Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Salisbury Part 9

=Walter Kerr Hamilton= (1854-1869). Author of a "Letter on Cathedral Reform," which followed his exhaustive contribution to the Cathedral Commission Reports, 1853.

=George Moberley= (1869-1885). Head Master of Winchester, 1835-1866.

=John Wordsworth= (1885).

[Ill.u.s.tration: BRa.s.s OF BISHOP WYVILLE (_see_ P. 66).]

FOOTNOTES:

[10] 14th May, 1228. _Vide_ "Hist. Dunelm. Script.," App. lii.

[11] Others say Tarrant Monkton.

[12] This statement is open to doubt.

THE CLOSE AND CHURCHES.

The =King's House=, which faces the west front, on the western side of the Close, is a stately building, wherein, tradition says, monarchs have dwelt. Richard III. is said to have been housed there when the Duke of Buckingham was brought prisoner to Salisbury; and in the reign of James I. its owner, Sir Thomas Sadler, was often honoured by visits from that monarch. Underneath the great gateway which pierces the building, in the north wall, is the shaft of a "sack lift," a curious relic of mediaeval times. The fine proportions and st.u.r.dy treatment of the architecture of this house deserve study. It is now used as a training establishment for school mistresses. Close by is the Deanery, and to the south a building known as the =Wardrobe House=; which name is supposed to indicate its use in connection with the King's House; still farther south is =Leden Hall= (or Leyden Hall), hidden behind trees, so that from the Close you can but catch a glimpse of the building by Elias de Derham, to which reference has been made earlier in this book. In the other direction are the =Theological College=, a very lovely and s.p.a.cious building, the =Choristers' School=, and many private houses of great antiquity and considerable beauty. Indeed, it is possible that at no other place could you find such a display of English domestic architecture, from mediaeval to Georgian times. The beauty of the Close, well wooded as it still is, despite the havoc wrought by the terrible gale in March, 1897, is not to be put into words. No matter how praise were lavished in a description, it would yet be inadequate. But whether you see it for the first time, or after many visits, it still keeps its place as the most perfect thing of its sort in the world.

The =High Street Gate=, which from its position may be regarded as the chief entrance to the Close, is an embattled structure of two stories, built, as the pieces of Norman stone work clearly show, from material brought from Old Sarum. In the niche above the arch on the south side is a figure, popularly supposed to represent Charles I., although its proportions more nearly resemble those of James I. It is said that a statue of Henry III. originally occupied the niche. To the left, as you have pa.s.sed the gateway, stands the picturesque =Matron's College= founded and endowed by Bishop Seth Ward in 1685. Also on the left is a house formerly occupied by Canon Bowles, and still earlier by Archdeacon Cole, both Salisbury worthies with more than local reputation.

=St. Ann's Gate= is in the east wall of the Close, in the southern angle. It is a long, low two-storied building, with two light perpendicular windows in the upper story, and from the street outside, where a projecting window is a noticeable feature, is very picturesque. In common with the other gates and with the walls of the Close, Norman stones moulded and carved are visible in many places. A house near the south side was occupied by Fielding, who moved afterwards next door to the Friary in St. Ann's Street, and finally to another at Milford Hill, where he wrote "Tom Jones."

=Harnham Gate= near the south boundary is but a fragment, an embattled archway devoid of an upper story. Near this gateway, just outside the precincts, stood the ancient college of De Vaux, founded in 1260 by Bishop Bridport.

=The Bishop's Palace= is not visible from the Close, but can be seen through a doorway in the cloisters. It is set in the midst of delightful gardens, a rambling picturesque building dating from many periods. Bishop Poore began it--Bishop Beauchamp built its great hall; within its walls are portraits of all the bishops of Salisbury since the Restoration.

=The Hospital of St. Nicholas= is situated between Harnham Gate and Harnham Bridge. The charter of its endowment dates from the castle of Old Sarum in September, 1227. It still shelters a dozen inmates in a most picturesque house, part of the original structure. On an islet is a more modern building, which is on the foundation of the chapel of St. John, suppressed at the Reformation.

=The Church House=, as it is now called, was formerly known as Audley House, and belonged to the Earl of Castlehaven who was beheaded in 1631, and his property divided between the bishop and others. It is most picturesquely placed by Crane Bridge.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SOUTH FRONT. HIGH STREET GATE. NORTH FRONT.

_From Photographs by Carl Norman and Co._]

=The Poultry Cross= is still standing near the Market Place. At one time a sundial and ball crowned the structure, but these have been replaced by a cross. Close by it and scattered frequently throughout the streets of the city are overhanging houses that betray their antiquity at a glance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CHURCH HOUSE.

_From a Photograph by Witcomb and Son, Salisbury._]

=The Guildhall=, a very interesting building as engravings show, was demolished at the end of the eighteenth century. The Joiners Hall, the Tailors Hall, the Hall of John Halle, the Old George, are still standing, with some of their features modified but not sufficiently altered to deprive them of interest.

=The Church of St. Thomas a Becket= is a most picturesque structure, and, placed as it is in a square of old tiled houses, makes a delightful picture. It consists of a nave with two aisles, a chancel with aisles, and a vestry room. It was built in 1240 by Bishop Bingham. The embattlemented tower has in its south front two niches containing much mutilated figures of the Virgin and Child and St.

Thomas a Becket. In the porch is a very curious panel with a biblical subject rudely carved by Humphrey Beckham, who died, aged eighty-eight, in 1671, and left this as his memorial. The most striking feature of the interior is the large painting above the chancel arch, representing the Day of Judgment, in the nave manner of its time. A reproduction will be found in h.o.a.re's "Modern Wiltshire"

(vol. 6), and most works on ecclesiastical mural decoration mention it as one of the most important examples that have come down to us. Other paintings in the south aisle were brought to light by Mr. G.E. Street during the restoration in 1867. Without and within it is a building hardly less worth study than the cathedral itself.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE POULTRY CROSS.

_From a Photograph by Carl Norman and Co._]

=St. Edmund=, founded by Bishop de la Wyle in 1268 for a Provost and twelve secular canons, is at the north-east of the city. To the east of its churchyard is the college of St. Edmunds, on the site of the convent founded in 1268 by the same bishop. In the grounds of the college stands the old north transept porch of the cathedral, a picturesque ruin whose architecture at once disposes of the theory that it came from Old Sarum.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD PLAN OF SALISBURY.]

=St. Martin= is another church of very ancient foundation, containing an interesting Norman font.

It is impossible to close even the most brief note of objects of interest at, or near, Salisbury, without naming George Herbert's church, Bemerton, and Stonehenge; two places which attract pilgrims from all parts of the world. Yet no s.p.a.ce is left to describe them, or to refer to Henry Lawes, musician, and Philip Ma.s.singer, dramatist, two of the many famous men who had the city for their birthplace. The cathedral has been the main object of this volume, and other matters, interesting though they may be, must needs be left untouched here.

THE END.