The original Great Tom hung in the north-west tower.
“It is not known how it was acquired; some say it was a gift, others say it was stolen from the Abbey of Beauchief, Derbyshire, or from Peterborough. The origin of its name, too, has been a subject of dispute. Stukeley considered it possible that it had been consecrated to St. Thomas of Canterbury. Others think it took its name from that of the old bell of Christ Church, Oxford, which bore the curious inscription, In Thomae laude, resono Bim Bom sine fraude. It should be remembered that Oxford was in the diocese of Lincoln in olden days, and that several Bishops of Lincoln were chancellors of Oxford. Wherever the first ‘Great Tom’ came from, it was recast in the minster yard by two bell founders from Nottingham and Leicester early in the Seventeenth Century, when the weight was increased from 8,743 pounds to 9,894⅛ pounds. ‘The bell was cast and hung upp and upon Sonday the xxvij of this month [January, 1611] ronge owte and all safe and well.’ It was tolled until 1802, when it was found that this process shook the tower too much. The following extract from the Stamford Mercury of the 6th August, 1802, is given by North in his ‘Church Bells of Lincolnshire’:—‘Great Tom o’ Lincoln is to be rung no more! The full swing of four tons and a half is found to injure the tower where he hangs. He has therefore been chained and riveted down; so that instead of the full mouthful he has been used to send forth, he is enjoined in future merely to wag his tongue.’ Towards the end of the year 1827 experienced ears detected that something was wrong, and by Christmas it became plainly evident that the bell was cracked. It was finally decided to have it recast in a larger size. For this purpose it was broken to pieces with its own clapper, and sent to London. To provide the extra metal, the six Lady Bells were unfortunately sacrificed. The cathedral thus lost the distinction of being the only one in the kingdom possessed of two rings of bells. ‘Great Tom’ was recast by Thomas Mears at the Whitechapel Bell foundry on the 15th November, 1834. It was taken by road to Lincoln, drawn by eight horses, and raised to its new position in the central tower. Two new quarter bells, cast at the same time, were also hung in this tower. The number of quarter bells was increased in 1880 to four.”—(A. F. K.)
The six “Lady Bells,” referred to above, hung in this central tower (see page 294). When they were removed in 1834 it was seen that four were dated 1593; one, 1633; and one, 1737.
In the Thirteenth Century the Minster Yard, as many still call the Cathedral Close, was enclosed by a wall. Several massive gates formed the entrances. Of these the Exchequer, a large archway, with a postern on each side and an upper story, remains at the western end. Pottergate Arch, at the top of the new road, shows us what an early Fourteenth Century single gate was like. Near it the Grecian Stairs lead up to the Close.
SOUTHWELL
Dedication: St. Mary.
Chief feature: Chapter-House.
For many centuries the Church of St. Mary, Southwell, was under the dominion of York. The clergy had many privileges, held property, lived in their own houses, like country gentlemen, and hunted in the forests which Robin Hood and his merry men had made romantic; for Southwell is not far from legendary Sherwood.
The church became a Cathedral in 1884. It dates in the main from the Twelfth Century, though a few fragments are older. It is supposed that the first Saxon church was destroyed by the Danes; the next is said to have been built by King Edgar in 960; and in the time of Henry I. was rebuilt in the Norman style. Walter de Grey, Archbishop of York (see page 264), rebuilt the nave of Southwell, and was assisted by John Romeyn, subdean ([see page 264]).
“In the Curvilinear Period (1315-1360) was erected quite the loveliest choir-screen in England; next comes that of Lincoln, evidently by the same hand. Eastern and western sides are entirely different in design; on the western side the artist parts reluctantly with the beautiful geometrical design of the Thirteenth Century; on the eastern side he accepts unreservedly the reign of the ogee arch. Magnificent sedilia and stone stalls of similar character were erected, which only survive in part. Very beautiful, too, is the cusping of the reticulated windows inserted in the north transept chapel. The upper parts of the Chapter-House and the north transept chapel also were remodelled in the Curvilinear Period. For two hundred years and more, the highest and best of Mediæval art found cultivated and wealthy patrons in the canons of Southwell. Norman, Lancet, Geometrical, Curvilinear work are all seen here at their best. Few of our cathedrals, from the point of view either of architectural design or sculptural detail, can be mentioned in the same breath with Southwell. It is one of the greatest delights of Southwell that this lovely minster is little known and almost unvisited: one feels as if one were ‘the first that ever burst into the silent sea’!”—(F. B.)