Bishop of Chester

“ It shows that the solemnization of the rite had been long neglected—the Bishop of Chester no doubt finding this remote parish of his diocese very inconvenient to reach, and relegating it on this occasion to his brother of Carlisle, who but recently was its rector. It likewise proves that the population was larger then than in the next century, and that the estimate of the number of communicants given on a preceding page was under, rather than over, stated. It illustrates the fact, besides, that the old forms would accommodate at least twice the number of the present benches. ”

“ The diocese of Chester seems to have continued one with that of Lichfield to the time of the Conquest, when Pennant says a Bishop of Lichfield, in the year 1075, removed his episcopal seat to Chester, and during his life made use of the monastery of St. John’s for his cathedral.
His successor was Robert of Lindsey, chaplain of Wm. Rufus, who removed the see to Coventry; St. John’s church, however, continued collegiate up to the time of the Reformation, at which period it had a dean, eight canons or prebends, and ten vicars choral. ”

“ The girls’ eyes were red, and the young men were grave; but the conversation flowed in the accustomed grooves.
After breakfast, Lord Chester was intrusted to the care of the pale and austere young man who had been first presented to him.
‘Clarence Veysey,’ said the Bishop, ‘is my secretary, my private chaplain, and my pupil. He is himself in full priest’s orders, and will instruct you in the rudiments of our Faith. We do not substitute one authority for another, Lord Chester. You will be exhorted to try and examine for yourself the doctrines before you accept them. ”

“ It is risky to judge from negative evidence: but there is nothing to show that George Fleming, bishop and baronet, did anything either as rector or patron to benefit the church where he had worshipped as a child, or the parish whence he and his son drew an income for fifteen years; the sole mention of him in the church books being a statement that he held a confirmation there in place of the Bishop of Chester. The wardens and the Eighteen, with the curate, kept parochial matters going ”

“ It appears that the dedication of this church was altered, perhaps in the reign of Athelstan, from St. Peter and St Paul to St Werburgh and St Oswald, St Werburgh being a niece of St Etheldreda of Ely. In 1093 Hugh Lupus, earl of Chester, richly endowed the foundation as a Benedictine monastery. The bishops of Mercia had apparently a seat at Chester, but the city had ceased to be episcopal, until in 1075 Peter, bishop of Lichfield, removed his seat thence to Chester, having for his cathedral the collegiate church of St John. ”

“ This institution was established, January 2, 1812, by public subscription, under the patronage of the Bishop of Chester. It is situated on the south side of the top of George-street, is 80 feet long by 33 wide, and is capable of accommodating 400 children. It is supported by benefactions and annual subscriptions, and the institution is in a most prosperous condition; its object is to promote a good education among the children of the poor. ”

“ The next day, at meet season and time, the duchess, attended by her party, drove to the episcopal palace, and found the bishop and his lady at home, expecting their arrival. But it is necessary that the reader should be [Pg 144] previously introduced to the bishop and his lady.
The Right Reverend Doctor Cartwright, Lord Bishop of Chester, was in the sixty-first or second year of his age, and having passed by the sunny side of his sexagesimal year, was verging fast to his grand climacteric; he enjoyed a strong and healthy old age. ”

“ J. C. and G. Buckler, of London, at an estimated cost of £10,000, raised by public subscription, assisted by a grant from Government, and was completed in September, 1842. The institution is under the presidency of the Lord Bishop of the diocese, and has the sanction of the Deans and Chapters of Chester and Manchester. The object it seeks to promote is, the supply of the parochial schools of the Diocese of Chester with masters well qualified by a sound religious and scientific training, for the discharge of their important duties. ”

“ The smell of sanctity yet fresh upon us, let us now continue, as best we may, our peregrinations northward.
Yonder, at the lower end of this Street, we catch a glimpse of the Walls; and, turning ourselves about, take a rapid look at Abbey Square (the only Square old Chester can boast!) with its Deanery and Bishop’s Palace,—the former occupying the site of the ancient Chapel of St. Thomas, nay, resting indeed on the foundations of that sacred edifice. ”

“ He was the president of the Architectural, Archæological, and Historic Society of Chester, and contributed many valuable papers to its journal. The earlier records of the diocese he placed at the disposal of the Chetham Society, and also furnished the council with the manuscript of Bishop Gastrell's ‘Notitia Cestriensis’ for publication. He was a member of the commission for the subdivision of parishes in 1849, a measure of church reform which he had long advocated. He died at his seat, Dee Side House, Chester, on 28 Nov. 1854, and was buried in Chester cemetery on 5 Dec. ”

“ Owing to proper objects not having every year presented themselves, the revenues have accumulated, and with the bequeathed property now produce an annual rent of upwards of £400. St. Michael’s is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Bishop of Chester. The present officiating minister is the Rev. J. F. Hewson.
Christ Church
is situated in a thickly inhabited district called Newtown; the rapid increase in the population of this locality rendering additional church accommodation necessary, the present edifice was erected to supply the need. ”

“ Paul's, and, at the king's special request, the vicarage of Hungerford for that of Windsor (Gent. Mag. 1830, pt. ii. p. 273) . On the translation of Bishop Cleaver [q. v.] from Chester to Bangor in 1800, Majendie was nominated to Chester, which he governed for nine years, holding his Windsor canonry in commendam. As bishop of Chester he preached before the House of Lords on the occasion of the peace of Amiens. ”

“ George Lloyd, of the family of Lloyd of Kinmell, in North Wales, Bishop of Chester from 1604 to 1615.
Lower down, on the same side of the street, below Nicholas-street, p. 55is a curious and spacious old palace, once the mansion of the Derby family, which is well deserving of the visitor’s notice. It is approached through a narrow passage. The front of the house presents some interesting specimens of curiously ornamental carved work. On this spot once stood a Monastery of the order of Black Friars. ”

“ There he made the church of St. John's his cathedral church, instituting a dean and canons, for whose maintenance he provided. The see was situated at Chester only until 1106, but some of the canonries inaugurated by Peter remained there until 1541, when the modern see of Chester was created. In 1076 Peter was sent by Lanfranc to assist the archbishop of York in certain consecrations (AnglgSaxon Chron. i. 387, Rolls Ser.) In 1085 he died, and was buried at Chester, being the only bishop of the earlier foundation who was buried there. ”

“ In the suburbs of Chester, pleasant and beauteous,
In the honour of God, and the Baptist St. John,
With the help of Bishop Wulfrice, and good exhortation.”
This inscription is now affixed to a pillar on the north side of the church. With respect to its foundation by Ethelred, we find the following curious passage, quoted from an early writer by King p. 80and others:—“King Ethelred minding to build a church, was told that where he should see a white hind there he should build a church; which white hind he saw in the place where St. ”

“ Last spring, a very high churchman talked to me of resisting my Bishop, of asking him for the Canons under which he acted, and so forth; but those, who have cultivated a loyal feeling towards their superiors, are the most loving servants, or the most zealous protestors. If others became so too, if the clergy of Chester denounced the heresy of their diocesan, they would be doing their duty, and relieving themselves of the share which they otherwise have in any possible defection of their brethren. ”

“ His friend, Seth Ward, D.D., being made bishop of Excester, he was made there deane, and anno 166<8> by the favour of George, duke of Buckingham, was made bishop [1246] of Chester; and was extremely well beloved in his diocese. Anno Domini <1672> he dyed of . He left a legacy of four hundred pounds (quaere) to the Royall Society, and had he been able would have given more. He was no great read man; but one of much and deepe thinking, and of a working head; and a prudent man as well as ingeniose. He was one of Seth, lord bishop of Sarum's most intimate friends. ”

“ She is always right. She glories in her obedience to the Bishop, but—whisper,—we all know very well that the Bishop does nothing without consulting her first, and nothing that she does not agree with. Don’t be too sure, dear boy, about the Supremacy of Man.’
CHAPTER VIII
THE BISHOP AT seven in the morning, Lord Chester was roused from an extremely disagreeable dream. He was, in this vision, being led off to execution, in company with the Bishop, Constance, the Professor, and Grace Ingleby. The Duchess of Dunstanburgh headed the procession, carrying the ropes in her own illustrious hand. ”

“ This house is, without exception, the most curious and remarkable of its kind in Chester, and one which, perhaps, has no parallel in Great Britain. Prout has immortalised it in one of his inimitable sketches, of which the accompanying woodcut is a reduced, yet faithful copy. The origin of the house seems to be lost in fable; but, in the present day, it is usually styled Bishop Lloyd’s House, from the fact of that Cestrian prelate dying about the date (1615,) carved on one of the panels, and from certain coats-of-arms p. ”

“ Above all, the Episcopalians of the Diocese loved their Bishop as a man—a vital, interesting personality who possessed none of the unctuous pompousness of the commonplace ecclesiastic. Miss Nell Battle Lewis once aptly characterized the Bishop as "much more than a Churchman, able Churchman though he is. Foremost, he is a man—a gentleman—of the most unswerving honesty, conviction, courage, kindness, humor, and charm." [42]
Throughout almost all of his Episcopate Bishop Cheshire had no secretary. ”

“ CHESTER CATHEDRAL, WEST FRONT
mustiness in the air which seems to haunt these places as the very climate of Episcopacy, you may grow to feel that they are less the empty shells of a departed faith than the abodes of a faith which may still affirm a presence and awaken echoes. Catholicism has gone, but Anglicanism has the next best music. So at least it seemed to me, a Sunday or two since, as I sat in the choir at Chester awaiting a discourse from Canon Kingsley. ”

“ Because it has pleased Divine Providence to place in my hands the distribution of the grain of the fields, I am constantly subject to the attacks of envy and malice! It has gone so far that I, last night, received from the Reverend Smith Boyd, a request to resign from this vestry!” He paused in triumph on that, as if he had made against the Reverend Smith Boyd a charge of such ghastly infamy that the young rector must shrivel before his eyes. “I have led a blameless life! I have never smoked nor drank! I have paid every penny I ever owed and fulfilled every promise I ever made. ”

“ Resolved further, that this Diocese is greatly indebted to Bishop Cheshire for the sympathetic spirit, the unflagging zeal and never-failing wisdom and the statesmanlike vision with which, under God, he has directed its affairs, shaped its policies, and guided its growth and development; that we hope and pray he may long be spared to lead us in full strength and vigor of body, mind, and spirit ”

“ He was received into the Wisconsin Conference in 1851, and was appointed to Prairie La Crosse. His subsequent appointments were Willow River, Madison Circuit, Waterloo, Columbus, Burnett, Fox Lake, Footville, Evansville, and Shopiere. At the last named place he was attacked with typhoid fever, and, after an illness of three weeks, passed away in holy triumph, with the words, "Glory! Glory! Glory!" upon his lips. Brother Chester was a true man, and a successful Minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ St. Mary’s Church is in all probability of Norman foundation; and is in old writings termed indifferently St. Mary’s of the Castle, and St. Mary’s upon the Hill, to distinguish it from the handsome Church of the White Friars, which was also dedicated to that saint. Randle Gernons, fourth earl of Chester, presented the advowson to the Monastery of St. Werburgh; but shortly after the dissolution it was wrested from the dean and chapter by that rapacious spoiler of churches and religious houses, Sir R. Cotton, who afterwards sold it for 100l. to John Brereton of Wettenhall. ”

“ I have not one misgiving. Neither love for Dr. Cheshire nor prejudice against any man can warp my judgment in this matter. I say now (as I said when I nominated him) that we have made no mistake." [29] This warm praise from a man of Dr. Murdoch's high character and ability must have been very encouraging to Cheshire.
An amusing and interesting tribute to Cheshire's election as assistant bishop were some verses by Rev. John E. C. Smedes. Dr. Smedes, a former clergyman of the Diocese, had been one of Cheshire's examiners for deacon's orders and had presented him for ordination as priest. ”

“ Speaking in general of the election of bishops, Cheshire observed: "I really, and in all seriousness, think that there is something providential in the choice of a man to the office of Bishop. The best men are so often those who were hardly thought of beforehand—sometimes hardly heard of." [24] To illustrate his point, he cited the elections of Bishops Ravenscroft, of North Carolina, Whipple, of Minnesota, and Jackson, of Alabama. These observations are particularly interesting, {48} coming as they did only two years before the proposed election of an assistant bishop. ”