Angel of Expulsion : he holds the sword with his right
hand, and drives forth Adam and Eve with the other.
18. Angel holding the spear, and the sponge on a reed.
gtngds in % Spnbrils. 365
Second bay.
19. The Saviour, crowned with thorns, displays the wound
in His side, and holds His hand (one finger of which is open)
towards Adam and Eve, in the first bay. On the other side
an angel holds towards Him a soul, with hands raised in
prayer.
20. Angel of the Judgment, with balance.
21. Angel swinging a thurible.
Third bay.
22. Angel with palm-branch : the reward of the righteous.
23. Angel holding crowns : " the crown of glory which
fadeth not away."
24. Angel of the Kevelation, searching a scroll (the book
of life).
Fourth bay.
25. Angel with stringed instruments, and
26. Angel with violin, representing " the joys of Heaven,
the reign of peace."
27. Angel with palm and scroll : " the everlasting Gospel."
Fifth bay.
28. Angel with harp.
29. Angel with the sun and moon. (The Church appears
in the moon in the form of a female head, and thence a scroll
depending, and containing the doctrines of which she is the
sacred depository.)
30. Angel with scroll. (Angel of the last chapter of
the Revelation : " I am Alpha and Omega.")
It is due to Mr. Cockerell, who has most carefully
examined these sculptures, and who has published
engravings from the whole series, that his explana-
366
tions should here be given. They are drawn out
and illustrated at considerable length in his paper
on the subject : but the indications afforded by the
figures themselves are, in fact, by far too slight to
admit of more than a very general interpretation.
It is not impossible that the angels in each bay
refer to one of the orders of the celestial hierarchy,
but even this is questionable. The small figures of
angels in the south-east transept (see § xxm.), which,
although of earlier date, have a certain resemblance
to these, deserve especial notice and comparison.
The scrolls carried by the greater number of the
choir angels once perhaps contained inscriptions,
explaining the design of the entire work: all are
now blank.
Mr. Cockerell has pointed out that " two hands, of
very different merit, are plainly exhibited in these
works. Of these the best are (the numbers are
identical with those used in the description given
above) those which range between 4 and 18, including
those two numbers. " The remainder, though often
of excellent design, are of inferior execution." The
purity and dignity of the heads are throughout
admirable, and many of the sculptures are of signal
merit as compositions. Such is No. 15, in which
the figures of the Virgin and Infant Saviour are not
unworthy of Giotto. No. 17 is grand in action and
expression ; No. 23 is especially graceful. " The
grand symmetry of the attitude, so entirely relieved
from all dryness by variety in the lines of the
LI:.
*. 367
drapery, and the quiet indications of expression, all
display the great master." — C. E. Cocker ell. Finally,
No. 29 is dignified and impressive.
XV. On the north side of the choir, and in the
first bay beyond the eastern transept, is a very ela-
borate tomb, divided into two portions; the eastern
part having evidently served as the Easter sepulchre.
[Plate VIII.] The whole erection is of the very
best Decorated period; and the western portion was
probably the tomb of its founder, whose name, how-
ever, has not been recorded. The whole consists of
six bays, divided by a wall in the middle. Pedi-
mented canopies rise in front from small buttressing
shafts, crowned with pinnacles. Each bay is vaulted,
and the wall ends (in the centre, and at the sides) are
covered with foliage of oak, vine, and fig, admirably
rendered, and examples of the very best naturalism.
Eemark the swine crunching the acorns beneath the
oak, also the manner in which the leaf sprays are
laid on the capitals of the shafts, and into the mould-
ings of the blank arcades at the sides. From the
ridge-roof at the back of the canopies, itself crested
by a line of leafage, rise large finials of leaves,
sharply cut. In front of the panels of the eastern
portion are three soldiers, armed, and sleeping (the
Roman guards of the sepulchre. They are found also
on the Easter sepulchres at Heckington, Hawton and
Pattrington-on-Humber). "They are admirably com-
posed and executed ; the heads, however, have been
sadly defaced. They will repay the artist in their
368 f mcoln <£a%bral,
sentiment and expression, in their well-contrived
groupings, and in the artistic arrangement of their
accessories." — C. W. Gockerell. The leafage at the
angles is especially good ; and, owing to the hardness
of the stone, the carving of the entire monument is
for the most part as fresh as when first executed.
The western part of this tomb is known as that of
Bishop Eemigius, but it was only so appropriated
after the Eestoration by Bishop Fuller, who placed
an inscription in memory of Kemigius within it.
In the opposite bay, on the south side of the choir,
are the tombs of CATHERINE SWTNFOED (Duchess of
Lancaster), last wife of John of Gaunt; and of her
daughter JOAN COUNTESS OF WESTMOKELAND. These
tombs were originally side by side, but on the repair-
ing of the church by Bishop Fuller were placed end
to end, to the great damage of the Duchess's tomb,
which had a fine canopy, now replaced by a very
ugly one of debased character. The face of the
tomb has been inverted, and the brasses and coats of
arms have entirely disappeared. At the east end is a
beautiful diapered pattern of open flowers of earlier
date.
The altar-screen, which retains a considerable por-
tion of original work, was repaired by Essex in the
latter part of the last century. The same architect
designed the central pedimented canopy, copied from
the tomb of Bishop de Luda at Ely. The wall behind
was formerly solid, but it was pierced by Mr. Buckler
after the erection of the new east window, to obtain
&|j0ir- aisle. 369
a less interrupted view of the painted glass. The
brass altar-rail and tall gas-standards (the latter de-
signed by Mr. Pearson) deserve notice. The pave-
ment of the eastern bay is richly inlaid with marbles
and encaustic tiles.
XVI. The north choir-aisle, which we enter from
the great transept, is part of St. Hugh's work. The
wall at the back of the stalls in the first three bays
is of Grostete's time, built to strengthen the fabric
after the fall of the tower. It is decorated with an
arcade on triple shafts, and having the dog-tooth
ornament, and bosses resembling twisted rope, at the
springing of the arches. Observe a corbel-head of
Purbeck marble once carrying an image, on the west
face of the third pier. This had been built up when
Grostete's walls were erected, and has only recently
been revealed. The arcade in the last bay eastward
belongs to a later period, and was perhaps the work
of the constructors of the Angel-choir.
The windows in this aisle are double lancets, with
shafts at the angles, and a group of three in the
centre between each two lancets. This group springs
from a richly carved bracket, which curiously over-
hangs the arcade below. The arcade itself is of
double intersecting arches, the inner arches pointed,
the outer trefoiled. The dog's-tooth occurs in the
inner mouldings. In both arcades the capitals of
the shafts are richly foliated: and in the spandrils
are small projecting figures of angels and saints.
The vaulting is quinquipartite, with pointed arches,
VOL. n. PT. i. 2s
370 linwrht <fa%bral
and is carried from the piers of the choir, and from
clustered shafts standing detached in front of the
wall arcade.
XVII. The north-east transept, opening from the
choir-aisle is, like that, part of St. Hugh's work.
It terminates, eastward, in two apsidal chapels. The
eastern termination of St. Hugh's cathedral was also
apsidal, and extended nearly as far as the present
altar, where its foundations have been traced. The
central apse was removed when the Decorated pres-
bytery was erected. The transept consists of three
bays. The northern end is cut off by a transverse
arch and wall, along which the triforium and clere-
story are carried. The bay thus separated is vaulted
at the level of the tri-
forium. The lancets
behind this wall are
filled with Peckitt's
glass, removed from
the east window. This
singular arrangement
is accounted for by
the original intention
of the builders having
been to terminate the
transept with towers,
something as at Ex-
eter and at Ottery.
A door opens here into
The triforium through-
Corbel, North-East Transept.
the vestibule of the cloisters.
371
out is much the same as in the choir. The first two
bays on the east side, with their unperforated tym-
panum, when compared with the adjacent bays, afford
an instructive lesson in the history of tracery. The
clerestory is in single lancets, each set in a bay of the
sexpartite vaulting.
The first apsidal chapel was dedicated to St. Hugh,
and has a pointed arcade below the two windows.
The north apse, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was
the first resting-place of the body of St. Hugh, by the
side of the altar of his patron saint, at which he
had been in the habit of saying mass. Soon after
his interment the chapel was enlarged to a long
parallelogram, to accommodate the worshippers who
flocked to his tomb before the body was translated
to the Angel-choir. It was " restored " to its original
shape in 1772. The foundations may be seen outside
An enriched doorway, blocked in Grostete's time
and ornamented with his trellis-work, opened from
this chapel, north, into the " camera communis," or
common-room of the canons. This chapel contains
the monument of Dean Honywood, the remains of the
canopy of the Burghersh monuments, and of Grostete's
tomb, and a remarkably fine effigy of a priest fully
vested, dug up in the vicinity of the cathedral. Both
apses are enclosed by wooden screens of Perpendicular
date.
At the north-west angle of the transept is a very
remarkable pier, with detached shafts, the fellow of
2 B 2
372 f intoln
which occupies a corresponding position in the oppo-
site transept, where it stands quite free, and is conse-
quently better seen than this in the northern transept,
which has been partly built into the transept wall.
The pier itself is of Lincoln stone, and octagonal.
From four of its sides spring leaves, ascending verti-
cally. Detached shafts of Purbeck, four circular,
and four (placed slightly within the others) hexagons,
with hollow sides, surround the pier, which is banded
lialf-way up, and terminates in capitals of rich leafage.
The effect is very striking and peculiar. A similar
arrangement occurs on the west front of Wells, a
few years later than Lincoln. It seems confined to
England. According to M. Viollet - le - Due, the
crockets between the shafts, and the shafts with
hexagonal concave sections, are nowhere found in
France0. It is to these shafts that the description
in the " Metrical Life of St. Hugh " applies ; the
Purbeck marble of which they are composed is there
said to have been softened with vinegar before it
was worked : —
"... nulloque domari
Dignatur ferro, nisi quando domatur ab arte ;
Quando superficies nimiis laxatur arenas
Pulsibus, et solidum forti penetratur aceto.
Inspectus lapis iste potest suspeudere mentes,
Ambiguas utrum jaspis marmorve sit ; at si
Jaspis, hebes jaspis ; si marmor, nobile marmor.
Inde columnellse, quse sic cinxere columnas
Ut videantur ibi quamdam celebrare cboream."
0 See M. Viollet-le-Duc's letter in Part III.
Jjiera at frsnflepi Angles. 373
According to the symbolism, tlie Purbeck marble
figures the spouse : —
" simplex, morosa, laborans.
Recte nimirum design at simplicitatein
Planities, splendor mores, nigredo laborem."
(See the whole passage in Part III.) The banding
and ornaments of the second pier (supporting the
vaulting) of the transept should also be noticed.
In the west wall a door opens to an ancient vestry,
374 fintoln <£a%bral.
known as the Dean's Chapel. It was originally open
like the corresponding vestry on the south side, but
was blocked off and divided into two stories very soon
after its erection. At the same time small windows
to light the lower apartment were opened in the
wall-arcade on the west side. The shutters of these
windows should be noticed. They are work of the
thirteenth century. The upper story is said to have
served as the "pharmacy" of the cathedral, the
aumbries in the walls having been constructed to con-
tain the drugs. The floor dividing the two has been
long since removed. On the same part of the transept
wall are paintings of four bishops, — Bloet, Alexander,
Chesney, and De Blois, — interred in this part of the
church. The paintings, which are so much decayed
as to be scarcely decipherable, were the work of a
Venetian, named Damini, in 1723P. In the north
wall a door opens to the cloisters (§ xxv.)
XVIII. The choir-aisle, east of the transept, is
Decorated (1270—1282), like this portion of the
choir itself, and the great difference between it
and St. Hugh's work is at once apparent. The win-
dows are filled with pure geometrical tracery, of one
P In this transept formerly stood what a survey of 1641 calls
the " watching-ch amber,"— " a chamber of timber where the
searchers of the church used to lie; under which, every night,
they had an allowance of bread and beer. At the shutting of
the church doors the custom was to toll the greatest of Our
Lady's bells forty tolls, and after to go to that place and eat and
drink, and then to walk round and search the church." Is it
possible that this " chamber of timber " can have been originally
the watching-chamber attached to St. Hugh's shrine ?
Cljoir-Htsle. Jisjjop Jlemimf's Cjjaitirg. 375
design. The wall space on either side of the windows
is ornamented by two blank arches, the spandrils of
which are filled with rich tracery having enwreathed
leafage with lizards, at the angles, A leaf-ornament
fills the hollow between the window - shafts ; and
the hood - mouldings of the windows terminate in
small heads. Vaulting-shafts, with enriched capitals,
[Plate IX.], rise between the windows ; and beneath
runs a blind arcade, the ornaments in the quatrefoils
of which, and the small heads of the angles of the
trefoils in the tympana, should be noticed. The
whole effect of this part of the church is very rich,
but, unusually, the ornament is the same throughout.
The bosses of the roof, carved in leafage, with birds
and grotesques, are admirable, and deserve all pos-
sible attention. A double doorway in the central bay
of the aisle forms the north-east entrance to the
cathedral. The central shaft dividing the door-
ways is of later insertion, and bears the shield of
Edward IV. One of the mouldings of the external
arch is, singularly enough, of wood.
Opening from the next bay is the chantry of Bishop
FLEMING, founder of Lincoln College, Oxford, — see
Pt. II.,— (1420— 1431), desolate and ruined. Within
the chantry is the Bishop's effigy. Beneath an altar-
tomb on the south side, and seen from the aisle, is a
"cadaver" wrapt in a shroud — a figure of frequent
occurrence in monuments of this period.
In the last bay of this aisle is the monument of
BARTHOLOMEW, LORD BURGHERSH (died 1356), elder
376 f hrarfn
brother of Bishop Henry of Burghersh, whose tomb
is opposite. Lord Burghersh served in the wars of
Edward II. in France and Scotland, was afterwards
present at Cressy, and has obtained the distinction of
an honourable notice from the pen of Froissart. His
effigy, of later date than his tomb, has the head resting
on the helmet, from which projects his crest. At the
head is the armorial bearing of Burghersh, — a lion
rampant, double queued, supported by two angels.
Above is a rich canopy. The shields of arms on the
side are those of families with whom Lord Burghersh
was immediately allied or connected.
In the east window of this and of the corresponding
aisle are some excellent examples of ancient glass of
different dates, brought together from various parts of
the cathedral. They are in striking contrast with two
modern windows in the aisle, one by CLAYTON AND
BELL to the memory of Lord Yarborough, and one
by WAED AND HUGHES, in memory of Chancellor
Pretyman.
XIX. The fine east window of the choir is of the
same date as those of the aisles, which it resembles in
its mouldings. The same arcade runs below it. It is
filled with modern stained glass by Messrs. WARD AND
HUGHES, the leading subject being the Eedemption of
Mankind by the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection
of Christ. Twenty-eight roundels, sixteen arranged
vertically in the centre and six horizontally, so as to
form a cross, illustrate the Life and Death of Christ,
commencing with the Annunciation. Twenty medal-
Somb-s in fto-t^tr. 377
lions, six in each row, form an external square of Old
Testament subjects typical of the work of Redemp-
tion, commencing with the Fall and the Expulsion
from Paradise. The sixteen remaining spaces are filled
with medallions, each bearing the figure of a Prophet.
The window cannot be pronounced to be bad either
in design or execution, but compared with the ancient
examples on either side of it, the glass is thin and
poor ; and it cannot but be wished that so important
a window were more worthily filled.
XX. Projecting from the east wall of the cathe-
dral, between the north aisle and the choir, are the
tombs of SIB ROBERT OF BUBGHERSH (i.e. Burwash in
Sussex) (the father of the Bishop), and of Bishop
HENRY OF BURGHEESH (1320—1342). The first is
plain ; on the second is the Bishop's richly vested
effigy. The tombs are placed in a line, with short
buttresses between them. On the north side is a
series of very rich canopied niches, containing a very
interesting series of figures of royal and noble person-
ages seated or standing, all mutilated and headless.
Those on the bishop's tomb represent Edward III. and
his four sons, and Thomas Earl of Leicester and Lincoln.
All these personages, according to the custom of the
day, had been admitted in 1343 into the confraternity
of the cathedral, and were specially commemorated at
the chantry altar of St. Catherine, founded by the
Burghersh family at the east end of the north aisle.
In spandrils between the canopies are various armo-
rial bearings connected with the house of Burghersh.
378 f intoht
At the west end of the tombs projects the stone base
of a feretory, or portable shrine, once containing
relics, having on the north and west sides very rich
canopied kneeling - recesses, with emblems of the
Passion in the spandrils. A stone in the pavement,
immediately in front of the shrine, is much indented,
— it is said by the knees and feet of the worshippers.
At the back of the altar-screen are the tombs of —
Bishop GABDINER (1695 — 1705), with a long string
of commendatory Sapphics : —
" Vera si cordi est pietae, fidesque
Si pudor priscus, placidusque mentis
Candor ; antiques imitare mores
Gardinerumque ;" —
and of some members of his family; of Bishop
FULLER (1667 — 1675) ; and a memorial placed here
by Bishop Fuller for St. Hugh, whose golden shrine
(see Pt. II.) was removed into this part of the cathe-
dral in 1282.
XXI. On the south side of the altar, opposite the
Burghersh tombs, are two monuments beneath lofty
arches, with Decorated canopies. The eastern tomb,
which supports the effigy of a knight, much shattered,
is that of SIR NICHOLAS DE CANTILUPE (died 1355);
on the western is the effigy of Prior Wymbysh, of
Nocton, subdean of the cathedral, duly vested as a
canon, whose arms appear on the side of the tomb.
To the north of the Cantilupe tomb is a modern ceno-
taph, designed by Blore, to the two celebrated painters,
Hilton (died 1839) and De Wint (died 1849), both
C|j0ir-atsk 379
natives of Lincoln, decorated with copies in relief of
some of their chief pictures.
At the east end of the south choir-aisle was a chantry
founded by Sir Nicholas de Cantilupe, dedicated to
St. Nicholas. The bowels of Queen Eleanor, wife of
Edward I., who died at Harby, between Lincoln and
Newark, were interred on the south side of the Burg-
hersh tombs, beneath a monument on which was her
effigy in brass, resembling that in Westminster Abbey.
The first of the series of Queen Eleanor's crosses was
erected at Lincoln. The window of the first bay of
the south aisle has been filled with very gaudy glass
by a Nuremberg artist, to the memory of Chancellor
C. S. Bird.
XXII. Opening from the second bay of the north
choir-aisle is the chantry of Bishop KUSSELL (1480 —
1496), the altar in which was dedicated to St. Blaize.
The frieze and ornaments deserve notice.
In the next bay is the entrance to the cathedral from
the south-east porch. (See § xxxi.) Stained glass has
been introduced in the headings of the doors with good
effect. The window below contains the names of the
chancellors of the diocese of Lincoln, beginning with
Hugh (1092), and ending with Edward White Benson
(Bishop of Truro), 1872. Under this window is the
entrance to Bishop LONGLAND'S chantry (1521 — 1547),
whose name is referred to in the inscription on the
screen facing the aisle, — " Longa terra mensura
ejus, Dominus dedit." Between the words ' ejus ' and
' Dominus ' are the arms of Henry VIII. The windows
380 f main
and roof of this small but very rich chantry have been
carefully restored. At the west end are a series of
niches in the renaissance style, which were apparently
never finished. The bases were filled with minute
sculpture, now mutilated.
The arcade [Plate X.] and enrichments of this aisle,
as far as the opening of the eastern transept, are the
same as those of the aisle opposite.
XXIII. The south-east transept differs in its detail
from the north-east. Like that, it is part of St. Hugh's
work, and the southern end was originally divided off
by a transverse wall. That has been removed, and
the windows and arches altered, apparently about the
middle of the thirteenth century. The transept is
of two bays, terminating eastward in apsidal chapels.
On the west side a vestry opens, corresponding to
that — now closed — in the north-east transept.
The first or northern bay of the transept, and the
lower story of the second, belong to the original
building of St. Hugh. The upper stories of the
latter are still Early English, but the later and far
more enriched character of the work is at once
evident. The south end of the transept (which is
open throughout, and not vaulted above the pier-
arches, as in the north-east) has three tiers of windows,
below which the wall is covered with St. Hugh's
double arcade [Plate XI.], with its plain and tre-
foiled arches. (See § xvi.) Here the outer arcade
has small figures of winged angels projecting from
its spandrils; similar figures, holding scrolls, open
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
PLATE X.
INTERSECTING ARCADE, SOUTH AISLE OF CHOIR.
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XI.
INTERSECTING ARCADE, CHORISTERS' VESTRY
t franaept 381
volumes, and musical instruments, occur in the same
positions in the arcade which runs round the west
chapel of the transept. All are terribly shattered;
but they have an especial interest, since they are
evidently the prototypes of the grand angelic figures,
already described, in the spandrils of the choir.
The south windows of the transept are filled with
modern stained glass by HEDGELAND : the upper tier
containing figures from the Old Testament ; the
middle tier, subjects from the Gospels ; and the
lowest, from the Acts of the Apostles. The glass is
much too fiery when seen near, but the effect of these
windows, seen across the church, is very good.
The north apse, dedicated to St. Paul, is used as
a vestry. The windows are filled with the Messrs.
SUTTON'S glass. The leaf-ornament in the filleting of
the Purbeck shafts should be noticed. The south
apse, dedicated to St. Peter, contains a memorial of
Bishop KAYE (died 1853). On an altar-tomb reposes
a marble effigy of the bishop, by WESTMACOTT, fully
vested, holding the Bible and dropping the pastoral
staff. The light falls on the figure from three win-
dows, filled with simply diapered glass. The effigy
is striking, but the upraised hands of the older figures
are far more impressive.
On the floor of the transept are stones marked with
the names of — Bishop GROSTETE (died 1254) ; Bishop
RICHARD OF GRAVESEND (died 1280) ; Bishop REPING-
DON (died, 1420); and Bishop LEXINGTON (died 1258) ;
all of whom were buried in this part of the church.
382 Jpintoln Caifcebrsl.
Their monuments were destroyed during the Civil
War. In the choir-aisle, under the tomb of the
Duchess of Lancaster, is a stone bearing the name of
the chronicler HENRY OF HUNTINGDON, (died 1149), —
Archdeacon of Liocoln.
The ancient choristers' vestry opens on the west side
of the transept. The double arcade round the walls,
and the angels in the spandrils, have already been
noticed. In the west wall is a stone chimney, with
a hood; and the vestry is separated from the choir-
aisle by a stone screen (of Decorated character),
covered on both sides with a rich diaper of large open
lilies. On the north, facing to the aisle, a bird's nest
with fledglings, and the parent birds flying to and
from the nest, should be noted. Below the screen is
a plain stone lavatory. [Plate XII.]
The sexpartite vaulting of the transept, with its
bosses, is of the same date as the south bay (circa
(1250). The pier at the north-west angle resembles
that in the north-east transept (§ xvn.), but is better
seen.
A door in the south-west angle leads through a
passage to the principal vestry, a late Early English
building of three stories, the upper of which is used
as a song-school, and the lowest, forming a crypt
approached by a trap-door, was probably a treasury.
The vestry proper is a fine vaulted apartment.
XXIV. The aisle west of the transept is St. Hugh's
work, like that opposite. St. Hugh's double arcade,
with figures of angels and saints projecting from the
Sfcrhw of f title Si. fttgb. 383
spandrils, lines the south wall. The choir-wall had
an arcade of plain arches of Grostete's time, which
has been removed in the westernmost bay to accom-
modate a staircase in the wall leading to the timber
chamber of the Constable of the close, once built aloft
in the aisle, and in the third bay, for the richly
panelled back of the shrine of LITTLE ST. HUGH, — the
Christian boy said to have been crucified by the Jews
in the year 1255. (For the story, which is told at
great length by Matthew Paris, and which is the
subject of the well-known ballad of "St. Hugh of
Lincoln," see Part II. — Bishop LEXINGTON.) After
his body had been miraculously discovered, it was in-
terred in the cathedral, and a rich shrine was erected
over it. The base of this shrine remains. The
central boss of the groining of the canopy is also pre-
served. The back of the choir-wall has an arcade
with geometrical tracery and canopied headings, en-
riched with the ball-flower, and with large-leaved
finials, almost exactly corresponding to the wall-
arcade of the aisles of the nave of York Minster r. As
that nave was built by Archbishop John Le Eomeyn,
who had been previously Chancellor and Precentor of
Lincoln, the two may have had the same designer.
The base of the shrine (which is in fact the covering
of the tomb) was removed during the repaving of the
cathedral in 1790, when a stone coffin was found close
below it, lying level with the pavement. The coffin
r A drawing of this shrine, before its destruction, will be
found in Stukeley's Itinerarium Curiosum.
384 Jhttote Caifctbrsl.
contained the complete skeleton of a boy, 3 feet
3 inches long. " St. Hugh of Lincoln, Martyr," still
keeps his place in the Roman Calendar on June 29.
XXV. Returning into the north-east transept, we
enter the cloister through a doorway in the north
wall. The cloister (which, it may be remarked, is
unusually placed, extending from the eastern tran-
sept to the northern front of the great transept) was
the work of Bishop OLIVER BUTTON (1280—1300);
and its early Decorated windows deserve attention,
as do the carved bosses of its oaken roof, which are
full of beauty and variety. Three sides of Bishop
Button's cloister remain, but the fourth, or northern
walk, having been demolished (it is said by Dean Mack-
worth in the fifteenth century to build his stables) and
lying in ruins, was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren,
together with the library, which ranges above it.
Under the staircase of the library, at the north-east
angle of the cloister, are preserved some fragments of
Roman altars and sepulchral inscriptions, amphorae,
mosaic pavements, &c. In the cloister, among other
architectural fragments, is a fragment of early Nor-
man sculpture disinterred from the Cathedral Close,
which is of still higher interest. It represents an
apostle, perhaps St. John, holding a book, and
crowned with a circular disc, or nimbus. At the
Bide is a remarkable ornament, which seems to have
formed part of an oval figure (a rainbow or vesica
piscis ?), in which was probably the Saviour. Part of
the robe is visible, together with the emblems of St.
Central ®ote. 385
Mark and St. John, — the lion and the eagle. Here
are also the original " Swineherd of Stow," removed
from the southern turret of the west front in 1850 ;
several stone coffins, one curiously decorated with
interlacing circles ; another singularly jointed ; some
of the carved shafts needlessly removed from the
western doorways when under restoration, and other
architectural fragments [see Title-page]. In 1879 a
Roman mile -stone was placed here, discovered in the
centre of the Roman city, opposite the Lion and
Snake Inn, in the Bail. It bears the name of Marcus
Piavonius Victorinus, one of the thirty tyrants, A.D.
268, and marks the distance, fourteen miles, from
Segelocum, now Littleborough-on-Trent.
In the open square of the cloister a Roman tesse-
lated pavement was discovered in 1793. A portion
of it, together with other fragments of similar pave-
ment, discovered in 1879, to the west of the Exchequer
arch, is placed at the foot of the library staircase.
The wall of the Roman city stretched across the site
of the cathedral nearly in a line with the eastern
wall of the cloister.
XXVI. The view of the central tower from the
north-east angle of the cloisters is fine. To the top
of the first story .above the roof the tower ip Early
English, and the work most probably of Bishop
Grostete. (See § ix.) The shafts in this story are
crocketed, somewhat in the manner of the remarkable
piers at the angles of the transept (§§ xxn., xxin.).
The upper or Decorated portion of the tower is very
VOL. II. PT. I. 2 C
386 fintolw
fine and massive, and seems to have been completed
during the episcopate of St. John of Dalderby, about
the year 1306.
In this tower is hung the famous bell known as
"Great Tom of Lincoln," first cast in 1610 at a tem-
porary foundry set up in the Minster-yard, but broken
up in consequence of a fissure in 1834, and sent to
London to be recast. In April, 1835, the new bell was
hung in the great tower. Its weight is 5 tons 8 cwt., —
exactly a ton heavier than its predecessor ; and it is
7 inches more in diameter at the mouth, measuring
6 ft. 10 J inches, instead of 6 ft. 3J. Its larger dimen-
sions are due to its having absorbed the metal of a
charming little peal of six bells which formerly hung
in the central tower, and were rung daily by the choris-
ters for prayers. They were known as the " Lady
Bells." On every ground their sacrifice is deeply to be
lamented. Round the crown of this bell is the follow-
ing inscription, repeated from the old bell : — " Spiritus
Sanctus a Patre et Filio procedens, suaviter sonans ad
salutem." Eound the lips are the names of the Chap-
ter at the time of the recasting. Great Tom of Lin-
coln 8 ranks third in size among English bells. It is
s The hours are struck on it by a hammer. " We ascended
one of the other towers to see Great Tom," writes Southey,
(Espriella's Letter). " At first it disappointed me, but the dis-
appointment wore off, and we became satisfied that it was as
great a thing as it was said to be. A tall man might stand in
it upright ; the mouth measures one-and-twenty English feet in
circumference ; and it would be a large tree of which the girth
equalled the size of the middle."
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XIII.
OF THE
CHAFTEB.HODSE, LOOKING SOUTH-WEST
387
exceeded by Great Tom of Oxford and by Great Peter
of Exeter.
The buttresses of the great transept run to the top
of the clerestory, and terminate in lofty pinnacles
higher than the roof. Each pinnacle contains a niche
for a statue. There are pinnacles at the angles of the
north front ; and a group of five lancets, lighting the
roof, are here seen above the rose-window. The ex-
terior of this window, already mentioned (§ x.), may
be examined from this point.
XXVII. The chapter-house [Plate XIII.], which is
of much earlier date than the cloisters, opens from the
eastern walk. Its west front is best seen from the
north walk, and shews a circular window-opening,
without tracery, above which are three gables. Those
at the side cover staircase turrets. A pointed arcade
runs along the base of all three, below three lancet-
lights in the centre gable, and a single lancet in each
of the others.
It has been usual to attribute the chapter-house to
St. Hugh, on the strength of a miscopied passage in
Giraldus Cambrensis' " Lives of the Bishops of Lin-
coln ; " but a careful examination proves that it is
considerably later, and that it cannot date much before
the middle of the thirteenth century*. Mr. Dimock
has shewn that the word " capitulum " is an error of
1 The author of the "Metrical Life" implies that it was
begun by St. Hugh, but that it remained unfinished at his
death, to be completed by Bishop Hugh of Wells : J-
" Si quorum vero perfectio restat, Hugonis
Perficietur opus primi sub Hugone secundo."
2 c 2
388 Jmtoln Ca%haL
Wharton or his transcriber, for " capicium," the eastern
limb or " chevet " of a church, and that therefore the
architectural and documentary evidence, instead of
being at variance, are in perfect accordance. The
doorway in the cloister, much enriched, is formed by
two pointed arches, circumscribed with a larger one,
with a pierced quatrefoil in the tympanum ; on either
side is a blank arch. Beyond the doorway is a vesti-
bule, lighted by four windows, below which runs a
blank arcade. The circular window at the west end,
with the shafts at its sides, should here be noticed from
within. The chapter-house itself is a decagon. In
each bay are two lancet windows, between which rise
clustered vaulting-shafts of Purbeck. These shafts
spring from corbels, which resemble those in the Deco-
rated work of the choir, and cannot be much earlier.
An arcade lines the walls below the windows. The
central pillar is surrounded by ten Purbeck shafts,
hexagons, hollowed at the sides. Fronting the east,
above the filleting, is a bracket sculptured with oak-
leaves and acorns, upon which once probably stood a
figure of the Virgin. A hole in the floor beneath is
said to have been used for supporting the silver pro-
cessional cross. The bosses of the groined roof should
be noticed. Under the auspices of the Bishop of
Nottingham (better known as Archdeacon Trollope) a
scheme was inaugurated a few years since for filling
the windows of the chapter-house with stained glass,
illustrative of the history of the cathedral and its
bishops. Up to the present time, five of the lancets
fibrarg. 389
have been thus treated. The first two on the left of
the entrance are memorials of the Chancellor Massing-
berd, the third to Prebendary Gilbert, the fourth to
the Eev. Humphry Sibthorp, and the fifth to the late
Bishop Mackenzie, suffragan of Nottingham, subdean
of the cathedral. The series, beginning with Eemi-
gius, comes down to Bishop Oliver Sutton. All the
windows are by the Messrs. CLAYTON AND BELL.
This fine and impressive chapter-house is earlier
than the chapter-house of Salisbury (circa 1280), or
than that of Wells (circa 1300); and consequently
forms an interesting example in the series.
XXVIII. The ancient Library, which ran northwards
from the chapter-house over the cloisters, was partly
destroyed by fire, together with the greater part of the ;
volumes it contained, in 1609. It was rebuilt as we
see it at present, after the Eestoration, chiefly at the
cost of Dr. Michael Honywood, the then dean, who
refurnished the library, and placed in it a most valu-
able collection of MSS. and early printed books.
These last are arranged in lock-up cases at the west
end of the Library. Some of the MSS. are of much
interest, though several have been shamefully mutilated
for the sake of the illuminations. The most impor-
tant MS. is a volume of old English Eomances, dating
about 1430-40, and collected by Eobert of Thornton,
Archdeacon of Bedford in 1450, who was buried in
Lincoln Cathedral. There is also one volume of a
copy of the Vulgate, the first book possessed by the
Chapter of Lincoln, presented by Nicholas, Arch-
390 ITmtoIn Ca%bral.
deacon of Lincoln 1106. The printed books, about
4500 volumes, are placed in the principal library, ex-
tending over the whole length of the north walk. The
collection is still valuable, containing early Bibles
and Liturgies, with Caxton's and other early printed
books, but the most remarkable volumes, including
seven specimens of Caxton, were all sold after the
visit of Dr. Dibdin to the library, who became himself
the purchaser of " certaine bokes," the glories of which
he duly set before the world in a tract entitled " The
Lincolne Nosegay." A glass case exhibits the most
perfect of the four extant contemporaneous copies of
the Magna Charta. In another are preserved episcopal
rings, chalices, patens, &c., from the rifled tombs of
the bishops, opened when the new pavement was laid
down in the last century, portions of Grostete's pastoral
staff, and other archaeological curiosities. Some Eo-
man urns, and other antiquities, are preserved in the
ante-library, together with a curious leaden plate,
bearing an inscription to the memory of William
D'Eyncourt, a relative of Bishop Eemigius. On the
wall hangs a fine portrait of Dean Honywood, by
CORNELIUS JANSEN, and one of his grandmother, Dame
Mary Honywood, celebrated for her longevity and t^&
number of descendants she lived to see.
XXIX. Eeturning into the cathedral, the architec-
tural student may ascend the west front, and inspect
the remarkabable " stone beam " which crosses the space
between the western towers. The ascent is made from
either of the buttress-turrets of the west front ; from
ram. 391
wliicli galleries lighted by loopholes, extend along the
front at different levels. In these galleries the junc-
tion of the Norman wall with the Early English may be
readily traced ; and the difference between the dressings
of the stone- work should be observed : the lines of the
Norman chisel run diagonally across the stone, while
the other shews the peculiar mark of what is called
the "toothed-chisel." From one of these galleries
access is obtained to a platform between the head of
the great west window and the rose-window above it,
known as " Sir Joseph Banks' view" commanding a
very striking view of the whole length of the church
to the great east window. In the chambers in the
upper part of the screen the gables formerly surmount-
ing the Norman front may be traced. The view over
the Wolds from the roof of the front is striking. From
the roof a door opens into the north-west tower ; and
thence, through the belfry chamber, upon the vaulting
of the nave, — just above which is the so-called " stone
beam." This is an arch, composed of twenty-three
stones of unequal lengths, but uniformly 11 inches in
depth and 1 ft. 9f in. in breadth. For what purpose,
or at what exact period it was constructed, cannot
readily be determined ; but it seems most probable that
the arch was erected before the upper portions of the
towers were built, in order to ascertain whether the
great additional weight could be safely borne. " The
arch is constructed of stone from the Lincoln quarries.
. . . The exposed surfaces are wrought with the toothed
chisel in a careless and imperfect manner, and the
392
joints, contrary to what might have been expected, are
decidedly ill-formed, and have beds of mortar full half
an inch in thickness within them. There is no trace of
iron being used in the construction of the arch, either
in dowels or other form. . .The arch vibrates per-
ceptibly when jumped upon ; and I am of opinion that
the constant practice of visitors thus to prove its elastic
properties has a tendency to impair its stability V
The western towers, close under which the visitor
finds himself when on the west front, are Norman to
the top of the arcades, and from that point rich late
Decorated. The graceful windows in the four sides
of the towers, and the parapets above, deserve notice.
Each tower was formerly surmounted by a spire of
u W. A. Nicholson, Transactions of Institute of British Archi-
tects. Mr. Nicholson has given an elevation, plan, and section
of the arch, in illustration of his paper.
393
timber and lead. These were removed in 1807 ; no
doubt to the injury of the general outline. The north
tower is known as St. Mary's. In it the famous bell
" Great Tom " hung before it was recast. The south
tower is St. Hugh's.
The descent from the west front may be made by
a staircase leading into the south-west wing. In
descending one of the series of ancient sculptures
already described (§ in.), on the south side of the
Norman front, and consequently sheltered by the ex-
tended Early English wing, may be inspected. Its
subject is the Deluge. It should be observed also, that
the large recesses which form so marked a feature in
the Norman portion of the west front are continued
on the south side, though now concealed by the Early
English wing. Some of the capitals must have been
covered soon after they were erected ; they are as
fresh as if newly executed ; whereas the corresponding
capitals in the west front are much weather-worn.
XXX. Passing out of the cathedral, we proceed to
an examination of its exterior, beginning on the south
side. We first remark the much enriched Norman
gable attached to the flank of the south-west, or St.
Hugh's, tower. Three such originally surmounted the
recesses of the west front. Beyond the south-west
chapels the line of the nave is well seen, each bay
marked by its flying buttress. An arcade of pointed
arches is carried quite along the clerestory wall ; and
from the parapet above (which is an addition of the
Decorated period) project six remarkable canopied
394 f main
niches, with brackets ; an unusual degree of richness
and variety is thus gained for the roof-line.
The massive buttresses rising to the top of the
transept, capped by later pinnacles, should here be
noticed, as well as the Norman gable and arcading at
the side of the south-west tower. Observe, also, three
grotesque figures in the blank arches of the gable
which forms the eastern end of St. Hugh's chapel (in
a line with the south-west wing of the west front x).
The Galilee porch [Plate XIV.] forms an approach
to the cathedral at the south-west corner of the great
transept. It is throughout Early English, but is no
doubt later than St. Hugh's, or the first Early English
portion of the cathedral. It is cruciform in plan.
The eastern limb is lined by an arcade of five arches,
with capitals of leafage. The ribs of the groined
roof are covered with dog-tooth moulding. The door-
way into the church is divided by a central shaft, and
has a diamond-shaped opening in the tympanum. The
arches are encrusted with leafage. At the base of
the central shaft are three lizard-like monsters with
x One of these is popularly said to represent the "Devil look-
ing over Lincoln." " The devil," says Fuller (Worthies, Lin-
colnshire), " is the map of malice, and his envy (as God's mercy)
is over all his works. It grieves him whatever is given to God,
crying out with that flesh-devil, ' Ut quid perditio hsec ?' ' What
needs this waste ?' On which account he is supposed to have
overlooked this church, when first finished, with a torve and
tetrick countenance, as maligning men's costly devotion, and
that they should be so expensive in God's service. But it is
suspicious, that some who account themselves saints, behold
such fabrics with little better looks."
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XIV.
THE GALILEE PORCH
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE X
THE SOCJTH-EAST PORCH,
Jottfc. 395
human heads distinguished by long hair and tufted
beards : all three look upwards, in the act of climbing
the shaft. The transept opens south and north, with
three pointed arches, all highly enriched with the dog-
tooth. The " Curia vocata le Galilee " is frequently
referred to in the archives of the cathedral, the Chap-
ter of which possessed the right of holding a court in
the chamber above this porch, now used as the Muni-
ment Eoom of the Dean and Chapter.
XXXI. The Decorated rose-window in the south
wall of the great transept should be remarked (§ x.) ;
and, beyond the transept, the Early English buttresses
of the choir (St. Hugh's work), with their ornaments
of shafts and enriched capitals. Their heavy trian-
gular headings, which rise above the parapet, con-
stitute the first approach to true pinnacles in Early
English work. The slender intermediate buttresses,
between the windows, are later additions, intended to
resist the thrust of the groining. It will be noticed that
they conceal one of the shafts of the hood-mould of
the windows adjacent to them. [See Plate XVIII.]
Passing the eastern transept, the outline of which
with its apsidal chapels deserves notice for the grace
of its composition, we reach the south-east entrance, or
porch of the presbytery. [Plate XV.] A porch in
this position is frequent in French cathedrals, but no
other example occurs in England. It is formed by a
deeply-recessed arch, lined with canopied niches. The
doorway is divided by a central shaft, and in the tym-
panum is the figure of the Saviour in an elongated
396
quatrefoil, with kneeling angels on either side. On
one side the good are breaking from their tombs, and
are carried upward by angels ; on the other, goat-like
demons are dragging the wicked downward to the
mouth of hell, which is seen below the principal figure.
The inner and outer door-mouldings have been filled
with small figures of saints, many of which remain.
They are set in a hollow fretwork of leafage, very
gracefully arranged, which may be compared with that
surrounding the rose-window of the south transept,
within the cathedral. The central shaft has a bracket
and a canopy for a figure. Within the arch, and under
canopies, are the remains of four figures, which are too
completely shattered to be identified. The two outer
are barefooted, and probably represented women : the
two inner have their feet covered by long robes. Of
these statues, and of the composition representing the
Last Judgment, Flaxman thought very highly, and
has referred to them in one of his lectures. Mr. Cock-
erell, on the other hand, thinks that, " though of the
prosperous period of art, the merit of the ' Judgment *
as compared with the angels of the choir, may well be
questioned : at all events, it is clearly (as are also the
four statues in the porch) by another hand y."
On either side of this porch are the rich monu-
mental chapels of Bishop Eussell (§ xxn.) and Bishop
Longland (§ xxn.) The buttresses and upper win-
dows of the presbytery should here be remarked,
y 0. E. Cockerell, Ancient Sculpture in Lincoln Cathedral.
(Lincoln Vol. of the Arcliseol. Institute.)
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE )
THE EAST END.
LINCOLN CATHED.RAL.
PLATE XVIII.
EXTERIOR OF THE CHOIR AISLE, SOUTH SIDE.
397
and compared with those of the earlier choir and
nave. "Against the south-east buttress is a group
of the King and Queen, Edward I. and Eleanor, of
consummate grandeur and interest. The King bears
his shield, and tramples on the enemy; the beloved
wife of his youth follows him closely. There is a
freedom and energy of style in these figures which
are rarely seen in any period. Both have unhappily
lost their heads (subsequently restored). In the next
pier is the statue of a queen, who may possibly be
designed for Edward's second spouse, the French
princess Margaret." — C. E. Cockerell.
The fine composition of the eastern end of the ca-
thedral [Plate XVI.] — with its deep buttresses, its
arcades, the noble east window, and the enriched gable
above it — is well seen from the greensward above
which it rises. Near the north-east buttress is a
small building which covers an ancient well; and
beyond, again, the eight flying buttresses of the chap-
ter-house at once attract attention. [Plate XVII.]
The effect of this building, surmounted by its " high and
bold roof," was pronounced " truly grand " by Pugin.
The addition of the buttresses may have been rendered
necessary to resist the thrust of the original groining.
On the north side of the cathedral the principal
points to be noticed are the Early English rose-
window of the transept (§ x.) and the Norman gable
against the north face of the western tower. The
buttresses here resemble those on the south side.
[Plate XVIII.]
398 Jmtaln
XXXII. The Episcopal Palace, originally founded,
it seems probable, by Bishop Bloet, and added to by
many of his successors, stood on the south side of the
cathedral, on the edge of the hill overlooking a wide
extent of country. The principal remains are those
of the great hall, begun by St. Hugh and completed
by Bishop Hugh of Wells ; the kitchen, the gateway-
tower — restored by Bishop Wordsworth, to supply
lecture-rooms for the students of the Chancellor's
Theological-school — and some apartments added by
Bishop Alnwick. The palace, which was very stately
and extensive, was much neglected after the Keforma-
tion, and was stripped of its lead and fell into a
ruined state during the Civil War. A most careful
and excellent account of it, by Mr. E. J. Willson, will
be found in the Lincoln volume of the Archaeological
Institute. The view of the cathedral from the palace
is one of the best to be obtained. A very striking
view of the central tower [Plate XIX.] occurs below
the Vicars' Court. That from the river below is
unusually picturesque [Frontispiece], and shews the
great length of the building to advantage.
The Deanery, on the north side of the cathedral,
like the palace, suffered much during the Civil War.
The present deanery was built by Mr. Burn of Edin-
burgh, in 1847 ; and the only remains of the old
buildings still in their original situation are the walls
towards Eastgate. An ancient chimney and some
fragments of sculpture are preserved on the garden-
side of this wall, and in the conservatory.
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.
PLATE XIX.
VIEW FROM BELOW THE VICAR'S COURT.
(% Cjmnarg. Cantifop* Cjjantrg. 399
The Chancery, which has been the residence of the
Chancellors since 1316, when it was built by Antony
Bek, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, is the only one
of the residentiary houses which preserves archi-
tectural features of much interest. The red-brick
front and stone oriel were added by Bishop Russell,
circa 1490. Within are the three arches of Bek's
work at the end of the dining-hall, demolished in
1714, the centre one leading upstairs to the private
chapel, the carved screen of which still exists at the
west end, and to the solar, in the wall of which are
two squints commanding the chapel-altar. The Sub-
deanery retains a late but well-proportioned stone
oriel, but has been completely modernised, as has
been the Precentory, beneath which is a Eoman hypo-
caust, discovered in 1739, and figured in the Vetusta
Monumenta.
The Vicars' Court to the south of the cathedral was
begun by Bishop Oliver Sutton, 1299, and finished
by Bishop Buckingham and Bishop Alnwick, whose
escutcheons are to be seen on the walls. The house
on the southern side of the Court is an admirable
example of the architecture of Edward I.
The Cantilupe Chantry house, though much mo-
dernised, retains some old features, especially a fine
oriel in the north gable, supported by a monstrous
corbel. The residentiary house, known as the Priory
(an obvious misnomer, there never having been any
monastic foundation in the close of Lincoln), deserves
notice. The tower, built against the Close wall, is
400
Edwardian, and of the same date is a very fine side-
board, at the end of what was originally the dining-
hall. Portions of the crenellated close wall, with
its towers, remain in the garden of this house, as
well as in those of the Chancery and the Choristers'
House.
LINCOLN CATHEDEAL.
PART II.
pstorg 0f ijj* &zzt forty J&ljort $friias of %
rpHE great diocese of Lincoln, which until it was dis-
membered in the reign of Henry VIII. was by far the
most extensive in England', grew out of the union of
three Saxon bishoprics, — those of lAndsey or Sidnacester,
(Stow in Lincolnshire); Leicester; and Dorchester in Ox-
fordshire.
After Paulinus (A.D. 627) had converted and baptized
Edwin of Northumbria (see YORK, Pt. II.), he proceeded
to preach Christianity throughout Lindsey, (Lindisse,) the
northern portion of Lincolnshire, of which Lincoln, the
Roman lAndum Colonia, was the chief place. Here he
converted Blaecca, the " prsefect" of the city, with all his
household; and here he built a church of stone, which
Bede calls " opus egregium," in which he consecrated Ho-
norius to the archbishopric of Canterbury. The existing
church of St. Paul (Paulinus), a little north-west of the
cathedral, and on higher ground, is said to occupy the site
of this, the first resting-place of the faith in Lincoln. It
stands not far from a blackened Roman arch, one of the
• From the Conquest to the middle of the sixteenth century
it stretched from the Thames to the Humber, embracing the
counties of Oxford, Buckingham, Northampton, Bedford, Hun-
tingdon, Leicester, Rutland, and Lincoln. In 1541 the see of
Peterborough, presiding over Northamptonshire and Rutland-
ehire, and in 1542 that of Oxford, for the whole of that county,
were founded by Henry VIII. Cambridgeshire had been pre-
viously taken out of it in 1109, to form the diocese of Ely.
VOL. II. PT. I. 2 1>
402 Jhicoto CatfcebraL
ancient gates of the city, which twelve hundred years ago
must have flung its shadow on the figure of the Christian
Apostle, — "vir longse staturse, paululum incurvus, nigro
capillo, facie macilenta, naso adunco pertenui, venerabilis
simul et terribilis aspectuV*
[A.D. 678 — 958. SEE OP LINDSEY.] The province of Lindsey,
like the rest of Lincolnshire, was either at this time de-
pendent on Mercia, or soon afterwards became so. After
the establishment of the Mercian bishopric at Lichfield (see
that Cathedral) in the year 656, Lindsey formed a part of
the wide district presided over by that see ; until, in 678,
Egfrid of Northumbria defeated the Mercian King Wulfere,
and making good his power over Lindsey, erected it into
a separate diocese, the seat of which he fixed at Sidnacester,
now represented in all probability by Stow, a village
between Lincoln and Gainsborough, famous for its fine
Norman church. A succession of bishops of Lindsey (the
" Lindisfarorum provincia" of Bede) can be traced from
EADHED, who was consecrated to the see in 678, to
BERHTRED, whose last signature occurs in 869. For
nearly a century from this date the see seems to have
remained unfilled, owing no doubt to the ravages of the
Northmen, who in this interval established themselves in
Mercia and Northumbria. In 953 occurs the signature of
LEOFWIN as bishop of Lindsey. Before 958 he had re-
moved the see to Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, probably for
greater security. One later bishop of Lindsey is, however,
recorded, — SIGEFERTH, whose signatures occur between
the years 997—1004.
[A.D. 680—869. SEE OF LEICESTER.] Eadhed was consecrated
to the see of Lindsey (or Sidnacester) by Archbishop
Theodorus, one of whose main objects was to increase the
number of bishoprics in the different Saxon kingdoms.
(See CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.) It was probably
at his suggestion, and no doubt with his co-operation, that
b Beda, H. E., lib. ii. c. xvi.
Sta 0f y jeittsto snfc goj%sier. 403
the see was established by Egfrid after his conquest of
Lindsey in 678. Two years later (680) Theodoras divided
the great Mercian bishopric, and erected a new see at
Leicester, to which he consecrated CUTHWEN. After
Cuthwin's death, in 691, the see of Leicester was adminis-
tered by the famous Wilfrid of York, until the year 705,
when it was re-united to the original Mercian see of Lich-
field. So it continued until 737, in which year the see of
Leicester again appears, with TORTHELM as its bishop.
From this time until the year 869, there is a regular succes-
sion of bishops of Leicester, the last of whom was CEOLRED,
(840—869). At his death the see was removed to Dor-
chester, in Oxfordshire. The Northmen had already com-
menced their attacks on Mercia, in which they soon made
good their settlements, and Leicester became one of the
five great Danish burghs. As in East Anglia (see NOR-
WICH CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.), it is probable that the Mercian
Danes were, as the Saxon Chronicle represents them,
" heathen men," although they may have embraced a no-
minal Christianity. At all events, no bishop appears
within the bounds of the Danelagh.
[A.D. 870—1067. SEE OP DORCHESTER.] Dorchester, to
which place the see of Leicester was removed, had been
(A.D. 634—676) the seat of the West Saxon bishopric,
until Headda (676—705) removed it to Winchester, as had
been originally intended. (See WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL,
Pt. II.) The district in which Dorchester is situated seems
about this time to have passed under the control of Mercia,
and it was probably within the bounds of that kingdom
when the see of Leicester was removed to it, about the
year 870. But the ravages of the Northmen soon broke
up the ancient limits, and ALHEARD, the first bishop of
Dorchester, who died of the plague in 897, is recorded in
the Saxon Chronicle as one of King Alfred's "most ex-
cellent thanesc." From Alheard to WULFWY, who died
6 Sax. Cbron., ad aim. 897.
2 D 2
404
in 1067, we have the names (and little besides) of eleven
bishops of Dorchester. Of these, the fourth from Alheard
is LEOFWIN, who, a little before 958, removed the see of
Lindsey to Dorchester. Kemigius, the successor of Wulfwy,
removed the chief place of the three sees which had thus
become united, to Lincoln.
SEE OF LINCOLN. [A.D. 1067 — 1092.] EEMIGIUS, or Remi, a
Benedictine of Fescamp, had accompanied the Conqueror
on his expedition, to which he is said to have contributed
a ship and twenty armed men. According to Giraldus he
was the leader (decurio) of the ten knights sent as the con-
tingent of the Abbot of Feacamp. A leaden plate preserved
hi the Chapter Library at Lincoln, seems to prove that
Remigius was related to the powerful house of Deincourt,
and thus allied to the Conqueror"1, who promised him an
English bishopric if the expedition should be successful.
On the death of Wulfwy in 1067 Remigius was accord-
ingly consecrated to the see of Dorchester.
The Norman bishop found his vast diocese in a state of
utter disorganization ; and at once " perambulated the whole
of it, so that by his sermons and instructions he wrought
a happy reformation in every part." The lofty mind and
excellent disposition (beatissimum ingenium) of Remigius
are contrasted by William of Malmesbury with his dwarfish
stature: — "Ipse pro exiguitate corporis pene portentum
hominis videbatur; luctabatur excellere et foris eminere
animus, eratque 'gratior exiguo veniens e corpore vir-
tus.*" " Statura parvus, sed corde magnus," says Henry of
Huntingdon, "colore fuscus sed operibus venustus." In
the year 1071 he accompanied Archbishop Lanfranc and
* The inscription runs as follows (the letters in italics are sup-
plied conjecturally) : — "Hie jacet Willm Filius Walter! Aiencuri-
ensiB consanguine! Remigii Episcopi Lincolniensis qui hanc ecclesiam
fecit. Praefatus Willm regia styrpe progenitus dura in curia regis
Will! Filii Magni regis Willi qui Angliam conquismt aleretur II.
Kal. Novembris obiit."
0f Lincoln, gemighrs. 405
Thomas, Archbishop of York, to Rome, where the Pope,
Alexander II., deposed from their sees both Archbishop
Thomas and Remigius, the former as being the son of
a priest, the latter on account of the bargain he had made
with the Conqueror. Both were restored, however, by the
interest of Lanfranc.
Remigius, like most of the Norman bishops, had a
passion for building. The Council of London, in 1075,
ordered the removal of episcopal sees from " vills " to cities ;
but it was before the promulgation of this decree that
the see of Dorchester was removed to Lincoln — for the
charter of the Conqueror confirming the change, dated that
year, speaks of it as already made. Lincoln was at the
extreme end of the diocese ; but the site was at least
not more inconvenient than that of Dorchester ; and
the strength of the position — on high ground, and close
under the walls of the great royal fortress then in the
course of erection — was probably a main consideration
here, as it was in fixing the sites of the other sees removed
at this time. Accordingly, Remigius, in the words of
Henry of Huntingdon, himself Archdeacon of Lincoln,
" built in a place strong and fair, a strong and fair church
to the Virgin of virgins ; which was both pleasant to God's
servants, and, as the time required, invincible to their
enemies."
The cathedral thus built by Remigius occupied the
south-east quarter of the original Roman city, the castle
taking up the south-west quarter. The exact site, "on
the brow of the hill beyond the river Witham, had," says
Giraldus Cambrensis, "been presignified by certain visions,
miracles, signs, and wonders." Remigius lived to com-
plete it, "after the manner of the church of Rouen, which
he had set before him as his pattern in all things e," and
placed twenty-one canons in it. He died, however, four
• Giraldua
406
day before that fixed for the consecration (May 8, 1092) ;
and was buried in the new church, before the altar of the
Holy Cross. He was never canonized; but numerous
miracles were said to have taken place at his tomb ; and
his episcopal ring dipped in water was held to produce an
excellent febrifuge.
All that remains of the church of Remigius is a portion
of the west front (Pt. I. § in.) and the portion of the
apse below the stalls. The cathedral of Rouen, which
Remigius copied, was destroyed by fire in 1200 f.
[A.D. 1094 — 1123.] ROBEKT BLOET, after the see had been
vacant two years, was consecrated by Archbishop Anselm
and seven other bishops, at Hastings — the day after Battle
Abbey was consecrated (Feb. 11). Bishop Robert was
Chancellor to William Rufus, and his appointment to the
see of Lincoln was made after that King's illness at Glou-
cester, when " he promised many promises to God, to lead
his own life righteously, and never more for money again
to sell God's churches 8." The nomination was not con-
firmed by the King, who had secretly stirred up Thomas
Archbishop of York, who claimed Lincoln as belonging
to his province, to protest against his consecration, until
he had received a large bribe from the bishop expectant.
The new cathedral was consecrated during Bishop Robert's
episcopate ; and he removed (against their will) the monks
from Stow, in Lincolnshire, to Eynsham, a newly restored
monastery in Oxfordshire, in order to appropriate the
manor of Stow for the use of the bishops of Lincoln,
f For a very interesting conjectural "restoration" of the church
built by Remigius, see a paper by the Rev. G. A. Poole, in the
Transactions of the Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society.
"Where, says Mr. Poole, "it may be presumed that Rouen
retains its original dimensions (for as to the actual fabric, not a
stone which Remigius beheld remains on another) it agrees re-
markably with the Lincoln which we have recovered."
* Sax. Chron.
snb giterttor. 407
Bishop Robert died suddenly in the Park at Woodstock,
Jan. 10, 1123. "It befell," says the Saxon Chronicle,
" on a Wednesday that the King (Henry I.) was riding in
his deer-fold, and the Bishop Roger of Salisbury on one
side of him, and the Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln on the
other side of him ; and they were there riding and talking.
Then the Bishop of Lincoln sank down, and said to the
King, 'Lord King, I am dying!' And the King alighted
from his horse, and lifted him betwixt his arms, and
caused him to be borne to his inn ; and he was then forth-
with dead ; and he was conveyed to Lincoln with great
worship, and buried before St. Mary's altar." Bishop
Robert enjoyed no good reputation in his own time ; and
Brompton and Knighton assert that the " church keepers "
(at Lincoln) "were sore annoyed (they saye) with his
sowle and other walking spretes till that place was purged
by prayers."
[A.D. 1123 — 1148.] ALEXANDER, Archdeacon of Salisbury,
and Chief Justice, was nephew of Roger, the powerful
Bishop of Salisbury (see that Cathedral, Pt. II.), by whose
influence he was raised to the episcopate. As in the case
of his brother Nigel, Bishop of Ely (see ELY, Pt. II.),
Alexander's fortunes were involved in those of his uncle
Bishop Roger ; and with him he was seized and imprisoned
during the Council of Oxford, 1139. On this occasion
Bishop Alexander was compelled to resign to the King
his two castles of Sleaford and Newark, which he had
himself built. He had built another castle at Banbury,
and four monasteries, at Dorchester, Haverholme, Thame,
and Louth Park. Alexander was far more of the secular
potentate than of the bishop. The author of the Gesta
Stephani says of him, " he was called a bishop, but he
was a man of vast pomp, and great boldness and audacity,
neglecting the pure and simple way of life belonging to the
Christian religion, he gave himself up to military affairs
and secular pomp, shewing whenever he appeared at Court
408 Sftrcoltt Ctftfjtfcral
so vast a band of followers that all men marvelled." The
testimony of Henry of Huntingdon is of the same tenour :
" He was brought up in the greatest luxury by his uncle,
the Bishop of Salisbury, and hence he acquired a spirit
too high to be good for his people. Desirous to excel
other nobles in the magnificence of his gifts and the splen-
dour of his works, when his own resources did not suffice
for this, he was in the habit of plucking most eagerly the
goods of his people to make his own smaller resources
equal to their greater ones. But yet he could not succeed
in this, inasmuch as he was ever squandering more and
more. Yet a wise man he was, and liberal to such a degree
that he was called by the Court of Rome « the magnificent.' "
A great fire occurred at Lincoln in June 1123, shortly
before Alexander's consecration, which burnt nearly the
whole of the city; and in 1141 occurred a second fire,
which did great mischief to the cathedral, and destroyed
the whole of the wooden roofs. Bishop Alexander vaulted
it with stone, and so repaired and adorned it, according to
Henry of Huntingdon, that it was " more beautiful than
before." The doorways in the west front are assigned
with great probability, to this bishop (Ft. I. § in.) ; who
was buried in his own cathedral.
[A.D. 1148 — 1167.] ROBERT DE CflESNEY, Archdeacon of
Leicester, by birth an Englishman. His name " de
Querceto," says Henry of Huntingdon, " is from the oak
copse." This bishop began the episcopal palace at Lincoln,
on the site of the old bishop's residence, "ubi sitae
f uerant," Giraldus, vii. 84, " at a great price ; " and
pledged the ornaments of his church in order to do so, to
" Aaron the Jew " in the sum of £300. He was a quiet
and unambitious man, described by de Diceto as a " man of
great simplicity and humility," and by G-ervase of Canter-
bury as " a simple man but not over wise." Giraldus Cam-
brensis calls him "a generous man, but a dilapidator of the
property of the see," alienating estates to give his nieces
to Cswje. Walter of teimTas. 409
marriage-portions. He endured a long struggle with the
Abbot of St. Alban's, then within the limits of his diocese,
which ended in the establishment of the independence of
the abbey from diocesan supervision, the bishop receiving
in exchange the manor of Tynghurst. St. Alban's thus
became the first of the mitred abbeys.
The death of Bishop ROBEBT occurred in the height of
the controversy between the King and Archbishop Becket ;
and the see of Lincoln remained vacant nearly seventeen
years ; a certain monk of Thame, one of the many pro-
phets of the time, predicting that it would never be filled
again. In the year 1173, however, GEOFFRY PLANTA-
GENET, natural son of Henry II., under twenty-one years
of age, only in deacon's orders, was appointed to the see,
under a dispensation from the Pope, Alexander III., on
account of his being under age. He paid off the debt to
Aaron the Jew, incurred by his predecessor, and, among
other costly gifts, bestowed on the cathedral two magni-
cent bells, " campanas egregias atque sonoras." But
Geoffry was never consecrated although for seven years
he retained the temporalities ; and he resigned Lincoln h
before
[A.D. 1183—1184.] When WALTER OF COUTANCES, Arch-
deacon of Oxford, was appointed by the King. After
seventeen years' cessation, mass was sung at the high
altar of the cathedral by a bishop of Lincoln. The year
afterwards he was translated to Eouen.
From 1184 — 1186 the see was again vacant. In the
year 1185 occurred that great earthquake " such as there
had not been in England since the beginning of the world,"
says Hoveden, which shattered the cathedral of Lincoln
and " split it in two from top to bottom.1 "
h In 1191 he was consecrated Archbishop of York.
1 " Terras motus magnus auditus est fere per totam Angliam,
qualis ab initio mundi in terra ilia non erat auditus. Petrae
enim scissae sunt, domus lapidese ceciderunt, ecclesia Lincoln-
410
[A.D. 1186 — 1200.] HUGH OP AVALON, or OF BURGUNDY ;
best known as ST. HUGH OF LINCOLN, the founder of the
existing cathedral, which was far advanced during his life-
time, and on which he laboured with his own hands. There
were many lives of St. Hugh, of which the longest and most
important, written by a Benedictine monk who was the
Bishop's chaplain and constant associate, has been pub-
lished in the Master of the Bolls' series, under the editor-
ship of the late Prebendary Dimock. A very curious and
interesting metrical life, written to all appearance imme-
diately upon the canonization of Hugh (A.D. 1220), was
previously edited by him (Lincoln, 1860), whose brief
sketch of St. Hugh's life is here given j.
" St. Hugh was born about the year 1140, of a knightly
Burgundian family, which took its name from Avalon,
a place about three miles distant from Grenoble. At an
early age he lost his mother, and soon afterwards entered
a priory of Regular Canons established in the neighbour-
hood of his father's castle. To this step he was led by the
precepts and example of his widowed father ; who at the
same time retired from the world, and became an inmate
of the same priory. At this time Hugh was a mere child ;
according to the best authority not quite eight, but ac-
cording to others, ten years old.
" At the age of eighteen he was ordained deacon. And
some time afterwards, probably when about twenty-four
years old, was made prior of a neighbouring cell, a de-
pendency of his convent. Within two or three years, it
would seem, he deserted his post, and betook himself to
iensis metropolitana scissa est a summo deorsum. Contigit enim
terras mot us iste in crastino diei dominicse in ramis palmarum,
viz. xvii. Kal. Mali." — ffoveden, ad ann. 1185.
j An admirable biography of St. Hugh has recently been
published by Canon Perry (Murray, 1879), which deserves
careful perusal. It includes lives of St. Hugh's predecessors in
the see.
411
the Great Chartreuse, near Grenoble, then in the zenith of
its fame, for the rigid austerity of its rules, and the earnest
piety of its members.
" After ten years spent in the most exemplary devotion
to his duties as a Carthusian monk, he was advanced to the
office of procurator, a post second only to that of the prior
of the house. This post he can have held but a year or
two. Had he held it a short time longer, he would have
succeeded, with little doubt, to the priory of the Great
Chartreuse, then one of the proudest pre-eminences in the
religious world. Such, however, was not to be his destiny.
Henry the Second of England was founding a Carthusian
convent at Witham, in Somersetshire, the first of the Order
in this country. Difficulties and disorders obstructed the
royal purpose. At length, hearing of the fame of Hugh,
and assured certainly that he was the man of all others
who would succeed in carrying his designs into full and
good effect, Henry managed, with difficulty, to procure his
removal for this purpose into England. This was probably
in A.D. 1175 or 1176.
" Hugh did not disappoint the expectations formed of
him. All difficulties soon vanished, upon his taking the
rule of Witham .... of which establishment, which soon
became the admiration of all .... he was prior about ten
years. He became an especial favourite of Henry II. In
the year 1186, mainly through the royal influence, and
that of Archbishop Baldwin, of Canterbury, he was made
Bishop of Lincoln.
" Sorely had he striven against this removal from the
religious calm of his beloved Carthusian cell to so dif-
ferent a sphere of action. But, once compelled to ac-
quiesce, he brought all his determined earnestness and
untiring energy to the duties of his new station. It may
be safely said that a more zealous and indefatigable prelate
than was Bishop Hugh of Lincoln seldom, if ever, pre-
sided over a see of our own or any other Christian land
412 fmtoln Cafytbral.
He was Bishop of Lincoln for little more than fourteen
years, dying in the autumn of A.D. 1200 k."
Several remarkable anecdotes, principally from the prose
lives, illustrating the character of St. Hugh, — his " resolute
unbending firmness of purpose in what he believed to be
right," his " cool and excellent judgment," his " singular
and exquisite tact," and his mixture .of cheerfulness with
asceticism, — will be found in Mr. Dimock's Introduction.
His great work at Lincoln was the rebuilding of his cathe-
dral ; which, as we have seen, had been ruined by an earth-
quake the year before his consecration. The remarkable
description of this work, contained in the " Metrical Life,"
will be found in Part III.
St. Hugh was canonized by the Pope, Honorius III., in
1220; and in 1280 his body was translated, with great
ceremony, into the newly-built eastern part of the cathe-
dral— the so-called " Angel-choir." This translation took
place at the cost of Thomas Bek, who on the same day was
consecrated to the see of St. David's. (See post, Bp. OLIVER
SUTTON.) Numerous miracles were said to be worked at his
shrine. " Up to the time of the Keformation, no such saint
in the English calendar, with one exception, had his fame
more widely spread, or received more earnest reverence.
The one exception is, of course, St. Thomas Becket ; with
whom, however, Hugh of Lincoln has no cause to fear
comparison. With fully as stern a resolution to defend
the rights of the Church against the encroachments of
the State, in many other points the character of Hugh
was a far finer one, and his consistent life more saint-
like, than can ever be truly predicated of Becket. ....
So long as his cathedral stands, in its grand beauty, the
name of Bishop Hugh of Lincoln cannot altogether be
forgotten He only wants now to be rightly known,
in order to be more rightly appreciated. We can still, I
k J. F. Dimock, Introd., i.-iii.
MUtam of glob, gogfe of fflblfe. 413
hope, admire the upright, honest, fearless man; we can
still revere the earnest, holy, Christian bishop V
The emblem which generally accompanies representations
of St. Hugh is his pet swan, which is said to have taken
up its abode at Stow,' the episcopal manor-house, on the
day of the Bishop's installation at Lincoln. It formed
an especial attachment to St. Hugh; and displayed ex-
treme grief on his last visit to Stow, before going to
London, where he died. " Hsec avis," says the " Metrical
Life:"—
" in vita candens, in funere cantans,
Sancti pontificis vitam mortemque figurat :
Candens dum vivit, notat hunc vixisse pudicum,
Cantans dum moritur, notat hunc decedere tutum."
Bishop Hugh died in London, and was brought to
Lincoln for interment, the journey taking up six days.
King John and his nobles, then holding a council in the
city, assisted in conveying the bier into the cathedral.
Three archbishops, nine bishops, " populus abbatum, turba
priorum," were also present.
[A.D. 1203 — 1206.] WILLIAM OP BLOIS. After the death of
St. Hugh there was for some time a dispute between the
King and the Chapter as to the right of election to the
vacant see. William of Blois, Prebendary and Precentor
of Lincoln, was elected by the Chapter in 1201 ; but was
not consecrated until 1203.
From 1206, in which year William of Blois died, to
1209, the see was again vacant. In that year
[A.D. 1209—1235.] HUGH OF WELLS, of which cathedral
he had been Archdeacon, and Canon of Lincoln, was ap-
pointed. The interdict pronounced by Pope Innocent was
still in force ; and Hugh was ordered by King John to
proceed for consecration to the Archbishop ot Eouen,
rather than to Stephen Langton, the exiled Archbishop of
1 Dimock, Introd., xii. xiii.
414 $woln (fcafyebrsl
Canterbury. The bishop elect, however, found Archbishop
Stephen at Melun, and was there consecrated by him:
John accordingly seized the temporalities of Lincoln, which
he retained until after his submission to Pandulf, in 1213.
Little is recorded of Bishop Hugh's long episcopate. It
is probable that the cathedral commenced by St. Hugh was
far advanced, if not completed, by him ; as the great hall
of the episcopal palace certainly was. In 1220, after an
examination by Archbishop Stephen Langton, and John,
Abbot of Fountains, of the miracles said to have been per-
formed at the tomb of St. Hugh of Avalon, his canon-
ization was solemnly decreed by the Pope, Honorius III.
Bishop Hugh of Wells was buried in his own cathedral,
at Lincoln.
[A.D. 1235 — 1253.] EGBERT G-ROSTETE ; a worthy successor
of St. Hugh, and one of the most remarkable men of the
thirteenth century.
" Kobert Grostgte was of humble birth : at Oxford his
profound learning won the admiration of Roger Bacon.
He translated the book called the * Testament of the
Twelve Patriarchs.' He went to France to make him-
self master of that language. He became Archdeacon of
Leicester, and Bishop of Lincoln. As Bishop of that vast
diocese he began to act with holy rigour unprecedented in
his times. With him Christian morals were inseparable
from Christian faith. He endeavoured to bring back the
festivals of the Church, which had grown into days of idle-
ness and debauchery, to their sacred character ; he would
put down the Feast of Fools, held on New Year's day. But
it was against the clergy, as on them altogether depended
the holiness of the people, that he acted with the most im-
partial severity. He was a Churchman of the highest
hierarchical notions. Becket himself did not assert the
immunities and privileges of the Church with greater
intrepidity ; . . . . but those immunities, those privileges,
implied heavier responsibility; that authority belonged
justly only to a holy, exemplary, unworldly clergy. Every-
where he was encountered with sullen, stubborn, or open
resistance. He was condemned as restless, harsh, pas-
sionate The dean and chapter of Lincoln were his
foremost and most obstinate opponents; the clergy as-
serted their privileges, the monasteries their papal exemp-
tions : the nobles complained of his interference with their
rights of patronage ; the King himself that he sternly pro-
hibited the clergy from all secular offices ; they must not
act as the King's justiciaries, or sit to adjudge capital
offences. His allies were the new Orders, the Preachers
and Mendicants. He addressed letters of confidence to the
generals of both Orders. He resolutely took his stand on
his right of refusing institution to unworthy clergy. He
absolutely refused to admit to benefices pluralist??, boys,
those employed in the King's secular service, in the courts
of judicature, or the collection of the revenue ; in many
cases foreigners ; he resisted alike Churchmen, the Chan-
cellor of Exeter ; nobles, he would not admit a son of the
Earl of Ferrars, as under age ; the King, whose indigna-
tion knew no bounds; he resisted the Cardinal Legates,
the Pope himself m."
The Pope whom Robert Grostete thus resisted was In-
nocent IV., — the last opponent of the great Emperor,
Frederick II., — than whom no Eoman pontiff carried the
papal claims farther. " Grostete received command, through
his Nuncio, to confer a canonry of Lincoln on the nephew
of Innocent, a boy, Frederick of Louvain. Grostete was
not daunted by the ascendant power of the Pope. His
answer was a firm, resolute, argumentative refusal : * I am
bound by filial reverence to obey all commands of the
Apostolic See ; but those are not apostolic commands which
are not consonant to the doctrine of the Apostles, and the
Master of the Apostles, Christ Jesus You cannot in
m Milman's Latin Christianity, vol. iv. pp. 468, 469.
416 fxnorltt
your discretion enact any penalty against me, for my re-
sistance is neither strife nor rebellion, but filial affection to
my father, and veneration for my mother the Church V
The passion of Innocent, on receiving this letter, is said
to have been extreme ; but he listened at last to the more
moderate counsels of his cardinals, and "acknowledged,
almost in apologetic tone, that he had been driven by the
difficulties of the times, and the irresistible urgency of
partisans, to measures which he did not altogether ap-
prove."
" On Grostete's death it was believed that music was
heard in the air, bells of distant churches tolled of their
own accord, miracles were wrought at his grave and in his
church at Lincoln. But it was said, likewise, that the in-
exorable Pontiff entertained the design of having his body
disinterred and his bones scattered. But Robert GrostSte
himself appeared in a vision, dressed in his pontifical robes,
before the Pope. ' Is it thou, Sinibald, thou miserable Pope,
who wilt cast my bones out of their cemetery, to thy disgrace
and that of the church of Lincoln ? . . . . Woe to thee who
hast despised, thou shalt be despised in thy turn ! ' The
Pope felt as if each word pierced him like a spear. From
that night he was wasted by a slow fever. The hand of
God was upon him. All his schemes failed; his armies
were defeated ; he passed neither day nor night undisturbed.
Such was believed by a large part of Christendom to have
been the end of Pope Innocent IV. °"
Bishop Robert was the correspondent and friend of
Adam Marsh (de Marisco), the learned Franciscan friar,
whose letters have been printed in the Monumenta Francis-
cana, edited by the Rev. J. S. Brewer ; and was, according
to Matthew Paris, the special adviser and confessor of the
great Earl Simon de Montfort. He died, however, long
before the Barons' War. His character can only fairly be
m Milman's Latin Christianity, rol. iv. pp. 468, 469. • Id.
417
understood in connection with the history of his time, —
when England lay more completely than ever, before, or
since, under the control of the Pope. Matthew Paris, little
as he admired him while living, was not sparing of pane-
gyric after his death. " Fuit Domini Papse et Regis re-
dargutor manifestus, Praalatorum correptor, Monachorum
corrector, Presbyterorum director, Clericorum instructor,
scholarium sustentator, populi preedicator, incontinentium
persecutor, Scriptuarum sedttlus perscrutator diversarum,
Romanorum malleus et contemptor. In mensa refectionis
corporalis dapsilis, copiosus et civilis, hilaris et affabilis :
in mensa vero spiritual! devotus, lachrymosus et contritus :
in officio Pontifical! sedulus, venerabilis, et infatigabilisp."
Unlike St. Hugh, or his contemporary, Edmund Rich,
Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert GrostSte was never
solemnly canonized. Like Waltheof, who was interred at
Crowland, however, and like Simon de Montfort, Bishop
Robert was canonized by the voice of the English people.
His tomb, in the south-east transept of his cathedral, was
especially reverenced ; and, as direct proof of his sanctity,
an oil was said to distil from it. No direct record exists
of his works in the cathedral ; but the stone lattice- work,
which, on good grounds, is believed to mark his building,
is seen on- the west front, the central tower, and other
parts of the fabric. There was a tradition that the frag-
ments of a magic head, constructed by Bishop Robert,
were preserved in the vaulting : —
" Fabricat sere caput ....
Dum caput erigitur corruit ima petens.
Scinditur in cineres ....
Dicunt rulgares, quod adhuc Lincolnia mater
In volta capitis fragmina servat ea<i."
Robert GrostSte died at Buckden, Oct. 10, 1253. He
P M. Paris, p. 754 (ed. Watts).
q Ric. Mon. Bardeniensis, de Vita R. Grosthead — Anglia Sacra,
vol. ii. p. 326.
VOL. II. PT. I. 2K
418
was buried at Lincoln, Oct. 13, the Archbishop Boniface
officiating, assisted by the Bishop of London, the Bishop
of Worcester, in the presence of " a countless multitude
of clergy and people, who nocked from all quarters to
do honour to one who, in maintaining the rights of the
Church and realm of England, had bearded the King upon
his throne, and contemned even the maledictions of the
Pope r." His letters have been edited, with a most valuable
Introduction, by H. R. Luard (Longmans, 1861).'
[A.D. 1254 — 1258.] HENRY LEXINGTON, Treasurer of Salis-
bury 1245, Dean of Lincoln, was elected by the Chapter
in opposition to the wishes of the King, who had named
Peter de Aquablanca, Bishop of Hereford. The most
remarkable event of his episcopate was the persecution
of the Jews of Lincoln on account of the death of " Little
St. Hugh," or St. Hugh the Less, — a child who was
found dead in a well, and who was said to have been
sacrificed at the Passover, in contempt of our Lord, by the
Jews. A process was commenced against the Jews by
the authorities and clergy of Lincoln; and thirty-two
of them were in consequence put to death : some of whom
were tied to the feet of wild horses, dragged out of the
city till they were dead, and then hanged on gibbets
at the common place of execution. A long account of
the whole proceeding will be found in Matthew Paris.
The ballad of " St. Hugh of Lincoln " records the popular
version of it ; and Chaucer thus alludes to it at the end of
the " Prioress' Tale : "—
" 0 younge Hew of Lincolne slain also,
With cursed Jewes, as it is notable,
For it n'is but a litel while ago,
Pray eke for us, we sinful folk unstable,
That of his mercie God so merciable
On us His grete mercie multiplie,
For reverence of His Mother Marie."
r Dean Hook, Lives of the Archbishops, vol. iii. p. 276.
8 See also " The Life and Times of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of
Lincoln," by Canon Perry, published by the S.P.C.K., 1871.
10 alhrb. 419
Eighteen Jews had been put to death at Norwich twenty
years before, on a similar accusation. (See NORWICH
- CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.) The shrine of St. Hugh has been
noticed, Pt. I. § xxiv. It was opened in 1790, when the
skeleton of a child was found in the coffin.
[A.D. 1258 — 1279.] RICHARD OF G-RAVESEND, Dean of Lin-
coln 1254. With the Bishops of London, Winchester, and
Chichester, he adhered to the party of the Barons ; and,
like those Bishops, was excommunicated by the Papal
Legate, Cardinal Ottoboni.
[A.D. 1280 — 1299.] OLIVER SUTTON, Dean of Lincoln 1275.
During his episcopate the cloister, to which he contributed
fifty marks, was built ; the cathedral precinct was enclosed
with a wall, " because of the homicides and other atrocities
perpetrated by thieves and malefactors;" and houses for
the Yicars Choral were built at the Bishop's own expense.
But the great event of Bishop Oliver's episcopate was
the translation of the body of St. Hugh, which, on the
octave of St. Michael, 1280, was solemnly deposited within
its shrine in the new presbyter^, or " Angel-choir." Edward
the First and his Queen ; Edmund " the King's brother,"
and the Queen of Navarre, his wife ; the Archbishops of
Canterbury (John Peckham) and Edessa * ; many bishops,
and 230 knights, were present. Two conduits outside the
gate of the Bishop's manor ran with wine. The whole cost
of the translation was defrayed by Thomas Bek, who on
the same day was consecrated to the bishopric of St. David's.
He was brother of Antony, the powerful Bishop of Durham
and Patriarch of Jerusalem, who at his own consecration,
three years and a-half afterwards, translated the remains of
St. William of York at his own expense.
[A.D. 1300—1320.] JOHN of DALDERBY, Chancellor of Lin-
coln. The upper part of the central tower dates from his
* The Crusaders had identified Edessa with Rages in Media.
This Archbishop was an Englishman (Rishanger's Chron., p. 54).
His see had been for many years in the hands of the infidels.
2 E 2
420
episcopate. He had been prebendary of St. David's, and
in 1293 became Chancellor of Lincoln. Letters of indul-
gence exist, dated March 9, 1307, granting a relaxation of
forty days, " de injuncta" sibi penitential" to any one who
should assist in building the tower. In 1310 the bowels
of Queen Eleanor, who died at Harby, were interred in the
cathedral. During his episcopate (1308) he was appointed
by the Pope one of the Commissioners to hear and try the
charges against the unhappy Knights Templars. The
accused from many of the Midland Counties were brought
together at Lincoln, and confined in the Clasket gate.
The process was heard in the chapter-house. Being satis-
fied in his own mind that there was " no case " against the
Templars, Dalderby withdrew from the inquiry, which
resulted in the perpetual imprisonment of those who
refused to confess, in certain monasteries, their property
being confiscated. Fourpence a day was allowed for their
maintenance. (Pt. I. § xxi.) Little is recorded of the
personal life of Bishop Dalderby, who died at Stow in
1320, and was buried in the south transept, where his
remains were afterwards placed in a silver shrine. He
left behind him a reputation for singular piety and upright-
ness. " Tanquam sanctus colebatur," says Godwin ; and
numerous attempts were made, but in vain, to procure his
canonization during the subsequent episcopate of Bishop
Burghersh. Many miracles were said to have been wrought
at his tomb.
Anthony Bek, Chancellor of Lincoln, was elected by the
Chapter on Bishop Dalderby's death. His election was,
however, annulled by the Pope, who appointed
[A.D. 1320 — 1340.] HENRY BURGHERSH, Treasurer 1327, and
Chancellor of England 1328 ; grandson of Bartholomew
de Badlesmere, the great Baron of Leeds Castle, by whose
influence he obtained his bishopric, when only in his thir-
tieth year. He was the son of Sir Robert of Burghersh,
and brother of Bartholomew, Lord Burghersh. In 1329 he
gi&jjojjs |torxjljer8|r 10 IJokjmlmm. 421
accompanied Edward III', to France, and was frequently
employed by him in diplomatic services. Not long be-
fore his death, which occurred at Ghent, Bishop Burghersh
had enclosed a park or deer chase, at Tinghurst, and in
order to do so effectually had seized on certain lands held
by some of his poorer neighbours. Their imprecations on
the Bishop were loud and deep ; and Walsingham asserts
that after his death he appeared to one of his friends,
dressed in a short coat of Lincoln green, with a horn slung
round his neck, and carrying a bow and arrows. As a
punishment for his wrongs against the poor, he declared
that he had been made keeper of the chase at Tinghurst ;
and that he was condemned to wander about until the
fences should be again thrown down and the lands restored
to their former owners. The Canons of Lincoln accord-
ingly, having been duly informed of the Bishop's distress,
proceeded to relieve him 'in the way he had pointed out.
Bishop Burghersh's tomb remains at the end of the retro-
choir. (Pt. I. § xvm.)
[A.D. 1342—1347.] THOMAS BEK, nephew of the great
Bishop of Durham, and brother of Anthony B^k, Bishop
of Norwich.
[A.D. 1347 — 1362.] JOHN GYNWELL, Prebendary of Lincoln,
Salisbury, and York ; Archdeacon of Northampton 1346.
He was engaged in vexatious controversies with Arch-
bishop Islip with regard to metropolitical visitation, and
his power over the University of Oxford. In both the
Archbishop proved victorious. The exemption from visita-
tion, which Gynwell had purchased at an enormous cost
from Clement VI., was nullified, and he was declared, by
the papal authorities, obliged to confirm the Chancellor of
the University, duly appointed, at the first requirement.
[A.D. 1363 — 1398.] JOHN BOKYNGHAM, Archdeacon of North-
ampton. Dean of Lichfield, and Keeper of the Privy Seal.
During his episcopate the head of St. Hugh, in its golden
reliquary, was stolen from the cathedral. The thieves,
422
after stripping away the gold and jewels, flung the head
into a field ; where, says Knighton, it was watched by a
crow until recovered by the confession of the thieves them-
selves, and brought back to Lincoln". Bishop Bokyngham
was, much against his will, translated to Lichfield by the
Pope, in 1398. He refused, however, to accept a bishopric
the revenues of which were so much less than those of
Lincoln, and retired to Canterbury, where he died a
monk.
John of Welbourn was treasurer of Lincoln from 1350
to 1380, and was a great benefactor to the cathedral.
Among others of his benefactions enumerated in a volume
preserved in the Chapter Record-room are, — " Qui eciam
ut Gustos Sancti Hugonis fecit reparari ii. costas superiores
feretri ejusdem, cum uno tabernaculo et i. ymagine Sancti
Pauli stantis in eodem ex parte boriali, cum plato de auro
puro, quse fuerant pro antea depicts ; et eciam canopeum
novum de ligno pro eodem. Qui eciam, post furacionem
et spoliacionem capitis Sancti Hugonis, de novo fecit cum
auro et argento et lapidibus preciosis ornari et reparari.
Qui eciam existens magister fabrics, fuit principalis causa
movens de factura duarum voltarum campanilium in fine
occidentali monasterii, et eciam voltas altioris campanilis.
Ac eciam fecit fieri lieges in fine occidentali predicta ; ac
eciam facturam horilogii quod vocatur Clok. Et inceptor
et consultor incepcionis facturse stallorum novorum in
ecclesia cathedrali Lincoln."
[A.D. 1398, translated to Winchester 1405.] HENRY BEAU-
FORT, son of John of Gaunt by Catherine Swynford, who
was buried at Lincoln during his episcopate. Her tomb
remains in the cathedral. (Pt. I. § xv.) For a long notice
of Cardinal Beaufort, whose death-bed has been so wonder-
fully and so unfairly painted by Shakespeare, see WINCHES-
u Knighton, ap. Twysden, Decem Scriptores. The same
chronicler asserts that many similar robberies of shrines and
relics took place about this time.
anb- Jtohtg. 423
TER CATHEDRAL, Part II. He died in 1447, and was "buried
at Winchester, where his superb chantry still remains.
[A.D. 1405 — 1419.] PHILIP OF REPINGDON (i.e. Repton, in
Derbyshire, where he was born) was for some time
before his elevation to the episcopate a vigorous Wickliffite,
and in 1382 preached a violent sermon in defence of
Wickliffe's doctrines before the archiepiscopal commissary,
Dr. Stokes, at St. Frideswide's. He was suspended by the
University, on which he appealed to John of Gaunt and
Archbishop Courtenay. The latter appointed Repingdon
and his companions a hearing before a court of inquiry at
the Black Friars, London. Their answers were pronounced
heretical, but ulterior proceedings were stopped by recanta-
tion at Paul's Cross. Honours were then poured thick
upon him. He became Abbot of Leicester (1400), and
Chancellor of Oxford (1400). Pope Innocent VII. intruded
him into the see of Lincoln ; and in 1408 Gregory XII.
made him a cardinal. Having, by accepting the car-
dinalate, transgressed the law, and incurred the penalties
of a prasmunire, Repingdon resigned his bishopric, Oct. 14,
1419. He died in obscurity, about the year 1434, and
was interred in Lincoln Cathedral, near the grave of his
great predecessor Robert Groste'te.
[A.D. 1420—1431.] RICHARD FLEMING, Canon of York,
was nominated by the Pope (and consecrated at Florence)
on the resignation of Repingdon. In 1426 Bishop Fleming
was translated by Papal authority to the vacant see of
York ; but his translation was resisted by Henry V., who
refused to restore the temporalities. Bishop Fleming was
accordingly compelled to be translated back to Lincoln ; as
bishop of which see he had executed the sentence of the
Council of Constance in 1425, which ordered the body of
Wickliffe to be exhumed, as that of a heretic, the bones
to be burnt, and the ashes thrown into the nearest river.
(The church of Lutterworth, in which Wickliffe had been
buried, was in the diocese of Lincoln.) Bishop Fleming
424 Jpnxoltt <£a%bral.
was buried in the chapel erected by himself on the north
side of the choir. (Pt. I. § xvm.) He was the founder
(1430) of Lincoln College, Oxford ; the buildings of which
were further advanced by Thomas Beckington (1443 —
1464), Bishop of Bath and Wells, and completed by
Thomas Scott, or Kotherham, translated (1480) to the see
of York from. Lincoln (see post}.
[A.D. 1431—1436.] WILLIAM GRAY, of Baliol College,
Oxford, Dean of York, Bishop of London, translated to
Lincoln from London (see LONDON).
[A.D. 1436 — 1349.] WILLIAM ALNWICK, Confessor to Henry
VI., was translated to Lincoln from Norwich. At Nor-
wich Bishop Alnwick almost rebuilt the west front of his
cathedral (see NORWICH) ; and the west windows at Lincoln
are erroneously said to be his work. (Pt. I. § in.) He was
a great benefactor to the Philosophy Schools at Cambridge.
[A.D. 1450, died the same year.] MARMADUKE LUMLEY,
Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Archdeacon of North-
umberland, Precentor of Lincoln (1424), translated by papal
provision from Carlisle, of which see he had been bishop
for twenty years. He gave £200 toward the building of
Queens' College, Cambridge ; and supplied the library with
many books.
[A.D. 1452 — 1271.] JOHN CHEDWORTH, Canon of Lincoln,
Archdeacon of Wilts, and second Provost of Queens' Col-
lege, Cambridge, was elected after the see had been vacant
for more than twelve months. In 1554 Bishop Ched-
worth, and Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, were ap-
pointed by Henry VI. to revise the statutes of his two
royal colleges at Eton and Cambridge.
[A.D. 1472—1480.] THOMAS SCOTT, or KOTHERHAM, Master
of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and Chancellor of that
University, translated to Lincoln from Rochester, was
elevated to the see of York in 1840. He died in 1500,
having for some time been Chancellor of England. Lin-
coln College, Oxford, was completed by him. (See YORK.)
wrtr
[A.D. 1480—1494.] JOHN RUSSELL, translated to Lincoln
from Rochester. He was the first Chancellor of the Uni-
versity of Oxford who retained the office for life, his pre-
decessors having been elected by year. He was educated
at Winchester and New College, became Prebendary
of St. Paul's 1474, and Archdeacon of Berks 1468. He
was much employed in diplomatic service at the Court of
Burgundy. He became Keeper of the Privy Seal 1474,
and Chancellor 1483. He was consecrated Bishop of
Rochester 1476, and was appointed by Edward IV. tutor
to the infant Prince of Wales, and one of the executors of
his will. " There is a mystery about Bishop Russell's
conduct in the reigns of Edward V. and Richard III. There
can be but little doubt that he was in correspondence with
the Earl of Richmond, although he continued in office
under Richard III. ; and it is certain that Richmond, who
had trusted him at first, required him in 1485 to deliver
up the Great Seal. During the remainder of his life,
after the accession of Henry VII., he remained in retire-
ment x ; his piety, learning, and general knowledge of
affairs being greatly prized by Sir Thomas More. Buck-
den Palace was almost rebuilt by him, as well as the
Chancery at Lincoln. He died at Nettleham. He was
buried in the chapel which he had. built during his life,
on the south side of the retro-choir at -Lincoln. (Pt. I.
§ xxn.)
[A.D. 1496 — 1514.] WILLIAM SMITH. Margaret Countess
of Richmond was his patroness, and he was probably
educated in the household of Thomas Earl of Derby. He
graduated in law at Oxford, though his college is uncertain,
but removed to Cambridge, where he became a Fellow
of Pembroke. In 1485 he became Clerk of the Hanaper,
and soon after a Privy Councillor and Archdeacon of
Surrey. He was consecrated to the see of Lichfield
1 Hook, Lives of the Archbishops, vol. v. p. 421.
426 f meofo
February 3, 1493, and was translated to Lincoln 1495.
" ' A good name,' observes Fuller, ' is an ointment poured
out,' saith Solomon ; and this man, wheresoever he went,
may be followed by the perfumes of cnarity he left behind
him." At Lichfield he founded a hospital and a school ;
and at Oxford he commenced the rebuilding of Brasenose
College on the site of the ancient hall of that name. That
college accordingly retains his arms (Argent, a chevron
sable between three roses gules), and he is regarded as its
founder. Bishop Smith was Chancellor of Oxford ; and
was appointed the first President of Wales by Henry VII. ;
" that politick Prince," says Fuller, " having, to ease
and honour his native country of Wales, erected a court
of Presidency, conformable to the Parliaments of France,
in the Marches thereof." The Bishop was buried in his
own cathedral at Lincoln.
[A.D. 1514.] THOMAS WOLSEY was Bishop of Lincoln for
nearly twelve months, before his elevation to York.
[A.D. 1514 — 20.] WILLIAM ATWATEB, Fellow of Magdalen,
Oxford, Prebendary of Lincoln, St. David's, Wells, and
Windsor, Fellow of Eton, Dean of Salisbury, Archdeacon
of Huntingdon and of Lewes, Dean of the Chapel Royal.
He died at Wooburn Palace, Bucks.
[A.D. 1321 — 1547.J JOHN LONGLAND, Dean of Salisbury,
Prebendary of Lincoln, Canon of Windsor, and Con-
fessor of Henry VIII. For the greater part of his epis-
copate— during which the bishoprics of Oxford and Peter-
borough were erected out of portions of his vast diocese
— he was Chancellor of Oxford. His chantry has been
noticed, Pt. I. § xxii. He died at Wooburn Palace, and
his body was buried at Eton, his heart alone being in-
terred in the chantry he had erected at Lincoln.
[A.D. 1547 — 1551.] HENEY HOLBEACH, alias BANDS; had
been consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Bristol in 1538 ; in
1544 he was appointed Bishop of "Rochester ; and was
thence translated to Lincoln. The temporalities were
f olbrnfe to garlofa. 427
restored to Bishop Holbeach in 1547 ; and in the follow-
ing September he resigned to the Crown (Edw. VI.) a
large proportion of the manors belonging to the see ;
and " in short," Browne Willis says, " gave up what-
ever was asked of him, leaving his successors not so
much as one palace except that of Lincoln." In 1551
Buckden was restored to the see.
[A.D. 1552—1554.] JOHN TAYLOR, Master of St. John's
College, Cambridge, and Dean of Lincoln 1548. On the
accession of Mary, Bishop Taylor refused to be present at
the celebration of Mass, and was accordingly deprived ;
escaping further penalties by his death, which occurred at
Ankerwyke, in Buckinghamshire.
[A.D. 1554 ; translated to Winchester 1556.] JOHN WHITE.
[A.D. 1557—1559.] THOMAS WATSON, Master of St. John's
College, Cambridge, and Dean of Durham, a decided
opponent of the Reformation, was deprived on the ac-
cession of Elizabeth. He was consigned to the care
of the Bishops of Ely and Rochester, successively, and
was finally imprisoned in Wisbech Castle, where he
died in 1584, and was buried in the parish church of
Wisbech.
[A.D. 1560 ; translated to Worcester 1570.] NICHOLAS
BULLINGHAM, Archdeacon and Prebendary of Lincoln
(see WORCESTER).
[A.D. 1571 ; translated to Winchester 1584.] THOMAS
COOPER, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford (see WINCHESTER).
[A.D. 1584 ; translated to Winchester 1594.] WILLIAM
WICKHAM, Dean and Prebendary of Lincoln, Westminster,
and Windsor, and Fellow of Eton (see WINCHESTER).
[A.D. 1595 — 1608.] WILLIAM CHADERTON, President of
Queens' College, Cambridge, Warden of Manchester, was
consecrated Bishop of Chester in 1579 ; and in 1594 was
translated to Lincoln. .
[A..D. 1608—1613.] WILLIAM BARLOW, Dean of Chester,
Prebendary of St. Paul's, Westminster, and Canterbury;
428 f hitoln Csifcebrsl.
translated to Lincoln from Rochester. Bishop Barlow
was a great benefactor to St. John's College, Cambridge,
and was " esteemed by all a very learned and pious
person."
[A.D. 1614; translated to Durham 1617.] RICHARD NEILE,
passed successively through the sees of Rochester, Lich-
field, Lincoln, Durham, and Winchester, to the archi-
episcopal see of York (see that Cathedral), where he died
in 1640 (see YORK).
[A.D. 1617; translated to London 1621.] GEORGE MON-
TEIGNE. He passed from London to Durham, and thence
to York (see YORK).
[A.D. 1621; translated to York 1641.] JOHN WILLIAMS,
the well-known opponent of Laud, was a native of Car-
narvonshire, and educated at Cambridge. On the
removal of Lord Chancellor Bacon in 1621, Williams
was made Keeper of the Great Seal ; and, in the same
month, Bishop of Lincoln: with which see he held the
deanery of Westminster and the rectory of Waldgrave
in commendam. A full notice of Archbishop Williams,
whose life belongs to the history of his time, will be
found in the Handbook to YORK CATHEDRAL, Pt. II.
[A.D. 1642, died 1654.] THOMAS WINKIFFE, born at Sher-
borne in Dorset, Dean successively of Gloucester and
London, was expelled from his see during the Civil War,
and retired to Lamborne in Essex ; of which place, says
Fuller, he had been for some time the " painful minister."
He died there in 1654, and was buried in the parish
church.
[A.D. 1660 — 1663.] RORERT SANDERSON, the most eminent
casuist of the English Church, who descended from an
ancient family, and born at Rotherham, in Yorkshire, in
1587. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, and
became rector successively of Wybberton and of Boothby
Pagnel, both in Lincolnshire ; and in 1629 Prebendary of
Lincoln. He was recommended by Laud as one of the
Santeum anfr Jailer. 429
King's chaplains ; and Charles I. used to say that " he
carried his ears to hear other preachers, but his conscience
to hear Mr. Sanderson." In 1642 Sanderson was by the
King appointed Professor of Divinity at Oxford ; and he
was concerned in many of the discussions during the Civil
War, before, in 1647 and 1648, he obtained leave to attend
Charles I. during his retention at Hampton Court and
in the Isle of Wight. In the latter year he was deprived
of his Professorship by the Parliamentary Visitors, and
retired to Boothby Pagnel, where he was permitted to
remain, not altogether undisturbed, until the Restoration.
During his retirement he wrote, at the request of Robert
Boyle, his book De Conscientid.
On the Restoration, Sanderson was elevated to the see
of Lincoln. He nearly rebuilt the palace at Buckden,
which had been ruined by the Puritans, and was buried in
the chancel of the parish church there, after having held
the bishopric for not quite two years. The reputation of
Bishop Sanderson was great during his lifetime. " That
staid and well weighed man, Dr. Sanderson," says
Hammond, " conceives ajl things deliberately, dwells
upon them discreetly, discerns things that differ exactly,
passeth his judgment rationally, and expresses it aptly,
clearly, and honestly." His life is one of those written
by Izaak Walton. His works have been frequently re-
printed ; the most important being " Sermons," " Cases of
Conscience," " De Juramenti Olligatione" " De Obliga-
tions Conscientice"
[A.D. 1663 ; translated to Ely 1667.] BENJAMIN LANEY,
Master of Pembroke, Cambridge, Prebendary of West-
minster and Winchester, and Dean of Rochester, translated
to Lincoln from Peterborough (see ELY.)
[A.D. 1667 — 1675.] WILLIAM FULLER, Dean of St. Patrick's ;
(translated from Limerick. Bishop Fuller bestowed much
cost and labour, but little correct taste, in adorning his
cathedral. The memorial on the site of the shrine of St.
430
Hugh and the misplaced epitaph to Remigius were set up
by him.
[A.D. 1675—1691.] THOMAS BARLOW, Archdeacon of Ox-
ford. Browne Willis calls him " A thorney and paced
Calvinist," and Godwin asserts that he never held a
visitation within his diocese, and, what is more incredible,
that he never saw his cathedral at Lincoln. He de-
fended the strongest measures of James II., but was
equally ready to do homage to William III. Bishop
Barlow's learning was considerable, and he has been
especially praised by Clarendon, who applied to him the
words of Cicero, " Non unum in multis, sed unum inter
omnes prope singularem."
[A.D. 1692 ; translated to Canterbury 1694.] THOMAS
TENISON. (See CANTERBURY, Pt. II.)
[A.D. 1695 — 1704.] JAMES GARDINER. Bishop Gardiner
was educated at Emanuel College, Cambridge. He be-
came Chaplain to the Duke of Monmouth, Sub-dean
and Prebendary of Lincoln, and Prebendary of Salis-
bury.
[A.D. 1705 ; translated to Canterbury 1715.] WILLIAM
WAKE. (See CANTERBURY, Pt. II.)
[A.D. 1716 ; translated to London 1723.] EDMUND GIBSON.
[A.D. 1723 — 1744.] KICHARD KEYNOLDS; translated from
Bangor. Bishop Reynolds was Chancellor of the Diocese
of Peterborough, and Prebendary and Dean of the same
cathedral ; consecrated Bishop of Bangor 1721.
[A.D. 1744 ; translated to Salisbury 1761.] JOHN THOMAS.
[A.D. 1761—1779.] JOHN GREEN.
[A.D. 1779; translated to Durham 1787.] THOMAS THUR-
LOW,
[A.D. 1787 ; translated to Winchester 1820.] GEORGE
PRETYMAN TOMLINE.
[A.D. 1820 — 1827.] GEORGE PELHAM ; translated from
Exeter.
[A.D. 1827 — 1853.] JOHN KAYE; translated from Bristol.
miis
Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, 1814, Bishop of
Bristol 1820.
[A.D. 1853—1869.] JOHN JACKSON, Eector of St. James's,
Piccadilly, 1846, Canon of Bristol 1852; translated to
London.
[A.D. 1869.] CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, Head Master of
Harrow School 1836, Canon (1844) and Archdeacon of
Westminster 1865.
LINCOLN CATHEDKAL.
PART III.
NOTE I. (PART I., SECT. I.)
DESCRIPTION OP THE BUILDING OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL BY ST.
HUGH : FROM THE METRICAL LIFE ; VERSES 833 — 965.
ty
PONTIFICIS vero pontern facit ad Paradisum
Provida religio, provisio religiosa;
^dificare Sion in simplicitate laborans,
Non in sanguinibus. Et mira construit arto
Ecclesiae cathedralis opus : quod in sedificando
Non solum concedit opes, operamque suorura,
Sed proprii sudoris opem ; lapidesque frequenter
Excisos fert in calatho, calcenique tenacem.
Debilitas claudi, baculis suffulta duobus,
Illius officium calathi sortitur, inesse
Omen ei credens; successiveque duorum
Indignatur opem baculorum. Rectificatqne
Curvum, quaa rectos solet incurvare diffita.
O gregis egregius, non mercenarius immo
Pastor ! Ut ecclesi® perhibet structura novella.
Mater namque Sion dejecta jacebat et arcta,
Errans, ignara, languens, anus, acris, egena,
Vilis, turpis : Hugo dejectam sublevat, arctam
Ampliat, errantem regit, ignaram docet, segram
Sanat, anum renovat, acrem dulcorat, egenam
Fecuudat, vilem decorat, turpemque decorat.
gnilbing of Catfetbral bg St. $»$. 433
Funditus obruitur moles vetus, et nova surgit ;
Surgentisque status formam crucis exprimit aptam.
Tres integrales partes labor arduus unit :
Nam fundament! moles solidissima surgit
A centro, paries supportat in aera tectum :
Sic fundamentum terras sepelitur in alvo
Sed paries tectumque patent, ausuque superbo
Evolat ad nubes paries, ad sidera tectum.
Materiss pretio studium bene competit artis.
Nam quasi pennatis avibus testudo locuta,
Latas expandens alas, similisque volanti,
Nubes offendit, solidis innisa columnis.
Viscosusque liquor lapides conglutinat albos,
Quos manus artificis omnes excidit ad unguem
Et paries ex congerie constructus eorum,
Hoc quasi dedignans, mentitur continuare
Contiguas partes ; non esse videtur ab arte
Quin a natura ; non res unita, sed una.
Altera fulcit opus lapidum pretiosa nigrorum
Materies, non sic uno contenta colore,
Non tot laxa poris, sed crebro sidere fulgens,
Et rigido compacta sinu : nulloque domari
Dignatur ferro, nisi quando domatur ab arte ;
Quando superficies nimiis laxatur arena
Pulsibus, et solidum forti penetratur aceto.
Inspectus lapis iste potest suspendere mentes,
Ambiguas utrum jaspis marmorve sit ; at si
Jaspis, hebes jaspis ; si manner, nobile marmor.
Inde columnellse, quse sic cinxere columnas,
Ut videantur ibi quamdam celebrare choream.
Exterior facies, nascente politior ungue,
Clara repercussis opponit visibus astra :
Nam tot ibi pinxit varias fortuna figuras,
Ut si picturam similem simulare laboret
Ars conata diu, naturam vix imitetur.
Sic junctura decens serie disponit honesta
Mille columnellas ibi : quse rigidse, pretiosse,
VOL. II. PT. I. 2 F
434 Jmcoln <f a%bral.
Fulgentes, opus ecclesiae totale rigore
Perpetuant, pretio ditant, fulgore serenant.
Ipsarum siquidem status est procerus et altus,
Cultus sincerus et splendidus, ordo venustus
Et geometricus, decor aptus et utilis, usus
Gratus et eximius, rigor inconsumptus et acer.
[Defenestris vitreis.~\
Splendida prsetendit oculis senigmata duplex
Pompa fenestrarum ; cives inscripta supernss
Urbis, et arma quibus Stygium domuere tyrannum.
Majoresque duse, tamquam duo lumina ; quorum
Orbiculare jubar, fines aquilonis et austri
Kespiciens, gemina premit omnes luce fenestras.
Illse conferri possunt vulgaribus astris ;
Hsec duo sunt, unum quasi sol, aliud quasi luna.
Sic caput ecclesise duo candelabra serenant,
Vivis et variis imitata coloribus irim ;
Non imitata quid em, sed praecellentia ; nam sol,
Quando repercutitur in nubibus, efficit irim ;
Ilia duo sine sole micant, sine nube coruscant.
\_De allegoria singulorum.]
Hsec, descripta quasi pueriliter, allegorise
Pondus habent. Foris apparet quasi testa, sed intus
Consistit nucleus ; foris est quasi cera, sed intus
Est favus ; et lucet jucundior ignis in umbra.
Nam fundamentum, paries, tectum, lapis albus
Excisus, marmor planum, spectabile, nigrum,
Ordo fenestrarum duplex, geminaeque fenestrse,
Quse quasi despiciunt fines aquilonis et austri,
In se magna quidem sunt, sed majora figurant.
[De partilus ecclesice integrce.']
Est fundamentum corpus, paries homo, tectum
Spiritus ; ecclesise triplex divisio. Corpus
Terrain sortitur, homo nubes, spiritus astra.
£ife 0f St. fngfe. ftfee Catfeehal 435
[De a/fo's lapidibus.~\
Albus et excisus castos lapis et sapientes
Exprimit : albedo pudor est, excisio dogma.
[De marmoribus.]
Marmoris effigie, plana, splendente, nigella,
Sponsa figuratur, simplex, morosa, laborans.
Recte nimirum designat simplicitatem
Planities, splendor mores, nigredo laborem.
[De vitreis fenestris J\
Tllustrans mimdum divino lumine, cleri
Est prseclara cohors, claris expressa fenestris.
Ordo subalternus utrobique potestque notari ;
Ordine canonicus exstante, vicarius imo.
Et quia, canonico tractante negotia mundi,
Jugis et assiduus divina vicarius implet,
Sumnia fenestrarum series nitet inclita florum
Involucro, mundi varium signante decorem ;
Inferior perhibet sanctorum uomina patrum.
\JDe duabus orbicularibus fenestris.]
Prsebentes geminse jubar orbiculare fenestrae
Ecclesise duo sunt oculi ; recteque videtur
Major in his esse prsesul, minor esse decanus.
Est aquilo zabulus, esst Sanctus Spiritus auster ;
Quos oculi duo respiciunt. Nam respicit austrum
Praesul, ut invitet ; aquilonem vero decanus,
Ut vitet ; videt hie ut salvetur, videt ille
Ne pereat. Frons ecclesise candelabra cceli,
Et teuebras lethes, oculis circumspicit istis.
\_Consummatio totius attegorice.~\
Sic insensibiles lapides mysteria claudunt
Vivorum lapidum, manualis spiritualem
Fabrica designat fabricam ; duplexque refulget
Ecclesise facies, duplici decorata paratu.
486
\_De crucifixo, et tabula aurea in introitu choriJ}
Introitumque chori majestas aurea pingit :
Et proprie propria crucifixus imagine Christus
Exprimitur, vitaeque suse progressus ad iinguem
Insinuatur ibi. Nee solum crux vel imago,
Immo columnarum sex, lignorumque duorum
Ampla superficies, obrizo fulgurat auro.
[De Capitulo.']
Astant ecclesiae capitolia, qualia nunquam
Eomanus possedit apex : spectabile quorum
Vix opus inciperet nummosa pecunia Oroesi.
Scilicet introitus ipsorum sunt quasi quadra
Portions ; interius spatium patet orbiculare,
Materia tentans templum Salomonis et arte.
Si quorum vero perfectio rostat, Hugonis
Perficietur opus primi sub Hugone secundo.
Sic igitur tanto Lincolnia patre superbit,
Qui tot earn titulis ex omni parte beavit.
NOTE II. (PART I., SECT. II.)
The following letter from M. Viollet-le-Duc appeared in the
'• Gentleman's Magazine " for May, 1861 : —
" I expected from what I had heard in England to find at
Lincoln the French style of architecture ; i.e. some construc-
tions of the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the
thirteenth which would shew the evident influence of a French
architect. But after the most careful examination, I could not
find in any part of the cathedral of Lincoln, neither in the
general design, nor in any part of the system of architecture
adopted, nor in any details of ornament, any trace of the French
school of the twelfth century (the lay school from 1170 to 1220)
so plainly characteristic of the cathedrals of Paris, Noyon, Senlis,
Chartres, Sens, and even Kouen. The part of the cathedral of
of p. tftolto-le-jpttc. 437
Lincoln in which the influence of the French school has been
supposed to be found, has no resemblance to this. I mean the
choir. On the exterior, the choir of the cathedral of Lincoln is
thoroughly English, or Norman, if you will. One can perceive
all the Norman influence : arches acutely pointed ; blank win-
dows in the clerestory, reminding one of the basilica covered with
a wooden roof ; a low triforium ; each bay of the aisles divided
into two by a small buttress ; shafts banded. In the interior,
vaults which have not at all the same construction as the French
vaults of the end of the twelfth century ; arch-mouldings slender,
and deeply undercut ; the abacus round ; the tooth-ornament ;
which do not at all resemble the ornaments we find at Paris,
Sens, St. Denis," &c. . . .
The rose window of the north transept, without disputing the
date assigned to it, cannot be considered a French composition.
" I do not know a rose window of that period in France which is
divided into four compartments ; the centre of this window does
not resemble the arrangement adopted in France ; and as to the
decoration with small roses which cover the mouldings, they are
a very characteristic English ornament."
" Nowhere in France do we find, between 1190 and 1200,
pillars similar to those at Lincoln, with the crockets placed be-
tween the shafts ; nowhere in France do we find crockets carved
like these ; nowhere shafts with hexagonal concave section ; no-
where capitals or abacus similar to those of these pillars."
M. Le-Duc observes that he cannot readily believe the date
usually assigned to the choir of Lincoln to be the true one. (Of
this, however, there cannot be the slightest doubt.) The date of
1220, he thinks, or that of 1210 at earliest, agrees better with
its architectural character. " We have in Normandy, especially
in the cathedral at Rouen, and the church of Eu, architecture of
the date of 1190. It is purely French ; i.e. it corresponds
exactly with the architecture of the Isle de France, except in
certain details. At Eu, in the cathedral of Le Mans, at Seez,
we have architecture which resembles that of the choir of Lincoln :
but that architecture is from 1210 to 1220 ; it is the Norman
school of the thirteenth century. There is indeed at Lincoln an
effort at a tendency to originality ; a style of ornament which
VOL. II. FT. I. 2 G
438 pmoln
attempts to emancipate itself: nevertheless, the character is
purely Anglo-Norman.
" The construction is English ; the profiles of the mouldings
are English ; the ornaments are English, the execution of the
work belongs to the English school of workmen of the beginning
of the thirteenth century."
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