قراءة كتاب Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Rochester A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See

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‏اللغة: English

Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Rochester A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See

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المؤلف:

Palmer G H (George Henry)

دار النشر: Project Gutenberg

الصفحة رقم: 3

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Decorated Capital, South Arcade of Nave 68 The Nave—looking East 69 One Bay of Norman work in the Nave (South Arcade) 70 The Nave, from the North Transept 71 The South Transept 73 The Tomb of Bishop Hamo de Hythe 82 The Choir Screen: Dean Scott Memorial 84 The Choir—looking East 85 A Corbel in the Choir (by the Bishop’s Throne) 88 A Window of the Choir Clerestory 89 Tracery of a Window near the Chapter-House door 90 A Corbel in the Choir (middle of North Wall) 91 Bishop’s Throne 92 The Wheel of Fortune, a fresco painting 93 The Tomb of Bishop John de Sheppey 101 The Tombs of Bishops G. de Glanvill and L. de St. Martin 104 Carved Coffin lid 105 The Chapter-House Doorway 109 The Tomb of Bishop John de Bradfield 112 The Crypt, looking towards the North-east 113 The Vane on the Guildhall 119

the west doorway
(from a drawing by h. p. clifford).
See p. 47.

ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL.

CHAPTER I.

Table of
Contents

HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.

Long, eventful, and very interesting is the history of the cathedral, or rather of the successive cathedrals, of the ancient city of Rochester. It is many centuries since, in 597, St. Augustine and his fellow missionaries landed on the coast of Thanet, almost on the very spot where Hengist and his bands had disembarked nearly one hundred and fifty years before. Hengist’s descendant, Ethelbert, King of Kent, received them in the open air on the chalk downs above Minster, and, though he would not at once renounce the faith of his fathers, promised them shelter and protection. His conversion occurred a year later, and after that Christianity spread rapidly among his subjects. The royal city of Canterbury continued to be the centre of St. Augustine’s labours, but only seven years passed, Bede tells us, ere he deemed it necessary to found other sees at Rochester and at London. Rochester therefore claims to be the second, or at most the third oldest of English bishoprics.

Justus, one of the band sent by St. Gregory to help the mission in 601, was consecrated as its first bishop in 604. A church was built for him by the king and dedicated to St. Andrew, the patron saint of the monastery on the Cælian Hill in Rome, from which St. Augustine and his companions had come. Bede relates that St. Paulinus was buried in it, later, “in secretario beati apostoli Andreæ quod rex Edilbertus a fundamentis in eadem Rhofi civitate construxit.” Ethelbert endowed it with Priestfield (a large tract of land lying towards Borstal) which still belongs to it, and with other property; and Justus, though himself a monk, placed it in the hands of secular priests.

All traces of this Saxon cathedral disappeared long ago, and its exact site was forgotten and remained unknown until portions of its foundations were discovered in 1889, during the underpinning, preparatory to restoration, of the present west front.

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