All language subtitles for The Barchester Chronicles (1982) EP8.EN

'Peterborough has two buildings
of cathedral-like proportions:

'one, a shopping centre,
built to the glory of consumerism.

'It's very doubtful, though, whether
all this glass and concrete and steel

'will outlive
the city's other great structure...

'that masterpiece
of Norman craftsmanship

'which has already stood for 750 years.

'Peterborough Cathedral is one of
the least-known cathedrals in England.

'Surprising, really,

'because it was one of the most
important of the Benedictine abbeys,

'a medieval marvel. '

White horses, white horses

Who'll ride the white horses?

Who'll ride the white horses?

Welcome to the cathedral.

I hope you'll have a very nice visit
and you'll find it interesting.

We do get so many visitors.

They come in the cathedral,

they don't expect there to be a service on

because they want to look
round the building.

Reminding me of the day
when I had a dear, old soul.

He says to me,

"Well, don't you think it's a bit of a pity
that you've got a service on

"just when we want to walk round?"

I said, "Well, give and take 800 years,

"there's been a service on here
every day. "

And I said,

"Don't you think it's a bit of a pity
that your coach driver

"just decided to come here at this time,

"when there is a service on?"

"Aye," he said. "Maybe you're right.

"Oh, we'll come back. We'll go
and have a cup of tea and come back. "

Glory be to Father

And to the Son

And to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning

Is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen

'In the dawn of English history,

'Peterborough seemed destined
never to have a cathedral.

'This was the third attempt
by abbots and monks

'to establish a religious and political
stronghold in this corner of fenland. '

'Fire destroyed
the monks' first two attempts.

'First, it was the invading Vikings
who murdered the abbot and his monks.

'That was in 870.

'Then, 100 years later,
Hereward the Wake set his torches to it.

'And an accidental fire
burned the rest down 50 years later.

'A chronicler of the day, Hugh Candidus,

'reported that the flames raged
for over a week.

'Almost before the embers were out,
building began again.

'Generations of stonemasons and
carpenters took a century to complete it.

'Inside, the crowning glory,

'a painted ceiling
for the 230-foot-long nave.

'Only three other examples

'of such magnificent medieval art
exist in the world.

'Being of monastic origins, it's
surprising, that it's still around today.

'When Henry Vlll was busy
dissolving all the monasteries,

'somehow Peterborough
was left off his shopping list.

'It could have had something to do
with the fact that his first wife,

'Catherine of Aragon, was buried here.

'Though some historians
don't believe King Henry

'was that sentimental about his wives.

'More likely, it's thought,
the abbot had friends at court

'and it was they who persuaded the king

'to make Peterborough's
monastic church

'into one of his
new generation of cathedrals. '

'While Henry Vlll was generous
towards Peterborough,

'Cromwell certainly wasn't.

'His parliamentary soldiers
ransacked the place.

'Everything in sight was smashed -

'the altar, the organ,
candlesticks and paintings.

'Just one precious book was saved,

'the 12th-century chronicle and register
of the old abbey.

'A minor canon managed to bribe
one of Cromwell's soldiers

'with ten shillings to let him keep it.

'He kidded him it was a Latin bible.

'Fortunately,
they missed a few pieces of silver plate

'out in the churches of the diocese.

'They are now in the cathedral treasury. '

Many of these items
are extremely valuable.

In fact, probably too valuable
to be in regular use nowadays.

And a lot of them have in recent years

been kept in bank vaults,
which kept them secure

but also meant that they were invisible.

Here is the very oldest piece
that we have,

which comes from Preston in Rutland.

It's the only piece
of pre-Reformation plate in the treasury.

It dates from somewhere
between 1460 and 1500.

It will be produced by a local craftsman

and it has on it the hand of God,
the manna stave,

which was a fairly common symbol
on pre-Reformation plate.

Well, most of the medieval plate

was either melted down
to be used as bullion,

or there's one very famous incident
really connected with this abbey.

When Richard I, the Lionheart
as you recall, was being held prisoner,

a king's ransom was needed
in order to rescue him.

It was actually an abbot of Peterborough

who suggested that the church plate
right across the land

should be sold
in order to raise the money.

That was done in 1193.

And, obviously, for reasons like that,

many items of medieval plate
are no longer available.

'It's this sense of history and continuity
that fascinates the present bishop.

'Parts of his palace,
next door to the cathedral,

'go back 700 years.

'This is where the last abbot
and very first bishop lived. '

Of course, this place means a lot to me,

because where I lived before, you see,
I was a bishop in London before,

and we lived just by the British Museum,

and about 100 yards from Oxford Street.

And there was three perpetual lines
of traffic outside our door.

Day and night. All hours.

Well, you got used to it
and we really enjoyed it, you know.

I could indulge my speciality
in wine bars, you know.

Now we've moved here.
What I value is all this marvellous space.

What the history has done
is give us all the old buildings

but it's given us also
a lot of space which is ours.

'They reckon there were abbots here

'in the year 640, 650.

'We're not sure
where they lived originally,

'but from about 900, 1,000 years ago,

'they lived actually on this site.

'So, I live on the same site

'as people have been doing the job
for 1,000 years.

'We have a couple of ghosts,

'but they're both positive, nice ghosts.
One in the garden, one in the house,

'I don't see ghosts
but the records are there.

'And to live here with...

'Well, we counted 29 variety of birds
in the garden in our first year here.

'And the kestrel
who feeds on our sparrows,

'I'll get him one of these days.

'And last year,
the RSPB put in cameras there.

'And the birds actually got
quite used to them very quickly.

'There are some wonderful shots in the
cathedral of them feeding their young. '

'It was the eighth year
they'd nested in a water drain

'high up in the southwest tower.

'By mid May, the fledgling kestrels
were three weeks old

'and giving their young wings
a shower in the rain,

'a rare sight.

'Within a few more days,
they could make their first flight.

'Next to stir, after the kestrels
on this particular day,

'was the head verger,
Bob Bolton, an ex-coal miner.

'After 17 years down the pit,

'he decided to seek a fuller spiritual life
in the Church. '

'The average day begins at 6:45.

'And you open the Norman gates
in the precincts,

'giving the public access
to the precincts.

'It's like opening up the gates
to an oasis.

'And as a head verger,
I'm in charge of 200 keys.

'It takes 19 keys to open the cathedral

'to get to the public in the morning. '

'Of the three clergy on duty
for this 7:30 matins was the archdeacon,

'one of the two resident canons
and the dean. '

Come, let us sing unto the Lord.

Let us heartily rejoice
in the strength of Thy salvation.

We believe that Thou should come
to be our judge.

'I've been dean for seven years now.

'I came in march '81
from Notting Hill in west London.

'It was a very surprising development
for me.

'The appointment of dean is a
curious thing. It's a crown appointment. '

So all that happened was

that I had a little envelope dropped
through my letter box which said,

"I have in mind a change of work for you.

"I will either come to Notting Hill
or you can come to the office. "

Well, since the office was number 10
Downing Street, I couldn't resist going.

So I went to see the prime minister's
appointment secretary. And he said,

"I was just wondering what you think
about going to Peterborough as dean?"

So I was fairly shattered by that and er...

I came to see Peterborough Cathedral

and had no hesitation
that this was something I'd like to do.

'It's marvellous.
The stillness of that building

'does do something for me every day.

'And I think that's one
of the great privileges of being here.

'I know it's cold in the winter
but actually one can live through that.

'I mean, it's not that desperate. '

Our Lord Jesus Christ,
who suffered death upon the cross,

who made there by His one oblation
of Himself once offered

a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice
for the oblation and satisfaction...

'It is amazing that some people
do have this idea

'that the clergy only work on Sundays.

'And yet, I find Sunday
probably the most relaxing day.

'Because on Sundays, it's very, very rare
that we have meetings.

'And meetings of an administrative
nature

'occupy a good deal of a dean's time,

'because you can't afford
to be inefficient

'about running
a place of this importance. '

There's one or two things
I want to bring you up to date on

- that have been taking place.
- Fine.

The first one refers to the development

- along causeway 37 to 39.
- Oh, yes.

Is that affecting
the head verger's house?

Yeah.

We've now reached agreement, I think,

with our own architects and the
developers' architects about the wall.

'I suppose
because it's a small community,

'some very trivial things can be built up.

'We really can make mountains out of
molehills very easily in a place like this.

'I think we spent weeks seeing whether
we could get any consensus

'about the kind of chair
we would have in the cathedral.

'I think the consensus
took about three years to get

'on the kind of chair
that would be suitable.

'Terribly important to try and keep the
perspective right. It's not easy always. '

'In the town hall,
the dean finds the secular world

'far less patient
with cathedral consensus. '

I got the usual complaint
that the cathedral was far too cold.

I mean, November,
sitting there for an hour and a bit.

Now, your predecessor told me

that it takes four days
of the central heating going full blast

to raise the temperature
by about 10 degrees.

But I wonder if we could try this year?

I'll have a good effort, Peter,
I'll certainly try and do that.

And it's in the appeal, anyway,
a new heating system,

so in a brave new world,
we'll have a new setup.

'Replacing the Victorian
Gurney heating machine

'is just one of a long list
of repairs and replacements

'at present concentrating the mind and
prayers of the cathedral's management.

'For such a great age,

'the old cathedral's main structure
is in amazingly good shape,

'thanks mainly to past restoration.

'But wind and weather and air pollution
have taken their toll.

'Plaster is falling from the vaulting,

'and emergency repairs
are needed in the cloisters.

'Mosaic floors are breaking up

'and stone statues
are fast corroding out of existence.

'At the last count,
60 windows needed help.

'There's a never-ending
conservation campaign.

'The present one
spearheaded by the Duke of Gloucester,

'who fortunately
has a good head for heights. '

- Is this stair 750 years old?
- Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

We've only a few more stairs to go now,
before we get to the top.

It's a wonderful view, isn't it?
Just as well you put these railings in.

Yes, there weren't rails
when I was appointed

but we thought it was so dangerous
that we ought to have some.

I understand that
when Cromwell sacked it,

left it more or less wrecked,
that children used to come and play,

and inevitably one or two
would topple over the edge.

Yes, it is very dangerous.

And now we can see some repairs
which we're actually doing.

And it shows the state of the glass.
This is a very typical window, indeed.

You see,
the wind howls through the gap.

- Is it safe to go up?
- I will hold the ladder.

Now you can see
how the panes have buckled.

The glass itself has broken.

And the joints admit cold air
and are rotten.

What has the lead done?
Has it sort of flowed down?

It's so old that it's lost its essence,
as it were,

and become very brittle and crystalline.

You ought to take the whole thing away.

The whole thing is being taken away
to the glazier's workshops

and will be releaded, the glass cleaned,

and then put back with new bars
to support it.

And now we come
to the remaining medieval glass,

which has all been set
in the apse windows.

As you know, Cromwell did
a great deal of damage in this building,

which is curious
because he was a local resident almost.

So these were just sort of fragments

swept up and left
in a pile on the floor?

Yes. Or probably left in other windows
in the tracery and brought together.

All the windows
have been put together in a collage?

In the apse windows, yes.

And you get a bit of this and a bit of that
and very little complete.

- It does show the wonderful colours.
- Beautiful colour, yes. It's magnificent.

'For Bob Bolton,
cathedral life must go on.

'His problems are stage-managing

'the cathedral's heavy schedule
of services and ceremonies,

'concerts and confirmations. '

Testing, testing.
One, two, three, four, five.

Testing over.

'From time to time,

'men have said,

"'When I retire,
I'm gonna have a job just like you. "

'When they see the verger dressed up
with the silver rod,

'that appeals to some men.

'But what they don't understand
is what lies behind that verger. '

'Dealing with
the suffering of people

'who make their way into the cathedral
from the cities outside

'is all part of a verger's day.

'But drug addicts and drunks
don't all suffer in silent prayer.

'This one was blaming his condition
on Jesus.

'Bob remembers others. '

'The other day,
we had an alcoholic at the high altar

'and he was pouring his heart out...

'to God.

'And then he broke down and cried.

'So I let him cry.

'And then when I thought he cried long
enough, I put my hand on his head...

'and I asked him his name.

'His name, his christian name was Jim. '

And I said to Jim,

"Jim, stand up...
and look at me, man to man. "

Which he did do.

And then I said to him,

"Would you like a cup of coffee
and something to eat?"

He said, "I would love that. "

This man,

I know must have had
a decent upbringing,

because...

the next day
he came back to the cathedral

and started to play the piano.

So he must have had some training.

And er...

So I said,
"I'd like to know your life's history, Jim. "

But he never spoke, he just kept quiet,

and went on his way.

- It just goes on like that.
- That's quite hard to play.

Try that link into the...

Go from there and let's see
what that change of key is like.

I dread to think
how many Magnificats I've directed

during the course of my career
in cathedrals.

But the hardest thing to do is to,

if you like,
motivate the members of the choir

to always see what you're doing
as something new and fresh.

I think people find it hard to believe
that you can spend your time

organising music in the cathedral
and music around the diocese,

and wonder what on earth
you do the majority of the day.

'When Catherine was born
and I registered her birth,

'and I told the registrar what my job was,

'he then followed that by saying,
"Well, what's your proper job?"'

Glory be to the Father

Glory be to the Father!

And to the Son

And to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning

Is now

And ever shall be

World without end

World without end

World without end

World without end

Amen

I'm a great one for bad taste hymns.

I've got no taste at all.

I like them the louder, the better,
where they all sway.

And I like them dancing. I got the dean
swaying, you must ask him about it.

But I think it's very important
to use the cathedral for the occasion.

'We have all our ordinations
in the cathedral,

'which is the mother church
of the diocese.

'And all the young men,
and young women now of course,

'who are entering into ministry
come here, really to begin it.

'It's a very emotive moment for them

'because a lot of them
have been thinking about this for years.

'And so it sums up a lot of their hopes
because this is the key.

'Whatever you believe about it,
once you put this collar on,

'you are in a different relationship
with people. '

Send down the holy spirit,

upon your servant Richard

for the official work of a deacon

in your church.

'And even a dean needs time to relax,

'to switch the cloth for a pair of shorts. '

'I do try to get on the rowing course
once a week.

'When I came here,
providentially there was a rowing club.

'We used to row on the river here,
the River Nene.

'The rowing club's been moved, actually,

'from close proximity to the river
to a place called Thorpe Wood,

'where there's actually
a man-made course.

'And it's on that course that I do it
most of the time.

'I enjoy that greatly,

'and I mean I even was able to do
a sponsored scull

'for 10,000 metres a few weeks ago.

'And that helped raise a bit
for the appeal.

'So, it's great. That's great relaxation.
I enjoy that inordinately. '

Very glad to welcome you
to the cathedral

on your Sunday school pilgrimage.

We're glad to see so many of you
with your wonderful banners.

Hello there.

You're all right. You haven't dropped it.

'All the children you see have come from
parishes all over the diocese.

'And some parishes are quite small,
so their Sunday school is quite small.

'It's a marvellous thing
for them all to be together.

'But it's getting them
being part of what the cathedral's about,

'a slightly larger vision
than your own home parish. '

Would this cathedral be here now?

Would we be up here on this pilgrimage?

No.

I would like you to look up
and you'll see on the wall

a painting of Robert Scarlett.

Robert Scarlett was better known
in his day as Old Scarlett

because he always wore a red tunic.

Robert Scarlett buried both the queens.

And when his own turn came
to be buried,

Robert Scarlett, or Old Scarlett,

is buried just under that table.

Somebody's kindly put a table
right on top of his gravestone.

But he doesn't know anything about that.

One of the great things
about being a bishop

is that you know
where you're going to be buried.

And here in the cathedral is my great
predecessor Bishop Magee behind me,

and the wonderful
Bishop Mandell Creighton in front.

And I've chosen to be buried here.

my ashes right in the middle
of the south choir aisle,

on the grounds that they didn't walk over
me much when I was here,

but they're very welcome when I've gone.