among the lingering relics of the walls of Verulam, the old abbey in the full glory and perfection of its buildings on the opposite hill, the long slope of which, from the summit to the very edge of the little river which washed the base of its outer wall, was covered to a wide extent with the quadrangles, the gateways, the chapter-house, the halls, the towers, the turrets, and every variety of form and feature suitable to the position and destination which they held in the systematic arrangement of the entire plan. Above all this goodly array of architecture arose, as its crowning feature, the stupendous abbey church in its full proportions, with its three noble towers, the central one augmented in height and in beauty of appearance by its lofty octagonal lantern tower and tapering pinnacles.”
In 1856, a public meeting of the nobility and gentry of the county was held at St. Alban’s, to take into consideration the best means of obtaining a bishop of St. Alban’s. Mr. G. Gilbert Scott made a careful survey of the abbey, and furnished a thorough report as to the state of the building. He estimated that the sum of 18,000l. would suffice to put the abbey into thorough repair, and fit it as a cathedral. It was determined to petition the Government on the subject, and make the offer on the part of the county to supply the cathedral, if Government would give the bishop. A committee was formed, of which a deputation had an interview with Lord Palmerston, but his reply was not favourable, and the subject gradually dropped. About 4,000l. has, however, been laid out in substantial repairs, and a very fine new organ has been erected.
As we quit the ruins and wander back in meditative mood towards the station by the meadows below the old abbey, and look up at its tower as it stands out in relief against the evening sky, the thought comes up once and again, why is not this noble abbey restored in a style worthy of its ancient grandeur, and erected into a bishop’s see? The diocese of London has already grown far beyond the powers of a single individual to manage carefully: then why should not the rural districts of Middlesex be withdrawn from the jurisdiction of London, and joined to Hertfordshire, and made into a separate diocese with St. Alban’s for its see? Is it too much to hope that the necessary funds, both for the fabric and for an endowment, would be forthcoming in six months from private and public sources, if Her Majesty should be advised to create at Verulam a new episcopal see, as was done at Ripon in 1836, and at Manchester even more recently?
HOW TO DEAL WITH OUR LONDON POOR.
I am a clergyman’s wife, residing in a parish of the N. W. District, and consequently I have some experience of parochial visiting and the feelings and habits of the London poor. Some little time ago I read with much interest a well written paper, entitled “How to Deal with our Rural Poor,” in one of the earlier numbers of Once a Week.[1] The writer there conveyed several useful hints as to the treatment of the poor in our country villages at the hands of those who are among them as masters and friendly neighbours, and therefore I venture to note down a few remarks on the condition of my own people, and a few ideas which have dawned upon my mind bearing upon their interests.
Those who have visited much among the London poor must have often been disconcerted at their inability to reform and redress the sufferings of a family where there are a bad father and sickly mother, and several young children, all demanding, in both a bodily and spiritual sense, such relief as will preserve them from starvation. In our own parish we have a goodly band of district visitors, acting under the countenance and guidance of our clergy. These distribute tickets for money, meat, and bread, according to the exigencies of the several cases, and their services are essential to the supervisors of our London districts, both as spiritual assistants and as almoners of our local charity. But yet these cannot do all that could and might be done for the poor. Money and food will pay the back rents and sustain the body, but how are they to clothe the poor little shivering children in winter, or in long sickness, when rags are pawned for the rent and food and firing, work being slack or at a stand-still for weeks together, and any means of livelihood precarious? From all I have seen and the conversations I have held with our poor women, I have come to the conclusion that we can materially assist large families by a simple method, devised at little expense to us women, one which involves the clothing of these large families by one hour’s needlework in our own homes.
We have in most, if not in all, of our London parishes working committees once a week or once in a month; but there is a very large proportion of well-disposed girls and older persons among the higher classes who do not care to attend them. Home occupations and party prejudices sometimes deter them from joining this sisterhood of labourers; but I believe these young women would gladly contribute their needlework to the benefit of the poor did- ↑ See vol. VII., p. 64.
