c
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014
h tt ps ://a rc h i ve . o rg/d eta i I s/h i sto r y of m et ro po0 1 b row
INDIA PAPER, £1. 1*.
PLAIN PAPER, 15*
DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION,
TO HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK.
THE
HISTORY OF THE EDIFICE
OF THE
METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF ST. PETER,
YORK;
ILLUSTRATED BY EXTRACTS FROM THE RECORDS OF THE SEE, &c. &c.
BY PLANS AND SECTIONS,
AND
BY DRAWINGS OF THE EMBELLISHMENTS.
By JOHN BROWNE, Artist,
AUTHOR OF AN ESSAY ON THE AGE OF ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH PORCH, LETTER TO ARCHDEACON MARKHAM ON
THE REMOVAL OF THE ORGAN-SCREEN, ETC. ETC.
LONDON:
MESSRS. LONGMAN AND CO.; WHITTAKER AND CO.; HAYWOOD AND MOORE; MR. WEALE,
ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, 59, HIGH HOLBORN; MR. SUNTER, AND THE AUTHOR. YORK.
1839.
o O O
London: Printed by Richard Kinder, Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey.
EXPLANATION OF THE ORNAMENTS ON THE COVER.
The ornaments on the cover having created greater interest with the public than the author ever expected, he is induced to give the
following extended explanation of them, instead of the concise notices which appeared in the third page of the Cover to the first number.
The Cross Keys and Triple-crowned Tiara in the Shield, in the field of the page, are the bearings of the See of St. Peter at Rome, and
are copied from the Shield in the Large Tower of the Cathedral. The Keys are symbolical of the spiritual power of the Pope ; one being of
gold, represents the power of absolving penitent sinners ; the other, of silver, represents the power of excommunicating the impenitent.
The Triple-crowned Tiara surmounted by a Cross, is designed to show that the Pope, in respect of civil power, Js a Christian High Priest,
Emperor, and King. Authors rather disagree as to the precise periods when the Crowns were added to the Conical Cap, but the best authorities
assign the Tiara with one crown, similar to that at g, to Boniface VIII, about 1294; the Tiara with two crowns to Benedict XII, about 1334;
and the Tiara with three crowns to John XXIII, about 1410. St. Gregory the Great is represented in the large east window of the Cathedral
with a Tiara similar to that at g ; as are also several other Popes in the clerestory windows of the choir. St. Peter, in a window of the north
aisle, has a Tiara with two crowns ; whilst many Popes in the clerestory windows have three crowns on the Tiara.
The two Pendants of the Tiara are symbolical of the two methods of interpreting Sacred Scripture, one according to the mystical sense,
the other according to the literal.
One portion of the Crest of the border is the upper part of a Pope's processional Cross, having only two transverse bars, as it appears with
all the effigies of the Popes in the windows of the Cathedral ; whilst all Archbishops are there represented with a processional Cross, having
one transverse bar ; and Bishops with a Pastoral Staff, or Crosier. The ensign of the Roman Pontiff now is a processional Cross, having three
transverse bars.
The other portion of the Crest is the upper part of a Pastoral Staff or Crosier, as used by both Archbishops and Bishops, and is symbolical
of the pastoral power communicated by Christ to his Disciples. The present figure represents the top of the Crosier, (now in the vestry,) which
was seized by the Earl of Danby, during the Revolution of 1688, from the possession of Dr. James Smith, Bishop of Callipolis, who was then
at York, being appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of England.
a — The old Arms of the See, as displayed in the Large Tower, viz. : — The Pall and Archiepiscopal Cross. Before the Catholic Archbishops
received the pallium or pall from Rome, they were not entitled to be called Archbishops, nor allowed to perform any of the Archiepiscopal
functions. The pall was the distinguishing badge of an Archbishop, and was worn over the shoulders on particular occasions. It was formed
of three pieces of white cloth or stuff, about three fingers broad, with the fringe or shag hanging down; it was made of the wool of lambs, and
was embroidered with four purple crosses, emblematical of the cardinal virtues. Previous to its being sent to the Metropolitan, it was placed
by the Pope upon St. Peter's tomb.
The Archiepiscopal processional Cross implied that the See of York was Archiepiscopal, and that the pall was not in a Bishoprick, as was
sometimes the case through favour.
This bearing of the See was, probably, retained until the termination, in 1352, of the dispute concerning precedency between Canterbury
and York, when Canterbury obtainedjudgment for its precedency, and that See has thenceforth retained this bearing.
b — The Arms of the Percys, from the west end of the Church. The family of the Percys were noble and liberal benefactors to the
fabric.
c — The Arms of the Vavasours, from the west end. The family of the Vavasours were munificent and liberal benefactors, not only to the
Church of York, but to many ecclesiastical edifices.
d — The Arms of the See, as used at the beginning of the fifteenth century, taken from the east window. The dexter side of the shield is
charged with the original bearing of the shield a, whilst the sinister side is charged with the symbols of the See of St. Peter : thus showing that
although precedency had been assigned to the See of Canterbury, yet the Archbishop of York was truly Metropolitan in the jurisdiction of the
See of St. Peter in England, and also that the spiritual jurisdiction of the See was derived from the Bishop of Rome.
e — The present Arms of the See. Here the Archiepiscopal Pall and Staff, and the Pope's Tiara, are rejected, and the keys only, as emblems
of St. Peter, are retained, and surmounted by a Regal Crown. This alteration in the bearing was, probably, introduced on the change of
religion, when the spiritual jurisdiction of the See was denied to be derived from the Pope, and asserted to be from the King.
f — The Armspf his Grace the present Lord Archbishop of York, united to the modern ensigns of the See.
o — The Pope's Conical Cap, exhibited on a large scale, as displayed in the Arms of the See at the commencement of the fifteenth century,
and on the heads of several Popes.
" — The Mitre as generally used, with the modern Arms of the See, upon the Seals of the Archbishops in ecclesiastical transactions. It
is the form which adorns the heads of the statues of deceased Archbishops, and the form assigned by Guillim, Robson, and several heraldic
writers to the English Archbishops. Yet it is more fashionable now to represent the Mitre as a Crest, indicative of the combined rank of an
Archbishop, as in the order of precedency of the political state (t. e. the Mitre issuing from a Ducal Coronet) ; and this combination of rank
was introduced on the Seal of the See, either by his Grace the last Archbishop or his predecessor, certainly not earlier. In ecclesiastical
precedence the true ensign of an Archbishop was not in the Mitre but in the Pall, as displayed in the several windows of the Minster.
The splendour of the Mitre represented the honour and glory with which the venerable servant of the Lord was crowned. The two parts
of the Mitre, the Old Law and the New, and its pendants, the mystical and literal sense of interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures.
The Foliage is the " Herba Benedicta," used generally as the ornamental foliage of the Church, until about the end of the thirteenth
century.
See Picart Ceremonies Religieuses, fyc. — Dissert, sur les Cerem. des Cathol. Rom. — Rees' Cycloped., Art. Mitre, Crosier. Fosbroke't
Encycl.of Antiq., Art. Vestments.— Innocent III; on the Mass.— Drake's Hist, of Yor/c.—Dodd's Church Hist.— Guillim' s Heraldry.
PROSPECTUS.
The scarcity of " Halfpenny's Gothic Ornaments of York Cathedral," the anxiety to obtain copies of that celbrated publication, and
the regret expressed by learned Antiquaries, that the successive characteristic improvements in design, the conventional forms of foliage
distinguishing the different periods of erection, and the magnificence of the building in detail, were not sufficiently exhibited in that work,
induced the Author of this proposed History, (as far back as the year 1827,) to undertake a similar series of additional representations.
The unexpected and very interesting discovery of considerable portions of the walls and details of former structures below the choir, in
consequence of the destruction of that part of the Cathedral by fire in the year 1829, and the access which was obtained to all the other parts
of the edifice while ^rndergoing a thorough cleaning in the beginning of the year 1835, led to the formation of a plan for the illustration of the
rich embellishments and the early history of the building, on a scale more extensive than had ever before been attempted.
The discussion that arose out of the proposal to remove the Organ-Screen had brought to light some valuable matter relating to the history
of the edifice, and suggested many doubts as to the correctness of what had been commonly stated on that subject; at the same time it had
started several difficulties that had not been previously felt, and excited the desire of a more patient and a deeper research than had hitherto
been made. To solve the difficulties, to obtain the information that was wanting and so earnestly desired, became an object intimately connected
with the illustration of the embellishments of the several parts of the edifice, manifestly the work of different ages. To effect this object it was
necessary that the Author should have free access, not only to the manuscript records of the See, but to those of the Venerable the Dean and
Chapter ; and such access was granted to him by the Dignitaries of the Church and the Officers connected with the depositories of such records,
with a promptitude and liberality, that claim his most ardent gratitude.
The manuscript records in the Archbishop's register office embrace the registers of the principal ecclesiastical transactions of the Archbishops
of the See, from Walter Grey, who was elected to the pontificate in 1216, also registers of wills from 1389. The manuscripts in the Dean and
Chapter's office embrace registers of the acts of the Dean and Chapter, &c, from the year 1284; registers of wills from 1491; the renowned
" Magnum Registrant album," in four parts, commencing with William the Conqueror, and Mr. Torre's elaborate observations on the ancient
registers of the Church. The result of the Author's labours among these voluminous manuscript records has been the accumulation of a large
mass of unpublished interesting matter, consisting of Bulls from the Roman Pontiffs, Indulgences, Acts of Chapters, Commissions, Appointments,
Contracts, Endowments, Donations, &c, &c, which have enabled him to correct several erroneous statements, generally to be met with in
preceding histories of the building.
The manuscripts relating to the edifice in the British Museum, in the Cottonian, the Lansdowne, and Harleian Collections, have been
particularly and closely examined, and much valuable information extracted from them. Besides these, the Author has carefully consulted
several ancient writers in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the valuable manuscripts of the indefatigable Dodsworth, and of Beckwith. Important
matter has also been obtained by him from records in the Dutchy Court of Lancaster in London ; and from the private records in Hazelwood
Hall, the ancient seat of some of the earliest contributors to the fabric, which the Author has been permitted to consult, through the kindness
of the Hon. Sir E. M. Vavasour, Baronet.
Disregarding the statements of modern historians, the Author has been anxious to confine his compilation to those which have the authority
of ancient manuscript documents, and of contemporary writers, whenever their testimony could be obtained. His earnest desire to avoid error
has led him into a course of very laborious investigation ; but his labour has been sustained and amply rewarded by the discovery of much
important information hitherto not generally known, relating to the history of an edifice justly the object of universal admiration.
This large collection of facts illustrative of the progress of the building of the Cathedral, aided by representations of very curious and
beautiful embellishments, displaying the conventional characters of the various parts of the edifice will, the Author trusts, be not undeserving
of the attention and patronage, not only of the antiquary, but also of the general historian, and the lover of art.
CONDITIONS.
1. — The Work will be divided into distinct portions, each containing the history and description of the several successive edifices, and
parts of the present edifice and their characteristic embellishments ; with references, where necessary, to Halfpenny's " Gothic Ornaments."
2. — The historical statements in the Work will be accompanied with full and accurate references to the Manuscript Records, or Books,
from which they have been collected.
3. — The Work will be published in Numbers, to appear once and sometimes twice in every three months, until the whole, amounting,
probably, to about twenty-five, be completed.
4. — It will be printed on a fine wove paper, to correspond with Halfpenny's " Gothic Ornaments," at Seven Shillings and Sixpence each
Number.
5. — Each Number will contain five plates, with a portion of letter press. The plates to be etchings upon copper by the Author and his son.
Those Noblemen, Clergy, and Gentlemen who approve of the Author's undertaking, are humbly solicited to patronize and support it, and
to forward their names and residence to the Author, No. 21, Blake-street, York ; Mr. Weale, Architectural Library, No. 59, High Holborn,
London ; Mr. Sunter, (Successor to Messrs. Todd,) York ; or to the principal Booksellers in York and other places.
PATRONS AND SUBSCRIBERS
HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, BY COMMAND, (india paper.)
HIS LATE MAJESTY'S PRIVATE LIBRARY, BY COMMAND.
HER GRACIOUS MAJESTY DOWAGER QUEEN ADELAIDE, (india paper.)
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF LEEDS.
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF RUTLAND, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY, (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CARLISLE.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL FITZWILLIAM. (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF LONSDALE. (2 copies— 1 india.)
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HAREWOOD.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL DE GREY.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ZETLAND, (india paper.)
THE RIGHT REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF RIPON.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD STOURTON. (2 copies.)
THE RIGHT HON. LORD HOWDEN, G.C. B. & K.C.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD SUDELEY.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD VISCOUNT MILTON, M.P. (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HON. LORD WENLOCK. (india paper.)
THE HONOURABLE LADY FRANCES HARCOURT.
THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD MAYOR OF YORK.
ALDAM, WM., Esq., Warmsworth, Doncaster.
ALLEN, Mr., York.
ALLIS, Mr. Thomas, York.
AMPLEFORTH COLLEGE, The Library of.
ANDREWS, G. T., Esq., Architect, York.
ANDERSON, II. H., Esq., York.
ATKINSON, Messrs. J. and W., Architects, York.
BANDINEL, Rev. Dr. BULKELEY, Bodleian, Oxford.
BANKS, GEO., Esq., Loversall, Doncaster.
BARRY, CHARLES, Esq., Architect, London.
BARBER, JAMES, Esq., Tang Hall.
BAYLDON, JOHN, Esq., York.
BECKETT, CHRISTOPHER, Esq., Leeds.
BECKETT, WM., Esq., Leeds.
BELCOMBE, H ENRY STEPHENS, Esq., M. D.,York.
BELCOMBE, Mrs., Minster Court.
BETHELL, RICHARD, Esq., M. P., Rise.
BLANSHARD, WM., Esq., York.
BLAYDS, THOMAS, Esq., Leeds.
BLISS, Rev. Dr., Oxford.
BLORE, E., Esq., Architect, London.
BLYTHE, E. V., Esq., York.
BONOMI, IGNATIUS, Esq., Architect, Durham.
BOWER, HENRY, Esq., Doncaster.
BRANDLING, J. C, Esq., Middleton Lodge.
BRIGGS, Right Rev. Dr., Fulford House.
BROOK, JOHN, Esq., York.
BROWN, Mr. JOHN FARDINANDO, York.
BUCKLE, JOSEPH, Esq., Deputy Registrar, York.
BULMER, GEO., Esq., London.
BURN, WM., Esq., Edinburgh.
CARTER, Rev. JOHN, Wakefield.
CHANTREL, R. D., Esq., Architect, Leeds ; Fellow
of the Institute of British Architects.
CHOLMELEY, F., Esq., F.S.A., Brandsby.
COTTINGHAM, L. N., Esq., Architect, F. S. A.,
London.
COPLEY, Miss, Monk Coniston, Lancashire.
COPSIE, F. J., Esq., York.
CROFT, the Rev. T.H., Hutton Bushel, Scarbro.
CROMPTON, the Misses, York.
CVRRER, Rev. DANSON RICHARDSON, M.A.,
Clifton House.
CURRER, Miss R., Eshton Hall, (india paper.)
CUTHBERT, the College of St., Ushaw, Durham.
DANIEL, Rev. F., Stonyhurst.
DUNDAS, the Hon. JOHN CHARLES, M.P.
DUNCOMBE, the Hon. WM., M.P.
DAVIES, ROBT., Esq., York.
DENT, JOSEPH, Esq., Ribston Hall.
DEALTRY, B., Esq., Lofthouse Hall, Wakefield.
DIXON, Rev. W. II., F.S.A., Canon Residentiary.
DOBSON, — Esq., Architect, Newcastle on Tyne.
DODSWORTH, GEORGE, Esq., Fulford.
D'ORSEY, J. A., Esq., High School, Glasgow.
DURHAM, the Ven. the Dean and Chapter of.
EDGE, CHARLES, Esq., Birmingham.
ELSLEY, CHARLEJS HENEAGE, Esq., Recorder of
York.
ETTY, WM., Esq., R.A., London.
FAIRBAIRN, WM., Esq., Manchester.
FARMERY, THOMAS, Esq., Ripon.
FERREY, BENJAMIN, Esq.
rOWLER, MARSHALL, Esq., Preston, Stockton
upon Tees.
FOX, GEORGE LANE, Esq., M.P., Bramham Park.
(INDIA PAPER.)
FOX, SACYILLE LANE, Esq.
FOX, GEORGE LANE, Jun., Esq., Chesnut Grove.
FOX, Mrs. GEORGE LANE, Chesnut Grove.
FAIRFAX, CHARLES G., Esq., Gilling Castle.
FLOWER, Rev. WM., M. A., Jun., York.
FLINT, Mr. JAMES, Richmond.
GOLDIE, GEORGE, Esq., M.D., York.
GOTT, JOHN, Esq., Leeds.
GREEN, Rev. WM., Ledsham.
GRENVILLE, Hon. and Rev. G. NEVILLE.
GREY, WILLIAM, Esq., York.
GRIESBACH, Rev. A. W., Westow.
HARCOURT, Rev. WM. V., F.R.S., Canon Resi-
dentiary.
HAILSTONE, SAML., Esq., Bradford.
HALL, Rev. C, Terrington.
HAMILTON, DAVID, Esq., Glasgow.
HARPER, JOHN, Esq., Architect, York.
HATFEILD, WM., Esq., Newton Kyme.
HAWKESWORTH, Mrs., York.
HILDYARD, Colonel, Manor House, Stokesley.
HILL, FRED., Esq., York.
HINCKS, Rev. WM., York.
HIRD, Rev. LAMPLUGH, Prebendary of Botevant.
HOLLAND, THOMAS DYSON, Esq., Lincoln.
HORNOR, EDWARD, Esq.
HUTTON, TIMOTHY, Esq., Clifton Castle.
HUNT, Mr. THOMAS, York.
JONES, CHARLES, Esq., 31, Gower Street, Bedford
Square.
JONES, MICHAEL, Esq., 33, Mount Street, Berke-
ley Square.
KAYE, Rev. P., Bradford.
KENRICK, Rev. JOHN, M.A., York.
KENTISH, Rev. J., Park Vale, Birmingham.
KIRBY, Wm., Esq., York.
LANGDALE, Hon. C, M.P., Houghton Hall.
LAWRENCE, Mrs., Studley Royal.
LAWSQN, WM., Esq., F.S. A., Brough Hall, (india
PAPER.)
LEEDS SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
LINGARD, Rev. JOHN, D.D., Hornby, Lancashire.
LISTER, Mrs. A., Shibden Hall, Halifax.
LONGTHORNE, GEORGE, Esq., Goodwill Hall.
LOWTHER, J. H., Esq., M.P.
MAINWARING, C, Esq., Coleby Hall, Lincolnshire.
MATHIAS, M., Paris.
MILNER, Sir WM. M., Bart.
MIDDLETON, PETER, Esq., Stockeld.
MARKHAM, Rev. Archdeacon. (2 Copies.)
MARKHAM, Rev. HENRY S., Canon Residentiary.
MARKHAM, Rev. DAVID F., M.A., Great Storkes-
ley, Colchester.
MAUKLAND, I. H., Esq., Whitehall.
MASON, THOMAS, Esq., Copt, Hewick.
MAXWELL, WM. CONSTABLE, Esq., Everingham
Park.
MAXWELL, PETER CONSTABLE, Esq., Grove
Hall, Ferry-bridge.
MEYNELL, GEORGE, Esq., York.
MEYNELL, THOMAS, Esq., North Kilvington.
MILBANK, MARK, Esq., Thorpe Perrow.
MILLS, WM., Esq., Registrar of the Dean and Chapter.
MORRIS, Rev. F. ORPEN, Doncaster.
MUNBY, JOSEPH, Esq., York.
NEWSHAM, Rev. JAMES, Southport, Lancashire.
NORCLIFFE, Miss, York.
NORRIS, Rev. R., Stonyhurst College.
NOTON, Mr. W., York.
PARK, Rev. JAMES ALLEN, Elwick Hall, Stockton
on Tees.
PETRE, HON. EDWARD, (india paper.)
PETRE, Hon. Mrs.
PHILLIPS, JOHN, Esq., F.R.S., Professor of Geology.
PRICKETT, Rev. MARMADUKE, M. A., Bridlington.
PEARSON, Mr. JOHN, York.
PUGIN, A. WELBY, Esq., Architect.
RAMSDEN, Sir JOHN, Bart.
RADCLIFFE, Sir JOSEPH, Bart.
READSHAW, Rev. C, Dep. Com., Richmond.
ROBINSON, HENRY, Esq., Clifton, York.
ROBINSON, CHARLES, Esq., York.
ROCK, Rev. DANIEL, D.D., Alton Towers, Stafford-
shire.
ROKEWODE, JOHN GAGE, Esq., Dir. S. A., Cold-
ham Hall, Suffolk.
ROUNDELL, R. HENRY, Esq., Gledston Hall.
SALVIN, W. THOMAS, Esq., Croxdale.
SANDIER, LOUIS, Esq., York.
SCOTT, ROBERT, Esq., Stourbridge.
SERJEANTSON, Col., Camp Hill.
SHIPPERDSON, EDWARD, Esq., Durham.
SHORT, Mrs., Bootham, York.
SINGLETON, Rev. M., M.A., Hexham.
SMIRKE, SIR ROBERT, London.
STAFFORD, Mr. WM. COOKE, Doncaster.
STRICKLAND, EUSTACHIUS, Esq., York.
STRAUBENZIE, HENRY VAN, Esq., Spennithorne.
STORRY, Mrs., Toulstone Lodge.
SMALES, HENRY, Esq., York.
SUMMERS, Mr. J., Artist, 91, Park Lane, Leeds.
SUNTER, Mr., Bookseller, York. (6 copies.)
SWIRE, Rev. JOHN, Manfield Vicarage.
SYKES, Rev. CHRISTOPHER, F.S. A., Roos.
TEALE, EDWARD J., Esq., Leeds.
TODD, Rev. H.J., M.A., F.S. A., Archdeacon of
Cleveland.
TEMPEST, CHARLES, Esq., Broughton Hall,
Skipton.
THRELFALL, Mr. JOHN, Manchester.
TRAPPES, Rev. FRANCIS, Lee House, near Preston.
TRAPPES, Rev. MICHAEL, Hudderstield.
TRUBSHAW, THOS., Esq., F.S. A.
TWEEDY, JOHN, Esq., York.
TWOPENY, WM., Esq., Temple, London.
VAVASOUR, the Hon. Sir E. M., Bart.
WALKER, Miss, Crow-Nest, Halifax.
WALKER, Mr. JOHN, York.
WAILES, Mr. WM., Newcastle-on-Tyne.
WARD, Mr. THOMAS, York.
WATSON, Mr. ROBERT, York.
WELLBELOVED, Rev. CHARLES, York, (india
PAPER.)
WENTWORTH, GODFREY, Esq., Woolley Park.
WILLIS, Professor.
WILKINSON, T. C, Esq., Newall Hall, Otley.
WINN, C, Esq., Nostell.
WITHAM, HENRY THORNTON MAIRE, Esq.,
Lartington.
WOLSTENHOLME, JOHN, Esq., York.
WOOD, GEO. WM., Esq., M. P., Singleton Lodge,
Manchester.
WRIGHT, JOHN F., Esq., Kelvedon Hall, Essex.
YARBURGH, NICHOLAS E., Esq., Heslington Hall.
YORK, The Ven. the Dean and Chapter of.
YORK SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.
NUMBER VII. WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE 2nd OF MARCH 1840.
THE HISTORY
OF
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH
OF
ST. PETER, YORK;
ILLUSTRATED BY
EXTRACTS FROM AUTHENTIC RECORDS, BY PLANS, SECTIONS, AND ENGRAVINGS
OF ARCHITECTURAL AND SCULPTURAL DETAILS.
BY
J O H N B R O W N E,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ARCHiEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND;
OF THE BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION ; OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND ; ETC., ETC.
LONDON:
LONGMAN AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW; W. PICKERING, PICCADILLY;
J. WEALE, HIGH HOLBORN.
I. H. PARKER, OXFORD; R. SUNTER, AND THE AUTHOR, YORK.
M.DCCC.XLVII.
LONDON:
f HINTED BY R1CI1AKD KINDER, GREEN AUBOUR COURT, OLD BAILEY,
TO
THE HONOURABLE AND MOST REVEREND
EDWARD, LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK,
PRIMATE OF ENGLAND AND METROPOLITAN.
My Lord Archbishop,
No Prelate, since Walter de Grey, in whose Archiepiscopate the present noble structure of the
Metropolitan Church of the See of York was begun, has presided over that See for so long a period
as your Grace : no Prelate, not even Walter de Grey himself, ever beheld the sacred edifice in so
deplorable a condition as that to which you, my Lord, have seen it reduced by the successive
calamitous fires of 1829 and 1840: and from none of the preceding Archbishops, since this glorious
building was completed, have greater exertions been demanded for its restoration, — exertions in
which your Grace's liberality and zeal were most conspicuous, and called forth a corresponding zeal
and liberality on the part of the public.
When, my Lord, I entered upon my arduous labours in compiling from original documents an
authentic history of that edifice, I was honoured by the condescending permission to inscribe it with
your Grace's name. To your illustrious patronage I have since owed a large share of the honourable
support and valuable assistance which have enabled me to bring those labours, I trust not altogether
unsuccessfully, to a close. I now, therefore, presume, with your kind permission, and as a testi-
monial, however imperfect, of my deep gratitude and respect, humbly to dedicate the following Work
to your Grace.
I have the honour to be,
My Lord Archbishop,
Your Grace's devoted and obedient Servant,
JOHN BROWNE.
York, September 1st, 18-47.
PREFACE.
HEN the Author began the following Work in the year 1827, his design
was merely to produce an appendix to Mr. Halfpenny's " Gothic Orna-
ments in the Cathedral Church of York," by giving additional representa-
tions of several of the beautiful and interesting sculptures, and of the
conventional forms of foliage, distinguishing the successive periods of the
erection of the fabric ; such an arrangement not having been observed by that ingenious
artist in his valuable plates.
But the unexpected and very interesting discovery of considerable portions of walls
and details of former structures, below the Choir, in consequence of the devastation of
that part of the Cathedral by fire, in 1829 ; the anticipated ready access to all the other
parts of the edifice, during the general cleansing of the Church after the restoration of the
Choir ; and the regret that was generally expressed, when it was discovered that scarcely
any representations of the ornamental parts requiring renovation had been preserved by
Mr. Halfpenny, induced the Author to change his plan, and encouraged him to undertake
the illustration of the edifice by plans, elevations, sections, and representations of the
ornamental details, on a scale more extensive, and in an order more regular, than had
before been attempted.
During the controversy that arose in the year 1830, respecting the proposed removal
of the beautiful Rood or Organ-Screen from its original site, much valuable and hitherto
unknown matter was brought to light, showing that the published accounts of the Cathe-
dral were, in many important particulars, either defective or inaccurate, and contradictory ;
and suggesting, not merely the desirableness, but the necessity, of a new history of the
church, founded upon a more minute and careful examination of the registers and docu-
ments of the Church, and of the architectural characteristics of the different portions of the
fabric. As the work upon which the Author had entered would necessarily have required
some historical illustration, he determined to enlarge his plan, and to undertake the
arduous and difficult task of attempting to supply the want which was so generally felt,
viii PREFACE.
and to compile, from authentic records, a more full and satisfactory account of the origin
and progress of the noble edifice than had been hitherto published.
No sooner were the intentions of the Author made known to his Grace the Archbishop,
the Venerable the Dean and Chapter, and the officers connected with the depositories of
the manuscripts of the See, and of the Church, than permission was granted, with a
promptitude and liberality that reflects honour on all connected with the care of those
valuable records, to search and inspect them, and to copy from them whatever he might
deem needful for his purpose.
The manuscript records in the Archbishop's register-office embrace the registers of
the principal ecclesiastical transactions of the Archbishops of the See, from Walter Grey,
who was elected to the Archbishopric in 1216 ; J and also registers of wills from 1389.
The manuscripts in the Dean and Chapter's office embrace registers of the acts of the
Dean and Chapter, &c, from the year 1284 ; registers of wills from 1491 ; the renowned
" Magnum Registrum Album," in four parts, commencing with William the Conqueror ;
and Mr. Torre's elaborate observations on the ancient registers of the Church. 2 The
result of the Author's labours among these voluminous records has been the accumulation
of a large mass of interesting unpublished matter, consisting of Bulls from the Roman
Pontiffs, Indulgences, Acts of Chapters, Commissions, Appointments, Contracts, Endow-
ments, Donations, &c, &c.
The manuscripts relating to the edifice in the Cottonian, the Lansdowne, and Harleian
collections of the British Museum, have been particularly and closely examined, and much
valuable information extracted from them. Besides these, the Author carefully consulted
several ancient writers in the Bodleian Library at Oxford ; the valuable manuscripts of the
indefatigable York antiquarians, Dodsworth and Beckwith ; also some records in the Duchy
Court of Lancaster ; and the private records in Hazelwood Hall, Yorkshire ; from which
mass of ancient manuscript documents he was enabled to arrange an historical account of
the progress of the fabric, without regard to the statements of modern historians, and to
offer the same to the public, to be published in about twenty-five parts, with Plates illus-
trative of the forms and beauties of the edifice.
1 The Rev. Joseph Hunter, in his preface to the first volume of his South Yorkshire, and in page 110 of the
work, records, on the information of Mr. Watson, that the register of Archbishop Zouch "is not now to be found."
But this information is not correct, for the register is extant, and in a good state of preservation, in the Prerogative
Court.
2 The Rev. W. V. Vernon Harcourt having shown, at pp. 61, 62 of his second letter to Viscount Milton, on the
proposed removal of the Rood or Organ-Screen, that the extracts given by Mr. Torre were not always to be depended
upon, as the statements of the original registers, the Author, during the collation of matter for the present work,
has not implicitly followed Mr. Torre's statements, but has always had recourse to the originals when they could be
obtained ; and the more he examined the registers, the more instances he found of Mr. Torre's inaccuracy. Never-
theless, his MSS. are invaluable, from their having generally correct references to the genuine matter in the offices.
PREFACE.
ix
With this design the Author proceeded with his Work, and, encouraged by the most
liberal patronage, he published the first number in December 1838. Succeeding numbers
appeared regularly, and he had no reason to anticipate any delay, or any extension of the
work beyond the limit which he had at first determined. But on the death of the
Registrar of the Dean and Chapter, the late Mr. William Mills, in the early part of the
year 1840, and the appointment of his successor, Mr. C. A. Thiselton, it was found
expedient to remove the ancient documents belonging to the Chapter, to a new office.
In the course of the examination of these records, which the arrangement of them
on their removal rendered necessary, several fabric rolls of accounts, some of them by the
Chamberlains, others by the Keepers or Master of the Fabric, the existence of which had
not hitherto been known or suspected, were brought to light ; and were found to contain
a mass of interesting facts and items highly necessary as evidence in a genuine history
of the late portions of the fabric.
The discovery of so much new and important evidence unavoidably led the Author, in
justice to the Subscribers, no less than to the character of his Work, to add much to the
historical matter he had previously collected ; and the subsequent destruction of the
Nave greatly enhancing the value of the drawings he had made of the bosses in the
vaulting, together with the discovery of several interesting specimens of ancient stained
glass, particularly in the clerestory of the Nave, appeared to him to require that he should
increase the number of the Plates. These circumstances will, he trusts, be deemed a
sufficient justification of his having extended the Work so far beyond the limit at first
proposed.
On presenting the entire Work to the Public, the Author is apprehensive that it may
not satisfy the expectations of all who have favoured it with their support. Some may
complain that he has not given a sufficient number of plans and elevations, while others
may think that he has given too many. Some may be disappointed at the absence of
general and pictorial views ; but their introduction would have added enormously to the
cost of the work, while they are already supplied by other publications. Others may regret
that he has not selected a greater variety of subjects for illustration. He can only
assure the Subscribers, that he has endeavoured, according to the best of his judgment
and ability, while pursuing his main object, — the illustration of the history of the fabric, —
to introduce such representations as should gratify the taste of the general reader, while
they afforded useful information to the student of ecclesiastical architecture.
With respect to the execution of the Plates, the Author is apprehensive that it
may be open to the criticism of those who are accustomed to the inspection of the
works of eminent artists. He hopes, however, for a candid judgment, as it was from
necessity rather than from choice that he determined to follow the example of Mr. Half-
penny, and to undertake the etching of his own drawings. But for this part of his
b
\
PREFACE.
work he was not prepared by previous instruction : the art of etching was practically
unknown to him. By dint of perseverance, after many experiments and trials, with the
aid of his son and pupil, William Gill Browne, he succeeded in discovering a method
of etching, which he believes had not before been pursued. The Plates in the following
Work are a sample of the effects of that method ; very imperfect, he is fully aware, in
comparison with what might be produced by it, in hands more skilful and experienced
than his own.
The Author takes this opportunity of offering his most sincere and heartfelt thanks
to those Gentlemen who have, in various ways, contributed their kind assistance in enabling
him to bring his Work to a satisfactory conclusion ; especially to Sir William Lawson,
Bart., the Reverend William Vernon Harcourt, the Reverend Bulkeley Bandinel, D.D.,
the Reverend Philip Bliss, D.C.L., the Reverend Daniel Rock, D.D., the Reverend Joseph
Hunter, and Francis Dawes Danvers, Esq. He could not, however, do justice to his own
feelings, were he not to acknowledge, in the most marked and especial manner, the
assistance which he has received, both in his antiquarian researches and in the literary
composition of his Work, from the Reverend Charles Wellbeloved. To the kindness of
his learned and excellent friend he has been indebted for most valuable advice and able
co-operation throughout the entire course of his undertaking, from the first conception of
its plan to its final completion. He wishes also gratefully to record his obligations to
another friend, Dr. Goldie, for his aid and counsel in preparing his Work for publication,
and conducting it through the press, and especially for enabling him to lay before his
readers correct translations of the numerous ancient documents, which he has had occasion
to cite in the course of his history.
YORK,
September 1st, 1817.
PATRONS AND SUBSCRIBERS.*
HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, BY COMMAND, (india paper.)
HIS LATE MAJESTY'S PEIVATE LIBEAKY, BY COMMAND.
HER GRACIOUS MAJESTY DOWAGER QUEEN ADELAIDE, (india paper.)
HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK. (india paper.)
•HIS GRACE THE LATE DUKE OF LEEDS.
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF RUTLAND, (india paper.)
HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND, K.G.
THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON, Pres. R.S.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY, (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF CARLISLE, K.G.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL FITZWILLIAM. (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF LONSDALE, (two copies— one india.)
*THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LATE EARL OF HAREWOOD.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL DE GREY.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF ZETLAND, (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD VISCOUNT MILTON, (india paper.)
THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF RIPON.
*THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LATE LORD STOURTON.
•THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LATE LORD HOWDEN, G.C.B. & K.C.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD FEVERSHAM.
•THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LATE LORD WHARNCLIFFE.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD SUDELEY.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD WENLOCK. (india paper.)
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LADY FRANCES VERNON HARCOURT.
THE RIGHT REVEREND JOHN BRIGGS, D.D., BISHOP OF TRACHIS.
THE HONOURABLE JOHN CHARLES DUNDAS.
•THE LATE HONOURABLE SIR EDWARD MARMADUKE VAVASOUR, BART.
THE HONOURABLE CHARLES LANGDALE.
THE HONOURABLE EDWARD ROBERT PETRE. (india paper.)
THE HONOURABLE MRS. EDWARD PETRE.
THE HONOURABLE AND VERY REVEREND GEORGE NEVILLE GRENVILLE, D.D., DEAN OF WINDSOR, AND
MASTER OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
SIR ROBERT FRANKLAND RUSSELL, BART.
SIR JOHN WILLIAM RAMSDEN, BART.
SIR WILLIAM MORDAUNT MILNER, BART.
SIR JOSEPH RADCLIFFE, BART.
SIR THOMAS ASTON CLIFFORD CONSTABLE, BART.
SIR JOHN HENRY LOWTHER, BART.
An asterisk is prefixed to the names of deceased Subscribers.
Xll
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
SIR WILLIAM LAWSON, BART., F.S.A. (india paper.)
SIR CHARLES ROBERT TEMPEST, BART.
SIR ROBERT JOHN SMIRKE, R.A., F.S.A.
JOSEPH DENT, ESQ., HIGH SHERIFF OF YORKSHIRE.
(i EORGE HUDSON, ESQ., M.P., LORD MAYOR OF YORK.
THE VENERABLE THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF YORK.
THE VENERABLE THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF WINCHESTER.
•THE LATE VENERABLE ROBERT MARKHAM, ARCHDEACON OF YORK, (two copies.)
•THE LATE VENERABLE HENRY JOHN TODD, F.R.S., ARCHDEACON OF CLEVELAND.
THE VENERABLE CHARLES MUSGRAVE, D.D., ARCHDEACON OF CRAVEN.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
THE YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.
THE OXFORD SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE STUDY OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.
THE YORK SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
THE LEEDS SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
THE HULL SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
THE LIBRARY OF ST. CUTHBERT'S COLLEGE, USHAW, DURHAM.
THE LIBRARY OF ST. EDMUND'S COLLEGE, WARE, HERTS.
THE LIBRARY OF ST. EDMUND'S COLLEGE, DOUAY.
THE LIBRARY OF STONYHURST COLLEGE, LANCASHIRE, (two copies.)
THE LIBRARY OF ST. LAWRENCE'S COLLEGE, AMPLEFORTH.
Aldam, William, Esq., Warms worth, Doncaster.
Allen, William, Esq., York.
Alexander, Edward Nelson, Esq., F.S.A., West House, Halifax.
Allis, Thomas, Esq., Osbaldwick.
Andrews, George Townsend, Esq., Architect, York.
Anderson, Robert Henry, Esq., York.
Atkinson, Messrs. J. B. and W., Architects, York.
Bandinel, Rev. Bulkeley, D.D., F.S.A., Bodleian Library, Oxford.
•Banks, George, Esq., Loversall, Doncaster.
Barber, James, Esq., Tang Hall.
Barry, Charles, Esq., R.A., Architect, London.
•Bartholomew, Alfred, Esq., F.S.A., London.
Bayldon, John, Esq., York.
Beckett, Christopher, Esq., Leeds.
Beckett, William, Esq., Leeds.
Belcombe, Henry Stephens, Esq., M. D., York.
•Belcombe, Mrs., Minster Court, York.
Bethel!, Richard, Esq., M.P., Rise.
Blanshard, William, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Leeds.
Blayds, Thomas, Esq., Leeds.
Bliss, Rev. Philip, D.C.L., F.S.A., Registrar of the University of
Oxford.
Blare, Edward, Esq., F.S.A., Architect, London.
Blyth, Edwin Verdon, Esq., Edinburgh.
Bonomi, Ignatius, Esq., Architect, Durham.
•Bower, Henry, Esq., F.S.A., Doncaster.
Brahhwaite, Messrs. A. S., & Co., Henrietta Street, Covent Garden,
London.
Brandling, Charles Joseph, Esq., Middleton Lodge.
Brook, John, Esq., York.
•Brown, John Faidinando, Esq., York.
Brown, Samuel J., Esq., LofFtuss Hill, Knaresborough.
Buckle, Joseph, Esq., Deputy Registrar, York.
Burn, William, Esq., Architect, Edinburgh.
Carter, Rev. John, D.D., Saxton.
Chantrell, R. D., Esq., Architect, London ; Fellow of the Institute
of British Architects.
Cholnieley, Francis, Esq., F.S.A., Brandsby.
Cottingham, L. N., Esq., F.S.A., Architect, London.
•Copley, Miss, Monk Coniston.
•Copsie, Favil James, Esq., York.
Croft, Rev. Thomas, Hutton Buscel, Scarborough.
Crompton, the Misses, York.
Cross, W. A., Esq., Red-Scar, Preston.
Currer, Rev. Danson Richardson, Clifton House.
Currer, Miss R., Eshton Hall, (india paper.)
Davies, Robert, Esq., F.S.A., Town Clerk of York.
•Dent, Mr. W., late Superintendent of the Restoration Works, York
Cathedral.
Dealtry, Benjamin, Esq., Lofthouse Hall, Wakefield.
Dixon, Rev. William Henry, F.S.A., Canon Residentiary of York.
Dobson, John, Esq., Architect, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Dodsworth, George, Esq., Fulford.
Dolman, T. W. Leach, Esq., Beverley.
Edge, Charles, Esq., Birmingham.
Elsley, Charles Heneage, Esq., Recorder of York.
Etty, William, Esq., R.A.
Fairbairn, William, Esq., Manchester.
•Fairfax, Charles Gregory, Esq., Gilling Castle.
Farmery, Thomas, Esq., Ripon.
Ferrand, William Busfield, Esq., Harden Grange.
Ferrey, Benjamin, Esq., Architect, London.
•Flower, Rev. William, Jun., York, (india paper.)
Fox, Sackville Lane, Esq., M.P.
Fox, George Lane, Esq., Brambam Park, (india paper.)
Fox, George Lane, Jun., Esq., Bowcliffe, Bramham.
LIST OF SU
Fox, Mrs. George Lane, Bowcliffe, Bramham.
Gascoigne, the Misses, Parlington Hall, (india paper.)
Goldie, George, Esq., M.D., York.
Gott, John, Esq., Leeds.
Gott, William, Esq., Armley House, Leeds.
Green, Edwin, Esq., Havercroft, Wakefield.
Gray, William, Esq., York.
Hadfield, Matthew Ellison, Esq., Architect, Sheffield.
Hailstone, Samuel, Esq., F.L.S., F.B.S. Ed., Horton Hall, Bradford.
Hall, Rev. Charles, Terrington.
Hamilton, David, Esq., Glasgow.
Hanson, Charles James, Esq., York.
Harcourt, Rev. William Vernon, F.R.S., Canon Residentiary of
York.
*Harper, John, Esq., Architect, York.
*Hatfeild, William, Esq., F.G.S., Newton Kyme.
Hatfeild, Randall, Esq., Thorp Arch Hall, Tadcaster.
Hawkesworth, Mrs., York.
Hildyard, Colonel, Manor House, Stokesley.
•Hill, Frederick, Esq., York.
Hincks, Rev. William, F.L.S., London.
*Hird, Rev. Lamplugh, Prebendary of Botevant.
Holland, Thomas Dyson, Esq., Lincoln.
Holme, Edward, M.D., F.S.A., Manchester.
Hope, A. J. Beresford, Esq., M.P.
Hornor, Edward, Esq.
Horsfall, Rev. Abraham, Derby.
Hudson, William, Esq., York.
Hutchinson, Charles J., Esq., Architect, Hull.
Hutton, Timothy, Esq., Clifton Castle, Masham.
Jackson, George, Esq., Architect, Hull.
Jones, Charles, Esq., 31, Gower Street, Bedford Square.
Jones, Michael, Esq., F.S.A., 33, Mount Street, Berkeley Square.
Kaye, Rev. Peter M., Blackburn, Lancashire.
Kenrick, Rev. John, York.
Kentish, Rev. J., Park Vale, Birmingham.
Kirby, William, Esq., York.
•Lawrence, Mrs., Studley Royal, Ripon.
Lawton, George, Esq., York.
Lingard, Rev. John, D.D., Hornby, Lancashire.
•Lister, Mrs. A., Shibden Hall, Halifax.
Lockwood, H. F., Esq., F.S.A., Architect, Hull.
Mainwaring, C, Esq., Coleby Hall, Lincolnshire.
Mathias, M., Paris.
•Markham, Rev. Henry Spencer, Canon Residentiary of York.
Markham, Rev. David Frederick, Canon of Windsor.
Markland, I. H., Esq., F.S.A., Bath.
Mason, Thomas, Esq., Copt-Hewick, Ripon.
Maxwell, William Constable, Esq., Everingham Park.
Maxwell, Peter Constable, Esq., Grove, Richmond, Yorkshire.
•Meynell, George, Esq., York.
Meynell, Thomas Esq., Kilvington Hall, Thirsk.
Middleton, Peter, Esq., Stockeld Park, Wetherby.
Milbank, Mark, Esq., Thorpe Perrow, Bedale.
•Mills, William, Esq., late Registrar of the Dean and Chapter of
York.
BSCRIBERS. xiii
Morris, Rev. Francis Orpen, NafFerton, Driffield.
Morton and Bacon, Messrs., Sculptors, Sheffield.
Munby, Joseph, Esq., York.
Newsham, Rev. James, Southport.
•Norcliffe, Miss Isabella, York.
Noton, Mr. William, York.
Park, Rev. J. Allen, Elwick Hall, Stockton on Tees.
Parker, I. H., Esq., Bookseller, Oxford.
Pearson, Mr. John, York.
Phillips, John, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S., St. Mary's Lodge, York.
Powell, Messrs. J. and Sons, Whitefriars Glass Works, London.
•Prickett, Rev. Marmaduke, Bridlington.
Pugin, Augustus Welby, Esq., Architect.
Raines, William, Esq., Wyton.
Render, Rev. Joseph, Hull.
Robinson, Henry, Esq., York.
•Robinson, Charles, Esq., York.
Rock, Rev. Daniel, D.D., Buckland, Farringdon.
•Rokewode, John Gage, Esq., late Director of the Society of
Antiquaries.
Rolfe, Rev. John, D.D., late President of St. Edmund's College
Hertfordshire.
Roper, Edmund H., Esq., York.
Roundell, Richard Henry, Esq., Gledston Hall.
•Salvin, William Thomas, Esq., Croxdale Hall, Durham.
Scott, Robert, Esq., Barr Hall, Staffordshire.
•Serjeantson, Colonel, Camp Hill.
Shaw, W., Esq., Porto Bello, Wakefield.
Shaw, Thomas, Esq., Architect, Leeds.
Shipperdson, Edward, Esq., Durham.
Short, Mrs., Micklegate, York.
Singleton, Rev. Michael, Hexham.
Smales, Henry, Esq., York.
Smirke, Sidney, Esq., Architect, London.
Stafford, William Cooke, Esq., Hull.
•Strickland, Eustachius, Esq., York.
Straubenzie, Henry Van, Esq., Spennithorne, Bedale.
Summers, J., Esq., Artist, York.
Sunter, Mr., Robert, Bookseller, York. (0 copies.)
Swire, Rev. John, Manfield Vicarage.
Sykes, Rev. Christopher, F.S.A., Roos.
Tate, Mrs. W. B., Vicarage, Lower Wallop, Andover, Hampshire.
Teale, Edward J., Esq., Leeds.
Thiselton, Charles Alfred, Esq., Registrar of the Dean anil
Chapter of York.
Trappes, Rev. Francis, Lee House, near Preston.
Trappes, Rev. Michael, Huddersfield.
Treherne, Edmund, Esq., 14, St. George's Terrace, Hyde Park.
Trubshaw, Thomas, Esq., F.S.A.
Turnbull, W. B. D. D., Esq., Edinburgh, Secretary of the Society
of Antiquaries of Scotland.
•Tweedy, John, Esq., York.
Twopeny, William, Esq., Temple, London.
Walker, Itev. William, Slingsby.
Walker, Rev. John, Scarborough.
Walker, Miss, Crow-Nest, Halifax.
dv LIST OP S
Walker, John, Esq., York.
Wailes, Mr. William, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Warburton, R. E. E., Esq., Arley Hall, Northwich, Cheshire.
Watson, Mr. Robert, York.
Wellbeloved, Rev. Charles, York, (india paper.)
Wentworth, Godfrey, Esq., Woolley Park, Wakefield.
Wickham, Henry Wickham, Esq., Kirklees Park, Dewsbury.
Wilkinson, T. C, Esq., Newall Hall, Otley.
Willis, Rev. Robert, F.R.S., Jacksonian Professor in the University
of Cambridge, President of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.
BSCRIBERS.
Willement, Thomas, Esq., F.S.A., London.
Winn, Charles, Esq., Nostell Priory.
•Witham, Henry Thornton Maire, Esq., F.G.S., Lartington Hall,
Barnard Castle.
•Wolstenholme, John, Esq., York.
•Wood, George William, Esq., Singleton Lodge, Manchester.
Wright, John Francis Esq., Kelvedon Hall, Essex.
Wynne, Mrs. Griffith, Voelas, Denbighshire.
Yarburgli, Nicholas Edmund, Esq., Heslington Hall.
Yorke, Henry Redhead, Esq., M.P., Eaton Square, London.
CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF THE CHURCH PRIOR TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
* PAGE
Sect. I. — Introduction of Christianity into Britain — Earliest traces of it at York — Conversion of Edwin by Faulinus — Building
of the first Church in York — Its subsequent state under the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes ...... 1
Sect. II. — Discovery of the remains of the Saxon and Norman Churches — Description of Plates ...... 5
CHAPTER II.
STATE OP THE CHURCH PROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE TIME OF ARCHBISHOP GREY, IN THE
REIGN OF HENRY III.
Sect. I. — The Church destroyed by Fire — Rebuilt by Archbishop Thomas — Injured by Fire in the reign of Stephen — Repaired
by Archbishop Roger .................. 12
Sect. II. — The Symbolical Character of Ornamental Foliage 22
Sect. III. — Description of the Plates relating to Foliage 27
Sect. IV. — Description of the Plates relating to the Norman Period . 30
CHAPTER III.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE ACCESSION OF ARCHBISHOP WALTER GREY, a.d. 1216, TO THE DEATH
OF ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM WYKEWANE, a.d. 1285.
Sect. I. — Rebuilding of the South Transept — Inquiry concerning the grant of Stone by Robert le Vavasour — Canonization of
St. William — Rebuilding of the North Transept and Central Tower, by John le Romain, the Treasurer . . .46
Sect. II. — Description of the Plates relating to the South and North Transepts 65
CHAPTER IV.
THE CHAPTER-HOUSE.
Sect. I. — Probable Date of the Erection of the Chapter-House 94
Sect. II. — Description of the Plates relating to the Chapter-House and its Vestibule 98
xvi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
STATE OF THE CHUECH FROM THE ACCESSION OE ARCHBISHOP JOHN LE ROMAIN, a.d. 1286, TO THE
EIGHTH YEAR OP THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP THORESBY, a.d. 1360.
Sect. I. — Commencement of the present Nave — Recent discovery of the Nave of the Norman Church — Archbishop Zouch's
Chantry Chapel — Completion of the Nave . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Sect. II. — Description of the Plates relating to the Nave . . . . . . . . . . . .136
CHAPTER VI.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE EIGHTH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP THORESBY,
a.d. 1360, TO THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP WOLSEY, a.d. 1520.
Sect. I. — Commencement of the Eastern and Western portions of the present Choir, the South Bell Tower, the Lanthorn Tower,
the North Bell Tower, and the Rood Loft or Organ Screen 147
Sect. II. — Description of the Plates relating to the Choir 272
CHAPTER VII.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP WOLSEY,
a.d. 1520, TO THE FORTIETH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP HARCOURT, a.d. 1847.
History of the Church during the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. — Destruction of St. William's Shrine — Suppression of
Chantries — Spoliation and Removal of Altars, &c. — Restoration of the Ancient Worship under Queen Mary — Fresh
Spoliations under Elizabeth — History of the Fabric under the Stuart and Brunswick Dynasties — Repairs and Alterations
made at different Periods — The great Fires of 1829 and 1840, and Restorations consequent upon them — History of the
Fabric brought down to the present time ............. 292 — 331
Note respecting the Place of Sepulture of Archbishop Thoresby
Chronological Table of Events
Chronological Table of the Archbishops ....
331
332
333
Articles exhibited in the Re vestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
Index 335
ERRATA.
Page 79, line 6, for de officio Masse read Misse.
Note 1 Do. Do.
Page 163, line 13, for 1635 read 1365.
Page 269, Notes omitted :
1 Regist. Gf. fol. 42.
2 Master Christopher Seel was not only the Keeper of the Fabric, but
also Succentor of the Vicars Choral.
Page 279, line 13, for Plate CLI. read CL.
THE
HISTORY
OF THE
CHURCH OF ST. PETER, YORK.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF THE CHURCH PRIOR TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
Sect. I.
INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. EARLIEST TRACES OF IT AT YORK. CONVERSION
OF EDWIN BY PAULINUS. BUILDING OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN YORK. ITS SUBSEQUENT STATE
UNDER THE ANGLO-SAXONS AND THE DANES.
HAT Christianity was early and widely diffused is a fact established upon the clearest
and most unquestionable evidence ; but the want of authentic records renders it ex-
tremely difficult, if not impossible, to trace its progress beyond the limits assigned
by the Scripture-history to the labours of the apostles. If the testimony of Tertullian
is to be received — and it was given in such circumstances as appear to entitle it to
credit — the name of Christ was known and revered in Britain before the conclusion of the second century ;
and his authority acknowledged in places into which the Roman arms had not penetrated. 1 There are,
indeed, several facts recorded by St. Luke, in his invaluable history of the first planting of Christ-
ianity, and many intimations to be found in the Epistles of St. Paul, which may incline us to regard,
as something more than mere oratorical declamation, the assertion of this ancient Christian apologist,
that although Christians were but of yesterday, they had filled every part of the empire of the Romans,
and were to be found in their cities, and in their islands, in their palaces, and in their camps. 2 It is
therefore not incredible that in the legions which came into Britain in the reign of Claudius, or, if that
should be thought too early, in those which were under the command of Agricola, there were Christian
believers whose zeal would lead them to employ such means and opportunities as might present them-
selves, of imparting the divine truths, in the possession of which they rejoiced, to the natives, whom
1 Tertull. adv. Judceos, c. vii. 2 Apologct. adv. Gentes, c. xxxvii.
B
it was the policy of the conqueror to instruct and civilize. Some, indeed, have contended for a much
earlier introduction of the Gospel into this island, and have claimed for the British church the honour
of having been founded by one of the first disciples of Christ, or even by an apostle. But all that
has been advanced in support of this claim, in favour of Joseph of Arimathsea, of St. Simon Zelotes,
of St. James the Elder, of St. Peter, or of St. Paul, is either inconsistent with undoubted history, or
dependent upon traditions to which no credit is due, or founded upon evidence of a very dubious and
unsatisfactory nature. Upon no firmer ground rests the well-known story of the conversion of the
British King Lucius ; and of his embassy to the Bishop of Rome.
If Roman soldiers, or any who might be permitted to accompany them, were instrumental in bringing
the knowledge of the Gospel into Britain, York, and the province to which it belonged, could not fail
to partake early of the benefits of their pious zeal. The sixth legion was stationed at York, in the
reign of Antoninus Pius, before the middle of the second century j and at the beginning of the third
century the Emperor Septimius Severus had established in that city the imperial residence. That
Emperor indeed, though at first favourable to the Christians, became a violent persecutor, and caused
many of them to be put to death ; yet, as in other places, and under more severe opposition, the religion
of Christ flourished, so in Britain, " the word of God so grew and prevailed," that in the persecution
raised by Diocletian, at the instigation of his son-in-law, Maximinus Galerius, a considerable number
of British Christians, it is said, obtained the crown of martyrdom. The Imperial Edict, which Con-
stantius Chlorus, then in command at York, received, and which, though not a Christian, he reluctantly
enforced, enjoined the destruction of Christian churches, as well as of those who worshipped in
them; and thence we may justly infer, that Christianity had, at that period, gained a firm and ex-
tensive establishment in the island. The persecution ceased on Constantius being proclaimed Emperor ;
and under his son Constantine, a professed Christian, and probably a native of York, the church, no
doubt, flourished in Britain, and especially in the city which is supposed to have given birth to the
Emperor, and had been so long the seat of Roman power.
The first event that affords any distinct information of the existence of a church at York, and of the
rank which it held occurred at the beginning of the reign of Constantine. The sect of the Donatists,
which had lately sprung up in Africa, was then spreading rapidly in the west. To check its growth
the Emperor convened councils in various parts of the empire ; one of these was held at Aries, a.d. 314,
at which three bishops from Britain assisted, and at the head of these was Eborus, Bishop of York.
At the more important council of Nicsea, assembled about twelve years afterwards, several British
bishops are said to have been present ; but the scanty and imperfect accounts of that council afford
no distinct evidence that York sent one thither.
Fifty years of tranquillity enjoyed by the British church under Constantine and his sons must have
contributed greatly to its increase and prosperity. But when the decline of the Roman power and the
departure of the Roman legions left Britain a ready prey to invaders from the North and the East, the
prosperity of the church of Britain also declined, and the light of Christianity was overtaken, and for
a long period overpowered, by the darkness of barbarian ignorance and idolatry. Happier times arose
about the conclusion of the sixth century ; when, in consequence of the marriage of Ethelbert, the
Anglo-Saxon King of Kent, with Bertha, a Christian princess, daughter of Charibert, King of the
Franks, St. Augustin, a monk of Rome, was encouraged to come into England with forty of his
brethren, for the purpose of converting the Pagan inhabitants to the Christian faith. Animated by a
similar zeal, and encouraged by Augustin's success, St. Paulinus also entered upon a similar mission ; and
3
having received episcopal ordination, accompanied Edilburga, a convert of Augustin, and daughter of
Ethelbert, into Northumbria, on her marriage with Edwin, King of that country, in the beginning of
the seventh century. For some time the labours of Paulinus were unsuccessful. The King, firmly
adhering to the idolatrous worship of his fathers, resisted all the entreaties of his wife, and all the
eloquence of the zealous missionary ; at length, however, yielding either to the force of truth, or to
the demands of policy, he openly professed his faith in Christ, and was publicly baptized. With this
event the history of the church as well as the see of York begins. For thus writes venerable Bede: —
" King Edwin, therefore, with all the nobles of his nation, and a great number of the people, received
the faith and the baptism of holy regeneration, in the eleventh year of his reign, the 627th year of the
incarnation of our Lord, and about the 180th year from the arrival of the Angles in Britain. He was
baptized at York by Paulinus, on Easter-day, the day before the Ides of April, in the church of St.
Peter the Apostle, which he there hastily constructed of wood, while he was a catechumen, and pre-
paring to receive baptism. In which city, also, he presented to his instructor and prelate the see of
the Episcopate. But soon afterwards, when he had obtained baptism, under the instruction of the
same Bishop Paulinus, he prepared to build a larger and a nobler church, in the midst of which the
oratory which he had previously constructed might be inclosed. Having laid the foundations around the
former oratory, he began to build a church of a square form. But before the wall was completely
raised, the King himself, being wickedly slain, left the work to be finished by his successor Oswald." 1
This event happened six years after his baptism ; during which period, the preaching of Paulinus is said,
by Bede, to have been attended with great success. Among the converts, as it may be readily believed,
were the children of the king ; two of whom, dying young, were buried in the church of York. The
fall of Edwin was disastrous to his family, and to the kingdom over which he had reigned with honour
seventeen years. The conquerors ravaged Northumbria ; and exercised great cruelties on the Christian
inhabitants. Edilburga and her children escaped by sea into Kent, and sought refuge in the court of
her brother. Paulinus accompanied her, and was made Bishop of Rochester : and the church of York
remained several years destitute of a pastor.
On the death of Edwin Northumbria was again divided into the two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira ;
the sceptre of the former was held by Eanfried, that of the latter by Osric, the cousin of Edwin. These
were both shortly slain ; and Oswald succeeded to the throne of Northumbria. His acknowledged piety
renders it highly probable that he fulfilled the wishes of his predecessor Edwin, and completed the
structure he had so auspiciously begun. Bede asserts that he did this. 2 But after he also had fallen
in battle with Penda, King of Mercia, at Maserfield, in Shropshire, in the year 642, the church
of York appears to have been greatly neglected, so that in the reign of Oswy, his successor, it was,
according to Eddius Stephanus, a writer of the beginning of the eighth century, little else than an
unsightly ruin. This author, speaking, in his life of Wilfrid, of the restoration of the church, says,
1 Bedce Hist. Eccles. Gentis Anglor. lib. ii. c. xiv. But although the temple was not now completed, yet the work must have
been very far advanced ; for, as we learn from the same historian, when the body of Edwin was buried at Hatfield, where he fell
in battle, his head was brought to York, and buried in the portions of the church, which he had dedicated to St. Gregory, the Pope ;
" from whose disciples he had received the word of life." Bassus, also, the brave soldier of the king, who conducted a part of the
royal family to the court of Eadbald of Kent, took with him a large golden cross, and a golden chalice, which had been conse-
crated by Edwin to the service of the altar ; and which, in the days of Bede, were carefully preserved in the church of Canter-
bury. (Ib. c. xx.)
2 Lib. ii. c. 20.
B 2
4
" Therefore, during the reign of the above-named king, (Oswy,) when Wilfrid of blessed memory was
appointed Bishop of York, the offices of the church of the oratory of God in that city, first founded
and dedicated to God in the days of the most Christian King Edwin, built of stone, were in a half-
ruinous state, and threatened to fall. For the roofs having become old, were dripping with water, the
windows were open, birds made their nests, flying in and out, and the walls, being neglected, were dis-
figured with every kind of stain from weather and the birds. Our holy prelate, therefore, seeing all
these things, like the prophet Daniel, ' was grieved in spirit,' because he perceived the house of God
and of prayer made like a den of thieves ; and he immediately studied how he might repair it, according
to the will of God. First of all renewing the decayed roof, covering it skilfully with pure lead, he pre-
vented the entrance of rain and of birds through the windows, by means of glass, through which,
however, the light shone within. 1 Cleansing the walls also, he ' made them,' according to the language
of the prophet, ' whiter than snow.' And not only did he adorn that house of God and the altar within
by various furniture of plate, but also having obtained for God much land without, removing its poverty
by earthly possessions, he greatly enriched it. Then was fulfilled in him the promise of God concerning
Samuel and all saints ; ' Him who honoureth me, I will honour,' for he was dear and honourable to God
and all the people." 2
Scarcely fifty years had passed when the edifice which had been so carefully repaired was either
destroyed or greatly injured by fire. This disaster is briefly noticed by Roger de Hoveden in his Annals,
as having happened on Sunday, the 9th of the kalends of May, a. d. 741. 3 From the words of the
annalist we cannot ascertain the extent of the calamity. But it is certain that in the Episcopate of
Albert, who was promoted to the see a. d. 767, a new church was begun, finished, and dedicated. This
we learn from Alcuin, who, with Eanbald, the successor of Albert, superintended and directed the work.
Albert lived just to see his church completed. Ten days after the consecration of it this learned prelate
died. Of this edifice, the most magnificent Saxon church perhaps ever erected, Alcuin himself has
given the following description in Latin verse: — " This very lofty house, supported on solid pillars, from
which spring curved arches, is resplendent within, with noble ceilings and windows, and is beautifully
adorned with many porticoes by which it is surrounded, having very many chambers under different
roofs, which contain thirty altars with various ornaments. This temple his two pupils, Eanbald and
Alcuin, built, at the command of their master, both unitedly and with their whole heart pursuing the
work. This temple the father himself, with an assistant bishop, dedicated to holy Sophia, 4 on the tenth
day before he closed his life." 5
During the invasions, and amidst the ravages of the Danes, this noble building could scarcely be pre-
served from injury ; but we have no further records concerning it prior to the sera of the Norman
conquest.
1 Previous to this, according to William of Malmesbury, the windows were of linen cloth, or of planks full of holes. {De Archie-
piscopis Ebor. &c. lib. iii.)
2 Eddii Steph. Vit. S. Wilfridi, Cap. xvi. in Gale Scriptorr. xx. p. 59.
3 Rogeri de Hoveden Annall. Par. pr., in Rerum Anglic. Scriptorr. post Bedarn, p. 231.
4 " Alma Sophia," to pure, or holy Wisdom, i. e. to Jesus Christ, " the uncreated Wisdom of the Father."
Alcuinus de Pontiff, et Sanctt. Eccles. Ebor.
5
Sect. II.
DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF THE SAXON AND NORMAN CHURCHES. — DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
Early in the morning of February 2nd, 1829, a wretched fanatic, named Jonathan Martin, who had
secreted himself in the Cathedral, after the evening service of the preceding day, for the purpose, set
fire to the prebendal stalls on the south side of the choir. The flames gradually made their way to the
organ, and from that to the roof adjoining the Central Tower, and, in the space of a few hours,
destroyed the whole of the ceiling and roof of the centre aisle of the choir, with all the large and
beautifully-carved bosses and key-knots, the sculptured capitals of the piers, the richly-wrought pre-
bendal-stalls, and several ancient monuments.
After this deplorable conflagration, and while workmen were employed in removing the remnants of
the sleeping timbers, and the walls that had supported the prebendal stalls, the attention of the author,
who was engaged in examining those walls, in search of ancient moulded or carved stones, was arrested
by a stone at the east end of the wall on the south side of the choir. The stone showed part of an
abacus ; and a little of the surrounding rubbish being removed, a perfect capital became visible. This
was immediately pointed out to the master-mason, who ordered some of the workmen to raise it ; but,
on attempting this, they found it to be firmly fixed in a wall of good ashlar. The circumstance being
reported to the reverend Canon then in residence, the workmen were desired to ascertain fully the extent
of what had been thus accidentally discovered ; and it was found to be a portion of a cluster of three
capitals, with cylinders and bases, fixed into a good ashlar wall. A further search was ordered to be
made, and this led ultimately to an excavation of nearly the whole of the choir, and to the exposure
of valuable and interesting remains of former edifices. As the excavation was confined to the choir-
portion of the present church, and extended not to the large transepts and the nave, it is evident that
plans of the entire forms of structures that may have been erected previous to the present building
could not be obtained ; and although a greater extent of the present choir-portion was exposed than is
now to be seen, yet limits to the investigation were necessarily placed, by the fear of violating the
sacred chambers of the dead. Sufficient remains, however, w r ere traced and examined, to enable the
author, with a great degree of accuracy, as he hopes, to exhibit plans, not only of the Norman but
also of the Saxon church, begun probably by king Edwin, under the instructions of St. Paulinus.
That these plans may be fully understood, it appears necessary first to describe the form and arrange-
ment of the present church.
PLATE I.
This plate exhibits the ground-plan of the Metropolitan Church of York as it now stands, with
indications of the positions of the ribs of the ceilings, vaults, altars, &c. It is cruciform, being in
length, from base to base of buttresses, east and w r est, about 519 feet, and from base to base of the
transepts about 249 feet. Internal length from base to base, or of clear way, 483 feet. Internal
length of the transepts 222 ft. 6 in. The church consists of a nave, a, with side aisles, c c ; choir, k,
with lady chapel, n, and side aisles, l and m ; south transept, d, with side aisles, e and f ; north transept,
6
g, with side aisles, h and i. Large lanthorne tower, b ; two bell towers, w and x ; chapter house, s, and
vestibule, r. To the church, on the south side, are attached offices at o, p, q, t and u.
The edifice is placed nearly correct, according to the cardinal points ; the present choir is not in a
straight line with the nave, but, as exhibited in the plan, is inclined towards the south, having a
deviation northward of its centre, at the front of the organ screen, v, of about 2 ft. 4 in. from the centre
of the nave. This deviation in direction was probably caused by the choir having been erected at
twice ; the first portion at the eastern end having been begun whilst the greater part of the old choir was
standing.
PLATE II.
In this plate the ground plans of the remains of erections, prior to the present edifice, are displayed,
with several of the measurements in connexion with each other. The plan of the present choir,
lady chapel, &c, is drawn to an enlarged scale, (32 feet to an inch,) a a being the eastern piers of the
lanthorne tower ; b b b b b, or the dotted shade, the walls of the present choir ; c, the east aisle of
the south transept, and d the east aisle of the north transept ; eee, the walls of the last made crypt ;
f f, entrances thereto ; g, the screen adjoining the communion table ; h, the front line of the organ
screen ; i is the original vestry for the present choir, containing Archbishop Zouch's chapel ; k, the
vestry now used, and l the ecclesiastical court ; m is an entrance recently made from the crypt of the
present structure, into the Norman crypt.
The parts of the plan in medium tint of shade, with the continuations n n n n, are portions of a
cathedral of Norman erection, and the darkest parts of the walls are fragments of a Saxon edifice. The
general tint o o o o being the concrete foundation thereof.
In the description of Plate I, it was remarked that the present choir does not stand in a direct line
with the nave, but is inclined to it. This deviation is supposed, by some persons, to have been in-
tentional, designed to represent the " Caput Domini," or, the inclination of the head of Christ on the
Cross. In the present plate it is seen that the present side walls, bb, b b, of the choir do not stand
parallel with the remains of the walls of the ancient edifices, and from the ascertained extent of Archbishop
Thoresby's portion of the choir, it seems most probable, that the irregularity in the direction of the choir
with the nave arose entirely from the difficulty of ascertaining the true direct line of the church, whilst
the larger portion of the old choir was standing, and not from any intention of the builder of the fabric.
PLATE III.
This plan, which is drawn to the same scale as the plan in Plate II, represents the eastern portion
of the church, presumed to have been built, according to the instructions of St. Paulinus, in 627, and
finished by Oswald. It is formed from measurements taken, not only during the progress of the regular
excavation, but from subsequent excavations made below the floor of the crypts, and in other places ;
from examinations of the stone, which is almost wholly of the oolite limestone, with occasionally some
sandstones ; from the size of the stones, which seldom exceed five inches in depth ; and from the centre
of the walls, which contain a large quantity of cobbles, grouted with coarse yet firm cement.
The form of the foundation is that of a cross, which was used about this time for the plan of St.
Mary's Church at Hexham, Canterbury Cathedral, &c, and which became, in the latter part of the
seventh century, a favourite deviation from the mere oblong, generally used for the ancient temples,
basalicas, or palaces. It is observable, however, that in this edifice, the upper part of the cross was
much shorter than usual.
7
The historian Bede, says, " that St. Paulinus began the palace of the Lord of a square form." This
remark is, no doubt, made with reference to other churches, some of which were octangular ; it may
also refer to its not having a circular apsis at the east end, as was frequently adopted. But, however
this may be, the plan of the church, as far as the author has been able to ascertain it, appears to have
been of a square or right-angled construction.
The internal length of space between the foundations of the walls is about 120 feet ; the external
length 140 feet ; external length of the transepts nearly 136 feet ; internal length 106 ft. 6 in. As to the
internal arrangement, it is impossible to give either an accurate statement of the extent of the various
portions or their proper appellations, yet it may be plausibly conjectured that the plan represents the
crypt of the choir ; the choir-part being in extent about 72 feet, having a width of 27 ft. 4 in. ; side
aisles perhaps 18 feet wide, and transepts having a width of about 25 feet.
The whole of the light shade in the plan represents grouted or concrete masonry, and the black broad
lines that lie therein are the representations of hewn oaks, varying from 9 to 17 inches in breadth, and
from 14 to 24 inches in depth ; which have been imbedded in the concrete foundation of the structure.
In some instances the whole of the oak is gone, whilst in several, large portions of the heart of the tree
are remaining as sound as when first imbedded. A perfect impression of all the irregularities of the
surfaces of the timbers is left in the cement in which they were imbedded.
The extent of the substructured passages formed by the decaying of the oaks, was ascertained by
floating united rods on the water that was found partially lodging in them.
Where the cement alone was found of insufficient substance to level the foundation above the timbers,
large stones were used ; among which were several of a coarse sandstone or grit, which had evidently
been used in some former structure, probably Roman. These were not of sufficient interest to be repre-
sented by drawings.
The depth of the foundations, from the apparent soal of the ashlar wall of the old structure, could
not be obtained, from the large quantity of water in which they were immersed, and the bog-like nature
of the soil in which they stood.
The Saxon walls on each side of the western portion of the plan are about 6 ft. 4 in. high, 4 ft.
8 in. thick ; their faces are composed of stones laid in herring-bone manner, forming courses 8
inches deep, and horizontal courses of stone of 4 inches. In the plan they are in dark shade, as are
also the other parts of the ancient structure that are now above the foundations ; they are composed of
the oolite limestone and the sandstone, and are of coarse workmanship ; a portion is exhibited as the
inner wall, at a in Plate V.
The middle tint of shade in the plan implies the range of the outer walls of the old superstructure,
formed from measurements, assisted by some supposition.
The white parts in the plan were probably always only soil ; the part a is imagined to be the site of
the wooden oratory in which King Edwin and his nobles were baptized, for at b was discovered a well
of a semicircular form, full of pure water, and in the choir above it, exactly over this spot of soil, the
high altar of the Cathedral always stood, until removed by Mr. Kent, about 1736.
Upon the Saxon foundation, between f g, f g, have been raised walls ; the one on the north side being
2 feet thick ; the one on the south, 2 ft. 4 in. thick. They are composed of materials which formed
some edifice erected prior to the Norman period. They were probably raised by Eanbald and Alcuin,
about 768, to give greater solidity to their magnificent structure.
These walls, a portion of which is represented at b b, Plate V, consist of the oolite limestone and
8
coarse sandstone, and contain several stones that have been partially burnt, perhaps in 741 ; several
basement stones for the ashlar walling ; and several moulded stones, as is represented at d and e in
Plate V. All the mouldings and surfaces of these stones, which have formed the interior of the church,
are covered with a coat of fine white plaster, about a sixteenth of an inch in thickness ; and it appears
that the plaster has been marked throughout, so as to represent regular-shaped masonry, having joints
about an inch in breadth : see specimen at c, Plate V.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, in Plate III, are moulded stones of arches of small dimensions, probably belong-
ing to the church of Paulinus : they have all the same character, namely, their fillets are formed at right
angles with the faces of the stones — a character, it is conceived, that is not to be found regular in any
other style of building. Fig. 5 is the profile of some bases. The five sections are drawn by a scale of
two inches to a foot.
At c c in the plan are semicircular vaults, formed principally of sandstone ; they are 6 ft. 6 in. long,
about 5 ft. 4 in. wide, and are about 4 ft. in height ; they appear to have been formed upon a thick
coat of plaster spread upon the centres, as impressions from the centres are yet visible upon some of
the plaster. The one on the north side is represented in Plate IV, where the ashlar walling, a, is
also of sandstone or grit. No other use can now be assigned to these vaults than that of supporting
spiral staircases at each western angle of this portion of the church. A fragment of a staircase well, of
6 ft. 8 in. in diameter, remains, directly over each of these vaults, in the roof above the vaults of the side
aisles of the present choir.
The situation of the north-west vault is shown in Plate VII, at c, with a portion of the staircase, at d ;
and a vertical representation of the remains of the staircase in the south-west angle is given in Plate VI.
These staircases, and the supporting vaults, are thought to have belonged to Albert's edifice, raised
about 768.
The want of greater height to the central or lanthorne tower, has been a matter of regret, even to some
persons of sound judgement and good taste ; and it has been commonly supposed that the architect did
not intend to leave it in its present state. Various plans of remedying this supposed defect have, at dif-
ferent times been suggested ; and during the late restoration of the choir, the addition of another story
is said to have been contemplated, if not resolved upon. The excavation, however, having been carried
to this part of the church, has put an effectual stop to every attempt of this kind. At the places where
these vaults were discovered, there appeared a casing to each of magnesian limestone ashlar, only placed
against, and not bonded with, the back masonry: see g, Plate VII ; also b, Plate IV. The author
requested that a part of it might be removed from the vault, which is on the north side of the
church, when a large hollow place appeared, and as the hollow evidently affected the foundation of a pier
of the large tower, it was deemed prudent to ascertain its extent and state of perfection ; accordingly
more of the ashlar was taken down, and the author entered with a candle to examine, when he found
the vault as described above, and very much rent, and in an improper state to receive any additional
weight. The whole of the front ashlar, g, Plate VII, was therefore taken away, and the vault exposed
to the view of the dignitaries of the church, and examined by an architect. From the united evidence
of the vault, of the irregular state of the general foundation of the adjoining large pier, which was nearly
cleared round to the depth of about 9 feet, and of the present rent state of the large tower, it was
concluded that the idea of heightening the tower must be totally abandoned.
How such an imperfect foundation came to be under the large tower may be thus accounted for. The
vaults, with the staircases above them, were suffered to remain, and to be united with the Norman church,
9
as probably being connected with portions of the fabric which could not then be conveniently removed ;
and during the repairs afterwards made in the church by Archbishop Roger, the vaults appear to have
been closed up in front with magnesian limestone, as partially represented in Plate IV, at b : thus giving
an apparent solidity to the mass of masonry there congregated. When the transepts of the present
church were erected, the wall of the transept was made to abut against the side wall of the staircase,
as represented at a, Plate VI: about 1270 John Romain, the treasurer, built a large bell tower, the
eastern piers of which were united to the portions of the church standing near the ancient vaults ; and
afterwards, on the erection of the present lanthorne, or large tower, these piers were cased with a new
series of vertical mouldings or shafts ; and thus more and more weight was added upon old weak
foundations and concealed insecurities.
That the piers of the lanthorne tower are of this conglomerated character, was clearly seen during
the late restoration of the vertical shafts ; for the workmen then came to the vertical shafts of Romain's
building, and the union with the old staircases is now evident. The position of the staircase on the
north side of the church, or in the north-west pier of the lanthorne tower, is represented at d in the plan,
Plate VII, where is also the plan of the supporting vault, c ; but the shafts of Romain's erection could
not be shown, as there was not a sufficient portion of them exposed to enable a plan of them to be
made.
It has been asserted by some experienced architects, versed in buildings, that the organ screen has
hitherto materially assisted in preserving the stability of the eastern piers of the lanthorne tower ; and
that its removal would have endangered that stability. Be this as it may, it is a truth that the north-
east pier has shrunk, since the fire, from the organ screen nearly half an inch, and that the least support
ought not to be taken from the piers.
At h in the plan, Plate III, is now to be seen in the crypt a mound of earth, covered at top with
stones : this mound or heap of earth is shown by the vergers of the church as being a Saxon altar ; but
of this hereafter : suffice it here to say, that all this white place in the plan has always been filled with
earth to the level of the floor of the choir above.
The entrances to the side aisles of the crypt have been at d D,by steps leading down to them ; but the
construction of the steps, and the place of entrance above, from the part e, cannot now be ascertained.
The principal entrance to the upper choir must have been also from the same part e, by an ascent of
several steps ; for although the floor of the old nave and transepts must have been raised to about the
present level, yet the evidence of the Saxon walls now remaining in the space occupied by the organ
screen, and rising full twelve inches above the level of the present pavement of the nave, and of the height
necessarily required for the vaults of the crypt, prove that the old choirs have been ascended by several
steps.
That there were a nave and transepts before the present nave and transepts, is established by the
facts, that St. William was buried in the nave in June 1154 ; that in the briefs sent forth in behalf of
the fabric of the church during the building of the present nave, the old nave is described as having
been a long time destroyed and prostrate ; and that in Mr. Torre's MS., page 4, it is asserted, " that
the old nave, before it was taken down, was in its ancient pravity and deformity." It is, therefore,
highly probable that the present cathedral contains, especially westward of the present choir, still more
of valuable remains of ancient structures than have yet been exposed.
C
10
PLATE IV.
An arch, supposed to belong to the edifice, erected by Albert about 768. The ashlar at a is of the
same age as the arch, and is of coarse sandstone ; but the ashlar at b is of magnesian limestone, and
was placed before the arch, probably by Archbishop Roger, about 1 1 70. See Plate III.
PLATE V.
The upper portion of this plate represents, at a, the position of the stones which form the faces of the
walls supposed to have been built by St. Paulinus, about 627. The front-casing-wall, b b, is ascribed to
Archbishop Albert, who erected a new church about 768. This casing contains many stones belonging
to a previous building, as indicated at c, d, and e ; and several appear to have suffered much by fire ;
probably the fire of 74 1 . See Plate III.
In the lower portion of this plate, at f g, is exhibited the Saxon zigzag wall, and its additional inner
wall, so as to show where both have been curtailed ; and also the union of a mass of masonry, h i, of
another character, of another kind of stone, and of a more recent erection, i.e., of Norman workmanship.
PLATE VI.
This representation exhibits a vertical portion of a staircase supposed to have been erected by
Archbishop Albert, about 768. The well has been 6 ft. 8 in. in diameter ; the workmanship is rude,
being apparently worked with an adze, and the stones are some of them of the oolite limestone, and
some of coarse sandstone. It has stood the changes and additions of the Cathedral, from its peculiar
situation as connected with different portions of the fabric ; ex. gr., at a is the eastern wall of the south
transept of Walter Grey's erection, abutting against the outer wall, b, of this ancient staircase. See
Plate III.
PLATE VII.
This plate exhibits, on a large scale, plans of portions of walls of different erections, as they were
found at the north-west angle of the choir. The darkest parts, a a, are Saxon walls, supposed to
belong to the church of St. Paulinus. The part b b, the additional wall previously described, Plate III,
is attributed to Archbishop Albert ; as are also the portions around the vault c, and the staircase d.
The parts ee are of Norman erection, and are assigned to Archbishop Thomas, about 1070. The
portions f, g, and h, are attributed to the alterations made by Archbishop Roger, about 1170. The
portion i, the outer wall of the north transept, erected probably about 1260. It abuts against the part J,
which was then walled up, having previously been a window to give light to the part q. At this period
also the additional wall k appears to have been inserted, to strengthen the wall i. The parts llll
belong to the present choir, whilst the plan m belongs to a pier of the lanthorne tower, which is a con-
glomeration of erections of various periods. See Plate III. n was probably, during the Saxon and
Norman buildings, a descending approach to the entrance, o, of the north aisle of the crypt, but which
was probably walled up during the erection of the western portion of the present choir.
Throughout the whole of the Saxon walls and foundations of the structures before described, the
stones appear to be from the same quarries as had been used by the Romans for the multangular
tower at York, and all their other erections in and around the city ; the stones of the foundations in the
Cathedral are quarried about four and a half inches thick, but of unequal length, being similar to those
on the faces of the multangular tower ; and the coarse grit stones in both cases are of much larger
11
dimensions than the oolite. These circumstances have led some persons to conceive that the old
foundations and walls in the Cathedral are of Roman workmanship, and are remnants of some Roman
edifice. Roman coins and fragments of Roman pottery were indeed found during the late excavations ;
but such remains are commonly met with in every part of York.
When we remember that St. Paulinus was from Rome, that St. Wilfrid was frequently there, that both
he and Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, engaged the assistance of masons, whom the hope of
munificent reward had drawn from Rome, and also from Gaul, to build the stone churches after the
Roman custom, 1 we may, with more probability, conjecture the whole to have been in accordance with
the style then prevailing, although of inferior execution ; which being done under the Saxon dynasty
in England, is, for the sake of identity, described as Saxon architecture.
It is supposed that the coarse grit stone has been obtained from the neighbourhood of Brimham
rocks, and the oolite from about Ripon, and that both were conveyed by water, in light barges, to
York.
1 Bed<£ Hist. &c. lib. iv. c. ii. Willclm. Malmesb. Be gestis Pontiff. Angtor. lib. iii.
C 2
t
CHAPTER II.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE TIME OF ARCHBISHOP GREY,
IN THE REIGN OF HENRY III.
Sect. I.
THE CHURCH DESTROYED BY FIRE. REBUILT BY ARCHBISHOP THOMAS. INJURED BY FIRE IN THE
REIGN OF STEPHEN. REPAIRED BY ARCHBISHOP ROGER.
HATEVER injuries the beautiful edifice erected by Archbishop Albert may have
suffered from the violence of the Danes, in their incursions into Northumbria during the
ninth and tenth centuries, it appears to have been in a perfect state at the time of the
Norman conquest : for although Archbishop Aldred, who then held the see, is recorded
to have built a hall, or refectory, for the use of the canons, both at York and at South-
well, to have finished another which had been begun at Beverley, and even to have
rebuilt the Cathedral Church of Gloucester, no mention is made of any repairs, during his prelacy, of
his own church at York. But the grave had scarcely closed over his mortal remains, when the Norman
garrison, assailed by the united forces of the English, Scotch, and Danes, having set fire to the houses
in the neighbourhood of one of the castles which the Conqueror had erected in York, the flames
spread far beyond what was foreseen or intended, a great part of the city was laid waste, and the
Cathedral reduced to an unsightly ruin. This calamity, greatly increased by the entire destruction of
the valuable and celebrated library formed by Alcuin in the ninth century, happened on the 19th of
September, a.d. 1069 ; eight days only after the death of Archbishop Aldred. 1
In the following year, Thomas, a wealthy Norman, a canon of Bayeux, and chaplain to the Con-
queror, whom he is said to have greatly assisted in his successful enterprize against England, was, in
return for his services, appointed to the vacant see : " upon coming to which," says his intimate friend
Hugo the Cantor, or precentor of York, " he found the church despoiled by fire, which he repaired
and newly covered, so as to serve for a time. He also repaired the refectory and the dormitory, but
afterwards built the church that now is, from its foundation, and adorned it, and enriched it with clergy,
books, and ornaments." 2 This, undoubtedly, was the church, the remains of which were discovered
in the recent excavation of the present choir, as related in the preceding chapter. 3 A minute and
accurate examination of these remains has enabled the author to ascertain that, with the exception of a
few alterations, evidently of a subsequent period, and of which a particular account will hereafter be
given, the work is all of one date. The marks used by the workmen, left on the face of the stones,
repeated on several and various parts, the method of tooling, and the uniformity of the mouldings,
1 Sim. Dunelm. Rogeri de Hoveden Annall. Par. pr. Jokan. Brompton. Leland. Collectt.
2 Magnum Album penes Decan. et Capit. Ebor.fol. 3. 3 See p. 5.
13
furnish ample and decisive evidence that the crypt at least, the portion of the Norman church still re-
maining, was the work of the same hands. The mouldings and other distinguishing portions have
also been carefully compared with the mouldings and corresponding portions of other buildings, the
dates of which are known ; and the result fully accords with the testimony of Hugo the Cantor, and
justifies the assertion that Archbishop Thomas, who held the see with the highest credit to himself,
and the greatest benefit to his diocese, during the period of thirty years, 1 is entitled to the honour of
having erected, from its foundation, the new church, of the grandeur and beauty of which a good
idea may be formed from the character displayed in those portions of it which the rash and sacrilegious
hand of a deluded incendiary has been the means of bringing to light. Further evidence to the same
purport is supplied by an epitaph, generally indeed ascribed to a second Archbishop Thomas, but
justly claimed by the historian of York, 2 for the first of that name ; in which the excellent condition of
the church, and the happy state of those who ministered in it, are celebrated, and attributed to his
piety, zeal, and munificence.
The materials of which the remains of this once splendid edifice are composed, are neither of the
oolite limestone, nor of the coarse sandstone used in the more ancient structures, but of magnesian
limestone. This was probably preferred by Norman architects, as more nearly resembling the Caen
stone, to which they had been accustomed in their native country. Its being near at hand may also
have been an inducement with them to make use of it in preference to any other ; it being, most
probably, obtained from a quarry in Thevesdale, near Tadcaster.
Thevesdale was probably a part of the demesnes of the Percys, since, among the extensive lands
held by them in Yorkshire, immediately after the Norman Conquest, we find they had eight carrucates
in the parish of Tadcaster, three in Hazelwood, and one carrucate in Stutton. 3 Afterwards, it seems,
Thevesdale, either wholly or in part, became, in military fee to the Percys, the property of the Vava-
sours of Hazelwood Hall : 4 previously to which, there is reason to believe a certain portion of it
" was given for ever to God for the use of the Church of St. Peter," the grant being, most probably,
made by William de Percy to Thomas, the Norman Archbishop of York. The grant of the quarry
generally known as " St. Peter's Quarry," and from which the stone used in building and repairing the
successive structures has been chiefly brought, cannot, indeed, now be found among the records of the
church, having, perhaps, been destroyed in the fire of 1135 ; consequently, the date of the grant, and
the exact position and extent of the quarry in Thevesdale, cannot be ascertained ; yet, from grants to
other churches and religious houses subsequently made by the Vavasours, its situation may, with some
good degree of probability, be conjectured. The Vavasours have been traditionally considered as the
givers of the stone from the first, and the Percys as contributors of the wood ; but evidence seemingly
opposed to this tradition will be adduced in subsequent portions of the history of the church.
No contemporary writer has left us any particular description of the church built by Archbishop
Thomas ; but we cannot doubt that it was in accordance with the magnificence and elegance dis-
played in the best structures of the Norman sera. The style of building adopted by the Saxons was not
1 Rogeri de Hoveden Annall. Par. pr., Henr. I. Th. Stubbes Vit. Episcopp. Ebor. in vita Thorax senioris.
2 History and Antiquities of York, p. 415. Stubbes. ubi supra.
3 Abreviatio ex Libro dicto Doomesday in Scaccario Westm. fol. 16, prefixed to Magnum Album.
4 Concerning these two great Norman families, the indefatigable Dodsworth remarks, " That Percy Co. Northumberland, and
Vavasour de Haselwood, have been Lords and Tennaunts since the Conquest, and that the said Vavasours in twenty-four descents
never marryed with any de their heirs." — Dodsworth' s MSS. 127 fob, p. 90, Bodleian Library.
14
changed, but the dimensions were greatly enlarged ; not in length and breadth only, but also in height ;
in consequence of which buttresses were introduced to support the walls ; and the work, generally,
was distinguished by greater firmness and neatness, and more varied ornaments. 1
As this church, worthy no doubt, in every respect, of the wealth and taste of the prelate by whom it
was erected, and of the see over which he presided, had arisen out of the ashes of a former church, so,
as it appears from the historians of the period, it was itself doomed to undergo, after no long interval,
a fate similar to that of the sacred edifices which had preceded it.. For according to Gervase of Canter-
bury, " on the second of the Nones of June, (June 4th) 1 137," the twenty-third year of the pontificate
of Archbishop Thurstan, " the church of the blessed Peter at York, where was the seat of the Arch-
bishop, was burnt by a casual fire ; and on the outside of the walls of the city, the church of the
blessed Mary, where was an abbey." 2 With these, according to Godwin, 3 thirty, or, as Stowe says,*
thirty-nine other churches, and almost all the houses of the city, were consumed. To what extent the
church of St. Peter actually suffered by this fire, it cannot now be certainly known. From the words
of the Monk of Canterbury, it might be thought that it was entirely destroyed ; and the learned his-
torian of York has spoken of it as " lying in ashes all the time of Archbishop Henry Murdac and
St. William, Thurstan's immediate successors, until Archbishop Roger, anno 1171, began to rebuild
the choir with its vaults, and lived to perfect them." 5 But some allowance must always be made for
the exaggerated language and the indiscriminating manner in which the ancient chroniclers are ac-
customed to describe such calamities ; and a few circumstances connected with the history of the
church, during this long period of supposed utter desolation, may be collected, which indicate that the
damage sustained by the Cathedral was by no means so great and extensive as writers have represented
it to have been.
The services of the church appear to have continued to be regularly performed ; not a hint occurs of
their having been in any measure suspended or impeded by the state of the building; nor would it have
been at all consistent with the character of Archbishop Thurstan, who is said to have renewed or
repaired no fewer than eight monasteries, that he should suffer his own church to lie in ruins during
the last seven years of his prelacy, and leave the good work of restoration to a successor ; especially
as the period immediately following the battle of the Standard, which was fought in the year after
the supposed total destruction of the Cathedral, is celebrated as one of such peace and prosperity as
York had not previously enjoyed. 6 Further, it is recorded that the first parliament was held in York,
by Henry II, in the year 1 1 60 ; yet in the history of its proceedings, with which the most solemn
religious services would undoubtedly be connected, no intimation is given that such services were pre-
vented, or their splendour diminished, by the ruined state of the Cathedral ; in which they would, of
course, have been performed. And in the year 1171, the very year in which Archbishop Roger is
supposed to have begun to rebuild the choir, with its vaults or crypt, " another convention of the
barons and bishops was summoned to meet at York, when William I, of Scotland, did homage to
Henry II, and in token of his subjection offered and deposited upon the altar of St. Peter in the
Cathedral Church of York, his breast-plate, spear, and saddle :" 7 a certain proof that the church was
1 Dr. J. Milner's Essay on Ecclesiastical Architecture, chap. iii. 2 Chronica Gervasii, Ann. 1137.
3 De Presulibus, p. 31 . 4 Annals, p. 144. 5 Drake's Hist. &c. p. 473.
6 Drake's History, &c. p. 92.
7 Knyghton inter X Scriptores. Rog. de Hoved. AnnalL Par. poster., by whom the transaction is placed in 1175. Drake's
Hist. &c. p. 93.
15
not then in the prostrate condition from which Archbishop Roger is said to have raised it. Eighteen
years before this remarkable transaction, and thirty-four years after the calamitous fire by which the
Cathedral is said to have been destroyed, the body of Archbishop Murdac had been brought from Beverley,
where he died, to be interred with due honour in the church at York. A church " lying in ashes"
would hardly have been the burial place of a prelate, who, while living, had not been permitted, or who
did not choose, even to enter the metropolitan city, and who might have been most honourably interred
in the Collegiate Church of Beverley, where he had chiefly resided.
Archbishop Murdac had been consecrated at Rome by his friend Eugenius III, with whom he had
been educated in the Abbey at Clareval, and had received from him the pall, in opposition to the
wishes of Stephen ; who, on the death of Archbishop Thurstan, had caused William, son of his sister
Emma, by Earl Herbert, to be elected to the see, and consecrated. Mortified by the refusal of the
Pope to confer the pall on his nephew, the king did all in his power to annoy Murdac ; and through his
influence the Archbishop was opposed by his own canons, and shut out of York by the citizens. Re-
tiring to Beverley, he thundered forth his anathemas against both these parties ; suspending the canons
of the church, and laying the city under an interdict. Eustace, the son of Stephen, who was then at
York, finding all his endeavours to appease the prelate and to effect a reconciliation between him and
the canons vain, " of his own power and authority caused proclamation to be made in the city, that all
divine offices should be performed as usual." 1 But how could they be performed if the choir and its
vaults had been destroyed ? These offices, it is clear from this fact, had been discontinued for a season,
in consequence of the suspension of the canons, not of the dilapidated condition of the church.
On the death of Archbishop Murdac, and of his friend Eugenius III, an event which is said to
have happened on the same day, William went to Rome, and there had his election confirmed by
Anastacius IV, from whose hands he also received the pall. Having returned from Rome, he hastened
to take possession of his see. His entrance into the metropolitan city was signalized, according to the
Breviary of the church of York, by an event of a miraculous nature, which is thus related : " When the
blessed William was entering the city of York, and the multitude of his sons, with unbridled zeal, were
passing over the bridge after their father, the fastenings of the bridge, which was of wood, were broken ;
and thus, dreadful sight ! a countless number of men, women, and children, fell into the rapid stream
of the river. The prelate, turning towards those who were immersed in the water, made the sign of the
cross over the people, everywhere overwhelmed by the waves, and weeping bitterly, prayed to the Lord
that the deep might not swallow them up. The prayer was scarcely finished, when the devouring water,
by supreme command, yielded itself as a bridge to convey all who had fallen in to the solid ground." 2 In
the table of the miracles ascribed to St. William, it is stated that " no person was injured by this
accident ; the leg of a horse only having been broken." 3
This event is said by Stubbes to have happened on the 7th of the Ides of May, (May 9th) 1154.
On the 8th of June, in the same year, this celebrated prelate died, after a very short illness ; the effect,
it was thought, of poison conveyed in the chalice at mass. In the anthem appointed to be sung at his
festival after his canonization, this is expressly assigned as the cause of his death : but in the ninth
lesson of the service at his festival, in the Breviary, the circumstances attending his death are related
1 Drake's Hist. &c. p. 418.
- Breviarium ad mum insignis Metropolitane Ecclesie Ebor. Fest. Sanctt. Jun. viii. Fest. S. Willelmi, Sect. viii. Brompton,
inter X Scriptt. Stubbes, de S. Willelmo.
3 Dodsworth's collection in Bodleian Libr. cxxv. f. 132-142. " Out of a table in the revestry of the Cathedral Church of York."
16
without the slightest hint of this fact. 1 " This great man," it is there said, u remained among his
brethren some days ; in the sacred institutions he began to shine forth illustriously, to the comfort of
the good, to the terror of the wicked, that he might present an acceptable people to the Lord. But
when it pleased the Lord that so precious a jewel should adorn the heavens rather than the earth, the
holy prelate solemnly girded himself to celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. The mysteries being
completed, he returned to his palace ; he entered his chamber, the violence of fever exerted its strength,
with a prophetic spirit he foretold to his friends the very day of his death. When, therefore, he per-
ceived that the day of his death, and of the dissolution of his body, had arrived, having bidden farewell
to his brethren, with a joyful countenance he surrendered his more joyful spirit to the Lord. The
earthly remains of his sacred body were buried in the sacred edifice of St. Peter, where many miracles
have been performed to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever
and ever. Amen." 2 The tomb of this eminent prelate appears to have been in the nave; 3 that part,
therefore, of the Cathedral had not been destroyed, or greatly injured.
After the death of Archbishop William, Roger, Archdeacon of Canterbury, and chaplain to Henry II,
was elected to the see, and consecrated by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the 10th of
October 1154. 4 He held the see twenty-seven years ; yet if we are to believe the account commonly
given of the state of the Cathedral at this time, he found it " lying in ashes," and suffered it to remain
so during twenty years. This is scarcely credible. Nor is it consistent with the following letter, ad-
dressed to him by Pope Alexander III :
" Alexander, the servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother Roger, Archbishop of York, and
Legate of the Apostolic See. Health and apostolic benediction. Whereas the church committed to you is pre-
eminent in much dignity, it becomes you diligently and anxiously to take care that its dignity in all things which
pertain to the honour of the church and the glory of the same may be resplendent, so that the zeal of your anxiety
may appear in these things. We especially recommend, and moreover charge you, that whereas in some cathedral
churches which are far inferior to your church, this prerogative and dignity is preserved ; that at their greater altars
none except bishops or canons of the said church dare to celebrate mass ; at the greater altar of your church, even
presbyters are everywhere admitted to celebrate mass ; and so, in some measure, the dignity of the said church is
diminished and grown vile. Since then it becomes your prudence diligently to attend to all those things which may
increase the dignity of the church and the honour of your fraternity, we command you, by our apostolic writings,
that you, along with the chapter of the said church, or of the greater and more sound part of it, determine that
no one except a bishop or a canon of the said church shall dare to celebrate at the greater altar of the said church,
nor that any, except they be canons of the said church, shall presume to read the gospel and epistle in the mass
which is celebrated at the said altar. That you may determine on these things, according to our mandate, we, the
Lord being our adviser, will have this ratified and confirmed.
" Dated Anagni, 3rd Calends of April." 5
It is much to be regretted that the date of this epistle is defective, no year being specified. The
pontificate of Alexander, and the prelacy of Archbishop Roger, were nearly synchronous ; Alexander
having been elected and crowned in 1159, Roger consecrated in 1154, and both having died in 1181.
The Pope appears to have resided at Anagni at various times during his pontificate ; when driven from
1 The anthem is, in part, cited by Drake, (Hist. &c. p. 419,) from Godwin ; who, as Bishop Nicholson remarks, " quotes no
authorities," and on whose accuracy no reliance can be placed. See Eng. Hist. Library, Part II. ch. v.
2 Breviarium, &c. ubi supr. led. ix. 3 See Plate I, letter a.
4 Radulph. de Diceto. According to Stubbes, by Pope Anastacius IV. 5 Magnum Album, par. m.fol. 93.
17
Rome by the factions of the anti-popes, or the arms and adherents of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa :
so that the mere mention of the place is not sufficient to determine the year in which it was written.
But one expression in the letter may, perhaps, lead us nearly to the true date. The Archbishop is
addressed by the Pope as " Legate of the Apostolic See." This honour had been earnestly solicited
for him by the king, about the year 1164, and reluctantly granted, " but under such a restriction as
rendered it ineffectual," 1 and the commission of appointment was immediately returned to the Pope.
From a letter written by Alexander to Roger, and to Hugh, Bishop of Durham, jointly, in 1170, on
the subject of the coronation of the king's son, it appears that the honour had not then been conferred
upon the Archbishop. 2 But in another letter from the Pope, written, according to Hoveden, in the
year 1176, he is distinctly recognised as Legate. Now as Alexander is known to have finally left
Anagni, and to have fixed his residence in Rome, early in the year 1178, 3 the letter above cited must
have been written in the interval between the years 1 170 and 1 178, the period during which the Arch-
bishop is commonly supposed to have rebuilt the choir and the crypt from the foundations. But who
would imagine on reading the letter, that the Metropolitan Church of York, or the choir of the church,
was then rising or had recently risen out of the ashes in which it had been lying more than thirty
years ? The practice censured and forbidden by the Pope, it is evident, had not been recently intro-
duced on the renewal of long-suspended services at the altar; it had for some time prevailed. " The
dignity of the church was diminished " by an irregular celebration of the sacred rites ; not by " the
exile " of the great altar, or the destruction of its appropriate station.
In Mr. Torre's collections, mention is made of an Indulgence issued by Joceline de Bailul, who was
consecrated Bishop of Sarum in the year 1142, and died November 18th, 1184, setting forth, " that
whereas the Metropolitan church was consumed by a new fire and almost subverted and destroyed, and
necessarily spoiled of its ornaments, therefore to such as bountifully contributed towards the re-edifica-
tion of it, he released to them forty days of penance enjoined," &c. 4 This statement occurring among
Mr. Torre's notices respecting the Metropolitan Church of York, has very naturally been supposed to refer
to the calamity which, according to Gervase and others, that church suffered in the reign of Stephen ;
and to the rebuilding or the repairing of it by Archbishop Roger; and by recent authors the words "of
York," not found in Torre, have been supplied. The original document to which Torre refers has been
unfortunately lost ; 5 but that in his notices of it he has either been himself mistaken, or has been the cause
of misleading others, is in the highest degree probable ; for supposing this Indulgence to have been
issued by Joceline in the very beginning of his prelacy, he would hardly have called that " a new fire"
which had happened at least five years before ; much less would he have so denominated it, nearly
thirty years afterwards, when Archbishop Roger was, according to the common opinion, preparing to
rebuild the long-desolated church; and if it relate to York, it must be referred to this latter period,
since no intimation of any previous preparation to raise the prostrate edifice is anywhere to be found.
Besides the see of Sarum has no peculiar connection with the Metropolitan Church of York ; it is in the
jurisdiction of Canterbury. Now it so happened that on the Nones of September (September 5th) 1 174,
the Metropolitan Church of Canterbury was so greatly injured by fire, that it was necessary entirely to
1 Lord Lyttleton's Hist, of Henry II. vol. iv. pp. 37, 376.
2 Hoveden Annall. Part. post.
3 Baronii Annall.
4 Torre's MSS. p. 2.
5 It was contained in a Register entitled " Fabrica, viz. Ludham's Rentall Custos of y* Fabrick fact. 1338."
D
18
rebuild the choir : 1 and it cannot be doubted that the Bishop of Sarum would be prompt in rendering
assistance to his mother church. The conclusion seems to be warranted, that by some accident a
document belonging to the Metropolitan Church of Canterbury has been mingled with documents
pertaining to the Metropolitan Church of York.
The remains of the ancient crypt, which have been recently discovered, correspond, as it has been
already observed, with the earliest Norman work in England ; and no doubt can be reasonably enter-
tained that they are the remains of the church built by Archbishop Thomas. These therefore concur
with the few historical notices which have just been produced, and the arguments grounded on them, in
disproving the commonly .received opinion that Archbishop Roger " found the Cathedral in ashes, and
rebuilt the choir with its vaults from the foundation." An accurate examination of these remains,
however, will enable the experienced antiquary and artist to detect certain parts varying in some degree
in their architectural character, from the greater portion of the crypt, and which may therefore, with
the highest degree of probability, be assigned to this prelate. These are the manifest alterations and
additions in the vestibules of the side entrances to the crypt ; the vaultings of which also, long since
removed, may have been of the same date. What he did above the crypt, what portion of the
choir itself he rebuilt, repaired, or altered, cannot be now ascertained. In the foundations of Arch-
bishop Thoresby's, or the present choir, as seen when exposed in the recent excavation, so many bases,
capitals, and mouldings, corresponding in character with the style of Archbishop Roger's time, were
discovered, as to lead to the conclusion that his repairs, additions, or alterations, were not indeed
inconsiderable. Of their actual extent, in the absence of all documents, no just judgment can be
formed. Had he rebuilt the choir, he would no doubt have been assisted by episcopal indulgences, or by
large grants and contributions of the pious ; if such aids were required and furnished, all the memorials
of them have perished. One important document belonging to this period remains ; but it affords no
evidence of the rebuilding of the choir by this prelate ; its testimony so far as it goes seems to have a
contrary bearing. It is a grant from Lord William de Percy of " the church of Topcliffe, with all
things pertaining to it, to the Church of St. Peter at York, as a perpetual alms for the repairing and
building, according to the direction of the Lord Archbishop Roger and his successors, and the Chapter
of York, such parts as they should see fit to repair or build ; the Chapter to undertake nothing without
first obtaining the authority and assent of the Archbishop. This grant was not to be in lieu of what
the Treasurer of York was accustomed to supply for the reparation and rebuilding of the church. If
at any time the Archbishop and Chapter should think it necessary to cease from building and repairing
the church, all the revenues of the aforesaid church (of Topcliffe) were to be applied to the purchasing
of sacred vessels, and those ornaments which the Treasurer was not bound to provide ; so that neither the
Archbishop nor the Chapter, after the death of Roger de Alveto, who was then the parson of the church,
should be at liberty to apply the revenues to any other uses. Thfs donation and grant," adds the noble
donor, " I have made for the safety of my own soul, and of that of my wife Sybilla, of my father, of
my mother, of my sons also, and my daughters, and of all my ancestors, that the blessed Peter, the
bearer of the keys of heaven, may intercede for us with the Lord." 2 The general manner in which the
revenues of Topcliffe are here directed to be applied, and the circumstance that they were not to
belong to the church of York till after the death of Roger de Alveto, the parson, seem to denote
1 Radulph. de Diceto Vit. Archiepp. Cant. Hoveden Annall. Part. post, who says that almost the whole city of Canterbury was
destroyed by the fire.
2 Magnum Album, par. ii. fol. 92.
19
that no great works, such as the rebuilding of the choir, were then going on, for which the Arch-
bishop and the Chapter would require immediate aid. They may, it is true, have been completed ; yet
even in that case, if they had been of the extent usually supposed, some allusion to them might have
been expected. But as Richard de Percy, the grandson of Lord William, who confirmed this grant in
1226. 1 "had livery of all those lands in Com. Ebor. whereof his mother died seised," so early as 1204 or
1205. 2 it is highly probable that the original grant was made before the year in which Archbishop Roger
is commonly stated to have begun the restoration of the choir. This conjecture is strengthened by the
fact that the last intimation we have of Lord William de Percy, as still alive, is in the year 1168, when he
was a subscribing witness to a charter of Henry II, granted at Nottingham. He was dead in 1 173. 3
If, after what has now been stated, there should appear reason to doubt the accuracy of Stubbes con-
cerning the complete destruction of the choir of the church and the re-building of it by Archbishop
Roger, we may receive, without hesitation, what he relates of the other works ascribed to him, on
which he employed no inconsiderable portion of the great wealth which he is said to have amassed.
Of these the largest and the most costly, was the rebuilding of the Archiepiscopal Palace, on the
north side of the Cathedral ; a fragment of which remains to this day. He also built, near the door
of the palace, and adjoining the north aisle of the nave, the Chapel of St. Sepulchre ; which he
dedicated " in honour of the Blessed Mary the Mother of God, and of the Holy Angels : to sustain
for ever four priests, four deacons, four sub-deacons, and a sacrist for the celebration of divine services,
to the eternal honour of God, the glory of his successors, and the remission of his own sins." This
chapel he endowed with no less than eleven churches ; five of which were his own gift, and the rest he
obtained from some of the faithful of his diocese. The founding of this chapel, in such close con-
nection with the mother church, gave offence to the canons of the church ; who were appeased by his
exonerating them, and transferring to the sacrist of the chapel, the duty of providing what was necessary
for some of the peculiar rites and usages of the day of the Lord's Supper, or Maunday. 4
Having held the see twenty-seven years, this eminent prelate died at York, or as Hoveden says, at
Sherburn, November 22, 1181, and was honourably buried, according to Stubbes, " in the middle of
the choir of the church, which he had himself newly constructed." But it is more probable that he
was interred in the chapel of St. Sepulchre, or of St. Mary and the Holy Angels, which he had built
at so great a cost, and so liberally endowed, since no notice is taken of his remains, on the removal
of those of other prelates, from the choir in subsequent periods ; and Mr. Gent remarks, 5 that it was
said that an Archbishop or two had been buried in that chapel. Who so likely as the founder? In the
north aisle of the nave, and near the door of that chapel, 6 there is a table tomb, in the wall, inclosing a
wooden and a leaden coffin, which may be seen through the open quatre-foils on the side. This is
usually described as the tomb of Archbishop Roger. But as the wall was not built till above one hun-
dred years after his death, and not on the scite of the wall of the old nave, and as there are evident
marks of a still later insertion of this tomb, it most probably contains the remains of some other
person. 7
1 Magnum Album, ubi sup. fol. 96.
2 Dugdale's Baronage, ed. 1675, pp. 270, 271.
3 Charlton's Hist, of Whitby, pp. 83, 137, 141.
4 Stubbes, Vit. Pontiff". Ebor. in Vit. Rogeri.
5 Gent's History of the Cathedral of St. Peter, p. 24.
6 A representation of this door may be seen in PI. XLIX, of Halfpenny's Gothic Ornaments.
7 Hoveden Annall. Part. post. Anno 1181.
D 2
20
After the death of Archbishop Roger, the see remained vacant nearly ten years ; the king retaining
it in his own hands, and seizing not only on the temporalities of the see, but on all the effects of the
late prelate. At length, on the accession of Richard, Geoffry Plantagenet, his illegitimate brother, son
of Henry I. by the celebrated Rosamond, was elected by the Chapter, through the influence of the
King, consecrated at Tours August 18th, 1191, and soon after installed, in the Cathedral of York,
with great splendour. He held the see twenty-one years ; during the greater part of the time, at
enmity with the deans and canons of his church, opposed by the Pope and the King, and at last dying
abroad, after an exile of seven years. After his death the see was again vacant during four years, when
Walter Grey, who had been translated from Litchfield to Worcester, was, by desire of the King, elected
to the see of York, and consecrated November 10th or 11th, in the year 1215.
Of the state of the fabric in the interval between the death of Archbishop Roger, and the appoint-
ment of Walter Grey, we learn but little from any of the ecclesiastical historians of the period ; and
nothing remains among the records of the see to give us any certain information on this subject. But
in the lessons of the York Breviary appointed to be read at the commemoration of St. William, the
following remarkable circumstance is related : —
" St. William being dead, and the Lord being desirous of being magnified in his saint, and of testi-
fying to the people by remarkable tokens the sincerity of his saint, it happened that on a certain dark
night, the flame from the torch of a careless watchman set fire to the city. From this conflagration
proceeded a globe of fire which ran along the middle of the street, consuming every thing in its way,
encompassed the house of prayer in which the holy body rested, and by its fiery assaults laid it waste ;
not only unroofing it, but reducing to ashes or desolate charcoal the furthest building of the temple.
The consolation of the good citizens was thus laid prostrate, and the very house itself which had been
founded for the strengthening of their faith, was almost rooted up from its foundations. But whilst
the raging flame was multiplying its fires, and destroying by its voracity whatever was opposed to it, so
that the great plates of brass and iron were, like chaff, food for the fire, a beam of immense magnitude
being separated from the roof fell on the lowly tomb (of St. William), and cut the cover of it in two ;
and that portion which had covered the feet, being separated, it was reduced to burning charcoal.
Great grief and bitter lamentation were then heard from all who came to the tomb ; and it was the
opinion of all that the flesh had turned into ashes before the funeral pile ; but a flowing spring, by the
divine command, had so tempered the flames, that the vestments of silk in which the heavenly body
(gleba) had been enveloped had in no part felt the fire, nor did the flesh enclosed within appear to be
burning ; but, like silver shining in the furnace, it displayed the brightness of flesh reserved for celestial
happiness." 1
The marvellous character of this relation may, perhaps, create some doubt of its credibility ; yet it
can hardly be supposed that it would be introduced into the services of the church in which the dis-
astrous event is said to have happened, unless it had some foundation in truth. The lessons, it may
be presumed, were composed not long after the canonization of the Archbishop, in 1226 ; that is,
about seventy years after his death and burial ; when it would be certainly known whether, during any
part of that period, the Cathedral had suffered from fire, or not. If such a calamity did indeed happen,
it would, most probably, be in the earlier part of that period, before the accession of Archbishop Grey,
in whose prelacy the transepts were rebuilt. Now it is well known that in the year 1189 a terrible
1 Brcviarium, #c. In Commemoratione Sancti Willelmi.
21
persecution of the Jews broke out in various parts of England, and raged with peculiar fury in York.
In the midst of the tumults, which lasted several days, the Jews themselves, as well as their persecutors,
are said to have set fire to several houses in the city ; and when the populace had completed the
tragedy which the Jews had begun, by mutual slaughter, in the castle, they who were indebted to the
Jews proceeded to the Cathedral, where the bonds were deposited, broke open the chests, and burnt all
the writings in the midst of the church. 1 Was this the fact on which the story in the Breviary is
founded ? No event more likely to have served this purpose is recorded. Yet Roger de Hoveden, who
mentions the massacre of the Jews, and the burning of the Castle, is silent as to any injury done to
the Cathedral. If any injury were suffered at that time, it could not have been considerable, as
we find that in 1191 the church was in a state to admit of Archbishop Geoffry's being installed in
it, with great splendour; and that in 1195 Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, was received as Apos-
tolic Legate, introduced into the church in solemn procession, and held in it, during several days, a
great council, at which were assembled the clergy and all the principal ecclesiastics of the diocese.
There were, indeed, various interruptions of the divine offices during the prelacy of Geoffry, but these
were occasioned, not by the state of the fabric, but by frequent and violent contests between the Arch-
bishop and the Dean and Chapter. When he came to the see as Archbishop elect in 1189, he refused
to install Henry Marshall, whom the King had preferred to the Deanery, on no other ground than
that he himself had not received confirmation from the Pope. The Dean resented the refusal ; and
did every thing in his power to annoy the Archbishop. On one occasion when Geoffry was coming to
the church to hear vespers, on the vigil of Epiphany, the Dean and the Treasurer began the service
before he could reach the choir. Having arrived, he ordered the choir to cease, and began the vespers
himself. His order was disregarded, the candles were extinguished, and service abruptly ended. On the
next day the citizens came, as usual, to attend the service. The Dean and the Treasurer would not make
the satisfaction for the insult offered to him on the preceding evening which the Archbishop required ;
the people took part with the Prelate, and the delinquents, in terror, fled, the one to his Deanery, and
the other to the tomb of St. William, which, it appears, had already become a sanctuary ; and must
have been, at that time, in a perfect state. After this disgraceful proceeding, in the year 1193, the
Dean and the Canons having refused to give the fourth part of their revenues, at the request of the
Archbishop, towards the redemption of the King, he declared the Deanery vacant, and both parties
appealed to Rome. In the mean time the canons suspended the celebration of divine offices in the
church, and the ringing of bells, made bare their altars, set a lock upon the Archbishop's stall in the
choir, and another on the door by which he usually entered the church from the palace. 2 From these
and other similar circumstances, which might be related, it may be inferred that if the church suffered
any injury by fire in the interval between the death of Archbishop Roger and the Prelacy of Walter
Grey, it was not very extensive or lasting.
1 Drake's History, &c. p. 94. Tovey's Angl. Judaica, pp. 21 — 27.
2 Hoveden Annall. ubi sup. Drake's Hist. &c. p. 561.
22
Sect II.
THE SYMBOLICAL CHARACTER OF ORNAMENTAL FOLIAGE.
There is scarcely any feature of what is usually called Gothic Architecture more strikingly charac-
teristic than the sculptured foliage with which the more magnificent buildings of this style are so richly
adorned. In the Saxon architecture, if, indeed, we have any remains of that style to guide us, it ap-
pears to have been very sparingly used. In the Norman, it occurs, indeed, yet not very commonly,
among zigzag mouldings, and grotesque devices of animals. But when we come down to the period
of that which is denominated the early English, and especially as we advance to that which is called
the Decorated, we find it pervading almost every part of the sacred edifice. It decorates the capital of
the column and the pier ; it insinuates itself into the hollow moulding, and issues thence to adorn the
head of the neighbouring shaft ; it springs forth from the wall in the graceful forms of brackets and
corbels ; it creeps along the canopy of windows and doors ; it rises in the crockets of pinacles, which it
crowns with the leafy finial ; it gives beauty and variety to the numerous intersections of the ribs, in the
groined roof ; it drops in curiously-wrought pendants from canopied stalls, or the richly-carved ceiling of
the Tudor age.
To an inexperienced or incurious eye, all this beautiful assemblage of leaves and flowers might
appear altogether arbitrary, determined by no principle, restricted by no rule, subservient to no other
purpose than that of mere decoration, and depending wholly on the taste and fancy of the sculptor
or the architect. But he who will be at the pains closely to examine these decorations, will perceive
that amidst great apparent diversity, there is a striking degree of uniformity : that the leaves and
flowers expresed by the artist, different and multifarious as to a hasty or careless observer they may
seem to be, are, in reality, but few ; and that one or two forms of leaf prevail even from the earliest
to the latest period in which ornamental foliage appears. The artist had a large range of objects before
him. Nature every where presented to him flowers of beautiful symmetry — shrubs and plants of luxuriant
growth, and graceful form ; yet during the whole period of Gothic architecture, no great variety in
the subjects of the ornamental foliage is to be observed. The sculptor, or the architect, it must be
evident, did not select at pleasure any branch, or leaf, or flower, that might strike his fancy, or that offered
an elegant pattern by which to form a capital for a pillar, a bracket, or a boss. The laurel, the vine, the
ivy, the maple, the oak., and one or two other species, selected from the numerous tribes of the vegetable
creation, compose the decorations which give so peculiar and so pleasing a character to the Gothic style of
church architecture. But there is one other plant which has obtained from the sculptor far greater
attention than any of the few just mentioned : a plant of humble growth, unobtrusive and retiring,
having little in its form or colouring to attract the eye, a common weed, to which no modern artist,
we may be sure, would have had recourse as a subject worthy of the chisel. We find the representation
of this lowly plant first on the Norman pillar, and thenceforward in the foliage of every period ; during
two centuries, with the exception of the laurel, being almost the only type employed ; and always
holding the principal place. This is no other than the Avens, known to botanists by the name
of Geum ; two species of which are not uncommon in this country, Geum urbanum and Geum rivale.
In every sacred edifice adorned with sculptured foliage, the representation of this modest plant
23
is seen ; not always, indeed, free and graceful ; not always in strict accordance with nature ; accom-
modated in form and shape to the place it occupies — varied it may be according to the fancy of
the artist — but always preserving so much of its natural appearance, as to be readily identified with its
prototype.
This remarkable character of the ornamental foliage of Gothic Architecture must involve some prin-
ciple. It could scarcely have sprung from chance, or have been the result merely of taste or fancy.
We must look for it in the use of symbolical representations which prevailed in the most ancient
times, and in the most civilized nations. It is to be traced to the system adopted in the earlier ages of
the world, — and pursued through a long succeeding period, of expressing abstract ideas by visible ob-
jects, and of denoting spiritual by sensible things ; a system with which Moses is supposed not to have
been unacquainted, in which he may have been instructed by the Egyptians, from whom it appears to
have passed to the Greeks and Romans, and to which are to be referred many of the usages of the
ancient Christian church. Symbolical representations, like figurative terms, to which they bear a strong
resemblance, had their origin, no doubt, in the poverty of language ; but the extent to which they were
carried, and the great variety they assumed, may be easily traced to vivacity of imagination, a love of
mystery, and the pleasure which the mind receives from searching after and discovering hidden
analogies.
From every part of nature, from various productions of art, from the creations of human fancy, the
elements of symbolical language have been derived. The heavenly bodies, the human frame, the beasts
of the field, the birds of the air, the inhabitants of the waters, trees and herbs, flowers and fruits, in-
sects and reptiles, have all contributed to furnish sensible representations of the conceptions of the mind,
of things spiritual and divine, of the invisible objects of faith and hope. Among these the vegetable
productions of the earth have always held a distinguished place. The lotus, the papyrus, and the reed
of Egypt, the pomegranate, the palm, the pine, the cedar, the cypress, the vine, the ivy, the olive, the
rose, the myrtle, the acanthus, the silphium, ears of wheat, leguminous pods, the dittany, and even
parsley, with many others of the same class, have in different regions, and in different systems of religion
and mythology, obtained a sacred and mysterious character, and been employed as the representatives
of various religious opinions and sentiments both true and false.
The pomegranate that alternated with the golden bell on the hem of the robe of the Ephod, worn by
Aaron when he ministered in the holy place ; the almond-shaped cups of the golden lamp-stand for the
tabernacle ; the hyssop used by the priest when he sprinkled the water of purification ; the two rows of
pomegranates with which Solomon adorned the capitals of the emblematical pillars, erected in the
court of the temple ; the lilies which surrounded the rim of the great molten sea containing the water
of ablution for the sons of Aaron ; and the palms with opening flowers carved on the walls of the
temple, both within and without the oracle, — were all, no doubt, symbolical, in conformity with the senti-
ments and usages of other ancient nations ; by whom all these plants were employed as sacred symbols ;
the signification of which it is not difficult to ascertain.
It cannot, therefore, be thought incredible or unlikely that the foliage with which the Christian
architects of the middle ages adorned their more splendid sacred edifices, should be symbolical as well
as ornamental ; especially when it is considered that the plants they have introduced are few in number,
and that in general their symbolical value is well known and clearly established. They could scarcely
avoid such an application of this ornament, when the very form of the church was designed to be a
symbol, and a mystical sacred system governed the geometrically-formed portions of the edifice ; when
24
every part of the ceremonial of worship, when every vestment in which the priesthood ministered at the
altar, and even the colour of the materials and of the columns about the altar, had a significant em-
blematical import. 1
Of the symbolical character of the laurel or bay, which is frequently introduced in the ornamental
foliage, there can be no doubt. Among the ancient heathen nations it was regarded as the most noble
of all plants, and had various emblematical meanings. It was the symbol of prophecy ; of poetic
inspiration ; of safety ; of imperial power ; of victory. As an emblem of victory it was used by the
early Christians ; denoting the triumph of the pious and the faithful over death and the grave. It is
often to be met with in the catacombs at Rome, traced on the mortar, scratched on the tile, or sculp-
tured on the slab that closes the chambers of the dead. Gregory of Tours speaks of the custom of
covering with laurel the bottom of graves ; and Prudentius, in his hymn in honour of St. Vincent,
celebrates that martyr as having obtained a double wreath of laurel. 2 In the churches of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, leaves of this plant are profusely sculptured, and sometimes branches of it ;
with what design it must be apparent to every one. The vine has been from very early times a favourite
plant, and much used in symbolical representations. It was the emblem of joy, of liberty, of labour,
and of fertility. It is employed by the sacred writers as a symbol of the church of God, both under
the old and under the new dispensation. It has furnished the most elegant of the Jewish prophets with
the imagery of a most beautiful allegory ; 3 and it has been honoured by the blessed Saviour as not un-
worthy of being regarded as a similitude of himself. 4 No wonder then that it is frequently to be seen
among the most graceful sculptures of Christian churches as symbolical of Him who was the true
vine ; of the union which ought to subsist between him and his disciples ; of the joy which it is the
privilege of all true believers to feel ; and perhaps of those fruits of faith which they are justly expected
to produce. Thus, also, the oak, not uncommon among the sculptured foliage, may be regarded as the
symbol of moral strength and firmness ; of invincible resolution and spiritual stability : the ivy, of
adherence to Christ, of Christian love, of persevering hope. The white-thorn was an ancient symbol ;
in the ornaments of ecclesiastical buildings it may represent any prickly shrub or plant, and serve as an
admonitory emblem of the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches which choke the word of
the Gospel. The ternate arrangement of the leaves of the trefoil and the strawberry may easily have
led to the use of them as symbols of the Trinity ; and if we cannot now clearly ascertain the symbolical
meaning of the maple leaf, the ranunculus, and a few other plants, which appear in the ornamental
foliage of the fourteenth century, we may fairly presume that the principle which determined the choice
of the rest was not abandoned or violated in respect of these. The sculptor was not permitted to select
and treat subjects according to his own imagination. The Bishop or Pastor of the edifice which was to
be ornamented both fixed upon the subjects and also invariably prescribed the precise manner in which
every one should be treated in all its several and even in its minutest parts. Nor did these permit
themselves to be directed by their own caprice while guiding the labours of the painter or the sculptor,
but most religiously adhered to the traditions which had been handed down to them. 5
On this principle we are to account for the prominent place in the carved foliage of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries assigned, as before observed, to the lowly Avens. That it should,"almost exclusively
with the laurel, share the attention of the ecclesiastical architect during so long a period, and be so
1 Picurt Cerem. Relig., &c, sur les Cerem. des Cathol. Rom. ' Hierurgia, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, &c, by Dr. D. Rock.
2 Prudent. Peristeph. Hymn. v. 3 Isa. v. 4 John xv.
8 Dr. Rock, ubi supr. vol. i. p. 188, who refers to Anastatius Bibliothecarius de vitis Rom. PP. cur ante Blanchino, vol. iii.p. 124.
25
conspicuously exhibited in both sacred and regal ornaments, must have been owing to some mystical
character in which it was invested. The three segments of the terminal lobe of the radical leaves gave
it a place among the plants selected as symbols of the mystery of the Trinity : but to the medicinal
virtues which it was universally believed to possess ; to its power to heal diseases, and to counteract the
poison of venomous reptiles, must be attributed the peculiar esteem in which it was held by ecclesiastical
architects, and the preference it obtained in the ornamental carvings of churches, as a sacred symbol,
above every other flower of the field. Its virtues, as we learn from Pliny, were not unknown to the
ancient Romans. 1 It was used medicinally in the time of Charlemagne, 2 and although it appears not in
any modern Pharmacopoeia, 3 the trivial names by which it has been distinguished in several countries of
Europe, show clearly how highly its sanative qualities have been esteemed. "The Blessed herb,"
" Health of all the world," Healer of the world," "Herb Bennet, or Bene V (i. e. Benedicta, Blessed,)
are the appellations by which it has been commonly designated, 4 and in these we can trace the origin of
those associations which gave a sacred mystical character to a plant which might otherwise be thought
to have little claim to notice. To minds accustomed to search for analogies and similitudes, to borrow
from every part of nature emblematical representations of divine things, to render the ideas of sensible
objects the types of spiritual and moral blessings, no plant could appear more appropriate as the symbol
of Him "who took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses;" 5 "by whose stripes we are healed;" "who
was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil ;" 7 and by faith in whom his true disciples
are enabled to withstand and triumph over every enemy of their peace and hope. It is observable that
in the fuller and richer carvings of this plant, the figures of some hideous monsters or dragons are intro-
duced, lurking among the leaves, or attempting to destroy the fruit: designed, no doubt, to be
emblematical of " the great dragon, or the old serpent called the Devil and Satan, who persecuted the
woman which brought forth the male child ;" the adversary of Christ and his Gospel ; " the deceiver of
the whole world." 8
The conclusion to which the author has arrived, that this is the herb which for so long a period
enjoyed pre-eminence in the ornamental foliage of the most splendid sacred edifices of the middle ages,
has not been hastily and inconsiderately formed. He has long and carefully observed the plant both in
a wild and a cultivated state ; he has most minutely and accurately compared it with the carvings in the
cathedral and other ecclesiastical buildings ; he has followed out and examined the conventional forms
of the foliage in all its varieties, through successive ages ; and the result is a perfect conviction that the
plant so distinguished is no other than the Herba Benedicta — the blessed Avens. Some, indeed, have
imagined that the conventional forms of the earlier carved foliage bear a close resemblance to the leaves
of the French Honeysuckle ; and others to those of the Ladies' Mantle : and some may deny that any
1 " Geum radiculas tenues habet, nigras, bene olentes. Medetur non modo pectoris doloribus, aut lateris, sed et cruditate*
discutit, jucundo sapore." — Plinii Hist. Nat. lib. xxvi. c. 21 . On which Harduin remarks : " Caryophyllata ha?c vulgaris est . . .
quod nomen obtinuit ab odore caryophyllorum, qucm odores prae se ferunt. A nonnullis Sanamunda, et Benedicta dicitur : Gallic
Saliot." — Plinii Opp. torn. ii. p. 395, Ed. Par. 1723.
2 Sprengel Hist. Rei Herbar. vol. i. p. 222. This plant was dedicated to St. Urban.
3 It has obtained a place, however, in the Flore Medicate par F. P. Chuumeton, M. D. vol. ii. p. lxiv.
4 Germ. Benedictcnwurtz ; Heil-aller-welt. Lat. Herba Benedicta. Lat. barb. Sanamunda. Fr. Herbe benoite. Ital. Erba
benedetta. Walloon. Gloria Jilia.
* Matt, viiii 17. 6 Isa. liii. 5. 7 1 John iii. 8. 8 Rev. xii. 9, 13.
E
26
resemblance to any living plant whatever was intended, and assert that the artists followed merely the
dictates of their fancy : but this latter supposition is entirely inconsistent with the long continued use of
the same forms in so many different buildings ; and the high esteem in which the Avens appears to have
been universally held, and the sacred character which its trivial names in different countries show it to
have possessed — at once establish its claims to preference above its competitors, and justify the
opinion which the author has formed, and which he submits to the judgment of the learned and candid
antiquary.
Whether it was thought that the Avens and the Laurel, which from the first and for a long period
almost equally shared with the Avens the attention of the artist, had undergone all the conventional forms
of which they were susceptible ; or, as the style of building was improved, it was deemed expedient to
introduce a greater variety of foliage, in order to give a corresponding richness to the sculpture, and by a
more extended display of nature to interest and delight the eye of taste, and the mind of the pious
worshipper, it may be difficult to determine; but the fact is, that about the conclusion of the thirteenth,
and the beginning of the fourteenth century, the exclusive use of these two plants no longer continued.
They were not banished indeed ; the Avens never wholly disappears ; but the varied-lobed Maple, the
Vine, the Ivy, the Holly, the Rose, the Hawthorn, the Hop, the Strawberry, the Crowfoot, and several
others, were introduced, and with their flowers and fruit, skilfully and elegantly displayed, singly, or in
combination, as the taste of the artist directed, or the part to be adorned required. Some of
these indeed, not being found generally suitable as patterns for the carver, were only sparingly or for
a short period employed ; yet in the choice of those which continued to furnish subjects for the chisel,
there was nothing merely arbitrary or fanciful. The same principle still governed the workman, or
the ecclesiastic who superintended and directed his labours. Every plant employed was a sacred
symbol designed to lead the thoughts from earth to heaven ; from the author of nature to the God of
grace.
That this principle should direct the taste of architects and carvers of the present day, cannot
reasonably be expected. The age of religious symbolical representations is past. The language of
sacred emblems is almost forgotten ; and any attempt to revive it would be rendered vain by the
sentiments and habits of modern times. But it is to be regretted that in the decorations of modern
ecclesiastical buildings, new forms of foliage derived from the careful study of nature are not introduced;
or that the forms adopted in ancient edifices are not copied with greater accuracy, and employed with a
more scientific and scrupulous attention to their adaptation to various styles of architecture. Nature
offers many beautiful patterns of foliage, which, not bearing any sacred symbolical character, ancient
architects neglected, which modern architects might freely use; and to these they might add many more,
not known to their predecessors. But no natural foliage is now to be seen in the carver's hand, on its
way to his studio ; no original design from the stores of floral beauty, open to him on all sides, is to be
found on his banco. A few plaster casts, a few imperfect sketches from the bosses, knots, and capitals
of some ancient cathedral, are deemed sufficient guides, without any regard to the architectural
character of the building in which the copies of them are intended to appear. If any remark be offered
on the design or execution of a modern carving, it is answered by a reference to some long-neglected
cast, the original of which is perhaps altogether unknown. No appeal is made to nature, or to
conventional forms of certain periods, as seen appropriately introduced in some well-known sacred
edifice : but blindly relying on the faithfulness of a model or an outline, which he does not comprehend,
27
the artist of the present day silently drudges on, without any thought of selecting natural forms in a state
of perfection, of exalting their character by skilful variations, or of arranging or combining them so as to
produce the greatest degree of dignity and beauty.
This mode of embellishing modern ecclesiastical edifices by carved foliage, may be consistent
with the meagre recompence now awarded to the most skilful and laborious carver in wood or
stone ; but it cannot lead to any desirable improvement and exaltation of the art, or prevent those
incongruities and anachronisms which mark the character of the churches that are rising up on
every side, and offend the eye accustomed to contemplate the buildings they profess to imitate. To
imitate what is not perfectly understood, is a difficult task ; and it is vain to expect that the artist will
devote much time and attention to works, for which he cannot hope to receive adequate remuneration :
and as the ornamental foliage of past centuries is not understood, nor its excellence duly appreciated,
by the patrons of modern architects and carvers, ornaments of this nature are now admitted, which
would have received little favour from the artists of the period too commonly designated " the dark
ages." To call attention to a subject, highly interesting and curious, but almost universally neglected,
and thus to revive a branch of the fine arts, which has long been in a languishing state, has been one
part of the author's design in this digression from his main subject, and in the plates by which he has
endeavoured to illustrate and establish his views.
Sect. III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES RELATING TO FOLIAGE.
PLATE VIII.
This plate exhibits the leaves, flower, and fruit of the Geum rivale; the supposed prototype of the
prevailing foliage in the carved ornaments of the earlier parts of the present cathedral.
This plant, of which there are several species, belongs to the natural order Rosacese; according to the
Linnsean arrangement to the class Icosandria, and the order Polygynia. Two species only are known
in Great Britain ; Geum urbanum and Geum rivale, the common Avens and the Water Avens. To
the former, modern botanists assign the trivial name of Herb Bennet; but by earlier botanists it is given
also to the latter. 1 It is probable that both species, having the same properties, were considered equally
sacred and emblematical : the latter seems to have been the plant copied chiefly by ancient ecclesiastical
architects. Both species grew abundantly on the magnesian limestone, from quarries of which the
builders of the cathedral obtained their materials, and were thus able, not only to procure specimens,
but also to observe the plant in all the stages of its growth.
The root of the Geum rivale is somewhat woody, running deep into the ground ; astringent, with the
flavour of cloves. The radical leaves are interruptedly pinnate, somewhat lyrate ; the terminal lobe
large, rounded, and three-lobed. The flower is almost pendulous, singularly elegant, growing upright
as the seeds ripen ; the calyx being of a rich purplish-brown. The seeds are numerous, in a globular
or ovate head. 2
1 Sprengel ubi supra. 2 Smith's English Flora, vol. ii. p. 428 — 431.
E 2
28
The leaf a represents the underside of an old radical leaf, with its larger and smaller leaflets, and its
terminal lobe divided into three segments, b represents the upper side of a radical leaf, but of fresh
growth. Sometimes the terminal lobe is very obscurely, if at all, ternate ; and then it assumes a bold
convex surface, of a horse-shoe or nearly circular shape, c is the terminal lobe of a folded, d the
terminal lobe of b folded, e f show the carved representations of each. The leaf g is a stem leaf.
h the flower, drooping, i the same becoming erect, k the germen, bearing several long hairs ;
which, in a subsequent stage, drop off. l the carved representation of it.
PLATE IX.
In this plate the leaf at a represents an old radical leaf, with its leaflets, and its terminal lobe divided.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, are offered as carved representations of this form. Fig. 1 is copied from a bracket on
the north door-way of the choir. Fig. 2 from the door-way of the entrance to the vestry. Fig. 3 from
a bracket in the Lady-Chapel. And fig. 4 from the screen of the communion-table.
These instances have been selected as exhibiting both simple and complex outline and surface, uni-
formity in character, regularity in parts, variety of form in natural proportion ; adapted to the situation
in which they are introduced, they are true to the character of nature: they possess both individual and
relative beauty, and display the skill and taste of the artist, who, deriving his ideas from nature, has
not been content to be a servile copiest, but has studiously aimed at such diversity as might give grace
and dignity to his subject.
b represents a natural leaf, without the deep divisions of its terminal lobe, as it sometimes appears,
especially after having been transplanted ; when this terminal lobe will extend, as the author
has proved by repeated trials, to between five and six, and even to seven inches in diameter. Figs. 5, 6,
7, 8, are offered as carved representations of it in this form. Fig. 5 is copied from a capital in the
crypt. Fig. 6 from a capital among the remains of St. Mary's Abbey, in the Museum of the Yorkshire
Philosophical Society. Figs. 7 and 8 are from capitals in the ruins on the north side of the
Cathedral.
The half-leaf c is designed to represent the terminal lobe of b folded; and figs. 9, 10, 11, are offered
as exhibiting this form in the ornamental carving. Fig. 9 occurs in the crypt, and on the ruins on the
north side of the Cathedral. Fig. 10 is a combined form, copied from the iron scrolls on the doors to
the chapter-house, and on the vestment-chests in the vestry. In this example, the whole leaf, the half-
leaf, the flower, and fruit, are all exhibited. Fig. 1 1 is taken from the crypt.
Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, are offered as variations of the leaf a. Fig 12 is copied from the Abbey
at Old Malton, and also from the tomb of Archbishop Grey, in the Cathedral. This form without the
volute and shade on the lower lobes, is to be seen at Byland Abbey ; and this seems to have been the
first mode of deviating from the escalloped outline and fluted surfaces of figs. 5, 9, 11. Fig. 13 occurs
in the foliage of the south transept. Figs. 15, 16, are taken from the vestibule of the chapter-house.
PLATE X.
d represents a leaf of recent growth, having its terminal lobe deeply divided, and serrated. See
Plate VIII. b. Figs. 17, 18, 19, are offered as carved representations of such a terminal lobe. Fig. 17
is copied from the chapter-house; and figs. 18, 19, from the foliage in the north transept.
29
Figs. 20, 21, 22, 23, are offered as representations of the whole leaf d, consisting of the terminal
lobe and a pair of leaflets. Fig. 20 is copied from the chapter-house. Figs. 21, 22, 23, from the foliage
in the north transept.
The laurel or bay, Laurus nobilis, fig. 24, is profusely represented in the carved foliage that adorns
the churches of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It is sculptured on capitals, arches, consoles, and
bosses, under forms natural and conventional, simple and complex, with surfaces plain and highly enriched.
But having received every change of character and combination which the ingenuity of the carver could
give it, it is seen again in its natural outline and surface, retiring into the hollow mouldings of the arches,
string-courses and cornices of the pure pointed style, where it is frequently arranged in a zigzag form, as
in fig. 27, or four leaves are united so as to form a pyramid, as fig. 26, usually called the dog's-tooth; 1 or
flattened, as fig. 28. Sometimes the pyramidal form is left unfoliated, as fig. 25, but not frequently, and
only on some insignificant part beyond the reach of common observation. A branch, similar to fig. 24,
encircles a fine head, supposed to represent the head of St. Peter, within the south front of the Cathedral ;
and also the arms of St. Peter, which are so often repeated in the windows of the large tower. It is
likewise to be seen encompassing what is generally considered as Abbot Dernton's head, at the apex
of a window at the north-east angle of Fountain's Abbey.
The author defers to a future Plate, and, perhaps, a more appropriate situation, a series of the
conventional forms and adornments of the Laurel as carved on some other edifices of early date, in the
single leaf, the mere junction of single leaves, several leaves lying one on another, and in the varied
combinations of outline produced by a union of the Laurel with the Herba benedicta.
Figs. 29, 30, represent two leaves of the maple, Acer campestre, generally consisting of five lobes,
obtusely divided, here and there notched, sometimes three-lobed, and sometimes quite entire. Figs. 31,
32, two leaves of the meadow crow-foot, Ranunculus acris. The radical leaves of this plant have
three or five deep lobes, variously subdivided and cut ; the stem leaves have fewer and narrower-
segments.
PLATE XI.
In this plate are represented the conventional forms of the leaf of the ivy, fig. 33; of the vine, fig. 34 ;
of the rose, fig. 35; of the common British oak, Quercus robur, fig. 36; of the holly, fig. 37; of
the strawberry, fig. 45 ; and of the hop, fig. 46. All these are copied from pendants or capitals in
the chapter-house. Three leaves of the hawthorn, in different stages of growth, are represented in figs.
38, 39, 40 ; and the conventional forms of the last in figs. 41, 42, 43, 44. Fig. 41 being copied from
a finial in the chapter-house ; figs. 42, 43, from crockets in the nave ; and fig. 44 from a finial on the
tomb of Archbishop Grenfeld.
So far it has been the design of the author to exhibit the ornamental foliage of the Cathedral in
detail, in order to show what plants were selected by the artist, and to trace the variations in their con-
ventional forms. In subsequent plates these plants will be exhibited more entire, as they are variously
arranged and combined, on bosses, pendants, and capitals. It is too commonly imagined, that the
i " Why called dog's-tooth, it is not easy to explain, as the ornament does not resemble that canine member : it rather appear?
like four leaves of the chesnut-tree united, and brought to a point at one end, and expanded at the other, radiating from a central
point. In Putin's Specimens, vol. i., it is represented and defined (p. 8, PI. V.), and the author observes, that ' an appropriate
name for it is greatly wanted.' " — See Britton's Dictionary of the Architecture, &c, of the Middle Ages, Art. Dog-tooth.
30
carvers of the middle ages had only rude ideas of foliage, and that what they produced were nothing
else than mere barbarous conceits, or incongruous representations of nature. But an attentive inspec-
tion of the works of those who were engaged in adorning the metropolitan church of York, will correct
this erroneous notion ; and clearly prove that they not only copied nature, but copied her carefully; that
they selected as patterns the most perfect specimens, and adhered to them with a scrupulous regard to
truth. The midrib and all the veining of the leaf, the leaf-buds, the flower-buds, the flowers, the young
fruit, the old fruit, and even accidental productions, as the galls upon the leaves of the oak, and leaves
shrivelled and decaying, are represented, with such minute exactness, and in such harmonious combi-
nation, as to afford the most striking and satisfactory evidence both of the taste and the skill of the
artist. With such admirable effect is the foliage executed, that it might be thought " some fairy's
hand"
Had " formed a spell when the work was done,
And changed the " flow'ry " wreaths to stone."
Sect. IV.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES RELATING TO THE NORMAN PERIOD.
The learned monk of Malmesbury, recording the events which placed William of Normandy on the
throne of England, bitterly laments the day of Harold's defeat on the field of Hastings, as a day fatal to
Englishmen, marked by the sad overthrow of their dear country, and its subjugation to a new and
foreign yoke. Yet in the contrast he has drawn between the characters of the two people, the historian
himself has shown that there was no just cause for regret. Among the Anglo-Saxons the greatest
ignorance prevailed, and with it a general corruption of manners. The pursuit of letters had long been
relinquished ; and the sentiments and practices of religion were lost in universal sensuality. The
Normans were skilled in arts as well as in arms. Simple in their manners, temperate in their diet, they
affected elegance in dress, and magnificence in their dwellings. Their arrival in England gave
new life to religion, which was nearly extinct. Churches arose in cities ; monasteries in towns and
villages: the kingdom, as if regenerated, began to flourish, while everyone who possessed wealtb,
thought that the day was lost which was not distinguished by some work of magnificence. 1 In the
train of the conqueror were many prelates, and other ecclesiastics, eminent for their talents and their
virtues; who had vied with each other in their zeal to adorn their native country with splendid churches
and richly-endowed abbeys. These succeeding to the sees and benefices of England, found a new and
ample field on which to display their piety and taste ; and under their direction, in the place of the
rude or dilapidated buildings in which the religious rites had been sparingly and negligently performed,
soon arose numerous sacred edifices, of far greater architectural beauty, and in every respect more suited
to the great and holy purposes for which they were designed.
The general plan of the sacred edifices of the Normans, as well as of their arches, piers, capitals, shafts,
bases, mouldings, doors, and windows, as Dr. Milner has observed, 2 was much the same as it had been
1 Willelm. Malmesb. de gestis Regg. Angl. lib. hi. Berington's Lit. Hist, of the Middle Ages, p. 249.
2 Essay on Eccles. Archit. ch. iii.
31
since the first introduction of Christianity into the island. But the dimensions of their structures
were in general much larger than those of the Anglo-Saxons. Not only the length, but the height also
of their building was increased. Hence it became necessary to add buttresses on the outside of the
walls ; and on the inside bold torus mouldings, or attached shafts, were frequently worked from the
basement to the cornice. These buttresses were at first broad, flat, shelving upwards in regular breaks,
and quite unornamented. The door-ways were enlarged, and more enriched than those of the Saxons
had been ; the recesses being made deeper, and the semicircular arch being more divided into mouldings,
generally much ornamented. In some instances the mouldings of the arches descended to the ground ;
but in general, the arch rested upon capitals, shafts, and bases. The windows were constructed in a
manner similar to the door- ways, but of smaller dimensions; and sometimes with only plain mouldings.
The piers were commonly round and massive, having a corresponding round or a square capital. The
surface of the piers was frequently ornamented with mouldings in various forms ; some in plain zigzag,
some like net-work, and some spiral. Sometimes the piers were multangular, and sometimes
compounded of circular shafts, either attached or detached. The capitals were often elaborately carved
into foliage, figures of animals, or other forms ; though more commonly into inverted cones. Such
are some of the principal features of Norman ecclesiastical edifices ; and as the metropolitan
church of York was built from the foundation by Archbishop Thomas, about the year 1070, the
following plates, exhibiting portions of the remains of that venerable structure, will illustrate the
characteristic architecture of the Norman period.
To these are added illustrations of the style of a somewhat later age ; taken from the parts of the
edifice assigned, for reasons already stated, to Archbishop Roger, in the latter half of the twelfth
century. 1
PLATE XII.
The plan in the centre of this plate represents not only the principal walls and the arrangement of
the parts of the crypt, but also of the high choir of the Norman church. It is formed from careful
examination and measurement of the parts represented in medium shade ; the corresponding parts in
light shade are laid down from supposition. The mass of light shade denotes the concrete foundation
of the Saxon church ; and the parts in dark shade, Saxon walls, as explained in Plate III.
At the erection of this portion of the Norman church, all the parts of the Saxon edifice above the
concrete foundation were destroyed, except such as remain in dark shade. The white part h h has
been shortened about eighteen feet. The shortening of one of the zigzag-faced side walls of this part,
and the subsequent additional wall between f and g, and the union of the different masonry of the
Norman church at the part marked g, is represented at f, Plate V.
The space between the outer walls of the Norman church appears to have been in width the same as
in the Saxon. The extent of the transepts may probably have been the same. But thirty-four feet
were added to the length at the eastern end of the Norman crypt and choir ; thus, in accordance with
the fashion of the age, making the figure of the church more distinctly cruciform, and increasing the
internal length from 120 to 154 feet.
The width, both of the Saxon and the Norman choirs, was divided, it is probable, into three parts,
1 See p. 18.
32
as was also the width of the Saxon crypt ; but the width of the Norman crypt being divided into five
parts, made it necessary for the walls on each side of the part h to be increased to about eleven feet in
thickness, in order to give support to the piers in the choir. The whole length of the crypt, from the
entrances a and b, comprised eight divisions ; the two first of which, from the entrances a and b, have
been ambulatories, or approaches to the body of the crypt. The clerestory walls of the choir have been
supported by massive piers in the body of the crypt, four of which remain nearly perfect. Those at
k k are circular in the plan, (see Plate XX.,) and those at l l are compounded of four large columns.
(Plate XVII.) To those at k k are added detached columns ; to those at l l three-quarter columns are
attached: and in each transept has been a cluster of four detached columns united by the base and the
capital. These specimens of compound piers are probably among the oldest examples in this country,
and therefore deserve, together with the whole crypt, the closest attention of the architectural antiquary.
The bays of the crypt have been vaulted with stone, and adorned both laterally and diagonally with
the stone arch-moulding, (fig. 1 ,) excepting the lateral arches from the principal piers, which were formed
of the mouldings represented in figs. 2, 3. The whole crypt appears to have been lighted by twenty-
three deeply recessed windows. The floor of the crypt was originally only about twelve inches below
the level of the ground on the outside of the church ; but it is now nearly eight feet below it. From
the floor of the crypt to the acme of its vaulting, in the ambulatories, and parts before the high altar of
the choir, the extent has been not less than fourteen feet. If to this the thickness of the vaulting be
added, it will be evident that the floor of the Norman choir, before the principal altar, must have been
much higher than that of the present choir. But at the place where the high altar stood, the floor must
have been raised much above the choral part of the choir, and formed a high sanctuary.
The approaches to the crypt from the part marked q, beneath the large tower, appear to have been
by a descent of a few steps, (as in the Norman church of Canterbury,) to the Saxon part d, (or n in
Plate VII.) which probably communicated with the Saxon staircase, Plates III., VI. and VII., leading to
the ambulatory of the choir, and also to the roof. From the same part q, as in the Saxon church, and
in the Norman church at Canterbury, there must have been an ascent to the choir by several steps; and
in addition to these ways of entering the choir and the crypt, there appears to have been a flight of steps
at n, some of which remain, descending from the middle of the choir into the crypt. This descent was
4 ft. 6 in. wide. A similar communication between the choir and the crypt is described by Edmerus as
existing in the church at Canterbury previous to its destruction by fire in the year 1174: and he speaks
of it as being constructed according to the plan of " the crypt or confession of St. Peter's at Rome.'"
At l is a portion of the descent left standing, after the late excavation. This portion is a heap of earth,
covered with stone. During the excavation it was found useful, as a resting-place for one end of the
planks on which the labourers moved their barrows ; and when the excavation was completed it was
suffered to remain, not so much from design as neglect. It has, however, become one of the curiosities
of the Cathedral ; being absurdly pointed out to strangers as a Roman altar, to which the few steps that
remain are said to have formed the ascent.
On the north side of the entrance a is placed an additional base, cylinder, and some ashlar masonry,
in front of the work of Archbishop Thomas's church, and rudely connected with it, as more fully shown
at i, in Section g, Plate XIII. In front of the arches c c also ashlar facings are added, in which are
1 Gervasii Chronic. Par. prim. De combust, et repar. Cantuar. Eccles.
33
inserted at e e clustered bases having mouldings similar to those of the base, added at a, similarly tooled
and cleaned, corresponding with the mouldings at the bases in the remains of the arcade on the north
side of the Cathedral, supposed to be part of the palace built by Archbishop Roger. The clustered
shafts upon the bases at e e are seemingly portions of the structure of Archbishop Thomas.
At m is the well supposed to be of Saxon workmanship. Being considered dangerous to visitors, it
is now filled up. See b, Plate III., and p. 7.
At n in the south side row of piers is the capital of the pier, which led to the discovery of these
interesting remains. See p. 5.
In the early ages of Christianity, when the church was almost incessantly harrassed by persecution,
it was necessary for the believers to meet, for the purpose of worship, in the most secret places, in natural
or artificial caves, and in subterraneous chambers under dwellings. In such places also they were accus-
tomed to bury the most distinguished officers of the church, and those who had suffered for the faith.
Hence the term crypt, denoting a concealed place, came at length to signify a church underground. The
practice of assembling in such places, or of resorting to them frequently for the purpose of meditation,
of confession of sins, and of prayer, continued after the necessity of concealment had ceased in these,
also, the most illustrious dead were interred ; and hence it became customary to erect in them altars and
oratories, at which divine rites might be performed, and prayers might be offered by the living for the
benefit of departed friends.
Thus in the crypt of the Norman church of York, before its alteration in the latter part of the four-
teenth century, there were seven altars erected and endowed for the health of the founders or testators
respectively, and for the health of the souls of all the faithful departed from this life. According to the
evidence furnished by the registers of the church, the situation of each is thus assigned : — a. the altar
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the crypt, as at Canterbury, was probably dedicated, at which her
1 Under the central tower of the ancient collegiate church of St. Wilfrid at Ripon, is a subterranean chapel or crypt, of a very
singular construction. It is about 1 1 ft. 3 in. in length, 7 ft. 8 in. wide, and nearly 9 ft. high ; and so situated as not to admit the
least external light. In the north wall of this chapel is an aperture through which, in former times, penitents kneeling in the
passage behind the wall made their confessions to the priest sitting in the chapel, and received from him their sentence. This
aperture is commonly called St. Wilfrid's needle, in allusion, probably, to the Jewish proverbial saying, expressing the difficulty
attending any particular undertaking, and applied by our Lord to the rich men of his day ; to whom it would prove as difficult to enter
into the kingdom of God, as for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle — so difficult, it might be apprehended, would it be for the
sinner who confessed his unholy thoughts and his unrighteous deeds, at this aperture, to obtain the absolution of his sins, and per-
mission to approach the holy sacrament of the altar. This needle of St. Wilfrid is level with the floor of the passage in which the
penitents kneeled or prostrated themselves when confessing, and is there about 1 ft. 7 in. wide, and about 4 ft. 2 in. high ; but as
the sides, and top which is circular, converge through the wall, which is about 2 ft. 11 in. thick, the opening within the chapel is
no more than 13^ in. in width, and 1 ft. 6 in. in height ; the bottom of the aperture being nearly 3 ft. 5 in. from the floor of the
chapel. It has long been a common tradition, grounded no doubt on the practice of confession in this place, that this needle
possessed the supernatural power of testing the chastity of females ; they who were chaste passing through it with ease, while the
guilty were held in it by the middle. This tradition, handed down to the present day, is the occasion of much indecency ; thought-
less young females, submitting themselves to the test, proceed through the aperture from the passage with their feet foremost,
which cannot readily find the ground without the assistance of their frolicsome companions, who, with a lighted candle, are
ready to receive them in the chapel. What a contrast between the present and the original use of this part of the sacred edifice !
This subterranean chapel is approached from the nave by steps and a long narrow winding passage, which leads to an
entrance at the west end of the south side. Through the west side and along the north side of the chapel, a passage, in
which is the needle, proceeds, and terminates with steps leading to the choir.
F
34
mass was daily celebrated, with note. 1 This altar was of ancient foundation, coeval, it may be, with the
edifice itself. The following ordinance of this altar, called the altar of the Blessed Virgin in cryptis, is
found in two of the registers belonging to the church, one marked X, a. fol. 15, or Acta Capitularia
1290-1364 : another, T, b. fol. 66, or Lib. Domesday Eccl. Ebor.
" It is ordained by the dean and chapter of York, that the priest who shall celebrate the mass of the Blessed
Virgin shall receive ten marks, of which sum he shall take forty shillings for his own use, and the remainder, viz.
seven marks, he shall distribute among six clerks who shall chant at mass, to each of them every day one penny ;
provided he come at the commencement of mass, or, at least before the £ Kyrie eleison,' and remain till mass be
ended, so that he depart not till c Missa est* be said : otherwise he shall receive nothing on that day. And twice in
the year the priest shall render an account before auditors appointed by the chapter. And if it should happen,
which God forbid, that the mass of our Lady with note be not celebrated by the priest appointed, nor by another in
his stead, let a deduction from the forty shillings be made, according to the number of the days, beside the punish-
ment of his neglect inflicted by the dean and chapter. If it should happen that some one of the appointed clerks
celebrate mass for the priest deputed for this purpose, let the said priest be present and chant, and perform the
other duties of the clerk ; if not, let a proportional deduction be made from the forty shillings, and let him be further
punished as above. To what uses such deductions from the priest and the clerks shall be applied, the dean and
chapter shall determine. And of all these matters he (the priest) shall twice in every year render a faithful account
to the canons or to others appointed by the chapter for this purpose ; and he shall swear to observe without fraud this
ordinance, in all its particulars."
There is no date to this document. In a subsequent part of the history of the church, further proof
will be adduced of the high honour which was paid to this altar. — b. the altar of St. Nicholas and St.
Gregory, founded by John Lumbard, a.d. 1240. — c. the altar of St. Mary Magdalene, founded by the
testament of Godfrey de Norwich, dean of York, about the year 1241. — d. the altar of St. Lawrence,
founded by Lawrence de Lincoln, a.d. 1249. — e. the altar of St. Agatha, St. Lucy, and St. Scholas-
tica, founded by Eudonis de Punchardon, about the year 1255. — f. the altar of St. Katerine and
St. James, founded by Gilbert de Sarum, about the year 1285. And — g. the altar of St. Petronella,
St. Agnes, and St. Cecily, founded for one Jordan, a.d. 1370.
In the choir above, the high altar undoubtedly stood at or near the place marked r, behind which
and over a. stood, as in Canterbury Cathedral, the altar of St. John the Evangelist, founded a.d. 1272,
for the soul of Simon de Evesham : also above b. the altar of St. Nicholas and St. Gregory was placed,
as in the Cathedral of Canterbury, the altar of St. Stephen, and in like manner above f. stood the
altar of the Holy Innocents. 2
Assuming that the external arrangement of the choir corresponded with those of the crypt, and thus
determining the situation of the transepts of the choir, it follows that the chantry chapel, which Arch-
bishop Zouch in the year 1352 obtained permission to build and endow, on the south side and adjoining
the choir, must have been at o, and having been taken down with the old choir, must have been rebuilt
1 i. e. With music or chanting. It is stated by Drake (Hist, of York, p. 524), to have been celebrated *' with note and
organ:" but the use of the organ in churches was not known till long after the foundation of this altar; and no organ was
ever placed in crypts. See Bingham's Antiq. of the Christian Church, vol. Hi. p. 233.
2 Mr. Drake, explaining the meaning of the appellation ad valvas, by which a church, dedicated to St. Mary, and formerly
standing near the gates or entrance into College Street, but taken down in the fourteenth century, was distinguished, has asserted
35
together with the new or present choir, and occupied the situation marked i in Plate II., or q in
Plate I.
Figs. 4 and 5 are archivolt mouldings, supposed to belong to Archbishop Roger's repairs and
alterations; exhibiting a more complex profile than the Norman mouldings, figs. 1, 2, 3, which are of
a very different character from the Saxon mouldings in Plate III.
PLATE XIII.
The section c exhibits a plan of the south side of the south entrance to the Norman crypt
(b, Plate XII.), drawn according to the scale A. The base d is considered to be a subsequent addition,
the profile of the mouldings being of the same character as that of the mouldings on the base e, and not
of those on the base f, which is the general character of all the bases now remaining of the Norman
church. A perspective representation of the remains of this entrance may be seen in Plate XIV.
The section g exhibits a plan of the north side of the north entrance to the Norman crypt,
(a, Plate XII.), drawn according to the scale A. In this section it is shown how additional masonry has
been added to the entrance, by the mouldings of the base h having been rudely cut away to admit the
base and shaft of the portion i, which is of cleansed workmanship, and has a profile of mouldings,
similar in character, on those of the base e ; while the character of the mouldings of the portion h is the
same as that of the mouldings on the base f. It also appears from this section, how the ashlar of the
portion h is faced by the portion i, and much of its bold character concealed. This portion i, and the
portion d in the preceding section, were most probably added by Archbishop Roger, when he repaired
the crypt and the choir. A perspective representation of the remains of this entrance may be seen in
Plate XV.
The profile f of the base h in the section g is drawn by the scale B, and exhibits the general character
of all the mouldings on all the bases of the Norman crypt now remaining.
The profile e is also drawn by the scale B, and exhibits the mouldings of the clustered base found in
each vestibule to the crypt, and which is placed at g in Plate VII. in the additional masonry before the
vault c, of similar cleansing to the bases i and d in Plate XIII., or f and h in Plate VII. The profile
of these mouldings differs from that of the mouldings on the Norman bases, but is similar to that of the
mouldings on the bases in the Galilee of Durham Cathedral, erected about 1 154 ; and also to that of the
mouldings on the bases of the arches on the north side of York Cathedral, generally considered to be
the remains of the archiepiscopal palace built by Archbishop Roger about the year 1171.
The profile k is drawn by the scale B, and exhibits the mouldings on the bases of the single circular
columns in the centre of the Norman crypt.
The profile l is also drawn by the same scale B, and exhibits the simple yet bold character of base-
mouldings on the exterior ashlar of the Norman church. This profile represents a portion of a buttress
which is more fully given in Plate XVI.
that it arose from the church having been built near " the great folding doors that were in the old quire-end of the cathedral." But
of the existence of such doors not the slightest evidence can be adduced, and it is altogether inconsistent with the position of the
altars, and the probable situation of the windows both in the crypt and the choir. It is indeed strange that the learned antiquary-
should have adopted so groundless a notion to account for this appellation, especially when the proximity of the church of St. Mary
to the gates of the entrance into the close of the Cathedral, or the minster-garth, offered one so much more consistent and easv.
See Hist, of York, p. 570.
36
PLATE XIV.
This plate represents the remains of the south side of the south entrance to the Norman crypt.
From these remains it appears that the entrance consisted principally of two arches, continued nearly
to the ground. The inner arch has been adorned with mouldings and beads in the direction of the arch,
and in zigzag forms, both upon the face and the soffit ; the spaces at the angles being ornamented with
the fruit of the Herba Benedicta. The outer arch has been adorned with bold mouldings and beads,
forming the embattled ornament on the face of the arch. A section of the mouldings is given in section
c, Plate XIII. An arch similarly ornamented may be seen in the south-east door-way of the nave of
Durham Cathedral, erected between the years 1099 and 1129.
Adjoining the jamb of the outer arch is a base and ashlar, considered to be of a more recent date, and
to have been connected with the ribs of the vaulting of the vestibule of the entrance ; a part of the
alterations, it is probable, by Archbishop Roger. See d and e, Plate XIII.
The door-way was 7 ft. 9 in. in width. Its north jamb is buried in the foundation of a clustered
pier of the present choir. Comp. Plates XII. and II. What remains of the south jamb is only 17 in. in
height.
PLATE XV.
This plate is a representation of the north side of the north entrance to the Norman crypt. This
noble and beautiful specimen of Norman workmanship has, fortunately, not been reduced so low as the
corresponding entrance at the south, as exhibited in the preceding plate. This entrance was also 7 ft.
9 in. wide, and its remains are 3 ft. 1\ in. high. It has consisted principally of two arches continued
almost to the ground. The inner arch has been adorned with torus mouldings and beads in the
direction of the arch, and also in alternate forms of oval and lozenge, by the union of the mouldings on
the face and soffit of the arch. The outer arch has rested upon a noble and strong-featured base, and
has been formed into a bold torus moulding, over which have been twisted other torus mouldings and
strings of beads, forming together a simple yet beautiful composition. An arch similar to this is found
on the head of the east entrance of the south side of the nave of Durham Cathedral, erected, it is
supposed, between the years 1099 and 1129.
Adjoining this outer arch are placed a base and ashlar walling of other workmanship, and of a more
recent date ; to admit which, the base mouldings of the outer arch have been cut away, and the
arch despoiled of its beauty. See i, section g, Plate XIII. This additional erection, corresponding
with that already noticed in the south vestibule represented in the preceding plate, and evidently of
the same date, furnishes convincing evidence, as the author thinks, that Archbishop Roger, to whom
it must be assigned, was not the rebuilder, but only the repairer of the crypt and choir of the church.
PLATE XVI.
The subject of this plate is a portion of the ashlar wall, buttress, and base-mouldings, of the Norman
church. " Buttresses were attached to buildings by the Normans," observes Dr. Milner, " to support,
on the outside, the walls, which they carried to a much greater height than the Saxons had ever
attempted. Buttresses, therefore, are amongst the characteristics of Norman buildings, and were, at
their first adoption, broad, thin, shelving upwards in regular breaks, and quite unornamented." 1 In
1 Essay on Eccles. Architecture.
37
the portion here represented, with the exception of the base mouldings, the buttress is small and
plain, and probably, as it rose, was shelved in regular breaks, according to the string courses, or other
regular divisions of the fabric. In the space between the buttresses has been a recess adorned in each
angle by a base, shaft, capital, and probably a circular arch, within which was a window also adorned
with a base, shaft, and capital, and, probably, a moulded circular arch. The base mouldings are plain
and bold, and produce a good effect. They form a projection of 10^ in., and are in height 3 ft. 5 in.
The height of the remains of the outside walls of the Norman church is, in some places, about 5 ft. 9 in.
A section of the mouldings is given at l, Plate XIII.
PLATE XVII.
This plate exhibits a plan of a pier compounded of attached circular shafts, situated at ll in the
Norman crypt. See Plate XII. These piers are generally viewed as circular ; but minute examination
and accurate measurement evince them to be of the compound figure, and the proportions to be as
given in the present plan. The larger diameter measures about six feet.
PLATE XVIII.
This plate represents the elevation of the pier, the plan of which is given in the preceding plate.
This compound pier, measuring about 6 ft. in its greatest diameter, is no more than 4 ft. 6 in. high in
the shaft ; and the height of the whole, including sub-base, base, shaft, and capital, scarcely exceeds 7 ft.
The surfaces of the larger portions of the shaft are ornamented with a bold torus moulding, similar to
common net-work. This appears to have been a favourite ornament in the time of Archbishop
Thomas. The mouldings of the groined vaulting of the crypt are seen springing from the capital. The
sections of these mouldings are given in Plate XII., figs. I, 2, and 3.
PLATE XIX.
A perspective representation of the pier; the plan and elevation are the subjects of Plates XVII.,
XVIII. By being taken from a different position, it exhibits the mouldings of the arches (see Plate XII.,
figs. 2, 3,) in their respective connections, as forming the firm substructure to the piers of the choir.
This compound pier may probably prove to be one of the earliest specimens of piers erected in this
manner in this country.
PLATE XX.
In this plate is given the plan of a pier composed of detached circular shafts, situated at k k in the
Norman crypt, Plate XII. The central shaft is about 5 ft. 1 in. in diameter ; and the detached shafts
about Gj in.
PLATE XXI.
This plate represents the elevation of the pier, the plan of which is given in the preceding plate ;
from which it appears that the central shaft, about 5 ft. in diameter, is only about 4 ft. in length ;
and that the height of the whole, sub-base, base, shaft, and capital, is made to correspond with the pier
represented in Plate XVIII. The surface of the central shaft is enriched by mouldings formed into
zigzag, and bands with torus mouldings, placed spirally. This example is taken from the north side
of the crypt, and has its spiral mouldings in a direction contrary to that exhibited on the corresponding
pier on the south side. Only the central shaft and bases were found perfect at the excavation of the
choir ; but during the progress of the work a large portion of a capital, which seemed to correspond in
G
38
proportion and ornament, was discovered by the Author, and from these remnants, and the elevation in
Plate XVIII., he has made the present elevation.
PLATE XXII.
This plate is a perspective representation of the remnants of a clustered detached pier, illustrated in
Plates XX., XXL, as the author was enabled to arrange them. Although it is, in itself, a beautiful
object, yet its complete effect will be best perceived by a careful study of it, in conjunction with the
preceding plate. This pier is also an example of an early mode of erection, perhaps the earliest to be
found in this island. This pier, and that represented in Plate XIX., are peculiarly deserving of the
attention of architectural antiquarians ; and it is hoped that these representations of them may lead
them to a minute examination of the history of this portion of the church, as intimately connected with
the chronology of ancient ecclesiastic architecture.
PLATE XXIII.
In this plate are exhibited two perspective representations of the form and enrichment of bases in the
central part of the Norman crypt. They are about 2 ft. A\ in. square, and, including the mouldings,
about 10£ in. high. Upon them have stood shafts about 1 ft. 6 in. in diameter. The mouldings are
bold, and the clusters of the foliage of the Herba Benedicta, at the angles, produce a rich and pleasing
effect. The iron pin in the centre of the upper base, and the diagonal grooves, in which the original
lead was found at the recent excavation, display some of the methods by which the ancient workmen
firmly united the shaft with the base.
PLATE XXIV.
This plate contains twelve displayed representations of the angular ornaments wrought on the bases,
as perspectively shown in the preceding plate. Conventional forms of the foliage and fruit of the
Herba Benedicta, with interlacings and beads, constitute their general character. But in the lower
part of the plate are two representations of the human head ; one of a female, the other of a male ; —
and although rude in execution, these are valuable, as displaying the fashion of the hair at that period.
PLATE XXV.
The subject of this plate is a Norman capital, in the crypt of the present choir ; it is of an octagonal
form : at the impost about 2 ft. 8^ in. square, and, with all its parts, about 1 ft. 6^ in. high. The
minute ornaments consist of the foliage and fruit of the Herba Benedicta, and interlacings, with beads.
On the part of the capital between the foliage and the impost is displayed the lines of the carver, and
the beginning of a series of intersecting circular arches ; the only instance of such arches to be found
in the Cathedral. It may perhaps be doubted whether this was the work of the original carver, or a
mere whim of some subsequent workman. To whomsoever it is to be attributed, it is strange that the
design should have been so soon abandoned.
PLATE XXVI.
In this plate is given a perspective representation of a Norman column, as used in the crypt. The
column, as here represented, does not now exist : it is drawn from an existing base and capital, and pro-
portioned according to the elevation of the piers in Plates XVIII., XXI. 1
1 See Halfpenny's Gothic Ornaments, Plates XI., XVIII., for other specimens of corresponding Norman capitals.
39
PLATE XXVII.
This plate contains a representation of a partial survey made in the Norman crypt, immediately after
it was excavated, and during the time it was unvaulted, subsequent to the fire, and is intended to convey
an interesting idea of the various parts by their contrasted forms, enrichments, and relative situations,
supposing the observer to be placed a little northward of the piers i and k, on the north side of the
plan of the crypt in Plate XII.
A portion of the south side of the present choir is shown with the piers of the clerestory standing
upon their substructured heaps of rude masonry which belong to the choir, of enlarged dimensions,
(see the plan, Plate II.,) and having near them standing the remains of the crypt piers of the clerestory
of the Norman Church. The situation of the small columns (see Plate XXVI.) in the centre of the
crypt is indicated by the position of the bases ; and the piers on the foreground are portions of the
Norman piers i and k, on the north side of the crypt. The position of the human figures is intended
to show the relative levels of the floor of the side aisle of the present choir, and the floor of the Norman
crypt. On the left hand of the plate is the western central boundary wall, over which is a partial
indication of the Saxon zigzag wall and its present accompanying conglomerated masonry. See
Plate V.
The whole crypt is now covered by brick arches resting upon right-angled brick piers, and conse-
quently this interesting representation can scarcely now be imagined upon the spot, except by the mi ad
of an architectural visitor.
PLATE XXVIII.
In the description of Plate X., p. 29, the author intimated his design of exhibiting in some future
plate, and more appropriate situation, the conventional forms of the laurel leaf found so commonly on
ecclesiastical buildings of an early date. He has now arrived at that part of his work which requires the
fulfilment of his design. As the laurel held a distinguished rank among the symbols of the ancient
Christian Church, (see p. 24,) we cannot be surprised that it shared for a long period, with the Herba
Benedicta, the exclusive privilege of adorning sacred edifices ; and that it was also exhibited in a great
variety of outline and enrichment, both singly and in combination.
Fig. 1 is a representation of the under surface of a natural leaf of the laurel, Laurus nobilis.
Fig. 2 is a carved representation of the upper surface of a laurel leaf, taken from the jamb of the
entrance of the Temple Church, London; Byland Abbey; the collegiate Church of St. Wilfrid, Ripon,
or Ripon Minster ; and from a capital in the crypt of the Cathedral Church of York.
Fig. 3 is also a carved representation of the laurel leaf with the surface fluted, taken from the
entrance of the Temple Church, London. 1
Fig. 4 is a representation of the same leaf, having the mid-rib and margin raised, taken from Ripon
Minster and Byland Abbey. This is one of the simplest adornments of its surface.
Fig. 5 a carved representation of half a leaf, having the surface fluted in four flutes, taken from the
capitals in the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, in the White Tower, London, erected about the
year 1080.
Fig. 6 is a representation of a laurel leaf having the mid-rib raised, and the spaces between the veins
1 The entrance of the Temple Church, London, has four arches beautifully adorned with the leaves and fruit of the " Herba
Benedicta."
40
fluted, taken from the capitals at the entrance of the Temple Church. This mode of adorning the
surface was designed, most probably, to express most clearly the veining of the leaf.
Fig. 7 is a representation of the greater part of a leaf, having its surface reeded in five reeds, taken
from Byland Abbey, where other examples may be found of surfaces reeded in various numbers :
thus,
Fig. 8 exhibits a similar portion of the leaf with its surface reeded in nine reeds, taken from Byland
Abbey and Ripon Minster. Instead of reeds, flutes, in various numbers, are sometimes used. On a
capital which belonged to St. Mary's Abbey, York, preserved in the museum of the Yorkshire Philoso-
phical Society, there is a leaf having nine flutes ; and on the central eastern capital of the crypt of York
Cathedral, there is a leaf with fourteen flutes. A view of this capital is given in Plate XVIII. of Half-
penny's Gothic Ornaments.
Fig. 9. This seems to be the same as fig. 8, divested of its proper outline, or edge ; taken from By-
land Abbey, Selby Abbey Church, and Ripon Minster. This divestment of the outline is often to be
met with in representations not only of the laurel, but also of the Herba Benedicta ; and it consti-
tutes a great difficulty in identifying them with their respective prototypes.
Fig. 10 represents the greater part of the under side of a laurel leaf divested of its outline, having
its apex divided and voluted, the mid-rib raised, and the spaces between the veins fluted, as in fig. 6.
This is taken from a capital in the entrance of the Temple Church.
Fig. 11 is a representation of the underside of a leaf with its margin curvated, probably derived
from the form as seen in fig. 6, with its mid-rib, veins, and margin raised, as introduced at the junction
of the laureated capitals on the piers of the Tower of St. Michael's Church, Spurrier Gate, York. This
form of the laurel leaf approaches to that of the oak ; but if strictly examined and compared, it will be
found materially different. Besides, the oak leaf was not used in the ornamental foliage of the period to
which these piers belong ; about the middle, it is probable, of the twelfth century.
The preceding figures, from No. 2 to No. 11, inclusive, exhibit a few of the conventional forms of the
laurel leaf, in the simplest and most natural outline ; and may be considered as belonging to the first
class of forms : those which follow, from No. 12 to No. 16, inclusive, characterized by the apex of the
leaf in a drooping or slightly curvated state, exhibit a less simple and natural appearance, and may be
regarded as constituting a second class of conventional forms.
Fig. 1 2 represents a portion of a conventional leaf of the laurel, with its apex drooping, taken from
a capital in the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, in the White Tower, London ; from the jamb of the
entrance of the Temple Church; from a capital in the Keep of the Castle at Richmond, Yorkshire; from
a capital of St. Mary's Abbey, preserved in the museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society ; and
from a capital in the crypt of the Cathedral of York.
Fig. 13 is a portion of a conventional leaf, with its apex drooping and voluted, with an ornamented
mid-rib, taken from a capital in the chapel of the White Tower, London, where there are similar forms
of the leaf without the mid-rib.
Fig. 14 represents the leaf with the apex drooping, not voluted, but conventionally adorned, the mid-
rib plain and raised. This figure is taken from Ripon Minster.
Fig. 15 is a similar portion of a leaf with the drooping apex in a simple state, but indented at the
upper edge, to show more clearly that the upper surface of the leaf is next to the bell of the capital ;
the mid-rib is ornamented with a beading. This figure is taken from the entrance of the north transept
of Ripon Minster.
41
Fig. 16 is a representation of a similar portion of a laurel leaf, with the drooping apex changed into
portions of a leaf of the Herba Benedicta, with its fruit ; to which the raised margin of the laurel leaf
serves as the stem. This figure is taken from the end of the south transept of Ripon Minster.
Fig. 17. This figure represents a leaf similar to that of fig. 12. having in front of it another leaf with
its apex rising upwards. This compound representation is taken from a capital at the entrance of the
Temple Church, and may be regarded as the parent of a third class of forms in which the laurel leaf
appears.
Fig. 18 is a representation of this leaf with its apex aspiring, and its margin and mid-rib raised:
taken from Ripon Minster and Byland Abbey.
Fig. 19 represents a leaf with its apex divided, and each division voluted. It is found in this form in
the Galilee of Durham Cathedral ; in Ripon Minster ; in the Churches of the Abbeys of Byland and
Selby ; in the Temple Church, London ; in York Cathedral ; in the Church of St. Michael, Spurrier
Gate, York ; and in several churches in the vicinity of York. It is the most common, simple adorn-
ment in the churches erected during the twelfth century.
Fig. 20 is the representation of a leaf with its apex divided and voluted, as in the preceding figure,
having its contour broken and slightly voluted : taken from Byland Abbey.
The last three figures, distinguished by having the apex aspiring and voluted, may be regarded as
forming a fourth class of the conventionally-formed leaf of the laurel. Whether this curious variety of
form, producing from the simplest elements such varied richness of ornament, and so delightful an
effect, arose from the observation of accidental forms exhibited by the natural leaf either in its living
state, or reset or drying, after having been gathered, and perhaps attached to a dry clay model ; or is to
be attributed to the prolific ingenuity of the designer, without any assistance from nature or art, it is
impossible clearly to ascertain, and useless to conjecture. From the well-established fact, however, that
similar forms and adornments of the same plant are found on widely-distant edifices of the same sera, it
seems in the highest degree probable that the sculptors of the middle ages employed in ornamenting
ecclesiastical edifices were generally, if not universally, guided by designs made from models composed
on some certain principles, sanctioned by high ecclesiastical authority, and extensively distributed to
direct them in their operations.
PLATE XXIX.
This plate contains examples of the application of various forms of the laurel leaf, exhibited in the
preceding plate, in combination.
Figs. 1, 2, are representations of laurel leaves carved on the jamb of the entrance to the Temple
Church.
Fig. 3 represents a capital in Byland Abbey, on which the laurel leaves appear in their simplest form
of outline and adornment of surface.
Fig. 4 is also a representation of the leaves in their simplest form and adornment, but with the
aspiring apex reaching to the impost. This is taken from Ripon Minster and Byland Abbey.
Fig. 5 exhibits one aspiring leaf and two with the apex drooping and adorned : taken from the south
transept of Ripon Minster.
Fig. 6 is a representation of the effect produced by a combination of several leaves, among which the
leaf as figured at No. 1 7, Plate XXVIII. is conspicuous : taken from the entrance to the Temple Church.
Fig. 7 represents a capital taken also from the Temple Church, showing the effect of plain and orna-
mented leaves.
H
42
The leaves were not the only parts of the laurel used in ornamental carving ; the flower was also,
occasionally, introduced. The corolla of Laurus nobilis divides into four oval leaves ; its conventional
form is represented in fig. 8, in which the elevated centre supplies the place of the stamens, which in
the natural flower vary in number from seven to thirteen. This representation is taken from a capital
on the piers of the tower of the Church of St. Michael, Spurrier Gate, York, (fig. 9,) where the flower
is placed above the junction of the leaves. This representation of the flower of the laurel does not
appear very frequently : the form exhibited Plate X., fig. 28, is more commonly used. 1
Not only the leaf and the flower, but the fruit of the Laurus nobilis was used in the carved foliage of
sacred edifices. The fruit is a berry of a somewhat oval shape. In its conventional form it appears
round. In fig. 9, which represents a capital of one of the piers of the tower of St. Michael's Church,
Spurrier Gate, York, four of these are placed above the junction of leaves of the laurel. In the same
church several instances are found in which only one berry is so placed. The berry of the laurel pro-
bably suggested the idea of the ornament commonly called beads or beading.
Fig. 1 1 shows the effect of a plain leaf, and two leaves with a drooping apex formed into the Herba
Benedicta. This capital is taken from Byland Abbey.
Fig. 12 is a cluster of conventional forms of the laurel leaf, as exhibited Plate XXVIII. fig. 9, having
also terminations of the Herba Benedicta. This capital is from the entrance to the north transept of
Ripon Minster.
A much larger display of the conventional forms, adornments, and combinations of the laurel, could
no doubt have been made, had the author visited, for the express purpose of obtaining specimens, the
Cathedral of Oxford, and copied the anchor ornament and its companions ; Canterbury Cathedral, and
displayed its famed voluted foliage ; and the interesting forms at Peterborough, Norwich, &c. : but such
examples would have materially infringed on the particular object of the present work, and have far
exceeded the author's intention of introducing to the notice of the public only such forms as may enable
the adornments on the capitals of some of the succeeding plates to be understood, and create a love for
a closer attention to the diversified conventional forms and adornments of natural foliage.
PLATE XXX.
This plate contains representations of capitals of various forms belonging to the period of Archbishop
Roger. The originals are placed in inverted positions, upon the key-stones of the vaults of the side
aisle of the earlier erected portion of the present choir.
Fig. 1 is a cluster of three laureated capitals originally attached to a pier of 10 in. square. Height
of the bell of the capital, including astragal, 6 in., with impost 9^ in. ; length of impost to front
capital, 15 in. The capitals have been placed upon circular detached columns 6f in. in dia-
meter.
Fig. 2 is a quarter of a cluster of capitals belonging to a pier formed of clustered attached vesica-
1 The four-petalled form, (fig. 2S,) and also the laureate-pyramid, (Plate X. fig. 26,) are thought by some to be derived from
the leaf of the Horse-chestnut ; by others, from the leaf of the Willow ; by others, perhaps, other prototypes may be fancied ;
and some may assert that they have no natural prototype. But the high estimation in which the laurel was held by the
church, as a sacred symbol, gives it a claim to such distinction above every leaf similarly formed, although it does not grow thus
clustered. It is the character of the single leaf that ought to be considered, and not the form of combination exhibited by the
carver.
43
shaped 1 shafts, as represented in the plan, fig. 3. The capitals are 1 1 f in. in height, the plain
impost being 6^ in. in depth.
Fig. 3 is a plan, showing the forms of the shafts composing the pier beneath the capitals, fig. 2.
These shafts are of the vesica form, being eight in number. The diagonal shafts are 12^ in. in
diameter, formed by a radius of 8|in. The direct or cross shafts are 7 in. in diameter, formed by radii
of 4^ in. ; and the pier has been about 3 ft. in diameter. This may have been one of the principal
piers in the choir.
Fig. 4 is a single capital belonging to a vesica-shaped attached shaft. It is about 12 in. in height.
The impost is straight-fronted : it is 6^ in. in depth, and 20 inches in length.
Fig. 5 is a single capital, belonging to a circular-shaped attached shaft of similar dimensions as fig. 4.
The impost is curvated, being formed of a radius of about 3 ft. 8 in.
The capitals, figs. 4 and 5, are attached to or formed of continuous mouldings, which have probably
formed a cornice or ornamented finish to the internal walls of some portion of the choir, similar to those
which are formed of the mouldings of the cornice in the present transepts.
PLATE XXXI.
This plate contains a representation of the clustered bases indicated at e e in the plan, Plate XII., and
at g, Plate VII., and mentioned in pages 32, 33, and 35, their profile being given at e, Plate XIII.
The mouldings of the bases are cleansed, which is a mode of finishing not to be met with in the period
of Archbishop Thomas. This singularity, and the form of the profile of the mouldings, induce the
author to assign these bases to the period of Archbishop Roger's repairs.
The shafts upon the bases are seemingly portions of Archbishop Thomas's edifice. The tooling of
them is different from that of the bases. They are 8j in. in diameter.
The three laureated capitals placed above the shafts do not belong to them, but were found in the
crypt, and placed thus by the author, to form an interesting and convenient display of forms. The
central capital is in plan a semi-hexagon of about 18 in. diameter, without the impost; with the
astragal it is about 9^ in. high. It is adorned with laurel leaves similar to Plate XXVIII. fig. 19.
The other capitals are in plan of the square form : they are about 9 in. in height, and have laurel
adornments.
PLATE XXXII.
This plate contains a representation of a portion of an arcade of seven compartments existing on the
north side of the Cathedral. For many years this was excluded from public inspection, by the com-
1 Vesica, or Vesica piscis, is a term used by Albert Durer in 1532 in his Elementa Geometrica, book the 2nd, page 56. In his
mode of describing a nonagon, he uses the words, " draw with the compasses three equal vesicas :" and the term seems to be used
with the same familiarity as either the term circle or triangle.
The Rev. T. Kerrich, in a paper published in the Archaologia, vol. xvi. p. 322, supposes that the term Vesica is applicable to all
the figures that can be produced by the intersection of two circles.
The Vesica piscis, or the bladder of a fish, seems to have had attached to it a holy symbolical allusion, namely, to Christ ; for a
firm belief in him was as necessary for the buoyancy of the hopes of all sincere Christians, as the air-bladder is to the proper motion
of the fish. Accordingly, the Vesica has been commonly used for windows in the eastern gables of churches, for the form of eccle-
siastical seals, and the circumscribing glory of several of the figures of Christ. It also seems to have been a part of a sacred system
which influenced the form of things intended for sacred purposes. This subject the author submitted to the consideration of the
Society of Antiquaries in December 1828, in a series of observations and drawings illustrative of the working principles of ancient
Ecclesiastical Architecture. See Gentleman's Magazine for 1829, page 4.
H 2
44
partments being filled up with rubble and rude masonry, in order that the arcade might serve as a wall,
against which sheds for various purposes were erected. But these sheds having been removed on occa-
sion of the Musical Festival held in the Cathedral in the year 1823, this arcade attracted the attention of
the author, who soon discovered sufficient outlines of beautiful work to embolden him in making appli-
cation to the dignitaries of the church for a speedy and careful displacement of the inserted rude walling.
On the removal, a series of eight piers were exposed to view : to each are attached five foliated
capitals, with square imposts. The capitals are enriched with elaborate and minute sculpture, princi-
pally executed as conventional foliage of the Herba Benedicta, with figures of human forms or animals
occasionally introduced. From the outer capitals spring, from plinths, circular architraves of two sweeps
each, the faces and soffits of which are cut into a variety of plain mouldings. Upon the inner capitals
rests the ground of the architraves, which is pierced into two trefoiled heads.
The remains of the arcade are about 60 ft. in length, and about 13 ft. in height; each compart-
ment being about 8 ft. wide, and in height, from the ground to the top of the impost, also 8 ft. The
whole has mouldered much since 1823, and, being partially covered with ivy, it presents to the eye a
pleasing and venerable appearance.
The thickness of the arcade is about 3 ft. 8 in., the part behind the adorned portion represented in the
plate being a circular arched plastered recess or aperture, 4 ft. 10 in. wide, and 1 ft. 8 in. deep, to which,
originally, have been fixed folding doors ; proving the adorned compartments to have been external
masonry.
It is supposed by some antiquaries that the trefoiled ground of the archivolts have been inserted to
suit some modern purpose, and that there originally existed three sweeps in each architrave ; and this
supposition appears to have a degree of probability, since many arch-stones, having suitable mouldings,
were found in the adjoining rubble walls that seemed to have belonged to such an arch. Others have
supposed that the ground is original, and that it has rested in the centre upon a double capital, which
had two cylindrical shafts, having a base formed similar to an 8. In support of this idea, several bases
were found bearing the required form. Others, again, have supposed that from the central portion
has been affixed a pendant, sculptured to correspond with the capitals on the piers ; thus leaving the
apertures quite free for ingress and egress : whilst Mr. Shout, formerly master mason of the church,
was of opinion that the trefoiled ground was original, and that in its pristine form it had been supported
by one capital, having one cylindrical shaft and base. In conformity with this opinion, on being ordered
to repair two of the compartments, he not only replaced columns to the piers, but also placed a single
base, column and capital in the centre, beneath the ground of the arch : yet, at the time, he discovered
that the column of such small diameter and of such long length, was not likely to remain long firm and
uninjured : he therefore, as a protection, placed behind the whole length of the column a thin ashlar, of
the breadth of the capital. 1
But however the architectural antiquary may be inclined to give an opinion on the proper support or
finish of the ground of the arch, yet the following facts will be allowed by every person who inspects the
arcade : first, that the stone forming the ground (as shown in the plate) does appear to agree in grain
with the arch-stones, and that the grain of the stones forming the present and only existing mullion,
with its substructure, are evidently dissimilar to any stone in the arcade ; secondly, that those substruc-
tures are inserted into the recesses of the piers, where bases are remaining in a good state of preserva-
1 In these two compartments, seats are fixed for the accommodation of the public.
45
tion, originally designed to bear cylindrical shafts, which belonged to the capitals attached to the piers ;
and, thirdly, that since the erection of the arcade it has been converted to other very different uses than
that for which it was originally intended.
By a comparison of sections taken in the architrave, impost and base, with others taken of corre-
sponding members in buildings of a corresponding style and of known dates, the author is led to date
the erection of this arcade about 1 170, and to conclude that it was the work of Archbishop Roger. It is
probably a portion of the archbishop's palace, which he is said to have built anew on the north side
of the church.
PLATE XXXIII.
This plate contains representations of two clusters of capitals from the preceding arcade. The capitals
are 12 in. in height; extent of impost also 12 in. ; and the diameter of the detached cylinders 4f in.
In one of the capitals of the upper cluster is sculptured a dragon, and on another remains the frag-
ment of a bird ; on all, the conventional-formed foliage of the Herba Benedicta is variously and intri-
cately arranged and minutely sculptured. On some of the capitals of the arcade the fruit as well as the
foliage is represented.
The bases to these capitals are 7\ in. in height, and are moulded as the profile e, Plate XIII.
These remains ought to be considered a valuable specimen of Archbishop Roger's style of building ;
and as they are intimately connected with the history of the church, so the dignitaries thereof will, we
hope, always consider their preservation, in an antiquarian point of view, of equal importance with that
magnificent edifice.
CHAPTER III.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE ACCESSION OF ARCHBISHOP WALTER GREY, A.D. 1216, TO THE
DEATH OF ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM WYKEWANE, A.D. 1285.
Sect. I.
REBUILDING OF THE SOUTH TRANSEPT. INQUIRY CONCERNING THE GRANT OF STONE BY ROBERT LE
VAVASOUR. CANONIZATION OF ST. WILLIAM. REBUILDING OF THE NORTH TRANSEPT AND
CENTRAL TOWER BY JOHN LE ROMAIN, THE TREASURER.
T has been already stated, that after the death of Archbishop GeofFry the See of York
continued vacant during four years. At length, in the nineteenth year of the pontifi-
cate of Innocent III., a.d. 1216, on the sixth of the kalends of April, (March 27th,)
Walter Grey, then Bishop of Worcester, was admitted to the archbishoprick of York, 1
and consecrated Nov. 10 or 11, in the same year. 2 Of the state of the fabric of the
metropolitan church at his accession to the See, no information can be obtained ; since
no document relating to the early part of his pontificate has been preserved, nor have any remains been
discovered to afford any evidence even of the existence of that portion of the church which he is gene-
rally supposed to have rebuilt. That it did exist, can scarcely be doubted ; but whether the rebuilding
of it was a matter of necessity or of choice, is altogether uncertain. Accidental and extensive injury, or
the natural effects of time, may have rendered the removal of it necessary ; or the taste of the archbishop
may have induced him to make a portion at least of his church conformable with the new style of archi-
tecture which was then beginning to prevail. He may indeed have found the work begun by one of his
predecessors : yet a comparison of the style of the south transept, compared with that of other similar
edifices the date of which is known, together with a few authenticated circumstances, seems to warrant
the conclusion, that the south transept was begun in the early part of his pontificate. And as in the
year 1220 there was a grand convention at York, on occasion of the marriage of the king of Scots with
the sister of Henry III., at which both the kings, with the English barons, and Pandulph, the Pope's
legate, 3 were present, it is highly probable the work was then determined upon, if not commenced.
The first document that appears to have any relation to the repairing or rebuilding of any part of the
church by Walter Grey is a grant by Robert le Vavasour, published in Dugdale's Monasticon Anglica-
num* and there stated to be an extract from a Register of the Church of York ; but no such register is
now to be found. It is as follows :
" To all the faithful in Christ to whom these presents shall come, Robert le Vavasour, eternal health in the Lord,
Know all of you that I have given, granted, and confirmed by this present deed of mine for a pure and perpetual
1 Statuta Eccl. Cath. Ebor.fol. 24 b. Cott. Lib. Vitellius, A. ii. 103. An ancient register about 8 in. by 5, finely written, but
much injured by fire.
- Drake's Hist. &c. p. 425. 3 Ibid. p. 37. 4 Vol. vi. P. iii. p. 1 198. edit. 1830.
47
Alms, and free from all secular service and exaction, to God and the blessed Peter and to the church at York, for
the health of my soul and of the souls of my wife Julian and my ancestors, and that we may be partakers of all the
good things that are done in the said church for ever, a full and free passage, through the ancient and customary ways
and paths, without any impediment or contradiction in going and returning along Thevesdale, which is my own free
tenure, for what shall be sufficient for the fabric of the said church, as often as they shall have occasion to repair,
rebuild or enlarge the said church. And for the greater security of this grant I have thought fit to strengthen it by
affixing my seal to these presents. I and my heirs will warrant this donation of ours for ever against all men.
" Witnesses hereof, Roger, dean, Galfrid de Norwich, precentor, William, treasurer, Master Walter, archdeacon."
This grant is without a date : yet as the witnesses therein named must be Roger de Insula, dean,
Galfrid de Norwich, precentor, William de Rotherfield, treasurer, and Walter de Wysebech, archdeacon
of the East Riding ; and as Browne Willis 1 places Walter in the office of the archdeacon from 1221 to
1225, the document may reasonably be dated about 1224 or 1225 ; the other named witnesses then
holding the offices mentioned, and Robert le Vavasour having then been married about fourteen or
fifteen years.
From this document it appears not unreasonable to conclude that the archbishop was now engaged in
his great work of erecting the south transept of his church, as the grant clearly implies that he was
obtaining stone from Thevesdale ; and, without doubt, from the quarry which in the prelacy of Arch-
bishop Thomas was given by William de Percy, "for ever to God, for the use of the church of
St. Peter." The grant of this quarry was probably made, as already stated, 2 before the Vavasours
became tenants of the lands in Thevesdale to the Percys, in military fee. The quarry of St. Peter had
not been much used since the time of Archbishop Thomas ; and as the way to it lay through the lands
held by the Vavasours, such a grant as is here made by the then possessor, Robert le Vavasour, would
be required and given. It is evidently not the grant of the use of a new quarry, but a confirmation of a
right of access to a quarry before used, along ancient and accustomed roads, " transitum per antiquas et
consuetas vias et semitas."
It has been long a tradition, founded partly, perhaps, upon a misunderstanding of this grant, that
Robert le Vavasour gave not only the stone which Archbishop Grey required, but all that has been used
in the building of the present fabric ; and this tradition has been sanctioned by the statue of a Vavasour
placed on the west grand entrance of the church, and represented as holding in the arm a rough ashlar,
or a rough stone ; while a corresponding statue of a Percy is represented as holding a perfect ashlar or
moulded stone. But this latter being erroneously considered as a representation of a piece of wood, a
grant of wood has, without any authority, been imagined ; and while the family of the Vavasours have
been traditionally commemorated as the givers of the stone of which the church is constructed, the
Percys have in the same manner been commemorated as givers of the wood. 3
The correctness of this tradition is more than doubtful. When Archbishop Thoresby, in the year
13G4, was considering the propriety of establishing chantries for the family of the Percys, he speaks of
their claim to the gratitude of the church, on account of their profuse beneficence, " profusa beneficia,"
towards it ; and especially of their aid in the building and the perpetual sustaining of the fabric, by
granting as much stone as might be needful, from their stone-quarries, of free carriage of the same, and
right of way to the servants of the church through the lands and districts belonging to them. 4
1 Survey of the Cathedrals, vol. i. p. 98. 2 See p. 13. 3 Drake's Hist. &c. p. 484.
4 Lib. Domesday Eccl. Ebor.fol. 59 b. Monasticon Anglicunum, vol.x'i. P. III. p. 1199. edit. 1830.
48
From the period of the Norman conquest and the time of Archbishop Thomas, till long after the pon-
tificate of Archbishop Thoresby, the church has been built, with the exception of portions of Purbeck
marble, of stone of precisely the same character, and evidently from the same quarry ; the quarry
granted by William de Percy, and, from its application, known by the name of St. Peter's Quarry.
Of the pious munificence of the family of Vavasour there is ample evidence. Subsequently to the
grant of free way to St. Peter's quarry, John, the son of Robert le Vavasour, for the health of his soul,
and of his wife's and children's, and for the health of the souls of all his ancestors, gave to God and the
church of the blessed Mary of York, and to the monks serving God there, ten acres and half a rood of
his quarry in Thevesdale, near the quarry of the blessed Peter of York, the head of which quarry on the
west abutted the new road which led from the quarry of St. Peter to the Vale of Thevesdale, and
extended to the quarry of Thevesdale, eastward, to be had and held by the said church and the said
monks and all their successors, in free, pure and perpetual alms, &c. &C. 1
The priory of St. Mary de Marton had also a quarry given to it, and confirmed by John le Vavasour,
dated Sunday after the Ascension, 1246. 2
The church of St. Peter at Hovedon (Howden) had an acre of John le Vavasour's quarry in Theves-
dale assigned to it for eighteen years, for six marks of silver, dated Lammas Day, 1277. 3
Sir William le Vavasour, son of John le Vavasour, granted in pure alms to the abbot and convent of
Thornton, two acres of his quarry in Thevesdale, for forty years from St. Mary Magdalen's Day, 1283. 4
In 1283, Archbishop Wyckwane being in need of stone to repair some of his mansions, it appears
that he considered St. Peter's quarry not applicable to such purposes, and therefore he obtained from
the prior and brethren of the convent of Jesus Christ, permission to extract from the two acres quarry
which had been assigned to them by John le Vavasour, 5 whatever stone he might need, to construct or
repair all his buildings, in what places soever he should see to be better and more convenient.
On St. Cuthbert's Day, 1300, Sir William le Vavasour granted to the abbot and convent of Thorn-
ton a quarry in Thevesdale for thirty years. 6
Selby Church had also a quarry assigned to it, which is designated the Selby " quarel-pit." 7
About 1302, the dean and chapter of York being in need of stone for other purposes than the con-
struction and reparation of St. Peter's Church, and considering St. Peter's quarry not applicable thereto,
Sir William le Vayasour granted them whatever stone they might want for such purposes, for which the
said dean and chapter made the following acknowledgment :
" To all to whom these writings shall come. William, dean, and the chapter of the church of the blessed Peter of
York, eternal health in the Lord. That liberality may be gratefully received, and that what is graciously conferred
may be recompensed as it ought, we make known to all of you by these presents, that Sir William le Vavasour, knight,
hath voluntarily, of his mere liberality, granted and given stone from his quarry in Thevesdale, at Berneland Came-
ran, to the dean of the church of the blessed Peter of York, and for the reparation of the houses in which the pre-
centor of the said church lives. And we promise and undertake that stone shall be had from thence for this purpose
only, being unwilling that for such his liberality any prejudice should be hereafter devised against the said William
or his heirs. In witness whereof our seal is affixed to these presents. Dated at York, xv calends of April (Mar. 18),
in the year of grace 1302." 8
' Dodsworth's MS. Bodl. Lib. vol. viii., entitled Monasticon Boreale, vol. n.fol. 3.
2 Deed at Hazelwood Hall, No. 83. 8 Ibid. No. 85. 4 Ibid. No. 88.
5 Lansdowne MS., No. 402, p. 8. G Deed at Hazelwood Hall, No. 99. 7 Ibid. No. 199.
s Ibid. No. 101, having a portion of the seal appended.
49
About 1311, Archbishop Wykewane also, being in need of stone for the works at his manors, had
permission given him by Sir William le Vavasour to extract stone from his quarry in Thevesdale for the
said purpose ; for which permission the Archbishop made the following declaration :
" To all who shall see or hear of these presents, William, by Divine permission, Archbishop of York and Primate
of England, eternal health in the Lord. Know all of you, that whereas the noble Sir William Vavasour, Knight,
hath liberally granted that with the consent of our Chapter, we may extract and freely carry, from the stone quarry
of Thevesdale, near Tadcaster, stones for the works to be done in our manors ; Wherefore also we grant and will by
these presents, that by the extraction and carriage of stones from the said quarry to the works to be done, wherever
we will, in our manors, no intention exists on our part that any prejudice should hereafter arise to the said William
or his heirs. In witness whereof our Seal is affixed to these presents. Given at Cawood, the last day of June, in the
year of Grace 1311, and in the VI of our pontificate." 1
The existence and prior use of St. Peter's quarry are proved by its name being found in almost all
subsequent grants of quarry ; its contents having been assigned for ever to God and St. Peter, the
restricted application of them to the building and repairs of the church has been kept inviolable by
the members of that church ; and although its extent cannot now be ascertained, it must have been
ample, for there is no record to show that at any period the church of St. Peter ever received any
additional grant of quarry in Thevesdale, either from Robert le Vavasour or any of the Vavasours ; or
of stone by permission from any other quarry. 2
The right of way to St. Peter's quarry having been granted by Robert le Vavasour, and stone from
other quarries having been given liberally by Sir William le Vavasour to the Archbishop and to the Dean
and Chapter for purposes essential to the dignity and comfort of the members of the church, it was by
no means improper, but only what was due to so great a benefactor, to represent on the church the figure
of a Vavasour, bearing a quarried stone or rough ashlar ; and this circumstance, connected with the
known and extensive liberality of the family to the members of the church, would naturally give rise to
the tradition that the stone for the fabric of the church was the gift of the Vavasours.
But as the family records contain no documental authority in support of this tradition, as the records of
the church exhibit no acknowledgment of such benefit from the family, and as they are allowed only a
Vicar's chantry in the church, and that for the appropriation of the church of Fryston to the use of the
Vicars, it seems reasonable to agree with the declaration of the church made through Archbishop Thoresby,
1 Deed at Hazelwood Hall, No. 107, having a portion of the seal appended.
2 The Genealogical Chart of the Vavasours at Hazelwood contains the following extract from Cambden's Britannia, to show that
they were benefactors of stone to St. Peter's Church : — " Subest huic (Hesselwood) clarissima ilia Lapicaedina qua Petres Post dicta,
eo quod saxis inde excisis liberalitate Valvasorum templum illud magnificum Sti. Petri Eboraci fuerit substructure." This passage
does not occur in the earliest editions of the Britannia. It is not found in the fourth edition published by the author in 1594.
It first appears in an edition published at London in 1 GOO, and said in the title page to be revised and enlarged with many additions
from a German edition. And in this edition, p. 631, where mention is made of Archbishop Thoresby's work, and of the statues
on the Western front, the following is placed as a note in the margin : " Percius ligna, et Vavaser saxa dedit." For these additions
no authority is given.
At this day St. Peter's quarry is, without distinction, united with the other quarries in Thevesdale, forming a portion, the exact
situation and limits of which cannot be now ascertained. And therefore, after the lamentable fire in 1829, the present Baronet, the
Hon. Sir Edward M. Vavasour, not only gave £25 towards the repairing of the choir of St. Peter's Church, but granted the free
use of the quarries in Thevesdale, now in his tenure. This munificent offer was accepted, and the quarry worked for the purpose,
together with the quarries of Drake, Archbell, and Huddlestone.
I
50
" that the Percys gave the stone to the fabric," and that the Vavasours gave and confirmed a continuance
of a right of way to and from the quarry of St. Peter in Thevesdale.
The tradition connected with the figure representing a Percy, rests upon no more stable a foundation ;
the supposed piece of timber held by the statue being, in fact, intended to represent a stone worked
with mouldings. None of the records of the church notice a donation of timber or wood by the Percys ;
while they afford a good degree of evidence to prove that the quarry of St. Peter in Thevesdale, with
free passage along the river Wharfe, were granted by them, and the income of the church of TopclifFe
appropriated to the use of the fabric of the church of St. Peter. 1 It was therefore not improper to repre-
sent the figure of a Percy as a superior benefactor, bearing a moulded stone or perfect ashlar, ready for
the building. The ashlars in their different states are even at this day perfect emblems of the different
degrees of ability possessed by individuals, or of merit assigned to them, independently of the position
in which they are held. 2
On the Ides of April (April 13), a. d. 1226, Lord Richard de Percy confirmed to the church of York
the grant of the church of Topcliffe, and all things pertaining thereto, originally made by his grandfather
Lord William de Percy to Archbishop Roger. 3 The confirmation of the grant at this time may have been
connected with some important works then going on, or meditated by the Archbishop, although there is
nothing in the deed of confirmation more specific concerning the application of the revenues, than in the
original grant.
More satisfactory evidence of the Archbishop's designs may be derived from the canonization of
Archbishop William, obtained from the Pope about this time ; and the proceedings which immediately
followed it. The influence of the reputation of some illustrious patron Saint was wanting to increase
the zeal of the devout, to draw forth the liberal contributions of the wealthy, and to render effectual the
recommendations and indulgences of the prelates in aid of the great work which the Archbishop was under-
taking. Canterbury had a St. Thomas a Becket ; Westminster a St. Edward ; St. Albans a St. Alban ;
Durham a St. Cuthbert ; and Beverley a St. John. But York had no acknowledged Saint by whose meri-
torious sanctity the honour and dignity of the church could be duly sustained. There was no difficulty in
supplying this deficiency. The holy reputation of Archbishop William was fully established and widely
known. He had been honoured during his life, according to the historians of the age, by extraordinary
manifestations of divine power on his behalf ; 4 and after his interment in the nave of the church, several
benefits are recorded to have been miraculously conferred, through his intercession, on the devout wor-
shippers at his tomb. Many of the miracles ascribed to this prelate are represented in the window called
by his name, on the north side of the choir ; and as it was on the attestation of some of these that the
Pope assented to his being enrolled among the Saints, and the reputation of his sanctity arising from
these, was of such importance in obtaining the contributions required for the service of the church, on
1 See p. 18.
2 The royal arch, or grand western entrance of St. Peter's Church, is viewed with veneration and delight by such persons as are
skilled in the science of ancient freemasonry. For not only the ornaments of the arch itself, but the position of the archbishop
sitting above the apex of the arch, and holding a model of the august temple ; the figure of Percy placed on the left hand of the
entrance, with the perfect ashlar, and that of Vavasour, placed on the right hand, with the rough ashlar, and the manner in which
the ashlars are held by the statues, have all significations which are perfectly understood, and afford one instance among many, of
the prevalence of the order of freemasonry at the period of the construction of our ancient ecclesiastical edifices. See a representa-
tion in Britton's York Cathedral, Plate XI., also in Halfpenny's Gothic Ornaments, Plate LXXX.
8 See p. 18. 4 See p. 15.
51
various occasions during a long period, they form, in fact, a portion of the history of the edifice ; and
therefore the recital of one or two of them in this place cannot be thought improper or unnecessary.
Among the miracles which were reported to the Pope, as rendering this prelate worthy of the honour
of being added to the list of Saints, was the flowing of an oil from his tomb, possessing miraculous
healing properties. This however appears to have been only occasional, and after long intervals. For
the earliest instance on record occurred nearly one hundred years after the Pope's grant of canonization ;
and appears then to have been considered as something new ; whereas it is evident from the grant by
the Pope that the flowing of the oil had been before observed, and its extraordinary effects experienced.
" It happened," says the record, " on the Wednesday in the holy week of Pentecost, a. d. 1308, that
the tomb of the aforesaid glorious Confessor sweated forth a liquid oil, a precious antidote against various
kinds of diseases ; which fact having been announced to the heads of the church by the faithful bystanders,
and by those who were lying or kneeling by the tomb for the purpose of prayer, they (i. e. the clergy)
hesitated, on account of the great clearness of the liquid, whether it really possessed the true nature of
oil. Having therefore collected it, and made a lamp of it and lighted it, the wonderful flames proceeding
from it, as if it were common oil, struck the beholders with w r onder. Then are heard the voices of
psalm singers, and the ringing of bells, and the miracle is noised abroad over the whole city and coun-
try, and divers faithful people who were suffering from sickness, both by the anointing with the oil and
by the sole invocation of the Holy Confessor, on the same day, through the mercy of Christ, were
thought worthy to obtain the joy of health." 1
One of the cures by means of the oil, is thus recorded : "A certain woman, who in her youth had
been accustomed to walk after the wanton and lascivious flesh, had her bowels diseased, her countenance
swollen and bright, and all her limbs distended. A fiery disease also existed in the lower part of her
lungs, and caused so unquenchable a thirst within her, that the heat thereof could not be appeased by
the infusion of any liquor, as she believed. Therefore, all living physicians being despised, she hastens
to seek an antidote from one who was dead ; a carriage was filled with her body alone, and she is set
down before the door of the blessed Peter, to touch the coffin of the holy Father William.
" Therefore the wretched woman is by little and little anointed with the oil which flowed from the tomb
of the Saint ; and as she was wont to do, in a miserable tone of voice, the wretched woman im-
portunately made known her earnest desire for health from the Saint, when (wonderful as it may appear)
her dropsy, by virtue of the oil which flowed from the tomb of the Saint, is by God dried up within her,
is neither left outside on any part of her body, nor is retained within to nourish the disease ; and,
wonderful to tell, by God's virtue she speedily began to mend, and to recover the strength of her body,
once despaired of, so as to become far lighter and stronger, after the favour of this divine gift, than she
was by nature, before she had the disease." 2
1 Miracle the 34th, from Dodsworth's Collection in Bodleian Libr. cxxv. f. 132 — 142. " Out of a table in the revestry of the
cathedral Church of York."
2 Breviarium, #c. In Commemoratione Sancti Willelmi, Lect. II.
The tomb of St. William was not singular in this flowing of miraculous oil, for it is recorded " that in the year of our Lord one
thousand three hundred and twelve, on the feast of St. Bernard, a wonderful oyle issued miraculously out of John of Beverley's se-
pulchre for the space of a whole day, which was very medicinal and soveraigne againstmanie diseases." (Porter's Lives of Saints, p. 41 9.)
It is also recorded by Phillip Bishop of Eistadt, " that from the reliques of St. Wallburg at Eistadt, issued a sacred oil, which by
the grace of God, and the intercession of St. Wallburg, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deafe, cureth the lame," &c. (Ib. p . 185.)
I 2
52
One of the miracles wrought without the application of the miraculous oil, is thus related :
" A certain man of the name of Ralph, who having broken the peace of our Lord the King, was van-
quished in a duel and was deprived of an eye by his adversary Besing, was afterwards condemned to lose
by the sword of justice, the other eye, because he had been vanquished. He was given over to the
executor of justice, who extracted his remaining eye, and a certain lad named Hugh picked up both the
extracted eyes and carried them away in his hand, and after several days had passed, the aforesaid Ralph
drawing nigh to the tomb of St. William, after having performed fasts and prayers, recovered two other
eyes smaller than the former, and a clear sharp sight. But his former eyes were of a different or worse
colour, namely, resembling glass." 1 This miracle is fully represented among others in St. William's
window in the choir of the church.
St. William was even represented to be more compassionate than St. Thomas in Canterbury Cathedral.
For instance :
" A woman named Albrida of Gisburne, having been long tormented with the stone, had undergone
a surgical operation for its removal ; the consequence of which was, that for seven years afterwards she
could nowise retain her urine. Having therefore suffered several years from this distressing complaint,
at length, as she herself asserted, the holy martyr, St. Thomas (of Canterbury), appeared to her in her
sleep, and admonished her to come to him (i. e. to his tomb), with a cross prepared for him. Now she,
not neglecting this vision, repaired to Canterbury without delay ; but not recovering her health there,
she was compelled by poverty to return home. But hearing at length that many persons were restored
to health at York, by the intercession of St. William, she delayed not to come thither, and having made
confession of her sins to a priest, and by advice of the priest having caused her infirmity to be ascer-
tained by the secret examination of lawful women (a jury of matrons), she on the same festival, by the
merits of the holy father St. William, recovered her health, and shewed herself for several days in perfect
health, assisting with others healed in like manner, in waiting upon the sick who lay by St William's
tomb." 2
Upon the ground of numberless similar miracles, application was made to the court of Rome, with the
earnest request that the report of the miracles might be examined, and if found to be true, that Arch-
bishop William might be admitted among the catalogue of Saints. Wherefore the Pope issued the
following letter, " tied with thread of silk and a Bull."
" Bishop Honorius, the servant of the servants of God, to all Archbishops and Bishops, and his other beloved
sons, prelates of churches, and to the Clergy and Laity throughout England, health and apostolic benediction. He
who set the bounds of the nations, according to the number of the angels, that he might repair the ruin of the
deceitful spirits by the supplication of righteous men, willing to unite the diversity of nations in the confession of
his name, sent from heaven his co-eternal and con-substantial son into the womb of the immaculate virgin, who since
he deigned to take of her human flesh, was made the mediator of God and man ; assembling together a Church from
all nations, and forming it, as it were, from lus own side, he hath redeemed and washed it in his blood, and loving
her as a sister and a spouse, he hath united her to himself with an affection not to be overcome ; which truly is ever
fruitful of a new offspring until the number of the elect be completed, partly on earth warring against a host of enemies,
and partly in heaven triumphing with Christ ; here, through the grace of the Redeemer, aided by his merits, but
there, crowned with happiness ; here, contemplating, as through a glass darkly him whom they shall there see face to
The 37th recorded Miracle according to Dodsworth.
2 The 32nd recorded Miracle according to Dodsworth.
53
face. And because there they burn with love more ardently, who enjoy the sweetness of the divine vision, inasmuch
as they more nearly behold him who is love itself, so also they not only assist those who are contending here by their
prayers before God, but also by the signs of miracles they desire to comfort those to whom they infallibly show
themselves magnificently shining forth partakers of the divine glory of Christ. And while they show that they have
happily advanced from faith to hope, and from hope to reality, their love by no means decreasing, but rather being
enlarged, a certainty of the promised reward is given to those who contend, and thus final perseverance in that which
is good is effectually encouraged. For who, seeing that the elect of the Church after the happy termination of this life
shine resplendent with new miracles, would not desire to be inseparably united to Christ, its Head, as one soul with
Him ? or how will any refuse to obey Him, who will deny them that obey him not ? who, giving virtues to his followers,
bestows on them great rewards as heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ, so that, partaking of the glory of Christ, they
in a miraculous manner, shew forth on earth the signs of the heavenly kingdom to which they may happily attain ;
and ' whatever they shall ask, shall be done to them. 5 Therefore let Jews be confounded, and heretics confuted, let
pagans blush, and sinners be turned to repentance when they see the faith of those who put their trust in Christ
rewarded by so great a share of his gifts.
" Wherefore our venerable Brother the Archbishop and our beloved sons the Dean and Chapter of York have
very many times, both in season and out of season, urged upon us by letters and by Master G. the Penitentiarius,
and Elias Bernard of York, and Laurence Aquilegeus, canons, that William of holy memory, formerly
Archbishop of York, who, as it appears from the testimony of many persons worthy of credit, shone forth with
so much grace of merit, that the Lord deigned to work by him many glorious miracles : and, after his decease,
caused his body to shine forth with many more wondrous things, might be inscribed by us in the catalogue of Saints
in the Church militant, since there is no doubt that he is now greatly honoured by the Lord in his Church
triumphant. But though, placing confidence in their testimony and in his great reputation, we are desirous to
consent to the prayers of the supplicants, yet, as in an affair so holy and divine, nothing ought to be done without
the most mature consideration, we have caused diligent inquiry to be made by many select persons respecting both
the Life and the Miracles of the said Saint, since though the perfection of his charity, with the manifestation of
miracles, might be sufficient to prove his sanctity, yet some ' do their good works before men, that they may be seen
of them/ and sometimes ' the Devil transforming himself into an angel of light ' fraudulently deceives men. These
said enquirers then having received and examined diligently, as it behoved them, very many witnesses worthy of credit,
have fully and plainly reported to us the life and conversation of the said most holy saint, with the many and great
miracles by which the Lord wonderfully honoured his spirit after death. We therefore, considering that such a
candle was 'not to be placed under a bushel, but set on a candlestick since, among other miracles which it would be
too long to enumerate, his sepulchre is enriched with the fruitfulness of an oil, by which many sick persons, being
anointed, have been healed of their infirmities ; and, which is not to be passed over in silence, he, in a wonderful
manner, raised up three persons who had been dead ; and to one who had been overcome in a duel, and unjustly
condemned, when he cried out earnestly at the sepulchre of the saint and the more confidently asked that he would
restore his eyes to him, of which he knew that he had been unjustly deprived, the saint strangely and marvellously
gave other new eyes; by the consent of our brethren, and by the advice of other prelates who were present,
have numbered him, or rather declare that he is numbered, in the catalogue of saints and confessors ; appointing
that on his anniversary, an annual festival be solemnly celebrated, that then, as is meet, ye may prove your gratitude
for so great favours. We advise all of you, and earnestly exhort you, commanding you by our apostolic writings,
that paying a due veneration to the festival and the memory of the said saint, ye faitlifully implore before God, the
help of his virtues for yourselves and for others, the faithful in Christ. And we, trusting in the favour of God, and
in the merits of the said saint, to all who shall devoutly assemble at the Church of York on his festival, mercifully
grant a relaxation of forty days from penance enjoined on them. Dated Lateran 15 Calends April (Mar. 18) in the
10th year of our Pontificate." 1 (a. d. 1226.)
Magnum Album, par. ii. p. GO.
54
On the arrival of this Bull at York, the Dean and Chapter addressed the following letter to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury :
" To the Reverend Father in Christ, Stephen, by the grace of God Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all
England, and Cardinal of the holy Roman Church, his devoted in Christ Roger, 1 the Dean, and the Chapter of
the Church at York, health in him who is all health. We have received a mandate from our Lord the Pope in
these words : ' Bishop Honorius, the servant of the servants of God/ (as in what immediately precedes,) and because
we believe without doubt, nay, are certain that rejoicing in the Lord ye will rejoice that God will be admired in his
saints, who daily working signs, and wonders, and miracles in divers parts of the world for them and for those that
triumph with him, hath vouchsafed in a marvellous manner to illumine the Church in England among others, both
in the west and in the east, prostrating ourselves at the feet of your fatherly authority, and trusting with special
and full confidence to your love in the Lord, we supplicate you by whatever means we can, that for the reverence
due to the said blessed William, our patron, and for the exaltation of the English church, that ye will cause his
festival to be solemnly celebrated on his anniversary, namely, on the 6th of the ides of June, and the other
matters contained in the apostolic mandate, to be publicly proclaimed and diligently observed throughout your
archiepiscopate, expecting a meet reward from him, ' from whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift especially
since by a divine work of this kind the faith of the church militant may be comforted and very much strengthened,
and we lawfully striving in the way for Christ may be victorious. Moreover, we beg of your fatherly affection, that
ye will place undoubted confidence in the bearer of these presents who will explain the premised business. Farewell,
Father in the Lord." 2
Letters of such an import were addressed to almost all the English Bishops.
The Archbishop of Canterbury consequently directed a letter, dated St. John Baptist's Day, 1226, to
all the sons of Holy Mother Church, exhorting them that, with humility of devotion and in honour of the
said Saint (William) , they should visit the Church of York where his remains were deposited ; and to
all those who should so come for the purposes of devotion, or for the bestowal of their alms, on the 6th
of the ides of June, or within eight days following, he, trusting in the merits and intercessions of God,
of the blessed Virgin Mary, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the said Saint (William), if
they be confessed of their sins and contrite, granted a relaxation of twenty days from penance enjoined
on them. 3
In like manner the Bishop of Rochester granted ten days ; the Bishop of London twenty days ; the
Bishop of Lincoln thirteen days ; Henry, Archbishop of Dublin, twenty days, &c, &c.
From the visits made to the church, in consequence of St. William's miraculous favours and the
preceding grants of relaxation from penances enjoined, large and valuable donations would be expected,
and without doubt would be given to the fund for the prosperity of the intended glorious fabric.
It is much to be regretted that there is no document relating to the pontificate of Archbishop Grey
extant previous to his " Major Roll," which begins with the acts of the early part of 1227 ; so that we
have no means of ascertaining whether he had actually commenced the rebuilding of the transepts, or was
only making preparation for this great work. The second article in the Roll relates to this work, though
it leaves its actual progress doubtful. It is unhappily much injured and defaced ; but it is evidently
an address to all abbots, priors, officials, archdeacons, &c. &c. of the diocese, desiring them to send a
portion of their first fruits and other good things bestowed on them by God, for the work of the fabric
1 Roger de Insula. 2 Magnum Album, par. ii. p. 61 . 3 Ibid. par. ii. p. 61 b.
55
of the mother church. It is dated at Shirburn on the xi kalends of April (March 22) in the xi year
of the Archbishop's pontificate. 1 (a.d. 1227.)
About four months after this the Archbishop issued the following address and indulgence :
i
" To all, &c. — Whereas among the works of charity it is a pious and meritorious deed to contribute to the
erection and fabric of churches, wherein worship is perpetually offered up to God ; and whereas our Church of
St. Peter of York to which you are specially bound to afford your aid, as being your Mother Church, is in want of
your assistance, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord that ye take care to contribute to the fabric of the said
church as far as ye are able of your own goods ; and that ye endeavour effectually to move your parishioners, that
out of the goods bestowed upon them by the Lord, they contribute some part according as the Lord shall inspire
into them ; that ye receive kindly and honourably entreat master Adam the bearer hereof, whom we depute as our
procurator in this matter, together with his clerks, and afford him your effectual advice and assistance.
" And we, over and above the indulgence of our Lord the Pope, and the relaxation (of penance) granted by our
brethren and fellow bishops (do grant an indulgence of) forty days, &c. And we appoint them (the contributors)
partakers of the masses, prayers, and all (other spiritual) benefits. All which things shall be more fully explained
to you by the aforesaid master Adam ; in witness whereof, &c, we have thought fit to entrust unto him these our
letters patent. Given at Scireburn the xv day before the kalends of August (July 18th), in the xith year of our
pontificate." 2 (a.d. 1227.)
Elias Bernard, canon of York, and one of those who petitioned the Pope to canonize St. William, in
order to declare his love for the said confessor, founded an altar to his honour in the greater church of
York, and amply endowed it for one priest and one clerk. It was confirmed in chapter in the year of
our Lord's incarnation 1230. The altar was attached to the west end of the tomb or shrine, if credence
may be given to the painter's representation as exhibited in the north transept window of the choir ;
and the whole was in an inclosure, according to statements in the account of the miracles given in
the Dodsworth Manuscripts.
This ordination runs thus :
" I, Elias Bernard, Canon of York, of my reverence for the Divine Majesty of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
and in honour of the blessed "William the Confessor, formerly Archbishop of York, have given, granted, and by
this present charter assigned for ever to the altar, which has been founded, holy in the Lord, in the name of the
said Confessor, in the greater Church of York, and to Robert the Monk, the first priest assigned to the said altar,
and to his successors, celebrating divine offices for ever at the said altar, as shall be assigned hereafter, those houses
and lands in Stayngate, and the rents arising therefrom, — also the lands and houses in Micklegate, — with all the
casements, liberties and things pertaining' thereto. I also will, that after my death, the said priest and his successors shall
celebrate at the said altar for ever, divine exequies and full commendation, and faithfully perform for me especially,
and for the souls of all the faithful generally. The said priests and his successors shall receive from the Treasurer all
things necessary. The same privilege being extended to the Treasurer, which he is acknowledged to have at other
altars in the Church of York, &c. &c." 3
This year King Henry III. was at York, where he kept Christmas in a most magnificent manner.
He was accompanied by Alexander King of Scotland, Otho the Cardinal Legate, the Archbishops
1 In the Harleian MS. 6970, p. I . It is entitled a " Collection for building the Cathedral of St. Peter."
2 Walter Grey's Major Roll, Art. 40. 8 Rcgist. X a, or, Acta Capitularia 1290—1364. fol. 13 b.
56
and Bishops and other dignified ecclesiastics, the Earls, Barons and general officers of the kingdom,
and the whole royal household. This could not fail to bring large contributions to the church, and
thus greatly assist the Archbishop in his undertaking.
About 1240, John Lumbard, priest in the Church of York, had confirmed to him the place in the
Crypt, and the altar of St. Nicholas and St. Gregory with all the revenues, freely and quietly, the said
John to bear all charges and support the same. 1 The altar probably was placed at b. (See Plate XII.)
Also about 1241, Godfrey de Norwich, dean of York, assigned by will all his rents in York and
Rotherham, to the altar of the blessed Mary Magdalene in the crypts of York for a priest to celebrate
divine offices with full exequies for ever for the souls of all the faithful departed. 2 The altar probably
was placed at c. (See Plate XII.)
Aided by the fruits of piety and the alms bestowed in consequence of the indulgences already granted,
in addition to the assigned rents for the fabric, the building would regularly proceed ; and it may with
much probability be supposed that about 1241 the south transept of the church was completed. Having
erected an altar and dedicated it to St. Michael, in the east aisle of this portion of the church, the
Archbishop on the 11th of the kalends of April, with the consent of the chapter, ordained three priests
and one clerk, who should all celebrate divine offices, with full exequies of the dead, in the church of
the Blessed Peter of York, at the said altar of St. Michael daily, for the souls of their predecessors,
themselves, and successors, and the canons of York, and for all the faithful departed, assigning for the
support of the same for ever a moiety of the church of Milium, &c. &c. 3 Ade, the lord of Milium,
resigned to the Archbishop all his right to the church of Milium at Christmas 1230. 4
About 1244, John Romain, Archdeacon of Richmond, founded an altar, in honour of St. Andrew,
in the Church of the Blessed Peter of York, on the south side and near the tomb of St. William, at
which a priest was to celebrate for ever, for the souls of King Richard, of John and Mary, his father
and mother, his own soul, and for the souls of all the faithful departed ; for the sustentation of which he
made ample assignments. 5 From the names of the witnesses to the foundation, the author supposes the
date of the deed to be about 1244.
In 1249 an ordination was confirmed, wherein Laurence de Lincoln, late Archdeacon of York,
assigned rents in the city of York for the sustentation of one priest to celebrate in the greater Church of
York, at the altar of St. Lawrence the Martyr, for his soul and for the souls of all the faithful departed.
This ordination was confirmed at Thorpe, on the 7th kal. of February, in the thirty-third year of
Walter Grey's pontificate. It is supposed the altar was placed at d. (See Plate XII.)
About 1255, Eudonis de Punchardon, son of Roger de Punchardon, Knight, gave, granted and
confirmed the manor of Grimeston, near York, with all its appurtenances, for ever to God, the Blessed
Mary, and to the Blessed Peter, and to the altar of the holy virgins and martyrs, Agatha, Lucy and
Scholastica, on the south side of the crypt in the greater church of the said St. Peter (probably
1 Regist. X a, or Acta Capitularia 1290 — 1364. fol. 68 b. There is not a date to the document, but from the names and titles
of the witnesses the author assigns it to about the year 1 240.
2 Ibid. fol. 59. Simon de Evesham, precentor, and Robert de St. Paul, treasurer, are two of the witnesses to the will ; and
from this circumstance the author is induced to assign it to about 1 240.
3 Regist. X a, fol. 15. 4 Magnum Album, par. ii. fol. 22 b. 5 Regist. X a, fol. 14 b.
6 T. b, or Lib. Domesday Eccl. Ebor.fol. 57; he also bequeathed five marks to the fabric of the church, and to the fabric
of the bridge of Tadcaster ten pounds.
57
at e, Plate XII.), for two priests to celebrate divine offices for the souls of all the faithful departed.
The presentation to be made by the vicars. 1
The admiration which could not fail to be generally excited by the new south transept, the multipli-
cation of altars, and the consequently increased number of visitors to the Cathedral, would, no doubt,
encourage the archbishop and the dignitaries of the church to begin the rebuilding of the north
transept, in a style suitable to the new and corresponding portion of the fabric. It is, however, pro-
bable that the archbishop died before that great work was completed. He departed this life May 1st,
a. d. 1255, having held the archbishopric thirty-nine years, 2 and was buried with all due honours,
before the altar of St. Michael, which he had erected and bountifully endowed. 3
That the archbishop was a benefactor to the fabric, to the magnificence and beauty of which he had
so greatly contributed, cannot be doubted, though no record of any pecuniary benefaction granted by him
exists. He is recorded to have founded a sub-deanery and a succentorship in the church, with the prebends
of Wistow and Fenton ; and to have given to the church a rich mitre with labels, a rich chalice with a
paten of gold, adorned with precious stones, a gold morse, (or fibula,) adorned with a large ruby and other
precious stones, one tippet of gold and precious stones, and thirty-two copes of extraordinary riches.
He ordained the College in the Bedern for the vicars choral. He purchased a place in London, since
called Whitehall, for the residence of himself and his successors ; and also the manor of Thorpe St.
Andrew, now Bishop thorpe, which he granted to the chapter of York, with all the appurtenances
thereunto belonging, upon condition that the said chapter should let the same to his successors for
the sum of twenty marks sterling yearly, for the due payment whereof every archbishop should pass
his deed before admission. This course he took in order that if the temporalities of the arch-
bishop should be seized into the king's hand, either sede plena, which sometimes happened, or
sede vacante, which was then constantly practised, the king's officers should have no right to
meddle with this manor. To this wise precaution his successors owe their present, and now only
archiepiscopal palace. Among the purposes for which the rent money was to be employed, he ordained
that six pounds sterling should be paid to one chaplain, chosen by the Dean and Chapter, to say mass
in the chapel of St. Andrew at Thorpe, for the souls of King John, of the said archbishop, and of all
the faithful departed. 4
To Walter Gray succeeded Sewall, Dean of York, by supplication, 5 because there was a flaw in his
parentage ; and therefore, without a Dispensation he could not hold such a dignity. He was con-
secrated in the church of York, on the 10th of the kalends of August (July 23), a. d. 1256, and on
the 6th of the Ides of May (May 10), a. d. 1258, he died : c having held the see not quite two years. 7
He was buried near his predecessor ; a plain slab monument still marking the spot. s
1 Regist. X a, fol. 14. 2 Cott. MSS. Vitellius, A ii. fol. 103.
3 The archbishop was buried at a, in the east aisle e, of the south transept. See Plate I. Over the sepulchre was
erected a beautiful monument, which remains pretty perfect to this day. See a representation of it in Britton's York Cathedral,
Plate XVII.
4 Magnum Album, par. ii. fol. 85.
5 Per postulationem. Stubbs. Postulatio was an unanimous petition to the Pope or an ecclesiastical superior, from the clergy
and people, that one who could not be admitted, according to the canons, to some ecclesiastical dignity, might be admitted by
dispensation. See Du Cange.
6 Statuta Eccl. Ebor.fol. 24. 7 Cott. MSS. Vitellius, A. ii. fol. 103.
8 At b in the east aisle of the south transept. Plate I.
K
58
Archbishop Sewall erected several vicarages in impropriate churches, which till his time were very
ill served. He caused the stipends of the twelve priests of the chapel of the Blessed Mary and the
Holy Angels 1 to be increased, and appointed them to be called canons : he likewise ordained, in 1258,
that besides the twelve priests, there should be for ever in the same chapel two priests to say
mass daily for the dead ; as also two deacons and two sub-deacons to assist them. 2 But there is
no act of this archbishop recorded which connects his name with the history of the fabric of
the church.
Archbishop Sewall was succeeded by Godfrey de Ludham, Dean of York, who was consecrated at
Rome on the 3rd of the kalends of October (Sept. 24), a. d. 1258, and enthroned on theChristmas day next
following. In the third year of his pontificate, he laid the city under an Interdict, for what reason is
not known, and continued it from the beginning of Lent to the feast of the Invention of the Holy
Cross. 3 On the day before the Ides of January (January 12), a. d. 1264, he rested in the Lord; 4
having held the archbishopric six years, three months, and eighteen days. 5 He was buried in the east
aisle of the south transept, 6 whence his monument was removed about one hundred years ago, and
placed at the east end of the choir ; where it suffered greatly at the fire in 1829. Nothing is recorded
of this archbishop by which it can be ascertained that he took any particular interest in the prosperity
of the fabric ; yet it is highly probable, that through his representation of the advanced state of the
new building, and of the increasing fame of the church, the Pope was induced to issue the following
Address and Indulgence.
" Alexander, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful of Christ, who shall see these presents,
health and apostolic benediction. The glory of that life which endureth for ever, with which the wonderful
benignity of the creator of all things crowns the blessed company of citizens above and the being redeemed with
the price of blood poured forth from the precious body of the Redeemer — ought to make us rely on the virtue of
his merits : among which that is acknowledged to be exceedingly great — that every where, but especially in the
churches of the saints, the Majesty of the Most High is extolled. Therefore we entreat and exhort all of you
in the Lord, enjoining you by the remission of your sins, that ye go to the Cathedral church of York, which is
said to have been built in honour of the blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, to implore of the Lord, in humi-
lity of spirit, the pardon of your transgressions. Now that we may invite the faithful in Christ, as by wholesome
rewards to meritorious deeds, confiding in the mercy of Almighty God, and with the authority of the said chief of
the Apostles and the blessed Paul, to all the truly penitent and confessed who shall go to that church on all the
festivals of that chief (of the apostles) and on the anniversary of the dedication of that church, for the purpose of
devotion, we mercifully grant annually a hundred days relaxation of penance enjoined on them. — Given at Anagni,
on the Ides of Feb. (Feb. 13), in the Vlth year of our Pontificate (a.d. 1260.)." '
Stubbs 8 gives the honour, not only of completing the north transept, but also of building it entirely,
together with a magnificent bell-tower in the middle of the cross, and at his own expense, to John the
1 See p. 19. 2 Stubbs in Act. Pontiff. Ebor. Sect. De Sewallo archiep. 3 May 3.
4 Statuta Eccl. Ebor.ful. 24. 5 Cott. MSS. Vitellius, A. ii. fol. 103. 6 About c, Plate I.
7 Magnum Album, par. ii. fol. 85.
8 Act. Pontiff. Ebor. in Hist. Anglic. Scriptor. a Ticysden, Sect. De Johanne dicto Romano, #c. Harl. MSS. 108. Chronica
Pontiff. Eccles. Eboracensis, usque ad sepulturam Willelmi de la Zouch per Thomam Stobaum. she, Stubs, fol. 153 b.
Cott. MSS. Titus, A. xix. Thomas Stubbs de successionibus Pontiff. Eboracensium a Paulino ad mortem Johannis Thursby
An. 1373.
59
Roman, 1 the treasurer of the church. But this is not probable ; the alms flowing from Indulgences,
donations, and the especial income for the fabric, would, no doubt, be sufficient to defray the cost of
both the parts of the building, without any extraordinary aid from the private purse of the treasurer.
The work was probably finished between the years 1260 and 1270.
By an ordination dated October 8th, a. d. 1263, Robert de Wynton, lately Precentor of the church at
York, gave certain houses in Coney Street, and the rents thereof, for the perpetual sustentation of a
priest to celebrate for ever, for the souls of himself and Robert de Wynton and all his benefactors at
the altar of St. Blaise, in the church of York. 2
Upon the death of Archbishop Ludham, William Langton, Dean of York, was elected about the
feast of St. Gregory, (March 12,) but his election was annulled by the court of Rome, on the ground of
his holding a plurality of benefices, although, in fact, he held only one church, together with the
Deanery of York.
In the year 1265, on the Ides of October (October 15), Walter Giffard was translated from the see of
Bath and Wells to the archbishopric of York ; and on the feast of All Saints was enthroned. He died
on the 7th of the kalends of May (April 25), a. d. 1279, having held the see thirteen years, six months,
and twenty-three days. He is said to have been honourably buried in his own church ; but the place
of his interment is not certainly known.
Leland in his Itinerary (vol. viii. p. 14, edit, by Hearne) has introduced, apparently in continuation
of " Things learnyd out of a Petigre of L. Scrope," a list of sepultures in the church (of York). The first
he mentions are " sepul. archiepiscoporum in orient, parte ecclesise." Six names of prelates buried in
that part are given, at the head of which is placed, " Walterus Gisfart obiit 7 Cal. Maii anno Dom.
1277." If such were the fact, the remains of this archbishop must have been removed thither long
subsequent to his first interment.
The only instance on record of the bounty of this archbishop to the church, is his gift of two costly
gilded cruets of curious workmanship, set with precious stones, and a gilded ring with a bollace.
An ordination was confirmed in Chapter on the morrow of St. Michael, a. d. 1272, in which Adam
the Abbot, and the Convent of Belliland (Byland), were bound by agreement made in the Court of our
Lord the King, between them and the Dean and Chapter of York, respecting the manor of Thorpe
Maulteby, near York, 3 for the payment of 10 marks in silver, annually, for the sustentation of two
chaplains in the church of York, to celebrate at the altar of St. John the Evangelist 4 for the soul of
Master Simon de Evesham, of blessed memory, late Archdeacon of Richmond, and for all the faithful
departed. The said chaplains to be selected from the vicars of the said church, 5 and to receive equal
stipends by half-yearly payments.
Thomas de Ludham, canon of the church of York, for the increase of Divine worship and the sal-
vation of his soul, for himself and his heirs for ever, gave all his land with his mansions and rents in
Skelton for the perpetual sustentation of a succession of priests at the altar of the blessed Virgin Mary
1 Usually called John le Romain.
2 Regist. X a, fol. 14. The altar is described as being under the clock, consequently it was on the eastern side of the
entrance to the south transept.
3 Probably Middlethorp.
4 This altar appears to have been placed behind the great altar ; " retro magnum altare." — Regist. X a, fol. 36.
5 Magnum Album, par. ii./o/. '20 b. — Regist. X a, 14 b.
60
and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, which he had erected in the Cathedral church of the blessed
Peter at York, to celebrate divine service for ever, for his soul and for the souls of Richard and Ede,
his father and mother, of Godfrid de Ludham, of blessed memory, formerly Archbishop of York, for
his parents, friends and benefactors, and for all the faithful departed. He subsequently bequeathed
also for their support, four bovates of land, and four tofts, with all the rents, homages, wards, reliefs,
escheats and other appurtenances thereto belonging, peaceably and quietly exempt from all secular
service, and situate at Middleton near Baynton, 1 &c. &c. One of the witnesses to the deed is John
le Especier or le Especer, Mayor of York; who, according to Drake, filled that office a. d. 1273, at
which time the dignitaries of the church, named also as witnesses, were in office ; among whom
appears his successor.
William Wykewane, 2 Chancellor of the church, succeeded to Walter GifFard. He was installed on
St. Alban's day (June 22), consecrated in the Court of Rome on the 13th of the kalends of October
(Sept. 19), a. d. 1279, and on Christmas day in the same year he received the archiepiscopal see in
the church of York. On this occasion it is probable he received from the Pope Nicholas III. by the
hands of his deputy, the pallium or pall, with the following address :
" Nicholas, Bishop, &c. to his venerable brother William, Archbishop of York, health, &c. Whereas with humi-
lity and becoming earnestness you have besought of us the pallium, the ensign of the Pontifical office, we, consent-
ing to your supplications, having taken the same from the body of St. Peter, have thought fit to have it delivered to
you by our beloved son the Cardinal Deacon of St. Mary in Cosmedin, 3 upon the oath of fidelity having been
taken by you to us and to the Roman church ; that you may use the same within your own church upon those days
which are expressly set down in the privileges of the said church. 4 Therefore, that the sign may not be at variance
with the things signified, but that what you wear outwardly you may also carry inwardly in your mind, we admonish
and earnestly exhort you, beloved brother, that you study to observe humility and justice (God, the giver of gifts
and the bestower of rewards giving you grace) which preserve and promote those who deserve them ; and solicitously
to endeavour, with the help of the Lord, to enrich your spouse, the church of York, with spiritual and temporal
increase. — Given, &c." 5
In obedience to the exhortation of his Holiness, the Archbishop began zealously to exert himself for
the spiritual and temporal advantage of his church ; and his first care was to accomplish what he had
earnestly desired while chancellor of the church — the increase of the glory and the praise of St.
William. He therefore determined that the reliques of this patron saint of the church should be
1 Regist. X a, fol. 13 b. — This altar was placed in the chapel at b in the south transept. See PI. I. The following were its
ornaments : One good missal ; one good chalice, gilded ; one good corporal with a casula ; four pallse for the altar ; a fifth palla
for the altar with a frontal ; two good napkins for the sacrarium ; one vestment for double festival days ; one vestment for Sundays ;
one alb nearly new ; a frontal to cover the table of the altar ; a frontal to hang down before the altar ; a painted table ; two
iron candlesticks fixed in the wall, two good phyals, one new reading desk to sustain the missal upon the altar ; one chest to put
the vestments in, of little or no value ; one baldekin, i. e. an article of cloth of gold. — Regist. X a, fol. 13 b.
2 Alias Wickwane, or Wickwaine alias Wykeham. 3 A church in Rome.
4 These days were, Christmas-day ; Epiphany ; The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin ; Holy Thursday ; Easter-day ; The As-
cension ; Pentecost ; Ordination of the Archbishop ; St. John the Baptist's day ; All the Feasts of the Apostles ; On the Consecra-
tion and Benediction of Churches and of their Priests ; On the Anniversary of the Dedication, and the principal Feasts of the
Archbishop's church (York). Magnum Album, fol. 41.
5 Wickwaine's Regist. fol. 52.
61
translated ; and as Anthony Beck had been elected to the see of Durham, and his election confirmed,
the Archbishop and the Bishop elect being inspired with the same spirit, were desirous that the trans-
lation of St. William and the consecration of the elect Bishop should be celebrated on the same day.
This being determined, Edward, the illustrious King of England, and the most serene Eleanor, the
Queen, were invited, together with the nobles of England, both ecclesiastical and secular, to be present
at so great a solemnity. 1
" The king having accepted the invitation, and continued firm in so holy a purpose, it happened on a
certain day that he went up to a lofty place, when, his foot slipping, he fell down, and was thought by
those who were standing near to have had his limbs broken, and to have been greatly injured. But
rising immediately from the ground, having suffered no injury, he gave thanks to Almighty God
and St. William ; imputing his fall to the enemy of mankind, and constantly ascribing his pre-
servation to the merits of the glorious Confessor, whom he had purposed to honour. From that time,
he hastened as quickly as possible, from day to day, to the city of York, to do honour to St. Wil-
liam." 2
In the meantime, the Archbishop addressed the following exhortation to the chapter of Beverley : —
" William, by divine permission, Archbishop of York, Primate of England, to his beloved sons, the Chapter of
Beverley, health, grace and benediction.
" How pleasing and acceptable it hath been to the Divine Majesty, that the bodies of his saints, the habitations of
holy souls, which having been brought by angels into the presence of Christ, are perpetually enjoying eternal rewards,
should be venerated by becoming funeral honours on earth, that heavenly blessedness itself declareth ; and the sign
of the thrice-repeated awakening of the holy Lucian, the chosen priest of God, overpowered by a deep sleep, by
the blessed Gamaliel, the messenger of heaven, that he might open the tombs of the blessed, for the health of the
people, manifesteth by an evident miracle. 3 To the praise, therefore, of the Most High Creator, who most mercifully
glories in the fortitude of his champions, and to the augmentation of the glory of the holy citizens above, who
exult, rejoice and are glad at the increase of the honour of any one of their fellows, — We purpose, by the favour
of the Divine Clemency, on the first Lord's day after the ensuing feast of the Epiphany, to translate the most
precious relics of the blessed father Archbishop and glorious Confessor William, which are buried in our church
at York, from the lowly place in which they have been too long deposited, and to place them with becoming
reverence in a conspicuous shrine, in the same church. Wherefore we earnestly exhort that you would study to
pour forth most humble prayers to God, and that you would carefully cause prayers to be offered up in your church,
that the kind and merciful Saviour would graciously assent, and grant that the translation of so holy a father may
be prosperously begun, laudably continued, and by his bounteous aid, happily completed, to the glory and
1 Breviarium, &c. Fest. Translationis Sti. Willelmi. Led. iii.
2 Ibid. Led. iv. This event is represented in the compartments of St. William's window on the north side of the choir.
3 This refers to the account by Lucian himself, Austin, Evodius, and others, of the discovery of the relics of St. Stephen ; in which
it is stated that " on a certain night, as Lucian was sleeping in the baptistery, where he commonly lay, to guard the sacred vessels,
he saw a tall comely old man, of a venerable aspect, approach, who calling him thrice by his name, bid him to go to Jerusalem, and
tell Bishop John to come and open the tombs in which his remains, and those of other servants of Christ, lay, that through their
means God might open to many the gates of his clemency." This venerable person announced himself as Gamaliel, the instructor
of Paul : and as Lucian delayed to obey the order, the vision was repeated a second and a third time. After the last vision he
repaired to Jerusalem, communicated the order to John the Bishop, and search being made, the relics of the proto-martyr were
at length discovered. See Alban Butler's Lives of the Fathers, &c, vol. viii. p. 39.
L
62
exaltation of His name, who hath rendered his aforesaid saint worthy of the honour of so great a solemnity, and
the wholesome edification of the people committed to our government over whom he also presided as pastor.
" Done at Otteley, v. kal. Jan. (Dec. 28) a. d. 1284, and the fifth year of our pontificate." 1
In the year of our Lord 1284, which was the one hundred and thirtieth after the death of St. William,
and the thirty-eighth after his canonization, on the 8th of January, the day before that appointed for
the august ceremony, " there came the venerable Father William, Archbishop of York, the Bishop elect
of Durham, and his brother the Bishop of St. David's ; and entering the church in the silence of the
night, the dean and canons accompanying them, they chanted the litanies, they poured forth prayers,
and humbly prostrated themselves at the tomb of St. William. At length rising from prayer, the stone
being removed and the coffin raised and placed upon it, they found the body of the holy pontiff rolled
up many times in the sacred vestments which were moistened with the oil which exuded from it. 2 The
paten and chalice, which had been placed near the body in the sepulchre, were removed, and the arch-
bishop and bishops, with others who seemed to be most deserving, beginning from the head, rolled up
the holy relics with due reverence, and placing them in a certain chest, carried them with very great
devotion to a secret place, and having affixed to it their seals and appointed a watch, departed. Re-
turning on the following morning, as soon as it was day, they with reverence unrolled the sacred relics
of the saint, which they had before rolled up ; the vestments in which his glorious body had been rolled
up they laid aside ; but those things which pertained to the substance of the body they placed in a
shrine, very diligently prepared for this purpose, sealing the shrine, 3 and setting a watch."
" On the following day, about the first hour, the prelates being assembled at the church, the king and
queen also, with a very great company of counts and barons being present, the word of God being first
expounded by the venerable William, the Archbishop, the king himself, together with the bishops who
were present, carried on their shoulders the chest (or shrine) in which the holy relics were, with very
great devotion, about one part of the choir, to the place where the body of the saint was to rest. Thus
the body of St. William, with the solemnity that was becoming, was reverently translated from a low to
a high place, from a common place to the choir ; to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ." 4
Lord Anthony Beck, having been now consecrated Bishop of Durham, by the Archbishop, in the
presence of the king and the nobles, paid all the expenses of the translation of St. William : following
the example of his brother Thomas, who had defrayed the expenses of the translation of St. Hugh of
Lincoln. 5
1 Wickwaine's Reg. fol. 48. 2 See above, p. 51.
3 This shrine was of silver, gilded, and adorned with jewels and other ornaments. Regist. G y seu Acta Capitularia, ab an.
1390 ad 1410, fol. 246.
4 Breviarium, &c. ubi supr. Led. v. vi. ix.
5 Lansdown MS. 972, fol. 25. Stubbes Vit. Pontiff, in Vit. W. Wykwane. Ant. Beck was of a noble family, brother of
Walter Beck, Lord of Eresby in the county of Lincoln, of which place he was rector 1272. See Dugdale's Baron, i. p. 426.
He is said to have been possessed of immense wealth ; and not content with the episcopal dignity, he obtained from the Pope the
title of Patriarch of Jerusalem. He also obtained from the king, either by entreaty or by purchase, a grant for life of the Isle of
Man. Yet notwithstanding his honours and his wealth, he was excommunicated by the next Archbishop, John Le Romain.
Godwin de Presulibus.
63
The following law was enacted by the Church relative to the bearing of the portable shrine, feretrum
or bier of St. William, in public procession : —
»
" If any minister of the said church (St. Peter's) refuse to put his shoulders under the feretrum of St. William,
at the time when, to the praise of God and the reverence due to that Saint, he is wont to be borne through the
church or through the city, or shall refuse to erect and carry the cross before the said feretrum, if he shall be of
those parsons whom they call rectors or vicars of the said church, he shall pay a fine of 3*. 4arts), with all manner of reverence and honour due to so good a Prelate. We have received your letter, of the tenor
underwritten : — Health, grace, and benediction. Dearly beloved, whereas we have purposed, with the Divine permis-
sion, to erect a certain Chapel adjoining to the south side of the Choir of our Cathedral Church of York, yet without
disfigurement or incumbrance whatsoever of the aforesaid Church and Choir, to the effect that in the Chapel so built,
for the increase of Divine worship, and for the enlargement of the number of the Ministers of the said Church, a
certain perpetual Chantry be founded, entirely at our own costs and expences : we earnestly require and beseech you
that, for the more speedy fulfilment of this our intention, which we believe will conduce to piety, you be willing to
permit that the Master of the fabric and Masons of our aforesaid Church, directing the construction of the said
Chapel, may be enabled to regulate and order the fabric thereof, at our proper costs and charges, as we have before
declared ; you signifying by your writing what you shall have resolved to do in the premises. Fare ye well in the
Lord. Written at Ripon, the 9th day of April. — And we, having considered this your letter, and having deliberated
concerning the premises, do agree that you do and cause to be done accordingly as in your aforesaid letter is more
fully contained. Wishing you, Reverend Father, health and length of days for the wholesome government of the
Church : Farewell. Written at York, the 11th day of April." 2
The Archbishop having received this permission from the Chapter of the Church of St. Peter, to
erect a Chapel according to his pious intention, he would immediately, no doubt, make arrangements
1 Regist. G e. or, Acta Capitularia, 1343-1368, fob 59 b.
2 Zouch's Regist. fol. 233. The year is not given in the Record, but we consider it more than probable to be 1351, although
Mr. Torre supposes it was 1350.
129
with the Master of the fabric and the Master of the masons, and commence the building without
unnecessary delay : accordingly we find him providing for the expense by the following order sent to his
Receiver : —
" William, &c, to our beloved son Lord William de Wykesworth, our receiver at York, health, grace, and benediction.
We command you that straightway, on sight of these presents, you do pay to John de Acome, Canon of the Chapel
of St. Mary and the Holy Angels of York, forty pounds sterling, to be applied for divers expenses concerning the
construction of our Chapel at the same place, which forty pounds we desire shall be placed to your account, on
shewing these presents, and on receiving a proper acquittance from the aforesaid John as is suitable. Farewell.
Given at Cawode, the 25th day of April, a.d. 1351, and of our Pontificate the Ninth." 1
Death having deprived the fabric of the services of Mr. Thomas de Patenham, the late master mason,
and Mr. William de Hoton, mason, probably being considered too old or incompetent to perform the
duties, the Dean and Chapter appointed William de Hoton, junior, to that important office, by the
following indenture : —
" Pension of William de Hoton, Mason.
" To all children of our Holy Mother the Church to whom these presents shall come, the Chapter, &c. (the Dean
thereof being absent) everlasting health in the Lord. Know ye all that we, on account of the skilful industry and
labour of William de Hoton, mason, son of Master William de Hoton, mason, employed and hereafter to be employed
about the fabric of our Church of York, have given, granted, and assigned to him ten pounds of sdver as a yearly
pension, (together with a dwelling within the close of the Church of York aforesaid, which Master Thomas de Paten-
ham occupied while he lived, which we assign to the aforesaid William, after the decease of the aforesaid Master
William his father, for the term of his life, in whatsoever state it shall be, provided only that he do not superintend any
other works, whereby our work might be omitted, neglected, or in any wise delayed,) to be received yearly by two
equal portions at the two terms of the year, namely, at the Feasts of Pentecost, and of St. Martin in the winter, at the
hands of the Keeper of the fabric ; to which the said William, the son of the aforesaid William, assents and agrees,
that if it should happen that he should be hindered by blindness or any other calamitous disease, from working,
or from directing the said work in a fitting manner, from that time he shall pay yearly to the under-mason, who is
the second master of the masons' work, one half of the salary of the aforesaid under-mason, out of his pension afore-
said of ten pounds, while this hinderance shall continue.
" And if it shall happen, through the negligence of the said William, son of William, while able to work and to
superintend the said fabric, or through his voluntary omission, or through bis occupation in other matters, that the
work of our Church shall be neglected, omitted, or in any other manner delayed, from thenceforth the aforesaid
pension shall cease altogether, for which we do not intend to be further bound to him in any wise, and the present
writing shall be wholly without force and effect. In witness whereof our seal has been appended to the part of this
indenture in the possession of the said William ; and to the other part remaining in our possession, the seal of the
said William has been appended. Given at York, the first day of the month of October, a.d. 1351." 2
The Archbishop, to support the expenses of his new Chapel at York, on the 18th day of November
1351, sent the following order to his Receiver : —
" William, &c, to our beloved son Sir William de Wykesworth, our Receiver at York, health, grace, and bene-
diction. We command you that straightway, on sight of these presents, you do pay to our beloved sons John de
Acome, canon of the Chapel of St. Mary and the Holy Angels of York, and Robert de Wetemouth (Swetemouth),
Rector of the Altar of St. Lawrence, in our Cathedral Church of York, forty pounds sterling, for divers expenses to
be applied concerning the construction of our Chapel at the same place, which forty pounds, on showing these pre-
1 Zouch's Regist. fol. 270 b.
2 Regist. Ge. or Acta Capitularia, 1343— 13G8,/o/. 59 b.
2 A
130
sents, find a due acquittance from the aforesaid John and Robert, under their seals, we desire shall be placed to your
account. Farewell. Given at Cawode, the 18th day of November, a.d. 1351, and of our Pontificate the Tenth." 1
While the Archbishop was thus engaged in the construction of his Chantry Chapel, he was not
inattentive to the progress of the more extensive works then going on in his Cathedral Church, in
furtherance of which he sent forth a Brief on the 1st day of March, a.d. 1352, "directed to all
Abbots, Barons, Colleges, Archdeacons, Officials, Rural Deans, Parsons, Vicars, &c, within the city,
diocese, and province of York, requiring, and in the name of the Lord exhorting them to ask and
demand the alms and charitable benevolence of the people, and cause the same to be duly collected and
paid for the use and consummation of this (his) fabric, begun of so noble a stone work, and so laudable
a structure." 2
In the beginning of the month of May 1352, John de Acome and Robert de Wetemouth laid a year's
compotus, or an account of the receipts and expenses relating to the Archbishop's Chapel, before his
Lordship, who gave the following acquittance : —
" Know ye that we William, by divine permission Archbishop of York, Primate of England, having audited the
account of our beloved sons John de Acome and Robert de Wetemonth, keepers of the fabric of our Chapel adjoining
the south side of our Cathedral Church of St. Peter, of York, newly begun, concerning all the receipts and expenses
relating to the construction of the said Chapel, from the 23rd of April, a.d. 1350, unto the 28th day April 1352,
howsoever made and applied by the hands of the said John and Robert ; whereas we have found that the said John
and Robert for the time aforesaid have we'd and faithfully administered, and have expended twenty-five pounds nine
shillings and sevenpence over and above the sum received by them, upon the fabric of the said Chapel, concerning
which we have caused the said John and Robert to be satisfied, we do by these presents release the said John and
Robert from any further rendering of account for the time aforesaid. Whereunto we have caused our seal to be set
in witness of the premises. Given at Cawode, the 10th day of May, a.d. 1352, and of our Pontificate the Tenth." 3
Although the Chapter of the Church of St. Peter had granted the Archbishop leave to erect a Chapel
against the south side of the Choir, the permission did not amount to a regular license, and therefore
it was deemed requisite that the following formal, solemn, and explicit licence should be agreed to and
given to the Archbishop : —
" License granted by the Chapter to the Lord William de la Zouch, Archbishop of York, for the erection of his
Chapel.
" To all children of our Holy Mother the Church to whose knowledge these presents shall come, the Chapter of
the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York (the Dean being at present in a distant part), health in the pure embraces
of our Saviour. Know ye, that whereas the Venerable Father in Christ and Lord, the Lord Wdliam de la Zouch, by
the Grace of God Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, having, with a whole-
some intent, resolved to erect and construct, at his own costs and charges, a certain Chapel, in honour of the Saints
Mary Magdalene and Martha, the hostess of our Lord, adjoining the south side of the Choir of the said Cathedral
Church, to the furtherance of the divine worship, and more abundant support of the Ministers labouring in the said
Chapel, to the effect that a certain perpetual Chantry, consisting of certain Chaplains appointed to celebrate divine service
for ever, according to a certain form, in the said Chapel, be constituted and ordained ; We, taking into our consider-
ation the praiseworthy design of the said Venerable Father, and being desirous, in as far as it appertaineth to us,
1 Zouch's Regist. fol. 271.
2 Torre's MSS. York Minster, fol. 3, from Regist. F y. fol. 17, which is now lost.
3 Zouch's Regist. fol. 271.
131
to further the same according to our ability, do expressly consent to the erection and construction of the said Chapel,
and to the ordination of the said Chantry, in whatsoever manner the same shall have been or shall hereafter be
made, provided only it be at his (the Archbishop's) own costs and charges ; and we are willing, and do grant, by
these presents, for ourselves and our successors, that it shall be lawful for the said Venerable Father, his heirs and
executors, to cause the wall of the said Cathedral Church adjoining to the said Chapel, viz., at its western end, to be
pierced by the construction of one or two arches, and to put doors at the same place between the enclosures, and to
make and have free ingress and egress, by means of such walls, and arches, and doors, for the masons and other
workmen employed about the fabric of the said Chapel, as also for the Chaplains and Ministers who shall eventually,
according to the ordinance thereupon to be made as aforesaid, perpetually minister in the said Chapel, and likewise
for those who shall desire, at fit and proper seasons, to hear divine service therein ; and that he (the Archbishop)
shall be empowered freely, at his own costs as aforesaid, to erect, build, and finish the said Chapel, begun with such
excellent workmanship, and to found, establish, and ordain a certain Chantry, consisting of certain Chaplains, who
shall celebrate divine worship therein according to his ordinance thereupon to be made, the same to endure for ever.
" It being premised by the said Venerable Father that when the said Chapel shall have been raised and built, his
heirs and executors shall cause it to be kept in suitable repair at their own costs for ever, with the walls, windows,
glass, doors, roof, and covering thereof; to the repair of the same we and our successors do not intend nor are
willing to be in anywise bound by these presents. In witness whereof the common seal of our said Chapter is
affixed to these presents. Given in our Chapter-House, the 14th day of June, a.d. 1352." 1
In this year the Chapter of the Church of St. Peter, being prompted by an ardent desire for the
completion of the new parts of the fabric, issued the following urgent Brief to all the Prelates belonging
to the jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter.
" A Brief for a Collection for the fabric.
" The Chapter of the Church of St. Peter of York, in the absence of the Dean, to all Rectors, Vicars, Chaplains,
whether parochial or celebrating divine service in Chapels, and Procurators appointed by the Prebends, Dignities, and
Communities of our Church of York, greeting, in the Author of our Salvation.
" We charge all and each of you, strongly enjoining you by these presents in virtue of holy obedience, and under
penalty of the greater excommunication (which we pronounce against your persons from this time forth as well as
hereafter, if ye do not these things which we charge you), that as often as the Procurators and Messengers of our said
Church of St. Peter of York shall come to you, bearing our present letter, and not otherwise, to ask the contribu-
tions of the faithful of Christ for the fabric of our said Church, you do, in the parish Churches and Chapels subject
to you, kindly and without any hindrance whatsoever admit them, all other contributions of the like kind, and
indulgencies whatsoever which have been or hereafter shall be admitted, ceasing, being laid aside, or suspended, until
the business of our Church aforesaid shall have been fully and completely despatched ; and that you kindly persuade
your parishioners and subjects, in consideration of God and of us, that out of the goods bestowed on them they do
contribute ample charitable aids to the fabric of our aforesaid Church, whereby they may be enabled to receive the
reward of eternal life, acceptably in the sight of God.
"We moreover charge you, the Rectors, Vicars, and Chaplains, all and singular as aforesaid, strongly enjoining
you, (under pain of the greater excommunication pronounced, as above declared, against you and every one of you
from this time forth, as well as hereafter, if ye shall not observe the following,) that as often as the aforesaid procu-
rators and messengers shall come to you or to any one of you, you do seriously and expressly forbid all and singular
your parishioners and subjects, that any one of them in anywise offer, give, or pay to the said procurators or mes-
1 Regist. G c. fol. 4. It is impossible now to ascertain precisely the site of the Archbishop's Chapel ; by consulting the plans in
Plate II. it will be perceived that, if placed west of the little Transept of the Choir, the present Treasury and Revestry could not
have then existed (which it is more than probable was the case) ; if placed east of the Transept, it would very much interfere
with the windows of that Transept.
2 A 2
132
sengers engaged in making the said collection, any offerings due and accustomed to the Church of St. Peter, or any
legacies or donations, of whatsoever things consisting, bequeathed or to be bequeathed, given or to be given, to the
said Church ; inasmuch as we have given no power whatsoever to them to receive the same for our use, but do
expressly deny and deprive them by these presents of any such power.
" We desire also that you, the parochial Chaplains and those celebrating divine service in Chapels, do personally, in
your albs, make the said collection, granted or to be granted solely for the use of the aforesaid fabric, under the aforesaid
penalty, when our said procurators and messengers shall not be able personally to be present ; and whatsoever shall
have been collected in this matter, whether by yourselves or by the procurators or messengers, ye shall wholly and
entirely deliver to the bearer of these presents, without any delay or diminution whatsoever, knowing for certain that
if any one of you shall be a detainer or subtractor from such collection, he shall not escape canonical punishment
according to his deserts, and, moreover, shall be condemned for so great an offence in double the money so detained
or subtracted.
" These presents to remain in force for one year only, from the day of the date hereof. Given at York, on Satur-
day, the Vigil of Pentecost, a.d. 1352." 1
It is probable that before he had completed his Chapel in honour of the saints, Mary Magdalene and
Martha, Archbishop de la Zouch died, having held the archbishopric about eleven years. 2 This event
happened on the 19th of July, a.d. 1352. He was buried before the altar of St. Edmund, King and
Confessor, in the nave of the Church. 3
On the death of Archbishop William de la Zouch, the Chapter issued a summons for a solemn convo-
cation of the Clergy, to be held in the Chapter house, on the 16th day of August next ensuing, to com-
mence an election of a successor to the archbishopric of York. 4 The election, it appears, was not
finally accomplished until October, when John Thoresby, Lord Bishop of Worcester and Lord Chancellor
of England, was duly elected. Having obtained from the Pope his pall, he arrived at York on the
Nativity of our Lady, a.d. 1354 ; on the same day he was enthroned in the archiepiscopal chair, and
received the temporalities on the 8th day of February in the following year. 5
Whilst the Archbishop elect was waiting for his pall, either from his own zealous desire or from the
solicitations of the Chapter, he issued the following exhortation and indulgence in aid of the fabric of
the new nave of the Church yet in progress : —
"Exhortation to the Clergy of the City and Diocese, to make collections for the fabric of the Church of York.
" John, &c, to our venerable brethren in Christ, our fellow Bishops and Suffragans, and to our beloved sons in
Christ, the Deans and Chapters of Cathedral Churches, Abbots, Priors, Archdeacons, Officials, Rural Deans, Rectors,
Vicars, and Parochial Chaplains, and other Incumbents of Churches, established throughout our City, Diocese, and
Province, Greeting in the pure embraces of our Saviour. Among other pious works of devotion, we believe that to
be most highly acceptable in the sight of the Most High, which is turned towards the founding, supporting, and
repairing of Churches, which, as dwellings of salvation upon earth, receive the faithful, to offer up their prayers
therein, and to obtain the hoped-for pardon of their sins, the wrath of God being appeased through the Sacrament
which is offered on the altar of God by the ministry of priests for the salvation of believers.
" Whereas, therefore, our beloved sons, the Chapter of our Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, wherein the
relics of the glorious Confessor, St. William, are venerably deposited, some time since began, for the increase of
divine worship, for the honour of God and of the said holy Confessor, and for the stirring-up of the devotion of the
people, to enlarge, rebuild, and repair the said Church with costly work, which hitherto they have not been able, nor
1 Regist. G c, fol. 12 b.
3 Drake's Eboracum, p. 433.
2 Statuta Eccles. Cathed. Ebor.fol. 25. Cott. MSS. Vitellius, A ii. fol. 104.
4 Regist. G c, fol. 5. 5 Drake, p. 434.
133
will they be able conveniently to accomplish, without the assistance of others, their own means not being sufficient
for that purpose : We therefore earnestly entreat you all, and exhort you in the Lord, enjoining you moreover, for
the remission of your sins, that when the proctors or messengers of our aforesaid Church and of the Chapter thereof,
shall come to you, in order to ask and collect the alms of the faithful in aid of the work and building of the said
Church, you do kindly receive them in the bowels of charity, effectually persuading your subjects and parishioners,
that out of the good things bestowed on them by Almighty God, they do contribute pious and charitable aid to the
aforesaid work and fabric ; and that ye do likewise so contribute : and that whatsoever shall be collected, ye do
faithfully deliver and pay over to the aforesaid proctors and messengers, without any diminution, so that ye may at
the hands of the Almighty Rewarder receive an everlasting reward for the bounty so bestowed upon this object.
" And We, trusting in the mercy of the same Almighty God, and the merits of the glorious, &c, do, with the
favour of God, mercifully in the Lord release forty days of the penance enjoined them, to all persons who shall out
of their goods contribute, bequeath, or send acceptable aids of charity, for the fabric and repair of our said Church of
York. In witness, &c. Given on the 25th day of January, in the year of our Lord 1353, and of our translation the
second." 1
On the 1st day of February, a.d. 1354, William de Feriby, Canon, founded one perpetual chantry of
two Chaplains in the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, at the altar of the Holy Innocents, for the
soul of Edward of Caernarvon, formerly King of England, William de Melton, late archbishop of York,
the souls of his ancestors, the good estate of the said William de Feriby whilst living, and for his soul
after death, for the souls of William and Robert de Pykering, formerly Deans of the Church, and for the
souls of all the faithful departed ; he also founded one chantry of two Chaplains for the same purposes
in the Church of St. James at Melton, and also one chantry of one Chaplain in the Church of North
Feriby, which chantries were amply provided for by rents of lands and tenements in various places. 2
The progress of the works on the fabric of the Church now becomes more clearly defined, for, from
the following request of the Chapter, addressed to the Archbishop, soliciting a further grant of timber
for the use of the vault or ceiling, it may be reasonably conceived that the completion of the nave was
rapidly advancing. The document is also of considerable importance, as being one of those that show
clearly who were the general givers of timber to the fabric, and justify what was stated in an early part
of this work. See pp. 13, 47.
" Letter sent to John, Archbishop of York, for obtaining timber for the vault or ceiling.
" Most Reverend Father, — By the liberal grant lately obtained from you, in conformity with the example of your
predecessors, to the effect that, for the comeliness and ornament of your Cathedral Church, the timber necessary for
the vault or ceiling thereof be taken as it shall be needed out of your woods, the happy and speedy despatch of the
said work hath so prosperously and quickly advanced, by the vigilant exertions of ourselves and the keepers thereof,
that the whole of the timber already obtained (and which it was thought would suffice for a longer time) is already
arranged in the hands of the carpenters, and about to be immediately reared, if it please God ; and unless fresh
timber be cut down during the winter season, which may be dried during the summer, our carpenters and other
workmen, hired for the construction of the said work, will, for want of timber, remain wholly without employment
during the whole of the next winter.
" May it therefore please you, most Reverend Father, graciously to enjoin and direct the seneschal and your other
officers, that they do deliver the necessary timber to be cut down, if it please you (which timber consists rather of
crooked trees than of tall and straight trees of greater price and value), that we may be enabled to use all possible
1 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 17 a.
2 Regist. T b. fol. 55. The Church very probably continues to pay to the use of the Crown, under the item, " confiscated rents,"
the sum of £1. 6s. 8d. annually for the Chantry.
134
diligence in order that you may, if, as we hope, our Lord so dispose, behold with your own eyes the finishing of the
said work. And may the Most High keep you in happiness and safety for the government and defence of His
Church. Written at York the 19th day of January, a.d. 1355." 1
To keep up the funds for the acceleration of the works of the fabric, the Chapter of the Church
again issued a monitory Brief, dated Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, a. d. 1355, similar to that
which had been sent forth, dated Vigil of Pentecost 1352, but with this difference, that the present
Brief was to remain in force for three years, from the date thereof. 2
From the situation of the following curious record in the register G e, in the possession of the Dean
and Chapter, it seems reasonable to conclude that it was about this time, and in reference to the work
then going on in the nave, that the laws and regulations therein contained were made for the masons
and other workmen of the fabric.
" Orders made for the Masons and other Workmen of the fabric.
" It is ordered by the venerable the Chapter of the Church of St. Peter of York, that the ancient customs which
the masons, carpenters, and other workmen were wont to use at the several seasons of the year, shall henceforth be
observed after the accustomed manner; to the observance whereof the first and second masons, who are called
Masters of the same, and the carpenter of the aforesaid fabric, who are now received by the Chapter, or who shall
hereafter be received, shall make oath before the Chapter that they will cause the ancient customs underwritten to
be faithfully observed henceforth by the other masons, carpenters, and other workmen there working. Namely, that
the said masons, carpenters, and other workmen, shall begin to work on every working-day in summer, from the
Feast of Easter until the Feast of St. Michael, immediately after sunrise, and shall work from that hour of the day
until the ringing of the bell of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and then they may sit at breakfast within the fabric-lodge,
provided they shall not have tarried for the space of half-an-hour ; and then the aforesaid masters, or one of them,
shall knock upon the door of the lodge, and forthwith all shall go to their work, and so diligently fulfil their duties
until the hour of noon, and then shall go to their dinners. Moreover in winter, namely from the Feast of St. Michael
until the Feast of Easter, at daybreak they shall come to their work, and straightway each one, when he shall have come,
shall begin to work, and so continue, in form aforesaid until the hour of noon. And after dinner, from the Feast of
the Finding of the Holy Rood (May the 3rd) until the Feast of St. Peter in Chains (August the 1st), they shall sleep
within the lodge ; and when the Vicars shall come from the Canons 5 table after dinner, the master-mason, or his
substitute, shall cause them to rise from sleep, and return to their work ; and so they shall be required to labour
until the ringing of the first bell for Vespers, and then they shall sit to drink until the end of the third bell, both in
summer and in winter. Moreover, from the Feast of St. Peter in Chains aforesaid, until the Feast of the Finding
of the Holy Rood, immediately after taking their own dinner at a fitting hour, they shall return to their work, not
waiting for the return of the Vicars from the Canons' table ; and each one, when he returns, shall begin to work,
and so they shall work until the first bell for Vespers, and then shall drink within the lodge until the ending of the
third bell, and shall return to their work, and so work untd the ringing of the bell of St. Mary's Abbey, which is
called Le Langebell; that is to say, on every working-day from the Feast of St. Peter's Chair (January the 18th)
until the Feast of St. Michael, and from the Feast of St. Michael to the said Feast of St. Peter, so long as they can
see by the daylight, they shall continue their work, yearly. Moreover, each mason shall receive in winter less by the
week than in summer, to the amount of one day's wages ; to Avit, from the Feast of St. Michael until Easter.
Moreover, when two feast-days shall occur within a week, each workman shall forfeit one day's wages ; and when
three feast-days shall so fall, (he shall forfeit) one-half of that week's wages. Moreover, on Vigils, and on Saturdays,
when they shall rest in the afternoon, on account of the solemnity of the following day, they shall work until the
ringing of the hour of noon. Moreover, the aforesaid two Masters, mason and carpenter, of the fabric, shall be present at
1 Regist. G c. fol. 17 b.
2 Ibid. fol. 16 a.
135
each diinking-time, and there shall notify to the keeper of the fabric, and to the controller thereof, all failures and
absences ; and, according to (his) lateness of attendance and absence (from work), there shall be deducted from each
man either one whole day's, or half-a-day's salary, according as shall be equitable in this matter. Moreover, the two
aforesaid Masters, mason and carpenter, for the time being, shall be required faithfully to observe the aforesaid
customs, in virtue of his oath above-mentioned, and shall cause the same to be observed by the other masons and
workmen there working, under pain of removal ; and if any workman refuse, he shall, in form aforesaid, be forth-
with removed, nor be again received to work at the said fabric, until he shall be willing to observe the same in all
and singular the particulars thereof." 1
An obit was ordained on the 10th day of January, a. d. 1359, by Archbishop Thoresby, for the soul
of the Lord William de Melton, late Archbishop, to be made annually, on the 4th day of April, by the
vicars in their copes, in the Choir of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York ; "in consideration of
the grant of the site of St. Benedict's Church and burial-ground, then in waste and ruin, and rendered
a nuisance by filth, stagnant water, and stinks, situated in the place called Patrick-pole, in the City of
York." The site was granted for the purpose of building thereon houses to pay rents for the furnishing
of certain perpetual chantries, by Lord William de Melton, and the said grant was confirmed by King
Edward III. to Archbishop Thoresby, who made the ordinance and agreement with the Vicars Choral
to continue in perpetuity. The site is described as being in length towards Thoresday-market one
hundred and fourteen feet, and towards Stayn-gate fourscore feet ; and in length towards Peter-gate,
eighty-eight feet, and towards Swyn-gait, forty-feet. 2
Archbishop Thoresby being very anxious to hasten the completion of the new parts of the fabric,
directed the following order to his receiver.
" Health, grace, and benediction. Whereas, out of our pure liberality for the more speedy consummation of the
fabric of the Church of St. Peter of York, the forwarding of which we have, above all things, most at heart, we have
granted and given to the said fabric the sum of twenty pounds sterling, for the said uses, and not to be converted to
any other purpose. We charge you that you pay to Lord John de Cotyngham, keeper of the said fabric, the said
twenty pounds, which we desire shall be placed by you to your account. Written at Cawood on the 28th day of
the month of April" 3 (a.d. 1359).
" On the 11th day of January, a.d. 1360, the Executors of John de Wynwyk, late Treasurer of the
Church, were called before the Chapter, to make reparation for the great bell, which was fallen down
and broken, by default of the said Treasurer, and his ministers." 4
The Archbishop again thus ordered his Receiver to transfer his aid to the fund of the fabric : —
" Health, grace, and blessing. We charge you that you pay to Lord John de Cotyngham, keeper of the fabric of
our Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, twenty pounds sterling, which we have given, by special donation, to the
fabric of the said Church, receiving from the said person a full and sufficient receipt for the said money ; on the
witnessing of which, and on showing these presents, we desire it shall be placed to your account. Farewell. Given
at Cawood, November the 14th, a.d. 1360." 5
The Nave of the Church, commenced by Archbishop John le Romain in 1291, may be considered as
now, a.d. 1360, completed in all its essential parts, except the bell-towers; it having been in progress about
sixty-nine years ; and the success attending the zealous exertions made to increase the splendour of the
Church afforded the most encouraging prospects as to the future.
1 Regist. Ge. fol. 77 a. 2 R eg i st . Tb. fol. 82 b. 3 Thoresby 's Regist. fol. 315.
4 Torre's MSS. fol. 627, from Regist. Ny. fol. 21, which is now lost. 5 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 315.
13G
Sect. II.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES RELATING TO THE NAVE.
The remarks given in page 98, on the characters of the buildings erected about the close of the thirteenth
century, will be found, on examination and comparison, to apply also to the nave of the Cathedral,
which was commenced in 1291.
In Plate I, the nave, with its aisles, are marked by a, c, and c. The extent from the base of the west
wall to the centre of the innermost columns of the western piers of the great tower b, is about 210 ft.,
and in breadth, from base to base of the walls, 103 ft. 3 in. The breadth is divided into three aisles ;
the centre or processional aisle is about 43 ft. broad ; each side aisle being about 20 ft. 3 in. In the
central aisle, the letter a implies the place where, according to Mr. Drake, the remains of St. William,
Archbishop of York, are deposited. 1 Mr. Drake, writing on those remains, remarks : — " At the
Reformation the shrine was demolished, and no remembrance left of the place, but a tradition that this
Saint laid under a long marble stone spotted, in the nave of the church. May 27, 1732, at the laying
the new pavement in the Cathedral, I got leave to search under this stone, the Reverend the Dean, and
some other gentlemen, being present. At the raising of it, we found that the stone had been inverted,
and, by the mouldings round the edge, it appeared to have been an altar stone. Upon digging about a
yard deep, the workmen came to a stone coffin, 6 ft. 6 in. long, the lid arched, on which was a cross
the length of the coffin. When the lid was turned aside, there appeared a square leaden box, three-
quarters of a yard long, about 8 in. diameter at the top, and gradually decreasing to the bottom. In
this box the bones were deposited ; it had been closely soldered up, but was decayed in many places,
and was easily opened with the fingers. The smaller bones, and those of the skull, which were broken,
were wrapt in a piece of sarsenet double, which had acquired the colour of the bones it contained ;
some of which sarsenet, for curiosity sake, we took out. The larger bones were put down to the bottom
of the box ; and, by the mensuration of a thigh-bone, entire, our prelate appears to have been about
5 ft. 6 in. high. On the middle of the box was a small plain cross made of two pieces of lead of equal
bigness, and at the end was laid a piece of stuff, which mouldered upon touching. There was nothing
like an inscription, either within or without the box, or upon the altar-stone, that I could find, to denote
that it was the saint we looked for ; but the circumstances put together, the matter to me seems indis-
putable. The remains of this once famous prelate were carefully reposited in the coffin, that closed,
and the grave filled up. But that the curious may be farther satisfied about it, I have caused the repre-
sentation of the coffin and box to be engraven, and the place where they lye to be marked in the plate
of the ichnography of the Cathedral." 2 The letter b was probably the situation of St. William's shrine
and altar ; c was probably the site of the altar of St. Edmund, founded for the soul of Robert de
Pynchebek ; 3 it was adjoining this site that the venerable Archbishop William de la Zouch, was
interred ; 4 d is considered to be the tomb of Archbishop Melton ; 5 e is the entrance to the ancient
magnificent Chapel of St. Mary and of the Holy Angels ; G f is the situation of the old font, which, in
1 Eboracum, No. 34, in the old plan, p. 492.
4 Page 132.
2 Eboracum, p. 420.
5 Page 125.
3 See above, p. 123.
6 Page 19.
137
disobedience to the orders of Sir Thomas Fairfax, given to his adherents during the contentions in the
reign of Charles I., was thrown down by them. "The cover whereof," says Mr. Gent, 1 "might
emulate any in England for curious work and stateliness in going up in pinnacles and spires very near
to the top of the side arches." It is supposed the top was attached by a rope to the mouth of the
large wooden dragon, which projects from the triforium, the tail of which expands, and the whole is
formed and fixed as an easy and powerful lever to raise the stupendous cover, as occasion required. 2
The font is now obscurely placed at g, in the west aisle of the south transept ; the letter g in the nave
is supposed to be the situation of the ancient pulpit, as the people were always instructed in the nave
from a pulpit which stood between the font and St. William's tomb.
"In the old floor or pavement," says Mr. Drake, 3 " were a number of circles, which ranged from
the west end up the middle aisle, on each side and in the centre. They were about forty-four on a
side, about two feet distance from one another, and as much in diameter. Those in the midst were
fewer in number, larger, and exactly fronted the entrance of the great west door, that circle nearest the
entrance in this row being the largest of all. We take all these to have been drawn out for the eccle-
siastics and dignitaries of the Church to stand in, habited according to their proper distinctions, to
receive an Archbishop for installation, or any other solemn occasion. The Dean and the other digni-
taries, we presume, possessed the middle space, whilst the Prebendaries, Vicars, Sacrists, Priests at
altars, &c, belonging to the Church, ranged on each side." In Mr. Drake's old plan of the Church
these circles are represented.
The old floor of the Church was decorated with almost an innumerable quantity of gravestones, many
of which shone like embroidery, being enriched with the images, &c, in brass, of Archbishops and
other ecclesiastics, represented in their proper habits, and having also monumental inscriptions upon
them, in order to convey down the names, qualities, and desires, of the venerable dead to the latest
posterity ; but during the early years of Elizabeth's reign the inflamed zeal of the pretending Reformers
vented itself not only against the old religion and its advocates, but against all sacred carvings and
paintings, and even against the sepulchral brasses, by tearing all of them from the tombs and monuments
of the dead. In this general sacrilegious destruction and robbery it is very probable the numerous
brasses in the Cathedral formed a portion of their prey.
PLATE XCV.
The internal length of the magnificent nave is divided into eight compartments, each having the
same elevational heights for the capitals, string-courses, &c. The elevation is divided only into two
stories. The first or lower story contains a lancet or acute arch, which, by the aid of the noble piers,
extends to a height of fifty feet from the floor. The arch is enriched with a series of bold and highly-
relieved mouldings. The piers are adorned with vertical three-quarter attached columns, octagonal
bases, and capitals, with elegant and deeply-relieved foliage. The columns are alternately large and
1 History of the Cathedral of St. Peter, in York, p. 49.
2 The head of the dragon suffered greatly in the late burning of the nave, and this circumstance nearly proved fatal to the whole
of it ; some members of the Restoration Committee, regarding it merely as an object of superstition, were desirous of entirely
removing it : happily there were others who knew its original purpose, and its value as an index to the site of many important
events recorded in the registers of the Church, and through their zealous exertions it has been preserved, and furnished with a
new head.
3 Eboracum, fol. 519.
2 B
138
small, and are placed so as to seem to be supporting either the ribs of the vault of the side aisles and
the mouldings of the arch, or extending to bear the ribs of the vault of the centre aisle.
The side aisles are of but one story in height, and in length are divided to correspond with the
divisions of the centre aisle. Each compartment contains a window of three lights, with trefoiled
heads, and the space of the arch is adorned with three quatrefoiled lights. The dado beneath the win-
dows is adorned with pannels containing one arch embracing two smaller, and elegant tracery beneath a
straight-lined gable richly and boldly crocketed and finialed ; each pannel is separated by a buttress
with an elegant pinnacle. The apex of the vault of the side aisles is about 50 feet from the floor.
The second or clere-story is principally adorned with a window, extending in length, with its sill and
arch mouldings, about 42 feet. It is divided into five lights, of which about 13 feet are formed as an
open screen to the triforium, having trefoiled heads, straight-lined pediments richly crocketed, united
with a quatrefoiled cornice or pannel. 1 Each of the five lights has a trefoiled head, and the space of
the equilateral triangled arch is adorned with a circle embracing a square with trefoils, quatrefoils, &c.
From the attached columns which divide the compartments of the nave, spring, at the height of about
54 ft. 6 in., the mouldings, or ribs, to support the vault of the centre aisle, the distance of the apex
being from the floor about 93 feet. The original vault was formed of oak boards, but at the close of
the last century the boards were taken away, lath and plaster substituted, and all the elegant and
elaborate sculptured bosses, which were covered with gold, were coloured or painted to correspond with
the plaster.
Little needs to be said of the exterior of the compartments, as the preceding description is applicable
to the principal features. The buttresses on the south side, as represented in the plate, diminish at
three divisions as they ascend, and at each division are adorned with tracery, pediments, crockets, and
finials. These adornments and diminishings are absent on the north side. From the general buttresses
originally sprang flying or opposing buttresses, to counteract the pressure of the roof on the central
aisle, but many years since they were taken down, being much decayed.
The profile a represents the external basement enrichments used on the nave, drawn to the subjoined
scale ; the profile b represents the proportions and mouldings forming the bases to the piers ; and the
profile c exhibits the mouldings and proportional foliage used for the capitals — also to the subjoined
scale.
It is almost impossible to convey a proper impression, by mere description, of the magnificence of
the facade or west front, or to give a distinct idea of its various characteristic features. Its horizontal
extent of 139 ft. 6 in. clear base is divided into three portions by massive buttresses, which also are
divided by string-courses and adorned with pannels, tracery, pediments, crockets, and finials. The
central division contains the principal entrance, which is divided into two doorways by a slender pier,
supporting the heads of the entrances and the tracery in the space of the arch. The arch is adorned
with a profusion of elaborately-wrought foliage and a series of niches, containing representations of the
Fall of Man and its consequences ; and the jambs are enriched by columns and bold mouldings. On
each side of the entrance are placed niches, with pedestals for statues. The arch of the entrance is
1 In the centre arch of each bay of the triforium formerly stood an effigy either of a King in royal robes, or of a Queen with
her falcon, or of a Warrior completely equipped, and, from their situation, it might have been supposed they would have escaped
fanatical disfiguration ; but, alas, several of them received decapitation and other mutilations, and the only one remaining perfect
is St. George, which stands opposite the projecting dragon, whilst some of the others are taken down, and are deposited in the
doubtful charge of the masons.
139
covered by a straight-lined pediment richly crocketed and finialed, within which, in a niche, sits an
Archbishop, with the model of the Church in his hand, intended probably for John le Romain, who
began the nave in 1291. On the one side of the pediment stands the figure of a Vavasour, with
a rough stone in his left arm, and on the other side the figure of a Percy, with a wrought stone in his
right hand, indicative of the aid those illustrious families gave to the fabric. 1
Above the principal entrance is a noble window of eight vertical lights, having trefoiled heads at the
springing of the general head or arch. The tracery is formed by the principal mouldings into the
flaming heart, and adorned by the secondary mouldings with foliated and cuspated enrichments, the
whole exhibiting an unequalled specimen of the windows used at the beginning of the fourteenth cen-
tury. Above the window is a crocketed pediment, which runs above the battlement on the general
cornice, and is pierced and adorned with elegant tracery, through which the gable of the roof is seen,
also adorned with tracery ; the whole finishing with battlements of open work, ascending the sides of
the roof, and an open tabernacle, crowned with a crocketed pinnacle at the apex.
The side divisions of the west front contain each an entrance undivided and rich in adornment, but
inferior to the grand west door : the arches have no pediment. Above each entrance is a window,
corresponding in general features with the side windows of the nave ; above this is a series of arches,
and a quartrefoil pannel, and then another noble window of four lights, with flowing tracery in the space
of the arch, the whole crowned with a cornice and an open battlement. From about the sole of the
battlement, which is about 99 ft. from the ground, commences the noble bell-towers, finished about
1460, each being, with its pinnacles, about 103 ft. 3 in. in height, and 30 ft. 6 in. square: the
principal feature in each of them is the window, which contains three lights and almost vertical tracery
cuspated ; the arch is crowned by an ogee pediment richly crocketed and finialed. The spandrils are
decorated with pannels, arched and crocketed. The angles of the towers are double-buttressed, which
appear to diminish from the ground by four breaks, gabled and crocketed : each tower is crowned with
an elegant cornice, an open battlement, and eight good proportioned pinnacles, tastefully decorated with
pannels, gables, crockets, and finials. The finials extend to about 201 ft. 3 in. from the ground.
The interior elevation of the three compartments of the west front correspond with the exterior, as
far as circumstances will allow. The slender shaft of the central entrance is adorned with a pedestal
and beautiful canopy ; upon the pedestal, or its predecessor, formerly stood the image of St. Peter ; 2
above the apex of the entrance is a large niche, which probably contained the figure of the Crucifixion, '
and in corresponding large niches in the spandrils of the entrance probably were placed, in one the
image of the Blessed Mary, and in the other the image of St. John.
On the spandrils of the arches of the side entrances are representations of some of the particular
actions recorded under the old law ; as, Samson and the Lion, and Delilah cutting off Samson's hair,
Jacob's wrestling, David and the Lion, Samson and the Foxes, Samson in Captivity, &c. On each
side of the heads of these side entrances are three niches, which, from the evidence of remnants of iron
cramps, appear to have formerly contained images, probably of the apostles. The windows of the nave
1 See note, p. 50.
2 William Johnson, by will dated 20th day of March 1530, gave his body to be buried, "afore the yraage of sanct Petur
standing in the midst of the church dore at the west end of sanct Petur Mynstre." — Regist. Ay. fol. 158.
3 In a Fabric Roll, a.d. 1419, is the following item : — Paid for four gallons of oil, bought for the lamp burning before the
Crucifixion in the Nave of the Church, for the year, iiiis. vid.; also, paid to the Sacristan, for keeping the same lamp lighted, xviiirf.
2 B 2
140
are well stored with stained glass, and the effect of the whole is generally acknowledged to be, not only
impressive, but awful.
PLATE XCVI.
In the vault of the nave there were one hundred and forty-seven sculptured enrichments, placed at the
springing or union of the various ribs forming the support and tracery of the vault ; some were placed
merely as brackets, some were only attached bosses, but several were actual key-blocks, or unitors of
the ribs of the vault. They were all formerly covered with gold, and well relieved by the coloured ribs
and vault.
The plate contains a representation of a large key-block. There was one of these blocks at the
centre of the eight compartments into which the nave is divided ; consequently, there were eight similar-
sized blocks, each embossed with a representation connected with the Christian dispensation : as, the
Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of our Saviour, &c. The present block was the first
principal one from the west end. Its dimensions were 3 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. 11 in., and it projected from
the vault 1 ft 7 in., the face being about 91 ft. 6 in. from the floor.
The embossment exhibits a representation of the act of announcing the birth of the Redeemer, or of
the Archangel Gabriel saluting the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the words, " Hail full of grace, the Lord
is with thee ; Blessed art thou among women, &c." The Archangel holds a scroll in his left hand,
having the words, " @Lbz JiHaria (Sratta," and the Blessed Virgin is in a position denoting the amaze-
ment caused by the salutation. Between them stands a flower-pot, from which issues a purfled stem,
probably intended for a lily, the usual emblem of the Virgin's purity and odour of sanctity. Near her
head is the figure of a dove, the emblem of the Holy Spirit that was to come upon her. One Thorn-
leaf adorns each of the principal groins.
PLATE XCVII.
This plate contains side representations of two key-blocks, selected out of eighteen, which were used
for the springing of the minor ribs, which, previous to the late fire, formed the tracery of the spaces
between the principal ribs of the vault ; ! they are each about 3 ft. 2 in. in length, and 1 ft. 11 in. in
breadth. The boss a is the Thorn and its fruit, and the boss b is the Oak and its fruit, with a gatherer
thereof. Both representations imply the antumnal season.
PLATE XCVIII.
This plate exhibits four representations selected from thirty-two key-blocks, placed in the late vault at
the union of the diagonal and the tracery ribs: they were each about 1 ft. 10 in. in diameter. The
block a is embossed with the leaves of the Thorn ; the boss b is composed of the upper and under
surfaces of the leaves of the Oak, and a little fruit ; c is composed of the leaves of the Thorn and the
Oak ; and the boss d is adorned with the leaves and fruit of the Maple.
PLATE XCIX.
This plate contains representations of two blocks selected from forty-eight which were used as
1 The late vault was adorned with principal and secondary ribs ; the latter being about three inches less than the former in
thickness, with a proportional less depth, gave a pleasing lightness to the vault, and prominence to the bosses ; — an effect which is
much wanted in the new heavy vault, in consequence of the ribs being uniformly of the larger size.
141
brackets or bosses, placed at the ends of the ribs against the side walls. The bracket a exhibits
probably a Heron and a Spoonbill. The bracket b is a production of the carver's or designer's
imagination. Each bracket was about 2 ft. 2 in. in breadth, and 1 ft. 3 in. in depth.
PLATE C.
This plate presents a selection of the crockets and finials formed above the heads of the arches of
the open triforium (see interior elevation, Plate XCV). The example a exhibits the crockets and finial
formed of the leaves of the Thorn, but the example b shows the crockets in other conventional forms
for the Thorn ; and the finial is a beautiful combination of the conventional leaves of the Herba
Benedicta.
PLATE CI.
This plate contains another of the eight key-blocks described in Plate XCVI. The block was
3 ft. 4^ in. by 2 ft. 11 in. in diameter, with a projection from the vault of 1 ft. 7 in. The embossment is
a representation of the Nativity, or of the infant Jesus, his Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph, in the stable
at Bethlehem. The Blessed Virgin is giving nourishment to the Holy Infant, whilst St. Joseph appears
to be asleep. The Star is conspicuously placed. Angels are seemingly rejoicing, and casting their
thuribules with incense ; and an ox and an ass are placed at the manger, according to a tradition handed
down from early times.
PLATE CII.
This plate exhibits four representations, selected from the same series of key-blocks described in
Plate XCVIII. The block a is embossed with the leaves of the small Maple ; the boss b is adorned
with the leaves of the Oak ; c is embossed with the leaves of the large Maple ; and the block d is
adorned with the leaves and flowers of the Rose.
PLATE CI II.
This plate contains the front representation of two key-blocks, selected out of the sixteen mentioned
in Plate XCVII. They were each about 3 ft. 1 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and projected 1 ft. 6 in.
The block a is embossed with a representation of a Man fighting a Dragon, with feathered wings and
warted body, both figures being placed between an Oak-leaf and a Thorn-leaf and fruit. The boss b
represents a naked Man fighting a Dragon with bats' wings and smooth body, the tail of which is
transformed into a branch of Ivy, with leaves and fruit.
PLATE CIV.
This plate exhibits representations of two capitals with their foliage, selected from the upper capitals,
from which spring the principal ribs for the vault of the centre aisle. They are about 1 ft. 2 in. in
height, and are placed about 63 ft. 6 in. from the floor. The capital a is adorned with a beautiful
combination of the leaves of the Thorn, and the capital b with two tiers of the leaves of the Maple.
PLATE CV.
The representations in this plate are selected from the same series of key-blocks as mentioned in
Plates CII. and XCVIII. The block a is embossed with a front view of a Lion and Thorn-leaves ; b is
adorned with two Dragons, with feathered wings, scaled bodies, and eagles' claws, between two large
Thorn-leaves ; the block c is embossed with two fighting Dragons, the one having feathered wings
142
and scaled body, the other hath bats' wings, warted body, and eagles' claws ; d is embossed with the
whimsical conceits of the carver or designer.
PLATE CVI.
This plate represents another of the eight key-blocks mentioned in Plate XCVI. The block was
3 ft. 5^ in. by 3 ft. 2 in. in diameter, with a projection of 1 ft. 7 in. The embossment is a repre-
sentation of the three Wise Men, or Kings, as they are commonly supposed to have been, and as they
are here exhibited, visiting the infant Jesus, and doing homage to him, according to the custom of the
East, by presenting to him costly gifts. The extraordinary Star that guided them to Bethlehem is
also represented, and conspicuously placed above their heads, and cherubs and angels with thuribules
adorn the groins, and glorify the scene.
PLATE CVII.
This plate exhibits another selection of the crockets and finials mentioned in Plate C. The
example a displays the crockets formed of the leaves of the Thorn, with a fmial of three tiers of the leaves
of the Oak. The example b exhibits the crockets formed of Oak-leaves, and the finial composed of
three tiers of the leaves of the Thorn.
PLATE CVIII.
This plate contains representations of other two of those key-blocks described in Plate CIII. ; they
were each about 3 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 6^ in. in diameter, and projected about 1 ft. 6 in. The embossment
a is composed principally of two combatants, one being a sagittary. Leaves and fruit of the Oak adorn
the retiring parts. The boss b is principally composed of a branch of the Oak, with leaves and fruit ;
a gatherer of the fruit is placed on one side, and a huntsman and his dog are placed on the other.
Both the bosses are representations of the autumnal season.
PLATE C1X.
This plate presents the representations of four bosses selected from fifteen, placed as attached blocks
upon the junction of the tracery ribs with the ridge-band or rib : they were each about 2 ft. 3 in. in
diameter, and 1 ft. in thickness. The boss a is composed of a small stem and leaves of the small
Maple ; b is adorned with a stem, three flowers, and leaves of the Rose ; c is embossed with a stem
and leaves of the Maple ; and the boss d is adorned also with the leaves of the Maple.
PLATE CX.
This plate displays the representations of two capitals, selected from the capitals on the mullions in
the windows in the clerestory. Both capitals are about 9^ in. in height, and are placed about
65 ft. from the floor. The capital a is adorned with bold and well-executed leaves of the Vine, and
the capital b is embellished with equally bold leaves of the Maple.
PLATE CXI.
This plate exhibits another of the eight principal key-blocks mentioned in Plate XCVI. The block
was 3 ft. 4j in. by 3 ft. 2 in. in diameter, and projected from the vault about 1 ft. 11 in. The emboss-
ment is a representation of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ ; he appears to have got one leg out of the
143
tomb, and is in the act of blessing as he rises ; the wounds in his hands, side, and foot, are conspicuous,
and he bears the Cross in his left hand. On one side stands an angel holding back the large cover of
the tomb, and on the other side stands an angel offering incense to the rising Saviour. An angel is also
placed with a thuribule in each of the principal groins, to give homage to the Conqueror. Beneath, or in
front of the tomb, are the special guards of the tomb, in full armour, apparently under the influence
of sleep.
It has already been observed by Mr. Halfpenny, that the foliage represented on the bosses in the vault
was much more natural and graceful than the representations of the human figure ; an observation which
the principal figure on this boss evidently corroborates.
PLATE CXII.
This plate contains representations of four of the key-blocks mentioned in Plate CIII. ; they were
each about 3 ft. by 2 ft. 6 in., and projected 1 ft. 9 in. The embossment a is formed of the leaves and
fruit of the Vine ; the boss b is adorned by a branch having the five-lobed leaves of the Maple ; c is
composed of the leaves and fruit of the Thorn ; and the block d is embossed with the five-lobed leaves
of the Maple.
PLATE CXIII.
This plate displays two representations from the series of capitals mentioned in Plate CIV. The
capital a is decorated with a branch of the Vine, with the leaves and the fruit ; and the capital b is
adorned alternately with a piece of the Thorn, with its flowers and fruit, and a sprig of the Oak, with
leaves and fruit.
PLATE CXIV.
This plate contains representations of four bosses, selected from the attached blocks described in
Plate CIX. The boss a is composed of a conventional continuous leaf of the Thorn ; b is adorned
with the leaves and fruit of the Oak ; c is embossed with plain and serrated leaves of the Vine, with
its fruit ; and the boss d is decorated with the five-lobed leaves of the Maple, with its fruit.
PLATE CXV.
This plate exhibits representations of two brackets, selected as mentioned in Plate XCIX. Each was
in length about 2 ft. 2 in., and in depth 1 ft. 3 in. The bracket a is embossed with a representation of
a carver forming a Swan ; and the bracket b is adorned with two chimerical combatants.
PLATE CXVI.
This plate exhibits another of the eight principal key-blocks mentioned in Plate XCVI. The block
was 3 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. ll£ in., and projected, at its centre, 2 ft. The embossment is a representation
of the last Mystery of Jesus Christ, and the consummation of all the rest : it is the Ascension of Jesus
Christ into Heaven. He is exhibited as having passed out of sight, except the feet and the edge of his
garment. Around are represented the heads and hands of the Blessed Virgin and the eleven Apostles,
in a position denoting surprise and admiration.
PLATE CXVII.
This plate displays representations of four bosses, selected from the attached blocks described in
Plate CIX. The boss a is adorned with a human face, and two conventionally-enlarged leaves of the
144
Thorn ; b is embellished with a Dragon lurking among Ivy ; the block c is embossed with two
grotesque heads and leaves of the Thorn; and the boss d is adorned with a human face, beard, and
foliage.
PLATE CXVIII.
This plate exhibits another of the eight principal key-blocks described in Plate XCVI. The block
was 3 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft. 1 1| in., and projected from the vault 1 ft. 7 in. The embossment is a repre-
sentation of the Descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, in fulfilment of Christ's promise
that he would send from the Father the Spirit of Truth, to teach and guide his Church in truth. The
Holy Spirit on the boss is represented by a Dove, and its influence by an unbroken connection between
the mouth of the Dove and the mouths of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the eleven Apostles.
PLATE CXIX.
This plate contains several examples of the specimens of the ancient stained glass found in the
tracery of the windows of the clerestory of the nave, as mentioned and particularly described in p. 84.
Thus, examples a b c belong to the first specimen, d and e belong to the second specimen, the designs
f and g are specimens of lustreal borders, and the design h is an illustration of the third specimen of
glass adornment : scales are respectively attached.
PLATE CXX.
This plate exhibits the representation of four bosses, selected from the nine key-blocks belonging to
the junction of the transverse and longitudinal ribs of the vault of the nave. The block a is embossed
with the leaves and fruit of the Oak ; the boss b is composed of the leaves and fruit of the Thorn, and
animals ; c is adorned with a branch and four leaves of the Maple ; and d is embossed with conventional
leaves of the Thorn. Each boss was about 2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. in diameter, and projected about 1 ft. 8 in.
PLATE CXXI.
This plate displays another of the eight principal key-blocks described in Plate XCVI. The block
was 2 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. in diameter. The embossment represents the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary to Heaven. The Church, after having displayed in regular order the Incarnation, Birth,
Adoration, Resurrection, and Ascension of her divine spouse Christ Jesus, and the gift of the Holy
Spirit, directs the attention of the faithful to the special favour granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
mother of the Redeemer, by exhibiting her Assumption to her heavenly reward in the kingdom of
her Son.
The Assumption or Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Heaven is considered her spiritual
birthday, or the beginning of her heavenly happiness. The Blessed Virgin having paid the common
debt of nature, her body with her soul (according to traditionary belief) were soon after united and
assumed by God to heavenly glory. In the boss she is represented as ascending with humility, yet with
becoming dignity, and receiving the respectful attendance of angelic spirits.
PLATE CXXII.
This plate exhibits representations of four embossments, selected from sixteen key-blocks, placed
upon the transverse ridge ribs. The boss a is composed of the five-lobed leaves of the Maple, and the
145
clustered fruit of the Herba Benedicta ; b is adorned with the leaves and conventional flowers of the
Maple, with monsters lurking in the large groins. The block c is embossed with a branch of the Vine,
its leaves and fruit ; whilst the boss d is adorned with several of the five-lobed leaves of the Maple.
The blocks were about 2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 5 in., and projected about 1 ft. 6 in.
PLATE CXXIII.
This plate presents another illustration of the ancient stained glass described as a third specimen,
page 84. The original of the centre of the plate is placed in the west light of the seventh window,
west of the large tower on the north side of the clerestory of the nave. The lustreal border is added
to the centre, and completed from an original border placed in the tracery of the second window, west
of the large tower, on the north side of the clerestory. A scale is added for the dimensions.
PLATE CXXIV.
This plate exhibits another selection of the crockets and finials described in Plate C. The example a
displays elegant crockets formed after the leaves and fruit of the Vine, with a finial consisting of two
series of the leaves of the conventional Herba Benedicta. The example b exhibits rich crockets formed
of conventional-shaped leaves of the same plant, with a finial composed of two series of the leaves of
the Oak.
PLATE CXXV.
This plate contains representations of two brackets, selected as mentioned in Plate XCIX. Each was
in length about 2 ft. 2 in., and in depth 1 ft. 3 in. The bracket a is embossed with a representation of
two Mermaids, one adjusting her hair with comb and mirror, the other amusing herself with a squirrel.
The bracket b is enriched with two Monkeys, one of which appears to be personifying a Urinator,
holding in his left hand the urinal, and in his right hand a stone. The other Monkey seems to be
whistling, and endeavouring to blindfold an Owl (the emblem of Wisdom), by alluring it to place its
head in a hood, similar to what the farmers often make for crows.
PLATE CXXVI.
This plate presents another, and the last, of the eight principal key-blocks described in Plate XCVI.
The block was the first principal one from the large tower ; its dimensions were 3 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 8 in.,
and projected from the vault 1 ft. 6 in., and was 91 ft. 6 in. from the floor. The embossment represents
the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Church, having given the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, as represented in Plate CXXI, now
presents her Coronation, or the Consummation of her Mysteries ; for it is the crowning of all the virtues
of her whole life. She is represented in the boss, as placed upon a throne near the Almighty, in
perfect humility, whilst He is represented wearing a kingly crown, and bearing the sphere of dominion.
He is also installing and enthroning the Blessed Virgin with heavenly benediction, and causing her to
be crowned as Queen of the Celestial Regions.
PLATE CXXVII.
This plate exhibits representations of the embossments of two brackets, selected as mentioned in
Plate XCIX. Each was in length about 2 ft. 2 in., and in depth 1 ft. 5 in. The bracket a presents
2 C
146
two grotesque figures, probably designed with some artistical reference to the vision of Ezekiel. The
bracket b is adorned with two imaginary combatants, one having whole, the other divided hoofs.
The representations in this plate, and those in Plates XCIX., CXV., and CXXV., are given as speci-
mens of the brackets that were placed at the ends of some of the ribs of the vault, at the clerestory
walls. Several of the brackets were adorned with foliage, but many were embossed with grotesque
sculptures, somewhat similar to those already given ; and as those grotesque brackets were not allowed
to be replaced in the present vault, the author regrets that great probability exists of the remainder
being for ever lost to the public, as he has found it impossible to introduce representations of them
within the limits of the present work.
PLATE CXXVIIL
This plate presents several other illustrations of the ancient stained glass, described as the third and
succeeding specimens in page 84. The example a is a portion of an octofoiled compartment, with the
addition of a rich lustreal border, belonging to the third specimen, as are also the rich borders b, c, d, e,
and f. The example g is the simple trefoiled folded leaf of the Herba Benedicta unveined, and without
reticulated shading ; it belongs to the fourth specimen. The example h is the leaf adorned with black
lines, in forms of two folded leaves ; it belongs to the fifth specimen. The example i presents the
area of the leaf, embellished with a cluster or a series of trefoiled leaves ; it belongs to the seventh
specimen. A scale is added for the dimensions.
PLATE CXXIX.
This plate exhibits representations of four bosses, selected from the key-blocks described in
Plate CXXII. The boss a is composed of convex and concave leaves of the Oak, with grotesque
faces ; b is adorned with a representation of St. Michael combating the Dragon, which being com-
pared with the representation of the same subject from Archbishop Walter Grey's Chantry in the
south transept (Plate XL.), becomes a valuable specimen of the art of design in a different century.
The boss c is composed of a branch of the Thorn, with leaves, among which is a Dragon ; and convex
leaves of the Oak, among which is a Man. The block d is adorned with a stem, the leaves and the
fruit of the Vine. In the groins are grape-gatherers and hideous monsters. The blocks were about
2 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 5 in., and projected about 1 ft. 6 in.
With this plate the author closes a series of representations selected from the drawings he made with
much anxiety and attention from all the bosses and brackets in the nave of the Church during the
month of December 1834, and the early part of the year 1835, when a scaffold was erected for the
cleansing of the nave. The object then was to take representations of all those ancient sculptures, and,
at leisure, to select the most curious for illustrating the history of the Church ; but the lamentable
destruction of the vault, and its admirable carvings, on the 20th of May 1840, proved that the
drawings had been made, undesignedly, for a more extensive undertaking than it had entered into the
author's mind to conceive, and gave to them a far higher value than he had ever thought they could
possess ; for they now exist as unique drawings, and have been the gratuitous means of producing a
tolerable restoration of the ornaments of the vault of the nave. 1
1 The bosses attached to the new vault were sculptured by our fellow-citizen and ingenious artist, Mr. Wolstenholme, from
these drawings, gratuitously supplied by the author ; but as the bosses are now only attached to the ribs, several of the graceful
terminations, which lay on portions of the ribs worked in the key-blocks of the original vault, could by no means be restored ; thus
compelling stiffness and abruptness to exist, where ease and freedom were formerly displayed.
/
CHAPTER VI.
STATE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE EIGHTH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP THORESBY,
A.D. 1360, TO THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE TRANSLATION OF ARCHBISHOP WOLSEY, A.D. 1520.
Sect. I.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE EASTERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE PRESENT CHOIR, THE SOUTH
BELL TOWER, THE LANTHORN TOWER, THE NORTH BELL TOWER, AND THE ROOD-LOFT OR ORGAN
SCREEN.
S the new nave advanced towards completion, the defects of the old choir, and of the
large tower, then called the Bell Tower, and their unsuitableness to the new work,
became more strikingly apparent ; and as the incongruities in style and dimensions
could not be remedied by any repairs or alterations, serious thoughts were entertained
of reconstructing these portions of the fabric. 1 The zeal which had been manifested
in the building of the new nave, encouraged the hopes of those who were desirous of
carrying the sacred edifice to the highest degree of perfection ; and the pious munificence of the Arch-
bishop in forwarding the then nearly completed nave, excited an earnest wish that the new works
should be commenced while the See was filled by so powerful and liberal a prelate.
To aid the funds for completing the yet unfinished parts of the fabric, among which were the vaults
of the centre aisles of the south and north transepts, as appears from a comparison of the contour of
the ribs of these vaults with that of the ribs of the late vault of the nave, the Archbishop issued from
Cawood, on the 7th of January 1361, an order to his receiver to pay to the keeper of the fabric twenty
pounds sterling ; and on the 14th day of April, he further ordered thirty pounds to be transferred for
the same purpose.
In order to procure means, not only for completing the works then on hand, but also for commencing
the erection of a new choir, the Chapter had, probably during the early part of the year 1360, decreed
and imposed, in full convocation, a tax of one-twentieth part of the revenues of all ecclesiastical
dignities, &c, to remain in force for three years ; as appears from the following brief : —
" Brief of Monition concerning the payment of the Tax of one-twentieth granted to the Fabric.
" The Chapter of the Church, &c. (the Dean thereof, &c.) — To all and sundry our brethren and fellow-canons and
other persons whomsoever, having or holding dignities, administrations, offices, prebends, or ecclesiastical benefices
whatsoever, in our said Church of York, greeting and brotherly charity in the Lord. Whereas we, in a full convo-
cation of our brethren and fellow-canons, and of all and sundry others having or holding in our said Church dig-
nities, administrations, offices, prebends, or ecclesiastical benefices, lately held for certain burthens of our said Church,
and for effecting the necessary repair and amendment of divers and known imminent deficiencies, as well in the
choir and belfry as in other parts of the said Church, — having premised a full and careful inquiry, and with the
unanimous counsel and assent of our said bretliren and fellow-canons, for this cause specially called, and of others
then present, and of the proctors of those absent, then in like manner appearing in our Chapter-house, did, for the
1 This appears to have been the case so early as the year 1348. See p. 126.
2 C 2
148
above-mentioned and other legitimate reasons, impose a certain moderate portion for the sustaining and supporting
of the aforesaid burthens and of the fabric aforesaid, namely, a twentieth part of the dignities, parsonages, adminis-
trations, offices, and benefices held by us and by them, on all and sundry persons having or holding in our said
Church of York dignities, parsonages, administrations, offices, prebends, or ecclesiastical benefices whatsoever, to be
paid for the period of three years then next following ; — and did decree that the same should be paid by us, them,
and each of us and them, also out of our and their dignities, parsonages, administrations, offices, and benefices
aforesaid, on the Feasts of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist,
by equal portions, in each year of the period of three years above-written, according to the customs and statutes of
our said Church, to the observance of which they and each of them are especially bound by the obligation of their
oath, inasmuch as the revenues, rents, and proceeds belonging to the fabric of our said Church cannot suffice, nor
are sufficient at this time, for the support and sustaining of the said fabric and the burthens of the same, without the
help of contributions from other sources. And although the amount of the imposition aforesaid, in as far as it
affects you, and each of you individually, ought to have been paid at the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, now lately elapsed, for the first third of the first year's payment thereof, but many of you have hitherto
delayed to comply with the tenor of the imposition aforesaid, regarding the amount hereof affecting you, and your
benefices ; wherefore we do, by the first, second, and third tenor of these presents, require and admonish you and
every one of you, that you, and every one of you, who have not yet satisfied your obligation concerning the amount
of this (tax) affecting you, do pay, without deduction, the said twentieth part of the tax, in as far as it individually
concerns your dignities, parsonages, administrations, &c, for the first third of the aforesaid payment, to Master J ohn
de Cotyngham, our chamberlain, keeper of the said fabric, and our receiver specially deputed in this matter, within
the space of one month, to be reckoned continuously from the date of these presents, — under penalty of the greater
excommunication, and of sequestration of the revenues, rents, and proceeds of your aforesaid dignities, parsonages,
administrations, &c, which we purpose canonically in the event (of non-payment) to publish against the persons of
those not paying this imposition, such delay, fault, and offence, on their and your part, having preceded and
deservedly requiring it. And we have thought it expedient, forasmuch as the nature of this business is (such), and
the urgent necessity of our aforesaid Church of York, and its evident advantage truly demand it, thus to fix a
peremptory term (for payment). Fare ye well. Given at York, the 13th of February, in the year of our Lord
1361." 1
Six months had not elapsed after the issuing of this peremptory order, when the erection of a new
choir was solemnly considered and determined upon by the Archbishop and Clergy assembled in convo-
cation, as appears in the following important document : —
" Indenture concerning the new work of the Choir of the Church of York, and the pulling down of the Manor
(house) of Shirburn.
"This Indenture witnesseth, that the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord, the Lord John, by the grace of God
Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, and the venerable the Chapter of the
Church of York (the Dean thereof being absent in foreign parts), taking into their serious consideration how fitting
it is that every Church should be adorned in all its parts with uniform beauty, and that most especially the Choir
(which is more particularly appropriated to the offering of sacrifice, the salutary exercise of offices of pious expiation,
and the performance of Divine worship) should be adorned with becoming workmanship, — and that there was no
place in the said Church of York suitable for the becoming celebration of the Mass (in honour) of the glorious Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God, which is appointed to be daily celebrated in the said Church, they (both the said Lord
Archbishop and the Chapter aforesaid) have, for certain memorable, just, urgent, probable, and legitimate reasons,
thereto moving them, — inspired, as it is piously believed, with this godly design by the grace of the Divine Spirit, —
and relying upon the charitable contributions of devout persons, — by mutual and deliberate counsel, having first
held a convocation respecting this matter, and a diligent and solemn enquiry, together with the other solemn
1 Regist. G c. fol. 43.
149
observances which by custom or law ought to be practised iu regard to matters of such importance, — consented and
unanimously agreed to begin the erection of such a choir ; and that the ancient choir, which has seemed to many
persons of too homely a structure, in regard of the magnificence of the nave of the Church, should be by parts demo-
lished ('per partes dissolveretur'J , according as, by the unanimous consent of the said Archbishop and Canons, shall be
deemed expedient, and (the materials) be converted to assist in the completion of the aforesaid new choir ; they not
consenting, but expressly protesting to the contrary, that the said Lord John, Archbishop of York, and the Canons of
the said Church, or any one of them, their heirs or executors, or their goods or chattels whatsoever, shall be bound,
in any case premised, to the completing of this work so begun ; but they have both tacitly and expressly consented
that neither the Lord John, Archbishop of York, nor the Canons, shall be anywise bound, or iu any event obliged,
beyond what they shall be willing to contribute to the fabric of the said work, from motives of charity and devotion.
Moreover, whereas in the manor of the said Lord Archbishop at Shirburn (there is) a certain Hall, with a Chamber
adjoining, which threatens immediate ruin, in the which manor-house all the offices necessary for the Archbishop's
making his residence there had been destroyed and suffered to go to ruin in the times of his predecessors, and that
it is generally agreed that it would not be expedient to rebuild the same (both because there are other manors
annexed to the archiepiscopal dignity, sufficiently near at hand and better fitted for the residence of the Archbishops
for the time being, the buildings of which are very costly for them to keep in repair, and for divers other reasons,
which for their notoriety need not be expressed), — it has been unanimously agreed and consented to by the Arch-
bishop and Canons aforesaid, that the said Hall and Chamber be abohshed and destroyed, and that the stones thereof,
which are adapted to hasten greatly the completion of the fabric aforesaid, be applied to the more speedy finishing,
through God's favour, of the same. In witness of (all) which things, the seal of the aforementioned Lord Archbishop
of York, and the seal of the venerable the Chapter aforesaid, have been appended to the present Indenture. Given
at York, the twentieth day of the month of July, in the year of our Lord 1361. 1
It is worthy of particular observation, that in this Indenture it is expressly stated that the ancient
choir needed not, and therefore should not, be at once demolished and removed, but only at such times
and in such portions as the Archbishop and the Canons might deem to be necessary or expedient : and
as recent discoveries and identified architectural characteristics have borne incontrovertible evidence to
the fact that about one-half of the new choir was completed so as to be fit for the performance of divine
service before the other half was begun, and as the determined magnitude of the intended new choir
placed the foundations at a distance from the walls of the old choir, 2 there existed no material impedi-
ment to the immediate commencement of the work so generally and anxiously desired ; and therefore,
according to Stubbs, on the tenth day after the making of the Indenture, namely, on the 30th day of
July, the Archbishop laid a stone as the beginning of the new edifice.
To testify his unabating zeal for the dignity and welfare of the new choir, the Archbishop increased
the amount of his annual donation to the fund for the fabric ; thus, on the 1st day of August, he
desired his receiver to pay to the keeper of the fabric the sum of one hundred marks towards the first
stone, then laid by him, 3 — and also on the 3rd day of October, he ordered his receiver to pay to the use
of the said fabric the sum of fifty pounds sterling. 4
Nor were the laity less anxious for the commencement and completion of a new choir. One proof
of this may be seen in the following extract from the will of Agnes de Holme, widow of Robert de
Holme, of Burton in Lonsdale, who, in addition to a gift of one hundred shillings of silver to the fabric,
adds —
" I also bequeath to the new fabric of the choir of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York such a sum of
money, to be levied out of my goods, as would be sufficient wherewith a competent person would be wont and could
1 Regist. G c. fol. 52. 2 See plans in Plate II. 3 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 316. 4 Ibid. 317.
150
be hired to make a pilgrimage for another person to (the shrine of) the Apostle St. James, for the construction of
one glass window ; and I desire that in one light of the said glass window be placed an image of St. James the
Apostle, and in the other light thereof an image of St. Katherine the Virgin. — Dated 11th day of October, 1361." 1
The Archbishop appears to have been not merely a donor of timber from his woods, as his prede-
cessors had been, but a purchaser of timber-trees for the works of the fabric ; for on the 5th day of
April 1362, he gave orders that twenty pounds sterling should be paid to Robert de Rither, Lord of
Rither, for twenty-four oaks, which he had purchased for the use of the fabric of his Church of York. 2
— He also, again to aid the funds, on the 13th day of April, desired the sum of thirty pounds sterling
to be paid for the use of the said fabric. 3 — The Archbishop had recourse also to his episcopal authority
in aid of the funds for the fabric, by granting a partial relaxation of penance enjoined to all contributors
to, or aiders of, the fabric of the new choir. This appears in the following : —
" Brief of the Indulgence granted by the Lord Archbishop to the benefactors of the fabric of the new Choir.
" John, by Divine permission, &c. To our dearly-beloved children, the clergy and people of the Deanery of Pon-
tefract, in our diocese, health, grace, and blessing. The law of gratitude requireth, and the sanction of a canon
cnjoineth, that all Catholic children of our Holy Mother the Church should frequently and devoutly visit and honour
their spiritual mothers, to wit, the Cathedral Churches to which they are subject. Truly, therefore, we and our
dearty-beloved sons, the Chapter of the Church of York, being desirous, for the praise of God, and for the more
effectual stirring up of your devotion and that of other faithful Christians, with God's favour to embellish the said
Church, our Spouse and their and your Mother, and have begun to erect a new choir of suitable extent and eminent
beauty, the fabric whereof, if it is to proceed expeditiously as we wish, will require a very considerable outlay, which
our means are unable to support, unless by God's favour we derive abundant aid thereto from other quarters, — do
earnestly beseech and exhort you in Christ, that, duly taking the premises into your favourable consideration, ye be
willing, as becometh humble children, devoutly to visit your said Mother (Church), or at least, if ye cannot conve-
niently do so, that out of the goods bestowed upon you by Almighty God ye do compassionately stretch out a helping
hand towards the happy accomplishment, by God's favour and with your aid, of the said fabric, — so that the failure
of your personal visitation may be supplied by your liberal bounty. And whereas the honour of the Mother is rather
the honour and consolation (of her children), ye will herein promote your own honour, and not a little increase the
amount of your merits ; and that we may the more fervently stir up the favourable dispositions of yourselves and
other faithful Christians to this good work by the bestowal of spiritual gifts, we, relying upon the mercy of Almighty
God, and the merits and prayers of the glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of the blessed Apostles Peter and
Paul, and of the most holy confessor St. William, and of all the Saints, do, by these presents, mercifully grant to
you all, and to others whose diocesans shall ratify this Indulgence, being truly contrite for their sins, and having
confessed, who shall as aforementioned devoutly visit our said Church of York, or who, out of the goods bestowed
upon them by Almighty God, shall contribute acceptable charitable aid to the fabric of the choir thereof, or who
shall, by word or deed, persuade others to do the like, — forty days of indulgence. And whereas the despatch of the
said fabric is a matter which we have, as we ought, especially at heart, we have deputed certain persons as special
proctors and messengers (on behalf) of us and of our said Chapter in this matter, to ask and receive the charitable
contributions of yourselves and other faithful Christians towards the fabric aforesaid, exhorting you, and each of you,
devoutly in the Lord, and strictly enjoining you of the clergy, in virtue of obedience, that, as often as our said
proctors or messengers, or any one of them, shall address themselves to you in this behalf, ye do, as ye are bound,
kindly receive them, and each of them, with especial favour and grace, and permit them freely to speak and to set
forth the concerns of the said fabric in the several Churches, collegiate, conventual, and parochial, and Chapels of
the said Deanery, and that ye do effectually endeavour to further the concerns thereof with your parishioners in
preference to all other collections, and with due diligence persuade the people subject to you, that for the remission
1 Regist. B y. fol. 32 b.
2 Thoresby's Regist. 318.
3 Ibid.
151
of their sins they do contribute acceptable charitable aid to the aforementioned fabric. We moreover strictly enjoin
you, that whatsoever shall be collected for the work of the said fabric ye do cause to be entirely paid over to the
aforesaid proctors or messengers, without any hindrance whatsoever. In witness whereof, &c." 1
This letter was sent forth by the Venerable Chapter to all and sundry rectors, vicars, chaplains,
and to all proctors established within their jurisdiction, with this injunction : —
" We charge you all, and each of you, in virtue of holy obedience, strictly enjoining you, that whereas Master
Robert de Newton, a parson in our Church of York aforesaid, the bearer of these presents, will present himself to
you, with a letter of the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord, the Lord John, by the grace of God, Archbishop of
York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, concerning the new fabric of our said Church, — for the
business thereof, presenting and shewing to you our present letter, ye do, in preference to all other concerns and
indulgences admitted or to be admitted, kindly and favourably admit the said Master Robert to set forth the said
letter of the aforesaid Lord Archbishop, and the contents thereof, at such places and times as to the said Master
Robert shall seem expedient, and to do, exercise, and despatch all and sundry matters which the tenor of the said
letter of the Lord Archbishop exacteth and requireth, returning to the said Master Robert the said letters, both the
Lord Archbishop's and ours, without any hindrance when he shall ask for them. Given at York, the 20th day of
January, in the year of our Lord 1363." 2
The ardent zeal of the Archbishop did not allow him to confine his exertions in aid of the new choir
to his own spiritual and pecuniary means, but it incited him to supplicate Pope Innocent VI. to extend
his spiritual aid to the fabric of the new choir, by granting some large relaxation of penance enjoined
upon the frail faithful. His Holiness attended to the request, and graciously granted a relaxation of
two years and two forty days, to continue for ten years.
Innocent died on the 12th September, a.d. 1362, and was succeeded by Urban V., who was elected
to the pontifical chair on the 27th of the same month. No sooner was Urban duly acknowledged Pope
than it appears he was also supplicated to extend his spiritual favours to the assistance of the new
choir ; he, imitating his predecessors, and especially Innocent VI., granted a relaxation, on the con-
ditions set forth in the following letter, addressed by the Chapter to the clergy in the Archdeaconry of
the East Riding : —
" Letter of Collection for the Fabric.
" The Chapter of the Church of St. Peter of York, the Dean thereof being in foreign parts, to all and sundry
rectors, chaplains, and others wheresoever established throughout the prebends and dignities of our jurisdiction
within the Archdeaconry of the East Riding, greeting, in the pure embraces of the Saviour. Amongst other gifts of
charity, we believe that to be most grateful and acceptable in the sight of the Most High which the well-ordered
liberality of the faithful piously contributes to the praise of God and the honour of the Church, and to excite the
devotion of the faithful towards Holy Church. Therefore, for as much as Pope Innocent the Sixth, of happy
memory, having favourably heard and understood that the ancient choir of the Church of York is unsuitable and
disproportioned to the said Church, newly rebuilt, and that the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord, the Lord John,
by the grace of God Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, and ourselves, have
begun to build anew a choir, of workmanship not a Uttle costly, for the completion of which work our means are not
sufficient, — being piously solicitous for the beauty of God's house, and providently desiring, by the grant of spiritual
benefits, to incline the minds of the faithful to bestow the aid of their charitable contributions upon the said fabric, —
hath, by an apostolic brief, to remain in force for ten years only, mercifully released to all persons truly penitent and
confessed, who shall stretch forth their helping hands to the same, two years and periods of forty days each, of the
penance enjoined them. And whereas he who succeeds him, as well in abundance of godliness and grace, as in the
1 Regist. G c. fol. 44.
'-' Regist. G c. fol. 59 b.
152
eminence of apostolic dignity, the most holy Father in Christ, the Lord Urban, by Divine Providence supreme
Pontiff of the most holy Roman and Universal Church, desiring that the said work may be the more speedily and
happily completed, and that the faithful of Christ may so much the more freely resort to the same, and that they
may the more readily stretch forth their helping hands to the fabric of the said choir, the more speedily they shall
behold themselves to be there refreshed by the gift of heavenly grace, (hath granted) to all the faithful of Christ,
truly penitent and contrite, who on the festivals of the Nativity, Circumcision, Epiphany, Resurrection, Ascension,
and of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of Pentecost, — and of the Nativity, Annunciation, Purification, and
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Apostles Peter and Paul, under whose name the said Church is
dedicated, and of St. William the Confessor, whose body hath been honourably translated in the same Church, — and
also during the octaves of the aforesaid festivals of the Nativity, Epiphany, Resurrection, Ascension, and of the Body
of our Lord J esus Christ, also of the Nativity and Assumption of the Blessed Mary, and of the said Apostles Peter
and Paul, and during the six days immediately following the Feast of Pentecost, shall devoutly visit the said Church,
and stretch forth their helping hands to this (work), one year, &c." 1
The date of this letter is not retained in the recorded copy, but it is very probable that the letter was
circulated about the beginning of the year 1363, prior to the following brief and concession, which was
written for the Diocese of Lincoln, on the 4th day of March 1363, in hopes of procuring thence aid
for the fabric : —
" Letter to the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Lincoln.
" Know all men, that whereas Pope Innocent VI., of blessed memory, and our most holy Father in Christ and
Lord, the Lord Urban, by Divine Providence supreme Pontiff of the most holy Roman and Universal Church, having
heard that we, John, by Divine permission Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic
Sec, and the Chapter of the Church of York, have begun to erect a new choir therein, of costly workmanship, with
the hope of heavenly aid, and the contributions of the faithful, — hath graciously accorded ample and gracious indul-
gences and merciful remissions to all who may contribute to the said fabric : We, the Archbishop and the Chapter
aforesaid, desiring that the said fabric should proceed more expeditiously, do ordain and appoint our beloved in
Christ, Master Robert Nayroun, vicar-choral of our Church of York, our true procurator, agent, and special
messenger, to publish and expound to the Clergy and people of the City and Diocese of Lincoln, the said indulgences,
and others, granted both by the most holy Fathers in Christ, the supreme Pontiffs, and by others, in this matter, at
such places and times as shall seem expedient, and to move and wholesomely stir up the said Clergy and people, that
with the hope of this spiritual reward, they may mercifully open their helping hands in behalf of the said fabric, —
and also to ask and receive the alms of the faithful, to be bestowed for the said fabric, — and to do, practise, and
despatch all and sundry matters which shall be necessary or advantageous in the premises and matters relating
thereto, even should they be such as to require a special mandate, — premising that we shall hold good, acceptable,
and fast in perpetuity whatsoever our aforesaid proctor or procurator shall do in the premises, or in any part of the
premises. In witness of all which things, our seals are affixed to these presents. Given at York, the 4th day of
March, in the year of our Lord 1363, and of the translation of us, the aforesaid Archbishop, the twelfth year." 2
On the 16th day of April 1363, the Archbishop desired his receiver, Sir William de Wirkesworth
( Wykesworth or Wyrkesworth) , to deliver to the fund for the fabric the sum of one hundred pounds
sterling : 3 also, on the 3rd day of November, the said Archbishop ordered another hundred pounds to
be transferred to the use of the said fabric. 4
So generally diffused, and, it may be presumed, so successful, were the procurators or collectors for
the fabric of the Church, that other persons were tempted to go forth in the same character, unautho-
rized, and under sanction of forged seals. This becoming notorious, the Archbishop directed the
following admonition to the Archdeaconries, and also the subjoined threat to all such false collectors
1 Regist. G c. fol. 81 b.
2 Regist. G c. fol. 62.
3 Thoresby's Regist. 319.
4 Ibid.
153
and forgers of seals, in order that they should be compelled to make restitution of what they had
collected falsely for the fabric of the new Choir of the Church of York.
" Letter against false Collectors and Forgers of Bishops' seals, that they make restitution of their collections to the
fabric of the Church of York, or that they be excommunicated if discovered.
" John, &c. — The direful covetousness of many persons (the beginning and root of all evils), so reflects its burning
heat upon themselves, and impels them to so great rashness, that damnably seizing upon those things which are
forbidden them, they cease not by fair means or foul, with most studied deceits, to draw to themselves whatsoever
they are able, nowise dreading the offence against God or the injury to their neighbour. In truth, it hath of late
through common report, come to our hearing, that certain sons of damnable contrivance, mendaciously asserting
themselves to be collectors and true messengers of the fabric of the Choir of our Church of York ; whereas they
have not been sent or lawfully deputed for that object by us, or by the authority of us, or of others to Avhom it
belongeth ; with false, forged, and fabricated letters, and false or counterfeit seals, which they pretend to have
obtained from us, craftily betaking themselves to churches and other places in our diocese where the faithful of Christ
are gathered together, do collect, receive, exact, and extort (for the work of the said fabric, as they falsely set forth),
the alms and charitable subsidies of the said faithful, promising and pretending to grant to those who shall
bestow upon them their alms and subsidies for this object, the indulgences granted to the benefactors of the said
fabric by Pope Innocent the Sixth, of blessed memory, and by the most holy Father and Lord in Christ, our Lord
Urban the Fifth, now Pope, whereas they have no power so to do : and moreover taking away with them and craftily
carrying off the collations, oblations, and gifts whatsoever, collected by them, of the bounty of the faithful, spiritually
destined for the use of the aforesaid fabric, they do sacrilegiously convert the same to their own profane uses, or
rather consume them, or keep them in their own possession, to the defrauding, cheating, and deceiving of those who
bestow upon them their alms as aforesaid, to the heavy peril of their own souls, and to the hindrance and considerable
damage of the aforesaid fabric, and of the despatch thereof, the prosperity and happy consummation of which we have
most earnestly at heart. Wherefore we, in virtue of your obedience, and under penalty of canonical punishment, do
commission you, and with strict injunction charge you, that you do admonish and effectually induce by your
admonition, and cause to be induced, all and sundry collectors or messengers whomsoever of this business, by
whatsoever name they are called, that within the space of fifteen days, to be continuously reckoned from the time of
your admonition being made to them (of the which fifteen days, we fix and assign five days for the first, five for the
second, and the remaining five for the third peremptory term and canonical monition to them and each of them),
whatsoever sums shall have been offered, contributed or given to them for the work or use of the said fabric, as also
all and sundry sums received by them, or any one of them, on occasion of the said fabric, or of the indulgences
granted as aforesaid, in whatsoever manner they may have come into their hands, or the hands of any one of them,
provided they be extant, and that they have the power to make restitution thereof, they do disclose, deliver, and make
entire restitution of the same to Master John de Sandale, keeper of the fabric aforesaid, and our Receiver in this
matter. Otherwise, if the contributions to this work, received or collected by them, be not forthcoming, or if they
shall not be able to make restitution of the same (then) they shall entirely make good the same (or make
compensation), according to their estimation and true value, to our said Receiver, within the term aforesaid, according
as it shall individually regard them, under penalty of the greater excommunication, the which penalty by this writing
we do pronounce against the persons of all and sundry in general, who shall contemptuously refuse to obey these
your, or more truly our admonitions, or shall not come then to effect their delay, fault, and offence proceeding, and
deservedly requiring this chastisement, the canonical monition hereof having been duly repeated. Rut whereas,
from the daily increasing wickedness of the times and of men, the false collectors and messengers of this business,
and the forgers of our letters and of our seal, and of the seals of other prelates, and of the chapters and colleges of
our said diocese, do abound, and their fraud and deceit superabound, in almost every part of our diocese, in these
wickednesses, and prevail more commonly and more perniciously, so that it cannot be asserted whether those who are
guilty in this matter may not remain incorrigible and rebellious, being pertinaciously hardened in these their crimes, —
we, not desiring to conceal the forestalled expenses of our Church aforesaid, and of her faithful children our subjects,
•2 D
154
and of the fabric; yea, rather desiring after they have become known to us, to encounter the same by fitting remedies, as
we are bound by the duty imposed upon us, especially because such detestable transactions ought not to be passed over
by us any longer unpunished ; and in order that the dread of punishment may prove the check of such presumption,
and that they who so offend, and others by their example, may at least by the fear of punishment be deterred from
the like offences, — we, by the tenor of these presents, strictly forbid all and singular, whether clerks or laymen, of
our diocese aforesaid, and we will and charge you, that by you they be forbidden, to make or fabricate false letters or
false seals, for this or any similar collection, or knowingly to use the same, being made or fabricated, in order to
exercise the office of collectors of this collection, or in any other way to presume to collect alms, under the penalty
of the excommunication above pointed out ; the which sentence we will, that all and singular despisers of this our
prohibition, and those who shall secretly or openly, directly or indirectly, contravene this our prohibition, shall ipso
facto incur ; and that you, in every Church of your Archdeaconry, on every Sunday and Holiday, during solemn
Mass, having caused to be rung (the bells) &c. ; do generally denounce or cause to be denounced, and also to
publish, that the said pretenders to the aforesaid business, and all and sundry persons who shall have been guilty in
the premises, or in any article of the premises, by not making restitution of their collections for the work of the said
fabric, or who shall have presumed to act contrarily to this our prohibition, after the lapse of the said fifteen days,
have fallen under the said sentence of the greater excommunication, and have been and are excommunicated. 1 And
we specially reserve to ourself (except in articulo mortis), the absolution of all and sundry persons who shall have
incurred our aforesaid sentences, or any one of them ; nevertheless, you are to inquire concerning the persons and
names of those who shall have been guilty in the premises, or any of them, .... &c. concerning which, when you shall
have satisfied yourself, you will distinctly and clearly inform us, before the feast of St. Peter in Chains next
ensuing, &c." 2
In the year 1364, a memorandum was commenced of the Chantries in the Church of St. Peter of
York, founded at different altars, with the names of those persons for whose souls they were founded,
and also of the ornaments, possessions, and rents belonging to the same, and of the names of the Par-
sons and Vicars who held them ; and, although it is quite uncertain when the several memorandums
were placed on the continuous record, yet the following entries have been selected as evidences of the
early suspension and removal, on account of the new Choir, of some of the Chantry altars, and of the
continued performance of the Divine services in the old Choir.
' At the altar of St. John the Evangelist, behind the high altar, which is now suspended, at least for
the time of the new fabric, and in the meantime, the chaplains holding these Chantries celebrate at
1 The following is presumed to be the greater excommunication referred to in this admonition, and so often mentioned in collateral
documents. It is on the 4th fol. of the statutes of the Church,, and in the office of the Registrar of the Dean and Chapter. *' By
the authority of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and of Holy Mary, Mother of God, and the blessed Michael Archangel,
and of all the heavenly powers, and of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and of St. John Baptist, and of St. Peter and Paul, and all the
holy Apostles, and of St. Stephen the first martyr of Christ, and of all the Martyrs, Confessors, and Virgins, together with all the
Saints, we do excommunicate, condemn, anathematize, and separate from the threshold of our Holy Mother the Church, those
persons who have done this, or consented thereto. Cursed be they within and without, cursed in the way, cursed in the field,
cursed in the city, cursed in the house and out of the house, cursed going in and going out, cursed eating and drinking, cursed
sleeping and waking, standing and sitting, cursed altogether in all places. Be they blotted out of the Book of the living, and let
them not be written with the just ; and let their part and fellowship be with Dathan and Abiram, with Sapphira and Ananias, with
Judas and Pilate, with Simon and Nero ; and let their habitation be made desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
And let them be Anathema Maranatha, which is perdition in the day of judgment. They are excommunicated, and we do excom-
municate them ; condemned, and we do condemn them ; anathematized, and we do anathematize them ; excommunicated and
condemned let them remain. And as these lights are extinguished, so may their souls lie extinguished in Hell with the Devil and
his Angels, unless they shall repent, and come to a suitable amendment. So be it. So be it. Amen, &c."
2 Thoresby's Regist, fol. 127.
155
the altar of St. Gregory. The two Chantries are of ancient foundation, for Simon de Evesham, formerly
Archdeacon of Richmond. 1 At the altar of the Holy Innocents are two Chantries, founded for the
soul of Sir Henry de Vavasour. In the ordination, it is not expressed where or at what altar, but only in
the Cathedral Church. The chaplains used to celebrate at the altar of St. John the Evangelist, behind
the high altar ; now they celebrate daily at the altar of the Holy Innocents. The altar of St. Catherine
in the Crypt, suspended on account of the new fabric ; also the altar of St, Cecily, on the north side of
the Crypt ; and likewise the altar of the holy martyrs Agatha, Lucy, and Scholastica, on the south side
of the Crypt. The altar of St. Mary Magdalene, also in the Crypt, was suspended, and has now no
certain place, except with difficulty and in different places. The chaplain now celebrates at the altar of
St. Andrew, by permission.' 2
No memorandum has been discovered of the Archbishop having contributed during the early part of
this year (1364) to the fund for the fabric ; yet it is very probable that he did, and that the record has
escaped notice ; however, on the 4th of December, from Cawood, he directed his receiver at York to
pay to the keeper of the fabric of his Cathedral Church one hundred pounds, as a special donation due
at the Festival of St. Michael last past. 3
On the 20th of December 1364, an ordination was publicly declared, approved, ratified, and con-
firmed by the Chapter, for four Chantry Priests to pray especially for the Percy family. As this ordi-
nation constitutes a valuable historical document, containing the acknowledgment of various benefits
rendered by the family, especially the noble donation of stone for the construction of the fabric of
the Church of York (mentioned in p. 50), and showing the origin of an endowment which in
subsequent ages has been improperly transferred from its true founder, and attributed to the bounteous
liberality of Archbishop Thoresby, it has been deemed advisable to make from it the following copious
extracts : —
" Ordination of the Church of Kyrkeby Orblowers (Overblows) and of a Chantry for Lord de Percy.
" To all children of our Holy Mother the Church to whom the present letters shall come, the Chapter of the
Church of the Blessed Peter at York, in the absence of the Dean, health in the cordial embraces of our Saviour.
Know ye, that we have seen and inspected a letter of the Venerable Father and Lord in Christ, Lord John, by the
grace of God, Archbishop of York, Primate of England and Legate of the Apostolic See, signed and bearing the
impression of his seal, containing in all respects the tenor which followeth :
"Unto all sons of Holy Mother Church to whom these presents shall come, John, by Divine permission, Arch-
bishop of York, Primate of England and Legate of the Apostolic See, health in the cordial embraces of the Saviour.
Whereas, amongst all other aids of human salvation and restoration, the celebration of Masses, in which God the
Son is, for the health of the living and the rest of the dead, immolated to God the Father, is deservedly to be esteemed
the chief, and before all others persuasive in obtaining the Divine mercy, — we have thought it worthy to promote
with especial favour those things which regard the multiplication of Masses, and the increase of Divine worship.
" Moreover, a supplication offered to us by our beloved sons, Sir Richard Tempest, Knight, and William de New-
port, Rector of the Church of Spofford, in our diocese, stated, that whereas Henry de Percy, of worthy memory,
father of the noble and magnificent Lord Henry de Percy, that now is, had appointed them the executors of his last
will and testament, and strongly charged them that, out of the goods entrusted to their administration, they should
cause to be founded perpetual Chantries for the celebration of Masses, according as they could best ordain the
same; and whereas they, being desirous in this manner faithfully, as they are bound, to execute the will of the said
deceased, have, out of the goods of the said deceased, obtained by a lawful title the advowson and right of patronage
of the Church of Kyrkeby Orblowers, in our diocese, the annual rents and proceeds whereof may abundantly suffice
1 See page 59. 2 Beg. X a. fol. 36, &c. 3 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 321 b.
2 D 2
156
both for the fitting sustentation of the Rector thereof, and for the supporting of whatsoever other burdens incumbent
upon the said Church, and also for finding four Priests perpetually to celebrate Divine service.
" We are desirous to have a grateful consideration of the profuse benefits wherewith both the said deceased and the
whole series of his ancestors, and his aforesaid son and heir, have bountifully endowed our Church of York, especially
by causing to be appropriated thereunto the parish Church of Topclif, 1 in our said diocese, wherein they had the
right of patronage ; and by causing the fabric of our Church of York to be constructed in a more perfect manner and
kept for ever in repair ; by munificently granting that as much stone should be taken from their quarries as should be
required for the works of the said fabric, and thence freely carried, with divers other favours, such as the granting of
convenient roads through their districts and places for the conveyance of the aforesaid stones, and for the passage of
the servants of the said Church ; and in grateful regard of the premises, we have thought fit, for the enlargement of
Divine worship, graciously to ordain and create, out of the rents and proceeds of the said Church of Kyrkeby
Orblowers, four Chantries of four Priests, to celebrate Divine service for ever, especially for the soul of the said
Henry, the father, and for the souls of his ancestors, and of Mary, of honoured memory, the consort of the said Lord
Henry de Percy now living, and for his healthy state while he shall live amongst men, and for his soul when he shall
have been withdrawn from this world, and generally for the souls of all the faithful departed. And for thus effec-
tually founding the said Chantries, the aforesaid Richard and William, the true patrons of the said Church of
Kyrkeby Orblowers, have submitted, for the making the foundation hereof, to our decision, award, disposition,
ordinance, decree, good pleasure, and absolute will, themselves, and the entire property which they hold in the right
of patronage thereof ; and Sir Robert Ede, Rector of the said Church of Kyrkeby Orblowers, hath in like manner
submitted the said Church of Kyrkeby, the estate and name, and the right and possession which he holdeth in the
same, purely of their own accord, — simply and absolutely, both by word and deed, and by their writings, — that we
might be pleased to ordain concerning them speedily and wholesomely, for the praise of God and the salvation of
souls."
Here follows the submission of the right and patronage of the executors to the Archbishop for his
ordinance, and also the declaration of Robert Ede, Rector of the Church of Kyrkeby Orblowers, that
the revenues of the said Church are amply sufficient for the burthens intended, and his submission to
the Archbishop's ordinance ; after which the letter proceeds thus : —
" Wherefore, we, John, by Divine permission, &c, taking into devout and grateful consideration the premises, and
being desirous on that account, and also in contemplation of the said Lord Henry de Percy urging this and
beseeching us, in as far as we could, according to the Lord and lawfully, graciously to agree to the wishes of the
said executors, supported by so great devotion, — for the causes aforesaid, and the truth of the allegations, and for
other causes which might move us in this matter, — did cause a diligent inquisition to be made, and these things
which, both by the inquisition hereof, and by the full information and evident proof brought before us, we have
found the said causes and allegations to be founded altogether in truth, and that the rents and proceeds of the said
Church of Kyrkeby would be able to suffice for the fitting support of many Chaplains ; — concerning these and other matters
appertaining to the said business, we have held a careful deliberation and a solemn enquiry with our beloved sons in the
Chapter of our Church of York, as was fitting in such a case, by whose deliberate will and unanimous consent, and also by
the good counsel of others learned in the law consenting with us, we have accepted the aforesaid submissions made to
us ; — in virtue whereof, and also by the license of the most gracious Prince Edward, by the grace of God, most illus-
trious King of England, granted to us in this matter, as by the Royal Charter thereupon made and shown to us may
more plainly appear, — to the honour of God, and to the perpetual increase of his worship, for the ordaining both con-
cerning the fitting salary, and the estate and title of the Incumbent of the said Church, and for the support of the
burthens incumbent thereon, and for finding Chaplains hereof out of the rents of the said Church, according to the
godly desire and the presumed will of the said deceased, — we, having called upon the name of Christ, have thought
fit to proceed in the form which followeth : —
1 See pp. 18, 19.
157
" In the first place, we appoint and ordain that the said Robert, now Rector of the Church of Kyrkeby, and
every one of his successors in the same, shall, as it is more fully expressed in the Charter of our Lord the King,
made concerning the aforesaid foundation, be called Provost of the said Church, and shall hold the whole Church
and the cure in all respects of the souls of the parishioners of the said Church, and the chief rule and government
of the said Church, and the disposal of all the fruits, rents, and proceeds belonging to the said Church, to be
applied to the uses of the said Church and to the other burthens which belong thereto and are incumbent thereupon,
or shall belong thereto, in consequence of our ordinance, — and that there shall be four suitable Chaplains, to
celebrate for ever masses and other divine offices in the manner which followeth : —
" One (of the Chaplains) having and bearing in our Cathedral Church of York the title, rank, and habit of the
parsons of the said Church, while attending at the divine offices in the said Cathedral Church, — like the other
parsons of that Church, — shall for ever celebrate masses in the said Church for our healthful state, and that of the
Canons of the said Church during our lifetime, and after our death for our soul, and for the souls of the Archbishops
our successors and predecessors, and for the souls of Lord Henry de Percy, and of Mary, of illustrious memory,
consort of the Lord de Percy now living, of the ancestors and successors of the said Lord de Percy, and of all the
faithful departed. And every Chaplain who is to hold the said parsonage, shall be presented to the said parsonage,
whensoever and as often as it shall become vacant, within the month then next ensuing, at our nomination
while we live, and that of the Archbishops of York, our successors, the See being filled ; and of our Chapter of
York when the See shall be vacant, through the presentation of Sir Richard Tempest and William de Newport,
and the heirs of the said William. And by the Dean and Chapter of our Church, otherwise by the Chapter in the
absence of the Dean, he shall be admitted and canonically instituted into the said parsonage. — But we specially
reserve to the disposal of ourselves and our successors the appointment concerning the manner, the hour, and the
place in the said Cathedral Church, wherein the Chaplain to be nominated by us and our successors as aforesaid, shall
celebrate and perform the other duties incumbent upon him. 1
" The three other Chaplains shall hold perpetual Chantries, and shall be presented by the aforesaid Sir Robert
Tempest and Sir William, and the heirs of the said William, on every vacancy of the said Chantries, to be canoni-
cally instituted into the same by us and the Archbishops our successors when the See is filled, and by our Chapter
when the See is vacant. And we will and ordain that the said three Chaplains, so canonically instituted, out of
respect to the bodies of the said Lord de Percy and Mary, of illustrious memory, deceased, which repose in the Lord,
buried in the Monastery of Alnewyk, shall for ever celebrate masses and other divine offices in the (Chapel of) the
Castle of Alnewyk, situate near to the said Monastery, after this manner, to wit : — On all Sundays, one of them
shall celebrate the office of the day ; the second, that of the Holy Trinity ; the third shall celebrate for the souls of
the said Henry, of Godly memory, and of Mary, of illustrious memory, deceased, their ancestors and successors, of the
Lord de Percy that now is, and of all the faithful departed. — And on Mondays, one shall celebrate (the mass) of the
day, another of the Holy Angels, and a third for the souls aforesaid. — And on Tuesdays, each of them shall celebrate
for the souls above-specified. — On Wednesdays, one shall celebrate the mass of the day, another of St. John the
Evangelist, and the third for the souls afore-mentioned. — On Thursdays, one shall celebrate the mass of the day,
another of Corpus Christi, and the third for the souls aforesaid. — On Fridays, one shall celebrate the mass of the
day, another of the Holy Rood, and the third for the souls aforesaid. — And on Saturdays, one shall celebrate the
mass of the day, another of the Blessed and Glorious Virgin Mary, and the third for the souls aforesaid ; unless
being hindered on account of some Festival of nine lessons, or for some other legitimate reason, which we leave to their
own conscience, they, or any one of them, shall think fit to celebrate otherwise. And on all ferial days, 2 they shall
together recite in the aforesaid Chapel the Placebo and Dirige and the full office of the Dead, accustomed to be said
for the souls departed, for the souls aforesaid.
1 The first Chaplain to this Chantry was Richard de Langley, who was admitted in 1363; he was succeeded by Nicholas de
Cave, Canon of the Chapel of the Blessed Mary and Holy Angels, in 1369, who was succeeded by Robert Willcsden and others in
regular succession. Regist. N y. which is now lost. Torre's MS. fol. 1645.
2 Dies feriales. Days for which no special office was appointed.
158
" We, moreover, appoint and ordain that the said four perpetual Chaplains do, for their support, receive and
have each year Twenty pounds of silver, whereof each of them shall receive one hundred shillings of silver, out of
the fruits and proceeds of the aforesaid Church of Kyrkeby, by the hands of the said Sir Robert, the Rector, now
called Provost, and of his successors, Provosts of the said Church, at the Feasts of St. Michael, the Nativity of our
Lord, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, at Kyrkeby, to be
divided by equal portions : — And whereas, from the causes aforesaid, our Church of York, and the dignity of our
Archbishopric, which, by lawfully prescribed custom, hath been accustomed to receive all revenues whatsoever
accruing to the said Church of Kyrkeby in time of its being vacant, will be injured and damaged, in recompense of
the injury occasioned by this ordinance, we will that the aforesaid Provost shall be bound every year, at the Feasts
of Whitsuntide and of St. Martin in the winter, to pay at York a pension of thirty shillings ; of the which thirty
shillings, twenty shillings shall be paid to us and our successors the Archbishops of York, the See being filled; or,
the See being vacant, to the Chapter of our Church of York, as keepers of the spirituality aforesaid, to be paid over
by them to the future Archbishop ; and the remaining ten shillings to the Chapter of our Church ; which annual
payment of thirty shillings we do, for these and other lawful reasons inducing us to the same thereto, impose arid
command by our decree, to be paid by the said Provost and Church of Kyrkeby," 1 &c. &c. " Given, as to the
sealing of the presents, in oar Manor of Cawode, the 10th day of December, a. d. 1362, and of our translation the
eleventh. Confirmed by the Chapter on the 20th day of December, a.d. 1364, as previously stated." 2
No doubt can possibly exist, after a careful perusal of these extracts, that we have here the foundation
of the Chantry, which, on the presumed but doubtful authority of Stubbs, has been considered
as having been founded by Archbishop Thoresby, placed by him in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral,
and endowed with houses and lands purchased with his own money. From the preceding documents
it is evident that it was founded and endowed by the Percys ; and it is also evident that the Archbishop
took advantage of this opportunity, and claimed and obtained one of the four Chaplains supplicated for
by the executors of Lord de Percy, for the benefit of his own soul ; and in the duty of that Chaplain
placed, first of all, his own welfare, then the welfare of his predecessors and successors, Archbishops of
the See, and lastly, the welfare of Lord de Percy, his consort, &c. &c. He appears to have considered
the Chaplain thus obtained to have been almost specially for himself — " Unus (capellanus) in Ecclesia
Cathedrali Eborum pro nobis :" 3 and the special reserves and appliances made by the Archbishop in the
ordination have, with the designation of this Chaplain, caused the Chantry to be too commonly called
" Thoresby 's Chantry ;" which misnomer has been apparently sanctioned in the Registers by the form
used by the notaries of the Dean and Chapter, whenever a memorandum was entered of a collation to
the Chantry. For example : — " Ordinatio pro animabus bone memorie Johannis dudum Archiepiscopi
Eborum, predecessorum et successorum suorum Archiepiscoporum, domini Henrice de Percy et
Marie consortis sue ac progenitorum et successorum ipsius domini de Percy, et omnium fidelium
defunctorum." 4
The contributions and other sources of the funds of the fabric probably not meeting the expenses
incurred or contemplated, another convocation of the clergy of the diocese was held, whereat they
unanimously agreed to impose a tax for the fabric of fourpence in every mark on the revenue of their
benefices, both ecclesiastical and temporal, and the Archbishop, to make more valid the said agreement,
issued the following power to the Dean of the Church : —
1 The burthens or payments imposed by the Archbishop upon the Church of Kyrkeby Overblows are, as far as we have been
able to ascertain, paid regularly at this day, with the exception of the payments for the Chaplains, which seem to be of clear value.
2 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 124 b. ; also Regist. T b. or Domesday Book, fol. 62 b.
3 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 120. 4 Regist. G c. fol. 183.
159
" John, &c. — To our beloved son, the Dean of our Christianity of York, health, grace, and blessing. — Whereas
our dearly-beloved sons, the clergy, both secular and regular, exempt and non-exempt, of our Diocese, lately
assembled in the Convocation of the said clergy last assembled at York, — devoutly taking heed that we and our
beloved sons, the Chapter of our Church of York, have, by unanimous agreement, begun to construct there a Choir
of suitable dimensious and remarkable beauty, — and, taking into due and deliberate consideration that the said
fabric (which they then lovingly contemplated with ecclesiastical faith), if it be to proceed with despatch, requireth :i
great stream of expenses, and unbearable by us, unless more abundant aid be supplied thereto from other sources,
like sons piously solicitous for the comeliness of their said Mother Church, did then and there, as well for the
increase of their own merits as for the more speedy and successful completion of the said fabric, unanimously
grant, out of the debt of their filial promptitude, a certain gratuitous subsidy in its behalf, — to wit, fourpence out
of every mark, of the revenue, according to the new valuation of their ecclesiastical benefices, and of the tempora-
lities annexed to their spiritualities, to be paid at the four synods of the period of two years then ensuing, by equal
portions, as by the said Clergy it was at the said Convocation more fully agreed upon ; — We, being desirous that,
for the forwarding of the said work (which we fervently desire), the grant of this subsidy be put in the way of
being duly executed, and having in the Lord full confidence in your faithfulness and zeal, do, by the tenor of these
presents, commit unto you our authority, — with the power of canonical enforcement, — to ask, exact, levy, collect,
and receive of all ecclesiastical persons, that is to say, of the secular Clergy of the Deanery, the said subsidy of two-
pence in each mark of their ecclesiastical benefices ; according to the last valuation, for two terms, to wit, — the
synods of St. Michael last past, and of Easter next ensuing ; and to compel and oblige all persons of this jurisdic-
tion to the payment of the portions affecting themselves individually, and due to the fabric for the terms aforesaid ;
and to do, practise, and despatch all other matters, which shall be necessary or expedient in and concerning the
premises ; — in order, first, that you may cause all monies to be collected and received by you in this matter, to be
paid as speedily as you conveniently shall be able, to Sir William de Wykesworth, our Receiver at York ; —
Moreover, that you may admonish and effectually induce all Religious men of the said Deanery, that they do duly
and entirely satisfy our said Receiver concerning the portions affecting them for their ecclesiastical benefices and for
the temporalities annexed to spirituals, both for the past and future terms, of the present year, — as they are bound,
under the penalties and censures to be, in the event of non-payment canonically fulminated against them. And you
shall distinctly and without reserve, inform us, or our said Receiver, concerning every thing that you shall have
done or discovered in the premises, and also what sum you shall have raised for the past term, — which sum we
desire shall be paid by you, to our said Receiver, against the Feast of our Lord's Nativity, by your letters patent. —
Farewell. Given at Thorpe, near York, the 12th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1365, and of our translation
the thirteenth." 1
This year (1365), the fabric of the new Choir received the zealous aid of the Archbishop : thus, on the
1 3th of June, he desired his Receiver to pay to Master John de Sandale, keeper of the fabric, one hun-
dred pounds sterling, and also, on the 16th of October, another hundred pounds for the Feast of St.
Michael, as special donations. 2
This year, t; a.d. 1365, to enlarge the walks about the Minster, the Church of St. Mary ad Valvas
was removed and united to the Church of St. John del Pyke, and by the common consent of the Chap-
ter consolidated into one parish with it." 3
The annual tax of the twentieth part of all ecclesiastical benefices, for the progress of the new Choir,
not having been paid regularly at the prescribed periods on the 1st day of April 1366, the Chapter
of the Church determined to exercise ecclesiastical punishment upon all and every individual that did
1 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 137. 2 Ibid. fol. 322.
8 Tone's Archdeaconry of York, fol. 59, from Regist. N y. which is lost.
160
not pay entirely all arrears of the said tax within the space of one month, to Sir Adam de Henedley,
the keeper of the fabric. 1
On the 20th of April 1366, the Archbishop desired his Receiver at York to pay to Sir Adam de
Henedley, keeper of the fabric, all and singular the portions of the subsidy previously granted from
the diocese ; and on the 14th of June he desired his Receiver to pay to the same Lord Keeper of
the fabric his Easter donation of one hundred pounds, which sum he again ordered to be transferred
to the fund for the fabric, for his Michaelmas donation. 2
On the 20th day of October 1366, the Archbishop issued to his Receiver, Sir William de Wykes-
worth, the following commission to gather the fourpence on each mark, of all benefices, as granted
last year.
" John, &c. — To our beloved son, William de Wykesworth, Canon of the Chapel of the Blessed Mary and the Holy
Angels of York, health, grace and blessing. — Whereas our beloved sons the clergy, both religious and secular" — (here
follows the same address as was made to the Dean dated 12th of October of last year) — "We being desirous, for the
forwarding of the said works, for which we are fervently anxious, that the grant hereof be carried into due execution,
— and having full confidence in the Lord, in your faithfulness and industry, do establish and likewise depute you to be
the principal collector of the said subsidy, and to you by the term of these presents do entrust our authority, with
the power of all manner of canonical enforcement, — to exact, levy, collect and receive the aforesaid subsidy, to wit,
of all and sundry ecclesiastical persons of our diocese, religious and secular, exempt and non-exempt, and likewise
of their goods and benefices ecclesiastical, and temporalities annexed to spirituals, twopence out of every mark of
their ecclesiastical benefices, &c, according to the new valuation, for two terms, to wit, for the synods of St. Michael
last past, and of Easter next ensuing, when it shall come to pass — and likewise to proceed against all and sundry
persons not paying in this matter, — and to compel and coerce the persons hereof to the payment of the portions
respectively concerning the said persons, by all manner of Church censures, due and lawful in this case, — that is to
say, of suspension against Convents and Chapters, — of excommunication against persons, — and of interdict against
their Churches, and ecclesiastical places, — the proceeding being had and observed, which shall be required in this
matter, — and to do all and sundry things which shall be necessary or expedient, in and concerning the premises.
And concerning whatsoever you shall do and discover in the premises, and what sum you shall raise of the past term,
you shall distinctly and openly inform us, against the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, next ensuing, by your letters
patent, &c. Farewell. Given at Thorp, near York, the 20th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1366, and of
our translation the fourteenth." 3
On Friday, the Feast of St. Matthew, 1367, the following Indenture was made with John a Plumber,
for him to labour, as necessity might require, at the repair of the covering of the Belfrey, Choir,
Chapter-house, and pinnacles of the Church.
" Indenture with John the plumber.
" This Indenture witnesseth, that John Plomer, of Blake-street, shall work in the plumber's work, with his own
hands, and not by a substitute, in the covering of the Church of St. Peter of York, the Bell Tower, Belfry (Berefridi), 4
1 Regist. G c. fol. 79. 2 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 324. ;i Thoresby's Regist. fol. 60 b.
4 " Berefridi." The term Berefridus, Berfridus, Verfridus, Belfridus, &c. — (for it is variously written) — originally denoted
a lofty wooden tower, moved on four wheels, having several stories, and used in war. Afterwards, the name was applied
to towers erected in cities or castles, in which guards were stationed, who, by striking a bell, might give notice of the approach of
danger. They were also used in times of peace, for the purpose of calling the citizens together on any public occasion.* Hence,
a tower attached to a Church, and containing a service-bell, would be called by the same name. The Berefridus of the Cathedral
a Du Cange in verb.
161
Choir, Chapter-house, and pinnacles or towers of the said Church, whensoever and wheresoever it shall hereafter be
necessary, or any defect shall appear in the same, or in any part of the same, and he shall be required by the Master of the
fabric of the said Church, or by another on his behalf, receiving each week wherein he shall have wrought in the work
aforesaid, of the said Master of the work, two shillings and sixpence of silver for his stipend and for his labour, without
requiring anything further, unless perchance the Lords of the Chapter aforesaid, considering the amount of his work,
shall of their free gift choose to make him a more plentiful remuneration ; and if the said John shall labour in the
said work by day's-works or turns, he shall receive for his day's-work according to the rate or portion of the sum
aforesaid so limited; nor shall the said John be able at any season of the year to claim any more; but if at any
intermediate time of the year the aforesaid fabric shall not require his labour or repairs, having first asked and
obtained leave of the Chapter or of the Master of the work, he may lawfully work elsewhere, and do what is
convenient for himself, according as he shall think expedient ; so, however, that he may return forthwith and
without hindrance to the repair and emendation of the said Church, Avhensoever he shall be needed, and shall be
required by the Master of the work as aforementioned. And the aforesaid work he shall, as often as it shall be
necessary, well and faithfully and without any deceit or fraud, diligently do and despatch, and shall take care of the
lead and tin of the Church, and shall not at any time withdraw it, nor use it elsewhere than in or about the
said work.
" But, if he shall need any servant or assistant for the aforesaid work, then with the consent and agreement of
the said Master, who shall make an agreement with him, a servant shall be assigned to him for a week, or for a
day's work, in aid of the aforesaid work. And the said John did before the said Lords the Chapter take his
corporal oath to do and faithfully fulfil all the aforesaid agreements. Moreover, although the said John Plomer is
was a turret or square compartment formed at the apex of the roof of the south transept. The compartment was formed partly
by the thickness of the wall, partly by the opening of the cuspated triangular window, and partly by the assistance of large
brackets bending towards the church, the whole of the compartment being externally about ten feet square, but the height of it
is uncertain. Yet some idea of it may be formed by an inspection of the 28th plate, vol. i. of Dugdale's Monasticon, edit. 1718.
The Berefridus had a broche or spire, probably of wood covered with lead; and thus it became an object in the plumber's
engagement. In this belfrey two bells appear to have been placed ; one of them being the prayer-bell, and the other the
clock-bell. At what period the belfrey was erected is uncertain ; but there is reason to believe that it existed in the time of
Thoresby, and at that time contained two such bells. But the last prayer-bell placed there bore the date 1492, and the following
lines : —
" Surge cito, propera, cunctos citat excitat hora;
Cur dormis ? vigila, me resonante, leva."
This bell, in the' time of Dean Finch, was removed to the top of the lanthorn ; a and thence, about the beginning of the present
century, into the south west Bell Tower, where it was destroyed with the other bells in the fire of 1840.
A new clock-bell was placed in the Berefridus in 1371, in the time of Archbishop Thoresby, and there such a bell remained till
about 1752, when the clock and bell were removed.
It is very probable that the clock of the Cathedral was the oldest, and perhaps for a long period the only public clock in
the city, and that the sound of its divisions of the day being so important, its tower became a distinguishing appellation for the
Church adjoining or near to it, as " St. Michael le Berefrido," alias " St. Michael the Archangel de Berefrido," alias St. Michael
de Belfrido," alias " St. Michael called le Belfrey," b to distinguish the Church from the one of St. Michael in Spurriergate, as
" St. Mary in Castlegate," or " at the gate of the Castle," c had that special appellation to particularise it from any other St. Man-
in the city.
The Church of St. Michael le Belfrey certainly did not derive its name from being near the general Bell Tower, which was
formerly in the centre or great tower of the Cathedral ; for if it had been styled from its proximity to that tower, it would have
been called St. Michael de Campanili, which is not, nor ever was, its title.
s Drake's Eboracum, p. 486. b Regist. By. fol. 5, 89, 121, 148, 164 b.
c " Beate Marie ad portam castri." — Bowett's Regist. fol. 18 b — 97.
2 E
162
bound by his deed of obligation to the said Dean and Chapter of the Church of St. Peter of York aforesaid, in
forty marks of silver, to be paid to the said Dean and Chapter on a certain day and at a certain place, as in his
writ of obligation is more fully expressed ; nevertheless, the aforesaid Dean and Chapter are willing, and do agree
for themselves and their successors, that if the said John Plomer shall well and faithfully do and fulfil all the
covenants in his office of plumber aforesaid, and shall not fail in any part of the said covenants, so long as he
shall continue in his said office, the said writ of obligation for forty marks shall be of no value or effect ; but
otherwise it shall remain in its full force and power. In witness whereof, the seal of the Chapter is appended to
the part of this Indenture remaining in the possession of the said John; and to the other part remaining in the
possession of the said Chapter, the seal of the said John is affixed. Given at York on Friday, the Feast of
St. Matthew (February 24th), in the year of our Lord 1367." 1
On the 7th of May, a.d. 1367, the Archbishop, then at Thorp, near York, directed his Receiver to
transfer to the Lord Keeper of the fabric one hundred pounds as his Easter donation ; and on the
23rd of October he desired the same sum to be added to the fund of the fabric for his Michaelmas
donation. 2
The fabric being again deprived of its master mason (William Hoton), the Chapter appointed to
that office Mr. Robert de Patryngton, stone mason, making with him this Indenture : —
" Salary of Master Robert de Patryngton, Mason.
" To all unto whom these presents shall come, the Chapter of the Church of York, the Dean being absent, ever-
lasting health in the Lord. Know ye that for the good service of Master Robert de Patryngton, mason, rendered
to us and to our Church aforesaid, and in time to come to be rendered until the term of his life, we have granted
to him ten pounds sterling, to be received each year by the hands of the keeper of the works of the said Church,
for the time being, at the terms of Whitsuntide and of St. Martin in the winter, by equal portions, together with
the houses within the Close of the said Church, which William de Hoton, mason, inhabited while he lived. It
being provided nevertheless, that the said Robert shall well and faithfully attend to the works of our said Church,
and shall not employ his time upon any other operations, to the delay or hindrance of the said works. And if it
shall happen that the said Robert shall undertake any works elsewhere, and apply himself to them, neglecting,
delaying, or leaving undone, the works of our Church, and after being a third time admonished on our behalf, shall
not return to our said works, and diligently occupy himself about the same, then his aforesaid salary shall cease,
until he shall return to our works and duly make up for his failures herein.
" And if it shall happen, which God forbid ! that the said Robert shall be smitten with blindness or any other
bodily infirmity, whereby he may be disabled from bestowing his bodily labour upon the said works ; then so long
as the aforesaid infirmity shall continue, he shall receive ten marks only by the year, at the aforesaid terms, together
with the houses aforesaid, bestowing his counsel and advice as far as he is able in this matter. And in the event
that the said Robert, being unwilling to labour, shall withdraw himself altogether from the said works, then our
grant aforesaid shall from that time forth cease, until he shall freely, without fee or reward, return and attend to
our works as is aforementioned. In witness whereof, our seal is appended to these presents. Given at York, in
our Chapter House, the 5th day of January, a.d. 1368." 3
The tombs of some of the Archbishop's predecessors, which the progress of the fabric of the Church,
or other circumstances, had probably prevented from being hitherto honourably covered, now engaged
his anxious solicitude, and he ordered that six of them should be covered with marble stones, adorned,
1 Regist. G c. 85 b.
3 Regist. G c. 89.
2 Thoresby's Regist. 324 b.
163
do doubt, with suitable decorations and inscriptions ; towards the expense of which , he issued from
Thorp, near York, on the 18th day of February 1368, the following instructions to his Receiver at
" Health, grace, and blessing. Deliver ye unto Master Robert de Patryngton, master mason of the fabric of the
new Choir of our Church of York, on account of the work of six marble stones to be prepared for the tombs of our
predecessors, as we have agreed together, ten pounds out of the hundred pounds payable by us to the said fabric
at the Feast of Easter next ensuing. But in such wise, that at your peril you cause any defalcation of the payment
of the said ten pounds, now to be paid to the said Robert in the payment of the foresaid one hundred pounds ;
receiving at present of the said Master Robert a memorandum testifying the payment of the said ten pounds ;
whereby, and by showing of these presents, we will cause the said ten pounds to be duly carried to your account.
Farewell, written at Thorp, near York, 18th day of February, a. d. 1368." 1
As many persons had delayed to pay the tax of four pence upon every mark of their ecclesiastical
benefices enjoined upon them in 1635, the Chapter, on the 8th day of March, a. d. 1368, invested
Master John de Leghton, Chamberlain, and Master John de Feriby, Vicar, in the Choir of the Church,
with all canonical power to gather the said tax, and to enforce by lawful coercion, excommunication,
and interdict, all just arrearages and doubtful payments. 2
On the 20th of April, a. d. 1368, the Archbishop directed his Receiver to pay his special donation
of one hundred pounds granted at Easter to the keeper of the fabric ; he also, on the 13th of Novem-
ber, ordered a similar sum to be paid as his Michaelmas donation to the fabric. 3
John de Stayngate Sadeler, of the city of York, by will dated June the 6th, a.d. 1368, 4 after giving
his body to be buried in the great Church of the Blessed Peter of York, gave certain lands, tenements,
and rents, which he had in the city and suburbs of York, for the founding and supporting of one
chantry priest for ever at the altar of St. John the Baptist, whom he asserted he loved more than all
the other saints, to the intent that the celebration of mass and other divine offices might thereat be
performed for the good estate of his own soul, of Emma his wife, and of Johanna his former wife,
for Robert de Derefrem, and for the souls of their parents and benefactors, and for the souls of all
the faithful departed ; he also willed that Master John de Brodsworth be appointed to the said chantry.
The executors of the said John de Stayngate having obtained a licence from the king, and the grant of
the lands, &c, presented a petition to the Chapter in General Convocation held on the 23rd day of June,
to have the same Chantry approved and confirmed, which was duly ordained and appointed accordingly,
yet with the reserve of the condition, that the chaplain should attend in his habit of parson, in the
Choir of the Church of York on all Sundays and great festivals, and on all feasts of nine lessons, at
matins, processions, high mass, and vespers, except when lawfully or reasonably prevented. 5
A chantry under the patronage of St. John Baptist was not thus founded for the first time in
the Church ; one was already existing for William de Langton, Dean of York ; 6 therefore,
he only established another chantry priest to pray for his soul, under the above patron.
Where the altar was placed at which the duties were performed is quite uncertain ; but it is
clear that about the year 1483 they were performed at the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary and
York :—
1 Thoresby Regist. fol. 325.
3 Thoresby Regist. fol. 324 b.
5 Regist. Tc. fol. 75.
2 Regist. G c. fol. 90.
4 Regist. B y. fol. 47.
6 Regist. X a. fol. 40 b
2 E 2
164
St. John the Evangelist, " retro summum altare," and in the early part of the sixteenth century, at
the altar of St. Paulinus and St. Cedd, seemingly then placed in a cell in the north aisle of the
Choir. 1
On the 15th day of August, a.d. 1369, the seventeenth year of the Archbishop's translation, he
issued his order to his Receiver, Master Nicholas de Altaripa, to pay to Master John de Leghton,
keeper of the fabric of the new Choir, the sum of one hundred pounds for his Easter donation to the
fabric. 2
From the following memorandum it appears that the marble stones for the tombs of the Archbishop's
predecessors were not yet completed : —
" Memorandum, that under the date Thorp, near York, namely, on the 23rd day of August, a.d. 1369, an order
was made to Master Nicholas de Altaripa, clerk, Receiver at York, to pay Master Robert de Patryngton, mason, ten
marks, in part payment of ten pounds, for the working of certain marble stones, by an acquittance testifying
the payment of the said money." 3
On the 3rd day of January, a.d. 1370, the plumber of the Church of St. Peter being probably dead,
the Chapter made the following Indenture with John, son of Ade le Plummer, of Beverley : and the
agreement is worthy of particular notice, as it alludes not only to the repairing of the defects of the
edifice, as in the former agreement, p. 160, but also to the allowances granted for covering those parts
which might require such protection during the plumber's life.
" Indenture with a Plumber.
" This Indenture, made between the Venerable the Chapter of York, the Dean thereof being absent in foreign
parts, on the one part, and John, the son of Ade le Plummer, of Beverley, on the other part, witnesseth that the
said Chapter hath engaged the said John to serve the Church of York in the office of plumber for the term of his
life, on the conditions which follow : — First, that the said John shall be bound to cover the aforesaid Church, and
the Belfrey, and Chapter-house thereof, with a covering of lead, and properly to repair the defects therein happening,
as often as need shall be ; and the said John shall receive for melting afresh and duly putting on each fother of
lead (containing 180 stone), seven shillings and sixpence, by the hands of the Master of the fabric for the time being;
likewise he shall receive for covering each rood upon the said Church, or the Belfrey, or the Chapter-house (containing
20 feet, to be measured by the customary ell in length and in breadth), which has to be removed and covered afresh
upon the said Church, Belfrey, and Chapter-house, seven shillings and sixpence. And when it shall so happen that
he shall have wrought fresh lead for covering the Bell Tower of the said Church, or that part of the Belfrey which is
called the Broche (spire), then he shall receive for working each fother and rood, according to the form aforesaid,
thirteen shillings and fourpence. Likewise, whenever any defects shall happen in the Church, Bell Tower, Belfrey,
or Chapter-house, which are to be repaired with a smaller weight of lead than a fother, or rood, or quarter-roods, so
that it shall appear to the keeper of the fabric to be more expedient to reckon by days' works than otherwise, then
the said John, if he shall have been present, and wrought himself, shall receive by the day for himself sixpence, and
for each of his servants working thereat, five-pence, provided the said servants be able and necessary. Likewise,
the aforesaid John shall be bound, as often as shall be needful, well and faithfully to cleanse and to keep the ashes
(or refuse) of the lead, to be melted in his office, he receiving for each stone of twelve pounds one penny farthing.
Likewise, the said John shall be bound, as often as shall be needful, to oversee the works in lead of the Church,
Bell Tower, Belfrey, and Chapter-house, and faithfully to consult and use his diligence concerning the repair of the
defects happening therein ; and furthermore, when he shall be required by the Chapter, or by the keeper of the fabric,
faithfully to labour.
1 Regist. G h. 19 ; G f. 49 ; G i. 30 ; and B y. 37. 2 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 325.
3 Thoresby Regist. 325 b.
165
" And if perchance the said John shall be infirm, whereby he may be disabled from attending to the premises
in his own person, he shall, for that time, engage another sufficient plumber in his place, for whom he shall be held
responsible. Moreover, the said John is bound faithfully to keep the lead, tin, and all other things relating to his
business, and faithfully to procure the advantages of the Church of York, in as far as his business is concerned.
And if by the default of any of the servants of the said John, damage accrues in any wise to the said Church of
York, then the said John shall be obliged to be responsible for the damage thereof. And all the aforesaid things the
said John is bound to do in all respects at his own costs, receiving, as has been aforementioned ; with the exception
that the Chapter shall find for him the fuel necessary for all the aforesaid works, and tin for solder, when it shall be
needed. And the aforesaid John hath taken his bodily oath, laying his hand upon the Holy Gospels, that he will
keep his faithfulness to the Church and Chapter of York, and will well and faithfully, to the best of his ability,
fulfil his duty on the conditions aforesaid : and the aforesaid Chapter, for his bestowing his good service upon them
and the Church of York as aforesaid, hath given and granted to the aforesaid John, over and above his pay afore-
mentioned, forty shillings, in name of fee, to be yearly received by the hands of the Master- Keeper of the fabric for
the time being, at the terms of Whitsuntide and St. Martin, by equal portions ; the first portion commencing at the
term of Whitsuntide next ensuing j provided only that the said John do, on his part, observe the premises. In
witness whereof the aforesaid John, son of Ade le Plummer, hath affixed his seal to the part of this Indenture
remaining in the possession of the said Chapter ; and to the other part of the said Indenture, to be kept in the
possession of the said John, the seal of the said Chapter is appended. Given at York, the 3rd day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1370." 1
On the 28th of January, a.d. 1370, and in the eighteenth year of his translation, the Archbishop
issued his order to his Receiver, Master John de Irford, to pay to Master John de Feriby, keeper of
the fabric of the Church, the sum of one hundred pounds, granted at Michaelmas last past, according
to an agreement made with the late keeper of the fabric. 2
It may be presumed that now the works of the fabric of the eastern portion of the new Choir were
in regular progress, and that from the number of masons employed (which were probably above
twenty), there needed some improvement in the rules or orders made about 1355. 3 Accordingly, the
following were now adopted and enforced : —
" Ordinance for the Masons.
" Itte es ordayned by ye Chapitre of ye Kirk of Saint Petyr of York, yat all ye Masonns y* sail wyrke till ye
werkis of ye same Kyrk of Saynte Petyr sail fra Mighelmesse-day untdl ye firste Sonday of Lentyn be ilk a day atte
morne atte yaire werk in ye loge yat es ordayned to ye masonnes at wyrk in witch ye close bysyde ye forsayde Kirk
als arly als yai may see wilfully by daylighte, for till wyrke, and yai sail stande yar trewly wirkand atte yare werke,
all ye day after, als lang als yai may se skilfully for till wyrk yf yt be alii werkday outlier elles till itte be heeh none,
smytyn by ye clocke, When haly-day folles atte none sauf y* in with y* forsayde tyme bytwyx Mighelmes et Lentyne,
and in all other tyme of ye yer yai may dyne before none yf yai wille, and alswa ette atte none whar yam likes swa
y* yai sal noghte dwell fra yair werk in ye forsayde loge na tyme of ye yer in dyner tyme bote swa schort tyme yat
na skilfulman sail fynde defaute in yaire dwellyng, and in tyme of mete atte none, yai sail na tyme of ye yer dwell
fra ye loges ne fra yare werke forsayde ovyr ye space of ye tyme of an houre, And aftyr none yai may drink in ye
loge ande for yaire drinkyng tyme, bytwyx Mighelmes et Lentyn, yai sail noghte cese no lefe yare werk passaud ye tyme
of half a mileway, ande fra ye firste sonday of Lentyn untill Miglemesse yai sail be in ye forsayde loge atte yaire werke,
atte ye son risyng, ande stande yare trewely ande bysily wyrkande upon ye forsayde werke, of ye Kyrk all ye day untill
itte be namare space yan tyme of a mileway byfore ye sone sette if itte be werkday outher elles untill tyme of none,
als itte es sayde byfore, Saf y 4 yai sail bytwix ye firste Sonday of Lentyne ande Mighelmes dyne and ette als es byfore
1 Regist. G c. fol. 97 b.
2 Thoresby's Regist. 326 a.
3 See p. 134.
166
sayde, ande slepe ande driuke aftyr none in ye forsayde loge ande yai sail noghte cese, no lefe yair werke in slepyng
tyme passande ye tyme of a mileway, no in drynkying tyme aftyr none passande ye tyme of a mileway, Ande yai
sail noghte sleepe eftyre none na tyme botte bytwene Saynte Elennies and Lammes, and yf any mane dwell fra ye
loge ande fray ye werk forsayde, outher make defaute any tyme of ye yer agayne yis forsayde Ordinance he sail be
chastyde with abatyngs of his payment atte ye lokyng ande devys of ye Maistyr Masonn. Ande all yer tymes
ande houres, sail be reweled bi a Bell ordayned yarefore Ande alswa it es ordayned y t na mason sail be receavyde
atte wyrke to ye werk of ye forsayde Kyrke bot he be firste provede a weike or mare opon his wele wyrkyng and
aftyr y* he es foundyn conssissant of his werke be receavyde of ye commune assente of ye Mayster & ye Kepers of
ye werk, ande of ye Maystyr Masonn, & swere apon ye boke y* he sail trewly ande bysyli at his power, for oute
any maner gylyry fayntys outher desayte, hald and kepe haly all ye poyntes of yis forsayde Ordinance in all thynges
y* him touches or may touches, fra tyme y* he be receavyde till ye forsayde werke als lang als he sail dwell masonn
hyryd atte wyrk till y* forsayde werke of ye Kyrk of saint Petyr ande noght ga away fra y* forsayde werke bote
ye maystyrs gyf hym lefe atte parte fra y* forsayde werke, betar ye maystyrs gyt hym lefe atte parte fra y 4 same werk,
ande wha sum evyr cum again yis ordinance ande brek itte agayn ye will o ye forsayde Chapitre have he Goddys
malyson and saynt Petri." 1
This ordinance, having been adopted by the Chapter, was read to the masons assembled in the
presence of the Chapter, and agreed to by them, as appears from the following memorandum : —
" 31st October 1370, — Master Robert de Patryngton, Master-mason of the fabric of the Church of York, and
the other masons of the said fabric, to the number of twelve and upwards, personally appeared ; and there were
read in their presence certain articles exhibited by them before the Chapter, the tenor whereof followeth in these
words : — ' Lordes, if it be your wyles, we grant for to stand at our werkes truly at our power, kc' " 2
The custom of annually visiting the Church of St. Peter of York, and of making an offering at the
High Altar, having fallen into very general neglect, the Archbishop directed the following admonition to
the official of the Archdeaconry of the East Riding of Yorkshire : —
" A Letter for the Offering at the High Altar.
" John, by Divine permission, Archbishop of York, Primate of England and Legate of the Apostolic See, to our
beloved son, the Official of the Archdeaconry of the East Riding, health, grace, and blessing. Albeit, all and
sundry Rectors, Vicars and others holding Church-Benefices, and men and women having their dwellings and homes
within the diocese of York, are by a praiseworthy custom, established by long prescription and peacefully observed
from and through a time of the beginning of which there exists no record in the memory of man, notoriously
obliged personally to visit their mother Church of York, and at the High Altar of the said Church to offer one
penny each, unless they be lawfully hiudered from personal access thereto; in the which case, they are nevertheless
bound to send a messenger to the said Church, who may supply their place in this matter, to offer at the said Altar
the penny on this account annually due : Nevertheless we have learned from a report worthy of credit, that very
many, both clerks and laymen, men and women, who are bound to visit the said Church of York, and to make their
offerings there as aforementioned, do negligently omit annually to visit the said Church, and to offer at the aforesaid
Altar; and that certain persons do, as they affirm, transmit the penny to be offered by them on this account through
collectors and other messengers, which persons do not there offer the money received by them on this account,
but do withhold it unjustly from the said Altar, and, being so withheld, do appropriate it to the grievous peril of
their own souls, to the prejudice and loss of our Church of York, and to the withholding, violation and notorious
diminution of the rights, liberties and customs of the said Church, and to the pernicious example of many other
faithful Christians : Wherefore we, in virtue of holy obedience, and under penalty of the greater excommunication,
do strongly enjoin and charge you, that ye, in every Chapter to be held by you within the aforesaid Archdeaconry, do
1 Regist. G c. fol. 100 b. 2 Harl. MS. 6971, p. 207, from Regist. N y., which is now lost.
167
distinctly and openly publish all the premises in presence of the Clergy and people subject to your authority, and
that ye do cause the same to be published and to be enforced and expounded in the vulgar tongue, in an audible voice,
publicly and solemnly, on Lord's Days and Holidays, by all Rectors, Vicars, Chaplains, parochial and others of
the Archdeaconry aforesaid, in the parish Churches and Chapels throughout the said Archdeaconry, at such times
when the greatest concourse of people shall be assembled, during solemn Mass ; and that ye do further, in the
Chapters aforesaid, admonish and effectually persuade all and sundry persons who are bound, to visit the said
Church, and there to offer as aforementioned, and cause them to be lawfully admonished and persuaded by the
Rectors, Vicars and Chaplains aforesaid, in their said Churches, that henceforth they and each of them do once
visit the said Church of York, and do offer the said pennies at the said Altar in person every year, no lawful cause
hindering them ; or, when they shall be hindered from doing these things in their own persons, that they do
transmit the said pennies, not by any collectors, but by certain other messengers worthy of trust, to the Altar
aforesaid ; which messengers shall, without deceit or fraud, there offer the same effectually, and who shall satisfy
so often as it may be done for whatsoever hath been withheld by them from the Church of York, as they are
bound to do under pain of the greater excommunication, which, by the authority of the holy Roman Pontiffs,
and the Synodal Constitutions of York, and of other Holy Fathers, hath been established and pronounced against
the withholders, detainers and violators of the rights, customs and liberties of the said Church of York. Given at
Thorp, by York, &c." 1
On the 28th of July, a.d. 1370, the Archbishop ordered his Receiver to pay to the keeper of the
fabric the sum of one hundred pounds, as granted at the feast of Easter ; he also, on the 25th of
November, in the nineteenth year of his translation, ordered a similar sum to be paid for his Michael-
mas donation. 2
The following acquittance for a cope and palfrey, presented to the Church, according to established
custom, 3 and in conformity with the Will of David Wallore, Canon of York, dated 1 9th of September
1369, is not only interesting in itself, but valuable, as it refers both to the fabric and to the High Altar
of the Church of St. Peter.
" Acquittance for the Cope and Palfrey of David de Wallore.
" Know all men, that we the Chapter of the Church of Blessed Peter of York, the Dean thereof being in
foreign parts, have received of the venerable and discreet person, Sir Henry de Ingleby, our fellow Canon and
Brother of the said Church of York, out of the legacy of donation of Sir David de Wallore, Canon of York,
deceased, for the use of the Church of York, the jewels underwritten, to wit : — A Cope of black velvet, fretted
with frets of Gold, with stars of gold very thickly interspersed; together with a Morse of silver well gilt
and enamelled with the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and likewise set round with stones of coral : — Item,
A Case for the corporal of the High Altar, of gold tissue, with images well wrought in embroidery :— Item, two
Basins of silver gilt, of good thickness, (weighing five pounds, one ounce and three quarters,) with the arms of
England and France in compartments on their bottoms — Item, a Spoon of silver gilt,
for the proportioning the wine or the water for the Chalice of the High Altar : — Item, two wide Palls for the High
Altar : — Item, Twenty pounds of Silver, in lieu of the Palfrey due to the fabric of the Church aforesaid. For the
which Jewels and Palfrey, we acknoAvledge that full satisfaction has been made to us j and we, by these presents,
acquit both the said Sir David and Sir Henry, and also the Executors whomsoever of the said Sir David. — In
witness whereof, our seal is appended to these presents. Given at York, the 23rd day of December a.d. 1370.
From the documents which alone the author has been able to produce, it may be safely concluded
that the fabric of the eastern portion of the Choir was in regular though slow progress ; and that the
1 Regist. G c. fol. 99 a.
- Thoresby's Regist. fol. 326 a.
" P. 122.
168
old Choir had hitherto been but little curtailed in its dimensions : so that the usual services of the
Choir might be duly performed in it, while the work of the much larger Choir was progressively advanc-
ing. Fabric compotuses and chamberlains' accounts, if they could have been obtained, would, no
doubt, have furnished more direct and positive evidence ; but after a very strict search, no such docu-
ments of a date prior to the year 1370 were to be found. From this year, happily, occasional fabric
rolls, and also accounts of the Chamberlain of the Dean and Chapter, have been discovered, which
throw much light upon the subsequent progress of the building.
Before the removal of the records and registers of the Dean and Chapter to the places in which they
are now deposited, the Revestry and Chapel of Archbishop Zouch, by the present registrar, C. Thistleton,
Esq., it was not known or suspected that any fabric or chamberlains' rolls were in existence, and all
attempts to institute a search after them were discouraged and repelled. The removal of the records,
however, has brought to light several such rolls, and many other valuable documents, which the author
immediately perceived might prove of the greatest importance in enabling him to trace the history of the
fabric of the Church, through a period hitherto involved in much confusion and obscurity. Several of
these documents having been long neglected, were found in a sad state of decay : but having obtained
permission to examine and arrange them, and to extract from them whatever he might find suitable to
his purpose, the author has been able to collect from them a mass of curious and interesting information,
confirming, and in no instance contradicting, the opinions he had previously formed of the age of the
later portions of the Church.
One of these documents is a decaying remnant (about nine feet in length) of a fabric roll originally
perhaps extending to about twenty-four feet, composed of sheets of parchment stitched together.
It is an account rendered by the keeper of the fabric, of all monies received, expended and remaining
for the past year ; and seems to have been made up to the 3rd of January 1371. There is no date,
but the mason's wages are accounted for to that day of that month, and the following item of expense
occasioned by the writing of two documents already given, decide the year. — Expended, " In writing the
Indenture of John Plummer 1 and the new ordinance for the masons, 3s. Ad." 2
All the income portion of the roll is gone, and also the weekly accounts of the masons, up to the
second week in September. Mr. Robert Patryngton is the master mason, and has under him thirty-five
masons, men and apprentices, and eighteen labourers. The masons are arranged, according to their
wages, into seven classes ; the first consisting of fifteen, at 3s. per week ; the second, of five,
at 2s. 9d. ; the third, one, at 2s. 7d. ; the fourth, of one, at 2s. 6d. ; the fifth, of four, at 2s. Ad. ; the
sixth, of five, at 2s. ; the seventh, of four, at Is. 8d. ; and the amount paid to the masons alone for the
year was £245. 8s. 6d. The wages of the labourers also varied in the sums of Is. 3d., Is. Ad., Is. Gd.,
and Is. 8d. each week ; but it was usual for the Church to find tunics, aprons, gloves, and clogs, and
to give occasional potation and remuneration for extra work.
It further appears that the sum or available fund for the fabric and its liabilities was £805. 9s. \\d. ;
expenses of fabric and burthens, £627. 9s. Ad. ; and a remainder of £177. 19s. 9\d. ; also that Mr.
Phillip was master carpenter, John Plummer, the plumber, and John Burgh, the glazier.
That the reader may have a clear understanding of the items selected from this once enormous roll,
and its bearing on the history of the erection of the new Choir, it will be necessary briefly to advert
to what had been done previously to the date of this document.
1 P. 164. 2 P. 165.
169
It having been determined in convocation on the 21st of July 1361, that there should be a new
Choir erected to accord with the beauty of the new Nave, the Archbishop, probably eight days
afterwards, or on the 29th of that month, laid a stone, which, strictly speaking, might be called the
first stone ; but there is good reason to believe that it was not permanently laid then, but only placed
as a solemn formal indication of the commencement of the structure, and determining its extent.
After the building of a new Choir was decided upon, designs would have to be invented, large
clearages would probably have to be made, 1 and foundations prepared : in the old Choir, all the altars
and furniture of the eastern portion would have to be removed, and about 45 feet of the east end taken
down, 2 and a new end wall to the old Choir built, and decently adorned, for regular service to be per-
formed. To accomplish these objects with the small number of men which the Church was generally able
to employ would require a period of a few years ; and as has already been shown in p. 154, that it is
probable that the altars in the Crypt and east end of the Choir were not moved before 1364, at the
earliest ; and as, after they were moved, the end of the Choir would have to be taken down, and a
partition wall built, and rendered suitably decent for the august mysteries, — so, it is not surprising that
the High Altar, with its ceiling (probably part of the Reredos), should not be completed in the altera-
tion before this year (1370), in which year the ceiling (or Reredos) of the said High Altar was made
and painted, according to the following items : —
"Expended, In sawing 5| rods of the fabric timber, for the ceiling, price each rod, 3s. 4d. = 17s. 6d.; and in
working (carving) 16 ' Keyes/ (bosses for the crossings of the ribs,) for the ceiling, price each, 5s. = £4<. 0s. Od. ;
and in 10,000 of ' scotsemnail,' bought for the ceiling, price each 100, 5d. = £2. Is. Sd. ; and to Richard
Kyng, according to agreement for painting the ceiling above the great Altar with stars, £2. 7s. 3d. ; and in Gloves
given to the carpenters for elevating the great ceiling, 4s. 6c?."
In addition to these items showing the construction of the new ceiling for the High Altar, the
following item also bears evidence that the Choir yet existed : — " Expended, In repairing the ' Lectrine'
in the Choir, 3s. 4d."
It appears that it was not before this year that the great bell which fell down about 1359, was
replaced by a new one ; a new clock and several new bells were also obtained and properly placed, and
much repair was effected on the Belfrey, or Clock Bell Tower, concerning the whole of which the
following items are recorded on the fabric roll : —
"Expended, In payment to Johnde Stafford, for working according to agreement on one great bell, £6. 13s. 4c?. ;
and in 11,000 Turves, bought for the fire round the mould, lis. Od. ; and in two chaldrons of ' Secole/ bought for
the same, 10s. 0d. ; and in six ' scheppis' of Charcole, bought for the same, 7s. 0d.; and in one stone of Tallow,
Is. 4rf. ; 3 and in Grease, Is. 4c?. ; and in ' Wort/ 4c?. ; 4 and in Soap, 6c?. y> and in ' Wengges/ 4c?. ; 6 and in the
carriage of Clay, for the moulds and other necessaries about the bell, Us. 0c?.; and in Straw, 4^c?. ; 7 and in one
1 It has been shown in p. 159, that, to enlarge, the space about the Minster, the Church of St. Mary ad Valvas was removed
only in 1365, and very probably other buildings also, the materials of which, together with those of the old wall at Shirburn,
might be considered useful in the walls of the new Choir.
2 See plans of the Choirs, in Plate II.
3 Tallow for pot or pan lights.
4 The dregs of strong beer are yet used for washing the moulds.
5 For washing of hands.
6 Probably the same as Wegges, Weges, Wedges, for fastening the Crook on the Spindle.
7 For the forming of bands for what the Bell-founders call the false Bell.
2 F
170
Stapell for the bell, 3d. ; and in Rosyn, bought for the same, 2c?.; and in Drink given to the labourers about the
casting of the said bell, 3*. \0\d. ; and in six Hurdles 1 for the mould, Is. 6d. ; and in hanging the bell with Iron,
20*. Od. ; and in one great new Clapper, bought for the same, 16*. 86?. ; and in new-hanging one other bell called
John, with one new Clapper, 25*. Od. ; and in hanging twice over one other bell, called ' Chaunselerbell/ with
one new Clapper bought, 20*. 0c?.; and in l,0121bs. of Brass and Tin, bought of John de Kirkham, price each lOOlbs.,
26*. 86?., sum .£13. 9*. 86?. ; and in 1001b. of Tin, bought for the great bell, 30*. 06?. ; and in new making a bell for
the Clock, and also for one bell for the Masons, .€3. 6*. 8c?. ; and in hanging the bell in the Masons' Lodge, 3*. 4c?. ;
and in hanging the bell for the Clock in the Belfrey, 6*. 8c?. ; and in 21 lbs. of ' Messyng/ bought of Richard King,
3*. 6c?.; and in six thickboards, bought for the wheels of the bells, with sawing the same, 4*. 3c?; and in (paying)
Mr. John Clareburgh, according to agreement, for the making of one new Clock, with all its apparatus, except the
lead (weights) and bell, £13. 6s. 8c?.; and in exchange with John de Kirkham, in addition to the Church bell,
for another bell for the Clock, .€20. 0*. 0c?. ; and in painting the wheels and other necessaries for the Clock, and
in hanging the Great Bell, with iron for the same, 11*. 0c?., sum total £66. 10*. lc?. (Also) and in 3,000 of
' Midelspikyngs/ bought for the bells, and other necessaries in the fabric this year, 15*. 0c?. ; and in 210 stone of
Lead, wrought above the bell of the Clock, and in other necessary places, 8*. 9c?. ; and in sawing 60 Waynscots for
the Clock and other necessaries in the fabric, 3*. 96?/'
It is also evident from the roll, that whilst the preceding items were paid for from the fabric fund
for the benefit of the Church, the eastern portion of the structure of the new Choir was regularly
progressing, and the following items show that the walls either needed, or would soon need, the
assistance of scaffolds: — "Expended, In 200 of ' Firspars' for the Scaffold, and Ladders, and other
necessaries in the fabric, £1. 16s. Od. ; and in 400 great ' Spikyngs' bought for 2s. 8d. ; and in 100
' brags,' bought for the Scaffold in the fabric, 3s. Od. ; and in 8 Wheels bought for pulleys in the
fabric 8d."
The following extracts are from a Compotus, or an account of all monies received and expended by
Master Robert de Newton, the Chamberlain of the Dean and Chapter, it being his office to receive
all monies applicable to the performance of the divine duties, and to apply them as the regular
services, burthens, and the occasional wants of the Church required.
The Compotus contains the receipts and expenses from the Feast of St. Martin 1370, to the
Feast of Pentecost 1371. The amount of monies received was £375. lis. 8^d., sum expended was
£157. 13s. 0^d., and paid to each Canon £31. 2s. 8d.
From the items of expenditure in this Compotus, the following have been selected as giving addi-
tional evidence that, during this half year, the High Altar of the Cathedral existed, and that the
accustomed services were regularly performed in the said Church by the usual ministers : —
" Paid for 4,000 wafers for (communion in) the Choir, 7s. 4c?.
" Expended, By the offerings of the twelve parsons of the Choir, to each 4c?. = 4*. 0c?. ; and to the Keeper of
the High Altar, 2s. Od. ; and to the Succentor of the Vicars, 1*. 0c?. ; and to the Sub-Chancellor, 1*. 0c?. ; and to
28 Vicars, for their ministering at the High Altar for 28 weeks, to each 8c?. = 18*. 8c?. ; and to the other
8 Vicars, to each 4c?. — 2s. Sd. ; and to the Deacons and Subdeacons, for ministering at the High Altar, during
the same time, by week 5c?. = 11*. 8c?.; and to the Clerk of the Vestry, 2*. 0c?. ; and to 5 Incense-Bearers,
5c?. ; and to 7 Choristers, Id. ; and to the Apparitor, 6c?. ; and to the Sacristan, 2*. 0c?. ; and to the bearers of
the Banner, 1*. 0c?. ; and to the bearers of the cloth over the Feretory, 4*. 0c?."
1 Wicker-work to strengthen the outer coat of the Mould : wire is used now.
171
w Expenditure in Wax : — And for 6001bs. of Wax, bought for the High Altar, the Feretory and the Tomb
(of St. William), price for 2001bs. £6. 4s. Od., the same for lOOlbs. £3. 2s. Od., and for the other 3001bs.
price each lOOlbs. £3. Os. Od. = £9. Os. Od. ; and for 401bs. of Wax bought for covering the Torches against
the Feast of the Nativity, £1. Is. 8c?. ; and for 361bs. of Rosin, bought for the same Torches, 3s. 6d. ; and for
the ' Lychnis' or wicks, and all necessaries, and the wages of the workmen, by an agreement made in the gross,
£1. Os. Od."
Also, " For the making of 12 Capes, 6 Tunicles, and 1 Chasuble with parurae of the choice of our Lady, Queen
Philippa, whereof 2 tunicles were not made up, £17- 2*. 11c?.; and for 2 Cloths of Gold, bought of Master Richard
Thorne, £8. 13s. 4c?. ; and for 1 Cloth of Gold, bought of Thomas Setter, £4. 13s. 4d. ; and for 4 pieces of
Buckram for the Tunicles, £1. 4s. Od. ; and for 8 Linens, 7s. 6c?.; and for 3 dozen and 7 pieces of ' Tayse,' £1. 5s. Id. ;
and for 1 piece and 5 ells of Fringe, 14s. 8c?. ; and for 21bs. of Thread, 2s. 8c?. « and for 41bs. of Wax, 2s. 4c?. ;
and for making of Tunicles out of old vestments, 10s. 6d. ; and for 1 piece of a ' Cardelumbord' for the same, 6s. 8c?. ;
and for 11 pieces of Fringe and 'Tayses/ by the piece Id. = 6s. 5c?. ; and for Binding two Books, 2s. 6d. ; and for
the mending of two pair of Irons, (probably iron moulds for making the wafers,) for the Eucharist, 3s. 4c?. ; and for
repairing 2 Candlesticks in the Vestry, 3s. 0c?. ; and for mending 3 small Phials and 2 Pixes, Is. 0c?. ; and for
repairing and cleansing 2 small Thuribules, 4s. Od. ; and for mending an Angel, supporting the Head of
St. William, 3s. 4c?. ; and for 1 Ribband, bought of Thomas Setter, for the Cape of Master Thomas Nevill,
6s. 8c?. ; and to the workmen for 2 ' Dorsers/ 6s. 8c?. ; and for 12 ells of Canvas, bought for the ceiling, 6s. 0c?. ;
sum total, £20. 3s. Od."
The Archbishop, on the 15th of June this year, (1371,) according to his regular custom, desired
his Receiver to transfer to the fabric fund the sum of one hundred pounds for his Easter donation :
he also, on the 1st of November, ordered another hundred pounds to be transferred for the same
purpose. 1
Another Compotus, or Chamberlain's Roll, exists, showing the receipts and expenditure by that
officer (Master Robert de Newton) from the Feast of Pentecost to the Feast of St. Martin. The
Receipts were £345. 17s. \0^d. ; Expenses, £145. Os. Id.; and to each Canon, £28. 13s. ]\^d.
On the 11th of February 1372, the Archbishop issued an order to his Receiver, to pay to the
use of the fabric fund the sum of one hundred pounds, as his previous Michaelmas donation ;
he also, on the 10th of March, gave his order for the sum of forty marks to be paid to the
keeper of the new Choir, towards the full payment of the hundred pounds given as his Michaelmas
donation. 2
It is probable that the marble stones, which the Archbishop agreed for with the master mason, at
the beginning of the year 1368, for the tombs of six of his predecessors, were now completed, and
that the following memorandum records the final payment for them : —
" Mem. That at Thorp, near York, the 12th day of the month of June, a.d. 1373, an order was written to the
Receiver at York, to pay to Master Robert de Patrington, Mason, one hundred shillings of silver, due for the work-
ing of the tombs, by a memorandum to be made between them in that matter." 3
The Archbishop, on the 24th day of July, a.d. 1373, in the 21st year of his Translation, issued
his order to his Receiver, Master Nicholas de Altaripa, to pay to Sir John de Feriby, the keeper
1 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 326.
2 Ibid. 326 b.
2 F 2
8 Ibid. 327.
172
of the fabric of the Church at York, the sum of one hundred pounds, granted as his Easter
donation. 1
On the 6th of November, a.d. 1373, the beneficent Archbishop, in the 22nd year of his Translation,
died at his Palace at Bishopthorp, and according to his will, dated 31st of October 1373, 2 was solemnly
interred, within four days after his death, in the place ordained by himself.
By the death of Archbishop Thoresby, the fabric of the new Choir was deprived of a zealous and
powerful supporter; and probably the pecuniary loss it sustained by this event amounted to at
least one third of its late available fund ; consequently the subsequent progress of the fabric would be
very materially retarded.
To what stage of advancement the Eastern portion of the new Choir had arrived at the death of the
Archbishop, may possibly be considered a point that may be plausibly disputed. Yet the following
remarks are deserving of special attention. We have seen that provision was made by the Archbishop
and Chapter, for the uninterrupted services of the Church, by their decreeing, in 1361, that "the
ancient Choir should be in part demolished, according as it should be expedient." It is to be regretted
that we have no memoranda to show at what times, and to what extent, the ancient Choir was
mutilated ; yet as some of the altars in the Crypt, and the duties attached to them, appear not to have
been necessarily suspended, on account of the works of the new Choir, before the year 1364 ; and as
evidence has already been produced, distinctly showing that a Choir and a High Altar still existed,
and at which the duties of the Ministers were regularly performed, — it is reasonable to conclude that
in the curtailing of the old Choir a strict regard was paid to the continued services of the Church as
well as to the exigencies of the new work. 3
The architectural structure of the present Choir incontestibly proves that it is composed of two
distinct erections ; that the first, or eastern portion, could be begun, carried on and nearly completed,
while the ancient Choir was standing and in use, nothing more being required than the removal of
about 45 feet, or the part immediately behind the High Altar, and the erection of temporary, though
substantial walls : so that the old Choir would still have the appearance of being entire. From
documentary evidence also, it appears that this first, or eastern portion, measuring internally 97 feet,
the whole internal length of the new Choir being 224 feet, was not nearly finished at the death of the
Archbishop ; that a great part of the windows and walls had yet to be formed, and consequently that
this portion of the new Choir was then very far from needing a roof.
But upon this point much misapprehension has long and generally prevailed : facts have been mis-
stated ; unwarrantable inferences have been drawn ; and hence the result of the generous and unwearied
exertions of the pious and zealous prelate have been greatly exaggerated. The author feels confident
that the evidence already produced, and that which remains to be produced in the subsequent pages
of this work, is sufficient, if duly and impartially considered, to correct these errors, and
indubitably to show the continued progress of the building of the Choir long after the death of
Archbishop Thoresby. Yet he thinks it advisable, before he proceeds in the history of the fabric
of the Church, to examine and expose the grounds on which the opinions he deems so erroneous
chiefly rest.
1 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 327 a. 2 Regist. B y. 58 b.
3 A remarkable example of the practice of suffering the old portions of a Church to remain while the new work was going
forward, may be still seen in the Church of the Priory of Bolton.
173
From some expressions which occur in the preamble of the Agreement or Indenture made for
erecting a new Choir, as given above, 1 it has been inferred that it was one part of the design of the
Archbishop to provide a distinct and splendid chapel for the service of the Blessed Virgin. It is,
indeed, expressly stated in a History of the Archbishops of York, attributed to a writer of the
fourteenth century, Thomas Stubbs, that Archbishop Thoresby, " as a true lover of the Virgin, finished
a Chapel in honour of Mary the Mother of God, with admirable sculpture and painting." And as
the eastern end of the central aisle of the Choir has, during a long period, been designated by the
title of the Lady Chapel, it has been concluded that the passage in Stubbs refers to this portion of
the Choir, and consequently that this portion must have been completed before the death of the Arch-
bishop. And this conclusion has been strengthened by what this writer and John Leland have related
concerning the entombment of the bodies of several of the predecessors of the Archbishop, and of
his own burial in his new work of the Choir. These are points, therefore, that require particular
examination.
From the expressions in the Indenture it cannot justly be inferred that Archbishop Thoresby
designed to provide a separate Chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin. It is stated, " that the ancient
Choir seemed to many persons of too homely a structure, in regard to the magnificence of the Nave
of the Church, and that every Church should be adorned in all its parts with uniform beauty, and
that most especially the Choir (which is more particularly appropriated to the offering of sacrifice, the
salutary exercise of offices of pious expiation, and the performance of Divine worship) should be
adorned with suitable workmanship, — and that there was no place in the said Church of York suitable
for the celebration of the Mass (in honour) of the glorious Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, which is
appointed to be daily celebrated in the said Church." 2
The great contrast that existed between the style of the Norman Choir and the style of the new
Nave, would alone create an earnest desire that the Choir should be rebuilt in a more elegant and
splendid style, yet that desire was as nothing when compared with the positive duty always connected
with the important use of the Choir over every other part of the Church ; for being a place specially
assigned for offering expiatory sacrifices to Almighty God, it was the duty of his ministers to endeavour
at all times to render it, in dignity and beauty, an acceptable dwelling of the Most High, whereas it
was then deemed unworthy of His divine presence, being rude and unsightly ; nor was it even suitable
for the decent celebration of divine service in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the special patroness
of the Church : and under the influence of these united considerations it was determined that the old
Choir should be superseded by a more suitable and glorious structure.
According to this interpretation of the words used in the Indenture, the only one that can be
borne out, either by direct or indirect evidence, from the Registers of the See or the Church, it was a
Choir alone, and not a Choir and a Lady Chapel, that the Archbishop and the Chapter were anxious
to build ; and the service in honour of the Blessed Virgin was merely mentioned as deserving a
better place than the then existing Choir. And in this interpretation the author is supported
by the evidence of all subsequent recorded acts of Archbishop Thoresby, or of his successors, or
of the then Chapter, or of any subsequent Chapter, for the advantage of the fabric of the Church.
Thus, the Brief that was issued, through the ardent zeal of the Archbishop for the success of
the new Choir, for causing aid to flow from the faithful, contains these words — "We (the Arch-
1 P. 148.
2 See p. 148.
174
bishop) and our dearly beloved, the Chapter of York, for the praise of God, have begun to erect a
new Choir of suitable extent and convenient beauty." 1 Thus also the Letter from the Chapter for a
Collection for the Fabric, states that Pope Innocent the Sixth had heard and understood that the
ancient Choir of the Church of York was unsuitable and disproportioned to the said Church newly
rebuilt, and that the Lord Archbishop, and they, the Chapter, had begun to build a new Choir, of
workmanship not a little costly. 2 Again, the Archbishop, in his appeal to the charitable feelings of
the people of the Diocese of Lincoln, states, that he and the Chapter had begun to erect a new Choir
of costly workmanship. 3 The Archbishop also, in a Commission granted to the Dean and Chapter to
levy a subsidy for the advancement of the new fabric, states, " that we (the Archbishop) and our
beloved sons, the Chapter of our Church of York, have, by unanimous agreement, begun to con-
struct there a Choir of suitable dimensions and remarkable beauty, which was then lovingly contem-
plated with ecclesiastical faith." 4 And lastly, after a period of eighteen years had passed away, since
the commencement of the new Choir, an urgent supplication was made by the Chapter of the Church
of York to his Holiness Pope Urban, for the appropriation of the Revenue of the Church of Mis-
terton for the advantage of the new Choir. The Bull of his Holiness for the appropriation of the
said Church contains the following declaration of the then Chapter : — '• John, of pious memory,
late Archbishop of York, and the Chapter of the Church of York, considering that the Nave of the
said Church, which formerly was of small dimensions, had been rebuilt of great size and signal beauty,
to the praise and honour of God, by their devout predecessors ; but that the Choir of the Church
was left of its former small extent and unsightliness ; and (that they) being grieved thereat, and
wishing to cause to be constructed and built in the said Church a Choir corresponding to the said
Nave, did, while the times were favourable, begin to cause to be erected in the said Church a new
Choir corresponding to the beauty of the said Church, and of very costly workmanship." 5 Thus
there does not appear the slightest idea of building a Chapel for the increase of the honour of the
Blessed Virgin, or of adorning her existing services, except by zealously commencing a Choir of
noble dimensions and sumptuous workmanship.
But the daily Mass of the Blessed Virgin is not mentioned in the act of Convocation, as a service
intended to be established in the Choir, either by some munificent donation of the Archbishop's own,
or by the united efforts of the Chapter, or by the foundation of any individual, but as a service then
celebrated in a Choir not so splendid and glorious as the honour of their eminent patroness deserved ;
and as neither the then Archbishop, nor any of his successors, nor the Chapter, nor any subsequent
Chapter, did, either by consent or deed, erect a Chapel or establish a daily votive Mass in the Church,
to the honour of the Blessed Virgin, so the author is induced to infer that the daily Mass mentioned
was of ancient usage, and constituted one of the daily duties to be performed at the High Altar of
the Church.
It certainly is not demonstrable that the daily Mass of the Blessed Virgin was to be celebrated at the
High Altar, but it is a fact established by the Registers of the Church, that no other Altar was ever
placed in the Church, either especially or partially under her patronage, except by the desire of some
individual or individuals, who, by pecuniary means, and the aid of a chantry priest, endeavoured to ob-
tain the intercession of the Blessed Virgin for the welfare of the souls of those for whom the endowment
1 See p. 150.
4 See p. 159.
2 See p. 151.
5 Regist. G c. fol. 147.
3 See p. 152.
175
was made, and for the souls of those especially mentioned therein ; even the special and much-famed
Altar of the Blessed Virgin, where Mass was daily celebrated by a priest and six clerks, 1 with chaunting
and note of organ, 2 was a private chantry one, and was in the Crypt of the ancient Choir ; and the
said Altar was replaced in the Crypt of the new Choir, without either the appearance or situation
of the Crypt being in the least improved, it being made of old materials and much abridged in
dimensions.
But the High Altar was generally considered the Altar of the Blessed Mary ; for although the Church
and Altar were dedicated or placed under the protection of several saints, yet they were more
especially considered under the protection of the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter : often, indeed, the
High Altar is mentioned as being that of the Blessed Virgin ; and thus, (as is shown by the various
Registers,) all ordinations to orders ministered in the Church were celebrated at the Altar of the
Blessed Virgin, or the High Altar. But when donations were made of vestments or articles calculated
to add to the splendour of the Church, they were often presented for the honour of the Blessed Mary,
St. Peter, and all the Saints. 3 Even to enhance the dignity of the High Altar and the honour of
the Blessed Mary, an image of her, gilt and splendidly adorned, was placed near the south end of
the Altar, 4 and no Mass was expected to be said without two large wax candles burning before that
image, in addition to the wax candles at the Altar, 5 whilst the image of St. Peter, which was placed
near the north end of the Altar, 6 had no wax candle placed before it, except during the Octave of
St. Peter's Feast, when one was kept lighted. 7
A search has been made among the statutes of the Church to discover the precise daily obligations
of the Vicars in the Choir ; the result of which is, that the services were divided into two classes,
namely, major and minor hours ; the major hours were Matins, Prime, High Mass at the Great
Altar, Vespers, and in Lent Complin, Placebo and Dirige for one hour : the minor hours were
Tercia, Sexta, Nona and Complin, and out of Lent Commendations with the Chapter Mass.* All
the Vicars were expected to be present at all the services in the Choir ; but never less than twenty-
four at the hours and Mass each day, nor less than thirty on Vigils, whilst the whole thirty-six were
obliged to be present on all major and double feasts. 9 And thus it is discovered that there were
celebrated two Masses at the least, daily at the High Altar of the Church, viz. the daily Chapter
Mass and a High Mass.
The Rev. John Milner, D.D., in his History of Winchester, 10 in explaining the customary duties of
the Monks and Clergy, states that " the spiritual exercises, called the canonical hours, were, with
some variation as to the times of performing them, equally incumbent on secular Canons and the
Clergy in general, as on the Monks. The time of the Monks' rising was different, according to the
different seasons of the year and the festivals that were solemnized." And so it was with the Clergy
of the Cathedral of York ; for whilst their hour for Matins was generally four o'clock in the morning,
1 See p. 34.
2 The organ was neither large nor stationary ; for in 1485, there was paid for carrying the same to the house of the Minor
Brethren, (the Franciscan Friars,) and bringing the same to the Cathedral Church, 5d. The organ, however, was struck, and
had bellows; for in 1475, there was paid to Richard Soureby, for mending the bellows of the organ, at the Altar of the Blessed
Mary, 8d., and to Richard Glover for glue for the said work, Ad. See Fabric Rolls.
3 Bainbridge's Regist. fol. 136. 4 2 Regist. B y. fol. 380 b. ; also, V c. fol. 154 h.
5 StatutaEccles. Catked. Ebor.fol. 7 b. 6 Fabric Compotus, a. d. 1482.
7 Statuta Eccles. Cathed. Ebor.fol. 7 b. 8 Statuta Eccles. Cathed. Ebor.fol. 10 b.
9 Registers of the Vicars Choral, fol. 160. 10 P. 117.
176
yet the same service commenced at two o'clock in the morning of the Nativity of our Lord, and at five
o'clock on the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. 1
This learned writer also states, that at five o'clock in the morning the second service of the Monks,
called Prime, commenced ; at the conclusion of which the community went in procession to the
Chapter-house, to attend to instructions and exhortations. The Chapter being finished, they proceeded
again to the Church, to assist at the early, or what was called the Capitular (or Chapter) Mass.
But the hour of Prime for the Cathedral was seven o'clock on the three days next following the
major feasts, and on other doubles and Sundays the hour was between eight and nine o'clock. At
the completion of Prime and Preciosa, 2 the Clergy withdrew to the Chapter-house to perform their
required duties for the time being, whence they, according to Dr. Milner, again repaired to the Choir
to celebrate the Chapter Mass.
It is also stated by the Doctor, that at eight o'clock the community again met in the Choir to
perform the office called Tercia, or the third hour, which was followed by the High Mass, and
although the registers of the Vicars Choral do not give the hour of Tercia in the Cathedral, yet we
may be certain that the office, according to general custom, was followed by High Mass.
But yet it does not appear what Mass was styled the Chapter Mass, although it is more than pro-
bable it was a votive Mass to the Blessed Virgin, the patroness of the Church and Chapter. Even
the Missal for the use of the Cathedral Church 3 seems to sanction the idea, that the votive Mass of
the seasons to the Blessed Virgin was used for a Chapter Low Mass, and not for a special Grand
Mass ; otherwise it would, like the Missal for the use of Sarum, 4 have contained the votive Masses
of the Blessed Virgin, with regular special prayers, namely, Commendations, said as Collects, Secrets,
and Post-communions, during the celebration of the votive Mass in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity,
(called Lady Chapel) in the Cathedral of Salisbury, and which additional Prayers or Commendations,
no doubt would have been entered regularly in the York Missal, and not left for the collation of the
celebrant, if the votive Mass had been said daily at an Altar in a Chapel specially assigned for the
honour of the Blessed Virgin. 5
1 Statutes of the Vicars Choral, fol. 91. 2 Regist. T y. fol. 72 b.
3 In the Dean and Chapter's Library, MS. xvi. I 3. ; also, xvi. A 9. 4 Ibid xi. F 1.
5 The central Chapel, called the Lady Chapel, which is attached to the east end of the Cathedral Church of Salisbury, was
dedicated on the Vigil of the Feast of St. Michael, a.d. 1225, in honour of the holy and undivided Trinity and All Saints, by
Bishop Richard Poor, he liberally endowing it for a Chantry Chapel, and ordaining that the Mass of the Blessed Virgin was to be
sung therein every day." This Chapel of the Holy Trinity was thus completed many years before the edifice of the Church of
Salisbury, 13 and Mass was regularly celebrated therein as a private Chantry Chapel, until the dissolution of such establishments, from
which time it remained unemployed as a Chapel of prayer until another devastation was allowed to take place in the Church and
Chapel, in the early part of the nineteenth century, when a Mr. Wyatt.an architect, was suffered to make ecclesiastical experiments,
called improvements, in the Church, one of which was the robbing the Church of its High Altar or Communion Table, demolish-
ing the Screen that separated the Choir of the Cathedral Church of Holy Mary, from the old Chapel of the Holy Trinitv, and
then placing the High Altar of the Cathedral at the east end of the said Chapel of the Holy Trinity, and thus compelling the
officiating clergy to wander and perform the sacred parts of their religion in a Chapel unconnected with the dedication of the
Church, and unedifving to their distant beholders. It is to be regretted, that whilst the ingenious Architect endeavoured thus to
obtain an extensive and interesting perspective, he did not cut through the eastern wall of the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, erect a
new Chapel, again in continuation, dedicate it to the honour of St. Eligius, the patron saint of ingenious men ; then having placed
therein the High Altar or Communion Table, he might have sat down and deliberately defied all other architects to rival his taste
and skill in giving vastness to buildings and usefulness to religious services.
a Dodsworth's Salisbury, p. 118.
b Ibid. p. 133, 134.
177
But the customs of other Churches and Chapels give undeniable evidence, not only that more Masses
than one were generally celebrated daily at the High Altar, but that one of the Masses was to the
honour of the Blessed Mary ; for instance, at the High Altar of St. Paul's, London, there were said
daily three Masses, namely, St. Mary's Mass, the Apostle's Mass, and the Chapter Mass ; and all the
vicars were obliged (unless prevented by urgent cause) to be present at the daily Mass of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. 1 In the Collegiate Church of St. Elizabeth, near Winchester, three Masses at least were
celebrated daily at the High Altar ; first, the Mass of Our Lady, according to the use of Sarum ;
secondly, the Mass of the Patroness St. Elizabeth ; and, thirdly, High Mass, 2 undoubtedly of the day.
In the Chapel of Holy Mary and all the Angels, built on the north side of the Nave of the Cathedral
Church of York, there were at least three Masses celebrated daily, namely, the Morning or Community
Mass (undoubtedly the Mass of the protectress of the Chapel), the High Mass, and a Mass of Requiem ; 3
and in the ordination for Lord Percy's Chantry, at Alnwick Castle, by Archbishop Thoresby, three
Masses were ordained to be said daily. The first was generally the Mass of the day, the second often
a votive Mass to the honour of the Blessed Virgin, and the third a Mass of Requiem. 4 Thus the Author
is induced to infer that the Chapter Mass, celebrated daily, in addition to the High Mass of the day,
was always the regular votive Mass of the season to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and cele-
brated at the Great Altar, and that it was to that votive Mass the Archbishop and Chapter alluded
when they represented the Church as having no place therein suitable for the becoming celebration of
the daily Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin.
The oldest published information relating to this subject with which the Author is acquainted is to
be found in an ancient Chronicle already referred to, 5 entitled, " Actus Pontificum Eboracensium,'
ascribed to Thomas Stobaeus, or Stubbs, and edited by Roger Twysden, in his " Historise Anglicanae
Decern Scriptores." Of this chronicler, little more is known than that he was a native of York, a
Dominican friar, a Doctor of Divinity, and the author of several theological works. Twysden, in his
Preface, says no more of him than that he was the reputed author of the lives of the Archbishops of
York, — " Thoma Stubs, ut ferunt, auctore." The copy of this work, as edited by Twysden, extends
to the close of the life of Archbishop Thoresby ; but Selden, in his account of the Decern Scriptores,
subjoined to Twysden's Preface, speaks of Stubbs as having " brought down the succession and acts of
the Archbishops to his own time, or to the third year of Edward III., or about the year 1360." the
eighth year of the pontificate of Thoresby, who, as we have seen, did not begin the new Choir till the
year 1361. 6 In the editing of this work, Twysden says he had the use of two MSS., one of which was
from the library of Mr. J. Moore, formerly a student of Caius and Gonville College, Cambridge ; the
other from the library of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, by the collation of which the text of the MS. belonging
to Mr. J. Moore was, as he tells us, " amended and enlarged." In this printed edition, the acts of
Archbishop Thoresby are included ; yet, in the introductory chapter, the author of the Chronicle
professes to carry the history of the Archbishops no further than to the pontificate of Archbishop
Zouche.
The doubt cast upon the authenticity of this Chronicle by the " ut ferunt" of Twysden, and the
1 Monasticon Anglicanum, London, a.d. 1718, vol. i. p. 326. 2 Ibid. p. 349.
3 Ibid. p. 277. 4 See p. 157. 5 P- 173.
6 Consequently, if Selden be correct, Stubbs wrote nothing- relating to the building of the Choir. The Choir was begun (see
p. 149) in the ninth year of Thoresby's pontificate. The writer of this part of the Chronicle says erroneously in the tenth.
2 G
178
remark of the learned Selden, corresponding with the expressed design of the Chronicler himself, excited
in the mind of the writer of the present work an earnest desire to inspect the MSS. used by Twysden,
and such others also as he might be able to discover. In the course of a diligent and careful search,
not only those employed by Twysden, but four others were found, amounting in the whole to six ;
namely, two at the Bodleian, two at the British Museum, one in Caius College, and another at Ben'et
College, Cambridge. Four of these the Author carefully inspected. Though varying in extent, and
bearing no indication of the original writer, they are all attributed to Thomas Stubbs.
But there is in the Bodleian Library another MS. Chronicle of the Archbishops of York, marked
" Digby, 140," commencing with Paulinus and ending with the pontificate of Archbishop Thurs tan. In
the introductory chapter, the author, having noticed and deplored the long-continued disputes between
the Metropolitan Churches, and asserted the entire independence of that of York, says, — " It at length
came into my mind, in order to preserve the memory of ancient times for the instruction of posterity,
to place in order all the successions of the Archbishops of York, from St. Paulinus to the pontificate of
Archbishop Thurstan, of venerable memory, . . . and to recal to remembrance, so far as my poor ability
will allow, who each was, and how he acted for that Church, or suffered for it." Now the whole of
this introductory chapter has been retained unaltered in all the MSS. of the Chronicles attributed to
Stubbs, excepting that for the name of Thurstan, that of Zouche, generally, has been substituted ; and
in one MS. in the Bodleian Library (Rawlinson, 445), both names appear thus, — " A Sco Paulino
usque ad pontificate venerabilis memorise Thurstini magri Will, le Souche." Now this MS., (Digby,
140,) according to the opinion of one most competent to decide such a point, was written very early in
the fourteenth century, many years before the pontificate of Thoresby began ; yet the Chronicle pub-
lished under the name of Stubbs agrees with it nearly word for word, not only in the introductory
chapter, but throughout, to -the pontificate of Thurstan.
It appears, from the Catalogue of the Library of the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral of York,
that the Church formerly possessed a MS. entitled " Symeonis Dunelmensis Monachi Epistolae de
successione Pontificum Eboracensis Ecclesise usque ad Thurstinum 1136 transmissa Hugoni Decano
ejusdem Ecclesise." It is much to be regretted that this MS. is lost.
Leland has made extracts from a MS. which he probably found at York. His reference is " Ex libr.
de Archiepiscopis Ebor. Eccles, usque ad mortem Thurstini, incerto auctore." 1
The MS. denoted Barlow 27, in the Bodleian Library, has on the first fly-leaf the following note,
signed F. M. (Fred. Madden) : — " Thorn. Stubbs hoc opus tantum continuavit a temporibus Thurstini
ad annum 1373 quo ipse claruit. Nomen auctoris qui primam hujus Historise partem scripsit adhuc
latet : sed vide MS., Digby, No. 140, quo examplar ejus operis exstat sed certe Thom. Stubbs multo
anterius." The Chronicle in this copy, beautifully written, is continued to the pontificate of Wolsey ;
but at the termination of the pontificate of Thoresby there is a marginal note, stating, what indeed is
very plainly to be perceived, that the subsequent part of the MS. is by a different hand. No intimation
is given of the original authors.
The MS. copy in the British Museum, marked Titus A. xix. Cotton. Coll. Press 279, is extended
to the year 1373, including therefore the pontificate of Archbishop Thoresby. It is in size 8j in. by
5f, of paper bearing a cross key water-mark. The writing is good, but seemingly much subsequent
1 Itin. , vol. viii. p. 15.
179
to the age of Thoresby ; and it contains no intimation of the writer or author. The MS. Chro-
nicle Rawlinson 445 in the Bodleian Library, is written on membranes, in a plain manner ; without
any reference to the author. There is also a MS. copy of this Chronicle, on membranes, in the
possession of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of York, written by Roger de Burton, Town Clerk in
the time of Richard Russell, Mayor, that is, in the tenth year of Henry V., a.d. 1421. In this no
mention is made of the original author.
The MS. which Twysden obtained from the library of Sir Simonds D'Ewes is now in the British
Museum, marked No. 108 in the Harleian Collection, Press 53 h. The arms of D'Ewes, Or, three
quatrefoils, two and one, pierced ; crest, a wolf's head erased, with a collar studded, are impressed on
the cover. It is marked No. 92 in the catalogue of Sir S. D'Ewes as published in the Catal. MSS.
Anglise et Hibernise. 1 It follows the copy in the Bodl. Lib. Digby 140, but extended by an unknown
writer, to the year 1352, so as to include the pontificate of Archbishop Zouche. It is the last of six
Chronicles of which the volume is composed ; the whole written in a beautiful manner, with illumi-
nated and gilded capitals, on good membranes, forming a regular and perfect book, 10 in. by 6|. No
sign or intimation is given of the author ; nor is there one word relating to Archbishop Thoresby.
The two MSS. at Cambridge the Author has not himself inspected, but he has been kindly informed
by a gentleman who examined the MSS. for him, that the MS. marked 171, at Ben'et College, ends
with the pontificate of Archbishop Thoresby, and is without any intimation of the writer ; and that the
MS. marked D., No. 106, at Caius and Gonville College, is very probably the MS. mentioned by
Twysden as being in the possession of Mr. John Moore, as it was presented, with nine others bound
together, to the Library of Caius, by Mr. W. Moore, whose name is written upon the back, and who
was a Fellow of Caius College, and Public Librarian of the University. 2 The MS. ends with the pon-
tificate of Zouch, but no mention is made of the author.
Thus it seems clear that the acts attributed to Archbishop Thoresby have not been obtained from
either the MS. in the possession of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, or from that in the possession of Mr. John
Moore ; yet it is not known whence the account of Thoresby was obtained, or how it became attached
to the lives of the Archbishops in the " Decern Scriptores."
It thus appears that there is no authority for ascribing the acts of the Archbishops of York, pub-
lished by Twysden in the Historise Anglicanse Scriptores Decern, to Thomas Stubbs. He may indeed
have compiled a part of that Chronicle, but to what extent is uncertain. He may have continued what is
found in the Oxford MS. Digby 140, to the end of the pontificate of Zouche ; but there is no direct'
evidence in support of such a conjecture ; certainly there is none to warrant the assigning to him the
account of the acts of Archbishop Thoresby.
It is with this portion of the Chronicle that an historian of the fabric of the Church of St. Peter
at York is especially concerned ; and to him the question of its authenticity is one of considerable im-
portance. If Thomas Stubbs were indeed the author, he was contemporary with Archbishop Thoresby,
and it might therefore be reasonably presumed that he was well acquainted with the circumstances
connected with the building of the new Choir ; and his authority would be deservedly esteemed of
great weight. But if the author and the sources of his information be doubtful, or entirely unknown,
1 Published 1697.
2 Whether Mr. W. Moore was a relative of Mr. John Moore, formerly a student at Caius College, does not appear; he was a
great collector of MSS. in his time, but nothing further is known of him : he died in 1659.
180
his statements will be received with less confidence. It seems to have been too generally taken for
granted that the whole Chronicle published by Twysden, under the name of Thomas Stubbs, was indeed
compiled by him, and the account there given of Archbishop Thoresby has been received without due
examination, or even a suspicion of inaccuracy.
The anonymous author of this Chronicle, after showing how munificently Archbishop Thoresby con-
tributed to the fabric of the new Choir of his Cathedral, of which he laid the first stone, goes on to
observe, " The same Archbishop, as a true lover of the Virgin, finished the chapel in honour of Mary the
mother of God, and Virgin, with admirable sculpture and painting." This passage has been commonly
misunderstood, as though it related to the eastern part of the new Choir, now usually called the Lady
Chapel. But it has been already shown, from the words of the Indenture for the new Choir (p. 173),
that the Archbishop never intended to build a distinct and splendid chapel in the Choir specially for the
honour of the Blessed Virgin ; and since, as it will be fully proved, neither the Choir nor even the
first-erected portion of it was finished at his death, it is most probable, not to say certain, that the
Chronicler refers in this passage to the Archbishop's Chapel ; the chapel erected by Archbishop Roger,
near the door of the palace, and adjoining the north aisle of the Nave, to the eternal honour of God,
and the glory of the Archbishop's successors, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the
holy Angels." 1
This Chapel having been built so near to the Norman Church as to be a subject of serious com-
plaint on the part of the Canons, to whom, in reparation of the supposed injured dignity of the Church,
the Archbishop was induced to make some important concessions, 2 must have been much cur-
tailed by the erection of the present larger and nobler Nave. With this, however, it must have been
connected, as is evident, not only from the remaining entrance to the Chapel from the present Nave,
but also from a staircase in one of the buttresses near the entrance, which must have led to some of the
upper parts of the establishment, and from the indications yet visible of the places in the sides of the
buttresses where the flanch course of the covering of the roof was fixed. All other vestiges of this
building have long since disappeared. But as the history of this Chapel seemed to the Author to be
intimately connected with this portion of his History of the fabric of the Church, he was anxious to
ascertain, if possible, what had been the extent and position of the original foundations. Through the
kindness of the Canon in residence, permission was obtained to excavate the supposed site of this
Chapel. The result has been, that not only the position and direction of the walls, but some perfect
portions of the walls and buttresses have been found, to the height of about 2 feet 4 inches, showing
clearly the connection of Archbishop Roger's Chapel with the Norman Nave, and the curtailments and
alterations which were the consequence of the erection of the Nave of the present Church. The
annexed plan exhibits the position and direction of the original building, and the mutilations it suffered
from the enlargement of the Church. The black parts designate the portions exposed by excavation,
and the dotted continuations the probable extent in the present Nave. The medium tinted plan is the
supposed position and western extent of the Norman Nave, determined partly by the position of the
Chapel, and partly by the result of the excavation mentioned in page 109. d implies the entrance
to the Chapel from the present Nave, whilst the plan eeee shows the extent and thickness of
the walls of the Nave. The part a a in the Chapel seems to have been a small Ambulatory or
1 P. 19.
181
b
□
b
Cloister. b b was a road, probably the entrance to the Archbishop's Palace, and c is a further extent
of the Establishment ; but this part could not conveniently be explored.
At what period the injured parts of the fabric
of the Chapel were repaired and properly united
to the new Nave, and how that was effected, must
for ever remain uncertain. It is reasonable to
infer that those repairs could not be completely
effected before the walls of the Church adjoining
the Chapel were finished ; and the general re-
pairs of the Chapel may not have been completed
till about 1345, or perhaps later.
This Chapel having been erected by Archbishop
Roger, " to the glory of his successors" in the
See, it cannot be supposed that these prelates,
zealous as they were in upholding or improving
the fabric of the Church, would neglect their own Chapel, especially when circumstances and their own
income supplied the required means. Accordingly we find that Archbishop Melton granted, in the year
1333, a licence for the taking of the additional land, lying beyond the gates of the Palace at York, and
which reached from the walls of the Church unto the old gates of the Palace, for the erection or extension
of habitations for the Ministers of the said Chapel ; 1 but neither Melton nor Zouche are found assisting in
the erection of apartments for the accommodation of the Ministers of the Chapel, or in the reparation
and adorning of the Chapel itself; and as the annual income for repairs or building appears to have been
very small, 2 it is very probable that the special repairs went on very slowly, and had not been com-
1 Melton's Regist. fol. 107 b.
2 The annual revenue of the Chapel of Blessed Mary and The Holy Angels was certified on the 14th of February (a.d. 1546),
the 37th year of the reign of Henry VIII., to be £192. 16s. 6c?. ; the income being derived thus : — in the county of Nottingham,
the Parsonage of Sutton and Lounde, £16. 13s. Ad. ; the Chapel of Scrobye, £4. 13s. 4d. ; the Parsonage of Overton,
£16. Od. Od. ; Hayton cum Tylne, £14. 0s. Od. ; Clareburgh cum Membns, £22. 5s. 10c?.; and Redforth, £1. 6s. 8c?. ; and
certain rents in Sutton Lounde, Scrobye, Clareburgh, and Hayton, £2. 0s. lOrf. ; in all, £77. 0s. Od. In the county of York :
the moiety of the Church of Otley, £41. 0s. Od. ; copyholders of Otley, £1. Is. 10c?. ; the Parsonage of Calverley, £27. 4s. 8d. ;
the Parsonage of Berdesey, £12s. 0s. Od. ; the Parsonage of Collyngham, £11. 16s. 8d. ; the Parsonage of Thorparch,
£9s. 6s. 8d.; the Grange of Mekylthwaite, £1. 0s. Od. ; and the Parsonage of Hoton Pannall, £11. 16s. 8d. ; in all
£115. 16s. 6c?.— Sum total, £192. 16s. 6c?.
The burthens were: — paid yearly to the King for a tenth of the premises, £13. 7s. lie?. ; paid to the Vicar of Otley, for a
pension going out of the Parsonage of Otley, by composition, £13. 6s. 8c?. ; foundation allowances to the ministers in the Chapel,
£132. Is. 8c?.; paid yearly to the poor people being parishioners of the parishes of Sutton Lounde, £2. 13s. 4c?.; Overton,
£2. 0s. 0c?. ; Hayton, £2. 0s. 0c?. ; Clareburgh, £3. 6s. 8d. ; and Redforth, £1. 6s. 8d. In all in the county of Nottingham,
£11. 6s. 8c?. Paid to the poor of the City of York, £2. 6s. 8c?.; Thorparch, £1 . 6s. 8d. ; Collyngham, £1 . 6s. 8c?.; Berdesey,
£2. 0s. 0c?. ; Otley, £5. 6s. 8c?.: Calverley, £4. 0s. Od. ; and Hoton Pannall, £1. 6s. 8c?. In all in the county of York,
£17. 13s. 4c?. — Sum total, £188. 6s. 3c?. ; leaving a residue for the Sacrist towards repairs and other charges of £4. 10s. 3d.
The annual revenue of the same Chapel was certified on the 14th of February (a.d. 1549), in the second year of the reign of
Edward VI., to amount to £194. 3s. 2d. ; and on the 10th of November, in the fourth of Edward VI., the sources of revenue in
Calverley, Berdesey, Collyngham, Thorparch, Mekylthwaite, Hoton Pannall, and Otley, in the county of York, with the Chapel
of Blessed Marv and The Holy Angels, were assigned to George Webster, Gentleman, for the term of twenty-one years, subject to
the annual payment of a regular amount to the Crown, and of the sum of £1 7. 13s. Ad. ; divisible into the same sums as were
182
pleted when the munificent Thoresby entered on his pontificate ; and since he zealously used his means
to finish the Nave, and to advance the fabric of the new Choir of the Church, to build the Hospitium,
and a Chamber at Bishopthorp, to effect great improvements at Cawood, &c, it cannot be imagined that
he would neglect the completion of his Chapel of the Blessed Mary. And if the Author be not greatly
mistaken, there is evidence to show that the venerable Prelate did not' neglect this work.
We learn from the Records of the Church, that, soon after the death of Master Thomas de la Mare,
the Custos, or Sacristan of the Chapel of the Blessed Mary, who died the 6th of October 1358, Master
John de Waltham was appointed to that important office. He was Rector of the Church of Thorparch ;
was raised to the dignity of the Archbishop's Official of the Court of York, and had a yearly remunera-
tion of £40 for his attendance in Parliament. 1 He became Canon and Prebend of South Newbold, on
the 21st of October 1368, 2 and in such favour was he with Archbishop Thoresby, that he appointed
him to be one of his executors. 3
Little difference, except tincture, seems to have been used in the Armorial Badges borne by several
individuals of the name of Walthall, Waltham, and Walton, viz. : — a chevron between three birds, or
birds' heads, being their common chargings ; but the Crest of Walthall and Walton differed thus :
Walthall had an Arm embowed, vested, hand clenched, thereon a falcon close. Walton, a wild man,
wreathed, &c, or a wild man striding forward. 4
Among some very interesting remains recently discovered, which are supposed to have belonged to
this Chapel of the Blessed Mary, is a piece of sculptured masonry which has probably been the top
of a Central Pier, with halves of the heads of two lateral inclined entrances to the Chapel : there is in
one of the spandrells an eagle holding a scroll, the usual emblem of John, and in the other spandrell
there is a wild man, or a man with a natural foot and an animal's foot, vested, winged, and striding
forward, having his dexter arm embowed, hand clenched, thereon a falcon close ; in the sinister hand a
glove. Now, if it may be assumed that this stone formed part of the ornaments of that Chapel, and as
what has just been said seems to warrant that this device is the Badge of the Sacrist, John de Waltham,
we have here strong presumptive evidence that it was he who superintended the alterations and the
adornments in his Chapel. 5
given by the Sacristan of the Chapel to the poor, and assigned to the same places and parishes respectively within the County of
York, which Assignment was confirmed on the 4th of April (a.d. 1562), the fourth year of the reign of Elizabeth, from which time
the sums fixed for the respective parishes have been regularly paid, and called and considered " Queen Elizabeth's Doles."
Extracted from the Records in the Rolls' Chapel. See also Commissioners' Report concerning Charities, vol. 15, p. 716.
1 Thoresby's Regist. fol. 324 b. 2 Ibid. fol. 67.
3 Regist. B y. fol. 58. John de Waltham, as Sacrist of the Chapel of The Blessed Mary and The Holy Angels of York, and as
Rector of the Church of Thorparch, was a party in the forming a composition between himself, Master Robert, the perpetual Vicar
of Thorparch, and the Convent of Monkton, thereby appropriating to the Chapel of Walton, in the said parish of Thorparch, on the
one part, and of the Prioress and Convent of Monkton on the other, the right of baptisms and burials in the Chapel of Walton, &c.
This Agreement Mr. Drake, in his Eboracum, p. 394, citing as his authorities Sir T. Widdrington and Mr. Torre, records as being
confirmed by Walter, Archbishop of York, in 1226, antedating the transaction by more than 140 years ; for the Agreement was
made on the 21st day of August, and confirmed by John (Thoresby) the Archbishop, on the 23rd of August of the same year,
namely, a.d. 1369, and of the Archbishop's translation the 17th. — Thoresby's Regist. fol. 153 b.
4 Robson's British Herald.
5 In the summer of 1835, as Frederick Swineard, Esq., surgeon, residing in Precentor's Court, within the close of the Cathedral,
was having a drain made from the north-east end of his house to the common sewer in Peter-gate, the workmen discovered an
elaborately carved stone, which induced Mr. Swineard to extend the excavation even under the foundation of his dwelling, in the
183
The Chronicle which passes under the name of Stubbs, further records that Archbishop Thoresby " in
the same place (the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin,) did cause the bodies of many of his venerable prede-
cessors, translated from the Choir above, to be entombed at his own cost." The Choir of which the
Chronicler must be understood to be here speaking, was the Choir of the Norman Church ; but
the recent excavation of the present Choir has shown that the whole of the Norman Choir was
undervaulted with masonry for the vaults of the crypt and avenues, so that there was no place
in the Choir for interment, except the space between the stalls in the presbytery ; and though it is
possible, yet it is highly improbable, that the Archbishops had been interred there, or that they
should be removed from a situation so secure and so unlikely to be disturbed.
Supposing, however, that there were in the Choir venerable remains of his predecessors that the
Archbishop might remove, whither, it may be asked, did he remove them ? Into the Chapel of the
Blessed Virgin, says the Chronicle : but where was the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin in the days of
* Archbishop Thoresby ? it certainly was not the unfinished portion of the new Choir which he had
exerted himself to forward, and which at his death was full of scaffolding and materials for the structure,
and not yet having a regular formed area for interment. It could not possibly be thus amidst confusion
and the din of workmen that the Archbishop would place the remains of several of his ancient
predecessors, and cover their original coffins or new tombs with marble stones.
It certainly may be considered as possible that the removal was into the Archbishop's Chapel of the
Blessed Virgin adjoining the Nave of the Church, but there is no evidence to confirm such supposition :
it is indeed true that Archbishop Sewall ordained two other priests, above the regular number of
twelve, who, having their respective deacon and sub-deacon, should there celebrate daily for the dead,
whilst the rest of the canons and ministers of the Chapel should say daily Placebo Dirige and other
service of the dead, 1 which duties were ratified and confirmed by Archbishop Thoresby on the 26th of
November 1356 ; 2 and it may be very plausibly imagined that in this well-endowed and regulated
Chapel there were interred the remains of some of those venerable prelates who expected to be par-
takers of the benefits daily supplicated, and thence it may further be supposed, that the Chapel
became commonly designated "Sepulchre Chapel," 3 or " St. Sepulchre," 4 and sometimes "Holy
course of which, twelve or thirteen portions of beautiful and minute sculptured Tabernacles, or niches, worked in a blue marble
variegated, were discovered. These encouraged him to extend his researches into the hall of his house, where he found not only
other fragments of beautiful sculpture, bearing the remains of ancient painting and gilding, but the portion of a Pier, decorated as
above described. It is about 1 foot 1 1 inches in height, and about 3 feet 4^ inches in extent across the spandrils. The remnants
of sculpture thus discovered are supposed to be some of those which Mr. Thoresby, the antiquary, describes as of beautiful and
delicate workmanship, once belonging to a Shrine in the Lady's Chapel at York Cathedral, destroyed at the Reformation, and
which he saw lying about in Precentor's Lane, where he often beheld them with great admiration. — See Ducatus Leodiensis, p. 567,
or Whitaker's Edit. p. 115, App. See also his Diary, vol. i. p. 214. The piece of sculpture, the special object of consideration, is
made by Mr. Swineard the support of a hall table. Other portions of these remains are deposited in the Museum of the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society.
1 Magnum Album, par. hi. fol. 47. 2 Alex. Nevil's Regist. par primo, fol. 2 b.
3 In the codicil of the will of Lord John Hert formerly Canon Residentiary and Precentor of the Church of York, bearing
date December the 3rd, a.d. 1495, he wills an obit to be celebrated for his soul in the Chapel of Blessed Mary and all the Holy
Angels, "vocat Sepulcur Chapell." Regist. Ay. fol. 13 a.
4 " The Chapel of our Ladye and the Holy Angells called Sepulcres Chapel, or Seynt Sepulcre, near adjoining to the metropo-
litan Church of York." Certificates concerning the Chapel, in the Rolls' Chapel, dated 14th of February, in the 32nd year of the
reign of Henry VIII., and the 14th of February, in the 2nd year of Edward VI.
184
Sepulchre," terms which were not derived from its title at the foundation and endowment, or from its
common seal, 1 or from the Registers of the Church, but from the high estimation in which the Chapel
was held by the public. So highly was it esteemed, that several prelates desired to be buried even before
the entrance into the Chapel from the Church, and made liberal donations for its adornment. 2
But yet all these circumstances do not clearly establish the Chapel as a place of interment. It is
probable, that the Chapel had erected in it a Sepulchre for the Church during the time required in
Holy week ; and this seems the more probable from the fact that the Ministers of the Church retired
thither to perform their duties on special occasions, and none of the accounts of the Church, whether
from the keeper of the fabric or from the Chamberlain, exhibit any item regarding the expenses of
the Sepulchre, as must undoubtedly have been the case during some of the years for which there are
accounts, if the sepulchre had been fixed in the high Choir : and again, it would be more consistent
with the splendid procession and the paschal rejoicings that the sepulchre should be situated thus
far from the High Altar: this supposition most satisfactorily accounts for the name of " St., or Holy
Sepulchre," obtained by the Chapel, a name more likely to arise from such a holy use than from
the reception of a few bodies of Archbishops, however meritorious their lives. 3
The Chronicle attributed to Stubbs then states, that " the Archbishop in the Chapel of Blessed Mary,
for his own soul, and for the souls of all the faithf ul departed, appointed a chaplain to celebrate therein
for ever, and established the same by granting houses and lands, purchased with his own money, as a
perpetual alms to the said priest and his successors for ever, and he decreed that the said Chaplain should
wear the habit of a parson when he attended duties in the Cathedral Church." In support of these state-
ments, not the least evidence has been discovered ; but on the contrary, it has been seen that the whole
is a gross mistake, arising from an ignorance of the deed of foundation, and reserved ordination which
the Archbishop retained for himself and successors when he appointed, in 1362, a Chantry in the
Cathedral for the benefit of the souls of Lord Henry de Percy, his consort Mary, &c, at the supplication
of Lord de Percy's executors, to be supported out of the rents and income of the Church of Kirkby
Overblowers, so fully given above (p. 155).
As the writer of the Chronicle has thus recorded so much erroneous and doubtful matter on such
important acts in Thoresby's Pontificate, implicit confidence certainly cannot be given to his statement
of the removal of the bodies of several of Thoresby's predecessors. The Archbishop paid money, cer-
tainly, for the working of six marble stones for the tombs of some of his predecessors, but he is not
1 In the xxii. vol. of the Archseologia, p. 423, a representation is given of the Common Seal of the community of the Chapel of
the Blessed Mary and the Holy Angels, at York. The hlessed Virgin is seated between two large candles, on a throne, with her
divine infant. Above are angels adoring ; beneath is a part of a human figure, probably intended for the founder, and around is
this inscription : — " Sigillum Canonicorum Capell^e Beatje Marine et Angelorum Ebor."
2 In November a.d. 1345, Master John de Wodehous, bequeathed to the Chapel of the Blessed Mary and Holy Angels at York,
for the ornamenting of the greater Altar of the same, his ivory tables spiritually inscribed, representing the Nativity of our Lord
Jesus Christ : the offerings of the three kings : the Conception : and the assumption of the Blessed Mary. — Zouche's Regist.
fol. 307. Master Thomas de la Mare, Canon of the Church of the Blessed Peter at York, and Sacrist or Master of the Chapel
of the Blessed Mary and all the Holy Angels, by will dated September the 26th, 1358, gave his body to be buried in the said
Cathedral Church of the Blessed Peter of York, before the door of the Chapel of the Blessed Mary and Holy Angels, and near
the tomb of Lord William de Melton, formerly Archbishop of the said Church. He also gave and bequeathed to the said Chapel
of the Blessed Mary, one hundred shillings and his best vestments of ruby velvet with apparel. — Regist. B y. fol. 24.
3 The Author was induced at p. 19, to imagine it was probable that Archbishop Roger was buried in the Chapel, but subse-
quent considerations seem to negative that supposition.
185
found paying any money for the making of tombs, or for the removal of coffins with remains, or for
new coffins for those remains, or for any expense for the tombs except for the working of the six stones :
and hence it may with very great probability be concluded that these marble stones were designed to
replace those belonging to the tombs of some of the predecessors of the Archbishop, in different parts
of the Church, which had been defaced by time, or were not thought suitable to the sacred remains
deposited beneath them. That the sites of these should now be unknown, will appear nothing extraor-
dinary after the destruction of inscriptions which took place in the reign of Elizabeth.
But who were the Archbishops supposed to be buried in the ancient Choir ? The Chronicles record
no interment there except of Archbishop Roger, who is recorded to have been buried in the middle of
the Choir. 1 Drake indeed says he was buried in the wall of the Nave, near the door of St. Sepulchre's
Chapel : 2 in a place certainly not erected until above one hundred years after his death ! The Chro-
nicles record that Aldred, Thomas the 1st. Thomas the 2nd, Henry Murdac, Ludham, Giffard, Romain
and Newark, were buried in the Church, but name no particular place ; and it is very probable, that
if Leland had not learned those notices from the Chronicles of the Archbishops, in ignorance of
the nature of the present Choir, he could not have entered in his Itinerary 3 a memorandum that the
Archbishops Giffard, Murdac and Gerard were buried in the east part of a Church built many years
after their death, one hundred years at least after the death of Giffard ! and nearly three hundred years
after the death of Gerard ! and it is further probable that if he had not learned from the Chronicle
which professes to give the acts of Thoresby, that the Archbishop removed the bodies of several of his
predecessors, and was himself buried in the midst of them, before the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary
in the new work of the Choir, he never would have asserted that Thomas the 2nd, John Romain and
John Thoresby were also interred there. The passage in the Itinerary has indeed at first sight the
appearance of a memorandum made by the learned antiquary on the spot ; but it must be clear to every
one that he has not given transcripts of monumental inscriptions, but merely a record of names and
dates of the death of certain of the Archbishops of York ; whose remains, misled by some erroneous
record, or some vague general information, he was induced to imagine rested in the eastern part of the
fabric. The passage is very strangely and abruptly placed in the Itinerary, together with an extract
from a MS. relating to the Archbishops of York, by an unknown author, and some notices of some of
the Percys, in the midst of " Thyngs learned out of a pedigree of Lord Scrope."
It has been supposed that the five Archbishops, whose names are mentioned by Leland, were those
translated by Thoresby in six coffins to be his partners in dust, but still there is the difficulty of ac-
counting for the remains of Aldred, Thomas the 1st, Ludham and Newark, whose bodies were deposited
originally among their fellow Archbishops : it certainly can be supposed that most of the coffins were
1 Decern Scriptores Anglicane, fol. 1723. 2 Eboracum, fol. 421.
3 The following is the passage referred to : it occurs in vol. viii., p. 15, of the Itinerary. Edit. Hearne : —
" Sepul. archiepiscoporum in orient, parte ecclesiae.
1277. Walterus Gisfart obiit 7 Cal. Maii anno Dom. 1277.
Henry Murdak obiit anno Dom. 1153.
Gerardus obiit 12 Cal. Jun. anno Dom. 1 108.
Defuit inscriptio.
Joannes de Thoresby, quondam Menevensis, postea Wigorn. et Ebor. Archiepiscopus, qui fabricam. . . . obiit G' die Novem-
bris anno Dom. 1373.
Thomas Junior obiit anno Dom. 1113. 5 Idus Mart.
Johan Romanus obiit anno Dom. 1295."
2 U
186
allowed to contain the remains of two Archbishops ; but such a circumstance seems improbable, and un-
becoming the actions of Archbishop Thoresby.
The Archbishop had certainly caused to be made six marble covers for the tombs of some of his pre-
decessors ; and as Leland had asserted that five Archbishops, with Thoresby himself, were buried in the
east part of the Church, so it was very natural to imagine that their graves and marbles did exist in the
place mentioned; accordingly Mr. Torre, when he made his memoranda, about 1691, of the tombs and
inscriptions in the east end of the Choir, proceeded upon the information given by Leland and others,
and selected seven marble covers, which, although they did not lie in the Chantry Chapel of the Blessed
Virgin, but out of it, he thought might be entitled to the honour of being considered as these remarkable
stones ; they were all of blue marble, and had been more or less adorned with brass for inscriptions ; and
he says of six of them, " These six stones, probably, are those which covered the bodies of those Arch-
bishops which Archbishop Thoresby, a.d. 1352, 1 removed hither out of the Quire and elsewhere
within the Church.' 52 And then he states that the seven were among several other stones of similar
marble, of similar dimensions, with similar cavities for inscriptions and effigies.
During the laying of the new floor of the Nave of the Church (completed in the year 1736), all the
old marble grave-stones of the Church, Mr. Drake says, were wrought up, and among them the large
blue stones, under which (as he was led to imagine) Archbishop Thoresby deposited his brethren, and
was laid himself in the midst of them. He also remarks, that at this time, " their stone coffins were
discovered on the removal of these stones, but nothing else remarkable about them." 3
It is to be regretted that there are no better accounts than those which have been given of the Arch-
bishops said to have been translated by Thoresby ; neither the part of the Church from which they
were taken is specified, nor that to which they were removed. Their names are not recorded, nor the
inscriptions on their tombs after their translation : we are not told what became of the remains of the
other Archbishops, especially of Roger ; no description of the appearance of the exuvia of the venerable
prelates — of the state of their vestments — the character of their rings and chalices — is preserved ;
nor is anything said of the final treatment of the coffins. And it is a striking fact, that not a particle of
positive evidence has been produced to show that either Thoresby or any other Archbishop was ever
deposited in the places thus assumed for that purpose in the east part of the Choir.
It is much to be regretted that the place of Archbishop Thoresby's interment should have been
omitted in his Will ; for generally the Wills of other Archbishops, and of dignitaries and officers of the
Church, describe the place intended or desired with minute exactness ; for example : — Master John
Bermyngham, Treasurer, desired to be buried on the south side of the tomb of St. William, near his
predecessors. 4 Master Thomas de la Mare desired by Will to be buried near the tomb of Archbishop
de Melton, in the Nave. 5 Master Thomas Walleworth desired by Will to be buried adjoining the
Sepulchre of Archbishop le Scrope. 6 Master Thomas Parker desired to be buried at the head of
Archbishop le Scrope. 7 Archbishop Bowet gave his body to be buried in the Cathedral Church of York,
between the two pillars on the south side, where he had lately established his tomb. 8 And Master Richard
del Pyttes desired by Will to be buried near the Sepulchre of Archbishop Bowett. 9
This general practice of particularizing the place of interment is valuable in the present inquiry ; for
1 Nine years before the first stone of the Choir was laid ! See p. 149.
2 Torre's MS., page 273. 3 Eboracum, fol. 519, 518. 4 Regist. B y. fol. 282 b. 5 Ibid. fol. 24.
6 Ibid. fol. 152 a. ' Ibid. fol. 215. 8 Ibid. fol. 216. 9 Ibid. fol. 173.
187
whilst it was commonly adhered to by the members of the Church, there has not yet been found an
instance of any individual desiring to be interred near the tomb of Archbishop Thoresby, or of any of the
Archbishops which he translated, whilst there have been found the requests of several individuals to be
buried in the eastern part of the Choir, without the least reference or mention of Thoresby's Sepulchre >
for instance, Master Thomas Walleworth desired his body to be buried within the new fabric of the
Church of York, within the inclosure of the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, near and adjoining the
Sepulchre of Archbishop le Scrope. 1 Archbishop Rotherham ordained his body to be buried in the
north arm of the Chapel of St. Mary, where he had made for himself a marble tomb. 2
But the Registers give information even much more valuable than the preceding, for they contain
positive requests, without reference to Thoresby's Sepulchre, to be buried in the identical place, namely,
before the entrance to the Chantry Chapel of Holy Mary, where Messrs. Torre and Drake found the
spoliated marble covers. For instance: Master Robert Wolveden, Treasurer, by Will a.d. 1432, gave
his body to be buried in the new fabric of the Church, outside the Portico, before the Altar of the Blessed
Virgin, where Mass with note is celebrated daily. 3 Master Thomas Morton, Prebendary of North
Newbald, and Canon Residentiary, by Will dated 10th January 1448, gave his body to be buried in the
Cathedral Church of York, near the Sepulchre of Master Robert Wolveden, late Treasurer of the said
Church, on the south side of the said Sepulchre. 4 Master William Duffeld, Canon Residentiary, by
Will dated 2nd February 1452, gave his body to be buried in the Cathedral Church, before the
Altar, where the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated. 5 Master Richard de Popylton, Chap-
lain, by Will dated April the 23rd, a.d. 1410, gave his body to be buried near the Chapel of Lord
Henry de Percy, in the fabric of the Church of York. 6 Master John Reynolds, Archdeacon of Cleve-
land, by Will dated January the 14th, a.d. 1505, gave his body to be buried in the Cathedral Church,
at the east end of the same, where a stone has been laid for his Sepulchre. 7 And Leonard Beckwythe,
of the City of York, Knight, on the 15th day of April 1547, gave his body to be buried in our Lady
Choir, where they sing Mass behind the High Altar. 8
The total absence of evidence in the Registers of the Church, of any interment to be made near the
Sepulchre of Archbishop Thoresby, or in a Chapel or place in which he was interred, and the fact of
interments having been made in the place generally considered of late as the resting place of the mortal
remains of Archbishop Thoresby, without the least reference to that remarkable circumstance, and also
the evidence of known interments in the sites of the newly-challenged marble stones, afford a strong
presumption, if not an absolute proof, that the east part of the Choir was not the place where Thoresby
was interred ; and therefore, the conjectures advanced by several writers in support of some spoliated
marble stones found before the entrance of the Chantry Chapel of the Blessed Mary, in the east end of
the Choir, being evidence that Archbishop Thoresby and several of his predecessors were buried there,
in the Author's humble judgment does not prove that the stones covered the remains of the Archbishops,
or that the east end of the Choir was the resting place of the venerable prelate, nor outweigh the con-
jectures, considerations and facts which give the stones to the tombs of some of the Archbishop's
predecessors, which were in the Church, and which needed more suitable covers. And as to the Chro-
nicles recording that Archbishop Thoresby was himself interred among the tombs of his predecessors,
1 Regist. B y. fid. 152 a. 2 Ibid. A y. fol. 23 b. 8 Ibid. B y. fid. 235. * Ibid. fid. 2G2.
5 Ibid. B y. fol. 272. 6 Ibid. fol. 155. 7 Ibid. A y. fol. 60.
8 Register Book of Wills, No. 15, Prerogative Court, fol. 336.
2 H 2
188
before the Altar of the Blessed Mary, in the new work of the Choir, it can be shown that such a state-
ment does not exist in all the ancient writers on Thoresby ; that it is an assertion made about the
beginning of the fifteenth century, and which appears to derive no support from the genuine Archives of
the Church.
The cause of the term " Lady Chapel" being given to the east end of the Choir will appear from
the following facts and considerations. In the year a.d. 1272, a Chantry was established in the Cathe-
dral Church, for two Chaplains to celebrate mass daily for the soul of Master Simon de Evesham, at the
Altar of St. John the Evangelist, 1 and it appears, not only from the Register X a. fol. 36, but from the
following memorandum, that the Altar was situated beyond or behind the great Altar. Master Roger
de Schyrburne, Vicar-Choral of the Church of Blessed Peter of York, by Will dated the 29th day of
May, a.d. 134G, gave to the Altar of St. John the Evangelist, "retro magnum altare," two towels. 2
To make room for the eastern portion of the new Choir, commenced by Thoresby, a portion of the
east end of the ancient one was taken down, thereby causing several Altars, that were in the old Crypt
and Choir, to be moved, and the several Chantry Services to be celebrated where the celebrants could
obtain convenience or leave, among which Altars was the one of St. John the Evangelist, " retro
magnum altare.^
When the eastern portion of the new Choir was rendered fit for Altars, the Altar of St. John the
Evangelist would, undoubtedly, be again placed behind the High Altar ; and so it was, for the following
is positive evidence : — Master John Danby, parson in the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, by
Will dated the 18th day of August, a.d. 1485, gave his body to be buried in the said Cathedral Church,
before the Altar of St. John the Evangelist, above the Choir (i. e. behind the great Altar) of the said
Cathedral Church. 3 Thus the eastern portion of the Choir of the Cathedral was, at least, from the year
1272, always, when circumstances would permit, the special Chapel of St. John the Evangelist; yet it
is certain, its limits were restricted to a portion only of the east end of the new Choir.
The space at the east end of the new Choir, generally called the " Lady Chapel," is about forty-five
feet clear width, and about sixty-five feet six inches from the east wall to the retro-screen of the High
Altar ; but as the side-aisles of the Choir are not considered portions of the Choir, but only ambula-
tories or appendages, so in what is termed the Lady Chapel (see n, Plate I.) much of the space was
merely an ambulatory ; for, according to the valuable plan of the Choir made by Mr. Torre, and pub-
lished by Drake, the portion for the divine service in the Chantry Chapels was separated from the rest
by a wood screen, 4 and extended only about twenty-two feet of the sixty-five feet six inches, whilst the
breadth of forty-five feet was in all probability divided into three parts, for as many Chapels, each having
its own Altar, Piscina, and decorations. Two Piscina? have been discovered, and a third is probably hidden
or destroyed by Archbishop Sharp's monument. The Altar of St. John the Evangelist the Author
places in the first or south division of the three divisions, thus defining a distinct Chapel for St. John
the Evangelist in the present Choir. 5
It has been shown 6 that Archbishop Thoresby was induced, as early as November the 10th, a.d.
1 Regist. G e. fol. 25. 2 Regist. B y. fol. 361.
3 " Coram altari St. Johannis Evangeliste supra chorum." — Regist. B y. fol. 361.
4 The Screen, or parclose, was taken down about 1728, and applied to other uses in the Church. — Gent's York, p. 73.
5 The plan in Plate I. was drawn and published long before many things were discovered or determined relative to it. Thus the
site of the Altar of St. John the Evangelist is not marked, but it was on the right hand of the Altar, c, near the tomb marked i.
6 See p. 155.
189
1362, to grant and confirm four Chantries for the benefit of the soul of Lord Henry de Percy and his
consort, Mary, of illustrious memory, one of which Chantries he claimed and established in the Cathe-
dral Church of St. Peter of York, and reserved to himself and his successors the manner, the time and
the place in the said Cathedral Church in which the Chaplain to be nominated by him and his succes-
sors ought to celebrate ; and from the arrangement made for the other three Chantries, for Alnewyk
Castle (see p. 157), it is inferred that the Chantry retained at York would have somewhat similar rules
for the celebration of the services, and that it is probable that the Chantry was placed under the
patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is further probable that the services were celebrated either
in the Archbishop's Chapel of Holy Mary and all the Holy Angels, or at some borrowed Altar, until the
restoration of Altars to the east part of the Choir, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, when it
appears that this Chantry was placed behind the great Altar, probably in the centre division (c) , which
division, or little Chapel, then received the title of " the close of the Altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary," 1
soon after " the Chapel of Lord de Percy;" 2 afterwards " the Chapel of Holy Mary:" 3 sometimes
" Thoresby's Chantry Chapel;" occasionally " Our Lady's Choir," 4 and generally the Lady Chapel,
although it was known to be the " Chappelle of my Lord of Northumberland." 5
In order to render the east end of the Choir a perfect tripartite tabernacle for the three principal per-
sons connected with the last sufferings of our divine Redeemer, Sir Henry Carnebull, priest, late Arch-
deacon of York, and Canon in the Cathedral Church of York, about the beginning of the sixteenth
century, founded, established and endowed one perpetual Chantry at the Altar, in the Chapel of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, in honour of the holy name of Jesus and the Blessed Mary the Virgin, in the
Cathedral Church of York, giving the patronage thereof to the Provost and Fellows of the College, of
the name of Jesus at Rotherham. The first Chaplain was William Spencer, who was admitted by the
Chapter to the Chantry of Jesus and of the Blessed Mary, on the 21st of May, a.d. 1507. 6
Although the Author has not been able to inspect the ordination of the Chantry, yet he presumes it to
have been for the benefit of Carnebull's soul, and perhaps of the souls of his parents ; for the soul of
Thomas Rotherham, late Archbishop of York, who lies interred on the left hand of and near the Altar. 7
Especially as by his Will, dated 10th May 1512, he desired the following Epitaph to be placed upon the
marble stone which was to cover his grave, in the Chapel of Jesus at Rotherham : — " Orate pro anbus
Rev. in xto patr. et dm dmi Thome Rotherham quondam Archiepi Ebor, et Henrici Carnebull qui
1 Master Thomas Walleworth, Canon Residentiary, gave his body to be buried within the new fabric of the Church at York,
namely, " infra clausum altaris beate Virginis Marie," near and beside the sepulchre of Master Richard le Scrope, of blessed
memory. Regist. B y. fol. 152 a.
2 Master Richard de Popylton, Chaplain, by Will dated April 23, 1410, gave his body to be buried " juxta capellam Dm.
Henrici le Percy," in the fabric of the Cathedral Church at York. Regist. B y. fol. 155.
3 Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York, by "Will dated the 6th of August 1498, gave his body to be buried, " in brachio
boriali capelle see" Marie," in his Church at York, where he had made a marble tomb. Regist. A y. fol. 23 b.
4 Leonard Beckwythe, of the citye of York, Knyght, on the xv day of April, 1547, gave his soull to Allmyghtye God, his Maker
and Redeemer, and to all the holye company of heaven, and his body to be buryed, in " our Lady queare," wher they sunge Messe
behynde the Highe Alter, within the CathedraU Churche of Yorke.— Book of Wills, No. 15, fol. 336. Prerogative Court.
5 Appendix to Drake's Eboracum, p. xix.
f> Regist. G f. fol. 19. 216.
7 In the plan of the Choir, Plate I., the Archbishop's tomb is at d, and the site of the Altar is at c.
190
Archdiaconi Ebor in eccla Ebor parentum qui suorum et benefactorum ac familiarium eorundum necnon
pro anabus omnium fidelium defunctorum qui quidem Henricus obiit 10 mensis Aug. a.d. 1512." 1
John Reynalds, Archdeacon of Clyveland, by Will dated January 14, a.d. 1505, gave his body to be
buried in the Cathedral Church of York, at the east end of the same, where a stone had been placed for
his sepulchre. He also bequeathed his best missal to the Chantry lately founded at the tomb of his late
lord, Thomas Rotherham, late Archbishop of York. 2
William Melton, late Chancellor of the Church of York, by Will dated 20th August, a.d. 1528,
desired that with the residue of his property, a priest should be engaged by the year or month, to cele-
brate divine offices at the Altar of the name of Jesus, in the Church at York, for his soul ; for the souls
of his parents, friends and relations ; for the soul of Hugo Trotter, his parents, friends and relations ;
for the soul of Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop, and for the souls of all the faithful departed this life. 3
Thus the Chantry of St. John the Evangelist, the Chantry of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the
Chantry of the holy name of Jesus, had each an equal right to give a title to the east end of the new
Choir; but the Chantry of the Blessed Virgin Mary established the title of " Lady Chapel" for the
greater portion of the said east end.
By the death of Archbishop Thoresby, the Church lost a munificent benefactor, and no doubt the
Dean and Chapter felt keenly the burthen of the works left for them to carry on. As a means
of encouragement to those employed by them, they raised the pension and benefits of the Master
Mason and Master Carpenter: the latter having served in his office since the year 1350 for two shillings
per week, with certain perquisites in addition, 4 was now allowed three shillings in silver per week, with
the same perquisites, and other advantages, as appears by the following Indenture : —
" Grant of houses to Philip the Carpenter.
" To all children of our Holy Mother the Church to whom these presents shall come, the Chapter of the Church of
St. Peter of York (the Dean thereof being in distant parts), greeting, in the pure embraces of our Saviour. Know
ye, that we have granted to Philip of Lincoln the office of Carpenter to the fabric of the said Church of St. Peter of
York, for the term of his life, for his praiseworthy service bestowed and hereafter to be bestowed upon us, (he)
receiving for the same yearly from the fabric (fund) three shillings of silver by the week, and all other advantages in
like manner as the predecessors of the said Philip in times past held and received. We have granted also to the said
Philip the office of Gate-keeper of the Close, for his whole lifetime, with the houses which he now hath, abutting upon
the gable of the Choir of the Belfry, ' super gabulum Chori Berefridi/ 5 with the stallage at the gate and in the
Cemetery, on certain accustomed days, beyond the shops there now built, the which we entirely forbid being granted
to any other one after him : nay, we decree that from thenceforth it shall be applied to the fabric ; (he) receiving,
nevertheless, of the said fabric for his whole life yearly, ten shillings of silver at the terms of Pentecost, and of St.
Martin in the winter, by equal portions, so long as he shall well and faithfully superintend the works of the said
fabric, and shall securely keep, as respects himself, to the best of his ability, the Gates and Close aforesaid. More-
over, we in no manner purpose to take away from him the advantage which he hath been wont to have in doing the
like things in the first great residences. In witness whereof, our seal is appended to these presents. Given at York,
in our Chapter House, the 29th day of January, a.d. 1374." 6
1 Regist. of Wills, 1508—1514, fol. 123. Prerogative Court. 2 Regist. of Wills, Ay. fol. 60.
3 Ibid. fol. 166. 4 Seep. 128.
3 This very probably denotes the east-aisle, or service part of the south transept, on the gable of which the Berefridum was placed.
The 85th Plate in vol. i. of Dugdale's Monasticon, of 1718, shows how houses were here situated.
6 Regist. G c. fol. 117 b.
191
By the Compotus of Master Robert de Newton, Chamberlain of the Chapter, made at the feast of
Pentecost, 1374, for the expenses incurred since the feast of St. Martin, 1373, it appears that the old
Choir yet existed, and that the usual services were yet performed in it, and that minstrels were employed
on great festivals ; for there was paid for minstrels for the day of the translation of St. William, 3s. 4d.,
and for the same for four days at Pentecost, 13s. 4c?. 1
The successor to Archbishop Thoresby to the Archbishopric of York was Alexander Nevill, Preben-
dary of the Prebend of Bole, in the diocese of York. He was consecrated on the 4th of June 1374, in
Westminster Abbey, by Thomas, Bishop of Durham, Thomas, Bishop of Ely, and William, Bishop of
Winchester.
About this period, ecclesiastical punishments, penances and penitents' offerings were rendered more
applicable to the advancement of the fabric of the Church, and the records relating to these frequently
more fully specify the state of the Choir and the High Altar, than any other recorded acts. Thus,
William de Honyngham, goldsmith, for the crime of adultery with Cecilia, the wife of William deCawod,
of York, was, on the 25th day of August 1375, placed by the Ecclesiastical Court under the penalty of
paying ten marks, to be applied to the fabric of the Church of the Blessed Peter of York, and ten marks
to be offered at the High Altar of the said Church, and to go on foot as a pilgrim to the Churches of
St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfred of Ripon, and there to offer at each of the Churches one pound
of wax, within a month from the day of the said sentence. 2
On the 20th day of September 1375, Master John de Branketree, Treasurer of the Church, made
his will ; and being desirous, not only of assisting the fabric of the new eastern portion of the Choir,
but of decorating the old Choir, he bequeathed the following : —
" Item, I bequeath to the fabric of the Church of York ten pounds ; Item, I bequeath also to the Chapter and
Church of York the furniture of my hall, of arras work, to wit, five pieces, for adorning the Choir of the said Church
on the greater feasts during the summer time. Moreover, I will and ordain that all my vessels of silver and gilt,
and the furniture of my hall and best chamber, of embroidered work with eagles, as well as all other move-
able goods, be sold for the health of my soul, that there (i. e. from the proceeds thereof) in my benefices whereso-
ever situate and in the Chapel of my manor at York, priests may be found who shall forthwith and continually
celebrate mass for my soul, and for the souls of all the faithful departed, so long as the money thence to be raised
shall continue." 8
The Dean and Chapter finding probably that the fabric of the new Choir did not proceed according to
their fervent desires, deemed it prudent to make application for some regular additional aid ; accordingly,
about the latter part of 1377, they seemed to have fixed their attention on the income of the Church of
Misterton in the diocese of York, and made suitable application to the Pope, to the King, and to the
1 On the great festivals the Church was accustomed to employ the minstrels of the city, and to reward them with 3s. 4d. for each
time they performed. Those minstrels were subsequently called the " Waits" of the city. Mr. Davies remarks, that formerly
the Corporation of York had minstrels in their service, to whom they gave liveries and wages. They continued until very recently
to perform their ancient duties, and although the office is now abolished, the persons who last held it still observe the practice of
entertaining the citizens of York with nocturnal music during the Christmas season. In the reign of Richard III., the city
minstrels were deemed to be of so much importance, that, in addition to the fees they received from the Corporation, they were
authorised by an Ordinance of the Council to collect certain sums annually from all the different classes of citizens, according to
their rank and means. They were then, as they are now, popularly called " Waits," a term which, it has been supposed, was not
used before the reign of Henry VIII. (Vide Nicolas's Privy Purse of lien. VIII. 359.) — York Records, p. 15.
2 Regist. T y. indorsed Acta Correctionum, fol. 19 a. 3 Regist. B y. fol. Gl.
192
Archbishop, to obtain an appropriation. The King was graciously pleased to comply with the request,
and granted a license dated at Westminster, 25th July, in the second year of his reign, for the appro-
priation of the advowson of the said Church, the income of which was then valued at £53. 6s. 8d. per
annum, which portion of the temporalities of the Archbishop the king assigned to the Dean and
Chapter for ever, for the sustentation of the fabrics and lights of the Church of Blessed Peter of York
The Archbishop also, by letters patent, dated Cawood, the 9th day of February of the fifth year of his
consecration, in virtue of the king's licence, gave in pure and perpetual alms the advowson of the
said Church of Misterton, to the said Dean and Chapter for the uses specified in the royal licence. 1
The executors of the will of Master John de Branketree having probably discharged faithfully the
duties imposed upon them, and not only transferred his furniture of arras work for the ornamenting the
Choir, and the ten pounds for the fabric, but probably had given something in addition for the further
benefit of the Church. The chapter of the Church, on the 5th day of July 1378, unanimously de-
clared that —
" In recompence for the benefits which Master John de Branketree had bestowed upon the Church, whilst he
lived, and for the immovable possessions in the city of York, which his executors had also bestowed, they promised faith-
fully to perform every year in the said Church, on the Feast of the Holy Cross, if it should be convenient, or on
any day within three days either before or after, as it might be most convenient, a solemn obit, with Copes in the
Choir of the said Church, with this proviso, that Mass for the soul of the said John, and for the souls of all the
faithful departed, should be celebrated on the day of the said obit, at the Great Altar in the Choir of the said Church
by the Major Succentor." 2
William de Ferriby, Archdeacon of Cleveland, by will dated July the 26th, 1378, bequeathed to the
new fabric of the Church of York twenty marks, and all the books which belonged to his master, Lord
William de Melton. 3
The application to his holiness the Pope, to sanction the appropriation of the income of the Church of
Misterton, to the advancement of the fabric of the new works of the Choir, was promptly complied
with ; and the Bull of confirmation proves to be a very valuable document, for it not only gives a
tolerable idea of the unfinished state of the eastern portion of the new Choir, but affords positive
information regarding the cause of its erection, and also concerning the smallness of the old Nave
as compared with the present, as mentioned p. 110. The Bull is as follows : —
" Bull for the Church of Misterton.
" Urban, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to our venerable brother Alexander, Archbishop of York,
health and Apostolical Benediction. We do willingly give our attention to those matters which regard the
advantage and interest of Churches, especially Cathedral (Churches), and are desirous to bestow on them seasonable
assistance. Forasmuch as a petition lately presented to us on the part of yourself and of our well-beloved sons
the Chapter of the Church of York, set forth that the late John, of pious memory, Archbishop of York, your pre-
decessor, and the Chapter aforesaid, considering that the body (corpus, i. e. the Nave) of the said Church, which
formerly was of small dimensions, had been rebuilt of great size and signal beauty, to the praise and honour of God,
by their devout predecessors ; but that the Choir of the Church was left of its former small extent and unsightliness ;
and (that they) beiug grieved thereat, and wishing to cause to be constructed and built in the said Church a Choir
corresponding to the said body (Nave), did, while the times were favourable, begin to cause to be erected in the
said Church a new Choir, corresponding to the beauty of the said Church, and of very costly workmanship ; and
that so large a part of this Choir, so begun to be built still rcmaincth to be completed, because the rents and pro-
1 Nevill's Regist. fol. 85. 2 Regist. T c. fol. 94. 3 Regist. By. fol. 68.
193
ceeds destined to the fabric and lights of the said Church, since they are much lessened on account of the badness of
the times, are nowise sufficient for the completing of the said Choir: — Wherefore an humble supplication was made
to us, on the part of yourself and of the said Chapter, that we woidd of our special favour grant to you a licence by
apostolical authority, to appropriate and assign to the Dean of the said Church for the time being, and to the said
Chapter, the parochial church of Misterton, in the diocese of York, — which belongeth to the collation of the Arch-
bishop of York for the time being, and the fruits, rents, and proceeds whereof, as it is asserted, do not exceed the
yearly value of thirty-five marks sterling, according to the tithe valuation. "We, therefore, being induced by these
supplications, do by the tenor of these presents grant to you, most reverend brother, free and full faculty to appro-
priate and assign to the said Dean and Chapter, the said parochial Church for the term of ten years, to be reckoned
only from the time at which our well-beloved son, the rector of the said Church that now is, shall resign or decease,
or in any otherwise whatsoever shall cease from the incumbency of the said Church ; so that the said rector resigning
or deceasing, or in any otherwise whatsoever ceasing from the incumbency of the said Church, it shall be lawful for
the said Dean and Chapter freely to take possession of the said parochial Church, and lawfully to retain possession
thereof, until the period of ten years aforesaid, and to apply the fruits, rents, and proceeds thereof to the fabric of
the said Choir; reserving, however, a fitting portion of the said fruits, rents, and profits, for the institution of a
Vicar therein for the meanwhile, out of which the said Vicar may be enabled to be supported in a fit manner, to pay
the episcopal dues, and to sustain the other burthens incumbent upon him. Given at Home, at St. Peter's, on the
kalends of August, in the second year of our Pontificate." 1 (a.d. 1379.)
The following recorded act of the Consistorial Court affords additional evidence that the old Choir
and its High Altar yet existed : —
" On the 7th day of November 1382, Henry de Doncaster and Symon Skyner, of Stayngate, appeared before the
Venerable Master Thomas de Walleworth, Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, holding
a Chapter with these discreet persons : Master William de Cawod, auditor ; Richard del See ; John Blackball ;
Robert de Selby ; and John de Catrick, Clerks, and others. The aforesaid Henry and Symon, in their proper persons,
being so present, the said Chapter did object that the said Henry, with a certain drawn ' Baselardo/ 2 against the
said Symon, and the aforesaid Symon with a certain unsheathed sword, 3 against the said Henry, did, on the Lord's
day next preceding, in the said Cathedral Church, while the Vicars and other Masters (Magistri) of the said Church
were singing vespers in the Choir, violently assaulting each other, setting aside the fear of God, each the other grie-
vously smite and wickedly handle, even to the shedding of blood, to the grievous peril of their own souls, to the con-
tempt of God and his Church, and to the pernicious example of other faithful Christians ; the which Henry and
Symon did judicially confess the aforesaid article so objected to them, and humbly submitting themselves to the
correction and ordering of the said Chapter in this matter, besought pardon ; and incontinently the aforesaid Chapter
having held with its council some deliberation concerning the premises, did enjoin to the said Henry and Symon a
wholesome penance in this wise for their offences ; having first received of them and each of them an oath upon the
holy Gospels of God, laying their hands upon the same, that they would obey the law and commandments of the
Church, and would perform the penance to be enjoined them for the causes aforesaid ; the which oath being taken,
as aforesaid, the aforesaid Chapter did enjoin each of them to walk before the procession of the said Church after the
manner of penitents, on the four Lord's days next ensuing, bearing in their hands the sword and ' baselardum '
aforesaid, together with a wax-candle of two pounds (weight) in the hand of each of them; and on the fourth Sun-
day, when they should have fully performed this penance, they should carry the aforesaid wax-candles to the High
Altar, as is customary, unless they should be able to obtain a further pardon." 4
1 Regist. G c. fol. 147.
2 Baselardo, Basalardus, Basillardus, Bassillardus — a peculiar kind of short sword. Henry of Knighton, lib. v., says
of Walworth, Lord Mayor of London : "Arrepto basillardo, transfixit Jack Straw in guttere ;" and soon after, " cum alio basillardo
penetravit latera ejus." Meyrick's Antient Armour, Glossary, vol. iii.
3 Probably a stabbing sword. 4 Acta Correclionum, 1357-1471, p. 17 b.
2 I
i
194
Master John Helewell, Canon of the Church of the Blessed Peter of York, by will, dated 3rd day of
March 1386, gave one hundred shillings to the fabric of the said Church of York; 1 also, Master John
Marshall, Archdeacon of Clyveland, gave to the new fabric of the said Cathedral Church one hundred
shillings. 2
A much- tattered portion of a fabric Roll has been discovered, which, from its containing among the
items of expenditure, the sum of £1. 7s. \0cl., paid for the obit of Master Henry de Bynbrok, 3 and from
its showing that Mr. Robert Downam was the master carpenter, John Plumer the plumber, and John
Burgh the glazier, to the fabric, the Author is induced to assign to about the year 1386. It
appears from this Roll, that the fund of the year for the fabric was £563. 13s. 11 \d. The expenses of
the fabric and burthens were £553. 12s. 0\d. ; and there remained £9. 13s. l\d. Neither the master
mason's name, nor the number of masons employed, occurs in what remains of the Roll ; but the sum
total of their wages is given, amounting to £246. 3s. 8d. : and the expense of obtaining stone is stated
to be £39. 5s. 8d.
The Archbishop being highly in favour with the King, and hence suspected by the malcontent nobles
and gentry of aiding and giving erroneous counsel to him, shared in the King's disgrace, and about
this time was induced to withdraw into exile, where he resigned his See, having held it about fourteen
years. He died at Louvain, about the end of May 1392. To him succeeded Thomas Arundel, first an
Archdeacon of Taunton, then Bishop of Ely, and Lord Chancellor ; he was translated to the Arch-
bishopric of York by the Pope's Bull, bearing date April 3rd, a.d. 1388.
Master John de Newton, parson, at the altar of St. Michael, in the Church of St. Peter of York, by
will, dated 2nd day of May 1389, gave to the fabric of the Church of Blessed Peter, fifty pounds
sterling. 4
In the Compotus of Pentecost, for 1388 and 1389, made by Master Thomas de Garton, Chamberlain
of the Dean and Chapter, are found the following items among the expenditure for the Choir : —
" Expended 31s. 8d. for 76 ells of linen cloth, bought for 10 albs with amices for the High Altar, by
ell 5d. ; paid 100s. for cloth of red (blodi) ' Samett' for Copes; and 28s. paid to Robert de Howme
for 4 ells of velvett, bought for red (blodi) vestments ; and 44s. 6d. paid to Thomas Setter for the
making of gold roses for the ruby (rubio) vestments ; and 106s. 8d. paid to Richard Storer for 2 cloths
of gold bought for the High Altar by the command of the Chapter ; and by 7 marks paid to the said
Richard for 2 cloths of ' Baudkyns' of green colour, bought by order of the Chapter ; and by 4s. \d.
paid for new chains bought for 3 silver basins to hang before the High Altar ; and by 53s. 4d. paid for
4 napkins (Sudanis) bought for the High Altar ; and by 1 5s. 6d. paid for one new banner bought ;
and by 400 pounds of wax bought for the High Altar, feretrum and tomb, £9. 12s. Od."
The middle portion of a fabric Roll has been found, presenting the names of Master Robert Downam,
as master carpenter ; John Plumer, the plumber ; and John Burgh, the glazier ; which fragment may,
from comparison with other similar documents, be placed about the year 1390. The entries show,
1 Resist. B y. fol. 88. 2 Regist. B y. fol. 86.
3 On the 12th of February 1380, the Chapter of the Church of York made an indenture, showing that for the benefits which
Master Henry de Bynbrok had bestowed upon them and the Church, they agreed and faithfully promised, that every year, on the
2nd day of March, if it could be convenient, if otherwise on some day within three days before or after, there should be celebrated
an obit for his soul, for the souls of his father and mother, and of all his benefactors, and for the souls of all the faithful in Christ
departed this life, with Copes in the Choir of the said Church, as is usual in such cases. Regist. T c. fol. 109.
4 Regist. B y. fol. 93 b.
195
that the stone and quarry expenses for the year amounted to £60. 2s. Od. ; and among the items
recorded, are the following for working iron: — "Paid for working 400 pounds of iron into bars
(' Barrez') for windows, by John Harpham, smith, 16s. Od. ; and for the working of 328 pounds of
iron, by William Smith, in bars, 12s. Ad."
Having by a comparison of various bars been led to conclude that each of the principal bars in the
side-windows of the eastern portion of the Choir originally weighed about two pounds and three quarters ;
and finding that the quantity of iron in the first of these items would be the quantity required to make
the bars now existing in these windows, being in number one hundred and fifty-two, of the supposed
original weight, the Author is induced to suppose that this iron was used in making principal and
secondary bars for those side-windows, which were probably now receiving their mullions and tracery.
The Chamberlain's accounts, made from the Feast of St. Martin 1389 to the Feast of Pentecost
1390, and from the Feast of Pentecost to the Feast of St. Martin 1390, exhibit the usual
attendance of ministers and minstrels in the Choir, and the usual expenditure, with these addi-
tional items: — "Expended in 700 pounds of wax, bought for the High Altar, feretrum and
tomb, £16. 16s. Od. ; and in (payment) to Master John Thornor, Vicar, in the Choir, for one organ
book, by command of the Chapter, 13s. 4d. ; and in 2s. Od. paid for 5 ells of linen cloth for ' towelles'
for the High Altar ; and to Thomas Setter for repairing the ' ruby' vestments, namely, for 9 pieces
4 ells of laces, price of each piece Is. 3d. = lis. lid ; and for 1 piece of ' orfrays,' 2s. Ad. ; and for
12 ells of ' bukram,' 12s. Od. ; and for 5 ounces of ' frynges,' price by the ounce 2s. 2d. = 10s. \0d. ;
and for one lace 2d. ; and to the same for the working of the said vestments, 26s. 8d. ; and to Alice
Sarsyne for golden eagles on the said vestments, 6s. 8d."
On the 26th day of March 1393, Master John de Clyfford bequeathed to the fabric of the Church at
York 1 00 shillings, that one mason might be added (to the said fabric) for one year after his decease ;
and if it (the sum) was not sufficient, that he (the mason) be supplied by his executors. 1
The Chamberlain's accounts for the period between the Feast of Pentecost 1393, and the Feast of
Pentecost 1394, show that the Choir yet existed; and among the items of expenses are these: — " Expended
in payment to Thomas Setter, 18s. Ad. for 64 ells of linen cloth, for albs made for the High Altar, price
for each ell 5d • and for the making of 9 albs 4s. 8d. ; and in £4. 6s. 8d. paid this term to brother
William Ellerker for the writing of two graduals for the Choir ; and in 40s. Od. paid to Master Richard
de Styrtton for the illuminating of the said two graduals ; and in 22s. l\d. paid the said William for
parchment, bought by the said William ; and in amending of cloths to be placed before the High
Altar, 20d."
The Archbishop (Arundel) about this time was translated to the See of Canterbury, the Bull bearing
date January 18th, 1396 ; 2 and to him succeeded Robert Waldby, a native of York. He was first an
Augustine friar in the monastery of that order in the city, then raised by the influence of Prince
Edward to be Bishop of Ayre, in Aquitain ; afterwards, in 1387, translated to the Archbishopric of
Dublin, thence to Chichester in 1395, and thence to York. The Bull of his translation was read and
1 Regist. B y. fol. 104.
2 This Archbishop bestowed upon the Church, — One crosier of silver gilt ; 2 silver gilt cruets made like swans standing on a
castle, partly enamelled, weighing 2 pounds, ] 1 ounces and a quarter ; 2 great silver censers, gilt, with the upper windows
enamelled, and heads of leopards casting out smoke, weighing 1G pounds, G ounces and a half ; 1 silver cup weighing 18 pounds ;
and 7 white velvet copes, wrought with griffins and suns, rich in gold.
2 I 2
196
notified to the Chapter of York, March 20th, 1396, but he occupied the See during a very short period.
He died on the 6th January 1397, and was buried at Westminster.
The See being vacant, the Chapter of the Church of St. Peter determined to endeavour to excite the
beneficent feelings of the faithful in the Diocese towards the advancement of the new fabric ; to accom-
plish this, Commissioners were legally sent forth to remind the people of the abundant store of relaxa-
tions from penance which the Church possessed and held available, to such as gave generous alms to the
fund of the fabric, and to admonish them that if they were unable to comply with the obligation of visiting
the Church of York, and there make an offering, such offering was not to be neglected, but duly
forwarded, as explained in the following act of the Chapter : —
" A letter granted to the procurator of the concerns of the fabric of the Church of York to expound the indulgences
granted for the said fabric.
" The Chapter of the Church of St. Peter of York, (the Dean thereof being in distant parts, and the archiepiscopal
See being vacant,) to our beloved in Christ, the Archdeacon of Richmond and his officials, and to all and sundry
Abbots, Priors, Provosts, Deans, Rectors, Vicars, and parochial Chaplains wheresoever established within the said
Archdeaconry, everlasting Health in the Lord.
" (Whereas,) among all other works of charity, we believe those (alms) to be especially acceptable and grateful in
the sight of God, which the well-ordered liberality of devout persons piously bestoweth unto the honour of God and
the comeliness of his Church, and also towards stirring up the devotion of the faithful in regard of Holy Church ; and
whereas the most holy Roman Pontiffs, and other holy Fathers, being desirous that the Church of York should be
duly honoured, and that, through the inducement of indulgences, the minds of the faithful should be more favourably
inclined to works of charitable devotion, — have granted unto all benefactors of the said Church, being truly penitent
and shriven, eleven years and one hundred and twenty days of pardon ; to continue (in force) for ever ; and whereas
we anxiously desire that the said indulgences, which may be made in many wise available to the health of the living
and of the dead, may become truly and publicly known, we have thought fit to appoint our beloved in Christ, Sir
John de Demyngton, parson in our said Church, in whose faith, fulness, and industry we have full trust, to recommend
and expound the said indulgences, and others granted on the same account by other prelates, especially unto the
Clergy and people of the said Archdeaconry, and also to solicit and receive such gratuitous alms as it shall please
their charity to bestow. And therefore we do charge you, that as often as our said procurator or messenger, or any
other person in his name, shall address himself to you respecting this matter, ye do most kindly, as ye are bound,
with special favour and grace receive him, (entertaining his application) in preference to all other matters and
indulgences whatsoever ; and do permit him freely to declare and expound the contents and purport of the said
indulgences, and of others granted for the same object, and also the necessities of the said fabric, in all collegiate,
conventual, and parochial Churches, and in the Chapters of the said Archdeaconry, and in other congregations of the
faithful, as often and wheresoever it shall seem expedient. (And)
" You of the Clergy of the said Archdeaconry, and each of you, we do enjoin and charge in virtue of holy obedience,
and we earnestly exhort you in the Lord, that all and each of you, as by the obligation of filial gratitude ye are bound,
do study diligently and effectually to forward the business of the said fabric with your parishioners, in preference to
all other collections of alms; and with due diligence effectually to persuade the people (subject) to you, and to each
of you, that they, for the remission of their sins, as the law of gratitude requireth, and as (the law) of the Holy Canon
doth enjoin, all such of them as are able-bodied, do, as becometh humble and Catholick children, visit and honour in
person the said Cathedral Church, their spiritual Mother : or at least that if they shall not be able to do this conve-
niently in their own persons, they do — both for the pm'pose of obtaining the aforesaid gracious indulgences for the
merciful expiation of their faults, and of completing, through God's favour, the aforesaid fabric, — contribute acceptable
alms of charity, out of the good things bestowed upon them by (Almighty) God, — so that the defect of their personal
visitation may be supplied by their liberal bounty : and in so doing, inasmuch as the honour of the Mother becometh
197
the honour and consolation of her children, they shall be enabled to promote their own honour, and to increase in
no small degree the treasure of their merits in the sight of God.
" Moreover we do strictly charge and enjoin you, and each of you, in virtue of holy obedience, and under penalty
of excommunication, that whatsoever shall be collected among you for the purposes of the said fabric, ye do cause to
be paid over, without any diminution or hinderance whatsoever to our said procurator or messenger. In witness
whereof we have set our seal to these presents. Given at York, the seventeenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand three hundred and ninety-seven." 1
On the same day there emanated four letters of similar tenor, which were forwarded to the four
Archdeacons, namely, York, Nottyngham, Eastriding, and Clyveland, to continue in force for one year ;
there also emanated one letter of similar import to Master William Stalmyn, Vicar of Gygileswyk. 2
In the Chamberlain's accounts for the period from the Feast of Pentecost to the Feast of St. Martin
1397, are the following items : — " Expended in 2\ pounds of Wyre bought for the Choir for supporting
the wax-lights therein, 19d.; and in 6s. 8d. paid for 2 Corporals for the High Altar of cloth of ' Reyns;'
and in 5s. for 5 ells of cloth of ' Lake ' for ' Corporals ;' and in 25s. 2d. for 58 ells of linen cloth
for albs in the Choir, price each ell 5d. ; and in 3s. 6d. paid to Emme Semster for making of 7 albs for
the Choir; and in 10s. paid to William Sekar for divers ornaments made for the same."
Master Richard le Scrope, fourth son of Richard le Scrope of Bolton, brother to William le Scrope,
Earl of Wiltshire, Bachelor of Arts of Oxford, Doctor of Laws of Cambridge, Advocate of the Poor in
the Roman Court, and Treasurer of England, was promoted by apostolical authority, after the death of
Archbishop Waldby, to the government of the See of York, being Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.
The Bull of his translation to York is dated — Rome, at St. Peter's, tertio kal Martii, in the ninth year
of the Pontificate of Pope Boniface IX.; 3 and on July 10th, in the same year (1398), he was installed
Archbishop of York by William de Kexby, then precentor of the Church.
The two accounts given by the Chamberlain of the Chapter, for the periods between the Feast of
St. Martin 1398 and the Feast of St. Martin 1399, show that there were seven hundred and forty pounds
of wax bought, and expended at the High Altar, the feretrum, and the tomb, during the year ; and
that all the services were performed, and the usual expenses incurred.
A large portion of a fabric Roll now presents itself, but the greater part of the beginning, or income
division, is wanting, and what remains is in a very shattered and mouldered state. The accounts appear
to have been made up to the 7th day of January 1399, and they show that the fund of the past year,
for the fabric, was £431. 8s. 5d. Total of fabric expenses and burthens, £430. 17s. 0\d., with a re-
mainder in hand of lis. A\d. That the masons had 6d., carpenters 5\d., and labourers 4d. each work
day. That a Master Hugo Hedon was the master mason, with 28 masons under his direction. John
Plumer was still the plumber, John Burgh the glazier, and Robert Downam master carpenter.
This Roll, even in its imperfect and shattered state, is a document of very great importance, as it not
only exhibits a large portion of the annual accounts, but also an inventory of the stores possessed by
the Church, with their supposed value. Such matter is very rarely met with ; one succeeding Roll
only has been found containing any information of this nature.
Among the items of expenditure given in this Roll, the following is entitled to particular notice : —
" Paid, as remuneration to William Ireland and Thomas Grimthorp, for lying in the new works for the
1 Regist. Newark et Vacationis Archiepiscoporum Ebor. ab 1297, ad 15.54.
2 Cott. MSS. Galba E. X. fol. 121.
3 Scrope's Regist. fol. 15.
198
guardianship of the Choir, 2s." It hence appears, that watchmen were stationed in the new works, for the
preservation of the Choir from nightly plunderers ; and this, perhaps, was now the more necessary,
from the advanced state of the first-built portion of the new Choir, and the removal of the scaffold. It
is much to be regretted, that for several of the preceding years no fabric Roll has been found exhibiting
the regular progress of the new Choir ; but from the circumstances supplied by this Roll, it may be
safely inferred that the new Choir was rendered perfectly ready for the roof this year (1398), and that the
masons were preparing to advance with the battlements and other external ornaments, whilst the la-
bourers were much employed in taking the general scaffold carefully down, and arranging it in the order
of regular store.
The inventory of stores is an object of much importance in showing the completion of the principal
walls of the first-built portion of the new Choir ; for it would be only on such an occasion as the striking
of a general scaffold, that an inventory of the various items could possibly be accurately obtained : and
the making of such an inventory was an act, not merely of curiosity, but one highly necessary ; for it not
only showed the amount of stores and their estimated value, but gave a knowledge of the state and con-
dition of the various items previous to their being applied to any new purpose.
The inventory also proves to be an object of the greatest importance in showing the state of the old
Tower and Choir at this period ; for the memorandums in the inventory prove that the old Bell Tower
existed and held some of the stores, whilst the following items from the expenditure show that there
was no idea of the Tower coming shortly down : — " Expended in amending the large Bell Tower, by
John Plummer, for one month, seven days and a half, 15s. 9d.; and in wages to a servant to the said
John, for twenty-two days, at Ad. per day, 7s. Ad."
The inventory not only shows that the old Bell Tower existed, but that the Crypts were used as
places for heavy stores, particularly mortar. That the Cross was yet standing at the entrance of the
old Choir, under the Bell Tower ; that much timber had been procured suitable for the roof ; that much
glass had been obtained to glaze the windows of the new Choir ; and that the Church provided a kiln and
other necessaries for the glass stainers, with much of other important information. The inventory, so
far as it could be obtained, is as follows : —
" Memorandums of the Stores remaining belonging to the fabric placed upon the Compotus the 7th day of January
1399, with their value.
" Items in the Loge. — In primis in the ' Loge ' (Mason's work shop), in the cemetery at York, 69 ' Staneaxis,' 1 1 large
'Kevell,' 2 96 iron ' Chissielles,' 24 f Mallietez ' bound with iron, 400 iron 'Fourmers,' 3 4 lead 'Chargiours'
(Dishes) 4 for moulds, 2 ' Tracyngboards,' 1 iron ' Compas,' 1 little 'Hatchet/ 1 < Handsagh,' 1 'Chovel,' 1 'Whel-
barwe,' and 1 iron Kake, 2 ' Boketts,' with cords at the well for the same, 1 great 1 Kerr,' with 4 wheels for the
stones, 2 ' Kerres ' with wheels, for the carrying of stones without the Loge, 4 iron ' Weges,' and 1 iron
' Colrake.'
" In the Crypts. — Items in the ' Cruddes ' 5 (Crypts) j 6 ' Stanehamers,' 6 « Troweles,' 6 large £ Settyngchisiles/
1 . . . . hound with iron for making the mortar. Item, 3 1 Cretes ' 6 bound with iron, with chains for winding
1 Staneaxis, stanhaxs, stonehacks. 2 ^ verv ] ar g e hammer, generally of iron.
3 *' Fourmers," or Formers, are small tools used in forming the surface of a lump of clay into a model to work from.
4 Dishes in which was formed the clay moulds or models : aids seemingly very much used by the carvers.
5 " Cruddes," " Crowds," or " Croudes," — " A goodly well in the Crowds." Regist. V c. 152 b. William of Worcester calls
the crypts of old St. Paul's, " the Croudes." Itinerary, p. 201. See also Dugdale's St. Paul's Cathedral, p. 75.
6 Panniers or tubs bound with iron.
199
stones — 1 Measure for measuring plaster. Item, 9 ' Fattez ' for the water and plaster. Item, 1 Measure for
measuring lime. Item, 3 iron ' Pykes.' Item, 10 ' Beringbarwes/ and 2 ' Wkelbarwes.' Item, 1 large 'Rota' 1
for winding stones and mortar, with 4 large ' Cabels.' Item, 160 ' Flekes.' 2 Item, 12 mets of Sand.
" Carpenter's Instruments. — Item, 4 large ' Pulez' of brass. Item, 1 pair of ' Pulez,' with 6 shives. Item, little
Pulez and 5 ' Handrapes.' Item, 1 1 Wrightax.' Item, 2 iron ' Dignelles.' 3 Item, 1 large Ladder, and 4 other small
weak Ladders, and 6 Hausors.
"Iron. — Item, 619 stones, 4 pounds of Iron, price 26s. Od.
"In the Plumber's Shop. — Item, there remains 5 Fothers of Lead in store, price £23. 6s. 8c?. ; 1 great iron 'Balke'
with the scales, and 32 stones and 9 pounds of lead in weights. Item, 2 pounds of f Tyn,' price 6c?. Item, 1 Plane of
brass, price 12d. Item, 2 ' Soudyngirons,' and 1 iron Helme, price 4c?. Item, 1 £ Wodax,' price 6d. ; 1 ' Scomor,' 4
with 1 'podyngiren;' 5 1 < Tynne ;' 1 c Ckane' with 2 'Heftes,' and 1 ' Chixill,' and 1 pair of 'Tenell,' price 18rf.
Item, 2 new spoons, and 1 old spoon, price 3s. 4c?. Item, 2 Ladders of 'Fyrr,' price 12c?. Sum total £24. 4s. 10c?.
" In the Bell Tower. — Item, remaining in the Bell Tower, 1 Wheel for wynding the lead and mortar. Item, 205
pounds of Bell-metal for Bells, price £2. lis. Oic?. Item, 1 large Cable, and 1 lesser Cable, price 10s. 0c?. Sum
total £3. Is. 0^c?.
" In the Glazier's Shop. — Item, remaining 1,675 (pieces) of white Glass, bought for the large window of the new
Choir, price each 100, 20s., total £18. 8s. 6c?. Item, 700 (pieces) of coloured Glass, bought for the same, price of
each 100, 10s., total £3. 10s. 0c?. Item, 1 fragment of Glass of old colours, price 12c?. Item, 40 panells of Glass of
little value, price 6s. 8c/. Item, 45 weak bars of Iron for the windows, price 22|c?. Item, 3 ' Patellis' for annealing
(enelyng) the glass. Item, 8 ' Barrez' for the same, 4s. 6 Item, 2 ' Soudyngirens,' 1 pair of ' Clams/ and 1 pair of
'Tanges,' price 3s. Item, 2 large .... ' Fyrbygbordes.' Sum total £22. 17s. 4c?.
" Stones at York. — Item, 172 Fothers of Stones, not worked, estimated at the price of £17. 0s. 0e?.
" Instruments at (the quarry) at Stapleton. — Item, 9 iron ' Weges,' weighing 92 pounds. Item, 10 Weges of iron
weighing 100 pounds. Item, 9 iron Weges, weighing 100 pounds. Item, 2 iron ' Mallietez,' 3 iron ' Gavelokes,'
2 iron ' Kerrs,' 4 ' ,' 5 pulleys, weighing 200 pounds. Sum of the iron as above, 23s. 6c?. in the above
keeping."
(At some other quarry, probably Thevesdale.) "Item, 12 iron Weges, 2 iron Mallietez, 4 ' Pulyngaxis,'
4 { Brocheaxis,' 4 Gavelokes, 12 Shovells. Item, at the same place, 8 Rods of Oaks. Sum total £27. 15s. 2c?.
" Nothing remained in the close this year.
" Timber. — Item, there remains 14 large Trees bought at SpofForth, of the Earl of Northumberland, price £12. 0s. Od.
besides costs. Item, 24 large Trees bought of Sir William Fitz William, knight, price £10. 0s. 0c?., besides costs.
Item, 120 large ' Sperrez,' bought of William Wakefield of Pontefract, price £18. 0s. 0c?., besides costs. Item, 70
large Sperrez, given to the fabric by the said Northumberland, 7 price £17. 0s. 0c?., besides costs. Item, 3 large
Trees to come from Cottenbrek, price £3. 0s. 0c?. Item, 18 large Trees for ' Scaffaldyng,' price 9s. Od. Item, 500
other small Trees with ' Sapplynges,' £2. 10s. Od. Sum total £66. 0s. 0c?.
" Necessary Articles in the Church. — Item, remaining in the Church, 1 Veil for the Cross under the Bell Tower,
worth 25s. 6c/. Item, 1 Ved for the Cross in the south part of the Church, worth 6s. 8c?. Item, 1 piece of lead
weighing 13 stone, for the Lenten veil, worth 4s. 4c?. Item, 2 weights for the clock, weighing 22 stone, 7s. 4c?. Sum
total £2. 3s. 10c?.
" Sum total of the Stores remaining, with the appraised worth, beside the tools of the masons and carpenters, and
others not appraised, £147. 8s. l\d"
1 Rota, a Wheel ; but evidently intended for the winding machine termed a Crab, or a Windlass.
2 Flekes, probably Hurdles for a fence " for the scaffolds." Fabric Rolls of 1421, 1423, and 1479.
8 Probably drawing bolts or pins. 4 A scumming ladle. ft An iron rod to stir the melting metal with.
6 These items belong to the necessary accommodation for the stainers or painters of glass.
7 The discovery of this and other fabric Rolls since page 50 was printed, rather contradicts what is there stated, by proving that
the Percys were occasionally both sellers and givers of timber for the fabric.
200
Thomas de Dalby, Archdeacon of Richmond, Canon Residentiary in the Church of St. Peter of York,
and Prebendary of the Prebend of Thokeryngton, by his will, dated 16th of May 1400, bequeaths his
body to be buried in the Cathedral Church of York, near the middle of the nave of the Church. He
likewise bequeaths to the fabric of the said Church forty pounds : he also wills and prepares for the
founding of a Chantry for himself and others, in the Cathedral : he likewise bequeaths four hundred
pounds towards the support of five additional Choristers in the Choir, in order that the number of
Choristers might always be twelve, as thus appears : —
" Likewise I bequeath and appoint for a Chantry for ever, to be founded in the said Church, for my soul and the
soul of the Lord Thomas Arundel, late Archbishop of York, when he shall have departed this life, and the souls of
Richard Asty, and Isabella his wife, and their children, and of Sir Philip de Beauchamp, and of all the faithful
departed, to the value of twelve marks yearly, — 400 pounds. Likewise I bequeath and ordain, for the augmentation
of the number of the Choristers in the said Church, for five Choristers, so that the whole number shall be twelve,
and that each of these five shall have one penny per day, so that these five to be newly appointed may be on the same
footing with the other Choristers, as respects whatsoever proceeds are to be received, as well as in respect of victuals
and clothing: which sum of pence amounts by the year to £7. lis. Sd. ; — 300 pounds if my effects suffice (thereto).
And in the event that my lords and brethren, the Canons of the Church of York aforesaid, constituting a Chapter,
should cause any difficulty in agreeing or compounding for the founding of a Chantry, and (increasing) the number
of the Choristers, — then I will that the aforesaid sums, both for the appointment (foundation) of a Chantry and for
the augmentation of the Choristers above expressed, be bestowed in some other manner for the health of my soul,
according as to them (my executors) it shall seem most expedient." 1
The Chapter of the Church appears to have complied with the pious request of the Archdeacon by
increasing the number of the Choristers according to the will, (after a delay of nearly twenty-five years, 2 )
and by establishing a Chantry, which was placed at the altar of the holy virgins and martyrs Agatha,
Lucy, and Scholastica, 3 founded for the soul of Eudonis de Punchardon. 4
To assist and accelerate the new works of the fabric, the following exemption from tolls and customs
on the river Ay re was granted by the King : —
" For the Cathedral Church of York.
" Henry, &c. — To all our officers and ministers within our honour of Pontefract and elsewhere, in the county of
York, who now are, or for the time shall be, and to every of them to whom these our Letters shall come, Greeting. —
Whereas we of our especial grace and in work of charity did grant unto our very dear and well-beloved the Dean
and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of York, that they shall hereafter pay no toll nor other custom at the water
of Ayre, nor elsewhere in the said County, for stone which they shall cause to be carried from the quarry of Stapleton
as far as York, for the new works of the said Cathedral Church there, until such time as the said works there shall
be accomplished and performed. We command and charge you, and every of you to whom it pertaineth, that ye do
suffer the aforesaid Dean and Chapter freely to carry from the said quarry of Stapleton as far as York, stone neces-
sary for the aforesaid works until such time as the same new works shall be accomplished and performed, without
taking or levying therefore any toll or other custom to our use, according to the purport and effect of our aforesaid
grant. — In witness whereof, &c. — Given, &c, at our City of York, on the 17th day of July, in the first year of our
reign." 5
1 Regist. B y. fol. 124 b ; also Scrope's Regist. fol. 139.
2 The augmentation was sanctioned and confirmed in a Chapter held on the 7th January 1425. Regist. T b. fol. 128 b.
3 Regist. X b. fol. 152 ; G f. fol. 104 ; G i. fol. 17. 4 See p. 56.
5 Duchy of Lancaster. Registro temp. Hen. IV. fol. 25 b.
201
Richard le Scrope, Knight, and Lord of Bolton (and father of the Archbishop) , by will, dated Monday,
the 2nd day of August 1400, bequeathed for the new work of his Mother the Cathedral Church of
St. Peter at York, £40.'
The Chamberlain's accounts, made from the Feast of Pentecost 1400, to the Feast of St. Martin,
show that the services of the Choir continued to be sumptuously performed, and that there was paid to
the fund for the fabric, " as a subsidy, namely, fourpence in the pound, by the Prelates and Clergy, as
the community of the Chapter, £4. 13s. 4d."
In a large fragment of a fabric Roll, without a date, and in a very ragged condition, which may with
much probability be assigned to the year 1401, Master Hugo Hedon is named as master mason, with
twenty-four masons under his direction ; Robert Downam, as master carpenter, with three men ; John
Plummer, the plumber ; and John Burgh, the glazier. The amount of the fabric fund for the preceding
year is stated at £454. 19s. 0^d. ; burthens and building expenses, £453. 19s. 8d. ; and the remainder
is 19s. A\d.
Among the items of income, Archbishop le Scrope appears to be a benefactor by the donation of
£7. 1 6s. Od. for the support of one mason working at the fabric for the year. The Chapter appears
also to have given to the fabric fund as a subsidy the sum of £11, and the fruits of the Church of
Misterton produced during the year the clear sum of £33. 6s. 8d.
The items of expenditure show that the upper exterior portions of the new Choir were gradually
advancing, for there was " expended in remuneration given to the masons, called setters, at (or on) the
walls, by aprons and gloves, for the year, 9s. lOd."
The stores possessed by the Church on the 7th of January 1 399 show that much large timber had
been procured, probably for the central roof ; and it is further probable that the sawyers and carpenters
had gradually proceeded towards the completion of the said roof, and that if it was not now fixed on the
walls, it was nearly prepared for that purpose by the four carpenters usually employed ; and the present
Roll shows that the masters of the fabric had, during the past year, been providing for the advancement
of the covering of the new roof with lead, for they increased, by the subjoined items, their store of lead
to about 3,000 stones, 2 tin for about 100 pounds of solder, and got ready nearly 5,000 lead-nails, —
a preparation that certainly implies an extra undertaking — for John the plumber, who had alone been
working at the fabric during the past year.
" Expended in 7 fother of lead, bought of Henry del Bakehouse, of Wenslaw, for each fother £4. 10*.,
total, £31. 10s. : and in 4 fother and 94 pounds of lead, bought of William Fallan, of Ripon, for each fother,
£4*. lis. Sd., total £20. 3s. 10d.: and in carriage of the same by water from 'Burbrigg' unto ' Saynt Leonard's
Landyngs/ 9*. Od. : and in 4 stone of lead, bought of Master Richard Blakeburn, 2s. 3d. : and in 36 pounds of
bought for soldering, 6s. 9d. : and in 18 pounds of tin bought for soldering, 4s. 6d. : and in weighing the
lead bought of the said Henry del Bakehouse and William Fallan, by Robert Ripon, with wine given to the same at
times, 5s. 4d. : and in 4,900 of lead-nails bought for 10s. 4d. : and in payment to John Harpham Smith, for making
375 pounds of iron into ' barrez' and bands, 15s. Od."
The Chamberlain's accounts, made from the Feast of St. Martin 1400, to the Feast of Pentecost
1403, exhibit the usual attendance of ministers in the Choir, and the frequent purchasing of linen, the
making of albs, and the repairing of various ornaments belonging to the Church. And it is recorded,
1 Scrope's Regist. fol. 142.
2 The central roof now under consideration, from actual measurement and calculation, would require about 4,400 stones of lead.
2 K
202
that on the 10th day of the month of August, in the latter year, the Archbishop of York celebrated
High Mass at the Great Altar in the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York, in the presence of the
illustrious Prince Henry, by the Grace of God King of England and France, who, at the said High
Mass, and at the accustomed time, offered in gold the sum of 6s. 8gL'
In the will of the Reverend Father in God, Walter Skyrlaw, late Bishop of Durham, dated Friday,
March the 7th, 1403, at his mansion of Aucland, are found the following liberal donations for aiding
the fabric of the Church, and the splendour of the ceremonies performed therein : —
" Also I bequeath 100 marks to the fabric of the Church at York. Also I bequeath to the said Church my whole
suite of vestments embroidered with crowns and stars, to wit, 5 copes, 1 chasuble, 4 tunicles or dalmaticks, a frontal
and subfrontal, with curtains and cloth for the Lecterne ; with the albs, amices, stoles, and maniples appertaining,
bought in London for 120 marks. Provided always, that the Canons Residentiary be friendly and favourable to the
Executors in the execution of my will." 2
The following donation shows, that generally, if not always, the stone for the fabric, obtained from
the quarry of Thevesdale, was conveyed by vessels down the River Wharf and then up the Ouse, whence
it was delivered, probably, at Saint Leonard's landings : — " William Barker, of Tadcaster, by will dated
October the 22nd, 1403, bequeathed to the fabric of the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Peter of
York, the carriage by water of one shipfull of stone." 3
It is very probable that most of the windows in the side aisles of the eastern portion of the new Choir
were by this time glazed ; and that at the east end of the south aisle, either a station had been prepared for
the Chantry of the Holy Innocents, or the altar had already been replaced, as founded and endowed for the
health of the soul of Lord William de Melton, formerly Archbishop of York, and the souls of William
and Robert de Pykering, Deans of the Church ; 4 also, that in the north aisle a similar station had either
been prepared, or the ancient altar of St. Stephen had been duly restored for the use of the Chantry
ordained thereat, for the benefit of the souls of Lord Walter Grey, formerly Archbishop, and William
de Langton, Dean of the Church of York. 5
Stephen le Scrope, first Lord of Masham, by will, dated the day after the Epiphany of our Lord, a.d.
1405, desired his body might be interred in apart of the new works, namely, in the middle of the
Chantry Chapel of St. Stephen, but below the steps ; and this request, which was complied with, pro-
bably caused the first interment in the new works, and was the beginning of the family sepulture, and
ultimately of the Scrope's Chantry at St. Stephen's Altar. The extracts from the will are as follows : —
" In the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, amen : I Stephen, Lord le Scrop of Massham, being of
sound mind and good memory, on the day after the Epiphany of our Lord, a.d. 1405, do make my testament in this
wise. In the first place, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God, to the Blessed Mary, and to all the Saints ; and my
body to be buried in the Cathedral Church of St. Peter of York ; to wit, in the new work, (in novo opere,) that is to say,
in that part in the middle of the Chapel before the steps of the altar of St. Stephen. Likewise, I will, that on the day
of my burial, a black pall with a white cross may be placed over my corpse, and one wax light at my head, and another
at my feet, each of them of three pounds of wax, without any other Herse (' Arcea') 6 Likewise, I bequeath
1 Scrope's Regist. fol. 8. 2 Regist. Sede Vacante, Prerog. Court, fol. 307. 3 Regist. B fol. 134 b.
4 Sec p. 133. 5 Regist. X a. fol. 36 b.
6 " Arcea," or Hearse, a standing frame-work placed sometimes over tombs with prickets (made like a harrow — hercia) to receive
lights or furniture. See specimens in Pugin's Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume, pp. 140, 143.
203
to the new work of the Cathedral Church of York, 20 marks. Likewise, I bequeath my small cross of gold, that it
may be offered thereat for a remembrance on the day of my burial." 1
Archbishop Richard le Scrope, who had been induced to own submission to Henry IV., though he
regarded him as an usurper, indignant at the treatment and cruel death of the deposed king, and at
various acts of tyranny and mismanagement in the government, readily joined in a conspiracy with the
Earl of Northumberland, and other nobles. The conspiracy was broken up by the artifices of the Earl
of Westmoreland ; and the Archbishop being ensnared by him, was accused of treason, and sentenced to
be beheaded. The sentence was executed without delay, on the 8th of June 1405, in a field between
York and Bishop thorp, and his body was buried between the most eastern pillars on the north side of
the new Choir, and on the south side of St. Stephen's chapel. 2
From the evidence of previous fabric Rolls, there is reason to infer that the Archbishop was an annual
benefactor to the fabric ; and the manner of his death, as subsequent fabric Rolls will show, proved very
beneficial to the building fund. The Church seems to have handed to posterity several of the events
connected with his lamentable death, among the sculptures of the capitals of the piers of the north
aisle of the subsequently-erected portion of the Choir." 3
The Chamberlain's accounts, made from the Feast of Pentecost, to the Feast of St. Martin 1405,
contain the following items concerning the making of three Thuribules for the Choir : — " Paid to Geuyn,
Goldsmyght of Stayngate, for making chains and gilding them, with the workmanship of three Thuri-
bules. In primis, for 26 ounces of silver received for the said Thuribules, beside the old chains, price
each ounce 2s. 8d. = £2. 16s. \0d. Item, also for the making of windows in the said Thuribules, with
chains and clausura for the windows, together with gold and gilding the same, £4. 3s. 5d." 4
The inventory of stores possessed by the Church at the end of the year 1398 show that the masters
of the fabric, even at that time, had procured a large store of glass for the great east window, and now
that the new portion of the fabric was about ready for its reception, an Indenture was made between the
Dean and Chapter, and John Thornton of Coventry, glazier, for the painting and superintending thereof.
The Church seems to possess no memorandum of the Indenture, therefore the following is from an
entry made in the Harl. MS. 5
" Indenture between the Dean and Chapter of York, and John Thornton of Coventry, glazier, for the glazing of
the great window in the east gable of the Choir of the Cathedral Church of York, which he shall complete the work
1 Regist. Magno libra, Sede Vacante, ad 1297 ad 1554, fol. 313.
2 The tomb of Archbishop le Scrope is not marked by a referential letter in the plan, Plate I., but the situation of the tomb is
given.
3 See a larger account of the cause and manner of the Archbishop's death in the description of the plates of the Choir.
4 Thuribules or Censers are vessels varying in form, wherein is placed charcoal on fire, upon which is strewed incense, the fumes
whereof ascend through the various perforated windows or apertures in the cover, and are more profusely distributed by the vessel
being swung by the attached chains ; but Mr. Raine in his North Durham, in his explanation of the term " Thuribulum," and also
of the words " N avis pro encense," thus erroneously proceeds : " The Thuribulum might possibly be the small casket or box in which
the frankincense was ordinarily kept ; but at all events the Navis pro encense was the Censer itself, the small ship-shaped vessel
which contained the embers into which the incense was cast, and which was forthwith, by the aid of a chain or cord, swung into
such rapid motion that the cinders were re-kindled, and the fragrance found its way into every corner of the Church." — Part I. p. 98.
5 In Mr. Torre's MS. of York Minster, fol. 7, the Register G y. fol. 96, or the acts of the Chapter from 1390 to 1410, is re-
ferred to, as containing a copy of the Indenture : but the Register is now lost, — a circumstance much to be regretted, as, not this
Indenture alone, but others, might have been found in it, very serviceable in the History of the fabric of the Church.
2 K 2
204
of within three years from the beginning of the said work ; and he shall pourtray the said window with his own
hand, and the histories, images, and other things to be painted on the same ; and he shall also paint the same as
necessary, according to the ordinance of the Dean and Chapter. And the aforesaid John shall also provide glass and
lead, and the workmen, at the expense of the Chapter, for the convenience of the Dean and Chapter, in the same
manner as he would work if the like had to be done at his own cost and charges, whereunto he shall take his
bodily oath. And the said John shall receive of the Dean and Chapter, for every week wherein he shall work in his
art during the said three years, four shillings, and each year of the same three years five pounds sterling, and after
the work is completed ten pounds for his reward. Dated at York, the 10th day of December, a.d. 1405." 1
After the death of Archbishop le Scrope, the See of York remained vacant until Henry Bowet, Bishop
of Bath and Wells, was translated to it in 1406, who had the temporalities restored during the same
year, 2 but, according to Rymer, on the 1st of December 1407, 3 and on the 9th of the same month was
installed in person, in the Cathedral Church, by William Kexby, Precentor. 4
Agnus de Kyrkton, of York, by will, dated 6th of March 1407, bequeathed to the fabric of the Church
of Blessed Peter of York, five marks of silver. 5 Also John Awstyn, carpenter, of York, by will, dated
10th of March 1407, bequeathed to the new works of the Cathedral Church of Blessed Peter of York,
all his " polys " of brass. 6
The zeal of several members of the Chapter for the acceleration of the fabric of the Church, now
urged them to take some more determined steps for the augmentation of the fabric fund ; and accord-
ingly, on the 14th day of December, a.d. 1407, the venerable John de Newton, treasurer, Thomas Wal-
worth, William Waltham, and Thomas Haxey, Canons Residentiary, assembled in Chapter in the Chapter-
house, and decreed that a convocation should be made of their absent brethren, and of all and singular
holders of benefices in the said Church, on Monday the 23rd day of January next ensuing, of and concern-
ing the repair of the defects (defectum) of the said Church, with other matters which might be brought
forward for due counsel and consideration, with the consent of the lord ordinary, of the which decree
citations were affixed on the stalls of the Choir in the presence of witnesses. On Monday the 23rd of
January 1408, the aforesaid prelates and others assembled in the Chapter-house at the accustomed
Capitular hour, and there forming a Chapter, which was publicly announced, as was customary, at the
door of the Chapter-house ; and also, showing a sufficient power, the said lords, from their certain
knowledge, and for necessary and suitable reasons, did adjourn the said Convocation unto Monday the
7th day of March next ensuing, with a continuance, if required. 7
The deferring of the consideration of the wants of the fabric, and the other objects for which the
Convocation was cited, might probably arise from some intimation having been given, that it was the
Archbishop's intention immediately to exert his pontifical power for the benefit of the building fund ;
for, on the 26th day of the same month, he issued the following persuasive and explanatory address,
and the accompanying relaxation from penance, in aid of the fabric of the Church at York : —
" Indulgence for the fabric of the Church of York, with a declaration of other privileges.
" Henry, &c, to our beloved sons, our Archdeacons and their officials, and to all and sundry Abbots, Priors, Pro-
vosts, Deans, Rectors, Vicars, and Chaplains, parochial or others whomsoever, celebrating divine mysteries, whereso-
1 Harl. MS. 6971, p. 238. 2 1 Pat. 7 Hen. IV. m. 8. Vide Calendarium Rotulorvm patentium.
3 The Foedera Ang., torn. viii. p. 503, refers to 1 Pat. 9 Hen. IV. m. 15 ; but this reference is in accordance neither with the
entries in the Calendarium, nor with the Registers of the Church.
4 Torre's MS. p. 465. 5 Regist. By. fol. 151. 6 Regist. B y. fol. 145. 7 Regist. Ty. fol. 41.
205
ever established throughout our city, diocese aud province, whether in places exempt or non-exempt. Health, grace
and benediction.
" The unspeakable mercy of God, inclosed by no limits, comprehended by no boundaries, out of whose wonderful
mildness and sweetness, remedies for the sick, solace for the languishing, and remission of sins for the guilty, are
acknowledged most plentifully to flow, doth by the divers gifts of indulgences, as if attracting them by certain
enticements, invite, receive, cherish, and put in possession of their heavenly country all persons who devoutly implore
its grace. "Whereas, therefore, the most Holy Church of York, your Mother and Metropolitan (Church), over which,
by the appointment of the Most High, we preside, and whereunto are inseparably espoused by affectionate attach-
ment ; which is reckoned a distinguished Church among the other renowned and celebrated metropolitan Churches
of the world, and moreover doth glitter and shine forth in beauty through the many and abundant apostolical privi-
leges and indulgences granted to her, not only by very ancient Pontiffs of the Most Holy Roman Church, and other
Holy Fathers, but also by our most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord Gregory XII., by divine Providence
the reigning Pope : to wit, (an Indulgence) of eleven years and one hundred and twenty days, to remain in force to
all times, granted by the aforesaid most ancient Fathers ; and an Indulgence of seven years, and seven periods of
forty days each, to be in force for the space often years, charitably granted in the Lord to all benefactors of the said
Church ; (the which Indulgences we desire) shall be declared and openly published by that discreet person Master
Thomas Semar, rector of the mediety of the Church of Thweng, our and the said Church's messenger and procurator
specially deputed in this matter ; and by other persons (as) the substitutes of the said Thomas, wheresoever and to
whomsoever it shall seem expedient : and unto which on this account, (i.e. of these Indulgences,) both the Nobles
and Commons deservedly bear a singular devotion. And whereas the said Church, in order to its being duly and
uniformly completed, with God's help, in accordance with its excellence and dignity and its very splendid and most
costly structure, necessarily demandeth and unavoidably requireth the help of the faithful of Christ, and especially of
her own grateful children, the which is highly necessarily and in many wise available for this object. We, being
desirous that in our days, by the permission of the Most High, our aforesaid Church be becomingly and magnificently
repaired, do beseech you all, and do exhort you in the bowels of Christ, and by the sprinkling of his blood, immolated
for the redemption of his most Holy Church, not the less strongly enjoining you for the remission of your sins, that
ye show yourselves with filial affection, munificent, liberal, and easy to be entreated in regard of the restoration and
repair of the above-mentioned Church. We, also, and our beloved sons and brethren, the Dean and Canons of the
said Church, do effectually lend our helping hands thereunto. Moreover, trusting in the mercy of God, and of the
glorious Virgin Mary his mother, and of his Apostles, the blessed Peter and Paul ; and in the authority and conces-
sion of the Holy Archbishops of the said Church, and our patrons, whose names it is certain are alike well known
in the Church militant and triumphant ; and by the evidence of their sanctity are glorious in majesty, do grant by
these presents, unto all persons being truly contrite, and confessed benefactors of the said Church, contributing,
according to the measure of their choice and devotion, so often as they shall think fit to do so with a pious intention,
for each time forty days of indulgence."
" We will, moreover, and do strictly enjoin and charge you, that our present letter be expounded, published, and
wholly carried into due execution, in all and sundry the articles contingent or consequent upon or concerning the
same, by our messengers aforesaid, wheresoever and whensoever it shall to them seem expedient or in anywise conve-
nient, notwithstanding any other letter of ours hereafter to be issued, of the same contents or tenor. We, moreover,
in virtue of your obedience, and under penalty of excommunication, strictly enjoin and charge you all and singular as
aforesaid, unto whom this our present letter shall come, and who shall receive the same, that ye do all and singular,
as by the debt of filial gratitude ye are bound, study diligently and effectually to further the business of the aforesaid
fabric with your parishioners, preferably to all other collectors. And, whatever (sum) shall be collected amongst you
for the work of the said fabric, ye shall cause to be entirely paid over and delivered unto our aforesaid procurator or
messenger, or to his substitute, without any hindrance whatsoever. Given at our castle of Cawod, the 26th day of
January, a.d. 1408, and of our translation the second." 1
1 Bowet's Regist., part, prim., fol. 290. — "Be it remembered, that on the same day, place, and year above written, the like
206
On the 7th of March (1408), being the day to which the Chapter of the 23rd of January adjourned
their deliberation on the damages or defects of the Church and other matters, there being assembled in the
Chapter-House Master John de Newton, the treasurer, and others, who being mutually gathered together
and making a Chapter, and having among themselves held a diligent consultation of and concerning the
remedies to be applied, at length coming together, by an unanimous consent, did decree as follows : —
That " by the unanimous consent of all and singular the Canons, both of those there present and of those appearing
by their procurators having authority (from them) in this matter, did decree, ordain, and unanimously grant two
entire tenths of all and singular dignities and prebends of the said Church, to be paid at the terms underwritten,
to wit, the half of one tenth at the Feast of Pentecost next ensuing, and the other half at the Feast of St. Martin
then next following ; and the remaining tenth within the two years then next following, yearly, at the terms above
written, by equal portions, for the repair of the fabric of the Church aforesaid." 1
John of Coventry, having agreed with the Dean and Chapter to paint and complete the great east
window within the term of three years from the time of his beginning the said work, and the agreement
having been made so late in the year 1405 as the 10th of December, it is not very probable that he could
or would seriously commence during that month, but in the beginning of the following year ; therefore
it is to be inferred that the large east window was completed during the early part of the year 1409, and
that preparations were then progressing for the placing of altars beneath or near the said window, espe-
cially the altar of St. John the Evangelist, 2 and also an altar to Holy Mary. 3
The Archbishop, in his zeal for the welfare of his charge, and the progress of the fabric of the Church
of York, on the 13th day of March 1408, admonished the Dean and Chapter that he intended to hold
a visitation of them in the Chapter-House at York, on Thursday, the 9th of May next ensuing ; accord-
ingly, letters of citation, dated 13th of March, were affixed to the stalls of each and every Canon in the
Choir, enjoining the said Canons that they should be present at the visitation : which convocation
assembled on the 9th of May, and continued by prorogation. On the 13th of the same month there
were exhibited by the Chapter, to the Archbishop, certain articles, (ten in number,) among which were
the following : —
" Sixth, For hastening the fabric of the Church of York, and for removing hinderances by collectors and others."
" Tenth, That all persons holding dignities or prebends be compelled to restore their residences within a certain
time to be reasonably fixed, taking into consideration the very urgent necessity of the fabric of the Church, and the
contribution of the same." 4
Thus it appears that an anxious desire was existing for the advancement of the fabric, now, it is pro-
bable, ready for its principal vault or ceiling ; and although a Chapter had decreed subsidies for the
preceding and present years, yet more serious deliberations were needful and highly beneficial for the
future progress of the structure. The consequence of the exhibition is not recorded.
Master William de Kexby, precentor, by will, dated 1 1th day of February 1409, gave to the fabric of
Blessed Peter 40s he also gave and bequeathed the Epistols of St. Paul expounded, to the Library
commissions were issued unto Master William Stalwvn, Vicar of the parish Church of Gygleswyk ; Master John Abell and Master
John Seggesfeld, Chaplains of Gysburn and of Zarum ; and to Master William Hyne, Chaplain .... And they were drawn up in
the form aforesaid." — Ibid. fol. 290 b.
1 Regist. T y. fol. 41. 2 See page 59.
3 See page 189. 4 Regist. X b. fol. 2 b.
207
of the Church of the said Blessed Peter. 1 Thomas Walworth, Canon Residentiary, also by will, dated
August the 1st, 1409, bequeathed to the fabric of the Church of York twenty pounds. 2
The zeal that animated the Archbishop in visiting the Dean and Chapter, in the month of May, now
extended to the Chapter, who determined on holding a visitation of the Parsons, Vicars, and other
Ministers, in the Church of York; accordingly, on the 19th of November 1409, notice was given that
the Chapter would hold a visitation of the said persons on the Thursday next ensuing, (on the 21st of
November,) and the two following days, with prorogation, which, extending to the 14th of December,
the following schedule of defects in the duties of the Vicars in the Choir was exhibited : —
" Firstly, the lights about the High Altar are lighted too late, and put out too early, on double feasts and those of
nine lessons.
" Also, the lights are not lighted in the Choir at masses for the anniversaries of the dead, as they ought.
" Also, it was the ancient custom of the Church of York that some one of those ministering in the Choir in the
choral habit should attend to the lights about the High Altar.
" Also, the Vicars celebrating at the High Altar, and the Rectors of the Choir, use wooden sandals (or shoes), con-
trary to the dignity of the Church.
" Also, the cloths lying before the High Altar are not cleansed as they were wont to be, and need renewal and
repair." 3
The progress of the fabric yet requiring extra support, a convocation was made by Lord John Prophete,
the Dean, and the Chapter of the Cathedral Church, and by others concerned therein, which commenced
in the Chapter-House on the 27th day of June 1411, and continued by prorogation until the 28th day
of July ; when, after many things had been duly considered and determined, it was recorded : —
" That the said Dean and Chapter, by the unanimous consent and assent of those wbo were present, and of the
proxies on behalf of the lords their brethren, who were absent, did grant one whole tenth of all and every the dignities
and prebends of the said Church, to be paid, to wit, one moiety at the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
next ensuing, and another at the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin then next following, in equal por-
tions, to the fabric of the said Cathedral Church." 4
But, although the Archbishop, the Dean, and the Chapter generally, were zealously desirous to acce-
lerate the progress of the fabric, yet it appears there were some persons connected with the Church that
were lukewarm and careless respecting its advancement, and therefore a very interesting and important
declaration was made by the Canons in residence, by their Proctor, to the Lords holding a Chapter on
the 18th day of December 141 1, in order that a correctional monition might be deliberately enjoined.
Part of the declaration is as follows : —
"The Venerable Masters William Cawod, Stephen le Scrop, and Richard del Pittes, Canons Residentiary in the
Church of York, being in their great canonical residence, and being desirous, according to their ability, to bring to the
desired completion the costly fabric of the said Church, begun upon a noble and admirable plan, (honorifico et
mirifico tabulatu,) did of their own accord grant a certain notable sum of money to be devoted solely to the use of
the said fabric, and did actually contribute the same .... But (that) a certain Master Robert Fcryby, pretending
1 Regist. By. fol. 154.
2 Ibid. fol. 152. Probably to commemorate this donation to the fabric, the arms of Walworth (or Wallewerth) were placed,
when circumstances permitted, in one of the clerestory windows of the new western portion of the Choir. This Thomas was pro-
bably brother to Sir William Walworth, or Walleworth, the famous Lord Mayor of London.
3 Regist. X b. fol. 2 b. 4 Regist. X b. fol. 35 b.
«
208
to be a subchantor of the Vicars-Choral, and (himself) a Vicar of the said Church of York, as it appeareth, hath
greater care for the gorging of his own big belly than for the solemn sustentation of the said Church of York, having
no inclination to sing with the Prophet, who saith : " Domine dilexi decorem domus tuse, et locum habitationis gloria?
tuse," but caring more about getting food than about the polished stones of the sanctuary, more about draining
goblets than about erecting the pillars of the Church, more about feasting and drunkenness than the venerable
beauty of the fabric aforesaid, more about the poisonous gratification of his carcase than the health of his soul,"
&c. &C 1
It is very probable that some individuals connected with the Chapter, and very zealous for the pro-
gress of the fabric of the Church, had borrowed for its advancement the sum of £250, with which debt
the Dean and Chapter generally felt uneasy, as it seems they were liable, and probably unable, to dis-
charge the same ; and they knowing that the Archbishop was animated with a lively zeal for the acce-
leration of the fabric, that he liberally assisted with his episcopal power and munificent supplies of
timber, presumed to supplicate his Lordship for protection, in the following manner : —
" The Chapter writes to the Lord Henry, Archbishop of York (as follows) : —
" Most Reverend Father and Lord, — Premising all due reverence and honour, the Dean and Chapter of your Church
of York, having regard to the weighty concerns wherewith you are burthened; considering also with how great
cheerfulness, at the beginning of your elevation (to the See), you did contribute trees and timber in large quantity to
the great furtherance of the said fabric ; and whereas we confidently hope that the said fabric will, during your time,
not only prosper, but, by God's favour and your help, be happily and speedily completed, have resolved that the
bonds entered into of and concerning the sum of £250, borrowed of certain persons, the friends of Sir Robert Halom,
now Bishop of Sarum, be delivered unto you ; also, that this act, which proceedeth only from our free will, be
not drawn into a precedent, custom, or example, and that the aforesaid Dean and Chapter be effectually defended
by your paternal authority against all persons who shall presume to disquiet or vex them on occasion hereof. Written
at York, the 20th day of August." 2
From the evidence of the Registers, it appears that it was a very general custom to remember, among
the objects of wills and testaments, the High Altar of the Cathedral Church, and to bequeath thereunto
some sum of money ; but now that the present expenses and prospective wants to establish a new
and splendid Altar became more and more apparent, henceforth we find munificent aids bequeathed
for the support and adornment of that essential object. Thus, " William Stalwyn (or Stalmyn), Vicar
of the parish Church of Gygillwyk (or Gygeleswyk), by will, dated 8th of October 1412, bequeathed
for the ordering and fabric of the High Altar of St. Peter of York, for his soul, and for the soul of
Master John de Waltham, and for the souls of all his benefactors, living and dead, twenty pounds." 3
The Archbishop having formed a design for founding a Chantry in the Cathedral Church, at the east
end of the south aisle or ambulatory of the Choir (see b, Plate I.), where it is supposed the Altar of the
Holy Innocents 4 and the Chantry of St. Ninian, either formerly or at that time stood; 5 and having obtained
permission of the Dean and Chapter, and license from the King, to carry the same intention into effect,
1 Regist. Xb. fol. 46.
2 No date is affixed to this letter, but it may be safely referred to about the period where placed, as Halom, or Hallam, was
Bishop of Sarum from June 1408 to September 1417. The letter is extracted from Regist. Tb. fol. 127.
3 Regist. By. fol. 163 b. 4 See page 34.
5 After the close of the fourteenth century it was common, according to the Registers of the Church, to have an altar, bearing
different titles, agreeable to the name of the favourite Saint mentioned in the ordination of the Chantries celebrated by the various
special Chaplains at that Altar.
209
he sent a written notice, dated at Cawood, the 24th of December 1413, to the Dean and Chapter, in order
that the same might be regularly confirmed ; which act proceeds thus in record : —
" Confirmation of the ordinance of two Chaplains founded for the soul of the Reverend Father in Christ, the Lord
Henry Bowet.
" Unto all children of Holy Mother Church who shall see these presents, the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of
St. Peter of York (the Dean thereof heing in foreign parts) wish everlasting health in the Lord, and that un-
douhting faith be given to these presents. Know ye, that we have held in our hands, seen, and inspected, a letter of
the Reverend Father in Christ, the Lord Henry, by the grace of God, Archbishop of York, Primate of England,
and Legate of the Apostolic See, whereof the contents are in every respect as followeth : —
" In the name of God, Amen. We, Henry Bowet, by divine permission, Archbishop of York, Primate of
England, and Legate of the Apostohc See, considering by assiduous meditation that amongst other works of charity
there is none which shineth forth more effectually to the praise of our Saviour than the founding of chantries in his
Church, and establishing therein worthy ministers, who, being provided with necessary sustenance, are thereby
enabled (setting aside the pursuits of this transitory world) to attend with greater quietness to the things which
belong to God, and to render him acceptable service ; and, in remembrance of our Lord's passion, and for the
remedy of human imperfections, to celebrate and consecrate the most adorable sacrament of the body and blood of
our Lord, in the solemn office of the Mass : — Therefore we do, for the praise of the Most High (God) ; for the
glory and honour of the most glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of all the saints ; for the adornment of
our spouse, the most holy Metropolitan Church of York ; and for the augmentation of divine worship, and of
ministers to serve therein for ever ; with the license of our most serene Prince and Lord in Christ, the Lord Henry,
by the grace of God, King of England and France, Fifth after the Conquest j 1 and with the consent and assent of our
beloved sons in Christ, the Dean and Chapter of our said Church, and of all other persons interested in this matter,
erect, create, ordain and found a perpetual Chantry, or two perpetual Chaplaincies of two Chaplains, to cele-
brate (Mass) for ever in our Church aforesaid, at the Altar of All Saints, for our healthful estate whilst we live,
and for our souls after we shall have departed this life ; and for the soul of the Lord Henry, of illustrious and happy
memory, late King of England, Fourth after the Conquest ; and for the estate of the Venerable Father, the Lord
Henry, by the grace of God, Bishop of Winton, and of our beloved son, Richard Pyttes, our Archdeacon of
Cleveland, whilst they live, and for their souls after they shall have departed this life ; and also for the souls of
our father and mother, and of all our benefactors, and of all the faithful departed," &c. &c. " Confirmed by the
Chapter the 23rd day of May 1415." 2
On the 4th of May 1414, Master John de Newton, Treasurer of the Church of St. Peter of York,
by will bequeathed his body to be buried near his predecessors, adding the following munificent donation
for the splendour of the High Altar : — " I give and bequeath to God, and to the Chapter of the Metro-
politan Church of York, three silver basins with gilt rims, " rotis," at the bottom, for the use and support
of three wax candles before the High Altar thereof. Likewise I bequeath to the same Chapter twelve
silver chargers and twelve silver dishes, to be applied solely to the fabric and ornament of the High Altar
in the said Church." 3
The Archbishop having founded and endowed his Chantry of All Saints, 4 in the south aisle of the
Choir, and caused to be prepared a tomb for himself, between the piers on the left hand of the said
Chantry, his beloved Archdeacon of Cleveland, Richard del Pyttes, made his will the 6th day of July
1415, wherein he proceeds thus : — "I give and bequeath my very faulty and vile body to be buried in
1 Secunda pat. 1 Hen. V. m. 19. Cal. Rot. Pat. 2 Regist. T c. fol. 178. 3 Regist. B y. fol. 168 b. * See Plate I. (b.)
2 L
210
the Cathedral Church of York, near the tomb of my reverend Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord
Henry, Archbishop of York, newly built " Dated the 24th of the same month." 2
No fabric roll has been seen by the Author for the years between 1401 and 1415, which is much to
be regretted, as by such rolls much more clear evidence might have been given of the completion of the
covering of the eastern portion, and of the commencement and progress of the western part of the new
Choir. The fabric roll for 1415 is, however, perfect, and is made up to the 22nd day of December,
by Master Richard Blackburn, master of the fabric. The fund for the year was £615. 6s. \d. ; liabili-
ties and expenses, £529. 65. 5d., there remaining in hand, £85. 19s. 8d.
The eastern portion of the new Choir being finished, except its side vaults or ceilings, and perhaps
some of its windows, there is every probability of being correct in conceiving that the present Crypt was
formed, and at this period completed, 3 not so much for the reception of its intended altars as for the
purpose of raising that part of the Choir in which the High Altar and its necessary appendages were to
be placed ; the western wall being carried up to the roof of the Choir, so as to form a temporary
western enclosure, while the building of the western portion of the Choir was going forward. To protect
the Reredos from dust, the following items seem to have been required : "Expendid for 66 yards of
linen cloth, called ' Westwall,' bought of Thomas del More for the ' Reredorce ' of the High Altar, at
4d. per yard, 22s. 4d. ; and for rings, thread, and the working of the same cloth, 2s. 2d."
The upper surface of the Crypt was about six feet from the floor of the new fabric, and, to approach
it, two series of stone steps were formed against the eastern face of the eastern wall of it ; one series
being placed northward, the other southward, 4 thus leaving a large space on the centre of the wall,
which was pierced with two quatrefoiled apertures, to admit light into the Crypt.
Light was also admitted into the Crypt by the open ends of the vaults, which have iron trellisses
placed therein to prevent accidents or improper intrusion. These trellisses and beautiful open worked
doors were wholly or partly made this year, as is implied in the following items : " Expended in payment
to Hugo Mannyng, smith, in part payment for the iron-works of the Crypts (Cruddez), 5 20s. Od."
This year the floor of the Crypt appears to have been completed. It is divided into three parts,
thus : the part adjoining the east wall where the altars stood, except their sites, is paved with oblong
right-angled stones ; the next, or adjoining part, is paved with tiles, seven inches square, glazed
alternately yellow and purple ; and the third part is paved with tiles, eleven inches square, also covered
alternately with yellow and purple glaze. These tiles are termed " Flaundre," and are thus accounted
for in this year's fabric roll: "Expended, In 500 large 'Flaundre' tiles, bought for the Crypts
(Cruddez), of William Newland, price, each hundred, 6s. 8d., sum, 33s. 4d. ; and in 500 smaller tiles
1 It is by no means certain that the splendid arch or superstructure of the tomb was erected by the Archbishop's desire ; it is
more probable that it was erected by some one or more, not only after his death, but after the completion of the vault of the
aisle.
2 Regist. B y. fol. 173.
3 It seems that the Crypt of the old Choir had remained disused from the year 1364, except as a receptacle of stores for the
fabric ; but now that a Crypt might be again attached to the Choir with peculiar advantage, a new one was formed, but not in
accordance with the architecture of the new structure, for the capitals and the ribs (excepting the springers) used in the vault are
portions of the ancient Crypt, which have thus been more suitably and more beneficially employed than they could have been in any
other part of the fabric.
4 This circumstance was ascertained at the removal of the injured stone screen after the fire of 1829.
J Cruddez, Cruddes, Crowds, or Croudes. See note 5, page 198.
211
bought of the same, price, each hundred, 20c?., sum, 8s. 4d. ; and for carrying of the said tiles to the
Minster, 8c?." These items for the completion of the Crypt, tend materially to support the inference,
that some of the altars essentially belonging to the Crypt would be shortly restored to it.
The new eastern portion of the Choir would be furnished with High Altar, Stalls, and other requisites,
from the old Choir, as far as practicable, but it seems to have been impossible to transfer or use the old
rood-screen ; and therefore, as it was considered indispensably necessary that a rood should be raised,
either over an entrance to this new Choir or across it, one was formed, for the expense of the principal
beam of which, the following memorandum is in the fabric roll: " Expendid for one large beam
bought of Peter Wryght, for the rood in the new Choir, 1 5s. 6d.
It is also very probable that the whole of the windows were not as yet glazed ; and therefore the
following item for bars might be for the advancement of that work : " Expendid for working 300
pounds of iron in ' barrez' for the windows, 12s. Od."
The transferring the services of the Choir to the new eastern portion would reanimate the zeal of all
persons desirous to complete the fabric of the perfect Choir, and the veneration in which the memory
and tomb of the late Archbishop, Richard le Scrope, were held, proved also highly beneficial to the
funds, for offerings continued to be liberally made at the tomb for the advancement of the said fabric ;
thus, among the receipts of the year, are the following donations : " Received by oblations at the tomb
of Master Richard le Scrope, late Archbishop of York, for the payment of eight masons (working for
the fabric), for one year, £62. 8s. Od. Received at the same oblations for 100 fother of stones bought
of the fabric (keeper), for the same masons, for the year, £11. 0s. 0d." 1
Among the receipts is also the following donation by the executors of Master Walter Skyrlaw, late
Bishop of Durham, and this donation has probably given rise to the traditional opinion, that Walter
Skyrlaw built the large or Lanthorne Tower: "Received for (the benefit of) the soul of Master
Walter, late Bishop of Durham, for the payment of six masons (working on the fabric), for one
year, £52. 0*. Od."
As soon as the services of the Choir were performed in the new eastern portion of the Church, the
demolition of the old western part of the Choir would commence, and the stones thereof be transferred
to the foundations of the outer walls and piers of the intended new portion. Such appears to have
been actually the case, and as the magnitude of the new building placed the foundations at a consider-
able distance from the walls of the old Choir, so it is very probable that the raising of the outer walls
of the new structure took the lead of the raising of the piers of the clerestory, and retained it to a
considerable extent, even to the cornice ; for on inspection of the interior of the Choir above the vaults
of the side aisles, the south wall presents an untoothed joining with the cross wall of the little transept
of the Choir, and the wall on the north side presents its intended connecting tusks unemployed in the
joining of the cross wall of the north arm of the little transept.
Such a method of proceeding would not only be perfectly consistent with the regular progress of the
building, but also more expeditious, as the builders had not to wait for a regular clearage and a corre-
sponding advancement of the piers of the clerestory ; and the whole work would proceed more rapidly
by the aid of the old materials than it would have done if it had been necessary to obtain stone new
from the quarries. Being further aided by the liberal donations and oblations just now mentioned,
1 The oblations at the tomb of St. William amounted this year only to the sum of 14s. '2\d.
2 L 2
212
Archbishop Scrope and Bishop Skyrlaw would be considered valuable benefactors, and justly entitled to
have their arms prominently placed in the walls of the Choir. 1
Mr. William Colchester was master mason, and, with the fourteen masons furnished by the preceding
donations, had thirty-five to superintend, of which number four were remunerated, probably as being
the setters of stone. John Askam was master carpenter, with three men ; John Plumer, the plumber,
and John Burgh, the glazier.
At the visitation of the Dean and Chapter, held in the Chapter-house of the Cathedral Church, on
the 2nd day of April 1417, nine items were presented for due deliberation, the fifth of which was
" for the acceleration of the fabric of the Church of York, and the removing of impediments by
procurators," &c. 2
At this period, an atrocious act of violence was committed in the Choir of the Cathedral Church by
Sir Richard le Scrope, Knight, Lord of Bolton, and certain of his colleagues, upon the person of Richard
Hemmyngburgh, living in the family 3 of one of the Canons Residentiary ; and although the transaction
has no immediate connection with the history of the fabric of the Church, excepting as it affords evidence
of the existence and use of a Choir at this time, viz., in the year 1418, yet as the relation of the pro-
ceedings in consequence of this crime, preserved in the registers of the Church, exhibits several curious
particulars respecting the ecclesiastical laws and customs of the period, it has been thought that the
insertion of it in this place would not be uninteresting. It is contained in the following documents : —
" Be it remembered, that on the (Tuesday the) 7th day of February, Anno Domini 1418, the Reverend persons,
Sir Thomas Haxey, Treasurer of the Cathedral Church of York, Master William Cawod, and Master Wdliam
Pelleson, Canons Residentiary of the said Church, meeting together in the building called the Treasury, about the
hour of vespers of the same day, there being also present those venerable persons, Sir Robert Wolveden and Thomas
Parker, their fellow Canons and co-brethren, and being in their greater canonical residence, — there being present
also at the same place these venerable and discreet persons, Masters Richard Arnall, auditor of the causes of the said
venerable Chapter, Richard Ragenhill and John Southwell, counsellors of the said Chapter, — considering and com-
muning together of and concerning the rule and government of the rights and liberties of the Church of York afore-
said, — and, amongst other matters, especially of and concerning the manner of execution being made against Sir
Richard le Scrope, Knight, Lord of Bolton, and John Hoton, a layman, who, on the same Tuesday, about the ninth
tolling before None of the same day, together with the accomplices, servants, aiders and abettors of the said Sir
Richard, did enter the Church of York, armed, during the celebration of divine service in the Choir of the Church of
York aforesaid, — and did treacherously, atrociously, and with violence, attack one Richard Hemmyngburgh, a serving
man, and one of the family of the Reverend Master William Cawod, Canon Residentiary of the Church of York
aforesaid, — did savagely wound him, and him so wounded did leave half-dead, — disturbing the peace of the King and
Kingdom of England, and contemptuously violating the rights, liberties, and privileges of the Universal Church, and
especially of the said Mother Church of York, to the most grievous peril of their own souls : — and the said Lord
Canons having afterwards received sufficient information, by honourable and trustworthy witnesses, personally present
at the perpetration of the violence aforesaid, of and concerning the notoriousness of the fact, — did at length unani-
mously and with full agreement decree, that the said Sir Richard and John Hoton, by name, and especially with
their confederates and others, their accomplices and followers, partakers in the said crime (whose names and persons
were for the time unknown), in general, had incurred the sentence of the greater excommunication pronounced and
1 The arms of these eminent prelates are placed in the spandrils of the connecting arch of the south arm of the little transept of
the Choir. The arms of Skyrlaw are also placed in a spandril of the Lanthorne or large Tower.
2 Bowet's Regist., par. prim. fol. 56 b. 3 Domicellus.
213
promulgated both by the Canon (Law) and by the Synodal constitutions of the said Church, and the privileges
thereunto granted by the Holy Fathers (Popes), and that on the morrow, namely, Wednesday, at the baptismal
font of the said Church, and in like manner afterwards on each day, (until the said Sir Richard and John Hoton,
and their followers, humbly returning to the bosom of our holy Mother the Church, shall deserve to obtain the
benefit of absolution in form of law,) they shall be published for excommunicated persons, and be publicly denounced
by the Choir, with ringing of bells, lighting of candles, and thereafter solemnly extinguishing the same, as is cus-
tomary.
" And they decreed that a letter concerning the premises should be addressed to Sir Richard Mason, a parson in
the Choir of the said Cathedral Church, to denounce the aforesaid persons as being excommunicated. And they
further decreed and ordained, that, in consideration of the honour of the said Cathedral Church, divine service should
cease to be celebrated in the Choir of the Church of York, for a certain time, (which lasted until the time of the
humiliation and submission of the said Sir Richard, John Hoton, and their abettors,) out of abhorrence of such an
abominable deed, and to strike the greater terror both into themselves and others, from perpetrating the like in time
to come ; — and, accordingly, from that day until the time of the humiliation and submission of the said violators,
described below, the whole Choir repaired, for the celebration of divine service, to the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin
Mary and Holy Angels, situate adjoining and near to the Church; which service was said and celebrated both in
psalmody and in chaunt, for the time aforesaid, in the said Chapel, yet celebrated, as it were, in a low voice, without
the melody of organ or free chaunting whatsoever ; — the parsons and vicars of the Cathedral Church of York, and
other Chaplains, (meanwhile,) from the impulse of their own consciences, refraining or desisting from the celebration
of their Masses in the said Cathedral Church, from the said Tuesday untd the time of the humihation and submis-
sion of these wicked men.
" And, on each day, the whole Choir went down into the Nave of the Church to denounce, as excommunicated
persons, the violators aforesaid; — excepting that on the Friday then next following the said Tuesday, out of respect
to the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord, the Lord Henry, by divine permission Archbishop of York, who, on the
said Friday, came in person to the Cathedral Church, the Clergy and people of the city aforesaid being gathered
together, to make a solemn procession round the Choir of the Church of York aforesaid, with solemn litanies, and
the presbyters singing ' Te Deum laudamus,' for rendering devout praise to God, who had lately done great wonders
in Normandy for our Lord the King, in the taking of the city of Rouen, — as, on the part of the said venerable
Father, the Lord Archbishop, was declared to the Clergy and people present, and out of respect for our excellent
Prince and Lord, the King, and at the earnest entreaty of the aforesaid Reverend Father, the aforesaid venerable
Chapter caused the denunciation to be totally suspended, lest that Friday of joy and exultation should be turned into
a day of mourning and sorrow.
"And on the Sunday next following, the procession proceeded through the passage leading to the palace of the
Lord Archbishop, as far as the door of the Archbishop's hall, and so proceeding by the steps of the said hall into
the garden of the palace, returning to the Church by the western door thereof, which was opened for the aforesaid
procession, (and thus) proceeding into the Nave of the Church, to make the aforesaid execution (i.e. denunciation),
which execution being finished, the Choir returned into the Chapel aforesaid, there to recite the hours and celebrate
Mass as aforesaid. And be it remembered, that from the day of the violation perpetrated in the said Cathedral
Church as aforesaid, all the doors of the Church were strongly bolted, except one valve of the south door, which
was kept open, — (except on the Friday, on which day all the doors were thrown open, out of respect to the Arch-
bishop as aforesaid,) — until the day of the submission of the aforesaid violators. Now the tenor of the said letter
of excommunication, directed to Sir Richard Mason, as aforesaid, was in all respects as followeth, and is in this
wise : —
" ' The Chapter of the Cathedral Church of York— the Dean thereof being in foreign parts — to that discreet person
Sir Richard Mason, a parson in the Choir of our Cathedral Church aforesaid, greeting in the author of our Salva-
tion. Albeit all and sundry persons, who knowingly and maliciously shall infringe or in any wise violate the rights
or liberties of the Church, and most especially of our Cathedral Church of York, are ijjso facio involved, to their
214
own condemnation, in the sentence of the greater excommunication, providently pronounced and promulgated, both
by the authority of the most holy Apostolic See, and by many (of the) Holy Fathers, and by that of the Synodal
constitutions of the Church of York, and the privileges granted to us, against those who presume to commit the like
rashness ; nevertheless, certain persons, namely, Richard le Scrope, Knight, of Bolton, John Hoton, and others their
accomplices, of whose names and persons we are altogether ignorant, — sons of iniquity, being led by a devilish spirit,
setting aside the fear of God, and casting behind them all reverence of our Holy Mother the Church, and despising
the delights of peace, coming with a detestable intent, the seventh day of the present month of February, into our
Cathedral Church of York, and there finding one Richard Hemmyngburgh, did, with drawn swords, in a hostile
manner, savagely and treacherously, during the time of the celebration of Divine Service in the Church aforesaid, as
the circumstances showed, assault him, and, with mortal wounds and most heavy blows, cast him to the ground, in
the arms of his mother, there leaving him, as it were, half dead ; to the insult and manifest contempt of God and of
our Holy Mother the Church, in violation of ecclesiastical liberties and immunities, and to the pernicious example of
others, the faithful of Christ, ipso facto incurring, to their own condemnation, the sentence of the greater excommu-
nication, providently pronounced and promulgated against all and sundry such presumptuous offenders, both by the
canon law and by the privileges granted to us by the Holy Fathers. "We, therefore, considering what pernicious
example, also how great an injury and violation of the immunities and liberties of the Church, and what schisms and
scandals among the clergy and people, might ensue and spring up, unless the same should be promptly encountered
by due sharpness of correction, being also desirous that the confusion of such enemies of Christ and the Church
should be so much the greater as their crime was the more openly perpetrated, — We, therefore, in virtue of holy
obedience, strongly enjoin and charge you, that you do, in our Cathedral Church of York, on every day when you
shall be thereto required, with ringing of bells, lighting of candles, and extinguishing the same, and throwing them
on the ground in (sign of) rebuke, and lifting up of the Cross, publicly and solemnly denounce, and cause to be
publicly and solemnly denounced, that all and sundry such villanous persons, the perpetrators of so great crimes,
and their authors and abettors, and they who in the premises have given them aid, counsel, or consent, publicly or
secretly, in the transaction aforesaid, have been smitten with the sword of anathema, and excommunicated, &c.
Forbidding all and singidar the faithful of Christ to presume to hold any communication with the said persons so
excommunicated, unless in cases permitted by law : and that you cease not from this denunciation, unless they, so
offending, being led by true repentance, do return to the production of a better life, and to the bosom of our Holy
Mother the Church, and shall deserve to obtain, in form of law, the benefits of absolution, or unless you be com-
manded otherwise by us. — Given at York, the 8th day of February, a.d. 1418.'
" And afterwards, on Wednesday the 15th of February then next ensuing, these Reverend persons, Master Brian
Fayrefax, Precentor, Sir Thomas Haxey, Treasurer of the Cathedral Church aforesaid, Masters "William Cawod and
Wdham Pelleson, Canons Residentiary of the said Church, and Sirs Robert Wolveden and Thomas Parker, having
met together at the hour of Chapter, and publicly holding a Chapter, Master William Cawod, in his own name and
in the name of the said Chapter, did read a certain protest, drawn up in writing, the true tenor whereof followeth
in these words : —
" 'In the name of God, Amen. "We, "William Cawod and William Pelleson, Canons Residentiary of the Cathedral
Church of York, holding a Chapter thereof, do protest and say, in these writings, that if it shall come to pass that on
this "Wednesday a commission shall be granted by us the Chapter, for the sake of peace and for the increase of friend-
ship betwixt the Venerable Father our Lord the Archbishop of York and the Chapter aforesaid, to the Venerable
Father the Lord Thomas, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Mary, to absolve Sir Richard le Scrope, Lord of Bolton,
and others, that it is not our intention to prejudice the right of the Treasurer of the said Church, nor the statute
which beginneth — The Treasurer ought also to keep the Church, and to take cognizance of all excesses perpetrated
in the Church, and to correct them, unless the delinquents be of or belong to the Choir, in which case the matter
belongs to the Dean and Chapter.'
" After the reading of which protest, as aforesaid, the Venerable Chapter committed its authority to that religious
man, Brother Thomas de Spofford, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Mary of York, for the absolving, in form of law,
215
Sir Richard le Scrope and John Hoton, together with their accomplices, and for the enjoining upon them a whole-
some penance for their offences, of the which commission the tenor followeth in these words : —
" 'The Chapter of the Cathedral Church of York — the Dean thereof being in foreign parts — to the religious man, the
Lord Thomas, by the grace of God, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Mary, York, everlasting health in the Lord. — We
do, by these presents, until we shall think fit to recall the same unto ourselves, commit unto you, in whose purity of
conscience, zeal, and industry, we entertain in the Lord full confidence, — our authority to absolve, in form of law,
in our place and by our authority, the Honourable Sir Richard le Scrope, Knight, Lord of Bolton, and John Hoton,
layman, and others the accomplices, servants, aiders and abettors of the said Sir Richard, who, on the Tuesday next
after the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary last past, did, with arms, enter the Church of York,
and treacherously, atrociously, and with violence, assault one Richard Hemmyngburgh, a serving man, and one of
the family of the Reverend Master William Cawod, Canon Residentiary of the Church aforesaid, did savagely wound
him, and him so wounded did leave half dead, — disturbing the peace of the King and Kingdom of England, and con-
temptuously violating the rights, liberties and privileges of the Universal Church, and especially of the said Church
of York, to the most grievous peril of their own souls, and to the pernicious example of others, the faithful of Christ,
incurring, providently to their own condemnation, the penalties of the greater excommunication, in such a case
pronounced and promulgated, — enjoining then a salutary penance, according to the measure of their offence.
In witness whereof our seal is present and appended. Dated in our Chapter-house of York, the 15th clay
of February, a.d. 1418.'
" And afterwards, on the said Wednesday, in presence of the said venerable persons, holding a Chapter, there
being also present the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord, Lord Henry, by divine permission, Archbishop of York,
and the religious man, the Lord Abbot of the Monastery of St. Mary aforesaid, and there being present, at the same
place, the whole Choir, and many other persons in great number ; — personally appeared (before them) the aforesaid
Sir Richard le Scrope, Knight, John Hoton, John Clyston, William Thuresby, William Mallom, and Peter Pakoke,
laymen, the servants, and aiders of the said Sir Richard in the perpetration of the aforesaid crime ; who all and
singular did submit themselves to God, to the Church, and to the Chapter aforesaid.
" And afterwards, at the command of the said Lord Abbot, (the Commissary, as aforesaid, of the said Chapter,)
the aforesaid Sir Richard le Scrope, in the first place, and afterwards John Hoton, and the others above-named, did
swear upon the Holy Gospels, all and each of them laying their hands upon the same, — that they would abide by
the commands of the Church, and that they would humbly receive and fulfil the penance to be imposed upon them
and each of them by the said Lord Abbot, by the authority of the said Chapter ; also, that they would keep the
peace towards the Canons of the Church of York, their friends, counsellors, tenants and servants, and the executor
of the mandate of the Chapter, and towards all the lieges whomsoever of our Lord the King; — and that for the
time to come they would refrain themselves from the like (doings) in the said Cathedral Church, or in any other
Church ; and especially that the said Sir Richard would, under the penalty of 1000 marks, so refrain himself in
time to come. Which things having been so done, the said Lord Abbot, in the place and name of the said Chapter
as aforesaid, did enjoin upon the said Sir Richard le Scrope the penance underwritten : to wit, in the first place, that
he shall make sufficient compensation to the injured party, within the next year, according to the judgment of arbi-
ters to be chosen by themselves in this matter in regard of the premises ; also under the penalty of again falling
under the sentences of excommunication pronounced as aforesaid. Moreover (item) that he shall, on that same day,
enter the western door of the aforesaid Cathedral Church, having laid aside his belt, carrying aloft, and publicly in
his hand, his dagger, drawn, the handle thereof being held aloft and uncovered, in the midst, before the said Arch-
bishop, in the procession, until the final ending of the said procession (which was performed on the said Wednesday,
for the good estate of the King and Kingdom of England) ; and when the procession shall return into the Choir, he
shall come, in the guise aforesaid, (i. e., without his belt, &c. &c.) to the steps before the High Altar, and there, on
his bended knees, he shall three times devoutly say the Lord's Prayer and the angelical salutation, and offer upon
the High Altar the dagger aforesaid, and there leave the same : which things having been so done, he shall withdraw
himself from the Altar unto a certain fald-stool (or bench), there to await the finishing of the Mass to be celebrated
216
at the High Altar in the Church aforesaid, on the said day, humbly and devoutly saying his prayers. Also that,
within the next year, he shall offer an image of silver-gilt, of the value of ten marks, (made) to the likeness of
St. Stephen, for a memorial there for ever to remain, or at least a sum to be fixed at the pleasure of the Chapter
aforesaid.
" And these things having been so done, the said Lord Abbot, in the place and by the authority aforesaid, did, in
form of law, absolve the said Sir Richard from the sentences of excommunication which he had incurred by
reason of the violation of the rights, privileges, and immunities of the Church aforesaid, providently pronounced and
promulgated against all perpetrators of such-like rashness, both by the authority of the Synodal constitutions, as of
the privileges granted by the Holy Fathers to the said Church. And immediately after these things were done, the
aforesaid religious man, the Lord Abbot above-mentioned, did, by the authority of the venerable Chapter, absolve,
in due form of law, the said John Hoton and the others above-named (they having submitted themselves, as afore-
said, to the venerable Chapter, and having taken oath to perform the penance enjoined them for their offences) from
the sentences of excommunication which they and each of them had incurred : — having first enjoined upon each of
them a wholesome penance in proportion to their offence : to wit, that the said John Hoton, entering by the western
door, shall walk before the procession, together with all and singular his associates above-named, who had been the
authors and abettors of, and partakers in, the violence committed in the Cathedral Church, their heads being un-
covered, and their belts laid aside, each one bearing in his hand the sword, unsheathed, with which he committed
the violence in the said Church, the handle thereof being also publicly held aloft; and in this manner they shall
walk before the procession, in all respects in the guise of penitents, unto the steps of the High Altar, and there each
of them shall kneel, humbly and devoutly saying his prayers, until the offertory of the Mass at the High Altar
aforesaid, there leaving their swords ; and afterwards each of them shall remain in the same penitential attitude until
the final ending of the aforesaid Mass.
" There being present at the submission, the taking of the oath, the injunction of the penance, and the fulfilment
of the same, these venerable persons : — Masters Thomas Ragenhill, John Southwell, advocates of the Court of York,
John Stanton, Robert Esyngwald, proctors of the said Court, and myself, Thomas de Alta Ripa, clerk, and many
other persons, forming a copious multitude." 1
On the 18th of April 1418, Master Richard Blackburn, keeper of the altar of St. Andrew, in the
Cathedral Church of York, and rector of the parish Church of Donyngton, in the diocese of York,
bequeathed by will (if his goods were sufficient), to the fabric of the Cathedral Church of York, forty
pounds sterling. 2
On the 24th of August 1418, Master Stephen le Scrope, Archdeacon of Richmond, by will bequeathed
to the Table of the High Altar of the Church of St. Peter of York, about to be constructed anew (de
novo construendum) , his large jewel, appointed for the body of Christ; and three silver chargers of his
best plate ; and a crucifix of gold ; and an entire vestment of red cloth of gold, with two copes of the
same suit. Moreover, he bequeathed to the fabric of the said Church twenty pounds. 3
On the 20th of December 1418, Master John Notyngham, treasurer of the Cathedral Church of
St. Peter of York, by will bequeathed to the fabric of the said Cathedral Church of St. Peter, twenty
pounds ; and for the ornamenting of the High Altar of the same, ten pounds. 4
A fabric roll for the year 1418 has fortunately been discovered. The roll is defective as to the date
of the year; but as entries are made therein of the death of Master Robert Appilton, Prebendary of
Bylton, and of the death of Master Stephen le Scrope, Prebendary of Knaresburgh (and Archdeacon of
1 Regist. T y. fol. 53 b.
3 Regist. B y. fol. 185 b.
2 Regist. By. 182 b.
4 Regist. B y. fol. 187 b.
217
Richmond), by the proving of their wills the year is ascertained. The will of the latter was proved on
the 7th of September, and the will of the former on the 12th of May, 1418.
This roll is made, also, by Master Richard Blackburn, up to the 2nd day of December. It shows
the fund for the year, as £696. 7s. 6^d. ; expenses and liabilities, £561. 3s. 9\d.; and an overplus of
£135. 3s. 9d. John Askham was master carpenter, Robert Plomer the plumber, John Burgh the
glazier, and William Colchester was yet master mason, having thirty-four masons (of whom two were
setters), and twelve labourers, to superintend ;' towards the expense of whom the sum of £150 was
received, by oblations at the tomb of the late Archbishop Scrope, as is stated in the following item :
" Received by oblations at the tomb of Master Richard le Scrope, late Archbishop of York, for wages
for masons, £150."
It is very probable that the removal of the Choir organ, from the western to the eastern portion of
the Choir, would render some repairs of it necessary ; accordingly, we find at this time the following
items: " Expended in making two pair of bellows for the organ, and the repairing and cleansing the
same, by John Saymor, 46s. 8d. And for making ribs for the bellows for the same organ, by John
Couper, 12c?. ; and for playing the organ, by Thomas Grymthorp, for the year, 3s. 4c?."
It is also very probable, that about this period, not only the Treasury, but the Revestry, and Arch-
bishop Zouch's Chapel, were completely rebuilt ; and that a new Library was also in progress, towards
the covering of which the following munificent donation was made by Master Thomas Haxey, the newly-
elected treasurer : " Received for alms, of Master Thomas Haxey, for the covering of the new Library
with lead, £26. 13s. 4c?." The Lord Abbot of Selby was also a benefactor to the new Library, for it
is recorded, that there was " Expended in sawing four trees, given to the new Library by the Abbot of
Selby, 6s. 8c?."
In the timber department, the following items show that donations were also made to assist the
general fabric of the Church : " Expended for cutting seven oaks, given to the fabric by the Archbishop,
2s. 8c?.; and in expenses for four carpenters squaring the said oaks, 6s. 8c?.; and in payment to John
Nanson of Spofford, for cutting and squaring twelve trees, given to the fabric by the Earl of Northum-
berland, 15s ; and for cutting seven oaks given to the fabric by the Earl of Northumberland, at Topclyf,
16c?.; and for nine large cloggs, bought of John Askham, 37s. 0c?."
The following items imply that poles were wanted for the scaffolding, and wood for moulds, or
templets for the mouldings, for the new works of the fabric : " Paid for 14 ' Fir-sperrez ' bought for the
' skaflaldyng,' by John Neuton, 3s. 2d.; and for three ' Rygholtz ' bought for ' moldez,' 2s. Od." There
were bought, also, for the windows, " 3 ' Semes,' and 3 pieces of white glass, of John Glasman, of
Ruglay, price by the seme 20s. — £3. 2s. 6c?."
Master William Cawood, Canon Residentiary, by will dated February 3rd, 1419, gave and bequeathed
a collection of valuable books to be sold, the proceeds of the sale thereof to be wholly applied to the
ornamenting of the High Altar of the Cathedral Church of York, namely, the " Reredose" thereof, 2 or
screen behind the High Altar.
1 It is almost impossible to give the number of persons generally termed labourers, because most of them were evidently
employed for such periods as months, weeks, or days, as the necessity of the works required. The Church always retained a few,
but these are generally entered upon the fabric-rolls as the servants and workmen of the fabric; as, " William Bodde, famulus et
operarius fabrice," whilst those occasionally employed are only entered as " operarii fabrice."
2 Regist. B y. fol. 195.
2 M
218
Master Thomas Garton, parson of the altar of St. Thomas of Canterbury, Martyr, while he lived, in
the Choir of the Cathedral Church of York, by will dated November 13th, 1419, gave and bequeathed
for the ornamenting of the High Altar of the said Church of York, to be constructed anew (" de novo
construendum ") ten pounds. 1
The expenditure portion of a fabric roll has been discovered, which the Author assigns to the year 1419,
from the circumstance of John Saunderson being paid as an apprentice at 2s. per week, whilst the said
John appears also as an apprentice in the fabric roll of 1421, at 2s. 4d. per week, — the latter wages
evidently implying that he is more advanced in his servitude, the other masons having generally, in
both years, 3s. per week ; further, the balance placed to the account of 1421, shows clearly that the
roll does not belong to the year 1420.
By this relic it appears, that the sum total of the expenses and payments for the past year, was
£554. lis. 6^d., and that the receipts exceeded the expenditure by £131. 16s. 9d. William Col-
chester is yet master mason, John Askham master carpenter, Robert Plomer the plumber, and John
Burgh the glazier. Thirty-nine masons are employed, among whom John Crowe and John Bonde
appear as setters, receiving as a remuneration above their wages, for the period of setting, the sum of
13s. 4d. each.
By this document is nearly determined the date of the completion of the interior of the new Library
of the Church ; thus — " Paid to John Greene, joiner, for joining boards for the Library, and planing and
' grossyng ' the wainscot, by the year, 1 7s. 8c?. — and for working 200 of iron into bolts for the new
Library, by John Harpham, smith, 8s."
From this record we may also reasonably infer that the west portion of the Choir, and the piers of the
large tower, had considerably advanced ; and that the works of the piers of the tower required aid to
raise on high the stones and mortar ; for at this period we find a charge for some repairs of the great
wheel or windlass, mentioned among the stores of the Church at p. 199, and then standing in the bell
tower, for the purpose of winding up lead and mortar ; and also for a new cable : viz. — " And for making
' Coddis,' 2 of brass, for the great wheel beyond (or above, ultra) the great bell tower, \8d.; and for a
plate of iron bought for the wheel, standing above (supra) the great belfry, 8d. ; and for working 22
stones of hemp into a Cable, for the great wheel beyond (or above) the great belfry, by John Kelying-
wyke, receiving 3d. for each stone, 5s. 6d. ; and for the expenses of the workmen helping the said
John, in the making of the said Cable, \2d. ; and for three large £ garthes ' (girths) bought for the
great wheel, with the ' garthyng ' of the tubs, 3 for the year, 6s. 5d."
By this document is ascertained the period when the Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (so well
known in subsequent years) was placed before the altar of St. Stephen, at the east end of the north
aisle of the Choir; thus — "And for the purchase of an Image of Blessed Mary, with the making of
its Tabernacle, and the painting of the same, standing above the 1 parclose ' before the altar of
St. Stephen, 23s. 4d." 4
1 Regist. B y. fol. 191b. 2 Coddis, codds, commonly now called bushes, to receive the axles of wheels.
3 Tubs in which the mortar, &c, were raised.
4 Several persons desired to be buried before this Image, among whom are the following : — " Sir John Gysburgh, Canon Resi-
dentiary of the Cathedral Church of York, by will dated 21st of April 1479, gave his body to be buried as earth to the earth, in
the north aisle of the Cathedral Church of York, before the Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary there. He also wills, that if it in
219
From the same record it is inferred that provision was also making for lofty works ; thus — " And for
eight fir-spars (Fyresperrez) bought for ladders, 2s. Od., and for eleven ' righoltez' bought of Thomas
Gar, price by the piece 8d., amount 7s. Ad.; and for sawing righoltez and wainscots this year,
116s. 4d. ; and for 900 wainscots bought this year, price 130s. Od. ; and for 2,000 ' assers' bought of
Thomas Palysar, of Sandhoton, 15s. Od. ; paid to Roger Blase, for the carriage of eight ' batons' of
oak, given to the fabric by the Earl of Northumberland, from Spofford Wood to the Palace Garth,
22s. 4d. ; and for the carriage of three batons of oak, given to the fabric by the Archbishop, from
Cawood to York, by vessel, 10s. Od. ; and for sledding the same from (the river) Ouse to the Palace
Garth, by John Bell, \6d. ; and for the expenses incurred regarding the cutting down, porterage, and
carriage of eight large oaks, given to the fabric by the Earl of Northumberland, from Topclyff, by
land and water unto York, 56s. Ad. ; and for sledding the same from Ouse unto the Palace Garth,
8s. Odr
It was the general custom of the Chapter to appoint the person who was placed at the top of the
list of their masons, to the office of master mason, whenever that office became vacant ; but it seems
Mr. William Colchester, the late master mason, had been appointed by the King, and this irregular
circumstance, probably aided by others, led to murmurs and discontent among the masons, and ulti-
mately to an attempt to destroy the said William Colchester, which act is made known in the following
letter, probably addressed by the Archbishop to some brother Bishop or Lord in office ; and although
no date is retained in the record of the letter, yet, as neither Master Richard de Blackburn, the
keeper of the fabric, nor Mr. William Colchester, the injured master mason, appear in those offices in
the fabric rolls of succeeding years, it is very probably here placed in due order.
" Requisitory letter, with an ordinance at the end.
" Reverend Lord, and deservedly honoured Colleague, — For your kind, grateful and deliberate communication, held
with Master Richard de B — (Blackburn) our Chamberlain, and for the counsels and helps most prudently afforded to
him, we return such thanks as we are able unto your fraternity, sincerely beseeching you that taking a favourable
opportunity ye would labour, if and in as far as it shall seem to you to be expedient and proper, that the busi-
ness above referred to may be brought to an honourable conclusion. Moreover, may your reverence be pleased to
know, that certain stonecutters or masons, being moved by a most wicked spirit of envy, wickedly conspiring for
the death and ultimate destruction of Master William Colchester, assigned to us and to the fabric of our Church,
by our most dread lord the King, by his letters patent, for the government of the said fabric, and specially received
under the protection of the same ; treacherously assaulting the said William, did grievously wound him, and did
any manner can be done, the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary be celebrated at the altar of St. Stephen, on the day of his burial."
—Regist. B y. fol. 350 b.
"Master Robert Este, Bachelor, by will dated 10th April 1493, gave his body to be buried in the north 'ambulatory,' in the
Metropolitan Church of the Blessed Peter at York, near the tomb of Sir John Gisburgh, late Canon Residentiary of the said
Church of York, before the image or figure of the most exalted Virgin Mary, and to be buried under a marble slab." — Regist. B y.
fol. 380b. As. fol. 356.
" Master John Chapman, of York, Public Notary, by will dated 4th March 1527, gave his body to be buried before the image of
the most Blessed Virgin Mary, before the Chapel of St. Stephen, in the Metropolitan Church of the Blessed Peter at York, on the
north side thereof." — Regist. A y. fol. 158 b.
" Sir John Fewlare, Chaplain at the Altar of St. Stephen in the Church of York, by will dated 7th August 1530, gave his body
to be buried in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Peter, before the Image of the Blessed Mary, at the altar of St. Stephen."
— Regist. Ay. fol. 156.
2 M 2
220
so injure another person, his assistant, that his life is considered in serious danger. Wherefore we most earnestly
entreat that your brotherly reverence, in whom we deservedly repose our entire and singular confidence, would more
clearly intimate to our aforesaid lord the King, and to others to whom and when it shall seem expedient, the crime
of the aforesaid persons ; and if any persons, enemies of the truth and of Holy Church, or incorrectly informed,
shall presume to show favour to the aforesaid evildoers or their accomplices, you would be pleased to resist them
by deed and word, giving entire faith in this matter to the bearer of these presents. May the mercy of our Redeemer
ever rule and direct the increase of your honour. Written, &c." 1
About 1419 or 1420, it is probable the vaulting of the north aisle of the eastern portion of the
Choir was commenced, as the most eastern key-stone of the vault is charged with the armorial bearing
of Master Thomas Haxey, who became the treasurer in 1418.
On the 6th day of May 1420, the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of York confirmed an ordina-
tion for a Chantry at the Altar of St. Wilfred, Archbishop and Confessor, to be newly erected on the
south side of the Choir, 2 for the benefit of the soul of Master William Cawood, of blessed memory, their
brother and fellow Canon and Prebendary of the Prebend of Husthwayte in the said Church. The ordi-
nation was confirmed to the Vicars in the Choir, on whom the said Master William Cawood had placed
obligations for them to preserve one perpetual Chantry of one priest for ever, to celebrate daily Mass
at the Altar aforesaid, to be newly built and established (de novo erigend. et fundand.) for the benefit of
the Founder's soul, &c. 3
Master Thomas Grenewod, Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral Church of York, by will dated the
20th day of April 1421, made the following valuable donation (not, as represented by some who have
recently noticed it, to the Altar of St. Mary, in the said Cathedral Church, but) to the High Altar
of the Monastery of the Blessed Mary of York : — " Item, I give to the High Altar of the Monastery of
Blessed Mary of York, (summo altari Monasterii Beate Marie Eborum,) two large silver platters
(paropsides) and six dishes, with the arms of the Lord de Ros engraven thereon." 4
A.D. 1421. This year produces a perfect fabric roll, which shows that Master Nicholas Keld was
now the keeper of the fabric of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter ; and his account of all receipts and
disbursements to the 28th December stands, in sums total, thus — Receipts, £502. 17s. Od. ; Disburse-
ments, £401. 18s. Id. ; Remainder, £100. 18s. 5d. The account being perfect in both the income and
expenditure portions, the Author takes this opportunity of giving an abstract of the various heads of
each department ; and as they are the general sources detailed in fabric rolls, those in the receipt
portion show distinctly that the Cathedral was not erected chiefly, as has been often alleged, by the
aid received from ransoms from penances enjoined ; for the only head under which such ransoms
could be included, is that derived from the several Penitentiaries ; and this forms but an inconsiderable
portion of the whole sum, as will appear from the following abstract.
1 Regist. Alex. Nevill. pars ii. fol. 10 b.
2 Supposed to have been either in the cell k or 1 :
8 Regist. Tc. fol. 198.
see the plan, Plate I.
4 Regist. B y. fol. 203.
221
Abstract of the Account.
RECEIPTS.
£.
s.
d.
EXPENDED.
£.
s.
d.
By Arrears of the preceding year
. 137
13
9
By Tenths of Rents
10
By Standing Rents at Will
80
3
By Wages to the Masons
. 137
15
By the Rents, Tenths, fee, of Topcliffe
99
11
2
By Wages to the Carpenters .
. 22
19
4
By the various Penitentiaries 1
64
5
H
By Wages to the Labourers .
. 28
14
10\
By Oblations during the Feasts 2 .
51
16
7
By the Keeper of the Fabric
2
19
By Deaths of Canons
11
6
8
In the Plumber's Department
6
8
0£
By Free Gifts and Legacies .
19
14
In the Glazier's Department .
8
4
By Rent of the Mill, &c, at Brotherton
8
In Expenses at the Quarries .
. 81
5
2
By Fruits of the Church of Misterton .
26
13
4
In the Lime Department
4
16
By Sale of Articles in Store .
1
5
In the Sand Department
1
By Debts due to the Fabric .
2
In the Iron Department .
3
6
3
NB. Error in excess of Audit .
7
2
In the Nail Department
1
15
In the Timber Department .
. 16
18
1
In the Sawing Department .
17
2
By Repairs at the Mill, Dam, &c,
at
Brotherton
. 15
2
8
By Repairs on Tenements, &c.
9
3
8*
By Repairs at Topcliffe .
15
4
By Repairs at Misterton
1
12
8
By Repairs at Bubwith .
2
13
4
By Potations to the Masons, &c. .
1
By Wages to Officers at Misterton
. 10
10
By Rents and Repairs .
7
12
H
By Obits and Chantries
. 39
3
2
By Various Expenses
4
13
2
Total of Receipts and Arrears
£502
17
Total expended
£401
18
7
£. 5. d.
Master Edmund, the Penitentiary in the Church of the Blessed Peter of York, this year
5
3
2
Master John Brignolls, Penitentiary in the same, this year ......
8
3
Master John Langton, Penitentiary in the same, this year ......
12
13
4
From the Archdeaconry of York, this year ... ....
9
17
6*
From the Archdeaconry of Richmond, this year
8
6
From the Archdeaconry of the East- Riding, this year .......
3
3
11
From the Archdeaconry of Cleveland, this year
5
16
From the Archdeaconry of Nottingham, this year .......
4
4
5
Collected in the Churches in the City of York ........
5
2
61
From the Jurisdiction of the Chapter out of York .......
1
16
1
From Master John Clerk, Deputy Penitentiary
7
8
£64
5
7i
' 2
2 For this note, see next page.
222
From the items of expenditure it is found that John Long has become the master mason, John
Askam the carpenter, Robert Plomer the plumber, and John Chamber the glazier, and that the 39
masons employed in 1419 were now reduced to 21, at sixpence a-day, among whom William Waddeswyk,
John Crowe, Richard Qhwitesyde and John Bonde, are recorded and remunerated probably as
setters, and John Saunderson appears as an apprentice at 2s. 4d. each week.
It seems by items in this roll, that the setters had completed the alteration on the piers, arches and
spandrils of the large or bell tower up to or near to the string course above the arches ; for now was
erected a floor or scaffold in the tower immediately above the string course, supported by seven large
beams, the stations of which are visible in the walls of the present tower immediately above the said
string course, and the memorandums of the procuring of the beams or joists for the said floor or
scaffold seem to be in the following items : " Expended for eight joists and other trees, bought of John
Skelton, for the scaffolding, 19s. 8d" There were also purchased 22 hurdles for the scaffolding upon
(or in) the bell tower, for 7s. 4d. Trees also continued to be wanted for the extension of the scaffolds
in the Choir, for which the following expenses were incurred : "In cutting twelve trees given by the
Archbishop to the Church of the Blessed Peter of York for scaffolding, 18c?., and for the expenses of
the keeper of the fabric, and John Askam (the carpenter), for their riding to Cawood, to select the said
twelve trees, and piles, and underwood, for the scaffold, with the hire of horses, 4s. Od."
This roll also shows that the stone required was procured from the quarries of Thevesdale, Hud-
dleston and Bramham ; thus, — " For the carriage of 120 ' tuntyght' of stone from the quarry (at
Thevesdale) unto the water of Tadcaster, by Robert Hardy, by tuntyght 4d., sum 40s. 0d., and for the
carriage of the same 120 tuntyght of stone by ship from Tadcaster unto York, by John Blackburn,
shipman, at 6d. each tuntyght, £3. 0s. 0d., and for sledding 40 tuntyght of Bramham stone by pieces
from the Ouse to the Cemetery, by John Bell and others, by agreement, at l\d. each tuntyght,
{Note on p. 221.) £. Statute Book of the Vicars Choral, fol. 46.
6 Mr. Drake, at fol. 245 in his Eboracum, would have it understood that cloth was spread all the way from the Mount to the
Cathedral Church, for the Archbishop and attendants to walk upon ; for he records that " the cloth which was spread all the way for
that purpose was afterwards given to the poor:" but he gives no authority for such assertions, nor has any been found.
' The faldstool was generally placed between the baptismal font, and the west door of the Church. — Regist G i. fol. 82.
8 Resp. Summe trinitati, simplici deo, una divinitas, equalis gloria, coeterna majestas, patri, prolique, sanctoque flamini, * Qui
totum subdit suis orbem legibus. Prestet nobis gratia deitasbeata Patris ac nati pariterque spiritus almi * Qui, &c, Gloria patri et
filio et spiritui sancto, * Qui, &c. — Processionale ad usum ecclesie Sarum, 1545, p. 141.
229
appointed for that purpose. Which things having heen so done, the said Archbishop proceeded to the vestry prepared
for him, behind the Altar, where, after washing his feet, his shoes were put on, and he was clothed in the sacred vest-
ments, and having put on his mitre and pallium, holding his pastoral staff in his hands, he proceeded to the High
Altar, 1 and while kneeling there at the faldstool as before, the Lord Dean did devoutly chaunt a certain prayer with
its versicles over the said Lord Archbishop, which having been chaunted, the aforesaid Lord Archbishop stood up, and
gave his blessing, as is customary, to the people. And straightway the responsory, Petre, amas me ? having been begun
in the Choir by the Succentor of the Vicars, the Lord Dean, taking the Lord Archbishop by the hand, led him to his
Throne, honourably prepared for him beside the High Altar ; and there did solemnly chaunt over the Archbishop,
as he lay prostrate at a certain faldstool before his Throne, certain prayers with their versicles ; which having been
chaunted, the aforesaid Lord Dean, leading the said Archbishop to his Throne, spoke in these words : 'In the name
of God, Amen. We, Robert, Dean of this Church of York, do you, the most Reverend Father and our Lord in Christ,
John, by divine permission Archbishop of York, Primate of England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, into this
most holy Primatial and Metropolitical See of this holy Church of York, enthrone, install, and induct; and do
in very deed invest you with all its rights and appurtenances ; and you so enthroned, installed, and inducted, we do
personally leave in this most holy See ; wherein may the same our Lord Jesus Christ keep your going-in from
henceforth and for evermore. 5 And when, in reading, he had come to the words inthronizamus, installamus, he placed the
said Lord Archbishop in his seat aforesaid. And afterwards, over the said Lord Archbishop, sitting in his Throne, a
certain tractus, to wit Benedictus, having been solemnly chaunted by the Choir, and certain collects and versicles
appointed for the like occasion, by the Lord Dean of the Church of York, the Rector of the Choir began, in the
Choir, the office of the Mass of the day ; and the aforesaid Lord Archbishop, at the same place in his Throne, cele-
brated the said Mass as far as the Offertory, and when this had been sung by the Choir, he came down from the
Throne to the Altar to wash his hands, and there he continued the Mass until the second washing of his hands
(viz. the post communion). And then going up again unto his Throne, he solemnly completed the communion and
post communion, with the ' Ite, missa est,' chaunted by the Deacon, namely, the Suffragan. Which things having
been so done, the aforesaid Lord Archbishop, coming down from his Throne, as he proceeded 2 to the Vestry to put
off his vestments, read, as he walked along, from the Gospel of St. John, ' In principio erat verbum,' &c. — These
things were done in the year of our Lord, and on the day of the month, and at the place aforesaid, there being pre-
sent at the said enthronization the Right Reverend Fathers and Lords in Christ, William Grey, and Thomas
Longley, Bishops of London, and Durham, — bkewise the Abbots of St. Mary of York, Fountains, Jorevel, Selby,
Rughford, 3 Bellaland, Rieval, and several other Abbots and Priors, clad in silken copes and mitred ; bkewise the
most noble the Lord Edward Duke of York, the Lords de Scrope, de Lovell, and Crumwell, Barons, and other
Knights, and Clerks, and lay persons of both sexes, in great multitude, — and myself Thomas de Alta-ripa, Clerk." 4
From this description of the enthronization of the Archbishop, any one unacquainted with the
history of the progress of the fabric might conceive that the Choir was now thoroughly completed.
Yet such was not the case. For the preceding pages show, what subsequent pages will confirm, that
the eastern portion only was furnished for divine service, and that only temporarily, until the western
portion should be finished, and the whole Choir permanently arranged.
On the 8th day of March a.d. 1428, the Mayor and Commonalty of the City of York assented,
1 Sometimes the pallium was carried before the Archbishop by his Chaplain, from the vestry, with divers wax-lights, and the
prelates wearing their mitres, unto the Altar, and there he knelt down, and then receiving his sacred pallium he went up to the
Altar, and so proceeded to his faldstool. — Regist. G h. fol. 23 ; also note in the Statute Book of the Vicars Choral, fol. 47.
2 Sometimes the Archbishops here repaired to the Altar, leaving there the sacred pallium, and thence proceeded to the Vestry.
—Regist. G h. fol. 25.
3 Rufford in Nottinghamshire ; where was a Cistercian Abbey founded about the middle of the twelfth century.
4 Regist. G i. fol. 1 .
230
agreed, and granted unto the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Blessed Peter of York,
and to their successors for ever, a certain annual rent of eighteen marks sterling, to be received yearly
of them and their successors, to be paid to the said Dean and Chapter, and their successors, or to their
duly-authorised attorney, at the High Altar in the Cathedral Church of York, on the Feasts of
Pentecost, and of St. Martin in the winter, by equal portions, towards the support of one perpetual
Chantry and annual Obit for the benefit of the soul of Master Thomas Haxey, late Treasurer of the
said Cathedral Church whereupon the said Dean and Chapter did found and establish a perpetual
Chantry for the said Master Thomas Haxey, at the Altar of St. Thomas the Martyr. 2 But in the 27th
year of the reign of Henry VIII., the then Mayor and Commonalty complained to Parliament that they
had this one Chantry and one yearly Obit, which was amortysed and founded within the Cathedral
Church of St. Peter of York by Master John Gylby and Sir Robert Semer, some time Subchanter of
the said Cathedral Church, executors of the testament and last will of Master Thomas Haxday
(Haxey), sometime Treasurer of the aforesaid Cathedral Church ; and the said Mayor and Commonalty
prayed to be relieved from the payment of the said annual sum, and to have it for other purposes. 3
On the 21st of June 1428, a commission, similar to the one issued in January 1827, was given to
Master Robert Semer, Chamberlain, and John Barker, to levy and collect the tax imposed by convo-
cation upon all ecclesiastical benefices within the jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter, for the making,
fabricating, and erecting, in a costly manner, the principal table of the High Altar. 4
On the 24th day of August 1428, another convocation was held, for considering certain weighty
affairs, and for supplying the wants of urgent engagements for the benefit of the Church ; 5 but no
particulars relating to the progress of the fabric of the Church are mentioned, and the same remark is
applicable to the convocations held in the years 1429, 1432, 1438, and 1455.
But it may be readily conceived that when the fabric appeared to be nearly completed, the zeal of
the faithful might, in some degree, be relaxed ; and the work yet remaining to be done might be left
dependent upon the permanent income devoted to the fabric of the Church ; and as it appears from the
fabric rolls, that they who directed the work always endeavoured to keep the expenditure nearly as
possible equal to the income, it would become imperative from time to time to urge the Clergy within
the jurisdiction of the Church to assist, by the product of their respective dignities, the pressing
wants of the fabric.
Such, it is possible, was the state of things about the year 1430 ; and whilst the average income was
not perhaps much above half the amount of that for the year 1421, the surplus, beyond the current
burthens on the fabric fund, would not perhaps amount to more than one-third of the surplus applicable
to the fabric in 1421.
To proceed with the transformation or lining of the old Bell Tower, as mentioned p. 222, much
further than to the cornice above the pannels over the arches, would be impossible without having the
superstructure of the tower almost entirely taken down ; therefore, about this period, preparations were
in progress for the erection of a new Bell Tower at the south-west angle of the Nave, into which the
bells might be removed from the old tower.
Master Robert Wolveden, Treasurer of the Church of York, and Prebendary of Knaresborough, by
1 Regist. T c. fol. 229.
4 Regist. G i. fol. 7.
2 Regist. G f. fol. 41.
5 Regist. T y. fol. 63.
3 Pub. Records, vol. iii. fol. 583.
231
will, dated 4th day of September 1432, gave his body to be buried in the new fabric of the said Church,
outside the Portico before the Altar of the Blessed Virgin, where Mass was celebrated daily, with note.
He also bequeathed to the fabric of the Cathedral Church twenty pounds. 1
Whether these twenty pounds were the cause of the beautiful easternmost window in the western
portion of the north aisle of the Choir being made, or Wolveden, whilst in his six years of treasurership,
caused the same artist to paint him a window to correspond with those containing the names of Parker
and Bowet, is uncertain ; but in the borders of the window referred to, the words 2Hobcrtus SStoIbcfrni
are repeatedly displayed. It is, however, very probable that this window is the effect in some manner of
his munificence to the fabric, as are also several others in the Church where his name and arms, or his
arms alone, viz. Az, a chevron engrailed between three wolves' heads erased, or, are inserted. 2
About this period was also very probably fixed in the Church the glass of the noble window north
of the transept of the Choir. This window is of five bays or lights, and the compartments contain
representations of the chief events in the life of St. William, Archbishop of York, and also of several
miraculous cures and occurrences ascribed to his influence. The compartments of the lowest row from
the bottom of the window are very much composed of scraps of various pieces of glass, but the second
row is pretty perfect, and four of the compartments contain representations of some of the members of
the family of Lord Roos, orRos, of Hemlake ; probably Lord William Roos, his lady, five sons, and one
daughter or daughter-in-law. Thus in the eastern compartment is represented Lord Roos and his lady ;
in the next, two sons, one having the distinctive mark of the Crescent, the other the Amulet ; in the
centre compartment is the eldest son, John, bearing the Label of three points, and probably Margery,
his lady ; in the next west light are other two sons, one bearing the Mullett, and the other the Trefoil.
The male figures are all in the armour of the period, and their mantles are gules charged with water
bougets argent. The whole of the figures are in the attitude of prayer. From these circumstances it
is very probable that the window, or the greater part thereof, is a munificent donation of some member
of the Roos family, probably Sir Robert Roos, the fourth son, " who died the 27th of Henry VI., seised
of the third part of the manor of Hunmanby in Yorkshire." 3
Master John de Beryngham, or Bermyngham, succeeded Wolveden in the treasurership of the Church ;
and the south-west Bell Tower gives evidence that it was built after he was appointed to perform the
duties of that office, for the ornaments in the string course beneath the sill of the window on the w r est
side are principally formed of eagles, the emblems of the word John, and bears, connected with
the letters er=gng=l)am, the whole clearly denoting John Beryngham, or Bermyngham.
A fabric roll now presents itself, without its year : nevertheless, as it contains the item of forty
shillings as a gift to the fabric, from the executors of Wolveden, the late Treasurer, for his interment,
and the well-known names of the masters superintending the various works, the year is certain to be
1433. It is the compotus of Master Thomas Elpham, keeper of the fabric, ending with the 4th of
December. It showeth, that the fabric fund for the year was £345. 18s. \\d. The expenditure and
burthens amounted to £309. 16s. Id., with a remainder of £36. Is. *o\d. Master Thomas Pak is master
1 Regist. B y. fol. 235.
2 In Drake's Eboracum, fol. 532, it is erroneously stated, that these arms are, " Azure, a chevron ingrailed inter three hinds'
heads erased Or," and, that they belong to " Malbyss."
3 Banks' Extinct Baronage, vol. ii. p. 447.
232
mason ; John Askam, master carpenter ; Robert Plumer, the plumber ; and John Chamber, master
glazier : 1 7 masons were employed.
The following items of expenditure are selected, as giving valuable and positive evidence of the com-
mencement of the south-west Bell Tower, and its progress during this year. "Expended, according to
computation, and by the masons, on the first day of the placing of the stone upon the (new) Bell Tower,
and in bread, beer, and fleshmeat, calculating all in pence, \8^d. ; and for one new large cord of hemp
bought this year for raising stones upon the Bell Tower of the Minster, with carriage of the same unto
the Minster, £2. 18s. I0d., and by remuneration to John Taillor and John Bultfior, masons, employed
as setters, £1. 6s. 8c?., and for two skins bought and given to the same for aprons, to be had on this
occasion according to custom, \2d., and for ten pair of gloves given to the same at the time of setting
the stones, 18c?."
The fabric compotus for the year 1434 exists. It is by Master John Appelton, keeper of the fabric.
It ends with the 24th of December, and shows that the sum available for the year was £289. 4s. 8d.,
and that the fabric expenses and burthens amounted to £302. 3s. 2§c?., making an excess of £10. 1 8s. 6f d.
The same masters superintended the various works as in the preceding year, and 14 masons, 19 labourers,
and 8 carpenters, were generally employed.
The new Bell Tower occupies the most conspicuous place in this compotus. The two masons, for
laying stones thereon {super campanile) are rewarded with the extra pay of £1 . 6s. 8d., and with 4 pairs of
gloves, which cost 6d. ; the sum of 13s. 4d. was also expended in drink for the masons, given to them
at divers times according to agreement. And one large cord of hemp was bought for raising stones
upon the Bell Tower, which, with the carriage of the same, cost £2. 14s. 9c?.
From the extraordinary quantity of timber, iron, arid lead, purchased during the year, the Author is
induced to infer that the walls of the western portion of the Choir were about completed for the roof,
and that preparations were in progress for the lead covering, and the formation of the vaulted ceiling
with its elaborate carved nodes or bosses. The following copious extract is from the timber department,
and it is not merely a statement of the quantity, but of the uses to which it was applied : —
"Expended in divers pieces of timber bought of John Selaybroke, namely, 4 large oaks; 6 'duble postis;'
6 'thoregistez;' 3 balkes; 4'stanzens;' 7 'bandelogs;' 3 'coles;' 1 crooked oak; 11 'gistis;' 1 crooked
oak ; 5 ' bakons,' and others, with the carriage of the same from the Ouse unto the Minster, according to
agreement, £4. 13s. 4d. ; — and in scapuling 3 oaks, and squaring 2 oaks for balkes, and 4 pieces for arch-
bands, and 4 pieces for stanzens, and 5 round oaks bought for the fabric of Richard Stowe in North-street,
at various prices, 20s. 4c?. ; — and in 1 60 oaks bought of Robert Brandesby, for the said fabric, price each
hundred 29s. = £2. 3s.6c?. ; — and for 67 oaks bought at 'Estekirk,' for the works of the said fabric, price
each 5c?. = £1.7s. 11c?.; — and for 1 7 oaks bought at the same place, for the said fabric, £1 . lis. 2c?.; — and
for 102 oaks bought at the same place, for the works of the aforesaid fabric, price each 10c?. =£4. 5s. 0c?. ; —
and for 9 oaks bought at the same place, for ' sparris' for the same works, 3s. 9c?. ; — and for 2 and § rods
and 7 feet of ' plaunchos,' bought of William Haye of York, price each rod 6s. = 13s. 0c?. ; — and for 3
rods 20 feet of plaunchos, bought in the river Ouse for the said fabric, price each rod 6s. = 19s. 0c?.; —
and for carriage of the said plaunchos from the river Ouse to the fabric, according to agreement, 12c?. ; —
and for 1,1 85 thakburdes bought for the works of the said fabric, by each 1 00, 3s. 9c?. =£2. 4s. 3c?. ; — and
for carriage of the same from the Ouse unto the house of the same fabric, according to contract, 2 1 d. ; —
and for sawing oaks this year for the fabric, for 1 rod and | by parcel computed, 5s. 9c?. ; — and for 5,000
233
assers (called ' hartlats'), bought this year for the works of the said fabric, price each thousand, 7s. 4d.
=£1. lis. 8d.— Sum £21. 2s. M."
The following items from the iron department imply the preparation of a large quantity of iron, which
could be needed only for the bolts and large nails in the roof and vault. " Expended for 1 5 stone of iron
for the store for fabric, £2. 12s. 10c?. ; — and for 10,060 double ' spikynges,' bought for the works of the
fabric, £1. 9s. 1 \ \cl. ; — and for 12,000 middle spikynges bought for the said works, 20s. Od. ; — and for
6,000 of ' stonebroddes,' bought for the said works, 6s. 6d. ; — and for 12,000 of stonebroddes, bought
for the said works, 14s. Od. ;— and for 5,000 of ' scotesemnailez,' bought for the same fabric and the works
of the same, 5s. 5d. ; — and for 7,800 scotesemnailez bought for the same works, 9s. 2c?. ; — and for
17,600 ' ledenailes,' bought this year for the said works, £1. 9s. 4c?."
The following items are from the lead department : — "Expended for 2 fother and 174 stone (or 534
stone) of lead, bought of Thomas Sclater, for the works of the fabric, price each fother, £4. Is. Sd. =
£12. 2s. 4d. ; — and for carriage of the same lead from the river Ouse unto the house of the plumber, 9d. :
— and for 2 fother (or 360 stone) of lead bought of the Abbot of Fountains for the same works, price
£8. 0s. Od. ; — and for carriage of the said lead from the Ouse to the said house, 5c?. ; — and for 92 stone of
lead, bought of John Donyngs, for store for the works of the said fabric, £2. 0s. ]0d. ; — and for carriage
of the said lead from the river Ouse to the said house, 3d. ; — and for 41 stone of lead, bought of John
Littester, for the said works, 18s. 9^c?. ; — and for carriage of the same lead to the said house, 3c?. ; — and
for 8 stone and 5 pounds of lead, bought of Robert Plumber, 3s. 6d. ; — and for 1 fother (or 180 stone) of
lead, bought of the rector of Bedale this year, for the works of the aforesaid fabric, £4. 0s. Od. ; — and for
carriage of the said lead from the Ouse to the said house of the plumber, 3c?. — Sum £30. 19s. 10^c?."
On the back of the compotus, a memorandum is given of the stores remaining at the date of the
account, with their estimated value ; and it appears that very little had been used from the timber
department, and that the items in store in that division were valued at £1 17. 9s. 5^c?. : neither had much
been used from the iron, and the remainder was estimated at £3. 5s. 8c?. In the lead department very
little had also been done, for John the plumber w r as alone employed during 36 weeks and 1 ^ days, at
4c?. each day, the whole of his wages amounting only to £3. 12s. 6c?. ; and of the 1,215 stone 5 pounds
of lead purchased during the year, there was remaining 1 ,055 stone and 5 pounds, valued at
£27. 5s. b\d. There were also in store 3 semes of glass, valued at £2. 0s. 8c?. ; 6 " dolia" of plaster,
valued at 12s. 0c?. ; 6 load of lime, valued at 18s. 0c?. ; and 864 " tontights" of stone, namely, 668 ton-
tights laid at Caw T od, and 196 tontights laid at York, valued at £27. 0s. 9c?. — Total £127. 9s. 5^c?.
The following items of expenditure give pretty accurately the age of the windows, containing repre-
sentations of St. William and St. Laurence, and the corresponding windows in the chapels of St. Nicho-
las, &c, in the east aisle of the great transept ; and although they were only now fixed in the Church,
yet they must have been designed and in hand during the latter part of Wolveden's treasurership, as his
arms and name are worked therein. " Expended in wages to Robert Johnson, for making iron bars for
both the new glass windows at the altar of St. William and St. Nicholas, and for the inclosure of the
tomb in which Archbishop Grenfeld lies, 5s. 3c?. ; and to Robert the locksmith, for mending the iron
hinges and locks at the altar of St. Nicholas, 1 6c?."
The income portion of the fabric roll made by Master John Appleton, keeper of the fabric for
the year 1435, ending with the 24th of December, shows that the available fund was only
£280. 12s. lie?.; but the expenditure portion of the account has not been discovered, so that we
2 O
234
obtain from it no information as to the progress of the building ; which is to be regretted, as, without
doubt, further advances in the roof would have been exhibited ; nor, unfortunately, has any fabric
compotus for any one of the seven years ensuing been discovered.
It is very probable that about this period was fixed the glass in the magnificent window at the
south end of the transept of the Choir, and which may not improperly be termed the window of the
house of Lancaster, for in it are represented John, Duke of Lancaster, Henry IV., Henry V.,
Henry VI., and the Duke of Gloucester. It is a window of five long lights. Nearly at the bottom
of the eastern light, a King is represented in royal robes at prayer. Beneath is an imperfect label,
there remaining only the letters " p^enrte qtt . . tu . . . ." Implying, no doubt, " Henricus quartus Rex."
In the compartment beneath this, an Archbishop is also represented at prayer, but the label is almost
entirely destroyed.
In the western light of the window another King is represented, also at prayer, with a damaged
label containing "p^enrtcus qu Hex;" and in the compartment beneath, another Archbishop is
represented at prayer, with a very imperfect label, containing only the letters " Its (£bor"
probably for Archbishop Kemp, who was created Cardinal in 1439.
In the second light from the east there is another representation of a King at prayer. Upon the
book which is before him are written these words,—" .Plt'serere nut Bcus setunfoum magnam mi'scricoririam
tttam." Upon the label at the bottom is written, " f^enrtcus £bext~ 3£Ux." In the compartment beneath
is a prelate at prayer, but the label is very imperfect, there remaining only the letters " (£a . . 321 . . " —
which probably are remnants of the words Cardinalis Wintoniensis, namely, Henry Beaufort, whose
arms, to wit England of the period, within a bordure gobonated azure and ermine, and mitred or, are
placed in the clerestory of the south side of the Choir.
In the centre light of the window there is placed a full-length representation of St. Cuthbert, the
patron saint of the Church of Durham, bearing in his left hand the head of Saint Oswald, the King.
His right hand is in the attitude of benediction. Beneath his feet is written " £b • . . t ©utfrberte."
In the compartment beneath there is a representation of a nobleman at prayer. Upon the label is
written, " Bux (Sloucestre."
In the next light westward, there is another representation of a nobleman at prayer : upon the book
placed before him is written, " Bomhie ne t'n furore ttto arguas me neque tn t'ra tua corrtptas me. iftfttserere
met Bomtne quontam tnfirmus sum, sana me, Bom." Upon the label at the bottom of the compartment
is written, " 3°&~ cs ^ ux nt
injured (pp. 14, 15) .... J
The Church (according to the common account) en-^)
tirely rebuilt, but probably only much repaired ^
(PP- 18, 19) J
The present South Transept probably begun (p.46) about
The North Transept probably erected (pp. 57 — 59)
between ......
The Chapter House erected (pp. 94, 95)
Vestibule to Chapter House erected, and windows J
glazed (p. 97) ...... y
The present Nave erected and vaulted (pp. 110 — 135)X
I
Eastern portion of present Chon* erected, and Crvpt f
completed (pp. 210, 211) - - " |
Western portion of Choir erected, and the Norman f
piers of the Great Tower newly cased (pp. 242 — ^
253)
South-western Bell Tower erected (pp. 232—238)
North-western Bell Tower erected (pp. 238 — 254)
Great (or Lanthorne) Tower erected (pp. 241, 251, 252)
Rood Screen (the present Organ Screen) erected J
(pp. 256, 269, 270) S
The Choir much injured by fire (pp. 320, 321, 322)
The Choir renovated, and rendered available for ser-
vice (p. 323)
The Nave much injured by fire (pp. 324, 325)
The Nave completely restored (p. 327)
The Chapter House partially repaired, and beautified J
(pp. 327, 328) V
627
670
741
770
1069
1080
1137
1170
1220
1250
and
1270
1280
to
1340
1335
to
1350
1291
to
1360
1361
to
1415
1410
to
1472
1433
to
1450
1450
to
1474
1460
to
1472
1476
to
1518
1829
1829
to
1832
1840
1844
1844
to
1845
J
St. PauUnus
St. Wilfrid -
Egbert
Albert
See Vacant -
Thomas the Norman
Thurstan
Roger
Walter Grey
Walter Grey
to
Walter Giffard
William Wykewane")
to
William Melton
William Melton
and
W. de la Zouch
John le Eomain
to
John Thoresby
John Thoresby
to V
Henry Bowet J
Henry Bowet
to V
George Neville J
John Kemp
John Kemp, Wilbam \
Bothe, George Neville J
Wilbam Bothe
George Neville
Laurence Bothe
to
Thomas Wolsey
Edward Harcourt
Edward Harcourt
Edward Harcourt
Edward Harcourt
Edward Harcourt
Edwin.
Oswy.
Eadbert.
Aldred.
Wilbam I.
William I.
Stephen.
Henry II.
Henry III.
Henry III.
Edward I, II., and III.
Edward III.
Edward I, II., and III.
Edward III.
Richard II.
Henry IV. and V.
Henry V. and VI.
Edward IV.
Henry VI.
Henry VI.
Edward IV.
Edward IV.
Edward IV. and V.
Richard III.
Henry VII. and VIII.
George IV.
George IV.
Wilbam IV.
Victoria.
Victoria.
Victoria.
A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST
OF THE AECHBISHOPS OF YORK SINCE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
No.
Archbishops.
Consecrated or
enthroned a.d.
Died, translated, or
deprived.
Sovereigns.
1
Thomas ....
1070
Nov. 18, 1100
William I. and II.
2
Gerard ....
1100
May 21, 1108
Henry I.
3
Thomas IT. ...
June
26,
1109
Feb. 16, 1114
Henry I.
4
Thurstan . .
1114
Resigned 1143
Henry I. and Stephen.
5
St. William . . .
1144
Deprived 1147
Stephen.
6
Henry Murdac . .
1148
Oct. 14, 1153
Stephen.
St. William . . .
Restored
1154
June 8, 1154
Stephen.
7
Roger
Oct.
10,
1154
Nov. 22, 1181
Henry II.
8
Geoffry Plantagenet .
Aug.
18,
1191
Dec. 18, 1212
Richard I. and John.
9
Walter Grey . . .
Nov.
11,
1216
May 1, 1255
Henry III.
10
Sewall de BovU . .
July
23,
1256
May 10, 1258
Henry III.
11
Ludham or Kimeton .
Sept.
24,
1258
Jan. 12, 1264
Henry III.
12
Walter Giffard . .
Nov.
1,
1265
April 25, 1279
Henry III. and Edward I.
13
William Wykewane
Sept.
19,
1279
Aug. 27, 1285
Edward I.
14
John le Romain
Feb.
10,
1286
March 11, 1295
Edward I.
15
Henry de Newarke
June
25,
1298
Aug. 15, 1299
Edward I.
16
Thomas de Corbridge .
Feb.
27,
1299
Sept. 22, 1303
Edward I.
17
William de Grenefeld .
Jan.
30,
1305
Dec. 6, 1314
Edward I. and II.
18
William de Melton
Sept.
25,
1317
April 5, 1340
Edward II. and III.
19
William de la Zouch .
July
7,
1342
July 19, 1352
Edward III.
20
John Thoresby . .
Sept.
8,
1354
Nov. 6, 1373
Edward III.
21
Alexander Neville
June
4,
1374
Resigned 1388
Edward III. and Richard II.
22
Thomas Arundell
April
3,
1388
Translated 1396
Richard II.
23
Robert Waldby . .
March 20,
1396
Jan. 6, 1397
Richard II.
24
Richard le Scrope
July
10,
] 398
June 8, 1405
Richard II. and Henry IV.
25
Henry Bowet
Dec.
9,
1407
Oct. 20, 1423
Henry IV., V., and VI.
26
John Kemp . . .
Aprd
8,
1426
Translated 1451
Henry VI.
27
William Bothe . .
Sept.
4,
1453
Sept. 12, 1464
Henry VI. and Edward IV.
28
George Neville . .
Jan.
15,
1466
June 8, 1476
Edward IV.
29
Laurence Bothe
Sept.
Sept.
8,
1477
May 19, 1480
Edward IT.
30
Thomas Rotherham .
9,
1480
May 29, 1500
Edward IV. and V., Richard III.,
and Henry VII.
31
Thomas Savage
ChristopherBaynbridge
April
12,
1501
Sept. 2, 1507
Henry VII.
32
Dec.
12,
1508
June 12, 1514
Henry VII. and VIII.
33
Thomas Wolsey
Dec.
3,
1514
Nov. 29, 1530
Henry VIII.
34
Edward Lee . . .
Dec.
10,
1531
Sept. 13, 1544
Henry VIII.
35
Robert Holgate . .
Jan.
10,
1545
Deprived 1553
Henry VIII., Edward VI., and
Mary.
36
Nicholas Heath . .
Jan.
22,
1556
Deprived 1558
Mary and Elizabeth.
37
Thomas Younge
Feb.
3,
1560
June 26, 1568
Elizabeth.
38
Edmund Grindale . .
June
1,
1570
Translated 1575
Elizabeth.
39
Edwin Sandys . . .
March 13,
1576
July 10, 1588
Sept. 28, 1594
Elizabeth.
40
John Piers ....
Feb.
27,
1589
Elizabeth.
41
Matthew Hutton . .
March 24,
1595
Jan. 15, 1605
Klizabeth and James 1 .
42
Tobias Matthew . .
Sept.
11,
1606
March 29, 1628
James 1. and Charles 1.
43
George Mountaign
Oct.
24,
1628
Nov. 6, 1628
Charles I.
44
Samuel Harsnet . .
April
23,
1629
May 25, 1631
Charles I.
45
Richard Neile .
April
16,
1632
Oct. 30, 1640
Charles I.
46
John Williams . . .
June
27,
1642
1650
Charles I.
47
Accepted Frewen .
Oct.
11,
1660
March 28, 1664
Charles II.
48
Richard Sterne .
June
10,
1664
June 18, 1683
Charles II.
49
John Dolben . . .
Aug.
23,
1683
Aprd 11, 1(>M)
Charles 11. and .tames 11.
50
Thomas Lamplugh
Dec.
19,
1688
May 5, 1691
William and Mary.
51
John Sharpe . . .
July
16,
1691
Feb. 16, 1713
William and Mary, and Anne.
52
Sir William Dawes
March 24,
1714
April 30, 1724
George I.
53
Lancelot Blackburn .
Nov.
1724
1743
George I. and II.
54
Thomas Herring . .
April
28,
1743
Translated 1747
George II.
55
Matthew Hutton . .
Dec.
29,
1747
Translated 1757
George II.
50
John Gilbert . . .
May
28,
1757
1761
George II. and III.
57
Hon. Rob. Drummond
Nov.
11,
1761
Dec. 10, 1766
George III.
58
William Markham .
Jan.
28,
1777
Nov. 3, 1807
George III.
59
Hon. Edward Venables
Vernon, now Har-
court.
Jan.
21,
180S
George III. and IV., William IV.,
and Victoria.
ARTICLES GENERALLY SHOWN IN THE REVESTRY TO VISITORS, AS OBJECTS OE
CURIOSITY.
The Horn of Ulphus. It is made of an elephant's tooth, and was given to the Church as a token of his
assigning to the use thereof his lands, tenements, &c. Sir William Dugdale records the circumstance thus : —
" Ulphus, the son of Thorald, who ruled in the west of Deira, by reason of the difference which was like to rise
between his sons, about the sharing of his lands and lordships after his death, resolved to make them all alike ;
and thereupon, coming to York, with that horn wherewith he used to drink, filled it with wine, and before the
Altar of God and Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, kneeling, devoutly drank the wine, and by that ceremony
enfeoffed this Church with all his lands and revenues." And by this relic the Church still retains possessions of
great value.
This Horn being adorned with gold mountings, and appended to a gold chain appears to have been taken from
the Church in the general seizure of ecclesiastical property. Afterwards Thomas, Lord Fairfax, became its pos-
sessor, stripped of its golden adornments; he bequeathed it to his son Henry, Lord Fairfax, who restored it to
the Church. In 1675, the Dean and Chapter re-adorned it with silver gilt, and engraved upon it a commemora-
tion of the circumstances.
The Rings of the following Archbishops, taken from the graves, during the removal of the old pavement : —
Sewall de Bovil's, a plain Ruby set in Gold; Grenfelde's, a plain Ruby set in Gold; Bowet's jewel, (now lost) set in
Gold, with this motto, " Honnor et Joy."
There are also three silver Chalices and Patens partially gilt, which were taken from the graves, but they are
not assignable to any individuals.
The Cup or Bowl of Pakdon, once very probably belonging to the Guild of "Corpus Christi." — See p. 290.
Two Images of Warriors of wood, made by Richard Carver in 1528, for 13s. 4c?., and which stood from that
year, above the south entrance of the Church, striking with hammers upon two bells the quarters of the hours ;
they were probably taken down about 1752, when the Clock was removed. — See p. 315.
A Wooden Head, said to have been found in the grave of Archbishop Rotherham. — See pp. 263, 264.
A Silver Pastoral Crook, upwards of six feet in length, which was seized by the Earl of Danby, during the
Revolution of 1688, from the possession of Dr. James Smith, Bishop of Callipolis, who was then at York, having
been appointed by the Pope, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of England.
Two small Coronets of copper gilt, which were used at the visit of James I. when he was in York, on his way
to Scotland.
INDEX.
A.
Accounts, abstract of, 221.
Chamberlain's, 168.
Aeneas, Sylvius, (Pius II.) visits York, 97.
Agnus Dei, 72.
Alb, apparel of, 77, 78.
Albs to be destroyed, 304.
Albert, Archbishop, 4, 10.
builds a new church, 10.
his church entire at the conquest, 12.
Alcuin, 4, 7.
extract from his poem, 4.
Aldred, Archbishop, 12.
builds a hall and refectory, 12.
Allusive capitals, 281—291.
Altar, reputed Roman, 32.
reputed Saxon, 9.
Altar of SS. Agatha, Lucy, and Scholastica,
34, 56, 155, 200.
St. Andrew, 56, 216.
St. Blaise, 59.
St. Christopher, 65.
St. Edward, 112.
St. Edmund, 122, 136.
St. John the Baptist, 163.
St. John the Evangelist, 34, 59, 154,
188, 206.
St. John of Beverley, 115.
the Holy Innocents, 34, 133, 155, 202,
208.
St. Katharine and St. James, 34, 64, 155.
the B. V. Mary in the Crypt, 33.
the B. V. Mary and St. John the Evan-
gelist, 60, 65, 72, 163.
B. V. Mary and Jesus, 266, 289.
St. Mary Magdalene, 34, 56, 155.
St. Michael, 56, 65.
St. Nicholas, 68, 126.
SS. Nicholas and Gregory, 34, 56, 155.
St. Peter, 14, 166.
SS. Petronella, Agnes, and Cecily, 34.
St. Stephen, 34, 202.
St. Thomas a Becket, 68, 230.
St. William, 55.
St. Wilfrid, 220.
of the Lady Mass, 297.
Altars with various titles, 208.
ornaments for, 112.
repaired, 310.
to give place to tables, 300.
all to be destroyed, 303.
Altar sites to be paved, 303.
sites paved, 305.
Altar stones to be broken, 304.
Andrew, St., altar of, 56, 216.
Andrew, Mr. Richard, 244, 246.
obit of, 249.
donation by, 254.
chantry of, 255, 256.
Annunciation, representation of the, 140.
" Antiphonar," writing of an, 264.
" Antiphonens " to be destroyed, 304.
Apparel of alb, 77.
Appilton, Mr. Robert, prebendary, 216.
Arcea, or Hearse, 202.
Ark, red, 236.
Arundel, Thomas, Archbishop, 194.
his translation, 195.
his donations, 195.
Ascension, representation of the, 143.
Ash Wednesday, ashes on, forbidden, 296.
Assumption, representation of the, 144.
Aurifrigium, 78.
Avens, herb, 22, 24, 25, 26.
B.
Bannister, David, mason and sculptor, 255,
322.
Barker, William, bequest by, 202.
Barnett, Messrs. and Sons, glass-stainers,
329.
Baselardus, 193.
Basle, cathedral of, 226.
Battle of the standard, 14.
Bay or laurel, foliage, 24, 26, 29, 39.
Baynbridge, Christopher, Archbishop, 268.
his death, 269.
Beacon on large tower, 312, 318.
Beads forbidden, 304.
Bear, an emblem, 287.
Beaufort, Henry, Cardinal, 234.
Beck, Anthony, Bishop, 61, 62.
Becket's crown, 85, 86, 92.
Beckwith, Stephen, M.D., legacy of, 327.
Beckwyth, Leonard, knight, will of, 187, 189.
Bede, Venerable, 3, 7.
Bedern, college in the, 57.
Bell-tower, old, 9, 58, 160.
prayer-bell placed in the, 318.
Bell, great, broken, 135.
replaced, 169.
new tenor, 327.
" Peter " obtained, 328, 329.
Bells, hand, to be destroyed, 304.
sacring, to be destroyed, 304.
recast, 312.
Bells rehung, 314.
a new peal, 317.
Beckwith's new peal, 327.
Benedict Biscop, 11.
his church at Wearmouth, 82, 135.
Berefridus, 160, 161, 190.
Bermyngham, or Beryngham, John de, 1 80.
231, 238.
emblematic representation of his name,
231.
presumed shield of his arms, 240.
will of, 241.
Bernard, Elias, founds an altar to St. Wil-
liam, 55.
Biondi, 282, 285.
Blackburn, Lancelot, Archbishop, 313.
death of, 315.
Blackburn, Richard, 216.
Blackhall, John, 193.
Blaise, St., altar of, 59.
Blessed Virgin Mary, figure of, 269.
Bolton priory, 172.
Books, sale of, to ornament reredos, 217.
Latin, to be destroyed, 304.
Boss, curious emblematical, 274.
Bothe, or Boothe, William, Archbishop, 238.
death of, 247.
Bothe, or Boothe, Laurence, Archbishop, 256.
death of, 258.
his chantry of two priests, 258.
Branktree, John de, 191.
obit for, 192.
Brasses in the ancient floor, 137.
Bread, singing, 296.
Briefs for the fabric, 130, 131, 134, 147, 150.
Britton, Mr., 29, 57, 66, 67, 68, 82, 86, 226,
278.
Bowet, Henry, Archbishop, 204, 223. 227.
chantry for, 209.
tomb of, 186, 209, 292.
interred, 223.
will of, 186, 223.
funeral expenses of, 224.
tomb of, renovated, 318.
arms of, 223, 225.
Bowet, Robert, Archdeacon, 224.
Bowet, Henry, Archdeacon, 224.
Bowet's window, 221.
Buckingham, Duke of, places a turret on
the lanthorne tower, 312.
Bull for the church of Misterton, 192.
Burlington, Earl of, 313.
Bynbrok, Henry de, obit for, 194.
336
c.
Candlesticks to be destroyed, 304.
Candlemas day, candles on, forbidden, 296,
304.
Canonical bours, 175.
Canonization of St. William, 20, 50, 52.
proposed, of Archbishop Scrope, 245,
246.
attempted, of King Henry VI., 268.
Canterbury cathedral, 85.
Capitals in the north aisle of the choir, allu-
sive to the history of Archbishop
Scrope, 281—291.
Caput domini, 6.
Carlisle, Earl of, his donation of a window,
319.
Carlisle, church of, 119.
Carnebull, Henry, 189.
his will, 265.
his chantry, 189, 266.
his epitaph, 265.
Carpenter, appointment of master, 128, 190.
Carr, William, architect, 317.
Carvers, ecclesiastical, studied nature in their
designs of foliage, 108.
Cawod, William de, 193, 207, 212, 214.
his will, 217.
his chantry, 220, 226.
Ceel, or Seel, Christopher, 271.
Censers sold, 300.
to be destroyed, 304.
Ceremonies, ancient, restored, 298.
Chamberlain's accounts, 168.
Chantries, regulations for, 112.
united, 2.36.
suspended, 154, 155.
Chantry of the Holy Name of Jesus, 190,
266, 272, 292.
of St. John the Baptist, 163, 272.
of St. John the Evangelist, 190, 272.
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 190, 272.
of St. Nicholas, 126.
of All Saints, 272.
of St. Saviour, 256, 272.
of St. Stephen, 272.
of St. Wilfrid, 272.
Chantry screens taken down, 313.
Chapel of B. V. Mary and the Holy Angels,
19, 173, 174, 180, 183, 189.
seal of, 184.
revenues of, 181.
Chapel of St. James, 228.
of St. Nicholas, 223.
of St. Stephen, 242.
of the Archbishop's palace repaired, 31 9.
of " my lord of Northumberland," 189.
Chapter-house, 94, 311.
description of, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102.
new covered, 315.
interior repaired, and partially adorned,
327, 328, 329.
windows of, repaired, 329.
Chapter mass, 175, 176, 177.
Charles I., his reception at York, 308.
his letters on the state of the church,
308.
his donation, 307.
Chester, Richard de, 126.
Chests for money, 99.
Chimes, 253, 254, 312.
destroyed, 316.
Choir not in a direct line with the nave, 6,
273.
built at twice, 6, 172, 273, 275.
indenture for a new, 148, 169.
description of interior, 275, 277.
description of exterior, 277.
burnt, 5, 256.
burnt by Martin, 320, 321.
renovated, 322, 323.
re-opened for divine service, 323.
Choristers, master of, 297.
Christianity introduced into Britain, 1.
Christopher, St., altar of, 65.
guild of, 65.
Church, original, at York, built of wood by
St. Paulinus, 3.
of stone, commenced, 3.
destroyed by fire, 14.
remains of, 10.
Circles in the ancient floor, 137.
Clement of Maydestone, 287.
Clement, St., the parishioners of, 246.
translation of his feast, 247.
Clock, first public, in York, 161.
old, taken down, 315.
new one, by Hindley, 315.
" Codds " of brass, 218.
Colchester, William, 219.
College in the Bedern, 57.
Commission for the fabric, 160.
Communion table removed, 313.
screen glazed, 316.
Completion of the church (about a.d. 1520),
270.
Concrete masonry, 7.
Confession forbidden, 304.
Confiscation of chantry property, 295.
of chantry payments, 296.
Consecration of the church, 253.
Convocation for urgent affairs, 226, 244.
Cope, choral, forfeited, 122.
acquittance of, 167.
Copes, inquiry for, 305.
Corbrigge, or Corbridge, Archbishop, 114.
his indulgence, 115.
his death, 116.
Coronation of B. V. Mary represented, 145.
Corpus Christi, feast of, 121, 122.
guild of, 290.
indulgence to guild of, 290.
guild bowl, 290.
Cotyngham, Sir William de, bequest by, 126.
Council's seat in the choir, 309.
Coventry John of — see Thornton.
Creste, or royal arms, in place of the rood,
303, 304.
Crismatories to be destroyed, 304.
Cromwell, Thomas, 292, 293.
Cromwell, Oliver, 311.
Crosses to be destroyed, 304.
Cruddes, croudes, or crowds, 198, 210, 246.
Crowfoot, 26, 107.
Crypt, 33.
Saxon, 32.
Norman, 33.
discovered, 323.
Modern, 210.
description of, 275.
its altars, 275.
Cup of pardon, 290.
Cupola, or turret, erected on the lanthorne
tower, 312.
taken down, 318.
Cuthbert, St., effigy of, 234.
Cypress, 23.
D.
Dalby, Thomas de, donation by, 200.
his epitaph, 267.
Danby, John, 188.
Darton, symbolical representation of the
name, 257.
Davies, Robert, his municipal records, 261,
288.
Dawes, Sir William, 313.
death of, 313.
Dedication, feast of, 246, 253.
Dent, Mr., 109, 326, 327.
De Profundis forbidden, 304.
Descent of the Holy Ghost, representation
of the, 144.
Dies feriales, 157.
Diocletian, 2.
Dittany, 23.
Divine services suspended, 21.
Dodd's church history quoted, 299, 300.
Dodsworth's MSS. 15, 48, 51, 52, 63, 112,
118, 119.
Dog's tooth ornament, 29.
Dolben, John, Archbishop, 312.
death of, 313.
donation by, 313.
monument of, 272.
Domicellus, 212.
Doncaster, Henry de, 193.
Douglas, Earl of, 282.
Dragon an emblem, 283.
wood:'n, in the nav, 137.
Drake's Eboracum, 14, 15, 21, 34, 46, 60, 94,
100, 102, 111, 113, 115, 116, 125,
132, 136, 137, 161, 185, 186, 228,
231, 239, 287, 304, 330.
Driffield, the prebend of, 261.
Drummond, Robert, Archbishop, 317.
his death, 318.
his erections, 318.
Duffeld, William, 187.
Dugdale's baronage, 19.
Monasticon, 46, 47, 190.
337
Du Cange, 78.
Durer, Albert, 43.
E.
Eanbald, Archbishop, 4, 7.
Eborus, Bishop, 2.
Edmund, St., altar of, 122, 136.
Edward, St., altar of, 112.
Edward III., cognizance of, 96, 104, 106,
108.
Edward VI., his accession, 294.
his visitation, 294.
his injunctions, 294, 295.
shrines demolished by, 295.
his death, 297.
Edwin, King, 3, 5, 7, 80.
his marriage with Edilburga, 3.
his conversion, 3.
stone church commenced by, 3.
his death, 3.
Elevational projections, 281.
Ellerker, William, 195.
Eligius, or Eloy, St., 176.
Elizabeth's, St., College, Win ton, 177.
Elizabeth, Queen, 137.
her accession, 299.
her injunctions, 300, 301.
her private altar, 300.
confiscated tenths and first fruits, 301.
Emblems of the Evangelists, 273.
Emblematical boss, 274.
Este, Robert, 219.
his will, 263.
his donation to All Souls, Oxford,
263.
Esyngwald, Robert, 216, 227, 236.
Ethelbert, 2, 3.
Eugenius III., Pope, 15.
Evangelists, emblems of the, 273.
Evesham, Simon de, 56, 59, 155, 188.
Excommunication, the Greater, 154.
Exemption from tolls for stone, 200.
Eyre, John, Archdeacon, 320.
F.
Fabric's portion of income, 112.
Fabric compotuses, 168.
accounts, 221.
surveyed, 317.
Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 137, 311.
Falconbridge, Lord, 284.
Faldstool, 228.
Fayrefax, Brian, 214.
Feast of Corpus Christi, 121.
Feast of St. William, 246, 247.
Feast of Dedication, 246, 253.
Feriby, William de, 133, 192.
Feretmm of St. William, 63, 228.
Feryby, Robert de, 207.
Fewlare, Sir John, 219.
Finch, Dean, 272.
Five Sisters Window, 69, 89.
Flaundre tiles, 210.
Floor, old, of the church, 313.
Floor, new one laid, 313.
tomb-stones used in forming the new,
314.
no interments allowed under the new,
315.
Foliage, symbolical character of, 22.
Font, 137.
repaired, 310.
removed, 314.
Fonts to be transposed, 303.
Forfeiture of a cope, 122.
Fortunatus, Bishop, 82.
Fosbrooke, 95.
Foulthorpe, Sir William, 286.
Fountains, Abbey of, 226.
Fourmers, or Formers, 198.
Fox, an emblem, 285.
Fox's tail, a cognizance, 284.
Freemasonry, 50.
French honeysuckle, 25.
Frewen, Accepted, Archbishop, 312.
his death, 312.
Front, west, repaired, 318.
Fryston, church of, 49, 123.
G.
Gads of Spanish iron, 1 26.
Galilee in Durham cathedral, 35.
Gargilles, or Gurgoyles, intailing, 261.
Garton, Thomas de, 194, 218.
Gas introduced into the church, 320.
Gascoigne, Sir William, 286.
arms of, 239.
Gascoigne, Sir Edward, donation by, 315.
Gaufrid, abbot of St. Alban's, 226.
Gaunt, John of, 97.
Gent, Thomas, 19, 188, 311.
Geoffry Plantagenet, Archbishop, 20, 46.
consecrated of Tours, 20.
installed, 21.
death of, 20.
George, St., effigy of, 138.
Gervase of Canterbury, 14, 17, 32.
Geum, or herb avens, 22, 27.
Giffard, Walter, Archbishop, 59, 60.
Gilbert, John, Archbishop, 316.
Glass, the art of making, antiquity of, 81.
in windows, 82, 124, 233, 234.
coloured, history of, 82.
when applied to architecture, 83.
" Rennysh, Nonnandie, and Borgan-
die," 271.
for repairs, 306.
Glendower, Owen, 282, 283.
Gloucester, Duke of, 234.
cathedral, 226.
Godwin, 14, 301.
Gold and silver confiscated, 293.
" Grailes " to be destroyed, 304.
Gregory and Nicholas, altar of SS., 34, 56.
Gregory of Tours, 24, 82.
Gregory XII., Pope, 205.
Gregory, St., Trental of, 223.
Grenewod, Thomas, 220.
3 D
Grenefeld, William de, Archbishop, 116.
indulgence, by 116.
his donation, 1 18.
his death, 118.
chantry for, 126.
his monument, 68, 119, 233.
Grey, Walter, Archbishop, 20, 21, 71, 73,
94, 202.
admitted, 46.
begins the south transept, 46.
issues an indulgence, 55.
bequeaths his palace, 57.
his death, 57.
his burial, 57.
tomb of, 65.
his bust, 73.
Greyhound, a symbol, 290.
Grindale, Edmund, Archbishop, 301.
injunctions of, 302, 303, 305.
commission of, 302.
translation of, 304.
Gylby, John, 230.
Gysburgh, John, 218, 244, 255.
will of, 263.
H.
Halfpenny, William, 19, 38, 50, 80, 97, 101,
102, 318.
Harcourt, Edward Venables Vernon, Arch-
bishop, 319.
Harrington, Sir John, 301.
Harsnet, Samuel, Archbishop, 307.
death of, 307.
Hastings, Lord, 284.
Hatfield, Bishop of Durham, effigy of, 79.
Haxey, or Haxby, Thomas, 204, 212, 214.
donation by, 217, 220.
will of, 220.
arms of, 225, 226.
obit for, 230.
tomb of, removed, 314.
Hazelwood Hall, 13, 49.
MSS. at, 48.
chapel at, 226.
Hearse, or Arcea, 202.
Heath, Nicholas, Archbishop, 298.
recovers several manors, 299.
he is deprh ed, 299.
his death, 299.
Helewell, John, donation by, 194.
Hemmyngburgh, Richard, 212.
Henry III., 73.
Henry IV. installed, 282.
oblation by, 202.
beheads Archbishop Scrope, 203.
excommunicated, 287.
pardoned, 287.
Henry VI., his attempted canonization, 268.
image of, 268, 269.
his image taken down, 274.
Henry VIII. solicits a divorce, 292.
declares himself supreme head of the
church, 292.
338
Henry VIII. issues injunctions, 293.
appoints visitors of inquiry, 293.
suppresses monasteries, 293.
demolishes shrines, 293.
Herb Avens, 22.
Herba Benedicta, 25, 70, 72, 93.
Herb Bennet, 27.
Hereford, Duke of, 282.
Herring, Thomas, Archbishop, 315.
translated, 315.
High altar, wax expended at the, 197.
offerings at, 166.
ordered to be destroyed, a.d. 1552, 297.
painted, a.d. 1556, 299.
penance at the, 193.
gilt table at the, 270.
" Hole in the Wall " demolished, 319.
Holgate, Robert, Archbishop, 294.
alienates several manors, 294.
sent to the Tower, 297.
liberation of, 297.
death of, 297.
schools founded by, 297:
Holly, 26, 29.
Holme, Agnes de, 149.
Holy water stocks to be destroyed, 304.
Honorius, Pope, 52.
Hop, 26, 29, 107.
Hornby, William, 325.
Horse chestnut, 42.
Hoton, William de, 129.
Hoton, John, 212, 213.
excommunicated, 214, 215.
Hotspur, 282.
Honeysuckle, French, 25.
Honyngham, William de, 191.
Hoveden, Roger, 4, 17, 18, 19, 21, 330.
Hugb, St., of Lincoln, 62.
Hutton, Matthew, Dean, 305, 306.
Archbishop, 306.
death of, 306.
tomb of, 306.
Hutton, Matthew, Archbishop, 315.
his translation, 316.
Hyndeley, William, master mason, 252.
symbolical representation of his name,
257.
his will, 266.
Hyssop, 23.
I.
Image of St. Mary, 127, 218, 219, 263.
St. Peter, 139.
King Henry VI., 268, 269, 274.
Images of the Blessed Virgin, 270.
to be destroyed, 296, 297, 300, 304.
Inclosure of St. Mary's altar, 289.
Indenture for a new choir, 148, 169.
with a plumber, 1 60, 1 64.
with a master mason, 162.
for the east window, 203.
Indulgence for Canterbury C hurch, 17.
for the feast of St. William, 54.
Indulgence for the feast of St. Peter and St.
Paul, 58.
for visiting the tomb of St. William, 63.
Indulgences for the fabric, 55, 115, 116,
120, 133, 150, 196, 204.
Innocent III., Pope, 46.
Innocent VI., Pope, 151.
Innocent VII., Pope, 287.
Innocents, Holy, altar of, 34, 133.
Intailing, 257.
Interior of church cleansed, 318.
Interments in the old choir, 185.
not allowed under the new floor, 315.
where allowed, 315.
Inventory of jewels belonging to chantries,
296.
plate, copes, &c, 307.
stores, 198.
Islip, symbolical representation of the name,
257.
Ivy, 23, 26, 29, 103.
J.
James I., statue of, 318.
Jerome, St., 82.
Jesus, chantry of, 292.
Jews in York, persecution of the, 21.
Joceline de 3ailul, Bishop of Sarum, 17.
John, symbolical representation of the name
of, 257.
John the Evangelist, altar of St., 34, 59.
John the Evangelist and Holy Mary, altar
of, 60, 65, 72.
John, St., of Beverley, altar of, 115.
tomb of, 51.
Johnson, William, 139.
K.
Kemp, John, Archbishop, 227, 234.
enthronization of, 228.
translation of, 228.
Kent, Mr., 7, 313, 315.
Kerrich, Rev. T., 43.
Kexby, William, 204, 206.
Knapton, John, 245.
Kyrkeby Orblowers, or Overblows, 155.
Kyrkton, Agnes de, 204.
L.
Lady Bells, 254.
Lady bell tower injured, 312.
Lady chapel, Salisbury, 176.
York, 180, 188, 189, 190.
Lady mass altar, 297.
Ladies' mantle, 25.
Lamplugh, Thomas, Archbishop, 313.
arms of, 311.
donations by, 312, 313.
tapestry of, removed, 316.
Lamps in churches, 81.
Lancaster, John, Duke of, 234.
Lancaster, Henry, Duke of, 282.
Lancaster window, 234, 268.
Lanerock, Thomas, 223.
Langley, Bishop of Durham, 97.
Langton, Dean, 59.
death of, 113.
monument of, 113, 202.
Langton, Sir John, 248.
Lanthorne tower, weakness of the, 8.
description of, 242, 273.
bosses for the, 251.
windows of, glazed, 251, 252.
painted and gilded, 252.
repaired, 314, 327.
Laugh ton, prebend of, 261.
Laurel, or Bay, 24, 26, 29, 39.
Lawrence, St., altar of, 34, 56.
effigy of, 233.
Lawson, Sir William, Bart., 89.
Layton, Dean, pawns jewels, 294.
" Lectrine " in choir repaired, 169.
Lee, Edward, Archbishop, 292.
appointment of, 293.
alienates several manors, 294.
death of, 294.
Legends to be destroyed, 304.
Leland's Itinerary, 59, 178, 185, 248.
Letter for the Feast of Corpus Christi, 121.
for the Diocese of Lincoln, 152.
from Pope Alexander III., 16.
for offerings at the High Altar, 166.
against false collectors, 153.
requisitory, 219.
to Archbishop Bowet, 208.
to procure timber, 133.
of citation, 245.
Letters for the fabric, 151, 159, 196.
Lewis of Bavaria, 96.
Lincoln, Lawrence de, 56.
Lingard, Dr., quoted, 284, 286.
Lion, a badge, 107.
Lion, an emblem, 283.
Locus Clavorum, 79.
Longley, Thomas, Bishop of Durham, 234
a Cardinal, 234".
his window, 234.
arms of, 235.
Lotus, 23.
Ludham, Godfrey de, Archbishop, 58.
obtains an indulgence, 58.
death of, 58.
tomb of, 65, 185.
Ludham, Thomas de, 59, 72.
Lumbard, John, 56.
M.
Malbys, arms of, 231.
Mallom, William, 215.
Malmesbury, William of, 30.
Malster, William, 248.
Manuals to be destroyed, 304.
Maple, 24, 26, 103.
Marble, Petworth, 73, 92, 98, 103.
339
Marble stones, 162, 164, 171, 184, 186, 187.
March, Earl of, 282.
Marches, Earl of the, 282.
Mare, Thomas de la, 1 86.
Markham, William, Archbishop, 318.
donation by, 319.
death of, 319.
Markham, George, Dean, 94.
death of, 320.
Markham, Robert, Archdeacon, 320.
Marsar, Thomas, 271.
Marshall, Henry, 21.
Marshall, John, 194.
Martha, St., devotion to, 127.
Martin, Jonathan, 5, 68, 119.
sets fire to and destroys the Choir, 320,
tried and proved insane, 321.
dies in Bethlehem Hospital, 321.
Mary's bells, 312.
Mary, St., ad Valvas, 34, 159, 169.
Mary, Queen, letter of, 298.
surrenders confiscated tenths, 299.
surrenders first fruits, 299.
death of, 299.
Mason, Richard, 237.
Masons engaged from Rome, 11.
Masons, regulations for, 134, 165.
Masonry, concrete, 7.
Mass of the Blessed Virgin, 174, 175, 176.
Mass, Capitular, 176.
daily, 174.
the name retained, 296.
Mass books to be destroyed, 304.
Master carpenter, 128.
Master of the Choristers, 297.
Master mason's salary, 129.
Matthew, Tobias, Archbishop, 306.
death of, 306.
tomb of, 291, 306.
Maule, Stephen, 112.
Mears, Messrs. C. and G., bell-founders,
327, 328.
Melton, William de, Archbishop, 119, 121,
202.
grants an indulgence, 120.
donation by, 124.
death and burial of, 124.
relics of, 125.
obit of, 135.
Melton, William, 190.
will of, 292.
Mermaid, an emblem, 283.
Meye, William, Archbishop elect, 300.
Michael, St., representation of, 71.
altar of, 56, 65.
Michael, St., le Belfrey, 161, 270, 271, 280.
Middleham, college at, 261.
Milford, Henry de, 112, 113.
Millom, church of, 56.
Milner, Dr. John, 14, 30, 36, 175, 176.
Minstrels or Waites, 191, 195, 306.
Miracles at St. William's tomb, 51, 52, 117,
119.
Miracle at the breaking of Ouse bridge, 15.
Mirror, an emblem, 283.
Misterton, Church of, 174, 192, 193.
fruits of, 201, 221.
Mole, an emblem, 283.
Monkeys, 145.
Monsters or dragons among foliage, 25.
Monuments destroyed, 300.
inquiry for, 305.
Moore, John, 177, 179.
Moore, William, 179.
Moreton, William, 244.
Mortimer, Earl of March, 282, 284.
Mortimer, Sir Edmund, 282, 283.
Morton, Thomas, 187, 238.
Mountaign, George, Archbishop, 306.
death of, 307.
Murdac, Henry, Archbishop, 14.
consecration of, 15.
death of, 15.
Musical Festivals, 320.
Musters, arms of, 239.
Myrtle, 23.
N.
Nativity, representation of the, 141.
Nave not in a direct line with the choir, 6,
273.
Nave, Norman, 9, 109, 192.
present, begun, 110.
completed, 135.
interior of, described, 136, 137.
exterior of, described, 138.
circles in the floor of, 137.
prayers to be read in, 302.
bosses in, 323.
destroyed by fire, 324.
cost of damage, 324.
renovated, 325, 326.
Needle, St. Wilfrid's, 33.
Neile, Richard, Archbishop, 307.
death of, 311.
Nessington, John de, 120.
Nevill, Alexander, Archbishop, 191.
death of, 194.
Nevill, George, Archbishop, 247, 256.
Newerk, Henry de, Archbishop, 114.
death of, 114.
Newton, John de, 194, 204, 206, 209.
Newton, Robert de, 191.
Nicholas III., 60.
Nicholson, Bishop, 16.
Nicolas, Sir N. H., 238, 239, 240, 243, 290.
Norman church injured, 14.
partly described, 31, 32.
crypt of, 18, 32, 39.
nave of, 9
choir of, 31.
remains of, 275.
Norwich, Godfrey de, 56.
Notyngham, John, 216.
O.
Oak, foliage of, 24, 29, 103.
Oak timber imbedded in masonry, 7.
3 D2
Obits, 295, 296,
Oblations at feasts, 222.
Offerings at St. Peter's altar, 14, 166.
Oil for a lamp, 139.
Olive, 23.
Ordinance for the masons, 134, 165.
Ordination of Holy Innocents altar, 133.
of St. Edmund's altar, 122, 123.
of St. Edward's altar, 112.
of St. John of Beverley's altar, 115.
of St. Katharine's altar, 64.
of Blessed Mary's altar, 34.
of St. Stephen's altar, 243.
of the church of Kyrkeby Oreblowers,
155, 156.
Orfreys, 78.
Organ in the crypt, 175, 255, 262.
Organ, singular, 274.
portable, 175.
book for the, 195.
blower, 304.
large new, 307, 310.
situation of the old, 309.
situation of the new, 310, 311.
large one destroyed, 321.
large new given, 323.
tuba mirabilis introduced, 329.
Organs forbidden, 296, 297.
Organ screen, 9, 299.
attempted removal of the, 322.
Ornaments at the Blessed Mary's altar, 60.
Osric, King, 3.
Oswald, King, completed the church, 3, 6.
death of, 3.
Oswy, King, 3.
Otterburn, William, 236.
P.
Paintings to be destroyed, 300.
Pake'nham, John, 244, 245.
will of, 256.
Pakoke, Peter, 215.
Pall, privileged days for the, 60.
Pall or pallium to be borne, 229.
Palm, 23.
Palms on Palm Sunday abolished, 296.
Papyrus, 23.
Paramentum, 78.
Paraphrasis provided, 295.
Parclose, 188.
Parcloses taken down, 188, 313.
Parishioners of St. Clement's, 246.
Parker, Thomas, 186, 212, 214, 225.
will of, 223, 289.
window of, 223.
Parsley, 23.
Parura, or paratura, 77.
Pastoral staff, 285.
Pateman, William, 255.
Patrick Pool, 135.
Patrington, Robert de, 162, 166.
Paulinus, St., 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 80.
converts King Edwin, 3.
builds a church of wood, 3.
340
Paulinus, St., commences a church of stone, 3.
retires to Rochester, 3.
existing walls of his church, 10.
Faylor, Edward, 310.
Paxes to be destroyed, 304.
Pecia, 78.
Peckett, William, 316, 317.
donation of a window by, 317.
Pelleson, William, 212, 214, 226.
Pension of master mason, 162.
Percy, Richard de, 19.
Percy, William de, 13, 18, 19, 47.
Percy, Lord, or Hotspur, 282.
Percy, statue of a, in west front, 47, 50,
79, 139, 277.
Percys, the, reputed givers of timber for the
church, 13, 50, 199.
donation by the, of the church of Top-
cliffe, 18.
confirmation of the same, 19, 50.
grant of way by the, 111.
chantry for the, 47, 155, 184, 189.
Perot, John, will of, 268.
Peter, St., altar of, 14, 166.
tabernacle of, 258.
image of, 259, 272.
quarry of, 13, 47, 48.
representation of, 316, 317.
Petworth marble, 73, 92.
Pews made in the choir, 315.
Philip le Bel, 95, 104.
Philip the Carpenter, 190.
Piers, John, Archbishop, 305.
death and tomb of, 306,
Pig, an emblem, 283."
Pikering, Robert de, 122.
Pine, 23.
Pinnacles, south east, cast down, 315.
fall on bell tower, 315.
of nave renovated, 319.
Pixes to be destroyed, 304.
Plan of church described, 5.
" Phinens " (chasubles) to be destroyed, 304.
Plate sold, 301.
inquiry for, 305.
Plummer, John le, 164.
Pomegranate, 23, 79.
Popylton, Richard de, 187, 189.
" Portisses " to be destroyed, 304.
Postulatio, 57.
Prayers, morning, 316.
Preciosa, 246.
President's, Lord, seat in the choir, 309.
Processions restored, 298.
Processionals to be destroyed, 304.
Proctors sent to Rome, 287.
Prophcte, John, Dean, 207.
Prudentius, 24.
Pugin, A. Welby, 29, 82, 87.
Pulpit for tlie preacher, 315.
Punchardon, Eudo de, 56, 200.
Pygot, Richard, 255.
Pykering, William and Robert, 202.
Pynchebek, Robert de, 122.
Pyttes, Richard del, 186, 207.
will of, 209.
Q.
Quarry in Thevesdale, 13, 49.
St. Peter's, 13, 49.
R.
Ragenhill, Richard, 212.
Thomas, 216.
Raine, Mr., 203.
Red ark, 236, 269, 270.
Reed of Egypt, 23.
Regulations for the masons, 134.
for chantries, 112.
Reliques to be destroyed, 304.
Ranunculus, 24.
Requisitory letter, 219.
Reredos of high altar, 169, 226.
taken down, 313.
a Corinthian, designed, 313.
of the altar of the Blessed Virgin, 291.
Resurrection, representation of the, 142.
Reynolds, John, Archdeacon of Cleveland,
187, 190.
will of, 190, 266.
screens in transepts erected by his exe-
cutors, 267.
Richard II., King, 282.
Richard III., King, his visit to York, 259.
procession of, to the church, 260.
his son made Prince of Wales, 260.
not crowned at York, 261.
slain at Bosw r orth, 262.
his devotion to the church, 261.
founds a college at Middleham, of one
hundred chaplains, 261.
restores the number of vicars choral,
261.
gift of, to the church, 261.
altars of, 262.
Rither, Robert de, 150.
Rock, Rev. Dr., 24, 77, 78.
Roger, Archbishop, 14, 15, 20, 21, 35, 45.
elected and consecrated, 16.
repairs the church, 9, 36.
the Pope's letter to, 16.
builds the vaults, 14, 17, 18.
builds the archiepiscopal palace, 19.
builds the chapel of St. Mary, 19, 180.
endows the chapel, 19.
revenue of his chapel, 181.
death of, 16, 19.
reputed tomb of, 19, 184, 186, 330, 331.
Romain, John, Archdeacon, 56, 59.
Romain, John le, Archbishop, 110.
begins the nave, 110.
death of, 113.
statue of, 139.
Romaine, John le, Treasurer, 9.
reputed erections of, 9, 58, 93.
only encased the tower, 242.
Rome, masons engaged from, 11.
Rood, figures for the, 299.
Rood lofts, destruction of, 302, 303, 304.
Rood or organ screen, completion of the,
269, 270.
description of the, 274.
repaired, 318.
images of plaster in the, 318.
proposed removal of the, 322.
Roofs of transepts repaired, 318.
Roos, or Ros, Lord William, 231.
arms of, 231.
window of, 231.
Ros, Peter de, 110, 113.
Rose, 23, 26, 29, 107.
Rotherham, Thomas, Archbishop, 258.
will and donations of, 187, 263.
death and interment of, 264.
where buried, 187.
account of the vault of, 264.
his vault re-examined, 265.
his body not burnt, 265.
chantry for, 189, 190, 266.
chantry for, at Rotherham, 265, 266.
tomb of, renovated, 264.
Rouen, taking of, 213.
Royal arch, 50.
S.
Sacrament to be administered in both kinds,
296.
Salisbury Cathedral, 87, 176.
Sampson, Sir Thomas, 126.
Sandys, Edwin, Archbishop, 304.
visitation of, 305.
injunctions of, 305.
death of, 305.
Sarum, Gilbert de, 64.
Savage, Thomas, Archbishop, 265.
dies intestate, 267.
supposed figure of, 268.
monument of, 267, 272.
interment of his heart, 267.
chantry for, 268.
Saxon church, 5.
walls of the, 7.
choir, 31.
crypt, 32.
well, 7, 33.
Schyrburne, Roger de, 188.
Scot, Thomas, Archbishop — see Rotherham.
Scott, John, master mason, 279.
killed, 323.
Screen, Rood or Organ — see Rood.
Screen at the Communion Table glazed, 316.
restored after the fire, 322.
Screens to chapels taken down, 313.
Scrope, Richard le, Archbishop, 197, 204.
a benefactor to the fabric, 201, 211, 212.
opposes Henry IV., 203, 284.
exhortation of, 284.
ensnared, 183, 285.
arrested, 203, 286.
condemned, 203, 286.
executed, 203, 287.
interment of, 203.
341
Scrope, Richard le, Archbishop, supposed
interment of, 288.
interment of, proved, 289.
tomb of, described, 290.
tomb of, mentioned, 186, 187.
memory of, venerated, 281.
oblations at the tomb of, 211, 217.
proposed canonization of, 245.
translation of, 245.
effigy of, 239.
arms of, 212, 239.
his tomb opened, 288.
Scrope, Richard le, Knight, 201.
Scrope, Stephen le, Lord of Masham, 202.
Scrope, Richard le, Knight, 212.
acts of violence by, 212.
excommunication of, 214, 215.
penance of, 215.
Scrope, Stephen le, Archdeacon, 207, 216.
will of, 217, 226, 240, 289.
Scrope, John le, of Masham, 235.
will of, 235.
Scrope family, arms of, 238, 239, 240.
alliances, 238, 240.
chantry, 202, 235, 243, 244.
window, 240.
See, Richard del, 193.
Segrave, Gilbert, 116.
Selby, Lord Abbot of, 217.
Selby, Robert de, 193.
Selden, 177
Selow, John, 228.
Semer, Robert. 227, 230
Sepulchre's, or St. Sepulchre, Chapel, 183.
Services, suspension of, 21.
Setter, Thomas, 195.
Severus, Septimius, Emperor, 2.
Sewall, Archbishop, 57.
erects several vicarages, 58.
death of, 57.
tomb of, 65, 272.
Sharpe, John, Archbishop, 313.
death of, 313.
Shout, William, master mason, 44, 318.
Shrine of St. William, 62.
Shrines constructed, 90.
demolished, 293, 295.
Silentiarius, Paulus, 82.
Silphium, 23.
Simpson, John, of Roclyfe, 289.
Sisters, five, window, 69, 89.
Skyrlaw, Bishop of Durham, 97.
donation by, 202.
donation for, 21 1, 212.
arms of, 211, 212.
Skyner, Symon, 193.
Solarium, 303.
Sophia, St., 82.
Southwell, John, 212,216.
Spanish iron, gads of, 126.
Stag, a cognizance, 290.
Stalwyn, William, 208.
Stanton, John, 216.
Statute Book of the Vicars Choral, 228, 229.
Stayngate, John de, 163.
Stephen, St., altar of, 34, 235, 243.
Sterne, Richard, Archbishop, 312.
donations by, 312.
death of, 312.
Stoles to be destroyed, 304.
Stores, inventory of, 198.
Stove, large, introduced, 328.
Stowe, 14.
Spofford, Thomas de, Abbot, 214, 215.
Strafford, Earl of, 311.
arms of, 311.
Strafford, Lord President, 311.
Strawberry foliage, 24, 26, 29, 103.
Straw, Jack, 193.
Strutt's Regal Antiquities, 281.
Stubbs, 15, 19, 58, 110, 124, 127, 158, 173,
177.
wrote nothing relating to the present
choir, 1 77.
authenticity of the " Actus Pontificum,
&c." ascribed to him, questioned,
177, 178, 179.
MSS. of this work at Oxford, Cam-
bridge, British Museum, and York,
178, 179.
Styrtton, Richard de, 195.
Surplice with sleeves, 303.
Suspension of services, 21.
Swan, an emblem, 286.
Swans' feathers, 252.
Swetman, John de, 97.
Swineard, Frederick, discovery of ancient
sculptures by, 182.
Symbolical foliage, 22.
Symbolical representations, 23.
Symbolical representations of the names of
Hyndeley, Darton, Islip, and St.
John, 257.
Symeon Dunelmensis, 178.
T.
Tabernacle above the high altar, 238.
of St. Peter, 258.
a new one made, 299.
Table, gilt, at high altar, 270.
Tables instead of altars, 300.
removed, 313.
Table of miracles in the revestry, 15.
Tabula Principalis, 225, 226, 227.
or Reredos, 291.
Taunton, Richard de, 115.
Tax of one-seventh of prebends for the fa-
bric, 110.
of two-sevenths, 114.
of one-fourth, 125.
of fourpence in the mark, 159.
of one-tenth, 207, 227.
Taylor, Michael, sculptor, 274, 318.
Taylor, William, mason, 322.
Temple Church, 39.
Tenths and first fruits, 296.
Tertullian, 1.
Thevesdale quarry, 13, 47.
Thomas, St., a Becket, altar of, 68.
Thomas, Archbishop, 12, 13, 47, 83.
repairs and rebuilds the church, 12, 13,
18, 3J.
Thoresby, John, Archbishop, 47, 132.
commences the new choir, 6.
issues an indulgence, 133.
letter to, for timber, 133.
donations by, 135.
acts of, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182,
183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190.
death of, 172.
will of, 172, 186.
tomb of, 172, 186, 187.
tomb of, supposed, 330, 331.
chantry for, 158, 189.
Thornor, John, 195.
Thornton, John, of Coventry, glazier, 203,
206, 276.
Thorpe Maulteby, manor of, 59.
Throne for the Archbishops, 315.
Thuribules or censers, 203.
sold, 300.
Thuresby, William, 215.
Thurstan, Archbishop, 14.
Tiles, Flaundre, 210.
Timber imbedded in masonry, 7.
letter for, 133.
Tolls, exemption from, 200.
Tombs of the Archbishops, 162, 163, 161,
171, 184, 185, 186, 187.
Topcliffe church, 18, 19, 50.
Torre's MSS., 9, 17, 109, 112, 115, 121,
130, 135, 159, 186, 187, 188, 203, 300,
301, 304, 330.
Transepts, Norman, 9.
Transept, North, begun, 57.
new covered with slate, 319.
end of vault raised, 323.
newly roofed, and covered with copper,
327.
South, begun, 46.
on fire, 316.
Transept roofs repaired, 318, 329.
Translation of St. William's relics, 62.
Trefoil, 21.
Trental of St. Gregory, 223.
Trotter, Hugo, 190.
Tunicles to be destroyed, 304.
Turret, or cupola, on great tower, 312.
taken down, 318.
Twysden, 177, 179,
U.
Urban V., Pope, 151.
V.
Vavasour family, traditionally considered as
givers of stone for the church, 13.
grant by the, of St. Peter's quarry in
Thevesdale, 13.
Vavasour, statue of a, at the west end of the
church, 47, 49, 139, 277.
342
Vavasour, Robert le, grant of ways by, 47.
John le, grants by, 48.
Sir William le, grants by, 48, 1 15, 1 1 8.
Sir Henry le, gift of Fryston by, 123.
chantries founded for his
soul, 155.
Sir Walter le, 226.
Sir Edward M., donation by, towards
restoring the church, 49, 322.
Vernon, Archbishop — see Harcourt.
Vesica piscis, 43.
Vestments to be destroyed, 304.
inquiry for, 305.
Vestry, robbery of the, 312.
Vicars Choral, statute book of, 228, 229.
Vine foliage, 23, 26, 29.
Visitation of the Chapter, 206.
W.
Waits or Minstrels, 191, 195, 306.
Walby, Robert, Archbishop, 195.
death of, 196.
Walleworth, Thomas, 186, 187, 189, 193,
204, 207.
arms of, 207, 289.
Wallore, David de, 167.
Waltham, John de, 182, 208.
arms of, 182.
Waltham, William, 204.
Waltonn, Robert de, 115.
Warton, Rev. T., 82, 83.
Water, hot, introduced, 328.
Water cisterns in large tower, 329.
Well, Saxon, 7, 33.
in the crypt, 275.
in the revestry, 275.
Westwell Church, 85.
Wheat, ears of, 23.
Whitaker, Dr., 111.
White thorn, 24.
Wilfrid, St., 4, 76.
rebuilds the church, 4.
at Rome, 11.
engages masons from Rome, 1 1.
representation of, 76.
" Wilfrid's Needle " in Ripon Minster, 33.
Will Office removed, 323.
Willement, T., 85, 328.
William, St., Archbishop, 15.
receives the pall, 15.
enters his diocese, 15.
death and burial of, 9, 15, 16.
tomb of, 16, 186.
refuge at the tomb of, 21.
tomb injured by fire, 20.
canonization of, 20, 50.
bull of the canonization of, 52.
oil flows from his tomb, 51, 117.
miraculous cures at his tomb, 51, 52,
117, 119.
letter for the festival of, 54.
indulgences for the festival of, 54.
indulgences for visiting the tomb of,
63, 112.
translation of the relics of, 61, 62, 95.
events of his life represented, 231.
law for bearing the shrine of, 63.
canopy borne above his remains, 264.
shrine of, 62, 125, 136, 228.
shrine of, demolished, 293, 295.
the feast of, 246, 247.
Drake's account of his remains, 136.
effigy of, 233, 239.
altar of, 55.
endowment of the altar of, 55.
a patron of the church, 117.
William of Sens, 86.
Williams, John, Archbishop, 311.
death of, 312.
Willis, Browne, 47.
Willow, 42.
Wilton, Stephen, 241.
Wiltshire, Earl of, 282.
Winchester Cathedral, 226.
Windows, glazing of the three west, 124.
Window, great East, 203, 206.
repaired, 319.
injured, 319, 320.
in nave repaired, 320.
West, repaired, 316.
Jewish, or Five Sisters, 89.
Lancaster, 234, 268.
Window, Bowet's, 224, 225.
Parker's, 223.
Wolveden's, 231.
Ros or Roos's, 231.
Windows, Scrope, 238, 240.
Windows of Chapter-house repaired, 329.
Windsor, Royal Chapel at, 226.
Wise men, representation of the, 142.
Wodehous, John de, 184.
Wodham, John, 226, 228.
Wolf, an emblem, 283.
Wolsey, Thomas, Archbishop, 269.
at Cawood, 292.
death and interment of, 292.
Wolveden, Robert, 187, 212, 214, 226, 238.
will of, 230.
arms of, 231, 239.
window of, 231.
Wood for the fabric, 111.
Writings burnt, 21.
Wygmore, John, Prior, 226.
Wykewane, Archbishop, 49, 60, 110.
receives the pall, 60.
resigns, 64.
Wyman, Henry, 290.
Dame, 290.
Wynton, Robert de, 59.
Y.
Younge, Thomas, Archbishop, 300.
gives prebends to his family, 301.
uncovers the palace, 301.
death of, 301.
Z.
Zouch, William de la, Archbishop, 125.
brief of, for the fabric, 130.
will of, 127.
chantry chapel of, 34, 127.
consent for the chapel of, 128.
expenses of the chapel of, 129, 130.
license for the chapel of, 130.
situation of the chapel of, 275.
death and burial of, 132.
HlrHA E1D KINDER, PRINTER, GREEK ARBOUK COURT, OLD II A 1 LET, LONDON.
INDIA PAPER, lOv. 6 CHARLES, Esq., Broughton Hall,
Skipton.
THRELFALL, Mr. JOHN, Manchester.
TRAPPES, Rev. FRANCIS, Lee House, near Preston.
TRAPPES, Rev. MICHAEL, Huddersfield.
TRUBSHAW, THOS., Esq., F.S.A.
TWEEDY, JOHN, Esq., York.
TWOPENY, WM., Esq., Temple, London.
VAVASOUR, the Hon. Sir E. M., Bart.
WALKER, Miss, Crow-Nest, Halifax.
WALKER, Mr. JOHN, York.
WAILES, Mr. WM., Newcastle-on-Tyne.
WARD, Mr. THOMAS, York.
WATSON, Mr. ROBERT, York.
WELLBELOVED, Rev. CHARLES, York, (india
PAPER.)
WENTWORTH, GODFREY, Esq., Woollev Park.
WILLIS, Professor.
WILKINSON, T. C, Esq., Newall Hall, Otley.
WINN, C, Esq., Nostell.
WITHAM, HENRY THORNTON MAIRE, Esq.,
Lartington.
WOLSTENHOLME, JOHN, Esq., York.
WOOD, GEO. WM., Esq., M. P., Singleton Lodge,
IVIiincliGstGr.
WRIGHT, John F., Esq., Keloedon Hall, Essex.
YARBURGH, NICHOLAS E., Esq., Heslinsrton Hall.
YORK SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY.
YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.
. NUMBER V. WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE 1st OF OCTOBER 1839.