the fabric
of the Church of Hereford, had caused much super-structure of sumptuous
work to be built, to the adornment of the House of God, upon an ancient
foundation; which in the judgment of masons or architects, who were
considered skilful in their art, was thought to be firm and sound, at the
cost of 20,000 marcs sterling and more, and that on account of the
weakness of the aforesaid foundation, the building, which was placed upon
it now, threatened such ruin, that by a similar judgment no other remedy
could be applied short of an entire renovation of the fabric from the
foundation,--which, on account of the expenses incurred in prosecution of
the canonisation of Thomas de Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford, of blessed
memory, they were unable to undertake." The "sumptuous work" alluded to
was evidently the central tower and the north transept; which latter had
been built, as mentioned before, for the remains and shrine of Bishop
Cantilupe.

When Mr. R. Biddulph Phillips, some sixty years ago, was examining the
confused and unsorted mass of charters and grants in the possession of the
cathedral, he found a parchment (which bore the two beautiful episcopal
seals of Bishop Roger le Poer of Sarum and Bishop Adam de Orleton of
Hereford) that acknowledged and confirmed this grant of tithes to the
sustentation of the fabric of the cathedral, which still forms the
backbone of the fabric fund. In 1328 Bishop Orleton was translated to
Worcester.

During the ensuing war with France, the church walls echoed with prayers
for the King's success, and, while the war-cloud still darkened the
political sky, orisons louder and more heartfelt filled the cathedral. It
is said that when the "Black Death" reached Hereford in 1349, to retard
its progress in the city the shrine of St. Thomas de Cantilupe was carried
in procession.

About this time, and possibly not unconnected with the calamity of this
terrible plague, Bishop Trilleck issued a mandate prohibiting the
performance of "theatrical plays and interludes" in churches as "contrary
to the practice of religion." The exact character of these performances is
doubtful, and the prohibition may have referred to some kind of secular
mumming. The mystery play survived long after Bishop Trilleck's time in an
annual pageant exhibited in the cathedral on Corpus Christi Day, to assist
in which some of the city guilds were obliged by the rules of their
incorporation.

The quarrels between the to