Dedication: Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Originally the Church of a Benedictine Abbey.
Special features: Choir; Choir-Stalls; Chapter-House.
Chester was the church of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Werburgh when Henry VIII. founded the See after the dissolution of the monasteries. It had been originally an establishment of secular canons. The patron saint, St. Werburgh, was a niece of St. Etheldreda of Ely; and she took the veil at Ely, where she eventually became abbess. St. Werburgh was buried at Hanbury; but when the Danes were ravaging Mercia, the monks of Hanbury fled with the relics of St. Werburgh to Chester, where they were richly enshrined in the old church of St. Peter and St. Paul. This church was rebuilt in the Tenth Century; and when a new foundation was made in 1095 by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, at the desire of St. Anselm, the church was rebuilt, the canons replaced by Benedictine monks and the house called the Abbey of St. Werburgh.
Rebuilding was again necessary in 1194 and was continued for centuries. The eastern portion of the church is Early English, the rest is Decorated with alterations and additions in the Perpendicular style.
Ancient and royal Chester is one of the most picturesque cities in England. It was so important in Roman times that it was called the “City of Legions.” It was also a stronghold of Saxons and Danes. From the Norman Conquest until the reign of Henry III. the Earls of Chester had their own courts and parliaments at Chester. Since Henry III. bestowed the title of Earl of Chester upon his oldest son, the heir to the throne has always held the earldom. The old church did not become a cathedral until 1541.
Chester Cathedral, being built of soft red sandstone, suffered from the weather. Restoration was a necessity. Consequently the exterior is almost exclusively of the Nineteenth Century. It is handsome and effective, though, unfortunately, owing to the situation, somewhat below the level of the street, and the crowding of buildings, a good view of the Cathedral is hard to obtain.
At one time it was one of the most beautiful, as well as the richest, in England. It was terribly defaced during the Civil War, when the Puritans used it for a stable and broke the windows. Subsequent repairs and restorations have greatly transformed it.
One of the curious features of the Cathedral is the south transept. It was claimed as the Parish church of St. Oswald until 1881. Oswald (604-642), be it remembered, was the son of King Ethelfrid, and became King of Northumbria. He was a convert to Christianity, which he introduced among the Anglo-Saxons. Killed by Penda, the King of Mercia, he was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church.
“On approaching the cathedral on the south side, the transept, or church of St. Oswald, is a remarkable feature. Projecting to nearly the same length as the nave, with its lofty clerestory and great south window, it attracts attention as well by its own importance as by the unusual ground-plan which it gives to the entire building.”—(R. J. K.)