Part 8
An interesting account upon the Roman classification of towns in England discloses a very important particular. It adds considerable weight to the description of the city by the authors just quoted. Their statements that Gloucester was classified as a colony called Glevum seemed to be borne out by a tombstone found at Rome. It purports to be in memory of a citizen of Glevum. This has given rise to the supposition that "Glevum" was the honourable title bestowed upon an English town of importance made a "colony" by Nerva. This period would be between 96 and 98 A.D. This date in no way combats the original one of 47 A.D. It is only intended to show that Gloucester at the later period had become a colony with a certain amount of self-government, forming a unit of the Great Roman Empire.
The district to the north-east of the present city, called King's Holme, is supposed to have been the actual site of the Roman camp. Close to it was also the palace belonging to the Anglo-Saxon kings of Mercia, which was called Regia Domus. Round about this spot quite a valuable collection of Roman remains has been made, which, besides establishing the fact of their occupation, have helped archaeologists to form a correct estimation of the habits and customs of the Latin invaders. When the pressing needs of Rome required the return of all her legions, Gloucester came to be governed by Eldol, who was a British chief. He survived the terrible massacre of the Britons by the Saxons at Stonehenge, and in 489 revenged their memory by killing Hengist, the Saxon chief, at the battle of Maeshill in Yorkshire.
From the Britons the city in 577 was captured by the Saxons. They called it Gleauanceaster, which exists to this day under the contracted form of Gloucester. At that time it was included in the kingdom of Wessex, and was afterwards annexed to that of Mercia. In the meanwhile tradition says that a bishop's see was founded at Gloucester in the second century. Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, is held to be the founder, and is also supposed to have been buried in the Church of St. Mary de Lode of this city. With all respect to tradition, this can only be accepted with reservation. If true, the present church of St. Mary de Lode deserves far greater recognition than it receives. Though evidently an old foundation much restored, it can hardly lay claim to such antiquity. In all probability a temple to some Roman deity existed, which, by conflicting accounts of historians, gave rise to the supposition of an early established see. Though there is proof that Christianity existed during the Roman occupation of England, it seems more likely that, after their general exodus from the island in 418, a diocese, if any, was soon after established at Gloucester, over which Eldad presided in 490.
This first bishopric, on the subversion of the country by the Anglo-Saxons, must have become extinct; for the next we hear of it is when, as part of the kingdom of Mercia, the entire county of Gloucester is included in the diocese of Lichfield at the time of the introduction of Christianity. However, the first authentic evidence of monasticism appears in the year 679, when the holy brethren founded their establishment. Under the auspices of Wulfhere, then King of Mercia, this priory was dedicated to St. Oswald, and in the same year was annexed to the newly established see of Worcester. It afterwards became the abbey. The city's importance in the same year was considerably increased by the royal patron. The King's brother and successor, Ethelred, nevertheless, completed the ecclesiastical building, which some contend was a nunnery. This the Danes destroyed. It was then refounded for the reception of secular priests in 821, by Bernulf, King of Mercia.
As early as 964, in a charter to the monks of Worcester dated at Gloucester, Edgar styles this a "royal city." Several times it suffered from the incursions of the Danes in the eighth century, and more especially so in the tenth, when it was taken and nearly destroyed by fire in the reign of Ethelred II. This monarch's reign seems to have been a disastrous one for the kingdom. In the first place, through the ambitious schemes of his mother Elfrida, who caused his stepbrother Edward to be murdered, he wrongfully occupied the throne in 979. On account of his tragic death Edward came to be styled "the Martyr." A reign thus inauspiciously commenced proved to be a constant struggle against the Danes. The King acquired the name of Ethelred the Unready; for when the Danes attacked the kingdom, instead of being prepared to repel them, he endeavoured to counteract the evil with large sums of money. As this only served as a further incentive to fresh invasions, Ethelred eventually compounded with them in 994. On condition that these plundering expeditions should cease, he offered them tribute. This is the first mention we get of the "danegelt," as it was called. With the exception of the reign of Edward the Confessor, it continued to be levied almost without interruption till the time of Henry II. The only benefit that Ethelred's reign conferred upon his subjects was the act of atonement made by Elfrida.
To ease her conscience and remorse for the murder of Edward, she caused the foundation of several monasteries, and performed penances. Edmund Ironsides, who succeeded in 1016, was the exact opposite in character to his father Ethelred.
He continued a serious obstacle to Canute and his Danes. After the last of five pitched battles Canute and he agreed to divide the kingdom between them: Canute to have Mercia and Northumberland, and Edmund the remainder. However, through the murder of Edmund a few days after, at Oxford, Canute usurped the throne of England in 1017. During his reign of eighteen years, except for a dispute with Scotland over Cumberland, the country enjoyed peace at home.
This peaceful term, in conjunction with the passing over of the dreaded millennium, when the end of the world had been expected, caused the great building activity which, under the Norman Conquest, attained such wonderful results.
In the meanwhile the trade resources of Gloucester, even before the Conquest, had greatly advanced, and had probably outdistanced in ratio those of more important commercial centres of England. No doubt the natives had learned many hitherto unknown industrial arts from the Romans.
A native art and civilisation existed in the Island, we know, before the Roman Conquest. Great skill in enamelling, claimed by the ancients to be of Celtic origin, and the primitive abundance of gold and tin, worked, as history relates, by the Phoenicians, encouraged a certain degree of native excellence in metal work. Besides this, the gold coinage and other signs of their ingenuity, by remains discovered in Yorkshire and elsewhere, illustrate that various branches of art existed a matter of a century and a half before the Roman Conquest. Yet it is only reasonable to suspect that the inhabitants of Gloucester and of the other camps profited greatly from the far better knowledge and technique brought by the invader from Rome, the acknowledged centre of civilisation at that time. Certain it is that the Roman influence must have left some result. The subsequent history of Gloucester has it that a mint existed at the time of Alfred. It evidently fell into disuse, for a mint was again established in the reign of King John. He also granted the burgesses exemption from toll, and showered other marks of royal favour. As far back as the twelfth century, Long Smith Street derived its name from the numerous artisans who dwelled there.
They were employed in forges for the smelting of ore. Iron-founding and cloth-making were also in full swing. Felt-making, sugar-refining, and glass-manufacture all flourished at one time or another. Pin-making was introduced by a Mr. John Tilsby in 1625, and until quite recently formed the staple trade of the place. Bell-founding, once a feature, no longer is practised. In its career of nearly two centuries close upon 5,000 bells of different sizes had been cast. With the exception of foundries, many modern industries have supplanted the old, and include match works, marble and slate works, saw mills and flour mills, chemical works, rope works, railway wagon and engine factories, agricultural implements, and ship-building yards; for it must be remembered that Gloucester is reckoned as a port. It exports such valuable commodities as iron, coals, malt, salt, bricks, and pottery. The town is also celebrated for its Severn salmon and lampreys.
In discussing the resources of Gloucester, no regard has been paid to the proper distribution of dates. A leap from the eleventh to the nineteenth century has been unavoidably made, and to chronicle the chief events it is necessary to go back to the year 1022, when a change was made in Bernulf's foundation.
This year saw the ejection of the secular priests and the introduction of the Benedictine monks by Canute. In spite of opposition, the new order managed to keep possession of the monastery till the dissolution. The abbey founded by Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, a few years before the Norman Conquest served as the basis of the present cathedral. This transition took place from 1072 till 1104, under Abbot Serle. In 1381 Walter Frocester, its historian, became its first mitred abbot. Here again we have an instance of a Norman building forming the backbone to subsequent periods of Gothic and English architecture. Though each style is distinct, the _tout ensemble_ is in such perfect harmony that it calls for the greatest admiration for the wonderful skill of the several architects. The plan of the Cathedral is the usual symbol of the cross. In the centre there is the beautiful fifteenth-century tower. Its mass of detail and pierced work give it an air of elegance and lightness. The oldest portions are the nave, the chantry chapels, which are apsidal and are on either side of the choir, and the crypt. These are supposed to have belonged to Aldred's abbey, which may thus be taken to have become incorporated in the present building. They are of Norman origin, or rather date a few years before the Conquest. No doubt these parts came, more or less, to be touched up and restored by the Normans. In 1248, the roof of the nave, an Early English addition to the massive Norman nave, was finished by Abbot Henry Foliot. The Chapter House also is Norman. Compared with those at Wells and Lincoln, its simplicity is striking. It differs also in another respect. Belonging, as it did, to a Benedictine church, it follows the shape usually found in churches of that order; namely, the square.
The south aisle was commenced by Abbot Thokey in 1310, and the south transept in 1330. About the same time building operations were commenced for the north transept and the choir. The latter was finished in 1457.
To the north of the nave lie the cloisters. These form a most wonderful Early example of fan-tracery, constructed some time between 1351 and 1390. Here in the south end of the cloisters were set apart a series of stalls, better known as the carrels, in which the monks studied and wrote. They may have undergone great hardships and austerities, but they evidently had a great sense of beauty. They have left us the finest works of architecture possible, which have not been surpassed by any modern erection.
The west front, and the south porch with fan-traceried roof, were added in 1421.
The triforium, carried round in a curve under the great east window, forms a narrow passageway from one side of the choir to the other. This formation, curiously enough, has constituted quite a feature at Gloucester. It is called the "whispering gallery." There is no evidence that the architect intended it. St. Paul's, in London, affords another similar example.
The sculptor's art is represented by many tombs of certain merit. There is the tomb erected by Abbot Parker to the memory of Osric, King of Northumberland, who was one of the founders of the monastery, and who died about the eighth century. In the north aisle leading to the Lady Chapel--which by the way, with its square ending appears like an after-thought, extended eastwards, as it were, from the apsidal termination of the choir--is a monument covering the remains of Robert Duke of Normandy, the eldest son of the Conqueror. He was a benefactor to the old abbey. His effigy in coloured bog oak is disposed in a recumbent attitude on an altar-tomb. There are many others, amongst which that of Dr. Jenner, famous for the introduction of vaccination into general practice, commands great attention. Robert Raikes is also represented. He and the Rev. Thomas Stock, a rector of St. John the Baptist in this city, share the honour of having established the first Sunday school in England, which was held in Gloucester. Some authorities, however, contend that the reverend gentleman was the originator of the Sunday school, though they do not deny that Raikes, through his unwearied exertions, promoted the increase of these institutions throughout the kingdom.
But of all the monuments, that erected by the monks of Gloucester to the memory of Edward of Carnarvon deserves the most attention, not only for its beauty, but because it served as the type for the Gothic sculptors to copy during two centuries. The recumbent effigy is hedged in by a series of elaborately decorated shafts, forming a kind of open-work grille, with pinnacles and niches. Overhead it is covered in with richly ornamented Gothic work.
This shrine, constructed to receive the body of the murdered Edward II., conveyed thither from Berkeley Castle by Abbot Thokey, throughout the greater part of Edward III.'s reign continued to attract vast numbers of pilgrims. Their offerings soon brought in a great revenue, which was spent not on rebuilding the church, but in restoring the surface, in putting new windows in the old walls, and, generally, in adapting the twelfth-century building to the Perpendicular style of the fourteenth century. In this way the original Norman work forms the skeleton to the Perpendicular casing.
In 1541 the Cathedral was separated from the diocese of Worcester by Henry VIII. and made a distinct bishopric.
Besides this magnificent pile, Gloucester possesses four other churches, which deserve some slight notice. There is the Church of St. Mary de Lode, said to contain the remains of Lucius, the first British king. It has an interesting old chancel, and a monument to Bishop Hooper.
St. Mary de Crypt is a cruciform building of the twelfth century, with a beautiful lofty tower. The curfew bell is still rung from the tower of St. Michael, which is said to have been connected with the ancient abbey of St. Peter. St. Nicholas, originally Norman, is now an ancient structure of the Early style of English architecture.
Of schools, one was refounded by Henry VIII. for the education of the cathedral choir. Another was established in the same reign by Dame Joan Cooke, and was called the Crypt School, from the fact of its schoolroom adjoining the church of the same name. Sir Thomas Rich, a native of Gloucester, in 1666 founded the Blue-Coat Hospital, much on the same lines as that of Christ's Hospital, recently removed from London to the country.
During the many years that were taken in beautifying the Cathedral, we must not forget that the city was struggling with varying fortune. It might almost be called a royal city, so often was it visited by princes, were it not that Winchester claims that distinction. In the war between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, Gloucester always accorded a welcome to the Empress. Thither she is said to have escaped after the siege of Winchester, carried in a coffin. If not true, the story is well founded. The city was captured from Henry III. by the barons in 1263. In one of the many Parliaments held at Gloucester, were passed, in 1279, the laws connected with the Statute of Quo Warranto, better known as the Statutes of Gloucester.
In 1327 Edward II. was assassinated in Berkeley Castle by his keeper, Sir Thomas Gournay, and John de Maltravers, Lord Berkeley. From this time Gloucester seems to have enjoyed comparative peace, though its county was the theatre of several important historical events enacted in its cities of Chichester and Tewkesbury. The latter is especially memorable for the great and decisive battle, in which the Lancastrians were totally defeated, in 1471. On that occasion Margaret of Anjou, her son Prince Edward, and her general, the Duke of Somerset, were taken prisoners by Edward IV. After the battle Prince Edward was murdered and the Duke of Somerset beheaded. In the great contest between Charles I. and the Parliament, the city of Gloucester, it is true, became an object of importance to the success of the royal cause. The city was, however, successfully defended for the Parliament by Colonel Massie, till relieved in 1643 by the Earl of Essex. In the meantime Chichester was taken by Prince Rupert.
The subject-matter of this city has unconsciously led us to introduce Tewkesbury and Chichester. Having gone so far we cannot close without first drawing attention to the existence of three other cities that prominently stand out in this same county of Gloucestershire. They are Cheltenham, the home of the famous public school; Tewkesbury, where the decisive battle of the Roses was fought; and Bristol, the great port situated near the mouth of the Severn, the river on the banks of which lies this ancient cathedral city of Gloucester.
Hereford
Hereford.
("Doomsday Book.")
On the borders of Wales is Herefordshire, and almost in the centre of the county is its ancient capital, Hereford. A Roman station is supposed to have been in the neighbourhood, under the name of Ariconium, which is considered to be identical with the present Kenchester. The present name of Hereford is derived from the pure Saxon. Like Oxford, it had no bridges at first. As the river had to be crossed, the shallowest part was chosen.
This consideration probably determined the site of Hereford to be upon the left bank of the river Wye, and the pass over it was called by the Saxons, Here-ford, or "Military ford." We glean little information of this place till the seventh century. An episcopal see is stated to have existed in this place before the invasion of Britain by the Saxons. From this uncertainty we arrive at something more definite, which took place in 655. Oswy, then King of Mercia, in that year made Hereford part of the diocese of Lichfield, which already wielded jurisdiction over the whole of the kingdom of Mercia.
A few years later it was decided by a synod held here under the presidency of Theodore, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in 673, to make a division of the diocese of Lichfield. Very naturally Wilford, then bishop of that see, refused to recognise the decree, and for this piece of contumacy was subsequently deprived of part of his diocese. His successor, Sexulph, however, was more amenable, and with his consent Hereford was detached from Lichfield and restored to its original independence as a separate diocese. Putta was straightway translated from Rochester See to become the first bishop of Hereford in 680. This instance is one of many such in the history of the Church. The shuffling of dioceses, the enlargement of one at the expense of another, whether from motives of malice or a sense of right distribution, occurs usually in the early years of Christianity in England, and also at the general winding up of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.
Hereford was by no means the only see that suffered these changes. It was simply a unit in the great policy of welding together the churches of the several kingdoms into one whole, which had never been carried into effect till Theodore of Tarsus came to England. He was a Greek monk little known till the Pope elected to fill the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury. Only three bishops were left in the whole of England; of these two were rivals for the See of York, and the third had bought the See of London. The first thing that Theodore did after his arrival was to travel throughout the country. By consecrating new bishops and creating a thorough organisation, he acquired a complete understanding with the Church. He also instituted a system of synods, which he intended should meet annually to discuss the general welfare of the Church. This, however, seems to have fallen into disuse.
In all, Theodore managed to divide England into a matter of fifteen dioceses, through the subdivision of the old dioceses. Truly a great achievement when we remember that the conversion of the English kingdoms mostly depended upon the good-will of their respective kings. Thus it came about that one king in each kingdom had one bishop, generally his chaplain at first, who took his title, not from a see, but from the people. He was either bishop of Mercia, or Northumbria, or some other large kingdom. As we have seen in the collision with Wilford, Theodore's policy did not suit every prelate's views. His influence, however, effected the installation of three bishops in Northumbria, four in Mercia, two in East Anglia, and two in Wessex. Kent already had two since 604.
Thus the result was the complete conversion of England, effected by Theodore from about 673 to 688 A.D.
Prior to the eighth century Hereford is known to have been the capital of the kingdom of Mercia, as it is now of Herefordshire, which is much reduced in size. From the years 765 to 791 Mercia was governed by King Offa. Apart from his connection with the Cathedral of Hereford, his reign must possess some interest to the collectors of coins. For though the die-sinker's art was practised in England as far back as the Roman occupation, and an indigenous coinage came into existence in the seventh century, it is not till this monarch's reign that genuine English coinage was properly in currency. It appears that Offa had to pay an annual tribute of 365 mancuses in coin to the Pope. As a mancus was equal to 30 pennies, the sum was a considerable one.
In the year 782 an event occurred which laid the foundation of the Cathedral. From Marden, the original place of sepulture, the body of Ethelbert, King of the East Angles (who, by the way, is not to be confounded with Ethelbert of Kent, who welcomed St. Augustine), was removed to Hereford. He had been treacherously slain by his intended mother-in-law, the Queen of Mercia. In expiation of the murder King Offa, with munificent donations, enabled a nobleman called Milfride, a viceroy under Egbert, to found the Cathedral about 825. The building was dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelbert. It fell into decay in less than two centuries and necessitated a rebuilding during the prelacy of Bishop Athelstan, between 1012 and 1015. It was burnt by the Welsh in 1055, and remained in ruins till 1079, when the first Norman bishop, Robert of Lorraine, was appointed to the See.
He commenced a new edifice on the lines of Aken, now Aix-la-Chapelle. It was carried on, with the exception of the tower left to be erected by Bishop Giles de Braos in the following century, by Bishop Raynelm, in 1107, and eventually completed in 1148 by Bishop R. de Betum.