By the Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.

The smallest acquaintance with the inventories, or the ceremonial, of our mediÆval churches is sufficient to show anyone a glimpse of the extraordinary wealth of which the larger churches especially were possessed in those days. Vestments of velvet and silk and cloth of gold, adorned with jewels and the precious metals; crosses and candlesticks of gold, studded with gems; reliquaries that were ablaze with gorgeousness and beauty; and sometimes shrines and altars that were a complete mass of invaluable treasure; such were the contents of the choirs and sacristies of our cathedrals and abbey churches. This being the case, it is obvious that the greatest care had to be taken of such places. Then, even as now, there were desperadoes from whom the sanctity of the shrine could not protect it, if they could get a chance of fingering its jewels; men who would exclaim, with Falconbridge in the play of “King John” (ActIII., Sc.3)—

To protect the wealthier churches from desecration and loss, therefore, bands of watchers were organized, who throughout the night should be ever on the alert against the attacks of thieves; who would also, moreover, be able to raise, if need were, the alarm of fire. At Lincoln these guardians patrolled the Minster at nightfall, to assure themselves that all was safe. To facilitate the inspection of the whole building occasionally squints were made; as at the Cathedral of S.David’s, where the cross pierced in the east wall behind, and just above, the high altar, is supposed by some to have been for this purpose, a view being thus obtained of the choir from the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, or vice versÂ.

In several instances, however, it was found both more convenient and more effective to erect a special chamber, so placed and so elevated as to command a good view of the church, or of the portion of the church to be watched; and here a constant succession of watchers kept guard. One of our most interesting examples of this is at S.Albans. Near the [p 157] site of the shrine of the patron saint (on which the fragments of the shattered shrine have been skilfully built up once more) is a structure, in two storeys, of carved timber. The lower stage is fitted with cupboards, in which were probably preserved relics, or such jewels and ornaments as were not kept permanently upon the shrine. A doorway in this storey admits to a staircase leading to the gallery above. This is the watchers’ chamber; the side fronting the shrine being filled with perpendicular tracery, whence the monks in charge could easily keep the treasures around them under observation. A somewhat similar structure is still seen at Christ Church, Oxford, and is sometimes spoken of as the shrine of S.Frideswide. It is really the watching-chamber for that shrine; and was erected in the fourteenth century upon an ancient tomb, supposed to be that of the founder of the feretrum of the saint, though popular report describes it as the resting-place of the bodies of her parents.

In not a few cases, both in England and abroad, these chambers were built in a yet more durable fashion. At Bourges may be seen a stone loft on the left side of the altar; at [p 158] Nuremberg also is one. In addition to the wooden chamber, already described, S.Alban’s Abbey (now the cathedral) has a small one of stone in the transept. Lichfield has a gallery over the sacristy door, which served the same purpose; and at Worcester an oriel was probably used by the watchers. Westminster Abbey has such a chamber over the chantry of King HenryVI., and Worcester Cathedral has one in the north aisle; and there are several other instances. Many churches had rooms over the north porch, as the cathedrals of Exeter and Hereford, the churches of Christchurch (Hampshire), Alford (Lincolnshire), and many others; and these in some cases, as at Boston, had openings commanding a view of the interior.

Another explanation of the existence of a few watching lofts is sometimes given, besides the need of guarding the Church’s treasures. It is held by some that in the face of the deterioration of monastic simplicity and devotion in the later times before the Dissolution in England, the abbots felt the need of keeping a stricter eye upon their community; and these rooms were consequently constructed to enable them to [p 159] look, unobserved themselves, into their abbey church, and to see that all whose duty called for their presence were there, and properly occupied. This theory is perhaps supported by the traditional name of “the abbot’s pew,” by which a very simple and substantial watching-chamber in the triforium of Malmesbury Abbey is called. With this may be compared another example in the priory church of S.Bartholomew, Smithfield. In these, and most of the other instances, the watching-chamber is an addition to the original structure, dating often considerably later than the rest. This is quoted by the believers in the rapid spread of monastic depravity in later ages in support of the theory just noticed; as is also the fact, that the “pew” is often near what formerly constituted the abbot’s private apartments within the adjoining monastery. It is probable that both explanations are true; some of these lofts forming “abbot’s pews,” as others certainly were for the guardian watchers of the shrines. In a large community it would certainly be wise for the head to be able at times to survey quietly and unobserved the actions of the rest; but this admission no more implies that the lives of all [p 160] monks were scandalous, than does the presence of watchers by the shrines prove that all worshippers were thieves.

We have noticed in this paper the chief watching-chambers in this country, but no doubt other examples occur which may have special points of interest.