St. Mary's Cathedral Site

February 1939

CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARY. (Continued)

Since writing my last article on this Church in the December issue of this Magazine, another extension has been made to the large building being erected, and to do this a brick building belonging to the Blue Coat School had to be demolished which stood on part of the stone walls of the Church, and also on a large heap of rubble from the destruction of the Church; this rubble was 10-ft. to 12-ft. in depth, and contained many carved stones of the 13th century. It is 401 years on the 16th Jan, 1939, since the dissolution in 1538, and it is interesting to know that Dugdale, who wrote about 130 years after, giving the names of the monks and the pensions they received, Henry VIII. and Thomas Cromwell must have had a very busy time demolishing and selling stone and lead, etc., from so many places at this time, and although the Bishop pleaded with Henry to preserve this beautiful Church it was all to no avail.

In the above mentioned rubble the top part of a cross was discovered, and parts of windows, base of a pillar, and numerous other carved stones, which I trust will soon he built into walls of buildings which the Council are about to erect, and thus will be preserved as a permanent record. Two brick cisterns about 8-ft. deep were built in the rubble. No doubt they were for rain water storage, and may have had pumps in at one time. This would be used for the washing of clothes, as the building was the wash-house for the school. One cistern was built square, the other round, and in this a sack or wine bottle was found, dating about the 18th century. While digging under the yard for connecting a drain about 12-feet deep, a number of graves were discovered, and in one was a cast brass elephant, which is in perfect condition save for the tusk being broken. One wonders if this was a charm? It would be difficult to state its age, as this burial ground was used until the dissolution.

WHITE FRIARS

Except for a small vessel found some years ago when building the Nurses' Home, very little more has come to light, but in digging the A.R.P. trenches near the Lodge in Gulson Road, two perfect vessels and many broken ones were discovered at a depth of about 7-ft. 6-ins., and date about 14th cent. As this was within a few yards of the city wall it may be they were used for carrying refreshments to the builders. Why any should be intact is a mystery - possibly they were covered over accidentally. Part of a wine jar was found similar to the many such jars found on the Benedictine site.