John Pearson, D.D., F.R.S., born at Snoring (or Creake), in Norfolk, February 12th, 1612, educated at Eton, admitted of King’s College, Cambridge, B.A. 1635, M.A. 1639, and shortly afterwards Prebendary of Sarum. During the civil war he was chaplain to Lord Goring, and afterwards in the same capacity in the family of Sir Robert Cook in London. In 1650, he was minister of St. Clement’s, Eastcheap, London, at which Church, he preached his incomparable lectures on the Creed, and afterwards published them, as hestates in the dedication to his parishioners, at their request. At the Restoration, he was nominated one of the king’s chaplains, installed Prebendary of Ely, September 22nd, 1660, and on the 26th of the same month and year, appointed Archdeacon of Surrey, and admitted Master of Trinity College, on the 14th April, 1662. Elected F.R.S. 1667.
This great and learned man was consecrated Bishop of Chester, February 9th, 1672–3. He died July 16th, 1686, and was buried in his own Cathedral without any memorial. Burnet says he was in all respects the greatest divine of the age; a man of great learning, strong reason, and a clear judgment. He was a judicious and grave preacher, more instructive than affective, and a man of a spotless life, and of an excellent temper. He was not active in his diocese, but too remiss and easy in his episcopal functions, and was a much better divine than a Bishop. He was a speaking instance of what a great man may fall to, for his memory went from him so entirely that he became a child some years before he died.—Hist. Own Times,Vol.3,p.109–10.
Bishop Pearson has achieved for himself a splendid fame by his able work on the Creed, which will long perpetuate his memory.
Thomas Cartwright, D.D. son of a schoolmaster of the same name, was born at Southampton, 1st Sept. 1634, and was educated by presbyterian parents. He was admitted of Magdalen college, Oxford, but removedto Queen’s college by the parliamentary visitors in 1649; he afterwards became chaplain of his college and vicar of Walthamstow, in Essex, and in 1659, preacher at St. Mary Magdelene’s, in Fish-street, and an active promoter of the popular faction. At the Restoration, he turned round and distinguished himself by his extravagant zeal for the royal cause. He had many valuable preferments bestowed upon him, and was created D.D. although not standing for it. In 1672, being chaplain to the king, he was installed Prebendary of Durham, and in 1675, nominated Dean of Ripon, and was consecrated, October 17th, 1686, Bishop of Chester, “not by constraint but willingly.” James the Second found him a ready and expert agent, and appointed him one of the three commissioners to eject the President and Fellows of Magdelen college, Oxford, for nobly resisting the king’s arbitrary attempts to restore popery. Cartwright being an unpopular man, found it necessary to leave the kingdom on the arrival of the Prince of Orange in 1688. He escaped in disguise, and joined James II. at St. Germains, whom he shortly afterwards accompanied to Ireland, where, being seized with a dysentery, he died on the 15th April, 1689, aged 54, and was buried the next night by the Bishop of Meath, in the choir of Christ Church, Dublin. He died in communion with the Church of England, although attempts were made by the Romanists, in his last moments, to shake his creed, which his previousinconsistency and constant intercourse with the agents of the Church of Rome had rendered questionable. His diary, from August 1686, to October 1687, has been edited for the Camden Society by Mr. Hunter, and will increase the unfavourable estimate which posterity has formed of the vacillating principles of this unhappy prelate; although there still appears to be insufficient evidence to conclude with Ormerod that the bishop, on his death-bed, expressed his faith in equivocal terms, leaving it doubtful whether he died in communion of the protestant or popish churches; for even Burnet, who says he was “one of the worst of men,” adds, “bad as he was, he never made that step, even in the most desperate state of his affairs;” and Antony á Wood rescues him from a similar charge.
Nicholas Stratford, D.D., was consecrated Bishop of Chester at Fulham, on 15th September, 1689. He was a firm supporter of the polity and principles of the English Church, and was esteemed a learned and primitive ecclesiastic. It is recorded of him that he never admonished or reproved others, but in the spirit of meekness and conciliation, a testimony which appears sufficiently confirmed by the christian tone which pervades his “Dissuasion against Revenge,” which he addressed to the conflicting parties in Manchester on leaving that parish. He was appointed one of the governors of the bounty of the Queen Anne in the first charter. He died February 12th, 1706–7, aged74, and was buried in his own cathedral, his whole diocese witnessing that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had had his conversation in the world; he was charitable and benevolent, humble and devout. Chester Blue Coat Hospital was founded by this excellent bishop, and the Infirmary was founded by his son, who bequeathed £300 to the charity.
Sir William Dawes, Bart., D.D., was appointed Dean of Bocking by Dr. Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury, and about 1697 was nominated chaplain to King William III., whose favour he secured by a sermon he preached on the 5th November. Being disappointed of the Bishopric of Lincoln in 1705, the queen nominated him without application to that of Chester, and on the 8th February 1707, he was consecrated. He was very bountiful to the poor clergy of the diocese, and augmented several small livings. In 1714 he was translated to York; Archbishop Sharpe, who died at Bath February 2nd, 1713–14, having obtained a promise from Queen Anne that Sir William Dawes should be his successor, because his grace thought that he would be diligent in executing the duties of his laborious office.
Francis Gastrell, D.D., was consecrated Bishop of Chester in 1714, a learned and pious man, who laboured with untiring energy, and whose episcopate was characterized by great benevolence, prudence, and wisdom. He compiled a most valuable MSS. concerning the benefices of the diocese, entitled “NotitiaCestriensis,” which is considered “the noblest document extant on the subject of the ecclesiastical antiquities of the diocese.” He is also the author of a very useful work, entitled “The Christian Institutes.” He died November 24th, 1725.
Samuel Peploe, S.T.P., was appointed to the see of Chester April 12th, 1726. He died February 21st, 1752, was buried in the cathedral near the altar, where a monument was erected to his memory.
Dr. Edmund Keene, master of St. Peter’s, Cambridge, and rector of Stanhope, succeeded Peploe, and held the rectory of Stanhope in commendam. He was consecrated March 22nd, 1752. The present episcopal palace was re-built by him out of his own fortune, at an expense of £2,200. On his installation to the see of Ely in 1771—
William Markham, LL.D., Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, was elected Bishop January 26th. Shortly afterwards he was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of York. From this See in 1776, he was translated to the Archbishopric of York. He died in his 89th year, universally beloved, and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey.
Beilby Porteus, D.D., was born at York, May 8th, 1731, of American parents, and was the youngest but one of nineteen children. He received his early education at York and Ripon, and was afterwards admitted a sizer of Christ’s College, Cambridge, inwhich University his merits and abilities soon became distinguished, and were made more generally known by his excellent poem on “Death,” which received the Seatonian Prize. In 1769, he was made chaplain to His Majesty, and December 31st, 1776, was promoted to the Bishopric of Chester, from whence he was translated to London in 1787, on the demise of Dr. Louth, and died on the 14th May, 1808, in the 78th year of his age. In 1772, he joined with some other clergymen in an unsuccessful endeavour to obtain an amendment of some portions of the Prayer Book. In 1769, he gave his support to a measure for enlarging the liberties of protestant dissenters, and in 1781 opposed an effort “to lay such restrictions on the catholics as would prevent their increase.” He felt a deep interest in the cause of the slave, and made strenuous efforts to improve the condition of the negroes of the West Indies. Among other charitable benefactions, he transferred in his lifetime nearly £7000 stock to the Archdeaconries of the diocese of London, as a permanent fund for the relief of the poorer clergy of that diocese; and he also established three annual gold medals at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and by his will bequeathed his library to his successors in the See of London, with a liberal sum towards erecting a building for its reception in the episcopal palace at Fulham. This learned and pious prelate wrote several works, which are highly esteemed. At his own request, the inscriptionon his tomb simply records the dates of his birth and death.[49]He was succeeded by—
William Cleaver, D.D., who was advanced to the See of Chester through the interest of his former pupil, the Marquis of Buckingham, whom he had attended as chaplain when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was consecrated Bishop, January 20th, 1788, and was translated to Bangor in 1799, and from thence, on the death of Bishop Horsley in 1806, to the diocese of St. Asaph, over which he continued to preside until his death, which took place May 15th, 1815.
Henry William Majendie, D.D., canon of St. Paul’s, was nominated in the place of Bishop Cleaver, May 24th, and consecrated June 14th, 1800, translated in 1810, to the See of Bangor.
Bowyer Edward Sparke, D.D., Dean of Bristol, was consecrated January 21st, 1810, and translated to the See of Ely in 1812.
George Henry Law, Prebendary of Carlisle, was consecrated Bishop of Chester, July 5th, 1812, and translated to the See of Bath and Wells in the year 1824. Bishop Law was a fine scholar, and a most able divine.
Charles James Blomfield, D.D., the present learned Bishop of London, was consecrated to the See of Chester in 1824. He was Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in which University his great talents and lofty erudition secured for him high academical honours.Upon his translation to the See of London in 1828[50a]he was succeeded by—
John Bird Sumner, D.D., who has been as labouring in the use of his pen, as he was faithful and assiduous in the fulfilment of his episcopal duties. His voluminous writings have achieved for him great fame as an able and eloquent divine. His prize essay, entitled “The Records of Creation,” is a wonderful display of learning and reasoning power, and will doubtless long perpetuate his brilliant reputation. His piety, earnest zeal, and affable bearing, during the period he held the Episcopate of Chester, secured the affection of all classes. He was universally beloved. After having occupied the See of Chester for twenty years, he was in 1848 appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
John Graham, D.D., was consecrated Bishop of this Diocese in 1848, and is at present, with pious earnestness and diligence, fulfilling the duties of his high office.
When Henry the Eighth dissolved the monastery of St. Werburgh and erected it into a Cathedral Church, he founded a Deanery, two Archdeaconries, and six Prebendaries. Under this newregime, John Clarke, the last Abbot of the monastery, was appointed first Dean. His successor was Henry Mann, who was, in 1546, consecrated Bishop of the Isle of Man. He was succeeded by William Cliff, L.L.D. in 1547; Richard Walker in 1558; John Peers in 1567; Richd. Langworth in 1571; Robert Dorset in 1579; ThomasModesley in 1580; John Rutter in 1589; William Barlow in 1602; Henry Parry in 1605, who was afterwards made Bishop of Rochester, from which he was successively translated to Gloucester and Worcester; he was succeeded by Thomas Mallory in 1606, who held his appointment 38 years; he died at Chester, April 3rd, 1644, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral.
William Nicols, installed April 12th, 1644. His successor, after a vacancy of about 2 years, was Henry Bridgman, presented July 13th, 1660, he was consecrated Bishop of the Isle of Man, with leave to hold the Deanery,in commendam. He died in Chester, May 15th, 1682, and was buried in the Cathedral, without any memorial. Leycester says, “he hath beautified and repaired the Deans’ house in the Abbey court very much.”
He was succeeded by James Arderne in 1682; he died August 18th, 1691, and was buried in the choir of the Cathedral, with the following memorial on one of the pillars:—“Near this place lies the body of Dr. James Arderne, of this County, a while Dean of this Church, who though he bore more than a common affection to his private relations, yet gave the substance of his bequeathable estate to this Cathedral, which gift, his will was, should be mentioned, that clergymen may consider whether it be not a sort of sacrilege to sweep all away from the church and charity, into the possession of their lay kindred, whoare not needy. Dat. Oct. 27th, 1688. This plain monument with the above inscription, upon this cheap stone, is according to the express words of Dean Arderne’s will.” His successor was Lawrence Fogg, in 1691. His first preferment was the Rectory of Hawarden, in Flintshire, from which he was ejected for non-conformity. Subsequently, conforming, he was presented to the vicarage of St. Oswald’s, by the Dean and Chapter, in 1672: he was buried in the chapel of the Cathedral, and a monument was erected to his memory. Walter Offley was installed in 1718. Thomas Allen in 1721. Thomas Brooke in 1733. William Smith in 1758. This learned divine was presented by the Earl of Derby to the Rectory of Trinity, Chester, in 1735. In 1753 he was nominated one of the Ministers of St. George’s Church, Liverpool, by the corporation. In 1766, he was instituted to the Rectory of Handley, Cheshire, by the Chapter of the Cathedral, and in the following year he resigned the Chaplainship of St. George’s Church, on which occasion the corporation of Liverpool presented him with 150 guineas, “for his eminent and good services in the said church.” He died January 8th, 1787, in the 76th year of his age, and was buried on the south side of the communion table in the cathedral. An elegant monument was erected to his memory by his widow, with an inscription, reciting his merits as a christian, a scholar, and a preacher.
Dr. Smith was worthily distinguished for hislearning. He was an eminent scholar, a sound divine, and a good poet. His elegant translations of the Greek classics were held in great repute, and have been several times reprinted. He was succeeded by George Cotton, who was installed February 10th, 1787. Hugh Cholmondley was appointed in 1806.
In this worthy Dean the poor had a generous benefactor, while the active interest he took in every object which proposed the good of the city, rendered him beloved by all. He was most laborious in his attention to the duties of his office, and many important restorations were effected in the cathedral by him. He was succeeded by Robert Hodgson, D.D., in 1816. Dr. Vaughan was appointed as his successor in 1820, who was succeeded by Edward Coppleston, D.D., afterwards promoted to the Bishopric of Llandaff, who erected the screen which separates the church of St. Oswald, from the south side of the cathedral, at an expense of £600. Henry Philpotts, D.D., was appointed Dean in 1828, and on his promotion to the Bishopric of Exeter, in 1831, was succeeded by Dr. Davys, the well known author of “Village Conversations on the Liturgy,” “History of England for Children,” &c.
On his promotion to the See of Peterborough in 1839, the Rev. F. Anson, D.D., was appointed Dean of Chester, to whose unremitting zeal, directed by sound judgment and refined taste, we are indebted for the important improvements which have been effectedin the cathedral since his appointment. Through his indefatigable energy, the noble edifice has been greatly beautified; and many essential alterations have been introduced in the choral service and architectural arrangements, which have added very much to its decoration and general effect.
During the siege of Chester by the republican army, the cathedral was very much damaged by those heroic but unscrupulous men. Notwithstanding that one of the articles of surrender was to the effect that “no church within the city, or evidence or writings, belonging to the same shall be defaced,” in the face of this solemn engagement, they wantonly defaced the cathedral choir, injured the organ, broke nearly all the painted glass, and removed the fonts from the churches. Although the parliamentary forces were cemented by their renowned leader, chiefly by religious enthusiasm, and all their extraordinary movements directed and sustained mainly by that feeling; it nevertheless did not restrain them from committing violent outrages on the churches of the land. Religious impulse banded them together, and impressed a singular unity on all their movements. The memorable counsel of Cromwell to his men will be remembered,—“put your trust in the Lord, and keep your powder dry;”—to them the counsel was opportune, and met with a deep response; but they respected but little the dictates of conscience and the christian associations of others, whose religiousviews and modes of worship differed from their own. Whatever judgment may be entertained respecting their political course, and the issues in which it resulted, we apprehend that the acts of violence they perpetrated on the sacred edifices which others frequented and revered, as the places of their holy service, cannot be justified on any principle.
In 1683 the cathedral was again wantonly damaged by a reckless mob, instigated by the ambitious Duke of Monmouth. The Cowper MSS. gives us the following detail of the disgraceful outrages which unhappily they succeeded in perpetrating.
“In the middle of August, James, Duke of Monmouth, came to Chester, greatly affecting popularity, and giving countenance to riotous assemblies and tumultuous mobs, whose violence was such as to pelt with stones the windows of several gentlemen’s houses in the city, and otherwise to damage the same. They likewise furiously forced the doors of the cathedral church and destroyed most of the painted glass, burst open the little vestries and cupboards, wherein were the surplices and hoods belonging to the clergy, which they rent to rags, and carried away; they beat to pieces the baptismal font, pulled down some monuments, attempted to demolish the organ, and committed other enormous outrages.”
“In the middle of August, James, Duke of Monmouth, came to Chester, greatly affecting popularity, and giving countenance to riotous assemblies and tumultuous mobs, whose violence was such as to pelt with stones the windows of several gentlemen’s houses in the city, and otherwise to damage the same. They likewise furiously forced the doors of the cathedral church and destroyed most of the painted glass, burst open the little vestries and cupboards, wherein were the surplices and hoods belonging to the clergy, which they rent to rags, and carried away; they beat to pieces the baptismal font, pulled down some monuments, attempted to demolish the organ, and committed other enormous outrages.”
It now remains for us to give a description of this venerable religious edifice. Although in its general external appearance, it may not present the prepossessingattractions which appertain to some other cathedral churches, it nevertheless has a history of peculiar interest; and in its architectural delineations is well worthy of the study of the ecclesiologist and the antiquary. From whatever side the cathedral is viewed, it presents the appearance of a massive pile, and exhibits a pleasing variety of styles in accordance with the taste of different ages; some parts decorated with elaborate workmanship, while others are perfectly simple and unadorned. The principal parts now standing are not, perhaps, older than the 14th and 15th century, when the richly ornamented style of Gothic architecture was at its zenith in this country. Its general character may be termed the perpendicular. It has been generally supposed that there are some remaining specimens of the Saxon, and Lysons favours the theory; but Mr. Asphitel, in an interesting and able lecture, delivered before the Archæological Society, stated that he could not, from the most minute research, discover any portions of the Saxon church. He considered it probable there might be some portions in the foundations, but none, in his opinion, were visible.
The west front is said to have been the work of Abbot Ripley, who was appointed to the abbacy in 1485. It is now in an unfinished state, and it would seem that there was an intention to form two western towers. The foundation of them was laid with much ceremony by Abbot Birchenshaw, in 1508, the Mayorbeing then present: but the project was most likely abandoned for want of funds. “Had the original design been executed,” says Winkle, “it would not have been very imposing. The effect of it, as it now appears, is much injured by a building which is connected with it, and shuts out one of the turrets which flank on either side the west wall of the nave. The original intention seems to have been the usual one, viz., a square tower on each side of the west end of the nave. The foundations of that on the north side still exist, the site of that on the south is now occupied by a building called the consistory court, once perhaps a chapel, in the west wall of which is a pointed window of four lights, with perpendicular tracery, and flowing crocketted canopy with rich finial; above the window is a belt of pannelled tracery, and on each side of it is a niche with overhanging canopies, adorned with pendants and pinnacles, and resting on good brackets. The statues are gone. The parapet of this building is quite plain. The west entrance is a singular and beautiful composition. The door itself is a Tudor arch, inclosed within a square head, the spandrils are filled with rich and elegant foliations, the hollow moulding along the top is deep and broad, and filled with a row of angels half-lengths; all this is deeply recessed within another Tudor arch, under another square head, with plain spandrils of ordinary panelling. On each side of the door are four niches, with their usual accompanimentsof crocketted canopies, pinnacles, and pendants, and instead of brackets, the statues stood on pedestals with good bases and capitals. Above this entrance is the great west window of the nave, deeply and richly recessed; it is of eight lights, with elaborate tracery, of some breadth just below the spring of the arch, and above this some simple tracery of the kind most common to the latest age of the pointed style. The arch of the window is much depressed, and has above it a flowing crocketted canopy, the gable has no parapet, but is finished off with a simple coping. The flanking turrets before-mentioned are octagonal, and have belts of panelled tracery and embattled parapets.
“Leaving the west front, and turning to the south, a rich and deep porch presents itself behind the consistory court. The south face of that court is very similar, in all respects, to the west, already described. The porch is flanked by buttresses which once had pinnacles. The entrance is under a Tudor arch, within a square head, the spandrils richly panelled, over the square head is a broad belt of quatrefoil panelling, above that a hollow moulding adorned with the Tudor flower. Above this are two flat-headed windows, of two lights each, with a deep niche between them, resting on a projecting bracket, the statue of course is gone, but the projecting and richly decorated canopy remains, on both sides of which the wall above is adorned with two rows of panelling, the open embattled parapet which oncecrowned the whole has disappeared. The south side of the nave and its aisle is plain, but not without dignity; the windows are all pointed and of perpendicular character; those of the aisle have straight canopies, with projecting buttresses between, which still have niches, and once had both pinnacles and statues. The aisle has no parapet. The windows of the clerestory are unusually large and lofty, and their canopies are flowing in form, but perfectly plain, and without finials, they have no buttresses between them, and the parapet is very shallow and quite plain.“The next feature of this cathedral, which is now to be described in due order, is a very singular one, and indeed unique, viz., the south wing of the transept. It is no uncommon case to find the two portions of the transept unlike each other in some respects; but in no other instance are they so perfectly dissimilar as at Chester. Here, the south wing is nearly as long as the nave, and of equal length with the choir, and considerably broader than either, having, like them, aisles on both sides; while the north, which probably stands upon the original foundations, has no aisles, is very short, and only just the breadth of one side of the central tower. The east and west faces of this south portion of the transept are nearly similar. The aisles have no parapet; the windows are pointed, of four lights each, with late decorated tracery and small intervening buttresses. Theclerestory has a parapet similar to that of the nave; the windows are pointed, large, and lofty, with perpendicular tracery, and two transoms. The south front of this transept, flat at top, is flanked with square embattled turrets and buttresses, and has a large window of the perpendicular age filling up nearly all the space between them. The south face of the aisles on each side have pointed windows, similar to those already described, and sloping tops without parapet, but flanked by double buttresses at the external angles, without pinnacles.“The south face of the choir, with its aisle, is in nearly all respects similar to the south portion of the transept; but the aisle is lengthened out beyond the choir, and becomes the side aisle of the Lady Chapel, and has an octangular turret near the east end, with embattled parapet, and beyond it a plain heavy clumsy buttress: the sloping parapet of the east face of this aisle meets at the top the flat plain parapet of the most eastern compartment of the Lady Chapel which projects beyond the aisle, to that extent. The windows of the Lady Chapel are all pointed, and of good perpendicular character; the projecting portion has double buttresses at the external angles, and the eastern face has a low gable point. This chapel is very little higher than the side aisles of the choir, the east face of which is seen over it, with a large lofty pointed window, with perpendicular tracery and several transoms, flanked with octagonal turrets, engaged, andterminated with something like domes of Elizabethan architecture. The parapet of this east face of the choir is flat. The north side of Lady Chapel is similar to the south; the choir and its aisles exhibit features of early English character on this side, but the chapter-room conceals a considerable portion of it, which is a small building of an oblong form, and also of early English architecture. Over its vestibule and the arched passage leading into the east walk of the cloister, is seen the large window in the north front of the transept; the arch is much depressed, the tracery very common and plain, and it has two transoms; the walls of this wing of the transept are very plain, flat at top, and no parapet. The whole north side of the nave can be seen only from the cloister-yard. The south walk of the cloister is gone, and in the wall of the aisle, below the windows, are still seen several enriched semicircular arches resting on short cylindrical columns, evidently belonging to the original church of Hugh Lupus. The windows of the aisle are Tudor arched, with the ordinary tracery of this period; but, owing to the cloister once existing beneath, are necessarily curtailed of half their due length: there is a thin flat buttress between each; the aisle has no parapet. The clerestory is lofty, and the windows pointed, and not so much depressed as those in the aisle beneath: they are not so lofty as those in the south side, nor have they any canopies. There is a thin buttress between each, without pinnacles,and the parapet is quite plain, but not so shallow as that on the south side.“The central tower is perhaps the best external feature of this cathedral, it is indeed only of one story above the roof ridge, but it is loftier than such towers usually are; in each face of it are two pointed windows, divided down the middle with a single mullion, with a quatrefoil at the top, and all of them have flowing crocketted canopies with finials. At each of the four angles of the tower is an octagonal turret engaged, all of which like the tower itself, are terminated with an embattled parapet.”
“Leaving the west front, and turning to the south, a rich and deep porch presents itself behind the consistory court. The south face of that court is very similar, in all respects, to the west, already described. The porch is flanked by buttresses which once had pinnacles. The entrance is under a Tudor arch, within a square head, the spandrils richly panelled, over the square head is a broad belt of quatrefoil panelling, above that a hollow moulding adorned with the Tudor flower. Above this are two flat-headed windows, of two lights each, with a deep niche between them, resting on a projecting bracket, the statue of course is gone, but the projecting and richly decorated canopy remains, on both sides of which the wall above is adorned with two rows of panelling, the open embattled parapet which oncecrowned the whole has disappeared. The south side of the nave and its aisle is plain, but not without dignity; the windows are all pointed and of perpendicular character; those of the aisle have straight canopies, with projecting buttresses between, which still have niches, and once had both pinnacles and statues. The aisle has no parapet. The windows of the clerestory are unusually large and lofty, and their canopies are flowing in form, but perfectly plain, and without finials, they have no buttresses between them, and the parapet is very shallow and quite plain.
“The next feature of this cathedral, which is now to be described in due order, is a very singular one, and indeed unique, viz., the south wing of the transept. It is no uncommon case to find the two portions of the transept unlike each other in some respects; but in no other instance are they so perfectly dissimilar as at Chester. Here, the south wing is nearly as long as the nave, and of equal length with the choir, and considerably broader than either, having, like them, aisles on both sides; while the north, which probably stands upon the original foundations, has no aisles, is very short, and only just the breadth of one side of the central tower. The east and west faces of this south portion of the transept are nearly similar. The aisles have no parapet; the windows are pointed, of four lights each, with late decorated tracery and small intervening buttresses. Theclerestory has a parapet similar to that of the nave; the windows are pointed, large, and lofty, with perpendicular tracery, and two transoms. The south front of this transept, flat at top, is flanked with square embattled turrets and buttresses, and has a large window of the perpendicular age filling up nearly all the space between them. The south face of the aisles on each side have pointed windows, similar to those already described, and sloping tops without parapet, but flanked by double buttresses at the external angles, without pinnacles.
“The south face of the choir, with its aisle, is in nearly all respects similar to the south portion of the transept; but the aisle is lengthened out beyond the choir, and becomes the side aisle of the Lady Chapel, and has an octangular turret near the east end, with embattled parapet, and beyond it a plain heavy clumsy buttress: the sloping parapet of the east face of this aisle meets at the top the flat plain parapet of the most eastern compartment of the Lady Chapel which projects beyond the aisle, to that extent. The windows of the Lady Chapel are all pointed, and of good perpendicular character; the projecting portion has double buttresses at the external angles, and the eastern face has a low gable point. This chapel is very little higher than the side aisles of the choir, the east face of which is seen over it, with a large lofty pointed window, with perpendicular tracery and several transoms, flanked with octagonal turrets, engaged, andterminated with something like domes of Elizabethan architecture. The parapet of this east face of the choir is flat. The north side of Lady Chapel is similar to the south; the choir and its aisles exhibit features of early English character on this side, but the chapter-room conceals a considerable portion of it, which is a small building of an oblong form, and also of early English architecture. Over its vestibule and the arched passage leading into the east walk of the cloister, is seen the large window in the north front of the transept; the arch is much depressed, the tracery very common and plain, and it has two transoms; the walls of this wing of the transept are very plain, flat at top, and no parapet. The whole north side of the nave can be seen only from the cloister-yard. The south walk of the cloister is gone, and in the wall of the aisle, below the windows, are still seen several enriched semicircular arches resting on short cylindrical columns, evidently belonging to the original church of Hugh Lupus. The windows of the aisle are Tudor arched, with the ordinary tracery of this period; but, owing to the cloister once existing beneath, are necessarily curtailed of half their due length: there is a thin flat buttress between each; the aisle has no parapet. The clerestory is lofty, and the windows pointed, and not so much depressed as those in the aisle beneath: they are not so lofty as those in the south side, nor have they any canopies. There is a thin buttress between each, without pinnacles,and the parapet is quite plain, but not so shallow as that on the south side.
“The central tower is perhaps the best external feature of this cathedral, it is indeed only of one story above the roof ridge, but it is loftier than such towers usually are; in each face of it are two pointed windows, divided down the middle with a single mullion, with a quatrefoil at the top, and all of them have flowing crocketted canopies with finials. At each of the four angles of the tower is an octagonal turret engaged, all of which like the tower itself, are terminated with an embattled parapet.”
On entering the interior (says the same authority) through the west doorway, into the nave, some disappointment and regret cannot but be felt. Here is no vaulted roof, but a flat ceiling of wood, resting on brackets of the same material, slightly arched, which gives the nave the appearance of having less elevation than it really possesses; for the naves of many much more magnificent cathedrals are not so lofty as this by several feet, but by being vaulted, their apparent height is increased. The stone vaulting appears to have been actually commenced, and it is to be regretted that the desirable work was not completed, as it would certainly have given to the nave a much more imposing effect. The north wall of the nave, to the height of the windows, is Norman work, and contains, on the side of the cloisters, six tombs, where, as it appears from an old MS. writtenon the back of an old charter, now in the British Museum, the early Norman Abbots are interred. Under a wide arch, sunk in the south wall, which from the ornaments attached to the pillar near it, appears part of the original building, is a coffin-shaped stone, with a cross fleury on the lid, over the remains of some Abbot. Nearly opposite to this, is an altar-tomb, the sides of which are ornamented with Gothic niches, with trefoil heads, and with quatrefoils set alternately, the quatrefoils being also alternately filled with roses and leopards’ heads; the lid slides, and discloses the lead coffin, a part of which has been cut away; on the lid is a plain coffin-shaped stone. It is highly probable that this tomb contains the remains of one of the later Abbots. The pillars of the nave are clustered, and have rich bases and foliated capitals, and the arches are pointed. In this part of the Cathedral and the north transept, are several monuments worthy the attention of visitors. A pyramidical monument by Nollekins, representing a female figure resting on a rock, against which is placed a broken anchor, erected by Capt. John Matthews, R.N. to the memory of his wife. One, in white marble, by Banks, representing the genius of history weeping over an urn, having three vols., inscribed “Longinus,” “Thucydides,” “Xenophon,” placed by it; erected to the memory of Dean Smith, the learned translator of those works. One to the memory of Mrs. Barbara Dod, erected by the minor canons. One to Capt. John WilliamBuchanan, of the 16th light dragoons slain at the battle of Waterloo. One of Cavalier Sir Willm. Mainwaring, killed at Chester during the great civil war, 1644. Against the north wall, a handsome monument, enclosing a bust of Sir John Grey Egerton, Bart., erected by subscriptions of the citizens of Chester, in memory of their honourable and independent representative. One in memory of Major Thomas Hilton, who died at Montmeir, in the Burmese empire, 2nd February, 1829. One to Augusta, the wife of the Rev. James Slade, canon of the Cathedral, and daughter of Bishop Law. One of Capt. John Moor Napier, who died of asiatic cholera, in Scinde, July 7th, 1846, aged 28 years: this monument was executed by Westmacott, the inscription was written by his uncle, the gallant Sir Charles Napier, and is as follows:—
The tomb is no record of high lineage;His may be traced by his name.His race was one of soldiers:Among soldiers he lived—among them he died.A soldier, falling where numbers fell with himIn a barbarous land.Yet there died none more generous,More daring, more gifted, more religious.On his early graveFell the tears of stern and hardy men,As his had fallen on the grave of others.To the memory of their comrade, the officers of the General Staff in Scinde erect this cenotaph.—[The above was executed by Westmacott.]
The tomb is no record of high lineage;His may be traced by his name.His race was one of soldiers:Among soldiers he lived—among them he died.A soldier, falling where numbers fell with himIn a barbarous land.Yet there died none more generous,More daring, more gifted, more religious.On his early graveFell the tears of stern and hardy men,As his had fallen on the grave of others.
To the memory of their comrade, the officers of the General Staff in Scinde erect this cenotaph.—[The above was executed by Westmacott.]
In the north transept is a piece of exceedingly fine tapestry, executed after one of the cartoons ofRaphael, representing the history of Elymas the Sorcerer. Wright, in his travels through France and Italy, after describing the tapestry he saw in the Vatican at Rome, says “We have an altar-piece in the choir of Chester, after one of the same cartoons (it is that of Elymas the Sorcerer), which, in my mind, is much superior to any of these.” There is also a well-executed stone monument to Roger Barnston, Esq., and a tablet in memory of good Chancellor Peploe.
The choir well merits the attention of every visitor of taste. From the organ loft to the Bishop’s throne, the sides are ornamented with rich spiral tabernacle work, underneath which are massive and highly ornamented stalls. The choir is separated from the nave and broad aisle by a Gothic stone screen; there are five pointed arches on each side; above them, is an arcade of pointed arches, resting on slender shafts, and above it are the clerestory windows. The pavement of the choir is of black and white marble. At the west end of it, are four stalls on each side of the entrance, and there are twenty others on each side of the choir; over these are rich canopies, with pinnacles and pendants in great profusion. Above the stalls on the right hand, opposite the pulpit, is the Bishop’s throne, which formerly stood at the east end in St. Mary’s Chapel, and is said to have been the shrine of St. Werburgh, or as suggested by Pennant, the pedestal on which originally stood the real shrinewhich contained the sacred reliques. At the Reformation it was removed to its present position, and converted into a throne for the Bishop. It is a rich specimen of Gothic architecture, decorated with carved work, and embellished with a range of thirty curious small statues, variously habited, holding scrolls in their hands, and originally inscribed with their names, but now defaced. Dr. Cowper published in 1799, an elaborate history of these figures, and was of opinion that they represented kings and saints of the royal Mercian line, ancestors or relations of St. Werburgh. Very great improvements have recently been effected within the choir. The restoration of the bishop’s throne was effected by the munificence of the Rev. Canon Slade, as an obituary testimonial to his late father-in-law, Bishop Law, in memory of whom, the following inscription, engraven upon a brass plate, is affixed to the throne:—
In gloriam Dei hanc cathedram reficiendam curabit A.D. MDCCCXLVI. Jacobus Slade, A.M. hujus ecciesiæ Canonicus. Necuen in piam memoriam Georgii Henrici Law, S.T.P. per xii. annes Episcopi Cestriensis. dein Bathoniensis.
In gloriam Dei hanc cathedram reficiendam curabit A.D. MDCCCXLVI. Jacobus Slade, A.M. hujus ecciesiæ Canonicus. Necuen in piam memoriam Georgii Henrici Law, S.T.P. per xii. annes Episcopi Cestriensis. dein Bathoniensis.
At the back of the throne is a magnificent stone screen, the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury, corresponding in style with that on the opposite side behind the pulpit, which was erected by the Dean and Chapter. The altar screen was presented by the Rev. Peploe Hamilton, of Hoole, near Chester; the larger chair within the rails of the communiontable is the liberal gift of the Dean, and the small one was presented by the Rev. Canon Blomfield; the new lectern, of carved oak in the form of an eagle, by the Rev. Chancellor Raikes, executed by Mr. Harris, of Chester; the new stone pulpit, from a beautiful design by Mr. Hussey, is the liberal gift of Sir Edward S. Walker, of this city. The seats of the choir have been provided with new crimson cushions, the stalls have been re-painted, and the canopies gilded by Mr. John Morris, through the liberality of the Dean. Towards the restoration of the cathedral, Her Majesty the Queen also contributed a donation of £105 in the name of the Prince of Wales as Earl of Chester.
The execution of the alterations were entrusted to Messrs. Furness and Kilpin, of Liverpool, and it is gratifying to add that Chester artificers have been chiefly employed in carrying them out. Mr. Haswell built the organ screen, the throne, the pulpit, the stone work of the new east window in the choir, and re-laid the marble pavement.
Mr. Harrison constructed the reredos at the back of the altar; and the oak seats, screens and altar rails are the work of Mr. J. Evans.
Under the east window is an arch opening to the Lady Chapel, which consists of a middle and two side aisles, the stone vaulting of which is adorned with richly carved key-stones. The side aisles are divided from the middle portion of two arches, sprungfrom a massy pier on each side, apparently part of the original building, cut down and crusted over with clusters of light pillars, terminated in elegant pointed arches, with quatrefoils inserted in the mouldings. On the north side of the chancel, which extends beyond the side aisles, are two elegant pointed arches; one contains two piscinas; the other was apparently a seat for the officiating priest: another pointed arch appears also on the opposite side.
The cloisters are on the north side of the church, and form a quadrangle of about 110 feet square; originally, there were four walks, but the south walk is destroyed. The general style of the cloisters is that of the fifteenth century, with carved key-stones at the intersections of the vaulting, the arches of the windows are depressed; a lavatory projects from the west walk of the cloisters, and did extend along the south walk; over the east walk was a dormitory, which was sometime ago destroyed, much to the injury of the appearance of these conventual ruins. It is obvious that the present cloisters are only a restoration of an earlier one. In the east walk of the cloisters is the entrance into the Chapter House, or rather its singular vestibule, 30 feet 4 inches long, and 27 feet 4 inches wide. The vaulted roof of this apartment is supported by four columns without capitals, surrounded by eight slender shafts. The Chapter room itself is an elegant building, 35 feet high, 50 feet long, and 26 broad. The stone vaultingrests on clusters of slender shafts, with foliated capitals; all the windows are in the latest style, those at the east and west ends consist of five lights each. A gallery goes round three sides of the room, and where it passes the windows is carried between the mullions, and a corresponding series of light shafts connected with them, which have elegant sculptured capitals, and support the mouldings of the lancet arches above. Notwithstanding the soft nature of the stone, the carving is all in an excellent state of preservation.
Pennant has ascribed the erection of this beautiful building to Randle Meschines, on the ground of his having removed the body of Hugh Lupus, “de cœmiterio in capitulum,” as mentioned in his charter to the Abbey; and he is, most probably, right in supposing that the same respect would have been paid at the time of his death, if a Chapter House had then existed. This argument, however, merely tends to prove that the Chapter House was built by Handle Meschines, but as far as can be inferred from the architecture, it may be reasonably doubted whether any part of the present Chapter House was built long before the extinction of the local earldom. The learned Dr. Ormerod is of opinion that this is about the date of its erection, and he is supported by several other competent authorities, who concur with him on the point.
In the Chapter House are preserved some interesting local relics, among which is a red sand stone, 24inches by 8 inches, found on the site of the Deanery, bearing this inscription:—
COH .I.C. OCRATI MAXIMINI . M . P
Mr. Roach Smith, an eminent authority in such matters, says that this inscription is to be ascribed to the century of Ocratius Maximus, of the first Cohort of the 20th Legion; it has evidently been a facing stone, probably in the city wall; it resembles in character the centurial commemorations on the stones in the great northern wall, and like them, apparently refers to the completion of a certain quantity of building.
There is also the head part of a stone coffin, found by persons employed in digging in the Chapter House in 1723. The scull and bones were entire, and lay in their proper position, enveloped in an ox-hide. On the breast was a piece of cloth, the texture of which could not be ascertained. It has been supposed by Pennant and others, that these remains were those of Hugh Lupus, which were removed hither from the churchyard, by his nephew Randle, Earl of Chester. Ormerod seems to be of opinion that this relic designated the place of sepulchre of Abbot Simon Ripley.It is now generally admitted by those most competent to form a judgment on the subject, that Ormerod has given a true interpretation of this interesting relic. The initials, he says, are clearly S. R., and the wolf’s head corresponds in style of carving with a similar one introduced by Simon Ripley on the tower of Saighton Manor House. There are also two shot-torn banners of the 22nd Cheshire regiment of Infantry, which were received from India, after that gallant corps had been presented with new colours, and were presented by the government to the then Dean of Chester (Dr. Davys) for preservation in the Cathedral.
The appearance of this noble room would certainly be much improved by the removal of the unsightly bookcases, which are not in the slightest unison with the beautiful architecture they so much obstruct. Mr. Ashpitel says, “he considers the Chapter House, with its singularly tasteful vestibule, to be the finest in the kingdom of its form;” and has animadverted, with deserving severity, upon the tastelessness of a professed architectural critic, who could pass over the building with the disparaging criticism, “poor enough?” He (Mr. Ashpitel) had been told the same story, but he found beauties which grew upon him more and more at every visit. The Norman remains, he says, are extremely fine—there is work of all kinds of great beauty; and there are the most curious and instructive transitions from style to stylethat perhaps were ever contained in one building.
The north walk of the cloister contained the chief entrance into the refectory of the convent, which still remains a magnificent apartment, now divided by a modern passage, the eastern and greater portion being used as the King’s School. It was seventy-eight feet long, and thirty-four feet high, with a roof of oak resting on brackets, which was removed some years ago. Six pointed windows with intervening buttresses lighted the north side, and four the south. At the east end were three lancet-shaped windows, with slender detached shafts, all included within one greater arch. In the south east angle of this once noble room, is a flight of steps within the wall, with a projection at the upper end like a stone pulpit; these steps led to the ancient dormitory, and opens into the refectory by an elegant range of pointed arches, trefoiled within, whose spandrils are pierced with a series of quatrefoils.
Norman Vaulted Chamber, Chester Cathedral, date about 1095
We now direct the visitor’s attention to a portion of the Norman edifice, which has of late excited very deep interest, the Promptuarium, lately excavated:
“the chamber is a sort of gallery or cloister on the ground floor, about ninety feet long by forty feet wide, traversed in the centre by a row of pillars (with one exception cylindrical), which divide it into six double bays, from which pillars, and four corresponding ones at each side, spring the intersecting arches by which the building is vaulted. The sidepillars are as entirely Norman in their character as the centre ones, being simply the square pier, on each face of which is the pilaster attached; the groining of the roof is without the finish of ribs at the joints, a finish characteristic of a later period. The chamber, which has at present only a borrowed light from the cloisters on the east, was originally lighted from the west side, by a window in each bay, except the second bay from the south end, in which was a principal entrance. This doorway and the windows are now all choked up by the adjoining garden. On the same side, and at the north end, is a very large chimney and fire-place. A glance at the groining and arches at the north end, informing us that the chamber did formerly end here, I was induced to think, by this situation of the fire-place, that its length was originally very much greater. I have since found the termination of the chamber in the cellars of the present Registry, where the groining is supported by corbels, which shew that the vaults extended there, but no further. One double bay, therefore, added to the present remains, gives us the entire length of the building,—about one hundred and five feet. In this last bay, on the east side, is a principal doorway (four inches wider than the one on the west side), leading towards the refectory. On the east side also, and near the north end, is a postern from the cloisters and a spiral staircase, partly constructed in the thickness of the wall,leading to the chamber above, of which there are now no remains. Two small archways at opposite sides of the chamber, precisely similar in form and size, and rising from beneath the level of the floor, seemed to indicate a subterranean passage connecting them. An excavation round each has, however, discovered no channel between them. In considering the character and situation of this vaulted chamber it should be borne in mind that though now apparently subterranean, it is only so with reference to the west side, the level of the floor being four feet above the level of the nave of the cathedral. The ground which now rises above it on the west side is allmadeground of late date, belonging to the Palace, the original level of which is identical with this chamber, as shewn by the area round the present Palace kitchens, and by those apartments belonging to the Abbot’s residence, which yet remain.”[74]
“the chamber is a sort of gallery or cloister on the ground floor, about ninety feet long by forty feet wide, traversed in the centre by a row of pillars (with one exception cylindrical), which divide it into six double bays, from which pillars, and four corresponding ones at each side, spring the intersecting arches by which the building is vaulted. The sidepillars are as entirely Norman in their character as the centre ones, being simply the square pier, on each face of which is the pilaster attached; the groining of the roof is without the finish of ribs at the joints, a finish characteristic of a later period. The chamber, which has at present only a borrowed light from the cloisters on the east, was originally lighted from the west side, by a window in each bay, except the second bay from the south end, in which was a principal entrance. This doorway and the windows are now all choked up by the adjoining garden. On the same side, and at the north end, is a very large chimney and fire-place. A glance at the groining and arches at the north end, informing us that the chamber did formerly end here, I was induced to think, by this situation of the fire-place, that its length was originally very much greater. I have since found the termination of the chamber in the cellars of the present Registry, where the groining is supported by corbels, which shew that the vaults extended there, but no further. One double bay, therefore, added to the present remains, gives us the entire length of the building,—about one hundred and five feet. In this last bay, on the east side, is a principal doorway (four inches wider than the one on the west side), leading towards the refectory. On the east side also, and near the north end, is a postern from the cloisters and a spiral staircase, partly constructed in the thickness of the wall,leading to the chamber above, of which there are now no remains. Two small archways at opposite sides of the chamber, precisely similar in form and size, and rising from beneath the level of the floor, seemed to indicate a subterranean passage connecting them. An excavation round each has, however, discovered no channel between them. In considering the character and situation of this vaulted chamber it should be borne in mind that though now apparently subterranean, it is only so with reference to the west side, the level of the floor being four feet above the level of the nave of the cathedral. The ground which now rises above it on the west side is allmadeground of late date, belonging to the Palace, the original level of which is identical with this chamber, as shewn by the area round the present Palace kitchens, and by those apartments belonging to the Abbot’s residence, which yet remain.”[74]
Mr. Ashpitel, in his interesting lecture on Chester Cathedral, bestowed the name of Promptuarium on this Norman cloister, he says, “these are vaulted apartments of early Norman work, and are described in the charter of Henry VIII., by which he divides the properties between the bishop and dean,promptuaria et pannaria, the former derived from a word denoting a butler or steward, probably a buttery; and the latter, frompannus, a cloth, probably the place for clothing.”
Mr. Ayrton, in an able paper on the Norman remains of the cathedral, read before the Chester Archæological Association, entered into an elaborate inquiry on the subject, stating his reasons for concluding that this is not aPromptuarium, but, in his opinion, a spacious hall, where the splendid hospitality of the Abbots was displayed to strangers, friends, and dependents. His arguments are marshalled with great ingenuity and force; and as every contribution which tends to throw light on the use, to which this remain of the ancient monastery was devoted, possesses much importance and interest; we will here insert his observations upon it:—
“Let us see how far we have any authority for considering this building a ‘Promptuarium,’ that is, a store-room or buttery. All that Ormerod says of it is, that ‘it is a kind of crypt, consisting of a double row of circular arches, springing, with one exception, from short cylindrical columns. This building was probably used as a depository for the imported stores of the abbey, of which we may form no mean idea from a charter from the King of the Isles to the Abbot of St. Werburgh, granting ingress and egress to the vessels of the Monks of the Abbey of St. Werburgh, with sale and purchase of goods, toll free, and right of fishing upon his coasts.’ (Vol. I. page 218.) But he gives us no authority for the use ascribed to it; only his own unsupported supposition hazarded when the building was not so farcleared or intelligible as at present. The name “Promptuarium” was bestowed on it by Mr. Ashpitel when it was cleared out and restored to its present condition at the expense of the British Archæological Association, under the direction of the Local Committee, preparatory to the Congress of 1849. He derives the name from a sentence in Henry the VIII’s. charter (dividing the properties between the Bishop and the Dean and Chapter,) and speaks of this building in theplural, which agrees with his reading of the charter, but does not agree with the fact. He says, in his lecture on Chester Cathedral, ‘These are vaulted apartments of early Norman work, and are described in the charter of Henry VIII., by which he divides the properties between the Bishop and the Dean asPromptuaria et Pannaria, the former derived from a word denoting a butler or steward, probably a buttery, and the latter frompannus, a cloth, probably the place for clothing.’ The sentence to which Mr. Ashpitel alludes, and which he applies to this building, is the one describing the chamber which was called the “secunda aula”—“nec non secundam aulam,seu interiorem cum suis pannariis,promptuariis,et ceteris ejusdem membris.”“No doubt the hall, which was of great importance, had its Promptuaria and pannaria, with its other appropriate offices; but I see no ground for applying these plural designations to a single chamber of such extent and character. We find the same terms usedelsewhere in the charter with reference to other parts of the building, where there is no such chamber on which to bestow them. I must also suggest that we do not elsewhere find in remains of this date, buildings of such unbroken extent, magnitude, and continuous design, for such a purpose. Store-houses and offices there were attached to every conventual building of like importance, but we shall find them, I apprehend, always more equally quadrangular, more confined, and with a regard to convenience which predominates over the attention paid to style and effect. Here we have a chamber of vast extent (we have now ascertained its original length to have been 105 feet), in which the design has been kept carefully unbroken by the details or partitions necessary to offices such as the word ‘Promptuarium’ describes. We see throughout the whole extent great attention paid to the arrangements, the regularity, and the ornamentation of the building; and we find the pillars, the capitals, shafts, and bases, unbroken and uninjured save by the hand of time, and, notwithstanding the friable nature of the stone, for the most part as sharp and well defined as they were left by the chisel of the mason. It appears to me impossible to reconcile all these particulars with the purposes assigned to the building by Ormerod, or by Mr. Ashpitel.“I may now perhaps be asked, ‘If this chamber was neither a store-room nor a Promptuarium, what was it?’ It is not without hesitation that I attemptto answer that question. From its length, its double bay of arches, and its situation between the church, the refectory, and the Abbot’s apartments, I should have deemed it a cloister; probablytheNorman cloister, when the ground occupied by the present cloisters was differently appropriated; but, unlike a cloister, it is closed on every side, and the existence of the fire-place does not agree with that assumption; added to which the original windows are all on the side belonging to the Abbot’s apartments, the side to the church having been entirely closed with the exception of the postern. My belief is, that it was no other than the “Secunda Aula” itself, mentioned in Henry the Eighth’s charter; a sort of spacious hall for the accommodation of the Abbot’s friends and dependents, for the reception of strangers, and the exercise of that large hospitality which was dealt out so freely and bountifully in the eleventh and succeeding centuries in all important monastic establishments. That its claim to the title of the “Secunda Aula” has hitherto been overlooked, may arise from its having been erroneously considered (as by Ormerod) a sort of crypt, or subterranean building; whereas a little consideration of its level, and the ground around it, will shew us that it has only assumed that character since the sixteenth century.”[78]
“Let us see how far we have any authority for considering this building a ‘Promptuarium,’ that is, a store-room or buttery. All that Ormerod says of it is, that ‘it is a kind of crypt, consisting of a double row of circular arches, springing, with one exception, from short cylindrical columns. This building was probably used as a depository for the imported stores of the abbey, of which we may form no mean idea from a charter from the King of the Isles to the Abbot of St. Werburgh, granting ingress and egress to the vessels of the Monks of the Abbey of St. Werburgh, with sale and purchase of goods, toll free, and right of fishing upon his coasts.’ (Vol. I. page 218.) But he gives us no authority for the use ascribed to it; only his own unsupported supposition hazarded when the building was not so farcleared or intelligible as at present. The name “Promptuarium” was bestowed on it by Mr. Ashpitel when it was cleared out and restored to its present condition at the expense of the British Archæological Association, under the direction of the Local Committee, preparatory to the Congress of 1849. He derives the name from a sentence in Henry the VIII’s. charter (dividing the properties between the Bishop and the Dean and Chapter,) and speaks of this building in theplural, which agrees with his reading of the charter, but does not agree with the fact. He says, in his lecture on Chester Cathedral, ‘These are vaulted apartments of early Norman work, and are described in the charter of Henry VIII., by which he divides the properties between the Bishop and the Dean asPromptuaria et Pannaria, the former derived from a word denoting a butler or steward, probably a buttery, and the latter frompannus, a cloth, probably the place for clothing.’ The sentence to which Mr. Ashpitel alludes, and which he applies to this building, is the one describing the chamber which was called the “secunda aula”—“nec non secundam aulam,seu interiorem cum suis pannariis,promptuariis,et ceteris ejusdem membris.”
“No doubt the hall, which was of great importance, had its Promptuaria and pannaria, with its other appropriate offices; but I see no ground for applying these plural designations to a single chamber of such extent and character. We find the same terms usedelsewhere in the charter with reference to other parts of the building, where there is no such chamber on which to bestow them. I must also suggest that we do not elsewhere find in remains of this date, buildings of such unbroken extent, magnitude, and continuous design, for such a purpose. Store-houses and offices there were attached to every conventual building of like importance, but we shall find them, I apprehend, always more equally quadrangular, more confined, and with a regard to convenience which predominates over the attention paid to style and effect. Here we have a chamber of vast extent (we have now ascertained its original length to have been 105 feet), in which the design has been kept carefully unbroken by the details or partitions necessary to offices such as the word ‘Promptuarium’ describes. We see throughout the whole extent great attention paid to the arrangements, the regularity, and the ornamentation of the building; and we find the pillars, the capitals, shafts, and bases, unbroken and uninjured save by the hand of time, and, notwithstanding the friable nature of the stone, for the most part as sharp and well defined as they were left by the chisel of the mason. It appears to me impossible to reconcile all these particulars with the purposes assigned to the building by Ormerod, or by Mr. Ashpitel.
“I may now perhaps be asked, ‘If this chamber was neither a store-room nor a Promptuarium, what was it?’ It is not without hesitation that I attemptto answer that question. From its length, its double bay of arches, and its situation between the church, the refectory, and the Abbot’s apartments, I should have deemed it a cloister; probablytheNorman cloister, when the ground occupied by the present cloisters was differently appropriated; but, unlike a cloister, it is closed on every side, and the existence of the fire-place does not agree with that assumption; added to which the original windows are all on the side belonging to the Abbot’s apartments, the side to the church having been entirely closed with the exception of the postern. My belief is, that it was no other than the “Secunda Aula” itself, mentioned in Henry the Eighth’s charter; a sort of spacious hall for the accommodation of the Abbot’s friends and dependents, for the reception of strangers, and the exercise of that large hospitality which was dealt out so freely and bountifully in the eleventh and succeeding centuries in all important monastic establishments. That its claim to the title of the “Secunda Aula” has hitherto been overlooked, may arise from its having been erroneously considered (as by Ormerod) a sort of crypt, or subterranean building; whereas a little consideration of its level, and the ground around it, will shew us that it has only assumed that character since the sixteenth century.”[78]
There is a vaulted passage at the south end of the “Promptuarium,” or “Secunda Aula,” leading from the Abbot’s apartments to the Cathedral. It is groined in exactly the same proportions as the bays of the Norman chamber, and the arches are circular, springing from pillars precisely similar, but the groining is ribbed, and not with cylindrical, but eliptical mouldings. These mouldings stamp a semi-Norman character on the work, being almost a transition to the early English style.
Norman doorway
Two beautiful Norman doorways gave ingress and egress from this passage, and still remain, though the one which opened to the present west cloister is closed, and sadly disfigured by the alterations of the sixteenth century. The other doorway to the west, is perfect, excepting the shafts of the pillars, which are gone. The capitals supporting one side of the architrave are foliated and of late character for Norman work.
At the south end of the east cloister, and forming the present entrance from that cloister to the cathedral, is a Norman doorway, of about the same date as the arcade adjoining it. The architrave is very ornate, bearing the billet ornament, accompanied by a bead which runs between the mouldings. Unfortunately the stone has perished more in this doorway from exposure than in those of the vaulted passage; but still more has been lost from the unmerciful treatment it has received at the hands of the plasterer. It is quite choked up with plaster and colouring, which might, with a little care and trouble, be all removed, and the door restored to something more like its original effect. The capitals of the pilasters are foliated, and identical with those already noticed in the Norman doorway of the vaulted passage.
In 1843, a liberal subscription for the purchase of two painted windows having been made, the Dean and Chapter made an appeal for an additional fund, for the praiseworthy purpose of restoring some portion of the ancient beauties of the cathedral. The appeal was most liberally responded to by the subscription of the munificent sum of £4000. A new organ has been erected at a cost of £1000., built by Messrs. Gray and Davidson, of London; it is a large and splendid instrument, of great power and richness of tone; the top of which is carved with tabernacle work, in unison with that of the choir. The instrument contains the following stops:—
The Great Organ, extending from CC to F, contains Double Diapason, sixteen feet—Open Diapason, eight feet—Open Diapason, eight feet—Stopped Diapason and Clarabella, eight feet—Fifth, six feet—Principal, four feet—Flute, four feet—Twelfth, three feet—Fifteenth, two feet—Sesquialtra, three ranks—Furniture, two ranks—Mixture, two ranks—Trumpet, eight feet—Clarion, four feet.
Swell Organ, from FF to F, contains:—Double Diapason, sixteen feet—Open Diapason, eight feet—Stopped Diapason, eight feet—Principal, four feet—Fifteenth, two feet—Sesquialtra, three ranks—Hautboy, eight feet—Cornopean, eight feet—Clarion, four feet.
Choir Organfrom GG to F, contains:—Open Diapason, eight feet—Dulciana, eight feet—Stopped Diapason, eight feet—Principal, four feet—Flute, four feet—Fifteenth, two feet—Clarionet, eight feet.
Pedal Organ, from CCC to D, two octaves and two notes, contains:—Open Diapason (wood), sixteen feet—Stopped Diapason, sixteen feet—Principal, eight feet—Fifteenth, four feet—Tierce, three and a quarter feet—Sesquialtra, two ranks.
Couplæ:—Swell to Great Manual—Swell to Choir Manual—Choir to Great Manual—Great Manual to Pedals—Choir Manual to Pedals.
There are four Composition Pedalsr for changing the Stops in the Great Organ.
The old pews, which were sadly out of keeping withthe rich Gothic woodwork of the stalls, have been removed, and the choir has been new seated in the Gothic style.
The whole of the choir has been vaulted, which has greatly contributed to its improved appearance. The walls of the choir, aisles, and Lady Chapel, have been repaired, cleaned, and coloured. Three beautiful stained glass windows have been placed at the east end of the choir and in the Lady Chapel, which have given a much more solemn and impressive aspect to the interior. The clerestory window of the choir has five figures, representing our Saviour and the four Evangelists, surrounded with their various emblems; over which are five scenes from the life of Christ, viz., the Agony in the Garden; Bearing the Cross; the Crucifixion; the Resurrection; and the Ascension. This window was executed by Mr. Wailes, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, at the cost of £200. The window of the Lady Chapel represents, in its lower divisions, the following important transactions in the history of the Redeemer’s sojourn upon earth:—The Annunciation to the Shepherds—the Nativity—the Offerings of the Wise Men of the East—the Presentation in the Temple—Christ Disputing with the Doctors—the Baptism—the Miracle of turning the Water into Wine—Healing the Lame—Walking on the Sea—Feeding the Multitude—the Transfiguration—the Raising of Lazarus—the Entry into Jerusalem—Washing the Disciples’ Feet—andthe Last Supper. The upper division of the window contains figures of the twelve Apostles; ranged in the order in which their names are given in Sacred Writ. This window was also executed by Mr. Wailes, at the cost of £360, and of the outer guards £60.
A magnificent window by the same artist, has also been placed in the south aisle of the choir, by the Very Rev. the Dean, in memory of three deceased members of his family. The inscription is as follows:—
“Sancta Catherina—‘The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.’—Catherine Louisa Anson, died and buried at Southwell, March 28, 1832, aged 18, third daughter.”“Sanctus Thomas—‘Thy brother shall rise again’—Thomas Anson, Lieut. R.N., died and buried at Sudbury, March 17, 1845, aged 24, fourth son.”“Sancta Maria—‘The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.’—Mary Blomfield, wife of the Rev. G. B. Blomfield, Canon of Chester, died and buried at Stevenage, August 6, 1848, aged 38, 2nd daughter of the Rev. Frederick Anson, D.D. Dean of Chester, by whom this memorial is placed.”
“Sancta Catherina—‘The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.’—Catherine Louisa Anson, died and buried at Southwell, March 28, 1832, aged 18, third daughter.”
“Sanctus Thomas—‘Thy brother shall rise again’—Thomas Anson, Lieut. R.N., died and buried at Sudbury, March 17, 1845, aged 24, fourth son.”
“Sancta Maria—‘The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.’—Mary Blomfield, wife of the Rev. G. B. Blomfield, Canon of Chester, died and buried at Stevenage, August 6, 1848, aged 38, 2nd daughter of the Rev. Frederick Anson, D.D. Dean of Chester, by whom this memorial is placed.”
Another obituary window has more recently been erected; placed next to the latter. It is in memory of George Edward Anson, Esq., son of the Dean of Chester. The inscription is as follows:—In memory of George Edwd. Anson, Esq. C.B., Keeper of H.M. Privy Purse; Treasurer of H.R.H. PrinceAlbert, and to the Prince of Wales. Suddenly called away from the faithful but unostentatious discharge of high official duties to his rest in Christ, on the 9th day of October, 1849, aged 37. He was the 2nd son of the Rev. Frederick Anson, D.D., Dean of this Cathedral, with whose bereavement the inhabitants of this city and neighbourhood record their sympathy, and commemorate his zeal in the restoration of the Cathedral Church, by erecting this memorial window. Mr. Hardman of Birmingham was the artist; and the cost of the window £180. The events represented are the Raising of Jairus’ Daughter—Raising of Lazarus—Raising the Widow’s Son—Entombment and Resurrection of our Lord—and, Our Lord appearing to Mary.
The service of the cathedral is performed with great solemnity and fine taste; and the talented organist, Mr. Gunton, merits great praise for the admirable manner in which he fulfils his important duties.
The hours of Service are:—Week-day: morning, 7 10; afternoon, 3. Sunday:—morning, 11; afternoon, 4 o’clock. During the winter months the service begins at 4 in the afternoon. There is an anthem every day in the afternoon service.
The following is a list of the dignitaries of the cathedral:—
F. Anson, D.D.
Rev. J. Slade, M.A.
Rev. T. Eaton, M.A.
Rev. G. B. Blomfield, M.A.
Rev. T. Hillyard, M.A.
Rev. Henry Raikes, M.A.
Rev. H. McNeile, D.D.
Rev. C. A. Thurlow, M.A.
Rev. H. Stowell, M.A.
R. W. Gleadowe, M.A.
W. H. Massie, M.A.
W. Harrison, M.A.
E. E. Thurland, B.A., Precentor, &c.
In concluding this record of the venerable Cathedral of Chester, we think it will have appeared, that while it has ahistoryof deep interest and significance, it has also many architectural beauties, well deserving of a minute and careful study.
“Amid the imposing growth of material wealth and pride, it is not unseasonable to remember thattemple architectureis the oldest in the world; and to ask, after so impressive a vindication of its longevity, whether having been the earliest, it may not prove the latest term of human civilization. I am persuaded that so it will be; for there is in the soul of man ‘a temple not made with hands,’ which demands and shapes forth the visible structure as its shell of life; which is ever fresh amid the change and wreck of ages, and can build again the ruins of the past; indeed, the hidden cloister of whose worship will remain still open, and thrill with higher strains, when time and its structures shall be no more.”
“Amid the imposing growth of material wealth and pride, it is not unseasonable to remember thattemple architectureis the oldest in the world; and to ask, after so impressive a vindication of its longevity, whether having been the earliest, it may not prove the latest term of human civilization. I am persuaded that so it will be; for there is in the soul of man ‘a temple not made with hands,’ which demands and shapes forth the visible structure as its shell of life; which is ever fresh amid the change and wreck of ages, and can build again the ruins of the past; indeed, the hidden cloister of whose worship will remain still open, and thrill with higher strains, when time and its structures shall be no more.”