Sixty years ago
The year is 1900. Talbot was the Bishop, who later became the first bishop of the newly created diocese of Southwark. Hole was the Dean, and the Canons were Cheetham (Archdeacon), Jelf, Cheyne and Pollock.
The Minor Canons were Nash, who was also Precentor and Headmaster of the Choir School, and Blackie, who came back to Rochester many years later as Dean. The Organist was John Hopkins, succeeded on his death in August of that year by Luard-Selby. The Layclerks were Marriner and Voysey (altos), Oldroyd and Fearnley (tenors), and Holliday and Lord (basses).
There were 12 choristers and 6 practising boys as now.
The Vergers were Miles and Newman, and Hoadley was the Precinct Warden. Miles served the Cathedral for 72 vears as chorister, layclerk and verger and was the original of Tope in Dickens' "Edwin Drood". He had five sons all of whom had been choristers. What a pity there is no tablet to his memory in the Cathedral!
John Hopkins, like William Miles, also had five sons who had been choristers.
The Cathedral had at that time the tower referred to by Dickens as "the massive, grey, square tower".
Prebendal House was still standing in the Cloister Garth and was the residence of Canon Jelf. But, on the whole, the Cathedral and Precinct looked very much the same as to-day. Prebendal House, an ugly red-brick building, was demolished in 1937 in connection with the restoration of the Cloisters for which the Friends are responsible.
It is often said that a cathedral chorister's life is hard.
This is true, as, in addition to his ordinary school work, he is committed to services in the cathedral and the necessary practices and rehearsals. But the present-day chorister has a much easier life than did his predecessor.
The discontinuance of Choral Mattins and shortened services-not to mention generous holidays- have lessened the pressure on his life.
A typical day in the life of a chorister in 1900 began with school at 8 a.m.; at 9.30 coffee and biscuits were provided at the organist's house by Miss Hopkins.
Mattins was at 10 o'clock, which was fully choral and included an anthem, as well as the Litany on the appropriate days. At 11 a.m. practice was held, which could last until 12.3o. During this time the youngest boys were instructed in voice-training and in the theory of music. These practices were usually taken by John Hopkins' son Glanville (an old chorister), as his father was old. School began again at 2 p.m., and Evensong at 4 completed the day, except for plenty of homework. Wednesday was the "off* day from both
choir and school, unless it was a Saint's day. There was no school on Saturday afternoon, when a full choir practice was held with the Precentor in charge. The boys wore Eton suits with caps on weekdays and mortar-boards with red tassels on Sundays.
Looking back, it seems there were always plenty of extra services, including one every Wednesday evening in Lent and services devoted entirely to large works such as "Elijah", , "St. Paul", Bach's "Passion", etc.
We had the usual school holidays, but the choral services continued throughout the year except for two weeks in August and this included one Sunday. Among those who frequently attended the services were Canon Jelf's family, Ben Willis, Miss Fagge, Mrs. Nash, wife of the Precentor and several of the Bedesmen.
Miss Fagge joined heartily in the singing of the hymns but she did not approve of a processional sung before the service and, in spite of her obvious pleasure in singing, she remained silent until after the response "O Lord, open 'Thou our lips."
Some people nostalgically regret that daily Choral Mattins, except in St. Paul's Cathedral, is a thing of the past. Settings of the Te Deum may thus be lost and some anthems, no doubt, will disappear: for the fewer the services, the smaller the repertoire. We are lucky in Rochester to have maintained so many choral services and such a high standard of singing.
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
Canons, colleagues, volunteers and staff have shared their memories and reflections in many forms over the years.