The building of the north aisle and its furnishings

By Richard Andrewes

The North Aisle was built in 1853 to designs by Raphael Brandon. His first proposal of 1849 was to have an aisle extending the full length along the north side of the church. This was approved in January 1850, and a lithograph of the church according to this design was printed with an invitation to subscribed. It was estimated that it would cost £1000, and within a year £800 had been raised. In March 1851 a number of subscribers had agreed to guarantee a further £200 should it be needed (each being liable to £22.10s) and a full Repost was presented to the Parish on these proposal for ‘pulling down the North Wall and rebuilding the North Aisle’.

After it had been agreed it was realised that the eastern wall of the new north aisle would overshadow the houses in Free School Lane, and the question of ancient rights might be raised by their owners. One of the houses was owned by Mr Thomas Mortlock, of Mortlock’s Bank (in Benet Street at the bottom of Peas Hill, until recently a branch of Barclays). He was initially agreeable, but then changed his mind, and objected, suggesting that the church extend the South Aisle instead. Mortlock had a reputation for being litigious, so rather than risk the expense of a threatened claim, Brandon was asked if the length of the aisle could be shortened, and its width increased. Brandon agreed that it was possible, but that ‘the objection to such a modification ... is that it will not look so well, as there will be a deficiency in length in the view of the church from Benet Street’. However the modification was made and accepted, and had the benefit that it would ‘cost less money, [and that] all interference with the Chancel (of the integrity of which the College required security) [would be] avoided’.

So in April 1852 tenders were invited for the building. Four were received, the lowest being for £954 from Mr Simon Oates. This was accepted on condition that it would be according to the architect’s specification and within the sum quoted. Within days the architect sent letters of alarm concerning the reputation and abilities of Mr Oates, but the parish did not withdraw the offer. However nothing could proceed without the agreement of Mr Mortlock to the new plans, and this was not forthcoming until the following March (1853).

At this point the vicar, Mr Pullen, who was one of the guarantors, discovered that the guarantee of £22.10s was not a fixed liability, but that it could be for more. On April 13 he resigned from the Buildings Committee with the veiled threat that ‘I am anxious that I should not consider myself, nor be held, bound by any previous decision the committee may have made ...’ This further prevented the start of any works, until the committee had negotiated that Mr Pullen’s personal liability was limited to the £22.10s to which he thought he had originally agreed. By April 23 he was back on board, giving the whole project his blessing.

However, on June 15 Mr Simon Oates expressed concerns that he would find it difficult to work under the strictures imposed by the requirement to follow the exact specifications of the architect and found that ‘he must beg to decline the contract’. The other builders who had tendered were immediately contacted and submitted new tenders. All were over the £1000 limit, and as a precautionary measure the guarantors were anxiously invited to confirm their commitment.

Finally on July 13th the builder Mr Bell’s quotation of £1100 was accepted, with his offer of further reductions.  ‘If lead covering to the roof is omitted and Portmadoc slates are substituted [we] will make a reduction of £125, [and] if Combe Down Bath stone is used in lieu of Horsely Castle [Derbyshire] [we] will make a deduction of £25’.

By March 1854 there had been an expenditure of £1158, so presumable it was already built by then. The final account of March 1855 was for £1182.

The architect, Raphael Brandon, was an important figure in the revival of Gothic architecture. He and his brother Arthur, were the authors of three very influential books on medieval parish church architecture.

“The most important of these is Parish Churches (1848), which consists of a series of perspective views of sixty-three churches selected from most of the counties of England, accompanied by plans of each drawn to a uniform scale and a short textual description. Their Analysis of Gothic Architecture (1847) consists of a collection of more than 700 examples of doors, windows, and other details of existing ecclesiastical architecture compiled from actual measurements taken from little-known parish churches throughout the country, with remarks on the various classes of items. The last of the series, Open Timber Roofs of the Middle Ages (1849), is a collection of perspective and geometric and detail drawings of thirty-five of the best roofs found in different parish churches in eleven different English counties, with an introduction containing information on the timber roofing of the middle ages. The drawings given show at a glance the form and principle of construction of each roof. The work serves the one useful and necessary purpose of showing practically and constructively what the builders of the middle ages really did with the materials they had at hand, and how all those materials, whatever they were, were made to harmonise. (The Builder 35 [1877], 1051)

(DNB Online)

This last is of particular interest in that the roof of the north aisle is frequently commented upon. However a study of his three books offers no particular inspiration or model of the roof as found in St Bene’t’s.

(These notes are based on the Minutes of the Church Fabric Committee, 1849-1882 (Cambridgeshire County Record Office, P25/8/6))

The figures in the north aisle

The coats of arms and scroll texts held by the king/angels/elders in the north aisle are starting from the East end North / South are

The various arms are all related to the foundation of the College by the Guild of Corpus Christi, based at St Bene’t’s and the Guild of St Mary, based at Great St Mary’s. Tangmere and Henry of Lancaster were both generous benefactors of the Corpus Christi Guild, which in the 1349 started a fund to found the college. At some stage in the late eleventh century Edward of Cambridge and his mother gave the advowson of the church to St Alban’s Abbey, but by 1279 it had been passed to the Argentine family. Henry de Tangmere and others bought the advowson from the Argentine family for Guild of Corpus Christi and it was presented to the college on its foundation in 1352. Why the arms of Selby Abbey are represented has yet to be established.

The various arms are all related to the foundation of the College by the Guild of Corpus Christi, based at St Bene’t’s and the Guild of St Mary, based at Great St Mary’s. Tangmere and Henry of Lancaster were both generous benefactors of the Corpus Christi Guild, which in the 1349 started a fund to found the college. At some stage in the late eleventh century Edward of Cambridge and his mother gave the advowson of the church to St Alban’s Abbey, but by 1279 it had been passed to the Argentine family. Henry de Tangmere and others bought the advowson from the Argentine family for Guild of Corpus Christi and it was presented to the college on its foundation in 1352. Why the arms of Selby Abbey are represented has yet to be established.