 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture The St Nicholas chantry has an interesting history. [BTW Jones was an extremely good linguist (he won a Boden Scholarship to Hertford Hall) and did a great deal of work on early Diocesan records, so he may have found something there.] The north aisle at HT Bradford was built in two phases; a Lady Chapel on the north east side of the nave in the early 14th century when Shaftesbury Abbey finally took possession of the church; and a chantry to the west of that built around 1420, by the Halle family, who were THE family in Bradford, and dedicated to St Nicholas (and I have to say that WH Jones is my only source for that). There was a dividing wall between the two, and you can still see the corner corbel, with some paint remaining, above the Thresher monument on the north wall of the aisle. It is not known when the dividing wall was pulled down (I suspect when there was a lightning strike on the church in 1612 which caused a lot of damage) The original arcading of the north aisle was destroyed during the 1860's re-build of most of the church, so the current building gives no idea of the former layout. (Stephen Glynne wrote a good description of it) Come 1524 there were two wealthy merchants in Bradford, the Halle of the day and Thomas Horton, an upstart from Lullington in Somerset, who was said to be a millionaire. Horton lived at Westwood and is probably responsible for the upper stage of the tower there; the beautiful north aisle with its carved roof; and the lovely late medieval glass. He took over the Lady Chapel and turned it into a chantry to the Virgin Mary. Halle, not to be outdone, built his own chantry to the Holy Trinity on the south side of the nave. (It was rebuilt in 1864 and is now the sacristy). Both were dedicated on the same day. It would seem that the St Nicholas Chantry lapsed, and I wonder if the endowment was transferred to the new Holy Trinity chantry You won't find the St Nicholas or the Holy Trinity Chantry in the returns, only the one for Horton's chantry. This is because the Chantry Priest, William Byrde, who was also Vicar of Bradford, not to mention Vicar of Fittleton and Chaplain to Lord Hungerford, was not only foolish enough to make Rude Remarks about Henry VIII, but also had the misfortune to be caught up in the Hungerford rebellion in 1540. He was tried for treason , found guilty, attainted, hung, drawn and quartered on Tower Hill just after Hungerford was executed. Fittleton records this on its parish priest list. HT does not; Jones merely remarks that 'Byrde lost his living'. The chantry goods and the patronage of the church reverted to the King, and in 1542 the Dean and Chapter of Bristol took over the living, most of Shaftesbury's property being used to finance the new diocese of Bristol Byrdes' successor Thomas Morley was the last Abbot of Stanley, the Cistercian Abbey between Chippenham and Calne, who was also the first, and last, Bishop of Marlborough (and Vicar of Fittleton) Anne Anne -----Original Message----- From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Graham Jones Sent: 07 June 2014 22:33 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] St Nicholas medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture John's cautionary words are well made. Having now read through W. H. R. Jones' history, it seems that he associated the structure with a chantry of St Nicholas in the parish church - but I didn't notice how he made the connection. Maybe I missed it. Like other parishes throughout England, Bradford on Avon had late medieval devotions both to Nicholas and his female counterpart Catherine. A quick look at the Wiki article on 'Village lock-ups' strengthens the feeling that what is seen today at Bradford is indeed a lock-up of the seventeenth or eighteenth century. And yet... I've seen no others incorporated into a bridge. Trowbridge's, offered locally as the alter ego of Bradford's, is in fact on 'dry land' at one end of the town bridge. Most lock-ups, though secure, look pretty low-key. Early modern lawmakers were not known for over-spending on prisons, least of all the overnight variety. It's hard to imagine Bradford or the county of Wiltshire - the two were in contention in the seventeenth century over who should repair the town's bridge - going to the trouble and expense of building a lock-up on a specially constructed extension of one of the bridge piers. What would be the point? They might well, however, have commandeered, and rebuilt as necessary, an existing structure. If I were a betting man, I'd go along with John Aubrey's report of a chapel. Though a matter of immediately local interest, Anne's query has nevertheless drawn attention to several wider themes. One is papal indulgences for 'good works' which including the building of bridges and roads. The pope called for donations towards the repair of Bradford bridge in 1400. I used to wonder why bequests immediately after the Reformation so often benefitted road repairs when previously they had been made to altars and chantries and the like, but of course this was one of the many areas in which the medieval church did essential social service. Perhaps the endowment of a priest to serve at Bradford's chantry of St Nicholas not long afterwards in 1420 led Jones to make the link between saint and bridge. Incidentally, the VCH article John mentions also details a rare late survival of church-scot, an English variety of local ecclesiastical taxation. Worth a look for those who may be interested. Graham ________________________________________ From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of John Dillon [[log in to unmask]] Sent: 07 June 2014 18:41 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [M-R] St Nicholas medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture The wording of Anne's original query suggests greater caution on her part regarding the structure's original dedication than is evident in the page from the St Nicholas Center in Bari cited by Jane below. Such caution seems perfectly appropriate. The nineteenth-century historian of Bradford on Avon, W. H. Rich Jones, is reported here <http://www.freshford.com/bridge_bradford.htm> as saying, "Concerning the dedication of the Bridge Chapel we have no authentic information at present." Jones' early twentieth-century successor as a local historian, John Beddoe, has nothing to add on that particular score (the discussion of the chapel linked to just above is taken from his annotated edition of Jones' _Bradford-on-Avon: A History and Description [Bradford on Avon: Wm. Dotesio, the Library Press, 1907] and the matter in brackets is his). The English Heritage data sheet on the Town Bridge and Chapel is likewise silent about any dedication <http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1036011>. The discussion in vol. 7 of the Victoria county history of Wiltshire observes, in the paragraph beginning "Bradford's name", that apart from a statement by the seventeenth-century antiquary John Aubrey there is "no evidence that the building was ever used for religious purposes" <http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=115456> Similarly suspect the St Nicholas Center's assertion that "The gudgeon (fish) on the weather vane is a Christian symbol dating from the time of the chapel" (<https://www.stnicholascenter.org/galleries/gazetteer/4219/>), whatever "the time of the chapel" may mean (here probably medieval but on another page the St Nicholas Center seems to think that the building is still a chapel and a Roman Catholic one at that; see <https://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/gazetteer/?category_id=16&p=4&n=29>) . Beddoe, seemingly followed by English Heritage, thought the vane to be sixteenth-century work. The VCH is rather less positive: "The antiquity of the weather-vane is uncertain. It existed in 1858 but is not shown in an engraving that was probably made about 1800." Best, John Dillon ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion