THE BUILDER AUGUST 1925

How St. Alban's Abbey Came to Be Built

BY BRO. N.W.J. HAYDON, Associate Editor

THE varying forms of the Legend of the Craft related in the old MS.
Constitutions of the Freemasons, are all agreed that St. Alban
introduced Masonry into England and was the builder of the first
church at the place now called after him. Needless to say this
account is not historical. However, the traditional connection
should make the subject of this article by Bro. Haydon of especial
interest to our readers.


THE legend of the building of St. Alban's Abbey is particularly
interesting as it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
references to the Masonic Craft (Operative) in English literature,
which is founded on evidence still to be seen after a lapse of many
centuries. The first historian to whom we owe an account of this
event is Roger de Wendover, a native of Buckinghamshire, who was
Prior of Belvoir, a dependence of St. Alban's Abbey, and who died
in 1237 A. D. He wrote The Flowers of History and gave us the
tradition as it had come to him. The translation used here is that
by J.A. Giles, D.C.L., as published in Bohn's Antiquarian Library.

A generation later, another learned monk of the same abbey, known
as Matthew of Paris, compiled his Chronicles of English History,
bringing the tale down to 1273 A.D., and incorporating the writings
of his predecessor, so that at first later scholars were of the
impression that he was responsible for the whole. The photograph
reproduced on the next page shows a page of his manuscript.

The first printed edition of these "Chronicles" was produced, in
Latin, in 1639 A. D. by Watts, under the title of Vitae Duorum
Offarum, and the translation given here is made from that edition
by one of the scholars attached to the British Museum; I am also
indebted to the co-operation of the curator of the manuscript
department, Professor J.A. Gilson, for becoming possessed of the
photograph.

While it will appear on examination that the Watts' edition does
not follow too closely on the heels of Matthew of Paris, the
combination of this rendition with that contained in the Bohn
publication covers the ground sufficiently to give us a reasonably
complete story. Students of the history of our Ritual who are also
Companions of the Chapter will no doubt be impressed with certain
resemblances between the legend of the R. A. and that supplied by
the learned Roger de Wendover.

THE STORY RELATED BY ROGER DE WENDOVER

"The same year (A.D. 793) while Offa, the most potent king of the
Mercians, was residing at Bath, and was taking his rest on the
royal couch after the labors of the day, he was admonished by an
angel from heaven to disinter Alban, the Saint of God and first
martyr of the English, or Britons, and to place his relics in a
shrine more worthy of them.

"Anxious to obey the divine commands, the King straightway summoned
Humbert, of Lichfield, archbishop of the Mercians, who with
Ceowulf, bishop of Lindsey, and Unwona, bishop of Leicester,
together with a great multitude of each sex and every age, met the
King at Verolamium on a day appointed.

"As he was journeying thither, the King beheld a ray of light like
a great torch sent down from heaven and illuminating the place of
the sepulchre. This miracle, which was seen of all, confirmed their
faith in the truth of the vision.

"Now the memory of the martyr had perished and the place of his
burial been forgotten for about 344 years, for the pagan Saxons,
Jutes, an Angles had driven out the Britons, burnt their towns and
levelled their sacred places and churches, mercilessly destroying
the face of the island from one sea to the other. At this time
therefore, the church of the blessed Alban, described by Bede in
his history of the English, had been utterly destroyed, with the
other churches in the desolation of that country.

"After these things the King summoned a council of the province and
consulted with all the primates about the privileging of a
monastery in the place which had been consecrated by the blood of
the martyr. They all were pleased with the King's design and, that
these things might have a more worthy effect, they gave their
counsel that the King should either send envoys, or in his own
person, treat with the court of Rome about them. And the King
undertook the laborious journey to the end that as the blessed
Alban was the first martyr of the English, so his monastery should
surpass in possessions and privileges all others in his kingdom....
At length arriving at Rome the King made his earnest petition to
the chief pontiff, Adrian, both for the canonization of the blessed
Alban and the founding of the monastery. The court yielded a ready
compliance, the more so that the discovery of the martyr was the
effect of divine revelation, confirmed the privileges the King
desired, and adopted the monastery as a favoured daughter of the
Rome See--'subject to our Apostolic See, without the intervention
of King or Archbishop.'

"The King considered within himself how he could make recompense
for such a gift, and the next day, going to the English school
which flourished at Rome at that time, he made a grant to it for
ever for the support of such of his kingdom as shall come there, of
a penny from every family that had possessions to the value of
thirty pence, and for this liberality he obtained that none of the
English nation should suffer evil by way of doing penance. After
making this grant the noble King returned home.

"He next summoned a council of nobles and bishops at Verolamium and
conferred ample possessions on the blessed Alban and ennobled them
with a multiplicity of liberties. He then brought together a
convent of monks from the most religious houses to the martyr's
tomb and set over them an Abbot named Willigod to whom he granted
the monastery with all royal rights. Now the great King Offa
reigned over twenty three provinces, which the English call
'shires' and from all these, the King granted the blessed Peter's
penny, which the English call 'Romescot.' Moreover the most mighty
King Offa conferred on Alban his own royal villa called Wunceslaw
about twenty miles from Verolamium, with the land around it, as the
King's writings testify which are to this day preserved in the
Church aforesaid.'

THE STORY OF MATTHEW OF PARIS

From. "Vitae Duorum Offarum"

"After completing the arrangements for this endowment, the King
made confession of all his sins (especially in having waged so many
batiles) and the founding of the said monastery was accepted as his
penance the King then returned home under the brightest auspices
and with the fervent blessing of the Pope.

"The Monastery founded, and an Abbot and Convent placed there, Offa
then summoned to Verolamium his council of bishops and magnates,
and, with their unanimous consent and good will, conferred on the
blessed Alban wide lands and innumerable possessions, with the idea
that free hospitality should flourish there. For through that place
there runs a highway and street used by those coming from the North
and returning from the South, called Watling Street. And it seemed
to him a thing of grace that all who passed through should find
there a shelter provided for them of grace by his alms. Therefore
he granted to the said place dedicated to the said monastery
extraordinary privileges and liberties; and at the tomb he
assembled a convent of monks from diverse religious houses, but
chiefly from the house of Bec in Normandy; and he appointed as
Abbot over them a man named Willegod, which being interpreted is
WILLING GOOD. And he was, indeed, a man of good will, a scion of
the royal race, and near of kin to King Offa. He had been present
at the finding of the said Martyr, and had seen the rays of
heavenly light that appeared, when his body was being found and
raised out of the ground, and which disappeared after this had been
accomplished, as though its mission had been fulfilled. He had
therefore at once resolved to take the monastic habit and to devote
his life to the service of God, and to so holy a martyr; and when
the story became generally known, very soon after the body had been
found, the King without delay began to build the Church. And he
laid the first stone of the foundation, saying TO THE HONOR OF GOD
ALMIGHTY, THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST, AND OF HIS MARTYR ALBAN,
THE FIRST MARTYR OF MY WHOLE LAND. And then he knelt down and with
closed hands and tears running down his cheeks, he continued:

PRAYER OF THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING OFFA FOR HIS WORK

"OH, LORD JESUS CHRIST, TO THEE, AND TO THEE, MARTYR ALBAN, AND TO
THEE, WILLEGOD, I COMMIT THIS THY HOUSE, FAITHFULLY TO BE KEPT. A
CURSE UPON ALL WHO OPPOSE OR DISTURB OR SPIRITUALLY DETRACT FROM
IT. MAY ALL ITS BENEFACTORS RECEIVE REWARD ETERNAL. And to Willegod
who was then already a monk, the King gave abundance of treasure
and appointed him overseer of the fabric [construction] of the
Church, and he granted him all regalities and liberties. And this
the King took care to do before he set out on his journey across
the Alps, not knowing what God might ordain concerning his life.
But after his return in such happy circumstances he solemnly
renewed and confirmed all these things, and he appointed the said
Willegod Abbot in the presence of his son and heir EGFRID, and of
Humbert, archbishop of Lichfield, and a number of other bishops and
magnates of the land, for of a truth, he had found this same
WILLEGOD most faithful in the keeping of his kingdom, which the
King had committed to his son and to him, while he went to Rome.
And he established a convent of monks from the most renowned houses
as is above said, and at his own expense he constructed all the
buildings, except the very oldest one (pristinium), which he found
already made out of the old buildings of the Pagans. And in the
same Church the most christian King Offa acting as steward and
special keeper passed some years of lis life. And one day he
ordered the charters, and all the instruments given and acquired,
to be brought (and) placed them on the High Altar, 'that they might
become consecrated in that Holy Place as a witness and a memorial
to those who might come after him.'"

Bound up with the early history of this ancient building are two
other matters which link it closely with items of great interest in
the development of that system which has become our Speculative
Masonry of today. There is, for example, the claim of some Masonic
scholars that our M. M. Degree has become what it is as a result of
the old English custom, wherein certain gilds regularly portrayed
in dramatic form portions of the known Scriptures, for the benefit
of an age when illiteracy was general.

Wm. Hone, in his book.on the English Miracle Plays (Ancient
Mysteries Described, London, 1823), writes:

"The first trace of theatrical representations in this country is
recorded by Matthew (of) Paris, who relates that Geoffrey, a
learned Norman, master of the school of the Abbey of Dunstable, and
afterwards Abbot of St. Alban's Priory, composed the play of St.
Catherine, which was acted by his scholars. Geoffrey's performance
took place in the year 1110, and he borrowed copes from the sacrist
of the neighbouring abbey of St. Alban's, to dress his characters."

The other matter is connected with the name "Naymus Grecus" which
has so long puzzled our antiquarians, and for which solutions are
offered by Bros. C.C. Howard, of New Zealand, and S. Russell
Forbes, in A.Q.C., Vols. IV and V, from which it appears that this
old Master of Masons is mentioned in three of the early MSS. of our
Ancient Charges, towit, the Cooke, 1430, the Lansdowne, 1560, and
the Buchanan, 1660. Their writers refer to a "Curious Mason named
Naymus Grecus" who came to France in the time of Charles Martel,
and taught him the secrets of Operative Masonry. ("Curious" here
means skilful.) This Charles Martel is one of the heroes of early
French history, who turned back the conquering Saracens at Tours
about 729 A.D., and as St. Alban's Abbey was built some sixty-five
years later, it is reasonable to admit that the fathers of its
builders, as well as their Operative instructors, would be
acquainted with the stories that were growing up about the great
deeds of Charles Martel, that were afterwards interwoven with the
great poem, "The Song of Roland."

Although the date when King Offa visited Rome is in dispute, there
is still evidence there of the Saxon colony he helped to establish,
the streets are still named "borgo" from the Saxon word "burgh" and
the old church "S. Spirito in Sassia" is still standing. At this
time also there was in Rome a Greek colony with its church, formed
of Greek exiles driven out about 760 A. D. by theological
opponents, and the road on the south side of their church is still
known as the "Via della Greca."

We may assume that during one of his several visits to Rome,
Charlemagne, who was finally crowned Emperor there in 800 A.D.,
engaged the skilled Mason, Naymus, of the Greek colony in Rome,
with his coworkmen to build his cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle.
Thence Naymus passed either in the company of, or at the request
of, King Offa, when the latter returned from his pilgrimage, to St.
Alban's. As a result Operative Masonry was first organized in
Eritain at this city, but was broken up by the Danish wars of the
next century and then reorganized at York under Athelstan in 926
A.D.

This ingeniously constructed chain of events--of which I have given
only an outline--received various historical criticisms from the
learned brethren to whom it was offered, but, on the whole, they
accept it as feasible. One serious objection, however, is made by
Bro. Mattieu Williams, who holds that Greek architects, or workmen,
or artists, had no influence on the early builders of Britain,
since their own types are destitute of Gothic character, nor had he
found any Greek names in Britain, though there are many in Southern
France.

Of all the theories as to the source of Gothic architecture Bro.
Williams finds only one probable, that it is Scandinavian, inasmuch
as the pointed arch and the nave (navis--ship) derive from the
customary tomb of the sea-king, his ship, which was hauled ashore
a placed keel uppermost on the natural rock pillars of the craggy
coasts of Norway. The track of the Vikings, and their descendants
the Normans, is marked by Gothic structures, nearly all situated on
islands or near the sea coast. English workmen built the cathedral
at Stavanger, the second in age and importance in Norway, about 862
A.D., and from 900 to 1300 the literary center--with all that
implies--of Northern Europe was Iceland, whose Skalds visited these
Courts and have left honorable memories.

Of general interest as relics of our Operative ancestors are the
accompanying pictures, one of which is taken from a fifteenth
century wood cut--the scene is laid in Germany. It can be seen how
the use of the wheel and crane had gradually improve the shape and
efficiency of this mechanism. The masons are also shown as wearing
aprons, which in the earlier drawing they do not seem to have.
Further comparison, too, can be drawn between King Offa's Master of
the Masons and the effigy of William Warmington (died 1427), a
Master Mason (No. 4), who built Croyland Abbey. This is reproduced
by Conder in his Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masons, who refers to
it in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. V, p. 2.

An enlarged copy of the Offa photo was presented by the Toronto
Society for Masonic Research to the Temple Board where they meet,
and any other Temple Boards, or Societies for Research, that would
like copies can be supplied as I have the negative.

ADDENDUM

The illustrations of parts of the abbey itself give one an idea of
the immense amount of interest the building provides, for the lover
of history and architecture, though these are only a very small
part of the things worth noting in this structure.

The so-called shrine of St. Alban stands in the Saint's Chapel,
just east of the great Reredos, or screen, behind the high Altar.
The original shrine was small enough to be carried in processions
on festivals, being made of precious metals, and has long since
disappeared. Thousands of pilgrims from many countries have visited
the spot depicted in this photograph (No. 5); for centuries it was
one of the most favored places for pilgrims from France, who often
made the journey under most unfavorable conditions, to leave an
offering and to say prayers at the shrine, or tomb, as it has often
been called, of St. Alban.

Many considered that the bones of the martyred Saint possessed
curative qualities, and in the base of the present shrine holes can
be seen in which cloths were placed, so as to be impregnated with
the supposed curative powers. Many pieces of stone were chipped
from the carving to be taken away home to heal those who could not
make the journey to the shrine.

The Watching Loft, seen in the background, was built in 1400 A. D.
to provide shelter for a monk who was appointed to protect the
shrine from damage, and to receive the alms brought by the
pilgrims. The steps to the loft are solid oak logs, and the lower
part contains cupboards in which relics were once stored but are
now used to preserve pieces of Roman pottery and other articles of
interest.

At the first glance of the interior may be noticed the extreme
plainness of the Norman work compared with other buildings of the
same period, and this is explained by the fact that most of the
material used by the Norman Masons consisted of Roman brick or
tiles carried from Verulamium, just a few miles away, where an
immense mass of such material was found on the spot where the town
of Verulamium was burned by the Saxons after the Roman evacuation
of Britain. The bricks not being amenable to carving, did not allow
the Masons to display their usual beautiful work, and it
necessitated the building of the arches and pillars in a very
severe manner. The rough work was plastered over, any many frescoes
were painted on the large square-shaped pillars in the nave. In the
South Transept, the plaster has been removed in places in the
triforium, where the edges of the Roman brick are seen in the
Norman arches.

An interesting point in the same location as the above is the
presence of ringed baluster shafts of Saxon work, being beyond
doubt part of the original Church built by King Offa, 793 A.D. The
Norman Masons were never so much enthused with their own work as to
ignore the beauty of work done by their predecessors, and in
several places the Saxon work has been incorporated in a Norman
building, for example, the Celtic window, high up in the west end
of Kilpeck Church, that wonderful little gem of Norman
architecture.

On the exterior of the North Transept, we see by our illustration
how the Norman builders used the Roman material. The white stones
are flint gathered from the fields in the vicinity by the Normans.

The Reredos was completed in 1484, its only rivals being that of
Winchester and Durham, and the similarity of design and workmanship
makes one almost sure that both were the efforts of the same gild
of workers or craftsmen. It is a superb piece of stone tracery.

I am indebted to Bro. H. J. Unwin, formerly of St. Alban's, for
these final notes, and for the photos which are enlargements of his
snapshots.

