CHURCH OF RIPON***


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THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF RIPON

A Short History of the
Church & a Description
of Its Fabric

by

CECIL HALLETT, B.A.
Magdalen Coll., Oxford

With 53 Illustrations







[Illustration: RIPON CATHEDRAL FROM THE FOOTBRIDGE OVER THE SKELL.]



[Illustration]

London George Bell & Sons 1901




PREFACE.


The original authorities for the history (both constitutional and
architectural) of the Church of Ripon have been most ably edited for the
Surtees Society by the Rev. Canon J. T. Fowler, F.S.A., in his
_Memorials of Ripon_ and _The Ripon Chapter Acts_ (_Surtees Soc._, vols.
74, 78, 81, 64). These authorities range from the Saxon period to the
times following the Reformation, but in the Introductions to vol. 81,
and in the Rev. J. Ward's _Fasti Riponienses_, included in vol. 78, the
story is virtually continued to our own day; while the aforesaid
Introductions epitomise, in its constitutional and architectural
aspects, the whole history of the church.

To these volumes and to their Editor, who most kindly consented to
revise the proofs of this book, the present writer is very deeply
indebted. He has also had recourse to an article by Sir G. Gilbert
Scott, R.A., in vol. xxxi. of the _Archaeological Journal_; to the same
Author's _Recollections_; to several articles on the Saxon Crypt, duly
specified on pp. 76, 77; to the Guides, by J. R. Walbran, F.S.A.,
published by Mr. Harrison of Ripon; to Mr. Murray's _Cathedrals_; to the
volume by the Ven. Archdeacon Danks in Messrs. Isbister's Cathedral
Series; to _A Day in the City of Ripon_, by Mr. George Parker of Ripon;
to the old Guides by Farrer and Gent respectively; and to other works of
a more general character.

His sincere thanks are also due to the Right Rev. the Bishop of Ripon
for permission to consult the library at the Palace; to the Very Rev.
the Dean for privileges granted in connection with the library in the
Cathedral and with the Cathedral itself; to the Ven. the Archdeacon of
Ripon and the Ven. the Archdeacon of Richmond for their courteous
assistance on several occasions; to Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, V.P.S.A.,
Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, Mrs. Swire, the Rev. H. A. Wilson, Fellow of
Magdalen College, the Rev. G. W. Garrod, and Mr. John Whitham for
valuable information on various points, historical and architectural; to
Mr. Ronald P. Jones for his excellent photographs, to the Archaeological
Institute and other learned Societies for various other illustrations,
and to the Rev. E. H. Swann, the Rev. J. Beanland, Capt. E. J. Warre
Slade, R.N., Mr. F. Forbes Glennie, Mr. T. Wall, Mr. Watson, and others
for similar assistance.

He desires also to express his thanks to Mr. E. W. Winser, Dean's
Verger, for much valuable local information; to Mr. Henry Williams,
Canons' Verger, for expert advice on points of masonry; and to both, as
well as to the Sexton, for that general assistance which they so
willingly rendered him throughout his investigation of the Fabric.




CONTENTS.


                                                                  PAGE
  CHAPTER I.--HISTORY OF THE CHURCH                                  3

  CHAPTER II.--THE EXTERIOR                                         39

  CHAPTER III.--THE INTERIOR                                        65

  CHAPTER IV.--OTHER OLD BUILDINGS IN RIPON                        133

  APPENDIX--
    Abbots of the Monastery of Ripon                               142
    Canons of Stanwick                                             142
    Deans of King James I. Foundation                              143
    Deans of the Cathedral Foundation                              143
    Bishops of Ripon                                               143

  INDEX                                                            145




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                  PAGE
  Ripon Cathedral from the Footbridge over the Skel  _Frontispiece_
  Arms of the See                                      _Title Page_
  The Nave, South Side                                               2
  View from the South-West                                           3
  Early Apsidal Chapel with Later Chapel superimposed               13
  The West Front before Restoration                                 17
  Mediaeval Seals (3)                                                20
  Ripon Minster Anterior to 1660 (from an old Engraving)            32
  The Cathedral from the South-East                                 38
  The West Doorways                                                 39
  View from the North-West                                          42
  Doorway, North Transept                                           47
  Doorway, South Transept                                           52
  Reconstructed Angle of the Great Tower                            57
  Flying Buttresses, South Side of Choir                            59
  The East End                                                      61
  The North-Western Portion of the Nave                             64
  Conjectural View of the Interior of Archbishop Roger's
    Nave (by Sir G. G. Scott)                                       65
  Conjectural Plan of Archbishop Roger's Church
    (by Sir G. G. Scott)                                            67
  The Nave, looking Westward                                        70
  Plan of Saxon Crypt                                               72
  The Saxon Crypt                                                   73
  Conjectural Plan of St. Wilfrid's Crypt and Presbytery
    (by Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite)                                    77
  The Two Fonts                                                     79
  Bas-Relief in the South Aisle of the Nave                         80
  The Western Arch of the Central Tower                             83
  The North Transept                                                87
  Vault of North Transept Aisle                                     91
  The Rood Screen                                                   95
  The Great East Window                                             97
  Bay of Archbishop Roger's Choir (by Sir G. G. Scott)              98
  Decorated Capital in the Choir                                    99
  The North Side of the Choir                                      100
  Bosses from the Choir-Vault (2)                                  103
  The Sedilia                                                      105
  Choir Stalls                                                     107
  Misereres                                                        108
  Desk-End of Mayor's Stall                                        109
  Finial in front of the Bishop's Throne                           110
  The West End of the Choir                                        112
  The North Choir Aisle                                            113
  Transitional Vaulting Corbel                                     114
  The Norman Crypt                                                 118
  The Chapter-House                                                122
  Ancient Sculptures in the Chapter-House                          124
  The Library                                                      130
  The Old Chapel, St. Mary Magdalene's Hospital                    132
  Chapel of St. Anne's Hospital                                    135
  Seal of St. Mary Magdalene's Hospital                            138

  PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL                                        _at end_


  [Illustration: THE NAVE--SOUTH SIDE.
   (Showing junction of Transitional and Perpendicular work in the
   Tower.)]





  [Illustration: VIEW FROM THE SOUTH-WEST.]


RIPON CATHEDRAL.


CHAPTER I.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.


There is evidence that the neighbourhood of Ripon was inhabited during,
and perhaps before, the Roman occupation of Britain. Whether the place
was a settlement of the Romans is uncertain; but it was assuredly in
touch with their civilization, for several of their roads passed near
it--notably Watling Street, on which, six miles to the east, was
Isurium, the modern Aldborough; while imperial coins and other Roman
objects have been dug up in Ripon itself. It is not known whether the
Romans imparted to the local tribes of the Brigantes their own
Christianity; but two centuries after the withdrawal of the legions the
greater part of what is now Yorkshire was absorbed by the invading
Angles into their kingdom of Deira, which had itself been united with
the more northern kingdom of Bernicia to form the single realm of
Northumbria. Deira, however, seems to have retained its own
individuality. About the year 627 King Eadwine of Northumbria was
converted to Christianity by Paulinus, and the majority of his Deiran
subjects followed his example.

=The Scottish Monastery.=--It is in the middle of the seventh century that
the recorded history of Ripon begins. Deira was then ruled by Prince
Alchfrith of Northumbria under his father, King Oswiu, nephew of
Eadwine, and Bede, writing not eighty years after the event, relates
that the prince chose Ripon for the site of a monastery. The date may be
fixed in or just before the year 657. This monastery was one of those
numerous religious colonies which were the result not only of the new
Christian fervour, but also of a reaction from war toward social life
and industry. It did not represent the Roman Christianity of Augustine
which Paulinus had introduced into Deira from Canterbury, but the
Christianity which had come from Ireland through St. Columba's
missionary college at Iona, and which was now predominant throughout the
north. The monks of Ripon were brought from Melrose Abbey on the Tweed.
Like most monks of that early period, they probably followed no definite
Rule. Their abbot was Eata, a pupil of St. Aidan, and previously Abbot
of Melrose and Lindisfarne, while the guest-master was no less a person
than Cuthbert, the legend of whose having entertained an angel unawares
at Ripon added, no doubt, to the growing reputation of the house.

Its tranquillity, however, was not to last. The Roman party in the
Northumbrian Church, though inconsiderable, was gaining force, and
Alchfrith, deserting his former convictions, gave the new monastery,
with an endowment of thirty or forty hides of land, as Bede relates, to
one who had visited Rome, and who regarded the Irish (or, as it was
called by that time, the Scottish) Church as schismatical.

The life of =St. Wilfrid of Ripon=--so full of adventure, misfortune, and
lasting achievement--can only be related here in so far as it bears upon
the story of this, his favourite monastery. It was in 661 that the
transference from Eata to Wilfrid took place, and at once the Scottish
monks, refusing to conform to Roman usages, left Ripon in a body. It is
probable that Wilfrid imposed upon their successors the Benedictine
Rule, which he had studied at Rome. The new Abbot was not yet in
priest's orders, but was presently ordained at Ripon by Agilbert, the
Frankish Bishop of Wessex. In 664 he took the action for which he is
especially remembered in English history. Appearing at the Synod of
Whitby, he prevailed upon King Oswiu to throw in his lot with the Roman
party, and was thus the means indirectly of preventing the isolation of
the England of that time from the Church and civilization of the
Continent. Almost immediately afterwards Abbot Wilfrid became Bishop of
Northumbria, and this tenure of the two offices by the same person was
perhaps the origin of the subsequent connection of Ripon with the
Archbishops of York.[1] Wilfrid insisted on going to be consecrated by
Agilbert, who was now Bishop of Paris, and so long did he remain abroad
that on his return in 666 he found another bishop, Chad (afterwards St.
Chad of Lichfield), in possession of the see. He therefore retired to
Ripon for three years, during which, however, he visited Mercia and also
Kent, where he met Aedde, or Eddius, who became his chaplain and
biographer.

=The Saxon Monastery.=--In 669 Wilfrid was restored to his see by
Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, and soon afterwards began to build
at Ripon. The Scottish monastery, which was probably of wood, is thought
to have occupied a site between Priest Lane, Stonebridgegate,[2] and a
nameless road which connects them. Wilfrid now abandoned it, and erected
upon a new site a more imposing monastery of stone.[3] The practice of
building in stone seems to have become uncommon in Britain after the
departure of the Romans, and Wilfrid is thought to have employed foreign
workmen, perhaps Italians.[4] His church is described by Eddius,
himself now a Ripon monk, as "of smoothed stone from base to summit, and
supported on various columns and (?) arcades (_porticibus_)," and was
doubtless of that Italian type which had become identified in Britain
with the Roman party in the Church, as opposed to the Scottish mission.
The Scottish type of church consisted of a small aisle-less nave and
square chancel: the Italian type generally had aisles, and the altar was
usually raised upon a platform, beneath which was a crypt called
_confessio_. A little later than 670 A.D. Wilfrid's new minster was
solemnly dedicated by him in honour of St. Peter, in the presence of a
great concourse of clergy and nobles, headed by the King of Northumbria,
Ecgfrith, the successor of Oswiu. The endowments seem to have included
at this time certain lands round Ripon which had belonged to the British
Church before the coming of the Angles, and to have been now increased
by grants--some as far distant as Lancashire--made by the great men
present at the ceremony. Wilfrid himself gave a splendid copy of the
Gospels, written in gold upon purple vellum, the beginning perhaps of a
library.[5] The feasting was kept up for three days--indeed, no
monastery could have had for its church a more striking dedication. And
for the next seven years Ripon must have shared the importance of the
Abbot-Bishop, whose state rivalled that of the king. By persuading the
queen to become a nun, however, he presently lost the royal favour;
while the great size of the diocese, which extended at last from the
Forth to the Wash, prevented the achievement of complete success in his
episcopal work.

As yet the see of Canterbury was the sole archbishopric, and in 678
Archbishop Theodore--already known as an organizer of the
episcopate--was invited to the court of Northumbria. With Ecgfrith's
approval, but without consulting Wilfrid, he divided the diocese into
the three sees of Hexham, York, and Lindsey, answering respectively to
the tribal divisions Bernicia, Deira, and the land of the Lindiswaras
(Lincolnshire). Wise though this action was, it was naturally resented
by Wilfrid, who appealed to the Pope--the first appeal of the kind ever
made by an Englishman--and set out himself for Rome. He was destined not
to return till 680, and even then to be kept out of his bishopric till
686. Ripon was now in the new diocese of York, but in 681 Theodore
constituted yet another diocese, of which he made Ripon the cathedral
town.

Of =Eadhead, First Bishop of Ripon= (681-686), little is known. Originally
a priest at the court of Oswiu, he had accompanied the intruded bishop,
Chad, when the latter sought consecration at Canterbury during Wilfrid's
absence for consecration in Gaul. Eadhead had afterwards been appointed
by Theodore to the see of Lindsey, and was translated thence to Ripon
when Lindsey was recovered by the Mercians.

His tenure of his new office lasted for five years only, for in 686
Aldfrith, the successor of Ecgfrith, restored Wilfrid--not indeed to his
original bishopric of Northumbria, but to a see which combined the
lately-formed dioceses of Ripon and York[6]. Eadhead accordingly
retired, and there were no more Bishops of Ripon for twelve centuries.

To Wilfrid was restored not only his bishopric, but also his monastery
of Ripon, which he retained in peace for the next five years. At the end
of that time a long dispute arose with Aldfrith, who was veering back to
the diocesan partition of Theodore, and Wilfrid, deprived of his see for
the third time, crossed over into Mercia. In 703 a synod was held at
Austerfield, the King and Berhtwald, Archbishop of Canterbury, being
present, when Wilfrid was actually asked to promise that he would cease
to act as bishop, that he would accept the partition of Theodore, and
that he would retire to Ripon and not leave the monastery without the
king's permission.

Though he was now a man of seventy, he set out once more for Rome, and
this time as before the Pope decided in his favour. Returning to Ripon
in 705, he attempted to conciliate Aldfrith's successor Eadwulf, but in
vain. In the same year, however, Eadwulf was succeeded by Osred, and
present