PLAN OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL

ST. ALBAN'S CATHEDRAL

St. Albans, the ancient Verulam, is one of the most ancient towns in England, and is replete with historical associations. It was the home of the British chieftain Cassivellaunus before the Romans came. Boadicea killed many of the people for loving the Romans; and soon came Christianity, and then the record of the slaying of St. Alban, Britain's proto-martyr. It was during the Diocletian persecution that Alban sheltered a deacon named Amphibalus from the fury of the oppressors, and was himself converted to the Christian faith. Alban enabled his guest to escape, and was himself seized and slain, many miracles taking place at his execution. Offa founded a monastery here in 793, near his manor-house—of which the earthworks remain—and dedicated it to the saint, finding the remains of the martyr, which he placed in a reliquary and deposited in the church. The monks introduced here were Benedictine, of which order this was the chief house in the kingdom. The town increased, and Ulsi, the sixth abbot, founded the three churches of SS. Peter, Michael, and Stephen. We need not dwell on the records of Saxon abbots, many of whom were of Royal descent. When the Normans came, Paul of Caen, a relative of Lanfranc, was made abbot in 1077, and rebuilt the church, using the Roman town of Verulam as a quarry. He found much material collected by the last two Saxon abbots, who intended to build a new church, but were prevented by the troubles of the time. The large amount of Roman tiles used in the construction of the building is apparent. Much of his work remains in the eastern portion of the nave and in the tower and transepts. The church was dedicated during the rule of Abbot Richard D'Aubeny, in the presence of the king, Henry I., his court, and a goodly number of bishops, in 1115, and a little later we read of the relics of the saint being deposited in a beautiful shrine and conveyed to a place of honour in the minster. One Ralph de Gobion, seventeenth abbot, plundered the shrine in order to increase the territorial possessions of the Abbey, but his successor, Robert de Gorham (1151-1167), restored the shrine, and built anew some of the monastic buildings. This monastery had the high honour of producing the only English Pope, Nicholas Breakspeare, who was a monk here, and who, in the time of his prosperity, forgot not his early monastic home. The noble west front that once adorned this church, ruined by modern "restoration," was begun by Abbot John de Cella (1195-1214), but the troubles of John's reign prevented him from finishing it. His work was continued by William de Trumpington (1214-1235), who placed a lantern on the tower and rebuilt the west end of the nave. St. Alban's was fortunate in having a historian among its monks. Matthew Paris lived here, and died in 1259. He tells us much in his chronicles about the Abbey he loved so well, of royal visits, of dread plagues, and of the abbots who ruled here. Here came Edward I. on his way to Scotland, here his queen's body lay on its last sad journey, and here one of the Eleanor crosses was raised—alas! now destroyed. There was here a famous school of chroniclers, who did much for the history of England, and amongst them were Roger of Wendover, Matthew of Westminster, Thomas of Walsingham, and many others. A great work was begun in 1256 by Abbot John de Hertford (1235-1260), the successor of Trumpington, and this was the rebuilding and extension of the eastern arm. The apsidal termination was removed, the aisles lengthened two bays, a square-ended central chapel placed at the end, and the Lady Chapel begun. The work lasted until almost the end of the century, and is pronounced to be the most perfect example of the art of the age. A terrible disaster befell the Abbey in the rule of Hugh de Eversden (1308-1326). A great part of the south aisle gave way, two piers, with triforium and clerestory roof and south wall, being involved in a mighty ruin. The abbot set to work to restore the church; he built in the Decorated style, and finished also the Lady Chapel. The usual disputes between the monks and townsfolk raged at St. Albans, as in most places where there was a powerful abbot and a growing town. In Eversden's time the lordly abbot was compelled by the king to give way, but his successor regained all his power over the town. He was a wonderful man, this Richard de Wallingford (1326-1335), who made a marvellous astronomical clock, and could manage to tell the ways of the stars and the course of the sun as easily as he could manage the people of St. Albans. But all disputes did not cease for many a long year, and frequently the abbot's servants and the townsfolk came to blows. The work of restoring the south aisle progressed, and was finished by Abbot Mentmore (1335-1349), who also repaired the north walk of the cloister, damaged by the fall of the adjoining aisle. Abbot Thomas de la Mare (1349-1396) was the son of a noble house, and a favourite of Edward III. After Poictiers the French King John was brought here, and kept as an honourable prisoner, and afterwards expressed his gratitude to the courtly abbot for his care. Edward III. granted leave to the abbot to fortify his monastery, and walls and gates were much needed a few years later when Wat Tyler and his rebels besieged it and frightened the abbot and caused much damage. The rebels suffered here later when the king came, and some he hanged. Then was the Great Gate, with its prisons and vaults, constructed, which still stands, mightily convincing of the power of the abbot. Nor did he forget his church. He paved all the west part at great cost, and spent large sums on the services. The abbot, John de la Moote (1396-1401), took some part in dethroning Richard II., and it is said that the conspiracy was hatched at the abbot's dinner-table. Here they brought as a prisoner the Bishop of Carlisle, who stoutly defended Richard at Westminster. The rivalry of the Houses of York and Lancaster brought trouble to St. Albans. Here was fought the first battle, and here, in the house of a tanner, Henry VI. was found and conveyed to London. The second battle of St. Albans was fought here in 1461, when the king's party were victorious, and the Abbey was the scene of a great thanksgiving service. Great privileges were granted to the Abbey by Edward IV. Several alterations were made in Perpendicular times. The walls of the nave aisles were lowered and their roofs flattened, so that the backs of the Norman triforia were exposed, and their openings made into windows. Several Perpendicular windows were also inserted. St. Albans played a great part in the introduction of printing, and a press was set up in the Abbey. The earliest book printed here was in 1480, and many other incunabula came from this renowned press. The era of the Reformation is at hand. Cardinal Wolsey was abbot here in 1521. The fate of the monastery was doomed. In 1539 it was surrendered to the king by his creature Abbot Boreman, and the manors, goods and possessions were soon seized by the courtiers. Much damage was done in the church; of course, the beautiful shrines were destroyed. The Abbey church and buildings were granted to Sir Richard Lee, who soon began to uproot and destroy. The cloisters were levelled to the ground. Abbot Boreman did good service in buying the site of the monastery from Sir R. Lee. Then the townsfolk did nobly. They bought the church from the Crown, and made it the Parish Church of St. Andrew, and moreover established a Grammar School in the Lady Chapel. The eastern ante-chapel was walled up, and a public passage made across the church west of the Lady Chapel. The knives of the schoolboys improved not the ancient stone-work of this once beautiful building. Various attempts have been made in successive ages to keep this Abbey in repair. In 1832 and 1856 much was accomplished, and the story of the reparation of 1870 under Sir G. Scott tells of the triumphs of the skill of modern builders, and their bravery and resolution in saving the fall of the great tower. This mighty mass began to give way, and the architect discovered that some dastard attempt had been made to destroy it, after the dissolution of the monastery, by digging a great hole under one of the piers. The greatest credit is due to all concerned in the hazardous and most difficult task of saving the falling tower. The Grammar School was removed from the Lady Chapel, and much done to restore the building to its ancient beauty. In 1871 it was raised to the dignity of a Cathedral; and surely no church more worthily deserved this honour. In quite recent times injudicious "restoration" has wrought terrible mischief. The west front has been entirely modernised, and much else has been "restored" beyond all knowledge of English Gothic art; but, in spite of all this, St. Albans remains one of the most interesting buildings in the kingdom, and one can only regret that time has dealt so hardly with this venerable pile.

St Albans from the N W

The Exterior

As we approach the Cathedral from the south we get a fine view and notice the great length of the building, its great central tower, and large amount of Roman tiles used in the construction. These tiles are 1-1/2 inches thick and measure 16 inches by 12. In addition much flint is used. The piers, arches, towers and staircases are mainly composed of tiles. Originally the building was covered with cement, which has almost entirely disappeared. Its plan is that of a Latin Cross, and originally there were no less than seven parallel apses, all of which have disappeared. The grand Tower is Norman. Formerly there were turrets at the four angles, and in the thirteenth century an octagonal lantern was added; but these have disappeared, and the tower is very much the same as it was in Norman times. The embattled parapet is recent. The West Front creates sad reflections, and words are powerless to convey a sufficiently strong protest against the evils which have been wrought by the injudicious though well-meaning efforts of modern restorers. The original Norman west front was removed by Abbot John de Cella (1195-1214), who began to erect a new one. It was a magnificent intention, but it was too ambitious for the resources of the monastery, and the levies of Richard I. for his crusading exploits, and the confiscations of John, were too much for the abbot, and put a stop to his enterprise. He intended to build two western towers, but got no further than the foundations. The front would have been 160 feet in width, 40 feet wider than Salisbury. Abbot William de Trumpington proceeded to finish the work, and rebuilt five bays on the south side of the nave and four on the north. John de Cella's three deep porches are left to us in some small fragments; the rest is modern, and owes its erection to Lord Grimthorpe. The Nave shows three periods of architecture. The eastern portion is the work of Paul de Caen (1077-1097). On the south side the three easternmost bays are Norman and were constructed by him. The next five bays are Decorated. These were begun by Abbot Hugh de Eversden (1308-1326), in whose time during Divine service two great piers on the south fell, and all the roof and beams of the south part were ruined. The rebuilding was finished by Abbot Michael de Mentmore (1335-1349). The four remaining bays are the Early English work of William de Trumpington (1214-1235). In Perpendicular times the roof of the aisle was lowered and made flat, disclosing the triforium openings, but in the recent restoration the original pitch has been renewed. On this side stood the cloister court, and against the south wall of the church are seen the remains of the arches of the north cloister walk. Part of the east walk cloister left its marks on the west wall of the south transept, but recent restoration has obliterated them. The south transept is Norman, the work of Paul de Caen, except the south wall, which has been entirely rebuilt by Lord Grimthorpe. The tall lancets are an imitation of "the Five Sisters" of York Minster. Turrets crowned with small caps stand at each angle of the transept. Below the window are the remains of the slype, or passage from the cloister to the monks' burial-ground. The south wall is all that remains of the chapter-house. On the east side of the transept were formerly two apsidal chapels, but all traces of these have been removed. They were destroyed in the time of Edward II. to make room for a sacristy. On the south of the south chancel aisle is a fine Norman arch leading to these apsidal chapels. When they were removed the arch was contracted by the insertion of a pointed arch. A vestry was constructed here in 1846.