ST PAULS CATHEDRAL LONDON, PAGE NINE

The bells of St Pauls Cathedral, pealed out the Te Deum in triumph on the 6th July 1553 when Queen Mary of England acceeded to the throne. London and the whole nation rejoiced.

While the bells of St Pauls Cathedral London were ringing in jubilation, amid the enthusiasm and unrestrained delight being shown by the citizens of London at Mary's accession to the throne, a Dutchman climbed to the very top of the lofty steeple.

On reaching the summit he delighted the crowd even more by waving a flag and setting light to a blaze of torches.

By the end of the year the Sacrifice of the Mass had been re-established and was once again being offered in St Pauls Cathedral London. The nation certainly rejoiced at this change.

Most of the country's population were extremely angry with the ruling powers at that time. Not only were they revolted by the sheer greed of their rapacious rulers who were greedy to the extreme, they had resented losing the ancient Roman Catholic Religion of their forefathers and having it replaced by services which were completely alien and meaningless to them.

However, many battles lay ahead. This was to prove to be a lull before the storm, for a fierce contest was inevitable and right at the very centre of those struggles would be St Pauls Cathedral London.

Paul's Cross, which stood within the Cathedral grounds, would in the coming months be used as a venue by preachers with very conflicting views.

During these months several magnificent ceremonial processions took place within it's precincts. On St. Catherine's Day for instance, there were pageants, processions and stately ceremonials, with special emphasis being placed on the memory of Katherine of Aragon, the mother of Queen Mary.

On 10th March 1554, William May, the Dean of St Pauls Cathedral London, who was a very strong supporter of the Reformed Doctrines, was replaced as Dean, by the staunch Roman Catholic John Feckenham.

Feckenham, was a well respected man, known for his holiness and kindness and although he was a die-hard Roman Catholic, he was ill at ease with some of the measures which had been put in place against the Church of England.

John Feckenham used his influence with Queen Mary of England to mitigate the punishments being meted out to Protestants, even gaining pardons for some of them.

It was he who Mary sent to Lady Jane Grey, with the task of preparing the Nine Day Queen for death, and also risked the wrath of Mary, in his persistent pleading on behalf of her half sister, the Princess Elizabeth Tudor, in order to obtain her release from prison, when she was being confined within the Tower of London.

The greatest congregation to have ever assembled in St Pauls Cathedral London, gathered there on 30th September 1554, to welcome Queen Mary of England and the future Philip II of Spain on their visit to the Cathedral. This followed their wedding at Winchester Cathedral on 29th July previous.

The great Rood had been set up with a great ceremony in preperation for the event.

But just as great, according to Machyn, was the congregation which assembled there again to welcome Cardinal Pole, the Papal Legate, who landed at Baynard Castle Wharf, Blackfriars, on the first Sunday of Advent 1554, to be conducted in a great ceremonial procession to St Pauls Cathedral London.

Three days earlier, on the Feast of St. Andrew, he had absolved England and received the country back into Communion with Rome and the Roman Catholic Religion, during a ceremony held at Westminster Hall.

With the Legates cross being carried before him, the Papal Legate was accompanied in this triumphal procession by Queen Mary of England and Philip II of Spain, one on either side of him.

The Lord Mayor and the Aldermen, the Bishops, the Lord Chancellor (Stephen Gardiner), nobles and knights, all took their places to complete this splendid spectacle.

In part of his sermon, which he delivered at Paul's Cross, Stephen Gardiner, penetentially retracted on his book, De vera obedientia (his vindication of royal supremacy), and part was delivered in elation, ending the sermon with the words, "Verily this is the great day of the Lord."

These were indeed turbulent times, not only in the City of London but throughout the whole Kingdom. The citizens of London on the death of the young King Edward VI in 1553 and against his wishes, had welcomed Mary Tudor as the new Queen of England.

Her marriage to the future King Philip II of Spain however, was extremely unpopular with her English subjects, both adherents to the Roman Catholic Religion and Protestants alike, with insurrections breaking out throughout the land when she insisted on marrying him.

What became known as the Marian Persecutions began over a five day period in February 1555 and continued until a few days before her death in 1558, by which time a total of two hundred and eighty four Protestants had been executed.

However, historians disagree as to how many were acually executed during her reign, but John Foxe in his extremely Protestant biassed work, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, vilified her unmercifully, just five years after her death.

The first of those Protestant martyrs was John Rogers, the Vicar of St. Sepulchre in London and a prebendary of St Pauls Cathedral London, who on Mary's accession to the throne, had preached at Paul's Cross against the Roman Catholic Faith.

He countenanced instead, the doctrine that had been taught in King Edward's days and warned his listeners against what he termed "Pestilent Popery, Idolatory and Superstition."

He had assisted William Tyndale, under whose influence he had abandoned the Roman Catholic Religion, in the translation of the Bible into English.

With regards to St Pauls Cathedral London, there is one passage in the history of this period, to which we can put our stamp of approval.

It was a proclamation, issued by the Lord Mayor (White) on August 5th 1554, concerning the sacriligious use to which St Pauls Cathedral London was being put.

The middle aisle of Old St Pauls Cathedral was known as Paul's walk and was used as a market place, public thoroughfare and was generally used as a meeting place for the conducting of financial and business transactions. It was the place where information was unofficially passed from person to person.

It was in essence, the London grapevine of it's day, where people walked up and down in search of the latest news and gossip.

"Paul's Walkers," as they were called, were the people who congregated there to hear and keep up with all the fresh news and gossip. The "News Mongers," were the people who gathered there to deliver it.

The following, from Guildhall Records is the Lord Mayors Proclamation....

"Forasmuch as the material temples or churches of God were first ordained and instituted and made in all places for the lawful and devout assembly of the people there to lift up their hearts and to laud and praise Almighty God and to hear His Divine Service and most holy Word and Gospel sincerely said, sung, and taught, and not to be used as market places or other profane places, or common thoroughfares with carriage of things; and that now of late years many of the inhabitants of this City of London, and other people repairing to the same, have and yet do commonly use and accustom themselves very unseemly and unreverently; the more is the pity to make the common carriage of great vessels full of ale and beer, great baskets full of bread, fish, fruit, and such other things, fardels [bundles] of stuff and other gross wares through the Cathedral Church of St. Paul within the said City of London, and some in leading of horses, mules, or other beasts through the same unreverently, to the great dishonour and displeasure of Almighty God, and the great grief also and offence of all good and well-disposed persons. Be it therefore for remedy and reformation thereof ordained, enacted, and established by the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons in this present Common Council assembled and by the authority of the same, according to the privileges and customs of this ancient city that no manner of person or persons, either free of the said city or foreign, of what estate, condition, or degree soever he or they be, do at any time from henceforth carry, or convey, or cause to be conveyed or carried through the said Cathedral Church of St. Paul any manner of great vessel or vessels, basket or baskets, with bread, ale, beer, flesh, fruit, fish, fardells of stuff, wood billets, faggots, mule, horse, or other beasts, or any other like thing or things, upon pain of forfeiture and losing for every such his or their offence iii_s._ iiij_d._, and for the second like offence vi_s._ viij_d._, and for the third offence x_s._, and for every other offence after such third time to forfeit and lose like sum, and to suffer imprisonment by the space of two whole days and nights without bail or mainprise.

The one moiety of all which pains and penalties shall be to the use of the poor called Christ's Hospital within Newgate for the time being, and the other moiety thereof shall be to the use of him or them that will sue for the same in any Court of Record within same City by bill, original plaint, or information, to be commenced and sued in the name of the chamberlains of the said city for the time being, wherein none essoyne [exemption] or wages of law for the defendants shall be admitted or allowed.

"God save the King and Queen."

(Guildhall Records.)

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