Chapter 8

THE MINSTER PRECINCTS AND CITY.

There are many objects of great interest to be seen in the Minster Yard. This name is not unfrequently given to the whole of the territory belonging to the Dean and Chapter surrounding the church. The correct title is, however, as given above, the Minster Precincts; and it is by this name that the parish is described, for the Abbey Church, like a few others, is a parish church, as well as the Cathedral of the diocese. Although without churchwardens, this parish still appoints its own overseers of the poor. Old residents distinguish the Close from the Precincts, limiting the use of the former expression to the area west of the Cathedral. Contrary to what all would expect, the great gateway to the west is not the boundary of the Precincts, for they extend a little further west, and include one or two houses beyond the gateway.

This ancient entrance to the monastic grounds naturally first arrests the attention. It was built by Abbot Benedict in the last quarter of the twelfth century. Though it has been much altered, a considerable part of the original structure remains. As we see it from the Marketplace we observe a fifteenth century look about it: on closer inspection we see that a late Decorated arch has been built in front of the Norman arch, and that a facing of the same date has been carried above. Here is an arcade, with the alternate panels pierced for windows. On each side of the gateway are also good Norman arcades; the doorway in the arcade to the north opens into a residence, that on the south gives access to the room above. This was originally the Chapel of S. Nicolas. On the eastern side of the room is a three-light window, manifestly a late insertion, and adapted from some other building. It is said to be part of a shrine which formerly was in the Cathedral, a portion of which still remains in the new building. This statement has been repeated over and over again; but it is difficult to see any resemblance between the two.

The chapel over the gateway has been put to various uses since the dissolution of monasteries. In 1617 it was assigned to the porter as part of his residence. At a later period it was let. It has served the purposes of a muniment room, a Masonic lodge room, a tailor's workshop, a practising room for the choristers, a class-room for the Grammar School. In the flourishing days of the Gentlemen's Society, when members met and read papers, and kept up a considerable literary correspondence with learned men in various parts of the kingdom, its meetings were held here; and it is now used as a Record Room for the Diocese of Peterborough.

On the left hand, as we pass through the gate, is all that remains of the =Chapel of S. Thomas of Canterbury=. It is the chancel of a much larger building. Originally the chapel was begun by Waterville and finished by Benedict: it was therefore of Norman date. The present chancel was built in the latter part of the fourteenth century. While the east window, with its graceful net tracery and very elegant cross above, might suggest an earlier date, yet a glance at the side windows, which are distinctly of transitional character, tells us that 1360 or 1370 may be assigned as the period of erection. About 1404 the abbey gave the materials of the nave of this chapel to the town, to assist in rebuilding the parish church on the present site; but the chancel had been too recently built to be removed. Since the establishment of the Cathedral the chancel seems always to have been used as the Cathedral Grammar School, until the year 1885, when the School was removed to new buildings in the Park Road. It was next used as a museum by the Natural History and Archaeological Society, until their collection outgrew the room and they removed to larger premises in Queen Street (see p. 111). For a time it was a Needlework School of Art, and now it is a Rovers Den in connexion with the Scout movement.

All the other ancient buildings on the west, the Plumber's Office, the Sister House, the Treasurer's Office, have long disappeared. The Minster Almshouses, adjoining the wall of the Deanery garden, are the only buildings on the north side. They have no ancient features.

The door immediately to the right of the great gateway as we enter the close leads to a vaulted chamber which was once the gaol. A few steps bring us to a very magnificent gateway, leading to the Palace grounds, over which is a chamber, called the =Knights' Chamber=. This is of Early English date, with a fine groined roof. The gates and postern are placed at some distance from the outer archway, adding greatly to the dignity and effect of the whole composition. The delicate arcading of the sides, and the excellent clustered shafts, are good examples of the period: unfortunately the bases of the shafts are now hidden by accumulation of earth. On the north and south faces are long niches with figures: three on the north are said to be King Edward II., and the Abbot and Prior of the period; those on the south are Apostles. The chamber above is used for meetings, etc.

Much of the line of buildings to the east of this gateway is modern, but it harmonizes excellently with the ancient work. Near the Cathedral is some mediaeval work, and the office at the end, on the ground floor, has a good stone groined roof. This is believed to have been the Penitentiary.

The _Deanery Gateway_, at the north-eastern corner of the close is a fine specimen of architecture. In the spandrels above the great four-centred arch are two coats of arms, one with the keys and crosslets, the other with swords and crosses. These are now the arms of the See and the Cathedral respectively: but it is difficult to say what was their special significance when this gate was erected. Are we to suppose that the Abbot and Prior used different armorial bearings before the Reformation? Above the smaller door is a boldly carved rebus of the Abbot in whose time the gate was erected, a church on a tun, Robert Kirton (Kirkton). His initials in stone are also carved beneath the parapet. Several of the details are well worthy of attention. We find the Tudor rose and portcullis: the arms of S. Edward and of S. Edmund, the Martyr King; an early instance in stone of the Prince of Wales' feathers; and the triangular symbol of the Holy Trinity. The date is about 1520.

Through an open archway to the east we enter the burial ground. Until 1804 this was the only place of burial for the whole city. On the left is the Deanery, but nothing of antiquity is to be seen from the exterior. In the hall are some good fragments of old glass, some of it probably part of the original embellishments of the house, though some may have been brought from the Cathedral, and some is again quite modern. Some panels of early date, brought from another room, have also lately been put up in the hall. The churchyard has been planted with trees and shrubs, and is well kept. It has, however, become much more publicly used than was the case in the last century, owing to a thoroughfare for foot-passengers which has been opened at the north-western end of the close; and the usual results of such publicity have followed in the treading down of the turf and in the damage inflicted on the shrubs. One of the most striking views of the Cathedral is seen from the north-eastern corner of the precincts, near the house known as "The Vineyard." This was the house occupied by the officers who came down to superintend the spoliation of the building in 1643. This view takes in the whole of the great length of the Cathedral, the bell-tower and the north-western spire forming a very effective group.

Passing round the east end and proceeding to the south we come to the ruins of the =Infirmary=. Here we may see some very excellent Early English work, most elegant and graceful. It was erected about 1260. The plan was similar to a large church with aisles. The nave was used as the hall, the aisles were the quarters of the inmates, and the chancel was the chapel of the institution. Many of the main arches remain, and the details of the ornamentation and mouldings will repay careful study. At the west end is a very perfect piece of arcading. The large arch, seen above a low wall to the east, was the arch leading to the chapel; in exactly the same position as the chancel arch in a church. At each side of this arch is a lancet never pierced. The main arch is now blocked up, forming a wall to one of the prebendal houses. The dining room of this same house was the Infirmarer's house, and has much very interesting Early English work. To the south of the Infirmary is another ancient house, though much modernised.

Before entering the Cloister court we pass through the old slype, once a simple vaulted passage, but now open to the sky. It was the means of communication between the Refectory, which was situated to the west, and the Chapter House, which was on the east side of the Cloister. Quite recently some of the arches on the west side have been opened to view, and interesting tracery brought to light.

The =Cloister Court= is always called the Laurel Court. The origin of this name is not known. The northern part of the area covers the site of the nave of the Saxon church; but though search was made, during the recent works, for remains of the old foundations, nothing was discovered. On the south and west sides are to be seen remains of the arches and groining, but the appearance of the south wall of the cathedral suggests that there could not have been any covered alley to the north, so completely have all evidences of such an erection been removed. But it is known that there did exist an alley there, when the Cloisters were complete; for Gunton, describing it, says "The Cloyster about four square, in length 168 yards, in breadth 6 yards." The windows, contrary to the usual practice, were all glazed, and they contained a very fine series of painted glass, all destroyed in 1643. Gunton gives the subjects:--"The windows were all compleat and fair, adorned with glass of excellent painting: In the South Cloyster was the History of the Old Testament: In the East Cloyster of the New: In the North Cloyster, the Figures of the successive Kings from King Peada: In the West Cloyster, was the History from the foundation of the Monastery of King Peada, to the restoring of it by King Edgar." Each light had two lines of verse at the foot, explaining the subject matter of the glass above. All the verses in the windows of the west alley are given; and from this we gather that there were nine windows there of four lights each. Although Gunton only gives the verses belonging to the west cloister, yet as he said previously that "every window had at the bottom the explanation of the history thus in verse," it is supposed that similar legends appeared in all the other alleys of the cloister. The verses are very quaint.

The archway at the south-eastern corner is very elegant, the open quatrefoil above the round arch and below the pointed arch being especially good. The south wall indicates that there were two sets of cloisters here, as the remains of early English arcading are to be clearly seen. Towards the west was the lavatory, the remains indicating work of late fourteenth century date. It is on record that Robert of Lindsey (1214-1222) erected a lavatory in the south cloister: this would be contemporary with the Early English work remaining in this wall, and with the archway to the slype; but it must have been removed when the cloisters were enlarged, and another lavatory, of which we see the remains under three arches, built in its stead. The Refectory was immediately to the south of this wall: some beautiful carving is to be seen in the Bishop's garden. The south-western doorway gives access to the Bishop's grounds. The depth of the hollows behind the carved foliage above the door is remarkable.

In the west wall are remains of a Norman cloister; there are three arches and a door. From the architectural character it seems almost certain that these are older than any part of the present Cathedral. William of Waterville (1155-1175) "built the Cloister and covered it with lead." Canon Davys conjectures that this Abbot in reality repaired and made sound the old cloisters that had been built by Ernulf (1107-1115), "whose recent additions to the buildings of the monastery, we learn, alone escaped the fire, which consumed the other parts of the Abbey in the time of John de Sais." One of these arches has the cheese moulding; and on each jamb is a small incised cross, a very few inches long. If these are consecration crosses they are the only ones that have been noticed in any part of the Abbey.

On the wall of the building west of the south transept are some stone brackets. These shew that after the destruction of the ancient cloister a covered way of some kind was erected here. Marks can also be seen, in the masonry, which indicate that the building once had three gables. Two of the Norman buttresses of the south nave aisle have very curious terminations, which might well puzzle any observer. They are fireplaces for the use of plumbers. Passing through the Norman doorway at the north-western corner of the Laurel Court, we come into a narrow passage leading to the Minster Close.

In the =Bishop's Palace=, besides the remains of the Refectory, which, though so scanty, shew what a beautiful building it once was, there is very little worthy of note. The hall is a vaulted chamber, of no great height, with piers to support the roof; most of it is part of the Abbot's dwelling, and of thirteenth century date. The Heaven's Gate Chamber, previously noticed, built by Abbot Kirton (1496-1528), lies to the south-east of the hall. The chapel was erected by Bishop Magee soon after he came to the diocese.

=The City.=--The mother church of S. John the Baptist is the only parish church in the city of mediaeval date. Until 1856 it was the only parish church in the place. Originally the church stood east of the Minster. But, following what seems to be almost a universal law, the main population spread westward as the number of inhabitants increased, and the earlier buildings were left to the occupation of the poorer class. An insignificant little house in the old town is traditionally said to have been the Vicar's residence. It has some evidence of antiquity about it. The present church was built early in the fifteenth century. It was opened in 1407 with much solemnity by Abbot Genge. It is a spacious and dignified building, having a nave of seven bays; and there are two bays to the chancel, besides the sanctuary. The west tower is good, but hardly of sufficient dignity for such a church. The interior was reseated, and new roofs were added in 1883; they were designed by the late Mr. Pearson.

In 1891 the south porch was restored in memory of Dr. James, a former vicar. The arches under the tower which had been bricked up for many years were underpinned and repaired; and in 1909 were again opened to the church. By 1919 the fittings were almost complete, several rich stained glass windows and beautiful oak screens had been given as memorials. A carved reredos, oak panelling and seats, and a marble pavement have been fitted in the Sanctuary. The organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Messrs. Harrison of Durham.

Towards the west end of the church in the north aisle is a tablet to William Squire by Flaxman; close by is a large picture of King Charles I and two curious specimens of early embroidery are also to be seen; they were once portions of altar-cloths, or of copes. In each case the work is in the form of a cross, about two feet long. Each has the figure of the Saviour on the Cross; but the details are not identical.

=The Guild Hall=, in the Market Place, is an effective little building, dated 1671. The lower part is open, and is used for the butter market. While sufficient for the transaction of borough business 100 years ago, it is altogether inadequate now to the requirements of a corporation.

Until a very few years ago there was a mediaeval building at Peterborough of the greatest interest. This was the old =Tithe Barn= of the Abbey, situated in the Manor of Boroughbury, on the Lincoln Road. It was much the finest in the kingdom. Unhappily the "enterprising builder" has obtained possession of it, and it has been pulled down, the materials, all Barnack stone, having been employed in building houses. It was of good thirteenth century work, and in perfect condition. On the east side were two large porches, by which a waggon fully laden could enter the barn. The roof was supported by very massive timbers rising from the ground, the whole arrangement resembling a wooden church with aisles.

=The Museum= in Queen Street is noted for its collection of Roman and Saxon antiquities from the city and district; amongst the former are the noted coffin tile stamped LEG IX. HISP.; the vase showing a coursing match with the hare and hounds in relief, coins, pottery, brooches, and other jewellery. The Saxon specimens consist of pottery, jewellery, and weapons chiefly exhumed at Woodston, about one mile south-west of the river bridge.

The interesting collection of bone, wood, horn, and straw marquetry work made at Norman Cross (5 miles) by the French prisoners during the years 1797 to 1814, is unique. MSS. of the Northamptonshire poet, John Clare, are preserved in this institution, together with a large number of other local works.