Wells Author(s): Dotted Crotchet Source: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 43, No. 718 (Dec. 1, 1902), pp. 786- 794 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3369491 . Accessed: 30/01/2015 16:33

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:33:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 786 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-DECEMBER I, 1902.

not, we believe, hitherto been pointed out; and Its ceaseless flow forms a striking feature of the inferencemay be that Handel, who managed the place; for this benefaction the citizens of his own concerts, inserted the rhyme as a part of olden times bound themselves to make a yearly his advertisement, the gentleman who 'wrote pilgrimage to the tomb of the , and there extempore' probably being a friendand admirer 'pray forthe repose of his soul.' of the oratorio composer and manager :- Wells is Wrote extempore by a gentleman, on reading the essentially Universal Spectator,on Mr. Handel's new oratorio, an eccle- perform'dat the Theatre Royal in Covent-Garden. siastical Ceafe, Zealots, ceafe to blame thefeHeav'nly Lays, city. It For Seraphs fit to fing Meffiah's Praife ! can not Nor,for your trivial argument, affign, claimto be " The Theatre not fitfor praife Divine," Thefe hallow'd to Mufick new the birth- Lays give Grace, of cl To Virtue and the place "I Awe, fanctify Place. 0 To Harmony, like his, Celeftial Pow'r is giv'n, any great *c\1 T' exalt the Soul from Earth, and make, of Hell, a man; its Heav'n. history has been oOC The reader may very naturally ask: ' Why do you not give us the extract from the Universal singularly ' Alas! that cannot at unevent- Spectator? periodical and it BP. r* present be traced. May not the 'gentleman' ful, who wrote the above lines have been Charles has never a Jennens? supplied In conclusion, the remarkable and benevolent title of Handel at the nobility. performances annually given by But noble Foundling Hospital must be mentioned,but as THE ARMS OF THE CITY OF WELLS. the details of these were set forthin the indeed is May its chief which acts as a and June issues of this journal, in an article on glory-the Cathedral, to a without ' The Foundling Hospital and its Music,' thereis magnet place that, any disrespect, called little out of the Have no need fortheir recapitulation. may be 'a way.' not the dwellers therein reason to be proud of their loadstone ? We shall see. Twelve hundred have come and . years gone since a church first stood by 'the Well of St. 'The bottomless well of St. Andrew.' From Andrew,' and for nearly a thousand years Wells this originated the fascinating Cathedral of has been the seat of a Bishop, i.e., a Cathedral Wells, the outstanding feature of the little city Church. The Saxon sanctuary (A.D. 705) gave pleasantly situated in the heart of . place to the present beautifulbuilding-or, to be If the visitor,like the present writer,is fortunate more exact, its earliest portion-in the twelfth enough to be favoured with Church as a century, the date of being 1148. cicerone, his footsteps will be directed to the Then followed the (circa 1191), and the springs which burst out at the easternmost part church was finished and consecrated by Bishop of the Cathedral. ' It is as well to begin at the Jocelin, November 18, 1239. Subsequent beginning; here is the fonset origoof everything additions - the House, the Lady in Wells,' remarks the genial Canon, who is Chapel, the reconstruction of the , with sub- and historian of Wells: moreover,he its three easternmost bays, &c.- cover a has resided there for nearly half-a-century,and furtherperiod of over a century; and in 1363, has thereby acquired a knowledge of 'every when Bishop Ralph died, he was buried before stick and stone' in the place. Standing here, the new high Altar as the finisher of the in the softened sunlight of a perfect autumn reconstructed church, the stately fane as it now day, one can appreciate the wisdom and taste stands. of the firstSaxon missionaries who planted their ' The West frontof Wells is a masterpiece of little church at this tranquil spot where the art indeed, made of imagery in just proportion, springs, which rise in the Mendip Hills and so that we may call them vera et spirantiasigna. percolate through the intervening country, affordeth not the like.' So wrote form the pools which give the place its name. Thomas Fuller long ago, and the present-day Although Wells is riverless,the wayfarer along beholder of this marvellous creation in stone is its main thoroughfarecannot fail to notice on in full accord with the quaint old divine. It is each side of the street the running stream essentially a West front,and not the West end of which, like Tennyson's 'Brook,' goes on for the Nave, because the two westerntowers (begun ever. For Bishop Beckington, in the fifteenthin 1386 and 1424 respectively) project beyond century, became a liberal benefactorto the city the aisles of the Nave. The splendid exhibition by granting the inhabitants the right to a of mediaeval sculpture gives it a distinction continuous supply of water from one of these unique in England. No fewer than 305 figures, springs, a right which they enjoy to this day. many of them life size, occupy places in this

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:33:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-DECEMBER I, 1902. 787 sculpture gallery. They represent'the Church on number of photographs of the figures,the most earth, and the dead rising to life,before Angels complete collection of its kind in England, and and Apostles, standing at the throneof the Judge one thatjustly meritedthe unqualified approval of of dead and living.' Kings and Queens and so severe a critic as Mr. Ruskin. ecclesiastics of various orders also form a part The North porch (circa 1185), one of the of this glorious company, and the uppermost most ancient parts of the Cathedral, is a fine tier represents' Our Lord seated in glory within piece of architecture. Considering that the a vesica-shaped niche,' to crown this conception designer and his workmen had just emerged of sculptured magnificence. The reader may fromthe large methods of Norman building, the

WELLS CATHEDRAL, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST. (Photo by Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge, Wells.) be referredto the excellent photograph of the exquisite delicacy and refinementmanifested in West front,which he will find on page 791, as an every detail of the interior of this porch is all aid to his imagination of this picture in stone. the more remarkable,and one is thankfulthat so The erection of a scaffold for necessary repairs beautiful an example of twelfth-centuryartistry in 1873 enabled the courteous Sacrist of the has escaped the hands of the restorer. Before Cathedral, Mr. T. W. Phillips, to take a large passing on to the interiorof the Cathedral, the

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:33:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 788 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-DECEMBER I, 1902. reader may be asked to look again at the view Bible resting upon it, was the gift of Bishop on page 791. On the left-handside he will see (formerly Dean) Creyghton, father of the one of the peculiar glories of Wells, called the - composer. It bears the following Chain Gate, above which is a bridge over inscription: the public roadway, leading from the Cathedral Dr. Robt. Creyghton,upon his returnefrom fifteene to the Vicars' Close, of which more anon. years Exile, wthor Soueraigne Lord Kinge Charles ye 2d made Deane of wells, in ye yeare 166o, gaue this Brazen Defke, wth Gods holy worde theron to the saide Cathedrall Church. The extraordinaryclock in the North causes endless amusement to young and old. It is said to have once belonged to , and to be nearly 600 years old. The dial plate is six feet in diameter. At every quarter of the hour the figure of 'Jack Blandiver' kicks the bell in a life-likemanner; and after this gentleman has performed the operation eight times in succession at the hour, and the big bell begins to toll, four knights (so called) mounted on horseback and stationed above the dial, are set in motion. They rush tournament A TOOTHACHE. round, fashion, charging each other with such that one unfortunate (Photo by Mr. T. W. Phillips, Wells.) ferocity warrioris felledat each encounter,and has barely time to recover his position beforehe is the church at the West door upright Upon entering again and again knocked down with resounding one cannot fail to be with greatly impressed clatter upon his horse's back. His three com- a remarkable architectural feature-the very panions fight times a unscathed. inverted of which there are one twenty-four day arches, three, On the are given, a of shown in our illustration on Sundays 'Knights' day being page 793. rest, the mechanism which sets them in motion It might readily be assumed that this trio of detached. less inversions formed being Hardly amusing, though part of the original design. the humour is more subtle, are the old-worlc But this is not so. six hundred Nearly years misereres, of which sixty-four have escaped the increased of the central tower ago weight destruction, though some have been damaged. had thrust the piers outward, and cracks appeared in the arches of the upper story. No wonder that, in 1338, the whole Chapter were called together on account of the 'shattered condition of the fabric.' The construction of these inverted arches-on the north,south, and west of the central tower-happily fulfilled all expectation; ' their work has stood the test of nearly 6oo years, and it has given a charac- teristicfeature to the church.' The style of the Cathedral is Transitional HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE, THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE ! Norman, gradually passing into Early English, (Photo by Mr. T. TV. Phillips, Wells.) and flowing on easily into the Decorated of the and the . Not the This is the case with the least unfortunately specimen fascinating part of the building is that of of which the above is a diddle its photograph,-' Hey latest period, the perfectly proportioned diddle, the cat and the has 'Procession behind the fiddle'--as pussy path' altar, connecting lost her bow leg ! the with the Cathedral the Lady Chapel itself, The is of rare excellence. So whole forminga vista of exquisite charm. an as Mr. R. tells A few great authority John Clayton features of the interior may now be us, in the course of an conversation mentioned. The interesting capitals of the piers are most on the Cathedral, that 'the window the in theirconceits. We a Jesse (at amusing give photograph East end of the Choir) is the most beautiful of a a toothache.' typical specimen-' capital fourteenth-century glass in Europe.' The The in the of the music-gallery, colouring is so symmetrical,not a heterogeneous sixth on the South side of the is not bay Nave, mass, but a study in law and order of the highest so marked a feature as that of the Minstrels' artistic import. As Canon Church points out at but two noticeable brackets Gallery Exeter; the stately and richly-robed figures in this on of the fourth on the same the spandrels bay East window- their face and form,their flowing side back to the end of the thirteenth (dating mantles of green and ruby and have been there in order to gold--one century) may placed recalls the lines of Perronet's famous hymn:- a for an The massive support gallery organ. Extol the Stem-of-Jesse'srod, double lectern, entirely of and with the And crown Him Lord of All.

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Reference has already been made (on page 788) of three differentlengths corresponding to the to the unique Chain Gate. This is approached three shelves of the book cases. The Canon by a flightof steps leading fromthe North aisle shows how the ring at the end of each chain was of the Choir to the Chapter House. Our passed along a rod above the shelf at which the illustration shows the peculiar construction of student sat, and that when the book was placed these steps, with their graceful sweep round into in position, the rod was padlocked. No music, the lofty double arches of the portal of the unfortunately, is to be found therein, but Chapter House. Their continuance 'straight on' there are some interesting old books. One reaches the bridge across the public road, and very valuable treasure of Greek type is a leads down into the Vicars' Close. By this copy of and Theophratus, bearing means of exit the Priest and Lay Vicars of the autograph of and containing some bygone days could reach their dwelling-places annotations probably in his hand. This volume withoutcoming in contactwith the townsfolk,who was presented by the learned Dean Turner, were often hostile to those who held office in 'satirist, herbalist, and physician.' A case the Cathedral. The Chapter House, octagonal containing Turner's books includes a tract by in form,is 'a glorious development of window him (circa I544), entitled: ' The Huntyng of the and vault,' with 'a slender palm-like central Romyshe Vuolf, made by Vuylliam Turner, pillar, from which spreads the branching roof with manifold radiating arms enclosing the tent-like canopy of stone.' In olden times the Chapter House was the daily home and centre of the community, where each and all held communion and fellowship one with another and with their brethrendeparted, 'dead, dispersed, or changed and changing.' This noble building rests on the massive arches of the solidly-built Undercroft or Treasury, called, though incorrectly,the Crypt. Here were kept the vestments, ornaments, registers and other precious things belonging to the Cathedral and the Bishop; and in order to add to the security of its massive walls, the Sacristan slept in those dungeon-like regions every night, after having swung to and bolted the huge double doors-of fine thirteenth-centurywork-in order to further protect the treasures committed to his care. ?~p-r- In speaking of the glories of Wells, Mr. Clayton refers to 'the sense of refinementin detail of every kind' which characterises the edifice. 'The woodwork is superlativelygood'; he adds,' the carving is beyond any other for delicacy and finish,and, in fact,there is no rude work of any kind.' The reader may be tempted to ask if there is no blot on so fair a picture. Alas! there is. The organ case is so ugly as to be a disgrace to its environment. If a new case found was to be necessary for the rebuilt organ THE STEPS OF THE CHAPTER HOUSE VESTIBULE of 1854, surely something of a better design AND PASSAGE OVER THE CHAIN GATE. could have been devised. But it is not too late (Photo by Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge, Wells.) to remove this smirch on the architectural beauty of the Cathedral. Will not some wealthy doctour of Phisik.' Another small black-letter resident in Somerset, or one who is interested tract bears the title: ' A neue booke of spirituall in the county, supply the wherewithal for Physik for dyverse diseases of the nobilitie and removing so grievous an eyesore ? gentlemen of England.' In these satires he We may now turn our steps to the Cathedral denounces as ravening wolves not only the Library, delightfully situated above the East 'lordlie bishoppes,' but the ' crowish start uppes ' . The present building dates from the of the new Tudor nobilitywho had fattenedupon middle of the fifteenthcentury, and owes its the spoils of the Church and of the poor; and origin to Bishop Bubwith. In discoursing upon here is Turner's ' Herball,' printed in 1568, and its characteristics,Canon Church directs atten- 'the first of the kind ever written by an tion to the vestibule with its open timbered roof Englishman,' and a description of the ' bathes of Mendip oak, now whitened with age, but of Bathe.' strong in its durability. A peculiarity of this In the binding of one of the books there was mediaeval Library is the large assortmentof book discovered part of a composition by Dr. Robert chains, 285 in number, which remain; they are Fayrfax (d. 1529), beginning 'Somewhat musing,'

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:33:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 790 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-DECEMBER I, 1902. the words fromLord Rivers's Lament in prison the skeleton of the Prelate exposed to view. in 1483, as in p. Ioo of the Percy Reliques. On examining the bones, Mr. Clayton found a Those who wish to know more about the Wells perfect set of teeth, of which any lady might Cathedral Library and its treasures may be have been proud, in the jaw of the Bishop! referredto an interesting and illustrated paper And this was the more remarkable in that an communicated to the Society of Antiquaries inscribed plate found in his coffintestified to his on December 6, 1900oo,by one of its Fellows, death in extreme old age. Mr. Clayton puts Canon Church, sub-librarian of the Cathedral, forth the very reasonable theory that Bytton- who so vigilantly watches over the precious the very name has a toothy sound--had the charters (carefully arranged in boxes and reputation of being blessed with so perfect catalogued) and volumes deposited in this old- a set of teeth, that folks from far and near world habitation of venerable tomes. superstitiously thought he would be endowed Before referringto matters musical, a word or with miraculous power after death to cure the two may be said in regard to some of the ills attendant upon their defective dentition. of Wells. The places of honour must be given Bishops Bubwith and Beckington, as the to the three master-builders of the Cathedral- Cathedral Library and town water-supply Robert of Lewes (d. 1166), Reginald de Bohun benefactors,have already been mentioned, and (d. 1191), and Jocelin (d. 1242), of whom old Bishop Ralph will be referredto later; we may therefore conclude this enumeration with the best known of all the Prelates--good old (or Kenn), who held the Bishopric from 1685 to 169o. His name is familiar the world over as the author of the morning and evening hymns : 'Awake, my soul, and with the sun,' and 'Glory to Thee, my God, this night.' There is a legend that both these hymns were composed in a grotto which still exists on the terrace of the Palace garden. The statelyhall of the Bishop's palace, dating from the later years of the thirteenthcentury, is most picturesquely situated. The moat which surrounds the buildings is fed by a stream from St. Andrew's Well close by; this old moat and the portcullis and drawbridge invest the place with quite a mediaeval environment. The energetic manner in which the swans ring the bell, placed under an overhanging window, for their food is to be commended for its hungry impetuosity. No article on Wells in a musical journal should omit special reference to the composer Robert Creyghton. The son of the , and born probably in 1639, he became a of the Cathedral in 1667, and a canon and precentor in 1674. He died at Wells, February 17, 1734. He was passionately devoted to music and composed much church THE VAULTING OF THE CHAPTER HOUSE. music, of which only a small portion has been (Photo by Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge, Wells.) printed. He is best known by one anthem, his setting of ' I will arise.' By the kindness of Fuller said: 'God, to square his great under- Mr. T. W. Taphouse, of Oxford, the possessor takings, giving him a long life to his large heart.' of the book containing the original manuscriptof We may pass on to William Bytton (' the Saint '), this little gem of an anthem, we are enabled (on the holder of the See from 1267-1274. He may p. 792) to furnish our readers with a facsimile be designated the dental Bishop, because, even (veryslightly reduced) of its opening bars in the till within comparatively recent years, people autograph of the composer. afflictedwith toothache were wont to flock to his In regard to the organ, nothing seems to be tomb and place their aching jaws upon it, in the recorded earlier than about 1620, when Dean expectation of being relieved of their pain. In Meredith gave fIoo for a new instrument and this connection Mr. John R. Clayton recalls promised a further sum of fioo. But the an interesting incident within his personal Chapter archives contain 'Articles of agreement knowledge when superintending the restoration between the Dean and Chapter of Wells and works at Wells. As it was found necessary to Robert Taunton, of Bristol, organ maker, to remove the tomb of Bishop Bytton, and as his build a fair well-tuned, usefull and beautifull remains, what were left of them, rested in a double organ in the Cathedral, at a cost of 8oo1, heavy stone coffin,the lid was firstremoved and or less according to the award of the Surveyor

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:33:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-DECEMBER I, 1902. 791 when the work is finished.' This was in 1662. In 1688, the year of his appointment, Robert We believe that the name of Taunton is Hodge was 'corrected and admonished for practically unknown in the history of English breaking windows'; his painstaking energies organ-building,and Dr. E. J. Hopkins was inves- were evidently misapplied. We may now pass tigating this discovery at the time of his death. on to Dodd and William Perkins, father and The present instrument, of good tone but son, who titularly held office (in succession) for unsightly case, built by Father Willis, dates nearly eighty years-178I to i86o. William back to 1854; it has since been enlarged and Perkins composed a florid and effete double now consists of three manuals. The sits chant in E, traditionally known as Malibran's at the South side of the instrument,so that he chant, from the circumstance that the great can command a view of both Choir and Nave. singer joined in it at Wells Cathedral, August As to the chief musicians of Wells, we cannot 22, 1830. During the organistship of Dodd do better than refer to Mr. West's useful Perkins one of the chorister boys was James handbook ' Cathedral ' for information. Turle, subsequently organist of Westminster The earliest record goes back to Richard Hugo, Abbey. From THE MUSICAL TIMES obituary

THE WEST FRONT, WELLS CATHEDRAL. (Photo by Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge, Wells.) organist in 1487, but from an antiquarian point notice of that reveredchurch musician we extract of view it may serve to give the payments made the following reference to the period of his to at John Clansay (1508) : choristership Wells-18io-i3 : (a) Four marcsfrom two vacant stalls. In later years he would sometimes recall his ex- (b) All the annual finesand perquisiteswhich would perience of the ways and manners of cathedral belong to a vicar, not perpetuated, during the services of that time, forthe astonishmentof those lifetime of Richard Hugo. who listened. The Nave of the sacred edifice at (c) A house of the annual value of 26/8. Wells, it would appear, was the recognised play- (d) The paymentof a deputyfor Richard Hugo, as ground of the singing-boys,and there they were before 40/- ann. with power to appoint a fit wont to indulge a juvenile passion for stone- deputy,should he become ill or too old. throwing,and such like potentialities of mischief.

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If anybody then cared about painted windows-- Dr. Belcher. From 1892 to 1895 he held a which is doubtful-he trembledfor the storiedglass at St. Church, Warwick; in the of Wells while the urchinsof the choir their curacy Mary's pursued latter year he was appointed a Priest Vicar of gambols. Young Turle distinguished himself as a Wells, frequentlytaking the organ at occasional stone-throwerby sending a missile through St. services. the of Dr. P. C. Buck Andrew's nose, and the fact is said to have been On resignation in Dr. was rememberedlong afterby a sacristan who, pointing 1899, Davis appointed organist after out the damage, remarked: ' That was done by the presentorganist of WestminsterAbbey.' To William Perkins succeeded Charles Williams Lavington, acting organist, and organist from 1842 to 1895. The memory of Mr. Lavington is justly revered. A native of Wells and a chorister in the Cathedral, he practically held the officeof chief musician for more than half-a- this of service he century. During long period ?r most faithfullyand conscientiously discharged his responsible duties. His refined taste, under

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THE REV. DR. DAVIS, ORGANIST OF WELLS CATHEDRAL. (Photographed specially for THE MUSICAL T!MES by Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge,Wells.) a sensitive and gentle manner,and deep religious feeling, left their mark on the services, and he won the respect of all who knew him or came under the influence of his modest personality. Upon the death of Mr. Lavington, in 1895, Dr. P. C. Buck, now of Harrow, held the post forthe next fouryears. THE OPENING BARS OF CREYGHTON'S ANTHEM The present holder of the officeis the Rev. 'I WILL ARISE.' Dr. Thomas Henry Davis, born September 25, SLIGHTLY REDUCED FROM THE COMPOSER'S AUTOGRAPH IN THE A native of Davis was POSSESSION OF MR. T. W. TAPHOUSE, OF OXFORD, AND REPRODUCED 1867. Birmingham, Dr. BY HIS KIND PERMISSION. educated at the famous King Edward School, and aftertaking, at the age of nineteen, his B.A. competition. He is a Fellow of the Royal degree at London University, he became a College of Organists, and took the degree of mathematical master in his old school. As a boy Mus. Bac., London, in 1889 and that of Doctor of sixteen he became organist of St. Matthew's in 1901. He is conductor of the Wells Church, Birmingham, and studied music under Musical Association, which is now rehearsing

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Sir Hubert Parry's 'Judith.' Dr. Davis is the these quiet resting-places and the charm of their only ordained Cathedral organist in England; hallowed associations impress one very strongly, probablythe only one since theeighteenth century. and the stress of London life is, for the moment, On the occasion of our visit, was forgotten. unaccompanied, the day being Friday. An old- Who knows but that, among that bright set world character was imparted to the music, in of choristers,there may be a future organist of that Farrant in G, and Gibbons's' O clap your Westminster Abbey-another ! A

THE NAVE, WELLS CATHEDRAL. (Photoby Messrs.Dawkes and Partridge,Wells.) hands' had been selected. In listening, from former organist of Wells referred to above, the region of the ,to these strains of Mr. C. W. Lavington, was also a chorister past centuries-sung, and admirably sung, by of the Cathedral, and so was Mr. F. J. the full-voiced choir below-the antiquity of W. Crowe, the recently-appointedorganist of

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Chichester Cathedral. Dr. Charles Parsons, with the choristers make their way, surplice a medical man residing at Dover and a former clad, on this commemoration day to their little Wells chorister, published by subscription, in fifteenth-centurychapel situated at the end of the 1855 a collection of Cathedral music - four Vicars' Close, another of those unique appur- services and eight anthems, forming quite a tenances of which Wells can boast. A shortened remarkable achievement. These things should form of Morning Prayer is sung, the music surely encourage the present boys to press including Special (84, 122, 130) to Blow's forward and make their mark. While on the single chant in E minor,Rogers in D for the Te subject of the choristers,we may be permittedto Deum, and the same composer's anthem 'Behold, express the hope that a resident Choir School now praise the Lord '-all according to tradition. may become a featureof Wells. At present the This special service is an exceedingly interesting choristers are town boys, not altogether a satis- relic of past times, and is analogous to Obiit factory arrangement. As one of the houses Sunday at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. in the precincts of the Cathedral could be made Finally, the more one studies our splendid available for such a worthypurpose, it is to be English the more one becomes hoped that this matter will merit the attention impressed with their varied characteristics and of the Cathedral authorities with a prospect of traditions-historical, architectural,ecclesiastical, ultimate fulfilment. and musical. Each edifice exercises its own peculiar spell, and Wells is by no means an exception by reason of its varied interests, its poetic environment, and its delicate beauty. 'There is no place,' said Professor Freeman, 'where you can see so many of the ancient buildings still standing, and still put to their own use'; and if those stones, hoary with the age of many centuries, could cry out, they might say to us, in the words of James Russell Lowell : We remain Safe in thehallowed quiets of the past: Be reverent,ye who flitand are forgot, Of faithso nobly realised as this. Acknowledgment for much kind help freely rendered in the preparation of this article, is due, and is hereby tenderedto the Rev. Canon Church, Sub-, and the Rev. Dr. T. H. Davis, Organist of the Cathedral; to Mr. T. W. Taphouse (always so willing to renderinvaluable aid); and, forthe generous use of photographs, to Mr. T. W. Phillips, the well-informedSacrist of the Cathedral; and to Messrs. Dawkes and Partridge, photographers, of Wells-both the latter gentlemen being Lay Vicars of the Cathedral. DOTTED CROTCHET.

ENTRANCE TO THE ORGANIST'S HOUSE, WELLS. (Specially photographed for THE MUSICAL TIMES by Messrs. TWO CHRISTMAS HYMNS & TUNES. Dawkes and Partridge, Wells.) 1. ' CHRISTIANS, AWAKE.' The followingmorning-Saturday, November The recurrence of Christmastide brings with 8-happened to be Founder's Day of the College it certain traditions of which old father Time of Vicars, when the name of the benefactor, will shortlyremind us. One of these, as deep- Bishop Ralph, who died in 1363, is annually rooted as any perhaps, is the singing of Christ- celebrated. The College of Vicars is a large mas hymns and carols, not in the services of the corporate body, holding its present charter church only, but in the home, and by country from Queen Elizabeth. The Vicars possess carollers not a few, as they go from house to their own ancient hall, where in former days house on the eve of the Nativity, sounding their they dined in common, while one of the brethren strains of holy mirthunder a starlit sky. Many read to them foredification (or to aid digestion) of these hymns and their music have become so fromthe quaint over the fireplace. This ingrained in our affectionsthat we take them as old room contains an interestingpainting of the a matterof course, withscarcely a thoughtof their founder, Bishop Ralph of pious memory, with origin or history. The followingchit-chat on two the Vicars kneeling beforehim. AfterMatins, the popular Christmas hymns is offeredin the hope Priest and Lay Vicars-the senior Lay Vicar that it will be of sufficientinterest to be considered being the octogenarian Mr. Thomas Wicks-- at least seasonable, if not acceptable. The first

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