diff options
Diffstat (limited to '34210.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 34210.txt | 7085 |
1 files changed, 7085 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/34210.txt b/34210.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86dd55c --- /dev/null +++ b/34210.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7085 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cathedral Cities of England, by George Gilbert + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cathedral Cities of England + +Author: George Gilbert + +Illustrator: William Wiehe Collins + +Release Date: November 5, 2010 [EBook #34210] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images available at The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + +CATHEDRAL CITIES + +OF + +ENGLAND + +[Illustration: CANTERBURY + +THE BAPTISTERY AND CHAPTER HOUSE] + + + + +CATHEDRAL CITIES + +OF + +ENGLAND + +BY + +GEORGE GILBERT + +ILLUSTRATED BY W. W. COLLINS, R.I. + +[Illustration] + +NEW YORK + +DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY + +1908 + +_Copyright, 1905_ +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY + +Published October, 1905 + +THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTORY _Page_ 3 + +CANTERBURY " 17 + +DURHAM " 37 + +LICHFIELD " 58 + +OXFORD " 65 + +PETERBOROUGH " 80 + +ST. ALBANS " 91 + +WELLS " 102 + +WORCESTER " 118 + +CHICHESTER " 129 + +CHESTER " 139 + +ROCHESTER " 162 + +RIPON " 174 + +ELY " 183 + +GLOUCESTER " 202 + +HEREFORD " 224 + +LINCOLN " 235 + +BATH " 259 + +SALISBURY " 270 + +EXETER " 292 + +NORWICH " 315 + +LONDON " 337 + +YORK " 371 + +WINCHESTER " 397 + +WESTMINSTER " 414 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Canterbury, The Baptistery and Chapter House _Frontispiece_ + " from the Meadows _Page_ 19 + " Christchurch Gateway " 23 + " Cathedral, Interior of the Nave " 27 + " The Norman Stairway " 33 + + Durham, Framwellgate Bridge " 39 + " from the Railway " 43 + " Interior of Cathedral, looking across the Nave + into South Transept " 47 + " Elvet Bridge " 51 + " Cathedral, the Western Towers " 55 + + Lichfield Cathedral. The West Front " 61 + + Oxford. Christ Church, Interior of Nave " 69 + " " Gateway " 75 + + Peterborough Cathedral. The West Front " 83 + " The Market Place " 87 + + St. Albans. The Cathedral from the Walls of Old Verulam " 95 + + Wells Cathedral and the Pools " 103 + " The Cathedral from the Fields " 107 + " The Ruins of the Banqueting Hall " 113 + + Worcester. The Cathedral " 123 + + Chichester Cathedral from the North-East " 133 + + Chester. East Gate Street " 141 + " The Rows " 145 + " St. Werburgh Street " 151 + " Bishop Lloyd's Palace and Watergate Street " 157 + + Rochester. The Cathedral and Castle " 167 + + Ripon. The Cathedral " 177 + + Ely Cathedral. The West Front " 185 + " The Market Place " 189 + " Cathedral, Interior of Nave " 193 + " from the Fens " 197 + + Gloucester Cathedral. Interior of the Nave " 205 + " The Old Parliament House and Cathedral " 211 + " Cathedral from the Paddock " 217 + + Hereford Cathedral. The North Transept " 229 + + Lincoln Cathedral by Moonlight " 239 + " The Steep Hill " 245 + " Cathedral. The West Towers " 251 + + Bath. Pulteney Bridge " 263 + + Salisbury. High Street Gateway into the Close " 273 + " The Market Cross " 277 + " The Cloisters " 281 + " The Cathedral " 287 + + Exeter Cathedral from the Palace Gardens " 295 + " Mol's Coffee Tavern " 301 + " Cathedral. Interior of the Nave " 309 + + Norwich. The Market Place " 319 + " The AEthelbert Gate " 325 + " The Cathedral from the North-East " 331 + + St. Paul's and Ludgate Hill " 353 + + York. Stonegate " 373 + " The Shambles " 377 + " Bootham Bar " 383 + " Monk Bar " 387 + " Micklegate Bar " 391 + + Winchester Cathedral. The North Aisle " 399 + " from St. Catherine's Hill " 403 + " The Cathedral from the Deanery Garden " 407 + " St. Cross " 411 + + Westminster Abbey. The North Transept " 419 + + + + +CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND + + + + +Introductory + + +In the following accounts of the Cathedral Cities of England, technical +architectural terms will necessarily appear, and to the end that they +should be comprehensive, I give here a slight sketch of the origin of +the various forms, and the reasons for their naming, together with +dates; and to the end that I may supply a glossary of easy reference, I +place as side headings in this introduction the various expressions +which will be met with throughout the book. + +This, I hope, may relieve the reader of the tedium of having to turn to +books of reference at each moment, and being subjected to a constant +reiteration of the terms, which must necessarily be frequently employed. + +The Cathedrals of England may be said to comprise illustrations of +Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, and Norman, with their variations and combinations. + +_Constantine_, A.D. 306-337.--_Romanesque._--With the establishment of +Christianity, more especially when recognised in Rome during the time +of Constantine, arose the marvellous development of architecture, +founded upon the basis of classical remains. This "Romanesque," as this +period of architecture came to be called, permeated later the whole of +Western Europe. + +_Basilica._--Relieved from immediate fear of persecution, the Christian +architects straightway commenced to convert the "basilica" remains to +suit the requirements of the "New Faith." The Basilica, as its +derivation from the Greek Basilike ("the royal house") implies, "was the +King's Bench" of the Romans. It was a long rectangular building, with +sometimes rows of columns introduced to divide the space into a nave and +aisles. One end terminated in an "apse," of semi-circular formation, +where the judge and his assessors were accustomed to sit. This apse the +Christians utilised as a chancel. The approach to the building was the +"atrium," or forecourt, somewhat similar to the English Cathedral +cloister, but differently situated. + +A chief characteristic of the Roman buildings was the "round arch," +mainly composed of brick or stone work. This the Romans for many years +had used more in a decorative way than for utility, but which became of +more structural significance in the hands of the Christians. + +_Romanesque._--_Sixth to Twelfth Century._--In this wise, from the +remains of the Basilica, with the further development of the "round +arch" to the "semi-circular arch," the Christian Romans gradually +evolved the style of architecture called "Romanesque," _i.e._, in the +Roman Style. This style became prevalent throughout Western Europe from +the beginning of the sixth to the close of the twelfth century. In +process of time transepts were added and the choir prolonged, giving the +outline, as it were, of a cross, the Holy Symbol of Christianity. + +_Anglo-Saxon._--500-1066.--Thus Romanesque may be said to be the +fountain-head of Anglo-Saxon, Norman Proper, Anglo-Norman, and Gothic +Architecture. + +During the Roman occupation of England, missionaries came to her from +Rome, the metropolis, and made converts, as they did in other countries, +and as missionaries do nowadays in China and elsewhere. They and +travelling merchants insensibly introduced the style of architecture +then prevalent in Italy, namely, the Romanesque. Owing to the untutored +nature of the Anglo-Saxons, their first attempts at imitating what would +appear to them entirely new, together with the difficulty of procuring +skilled labour, were necessarily crude. + +These first attempts may justly come under the heading of "Anglo-Saxon." + +When the Campanile or tall bell-towers came into existence in Italy, +England imitated. + +_Anglo-Norman._--1066.--The Normans, at the Conquest, introduced their +rendering of architecture, which they had borrowed from the Romanesque, +with a suspicion of Lombardic, and even Byzantine styles intermingled. +As they could not entirely at first uproot the local peculiarities of +the Anglo-Saxon treatment of style which they found in the country, they +in a way grafted the Norman architecture on to the existing style. Thus +it came to be called "Anglo-Norman." At first the work was heavier in +character than the Norman proper, but it became lighter towards the +close of the twelfth century. + +_Norman Peculiarities._--The Norman peculiarities were the building of +the church on a cruciform plan, with a square tower placed over the +transepts where they cross the nave; the massive cylindrical nave piers. +To relieve the heaviness of these massive nave piers and doorways, the +chevron, or zigzag pattern, spiral and other groovings were cut. The +mouldings were of the same character as in France, but towards the close +of the twelfth century they were by degrees disused. + +In the transition period, 1154-1189, the dog-tooth ornament appears, and +occurs in combination with the "billet," a circular roll with spaces cut +away at intervals, as at Canterbury. + +The Normans also greatly employed arcades, both blank and open. The +interlacing of arcades was frequently used by them. They were formed by +semi-circular arches, intersecting each other regularly. This +interlacing is supposed by many authorities to have been the origin of +the "pointed lancet arch." The Norman arcades form a prominent feature +in the internal and external decoration of their buildings. The internal +arrangement of the larger churches consisted of three stages or tiers. +The ground stage carried semi-circular arches, above that came the +triforium, or second stage of two smaller arches supported by a column, +and within a larger arch. Above this again, came the third stage or +clerestory, with two or more semi-circular arches, one of which was +pierced to admit the light. + +The nave was usually covered by a flat ceiling, and not vaulted. The +crypts and aisles were vaulted. + +The doorways appear to have been a special feature with the Normans, for +they were generally very richly ornamented, and were greatly recessed. +The windows were narrow and small in proportion to the rest of the +building. At a late period of the style the small circular windows +became greatly enlarged, and it became necessary to divide up the space +by the introduction of slender columns radiating from the centre. + +In England the semi-circular apse, towards the close of the style, +gradually gave place to the square apse, which was more generally +adopted. + +_Gothic._--_Fourth to Twelfth Century._--Another great and early factor +in ecclesiastical architecture is the Gothic. In the early stages of +Christianity, the Goths, a Teutonic race, dwelt between the Elbe and the +Vistula. They subverted the Rome Empire. They, like other countries, +received the Christian religion from Rome. Each country after its own +fashion endeavoured to imitate the architecture of Rome. As these +countries were semi-barbarous and unpolished, their work was necessarily +rude. This, in conjunction with the invasions of Italy by the Goths, led +to the term "Gothic." This period commenced in the fourth century, and +was entirely changed in the twelfth, by the introduction of the pointed +arch. + +_Gothic._--1145-1550.--This marked a new era, and established a new +style of architecture, the transition from the Norman, or Romanesque, +to the Mediaeval Gothic. Several attempts were made to introduce new +names in lieu of Gothic, for to name anything Gothic was looked upon +with askance. + + Romanesque + + Early Gothic IVth century to XIIth century. + Anglo-Saxon 500-1066 A.D. + + ANGLO-NORMAN + William I 1066. + William II 1087. + Henry I. 1100. + Stephen 1135. + Henry II. 1154-1189. Transition. + + Mediaeval Gothic + EARLY ENGLISH + (FIRST POINTED, OR LANCET) + Richard I. 1189. + John. 1199. + + COMPLETE, OR GEOMETRICAL POINTED + Edward I. 1272-1307. Transition. + + DECORATED + MIDDLE POINTED, OR CURVILINEAR + Edward II. 1307. + Edward III. 1327-1377. + + PERPENDICULAR + THIRD POINTED, OR RECTILINEAR + Richard II 1377. Transition. + Henry IV. 1399. + Henry V. 1413. + Henry VI. 1422. + Edward IV. 1461. + Edward V. 1483. + Richard III. 1483. + Henry VII. 1485 } Tudor Period. + Henry VIII. 1509-1547 } + +With the close of the Tudor Period, Mediaeval Gothic practically died +out. There crept in then the English Renaissance, followed after by what +is called "The Revival of Gothic Architecture." + + ENGLISH RENAISSANCE + + about + The Elizabethan, or First Period 1547-1620. + The Anglo-Classic, or Second Period 1620-1702. + The Anglo-Classic, or Third Period 1702-1800. + The Revival of Gothic Architecture in + England. 1800. + + + + +Characteristics + + +ANGLO-SAXON.--Anglo-Saxon may be briefly summed up as an inferior style +of Romanesque, more especially the latter part, when it was considered +necessary to build in imitation of the Roman way. In the early years of +this period the advantages of stone, due to inconvenience of its +carriage or lack of skill, were not widely known in England. For the +most part the buildings were composed of wood with a thatched roof. +Though it is true several buildings were also constructed of stone, and +glass was used, yet it was only with advanced knowledge, introduced by +Continental workmen, who came over in the seventh century, that +architecture approached anything like a definite style. + +It reached this stage just a few years before the Norman Conquest. The +arches were usually plain, and always semi-circular. The columns were +cylindrical, hexagonal, or octagonal, and thick in proportion to their +height. The towers, as a rule, were square, and not very lofty. They +were strongly but crudely worked, strip pilasters, _i. e._, slender +columns, being introduced. Circular-headed openings served as upper +windows of these towers. They were divided into two lights by rounded +balusters, sometimes with caps heavily projected. + +_Norman_.--The Norman churches were mostly cruciform in plan, with a +central tower. The east end was frequently terminated by an apse. Vast +columns, either circular, octagonal, or simply clustered, separated the +aisles from the naves. The arches were chiefly semi-circular, the round +arch being used everywhere for ornament. The Norman towers are also +generally square, with a somewhat stunted appearance. Many have no +buttresses whatever, whilst others are served with broad, flat, shallow +projections, which assert themselves more for show than for utility. The +reason for this is that the Normans built their buildings with walls +immensely thick with an eye to stability. The heavy appearance of their +towers is cleverly relieved by the introduction of arcades around them, +as at St. Albans, and occasionally richly ornamented, as shown at +Norwich and Winchester. + +At one of the angles there is frequently a stone staircase. The upper +windows of these towers differ little from the Anglo-Saxon, except in +that the two lights are separated by a shaft or short column in place +of the rounded baluster. + +The Norman doorways are a great feature. They are generally adorned with +a series of columns with enriched arch mouldings spanning from capital +to capital. + +Their vaults were heavily constructed at no great height from the +ground, and generally applied to the aisles of churches. They exerted a +greater thrust on the walls than the later Gothic vaults. + +_Norman_.--These churches are generally to be found perched on +commanding sites, chosen as natural places of defence. Often a river +wound round the base, and where it led short, a moat was constructed on +the landward side, and borrowed its water from the river. + +The activity of the Norman builders is astounding, and forms a great +contrast to the few years before their advent. For a short time +architecture suffered a paralysis. Not till the much-dreaded Millennium +(1000 A.D.), when it was thought the world would certainly come to an +end, had passed did people take heart again, and architects make up for +lost time. + +_Early English_.--In this period the massive Norman walls gave way to +walls reduced in thickness. The buttresses became of more structural +significance. Also, flying-buttresses gradually came into use to +strengthen the weakness of the upper works, caused by the reduction of +the walls in thickness. The pillars were elongated, and of slight +construction. The doorways, windows and arcades were built with polished +marble obtained from the Isle of Purbeck. + +The science of vaulting became more advanced. + +The towers were taller and more elegant, with plain parapets. They were +generally furnished with windows. The lower ones resembled much the +arrow-slit formation of the Norman style. The upper windows were grouped +in twos and threes. + +The broach-spire now came into notice. It was added on to the square +tower, and at the early part of this style was low in height, but +gradually became taller. + +The circular-headed windows of the Normans gave place to the +narrow-pointed lancets of the Early English. These admitted little +light, and necessitated a greater number of windows, which were grouped +into couplets or triplets. + +_Geometrical_.--The window, by the gradual process of piercing the +vacant spaces in the window-head, carrying mouldings around the tracery +(or ornamental filling-in), and adding cusps (the point where +foliations of tracery intersect), gave rise to Geometrical work. + +The earliest work of this kind is found in Westminster Abbey. + +_Decorated_.--The towers are made to appear lighter by the parapets +being either embattled or pierced with elegant designs, and pinnacles +placed on them. + +The broach-spires gave place to spires springing at once from the +octagon. The buttresses are set angularly. In this period the architects +failed to maintain the vigour of the Geometrical period. The Decorated +windows are formed of portions of circles, with their centres falling on +the intersection of certain geometrical figures. + +There is a glorious example afforded by the west window at York. + +_Perpendicular_.--The towers are generally richly panelled throughout; +the buttresses project boldly--sometimes square, or sometimes set at an +angle, but not close to each other. + +The pinnacles are often richly canopied. The battlements panelled, and +frequently pierced. In the middle of the parapet now and then is placed +a pinnacle or a canopied niche. + + + + +Canterbury + +Cantuaria. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +Of all Cathedral cities, Canterbury, or, as it is also called, Christ +Church, may possibly be considered the most interesting. Though not the +first to spread Christianity in Britain, it nevertheless firmly +established it in the end. The earliest authentic evidence of Christians +in England is mentioned by Tertullian, in 208. And again, in 304, St. +Alban had been martyred during Diocletian's persecution at Verulam, now +known as St. Alban's. Then, in 314, Christianity had attained such a +position in Britain that it had been considered necessary for the +Bishops of York and London to attend at the Council of Arles, in France. +So that by the end of the third century to the beginning of the fourth, +it is known that there existed bishops, though not till the close of the +fourth century was there a "settled Church" in Britain, with churches, +altars, Scriptures, and discipline. + +These expounded the Catholic Faith, and were in touch with Rome and +Palestine. But the arrival of Augustine, in 600, decidedly gave an +impetus to the lasting establishment of Christianity in England, and the +whole island quickly became converted. + +Though Christianity had long flourished in Rome, it could hardly, in its +early stages, be expected to make itself greatly felt in Britain, owing +to the continual troublous times caused by the invasions first by the +Roman soldiery, then by the Scots and Picts from Caledonia (now called +Scotland), and the Saxons, who came from the river Elbe, and the Angles, +who dwelt to the north of the Saxons, in the districts now called +Schleswig and Holstein. Then the Danes and Northmen landed in England in +787, and practically overran the whole kingdom. All these tribes, each +in its turn, devastated the country, pillaging and destroying +everything, so that there is little to marvel at the slow growth of +Christianity in the island, seeing that the clergy were the first to +suffer. Augustine may be said to have certainly revived Christianity and +rescued the Church from utter oblivion, but it was left till the Norman +Conquest to erect the wonderful architectural structures, many of which +exist till this day. + +[Illustration: CANTERBURY + +FROM THE MEADOWS] + +The early history of Canterbury is shrouded in mystery. The discovery of +Druidical remains clearly points to the practice of religious rites of +the Britons prior to the Christian era. It appears also that the Romans +found it as a British town of some importance. This theory, laying aside +minor considerations, is strengthened by the fact that the Romans called +it Durovernum, the derivation of which they borrowed from the British +words "dwr" a stream, and "whern" swift, the latter of which was most +appropriate to the Stour, on whose banks the city was founded. The +Saxons on their arrival called the place "Cantwarabyrig." From this, no +doubt, Canterbury owes the origin of its present name. Contrary to the +ordinary laws of foundation, there appears to have been no one (locally) +covetous of the honour of martyrdom, or possibly worthy, if martyred, of +recognition by the Church. + +During the Roman occupation of the city, Christianity struggled, +probably kept alive by such of the soldiers who had been previously +converted in Rome. + +Two churches were built in the second century. One of these, in 600, was +consecrated by the Bishop of Soissons, and dedicated to St. Martin, for +Bertha, a daughter of Charibert, a Christian king of Paris. On her +marriage with Ethelbert of Kent, the foremost king of the English, it +was stipulated that her religious inclinations should be protected. +Through her influence the king became converted. To encourage +Christianity, and to set a good example to his subjects, Ethelbert +welcomed Augustine and his forty monks, in 597, gave him his palace, +which was speedily converted into a priory, and helped him to found an +abbey without the city walls, and intended as a sepulture for the +Archbishops. + +This abbey was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. As Canterbury was +already recognised as the metropolis, or head of the State of Kent, in +that their kings had their royal residence there, it was no difficulty +for Augustine, as spiritual head, to make it also a Metropolitan See, +the more so as, by the investiture of the Pope, he became the first +Archbishop. + +[Illustration: CANTERBURY + +CHRISTCHURCH GATEWAY] + +Pope Gregory's (the Great) scheme in sending Augustine was to divide +England into two Provinces, with Metropolitans of equal dignity at +London and York, and twelve Suffragans to each. But all that his +emissary could effect was to consecrate two bishops, one at Rochester +(Kent) and one at Essex. As Christianity took a firmer hold in England, +it was generally to Canterbury that the different portions of England +applied for missionaries. In this foundation Augustine has been followed +by a succession of prelates, who distinguished themselves equally in +spiritual and temporal affairs of the State--men, each of whom made a +great stir during his life, and whose names even now are enshrined, as +it were, in a halo of romance. They represent the intellect of their +times; their lives show us the difficulties they encountered in +overcoming the crass ignorance of the people on whose behalf they +worked, and the risks and dangers and petty tyranny they suffered at the +hands of kings, whose chief amusements were disturbing the peace and +licentious living. Those who have played the most prominent part in +ecclesiastical as well as in lay history are: + +Dunstan, who governed with a tight hand the kingdom during the reigns of +Edred and Edwy; Stigand, who, for his opposition to William the +Conqueror, was deposed from the See to make room for Lanfranc; Lanfranc, +whose memory is perpetuated not only through his abilities as scholar, +statesman and administrator, but more especially as one who rebuilt the +Cathedral and as founder of several religious establishments; the +celebrated Thomas a Becket, who, until he became Archbishop, was the +great friend of Henry II., and was Chancellor of England. On the +acceptance of the Archbishopric, Becket constituted himself as a +champion of the rights and claims of the Church, and would brook no +interference from Henry in ecclesiastical matters. This naturally +created a coolness between the two, which ended in Becket's retiring to +France for six years. On Henry's promise to annul the Constitution of +Clarendon, in 1170, Becket returned, only a few days after to be +murdered in the Cathedral. + +Stephen Langton, who was raised to the See by Pope Innocent III., in +defiance of King John, during a quarrel he had with the Church; Cranmer, +who, for promoting the Reformation, was burnt at the stake in Mary's +reign; and Laud, who was beheaded during the Commonwealth of Cromwell +for supporting the measures of his sovereign, Charles I. + +Augustine did not live to see the completion of his Cathedral. It was +dedicated to Our Saviour, and it is even now usually called Christ +Church. + +During the ravages of the Danes the city suffered greatly, and the +Archbishopric became vacant in 1011, through the violent death dealt out +to Archbishop Alphage by the Danes. + +[Illustration: CANTERBURY + +INTERIOR OF THE NAVE] + +Canute, after his usurpation of the throne, rebuilt a great part of the +city and restored the Cathedral; and the monks were not forgotten, in +that the revenue of the port of Sandwich was made over to them for their +support. These benefits greatly helped the city to attain great +importance, and in Doomsday Book it is entered under the title of +"Civitas Cantuariae." + +In 1080 the Cathedral was burnt down, only to be restored with greater +splendour, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, by Archbishop Lanfranc, +who rebuilt the monastic edifice, erected the Archbishop's palace, +founded and endowed a priory dedicated to St. Gregory, and built the +hospitals of St. John and St. Nicholas. + +In 1161 the city became almost extinct through fire, and at several +subsequent periods it suffered severely from the same cause. + +In 1170 the great event which stirred the kingdom, and which +conveniently marks the starting-point of the disastrous half of Henry +II.'s reign, was the great means of replenishing the treasury of the +Cathedral. In that year Becket was murdered as he was ascending the +steps leading from the nave into the choir. His name was subsequently +canonised. His shrine was visited from far and near by every rank of +pilgrim, who seldom left without depositing first some substantial token +of their reverence for the saint. Four years after the murder popular +feeling was as great as ever, so that it was probably to propitiate the +people, as much as to ask for Divine intercession in his troublous +affairs, that Henry II. performed a pilgrimage to the shrine and +submitted himself to be scourged by the monks. + +Another source of great importance to the Cathedral was the institution +of the Jubilee by the Pope. It commemorated every fifty years the death +of Becket, and till the last one, celebrated in 1520, attracted an +immense number of pilgrims, who gave a great impetus to trade in the +city. The number and richness of their offerings were incredible. + +The dissolution of the priory of Christ Church was gradually effected; +the festivals in honour of the martyr were one by one abolished; his +shrine was stripped of its gorgeous ornaments, and the bones of the +saint were burnt to ashes and scattered to the winds. + +A part of the monastery of St. Augustine was converted into a royal +palace by Henry VIII. In this palace Queen Elizabeth held her court for +a short time. During her reign there was an influx of Walloons, who, +persecuted for their religious tenets, had fled from the Netherlands and +settled in Canterbury. + +They introduced the weaving of silk and stuffs. To them Queen Elizabeth +allotted the crypt under the Cathedral as their place of worship, where +the service is still performed in French to their descendants. + +In this Cathedral was solemnised the marriage of Charles I. with +Henrietta Maria of France, in 1625. During the war between Charles I. +and Cromwell the Cathedral was wantonly mutilated and defaced by the +followers of Cromwell, who converted the sacred edifice into stables for +his horses. At the Restoration, Charles II., on his return from France, +held his court in the royal palace at Canterbury for three days. This +monarch, in 1676, granted a charter of incorporation to the refugee +silk-weavers settled in the city. These refugees, a few years after, +were considerably increased by French artisans, who came over consequent +on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. + +To those admirers of form and beauty the wonderful architecture of the +present Cathedral must satisfy their every craving. To students the +study of this colossal building must be a work of love, encouragement, +and continued interest. Rebuilt soon after the Conquest by Archbishop +Lanfranc, and worthily enlarged and enriched by his several successors, +the Cathedral is a crowning work of grandeur and magnificence, +exhibiting, in its highest perfection, every specimen of architecture, +from the earliest Norman to the latest English. In form it is that of a +double cross. Where the nave and the western transepts intersect, there +springs up a lofty and elegant tower in the Later English style, with a +spired parapet and pinnacles, with octagonal turrets at the angles, +terminating in minarets. In the west end are two massive towers, of +which the north-west is Norman, and the south-west is similar in +character, though embattled, and little inferior to the central tower. + +Perhaps the most noteworthy portions of this Cathedral, though it is +hardly possible to make a distinction, are the Chapel of Henry IV., with +its beautiful fan tracery depending from the roof; the small but +beautiful Lady Chapel, which is separated from the eastern side of the +transept by the interposition of a finely carved stone screen; and in +that part of the Cathedral, called Becket's Crown, is the Chapel of the +Holy Trinity, famous as the site of the gorgeous Shrine of St. Thomas a +Becket. In "Becket's Crown" a softened light steals through the painted +window. The interest in this window lies in the fact that most of the +glass shown is ancient, and it is the fifth of the twelve windows in +the Trinity Chapel which suffered severely at the hands of the Puritans +in 1642. + +[Illustration: CANTERBURY + +THE NORMAN STAIRWAY] + +What remained of the ancient glass was replaced, as far as possible in +the original position, by the late Mr. George Austen, subsequently to +1853. + +These windows represent the miracles of St. Thomas a Becket between the +years 1220 and 1240. + +Between the western towers there is a narrow entrance spanned over by a +sharply pointed arch, enriched with deeply recessed mouldings. Above +this are canopied niches, over which is a lofty window of six lights +with richly stained glass. + +The south-west porch constitutes the principal entrance, and is highly +enriched with niches of elegant design. It belongs to a late period of +English architecture. The roof is most elaborately groined, and shields +are attached at the intersections of the ribs. In the same period of +Late English must be included the fine nave and the western transepts. A +gorgeous effect is given by the richly groined roof supported by eight +lofty piers, which divide it off on each side from the aisles. From the +eastern part numerous avenues lead to the many chapels in different +parts of the interior, and give a truly magnificent effect. All these +chapels deserve the closest study, like the rest of the building, to +thoroughly appreciate the subtlety of design, and the marvellous skill +of the architect. + + + + +Durham + + Dunholme. + ("Doomsday Book.") +Hac sunt in fossa Bedae Venerabilis ossa. + + +Though Durham dates from the tenth century, yet it is necessary, to +understand the growth of its power, to go back to the seventh century. + +The exact date of the birth of St. Cuthbert is unknown. As a youth he +was admitted into Melrose Abbey, where in the course of fourteen years +he became monk and prior. From there he passed another fourteen years in +the Convent of Lindisfarne, after which he retired to Farne for nine +years. At the end of this period he was persuaded, most unwillingly, by +Egrid, King of Northumbria, to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, a See in +Bernicia, as Durham County was then called. + +But after two years' office he retired to Farne. There died St. Cuthbert +on March 20, A.D. 687, in the thirty-ninth year of his monastic life, +still undecided as to where he should be buried. However, the remains +were reverently preserved in the Church of Lindisfarne, till the monks +were compelled to flee, owing to the invasion of the Danes, towards the +end of the ninth century. Though in dire dread and confusion, the monks +forgot not their sacred trust, but carried the holy remains of St. +Cuthbert with them. + +They wandered many a weary day throughout the North of England in search +of "Dunholme," which Eadner, a monk of their order, declared to them had +been divinely revealed to him as the lasting place of rest for the holy +and incorruptible body of St. Cuthbert. They seemed to have had great +difficulty in locating the whereabouts of Dunholme, for according to +tradition they were miraculously delivered from their nomadic life. As +they proceeded they heard a woman inquire of another if she had seen her +cow, which had gone astray. Much to their joy and relief they heard the +reply, "In Dunholme." + +Thereupon they climbed to the summit of the "Hill Island," at the base +of which they had arrived, as they wished to deposit their corruptible +burden on a spot so close to Heaven that it should remain incorruptible, +and by its incorruptibility be a fitting foundation on which to build a +shrine worthy of their Saint and the God who honoured him. + +[Illustration: DURHAM + +FRAMWELL GATE BRIDGE] + +About 995 their idea was realised by Bishop Ealdhune. He founded a +church, built in the style usual then in Italy, of brick or stone with +round arches. This style, based directly on Italian models, became +prevalent throughout all Western Europe till the eleventh century, and +in England was known as Anglo-Saxon. This church was erected over the +Saint's resting-place, upon the rock eminence called Dunholme (Hill +Island). Later on the Normans changed this into "Duresne," whence +Durham. And a representation of a dun cow and two female attendants was +placed upon the building. At the same period the See was transferred +from Lindisfarne, and, together with the growing fame of the presence of +the "incorruptible body" of the Saint, attracted pilgrims, who settled +there with their industries. Thus were laid the foundations of the great +city. In this wise St. Cuthbert became the patron Saint of Durham, as +well as of the North of England and of Southern Scotland. + +In 1072 William the Conqueror found it necessary to erect, across the +neck of the rock-eminence, the castle, to guard the church and its +monastery. + +In 1093 Bishop Carileph built a church of Norman structure in place of +Ealdhune's Anglo-Saxon church, and changed the Anglo-Saxon establishment +of married priests into a Benedictine abbey. + +After the Norman Conquest the county became Palatinate, and acquired the +independence peculiar to Counties Palatine. + +The bishops of Durham were invested with temporal and spiritual powers, +exercising the royal prerogatives, such as paramount property in lands, +and supreme jurisdiction, both civil and military, waging war, right of +forfeiture, and levying taxes. These privileges were granted, owing to +the remoteness of Durham from the metropolis and its proximity to the +warlike kingdom of Scotland, and allowed of justice being administered +at home, thereby doing away with the obligation of the inhabitants +quitting their county, and leaving it exposed to hostile invasions. + +They were also excused from military service across the Tees or Tayne, +on the plea that they were specially charged to keep and defend the +sacred body of St. Cuthbert. Those engaged on this service were called +"Haliwer folc" (Holy War folk). But in the twenty-seventh year of the +reign of Henry VIII. the power of the See was much curtailed; and +eventually, on the death of Bishop Van Milvert in 1836, it was +deprived of all temporal jurisdictions and privileges. + +[Illustration: DURHAM + +FROM THE RAILWAY] + +Around Carileph's fine Norman church numerous additions were made from +time to time, namely: + +The Galilee or Western Chapel, of the Transitional Period. + +The gradual change from the Norman to the Pointed style, which took +place between 1154 and 1189, during Henry II.'s reign. + +The Eastern Transept, or "Nine Altars." + +The Western Towers, built in "The Early English Style," which was a +further development of "The Transitional." + +It was carried out in the reigns of Richard I. to Henry III., 1189 to +1272. It is also known as "First Pointed" or "Lancet." + +The Central Tower (Perpendicular). + +The Windows (Decorated and Perpendicular). + +From 1154, the commencement of Henry II.'s reign, architecture acquired +new characteristics in each reign, or rather the architects of each +reign attempted to improve on the style of their predecessors. It began +with the "Transition from Norman to Pointed." From that it passed to +"First Pointed or Early English." Then to "Complete or Geometrical +Pointed." This was succeeded, in Edward III.'s time, by a more flowing +style called "Middle Pointed," "Curvilinear," or "Decorated." The +graceful flowing lines of this period culminated in what is known as +"The Third Pointed," "Rectilinear," or "Perpendicular Style." This +period existed from 1399 to 1546, that is to say, from the beginning of +the reign of Henry IV. to the end of the reign of Henry VIII. + +The Galilee or Western Chapel was built and dedicated as an offering to +"The Blessed Virgin," by Bishop Pudsey, between 1153 and 1195; and +served as the allotted place of worship for women, who were strictly +forbidden to approach the sacred shrine of St. Cuthbert. + +In the south-west corner of this chapel there is an altar-tomb of blue +marble. This is revered as the abiding-place of the earthly remains of +the great monk and historian, the Venerable Bede. Concerning him, +tradition relates how Elfred, "The Sacrist" of Durham, in 1022, stole +these remains from Jarrow and preserved them in St. Cuthbert's coffin +till 1104. They were afterwards placed in a gold and silver shrine by +Bishop Pudsey, which was left in the refectory till 1370, when Richard +of Barnard Castle, a monk afterwards buried under the blue stone on the +west of the present tomb, influenced its removal to the Galilee Chapel. + +[Illustration: DURHAM + +INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL LOOKING ACROSS THE NAVE INTO SOUTH TRANSEPT] + +There upon the altar-tomb, mentioned before, the casket was placed, and +was covered by a gilt cover of wainscot, which was drawn up by a pulley +when the shrine was visited by pilgrims. + +Upon this altar-tomb there is an inscription in Latin, in current use of +the period, which runs thus: + + "Hac sunt in fossa Bedae Venerabilis ossa." + ("In this tomb are the bones of the Venerable Bede.") + +In connection with this inscription there is a legend that the sixth +word, "Venerabilis," was miraculously supplied by divine intervention to +the tired and till then uninspired monk who was penning it. Hence Bede +is known generally as "The Venerable Bede." + +Close by there was an altar to the Venerable Bede. + +The Reformation swept away the original tomb, leaving only a few traces +behind, and the bones were buried under its site; and an altar-tomb, +which still exists, was erected over them. + +Every Sunday and holiday at noon a monk was accustomed to ascend the +iron pulpit beneath the great west window, and from it to preach. + +Though this pulpit is gone, there still exists in close proximity a +small chamber of the time of Bishop Langley, which was obviously the +robing-room of the preacher. + +From 1775 to 1795 this magnificent pile was given over to the tender +mercies of one James Wyatt, architect, who, but for timely intervention +on the part of John Carter, would have left little of it to our present +view; but, alas! by his chiselling and interference with the superficial +details of the exterior, he has taught us a lesson in vandalism. The +Cathedral still survives with surpassing beauty, and the name of the +would-be destroyer is dead. + +The Galilee Chapel was happily rescued in time from utter destruction at +the hands of James Wyatt. This gentleman had already commenced to pull +down a portion of it to make room for a coach-road, which he had planned +to facilitate the connection between the castle and the college. + +Unhappily the spirit of utility of a most material age allowed the +Chapter House to be demolished, but, oddly enough, this demolition, +together with the peeling of the exterior, the removal, so to speak, of +details and minor embellishments of the grand edifice, have robbed us of +nothing of its impressiveness, but indeed remind us, as the mutilated +Parthenon marbles do, of the irony of man's vain predilection to +mutilate the beautiful, which must last for ever. Thus again there is +evidence in the interior of man's destructive power in the mutilation +of the Neville tombs. + +[Illustration: DURHAM + +ELVET BRIDGE] + +It seems strange that the House of God the Peacemaker and the shrine of +St. Cuthbert the "incorruptible" should have been used as a prison-house +of corruptible beings and peace-breakers,--legitimised murderers,--for +here were interned the Scotch prisoners to the number of forty-five +hundred, after the battle of Dunbar, and ample scope of amusement was +given for their empty brains, as their ruthless exercise of the +privilege records. + +The Chapel of the Nine Altars still contains the remains of St. +Cuthbert. When the tomb was opened in 1827 a number of curious and +interesting books and MSS., the portable altar, vestments, and other +relics were found. These are now placed in the Cathedral Library. The +Cathedral Library was formerly the dormitory and refectories of the +abbey, as it was originally styled. + +In this connection one is led to speculate upon the possible early +evolution of religious thought of early Christianity, and to half +suspect that the "Nine Altars" in the Galilee Chapel and the "Woman's +Bar" were the remnants of symbols of pre-Christian era, retained for the +obvious purpose of satisfying converts to the faith still young. + +There is a strong flavour of the worship of the Nine Muses of pagan +times, and of the Judaical laws with regard to women either within or +without the places of worship. + +Tradition has it that St. Cuthbert was a misogynist, and so strong was +it that the precincts of St. Cuthbert were strictly guarded against the +encroachment of women. To enforce this "The Boundary Cross" or "Woman's +Bar" was constructed to limit their approach, in the south of the nave. + +By this attitude towards women St. Cuthbert, as a priest, only +foreshadowed the present regime of the Church of Rome as regards +matrimonial obligations on the part of its servants. For so saintly a +man must not be taken as a hater of women, or his beatification as the +son of a woman would have no sense, and would call his incorruptibility +into question, and his saintliness of character in grave doubt. + +The chief entrance to the Cathedral was originally in the west end, but +when Bishop Pudsey built the Galilee Chapel, a doorway was constructed +in the north end, framed in a rich and deeply recessed Norman arch, +doing away with the necessity of the great entrance. Fixed to the door +is the famous Norman knocker, suspended from the mouth of a grotesque +monster, by which offenders seeking sanctuary made their presence known. + +[Illustration: DURHAM + +THE WESTERN TOWERS] + +One of the most marvellous features, perhaps, of the whole Cathedral is +the impressive grandeur of its appearance to the traveller, approaching +from any quarter, who sees this Island Hill capped by the mighty +structure, soaring up, as it were, into the heavens, yet dominating by +its protecting shadows the city round its base--the symbol most +beautifully conceived of the affinity between earth and heaven, and +truly the noblest form of monument of reverential design that the human +brain could have possibly conceived. + + + + +Lichfield + +Licefelle. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +Lichfield, the ancient cathedral city of Staffordshire, has the best +existing type of the fourteenth-century English church. It is memorable +also as the birthplace of Dr. Johnson. Through the generosity of +Alderman Gilbert the Corporation has purchased the house in which Dr. +Johnson was born, with his statue opposite it, and has opened it to the +public, much in the same way as that of Shakespeare's at +Stratford-on-Avon. Lichfield is about sixteen miles to the north of +Birmingham, and lies in a fertile valley, on a small tributary of the +Trent. + +The Venerable Bede, in his accounts of this city, calls it Licidfeld, +being supposed to mean "Field of the Dead." It appears that a large +number of Christians, in the reign of Diocletian, was massacred just in +the neighbourhood, and thus originated the name Lichfeld, now altered to +Lichfield. The termination "feld" was clearly introduced from over the +water, for it still exists in the Low Countries, and bears the same +meaning. As to what connection exists between "licid" and "dead," we +cannot clearly understand. + +In 669 Lichfield became an episcopal see, over which St. Chad was the +first bishop. He left behind him a work, in the form of his Gospels. For +a short time, namely, in the reign of Offa, it was raised to the dignity +of an archbishopric, but the Primacy was restored to Canterbury in 803. +The See of Lichfield was, in 1075, transferred to Chester, and from +there, a few years later, to Coventry. Eventually, in 1148, Lichfield +recovered its see. In 1305 the town received a charter of incorporation, +and has since returned members to Parliament. It was raised to the +dignity of a city by Edward VI., 1549. + +The original Norman Cathedral no longer exists. In its stead there is a +beautiful structure of Early English style, dating either from the end +of the twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century. + +Mr. Collins gives us an excellent idea of the wonderful and elaborate +architecture of the west front. It seems that the architect generally +lavished his best powers on the west front, as if to arrest the +attention of the worshipper prior to entry. The west front was, and is +now, invariably the chief entrance to the church. There is no doubt that +the entrance was here specially situated with a view of continuing the +first great impression. There is nothing grander and more impressive in +cathedral architecture than to view the gradual unfolding of the +interior as the sight becomes more accustomed to the sudden transition +of the outside glare of day to the subdued light inside. + +Nothing can be more symbolical of religion in church structure than to +observe the trend of architectural lines in perspective. If the eye +follow the upward course of the central and side aisles, and the +downward sweep of the caps of columns, arches and walls diminishing in +true perspective lines, it will be seen that they converge to the +holiest place of the sacred edifice--the altar, the point of sight for +all. + +This Cathedral received, like other mighty buildings, similar +ill-treatment during the Civil Wars. It was converted into stables by +the parliamentary troops, who created havoc amongst its rich sculptures. +In 1651 it was set on fire, and, by order of Parliament, was stripped of +its lead, and left to neglect and decay. + +[Illustration: LICHFIELD + +THE WEST FRONT] + +The damage was repaired by Bishop Hackett in 1671. The Restoration +has not long been completed, various improvements having been made. +Under the superintendence of Mr. Wyatt, the choir was enlarged by the +removal of the screen in front of the Lady Chapel. The transepts are +richly ornamented, and contain certain portions of Norman architecture. +The windows are worked in beautiful tracery. The choir is in the +Decorated style of English architecture. + +St. Mary's Chapel is an elegant design by Bishop Langton. For the +central window was painted "The Resurrection," by Eggington, from a +design by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy. +In this same chapel there was the rich shrine to St. Chad, which was +demolished at the Dissolution. + +There is a great central tower of two hundred and eighty-five feet in +height, besides two western spires one hundred and eighty-three feet. +The total length of the building from east to west is about four hundred +feet. By the north aisle is the Chapter-house. It is a ten-sided +building of great beauty, with a vaulted roof supported on a central +clustered column. + +The memory of Bishops Hackett, Langton, and Pattishul is kept alive by +their monuments, which escaped the ravages of Cromwell's troops. A +monument to Dr. Samuel Johnson, a bust of Garrick, and a mutilated +statue of Captain Stanley, serve to remind us of their departure from +this world. Chantrey is responsible for a monument to the memory of the +infant children of Mrs. Robinson. + + + + +Oxford + +Oxenford. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +The greatness of the city of Oxford, a contraction of Oxenford, as +quaintly depicted on the armorial shield by an ill-drawn ox making +tentative efforts to cross a ford represented by horizontal zigzag +waves, consists in its magnificent colleges, not huddled together, but +dotted in all directions. Some authorities derive the name from +Ouseford, from the river Ouse, now the Isis, and that the wealthy abbey, +erected on an island in this river, was named Ouseney, or Osney, from +the same source. + +Didanus, an early Saxon prince, is credited with a monastic +establishment, about the year 730, dedicated to St. Mary and All Saints, +and founded for twelve sisters of noble birth. His daughter Frideswide +was first abbess, and was after death canonised and buried in the abbey +dedicated to St. Frideswide. + +The origin of the city is attributed by some historians to the +establishment of schools by Alfred the Great, whilst, on the other +hand, it is demonstrated to have existed many years prior to this +monarch's reign, as far back as 802, by an act of confirmation by Pope +Martin II., which sets it forth as an ancient academy of learning. It +has its market-place and other essentials, like every town; but take +away the colleges, and with them sweep away all the traditions that have +sprung up and constituted that university which brooks no rival +excepting Cambridge, the city would no longer be a city, but, at the +most, an overgrown village. + +There is no doubt that the colleges were the gradual development of +monastic institutions. The hall of nowadays and the kitchens and +buttery-hatch are simply the survivals of the refectory of the mediaeval +days. The compulsory morning attendance of students, on most days during +term-time, to prayers in chapel, is again a survival of the matutinal +devotions of the monks. In the early days of monasticism the inmates of +the ecclesiastical buildings were the only recipients of learning and +exponents of illuminated manuscripts, in addition to the knowledge of +some trade or other. A few, perhaps, of the laity, who were favourites +and might possibly be admitted as novices, were permitted to partake of +this knowledge, but being brought up in the convent their sympathy and +gratitude would be entirely with their benefactors. Nevertheless, as +time went on and a thirst for knowledge of letters increased, this +introduction of novices became the thin end of the wedge to the downfall +of the monastic power, which was consummated by Henry VIII. in the year +1525. + +On the site of the monastery of St. Frideswide Cardinal Wolsey founded a +college, then named Cardinal College, but now known as Christ Church. On +the disgrace of this famous prelate, Henry VIII. completed the +establishment, under the name of Henry the Eighth's College. It is +necessary to make this slight mention of the college, for no doubt its +great accommodation influenced the removal of the episcopal see from +Osney, and constituted the elevation of the Church of St. Frideswide +into a cathedral. This removal necessitated the change of name to Christ +Church, under which is comprised the sacred edifice and college. This +has given rise to a unique position. The Cathedral is not only a +cathedral of the city, but is a noble and immense chapel of the college, +and the Dean occupies the singular position not only as the Dean of the +church but also as the Dean of the college. + +Spread out before the chief and only entrance of the church is Tom +Quadrangle, with a paved walk extending all round, and raised a few +steps above the circular carriage drive which encloses a lawn, with the +pond famous for the ducking of students unpopular with their +contemporaries. + +There are evidences, at one time, of the existence of pillars supporting +a roof, covering the whole extent of the broad-flagged pavement of this +quadrangle. The principal entrance to this quadrangle is through Tom +Tower, from which daily, about nine in the evening, the huge bell booms +forth one hundred and one strokes, the signal for all colleges to close +their portals, and the dealing out of pecuniary fines to all +late-comers. The lower part of this tower, up to the two smaller towers, +is Wolsey's, whilst the upper and incongruous half is the conception of +Wren. In spite of this, it is a noble-looking structure, as can be seen +by looking at the water-colour of Mr. Collins. + +The Cathedral cannot strictly be termed imposing, as so little of it is +visible externally. It is hemmed in on all sides by the college +precincts, and jammed, as it were, into a corner, presents a rather +undignified appearance, and not at all in accordance with the usual +proud position of a cathedral. It shows to best advantage when viewed +from the side of the river Thames, exhibiting, as it does, its beautiful +spire. This spire, of Early English architecture, is one of the earliest +in the kingdom, though forming no part of the original design. It is +planted on the top of the central tower of the Cathedral, which is a +cruciform Norman structure. + +[Illustration: OXFORD + +CHRISTCHURCH. INTERIOR OF THE NAVE] + +The interior presents many interesting portions of singular beauty and +design; the arches of the nave, which have been partly demolished, are +in a double series, the tower springing from corbels on the piers. The +remains of the nave, transepts and choir arches date from the twelfth +century; and the Church of St. Frideswide, or, as it is now known, +Christ Church. The beautifully groined roof of the choir is decorated +with pendants, presenting a rich appearance. + +The Latin Chapel has several windows in the Decorated style, whilst the +Dean's Chapel possesses a monument in the same style, with beautiful +canopied niches, and the shrine of St. Frideswide, most elaborately +designed in the Late style of English architecture. During the +Parliamentary war many windows were destroyed. + +It is interesting to note the various vicissitudes of the city in +history. It suffered terrible visitations from the Danes, who burnt it +on three separate occasions. For refusing to submit to the Conqueror, +in 1067, Oxford was taken by storm and given to Robert D'Oily. William +Rufus held a council in the town under Lanfranc, Archbishop of +Canterbury, with other bishops assisting, to defeat a conspiracy formed +against him by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, in favour of Robert, Duke of +Normandy. + +Stephen assembled a council of the nobility here, to whom he promised to +abolish the tax called "Dane Gelt," and to restore the laws of Edward +the Confessor. By way of digression it is interesting to note that the +Flemings still use the word "geld" (money), which is a corruption of +"gelt." + +When Henry II. and Thomas a Becket fell out the monarch held a +parliament at Oxford to undermine the Pope's authority, who had laid an +interdict on the kingdom. + +In 1167 he again summoned here another parliament, to partition Ireland +among faithful subjects who had achieved the conquest of it. The +citizens of Oxford contributed handsomely to the ransom of Richard I. +when detained prisoner in Austria. King John managed here in 1204, +through the aid of a parliament, to raise liberal supplies. Stephen +Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, held here a synod for reforming +ecclesiastical abuses. Parliament was again assembled in this ancient +city by Henry III., in which he assumed the government, and revoked the +grant of Magna Charta and the Charter of Forests, on the plea that he +signed them when a minor. In 1319 Pondras, son of a tanner at Exeter, +caused some commotion at Oxford, declaring that he was the rightful heir +of Edward I., and had been stolen and exchanged for the reigning prince, +Edward II. For the imposture he was executed at Northampton. + +Later on a conspiracy was formed to assassinate Henry IV., at a +tournament to be held here, and to restore the deposed monarch, Richard +II., to the throne. It signally failed, and the Earls of Kent and +Salisbury, Sir Thomas Blount, and others were executed near Oxford. + +The next event of importance was the influence of Henry VIII., who +raised Oxford to the dignity of a see, separating it from the Diocese of +Lincoln. Wolsey also left his mark, as he invariably did wherever he +went. During Henry VIII.'s reign Erasmus, a native of Holland, came to +Oxford to aid the progress of learning. + +He taught Greek, but the violence of the popish party drove him from +thence, as the study of the ancient language was deemed a dangerous +innovation. In 1555 Oxford witnessed the terrible death of Latimer and +Ridley, condemned to be burned at the stake. Their Protestant tendencies +had incurred Queen Mary's resentment, and a brass cross let into the +centre of the road, near Balliol College, marks the site, and is a +pathetic reminder of their martyrdom. Soon after Cranmer followed, +recanting all belief in the Pope's supremacy, and in transubstantiation. + +In the time of Henry VIII. Cranmer was instrumental in getting the +Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Commandments, and the Litany translated +into English, for hitherto it had been customary to conduct the Church +services in Latin. + +In 1625 and 1665 king and Parliament hurriedly retreated from the plague +in London to adjourn to Oxford. In the Parliamentary war Oxford played a +prominent part, and in 1681 Charles II. dissolved Parliament at +Westminster, only to assemble a new one in the university city. + +[Illustration: OXFORD + +CHRISTCHURCH GATEWAY] + +But the great events that go to the making of England's history have +been contributed by men whose names are inscribed upon the books of the +various colleges of Oxford. The Cathedral College, Christ Church, claims +the three great English revivalists: Wycliffe; the chief of the +Lollards; John Wesley, founder of Methodism; and Pusey. + +Samuel Wesley, the father of Samuel, John, and Charles, entered Exeter +College as a "pauper scholaris," and was an eminent divine. His son +Samuel, the intimate associate of Pope, Swift, and Prior, wrote squibs +against Sir Robert Walpole, the Whigs, and the Low Church divines, and +was a member of Christ Church, as well as Charles. These three brothers +compiled the "Book of Psalms and Hymns," Charles alone composed and +published some four thousand hymns, besides leaving about two thousand +in manuscript. + +Pusey, born near Oxford in 1800, entered as a commoner and died as a +canon of Christ Church, at the age of eighty-two. + +The great scholar of Corpus Christi, John Keble, became member of that +college at the age of fifteen, and when nineteen was elected Fellow of +Oriel,--a very proud distinction, for Oriel was then the great centre of +the most famous intellects in Oxford. + +To this society belonged Copleston, Davison, Whately, and soon after +Keble's election Arnold, Pusey, and Newman became members. Newman, whose +tendencies were in turn Evangelical and Calvinistic, to become finally +cardinal, matriculated at Trinity College. Amongst other famous members +of Wolsey's foundation must be included the statesmen William Gladstone +and the late Marquis of Salisbury. + +Other distinguished inmates of this college are Anthony Ashley Cooper, +the seventh earl of Shaftesbury, who interested himself in the practical +welfare of the working classes; and John Ruskin, author of "The Stones +of Venice," whose father had at first conceived the ambition of seeing +him become bishop; Cecil Rhodes, the Imperialist, whose health was so +uncertain that at one time his doctor gave him only six months to live, +acquired wealth in South Africa, and came home to be admitted to Oriel, +Oxford. + +The author of "Alice in Wonderland," under the _nom de plume_ of "Lewis +Carroll," was also a student of Christ Church. As Charles Lutridge +Dodgson he wrote many important works on mathematics. + +These, with a host of other celebrated men of all the various colleges, +have all shed lustre upon their _alma mater_; and, as long as old +traditions be revered and followed, Oxford need never fear a decline. +The beautiful buildings, collegiate and ecclesiastical, the wonderful +university libraries, "The Bodleian" and "The Ashmolean," the sumptuous +plate and silver of the colleges, are some of the great features of this +cathedral city. + +Such, in brief, is the history of this prominent seat of learning. + + + + +Peterborough + +St. Petrius de Burgh. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +This ancient cathedral city of Peterborough is most curiously situated. +On first looking at the map it is extremely difficult to determine +off-hand to which of the three counties, Northamptonshire, +Huntingdonshire, or Cambridgeshire, it belongs. It is true part of the +city lies in Huntingdonshire. Happily for Northamptonshire, the near +proximity of the river Nene probably decided the worthy monks to select +that site for the monastery. It was dedicated to St. Peter, whose +saintly name was evidently borrowed to designate the name of the +borough, and to displace the original appellation, which was +Medeswelhamsted, or Medeshampsted, taken out of compliment to a +whirlpool in the river Aufona, now the Nene. Though we are told that +this monastery was founded, about 655, by a royal Christian convert, +Paeda, the fifth king of Mercia, and finished by his brother, Wulfhere, +in atonement for his crime in connection with the premature death of +his sons for their Christian proclivities--though we are told this, +nevertheless we are inclined to think that the worthy brethren were +chiefly responsible for the selection of the site. + +If we come to consider closely the locality of each monastic +institution, we generally stumble across a river, however small and +humble it may appear. And why is this? Simply for the fish, which was +carefully preserved and encouraged to multiply. Even to this day all +monks, nuns, and strict followers of the Roman Catholic persuasion +rigidly adhere to the observance of eating fish, instead of flesh, on +every Friday and fast day, though nowadays it is not customary for them +to catch fish in its natural element. In the good old days the holy +friars had to depend principally upon the yield of the river for +Friday's requirements, if perchance the monastery was situated far +inland. Travelling in mediaeval times was somewhat precarious and slow. + +This monastery would be in all probability a wooden erection of +Anglo-Saxon style. Philologists demonstrate that "getimbrian"--to +construct of wood--was the Anglo-Saxon word for "build." If this +argument holds good, it accounts not only for the scarcity of Old +English lapidary remains, but also for their peculiar character. Till +the arrival of masons in 672 from the continent, the buildings had been +composed mostly of wood covered with thatch. Only towards the close of +the tenth century, with a better knowledge of stone-work, did architects +develop a definite style in England. + +With the arrival of the Danes, about the middle of the ninth century, +the town was sacked, the monks were massacred, and the monastic +buildings were burnt. For more than a century it remained in oblivion, +till the combined efforts of Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, King +Edgar, and his wealthy chancellor Adulph, produced a monastery, over +which, in recognition of his pecuniary assistance, Adulph was made +abbot. As usual, the Norman Conquest left its mark in the shape of a +castle to protect the town, and to instil wholesome awe in the English. +It was early in the reign of Henry I. that a fire caused great injury to +the town and monastery. Though deplorable, as it at first appeared, it +nevertheless gave birth to the present Norman cathedral church, which +Abbot Salisbury commenced to build in 1118, two years after the +accident. At the same time the site of the town was transferred from the +eastern side of the monastery to the present situation north of the +Nene. + +[Illustration: PETERBOROUGH + +THE WEST FRONT] + +Six years before the death of Henry VIII., to wit, in 1541, +Peterborough was separated from the Diocese of Lincoln and was created +into an episcopal see. The last abbot of Peterborough was appointed +first bishop, with the abbot's house as the episcopal palace, and the +monastery church as the cathedral. To this building, the Norman effort +of Abbot Salisbury, was grafted the architecture of the Early English +style. No pen can so adequately describe the magnificence of the west +front of this cathedral as the brush of Mr. Collins. This artist has +done full justice to his subject, which has evidently been a work of +love to him. In his rendering he has both successfully caught the true +spirit of the church's grandeur, and has managed to incorporate his +distinct individuality. Mr. Collins has shown the same qualities with +regard to the "market-place." + +The three lofty and beautiful arches of this west front are Early +English. Perhaps a jarring note to its fine composition is the small +porch, over which there is a chapel to St. Thomas a Becket. + +A square tower at the north-west angle and another similar one at the +south-west angle of the nave enrich the general effect. The nave itself +is Norman, and is separated from the aisles by finely clustered piers +and arches of the same style, but lighter than usual in character. + +The east end is circular, and there are several chapels of the English +style subsequent to the Early English. They are elegantly designed with +fan tracery, and the windows, since their original foundation, appear to +have been enriched with tracery. + +On the south side there is the shrine to St. Tibba, and close to it Mary +Queen of Scots was buried. Her remains were afterwards exhumed and +removed to Westminster. + +The north side was graced with a tomb to Queen Catherine of Arragon. +Uneasy was her rest, for Cromwell's troops laid sacrilegious hands on +the tomb. Her royal memory is now perpetuated by a commonplace marble +slab. + +Not content with this the Roundheads, as the parliamentary forces were +called, defaced the Cathedral, looted its plate and ornaments, and +pulled down part of the cloisters, the chapter house, and the episcopal +palace. What remains of the cloisters exhibit specimens of Early Norman, +down to the later periods of English architecture, and give some idea of +their former grandeur. + +Besides its beauties, this cathedral affords an excellent study of +arches, illustrating the subtleties of every transitional period in +architecture, from Norman to perpendicular. + +[Illustration: PETERBOROUGH + +THE MARKET PLACE] + +The choir, by John de Sez, is Early Norman. Martin of Bec took fifteen +years, in the twelfth century, to realise the completion of the aisles +of both transepts. The remaining portions of the transepts and the +central tower were designed by William de Waterville, from 1155 to 1175. + +Unfortunately, the insecurity of this tower caused it to be pulled down +in 1883, and attempts were immediately made to substitute another. + +The nave belongs to the latter part of the Norman period. To be correct, +its date, 1177 to 1193, clearly indicates it should be included rather +in the Transition period, which was then trending towards the Lancet of +Early English. + +This same Transition must also claim the western transepts by Abbot +Andrew, 1193 to 1200. + +The painted roof of wood, added by Abbot Benedict, 1177 to 1193, is a +fair example of the fashion prevalent in Europe at that period. Another +object of interest is the "decorated windows," which were placed +throughout this church in the fourteenth century. + +A distinctive feature is the existence of the "Close," exhibiting +interesting remains of English architecture. To more thoroughly ensure +the privacy of the cathedral, its precincts were enclosed, very much +like a college at a university, either within a solid wall enclosure or +generally surrounded by dwellings for the ecclesiastics. Though the +cathedral might be in the densest quarter of the town, yet, on closing +its gates, it secured complete severance from the city. The cathedral +close at Salisbury is quite the best specimen extant in England. + +_En passant_ we would mention among the many eminent men that +Peterborough is justly proud of, Benedict, who was abbot in 1180, and +founded an hospital, which he dedicated to St. Thomas a Becket, whose +biographer and ardent admirer he was; and an eminent English historian +in the fourteenth century, John, abbot of the monastery of Peterborough; +Archdeacon Paley, a celebrated divine and moralist, who died in 1805; +and Sir John Hill, a popular writer in the eighteenth century. + +In conclusion, we cannot help drawing attention to the great general, +statesman, and contemporary of the Duke of Marlborough, who was called +after this city, and known in the reigns of Anne and George I. The title +of Earl of Peterborough was conferred by Charles I. on the family of +Mordaunt, and worthily borne by the celebrated soldier-statesman. + + + + +St. Albans + +St. Albanus. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +Under the title of "Oppidum," the stronghold of Cassivelaunus, St. +Albans is frequently mentioned by Caesar and Tacitus. + +At the time of Caesar's first visit to England, which was in 46 B.C., the +Britons led a wandering life, and it was only in war time that they +gathered together and took refuge in towns. Tacitus and Caesar describe +the Britons as people who had no cities, towns, or buildings of any +durable materials. The sites of their towns were chosen with a view to +turning to good account all the assistance that Nature could lend, such +as woods, ditches, and bogs. + +Though Caesar names no particular town, yet he describes his attack and +occupation of the "Oppidum" over which Cassivelaunus was the chief. And +from what is known of the progress and distance of Caesar from the +Thames, there seems no doubt that "Verulamium," as it was then and +afterwards called, is identical with that of the stronghold of the +Britons. It was situated on the low ground on the banks of the river +Ver. Caesar's occupation was brief. Until the conquest of Britain by +Claudius in 43 A.D. it remained an important city in the hands of the +Britons. Finally, in 420 A.D., the Romans quitted Britain. During their +stay they had greatly opened up the country, constructing the famous +high roads, one of which is the great North Road, called Watling Street, +which stretches from London to York. + +In the fifth century Verulamium, as we shall still continue to call St. +Albans for a while, was occupied by the Saxons. They changed the site of +the Roman city from the low ground, on which now stands the Church of +St. Michael, to the higher ground. At the same time they renamed it +Watling-ceaster, after Watling Street, which passed through it. + +From the ruins of the ancient city of Verulamium arose in the tenth +century the celebrated monastery in honour of St. Alban. To account for +the erection of this building it is necessary to give a brief sketch of +its patron saint. + +During the Diocletian persecution of the Christians, in the year 304 A. +D., a distinguished citizen, Alban of Verulamium, of Roman origin, but +converted to Christianity, suffered martyrdom for giving shelter to +Amphibalus, a Christian. For this crime he was executed on the site of +the present abbey, and in 772 was canonised. + + * * * * * + +Nearly five hundred years after, in 793, Offa, the King of Mercia, was +very much exercised in mind as to the best means of expiating his murder +of AEthelbert. + +Greatly to his relief, he was bidden in a vision to seek the remains of +St. Alban, and over them, when found, to erect a monastery. In +accordance with these instructions he, with Higbert, Archbishop of +Lichfield, the Bishops of Leicester and Lindsey, and a huge assembly of +clergy and laity, visited the hill, where the "Proto-martyr of England," +as St. Alban came to be known, had suffered. There the holy remains were +discovered. Over them Offa founded the abbey, with a monastery for one +hundred monks of the Order of St. Benedict. + + * * * * * + +The present abbey really dates from the eleventh century. At the close +of the tenth century the ruins of the old Roman city of Verulamium were +broken up to serve as materials for the new church buildings. But owing +to the unsettled character of the times the erection was delayed, till +William the Conqueror was firmly possessed of the throne, when Paul of +Caen, a relative of Archbishop Lanfranc, was appointed abbot in 1077. He +built the magnificent Norman structure, based upon the plans of St. +Stephen's, Caen--the same church which served as a model for Lanfranc, +when he built Canterbury. + +Though finished for some years past, it was only consecrated in 1115. + +As was invariably the custom, the church was built in the form of a +cross. In this connection it is interesting to note the evolution of the +cross. + +Prior to the Christian era the cross was looked upon with disfavour. + +To be crucified was to undergo a most ignominious form of punishment, +and it was only served out to malefactors of the worst description. +Nothing short of this would have been a sufficient check in those times +to the growth of vice. But in the early days of Christianity the cross +came to be regarded as the holiest symbol of "The Sacrifice" made for +the good of mankind. + +When converts met they formed on the ground the sign of the cross, in +order to distinguish friends from foes. The mere fact of a severe +punishment meted out consequent on discovery of this secret passport +served only to increase the reverence held for the symbol. + +[Illustration: ST. ALBANS + +FROM THE WALLS OF OLD VERULAM] + +As soon as time and opportunity allowed places of worship were erected, +and the natural form adopted would be that of the cross, for which they +had suffered so much persecution, and which typified the foundation of +their faith and hopes of salvation. + +As they assembled in church they would be sensible of the prevailing +influence of the emblem. In every direction, look where they would, they +would always see the holy sign. The roof would reveal to the gaze the +same form as that on the ground. + +Even the walls, as they soared upwards, out-lined, tier upon tier, the +Christian sign, capped at the last by a mighty cross, which cast its +protecting shadows around and over the worshippers. + +The altar came to be placed at the head of the cross. The transept, +crossing it at right angles, formed the arms, and the nave the upright. + +The altar was always situated at the east end, again illustrating a link +with the pagan times, when worshippers turned towards the sun. + +As time progressed chapels were erected along the sides, causing the +walls to be pierced and arched. These chapels were in honour, firstly, +of "The Blessed Virgin," and then of the leaders of "The Faith," who had +been canonised as saints on account of martyrdom. But the main building +was always dedicated to the "God Head." + +By a special grant in 1154, given by Pope Adrian IV., who was born near +St. Albans, and who was the only Englishman ever appointed to the Papal +See, the abbots of St. Albans were allowed the privilege of wearing a +mitre. Added to this dignity he was given precedence over all in +England, whether they were king, archbishop, bishop, or legate. He also +exercised supreme episcopal jurisdiction over all clergy and laity in +all lands pertaining to the monastery. + +The first abbot was Willgod, nominated by King Offa. + +The last one was Richard Boreman, otherwise Stevenache. + +In all there were forty-one from the foundation to the suppression, +which took place in 1534. In that year the monastery was seized by Henry +VIII., who allowed pensions to the monks, and an annuity to the abbot. + +About 1480 the abbey was amongst the first in England to set up a +printing press. On this the first English translation of the Bible was +printed. + + * * * * * + +In spite of every loving care exercised, the relics of St. Alban enjoyed +little rest. In Wulruth's reign as fourth abbot, the abbey suffered at +the hands of the Danes. They carried away with them the bones of "the +Proto-martyr" to Denmark, and there placed them in a convent at Owenses. +They were found and brought back to the abbey. + +Again, seventy years later, the Danes ravaged the country. But this time +AElfric II., eleventh abbot, resorted to artifice. He hid the bones in +the walls of the church, and sent bogus relics to the monastery at Ely, +giving the monks special charges to guard them well. On the retirement +of the Danes from the country, AElfric sent post haste to reclaim these +bones. Ely at first demurred, but, giving way in the end, sent back some +substituted bones. This disquieted the saint. + +He appeared to Gilbert, a Benedictine monk, and to him disclosed the +fraud, enjoining him to bring to light the true bones from their +hiding-place. This was solemnly done. But Ely unexpectedly disclosed the +artifice they had practised, and claimed that they were in possession of +the true relics. + +As neither party would yield, "the relics of St. Alban" for a hundred +years received reverential and impartial homage both at St. Albans and +at Ely. Eventually Ely disclaimed their right, on the appeal of Robert +de Gorham, the eighteenth abbot, to the Pope. + +In the history of the "Wars of the Roses," the city of St. Albans played +a prominent part. + +In 1455 Henry VI. set up his royal standard on the north side of the +town, whilst the Yorkists, under the Duke of York and the Earl of +Warwick, the "Kingmaker," encamped in the fields east of the town. + +On May 3 of the same year in Holywell Street and its adjacent roads +fought the two armies to decide the succession to the English throne. +The Yorkists gained the victory. The king was taken a wounded prisoner. + +On February 17, 1461, St. Albans was for the second time the scene of a +terrible battle. The Lancastrians, with Queen Margaret at their head, +defeated the Yorkists under the Earl of Warwick, and restored Henry VI. +to the throne. + +The principal portions now in existence of the original Norman church by +Paul of Caen are the tower, the eastern bays of the nave, and the +transepts. Though it exhibits specimens of architecture of different +periods, and has undergone much restoration, the main architectural +outlines, as conceived by Paul, have been adhered to all the time. + +Within recent years Sir Gilbert Scott, succeeded by Sir Edmund Beckett, +made extensive renovations. The only reminder of the once vast monastic +buildings is the great gateway, within a few yards of the west entrance +to the abbey. + + + + +Wells + +Welle. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +"Wells, a city, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of +Wells-Forum, County of Somerset." Thus runs a description of this place, +and is a fair sample of most cities. We think a little explanation anent +"the hundred" may possibly make that term more clear of understanding, +and may not be amiss. The description, short as it is, has quite a +condensed history of its own, but only conveys a hazy idea of the status +of the city. + +[Illustration: WELLS + +CATHEDRAL AND THE POOLS] + +In the days of heathenism, it must be remembered that England was +partitioned into several kingdoms, the size of which was regulated by +the might of their respective kings. Each tribe, or kingdom, was ruled +by a tribal chief, or folk-king. He was chosen by the tribe, and the +king-ship became in time practically hereditary. To maintain his power +he had to respect and keep the customs of his people. Without their +consent he could pass no law; he could touch no freeman's life or +heritage without consent of law, which gave the freeman the right of +defending his cause before his fellow-freemen; he presided, at regular +annual intervals, at the folk-moot, or tribal assembly, and at the great +feasts and sacrifices. Counsellors and wise men assisted the king with +advice. His marriages were the result of favourable and pacific +negotiations with other tribes. He was called upon to travel throughout +his kingdom and see that justice was properly administered and evil and +oppression suppressed. He was almost regarded as a demi-god, and his +crimes were supposed to be punished by the gods, who denied good seasons +and brought about other calamities. The king was allowed a little army, +or comitatus as it was called, of paid retainers, to maintain adequate +discipline, and to form his bodyguard. These kings, chosen by the people +at the tribal-moot, in heathen times were throned on the holy stone and +carried about on a shield, and in Christian times were consecrated. In +accordance with the extension of the West Saxon kingdom, which became +the kingdom of the English, the court increased. At the time of the +Conquest, a treasurer, a chancellor, and other officials looking after +the king's plate, clothes, and horses were added to the royal +household. When in addition to these were added the bishops, abbots, and +the aldermen, who had succeeded the tribal kings in the several "folks," +or "shires," on their absorption into the West Saxon kingdom, the king +was recognised as the head of the Witema-gemot, or Concilium Sapientium, +as the "meeting of wisemen" was called. In the tenth century the king no +longer went about to get the consent of each folk-moot to a certain law, +but convened the heads of each shire-moot at some convenient central +spot. This convening of moots, or Mycel-gemot, became the Magnum +Concilium of the Normans, and in the thirteenth century developed into +the High Courts and Parliament. Beneath the shire-moots came the +"hundred-moots," and later on the "hall-moots." The origin of the +"hundred" appears, by some authorities, to be based on the military +organisation. It is supposed, in the first instance, to be a grouping of +a sufficient number of free homesteads to furnish at least one hundred +and twenty fully-armed freemen for war service, and to supply +full-qualified jurors for the cases of the district. This hundred-moot +was presided over by a lord or an hundred-elder, and discharged the +duties for the district much in the same way as the shire-moot did for +the county. It was a criminal and civil court with its grand jury, +and enforced the attendance of persons from each manor within the +hundred. When the king was absent from the shire-moot, the "ealdorman" +(alderman) of the shire presided, and to watch the royal interests was +nominated the "shire-reeve," or sheriff (scirgerefa), chosen from the +better class of the freeholders. We are told that the laws of England +were far in advance of those in France. In fact, the English had written +laws at the time of the Conquest, and the Normans had none. It hardly +seems credible that the conquered were, in some respects, more civilised +than their conquerors. + +[Illustration: WELLS + +FROM THE FIELDS] + +It was only after the Conquest that the "Doomsday Book" came into +existence. After the Conquest the sheriff became simply a royal officer. +He was the financial representative of the Crown within his district. +Now his financial duties no longer exist, and his judicial are almost +_nil_. Our general knowledge of him is that he is supposed to be in at +the death of a murderer, and that he is somehow or other associated with +the bailiff--sheriff's officer, as he is styled. + +Mr. Collins presents us with three interesting graphic descriptions. +This city owes its name to the numerous springs, and more particularly +to that of St. Andrew's Well, whose water, rising in the vicinity of +the episcopal palace, flows through the south-western part of the city. +Ina, King of the West Saxons, named it thus. He, in 704, founded a +collegiate church and dedicated it to St. Andrew the Apostle. + +This foundation was handsomely endowed by Cynewulf in 766, and +flourished till 905. Wells was then erected into a see. This change was +consequent on an edict of Edward the Elder for the revival of religion, +which had been brought down to a low ebb by the frequent and terrible +incursions of the Danes. To combat this state of things, Pligrund, +Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated several new bishops, of whom +Aldhelm, formerly Abbot of Glastonbury, became first bishop of Wells. + +Edward the Confessor made his chaplain, Giso, the thirteenth bishop to +the See, and at the same time enriched it by the confiscated property of +Godwin, Earl of Kent, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, his son, whom he had +driven into exile. Harold, in spite of his exile, made an incursion into +Somersetshire, levied mail on his former tenantry, and eased the church +of its treasures. + +In the meantime Giso was being consecrated at Rome. On his return he was +fortunate enough to gain some compensation from the queen, who was +sister to Harold. But, unfortunately for Giso, Harold was again received +into favour. He promptly procured the banishment of Giso, and on his +succession later to the throne straightway resumed all his estates, +which Edward the Confessor had granted to the Church, and thus +impoverished the See. + +Bishop Giso's opportunity came with the Conquest, when he was +reinstated. William, in his second year of reign, restored to the +Bishopric, with some small deduction, all Harold's estates. Giso +augmented the number of canons, and built a cloister, hall, and +dormitory, and enlarged and beautified the choir of the Cathedral. John +de Villula, his successor, swept away these buildings, and on their site +built a palace. + +Villula's name in ecclesiastical history is closely associated with a +memorable event which caused considerable commotion and rivalry between +the inhabitants of Wells and Bath. He removed the See of the diocese to +Bath, and assumed the title of Bishop of Bath. Feeling ran high, and the +Archbishop of Canterbury was appealed to. His ingenuity proposed that +the prelates should be styled "Bishop of Bath and Wells," that an equal +number of delegates from both cities should elect him, and that their +installation should take place in both churches. Yet, later, the +determination of the diocese's headquarters became again a vexed +question, under Bishop Savaricus, who was closely allied to the Emperor +of Austria. + +Richard I.'s liberty was granted him by the Emperor of Austria on one +condition besides the ransom, that the then vacant Abbey of Glastonbury +should be annexed to the See of Bath and Wells. Savaricus afterwards +changed the seat of his diocese to Glastonbury, and styled himself +Bishop of Glastonbury. The seat was finally settled in 1205, after his +death, by the monks under his successor, Joscelyne de Wells. Glastonbury +petitioned Rome, favourably, to be reinstated as an abbey, on condition +of relinquishing a handsome portion of its revenue to the See. + +Joscelyne assumed the bishopric title of Bath and Wells, which has +remained to this day. The death of this prelate was the signal for +further dispute in another direction. The monks of Bath endeavoured to +exercise, in opposition to the Canon of Wells, the right of electing the +successor to the See. All dispute was settled by the Pope, who managed +to draw closer the union of the churches. At the Reformation the +monastery of Bath was suppressed, and though the name of the See was +retained, all ecclesiastical authority and the right of electing the +Bishop were vested in the Dean and Chapter of Wells, which then became +the sole chapter of the Diocese. + +[Illustration: WELLS + +THE RUINS OF THE BANQUETING HALL] + +The Chapter House is a beautiful octagonal building, each side measuring +fifty feet. Its finely groined roof is held up by a central clustered +column of Purbeck marble. Beneath it there is a crypt displaying a very +good example of plain groining. + +The foundation of the present Cathedral was laid by Wiffeline, the +second bishop of the diocese, and completed by Bishop Joscelyne in 1239. +This cruciform structure was dedicated to St. Andrew. On the south the +cloisters form three sides of a quadrangle. The prevailing style of the +architecture of this church is the Early English, with the introduction +of the Decorated and subsequent periods. + +The west front is divided into compartments by buttresses, and is richly +embellished with canopied niches, containing statues of kings, popes, +cardinals, bishops, and abbots. Even the mullions of the west window and +the lower stages of the western towers are similarly treated. These +towers, like the central tower, are crowned with parapets elegantly +pierced. The nave and transepts display the grand simplicity and +elegance of the Early English style. The former is separated from the +aisles by a series of clustered columns and finely pointed arches, above +which are placed a triforium of lancet-shaped arches, and a range of +clerestory windows with elegant tracery in the Later English style +inserted. + +The choir belongs to the Decorated style. + +The Cathedral contains several chapels. In one there is the ancient +clock from Glastonbury. It has an astronomical dial, and figures of +knights in armour are set in motion by machinery. An ancient font in the +south transept is of the same date as this portion of the Cathedral. + +Of monuments there is the elaborate effigy of Bishop Beckington; and in +the choir the grave-stone of Bishop Joscelyne is the sole relic of what +was once an imposing marble monument bearing a brass effigy. In the +centre of the nave King Ina was buried. + +The hall, by Villula, was demolished in the reign of Edward VI. for the +sake of its materials. Its remains even now clearly indicate its +original splendour. In length it was one hundred and twenty feet. + +On the dissolution of the monasteries Henry VIII. remodelled the then +existing establishment and refounded it. This monarch's name reminds us +that Cardinal Wolsey and Archbishop Laud were prelates of this see. The +eminent historian, Polydore Vergil, was archdeacon in the sixteenth +century, and in the year 1634 was born in this city pious Dr. George +Bull, Bishop of St. David's. + +The history of the See is the history of the city. + + + + +Worcester + +Wirecestra. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +Apart from its beautiful Cathedral, this ancient city has gained +notoriety from its famous manufacture of porcelain. Who is there who has +not heard of "Old Worcester" china? From the experiments of china clay, +china stone from Cornwall, feldspar from Sweden, fire-clay from +Stourbridge and Broseley, marl, flint, and calcined bones, Dr. Wall +evolved those exquisite creations of Worcester china which now claim +universal admiration and obtain fabulous prices. + +It has been said that for political reasons the joint efforts of Dr. +Wall, a physician; William Davies, an apothecary; and Edward Cave, the +founder of _The Gentleman's Magazine_, gave birth to the foundation of +the Worcester Porcelain Company. This desirable event took place in +1751, six years after the invasion of the Pretender's armed forces, +which penetrated as far as Derby. Whether the establishment of this +industry helped George II.'s party to gain votes in the county against +the numerous supporters of the Pretender, who made their presence felt +in Worcester, or not, is now of little consequence. The existence of +this branch of art clearly demonstrates the insecure footing of +politics, and asserts the triumph of its founders. + +Mr. Collins gives us another proof that "art is long" by his skilful +rendering of the beautiful portion of Worcester Cathedral here shown. + +At the period of the Roman invasion of England, two British tribes, the +Cornavii and Dobuni, were in part ownership of Worcestershire. This +British settlement was promptly annexed by the Romans as a military +station, and was included in the division called Flavia Caesariensis. +They named it Vigorna, but being low and woody it offered little +attraction to them, and received little attention at their hands. With +the establishment of the Saxon Octarchy this territory became included +in the kingdom of Mercia. Like many of the English towns that served as +Roman military posts, the Saxons grafted the Roman appellation "cester" +for a camp, to Wigorna. + +Wigorna-cester gradually changed to Worcester. The city's advancement +was temporarily checked by the ravages of the Danes, who burnt it more +than once. In spite of the opposition of the Bishop of Lichfield, the +See of the city was founded by Archbishop Theodore, in 673, though not +finally established till 780. It then severed its connection with the +See of Lichfield. + +Save for predatory incursions of the Danes, especially on two occasions, +when the Dane chief Canute was, in 1016, defeated by Edmund Ironsides +near Blockley; and at another time, when the Danes deemed it necessary, +in 1041, to punish the Saxons for refusing to pay them tribute called +"danegelt,"--save for these little misfortunes, little else interfered +with the gradual growth of the city's prosperity. + +Naturally, with increased prosperity, the city freed itself from bondage +to Danes. At the date of the Conquest it had even attained sufficient +importance to have a mint. The existence of various English mints at +that period, as shown here, and in Oxford and other towns, according to +their importance and the exigencies of the neighbourhood, must have been +solely due to the geographical partition of England. + +Prior to the Conquest we notice the frequent distribution and +redistribution of England into kingdoms, in ratio to the superior power +or stratagem of one king over another. + +By this is made evident the lack of unity and support against the common +foe, the foreign invader. Each kingdom of necessity issued its own +currency, besides framing its own laws to suit the character of the +subjects and the nature of the surroundings. + +Though each king attempted to restore this chaos to order by the simple +process of grabbing his neighbours' land during the intermission of +hostilities against foreign invaders, it was only Alfred the Great who +really attempted some scheme of unity--and then failed to accomplish +what seemed an impossibility. But this impossibility was entirely +overcome by William the Conqueror, who straightway grasped the +situation. He erected castles everywhere, with the twofold purpose of +curbing the Saxons and keeping out their former foes. Under his rule +internal dissensions were quelled, effete customs were abolished, new +and necessary laws were introduced, architecture was encouraged, trade +was fostered, and a recognised currency was adopted. All this can be +readily gathered at a glance into that marvellous book he caused to be +drawn up, called "Doomsday Book." In it a correct valuation of all +property, from the noble lord's down to the agricultural implements of +the peasant, is entered, with the position of every church and castle +extant conspicuously marked on the chart in Latin. He wished to +thoroughly gauge the resources of his recent conquest. With this +information he gained an index to the complete establishment of his +sovereignty over England. This may be considered a digression, but we +submit that a brief sketch of the wonderful change that took place under +this monarch is essential to the right understanding of the history +alike of cathedral and city. No other reigning prince of England, before +or since William's reign, has left such lasting evidences of his +personality except it be Henry VIII., who is inseparable with the +dissolution of the monasteries. + +The drawing of Mr. Collins gives an excellent idea of the character of +Worcester Cathedral. Its site is on the eastern bank of the river +Severn, and is the most important building of the city. Yet it cannot be +compared to the massive grandeur of Ripon. Though its beauty could not +entirely be marred by restoration, yet, having been allowed to get out +of repair, the task was entrusted in 1857 to Mr. Perkins, the cathedral +architect. He has managed to sweep away a great part of the old work, +and in some instances has replaced the original by conjectural work of +Early English style. + +[Illustration: WORCESTER + +THE CATHEDRAL] + +But to revert to the early stages of the Cathedral, Bishop Oswald +appears to have absorbed the secular monks of St. Peter's, the Bishop's +church, into a monastery of St. Mary, thereby changing the secular state +of the canons to that of the monastic. This bishop, in 983, finished the +building of a new monastic cathedral. + +By the time that the Normans cast their influence over Worcester, Bishop +Wulfstan had gained so much fame for saintliness that it is recorded he +was the only English prelate left in charge of his see. But subsequent +history somewhat discounts his holy character and demonstrates his +readiness to conform with new customs. + +He met the Normans half-way by undertaking to build a great church of +stone, after the Norman style of architecture. + +In 1088 he suffered interruption through Welsh raids, but finally +signalised the end of his labours by holding a synod in the crypt in +1094. + +Another notable foundation of his is the Commandery, in 1095, believed +to be one of the rarest specimens of early house architecture now +extant. We cannot be too grateful for his contribution to church +architecture, though only the outer walls of the nave, the aisles, a +part of the transept walls, some shafts, and the crypt remain as +evidences of his Norman adaptability. + +Here it is well to accentuate the fact that the crypt (1084) is apsidal, +and that only three other examples of this style exist, namely at +Winchester, Gloucester, and Canterbury, all dating within the last +twenty years of the eleventh century. + +The nave (1175) was much injured by the collapse of the central tower. +In the meanwhile, though dead some two hundred years, the saintly +character of Wulfstan suffered no diminution, and was turned to +profitable use by the monks soon after 1203, the year of his +canonisation. The magnificent offerings to his shrine became so numerous +and rich that the monks were enabled to finish the Cathedral in +1216--surely the most fitting memorial to the great founder. They +continued their labours by adding a Lady chapel, soon after, in the east +end, and rebuilding the choir in the Early English style. In the +fourteenth century the nave was reconstructed, the Decorated style being +introduced in the north side and the Perpendicular in the south. + +The Chapter House is a round building with a stone roof resting on a +central pillar, and dates from the Late Norman period. + +The Refectory belongs to the Decorated, and the Perpendicular style +claims the cloisters. The central tower is just over one hundred and +sixty feet in height. As can be seen by the drawing, the plan of the +building is a pure cross. There are two transept aisles, and only +secondary transepts to the choir exist. A noteworthy circumstance is +that St. Helen's, Worcester, is the earliest recipient of a chantry +(1288). + +The most interesting memorial in this cathedral is King John's, in the +choir, said to be the earliest sepulchral effigy of an English king in +the country. In the Chantry Chapel there is an altar-tomb to Arthur, +Prince of Wales and son to Henry VII., who died in 1502. John Bauden, +bishop, and author of "Icon Basilike," has a monument. Bishop Hough's +memory is perpetuated by the work of Roubillac, and that of Mrs. Digby +by the sculpture of Chantrey. + +To give a detailed account of the history of the city would be long and +unnecessary. Suffice it to say that the city continually changed hands +during the civil wars. In 1265, in Worcestershire, close upon the +frontier of Gloucestershire, was fought the battle of Evesham, in which +Henry III.'s son surprised and defeated Earl Simon de Montford, one time +a royal favourite. This result put an end to the confederacy of the +barons. Cantilupe, the Bishop of Worcester, was implicated in that he +favoured the Earl's cause, who had withdrawn previous to the battle, to +the friendly territory of Worcester's See, and had rested at Evesham +Abbey. Queen Elizabeth and James II. respectively paid the city a short +visit. + +It suffered extensively by the dissolution of the monasteries. The +parliamentary troops foully defiled the Cathedral, and did considerable +damage to the city, which was Royalist. + +Here it was that Charles II., with his Scottish army, was defeated by +Cromwell, who had taken up a position on Red Hill without the city +gates. Fortune and disguise helped Charles to escape, and from here he +began his adventurous journey to Boscobel. The cathedral city has since +increased steadily in prosperity. Besides the Worcester China Company, +founded in 1751, and still flourishing, a Company of Glovers was +incorporated in 1661, and is an important industry. These, in addition +to hop-growing, help to keep up the trade prosperity of Worcester. The +See has enriched the Church of Rome by four saints, and has yielded to +the English State several Lord Chancellors and Lord Treasurers. + + + + +Chichester + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +In a geographical account of this city it is given as being locally in +"the hundred of Box and Stockbridge, _rape_ of Chichester, county of +Sussex." The origin of this term "rape," comes from the Icelandic +"hreppr," meaning a village or district. From the Icelandic verb, +"hreppa," to catch, obtain, arose the Anglo-Saxon rendering--"hrepian, +hreppan," to touch. Rape came thus to be one of six divisions of the +county of Sussex, possibly by reason of their nearness to each other. It +formed the intermediate between the shire and the hundred. A sketch of +the shire and the hundred is treated in the description of Wells. After +this slight digression, we will immediately enter upon the history of +Chichester. + +Its foundation dates, with certainty, from the time when England formed +a portion of the Roman Empire. About the year 47 A.D., Flavius +Vespasian conquered this part of England. He established a camp on the +site of the present city, close to the road now known as Stane Street, +throwing up an entrenchment three miles long. This is attributed to be +the "Regnum" of the Belgae, mentioned in the "Itinerary" of Antonine. + +There is no reason to doubt this, if it be borne in mind that, situated +almost on the south seaboard of England as Chichester is, it might quite +conceivably be expected to be classed accidentally as forming a part of +the territory of the Belgae, though geographically wrong. The advantage +of a site at the foot of a small spur of the South Downs, within easy +distance of the sea, though inland, would offer great attractions to the +Roman invader. + +The early history of England shows us that invasions took effect +generally on the south and east coasts of the island. The conquered +tribes travelled westwards, retreating before the fierce invader. + +Little seems to have been known about the Roman occupation of Chichester +till the accidental turning up of a Sussex marble slab on the site of +the present council chamber. This discovery took place about the year +1713. From this a little information is gleaned about the Roman +buildings. The slab bears a defaced inscription in Latin, the missing +letters of which having been supplied, give a conjectural reading. It +appears that Chichester was the seat of a British king, Cogidubnus; and +that under the auspices of a certain Pudens, a temple of Neptune and +Minerva was erected out of compliment to Claudius. The evidence of this +stone seems also to have been borne out by Tacitus, who mentions in his +writings the existence of Cogidubnus as a native king possessed of +independent authority. This king, also, is said to be the father of +Claudia, who figures in the Second Epistle to Timothy. The conjectural +reading again leads us to suppose that the city was occupied by a large +number of craftsmen, who, in fact, were responsible for the erection of +the temple mentioned above, besides the walls and other buildings. + +During the early Saxon period in the fifth century the city was +destroyed by OElla. He was succeeded by his son Cissa, who rebuilt it +and called it Cissa's Ceaster--Cissa after his own name, and Ceaster in +recognition of the Romans having occupied it. The city afterwards became +the seat of the South Saxon kings, and remained thus till about the +middle of the seventh century. Wulfhere, the Mercian, then invaded it +and made Athelwald, its king, prisoner. Upon his conversion to +Christianity the king was reinstated. He was afterwards killed in battle +by Ceadwalla of Wessex, who conquered the kingdom of the South Saxons. +In 803 Egbert managed to make a union of the several Saxon kingdoms. +This event caused considerable prosperity to Chichester. From ancient +penny-pieces discovered, we learn that King Edgar, in the year 967, had +established a mint here, thus clearly indicating the importance of the +city. + +It suffered a terrible decline through the devastations of the Danes; so +much so, that scarcely two hundred houses and only one church existed at +the time of the Norman Conquest. However, from 1070 the fortunes of the +city began to mend rapidly. This wholesome change was caused primarily +by the removal of the See from Selsea, where it had remained for over +three hundred years, to Chichester. As first bishop of Chichester, +Stigand, the chaplain to William the Conqueror, was appointed. In the +reign of Henry I. a cathedral was built and consecrated by Bishop Ralph. +It was soon destroyed by fire. On its site the same prelate erected a +second structure of far greater magnificence, a considerable portion of +which is still extant. + +[Illustration: CHICHESTER + +FROM THE NORTHEAST] + +In 1189 the city again suffered from a terrible fire, which also caused +great damage to the Cathedral. This building, however, was repaired and +greatly enlarged by Bishop Siffed. His efforts, with those of Ralph, +form the basis of the present cathedral. It was dedicated to St. Peter. +The architecture embraces the Norman and the Early English and Decorated +styles. + +A beautiful tower arose from the centre, surmounted by an octagonal +spire three hundred feet high, with two towers on the west, of which the +upper courses of one were destroyed during the parliamentary war. On the +north is seen a fine bell-tower and lantern, connected by flying +buttresses with octagonal turrets springing from the angles. + +In the reign of Charles I., after a stubborn defence by the Royalist +citizens, the city was compelled to surrender to Cromwell's troops. In +the course of this reign the north-west tower was battered down, and in +1648 Cromwell ordered the destruction of the cathedral cloisters, the +Bishop's Palace, the Deanery, and the Canons' houses. The Bishop's +Palace was repaired in 1725, and contains a chapel built in the +thirteenth century. A general and great restoration of the Cathedral was +commenced in 1830, but in spite of every precaution the tower and spire +fell down in 1861. Under the guidance of Sir Gilbert Scott the necessary +repairs were undertaken. The cloisters were restored about the year +1890. + +Besides his grand contribution to the church's architecture, Storey's +memory is perpetuated by the very fine octagonal cross in the Decorated +English style. It stands fifty feet high, in the centre of the town, +from which the four principal streets run out at right angles towards +the country. These streets, in olden days, led to four gates in the +embattled walls which surrounded the city. The last of these gates was +taken down in 1773. Besides the cross, Storey founded in 1497 the +Grammar School, where Archbishop Juxon, the learned Seldon, the poet +Collins, and Dr. Hurdis, Professor of Poetry at the University of +Oxford, received their elementary education. + +Amongst other schools founded was one by Oliver Whitby, in 1702, to +afford free nautical education to twelve boys; namely, four from +Chichester, and four from each of the villages of West Wettering and +Harting. Though Chichester is connected by a short canal with the sea, +and a certain amount of shipping is done, it can hardly be considered as +an important port. It lies fourteen miles north-east of England's +greatest naval port, Portsmouth. Curiously enough, Chichester is only +five miles south of Goodwood, the famous city for horse-races. + +The municipal and parliamentary borough of Chichester, incorporated as +city in the year 1213, is almost surrounded by a small stream called the +Lavant, and is pleasantly situated at the end of a small spur of the +South Down Hills. It is considered as one of the principal cattle +markets in the South of England. Accommodation for several thousands of +cattle was arranged in 1871 by the Corporation. + +There are also the Guildhall, which was formerly the chapel of a convent +of Grey Friars; the corn-exchange, the market-house, museum, and +infirmary. + +Bradwardine and Juxon, both archbishops of Canterbury; Lawrence +Somercote, a great canonist and writer; the poets Collins and Hayley, +whose memory has been perpetuated by a tablet designed by Flaxman in the +Cathedral, were all born in this city. The Diocese of Chichester covers +nearly the whole extent of Sussex. + +In conclusion we would draw the attention to the quaint design on the +Bishop's armorial shield. It depicts the curious device of a mitred +prelate holding a sword in his mouth. He is seated, presumably, on a +throne, which much resembles a square block of marble, looked at +perspectively. Perhaps it is meant for the Holy Stone. Both the Bishop's +arms are outstretched. In his left hand an open book is held, whilst +his right is palm upwards. Why the Bishop holds the sword in his mouth, +when his right hand is free, it is hard to say. Possibly the arms were +first drawn up for a warlike bishop, or it may mean that the sword is +the sword of Justice. In all probability the correct meaning is conveyed +by the twelfth verse in Hebrews iv., wherein it sets forth that the +sword in the Bishop's mouth is symbolical of "The Word of the Lord," +which is "sharper than any two-edged sword," and the Book of the Law is +in his left hand, whilst the right hand is extended in blessing or in +supplicating prayer. + + + + +Chester + +Cestre. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +This famous place occupies a singular position. It is a city and county +of itself, a municipal county since 1888, and a parliamentary borough, +besides being an episcopal city, a seaport, and county town of Cheshire. + +Chester is also the capital of the county of Cheshire. It is situated on +a rocky elevation, on the north bank of the River Dee, by which the city +is partly encircled. Just seventeen miles north of it lies the great +manufacturing and seaport town of Liverpool. At one time Chester was a +palatine city, enjoying all the privileges peculiar to that dignity. +This practically conferred independent authority on a city far situated +from the Metropolis. The head of the city was a little king, and enjoyed +discretionary power. In a brief sketch of this, in the account of +Durham, is clearly shown the mutual advantages accruing, especially in +cases of emergency, such as incursions of the enemy, to both the city +thus honoured and the Metropolis London. + +The geographical position of Chester in the extreme west of England, and +its proximity to the restless Welsh, demanded some such power to cope, +at a moment's notice, with any unexpected event from that quarter. This +nearness to Wales contributed in a great measure to the importance of +this city, as will be presently shown. + +The earliest authentic history of Chester ascribes its origin to the +British tribe called the Cornavii. At the time of the Roman invasion +they inhabited that part of England which now is known as the counties +of Chester, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, and Worcester. + +[Illustration: CHESTER + +EASTGATE STREET] + +The city they called Coer Leon Vawr--City of Leon the Great. This name +is supposed to have been given out of compliment to Leon, son of Brut +Darien, the eighth king of Britain. By some historians this origin is +contested. They say that this Welsh name of Coer Leon Vawr indicated +the "city or camp of the Great Legion." They also supply "Coer Leon," +or "Dwfyr Dwy," and render their meaning into "the city of the Legion on +the Dee," from its connection with that people. The city was also called +Deunana and Deva, after the same river. However, it is conclusively +proved that here the Twentieth Roman Legion established a station +after the defeat of Caractacus, who, after having made a mighty effort +to withstand this second invasion of England by the Romans, was taken +prisoner. He and his wife and family were taken to Rome, and, according +to custom, were paraded through the streets for the benefit of the +public, but afterwards honourably treated. This second occupation of +England lasted from 43 A.D. till the Romans finally departed in 446 A. +D. The first was a short stay by Julius Caesar in B.C., some +ninety-seven years previous. In 46 A.D., within three years of the +landing of the Romans, Chester was established as a Roman camp, during +the reign of Claudius, the Roman Emperor. + +From the disposition of the four principal streets,--Northgate Street, +Eastgate Street, Bridge Street, and Westgate Street, together with the +walls surrounding the city, and the selection of a rocky site on the +bank of a fair-sized river, Chester gives a good illustration of the +principles upon which the Romans went to work. From a determined centre +these roads run out to their respective gates in the boundary walls, in +the direction of the four cardinal points. The walls of this city are +the only ones in England that are perfect in their entire circuit of two +miles, though the gateways have all been rebuilt within the last +hundred years. On the departure of the Roman soldiery, England reverted +to the Britons, who appeared to have been helpless, so long had they +relied upon their late conquerors for protection. From them Chester was +taken by Ethelfrith, King of Northumbria, who defeated them under the +King of Powysland in 607. The Britons, however, regained possession and +maintained it till 828, when Egbert, who was then the sole monarch of +England, annexed it to his possessions. The Saxons, during their +occupation of the city, named it Legancaester and Legecester. + +The Danes, in the ninth century, caused severe damages. On their retreat +Ethelfreda, Countess of Mercia, repaired the walls. On her death the +Britons once more became the city's masters, but were driven out again +by Edward the Elder. Athelstan, it is said, revived its mint. About the +year 972 Edgar assembled a naval force on the river Dee. To demonstrate +his supremacy he caused himself to be rowed by eight tributary kings +from his palace on the south bank of the river to the Convent Church of +St. John's. To increase the desired effect, we are told that he took the +helm,--the symbol of government. + +[Illustration: CHESTER + +THE ROWS] + +On the division of England, in 1016, between Canute and Edmund +Ironside, Canute gained possession of Mercia, in which were included +Chester and Northumbria. Chester remained as a city of Mercia, governed +by its earl, till the Norman Conquest. William then bestowed it with the +earldom on his nephew Hugh Lupus. He was, in view of the proximity of +Wales, invested with sovereign or palatine authority over the tract of +country now represented by the county of Cheshire and the coast-line of +Flintshire as far as Rhuddlan. Chester was made the seat of his +government. + +At that time it is described in "Doomsday Book" as Cestre, and as +possessing four hundred and thirty-one houses within its walls. For over +two centuries after the Conquest this city formed an important military +station for the defence of the English border against the Welsh. The +Norman Earl Ranulph I. granted the first charter, though its purport +proves that Chester already enjoyed certain municipal rights. On account +of its garrison it was frequently visited by reigning monarchs. + +Chester was captured by the Earl of Derby, who held it for the Crown +during the war between Henry III. and the barons. The contest was ended +with the defeat of the barons at the battle of Evesham, close to +Worcester. Here, in 1300, it was that the Welsh chieftains paid homage +to the first English Prince of Wales, the infant son of Edward I. + +Richard II., by Act of Parliament, erected the earldom of Chester into a +principality to be held only by the eldest son of the King. This was +rescinded in the next reign. In fact, Richard II. was made captive by +Henry of Lancaster, and was imprisoned in a tower over the gateway of +the Castle. The city suffered greatly during the Wars of the Roses. It +was visited by Queen Margaret of Anjou, the wife of Henry VI. This queen +played a prominent part with regard to the claim to the English throne. +She was daughter to Rene, who was a relation of the King of France. He +was titular king of Sicily, but without territories. Though Margaret +brought to Henry a rich dower, he was persuaded to consent to the +deduction of a large portion of Maine and Anjou to her father Rene. +During the Duke of Gloucester's life, who had strongly opposed the royal +marriage, Margaret and her coadjutor, the Duke of Suffolk, had not dared +to carry into effect the agreement they had extracted from Henry. The +Duke of York, who was regent in France, through his integrity, was also +a serious obstacle. She and Suffolk had him recalled, and the regency +given to Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, nephew to Cardinal Beaufort. York +felt injured, and took revenge by asserting his claim to the Crown. + +By his father he was descended from Edward III.'s fourth son. From his +mother, the last of the Mortimers, he inherited that family's claim from +Lionel, the second son of the same king. On the other hand, John of +Gaunt, from whom Henry VI. was descended, was Edward's third son. Thus +York, through his mother, had a prior claim. These rival claims caused +confusion and tumult throughout England. In the meantime the English +possessions in France were lost one after the other, till in 1451 only +Calais remained. The misgovernment of the regency in France under +Somerset contrasted most unfavourably with that of York. + +In these troublous times England looked towards York as the only one to +be trusted, who then became Protector during the King's mental weakness. +He imprisoned the Duke of Somerset. The latter as soon as he was free +assembled an army, and was killed at the battle of St. Albans, the first +War of the Roses. His followers, the Lancastrians, were defeated by the +Duke of York, and the King made prisoner. Eventually York declared +himself. By Act of Parliament he and his heirs were constituted +successors to the throne of England after the death of Henry VI. +Margaret, however, defeated the Yorkists in battle, in which York was +slain. He left behind him three sons,--Edward, George, and Richard,--the +first of whom later on deposed Henry VI. and became Edward IV. We have +ventured to give this brief sketch of the origin of these rival claims, +in that most of the cathedral cities were affected by the fortunes or +misfortunes of their favoured party. + +Chester, in the years 1507, 1517, and 1550, suffered from a terrible +visitation of the sweating sickness. From 1602 to 1605 the plague made +it necessary to suspend all the city fairs, and to hold the assizes at +Nantwich. This epidemic occurred again with great loss of life to the +inhabitants, between 1647-48. During the Civil War this city of Chester +endured great sacrifices for its loyalty to Charles I. + +The King came there in 1642, when the citizens gave him great pecuniary +assistance. Not till after a memorable siege, lasting from 1643 to 1646, +did the citizens agree to surrender. The garrison were allowed to march +out with all the honours of war, the safety of the persons and property +of the citizens with liberty of trade were secured, and the sanctity of +the sacred buildings and their title-deeds preserved. + +[Illustration: CHESTER + +ST. WERBURGH STREET] + +Sir Charles Booth, in 1659, with the aid of the citizens, overcame the +garrison of Charles II., then an exile, but was afterwards defeated by +Lambert, Cromwell's general. + +The presence of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1683, stirred the populace to a +tumult. Amongst other excesses the mob spent its fury in forcing the +cathedral doors, breaking the painted glass, destroying the font, and +other regrettable damage to this building. In 1688 the city was taken by +the Roman Catholic lords, Molyneux and Ashton, for James II., who, after +all, rendered further efforts useless by his abdication. Under William +III. Chester was included in the six cities for the residence of an +assay master, and was permitted to issue silver coinage. The last +important military event that took place in this city was in the +Rebellion of 1745, when it was fortified against the Pretender. + +In architecture the great characteristic is the quaint way the houses +have been built. The streets have been cut out of the rock below the +general surface of the land. The houses appear to have been built into +the rock, or rather to have been piled up against it. The shops are +level with the streets, and over them runs a balustraded gallery. Steps +at certain intervals lead the way down into the streets. These +galleries are called by the inhabitants "The Rows." These Rows are +houses with shops. Overhanging the shops, like the eaves of a house, are +the upper stories, to which additional flights of steps give access. + +Two explanations are given for this unusual construction of houses: one, +that the Rows, or promenades, are the remnants of the ancient vestibules +of the Roman houses; the other that they were probably originated to +afford ready defence against the sudden raids of the Welsh. The latter +appears the more likely. The Rows, from their position to the streets, +would afford the besieged greater facilities of shelter and attack. + +In Bridge Street and Eastgate Street the Rows are made pleasant +promenades. Though many of the houses have been rebuilt, they still +retain the old character. In addition to these interesting buildings +there was the castle built by the Conqueror, of which there remains only +a large square tower, called "Julius Agricola's Tower." The front has +been entirely renewed. This tower served probably as a place of +confinement of the Earl of Derby. Here were imprisoned Richard II. and +Margaret, Countess of Richmond. Just shortly before the Revolution James +II. heard Mass in the second chamber. + +Though the Cathedral has been left to the last, its history is no less +interesting than the other features of Chester. The Cathedral was +originally the church attached to the convent of St. Werburgh, under +which name its ecclesiastical site is mentioned in "Doomsday Book." It +was first dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, but Ethelfrida afterwards +transferred their patronage to that of the Saxon saint, Walmgha, the +daughter of Wulphen, King of Mercia. Besides this princess the great +benefactors were Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Hugh Lupus, who +substituted Benedictine monks for secular canons. + +On the dissolution of the abbey, in lieu of the abbot and monks, a dean, +prebendaries, and minor canons were appointed, the last abbot being made +dean. Here it is as well to remember that a church was called an abbey, +whatever its former denomination might have been, if an abbot became its +head. In much the same way the name "minster" is derived from a +monastery, and cathedral is due to the fact that the bishop had his +cathedra, or throne, placed in the sacred building for his own use. At +the dissolution the Cathedral of Chester was dedicated to "Christ and +the Blessed Virgin." Though there are some interesting remains of the +abbey, the present building was built in the reigns of Henry VII. and +Henry VIII. The diocese of Chester dates at the period of the kingdom of +Mercia. It was afterwards incorporated with that of Lichfield, but in +1075, Peter, Bishop of Lichfield restored the See to Chester. His +successor, however, removed it for the second time to Lichfield. Henry +VIII., in 1541, created six new sees, in which he included Chester. With +a portion of the possessions of the Abbey of St. Werburgh, which was +dissolved, he endowed the new see. The first bishop after the +dissolution was John Bird. In 1752 the palace of the bishop was rebuilt +by Bishop Keene. + +The cathedral site is on the eastern side of Northgate Street. Excepting +the western end, it presents the appearance of a heavy, irregular pile, +when viewed externally. The interior is very impressive, and contains +portions in the Norman, and in the Early and Decorated styles of English +architecture. It possesses a clerestory in the Later style. Some chapels +in the Early English style, are to the east of the north transept. The +south transept, separated from the Cathedral by a wooden screen, forms +the parish church of St. Oswald. The style of the Bishop's throne, +sometimes known as St. Werburgh's Shrine, belongs to the Early period of +the fourteenth century. In the eastern walk of the cloister stands +the Chapter House, of Early English style, built by Earl Randulph the +First. It served as the burial-place of the earls of the original Norman +line, except Richard, who perished by shipwreck. + +[Illustration: CHESTER + +BISHOP LLOYD'S PALACE AND WATERGATE STREET] + +The sacred edifice has from time to time undergone extensive +reparations. + +As a port Chester was at one time most important, but through the +silting up of the Channel in the fifteenth century, it lost a +considerable amount of its shipping trade. In spite of the Channel being +deepened in 1824, its shipping prosperity cannot be said to have +advanced hand in hand with the progress of the city, though it possibly +may be greater than it was in the fifteenth century. + +The great Chester Canal comes from Nantwich, passes through Chester, and +merges into the Ellesmere Canal, which winds up northwards to the river +Mersey. Thus the city is connected with Liverpool. + +As the crow flies, the country traversed from London to Chester is most +interesting. The track passes through the counties of Middlesex, +Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, with its famous towns, +Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, and Coventry, through +Staffordshire, famous for its beautiful old china and its Cathedral at +Lichfield, and finally into Cheshire, the county containing Chester and +Northwich. + +Among the many eminent men born at Chester was Randolph Caldecott, in +1846. He is handed down to posterity as the famous illustrator of the +works of Washington Irving. But the achievement that gained him the +greatest _acclame_ was a series of coloured books for children. They +began in 1878 with "John Gilpin" and "The House that Jack Built," and +ended the year before his death, in 1886, with the "Elegy on Madame +Blaize" and "The Great Panjandrum Himself." In the crypt of St. Paul's, +London, his memory is perpetuated through the great artistic expression +of a brother artist, Alfred Gilbert, R. A. + +Thus, in this brief sketch, an attempt has been made to give a +categorical history of one of England's most ancient cities from its +earliest occupation by the British Cornavii, and its subsequent events +down to the royal visit in 1869 by the then Prince of Wales, now our +King Edward VII., on which occasion he opened the new townhall. It would +require far greater space to record every feature of interest in +connection with Chester than can be allotted within the present +limitations. To the antiquarian Chester furnishes a most interesting and +absorbing study, and will in all likelihood continue to do so for many +years to come yet. + +To those interested in horse-racing the fine race-course attracts +annually a great concourse to Chester. + + + + +Rochester + +Roucestre. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +In the illustration is seen to great advantage the temporal and +spiritual power of Rochester: the State, as represented by the Norman +keep; the Church, as symbolised by the cathedral. Ever since +Christianity came to England, these two mighty levers of power have +marched, if not always hand in hand, more or less in accord. Though the +two have frequently struggled for supremacy, yet their feuds have done +more towards the enlightenment of the people than any harmonious concert +could have effected. In marked contrast to mediaeval times the State and +Church of the present day formulate and carry out the will of the +people. They are the channels of purpose as determined by the nation. +Great as the power of the Church still is, it has nevertheless lost that +tremendous authority it once wielded under the popes. + +Henry II. set up a strenuous opposition, whilst Henry VIII. dealt it a +crushing blow. The dissolution of the monasteries was a terrible check +to Roman Catholicism in England, as well as Luther's reforms in Germany. +Yet in spite of all this the Church of Rome has more adherents in Europe +than any other religion. The menace to the Church of England lies in the +lack of absolute obedience to the spiritual head, and the many different +sects. The Church of Rome exacts absolute obedience and faith, and by +these means is steadily increasing its influence. The Roman Catholic +Cathedral recently erected in London is a convincing proof of the +untiring energy of the followers of that wonderful religion. It is also +curious to notice that the Latin races are the staunchest supporters of +the Papacy. + +As its name implies, Rochester was a Roman camp. This place formed one +of the stipendiary towns of this Latin race, and was called +"Durobrivae." Not much information has been preserved concerning their +occupation of the town. That it was important, and served as a military +basis, is clearly demonstrated by the great Roman Watling Street, which +passes through the city, and which bears evidence to their great +engineering skill. + +The great Roman streets were at that time the chief and only means of +quick communication from one camp to another. To read the account of the +wonderful system of roads organised by Darius the Persian is as +interesting to follow as any modern fiction. He realised that quick +communication with the outlying quarters of his possessions meant +increased power and security. Along the roads, at proper distances, were +blockhouses guarded by soldiers. The messenger on horseback drew rein at +each of these wayside places to take refreshment and get a remount, or +to hand over the dispatches to a fresh messenger. + +In much the same way the Romans constructed their roads for their +postmen, and, no doubt, to serve as their first line of defence if a +retreat should be necessary. We can almost conjure up the sight of a +mounted bearer of important dispatches racing along. Suddenly the horse, +almost thrown on to his haunches, is pulled up in front of one of these +guardhouses dotted at regular intervals along the great road. A hasty +meal is snatched, a fresh horse mounted, and off again, with a clatter +and a whirlpool of dust, hurries the messenger, as if a kingdom depended +upon his quick dispatch. We cannot attach too much importance to this +method of communication, if we remember that it is only within the last +two centuries or so that the semaphore came into existence. When first +introduced, this medium of conveying rapidly a message by the waving of +a wooden arm up and down on a post, which was generally planted on a +commanding site, was considered a wonderful invention. Even at sea it +was left to Admiral Rodney to construct an efficient code of signals. Of +course the most primitive method was the lighting of beacons in times of +great danger. + +Besides Watling Street, the city of Rochester is known to have been +defended by walls built in the direction of the cardinal points, +according to the Roman custom. They extended for half a mile from east +to west, and close upon a quarter of a mile from north to south. After +the Romans had departed, this place came into the possession of the +Saxons. They renamed it "Hrove Ceaster," which in process of time became +contracted to Rochester. + +During the early Saxon period Ethelbert, King of Kent, through the +influence of his queen and the preaching of St. Augustine, who had just +arrived, became a convert to Christianity. By this king, as we have +seen, Canterbury Cathedral was richly endowed. To help carry out the +papal instructions given to Augustine, Ethelbert in 600 founded a +church in Rochester. By erecting this into a see, he, at the same time, +laid the foundation of the future prosperity of the city. The building +was dedicated to St. Andrew. A monastery for secular priests was also +established, over whom was appointed for their bishop, Justus, who had +accompanied St. Augustine and his forty monks into Britain. + +This cathedral suffered at many times, in common with the city, from +several incursions of the Danes. The city, more especially in 676, was +sacked and almost destroyed by Etheldred, the King of Mercia, whilst in +839 the Danes landed at Romney, defeated the troops sent to oppose them, +and massacred most of the inhabitants. Again, in 885, they sailed up the +Medway under the leadership of Hasting, and laid siege to Rochester. +Fortunately for the city it was rescued by the timely assistance of +Alfred. Three mints established by Athelstan in 930, two for himself and +one for the bishop, and the fact of the city being then recognised as +one of the chief ports of England, show with what rapidity it had +regained prosperity. This peaceful state was rudely awakened, however, +in 999. The Danes reappeared in the Medway, before whom the +terror-stricken inhabitants fled and abandoned the city to their +fury. At the Conquest, Rochester was given by William to his +half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who was also created Earl of Kent. +In the reign of William Rufus he was implicated in a conspiracy to +dethrone Rufus in favour of Robert Duke of Normandy. Thereby his +possessions reverted to the Crown. In this Rochester suffered. In 1130 +Henry I. attended at the consecration of the church of St. Andrew by +Lanfranc. During the ceremony a fire broke out. The city was almost +reduced to ashes. + +[Illustration: ROCHESTER + +CATHEDRAL AND CASTLE] + +It was again visited, seven years later, by fire, from which it had +hardly recovered when a third conflagration occurred and left traces of +devastation for ages. In 1141, Robert Earl of Gloucester was placed in +the Castle. He was the chief general and counsellor of Matilda, and had +been captured prisoner at Winchester after having effected the Queen's +escape. He was eventually exchanged for King Stephen. In 1215 the barons +seized and held the Castle against King John, who gained it. Henry III. +repaired the Castle. + +The Castle was again, in 1254, successfully defended for the King by +Edward Earl Warren, against Simon de Montford and the barons. In the +reign of Richard II. the insurrectionists under Wat Tyler released one +of their comrades imprisoned in the Castle. + +Rochester has been at different times visited by reigning princes. Henry +VIII., with Emperor Charles V., came there in 1521, whilst in 1573 Queen +Elizabeth honoured it with her presence. Charles II., on his +restoration, passed through the city _en route_ from the Continent to +London. In fact Rochester, being also a port, was a convenient place for +James II. to embark secretly on board of a trading-vessel lying in the +Medway, by which he was conveyed to France. + +This Norman castle, which has played such an important part in the +history of the city, deserves some notice. Its extensive remains, +situated on a commanding site, overlook the right bank of the river. The +Castle is supposed to have been built by Gundulph, when Bishop of +Rochester, in the latter part of the eleventh century. It preceded by a +few years the building of the Cathedral by the same prelate. The +architecture of this castle is a striking example of the simplicity of +plans generally employed by the Normans. By preference the castle was a +rectangular keep in form. The sides varied from twenty-five to a hundred +feet in length, and equally so in height. At the corners the walls +advanced so as to form square towers, the faces of which were usually +relieved by flat pilaster-like buttresses. The walls at the base measure +sometimes as much as thirty feet in thickness, and diminish to as much +as ten feet at the summit. + +The internal arrangements consisted of a store-room, from which a narrow +staircase, made into the thickness of the walls, gave access to the +rooms of the garrison and those of the owners above, wood being employed +for the floor and roof. A well was always dug. The entire building was +surrounded by a deep moat filled, if possible, with water. The entrance +was small, and was defended by a draw-bridge and portcullis. It was on +the thickness of their walls and the moat that the Normans chiefly +relied for their impregnability. They seldom departed from this simple +form of architecture. Their defence was rarely constructed on a series +of fortifications. Local advantages and a lofty site were invariably the +Norman idea of a safe stronghold. + +Great interest is attached to the Cathedral of Rochester. Its see is the +smallest in the kingdom and the most ancient after Canterbury. The two +were established, as we have seen, within a few years of each other, +under the auspices of St. Augustine and King Ethelbert of Kent. + +The present cathedral dates from the commencement of the twelfth +century, when it was built by Gundulph. If what we are told about this +structure be correct, its importance cannot be too greatly enhanced, for +it is claimed that its architecture, though much altered and repaired +since, is in the main a copy of Canterbury Cathedral at that time. Thus, +in describing the plan of the one in Rochester, a general idea can be +gained about the other at Canterbury. + +Gundulph's contribution is a spacious and venerable building in the form +of a cross, with a central tower surmounted by a spire. The Norman style +forms the basis of the architecture, to which the Later English style +was added chiefly in the many windows of the nave and other parts of the +church. The west front was entirely restored between 1888 and 1889, the +Norman style being strictly adhered to. The doorway is a most decorative +bit of Norman workmanship. Let into the clustered columns on either side +there is, on the right, an effigy of Queen Maud, and on the left another +of Henry I. The door is covered with a rich mass of geometrical design +in metal. + +The crypt, invariably a great feature in a cathedral, is partly the work +of Gundulph; that is, the western portion is. The eastern part consists +of cylindrical and octagonal shafts with a light vaulting springing +from them, and belongs to the same period as the superstructure of the +thirteenth century. + +There are several chapels, a finely groined roof, and ancient tombs, +which all lend interest to this fine cathedral. + +The red-veined marble statue of Walter de Merton cannot fail to attract +attention. He was the founder of the great scholastic college at Oxford +called Merton College. Though small in size, the _entree_ to it demands +high classical attainments. + +With regard to commerce, Rochester has a favourable position on the +river Medway, in the creeks and branches of which are the oyster +fisheries. The Corporation, assisted by a jury of free dredgers, hold a +Court of Admiralty, in which they make regulations for the opening, +stocking, and closing of the oyster beds. + +In conclusion, we cannot help saying that Kent should be a proud county, +possessing, as it does, the two most ancient sees in the kingdom, the +dioceses of which are separated only by the Medway. + + + + +Ripon + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +In the West Riding of the county of York, twenty-two miles north-west of +the city of York and eleven miles north of Harrogate, the ancient city +of Ripon is situated at the juncture of the Ure, Laver, and Skell. The +narrow and irregular streets and well-built houses, some of which still +retain the quaint, picturesque gables so reminiscent of earlier times, +envelop the city with that delightful, indefinable air of mediaevalism--a +something which, tempered with old associations and traditions, no +modern city with all its improvements can supply. To saunter through the +ancient, ill-lighted streets of an old town at night, when life is +dormant and commercialism quiescent, is the time to view unexpected +beauties of architecture unfold themselves, and to become oneself imbued +with a spirit of romanticism and a feeling of rest. If a figure in +mediaeval costume and rapier were to come round a corner suddenly, or +emerge from some dark nook, it would scarcely startle the senses, so +appropriate would it seem with the surroundings, enshrouded in +mysterious shadows. + +A new city can be admired, but can never be revered till it has survived +the many storms of generations, and has emerged with a halo of +traditions respected and treasured. + +Ripon, in common with other cathedral cities, possesses this charm, and +after many vicissitudes presents us with a magnificent cathedral. To +revert to the commencement of the city's history, it is supposed to have +derived its name from the Latin "Ripa," owing to its situation upon the +bank of the river Ure. The earliest authentic record gives it under the +name of Inhrypun, in connection with the establishment of a monastery in +660 by Eata, who was then Abbot of Melrose. It was subsequently given by +Alfred, King of Northumbria, to Wilfrid, who had been raised to the +archbishopric of York. He was afterwards canonised as a saint. Under +Wilfrid's administration and influence the town very much increased its +wealth and importance. Through the division of the bishopric in the year +678 Ripon became a see. + +A great calamity overtook the city in the ninth century. The Danes burnt +and plundered it, causing such devastation that it was almost wiped +out. From its ruins, however, it recovered so quickly as to be +incorporated as a royal borough by Alfred the Great. This happened by +the year 886. In the suppression of the insurrections of the +Northumbrian Danes it suffered severely through the terrible laying +waste of the land which Edred found necessary to subdue them. + +Little time was left for the city to regain its former prosperity, when +the surrounding country was again laid waste, in 1069, by William the +Conqueror after defeating the Northumbrian rebels. This monarch's +vengeance so completely demolished the town that it still remained in +ruins and the land uncultivated at the time of the Norman survey. The +monastery, destroyed by Edred, was rebuilt by Oswald and his successors, +who were archbishops of York. It was endowed and made collegiate by +Archbishop Aldred somewhere about the time of the Conquest. The city was +now enjoying comparative peace, and was regaining lost prestige when it +again became a mere wreck. Under Robert Bruce, in the reign of Edward +II., the Scots compelled the inhabitants to surrender everything of +value they had, and burnt the town. This period of devastation lasted +from 1319 till 1323. + +[Illustration: RIPON + +THE CATHEDRAL] + +By the exertions of the Archbishop of York, ably assisted with +donations from the local gentry, the city rapidly recovered by the time +a terrible plague compelled Henry IV. to leave London and take up his +residence here. The court of necessity followed him. + +This royal sojourn did the city immense good, and again it derived +benefit some two centuries after by the presence of the Lord President +of York in 1617. He had been obliged by a similar plague to remove his +court hither. + +Ten years later another royal visitor came, namely, James I., who rested +a night here on his route from Scotland to London. On this memorable +occasion he was presented with a pair of Ripon spurs. From early times +till the sixteenth century Ripon was a recognised centre for the +manufacture of woollen caps. On the decline of this industry the city +acquired such a fame for the manufacture of spurs that it became quite a +current phrase to say "as true steel as Ripon rowels." Ben Jonson and +Davenant make references in their verses to Ripon spurs. This industry, +together with those of manufacturing buttons and various kinds of +hardware, flourished till quite recently, when mechanical industries +supplanted them. + +In 1633 Charles I. also paid the city a visit. During the Civil War the +parliamentary troops, under Sir Thomas Mauleverer, took possession of +Ripon. After mutilating many of the monuments and ornaments of the +church, they were eventually driven out of the town in 1643 by the +Royalists, under Sir John Mallory of Studley, a township comprised under +Ripon. In recounting the political fortunes of the city little has been +said about its chief attraction, the Cathedral, not because it has +played no important factor in the welfare of the city, but because it +has been considered better to give, apart, the chief characteristics of +its architecture. + +We have seen how a monastery was established in 660, by Eata, which +later came under the patronage of St. Wilfrid. From the ruins of St. +Wilfrid's Abbey the present cathedral was founded about 680 A.D., in +the reign of Egfrid. With the exception of St. Wilfrid's crypt, called +St. Wilfrid's Needle, which tradition says was used for the trial of +female chastity, nothing of the original Saxon fabric remains. From the +similarity of this crypt, and of another at Hexham, both erected by St. +Wilfrid, in formation and arrangement to the catacomb chapels at Rome, +it is inferred that this churchman had made himself familiar with their +peculiarities during his residence in that Latin city. This is +interesting to note. + +The Cathedral, as it now stands, embraces various styles of +architecture, and is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Wilfrid. It is a +large cruciform church, with a square central tower and two western +towers. They at one time carried spires, each not less than one hundred +and twenty feet in height; but the central spire having been blown down +in 1660, caused considerable damage to the roof, and it was thought +advisable to pull down the others. Their removal accounts for the +stunted appearance of these square towers. The construction of the +present church was commenced by Archbishop Roger, dating from 1154 to +1181. To this period belong the transepts and portions of the choir. The +western front and towers were carried out in the Early English style, +most probably by Archbishop Gray, between 1215 and 1255, and near the +close of the century the eastern portion of the choir was rebuilt in the +Decorated style. The nave and part of the central tower were also +rebuilt in the Perpendicular style at the close of the fifteenth +century. The fabric was entirely renovated under the guidance of Sir +Gilbert Scott, from 1862 to 1876. The episcopal palace is a modern +building in the Tudor style, and is about one mile from the town. + +The present bishopric dates only from the year 1836. There are several +charitable institutions: namely, the Hospital of St. John the Baptist, +founded by an archbishop of York in 1109; the Hospital of St. Mary +Magdalene, for women, by another prelate of York in 1341; and the +Hospital of St. Anne, by some unknown benefactor who lived in the reign +of Edward IV. A clock-tower was presented to the town to commemorate +Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. There is now, in place of the ancient +industries, an extensive trade in varnish, in addition to the +manufactories for saddle-trees and leather, but the most interesting +industry is that of the Ripon lace. It is a torchon lace much +resembling, in uniformity of pattern, the design used in peasant laces +in Sweden, Germany, and Russia. + + + + +Ely. + +Ely. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +In the early history of the majority, if not of all of these cathedrals, +it is interesting to note the many points of resemblance. It will be +observed that most of them had their inception in the seventh century. A +most convenient way also of remembering, if actual dates be forgotten, +is that the commencement of the same century heralded the arrival of St. +Augustine and his forty monks at Canterbury, and the re-establishment of +Christianity in England. Whatever previous efforts had been attempted to +christianise the natives (prior to this century) pale into +insignificance after the landing of this great missionary from Rome. The +subsequent important events are invariably five; namely, the +devastations of the Danes in the ninth century, the erections of castles +to overawe the inhabitants with the ecclesiastical foundations, still +extant, after the dreaded millennium had passed, from the Conquest; the +dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.; the desecration and +mutilation of the churches under Cromwell's Protectorate; and the +inevitable restoration, not always happy, of these grand buildings. + +The Venerable Bede, in his "Ecclesiastical History," ingeniously +attributes the derivation of the name to an eel, called "Elge," on the +assumption of the great abundance of this fish in the neighbourhood. At +the same time another rendering, by some one else, supposes that the +Saxon "Helyg," a willow, which flourished extensively, owing to the +marshy nature of the soil round about the city, gave rise to the present +contraction. However it may be, Ely dates from the year 673. The +subsequent history of the Church and state of this famous place +originated in that year from the small foundation of a monastery for +monks and nuns by Ethelreda. This princess was the daughter of the King +of the East Angles, and the wife of Egfred, the King of Northumberland. +She had devoted a great deal of her life to monasticism, and eventually +constituted herself as the first abbess of her religious effort. A +contradictory account gives it that this lady more likely became the +first abbess of a religious house which she had filled with virgins. +Their number is not stated. Nothing more is heard or worth relating +of the welfare of this royal benefice until the ninth century, when, in +the natural order of things, it was destroyed by the Danes. In 879, a +matter of nine years after this devastation, it was partially restored +by those brethren who had fortunately escaped the massacre. Under the +government of provosts they were established and existed as secular +priests for nearly a century. At the end of this period of inactivity it +received much attention from Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester. This +prelate in 970 purchased the whole of the Isle of Ely from Edgar. He +then rebuilt the monastery and endowed it munificently. In it regular +monks were placed under the rule of an abbot, to whom Edgar granted the +secular jurisdiction of two hundreds within and five hundreds without +the Fens. Many other important privileges were bestowed by the same +monarch, recognised by Canute, and greatly increased by Edward the +Confessor in recognition of part of his education here received. These +many marks of royal favour caused it to become the richest in England, +and the city participated in its prosperity. + +[Illustration: ELY + +FROM THE WEST FRONT] + +Soon after the Conquest a determined resistance was made by many of the +nobility against what they considered the tyranny of William. Led by +such leaders as Edwin, Earl of Chester, Egelwyn, Bishop of Durham, and +headed by Hereward, an English nobleman, they contrived to do +considerable damage in the surrounding country. They built a castle of +wood in the Fens, and made a vigorous stand against the Normans, who +besieged the island, constructed roads through the marshes, threw +bridges across the streams, and erected, as usual, a strong castle at +Wiseberum. With the exception of Hereward, the rebellious subjects were +reduced to submission. According to one authority, it is supposed that +William's camp was simply an old Roman camp repaired for the occasion. +We learn that the field, which contained the ancient site, was known as +Belasis in some records of the reign of Henry III. It appears that one +of William's generals was called Belasis, and that he was quartered on +the monastery, which he had taken possession of after the conquest of +the isle. He treated the monks with every mark of courtesy, allowing +them to remain under an abbot of his own choosing. At first he laid them +under certain restrictions, but subsequently restored the privileges +they had previously been accustomed to. + +[Illustration: ELY + +THE MARKET PLACE] + +In 1107 the eleventh and last abbot, Richard, employed all his interest +with Henry I. and gained the royal sanction to the establishment of an +episcopal see at Ely. To this the monarch granted, for a diocese, the +county of Cambridge, which had till then been under the jurisdiction of +the Bishop of Lincoln. The isle was also invested with sovereign powers. +Richard, however, did not live to become the first bishop, an honour +which was conferred in 1109 on his successor, Hervey. + +By this arrangement the Abbot was superseded by the Bishop, and an +entire distribution of the property belonging to the abbey was effected +between them. As the abbey became the church of the See, the Abbot was +obliged to alter his dignity to that of a prior. A fair, to continue for +seven days, commencing from June 20, to commemorate the anniversary of +the death of Ethelreda, was instituted by the Bishop. The prelate Nigel, +in the reign of Stephen, built a castle here, of which no remains exist, +and whose site is now conjectural. The year 1216 witnessed dreadful +scenes of spoliation of churches and large sums of money exacted from +the inhabitants under the guise of ransom. + +The cause of all this devastation being visited upon Ely was John's idea +of revenging himself upon the barons. At their hands he had, the year +previously, been compelled to undergo the mortification of signing the +Magna Charta at Runnymede, a field between Windsor and Staines. Ever +since that time the irresolute and mean king had been devising schemes +of vengeance against his opponents. Three months spent in the Isle of +Wight had enabled him, through agents and the promise of the estates of +the barons as plunder, to raise a considerable army of the Brabanters. +At their head he suddenly emerged from concealment, and surprised the +barons by appearing before Rochester Castle and defeating them. + +In the meantime John was well supported at Ely by his general, William +Bunk, or rather an unexpected incident hurried on its doom. The elements +unkindly betrayed the city into the hands of the Brabanters. At a +critical time, the treacherous swamps--the isle's hitherto great natural +fortifications--became the city's undoing; for a sharp frost set in and +rendered a ready glacial access to the city. The enemy lost no time in +reducing the barons to submission and the wretched inhabitants to great +misery. The barons, thus reduced to dire extremities, invited Louis, the +eldest son of the King of France, to aid them, promising him through his +wife the crown of England. + +[Illustration: ELY + +INTERIOR OF THE NAVE] + +The French landed at Sandwich, retook Rochester Castle, and compelled +John to flee. John, crossing over the Wash, in his march from Lynn in +Norfolk into Lincolnshire, suffered great loss through the return of the +tide swamping the rear of his army, all his money, and stores. He +himself escaped to Swineshead Abbey, in the Lincolnshire Fens, where a +monk is said to have administered poison to him. With great difficulty +and exhaustion the monarch arrived at Newark, where he died in the +October of the year 1216. + +From this time onward the city enjoyed comparative peace, and exercised +the privileges granted by Edgar, Edward the Confessor, and William the +Conqueror. + +Till the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Henry VIII. the royal +franchise of Ely, in several statutes, was recognised as the county +palatine of Ely. Henry, by Act of Parliament, remodelled the privileges, +and ordered the justices of oyer and terminer, and gaol delivery, and +justices of the peace for the Isle of Ely, to be appointed by letters +patent under the Great Seal. The dissolution of the monasteries also was +the means of converting the conventual church into a cathedral--much +more appropriate to the dignity of the Bishop, whose title had been +granted, as we have seen, by Henry I. in 1107. This ecclesiastical +building, first a conventual and then a cathedral church, was commenced +in 1081, and entirely completed in 1534. The dedication to St. Peter +and St. Ethelreda was changed to "The Holy Trinity." + +It is a magnificent cruciform structure, displaying the many changes +that took place in ecclesiastical architecture from the early years of +the Norman Conquest down to the latest period of English style. + +The main feature is the extraordinary variety of arches built according +to successive styles. Though this peculiar treatment suggests an +unfinished appearance, it cannot rob the church of its wonderful beauty. +There is a departure from the general plan of other cathedrals. The nave +is continued through an extended range of twelve arches. It belongs to +the Late Norman period, and its completion probably dates from about the +middle of the twelfth century. From 1174 to 1189 the western tower and +the transepts were built by Bishop Ridall. Bishop Eustace, between 1198 +and 1215, erected the Galilee or western porch, a noble Early English +structure. Much at the same time a curious coincident is noticeable. +Bishop Pudsey was busy at Durham building the Galilee or Western Chapel, +which is such a noble adjunct to that city's cathedral. + +[Illustration: ELY + +FROM THE FENS] + +Ely's choir was originally Early Norman, and terminated in an apse. +Unfortunately this Norman apse was destroyed. In restoration the +church was extended eastward by six more arches under the guidance of +Bishop Northwold, about the middle of the thirteenth century. His +addition is Early English. The carving is very rich and elaborate. + +While Bishop Hotham was engaged upon the building of the Lady Chapel, +the Norman tower erected by Abbot Simeon tumbled down in 1321. Hotham +immediately replaced it by an enlarged octagonal substitution. On it he +placed a lofty lantern of wood, a rich ornament and in good keeping with +the rest of the holy edifice. Though this prelate deserves every +recognition, yet we are much more indebted to Alan of Walsingham, who +designed the Lady Chapel and the octagonal tower and lantern so ably +carried out by Hotham. Alan had also made his influence felt in the +choir-bays of this same cathedral, where he has so cleverly preserved +and combined the old Early English elegance of proportion with richness +of detail. Under the superintendence of Sir G. B. Scott the fabric has +been extensively restored. + +Attached to the Cathedral is the church of Holy Trinity; it was formerly +the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. It was commenced in the reign of +Edward II., and is one of the most perfect buildings of that age. +Another handsome church is that dedicated to St. Mary, and is partly +Norman and partly Early English in character. + +At the Grammar School, founded by Henry VIII., Jeremiah Bentham, the +celebrated political writer, received the rudiments of his education. +The Sessions House, the new Corn Exchange, and Mechanics' Institute are +other notable features of Ely. + +An historic relic, now preserved at Trinity College, Cambridge, is the +"Ely Book." It cannot be passed over without a word. On a page are +portrayed Ethelwold and King Edgar, but its chief importance is the +record of instructions received by the commissioners to supply details +and valuation of property for the "Doomsday Book." The inquiries and +answers indicate that England had already been divided up into manors, +and furnish besides a variety of most interesting information. + +Another incident in the history of Ely, if not of great importance to +the city, is nevertheless an interesting insight of the respective +position of the Church and State soon after the dissolution. + +In the good days of Queen Bess, the Bishop of Ely received a royal +rebuke. + +In the great struggle between the Protestants, or anti-papal world, and +the Catholic reaction, there was little leisure for the clergy to air +their grievances. They were compelled to submit to the will of the +Queen and her counsellor Cecil, from whom Archbishop Parker of +Canterbury received his cue for the government of the Church. Though he +enjoyed the personal confidence of Elizabeth beyond any other +ecclesiastic of the time, his complaints were unavailing. The supremacy +of the lay power over the ecclesiastical was too thoroughly accomplished +to allow of the Church to exist apart in the early years of Elizabeth's +reign. The Bishop of Ely, for expressing unwillingness to hand over the +gardens of Ely house to Sir Christopher Hatton, received a +characteristic warning, couched in elegant language, for his temerity. +"By God, I will unfrock you!" was the Queen's gracious answer to the +daring prelate, if he did not mend his ways. + +Through the cultivation of its fertile soil by market-gardeners, Ely +offers its produce to the London market. + +A considerable factory for earthenware and tobacco-pipes, and numerous +mills for the preparation of oil from flax, hemp, and cole-seed, help to +furnish the trade resources of this historical town, which is situated +on the river Ouse, in Cambridgeshire, and just sixteen miles from the +celebrated University of Cambridge. + + + + +Gloucester + +Glowecestre. + +"Doomsday Book." + + +To the long list of "cesters," the Anglicised form of the Latin "Castra" +(camp), must be added Gloucester, famous in more respects than one; the +city where Henry I. died from a surfeit of lampreys, where Henry II. +held a great council in 1175, where the coronation of Henry III. in its +abbey took place; the city which the same monarch "loved better than +London," the city extolled by Bede as one of the noblest in the land. +Prior to the Roman invasion it is held to have been of considerable +importance, and to have originated from the settlement of a tribe of +Britons, called the Dobuni. This tribe, with that of the Cornavii, also +controlled about the same time the destinies of Worcester, now renowned +for its beautiful china. By the Dobuni the city was called Coer Glou, +either out of compliment to its founder Glowi, a native, with the +meaning, "the city of Glowi," or because the same British words, +according to another interpretation and its reputation, can be rendered +"the fair city." In the year 47 this stronghold passed into the Roman +possession, under Aulus Plautius, and according to Richard of +Cirencester, a colony was established. This he styles Glebon, whilst the +"Itinerary" of Antonine and other ancient records enter it as Glevum +Colonia. + +An interesting account upon the Roman classification of towns in England +discloses a very important particular. It adds considerable weight to +the description of the city by the authors just quoted. Their statements +that Gloucester was classified as a colony called Glevum seemed to be +borne out by a tombstone found at Rome. It purports to be in memory of a +citizen of Glevum. This has given rise to the supposition that "Glevum" +was the honourable title bestowed upon an English town of importance +made a "colony" by Nerva. This period would be between 96 and 98 A.D. +This date in no way combats the original one of 47 A.D. It is only +intended to show that Gloucester at the later period had become a colony +with a certain amount of self-government, forming a unit of the Great +Roman Empire. + +The district to the north-east of the present city, called King's +Holme, is supposed to have been the actual site of the Roman camp. Close +to it was also the palace belonging to the Anglo-Saxon kings of Mercia, +which was called Regia Domus. Round about this spot quite a valuable +collection of Roman remains has been made, which, besides establishing +the fact of their occupation, have helped archaeologists to form a +correct estimation of the habits and customs of the Latin invaders. When +the pressing needs of Rome required the return of all her legions, +Gloucester came to be governed by Eldol, who was a British chief. He +survived the terrible massacre of the Britons by the Saxons at +Stonehenge, and in 489 revenged their memory by killing Hengist, the +Saxon chief, at the battle of Maeshill in Yorkshire. + +[Illustration: GLOUCESTER + +INTERIOR OF THE NAVE] + +From the Britons the city in 577 was captured by the Saxons. They called +it Gleauanceaster, which exists to this day under the contracted form of +Gloucester. At that time it was included in the kingdom of Wessex, and +was afterwards annexed to that of Mercia. In the meanwhile tradition +says that a bishop's see was founded at Gloucester in the second +century. Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, is held to be the +founder, and is also supposed to have been buried in the Church of St. +Mary de Lode of this city. With all respect to tradition, this can +only be accepted with reservation. If true, the present church of St. +Mary de Lode deserves far greater recognition than it receives. Though +evidently an old foundation much restored, it can hardly lay claim to +such antiquity. In all probability a temple to some Roman deity existed, +which, by conflicting accounts of historians, gave rise to the +supposition of an early established see. Though there is proof that +Christianity existed during the Roman occupation of England, it seems +more likely that, after their general exodus from the island in 418, a +diocese, if any, was soon after established at Gloucester, over which +Eldad presided in 490. + +This first bishopric, on the subversion of the country by the +Anglo-Saxons, must have become extinct; for the next we hear of it is +when, as part of the kingdom of Mercia, the entire county of Gloucester +is included in the diocese of Lichfield at the time of the introduction +of Christianity. However, the first authentic evidence of monasticism +appears in the year 679, when the holy brethren founded their +establishment. Under the auspices of Wulfhere, then King of Mercia, this +priory was dedicated to St. Oswald, and in the same year was annexed to +the newly established see of Worcester. It afterwards became the abbey. +The city's importance in the same year was considerably increased by the +royal patron. The King's brother and successor, Ethelred, nevertheless, +completed the ecclesiastical building, which some contend was a nunnery. +This the Danes destroyed. It was then refounded for the reception of +secular priests in 821, by Bernulf, King of Mercia. + +As early as 964, in a charter to the monks of Worcester dated at +Gloucester, Edgar styles this a "royal city." Several times it suffered +from the incursions of the Danes in the eighth century, and more +especially so in the tenth, when it was taken and nearly destroyed by +fire in the reign of Ethelred II. This monarch's reign seems to have +been a disastrous one for the kingdom. In the first place, through the +ambitious schemes of his mother Elfrida, who caused his stepbrother +Edward to be murdered, he wrongfully occupied the throne in 979. On +account of his tragic death Edward came to be styled "the Martyr." A +reign thus inauspiciously commenced proved to be a constant struggle +against the Danes. The King acquired the name of Ethelred the Unready; +for when the Danes attacked the kingdom, instead of being prepared to +repel them, he endeavoured to counteract the evil with large sums of +money. As this only served as a further incentive to fresh invasions, +Ethelred eventually compounded with them in 994. On condition that these +plundering expeditions should cease, he offered them tribute. This is +the first mention we get of the "danegelt," as it was called. With the +exception of the reign of Edward the Confessor, it continued to be +levied almost without interruption till the time of Henry II. The only +benefit that Ethelred's reign conferred upon his subjects was the act of +atonement made by Elfrida. + +To ease her conscience and remorse for the murder of Edward, she caused +the foundation of several monasteries, and performed penances. Edmund +Ironsides, who succeeded in 1016, was the exact opposite in character to +his father Ethelred. + +He continued a serious obstacle to Canute and his Danes. After the last +of five pitched battles Canute and he agreed to divide the kingdom +between them: Canute to have Mercia and Northumberland, and Edmund the +remainder. However, through the murder of Edmund a few days after, at +Oxford, Canute usurped the throne of England in 1017. During his reign +of eighteen years, except for a dispute with Scotland over Cumberland, +the country enjoyed peace at home. + +This peaceful term, in conjunction with the passing over of the dreaded +millennium, when the end of the world had been expected, caused the +great building activity which, under the Norman Conquest, attained such +wonderful results. + +In the meanwhile the trade resources of Gloucester, even before the +Conquest, had greatly advanced, and had probably outdistanced in ratio +those of more important commercial centres of England. No doubt the +natives had learned many hitherto unknown industrial arts from the +Romans. + +[Illustration: GLOUCESTER + +THE CATHEDRAL AND OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE] + +A native art and civilisation existed in the Island, we know, before the +Roman Conquest. Great skill in enamelling, claimed by the ancients to be +of Celtic origin, and the primitive abundance of gold and tin, worked, +as history relates, by the Phoenicians, encouraged a certain degree of +native excellence in metal work. Besides this, the gold coinage and +other signs of their ingenuity, by remains discovered in Yorkshire and +elsewhere, illustrate that various branches of art existed a matter of a +century and a half before the Roman Conquest. Yet it is only reasonable +to suspect that the inhabitants of Gloucester and of the other camps +profited greatly from the far better knowledge and technique brought by +the invader from Rome, the acknowledged centre of civilisation at +that time. Certain it is that the Roman influence must have left some +result. The subsequent history of Gloucester has it that a mint existed +at the time of Alfred. It evidently fell into disuse, for a mint was +again established in the reign of King John. He also granted the +burgesses exemption from toll, and showered other marks of royal favour. +As far back as the twelfth century, Long Smith Street derived its name +from the numerous artisans who dwelled there. + +They were employed in forges for the smelting of ore. Iron-founding and +cloth-making were also in full swing. Felt-making, sugar-refining, and +glass-manufacture all flourished at one time or another. Pin-making was +introduced by a Mr. John Tilsby in 1625, and until quite recently formed +the staple trade of the place. Bell-founding, once a feature, no longer +is practised. In its career of nearly two centuries close upon 5,000 +bells of different sizes had been cast. With the exception of foundries, +many modern industries have supplanted the old, and include match works, +marble and slate works, saw mills and flour mills, chemical works, rope +works, railway wagon and engine factories, agricultural implements, and +ship-building yards; for it must be remembered that Gloucester is +reckoned as a port. It exports such valuable commodities as iron, +coals, malt, salt, bricks, and pottery. The town is also celebrated for +its Severn salmon and lampreys. + +In discussing the resources of Gloucester, no regard has been paid to +the proper distribution of dates. A leap from the eleventh to the +nineteenth century has been unavoidably made, and to chronicle the chief +events it is necessary to go back to the year 1022, when a change was +made in Bernulf's foundation. + +This year saw the ejection of the secular priests and the introduction +of the Benedictine monks by Canute. In spite of opposition, the new +order managed to keep possession of the monastery till the dissolution. +The abbey founded by Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, a few years before the +Norman Conquest served as the basis of the present cathedral. This +transition took place from 1072 till 1104, under Abbot Serle. In 1381 +Walter Frocester, its historian, became its first mitred abbot. Here +again we have an instance of a Norman building forming the backbone to +subsequent periods of Gothic and English architecture. Though each style +is distinct, the _tout ensemble_ is in such perfect harmony that it +calls for the greatest admiration for the wonderful skill of the several +architects. The plan of the Cathedral is the usual symbol of the cross. +In the centre there is the beautiful fifteenth-century tower. Its mass +of detail and pierced work give it an air of elegance and lightness. The +oldest portions are the nave, the chantry chapels, which are apsidal and +are on either side of the choir, and the crypt. These are supposed to +have belonged to Aldred's abbey, which may thus be taken to have become +incorporated in the present building. They are of Norman origin, or +rather date a few years before the Conquest. No doubt these parts came, +more or less, to be touched up and restored by the Normans. In 1248, the +roof of the nave, an Early English addition to the massive Norman nave, +was finished by Abbot Henry Foliot. The Chapter House also is Norman. +Compared with those at Wells and Lincoln, its simplicity is striking. It +differs also in another respect. Belonging, as it did, to a Benedictine +church, it follows the shape usually found in churches of that order; +namely, the square. + +The south aisle was commenced by Abbot Thokey in 1310, and the south +transept in 1330. About the same time building operations were commenced +for the north transept and the choir. The latter was finished in 1457. + +To the north of the nave lie the cloisters. These form a most wonderful +Early example of fan-tracery, constructed some time between 1351 and +1390. Here in the south end of the cloisters were set apart a series of +stalls, better known as the carrels, in which the monks studied and +wrote. They may have undergone great hardships and austerities, but they +evidently had a great sense of beauty. They have left us the finest +works of architecture possible, which have not been surpassed by any +modern erection. + +The west front, and the south porch with fan-traceried roof, were added +in 1421. + +The triforium, carried round in a curve under the great east window, +forms a narrow passageway from one side of the choir to the other. This +formation, curiously enough, has constituted quite a feature at +Gloucester. It is called the "whispering gallery." There is no evidence +that the architect intended it. St. Paul's, in London, affords another +similar example. + +[Illustration: GLOUCESTER + +FROM THE PADDOCK] + +The sculptor's art is represented by many tombs of certain merit. There +is the tomb erected by Abbot Parker to the memory of Osric, King of +Northumberland, who was one of the founders of the monastery, and who +died about the eighth century. In the north aisle leading to the Lady +Chapel--which by the way, with its square ending appears like an +after-thought, extended eastwards, as it were, from the apsidal +termination of the choir--is a monument covering the remains of Robert +Duke of Normandy, the eldest son of the Conqueror. He was a benefactor +to the old abbey. His effigy in coloured bog oak is disposed in a +recumbent attitude on an altar-tomb. There are many others, amongst +which that of Dr. Jenner, famous for the introduction of vaccination +into general practice, commands great attention. Robert Raikes is also +represented. He and the Rev. Thomas Stock, a rector of St. John the +Baptist in this city, share the honour of having established the first +Sunday school in England, which was held in Gloucester. Some +authorities, however, contend that the reverend gentleman was the +originator of the Sunday school, though they do not deny that Raikes, +through his unwearied exertions, promoted the increase of these +institutions throughout the kingdom. + +But of all the monuments, that erected by the monks of Gloucester to the +memory of Edward of Carnarvon deserves the most attention, not only for +its beauty, but because it served as the type for the Gothic sculptors +to copy during two centuries. The recumbent effigy is hedged in by a +series of elaborately decorated shafts, forming a kind of open-work +grille, with pinnacles and niches. Overhead it is covered in with richly +ornamented Gothic work. + +This shrine, constructed to receive the body of the murdered Edward II., +conveyed thither from Berkeley Castle by Abbot Thokey, throughout the +greater part of Edward III.'s reign continued to attract vast numbers of +pilgrims. Their offerings soon brought in a great revenue, which was +spent not on rebuilding the church, but in restoring the surface, in +putting new windows in the old walls, and, generally, in adapting the +twelfth-century building to the Perpendicular style of the fourteenth +century. In this way the original Norman work forms the skeleton to the +Perpendicular casing. + +In 1541 the Cathedral was separated from the diocese of Worcester by +Henry VIII. and made a distinct bishopric. + +Besides this magnificent pile, Gloucester possesses four other churches, +which deserve some slight notice. There is the Church of St. Mary de +Lode, said to contain the remains of Lucius, the first British king. It +has an interesting old chancel, and a monument to Bishop Hooper. + +St. Mary de Crypt is a cruciform building of the twelfth century, with a +beautiful lofty tower. The curfew bell is still rung from the tower of +St. Michael, which is said to have been connected with the ancient abbey +of St. Peter. St. Nicholas, originally Norman, is now an ancient +structure of the Early style of English architecture. + +Of schools, one was refounded by Henry VIII. for the education of the +cathedral choir. Another was established in the same reign by Dame Joan +Cooke, and was called the Crypt School, from the fact of its schoolroom +adjoining the church of the same name. Sir Thomas Rich, a native of +Gloucester, in 1666 founded the Blue-Coat Hospital, much on the same +lines as that of Christ's Hospital, recently removed from London to the +country. + +During the many years that were taken in beautifying the Cathedral, we +must not forget that the city was struggling with varying fortune. It +might almost be called a royal city, so often was it visited by princes, +were it not that Winchester claims that distinction. In the war between +Stephen and the Empress Matilda, Gloucester always accorded a welcome to +the Empress. Thither she is said to have escaped after the siege of +Winchester, carried in a coffin. If not true, the story is well founded. +The city was captured from Henry III. by the barons in 1263. In one of +the many Parliaments held at Gloucester, were passed, in 1279, the laws +connected with the Statute of Quo Warranto, better known as the Statutes +of Gloucester. + +In 1327 Edward II. was assassinated in Berkeley Castle by his keeper, +Sir Thomas Gournay, and John de Maltravers, Lord Berkeley. From this +time Gloucester seems to have enjoyed comparative peace, though its +county was the theatre of several important historical events enacted in +its cities of Chichester and Tewkesbury. The latter is especially +memorable for the great and decisive battle, in which the Lancastrians +were totally defeated, in 1471. On that occasion Margaret of Anjou, her +son Prince Edward, and her general, the Duke of Somerset, were taken +prisoners by Edward IV. After the battle Prince Edward was murdered and +the Duke of Somerset beheaded. In the great contest between Charles I. +and the Parliament, the city of Gloucester, it is true, became an object +of importance to the success of the royal cause. The city was, however, +successfully defended for the Parliament by Colonel Massie, till +relieved in 1643 by the Earl of Essex. In the meantime Chichester was +taken by Prince Rupert. + +The subject-matter of this city has unconsciously led us to introduce +Tewkesbury and Chichester. Having gone so far we cannot close without +first drawing attention to the existence of three other cities that +prominently stand out in this same county of Gloucestershire. They are +Cheltenham, the home of the famous public school; Tewkesbury, where the +decisive battle of the Roses was fought; and Bristol, the great port +situated near the mouth of the Severn, the river on the banks of which +lies this ancient cathedral city of Gloucester. + + + + +Hereford + +Hereford. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +On the borders of Wales is Herefordshire, and almost in the centre of +the county is its ancient capital, Hereford. A Roman station is supposed +to have been in the neighbourhood, under the name of Ariconium, which is +considered to be identical with the present Kenchester. The present name +of Hereford is derived from the pure Saxon. Like Oxford, it had no +bridges at first. As the river had to be crossed, the shallowest part +was chosen. + +This consideration probably determined the site of Hereford to be upon +the left bank of the river Wye, and the pass over it was called by the +Saxons, Here-ford, or "Military ford." We glean little information of +this place till the seventh century. An episcopal see is stated to have +existed in this place before the invasion of Britain by the Saxons. From +this uncertainty we arrive at something more definite, which took place +in 655. Oswy, then King of Mercia, in that year made Hereford part of +the diocese of Lichfield, which already wielded jurisdiction over the +whole of the kingdom of Mercia. + +A few years later it was decided by a synod held here under the +presidency of Theodore, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in 673, to make a +division of the diocese of Lichfield. Very naturally Wilford, then +bishop of that see, refused to recognise the decree, and for this piece +of contumacy was subsequently deprived of part of his diocese. His +successor, Sexulph, however, was more amenable, and with his consent +Hereford was detached from Lichfield and restored to its original +independence as a separate diocese. Putta was straightway translated +from Rochester See to become the first bishop of Hereford in 680. This +instance is one of many such in the history of the Church. The shuffling +of dioceses, the enlargement of one at the expense of another, whether +from motives of malice or a sense of right distribution, occurs usually +in the early years of Christianity in England, and also at the general +winding up of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. + +Hereford was by no means the only see that suffered these changes. It +was simply a unit in the great policy of welding together the churches +of the several kingdoms into one whole, which had never been carried +into effect till Theodore of Tarsus came to England. He was a Greek monk +little known till the Pope elected to fill the vacant archbishopric of +Canterbury. Only three bishops were left in the whole of England; of +these two were rivals for the See of York, and the third had bought the +See of London. The first thing that Theodore did after his arrival was +to travel throughout the country. By consecrating new bishops and +creating a thorough organisation, he acquired a complete understanding +with the Church. He also instituted a system of synods, which he +intended should meet annually to discuss the general welfare of the +Church. This, however, seems to have fallen into disuse. + +In all, Theodore managed to divide England into a matter of fifteen +dioceses, through the subdivision of the old dioceses. Truly a great +achievement when we remember that the conversion of the English kingdoms +mostly depended upon the good-will of their respective kings. Thus it +came about that one king in each kingdom had one bishop, generally his +chaplain at first, who took his title, not from a see, but from the +people. He was either bishop of Mercia, or Northumbria, or some other +large kingdom. As we have seen in the collision with Wilford, +Theodore's policy did not suit every prelate's views. His influence, +however, effected the installation of three bishops in Northumbria, four +in Mercia, two in East Anglia, and two in Wessex. Kent already had two +since 604. + +Thus the result was the complete conversion of England, effected by +Theodore from about 673 to 688 A.D. + +Prior to the eighth century Hereford is known to have been the capital +of the kingdom of Mercia, as it is now of Herefordshire, which is much +reduced in size. From the years 765 to 791 Mercia was governed by King +Offa. Apart from his connection with the Cathedral of Hereford, his +reign must possess some interest to the collectors of coins. For though +the die-sinker's art was practised in England as far back as the Roman +occupation, and an indigenous coinage came into existence in the seventh +century, it is not till this monarch's reign that genuine English +coinage was properly in currency. It appears that Offa had to pay an +annual tribute of 365 mancuses in coin to the Pope. As a mancus was +equal to 30 pennies, the sum was a considerable one. + +In the year 782 an event occurred which laid the foundation of the +Cathedral. From Marden, the original place of sepulture, the body of +Ethelbert, King of the East Angles (who, by the way, is not to be +confounded with Ethelbert of Kent, who welcomed St. Augustine), was +removed to Hereford. He had been treacherously slain by his intended +mother-in-law, the Queen of Mercia. In expiation of the murder King +Offa, with munificent donations, enabled a nobleman called Milfride, a +viceroy under Egbert, to found the Cathedral about 825. The building was +dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelbert. It fell into decay in less than +two centuries and necessitated a rebuilding during the prelacy of Bishop +Athelstan, between 1012 and 1015. It was burnt by the Welsh in 1055, and +remained in ruins till 1079, when the first Norman bishop, Robert of +Lorraine, was appointed to the See. + +He commenced a new edifice on the lines of Aken, now Aix-la-Chapelle. It +was carried on, with the exception of the tower left to be erected by +Bishop Giles de Braos in the following century, by Bishop Raynelm, in +1107, and eventually completed in 1148 by Bishop R. de Betum. + +[Illustration: HEREFORD + +THE NORTH TRANSEPT] + +The plan is the usual cross. A lofty tower rises from the intersection, +and was formerly surmounted by a spire, taken down for safety's sake. +The screen and reredos, the pillars, the arches of naves, and the north +and south arches of the choir belong to the Norman period. The Early +English claims the triforium, the Lady Chapel, clerestory, and the stone +vaulting. The north transept is by Bishop Aquablanca, 1245-1268, whilst +the south-east transept dates from the Late Decorated style. + +For over 450 years a number of additions and restorations have afforded +every facility for the skill of the architect, not always happily taken +advantage of. The great western tower unfortunately fell down in 1786, +and caused considerable damage to the west front and adjacent work. Mr. +Wyatt, during modern restorations, in 1842 and 1863, rebuilt the tower. +The west front, soon after its misfortune, was restored in a style +different from the original. The whole exterior of this edifice presents +a curious variety of architectural style. This capitulation of bishops +and dates is possibly dry reading, but it is absolutely necessary to +determine the date of the different erections and restorations, and +their successive styles of architecture. + +Near the choir was the shrine of St. Ethelbert, which was destroyed +during the Commonwealth of Cromwell. Another attraction to the pilgrims +was the tomb erected to the memory of Bishop Cantelupe, who died in +1282. His heart was brought to Hereford and buried in the north +transept of the Cathedral, and he was canonised in 1310. The pilgrims +resorted to this place, as it was reputed that no less than four hundred +miracles had been performed there. In consequence of this the succeeding +bishops altered the quarterings of their ancient arms, which were those +of St. Ethelbert, and assumed the paternal coat of Cantelupe. This +change constitutes the present arms of the bishopric. + +Amongst many other memorials is one to Bishop Aquablanca. A plain marble +tablet was also erected to the memory of John Philips, a well-known +author of poems entitled "The Splendid Shilling," and "Cyder." + +Perhaps the most interesting item, as well as the most curious of all +the old maps, is the "Mappa Mundi," preserved in the south choir aisle. +It was compiled somewhere about 1275 to 1300, by a monk of Lincoln. How +it ever came to Hereford appears to be an enigma. The most likely +solution is that the monk may have been transferred from Lincoln to this +see. + +The "Hereford Map," as it is called, is a great picture, more to be +classed as a grotesque work of art than a valuable aid to geography. It +is, at least, a gigantic attempt to represent the whole world, with the +introduction of the main features, the people, industries, and products +of each country. It is one mass of legendary figures, and the farther we +get from England, which is hardly recognisable, the more grotesque and +improbable become the monsters. The Minotaurs and Gog-Magog of Tartary, +the dog-faced, the horse-footed, and flap-eared freaks of nature of the +far east, together with the one-legged, one-eyed, four-eyed, headless, +and hermaphrodite tribes who fringe the Torrid Zone, give us an +interesting idea of the imposition by travellers upon the minds of the +people of that period, the thirteenth century. Even the fishes, supposed +to be peculiar to each sea, are carefully depicted. Truly it is a +wonderful work of imagination, not the less to be respected for that, +and quite alone deserves a journey to Hereford. + +An epitome of the chief historical events of the city will be a +sufficient guide to its status. Except cider making, it has no +industries of special note. + +To the fortifications erected in the time of Athelstan, and nearly +perfected in Leland's time, was added a castle by Edward the Elder. In +1055, two miles from this place, Griffith the Prince of Wales defeated +Ralph Earl of Hereford; and the Welsh, having thus taken the city, spent +their time in reducing it to a heap of ruins. Harold, afterwards king, +attacked and defeated the Welsh, and repaired and enlarged the +fortifications in view of further invasions. In the conflicts between +Stephen and the Empress Maud, Hereford was successfully defended for the +latter by Milo, to be reduced by the King in 1141. At the commencement +of the parliamentary war, Hereford was garrisoned for the King, but +surrendered, without a blow being struck, to the army of Sir William +Waller in 1643. On the retreat of this knight the Royalists occupied it, +and under the governorship of Barnabas Scudamore, Esquire, made a +stubborn resistance against the Scots, under the Earl of Leven, and +obliged them to raise the siege. + +The inhabitants, at the Restoration, for their loyalty to the royal +cause, received from Charles II. a new charter with extended privileges, +and new heraldic arms testifying to their fidelity to the House of +Stuart. Previous to this Charles I. had been generous enough to reward +the many sacrifices and sufferings of the loyal citizens by granting the +city its motto of + + Invictae fidelitatis praemium. + + + + +Lincoln + +Lincolia. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +The commercial importance of Lincoln, whatever it may be now, was at one +time considerable. At the time of the Norman survey it commanded +sufficient attention to cause the entry of the city in the "Doomsday +Book" as one of the leading centres of commerce. This happy state was +continued, or rather increased, by the famous Ordinance of the Staple in +the reign of Edward III. He was an ambitious monarch, and desired to +become master of France. If we recall the battles of Cressy and +Poitiers, we can readily understand what an enormous expenditure would +be required for the proper conduct of the war. By some means or other +the English revenues had to be found. This was met to a great extent by +the Ordinance of the Wool Staple, enacted by Edward III., who, besides +waging war in France, was keen on the extension of foreign trade. By +charters granted to merchants of Gascony, who imported wine and other +commodities, and by giving special protection to the Flemish weavers in +England, the King enhanced the prospects of trade. But the most +important of all his commercial projects was, as we have said, his +scheme, finally declared in 1353, by which a staple for English exports +was established under the direct control of the Crown. Thus the monopoly +of wool, which accrued so advantageously to Bruges and other cities on +the Continent, and had become unbearable, was in 1353 transferred to +England. For the exclusive sale of wool ten English towns were chosen. +They were situated within easy distance of the coast, or the town was in +connection with a convenient port. Of these ten towns with corresponding +ports, Lincoln with Boston was chosen as a staple town for wool. This +with other sources of trade, such as the staple of lead and leather, +flourished in Lincoln from Edward III.'s time till the commencement of +the eighteenth century, when the trade of the town declined. Through the +several plagues prevalent in the fourteenth century, such as the black +death and other epidemics similar in death-dealing if not in character +at that time, especially about the year 1390, many towns in England were +much decayed. Except London, York, Bristol, Coventry, and Plymouth, the +afflicted towns did not regain the population they enjoyed in the +fourteenth century till the Tudor period, and some, notably Sarum and +Leicester, not until late in the reign of Elizabeth. The decline of +Lincoln, though progressive, in a way appears to have been truly a +gradual decay, and more terrible in its imperceptible undermining than +any knock-down blow, for it never recovered its old trade prosperity; +whilst Norwich, which before the plagues was next to London, bore +relatively and even greater and sharper evidence of the terrible +visitation, yet managed somehow to hark back in a measure to days of its +former glory. The old saying which ran "Lincoln was, London is, York +shall be" indicates, far more than anything else, the change of +Lincoln's fortunes. Whatever its shortcomings may be, Lincoln possesses +a most interesting record of antiquity. Its minster is truly a gem, for +it is not only the earliest example of a pure Gothic building in Europe, +but presents a delightful study of every kind of style, from the early +Norman down to the Late Decorated. + +Of the many characteristics of this interesting edifice--the foundation +of Remigius--we will note the chief. The building material consists of +the oolite and calcareous stone of Lincoln Heath and Haydor, the +surface of which, when worked upon with tools, appears to become quite +hardened. + +Remigius adopted the plan of the church at Rouen as the model of his +foundation, which he laid in 1086. It was completed by his successor, +Bishop Bloet. The accidental fire that broke out gave his successor, +Bishop Alexander, the opportunity of repairing it. To prevent a like +occurrence, this prelate conceived and carried out his idea of covering +the aisles with a vaulted roof of stone. It had a disastrous effect in +that its pressure weighed too heavily upon the walls. It necessitated a +thorough overhauling by St. Hugh, a subsequent bishop, in the reign of +Henry II. He rebuilt the church upon a plan then newly introduced, and +greatly enlarged it by taking down the east end and re-erecting it upon +a far bigger scale. Since his time the Cathedral has undergone several +alterations and embellishments at the fostering care of several +succeeding prelates. On the magnificent central tower there used to be a +lofty spire, which was blown down in 1547. The two western towers were +also deprived of their spires in 1808 to avert a similar calamity. The +approximate dates of the different portions of the Cathedral are: + +[Illustration: LINCOLN + +BY MOONLIGHT] + +The central west front and the font belong to Remigius' period. + +The three west portals and Norman portion of the west tower above the +screen to the third story are 1148. + +The nave, its aisles, and north and south chapels of the west end were +finished in 1220. + +The Early English work of the west front and the upper portions of the +north and south wings with the pinnacle turrets date from 1225. + +The west porch of the main transept is 1220. + +The lower courses of the central tower date from 1235, while the upper +ones originated in 1307. + +The gables, the upper parts of the main transept, the parapets of the +south side of the nave, the south wing, the west front, and the screen +in the south aisle take us back again to the year 1225. The subsequent +additions are: + +The west door of the choir aisles in 1240; the south porch of the +presbytery in 1256; the choir screens in 1280, and ten years later the +Easter Sepulchre. The fine circular window at the end of the north +transept, and especially the ones in the south transept, attract +considerable attention. They are called respectively "The Dean's Eye" +and "The Bishop's Eye," and are supposed to belong to the year 1350. +Perhaps they are better known as the rose windows, which were more +popular in France than in England. They exhibit a network of interlacing +stems in imitation of the freedom of the briar-rose, and show the +advanced skill of the workmen upon the plate-tracery they formerly put +up as a masterpiece in the close vicinity of the rose windows. + +For purposes of fortification, if necessary, Remigius chose the summit +of the hill close to the Castle as the site. The Cathedral, dedicated to +the Virgin Mary, thus, from its commanding station, forms a magnificent +object seen from many miles around, and in the days of pilgrimage must +have held out a welcome beacon of hope to the weary pilgrims. + +Of the many famous prelates of this see must be mentioned Remigius, +Bloet, St. Hugh, and Fleming, who died in 1431. The latter was the +founder of Lincoln College at Oxford. Just at the back of this college +is situated the well-known college of Brazennose, the foundation of +another Lincoln Bishop, namely Smith, who died in 1521. + +Again, Polydore Vergil, W. Paley, Cartwright the inventor of the power +loom, and O. Manning the celebrated topographer are some of the many +capitular members of whom Lincoln may well be proud. + +Another attraction that Lincoln possesses in its vicinity is the +race-course just beyond Newland. + +For the early history of Lincoln we must go as far back as the Saxon +days. After the departure of the Romans, Lincoln was the chief city of +the district. It was the capital of the kingdom of Mercia, as it now is +of the county of Lincolnshire. + +Besides being described like other cities as being locally in the county +of Lincoln, it is said to be in the wapentake. This is a departure from +the "hundred" only in name, not in purpose. In the northern counties of +England the wapentakes denoted the usual divisions answering to the +hundreds of other counties. The origin of the wapentake is woepenge-toc, +woepentac, from the Icelandic vapnatak. It literally means a +weapon-taking or weapon-touching, and became an expression of assent. It +was anciently invariably the custom to touch lances or spears when the +hundreder, or chief, entered in his office. Tacitus, in the "Germania," +gives a full description of this interesting rite. + +In the Low Countries words very similar appear as the names of streets. +At Bruges, in Belgium, there is the "Wapen-makers Straat," which means +nothing more or less than that in that street was originally carried on +an industry of warlike implements made by "weapon-makers." + +In this wise Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire were divided +into wapentakes instead of "hundreds." + +Another peculiar distinction of this city was its former government by a +portreve. The term is now obsolete, but in the old English law it +denoted the chief magistrate of a port or maritime town. In its old form +it was written "portgerefa," a combined word meaning port, a harbour, +and "gerefa," a reeve or sheriff. In the third year of the reign of +George I. the city, with a district of twenty miles round it, was +erected into a county, under the designation of "The City and County of +the City of Lincoln." It was also entered as a maritime county. The +extreme flatness of the Lincolnshire coast, with the slow sluggishness +of the lower part of the course of the rivers, caused, in remote ages, +the inundation of a great tract of land. The feasibility of reclaiming +some portion of these fens received the attention of the Romans. They +constructed the large drain called the car-dyke, signifying the +fen-dyke, carrying it from the river Witham, near Lincoln, to the river +Welland on the southern side of the county, with the object of draining +the waters from the high grounds and of preventing the inundation of +the low grounds. This policy was adopted in subsequent reigns with great +success, and is even to this day continued. It has been the means of +bringing rich tracts of land into cultivation, and of dispelling the +unhealthy miasma which once caused the great prevalency of the ague +fever. From fragments of vessels found near its channel it is affirmed +that large ships of bygone days could formerly sail up the river Witham +from Boston to Lincoln, but now it is only navigable for barges. + +[Illustration: LINCOLN + +THE STEEP HILL] + +In 1121 Henry I. materially altered the great Foss-Dyke, extending a +matter of eight miles from a great marsh near Lincoln to the river +Trent, to serve the double purpose of draining the adjacent level and of +constructing a high waterway for vessels from the Trent to Lincoln. + +For defraying the expenses of draining, it appears that in general a +rate was levied upon all lands in the contiguous wapentakes. + +With this preface of the general character of the district, we propose +to give a history of the city from its commencement. + +On the summit of a hill close to the river Lindis, which is now called +the Witham, the ancient Britons established a city of considerable +importance from the most remote period of the British history. They +christened the city after the original name of the river. This, on the +invasion of Britain, passed into the hands of the Romans. They made it +one of their chief stations in this part of England and established a +colony. Instead of calling the city something "cester," they appear to +have Latinised the Celtic name, signifying "the hill port by the pool," +and called it Lindum Colonia. Through process of time and differences of +pronunciation, consequent on the various dialects spoken successively by +the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, the title became abbreviated to +Lin-coln. The date of the Roman occupation is given as being in the year +100 A.D. + +Their plan of the city consisted of the form of a parallelogram about +400 yards in length by the same number of yards in breadth, defended by +massive, strong walls and intersected by two streets running at right +angles. + +Presumably the extremities of these streets pointed to the four cardinal +points. They terminated in gates, the sole one of which--an excellent +example of Roman architecture in England--is the North Gate, or, as it +is generally called, Newport. It is composed of a central arch, with two +lesser ones, one on either side, and is on a lower level than that of +the street. Through this gate passes the great Roman Road called Ermine +Street, out into the country for a distance of about ten miles or so. To +the south-west of this entrance is supposed to have been a mint. This +seems to be borne out by the discovery of many Roman coins found in the +vicinity. The Exchequer Gate is a very fine specimen of the thirteenth +century. It bears a carved representation of the Crucifixion, which +lends it considerable interest. + +At the top of High Street is Pottergate and Stonebow, over which is the +Guildhall. The latter is an ancient embattled structure, rebuilt in the +reign of Richard II. + +Besides the Northgate, the Romans appear, according to remains found, to +have contributed the inevitable bath and sudatorium. On their departure +from Britain, Lincoln was made the capital of the kingdom of Mercia by +the Saxons in 518. Vortimer, who endeavoured to oppose them, was slain +and interred here. From 786 Lincoln suffered repeatedly from visitations +of the Danes, control being recovered by Edmund II., according to +agreement with Canute in 1016. Throughout the whole of this period the +only peace the city had enjoyed was when Alfred the Great subdued the +Danes. However, Edmund II., better known as Edmund Ironsides, did not +live many days longer, being murdered at Oxford. Whereupon, in 1017, +Canute took possession of the murdered monarch's territory, in which +Lincoln was included. William I. then came along in 1086, swept away +close upon two hundred houses to make room for the erection of a +castle--on a site which meant the occupation of nearly one-fourth of the +old Roman city. + +The Castle still has traces of Norman work, the foundations of which +were formed of enormous beams of wood and a mixture of thin, coarse +mortar, used for pouring into the joints of masonry and brickwork, +usually called "grouting." + +In that wonderful survey of his--the "Doomsday Book"--fifty-two parishes +are stated to have composed this city. + +The Castle in 1140 figured in the disputes between the Empress Matilda +and Stephen, the latter of whom was crowned here in 1141. Stephen was, +however, made prisoner, but was afterwards exchanged, and lived three +years later to celebrate Christmas here. But prior to this period +Lincoln was for the first time erected into a see in the reign of +William Rufus. + +[Illustration: LINCOLN + +THE WEST TOWERS] + +In pursuance of a decree of a synod held at London at this time, that +all the episcopal sees should be removed to fortified places, +Remigius, the Bishop of Dorchester, determined to establish the seat +of his diocese at Lincoln. He built the church and an episcopal palace, +but died just before its consecration. + +His work was completed by his successor, Robert Bloet. In the reign of +Henry II. the Diocese, which once extended from the Thames to the +Humber, was curtailed to add a part to form that of Ely. It again +suffered diminution in Henry VIII.'s time, when the limits of the Sees +of Oxford and Peterborough were defined. In spite of it all, Lincoln's +see is fairly extensive, though it suffered again in 1884. Prior to this +monarch's reign Lincoln had as many as fifty-two churches, but when he +decided upon reformation from Popery their number was greatly +diminished. Their names, still preserved, are the sole reminders of +their former existence, with the exception of fourteen which remain. +These have probably been rebuilt. + +Before entering further concerning the See, and the Cathedral founded by +Remigius, which was constantly in the hands of the architect even down +to recent years, we shall add the chief political events subsequent to +Stephen. On the death of this monarch, Henry II., probably not satisfied +with his coronation in London, underwent the ceremony again at Wigford, +a place just a little to the south of Lincoln city. + +John here early in his reign received the homage of David the King of +Scotland. During the struggle with the barons in 1216 the citizens +remained loyal to their sovereign; but their city was taken at last in +1217, and invested by the barons under Gilbert de Gaunt, afterwards +created Earl of Lincoln. After the disaster that overtook John's army in +the passage across the Wash, and his death, which took place soon +afterwards, his son Henry III. was loyally assisted by the inhabitants +against the barons, who had summoned to their aid Louis, the Dauphin of +France. The Castle, however, remained for many years in the possession +of the Crown. Eventually it became the summer residence of the +celebrated John of Gaunt. He was Earl of Lincoln, and in 1396 married +here Lady Swinford, who was a sister-in-law to Chaucer. + +Several times Parliament was held in Lincoln; namely, twice by Edward +I., and in 1301 and 1305; twice also by Edward II.; and in the first +year of Edward III.'s reign. + +Henry VI. paid a visit, as did also Henry VII., who held a public +thanksgiving for his victory over Richard III. at the battle of Bosworth +Field. + +Throughout the parliamentary war the inhabitants were staunch +supporters of the Crown. The city was stormed by Earl Manchester, an +indefatigable soldier of Cromwell. The Commonwealth troopers during +their occupation created considerable havoc in the ecclesiastical +buildings. According to their invariable custom they stabled their +horses and housed themselves within the cathedral walls. Not satisfied +with that, they damaged the tombs and deprived the niches of their +statuary. + +To go back a matter of four hundred years to this period, the population +of Lincoln rose _en masse_ against the Jews. They were alleged to have +crucified a little Lincoln boy, presumably a Christian, at a place +called Dunestall in the year 1255. The enraged mob wreaked their +vengeance by causing the execution of eighteen Jews, murdering many +more, and later on making a saint of the victim, under the name of +"little Saint Hugh." The punishment seems to be out of proportion to the +crime. In fact little Hugh's crucifixion appears rather to have served +as an excuse for the wrongful persecution of the Semitic race than for +the proper administration of the law irrespective of creed. Even to this +day this regrettable racial feeling is kept alive. In the middle ages +this bitter feeling was fostered and brought about chiefly owing to the +wonderful success of the Jews in England, who grew rich upon the profits +accruing to usury, which they alone might exercise. Among many prominent +instances of popular vengeance, besides little St. Hugh's murder, are +the tombs of boy-martyrs, shrines which became often the most popular in +the Cathedral. + +The most characteristic are the records of the burials, attended with +great pomp, of St. William of Norwich in 1144, Harold of Gloucester in +1168, Robert of Edmundsbury in 1184, a nameless boy in London in 1244, +and St. Hugh of Lincoln in 1255; boys canonised by the populace simply +through bitter racial feeling. Remains of the shrine of little St. Hugh +are still extant at Lincoln. + +Among the many interesting antiquities of Lincoln is a fine specimen of +the Norman domestic architecture. It is called the Jews' House, and it +is an edifice of curious design. Its mouldings much resemble those of +the west portals of the Cathedral, a date which probably would be 1184. +The house belonged to a Jewess called Belaset de Wallingford. She was +hanged in the reign of Edward I. for clipping the coin. + +Besides this are noticeable the ancient conduits of St. Mary le Wigford, +which is Gothic, and the Greyfriars Conduit in High Street. + +In the cloister garden are preserved a tesselated pavement and the +sepulchral slab of a Roman soldier. From the same place the splendidly +carved stone coffin lid of Bishop Remigius has recently been removed +into the interior of the Cathedral. + +In the years 1884 to 1891 excavations were conducted on the site of the +old "Angel Inn," when it was discovered that it had been a Roman +burial-place. Amongst the debris were found several funeral urns. Under +St. Peter's at Gowts was brought to light a Roman altar, and remains of +a Roman villa were unearthed at Greetwell. In the same year, that is to +say 1884, the Blue Coat School was closed, its endowments were given to +the Middle School, and the buildings were sold to the Church Institute. + +Within the last few years two memorable events occurred. In the year +1884 the See of Lincoln was deprived of the county of Nottingham, which +was transferred from that see to the See of Southwell. This was followed +shortly afterwards by the great lawsuit called "The Lincoln Judgment." + +Great controversy arose and came to a climax. In the year 1888 Dr. King, +the Bishop of Lincoln, was cited before his metropolitan, Dr. Benson, +the Archbishop of Canterbury, to answer charges of various ritual +offences alleged to have been committed by himself at the administration +of the Holy Communion. + +The action was brought by certain gentlemen of Lincoln interested in the +doings of their prelate. Their religious scruples had been outraged, it +appears, on two separate occasions; namely, in the Church of St. Peter's +at Gowts on December 4, 1887, and in the Cathedral on December 10 of the +same year. An appeal had been made to the Archbishop to restrain these +illegal practices. The celebrated ecclesiastical lawsuit was heard in +1888. The judgment was confined to the declarations of the law, which +were summarised. No monition or sentence was pronounced against the +Bishop of Lincoln for having committed breaches of the ecclesiastical +law. The dissension has happily ended. The Bishop of Lincoln has +conformed his practice to the Archbishop's judgment from the date of its +delivery, and still retains his bishopric. Thus has ended the conflict +between the Primate and the Suffragan, which agitated, for a brief space +of time, the opponents of offences of ritualism, and brought about the +famous Lincoln Judgment. + + + + +Bath + +Baden-ceaster. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +On the banks of the river Avon, in the County of Somersetshire, is +situated the beautiful and ancient city of Bath. Its ecclesiastical +history is closely bound up with that of Wells, and at one time with +that of Glastonbury, when it figures in the disputes concerning the See. +This unseemly quarrelling amongst prelates is now happily laid at rest. +Though lacking in all authority, Bath is the joint partner of Wells in +the bishopric title. + +The origin of the city of Bath takes us far back. Perhaps the strongest +link with the Roman days, besides the Roman roads, lies in the +present-day existence of the Roman baths, built about 55 B.C. + +These baths were probably erected to confine the hot springs, and to +enjoy more thoroughly the benefit derived from the medicinal properties +of these waters, which are chalybeate and saline. + +Though we are told that in all probability it is a mere myth that the +British king, Bladud, first founded this city of Bath, yet we are +inclined to think that the presence of these springs would influence a +settlement of even the nomadic British, prior to the Roman invasion. + +When we remember what primitive ideas the early Britons had, we cannot +wonder at the non-existence of any vestiges of their occupation. In +these days of materialism one loves to respect old traditions, however +uncertain they may be in substance. We would therefore give the benefit +of the doubt to an early British settlement. + +With the arrival of the Romans the approximate date and origin of Bath +can be readily ascertained. From excavations on the place since the year +1875, it has been proved that the Romans founded here a city, which they +named Aquae Solis, in the reign of Claudius. In 55 B.C. the baths had +been constructed for certain. In addition to this they erected a temple +to Minerva, with votive offerings, and many other buildings, and carried +a line of fortifications and walls around the city. The remains of their +marvellous architecture still bear testimony, though they have suffered +ill-treatment and undergone restoration, to their former magnificence +and grandeur. + +On the retirement of the Romans Aquae Solis passed into the hands of the +Britons, under the name of Coer Palladen (the city of the waters of +Pallas). During their possession of a century, two attacks made by the +Saxon chieftains, OElla and Cerdic, were repulsed by King Arthur. + +The Saxons, by the year 577, having practically subverted the rest of +the kingdom, turned their attention to the West. They seized and ravaged +Bath. The Roman structures were reduced to ruins. After a while they +rebuilt the walls and fortifications upon the original foundations, +employing the old materials. The baths also were soon restored. By this +time the Saxons had renamed the city, "Hat Bathur" (Hot baths), and +"Ace-mannes-ceaster" (City of invalids). The "ceaster" tacked on to the +Saxon word is the first evidence we get of the Saxon recognition of the +former existence of the Roman occupation of this city. + +With the spreading influence of Christianity travelling from the east to +the west of England in the seventh century, a nunnery was erected here, +in 676, by King Osric. This was destroyed during the wars of the +Heptarchy, and on its site a college of secular canons was founded, in +775, by Offa, King of Mercia. This monarch had taken Bath from the King +of Wessex, and had annexed it to his own kingdom. Possibly in +recognition of this victory he built an abbey in 775. + +After this the city evidently increased in prosperity, for it was +important enough to witness the coronation of Edgar in 973, as King of +England, by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. At the same time Edgar +converted the college of secular canons into a Benedictine monastery. +This, with the church, was again demolished by the Danes. + +This city of Bath, like all other cities of that time, came under the +Norman Survey, and was entered in Doomsday Book as Baden-ceaster. +William Rufus had scarce been crowned king when Bath was seized and +burnt, the most part by Geoffry, Bishop of Coutances, and Robert de +Mowbray. They had jointly risen in support of the claim laid to the +throne of England by Robert Duke of Normandy. But under the abbacy of +John de Villula it soon recovered prosperity. This abbot, on promotion +to the See of Wells, about 1090, purchased the city from Henry I. He +built a new church, and removed the See from Wells to this place. Here +it remained till 1193, when Bishop Savaricus handed it over to Richard +I., in exchange for Glastonbury Abbey. + +[Illustration: BATH + +PULTENEY BRIDGE] + +About this time Bath received its first charter as a free borough +from this monarch, and was represented in Parliament in 1297. In 1330 +the manufacture of woollen cloth was established by the monks. By reason +of this the shuttle was incorporated in the arms of the monastery. In +1447, and in 1590, Henry VI. and Elizabeth respectively granted +charters, which materially increased the prospects of the city. + +This present cruciform Abbey Church dates from 1499. It is dedicated to +St. Peter and St. Paul, and forms one of the best specimens of the later +style of English architecture. It rests upon the site of the conventual +church of the monastery founded by Osric. After a course of eight +hundred years it became dilapidated, and was rebuilt from the old +materials in 1495, by Bishop Oliver King. He is said to have been +admonished in a dream. He did not live to see the completion of the +building. + +As the citizens refused to purchase it from the Commissioners of Henry +VIII., the walls were left roofless till Dr. James Montague, Bishop of +the Diocese, with the aid of the local nobility and gentry, procured the +necessary funds, and finished it in 1606. + +On the west front is sculptured the founder's dream of angels ascending +and descending on Jacob's ladder. The church is crowned with a +quadrangular tower of 162 feet in height from the point of intersection. + +Though the medicinal properties of the springs of Bath attracted from +the earliest times the continuous attention of invalids, it was only +under the guidance of Beau Nash, the gamester, and the enterprise of +John Wood, the architect, that it reached to the highest pinnacle of +fame as a place of fashionable resort in the eighteenth century. The +works of Fielding, Smollett, Jane Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, and +others, give us a clear insight into the meteor-like prosperity of the +city, for, after the death of Nash, it gradually relapsed to its normal +state, and, in fact, according to statistics, the number of inhabitants +has decreased even within the last few years. + +A brief sketch of Beau Nash and the means adopted will account in some +measure for the marvellous change in Bath in the eighteenth century. +Nash was educated at Carmarthen Grammar School, and Jesus College, +Oxford. He then obtained a commission in the army. This he soon threw up +to become a law-student at the Middle Temple. Whilst there he gained +much attention by his wit and sociability. These qualities induced his +fellow-students to elect him as the president of a pageant that they +prepared for William III. The king was so pleased with Nash that, it is +said, he offered him a knighthood. This Nash refused unless accompanied +by a pension, which was not granted. + +He was much addicted to gambling, which, in addition to a restless +spirit and an empty purse, led him in 1704 to try his luck at Bath, a +place which then offered opportunities to a gamester. There he soon +became master of the ceremonies, in succession to Captain Webster. Under +his authority reforms were introduced which speedily accorded to Bath a +leading position as a fashionable watering-place. He formed a strict +code of rules for the regulation of balls and assemblies; allowed no +swords to be worn in places of public amusement; persuaded gentlemen to +discard boots for shoes and stockings when in assemblies and parades, +and introduced a tariff for lodgings. + +As insignia of his office he wore an immense white hat, and a richly +embroidered dress. He drove about in a chariot with six greys, and laced +lackeys blew French horns. When Parliament abolished gambling it caused +a serious check to the visits of fashionable people to the city. +However, the Corporation, in recognition of his valuable services, +granted Nash a pension of 120 guineas a year, and at his death in 1761 +he was buried with splendour at the expense of the town. A year after +his demise his biography was anonymously published in London by Oliver +Goldsmith. + +John Wood, the architect, though hardly as well known to posterity as +Nash, must not be overlooked. Till he appeared in Bath in 1728, the city +had been confined strictly within the Roman limits. The suburbs +consisted merely of a few scattered houses. Wood improved and enlarged +the city by his architectural efforts, which led to the quarrying of +freestone found existing in the neighbourhood. His successors carried on +his enterprise. + +The grand Pump-room, erected in 1797, with a portico of Corinthian +columns; the King's Bath, with a Doric colonnade; the Queen's Bath; the +Cross Bath, so called from a cross erected in the centre of it; the Hot +Bath, on account of its superior degree of heat, were once thronged by +fashionable gatherings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. + +The architecture in the eighteenth century at Bath was an adaptation of +the Doric and Ionic orders. Nearly all the principal buildings were +constructed after these classic principles. St. Michael's Church belongs +to the Doric, with a handsome dome, and was erected in 1744. Even the +Greek influence is the prevailing feature of Pulteney Bridge. + +In conclusion, amongst eminent men of Bath may be mentioned: John Hales, +Greek Professor at Oxford in 1612; and Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the +Bodleian Library at Oxford, was a native of, and received his early +education in the Grammar School of this city. Benjamin Robins was born +here in 1707; he was a celebrated mathematician, and wrote the account +of the voyage of Commodore Anson round the world. + +Amongst the tombs in the Abbey are those to the memory of Quin, Nash, +Broome, Malthus, and Melmothe. + +The hot springs of Bath still continue to alleviate the aches and pains +of invalid visitors. The interesting history, the curious mingling of +Roman and Later English architecture with the revival of the Ionic and +Doric orders in the eighteenth-century buildings, can never fail to be +of interest alike to the student and the casual visitor in Bath. + + + + +Salisbury + +Salisberie. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +Salisbury affords a remarkable instance of the complete transference of +the cathedral followed by the ultimate desertion of the city in the +change from old Sarum, the original site, to New Sarum, another within a +short distance--one might almost say within a stone's throw. In the old +days of prosperity Old Sarum, now simply a conical mass of ruins, was +peopled with the Belgae, who came from Gaul and ousted the original +inhabitants. How this site ever came to be chosen as a desirable place +of settlement seems to be rather a mystery, for even in those early days +constant difficulties arose with regard to the insufficiency of water. +They aptly called it "the dry city," which is supposed to be the meaning +of the old name Searobyrig, which later underwent a further +contraction--Scarborough. This arid spot, however, received the +attention of the Romans, who possibly were attracted by the natural +advantages of defence offered by the conical mound rising abruptly, as +it does, from the valley. They carried on the old name and Latinised it, +as they invariably seemed to have done, or rather made a compromise +between the native and their own formation, and arrived at Sorbiordunum. +The scarcity of water seems not to have deterred them in any way, as +witness the many evidences of their fossae, extensive ramparts, and +fortress--signs which indicate that in their hands Old Sarum was held to +be of considerable importance. Roman roads branched out of it, no doubt +pointing to the four cardinal points, in accordance with regular custom, +though their whereabouts may be difficult to define, seeing that several +centuries have passed since the desertion of Old Sarum. + +With their passing away the Roman conquerors have left behind them many +relics, possibly in their day considered worthless, but the unearthing +of which has caused, for many a year, unalloyed joy and given a +priceless treasure to the unwearied antiquaries. Another great source of +speculation to the archaeologists has been the temple of the Druids +erected some time at Stonehenge. It lies beyond the city on the great +Salisbury plain. This primitive form of architecture takes us back to +many years before Christ, when the early Britons wore no clothes, save +the skins of animals they slew in the chase, and when they could neither +read, write, weave, nor do anything which would be considered nowadays +as civilising. They were to all intents and purposes mere savages, kept +in control by their priests and lawgivers, the Druids, whom they held in +the greatest respect. The Britons, we are told, had the additional +discomfort of dwelling in holes burrowed in the ground, or in miserably +constructed huts. In view of this poor state of domestic architecture, +how they ever managed to erect roofless temples, as at Stonehenge and at +the island of Anglesea, and to overcome, what must have been to them a +very great engineering feat, the setting up of the heavy blocks of stone +_in situ_, seems marvellous and not easy of explanation. + +[Illustration: SALISBURY + +HIGH STREET GATEWAY INTO THE CLOSE] + +The great veneration in which the Britons held these temples of the +Druids is much accentuated by an incident during the second occupation +of Britain by the Romans. Suetonius Paulinus, one of their greatest +generals, thought that by destroying the temple at the island of +Anglesea he would shake the faith of the Britons in their priests, and +gain thereby a speedier conquest, much in the same way as when Clive in +India knocked down Dupleix's column to undermine the French influence +over the natives. In the latter case history has assured us of the +ultimate fulfilment of hopes, and it was the same with Paulinus in 61, +only on his return to the mainland he all but suffered a reverse from an +unexpected rising of Britons under Boadicea. Nevertheless, the power of +the Druids was irretrievably broken by the slaughter of their order and +the felling of the groves at Anglesea, as Paulinus had foreseen. What +the object and origin of these remains at Stonehenge were, still serve +as an interesting matter for controversy. Competent authorities, like +Geoffrey of Monmouth, Polydore Vergil, and in the eighteenth century Dr. +Stukely, arrived more or less at the same conclusions. The first named +said that Stonehenge was a sepulchral monument erected by Aurelius +Ambrosius, who, according to a tradition, was thus led by the counsel of +Merlin to commemorate the slaughter of 500 Britons by Hengist, the Saxon +chief, about the year 450 A.D. Polydore Vergil confined himself to the +statement that it was the ancient temple of the Britons in which the +Druids officiated, whilst Dr. Stukely asserted that the Britons here +held their annual meetings at which laws were passed and justice +administered. He was also fortunate enough to discover the "cursus," in +1723, in its vicinity. Perhaps it may be thought that Stonehenge is out +of place in this account of Salisbury; but in leaving it out it would be +as much as to doubt the genuineness of any one's visit to this ancient +cathedral city if he had not also seen the Druidical remains. + +In the neighbourhood of Old Sarum, Cynric won a victory over the Britons +in the year 552. Though it steadily increased in importance, little +worthy of notice occurred there till the close of the tenth century. At +the small town of Wilton, which is almost three miles distant from +Salisbury, the seat of the Diocese was originally established in the +first years of the tenth century, and remained under the superintendence +of eleven succeeding bishops. The last one of them was Hermannus. On his +accession to the See of Sherborne--an ancient and interesting town of +Dorsetshire--he annexed it to the Bishopric of Wilton. He thereupon +founded, for these united sees, a cathedral church at Old Sarum. This +effort of his was afterwards completed by Osmund, who accompanied +William the Conqueror to England, and was by him appointed bishop. A +matter of sixty years prior to the Norman invasion Old Sarum had fallen +a victim in 1003 to the fury of Sweyn, the King of Denmark. This was in +accordance with a vow of retaliation he had made when he learnt of +the murder of his sister in the general massacre of the Danes, which had +taken place the year before. This unhappy period, when many other +counties besides Wiltshire suffered extensively, was during the reign of +Ethelred the Unready. + +[Illustration: SALISBURY + +THE MARKET CROSS] + +In the great plain of Salisbury the Conqueror, in 1070, passed a review +of his army, just flushed with their victories in the neighbourhood. On +the completion of his great survey, the "Doomsday Book," in 1086, he +here at Salisberie, as he renamed the city, received the homage and oath +of allegiance from the English landlords. Till the year 1217 the See +remained at Old Sarum, and even after the complete depopulation and the +demolition of every house of this ancient Roman site, it still was +represented regularly at Parliament by two members till the year 1832. + +The reasons that led to the choice of the new site by Bishop Poore were +the many advantages offered, especially the abundance of water by New +Sarum, as it was called, as set against the exposure to the stormy winds +which it was alleged went even so far as to drown the voice of the +officiating priest, the congestion of houses within its narrow limits, +the difficulty of procuring water, and finally the despotism of the +governor at Old Sarum. To rid himself of these inconveniences, Bishop +Poore procured the papal authority to the removal of the Cathedral from +Old Sarum to its present site in the year 1218, though not till the +Reformation was the service discontinued in the old buildings. + +By then New Sarum had reaped the full benefit of the new conditions and +surroundings. Though only two miles away, the old place, in proportion +to the rising of the new township, sank to a few inhabitants, loth +perhaps to part with old associations. + +The first building to appear in New Sarum, or Salisbury as we shall +henceforth call it, seems to have been the wooden chapel of St. Mary, +the erection of which was commenced in the Easter of the year 1219. This +was followed in the year 1220 by the foundation of the new cathedral as +planned by Bishop Poore. It was completed and dedicated to the Blessed +Virgin Mary in 1258. The ground-plan is that of a Greek or double cross. +With the slight exceptions of the upper part of the tower and the spire, +which belong to a later date, the entire fabric represents the purest +style of the Early English architecture. The cloisters, built by Bishop +Walter de la Wyle, are the largest and most magnificent of any in the +kingdom. They are of the late Early English style, and took, with the +addition of the Chapter House by the same prelate, from 1263 till 1274 +to complete. + +[Illustration: SALISBURY + +THE CLOISTERS] + +Shortly after, the upper part of the tower was built in the Decorated +style by Bishop Wyville, about 1330. Five years later it was capped by +the highest spire in England. A marvellous achievement of lightness of +design, of slenderness and beauty of proportion, it reaches from base to +crown to the remarkable height of four hundred and four feet. Its great +height has caused much anxiety from time to time, through the enormous +pressure exerted upon the tower beneath it. + +This unique example of a spire was followed next by a chapel built by +Bishop Beauchamp between 1450 and 1482. Another was carried out by Lord +Hungerford in 1476. These two chapels, together with an elegant +campanile, were entirely swept away in the restorations that took place +under the direction of the architect James Wyatt. No doubt the Cathedral +required extensive repairs, but it seems regrettable that any architect +should have caused such demolition, instead of endeavouring to make good +the ravages of time. As for the old west front, the coloured drawing of +Mr. Collins gives an excellent idea of its rich sculpturesque beauty. + +The Cathedral is isolated in the centre of an immense lawn, as it were. +This again can be kept private by the Close, the area of which extends +to half a mile square. Within its limits is a delightful mall shaded +with trees, as there are also the Bishop's Palace,--a building of +various dates, originated by Poore the founder,--the Deanery, and +several other houses. We have said elsewhere that the Cathedral Close of +Salisbury may be considered the best example of its kind in England, +though that at Wells is not far behind. The close was an enclosure, +within the precincts of the cathedral, reserved for the dwellings +originally intended for the exclusive domestic use of the Bishop and +canons. This, however, is not strictly observed now. + +Two or three delightful gateways of ancient character and beautiful +design give access to the Cathedral Close of Salisbury. Appended to the +Cathedral is the beautiful Chapter House, lighted by lofty windows. It +is octagonal in form, the roof of which is upheld by a central clustered +column. A frieze in bas-relief, carried round the interior of the +building, is ornamented with biblical subjects. At different times +numerous monuments, chiefly to the bishops of the See, have been +erected, notably those to Bishops Joceline and Roger. + +A monument to one of the children of the choir has a sad interest. It +was customary during the festival of St. Nicholas for one of the +choristers to personate the character of a bishop. In this case the +boy-bishop died while performing his role. + +The other interesting buildings of the town are the parish churches of +St. Martin, St. Thomas, and St. Edmond; the banqueting hall of J. Halle, +who was a wool merchant in 1470; Audley House, which also dates from the +fifteenth century, and which in 1881 underwent a thorough repair. It +serves now as the Church House of the Diocese. Elizabeth's Grammar +School, St. Nicholas Hospital, founded in Richard II.'s reign, and +Trinity House, established by Agnes Bottenham in 1379, are interesting +links of mediaevalism. + +In this period must also be included the Poultry Cross. It is a high +cross, hexagonal in form. Its space is well distributed by six arches +and a central pillar. Lord Montacute erected it just prior to the year +1335. + +The city's prosperity depended upon that of the church. In fact it was +laid out according to Bishop Poore's plan. The citizens deserted Old +Sarum to settle around the new ecclesiastical establishment at New +Sarum. In 1227, by a charter of Henry III., the city enjoyed the same +freedom and liberties as those of Winchester. The government of the city +became vested in a mayor, recorder, deputy-recorder, twenty-four +aldermen, and various other subordinate officers. The charter was +confirmed by successive sovereigns till the accession of Anne. + +Salisbury, or New Sarum, was first represented at Parliament in 1295. In +1885, by the Redistribution Act, its two representatives were reduced to +one. The city itself has also witnessed the assembly of Parliament +within its limits on various occasions. For being implicated in a +conspiracy for deposing Richard III. to raise Henry Tudor, Earl of +Richmond, to the throne, the Duke of Buckingham was in 1484 executed at +Salisbury. For a reward of L1000 the Duke was betrayed by a dependent +with whom he was in hiding in Shropshire. + +[Illustration: SALISBURY + +THE CATHEDRAL] + +During the Civil War the city was held alternately by both parties. +Since then the citizens have been left in comparative peace, intent on +their several industries. At one time they were actively engaged in the +preparation of woollen articles and in the manufacture of excellent +cutlery. These are now declined, and such commodities as boots and +shoes take the first rank, whilst the shops depend mainly on the +villages and agriculture around. The many places of antiquity in this +ancient city of the county of Wiltshire have furnished many interesting +palaeolithic relics for the reception of which the Blackmore Museum was +established. The library was instituted by Bishop Jewal, in 1560 to +1571. + +There have been many men of note from Salisbury. The celebrated poet and +essayist Addison, born near Amesbury in this county of Wiltshire, was +educated at the Grammar School for choristers within the Close. Amongst +the many eminent natives of the city are included William Hermann, +author of several works in prose and verse; George Coryate, who wrote +"The Crudities"; John Greenhill, a celebrated portrait painter; William +and Henry Lawes, both musicians and composers; and James Harris, author +of "Hermes." But the most conspicuous, or rather the best known, is +Henry Fawcett, the politician and economist. + +Born in 1833, he was the second son of a draper who, starting as an +assistant, became afterwards his own master. He was enabled to afford +his son Henry a good education at King's College and Peterhouse, +Cambridge, from which he migrated to Trinity Hall. He became Seventh +Wrangler and Fellow of his College. At the Cambridge Union, Fawcett +gained considerable notice for his oratory. His ambition conceived the +idea of attaining the highest honours in the kingdom through the +profession of a barrister. For this purpose he entered Lincoln's Inn, +but at the age of twenty-five a terrible accident happened to him. His +eyesight was lost by two stray pellets from the gun of his father. + +Though his plans of advancement were altered, he determined within ten +minutes of the catastrophe to continue his old pursuits of rowing, +fishing, skating, riding, and even playing at cards which were marked. +He became Liberal candidate for Brighton in 1865, and entered Parliament +just when Palmerston's career came to a close. He opposed Gladstone's +scheme for universal education in Ireland. He was an opponent to +Disraeli's Government. + +On the return of the Liberal Party to power Fawcett was offered the post +of Postmaster-General, though without a seat in the Cabinet. He +introduced five important postal reforms; namely, the parcels-post, +postal-orders, sixpenny telegrams, the banking of small savings by means +of stamps, and increased facilities for life insurance and annuities. +He also invented the little slot label, "next collection," on the +pillar-boxes. + +The employment of women he greatly advocated. The defeat of the scheme +for the deforestation of Epping Forest and the New Forest was entirely +due to the exertions of this great politician. + +After a marvellous career of many years Fawcett died in 1884. From +humble origin, and in spite of his blindness, if he did not realise his +full ambition, he reached to an exalted position in the State--an +achievement never accomplished by any one under like disability. + + + + +Exeter + + +In the great peninsula that runs out into the Atlantic is Devonshire, +adjoining Cornwall, that dwindles to the Land's End, the point eagerly +welcomed by visitors to England, the last of the Old Country to which a +farewell is given. Through the northern portion of Devonshire meanders +the river Exe, having established its source in Somersetshire. Quite ten +miles before the river empties its waters at the mouth into the English +Channel, on a broad ridge of land rising steeply from the left bank of +the Exe, is the old city of Exeter. It is the chief of the county, and +has had a varied existence. + +For the earliest period of Exeter, Geoffrey of Monmouth supplies much +information, which has been greatly borne out by subsequent researches. +He considered that Exeter was a city of the Britons some time before the +Romans elected to establish their camp. The British named it +indifferently Caer-Wisc (city of the water), or Caer Rydh (the red city), +from the coloured nature of the soil. When captured by the Romans they +made it a stipendiary town. They called it Isca, to which was added +Danmoniorum, to avoid confusion with the other Isca, a Latinised name +given also to a town on the river (now Usk) in Monmouthshire. Many +proofs of Roman occupation have turned up in the shape of numerous coins +and other relics. + +The year 1778 was especially notable for the excavations which brought +to light many important objects. Small statuettes of Mercury, Mars, +Ceres, and Apollo, evidently the household gods of the Romans, together +with urns, tiles, and tessellated pavements, were unearthed. Exeter at +one time went by the name of Augusta, which was due to its having been +occupied by the Second Augustan Legion, whose commander, Vespasian, +included the city under his conquest Britannia Prima. The same legion, +during the period 47 to 52, had also a permanent station at Isca +Silurum, as Caerleon-on-the-Usk in Monmouth was called. But as Vespasian +continued the conquest, 69 to 79, it seems fair to surmise that the +Second Legion of Augusta was advanced or a portion sent from Isca +Silurum to garrison Isca Danmoniorum, the present Exeter. + +For a considerable time it was the capital of the West Saxon kingdom. +It was probably during the Saxon occupation that the city changed its +name to Excestre, which would easily be contracted into that of Exeter. +In violation of a compact made with Alfred, who was a Saxon monarch, the +Danes seized the city. They were, however, compelled to evacuate it, +together with the surrender of all their prisoners within the West Saxon +territory, by Alfred, in 877. This monarch was again called upon in 894 +to relieve the Saxons from their Danish oppressors. The next century +witnessed a marked improvement in the prosperity of the city. It had +from quite an early period been distinguished for its numerous monastic +institutions, so much so that it was said to have been called "Monk +Town" by Britons in Cornwall and the heathen Saxons. They were pleased +to deride it thus, but when Athelstan came he clearly made them +understand that it was no happy state to be without the pale of the +Church. He so thoroughly instilled into them the necessity of imbibing +the principles of religion that those who were unwilling to become +converts were expelled. + +[Illustration: EXETER + +FROM THE PALACE GARDENS] + +With the exception of a few, we may take it that many embraced +Christianity as a matter of compulsion or for expediency's sake, for in +those days of hard knocks it was hardly likely that any mass of +ignorant peasants would comprehend anything but the most stringent +measures. The transition from heathen darkness to the light of +Christianity must have meant a severe initiation to two-thirds of the +population of Exeter at the time of Athelstan's accession. He came +westward about the year 926 and found the Britons and Saxons living +amicably and enjoying equal rights. The city had by them already been +called Exenceaster, that is, the "cester" or fortified town on the +"Exe." Athelstan augmented the number of religious institutions by the +foundation of a Benedictine monastery. The building was dedicated to St. +Peter, the establishment of which there seems no reason to doubt gave +birth eventually to the present cathedral. Besides this he materially +increased the importance of the town by appointing two mints and +erecting regular fortifications with towers and a wall of hewn stone. +Athelstan's monastery was destroyed by the Danes. King Edgar in 968 +restored it, and appointed Sydemann to the Abbacy, as it then became. +Ultimately this abbot was raised to the Bishopric of Crediton, which was +the seat of the Devonshire Diocese about 910. In 1003 Exeter, after a +gallant defence of some three months' duration, was betrayed by its +governor into the hands of Sweyn. As has been said elsewhere, this king +came from Denmark especially to punish Ethelred the Unready for having +allowed the massacre of Danes, in which the sister of Sweyn had +perished. The monastery of St. Peter was not spared, nor was the city, +which did not recover from the terrible visitation till the accession of +Canute. + +From this time Exeter increased to such importance and wealth that in +the reign of Edward the Confessor it was deemed advisable and for better +security to make it the head of the Diocese. + +For this purpose the Sees of Crediton and St. Germans (Cornwall) were +united under one bishop. To uphold worthily the new dignity, the abbey +church of St. Peter was erected into a cathedral by the Confessor, who +appointed his chaplain Leofric as first bishop of the united see. +Leofric had the monks removed to Westminster Abbey, and installed in +their stead were twenty-four secular canons. The date of Leofric's +installation is about 1040, which is, of course, that of the foundation +of the Cathedral. This arrangement was altered on the re-erection of the +Cornish See in 1876. + +In William the Conqueror's time Githa, the mother of Harold, gave the +Normans considerable trouble. It was only on the appearance of that +monarch before the city's walls that the citizens surrendered. They +were made to pay a heavy fine, whilst Githa escaped with her treasures +to take refuge in Flanders. William in the end relented and renewed all +their former privileges. Nevertheless he took the precaution to erect a +fortress in Exeter, the charge of which was entrusted to Baldwin de +Brioniis, who, by virtue of his office, became Earl of Devon and sheriff +of the county. The chief remains of the Castle is a gateway tower. + +This same castle was held by the partisans of the Empress Matilda for +three months, when it was compelled in 1136 through scarcity of water to +surrender to Stephen. Contrary to expectation, they were treated very +well. Henry II., for their loyalty, was pleased to grant additional +privileges. + +In 1200 the city for the first time was governed by a mayor and +corporation. Subsequently their importance was increased by the charters +of Edward III., Edward IV., and Henry VIII., whilst Henry VIII. +constituted Exeter a county of itself. These privileges were extended by +Charles I.; and in 1684 a new charter of incorporation was granted by +Charles II., but not put into effect. In 1770 George III. renewed and +confirmed the charter, since when the government has been invested in a +mayor assisted by subordinate officers. In the meantime a curious +incident occurred in 1824, which greatly interfered with the prosperity +of the city, inasmuch as the navigation of the river Exe was obstructed +by a dam erected by Hugh Courtenay, at that time Earl of Devon. + +Exeter, through its happy situation on the river Exe, had for many years +reaped full benefit. At the time of the Conquest it had gained +considerable importance through the river being navigable for ships +right up to its quays. Among many petty matters that annoyed the Earl +the following is alleged to have been the chief. There were three pots +of fish in the market-place. The Earl wanted them all. The Bishop +likewise. Neither would give way, and the Mayor was called in to +adjudicate. He allotted one to the Earl, the second to the Bishop, and +the third to the town. This distribution did not suit the Earl. Out of +pique he caused a dam to be constructed across the Exe at Topsham. There +he built a quay, and had the satisfaction of greatly curtailing the +trade of Exeter. + +[Illustration: EXETER + +MOL'S COFFEE TAVERN] + +In 1286 Edward I. assembled a parliament at Exeter, whilst in 1371 the +Black Prince brought here his royal prisoner of France and stayed +several days. The Duchess of Clarence, accompanied by many royal +adherents, took refuge within the city walls in 1469. It was besieged by +Sir William Courtenay, who eventually raised it on the mediation of the +clergy. + +The next event of importance not only affected Exeter, but threw into +agitation the whole of the British Empire. Of two impostors that laid +claim to the Crown which Henry VII. was wearing, the second was a youth +called Perkin Warbeck. He bore such a striking resemblance to the +Plantagenets that he had been secretly instructed to impersonate Richard +Duke of York, the younger brother of Edward V., who it was pretended had +escaped from the Tower and from the fate that overtook his brother. So +ingratiating was his manner that he successfully enlisted the aid of the +Duchess of Burgundy, who was holding her court at Brussels. His first +attempt to land in England was in Kent; his second in Ireland. Both +ventures being unsuccessful, he tried Scotland. There he convinced King +James IV. that he was a true Plantagenet, and through him he raised an +army and invaded England. However, the two kings having come to an +understanding, Warbeck retired to Ireland. He there received an +invitation from the Cornishmen, acting on which he landed at Whitsand +Bay in that county. + +At Bodmin he was joined by a considerable force of men, with whom he +marched and laid siege to Exeter in the year 1497. At the approach of +the royal forces his followers were dispersed, whilst he fled to +Beaulieu in Hampshire. Two years afterwards he ended his career at +Tyburn. + +In 1536 Exeter was erected a county of itself. The year 1549 saw the +investment of the city by a numerous body of popish adherents, from whom +it was relieved by John Lord Russell in August. On the very day of its +investment, the second of July, the strange spectacle of Welch being +hanged from the tower of his own church, in which he had been accustomed +to officiate as vicar, took place. He suffered on the charge of being a +Cornish rebel. During the parliamentary war it was taken and retaken, +finally to be surrendered to the Roundheads in 1646. Throughout it all +the citizens were warm supporters of the Stuarts, as they had always +been to the Crown. So much so was their loyalty that in a previous +reign, that of Elizabeth, she presented to the Corporation, with many +other marks of her royal favour, the motto "Semper Fidelis." During the +stay of the parliamentary troops under General Fairfax, the Cathedral +was ruthlessly defaced and divided into places of worship for +Presbyterians and Independents. The palace adjoining was also turned +into barracks, and the Chapter House converted into stables. During +these troubles Queen Henrietta Maria, the consort of Charles I., had +returned to Exeter from Oxford, believing herself to be in danger from +the hatred with which she feared she was regarded by the people. Here +she gave birth to her youngest child, the Princess Henrietta. Leaving +the infant at Exeter she escaped to France. + +In the Guildhall, which is a picturesque Elizabethan building, are two +full-length portraits: one depicts the features of General Monk, Duke of +Albemarle, painted by Sir Peter Lely; the other was given by Charles II. +to the Corporation as some slight acknowledgment of the city's loyalty. +It represents the portrait of his sister, Princess Henrietta, then +Duchess of Orleans. James II. was the next sovereign to bestow favour, +which he did by establishing a mint in 1688. His influence was +shortlived, for on the arrival of the Prince of Orange in the August of +the same year the inhabitants readily submitted. This prince is credited +with establishing a mint at Exeter, or it may be he simply completed or +confirmed that of his predecessor. The following year saw him on the +throne of the kingdom as William III., which ratified the declaration he +had caused to be read by Burnet in the Cathedral of Exeter. Though +visited by subsequent reigning princes, their presence may be said to +have conferred more honour than to have promoted any material changes to +the prosperity of Exeter. + +The mainstay of the city is the glorious Cathedral, and the quaintness +of some of its houses and streets is unique. They afford a great +attraction to visitors, who are willing to go a long railway journey +west simply to see and compare the merits and demerits of the Cathedral +with the many others dotted throughout Great Britain. + +The actual date of the Cathedral is in 1049. Its origin, as we have +seen, occasioned no turning of the soil to receive foundations, but +merely the conventual church of the monks, removed by Edward the +Confessor to his new abbey at Westminster, adapted to meet the +requirements of Bishop Leofric and his secular canons appointed to the +united Sees of Devon and Cornwall. The head of the Diocese was at +Exeter. What was the size and character of the converted monastic church +at that time no two authorities seem able to agree. According to an old +record at Oxford its lease soon ran out, for in the year 1112 a new +church was commenced by Bishop Warlewast, continued by his successors, +and finally completed by Bishop Marshall, who died in 1206. They are +supposed to have carried out the plan of Warlewast; but as the whole of +the fabric, with the exception of the towers, was entirely rebuilt in +1280, the original design is chiefly conjectural. The body of the church +probably corresponded in character with the two massive transeptal +towers. These are quite a feature in that, with the exception of those +at the collegiate church of Ottery in Devonshire, they exist nowhere +else in England. This arrangement of the towers did away with the +necessity of either a central tower or lantern. It enabled the architect +to extend a long unbroken roof throughout the nave and choir. The +aisles, with the intervention of richly clustered pillars and pointed +arches springing from their caps, range along on either side of the +nave. With the sets of ribs starting each from a clustered centre, and +spreading out as they soar towards the highest limit of the roof, as +grand an exposition of beauty and noble gradations of perspective lines, +as conceived by architects of the Decorative period, have been realised. +The period of this rebuilding was commenced in 1280 with the Early +English style of architecture by Bishop Quivil, and was completed in +1369 in the best years of the Decorated style, just a few years before +the Perpendicular came into vogue. It is said that this cathedral served +as a model for the church at Ottery. Though this cathedral in miniature +resembles the great edifice in Exeter in certain points, notably the +transeptal towers, yet, if the principal part of it dates from 1260, it +can hardly, with the one exception, have been a copy of the chief church +of the Diocese. The Early English work of Ottery church takes, by +comparison of dates, priority over that at Exeter by some twenty years. + +[Illustration: EXETER + +INTERIOR OF THE NAVE] + +The west front, which is one mass of elegant tracery and canopied niches +adorned with statuary, is the Decorated period merged into that of the +Perpendicular, covering the years from about 1369 to 1394, under the +episcopacy of Brantingham. The windows are excellent examples of elegant +tracing. Under successive bishops after Quivil, the chief alteration was +the lengthening of the nave and the roof vaulted by Grandison. The year +1420 really saw the completion of the building under Bishop Lacey. Time +and weather having caused certain decay, Sir G. G. Scott was directed in +1870 to restore it. The undertaking took seven years. A new stall, a +reredos, the choir repaved, rich marbles and porphyries used, and +stained glass put up mainly by Clayton and Bell, were the chief items of +restoration. When erecting the reredos Scott could never have foreseen +the little storm it gave rise to, just when he was half-way through with +the general renovation. Prebendary Philpotts, the Chancellor, and +several others had their conscientious objections, which they laid +before the Bishop's visitation court in 1873. It was ruled that the +Bishop had the jurisdiction in the matter. He ordered the removal of the +reredos in April 1874. In August of the same year Dean Boyd appealed to +the Court of Arches, and had the previous decision reversed by Sir R. +Phillimore. However, Prebendary Philpotts saw fit to appeal to the +Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. They decided that the reredos +should remain. Thus in 1875 was ended the controversy; and there rests +Sir G. G. Scott's design, open to the criticism of all who are capable +of framing an impartial one. + +In this same year of 1875 much excitement arose over the church-tax. It +was called indifferently "dominicals" and "sacrament money," which were +said to be of the nature of tithes. However, the disputes were ended by +the distraints for payment. + +In the Chapter House is preserved an important manuscript, including the +famous book of Saxon poetry presented by Leofric on his accession to the +See of Exeter. It is called the "Exeter Book," and is the life of St. +Guthlac, by Cynewulf, who was an early English writer. Born somewhere +between 720 and 730 at Northumbria, Cynewulf was a wandering bard by +profession. Late in life he suffered a religious crisis, and devoted his +remaining years to religious poetry. An early work of his is a series of +ninety-four Riddles. + +It is an example of the effects of Latin influence, which in the end +revolutionised the style of Old English literature as a whole. Cynewulf +appears to have been a prolific writer. Besides the Riddles, the "Crist" +(dealing with the three advents of Christ), the lives of St. Juliana and +St. Elene, and the "Fates of the Apostles" are ascribed to him, as well +as "The Descent into Hell," "Felix," and the lives of St. Andreas and +St. Guthlac. A valuable treasure is that in the possession of Exeter. +Many such precious relics are to be found distributed among the various +ecclesiastical buildings in England, known only to antiquarians and +people with interest akin to theirs. The quaint, picturesque old coffee +tavern, with its bow windows of square-leaded panes, ends curiously at +the top with a moulded outline so reminiscent of many houses in Belgium. + +The tombs are mostly to the memory of bishops who each in his own time +maintained the dignity of the See. Of those natives who came to the +front through sheer ability may be enumerated the following: Josephus +Iscanus, or Joseph of Exeter, a distinguished Latin poet of the twelfth +century; his contemporary, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury; John +Hooker, author of "A History of Exeter in the Sixteenth Century"; Sir +Thomas Bodley, who founded the magnificent Bodleian Library at Oxford; +Matthew Lock, a seventeenth-century musical composer of note; and many +others. + +Amongst many notable institutions is the Grammar School, which dates +from the reign of Henry VIII. + +The manufactures are few. The woollen trade, at one time only surpassed +by Leeds, has now entirely departed from Exeter. If it were not for its +glorious minster and the river Exe, up which vessels of three hundred +tons' burden can come up right to the city's quay, Exeter would have +long ago sunk to mere insignificance. + +The river, which decided the early Britons to settle on its banks, the +Romans to station the Second Legion of Augusta, the monks to establish +their humble monastery, eventually to be absorbed into a see, has from +the early times afforded facilities for exports and imports. The ship +canal from Exeter to Topsham, which is in the estuary of the Exe, begun +in 1564, enlarged in 1675 and again in 1827, materially assisted and +rescued commerce from a serious decline. Those vessels that are too deep +in the water remain at Topsham, whilst those of still greater tonnage +discharge their holds at Exmouth, a port at the mouth of the river. + + + + +Norwich + +Norwic. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +When this city first came into being it is puzzling to say. The +difficulty is as to where the site was originally fixed. Three miles to +the south of Norwich is the village of Caistor (St. Edmunds). Owing to +its position on the river Wentsum, or Wensum, it was called Caer Gwent by +the Britons, and for the like reason it was named by the Romans Venta +Icenorum. It formed their principal station, as it before had served as +the residence of the kings of the Iceni. From the ruins of Venta +Icenorum gradually arose Norwich. As to when it was firmly established +on its present eminence under the name of Nordewic, or North Town, there +seems to be no reliable evidence. It first appears by that name in the +Saxon Chronicle of the year 1004. It may possibly mean the town north of +the old settlement. For one thing it is certain, in proportion as +Nordewic rose Caistor sank from an important town to a mere village in +ruins. According to an authority, an earlier date is arrived at than the +entry in the Saxon Chronicle. He conjectures that the keep, the only +remnant of the castle built on the summit of the steep mound by William +Rufus, was the Saxon "burh," erected in 767. This, if correct, would +clearly indicate that Norwich had already attained considerable +importance. According to Spelman, it was the residence of the kings of +East Anglia. They established a mint, where it is supposed coins of +Alfred and several succeeding monarchs were struck. From its +geographical position Norwich was frequently exposed to the attacks of +the Norsemen, who could easily land on the Norfolk coast and cover the +few intervening miles in a short time. The city was alternately in the +possession of the Saxons and the Danes. Against the latter Alfred the +Great repaired and fortified the citadel, to whom, however, he +eventually handed it over after a treaty of peace. The Saxons afterwards +regained it and held it till 1004, when it had to surrender to the Danes +under their leader Sweyn. The terrible weak reign of Ethelred II. had +earned him the epithet of Unready. His indolence caused his territories +to be terrorised, the towns to be racked, and their inhabitants to be +massacred by the Danes under Sweyn, who, under pretext of avenging the +murder of his sister, took the opportunity of ravaging and laying waste +the land. On the accession of Canute, however, though a Dane, the cities +began to prosper again. Thus it came about that Norwich, which had +remained in a state of desolation till 1018, came again into Danish +possession, but under Canute. With this fresh beginning it rapidly rose +to great importance. By the time of the Norman Conquest, Norwich was +classed as second only to York in extent and prosperity, being described +in the "Doomsday Book" as having 1320 burgesses with their families, 25 +parish churches, and covering an area of not far short of 1000 acres. It +was bestowed by the Conqueror on Ralph de Guaer, or Guader, in 1075, who +rewarded his master's kindness by joining a conspiracy formed by the +Earls of Hereford and Northumberland against the Crown. After having +unsuccessfully defended the Castle, he retired into Brittany, leaving +his wife to sustain the siege. The city was very much damaged, and the +number of burgesses woefully reduced in numbers, some 560 only being +left on the capitulation to the Conqueror. In view of the gallant +defence by Guader's wife and garrison of Britons, William granted them +all the honours of war and permission to leave the kingdom in perfect +security. This siege was a great check to the advancement of the city. +At the same time the value of the property must have been considerably +lessened. This depreciation after the drawing up of the "Doomsday Book" +in 1086 could hardly have suited the views of the Conqueror. To obviate +the difficulty it would be necessary to introduce some new element, some +attraction that would bring added interest and fresh residents willing +to ply their industries in the town. The commencement of a new period of +prosperity was soon realised after the establishment of a see at +Norwich, though not until the time of William Rufus. One of his +followers from Normandy was Herbert de Lozinga, or Lorraine, who having +been made Bishop of East Anglia, decided to remove the See from Thetford +to Norwich. In addition to the Cathedral, he established an episcopal +palace and a monastery to maintain sixty monks, all in the year 1094. It +had the desired effect; the city rapidly improved, the number of +inhabitants greatly increased, and trade extended. In the reign of +Stephen it was rebuilt. In 1122 Henry I. granted Norwich the same +franchise as that enjoyed in London, incorporated in a charter. The +government of the city was at the same time separated from that of +the Castle, and entrusted to the chief magistrate, or Praepositus +(provost), as he was styled. Another factor in the city's welfare was +the colony of Flemish weavers who settled at Worstead, about thirteen +miles from Norwich. They introduced the manufacture of woollen stuffs. A +second colony, however, came in Edward III.'s time and settled right in +Norwich, when it was made a staple town for the counties of Norfolk and +Suffolk. + +[Illustration: NORWICH + +THE MARKET PLACE] + +The citizens, in the reign of John, suffered considerable loss from the +depredations of the Dauphin, who had been invited from France to assist +the barons. In 1272 a riot between the monks and the citizens caused the +burning of the priory. The terrible plague, called the black death, that +occurred between 1348 and 1349, destroyed two-thirds of the population. +The city no sooner was beginning to recover from this terrible +visitation than one of its residents, John Listher, a dyer by +profession, incited an insurrection called the Norfolk Levellers. They +managed in 1381 to do much damage before the rebellion was quelled by +the Bishop of Norwich, who defeated Listher and had him executed. From +Henry IV. the citizens received permission to be governed by a mayor and +sheriffs in 1403, and Norwich was made a county of itself. But in spite +of it all the city severely suffered: what with the continued dissension +between the monks and the citizens, when the monastic buildings were +burnt down, and the tumults by tradesmen all too ready to lay aside +their tools and follow some hare-brained leader with a grievance, and +later on, after the peaceful period of Elizabeth, the Civil War. The +most notable insurrection was that conducted under the reign of Edward +VI. by a tanner, Robert Kett, and his brother William. Under the +pretence of resisting the "enclosure of waste lands," they contrived to +excite a most formidable rising. They seized upon the palace of the Earl +of Surrey, and, converting it into a prison, confined many of the +aristocracy. They then encamped upon Mouse-hold Heath, where eventually +they were routed by the army under the Earl of Warwick in 1549. The two +brothers were taken prisoners, Robert being hanged on Norwich Castle, +and William suffering a like penalty on the steeple of Wymondham church, +the parish from which they had both come. During the reign of Elizabeth +a large body of Dutch and Walloons settled in Norwich, and introduced +among many other articles the manufacture of bombazine, for which the +city soon became noted. These refugees were Protestants, who had sought +an asylum in England to escape the persecution of the Duke of Alva, and +though many Roman Catholics and even some of the Protestants were +unwilling martyrs to the stake at Norwich during this same reign of +Elizabeth, the city no doubt appeared to these exiles to offer a better +chance of life than that in the Netherlands. By the year 1582 their +numbers had increased to five thousand. The Queen, who had encouraged +and protected these emigrants, thus laid the foundation of the +commercial and manufacturing prosperity of the town, as she had done +elsewhere, and on her visit to Norwich was sumptuously feted. But the +Civil War in Charles I.'s reign did much to upset trade in Norwich. It +was held by the Parliamentarians, who seem to have got out of control. +The Cathedral was barbarously defaced, all its plate and ornaments +looted, and the Bishop's Palace greatly damaged. The Castle, on the +other hand, was strongly fortified for Cromwell. After the Restoration, +Norwich was one of the first to swear allegiance to Charles II., who +with his consort paid it a visit. He went away richer than he came, the +city having assigned its fee-farm to him, with the presentation of L1000 +sterling besides. Since then the citizens have been content to lead a +quiet life, and carry on such manufactures as ironworks, mustard, +starch, and brewing of ale, though the textile manufacture, once +important, has now declined. Printing, which was introduced here in +1570, but discontinued for several years, was revived in 1701, when +newspapers began to be printed and circulated. Though, as we have seen, +the monks and citizens often did not agree, yet we must not forget that +it was mainly owing to the establishment of the See that prosperity came +to Norwich. The presence of the Cathedral immediately rescued the city +from oblivion, and, more, it raised it above the commonplace. All credit +must be awarded to Herbert de Lozinga. For some reason or other he was +dissatisfied with Thetford, which was then the seat of the Diocese, and +determined to transfer it elsewhere. For this purpose in 1094 he +purchased a large plot of ground near the Castle and soon commenced the +building of a magnificent cathedral. It was purely Norman. Though it has +undergone many alterations, additions, and restorations, Lozinga's plan +is still in great evidence, much more so than many other examples of +Norman work in England. With the establishment of a Benedictine +monastery, Lozinga brought his work to a close, and dedicated it to Holy +Trinity in 1101. As presented to us now, it is a spacious cruciform +structure, with a highly finished and ornamental Norman tower rising +from the centre. This again is surmounted by an elegant octagonal spire +of the Later Decorated style, and crocketed at the angles. The spire is +315 feet, and its height is exceeded in England only by that at +Salisbury. The west front is of Norman character, with a central +entrance, over which was placed a large window in the Later English +style. The nave, remarkable for its elaborate 328 bosses, was +stone-vaulted in the fifteenth century. The vaulting of the transepts +and the chantry of Bishop Nix dates from the sixteenth century. The +choir is richly ornamented with excellent design in tracery work of the +Later English style, whilst the east end has several circular chapels. +The Lady Chapel, which was early English, was unfortunately demolished +about 1580. The cloisters are very fine. They are 12 feet wide, and +cover an area of 175 square feet, with 45 windows inserted. They were +commenced in 1297 and completed in 1430. Though mainly composed of the +Decorated period, they range in character from the early years of that +style down to the Later English style. The Cathedral, in common with the +city, suffered severely. At one time it was very much destroyed by fire. +The dome was repaired soon after by John of Oxford, who was the fourth +bishop. + +[Illustration: NORWICH + +THE AETHELBERT GATE] + +Besides this it received repeated assaults arising from the numerous +disagreements between the monks and the citizens. It is always +marvellous to think how such great works of art have come down to the +present day exhibiting, in spite of fires, Commonwealth defacements, +repairs and alterations, so much evidence of the skill of those great +masters of mediaeval architecture. The Chapter House, usually a great +feature of the cathedral, is missing at Norwich, though it once existed. +There are two monumental effigies, one to Bishop Goldwell about 1499, +and the other to Bishop Bathurst in 1837, the work of Chantrey. Of the +mural monuments there is one to Sir William Boleyn. He was the +great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth. His remains were interred on the +south side of the Presbytery, in the midst of which once stood the tomb +of Herbert de Lozinga, the founder. "Best viewed from the east," wrote +George Borrow in "The Lavengro" in a description of Norwich Cathedral. +Perhaps the advice of this extraordinary man is the best one to follow. +Born at East Dereham, Norfolk, in 1803, of Cornish descent, educated at +Norwich Grammar School, which he supplemented with the study of some +twenty languages, he passed an adventurous and varied career from +running away from Norwich to be a footpad to travelling partly with +gypsies over Europe and Asia, the latter part being supposed to account +for his disappearance--the veiled period he called it, lasting from 1826 +to 1833. In subsequent years he found time between his restless +wanderings to write "The Gypsies in Spain" (1841), "The Bible in Spain" +(1843), the much delayed auto-biography, appearing in 1851, and "The +Romany Rye" in 1857. After another long disappearance, when it was +believed he was dead, he came to life again by publishing his "Romano +Lavo-Lil" (Gypsy Word-Book) in 1874. From this year till his death in +1881 the famous philologist, traveller, and author spent most of his +time in lodgings in Norwich, where he became a familiar figure. The +lives of many men can lay a better claim to be recognised by Norwich +than Borrow, through virtue of their birthright. In the fourteenth +century William Bateman, one time Bishop of Norwich, founded the great +college of Trinity Hall at Cambridge. His great example was followed by +another native of Norwich, Dr. Kaye or Caius, who established the +beautiful college of Gonville and Caius at the same university. Matthew +Parker, second Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, as chaplain attended +Queen Anne Boleyn to the scaffold; Robert Green became a popular writer +in the reign of Elizabeth. In 1734 Edward King was born here. He gained +much recognition as author of a work on ancient architecture entitled +"Munimenta Antiqua," and for his many antiquarian researches was +admitted Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. The Reverend William +Beloe acquired a reputation by his translation of Herodotus, though +possibly only known to classical scholars. The Linnaean Society owes its +inception to Sir James Edward Smith, M. D., whose first president he +became. This distinguished native of Norwich was also the author of the +"Flora Britannica." + +The beautiful gate of Erpingham, which was erected in 1420 and faces the +west end of the Cathedral, recalls the munificence of Sir Thomas +Erpingham, by whom it was built. He greatly distinguished himself at the +battle of Agincourt, and was eventually interred in the Cathedral of +Norwich, the town of his residence, though not of his birth. Another +resident was Sir John Fastof, who lived fighting as a renowned warrior +for Henry IV., V., and VI. in their wars in France. + +[Illustration: NORWICH + +FROM THE NORTHEAST] + +From the old Grammar School came, besides Borrow, Sir Edward Coke, who +was born in Norfolk. When only forty years of age he became +Attorney-General, and lived in the reign of Elizabeth, always at +strife with his dangerous and brilliant legal rival, Francis Bacon. +Coke, by his opposition to the royal prerogative of raising money on the +validity of the Court of High Commission, and in taking a considerable +share in the drawing up of the Petition of Right, and in the debates +upon the conduct of Buckingham, earned the dislike of James I. Though +treading on dangerous ground, Coke nevertheless received active +employment, and appears to have got on quite well in spite of royal +displeasure. + +Two other scholars were Brooke and Lord Nelson. Brooke entered the East +India Company's army in 1819 at the age of sixteen. In his remarkable +career he assisted the Sultan of Brunti to reduce the marauding Dyak +tribes of Sarawak, and with such success that the Sultan created him +rajah of the province of Sarawak in 1841. + +A famous school of landscape painting was that at Norwich. It flourished +in the first part of the nineteenth century, the principal artists of +which were Crome,--who by the way was a native of Norwich,--Cotman, +Vincent, and Stark. + +Of recent years the Cathedral has undergone extensive restoration, +namely, in 1892 and 1900. + +Before closing this account we think it would be of interest to outline +the causes that embittered the existence of the Jews and led to their +persecution through the disappearance of a Christian boy in 1144 from +Norwich. + +We have had occasion, under Lincoln, to mention the attitude adopted by +the citizens towards the Jews. If anything, the feeling was more intense +at Norwich. It is uncertain when they first resided in England, though +it is supposed they visited before the Conquest for purposes of the +slave trade, of which they held a monopoly. The position of the Jews in +a Christian State entirely depended upon the attitude of the Church, +whose stringent measures effectually precluded any Semitic from the +exercise of any public office unless the reception was confirmed by +oaths of a Christian character. As this clause was foreign to the tenets +of the Hebrew religion, and as the Church regarded the means of loans +lent out on interest as prohibited by the Gospel, and as a disreputable +calling and unworthy of a Christian, usury became the only means of +subsistence to the Jew in England. They were not affected by the views +of the Church, and soon made themselves felt. As, however, capital was +needed for the building of monasteries, abbeys, and cathedrals by the +Church, and the kings of England, especially John and Henry III., found +it convenient to extort tallage, the Jews were tolerated. The rate of +interest demanded for what was in the first place a trifling loan in a +few years increased to a formidable debt. The means adopted by the +Christian Church and kings of the middle ages to free themselves from +this bondage in no way reflect any honour. The custom appears to have +been for the king to seize the whole of the estate, both treasure and +debts, of the Jew on his demise, though there may have been sons to +inherit. Another was to burn the proofs of indebtedness after having +slain the creditors, as the attack against the Jews organised by a set +of nobles, who were deep in their debt, is recorded to have taken place +at York. For the Jew being a usurer, the estate fell into the hands of +the King, who might be influenced to cancel the debt for a much smaller +amount. We cannot then wonder that the lower classes followed in the +steps of their superiors. But above all, in the twelfth century the +Church encouraged the circulation of a suspicion that the Jews +sacrificed Christian children in their Passover. However, the suspicion +or "blood accusation," as it was called, first took root with a case in +which a boy of the name of William disappeared at Norwich. This terrible +accusation against the Jews has since been proved to have been founded +on the shallowest pretexts, but at the time the myth was nevertheless +encouraged by the clergy, since it attracted vast numbers of pilgrims to +any cathedral or church which might contain the martyred remains of +these boy-saints. The example of Norwich was followed in the same +century by one at Gloucester and Edmondsbury, whilst in the following +century the supposed martyrdom of Hugh of Lincoln served only to +increase and confirm the popular belief. Hence the intense ill-feeling +between the Christian and the Jew. + + + + +London + +St. Paul's. + +Si quaeris monumentum, circumspice. + + +No epitaph more noble and impressive can have possibly been conceived +than the simple Latin inscription placed upon the modest tomb of +Christopher Wren: "If ye seek my monument, look around." When building +this magnificent structure, the great architect was preparing a glorious +sepulchre to receive his remains. Some thirty-five years it took Wren to +realise this great achievement--an achievement the more astounding when +we learn that he was actively engaged throughout the whole time in the +planning and personal superintendence of some thirty churches in London, +no two of which are alike. Daily he walked around jotting down a sketch +of the next detail to be worked upon, deciding, as the work progressed, +and maturing his plans, throwing out one day a course, another day +realising an idea that had just occurred to him. Thus the fabric rose +higher day by day, month by month, year by year. He adhered to no +carefully prepared plans; he entrusted nothing to his subordinates; he +hugged the entire responsibility. They did not know what phase of work +the morrow would bring. On the day each workman would receive a rough +section and plan jotted down on the spot, accompanied with verbal +instructions. If, even when finished according to his directions, Wren +was dissatisfied with this gem of his brain, down it had to come, to be +substituted by some other improved idea. Of course Wren had in the first +place to submit plans for the proposed cathedral. It is not likely that +any committee would engage in anything so important blindfolded. But +these plans only formed the shell on which to peg any new suggestions +that might crop up in the progress of the work, very much after the +fashion of a plastic sketch submitted by the sculptor to a committee, +who look wise and generally make foolish comments. The sketch is merely +an indication of what is to come after, and is intended as some +guarantee. Without this no conscientious committee would commit +themselves to any agreement. They control the expenditure of the public +subscriptions. If the finished work does not come up to the promised +standard of excellence, the committee can fall back upon the sketch and +get exonerated of all culpable blame. The artist gets the abuse for the +failure or departure from the original. When such necessarily rough +sketches are faithfully carried out, they often are failures; for what +look well in a rough sketch often become serious blemishes in the +completed work. The true artist is never satisfied--that is, that +extraordinary being who has a greater love for art than for mere +coin--and will alter and improve upon his original design at every +suggestion (and they crowd thick upon him) that makes itself manifest, +with a total disregard to his own pocket and that punctuality so +essential to the successful city man. He has got his ideal, and he is +determined to reach it if he has to go through a brick wall. + +Very much in the same way, we may be sure, Wren was actuated. His pay +was no inducement. He received only L200 a year throughout the whole +time of building, and then at one time a certain portion of this +miserable pittance was withheld by order of Parliament, because his +detractors accused him of delaying the final completion of the work from +corrupt motives. Wren's clerk of the works, by name Nicholas Hawksmoor, +who afterwards became famous as the builder of several London churches, +was paid only twenty pence a day. Tijou, his ironworker, and Grinling +Gibbons, the famous carver in wood, were all actuated by the same ideal +when they helped to give expression to their master's genius. However, +in one or two particulars, which will be mentioned later on, Wren's +superior judgment was overruled by his committee. Much to his intense +and lasting mortification they carried the day and stamped themselves as +incompetent judges. This process of realisation, this seeking after an +ideal, sometimes led Wren into strange architectural difficulties, only +to be overcome in a masterly way. By discovering these little +inconsistencies, the architect's skilfulness in taking advantage of +accidents, in turning what appeared an irremediable blunder into a great +success, shows what a complete understanding he had in that great branch +of art--architecture--and endorses more than ever the great position he +will always be accorded. + +An example will serve to illustrate his ingenuity. + +How many people, when climbing up the stairs that lead to the whispering +gallery and elsewhere, have ever noticed any peculiarity about them? Yet +there is one. When first they were being built each step was meant to be +of the same height, but as they mounted higher, Wren suddenly discovered +that the top one would be an ugly tall one to ascend. To avoid this +meant one of two things, either to demolish what had already been +completed and start afresh, or to turn this accident to good account. +The latter alternative was chosen. By gradually reducing the height of +the remaining steps, he contrived to overcome the difficulty so +successfully that he has tricked the eye and foot, so slight is the +difference of each tread. They appear to be equidistant as the ones +lower down, and the illusion can only be dispelled by measurement. + +If any one is observant on reaching the top of Ludgate Hill, one +peculiarity of the great building will strike him. It is that the great +west facade does not squarely face Ludgate Hill, but bears considerably +to the right. In fact its axis does not run due east and west. + +On the advancement of Wren to be principal architect, he was not only +commissioned to erect the Cathedral, but was to rebuild the city. His +scheme was very thorough. It comprised the widening of the streets; the +complete insulation of all important churches; the public buildings were +to have good frontages; and the halls of the City Guilds were to form a +quadrangle around the Guildhall. To carry these improvements into +effect, Government issued orders that none except Wren's rebuilding +would be recognised. Unfortunately much valuable time was wasted in an +attempt at the restoration of the old cathedral, insisted upon by the +committee, against Wren's wishes, and it was only when a portion of the +nave fell down that Dean Sancroft was able to obtain the consent of the +committee to raze the old walls to the ground and to allow Wren to build +from the very foundations. The delay of this decision had in the +meanwhile given opportunity to individuals to erect buildings much as +they pleased upon their own properties in spite of Government +prohibition, with the result that to a great extent streets and +boundaries, which existed before the Great Fire, were reproduced. It +also caused the loss of a far more spacious frontage than now exists, +which we may be sure formed an important item in Wren's design for the +Cathedral. The architect, however, by receding the west front from the +old site now occupied by the statue of Queen Ann, has cleverly spaced +out a noble frontage. Another consideration that determined Wren to +alter the axis of the Cathedral was his great aversion to utilising the +old foundations. His great ambition was to strike out for himself and to +be dependent on no one else's work. In order to realise this he laid the +axis of the new work to a point farther north of that of the old +cathedral, and the plan by this projection has in a marvellous way +covered practically the same ground, whilst at the same time Wren +managed to secure fresh ground for his foundations almost throughout the +whole church. The plan of St. Paul's is a Latin cross, and is based upon +classical lines. The principal front, the west, is composed of a double +portico of Corinthian fluted pillars, with two flights of steps leading +down to the road-level. In fact the entire body of the ground floor is +above the elevation of the street. Overhead is a large pediment, with +its panel sculptured in high relief. On either side the west front is +flanked by a campanile tower, composed at the summit of grouped circular +pillars. Just inside, on the left, is the Morning Chapel, whilst +straight on the opposite side lies the Chapel of the Order of St. +Michael and St. George. Proceeding eastwards, the nave is flanked by +three massive and imposing arches. Then comes the dome or cupola, rising +to a height of 365 feet, or 404 feet to the top of the cross. Viewed +from the interior the inner dome is 225 feet, and rests at the +intersection of the cross. The transepts are carried one arch to the +north and one to the south, each of which are bound by semi-circular +rows of Corinthian pillars. + +Continuing again towards the east, a couple of steps mark the +commencement of the choir leading from the dome, and is carried forward +by three arches on either side. Behind the altar the colossal building +terminates in the apsidal Chapel of Jesus. Throughout the entire length +and breadth of the building is the crypt below. There under the choir, +the nearest to the south wall in the crypt chapel, is the modest slab +that covers the remains of the great architect of the grand edifice. +Next to him lies the body of Lord Leighton, the greatest president the +Royal Academy has ever had. Just in the one corner are buried some of +the most eminent of England's painters, sculptors, and musicians. Those +more generally known are Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the +Royal Academy; Benjamin West, who succeeded him in office; Sir Thomas +Lawrence, who next filled it, and Sir John Millais, who held the dignity +only a few months after Leighton's death. The remains of J. M. W. +Turner, James Barry, John Foley, Sir Edwin Landseer, and Sir Arthur +Sullivan, musician, who are also some of the many great builders of art, +have all been accorded a little plot of ground close to their very great +brother-artist and predecessor, Sir Christopher Wren. In the centre of +the crypt, or rather right underneath the dome, is a noble mausoleum +containing the body of England's greatest admiral, Viscount Horatio +Nelson, whilst just close to him between the crypt chapel and the dome +is the massive sarcophagus of granite, encased in which is the body of +the Duke of Wellington. The monument of this hero of Waterloo is the +chief feature of the plastic art that attracts the visitor on looking up +the nave. It is the great artistic expression of Stevens, the sculptor, +and dwarfs all other monuments in its immediate neighbourhood. We would +like to enumerate the names of all the great men that lie in the mighty +shadow of St. Paul's, and pay some tribute to the many artists who have, +through their monuments, endeavoured their best to honour the memories +of those who have so worthily upheld the traditions of the great empire; +but any such attempt we feel we must relinquish, and devote all the +space we can to Wren's work and to that of his predecessors. + +The wonderful wood-carving of the choir stall, and especially the +remarkable realistic floral designs of the Bishop's throne, were +executed by Grinling Gibbons, who lived between 1648 and 1720. He was +born at Rotterdam, and as a youth came over to England, and was +discovered by Evelyn, the diarist. So astonished was Evelyn by the +genius of Gibbons, who had just carved in wood a copy of Tintoretto's +"Crucifixion," that he introduced him to Wren, Pepys, and the King. With +such powerful friends and his marvellous talent he soon became the most +famous carver of his age. In viewing the great edifice one cannot help +thinking from whence came the money which enabled Wren to carry on the +work. With the exception of the Tillingham farm there were no +endowments, and people were, after the fire, far from being generous +donors. As funds were absolutely necessary, royal warrants were issued +to authorise the building committee to borrow on the security of the +coal and wine taxes. As the remuneration of Wren, Grinling Gibbons, and +Tijou was nothing to speak of, we may take it that practically the whole +of the proceeds was sunk in the materials and the workmen's wages. + +Throughout the whole time of building Wren was harassed by petty +annoyances on the part of the committee, who interfered in small matters +of technical and artistic knowledge which lay quite beyond their +province. Against the architect's will they insisted upon the erection +of the heavy iron railings which fence in the Cathedral and mar the +beautiful gradations of lines from the lowest step of the transept +entrances to the summit of the dome's cross. This only serves as one of +many such instances. Finally, Wren's persecutors went so far as to +suspend his patent in the year 1718, being the forty-ninth of his +office and the eighty-sixth of his age, and William Benson was appointed +to succeed him. + +This abrupt dismissal entirely upset any plan of internal decoration +which Wren might have been thinking of, though it is supposed he had +proposed to enrich and beautify St. Paul's with a scheme of colour +composed of marble and mosaic work with gold and paintings. With the +exception of the frescoes in the dome by Sir James Thornhill, nothing of +importance was done for fifty years after Wren's death. A proposal to +contribute a number of paintings from Sir Joshua Reynolds and the +members of the Royal Academy was negatived by Dr. Terrick, who was +Bishop of London at that time. In 1891 W. B. Richmond, A.R.A., was +commissioned to decorate the choir and the dome with mosaic work, it +being considered the most suitable material on account of the brilliancy +of its surface, and the easiest to clean without risk of injury to the +work. Sir William Richmond, K.C.B. (as he has since been created), +decided to depart from modern methods in favour of the ancient way of +embedding in cement cubes, so chosen and disposed to suit the various +shades of his subjects. They represent various incidents taken from the +Bible, treated most skilfully, as one would naturally expect from such +a talented artist. + +The difficulties of such an undertaking, restricted within certain +limits as it must be by the nature of the material, together with the +many attendant side-issues of which the outside public have not the +faintest idea, can only be known to the artist himself, and perhaps to +some of his _confreres_. + +In course of erection is the gilt iron balustrade upon the cornice that +runs round the church in continuation of that commenced by Wren at the +west end. This is the gift of Mr. Somers Clarke. He has also designed +the fittings for the installation of the electric light, which is the +generous presentation of Mr. Pierpont Morgan. + +In conclusion, we cannot help recalling the incident that cheered the +closing years of Wren. Once every year the aged artist came from his +retirement at Hampton Court to London, to spend the day seated beneath +the great dome, happy to view the creation of his great intellect, +though possibly disturbed now and then by a little grain of discontent: +how much better he could do it now, if only he had youth and +opportunity--a worry that only assails the true artist. + +In the natural sequence of dates we ought to have opened this account +with the earlier foundations. This we purposely disregarded, and +introduced the reader straightway to the most beautiful and impressive +building of St. Paul's that the site has ever had, leaving the others to +be dealt with until now. + +The earliest known house for religious observance on the site of the +present cathedral was a temple. In accordance with the usual practice of +early founders, it is not surprising to find that the site selected for +it was upon the highest spot of ground in the city. If we follow the +accounts of old London, it would have been folly for the Romans to have +erected an important building like a temple upon a lower level, which +might have got swamped by an unusual rising of the tidal Thames. Apart +from such consideration, it was not the Roman custom to debase, but +rather to elevate as high as possible, any object they held in great +reverence. It would form also a convenient centre to rally round in +defence of any attack. In all accounts of the site of St. Paul's the +writers have plenty to say about the three churches, but seldom, if +ever, allude to the temple erected by the Romans. + +This is the more curious when etymologists have endeavoured to explain +the affinity of Christian symbols to those of heathenism, showing how it +was clearly impossible, and hardly to be expected, that pagan customs +should be suddenly arrested and completely abolished, and an entire set +of new observances introduced expressly for the new faith--Christianity. +Such a sudden change could not, they contend, be thrust upon a people +brought up to revere the old heathen deities and observe customs +rendered sacred through superstition and countless ages. They required a +gradual weaning, and this, so they say, was done by christianising the +pagan symbols derived from nature-worship and adapting them to meet the +requirements of the new faith,--symbols which, in course of time, became +so clothed that their original significance was lost sight of. + +It would greatly astonish all devout Christians to learn that the many +objects they look up to with sacred awe and wonder of mystery, the +inverted triangles which often form an ornament in church windows, the +facing towards the east, even the derivation of the very nave they may +happen to be in, with a variety of other symbols, existed long before +Christianity was ever thought of. It may also be a little disturbing to +learn that, quite unintentionally, they are indirectly paying respect to +many of the most heathen observances cloaked under the garb of Christian +religion. It is far from our intention to advocate a return to pagan +darkness, but if this be really true, surely there is a very close +connection between the temple and the Christian church. For this very +reason, and the more so in that certain lines of their argument are not +to be refuted, we would accord a greater importance than has been +hitherto done to the Roman temple that undoubtedly first stood on the +prominent piece of land in the London of those days. We do not mean to +say that at the time this temple was erected to Diana the sufferings and +crucifixion of Our Lord had not already borne fruit, but the very +existence of the temple clearly indicates that in London, at any rate, +the new faith was very much in its infancy, if it existed at all. But +the demolition of the temple, to make room for the first Christian +church, which was in turn destroyed in 302 during the Diocletian +persecution, clearly gives evidence that there must have been growing +indications of the presence of converts and missionaries which led to +the erection of the latter from the ruins of the former. + +A matter of twenty years later, in the reign of Constantine, the church +was rebuilt, and completed by 337. What the shape of the first one was +can only be conjectured. It would most probably be based upon the +temple. The second was undoubtedly Romanesque, if we can rely upon the +dates of its rebuilding. They fall conveniently between 306 and 337, a +period of marvellous development of ecclesiastical architecture based +upon classical remains, which the favourable attitude of Constantine +towards Christianity encouraged. Converts in Rome had increased to such +numbers that it was felt that some covered-in space was essential to +protect the congregation against the sun's hot rays and inclement +weather, the more especially as such a building, far from attracting +hostile attention, would serve to the furtherance of Christianity. The +form it took was the conversion of the basilica. As anything that came +from Rome was looked upon as a correct thing to copy, it is not +surprising to learn that travelling merchants and missionaries were able +to control the taste of the cities they passed through. In this way each +country adopted the basilica, though in many features they differed from +each other, consequent on customs, surroundings, and climatic +conditions. However, about the year 597, the pagan Saxons appear to have +destroyed the church. We come then to the first church of St. Paul's of +which we have authentic record. It was built by Ethelbert, King of Kent, +in 607. He had first to obtain the sanction of Sebert, who claimed +London as being in his dominion of the East Angles. To this see +Mellitus was appointed as the first bishop. He was one of the forty +monks who had accompanied Augustine in 597 to help to carry out Pope +Gregory the Great's scheme, which was to divide England into two +provinces with metropolitans of equal dignity at London and York, with +twelve suffragans to each. Since then London's see has become third, +ranking next to York. In the course of four hundred and eighty years, +607-1087, no doubt Ethelbert's church underwent considerable alteration, +probably commencing with a very humble building, perhaps chiefly of +wood, and as portions got out of repair such characteristics of stone +buildings, as learnt from travellers returning from Italy, were +introduced, thus gradually transforming the Saxon church to architecture +"in the Roman way." For after the departure of the Romans the Britons at +first appear to have returned to primitive methods of architecture. It +is only as time progressed that they gradually became initiated, through +the visits of travellers, into the working of stone, which, after the +arrival of the Normans, came into more general practice. + +[Illustration: LONDON + +ST. PAUL'S AND LUDGATE HILL] + +To provide for the maintenance of St. Paul's, Ethelbert endowed it with +a farm at Tillingham in Essex. The property is still managed, the rents +of which are controlled by the Dean and Chapter. + +The chief event which took place within its walls was the first great +Ecclesiastical Council of the English Church under the presidency of +Archbishop Lanfranc. Twelve years afterwards, in 1087, a great +conflagration completely destroyed the church. No time was lost, for +apparently in the same year building operations were put in hand for +what many writers call Old St. Paul's, the second church. By this time +we may take it that architecture in England had advanced considerably, +and if anything it was a rather fortunate accident that overtook +Ethelbert's building. The nation had by now realised that 1000 A.D. was +the dreaded millennium of the past; they recognised they had a stern +master in William the Conqueror, who, though he might be harsh upon +them, would allow no one else to be so. For some years prior to the +millennium few buildings of any importance were erected, so thoroughly +had the mind been terrorised at the prospect of the world coming to an +end, and even after it had proved false, the reaction does not seem to +have taken place till the accession of the Norman. When it did occur, we +see by examples now extant what a great advance architecture had made, +or rather, the knowledge of stone-work had become more general. This +can only be attributed to the monks and stonemasons who followed in the +wake of the Conquest. The plan of the Norman church of St. Paul's was +the Latin cross. The body of it appears to have been narrower and +considerably longer than Wren's cathedral. In fact we are much indebted +to the numerous discoveries of Mr. Penrose, and we learn that the west +front came right to the fore of Queen Anne's statue, which then did not +exist. Another great difference was that the axis of Old St. Paul's, as +one faces the west front, was more to the left of the statue, whereas +that of the present building runs right through the centre of it. At the +outset the Cathedral consisted of a nave of twelve bays, transepts, and +a short apsidal choir built in the round arched style peculiar to Norman +architecture. The whole then stood within spacious precincts enclosed by +a continuous wall. In the wall were six gates. The principal one opened +in the west on to Ludgate Hill, whilst the second, at St. Paul's Alley, +led to "Little North Dore"; the third, at Canon's Alley, showed the way +to the north transept door; the fourth was called Little Gate, and led +from Cheapside to Paul's Cross (where now stands a fountain); the fifth, +St. Augustine's Gate, faced Watling Street; and the sixth was the +entrance from the side of the river to the south transept. A matter of +130 years later, it was decided to extend eastwards from the choir and +introduce the newly developed style, which was the use of the pointed +arch. The new work, consisting of eight bays, was carried out, but it +caused the demolition of the old parish church of St. Faith, which lay +right in the course. As some compensation the parishioners were allowed +to use a portion of the crypt under the new choir as their parish +church. After the Great Fire much controversy arose. The parishioners of +St. Faith's claimed their right to bury their dead in the whole space +beneath the choir of Wren's cathedral. This the Chapter disallowing, a +lawsuit ensued, which resulted in a compromise, the parishioners being +satisfied with rights of burial in the north aisle of the crypt. The +"new work" was solemnly dedicated in 1240. In the meantime a spire, 489 +feet in height, was put in hand and was finally completed in 1315. The +spire of Old St. Paul's proved to be a great source of anxiety. It was +struck by lightning three times, and eventually was completely destroyed +by fire, from a fourth lightning in the reign of Elizabeth, in 1561. It +was never put up again. Right in the angle of the south transept and +the nave existed a fair-sized Chapter House, which appears to have had +cloisters, the remains of which can still be seen in the gardens on the +south side of the nave, whilst on the north side of the choir the +position of Paul's Cross is defined by the insertion of stones let into +the ground. Paul's Cross, which by order of Parliament was demolished in +1643, was a pulpit of wood, mounted upon steps of stone, and covered +with lead. At this place, the Court, the Mayor, the Aldermen, and the +chief citizens used to assemble to listen to sermons from the most +eminent divines, who were appointed to preach every Sunday in the +forenoon. It was used as early as 1259, and not only were sermons +delivered from it, but also political and ecclesiastical discourses were +held. + +Old St. Paul's, by the time of Charles I., got into such a terrible +state of dilapidation that steps were taken to put it into thorough +repair. A fund was established and the work was intrusted to Inigo +Jones. He got as far as the refacing of the Cathedral inside and out, +and the adding of a classical portico, when his labours were interrupted +by the Commonwealth. The famous architect died before the Restoration. +In the meantime Cromwell's troops did considerable damage, what with +stabling their horses within the sacred edifice and employing their +leisure time in defacing the building. They removed and sold the +scaffolding, which Inigo Jones had set up for the purpose of restoring +the vaulting, and in consequence much of the roof-work fell down. At the +Restoration, Dr. Wren, as he was then called, was appointed +Assistant-Surveyor-General of his Majesty's Works, and instructed to +repair the fabric. However, on September 2, 1666, the Great Fire of +London broke out and completely destroyed Old St. Paul's. Instead of +carrying out his scheme of restoration, Wren was afterwards enabled to +leave to posterity this masterpiece of genius that took him from the +year 1675 till the year 1710 to realise. + +How is one to describe London, the capital of the British Empire, and +the largest city in the world? The subject-matter would take volumes, if +an exhaustive treatise be required. Here it necessarily can only be a +slight sketch. If we are to put any reliance on Geoffrey of Monmouth, a +city existed here 1107 years before Christ was born, and 354 even before +Rome came into existence. The founder, he asserts, was Brute, a lineal +descendant of the Trojan AEneas, by whom the city was called New Troy, or +Troy-novant, till the advent of Lud, who changed it to Coer Lud or +Lud-town, and encompassed it with walls. Though the king's name is made +evident in Ludgate Hill, which runs up to St. Paul's west front, this +author's statements are considered as pleasing fictions by +serious-minded authorities. Again, it is said to have been the capital +of the Trinobantes in 54 B.C. With the arrival of the Romans we get +more definite information, yet we are inclined to think that they must +have found some kind of a British settlement, the more especially if we +bear in mind that, until the Romans came, the mouth of the Thames was +close at hand. The Thames of to-day was not the Thames of that time. It +was very much shallower, possibly quite easy to ford at low tide. This +was caused by the great inundation over large tracts of the counties of +Kent and Essex, which took place every time it became high tide. + +Till the Romans set the example of reclaiming the land and confining the +river to its channel, a great volume of water had thus expended itself +and reduced the depth considerably. But to the early Britons, where the +higher level of land checked and brought back the wandering Thames, to +continue its upward course within its proper confinement, must have +appeared the mouth. In their belief that such was the case it is only +natural to suppose that the Britons would take advantage of such an +excellent site. A clearing was gradually made, for London was well +wooded once, on the highest ground, which would be somewhere from the +site of St. Paul's to as far as the Bank of England, and a temple was +erected within some groves. To the Romans in 61 A.D. it was known as +Londinium or Colonia Augusta, the former, no doubt, being a Latinised +form of Lyn-Din, meaning "the town on the lake." Boadicea, Queen of the +Iceni, in the same year is credited with having reduced it to ashes, and +to have put 70,000 Romans and strangers to the sword. This wholesale +slaughter was punished, in the same year, by Suetonius, who retaliated +by a massacre of 80,000 Britons, a defeat that so preyed upon Boadicea +that she promptly poisoned herself. Tacitus, the Roman historian, who +lived about 90 years after Christ, relates how Suetonius felt +constrained to abandon London, "that place of busy traffic and thronged +with traders," to the British, because he did not feel equal to the task +of defending it. This is surely a proof that London was no mushroom +city, though Tacitus makes no mention of a mint, as he does when he +describes Verulamium and Camulodum. There also appears to have been +another British settlement on the south bank, now known as Southwark. +This district, by the way, has just within the last few days been +erected into a see with the cathedral, or throne, installed in its fine +old church of St. Saviour. This is where Gower, the father of English +poets, is interred, and is honoured with a quaint coloured monument +principally of carved wood, and the holy precincts also contain the +remains of Shakespeare's brother. Southwark is the Londinium attributed +to Ptolemy's description as being on the south bank of the Thames, +though it does not discredit the existence of that on the north. As to +the actual size and exact site of early London, it will be many years +before that can be accurately determined. As old buildings are pulled +down and excavations are made for foundations, speculation becomes much +narrowed. The discoveries by Wren, and recently by Mr. Arthur Taylor, +the late Mr. H. Black, Mr. Roach-Smith and Mr. J. E. Price, one of our +greatest authorities, have thrown much light on early London. It has +been found that cemeteries once existed in Cheapside, on the site of St. +Paul's, close to Newgate and elsewhere, which are known to date from the +Later Roman period. On the assumption that it was an illegal Roman +practice to bury the dead within the city walls, it follows they must +have been outside, thus limiting the habitable area. + +As to when and where the first bridge spanned the Thames are points +difficult to decide. Sir George Airy supposes that the bridge mentioned +by Dion Cassius (43 A.D.) at the mouth of the Thames was not far from +the site of London Bridge, on the inference that the mouth of the Thames +of early times was close to this site. Dr. Guest, on the other hand, +recognises it as a bridge made by the Britons, but places it as being +constructed over the marshy valley of the Lea, near Stratford, his +theory being that the Britons would have been unable to bridge over a +tidal river like the Thames with the width of three hundred yards, and a +difference of nearly twenty feet in the rise and fall of the water. From +remains found of ancient piles in the river-bed, and the great number of +Roman coins, a well-known practice observed by this Latin race to +commemorate any important undertaking, antiquarians seem to agree that +there was a Roman bridge in the Anno Domini period of their occupation, +and that indications point to its location at London Bridge. In their +time London was a port of considerable importance. As many as eight +hundred vessels are said to have been employed in exporting corn alone +in the year 359, which shows that agriculture was in full swing. With +the departure of the Romans in 409 the city became the capital of the +Saxon kingdom of Essex, and was called Lundenceaster. Subsequent events +of importance are those that occurred under the dynasties of the Norman +(1066-1154), the Plantagenet (1154-1485), the Tudor (1485-1603), the +Stuart (1603-1714), interrupted in the midst by Cromwell's Protectorate, +and finally the Hanoverian succession, which brings us down to this year +of grace, with Edward VII., King of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor +of India, and monarch of the greatest and most prosperous empire. To +attempt to give a detailed account of all that happened under the +successive heads of the State is clearly impossible. Two events, +however, stand out prominently. One was the Great Plague of London that +commenced in December 1664, and carried off a matter of ninety thousand +victims. The horrors of this pestilence are graphically described in the +Diary of Samuel Pepys, who was an eye-witness. Daniel Defoe, though +writing some years after, has given us a wonderfully realistic account +in his "History of the Plague." Fires were kept up night and day, to +purify the air, for three days. No sooner did the infection come to an +end than the great conflagration of September 2, 1666, broke out. It +began at one o'clock in the morning in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, +behind Monument Yard. It spread from the Tower to the Temple Church of +the Middle Temple in Fleet Street, and away to Holborn. In the short +space of four days it destroyed eighty-nine churches (including St. +Paul's), the city gates, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, +Guildhall, Sion College, and many other public buildings, besides some +fourteen thousand houses and the ruin of four hundred streets. The +Monument, built by Wren in 1671-1672, commemorates the origin of the +fire, 202 feet from its base. + +It is only within recent years that London--by which is meant London in +its broadest sense; that is, including the city and excluding the +suburbs--has been divided into a number of townships. It is now no +longer correct to call Marylebone, Paddington, and many other such, +"parishes." They are all boroughs, and possess a mayor and corporation +of their own, each with a townhall to support the dignity. They have a +certain amount to say in local affairs, the more important being under +the control of the London County Council, who in turn hold themselves +responsible to Parliament. + +The jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor of London proper is confined within +certain limits, as defined by an irregular line of boundary commencing +from the Tower, northward through the Minories, past Aldgate, behind +Liverpool Street Station, working round to Holborn, across Chancery +Lane, to end at Middle Temple. His career is generally marked by an +apprenticeship of seven years' duration to some city guild, such as the +Mercers', the Grocers', Merchant Tailors', Vintners', Armourers and +Braziers', and some seventy others. At the end of this period he +obtains, on the payment of a certain fee and a glance at a series of +Hogarth's "Progress of the Rake" at the Guildhall, the freedom of the +Ancient City of London. As a vacancy occurs in his company he fills it +as a "Liveryman." After these initial stages he is open to become a +Master of the said company, and becomes eligible for alderman, sheriff, +and Lord Mayor. The candidate's ambition, however, is tempered according +to his means; for to worthily fill the office of the first magistrate he +must be prepared to be considerably out of pocket, though the loss is +generally compensated by a knighthood, and on special occasions by a +baronetcy. Though he may be entirely devoid of any legal training, the +Lord Mayor during his tenure of office, or the aldermen, are always +present on the bench at the Central Criminal Court, which sits at the +Old Bailey. This court was created in 1834 to bring under one +jurisdiction the criminal cases that are supplied by the immense +population around the city. Opposite the Mansion House, the official +residence of the Lord Mayor, is the Bank of England. The Royal Mint +faces the Tower of London, and was constituted as now about 1617, whilst +the buildings date about 1810. The first known Warder or Master was in +the reign of Henry I., the wardership becoming extinct with Lord +Maryborough (1814--23), and the last Master was Professor Thomas Graham, +who died in 1869. By the Coinage Act in the following year the Master of +the Mint, who as such had existed up till then, was abolished, and the +post was combined with that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. On the +other side of the road is the famous Tower of London, the White Tower or +central keep of which was built in 1078 by Gundulph, Bishop of +Rochester, in obedience to the command of William the Conqueror. By the +side of this historic pile is the Tower Bridge, the marvellous +engineering feat of Sir Horace Jones and Sir J. Wolfe Barry. It opens +upwards in the centre to allow the shipping to pass through. Right away +towards the east are the great docks, the principal of which are the +London Docks and the East India Docks. + +Passing west of the city are the great Law Courts in the Strand, +designed by Streeter. + +Behind them is Lincoln's Inn, and in front across Fleet Street, is the +Temple. Gray's Inn is in Holborn, as well as Staple Inn, with the +picturesque old-fashioned frontage, once the prevailing style of +London's domestic architecture. Smaller Inns are Clifford's Inn, +threatened with demolition, with Old Serjeant's Inn adjoining, while +Serjeant's Inn is on the other side of Fleet Street, nearer to Ludgate +Circus, and not far from the Temple. + +In Trafalgar Square a priceless collection of old masters' paintings are +housed in the National Gallery, once the premises of the Royal Academy +of Arts, who moved to Burlington House, Piccadilly. + +Regent Street, with its shops, and Bond Street, the great centre for art +dealers and picture galleries, hardly require further description. The +British Museum, the South Kensington Museum, and numerous others; the +great hospitals,--St. Bartholomew's, Guy's, Charing Cross, and many more +equally as well known; the wonderful open spaces as typified by Hyde +Park; the Palaces of Buckingham, St. James, and Kensington; besides the +Cathedral of St. Paul, the Abbey, and Houses of Parliament, Westminster, +with the newly erected Roman Catholic Cathedral, close to Victoria +Station, comprise only a tithe of what can be seen in the capital of the +British Empire. + + + + +York + +Eboracum. + +("Doomsday Book.") + + +One can hardly think of York without recalling the wonderful ride of +Dick Turpin on his famous mare Black Bess. It came about one day that he +was resting at the Kilburn Wells--a site now taken up by a modern +banking-house--in the company of another notorious highwayman, King, who +seemed very much depressed. "Dick," he said, "I have had a most curious +dream. I seemed to be dying from a pistol-shot by you." "No, no," +protested Dick, and was doing his best to cheer up his friend when +suddenly unusual commotion arose outside, followed by the immediate +entrance of the bailiffs to apprehend King dead or alive. One of his +numerous mistresses had given him away in a mad fit of jealousy. It took +little time for Turpin and King to reach their horses, which were always +tethered close by. Turpin was soon in the saddle, but turning round he +perceived that his comrade was in difficulties. The horse was restive, +and its master was making vain attempts to mount. To draw his pistol out +of the holster and empty its contents towards the man who had by now +laid his hand on King was a moment's thought. But to Turpin's horror he +saw the dream realised. His friend dead, it was folly to dally longer. +Amidst a volley of shots he quickly wheeled his mare round and galloped +off, hotly pursued by the excisemen, who had soon recognised him. Along +West End Lane into Finchley, away towards Barnet, his mare, gallantly +taking every toll-gate, soon carried her master out of immediate danger. +It was then that Dick Turpin determined to try the fettle of Bess by +carrying out his long-cherished ambition of riding ninety miles to York. +Without a change of mounts, and only an occasional rinse-out of his +faithful animal's mouth with some strong stimulant, he accomplished his +wish, but at the sacrifice of his mare. She died from exhaustion, +having, however, saved her master and cheated justice. This is no +legend, but an absolute fact--a story that has quickened the imagination +of every English schoolboy, accompanied with a regret that such good old +rollicking days no longer exist, that there is no relieving rich +merchants of well-filled purses, no opportunity of calming the fears +of fair ladies, no chance of acting the grand seigneur towards the poor, +no languishing in Newgate with a glorious death at Tyburn. No, that is +all a dream now. + +[Illustration: YORK + +STONEGATE] + +Though customs have greatly changed since those days of unsafe +travelling, the quaint streets, the great gateways of bold architecture, +and the magnificent church all lend the city of York the wonderful +fascination of age, heightened by the situation of the river Ouse at its +junction with the Foss. + +In what county of England the famous city and glorious minster of York +are, requires little mental effort. It is the most ancient metropolitan +see in England. At one time great controversy arose between York and +Canterbury as to precedence. It was thought that whichever one of them +could successfully prove that the one first confirmed was meant by Pope +Gregory to be the senior, should be the superior. As, however, no +satisfactory understanding could be arrived at, the question was left to +the Papal Court at Rome. By its decision it was determined in favour of +Canterbury, so the Archbishop of Canterbury styles himself Primate of +All England, whilst the Archbishop of York rests content with Primate +of England; the reduction of one word, but it means a great deal. In +the history of England we see what part these two metropolitans have +taken, how they have occasionally fallen out over what now appears to us +the most trifling matters, but which no doubt were considered of most +vital importance at the time. In this account they need no +recapitulation, for they can be turned up in any history book on +England. + +In the very early years of Anno Domini, when Christianity in England was +quite in its infancy,--or to be more exact about the year 180,--it is +said that King Lucius established the Metropolitan See at York. In those +days, however, it could hardly have been called by that name. Prior to +this monarch's time it was the town of the Brigantes, and was known as +Evrauc. They appear to have been a very hardy race. Through them it was +that Caractacus, one of two sons of Cymbeline, after the Silures were +defeated by Ostorius, made the last important stand against the Romans. +That is to say, with the submission of the Brigantes and the capture of +Caractacus, all unity among the British tribes came to an end, so that +it became comparatively an easy task for the Romans to complete the +conquest of England. + +[Illustration: YORK + +THE SHAMBLES] + +This they did in the second campaign of Agricola, about the year 79 +A.D., and the Roman power was due to the divided factions and parties +of the Britons, who, though they might have kings and all the outward +show of sovereignty, were merely puppets in the hands of the conquerors. +From this year to 400 the Romans steadily evolved a unity of their own +in Britain. On their departure, history tells us how the British +implored them to come back and protect them, so helpless had they become +in the art of attack and defence. + +As Evrauc belonged to the Brigantes, we may take it that it was the +chief town of the British in the north when it passed into the hands of +the Romans after the defeat of Caractacus. By them it was called +Eboracum, and became the metropolitan of the north, the military capital +and centre of the Romans in Britain. + +The original Roman city was rectangular in form and of considerable +dimensions. It is supposed to have been laid out in imitation of ancient +Rome, on the east bank of the Ouse. A temple to Bellona was erected as +well as a praetorium, in which the emperors sat, for Eboracum was +honoured by the great heads of Rome. The first to reside here was +Hadrian, in 120, whilst Severus died in the city in 211. This last had +come over with his sons, Caracalla and Geta, and a large army, and the +attendance of his whole court. His time was busily engaged in reducing +the troublesome Britons to proper submission. The two sons nobly helped +their aged father. Caracalla completed the erection of a strong wall of +stone nearly eighty miles long, close to the rampart of earth raised by +Hadrian, in accordance with the wish of Severus, to form a more +effectual barrier against future incursions of the natives. During the +residence of the court, Eboracum reached to the highest state of +splendour. The constant visits of tributary kings and foreign +ambassadors, who came to pay their allegiance to Rome, caused it to be +unsurpassed among the cities of the world, so much so that it came to be +called "Altera Rome." The remains of the Emperor Severus, though he died +here in 212, were enclosed in an urn and sent to Rome. + +The Emperor Constantius Chlorus died also in Eboracum in 307. His son, +Constantius the Great, was present at his father's death, and by the +army proclaimed emperor. + +After 409 the Greek and Latin writers tell us that Britain was no longer +ruled by the Romans. Their statements are borne out by the Saxon +Chronicle. This did not mean that there was a general exodus of the +Latin race or civilisation, for the connection of Rome with its British +provinces did not cease suddenly, though the tie gradually became +weakened, because from 409 Roman officials probably ceased to be sent +regularly. Britain still considered itself to be Roman, and the +inhabitants, or rather the upper classes, continued to speak Latin. Even +in the sixth century they were pleased to call themselves "Romani," and +held themselves aloof from the surrounding barbarians--a term which we +know was applied by the Romans to tribes, not necessarily because they +were uncivilised, but rather as a convenient mark of distinction from +themselves. Since their departure from Britain, archaeologists have found +rich mines of Roman remains in every place of their occupation, and none +more so than at York; but to enumerate the many discoveries would +require more space than can here be allotted. Suffice it to say that the +"multangular tower" is a notable evidence of the Roman occupation, +though it is much dilapidated. + +The city was frequently assailed by the Picts and Scots, and after the +arrival of the Saxons it suffered considerably from the many wars that +arose between the Britons and their new allies, as well as in the +struggle for supremacy during the establishment of the several kingdoms +of the Octarchy, and other minor wars. Early in the seventh century +Eboracum underwent a change. By the Saxons the city was called Euro wic, +Euore wic, and Eofor wic, which by Leland is supposed to have been +borrowed from its situation on the river Eure, now known as the Ouse; +but by what process these titles came to be contracted into its present +name of York seems rather difficult to account. However, under the name +of Eoforwic, the city flourished as the capital of the Bretwaldas early +in the seventh century. Consequent on the conversion of Edwin, King of +Northumbria, to Christianity, resulting from his marriage to Ethelburga, +daughter of King Ethelbert of Kent, the city was erected in 624 into an +archiepiscopal see, over which Paulinus, the confessor of the Queen, was +made primate. In addition to this, Edwin had constituted the city as the +metropolitan of his kingdom. Edwin's work upon the church, which he +dedicated to St. Peter, and the missionary work of Paulinus, were +suddenly suspended by an attack of the Britons under Cadwallo in 633. +Edwin was killed, whilst Ethelburga escaped into Kent with Paulinus. The +church in the meantime was allowed to decay until it was restored by +Oswald, successor to Edwin. He managed to regain possession of his +kingdom after a sanguinary conflict with Cadwallo, who, with the +chief officers, was killed during the fight. + +[Illustration: YORK + +BOOTHAM BAR] + +We have it by Bede that on the site of the wooden church, in which the +baptism was conducted by Paulinus, Edwin erected "a large and more noble +basilica of stone," dedicated to St. Peter; but, as we have seen, the +work was interrupted by the untimely death of the founder. Finally it +was repaired by Archbishop Wilfrid, the third prelate to succeed to the +government of the See and provinces. His predecessor had been Cedda, who +had been appointed on the death of Paulinus in Kent. The establishment +was continued on its original lines by Wilfrid and his successors till +the Norman Conquest. In the meantime York, under Archbishop Egbert, from +730 to 766, became a most celebrated centre of learning, and reached to +its height under Alcuin. The former had repaired the ravages caused by +fire in 741 to the Cathedral, which is described by Alcuin as "a most +magnificent basilica." The city fell into the hands of the Danes. They +soon made it an important seat of commerce, and constituted it the +capital of the Danish jarl. In 1050 the Abbey of St. Mary's was founded +by Siward, who is supposed to have died at York five years later and to +have been buried in St. Olave's Church. William the Conqueror then +seized York in 1068 and erected a tower. The new condition of things was +not allowed to remain long. Sweyn, in the following year, sent his two +sons, Harold and Canute, with a numerous following of Danes. They +disembarked on the shores of the Humber, and, joined by Edgar Atheling +and his army, advanced to York, laying waste the land they passed +through. To prevent the enemy from fortifying itself, the garrison fired +the houses in the suburbs; but the flames were fanned by a strong wind +into a devastating conflagration, in the midst of which the Danes +entered and put to the sword the whole Norman garrison. This slaughter +was eventually punished by the Conqueror, who, harbouring a suspicion of +treachery on the part of the citizens, reduced them to his idea of +submission by burning the city about their ears and desolating the +neighbouring country from the Humber to the Tyne. Nevertheless the city +gradually recovered in the two succeeding reigns. Archbishop Thomas +endeavoured to patch up the Cathedral, but eventually pulled it down and +rebuilt it. The city continued to advance in prosperity in spite of many +attacks from the Scots. In 1088 William Rufus laid the first stone for a +large monastery for the Benedictine Order, which was dedicated to St. +Mary. + +[Illustration: YORK + +MONK BAR] + +In 1137, during the reign of Stephen, a terrible fire broke out which +destroyed, it is said, the Cathedral, the monastery, and some forty +parish churches. On the accession of Henry I. the city received its +first charter of incorporation, whilst in 1175 Henry II. held here one +of the first meetings which came to be afterwards called Parliament. It +also served as an occasion for William of Scotland to pay his homage to +the King in the Cathedral. In the reign of Richard I. the fury of the +populace was excited against the Jews for having mingled with the crowd +at the Coronation in London. In spite of a royal proclamation in their +favour, they were terribly persecuted throughout the country, especially +in the big towns. York was by no means behind the times in 1190. Many of +the Jews, having defended the castle in which they had taken refuge, put +their own wives and children to death, and then committed suicide. Those +who did not were cruelly tortured to death by the Christians. In the +meantime it is pleasing to note that certain portions of Yorkshire had +been reclaimed from its wild state wherever the Cistercians and other +orders of monks had settled. They introduced sheep-farming, besides +tilling the reclaimed wilderness. The subsequent history of York is +taken up with the many visits of royalty and benefits conferred, till +we get to the year 1569, when the Council of the North was established, +after the suppression of the rebellion known as the "Pilgrimage of +Grace." This was consequent on the dissolution of the monasteries, the +demolition of ten parish churches, and the wholesale appropriation of +revenues and materials by Henry VIII. The principal leader was Robert +Aske, who, with 40,000 men attended by priests with sacred banners, +seized this city and Hull. They were soon dispersed, Aske being brought +to York and hanged upon Clifford's Tower. Though suppressed for a time, +public feeling broke out into an insurrection during Elizabeth's reign +to restore Roman Catholicism. It ended in their discomfiture, Thomas +Percy, Earl of Northumberland, being beheaded at York as the chief +ringleader, and his head stuck on the Micklegate Bar as a warning to +others. History records a Parliament held here by Charles I. in 1642, +when he promised to govern legally. In fact, he seems to have removed +his entire court here, or rather those willing to follow him. However, +as all attempts at negotiation had failed, he advanced to Nottingham and +there erected his standard. After the battle of Marston Moor, which is +about six miles out, York was taken for the Parliament by Sir Thomas +Fairfax in 1644. + +[Illustration: YORK + +MICKLEGATE BAR] + +After the Restoration, Charles II. was royally welcomed. James II. +aroused public indignation by attempting to introduce Roman Catholicism +at York, which only led to the persecution of the followers of that +religion. Subsequent events have been principally the visits of royalty. +In 1829 terrible consternation arose at the sight of smoke issuing from +the roof of the Cathedral. The act was afterwards proved to have been +that of a madman who had secreted himself for that purpose in the +Cathedral after the evening service was over. The whole of the choir was +gutted by the flames. The Cathedral, after Sweyn's visitation, had been +rebuilt by Archbishop Thomas of Bayeux. + +It was commenced in 1070 and finished by 1100. Of this building little +now remains, it having been destroyed by an accidental fire in 1137. It +remained in a desolate state till Archbishop Roger rebuilt the apsidal +choir and crypt (1154-1191). To this was added the south transept by +Archbishop Walter de Grey (1215-1255) in the reign of Henry III., whilst +the north transept and the central tower were erected by John le +Romaine, who was at that time treasurer of the Cathedral. The two +transepts, besides the crypt, are the oldest portions of the present +building. They belong to the best years of the Early English style. The +south transept has a distinctive feature in its magnificent rose window, +whilst the north transept is adorned with a series of beautiful worked +lancet windows, known as the Five Sisters. The son of the treasurer, who +became also Archbishop, laid the foundation of the nave about 1290, +which was completed about forty years later by Archbishop Melton, who +also built the west front and the two western towers. The Chapter House +also belongs to the same period. In 1361 Archbishop Thoresby commenced +to erect the Lady Chapel and presbytery after the Early Perpendicular +style. He also in eight years completed the central tower, which he had +taken down in 1370, whilst previous to this he had started to rebuild +the choir in 1361 to render it more in accordance with the character of +the nave, though it was not finished till about 1400. It is a very fine +example of the Late Perpendicular style. By this time all traces of the +ancient Norman architecture, with the exception of the eastern portion +of the crypt by Archbishop Roger, which still remains, had been +eliminated. To keep in character it was decided to recase the central +tower and alter it into a perpendicular tower with a lantern, which was +completed in 1444. With the erection of the south-west tower in 1432, +and the north-west tower in 1470, the church was completed, and two +years later was reconsecrated. Besides the fire of the madman in 1829, +when the woodwork was entirely destroyed, another one broke out in 1840 +in the south-west tower, reducing it to a wreck. Since then it has +undergone the usual restoration. The whole resembles a Latin cross, and +constitutes a glorious minster, the beauty of which can be more readily +appreciated by a glance at Mr. Collins' work than by any amount of +word-painting. The other illustrations give also a faithful description +of the old gateways. They are the four principal gates or "bars" to the +walls of the city--walls which contain Norman and Early English work, +but principally belong to the Decorative style. Micklegate Bar is the +south entrance, upon which were exposed the heads of traitors, and is +Norman. Monk Bar leads on to the Scarborough Road, and probably belongs +to the fourteenth century. It was formerly called Goodramgate, which was +changed after the Restoration to Monk Bar, in honour of General Monk. +Walmgate Bar dates from the reign of Edward I., and still retains the +barbican rebuilt in 1648, whilst Bootham Bar, with a Norman arch, is the +main entrance from the north. Stonegate is situated practically in the +heart of the city, not far from the minster. It is a curious piece of +architecture. York has been most happy with regard to the birth of men +who have distinguished themselves. It has yielded to the Church of Rome +eight saints and three cardinals, and to England no less than twelve +lord chancellors, two lord treasurers and lord presidents of the north. +But the earliest recorded birth of an eminent native takes us out of the +ordinary ranks of men. If any name is well known it is certainly that of +the first Roman emperor who embraced Christianity. He is Constantine the +Great. Flaccus Albanus was also born here. He was a pupil of the great +ecclesiastical historian, the Venerable Bede. Waltheof, Earl of +Northumberland and son of Siward; Thomas Morton, in turn Bishop of +Chester, Lichfield, Coventry, and Durham, first came into the world at +York; whilst of more recent times there was Gent, an eminent painter and +historian; Swinburn, a distinguished lawyer; and Flaxman, one of +England's most celebrated sculptors, who is perhaps as well known by his +beautiful designs for the Wedgwood pottery as by any other work of his. +Not to know who Flaxman was is almost as bad as to admit ignorance of +the existence of Michael Angelo. + + + + +Winchester + + +This ancient city on the river Itchen in Hampshire is inseparably bound +with William of Wykeham. He it was who rebuilt a great part of the +magnificent cathedral now extant, and who founded the great public +school of Winchester, at which so many celebrated men have received +their education. These form the great attraction of the city, and rescue +it from oblivion. It is with sorrow we foresee that the inevitable +restoration will take place in the east end of this venerable structure. +For many years past the foundations were known to be in an unsafe +condition, but recently great alarm was caused by the appearance of +large cracks in the upper masonry and of the bulging in of the groining +of the crypt. There was no doubt that the foundations were slowly +subsiding, and speculation was rife as to the cause. With a view to +ascertaining the state of the foundations, excavations were made. It was +discovered that the original builders had rested them on marshy ground, +strengthened with oak piles, which have gradually decayed during the +lapse of centuries. At the same time the presence of an underground +stream, thought to be part of the river Itchen, was seen to be bubbling +up through the gravel, saturating the upper soil of peat. + +In much the same way as the site of St. Paul's Cathedral in London +probably was covered, in the first instance, with buildings for pagan +worship, so we find that the Romans at Winchester erected temples to +Apollo and Concord upon the ground that eventually came to be the +precincts of the Cathedral. The presence of a Christian church appears +to have been in the third century, when the city is said to have become +one of the chief centres of the Christian Britons. This first church, +however, was destroyed during the persecution of Aurelian and was +rebuilt in 293, to be made a wreck in 495 by the Saxons, who fired it. +What with the religious convulsion of England, which, with the exception +of Kent, fluctuated with the rise and fall of circumstances chiefly +controlled by the policy of kings either heathen at one time and +Christian at another, or the deposition and death of a Christian +monarch, caused by one more powerful and deeply imbued with heathenism, +the See of Winchester does not appear to have come into existence till +about the middle of the seventh century. The establishment of its +bishopric in a way marks the commencement of a new epoch in the English +Church. + +[Illustration: WINCHESTER + +THE NORTH AISLE] + +The mission of St. Augustine, backed with the royal countenance of +Ethelbert, had, though not completed, done much towards conversion; but +on their death practically the whole of the Christian territory, +excepting Kent, relapsed into heathenism, and to such an extent that +Augustine's successor, Laurentius, was on the point of giving up the +whole mission and taking refuge in Gaul. Not until 625 did a mission +again venture forth from the Kentish kingdom, and then their tentative +efforts were rendered abortive by the battle of Hatfield in 633, which +for a while seems to have crushed all hope at Rome. But a couple of +years later an independent missionary, Birinus, was consecrated in +Italy, and was sent by the people to make fresh attempts to break down +the barriers of heathenism in England. Through his influence Cynegils +became the first Christian king of the West Saxons. To inaugurate his +conversion the monarch decided to establish a bishopric, and immediately +began to collect materials for building, at his capital of Winchester, a +cathedral, which was eventually constructed by his son Cenwahl in 646. +The Danes in 867 broke up the establishment, and the year following, +secular priests were substituted. They remained till 963, when +Ethelwold, by command of King Edgar, expelled them to make room for the +monks of the Benedictine Order from Abendon. They enjoyed uninterrupted +possession, and were richly endowed with royal donations, as the +dissolution revealed the extent of its revenue. Henry VIII. then +refounded it for a bishop, dean, chancellor, twelve prebendaries, and +other subordinate officers. The Cathedral was first dedicated to St. +Amphibalus, then jointly to St. Peter and St. Paul, and afterwards to +St. Swithin, once bishop here. With Henry VIII.'s regime the title was +altered to the Holy and undivided Trinity. The church of Cynegils having +become entirely ruined, a new cathedral was commenced in 1073-98 by +Bishop Walkelyn. The two Norman transepts and the low central tower, as +also the very early crypt, still exist. The church is a spacious, +massive, and splendid cruciform building of Norman architecture with +subsequent additions in the Gothic style. The whole of the Norman nave +was demolished and re-erected on a far grander scale by William of +Wykeham at the end of the fourteenth century, though not quite completed +till after his death. The choir was much restored in the fourteenth +century, whilst it underwent considerable alteration by Bishop Fox +from 1510 to 1528. Here is the tomb of William II. A great feature is +the magnificent reredos behind the altar. It extends the full width of +the choir, with two processional entrances pierced through its lofty +wall, and covered with tier upon tier of rich canopied niches. They once +contained colossal statues. Behind this reredos there is a second stone +screen, which enclosed the small chapel in which stood the magnificent +gold shrine studded with jewels. It contained the body of St. Swithin, +and was the gift of King Edgar. The Cathedral, in fact, received at one +time and another great treasures of gold and jewels by many of the early +kings of England. Canute is said to have caused his crown of gold and +gems to be suspended over the great crucifix above the high altar. + +[Illustration: WINCHESTER + +FROM ST. CATHERINE'S HILL] + +The magnificent chantry of Cardinal Beaufort is of the Later style of +English architecture. Bishop Waynfleet's chantry is in the same style, +and has been kept in excellent repair by the trustees of his foundation +at Magdalene College. Both chantries contain tombs of their founders. +There are several other chapels, all deserving close study of their +beautiful architecture. The most notable of the many examples of +mediaeval recumbent effigies are those of the monuments to Bishops +Edingdon, Wykeham, Langton, and Fox. The famous authoress, Jane Austen, +is buried here. + +[Illustration: WINCHESTER + +FROM THE DEANERY GARDEN] + +The black marble font is an interesting relic of eleventh-century skill. +The sides are composed of scenes taken from the life of St. Nicholas. +The Cathedral, situated in an open space near the centre of the city +towards the south-east, is a marvellous combination of beauty and +dignity, surpassed, if at all, by few. It is the central feature of +Winchester, and will always command the greatest admiration. One of +England's great public schools is that founded by William of Wykeham and +built between 1387 and 1393. The foundation originally consisted of a +warden, ten fellows, three chaplains, seventy scholars, and sixteen +choristers. The prelate had previously established a school here in +1373. Thus the oldest of England's great schools was called "Seinte +Marie College of Wynchester," the charter of which was dated October +1382. The ancient statutes were revived in 1855, and were still further +influenced by the Public Schools Act of 1868. The establishment has a +fine chapel, hall, cloister, and other necessary buildings, all in +excellent preservation. Another interesting structure is that afforded +by the hospital of St. Cross, founded in 1136 by Henry de Blois, Bishop +of Winchester. It lies about a mile out of town. Its general plan can +be readily seen by a glance at Mr. Collins' drawing. Henry de Blois +intended it to provide board and lodging for thirteen poor men, and a +daily dinner for one hundred others. It was mostly rebuilt by Cardinal +Beaufort between 1405 and 1447. The whole has undergone much +restoration, which was not entirely happy, though it has certainly kept +the buildings in a good state of preservation. On the precincts is also +the very stately cruciform chapel, dating roughly from the year 1180. +The city of Winchester was at one time proverbial for its splendour, +which was owing to the many kings that preferred to reside within its +walls than elsewhere. + +Mainly owing to its central position on the high roads in the south of +England, Winchester was from early times a town of great importance. +This Hampshire city is first ascribed to the Celtic Britons, who settled +here in 392 B. c., having emigrated from the coasts of Armorica in Gaul. +They remained in undisturbed possession till within a century prior to +the Christian era, when they were expelled by the Belgae, who advanced +from their settlements on the southern coasts into the interior. Soon +after it had become the capital of the Belgae, the settlement passed into +Roman occupation. The Coer Gwent (White City) of the Britons became +the Venta Belgarum of the Romans. The Roman word Venta eventually became +transformed to "Winte," "Winte-ceaster," from which was derived +Winchester. Under Cedric, about 520 A.D., it became the capital of the +West Saxons, and of England in 827 by Egbert. He had obtained the +sovereignty of all the other kingdoms of the Octarchy, and was crowned +sole monarch in the Cathedral of Winchester. On this occasion the +monarch published an edict commanding all his subjects throughout his +dominions to be called English. The union of the kingdoms gave that +importance to Winchester which it had never had previously, and the fact +of being not only the capital of Wessex, but the metropolis of England, +caused it to leap into great prominence. This state, however, suffered a +severe check when London, in the reign of William the Conqueror, began +to rival it, and was brought almost to the verge of ruin through the +dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. However, at different +periods, Winchester received much unwelcome discomfiture. It was seized +by the Danes in 871; whilst in 1013 it was ravaged by Sweyn on his path +of vengeance. In 1100 the body of William Rufus was solemnly interred in +the Cathedral. During the parliamentary war the city was taken and +retaken by Cromwell, and the castle dismantled. Here it was that Charles +I. commissioned Wren to build a palace in 1683, which was only begun. +Previous to this the plague of 1666 greatly reduced the number of +inhabitants, and it was possibly to help the city recover itself that +Charles thought of building a palace. + +[Illustration: WINCHESTER + +ST. CROSS] + +Though the great regal prosperity has long since departed, the many old +houses and the great extent of the city still bear testimony to the once +great importance of Winchester. + + + + +Westminster + + +Of the three cathedrals in London, Westminster Abbey may be said to +possess the greatest charms. Compared to it St. Paul's is a new church, +whilst St. Saviour's, Southwark, is little known. It is true that the +foundation of St. Paul's is coeval with that of the Abbey, and St. +Saviour's is an old church, but St. Paul's dates from the Great Fire of +London, and the merit of its architecture is the wonderful genius of +Wren. In more ways than one Westminster is bound up with the history of +the great empire. Within her precincts repose the greater number of +reigning heads who inaugurated their reigns in the sacred interior with +the coronation, a ceremony which was last performed when our present +king came to the throne, though the last monarch to be laid to rest in +the venerable pile ceased with the interment of King George II. in 1760. + +The Abbey is also the favourite sepulture for eminent statesmen, poets, +authors, and great travellers,--men whose intellects have done far more +for the wonderful rise of Great Britain than the average crowned head, +men whose ability and personality in many cases were little understood +during life, preyed upon, as is often the case, by others who could turn +it to good pecuniary account. But when death claims them, the nation, +sensible of their loss, pay homage by interring the remains in the noble +sepulchre of a cathedral, or perpetuate the memory by an epitaph on the +wall. + +To wander around the Poets' Corner along the echoing aisles, and stand +in front of each memorial and read off the few cold lines that seem a +mockery to regard as a record of some mighty intellect, serve only to +awaken the imagination and to recall their sad biographies read at one +time or another. Were Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, Dryden, Milton, +Oliver Goldsmith, Handel, Thackeray, David Garrick, to mention only a +few, ever made peers, much less knights? No; yet many of their +contemporaries of inferior intellect enjoyed such worldly distinction. +To stand in the presence of the great dead, or in lieu to read their +epitaphs, casts a great fascination over the mind, and makes one linger +within the precincts of the historic abbey till a rude awakening comes +from the verger that it is closing-time. With a sigh we emerge from the +great mausoleum into the hard, glaring daylight, for a few seconds +dazed. The fascination still clings to us, and when we get home we are +eager to consult authorities and learn more of the beautiful church at +Westminster. + +The Abbey, like nearly all our great cathedrals, is the growth of +centuries. Looking at it under present-day conditions, we can hardly +realise that in the dim past the site was an island of dry sand and +gravel, bound on the one side by the river Thames, and on the other by +marshes watered by the little stream called the Eye. This stream still +runs, though out of sight, under New Bond Street, the Green Park, and +Buckingham Palace, to empty itself into the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge, +and has lent its name to Tyburn (Th' Eye Burn). In the early years of +the seventh century, possibly within a few months of his restoring the +church on the site of St. Paul's, which would take us back to about the +year 610, Sebert, the King of the East Saxons, decided to build a church +to the honour of St. Peter on this Isle of Thorns, or, as it is +sometimes called, Thorney Island. The fact of the vicinity being +westward of the neighbouring hill of St. Paul's eventually gave rise to +the name of Westminster. According to tradition, on the eve of the new +church being consecrated by Bishop Mellitus, the boatman Edric, whilst +attending to his nets by the bank of the island, was attracted by a +gleaming light on the opposite shore. Rowing across, he found a +venerable man, who desired to be ferried over. On landing at the island, +the mysterious stranger proceeded towards the church, accompanied by a +host of angels, who gave him light by candles as he went through the +forms of church consecration. On his return to the boat, the old man +bade Edric tell Mellitus that St. Peter had come in person to consecrate +the church, and promised him that fish would always come plentifully to +his nets, provided he did not work on a Sunday and did not forget to +offer a tithe of that which he caught to the Abbey of Westminster. On +the morrow, Mellitus, hearing the fisherman's story, confirmed by the +marks of consecration in the chrism, the crosses on the doors, and the +droppings from the candles of the angels, acknowledged the work of St. +Peter as sufficient consecration, and changed the name from Thorney +Island to Westminster, to distinguish it as being to the west of the +city of London and to the Church of St. Paul's on the neighbouring hill. +However incredible Edric's story may be it bore fruit, in that till 1382 +a tithe of fish was paid by the Thames fisherman to the Abbey, in +exchange for which the bearer had the privilege to sit, on that day, at +the Abbot's table, and to ask for bread and ale from the cellarman. By +degrees the neighbourhood became peopled, partly on account of the +church and partly from the erection of a palace close to it, which led +the nobility to build houses in the vicinity. The Abbey, becoming +ruinous through the Danes, was rebuilt by Edward the Confessor as the +"Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster." In fact this monarch is +usually regarded as the founder of the Church. According to Matthew +Paris, it was the first cruciform church erected in England, the immense +size and beauty of which can be seen in the Bayeux tapestry. The +foundation was laid somewhere about 1052, and the church was consecrated +in 1065, a few days prior to the Confessor's death. The monastery was +filled with monks from Exeter, whilst Pope Nicholas II. constituted the +Abbey for the inauguration of the kings of England. Throughout the +succession of reigning heads, Edward V., who died uncrowned, was the +only exception. + +Of the Confessor's church and monastery the only remains appear to be +the Chapel of the Pyx, the lower part of the refectory below the +Westminster schoolroom, a portion of the dormitory, and the walls of +the south cloister. + +[Illustration: LONDON + +WESTMINSTER ABBEY. THE NORTH TRANSEPT] + +The Abbey, with these few exceptions, was demolished and rebuilt on a +magnificent scale by Henry III. between 1220 and 1269. The material +employed was first a green stone and afterwards Caen stone. The portions +that remain to us from that rebuilding are the Confessor's chapel, the +side aisles and their chapels, and the choir and transepts, all +beautiful examples of the Geometrical Pointed period of architecture. +Henry's work was continued by his son Edward I., who added the eastern +portion of the nave after the same style; it was afterwards carried on +by successive abbots till the erection of the great west window by Abbot +Estney in 1498. The College Hall, the Abbot's House, Jerusalem Chamber, +and part of the cloisters had also in the meantime been added by Abbot +Littlington in 1380. Amongst various improvements Henry VII. built the +west end of the nave, his own chapel, the deanery, and portions of the +cloisters in the Perpendicular style. + +The choir, a fine specimen of Early English with decorations added in +the fourteenth century, is where the coronation of English sovereigns +takes place, and contains the tombs of Sebert, King of the East Angles, +Anne of Cleves, and Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Leicester. Henry VII.'s +chapel displays the architect's skill to perfection, with the wonderful +fretted work of the roof and the graceful fan-tracery. It contains the +glorious tomb of Henry VII., the work of the great sculptor Pietro +Torrigiano. It is composed chiefly of black marble with figures and +pilasters of gilt copper. The figures once wore crowns, but some +sacrilegious hands have stolen them. In the chapel of Edward the +Confessor are the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Purbeck marble, the +altar-tomb of Edward I., the coronation chairs of the English +sovereigns, besides the stone of Scone, the old coronation seat of the +Scottish kings. The beautiful chapels of St. Benedict, St. Edmund, St. +Nicholas, St. Paul, St. Erasmus, and St. John the Baptist chiefly +contain the monuments of ecclesiastics and nobility. + +The entrance generally used is the North Porch, known as Solomon's +Porch. It was erected in the reign of Richard II., but entirely changed +its character in the hands of Wren, who appears not to have appreciated +the beauties of Gothic architecture. The same architect is said to have +built the two western towers, though they are sometimes ascribed to his +pupil Hawksmoor. Wren's work upon the north porch was again altered by +Sir G. G. Scott, who introduced the present triple portico. On passing +under it we come to the north transept, generally known as the +Statesmen's Aisle. Here in the same grave lie the Earl of Chatham and +his famous son, William Pitt. Close to them are either the graves or +monuments of Fox, Castlereagh, Grattan, Palmerston, Peel, the three +Cannings, and Disraeli. Right in the centre of the aisle is a slab +marking the resting-place of W. E. Gladstone and his wife (1898 and +1900), over whom unconsciously the people tread, gradually wearing out +the simple words of memorial. The south transept is the Poets' Corner, +containing the memorials from Chaucer to Ruskin. In the nave lie David +Livingstone (1873), a great missionary and traveller, whose remains were +reverently brought from Central Africa; Robert Stephenson (1859), the +famous engineer; Sir Charles Barry (1860), architect of the Houses of +Parliament; Sir G. G. Scott (1873); George Edmund Street (1881), +architect of the Law Courts; Colin Campbell; Lord Clyde (1863), who +recaptured Lucknow. We have mentioned these names, not for the sake of +invidiousness, but have chosen them at random. + +Leading from the cloisters up a flight of stone steps is the Chapter +House. The original structure was built by King Edward in the eleventh +century, and it is noticeable in that it departed from the usual +Benedictine form. In 1250 it was rebuilt by Henry III., and is an +octagonal structure, second only to that at Lincoln in size. Here the +monks were accustomed once a week to hold their chapters. In ornamental +stalls opposite the entrance the Abbot and his four chief officers were +enthroned, whilst the monks ranged themselves along the stone benches +which go around the walls. Criminals were tried, and if found guilty +were tied up to the central pillar of Purbeck marble (thirty-five feet +high) and were flogged publicly. The monks, however, were not left in +undisturbed possession of the Chapter House, for on the separation of +the Houses of Lords and Commons in the reign of Edward I., the House of +Commons held sittings here and continued to do so till 1547. The last +parliament held here was on the day that Henry VIII. died, when it sat +to discuss the Act of Attainder passed upon the Duke of Norfolk. At the +dissolution of the monastery the Chapter House passed to the Crown, and +seven years afterwards the House of Commons removed to St. Stephen's +Chapel in the Palace of Westminster. + +From that time the Chapter House was used as a Record Office till the +removal of the records in 1865 to the Rolls House. + +There are now two or three glass cases filled with interesting ancient +deeds and illuminated parchments relating to the history of the Abbey. +Adjoining the Abbey is the great public school of Westminster, or St. +Peter's College as it was called when founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1560 +for the education of forty boys, denominated the Queen's scholars, and +prepared for the university. Since then the numbers have greatly +increased, and to have been educated there is something to boast of, for +it is so much sought after that preference is given to the sons of old +Westminster boys. We might go on for ever, so vast is the +subject-matter, but before closing we would draw attention to St. +Margaret's Church, which stands in front of Solomon's Porch. It was +founded by the Confessor, and is the especial church of the House of +Commons. Curiously enough, it gives scale to the whole Abbey. The Houses +of Parliament are across the road to the east of the Abbey and on the +bank of the river Thames. In the Tudor style Sir Charles Barry, R.A., +built the New Palace of Westminster, containing the two Houses of +Parliament (1840-1859). It is a stupendous work and a marvellous mass of +rich architecture. Some authority states that the clock tower is much +after the style of the belfry at Bruges. This statement, we would point +out, is hardly correct. The two no more resemble each other than do +black and white. + +How is it possible to describe in a few cold words the wonderful +beauties that lie hidden in the architecture of the Abbey, the best +artistic expressions of its several architects? Impressions created +depend upon the temperament of the individual who gazes upon them. All +acknowledge the great beauty, but each from his own standpoint, +according to his tastes and inclinations, which are moulded by his +pursuits in life, or more rarely endowed by that inherent sense of all +that is noble and refined he is enabled to sink his own individuality +for a moment, and to enjoy the brain-product of a fellow-being. To the +dull intellect the Abbey appeals as a mystery; to the commercial man it +represents so much outlay of capital, and a proud possession of the +empire's city; to the poet and artist the memorials must recall the +wonderful lines of Longfellow: + + "Lives of great men all remind us + We can make our lives sublime"; + +to the architect a marvellous insight into the great possibilities +offered by architecture; to the musician the ambition to create a great +composition that will be worthy to echo throughout the lofty and +beautiful aisles, whose music is so unconsciously based upon those laws +of harmony which should exist in architecture, sculpture, painting, and +literature. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Cathedral Cities of England, by George Gilbert + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND *** + +***** This file should be named 34210.txt or 34210.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/2/1/34210/ + +Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images available at The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |