Part 4

The Chamberlain of Chester or his Deputy was the Keeper of the original Seal of Chester and Flint. At Chester, where a considerable amount of business was transacted, there was a much larger bar than there was on the Welsh Circuits. The Northern Circuit was strongly represented there. John Williams, James Parke (afterwards Lord Wensleydale), Joseph Littledale, William Wightman, and Charles Crompton, all of whom became High Court Judges, were among the members of the Northern Circuit who practised at the Chester Assizes in the early years of the last century. David Francis Jones, for some time Recorder of Chester, better known as Sergeant Atcherley, and those eminent lawyers, John Horatio Lloyd and William Newland Welsby, Recorder of Chester, and long the leader of the present Chester and North Wales Circuit, were also members of the Chester Palatine Bar. Lord Kenyon and Chief Baron Richards, both of whom were afterwards Chief Justices of Chester, were among those who belonged to the Welsh Circuit.

We give an illustration of the old County Hall and of the Old Court of Exchequer at Chester Castle (where causes were heard), before they were taken down and the present classical buildings, the creation of a Chester architect, were erected at the close of the eighteenth century, taken from the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ of June 1789. The Exchequer Court is said to have been the building in which the Norman Earls sat in Council.

Some years after the abolition of the Palatine Courts the records relating to them and to the County Palatine were examined, arranged, and ably reported upon by the late Mr. Black of the Public Record Office. Efforts were made to retain these records at Chester, where it was proposed that a branch of the Public Record Office should be established; but ultimately in the autumn of 1854 they were removed to London, first of all to the Tower, and afterwards to the Public Record Office in Chancery and Fetter Lanes.

I find in Appendix 11 of the Sixteenth Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records the following:--“The records brought from Chester packed as closely as possible, filled four or five large boxes and 369 bags, about 100 of the latter being large five bushel bags. The weight was nearly 13 tons. They filled five of the largest London and North-Western Railway luggage vans.” These records are being gradually cleaned and classified. The reports and calendars relating to them, which have already been published, are extremely valuable and interesting, although they only touch the very fringe of the information contained in such an immense mass of documents. There are no more able or courteous public servants than those in the Record Office, but they cannot do impossibilities, and unless the staff is increased it will be ages before the public can be informed of the entire contents of these valuable Cheshire and Welsh records. We here give one of the entries on the Chester Recognisance Roll of the time of the Owen Glyndwr rebellion, as a sample of the entries contained in the Deputy-Keeper’s reports:--1403 September 4.--The Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen of the City of Chester are empowered and directed by Writ to “expel all Welsh from the City, both men and women, the same not to enter the City before sunrise or tarry in it after sunset, on pain of decapitation, nor presume to walk about armed, except with a knife to cut their dinner, nor to use any tavern or to hold meetings in the same, nor any three of the said Welsh to meet together within the Walls on pain of being sent to prison as rebels; and should any strangers, Welshmen, viz. from the County of Flint, or other parts of Wales, come to the said City, the same to leave their arms, &c., outside the gate by which they entered.”

Camden, in speaking of Cheshire, has said “this County ever surpassed the rest in producing nobility, nor is there any County in England that has anciently brought more Noblemen into the field or can boast a greater number of Knightly Families.”

“Cheshire Chief of Men” is an ancient Cheshire proverb, and is used by Michael Drayton in his _Polyolbion_.

We may summarise the history of the County Palatine of Chester thus:--On its foundation and during the reigns of the Norman Earls, it assumed the form of a semi-regal state. Afterwards, on the assumption of the Earldom by the eldest sons of the Kings of England, it became their most ancient appanage, and at first was maintained with all its regalities. Edward I. made Chester his headquarters during his Welsh wars, and resided in the city and neighbourhood more than any other sovereign or prince has done. Subsequently the powers of the Palatinate were gradually vested in the Crown, and finally abolished in the reign of Henry VIII., the administration of the law being all that was left of its ancient prerogatives. Finally, by the Act of 1830 this peculiar jurisdiction was also taken from it, and, as we have already seen, in 1854 all its records (the muniments of its former greatness) were removed to London.

All that remains is the name “County Palatine,” and the title it gives to the reigning monarch’s eldest son.

THE ABBEYS OF CHESHIRE

By the Archdeacon of Chester

It is more than possible that the title of this paper will provoke the question from our readers, “Where are they?” There are no beautiful and picturesque ruins like Fountains, or Tintern, or Glastonbury to be visited, and we are compelled to go back to the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries to find out how the county was in previous ages served and helped by religious houses. When we do this we discover that Cheshire did not contain a large number; in short, that there were only four counties (those of Cumberland, Westmorland, Rutland, and Lancaster) and the two Welsh dioceses of St. Asaph and Bangor, which had fewer. If, however, we look at their value, Cheshire took a higher place, as ten counties, in addition to the four Welsh dioceses, were inferior to it in this respect. This was due to the richness of the Abbey of St. Werburgh at Chester, of which the possessions amounted to three-fifths of the whole. In fact, St. Werburgh’s, valued at £1003, was richer than Fountains (£998), nearly as rich as Ely (£1084), though considerably poorer than Reading (£1938) and St. Albans (£2102).

But when we remember the debt which we owe in the past to the monasteries, and how they kept alive in the dark ages both education and religion, we must admit that a volume like the present would be incomplete without some account of the Abbeys which were situated in the county, even though in some cases the name only remains. The title also excludes foundations like St. John’s, Chester, which was for secular canons, and another of a similar character at Bunbury. It might also reasonably take no count of the Hospital of Little St. John’s, Chester, though this is included in the list given by Dugdale, no doubt because it was connected with the Abbey of Birkenhead. On its site now stand the Blue Coat School and Almshouses founded by Bishop Stratford in 1700. The Abbeys mentioned by Dugdale are St. Werburgh, Chester, St. Mary’s Nunnery, Chester, and Birkenhead, which were Benedictine; Vale Royal and Combermere, which were Cistercian; and Norton, which belonged to the Augustinian Canons. There was also Stanlow, which was translated to Whalley, in Lancashire, A.D. 1294; and, for a very short period, a Cell of Augustinian Canons at Mobberley. It will be convenient to take them in the reverse order to that in which they are here given.

The small house at Mobberley was founded in 1206 by Patrick de Mobberley. He no doubt intended to establish a permanent institution, but it came to an end at his death, as he had only a life-interest in the estate with which he endowed it, and the fact of its having existed only remains as an interesting feature in the history of that parish.

Stanlaw, or Stanlow, was an Abbey of the Cistercian Order, and was built on a rocky eminence jutting out into the river Mersey where the river Gowy joins it. Some remains of the buildings still exist. Originally they were extensive and handsome. At the end of the thirteenth century the lands and buildings suffered severely from the encroachments of the sea and from fire, and the great body of the monks were transferred (not without protest from several quarters) to Whalley, in Lancashire, and only six left in charge of the church and buildings. The ruins are interesting, but are now more difficult of access, being cut off by the Manchester Ship Canal.

Norton Priory belonged to the Augustinian or Austin Canons. At the Dissolution it was purchased of the King by Richard Brooke, and the property still remains in that family. A mansion was built on its site, and the only relics of the monastery are to be found now in the basement or cellar, where an old doorway may be seen, which was no doubt part of the substructure of the religious house. It is worthy of note that the suppression of the monastery was stoutly resisted by the Abbot or Prior and his companions, who were taken prisoners. The house still bears the name of Norton Priory. In 1643 it was besieged by the Royalists, who were repulsed, owing to the sturdy defence which was offered by the eighty men who were sheltered in it.

Combermere Abbey is, again, only a name for the country residence belonging to the Cotton family, but now occupied by Katharine, Duchess of Westminster. The Abbey was Cistercian, but was apparently demolished when the present house was built, though some fancy that traces of the old work are to be seen in portions of the building. It was the second richest Abbey in Cheshire, though it did not reach in value one quarter of what St. Werburgh’s was assessed at. A cell of this Abbey was founded in 1153 at Pulford, near Chester, by Robert, the Earl of Chester’s baker, when his lord was a prisoner to King Stephen. The Earl on his release confirmed the foundation, and granted the monks a fishery in the Dee. In 1214 the cell was removed into Staffordshire on account of the frequent incursions of the Welsh.

Vale Royal was another Cistercian foundation. It had an interesting history, and it must be a matter of regret that no remains of the original building are left, unless traces of the refectory are to be seen in the south wing of the residence, now the seat of Lord Delamere. It was founded in 1277 by King Edward I., hence the title Vale Royal. Originally the monks had a temporary home at Darnhall, and it was not until 1330 that they were established at Vale Royal, where £32,000 had been spent upon the buildings. Their royal patron bestowed great privileges upon the monks, including the extensive right of advowry or protection of criminals, and the power of life and death in their manors of Darnhall, Over, and Weaverham. We learn from some records that have been left that the Abbots had a somewhat troubled experience, and that some of their number were decidedly warlike in their tastes.

We come now to consider the Benedictine houses which were situated in the county. Birkenhead was not large, and was for sixteen monks, and its value was only £93. As has been stated above, it had some connection with Chester, for the Hospital of St. John, outside the North Gate, was attached to it. Some remains of the Abbey are left which are interesting. The monks were sixteen in number, and the Abbey possessed the exclusive right of ferryage, and the name Monks’ Brow Ferry still survives. The ruins consist of the refectory and Prior’s apartment, and of the church. There is also a crypt with elegant groined roof, and the chapter-house, which was used as a chapel before the present church was built at the beginning of the last century. Washington Irving, in his _Sketch Book_, vol. i., writes: “As we sailed up the Mersey I saw the mouldering ruin of an Abbey overrun with ivy and the taper spire of a village church rising from the brow of a neighbouring hill;--all were characteristic of England.” The Hospital of St. John, Chester, was attached to the Priory, the mastership being granted to the Prior and his successors by Edward II. The chapel and hospital were destroyed during the civil wars.

St. Mary’s Nunnery, Chester, stood in the south-west corner of the city, and the name was retained in the title Nuns’ Gardens, and now in the newer title Nuns’ Road. Until 1840 some of the ruins existed on the site, but in that year they were removed, and an arch (which may have been part of the church) was taken to St. John’s Priory, the house where De Quincey once lived, and was subsequently erected in the Grosvenor Park, where it may now be seen. The arch appears to indicate a building of the thirteenth century. A plan in the British Museum of the date of Queen Elizabeth gives certain details of the buildings, and we learn from it that the dimensions of the church were 66 feet by 45 feet, of the cloisters 90 feet by 60 feet, and of the chapel (no doubt the Abbess’) 27 feet by 14 feet. We gather from other sources that the Abbess at the Dissolution was named Elizabeth Grosvenor, and that she retired on a pension of £20 a year; and that in 1553 thirteen nuns were still living and in receipt of pensions. In the Calendar of Patent Rolls is preserved a chartulary of the nunnery down to the year 1400. The foundation by Randulf Gernons, Earl of Chester, dates about the year 1150. The founder and his successors, Earl Hugh and Earl Randulf Blundeville, and many others, gave many and valuable gifts to the nunnery, which, besides manors and landed possessions, included the right to have one boat in the water of Chester, together with one net, and the privilege of free multure of their corn for the table at the Chester mills. Even more interesting than these various charters is a copy of the processional of the nuns, preserved in the collection of the Earl of Ellesmere, for it throws some light upon their services and on the extent of their buildings, for no fewer than twelve altars are mentioned by name. But perhaps the most interesting relic is to be found at the end of this manuscript in a charming carol, which has been rendered into modern notation by Professor J. C. Bridge, Mus. Doc., M.A., F.S.A., and which is occasionally sung in Chester Cathedral. There is thus a delightful connection between the present and the past.

We now come to St. Werburgh’s Abbey, preserved to us in the present Cathedral. Here, as at Gloucester, Bristol, and Peterborough, the foundation of a new See at the dissolution of the monasteries has had the effect of keeping for us the church of the monks, with some adjacent buildings, so that we are able to estimate in some degree what their Abbey was like. Here, too, in the stones of the edifice, with its varying styles of architecture, is written a history which is well worthy of careful consideration, and which brings before us many personages of note and importance. We have reason to believe that a religious house existed on the same spot in Saxon times, though no trace of such a building is visible; for in the year 875 the remains of St. Werburgh were brought to Chester from Hanbury, during an incursion of the Danes, and enshrined in a church said to have been dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. She was the daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, who, according to one authority, first built the Abbey in 660. She was a niece of St. Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, whom she succeeded, and was herself head of establishments for nuns at Trentham, Hanbury, and elsewhere, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that her uncle Ethelred placed all the religious women in the kingdom of Mercia under her rule. It was probably from the date of the translation of her remains to the church in Chester that the dedication was changed to St. Werburgh. A century and a half later we are told that secular canons were established in a monastery of St. Werburgh and St. Oswald. The buildings were repaired and enlarged by Leofric, Earl of Chester, in 1057; but in 1093 the Abbey was reconstituted, the secular canons were banished, and a body of regulars of the Order of St. Benedict was introduced by Hugh Lupus, the Norman Earl of Chester. In this work he was assisted by his friend St. Anselm, then Abbot of Bec in Normandy, whom he had invited over for that purpose. The story is that Anselm hesitated to accept the invitation lest he should be placed in the vacant chair at Canterbury. Eventually he came, and was called to fill the primatial see. There can be no doubt that Anselm was responsible for the planning of the Norman Church of St. Werburgh, of which distinct traces are to be seen in the north wall of the edifice, the basement of a north-west tower (never finished), the north transept, and the large vaulted cellar or chamber on the west side of the cloisters. Though there are no remains of Norman cloisters left, there are plain indications that the cloister garth must have coincided with that which we have at the present day. It is a matter of considerable interest, then, to be able to associate the name of Anselm with the Abbey in Chester, and to know that he must have been anxious in some measure to reproduce in England the learning for which Bec had by that time become noted. His chaplain, Richard, became the first Abbot of the newly founded monastery; and even the material characteristics of his old home may be said to have been reproduced, of which evidence is found in the strange stone roof of the apse at the end of the south choir aisle. There was now established a body of regulars of the Benedictine Order, which was to find its home here for four hundred and fifty years. During that period the monks, as well as their buildings, went through many vicissitudes. In 1180 a destructive fire devastated the whole of the city, and no doubt as a consequence of this, in 1194, we find the seventh Abbot complaining that the church was in ruins. He was able to raise enough money wherewith to build the choir, and his successor appears to have completed the repairs, and even to have extended the buildings under the patronage and with the aid of Earl Randle, surnamed Blundeville. But troublous times again arose, and the Abbots had much difficulty in protecting both their property and their church. In 1265 Simon de Whitchurch became Abbot, and has left his mark behind him in the eastern bays of the nave and in the beautiful and elegant Lady Chapel, which is such an excellent specimen of Early English architecture. Here is to be seen some early vaulting on the roof, a feature not common in the building generally, as though provision was made by graceful shafts in the choir and elsewhere, it was only completed in the Lady Chapel and in the aisles of the choir, either from lack of funds or for some other reason. In the groining one of the bosses has a representation of the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and as this must have been put up only a hundred years after his death, it shows how soon Becket attained a high position in the estimation of his countrymen. About the same time was erected the Chapter-house with its vestibule, an exquisite example of architecture as it developed from the Norman to Early English; and to the same date we may refer the refectory with its matchless reading pulpit. The latter building is unfortunately in a maimed condition, as one-third of it is roofless and has been separated from the rest, whilst the raising of the ground on the north side, and the erection there of some modern houses, quite destroys the original effect of the exterior. It would be a great and noble undertaking if this room could be carefully restored to its proper form and proportions. Subsequent Abbots were engaged in the completion of the choir, and in the fifteenth century Abbots Simon Ripley and Birchenshaw did much to extend and enlarge the fabric. One of the most striking features of the Abbey (now the Cathedral) is the south transept, which is almost as large as the nave. The north transept is quite small as designed by Anselm, and the south transept was no doubt originally of the same size. When the monks desired to extend their church by the addition of more chapels they could not build on the north side as their other buildings occupied that space. On the south they found a parish church, which they removed, building another church for the parishioners on an adjoining site. They then built the large south transept, in which were four altars in their respective chapels, the vaulting of only one being erected at the time. After about forty years the parishioners asserted their rights, and assumed occupation of the transept, which thereafter became the Parish Church of St. Oswald until 1880, when it was once more thrown into the main building, and the partition which had separated it was removed. Here the clerestory windows, as in the nave, are Late Perpendicular, but the tracery of the other windows gives us a good specimen of Decorated work. The interior was restored eight years ago as a worthy memorial of the late Duke of Westminster. The central tower was probably erected by these later builders, but its plainness and severity were removed when it was refaced and ornamented under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott. The same Abbots commenced the building of a south-western tower, which was not, however, carried higher than the nave roof, the corresponding position on the north side being occupied by the base of Anselm’s Norman tower, which was incorporated in the Abbot’s lodgings. Before dismissing the exterior of the church, it should be noted that the Early English builders extended the Norman church eastwards, and added apsidal chapels to the aisles. These were removed in Perpendicular times, and a further extension of the aisles was made; but that on the south was taken down by Sir Gilbert Scott, and the Early English portion was restored.

We inherit from the monks in the interior of the church some most beautiful and elegant woodwork in the choir stalls, with their quaint and richly carved _Misereres_ and the delicate tabernacle work with which they are crowned. There is probably no finer specimen in England, both in design and execution, and it is a matter of sincere congratulation that it has been preserved, especially when it is remembered that the position of the stalls has been changed more than once. The shrine of St. Werburgh, now placed at the west end of the Lady Chapel, is another treasure, and was designed in the fourteenth century to take the place of an earlier structure. It has had a varied history, the lower part having been used as the base of the Bishop’s throne for many years after the foundation of the See. It was adorned with forty figures, richly gilded, representing ancestors or relatives of St. Werburgh.

It should be noted that in monastic times the choir included one bay of the nave, an arrangement still to be seen in some of our cathedrals. One old fireplace is to be seen at the entrance to the north choir aisle, and this was, no doubt, used for heating the obley irons with which the wafers were prepared for the Blessed Sacrament.