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[Illustration: COVENTRY, THE THREE SPIRES. ]

THE CHURCHES OF COVENTRY

A SHORT HISTORY OF THECITY & ITS MEDIEVALREMAINS

BYFREDERIC W. WOODHOUSE

WITH XL ILLUSTRATIONS

[Illustration: ARMS OF COVENTRY]

LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS 1909

CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOK COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. 

PREFACE

The principal authorities for the history of Coventry and its churcheshave been Dugdale's "Antiquities of Warwickshire" and the "IllustratedPapers and the History and Antiquities of the City of Coventry, " byThomas Sharp, edited by W. G. Fretton (1871). Besides these the manypapers by Mr. Fretton in the Transactions of the Birmingham andMidland Institute and other Societies, and the "History andAntiquities of Coventry" by Benjamin Poole (1870) have been the mainsources of historical information. The Author is, however, responsiblefor the architectural opinions and descriptions, which are mainly theoutcome of a lifelong acquaintance with the city and its buildings, fortified by several weeks of study and investigation recentlyundertaken. 

He desires to acknowledge his deep obligations to the Vicars of theseveral churches for leave to examine, measure and photograph thebuildings in their charge; to Mr. J. Oldrid Scott for the loan ofdrawings of St. Michael's; to Mr. A. Brown, Librarian of the CoventryPublic Library for advice and help in making use of the store oftopographical material under his care; to Mr. Owen, Verger of St. Michael's and Mr. Chapman, Verger of Holy Trinity, for help in variousdirections, and to Mr. Wilfred Sims for his energy and care in takingmost of the photographs required for illustration. 

The other illustrations are reproduced from drawings made by theauthor. 

CONTENTS

MONASTERY AND CITY 3

THE RUINS OF THE PRIORY AND CATHEDRAL CHURCH 16

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH: CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH 21 II. THE EXTERIOR 29 III. THE INTERIOR 41

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH: CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF THE CHURCH 61 II. THE EXTERIOR 65 III. THE INTERIOR 69

ST. JOHN BAPTIST'S CHURCH 79

THE GREY FRIARS' CONVENT (CHRIST CHURCH) 91

THE WHITE FRIARS 94

ST. MARY HALL 96

THE CARTHUSIAN MONASTERY 99

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

COVENTRY, THE THREE SPIRES _Frontispiece_

ARMS OF THE TOWN _Title-page_

VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BISHOP STREET 2

COOK STREET GATE 7

SEAL OF THE PRIORY 15

WEST END OF THE PRIORY CHURCH 16

REMAINS OF THE NORTH-WEST TOWER IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 17

ST. MICHAEL'S FROM THE NORTH 20

ST. MICHAEL'S FROM THE NORTH-WEST 28

INTERIOR OF THE TOWER FROM BELOW 31

THE WEST PORCH 33

SOUTH PORCH FROM ST. MARY HALL 34

SOUTH-WEST DOORWAY 35

INTERIOR OF ST. MICHAEL'S FROM THE WEST 40

TOWER ARCH 42

BAY OF NAVE, NORTH SIDE 43

INTERIOR FROM THE SOUTH DOOR 45

THE CHOIR FROM ST. LAWRENCE'S CHAPEL 46

POPPY HEAD, LADY CHAPEL 48

MISERERE, LADY CHAPEL 48

CHEST IN NORTH AISLE 50

THE NETHERMYL TOMB 51

THE SWILLINGTON TOMB 54

ALMS-BOX 56

HOLY TRINITY FROM THE NORTH (ABOUT 1850) 60

PLAN OF TRINITY CHURCH 66

INTERIOR OF HOLY TRINITY, FROM THE WEST 68

NORTH SIDE OF NAVE--EASTERN BAYS 71

PULPIT 73

ARCHWAY BETWEEN THE NORTH PORCH AND ST. THOMAS'S CHAPEL 74

ALMS-BOX 77

CHURCH OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST 80

PLAN 85

INTERIOR 87

CLEARSTORY WINDOWS 88

THE SPIRE OF CHRIST CHURCH 92

GREY FRIARS' CHURCH (PLAN OF CROSSING) 93

ST. MARY HALL 96

PLAN 98

PLAN OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH _At End_

[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE TOP OF BISHOP STREET. ]

CHURCHES OF COVENTRY

MONASTERY AND CITY

The opening words of Sir William Dugdale's account of Coventry assertthat it is a city "remarkable for antiquity, charters, rights andprivileges, and favours shown by monarchs. " Though this handbook isprimarily concerned with a feature of the city he does not heremention--its magnificent buildings--the history of these is bound upwith that of the city. The connection of its great parish churcheswith the everyday life of the people, though commonly on a narrowerstage, is more intimate than is that of a cathedral or an abbeychurch, but it is to be remembered that without its Monastery Coventrymight never have been more than a village or small market town. 

We cannot expect the records of a parish church to be as full andcomplete as those of a cathedral, always in touch through its bishopswith the political life of the country and enjoying the services ofnumerous officials; or as those of a monastery, with its leisuredchroniclers ever patiently recording the annals of their house, thedoings of its abbots, the dealings of their house with mother churchand the outside world, and all its internal life and affairs. In thecase of Coventry, the unusual fulness of its city archives, theaccounts and records of its guilds and companies, and the closeconnection of these with the church supplies us with a larger body ofinformation than is often at the disposal of the historian of a parishchurch. As therefore, in narrating the story of a cathedral someaccount of the Diocese and its Bishops has been given, so, beforedescribing the churches of Coventry, we shall give in outline thehistory of the city which for 700 years gave its name to a bishop andof the great monastery whose church was for 400 years his seat. 

Though Dugdale says that it is remarkable for antiquity, Coventry asa city has no early history comparable with that of such places asYork, Canterbury, Exeter, or Colchester, while its modern history ismainly a record of fluctuating trade and the rise and decline of newindustries. But through all its Mediĉval period, from the eleventhcentury down to the Reformation, with an expiring flicker of energy inthe seventeenth, there is no lack of life and colour, and its storytouches every side of the national life, political, religious, anddomestic. The only evidence of extreme antiquity produced by Dugdaleis the suffix of its name, for "_tre_ is British, and signifieth thesame that _villa_ in Latin doth;" while the first part may be derivedfrom the convent or from a supposed ancient name, Cune, for theSherborne brook. 

The first date we have is 1016, when Canute invaded Mercia, burningand laying waste its towns and settlements, including a house of nunsat Coventry founded by the Virgin St. Osburg in 670, and ruled over byher. [1]

But there is no sure starting-point until the foundation of themonastery by Earl Leofric and the Countess Godiva, the church beingdedicated by Edsi, Archbishop of Canterbury, in honour of God, theVirgin Mary, St. Peter, St. Osburg, and All Saints on 4th October, 1043. Leofwin, who was first abbot with twenty-four monks under hisrule, ten years after became Bishop of Lichfield. The originalendowment by Leofric, consisted of a half of Coventry[2] with fifteenlordships in Warwickshire and nine in other counties, making it (saysRoger de Hoveden) the wealthiest monastery of the period. Besides thisthe pious Godiva gave all the gold and silver which she had to makecrosses, images, and other adornments for the church and its services. The well-known legend of her ride through Coventry first appears inthe pages of Matthew of Westminster in the early fourteenth century. The Charter of Exemption from Tolls is not in existence, and the storyof Peeping Tom is the embroidery of the prurient age (1678), in whichthe pageant was instituted. In a window of Trinity Church figures ofLeofric and Godiva were set up about the time of Richard II, the Earlholding in his right hand a Charter with these words written thereon:

 I Luriche for the Love of thee Doe make Coventre Toll-free. 

Abbot Leofwin was succeeded in 1053 by Leofric, nephew of the greatearl; and he by a second Leofwin, who died in 1095. The first Normanbishop of Lichfield had, in compliance with the decision of a Synod(1075) in London fixing bishops' seats in large towns, removed his toSt. John's, Chester. But his successor, Robert de Lymesey--whose greedappears to have been notable in a greedy age--having the king'spermission to farm the monastic revenues until the appointment of anew abbot, held it for seven years, and then, in 1102, removed hisstool to Coventry. Five of his successors were bishops of Coventryonly, then the style changed to Coventry and Lichfield, and soremained till 1661, when (in consequence of the disloyalty of Coventryand the sufferings of Lichfield in the royal cause) the order wasreversed!

In 1836 the archdeaconry of Coventry was annexed to Worcester and itsname disappeared from the title, and now it is probable that Coventrywill soon again give her name to a See without dividing the honour. For the joint episcopal history the reader must be referred to thehandbook in this series on Lichfield Cathedral. In this place willonly be given that of the Monastery as such, and specially inconnection with its "appropriated" parish churches and the City inwhich it stood. That history is not essentially different from that ofother monasteries. Though its connection with the See and the rivalclaims and antagonisms of the respective Chapters produced a plentifulcrop of serious quarrels, its relations with the townsfolk were freefrom such violent episodes as occurred at Bury St. Edmunds or St. Albans. The Chapter of Lichfield consisted of secular priests (Lymeseyand his next successor were married men), while the Monastery, thoughfreed by pope and king from any episcopal or justiciary power and withthe right of electing its own abbot, was, like all monastic bodies, always jealous of the encroachments of bishops, and regarded secularpriests as inferior in every respect. The opinion of the laity who sawboth sides may be gathered from Chaucer's picture of a "poore Persounof a toun. " He knew well enough how the revenue, which should havegone to the parish, its parson and its poor, went to fill the coffersof rich abbeys, to build enormous churches and furnish themsumptuously, to provide retinues of lazy knights for the train ofabbot or bishop, and to prosecute lawsuits in the papal courts. 

But when bishop and abbot were one and the same, the monks stillclaimed the right of election, and so for generations the history ofthe diocese is a tale of strife and bickering, and how it was thatpope, king or archbishop did not perceive that it was a case ofhopeless incompatibility of temper, or, perceiving it, did notdissolve the union or get it dissolved is difficult to see. Probablythe injury done to religion weighed but lightly against vestedinterests and the power of the purse. The Monastery was, however, asDugdale says, "the chief occasion of all the succeeding wealth andhonour that accrued to Coventry"; for though the original Nunnery mayhave been planted in an existing settlement, or have attracted oneabout it, the greater wealth of the Abbey, its right to hold markets, and all its own varied requirements would quickly increase and bringprosperity to such a township, as it did at Bury St. Edmunds, Burton-on-Trent and many another. 

In the thirteenth century the priory was in financial straits, throughbeing fined by Henry III for disobedience. Later, however, he grantedfurther privileges to the monks, among them that of embodying themerchants in a Gild. In 1340 Edward III granted this privilege to theCity. From an early period the manufacture of cloth and caps andbonnets was the principal trade of Coventry, and though Leland says, "the town rose by making of cloth and caps, which now decaying, theglory of the City also decayeth, " it was only destroyed by the Frenchwars of the seventeenth century. But in 1377, when only eighteen townsin the kingdom had more than 3, 000 inhabitants, and York, the secondcity, had only 11, 000, Coventry was fourth with 7, 000. Just onehundred years later 3, 000 died here of the plague, one of manyvisitations of that terrible scourge. At the Suppression it had risento 15, 000, and soon after fell to 3, 000, through loss of trade for"want of such concourse of people that numerously resorted thitherbefore that fatal Dissolution. "

But if the town grew apace so did the Monastery. Thus, when in 1244Earl Hugh died childless his sisters divided his estates and Coventryfell to Cecily, wife of Roger de Montalt. Six years later theMonastery lent him a large sum to take him to the Holy Land, andreceived from him the lordship of Coventry (excepting the Manor Houseand Park of Cheylesmore) and the advowson of St. Michael's and itsdependent chapels, thus becoming the landlords of nearly the whole ofCoventry. 

[Illustration: COOK STREET GATE. ]

Civic powers grew with the growth of trade. Before 1218 a fair ofeight days had been granted to the Priory, and later another of sixdays, to be held in the earl's half of the town about the Feast ofHoly Trinity. In 1285 a patent from the king is addressed to theburgesses and true men to levy tolls for paving the town; one in 1328for tolls for inclosing the city with walls and gates, while in 1344the city was given a corporation, with mayor, bailiffs, a common seal, and a prison. As the municipal importance and the dignity of the cityincreased, the desire for their visible signs strengthened, and so, in1355, work was begun on the walls, Newgate (on the London Road) beingthe first gate to be built. Such undertakings proceeded slowly, andnine years later the royal permission was obtained to levy a tax fortheir construction, "the lands and goods of all ecclesiastical personsexcepted. "

Twice afterwards we hear of licence being granted by Richard II to digstone in Cheylesmore Park, first for Grey Friars Gate, and later forSpon Gate, "near his Chapel of Babelake. " The walls so built were ofimposing extent and dimensions, being three yards in breadth, two anda quarter miles in circumference, and having thirty-two towers andtwelve gates. [3] Nehemiah Wharton, a Parliamentary officer in 1642, reports of the city that it is:

 Environed with a wall co-equal, if not exceedinge, that of London, for breadth and height; and with gates and battlements, magnificent churches and stately streets and abundant fountains of water; altogether a place very sweetly situate and where there is no stint of venison. 

To return to the monastic history. We have seen how, in themid-thirteenth century the Monastery had become the landlord of thecity; shortly before this it had been so impoverished with ceaselessquarrels with the King and the Lichfield Chapter, involving costlyappeals to Rome, that the Prior was reduced to asking the hospitalityof the monks of Derley for some of the brethren. A period ofprosperity followed and many benefactions flowed in, including thegift of various churches by the king. It was after twenty-six years ofquarrelling that the Pope, in 1224, had appointed to the bishopricWalter de Stavenby, an able and learned man. During his episcopacy thefriars made their appearance in England, and by him the Franciscanswere introduced at Lichfield, while at Coventry Ranulph, Earl ofChester, gave them land in Cheylesmore on which to build their oratoryand house. 

They were not generally welcomed by the monks. A Benedictine lamentstheir first appearance thus "Oh shame! oh worse than shame! ohbarbarous pestilence! the Minor Brethren are come into England!" andat Bury they were obliged to build outside a mile radius from theAbbey. The parish priests also soon found out that they were undersoldin the exercise of their spiritual offices and although no doubt manybadly needed awakening they were not, on that account, the more likelyto welcome the intruders. 

Another innovation, affecting the fortunes of the parish priest, hadits beginning under the rule of Bishop Stavenby though its greatestdevelopment occurred in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Thiswas the foundation of Chantries designed primarily for the maintenanceof a priest or priests to say mass daily or otherwise for the soul'shealth of the founder, his family and forbears. The earliest we hearof are one at Lincoln, and one at Hatherton in Coventry Archdeaconrywhile the Bishop himself endowed one in Lichfield Cathedral. Many wereperpetual endowments (£5 per annum being the average stipend), otherswere temporary, according to the means of those who paid for themasses--for a term of years or for a fixed number of masses. Althoughchantry priests were often required to give regular help in the churchservices or taught such scholars as came to them or served outlyingchapelries, the system permitted a great number to live on occasionalengagements and was doubtless productive of abuses. Chaucer tells usthat his poor parson was not such an one as

 ... Left his sheep encumbered in the mire, And ran unto London, unto Saint Poul's, To seekë him a chantery for souls. 

The number of chantries in the different cathedrals varied verygreatly, Lichfield had eighty-seven, St. Paul's thirty-seven, Yorkonly three. Monks' churches had few or none while in town churchesthey were numerous, London having one hundred and eighty, Yorkforty-two, Coventry at least fifteen besides the twelve gild priestsof the chapel of Babelake. Most were founded in connection with anexisting altar, some had a special altar, at Winchester, Tewkesburyand elsewhere they were enclosed in screens between the pillars of thenave, or a special chapel was added to the church. 

It was in the thirteenth century also (1267) that the monasteryobtained the grant of a Merchants' Gild; with all the privilegesthereto belonging, the earliest of those which contributed so much tothe renown of Coventry. These were Benefit Societies, insuring help tothe "Brethren and sistren" in old age, sickness or poverty, securingto them the services of the church after death and in all casesestablished on a strictly religious basis and placed under theprotection of a Saint, or of the Holy Trinity. The regulation andprotection of trade interests, generally aiming at monopoly and theexclusion of outsiders, were later developments. But without doubtthey were public-spirited bodies according to their lights, maintaining schools (as at Stratford-on-Avon) hospitals andalmshouses, and giving freely on all occasions of public importance. By pageants too, they contributed to the happiness and amusement ofthe people as well as by the presentation of Mysteries and Moralities, to their instruction and edification. But in the eyes of theReformers, or of grasping courtiers, all this went for nothing whenweighed against the heinous offence of supporting chaplains to prayfor deceased members and so (6 Edward VI) they were suppressed alongwith the chantries, and their property confiscated, "the very meanestand most inexcusable of the plunderings which threw discredit on theReformation. "

Here, the city bought back everything which had belonged to theTrinity and Corpus Christi Gilds, with various almshouses and thepossessions of the majority of the Chantries; while previously at theDissolution it had bought the abbey-orchard, and mill, and the houseand church of the Grey Friars. 

In 1340 Edward III granted Licence to the Coventry men to form aMerchants' Gild with leave "to make chantries, bestow alms, do otherworks of piety and constitute ordinances touching the same. " This wasSt. Mary's Gild. Two years later that of St. John Baptist was formedand a year later that of St. Katherine, the three being united intothe Trinity Gild before 1359. Of the chapel (now St. John's church)begun in 1344 by the St. John's Gild and the "fair and statelystructure for their feasts and meetings called St Mary Hall" built in1394 by the united Gilds more will be said later (p. 81 and p. 97). The end of the fourteenth century and the fifteenth brought toCoventry a full share in the events and movements of the time. In 1396the duel between Hereford and Norfolk was to have taken place onGosford Green (adjoining the city) and Richard II made the fatalmistake of banishing both combatants. At the Priory in 1404 Henry IVheld his Parliament known, from the fact that no lawyers were summonedto it, as the "Parliamentum Indoctorum. " Setting itself in oppositionto ecclesiastics, it proposed to supply the King's needs by taxingchurch-property. As in the matter of the city walls, the churchcontrived to avoid bearing its share of the public burdens and thechronicler ends thus: "Much ado there was; but to conclude, the worthyArchbishop (viz. Tho. Arundell) standing stoutly for the good of theChurch, preserved it at that time from the storm impending. " Onebranch of his argument is noteworthy, that as the confiscation of thealien priories had not enriched the King by half a mark (courtiershaving extorted or begged them out of his hands), so it would be werehe to confiscate the temporalities of the monasteries. Henry VIII hadreason to acknowledge the fulfilment of the prophecy. 

Soon after this, in 1423, Coventry showed its sympathy for Lollardrywhen John Grace an anchorite friar came out of his cell and preachedfor five days in the "lyttell parke. " He was opposed by the prior ofSt. Mary's and by a Grey Friar who however were attacked and nearlykilled by the mob. 

The royal visits which earned for Coventry the title which it stillbears as its motto 'Camera principis' were frequent in this century. In 1436 we hear of Henry VI being there, and in 1450 he was the guestof the monastery and after hearing mass at St. Michael's Churchpresented to it for an altar-hanging the robe of gold tissue he waswearing. The record in the Corporation Leet book is interesting enoughto quote:

 The King, then abydeng stille in the seide Priory, upon Mich'as even sent the clerke of his closet to the Churche of Sent Michel to make redy ther hys clossette, seying that the Kynge on Mich'as day wolde go on p'cession and also her ther hygh masse. The Meyre and his counsell, remembreng him in this mater, specially avysed hem to pray the Byshoppe of Wynchester to say hygh masse afore the Kynge. The Byshoppe so to do agreed withe alle hys herte; and, agayne the Kynges comeng to Sent Michel Churche, the Meyre and his Peres, cladde in skarlet gowns, wenton unto the Kynges Chambar durre, ther abydeng the Kynges comeng. The Meyre then and his peres, doeng to the Kyng due obeysaunse ... Toke his mase and bere it afore the Kynge all his said bredurn goeng afore the Meyre til he com to Sent Michels and brought the Kynge to his closette. Then the seyde Byshoppe, in his pontificals arayde, with all the prestes and clerkes of the seyde Churche and of Bablake, withe copes apareld, wenton in p'cession abowte the churchyarde; the Kynge devowtely, with many odur lordes, followed the seyd p'cession bare-hedded, cladde in a gowne of gold tissu, furred with a furre of marturn sabull; the Meyre bereng the mase afore the Kynge as he didde afore, tille he com agayne to his closette. Att the whyche masse when the Kyng had offered and his lordes also, he sende the lorde Bemond, his chamburlen, to the Meyre, seying to him, "hit is the Kynges wille that ye and your bredurn com and offer;" and so they didde; and when masse was don, the Meyre and his peres brought on the Kynge to his chambur in lyke wyse as they fet hym, save only that the Meyre with his mase went afore the Kynge till he com withe in his chambur, his seyd bredurn abydeng atte the chambur durre till the Meyre cam ageyne. And at evensong tyme the same day, the Kyng, ... Sende the seyde gowne and furre that he were when he went in p'cession, and gaf hit frely to God and to Sent Michell, insomuch that non of the that broughte the gowne wolde take no reward in no wyse. 

In 1451 he made the city with the villages and hamlets within itsliberties into a county "distinct and altogether separate from thecounty of Warwick for ever, " and in 1453 the King and Queen againvisited the Priory. Perhaps out of gratitude for all this royalfavour, Coventry adhered to the Lancastrian cause and in 1459 waschosen as the meeting place for the "Parliamentum Diabolicum, " socalled from the number of attainders passed against the Yorkists. Theyear 1467 however saw Edward IV and his Queen keeping their Christmashere, while less than two years later her father and brother werebeheaded on Gosford Green (Aug. 1469). 

After the king's landing at Holderness in 1471 the king-maker, declining a contest, occupied the town for the Lancastrians, andEdward passing on to London soon after turned and defeated the earl atBarnet. After Tewkesbury Edward paid the city another visit, and inreturn for its disloyalty seized its liberties and franchises, andonly restored them for a fine of 500 marks. Royal visits stillcontinued. Richard III came in 1483 to see the plays at the Feast ofCorpus Christi; in 1485 Henry VII stayed at the mayor's house afterhis victory at Bosworth Field; and in 1487 kept St. George's Day atthe Monastery, when the Prior at the service cursed, by "bell, book, and candle, " all who should question the king's right to the throne. The importance of the Gilds is shown by the king and queen being madea brother and sister of the Trinity Gild; and the part that pageantryplayed in the lives of all men is seen in the many occasions on whichkings and princes came hither to be entertained, not only with theplays "acted by the Grey Friars" but those in which the "hard-handedmen" of, for instance, the Gild of the Sheremen and Tailors, "toil'dtheir unbreathed memories" in setting forth such subjects as the Birthof Christ and the Murder of the Innocents. But although Henry VIIIhimself was received in 1511 with pageantry and stayed at the Priory, royal favours and monastic hospitality availed neither men norbuildings when the Dissolution came. On 15th January, 1539, ThomasCamswell, the last Prior of St. Mary's, surrendered. "The Prior, "reported Dr. London, the king's commissioner, "is a sad, honest priestas his neighbours do report him, and is a Bachelor of Divinity. Hegave his house unto the king's grace willingly and so in like mannerdid all his brethren. " The Doctor asks for good pensions for thedispossessed, not on the plea of justice but so that "othersperceiving that these men be liberally handled will with better willnot only surrender their houses, but also leave the same in the betterstate to the King's use. "

The yearly revenue had been certified in the valuation at _£731 19s. 5d. _ Deducting a Fee-Ferme rent to the Crown, reserved by Roger deMontalt, and other annual payments, the clear remainder was _£499 7s. 4d. _ Bishop Rowland Lee, writing to "my singular good Lord Cromwell, "implies that he had a promise from him to spare the church. "My goodLord, " he says, "help me and the City both in this and that the churchmay stand, whereby I may keep my name, and the City have commodity andease to their desire, which shall follow if by your goodness it mightbe brought to a collegiate church, as Lichfield, and so that fair Cityshall have a perpetual comfort of the same, as knoweth the HolyTrinity, who preserve your Lordship in honour to your heart'scomfort. "

But his entreaties, and those of the mayor and corporation, were allin vain, the church and monastic buildings were dismantled anddestroyed piecemeal, and like so many other magnificent structuresbecame a mere quarry for mean buildings and the mending of roads. 

The site having been granted by Henry VIII to two gentlemen namedCombes and Stansfield, passed soon into the hands of John Hales, thefounder of the Free School, and in Elizabeth's reign was purchased bythe Corporation. 

The changes in religious opinion of the successive sovereigns werefelt here by many poor victims. Seven persons were burnt in 1519 forhaving in their possession the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed in English, and for refusing to obey the Pope or hisagents, opinions and acts that would have been counted meritorioustwenty years later. In 1555 Queen Mary burnt three Protestants in theold quarry in Little Park--Laurence Saunders, a well-known preacher, Robert Glover, M. A. , and Cornelius Bongey. 

Ten years after this Queen Elizabeth's visit was the occasion of muchpageantry and performing of plays by the Tanners', Drapers', Smiths', and Weavers' Companies, and in 1575 the men of Coventry gave theirplay of "Hock Tuesday" before her at Kenilworth Castle. In 1566 QueenMary of Scots was in ward here, in the mayoress' parlour, and in 1569at the Bull Inn. 

Coming down to the opening of the Civil War we find that a few daysbefore the raising of his standard at Nottingham Charles summoned thecity to admit him with three hundred cavaliers, and received foranswer that it was quite ready to receive his Majesty with no morethan two hundred. Whereupon he retired in displeasure, and reappearedsome days later with the threat to lay the city in ruins if it shouldpersist in its disloyalty. The townsfolk being in no mind to receive agarrison, the King planted cannon against Newgate and broke down thegates but was met with a fierce musquetry fire from the walls, followed up by a vigorous sally, in which the citizens did muchexecution and took two cannon. 

To prevent the like happening again, the walls were in 1662 breachedin many places and made incapable of defence. Just one hundred yearslater New-gate was taken down, and others followed from time to time, until now there are left only the remains of two of the lesserones--Cook Street Gate, a crumbling shell (p. 7), and the adjacentSwanswell or Priory Gate, blocked up and used as a dwelling. 

In 1771 was finally destroyed the famous Cross which had been built, 1541-3, by Sir William Hollis, once Lord Mayor of London, who came ofa Coventry family. It was described by Dugdale as "one of the chiefthings wherein this City most glories, which for workmanship andbeauty is inferior to none in England. " A few relics of it exist inSt. Mary Hall, a statue of Henry VI, and, in the oriel, two smallerfigures. So too does the very interesting contract for its building, which shows how much was left to the craftsman's pride in his work andhow little he was trammelled by conditions, save that the work was tobe "finished in all points, as well in imagery work, pictures, andfinials, according to the due form and proportion of the Cross atAbingdon. "

Another building, which was destroyed in 1820, was the Pilgrims' Rest, a fine timbered house of three storeys, "supposed, " as the inscriptionupon it records, "to have been the hostel or inn for the maintenanceand entertainment of the palmers and other visitors to the Priory. "Some pieces of carved work were patched together in the windows of theinn built on its site and there remain. 

The modern history of Coventry, consisting of the ordinary events andvicissitudes of civic life and the changes and fluctuations in itstrades, apart from that of its parish churches which is elsewheregiven, does not come within the scope of this handbook. 

[Illustration: SEAL OF THE PRIORY. ]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: St. Osburg's name is not found in the Calendar. As at theDissolution the Cathedral possessed relics of St. Osborne, includinghis head in copper and gilt, these saints may be identical. ]

[Footnote 2: Earl Street and Bishop Street are still principal streetsin either half of the town. ]

[Footnote 3: The walls of London were about three and a quarter mileslong (including the river front), with ten or eleven gates; those ofYork three miles, of Chester hardly two. ]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE WEST END OF THE PRIORY CHURCH. ]

THE RUINS OF THE PRIORY AND CATHEDRAL CHURCH

The Priory buildings and grounds covered a large area to the North ofthe two parish churches on the gentle slope descending to the littleriver Sherbourne, Priory Row forming its southern boundary. 

The church occupied the South-West portion of this site, extendingabout 400 feet from the excavated west end to a point a little beyondthe narrow lane called Hill Top. The excavation shows that the churchstood on a sloping site, the floor level being some ten feet lowerthan that of Trinity Church. It was cruciform, with two western towersand a central one, and is believed to have had three spires similar tothose of Lichfield but probably earlier in point of date. On thesubstructure of the North-West Tower now stands the house of the_mistress_ of the Girls' Blue Coat School. The interior of the Westend to a height of 5 to 8 feet, with the responds of the nave arcadesand of the tower arches, is visible and in good condition. Thebeginning of the turret stair in the South-West tower is exposed, butthe basement of the house unfortunately occupies the lower part of thenorthern one. The exterior of this is however easily accessible froman enclosure known as the Wood Yard, the much decayed spreading plinthand a few feet of walling above it not having been destroyed. Abovethis, grievous damage has been perpetrated by the casing and completeobliteration of the mouldings and arcading which remained. The towerswere placed outside the line of the aisles as at Wells, the totalwidth of the West front, 145 feet, being nearly the same in bothcases. There are still indications of the position of the great westdoor, but the height of the inner plinth shows that there was always adescent of several steps into the church. At the south transept wherewas "the Minster durra that openeth to the Trinite Churchyarde, " thedescent must have been considerable. The remains show that the navedated from the first half of the thirteenth century, while fragmentsof wall near the site of the transept with indications of lancetwindow openings are probably a little earlier than the west end. 

[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE N. W. TOWER (IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY). ]

Whether the church of Leofric and Godiva, dedicated in 1043, hadsurvived wholly or in part until this time cannot be known, but, judging from the history of most other great monastic churches andfrom the known wealth of the monastery, it may almost be taken forgranted that the Norman bishops and priors rebuilt much if not all. Some relics of Norman work have been found but the covering of thesite with roads, graves and houses precludes the systematicexploration and survey which alone could solve this question and makeclear the outlines of the plan of the whole establishment. 

The entrance to some wine-cellars in Priory Row gives access to theold pavement level of part of the choir and transept. From the factthat a brick vault forms the roof the cellars have often been lookedupon as the crypt of the church but this is erroneous; the vault is alater insertion and if any crypt exists it lies below this level. Tothe east of the cathedral was the Bishop's Palace, the gardens of itextending over the detached burial ground of St. Michael's to the eastof Priory Street. The grandeur of this assemblage of buildingsgrouping, with the spires of the churches behind and rising somagnificently above the houses of the city can best be realized bygoing to the top of Bishop Street whence may be obtained the finestview of the two spires that remain (see p. 2). 

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH

[Illustration: ST. MICHAEL'S FROM THE NORTH. ]

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH

CHAPTER I

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

The early history of St. Michael's Church is very obscure. The factthat Domesday mentions no parish churches proves nothing. There can belittle doubt that one at least existed. Though we have an earlierrecord of St. Michael's it is commonly held that Trinity is the elderfoundation. 

Of St. Michael's the first notice we have is when Ranulph, Earl ofChester, in the days of Stephen, about 1150, granted the "Chapel" ofSt. Michael to Laurence, Prior, and the Convent of St. Mary, "beingsatisfied by the testimony of divers persons, as well Clergy as Laity, that it was their right. " Fourteen dependent chapels in theneighbourhood or within a few miles went with it and the number ofthese dependencies is held to show that it was "a primitive Saxonparish and of considerable importance. " In 1192 Ranulph Blundeville, grandson of the former Ranulph, gave tithe of his lands and rents inCoventry and bound his officers under pain of a grievous curse to makedue payment. 

In the early thirteenth century a dispute arose between BishopGeoffrey de Muschamp and the Priory as to the right of presentation, the Bishop claiming on the ground of being Abbot as well as Bishop. This was settled in 1241 by the Priory renouncing its claim inconsideration of receiving a share of the income but in 1248 anexchange was effected, the Priory giving the advowsons of Ryton andBubbenhall[4] (not far from Coventry) for St. Michael and its chapelsand engaging to provide proper secular priests with competent support. In 1260 the church was appropriated to the monastery together withHoly Trinity and its chapels and although in the arrangement of 1248twenty-four marks (£16) had been assigned to the vicarage, in 1291 wefind the priory receiving fifty marks and paying the vicar eight and ahalf. 

Since 1537 the patronage has with that of Trinity, been exercised bythe Crown. 

The internal evidence of the date of the building is given in thedescription of the fabric. Of external evidence in the shape ofrecords or deeds we have very little. Tradition says that there wasonce a brass tablet in the church bearing the following lines:

 William and Adam built the Tower, Ann and Mary built the Spire; William and Adam built the Church, Ann and Mary built the Choir. 

Now we know that William and Adam Botoner, who were each Mayor thricebetween 1358 and 1385, built the tower, spending upon it £100 a yearfor twenty-two years, but what foundation there is for the otherstatements cannot now be determined. The tower was in building from1373 to 1394, and the choir is contemporary with it, the nave was inbuilding from 1432 to 1450, and the spire was begun in 1430. AsWilliam was Mayor in 1358 it can hardly have been less than onehundred years after his birth that both nave and spire were begun. Itis however, likely that other members of the family (if not he, bybequest) contributed largely to the general building fund. 

Much of the history of a parish church is concerned with its internaleconomy but even the records of this are not quite trivial for theyenlighten us on many points wherein we are rightly curious. We are, for instance, constantly reminded, as Dr. Gasquet points out in"Mediaeval Parish Life, " that "religious life permeated society in theMiddle Ages, particularly in the fifteenth century, through the minorconfraternities" or gilds. 

Thus the Drapers' Gild made itself responsible not only for the upkeepof the Lady Chapel but also for the lights always burning on theRood-loft, every Master paying four pence for each "prentys" and every"Jurneman" four pence. The cost of lights formed a serious item inchurch expenditure, needing the rent of houses and lands for theirmaintenance. Guy de Tyllbrooke, vicar in the late thirteenth century, gave all his lands and buildings on the south side of the church tomaintain a light before the high altar, day and night, for ever, "andall persons who shall convert this gift to any other use directly orindirectly shall incur the malediction of Almighty God, the BlessedVirgin, St. Michael and All Saints. "

Royal visits to the church have been noticed in the history of thepriory and city, especially that in 1450 which was apparently intendedto mark the completion of the church. Reference has also been made tothe plays and pageants with which such visitors were entertained. Thesite for the performance of the cycle of Corpus Christi plays was thechurchyard on the north of St. Michael's. Queen Margaret, whose visitswere so frequent that the city acquired the fanciful title of "theQueen's Bower" came over from Kenilworth on the Eve of the Feast in1456, "at which time she would not be met, but privily to see the playthere on the morrow and she saw then all the pageants played saveDoomsday, which might not be played for lack of day and she was lodgedat Richard Wood's the Grocer. "

There is evident reference to the dedication of the church in thepageant of the "Nine Orders of Angels" shown before Henry VIII andQueen Catherine in 1510 (p. 47). 

The history of the church since the Reformation has been not unlikethat of a vast number of others. Fanatic destruction, followed bytasteless and incongruous innovations, and these again by"restorations" sometimes as destructive, sometimes as tasteless, andnearly always feeble; such is their common history. In 1569 even theRegister books were destroyed because they contained marks of popery, while from 1576 onward a want of repair is plainly suggested byfrequent items of expenditure for catching the stares (starlings) inthe church, at one time for a net, at another for "a bowe and boltsand lyme. " In 1611 James I addressed a strongly worded letter to theMayor and Corporation and the Vicar requiring them to reform thepractice of receiving the Holy Sacrament standing or sitting insteadof kneeling, "As we our Self in our person do carefully perform it. "Whereupon the Bishop wrote that he "felt persuaded that there were notabove seven of any note who did not conform themselves" to the churchordinances; while the Vicar said he "did not know of _half seven_ ofany note but do the like. "

A Puritanical writer in 1635 thus mentions the changed position ofthe Communion Table, which had formerly stood away from the east wall:"The Communion Table was altered which cost a great deal of money; andthat which is worst of all, three stepps made to go to the Comm'nTable altar fashion--God grant it continueth not long. " Even the font, given by John Cross, mayor, in 1394, had to give place in 1645 tosomething less offensive to Puritan feeling, and in the same year thebrass eagle, given in 1359 by William Botoner, was "sold by order ofvestry for _5d. _ the lb. , _8l. 13s. 4d. _" The rehanging of the bellsin 1674 led to the destruction of the beautiful groined vault withinthe tower, and the year 1764 saw the completion of a series ofgalleries all round the church. Throughout all this destruction anddesecration the citizens happily retained their pride in the greatsteeple, and by constant attention and rebuildings contrived topreserve it when negligence might have caused its ruin. The scrupulouscare given to such work is well shown by items in an account forrepairs, of date 1580:

 Payed to George Aster for poyntynge ye steple £ 7 2 8 Payed for 3 quarter and a halfe of lyme 13 4 Payed for egges 8 4 Payed for glovers pecis, woode & tallowe, abowte the lyme 5 6 Payed for a load sand 7½ Payed for 4 stryke of mawlte and gryndyng 7 8½ Payd for 6 gallons of worte more 2 0 Payd for gatherynge of slates & oyster shelles 3ĵ Payd to Cookson for the cradle and 3 other pullesses 5 8

The glovers' snippings were for making size, which, with the eggs, malt and wort were used in place of water for tempering the mortar. Lightning seriously damaged the spire in 1655 and 1694, in the formercase causing much injury to the nave roof by falling stone. In 1793Wyatt, the architect responsible for so much destruction of Mediĉvalwork in various cathedrals, advised that a timber framework to carrythe bells should be built up within the tower from the ground and thatthe tower arch should be bricked up. All this has been changed since1885, the bells now hang (but are not pealed) in the octagon, thechimes and clock are in the chamber below, the arch is opened and thegroining restored. 

All galleries had been taken down in 1849 and the present seats, giving room for near 2, 500 persons, introduced, while the incongruouswall-arcading in the apse was soon after added. At the same periodmany important sepulchral monuments, probably stigmatized as"excrescences, " were taken down and removed to other parts of thechurch. 

Five years after this the exterior of the aisle walls was recased withthe same friable sandstone. In 1860 the reredos was erected, thesubjects of the panels being the sacrifices of Abel, Noah, Melchisedec, and Abraham, and the Last Supper. To the latestrestoration, which included entire recasing of tower and spire, clearstories and chancel, the new sacristy at the south east, andother work, Mr. George Woodcock, a Coventry citizen, gave £10, 500, andthe sum of £39, 500 was raised and expended, the re-opening takingplace on 22nd April, 1890. 

In 1850 a dispute of considerable public interest with regard to thelevying of the church rate between the vicar and the wardens andoverseers was decided in the Court of Queen's Bench. An Act ofParliament of 1780 had empowered the wardens to levy a rate in lieu oftithe for the stipend of the vicar, to produce not less than £280 normore than £300. The wardens having ever since allowed their powers toremain in abeyance, the vicar claimed the right to make the rate ashis predecessors had done. Lord Campbell and three other judges werehowever unanimous in giving judgement against him. 

The latest event in the history of the church is probably the mostimportant. It has now been constituted a pro-cathedral for theproposed Diocese of Warwickshire, and a Capitular body has beenformed. The statutes were promulgated by the Bishop of Worcester onthe Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, 1908. The Chapter nowconsists of twenty-four members:--the Bishop, the Vicar of St. Michael's (Rev. Prof. J. H. B. Masterman), the Archdeacon of Coventry, the Chancellor of the Diocese, ten priest canons and ten lay canons, with provision for the admission of a future second archdeacon. Thereare resemblances here to the constitution of the Southwark Chapter, consisting of four clerical and four lay canons, but at Coventry someof the lay canons are elective and for fixed periods. Doubtless theimmense increase of population in the county, especially in this part(Birmingham is already a separate diocese), demands further oversightand much strenuous church work, and doubtless, too, the same religiousenthusiasm which brought into existence the beautiful structures ofCoventry's golden age will be able to meet the demand and cope withthe new problems and aspirations of the present day. But thearchaeologist trembles to think what may be done should the attempt bemade to transform a building planned on the simplest parish-churchlines into the semblance of a cathedral. It cannot be successful, andthe original character of the church is but too likely to besacrificed in the attempt. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 4: These have ever since remained prebends of Lichfield. ]

[Illustration ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. ]

CHAPTER II

THE EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH

The church is built on a site descending towards the east, so that thechancel floor is more than twelve feet above the present street level. The narrow street on the south, Bayley Lane, gives us a succession ofpicturesque partial views but no general one, while on the north therather formal avenue dividing the churchyard obscures much of thestructure. On the whole, the most comprehensive prospect is to be hadfrom the north-east, at the lower end of Priory Row. But no generalpoint of view is needed, external or internal, to enable us tounderstand the plan or arrangement, which is almost as simple in formas a village church. 

The typical English church plan consists of a nave with aisles, a longunaisled chancel with square east end, porches or doors on north andsouth, and a western tower, and this, save for its apsidal east end, but amplified by accretions in the form of chapels belonging to themany Gilds of the city, is the plan of St. Michael's. 

In no part, however, do we find the chapels so set as to produce apseudo-cruciform plan. 

Before the latest restoration the walls were entirely of the local redsandstone, very similar in quality and appearance to that of whichChester Cathedral was built, and the extent of its decay, especiallyon the tower, was as grievous. Hardly a piece of external moulding orcarving preserved its original profile or form, and some of the towerbuttresses had lost so large a proportion of their substance not farabove ground that they appeared to hang to the walls rather thansupport them. All save the aisles, which were refaced in the sixties, have now been cased with Runcorn Stone nearly the same in colour andmuch harder in texture. 

The special glory of the church is its =steeple=. No doubtintentionally its height of 300 feet is practically equal to thelength of the church. Only one other parish church, Louth inLincolnshire, has a steeple as high as this, and those of only twoEnglish cathedrals, Salisbury and Norwich, exceed it. 

There is, however, an essential difference to be noted in the positionof these spires, those of the cathedrals at the centre, the crowningpoint in the composition, those of the parish churches at the westend, springing sheer from the ground. While the former have a moreintimate relation to the building the latter have an almostindependent existence in keeping with the theory which regards themmore as symbols of municipal pride and power than as expressions ofspiritual aspiration. 

But however mixed the motives for their erection, religious forms andsymbolism governed the design. Thus we have here three principaldivisions--tower, octagon, spire, and nine stories or stages in all, six belonging to the tower and octagon, and three to the spire. Thenin its dimensions we find that the total height is 300 feet, [5] theplan (exclusive of buttresses) is 30 feet square, while in itsproportions the number 30 is interwoven, so to speak, with a simplearithmetical progression of heights in each story. Thus it is 30 feetfrom the ground to the spring of the lowest five-light windows, 30feet again to the spring of the single-light windows, 27 feet more tothe spring of the grouped windows above, and another 30 to the springof the belfry windows. Thence it is 15 feet to the cornice below thebattlements. The remainder is divided into a series of 20 feetheights, two twenties from cornice to top of parapet of octagon, 20 ineach of the two decorated stages of the spire, 20 to centre of theupper spire-lights, three twenties to the finial. If we look at thestories as marked by the string-courses below the windows we find 50feet given to the door and great window and then 20, 30, and 40 feetstages, reaching to the top of the parapet. The reader will havenoticed the interposition of a 27 feet space among the thirties, andthe reason for this is worth explaining. 

It is now known that the tower could not be built in line with thecentre of the proposed new nave because of the existence of afilled-in pit or quarry at its north-west angle. But the builder wasrash enough to build the north-west buttresses beyond the edge of theold excavation and resting on the looser material. The consequencesmight have been foreseen. By the time the building had reached thegrouped windows the settlement or sinking was considerable and aneffort was made to remedy it, first by reducing the height of this(the weakest story), by one yard and next by starting the courseslevel once more. Five hundred years later and we find that whereas thesinking is 7½ inches near the ground level it is only 4 inches at thewindows, plainly showing that it had sunk 3½ inches before the remedywas applied and four inches since. The writer is informed by thearchitect (Mr. J. Oldrid Scott) that all this angle was so full ofrents and cracks that (coupled with the decay of the stone, especiallyin the buttresses) it was surprising that the whole had not fallen. Acurious disregard of what we look on as a natural sentiment is to benoted in this connection, for the builders used a quantity of finesepulchral slabs from the churchyard as filling for the foundations. 

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE TOWER FROM BELOW. ]

In magnificence of design the tower exceeds that of any other parishchurch in England, the uppermost story being the richest in detail. The variety of treatment and gradual increase in elaboration of theupper stories is admirable, the larger expanses of wall in the lowergiving the necessary effect of stability to the whole. The =west door=is very insignificant, and might perhaps, with advantage to thecomposition, have been left out. It has the only four-centred arch inthe whole. On each side of the great windows are niches with(restored) figures of saints and benefactors, twelve in all, includingEarl Leofric and his famous wife, the Botoners and several kings. Sculpture appears again on the belfry stage. On the west and northsides the niches are in three tiers of three on either hand of thetall louvred windows, but on the south and east sides one tier isabsorbed by the stair turret. All these have been renewed, but theremains of some of those which were taken down can now be seen in thecrypt, and the one which is best preserved, by a happy coincidence thepatron saint, is now placed within the church. 

The octagon, which connects so finely the tower and spire, has fourtwo-light windows on the cardinal sides, the other sides having blankpanelling of similar design. Its parapet has square pinnacles, intended to carry seated figures. From each of the great towerpinnacles two ogee-shaped flying buttresses spring to the near anglesof the octagon. A recent writer criticizes these as too flimsy ineffect, but the fact that they are in pairs obviates this defect frommost points of view. The walls of the octagon are 2½ feet thick at thebase, but, as the inner slope of the spire begins at the level of thewindow transoms, the thickness at its parapet is more than 3 feet. Thegreater weight in this part corrects any tendency in the spire to pushoutwards the upright walls of the octagon; so well has it done thisthat no artificial helps, such as iron stays or bands, have beenfound necessary to add to its stability. Though so slender inappearance, its stonework is thicker than that of many later spires, for whereas Kettering is 14 inches thick for the first 10 feet andonly 6 inches above, while Louth decreases from 10 to 5, St. Michael'sdiminishes from 17 to 11. The inclination from the upright of itssides is very slight, less than that of most others; Chichesterhaving an angle of 7½°, Kettering 6°, Louth 5°, St. Michael's 4½°. 

[Illustration: THE WEST PORCH. ]

The decoration of the spire is admirably designed in relation to theslenderness of the tower, and its own height above the eye. The firststage is panelled so as not to present too great a contrast to theoctagon, and the next is also panelled and has narrow canopied slitson alternate sides, with four thin buttress-like projections on eachface. These provide the slight entasis to the outline which is foundin so many spires, as it is in classic columns, and is designed tocorrect the appearance of hollowness which would occur in so long astraight line. The upper two-thirds of the spire has triple anglerolls, and, just halfway in the total height, are eight canopiedpanels of which four are pierced. The beauty of the steeple and itspre-eminence among those belonging to parish churches (even if such areservation be necessary) sufficiently justifies the length of thisdescription. 

[Illustration: SOUTH PORCH, FROM ST. MARY HALL. ]

The oldest existing part of the church is the large =south porch=, almost facing the entrance to St. Mary Hall. The date of this is notlater than 1300. Each jamb of the outside arch has four external andtwo internal attached shafts; the pointed arch is deeply moulded, while the arch rising from the fourth shaft is of round-headed trefoilform. The ceiling is vaulted with diagonal and intermediate ribs, andhas the appearance of having been added rather later. 

A doorway on its east side led to the Cappers' Chapel and there is achamber over the porch for centuries appropriated to the meetings ofthe Cappers' Company. The present chapel and chamber are contemporarywith the nave. 

[Illustration: SOUTH-WEST DOORWAY. ]

The external wall of the Dyers' Chapel (now the Baptistery) is cantedso as not to block the Lane, St. Mary Hall having been already built. Passing east, the road dips gradually and gives this end of the churcha more imposing elevation. After the Cappers' Chapel, there is only asingle aisle forming the Mercers' Chapel and extending as far as thePresbytery. A door here, made in 1750, is opposite to the Drapers'Hall. The apse is now encircled with a series of sacristies dividedinto five chambers and spanned by flying buttresses. The first twobays on the south were built at the last restoration the vestry thenremoved not being part of the original design. Beneath them on theground level is the engine-room pertaining to the organ. Thoughsometimes spoken of as an Ambulatory its position on a lower level, its original want of connection with the south side and above all theneed for sacristies in so large a church dispose of the idea. 

Some have thought that the apsidal Lady Chapel of Lichfield Cathedralbuilt about fifty years earlier suggested an apsidal termination inthe design of Coventry, but a certain difficulty in the way of thedesigner may have led him to adopt this solution. The normalPerpendicular east end had one large window, but owing to the greatwidth of this chancel the proportions of such a one would have beennearly square, and the spring of the arch have been very low. A fewyears later and the depressed four-centred arch might have beenadopted but, fortunately, its time was not yet. 

The plans of the apses of Lichfield and Coventry differ in the angleat which the sides are inclined to the chord of the apse, the formerhaving the usual angle of 45°, the latter one of more than 60°. Externally this is not so pleasant as the more "commonplace" form, thegreat dissimilarity of the several angles being unsatisfactory and thethird side too quickly lost to view, but within the church thesepoints are not noticed. 

So little time elapsed between the building of the choir and nave thatwe find no marked difference of style as we proceed westward alongeither flank of the church. The =Lady Chapel=, known as the Drapers'Chapel, from its use and maintenance by that Gild, occupies the threebays of the North chancel aisle. From its elevation above the groundit was often spoken of as the "Chapel on the Mount, " Capella BeatĉMariĉ de Monte. All the four windows are of seven lights, the threenorthern having a somewhat unusual transom band of fourteenquatrefoils, at the spring of the arch. The two windows of St. Lawrence's Chapel have a transom across the lights and a band of sevenquatrefoils at the spring. 

The buttresses of the Lady Chapel are rather richer in design thanthose of St. Lawrence's Chapel. The lower level of its parapetindicates some difference of date. The plan of this part of the churchpresents problems which bear on those connected with the rest of thechurch (p. 44). Beneath St. Lawrence's Chapel and extending under thenorth aisle westward are two crypts, entrance to them being by twodoors from the churchyard, their position is shown on the generalplan. It will be seen that the western one is of two aisles, each ofthree bays, while the eastern is only one bay in length. The entranceto the western was at first in the middle bay but this was blockedwhen the Girdlers' Chapel was built. That the eastern crypt was addedlater, and the present Lady Chapel later still is shown by thepresence of windows in the east wall of both parts and otherindications. But while the history of the church shows that theoriginal Lady Chapel and crypt or charnel-house, were built soon after1300, the present superstructures belong to a time about one hundredyears later. Now as the western crypt may be safely assigned to theearlier date the Lady Chapel doubtless stood over it and flanked theold chancel of the church, in its normal position in fact as theexisting one is now. But a point which remains to be explained is thatthe walls of the crypt are parallel to the line of the new chancel andnot to the line of the old or new naves. It seems certain thereforethat the inclination of the new chancel is a simple perpetuation ofthe old arrangement, and if not, the position of the crypt is hard toaccount for. 

It is generally supposed that these crypts were used as MortuaryChapels and the eastern one has in fact a piscina and aumbry, showingthat there was once an altar. But for some centuries they served as acharnel-house, and are so called in a papal grant of Indulgences. In1640 there is an entry in the church accounts of five shillings for"cleansinge the charnel-house and laying the bones and sculles inorder. "

They now contain fragments that have been removed or discovered in thecourse of various restorations. A small Norman scalloped capital, another of Early English workmanship and a voussoir showing the Normanzig-zag or chevron are interesting relics of structures earlier thananything now existing, while a number of the decayed statues from thetower find here a dark and damp repose very different from the airyoutlook enjoyed by them for five centuries. It will be seen that theyare near life size and are executed in a gray sandstone which hasstood the weather much better than the red. The outer north aislecontaining the Girdlers' Chapel on the east and the Smiths' or St. Andrew's Chapel on the west of the porch, is plainly of later date. The windows have depressed, distinctly four-centred arches, and in1730 their five lights had simply cusped heads, the mullions runningup to the architrave. 

The =north porch= has only a slight projection. Above the four-centredarch are two two-light canopied windows opening into the church. Thesoffit of the doorway is panelled. On the west side where is now acanopied niche was formerly an external pulpit reached from within bythe staircase which leads to the roof. It is shown in the 1730 view. On the east side are two odd little flying buttresses, intendedapparently to repeat the inclined surface of the other side. The twonorth aisles are fortunately not carried westward so far as the nave, which projects a half bay beyond them and so prevents the otherwiseunrelieved flatness of this part. The most effective of the porches isthat on the west front, just north of the tower. It appears to havebeen built after the nave was finished, and may have been addedexpressly to provide a more dignified entrance to the church whenHenry VI came in state in 1451, for it faces directly up the nave. Thegroining with cusped panels and numerous bosses has escapedrestoration. The five niches above the porch are statueless, and soare those on the porch front. May they long continue so! The doors arelargely original and are finely panelled and carved. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: At the last restoration the height was reduced to 298feet. ]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF ST. MICHAEL'S FROM THE WEST. ]

CHAPTER III

THE INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH

From within the door by which the church is usually entered, that nearthe south-west angle, we obtain an overpowering impression of thespecial characteristic of the interior, its spaciousness, for it ishere more than 100 feet wide and the east window is nearly 240 feetdistant. 

The =nave=, which is 37 feet 6 inches wide in the clear, is wider thanthat of many cathedrals, and much exceeds that of most parishchurches, the widest (Worstead) given in Brandon's "Parish Churches"being 29 feet. Boston alone exceeds it by about 3 feet. While theordinary aisle width ranges from 10 to 14 feet, the north aisle hereis 23 feet, the outer north and the south being each 17 feet. Thetotal internal length is 265 feet, exclusive of the sacristy; Boston, the only larger one, being 284 feet, while very few exceed 200 feet, and most are far smaller. The greatest internal width is 120 feet;Manchester, a double-aisled collegiate church, is about the same, andYork Minster is 106 feet. Finally, the area is about 22, 800 squarefeet, probably greater than that of any other English parish church, indeed, St. Nicholas, Yarmouth, is the only one which pretends torivalry in this respect. Size is, of course, only one element in theimpressiveness of a building, and may even be neutralized by thetreatment (as, for instance, in the Duomo of Florence and St. Peter's, Rome, by increasing the size of its parts rather than multiplyingthem), but these few comparisons will help the visitor to judge howfar this element colours his appreciation of the whole. As anillustration of mediĉval methods of church building, it is interestingto trace the growth of the structure with the help of the fewhistorical notices already given and the evidence of the buildingitself. The subject is full of difficulties, and the writer does nothope to solve them conclusively, but to put before the reader the mainpoints which have to be considered before forming a judgement. 

[Illustration: TOWER ARCH. ]

Both historic and structural evidence agree that there was an existingsmaller church when the tower was built in the last quarter of thefourteenth century, that the choir and apse were either contemporary, or begun a few years earlier, and that the nave was built between 1434and 1450. The south porch and the west crypt (beneath the originalLady Chapel) are almost contemporary (p. 34), belonging to thebeginning of the fourteenth century. Now the axis of the tower isparallel to the axis and walls of the nave, while the centre line ofthe choir is deflected towards the north about 7°. Notwithstandingthis, however, owing to the tower not being central with the nave, theaxis of the choir, if prolonged, runs directly to the centre of thetower arch, as may easily be seen by anyone who stands there and looksalong the ridge of the choir roof. (_See_ dotted line on Plan. )

[Illustration: BAY OF NAVE, NORTH SIDE. ]

Next we see above the =tower arch= the mark of the old nave roof andthe old north wall of the nave. These show that the south wall stoodwhere the present one does, and the low-pitched fourteenth centuryroof-line suggests incidentally this alternative: _either_ aclearstory had been added to the nave before the building of the newchancel or tower was in contemplation, _or_, when the huge tower wasbuilt it was felt necessary to raise the nave roof so as to lessen thedisproportion. But, if we adopt the latter alternative we must accepttoo the improbability that this expense should have been incurred whenthe inadequacy of the old narrow nave of 15½ feet compared with achancel of 33 feet must have been so obvious. This is one of thedifficult questions. 

Then it is held by some that the axis of the old nave and chancel wasin line with that of the present choir; but the south porch, builtmore than one hundred years before the new nave, is at right angleswith it which would hardly have been the case had the two naves notbeen on the same lines. 

Needless to say the old east end could scarcely have extended beyondthe present nave, so that the new chancel was probably built withoutdisturbing the old church. The position of the older Lady Chapelsupports this view, while its bearing towards the north, as alreadypointed out, indicates that the deflection of the new chancel issimply copied from the older one. 

The position of the south porch proves also that the south aisle wasas wide as the present one, while the fact that it was wider than thenave shows that it was almost certainly not designed at the same time. 

The nave is of six bays and is 54 feet high at the centre, while eacharch is 20 feet wide in the clear. The piers are slender, but, owingto the depth of the panelling above the arches and the large size ofthe windows, the weight upon them is reduced to a minimum. Shaftscarried up from the ground support the roof brackets, and there areintermediate ones over the centre of each arch. The clearstory windowsof four lights each are in pairs, and the mullions are carried down toform panelling and finish on the backs of the arches, which recede intwo sloping faces and form a somewhat unusual feature in the treatmentof the wall surface. The detail of the piers and arches is ratherweak, even for Perpendicular work. 

[Illustration: INTERIOR FROM THE SOUTH DOOR. ]

The =chancel= is about 93 feet long, and in height and width is 4 or 5feet less than the corresponding nave measurements. Its width furtherdiminishes by about 3½ feet in the length of the three bays. Theomission of a chancel arch is a step towards the ideal simplicity ofthe late Perpendicular churches (_e. G. _, St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich), running from east to west without break, but the large rood piers andreduced width and height of chancel make the pause demanded in solong a church. The step at this point is of oak, and is probably theoriginal sill of the rood screen. The large figures of SS. Peter andPaul were placed on the piers in 1861. Of the three arches which openon either hand the centre one is widest, having four-light windows, instead of three-light, over it. The panelling beneath the clearstoryis richer than that in the nave. The five four-light windows of theapse are lofty and divided by two transoms, but the design is somewhatcommonplace. The glass of the middle three is a memorial to QueenAdelaide, dated 1853. The other two are filled with fragments of theancient stained glass of the church (p. 56). 

[Illustration: THE CHOIR FROM ST. LAWRENCE'S CHAPEL. ]

The roof is very similar to that of the nave. Both are of very lowpitch, with tie-beams supported by curved brackets. There are twolongitudinal beams (purlins) on each side, and each division of theroof made by these main timbers is sub-divided by mouldings intopanels, all the intersections and angles being decorated by carvedbosses or paterĉ, with angels upon the tie-beams. Where the roofs ofnave and chancel join there is a cove to connect the two levels; andon the tie-beam above this was found a Latin inscription, giving theattributes and powers of the nine choirs of angels forming thehierarchy of Heaven. Translated it is as follows:

 SERAPHIMS burn in love of God. CHERUBIMS possess all knowledge. THRONES, of them is judgement. DOMINIONS preside over angelic spirits. VIRTUES effect miracles. POWERS have rule over demons. PRINCIPALITIES protect good men. ARCHANGELS are set over states. ANGELS are the messengers of the Lord. 

Bare and shorn as it is of its ancient magnificence, St. Michael's isin its structure a monument of the importance and wealth of the Gilds. Many of them built or maintained chapels and altars, adding largely tothe already spacious proportions given to the main structure by themunificence of a few rich citizens. That in 1491 there were elevenaltars we know from the will of Thomas Bradmedow, directing thateleven torches, price _2s. 4d. _, be given every Good Friday, one toevery altar. Besides the High Altar there were those of Our Lady, Jesus, Holy Trinity, St. John, St. Anne, St. Katherine, St. Thomas, St. Andrew, St. Lawrence, All Saints. 

The application to the =Lady Chapel= of the present name, the"Drapers' Chapel, " is probably subsequent to 1518, when John Haddon, adraper, provided by will for the support of a priest, "to singe in theChapell of our Ladye in the Church of Saint Mychell. " But long erethis, by an instrument dated from St. John Lateran, A. D. 1300, eighthyear of Pope Boniface, Indulgences for forty days were granted for allpersons coming to confess before her altar in St. Michael's Church onthe Nativity, Conception, Annunciation and Assumption of the gloriousVirgin Mary. Also 700 Indulgences for 720 days were granted forbuilding "the Chapple and Charnell house of St. Michaell, Coventry. "The Drapers' Company was responsible for other things than thepriest's stipend as this extract from their Rules shows: "1534. Ev'ymastur shall pay toward ye makyng clene of oure Lady Chapell in sayntMychell's churche and strawyng ye setus [seats] wt rusches in somerand pease strawe in wyntur, everyone yerely _2d. _"

[Illustration: POPPY HEAD, LADY CHAPEL. ]

The piers at the chancel entrance contain the staircases leading tothe roofs and formerly to the rood loft. The screen on the west sideof the chapel was put together from fragments brought together fromvarious parts of the church. Against it, and on the south side, arefifteen of the ancient stalls. Several admirable ends and elbowsremain, and some of the twelve ancient Misereres are of specialinterest. Three represent scenes from the popular mediĉval allegory of"the Dance of Death. "

The centre groups are: (1) a death bed, (2) a kneeling man beingdeprived of his shirt and a cripple waiting to receive it (?), and (3)a very well-expressed burial scene. The side groups in each show Deathleading by the hand personages of various ranks, including a pope. Ofthe others, Satan in chains, the General Resurrection, and adelicately executed Tree of Jesse are the best. 

[Illustration: A MISERERE, LADY CHAPEL. ]

Several monuments formerly in this chapel are now elsewhere in thechurch. A memorial to the Hon. F. W. Hood, killed in battle in 1814, isby Chantrey. On the north wall is a brass plate bearing the followinginscription:

 Here lyeth Mr Thomas Bond, Draper, sometime Mayor of this Cittie and founder of the Hospitall of Bablake, who gave divers lands and tenements for the maintenance of ten poore men so long as the world shall endure and a woman to looke to them with many other good guifts; and died the XVIII day of March in the yeare of our Lord God MDVI. 

The =Communion Table= is a fine example of early seventeenth centurywork, and outside the screen is a very beautiful oak chest, believedto date from the time of Henry VII. From the Lady Chapel we pass intothat of St. Laurence. Its two windows are filled with glass to thememory of past mayors. The dates, 1860 and 1862, sufficiently suggesttheir artistic merit. Several old monuments are upon the north wall, one of 1648 with an extravagant inscription to Thomas Purefoy, a boyof nine; another to Mrs. Bathona Frodsham, a daughter of the JohnHales who bought so much monastic property, and founded the GrammarSchool. The tomb of his first wife, Frideswede, near which he wasburied, may be seen in the Dugdale view near the north porch. 

The outer north aisle contained the Girdlers' Chapel. The arcade whichdivides the aisles shows the consummation of the process whichconverted columns into piers by the omission of capitals and bases andthe continuation of the mouldings from pier into arch. 

The altar was below the eastern window, the piscina (restored) standson the south side. 

The Company has been long extinct and no documents exist. We know, however, that Haye's Chantry was founded by a Girdler in 1390, for aMass to be sung daily at All Saints' altar, and may therefore concludethat it was in this chapel. 

In the two western bays of the same aisle was St. Andrew's Chapel, supported and probably founded by the Smiths' Company. The firstnotice of its existence occurs in 1449, but as this part was not builtuntil 1500 it was perhaps originally in the adjoining aisle. Thewindow tracery is modern. The panelling within the internal arches andbetween the windows should be noted. The floor near the wall is partlypaved with much worn ancient tiles. 

Several large monuments have been brought hither from the Drapers'Chapel. An altar tomb of black marble is to the memory of Sir ThomasBerkeley, only son of Henry, Lord Berkeley, who died in 1611; anotherof 1640, to William Stanley, Master of the Merchant Taylors' Companyof London and a benefactor of St. Bartholomew's Hospital and of hisnative city, Coventry. While these are ponderous and unlovely that ofJulian Nethermyl, at the west end of the principal north aisle, is awork of interest and much beauty. It is an altar tomb with asculptured panel on one end and one side, the other end and sidehaving been next to walls. It is of interest as an early example ofthe Italian style then finding its way into England, and an example sofree from Gothic influence that there can be little doubt that aforeign craftsman was employed upon it. On the centre of the longpanel is a mutilated crucifix, and a brief inscription with a shieldof arms beneath. On either hand kneel Julian Nethermyl and his wife, with five sons behind him and five daughters behind her. A cherub ateach end pushes aside a curtain. The group of sons is well treated, the variations in pose and dress show the hand of one who wasaccustomed to study composition, and the result is very different fromthe formal repetition of equal or lessening figures usual on mediĉvalbrasses and Elizabethan tombs. The Latin inscription is partlyillegible, translated it runs:

 Here lies Julian Nethermyl, Draper, formerly Mayor of this City, who died the 11th day of the month of April in the year of our Lord 1539 and also Joan his wife, to whose souls God be propitious. Amen. 

[Illustration: CHEST IN NORTH AISLE. ]

A small brass on the wall to the memory of Mary Hinton, wife of avicar, who died in 1594, represents her kneeling at a faldstool, andfacing a row of four swaddled infants laid upon the floor. 

Near by is the old Purbeck marble font, said to have been given byJohn Cross, Mayor, in 1394. 

As, however, the form, material, and shallow decoration are all quiteconsistent with a thirteenth-century date there can be little doubtthat this one is the predecessor of that given by John Cross, whichwas condemned and removed by the Puritans as superstitious. A smallbrass, bearing a shield with four crosses, the ancient merchant mark, is fixed upon it. 

[Illustration: THE NETHERMYL TOMB. ]

Beyond the west door is the north-east buttress of the tower, strengthened by a mass of masonry, part of which formed part of theold nave wall. The tower arch is high and very narrow, owing to thenarrowness of the old nave. The interior of the tower is veryeffective, both from the height, which is almost 100 feet to the crownof the vault, and the beautiful lighting of the upper stages. Each ofthe large windows of the ground story is set in a recessed arch, andbetween the two lantern stages is a range of panelling. The verticallines of the various stages are not continuous, a want of regularity, which would probably not have occurred had it been built a centurylater. Upon the floor of the tower are two small brasses, which markrespectively the centre of the tower and the point below the apex ofthe spire, showing that the spire has an inclination of 3 feet 6inches towards the north-west. On the walls of the tower two verylarge brasses record the names of the Vicars of the church since 1242, and of the Bishops in whose Dioceses Coventry has been included fromthe earliest times. Of the latter, four were Bishops of Mercia, twenty-seven of Lichfield, six of Coventry, thirty-three of Coventryand Lichfield, thirteen of Lichfield and Coventry, four of Worcester, and two Bishops-Suffragan of Coventry. 

The south aisle is 6 feet narrower than the north at the west end, butits want of parallelism adds 7 feet to its width at its far easternend. 

The south-west doorway has its original doors, though these have beensubjected to restoration. The first chapel on the south side belongedto the Dyers' Company. When the principal trade of Coventry was themanufacture of woollen and worsted stuffs and the production of aspecial blue thread, so excellent that it gave rise to a proverbialexpression, "he is true Coventry Blue", the Dyers were an importantCompany. [6] A chantry known as Tale's was probably attached to thischapel, as the salary of the priest, _£5 6s. 8d. _, was paid by theDyers' Company of London. An upper chamber for the priest existed aslate as 1607; the floor corbels still remain. A large marble monument(removed hither from the chancel) has medallion portraits of twoladies--Dame Mary Bridgeman and Mrs. Eliza Samwell. The former withher husband, Sir Orlando (Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under CharlesII), both died in 1701. The latter, dying in 1724, "ordered thismonument to be erected as a remembrance of their great and lovingfriendship. "

The Chapel is now the =Baptistery=. A large eighteenth-century marblefont was removed to the Lady Chapel and a new Gothic one put in itsplace, so that there are now three in the church. 

The south porch (1300) is the earliest part of the existing church. The inner doors appear to be of the early sixteenth century, theouter, though old, are of much later date and are not part of theoriginal scheme. On the wall on each side of the inner doors arebrasses of some interest. That on the right hand has a curious epitaphwhich runs thus:

 Here lies the body of Captn Gervase Scrope, of the family of Scropes, of Bolton in the County of York, who departed this life the 26 of August, Anno Dni 1705, aged 66. 

 An Epitaph, written by himself, in the agony and dolorous paines of the gout and dyed soon after. 

 Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. Four kings in camps he truly served. And from his loyalty ne'er swerved, Father ruin'd and son slighted, And from the Crown ne'er requited. Loss of estate, relations, blood, Was too well known, but did no good; With long Campaigns and paines oth' gout He cou'd no longer hold it out. Always a restless life he led, Never at quiet till quite dead. He marry'd in his later days, One who exceeds the common praise But wanting breath still to make known Her true affection and his own, Death kindly came, all wants supplied By giving rest--which life deny'd. 

The other brass, of 1609, has a portrait of Ann Sewell in Jacobeancostume, kneeling, with an epitaph in which she is described as "aworthy stirrer up of others to all holy virtues. "

A doorway leads to a priest's chamber over the porch, sometimesincorrectly spoken of as the Cappers' Chapel. It is still used for theannual meeting of the Company, but is inaccessible to the public. 

The next chapel eastwards is St. Thomas', belonging until 1629 to theCappers' and Feltmakers' Company. In 1531 they were associated in itsmaintenance with the Woollen Cardmakers who had founded it in 1467 andhad after declined in importance. Leland, as we have seen recordsalso the decay of the Cappers' industry. A large eighteenth-centurymonument conceals the original doorway from the porch. The easternpart of the south aisle as far as the screen formed another chapel asthe dilapidated piscina in the south wall shows. The organ is nowplaced in the first bay of the chancel aisle, the whole aisle havingonce formed the Mercers' Chapel. 

[Illustration: THE SWILLINGTON TOMB. ]

Where the altar once stood are now steps descending to the sacristies. On the right of the window is the statue of St. Michael brought hitherfrom the tower (p. 32). The finely carved corbel on which it standswas discovered among rubbish in the recess below. Three altar tombsnow stand against the south wall. The eastern has the recumbenteffigies of Elizabeth Swillington and her two husbands. Theinscription (translated) runs: "Pray for the soul of ElizabethSwillington, widow, late the wife of Ralph Swillington, AttorneyGeneral of our Lord King Henry VIII, Recorder of the city of Coventry, formerly the wife of Thomas Essex Esq: which said Elizabeth died A. D. 15... " She died after 1543. The side and ends have arcaded panellingcontaining shields of arms. At the west end is a realisticrepresentation of the Five Wounds. The effigy of Thomas Essex is inarmour, that of the Recorder in official robe and chain. The head ofeach rests on a helmet, and the lady wears the "pedimental" headdressof Tudor fashion. The arcading is purely Renaissance in detail thoughthe general treatment is mediĉval. The figures are in dignifiedrepose, wholly free from the later affectations of the Elizabethanschool yet evidently individual portraits. The second tomb dates from1640. The top is far too heavy for the little Ionic pilasters below. 

The third, traditionally called Wade's tomb, probably belongs to JohnWayd, a Mercer, who lived in Coventry in 1557, but no inscriptionremains. 

There are seven shields of arms on the side, nearly all defaced, amotto "Ryen saunce travayle, " and nine images in low relief whichpresent quaint studies of early sixteenth-century costume. 

The matrices of brasses are still visible in several parts of thechurch. Sir James Harrington, writing in the reign of James I, tells acurious story of their loss:

 The pavement of Coventry church is almost all tombstones, and some very ancient, but there came in a zealous fellow with a counterfeit commission, that for avoiding superstition, hath not left one pennyworth nor penny breadth of brass upon all the tombs, of all the inscriptions, which had been many and costly. 

The last monument that need be mentioned is upon the wall over "Wade'stomb. " Twenty-six verses of eulogy follow these opening lines:

 An Elegicall epitaph, made upon the death of that mirror of women Ann Newdigate; Lady Skeffington, wife of that true moaneing turtle Sir Richard Skeffington, Kt. , and consecrated to her eternal memorie by the unfeigned lover of her vertues, Willm. Bulstrode, Knight. (She died in 1637, aged 29). 

The present organ was built by Henry Willis and erected in 1887. It isa four-manual and pedal instrument and has fifty-three stops. 

The old organ on which Handel played more than once, stood on a raisedplatform at the west end. It was the work of Thomas Swarbrick ofWarwick, a German by birth, in 1733. He also built those of TrinityChurch, St. Mary, Warwick, Lichfield, St. Saviour Southwark, Stratford-on-Avon, and Amsterdam. 

The best of the ancient glass now remaining has been collected into twowindows, one on either side of the apse. Much was brought from theclearstory where six windows on the south and all save one on the northside still have panels made up of a mosaic of fragments with portionshere and there of which the subject is intelligible. From what remainsin the tracery we may gather that there was a row of eight angelfigures filling the spaces immediately over the lights. Some of theseor similar ones, are now in the apse. They are represented as coveredwith feathers and standing on wheels and each holds a scroll over thehead with inscriptions in very contracted Latin. A few less fragmentarypieces may be found, _e. G. _, in the north window, Judas giving thetraitor's kiss, in the north clearstory the arms of Trenton andStafford, mentioned and figured by Dugdale, in the south, the figure ofa man in a red gown kneeling with a scroll inscribed "deo gracias" andover his head "groc(er) de london"--doubtless a donor. Of modern glassthere is a great amount but little worth mentioning save on account ofthe persons commemorated. One window in the Lady Chapel is a memorialof the Prince Consort and one in the Mercers' Chapel is of interest asa deserved memorial to Thomas Sharp the Antiquary to whose labours alllater historians of the city are so deeply indebted. He died in 1841. 

[Illustration: ALMS-BOX. ]

The pulpit is of brass and wrought iron, the work of Frank Skidmore anative of Coventry who made also the choir screen of HerefordCathedral and the metal work of the Albert Memorial at Kensington. Itwas placed here in 1869. The bells, ten in number, now hang in theoctagon. They were cast in 1774 and weigh nearly seven tons. The firstpeal was hung in 1429 and a clock existed in 1467. In 1496 an Order ofLeet ordained that "all manner of persons that will have the bells toring after the decease of any of their friends, shall pay for a pealringing with all the bells, _2s. _ and with four bells, _16d. _, andthree bells _4d. _"

The six bells were cast into eight in 1674 and the present tenth hasthe same inscription as the heaviest of the old peal:

 I am and have been call'd the common bell To ring, when fire breaks out, to tell. 

The chimes, which existed as early as 1465, were restored in 1895, after a silence of ten years, in memory of Lieut. -Col. Francis WilliamNewdigate. Electric lighting has been introduced throughout thechurch. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 6: _See_ Fuller's "Worthies of England. " In 1428 an Act ofLeet ordered that no person should dye any wool or cloth with "adeceitful colour called Masters or Medleys brought into Coventry by aFrenchman. "]

[Illustration: HOLY TRINITY FROM THE NORTH. _From a lithograph--about 1850_. ]

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

CHAPTER I

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

Although the first mention of this church which the indefatigableDugdale could find was its appropriation to the priory in 1259-1260, it is tolerably certain that its foundation was much earlier. Asbefore said, it is reputed to be older than St. Michael's and itsposition close to the monastery suggests that it had been built, asoften happened, for the parishioners by the monks who disliked theirintrusion within the priory church. The appropriation at this time mayhave been rather of the nature of a confirmation of the rights of thepriory than the institution of a new condition of things. As, in 1391, the chancel had to be rebuilt being "ruinated and decayed" we mayconclude that it was probably older than the present north porch whichis certainly not later than 1259. It was at the same time lengthenedby twenty-four feet, the convent giving one hundred shillings perannum for eight years and six trees, the parishioners finding allother material and workmanship. The convent and parish also agreed tosupport and keep it in repair at their joint charges. 

From 1298, when Henry de Harenhale was appointed, the list of vicarsis complete, but in a cartulary of the priory mention is made of Ralphde Sowe, vicar of Trinity, as giving a tenement in Well Street, forthe celebration of his anniversary. 

There are but few landmarks in its history, and dates affecting thestructure can generally be assigned by internal evidence alone. Thenave arcades had already been rebuilt before the chancel was touched, and a piece of work of the same period is to be seen in the five-lightDecorated window, in the Consistory Court which now opens into thelarge chamber over the porch. We have no record of the building of theclearstory and roof of the nave. The resemblances between thisclearstory, and that of St. John's chancel, raise the question ofpriority. The fuller development at St. John's of the peculiartreatment of the angles points to its being a little later butprobably both fall within the second and third quarters of thefifteenth century. 

For a church of this size the chapels, altars and chantries were verynumerous, there being probably fifteen altars in all. In 1522 theestablishment of clergy consisted of a vicar, eleven parochial priestsand two chantry priests. Dugdale enumerates six chantries so that itis evident that here as often elsewhere some of the parochial priestsderived the whole or a part of their support from their performance ofthe duties of chantry priests. 

Many chantry priests on the other hand had other duties and took partin other services than the daily mass for which the chantry wasfounded. 

So much that is of interest in the religious life of the period isconnected with the chantries that it is worth while recording some ofthe scattered notices that have come down to us. 

To begin with the Chapel of Our Lady, the earliest mention we have ofit is in 1364 while in 1392 the Corpus Christi Gild endowed a priestthere to sing mass for the good estate of Richard II, Anne his queen, and the whole realm of England, to be called St. Mary's priest. Theindenture sets forth that "he is to be at Divine service on Sundaysand double Feasts in the chancel and at Matins, Hours, Masses, Evensong, Compline and other offices used in the said church and alsodaily at _Salve_ in our Lady's Chapel unless hindered by reasonablecause. " The records of the Dissolution of the Chantries show how muchtown property must have been held by them, while from these and othersources we learn the extent of their belongings in tenements, messuages, rent charges and the like. Thus in 1454 Emot Dowte gaveseveral tenements to this altar and in 1492 Richard Clyff "late parsonof St. George in London, " left a house in Well St. To the church "tothe intent that the mass of Our Lady may be observed the better. " In1558 (the year of Elizabeth's accession) William Hyndeman, aldermanand butcher, directs that his body be buried in the Lady Chapel "asaldermen are wont to be buried, towards the charges whereof I givetwenty nobles to be levied of my quick cattle and if it be too littlethen I will that Sybil my wife shall lay down _20s. _ more. " He alsoorders an obit to be kept after the death of his wife "yearly forever;" a form of words that must surely have sounded unreal after thechanges of the last two reigns. 

Perceye's chantry again, which Dugdale considered the oldest (thoughhe does not give the date) was endowed in 1350 with six messuages, oneshop, six acres of land and 40s. Rent, all lying in Coventry, to whichin 1407 William Botoner and others, added a messuage and twenty-fouracres of land in the city for another priest. 

Then the chantry of the Holy Cross (1357) founded for two priests tosing daily a mass for the good estate before death and for the soulsafter of the royal family, and for the founders and the members of theFraternity of the Holy Cross, was endowed with seven messuages, fourteen shops and sixteen acres of land in the city. 

Dugdale enumerates also four others, Cellet's, Corpus Christi, Lodynton's and Allesley's, to which should probably be added Marler's, assigned by him to St. Michael's. The first two are doubtless the samefoundation, for in 1329 land and tenements were granted to the priestof Corpus Christi Chapel for the health of the soul of William Celetand others. 

It was almost certainly situated in the south transept, on the upperlevel over the vaulted passage. The position of Lodynton's chantry(1393) is not known; Allesley's, founded in the reign of Edward I, wassung at St. Thomas's altar. 

Richard Marler stipulates in his will that his priest is to have the"stypend or wagis of nyne marks by yere so long as he shall be of goodand prestly conversacyon and demeanor, wt' a p'vyso that yf the seydeprest be ffounde otherwyse, after monyc'on and reasonable warnyng tohym geven, he to be removed. "

Much of the later history of the church relates to the destruction ofits fittings and furniture or to restorations almost as grievous. In1560 _2s. 6d. _ was paid for taking down the carving about the highaltar, while the Mayor bought the panelling of the altar for _33s. 4d. _, the vail for _5s. _, the "thing that the sacrament was in overthe altar _1s. _, " the "peyre [pair of candlesticks?] that was upon thealtar _5d. _" Perhaps he thought that all these things would be wantedagain ere long. In 1547 a quantity of costly vestments and banners hadbeen sold and we find in the accounts a number of such items asthese: "Sold the 6 day of Jennery 5 copps of red teyssew to Mr. Roghers, now mayre (and 4 other persons) pryce of the sayd copps, _10l. _ To Bawden Desseld one cope of red velvet, _5l. _ Mr. Schewyll agrene velvet cope, _30s. _"

But before Mary's death we have a lengthy inventory of copes, vestments, albs, banners and the like, some of which may have comeback to the church from the buyers at the sale eleven years before. 

The church must have looked like a builder's yard in 1643 when theCommittee and Council of War pulled down divers houses outsideBishop's and Spon Gates and stacked the materials here, while thechanges of government are indicated by the payment in 1647 of _3s. 6d. _ "to Hopes for defacing the King's Arms" and in 1660 of _6s. _ to"Hope for the King's Arms. "

Five years after this the spire, which had caused much anxiety andexpense for many years, was blown down in a gale, falling across thechancel and causing much destruction. All was restored and the spirerebuilt in three years. Reference has been made to the existence of avaulted passage through the south transept. This was made necessary bythe position of an ancient building known as Jesus Hall which adjoinedthe transept and thus blocked the way from "the Butchery" in thisdirection. The Hall had probably been long used as the residence ofthe priests attached to the church but nothing is known of its origin. It was destroyed in 1742. Only in 1834, when the exterior of thechurch was recased was the passage blocked and the floor of the upperchapel removed. 

The Register records the marriage of Sarah Kemble with William Siddonson 25th November, 1773. 

CHAPTER II

THE EXTERIOR OF THE CHURCH

The church of Holy Trinity loses much, in popular estimation at least, by its nearness to St. Michael's. It invites comparison of the mostobvious sort. It is not nearly so large and its spire is not so high, these facts alone are sufficient to account for the popular view. Fuller, in his "Worthies" says of the two churches, "How clearly wouldthey have shined if set at competent distance! Whereas now, such theirVicinity, that the Archangel eclipseth the Trinity. "

The plan is quite unlike that of its neighbour, being cruciform, witha central tower, a short nave, and a chancel distinctly longer thanthe nave. On the south both nave and chancel have a single aisle, thetransept projecting beyond it and there is a vestry at the east end. On the north there is a similar aisle with a Lady Chapel at the eastcorresponding to the Vestry, but a large porch and several chapelsfill up the spaces so that the transept does not in plan project. 

Looking at the exterior as a whole it may be said that the moremoderate length (194 feet), the central spire, 230 feet high, and thetransepts unite in forming a more satisfactory composition than thelong body and immense western steeple of St. Michael's. There however, the superiority ceases for the frequent "recasings" and restorationshave left hardly a stone of the exterior that has not been renewedagain and again, and the dates of these operations, 1786, 1826, 1843, sufficiently suggest the degree of knowledge and feeling likely to bemanifested in the work. 

Probably most of the structure was first built of the same friable redsandstone as its greater neighbour. Much of the recasing has beenexecuted in a rather harder gray sandstone, but the tower and spireare still red. 

The tower above the roofs, is of two stages, the upper, or bellchamber, and the lower or lantern opening into the church. Below thisare small windows with the lines of the old high-pitched roof visibleabove the present transept roofs, but in the nave and chancel thelines of the old roofs are now within the church, the clearstoryhaving since been added. Each face of the tower is divided, apart fromthe narrow angle buttresses, into six vertical divisions separated bythin projections of buttress form. On the south and west the stairturret absorbs one of the outer divisions. Each division is curved inplan in a curious way, which may be the perpetuation of a feature ofthe original design, but was more probably introduced or modified bythe person who recased the tower in 1826. That there was sculpture weknow, for in 1709 ten shillings was paid for taking the images downfrom the steeple. The smallness of the sum indicates that they werefew in number, and if they occupied similar positions to those on thebelfry stage of St. Michael's, and the structure was as decayed as wasthe tower of that church it is probable that the cutting away of theniches may have suggested the curving of the surfaces especially asthe tower would be thereby lightened. As it is we cannot be certain ofmuch else than that there were vertical divisions serving to emphasizethe impression of height and that the openings were in the samepositions as now. 

[Illustration: PLAN OF TRINITY CHURCH]

The spire blown down in 1665 had been in the previous ninety yearsfive times repaired and repointed. We cannot now say whether theoriginal design was at all closely followed in the rebuilding, but itspresent likeness to St. Michael's suggests doubts. The lowest stagewhich takes the place of the octagon and may be an intentionalimitation of it, has almost upright sides with two-light windows onthe cardinal faces and panelled ones on the oblique sides, while theremaining stages correspond in number and partly in design with thoseof St. Michael's. 

In 1855 it was considered that the bells endangered the safety of thetower, and after recasting by Mears of London they were rehung in atimber campanile in the north churchyard. Even now they cannot bepealed. 

The deplorable refacings have left few features of interest on theoutside. Were Gothic architecture still a living and not merelyimitative and academic art, one would welcome a complete renewal ofall outside work--not an imagined harking back to the work of thefifteenth century but showing the lapse of the centuries from thefifteenth to the twentieth as clearly as does the north porch thechange from the thirteenth to the fifteenth. 

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF HOLY TRINITY, FROM THE WEST. ]

CHAPTER III

THE INTERIOR

It is with a feeling of expectation followed by one of relief that wepass within the church, for restoration has there rarely the sameexcuse for its devastations as the action of wind and weather on theexterior too generously gives it, and this church is no exception tothe general rule. 

The clearing away of galleries, the provision of new seating and therenewal of much window tracery have been the principal changes, thegreatest loss being the destruction of the Corpus Christi Chapel. Thenave is of moderate width and consists of only four bays, the easternarches being narrower and made to abut against the tower after themanner of flying buttresses. The columns are clusters of four largefilleted shafts separated by small ones while the bases are high andevidently meant to be seen above the benches. The caps are shallow andvery simple, while the shafts of each pier reappear as part of thearch moulding. 

The arcade as a whole is remarkably strong and dignified, it wouldperhaps have gained by the addition of a bay in length. In the absenceof precise records it may be assigned to the second quarter of thefourteenth century or a little later. Above the tower arch can stillbe seen, beneath the painting and plaster, the marks of the oldersteep roof. The nave of Stratford-on-Avon Church has points ofresemblance to this. There too we have a fourteenth-century arcade(but much simpler) with a fifteenth-century panelled wall andclearstory above, and the panelling comes down on to the backs of thearches in a similar though somewhat simpler manner. 

Owing to the inequality of the eastern arches there is, in theposition of the windows and roof principals a curious disregard of thelines of the piers and the centres of arches. There are eight equalbays in the roof and each corresponds to two two-light windows. It isinteresting to compare the design of this clearstory with that of St. Michael's. It has more solidity to accord with the more vigorousarcade though the treatment of the panelling is similar. The heightfrom the arch to the roof is much less in proportion, but the sills ofthe windows are kept lower and the heads are square. The form of thewindows is perhaps determined in part by the desire for more space forstained glass, but it is also the logical outcome of the spaceafforded by the level lines of a wooden roof just as the use of thepointed window follows from the use of pointed vaulting. The treatmentof the angles after the manner of the thirteenth century "shouldered"lintel in order to take off the harshness of the rectangular form andto give a better bearing for the lintels is noteworthy and should becompared with the more developed forms at St. John's Church. 

Above the tower arch is a painting of the Last Judgement, discoveredin 1831. It is now so much darkened that very little can be made out. The following is a description of its appearance before 1860: In thecentre is the Saviour clothed in crimson and seated on a rainbow. Below are the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist with the twelveApostles arranged on each hand. Two angels sound the summons toJudgement, and on the right of our Saviour, steps lead to a porticoover which three angels look down on the scene and others welcome apope who has just passed St. Peter. On the Saviour's left are doomedspirits being conveyed by devils in various ways and in ludicrousattitudes to the place of torment, represented in the usual manner bythe gaping mouth of a monster, vomiting flames of fire. A largepainting of a crucifix, with a priest kneeling beside it and angelsflying above, was discovered at the same time on the north side of theChancel but was too much mutilated to be thought worthy ofpreservation. 

The =roofs= throughout are of low pitch, and almost all resemble oneanother in design. Those of the nave, chancel, archdeacon's chapel (onthe west of the north porch) and transepts are divided by theirprincipal timbers into large panels, which are again subdivided bymouldings upon the boarded ceiling. At all angles and intersectionsthere are carved leaves, and stars in relief adorn each panel. Allthese roofs are painted in accordance, it is said, with existingindications of the original colouring. The ground is blue, themouldings red and white, the stars and carving are gilt. The nave roofspandrels, above the tie-beams, have large painted figures of angels, supporting between them shields emblazoned with the instruments ofthe Passion. These are also said to be reproductions, but it appearslikely that time had left much to the imagination of their restorer. 

[Illustration: NORTH SIDE OF NAVE, EASTERN BAYS. ]

Nevertheless, the whole effect of the roofs is harmonious, a resultapparently obtained by the use of a blue far removed from theultramarine tint too often employed. 

Since the removal of the ringing floor, in 1855, the lantern stage ofthe tower has been once more visible from the church. A wooden vaultedceiling was at the same time inserted where a stone one had originallybeen built or intended. 

The =chancel= is dark owing to the small clearstory windows, the lowouter north aisle, and the concealment of a south window by the organ. At the first pier east of the tower came the rood-screen, and on thesouth side (in the aisle) the door to it may be seen at a height abovethe floor. Access must have been by steep steps against the wall, orfrom the top of another screen across the aisle. The church accountsof the year 1560 tell us what it cost to remove:

 Payd for taking down ye rode and Marie and John _4s. 4d. _ Payd to ye carpenter for pullyng down ye rode lofft _4s. 8d. _

On the east side of the tower wall can be seen the line of theoriginal roof, showing the height before the rebuilding in 1391. Although there is space for larger windows the aisle roof preventedtheir sills being brought lower. The west arch of the south arcade hasbeen forced out of shape by the pressure of the tower piers andarches; certainly the piers, which are little more than 4 feet square, seem slender enough for the support of so lofty a steeple. 

Attached to this south-east tower pier is the stone pulpit, one of thetwo special glories of the church, the other being the brass eagle. The pulpit is either contemporary with the pier or nearly so. There isapparently some difference in the texture and colour of the stone, butas it is probable that a finer-grained stone would be chosen for workof this character, this need not imply a difference of date. It was, however, probably added at the same time as the nave clearstory. Theauthors of "English Church Furniture" assign it to 1470. [7] Before1833 (when restored by Rickman) it had been hidden from sight bywood-work and a clerk's desk at a lower level. The lower part isboldly corbelled out and the junction of the octagon with the piershafts is well managed, but the upper open-panelled part is rather toodefinitely cut off from the lower by the battlemented cornice. Veryfew examples of this class of pulpit exist in England, and none equalin importance. 

The eagle =lectern= is a magnificent example of brass casting. It isgenerally attributed to the late fifteenth century. This eaglenarrowly escaped being sold by the Puritans for old brass, as happenedto that of St. Michael's. It closely resembles one belonging to St. Nicholas' Chapel, Lynn, save that the latter is not equal inrefinement of detail and proportion, and the bird is less vigorous inpose and modelling. In 1560 there was "paid for skowring ye Egle andcandell styckes, _10d. _, " and "for mending of ye Egle's tayle, _16d. _"

[Illustration: PULPIT. ]

At least nine chapels and fifteen altars are known to have existed inthe church. The present choir vestry on the north side was the LadyChapel. A simple piscina on the south side, about a foot above thepresent floor, shows that the old floor level was much lower. 

The =north aisle= is lofty and has a clearstory of three windows overthe arcade. In the outer aisle was located Marler's, or the Mercers', Chapel, founded in 1537, and beneath it is a crypt or charnel house, now closed save for small ventilating openings. 

[Illustration: ARCHWAY BETWEEN THE NORTH PORCH AND ST. THOMAS'SCHAPEL. ]

The black oak roof of low pitch has the panels of the western bay onlyrichly carved with vine leaves and grapes. Its date is, perhaps, aslate as the foundation of the chantry. The piscina is in the northwall. 

West of the north transept is =St. Thomas's Chapel=. Dugdale says thatAllesley's chantry was founded in the time of Edward I, at the altarof St. Thomas the Martyr, "in a chapel near adjoining to the churchporch. " The chapel is certainly older, for the beautiful doubledoorway from the porch is not later than mid-thirteenth century. Theouter doorway of the porch was rebuilt in the fifteenth century. Theinner one, with a finely moulded arch with angle shafts and the vaultwith simple diagonal ribs carried on shafts, is of the earlythirteenth century. It is to be regretted that this fine porch is notbetter seen. Signs of the puzzling reconstructions that have occurredin this part are visible in the aisle wall. Two lancet windows high upare of the same date as the porch, and are blocked by the chambersince constructed above St. Thomas's Chapel, and parts of other windowjambs are seen at different levels. 

The Archdeacon's Chapel or consistory court, to the west of the porch, is now one of the most interesting parts of the church. 

It is divided from the north aisle by two lofty arches with anoctagonal column. The original dedication is not known, but in 1588 itwas already used as an Ecclesiastical Court, and the next year abishop's seat was made for use in it. In the south-west angle is atall, narrow recess, once closed by a door. Lockers of thisdescription were constructed for the safe keeping of the shaft of theprocessional cross, and for the staves of banners. On the east sidethe roof now cuts across the head of a window of reticulated traceryof the early fourteenth century. Most of the monuments have beenbrought hither from various parts of the church; only two or three areof general interest. A late Perpendicular canopied tomb, rudely carvedand badly fitted together, stands against the north wall, but there isnothing to show whom it commemorates. On the east wall is the monumentof Dr. Philemon Holland, with a long Latin epitaph. Fuller says ofhim: "he was the translator general in his age, so that those booksalone of his turning into English will make a country gentleman acompetent library for historians. " Born at Chelmsford in 1551 hesettled at Coventry in 1595, was usher and then master of St. John'sFree School for twenty-eight years, and died in 1636 in hiseighty-fifth year. During his usher-ship Dugdale was a pupil of theschool. 

An engraved brass to John Whithead, who died in 1597, is interestingfor the sake of the costumes of himself and his two wives. Three stonecoffins have also been deposited here, and two sheets of lead from theroof recording, in fine bold lettering, the repairs executed in 1660and 1728. In the middle window on the north side are the onlyremaining fragments of ancient glass. As late as 1779 there were"portraits" of Earl Leofric and the Countess, and also, it is said, asmaller figure of the lady in a yellow dress on a white horse. Part ofa small figure holding a spray of leaves and part of a gallopinghorse are pointed out as the remains of this. To the writer the figureappears to be clearly that of a man, and the horse and rider's leg notto have belonged to it. 

The modern stained glass is very unequal in character, and some isvery poor indeed. The windows at the west, especially one in memory ofMr. Wm. Chater, a late organist, may be regarded as exceptions. Thereare still, fortunately, many which are not filled with piousmemorials. 

The =font= is the original pre-Reformation one of the fifteenthcentury, which was removed by the Puritans in 1645 (though devoid ofsculpture) and brought back after the Restoration. It stands on threesteps, is panelled on bowl and stem, and rather brilliantly adornedwith gold and colour. 

The south aisle was no doubt divided into two chapels, that on thewest belonging to the Barkers' or Tanners' Gild. A small piscinaagainst the south wall indicates the position of its altar. The wallbelow the windows is recessed so as to form a seat the whole length ofthe aisle. 

The =south transept=, containing the Corpus Christi and Cellet'schantries, has lost its original character completely. The piscina, high up on the south wall, shows that the floor level was some 9 feetabove that of the church. The reason for this has been alreadyexplained. The organ chamber is quite modern. The best authoritiesplace the chapel of the Butchers' Gild in the south aisle of thechancel, but do not say to whom the eastern chapel in the nave aislebelonged. It is known that there was a Jesus Chapel, and, in view ofthe proximity of Jesus Hall, it is believed by some that this was itsposition. 

The present clergy vestry is a fine room, having an excellent dark oakroof with heavy beams and well carved bosses at the intersections ofthe timbers. The Royal Arms over the fireplace were painted there in1632. Although usual, the placing of the king's arms in churches wasnot compulsory until the Restoration; few earlier now remain, and thisplacing of them in the vestry rather than the body of the church issuggestive of a compromise between opposing factions. A portrait ofWalter Farquhar Hook, Vicar from 1828-37 and afterwards Dean ofChichester is hung here. 

It seems probable that this was a chapel, perhaps that of the HolyTrinity, to whom an altar was dedicated. 

The history, as traced in the church accounts, of the various organsused in the church gives some idea of the fluctuations of opinion asto the propriety of their use. In 1526 John Howe and John Climmowe, citizens and organ makers of London, contracted to provide, for £30, "a peir of Organs wt vij stopps, ov'r and besides the two Towers ofcases, of the pitche of doble Eff, and wt xxvij pleyn keyes, xixmusiks, xlvj cases of Tynn and xiiij cases of wood, wt two Starrs andthe image of the Trinite on the topp of the sayed orgayns. " In 1570the "payer of balowes" were sold, and in 1583 the pipes, "wayengeleven score and thirteen pounds, went for fourpence half-farthing thepound. " In 1632 a new one was obtained but its life was short, for in1641 the Puritan party caused it to be sold "for the best advantage. "

[Illustration: ALMS-BOX. ]

Once more, in 1684, another was purchased from Mr. Robert Hay wood ofthe City of Bath for £100; then, in 1732, Thomas Swarbrick of Warwickbuilt one for £600, for which a gallery was erected across the nave. 

In 1855 this gave place to a new one by Foster and Andrews of Hull, costing £800; and this was rebuilt by Messrs. Hill and Son in 1900. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 7: "English Church Furniture. " (Antiquary series. ) J. C. Coxand A. Harvey. ]

[Illustration: CHURCH OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST, FROM BOND'S HOSPITAL. ]

ST. JOHN BAPTIST'S CHURCH

The church of St. John Baptist has a history quite different from thatof the other parish churches and is specially interesting as abuilding belonging to a very limited class, namely, CollegiateChurches owned by a Gild. Though Dugdale says that the "first and mostantient of the Gilds here was founded in the 14th Ed. III (1340)" itis probable that, as in other places, religious gilds had for longexisted here and that the royal license or Charter of this date waslike that of Stratford-on-Avon in 1332, really a reconstitution orconfirmation of the Gild's rights, privileges and possessions. 

This earliest one was known as the Merchant or St. Mary's Gild and itsfirst ordinances provided that "the brethren and sisteren of the gildshall find as many chaplains as the means of the gild can wellafford. " Then in 1342 that of St. John Baptist and in 1343 that of St. Katharine was founded. The former at once founded a chantry of sixpriests to sing mass daily in the churches of St. Michael and theTrinity for "the souls of the King's progenitors and for the goodestate of the King, Queen Isabella his mother, Queen Philippa hisConsort and their children" and others, besides the members of theGild. In 1344 this Gild, desiring to have a building for its exclusiveuse, received from Queen Isabella a small piece of land calledBabbelak on which to build a chapel in honour of God and St. John, twopriests being required to sing masses daily for the souls "of her dearlord Edward, " John, Earl of Cornwall and others. Did she seek tosatisfy her conscience thus for the woes she had brought upon her_dear lord_? The site thus given measured 117 feet from north to southand about 40 feet from east to west giving room for the chancel onlyof the present church, this being dedicated in 1350. But in 1357William Walsheman, valet to the Queen and now her sub-bailiff inCoventry gave further land, added a new aisle and increased the numberof priests while the Black Prince in 1359 gave a small plot on which, perhaps, the tower and transept now stand. Within the next ten yearsWalsheman and Christiana his wife gave to the Gild certain tenements, called the "Drapery, " in the city to build a chapel in honour of theHoly Trinity, St. Mary, St. John, and St. Katharine "within the Chapelof Bablake. " William Wolfe, mayor in 1375, is mentioned as a "greathelper" in the work at the church, the original nave and aisles beingprobably built at this time, and some reconstruction of the choir. Records are wanting of the subsequent alterations which gave it itspresent form. The north clearstory of the nave shows the originaldesign while that of the choir and the south side of the nave belongto the fifteenth century as do the tower and the cruciform arrangementof the building. Leland's "Itinerary" gives the following description:"There is also a Collegiate Church at Bablake, hard within the WestGate (Spon Gate) alias Bablake Gate, dedicated to St. John.... It isof the foundation of the Burgesses and there is a great Privilege, Gild or Fraternity. In this College is now a Master and eightministers and lately twelve ministers. " Stowe adds that there weretwelve singing men and extant deeds mention "Babbelake Hall" in whichthe warden and priests lived. 

Many interesting entries of expenditure are to be found in the gildaccounts showing how the Eve of St. John (Midsummer Eve) and otherfestivals were celebrated before the suppression of the gilds byEdward VI. In 1541 we have the following (the spelling is somewhatmodernized):

 Expenses on Midsummer Even and on the day, --Item, 2 doz. & a half cakes, _2s. 6d. _; spice cakes, _12d. _; a cest' ale and 4 gals. _4s. _; 2 gals, claret wine _16d. _; 2 gals. Malmsey, _2s. 8d. _; 2 gals. Muskedell _2s. 8d. _; to Mr. Mayor _3s. 4d. _; the Mayor to offer, _8d. _; to priests, clerks and children, _2s. 4d. _; the waits, _6s. 8d. _; to poor people _6s. 8d. _; to the cross-bearers and torch-bearers, _8d. _; the bellman, _4d. _; the hire of pots, _4d. _; boughs, rushes and sweeping, _8d. _; a woman 2 days to cleanse the house, _4d. _; half a hundred _3d. _ nails, _1½d. _; half a pound of sugar, _4½d. _; to the crossbearer and torchbearer for St. George Day, Holy Rood Day, Shire Thursday and Whit Sunday, _12d. _; to 2 children for the same days, _6d. _ Summa (total) _38s. 2d. _

That these anniversaries and wakes led to much unseemly revelling wehave evidence that cannot be gainsaid. The Trinity Gild decided in1542

 that no obite, drynkyng or com'en assemblie, from henceforth shall be had or used at Babalake, except onelie on Trinitie even and on the day, which shall be used as it hath been in tymes past. And that also the P'sts of Babelack shall say _dirige_ on midsum' even and likewise masse of _requiem_ on the morrowe, as they have used to doo. And that the Meire shall not come down thether to _dirige_ ov(er) night for dyv's considerac'ons and other great busynes they used. And on the morowe thei to go thether to masse and brekefast, as thei have used to doo. 

Dugdale quotes from an old MS. An interesting passage bearing on thisquestion:

 "And ye shall understond and know how the Evyns were furst found in old tyme. In the beginning of holi Chirche, it was so that the pepull cam to the Chirche with candellys brennyng and wold _Wake_ and come with light toward nyght to the Chirch to their devocions; and afterwards they fell to lecherie and songs, daunces, harping, piping and also to glotony and sinne and so turned the holinesse to cursaydnesse; wherefore holi faders ordeined the pepull to leve that _waking_ and to fast the Evyn. But it is called _Vigilia_, that is _Waking_ in English and it is called the Evyn, for at Evyn they were wont to come to Chirche. "

In 1362 Queen Isabella helped to procure from the bishop a licence forone Robert de Worthin, priest, to become an anchorite and to inhabit ahermitage attached to the north aisle of the chancel. Traces of thefoundations of this have been found on the site of the modern vestry. 

When the college was suppressed in 1548 the King granted to the mayor, bailiffs and corporation, on their petition, the church and itsappurtenances in Free Burgage for ever on payment of _1d. _, per annumand gave them "all the rents, revenues and profits of the saidchurch. "

But these gifts were not sufficient to support the church and itsservices, so that the latter were irregular and repairs wereneglected. In 1608 Mayor Hancox procured the delivery of a Saturdaylecture "for the better fitting of the people for the Sabbath. " In1641 Simon Norton, alderman, left property to his son Thomas, ontrust, the condition being that if at any time St. John's shouldbecome a parish church, he or his heirs should pay _£13 6s. 8d. _ tothe minister out of rents of lands in Coundon, and also the tithes oflands in Clifton. 

Prisoners from the Scottish army being quartered on the city in 1647, many were confined in this church and wrought much damage anddesecration. From this time services were only occasionally held, until 1734, when an Act of Parliament was obtained making it a ParishChurch, appointing a district to it and enabling the Master and Usherof the Free Grammar School to be Rector and Lecturer of the church. The mayor, bailiffs, and commonalty were made patrons, but in 1835, these arrangements having failed to work satisfactorily, the patronagewas transferred to trustees who acted as managers of the school and in1864 the lectureship was abolished, the rectory was severed from theoffice of Head Master and the Trustees of the school were charged witha payment of £200 per annum towards the stipend of the Rector. In 1874the advowson was sold to a private person. A great deal ofrestoration, justifiable and otherwise, has taken place, the decay ofthe local sandstone having made large repairs necessary. In 1861 muchrenewal of the external stone work was carried out. Unfortunatelyshortsighted ideas of economy led to the use of the same poor stoneand much has recently had to be done over again, this time with theharder Runcorn stone used also at St. Michael's. The interior wasrestored in 1875, galleries erected in 1735 and 1838, and high pewswere removed, the floor, which had been raised three feet, lowered, the lantern stage of the tower opened up by removing a ringing floorand a light iron gallery above the tower arches provided for theringers. The original groined ceiling has thus been made visible frombelow. 

THE EXTERIOR

Although small in area compared with the other churches, both exteriorand interior give an impression of size and dignity which does notbelong to many much larger buildings. In the exterior this is no doubtdue to the pseudo-cruciform arrangement, the bold central tower andthe height of the main roof, which would have appeared even greaterhad the roadways not been so much raised. 

The =tower= is in two stages, a lofty lantern story having twotransomed two-light windows on each face and a shorter upper onehaving smaller windows without transoms and a battlemented parapet. Large skeleton clock-dials disfigure the windows of this story. Narrowbuttress strips on either side and between the windows run through andserve to connect the stories. The north-east angle has an octagonalstair turret carried up above the parapet. The other angles havenarrow buttresses running up to circular bartizans boldly corbelledout from the battlements. This is an extremely unusual feature inecclesiastical architecture but is common on fortified structures. Ofthe City gates, Gosford Gate had machicolated ones but not Spon Gateadjacent to the church. 

[Illustration: ST. JOHN BAPTIST. ]

The spacing of the windows and buttresses of the south aisle and theposition of the large transept window show how the later changes wereeffected. The three windows and the buttresses with niches andcanopies almost certainly belong to the part built by Walsheman after1357. The two in the chancel aisle are recent insertions. The doorwayat the south-west corner occupies the position where indicationsshowed that an original door had existed. There is also a smallpriest's doorway of which the jambs are ancient. The clearstory wasrestored in 1861 "from sufficiently clear indications" in the remainsof the original windows. The whole of this part is worthy of carefulstudy and should be compared with the corresponding parts of TrinityChurch. Everywhere we see signs of individual thought and designmainly directed to softening the rigidity of the horizontal lines ofthe square-headed and transomed "Perpendicular" windows. The method ofcusping the drop-arch and the varied treatment of these in nave, choir and transepts are noteworthy while the little quatrefoil at theintersection of mullion and transom is a really happy innovation. Theflying buttress over the south aisle restores a feature of the oldbuilding which had disappeared. Of the variously panelled andbattlemented parapets, of nave, chancel and aisles a view of 1864gives no visible hint. As the report of Sir (then Mr. ) G. G. Scott in1856 specifies as desirable the "renewing all the parapets accordingto the portions of the original which remain, " we can only hope (butwith no sense of certainty) that these parts are faithfullyreproduced. 

The limited site on which the chancel was built (only 40 feet deep)caused the builders to omit any buttresses or other projections at theeast end. The east window was renewed in 1861 but the proportions arenot good and it is said that one light was suppressed although the oldsill remained intact. 

The west end has a large six-light window with two transoms. It wasrestored in 1841 and is said to be a precise reproduction of theoriginal design. On the gable above it is a large niched pinnaclewhich appears to be an "unauthorized" addition. 

While the north aisle is later than the south, the clearstory, as hasbeen said is earlier, being of late Decorated date with largethree-light windows of reticulated tracery. The north transept is moreconsistent in style than the south. The large four-light window ispeculiar in design. It has one transom and the tracery is brought downmuch below the spring of the arch. The centre mullion is very solid, coming forward almost to the wall face both inside and out and runningup to the apex of the arch. The clearstory windows in both transeptsare similar in general design to those of the south clearstory of thenave but with variations suggesting a rather later date. A veryeffective view of the north side can be had from the quadrangle ofBond's Hospital, though here too it loses on account of the depressedsite in which it lies. 

THE INTERIOR

The interior is not less impressive for its size than the exterior, Sir G. G. Scott even saying that he knew of no interior more beautifulthan St. John's. 

[Illustration: INTERIOR, ST. JOHN BAPTIST. ]

[Illustration: CLEARSTORY WINDOWS. ]

All at least will agree that there is something about it striking anddignified which is obviously not concerned with mere size, is largelyindependent of elaboration of detail and may therefore be safelyattributed to its satisfactory proportions and broad effects of lightand shade. Its plan is quite simple consisting of a nave and choirwith north and south aisles, a transept not projecting beyond theaisles at either end and a central tower. Yet, although it is more orless oblong as a whole, there is hardly a right angle or two parallelwalls throughout the church. In most cases these discrepancies are notapparent, nor do they appear likely to have been intended to produce astudied effect. Thus a diminution in width towards the east (as atManchester) may be expected to add to the apparent length, but herethe south aisles of both nave and chancel expand instead ofcontracting. By standing within either transept and looking up at theroof the want of parallelism of the walls and other irregularities areplainly seen. The nave has only three bays, the arches being ratherlofty and the arch mouldings of the characteristic shallowness of theperiod. The south-west pier had to be rebuilt on account of settlementand there are signs of it in the south-east arch next the tower. Thename Bablake is said to have been derived from a pond or conduit nearby and the site may have been swampy, thus affecting the foundations. The district is even now liable to flooding from the Sherborne (orShireburn) stream and as late as January 1900 the waters rose overfive feet within the church as a brass plate at the west endtestifies. 

The graceful treatment of the windows of the nave and choirclearstories is shown in the illustration. Comparing these with theclearstory of Trinity nave (p. 71) questions of priority arise. If notdesigned by the same mind the influence of one on the other is easilyseen. On the whole the greater rigidity of treatment and the anxietyto increase the area of glass in the Trinity windows suggest that thedate is rather later and that the designs did not spring from the samebrain. The roof is very simple, the curved brackets springing from theshafts which run down to the arches below. The wall is deeply recessedbeneath the windows. The north windows, however, are continued down inplain panels, but this only makes more apparent the fact that they arenot placed centrally over the arches. 

The north aisle has a doorway and two north windows. The windows areof good Perpendicular design, and the mullions are continued down thewall below, forming panels. The lowered sill and recess probablyformed a convenient retable to an altar against the wall. The westwindow preserves some fragments of glass dated 1532. There is anobliterated inscription and small etched figures--among them anacolyte carrying a cross, one of those whose services are mentioned inthe accounts after this wise: "to the crosebeirer and torchebeirer, for Seynt George day, hollieroode day, shire thuresday and WhitSunday, _12d. _; to 2 childern for the same dayes _6d. _"

The south aisle of the nave, including the lower part of the transept, is doubtless the aisle erected for the Gild by William Walsheman in1357. The two windows are not central with the nave arches, and thethird is not in the centre of the transept. Their tracery is somewhatpeculiar in design and refined in detail, and has the transitionalcharacter one would expect from its date. There are signs on the faceof each western tower pier of the altars which once stood there, probably those of the Trinity and St. Katharine, which are known tohave existed. 

The eastern piers of the tower are later than the western, and veryunlike them in plan. A bold and ingenious treatment of the vaultingshaft of the tower groining is used on these piers; on the westernones the shafts stop upon the ends of the hood moulding. 

The choir is now closed by a screen carrying a large rood carved inoak. Like St. Michael's, but to a smaller extent, the axis of thechoir inclines to the north. Whether symbolic, or only a part of whatmay be described as the studied irregularity of the whole building itis hard to say. The column on each side of the choir is later than theeast respond and also later than the west tower pier, but correspondswith the east tower pier. The deep panelling beneath the windows musthave been carried out when the clearstories were constructed in thefifteenth century. 

The south aisle of the choir, the original chapel of the patron saint, is now fitted up and used as a morning chapel. The piscina stillremains in the south wall, and there is a trace of the old altarvisible on the wall. 

The east end of the north aisle is now the organ chamber, and wasoriginally the Lady Chapel. The base of the altar still exists, and sodoes the piscina in the south wall. 

In connection with these or other altars we hear of a payment of_22d. _, in 1474, for painting a cloth for the image of St. JohnBaptist, and in 1462 sums of _40s. _ and _7s. _ were paid to a sculptorof Burton-on-Trent for an alabaster statue of the Virgin and a basefor it. 

At the foot of the south-west tower-pier are some decayed butinteresting ancient tiles. The new ones have been copied from them. 

The vicissitudes in the church's fortunes have left little for us tosee that is not part and parcel of the structure. 

That there were "orgaynes" as early as 1461 we know from entries inthe city records giving the cost at different times of wire, glue, nails, thread, etc. , for the reparation of them, while a payment of_2d. _ for "a string" suggests that they were a combination of wind andstring stops, similar to the 1733 organ of St. Michael's as built byThomas Swarbrick. In 1519 the Prior bought the "metell of ye oldorgayns in bablake" for _9s. 10d. _, but doubtless the new onedisappeared in the troublous times that followed. A new one hasrecently been set up. 

The pulpit is of stone and quite new, and the font, erected in 1843, is a copy of that of St. Edward's, Cambridge. 

There are five bells, the inscriptions on them being as follows:

 1st. Henrycus Bagley. M. C. Fecit 1676. 2nd. Pack & Chapman. London 1778. Richard Eaton, Church-warden. 3rd. Henric Dodenhale, Fecit. M. C. E. I. C. R. I. 4th. (Illegible. ) Probably of the end of fifteenth century. 5th. I ring at six to let men know When to and from their work to go. 

Neglect and decay it has been seen had provided only too plausibleexcuses for restoration. In 1858 the church had a narrow escape from aworse fate, for it was proposed to extend it in some direction, andthe architect suggested the lengthening of the north transept and theaddition of a new north aisle. Probably lack of funds alone preventedthe carrying out of a proposal which would have completely spoilt theproportions of this beautiful interior. 

THE GREY FRIARS' CONVENT

CHRIST CHURCH

The third of the "three tall spires, " albeit nothing else remains ofthe church to which it belonged, deserves that some notice should begiven of it and of the men who reared it. 

In 1234, eleven years after their first coming into England, theFranciscan Friars are heard of at Coventry, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, having granted them land for their oratory, and the Sheriff ofWarwickshire, on behalf of the King, giving them shingles from thewoods of Kenilworth wherewith to cover it. In 1359 the Black Prince, then owner of the Manor and Park of Cheylesmore, just outside thewalls of the city and adjacent to their convent, granted them so muchstone from his quarry there, "as they should have occasion to useabout their buildings and walls, " and probably at this time thechurch, of which Christ Church spire is a remnant, was built. 

At the same time he gave them "liberty to have a postern into thePark to carry out any of their convent that should be diseased. "

The house was surrendered to the King in 1539, the warden and tenbrethren being compelled to sign a humiliating document, in which theyprofessed to "profoundly consider that the perfection of Christianliving doth not consist in dumb ceremonies, wearing of a grey coat, disguising ourself after strange fashions, ducking, nodding andbecking, in girding our selves with a girdle full of knots and otherlike Papisticall ceremonies. "

[Illustration: THE SPIRE OF CHRIST CHURCH. ]

It is certain at least that they had no accumulated wealth. Whateverthey had received had been distributed for the advantage of the Churchor the poor. At their suppression they had neither lands, tenements, nor other possessions, save their church and house and the land thesestood on. The site was granted to the city and the buildings throwndown, only the spire with its supporting walls and arches beingallowed to stand until 1829, when it was incorporated with the newnave of Christ Church from the designs of Rickman, to whom we areindebted for the first comprehensive and systematic account of EnglishMediĉval architecture. The work shows how imperfectly in those dayseven a genuine admirer of Mediĉval Art understood its spirit. Unfortunately the tower and spire were recased with new stone, and theoriginal character of the work largely disappeared. The total heightis 204 feet, exclusive of the vane. The plan of the old church wasinteresting, especially in the arrangement of the crossing. The shorttransepts had little real relation to choir or nave, which were almostcompletely separated from one another, the nave being intended for theuse of the public. 

The narrowing of the tower from east to west, and the insertion ofsecondary north and south arches to carry the slender octagonal toweris unusual and ingenious. The whole length was 250 feet, and thetransepts were 96 feet from north to south. The nave and choirdiffered little in length. 

[Illustration: GREY FRIARS' CHURCH (CROSSING). ]

The connection of the Franciscans with the production of theMysteries, or sacred plays, should not pass unnoticed. Dugdale, whohad spoken with eye witnesses, thus alludes to the subject:

 Before the suppression of the Monasteries this City was very famous for the Pageants that were played therein upon Corpus Christi-day; which occasioning very great confluence of people thither from far and near, was of no small benefit thereto; which Pageants being acted with mighty State and Reverence by the Friars of this House, had Theatres for the several scenes, very large and high, placed upon wheels and drawn to all the eminent parts of the City for the better advantage of spectators; and contained the story of the Old and New Testament, composed in the old English Rithme, as appeareth by an ancient MS. Intituled, _Ludus Corporis Christi_, or _Ludus Coventriĉ_. 

Along with a number that were performed by the city companies they arestill to be seen in the British Museum. We know that the Friarspresented them as late as 1492, when Henry VII was present with hisQueen to see the plays "acted by the Grey Friars. "

No remains exist of the domestic buildings of the Friary. Thewell-known Ford's Hospital hard by is often called Grey Friars'Hospital, but this arises merely from the situation. It was founded in1529 by Mr. William Ford of Coventry, Merchant of the Staple, for fivemen and one woman, but is now inhabited by women only. It is anexceptionally beautiful example of Tudor timber construction inperfect condition. 

THE WHITE FRIARS

The Carmelite or White Friars were, says Dugdale, fixed in Coventry in1343 by Sir John Poultney who had been four times Lord Mayor ofLondon. Although their buildings were ornate and extensive, theirrevenue apart from oblations amounted to only _£3 6s. 8d. _ per annumand the whole came to less than £8. At the Dissolution the house andits revenues came eventually to John Hales, Clerk of the Hanaper toHenry VIII. Having amassed a great estate in monastery and chantrylands, Hales founded the Free School in Coventry, the Church of theWhite Friars being at first used for the purpose. Later, he made ofthe Friary a dwelling and removed the school to St. John's Hospital, granted to him by the king in 1545. Part of the church of the Hospitalstill exists at the foot of Bishop Street, but the school has beenremoved to new buildings in the Warwick Road. 

Of the buildings of the White Friars there are considerable remainsincorporated with the Union Workhouse at the top of Much Park Street. The east walk of the cloister, 150 feet in length, has a fine groinedroof of the fifteenth century. A range of vaulted apartments runsalongside the cloister on the east side, divided midway by thevestibule to the Chapter House now destroyed. The upper story abovethe cloister and the range of rooms was, we may assume, the friars'Dormitory. A huge fireplace and a bay window are part of John Hales'reconstruction. The gateway to the south-west corner of the cloisterremains, and the outer gate of the precincts may still be seen in MuchPark Street. 

[Illustration: ST. MARY HALL. ]

ST. MARY HALL

The Gilds were so important a part of the religious and social life ofthe city that it is imperative that some notice of their hall, whichstands in suggestive proximity to the churches, should be given. St. Mary Hall, opposite the south side of St. Michael's is one of the mostcomplete and beautiful examples of a fifteenth-century town dwellingnow remaining in England. It originally belonged to the Gilds of HolyTrinity and Our Lady to which were united at a later time those of St. Katharine and St. John Baptist, the oldest to be founded. By the finegroined gateway we enter the courtyard, on the south side of which isthe kitchen, probably the hall of an older structure of the first halfof the fourteenth century, the present hall and its undercroft on thewest side having been built between 1394 and 1414. On the east side isthe entrance to the staircase leading to a gallery from which the hallis entered. At this end is the Minstrels' Gallery and beneath it arethree doorways, the centre one leading to the kitchens below, that onthe right to the old Council Chamber, that on the left to a smallerroom known as the Princes' Chamber. From the Council Chamber isreached the stone-groined Treasury, now used for the safe keeping ofmuniments and records. It forms the first floor of a low tower. 

The hall, 70 feet by 30 feet, is of five bays, with the usual dais andoriel window at the far end from the entrance. 

[Illustration: ST. MARY HALL. ]

The nine-light window over the dais has its original glass, made, itis believed, by the John Thornton of Coventry who is known as themaker of the east window of York Minster. The upper part has numerouscoats of arms of kings, cities, and princes, while the nine lights arefilled with "portraitures of several kings in their surcotes, " WilliamI, Richard I, Henry III, IV, V, VI, King Arthur, the EmperorConstantine, and another unnamed. The windows on either side of thehall have suffered grievously. Those on the west (left) were deprivedof their heraldry and portraits in 1785. In those on the east newglass with poor imitations of the ancient series of figures andcoats-of-arms was placed in 1824. At the same time the wainscottingpainted in 1580 with inscriptions and heraldry was cleared away andreplaced with cement. The inscriptions were copied with care, but "theornamentation was followed without any very fastidious copying of theuncouth ancient style"![8] The timber roof is of low pitch, withtraceried spandrels above the tie-beams. Angels playing on a varietyof instruments are placed at the centre of each tie-beam and there ismuch good carving of foliage and animals at the intersections of thetimbers. The most famous adornment of the hall is the tapestry behindthe dais. The following views as to its origin and subject are thoseof George Scharf the antiquary. It is of Flemish design but probablyof English manufacture, is woven, not embroidered, and was made in theearly sixteenth century for the place it occupies, its compartmentscorresponding with those of the window. It is in six compartments intwo rows. The upper central has a figure of Justice, an insertionprobably in the place of Christ, angels with the instruments of thePassion being on either side. The lower central represents theAssumption of the Virgin in presence of the apostles. The upper leftin order from the centre has eleven saints, SS. John Baptist, Matthias(?), Paul, Adrian, Peter, George, Andrew, No. 8(?), Bartholomew, Simon, Thaddeus. The corresponding female saints on the right are SS. Katherine, Barbara, Dorothy, Mary Magdalen, No. 5 (?), Margaret, Agnes, Gertrude of Nivelle, Anne, Apollonia. 

The lower left has a king kneeling at a prie-dieu on which is hiscrown and an open book. A cardinal kneels behind him but there is noother ecclesiastic among the seventeen courtiers standing behind. Inthe opposite compartment is a queen kneeling with a number of ladies, among whom are two in monastic dress. Although the work belongs to thereign of Henry VII, the king and queen are almost certainly Henry VIand Margaret of Anjou. 

On the walls are portraits of later sovereigns from William III toGeorge IV, that of George III being by Lawrence. The Mayoress' Parlouropening from the dais has been drastically restored. It containsportraits of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I, andfour benefactors to the city, John Hales, founder of the Free School, Sir Thomas White, Thomas Jesson and Christopher Davenport. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 8: "Coventry: its History and Antiquities, " B. Poole, 1870. ]

THE CARTHUSIAN MONASTERY

Little remains of this monastery which stood on the south side and notfar from the city. The Order settled in Coventry in 1381 only tenyears after the foundation of the London Charter-house. At theDissolution the Prior and brethren, ten in all, did not emulate theheroism of the London monks and were fortunate enough to obtainpensions instead of martyrdom. Some trifling remains existincorporated in a modern mansion, and a wall of the garden shows theposition of doors which led to the isolated cells of the monks. TheBotoners had given freely to the building of the church and cloistersof which Richard II laid the first stone in 1385 and afterwardslargely endowed "on condition that they should find and maintainwithin the precinct of their house, twelve poor scholars from sevenyears old till they accomplished the age of seventeen years, there topray for the good estate of him the said King and of his Consort, during this life, and for the health of their souls after death. "

INDEX

Abbots of Coventry, 4. 

Alms-boxes, 56, 77. 

Apse, 36. 

Bells, 56, 91. 

Benefactors of Coventry, 99. 

Botoner, William and Adam, 22. 

Carthusian Monastery, 99. 

Chantries, Foundation of, 9. 

Christ Church, 91. 

City, History of, 1-15. 

Cross, 15. 

Dissolution of Monasteries, 13. 

Duel, Hereford and Norfolk, 11. 

Evens or Wakes, 83. 

Fonts, 51, 76. 

Ford's Hospital, 94. 

Friars, Coming of, 8. 

Grey Friars Convent (Christ Church): History, 94. Plan of Crossing, 93. Suppression, 92. 

Gilds, 6, 10. 

Glass, Ancient, 56, 75, 89. 

Godiva and Leofric, 4, 75. 

Hales, John, 14, 94. 

Hermitage. 83. 

Hospital, Ford's, 94. 

Hospital, St. John's, 94. 

Lollards, 11. 

Martyrs, 14. 

Midsummer Eve, 82. 

Misereres, 48. 

Monastery, History, 1-15. 

Monastery Ruins, 16-18. 

Orders of Angels, 47. 

Organ, 55, 77, 90. 

Pageants and Plays, 13, 14, 93. 

Parliamentum Indoctorum, 11. 

Parliamentum Diabolicum, 12. 

Persecution, 14. 

Pilgrims' Rest or Guest House, 15. 

Priory, Ruins, 16-18. 

Royal visits: Henry VI, 11, 12. Margaret, 23. Edward IV, 12. Richard III, 13. Henry VII, 13. Henry VIII, 13. Elizabeth, 14. Mary Queen of Scots, 14. Charles I, 14. 

St. John Baptist Church: History, 81. Exterior, 84. Interior, 86. Bells, 91. Clearstory windows, 85. Collegiate foundation, 81. Glass, ancient, 89. Organ, 90. 

St. Mary Hall: Glass, ancient, 97. Plan, 98. Portraits, 99. Tapestry, 98. 

St. Michael's Church: History, 21-26. Exterior, 29. Interior, 41. Apse, 36. Bells, 56. Brasses, 51, 55. Chapels: Cappers', 53. Drapers' or Lady, 36, 47. Dyers', 52. Mercers, 54. Chapter, Constitution of, 25. Chest, 50. Crypt, 36. Font, 51. Glass, ancient, 56. Old church, position of, 42. Organ, 55. Porch, south, 34. Proportions of Steeple, 30. Pulpit, 56. Spire, 32. Tombs: Berkeley, 49. Bond, 49. Nethermyl, 50. Skeffington, 55. Swillington, 54. Wade's, 55. 

Trinity Church: History, 61. Exterior, 65. Interior, 69. Chapels: Archdeacon's, 75. Butchers', 76. Corpus Christi, 76. Marler's, 73. St. Thomas's, 74. Clearstory, 69. Font, 76. Glass, ancient, 75. Lectern, Eagle, 73. Organ, 77. Plan, 66. Pulpit, 72. Spire, 66. Tombs: Philemon Holland, 75. Whithead (Brass), 75. 

White Friars' Convent, 94. 

[Illustration: ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH]

[Illustration]

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