diocess of Ely, and King Henry the Eighth those of Peterborough and Oxford, it is still considered the largest in Eng land.

As the jurisdiction was great, so, prior to the reformation, the revenues were proportionably abundant. Except the two archbishoprics, and those termed the principality bishoprics, viz. Winchester, Durham, and Ely, no see in the kingdom was so well endowed, which was the reason that there is no record, till the time of Elizabeth, of any Bishop of this see having been translated to another, except Winchester; though since that time, Willis observes, "no less than ten out of seventeen have left this for more valuable ones." Nor was it less remarkable for the number of episcopal palaces within the diocess. Before 1547 it had eight. In this county, Lincoln, Sleaford, and Nettleham; in Rutlandshire, Ledington; in Huntingdonshire, Buckden, the usual residence of the Bishops; in Buckinghamshire, Woburn, and Finghurst; in Oxfordshire, Banbury Castle; two more at Newark, in the county of Nottingham; and Lincoln Place, Chancery Lane, London. All these, except that at Lincoln, with about thirty manors, were given up, in the first year of Edward the Sixth, by Holbech, the first married bishop; who, for the purpose of gratifying the wishes of some courtiers, and raising his own family, exchanged almost every species of landed property annexed to the see for impropriations: so that now scarcely four manors remain of the ancient demesnes. The present revenues, therefore, principally arise from rectorial property or tythes. By the death of the Duke of Somerset, during the time of Holbech, the palace of Buckden reverted to the see; and in the time of Queen Mary, the estates were restored to Bishop White; but on his deprivation, A. D. 1559, they were again alienated by Queen Elizabeth. Madox, in his Baronia Anglia, says, "that the bishopric of Lincoln consisted of five knights' fees," which, if the knight's fee is fixed, according to Mr. Maseres, at 680 acres, will make its possession 3400 acres.

Introductory to an account of the Cathedral, and as tending to il

lustrate

lustrate many points of local history, I shall next relate a few particulars respecting the lives or actions of the

BISHOPS OF LINCOLN.-The account of these will be given in a chronological order, from the period of fixing the see here to the present time; and to each will be annexed the eras of their respective consecrations and deaths.

ST. REMIGIUS DE FESCAMP, who had been Bishop of Dorchester about eighteen years, became, on the removal of the see in 1088, (or as stated in the Lincoln MS.* 1086,) Bishop of Lincoln. He founded the cathedral, which he brought to such a state of forwardness in four years, as to be ready for consecration, at which all the bishops of England were summoned to attend : but, two days before the intended solemnity, he died, May 6, 1092; and was buried on the north side of the choir of his ca thedral, where a monument was erected to his memory.

ROBERT BLOET, or BLOVET, who had been chaplain to William the Conqueror, and was now chancellor to William Rufus, was consecrated in 1092. He finished the cathedral, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and greatly enriched it. Having presided thirty years, he died January 10, 1123, at Woodstock, (while on horseback attending the king), and was buried in the north tran sept of his cathedral, where a monument was raised to his memory. In his time the bishopric of Ely was taken out, and made independent of that, of Lincoln.

ALEXANDER DE BLOIS, Archdeacon of Salisbury, and Chief Justice of England, was consecrated July 22, 1123, through the interest of his uncle Roger, the celebrated Bishop of Salisbury. Having rebuilt the cathedral, which had been, in 1124, destroyed by fire, he arched it over with stone, to prevent a similar accident; and greatly encreased the size and augmented the ornaments of it, so as to render it the most magnificent sacred edifice in his time. His extensive generosity obtained for him the name of Alexander the Benevolent. He died July 20, 1147, and was buried near the two former Bishops. This prelate, and his ambitious uncle of Salisbury,

* Willis's Survey of Cathedrals, Vol. II. p. 542.

Salisbury, were much devoted to ecclesiastical architecture; and are said to have erected, or greatly enlarged, several magnificent buildings *.

ROBERT DE CHISNEY, called also CHESNETO, and QUERCETO, who had been Archdeacon of Leicester, succeeded to the see of Lincoln in 1147. He built the episcopal palace, founded St. Catherine's Priory: and purchased a house in London, near the Temple, for himself and his successors. He died January 26, 1167, leaving the see much in debt through his munificence, and was buried in this cathedral.

The see having been vacant six years, GEOFFREY PLANTAGENET, natural son of King Henry the Second, was elected in 1173, and held it nine years, but never was consecrated; whence some authorities omit him in the list of bishops, and consider the see as vacant during that period. He discharged the mortgages of his predecessor; and, in 1182, resigned his pretensions to the bishopric; soon after which he was appointed Archbishop of York.

WALTER DE CONSTANTIIS, Archdeacon of Oxford, succeeded to this see in 1183, but was the next year translated to the Archbishopric of Rouan, in Normandy.

After a vacancy of two years, HUGH, Prior of Witham, commonly described as ST. HUGH BURGUNDUS, was consecrated September 21, 1186. His piety and austere life obtained him universal esteem while living, and canonization after his death. His authority was so great, and his resolution so firm, that he ordered the tomb of Fair Rosamond to be removed from Godstow church, where it had been placed with great solemnity, by the king's command. This prelate enlarged the cathedral, by building what is now called the New Work. He also built that beautiful piece of architecture, the Chapter-House, and died November 17, 1200. The high estimation in which he was held, was evinced by two kings (John of England, and William of Scotland,) assisting to carry his body to the cathedral doors, where it

was

See Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, Vol I. in the "Account of Malmsbury abbey church."

was received by several bishops, who carried it into the choir, where it was buried, and enshrined in silver. This being pulled down in the civil war of the 17th century, Bishop Fuller set up a plain altar tomb over the grave.

Sanderson states, that the shrine erected to his memory was "made of beaten gold, and was in length eight feet by four feet broad, as is now to be seen. It was taken away by virtue of a commission, in King Henry the Eighth's time; in the thirty-second year of his reign."

Gought says, "He had a magnificent shrine of pure gold, and a silver chest, in which his reliques were translated by the kings of England and France, 5th John, behind the high altar of his: cathedral. This has been succeeded by a table monument, erected by Bishop Fuller, between 1667 and 1675, with an inscription, which may be seen in Browne Willis's account of the cathedral. The monument, or shrine, commonly ascribed to him, and engraved by Dr. Stukeley, was supposed by Mr. Lethieullier to be that of Hugh, a child, crucified and canonized 40th Henry the Third." Mr. Gough here inserts Mr. L.'s account at large, in a letter to Mr. Gale, printed in Archæologia I. 26: and in vol. II. p. 1. Sep. Mon. p. lxviii, &c. he gives a circumstantial account of the discovery of the coffin, skeleton, &c. of Hugh, a boy.

After a vacancy of three years, on account of a dispute between the king and canons, WILLIAM DE BLEYS, called by Leland William de Mortibus, precentor and prebendary of this church was consecrated August 24, 1204. He died May 11, 1206, and was buried in the upper north transept of the cathedral. The see remained vacant three years more, when

HUGH WALLYS, or DE WELLES, was consecrated Dec. 21, VOL. IX.

Rr

* A draught of the shrine is given in Dr. Stukeley's Itin. Cur.

+ Sepul. Mon. Vol. I. p. 233.

1209.

+ Mr. Gough seems to have made a mistake respecting this prelate. Having noticed the burial of Bishop de Bleys, he mentions that of William Blesensis,

also

1209. He rendered himself conspicuous by his adherence to the barons against the king; for which, being excommunicated by the Pope, he was forced to commute the sentence by the payment of a thousand marks. He died Feb. 8, 1234, and was interred in the cathedral.

ROBERT GROSTHEAD, or GROSSETESTE, who had been Archdeacon of Chester, Wilts, and Leicester, and Chancellor of Oxford, was consecrated May 18, 1235. He was the most celebrated scholar of his age, and also a great promoter of learning. His writings were numerous, of which several in manuscript are now extant in the libraries of the universities; some were printed, a catalogue of which may be seen in Anglia Sacra II. 345. Having governed this see eighteen years, with singular wisdom and piety, he died October 9, 1253, and was buried, according to Godwin, "in the highest south aile of his cathedral, and hath a goodly tomb of marble, with an image of brass on it." Mr. Gough gives a plate of this tomb, and says, "It appears to have been an altar tomb, with a border of foliage round the table, which was supported by circular pillars at the corners, but now lies broken and disordered on the floor. So imperfect is the memorial of this great prelate, a protestant in popish times, whose superior judgment struggled hard to break the ice of reformation in the thirteenth century *.

"

HENRY LEXINGTON, dean of this church, was consecrated bishop May 17, 1253; died August 18, 1258, and was buried near the remains of his predecessor.

RICHARD DE GRAVESEND, also dean of this church, was consecrated Nov. 3, 1258; died December 18, 1279, and was in

terred

also Bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1206. This must evidently be the same as the former, for no prelate of the name of Blesensis is found in any other -authority. This name may have been the litinized word according to the custom of the times.

Pegg has published an account of this prelate, in a quarto volume, 1793, entitled "The Life of Robert Grossetéste, the celebrated Bishop of Lincoln, with an account of the Bishop's Works, and an Appendix."