CANTERBURY CHRISTCHURCH GATEWAYCANTERBURYCHRISTCHURCH 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 thatthe 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 à 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.
Canute, after his usurpation of the throne, rebuilt a great part of the city and restored theCathedral; 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."
CANTERBURY INTERIOR OF THE NAVECANTERBURYINTERIOR OF THE NAVE
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. Fouryears 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 severalsuccessors, 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 à 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 thetwelve windows in the Trinity Chapel which suffered severely at the hands of the Puritans in 1642.
CANTERBURY THE NORMAN STAIRWAYCANTERBURYTHE 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 à 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 theinterior, 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, stillundecided 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 shrineworthy of their Saint and the God who honoured him.
DURHAM FRAMWELL GATE BRIDGEDURHAMFRAMWELL 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 ofBishop Van Milvert in 1836, it was deprived of all temporal jurisdictions and privileges.
DURHAM FROM THE RAILWAYDURHAMFROM 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, inEdward 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.
DURHAM INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL LOOKING ACROSS THE NAVE INTO SOUTH TRANSEPTDURHAMINTERIOR 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 ofBishop 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 theinterior of man's destructive power in the mutilation of the Neville tombs.
DURHAM ELVET BRIDGEDURHAMELVET 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 régime 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 themouth of a grotesque monster, by which offenders seeking sanctuary made their presence known.
DURHAM THE WESTERN TOWERSDURHAMTHE 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. Thetermination "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 arrestthe 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.
The damage was repaired by Bishop Hackett in1671. 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.
LICHFIELD THE WEST FRONTLICHFIELDTHE WEST FRONT
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 monumentto 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 Alfredthe 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 mediæval 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 whenviewed 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.
OXFORD CHRISTCHURCH. INTERIOR OF THE NAVEOXFORDCHRISTCHURCH. 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 threeseparate 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 à 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 asynod 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.
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 theLollards; 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.
OXFORD CHRISTCHURCH GATEWAYOXFORDCHRISTCHURCH GATEWAY
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, matriculatedat 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 thenom de plumeof "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 theiralma 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," thesumptuous 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 atonementfor 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 mediæval 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, butalso 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.
Six years before the death of Henry VIII., towit, 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."