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 Cathedral part II |
A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester The Cathedral III |
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"The church and clergy here, no doubt,
are very near akin,
Both weather-beaten are without,
And mould'ring are within."
Jonathan Swift
p
to
the
18th
century,
burials
within
Chester
Cathedral
were
common
and
much
sought-after.
The
cost
towards
the
end
of
the
practice,
to
those
not
privileged
to
free
access,
was
"£5
for
burial
in
the
side
alleys
and
£10
in
the
body
of
the
quire".
At the time, this was a
considerable
sum,
but
nontheless,
the
cumulative
effect
of
hundreds
of
such
interments
eventually
resulted
in
a
serious
undermining
of
the
Cathedral's
fabric-
by
Scott's
time,
the
side
walls
of
the
eastern
end
were
noted
to be
feet
out
of
true.
Many
of
the
external
features
you
see
today
are by
George Gilbert Scott,
including
the
spires
and
small
towers
atop
the
main
tower,
which
had
been
originally
built
about
1210
and
had
been
described,
before
its
restoration,
as
a "picturesque
and
crumbling
pile
of
soft
sandstone,
inhabited
by
jackdaws".
A confirmation of this state of affairs comes in the form of an interesting reminiscience from the February 1882 edition of the Cheshire Sheaf, wherein a contributor recalled, "When some fifty years younger than I am now, I used to watch with boyish interest the movements of the sable birds that then flourished in and about the crumbling and crannied walls of Chester Cathedral. The jackdaws' nests were up far away out of ordinary reach; but the increase in population was at times so great, and the birds made such havoc in the spongy and perishing stone, that a raid had each season to be made upon them to keep the colony down. Long ladders were projected at all sorts of angles, and a dozen or two eager marauders pursued their deadly mission at the mouths of the principal nests. I'm afraid I was myself at such times one of the foremost invaders of the poor birds' territory, and have gone home at night laden with the spoil of their young".
The
exterior
facing
of
the
13th
century
Lady
Chapel,
the
building
nearest
to
the
East Wall,
is
also
Scott's.
It
is
as
if
the
entire
structure
had
been
'wrapped
up'
in
new
stone-
but
there
is
less
obvious
new
work
inside
the
Cathedral
and
many
of
the
monastic
buildings-
considered
to
be
the
finest
in
Britain-
survive
relatively
unchanged.
Among
them
is
the Refectory,
where
once
the
monks
ate
their
frugal
meals
in
silence,
except
for
the
voice
of
one
of
the
brothers
giving
bible
readings
from
the
late
13th
century
stone
lectern
or
pulpit,
which
is
built
into
the
wall
and
reached
by
an
arcaded
stairway.
It,
too,
is
considered
to
be
to
be
one
of
the
finest
in
the
country.
The
Refectory
itself,
though
basically
Norman,
was
remodelled
in
the
13th
century
and
the
windows
were
altered
again
in
the
15th
to
give
the
impression
of
a
later
building.
One
modern
addition
is
the
magnificent
medieval-style
hammer-beam
roof
which
was
built
under
the
direction
of
architectural
historian
F.H.
Crossley
as
recently
as
1939.
After
a
period,
ending
in
1876,
housing
the
King's
School,
(look
for
the
grafitti
scratched
into
the
walls by long-dead pupils)
the
Refectory
is
today
filled
with
the
gentle
chatter
of
visitors
and
other
refugees
from
the
busy
city
outside,
having
resumed
some
of
its
ancient
function
by
serving
as
the
Cathedral's
teashop
and
restaurant.
The
East
Window
had
been
completely
rebuilt
by
Giles
Gilbert
Scott
in
1913
and
in June
2001,
to
mark
the
new
Millennium,
a
great
new
stained
glass
west
window
was
installed
in
the
Refectory.
Created
by
Bristol-based
artist Rosalind
Grimshaw,
assisted
by Patrick
Costeloe,
the
window
was
inspired
by
the
biblical
quotation, "And
God
saw
everything
He
had
made,
and
behold
it
was
very
good".
There
are
six
main
panels,
each
two
feet
wide
and
sixteen
feet
high,
depicting
the
six
days
of
Creation,
including
the
passing
from
darkness
into
light,
the
creation
of
dry
land
from
the
water
and
the
coming
of
fish,
sea
creatures
and
Man.
Also
ranking
as
some
of
the
finest
of
their
kind
are
the
highly-decorated
oak Choir
Stalls of
c.1380-
illustrated
at the top of the page-
with
their
imaginatively-carved misericords.
Despite
having
been
moved
several
times
over
the
centuries,
they
have
nontheless
survived
intact
and
with
remarkably
little
sign
of
wear
or
damage
for
over
six
hundred
years.
Novelist Henry
James was
inspired
by "the
vast
oaken
architecture
of
the
stalls,
climbing
vainly
against
the
dizzier
reach
of
the
columns".
(Read
his
affectionate
description
of
Chester
in
his "most
perfect" 1903
novel,
The
Ambassadors
here)
Taking
their
name
from
the
Latin
word
for
mercy,
these misericords are
small
shelves
which
project
from
the
undersides
of
the
hinged
choir
stall
seats
upon
which
the
monks
could
have
supported
themselves
during
the
long
hours
of
worship.
Because
they
were
usually
tucked
away
out
of
sight,
the
the
carvers
were
allowed
considerable
freedom
of
expression
in
their
decoration.
The
exquisite
finesse
of
the
pinnacled
canopies
over
the
choir
stalls
contrast
sharply
with
the
earthly
subject
matter
on
the
misericords
beneath-
men
wrestle,
foxes
steal
grapes,
a
wife
beats
her
husband,
a
unicorn
is
slain
after
laying
its
head
in
the
lap
of
a
virgin,
angels
play
lutes
and
biblical
scenes
are
flanked
by
monsters
and mythological
figures
for
distant
pre-Christian
times-
all
of
the
utmost
liveliness
and
fascination.
The
story
of
St. Werburgh-
to
whom
the
Cathedral
is
dedicated-
and
the
'restored
goose'
is
here
also,
but
some
of
these
medieval
masterpieces
are
now
sadly
lost
to
us,
for
150
years
ago,
Dean
Howson
ordered
five
of
them
to
be
destroyed
on
the
grounds
that
they
were "very
improper".
Look
out
also
for
the
curious
cloven-hoofed elephant on
the
end
of
one
of
the
benches-
the
fanciful
creation
of
a
medieval
craftsman
who
had
obviously
never
seen
the
real
thing.
One
had
been
brought
to
England
in
1255,
a
gift
to
Henry
III
by
Louis
IX
of
France,
and
carvings
made
of
it
at
the
time
were
the
model
for
copies
which
appeared
for
more
than
a
century
afterwards.
Elephants
had
first
come
to
Britain
long
before
this,
however,
for
a
troop
of
them
had
accompanied
the
Emperor
Claudius during
the
first
days
of
the
400-year
Roman
occupation
of
our
islands,
when
he
rode
in
state
to
Camulodunum (modern
Colchester)
in
August
AD
43
to
accept
the
surrender
of
several
of
the
local
tribes-
to
whom
the
great
creatures
must
have
been
a
truly
awe-inspiring
sight.
While
on
the
subject
of
cloven
hooves,
here
is
a
curious
story
recorded
by
one
Mr
Edward
Thomas
in
a
1906
edition
of
the Cheshire
Sheaf: "When
I
became
a
chorister
in
Chester
Cathedral
in
the
year
1828,
I,
as
was
the
custom
with
all
new
boys,
was
shown
by
the
older
choristers
a
flagstone
at
the
north
east
corner
of
the cloisters on
which
was
a
mark,
said
to
be
the
Devil's
footprint,
and
was
told
that
if
the
flag
was
removed
and
replaced
by
a
new
one,
on
the
following
morning,
the
footprint
would
be
there
again".
To
the
best
of
our
knowledge,
this
splendid
legend
has
of
recent
times
become
entirely
forgotten-
it
certainly
appears
in
no
contemporary
guidebooks
we
have
seen.
Our
photograph
shows
the
nearest
thing
we
could
find
to
a
'Devil's
Footprint'-
perhaps
now somewhat
worn
since
it
was
exhibited
for
the
edification
of
Georgian
choir
boys.
What
do you think?
The
Devil
makes
yet
another
appearance
in
a
better-known
Cathedral
legend,
that
of
the Chester
Imp.
This
tells
us
that,
centuries
ago,
during
the
construction
of
the
Nave,
a
priest
was
startled
by
the
sight
of
a
demonic
face
leering
at
him
through
one
of
the
windows.
This
he
took
to
be
Satan
himself,
come
to
investigate
this
latest
fortress
aginst
his
dark
powers.
Prompt
action
was
taken,
and
stonemasons
were
ordered
to
carve
an
equally-ugly
image
and
mount
it
where,
should
the
Devil
dare
to
look
in
again,
he
would
be
frightened
away!
At
intervals,
from
1772
onwards,
attempts
were
made
to
hold
Music
Festivals
in
the
Cathedral.
Conscious
of
the
fact
that
the
rapidly-rising
and
wealthy
cities
of
Liverpool
and
Manchester
were
easily
able
to
attract
the
best
artistes,
Chester's
organisers
strove
to
compete,
but
were
continually
running
into
difficulties.
In
1821,
for
example,
one
Madame
Camporese caused
a
great
stir
due
to
the
high
level
of
fees
she
demanded
for
performing.
The Chester
Chronicle dryly
commented
at
the
time: "We
are
sorry
that
anything
like
dissatisfaction
should
have
been
expressed
by
the
lady,
after
the
very
liberal
treatment
she
experienced
from
the
committee.
We
believe
she
only
gave
five
songs
in
the
church,
for
which
she
had
£150,
enough
in
all
common
conscience
one
would
have
thought.
The
air
of
Italy,
however,
as
connected
with
pecuniary
matters,
has
unquestionably
a
bracing
tendency".
In
1842,
the
festival
had
to
be
cancelled
as "the
bishop
has
objected
to
sanction
it
on
account
of
the
concerts
and
ball
which
follow
the
oratorio,
and
the
Dean
and
Chapter
have
refused
to
lend
the
nave
of
the
Cathedral
for
the
morning
performances".
The
citizens
of
Chester
were
said
to
have
been
"highly
incenced" by
the
uncooperative
attitude
of
the
Cathedral
authorities.
Today,
Chester
Cathedral
continues
to
host
a
wide
variety
of-
considerably
better
organised-
musical
events.
During World War Two, Chester largely escaped the appalling damage inflicted upon neighbouring British cities- including Liverpool- but, during late 1940 and the early months of 1941, the city suffered its worst attacks from enemy bombers. The Cathedral suffered damage during the raids of November 29th and 30th and on December 1st 1940 when incendiary bombs blew out many windows, including those of the St. Erasmus Chapel, the Choir Clerestory and the South Nave Aisle. There was also much damage done to the roofs. The cost of repairs was recorded as amounting to "six thousand, five hundred and thirty eight pounds, six shillings and eleven pence".
Modern
Times
Should
you
be
tempted
to
interrupt
our
stroll
around
the
city
walls
for
a
while
to
visit
the
Cathedral-
and
you
definitely
should-
you
will
find
the
nearest
entrance
in Abbey Square, at the end
of quiet, cobbled
Abbey
Street,
allowing
a
dignified
entry,
far preferable
to
the
main
entrance
in
St. Werburgh
Street,
where
one
is
forced
to
pass
through
the
vulgar
new
visitor's
centre
and
associated
gift
shop
before
eventually
gaining
access
to
the
great
building
itself.
Despite
considerable
objection,
in
1999,
the
Cathedral
authorities
replaced
the
18th
century
nave
floor
with
new
stone,
declaring
the
old
surface
to
be
"unsafe",
and
to
have
been
worn
"wafer-thin".
Opponents
said
the
Dean
and
Chapter
undertook
the
work
for
reasons
of
mere
cosmetics-
and
possibly
also
to
protect
themselves
from
legal
action
in
the
unlikely
event
of
a
visitor
tripping
and
injuring
themselves. The stone used was not the soft local sandstone from which the rest of the Cathedral is built, but a harder Permo-Triassic sandstone brought all the way from Dumfries in Scotland. Whatever
the
rights
and
wrongs,
the
work
is
now
complete.
At
the
same
time,
a
system
of
underfloor
heating
was
also
installed,
and
most of the
characterful,
if
noisy,
Victorian
'Gurney'
heaters
were
done
away
with.
Archaeologists
took
the
opportunity
to
conduct
an
investigation,
but
were
frustrated
by
only
being
allowed
a
short
time
on
site,
and
then
only
being
permitted
to
explore
to
the
depth
where
the
new
heating
pipes
were
to
be
laid.
Of
course,
much
of
this
layer
had
already
been
thoroughly
disturbed
and
contains
little
but
18th
and
19th
century
graves-
one
of
which
is
shown
above.
Some
very
interesting
discoveries
were
made
however.
For
example,
the
base
of
a
massive
stone
wall,
2.5
metres
wide,
of
rough-faced
small
blocks,
was
found
under
the
present
arcade.
It
may
have
formed
part
of
the
foundations
of
the
Norman
abbey
church
of
c.1092,
but
is
unlike
surviving
Norman
work
elsewhere
in
the
Cathedral.
It
was
conjectured
that
it
could
be
a
relic
of
the
even
earlier
Saxon
church,
of
which
virtually
nothing
is
known,
although
the
masonry
is
more
massive
than
would
be
expected
in
a
building
of
that
period.
Our
illustration
shows
a
mysterious
decorated
slab
of
stone
exposed
for
the
first
time
in
centuries
supporting
one
of
the
great
pillars
in
the
Nave.
Whatever
the
case,
further
investigation
of
what
mysteries
lie
beneath
Chester
Cathedral
must, regretfully,
await
the
archaeologists
of
another
century.
During the Summer of 2002, the north side of the Cathedral was once again shrouded in scaffolding and surrounded by the noise and dust of the builders as work commenced upon the construction of a new choir school above the ancient Chapter House entrance and on the site of the long-vanished monk's dormitories. When complete, the new facilities will allow the Cathedral's boy's, girl's and men's choirs to carry out their daily rehersals under one roof, rather than in their present cramped conditions, and also to provide "a training ground for the professional singers of the future". The money to pay for it- around £2 million- was largely to be raised by appeal.
Nearly two years later, in June 2004, the external work on the new song school was pretty much finished and very nice it looked too, as may be seen in our photograph. A considerable amount of money remains to be raised to pay for the building (you and I would probably ensure we actually could afford it before we added our conservatory, but here, it seems, they do their housekeeping differently)- and, doubtless not unconnected with this was their announcement that they intended to impose compulsory admission charges for visitors to the Cathedral from that summer. Chester residents would still be granted free admission to Our Father's House- but only upon the production of their Charisma Card (a local trader's loyalty card which offers discounts in shops, restaurants and the like) as will "bona fide worshippers"... The rest of you must expect to fork out £4.00 per person- but this will apparently include the use of a hi-tech 'personal guided tour' device during your visit.
Ironically, in former times it had become the norm to demand money from visitors to Britain's great cathedrals until, in the 1920s, an enlightened new Dean abolished the practise here, making Chester Cathedral the first in Britain to allow free access!
Whatever the case, it has certainly turned out that, since the changes, numbers of so-called 'casual' visitors to the Cathedral- whether harrassed city office worker in pursuit of a few minutes of spiritual re-charge or weary shopper in need of a bit of peace and quiet and a sit down- have plummeted. Having these money-takers at the door sitting in judgement, deciding whether or not a visitor qualifies as a bona fide worshipper must certainly present an off-putting prospect for many potential visitors.
One is reminded of how their boss dealt with their like, "Jesus entered the Temple area and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers". (Matthew 21)
Doubtless, other great cathedrals around Britain
have resorted to inposing compulsory charges in order to raise money- the tourist trap that is Westminster Abbey, for example, certainly has done so for many years. But many do not- three that this writer has had the pleasure of visiting recently, Salisbury and the two great buildings in Liverpool, make their visitors welcome with nary a tin-rattler in sight. At Salisbury, the lady who welcomed me at the door asked where I was from a gave me a free bible, and I noticed that most visitors were putting money into the donations boxes.
In January 2006, the local press reported that the Cathedral "was on the verge of a crisis" and now faced a shortfall of £25 million for essential maintainance and repairs, including renovating the organ, pointing the tower and repairs to walls. £5 million of the total, however, was said to be for establishing a foundation for music and education, which, however worthy, hardly counts as 'essential repairs'.
It also came to light that the new compulsory £4.00 admission charge raises a mere £320,000 per year, which does not even cover annual running costs. It would be interesting to know how much had formerly been raised from voluntary donations when far more people were welcomed to the Cathedral than are now...
In 1949, the Cheshire Sheaf recorded that the following anonymous poem was found "on the back of an old picture in Chester Cathedral"...
Isn't it strange that princes and kings,
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And ordinary folk like you and me,
Are builders for eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools,
An hourglass and a book of rules,
And each must build, ere his life is flown,
A stumbling-block or a stepping stone.
A locally better known poem is that which is inscribed upon an old clock in the Cathedral:
When as a child I laughed and wept- time crept.
When as a youth I dremed and telked- time walked.
When I became a full grown man- time ran.
And later as I older grew- time flew.
Soon I shall find
while travelling on- time gone.
Will Christ have saved my soul by then?- Amen.
The
first
known
guidebook
to
Chester,
the De
Laude
Cestrie ('In
Praise
of
Chester')
was
written
about
1195
by Lucian,
one
of
the
monks
of
the
Abbey.
For
some
fascinating
insights
into
the
city
and
Abbey
as
he
saw
them
at
the
end
of
the
12th
century,
go here.
From the 12th century to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1540s, fully 25% of the area within Chester's walls was occupied by monastic communities. To
learn
a
little
of
the
Benedictine
nuns
of
St. Mary's,
go here. You
can also find out something more of them, together with the Black Friars, in our Roodee chapter and of the Grey and White Friars in our Watergate chapter. Alternatively,
visit
a
stunningly
beautiful
building,
still
very
much
with
us- over
1,000
years
old
and
our
city's
first
cathedral:
the
unique
church
of
St. John
the
Baptist.
And
now
we
should
take
our
leave
of
the
Cathedral
and
press
on
toward
the
Eastgate...
Curiousities from Chester's History no. 9
- 1447 Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, confined in the Castle for 'practicing the King's death' before being sent to the Isle of Man to serve her sentence. A Cheshire gentleman, Robert Needham, was convicted of assisting her husband in a rescue bid. After he was taken to Tyburn and supposedly hung, and had already been stripped by the executioner in readiness for quartering, he was found to be still alive- and was therefore pardoned.
- 1451 Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci born. Leonardo da Vinci born the following year.
- 1453 End of the Hundred Years' War with France
- 1455 Richard Oldham becomes twenty second Abbot of St. Werburgh's (-1485)
- 1460 Richard of York defeats Henry IV at Northampton, but is defeated and killed by Queen Margaret at Wakefield. The following year, Richard's son Edward is crowned Edward IV(1442-1483). A new pillory set up at Chester Cross at a cost of 6s 8d.
- 1463 Several citizens of Chester slain at Mold by Rinalt of the Tower, and the Mayor hung on a staple in his hall.
- 1470 Edward IV visited Chester. An invasion led by the Earl of Warwick ('Warwick the Kingmaker') restored Henry to the throne. The roof of St. John's Church was "covered with lead". During the same year, the Central Tower fell, destroying the Choir
- 1471 Edward IV defeats and kills Richard, Earl of Warwick at Barnet, defeats Queen Margaret and kills Prince Edward at Tewkesbury. Henry VI murdered in the Tower of London. First mention in documents of the Bull Inn- now known as the Pied Bull, in Northgate Street. Albrecht Dürer born
- 1474 William Caxton prints the first book in English
- 1483 Edward IV died. His son was crowned as Edward V (1470-1483), only to be imprisoned with his brother in the Tower of London (The 'Princes in the Tower') and there was murdered. His uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester assumed the throne as Richard III (1452-1485).
- 1484
Richard
III
granted
Chester
remission
for
10
years
of
the
sum
of
£73.
10s
1d
of
the
fee
farm
rent,
because
of
the
impoverishment
of
the
city
and
port
due
to
the
silting
of
the
River
Dee.
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