A.D. THE CHURCH. After a violent struggle of 150 years, the Saxons had succeeded in destroying almost all the remains of Roman civilization in Britain, and wherever their arms prevailed, every vestige of christianity was destroyed; but towards the close of the sixth century, the sun of christianity rose once more. * The reign of king Ethelbert was distinguished by the 596. introduction of the christian religion among the Anglo Saxons, through the preaching of Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory, with forty associates, to preach the gospel in this island. The original buildings of our first rural churches have no where in this kingdom survived until now. They were generally of wood, and the Normans are said to have brought in the art and custom of building with stone. Time, casualties, or the desolations in the reigns of Stephen and Henry III. destroyed (with a very few exceptions) all the first stone churches, so that none are found more ancient than about the time 1272. of Edward I., or the latter end of his father's reign, and even of these there are but few; for the common edifices of this nature are scarce older than the reign 1422. of Henry VI., into which several much older gravestones have been evidently removed from the former fabrics.† The Britons are accused by Bede of having lost, not only the power of religion, but the external form, and of having abolished, except in a few instances, even the order of priesthood, and the distinction of civil society. Bede, lib. i. c. 22. ↑ Nicholls' Literary Anecdotes, vol. 5. This particular district, although no stone fit for building is found within it, can boast of many beautiful and stately churches built of that material, more numerous, indeed, than perhaps any other part of England, which is decisive evidence of the wealth as well as of the piety of their founders. The stone employed in the erection of these edifices is universally found to be of an excellent and durable species,* still retaining at the distance, in many instances, of nearly six centuries, its original face and firmness. The sharply pointed arch, which succeeded the circular or Saxon about the year 1200, may be observed in most of them.+ The church of Wisbech is an ancient, spacious fabric, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and is a singularly constructed building, appearing to have had several additions made to the body of it. Cole, in his MSS. says: "It is the oddest built church I eve" met with, "yet, notwithstanding its irregularity, it is a very noble "pile of building, both within and without, and is "furnished with two naves under one single roof, and two "aisles, as well as two chancels, one of which, the south, It is supposed to have been generally brought from Barnack pits, near Stamford; the very handsome and elegant tower of Boston is built of the like stone. + Stavely, in his History of Churches, says, that the Saxons generally built their churches with a descent into them, but the Normans with an ascent. Hence, where we meet with one of the former, we may judge it to be of ancient date. The Rev. William Cole, vicar of Burnham, in Buckinghamshire, died at Milton, between Ely and Cambridge, 16th December 1782, in his sixtyeighth year. He closed a life spent in learned researches into the history and antiquities of the county of Cambridge in particular. He left to the British Museum (to be locked up for twenty years) his valuable collections, in one hundred volumes in folio, fairly written in his own hand. He was buried under the belfry of St. Clement's church, in Cambridge. "is called the town chancel." Under the first window of the latter chancel, on the south side, is a niche, probably the place where the holy water formerly stood. The north chancel is much larger than the other, at the east end of which, and running parellel with it, is the vestry, which probably was formerly one of the chantries. The naves are lofty, and separated from each other by a row of light and slender pillars, with pointed arches. There are also two aisles, divided from their respective naves, that of the north aisle by low massy pillars, and semi-circular Saxon arches, in the windows whereof was formerly some painted glass, now removed. The exterior of the whole church is leaded. The noble stone steeple tower stands at the west end,* and adjoining to the north aisle on the side of it. This is of more recent date than the church, being erected posterior to A.D. 1500. It appears that in the year 1520, Robert Smith, by his will, gave £20. to the building of the steeple of Wysebeche, directing that sum to be paid within a year after the said steeple was begun to be built. There is also an order amongst the transactions of the guild, in the year 1524, for the sum of £2. 3s. 4d. to be advanced by the skyvens to the building of the steeple. We are prevented from judging of any further donations on this occasion, by an unfortunate chasm in the guild A.D. proceedings, from 1527 to 1531. The alderman of the 1538. guild and his brethren assigned "that £4. should be paid to the making of the steeple," and a memorandum is added thereto, that " Katherine Wynde had paid £4. * Churches are not invariably due east and west, because in laying the foundation stone, the architects were guided by the sun, which varies from due east, according to the time when the building is commenced, + See appendix:-Robert Smith's will. |