. But to proceed in our intended
narrative. These things I have related before were indeed the acts of
private persons only, men of wild intemperate zeal, and who had no
commission for what they did, but what was owing to the swords by their
sides. Yet notwithstanding all these things seemed afterwards to be
own'd and approved by the powers then in being, when they sold all the
churches lands, and many fair buildings adjoyning to the minster, were
likewise pulled down and sold by publick order and authority, such were
the cloysters, the old chapter-house, the library, the bishops hall and
chapel at the end of it: the hall was as fair a room as most in
England; and another call'd the green chamber, not much inferior to it.
These all were then pull'd down and destroyed; and the materials, lead,
timber, and stone exposed to sale, for any that would buy them. But
some of the bargains proved not very prosperous; the lead especially
that came off the palace, was as fatal as the gold of Tholouse; for to
my knowledge, the merchant that bought it, lost it all, and the ship
which carried it, in her voyage to Holland.

"And thus the church continued ruined and desolate, and without all
divine offices for a time; till at length by the favour of a great
person in the neighbourhood, it was repaired and restored to some
degrees of decency again; and out of the ashes of a late cathedral,
grew up into a new parochial church, in which way it was employ'd and
used ever after, untill the kings happy restauration. For Mr. Oliver
St. John, chief justice then of the common pleas, being sent on an
embassy into Holland by the powers that governed then, requested this
boon of them at his return, that they would give him the ruin'd church
or minster at Peterburgh; this they did accordingly, and he gave it to
the town of Peterburgh for their use, to be employ'd as a parochial
church, their own parish church being then very ruinous and gone to
decay.

"Now the town considering the largeness of the building, and the
greatness of the charge to repair it, which of themselves they were not
able to defray, they all agree to pull down the ladies chapel as it was
then called, an additional building to the north side of the minster,
(being then ruinous and ready to fall) and to expose the materials
thereof, lead, timber, and stone to sale, and to convert the mony that
was made of them, towards the repairs of the great fabrick.

"All this they did, and a