in breadth, and 23 feet in height. It is approached by a steep ascent of
nine long narrow stone steps, which are situated near the south-west
buttress. The ancient doorway is beautifully decorated with ball
flowers. The floor stands at an elevation of nearly five feet above the
floor of the chancel, an arrangement which appears to be peculiar to
Waltham. It was apparently built at this high level to add to the
loftiness of the crypt below, which was a capacious chamber of much
importance in olden times, and consists of two wide bays of
quadripartite vaulting. There is no way of access from the interior of
the Church, but "the chapel is connected with the south aisle by a
single arch of poor and ordinary architecture, a sad contrast to the
glorious Romanesque work of the nave."[15] At the west end there is a
large and beautiful six-light, square-headed window, with a rich and
peculiar arrangement of a double plane of tracery, the inner plane
consisting of three arches. This window, and the four elegant windows of
three lights on the south side, are supposed to have been filled with
stained glass, like that of the Chapter House at York Minster, and other
buildings of the same period. At the extreme south-east of the building
the remains of the ancient sedilia and piscina may still be seen. The
walls were adorned with distemper paintings, chocolate coloured
vine-leaves on a yellow ground running round the spandrels and windows.
This decoration probably included a series of paintings, representing
scenes in the life of the Mother of our Lord, and concluding with her
assumption and coronation as the Queen of Heaven. There was also a
representation of the Last Judgment in which "Our Lady" occupied the
place of honour near her Divine Son and Lord, interceding for the
faithful as they appeared before their Judge. On the removal of the
plaster from the east wall during the restoration in 1875, the remains
of a fresco of "the Doom" were discovered, and here are depicted the
Judge of all mankind in the scarlet robes of majesty, the Virgin as
intercessor, S. Michael the Archangel, presiding over the balances in
which souls are weighed, the Apostles as assessors, bishops and abbots
with the keys of S. Peter, admitting the faithful into the Holy Catholic
Church, human forms emerging from the grave, the path of life, the
chains of everlasting darkness, demons clothed in flames, and the jaws
of hell. The space under this fresco was probably occupied by beautiful
statuary, the image of the blessed Virgin standing in the centre,
immediately above the altar of "Our Ladye." At the dissolution of the
monastery "a table of imagery of the xii. apostles," belonging to this
Chapel, was valued at ten shillings. A few fragments of statuary,
supposed to have formed part of this decoration, were discovered during
the restoration of the Abbey Church in 1860, and have been inserted in
the south-east wall of the chancel. These relics of the splendid past
include the mutilated stone figures of four saints, probably the
evangelists, beautifully carved, and a representation of the crucifixion
in black marble, but the ornament of precious metal, with which it was
adorned, has long since disappeared.
[Footnote 15: Professor Freeman.]
The altars, desks, and tables in the Lady Chapel were covered with
plates of silver, as in the crypt beneath, which was also, in those
days, a splendid chantry, served by its own priest, who was called "the
Charnel Priest." The sacramental vessels and plate, which were of great
value, were sold after the suppression. Dr. Thomas Fuller, Incumbent of
Waltham Abbey in 1648, gives the following extracts from the
churchwarden's accounts: "1549. _Imprimis._--Sold the silver plate which
was on the desk in the charnel, weighing five ounces, for twenty-five
shillings. Guess," adds the historian, "the gallantry of our church by
this (presuming all the rest in proportionable equipage) when the desk
whereon the priest read was inlaid with plate of silver." "1551.
_Item._--Received for two hundred seventy-one ounces of plate, sold at
several times for the best advantage, sixty-seven pound fourteen
shillings and ninepence."[16] The inventory of goods made by order of
Henry VIII. also mentions "iiii. tables [of oure Ladye] plated with
sylver and gylte, every one of them with ii. folding leves." The Chapel
was furnished besides with "a lytell payre of organes," valued at xxs.,
at the dissolution of the monastery, when Thomas Tallis, the father of
English church music, was organist of the Abbey Church, and presided at
the "greate large payre of organes" in the Choir. He was assisted by
John Boston, of Waltham, who probably performed on the smaller
instrument in the Lady Chapel. Both names are mentioned in the pension
list, Tallis receiving xxs. for wages and xxs. reward, and Boston iiis.
for wages and iiis. reward.
[Footnote 16: History of Waltham Abbey, cap. 5.]
A large number of wax tapers and candles was consumed annually at the
various services held in the Lady Chapel and Crypt. In the return made
by Sir Roger Harrop and Sir John de Poley, masters of the two chantries
in the reign of Edward III., it is stated that every man and woman in
this guild paid a yearly subscription of sixpence towards the expenses,
and at the feasts of "oure Ladye" all "Christiens" of the company gave
five burning tapers (_tapres ardant_); in honour of our Lord four large
torches; and on other special occasions fifteen tapers. Lights were also
kept burning during the solemn requiem and funeral services, when
prayers were offered that perpetual light might shine upon the souls of
the departed. It is most likely that this impressive ceremonial had been
observed in both chantries, when the body of Queen Eleanor rested for
the night in the Abbey Church on its way to Westminster, and again when
the remains of her royal consort, Edward I., were deposited for three
months before the tomb of Harold. The wax in stock for these memorial
services at the suppression was sold by the churchwardens as follows:
"_Item._--Sold so much wax as amounts to twenty six shillings."
Dr. Fuller remarks on this transaction, "So thrifty the wardens that
they bought not candles and tapers ready made, but bought the wax at the
best hand and paid poor people for the making of them. Now they sold
their magazine of wax as useless. Under the Reformation more light and
fewer candles."[17]
[Footnote 17: History of Waltham Abbey, cap. v.]
In the days of the chantry, lands, tenements, and other gifts were
presented and bequeathed that "obits" or prayers for the dead might be
offered before the altar and image of "oure Ladye." Dr. Fuller gives the
following account of "obits" at Waltham: "The charge of an obit was two
shillings and two pence; and, if any be curious to have the particulars
thereof, it was thus expended: to the parish priest, three pence; to our
Lady's priest, three pence; to the charnel priest, threepence; to the
two clerks, four pence; to the children (these I conceive choristers)
three pence; to the sexton, two pence; to the bellman, two pence; for
two tapers, two pence; for oblation, two pence. O, the reasonable rates
at Waltham! Two shillings and two pence for an obit, the price whereof
in S. Paul's, in London, was forty shillings! For, forsooth, the higher
the church, the holier the service, the dearer the price, though he had
given too much that had given but thanks for such vanities. To defray
the expenses of these obits, the parties prayed for, or their executors,
left lands, houses, or stock to the churchwardens."[18] These obits were
abolished when the chantries were suppressed in the first year of the
reign of King Edward VI. "Now," says Dr. Fuller, "was the brotherhood
in the church dissolved, consisting as formerly of three priests, three
choristers, and two sextons; and the rich plate belonging to them was
sold for the good of the parish. Superstition by degrees being banished
out of the church, we hear no more of prayers and masses for the dead.
Every obit now had its own obit, and fully expired; the lands formerly
given thereunto being employed to more charitable uses."[19]
[Footnote 18: Cap. iv.]
[Footnote 19: Cap. v.]
Since the suppression both chantries have been stripped of almost all
their glory. The beautiful statuary in the Lady Chapel has disappeared,
the decorated walls were covered with plaster, the west window blocked
up, three of the elegant south windows were partly bricked up, and the
fourth was converted into a door-way. The building was entirely
separated from the Church by a wall of lath and plaster, and the west
front obscured by the erection of an unsightly porch, which also
concealed from view the grand south Norman entrance to the Abbey Church.
The exterior walls were covered with cement, in imitation of classic
rustic work. The Chapel has been used during the last three centuries
for various purposes, some of which were degrading in the extreme to its
sacred character. It has been used as a vestry, parochial schoolroom and
lending library, also for public meetings and petty sessions, and, in
its darkest days, as a store-room. The crypt has also passed through
many changes, and has been stripped of its original splendour. It
retained much of its beauty for a century after the suppression, as Dr.
Fuller writes during his incumbency:--"To the south side of the Church
is joined a chapel, formerly our Lady's, now a school-house, and under
it an arched charnel-house, the fairest that I ever saw."[20] This
beautiful chantry, which is partly underground, has been used since as a
sepulchre for the dead, a prison cell for the living,[21] a receptacle
for human bones, a coal cellar and heating chamber.
[Footnote 20: History of Waltham Abbey, cap. I., 9.]
[Footnote 21: The Quakers were incarcerated here during
the reign of Charles II.]
The Lady Chapel resumed its sacred character in 1876, after it had been
carefully restored by Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Bart., K.C.M.G.[22] whose
seat, Warlies Park, is situated in the parish. The modern porch was
removed from the west end, the large arch in the south wall of the
Church re-opened, and the five elegant windows were made good. A
splendidly carved memorial screen has since been erected under the arch
by the parishioners, and some beautifully carved altar rails set up at
the east end. The arms of the Abbey and Parish of Waltham Holy Cross are
represented on the screen, namely, two angels exalting the Cross. The
appearance of the interior is, however, still mean and bare, when
compared with its former magnificence, although so much has been done to
rescue from a state of degradation and neglect, this interesting relic
of mediaeval times, "ye Chappell of oure Ladye."
[Footnote 22: Now Governor General of South Australia.]
Some Famous Spires.
By John T. Page.
It is practically impossible to point to the exact date when spires
first assumed a place in the category of ecclesiastical architecture.
They belong to the Gothic style, and like the pointed arch were evolved
rather than created. The low pointed roof of the tower gradually gave
place to a more tapering finish, but the transition was by no means
progressive, and cannot be clearly traced. Some of the earliest attempts
at spire-building were uncouth and ungraceful, and even in these days
the addition of a spire to a modern church does not necessarily add to
its beauty. This is nearly always the case where an undue regard is paid
to ornamentation, either at the base, or on the surface of the spire
itself. Undoubtedly the most beautiful spires are those which at once
spring clear from the summit of the tower and gradually rise needle-like
towards the blue vault of heaven.
By far the greater number of our principal spires date from the
fourteenth century--a time when spire-building appears to have reached
the zenith of its glory. Splendour and loftiness combine to render the
examples of this period distinguished above those of any other.
Northamptonshire has been well termed the county of "Squires and
Spires," and it is probably within its borders that the largest number
of really beautiful spires may be found. A journey from Northampton to
Peterborough along the Nene Valley is never to be forgotten for the
continually recurring spires which greet the eye of the traveller at
almost every point. Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Irchester, Raunds,
Stanwick, Oundle, Finedon, Aldwinckle S. Peter's, Barnwell S. Andrew,
and many others all combine to render the term "Valley of Spires"
peculiarly appropriate to this district.
These spires of course cover a wide area. The two finest groups of
spires are those of Coventry and Lichfield. When the cathedral at
Coventry, with its three spires, was in existence in immediate proximity
to the churches of S. Michael's and Holy Trinity, the group formed "a
picture not to be surpassed in England," and even now, with Christ
Church added, the "Ladies of the Vale," of Lichfield, suffer somewhat
in comparison.
In point of height the cathedral spires of Salisbury and Norwich hold
their own, while for beauty of outline Louth must be mentioned, and for
elaborateness of detail the spire of Grantham.
It now remains to give a cursory glance at some of our most famous
spires, and to endeavour to enumerate some of their chief
characteristics.
The spire of Salisbury Cathedral rises from the centre of the main
transept to a height of 410 feet. This is, without doubt, the tallest of
our English spires.[23] It is octagonal in shape, and springs from four
pinnacles. The surface is enriched with three bands of quatre-foiled
work, and the angles are decorated throughout with ball-flower ornament.
From a storm in 1703 it received some damage, and was, under the
direction of Sir Christopher Wren, braced with ironwork. It does not
appear to have moved since then, but from experiments made in 1740 it
was found to be out of the perpendicular 241/2 inches to the south, and
161/4 inches to the west. On the 21st of June, 1741, it was struck by
lightning and set on fire, but did not receive any great damage, and in
1827, by means of an ingenious wicker-work contrivance suspended from
the top, extensive repairs were carried out. The name of the architect
who conceived this lofty tower is unknown, but the date of its erection
was probably at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
[Footnote 23: The spire of Old Saint Paul's, which dated from
the thirteenth century, rose to a height of 520 feet.
It was destroyed by lightning on the 4th of June, 1561.
The spire of Lincoln Cathedral measured 524 feet, and
was destroyed in 1548. These are the two highest spires
which have ever been erected in England.]
The spire of Norwich Cathedral rises to a height of 315 feet, and on a
clear day can be seen for a distance of twenty miles. It was probably
built by Bishop Percy in the latter half of the fourteenth century.
About one hundred years after, it was struck by lightning, but the
damage was speedily repaired. In 1629 the upper part was blown down, and
was re-built in 1633.
The three spires of Coventry are those of S. Michael's, Holy Trinity,
and Christ Church. Of these, S. Michael's is the chief, being 303 feet
high. Amongst parish churches, it is therefore the tallest. The base
consists of a lantern flanked by four pinnacles, to which it is
connected by flying buttresses. Its erection was commenced in the year
1373, and completed in 1394. At the restoration of the church, which
took place in 1885, the tower was found to have been erected on the edge
of an old quarry, and it cost no less a sum than L17,000 to add a new
foundation. During the most critical period of the work the structure
visibly moved, and the apex of the spire now leans 3ft. 5in. out of the
perpendicular towards the north-west.
[Illustration: LOUTH CHURCH SPIRE.]
Holy Trinity spire is 237 feet high, and much less ornate than
S. Michael's. During a violent tempest of "wind, thunder, and
earthquake," which occurred on the 24th of January, 1665, it was
overthrown, and much injury was done to the church in consequence. The
re-building was finished in 1668. It has been completely restored in
recent years.
The spire of Christ Church is some little distance away from the other
two. It is octagonal in shape, and rises from an embattled tower to a
height of 230 feet. It was restored in 1888.
Lichfield Cathedral contains three spires within its precincts. The
grouping is, therefore, more uniform than that of Coventry, although the
general effect is not thereby accentuated. The central spire rises to a
height of 258 feet, and the two which grace the west front are each 183
feet high. In the time of the great civil war, when Lichfield was
besieged, the central spire was demolished. After the Restoration, it
was re-built by good old Dr. Hackett.
The spire of Chichester Cathedral, built in the fourteenth century over
a rotten sub-structure, was destroyed by its own weight in 1861. It was
271 feet high, and has now been re-built in its original style on a
slightly higher tower. The story of its fall has often been told. On the
night of Wednesday, the 20th of February, 1861, a heavy gale occurred.
The next day, about twenty minutes past one o'clock, the spire was
observed to suddenly lean towards the south-west, and then to right
itself again. Soon after, it disappeared into the body of the cathedral,
sliding down like the folding of a telescope. Only the coping-stone and
the weather-vane fell outside, the rest of the masonry formed a huge
cairn in the centre of the edifice, which was practically cut into four
portions by the wreck. The present spire was completed in 1867.
In Lincolnshire there are two remarkable spires at Louth and Grantham.
The one at Louth rises to a height of 294 feet. At the corners of the
tower are four tall turret pinnacles to which the spire is connected by
flying buttresses. In 1843 it was struck by lightning; steps were at
once taken for its restoration, which was completed three years later.
Grantham spire is octagonal in shape, and 285 feet in height. It is very
light and graceful in appearance, and is richly ornamented with
sculpture. It suffered from lightning in 1797, and again in 1882. Since
the latter date sixteen feet of the masonry has been removed from the
summit and re-built.
The church of S. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, has been aptly termed by the
poet Chatterton, "the pride of Bristowe and the Western land." The spire
rises to a height of 300 feet, and has lately been restored at a cost of
upwards of L50,000. In 1445, during a storm, the greater part of the
original spire fell through the roof of the church, and for about four
centuries it remained in a truncated state, although the damage done to
the interior was speedily repaired.
The spire of S. Mary's, Shrewsbury, is 220 feet high, and rises from an
embattled tower, the four corners of which contain crocketed pinnacles.
During a gale on the night of Sunday, the 11th of February, 1894, about
50 feet of the masonry of the spire crashed through the church roof and
did enormous damage. This has, however, since been repaired. A memorial
stone on the west wall of the tower tells how one Thomas Cadman, was
killed on the 2nd of February, 1739, when attempting to descend from the
spire by a rope.
For elaborateness of detail, the spire of S. Mary the Virgin, Oxford,
surpasses all others in this country. Its apex is some 90 feet from the
ground, and around the base of the spire clusters a mass of richly
decorated pinnacles, small spirelets, and canopies containing statues.
The effect is picturesque in the extreme, and lends to the town of
Oxford a unique charm. Its conception dates from the fourteenth century,
but it has been much restored and added to since.
Of the Northamptonshire spires, Oundle is the loftiest, being 210 feet
high. It bears date 1634, but this evidently refers to a re-building. It
was partly taken down again and rebuilt in 1874. It is hexagonal in
shape, and the angles are crocketed. Raunds church is surmounted by an
octagonal broach spire 186 feet high. It was struck by lightning on the
31st of July, 1826, and about 30 feet of the masonry was shattered. This
was at once rebuilt at a cost of L1,737 15s. 3d. The octagonal spire of
Higham Ferrers is 170 feet high, and was rebuilt after destruction by a
storm of wind in 1632. Rushden spire is an octagon 192 feet high, and
richly crocketed. At its base flying buttresses connect it with
pinnacles at the corners of the tower. The spire at Finedon rises from
an embattled tower to a height of 133 feet; that of Stanwick is 156 feet
high, and that of Irchester 152 feet.
Space forbids more than a passing allusion to the fine spires of
Newcastle Cathedral, S. Mary de Castro, Leicester, Ross, Herefordshire,
and Olney, Bucks. The latter rises to a height of 185 feet. At its
summit is a weathercock which, when taken down for regilding in 1884,
was found to contain the following triplet--
I never crow,
But stand to show
Where winds do blow.
Several of the spires which have been mentioned are perceptibly out of
the perpendicular, but in this respect the "tall twisted spire of
Chesterfield has no rival either in shape or pose." It is no less than
230 feet high, and the wonder to many is that it has for so long
maintained its equilibrium. Various conjectures have been made to
account for the grotesque twist which the spire assumes; but none of
these seems so likely as that which accounts for it by the combined
action of age, wind, and sun. There are those who aver that it never was
straight, and never will be, and one such person even goes so far as to
attempt this statement in rhyme as follows:--
"Whichever way you turn your eye
It always seems to be awry,
Pray can you tell the reason why?
The only reason known of weight
Is that the thing was never straight,
Nor know the people where to go
To find the man to make it so."
However this may be, it is satisfactory to note that a movement has
recently been set on foot to collect subscriptions towards its much
needed repair.
When speaking of Salisbury Cathedral spire, allusion was made to the
repairs being carried out from a wicker-work contrivance suspended from
the top. This was not the first time that wicker-work had been used for
such a purpose, for in 1787 the spire at S. Mary's, Islington, was
entirely encased in a cage composed of willow, hazel, and other sticks,
while undergoing repair. An ingenious basket-maker of S. Albans, named
Birch, carried out the work, and constructed a spiral staircase inside
the cage. His contract was to do the work for L20 paid down, and to be
allowed to charge sixpence a head to any sightseers who liked to mount
to the top. It is said that in this way he gained some two or three
pounds a day above his contract.
People and steeple rhymes are by no means uncommon; perhaps the most
spiteful is that relating to an Essex village:--
"Ugley church, Ugley steeple,
Ugley parson, Ugley people."
The Yorkshire village of Raskelfe is usually called Rascall, and an old
rhyme says:--
"A wooden church, a wooden steeple,
Rascally church, rascally people."
Mr. William Andrews, in his "Antiquities and Curiosities of the Church"
(London, 1897), gives many examples of "People and Steeple Rhymes."
There is a never-ending romance connected with the subject of spires.
Every one possesses some story or legend. Spirits are supposed to
inhabit their gloomy recesses, and are even credited with their
construction. There is certainly an uncanny feeling connected with the
interior of a spire, even on a sunny summer's day, and given sufficient
stress of howling winds and gloomy darkness, one can almost imagine a
situation conducive to the acutest kind of devilry. So much for the
interior of spires. What sensations may be produced by climbing the
exterior is given to few to experience. The vast majority of mankind
must perforce content themselves with a position on _terra firma_,
whence they may with pleasure and safety combined behold
"----the spires that glow so bright
In front of yonder setting sun."
The Five of Spades and the Church of Ashton-under-Lyne.
By John Eglington Bailey, F.S.A.
On the old tower of the church of Ashton-under-Lyne there was formerly
an old inscription, which incidently testifies to the popularity of
cards in England at a period when the notices of that fascinating means
of diversion are both few and of doubtful import. Cards were given to
Europe by the Saracens at the end of the fourteenth century, and the
knowledge of their use extended itself from France to Greece. The French
clergy were so engrossed by the pastime that the Synod of Langres, 1404,
forbad it as unclerical. At Bologna, in 1420, S. Bernardin of Sienna
preached with such effect against the gambling which was indulged in,
that his hearers made on the spot a large bonfire with packs of cards
taken out of their pockets. Under the word [Greek: Chartia] Du Cange
quotes extracts from two Greek writers, which show that cards were
popular in Greece before 1498. Chaucer, who died in 1400, and who
indirectly depicted much of the every-day life of his countrymen, does
not once mention cards. But they begin to be noticed about the time of
Edward IV. and Henry VI. The former king prohibited the importation of
"cards for playing," in order to protect the English manufacture of
them. An old ale-wife or brewer, in one of the Chester plays or
mysteries, is introduced in a scene in Hell, when one of the devils thus
addresses her:--
Welcome, deare darlinge, to endless bale,
Usinge cardes, dice, and cuppes smale
With many false other, to sell thy ale
Now thou shalte have a feaste.