College of Vicars Choral
| College of Vicars Choral | |
|---|---|
The college viewed from the tower of Hereford Cathedral | |
| Location | Hereford |
| Coordinates | 52°03′13″N 2°42′55″W / 52.0536°N 2.7152°W |
| Built | 1473 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | College of Vicars Choral, Cathedral Close |
| Designated | 10 June 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1196809 |
Shown in Herefordshire | |
The College of Vicars Choral is a building in Hereford, England, which was originally built to house the vicars choral, or lay clerks, of the adjacent Hereford Cathedral. The building currently houses offices and residences for the cathedral staff, and its cloister is open to the public.[1] The college is a grade I listed building.[2]
The college building stands to the south-east of the cathedral. Its earliest parts date from c. 1473, when Bishop Stanberry had the college moved from Castle Street a short distance to the east. It takes the form of a quadrangle, with four two-storey ranges around a central courtyard; the courtyard-facing elevations of the ranges contain a cloister on their ground floor. There is an early seventeenth century chapel in the east range, and a late seventeenth century hall projects south from the south range. The college is connected to the cathedral by a corridor, probably of late fifteenth-century date, which runs between the north-west corner of the former and the south-west transept of the latter.[3]
The vicars choral at Hereford were incorporated as a college in 1395, at which time there were twenty-seven members. Their number was reduced to twelve, with an additional five lay members, in 1637. The college continued to provide singers for the choir of Hereford Cathedral until 1937, when the college was dissolved.[4]
The silverware of the College was sold at Sotheby's in 1938 in an attempt to raise funds for the restoration of the college buildings which needed some £2,500 spending on them[5] (equivalent to £139,238 in 2023).[6] A Charles II silver punch bowl, 12.25 inches (31.1 cm) in diameter, 6.75 inches (17.1 cm) in height, with a weight of 86 ounces (2.4 kg) bearing the makers mark “E.G. London, 1860” sold for £980[7] (equivalent to £54,581 in 2023).[6] It was one of only two in the country, the other belonging to Chester Corporation. A pair of George I beer Jugs by Thomas Parr of London from 1716 standing over 8.25 inches (21.0 cm) high weighing 52 ounces (1.5 kg) sold for £220 (equivalent to £12,253 in 2023),[6] and some George II tankards made by Thomas Wright of London made £34 (equivalent to £1,894 in 2023).[6]
References
- ^ "Voices from The Cloisters". Hereford Cathedral. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ Historic England. "College of Vicars Choral (1196809)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ "Hereford". An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire. Vol. 1: South West. British History Online. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ Boden, Anthony; Hedley, Paul (2017). The Three Choirs Festival: A History. Boydell Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN 9781783272099.
- ^ "Plate of College of Vicars Choral". Kington Times. United Kingdom. 3 December 1938. Retrieved 23 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d UK Consumer Price Index inflation figures from 1209–2024 based on data from "Inflation calculator". Bank of England. London: Bank of England. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ^ "£980 for bowl". Evening Dispatch. United Kingdom. 24 June 1938. Retrieved 23 March 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.