This is a two-volume edition of the fabric accounts relating to St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, between 1292 and 1396. These records had been in print in the early nineteenth century, but this is a new edition with complete accounts of this period and with a reliable transcription and translation. The editor and translator of these volumes are to be highly commended for such a body of work, as these accounts are a vital and important source for the period in many different areas of potential study. In addition, the introduction in Volume I by Professor Tim Ayers provides a comprehensive and impressive summary of many aspects of these accounts.
The collegiate church of St Stephen was known from the eleventh century, but it was the work undertaken by the three Edwards (Edward I 1272-1307, Edward II 1307-1337, Edward III 1327-77) that created an important church in the Palace of Westminster. The rebuilding that commenced under Edward I led to a building of two storeys with the evidence suggesting a magnificence in decoration that was only glimpsed in the nineteenth century before the disastrous Palace of Westminster fire of 1834. St Stephen’s was made a collegiate church in 1348 by Edward III to mirror the College of St George created at Windsor Castle at the same time. The link between these two churches and collegiate foundations is important.
The double calamity of the dissolution of the college in 1548 by Edward VI and the fire of 1834 have been neatly placed in context in the introduction (Volume I). After the Dissolution the upper storey of the chapel was used for the meetings of the House of Commons until 1834. After this date the only physical remains of the chapel are the fragments of the lower chapel and cloisters, now subsumed into the Pugin rebuilding. This tenders them difficult to assess and access. The loss of the buildings therefore makes these fabric accounts even more significant and hence the Leverhulme support of this publication and the longer-term project of research in this area.
The two volumes contain the building accounts for not only the building of the chapel but also can provide indications of the impact of other tumultuous events of the fourteenth century, especially the impact (or not) of the Black Death on building progress between 1348-9. The accounts can also be used to study how the accounting system worked and developed, the decoration of the building in all forms and the names of those involved, not just master masons. The relationship between the College and the Benedictine Westminster Abbey is also revealed here. As with all transcribed accounts these are of great value to researchers.
Volume I (pp. i-1000)
This contains the detailed and valuable introduction, preceded by the clear map of the site (see also Volume II).
The historiography of the records before the current volume is discussed. The physical nature of the records from The National Archives is also summarised and the series in which the accounts are found within the archives of the crown (E101, E 364, E372, E403 & E405). The links of clerical staff to both the Palace of Westminster and the Tower of London are referred to when accounts for the chapel were included in combined records of the royal palaces in London.
The introduction discusses the records chronologically, breaking them down into phases of work, each of which is analysed. The year terms are explained and while most did follow the normal medieval style, from Michaelmas to Michaelmas (29 September), there were a few exceptions. This is supplemented by a discussion and determination of the accounting style and changes over the period. These help to make the transcribed accounts much clearer. The occasional payment of wages on feast days is an interesting facet of medieval life that is brought out clearly in these records.
The different crafts and their workers are also given detailed analysis, with each type of decorative art taken separately. Here the identified use of impressed workers after the Black Death is of particular note and is summarised in useful Table 2 (p. 75). Likewise, the wage payments of workers on this site after the Statute of Labourers (1351) is discussed and the findings summarised in Tables 5a, 5b and 5c (pp. 78-9). This is just one example of the usefulness of the introduction for scholars.
The discussion of each craft illustrates the value of these fabric accounts for the recreation of lost buildings. The origins of the stone used in the buildings is of note here, especially after the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War in 1337 made continental acquisition of stone more difficult. These accounts illustrate how the domestic stone market was used, with stone sourced from Portland and Purbeck in Dorset, Pontefract in Yorkshire and Beer in Devon. Note should be made here of identification of the use of “stock,” held at the Tower of London (Caen stone) which was used in this building. The transport of this building material also made it possible to identify the wharves used in its transportation to the site.
The chronological phasing of the building work has been contextualised in the introduction to wider events. The initial building of Edward I in the late 1290s is linked to his other building projects; here the use of impressed labour for the Welsh castles was noted as a precedent for events later in the fourteenth century. The revival of building work in 1320 is linked to the successful Parliament of York for Edward II. Likewise, the stalling of work after his deposition in 1327 is then noted, this phase ending in 1331 when Edward III asserted his authority and achieved the downfall of his mother, Queen Isabella, and Roger Mortimer. But it was the creation of the collegiate church in 1348, in tandem with St George’s in Windsor, that proved pivotal in terms of the building of this chapel. From this date it is clear that this building was significant to the king. By the 1340s the building was ready for its vaulting under a timber roof, and even when the Black Death arrived in London, in Autumn 1348, progress was not stalled for long. The accounts show little progress during the pandemic itself, when the first dean of the new college, Thomas Cross, died, along with the abbot and 27 monks of Westminster Abbey. But as work had resumed by 1450, it is clear that this was a significant building to the king. The 1350 accounts indicate the creation of the timber screen and the presence of glaziers and painters on site.
Volume I continues with the summary tables from the introduction, for example, the names and length of service of clerks of works; the impressment orders; a calendar of feast days (significant in terms of payments to workers); and wages across the whole period under discussion. The accounts themselves are in chronological sequence, and are arranged in parallel with the Latin transcriptions on the left page and the English translation on the right. This volume contains those from April 1292 to 1340. Not all are labelled as Fabric accounts and other sources here include the issue roll of the treasurers (Walter de Langton) in the E403 series for 1295 (pp. 443-5), although they are mainly the E101 series. The headings separate the work clearly, for example, the period of inactivity between 1298-1319, when there are no accounts to indicate work on site (p. 463).
Special note must be made here of the inclusion in the accounts of Katherine the smith (p. 41), widow of a previous smith, included in the accounts. There are some records relating to women in this collection and their roles could be examined by future researchers.
Volume II
This volume contains the fabric accounts in Series 101 from 1340 to 1396 in the same format and layout as Volume I. The E372 Series are also here, the summary of accounts from the clerks of the works, rather than Fabric Rolls, for the period 1346-1365, before reverting to the E101 series for the period 1389-94. The final accounts for the building were BL, Additional Roll 27018, dated Easter to Easter 1395-6 (pp. 1389-1395), and E364/29 ROT.B (OR2) 1393-5 (pp. 1401-5).
The Appendices to this volume are to be noted. Appendix 1 is an account of the loans made to the crown by Riccardi of Lucca 1290-4 (pp. 1407-8). Appendix 2 contains details of wages paid to workers in the Dorset quarries at Abbotsbury and Windsbatch 1349-50, by the sheriff of Somerset and Dorset (pp. 1408). Both these appendices have not been translated, only transcribed. Likewise, the important Appendix 3--the agreement between the Abbey of Westminster and the dean and college of St Stephen of 1394. While Appendix 3 is discussed in great detail by Dr. John Crook in Appendix 4, and is the basis of the map provided in both volumes, it is a shame that this is one area from which those with limited Latin have been excluded. Appendix 4 is an essay by John Crook which uses the agreement of 1394 to create the map provided in both volumes and explains the layout of the site for the chapel, the Palace of Westminster, vicars’ accommodation and the tenements of the canons. This is overlaid on a modern OS map for context. This summary really helps to bring alive the community of men who lived in this area and is an excellent counterpoint to both the accounts and especially the introduction provided by Prof. Ayers in Volume I.
The illustrations include the maps mentioned above, copies of the early prints of the site including Wenceslaus Hollar’s view of the Palace of Westminster from the river dated 1647 (p. 5), and etchings completed by John Dixon of the undercovering of the early buildings in 1811, just before the fire of 1834 (pp. 3-4). Other images include photographs of the original documents (pp. 20-2).
Volume II contains the comprehensive bibliography and three detailed indexes, split into people/places, material/equipment and general (including Black Death, labourers, masons etc.).
Overall, these volumes are an excellent example of the genre of primary sources in print. The editor and translator are to be highly commended for such an excellent publication which is completed to the highest standards of accuracy and clarity of layout. I would recommend this to any scholar of the medieval period, especially those interested in buildings, London, and Westminster. It is a rich resource for future study by students of all levels. I can only hope the high price does not deter more people from having access to these volumes and congratulate the contributors, the publishers and supporters for such an first-rate resource for the future.