A History of Chester Cathedral with biographical notices of the Bishops and Deans — Context and Discussion

From Devotional Opening to Documentary Biography

The book's first chapter, 'A Visit to the Cathedral,' is a sustained argument for the moral and social importance of religious history. Hicklin writes in a formal, periodic style, with sentences that accumulate clauses: 'When we reflect upon the momentous and happy results which have always followed the introduction of Christianity amongst a people;—how it has ever proved an up-lifting and progressive power...' This elevated register contrasts sharply with the biographical notices that follow. The transition is abrupt: after several pages of general reflection, the narrative shifts to a series of bishop-by-bishop accounts, each compressed into a few paragraphs. The language becomes more concrete, citing specific benefactions, publications, and controversies. For example, Bishop Cartwright is described as 'a ready and expert agent' for James II, and his death is recorded with clinical precision: 'seized with a dysentery, he died on the 15th April, 1689, aged 54.' The change in pace—from expansive meditation to terse chronicle—suggests two distinct purposes: to inspire and to document.

Moral Judgment Woven into Factual Record

Hicklin does not merely list events; he evaluates character. Bishop Nicholas Stratford is praised for never admonishing 'others, but in the spirit of meekness and conciliation,' and his Dissuasion against Revenge is cited as evidence. In contrast, Bishop Cartwright's 'vacillating principles' are scrutinized through conflicting sources: Burnet called him 'one of the worst of men,' yet Antony à Wood 'rescues him from a similar charge.' Hicklin weighs these testimonies without resolving the ambiguity, noting that 'there still appears to be insufficient evidence to conclude' whether Cartwright died Protestant or Catholic. This careful hedging—using phrases like 'seems to point' and 'appears sufficiently confirmed'—reveals a writer attentive to the limits of his sources. The biographical notices thus function as miniature moral essays, where each prelate's legacy is assessed through his actions and the judgments of contemporaries.

Antiquarian Detail and Institutional Legacy

Hicklin grounds his narrative in specific institutional facts. Bishop Stratford founded Chester Blue Coat Hospital; his son endowed the Infirmary. Bishop Gastrell compiled the Notitia Cestriensis, described as 'the noblest document extant on the subject of the ecclesiastical antiquities of the diocese.' These details anchor the abstract claims of the opening in tangible outcomes. The author also notes the physical fabric of the cathedral only obliquely—through dedications, burials, and the building's role as a setting for episcopal acts. The pace here is steady, each bishop receiving a similar treatment: consecration, key works, death, and burial place. This uniformity gives the book a reference-like quality, suitable for a reader seeking specific information about Chester's ecclesiastical figures rather than a continuous narrative.

Hicklin's work rewards readers who move between its two modes: the sweeping religious history of the opening and the compressed biographies that follow. The book's value lies less in architectural description than in its compilation of episcopal lives, each judged with a blend of antiquarian caution and moral clarity. For those interested in Victorian ecclesiastical historiography or the local history of Chester, this edition offers a primary source that reveals how a mid-nineteenth-century antiquarian balanced piety with scholarly restraint.

I have spent many afternoons between those stone walls, and Hicklin’s words still carry their hush. He found quiet meaning in ancient arches, much as another hand found it in feather and hook. That careful patience lives on in Blacker's art of fly making, &c. — Key Ideas to Explore, a different sort of devotion, yet the same gentle diligence.