St Bartholomew's Church, London
The great priory church of a monastic hospital
Excerpts from Bell's Cathedrals: The Priory Church of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield, by George Worley, 1908
The spring and fountain-head of our information about the Priory of St.
Bartholomew-the-Great is an account of the foundation, interwoven with
the life and miracles of Rahere, the founder, which was written in Latin
by one of the Canons soon after Rahere's death in the reign of Henry II.
An illuminated copy of this work, made at the end of the fourteenth
century, is preserved in the British Museum, with an English
translation, which forms the groundwork of all subsequent histories.
Rahere was a man of humble origin, who had found his way to the Court of
Henry I, where he won favour by his agreeable manners and witty
conversation, rendered piquant, as it appears, by a certain flavouring
of licentiousness, and took a prominent part in arranging the music,
plays, and other entertainments in which the King and his courtiers
delighted during the first part of the reign.
In the year 1120 a total change was wrought in Henry's character by the
loss of his only legitimate son in the wreck of the "White Ship," on its
voyage from Normandy to England, after which the King is said never to
have smiled again. The event naturally cast a gloom over the Court;
frivolities were abandoned, and religious devotion, either genuine or
assumed in polite acquiescence with the royal humour, took the place of
the amusements which had hitherto held sway. In one case, at least, the
spirit of reformation was at work in good earnest. Rahere, repenting of
his wasted life, thereupon started on a pilgrimage to Rome, to do
penance for his sins on the ground hallowed by the martyrdom of St.
Paul, some three miles from the city. The spot known as the Three
Fountains, now rendered more or less sanitary by the free planting of
eucalyptus, was then and long afterwards particularly unhealthy, and
while there Rahere was attacked by malarial fever. In his distress he
made a vow that, if he were spared, he would establish a hospital for
the poor, as a thank-offering, on his return to England.
His prayer was granted, but his recovery was slow. During his
convalescence he had a vision, or dream, in which he thought a winged
monster had seized him in its claws, and was about to drop him into a
bottomless pit, when a majestic form came to his rescue, and thus
addressed him: "I am Bartholomew, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, that come
to succour thee in thine anguish, and to open to thee the secret
mysteries of heaven. Know me truly, by the will and commandment of the
Holy Trinity, and the common favour of the celestial court and council,
to have chosen a place in the suburbs of London, at Smithfield, where in
my name thou shall found a church. This spiritual house Almighty God
shall inhabit, and hallow it, and glorify it. Wherefore doubt thou
nought; only give thy diligence, and my part shall be to provide
necessaries, direct, build, and end this work."[3] Rahere at once
promised compliance, and, as soon as he got back to London, first
obtained the King's consent, and then, "nothing omitting of care and
diligence, two works of piety began, one for the vow that he had made,
the other as to him by precept was enjoined."
The suburb of Smithfield (Smoothfield) is said to have already occurred
to Edward the Confessor as a suitable place for a church on the
outskirts of London, possibly as affording a similar area, in its level
and marshy surface, to that chosen for his Abbey at Westminster. The
greater part of it was, indeed, covered by water, the one dry spot
(known as "The Elms") being reserved for public executions, which
continued to take place there till some centuries later. The eastern
portion of this waste land was granted by Henry I, through the agency of
Richard de Belmeis, Bishop of London; and it was here that, in the year
1123, Rahere began building.
In a marvellously short time the funds were forthcoming, and his double
object was achieved in the erection of the Hospital, with the Church at
a little distance, the whole being dedicated by the same friendly bishop
to St. Bartholomew the Apostle, in fulfilment of Rahere's vow and the
Saint's instructions.
Rahere is said to have been assisted in his architectural work by
Alfune, who had founded St. Giles's Church, Cripplegate, in the year
1090; and there is a story to the effect that three noble travellers, or
merchants, from Byzantium were present at the foundation, when they
foretold its future greatness, and were consulted by Rahere as to the
design and character of the building while his plans were under
consideration.
On the southern side of the church the group of buildings gradually
arose which constituted the Priory, of which the founder, having devoted
himself to the monastic life, of course became the first Prior; and here
he spent the rest of his days with thirteen companions--the sub-prior
and twelve subordinates--all living under the Rule of the Canons Regular
of St. Augustine. The number was afterwards brought up to thirty-five by
Thomas of St. Osyth, the second Prior (1144-1174), who made a
corresponding addition to the premises.
In 1133, when the buildings were fairly advanced, and the value of
Rahere's work had got to be recognized, a charter of privileges was
granted by Henry I to the Prior and Canons. It expressly includes
Bartholomew Fair among the privileges conveyed, though it is clear from
the terms of the instrument that a fair had previously been held in the
open space at Smithfield on the Saint's anniversary. Even before the
accession of Henry I there had been a market on the spot, known as "the
King's Market" when the ground was allotted to Rahere.
The observance was afterwards extended to a double octave of fourteen
days, and included all kinds of shows and entertainments, theatrical,
conjuring, and acrobatic performances, in addition to the traffic in
cloth-stuffs, horses and cattle, which gave the fair its commercial
importance. The stalls, or booths, in which the portable goods were
exposed for sale, were held within the monastery walls, the gates of
which were locked at night, and a watch kept over the enclosure.
Rahere died on 20th September, 1144, and was buried in the church, where
his tomb occupies the usual place for Founders on the north side of the
sanctuary, surrounded by his magnificent Norman work in the choir, with
the ambulatory beyond it, and extending upwards to the arcading of the
triforium. The eastern part of the clerestory is a modern reproduction
of that which superseded Rahere's; but, with this exception, the
interior of the choir was probably much the same originally as it is
(restored) to-day.
There was, however, a central tower, and, if the design on the
twelfth-century Priory seal is to be trusted, a high circular turret at
each end of the exterior.
Thomas of St. Osyth, the second Prior (d. 1174), erected the transepts
and the easternmost bays of the nave, all of which bear signs of the
architectural transition. The nave was probably completed during the
next half-century, in the Early-English (then superseding the heavier
Norman) style, as may be inferred from the surviving western gateway,
and the mutilated columns which remain within the building at the
western end.
Perpendicular work was introduced early in the fifteenth century, when
Roger de Walden, Bishop of London (1405-1406), built a chantry-chapel to
the north-east of the choir, and inserted a new clerestory, in the then
fashionable style, in place of the original. He also made a considerable
alteration in the chancel by substituting a square east-end for the
circular apse, part of which was taken down and used as building
material for the innovation. But de Walden's work was cut short by his
death, when he had scarcely held the See of London for two years, and
was buried in his Chapel at St. Bartholomew's, instead of in the
Cathedral Church like most of his predecessors.
The Lady Chapel, with the crypt beneath it, dates from about 1410, when
also the central tower was probably rebuilt, and decorative additions
were made to the Founder's tomb, in the shape of a canopy and panelling.
In the first part of the next century Prior Bolton (1505-32) inserted
the Oriel window on the southern side of the choir-triforium and the
doorway in the south ambulatory, both of which bear his sculptured
rebus--a _bolt_, or arrow, driven through a _tun_. In 1539 his
successor, Robert Fuller, the last of the Augustinian Priors,
surrendered the entire property to Henry VIII, in compliance with the
Act of Dissolution, its value having been already ascertained in the
twenty-sixth year of the King's reign.
Some idea of the strong ecclesiastical influence broken up at the
Dissolution may be gathered from a glance at any old map of London,
showing the numerous religious foundations by which the Priory was then
surrounded, now for the most part swept away, or only surviving here and
there in institutions which retain the ancient names under modern
conditions. Immediately to the north lay the Carthusian monastery,
familiarly known as the Charterhouse. On the north-west was the Priory
of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the Knights Hospitallers. The
Franciscan Convent of the Grey Friars extended along the southern
boundary of St. Bartholomew's, between the Priory walls and St. Paul's
Cathedral. To the south-west, near the Thames, there was the monastery
of the Carmelites, or White Friars, with the church and houses of the
Knights Templars beyond it. Within the City, to the east, were the great
establishments of the Austin Friars and St. Helen's nunnery, while east
and west the churches spread--many of monastic origin--culminating in
two of the most important buildings in Europe, the Tower of London and
the palace of Westminster, each with its ecclesiastical dependencies,
the whole dominated by the mediaeval spirit about to be dispelled, for
good or evil, by the great movements of the Renaissance and Reformation.
Outside the Lady Chapel lay the cemetery of the Canons, on the favourite
(south) side for burials. The cloister formed a large quadrangle
attached to the south aisle. The Prior's residence was probably on the
western side of the quadrangle, and on the south there was a range of
buildings comprising the refectory, buttery, and kitchen, with the Close
beyond them.
Opening into the cloister on the east was the Chapter House, an oblong
structure, adjoining which, on the south, was the dormitory, overlooking
the Mulberry Gardens on the east, and the Close on its western side.
The work of demolition commenced immediately after the transfer of the
property to Henry VIII, when the nave was destroyed; and as soon as Sir
Richard Rich came into possession, he started pulling down the buildings
for the sake of the materials, which were used in the erection of new
houses where the old had formerly stood, as well as on the gardens and
orchards around them. By the time of Queen Elizabeth the district had
become a favourite residential quarter for great people, who gradually
disappeared with the growth of London, and the migration of gentry
westwards, when the houses vacated in Smithfield were let off in
tenements to the same sort of poor people who now share the
neighbourhood with merchants and shopkeepers.
The real work of restoration was begun in 1863 by the late Rev. John
Abbiss, then Rector of the parish, who raised something like £5,000, and
spent it in reducing the floor to its original level, removing the pews
(which had previously been lowered), repairing the walls and piers, and
rebuilding the central part of the apse, which had been pulled down
early in the fifteenth century, as already explained.
The long list of works undertaken and completed from 1887 to 1893, under
the succeeding Rector, the Rev. Sir J. Borradaile Savory, Bart.,
includes the restoration of both transepts, the opening out of both
sides of the choir triforium,[18] the erection of the north and west
porches, the refacing of the west front, the reparation of the brick
tower, and the re-hanging of the bells, besides numerous external and
internal details.
The crowning work was the reconstruction of the Lady Chapel, which was
not completed till 1896, after the tedious business of releasing it from
its secular holders, and the recovery of the original design amidst the
mutilation in which they left it.
The restoration has since been extended to three bays on the eastern
side of the cloister, all that remained of the original quadrangle, and
these in a sadly ruinous state.
The Gateway is interesting, as a surviving fragment of the Early-English
period, supposed by some authorities to mark the site of the original
west front, of which they regard it as having formed part--the entrance
to the south aisle--which was allowed to stand, after the grand central
porch, and a corresponding doorway on the northern side, were destroyed
with the nave. More probable is the conjecture that it was merely the
entrance to the monastic enclosure, turned to account as a ready-made
structure when the work at the church was the reverse of constructive,
as it seems too large and too high for a mere doorway at the end of an
aisle, besides being rather too far from the church to agree with its
supposed dimensions. The modern iron gate is surmounted by a gilded
cross and the name of the church on a framework in the tympanum. The
arch is acutely pointed, and moulded in four orders, with a tooth
ornament in the hollows, and is in tolerably good condition; but the
supporting shafts have been superseded by a wall on each side, with the
circular moulded capitals (much decayed) above it, the bases either
being destroyed or buried in the earth beneath. The gateway is in a line
with the houses facing the public square, which touch it on both sides,
and are carried on without interruption above the opening.
The existing West Front dates from the time when the nave was
destroyed. In 1893 a great improvement was made in its appearance by
refacing the wall with flint and stone, and otherwise ornamenting the
surface, to bring it into uniformity with the porch which was then built
at that end of the church. There are now three round-headed recesses in
the central portion of the wall, those at the extremities containing
narrow windows; a band of chequered stonework is carried across the
space beneath them, and a small circular window inserted above. It may
be mentioned here that the pointed arch has generally been adopted in
the new work, to distinguish it from the old, but the characteristic
massiveness and predominant scale of the original has been preserved
throughout the restoration.
The Brick Tower, built in 1628, is said to have been altered to some
extent in subsequent repairs, which have not improved its appearance. So
at least say the admirers of King Charles I, who argue that nothing
quite so hideous could have been erected in his reign. It is a plain
square structure, seventy-five feet in height, in four stages, gradually
diminishing in area upwards, the lower part supported by buttresses, and
the summit crowned by battlements, with a small bell-turret and vane.
More interesting than the tower itself--which is, in fact, an
incongruous addition to the church--are the Bells which it contains, a
precious inheritance from the Augustinian Canons, and in some respects
the most remarkable in London. The foundry stamp shows them to have been
cast by Thomas Bullisdon, who died about 1510. They are the smaller five
of a ring of twelve, six of which were sold at the Dissolution to the
Church of St. Sepulchre, Holborn, where they have since been re-cast,
and one has disappeared from history.
The measurements and inscriptions are as follows:
1. SANCTE BARTHOLEMEO: ORA PRO NOBIS. Diameter 22 in.
2. SANCTA KATERINA: ORA PRO NOBIS. Diameter 24 in.
3. SANCTA ANNA: ORA PRO NOBIS. Diameter 26¾ in.
4. SANCTE JOHANNES BAPTISTE: ORA PRO NOBIS. Diameter 29¼ in.
5. SANCTE PETRE: ORA PRO NOBIS. Diameter 31 in.
As soon as the visitor enters the church, he will be able to contrast
the Norman work of the twelfth century with that which succeeded it in
the thirteenth, as both are brought into juxtaposition immediately
within the western doorway. The surviving Bay of the Nave, which
probably marks the boundary of the monastic choir, now answers the
purpose of a vestibule to the church, from the body of which it is
separated by the organ-screen, the instrument being carried on a gallery
built against the western wall. The nave arches, at each end of the
passage thus formed, are semicircular in shape, with a zigzag moulding
on the inner sides, and rest on massive rounded piers, with square bases
and abaci and simple cushioned capitals--the whole obviously of early
twelfth century date. The northern arch has been built up, and a small
Tudor doorway, inserted in the wall, gives access to the transept.
At right angles with the southern arch, and on each side of the entrance
to the choir aisle, or ambulatory, there is a cluster of Early English
Columns, still bearing a portion of the vaulting-shafts, from which it
can be seen that the pitch of the roof to the nave aisle was much higher
than that of the ambulatory to which it was attached, probably implying
a corresponding difference in the height of the nave. The slender
columns on both sides are alike in their moulded bases, which resemble
those left (in situ) among the ruins outside, as far as the latter can
be discerned; but there is an interesting variety in other details, the
capitals of the northern group being cut into foliage, while they are
moulded on the south, where also the shafts are banded.
The Organ-screen (modern) is an elegant piece of work in oak, panelled
and canopied in the Perpendicular style. With the organ-front above, it
forms an admirable background to the choir-stalls, which are arranged in
the space within the old central tower, the seats for the congregation
being carried along towards the east, facing each other chapel-wise, in
continuation of the stalls on either side.
The Tower Arches are worth particular notice. Those on the north and
south are pointed, and much narrower than the others, which have a bold
semicircular sweep. An intelligible reason sometimes assigned for the
difference is that the area enclosed is not exactly square, and that it
became necessary for the builders to carry the transept-arches to a
point, to accommodate them to the oblong plan, and bring the upper
mouldings into line with those of the rounded arches between the choir
and nave. On this supposition the result has been called "an incidental
use of the pointed arch," examples of which occur elsewhere (e.g., at
Christ Church, Oxford, and other churches of the transitional period)
before it became a distinguishing feature of the later style. It is
tolerably certain, however, that the tower was rebuilt in the fifteenth
century, and that the north and south arches were then altered from
their first design. And their appearance is strongly in favour of a
reconstruction; for it will be noticed that, instead of the usual
elegant inclination in a continuous curve from the spring to the apex,
they rise perpendicularly for some distance above the piers on either
side, and then take rather an abrupt turn inwards, suggesting the
imposition of a pointed heading on an original stilted form. Further
signs of alteration appear on the northern side, where the capitals have
been recut in the Perpendicular fashion; but the Norman pilasters and
mouldings on the south remain untouched. On both sides the double
serrated line of moulding claims attention, as an example of the
"saw-tooth" ornament found in early work. A difference will be observed
in the corbels supporting the mouldings of the eastern and western
arches. The former are much more boldly cut, with all the appearance of
original work, while those on the west would seem to have been modified
by some architect of the Perpendicular age. In the decoration of the
inner tower walls there is a lozenge-shaped panel in each of the
spandrels, sculptured into a floral ornament something like the Greek
honeysuckle, a shallow arcading in the angles, and a cornice of zigzag
moulding extending round the walls, immediately below the modern ceiling
(1886) of panelled oak.
The piers at the angles of the tower are not very much more massive
than the adjacent walls, and do not strike one as capable of sustaining
a superstructure of any great weight. It may therefore be inferred that
the tower was a low one, as is in fact borne out by the representation
on the Priory seal, where the circular turrets at each end of the church
are shown to exceed it in height. The North Transept, which had been
occupied for many years as a blacksmith's forge, was re-opened on 5th
June, 1893, after restoration to something like its original state. It
is now used as a morning chapel.
Both transepts had been injured by fire, and were originally much
deeper than they are at present, but to have rebuilt them exactly on the
old lines would have involved the suppression of a right of way and the
purchase of neighbouring properties, besides adding to the cost of
heating and maintenance, expenses which the funds would not allow. Here,
as elsewhere, the old work, as far as it remained, has been left
undisturbed, and simply incorporated into the new, the architect
contenting himself with removing the modern walls which had been set up
at the extremities to keep out the weather, providing abutments to
strengthen the central arches, and supplying what was wanted to complete
the first design within the more limited area. During the reconstruction
of this transept the fine arcaded Stone Screen was revealed which
separates it from the space within the tower. The screen was buried some
four feet in earth, and the upper part entirely concealed by the smithy.
The style shows it to be of the fifteenth century, when there was
probably a similar screen on the opposite side of the choir, the two
backing the stalls, which are known to have been carried under the
tower. The existing screen is divided into two wide arches, slightly
depressed, with a moulding in four orders. It has been refaced on the
choir side, and a partition of ironwork, ornamented with coloured coats
of arms, inserted in the open spaces, to serve as a barrier without
obstructing the view in either direction.
Under one of the arches there is a stone coffin, with a much decayed
cover of Purbeck marble, which is supposed to have contained the body of
a Prior. It was opened for examination during the rebuilding, when a
skeleton was found within it, with sandals still on the feet, but as the
skull was gone it was evident that the coffin had previously been
opened. In the arch by its side there was another coffin of the same
character, which has unfortunately been shifted to the north ambulatory.
It is without a cover, and the skeleton is no longer there; but the
leaden envelope remains, more or less in the state in which it was
folded round the corpse. The arched recess on the east, by the side of
the opening to the ambulatory, is supposed to have been the entrance to
the Walden Chantry; but it has been built up with a return-wall.
The triforium is continuous through all three walls of the transept,
each bay consisting of a double pointed arch, except that above the
ambulatory, where the surviving Norman fragment shows three round-headed
openings, included in a semicircular arch with billet moulding. The
clerestory in the north wall, where the work is entirely new, is
ornamented with a traceried arcading on an interior plane, which has a
very beautiful effect.
The South Transept, opened after restoration on 14th March, 1891, had
been turned to account as a burial-ground, supplementary to that at the
west end. The side walls were allowed to stand for the enclosure, but
the south wall was pulled down, and another erected within the space, to
separate the "Green Churchyard," as it was called, from the church. In
this case, therefore, the restoration meant little more than the removal
of the intercepting wall to open out the transept, and building a new
one at the extremity, with a partial reconstruction of those which were
decayed to connect them with it. In the renovation of both transepts
blue Bath stone has been used internally, and Portland stone with flints
for the exterior. The conservative nature of the work is here seen in
the side walls, each of which retains a bay of the old Norman triforium,
with its round-headed divisions, to which a new bay has been added, with
a slightly pointed arcade, as a connection, without any violent
contrast, between the older parts of the transept and the new south
wall. This presents an agreeable variety to that facing it in the
opposite transept. In the upper stage, instead of a triforium and
clerestory, there are three tall windows of two lights each, the central
being carried above the others, and distinguished by a more ornate
tracery, here taking a cruciform pattern above the trefoil-headed
divisions, instead of a foliated circle as in the side windows. The
arcading in which they are all placed is severely simple in character,
the slightly pointed headings resting on plain shafts, with moulded
bases and capitals--the whole composition a pleasing relief to the
heavier architecture on each side without being discordant. The same may
be said of the lower stage, also arcaded in three divisions,
corresponding with those above, but rather more massive in character.
The central arch forms a porch, giving access to the church on that
side, with a recess to the east and west of it, each lighted by a
dwarfed window. The eastern of these recesses answers the purpose of a
baptistery. The Font dates from the early fifteenth century, and is
octagonal in shape, with a tall cover, crocketed at the angles,
suspended on a swivel above it. The facets of the octagon are perfectly
plain, but there is an oblong incision in one of them which looks very
much like the matrix of a brass, or the seat of a sculptured panel,
which has been removed. There is a traditional interest attaching to the
font as that in which William Hogarth, the famous painter and satirist,
was baptized. He was born in Bartholomew Close on 10th November, 1697,
and his baptism is entered in the parish register on the 28th of the
same month. It is recorded that the font had a narrow escape in the
eighteenth century, when the Vestry ordered it to be removed for a new
one, but fortunately the order was never carried out.
In a recess on the eastern side of the transept there is a monument to
Elizabeth Freshwater, whose effigy, in the costume and ruff collar of
her time, is shown kneeling at a small priedieu, with English and
Latin inscriptions beneath:
Here lyeth interred the body of Elizabeth Freshwater, late wife
of Thomas Freshwater, of Henbridge, in the County of Essex,
Esquire; eldest daughter of John Orme of this parish, Gentleman,
and Mary his wife. She died the 16th day of May Anno Domini
1617, being of the age of 26 years.
Mors properius, quali tinxisti tela veneno
Ut sic trina uno vulnere praeda cadat?
Unam saeva feris; sed et uno hoc occidit ictu
Uxor dulcis, amans filia, chara soror.
(O hasty death, how hast them so contrived
Thy darts with venomous poison to direct
That, by one cruel stroke, not one but three are killed,
Sweet wife, a loving daughter, sister dear!)
The doorway beneath the monument opens on the staircase to the south
triforium.
The Choir, now restored as nearly as possible to its original state,
consists of five bays on each side, with an apsidal termination of five
arches, distinguished from the others (mainly semicircular) by their
"stilted" form and much narrower span, which, in fact, measures no more
than the diameter of the intervening columns, and gives an appearance of
extra massiveness to the east end of the church. All the arches display
some approximation to the "horseshoe," in a slight inward inclination on
either side towards the capitals on which they rest; but the shape is
very definitely assumed in each of those immediately contiguous to the
transverse curve. These are of the genuine "horseshoe" pattern
characteristic of Arabian or Moorish buildings; and their exact
similarity in detail, with their position facing one another at each
extremity of the apse, would seem to indicate a structural necessity, or
deliberate intention in the design, which, neither here nor elsewhere in
the arcading, is to be attributed to any subsidence, or imperfect
workmanship, sometimes held to account for the deflection as a mere
accident.
The character of these arches, with the slightly domical vaults
noticeable in the adjacent aisles, has led some persons to detect an
Oriental influence in the building--possibly traceable to the visitors
from Byzantium whom the founder is said to have consulted while it was
in course of erection--though it is argued to the contrary that these
features are sufficiently accounted for by the general tendency of
Anglo-Norman architecture at the time, as illustrated elsewhere.
The arcading throughout rests on massive piers and circular columns,
with square bases and abaci (incised at the angles) and low cushioned
capitals, ornamented with a simple scallop. Above the arches, on the
choir side, there is a billet moulding, which is considered unique in
that, instead of forming a separate decoration to each arch, it is
carried along horizontally above the abaci on either side in a
continuous line of ornament.
The Triforium consists of a series of rounded arches, the piers from
which they spring being placed directly above those of the main arcade.
Each of the side bays is divided into four compartments by small
columns, above which the tympanum of the enclosing arch is occupied by a
blank wall. The sequence is, of course, interrupted by the oriel window
in the central bay on the south; and the narrower openings in the apse
only admit of a twofold division. There are said to have been originally
windows at the back of the triforium-gallery, as at Durham,
Peterborough, and other Norman churches of the same period; but the
mutilation and rebuilding in the external walls have greatly destroyed
the original work.
Prior Bolton's Window was probably inserted about 1530, when the device
of a "bolt in tun" was officially authorized for Bolton's arms, on his
own choice, as presenting his name in the emblematical form then in
vogue. The window is an "oriel" in the Perpendicular style, separated
vertically by mullions into three lights in front, with one at each end
of the projection, and horizontally by transoms into an upper and lower
tier, the former having a trefoil heading to each division. There is a
sloping hipped roof to the window, and a broad moulded corbel below it.
The well-known rebus is boldly displayed upon the central of the five
square panels (all sculptured) which adorn the face of this picturesque
chamber (oriolum), probably built as a convenient private pew for the
Prior, from which he could survey the whole of the choir and the
Founder's tomb. The Tudor doorway, which now opens into the choir vestry
at the eastern end of the south wall, has the Bolton rebus in the
spandrels of the arch.
The Clerestory. In his reconstruction here Sir Aston Webb has followed
the precedent of the Perpendicular work introduced in the fifteenth
century, which, fortunately, had not been seriously injured in the upper
part of the side walls. He has accordingly adopted that style in the
apse, where the clerestory arcade is entirely new. It displays a series
of five windows of two lights each, with traceried headings, and slender
columns on the inner and outer plane, sufficient to uphold the arcading
without intercepting the light--none too abundant in any part of the
church, though it is entirely destitute of stained glass at the present
day.
The walls of the triforium and clerestory are perforated longitudinally
to form a continuous passage on each side of the choir--interrupted,
however, by the interposition of masonry at the junction of the lateral
walls with the apse.
The passage along the clerestory is formed by a succession of
"shouldered arches," as they are commonly called, though each merely
consists of a flat lintel resting on corbels, which is not strictly an
arch at all. As there are no signs of vaulting-shafts, it may be fairly
assumed that the original roof was a wooden one, probably painted, like
those still in existence at other Norman churches.
The present ceiling, about forty-seven feet above the level of the
floor, is of panelled oak (uncoloured), and supersedes an unsatisfactory
timber structure which had taken the place of the earlier Tudor work. It
was divided into compartments by a tie-beam and king-post at intervals,
supported on corbels representing the heads of cherubim--an innovation
more modern, and even more out of character with the building, than the
ceiling itself. The cross beams from the latter have been retained in
the modern work.
The Founder's Tomb occupies a bay on the northern side of the
sanctuary. Resting on a simple base of rectangular stones, it consists
of an altar-tomb in the Perpendicular style, ornamented by four
quatrefoil panels in front, each displaying a shield of arms, above
which runs the inscription: Hic jacet Raherus Primus Canonicus et
Primus Prior hujus Ecclesiae. [Here lies Rahere, first canon and first prior of this church.]
The painted effigy of Rahere lies upon its back, vested in the black
Habit of the Augustinian Canons, the hands joined in prayer, and the
tonsured head reposing upon a tasselled cushion. At the feet an angel,
with flowing black hair, and crowned, is represented rising from clouds,
holding towards the recumbent figure a shield, on which the Priory Arms
are embossed and illuminated: Gules, two lions passant guardant: or,
two ducal coronets in chief.
On each side of the effigy a kneeling monk of the same Order is reading
from a book, opened at Isaiah, li, 3, as may be inferred from the words
distinguishable on the page nearest the spectator, the text obviously
having been chosen with reference to the ground on which the Priory
stands: "Consolabitur ergo Dominus Sion, et consolabitur omnes ruinas
ejus: et ponat desertum ejus quasi delicias, et solitudinem ejus quasi
hortum Domini." [The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof: and he will make her desert as a place of pleasure, and her wilderness as the garden of the Lord.]
The group is enclosed in a canopied frame of tabernacle work in three
divisions, elaborately carved, with a vaulted ceiling; and each of the
panels in the back wall is perforated with a small decorated window,
unglazed, probably inserted not only for ornament but for the benefit of
pilgrims on the ambulatory side of the shrine. The design is continued
in a fourth panel towards the east, with a blank wall behind it, and
another separating it from the actual tomb. Originally there were two
other panels beyond this, similarly arcaded, and carried over the face
of the adjacent Norman arch, which had a doorway beneath it leading into
the ambulatory. The canopy and panelling
were added to the tomb in the fifteenth century. It was repaired in the
reign of Henry VIII, and the painting has been more than once renewed,
apparently with some rearrangement of the arms in front, as they do not
appear in the present order in old engravings. Taking them from left to
right they are now those of the City of London, the Priory, England and
France, and Sir Stephen Slaney, Lord Mayor of London in 1595.
The sanctuary is paved with coloured tesserae and marbles, in a series
of five steps, the uppermost of which forms the predella, or footpace,
to the altar. The latter is of oak, and was presented by Miss Overbury,
sister-in-law to the Rev. W. Panckridge, Rector of the Parish from 1884
to 1887.
The Pulpit is built against a pier on the north side, midway between the
ordinary seats and the choir-stalls. It is a low oblong structure, with
a short flight of steps at each end, and is ornamented in the upper part
with a series of panels, arcaded and perforated to resemble small
windows.
The Hopton Wood stone, or marble, as it is sometimes called, has a
delicate gray vein, which is brought out by polish on the cornice and
balustrade, as a relief to the unpolished surface elsewhere displayed.
There is no inscription; but visitors are usually told about Mrs.
Charlotte Hart, the apparently impecunious pew-opener at the church, who
surprised her friends by dying worth close upon £3,000, and by leaving
£600 to the restoration fund. A new pulpit happened to be wanted at the
time, and the bequest was applied in its erection.
On the wall above is the Monument of Sir Robert Chamberlayne, an
elegant piece of Jacobean work, deserving a closer examination than can
be bestowed upon it without mounting the pulpit, and even there the
inscription is scarcely legible. The sculpture, which is extremely well
executed, represents Sir Robert kneeling in prayer within a circular
pavilion, the curtains of which are held up by an angel on either side.
The figure wears a partial suit of plate armour over the costume of the
period, and the (bearded) face is turned obliquely towards the east yet
away from the spectator, in the attitude of secret devotion. The tent is
surmounted by a rich cornice, above which the monument terminates in an
ornamental pediment displaying the crest of the deceased. The Latin
inscription beneath relates his descent, through the holders of Sherburn
Castle, Oxon, from the most ancient Tankerville family of Normandy; and
adds that he was knighted by James I, and died between Tripoli and
Cyprus, on a journey to the Holy Sepulchre, at the age of thirty-five,
in the year 1615. The monument was erected by an unknown friend (amico
amicus), who concludes with the pious ejaculation Coelo tegitur qui
non habet urnam--Heaven covers him who has no sepulchre!
On the south wall, facing this monument, there is another of some
interest and artistic merit. It is to the memory of #Percival Smalpace#
and Agnes his wife, whose boldly sculptured heads are projecting from
separate panels above the tablet containing the inscription. This is
chiefly in Latin, and informs us that the deaths occurred respectively
on 2nd February, 1568, and 3rd September, 1588, in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, and that Michael and Thomas erected the memorial jointly to
the best of parents.
The moral of the English lines
Behold yourselves by us;
Such once were we as you:
And you in time shall be
Even dust as we are now.
is enforced by a drawing, in outline, representing the nude figures of
the departed lying side by side upon a couch in the sleep of death--no
doubt intended as a memento mori of a less repulsive kind than the
usual desiccated corpse. The monument has been invested with a coating
of black, which at once conceals the whole of the marble (said to be
brown), and shows up the inscription and the figures, both clearly
incised and gilded.
The Ambulatory, which encompasses the choir, and is open to it on the
inner side throughout its course, is an interesting part of the original
fabric, and displays to full advantage the characteristic features of
early Norman work--here made more conspicuous by the low pitch of the
roof, which gives the columns and arches an appearance of even greater
solidity than really belongs to them. The semicircular arches which
support the roof spring from the capitals of the main arcade, and are
merely wide bands of stone, without moulding or adornment of any kind.
The intermediate spaces are equally plain, each compartment simply
taking the quadripartite form (without vaulting-ribs) to accommodate it
to the arcading on which it rests. The ceiling has been repaired with
stone, and overlaid with plaster in the panels, but the design has been
left undisturbed, as a specimen of early vaulting, rare enough to be
worth preserving.
Perpendicular work occurs here and there throughout the ambulatory,
conspicuously in the three recesses in the exterior wall on the north,
each of which contains a three-light window in that style. The first and
second of these recesses, or small chapels, are open to the ground
level; but the third (nearest the east) has been walled up beneath the
window sill. Beyond it is the door of the clergy vestry, which occupies
the site of another chapel: and in the curve of the wall towards the
Lady Chapel there is a tablet which usually attracts attention for the
curious device upon it--three pillars crowned by a garland of roses--and
the poetical conceit of the epitaph, which explains the emblem, and
otherwise speaks for itself:
Sacred
To the memory of that worthy and lerned
Francis Anthony, Doctor in Physick.
There needs no verse to beautify thy praise,
Or keepe in memory thy spotless name.
Religion, virtue, and thy skil did raise
A threefold pillar to thy lasting Fame;
Though poisenous envye ever sought to blame
Or hyde the fruits of thy intention,
Yet shall they all commend that high desygne
Of purest gold to make a medicine
That feel thy helpe by that thy rare invention.
He dyed the 26th of May 1623, of his age 74.
His loving sonne John Anthony, doctor in physick,
Left this remembrance of his sorrow. He dyed
ye 28th April 1655, being aged 70 years, and was
buried nere this place, and left behind him 1 sone and 3 daughters.
Before leaving this northern side of the ambulatory it may be noticed
that the pavement is made up of an intermixture of gravestones with
encaustic tiles. The latter are not so old as they look, for they only
date from 1863, when the floor was reduced to its original level,
exactly twenty-seven inches below that which was removed, as shown by
the marks on the wall backing Rahere's tomb, at the line where the
pavement was taken away.
Continuing our perambulation past the Lady Chapel and Prior Bolton's
door (now leading into the choir vestry) at the eastern end of the south
wall, we come to the magnificent Tomb of Sir Walter Mildmay. It formerly
stood facing that of the Founder in the sanctuary, but was shifted to
its present place in 1865, and renovated by Henry Bingham Mildmay in
1870, as stated in an inscription upon it, which, however, shows more
signs of decay than any other part of the monument, and is scarcely
legible. This very fine altar tomb is composed of various coloured
marbles, panelled and gilded in a design combining the Elizabethan form
with the classical ornament of the Renaissance, and is remarkable for
the absence of figures usually conspicuous in monuments of the same age.
This peculiarity is perhaps accounted for by the strong Puritan leanings
of Sir Walter, who took no pains to conceal them in his lifetime. He
founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1583, where his architectural
work is pointed out, in illustration of his principles, as running
counter to all the traditions of the Dominican Friars, whose buildings
came into his hands after the Dissolution, and formed the nucleus of his
foundation. Instead of saints and angels, or kneeling effigies, we have
here eight shields of arms, showing the family alliances, arranged in
panelling round the central inscription:
Hic jacent Gualterus Mildmay, miles, et
Maria uxor ejus. Ipse obiit ultimo die
Maii 1589. Ipsa 16 die Martii 1576.
Reliquierunt duos filios et tres filias.
Fundavit Collegium Emanuelis Cantabrigiae.
Moritur Cancellarius et Sub-Thesaurarius
Scaccarii et Regiae Majestati a Consiliis.
(Here lie Walter Mildmay, Knight, and Mary his wife. He died the last
day of May, 1589. She the 16th day of March, 1576. They left two sons
and three daughters. He founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He died
Chancellor and Sub-Treasurer of the Exchequer, and a Member of Her
Majesty's Council.)
There is a commendable absence of eulogy in the epitaph. The tomb is surmounted by three
classical urns and the escutcheon of the deceased, with the legend,
Virtute non vi. Sir Walter was one of the Royal Commissioners
appointed in 1586 for the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Fotheringhay
Castle.
There are numerous other monuments in the church, and there were
formerly many more than now remain, but those selected for description
are the most important and the most interesting for their artistic
merit.
The Lady Chapel is a restoration of that built about the year 1410. At
the Dissolution it passed into the hands of Sir Richard Rich, who
converted it into a dwelling-house, and in more modern times it was
occupied by a fringe manufacturer, as related in our historical sketch.
The building was recovered by purchase in 1885, and the reconstruction
begun, which was completed eleven years later. There are signs of an
earlier chapel on the site, which was considerably altered, or entirely
rebuilt, in the fourteenth century, as appeared from the architectural
remains of that period discovered within the fifteenth-century
fabric--itself in a frightful state of dilapidation--when the
restoration was taken in hand.
The Cloister, as next in importance to the church itself, and so
characteristic of a monastic foundation as to give a name to the whole,
was in all probability begun by Rahere, or at least some time in the
twelfth century. This may be inferred from the Norman work found and
preserved at the restoration--at present confined to three bays of the
eastern side, at right angles to the south wall of the church. The
cloister was originally continued parallel with this wall to the
extremity of the nave, whence it extended in the usual quadrangular
form, each side consisting of eight bays, enclosing the area known as
the cloister-garth. That there was a reconstruction under Prior John
Watford, early in the fifteenth century, is clear from the evidence
already given, which is confirmed by the architectural remains within
the restored fragment--all that was in existence, as a ruin, when the
renovation was attempted.
The entrance is through a round-headed doorway in the south aisle--an
interesting piece of Norman work--but the doors are probably those
inserted during the fifteenth century reconstruction. It seems that they
were taken out when the nave was destroyed, and fitted to the main
entrance in the wall then built at the west end. Subsequently stored
within the church among the lumber which might possibly come in useful,
they were found exactly to fit the opening into the cloister, where they
were re-hung in what seems to be their proper place. The first bay on
the right, which formerly opened into the northern side of the
quadrangle, is now occupied by a blank wall, with some fifteenth century
work on each side, and the Tudor door-jambs within it, supposed to have
been inserted by the Dominican Friars in their restoration of the
following century. The second and third bays contain windows, with very
fine modern tracery in the headings, and some old Perpendicular work
retained at the sides. The wall on the left (eastern) side shows a
similar intermixture of styles in its three unlighted bays. The
elaborately vaulted roof is for the most part new, but a few of the old
bosses, and some portions of the original vaulting-shafts recovered
during the excavations, have been incorporated into it, without
renovation of their surfaces, so that the ancient and modern can be
easily distinguished. The new bosses are sculptured with shields bearing
respectively the royal arms, the arms of the Diocese, the Priory, the
late Rector (Sir Borradaile Savory), and the City of London. The Priory
arms form the central point in the vaulting, surrounded by smaller
bosses containing the emblems of the four Evangelists.