The Henson Journals

[683]

Monday, February 28th, 1916.

574th day

DISUSE of the COPES in DURHAM A.D. 1760.

The story about Warburton's disusing the copes is told thus in Watson's Life of him: p. 427:–

"Another story concerning Warburton as prebend of Durham is that he was the first who disused copes. The occasion is thus told by the writer of an article on Pope in the 'Quarterly Review' (vol. xxxii, p. 273. See also Rev: G. Ormsby's Sketches of Durham, p. 129): 'A friend of ours, many years ago, on being shown among the curiosities of Durham Cathedral, the splendid vestments formerly worn by the prebendaries, asked how they had come to be disused: when the verger said, "It happened in my time. Did you ever hear of one Dr Warburton, Sir? A very hot man he was, Sir: we never could please him in putting on his robe. The stiff high collar used to ruffle his great full–bottomed wig: till, one day, he threw the robe off in a great passion, & said he would never wear it again: & he never did: & the other gentlemen soon left off theirs too"."

In the Diary of Thomas Gyll (Surtees Society Publications No 118) the episode is described under the date Sept. 17th 1760:–

"At the latter end of July or beginning of August, the old copes (those raggs [sic] of popery) which had been used in the Communion Service at the Abbey, ever since the time of the Reformation, were ordered by the dean & chapter to be totally disused & laid aside. Dr Warburton, one of the prebendarys [sic] & bishop of Gloucester, was very zealous to have them laid aside, and so was Doctor Cowper the Dean."

Thomas Gyll was appointed Solicitor General of the County Palatine of Durham in 1733, and died at Durham in 1780.

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