WORKS. 
9 
sign of an apse. He came to the conclusion that the concrete 
platform shown in the plan of the crypt was that ol Abp. Albert’s 
church and not that of Paulinus as he had formerly stated. 
Browne published an illustrated sixpenny guide to the Minster. 
It consisted of 48 pages, and was printed by K. E. Hardy, of 
Huddersfield. A second edition was issued about 1866; it was 
printed by Chapman, of York. A third edition was printed by 
Johnson and Tesseyman, of York. 
John Browne was brought up in the faith of the Church of 
England but subsequently joined the Church of Rome. He was 
superintendent of St. Wilfrid’s Sunday School which was held at 
the schoolroom in Ogleforth. He is described as “ Mr. Browne, 
the drawing master, a tall severe gentleman, in the usual tail coat 
and knee breeches, with a short cane concealed up his sleeve.” 
He got through an enormous amount of work, he learnt everything 
that was at all calculated to help him in his researches, and was a 
notable example of what may be accomplished by industry and 
perseverance. His published works contain only a selection of 
the drawings he made. The few who differed from some of his 
conclusions testified to the fidelity of his illustrations. Professor 
Willis, his severest critic, made mistakes, e.g., his date of 1330 
for the beginning of the chapter house, and the placing of Abp. 
Albert’s Minster on a different site from that of the Minster. 
Without Browne’s works on the Minster we should know little 
of its real meaning and significance, but thanks to the knowledge 
he acquired so laboriously and has given to us, we can now stand 
before the sculptured stone and painted glass, and listen as it were 
while they unfold their story. 
Another work which cost him a great amount of labour was on 
“The Creative Principles of Christian Architecture”; in it, the 
design of all architectural features, large and small, as plans, 
vaults, tracery, crockets and mouldings, is, I think, based on the 
crossed ellipse. He prepared above a hundred plates drawn to 
scale to illustrate this work, which would have been given to the 
scientific world years ago had not the cost of publication delayed 
It. Browne had, unfortunately, in his publication of the “History 
of the Minster,” no great reason to congratulate himself on the 
pecuniary results, and in addition the failure of a Norwich bank, 
it is said, seriously crippled his resources. 
It is told of John Browne that although he was brusque in 
manner and dogmatic in expression, he could keep a company 
