_The Lord I adore_
_Is mighty in power_,
_The one only living and true_;
_But that Lord of yours_
_Which was turned out of doors_,
_Had just as much knowledge as you_.
_But since you bemoan_
_This God of your own_,
_Cheer up my disconsolate brother_:
_Though it seems very odd_,
_Yet if this be your God_
_Mr. Burley _{51}_ can make you another_.
At the suppression of monasteries in the time of Henry VIII, the entire
eastern portion, which constituted two-thirds of the structure, was
destroyed. There are remains, however, sufficient to indicate its
massiveness and majesty. The most prominent of these is the broad
western tower which presents a stately, dignified appearance. There are
also the nave and the side aisles; and these with the tower form the
present church, which, though with evidences of mutilation, has a
venerable aspect, and is characterised by “a noble simplicity combined
with a massive solidity.” The three windows are all at present of the
Perpendicular style; but there are prints of older date which show the
two smaller to have been of a different character. The portal is a
deeply recessed semicircular arch, terminating in a pointed doorway. The
bellchamber has two windows on each side; between those of the western
front, in a canopied niche, is the statue of an armed knight, having a
conical basinet encircled by a crown. This figure is with good reason
supposed to represent Edward III. in whose reign the tower was probably
begun. The south doorway is plain Norman in character, resting on
slender shafts, and adjoining is the ruined wall of the transept. The
choir having been destroyed the eastern end now terminates in a wall run
up between the remains of the two western piers, which supported the
central tower. Of course, in the interior the altar stands here, above
which are placed Norman windows, containing six figures in stained glass
of kings and apostles. They are deep and brilliant in colour, and the
drawing is good. Below is a reredos, forming a series of five Norman
arches.
The interior of the Abbey is a fine specimen of solid Norman work. The
whole is in the massive Norman style except what is beyond the three
semicircular arches westward, where there is a very wide pier, on the
eastern and western extremities of which are half columns of the arcades,
and in the middle is attached a flat pilaster. From hence the nave
displays the commencement of a different style, and the Norman gives
place to pure Gothic of the fourteenth century. This terminates in a
beautiful pointed arch, which divides the tower from the nave, and by the
removal of the organ gallery and screen the whole extent of the great
western window is now displayed, which certainly imparts a very striking
appearance to that portion of the building. The entire window is filled
with a series of armorial bearings of some of England’s ancient peerage,
as well as a few very modern. It is, in fact, a perfect study of
heraldry. There are several monuments of interest, but the most singular
is one which stands on the north side of the altar, which at the first
view presents the appearance of two tombs, but on examination proves to
be only one, the double appearance being given by a centre buttress,
which is not carried over the ledge, upon which rest two figures, the
head of the one at the feet of the other. They are supposed to represent
the “same” individual who had abandoned the military for the eremitical
life, but there is not the slightest clue to his name.
The walls of the nave, with the pillars and arches, were, in 1855,
cleared of their plaster covering; but such a state of dilapidation was
developed as to necessitate a thorough restoration, which has been
carefully and effectually carried out. It may be proper to mention that
on the fall of St. Chad’s, and the demolition of St. Alkmund’s, the walls
of which “were in such a sound state as to require a very great amount of
labour to remove them,” several ancient monuments found a place within
the walls of the Abbey.
Of the monastic remains there are only “few and far between.” On the
south-west of the church is a malthouse which is supposed to have been
part of the monks’ infirmary and chapel. A similar building which stood
near the street, and a dormitory attached to the south-west side of the
church were taken down in 1836 for the formation of a new line of road.
The most striking of the remains is the elegant octagonal STONE PULPIT,
in a yard on the right. It is thought to have stood within the
refectory, and to have been used as the lectern by the junior monks to
read from while the elder brethren were enjoying meals in the
dining-room. The interior forms an oriel, the roof being vaulted on
eight delicate ribs.
From hence we take the road upwards, and call to mind in our walk two
notable but not pleasant incidents. The first goes as far back as 1582,
in which year, on February 4th, one John Prestige “was hanged upon a
gibbet, erected on the green, by the water side, near the Abbey Mill, and
opposite his own house, for the murder of his wife, by throwing her over
the Stone (the English) Bridge in the Severn: he hung there three days.”
The second brings us down to 1774 when, on Good Friday, April 1st, a
disastrous fire broke out in the Abbey Foregate by which forty-seven
houses, sixteen barns, fifteen stables, four shops, and several stacks of
hay were utterly destroyed. This serious conflagration led to the
purchase by the Worshipful Company of Drapers of a fire engine, a
quantity of buckets and fire hooks, and to the erection of fire plugs for
the use of the town. These disagreeable memories are relieved by the
sight of