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XXVII. A Description of the Church of Melbourne in Derbyshire, with an Attempt to explain from it the real Situation of the Porticus in the ancient Churches. By William Wilkins, Esq. F.A.S.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

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Extract

There are but few subjects of architectural art to be met with in this kingdom which were executed from the period of the departure of the Romans to the reign of king Alfred; and indeed the records are but few, and rather barren, to which any reference can be made, or which are to be relied upon with respect to them. The writings of venerable Bede, the Book of Domesday, and a few others, have, however, transmitted authorities on which some dependance may be placed. With respect to buildings, their descriptions are generally short, and leave much room for conjecture; yet a sufficiency may be gathered from them in several instances to assist the Antiquary in his researches. The following extract from Domesday Book shews that the manor of Melbourne in the county of Derby (which lieth in the hundred and deanry of Repton, and is in the diocese of Litchfield and Coventry) [a] is an ancient demesne of the crown, under the head of Terra Regis.

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Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1800

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References

page 290 note [a] Extract from a Court Survey made in the year 1623, in the Archives of Donington Pork, belonging to the earl of Moira.

“That the Mannor' and Lopp. of Melborne, butteth upon the Lopp. of Dunington, “Wilson and Beedon eastward, uppon Staunton and Caulke southward, uppon Derbie Hills and Staunton westward, till it come to the river of Trent, wch. is north

“ward, and devids from Swarkeston and Weston.”

Again, in the 2nd Response— and that this Mannor extends itself into parte of

“Swarkeston, Chellaston, Osmaston, Normanton, and Cottons.”

“That of the Parsonage the owner is the Bishopp of Carlell.”

“That this Mannor lyeth within Repton Deanerie, Coven: and Litchfeild Dioceffe.”

page 291 note [b] “In Mileburne hs. Rex Edw. vi. car. træ ad gld. Tra. vi. car. Ibi. ht. “Rex I.carm. et xx vill et VI hord. h'ntes. v. car. Ibi Pb r. et æccl a. et t. molin. III. “solid. et XXIIII ac. pti. Silvapaft I. leu. lg. et dim. leu. lat. T.R. E. val.x. lib. “mo. vi. lib. tarm, x reddit.”

page 291 note [c] Penda, the first christian king of Mercia. Bede's Hist. 1. 3. c. 21. “Pendo began his reign, or rather government, anno 656.—This king reigning as substitute to king Ofwy of Northumberland aforefaid, by some is not accounted as a Mercian king, his army resting under the command of another.” Speed's Hisc. 252.

page 292 note [d] Alksted, the natural daughter of king Ofwy, was born before her father was king. Anno. 653. Speed. p. 304.

page 292 note [e] Vide a Silver Coin of Ethelard, Fig. 2; and another of king Edwine, Fig. 1. PL XXII. Fig. 3. is the capital of the pillar referred to. The points between the Cross alluded perhaps to the nails of the cross.

page 292 note [f] In the year 674 Bp. Wilfrid began the foundation of this celebrated church (St. Andrew's at Hexham); and Eddius speaks with great admiration of it in this manner. “Its deep foundations, and the many subterraneous rooms there artfully disposed, and above ground the great variety of buildings to be seen, all of hewn stone and supported by sundry kinds of pillars, and many porticos, and set off by surprising length and height of the walls, surrounded with various mouldings and bands curiously wrought, and the turnings and the windings of the passages, sometimes ascending or descending by winding stairs to the different parts of the building, all which it is not easy to express by words, &c.” p. 21 and 22. Bentham's Ely. Richard, prior of Hexham, more fully describes this building in A. D. 1 18Q. The building was then in a decaying state. Richardi Prioris Hagulst, Lib. I. cap. 3.

page 293 note [g] Oratory. In some canons the name Oratories seems to be restrained to private chapels, or places of worship set up for convenience in private families, still depending upon the parochial churches, and differing from them in this, that they were only places of prayer, but not for celebrating the communion. But the council of Agde in France allows the Eucharist to be administered in private Oratories, except upon Easter-day, or Christmas, or Epiphany, or Ascension, or Pentecost, or such other of the great festivals; and upon these too if they had the bishop's licence and permission for it; so that in those ages an Oratory and a Catholic church seem to have differed, as now a private chapel and a parochial church, though the first ages made no distinction between them. Bingham's Antiq. of the Xn. Ch. book VIII. ch. I. p. 274.

page 293 note [h] Portico, according to the general acceptation of the word, is an open part of a building supported by columns at the entrance, under which, as we are informed by Vitruvius, “the people were sheltered from the sun and excessive weather, where “they might entertain each other in discourse, till the hour came for offering sacrifice.” Palladio's Arch, by Giao. Leoni. ch. ix. p. 12.

page 293 note [i] Pastophorium is explained by Schelstrate to be the chamber or habitation where the ruler of the temple dwelt. Schelstrat. Concil. Antiochen. p. 186.

page 294 note [k] Antiq. of Xn. Ch. p. 314.

page 294 note [l] Bentham's Ely, p. 18. Mr. Bentham appears to be the first author who prosessedly treats of the origin and progress of church architecture.

page 294 note [1] Bedæ Hist. Eccl. Lib. ii. cap. 3.

page 294 note [2] Ibid. c. 5.

page 295 note [3] Bedæ Hist. EccL Lib. ii. c. 5.

page 295 note [4] Ibid. Lib. v. c. 8.

page 295 note [5] Ibid. Lib. ii. cap. 3.

page 295 note [6] “The better to elucidate the sense of the word Porticus, the reader will be “pleased to compare the following passages from Bede, and other ancient writers. A.D. “721. obiit Johannes Ebor. Episcopus in Monasterio suo Beverlac et ‘sepultus est in “‘porticu S. Petri.’ Bede Hist. Eccles. Lib. v. cap. 6.—A. D. 726. obiit Tobias Rof- “sensis Episcopus, et ‘sepultus est in porticu S. Pauli Apost.quam intra eccleilam S. “‘Andreæ sibi in locum sepulchri secerat Ibid. cap. 23.—A D, 977. Sidemannus “Creditoniæ Episcopus 'sepulturæ traditur in monasterio Abendonensi in parte Eccle “‘siæ. Boreali, in porticu S. Pauli.’ Chron. Saxon.—A. D. 1034. Obiit Brithwius “‘Wellensis Episcopus; ‘hie jacet in aquilonari porticu ad S. Johannera (Glastanisæ) “'Britwoldus Wintoniensis (1. Wiltoniensis) Episcopus obiit A. D. 1045 hic sepultus “‘fuit cum Brithwio in eadem eccleiia in parte aquilonari.’ Monast. Angl. Vol. L “‘p. 9.—’ In ambabus porticibus Coventriæ jacent ædificatores loci praecellentissimi “‘conjuges’ (scil. Comes Leosricus et Godiva Comitissla uxor ejus, qui Leosricus “‘obiit, A.D. 1057.’) Ibid. p. 302. In all the above cited places a more consider “able part of the church is certainly intended by Porticus, than what is commonly un- “derftood by the church porch, as it is usually rendered by our ecciesiastical writers. “It was frequently distinguished by the name of some saint; for we read of PorticusSti Martini in St. Augustin's church at Canterbury; Porticus Sti Gregorii in St. Peter's at York; Porticus Sti Petri at Beverly; Porticus Sti Pauli in St. Andrew's at “Rochester, and other distinctions of that kind in many of our ancient churches. The “reason of which appears to be, that they were dedicated to the honour of those “saints. Thus we find by king Edgar's charter to Thorney Abbey, that the church “there was dedicated A. D. 972, to St. Mary, St. Peter, and St. Benedict: i. e. the “east part of the choir, where the altar was placed, to St. Mary; the western part “to St. Peter; and the north Porticus to St. Benedict. Ibid. p. 243.—From all these “instances, where the word Porticus occurs, it appears that the writers meant by it “either what is now commonly called side-isle of the church, or sometimes it may “be a particular division of it, consisting of one arch with its recess, as in the following passage in Bede's account of the relicks and ornaments with which the church “of Hexham was furnished by Acca, who succeeded Wilfrid in that bishoprick, “A. D, 710.— Acquisitis undecumque reliquiis B. Apostolorum et Martyrum “Christi, in venerationem illorum, Altaria distinctis Porticibus in hoc ipsum intra “‘muros Ecclesi posuitæ’” “Bedæ Hist. Lib. v. cap. 20.

page 297 note [7] “Mox ut baptisma consecutus est (Ædwinus) majorem et augustiorcm de lapide fabricare curavit basilkam.” Bedæ Hist. Eccl. Lib. ii. cap. 14.

page 297 note [8] “Adlatum est caput Ædwini Regis Eburacum, et inlatum postea in ecclesiam “B. Apostoli Petri;—positum est in porticu S. Papæ Gregorii. Bedæ Hist. Eccl “Lib. ii. cap. 20. Mr. Collier cites this passage from Bede, and seems to have adopted the common error of taking porticus for a building withoutside the church; and “thence falsely infers, that it was not the custom of that age to bury within-side. ‘King “‘Edwin's head (says he), was deposited in St. Gregory's porch; from whence we “may probably conclude, that his children before mentioned, who are said to have “been buried in the church, were only buried in the porch, the custom of that age “going no further.” Collier's Ch. Hist. Vol. I. p. 86.

page 297 note [9] In qua civitate et ecclesiam operis egregii de lapide secit.” Bedæ Hist. Lib. ii. cap. 14.

page 298 note [m] Hist. of Ely, p. 18.

page 299 note [n] The plan of Dunwich Church in my former Essay (Archaeolog. Vol. XIL PL XXXVII.) has neither pillars nor side-isles; it is divided into three apartments—the Anti-Temple, the Temple, and the Sanctuary. It is probable that the Anti-Temple, which in this instance is the greatest portion of the church, is the part which Bede names the portions, therefore Collier's obfervation is right; (Ch. Hist. Vol. L p. 86.) and so indeed we may further infer, from Mr. Bentharc's quotations from Bedc, &c. “that bodies were not at that time buried but in the porticus of the “church.”

page 299 note [p] See the plan of Melbourne Church, PI. XX. the walls A B and C, which now slop up the arches of the porticus, are of subsequent workmanship. The Section PL XXL shews them open–the wall D is original, and divides the chambers over the porticos from the nave.

page 299 note [p] “The entrance into the interior Narthex in the church of Paulinus, was out of the Portico's, or Cloysters, before the church, by three inner porches, and as many gates opening out of them, the middle one being the greatest and highest of the three” Xn. Ch3. ch. iv. p. 291.

page 299 note * The Narthex, or Ante-Temple, where the Penitents and Catechumens stood.

page 299 note † The Naos, or Temple, where Communicants had their respective places.

page 299 note ‡ The Berna, or Sanctuary, where the Clergy stood to officiate at the Altar.

Bingham's Antiq. of the Xn Church, ch. iii. p. 289.

page 299 note § “Cone. Nanneftens. c. 6. In ecclesia nullatenus sepeliantur, sed in Atrio, aut Portion, aut in Exedris Ecclesiæ.”

page 299 note | “Whilst we are speaking of the Ante-Temple, it will not be improper to observe, that for many years after burying-places were allowed in cities, they were still kept out of that which was strictly and properly called the church, and only allowed in those parts of the Ante-Temple, the Atrium, and Portico's, as appears from a Canon of the Council of Nantes, An. 658, which prohibits any to be buried in the church, but allows of it in the Atrium, or Portico's, or Exedrae of the Church.”—Bingham's Antiq. of Xn. Ch5. B. viii. p. 290.

page 299 note † These porches and gates are sometimes called Arous, from the manner of their structure, which was arch work. Ibid.

page 300 note [1] “St. Peter's at York, begun by K. Edwin, A. D. 627, is particularly reported “by Bede to have been of that form; per quadrum caepit ædisicare basilicam.” Bedæ. Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. cap. 14.

page 300 note [2] “A n ancient church at Abbendon, built about the year 675, by Heane, the “first abbot of that place, was an oblong building, 120 seet in length; and what is “singular, was of a circular form on the west, as well as on the east; habebat in longituline 120 pedes, et erat rotundum tam in parte occidentali, quam in parte oricutali.” Monast Angl. Vol. I. p. 98.

page 301 note [q] The entrance into the Athenian Temples was through the Portico (Pronaos, Anti-Temple, or Vestibule); some of their temples had an entrance at both ends, when the back front was called the Posticus, and that entrance the Posticum. The plan of those temples which had entrances at both ends were said to be Amphyprostylos.

Stuart's Athens, ch. ii. p. 9.

page 301 note [r] But upon the conversion of Constantine many of these (Basilicæ) were given to the church, and turned to another use for christian assemblies to meet in, as may be collected from that passage in Ausonius, where speaking to the emperor Gratian, he tells him, ‘The Basilicae, which heretofore were wont to be filled with men of business, were now thronged with votaries praying for his safety; by which he must needs mean, that the Roman halls, or courts, were turned into christian churches, and hence I conceive the name Basillcœ came to be a general name for churches in after ages, Bingham's Antiq. of Xn. Chs. B. viii. ch. i. p. 274.

page 301 note [s] Heathen temples were also converted into churches; and it was by advice of pope Gregory to Mellitus, that for the better accommodation of the christians of these times, the heathenish temples should not be demolished, but converted into christian service. Hen. Huntingd. fol. 322. As his successor Boniface obtained of the emperor Phocas to have the Pantheon at Rome transformed and dedicated to the honour of St. Mary and All Saints, to this day called Sancta Maria Rotunda. Stavely's Hist, of Chs. in Eng. p. 70.

page 301 note [t] This seems to be implied also by the prophet Joel: “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar.” Joel, ch. ii. ver. 17.

page 301 note * Mellitus consecr, Bp. of St. Paul's in the time of K, Ethelbert.

page 302 note [u] Palladio's Architecture by Giac1. Leoni. B. iii. chap. xx.

page 302 note [x] Ibid. ch. ix. p. 12.

page 303 note [y] B. viii. ch. iii. p. 287.

page 303 note [z] Sir Ralph Shirley, who died in the year 1516, bequeathed lands in Melbourne and Worthington to the Chantry of St. Catherine in St. Michael's church in Melbourne for ever, to pray for his soul. Pilkington's Derbysh. Vol. I. p. 81.

I learn since, by Mr. Dawson, who has examined the Evidence Chamber at Donington Park, there were two Chauntries, one dedicated to St. Katherine, the other to St. Michael, the patron saint of the church.

page 303 note [a] Perhaps it is unnecessary to comment upon the word Gothic, as here applied. Almost every writer on these kind of buildings has endeavoured to explain it, as proper or improper. Its general acceptation is pretty well understood, as denominating the kind of buildings which succeeded the Norman style; think it is as applicable as any term, and indeed more so than Saracenic, Moresque, &c.

page 305 note [b] This account of Melbourne has been collected (and transmitted to me, by Edward Dawson, Esq ) from the archives at Donington Park, belonging to Francis earl of Moira.

page 306 [c] This last earl of Lancaster, who probably erected the noble castle formerly here for his residence.

page 306 [d] The Antiquarian Society, have savoured the public with an engraving of this castle, from an original drawing preserved in the duchy office of Lancafter, taken in the time of queen Elizabeth, which shews the venerable style of building of this ancient royal mansion.