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Title: Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury
       with some Account of the Priory Church of Deerhurst Gloucestershire

Author: H. J. L. J. Massé

Release Date: August 7, 2007 [EBook #22260]

Language: English

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   [Illustration: _Photo. D. Gwynne._
   TEWKESBURY ABBEY, FROM THE EAST.]




THE ABBEY CHURCH OF
TEWKESBURY
WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE
PRIORY CHURCH OF
DEERHURST
GLOUCESTERSHIRE

BY
H.J.L.J. MASSÉ, M.A.
Author of "Gloucester Cathedral"
"Mont S. Michel," "Chartres," etc.

WITH XLIV ILLUSTRATIONS


LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS 1906




First published, April, 1900.
Reprinted with corrections, 1901, 1906.




PREFACE.


My heartiest thanks are here expressed to all who have helped me in
any way during the compiling of this book--to Sir Charles Isham, of
Lamport, for allowing me the use of his _Registrum Theokusburiæ_ for
several months, and for permission to reproduce two pages from it; to
Mr. J.T. Micklethwaite for permission to make use of his paper on
_Saxon Churches_ published in the Journal of the Archæological
Institute, and to the Institute for leave to reproduce the three
blocks of Deerhurst; to Mr. W.H. St. John Hope for several
suggestions; to Mr. A.H. Hughes, of Llandudno, Dr. Oscar Clark, and
Mr. R.W. Dugdale, of Gloucester, for so liberally supplementing my own
store of photographs; to Mr. S. Browett, of Tewkesbury, for the loan
of the wood block on page 17; and, lastly, to Mr. W.G. Bannister, the
sacristan of the Abbey, who placed his thorough knowledge of the
building, its records, and its heraldry, together with the whole of
his valuable MS. notes on these points, unreservedly at my disposal.

                                              H.J.L.J.M.




CONTENTS.


CHAPTER                                                           PAGE

  I. History of the Foundation and Fabric of the Abbey Church,
       and Some Account of its Benefactors                           3

 II. The Exterior                                                   29
     North Porch                                                    30
     The Tower                                                      30
     The West Front                                                 32
     The South Side                                                 34
     The Cloisters                                                  34
     The Lady Chapel                                                37

III. The Interior                                                   39
     The Nave                                                       39
     The Roof and its Bosses                                        42
     The Font                                                       43
     The Lectern                                                    44
     The Pulpit                                                     44
     The Screen                                                     45
     The Great West Window                                          46
     The Aisles                                                     47
     North Aisle and its Windows                                    47
     South Aisle and its Windows                                    49
     North Transept                                                 51
     Interior of the Tower                                          53
     St. James' Chapel                                              55
     Early English Lady Chapel                                      57
     St. Margaret's Chapel                                          58
     St. Edmund's Chapel                                            60
     The Clarence Vault                                             62
     St. Faith's Chapel                                             63
     The Vestry                                                     65
     South Transept                                                 68
     The Choir                                                      71
     Altar                                                          74
     Sedilia                                                        75
     Tiles                                                          76
     Windows of the Choir                                           76
     De Clares                                                      77
     Despenser Graves                                               81
     The Tombs and Chantries--Warwick Chapel                        83
     Founder's Chapel                                               88
     The Despenser Monument                                         90
     Trinity Chapel                                                 91
     Tombs in the Ambulatory                                        93
     Abbot Wakeman's Tomb                                           95
     Abbot Cheltenham's Tomb                                        95
     Abbot John's Tomb                                              96
     Abbot Alan's Tomb                                              97
     The Organs                                                     97
     Specification of the Grove Organ                               98
     Church Plate                                                  100
     Church Registers                                              100
     Arms of the Abbey                                             101
     Old Tiles                                                     101
     Abbots of Tewkesbury                                          101
     Dimensions of the Abbey                                       132


DEERHURST.

The Priory Church                                                  105

    Exterior--Tower                                                108
    Interior--The Nave                                             108
    The South Aisle                                                111
    The North Aisle                                                112
    The Font                                                       114
    The Choir                                                      115

The Monastic Buildings                                             121

The Saxon Chapel                                                   123

Index                                                              127




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                  PAGE
Tewkesbury Abbey, from the East                         _Frontispiece_

Arms of the Abbey                                              _Title_

The Abbey, from the North-west                                       2

Tewkesbury Abbey in 1840, by Rev. J.L. Petit                         3

Page from the "Registrum Theokusburiæ"                               5

Richard Beauchamp, first husband of Isabelle Despenser, and his
  Armorial Connexions, from the "Registrum Theokusburiæ"            11

The Detached Bell-tower, demolished in 1817                         17

The West End in 1840, by Rev. J.L. Petit                            19

The Choir before 1864, from an old photograph                       22

The Nave before 1864, from an old photograph                        23

The Abbey Gate                                                      25

Tile showing the Arms of Fitz-Hamon and the Abbey impaled           27

Tewkesbury Abbey, from the North                                    28

The Abbey, from the South                                           31

The Cloister Doorway                                                35

The Nave, from the West End                                         40

Masons' Marks                                                       41

The North Choir Aisle, looking West, showing the back of the
  Despenser Monument                                                52

Interior of the Tower above the Vaulting                            54

Wall Arcade in Early English Chapel                                 57

The Ambulatory, looking towards St. Margaret's Chapel               59

The North Choir Aisle and St. Edmund's Chapel                       61

The Vestry Door, South Choir Aisle                                  66

The Apsidal Chapel, South Transept                                  68

The Choir, looking West                                             72

Rib-centres in the Choir Vault                                      73

The Sedilia                                                         75

The Warwick Chapel                                                  85

Chantry of the Founder, Fitz-Hamon                                  89

The Despenser Monument                                              90

The Trinity Chapel                                                  92

The "Wakeman Cenotaph"                                              94

The South Choir Aisle, looking West                                 96


DEERHURST.

Deerhurst Priory Church, from the South                            104

Interior, looking West                                             110

Font                                                               114

Plan of Deerhurst Priory Church before the Conquest, by J.T.
  Micklethwaite, F.S.A., from "The Archæological Journal"          118

The Tower, from "The Archæological Journal"                        119

Fourteenth Century Window                                          122

The Saxon Chapel                                                   123

Dedication Stone                                                   124

Plan of Saxon Chapel                                               124

Dedication Slab of an Altar                                        124

Chancel Arch in the Saxon Chapel                                   125

PLAN of Deerhurst Priory and its Domestic Buildings as now
  existing                                                         129

PLAN of Tewkesbury Abbey                                           130




   [Illustration: _Photo. Dr. Oscar Clark._
   THE ABBEY--FROM THE NORTH-WEST.]

   [Illustration: TEWKESBURY ABBEY IN 1840.
   By _Rev. J.L. Petit_.]




TEWKESBURY ABBEY.


CHAPTER I.

HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION AND FABRIC OF THE ABBEY CHURCH, AND SOME
ACCOUNT OF ITS BENEFACTORS.


Tradition, originating in the desire to account for the name of the
town, would assign the foundation of a cell or chapel to Theoc, or in
Latin form Theocus, in or about 655. In support of this theory Camden
and others assert that it was called in Anglo-Saxon times Theocsburg
or Theotisbyrg. Others would derive the name from the Greek
"Theotokos," as the Church is dedicated to St. Mary, and others again
refer us back to a very early name, Etocisceu--Latinised as Etocessa.
In Domesday Book the town is called Teodechesberie, and throughout the
Chronicles of the Abbey is called Theokusburia.

The Chronicles of the Abbey tell us that the first monastery at
Tewkesbury was built by two Saxon nobles, Oddo and Doddo, in or about
the year 715, a time when Mercia was flourishing under Ethelred, and
later, under Kenred and Ethelbald. It was dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, and endowed with the manor of Stanway and other lands for the
support of the Benedictine monks who, under a Prior, were there
installed. Oddo and Doddo died soon afterwards, and were buried in the
abbey church of Pershore.

Much has been written about these mythical founders, and confusion in
the minds of the chroniclers, and in those of subsequent writers too,
has been caused by the similarity between the names of Oddo and Doddo,
and Odda and Dodda. It is stated in the old Tewkesbury Chronicle that
Oddo and Doddo were brothers, who in 715 founded a small cell at
Tewkesbury, and that Doddo built a church at Deerhurst to show his
love for a brother who had died some time before. They seem to have
been two noble dukes, members of an illustrious family and renowned
for their great virtue. Oddo is said to have become a monk, and after
his death to have been buried at Pershore Abbey.

As Mr. Butterworth points out in his book on Deerhurst, this seems to
be a travesty of what actually happened. There were in the eleventh
century two brothers, Odda and Ælfric, with probably a third brother,
Dodda, who were related to Edward the Confessor, and were, besides,
his friends and followers. Charters are extant bearing their
signatures and names, and covering the period 1015-1051. It is this
Odda who caused to be built the "aula regia" at Deerhurst in memory of
his brother Ælfric, with a stone[1] bearing an inscription of which a
copy is now in the Saxon Chapel at Deerhurst. This Odda, with his
brother, was buried at Pershore. Odda's existence at this time is
further confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (edited by Ingram),
which states that Odda was in 1051 made Earl over Devonshire,
Somerset, Dorset, and the Welsh. The same chronicle says that Odda was
also called Agelwin. Florence of Worcester says that he was also
called Ethelwin.

It is perhaps easy to see how a chronicler writing 250 years later,
should be led to assume that Oddo and Doddo were identical with Odda
and Dodda. Sir Charles Isham's "Registrum Theokusburiæ" gives a
full-page illustration of this "_par nobile fratrum_," as Dr. Hayman
calls them, in which they are termed "_duo duces Marciorum et primi
fundatores Theokusburiæ_" i.e., two Earls of the Marches and first
founders of Tewkesbury. Each knight is in armour, and bears in his
hand a model of a church. Both are supporting a shield (affixed to a
pomegranate tree) bearing the arms of the Abbey, which the blazoning
on their own coats repeats.

   [Illustration: PAGE FROM THE "REGISTRUM THEOKUSBURIÆ."
   (_H.J.L.J.M._)]

According to the chronicle, Hugh, a great Earl of the Mercians, caused
the body of Berthric or Brictric, King of Wessex, to be buried in the
chapel of St. Faith in the church at Tewkesbury, in 799 or 800, and
Hugh himself was buried at Tewkesbury in 812. Of this fact
confirmation is given by Leland, who said that Hugh's tomb was there
in his time, on the north side of the nave.

The Priory suffered terribly at the hands of the invading Danes--in
fact, it was in the centre of the theatre of war in which, under
Alfred, the decisive struggle was fought to an end at Boddington
Field, where a spot called the Barrow still marks the site. In
consequence of the continued ravages the Priory was so reduced in 980
that it became a cell dependent on the Abbey at Cranbourn, in Dorset,
a Benedictine foundation of which Haylward de Meaux, Hayward Snow, or
Hayward de Meawe as the Isham MS. Chronicle spells it, was the founder
and patron. He and his wife Algiva are depicted in that MS. as sitting
on a mound with a cruciform building in their hands. The church has a
lofty embattled tower surmounted with a spire. Hayward fell at
Essendune in 1016, and was buried at Cranbourn. Tewkesbury Priory
continued to be dependent on Cranbourn for about one hundred years.

Hayward's son, Earl Algar, inherited the patronage of Cranbourn and
Tewkesbury, and on his death it passed to his son Berthric, or,
according to the Isham MS., Britricus Meawe. This Britric, while on an
embassy in Flanders, refused the hand of the Earl's daughter Matilda,
who was subsequently the wife of William Duke of Normandy, the
conqueror of England. When the lady became Queen of England she had
Britric's manors confiscated, and he died in prison at Winchester.
Thus Tewkesbury passed into the hands of the Normans.

At the time of the Domesday Survey the priory was possessed of 24-½
hides (or 3,000 acres) of land, which in Edward the Confessor's reign
had been valued at £1 per hide.

In 1087 William Rufus bestowed the honour of Gloucester, together with
the patronage of the Priory of Tewkesbury, upon his second cousin once
removed, Robert Fitz-Hamon, or, to give him his full titles as
recorded in the Charters, "Sir Robert Fitz-Hamon, Earl of Corboile,
Baron of Thorigny and Granville, Lord of Gloucester, Bristol,
Tewkesbury and Cardiff, Conqueror of Wales, near kinsman of the King,
and General of his Highness' army in France."

Robert Fitz-Hamon is the reputed founder of the present structure, but
the credit of the founding, or rather refounding, is due to Giraldus,
Abbot of Cranbourn. Like Abbot Serlo of Gloucester fame, he had
originally come over from De Brienne, in Normandy, the ancestral home
of the De Clare family, and a town closely connected with Tewkesbury
at a later date. Giraldus had been chaplain to Hugh Lupus, Earl of
Chester, and subsequently to Walkelyn, Bishop of Winchester. He was
appointed Abbot of Cranbourn by William Rufus, who acted on the advice
of Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, and St. Osmund, Bishop of
Salisbury. Giraldus then secured the assistance of Fitz-Hamon, and the
munificent endowments of the latter supplied the means for building
the noble foundation at Tewkesbury. Fitz-Hamon is said to have been
inspired by a wish to make atonement for the wanton destruction of
Bayeux Cathedral by Henry I.

By the year 1102 Giraldus and the members of St. Bartholomew's Abbey
at Cranbourn removed to Tewkesbury, which was by that time ready to
receive them; and the establishment at Cranbourn, under the rule of a
Prior and two monks, became in its turn (after 120 years) a cell
dependent on the new Abbey of Tewkesbury. After a few years Giraldus,
"having neither the inclination nor the ability to satiate the King's
avarice (Henry I.) with gifts," was obliged to leave Tewkesbury and
returned to Winchester, where he died in 1110.

Fitz-Hamon had died in 1107 from the effects of a wound received at
the siege of Falaise, and was buried temporarily in the Chapter House,
which stood on the south side of the building.

In 1123 the Abbey was complete, and was consecrated on November 20th,
with much ceremony, by Theulf, Bishop of Worcester, assisted by the
Bishops of Llandaff, Hereford, Dublin, and another whose name is
unknown.

The main part of the church, as it now stands, is usually assigned to
about 1123, and substantially is as strong now as it was then.

In the following year, 1124, Abbot Robert died, and soon afterwards
Theulf, the old Bishop of Worcester, also passed away.

Of Fitz-Hamon's four daughters two became abbesses, another was
married to the Earl of Brittany, and Mabel was given to Robert, one of
the many illegitimate sons of Henry I. She seems to have been a
business-like lady, and to have hesitated at the proposed union with a
nameless lord, unless a title could be made to go with him. As Robert
of Gloucester writes:

    "The Kyng understood that the mayde seyde non outrage
    And that Gloucestre was chief of hyre eritage.
    'Damozel,' he seyde, 'thy lord shall have a name
    For hym and for hys eyrs, fayr wyth out blame,
    For Robert of Gloucestre hys name shall be and is:
    For he shall be Erl of Gloucestre and his eyres, I wis.'"

This Robert Fitzroy, thus made the first Earl of Gloucester, was a
great benefactor to the Abbey. To him are due the completion of the
church and the greater part of the tower. According to Leland, the
stone was brought over from Caen, but some seems to have been local
stone from Prestbury and Cheltenham. He was as prominent in the arts
of peace as he was afterwards in those of war, inheriting his taste
for the former from his scholarly father. It is to him that the
chronicler William of Malmesbury dedicated his work.

Robert Fitzroy died in Gloucester in 1147, but was buried at St.
James' Priory, Bristol, another foundation which was indebted to his
munificence. His successor was William Fitzcount, the second Earl of
Gloucester.

In 1178 the monastery was partly burnt down, the church fortunately
suffering but little. There are some slight traces of fire on the
exterior walls of the south and west faces of the tower, and on the
interior of the south transept. The Annals of Winton say, "_Combusta
est et redacta in pulverem Ecclesia de Theokesberia_"--an untenable
hypothesis; but the Tewkesbury Chronicles merely mention that the
monastery and the offices were destroyed. John, Earl of Cornwall,
better known as King John, was entertained in the monastery soon
afterwards, so that the damage cannot have been quite so overwhelming
as the Winchester Chronicles allege it to have been. The fire might
have been much more serious than it was, and it seems that only the
fact of the wind being north-east saved the church. Judging by the
marks of calcination on the outside of the tower, and the chief arch
of the south transept, the roof must have been seriously damaged, and
the roof of the cloister walk abutting on to the south aisle must have
been completely burned. In all probability the group of roofing next
to the south transept was destroyed.

William Fitzcount, dying in 1183, after a long and successful life,
was buried at Keynsham, a magnificent abbey built by him in memory of
a son who died young. Earl William's other children were girls, and
the lordship of Gloucester was vested in Henry II. for some years. In
1189 the Abbey lands were granted by Richard I. to his brother John
(who was afterwards king, 1199 to 1215), the first husband of
Isabella, third daughter of William Fitzcount. Being divorced from
John after his accession in 1199, she married Geoffrey de Mandeville,
Earl of Essex, who paid 20,000 marks for the honour of Gloucester and
the possessions of the Lady Isabel.

The earldom of Gloucester finally passed in 1221 to Amice--sister of
the Lady Isabella--great granddaughter of Fitz-Hamon the founder, who
had married Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford. This Richard de Clare
was the ancestor of the Tewkesbury De Clares, a family which held the
honour of Tewkesbury for nearly a century.

His son, Gilbert de Clare, married Isabelle de Marechal. His name, as
also that of his father, is among the signatories of Magna Charta, and
he was a strenuous supporter of the barons against the King. Though he
died in Brittany, his body was brought home and buried in Tewkesbury,
at the foot of the steps leading up to the high altar. In a few
months' time his widow, Isabelle, married Richard, Earl of Cornwall,
brother of King Henry III. At her death she wished to be buried next
to Gilbert de Clare, but as her husband objected to this, she
bequeathed her heart to the Abbey, and this was duly interred in
Gilbert de Clare's grave. As the Register quaintly says in its rhyming
hexameters--

    "Postrema voce legavit cor comitissa
    Pars melior toto fuit huc pro corpore missa
    Hæc se divisit dominum recolendo priorem
    Huc cor quod misit verum testatur amorem
    His simul ecclesiæ sanctæ suffragia prosint
    Ut simul in requie cælesti cum Domino sint."

Gilbert de Clare bequeathed to the Abbey the manor called Mythe, on
the hill just outside the town, and Isabelle also left to it many
relics, besides vestments, and much valuable church furniture.

On the death of Gilbert de Clare, his son Richard became a ward of the
King. Marrying Margaret de Burgh, a daughter of the great Earl of
Kent, without permission, he incurred the royal displeasure, and was
eventually forced to divorce his young wife in favour of the lady
chosen for him. He supported the barons against the King, with whom he
had never been in agreement. In 1262 he died, and was buried in the
Abbey. One of his wife's sisters married Robert Bruce, competitor for
the Scottish Crown and grandfather of King Robert Bruce.

His son Gilbert the second, Rufus or Rubens, _i.e._ Red, is another
well-known figure. Like his father, he at first supported the barons,
but soon after the battle of Lewes he took the King's side, and fought
for him at Evesham. Again from pique he deserted him, returning to his
allegiance once more in 1270. He was buried in the Abbey in 1295.

Gilbert de Clare the third, who was born at Tewkesbury in 1291, was
perhaps the most famous of the De Clares. Whilst he was still in early
manhood, he was twice chosen by Edward II. to serve as Regent of
England in his absence, once even before he had attained full age. His
promising career was cut short at Bannockburn in 1314, and the last of
the De Clares was buried in the Choir in 1314, his widow being placed
later by his side.

The lordship of Tewkesbury then passed from the De Clares, who had
held it for ninety years, to Eleanor, Gilbert's eldest sister. By her
marriage in 1321 to Hugh le Despenser, the lordship came into the
hands of the Despensers. This Hugh the younger, or Hugo Secundus as
the Register calls him, was too faithful a supporter of Edward II.,
and he paid for his fidelity with his life in 1326, having been
hanged, drawn, and quartered in Hereford about three weeks after his
aged father had suffered a similar fate at Bristol. His remains were
collected and buried in the tomb at the back of the sedilia, where
Abbot John's tomb was placed at a later date.

The next lord of Tewkesbury was Hugh, the son of Hugh the younger and
Eleanor de Clare. His tomb is to be seen on the north side of the high
altar, with his effigy upon it, together with that of his wife, the
Lady Elizabeth, who, though thrice married, preferred to be buried
with him. She retained the manor of Tewkesbury after her marriage to
Sir Guy de Brien, and on her death in 1359 it passed to her nephew,
Edward le Despenser.

This Edward le Despenser took part in the battle of Poitiers, and was
one of the first Knights of the Garter. On his death at Cardiff in
1375 his body was brought to Tewkesbury, and his effigy is to be seen
on the roof of the Trinity Chapel on the south side of the high altar.
He was buried close to the presbytery, and his wife was, in 1409,
buried next to him.

Thomas le Despenser, the third son of Edward, was for two years only
Earl of Gloucester, and being attainted, was executed at Bristol in
1400. No trace remains of his grave at Tewkesbury.

   [Illustration: RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, FIRST HUSBAND OF ISABELLE
   DESPENSER, AND HIS ARMORIAL CONNECTIONS.
   From the _Registrum Theokusburiæ._
   (_H.J.L.J.M._)]

With the death of his son Richard in 1414, the lordship of the
Despensers in the male line, after ninety-three years, became extinct.

Once again the Manor of Tewkesbury passed by the female line, and into
the distinguished family of the Beauchamps, with whom Richard le
Despenser's sister Isabelle was connected by her marriage with Richard
Beauchamp, or Ricardus de Bello Campo as the Register calls him when
it does not give his name as Becham. He was killed at the siege of
Breaux in France in 1421, and his young widow erected the sumptuous
chantry chapel known as the Warwick Chapel over his remains. She then,
by special papal dispensation, married her cousin, also a Richard
Beauchamp, and from henceforth was generally known by her new title,
the Countess of Warwick. On her husband's death at Rouen in 1439, she
brought his body to England and had it conveyed to the Beauchamp
Chapel at Warwick. The widowed countess died in December of the same
year, but elected to be buried at Tewkesbury.

Her young son Henry was a favourite of Henry VI., who bestowed most
unusual favours upon him, creating him Duke of Warwick and King of the
Isle of Wight, and later King of Jersey and Guernsey. The young Duke,
who was married to Cicely Neville, died at the age of twenty-one, and
was buried in the choir of the Abbey. As he left no children, the
manor passed in 1449 to his sister Anne, the wife of Richard Neville
the "King-maker." All the "King-maker's" estates were confiscated to
the Crown after he fell at Barnet in 1471, but were eventually shared
between his two daughters Isabelle and Anne. Isabelle married George,
Duke of Clarence, Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, who in 1477, a few
days after Isabelle's supposed death by poison at Warwick, was put to
death in the Tower. Both were buried at Tewkesbury (_vide_ p. 62).

The young Edward, son of the Duke of Clarence, was imprisoned in the
Tower till his execution in 1499.

The Manor of Tewkesbury, as a possession of the Warwicks, passed into
the hands of Lord Seymour of Sudeley, the husband of Catharine Parr,
until his attainder, when they once more came into the hands of the
Crown. James I. sold the manor to the Corporation in 1609. During the
present century the lordship of the manor again passed by sale into
private hands.

In the chronicles of the Abbey the following facts are recorded:--

In 1218 the dormitory roof fell down upon the monks when they returned
from an early service, and Gilbert, a monk, had a thigh broken and his
head injured, while the Prior Gunfrey escaped unhurt.

In 1224, Robert Travers, Bishop of Kildelo (_i.e._ Killaloe), in the
winter dedicated two large bells in the tower.

In 1234 the principal gate of the monastery and two stables were burnt
down.

In 1237, Hervey de Sipton, the then Prior, pulled down and rebuilt the
chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas. Nothing can be said definitely as to
its size, owing to the later work done in this part. The chronicle,
however, distinctly states that divine service was first held in Prior
Sipton's new chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, on St. Nicholas'
Day.[2]

The roof bears the arms of the Clares and Despensers, and this would
give the date of the bosses as 1321-1337, _i.e._, about a century
later than the date of the chapel.

The two chapels which are now usually known as those of St. James and
St. Nicholas were, at one time, supposed, without authority, to have
been the chapter-house of the monastery. They were so described as
recently as 1881, in the plan used by the members of the Architectural
Association for their excursion to Tewkesbury. For many years they
were in use as a grammar school, and were walled off from the rest of
the church.

In 1239 a grand altar was dedicated to the honour of the Virgin,
"gloriosæ Virginis Mariæ." This is by some supposed to refer to the
present altar-stone of Purbeck marble.

In 1241, Oct. 25, the body of Fitz-Hamon, the founder of the existing
fabric, was brought in from the Chapter House and placed on the site
of the Founder's Chapel built later.

In 1243 the dormitory, which had been rebuilt (chiefly by Abbot
Peter), was re-opened for use.

In 1246 the Prior, Henry de Banbury, built an Early English Chapel,
dedicated to St. Eustachius. It seems probable that this was erected
on the site of the apsidal Norman chapel, and the space (6 feet)
between it and the Early English chapel. The vaulting corbels are all
that remain.

In 1259 the Chapter-House was newly paved at the expense of the
Convent.

The chronicles, as reprinted in "Annales Monastici" stop short in
1263, and from that time onwards there is a dearth of direct
information as to the Abbey and its history.

The choir was altered in the time of Abbot Parker, by Elizabeth, the
wife, successively, of Lord Badlesmere, of Hugh Lord Despenser, and
Sir Guy de Brien. The original Norman clerestory was taken down and
the Norman columns of the choir slightly raised, as will be seen from
the choir aisle on the side where the original capitals were left
unaltered. At the same time the beautiful series of apsidal chapels
was added; stone vaulting took the place of the earlier wooden
roofing and the space between the four piers that support the tower
was vaulted. This work contains the arms of Sir Guy and of the
Montacutes.

1397. The Founder's Chapel was erected by Abbot Parker.

In 1422 Henry VI. granted the patronage of Deerhurst Priory to
Tewkesbury. Much litigation followed with Eton College in consequence,
but in 1469 the grant was confirmed and carried out by John Carpenter,
Bishop of Worcester.

On May 30, 1471, the Abbey, which had been polluted with blood during
the battle of Tewkesbury, and had not been available for divine
service for a month, was cleansed with special ceremony by the Bishop
of Down and Connor, who was acting as suffragan to the Bishop of
Worcester and reconsecrated.

At the Dissolution the whole establishment, which, from the lists of
what was to be kept and what was to be destroyed, was of considerable
size, was seized by the King's Commissioners. The houses and buildings
assigned to remain "undefaced" were "The lodging called the New Warke,
leading from the gate to the late Abbot's lodging, with buttery,
pantry, cellar, kitching, larder, and pastry thereto adjoining; the
late Abbot's lodging; the hostery; the great gate entering into the
court, with the lodging over the same; the Abbot's stable, bakehouse,
brewhouse and slaughter-house, the almery, barn, dairy-house; the
great barn next Avon; the malting-house with the garners in the same,
the ox-house in the Barton, the Barton-gate and the lodging over the
same." At the same time "the Church, with chapels, cloisters, chapter
house, misericord; the two dormitories, infirmary with chapels and
lodgings within the same; the workhouse, with another house adjoining
to the same; the convent kitchen; the library; the old hostery; the
chamberer's lodgings; the new hall; the old parlour adjoining to the
Abbot's lodging; the cellarer's lodging; the poulter house: the
gardner; the almary, and all other houses and lodgings not otherwise
reserved," were "deemed to be superfluous" and were committed to the
custody of Sir John Whittington.

The eight bells in the tower were estimated at 146 cwt., and were
ordered to be melted down, as was also the lead upon the roofs of the
choir, the aisles and the chapels annexed, the cloister, chapter
house, frater, St. Michael's Chapel, halls, farmery and gatehouse. The
weight of lead was estimated at 180 fodders, _i.e._, about 190 tons.

The jewels naturally were specially reserved to the use of the King's
Majesty, and the two mitres garnished with gilt, rugged pearls, and
counterfeit stones, and 1,431 ounces of silver and silver-gilt plate
were, together with the vestments, ornaments, and everything else of
value, taken away.

The public-spirited inhabitants of Tewkesbury, however, meant to
preserve their cherished Abbey from destruction if they could compass
it, and after petitioning their "most dread victorious sovereign
lord," succeeded in doing so for a consideration, viz., the sum of
£453. This sum was arrived at by roughly valuing the lead on the roofs
at 5d. a square foot, and the bells at something like 2-½d. per lb.
They had to pay £200 down, £100 the ensuing Easter, and the balance,
£153, at Christmas. It was further stipulated that the said
parishioners should "bear and find the reparations of the said church
perpetually."

The word "church" in this connection seems to be limited to mean that
part of the building other than the nave. The nave seems to have been
looked upon as belonging, as was the case elsewhere, to the
inhabitants of Tewkesbury, for their use, more or less as a parish
church. Mr. Hayman says that "parochial worship was enshrined there
side by side with the monastic, far in the past, before its
re-foundation in the eleventh century.... This parochial constitution
survived the great successive shocks of change which altered or
cancelled everything else. The change from Saxon to Norman, the havoc
of civil war, the concentration of power in the Tudor crown, the
Dissolution itself, and the Reformation which followed, all left this
as they found it, or left it stronger still. To this constitution
alone the noble church was indebted for its preservation. The King
could grasp all else from pinnacle to basement, but the nave was the
parishioners', and that he could not touch. The result is a church
surviving entire and substantially as its vanished patrons and
banished brethren left it. Therefore if this church is a monument of
baronial and abbatial power long departed, it is yet more so of the
strength of the popular principle, and of the vitality of the
parochial system which survives."

In the same way the good people of Great Malvern, or Moche Malverne as
it was then termed, clubbed together and bought the Priory Church for
£200, to serve as their parish church in place of the older parish
church, which then, after two hundred and fifty years' use, was in
need of repair. Their Lady Chapel, cloisters, dormitories, Chapter
House, &c., were rased to the ground, and all that had a market value
was sold.

After the purchase of the church by the good people of Tewkesbury, the
nave seems to have been utterly neglected, and only used for purposes
of burial and for the occasional performances of stage-plays. Such
plays were acted in 1578, 1584, 1585, as is shown by items which
appear in the list of "church goods," as "sheepe skins for Christ's
garments," "shippe skins for the sinners gear," "eight heads of heare
for the Apostles and ten beardes," together with a "face or vizor for
the devil."

In 1559, on Easter morning, during divine service, the wooden spire
fell down, causing damage to the tower masonry in its fall. This
steeple may have been the original one which had been put up by
Robert, the first Earl of Gloucester.

In 1576 the two chapels of St. James and St. Nicholas were cut off
from the church and turned into a free school.

In 1582 the campanile, which stood on the north side of the church not
far from the North Transept, was converted into a House of Correction
for half the shire.

In 1593 the Corporation records state that the long roof was taken
down, and replaced in the following year. Six years later there is
another interesting entry as follows: "The churchwardens after
Michaelmas, intending of themselves to build a battlement upon the top
of the church tower, offered to do the same without any charge, and
for that purpose did set forth three stage-plays, played in the Abbey
at Whitsuntide following."

To raise more money they then proposed to hold a Church Ale, but there
were difficulties in the way, and the proposal was dropped.

The cost of the battlements was £66. These same churchwardens, with
the help of others, "joined in entreating the benevolence of the best
disposed of the inhabitants, and thereby finished the free school by
glazing the windows, boarding the floors, and making the galleries."

In 1602 the monks' stalls, which had been in the body of the church,
were removed into the chancel.

In 1603 "the roof of lead over the chancel was taken down, new framed,
laid lower, and covered new," at the expense of the town.

In 1607 a large grey marble slab was discovered buried in the church.
It measured 13 feet 8 inches by 3 feet 6 inches, and 7 inches thick.
This was placed for some time in the middle of the chancel and was
used for a Communion table.

   [Illustration: THE DETACHED BELL-TOWER, DEMOLISHED IN 1817.
   _From Bennett's "Tewkesbury" lent by Mr. S. Browett._]

In 1653-54 there is an interesting entry in the churchwardens'
accounts: "Item. Paid the ringers 24th December, my Lord Protector
being proclaimed that day--who was the Grand Rebel." (The last few
words are by a different hand, perhaps that of the other
churchwarden.)

In 1661 the west window was blown in, and was rebuilt in 1686.

In 1720 the external re-roofing of the nave was carried out, and the
western gable, occupying the space between the two western turrets,
disappeared in the process.

By 1720 the "long roof," repaired in 1593, was again in want of
repair, and to raise money a brief was granted by Parker, the Lord
Chancellor. During the years 1723-26 the work was carried out and
finished. Before this, the eaves of the roof overlapped the side walls
of the nave.

In 1726 the "old wall at the East end of the Chancel" was taken down,
and foundations were dug upon which an altar-piece was to be erected.

About the same time, the marble Communion table, which Mr. Gough
called "the finest Communion table in the kingdom," was moved into the
nave. It was then cut longitudinally into two pieces, which were used
as seats in the porch.

In 1737 the organ now in the choir was erected over the old screen.

A stone altar-piece, Doric in character, with an elliptical pediment,
was set up in 1725, the cost being partly met by private
subscriptions. It must have struck most people as incongruous, for it
was not liked, and in 1848 it was removed.

A flood in 1770 rose to such a height that service could not be held
in the church; and the old feoffee book states that "the graves in the
church were shocking to behold, for scarce a stone was to be seen that
was not removed from its proper situation. Several parts of this
venerable building were materially injured, particularly the large
pillar next the seats of the Corporation, and the arch over the same."

In January, 1795, it was agreed at a parish meeting that "the church
shall be whitewashed as soon as convenient, and other repairs be done
... that shall appear necessary." The part of the church that was in
use was re-pewed, galleries were put up in the two transepts, and in
the easternmost bay of the aisles of the nave.

During the years 1824-30, the exterior of the tower, probably
untouched from the date of its first completion, was repaired, all
decayed stones being made good. The windows which had been partially
bricked up were opened, and shelving stones inserted instead. One of
the pinnacles was entirely rebuilt, and the three others repaired. The
turrets on the west front were also restored.

At this time also the transept walls and the roofs were repaired and
strengthened. The interior of the church previous to its
colour-washing was scraped and cleaned, and the walls and pillars
were repaired, pointed, and cemented. All the tombs were cleaned and
most of them restored. The greater part of the nave was paved with
Painswick stone, and in the rest of the church the gravestones were
relaid.

   [Illustration: THE WEST END IN 1840.
   By _Rev. J.L. Petit_.]

In 1825 the vicar and churchwardens posted to Worcester, that they
might inspect the colouring of the Cathedral and other churches there
with a view to decorating the Abbey. The committee decided in favour
of colour-washing the Abbey, and this was done three years later.

1828. The monuments of Sir Hugh le Despenser and Sir Guy de Brien,
being very dilapidated, were extensively repaired. Most of the
buttresses and pinnacles were entirely renewed. All this restoration
involved the outlay of a considerable amount of money, and if more had
been forthcoming more would have been undertaken, such as the
restoration of all the tombs and chapels, and the old windows in the
choir.

The font in 1828 was removed from the nave and placed in the apsidal
chapel in the south transept, from which position it was again removed
in 1878.

A final restoration was set on foot in 1864, and Sir Gilbert Scott
reported that £15,000 was necessary to make good the dilapidation and
decay which extended, in his opinion, from the foundations to the
roof. The necessary amount was not forthcoming for several years. Then
a new committee was appointed, with Sir Edmund Lechmere as its
chairman. In 1875 the restoration began, the choir being undertaken
first. For this purpose the church was divided into two parts by means
of a hoarding. When the pavement in the choir was removed, the graves
there were all carefully examined and their identification verified
where possible. Many fragments of historic stonework were found, and
these have been grouped together in the south-east chapel, which forms
a kind of museum.

After the work in the choir was advanced enough, the nave was
undertaken and thoroughly done; the floor was relaid on a foundation
of cement, all open graves being filled up.

On September 23, 1879, the building was re-dedicated with a service
modelled somewhat on the lines of the original dedication service in
1123.

During the last twenty years little has been done to the fabric.
Windows and other decoration have been lavished upon the interior, the
money expended amounting to several thousands of pounds, a sum which
might have been spent with more benefit to the fabric, upon purchasing
the precincts, and on repairing the timber-work which supports the
roof.

Interesting though the general question of the "restoration" of
ancient buildings is, and interesting though Tewkesbury is as a
particular case, this is not the place to go into it, but it may be
well to quote from Mackail's "Life of William Morris," vol. i., p.
340, a letter which William Morris wrote to the _Athenæum_ about the
restorations proposed at Tewkesbury.

"My eye just now caught the word 'restoration' in the morning paper,
and, on looking closer, I saw that this time it is nothing less than
the Minster of Tewkesbury that is to be destroyed by Sir Gilbert
Scott. Is it altogether too late to do something to save it--it and
whatever else of beautiful and historical is still left us on the
sites of the ancient buildings we were once so famous for? Would it
not be of some use once for all, and with the least delay possible, to
set on foot an association for the purpose of watching over and
protecting these relics, which, scanty as they are now become, are
still wonderful treasures, all the more priceless in this age of the
world, when the newly-invented study of living history is the chief
joy of so many of our lives? Your paper has so steadily and
courageously opposed itself to these acts of barbarism which the
modern architect, parson, and squire call 'restoration,' that it would
be waste of words to enlarge here on the ruin that has been wrought by
their hands; but, for the saving of what is left, I think I may write
a word of encouragement, and say that you by no means stand alone in
the matter, and that there are many thoughtful people who would be
glad to sacrifice time, money, and comfort in defence of those ancient
monuments; besides, though I admit that the architects are, with very
few exceptions, hopeless, because interest, habit, and ignorance bind
them, and that the clergy are hopeless, because their order, habit,
and an ignorance yet grosser, bind them; still there must be many
people whose ignorance is accidental rather than inveterate, whose
good sense could surely be touched if it were clearly put to them that
they were destroying what they, or, more surely still, their sons and
sons' sons, would one day fervently long for, and which no wealth or
energy could ever buy again for them.

"What I wish for, therefore, is that an association shall be set on
foot to keep a watch on old monuments, to protest against all
'restoration' that means more than keeping out wind and weather, and,
by all means, literary and other, to awaken a feeling that our ancient
buildings are not mere ecclesiastical toys, but sacred monuments of
the nation's growth and hope."

The interest of the quotation lies in the fact that the Society for
the Preservation of Ancient Buildings was formed, with Morris as its
first secretary--a very practical outcome to such a very forcibly
expressed letter.

   [Illustration: THE CHOIR BEFORE RESTORATION.
   _From an old photograph._]

   [Illustration: THE NAVE BEFORE RESTORATION.
   _From an old photograph._]

A chance presented itself in 1883 of re-purchasing the Abbey House, a
building which stood in its own grounds on lands embracing the site of
the whole of the original monastic buildings. Subscriptions poured in,
and at the auction, held in the town, the Abbey House Estate was
bought for £10,500, and became once more, after 344 years, the
property of the church. This estate included the Abbey House, the
Abbey Gateway, three cottages, and about nine acres of land. A portion
of the latter, viz., that which comprised the Cloister Walk, was added
to the churchyard. The Abbey House comprises portions of the infirmary
and perhaps of the misericord, which survived destruction at the time
of the suppression of the monastery. Part of the original wall remains
on the north side, between the gateway and the church. It is a pity
that the inscription under the bay window is illegible.

At the sale there was a curious lot (Lot 2) put up for sale, but it
was withdrawn, and eventually given to the church. This lot was known
as the _Vaulted Chamber_, and formed a portion of the south aisle of
the nave which had been cut off from the rest of the building, and to
which access was given by a stone staircase outside the church and a
doorway in the wall by the nave.

Very few traces of the old monastic buildings are to be found, for
when the neighbouring ground has been levelled at various times large
quantities of stone have been dug up from the old foundations, and
utilised partly in constructing boundary walls, partly in repairs to
the building. The Abbey Gateway, which is well worth inspection, is
Perpendicular work, and is in surprisingly good repair, mainly owing
to the fact that for many years it was in private hands. It stands
very solid and square, and looks formidable with its battlements, but
the view through the open doorway is very fine--the foliage on the
trees beyond showing up the stonework. The work in the arches is good,
and the gargoyles are worthy of notice. The gateway was restored in
1849-50, and the gates are of about the same date.

In the cloister there are traces at the west of the outer parlour of
the monks, and the size of the cloisters is clearly seen to have been
eighty feet.

Of the place of this glorious Abbey in our own English history much
might be written, and in fact it has been a difficult task to steer a
course which, while avoiding too much history, should show that the
history is there. In all the great events of history down to the end
of the fifteenth century Tewkesbury Abbey has its place, and like the
Abbey of St. Peter at Westminster and the Cathedrals at Canterbury and
at Winchester, is in every respect a representative structure. "It
represents all the greatest influences in our social development, it
directly embodies in its memories both the Crown, at the time when the
Crown was a _primum mobile_ in politics, and all the estates of the
realm. It shows the Church as the keystone in which the various
thrusts of those contending masses met and balanced each other. It
exhibits in the Church patron the official link between things
spiritual and temporal. Its great lay potentates, Saxon or Norman,
either deduce their lineage from royal blood, or at once mix their own
with it, and renew again and again their touch of royalty by fresh
inter-marriages until the pedigree is absorbed into that of the
reigning or rival sovereign. The House, after blazoning a leading
name, often _the_ leading name of each successive period, after
scoring repeated Plantagenet affinities, at length shares the
internecine havoc of the York and Lancaster factions, and its last
scions which survived that havoc are cut off on the scaffold for the
crime of being too near the throne. But the almost princely rank of
these founders, patrons, and benefactors is their least claim to
historical remembrance. They are always to be found grouped in the
very focus where the light of history falls strongest, men of the
foremost mark for high trust and safe counsel for foreign strife, or
civil broil" (_Hayman_).

   [Illustration: _Photo. R.W. Dugdale._
   THE ABBEY GATEWAY.]

Thus in the four centuries after the Conquest we find Fitz-Hamon, the
second founder, connected by marriage with the great Norman soldier.
In the civil wars of Stephen, Robert Earl of Gloucester and Lord of
Tewkesbury, and his half-sister, Maud or Matilda, played the parts we
know so well. Again, Gilbert de Clare, who is buried in the Abbey, was
one of the chief signatories of Magna Charta. The last of the three
Gilberts de Clare fell at Bannockburn in 1314, at the age of
twenty-three. The heiress of the latter married a Despenser, a family
closely connected with Tewkesbury, two prominent members of which,
viz., the favoured ministers of Edward II., will be remembered as
by-words in history. Sir Guy de Brien, the valiant standard-bearer of
Edward III., was the second husband of the widow of the fifth Lord
Despenser, and, with her, helped to rebuild the choir, in the
ambulatory of which his splendid monument is still to be seen. The
Despensers in turn passed away, the last heiress marrying in
succession two cousins, each named Richard Beauchamp. Of her second
marriage were born two children--a son, who married the sister of
Warwick the king-maker, and a daughter, who became the wife of the
Earl of Warwick himself. The king-maker's two daughters were
unfortunate in their husbands, one of them having been married to the
luckless Duke of Clarence, and the other to the young Prince Edward,
who fell in 1471 at the battle of Tewkesbury. Of these noble patrons
of the Abbey from the first Tewkesbury De Clare to the time of the
ill-fated Duke of Clarence, all save two, _i.e._, the second Richard
Beauchamp and the great king-maker, Richard Neville, who are both
buried at Warwick, found their last resting-place in Tewkesbury.

   [Illustration: TILE SHOWING THE ARMS OF FITZ-HAMON AND THE ABBEY
   IMPALED.]

   [Illustration: _Photo. D. Gwynne._
   TEWKESBURY ABBEY, FROM THE NORTH.]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The original stone is in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

[2] Mr. Blunt, in his "Tewkesbury and its Associations," assigns the
northernmost chapel to St. James, and the one between it and the choir
aisle to St. Nicholas, but in his plan he reverses them. The plan in
the _Builder_ of December, 1894, follows Mr. Blunt's plan in so naming
the two chapels. Some have thought the present Northern Chapel to be
that dedicated to St. Eustachius.




CHAPTER II.

THE EXTERIOR.


One of the most characteristic views of the exterior is to be got from
the iron gates which give admission to the churchyard. The view thus
obtained presents to us, with the exception of the windows and the
pinnacles on the tower, features almost entirely Norman.

As it is impossible to make a complete circuit of the church, it is as
well to begin at the north transept. Here a wall will be found
projecting from the north-east corner, of which the western face is in
a very dilapidated condition. This wall contains a good Early English
pointed arch, which is now filled up with stonework and contains a
modern window. At the sides of the arch are Purbeck marble shafts with
a central shaft of the same, which divides it into two subordinate
arches, with an opening in the spandril between them. The base of the
dividing shaft is a block of marble, curiously carved, representing
four cats playing round the column. Each of the cats has in its mouth
the tail of the cat immediately in front.

On each side are the remains of a smaller recessed arch, and the only
portion of the north wall which is still standing contains one bay of
a trefoil-headed arcading which formerly was carried round the walls
of this chapel.

On the north wall of the transept the four bays of the vaulted roof
are discernible, and a fine Early English doorway in the wall (lately
restored) used to give admission to the main building. Originally,
when the church was perfect, this was an open arch. At the last
restoration a wall was built up inside, so that the arch might be left
clear. This chapel can hardly have been the one mentioned on p. 13,
which was dedicated to St. Eustachius, and was consecrated in 1246 by
Prior Henry de Banbury. It is much more likely to have been the nave
of the Early English Lady Chapel, of which the enclosed chapel to the
east was the choir. Bristol Cathedral has its elder Lady Chapel in a
similar position, though it was no doubt originally quite detached
from the main building. The corner buttress at the north-west angle of
the north transept was erected about the year 1720, and there is a
corresponding support to the south transept at its south-west angle.

The clerestory on this north side of the nave has a Norman arcade,
supported on short shafts, which extends from the tower to the west
front. The insertion of the later windows, which presumably were
enlarged when the nave was vaulted, has destroyed the regularity of
the arcading.

A flying buttress of very slight proportions will be seen on the north
side between the north transept and the north porch.

=North Porch.=--For a porch of Norman construction this is of unusual
dimensions, measuring 24 feet by 20 feet and 39 feet high. It is
extremely simple in character inside and out. The roof is a plain
barrel vault of stone.

Both the internal and the external doorway have a circular arch
composed of a series of mouldings supported by shafting, just as in
the arch of the great west window.

Over the outside door of the porch stood an image of the Virgin Mary
with the infant Christ, typical of the Incarnation, but it has
suffered much at the hands of would-be zealots. Over the porch is a
room or parvise, very difficult of access and badly lighted.

This north porch was in all probability built on to the church soon
after the completion of the rest of the Norman building, and this may
account for the difficult means of access.

Between the porch and the west end there are traces of some earlier
building, abutting on to the north wall of the church.

The iron gates at the main entrance to the churchyard near the "Bell
Hotel" were formerly mounted in the external doorway of the porch.
They were given to the church by Lord Gage in 1750.

=The Tower.=--This is generally considered to be one of the finest and
most perfect Norman towers in existence. Its massive size (each side
measuring 46 feet) takes off from its actual height. It stands well,
and is impressive from its proportions and the simplicity of its
ornament. It is 132 feet high from the ground to the battlements
inclusive, and 148 to the top of the pinnacles. The pinnacles and
battlements were added in 1660, as the inscription on the north-west
pinnacle testifies. They were restored in 1825.

   [Illustration: _Photo. D. Gwynne._
   THE ABBEY, FROM THE SOUTH.]

As to what was there before 1660 one can only conjecture, but it had
been undoubtedly damaged by the fall of the wooden spire covered with
lead, which event occurred on Easter Day, 1559.

From whichever point of the compass it be studied, there is ever a
different charm displayed, and the charm varies according to the light
that plays upon the time-honoured handiwork of the Norman builders.
The tower looks equally well from the north-west end of the
churchyard, seen through the trees, from the extreme west, and from
the open ground to the south-east, where the eye can also take in the
graceful battlementing of the choir. Perhaps the best view of the
tower and the building generally is that obtainable from the
Gloucester road, just as one turns the last corner coming into
Tewkesbury.

The tower is supported by four piers, which, as will be seen from an
inspection of the plan, are very massive. The two easternmost piers
are in plan very similar to the two corresponding piers in Gloucester
Cathedral.

There are two windows in each side of the lower storey or base,
immediately over the roofs of the nave and transepts, and between the
windows is the stone ridge or wall-plate which indicates the pitch of
the earlier roof. On three sides of the tower the dripstone is almost
perfect.

The next stage or storey has an arcade with two lights in each side of
the tower. The third stage has a narrower intersecting arcade of great
beauty and delicacy, with a curious effect produced by the warm
colouring of some of the stones.[3]

In the topmost stage there is another range of arcades and columns.

=The West Front.=--The chief feature in this front is the noble
recessed arch, 65 feet high and 34 feet wide. There are seven columns
on each side of the arch, one being partially concealed by the
masonry of the Debased Perpendicular window which was inserted
originally to give light to the nave. Portions of the seventh shaft
have been, however, exposed for inspection.

There is one slight defect in this unique west front as it now is,
viz., that apart from the window, the arch is on too large a scale for
the size of the front, or, as Dean Spence puts it (he himself is
quoting from some other writer), "As this noble arch stands at
present, it is extremely beautiful in itself, but it has an incomplete
appearance, seeming to want a _raison d'être_, and being too large a
jewel for its setting."[4] Exactly the same may be said of the window,
though its excessive size will not be felt so much from the outside as
from the inside of the church, where the low vaulting of the nave
further accentuates the excessive size of the window.

As was the case at Gloucester, larger western towers were originally
contemplated to contain the bells, and there are indications of this
in the rough stonework in the clerestory on the south side, evidently
designed to carry a tower 22 feet square. The towers in the west front
at Southwell are an example of this design carried out. When it was
decided to build smaller towers, the bell tower or campanile (which is
shown on p. 17) was built. Later again the lantern or open part of the
interior of the tower was vaulted over (_vide_ p. 74), and the bells
were hung in the great central tower. The campanile was then diverted
to other uses. In later times it was used as a prison for several
years, but having become structurally unsafe, was demolished in 1817.

It would be interesting to know the original scheme of windows in this
west front. There is a trace of the original Norman doorway inside the
present doorway, and it is supposed that the original window was
either a large round window, with possibly one or two tiers of
round-headed lights below. Later, a larger window, probably of
fourteenth century work, was inserted, which lasted till it was blown
into the church in 1661. The present window, which was built in 1686,
may probably have been an attempt to follow the lines of the previous
window. At either side of the large arch is a Decorated window of two
lights.

The stonework of the towers, above the point where the arch springs,
is decorated with a Norman arcading in two tiers. They are finished by
two partly Norman turrets, with later pinnacles and spires.

=The South Side.=--This side has a blank appearance owing to the total
disappearance of the claustral and conventual buildings, all of which
were "deemed to be superfluous." There are traces on the south wall of
the "outer parlour," and there is blocked up into it a doorway from
the west end of the south aisle of the nave. Traces are there, too, of
Norman work on the wall, which prove that the Norman cloisters were of
the same extent and size as those of Perpendicular times.

=The Cloisters.=--These were of two periods of Perpendicular work, and
though smaller than those at Gloucester (80 feet as compared with 148
feet) seem to have been enriched with panelling and arcading in every
way as fine, judging from the stone which shows the spring of the
arches near the cloister door.

The doorway from the cloister to the south aisle is a beautiful piece
of fifteenth century work. It consists of a low pointed arch, struck
from two centres, in the hollow moulding of which are canopies. Below
are pedestals for figures. At the top the arch is embattled, and above
it are niches, seven in all, with pedestals and canopies, richly
ornamented and carved. On either side, over the canopy is an angel
bearing a plain shield. This doorway was filled with stonework up to
1892, and had been so filled for many years, but has since undergone
restoration of a very careful kind. The oak door is new, and is an
example of very florid work executed with the great mechanical
precision which now characterises modern wood-carving. One bay of the
cloister has been vaulted to protect the doorway; and the wall arcade
has been restored, at the expense of the Freemasons of the county.

On the south front of the south transept there are to be seen traces
of a building of the same width, through which there were means of
communication with the church. The wall of this south transept has
been considerably strengthened since the Dissolution.

Separated from the south transept by a slype or passage, was the
Chapter House, of which nothing is known beyond the fact that it was
repaved in 1259, and destroyed at the Dissolution with other buildings
on this side. Over the Chapter House there was a dormitory, also with
an entrance to the church. This entrance has been walled up. There
were stairs giving access to a room built over the apsidal chapel in
the south transept, and also to the transept itself.

   [Illustration: _Photo. R.W. Dugdale._
   THE CLOISTER DOORWAY.]

To the east of the south transept a very good view of the choir and
its chapels is to be obtained. The westernmost chapel is the Norman
apsidal chapel, and here the original Norman work comes to an end as
far as the exterior is concerned.

The Norman arcading on the east and west walls will be noticed, but it
has been lately restored.

The chapel (marked Vestry in the plan) has an upper chamber with two
commonplace modern windows in it, the mullions having been destroyed.
There is a massive buttress attached to the wall of this chapel, much
larger than any of the other exterior buttresses. It is quite hollow,
and is entered from the interior of the chapel, which is now used as
the clergy vestry.

The windows of the choir are elaborately decorated with a crocketed
gable.

The east end of the church[5] and the exterior of the chapels on the
north side of the church are in private gardens, which unfortunately
extend up to the very wall of the church, and prevent access.

The actual east end now consists of an arch which was formerly the
entrance to the destroyed Lady Chapel, of which nothing remains but
the modern masonry in the arch, now walled up, and containing a modern
window of three lights; and above this is the original west wall above
the vestibule of the Lady Chapel, with a restored window of four
lights.

The parapet of open work which runs round the summit of the apse is
another beautiful feature of the exterior of the eastern part of the
church. It seems to be formed of stalks from a thorn tree intertwining
in such a way as to form triangular openings. This parapet or coronet
is as much like lacework as it is possible for stonework to be, and
gives to the building a peculiarly delicate and subtle finish.

A very good exterior view of this east end can be obtained from the
battlement of St. Faith's Chapel. The pitch of the roof and the
character of the mouldings can thus be seen.

=The Lady Chapel.=--Nothing is left but the partly concealed mouldings
of the arch in the east wall of the ambulatory of the choir. On the
outside of the east end may be seen portions of the lofty
vaulting--just where it sprang from the walls--which would indicate
that the masonry was very beautiful and delicate work.

Much uncertainty exists as to the size of the Lady Chapel, though
traces of the foundations have been found for some distance to the
eastward of the present building. Unfortunately the ground in which
the foundations are hidden is private property, and the chance of a
thorough investigation of the site very remote. Traditionally, the
Lady Chapel is said to have been 100 feet long, or about a third of
the length of the building. There is no documentary evidence to
support this tradition, and in the absence of such confirmation Mr.
Blunt supposes that there was no large Lady Chapel,[6] but that a
chapel somewhat similar to those still surviving, and specifically
referred to as "Capella Beatæ Mariæ Ecclesiæ Conventualis," was
destroyed not long before the Dissolution for the purpose of making
room for a larger and more splendid chapel. This chapel, Mr. Blunt
adds, was never completed, the plans of the builders being upset by
the general dissolution of the monasteries.

The Capella Ecclesiæ Conventualis above mentioned would rather imply
the existence of another Capella Mariæ to which the parishioners had
ordinary access, and this reference to it tends to strengthen the
theory that on the north side of the north transept there was a
detached Lady Chapel as at Bristol.

On the other hand, the orders of Henry VIII.'s Commissioners expressly
mention the Lady Chapel as a part of the building to be pulled down,
as being superfluous. This is a matter of exact history, and we have
either to accept the conclusion that the Commissioners ordered the
chapel to be destroyed, and that it was done, or else that they
ordered the destruction of a building which did not exist. To support
the former alternative we have the tradition, and it is nothing more,
that the Lady Chapel was destroyed because of the delay of the good
people of Tewkesbury in buying the choir.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] Some of the stone in the tower is undoubtedly Caen stone, brought
from Normandy for the work.

[4] Mr. W. St. John Hope suggests that there was to be _one_ central
western tower, within which this arch would not look out of place.

[5] A good view of the north-east end at close quarters can be
obtained from the Abbey Tea Gardens.

[6] There are records of interments in the Lady Chapel: William Lord
de la Zouch of Mortimer in 1335, another Lord de la Zouch in 1371, and
the widow of the latter in 1408. In 1472 the Bishop of Worcester
appropriated the church of Little Compton to the Convent of Tewkesbury
to augment the salaries of the priests officiating in the chapel of
the Virgin Mary there.




CHAPTER III.

THE INTERIOR.


THE NAVE.

The Norman nave bears a close resemblance to that at Gloucester, and
has the distinguishing feature of the simple cylindrical columns.
These massive piers are found at the Priory Church at Great Malvern,
and also at Pershore; but those at Gloucester and Tewkesbury are
considerably larger than the others.[7] At Tewkesbury the nave is
particularly impressive from the height of the piers, and from the
severely formal character of the arches supported by them. The
simplicity of the nave as a whole has led some to ascribe the building
of it to a date earlier than that of the nave at Gloucester; but if
the received accounts go for anything, the building of the two fabrics
was contemporaneous. Pershore, Gloucester, and Tewkesbury are by some
considered to have been the production of one master-builder. If this
be so, it is a matter of regret that his name has not come down to our
time.

At Gloucester and at Tewkesbury many of the stones bear on their faces
the interesting devices incised by the Norman masons. These marks are
in many cases the same, but there are some found at Gloucester which
are not found at Tewkesbury, and _vice versâ_. One small point may be
noticed which may perhaps interest a few, viz., that the same workman
set out and worked at the first few courses of the stone work of the
staircases, and then was followed by others, possibly less
intelligent, but capable of following the indicated plan. A monk named
Alfred was the "Master of the Work," and it would be interesting to
know if the stones marked A are marked with his mark.

   [Illustration: _Photo. A.H. Hughes._
   THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END.]

The nave here was being built in all probability while the great
Flambard was busy with Durham (1105-1130), and very soon after he had
finished his labours at Twynham or Christchurch, Hants. Gloucester is
generally assigned to Serlo, 1089 to 1100, and Norwich was begun in
1096.

   [Illustration: MASONS' MARKS.]

Above the arches of the nave are small double round-headed openings
into a very narrow triforium walk, which is vaulted, as at Gloucester,
with a quadrantal arch.

There is another peculiarity, too, here, in that the vaulting of the
roof springs from corbels which rest directly on the capitals of the
piers. As a result of this the roof looks low and heavy.

The triforium openings, which are divided by small shafts, similar in
character to those in the tower chamber, are 5 feet 6 inches high and
4 feet 10 inches wide. The passage is 26 inches wide and 6-½ to 7 feet
high.

The two western bays of the triforium are not alike. On the north the
openings correspond to those in the other bays, and are not contracted
to correspond with the narrowed arch below; whereas on the south side
they are so contracted. By this means the square angle of the western
pier was continued to the roof. On the north side the western pier
ends abruptly at the capital of the respond.

The clerestory windows are partly concealed by the vaulting. Of course
the original windows were much smaller, and were removed and the space
enlarged when the re-roofing was done in the fourteenth century.

=The Roof.=--Originally, no doubt, as at Peterborough, where it
remains, the inner roof was a flat panelled ceiling of wood, supported
by a moulded framing. Whether the wooden roof decayed or was destroyed
by fire, it was found necessary in the early part of the fourteenth
century to re-roof the nave, and the present vaulting was then
constructed. Beautiful though it is architecturally, it has the effect
of dwarfing the nave, as it springs directly from the tops of the
piers in the nave. In character it is a simple pointed vaulting, and
the ribs at their many points of intersection are lavishly decorated
with bosses.

Originally the vaulting was painted and gilded, but owing to the
idiosyncrasies of those who fancied they were having things done
"decently and in order," it was colour-washed in the early part of
this century. The present scheme of colour decoration was carried out
by Mr. T. Gambier Parry. Its chief merit is that it throws out the
bosses in very strong relief. The bosses can be studied with an
opera-glass, but it is less fatiguing to examine them with the help of
a pocket mirror. There is a tradition that the bosses were carved by a
monk who was not held in much esteem by his companions, and was a butt
for their gibes and witticisms. Whether this was so or not, he knew
how to carve rudely and effectively in stone, and long may his work
remain with us. They represent in a highly pictorial manner the life
of our Lord. Beginning at the west end, the central bosses depict: (1)
The Nativity. (2) The Shepherds rendering homage. (3) The Magi on
their journey. (4) The Magi in adoration. (5) The finding of Christ in
the Temple. (6) The triumphal entry into Jerusalem. (7) The Last
Supper.[8] (8) The Betrayal. (9) The Flagellation. (10) The
Crucifixion. (11) The Resurrection. (12) The Ascension. (13) The Day
of Pentecost. (14) The Coronation of the Virgin. (15) The Last
Judgment.

The other bosses contain angels bearing musical instruments of every
known kind, and alternating, more or less regularly, with angels
censing and angels bearing emblems of the Passion.

On the south side: (1) Angels with pipe and tambourine. (2) Angels
with cymbals and bagpipes. (3) Angels with hurdy-gurdy and harp. (4)
Angels with dulcimer and organ. (5 and 6) Angels censing. (7) St.
Matthew and St. John with their emblems, a scroll and an eagle. (8)
Angel with a violin; others with emblems of the Passion, _i.e._,
posts, spear, and scourges.

On the north side are to be found: (1) Angel with pipe and tabor;
another censing. (2) Angel with harp; another censing. (3) Angels with
rebec and zither. (4) Angels with tabor and zither. (5 and 6) Angels
censing. (7) St. Luke and St. Mark, with their emblems, a winged ox,
and a winged lion. (8) Angel with a harp; others with emblems of the
Passion, _i.e._, a crown of thorns, a sponge, a cross, and a scourge.

Mr. Gambier Parry, who personally supervised, where he did not
personally execute, the decoration of the roof, termed it "a
marvellous specimen of English carving," and says that "together with
the cathedrals of Gloucester and Norwich, it combined some of the
finest features of mediæval sculpture." Further he adds that though
"fine details must not be looked for, yet it exhibited a vigour of
conception and a charm of inspiration which quite atoned for any
faults."

At the west end of the building are two half-figures, male and female,
like the figure-heads of ships, which serve as corbels for the
vaulting of the roof. They have been thought by some to represent Adam
and Eve, and by others to represent the founder, Fitz-Hamon, and
Sibylla his wife.

=The Font= (p. 40).--With the exception of the shaft, which has some
good hall-flower ornament,[9] and the Purbeck marble base, this is
entirely new work, dating only from the restoration carried out
1875-79. Formerly the old font, of which portions remain in the
church, stood in the apsidal chapel in the south transept, and the
choice of position for the new one is not quite happy. The canopy is
very fine work, but the font as a whole is as much too high as the
choir screen is too low. It is also placed at far too great a height
above the surrounding floor to be comfortable for a party of sponsors,
and from its height it interferes with the beautiful vista of the nave
as viewed from the outside of the open west door on a fine day in
summer. There is no reason for placing the font in this position, and
a Baptistery could have well been made in the north-west corner of the
nave.

=The Lectern=, also a gift from Rev. C.W. Grove in memory of his wife,
was presented in 1878. Formerly it blocked up the central passage up
the nave, but was removed to counterbalance the pulpit.

=The Pulpit= was given to the church by Mrs. Glynn, of Tewkesbury, in
memory of her husband. In style it is Perpendicular. The shape is
octagonal, and it is supported by seven shafts of Purbeck marble,
springing from a base of the same, polished; the bases and capitals of
the octagonal shafts being of stone. Of the seven panels, four are of
pierced work, and three are sculptured representing our Lord blessing
little children; preaching on the Mount; giving His charge to the
Apostle Peter. Below the panels is a brattice of Purbeck marble--from
this at the angles rise octagonal columns supporting angels, which
again support a canopy of elaborate work. The pulpit rests on a base
of Purbeck marble.

The nave must have terminated in the same way as the nave at
Gloucester, viz., with an altar and with two side chapels--one in each
aisle. In the handbook to Gloucester, page 44, will be found the
illustration of the altar and chapels redrawn by Mr. Waller from the
drawing given in Browne Willis' "Survey of Gloucester Cathedral,"
published in 1727. This arrangement no doubt obtained at Tewkesbury,
which, like Gloucester, was a Benedictine foundation.

The space thus given up to the altar and chapels is indicated by the
step which comes in the nave near the second pillar, counting westward
from the western tower piers. In each of these, on the aisle side are
to be seen the ascending spiral made by the recently inserted pieces
of stone which show the exact position of the staircase that led up to
the rood-screen overhead.[10] This step no doubt marks the site of the
original western termination of the ritual choir. It seems strange
that, after undergoing so many vicissitudes as a whole, the survival
of so interesting a point should have been permitted. Gloucester
Cathedral was repaved in 1720, and no doubt the corresponding step
disappeared in the process in the levelling-up of the nave to a height
nearly ten inches higher than the original floor level. This step was
restored by Sir Gilbert Scott when the floor of the nave was lowered.

On the face of the pillars here some traces of fresco-painting are in
some lights still to be seen.

A screen of most uninteresting work separated the choir from the nave
up to the time of the restoration work that was begun in 1875, and
upon this stood the organ. In front of the organ was hung a huge and
unsightly gas corona, portions of which are still lying in the north
transept.

Two bays of either aisle were also disfigured with low galleries, as
were also the transepts. These erections, with the screen and the
screens across the aisles, have fortunately disappeared. As Bennett
wrote, "These additions, however much they may add to the convenience
and comfort of those who attend divine service, little harmonise with
the general character of the building."

=The Screen.=--This dates from the restoration of 1892, and was
erected in memory of Mrs. Glynn, by Archdeacon Robeson and Mr. E.F.
Glynn. The screen is of carved oak, and consists of a central door,
with wrought-iron gates, and on either side four openings. At the top,
which is seventeen feet above the floor level, is an overhanging
cornice with elaborate cresting of carved work on both sides. The
cross in the centre is richly ornamented on the stem and the arms.
These latter are terminated with pateræ, with pierced and carved work.
The centre of the cross is composed of a quatrefoil in which is
carved the Agnus Dei. Flanking the cross are two figures, one
representing St. John, and the other the Virgin Mary. These figures
are well carved (by Boulton, of Cheltenham), but, like the cross, look
too small on the top of the screen.

The side sections of the screen terminate in ogee arches, elaborately
cusped and crocketed, with perpendicular tracery in the spandrils. The
separating shafts terminate with pinnacles.

In the central section there are two arches, one being semi-circular
with very delicate foliated tracery; the other is an ogee trefoil
supported from brackets which take the form of angels.

The lowest stage of the screen is solid panel work and calls for no
special mention.

The gates were made by Clarke, of Brackley, and were designed by Mr.
J.O. Scott for the donor, Rev. W.R.F. Hepworth. Intricate in their
design, and cleverly wrought as they are, they seem slightly
incongruous in this wooden screen. The shields bear the correct arms
of the Abbey, and round the shields are intertwining iron rods.
Scrolls with leaves and other devices are also introduced. Across the
top of the gates is a band of square panels with varied design in
pierced work, and on the top is an elaborate cresting.

On the inside of the gates, on the shields are the texts, "_Serve the
Lord with fear._"; and "_Rejoice unto Him with reverence._"

The whole screen looks too low for its position, whether it be viewed
from the west end or from the triforium of the choir at the east end.
The workmanship will not bear any minute comparison with the loving
hand-craftsmanship of mediæval times; much of it is more skilful as
church furniture of a very mechanical kind than beautiful as real
carver's work.

The =Great West Window= dates back, as far as the masonry is
concerned, to 1686, and was erected then to replace the window blown
in by the wind in 1661. The glass was inserted in 1886 by Rev. C.W.
Grove in memory of his wife, and represents various scenes in the life
of Christ. In the lowest tier is the Annunciation, with the Nativity
in the centre, and the Presentation in the Temple on the right. Above
is the Baptism by St. John in the Jordan, the Last Supper in the
centre, the Agony in the Garden on the right. In the topmost tier is
the Bearing of the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the appearance of our
Lord to Mary after the Resurrection. In the head of the window are
angels, those in the two side lights on either side being engaged in
censing. In the central top light is Christ in Majesty, with angels.
The glass is by Hardman.

=The Aisles.=--The aisles of the nave are very much lower in height
than the nave, and the vaulting is simpler in character. There are,
however, many fine bosses, and, like those in the nave, they have been
treated in a tentative way with colour and gold. As a whole, the
effect of decorated bosses standing out in such strong relief from the
simple, unadorned stonework is rather spotty and distracting. The arms
of the Despenser family are to be found on some of the bosses in the
south aisle, and it is to the munificence of that powerful family that
the execution of the work is due. The Norman roof of the aisles was a
lean-to roof of wood, as is indicated by the half-arch between either
aisle and the transept.

The fourteenth century windows in the =North Aisle= were partially
blocked up with stonework up to 1825, when they were restored and
reglazed. Most of the stained glass was inserted in 1892. The window
at the west end is a memorial, inserted in 1869, to Mr. John Terrett
and his sister. The subject is the "Adoration by the Magi"; the glass
is by Heaton Butler and Bayne. The _first_ window east of the porch
represents the "Angel appearing to the Shepherds" and "The Star of
Bethlehem," and "The Wise Men before Herod," in the lower part. The
_second_ shows "Christ Disputing with the Doctors," and below are "Eli
and Samuel," "David and Samuel," and "Saul at the feet of Gamaliel."
The _third_ represents the Sermon on the Mount, and below, Christ
talking to the Woman at Samaria, Christ with Mary and Martha, and
Christ with Nicodemus. The _fourth_ represents the Transfiguration;
the _fifth_ gives the triumphal entry into Jerusalem; beneath, Christ
is driving out the money-changers from the Temple and weeping over the
city; the _sixth_ depicts the removal of Christ from the Cross, and
the Entombment.

These windows are more or less attempts to reproduce the style of the
old glass in the choir. Four of them contain groups under canopies,
with a background of grisaille and a wide border. Owing to the lights
being narrower in the fifth the border is omitted, and in the sixth
the grisaille work is also omitted. All the windows in the north
aisle, with the exception of that in the west wall and that next to
it, were presented to the Abbey by Rev. C.W. Grove.

It will be noticed that the windows in the north aisle are slightly
longer than those in the south aisle. The curtailment in the latter
was due to the fact that the cloisters were built against the outside
of the south wall. There is more variety in the tracery of the windows
in this north aisle than in those of the south aisle.

In the north aisle near the transept [P][11] is a recessed tomb, much
mutilated, with a very graceful arch. On the tomb lies a knight in
armour, with his hands clasped and his feet resting upon a lion. The
armour is worth noticing, as it is curious. The gorget is of
edge-ringed mail, the surcoat is blazoned with a chevron between three
leopard's faces. Banded mail, with which the knight is dressed, is
rarely met with in monuments, only three other instances being known,
viz., Newton Solney, Tolland Royal, and Dodford.

This tomb has usually hitherto been assigned to Lord Wenlock, who was
killed by the Duke of Somerset at the fatal battle of Tewkesbury.
Against this theory is the fact that the tomb is of much earlier date
than that of Lord Wenlock's death, and the fact that Lord Wenlock
built a chantry chapel in Luton Church for his wife Elizabeth and
himself, to which, according to Leland, he is said to have been
removed. The figure is supposed, with considerable probability, to
represent Sir John de Burley.

In the north aisle, on a brass plate inserted in a flat stone is a
Latin inscription to Amie Wiatt, of Tewkesbury, who died on August
25th, ... Following the inscription is a set of elegiac verses, the
initial letters of which form the lady's name.

    "A me disce mori, mors est sors omnibus una
       Mortis ut esca fui mortis ut esca fores.
     In terram ex terra terrestris massa meabis
       Et capiet cineres urna parata cinis.
     Vivere vis cœlo, terrenam temnito vitam:
       Vita piis mors est mors mihi vita piæ.
     Iejunes, vigiles, ores, credasque potenti.
       Ardua fac: non est mollis ad astra via.
     Te scriptura vocat, te sermo, ecclesia, mater;
       Te que vocat Sponsus, Spiritus atque Pater."

A punning epitaph, also acrostic in form, but in English, is to be
found in the nave, to one Merrett, a barber chirurgeon, who died in
1669.

    "T hough only stone salutes the readers eye,
     H ere in deep silence precious dust doth lye,
     O bscurely sleeping in Death's mighty store,
     M ingled with common earth till time's no more;
     A gainst Death's stubborn laws who dares repine,
     S ince so much _Merrit_ did his life resigne.

     M urmurs and tears are useless in the grave,
     E lse he, whole vollies at his tomb might have;
     R est here in peace, who like a faithful steward
     R epaired the church, the poor and needy cured.
     E ternall mansions do attend the just,
     T o clothe with immortality their dust,
     T ainted (whilst under ground) with worms and rust."

In the pillar nearest to the north door in the nave is all that
remains of the stoup or bénitier for the holy water. We may probably
attribute the wanton damage it has sustained to one of the zealots who
ministered here after the Reformation.

=South Aisle.=--This aisle has five Early Decorated windows. The
western four have three lights each; the other, near to the south
transept, has four lights, and the tracery in it is slightly more
elaborate.

All the stained-glass windows in this aisle were presented to the
church by the Rev. C.W. Grove, in 1888, as a memorial to his wife. The
windows are by Hardman.

The _first_ window, _i.e._, the westernmost, represents Christ walking
on the sea; the _second_ represents the cripple at the pool of
Bethesda; the _third_, the raising of the widow's son at Nain; the
_fourth_, the feeding of the five thousand; the _fifth_, the changing
of the water into wine at Cana.

At the west end of the south aisle is a memorial window to Mr. H.P.
Moore. This is also by Hardman, and represents the home at Nazareth.

At the easternmost end of this aisle is the door by which access was
given the church from the cloisters. The entrance to this door
consists of a depressed arch, with a square head over it; the
spandrils are pierced with an open quatrefoil. This door stands within
the original Norman doorway, which was filled in, and traces of the
supporting shaft with its capital may be seen. Above are seven niches,
with brackets and canopies of good carved work. Over the canopy on
either side is an angel with a plain shield.

At the restoration of the church this doorway was very carefully dealt
with at the cost of the then Mayor, Mr. Thomas Collins. Up to the time
of the restoration of the church, 1891-92, this doorway had been
walled up with many pieces of broken carved work from other parts of
the church. The doors were designed by Mr. J. Oldrid Scott, executed
locally, and given by the late Mr. Thomas Collins.

To the east of the cloister door [O] is a tomb with a fine crocketed
ogee arch, and with an angel bearing a plain shield in place of a
finial. On one of the cusps are to be traced the chevrons of the De
Clares, and another bears a lion rampant. Beyond the fact that it was
the tomb of a relation of the De Clares nothing definite can be said.
Some have thought it to be the tomb of Sir Thomas Morley, the husband
of Anne, daughter of Edward, Lord Despenser, and widow of Hugh, Lord
Hastings, who died in 1417. It may here be noted that a lion rampant,
sable, crowned or, are to be found on one of the shields at Lord
Despenser's feet in the Isham register. This tomb is generally known
as the Duke of Somerset's tomb, but the arms as they exist show no
resemblance to the arms he would be entitled to bear, viz., those of
the Beauforts.

In the floor of the south aisle is an interesting stone with an
inscription in Norman French, in bold Lombardic capitals running round
the border:

   [Illustration: (in Norman: Leger de Parr lies here. May God have
   mercy on his soul.)]

_i.e._, "Leger de Parr lies here. May God have mercy on his soul."
According to Bennett, this stone had been moved from some other place
in the church.

Up to the time of the restoration the extreme western portion of the
south aisle was part and parcel of the Abbey House Estate. In 1883,
when the estate was put up for sale, the room thus formed in the
church was withdrawn from the auction, and soon afterwards was
presented by the then owner to the Abbey, to be in future an absolute
part of the building. In the south wall near this Abbey chamber is a
blocked-up doorway which gave access to the Outer Parlour of the
monks.


TRANSEPTS AND AMBULATORY OF THE CHOIR.

The whole of the nave, as in most cathedrals, is open to the
inspection of the visitor free of any charge; but the choir, the
tombs, the chapels and transepts, are reserved, and shown to visitors
on payment of a small fee. This fee is payable at the verger's desk at
the entrance to the north transept. A further fee is payable by those
who wish to photograph in this or in any other part of the building.

=North Transept.=[12]--The whole of this north transept is taken up
with the Grove organ, of which an account is given on p. 98. The
dimensions of the transept are 40 feet by 34 feet, and 58 feet in
height. For the most part this transept consists of original Norman
work, very little altered with the exception of the fourteenth century
stone vaulting and the insertion of windows of the same period.

On the north wall of the transept is a tablet, in painted alabaster,
to John Roberts. It has been neglected, but it is worth deciphering.
It runs: "Here resteth what was mortal of John Roberts of Fiddington,
gent. Careful he was to maintain tillage, the maintenance of mankind.
He feared God, was faithful to his country, friends, good to the poore
and common wealth, just to all men. Who left us Jan. 1631, aged 77."
The text is, "For Christ is to mee both in life and in death
advantage."

The north side has two small pointed windows with geometrical tracery.
Below these are recessed Norman arches. On the floor level the masonry
is new, having been built up inside the Early English arch.

On the south side are the backs of the choir stalls. On the west side,
in the wall is a large Decorated window containing five lights with
flowing tracery. This window was blown into the church in 1819, and
then rebuilt.

The eastern wall contains two Norman arches, one of which is merely
the continuation of the north aisle, through the transept to the north
ambulatory. The other is in the north wall of the transept, and opens
into the choir vestry. Over these two arches were formerly two other
open arches. One of these, viz., that over the choir vestry, has been
walled up, and the other has a circular or rose window. After
undergoing repairs the window was glazed by Hardman, in 1892, as a
memorial to Mary Anne Moore. The subject is "The adoration of the
Lamb." In the central light is the Agnus Dei; while in the other six
encircling quatrefoils are angels censing, and representing Blessing,
Glory, Honour, Power, Wisdom and Strength. The glass has been designed
to give the effect of older glass, and, so far as that is possible, it
may claim to be a success.

   [Illustration: (_H.J.L.J.M._)
   THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE, LOOKING WEST, SHOWING THE BACK OF THE
   DESPENSER MONUMENT.]

This rose window occupies the space which originally was the west end
of the original Norman triforium of the choir, to which access was
given by the staircase in the north-east corner of the transept.

The =interior of the tower= for more than three centuries was
accessible only from the outside of the church, but is now approached
by a staircase in the north-east angle of the north transept. After
mounting the first flight, which is somewhat worn, the transept
vaulting is crossed by a species of bridge, and at the end of this
access is given by a narrow doorway to the first floor of the tower,
which contains a large room 33 feet square, with a curiously formed
floor. This room has some good Norman work on the walls, and when open
to the church, as it was originally, it must have been one of the
striking features of the interior from below. That it was open
originally may be inferred from the plain treatment of the western
side, _i.e._, the side that would not catch the eye of those using the
nave and looking eastwards.

On the floor-level the arcading is practically uniform, with the
exception of one column.[13] Above, on the north, south, and east
sides is arcading, and still higher in each side are two round-headed
window openings.

This spacious apartment owes the form of its curious floor to the
vaulting of the lantern-space in the time of Sir Guy de Brien, whose
arms are found in the lierne-vaulting which supports the floor. The
room was cleared and improved in 1887, when the hanging
ringing-chamber was removed, and the floor and ceiling put in good
order. The ringing-floor is on the next stage, and the belfry is the
floor above.

The clock was erected as a Jubilee memorial in 1887, at a cost of over
£200. It is built on the lines of the clocks at Westminster and
Worcester Cathedral, and chimes the so-called "Cambridge quarters" as
arranged by Dr. Crotch. Small though the clock looks from the level of
the churchyard, it must be remembered that it is the massive tower
that dwarfs it--the diameter of the face is in reality 8 feet.

   [Illustration: (_H.J.L.J.M._)
   INTERIOR OF THE TOWER ABOVE THE VAULTING.]

Nothing is known of the place of origin of the pre-Reformation bells,
but, arguing from the proximity of Gloucester, it may be assumed that
out of the eight bells weighing 14,200 lb. or more, some may have been
cast by John Sandre, of Gloucester.

The eight bells were bought from the King's Commissioners for £142,
_i.e._, at the rate of 5 lb. for a shilling. They may have been
bought to sell again, as the number was soon reduced to _four_. In
1612 a fifth bell was added, as a rhyme on the cover of the baptismal
register (1607-1629) tells us:

    "William Dixon and Thomas Hoare
     Made us that bell which wee ring before,
     Which men for that good deede praie we they maie thrive,
     For we having but four bells, they made them five;
     And out of the grownde this bell they did delve
     The 24th of Julie, Anno Dom. 1612."

Near the arcaded passage in the room in the tower are some memoranda
of the changes possible with five bells, rudely engraved in the
stonework.

In 1632 the peal was recast and a sixth bell was added, and in 1679
the two newest bells were recast. Two new bells were added in 1696. In
1797 the great or tenor bell was recast. From the time when the bells
were overhauled and tuned at Gloucester, in 1837, no further
alteration has been made. The present peal is about 500 lb. less in
weight than the peal in use at the time of the Dissolution.

From the top of the tower a fine view is to be obtained--Cheltenham,
and Gloucester, with its beautiful Cathedral tower, on the south, the
Malvern Hills on the west, the Cotswolds on the east and north-east.
The Severn and the Avon wind through the landscape, and on the far
horizon may be seen the distant hills of Wales.

The old shafting has been chipped away on the west face of the
stonework opposite to the north-east tower pier. As one turns round
the corner into the north ambulatory or choir aisle, it will be
noticed that on the wall is a monument by Flaxman to Lady Clarke; it
is small and unobtrusive, but the sculpture is thoroughly good and
worthy of a great artist.

On the right hand opposite is the Warwick Chapel (p. 83), of which the
glory in part has departed, viz., the decoration in colour and in
gold, and much of the architectural detail.

=St. James' Chapel.=[14]--This chapel (dimensions 28 feet by 24 feet),
which opens on to the north transept of the north ambulatory, was from
1576 up to 1875 walled off from the rest of the church and used as
premises for the "Free Grammar School of William Ferrers, citizen and
mercer of London." The school ceased to be held here about forty years
ago, but the inserted masonry and brickwork was not removed till the
restoration of 1875 and following years, when the chapel was restored
by the Freemasons of the county. From the time that the chapel ceased
to be a school it fell into a bad state of repair, and was open to the
sky before the recent restoration, when the present roof of timber,
covered with lead--the only wooden roof in the church--was erected and
the stonework repaired.

There seems no doubt that this chapel was originally a Norman apse
with a vaulted chamber[15] above, like that in the sister transept,
and that it was enlarged in the thirteenth century by Prior Henry
Sipton. This is distinctly stated in Annals to have been done in the
case of the chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas in 1237. No trace remains
of any of the work of Prior Sipton owing to the later works carried
out in this chapel. The nave of a Lady Chapel was built on the north
side of the north transept, and its chancel (the existing northern
part of the choir vestry) was carried out to the east, this portion of
the chapel being quite detached, as the windows (now blocked up) in
the upper part of the south wall plainly show. Access for the laity
was given by a door in the nave portion, while the monks had an
entrance through the adjoining chapel, which may, after its rebuilding
in 1237, have contained two altars, one to St. James and another to
St. Nicholas. This theory of the two altars in this chapel would
account for much of the confusion in the naming of the chapel by
subsequent writers. The vaulting of this chapel is at first sight a
difficult problem to solve, as the eastern side is divided into two
equal parts, while the western side is divided into two unequal parts.
A pillar seems to have stood in the centre, if the lists of noblemen
buried (after the battle in 1471) in the two chapels are trustworthy.
When the fourteenth century Lady Chapel at the east end of the church
was built, the _raison d'être_ of the Early English Lady Chapel
ceased, and the chapel entrances were enlarged to their present form.
Any distinctive features that they had in the way of wall decoration
were lost either at the Dissolution, when part was pulled down, or
during the subsequent use of the eastern chapels as a schoolroom.

Passing through into the adjoining chapel on the north, which was
probably the chancel of an =Early English Lady Chapel=, the visitor
will note the great contrast between this and the adjacent chapel. It
is very much richer in its ornament, and though it has been terribly
mutilated, much work of surpassing interest is still left to us. The
north wall contains the remains of a trefoil-headed arcade of great
beauty, the spandrils of which show richly carved foliage, the effect
of which was further heightened by the application of colour. Of the
arcading eleven capitals remain, but only three pillars and bases, the
rest having been cleared away.

   [Illustration: (_H.J.L.J.M._)
   WALL ARCADE IN EARLY ENGLISH CHAPEL.]

In the wall of the present west end is a window decorated with a
moulding consisting of two series of chevrons, completely undercut,
pointing laterally in contrary directions.[16] Numerous interesting
remains of Early English mason's work are in the chapel, and many
have been built into the wall on the east side, the most important
being remains of a fine altar-piece in Purbeck marble.

There is a window on the east side containing four lights, the
subjects, beginning from the north side, being as follows:--(1) The
mythical Saxon founders, Oddo and Doddo, A.D. 715. (2) The
Norman founders, _i.e._, Fitz-Hamon and Sibylla. (3) Earl Robert,
1089-1123. (4) The Countess of Warwick, 1439. The figures are based on
the MS. Chronicle of the Abbey, belonging to Sir Charles Isham of
Lamport. This window, the tracery of which is new, is by Bourne of
Birmingham, and forms a memorial to a former churchwarden, John
Garrison, who died in 1876. The tracery contains the red and white
roses of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, appropriately enough,
seeing that under the floor, in front of the altar to St. James, are
interred the remains of Lord Edmund, the Duke of Somerset, Lord Thomas
Courtenay, the Earl of Devon, Sir Richard Courtenay, Lord John
Somerset, and Sir Humphrey Hadley, who were beheaded after the battle
of Tewkesbury. Sir Thomas Tresham, who also was beheaded at the same
time, was buried before a pillar between the altars of St. James and
St. Nicholas.

The whole of this part of the chapel was once the choir or chancel of
the detached Early English Lady Chapel which was erected early in the
thirteenth century. The Annals of Tewkesbury record that in 1239 the
_Church_ of Tewkesbury with a greater altar was dedicated in honour of
the glorious Virgin Mary. The word Church might mean this Early
English Lady Chapel, which with its nave and chancel would be a model
church, although somewhat small in size; but the words _majore altari_
are generally taken to mean the large slab of Purbeck marble now in
its place in the choir as an altar slab.

Lady Chapels were not invariably at the east end of the main building.
At Bristol there was and is still an elder Lady Chapel which at one
time was detached from the main building.

The floor in these chapels is that which was formerly in the choir up
to the time of the restoration of the church.

=St. Margaret's Chapel.=--This is one of the series of the fourteenth
century chapels which surrounds the ambulatory of the choir.

An old altar-cloth which was given by Anne, Countess of Coventry, in
1731 to the church was removed to this chapel after the restoration of
the building.

   [Illustration: _Photo. A.H. Hughes._
   THE AMBULATORY, LOOKING TOWARDS ST. MARGARET'S CHAPEL.]

A very fine screen of stonework separates this chapel from the
ambulatory, the tomb of Sir Guy de Brien (late Decorated--erected in
1390) forming part of the screen.[17] Sir Guy was the third husband of
the Lady Elizabeth Despenser who is buried in the tomb on the other
side of the ambulatory. In the panelling are the arms of Sir Guy, who
was also Lord Welwyn, and those of his wife, who was by birth a
Montacute. This knight served Edward III. as standard-bearer at Creçy
in 1346, and was a great benefactor to the Abbey. He is credited with
the vaulting of the tower, as his arms occur in the bosses there.

The vaulting, which springs from engaged shafts, is excellent work,
like that in the other chapels, and the bosses are worth notice. In
the central boss in the ceiling the Coronation of the Virgin is
represented, and surrounding it are heads of lions and of men.

An aumbry, lavabo, and piscina are all worthy of study.

=St. Edmund's Chapel.=--The ground-plan of this chapel is curious, as
it is apparently divided into two by a kind of re-entrant pier of
masonry, and the easternmost part is screened off from the ambulatory
by the curious tomb known by the name of the Wakeman Cenotaph, or the
tomb of the starved monk (_vide_ p. 94).

In this chapel is a large aumbry, and a very perfect stone coffin
which was dug up in the south ambulatory near the Trinity Chapel. The
metallic sound given forth by the coffin when tapped seems to be of
more interest than anything else to the ordinary visitor. Various
interesting fragments of stonework are in the chapel, one being a
portion of a tomb. Portions of the font formerly in the Norman chapel
in the south transept are also here. Under the painted window is a
piscina, more than half of which is modern work. There were, no doubt,
two altars, _i.e._, one in each part of the chapel, but the dedication
of the other part is not known.

At the intersections of the vaulting are some unusually interesting
carved bosses. For the most part they have reference to the legend of
St. Edmund, King and Martyr, viz:--

The head of the king bearing a crown. The king, bound to a tree, being
shot at by Danes. A greyhound watching by the body of Lodbrog in the
wood, murdered by the king's huntsman. Christ with a halo of glory,
triumphing over Sin personified as a monster. St. Michael destroying
the dragon. Other bosses are either floral or heraldic, the latter
containing the arms of the Despensers. The boss in the centre of the
roof is unique, containing a lion being attacked by various other
animals, _e.g._, a horse, a ram, a monkey, wolves, etc.

There is one painted window in this chapel, which was erected in 1877
to the memory of Rev. C.G. Davies, for thirty-one years Vicar of
Tewkesbury. The window is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. In effect it is
too kaleidoscopic.

   [Illustration: _Photo. A.H. Hughes._
   THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE AND ST. EDMUND'S CHAPEL.]

Opposite to the Wakeman Cenotaph (_vide_ p. 95) is the iron grating
which is the entrance to--

=The Clarence Vault.=--This vault [F] contains the remains of George,
Duke of Clarence, Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, and his wife
Isabelle, who was the eldest daughter of Richard Neville, Earl of
Warwick, commonly known as the "King-maker." The Duchess died at
Warwick in December, 1476, from the effects, it is said, of poison.
She was buried in the vault which, as the chronicle says, was made
_artificialiter_ behind the great altar, in front of the door of the
chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the opening of the tomb was
made opposite the entrance of the chapel of Saint Edmund the Martyr.
The young Countess, after lying in the choir in state for thirty-five
days, was laid in the vault on February 8th. Ten days later her
husband, who had been put to death in the Tower--it matters little
whether in the butt of Malmsey wine or not--was buried beside her.

Assuming that the tomb was desecrated and pillaged soon after the
Dissolution, and again later on in Commonwealth times, we find that in
1709 the royal remains were displaced to make room for the body of a
"periwig-pated alderman" by name Samuel Hawling; and later on, in 1729
and 1753, his wife and son were interred there. The site then was lost
till it was identified in 1826. In 1829 the Hawling remains were
removed, and since then it has remained the Clarence Vault. In 1876 it
was fitted with iron gates, and in the pavement over the vault a brass
has been inserted with the inscription, composed by Mr. J.T.D.
Niblett:--

"Dominus Georgius Plantagenet dux Clarencius et Domina Isabelle
Neville, uxor ejus qui obierunt haec 12 Decembris, A.D. 1476,
ille 18 Feb., 1477.

    "Macte veni sicut sol in splendore,
     Mox subito mersus in cruore."

Or in English--

"Lord George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and Lady Isabelle Neville,
his wife, who died, she on Dec. 12, 1476, he on Feb. 18, 1477.

    "I came in my might like a sun in splendour,
     Soon suddenly bathed in my own blood."

On the brass are engraved two suns in splendour, the badge of the
House of York.

The fourteenth century stone screen-work round the choir side of the
ambulatory, particularly at the back of the reredos and the north-east
portion adjacent to it, is very interesting work. The lower part is
panelled with tracery in low relief, with the arches springing from
diminutive heads. All the shafting is ornamented with a small
ball-like enrichment. Above the panelling is some open tracery of
beautiful design. By reference to the plan it will be seen that much
of this original screen-work has been set back several feet, possibly
to make room for the Clarence vault.

At the east end of the ambulatory is the arch by which entrance was
formerly given to the destroyed Lady Chapel. It is now walled up, and
in such a way that it is difficult to picture the appearance of the
original work. However, from the battlements of the adjoining
south-east chapel it is possible to see the remnants of the vaulting
of the entrance to the Lady Chapel.

In the modern cast wall is a window of three lights (by Hardman) in
memory of Rev. C.W. Grove, who presented most of the modern glass in
the church. The subject is the Pharisee and the Publican. It is not
known whether the Pharisee is intended to be a portrait of any one,
but the Publican's face is said to be an excellent portrait of Mr.
Grove, and the portrait of the lady in the top light (she lacks a
halo) is deemed to be an equally good picture of Mrs. Grove.

=St. Faith's Chapel.=--The site of this chapel is not known for
certain, though it is supposed to have been one of the two south-east
chapels.

The first and easternmost chapel is the largest of the series of
chapels built round the ambulatory. It is pentagonal in form and is 28
feet by 24 feet, opening to the aisle with a richly moulded arch. The
vaulting, as in all these chapels, is excellent work, but the student
of such things will notice that the masons' work on the chapels on the
south side is in even courses, and that the stones are better dressed
than in the chapels on the north side of the choir. At the
intersections of the vaulting there are some good bosses, chiefly
foliage with some heads. In this chapel there are three stone coffins.

The central window (by Kempe) is to the memory of Benjamin Thomas
Moore, for thirty-eight years churchwarden, who died in 1896. Though
detail of a most elaborate kind fills the window, yet in appearance it
is rather thin, a quality which the clear, strong light that shines
upon it as a rule somewhat accentuates. In the central light is St.
Faith, to whom this chapel is often ascribed, with St. Agnes on the
left and St. Cecilia on the right. There are two other windows, one of
four lights and the other of three.

By standing at the entrance to this chapel the visitor will obtain a
very fine and interesting set of _coups d'œil_ of the different
parts of the building. Towards the north there is the view of the work
at the back of the altar, and St. Edmund's and St. Margaret's chapels
in the background. To the north-west are the tombs at the back of the
altar and sedilia; to the west is a good view of the south ambulatory
and the south aisle of the nave.

The next chapel, _i.e._, the middle one of the three on this side, has
no known dedication.[18] It is also pentagonal--somewhat irregular, it
is true, but its length and breadth are the same--20 feet. There are
two windows of three lights.

This chapel has become the museum for the storage of many interesting
fragments of destroyed portions of the fabric. Some of the coloured
fragments are under glass, others are grouped against the eastern
wall. It is to be regretted that no list is hung up in the cases. The
larger of the two cases contains in one division pieces of the broken
upper part of the sedilia, all finely coloured. In the other division
are fragments from the Warwick Chapel and other mutilated tombs in the
choir. Most of these were found buried in the choir at the restoration
in 1875. There are some iron rings which belonged to the coffin of Sir
Hugh le Despenser. They were removed when the tomb was inspected in
1875.

Portions of figures of the De Clares are also in the case--one with an
inverted torch, representing Gilbert de Clare, who died, the last male
of his line, at the battle of Bannockburn, 1314. Three bases of
figures contain inscriptions as follows:

     1. Rob^s. Consull Filius Regis
     2. Willelm^s. Comes Gloces^r.
     3. . . . . . e Regis.

Another portion of a figure, in a blue mantle, is said to be Thomas
Lord Despenser, the last Earl of Gloucester. It has upon it the arms
of Despenser and Clare.

On the wall are some swords which recall the panic caused in 1803 by
Napoleon's projected invasion and humiliation of England. It is
difficult to see why they or the colours of the Volunteers were
removed to this position from the Town Hall.

Against the eastern wall are portions of a beautiful frieze, with
ball-flower ornament, and many shields bearing traces of rich colour.
There is a fine head, and a curiosity in the form of a coffin of an
infant, a portion of a cluster of marble columns, and a figure in
camelskin and leather girdle representing St. John the Baptist.

Across this chapel is the tomb of Abbot Cheltenham, who died in 1509
(_vide_ p. 95).

=The Vestry.=--The third of the chapels is the most regular in shape,
and is used, as it was in monastic times, as a Vestiarium or vestry.
The arch is closed entirely by masonry, built upon the original wall
which formed the outer wall of the Norman church. In the walled-up
space that corresponds to what is the entrance in the case of the
other chapels are a fine tomb and the doorway into the vestry. A
description of the tomb will be found on p. 97. The tomb of the Abbot
may have been removed from a grave outside the building, but it is not
known who was buried in it. Willis ascribed it to Robert Fortington,
who died in 1253. A fine doorway, richly decorated, with three
elaborately wrought brackets for images over it, gives access to the
Clergy Vestry. The door is of oak, plated with roughly wrought metal
plates, of which tradition has it that they were made by the monks out
of swords and armour found in and around the precincts after the
battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.

This chapel is profusely enriched with ball-flower moulding, both
inside and on the side next the ambulatory. It will be noticed that
the windows are small and placed, for the sake of the security of the
sacristy, high up in the south wall. In the south wall is a piscina,
and close by on the south-east wall must have stood an altar. The
window nearer to this has richer detail than the other two. In the
south-west wall a small recess is formed inside a buttress. This may
have been used as a safe for plate and other valuables in the charge
of the sacristan.

   [Illustration: (_H.J.L.J.M._)
   THE VESTRY DOOR, SOUTH CHOIR AISLE.]

A special staircase in the north-west corner, entered from the
ambulatory, gives access to the room over the vestry. In this room,
which has a fireplace, the sacristan probably slept. He was able from
the windows on the stairs to see into the Vestiarium or Diaconum
Magnum, and also into the choir. In fact, this view is one of the most
interesting in the church. Two large square modern windows give light
to this room, and a doorway in the east wall communicates with the
space over the vaulting of the ambulatory and chapels. The room had
originally a low timbered roof, as will be seen by the holes once
occupied by the beams.

There are two tombs of interest built into the wall between the vestry
door and the south transept, and space for them has been cut out of
the original Norman solid wall. One is quite plain and simple Early
English work [M], and contains the remains of Abbot Alan, a man of
learning and of considerable note, as he was a friend of Thomas Ã
Becket, the great Archbishop of Canterbury. This is the only tomb of
that period now surviving in the church, and it has been thought that
he was the first of the abbots who was honoured with an intramural
tomb.

Close to Abbot Alan's tomb is another recess which now is without its
coffin. The arch is pointed and crocketed with pinnacles at the sides.
In the absence of a tomb the chief interest consists in the old
encaustic tiles which have been transferred here from other parts of
the building, a few of them having been found in 1875 under the then
stone pavement of the choir. They are now safe here from the
destroying power of the ubiquitous tourist's foot.

On the south-east tower pier is a marble tablet in Renaissance style,
erected in 1890 to the memory of Mrs. Craik, the author of "John
Halifax, Gentleman," who is said to have written her story whilst
staying at the ancient "Bell Inn" near the Abbey gate. The memorial
was designed by Mr. H.H. Armstead, R.A., and is gracefully carried out
entirely in white marble. The only fault in the memorial is that there
is too much work in proportion to the size of the tablet. The topmost
portion above the projecting cornice is a charming piece of work,
illustrating Charity, but too high above the ordinary visitor's head
to be seen or appreciated as it should, and the group rather
overweights the memorial.

   [Illustration: _Photo by A.H. Hughes_
   THE APSIDAL CHAPEL, SOUTH TRANSEPT.]

=South Transept.=--(Dimensions 40 feet 8 inches by 32 feet 10 inches.)
This transept has vaulting of the same character as the other, and a
large west window, rebuilt in 1820, filled with glass in memory of
Thomas Collins, of Tewkesbury. Beneath this window is a deeply
recessed doorway (now blocked up) which once gave access to the
cloisters. In this recess are to be found some of the old tiles which
formerly were in the choir. In the south wall too, like the north wall
of the other transept, there are recessed Norman arches with two
windows--enlarged later--under the roof. The doorway in this wall
formerly communicated with the Chapter House. One of Tewkesbury's
glories, the old organ, forms the north boundary of the transept. On
the east side there are four large Norman arches. Of these the first
is the archway which gives access to the south ambulatory, with a
triangular window (of fourteenth century work) over it, occupying the
position once taken by the arch of the triforium of the Norman choir.
In 1893 this window was glazed with stained glass by Rev. W.H.F.
Hepworth in memory of his mother, the subject of the window being
Faith, Hope, and Charity.

To the south of this is the large arch which gives access to the
Norman chapel with its early Norman groined roof. This chapel will
give the student an idea of the original plan of the north transept
before the alterations in 1237 and in 1246.

The east window was perforce blocked up when the ambulatory chapels
were built, and to give light to the chapel the south-east window was
inserted in the apse, no other position for a window being possible,
as will easily be seen by reference to the plan.

An anonymous donor presented the Salviati mosaic now in the filling of
the east window, but the effect is not good, as too strong a light
falls upon the gold background. Probably the work will look better
when the south transept is entirely glazed with coloured glass. The
subject is our Lord enthroned, bearing a book in one hand, and having
the other raised as in blessing. The glass in this window was formerly
in the east window of the ambulatory of the choir, and was removed to
its present position in 1887. It is a memorial to Mr. A. Sprowle, a
former resident of Tewkesbury. The glass is by Clayton and Bell, but
the window is very poor and uninteresting.

This Norman chapel[19] was at one time used as the Baptistery, and the
font, now in one of the two north-east chapels, was in use here up to
the time of the restoration in 1875. After this restoration the altar
from the choir was transferred to this chapel, and the various guilds
connected with the church subscribed towards the cost of fitting the
chapel for special devotional use. It is used for the daily morning
services in the week.

There are remains of a piscina in this chapel, but very much battered.
It is to be hoped that money will not be frittered away on any attempt
at polychrome decoration of the ordinary kind in the chapel as has
been done at Gloucester in the chapel of St. Andrew. Mr. Blunt has
thrown out the suggestion as a possible ideal, but the simplicity of
the present chapel is far preferable.

Immediately above it is a large vaulted room, similar in shape, but
less lofty, open to the transept. Its roof shows traces of having been
at one time elaborately painted with frescoes, and the room formerly
communicated with the original Norman triforium of the choir. This
room has at various times had absurd names given to it, perhaps the
most absurd being that of the Nun's Prison. As Mr. Blunt in
"Tewkesbury and its Associations" says, there are many people who
cannot hear about monks without immediately thinking of nuns. It would
seem that the room communicated with the dorter or dormitory, and was
designed for invalid monks, who from it might hear mass sung in the
church without going downstairs. In the south-east corner of the
transept a staircase gives access to this chamber, and communicates
with the triforium of the transept, the clerestory of the choir, the
vaulting of the ambulatory as well as that of the tower.

Before 1875 a gallery filled up the south transept and two bays of the
south aisle, and communicated by means of the organ screen with the
similar gallery in the north transept.

In the west wall is a recess, formerly a doorway of Early English
work. On the south wall is a brass tablet from the choir pavement, to
the memory of Prince Edward.

At the corner of the south transept and the south aisle is a curious
recess in the masonry hidden by a curtain.

At the extreme east end of the south aisle, near the niche or recess
just mentioned, is a rudely carved head which no doubt served as a
cresset.


THE CHOIR.

This part of the building is usually entered from the south ambulatory
by the entrance opposite to the door of the clergy vestry. The
screen-work at this entrance to the choir was in a ruinous state in
the early part of this century, and has been most carefully repaired,
and in part renewed.

It is a choir of great beauty, and though at first sight small and
low, its proportions are admirable in every way, the length being
almost exactly twice the breadth.

From the centre of the eastern tower-piers to the back of the altar
the choir measures 63 feet, but the total length from the present
oak-screen to the altar is 103 feet. The breadth in its widest part is
33 feet.[20]

The upper part of the choir was reconstructed in the early part of the
fourteenth century in its present polygonal form, the Norman pillars
being carried up three feet, and fitted on the choir side with
Decorated capitals.

The curious effect of the carrying up of the columns will be seen from
the fact that the arches which spring from the Decorated capitals do
not correspond in pitch with the vaulting in the ambulatory. The
latter springs from the original Norman capitals on the columns in the
choir (_see_ illustration, p. 52).

The moulding of these arches of the choir is exceedingly rich, and the
outer ones on the north side contain a double moulding of quatrefoil
flower ornament.

The easternmost arch is somewhat stilted; the bare wall thus left
exposed having originally been concealed by the reredos, or at any
rate decorated in some way.

In these alterations to the choir here the Norman triforium had to be
sacrificed; and those who wish to see on a larger scale what the
original triforium was like must study that at Gloucester. In fact the
two choirs alone will form the basis of much interesting study, the
Gloucester choir having been left comparatively intact below the
clerestory, and veiled over with richly wrought Perpendicular
stonework.

The windows and the roof are of about the same date, _i.e._, early
fourteenth centur