Southwell Minster

Southwell Minster
Basic information
Location	Southwell
Full name	Cathedral and Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
County	Nottinghamshire
Country	England
Ecclesiastical information
Denomination	Church of England
Province	York
Diocese	Southwell and Nottingham
Diocese created	1884
Website	www.southwell minster.org.uk
Building information
Dates built	c.1108-c13.00
Architectural style	Romanesque, Gothic
Towers	3
Spires	2

Southwell Minster (pronounced /ˈsʌðəl/) pronounced (listen) (help·info) is a minster and cathedral, in the English town of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, six miles away from Newark-on-Trent and thirteen miles from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.

It is considered an outstanding example of Norman and Early English architecture.^{[citation needed]} The distinctive pyramidal spires of lead (or Rhenish caps or "pepperpot" spires as they are known locally), the only example of their kind in the UK,^{[citation needed]} uniquely overlap the footprint of the tower walls and are particularly noteworthy.

History

Mediæval

The font and nave

The central tower: the round-arched Norman Romanesque style contrasts with the Gothic parts of the building.

The pulpitum from the quire

The earliest church on the site is believed to have been founded in 627 by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, on a visit to the town when he was baptising believers in the River Trent. This legend is commemorated in the Minster's baptistry window.^[1]

In 956 King Eadwig gave a gift of land in Southwell to Oskytel, Archbishop of York, on which a Minster church was established. The Norman Domesday Book of 1086 recorded Southwell manor in great detail, and the Norman reconstruction of Southwell Minster began in 1108, probably as a gradual rebuilding of the Anglo-Saxon church, starting (as was usual) at the East end so that the high altar could come into service as soon as possible, the Saxon building being dismantled as work progressed. Many of the stones of this earlier Saxon church were reused in the construction of the Norman one. The tessellated floor and late 11th century tympanum in the North Transept are the only pieces of the earlier, Saxon building remaining intact. Work on the nave began after 1120 and the building was completed by c. 1150.

The entrance to the chapter house with the famous carved foliage

The Minster was built partly as an attached church of the Archbishop of York's Palace (which stood next door and is now ruined). It served the Archbishop as a place of worship and was also a collegiate body of theological learning, hence its designation as a minster. The minster still draws its choir from the nearby school with which it is associated.

The Norman quire was replaced with an Early English building in 1234 because it was too small. The octagonal chapter house, built in 1286 complete with vault in Decorated Gothic style and naturalistic carving of foliage (a masterpiece of 13th century stonecarving including several Green Men), completed the cathedral. The elaborately carved "pulpitum" or quire screen was built in 1350.

Reformation and Civil War

The cathedral suffered less than many others in the English Reformation.^{[citation needed]}

Southwell is where King Charles the First was captured during the English Civil War. The fighting saw the church seriously damaged and the nave is said to have been used as stabling. The adjoining palace was almost completely destroyed, first by Scottish troops and then by the local people, with only the hall of the Archbishop remaining as a ruined shell. The Minster's financial accounts show that extensive repairs were necessary after this period.

18th century

On 5 November 1711, during a terrible storm, the southwest spire was struck by lightning, and the resulting fire spread to the nave, crossing and tower destroying roofs, bells, clock and organ. By 1720 repairs had been completed, now giving a flat panelled ceiling to the nave and transepts.

Victorian

West front

In 1805 the Newstead lectern, once owned by Newstead Abbey, thrown into the Abbey fishpond by the monks to save it during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, then later discovered when the lake was dredged, was given to the Minster by Archdeacon Kaye. Sir Henry Galley Knight in 1818 gave the Minster four panels of 16th-century Flemish glass (which now fill the bottom part of the East window) which he had acquired from a Parisian pawnshop.

In danger of collapse, the "pepperpot" spires were removed in 1805 and only re-erected in 1879-1881. At this time of extensive restoration by Ewan Christian, an architect specialising in churches, the nave roof was also considered unsuitable due to its flatness^{[citation needed]} and was completely rebuilt in the current peaked version, and the choir was redesigned and refitted.

Diocesan history

In 1884 Southwell Minster finally became a cathedral proper for Nottinghamshire (excluding the City of Nottingham) and a part of nearby Derbyshire (an event whose centenary was commemorated with a royal visit to hand out the Maundy money): the Diocese included the City of Derby until it was divided in 1927, when the Diocese of Derby was formed. Dr George Ridding, the first Bishop of Southwell, designed and paid for the grant of Arms now used as the Diocesan coat of arms. Its creation as a cathedral has led to confusion over the civic status of Southwell. Traditionally it was considered to be a city because of the presence of the cathedral, but in more modern times the traditional definition has not been recognised by government (see city status in the United Kingdom).

Current staff

• Dean: The Very Reverend John Arthur Guille, BTh Southampton
• Canon Pastor: The Reverend Canon Nigel John Coates, BSc MA Reading
• Canon Precentor: The Reverend Canon Jaqueline Dorian Jones, BD MTh London, AKC
• Canon Preceptor:The Reverend Canon Edward Pruen (Canon for Education and Learning)
• Priest Vicar :The Reverend Canon Professor Alison Milbank
• Bishop's Chaplin : The Reverend Canon Tony Evans

• The Venerable Canon Robin Turner CB, DL

Music and liturgy

Much of the worship at the Minster is led by the Minster Choir, a traditional cathedral choir of boys and men, directed by the Rector Chori(Literally "The Ruler of the Choir"), Paul Hale. Choristers are educated at the Minster School, which is unusual among choir schools as it is in the state sector. The Minster Choir has recently attracted international attention thanks to previous head chorister Ben Inman, who was a member of The Choirboys, a "boy band" comprising three cathedral choristers.

There is also a Girls' Choir and the Minster Chorale, a choir of adult volunteers.

The liturgical life of the Minster follows, naturally, the rites of the Church of England. Unlike many other cathedrals, it has resisted many of the changes in liturgy over the 20th century, and continues to use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for the main Choral Eucharist on Sunday.

The Cathedral Choir:

The choir of men and boy choristers has a long and illustrious tradition stretching back over a thousand years. The choristers have always been educated at the Minster School; the gentlemen of the choir are either professional layclerks, who work in Southwell or nearby, or younger choral scholars who sing in the choir for perhaps just a year between leaving school and going to university.

In recent years, the choir has broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 3, have recorded well-reviewed CDs, have toured in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Switzerland, have filmed Christmas programmes for ITV and BBC, and have given world premières of specially commissioned works such as Paul Patterson’s Southwell Millennium Mass. Their next tour will be to Puglia in Italy, May 2010.

At present the Cathedral Choir has:

Choristers

• 1 Head Chorister - Embroided Tippett and Head Chorister's Medal
• 1 Deputy Head Chorister - Embroided Tippett and Deputy Head Chorister's Medal
• 0 Tippett Boys - Plain Tippett and Chorister's Medal
• 4 Senior Singing Boys - Chorister's Medal
• 5 Junior Singing Boys
• 3 Probationary Choristers

• 10 Juniors - whom don't sing with the main choir.

Lay Clerks/Choral Scholars and Vicars Choral

• Mr Stephen Power - Alto Dec
• Mr Richard Pratt - Tenor Dec
• Mr Guy Turner - Bass Dec
• Mr Nicholas Thorpe - Alto Can (Senior LC)
• Mr Michael Gregory - Tenor Can
• The Reverend Canon Jeremy Pemberton - Bass Can

Auxiliary Lay Clerks

• Mr Tim Bacon - Alto Dec
• Mr Christopher Goodall - Tenor Dec
• Mr Christopher Gray - Bass Dec
• Mr Peter Anthony - Alto Can
• Mr Ben Inman [shared]- Tenor Can
• Mr James Beddoe [shared]- Tenor Can
• Mr Sam Hucklebridge - Bass Can

• Note - there would normally be a Head Chorister, Deputy Head Chorister and 2 Tippett Boys.
• A Tippet is a small cape for the 4 most senior boys of the choir - the Head and Deputy head Chorister's Tippetts have crosses on the back.

The Cathedral Girls' Choir

The Minster Girls’ Choir was formed in February 2005 by the then Assistant Organist Mr Simon Bell. The choir is made up of eighteen choristers, under the direction of Philip White-Jones, the Assistant Director of Music (Simon Bell's Replacement), and is designed to complement the Boys’ Choir which has been singing at the Minster for hundreds of years.

The girls are drawn exclusively from the Minster school, beginning at year 8 and progressing through to year 13. They rehearse three times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. They currently sing alternately between Evensong on Mondays at 5.45 pm and the 9.30 am Family Eucharist on Sundays.

The choir’s repertoire consists of music written for upper voices. Including music by composers such as Jean Langlais, Charles Wood and George Dyson. In September 2007, the choir sang a commissioned anthem by Andrew Parnell, a former chorister at Southwell, as part of the service of installation of the Dean. Their first tour will be to Stavanger in Norway in October 2009, this will include concerts and services.

The Minster Chorale

The Minster Chorale is an adult voluntary choir that sings frequent services throughout the year in the Minster. It consists of up to thirty members who meet to rehearse most Friday evenings during school term times. Currently directed by the Minster's Assistant Director of Music, Philip White-Jones, the Minster Chorale was founded in 1994 by Philip Rushforth and Paul Hale.

The Choir sings a cross-section of the whole repertoire of traditional Cathedral music, including works by Palestrina, Byrd, Mozart, Stanford and Howells.

During the year, the Chorale deputizes for the Minster Choir at half-term, and additionally sings at many of the evening Eucharist services on high feast days, such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Ascension Day. The Chorale takes its share of Christmas duties, singing at Midnight Mass.

The Chorale’s high reputation means that it is also invited to perform occasional concerts and services away from the Minster. In recent years, the Chorale has sung in Rievaulx Abbey, St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Warwick, and Uppingham Parish Church. In July 2005, the Chorale ventured abroad for the first time, singing services at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. The choir’s regular accompanist is the Minster’s Organ Scholar.

List of Rectores Chori

Assistant organists and Assistant Directors of Music

Assistant Organists

• L. F. Baguley 1897 - 1902^[2]
• Sydney Harry Franz Weale 1903 - 1904 (formerly assistant organist at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent)

• Peter Wood 1958 - 1994
• Philip Rushforth 1994 - 2002 (later organist of Chester Cathedral)
• Simon Bell 2002 - 2008 (later Assistant Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral)

Assistant Directors of Music:

• Philip White-Jones 2008 - current

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also the List of Organ Scholars.

Gallery

Stonework	The famous Presepe Window	INRI	Window
the Interior	One of the misericords in the quire

See also

• Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
• English Gothic architecture
• Romanesque architecture
• Church of England

References

1. ^ As mentioned by Daniel Defoe, (who visited in 1725) in his journal A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain
2. ^ Dictionary of Organs and Organists. First Edition. 1912

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southwell Minster

• Collection of pictures of Southwell Minster
• Southwell Minster website
• A history of the choristers of Southwell Minster
• Details and pictures of the screen organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
• Details of the nave organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
• Guide to Southwell Minster with a History of the College of Secular Canons, Grevile Mairis Livett, Printed by John Whittingham, Southwell, 1883

Coordinates: 53°4′36″N 0°57′14″W / 53.07667°N 0.95389°W / 53.07667; -0.95389