ABOUT the Middle of the Thirteenth Century the Dean and Chapter of St
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XIII.—Visitations of certain Churches in the City of London in the patronage of St. Paul's Cathedral Church, between the years 1138 and 1250. By W. SPARROW SIMPSON, D.D., Sub-Dean and Librarian of St. Paul's. Read January 16, 1896. ABOUT the middle of the thirteenth century the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral Church made a minute and careful visitation of churches in their gift, lying in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, and Middlesex. The text of that visitation has been lately printed in a volume issued by the Camden Society.'1 The record of their proceedings is so copious that a clear and distinct account can be given of the ornaments, vestments, books, and plate belonging to these churches; and some insight can be gained into the relations which existed between the parishioners, the patrons, and the parish priest. The visitations now for the first time printed are not so full and ample as could be desired. But so little authentic information is to be gathered about the furniture and ornaments of churches in the city of London at this very early period, that even these brief records may be acceptable to antiquaries. The manuscript from which these inventories have been transcribed is one of very high importance. Mr. Maxwell Lyte describes it as " a fine volume, of which the earlier part was written in the middle of the twelfth century," and he devotes about eighteen columns of closely-printed matter to a calendar of its contents illustrated by very numerous extracts." The book is known as Liber L, and the most important portions of it are now in print. Archdeacon Hale edited some part of the manuscript, more particularly certain a Visitations of Churches belonging to St. Paul's Cathedral, 1249—1253; and Visitations of Churches, etc. in 1297 and in 1458. Camden Society, 1895. Both edited by the writer of the present paper. b Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report No. 9, p. 60, column 2, to p. 69, column 1. VOL. LV. 2 T Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 22 Oct 2018 at 02:56:47, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261340900014387 284 Visitations of certain Churches visitations of manors in the year 1181, containing many important references to manorial customs :a but the visitations of city churches have hitherto escaped the printing press. The manuscript volume has been in the possession of the church ever since it was written. In 1440, dean Lisieux compiled a catalogue of deeds and other evidences preserved at St. Paul's in various chests and coffers; it is entitled " Tabula extracta de evidenciis in Thesauraria sancti Pauli London per Magistrum Thomam Leseux Decanum Anno Domini 1440. Et nota quod litera alphabeti significat armariolum signatum exterius cum tali litera, et numerus sequens signi- ficat cofinum et pixidem signatum cum tali litera et tali numero;" from which the method of arrangement of the archives may be gathered. The armariola, aumbries, or closets, were marked each with a letter of the alphabet, whilst the chests or coffers contained in the armariola were designated by a numeral. Dean Lisieux describes our manuscript thus : " Contenta in quodam antiquo et notabili Registro, de tempore Willelmi Conquestoris, clauso cum uno nodulo in medio, 2° folio in Rubrica Privilegium, signatus cum iitera L."b The book in its present state answers to the description, except that the nodulus or button by which it was fastened has been removed, the loop, however, which surrounded the button still remains. The stout leather covering is very sound, and the word Privilegium occurs in red upon the second folio. " No part of it will bear out the statement of its very early date but the first twenty-six folios," says archdeacon Hale,0 "the remainder of the book is of the latter part of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries." The inventories now to be described are written in a hand Avhich from internal evidence of other dated documents in the same volume may be ascribed with fair certainty to the middle of the thirteenth century, probably to the year 1250.d Twenty churches in the city were visited. The accompanying list gives the ancient names of the several parishes, together with the more modern forms of those names by which they are known to-day :e 1. S. Benedictus super Werham; St. Benet, Paul's Wharf. 2. S. Petrus parvus super Tamisiam; St. Peter, Paul's Wharf. 3. S. Michael de Macello ; St. Michael le Quern. a See the Domesday of St. Paul's, edited by Archdeacon Hale for the Camden Society, pp. 118-152. ' The pressmark of this manuscript is W. D. 11. c Hale, Domesday of St. Paul's, preface, xiv. xv. d Two inserted fasciculi, of a smaller size than the original volume, are of the fourteenth century. e The churches are referred to in this paper by the numbers now prefixed to the several names. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 22 Oct 2018 at 02:56:47, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261340900014387 in the patronage of St. Paul's Cathedral Church. 285 4. S. Augustinus, Watling Street. 5. S. Antoninus ; St. Antholin, Watling Street. 6. S. Thomas, Apostle ; in Knight Rider Street. 7. S. Johannes super Walebroc; St. John, Walbrook. 8. S. Egidius; St. Giles, Cripplegate. 9. S. Maria de Aldresmanesberi; St. Mary, Aldermanbury. 10. S. Petrus de Bradestrete; St. Peter le Poor. 11. S. Helena, Bishopsgate. 12. S. Michael de Cornhithe; St. Michael, Queenhithe. 13. S. Benedictus de Graischereche ; St. Benet, G-racechurch. 14. S. Botulphus; St. Botolph, Billingsgate. 15. S. Martinus; St. Martin Orgar, in St. Martin's Lane, City. 16. S. Maria Magdalena in Melestrate ; St. Mary Magdalen, Milk Street. 17. S. Johannes Zacharia, in Maiden Lane. 18. S. Maria Magdalena; St. Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street. 19. S. Stephanus, Coleman Street. 20. S. Olavus in vico Judeorum; St. Olave, Jewry. Of these twenty churches, eight are now standing (Nos. 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19); seven were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 (Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17); one was burnt down in 1886 (No. 18); and four have been removed under the operation of the Union of Benefices Act (Nos. 5, 12, 13, 20). In addition to these twenty inventories, three others have been added. These are found in the same manuscript, but are of an earlier date. A. S. Michael de iEedreshuda, visited about 1138. B. S. Helena, visited between 1160 and 1181. 0. S. Augustinus, visited at probably the same period. It will suffice to give an account of one of these inventories somewhat in detail, and to point out a little later the more interesting features in the other inventories. The church of St. Thomas Apostle will supply a good specimen. After a few details about money payments to the canons and to the arch- deacon, the inventory commences. There is a churchyard belonging to this church (whereas six of the churches enumerated had no cemeterya). The church goods comprise a silver chalice, gilt within, of the weight of one mark, and a cross covered with silver. The books were numerous : an ancient missal, a good missal with a noted gradual, a breviary in three volumes (it is to be feared that a Nos. 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, and 16. 2 T 2 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Warwick, on 22 Oct 2018 at 02:56:47, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261340900014387 286 Visitations of certain Churches this was imperfect, as breviaries are usually comprised in one, two, or four volumes), two antiphonaries, a psalter, an ancient gradual, and a good gradual with a troper, another troper by itself, and a manual. Of ecclesiastical vestments there were a complete vestimentum a with a linen chasuble, and a chasuble of silk with a stole and maniple of the same material; a bordered palla; a very good chasuble of silk, an alb well apparelled, a very good amice ornamented with gold embroidery, another alb good and well apparelled, with an amice embroidered with gold. On the high altar were five pallse, two of them well apparelled ; and before the altar two others, one of them painted (picta), the other of silk. At each of the other altars, three in all, were two pallae upon the altar and one before it. Two banners of painted cloth, four surplices, and one Catalonian cloth complete the list. All these articles were enumerated by Stephen the priest, whose helpers were Albinus the assistant priest (if that is the proper rendering of sacerdote assistenti, as it probably is, all the helpers being enumerated under the word assistentibus), John the Soldier (Johanne Milite), and William de Valentin. This is a fairly representative inventory. A few peculiarities in other inventories may now be noted. At St. Peter le Bradestrate there is no chalice, non est ibi calix, a sufficiently remarkable circum- stance : probably Nicholaus the chaplain had a chalice of his own, or the church may have had a borrowed chalice, which could not therefore be enumerated amongst its goods. At St. Michael, Queenhithe, is the following entry: palla vna serica ante altare que dicitur bufe : the suggestion is offered that bufe may stand for the English word buff, and that the altar-cloth was of this somewhat peculiar colour.