LINCOLN THE WEST TOWERSLINCOLNTHE WEST TOWERS
In pursuance of a decree of a synod held at London at this time, that all the episcopal sees should be removed to fortified places, Remigius,the Bishop of Dorchester, determined to establish the seat of his diocese at Lincoln. He built the church and an episcopal palace, but died just before its consecration.
His work was completed by his successor, Robert Bloet. In the reign of Henry II. the Diocese, which once extended from the Thames to the Humber, was curtailed to add a part to form that of Ely. It again suffered diminution in Henry VIII.'s time, when the limits of the Sees of Oxford and Peterborough were defined. In spite of it all, Lincoln's see is fairly extensive, though it suffered again in 1884. Prior to this monarch's reign Lincoln had as many as fifty-two churches, but when he decided upon reformation from Popery their number was greatly diminished. Their names, still preserved, are the sole reminders of their former existence, with the exception of fourteen which remain. These have probably been rebuilt.
Before entering further concerning the See, and the Cathedral founded by Remigius, which was constantly in the hands of the architect even down to recent years, we shall add the chief political events subsequent to Stephen. On the death of this monarch, Henry II., probably not satisfied with his coronation in London, underwent theceremony again at Wigford, a place just a little to the south of Lincoln city.
John here early in his reign received the homage of David the King of Scotland. During the struggle with the barons in 1216 the citizens remained loyal to their sovereign; but their city was taken at last in 1217, and invested by the barons under Gilbert de Gaunt, afterwards created Earl of Lincoln. After the disaster that overtook John's army in the passage across the Wash, and his death, which took place soon afterwards, his son Henry III. was loyally assisted by the inhabitants against the barons, who had summoned to their aid Louis, the Dauphin of France. The Castle, however, remained for many years in the possession of the Crown. Eventually it became the summer residence of the celebrated John of Gaunt. He was Earl of Lincoln, and in 1396 married here Lady Swinford, who was a sister-in-law to Chaucer.
Several times Parliament was held in Lincoln; namely, twice by Edward I., and in 1301 and 1305; twice also by Edward II.; and in the first year of Edward III.'s reign.
Henry VI. paid a visit, as did also Henry VII., who held a public thanksgiving for his victory over Richard III. at the battle of Bosworth Field.
Throughout the parliamentary war the inhabitantswere staunch supporters of the Crown. The city was stormed by Earl Manchester, an indefatigable soldier of Cromwell. The Commonwealth troopers during their occupation created considerable havoc in the ecclesiastical buildings. According to their invariable custom they stabled their horses and housed themselves within the cathedral walls. Not satisfied with that, they damaged the tombs and deprived the niches of their statuary.
To go back a matter of four hundred years to this period, the population of Lincoln roseen masseagainst the Jews. They were alleged to have crucified a little Lincoln boy, presumably a Christian, at a place called Dunestall in the year 1255. The enraged mob wreaked their vengeance by causing the execution of eighteen Jews, murdering many more, and later on making a saint of the victim, under the name of "little Saint Hugh." The punishment seems to be out of proportion to the crime. In fact little Hugh's crucifixion appears rather to have served as an excuse for the wrongful persecution of the Semitic race than for the proper administration of the law irrespective of creed. Even to this day this regrettable racial feeling is kept alive. In the middle ages this bitter feeling was fostered and brought about chiefly owingto the wonderful success of the Jews in England, who grew rich upon the profits accruing to usury, which they alone might exercise. Among many prominent instances of popular vengeance, besides little St. Hugh's murder, are the tombs of boy-martyrs, shrines which became often the most popular in the Cathedral.
The most characteristic are the records of the burials, attended with great pomp, of St. William of Norwich in 1144, Harold of Gloucester in 1168, Robert of Edmundsbury in 1184, a nameless boy in London in 1244, and St. Hugh of Lincoln in 1255; boys canonised by the populace simply through bitter racial feeling. Remains of the shrine of little St. Hugh are still extant at Lincoln.
Among the many interesting antiquities of Lincoln is a fine specimen of the Norman domestic architecture. It is called the Jews' House, and it is an edifice of curious design. Its mouldings much resemble those of the west portals of the Cathedral, a date which probably would be 1184. The house belonged to a Jewess called Belaset de Wallingford. She was hanged in the reign of Edward I. for clipping the coin.
Besides this are noticeable the ancient conduits of St. Mary le Wigford, which is Gothic, and the Greyfriars Conduit in High Street.
In the cloister garden are preserved a tesselated pavement and the sepulchral slab of a Roman soldier. From the same place the splendidly carved stone coffin lid of Bishop Remigius has recently been removed into the interior of the Cathedral.
In the years 1884 to 1891 excavations were conducted on the site of the old "Angel Inn," when it was discovered that it had been a Roman burial-place. Amongst the débris were found several funeral urns. Under St. Peter's at Gowts was brought to light a Roman altar, and remains of a Roman villa were unearthed at Greetwell. In the same year, that is to say 1884, the Blue Coat School was closed, its endowments were given to the Middle School, and the buildings were sold to the Church Institute.
Within the last few years two memorable events occurred. In the year 1884 the See of Lincoln was deprived of the county of Nottingham, which was transferred from that see to the See of Southwell. This was followed shortly afterwards by the great lawsuit called "The Lincoln Judgment."
Great controversy arose and came to a climax. In the year 1888 Dr. King, the Bishop of Lincoln, was cited before his metropolitan, Dr. Benson, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to answer charges ofvarious ritual offences alleged to have been committed by himself at the administration of the Holy Communion.
The action was brought by certain gentlemen of Lincoln interested in the doings of their prelate. Their religious scruples had been outraged, it appears, on two separate occasions; namely, in the Church of St. Peter's at Gowts on December 4, 1887, and in the Cathedral on December 10 of the same year. An appeal had been made to the Archbishop to restrain these illegal practices. The celebrated ecclesiastical lawsuit was heard in 1888. The judgment was confined to the declarations of the law, which were summarised. No monition or sentence was pronounced against the Bishop of Lincoln for having committed breaches of the ecclesiastical law. The dissension has happily ended. The Bishop of Lincoln has conformed his practice to the Archbishop's judgment from the date of its delivery, and still retains his bishopric. Thus has ended the conflict between the Primate and the Suffragan, which agitated, for a brief space of time, the opponents of offences of ritualism, and brought about the famous Lincoln Judgment.
Bath
Baden-ceaster.("Doomsday Book.")
ON the banks of the river Avon, in the County of Somersetshire, is situated the beautiful and ancient city of Bath. Its ecclesiastical history is closely bound up with that of Wells, and at one time with that of Glastonbury, when it figures in the disputes concerning the See. This unseemly quarrelling amongst prelates is now happily laid at rest. Though lacking in all authority, Bath is the joint partner of Wells in the bishopric title.
The origin of the city of Bath takes us far back. Perhaps the strongest link with the Roman days, besides the Roman roads, lies in the present-day existence of the Roman baths, built about 55B.C.
These baths were probably erected to confine the hot springs, and to enjoy more thoroughly the benefit derived from the medicinal properties of these waters, which are chalybeate and saline.
Though we are told that in all probability it is a mere myth that the British king, Bladud, first founded this city of Bath, yet we are inclined to think that the presence of these springs would influence a settlement of even the nomadic British, prior to the Roman invasion.
When we remember what primitive ideas the early Britons had, we cannot wonder at the non-existence of any vestiges of their occupation. In these days of materialism one loves to respect old traditions, however uncertain they may be in substance. We would therefore give the benefit of the doubt to an early British settlement.
With the arrival of the Romans the approximate date and origin of Bath can be readily ascertained. From excavations on the place since the year 1875, it has been proved that the Romans founded here a city, which they named Aquae Solis, in the reign of Claudius. In 55B.C.the baths had been constructed for certain. In addition to this they erected a temple to Minerva, with votive offerings, and many other buildings, and carried a line of fortifications and walls around the city. The remains of their marvellous architecture still bear testimony, though they have suffered ill-treatment and undergone restoration, to their former magnificence and grandeur.
On the retirement of the Romans Aquae Solis passed into the hands of the Britons, under the name of Cœr Palladen (the city of the waters of Pallas). During their possession of a century, two attacks made by the Saxon chieftains, Œlla and Cerdic, were repulsed by King Arthur.
The Saxons, by the year 577, having practically subverted the rest of the kingdom, turned their attention to the West. They seized and ravaged Bath. The Roman structures were reduced to ruins. After a while they rebuilt the walls and fortifications upon the original foundations, employing the old materials. The baths also were soon restored. By this time the Saxons had renamed the city, "Hat Bathur" (Hot baths), and "Ace-mannes-ceaster" (City of invalids). The "ceaster" tacked on to the Saxon word is the first evidence we get of the Saxon recognition of the former existence of the Roman occupation of this city.
With the spreading influence of Christianity travelling from the east to the west of England in the seventh century, a nunnery was erected here, in 676, by King Osric. This was destroyed during the wars of the Heptarchy, and on its site a college of secular canons was founded, in 775, by Offa, King of Mercia. This monarch had taken Bathfrom the King of Wessex, and had annexed it to his own kingdom. Possibly in recognition of this victory he built an abbey in 775.
After this the city evidently increased in prosperity, for it was important enough to witness the coronation of Edgar in 973, as King of England, by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. At the same time Edgar converted the college of secular canons into a Benedictine monastery. This, with the church, was again demolished by the Danes.
This city of Bath, like all other cities of that time, came under the Norman Survey, and was entered in Doomsday Book as Baden-ceaster. William Rufus had scarce been crowned king when Bath was seized and burnt, the most part by Geoffry, Bishop of Coutances, and Robert de Mowbray. They had jointly risen in support of the claim laid to the throne of England by Robert Duke of Normandy. But under the abbacy of John de Villula it soon recovered prosperity. This abbot, on promotion to the See of Wells, about 1090, purchased the city from Henry I. He built a new church, and removed the See from Wells to this place. Here it remained till 1193, when Bishop Savaricus handed it over to Richard I., in exchange for Glastonbury Abbey.
BATH PULTENEY BRIDGEBATHPULTENEY BRIDGE
About this time Bath received its first charter asa free borough from this monarch, and was represented in Parliament in 1297. In 1330 the manufacture of woollen cloth was established by the monks. By reason of this the shuttle was incorporated in the arms of the monastery. In 1447, and in 1590, Henry VI. and Elizabeth respectively granted charters, which materially increased the prospects of the city.
This present cruciform Abbey Church dates from 1499. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and forms one of the best specimens of the later style of English architecture. It rests upon the site of the conventual church of the monastery founded by Osric. After a course of eight hundred years it became dilapidated, and was rebuilt from the old materials in 1495, by Bishop Oliver King. He is said to have been admonished in a dream. He did not live to see the completion of the building.
As the citizens refused to purchase it from the Commissioners of Henry VIII., the walls were left roofless till Dr. James Montague, Bishop of the Diocese, with the aid of the local nobility and gentry, procured the necessary funds, and finished it in 1606.
On the west front is sculptured the founder's dream of angels ascending and descending onJacob's ladder. The church is crowned with a quadrangular tower of 162 feet in height from the point of intersection.
Though the medicinal properties of the springs of Bath attracted from the earliest times the continuous attention of invalids, it was only under the guidance of Beau Nash, the gamester, and the enterprise of John Wood, the architect, that it reached to the highest pinnacle of fame as a place of fashionable resort in the eighteenth century. The works of Fielding, Smollett, Jane Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, and others, give us a clear insight into the meteor-like prosperity of the city, for, after the death of Nash, it gradually relapsed to its normal state, and, in fact, according to statistics, the number of inhabitants has decreased even within the last few years.
A brief sketch of Beau Nash and the means adopted will account in some measure for the marvellous change in Bath in the eighteenth century. Nash was educated at Carmarthen Grammar School, and Jesus College, Oxford. He then obtained a commission in the army. This he soon threw up to become a law-student at the Middle Temple. Whilst there he gained much attention by his wit and sociability. These qualities induced his fellow-students to elect himas the president of a pageant that they prepared for William III. The king was so pleased with Nash that, it is said, he offered him a knighthood. This Nash refused unless accompanied by a pension, which was not granted.
He was much addicted to gambling, which, in addition to a restless spirit and an empty purse, led him in 1704 to try his luck at Bath, a place which then offered opportunities to a gamester. There he soon became master of the ceremonies, in succession to Captain Webster. Under his authority reforms were introduced which speedily accorded to Bath a leading position as a fashionable watering-place. He formed a strict code of rules for the regulation of balls and assemblies; allowed no swords to be worn in places of public amusement; persuaded gentlemen to discard boots for shoes and stockings when in assemblies and parades, and introduced a tariff for lodgings.
As insignia of his office he wore an immense white hat, and a richly embroidered dress. He drove about in a chariot with six greys, and laced lackeys blew French horns. When Parliament abolished gambling it caused a serious check to the visits of fashionable people to the city. However, the Corporation, in recognition of his valuable services, granted Nash a pension of 120 guineas ayear, and at his death in 1761 he was buried with splendour at the expense of the town. A year after his demise his biography was anonymously published in London by Oliver Goldsmith.
John Wood, the architect, though hardly as well known to posterity as Nash, must not be overlooked. Till he appeared in Bath in 1728, the city had been confined strictly within the Roman limits. The suburbs consisted merely of a few scattered houses. Wood improved and enlarged the city by his architectural efforts, which led to the quarrying of freestone found existing in the neighbourhood. His successors carried on his enterprise.
The grand Pump-room, erected in 1797, with a portico of Corinthian columns; the King's Bath, with a Doric colonnade; the Queen's Bath; the Cross Bath, so called from a cross erected in the centre of it; the Hot Bath, on account of its superior degree of heat, were once thronged by fashionable gatherings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The architecture in the eighteenth century at Bath was an adaptation of the Doric and Ionic orders. Nearly all the principal buildings were constructed after these classic principles. St. Michael's Church belongs to the Doric, with ahandsome dome, and was erected in 1744. Even the Greek influence is the prevailing feature of Pulteney Bridge.
In conclusion, amongst eminent men of Bath may be mentioned: John Hales, Greek Professor at Oxford in 1612; and Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, was a native of, and received his early education in the Grammar School of this city. Benjamin Robins was born here in 1707; he was a celebrated mathematician, and wrote the account of the voyage of Commodore Anson round the world.
Amongst the tombs in the Abbey are those to the memory of Quin, Nash, Broome, Malthus, and Melmothe.
The hot springs of Bath still continue to alleviate the aches and pains of invalid visitors. The interesting history, the curious mingling of Roman and Later English architecture with the revival of the Ionic and Doric orders in the eighteenth-century buildings, can never fail to be of interest alike to the student and the casual visitor in Bath.
Salisbury
Salisberie.("Doomsday Book.")
SALISBURY affords a remarkable instance of the complete transference of the cathedral followed by the ultimate desertion of the city in the change from old Sarum, the original site, to New Sarum, another within a short distance—one might almost say within a stone's throw. In the old days of prosperity Old Sarum, now simply a conical mass of ruins, was peopled with the Belgæ, who came from Gaul and ousted the original inhabitants. How this site ever came to be chosen as a desirable place of settlement seems to be rather a mystery, for even in those early days constant difficulties arose with regard to the insufficiency of water. They aptly called it "the dry city," which is supposed to be the meaning of the old name Searobyrig, which later underwent a further contraction—Scarborough. This arid spot, however, received the attention of the Romans, who possibly were attracted by the naturaladvantages of defence offered by the conical mound rising abruptly, as it does, from the valley. They carried on the old name and Latinised it, as they invariably seemed to have done, or rather made a compromise between the native and their own formation, and arrived at Sorbiordunum. The scarcity of water seems not to have deterred them in any way, as witness the many evidences of their fossæ, extensive ramparts, and fortress—signs which indicate that in their hands Old Sarum was held to be of considerable importance. Roman roads branched out of it, no doubt pointing to the four cardinal points, in accordance with regular custom, though their whereabouts may be difficult to define, seeing that several centuries have passed since the desertion of Old Sarum.
With their passing away the Roman conquerors have left behind them many relics, possibly in their day considered worthless, but the unearthing of which has caused, for many a year, unalloyed joy and given a priceless treasure to the unwearied antiquaries. Another great source of speculation to the archæologists has been the temple of the Druids erected some time at Stonehenge. It lies beyond the city on the great Salisbury plain. This primitive form of architecture takes us back to many years before Christ, when the earlyBritons wore no clothes, save the skins of animals they slew in the chase, and when they could neither read, write, weave, nor do anything which would be considered nowadays as civilising. They were to all intents and purposes mere savages, kept in control by their priests and lawgivers, the Druids, whom they held in the greatest respect. The Britons, we are told, had the additional discomfort of dwelling in holes burrowed in the ground, or in miserably constructed huts. In view of this poor state of domestic architecture, how they ever managed to erect roofless temples, as at Stonehenge and at the island of Anglesea, and to overcome, what must have been to them a very great engineering feat, the setting up of the heavy blocks of stonein situ, seems marvellous and not easy of explanation.
SALISBURY HIGH STREET GATEWAY INTO THE CLOSESALISBURYHIGH STREET GATEWAY INTO THE CLOSE
The great veneration in which the Britons held these temples of the Druids is much accentuated by an incident during the second occupation of Britain by the Romans. Suetonius Paulinus, one of their greatest generals, thought that by destroying the temple at the island of Anglesea he would shake the faith of the Britons in their priests, and gain thereby a speedier conquest, much in the same way as when Clive in India knocked down Dupleix's column to undermine the Frenchinfluence over the natives. In the latter case history has assured us of the ultimate fulfilment of hopes, and it was the same with Paulinus in 61, only on his return to the mainland he all but suffered a reverse from an unexpected rising of Britons under Boadicea. Nevertheless, the power of the Druids was irretrievably broken by the slaughter of their order and the felling of the groves at Anglesea, as Paulinus had foreseen. What the object and origin of these remains at Stonehenge were, still serve as an interesting matter for controversy. Competent authorities, like Geoffrey of Monmouth, Polydore Vergil, and in the eighteenth century Dr. Stukely, arrived more or less at the same conclusions. The first named said that Stonehenge was a sepulchral monument erected by Aurelius Ambrosius, who, according to a tradition, was thus led by the counsel of Merlin to commemorate the slaughter of 500 Britons by Hengist, the Saxon chief, about the year 450 A.D. Polydore Vergil confined himself to the statement that it was the ancient temple of the Britons in which the Druids officiated, whilst Dr. Stukely asserted that the Britons here held their annual meetings at which laws were passed and justice administered. He was also fortunate enough to discover the "cursus," in 1723,in its vicinity. Perhaps it may be thought that Stonehenge is out of place in this account of Salisbury; but in leaving it out it would be as much as to doubt the genuineness of any one's visit to this ancient cathedral city if he had not also seen the Druidical remains.
In the neighbourhood of Old Sarum, Cynric won a victory over the Britons in the year 552. Though it steadily increased in importance, little worthy of notice occurred there till the close of the tenth century. At the small town of Wilton, which is almost three miles distant from Salisbury, the seat of the Diocese was originally established in the first years of the tenth century, and remained under the superintendence of eleven succeeding bishops. The last one of them was Hermannus. On his accession to the See of Sherborne—an ancient and interesting town of Dorsetshire—he annexed it to the Bishopric of Wilton. He thereupon founded, for these united sees, a cathedral church at Old Sarum. This effort of his was afterwards completed by Osmund, who accompanied William the Conqueror to England, and was by him appointed bishop. A matter of sixty years prior to the Norman invasion Old Sarum had fallen a victim in 1003 to the fury of Sweyn, the King of Denmark. This was in accordancewith a vow of retaliation he had made when he learnt of the murder of his sister in the general massacre of the Danes, which had taken place the year before. This unhappy period, when many other counties besides Wiltshire suffered extensively, was during the reign of Ethelred the Unready.
SALISBURY THE MARKET CROSSSALISBURYTHE MARKET CROSS
In the great plain of Salisbury the Conqueror, in 1070, passed a review of his army, just flushed with their victories in the neighbourhood. On the completion of his great survey, the "Doomsday Book," in 1086, he here at Salisberie, as he renamed the city, received the homage and oath of allegiance from the English landlords. Till the year 1217 the See remained at Old Sarum, and even after the complete depopulation and the demolition of every house of this ancient Roman site, it still was represented regularly at Parliament by two members till the year 1832.
The reasons that led to the choice of the new site by Bishop Poore were the many advantages offered, especially the abundance of water by New Sarum, as it was called, as set against the exposure to the stormy winds which it was alleged went even so far as to drown the voice of the officiating priest, the congestion of houses within its narrow limits, the difficulty of procuring water, and finallythe despotism of the governor at Old Sarum. To rid himself of these inconveniences, Bishop Poore procured the papal authority to the removal of the Cathedral from Old Sarum to its present site in the year 1218, though not till the Reformation was the service discontinued in the old buildings.
By then New Sarum had reaped the full benefit of the new conditions and surroundings. Though only two miles away, the old place, in proportion to the rising of the new township, sank to a few inhabitants, loth perhaps to part with old associations.
The first building to appear in New Sarum, or Salisbury as we shall henceforth call it, seems to have been the wooden chapel of St. Mary, the erection of which was commenced in the Easter of the year 1219. This was followed in the year 1220 by the foundation of the new cathedral as planned by Bishop Poore. It was completed and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1258. The ground-plan is that of a Greek or double cross. With the slight exceptions of the upper part of the tower and the spire, which belong to a later date, the entire fabric represents the purest style of the Early English architecture. The cloisters, built by Bishop Walter de la Wyle, arethe largest and most magnificent of any in the kingdom. They are of the late Early English style, and took, with the addition of the Chapter House by the same prelate, from 1263 till 1274 to complete.
SALISBURY THE CLOISTERSSALISBURYTHE CLOISTERS
Shortly after, the upper part of the tower was built in the Decorated style by Bishop Wyville, about 1330. Five years later it was capped by the highest spire in England. A marvellous achievement of lightness of design, of slenderness and beauty of proportion, it reaches from base to crown to the remarkable height of four hundred and four feet. Its great height has caused much anxiety from time to time, through the enormous pressure exerted upon the tower beneath it.
This unique example of a spire was followed next by a chapel built by Bishop Beauchamp between 1450 and 1482. Another was carried out by Lord Hungerford in 1476. These two chapels, together with an elegant campanile, were entirely swept away in the restorations that took place under the direction of the architect James Wyatt. No doubt the Cathedral required extensive repairs, but it seems regrettable that any architect should have caused such demolition, instead of endeavouring to make good the ravages of time. As for the old west front, the coloured drawingof Mr. Collins gives an excellent idea of its rich sculpturesque beauty.
The Cathedral is isolated in the centre of an immense lawn, as it were. This again can be kept private by the Close, the area of which extends to half a mile square. Within its limits is a delightful mall shaded with trees, as there are also the Bishop's Palace,—a building of various dates, originated by Poore the founder,—the Deanery, and several other houses. We have said elsewhere that the Cathedral Close of Salisbury may be considered the best example of its kind in England, though that at Wells is not far behind. The close was an enclosure, within the precincts of the cathedral, reserved for the dwellings originally intended for the exclusive domestic use of the Bishop and canons. This, however, is not strictly observed now.
Two or three delightful gateways of ancient character and beautiful design give access to the Cathedral Close of Salisbury. Appended to the Cathedral is the beautiful Chapter House, lighted by lofty windows. It is octagonal in form, the roof of which is upheld by a central clustered column. A frieze in bas-relief, carried round the interior of the building, is ornamented with biblical subjects. At different times numerousmonuments, chiefly to the bishops of the See, have been erected, notably those to Bishops Joceline and Roger.
A monument to one of the children of the choir has a sad interest. It was customary during the festival of St. Nicholas for one of the choristers to personate the character of a bishop. In this case the boy-bishop died while performing his rôle.
The other interesting buildings of the town are the parish churches of St. Martin, St. Thomas, and St. Edmond; the banqueting hall of J. Halle, who was a wool merchant in 1470; Audley House, which also dates from the fifteenth century, and which in 1881 underwent a thorough repair. It serves now as the Church House of the Diocese. Elizabeth's Grammar School, St. Nicholas Hospital, founded in Richard II.'s reign, and Trinity House, established by Agnes Bottenham in 1379, are interesting links of mediævalism.
In this period must also be included the Poultry Cross. It is a high cross, hexagonal in form. Its space is well distributed by six arches and a central pillar. Lord Montacute erected it just prior to the year 1335.
The city's prosperity depended upon that of the church. In fact it was laid out according to Bishop Poore's plan. The citizens deserted OldSarum to settle around the new ecclesiastical establishment at New Sarum. In 1227, by a charter of Henry III., the city enjoyed the same freedom and liberties as those of Winchester. The government of the city became vested in a mayor, recorder, deputy-recorder, twenty-four aldermen, and various other subordinate officers. The charter was confirmed by successive sovereigns till the accession of Anne.
Salisbury, or New Sarum, was first represented at Parliament in 1295. In 1885, by the Redistribution Act, its two representatives were reduced to one. The city itself has also witnessed the assembly of Parliament within its limits on various occasions. For being implicated in a conspiracy for deposing Richard III. to raise Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, to the throne, the Duke of Buckingham was in 1484 executed at Salisbury. For a reward of £1000 the Duke was betrayed by a dependent with whom he was in hiding in Shropshire.
SALISBURY THE CATHEDRALSALISBURYTHE CATHEDRAL
During the Civil War the city was held alternately by both parties. Since then the citizens have been left in comparative peace, intent on their several industries. At one time they were actively engaged in the preparation of woollen articles and in the manufacture of excellent cutlery.These are now declined, and such commodities as boots and shoes take the first rank, whilst the shops depend mainly on the villages and agriculture around. The many places of antiquity in this ancient city of the county of Wiltshire have furnished many interesting palæolithic relics for the reception of which the Blackmore Museum was established. The library was instituted by Bishop Jewal, in 1560 to 1571.
There have been many men of note from Salisbury. The celebrated poet and essayist Addison, born near Amesbury in this county of Wiltshire, was educated at the Grammar School for choristers within the Close. Amongst the many eminent natives of the city are included William Hermann, author of several works in prose and verse; George Coryate, who wrote "The Crudities"; John Greenhill, a celebrated portrait painter; William and Henry Lawes, both musicians and composers; and James Harris, author of "Hermes." But the most conspicuous, or rather the best known, is Henry Fawcett, the politician and economist.
Born in 1833, he was the second son of a draper who, starting as an assistant, became afterwards his own master. He was enabled to afford his son Henry a good education at King's College and Peterhouse, Cambridge, from which he migratedto Trinity Hall. He became Seventh Wrangler and Fellow of his College. At the Cambridge Union, Fawcett gained considerable notice for his oratory. His ambition conceived the idea of attaining the highest honours in the kingdom through the profession of a barrister. For this purpose he entered Lincoln's Inn, but at the age of twenty-five a terrible accident happened to him. His eyesight was lost by two stray pellets from the gun of his father.
Though his plans of advancement were altered, he determined within ten minutes of the catastrophe to continue his old pursuits of rowing, fishing, skating, riding, and even playing at cards which were marked. He became Liberal candidate for Brighton in 1865, and entered Parliament just when Palmerston's career came to a close. He opposed Gladstone's scheme for universal education in Ireland. He was an opponent to Disraeli's Government.
On the return of the Liberal Party to power Fawcett was offered the post of Postmaster-General, though without a seat in the Cabinet. He introduced five important postal reforms; namely, the parcels-post, postal-orders, sixpenny telegrams, the banking of small savings by means of stamps, and increased facilities for life insurance and annuities.He also invented the little slot label, "next collection," on the pillar-boxes.
The employment of women he greatly advocated. The defeat of the scheme for the deforestation of Epping Forest and the New Forest was entirely due to the exertions of this great politician.
After a marvellous career of many years Fawcett died in 1884. From humble origin, and in spite of his blindness, if he did not realise his full ambition, he reached to an exalted position in the State—an achievement never accomplished by any one under like disability.
Exeter
IN the great peninsula that runs out into the Atlantic is Devonshire, adjoining Cornwall, that dwindles to the Land's End, the point eagerly welcomed by visitors to England, the last of the Old Country to which a farewell is given. Through the northern portion of Devonshire meanders the river Exe, having established its source in Somersetshire. Quite ten miles before the river empties its waters at the mouth into the English Channel, on a broad ridge of land rising steeply from the left bank of the Exe, is the old city of Exeter. It is the chief of the county, and has had a varied existence.
For the earliest period of Exeter, Geoffrey of Monmouth supplies much information, which has been greatly borne out by subsequent researches. He considered that Exeter was a city of the Britons some time before the Romans elected to establish their camp. The British named it indifferently Cær-Wisc (city of the water), or Cær Rydh (the red city), from the coloured nature ofthe soil. When captured by the Romans they made it a stipendiary town. They called it Isca, to which was added Danmoniorum, to avoid confusion with the other Isca, a Latinised name given also to a town on the river (now Usk) in Monmouthshire. Many proofs of Roman occupation have turned up in the shape of numerous coins and other relics.
The year 1778 was especially notable for the excavations which brought to light many important objects. Small statuettes of Mercury, Mars, Ceres, and Apollo, evidently the household gods of the Romans, together with urns, tiles, and tessellated pavements, were unearthed. Exeter at one time went by the name of Augusta, which was due to its having been occupied by the Second Augustan Legion, whose commander, Vespasian, included the city under his conquest Britannia Prima. The same legion, during the period 47 to 52, had also a permanent station at Isca Silurum, as Cærleon-on-the-Usk in Monmouth was called. But as Vespasian continued the conquest, 69 to 79, it seems fair to surmise that the Second Legion of Augusta was advanced or a portion sent from Isca Silurum to garrison Isca Danmoniorum, the present Exeter.
For a considerable time it was the capital of theWest Saxon kingdom. It was probably during the Saxon occupation that the city changed its name to Excestre, which would easily be contracted into that of Exeter. In violation of a compact made with Alfred, who was a Saxon monarch, the Danes seized the city. They were, however, compelled to evacuate it, together with the surrender of all their prisoners within the West Saxon territory, by Alfred, in 877. This monarch was again called upon in 894 to relieve the Saxons from their Danish oppressors. The next century witnessed a marked improvement in the prosperity of the city. It had from quite an early period been distinguished for its numerous monastic institutions, so much so that it was said to have been called "Monk Town" by Britons in Cornwall and the heathen Saxons. They were pleased to deride it thus, but when Athelstan came he clearly made them understand that it was no happy state to be without the pale of the Church. He so thoroughly instilled into them the necessity of imbibing the principles of religion that those who were unwilling to become converts were expelled.
EXETER FROM THE PALACE GARDENSEXETERFROM THE PALACE GARDENS
With the exception of a few, we may take it that many embraced Christianity as a matter of compulsion or for expediency's sake, for in those days of hard knocks it was hardly likely that anymass of ignorant peasants would comprehend anything but the most stringent measures. The transition from heathen darkness to the light of Christianity must have meant a severe initiation to two-thirds of the population of Exeter at the time of Athelstan's accession. He came westward about the year 926 and found the Britons and Saxons living amicably and enjoying equal rights. The city had by them already been called Exenceaster, that is, the "cester" or fortified town on the "Exe." Athelstan augmented the number of religious institutions by the foundation of a Benedictine monastery. The building was dedicated to St. Peter, the establishment of which there seems no reason to doubt gave birth eventually to the present cathedral. Besides this he materially increased the importance of the town by appointing two mints and erecting regular fortifications with towers and a wall of hewn stone. Athelstan's monastery was destroyed by the Danes. King Edgar in 968 restored it, and appointed Sydemann to the Abbacy, as it then became. Ultimately this abbot was raised to the Bishopric of Crediton, which was the seat of the Devonshire Diocese about 910. In 1003 Exeter, after a gallant defence of some three months' duration, was betrayed by its governor into the hands of Sweyn. As hasbeen said elsewhere, this king came from Denmark especially to punish Ethelred the Unready for having allowed the massacre of Danes, in which the sister of Sweyn had perished. The monastery of St. Peter was not spared, nor was the city, which did not recover from the terrible visitation till the accession of Canute.
From this time Exeter increased to such importance and wealth that in the reign of Edward the Confessor it was deemed advisable and for better security to make it the head of the Diocese.
For this purpose the Sees of Crediton and St. Germans (Cornwall) were united under one bishop. To uphold worthily the new dignity, the abbey church of St. Peter was erected into a cathedral by the Confessor, who appointed his chaplain Leofric as first bishop of the united see. Leofric had the monks removed to Westminster Abbey, and installed in their stead were twenty-four secular canons. The date of Leofric's installation is about 1040, which is, of course, that of the foundation of the Cathedral. This arrangement was altered on the re-erection of the Cornish See in 1876.
In William the Conqueror's time Githa, the mother of Harold, gave the Normans considerable trouble. It was only on the appearance of that monarch before the city's walls that the citizenssurrendered. They were made to pay a heavy fine, whilst Githa escaped with her treasures to take refuge in Flanders. William in the end relented and renewed all their former privileges. Nevertheless he took the precaution to erect a fortress in Exeter, the charge of which was entrusted to Baldwin de Brioniis, who, by virtue of his office, became Earl of Devon and sheriff of the county. The chief remains of the Castle is a gateway tower.
This same castle was held by the partisans of the Empress Matilda for three months, when it was compelled in 1136 through scarcity of water to surrender to Stephen. Contrary to expectation, they were treated very well. Henry II., for their loyalty, was pleased to grant additional privileges.
In 1200 the city for the first time was governed by a mayor and corporation. Subsequently their importance was increased by the charters of Edward III., Edward IV., and Henry VIII., whilst Henry VIII. constituted Exeter a county of itself. These privileges were extended by Charles I.; and in 1684 a new charter of incorporation was granted by Charles II., but not put into effect. In 1770 George III. renewed and confirmed the charter, since when the government has been invested in a mayor assisted by subordinateofficers. In the meantime a curious incident occurred in 1824, which greatly interfered with the prosperity of the city, inasmuch as the navigation of the river Exe was obstructed by a dam erected by Hugh Courtenay, at that time Earl of Devon.
Exeter, through its happy situation on the river Exe, had for many years reaped full benefit. At the time of the Conquest it had gained considerable importance through the river being navigable for ships right up to its quays. Among many petty matters that annoyed the Earl the following is alleged to have been the chief. There were three pots of fish in the market-place. The Earl wanted them all. The Bishop likewise. Neither would give way, and the Mayor was called in to adjudicate. He allotted one to the Earl, the second to the Bishop, and the third to the town. This distribution did not suit the Earl. Out of pique he caused a dam to be constructed across the Exe at Topsham. There he built a quay, and had the satisfaction of greatly curtailing the trade of Exeter.
EXETER MOL'S COFFEE TAVERNEXETERMOL'S COFFEE TAVERN
In 1286 Edward I. assembled a parliament at Exeter, whilst in 1371 the Black Prince brought here his royal prisoner of France and stayed several days. The Duchess of Clarence, accompanied by many royaladherents, took refuge within the city walls in 1469. It was besieged by Sir William Courtenay, who eventually raised it on the mediation of the clergy.
The next event of importance not only affected Exeter, but threw into agitation the whole of the British Empire. Of two impostors that laid claim to the Crown which Henry VII. was wearing, the second was a youth called Perkin Warbeck. He bore such a striking resemblance to the Plantagenets that he had been secretly instructed to impersonate Richard Duke of York, the younger brother of Edward V., who it was pretended had escaped from the Tower and from the fate that overtook his brother. So ingratiating was his manner that he successfully enlisted the aid of the Duchess of Burgundy, who was holding her court at Brussels. His first attempt to land in England was in Kent; his second in Ireland. Both ventures being unsuccessful, he tried Scotland. There he convinced King James IV. that he was a true Plantagenet, and through him he raised an army and invaded England. However, the two kings having come to an understanding, Warbeck retired to Ireland. He there received an invitation from the Cornishmen, acting on which he landed at Whitsand Bay in that county.
At Bodmin he was joined by a considerable force of men, with whom he marched and laid siege to Exeter in the year 1497. At the approach of the royal forces his followers were dispersed, whilst he fled to Beaulieu in Hampshire. Two years afterwards he ended his career at Tyburn.
In 1536 Exeter was erected a county of itself. The year 1549 saw the investment of the city by a numerous body of popish adherents, from whom it was relieved by John Lord Russell in August. On the very day of its investment, the second of July, the strange spectacle of Welch being hanged from the tower of his own church, in which he had been accustomed to officiate as vicar, took place. He suffered on the charge of being a Cornish rebel. During the parliamentary war it was taken and retaken, finally to be surrendered to the Roundheads in 1646. Throughout it all the citizens were warm supporters of the Stuarts, as they had always been to the Crown. So much so was their loyalty that in a previous reign, that of Elizabeth, she presented to the Corporation, with many other marks of her royal favour, the motto "Semper Fidelis." During the stay of the parliamentary troops under General Fairfax, the Cathedral was ruthlessly defaced and divided intoplaces of worship for Presbyterians and Independents. The palace adjoining was also turned into barracks, and the Chapter House converted into stables. During these troubles Queen Henrietta Maria, the consort of Charles I., had returned to Exeter from Oxford, believing herself to be in danger from the hatred with which she feared she was regarded by the people. Here she gave birth to her youngest child, the Princess Henrietta. Leaving the infant at Exeter she escaped to France.
In the Guildhall, which is a picturesque Elizabethan building, are two full-length portraits: one depicts the features of General Monk, Duke of Albemarle, painted by Sir Peter Lely; the other was given by Charles II. to the Corporation as some slight acknowledgment of the city's loyalty. It represents the portrait of his sister, Princess Henrietta, then Duchess of Orleans. James II. was the next sovereign to bestow favour, which he did by establishing a mint in 1688. His influence was shortlived, for on the arrival of the Prince of Orange in the August of the same year the inhabitants readily submitted. This prince is credited with establishing a mint at Exeter, or it may be he simply completed or confirmed that of his predecessor. The following year saw him onthe throne of the kingdom as William III., which ratified the declaration he had caused to be read by Burnet in the Cathedral of Exeter. Though visited by subsequent reigning princes, their presence may be said to have conferred more honour than to have promoted any material changes to the prosperity of Exeter.
The mainstay of the city is the glorious Cathedral, and the quaintness of some of its houses and streets is unique. They afford a great attraction to visitors, who are willing to go a long railway journey west simply to see and compare the merits and demerits of the Cathedral with the many others dotted throughout Great Britain.
The actual date of the Cathedral is in 1049. Its origin, as we have seen, occasioned no turning of the soil to receive foundations, but merely the conventual church of the monks, removed by Edward the Confessor to his new abbey at Westminster, adapted to meet the requirements of Bishop Leofric and his secular canons appointed to the united Sees of Devon and Cornwall. The head of the Diocese was at Exeter. What was the size and character of the converted monastic church at that time no two authorities seem able to agree. According to an old record at Oxford its lease soon ran out, for in the year 1112 a newchurch was commenced by Bishop Warlewast, continued by his successors, and finally completed by Bishop Marshall, who died in 1206. They are supposed to have carried out the plan of Warlewast; but as the whole of the fabric, with the exception of the towers, was entirely rebuilt in 1280, the original design is chiefly conjectural. The body of the church probably corresponded in character with the two massive transeptal towers. These are quite a feature in that, with the exception of those at the collegiate church of Ottery in Devonshire, they exist nowhere else in England. This arrangement of the towers did away with the necessity of either a central tower or lantern. It enabled the architect to extend a long unbroken roof throughout the nave and choir. The aisles, with the intervention of richly clustered pillars and pointed arches springing from their caps, range along on either side of the nave. With the sets of ribs starting each from a clustered centre, and spreading out as they soar towards the highest limit of the roof, as grand an exposition of beauty and noble gradations of perspective lines, as conceived by architects of the Decorative period, have been realised. The period of this rebuilding was commenced in 1280 with the Early English style of architecture by Bishop Quivil, and was completedin 1369 in the best years of the Decorated style, just a few years before the Perpendicular came into vogue. It is said that this cathedral served as a model for the church at Ottery. Though this cathedral in miniature resembles the great edifice in Exeter in certain points, notably the transeptal towers, yet, if the principal part of it dates from 1260, it can hardly, with the one exception, have been a copy of the chief church of the Diocese. The Early English work of Ottery church takes, by comparison of dates, priority over that at Exeter by some twenty years.