Handbook to the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, York; being notes on the architecture, stained glass, shields and monuments online

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942.7402
Y62b
1910819



REYNOLDS HISTORICAL
GENEALOGY COLLECTION



ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY



3 1833 00723 8519



HANDBOOK



York Minster



DEDICATED TO THE

VERY REVEREND ARTHUR P. PUREY-CUST, D.D.,

Dean of York,

in appheciation of his loving care of the minstkh, an

labours in elucidating its history.




SECOND EDITION.



HANDBOOK



Cathedral Church' of St. Peter,



YORK.



BY

GEORGE BENSON.



ARCHITECT.

BEING NOTES ON THE ARCHITECTURE, STAINED
GLASS, SHIELDS AND MONUMENTS.

ILLUSTRATED BY COLLOTYPES AND PLANS.



ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.

Y O R K :

Hen Johnson & Co., Printers and Lithographrks, Micklegatk.



1910819

PREFACE.



IN this pocket Guide Book an attempt has been made to
bring before residents and visitors the most important
features of the Minster, by describing tlie architecture, stained
Klass. monuments, etc. ; and calling attention to objects of
interest which are likely to be unnoticed b}' the general
' observer. Owing to the magnitude of the Minster, much
detail of a historic character cannot be seen properly without
the aid of a telescope or binocular glasses, so that a closer

♦^ examination of the stained glass and shields may modify some
of the interpretations given.

rO The best and latest process has been adopted for the

1^ views, namely CoUotype, by Messrs. G. W. Wilson & Co. of
Aberdeen. A hand glass will be found useful in bringing

^ out the details of the views.



' York: 1S95.



I-




^Sootnam l^ar ZTrinityChapel-VicarS/
2.Hai( oj Pleas and„ - ,, Chorai

Prison -for â– ft'. e 8.CoMe9iote HaHMKi
I ber1y o^ 5. Ptit^r

_, ' THE OLD CLOSE



ScALEt



^^o



^fjo. "(fm/v^oy^.y.TrK^.



77/

Monk Bar

lO.Old

Residence

'^^^ '^11. New do.

;I2, New i

Deanery:

A.Gates ^

B. Little 1

C.Sto!\e9ate
Abp.Hoi9ate:
Free ScKooi.

600 reEr.



PLATES.— (Collotype).



Fkontispiece— South West View of Yurk Minster.

II. West Door faces 1?«

III. South View 05

IV. East End 30

V. North View 3;^

VI. Nave Interior rA^

VII. Chapter House Doorway— Interior 82

VIII. Choir looking West 90

IX. Choir looking East ... 9i>

X. Reredos 90

XI. Lady Chapel 102

XII. Screen ... 12.5

PLANS.



A. The Old Close vi

B. The present Minster ... x

C. The First (wood) and Second (stone) Anglo Saxon Churches ... 4

D. The Third Church— Norman 11

E. The Fourth Church— Transitional IX,

F. The Fifth Church— Early English 30

G. The Sixth Church— Decorated 51

Anns of the Chapter (from the Lantern Tower) on Cover

Present Arms of the See Title page



CONTEXTS.



PAGK

Genekal Information ... ... ... ... ... ... xii

Chronology and Architecture ... ... ... ... ... xiv

Introduction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... l

The Former Edifices— The Wood Church— The Stone Church
of Edwin and Oswald— The Norman Nave and Transepts-
Transitional Choir ... ... ... ... ... 5—12

EXTERIOR.

General Description and Proportion ... ... ... ... 15

West Front— Design— Dimensions— Eestoratious— Fire— Scenes at

Entrance... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18

Nave— South Side— North Side— Chapel of St. Mary and the Angels 25
South Transept— Porch— Doors — Rose Window — Restorations—

The Fiddler 27

(!hoir and Lady Chapel — East End — The Great Window-
Restoration ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29

Chapter House and Vestibule— Restoration ... ... ... 31

North Transept— Five Sisters ... ... ... ... ... 33

Central Tower— The largest in England ... ... ... ... 34

INTERIOR.

Transepts— The Minster in 1200 ... ... ... ... ... 3.5

Soiith Transept- Chantry Chapels— Archbishop Walter de Gray's
Monument— Dean Duncombe's Memorial— Stained Glass-
Restoration ... ... ..• ... ... ... ... 37

North Transept— The Five Sisters— Archbishop Greenfield's
Monument and Brass— Stained Glass— Monuments to Arch-
bishop Harcourt and Dr. Beckwith— A Cadaver ... ... 44

Nave.— Foundation Stone— King and Court at York— Processions—
The Dragon— Scenes in the Nave— The Musical Festivals— Fire-
Restoration — Shields— Stained Glass— A Late Brass ... ... 50

Chapter House.— The Chapter— Guilds— Architecture— Ironwork
on Doors— Stained Glass— Vestibule ... ... ... ... 78



CONTEXTS. IX

PAGE

Choik and Lady Chapel.— The High Altar— Sliriue of St. William-
Mediaeval Services— Installation of Archbishoiis — Fire — Itestora-
tion— Altar Screen— Reredos— Organ and Organists— The Scrope
Capitals— Scrope Chapel— Lady Chapel— Shields— Stained Glass-
St.William's Window— The East Window- St.Cuthbert's Window.
Monuments— Prince William de Hatfield— Archbishops Savage.
Rotherham, Dolben, Hutton II, Laniplugh, Piers, Matthew.
Sharpe, Frewen, Sterne, Musgrave, Markham, The Poet Mason-
Military Monuments and Colours ... ... ... 89—120

Vestky.— Horn of Ulphus— Archbishop Scrope's Indulgence Cup—
St. Peter's W'ell— Cope Chests covered with Ironwork ... ... 120

Cbypt.— The Fiddler of York— Remains of the Norman Crypt and
the Anglo-Saxon Church (herring bone masonry)... ... ... 122

Central To%veb.— Shields— Glass- The Summit— View ... ... 123

The Organ Screen.— Statues of fifteen Kings fWiUiam I. to
Henry VI. inclusive)— The Iron Gates ... ... ... ... 125

The Bells.— The Beckwith Peal of twelve— Big Peter 126

Index to the principal Shields ... ... ... ... ... 12R

Glossary of Architectural Terms ... ... ... ... ... 1:^1

of Emblems of Saints ... ... ... ... ... 13.?



m^f




CD
O



REFERENCE.



Dean Duncombe's Monument.

Archbishop Walter de Gray's Monument.

Present position of Font.

St. William's Tomb.

Entrance to the Chapel of St. Mary and All Angels, generall

known as the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, of v,hich there

are no remains.
Archbishop Greenfield's Monument and Brass.
Aisle to the Scrope Chapel.
Monument to Prince William of Hatfield.
Entrance to Library (no remains).
Archbishop Savage's Monument.
Entrance to Crypt.
Cope Chests.

Archbishop Markham's Memorial.
Tomb of Archbishop Scrope.
Tomb of Archbishop Kotherham.
Memorial to Archbishop Musgrave.
Archbishop Bowet's Monument.
Memorial with effigy of Archbishop Matthew.
Memorial with effigy of Archbishop Dolbeu.
Archbishop Zouche's Chapel.
Vestry.

Treasury, now Choristers' Room.
St. Peter's Well.
Offices of the Chapter Clerk.
Wills Office.
Choir Transepts.



CATHEDRAL AND METROPOLITICAL CHURCH
OF ST. PETER, YORK.



When
Installed.

Visitor— The Archbisliop— The Eight Hon. and Most Kev. Wm.

Dalrymple Maclagan— £10,000 1891

Dean (1090)— The Very Eev. Arthur P. Purey-Cust, D.D.— £2,000 ... 1880

Sub Dean (1228)— The Kev. Alfred Gatty, D.D 1861

Precentor (1090)— The Rev. James Fleming, B.D 1883

Succentor Canonicorum (1232)— The Rev. T. P. Hudson, M.A 1883

Clunicellor of tlie Church (1085)— The Rev. Canon Raine, D.C.L. ... 1891
Treasurer (1090 dissolved 1547).

Archdeacons.
Cleveland (1170)— The Ven. Henry Walker Yeoman, M.A., £200 ... 1882

York (1090)— The Right Rev. R. J. Crosthwaite, £200 1884

Sheffield (1884)— The Ven. J. E.Blakeney.D.D., £200 1884

East Riding (1130)— The Ven. James Palmes. M.A., £200 1892

Canons Hesidentiary .

£400

The Rev. James Fleming, B.D., £400 1877

The Right Rev. Richard Frederick Lefevre BUmt, D.U., £400 ... ... 1882

The Rev. James Raine, D.C.L., £400 1888

Prebends. Prebendaries.

Warthill Edward John Randolph, M.A 1848

UUeskelf Thomas Bradley Paget, M.A 1865

Bamby Francis Whaley Harper, M.A 1869

North Newbald Richard England Brooke, M.A 1873

Husthwaite ... John Edward Blakeney, D.D 1875

Fridaythorpe ... John Scott, M.A 1876

Dunnington ... William Joseph Whately, M.A 1879

Bilton Thomas Percy Hudson, M.A 1879

Botevant Richard Beverley MacheU, M.A 1879



Prebends.
Osbaldwick ...
Weighton

Driffield

Grindall

South Newbald

Fenton

Bugthorpe

Strensall

Ampleforth ...
Tockerington ...

Wetwaug

Knaresbro'
Stillington

Eiccall

Apesthorpe ...

Wistow

Givendale
Laugtoft

Laughton

Holme

Bole

IMssolved Prebends

and Bramham.



Prebendaries.

Charles Sisum Wright, M. A

Walter Frederick Rowsell, M. A

James Fleming, B.D

The Rt. Rev. R. J. Crosthwaite, D.D. ...

Jos. McCormick, D.D

Isaac Taylor, L.L.D

Horace Newton, M.A

A. R. Fausset, D.D

Henry Frederick Barnes Lawrence, M.A.

Arthur Henry Faber, M.A

Joseph Rawson Lumby, D.D

George Austen, M.A

Frederick Wildman Goodwyn, M.A.

Geo. Marsham Argles, M.A

John Nathaniel Quirk, M.A

Henry Arnold FaveU, M.A

Richard Wilton, M.A

James Raine, D.C.L

John Christopher Atkinson, D.C.L.
The Right Rev. Richard F. L. Blunt, D.D.
Wilton, Newthorpe, Salton, Masham,



When
Installed.



1881



1883
1883
1884
1885
1885
1885
1886
1887
1887



1888
1890



1891

1891

1892

South Cave



College of Vicars Choral (1252).
The Rev. Wm. Haworth— £"274 (Subchanter, May 19, 1882)

The Rev. Edmund Sardinson Carter, M.A.— £260

The Rev. George Trundle, M.A.— £260

The Rev. Archibald Samuel Commeline, M.A.— £260
The Rev. Edgar Beckwith Firth, B.A.— £260



1870

1875
1875
1881
1890



Chapter Clerk and Begistrar for the Dean and Chapter of York—T. B.

Whytehead, Esq., Minster Yard, York.
Minster Librarian— The Rev, Canon Raine, D.C.L. ; Sub-Librarian, the

Rev. E. B. Firth, B.A.
Minster Organist— Dv. John Naylor.

Head Master of St. Peter's School— The Rev. G. T. Handford, M.A.
Master of Archbishop Holgate's School-The Rev. Arthur Wilmot Welch,

M.A.
Architects— "Messrs. Bodley & Garner.



SERVICES.

Sundays— Summer : 10-30 a.m. (Choir) ; 3-0 p.m. (Lady Chapel) ; and
4-0 p.m. (Choir).
Winter : 10-30 a.m. ; 4-0 p.m. ; and 6-45 p.m. (Nave).
Weekdays— 10-0 a.m. and 4-30 p.m.

THE MINSTER IS OPEN TO VISITORS AS FOLLOWS :—



WEEK-DAYS.


INTERIOR.


FEES.


9 a.m.— 5 p.m.


Nave and Transepts


Free.


9—10 and 11—4


Vestry, Choir, Lady Chapel,
Vestibule and Chapter House


f Conducted by a Verger
1 6d. each person.




To top of Lantern Tower


6d. ea"ch person.


Mond'y & Wed-
nesday, 11—1


To Large Bell

Minster Library


6d. each person.
Free.



CHRONOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE OF YORK
MINSTER.



Anglo-Saxon

Norman

Transitional



ARCHITECTURAL STYLES.



6-27— 106(5
1066—1154
1154—1189



Early English
Decorated ...
Perpendicular



1189-1272
1272-1377
1377—1485



A'y.


Style.

<


KiT^,.






Bishop.


Remains.

Heniiig-bone
walls in crypt.


1
2


Edwin

Oswald


627
633

669

767
1069


Wooden church^destroyfd)
Stone church began, com-
pleted
Restored

Renovated
Fired


Paulinus

Wilfrid

Archbishop

Albert


3


1


William I. (1066) ...
William II. (1087) ..
Henry I. (1100)
Stephen (1135)


1070


Repaired— nave with aide
aislesi and transepts
added— old church used
as? choir of the new.


Thomas of
Bayeux


Apse in crypt
and core of
Lantern piei s



CHRONOLOGY AN1> AliCHITECTUKE.



King.



4 - I Henry II.



The Anglo-Saxon i-liurch
forming tlie choir takeci
down. New orypt (late
Norman) and choir
(Transitional) erected.



A rcli-
BUhop.



Roger



Portions of
orypt.



5 â–  ^-^


Richard I


1189


Norman transepts removed


Walter de


North and


John


1199


and replaced by present


Gray


south tran-


H


Henry III


1216


transepts. Norman cen-




septs.






tral tower rebuilt.






K




Edward X


1272


Norman nave taken down


Komanus


Nave.




•a


Edward II


1307


and new nave erected.


Newark


Chapterhouse.




•g


Edward III


1327


Chapter house built and


Corbridge


Vestibule.




â– â– -






vestibule connecting it


Greenfield


Treasury.




S






to the Minster, also


Melton


Sacristy.










Tieasury, Sacristy, and
(13.501 Chantry Chapel.


Zouch


Zouches
chapel.



7


>.^


Richard II


1377


The east end of Transitional
choir and late Norman


Thore«by
(died


Lady Chapel.








crypt removed. Lady


1373)




^1






Chapel built (1361-1400,


Neville








Browne).


Fitz Alan




: k








Waldeby




s




Henry IV


1399


Late Norman crvpt and


Scrope


Choir and




^


Henry V


1413


Transitional choir taken


Bo»vet


crypt.




.2


Henry VI


1422


dowu,pre.*ent choir with














crypt erected (1400—














1420).








s






Early English Lantern,


Kempe


Lantern.










replaced by present one








^






(1410—1433).












S.W. Tower erected (1433-


Booth


8.W. Tower.










1447).






u i


Edward IV


1461


N.W. Tower erected (146.5—


Neville


N.W. Tower.


s
J1


Edward V


1483


1474).
Organ Screen (1475—1.505).


Booth


Organ Screen.








Rotherham






.X


Richard III


1483









^or^ ^^xnstex



" 2'he King of Cathedrals.''^



INTRODUCTION.



"When men begin to love that holy name
Whereby alone we can be saved, they long
To build a Church for holy pray'r and song
For sweet communion with the Lord of Life,
Apart from scenes of business and strife."

G. FBEifCH, York, IS69.

When or by whom Christianity was introduced
Ifitroduction

of into York is unknown, but during the occupation

"of the city by the Romans there would be amongst

the courtiers and soldiers some who were converts ; the new

faith, however, seems to have made little progress amidst the

devotees of the Eoman pantheon of gods and goddesses, until

as we imagine some missionaries under a bishop
Missionaries

come to penetrated this district and setting up a wooden
or -^^^gg Qj^ ^ ^^m (Bishop Hill) on the opposite side
of the river to the walled-in Eoman fort, they preached the
good tidings daily. By example and precept the missionaries
made additional converts, so that in time, the temporary
wooden cross may have given place to a permanent one
of stone, round which the Christians gathered for wor-

ship. Subsequently a stone church wa£ built
Church near the cross to accommodate worshippers, and

was soon followed by the erection of another;
(probably Bishophill Senior and Junior.) The congregations
were under the rule of a bishop and were not molested
until the persecution under the Emperor Diccletion in



2 YORK MINSTER.

303, when the churches were damaged, and the believers

had to meet in secret ; in 305 they were able to worship

openly, so repaired their churches and assembled
The Bishop ^ "^ ^

of York therein. Eborius,* Bishop of lork, was present

at the church council held at Aries in 314. The
earlier church on the Bishop Hill may have been his cathedral.

At the latter part of the fifth century, York was

Torkhv invaded by the English when Sampson, Bishop

^^En^Ush^ of York, fled from the pagans to St. David's and

subsequently to Brittany where he became Bishop
of Dol, and was afterwards canonized.f The English having
conquered York would be anxious to propitiate the subdued Celts,,
so it is unlikely the few Christian Celts would be prevented
from following their religion. The pagan English were principally
agriculturists and settled in numerous rural communities ; in
course of time the consolidation of the little English villages
gave rise to principalities ; the district including York and the
east of modern Yorkshire was known as Deira, and during the
latter half of the sixth century, a prince, iElla by name,
ruled over it.

" Subjects of Saxon .Ella— they shall sing
Glad Hallelujahs to the eternal King."

Wordsworth

The wars that arose between the chieftains of the
Slave different principalities were the means of increasing
Mar e . ^-^^ number of slaves, a class consisting chiefly
of prisoners, criminals and debtors. York was the principal
market of the district, and in the market-place (St. Sampson's
Square) slaves would be exposed for sale ; thither the
Frisian merchants would resort, and buy for the slave market
at Kome ; and the fair-headed youths, seen there by Gregory,



* The iirelates of York still sign themselves Ebor.

t One of the York churches is remarkable as being the only church in England havino^
Sampson as its patron saint.



INTRODUCTION.



may have been first sold in the market at York and then
shipped to the imperial city, where the Roman deacon enquired
of the dealers: "From what country do these slaves come?"
They replied: "They are English, Angles!" "Not Angles,
but angels," said Gregory, " with faces so angel-like. From
what province are they brought?" The merchant replied:
"From Deira." " De ira ;" repeated Gregory, and went on,
" aye, plucked from God's ire, and called to Christ's mercy.
And what is the name of their king ?" " ^lla," they told
him. " Alleluia shall be sung in- xEUa's land !" he cried, and
passed reflecting on the scene.

The Celtic Church of England was gradually
The Celtic driven westward, and settled in Wales, Cornwall

and Ireland ; in the latter country it made

wonderful progress. Manuscripts, &e., produced there, show

that letters and art reached a high state of perfection ;

missionaries were sent out ; at the end of the 6th century

Columba crossed to lona and established a monastery.

Eadwine, King of Northumbria, and the most powerful

monarch in England, married in 625, for his second wife,

Ethelberga, daughter of the late iEthelbert, King of Kent,

and sister to Eadbald, the reigning monarch over the little

kingdom of Kent, ^thelbert married a Christian princess

named Bertha, of Paris, who brought with her a chaplain,

and the two latter worshipped in the old church (St.

Martin's) at Canterbury.

Soon after, missionaries from Eome, under the
The Mission
of Augustine, leadership of Augustine, obtained permission from

King ^thelbert to preach in the Kentish Kingdom ; they

eventually converted the king.

Ethelberga, being a Christian, Eadwine consented that she

should follow her own religion, so she brought her chaplain,

Paulinus, to York.



^^

ft,

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THE WOODEN CHURCH.



The increase of the Enghsh in the Northumbrian
capital of York, had impelled many of its Celtic inhabitants
to move westward to their own people. As there would be
very few Christian Celts left in York, Ethelberga may have
restored one of the churches on the Bishop Hill, and
worshipped in it under Paulinus, as she had formerly done
at the church (St. Martin's) at Canterbury.

King Eadwine was not easily converted to the Christian
faith, so Pope Boniface sent him a letter, with presents.
Eventually the king summoned his council before the great
idol temple at Goodmanham, near Londesborough, to discuss
the subject, when Paulinus succeeded in converting king and
council.

THE FOEMEE EDIFICES.

THE WOODEN CHURCH OF ST. PETER, A.P. 627.

"Near tliirteeu hundred years ago, the place
Where now York Minster stands in all its grace
Was holy ground : for here there stood, we read,
A wooden church, simple and rude indeed."

G. FREKtH, 1869.

York Minster owes its -origin to King Eadwine, of North-
umbria, who, after his conversion to Christianity, gave orders
for the construction of a church in which he was to receive
the rite of baptism. Eadwine was a lover of Eoman manners,
so the site chosen was within the Eoman walls, not far from
the imperial palace. It was desirable that the king should
become a member of the church as soon as possible, the
edifice was therefore built of wood and hurriedly completed.
Conjectural ^^ "^^^ probably a small rectangular building
appearance, (pig^ jj)^ i^-^ ig^gth twice its width, built of uprigh.
semicircular logs, the trunks of trees cleft in two, the flat
surface facing the interior,* the door on the south side, and

* Similar to the wooden church at Little Greeusted, Essev.



D YORK MINSTER.

the openings for light at both sides and ends, formed of

boards pierced with holes, the roof covered with thatch.

^ ,. ^ The wooden church was dedicated to St. Peter,
Baptism of '

KifW and on Easter Day, April 12th, 627, King
Eadwitie. , . , . , . . , T^ t rr.i •

Eadwme was baptised m it by Paulmus. This

event forms the subject of a fresco painting by Mr. F.

Madox Brown, in the Manchester Town Hall.

THE STONE CHURCH, 633-1069.

"The wooden church at York to him was dear,
He in its place v>-ish'd one of stone to rear.'

King E ad wine commenced the construction "of a larger
and nobler basilica of stone, in the midst of which the
wooden oratory which he had first built was to be included.
Accordingly, having laid the foundations, he began to build
his basilica in a square form around the original oratory."
{Bede.)

The king selected York as the archiepiscopal see, and

induced Honorius to present Paulinus with the pallium ; but

before the walls of the stone church were completed, or the

, pallium received by Paulinus, King Eadwine was
Death of ^ j > o

King slain in battle by Penda and Cadwallon, at Hatfield

Chase, on October 12th, 633.
FV It of Cadwallon ravaged Northumbria and occupied York.
Bishop Paulinus with the queen and her children fled to

the coast, where they took ship for Kent.
King Oswald completed the stone church. The material
used was coarse sandstone and oolitic limestone ; two walls
of that edifice constructed herriiip -bone wise are to be seen
\n the crypt of the present Minster. The two walls rest on
a foundation of concrete masonry (Fig. I). " The spaces
marked A were probably always soil — the lines indicate hewn
oaks embedded in the concrete. At B was a well of semi-
circular form." — {J. Broione.)



THE STONE CHUBCH RESTOKED 669.



The two walls may have constituted the nave
So?S/L (27 feet 4 inches wide) of a cruciform church

(Fig. II) with central tower, erected on the con-
crete foundation of a destroyed Roman building, probably a
temple. Eoman coins and fragments of Roman pottery were
found during the excavations. With the concrete were several
large " coarse sandstones which had evidently been used in
some former structure, probably Roman."— (i^rowne.)

The walls are about 50 feet long, and 4 feet 8 inches
thick, faced with herring-bone work* forming courses 8 inches
<leep.

Assuming the stone church had a cruciform plan,t its
internal length may have been 128 feet, across the transepts
78 feet, and the height of the walls to the eaves about 27
ieet.\ The position of the wooden oratory, probably destroyed
in 633, during the occupation of York by Cadwallon, may
have been under the tower. The stone church may have been
lighted by filling the narrow windows with transparent
linen.

RESTOBATION OF THE FUNSTER, 669.

Bishop Wilfrid § found the church in bad repair. "The
Toofs admitted rain, the open windows let in birds, who built
their nests within, and were constantly flying in and
out * * * * The bishop restored the rotten

ridges of the roof, and covered it with lead. The windows
he provided with glass, excluding the birds and rain, yet
admitting the light. He cleansed the walls and white-



• The tower of the church of St. Mary, Bishophill Junior, exhibits work of this chanicter.
t The Saxon cathedral at Peterborough founded 655, revealed 1888 had a ci-uciform plan,

with chancel 23 feet 4 inches wide and length across the transepts about 88 feet.
J The small stone Anglo-Saxon church at Escomb, co. Durham, has nave 43 feet 4 inches

long ; 14 feet 6 inches wide ; and 23 feet high to eaves.
5 The lives of the Prelates of York have been written by the Rev. Chancellor Raine.



YORK MINSTER.



washed them, and not only furnished the edifice and altar
with ornaments and vessels, but endowed it with many
lands." {Eddius Stephamis.) It is probable Wilfrid raised
the floor between the herring-bone walls five feet, and
formed steps 4 feet 6 inches wide * (Fig. I. C),

which we consider led to a crypt under the
CryjrL^^^ tower, similar to the one at Hexham, f for the

exhibition of relics which Wilfrid had brought

with him from Kome. On either side of the steps down to

the crypt would be steps leading to the raised floor of the

choir. These crypts were small imitations of the catacombs

at Eome with which Wilfrid was familiar.

St. Peter's Bishop John of Beverley (705-718) founded the

College
Founded, monastery or college attached to the Minster,

In 732 the Northumbrian King, Ceolwulf, appointed to the

St. Peter's ^ee his cousin Egbert, who in 735 became the