2''<' S. VII. Mau. 5. '59.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



203 



believed that the consecration of Parker was 

 vblid after all. So far, indeed, from Barlow's 

 consecration being grounded on indisputable ar- 

 guments, there is not the slightest ground to 

 believe that he ever was consecrated at all. The 

 Anglican orders are invalid on other and more 

 weighty grounds ; but the non-consecration of 

 Barlow is of itself fatal to them. F. C. H. 



Validity of Anglican Orders. — This controversy 

 is determined by the famous statute, 25 Hen. 

 VIII. c. 20. With the consent of his Parliament, 

 the king simply transferred to himself and suc- 

 cessors all that ecclesiastical jurisdiction or power 

 which had long been usurped »and notoriously 

 abused by the Roman pontiffs. No 7iew method 

 of consecrating an Anglican bishop (as the modern 

 Romanist would fain have it) was invented by 

 Henry and his counsellors, much less was that 

 sacred rite Interfered or dispensed with. Names 

 only, and not proceedings or offices, were changed. 

 Thus : for presentation we had (and still have) 

 election ; for admission, confirmation ; for institu- 

 tion, consecration ; and for induction, installation. 



It is Idle, therefore, to speak of bishops exer- 

 cising, or attempting to exercise, spiritual or par- 

 liamentary jurisdiction before their confirmation, 

 &c. The thing. In fact, was absolutely impossible. 

 It may serve the turn of an opponent to adduce 

 an example of a bishop -elect having taken his 

 seat in parliament before his confirmation ; but 

 such a rule could only apply to one who had been, 

 or rather was about to be, translated from some 

 other see: for — 



" It is not reasonable that the bishop should lose his 

 former preferment, till he hath obtained a new one : and 

 so it is in case of creation ; he is not completely bishop till 

 consecration." — 3 Salk. 72. 



After consecration, and not till then, could the 

 bishop " sue his temporalities (i. e. his baronage) 

 out of the king's hand,'* and do homage for them ; 

 which last-mentioned act alone entitled him to 

 the rank of a legislator, and to take his seat in 

 parliament. /3. 



[This question has widened from the original one, 

 nameh', the Consecration of Bishop Barlow, into a ge- 

 neral discussion on the Validity of Anglican Orders, 

 which is beyond our pale. It is also assuming a tone 

 which renders it advisable that we should here close the 

 controversy. F. C. H. will, of course, be satistied, as we 

 liave given him the last word ; while those who maintain 

 the validity of Anglican Orders will be not less content 

 to leave unanswered an opponent who ignores the entry 

 in Bishop Fox's Register of Latimer's consecration, on 26 

 Sept. 1535, and that in Cranraer's Register, which records 

 the consecration of Ridlej' on 25 Sept. 1547. — Ed. "N. 

 &Q."] 



OAK BEDSTKADS, ETC. 



(2"^ S. vli. 69. 114.) 

 Although the taste for collecting, and the trade 

 of making up old oak furniture Is now somewhat 



abated, It may not be without its use, nor below 

 the dignity of " N. & Q.," to say a word or two 

 more on the subject, which is interesting both in 

 a heraldic point of view, as being often adorned 

 with the armorial bearings of the first possessors, 

 and especially as throwing light on the domestic 

 habits of our ancestors. With this latter object 

 I send you a few Notes on old oak bedsteads. 



They are generally low ; showing that the 

 sleeping-rooms of our forefathers were low too. 

 I have seen one, in its perfect state, which was 

 not more than 6 feet or 6 feet 6 inches in its total 

 height from the floor. And of this small height, 

 the frame on which the bed rested was 2 feet 

 from the ground, so as to allow ample room for the 

 " truckle bed " to be thrust under it when not in 

 use ; consequently the space from the bed to the 

 wooden tester was barely 4 feet ; so that the 

 sleeper must have crept into it. The arched re- 

 cesses which are sometimes found In the heads of 

 such bedsteads (about 14 in. wide by 16 high, 

 and about 5 or 6 inches deep). Were probably 

 Intended as shelves for occasional use. One of 

 my bedsteads has the arch charred, as if burnt 

 by a candle placed on it. 



In some old oak bedsteads the head, with its 

 canopy or tester and foot pillars, stands alone ; 

 but having a stump bedstead or frame for the 

 bedding to rest on within them unattached, and 

 so capable of removal as occasion might require, 

 leaving the other parts standing. In these cases 

 the tester is necessarily 7 or 8 inches longer than 

 usual, to admit of the curtains passing round the 

 foot of the stump-bedstead, and between It and 

 the pillars which support the tester or canopy 

 with its cornices and valances. Such Is the form 

 of one of mine. 



Instead of the modern sacking or laths, the 

 mattress and bedding, of whatever kind, was laid 

 on and supported by large cords, drawn through 

 holes bored in the framework of the sides, head, 

 and bottom; and crossed over one another at 

 intervals of a foot or nine Inches apart. I re- 

 member when one of my bedsteads had these 

 cords, and a mattress of rushes oh them. 



Some of such beds were furnished with stand- 

 up side-boards and foot-boards shutting into 

 grooves, in order to keep In the materials of the 

 bed, whether straw or rushes. Such are the in- 

 dications of one of my oak bedsteads; showing 

 the reason for the " Instructions furnished to the 

 Gentleman Usher " in olden time ; as to the duty 

 of " the Yeoman with a dagger to search the 

 straw of the king's bed, that there be no untruth 

 therein, before they cast the bed of down upon 

 that." 



Some bedsteads were also furnished with boards 

 or flaps suspended from the framework by hinges 

 which served the purpose of our modern bases or 

 lower valances ; but when lifted up, were sup- 



