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Home , History of Lancashire, Lancaster Priory, Minster (church), Syon Abbey

Contrebis 2017 v35

THE GREAT ANGLIAN MINSTER OF LANCASTER Mike Derbyshire

Abstract As with most churches in north-west , there are no specific historical records from the Anglo-Saxon period relating to the at Lancaster. Despite this, it is possible to infer a considerable amount about the glory of the church on Castle Hill, which commanded the most prominent site within the ruins of the Roman fort, long before the castle came to occupy the second most prominent site. This article draws on indirect historical and archaeological evidence to sketch the rise and fall of the early medieval church at Lancaster.

The Priory Church The written history of the church of St Mary at Lancaster (now generally known as the Priory Church) starts with a grant made by the Norman magnate, Roger of Poitou, in the late eleventh century. This grant gave several churches and extensive lands to the Benedictine which Roger’s father had founded at Sées in Normandy (Thompson 1991, 201). In particular, it transformed the church at Lancaster into a priory under the Norman mother-house. From then on, the priory’s rather humble existence is reasonably well documented. Unfortunately, like many other churches in north-west England, no historical records have come down to us from the time before the Norman Conquest: in this respect, the Dark Ages are indeed dark. However, despite the absence of written records, there can be little doubt that the Anglo-Saxon period saw the church at Lancaster flourish with great splendour. Furthermore, there is sufficient archaeological and circumstantial evidence to provide a broad picture of its greatness. We shall start with a general review of the Northumbrian church in north-west England and then consider specifically the church at Lancaster.

Angles and Vikings After periods of intermittent persecution, the Roman Empire became supportive of Christianity in the early fourth century. The empire’s hold on Britain was weakening by the end of that century, followed by invasions, predominately by pagan Angles and Saxons, in the south and east of what later became England. Although the details are unclear, it has been suggested that there was a break in the practice of Christianity in much of the politically fragmented southern and eastern parts of England until the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons in the seventh century (Morris 1989, 6–7). In contrast, there is positive evidence of the survival of Christianity under local war-lords to the west and north, in particular from memorial stones found in south-west England, Wales and southern Scotland (Morris 1989, 102–3; Toop 2011, 91–3). The vigour of intellectual life in the Christian areas is also well documented (Morris 1989, 99–100). By the mid-seventh century, when the Angles of were taking control of the Romano-British people in north-west England, the Angles themselves had recently become enthusiastic Christians. Although their advance was sometimes violent and seems to have often involved the expulsion of the native clergy, there is no doubt that the incoming Anglian church frequently took over existing Christian sites (Bailey 2010, 7; Clark 2011, 118–9).

The principal institutions of Anglian Christianity were monastic houses of very varied nature. They are generally referred to as ‘minsters’, although this term generates considerable confusion regarding its definition. Originally, ‘minster’ was the translation of the Latin monasterium, although it should be noted that, in the early medieval period, the structure of monastic communities was far less standardised than was to be the case under monastic orders such as the . Later in the Anglo-Saxon period, the term ‘minster’ came to have a much wider

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Contrebis 2017 v35 meaning and could be used much as we use the word ‘church’ – to refer to: a widely based Christian jurisdiction; a local Christian institution; or a church building (Morris 1989, 128). We shall use the term here to refer to a monastic community that has some role in the wider ecclesiastical or secular world.

The nature of minsters was so varied that it is not easy to summarise their diversity. Many were closely bound to the aristocracy and were well integrated into the political and economic life of the secular world, with the abbot or abbess often being appointed from the founder’s family. Many were well endowed with land and undertook commercial and industrial activities. They became extremely powerful and were often renowned for their ostentatious wealth and high living – and sometimes for their decadence (Blair 2005, 80–3, 179, 203 & 256–9). In contrast, others were fairly independent and were famed for their learning (Blair 2005, 136). Several minsters provided the seats for bishops, while many more were well beyond the control of any bishop (Blair 2005, 110 & 117). A role that was associated with some of the larger minsters was the spiritual oversight of the people living in an extensive area (Blair 2005, 161–3).

After an initial period of enthusiasm, during which Anglian lords set up many minsters, succeeding generations of lords were more secular in their outlook and less tolerant of minsters that controlled great wealth. These lords tended to abuse the hospitality that ministers provided, to appropriate their endowments and progressively to incorporate them into their secular estates (Blair 2005, 284–5). As a consequence, the power of the minsters was already declining before the middle of the ninth century, when Viking raids added to the misery of those sited near the coast (Edmonds 2009, 4–5).

Many minsters did recover after being sacked by the Vikings and functioned through the tenth century. This was a period when there was no strong government in north-west England and power lurched between Anglo-Saxons and various Scandinavian factions (Paterson et al. 2014, 40; Edmonds 2009, 5–8). However, the decline of the minsters continued in the context of a general trend towards the creation of manors under increasingly powerful local lords, with minsters being forced to share their premises and assets with lay activities. The change is apparent from the objects recovered from the sites of minsters, with the disappearance, for example, of luxury items and libraries. It is also reflected in the stone monuments that were now erected, which incorporated lay images, including scenes from Scandinavian mythology (Bailey 1980, 102–32 & 138–42; Blair 2005, 320–2).

During this period, local lords established their own churches, which, until the eleventh century, were generally built of wood. At the same time, they carved out areas, which would later become , from the territories previously overseen by minsters (Morris 1989, 147–9; Blair 2005, 422–3). By the time of the Norman Conquest, most minsters had become simple churches that were endowed with a small estate and belonged to the lord (Blair 2005, 323–5 & 364).

Lancaster under the Angles We can now consider the particular situation of Lancaster. There is convincing evidence for the intermittent, or possibly even continuous, occupation of the site of the town after the withdrawal of Roman administration early in the fifth century. The town evolved from the settlement that developed to the east of a sequence of Roman forts on Castle Hill. The layout of the principal roads of the town, and even perhaps the boundaries of the plots of land beside them, do not appear to have arisen in response to the needs of a medieval community, as is the case at to the north and at Preston to the south. The development of Lancaster appears to have preserved the principal roads

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Contrebis 2017 v35 and plot-boundaries of the Roman settlement, suggesting a degree of continuity from the Roman to the medieval period (White 2001, 33; Williams & Newman 1989, 66–7).

The present church building on Castle Hill dates largely from extensive rebuilding that was undertaken during the fifteenth century. Only limited evidence survives to indicate the layout of earlier buildings. The remains that have been uncovered suggest that there was a smaller Norman (or possibly pre-Norman) church with an apse at the east end. This lay along a very similar alignment to the present church, with the east end facing about 14 degrees south of east. In addition, evidence was found of a stone wall on the same line. This extended further than the earlier medieval church appears to have done and may have belonged to a related Roman structure (Austin 1913). The site of the early medieval church building (like the fifteenth-century building) lies at the highest point on Castle Hill, at a location that is likely to have been occupied by the headquarters building of the first two Roman forts, which were built in the first and early second centuries. The site of the church also appears to lie within the walls of the third, defensive Roman fort, which was built in the fourth century (Shotter & White 1990, 18–27; Jones & Shotter 1988, 23 & 226). The fact that the church does not face due east, but is aligned with the first two Roman forts, suggests that the church was incorporated into the remains of the headquarters building, possibly in the late fourth or fifth century, as appears to have happened, for example, at South Shields (Collins 2011, 29). The site may well have continued to be used as a church by the Christian Romano-British people after the withdrawal of Roman administration. It is likely to have been taken over by the Christian Anglians, following their incorporation of the area into Northumbria by the mid-seventh century.

Archaeological evidence from the site of the church at Lancaster and from the surrounding area shows an exceptional concentration of fragments of Anglian stonework from the eighth and ninth centuries, predominantly crosses and their shafts. Only six sites in the historic county of have any Anglian stonework and five of these (, Lancaster, Halton, and Hornby) lie within a 20km stretch of the lower Lune Valley (Bailey 2010, 18–9). Furthermore, three of these sites (Heysham, Lancaster and Halton) have remains of at least nine carvings each. In contrast, the other two sites in the Lune Valley and the other site in Lancashire () each have three or fewer (Bailey 2010, 175–233 & 236–7).

Stylistically, the sculptures at the three major sites are linked closely to each other and more loosely to monuments at sites in the eastern Pennines, particularly Hexham and . The rate of production of stonework at the three sites is comparable to that of the major sites in the Anglian Northumbrian heartland. The evidence points to a network of minsters in the lower Lune Valley during a period of relative prosperity (Clark 2010, 132–45; Bailey 2010, 19–21). It appears unlikely that the availability of suitable stone was a major factor, since similar millstone grit was available in east Lancashire and workable sandstone in parts of south Lancashire. Stone in each of these areas was later worked extensively during the Viking period (Bailey 2010, 10, 12–6 & 28).

In the absence of any historical record for the minsters in the Lune Valley (as is the case for very many Anglian minsters) it is difficult to establish the pattern of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and estate ownership during this period. It is however clear, from the combination of large numbers of sculptures at three sites and the presence of very fine workmanship at two, Lancaster and Heysham (Bailey 2010, 197 & 216), that these were establishments of considerable wealth.

The fact that Heysham and Halton eventually became single-township parishes suggests that their status and jurisdiction is likely to have been localised. The presence at Heysham of two early Anglo-Saxon stone churches (possibly from the eighth or ninth century) and a particularly elaborate

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Contrebis 2017 v35 cross-shaft indicate a monastic site of some significance (Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, 332–4; Bailey, 2010, 197; Morris 1989, 119). The fact that Halton was a head vill before the Norman Conquest, with jurisdiction over 22 vills including Heysham and Lancaster (Farrer & Brownbill 1906, 288), suggests that Halton is likely to have been the seat of powerful lords during the Anglo-Saxon period. This impression is reinforced by the close ties between the manor and the church: the advowson of the rectory (the right to nominate the parson) was attached to the manor of Halton; and the manor had its own local ‘peculiar’ jurisdiction over probate (Farrer & Brownbill 1914, 123). It was not until the late eleventh century that the centre of lordship was moved from Halton to Lancaster, when Roger of Poitou made Lancaster his base and probably initiated the building of a fortress on the second-best site on Castle Hill (White 2001, 44).

In contrast to Heysham and Halton, the size of the later of Lancaster and the extent of the ‘historic’ of Lancaster imply that the minster at Lancaster had ecclesiastical authority over a wide area (Farrer & Brownbill 1908, 99–100; Derbyshire 2016, 11–2). Evidence of the standing of the minster is provided by the large number of Anglian sculptures that have been found there, including an exceptionally impressive cross-head now in the . This has been described as ‘a very accomplished and ambitious piece of carving’. The inscription is in Anglo- Saxon runes and the decipherable part reads: ‘Pray for Cynebal’. The cross-head can be dated, with reasonable certainty, to the late eighth century (Bailey 2010, 216–8). Further evidence of the status of the minster at Lancaster is provided by coin finds from the Anglian period, which are similar to those found at a prosperous Anglian minster in eastern England (White 1983/84, 48).

In summary, it appears that the minster at Lancaster was a wealthy institution with wide ecclesiastical jurisdiction, while the minsters at Heysham and Halton were perhaps comparably prestigious; the former as a major monastic house and the latter as the church at the head of the lord’s estate.

Lancaster under the Vikings The minster at Lancaster will almost certainly have been subject to Viking raids from the middle of the ninth century and it is significant that the coins in the site’s major hoard date from the first reign of King Ethelred II of Northumbria, 841–844 (White 1983/84, 47–8), indicating that they were buried about the same time as the great minster at Whithorn in western Galloway appears to have been sacked (Blair 2005, 310).

In Lancashire generally, fragments of crosses from the Viking period of the tenth and eleventh centuries are found much more frequently, and at far more sites, than those from the Anglian period of the eighth and ninth centuries. However, in the Lune Valley we find that, although there are significant sculptures from the later period, particularly at Heysham and Lancaster, there are only about half as many pieces as there are from the Anglian period (Bailey 2010, 18–9, 27–8, 167–8 & 175–235). Thus the minsters at Heysham and Lancaster, like many others, did recover to prosper under the influence of Norse settlement and under intermittent Scandinavian rule from , which was initiated early in the tenth century, with the kingdom of York being ruled from Dublin for most of the period 919–954 (Hall 1976, 17–8; Edmonds 2009, 5–8). However, the comparative scarcity of Viking period sculpture suggests that the two minsters now shone less brightly than before.

As was the case with minsters generally, the long-term decline continued at Lancaster, possibly exacerbated by its location near the shifting border between and Northumbria. By the time of the Norman Conquest, as recorded in the , the church at Lancaster appears to have lost all the attributes of a minster. It merely possessed a fragment of the vill of Lancaster and

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Contrebis 2017 v35 was taxed at two carucates (Farrer & Brownbill 1906, 288), indicating that its wealth was comparable to that of a smallish village.

The Alien Priory The grant by Roger of Poitou, which converted the church at Lancaster into a priory, constituted its final eclipse. The priory functioned as a very small monastery and acted as the administrative centre for the possessions in Lancashire of St Martin’s monastery at Sées in Normandy. It also acted as the parish church at Lancaster, but without the appointment of a vicar; the monks and priests at the priory cared of the souls of the people (Roper 1892, 139–41).

Unlike many ‘alien’ priories, appears to have made no attempt to become integrated into : it remained essentially French, with monks and priors being brought over from Sées (Smith & London 2001, 171–2; Smith 2008, 185). These factors made it particularly vulnerable when anti-French feeling built up during the Hundred Years War. Alien priories were penalised for sending money to France (Lancaster sent unusually large sums) and the monks were suspected of spying for the French (New 1916, 75–7 & 87–90). Eventually, the priory was dissolved in the early fifteenth century. Its lands were granted to the newly-established Bridgettine of Syon in and the church of St Mary was re-built to become a conventional parish church, with endowments to support a vicar (Roper 1906, 575–7; Champness 1989, 25). When was in turn supressed a century later, at the time of the dissolution of the , St Mary’s Lancaster continued as a parish church and most of the lands of the former priory were sold to Robert Dalton (Roper 1906, 593–5), who was in the process of establishing himself at Thurnham near Lancaster (Farrer & Brownbill 1914, 102).

Epilogue We shall conclude by commenting further on the two vestiges of the geographical jurisdiction of the minster at Lancaster that remained long after the demise of the minster itself. The first concerns the enormous deanery of Lancaster, which survived until the first half of the thirteenth century. This covered Lancashire north of the , as well as parishes further to the north, and is likely to have harked back to the high status of Lancaster Minster (Farrer & Brownbill 1908, 99–100). The second concerns the ‘historic’ parish of Lancaster, which operated from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century and whose boundary is well documented (Derbyshire 2016, 11–2). Ignoring the various peripheral townships that became associated with Lancaster parish while it was under the control of the monastery at Sées, the block of thirteen townships and hamlets that made up the central core of the parish must represent what was left of the land overseen by the minster at Lancaster, after various new parishes had been split off from it during the late Anglo-Saxon period (Derbyshire 2016, 12–3; Blair 2005, 308–9).

Author profile

Mike Derbyshire studied natural sciences and then management sciences during his lengthy student days. On retirement from a modest period of gainful employment, he changed disciplines and studied local and regional history at Lancaster University. He now writes on the local history of the area round Lancaster. As a result of his wish to publish materiel that is both rigorous and readable, he has recently taken up self- publishing. His latest booklet is a guide to the records of the Palatinate of Lancaster; the separate jurisdiction, principally for courts of law, that operated in Lancashire from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. Email: [email protected]

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