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Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Salisbury - A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the See of Sarum
by Gleeson White
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Jocelin de Bohun, or, as he is sometimes called, de Bailleul (1142 to 1184), is best known from his quarrel with Thomas a Becket, of Canterbury. For his share in framing the "Constitutions of Clarendon," he was excommunicated by the archbishop. On the death of Roger, in 1139, King Stephen nominated Philip de Harcourt, but the canons preferred Jocelin, who was not, however, consecrated until 1142. After the murder of A'Becket he "purged himself by oath of his offences" towards his late foe. In 1184 he retired to a Cistercian monastery, and died shortly afterwards. A monument on the south side of the cathedral nave is attributed to him.

The see was now left vacant for five years, when Hubert Walter, was consecrated, in 1189; he shortly after went to the Holy Land to join Richard I. in his crusade. While at Acre he was nominated to the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury, to which he returned in 1193. He exercised a powerful influence on both king and people; the latter, with whom he had never been popular, found at his death that "they had lost the only bulwark strong enough to resist or break the attack of royal despotism."

Herbert de la Poer, or Poore (1194-1217), who succeeded him, ruled in a troubled period, when the realm was under the interdict of Pope Innocent III. Compelled to quit Old Sarum, he died at Wilton in 1217.



With Richard Poore, who was consecrated Bishop of Chichester in 1215, and in 1217 Bishop of Old Sarum, where he had been dean, begins the record of the bishops immediately connected with the building. His history is so intimately bound up with that of the cathedral, that here it is sufficient to note that he ruled at Old Sarum and Salisbury until 1229, when he was translated to Durham.[10] His distinct influence upon the architecture of that cathedral, in connection with Elias de Derham, is noticed elsewhere. He died at his birthplace, Tarrant (Tarent Crawford[11]), in Dorsetshire, where he had founded a Cistercian nunnery, in which his heart is said to have been interred; his body was taken to Durham, and a monument with his effigy erected in the new cathedral at Salisbury. The names of St. Osmund and Richard Poore stand out beyond all others in connection with this see. The one for the indirect glory he conferred upon it by his memorable ordinal; the other by his removal of the cathedral and the superb fabric he left to commemorate his fame. With them, excepting possibly Bishop Hallam, the record of men of mark ceases; of their successors hardly one has had a reputation beyond his diocese, and certainly there is not one whose fame has spread beyond his native land.



Robert Bingham (1229-1246) finished the work of the cathedral during his eighteen years' rule; but when he died he left it in debt 1,700 marks. His monument, with effigy, is now in the north choir aisle.

William of York (1247-1256) was one of the chaplains to Henry II.; by his renewal of the vexatious custom of attending the lord's courts, he became very unpopular. Matthew Paris mentions him as one of the favourites of the king, and Bishop Godwin says that he was better versed in the laws of the realm than in those of God.

Giles of Bridport, or de Bridlesford (1257-1262), who held also the Deanery of Wells by a faculty "in Commendam," for Pope Honorius, continued the works of the cathedral until it was consecrated, in 1258, by Boniface, Archbishop of Savoy, the brother of the queen of Edward I. He also founded the college of Vaux. In 1260, during his bishopric, there is a curious entry in a document, lately printed, which refers to Nicholas of York, Canon of Salisbury, Le engineur.

In the same volume (Rolls Chronicles, 1891), there is a note of this bishop granting 200 lbs. of wax annually from his wardrobe for increasing the lights in the church, as he had been told that amount would be sufficient to double the number of the candles at each ministration.

Walter de la Wyle (1263-1271), the founder of the church of St. Edmund of Abingdon, has a mutilated effigy assigned to him in the cathedral.

Robert de Wykehampton (1274-1284), although elected by the canons, the monks of Canterbury, and the king, was opposed by the archbishop, who, after four years' interval and an appeal to Rome, was forced to consecrate him. He is said to have become blind in 1278.

Walter Scammel (1284-1286). Although on his election the monks of Canterbury appealed to the Pope against it, they subsequently withdrew their opposition. He was buried near the Audley Chapel.

Henry de Braundeston (1287), who died the same year, was buried, according to Leland, in the Lady Chapel.

Walter de la Corner (1289-1291) was one of the chaplains of the Pope. He was buried in the middle of the choir, "nearly under the eagle."

Nicholas Longespee (1292-1297) was fourth and youngest son of the first Earl of Salisbury, and Countess Ela.

Simon of Ghent, or de Gand (1297-1315), first empowered the mayor and citizens to fortify the city. According to a document printed in the "Rolls Chronicles," 1891, the visitation of many of the churches, about 1300, compares badly with a similar record for 1220; ignorance of the clergy, gross neglect of the fabric, insufficient and dilapidated books and vestments, with other evidences of lack of energy, are very frequent.

Roger Mortival (1315-1330) founded a collegiate establishment at Knowsley, his birthplace. The Library of Merton College, Oxford, contains many manuscripts, his gift while he was Archdeacon of Leicester. He is said also to have drawn up the statutes by which the cathedral is still partly governed.

Robert Wyville, or Wivil (1330-1375), was, by Walsingham's account, not merely destitute of learning, but so deformed and ugly, "it is hard to say whether he was more dunce or dwarf, more unlearned or unhandsome," that had the Pope seen him he would never have endorsed his appointment. He was a militant bishop, and in 1355 instituted a suit against William de Montacute, and sent his champion clothed in white to try wager of battle with him. He recovered for his see 2,500 marks and the ancient castle of Old Sarum, also that of Sherborne. He obtained permission to fortify his manors of Sarum, Sherborne, Woodford, Chardstock, Potterne, Canning, Sunning, and his mansion in Fleet Street (now Salisbury Court), "in the suburbs of London." His brass is in the Morning Chapel.

Ralph Erghum (1375-1388) was probably of Flemish birth. He was translated to Bath and Wells in 1388, where he died in 1400. He is said to have erected the City Cross as a penance, but the Sarum register seems rather to indicate that he compelled the Earl of Salisbury to do so.

John Waltham (1388-1395) was Master of the Rolls in 1382, and Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1391. For a time he resisted the metropolitan visitation of Archbishop Courtney, notwithstanding that the Bishop of Exeter had been forced to yield in a similar contest, but when the archbishop excommunicated him he was compelled to submit. He was specially in the favour of his king, Richard II., and died Lord High Treasurer in 1305. He was buried ("not without much general dissatisfaction," according to Walsingham,) in Westminster Abbey, where his brass can be seen in the floor of the chapel of the Confessor, to the right of King Edward's tomb.

Richard Mitford (1395-1407) was the favourite, and confessor of Richard II., but during the so-called "wonderful" parliament he was imprisoned in Bristol Castle, until released by the King on his re-assumption of power. In 1389 he was nominated to the see of Chichester, and translated therefrom to Salisbury in 1395. His tomb stands in an angle of the south transept.

Nicholas Bubwith (1407), at one time Treasurer of England, held Salisbury for three months only, between the bishoprics of London and Bath and Wells. He died at Wells, 1424.

Robert Hallam (1407-1417). Notwithstanding his brilliant career, both the origin and birthplace of this prelate are unknown. "Born in England of royal blood," says one chronicler, but there is no corroborative evidence. Prebendary of York, Archdeacon of Canterbury in 1401, Chancellor of Oxford 1403, he left England in 1406 for Rome, and was nominated by Pope Gregory XII. to be Archbishop of York; this latter preferment was withdrawn, but in its stead he became Bishop of Salisbury in 1407. He was at the Council of Pisa in 1409, and, in 1411, was created a cardinal by Pope John XXIII. At the famous Council of Constance, 1415-1417, he was one of the foremost champions of religious liberty, and almost alone in condemning the punishment of death for heresy. Indeed, the whole future of the Roman church is said to have been changed by his death at the Castle of Gotlieb in 1417, and the supremacy of the Italian party assured by the decease of its most formidable opponent. The brass that marks his burial place in Constance cathedral is supposed to have been executed in England, and sent thence some time after his death. It is engraved in Kites' "Monumental Brasses of Wiltshire."

John Chandler (1417-1426) is remembered chiefly for his brief life of William of Wykeham.

Robert Neville (1427-1438) was the nephew of Henry IV.; after holding the see of Salisbury for ten years he was translated to Durham. He founded the monastery at Sunning.

William Ayscough (1438-1450), who has left little record of his life, met his death during a local rising in 1450, the year of the Jack Cade rebellion. On the feast of SS. Peter and Paul his church at Edingdon, near Westbury, one of his palaces, was attacked by a mob, who seized the bishop in the vestments wherein he had just said mass, and, dragging him to a hill-top near, there they stoned and beheaded him, stripping off his garments and dividing them among themselves for memorials. His body was afterwards interred at Edingdon. Possibly his scholarship, which separated him from his people, was the real cause of his unpopularity, which is, however, generally attributed to his frequent absence with King Henry VI., to whom he was Confessor.

Richard Beauchamp (1450-1481) was translated from the bishopric of Hereford. Son of Sir Walter, and grandson of Lord Beauchamp of Powick, he was sent on diplomatic missions to various courts, including Burgundy. In 1471 he was one of the signatories of the truce with the Duke of Brittany. In 1477 he became Dean of Windsor, and was appointed by Edward IV. master of the works then in progress, which included the rebuilding of St. George's Chapel. At Salisbury he left the great hall of the bishop's palace and his own superb chantry as memorials of his architectural skill. Elsewhere in this book is a fuller description of this beautiful tomb demolished by Wyatt. He himself was buried at Windsor; in an arch opposite his tomb was a missal carved in stone with a quaint inscription, beginning, "Who leyde this boke here." He is said to have been the first chancellor of the Order of the Garter, although Dr. Milner assigns that honour to William de Edingdon. Whether the first or not, he and his successors in the see held it by charter of Edward, until they were deprived in the reign of Henry VIII. In 1671 it was again awarded to the see of Salisbury, but passed, in 1836, with Berkshire to that of Oxford.

Lionel Woodville, or Wydville (1482-1484), nephew of Elizabeth, queen of Edward IV., was appointed to the see in 1482. His brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded in Salisbury market place just before the battle of Bosworth. Woodville is said to have died of grief occasioned by the downfall of the fortunes of his house on the accession of Richard III.

Thomas Langton (1485-1493) is best remembered as a patron of literature, for which he has been called a second Maecenas, yet, despite the "fostering hand he always afforded to learned men," he was an opponent of Wicklif's heresies, and did his best to stamp them out in his see when they had gained a number of adherents.

John Blyth (1494-1499) was Chancellor of Ireland in 1499. An effigy, assumed to be his, is in the north transept.

Henry Dean, or Denny, or Syer (1500-1501), was translated to Canterbury shortly after his appointment to Salisbury. He is believed to have been one of the victims of the Great Plague, and to have died at Lambeth in 1503.

Edmund Audley (1502-1524) was Bishop of Rochester in 1480, translated to Hereford in 1492, and to Salisbury in 1502. His beautiful chantry still remains in its original position. St. Mary's, Oxford, contains a pulpit said to be his gift.

Lorenzo Campegio, Cardinal of St. Anastatius, was nominated by Pope Clement in 1524. He was sent to England to join Cardinal Wolsey in adjudicating upon the royal divorce. In 1535, when Henry VIII. disgraced Wolsey, Campegio was also deprived of his see by Act of Parliament. At Rome, however, he was regarded as Bishop of Salisbury until his death; and "for some time after" an independent succession was maintained by the Pope in two English bishoprics, namely, Salisbury and Worcester.

Nicholas Shaxton (1535-1539) was President of Gonville Hall, Cambridge, and for a while a sturdy supporter of the king. At the time of Latimer's resignation he also resigned in common with many other bishops. He was imprisoned, and in 1546 condemned to be burnt, for denying the real presence; but recanting became prominent as opponent of the reformers, preaching fiery sermons at the martyrdom of Anne Askew and others. After he resigned his see he became suffragan to the Bishop of Ely. He died at Cambridge in 1556.

John Capon, or Salcote (1539-1557), had been Bishop of Bangor. His record is notorious for its greed and time-serving. First orthodox, then Protestant, and one of the revisers of the Liturgy under Edward VI., again changing under Mary, and one of the judges at the trial of Bishop Hooper of Gloucester. Fuller impeaches him with Veysey, or Harman, of Exeter, saying, "it seems as if it were given to binominous bishops to be impairers of their churches."

Peter Peto (1557), a cardinal nominated by the Pope, was refused possession by Queen Mary, who appointed Francis Malet, Dean of Lincoln, in his stead, but he in turn, before his consecration, was ejected by Elizabeth, who had succeeded to the throne meanwhile.

John Jewel (1560-1571) is one of the few Protestant bishops connected with this see who can claim more than diocesan fame. He was born at Berry Narbor, Devonshire, in 1522, and appears to have belonged to a good old family. When a Fellow of Corpus, at Oxford, his adherence to the doctrines of the Reformation caused him to be expelled; but so greatly was he beloved for his pure life and his profound scholarship there, that in spite of his expulsion he was chosen to be Public Orator at his University. His life is too widely known to need an epitome here. Among his writings, the most famous, the "Apology for the Church of England," published in 1562, was quickly translated into every language in Europe. In episcopal matters he took great interest, and built the library over the cloisters,[12] besides devoting great care to the education of students, having always a number of poor lads in his house, and maintaining others at Oxford, one of whom was the famous "Judicious Hooker." Fuller praises him in terms that seem, however extravagant, to be generally admitted by his contemporaries to be fully deserved, and the famous sentence, "It is hard to say whether his soul or his ejaculations arrived first in heaven, seeing he prayed dying, and died praying," shows that he was reverenced by the Reformed Church as a veritable saint. He died at Monkton Fairleigh in 1571, his tombstone, despoiled of its brass, is now near that of Bishop Wyvil, whence it was removed from its former place in the choir.

Edmund Gheast, or Gest (1571-1577), the first Protestant Bishop of Rochester, was translated to Salisbury, where he gave a fine collection of books to the new library of the cathedral. His tombstone is in the north choir aisle.

John Piers (1577-1589) preached before Queen Elizabeth at the solemn thanksgiving for the defeat of the Spanish Armada. He was translated to York in 1589.

John Coldwell (1591-1596), a physician before he became a cleric, is also noticeable as the first married bishop who held the see. He was accused of wasting its revenues, and is responsible for the loss of Sherborne Castle, which he alienated, says Fuller, "owing to the wily intrigues of Sir Walter Raleigh."

Henry Cotton (1598-1615) was one of the chaplains of Elizabeth, and a godson of the Queen, of whom she is reported to have remarked that "she had blessed many of her godsons, now one should bless her." Sir John Harrington says, "he had nineteen children by one wife, which is no ordinary blessing, and most of them sonnes. His wife's name was Patience; the name of which I have heard in few wives, the quality in none." As the second married bishop he certainly appears to have supported fully the Protestant opposition to the celibacy of the clergy.

Robert Abbott (1615-1618) was the elder brother of George, Archbishop of Canterbury. Fuller says, "George was the more plausible preacher, Robert the greater scholar; George the abler statesman, Robert the deeper divine. Gravity did frown in George, and smile in Robert." As one might infer from so strong an opponent of Laud, amid the large number of his published works most are polemical and Anti-Romish.

Martin Fotherby (1618-1620) held the see but a year, and hence left no lasting impression upon it.

Robert Townson (1620-1621), who attended the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh, and has left a graphic and touching account of his last hours, was but ten months bishop when he died, says Fuller, who was his nephew, of a fever contracted by "unseasonable sitting up to study," when preparing a sermon to preach before Parliament.

John Davenant (1621-1641) attended the Synod of Dort at the bidding of James I., and was the author of many theological works.

Brian Duppa, or de Uphaugh (1641-1660) was tutor to the sons of Charles I., and appointed to Salisbury just before the Commonwealth; he was deprived almost immediately, and lived in seclusion at Richmond until, at the Restoration, he was translated to Winchester. His memorial tablet is in Westminster. Of him Izaak Walton said, "he was one of those men in whom there was such a commixture of general learning, of natural eloquence, and Christian humility, that they deserve a commemoration by a pen equal to their own, which none have exceeded."

Humphrey Henchman (1660-1663) was appointed at the Restoration, no doubt as a reward for his great services to King Charles after the battle of Worcester. After holding the see three years he was translated to London.

John Earles (1663-1665), appointed Bishop of Worcester at the Restoration, was translated to Salisbury in 1663. One of his books, "The Microcosmographie, or a Piece of the World Discovered in Essays and Characters," first published anonymously in 1628, was extremely popular, and ran through many editions; it is still read as a faithful picture of its times. Hallam in his "Literary History" praises it highly, Clarendon in his "Memoirs" also eulogizes its author, and Izaak Walton in his "Life of Hooper" speaks of his innocent wisdom, sanctified learning, and pious, peaceable, and primitive temper. Earles was constantly with Prince Charles during his exile, and hence one of the first ecclesiastics to receive preferment.

Alexander Hyde (1665-1667) was first cousin to the famous Lord Chancellor Clarendon. A portrait, alleged to represent this prelate, was found by Bishop Fuller in an obscure cottage; it is now in the Bishop's palace.

Seth Ward (1667-1689), who was made Bishop of Exeter at the Restoration, and translated to Salisbury in 1667, took great interest in the fabric, and restored the bishops' palace. The survey of the cathedral by Sir Christopher Wren was undertaken by his request and at his own cost. He regained for his see the Chancellorship of the Order of the Garter, lost for a century and a half. He founded the College of Matrons, and at his death at Knightsbridge in 1688, was buried in the south choir aisle. Dr. Walter Pope's biography of this bishop is an interesting record of an eventful life.

Gilbert Burnet (1689-1715). Lord Macaulay has summed up the character of this bishop in terms, that if they convey an impression of a vain, indiscreet, and somewhat blundering partisan, yet do justice to the vigour and strength of his character, while of the "History of his Own Times," and many other volumes yet remembered, he says: "A writer whose voluminous works in several branches of literature find numerous readers one hundred and thirty years after his death, may have had great faults, but must also have had great merits."

William Talbot (1715-1721) was of the house of Shrewsbury, and father of Lord Chancellor Talbot. He was translated to Durham in 1721.

Richard Willis (1721-1723) held the see for two years, when he was translated to Winchester.

Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor 1716, Hereford 1721, Sarum 1723. Owing to the controversy raised by one of his sermons, Convocation was suspended for 150 years.

Thomas Sherlock (1734-1748) was appointed to Bangor in 1727, translated to Salisbury in 1734, declined the Archbishopric of Canterbury in 1747, and was translated to London in 1748. In the most apathetic time of the Anglican Church he is a striking example of activity and earnestness.

John Gilbert (1749-1757) was a turbulent bishop whose record is full of disputes with the civic authorities at Salisbury.

John Thomas (1757-1761), Bishop of Peterborough 1746, and afterwards Bishop of Winchester, was married four times, and is reported to have said that he had killed three wives by never contradicting them.

Robert Hay Drummond (1761) was translated to the Archbishopric of York four months after his appointment to Salisbury. He preached at the coronation of George III.

John Thomas (1761-1766), elected Bishop of St. Asaph in 1743, but consecrated to Lincoln, was eighty years old when translated to Salisbury.

John Hume (1766-1782), Bishop of Bristol 1756, Bishop of Oxford and Dean of St. Paul's 1758.

Shute Barrington (1782-1791), translated to Durham. Excepting Bishop Wilson, his fifty-six years' tenure of office is the longest in the Anglican Church. He died in 1826.

John Douglas (1791-1807) was present as an army chaplain at the battle of Fontenoy, in which he very nearly took an active part, but was so laden with valuables left in his care by officers, that he was compelled to refrain and be content to remain a non-combatant, and remove his treasures to a safe place. As author of "The Criterion, or Rules by which True may be distinguished from Spurious Miracles," 1754, and many other books, he established for himself a sound literary reputation. Made Bishop of Carlisle in 1787, and translated to Salisbury in 1791; he was also Dean of Windsor from 1780 to his death, when he was buried in St. George's Chapel.

John Fisher (1807-1825). Exeter, 1803, Preceptor to Princess Charlotte.

Thomas Burgess (1825-1837). St. David's, 1803.

Edward Denison (1837-1854). Brother of a late Speaker of the House of Commons, Viscount Ossington.

Walter Kerr Hamilton (1854-1869). Author of a "Letter on Cathedral Reform," which followed his exhaustive contribution to the Cathedral Commission Reports, 1853.

George Moberley (1869-1885). Head Master of Winchester, 1835-1866.

John Wordsworth (1885).



FOOTNOTES:

[10] 14th May, 1228. Vide "Hist. Dunelm. Script.," App. lii.

[11] Others say Tarrant Monkton.

[12] This statement is open to doubt.



THE CLOSE AND CHURCHES.

The King's House, which faces the west front, on the western side of the Close, is a stately building, wherein, tradition says, monarchs have dwelt. Richard III. is said to have been housed there when the Duke of Buckingham was brought prisoner to Salisbury; and in the reign of James I. its owner, Sir Thomas Sadler, was often honoured by visits from that monarch. Underneath the great gateway which pierces the building, in the north wall, is the shaft of a "sack lift," a curious relic of mediaeval times. The fine proportions and sturdy treatment of the architecture of this house deserve study. It is now used as a training establishment for school mistresses. Close by is the Deanery, and to the south a building known as the Wardrobe House; which name is supposed to indicate its use in connection with the King's House; still farther south is Leden Hall (or Leyden Hall), hidden behind trees, so that from the Close you can but catch a glimpse of the building by Elias de Derham, to which reference has been made earlier in this book. In the other direction are the Theological College, a very lovely and spacious building, the Choristers' School, and many private houses of great antiquity and considerable beauty. Indeed, it is possible that at no other place could you find such a display of English domestic architecture, from mediaeval to Georgian times. The beauty of the Close, well wooded as it still is, despite the havoc wrought by the terrible gale in March, 1897, is not to be put into words. No matter how praise were lavished in a description, it would yet be inadequate. But whether you see it for the first time, or after many visits, it still keeps its place as the most perfect thing of its sort in the world.

The High Street Gate, which from its position may be regarded as the chief entrance to the Close, is an embattled structure of two stories, built, as the pieces of Norman stone work clearly show, from material brought from Old Sarum. In the niche above the arch on the south side is a figure, popularly supposed to represent Charles I., although its proportions more nearly resemble those of James I. It is said that a statue of Henry III. originally occupied the niche. To the left, as you have passed the gateway, stands the picturesque Matron's College founded and endowed by Bishop Seth Ward in 1685. Also on the left is a house formerly occupied by Canon Bowles, and still earlier by Archdeacon Cole, both Salisbury worthies with more than local reputation.

St. Ann's Gate is in the east wall of the Close, in the southern angle. It is a long, low two-storied building, with two light perpendicular windows in the upper story, and from the street outside, where a projecting window is a noticeable feature, is very picturesque. In common with the other gates and with the walls of the Close, Norman stones moulded and carved are visible in many places. A house near the south side was occupied by Fielding, who moved afterwards next door to the Friary in St. Ann's Street, and finally to another at Milford Hill, where he wrote "Tom Jones."

Harnham Gate near the south boundary is but a fragment, an embattled archway devoid of an upper story. Near this gateway, just outside the precincts, stood the ancient college of De Vaux, founded in 1260 by Bishop Bridport.

The Bishop's Palace is not visible from the Close, but can be seen through a doorway in the cloisters. It is set in the midst of delightful gardens, a rambling picturesque building dating from many periods. Bishop Poore began it—Bishop Beauchamp built its great hall; within its walls are portraits of all the bishops of Salisbury since the Restoration.

The Hospital of St. Nicholas is situated between Harnham Gate and Harnham Bridge. The charter of its endowment dates from the castle of Old Sarum in September, 1227. It still shelters a dozen inmates in a most picturesque house, part of the original structure. On an islet is a more modern building, which is on the foundation of the chapel of St. John, suppressed at the Reformation.

The Church House, as it is now called, was formerly known as Audley House, and belonged to the Earl of Castlehaven who was beheaded in 1631, and his property divided between the bishop and others. It is most picturesquely placed by Crane Bridge.



The Poultry Cross is still standing near the Market Place. At one time a sundial and ball crowned the structure, but these have been replaced by a cross. Close by it and scattered frequently throughout the streets of the city are overhanging houses that betray their antiquity at a glance.



The Guildhall, a very interesting building as engravings show, was demolished at the end of the eighteenth century. The Joiners Hall, the Tailors Hall, the Hall of John Halle, the Old George, are still standing, with some of their features modified but not sufficiently altered to deprive them of interest.

The Church of St. Thomas a Becket is a most picturesque structure, and, placed as it is in a square of old tiled houses, makes a delightful picture. It consists of a nave with two aisles, a chancel with aisles, and a vestry room. It was built in 1240 by Bishop Bingham. The embattlemented tower has in its south front two niches containing much mutilated figures of the Virgin and Child and St. Thomas a Becket. In the porch is a very curious panel with a biblical subject rudely carved by Humphrey Beckham, who died, aged eighty-eight, in 1671, and left this as his memorial. The most striking feature of the interior is the large painting above the chancel arch, representing the Day of Judgment, in the naive manner of its time. A reproduction will be found in Hoare's "Modern Wiltshire" (vol. 6), and most works on ecclesiastical mural decoration mention it as one of the most important examples that have come down to us. Other paintings in the south aisle were brought to light by Mr. G.E. Street during the restoration in 1867. Without and within it is a building hardly less worth study than the cathedral itself.



St. Edmund, founded by Bishop de la Wyle in 1268 for a Provost and twelve secular canons, is at the north-east of the city. To the east of its churchyard is the college of St. Edmunds, on the site of the convent founded in 1268 by the same bishop. In the grounds of the college stands the old north transept porch of the cathedral, a picturesque ruin whose architecture at once disposes of the theory that it came from Old Sarum.



St. Martin is another church of very ancient foundation, containing an interesting Norman font.

It is impossible to close even the most brief note of objects of interest at, or near, Salisbury, without naming George Herbert's church, Bemerton, and Stonehenge; two places which attract pilgrims from all parts of the world. Yet no space is left to describe them, or to refer to Henry Lawes, musician, and Philip Massinger, dramatist, two of the many famous men who had the city for their birthplace. The cathedral has been the main object of this volume, and other matters, interesting though they may be, must needs be left untouched here.

THE END.

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