Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ely Part 8

He was succeeded by #Eustace# (1198-1215), Archdeacon of Richmond, Treasurer of York, Dean of Salisbury, and Keeper of the Great Seal. He was one of the bishops to whom was entrusted the invidious employment of publishing the excommunication of King John and putting the kingdom under an interdict. For this, in 1209, he was outlawed, and had to leave the country. Upon the king's submission in 1213, he (with Archbishop Stephen Langton and three other bishops) returned to England. He built the galilee at the west end of the church. He died in 1215 at Reading.

Robert of York was chosen by the monks to succeed him. They had at first selected Geoffrey de Burgh, but for some reason that does not appear they altered their minds before making their selection known. Robert got possession of the temporalities, and even gave away preferments that were in the bishop's gift, for five years; but the king never consented to his appointment, nor was he ever consecrated. He took the part of the French against the king, who at last applied to the pope to nominate some one else to the See of Ely. Accordingly, upon the recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Legate Pandulph, and the Bishop of Salisbury, who had been authorised by the pope to make the selection, #John Pherd# (1220-1225), Abbot of Fountains, hence called De Fontibus, was made bishop. He was also Treasurer of England. He died at Downham in 1225, and was succeeded by the same #Geoffrey De Burgh# (1225-1228) who had at first been elected by the convent upon the death of Eustace. He was Archdeacon of Norwich, and brother to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. He gave much costly plate to the monastery, as well as three hundred acres of land.

Upon his death, #Hugh Norwold# or Northwold (1229-1254), Abbot of Bury S. Edmunds, became bishop. He had been a justice itinerant. He was one of the emba.s.sy sent to conduct to England the king's bride, Eleanor of Provence. "He was one of the most eminent examples of piety and virtue in his time." He is especially commended for his hospitality and liberality to the poor; and he was a great benefactor to the monastery.

He spent more than 5000 on the fabric of the church, and built the palace. The six eastern bays of the presbytery are his work. After removing to this new part of the church the remains of the three sainted abbesses and S. Withburga and also the so-called relics of S. Alban, he dedicated the whole church on September 17th, 1252, in the presence of King Henry III. and his son, Prince Edward. Bishop Norwold died at Downham in 1254, and was buried at the feet of S. Etheldreda, where a splendid monument was erected over his body, now removed to the north side of the presbytery, beneath the third arch from the east.

The next bishop was #William De Kilkenny# (1255-1256), Archdeacon of Coventry and chancellor of the king. After his consecration, which took place ten months after his election, he only lived thirteen months. He was consecrated by Archbishop Boniface at Belley, in Savoy, a place near the Rhone, about forty miles east of Lyons. He died in Spain while negotiating a treaty, and was there buried, at Sugho. His heart was brought to Ely.

#Hugh Belsham# (1257-1286) the sub-prior, came next. He founded Peterhouse (now S. Peter's College) at Cambridge. He had been elected in defiance of the king's recommendation, and the king tried to annul his election; but he proceeded to Rome, and was actually consecrated there by the pope. It is in connection with his election that we learn that the custom of the monks was to depute the election of a bishop to a committee of seven chosen from among themselves. Bishop Hugh died at Doddington in 1286.

The next bishop, #John Kirkby# (1286-1290), although at the time of his appointment Dean of Wimborne, Archdeacon of York, and Canon both of Wells and York, was only in deacon's orders. He was accordingly ordained priest one day and consecrated bishop the next. Three years previously he had been elected to the See of Rochester, but had declined it. He had also been Chancellor and Treasurer of England. He gave to his successors a house in Holborn, which formed the nucleus of the grand palace afterwards erected, adjacent property being subsequently acquired. He died in 1290.

His successor, #William De Louth# (1290-1298) was not even in holy orders at all when elected; yet he held prebends at S. Paul's, York, and Lincoln, the Archdeaconry of Durham, and the Deanery of S.

Martin's-le-Grand. He is the only Bishop of Ely who was consecrated at Ely (it was in S. Mary's Church, not the cathedral), a provincial council of bishops happening to meet there at the time.

#Ralph Walpole# (1299-1302), Bishop of Norwich, was, on the death of Bishop Louth in 1298, translated to Ely; the prior, John Salmon, who had been elected by the monks, being made instead Bishop of Norwich. Walpole had been formerly Archdeacon of Ely. He revised the statutes of the monastery during the short time that he held the see, which was less than three years.

The next bishop, #Robert Orford# (1302-1310), like his predecessor, Hugh Belsham, was consecrated at Rome, though not, as he had been, by the pope himself. The Archbishop of Canterbury had refused his consent to the appointment on the ground that the elect was illiterate, but the pope overruled the objection. He died at Downham in 1310.

A monk of the house, #John Keeton# (1310-1316), succeeded. King Edward II. visited Ely in his time, and while there settled the controversy between Ely and S. Albans as to the true place where the body of the proto-martyr of England was deposited. The remains of S.

Alban had been carried off to Denmark by the Danes, after plundering the abbey raised to his honour, and recovered by a trick. At a later time, fearing again an attack from the Danes, the Abbot of S. Albans sent to Ely a chest containing (so he said) the relics of the martyr for safe custody. When the troubles were over, the monks of Ely sent back the chest, but with other bones in it, supposing that they had thereby secured the true relics for their own church. So the Abbot of S. Albans declared that they were not the true relics that he had sent to Ely, but that he had buried them in a fresh place in his own church. The king, in 1314, decided the matter in favour of S. Albans.

At the death of Bishop Keeton in 1316 the bishopric was conferred upon #John Hotham# (1316-1337), Chancellor of the Exchequer. Bentham calls him Prebendary of York and Rector of Collingham; Browne Willis calls him Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, and Chancellor of the University, and S.T.P., being the first bishop in his list who is credited with any university degree. He was a man of great eminence both as a bishop and as a statesman. In his political capacity he was Lord Chancellor. He was employed more than once on foreign emba.s.sies. He was one of the commissioners to arrange a truce between England and Scotland after the Battle of Myton in 1319, at which he had been present. He was made special commissioner to settle the troubles in Gascony. In his ecclesiastical capacity he added much landed property both to the see and the monastery. He erected the choir, providing for the building of the western bays after the fall of the tower. He obtained confirmatory charters from the king, and also a grant giving to the prior and convent the custody of the temporalities of the see during a vacancy, upon paying to the king, as long as their custody lasted, at the rate of 2000 a year. He died, "vir prudens, Justus, et munificus," in 1337.

The monks desired that their prior, John Crauden, should become bishop; but the king translated hither #Simon Montacute# (1337-1345), Bishop of Worcester. In a letter to the pope about him, in 1318, King Edward II. calls him his cousin (_consanguineus_). He materially a.s.sisted the buildings at the church, particularly the lady-chapel. He died in 1345.

Again the nomination of the monks, in favour of their prior, Alan de Walsingham, was set aside, and #Thomas De Lisle# (1345-1361) became bishop. He was prior of the Dominican Friars at Winchester. For nearly the whole of his episcopate he was engaged in a prolonged controversy with Lady Blanche Wake, a daughter of the Earl of Lancaster--the same lady who afterwards married John of Gaunt and became mother of King Henry IV. Her estates were contiguous to the bishop's manors in Huntingdonshire, and frequent disputes arose about their boundaries. The tenants took violent measures to a.s.sert the claims of their respective landlords, and much litigation ensued. The bishop, by his haughty behaviour, offended both the courts and the king, to whom he appealed; and at last he was constrained to escape to Avignon, then the seat of the pope. Here he had been consecrated; and here, while negotiations were proceeding for settling the dispute, in 1361 he died; and here he was buried.

This time the monks elected, not one of their own body, but the Dean of Lichfield. But once again their nomination was disregarded, and #Simon Langham# (1362-1366) was appointed bishop. He was Abbot of Westminster and Treasurer of England. He had lately declined the See of London. He was afterwards Lord Chancellor, and in 1366 he was translated to Canterbury; but he only remained archbishop till he was created a cardinal in 1368. In 1374 he was appointed Bishop of Praeneste. Like his predecessor, he died and was buried at Avignon. This was in 1376. After three years his body was removed to Westminster Abbey, where his handsome monument is well known. The inscription implies that all the world sorrowed at his death: "Orbe dolente Pater ... ruit."

On his removal to Canterbury, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, #John Barnet# (1366-1373), was translated to Ely. He had been previously Bishop of Worcester, and for a time Treasurer of England. He "beautified" five of the windows in the presbytery. He died at Hatfield in 1373, but was buried at Ely.

His successor was #Thomas Fitz-Alan# (1374-1388), son of the Earl of Arundel, Archdeacon of Taunton. He is said at the time not to have been in holy orders and under twenty-three years of age. The convent had in vain elected the Archdeacon of Northampton. Bishop Arundel (so he is generally called) was Chancellor of England in 1386, but resigned that office in 1389, the year after he was made Archbishop of York. He ultimately became Archbishop of Canterbury, and died in 1414. He almost rebuilt the Bishop of Ely's palace in London. He fell into disfavour with King Richard II., and was banished; but he returned to England on the accession of King Henry IV. He was buried at Canterbury.

#John Fordham# (1388-1425), who succeeded Bishop Arundel at Ely, was Bishop of Durham. He had been Keeper of the Privy Seal. He died at Downham in 1425, and was followed by #Philip Morgan# (1426-1435), Bishop of Worcester. The king had given licence to the monks to elect, and had recommended his confessor. They elected instead their prior; but neither obtained the see. In Bishop Morgan's time the University of Cambridge secured entire freedom from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishops of Ely: in the time of the previous bishop the University had got rid of the necessity of presenting their chancellor to the Bishop of Ely for confirmation. Bishop Morgan died at Hatfield in 1435, and was buried at the Charterhouse in London.

There was much dispute about the next bishop. The monks chose Fitz-Hugh, Bishop of London; but he died. The king then recommended the Bishop of S. David's; but the monks preferred Thomas Bouchier, Bishop of Worcester, whom the king refused. Bouchier appealed to the pope, who at first confirmed his election; but the bishop-elect was afraid to present the papal bull. This was an opportunity for the king (Henry VI.) "to gratify one of his numerous adherents of the French nation, who had lost their all in that kingdom, and followed his fortunes in this." He accordingly obtained the pope's consent to appoint #Lewis De Luxemburg# (1438-1443), Archbishop of Rouen, to be administrator of the Diocese of Ely, at the same time a.s.signing him the 2000 a year due from the prior and convent to the king during a vacancy. The bulls for Bishop Bouchier's translation from Worcester were revoked. This was in 1438, which is held to be the beginning of Bishop Luxemburg's tenure of the see; but the spiritualities were not legally surrendered to him till the next year, and even then it seems to have been only under the t.i.tle of "Perpetual Administrator of the See of Ely"; and in formal doc.u.ments some time later he still has the same t.i.tle, and even in the pope's bull appointing a new Bishop of Ely after his death. He had been Bishop of Terouanne, Chancellor of Normandy, and Governor of Paris, and was a great upholder in France of the cause of the King of England. He was afterwards cardinal. He was hardly ever in his diocese of Ely. He died at Hatfield in 1443, and was buried at Ely, his heart being taken to Normandy to be interred at Rouen.

There was now no opposition to the appointment of #Thomas Bouchier# (1444-1454), Bishop of Worcester. He was of the blood royal, being grandson of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, son of King Edward III. He was not liked at Ely, where, after his installation, he would never take part in any solemn service. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1454, Lord Chancellor in 1455, and cardinal in 1464. He crowned three kings. He died in 1486 at his palace at Knole, and was buried at Canterbury.

He was succeeded by #William Gray# (1454-1478), Archdeacon of Northampton. He was for a time Treasurer of England and employed as Commissioner and Amba.s.sador. He gave material a.s.sistance to the cost of the works at the west tower of the cathedral, and in various ways improved the presbytery. He was a great benefactor to Balliol College, Oxford. He died at Downham in 1478.

The next bishop was #John Morton# (1479-1486). He had held very numerous preferments, including no less than five archdeaconries, and was Master of the Rolls. He was made Lord Chancellor in the same year that he was appointed to Ely. While bishop he executed some important works to improve the navigation and drainage of the fens. The great artificial cut between Peterborough and Wisbech which he constructed is still called Morton's Learn. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486, and cardinal in 1493. He died at Knole in 1500, and was buried at Canterbury.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE, LOOKING EAST.

_Photochrom Co. Ltd. Photo._]

#John Alc.o.c.k# (1486-1500) succeeded him at Ely. He was Bishop of Worcester, previously of Rochester, and had been for a few months Lord Chancellor. He founded Jesus College, Cambridge, upon the dissolution of the ancient nunnery of S. Rhadegund. He was a great architect, and erected many costly buildings. He built the great hall in the palace at Ely, much improved the palace at Downham, founded a school at Hull, and erected a chapel in the church there, and built the beautiful chapel in Ely Cathedral, where his body now lies. He died at Wisbech in 1500.

After nearly a year's interval, #Richard Redman# (1501-1505) became bishop. He was Bishop of Exeter, previously of S. Asaph. He died at Ely House in London in 1505.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BISHOP WEST'S CHAPEL.

_Photochrom Co. Ltd. Photo._]

The next bishop was #James Stanley# (1506-1515), son of the first Earl of Derby. Among other preferments he held was the Wardenship of Manchester. He built part of Somersham palace, and was a considerable benefactor to the Collegiate Church of Manchester, where he was ultimately buried, although he left directions in his will to be buried at Ely. His numerous promotions are possibly due to the influence of his stepmother, the famous Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby, the mother of King Henry VII. He was very little at Ely, and bore an indifferent moral character. The quaint set of verses[3] drawing his character says there was "little Priest's metal in him," that he was "a goodly tall man as any in England," that he was made bishop "for his wisdom and parentage," that he was "a great Viander as any in his days,"

which last expression probably means that he was unduly given to hospitality. He died at Manchester in 1515.

#Nicholas West# (1515-1533) who succeeded him, was the son of a baker. He had been employed in foreign emba.s.sies, and was Dean of Windsor and Archdeacon of Derby. He lived in great splendour, and relieved the poor with much bounty. He was a benefactor to King's College, Cambridge, where he had been fellow. He took the part of Queen Katherine of Arragon, to whom he was chaplain, in the question of the divorce; and the disfavour into which he consequently fell with the king is thought to have hastened his death, which took place in 1533.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BRa.s.s OF BISHOP GOODRICH, LORD CHANCELLOR TO EDWARD VI., DIED 1554. (He holds the Great Seal in his right hand.)]

#Thomas Goodrich# (1533-1554) was a "zealous forwarder of the Reformation." He was one of the revisers of the translation of the New Testament, and a.s.sisted in the compilation of the Prayer-book. He was also Lord Chancellor. In his time, in 1539, the monastery was surrendered to the king. All the inmates were pensioned or otherwise provided for. Dugdale gives the revenues of the monastery at its dissolution as 1084 6_s._ 9_d._; Speed says 1301 8_s._ 2_d._ Bishop Goodrich's monumental bra.s.s in the cathedral is a very important example of such memorials. He died at Somersham in 1554.

#Thomas Thirlby# (1554-1559) was Bishop of Norwich, having been previously the first and only Bishop of Westminster. "He is said to have been a discreet moderate man"; but he lived in troublous times, and had the distasteful task of committing some so-called heretics to the flames. He was dispossessed of his bishopric soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, and sent to the Tower. He was, however, soon released, and permitted to live in retirement with Archbishop Parker at Lambeth, where he died and was buried in 1570.

#Richard c.o.x# (1559-1581) was Dean of Westminster and of Christ Church, Oxford. He was much troubled at the series of alienations of the property of the see insisted upon by the Government, and used every effort to secure what he could for his successors; and for this opposition, and also for his being married, he fell under the queen's disfavour, and many times solicited permission to resign his see, but he remained bishop till his death in 1581.

For eighteen years the see was vacant, all the revenues being absorbed by the Crown. At last #Martin Heaton# (1600-1609) was made bishop. He was Dean of Winchester. He has the reputation of having been a pious, hospitable man, and a good preacher. He died at Mildenhall, in Suffolk, in 1609.

His successor was the famous #Lancelot Andrewes# (1609-1619), Bishop of Chichester. He was a man "of extraordinary endowments, very pious and charitable, of a most blameless life, an eminent Preacher, of universal learning, and one of those princ.i.p.ally concerned in the new Translation of the Bible." He became Bishop of Winchester in 1619, and died in 1626, being buried at S. Saviour's, Southwark. Milton has a Latin elegy upon his death, written when the poet was in his seventeenth year. Dean Duport[4] has also a short poem in the form of an epitaph on him, in which occur these lines:

"Hoc sub nomine quippe continentur Virtus, ingenium, eruditioque, Fides, et pietas, amorque veri, Doctrinae jubar, Orthodoxiaeque Ingens destina, schismatis flagellum, Tortor tortilis illius Draconis, Scutum Ecclesiae et ensis Anglicanae Contra bella, minas, et arma Romae."

#Nicolas Felton# (1619-1626) was Bishop of Bristol. He died in 1626, and was buried at S. Antholin's, London, where he had been rector.

#John Buckridge# (1628-1631) succeeded after an interval of eighteen months. He was Bishop of Rochester. "A Person of great Learning and Worth, and a true Son of the Church of England." He died in 1631, and was buried at Bromley in Kent, near the palace of the Bishops of Rochester.

#Francis White# (1631-1638) was Bishop of Norwich, previously of Carlisle. Dying in 1638, he was buried in S. Paul's Cathedral.

#Matthew Wren# (1638-1667) was also Bishop of Norwich, and previously of Hereford. He was an unflinching supporter of King Charles I. and Archbishop Laud, and had a full share of the sufferings which his principles involved, being imprisoned in the Tower for eighteen years, from which imprisonment he was only released at the Restoration, when of course he was restored to his see. Sir Christopher Wren was his nephew.

He had been fellow of Pembroke, Cambridge, and after the Restoration he built a chapel for his old college, in which he was buried upon his death in 1667.

#Benjamin Laney# (1667-1675) had been Bishop of Peterborough and then of Lincoln. He spent a great deal of money in repairing the palace at Ely, which was much dilapidated. He died in 1675. He is described on his monument as being "facundia amabilis, ac.u.mine terribilis, eruditione auctissimus."

#Peter Gunning# (1675-1684) had been Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, Master of Corpus Christi, and then of S. John's College, and Bishop of Chichester. He composed the prayer "For all Sorts and Conditions of Men" in the Prayer-book. He is very highly praised in the inscription on his monument, which also records that he never was married.

#Francis Turner# (1685-1691) had been Master of S. John's College, Cambridge, also Dean of Windsor and Bishop of Rochester. He was, with six other bishops, sent to the Tower in 1688 for presenting to the king a pet.i.tion which was called a seditious libel. They were committed on June 8th and tried on June 29th. Amidst universal acclamations of joy and enthusiasm they were acquitted. In 1691 Bishop Turner, with Archbishop Sancroft and four other bishops, upon refusing to take the oaths to William and Mary, were deprived of their bishoprics. He lived in retirement for nine years, and died in 1700. He was buried at Therfield, in Hertfordshire, where he had been rector.

#Simon Patrick# (1691-1707) had been Dean of Peterborough and Bishop of Chichester. He was a very learned man and a great writer. His writings, says his epitaph, are superior to any inscription and more lasting than any marble. He died in 1707.

#John Moore# (1707-1714), Bishop of Norwich, was a book-collector, and after his death his library was purchased by the king and presented to the University of Cambridge. He died in 1714.

#William Fleetwood# (1714-1723) was translated to Ely from S. Asaph.

He was a great supporter of the principles of the Revolution, and towards the end of Queen Anne's reign, when the Jacobites seemed to be making very many adherents, he published some sermons, to which was prefixed a preface setting forth his opinion of the dangerous tendency of the views that were being spread so industriously. The House of Commons condemned the book; but upon the arrival of King George, his services were recognised by his translation to Ely. He died at Tottenham in 1723.

#Thomas Greene# (1723-1738) was Bishop of Norwich and previously Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In Masters' history of that college a very high character of him is given, and his publications are greatly praised. He was zealous "for the Protestant Succession in the ill.u.s.trious House of Hanover." He died at Ely House in London in 1738.

His epitaph in the cathedral says he had the credit of diligence, impartiality, and integrity in the administration of his diocese. One expression is curious: "Pietate et Annis gravis, Accepta tandem Rude, Uxori et numerosae Proli ... Flebilis decessit." According to this he was greatly lamented "when he received his discharge."

#Robert b.u.t.ts# (1738-1748), like his predecessor, came from Norwich, where he had been dean and then bishop. He died at Ely House in 1748, possessed (according to the epitaph at Ely) of nearly all the virtues.