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.
[Illustration: Birkehedde Priory, _in_ Cheshire.]
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.
[Illustration: Norman Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral.]
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.
[Illustration: Cloisters, Chester Cathedral.
(_West Walk, showing one of the Monks’ Studies._)
]
[Illustration: Norman Chamber, Chester Cathedral Cloisters.
(_Secundo Aula of the Abbey._)
]
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.
Though many of the buildings of the monastery have been destroyed,
sufficient are left to enable us, with the aid of a plan, made probably
early in the seventeenth century, to recall the daily life of the
monks. The cloisters are perfect in form, though the tracery of the
windows has in some instances perished, whilst the glass has altogether
vanished. On the south side, rebuilt recently, and on the south part
of the west side, may be seen the carrels or places where the monks
studied, two in each carrel, and hard by are the armaria or recesses
where the books or manuscripts were kept. Close at hand is the seat
where the librarian would have his position, ready to supply any book
or material which might be wanted. At the south-west corner was the
place where youths were instructed. The floor would be strewn with hay
or straw, mixed with herbs, to afford some little warmth or protection
to the silent monks as they wrote and studied. The silence would be
broken now and again by the footsteps of those who were entering or
leaving the church, where the offices were said; otherwise the place
would be perfectly still save for the voice of the monk instructing
his pupils. In this way would the everyday life of the religious be
spent. On the north side was the refectory, where the meals were
served, and even at such times, as a rule, there would not be
ordinary conversation, but the monks would in order take their place
in the beautiful and unique pulpit, and read out of some devotional or
instructive book for the edification of the brethren. On the eastern
side was the dormitory, reached by a staircase which still exists
through the doorway in the north-eastern corner. On the north side,
in the exterior wall of the refectory, graced by a beautiful Early
English arcade, was the washing trough or lavatory, and we can imagine
the monks, when they had descended each morning from the dormitory,
performing here their simple ablutions. The water was conveyed in pipes
from the neighbouring village of Christleton. On the west side was
the great hall of the Abbot’s lodgings, and underneath it a vaulted
chamber, which could be entered from the cloister, and might be used as
an ambulatory or place for exercise when the weather was unpropitious.
In the south-east was (and is) an ornamental doorway leading through
the vestibule to the Chapter-house, where the brethren sat in conclave
to consider matters affecting the welfare of the body. Eastwards of
this was the infirmary, where the sick and aged were tended, but no
remains of this building or others near it are now left. The style of
architecture of the present cloisters is Late Perpendicular, and their
date is fixed pretty accurately, for the arms of Cardinal Wolsey on
one of the bosses show that he must have been Archbishop of York when
they were erected. Similarly, we may add, the Cardinal’s arms are to
be seen on the flat oak roof of the north transept, the only portion
of the church where no provision was made for groining. Another boss
in the cloisters bears the initials of Thomas Marshall, who was Abbot
for a few months in 1529. But though the present cloisters are of this
late date, there is little doubt that they are only the successors of
earlier ones. In fact, the Early English decoration above the lavatory
seems to indicate that cloisters in that style had existed, whilst the
late Mr. Parker, in 1857, gave it as his opinion that “there was an
early cloister even at the Norman period.” The cloister garth, in the
plan to which reference has been made, is called “the sprise garden.”
This is wrongly interpreted as “a corruption of Paradise or the
Churchyard.” The enclosure was not meant to be used as a burying-place,
though interments did take place in some of the cloister walks. But the
title probably indicated that here were grown those aromatic shrubs
which the monks would require for their fragrance or for medical
purposes. Just outside the city walls, which bounded the monastic
property on the east, was their vegetable garden, as is indicated
by the title which the place still bears, “the Kale-yard.” Here the
brethren would be able to engage in out-door operations, and to
obtain that exercise which would be so necessary for the preservation
of health. Other opportunities of service would be afforded within
the enclosure, which was a fairly large one, for it contained “the
brewhouse and storehouses, the great kiln and drying floors,” besides
all the offices necessary for so large an establishment. It was
entered through two gateways, the one for general use, the other for
cartage and purposes of that kind. Both openings still remain, and
are known by the name of “the Abbey Gateway” and “the little Abbey
Gateway.” The superstructure of the former was unfortunately altered
and modernised early in the nineteenth century, but the gateway itself,
with its groined roof and finely-carved bosses, is well worthy of close
inspection by the visitor. The gates have, of course, disappeared, but
the larger arch for the admission of vehicles and the smaller doorway
for pedestrians give us a clear indication of the way the entrance was
used. The porter’s lodge was on the southern side, and you can still
see traces of the doorway of it and of the window through which the
porter would make his observations. It was before this gateway that the
Chester Mystery Plays were first represented before they were taken
round the city, and thus had ecclesiastical as well as civic patronage
and support. Before this gateway, too, was held a fair or market,
about which certain disputes arose between the monks and the citizens
which were finally settled in 1488.
[Illustration: Doorway in Cloisters, Chester Cathedral.]
Of the Abbot’s dwelling, converted at the Dissolution and foundation of
the See of Chester into the Bishop’s Palace, some few but interesting
remains are still extant. For instance, the basement of the projected
north-west Norman tower was, according to the plan in the British
Museum, the wine cellar. It was reached by a spiral staircase from
the room above, which was probably the Abbot’s private apartment, and
became the Bishop’s study, obtaining its light from a fan-light in
the ceiling. On the north of this was the Abbot’s chapel, which was
a Norman building, and entered from his room by a fine doorway. This
again was used by the Bishop, and in Bishop Bridgman’s time had a
Jacobean chancel added to it. The chapel is in a somewhat dilapidated
condition, and is approached from the church by the above-mentioned
staircase. “The wine cellar” and the room above have been thrown into
the Cathedral, and now form the baptistery, and in it is a beautiful
fifth-century font of Italian origin, which was given by the late Earl
Egerton of Tatton in 1885. From “the wine cellar” a square-headed
doorway, now filled up, led into “the pantry,” and beyond this was
“the strong-beer cellar.” It is possible that the names given to these
apartments simply indicate the purpose to which they were put when the
Bishop’s Palace was here, and that they have no reference to the use
made of them in monastic times. But they were, at any rate, part of the
Abbey buildings. “The strong-beer cellar,” with its graceful columns
and vaulted roof, has been restored by the Dean and Chapter, and is
now known as “the vaulted chamber,” and is most useful for lectures
and meetings. The Abbot probably, like the Bishop, was able to come
down into the church without going into the open air; at any rate, the
latter could do this.
The Abbey had certain small houses or dependencies in the
neighbourhood. To such houses the title Grange was often applied,
and Saighton Grange, the residence of the Right Honourable George
Wyndham and Countess Grosvenor, was such an appanage of St. Werburgh’s
Abbey. The present building was only a portion, probably the gateway,
of the original structure. At Ince was another, and here again some
interesting remains are to be seen, though they have been converted
into cottages and for agricultural uses. A small number of monks no
doubt always resided at such places, and generally had charge of the
services in the church. The other brethren might seek change of scene
and air by occasional visits. The Granges would also be necessary
for the storage of the crops, which could not be carried into the
city, and at Ince the large barn used for this purpose is still to be
seen. When we remember the frequently unsettled state of the country,
especially on the Welsh borders, we are not surprised to learn that
in 1499 permission was given to the Abbot to fortify the Granges at
Ince, Saighton, and Sutton, so that protection might be afforded to the
residents and to the movable property of which they were custodians.
Both at Ince and Saighton we may see traces of the work which was then
undertaken.
The Abbey of St. Werburgh cannot claim amongst her sons men of such
distinction as the Venerable Bede, the monk of Jarrow; but Ralph
Higden, a lay brother, who died in 1363, may be mentioned as a writer
of some distinction. He was the author of _Polychronicon_, a record
of events from the Creation to his own time. It is in seven books,
and compiled from various authorities, and, though not free from
inaccuracies, is a surprising work considering the age in which it
was written. Bishop Creighton says that the work enjoyed unexampled
popularity, and was schemed with a completeness never known before.
It stands out as a memorial of the patient study and research which
often characterised the lives of the dwellers in our monasteries, and
may thus help us to realise how much we owe to their labours in the
preservation of our history and literature. Higden’s tomb may still be
seen in the south choir aisle.
From what has been already said, it will readily be admitted that we
owe a deep debt to those monks of old for the loving care and artistic
skill which they lavished on the Houses of God, and for the patient
labour whereby they preserved for future ages our literature, both
ecclesiastical and secular. The services, too, in many a parish were
maintained by them, and it is hardly too much to say that the lamp of
religion would have been utterly darkened in many a place, if it had
not been kept alight by the teaching and preaching of those who had
their home in the monasteries. Nor must we forget, what has already
been hinted at, that the monks were virtually the only--at any rate
the chief--instructors of the youth of the country, and thus did much
for the education and elevation of the people. They, too, were the
principal almoners of the poor, who must have suffered acutely when
the monasteries were suppressed. In all these different ways there is
no reason to doubt that the Abbeys of Cheshire (and especially the
comparatively wealthy one of St. Werburgh’s) did their part and share
for the benefit of those around them, and, like similar institutions
elsewhere, did much to inspire and preserve a high and noble ideal
of Christian life. This is not the occasion or the place to discuss
fully the great question of the suppression of the monasteries, or the
motives of those who were responsible for it, and the means which they
adopted for the purpose. But the candid student of history, unless he
be very bigoted, cannot but admit that the measure was characterised
by some very questionable acts, and marked by deeds which cannot be
defended. The reformation of the religious houses--or of such as needed
such treatment--could probably have effected all that was necessary,
and have been more beneficial to the country at large. The monasteries
might have adapted themselves to the changed circumstances and to
the growing needs of the age. At any rate there need not have been
that terrible and needless waste shown in the wanton destruction of
countless treasures of art and learning, whereby opportunities for the
improvement of man were deliberately thrown away. Not to mention the
reliquaries and church plate, which were unscrupulously seized and
desecrated, books and manuscripts of priceless value were destroyed,
painted windows broken, hospitals and schools closed, buildings
unroofed, and suffered to fall into ruin, and to become a mere quarry
for the neighbourhood. In these various ways no doubt Cheshire suffered
much like the rest of England; but the preservation of the Abbey of St.
Werburgh as the future Cathedral of the newly founded See of Chester,
rendered the loss much less than it would otherwise have been. Still
it was sufficiently great, though it is not possible now fully to
estimate it. All that was left to the Church from the Dissolution of
the monasteries were the six poorly-endowed bishoprics, Westminster,
Oxford, Chester, Gloucester, Bristol, and Peterborough, and of these
Westminster was appropriated by the Crown in 1550.
Though not strictly comprised in the title of this paper, perhaps
mention ought to be made of the other religious houses which were
under the friars. Of these there were three in the city of Chester,
all in one quarter, the record of the fact being still preserved in
the names of three streets, Whitefriars, Blackfriars, and Greyfriars.
These represent respectively the three orders, the Carmelites,
the Dominicans, and the Franciscans. The only remains of these
establishments are to be found in certain walls, which, if not the
actual boundary walls, have been evidently erected with stones from the
buildings. Whitefriars possessed a church with a steeple, erected in
1496, “of great height and beauty.” An old annalist records that “in
1597 the Whitefreeres Steeple, curiously wrought, was taken downe, and
a faire house built there by Sir Thomas Egerton, Knight, Lord-keeper:
a great pitie that the steeple was put away, being a great ornament to
the citie. This curious spire steeple might still have stood for grace
to the city, had not private benefit, the devourer of antiquitie,
pulled it down with the church, and erected a house for more commodity,
which since hath been of little use, so that the city hath lost so
goodly an ornament that tymes hereafter may more talk of it, being the
only sea-mark for direction over the bar of Chester.” The quotation
(which is from Harleian MS. No. 2125) is not without interest,
especially in its condemnation of the destruction of historical
buildings for merely utilitarian purposes. At the Dissolution the
Whitefriars had a prior, sub-prior, and eight brethren. The other
houses were no doubt also small, and, of course, in accordance with
their tenets, there was little or no property beyond the buildings
which constituted their home. The retention of the names in the streets
mentioned above may occasionally induce thinking men to consider what
we owe to the friars. If the monk withdrew from the world, the friar
plunged into its busiest haunts. The one used the weapon of prayer
and intercession, the other went as a missionary among men. The one
kept alive the lamp of learning, and wrote or preserved for future
generations literature which otherwise would have been lacking. The
other brought the influence of religion into the daily common life of
mankind. To both we of the present day owe a debt of gratitude; and
our consideration of the Abbeys of Cheshire ought not to be limited to
recalling the nature and number of the fabrics, without some thought of
the labour of those who inhabited them, and of the heritage which they
have passed on to us.
It ought to be mentioned that when the See of Chester was founded, the
dedication of the church was altered, and the Abbey of St. Werburgh was
constituted the cathedral church of the diocese by the name of “The
Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chester.” We
may regret the change, though there is still one church in the diocese
dedicated to the daughter of Wulfhere, that of St. Werburgh, Warburton
(or Werburgh town).