→Notable organists and directors of music: This list should only include notable organists. Wikipedia is not intended to be a comprehensive database of non-notable members Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
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*[[David Patrick Gedge]] 1962-1966 |
*[[David Patrick Gedge]] 1962-1966 |
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*[[Mervyn John Byers]] 1966-1976, 1980-1987 |
*[[Mervyn John Byers]] 1966-1976, 1980-1987 |
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===Assistant Organists=== |
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*Ian Seddon 2023- |
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==Organ== |
==Organ== |
Revision as of 17:06, 7 October 2023
Selby Abbey | |
---|---|
OS grid reference | SE615323 |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
Churchmanship | Broad Church |
Website | www.selbyabbey.org.uk/ |
History | |
Status | Parish church |
Founded | 1069 |
Founder(s) | Benedict of Auxerre |
Dedication | St Mary the Virgin and St Germain |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Grade I[1] |
Designated | 16 December 1952 |
Style | Romanesque, Decorated Gothic, Gothic Revival |
Years built | 1069-1465 |
Administration | |
Province | York |
Diocese | York |
Archdeaconry | York |
Deanery | Selby |
Parish | Selby |
Clergy | |
Priest(s) | The Revd Canon John Weetman |
Assistant priest(s) | The Revd Dr Julie Watson
The Revd Neil Woodhall The Revd Paul Finlinson |
Honorary priest(s) | The Revd Canon Roy Matthews |
Laity | |
Organist/Director of music | Oliver Waterer |
Selby Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey and current Anglican parish church in the town of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It is Grade I listed.[1]
Monastic history
The church is one of the relatively few surviving abbey churches of the medieval period, and, although not a cathedral, is one of the biggest. It was founded by Benedict of Auxerre[2] in 1069 and subsequently built by the de Lacy family.
On 31 May 1256, the abbey was bestowed with the grant of a Mitre by Pope Alexander IV and from this date was a "Mitred Abbey". This privilege fell in abeyance a number of times, but on 11 April 1308, Archbishop William Greenfield confirmed the grant, and Selby remained a "Mitred Abbey" until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Archbishop Walter Giffard visited the monastery in 1275 by commission, and several monks and the Abbot were charged with a list of faults including loose living, (many complaints referred to misconduct with married women). In 1279 Archbishop William de Wickwane made a visitation, and found fault with the Abbot as he did not observe the rule of St Benedict, was not singing mass, preaching or teaching, and seldom attending chapter. Things had not improved much in 1306 when Archbishop William Greenfield visited and similar visitations in later years resulted in similar findings.
The community rebuilt the choir in the early fourteenth century, but in 1340, a fire destroyed the Chapter House, Dormitory, Treasury and part of the church. The damage was repaired and the decorated windows in the south aisle of the nave were installed.
In 1380–1 there was the abbot and twenty-five monks. In 1393 Pope Boniface IX granted an indulgence to pilgrims who contributed to the conservation of the chapel of the Holy Cross in the abbey.
The fifteenth century saw more alterations to the abbey. The perpendicular windows in the north transept and at the west end of the nave were added and the Sedilia in the Sanctuary was added. One of the final additions was the Lathom Chapel, dedicated to St Catherine, east of the north transept, in 1465.
In the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 the abbey was valued at £719 2s. 6¼d (equivalent to £554,486 in 2023).[3] The abbey surrendered on 6 December 1539. The community comprised the Abbot, and 23 monks. The abbot was pensioned off on £100 a year (equivalent to £84,791 in 2023) [3] the prior got £8 and the others between £6 6s. 8d. and £5 each.
Post monastic history
For a time after the dissolution, the church was unused but in 1618 it became the Parish Church of Selby. During the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period the building suffered with the north transept window being destroyed, and the statues on the brackets in the choir were demolished.
Like York Minster, the church rests on a base of sand and has suffered from subsidence. Many sections collapsed entirely during the seventeenth century, including the central tower in 1690 which destroyed the south transept. The Tower was rebuilt, but not the transept. In the eighteenth century the choir was filled with galleries, and used for services, the nave only used for secular purposes.
The church was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1871–1873 who restored much of the nave for use, and again in 1889–1890 by his son John Oldrid Scott, who restored the choir. The tower was restored in the first few years of the twentieth century.
The reredos was designed by Robert Lorimer and added in 1901.[4]
The fire of 1906
The organ builders from John Compton had been working until 11.00 pm on Friday 19 October, and shortly after midnight on Saturday the organist Frederick William Sykes spotted flames coming from the organ chamber.[5] The organ builders had been installing a new kinetic gas engine to provide power to the new organ. Initial reports that the new organ equipment was to blame for the fire were later proved inaccurate.[6]
The fire destroyed the roof of the choir and the belfry and peal of eight bells was also destroyed. All of the interior fittings were also destroyed but thanks to the actions of the local fire brigade, the fourteenth-century stained glass in the East window was saved.
A secondary fire broke out in the nave roof on the Sunday, but this was quickly extinguished.[7]
The abbey was rebuilt under the supervision of John Oldrid Scott at a cost of around £50,000 (equivalent to £6,583,000 in 2023) [3] and reopened in 1909. The restoration of the south transept was completed in 1912, funded by William Liversedge.
Later twentieth century
In 1952 the abbey was given Grade I listed status.[1]
Restorations of 2002
In 2002 the abbey underwent an extensive restoration, costing several million pounds. Stage 6, the restoration of the Scriptorium was completed at a cost of £795,000. The £400,000 cost of restoring the South choir Aisle and the "Washington Window" was met in full by British American Tobacco.[8] World Monuments Fund committed more than $800,000 to exterior work, including roof repairs, beginning in 2002.
Architecture
A notable feature of the abbey is the fifteenth-century[9] Washington Window, located at the clerestory level of the quire,[10] which features the heraldic arms of the ancestors of George Washington, the first president of the United States. The design, featuring three red stars above two red bands on a white shield, formed the model for the flag of the District of Columbia.
Music
Music at Selby Abbey has a long history going back to its monastic foundation in the 11th century when plainsong was chanted at the daily services by the Benedictine monks. Today, the music at services consists principally of choral music sung by the Abbey’s choir, organ music, and congregational hymn singing.
The Choir of Selby Abbey numbers c35 adults and children. While it consists principally of dedicated volunteers, the Abbey employs a professional Director of Music and Assistant Organist, and provides three Choral Scholarships. In exchange for their singing, the Abbey Choristers receive a full musical education and training.
During term-time the choir sings at the weekly Sung Eucharist on Sundays, and at Choral Evensong on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, in addition to singing at other special services, weddings and concerts. The Abbey Junior Choir was founded in 2022.
Throughout the year, the Abbey is host to many concerts given by choirs, orchestras, brass bands, organists, and other musicians and groups. Selby Abbey Trust organises an annual Organ Recital Series featuring performers from across the world.
Notable organists and directors of music
- Edward Johnson Bellerby 1878-1881
- Frederick William Sykes 1881– 1919[11] [12]
- Henry Oswald Hodgson 1920-1921
- Walter Hartley 1922-1962
- David Patrick Gedge 1962-1966
- Mervyn John Byers 1966-1976, 1980-1987
Organ
The Abbey’s organ is widely regarded as one of the finest of its type in Britain. Following a major fire in 1906[13] and subsequent restoration of the abbey, William Hill & Son was commissioned to build the current organ in 1909.[14] With 67 speaking stops and 4 manuals, this instrument occupies two magnificent cases, designed by John Oldrid Scott, placed either side of the quire.
The organ was first restored in 1950 by Hill, Norman and Beard. Opening recitals were given by Francis Jackson and Melville Cook. In the early 1960s, the noted Italian organist Fernando Germani made a series of LP recordings at Selby Abbey for HMV: this brought the organ to international attention. Further alterations took place, with additions made, in 1975 by John T. Jackson. In 2014-16 a major restoration of the organ was carried out by Geoffrey Coffin and Principal Pipe Organs of York,[15]
The previous organ was installed in 1825 by Renn and Boston, in a gallery on the east side of the choir screen wall. It was rebuilt several times by Booth of Wakefield, Forster and Andrews of Hull and Conacher of Huddersfield. In 1868 the organ was rebuilt and moved to a bay in the quire. The opening recital was given by William Thomas Best. This organ was rebuilt in 1891 by James Jepson Binns of Bramley and moved again, this time to the north side of the quire. A rebuild took place by John Compton in 1906, but the organ was destroyed by the great fire of that year, which nearly destroyed the abbey too.
Burials
- Thomas Thwaites and wife Alice de la Hay[16]
Bishop of Selby
The Bishop of Selby is a Suffragan Bishop to the Archbishop of York and oversees the Archdeaconry of York, which includes the Deanery of Selby.[17]
Selby Abbey is one of twenty members of the Greater Churches Group.
See also
- Monk Fryston
- Monk Fryston Hall
- List of monastic houses in North Yorkshire
- List of English abbeys, priories and friaries serving as parish churches
References
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Church of St Mary and St Germain (Selby Abbey) (1132591)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Selby and Tadcaster History". northeastengland.talktalk.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
- ^ a b c UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer
- ^ Western Times, Monday 22 October 1906. p.4. Selby Abbey Entirely Destroyed by Fire on Saturday
- ^ Sheffield Evening Telegraph. Friday 14 December 1906. p. 5. The Selby Abbey Fire
- ^ Gloucester Citizen, Monday 22 October 1906. p.5. The Fire at Selby Abbey
- ^ "Restoring Selby Abbey: The Challenge We Face". Selby Abbey. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
- ^ "Washington Window". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ^ Selby Abbey, "The Washington Window" (leaflet available in the Abbey)
- ^ Yorkshire Gazette – Saturday 3 December 1881
- ^ Thornsby, Frederick W., ed. (1912) Dictionary of Organs and Organists. Bournemouth : Logan.
- ^ "Yorkshire, North, Selby, Abbey of St. Mary and St. Germain, Selby Abbey, The Crescent, [N07130]". National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Yorkshire, North, Selby, Abbey of St. Mary and St. Germain, Selby Abbey, The Crescent, [N05109]". National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Yorkshire, North, Selby, Abbey of St. Mary and St. Germain, Selby Abbey, The Crescent, [N07165]". National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ Testamenta Eboracensia: Or, Wills Registered at York Illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, &c. of the Province of York from the Year MCCC Downwards. J. B. Nichols and Son. 1869. p. 10. Retrieved 9 October 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ "New Bishops of Selby and Whitby". Diocese of York. Retrieved 18 May 2023.