Transcribed from the [1852] George Prichard edition by DavidPrice, . Transcribed from BritishLibrary scans.
A HISTORY
OF
CHESTER CATHEDRAL:
WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF THEBISHOPS
AND DEANS.
BY
A Member of the Chester Archæological Society.
“On entering a Cathedral, I am filled withdevotion and with awe; I am lost to the actualities that surroundme, and my whole being expands into the infinite; earth and air,nature and art, all swell up into eternity, and the only sensibleimpression left is, that I am nothing.”—Coleridge.
CHESTER:
GEORGE PRICHARD, BRIDGE STREET ROW,
AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
VERY REVEREND THE DEAN OFCHESTER,
THEFOLLOWING HISTORY OF THE
Cathedral Church
IS (BY HISKIND PERMISSION) RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
HIS MOSTOBEDIENT SERVANT,
THE PUBLISHER.
p. 1A VISITTO THE CATHEDRAL.
When we reflect upon the momentousand happy results which have always followed the introduction ofChristianity amongst a people;—how it has ever proved anup-lifting and progressive power; influencing man in the holiestaffections and most inward laws of his moral being; extending itsbenign agency through all the relationships of social life, andacting in various methods as a living principle in thecommunity;—we think that in ascribing to our religioushistory a deeper significance and importance than appertains toany other department of inquiry, we are only claiming for it aposition which may be established by a wide induction offacts.
The condition of a nation, socially and politically, is to agreat extent decided by the character of its religious teachingand worship. The history of our own country, and that ofevery other in the world, affords many striking illustrations ofthe fact. Many instances might be quoted where theconnection is remarkably verified, and we venture to ascribe thep. 2proudposition of England mainly to the operation of its Christianfaith.
The churches of Britain were the outbirths of its religiouslife. They were reared by the earnest piety of ourforefathers. Their history presents an inviting sphere ofinvestigation, from the valuable aid they furnish, in tracing thesuccessive incidents and onward development of Christianity;which soon after its first promulgation, diffused a welcome lightover the Pagan darkness, which enveloped the primeval inhabitantsof our country.
The subject of the first introduction of Christian truth intoBritain, and who was the first herald em