11 October 2023

Daily prayers in Ordinary Time
with USPG: (136) 11 October 2023

The Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Penkridge, Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and this week began with the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVIII, 8 October 2023).

Today (11 October), the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers the lives and witness of Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking, 675, and James the Deacon, companion of Paulinus, 7th century.

Later today, I hope to join clerical colleagues and friends in the Milton Keynes area in a visit to the Willien Lake area. But, before the day begins, I am taking some time early this morning for prayer and reflection.

The Church recently celebrated Saint Michael and All Angels last month (29 September). So in my reflections each morning this week I am continuing the Michaelmas theme of the last two weeks in this way:

1, A reflection on a church named after Saint Michael or his depiction in Church Art;

2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

In 1215, King John appointed Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, and his successors as Dean of Penkridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Collegiate Church of Saint Michael and All Angels, Penkridge, Staffordshire:

The Collegiate Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Penkridge, Staffordshire, like many parish churches, displays a framed list of incumbents, and at least two dozen of these are Archbishops of Dublin. Like many parish churches, the church in Penkridge displays a framed list of incumbents, and at least two dozen of these are Archbishops of Dublin, who were the Deans of Penkridge.

Penkridge was outside the normal jurisdictions of the Diocese of Dublin, and it is barely mentioned in Archbishop John Allen’s Liber Niger. As a Royal Free Chapel, Penkridge also remained outside the diocesan structures of the Church of England, and was one of a handful of royal free churches or peculiars that were ecclesiastical islands within yet outside the Diocese of Lichfield.

Penkridge is a small market town with a population of about 8,500, halfway between Stafford and Wolverhampton, and about 20 km west of Lichfield. The Collegiate Church of Saint Michael and All Angels dominates the skyline of the town. The Deanery was once extremely wealthy, providing significant income for successive Archbishops of Dublin. The buildings around the church once included an infirmary for the sick and elderly, a guest house, a college that housed the priests, a chapter house and a refectory.

According to the Liber Niger, the Royal Free Chapel of Saint Michael and All Angels in Penkridge was founded by either King Eadred of Mercia (946-955), or his nephew, King Edgar (957-975). The Domesday Book shows a community at Penkridge in 1086, including nine clerks or priests supported by land owned by the crown.

The majority of royal free chapels in England were in the West Midlands, especially within the boundaries of the Diocese of Lichfield. Many had their origins in the churches of the ancient demesnes of the Saxon kings, but they are first mentioned in 1214, when Pope Innocent III guaranteed the immunity of King John and his royal chapels.

Penkridge was a Royal Free Chapel with its own dean in 1215. Three months after Magna Carta was signed that year, King John appointed Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin (1212-1228), and his successors as Dean of Penkridge, and granted them the Manor of Penkridge.

The archbishop soon divided the Manor of Penkridge, giving two-thirds to his nephew, Andrew le Blund, and keeping the rest as the Deanery Manor. When the deanery became vacant in 1226, he appointed himself Dean of Penkridge, left Dublin and moved to live in the Deanery in Penkridge. He remained there until 1228, demolished the Old Saxon minster and began building a great new collegiate church.

A head stoop on a chancel arch is identified locally as an image of Archbishop Henry de Loundres (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

When Archbishop Henry died, he was succeeded in 1229 by Archbishop Luke, a former chaplain to the Bishop of Lichfield who also became Dean of Penkridge. However, the king continued to hold the right to appoint the canons of Penkridge whenever the See of Dublin was vacant. In 1253, Henry III granted this right to William de Kilkenny, Archdeacon of Coventry, then in the Diocese of Lichfield. He had been Bishop of Ossory (1231-1232), and later became Bishop of Ely (1254-1256).

In 1257, Archbishop Fulk de Sanford of Dublin obtained a Papal Bull confirming his rights in Penkridge and petitioned the Pope to make the union of the deanery and the archbishopric complete and absolute. Another Papal Bull in 1259 confirmed that in future no one should be appointed dean except the Archbishop of Dublin and his successors. The offices of Archbishop of Dublin and Dean of Penkridge were united in perpetuity, and this union continued until at least the Reformation.

However, the church retained its status as a Royal Free Chapel. The crown continued to appoint the canons when the archbishopric was vacant, and the parishioners were instructed not to allow the Bishop of Lichfield, his officials, or the Archdeacon of Stafford to enter Penkridge.

In 1281, Penkridge was one of the seven royal free chapels that the Bishop of Lichfield recognised were exempt from his jurisdiction and directly subject to the king. But the Archbishops of Dublin seldom visited Penkridge, and the dean’s peculiar jurisdiction was often exercised by officials known as the ‘vicegerent’ or the commissary.

A mediaeval law required able-bodied men to practice archery in churchyards on Sundays. The grooves in many of the stones of Penkridge church were scratched by archers sharpening arrowheads. The graffiti on the walls includes the names of some of these archers, and in one place there appears to be a mitre – is this a reference to the Archbishops of Dublin as Deans of Penkridge?

In 1530, a commission appointed by Henry VIII found that the Dean of the Collegiate Church of Penkridge was the Archbishop of Dublin, John Allen (1530-1534). His clergy at Penkridge included a sub-dean, seven prebendaries, two resident canons, six vicars, one high deacon, one sub-deacon and a sacrist. In addition, the people of Penkridge employed their own ‘Morrow Mass’ priest to say daily Mass for the parishioners.

Because Penkridge was not a monastic foundation, it survived the dissolution of the monasteries at the Reformation. But while George Browne was still Archbishop of Dublin and Dean of Penkridge (1536-1554), the church lost its collegiate status under the Chantries Act of 1547.

By then, Browne had leased much of the property in Penkridge, mainly to Edward Littleton of Pillaton. In 1548, these estates were granted by the crown to John Dudley (1504-1553), Earl of Warwick (later Duke of Northumberland). Dudley’s lands were forfeited to the crown in 1553, but the leases were still held by Edward Littleton, and at his death in 1558 the College House passed to his son, Sir Edward Littleton.

The Littleton family of Pillaton Hall continued to consolidate their interests in Penkridge. The college and its possessions remained in their hands for generations, and the clergy they appointed remained outside the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Lichfield for almost 300 years.

However, the peculiar jurisdiction of the college of Penkridge was not abolished in the Reformation legislation, and the church, which was the centre of a large parish, was not absorbed into the Diocese of Lichfield. The lord of the manor assumed the role of chief official of the peculiar jurisdiction. After 1585, this was the head of the Littleton family, while the Archbishops of Dublin continued to claim the right of visitation.

Soon after his consecration, James Margetson, Archbishop of Dublin (1661-1663), carried out a visitation in Penkridge. Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop of Dublin (1694-1702) and founder of Marsh’s Library, allowed William Lloyd, Bishop of Lichfield (1692-1699), to visit Penkridge – but only if he visited in the name of the Archbishop of Dublin.

Marsh’s conditions caused consternation among the churchwardens, and Edward Littleton protested to the Bishop of Lichfield. When Lloyd came to Penkridge, he dined with Littleton at Pillaton Hall, but returned to Lichfield ‘without any pretence of visiting.’

There are so many monuments to the Littleton family inside Penkridge Church that at times it seems like a Littleton mausoleum. When Sir Edward Littleton, 4th baronet, died in 1812, his Penkridge estates passed to his great-nephew, Edward Walhouse, who took the name Littleton. He was MP for Staffordshire, campaigned for Catholic Emancipation and in 1833 was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. Littleton resigned when he found he could not keep promises he made to Daniel O’Connell. His wife was a niece of the Duke of Wellington, and he was given the title of Lord Hatherton.

The Littleton family continued to appoint the incumbents of Penkridge to the Royal Peculiar until 1858, when the peculiar was abolished and a separate parish was formed in Penkridge. The Lichfield Diocesan Registry shows that the last official of the Deanery, the Revd James Alexander Fell (1825-1897), continued to exercise the jurisdiction after 1858.

The last time an Archbishop of Dublin visited Penkridge was in July 1934 – John Gregg (1873-1961) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1920 until he was transferred to Armagh in 1939. However, he made no attempt to recover the ancient rights of the Archbishops of Dublin as Deans of Penkridge.

The patronage of the living remained in the Littleton family until 1990, when it was transferred to the Lichfield Diocesan Board of Patronage.

Archbishop Henry de Loundres began building the Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Penkridge in 1225 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 11: 1-4 (NRSVA):

1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

The church in Penkridge lost its collegiate status under the Chantries Act of 1547, but the Archbishops of Dublin continued to assert their rights as Deans (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayer:

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘After the Storm.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (11 October 2023, International Day for Natural Disaster) invites us to pray in these words:

God of hope and mercy, we lift up to you all victims of natural disasters and those responding with assistance and aid. We pray too for the preventative work taking place so the risk of devastation is reduced.

The nave roof is the most notable feature of the church, and is described as ‘the church’s pride and beauty’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

We praise and thank you, O Christ, for this sacred feast:
for here we receive you,
here the memory of your passion is renewed,
here our minds are filled with grace,
and here a pledge of future glory is given,
when we shall feast at that table where you reign
with all your saints for ever.

There are so many monuments to the Littleton family inside the Church that it times it seems like a Littleton family mausoleum (Photographs: Patrick Comerford)

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

The grave of the Revd the Hon Cecil James Littleton (1850-1912), Vicar of Penkridge (1880-1893) and a younger brother of the 3rd Lord Hatherton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The archers of Penkridge sharpened their arrows on the stonework of the church and left their marks on the walls ... and perhaps even a mitre representing the Archbishops of Dublin (Photographs: Patrick Comerford)

Bishopthorpe Palace
near York: home of
the Archbishops of York
for almost 800 years

Bishopthorpe Palace on the banks of the River Ouse is the official residence of the Archbishop of York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Patrick Comerford

One afternoon last week, we took the 3 or 4 km journey from York, where we were staying off Bishopthorpe Road, south to the suburban village of Bishopthorpe, to see Bishopthorpe Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of York, to see the village churches and pubs, and to walk along the banks of the River Ouse.

Bishopthorpe Palace has been the official residence of the Archbishops of York since 1241, apart from 10 years during the Cromwellian era from 1650 until the Restoration in 1660. The Palace is set in a wooded, rural area, 5 km south of York, on the bank of the River Ouse. It is a Grade I listed building and has a gatehouse, stables, brewhouse and brewster’s cottage.

The village is named in the Domesday Book and referred to as Torp, Thorpe or Badetorps in various translations. It was known as Thorp-super-Usam or Thorpe-on-Ouse in 1194.

The Prior and Gilbertine monks of Saint Andrew’s at Fishergate, York, built the first church there in 1202 and dedicated it to their patron saint. The name Thorp-super-Usam therefore gradually superseded by Andrewthorpe or Thorpe St Andrew.

Bishopthorpe Palace was first built in 1241-1250 by Archbishop Walter de Gray (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Bishopthorpe Palace was originally built in 1241-1250 by Archbishop Walter de Gray after he bought the then village of Thorpe St Andrew (St Andrewthorpe) in 1226. He demolished the old manor house and used some of its local stone in the undercroft of the new palace and chapel he built by the river.

The archbishop conveyed this property to the Dean and Chapter of York, ensuring it remained with successive Archbishops and did not fall into the king's hands during a vacancy.

The house became known as Bishopthorpe Palace, and the village became known as Bishopthorpe. The earliest written record of the name Bishopthorpe, spelt ‘Biscupthorpe,’ appears by 1275.

Bishopthorpe was the site of great council in 1323 to agree a truce between Edward II and Robert the Bruce, whose forces had been harrying Yorkshire after the Battle of Bannockburn.

Over the years, the Palace has seen many changes. Archbishop John Thoresby extended his private rooms in 1365, and Archbishop Thomas Rotherham doubled the size of the living quarters in 1480-1500 when he added a red brick north wing and upgraded the kitchens.

The Enclosure Act in 1757 saw common land enclosed, placing restrictions on where local people could graze their animals and affected Bishopthorpe.

The Palace was remodelled in the Gothic Revival style by Thomas Atkinson of York in 1763-1769 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Archbishop Robert Hay Drummond transformed the Palace in the 1760s by building the now familiar ‘Strawberry Gothick’ west front and gatehouse. The architect John Carr designed the Gothic stable block and gatehouse in 1761-1769.

Around the same time, the Palace was remodelled in the Gothic Revival style by the architect Thomas Atkinson of York in 1763-1769. The front of Bishopthorpe Palace was rebuilt with a new entrance hall and drawing room, and the drawing room has several portraits of previous archbishops.

Controversy surrounding the 1832 Reform Bill saw rioters from York attempt to invade the Palace, angered by initial lack of support from Archbishop Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt. Archbishop Harcourt made further additions to the north wing in 1835 and also had rooms built above the chapel. He built a new village school and the Almshouses in 1846.

Since 1900, successive Archbishops of York have made more effective use of the space in Bishopthorpe Palace, designating separate areas for personal apartments, public rooms and offices for the archbishop’s staff.

The clock on the Gatehouse was made for Archbishop Cosmo Lang in 1913 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

The clock on the Gatehouse at the entrance to Bishopthorpe Palace, was made for Archbishop Cosmo Lang by W Potts & Sons in 1913. It has gilded numerals and hands painted in blue. The clock was restored by Smiths of Derby in 2013.

The first ‘Bishopthorpe Play’ or Bishopthorpe Pageant was staged in June 1928 in the grounds of the Bishopthorpe Palace in 1928. Further productions were held in 1930, 1954, 1956, 1965 and 1970.

Bishopthorpe Palace is a multi-functional place today. It is, primarily, the Archbishop’s home and office, and there are also working offices, meeting rooms, worship areas and living quarters. The Palace and its grounds are also used for charity days, retreats, receptions, village fetes, and dinners.

Parts of the village, including the Palace were designated a conservation area in 1989.

Many of the street names in the village recall past Archbishops of York, including: Ramsey Avenue (Michael Ramsey, 1956-1961), Maclagan Road (William Maclagan, 1891-1908), Lamplugh Crescent (Thomas Lamplugh, 1688-1691), Coggan Way (Donald Coggan, 1961-1974), Garbett Way (Cyril Garbett, 1942-1955), Temple Road (William Temple, 1929-1942), Lang Road (Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1909-1928), Vernon Close (Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt, 1808-1847), Drummond Way (Robert Hay Drummond, 1761-1776), Wolsey Drive (Thomas Wolsey, 1514-1530) and De Grey Place (Walter de Gray, 1216-1255).

The palace at Bishopthrope seen through the arch of the gatehouse (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

In addition to the palace at Bishopthorpe, the Archbishop’s Palace, north of York Minster in what is now Dean’s Park, was the residence of the mediaeval Archbishops of York.

Roger de Pont L’Évêque, Archbishop of York in 1154-1181, rebuilt York Minster, after a fire in 1137 began building the palace. The college and chapel of Saint Mary and All Angels, also known as Saint Sepulchre, was built next to the palace in 1179. The palace grounds were extended up to the city walls in 1268.

While the archbishops lived mainly at Bishopthorpe, the palace in York served a wide variety of functions. Courts sat there in 1275, while Edward III based his court at the palace in 1327-1328 while he was leading a campaign against the Scots. The palace also housed the archbishop’s prison by 1385. A new chamber was added in 1400 so that Henry IV could watch a tournament held in the palace grounds. Richard III stayed at the palace in 1483, as did Henry VII in 1487, and Margaret Tudor in 1503.

During the Tudor Reformation, Saint Sepulchre’ s College was dissolved in 1547 at the Dissolution of the monastic houses. Thomas Young removed the lead from the palace roof in 1560 to pay for Grays Court, which he bought for his son George.

The palace in York was in ruins by 1616, and the grounds were sold to Arthur Ingram. He rebuilt part of the palace as his own house, and laid out gardens, including a fishpond, tennis court and bowling green. Charles I stayed in the house in 1642, but after Ingram’s death, his descendants divided the property into small tenements and let them out.

A theatre was built on the site of the tennis court in 1734. The former great hall of the palace was rebuilt as a riding school in 1780, and in 1785 it was the site of an early balloon ascent.

The former palace chapel in York has become the minster library and is known as the Old Palace (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Ingram’s house was largely in ruins by 1799. York Minster bought the whole site in 1814, demolished Ingram’s house and the riding school, and used the site for its stone yard. The palace’s former chapel was restored for use as the minster library, and is now known as the Old Palace.

The remainder of the site was laid out as the Deanery Gardens in 1823, when the demolition of some sheds revealed a 12th-century arcade from the original palace.

More recently, the grounds have become known as Dean’s Park, and the stone yard has moved to Deangate. The surviving arcade from the palace was rededicated in 1987 as a war memorial, and it has been Grade I listed since 1997.

A former Dean of Cork, William Connor Magee (1821-1891), a key figure in the debates about the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, was Bishop of Peterborough when he was appointed Archbishop of York, but he died only four months after his appointment. The present Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, is visiting Cork this week, and is the speaker at the annual Cork, Cloyne and Ross Clergy Away Days.

A surviving arcade from the palace at York Minster has been rededicated as a war memorial (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)