Produced by Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: THE INTERIOR FROM THE ORGAN GALLERY.
_E. Scamell. Photo._]
THE PRIORY CHURCH OF
ST. BARTHOLOMEW-THE-GREAT,
SMITHFIELD
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION
AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE FABRIC
AND ALSO OF THE CHURCH OF
ST. BARTHOLOMEW-THE-LESS
BY
GEORGE WORLEY
AUTHOR OF "SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL,"
"THE TEMPLE CHURCH," ETC.
WITH XLII [Illustration] ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON GEORGE BELL AND SONS 1908
CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
* * * * *
PREFACE
In gathering material for this handbook I have received valuable help
from several friends, whose kindness calls for grateful recognition. My
thanks are due, in the first place, to the Rev. W. F. G. Sandwith,
Rector of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, and the lay custodians of the
church, for the facilities which have allowed me to examine the building
in all its parts, and for the readiness with which they have given
information, not accessible elsewhere, on various points of its history
and architecture. In this matter, besides more personal obligations, I
feel that I owe much, in common with many others, to Mr. E. A. Webb, the
active member of the Restoration Committee, for the suggestive data of
his open lectures, and for the interesting expositions of the fabric by
which he has always supplemented them. Others to whom I am indebted are
Dom Henry Norbert Birt, O.S.B., of Downside Abbey, and Mr. Charles W. F.
Goss, Librarian to the Bishopsgate Institute, for their skilful guidance
in the literature of the subject; Mr. F. C. Eeles, Secretary to the
Alcuin Club, for the Elizabethan Inventory and account of the Mediaeval
Bells; and Messrs. Wm. Hill and Son, the famous builders, for
particulars of the organ.
For the illustration of the book, Mr. A. Russell Baker has kindly
contributed a selection from his rare set of old engravings, before
presenting the whole to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
The photographic views of the church and monuments, as seen at the
present day, were taken by Mr. Edgar Scamell, of 120, Crouch Hill; and
the seal-impressions by Mr. A. P. Ready, the British Museum artist.
Finally, Sir Aston Webb, R.A., has to be thanked for the ground-plans of
the church and monastic buildings; and Mr. G. H. Smith for the plan and
dimensions of St. Bartholomew-the-Less.
A list of books and papers is appended for the benefit of students
anxious for more detailed information than could be included here.
G. W.
_June, 1908_
* * * * *
A SELECTION OF WORKS ON ST. BARTHOLOMEW-THE-GREAT
"The Book of the Foundation of St. Bartholomew's Church in
London, sometime belonging to the Priory of the same in West
Smithfield." Edited from the original manuscript, with an
Introduction and Notes by Norman Moore, M.D. 1885.
"The Charter of King Henry I to St. Bartholomew's Priory,
addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to Gilbert the
Universal, Bishop of London, in the year 1133." Edited with
Notes, from the copy in the Record Office, by Norman Moore,
M.D. 1891.
"Rahere's Charter of 1137." Translated, with Explanatory Notes,
by Norman Moore, M.D. 1904.
"The Ordinance of Richard de Ely, Bishop of London, as to St.
Bartholomew's Priory in West Smithfield, witnessed by Henry
Fitzailwin, First Mayor of London, in the year 1198." Edited
from the original document by Norman Moore, M.D. 1886.
Dugdale's "Monasticon Anglicanum" (edit. Bandinel, Caley, and
Sir Henry Ellis) is indispensable to the student. The sixth
volume (p. 291 _sqq_.) contains an account of the Smithfield
Foundation, and (p. 37 _sqq_.) the Rule for Austin Canons. For
the latter the reader will do well to consult also R. Duellius'
"Antiqua Statuta Canonicorum S. Augustini metrice cum glossulis
optimis," and "Regula Canonicorum Regularium per Hugonem de S.
Victore Commentario declarata."
For illustrative matter during the Tudor period reference may
be made to "The Elizabethan Religious Settlement," by Dom Henry
Norbert Birt, O.S.B., 1907; the Rev. C. F. Raymund Palmer's
"Articles, chiefly on the Friars Preachers of England,
reprinted from archaeological journals, 1878-85"; and "Obituary
Notices of the Friars Preachers or Dominicans of the English
Province." 1884.
The literary work of Fr. Perrin (the Marian Prior) is described
in Charles Dodd's "Church History of England" (1727 edition),
and Pit's "De Illust. Scriptoribus Angliae."
Besides the invaluable "Historia Anglorum" of Matthew Paris
(ed. Sir F. Madden), and Stow's "Survey of London" (ed. John
Strype), the following books may be found useful:
"Repertorium, or History of the Diocese of London." Richard
Newcourt. 1708.
"New View of London." Edward Hatton. 1708.
"New Remarks of London: by the Company of Parish Clerks." 1732.
"London and its Environs described." R. and J. Dodsley. 1761.
"History of London." Win. Maitland. (Ed. Entick, 1772.)
"Londinium Redivivum." J. P. Malcolm. 1803.
"Londina Illustrata." Robert Wilkinson. 1819.
"The Churches of London." G. Godwin and J. Britton. 1839.
"Memories of Bartholomew Fair." H. Morley. 1859.
The progress of the modern work at the church has been announced from
time to time in the circulars issued by the Restoration Committee, the
substance of which is incorporated in the text, where also the other
authorities consulted by the present writer are referred to.
* * * * *
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface v
List Of Works Of Reference vii
List Of Illustrations xi
Chapter I. History Of The Foundation 3
II. Exterior Of The Church 25
III. Interior Of The Church 33
IV. St. Bartholomew-the-less And The Hospital 63
Appendix I. The Priory Seals 73
II. The Priors And Rectors 77
III. Inventory Of Vestments, Etc. 79
IV. The Organ 80
Index 83
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Interior Of The Church From The Organ Gallery _Frontispiece_
The Priory Arms _Title-Page_
Interior Of The Church From The East (1805) 2
North Side Of The Choir From The Triforium 9
Interior Of The Choir (1822) 11
Plan Of The Monastic Buildings At The Dissolution 15
The Choir Before Restoration 19
The Priory Church From The West 24
The Priory Church From The West (1810) 25
The North Porch 29
View Of The Crossing From The Triforium 32
South Aisle From The West--showing Early English
Shafts 34
North Transept And Screen 36
North Transept From The South 37
The Font And Freshwater Monument 41
Interior From The East--showing Prior Bolton's Gallery 42
The Founder's Tomb 45
The Founder's Tomb, Showing The Original Extent Of
Arcaded Work 46
The Chamberlayne Monument 48
The Smalpace Monument 49
The Ambulatory And Entrance To The Lady Chapel 51
The Mildmay Monument 53
The Lady Chapel 56
The Crypt 57
The Remaining Bays Of The Cloister 59
St. Bartholomew-the-less And The Hospital Gate 62
Interior Of St. Bartholomew-the-less 65
Brass Of William And Alice Markeby 67
Ancient Sculptured Tablets 68
Seals Of The Convent And Hospital (Eleven Examples) 73-76
Plan Of St. Bartholomew-the-less 71
Plan Of St. Bartholomew-the-great (Existing Church) _At End_
* * * * *
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH, FROM THE EAST
_From a print of 1805._
_E. Nash del. J. Greig sc._]
ST. BARTHOLOMEW-THE-GREAT
CHAPTER I
HISTORY
The spring and fountain-head of our information about the Priory of St.
Bartholomew-the-Great is an account of the foundation, interwoven with
the life and miracles of Rahere, the founder, which was written in Latin
by one of the Canons soon after Rahere's death in the reign of Henry II.
An illuminated copy of this work, made at the end of the fourteenth
century, is preserved in the British Museum, with an English
translation, which forms the groundwork of all subsequent histories.[1]
Allowing for a few contradictory dates and statements in this precious
document, and for the occasional flights of a pious imagination in the
biographer or his subject, we arrive at the following historical basis:
Rahere was a man of humble origin, who had found his way to the Court of
Henry I, where he won favour by his agreeable manners and witty
conversation, rendered piquant, as it appears, by a certain flavouring
of licentiousness, and took a prominent part in arranging the music,
plays, and other entertainments in which the King and his courtiers
delighted during the first part of the reign.[2]
In the year 1120 a total change was wrought in Henry's character by the
loss of his only legitimate son in the wreck of the "White Ship," on its
voyage from Normandy to England, after which the King is said never to
have smiled again. The event naturally cast a gloom over the Court;
frivolities were abandoned, and religious devotion, either genuine or
assumed in polite acquiescence with the royal humour, took the place of
the amusements which had hitherto held sway. In one case, at least, the
spirit of reformation was at work in good earnest. Rahere, repenting of
his wasted life, thereupon started on a pilgrimage to Rome, to do
penance for his sins on the ground hallowed by the martyrdom of St.
Paul, some three miles from the city. The spot known as the Three
Fountains, now rendered more or less sanitary by the free planting of
eucalyptus, was then and long afterwards particularly unhealthy, and
while there Rahere was attacked by malarial fever. In his distress he
made a vow that, if he were spared, he would establish a hospital for
the poor, as a thank-offering, on his return to England.
His prayer was granted, but his recovery was slow. During his
convalescence he had a vision, or dream, in which he thought a winged
monster had seized him in its claws, and was about to drop him into a
bottomless pit, when a majestic form came to his rescue, and thus
addressed him: "I am Bartholomew, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, that come
to succour thee in thine anguish, and to open to thee the secret
mysteries of heaven. Know me truly, by the will and commandment of the
Holy Trinity, and the common favour of the celestial court and council,
to have chosen a place in the suburbs of London, at Smithfield, where in
my name thou shall found a church. This spiritual house Almighty God
shall inhabit, and hallow it, and glorify it. Wherefore doubt thou
nought; only give thy diligence, and my part shall be to provide
necessaries, direct, build, and end this work."[3] Rahere at once
promised compliance, and, as soon as he got back to London, first
obtained the King's consent, and then, "nothing omitting of care and
diligence, two works of piety began, one for the vow that he had made,
the other as to him by precept was enjoined."[4]
The suburb of Smithfield (Smoothfield) is said to have already occurred
to Edward the Confessor as a suitable place for a church on the
outskirts of London, possibly as affording a similar area, in its level
and marshy surface, to that chosen for his Abbey at Westminster. The
greater part of it was, indeed, covered by water, the one dry spot
(known as "The Elms") being reserved for public executions, which
continued to take place there till some centuries later. The eastern
portion of this waste land was granted by Henry I, through the agency of
Richard de Belmeis, Bishop of London; and it was here that, in the year
1123, Rahere began building.[5]
In a marvellously short time the funds were forthcoming, and his double
object was achieved in the erection of the Hospital, with the Church at
a little distance, the whole being dedicated by the same friendly bishop
to St. Bartholomew the Apostle, in fulfilment of Rahere's vow and the
Saint's instructions.
Rahere is said to have been assisted in his architectural work by
Alfune, who had founded St. Giles's Church, Cripplegate, in the year
1090; and there is a story to the effect that three noble travellers, or
merchants, from Byzantium were present at the foundation, when they
foretold its future greatness, and were consulted by Rahere as to the
design and character of the building while his plans were under
consideration.
On the southern side of the church the group of buildings gradually
arose which constituted the Priory, of which the founder, having devoted
himself to the monastic life, of course became the first Prior; and here
he spent the rest of his days with thirteen companions--the sub-prior
and twelve subordinates--all living under the Rule of the Canons Regular
of St. Augustine. The number was afterwards brought up to thirty-five by
Thomas of St. Osyth, the second Prior (1144-1174), who made a
corresponding addition to the premises.[6]
In 1133, when the buildings were fairly advanced, and the value of
Rahere's work had got to be recognized, a charter of privileges was
granted by Henry I to the Prior and Canons. Commencing with an
invocation of the Holy Trinity, it was addressed to the Archbishop of
Canterbury and the Bishop of London, with a greeting to all the King's
faithful subjects, especially the citizens of London. Its comprehensive
immunities may be inferred from the opening paragraph:
Know ye that I have granted, and have by this my charter
confirmed, to the Church of St. Bartholomew of London, and to
Rahere the Prior, and to the Canons Regular, in the same church
serving God, and to the poor of the Hospital of the same church,
that they be free from all earthly servitude, and all earthly
power and subjection, except episcopal customs, to wit, only
consecration of the church, baptism, and ordination of clergy;
and that as any church in all England is free, so this church be
free, and all lands to it appertaining, which it now has, or
which Rahere the Prior, or the Canons, may be able reasonably to
acquire, whether by purchase or by gift. And it shall have socc
and sac, and thol and theme, and infogheneteof; and all
liberties and free customs and acquittances in all things which
belong to the same church in wood and in plain, in meadows and
pastures, in waters and mills, in ways and paths, in pools and
vineyards, and marshes and fisheries, and in all places now and
for ever.[7]
Another paragraph may be worth quoting, as it expressly includes
Bartholomew Fair among the privileges conveyed, though it is clear from
the terms of the instrument that a fair had previously been held in the
open space at Smithfield on the Saint's anniversary. Even before the
accession of Henry I there had been a market on the spot, known as "the
King's Market" when the ground was allotted to Rahere. (_Vide_ "Vetusta
Monumenta," vol. ii.)
I grant also my firm peace to all persons coming to and
returning from the fair which is wont to be celebrated in that
place at the Feast of St. Bartholomew; and I forbid any one of
the royal officials to send to implead any one, or without the
consent of the Canons on those three days--to wit, the eve of
the feast, the feast itself, and the day following--to demand
customary dues from them.
The observance was afterwards extended to a double octave of fourteen
days, and included all kinds of shows and entertainments, theatrical,
conjuring, and acrobatic performances, in addition to the traffic in
cloth-stuffs, horses and cattle, which gave the fair its commercial
importance. The stalls, or booths, in which the portable goods were
exposed for sale, were held within the monastery walls, the gates of
which were locked at night, and a watch kept over the enclosure.[8]
Rahere died on 20th September, 1144, and was buried in the church, where
his tomb occupies the usual place for Founders on the north side of the
sanctuary, surrounded by his magnificent Norman work in the choir, with
the ambulatory beyond it, and extending upwards to the arcading of the
triforium. The eastern part of the clerestory is a modern reproduction
of that which superseded Rahere's; but, with this exception, the
interior of the choir was probably much the same originally as it is
(restored) to-day.
There was, however, a central tower, and, if the design on the
twelfth-century Priory seal is to be trusted, a high circular turret at
each end of the exterior.[9]
Thomas of St. Osyth, the second Prior (d. 1174), erected the transepts
and the easternmost bays of the nave, all of which bear signs of the
architectural transition. The nave was probably completed during the
next half-century, in the Early-English (then superseding the heavier
Norman) style, as may be inferred from the surviving western gateway,
and the mutilated columns which remain within the building at the
western end.
[Illustration: THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CHOIR FROM THE TRIFORIUM
_E. Scamell. Photo._]
Perpendicular work was introduced early in the fifteenth century, when
Roger de Walden, Bishop of London (1405-1406), built a chantry-chapel to
the north-east of the choir, and inserted a new clerestory, in the then
fashionable style, in place of the original. He also made a considerable
alteration in the chancel by substituting a square east-end for the
circular apse, part of which was taken down and used as building
material for the innovation. But de Walden's work was cut short by his
death, when he had scarcely held the See of London for two years, and
was buried in his Chapel at St. Bartholomew's, instead of in the
Cathedral Church like most of his predecessors.
The Lady Chapel, with the crypt beneath it, dates from about 1410, when
also the central tower was probably rebuilt, and decorative additions
were made to the Founder's tomb, in the shape of a canopy and panelling.
In the first part of the next century Prior Bolton (1505-32) inserted
the Oriel window on the southern side of the choir-triforium and the
doorway in the south ambulatory, both of which bear his sculptured
rebus--a _bolt_, or arrow, driven through a _tun_. In 1539 his
successor, Robert Fuller, the last of the Augustinian Priors,
surrendered the entire property to Henry VIII, in compliance with the
Act of Dissolution, its value having been already ascertained in the
twenty-sixth year of the King's reign. The exact figures are given by
Dugdale as follows:
Summa totalis hujus monasterii. £773 0_s._ 1¾_d._
" " reprisarum £79 10_s._ 3½_d._
---------------------------
Et remanet clare £693 9_s._ 10¼_d._
---------------------------
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHOIR
_From a print of 1822_
_T. H. Shepherd del. Howlett sc._]
For many years before the dissolution of the monasteries the system on
which they rested had been gradually undermined by the spread of the
Reformation, accompanied by a growing conviction that the religious
communities had not only outlived their usefulness, and to a great
extent departed from the high standard of their founders, but that their
enormous wealth had given them an influence far beyond that of any other
institution, or combination of institutions, in the kingdom, and brought
them into formidable rivalry with the State itself--the more dangerous
in proportion to their devoted adherence to the Papacy, with which the
State was in collision. By whatever unworthy motives Henry VIII may have
been governed in aiming at the monastic property, he was therefore able
to bring forward many political considerations, which coincided with
those arising out of religious doctrines, to make his measures
intelligible to his people, and consequently easy to himself. Among the
various plausible reasons which were urged against the continued
existence of the conventual houses, one of the most likely to appeal to
the practical sense of the multitude was the misuse of the resources
with which they had been endowed. While it was admitted that in their
earlier days they had been extremely useful in mitigating distress among
the poor, it was now argued that their indiscriminate charities were
doing more harm than good, and that the changed economic conditions of
the sixteenth century called for a corresponding change in the
distribution of relief, to save the country from being overrun by
undeserving mendicants, amongst whom some of the religious Orders were
themselves to be reckoned. It does not appear that any part of this
argument held good against the Augustinian Canons, or that the more
serious moral charges brought against the smaller communities were at
all applicable to their case, which was rather one of involvement in a
common ruin than the result of any specific accusation. It is true there
are instances of laxity at individual houses, showing a too easy
discipline where they occurred, but there is nothing sufficiently
extensive or important to compromise the Order as a whole, or materially
damage its character in the eyes of the impartial modern student.[10]
It might have been expected that some immunity from the wholesale
spoliation which followed the Act would have been granted to Rahere's
foundation, in view of his special provision for the poor in the
hospital which was an integral part of it. The hospital has indeed been
allowed to survive as a separate institution; but the whole of the
strictly monastic buildings were doomed, the nave of the church being at
once pulled down, and the choir only preserved for the use of the
parish. With this reservation, the site of the Priory and the buildings
upon it, including the Lady Chapel, were sold in 1546 to Sir Richard
Rich, Knight (Attorney General), for the consideration of £1,064 11_s._
3_d._, and the property has remained in the hands of his descendants
till quite recent years. The possession was, however, interrupted by
Queen Mary, who introduced the Dominican Order of Black Friars into the
Convent. They had started rebuilding the nave when the accession of
Elizabeth meant a return to the policy of her father, the expulsion of
the friars, and the restitution of the Priory estate to Richard (then
Lord) Rich and his heirs "in free socage," by a renewal of the previous
grant.[11]
Some idea of the strong ecclesiastical influence broken up at the
Dissolution may be gathered from a glance at any old map of London,
showing the numerous religious foundations by which the Priory was then
surrounded, now for the most part swept away, or only surviving here and
there in institutions which retain the ancient names under modern
conditions. Immediately to the north lay the Carthusian monastery,
familiarly known as the Charterhouse. On the north-west was the Priory
of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the Knights Hospitallers. The
Franciscan Convent of the Grey Friars extended along the southern
boundary of St. Bartholomew's, between the Priory walls and St. Paul's
Cathedral. To the south-west, near the Thames, there was the monastery
of the Carmelites, or White Friars, with the church and houses of the
Knights Templars beyond it. Within the City, to the east, were the great
establishments of the Austin Friars and St. Helen's nunnery, while east
and west the churches spread--many of monastic origin--culminating in
two of the most important buildings in Europe, the Tower of London and
the palace of Westminster, each with its ecclesiastical dependencies,
the whole dominated by the mediaeval spirit about to be dispelled, for
good or evil, by the great movements of the Renaissance and Reformation.
A conjectural restoration of the Priory buildings, as they stood in
Prior Bolton's time, based on the records available in 1893, and the
architectural fragments which then remained, shows them to have been
bounded on the northern side by the Church, which extended from the Lady
Chapel at its eastern extremity to somewhere near the line indicated by
the small archway now leading from the public square into the churchyard
on the west. This churchyard covers the ground formerly occupied by the
nave, a mutilated portion of which remains within the building, attached
to the lower stage of the central tower. It seems clear that the choir
once extended over the tower-space, and was separated from the nave by a
screen, with a parish-altar on its western side for public worship,
while the chancel was reserved for the monastic services, with a raised
presbytery for the high altar at its eastern end--a threefold division
providing for the ancient ritual arrangement.
In the ambulatory on the northern side of the choir there were
apparently three chapels, besides Bishop Walden's chantry, which was the
easternmost of the series, and is supposed to have had a semicircular
apse. There was a similar, but rather smaller, chapel opposite to it on
the south side, and between it and the south transept a sacristy,
erected about 1350.
Outside the Lady Chapel lay the cemetery of the Canons, on the favourite
(south) side for burials. The cloister formed a large quadrangle
attached to the south aisle. The Prior's residence was probably on the
western side of the quadrangle, and on the south there was a range of
buildings comprising the refectory, buttery, and kitchen, with the Close
beyond them.
Opening into the cloister on the east was the Chapter House, an oblong
structure, adjoining which, on the south, was the dormitory, overlooking
the Mulberry Gardens on the east, and the Close on its western side.[12]
[Illustration: PLAN, PARTLY CONJECTURAL, OF THE MONASTIC BUILDINGS AT
THE DISSOLUTION
A Lady Chapel.
B Founder's tomb.
C Bishop Walden's chantry.
D Pulpit (destroyed 1828).
EE Chapels (conjectural).
F Sacristy (c. 1350).
G North transept.
H Central tower and ritual choir.
I South transept.
K Parish altar.
L Nave (c. 1250) destroyed at the Dissolution.
M Chapter House (destroyed by fire 1830).
N Dormitory (undercroft destroyed about 1870).
O Parlour.
P Kitchen.
Q Buttery.
R Refectory.]
The work of demolition commenced immediately after the transfer of the
property to Henry VIII, when the nave was destroyed; and as soon as Sir
Richard Rich came into possession, he started pulling down the buildings
for the sake of the materials, which were used in the erection of new
houses where the old had formerly stood, as well as on the gardens and
orchards around them. By the time of Queen Elizabeth the district had
become a favourite residential quarter for great people, who gradually
disappeared with the growth of London, and the migration of gentry
westwards, when the houses vacated in Smithfield were let off in
tenements to the same sort of poor people who now share the
neighbourhood with merchants and shopkeepers.
During Elizabeth's reign the church had been allowed to get into a very
dilapidated state, and that it was in some danger of total destruction
appears from a letter written by Edmund Grindal in 1563, while he was
Bishop of London, to Sir William Cecil, proposing to take the lead from
the roof, and transfer it to St. Paul's Cathedral:
St. Bartholomew's Churche, adjoining to my L. Rich's house, is
in decaye, and so increaseth dailye. It hath an heavie coate of
lead, wch wolde doe a verie goode service for the Mother Churche
of Powles. I have obtayned my L. Rich's goode wishes, and if I
coulde obteyne my L. Chiefe Justice of the K. Benche and Sir
Walter Mildmaye's assente, I wolde not doubte to have the
assente also of the whole parishe, that ye leade might goe to
the coveringe of Powles.... Now remayneth only this scruple--How
shall the parisshe be providett of a churche? That is thus
answered: There is an house adjoininge, wch was the _Fratrie_,
as they termed it, a very fayre and a large house, and indeed
al-readye: if it were purged, it lacketh nothinge but the name
of a churche; is well buylded of free stone, garnished inwarde
aboute with marble pyllers, large windowes, etc. I assure you,
without partialitie, if it were roofed up, it were farre more
beautiful and conveniente than the other. Yt is provided with
goode sclate. If we mighte have the leade, we wolde compownde
with my L. Rich for convertinge the said _Fratrie_ to a
_Churche_, and wee wylle also supplye all imperfections of the
same, and not desire the p'isshe to remove tylle the other be
meete and conveniente to goe to.[13]
Lord Rich thought favourably of the proposal; but that fears were
entertained elsewhere would seem probable from a second letter, in which
Grindal writes as follows:
For S. Bartholomewes--I meane not to pulle it downe, but to
change it for a Churche more conveniente ... unlesse some
strange opinion shulde arise that prayer were more acceptable
under leade than under sclate.
The long period of neglect and desecration which follows is rather to
be inferred from the condition of the buildings in the early part of the
nineteenth century than from any actual records respecting them. What
that condition was in 1809 is described in two letters which appeared in
"The Gentleman's Magazine" for March and April in that year. They were
written in a spirit of indignation at the behaviour of "a powerful
junto" which had been formed in the parish to sweep the whole structure
away, church included, on the pretext that part of the choir was in
danger of tumbling down. It had, however, been saved by the exertions
and judicious repairs of Mr. Hardwick, to whom the writer pays a just
compliment for his timely action against the particular committee. He
then goes on with a lamentable picture of what met his eyes on a "recent
survey" of the Priory, which he had previously examined in 1791, when it
was pretty much in the same state.[14] The Lady Chapel was still in
existence, but wholly filled up with modern tenements; the north
transept was more or less destroyed, and the arch bricked up to reduce
that side of the church to a level, while the south transept--a ruin
without a roof--was walled off from the church, and used as a
burial-ground. The eastern side of the cloister was all that remained of
the quadrangle, and was turned to account as a "comfortable eight-stall
stable" for horses. The site of the north cloister was occupied by a
blacksmith's forge, a public house, and certain private offices; the
south and west being covered with store-rooms and coach-houses. Of the
Chapter House the remaining walls were "no higher than a dado," and
under them the timber was stored after treatment in the sawpit of the
enclosure. The dormitory to the south of the Chapter House had been
demolished, and the crypt beneath it bricked off into divisions for
stores, with a common thoroughfare open between them. It may here be
mentioned that a close examination of the ground has shown that there
was formerly the usual "slype," or open pathway, running from the
cloister-garth, between the south transept and the Chapter House, to the
canons' cemetery on the southern side of the Lady Chapel.
The building against the south wall of the choir (probably the sacristy,
though called a chapel) is described as a magnificent structure, of
about the time of Edward III, with windows on the eastern and southern
sides, and a grand arch (then latticed up) which formerly connected it
with the south transept. It was being used as a store-room for hops. The
chapel to the east of this was destroyed in its upper part, and the
windows had lost their arched heads, though the columns and architraves
to the jambs remained, showing some very delicate and beautiful work,
which was also remarkably fine in the dado mouldings. The ceiling of the
church--the wreck of the Tudor open-worked timber roof--had been "pared
down to a common pediment covering," supported on the heads of cherubim
as corbels. The Doric altar-piece is contemptuously referred to as "a
painted theatrical scene of architecture."[15]
While the subordinate buildings were dropping into ruin, the church,
besides having suffered from fire and neglect, had been disfigured by a
long series of repairs and embellishments, the character of which may be
inferred from the glaring instances pointed out in the letters just
quoted. The other alterations made in the interior may be briefly
summarized as follows: The level of the floor was raised by a thick
deposit of earth; the walls were enveloped in whitewash, to the
concealment of the ancient mural paintings and certain delicate
sculptured ornament; and high pews were erected, which reached almost to
the capitals of the piers. The openings of the triforium were bricked
up--in some cases entirely obliterated--and at the east end, above the
altar-piece just mentioned, there rose a brick wall, pierced with two
ugly round-headed windows, filled with square panes of glass, and
destitute of mullions and tracery. The space between the termination
thus formed and the original apse went by the name of "Purgatory," as a
receptacle for human bones, some thousands of which were found to have
accumulated when it was cleared out in 1836.[16]
[Illustration: THE CHOIR BEFORE RESTORATION, SHOWING THE FACTORY FLOOR
EXTENDING OVER THE APSE AND SUPPORTED BY TWO IRON COLUMNS]
The secularization of this extreme eastern part of the church is traced
to the first purchaser from the Government, who held that the sanctuary
was bounded by the straight wall which there ran across it. A more
modern consequence than that just mentioned was the intrusion into the
triforium of a Nonconformist school, which was held there during the
eighteenth century, in connection with a chapel belonging to the
particular denomination immediately outside, having a convenient access
to the triforium from its own galleries. Another encroachment was a
fringe manufactory, which extended westwards along the triforium so as
to include Prior Bolton's window, and held its ground for some time
after the main arcading of the apse had been restored. Visitors to the
church before the restoration was complete will remember a substantial
iron bar which was carried across the curve, above the altar, to
strengthen the walls--an eyesore which could not be removed till the
intruding factory was bought out (_vide infra_).
The real work of restoration was begun in 1863 by the late Rev. John
Abbiss, then Rector of the parish, who raised something like £5,000, and
spent it in reducing the floor to its original level, removing the pews
(which had previously been lowered), repairing the walls and piers, and
rebuilding the central part of the apse, which had been pulled down
early in the fifteenth century, as already explained.
Outside the church a dry area was formed for the better protection of
the fabric against the subsidence known to follow on the ignorance, or
indifference, of early builders as to underlying strata. All this was
accomplished in three years, when the money was exhausted, and a fresh
fund had to be created for the continuation of the restorative work. In
raising subscriptions the then patron of the living, the Rev. F. P.
Phillips, was well supported by the parishioners, the City Companies,
the Charity Commissioners (out of the City Ecclesiastical Funds), and
the general public, with the result that a sum of over £28,000 was got
together. The chief individual contributor was the patron himself, who
purchased the projecting fringe factory for £6,500,[17] and completed
the restoration of the apse at his own expense. At the same time the
church was provided with a new roof, and the blacksmith's forge, which
occupied the site of the north transept, was bought out. On the 30th
November, 1886, the restored portions were formally opened, the actual
work having started about two years before, under the active interest of
the Rev. William Panckridge, who succeeded Mr. Abbiss in the Rectory.
The long list of works undertaken and completed from 1887 to 1893, under
the succeeding Rector, the Rev. Sir J. Borradaile Savory, Bart.,
includes the restoration of both transepts, the opening out of both
sides of the choir triforium,[18] the erection of the north and west
porches, the refacing of the west front, the reparation of the brick
tower, and the re-hanging of the bells, besides numerous external and
internal details.
The crowning work was the reconstruction of the Lady Chapel, which was
not completed till 1896, after the tedious business of releasing it from
its secular holders, and the recovery of the original design amidst the
mutilation in which they left it. The whole has been admirably carried
through by Sir Aston Webb, R.A., who has restored the precious fabric as
nearly as possible to its original state, by replacing what was
destroyed, and revealing what was concealed when the difficult task was
committed to him.
The restoration has since been extended to three bays on the eastern
side of the cloister, all that remained of the original quadrangle, and
these in a sadly ruinous state. Whether the cloisters were completed by
Rahere is a matter of conjecture; but it may be fairly assumed that they
were begun by him as a necessary part of the monastery. The surviving
Norman fragments point to the twelfth century as the date of their first
erection. It is certain that they were rebuilt in the fifteenth, for
besides the architectural remains of that period, there is historical
evidence that the work was done under Prior John Watford soon after his
appointment in 1404. For in September, 1409, Pope Alexander V, when
making a grant of Indulgences to those who visited and gave alms at the
church on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the Feast of
the Assumption, expressly mentions the reconstruction of the Cloisters
and Chapter House by the Prior among the reasons which had induced him
to confer the privilege.
When the monastery was suppressed, the archway leading into the east
cloister from the church was built up, and the doors were taken from
it--in all probability to be transferred (in 1544) to the principal
entrance at the western end of the truncated building.
In the reconstruction attempted by the Dominican Friars, it seems that,
instead of re-opening the cloister-arch to its full extent, they
contented themselves with inserting a smaller doorway within it, the
jambs and lintel of which were discovered in the rubble masonry when the
arch was opened out in 1905. On the suppression of the Dominicans by
Queen Elizabeth, the cloisters passed again into secular hands, and
disappear from history until the year 1742, when there is a record of
the stabling that occupied the ruins till our own day, with the
temporary interruption of a fire in 1830, which brought most of the
eastern side to the ground. The stables were afterwards rebuilt, and
left undisturbed till 1900, when negotiations were opened for the
purchase of the freehold from the owners.
It was not till Michaelmas, 1904, that possession, even of a part,
could be obtained, as there were various leasehold interests to be
reckoned with, and many beneficiaries to be satisfied, whose rights will
not be finally extinguished until June, 1926. But excavation was at once
commenced, and the actual rebuilding in 1905. It need hardly be said
that all that has been discovered of the ancient work, here and
elsewhere, whether above or below ground, has been carefully preserved,
and incorporated (as far as possible _in situ_) into the restoration.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I. "Liber fundationis ecclesiae et prioratus S.
Bartholomaei in West-Smithfield, London; per Raherum qui illic
religiosos viros secundum regulam S. patris Augustini
aggregavit, iisdemque per XXII annos prioris dignitate et
officio functus praetuit, et de miraculis ipsius."
II. "Idem liber Anglice."
Both are on parchment, in pages of the same (quarto) size, and
bound together in a single volume of eighty-three leaves,
divided almost equally between the Latin and English
versions.--Cottonian MSS. Vespasian, B. ix.
[2] "When he attained the flower of youth, he began to haunt
the households of noblemen and the palaces of princes, where,
under every elbow of them, he spread their cushions, with
apings and flatterings delectably anointing their eyes, to draw
to him their friendships. And yet he was not content with this,
but haunted the King's palace, and among the noisefull press of
that tumultuous Court enforced himself with jollity and carnal
suavity, by the which he might draw to him the hearts of many a
one."--Cottonian MS., _ut supra_.
[3] Cottonian MS.
[4] _Ibid._
[5] This Richard de Belmeis (Beauvais) was the first of two
bishops of the same name, and held the See of London for twenty
years (1108-1128).
The name of Rahere, which appears in various forms, suggests a
French origin; and from the fact that it occurs in the
signature, or attestation, of certain documents discovered in
Brittany, as well as from the close relations between the
bishop and the founder of St. Bartholomew's, it is conjectured
that they both came from the same neighbourhood. Otherwise
their joint interest in the foundation at Smithfield is
sufficiently accounted for by the benevolent object and the
situation within the London diocese.
Leland gives the credit of the foundation to Henry I, as having
granted the land out of the royal domain.
[6] The Canons Regular of St. Augustine (of Hippo) are said to
have been founded at Avignon in or about 1061. Their first
establishment in England was at Colchester (_circa_ 1105),
where the picturesque ruins of the Priory Church, dedicated to
St. Botolph, are all that remain of the monastic buildings. The
habit consisted of a black cassock with a white rochet, over
which a black cloak and hood were worn, thus leading to their
familiar name of the Black Canons--not to be confused with the
Black _Friars_, a Dominican Order of mendicants, introduced at
St. Bartholomew's Priory under Queen Mary. From an anecdote
related by Matthew Paris (under the year 1250), and quoted in
most accounts of the Priory, it seems that the inmates, while
recognizing the authority of the Bishop of London, were
extremely jealous of outside interference. The Archbishop of
Canterbury (Boniface of Savoy) had ventured to include St.
Bartholomew's in one of his visitations. He was received with
becoming dignity by the sub-prior, but politely warned against
going beyond his jurisdiction. This so enraged his Grace that
he struck the sub-prior in the face, and, "with many oaths,"
rent in pieces the rich cope he was wearing, treading it under
his feet, and thrusting the sub-prior against a pillar of the
chancel with such violence as almost to kill him. A general
conflict followed between the Canons and the Archbishop's
attendants, which was taken up outside and set the whole city
in an uproar.
[7] _Vide_ Dr. Norman Moore's edition from the copy in the
Record Office.
[8] There had been a decline in public interest for some years
before 1691, when the abuses which had grown round the
celebration led to its reduction from fourteen to four days:
but the fair lingered on in a degenerate state till it was last
proclaimed by the Lord Mayor in 1850, and finally ceased in
1855. The live cattle market, so vividly described, with its
attendant nuisances, in the twenty-first chapter of "Oliver
Twist," was closed at the same time, and the business
transferred to the new Caledonian Market. The open pens at
Smithfield have been superseded by covered buildings, to which
the old Newgate Market has been removed, and considerably
developed, for the sale of meat, the slaughtering for the most
part being done locally in the various places whence the
supplies are derived.
The memory of old associations is preserved in the street which
runs along the north side of the church, and still bears the
name of "Cloth Fair": and the site of "Pye Corner," where the
great fire of 1666 reached its limit, is marked by a tablet in
the wall, at the entrance to Cock Lane in Giltspur Street, a
short distance to the south-west. The place took its name from
the "Court of Pie-Powder," which was held during the fair here,
as at similar gatherings throughout the country, to deal
expeditiously with disturbers of the peace. The etymology is
traced to the old French _pied pouldré_, with supposed
reference to the dusty feet of pedlars and others who came
before the court--now extinguished in the more modern Petty
Sessions.
A lively description of the fair, in its palmy days, is given
in a tract, printed in 1641 for Richard Harper at the "Bible
and Harp" in Smithfield, entitled, "Bartholomew Fair, or
varieties of fancies, where you may find a faire of wares, and
all to please your mind, with the several enormityes and
misdemeanours which are there seen and heard."
Among the more gloomy associations of Smithfield are the
martyrdoms which took place there during the Marian persecution
of 1555-57. Of the victims, John Rogers, John Bradford, and
John Philpot are commemorated in a modern tablet let into the
wall of the hospital facing the square where they suffered. The
church to their memory, referred to in the inscription, is in
St. John Street Road, where it was built as a Chapel-of-Ease to
the parish church of St. John-of-Jerusalem, founded by the
Knights Hospitallers in 1185.
[9] The late Mr. J. H. Parker was inclined to think there was a
tower in each corner (though two only could be represented in
the seal), as was not unusual in France and elsewhere, but
rarely the case in England. (See his lecture delivered in the
church on 13th July, 1863.)
[10] _Vide_ "Henry VIII and the English Monasteries," by the
Rt. Rev. Abbot Gasquet, D.D., O.S.B., for an able statement of
the case for the communities: and an article by G. G. Perry
("Eng. Hist. Review," April, 1889), on "Episcopal Visitations
of the Austin Canons," for some cases of laxity.
[11] The Dominicans were introduced at St. Bartholomew's in
1556, when their old monastery (dating from 1276), near the
north end of Blackfriars Bridge, was no longer available.
Possibly their work and reputation in making converts may have
had some influence on the choice of the Order, which, moreover,
was governed by the Augustinian rule, adopted (with additions)
by their founder in 1215, and so far brought the community
under the traditions of their predecessors. The members at
Smithfield consisted of English, Spanish, and Belgian friars,
and Fr. William Perrin, O.P., was appointed as their chief.
When he died in 1558, Fr. Richard Hargrave was elected in his
place, but was not allowed to take office, apparently in view
of the suppression which was impending when the Letters Patent
from the General, confirming his election, reached England in
the following year. By the time of the actual expulsion (13th
July, 1559) the community had been reduced by deaths and
migrations to "three priests and one young man," who would seem
to have conformed, in preference to leaving the country.
(_Vide_ "The Elizabethan Religious Settlement," ch. iv, by Dom
H. N. Birt, O.S.B.)
For the general history of the Black Friars the reader is
referred to Archbishop Alemany's "Life of St. Dominic, with a
Sketch of the Dominican Order," the "Etudes sur l'Ordre de St.
Dominique" by D'Anzas, and "The Coming of the Friars" by Dr.
Aug. Jessopp. The "Chronica Majora" of Matthew Paris afford
some lively reading on the subject.
[12] It is possible that investigations now pending may involve
a slight rearrangement of this conjectural plan, as those
previously drawn have similarly been modified from time to time
by fresh discoveries.
[13] This suggestion of Bishop Grindal's recalls the case of
Beaulieu Abbey where the beautiful refectory is still preserved
as the parish church.
[14] The church had been "restored" in 1789 by Mr. George
Dance, architect to the hospital, in a spirit which may be
inferred from the description of the interior given above. A
more sympathetic restoration was inaugurated by Mr. Philip
Hardwick in 1823.
[15] When the church was repaired by Mr. John Blyth in 1836,
this painting was removed, and a range of columns, bearing
small semicircular arches, substituted for it as a reredos.
During these alterations it was discovered that the stone wall
(erected by de Walden) between the wooden altar-piece and the
original apse, was painted in bright red tempera, sprinkled
with black stars. $$ The above-mentioned letters are attributed
to Mr. John Carter, but are merely signed by "An Architect."
[16] It would probably be unfair to infer any unusual neglect
in spiritual matters from the architectural conditions. In
Paterson's "Pietas Londinensis" there is a list of public
services at many London churches, as held in the early part of
the eighteenth century. The services at St.
Bartholomew-the-Great are there quoted as "Daily in the last
week in the month at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.," and at St.
Bartholomew-the-Less as "Daily at 11 a.m."
[17] It should be stated that the fringe factory had covered
the remains of the crypt and Lady Chapel, besides projecting
some twenty feet into the east end of the church. The
architects for these earlier restorations were Professor Hayter
Lewis and Mr. Slater, who deserve credit for their careful
preservation of the old work.
[18] The obstruction on the south side of the triforium has
been already mentioned. The northern side was used for the
parochial boys' school for many years down to 1892, when the
scholars were transferred to the new schools built for them
adjoining the church.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE PRIORY CHURCH FROM THE WEST
_E. Scamell. Photo._]
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE WEST
_From a print of 1810_
_W. Pearson del. W. Preston sc._]