WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM.
We have selected the portraiture of this illustrious man, whose fame lives in national works, as the first wherewith to embellish ourGallery of Architects—a man who was eminent, not only as an architect, but as a liberal patron of the arts—not only as a builder of colleges, but as a munificent donor to the cause of education, and whose institutions still flourish among the proudest in the land. “Many there are,” says Bishop Lowth, in his Life of Wykeham, “who have felt the influence of his liberality, or who are actually partakers of his bounty.”
It is rarely that instances approaching in interest to that of our subject present themselves; of successful talent we have many, but they are limited to its mere exercise for ordinary reward; others, where ambition and ostentation, as in the case of Wolsey, stimulated to a patronage of great works, while in that of Wykeham we have a memorable example of true nobility of mind, soaring from humble origin to the most elevated stations in church and state, and fulfilling its duties by an active exercise of all the kindred virtues.
William of Wykeham was born at the village of that name in Hampshire, in the year 1324, of reputable but poor parents, whose deficiency of means to afford him education was supplied by the generous intervention of Nicholas Uvedale, lord of the manor of Wykeham, and constable of Winchester Castle, then one of the great offices of the kingdom. After going through the course of study afforded by the school at Winchester, we find him officiating as secretary to Uvedale, and subsequently executing commissions of trust as attorney for Edyngdon, Bishop of Winchester, his immediate predecessor in that see, in whose service he appears at that time to have been engaged.
The piety, diligence, and early acquirements of Wykeham had recommended him to the notice of many patrons, both lay and ecclesiastical, and paved the way for his introduction to that of the reigning monarch, Edward III., and of his son, the renowned Black Prince; he had already entered the subordinate ranks of the clergy, and the fitness of his choice was confirmed in after times by the dignities he attained to; that elevation was, however, preceded by the execution of works which have stamped his fame as an Architect.
It is natural that we should ask, how was this talent in architecture acquired? We find no account of the preparation or training, beyond that of the general knowledge he had gained at the school of Winchester, aided by the intuitive genius and taste proper to comprehensive intellectual powers. No record exists of his having studied at either of the universities, and if it had been so, the regard and confidence of the King must be attributed to acquirements very superior to those at that time current at Oxford or Cambridge, where theological controversy was the leading and absorbing theme. We are told, indeed, that Wykeham had studied “arithmetic, mathematics, divinity, and, above all, the canon and civil law;” and we see no reason to the contrary. The school of Winchester, a city then second to none in the kingdom in splendour and opulence, would scarcely be deficient of teachers in these courses of study; in the mode, and according to the then understanding of their relative uses and value.
It is, upon the whole, probable that Wykeham gave the first proofs of skill as an Architect in the extension and reparation of Winchester Castle, during his employment by Nicholas Uvedale. That it was a fortress of considerable extent and consequence, history abundantly proves; and it continued so down to the period of the civil strife between the adherents of Charles I. and the Parliamentary armies; but whatever may have been the extent or description of building previously executed by him, it led to his appointment, by patent, dated May 10th, 1356, of Clerk of all the King’s works in the manors of Henley and Yesthampstead; and by a second patent, under date 30th October of the same year, he was made Surveyor of all the King’s works at the Castle and Park of Windsor; and subsequently of all the royal castles south of Trent.
In these capacities he was furnished with extensive powers; such as directing the issue of the King’s writ to the sheriffs of counties, requiring them to impress workmen, who were compelled to labour at fixed wages; to purvey and apply all material fitted for building; to hold courts for pleas of trespass and misdemeanours; and to inquire of the King’s liberties and rights within his demesne lands. The prelude to the erection of Windsor Castle was the assembling of 360 impressed workmen, by forties, from nine adjoining counties, in addition to those voluntarily engaged; the original Norman building was levelled, and on its site, under the eye of a warlike monarch who delighted in embattled towers and gorgeous halls fitted for the display of chivalric institutions, was reared this far-famed fortress and palace of our kings.
Windsor Castle occupied from ten to twelve years of continued labour, and comprised the King’s palace; the great hall of St. George; buildings for various purposes, on the east and south sides of the upper ward; the keep, or tower; the chapel of St. George; the residences of the custos and canons, in the lower ward, with the whole circumference of the walls, towers, and gates. Many parts of the original building remain, but the lapse of nearly five hundred years, frequent repairs, the enlargements and alterations required to meet the conveniences or tastes of successive kings, most of whom have expended immense sums in real or fancied improvements, have, in a great degree, obliterated a plan and style which was, in Castellated Architecture, the perfection of the fourteenth century.
His second work was the Castle of Queenborough, in the Isle of Sheppy, which, from the lowness of the site, and nature of the foundations, required unusual skill in the Architect. It was commenced in 1361, and completed in about six years, when the King, holding his court there, made the town a free borough, naming it Queenborough, in honour of his Queen Philippa. Of this structure no part remains; but its position and extent are ascertained by the moat which surrounded it. There can be no doubt this was one of the principal castles of the kingdom, designed both as a means of defence against invasion, and as a point for the assembling of fleets and armies for offensive purposes. We are told of this building, that it was “large, strong, and magnificent;” a fitting residence for royalty, and one of the strongholds of the realm; and its importance may be estimated by the rank of its constables, who were, in the reign of Edward III., John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Richard II., Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford; Henry IV., John Cornwall, Baron Fanhope; Henry VII., Humphry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham; Edward IV., George, Duke of Clarence, &c. The last repairs were done in the reign of Henry VIII., 1536.
Pending these works, Wykeham grew into high favour with his royal master, and church preferment was heaped upon him with a lavish hand; he filled also in succession the offices of Secretary of State, Keeper of the Privy Seal, and Chancellor of England; and upon the death of Edyngdon, Bishop of Winchester, in 1366, he succeeded to that see, one of the richest and most influential in the kingdom. With his career as a prelate or a statesman, we can have little to do in this sketch, but we may be permitted to notice that it was replete with great and disinterested actions. Prosperity so brilliant had, however, its hour of adversity, but which only served to place in bolder relief the virtues of the Christian and the dignity of the man. In the dotage of Edward III., charges of malversation, in the execution of his high offices, were preferred against the Bishop of Winchester, at the instigation of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who had always manifested an irreconcilable jealousy of his influence with the king. This proceeding was followed by an arbitrary sequestration of the temporalities of the bishop, and he retired to the monastery of Merton, and subsequently to the Abbey of Waverly, near Farnham, amid the universal regrets of the nation. The aspersion of a character so singularly exempt from the besetting sin of avarice, and its twin vices, peculation and sensualism, could not, however, be long sustained; and at the end of seven months he was happily restored to the means of carrying forward magnificent designs for the benefit of posterity.
From this period Wykeham seems, as much as possible, to have relieved himself from the burthen of secular affairs, although we find him again Chancellor in the unsettled reign of Richard II., but which office he took the earliest occasion to resign. Long and faithful services to the state had entitled him to repose; but there was no cessation in the activity of a mind fraught with benevolent purposes. Possessed of great wealth, he seems to have considered himself but as a steward intrusted with a useful application of it, and he devised, with as much judgment as human foresight is permitted to exercise, the establishments we are now to mention.
With the year 1373 began the formation of a school at Oxford, that of Winchester having much earlier been taken under his especial care; at each, masters were provided, and scholars, to the number of seventy, lodged and boarded at his sole charge. These were, however, but preliminary steps to the great and original plans contemplated, namely, the founding of colleges at Oxford and Winchester, with buildings, masters, and suitable appointments, and a perpetual maintenance for two hundred scholars, who, while receiving the advantage of liberal support, were trained from elementary learning through the whole circle of the sciences. So costly was this undertaking, that no individual, with a single exception, has had the means or generosity to emulate the example. This occurred in the person of King Henry VI., whose colleges at Eton and Cambridge were foundedupon principles scarcely varying from these models.
Wykeham was now fifty-five years old, and, in realizing his plans, found full scope for the display of matured genius. Neither the cares of state which he had encountered, nor the personal ease which so frequently inclines even great minds to passive inaction, could obliterate his predilections for architecture. Under this master of his art were perfected improvements in Gothic style which have procured for examples of this period the distinction of thepure or decorated English. These consist in increased boldness, highly wrought and varied sculpture, and enriched vaultings, with exterior ornaments of statuary, niched or canopied, upon the western or great entrance fronts of ecclesiastical buildings. With the taste to dictate and the wealth to execute such magnificent designs, he entered upon his tasks, and, in 1379, personally laid the first stone of the college familiarly termed New College, Oxford, but by himself “Sainte Marie College of Winchestre in Oxenford,” which was completed and its establishment inducted with much ceremony in 1386.
We may here be permitted to observe, that with every disposition to dwell upon the details and beauties of this and his succeeding works, want of space compels us, for the moment, to relinquish an intention to do so; but, as subjects of national interest, we shall recur to them, aided by illustrations calculated to render many peculiarities of this style available in modern practice.
But to resume our brief notices. Scarcely a year elapsed before the second, or St. Mary’s College, at Winchester, was in progress, and in six years fitted for the reception of its professors and students. In extent and style this edifice bears the strong impress of its founder, whose memory lives freshly in the veneration of his children, for such we may term those who are here nurtured and taught, and from amongst whom have stood forth many worthies of the church, and others of the highest attainments in science.
The next, and last, work of this eminent and excellent prelate, the construction of the western front, and the nave and aisles of his cathedral at Winchester, was commenced in 1394, and the 70th of his age; and in this instance the unimpaired vigour of his conceptions, and the extreme liberality with which he appropriated his resources, are equally subjects for lasting admiration. It was built by Walklyn, the first Norman bishop after the conquest; and in its governing features,extent and massiveness, is in the style so called. We have before mentioned the western front as the work of Wykeham, which, though mutilated by barbarian fanaticism, retains much of its splendour, and is a marked example of his manner. Entering by this door-way, we are at once upon the scene of his mightiest achievement;—the eye becomes fixed for a moment by the gorgeous colouring of the eastern window, then wanders upwards amidst the infinite tracery and adornment of the vault, and, having scanned the vastness of the pile, seeks repose in a more leisure examination of the isolated, but not less beautiful, objects of sculpture below.
Apart from associations and impressions induced by the aspect of Gothic temples upon the great scale, we here find the elements of solidity, propriety, and uniformity carefully preserved, and the enrichments distributed with a masterly hand; the groining of the roof springs from single shafts rising from octangular bases; the capitals are highly embellished with busts and foliage, and the frieze charged with bold and finely-sculptured bosses; in fact, we have here before us anera in the Gothic style, and a perfect adaptation of its capabilities, carried out with all the originality that distinguished the genius of the architect.
The various writers who have treated on the antiquities of Winchester agree that the effect produced by the columnar vista of the nave, in combination with the group of chantries and screens, is not surpassed by any spot in England, or in Europe. In minute Gothic, or shrine-work, it is also unrivalled. The tomb of Wykeham, executed, according to the practice of the middle ages, under his own direction, is the purest of all authorities in this style: it is placed within the mortuary chapel, or chantry, occupying the fifth arch from the west end, and is rich in canopies and tabernacle work; the latter originally contained statues of saints, particularly that of the Virgin, which stood against the same pillar, when in his youth he had worshipped here; but these have long since been destroyed, and the tomb despoiled also of the enchased escutcheons which adorned it. The marble figure represents the prelate as possessing full features, and a placid, benign, and intelligent countenance; it is clothed in full episcopal costume, the head resting upon a pillow supported by angels, and at the feet are three figures of one of the religious orders, in the attitude of prayer.
The life so usefully spent closed in the year 1404, leaving more durable and splendid memorials than it has been the lot of any other individual to rear. Having, for nearly half a century, held the highest stations, and possessed almost unbounded influence, we find it to have been exerted in a spirit far in advance of his times; and personal aggrandizement grew upon him as a consequence of undeviating integrity and universal benevolence; these great and marked qualities were evinced in pure and unabated loyalty to his prince, courtesies and services to his equals of the church and the nobles of the land; and, above all, in the kindness, forbearance, and mercy which he caused to be exercised towards the people of a yet unenlightened age.
William of Wykeham expired at his manor house, or palace, of Waltham, Hants, A.D. 1404, in the eightieth year of his age, and his remains rest under the tomb we have described. His life affords, perhaps, the most brilliant example on record of the combined power of industry and genius; the industry to acquire knowledge, and the genius to apply it in advance of preceding theories. His earliest employments seem to have been merely such as a tolerably well-educated man of the fourteenth century would find little difficulty in obtaining. Architecture was his diverging point from the monotony of ordinary life towards the greatness he achieved, his first essays appearing to have resulted from opportunities which casually fell in his way, but embraced with an alacrity inspired by self-confidence. Having once engaged in it, his fondness for the science knew no abatement, for however lofty his position in the state, or onerous his duties as a churchman, he found leisure to cultivate it; and having engrafted new and more impressive features upon the style he delighted in, may be said to have died in the exercise ofthis profession, just before the completion of his cathedral at Winchester.
So exalted were the stations and so extensive the influence he possessed, that the spirit of benevolence by which he was actuated had full scope for exertion. While serving his prince with unswerving loyalty, he found means to protect the people from oppression and exactions, and by numerous courtesies and services to the nobility, won them to a milder exercise of their territorial privileges; while in the relations of private intercourse, we are told that he was “the kindest and most generous of patrons, and the most constant and affectionate friend, rarely changing his officers or domestics, none leaving, or being deserted by him, and all receiving in their turn testimonies of his favour.”
By his hand the revenues of the church were disbursed in her service and to her honour, and, to use the words of Lowth, the whole period from the meridian of life to the end of his days was employed “in one continued series of generous actions and great designs, for the good of his friends, of the poor, and of his country.”