{"id":7985,"date":"2020-03-14T14:04:32","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T14:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/?p=7985"},"modified":"2020-03-14T14:04:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-14T14:04:34","slug":"canterbury-incidents-rats-in-organ-pipes-and-marketing-cold-baths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/canterbury-incidents-rats-in-organ-pipes-and-marketing-cold-baths\/","title":{"rendered":"Canterbury incidents – rats in organ pipes and marketing cold baths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Currently CCCU is open, however, we have been informed that the higher powers will be making a decision about the fate of university events, including the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2020 and other CKHH events, early next week. Moreover, with the UK government\u2019s statement today, things are moving swiftly. Consequently, I\u2019ll keep you informed as and when I have some concrete news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Feature this week – ceiling bosses in the Black Prince’s Chantry Chapel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turning\nto this week\u2019s report, I thought I would move to the early modern period and\nfirstly report on a talk I went to on Wednesday to members of the Canterbury\nHistorical and Archaeological Society [CHAS] by Dr David Shaw, a bibliophile\nand retired lecturer from the University of Kent. David has been heavily\ninvolved in cataloguing and other activities at Canterbury Cathedral Library\n& Archives for many years, and this cathedral connection was in some ways\nthe source of his lecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though he is especially interested in the cathedral\u2019s books, he has more recently turned his attention to the Dean & Chapter\u2019s treasurers\u2019 accounts. Concentrating on the period 1660 to 1700, he has been exploring matters of expenditure that relate to the newly restored library following Charles II\u2019s return from exile, but as he has worked through these accounts, he has been noting other interesting expenditure entries for his blog. As David explained, the Chapter\u2019s finances were the responsibility of two of the canons: the Canon Receiver, who took in receipts, and the Canon Treasurer, whose records cover the expenses, and these posts rotated among the cathedral canons annually, the accounting year running from St Katherine\u2019s Day to St Katherine\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interesting ideas here!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For\nthis lecture, David had decided for completeness that he needed to mention the\ncathedral\u2019s revenues, and he showed that in the 1660s the Canon Receiver spent\nmuch of his time seeking to recover arrears from the Chapter\u2019s various manors\nand other property, including, I spotted the Appledore fair. Furthermore, when\nsuch money did come in it was stored in the Treasurer\u2019s Chest, which today\nresides in the Vesturer\u2019s Office in the Wax Chamber, and for security it is a\nchest with three locks, a common system since the Middle Ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this chest the Canon Treasurer for that year would pay out the required monies, the first item in his accounts being the stipends to the dean and canons that were distributed at the four quarter days. The dean received considerably more as befitted his status and position, which was reflected in his accommodation, the exceedingly grand and substantial deanery. Next in the books are the payments to the choirmaster and ten choir boys , to be followed by the payments made to the schoolmaster, his deputy and the fifty King\u2019s scholars, who can still be seen in the precincts from their distinctive purple gowns. As David showed, all these men and boys are named in the records year in year out, which means it would be feasible to conduct a study of the individuals and families involved because certain Canterbury families were heavily involved in the cathedral community for several generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of my favourites<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also\nlisted in this way were the twelve beadsmen, who in return for their payment\nwere expected to attend services in the cathedral, the term bedesman coming\nfrom the medieval idea of the bede or prayer, which in times past they would\nhave prayed for the souls of their benefactors. Thereafter the accounts record the\ncathedral\u2019s six bell ringers, the organist and organ blower, whose duties\nincluded killing rats that got into the organ pipes, the keeper of the clock,\nthe wood reeve, the seneschal of the high court, the green keeper and the water\nkeeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\ntimes, too, these records mention various workmen and the maintenance jobs that\nwere needed for the cathedral, as well as one off expenses, such as the\nproclamation in 1689 regarding William III. Among the items relating to books,\nDavid showed his enthralled audience the entry for the alteration of the prayer\nbook. He also showed a range of entries relating to the cathedral community\u2019s\ncharitable activities, the pages and pages of alms-giving that went on year\nafter year. Some of the recipients are named, such as Browning the chorister\nwho received money when he went to sea, but others are like the fifty poor\nwomen who received monthly 6d each. Nevertheless, like the choristers and\nschoolboys, as David said, it would be feasible to conduct a detailed study of\nthese almsfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having his worked his way through the records, David was happy to take questions, and this led to several lively debates before the meeting drew to a close and his appreciative audience gave him a second round of applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another stunning carving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keeping\nwith early modern Canterbury, I recently stumbled on a report I wrote for\nCanterbury Archaeological Trust on the documentary sources for part of St\nRadigund\u2019s Street area (originally known as Waterlock Lane) which those who\nknow Canterbury will appreciate incorporates the line of the city wall. The\nwall was demolished in the late 18th<\/sup> century, but the wall\u2019s\nfoundations have been recorded along the frontage of \u2018The Dolphin\u2019 public house\nand under the street. Just a quick aside, St Radigund\u2019s relates to the medieval\nabbey of that name near Dover which had acquired various properties in the 13th<\/sup>\ncentury in the area between Northgate and the River Stour ie at and around\nFroxpole outside Northgate (Froxpole is the early name for Duck Lane). These\nwere a mix of land, gardens and tenements, which the abbey then rented out to\nlocal tenants. However, later documentary evidence from the 15th<\/sup>\ncentury indicates that at least part of the abbey\u2019s holdings comprised a\n\u2018hospice\u2019, which the abbot presumably used when he was visiting Canterbury, as\nwould his guests. Such a place was probably on a much smaller scale than those\nin Southwark, for example, that many religious houses held and were used by senior\nchurchmen when visiting London and the court on ecclesiastical and other\nbusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping with St Radigund\u2019s, the abbey was dissolved in 1536, and like the monastery site, the Canterbury lands passed to the Crown. The fate of these abbey lands is reasonably difficult to follow, but some at least were held by Canterbury\u2019s civic authorities by the late 16th<\/sup> century, and they had also acquired the holdings of St Augustine\u2019s Abbey which abutted much of the St Radigund\u2019s Northgate property, although a small portion was apparently freehold until the city purchased \u2018St Radigund\u2019s Bath\u2019 in 1793.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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more conventional<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So\nwhat was St Radigund\u2019s Bath\u2019? Here I\u2019m going to skip to the early 18th<\/sup>\ncentury and when I was working on this report, I was able to benefit from Miss\nJeffrey\u2019s knowledge of the area\u2019s history. For the story of the bath, this\nbegins with the buildings to the rear of Duck Lane, which comprised a house and\ntannery belonging to the Waite family until 1724, when following the death of\nPeter Waite, the property came into the hands of John Lade. An inventory of\nWaite\u2019s goods indicates that his house was substantial, and it also appears on\nAlderman Simmons rough sketch map of St Radigund\u2019s, dated 1793, where the house\nand stables are shown to the east of a tan yard, the yard occupying the space\nwhich was later used for the bath house\/public house. The buildings were just\nto the north of the city ditch, which was about 80 feet in width, and on the\nnorthern boundary were very close to the common ditch\/sewer that ran from the river\nend of Duck Lane to the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having acquired the property, John Lade sought to let it either as a whole or in parts: house, tan yard with barns and stables, orchard, meadow ground, garden ground, but was unsuccessful. This was perhaps the spur needed to convert it into a bath house, the premises gaining status through its new name: \u2018St Radegund\u2019s Bath\u2019. According to an advert in the Kentish Post<\/em> (1740), the cold bath had been enlarged, measuring 22 feet by 12 feet and was between 2 and 5 feet deep. The bath was fed by a \u2018fine Gravel spring\u2019 at a rate of 20 hogsheads of water per hour, thereby maintaining the clarity of the water. Mixed bathing was not allowed, and attendants were on hand to maintain decorum, bathers paying a guinea a year or a shilling a time for the privilege. However, the bath house seems to have had limited appeal, leading the proprietor to try certain novelties, such as the introduction of asses\u2019 milk in 1745. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A splendid foliate head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For\nJohn Lade, his acquisition still wasn\u2019t bringing in a sufficient return and he\nsought to let or sell the bath house 3 years later. That same year part of the\npremises had become a public house under the control of William Badcock, who\nhad recently left the \u2018Blue Anchor\u2019 at St Dunstan\u2019s and soon it was known for\ncock fighting, as well as drinking. Yet the \u2018Cold Bath\u2019 remained, the \u2018better\nsort\u2019 attending concerts there on several occasions in the 1750s and early\n1760s. They were held in the large assembly or music room, possibly on an upper\nfloor of the \u2018Cold Bath\u2019 public house, the property also comprising 4 rooms on\nthe ground floor and a cellar for storing beer and wine, 2 stables, a coach\nhouse and a large yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet\nsuch diverse activities still weren\u2019t sufficiently profitable for Alderman Lade\nand success seems to have eluded all the leaseholders, the city corporation able\nto purchase the bath house and associated lands in 1793 for \u00a3700 from the\nvarious owners and leaseholders (although one of the tenants refused to go\nforcing the corporation to take legal action). The two men behind the\ncorporation\u2019s purchase were Alderman James Simmons and Alderman Royle, who then\nacquired the lease of the bath house estate and two mills for 28 years at\n\u00a337\/year. To enhance \u2018their\u2019 property, they cut a second hole through the city\nwall to improve access to the bath house and created a second bath, the two\nbaths being 18 feet by 16 feet and 18 feet by 6 and a half feet respectively.\nBoth bath chambers were covered by arched roofs, which with the turrets\nprovided sufficient light, and nearby were separate dressing rooms and a\nwaiting room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet,\nthe enterprise was probably not much more successful and Simmons and Royle\nparted company in 1798, Simmons seeking to lease all the property from the\ncorporation on more favourable terms. He was unsuccessful; and thereafter seems\nto have put all his efforts into the mills, spending little on the bath house.\nBy the 1820s there had been a number of changes, the public house was renamed\n\u2018The Dolphin\u2019 and the baths became the best parlour and the bar parlour. As\ntime went on more of the estate was used for housing, the memory of the bath\nhouse retained as 1 and 2 Cold Bath cottages, until they disappeared in the\n1930s. Today \u2018The Dolphin\u2019 survives, but much of the rest of the St Radigund\u2019s\nBath House and Garden is covered in tarmac as a car park!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Currently CCCU is open, however, we have been informed that the higher powers will be making a decision about the fate of university events, including the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2020 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6665,"featured_media":7994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[973,2374,822,1001,1581,818,978,5762,982,1162,986,1029,817,1374,1],"tags":[7693,7681,605,381,317,1105,897,6405,1573,457,7689,3173,421,1829],"class_list":["post-7985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic","category-archaeology","category-blog-posts","category-canterbury","category-early-modern","category-events","category-festival","category-heritage","category-kent","category-lecture","category-local-and-regional-history","category-middle-ages","category-news","category-stuarts","category-uncategorised","tag-alderman-simmons","tag-appledore","tag-black-prince","tag-canterbury-archaeological-trust","tag-canterbury-cathedral","tag-canterbury-cathedral-archives-and-library","tag-canterbury-city","tag-canterbury-dean-and-chapter","tag-canterbury-historical-and-archaeological-society","tag-chas","tag-dolphin","tag-dr-david-shaw","tag-medieval-canterbury-weekend","tag-university-of-kent"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"Sheila Sweetinburgh","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/445\/2020\/03\/DSC08199.jpg","postExcerpt":"Currently CCCU is open, however, we have been informed that the higher powers will be making a decision about the fate of university events, including the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2020 […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8005,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985\/revisions\/8005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}