The poet is represented lying on his back, with his hands joined in prayer, and his head resting upon the three volumes on which his fame depends, the "Speculum Meditantis," "Vox Clamantis," and "Confessio Amantis." He is vested in a long dark habit, buttoned down to the feet, after the manner of a cassock, the ordinary dress of an English gentleman at the time. There is a garland of four roses round his head, and at his feet a lion couchant. The SS collar adorns the neck, with a pendant jewel, on which a swan is engraved—the device of Richard II, to whom Gower was Poet Laureate. On the wall of the canopy, at the foot of the tomb, there is a sculptured and coloured representation of the poet's own shield of arms, crest, and helmet. On the back wall of the recess, above the effigy, there were formerly three painted figures, representing Charity, Mercy, and Pity, each bearing a scroll with an invocation, in Norman-French, for the soul of the departed. After undergoing repainting more than once, with modifications, the figures were scarcely recognisable in 1832, when the monument was repaired, but the figures were unfortunately obliterated. The inscription along the ledge of the tomb, which had also been destroyed, is now replaced: "Hic jacet I. Gower, Arm. Angl: poeta celeberrimus ac hoc sacro benefac. insignis. Vixit temporibus Edw. III, Ric. II, et Henri IV." The short window above Gower's tomb is not without suggestion in its vacancy. The last bay of the aisle was occupied by the Prior's doorway, the existing fragments of which are preserved in situ on the exterior.

The window above it is most appropriately dedicated to Gower's contemporary, Chaucer. It was presented by General A.W. Pigott in memory of his sister, and was unveiled by the present Poet Laureate on 25th October, 1900, the fifth centenary of Chaucer's death. The artist has succeeded in compressing a rather large subject into the single lancet. The middle compartment depicts the pilgrims setting out from the old "Tabard" inn, above which (in the upper division) rise the tower of St. Saviour's and the spire of Canterbury, the starting-point and the goal of the pilgrimage. The compartment beneath contains a full-length figure of Thomas Becket, a study in ecclesiastical vestments, his right hand raised in blessing, the left holding the archiepiscopal cross. The whole is crowned with a medallion portrait of the author of "The Canterbury Tales."

If the visitor will now turn to the right and take up a position outside the chancel railings, he will probably be at the best point for seeing the East Window, unless a strong light happens to be behind it to bring out the details at a distance.



It is placed in an elegant quintuplet arcading, the outer arches of which are blind, leaving the central arches for the three lancets composing the window. It contains the Crucifixion in the central light, with the attendant figures of St. John and the Blessed Virgin at the sides, the whole thus forming a pictorial substitute for the rood-screen that formerly stood before the choir. The design of this window is also by Mr. Kempe, but it shows a certain departure from his characteristic style in that it is more of a picture and less of a kaleidoscope than most of his other windows. In colouring and accuracy of delineation (anatomical and otherwise) it is perhaps more modern and less mediaeval in treatment than we should be led to expect from the artist's better known manner. The predominant tone is blue, relieved by a delicate base and canopy of amber, and the whole composition is full of the devotional spirit of the old masters in stained glass, though obviously subject to modern influences. A complete contrast, in subject and in colouring, is presented in the great West Window, by Mr. Henry Holiday. This window also consists of three lancet lights, which, though considerably longer than those at the east end, scarcely afford room for the many details of the extensive theme that has been chosen. It is a combination of the six "Days" of Creation with the Benedicite omnia opera as a hymn of praise from created nature. In some respects the treatment of the subject suggests the influence of the school that we associate with the names of Burne-Jones, William Morris, and Rossetti. This gift to the Cathedral came from Mr. T.H. Withers. The space beneath the west window, usually occupied by a porch, is lined with two series of arched panels, seven in the higher row, nine in the lower. The latter are less acutely pointed, and much shorter, than the others, and also differ from them in that the shafts are of Purbeck marble.

On the inner south-west wall there are some extremely interesting fragments of the ancient thirteenth-century wall arcade. The peculiar construction can be inferred from the three arches that are left, viz., that in every bay one of the three arches rested on a corbel, while the others were supported by shafts, with moulded bases and foliated capitals; a precedent which has been followed in the new arcading on the west wall.

The South Aisle.—The window in the western wall contains a figure of St. Swithun, in cope and mitre. He is here commemorated as having converted the original "House of Sisters" into a College of Priests, and, as it were, to balance the other conversion referred to in the companion window in the north aisle.



Above the Early English arcading the westernmost bay contains a window commemorating St. Paulinus. After the defeat of his patron, Edwin, at the battle of Hatfield the saint fled from Northumbria into Kent (circa 633), where he acted as Bishop of Rochester till his death in 644. The connection of St. Saviour's with the See of Rochester, though quite modern and now severed, is fittingly indicated by this memorial. This extreme bay of the aisle constitutes the Baptistery, and the scene chosen for illustration from the life of St. Paulinus represents him in the act of baptizing a large number of people in a river.[23]

The Font stands below this window in its proper place near the entrance. There was a time in the history of the English Church when the symbolism of position was thought of less account than the administration of the initial Sacrament "in the presence of all the congregation" (see the Rubric of 1549, repeated in Elizabeth's Prayer Book), an object supposed to be defeated where the Baptistery was at the west end, and enclosed, as was frequently the case. The font was consequently removed in many churches towards the east, and at St. Saviour's a special pew was provided near to it for the sponsors. It was known as the "Christening Pew," but has long since gone the way of the other incongruous wooden fittings. The new font, in the old position, was presented by Mrs. Barrow in memory of her husband, and designed by Mr. G.F. Bodley. It is made of Verde di Prato marble, octagonal in shape, and rests upon a circular base surrounded by detached pillars, all of the same material. The faces of the octagon are concave, and without decoration, except that towards the east, which displays a star in a sunk gilded panel.

Dramatic Windows.—The chief feature of this aisle is the fine series of windows representative of the drama in the Golden Age of Queen Elizabeth. The first of the series is devoted to Edward Alleyn (1566-1626), who was "bred a stage player," and lived near the group of theatres in Southwark, but is perhaps better known as the founder of the splendid College of "God's Gift" at Dulwich.

The window was presented by the governor, old scholars, and friends of the College, and was unveiled by the Duke of Connaught on 22nd June, 1898. Alleyn himself is represented as the central figure, reading the charter of his foundation in the College Chapel, attended by Bacon, Inigo Jones, and other contemporaries. The upper part of the window contains Alleyn's portrait, and the lowest compartment a figure of Charity holding a scroll with the appropriate quotation from Psalm XXXIV, II.

The next three windows commemorate Francis Beaumont (1585-1616), John Fletcher (1579-1625), and Philip Massinger (1583-1639). The first and second of these great dramatists, so intimately associated in their lives and in their writings, could hardly be separated in any commemoration. They are accordingly here represented, not only in adjacent windows, but combined by allegorical allusion in the first. The design portrays David and Jonathan, with an inscription from the opening verse of Psalm CXXXII (Vulgate): "Ecce quam bonum, et jucundum: habitare fratres in unum."



The Scripture parallel was not quite verified in the case of the poets. Fletcher certainly lies somewhere in St. Saviour's, but no man knows the exact place of his burial. Beaumont lies in the more famous Poets' Corner at Westminster. The "Beaumont" window was presented by Mr. W.H. Francis, in memory of his father. The "Fletcher" window, in the next bay, came from Mr. T.F. Rider, whose firm were the builders of the nave. The subject chosen for illustration was suggested by the dramatist's "Knight of Malta." St. John the Baptist stands in the lower compartment, as Patron of the Knights of St. John, holding a standard displaying the suitable word "Concordia." The ceremony of Investiture, with attendant figures, fills the space above, surmounted by the poet's head crowned with bay leaves.

The mantle of these great dramatists is acknowledged to have fallen on Philip Massinger, commemorated in the next window. It was the first of the series to be inserted, and was unveiled by Sir Walter Besant in 1896.[24] The subject is taken from Massinger's fine play, "The Virgin Martyr," and represents an angel bearing flowers and fruits of Paradise from the martyr (St. Dorothea) to a sceptical lawyer who had asked for the token for his conviction. Below this central compartment is a figure of St. Dorothea, and above it a medallion portrait of the dramatist.

Massinger is buried in the church, as certified by an entry in the "Parochial Monthly Accounts," but the same uncertainty attends his remains as those of his friend Fletcher. There is a tradition that they were both interred in one grave, which is not at all unlikely, but no one knows where it is, their names on the chancel floor being modern and counting for nothing.

The series of windows could only be appropriately concluded by one great name, "the protagonist on the great arena of modern poetry, and the glory of the human intellect" (De Quincey).

The Shakespeare window was presented by Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., in memory of his brother-in-law, Arthur Cecil Blunt. It is a triplet, and displays in its central light an allegorical figure of "Poetry," supported by Shakespeare and Spenser in the lights on either hand. Above the Muse the sacred Dove is hovering, symbolical of the divine inspiration which we may presume guided the poets in their work, and at the base is a quotation from Wisdom, viii, 4 (Vulgate): "Doctrix disciplinae Dei, et electrix operum illius."

The faces of Edmund Shakespeare[25] and A.C. Blunt are introduced in the quatrefoils of the heading, the former as buried in the church, the latter the gentleman commemorated by the donor.

William Shakespeare is known to have lived near the old Bear Garden and his own theatre, "The Globe," in Southwark, where his brother Edmund also lived while trying his fortune on the stage. The immortal name has, therefore, a direct association with St. Saviour's Church and parish, entitling it to the special memorial.

The Choir was erected by Peter de Rupibus in the early part of the thirteenth century. In its more mature and elaborate work it shows a considerable advance on the simplest form of Early English, though the apparently low elevation, and massiveness of the piers and lower arcading, are obviously not free from Norman influences. It is divided into five bays by alternate circular and octagonal piers, the dwarfed appearance of which is relieved by triple vaulting shafts on the north and south sides, and single shafts to support the arch mouldings. The central shafts are not of Purbeck, as in the nave, and they are not banded, except where crossed by the abacus moulding of the capitals and the triforium string-course. The piers have all plain capitals and well cut base mouldings. The triforium arcade, like that in the nave, consists of four arched openings in each bay, and, unlike the clerestory, has no continuous passage along the choir wall. Each bay, however, has an opening at the back into the space between the vault and roof of the aisle.

While both sides of the choir are alike in their main features, there is an interesting difference in detail, especially to be noticed in the greater simplicity of the south side, where the triforium capitals are less elaborate, and the dog-tooth ornament is omitted from the outer jambs of the openings.

On the south side, moreover, the arches have corbels, with sculptured heads, to support their inner mouldings, in place of the full-length shafts which occur on the responds at the ends, and on all the piers of the opposite side. These differences, though perhaps partly referable to the delightful vagaries of Gothic architecture, are supposed to have a special significance at St. Saviour's, where the north was the side of the Prior.



The roof is not strictly original, most of it having been rebuilt in 1822-1824, when, however, the old material was worked in again as far as possible, and the old quadripartite groining adhered to. It may be noticed that the vaulting is carried out very systematically and correctly, the only defect being that the wall-ribs die into the vaulting surfaces, instead of being brought down to the clerestory sill. The plough-share surfaces (as they are called) are nevertheless well cut back to concentrate the lateral pressures against the external buttresses. In the nave the new vaulting has the wall-ribs properly supported by light shafts in the angles of the clerestory openings, whilst in the transepts the inner archivolt of the windows answers the same purpose.



It is highly probable that the choir formerly extended to the western side of the tower, as indicated by the step between the nave and tower pavement.

The Altar-platform, though raised seven steps above the nave pavement, gives the altar a rather low elevation as compared with the lofty Continental altars, whether abroad, or introduced here in recent years on the Continental example. Herein it exhibits a peculiarity of the English use, as illustrated in many pre-Reformation churches, where the occasional deviations from rule can generally be accounted for by the lofty crypt beneath, as, e.g., at Canterbury.[26]

Behind the altar rises the magnificent Screen, erected by Bishop Fox in 1520, which almost fills the eastern end of the choir. This fine work had been more or less mutilated through the iconoclastic zeal of ultra-reformers, who deprived it of the sculptured figures in the niches. It was further ill-treated during the architectural supremacy of Sir Christopher Wren and his school, when the smaller canopies and other projections were pared off to make a level surface for the classical piece of woodwork placed in front of it. When this incongruous structure was removed and the restoration taken in hand (in 1833) by Mr. Wallace, liberties were again taken with the unfortunate screen, more or less spoiling the design, though undertaken on a good motive. Perhaps the least objectionable of these innovations was the insertion of panels for the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments, in perpetuation of those in the wooden altar-piece, where the formulae had been set up in the spirit of the Injunctions of 1536 and 1538. Above the stages Mr. Wallace introduced rows of angels, the highest row being surmounted by a cornice of strawberry-leaf ornament for which there was no sort of precedent, either in the original work here, or in other altar-screens of similar character elsewhere.[27]

The screen is about thirty feet in height, and extends to the main arcades on either side. Three tiers of canopied niches, ten in each tier, divided down the centre by a perpendicular series of three larger niches, all occupied by statues, made up a composition which was at once "a thing of beauty" and an object lesson on the Incarnation. The total number of niches (thirty-three) suggested a mystic reference to the years of our Lord's earthly life, while the image of the Pelican "in her piety," here and there, besides being a reminder of Bishop Fox (whose peculiar device it was), also typified the sacrament of the altar. The original materials of which the screen was built are quoted as "Caen and fire-stone," for which Mr. Wallace substituted stone from Painswick in Gloucestershire, as more easily obtained and agreeing in colour with the old work.[28]

Above the altar the first architect had left a vacant panel (square) possibly intending it for the reception of sculpture or mosaic. This space, as well as some of the side panelling, was covered by the Decalogue, etc., before mentioned. The space is now vacant, pending the complete restoration of the screen, and is simply concealed by the dorsal and lateral curtains. The doors on each side will be noticed, with their depressed ogee headings, which indicate that this screen is of somewhat later date than the corresponding one (also by Bishop Fox) at Winchester. Another indication to the same effect has been detected in the grotesque carvings in the spandrels, which are here of a humorous character, whereas at Winchester the minor decorations are entirely sacred, e.g., the Annunciation and Visitation.

On the north side of the choir, in the easternmost arch, is the Monument of Richard Humble, erected by his son Peter in 1616. He quotes his father in the inscription as "Alderman of London," which is supposed to be inaccurate, as the prospective alderman, though represented in the official gown, is said to have declined office for political reasons. The monument is a good specimen of the Jacobean style. Under an arched canopy, supported by Ionic pillars, Richard Humble is kneeling at a small altar, or prie-Dieu, with his two wives behind him, the second wearing a conical hat, his sons and daughters being represented in bas-relief on the north and south sides of the basement. On the altar side there are also some verses, by an unknown author, in which human life is compared to "the damask rose and blossom on the tree," with other images of its vanity and shortness. There is a dash of Elizabethan vigour in the versification, mixed with a certain quaintness which points to the decadence, and the lines have been attributed to such different writers as Francis Beaumont and Francis Quarles. The figures in the monument have been "beautified" with imitations of marble and alabaster. The canopied stalls for the Canons were erected as a memorial to Bishop Thorold, from the diocese of Rochester, as notified on a plain brass tablet.

Those for the choir and cathedral officers were provided by an anonymous benefactor. The absence of "return stalls" is accounted for by the fact that St. Saviour's is a parish church as well as a cathedral, for which reason it is desired to keep the choir as open as possible.



It may be here mentioned that the twelve boys who sing at the daily services are known as "the Wigan Chanters," after Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., who has made provision for their salary, and the silver badges to be worn by them on Sundays and holy days. The badges are engraved on the face with the priory arms—"Argent, a cross fusilly gules: in the dexter chief, a cinquefoil gules"—with an inscription on the reverse.

The low wrought-iron chancel-railing was presented by Mr. Barclay; the holy table (a classical wooden structure), by Mr. J.F. France, in place of the former table, also of classical design, which has been transferred to the retro-choir. The chalice and paten, crosses, vases, books, embroidery, etc., have been bestowed from time to time by various friends and worshippers.



The Retro-choir (now known as the Lady Chapel) was erected by Peter de Rupibus at about the same time as the choir, but in a much lighter and more graceful fashion, which places it among the best examples of Early English architecture in the country. The groined vault rests on six slender pillars, with detached shafts. The divisions thus formed make up twelve compartments of nearly equal size. Perhaps the best general prospect is to be obtained from the south-east corner, which takes in the whole length of the chapel, with the altar, now on the north, and the tomb of Bishop Andrewes on the western side. In the central bays on that side there were formerly two arches open to the choir, one on each side of the space now occupied by the tomb. These were converted into triplet openings during the reign of Edward III, with flowing tracery in the head of each arch. When Bishop Fox's screen was erected in the sixteenth century, these openings were walled-up, and the doorways already mentioned inserted below the tracery, in correspondence with the design of the screen, of which they formed part, one on each side of the high altar.

Another good view is to be gained from the south-west corner, which includes the series of triplet windows in the four eastern bays. The northernmost of these was till recently occupied by the altar, but it has been transferred to the central bay on the north side, thus sacrificing the orientation for a supposed better position, in regard to the general shape of the chapel, there being no central space for it on the eastern side, where another altar was required to balance the irregularity. Before the Reformation there certainly were two altars on that side, one at each extremity, where piscinae were discovered during the restorations of 1832. The piscina at the north end was then restored, and is still in existence: as the other was too far gone for repair, the space was filled up.

It has been conjectured that each of the four eastern bays formerly contained an altar, one of them being dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. This circumstance has probably contributed to the popular designation of the retro-choir as the Lady Chapel, since the demolition of the so-called "Bishop's Chapel," to which the title properly belonged.[29]

This "Little Chapel of Our Lady," as it was originally called, extended eastwards from the bay (the second from the south), now occupied by the "Benson" window, where two straight joints in the masonry indicate the position of the arch that once led into it. In the north-east angle is a slender shaft supporting a diminutive statue of a bishop, in cope and mitre, with his right hand raised in the act of benediction. This has taken the place of another figure, with flowing hair, supposed to represent St. Mary Magdalene, to whom the demolished church, adjoining the south choir-aisle, was dedicated. Beneath this statue is a door, which used to give access to the staircase in the turret already noticed in the angle outside. The staircase, however, is destroyed. In the same bay on the north wall, there is a stone bench, in the shape of a coffin, about nine feet long. This has been assumed to be the burial-place of the Foundress, but it is more probable that it was the base on which the "Easter Sepulchre" was placed in Holy Week.



In the south-west corner there is a small Gothic font. It was presented by Mr. Charles Harris (Member for Southwark) in 1860, who is himself commemorated in a tablet beneath the Jesse window in the south transept. The font is still used for baptisms, the present Lady Chapel being also the parish church.

The Tomb of Bishop Andrewes.—On the destruction of the so-called "Bishop's Chapel" in 1830, the tomb was removed from its eastern end to the honourable position it now occupies. There had been a fire in 1676, which destroyed the roof of the little chapel, and the canopy of the monument, but the tomb and effigy were fortunately uninjured. The canopy was not replaced, and the tablet which once stood at the feet is now at the head of the recumbent figure. Otherwise the monument remains in its original state, and is an interesting example of the Renaissance style at a period of transition. There had been a doubt as to the exact whereabouts of the Bishop's remains, some people thinking they had been deposited in a vault beneath. The question was settled at the removal, when the leaden coffin was found, resting on a cross of brickwork, within the tomb. The coffin was exposed for a few days for the public satisfaction, and then replaced in the interior of the tomb, where it now lies. The painted figure above it represents the Bishop vested in chimere and rochet, enveloped in a rich mantle, with the cross of St. George, encircled by the Garter and motto of the Order, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," embroidered on the left shoulder—insignia to which Lancelot Andrewes was entitled as Bishop of Winchester and Prelate of the Order. The head wears an academic cap, and rests upon a cushion, and the right hand holds a book, probably intended for the famous "Manual of Devotions."

The tablet at the head is surmounted by the arms of the See of Winchester, impaled with the private arms of Dr. Andrewes, supported by two figures in a sitting posture. These represent the cardinal virtues, Justice and Fortitude, so conspicuous in the Bishop's life. The figures formed part of the original decoration of the canopy. The Latin inscription at the head is from an entry in Archbishop Laud's "Diary," and shows a slight inaccuracy in grammar as well as in the date. This is given as September 21st, 1626, whereas Dr. Andrewes is known to have died on September 25th. The grammatical error is unimportant, while the gist of the sentence sums up the life and character of the departed in the brief form of an epigram: "Lumen Orbis Christiani." The inscription at the foot simply refers to the restorations of the monument in 1703 and 1810.

The Windows in the Retro-Choir. There is no ancient glass in the Cathedral, the oldest being that in the windows here set up to the memory of the Anglican martyrs, and chiefly remarkable as examples of the art of glass staining at a bad period. Seven martyrs are thus commemorated, viz., three in each of the extreme bays on the eastern side, and one in the central bay on the south. Taking them in order, the window at the north end is devoted to the Rev. Lawrence Saunders, the Right Rev. Robert Ferrar, and the Rev. Rowland Taylor, each figure occupying a separate light in the triplet. Entwined about the robes of the third there is a scroll bearing the supplication from the Litany in the early prayer-books against "the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities."

The corresponding window in the southernmost of the four eastern bays contains the figures of the Rev. John Rogers, Bishop Hooper, and the Rev. John Bradford.



The seventh of the martyrs is memorialised in the central window on the south, viz., the Ven. Archdeacon Philpot, the three lights being filled with pictorial scenes from his trial. He is here commemorated as having suffered at the same time with the others, though he was separately tried in the Bishop of London's house, by St. Paul's Cathedral. The rest were tried in this very chapel, then (and still occasionally) used as a Consistory Court. There is thus a peculiar appropriateness in the local commemoration, and especially in the position of the first window of the series, as it was in that identical bay that the Royal Commissioners sat in judgement, and pronounced sentence on the men they regarded as heretics. The lancet on the eastern side of the "Philpot" window is dedicated to Grace Pearse, and dated 1845. The other is at present filled with plain glass awaiting a suitable commemoration. The two triplets between the martyrs' windows on the east contain memorials to the Rev. W. Curling (1879) and the Rev. S. Benson (1881), who were co-chaplains at St. Saviour's.

These windows were contributed by the parishioners, and show some advance on those to the martyrs in their scriptural subjects as well as in their general treatment and colouring.

By far the best window is that of three lights on the north side. The architecture is in the Decorated style with reticulated tracery, as restored on the ancient model. The glass is modern, by Kempe, in his best mediaeval manner, in which respect, as well as in subject matter, the window presents a strong contrast to the earlier ones in its neighbourhood. The three lights contain figures of King Charles I, Thomas Becket, and Archbishop Laud, martyrs of another school, perhaps equally worthy of remembrance, as having suffered for their opinions.



On the western wall a granite tablet is to be noticed to the memory of George Gwilt, the architect who did so much work at the church in his day, and gave his services gratuitously during the restoration of this chapel. He died at the age of eighty-one, in the year 1856, and is buried in the family vault outside the southern wall.

The Choir Aisles, architecturally similar, differ very much in their contents, which are more interesting in the north aisle. On the south side of this aisle the Humble monument is conspicuously seen through the choir railings. The opposite side is lighted by three windows, more interesting in motive and association than in themselves. The first of these was presented in 1867 by Mr. Benson, the chaplain commemorated in the window already noticed in the retro-choir, and represents St. Peter in the Chamber of Dorcas (Acts, ix, 39). The next contains a picture of the Good Samaritan, erected in 1866 to the memory of John Ellis. The third, of three lights, was inserted in 1858 to the memory of George Wood, surgeon, who was so much appreciated by the parishioners that 670 of them contributed to the cost of his memorial. The central light contains a picture of Christ healing a cripple. The outer lights are at present plain.

In the wall beneath these windows two recesses will be noticed, exactly alike in size, and in their segmental headed and traceried canopies. Their proximity and close resemblance formerly led to the conjecture that they were the tombs of the two Norman knights, William Pont de l'Arche and William Dauncey, who co-operated with Bishop Giffard in refounding the Priory. If this is the case, the tombs must have undergone alteration at a later date, as the decoration is in the Perpendicular style, and much more ornate than that of the recess at the west end of the same wall, undoubtedly of late Norman, or Transitional, design. The westernmost of the two, again, has been held to be the burial-place of Thomas Cure, a local benefactor in the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth, who is commemorated by a tablet within it. The Latin epitaph (1588) is a string of punning allusions to his name. The most recent theory, and the most probable, respecting the recesses, is that they mark the tombs of Priors belonging to the Tudor period. The easternmost now contains the effigy of a supposed Crusader, which, after undergoing many "translations" from its unknown original place to the lumber of the church, and then to a ridiculous upright position against the north wall, has now found shelter in the recess which happens to hold it exactly. It is a remarkably fine piece of oak carving, and represents a knight clad in chain armour, consisting of a hauberk with sleeves, over which is thrown a surcoat crossed by two belts, one round the waist for the sword, the other crossing the body diagonally to hold the shield. The cross-guard of the sword is of metal, and is probably a reparation. The head wears a conical helmet, and the feet rest upon a lion. The legs are crossed at the knees, and the knight is in the act of placing his sword in the scabbard, both of which details are open to various interpretations. Conjecture has also been busy as to the person represented, who is now thought to have been a member of the de Warren family, several of whom were buried in the church, and the style of armour, unless a clever imitation, points to the date of Edward I or Edward II. After having been overlaid with successive coats of paint, which completely blocked up and concealed the delicate chain-work, the figure has been more or less redeemed, but not restored to its original colour. This appears to have been mainly a pale blue, not unlike the real armour, but it is now coated with bronze.[30]





The most conspicuous monument in the aisle is that of John Trehearne, servant to Queen Elizabeth and "Gentleman Portar" to James I. Flanked by two pilasters, carved in the Italian style, supporting a plainer canopy, the monument consists of three parts: first a plain base; then a plinth, on the front of which (in bas-relief) are the four children of the deceased in a kneeling posture; and, lastly, on the top of the tomb, the kneeling figures of Trehearne and his wife in the picturesque costume and ruff collars of the age. The principal figures are holding a tablet between them inscribed with a eulogistic epitaph in English, the moral of which is that if Trehearne's royal master could have retained his services, his heavenward progress would have been considerably delayed. The Vestry minute for 15th October, 1577 (quoted by Dr. Thompson), shows the deceased to have been a passive resister in the matter of tithes, for which he had to pay double in the long run. He died on 22nd October, 1618, and was buried the very next day. His wife died on 22nd January, 1645. She was followed by the eldest son on 22nd of August in the same year, and they were all buried in the one grave.

A door in the aisle communicates with the Chapel of St. John the Divine, at present used as a clergy vestry. Fortunately it has not shared the fate of the companion chapel of St. John the Baptist. Up to a quarter of a century ago it had been turned to account as a Magistrates' Court, and still retains the Royal Arms over the large pew erected for the purpose. This, with the iron safe and wooden cupboards set up against the walls, still gives the chapel some of the appearance of a Committee room, and helps to conceal some most interesting architectural features. A shaft had long been visible on the exterior which was thought to show signs of Saxon workmanship. This fragment, added to the known fact that the chapel was one of the oldest parts of the church, if not the oldest of all, has led to a fuller examination in recent years, revealing the outlines of three Norman arches in the inner walls, and still more recently the shafts of a wall-arcade on the eastern side, apparently indicating an apsidal termination.

Henceforth the chapel will be associated with the name of John Harvard, who was born in the parish, and baptized in the church on 29th November, 1607, and its restoration is intended to take the form of a memorial to that great and good man. It is not unlikely, in fact, that his name will popularly supersede the original dedication (almost forgotten already) much in the same way as the "Little Chapel of our Lady" was overshadowed by the great name of Bishop Andrewes.

The first practical step in this direction was taken by the Hon. Joseph H. Choate, who manifested great interest in the ancient fabric while he was American Ambassador, and presented the east window to the chapel in commemoration of John Harvard, founder of the renowned university which bears his name. The window, 'unveiled by Mr. Choate on Monday, 22nd May, 1905, is of three lights, transomed, as designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and Sons, the glass being made in America under the supervision of Mr. Charles F. McKim, the famous American architect. The design is by Mr. John La Farge. In the central light of the lower division the Baptism of Christ is depicted, attendant angels occupying the sides. The upper division contains the arms of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where John Harvard was educated, and of the Harvard University, with its mottoes, Veritas and Christo et Ecclesiae. The base bears the inscription, "In memory of John Harvard, founder of Harvard University in America, baptized in this church, Nov. 29, 1607."



The window is a noteworthy example of modern work, and the treatment of the familiar subject is distinctly original, in which respect, as well as in colouring, it presents a very striking contrast to the other windows, especially to those of mediaeval character, throughout the church. Perhaps it is fortunate that it occupies an isolated position in the chapel, where the brilliance and peculiarity of the colouring are seen to full advantage without detriment to the other windows.

It is hoped that this generous gift inaugurates the restoration of the old chapel to its original dignity, as a worthy memorial to him whose name will henceforth be inseparable from it. The intention is to equip it with an altar and other necessary fittings for use at early celebrations and small gatherings of people, at present without accommodation. A new vestry for the clergy is badly wanted, as well as for the choir, whose cassocks and surplices now hang in the adjacent aisle.

The South Choir Aisle is lighted by a small lancet above the entrance porch representing the Good Shepherd; by another lancet to the memory of John Herd, an inhabitant; and by a window of three lights. The last commemorates George Gwilt, the distinguished architect who did so much for the restoration of 1832-3, elsewhere described.

Two tablets in the same aisle are worth noticing. The first is a brass, dated 1652, on the pier between the choir and aisle entrance, in memory of Susanna Barford, who died at the early age of ten years and thirteen weeks. The inscription quotes her as, "The Non-such of the world for Piety and Vertue in soe tender years." Below these words there is an epitaph in rhyming couplets and complimentary terms, separated from the inscription by a death's head and crossbones, and a pair of wings supporting an hourglass, on the dexter and sinister sides respectively. This is the only brass with any approach to antiquity in the Cathedral, though the matrix of another, evidently thought more worthy of a private collection, has been detected in one of the recesses, lately described, in the opposite aisle. The other memorial is a plain marble slab, scarcely seen in the darkness between the windows. It commemorates Abraham Newland, the model chief cashier of the Bank of England, whose strict notions of duty would not allow him to sleep a single night off the premises during the twenty-five years of his appointment. He died in 1807, two months after taking his pension, leaving L60,000, in the funds, to his landlady. This inexpensive memorial is a token of her gratitude.

The Organ.—On the south side of the aisle is the organ-chamber erected by Sir Arthur Blomfield and Sons, after much discussion as to a suitable place for the new instrument, for which it was eventually decided to build the chamber over part of the site once occupied by the Magdalen Church. The old organ used to stand in the gallery at the west end of the debased nave, and was since removed to the north transept. When it was finally taken down it was unsaleable as a musical instrument, and had to go for what it would fetch as so much wood and metal. Some relics of it have, however, been preserved in the shape of the large gilded angels which adorned its front. These are now stored above the tall iron safe in the Harvard chapel. The present organ and the chamber which contains it were both presented by the late Mrs. Robert Courage as a memorial to her husband.

The new organ, built by Messrs. Lewis and Co., Limited, is of peculiarly rich and pleasant tone. It contains more than 4,000 pipes and consists of four manuals, with a system of interchangeable composition pedals, the whole embodying the most recent improvements for altering and combining the stops, and working the instrument to the best advantage with the least exertion. The action is electro-pneumatic, and the wind is supplied by a rotary hydraulic engine.[31]

Imbedded in the pavement at the entrance to this aisle there is an interesting collection of Roman tesserae, which have been carefully preserved as an evidence of the antiquity of the site.

The Tower.—A great difference is to be noticed between the arches of the east and west sides and those of the north and south. The former are evidently of the same age (thirteenth century) as the nave and choir, while the others indicate that the transepts were not built till the following century. There is an important difference also between the north and south arches, in that the shafts of the former stop considerably short of the ground, whilst those on the south are carried down to the pavement.

The moulding of the western arch is supported by the heads of a king and queen (uncertain), and on the southern side of the eastern, or choir, arch there is the head of a bishop.

Above the arches there is an open arcade on the four sides of the tower, which communicates with the roof above the nave, choir, and transepts. The comparatively modern ceiling, which limited the view upwards within the tower, has now been removed, and the roof raised to its original level beneath the ringers' floor. This new roof is of oak, in which some bosses from its fifteenth century predecessor have been inserted. Pendent from it is the fine Chandelier of wrought iron and brass, presented to the church in 1680 by Dorothy Applebee, who was buried within the sanctuary two years later. This chandelier had been transferred to the choir during the degradation of the old church, in which position it was by no means without precedent in ancient churches, but its original place here was in the tower, to which it has been restored.

Sir Arthur Blomfield's work included the complete restoration of the tower windows and the interior walls.

The Pulpit comes from a relative of the Rev. W. Curling, the chaplain commemorated in one of the Lady Chapel windows, and is intended as a personal memorial to the same man. It is a delicate piece of carved oak, somewhat out of character with the massive stone-work around it, and is approached by a staircase still more slender in appearance. The carving, however, is well executed, and many notable sermons have already been preached from it, which, thanks to the sounding-board, have been tolerably well heard throughout the church.

The Lectern was presented by Mrs. Richard Hunt, in memory of her husband. It is of bronze with a brass pedestal, and represents an eagle holding a dragon in his claws.

The North Transept differs materially from the south in the dimensions and character of the windows, which in the south transept are larger and more elaborate. In the north transept there are three on each side, those next the tower being simple lancets, the others of two lights without tracery. All these at present contain plain glass. The two-light windows are exact reproductions of the originals, from fragments of which they were first restored by Mr. Wallace in 1833. The exceptionally large window on the north side is the gift of Mr. F.L. Bevan, and was unveiled by the Duke of Connaught on 22nd June, 1898, in double commemoration of the Prince Consort and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The present window, by Mr. Kempe, takes the place of an inferior one set up in 1861 to the memory of Prince Albert shortly after his death.

It contains in its four lights the figures of Gregory the Great, King Ethelbert, Stephen Langton, and William of Wykeham. The subjects were chosen as illustrating important stages in the history of England and the National Church, which it is sought to epitomize in the decoration of this representative Cathedral.

It is supposed that this transept once formed a chapel dedicated to St. Peter, and was screened off from the tower for that purpose. This probably accounts for the fact that the piers of the tower arch are left plain to the height of about 12 ft., above which begin the six clustered columns similar to those which rise from the ground level on the south side. The conjecture is supported by the discovery of an aumbrey at the eastern end of the north wall, which of course implies an altar and a chapel. The transept is now used as a sort of ecclesiastical museum for antiquities previously distributed about the church. Perhaps the most interesting, certainly the most ancient, of these is a stone coffin, with a portion of the lid of Purbeck marble, discovered during the restorations. There was a skeleton within it, but whose it is impossible to say, though the ornamental design on the lid points to the twelfth century, and to a person of importance. It bears a raised cross of unique pattern at the head of a stem which obviously extended to the foot of the coffin. The arms of the cross are of equal length and terminate in chain-work, the angles of intersection being occupied by representations of the sun, crescent moon, and stars. The symbolism of these figures has been variously interpreted, and, as the coffin bears no date or inscription, it has given rise to much speculation as to whether its occupant was one of the Priors or a crusader. The skeleton, though said to have been discovered in an almost perfect condition, contained no key to the mystery.

A relic of the Norman age is preserved in the north wall, above the aumbrey, viz., a portion of a string-course with billet moulding—a further evidence of the age of this part of the church. The arches between the choir and nave aisles are worth notice as architectural curiosities. The former shows a strange angular introduction in the moulding of its southern side. The latter has an acute arch, without moulding, constructed within it, apparently to strengthen the walls.

On the floor by the eastern wall lies one of those charnel house memorials, in the shape of a ghastly and desiccated human figure, of the kind not uncommon in tombs of the sixteenth century. To whose tomb this figure belonged there is no evidence to show.

Against the east and west walls are piled some curious bosses from the old oak roof erected in 1469, after the stone roof had fallen down. There were originally about a hundred and fifty of these grotesque specimens of wood-carving, but there are now only about one-third of them left, including those placed in the new roof within the tower.



The fine chest against the western wall was presented about the middle of the sixteenth century by Hugh Offley and Robert Harding, Aldermen and Sheriffs of London, who were related by marriage. The chest is made of oak, with various fancy woods inlaid, e.g., walnut, pear, cherry, box, rosewood, ash, yew, holly, and ebony, distributed over the surface so as to bring their colours into agreeable contrast in the design. This appears to represent the facade of a classical building, the panels on the front of the chest being divided by the pilasters of the architecture. The central panel contains the first owner's initials, "H.H.O." The others hold the crests and armorial bearings of the two families.



On the western wall of this transept there is a remarkable monument, which cannot be better described than in the words of John Strype:

"The Austin Monument," he says, "is emblematical of Christ and of the Resurrection, according to the pious fancy of the devout Mr. Austin, who set it up at first. First, there is the representation of a rock, upon which is writ 'Petra erat X.T.S.', i.e., the Rock was Christ. Down this rock runs a stream of water, and through this same rock is creeping a serpent; whereby he strips off his old skin, which hangs on that part which is not yet got through. At the foot of this rock, and out of it, grows up standing corn, on which is a label with these words, 'Si non moriatur, non reviviscit,' i.e., if it dieth not, it liveth not again. Underneath this corn, upon the basis, is this significant motto, 'Nos sevit, fovit, lavit, coget, renovabit,' i.e., He hath sown, cherished, washed us, and He shall gather us together, and renew us. Upon the top of this rock standeth an angel; in his left hand a sickle, his right hand pointing up towards the sun shining in his glory, with a label upon the lower rays of it, 'Sol Justitiae,' i.e., the Sun of Righteousness. On the right and left sides of this monument are instruments of husbandry hanging by a riband out of a death's head, as ploughs, whips, yokes, rakes, spades, flails, harrows, shepherds' crooks, scythes, etc., over which is writ, 'Vos estis Dei Agricultura,' i.e., ye are God's husbandry. On the outside of these, on the right and left, are two harvest men with wings, the one with a fork, the other with a rake behind him. They are in light garments, sitting, and leaning their heads upon their hands, their elbows resting upon their knees, as weary and tired, and resting after their harvest work; and having straw hats on, very comely; underneath them these words, 'Messores congregabunt,' i.e., the reapers shall gather. Under all this is a winnowing fan, within which is the representation of a sheet of parchment, as it were, stretched upon it; on which is writ the inscription."

The inscription (Latin) agrees in its figurative language with the character of the monument. It practically states that William Austin had the tomb constructed, while he was yet alive, as a burial-place for his wife, his mother (Lady Clarke), and himself, and that the three were laid there in succession in 1623, 1626, and 1633. William Austin was a barrister, who wrote a number of devotional pieces in verse and prose. He died on 16th January, 1633, and his second wife published them in 1635, "as a surviving monument of some part of the great worth of her ever-honoured husband." The son William, like his father a poet and a lawyer, was also buried at St. Saviour's.

Another noteworthy monument is that on the north wall to Lionel Lockyer, inventor and patentee of the miraculous pills, "Radiis Solis Extractae," to be taken early in the morning against fogs, contagious airs, and all diseases known and unknown, to improve personal beauty, and make old age delightful. The glowing epitaph of twelve lines is at once a eulogy on the man, and a bold advertisement of the medicine. Lockyer died on 26th April, 1672. An air of sanctimonious benevolence will be noticed on the face of the recumbent doctor—probably a faithful portrait—not unlike the expression given to the quack doctor in one of Hogarth's famous pictures. The face of the cherub above wears a look of intense agony, which frivolous people are wont to attribute to the panacea. Higher up on the same wall there is a Hatchment, with the armorial bearings of the person to whom it refers, and the motto Resurgam. The conspicuous place and large characters look as if specially chosen with reference to the fabric, to which the word may well be applied.

On the east wall hangs an escutcheon of the arms of Queen Anne, with the motto Semper eadem. The arms seem to have been painted over some previous heraldic achievement, which includes the figures of "Justice" and "Mercy," or two similar characters, standing on a platform in the middle of a Rotunda. There is a peculiarity also in the omission of the year, which is usually given with the Royal Arms hung up in churches. The escutcheon is said to have been brought from the neighbouring Sessions Court, and set up in the first instance in the choir, to commemorate the visit of Queen Anne, when she came to hear Dr. Sacheverell. Appearances seem to show that it was repainted, and the Queen's initials inserted, to suit the occasion.

The South Transept.—The solid panels, noticed outside as diminishing the effect of the great south window, are accounted for in the interior, where the mouldings of two lofty arches occupy the wall, their apices reaching to the window sill. These the restorer has wisely left intact, and the window, seen from within, appears in admirable proportion, and well suited to its place. It is of five lights, and occupies the entire breadth of the transept. The style is described by the architect, Sir Arthur Blomfield, as "Transitional between Flowing Decorated and Perpendicular." Presented by Sir Frederick Wigan, Bart., in memory of his daughter, the glazing of this fine window was entrusted to Mr. C.E. Kempe. He has taken as his subject the "Tree of Jesse," as a connecting link between the scripture subjects represented elsewhere, and the modern historical windows, whether commemorating distinguished clergy or laity of the Catholic Church.

There was formerly a doorway cut through one of the arches beneath this window. The space is now filled up, restoring the arcading to its original state, and the entrance transferred to the eastern wall, where the inner porch occupies the space beneath the organ front. There are three windows above, of three lights each, corresponding with those on the opposite side, except in the tracery. The window over the door, as well as that facing it, is in memory of Mr. Henry Wood, Warden of the Great Account (1899-1900). The six divisions in each contain the same number of figures from the Old Testament, viz., in the eastern window, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph; and in the western, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Hosea, David, Ezekiel. Both these windows are due to Sir Frederick Wigan, who presented them in 1900.

Next to the "Wood" window, on the western side, there is another fine one to the memory of Elizabeth Newcomen, a great benefactress to the neighbourhood, buried in the church in 1675.[32]

This window came from the Governors and Scholars, past and present, of the school which she founded, and from the parishioners. The glass is by Kempe. The figures in the upper division are St. John Baptist, Elijah, and Malachi; and in the lower, Zechariah, Solomon, and St. Elizabeth, the last a tribute to the lady's own Christian name.

It will be seen from this description that there are three windows awaiting subjects (and donors) in the south transept, two on the eastern, and one on the western side. The whole series is intended to illustrate the Gospel genealogy and the Incarnation, in continuation of the idea suggested in the Jesse Tree.

The most important monuments in the south transepts are those of John Bingham, Richard Benefeld, William Emerson, and the Rev. Thomas Jones.

The "Bingham" monument (1625) was formerly in the Magdalene Church, whence it was removed to the west side of this transept when the church was destroyed. An arched recess, flanked by consoles, contains a half-length coloured effigy of the deceased, in gown and ruff. Below this is a panel, surmounted by arches and supported by pilasters, enclosing a tablet, with the inscription to John Bingham, Sadler to Queen Elizabeth and James I. The spandrels of the arch above the figure contain the arms of the City of London and the Sadlers' Company. The family arms surmount the whole. Bingham is quoted in the inscription as "a good benefactor to the parish and free school"; besides which he was one of the Trustees to whom the church was conveyed by James I, and we have to thank him and his confreres that it has not gone the way of the Priory buildings formerly surrounding it.

The "Benefeld" monument (1615) is chiefly interesting for its quaint Latin epitaph. This speaks of his remains as purified by the frankincense, myrrh, amber, etc., which symbolise the discipline of life.

William Emerson and his family, ancestors of the better known Ralph Waldo, were also good benefactors, especially to the poor of the parish, who still enjoy the pensions founded by their bounty. The inscription on William Emerson's monument (1575) describes him as having "lived and died an honest man," and concludes with the warning, Ut sum sic eris, illustrated by a small memento mori, in the form of a skeleton, recumbent on the base.

An ornamental marble tablet (1762), on the south wall, commemorates the Rev. Thomas Jones, who died of a fever contracted during his parochial visitings, and was buried in a vault in the "Little Chapel of Our Lady." He was chaplain at St. Saviour's from 1753 till he died at the early age of thirty-three. A faithful and zealous evangelical pastor at a period of general debility in the Church of England, he was hampered throughout his ministrations by the governing body, who not only had the right of selecting their ministers, but exercised a jealous censorship on their teaching and practice, when they showed any tendency to "unsoundness" or undue enthusiasm. Above the tablet containing the inscription there is a bust of Mr. Jones, in the clerical dress and necktie of his date, with a cherub on each side.

The architectural differences between the north and south transepts are largely accounted for by the rebuilding of the latter, in the fifteenth century, by Cardinal Beaufort.

On a pier by the transept door his work is commemorated in a sculptured and coloured representation of his arms—the fleur-de-lis of France, quartered with the lions of England—surmounted by a cardinal's hat, with its tasselled strings, twisted into a true-lover's knot, pendent on either side.



Henry Beaufort, born in 1377, was a natural son of John of Gaunt by Catherine, widow of Sir Hugh Swynford. His parents were married in 1396, and their issue legitimated by Richard II in the following year; but the bastardy is supposed to be indicated in the bordure compony surrounding the shield. Henry Beaufort was translated to Winchester in 1404, in succession to William Wykeham. He was raised to the cardinalate in 1426, and died in 1447. Among the famous marriages that have taken place in the church, perhaps the most famous is that between James I of Scotland and the Cardinal's niece, Joan Beaufort, in the year 1423, when the wedding banquet was served in the adjacent Bishop of Winchester's palace.

In the restoration by Sir Arthur Blomfield, the windows of both transepts were rebuilt, the pointed roofs raised to their old level, and the walls underpinned and refaced (externally) with Box Ground and Bath stone, in place of the inferior material employed in 1830, care being taken to place the stone in the natural direction of the strata.

All whitewash and plaster facing have been stripped off the walls throughout the old parts of the church, to make the restoration as complete as possible, not only in the purity of the new work, but in the removal of what was fictitious and incongruous from the old.



FOOTNOTES:

[22] "When Dr. Sacheverell was at Lichfield (in 1712) Johnson was not quite three years old. My grandfather Hammond observed him at the Cathedral perched upon his father's shoulders, listening and gaping at the much celebrated preacher. Mr. Hammond asked Mr. Johnson how he could possibly think of bringing such an infant to church, and in the midst of so great a crowd. He answered, because it was impossible to keep him at home; for, young as he was, he believed he had caught the public spirit and zeal for Sacheverell, and would have stayed for ever in the church, satisfied with beholding him."—Boswell's "Life of Johnson," Chap. I.

[23] Bede informs us that St. Paulinus baptized a number of people in the Rivers Glen (= Bowent) and Swale, in Yorkshire. ("Eccles. Hist.," Book II, Chap. xiv.) The latter of these incidents is supposed to be here depicted.

[24] Dr. Thompson gives a selection from the long list of subscribers, which includes, besides nobility and clergy, many of the leading actors, dramatic critics, and novelists of the day—showing the widespread interest taken in the memorial.

[25] Edmund Shakespeare is described in the Burial Register as "a Player," to which the Monthly Account adds that he was "buried in the church with a forenoon knell of the great bell," costing 20s. (Vide Dr. Thompson's "History.")

[26] The present elevation of the altar at St. Saviour's has been criticised as above the level which a strict adherence to precedent, here and elsewhere, required.

[27] E.g., Christ Church Priory, St. Alban's Abbey, All Souls', Oxford, and Winchester Cathedral.

[28] See an interesting article signed "E.I.C." (E.J. Carlos), in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1834, Part i, pp. 151-154.

[29] In Pennant "History of London" (1790), and Moss and Nightingale's "History and Antiquities of St. Saviour's Church" (1817-1818), the retro-choir is spoken of as "The Chapel of the Virgin Mary," in distinction from that then known as "the Bishop's Chapel."

[30] In Seymour's "History" (1734), written when the figure was standing upright, it is described as "new painted and flourished up, and looking somewhat dreadful."

In Pennant's "History of London" (vol. i, edit. 1801), it is said to have been removed from the north transept to make room for the Lockyer monument (1672), and then set up against the north wall.

[31] For full particulars of the organ the reader is referred to the specification in the Appendix, as furnished by the builders, Messrs. Lewis and Co., Limited, Ferndale Road, Brixton, S.W.

[32] The veneration in which her name is held is further attested in the parish, where the old street in the Borough, till recent years known as King Street, has been renamed Newcomen Street.



CHAPTER IV

THE DIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK

The two dioceses with which St. Saviour's Church and parish have hitherto been associated are Winchester and Rochester. The former was originally one of the largest in England, extending as it did in one direction from the south of London to the Channel Islands; the latter the smallest of all, covering only a portion of the county of Kent. Various changes have been made from time to time in the area of both in attempts to equalise the duties of their Bishops, and to meet other altering conditions. Of these changes the first that concerns us was that made in August, 1877, when the parishes wholly or partly within the parliamentary divisions of East and Mid Surrey (with two exceptions) were transferred from the dioceses of Winchester and London to Rochester. The Borough of Southwark, including St. Saviour's Church, was thus brought from the jurisdiction of the first to the last of these dioceses. In the following year the portion of Surrey included in the transfer was formed into the new Archdeaconry of Southwark; and a few months later (August, 1878) the patronage of the benefices thus transferred, and hitherto held by the Bishops of London and Winchester, was vested in the Bishop of Rochester. In 1879, in 1886, and again in 1901, the Rural Deaneries of Rochester were rearranged, thus shifting more or less the boundaries of the Southwark Archdeaconry. But the area of the Rochester Diocese was left undisturbed till 1904, when "the Southwark and Birmingham Bishoprics Act" of that year allowed the Diocese of Southwark to be formed out of it. St. Saviour's had been popularly known as a pro-Cathedral for some years previous to 1905, when it was formally constituted the Cathedral of Southwark. The architecture of the fabric, with its long history and associations, had long pointed to this fine church for the purpose, for which it was further prepared by Sir Arthur Blomfield's restoration, begun in 1890.

Dr. Anthony Wilson Thorold was appointed to the See of Rochester in 1877, and translated to Winchester in 1891. It was, therefore, in his time that the first diocesan changes affecting St. Saviour's were made, and the restoration of the church was actively taken in hand. By far the most important part of this work was the rebuilding of the nave, which he had the satisfaction of seeing well advanced before his translation. Some of his predecessors had become alive to the necessity of reducing the onerous duties of the See, but it was left to him to give effect to their wishes by the creation of the Archdeaconry of Southwark, with an eye to its forming the nucleus of a separate diocese. His successor, Dr. Randall Thomas Davidson, now Archbishop of Canterbury, lent his full energies to the work thus begun, in which he was ably supported by the Suffragan Bishop of Southwark, Dr. Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs, consecrated in 1891 and promoted to the See of Worcester in 1905 in consequence of the episcopal changes brought about by the Act of Parliament just mentioned. Before Dr. Davidson's removal to Winchester in 1895, besides supervising the restoration of Rochester Cathedral, he was able to do a good work more directly concerning the Southwark Diocese, in the erection of the Bishop's House by Kennington Park. The funds were provided by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners from the sale of Danbury Palace, hitherto the residence of the Bishops of Rochester, but now disposed of as inaccessible and otherwise inconvenient. In place of it the new house was built in the heart of the most thickly peopled part of the diocese, within the Southwark Archdeaconry, and probably in view of its ultimately becoming the residence of the Bishop of Southwark. Dr. Davidson himself was not destined to occupy it, as it was not finished till he was on the eve of translation. On 12th November, 1895, Edward Stuart Talbot was enthroned as his successor in the See of Rochester, and at once took up his abode at Kennington, where he will continue to live at this easy centre of communication between him and his people now that he is Bishop of Southwark.

It will be seen from the accompanying map that the new diocese has been made to include the whole of the county of London south of the Thames, and the Archdeaconry of Kingston, thus reducing the area of Rochester to about half its previous size and relieving it of its most thickly crowded portion.

The population of the diocese of Rochester at the census of 1901 was 2,254,947. The population of the Southwark Diocese at the present time is roughly estimated at 2,000,000, rather more than less. It consists of 294 parishes, ministered to by 687 licensed clergy, or about one to every 3,000 people, except in South London, where the proportion is about one to every 4,000.

Bounded on the north by the Thames, on the east, south, and west by the dioceses of Canterbury, Chichester, and Winchester respectively, the space enclosed presents an irregular figure varying from some three miles in breadth, in its central portion, to about thirteen along its southern frontier, and about twenty in its widest part towards the north. Its greatest length in a straight line from London Bridge to Felbridge is about twenty-five miles. Geographically the map suggests a couple of small continents joined together by a sort of isthmus in the middle, where the breadth is narrowed by the sweeping bays, or inlets, formed by the encroaching dioceses on the right and left.

By Letters Patent, dated 17th May, 1905, Dr. Edward Stuart Talbot, previously Bishop of Rochester, was appointed to the newly-founded See of Southwark. For its better organisation he lost no time in applying to the Crown for the appointment of two Suffragan Bishops, suggesting one for Woolwich, as a place of great national importance and a centre of vigorous municipal and industrial life; the other for Kingston, as representing the ancient and rural side of the diocese. By the approval of His Majesty the appointments were made in the same month, viz.: the Rev. John Cox Leeke, Hon. Canon of Rochester Cathedral and Rural Dean of Woolwich, to be Bishop Suffragan of Woolwich; and the Rev. Cecil Hook, Vicar of All Saints', Leamington, and Hon. Canon of Worcester Cathedral, to be Bishop Suffragan of Kingston-on-Thames.

In one sense the most important difficulty to be overcome in the formation of the new diocese was the raising of the capital to provide for the endowment, a sine qua non to the Parliamentary sanction. The requisite sum was provided by voluntary contributions, great and small, throughout the undivided diocese of Rochester, and throughout the country; not the least interesting item being the "shilling fund," promoted by the Rev. T.B. Dover, Vicar of Maiden, which resulted in an Easter offering of exactly L2,200. The capital was brought up to L109,000 by the time the new appointments were made. It is intended to provide a minimum income of L3,000 for the Bishop of Southwark, and a house for his successor in the See of Rochester, in lieu of the house at Kennington Park, transferred from the old to the new diocese. The funds of the latter have since been augmented by a grant of L25,000 from the Bishop of London, out of the compensation money (L100,000), paid by the City and South London Electric Railway Company for undermining the City Church of St. Mary Woolnoth in order to build a station. This sum of L25,000 is specially destined for church extension, and Dr. Talbot set apart L2,000 of it, directly it was granted, for that purpose in the Woolwich area.

Mr. Harry Lloyd, of Woodlands, Caterham, is acting as Hon. Treasurer to the fund which has been opened for the complete equipment of the diocese.

The Cathedral Church of St. Saviour is as yet without endowment, and depends entirely upon voluntary offerings for its expenses. These were estimated on the average at about L2,500 till last year, when the cost of maintenance amounted to L3,096, besides which about L350 was required for the College of Clergy. Attention was called to this matter by the Ven. Archdeacon Taylor during his Visitation held in the Cathedral on 25th May, 1905, when he made an earnest appeal to the church people of the diocese for their help and sympathy on behalf of the Cathedral, the Bishop and his Suffragans, and all concerned in the work.

The duties before them, in the arrangement and control of the various elements of which the diocese is composed, will obviously not be light, but ought to be extremely interesting and rewarding. They will have to deal with extremes, which may there be said to meet, in a combination of rural and urban, ancient and modern, commercial, industrial, and aristocratic life, a variety in unity such as the Catholic Church itself presents, of which the diocese may be regarded as a miniature.

"In veste varietas sit: scissura non sit."





APPENDIX

I

LIST OF THE PRIORS OF ST. MARY OVERIE

Appointed. 1. Aldgod 1106 2. Algar 1130 3. Warin 1132 4. Gregory 1142 5. Ralph 1150 6. Richard 1154 7. Valerianus 1163 8. William de Oxenford 1189 9. Richard de St. Mildred 1203 10. William Fitz Samari 1205 11. Martin 1206 12. Robert de Oseney 1218 13. Humphrey 1223 14. Eustachius 1240 15. Stephen 1253 16. Alan 1266 17. William Wallys 1283 18. Peter de Cheyham 1306 19. Thomas de Southwark 1326 20. Robert de Welles 1331 21. John de Peckham 1348 22. Henry Collingbourne 1359 23. John Kyngeston 1395 24. Robert Weston 1397 25. Henry Werkeworth 1414 26. John Bottisham 1452 27. Henry de Burton 1462 28. Richard Briggs 1486 29. John Reculver 1491 30. Richard Michell 1499 31. Robert Shouldham 1512 32. Bartholomew Linstede 1513 (alias Fowle)

The last-named surrendered the Priory to Henry VIII in 1540, when he was granted a pension of L100 per annum, and the use of a house within the close. The aggregate granted to the other annuitants (eleven in number), amounted to L70. The pensions were to be paid half yearly. The annual value of the Priory at the surrender was estimated at L656 10s., from which "Reprisals," amounting to L32 3s. 6d., were deducted by the Commissioners, leaving L624 6s. 6d. net.



II

THE PRIORY SEAL

The impressions given (p. 103) are taken from a fine, but imperfect, sulphur cast in the British Museum (4050 lxxii, 66 and 67) of the Seal in use in the twelfth century. It is circular, about 2-3/8 inches in diameter, and contains, within a vesical compartment, a figure of the Blessed Virgin, seated on a carved throne, holding a fleur-de-lis in her right hand, and supporting with her left the Infant Saviour upon her knee. The Holy Child is distinguished by a cruciform nimbus, while that of the Virgin is a plain circle. The Child is raising the right hand in benediction, and holds in the left an orb. The vesica is bordered with a double dotted line, containing the salutation: "Ave: Maria: gracia: plena: Dns: tecum: benedicta." A similar border, immediately within the circumference, holds the legend: "Sigillum ecclesie sancte Marie de Suthewercha."

The space between the circumference and the vesica is occupied on each side by two angels, with expanded wings, those above issuing from waves, those below kneeling.

The reverse contains a small counterseal, 1-3/8 inch in diameter. The figure is an angel, with nimbus and expanded wings, issuing from waves, with (probably) an orb in the hands.

The inscription: "Ave: Mater: Misericordie."

It may be mentioned that the design of the seal varied with different Priors. The British Museum possesses several casts, and an original in red wax (attached to a deed), the design on which is indistinguishable. The specimen chosen appears to be the most interesting and elaborate, though not the most ancient, of those in the collection.



III

LIST OF THE CHAPLAINS OF ST. SAVIOUR'S

(Compiled by the Rev. Dr. Thompson, and here reproduced by his permission.)

Appointed. 1. Rev. Kelle 1563 2. James Holyland 1564 3. Harman 1565 4. Styles 1578 5. Smythe 1582 6. Pattersle 1585 7. Hansonne 1585 8. Thos. Rattdcliffe 1585 9. M. Ed. Philips 1589 10. Butterton 1599 11. Marberry 1601 12. Currie 1603 13. Knapp 1604 14. Snape 1604 15. Church 1605 16. Symonds 1605 17. Francis 1606 18. James Archar 1614 19. Dr. Thomas Sutton 1615 20. Harris 1623 21. P. Micklethwaite 1625 22. Rev. Nicolas Morton 1627 23. Stephen Watkins 1654 24. Robert Knightly 1656 25. Dr. William Hoare 1678 26. Dr. Samuel Barton 1687 27. Dr. H. Sacheverell 1705 28. Dr. Thomas Horne 1709 29. Wainford 1724 30. Dr. Benj. Slocock 1725 31. John Smith 1729 32. Thomas Jones 1753 33. William Day 1762 34. Sambrook Russell 1768 35. Philip Batteson 1769 36. W. Winkworth 1794 37. W. Mann 1804 38. Thomas Bird 1807 39. Dr. W. Harrison 1808 40. W. Curling 1833 41. S. Benson 1843 42. Dr. W. Thompson 1879

NOTE.—An interval of over twenty years will be noticed between Nos. 24 and 25, during which the names of other "Ministers" appear in the Registers.

It was the rule for two Chaplains to be in office at once till 1881, when Dr. Thompson was made sole Chaplain. In 1885 he was appointed Rector, and in 1897 Canon and Chancellor of the Collegiate Church.

The Rev. Mr. Kelle was dismissed in January, 1564, for refusing to wear a surplice at the Communion; but in consideration of his old age he was presented with the sum of L4, "by the good wyllys" of the Vestry and Churchwardens.

Messrs. Holyland and Harman were then elected, as of a more compliant temper, their "wages" being fixed at L20 a year "and not the christenings, and to leave at a fortnight's warning." Mrs. Holyland was to receive "for her wages" ten shillings.

By far the most prominent in the list is Dr. Sacheverell. The two sermons which led to his impeachment were preached at the Derby Assizes on 15th August, and at St. Paul's Cathedral on 5th November, 1709. These, with his published Answer and the Speech in his Defence, delivered at Westminster Hall on the 7th March, 1710, are still exciting reading.



IV

VESTMENTS, PLATE, AND ORNAMENTS AT ST. SAVIOUR'S[33]

An examination was made on the 20th October, 1552, by the agents "assigned and appointed by the Commissioners, and by them sworn truly to enquire and find out the whole of all such plate, jewels, and ornaments, as since the beginning of the King's reign that now is belonged to the Church of Saint Saviour in Southwark, as far as in them lieth."

The duty of the agents involved a comparison of the goods which they actually found in the church with the existing inventories, the most important of which was the inventory made on 26th February, 1548, by the retiring Wardens, and handed to their successors in office with the property transferred to their care at the same time. The contents of this inventory are as follows; the entries, however, have been shortened and the spelling modernised:

Two principal copes of blue tissue "with priest, deacon, and sub-deacon, with all their apparel."[34]

Three other principal copes of the same material with ut supra.

Three principal copes of red tissue with ut supra.

A cope of cloth of gold with ut supra (lacking two albes and two head-pieces).[35]

A cope of blue velvet embroidered with flowers with ut supra.

Three copes of white camlet embroidered with flowers with ut supra (lacking two head-pieces and two "fannelles").[36]

Three copes of white damask, with holy-water "sprynkes" with ut supra.

A cope of white damask with flowers.

A cope of blue tinsel.

A cope of red worsted with flowers, and his vestment of the same, and a deacon of red damask, lacking an albe.

A cope of blue worsted with l. and x.

A cope of silk "bawdekyn"[37] for Sundays.

A cope of black worsted with priest, deacon, and subdeacon, with all their apparel.

Two "desk-cloths"[38] of blue with x. and l.

Two "desk-cloths" of silk with images.

A cope of white tissue given by "Maister Fowle."[39]

WORKDAY VESTMENTS.[40]

A vestment of red damask with an albe.

A vestment of red velvet with a green cross.[41]

A vestment of blue velvet with x. and l. and his albe.

A vestment of red velvet embroidered with moons and stars.[42]

A vestment of satin of Bruges, with a green cross, and a picture of Our Lady and her Son.

A vestment of red "bawdkyn," with a lion of gold.

A vestment of "bawdkyn," with a crucifix.

A "cross-cloth"[43] of purple damask, with an image of the Trinity of gold.

A "cross-cloth" of the same material, with St. Margaret.

A "cross-cloth" of green sarcenet, with the Assumption of Our Lady in gold.

Two "lawnes" for the cross,[44] one blue and one white, both fringed with gold.

Two "canabye-cloths,"[45] one of cloth of gold, the other of blue velvet with flowers of gold, both fringed.

Seven corporas-cases.[46]

A fore front of cloth of tissue.

Two pieces of blue velvet, with flower-de-luces.

A fore front of white damask embroidered.

Two cloths of tissue for the High Altar.

A fore front of red worsted.

A cloth of red and blue to hang over the table of the High Altar.[47]

A veil for Lent in the chancel.

Two hangings for Our-Lady altar (above and beneath) of red tissue.

Hangings for the same altar[48] (above and beneath) of white and green damask embroidered with flowers.

Hangings of the Trinity altar, of red damask with flowers of gold.

Hangings of red silk for the same altar, with a picture of the Trinity and Our Lady.

Another hanging of white taffata, with the Passion of Christ.

A black hearse-cloth[49] of worsted, with a white cross.

ST. JOHN'S ALTAR.

Hangings, above and beneath, of cloth of gold.

Two hangings of blue damask embroidered.

Two hangings of white chamlet embroidered with flowers.

Hangings of russet sarcenet embroidered with "iij levyd gresse."[50]

One hanging of "dornyx."

BANNER-CLOTHS.

Two streamers of sarcenet, one blue, the other green.

Fourteen "cross-cloths," banner-cloths of all sorts, good and bad, silk and other.

ALTAR-CLOTHS, ETC.

Eight altar-cloths of diaper, and four plain.

Nine surplices.

Three towels—two of diaper and one plain.

A cushion of green silk.[51]

A carpet[52] before the high altar.

LATTEN.

One holy-water pot.

Two pair of great standards.[53]

One pair of small [standards].

The best hearse-cloth of St. Katherine.[54]

The Trinity hearse-cloth.[55]

Two other hearse-cloths, good and bad.[56]

PLATE.

A monstrance of silver and gilt,[57] with a "burrall" (= beryl).

Two candlesticks of silver and parcel gilt.[58]

A pax of silver and gilt, with a "burrall."[59]

Two basons of silver and parcel gilt.[60]

A pair of censers of silver parcel gilt.[61]

A ship[62] of silver parcel gilt.

A single cross of silver parcel gilt.

A "maser" with a border and a "knop" of silver all gilt.[63]

Two pieces of silver "knoppis which was in the brest of the image of the Resurrection."

Other lists follow, and contain goods and ornaments that were missing, or that had been sold by various churchwardens since the beginning of the reign of Edward VI.

From these we learn that the church had also possessed such vestments and ornaments as the following:

"Item a vestment of blewe velvyt with a crosse of redde velvyt sprenged with gold with all thinges perteyninge to the same."

"All thinges perteyninge to the same" here includes the vestments for the assistants, and the stoles, maniples, and apparels.

"Item a vestment of white bustyan, with a redde cross and all thinges perteyninge to the same."

Evidently vestments of coarse white stuff such as were universal in England during the first four weeks of Lent, cf. the "ash-coloured," or white vestments still worn on weekdays in Lent in the South of France.

"Item an altar cloth hanginge afore the altare of redde silke with a crucyfix."

This was probably the frontal used in Passiontide, i.e., from Passion Sunday until Easter. Other Lenten ornaments were the following:

"Item iiij paynted clothes for altar clothes in Lent."

"Item iij paynted clothes to hange upon saynt Katerynes and saynt Margarettes in Lent."

The following is an interesting description of a panelled or striped frontal and frontlet:

"Item an altar cloth for the frontur of thalter of redde velvyt and yelowe & redde damask in paynes with Kateryn wheles in the bordour above."

The sales are quoted as realising in all L165 17s. 8d., but an addition of the separate items does not result in this total.

The difficulties in the way of an exact calculation are (1) lax or ambiguous entries, e.g.:

"Item iiij chalyces wayng liiij onz. wherof ij communyon cuppis were made by the said Calton (purchaser of a previous lot) waynge but lij onz.... xvijs viii.d"

(2) The omission of prices, and (3) the disappearance of articles quoted as "myssinge at the praysement of the vestry stuff," or (4) "myssinge and not delyveryd to the now Churche wardens neither sold or accompted for to thuse of the Churche."

The conclusion arrived at by the representatives of the parish is thus stated: "And where yt is a parcell of our othe to present howe and to what use the moneye cummynge of the sale of our ornamentes and plate is employd and in what place of our church it is bestowed, to that we saye yt is not in our wyttes to tell ... and surly yf there be not moche more reparacyons done upon the said churche shortly yt will utterly dekay."

The list of "plate and other things" left in the church is as follows:

Two communion cups with a cover all gilt.

Nineteen albes and six amices, lacking all their apparel, "whereof the wardens have made sixteen surplices for the choir, which was all that could be made of them."

Towels and tablecloths, good and bad, diaper and plain xij.

A cushion of green silk.

Three hearse-cloths, one of Our Lady, another of Saynt Katheryne, and one of blue and red velvet.

Six "bells of accorde" and one small bell.

Which bells the parish bought of the late king of famous memory king Henry the eight at the purchesing of the hole church.

A bible and a paraphrases.

Three communion books and four psalters printed.

Two pair of good organs furnished.

A chest with two locks for the alms for the poor.

Five "great pieces of leed squayr lyeinge upon the bellowes."

This is followed by a Memorandum, which is not without a touch of humour under the circumstances, pointing out that "it appears in the accounts of Nycholas Stokbrige and his companions (Wardens of the first and second year) that they have not charged themselves in their book a good carpet and a chapel bell."

(Signed by) THOMAS DYSON, ROGER PYLFOLD, and THOMAS DOWMAN.

The Inventories are given in extenso among the "Inventories of the Goods and Ornaments of the Churches in the County of Surrey in the reign of Edward VI," carefully edited by J.R. Daniel Tyssen, Esq., F.S.A., for the "Surrey Archaeological Collections," from the original documents in the Public Record Office.

FOOTNOTES:

[33] The explanations in the footnotes have been kindly furnished by Mr. F.C. Eeles, Secretary to the Alcuin Club.

[34] The term "vestment" was often used to include not merely the chasuble, but also the other vestments of the celebrant and his assistant ministers; sometimes it also included the vestments of the altar, the frontal and upper frontal; it nearly always included the apparels, sometimes also the albe and amice, but at other times these were reckoned separately among the linen.

Sometimes the vestments for the celebrant, the gospeller, and the epistoler, were called "priest, deacon, and subdeacon," instead of chasuble, dalmatic, and tunicle. Sometimes the last two vestments (often identical in appearance) were both called dalmatics, or "deacons," or were both called tunicles.

Apparels were pieces of coloured or embroidered material sewn on to the albe and amice; they were on the skirt and sleeves of the former, and the amice apparel was like a large embroidered collar. These additions to the albe and amice were always used in England, and of course lace was unknown in old times.