The king of
the East Saxons was Sebert, nephew of Ethelbert of Kent, and subject
to him. He, therefore, received Mellitus with cordiality, and as soon
as he established his work in the city, King Ethelbert built him a
church wherein to hold his episcopal see, and, so it is said, endowed
it with the manor of Tillingham, which is still the property of the
Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. There is no portion of that old church
remaining. It was in all probability built mostly of wood, and it
perished by fire, as so many Anglo-Saxon churches did, on July 7th,
1087. Some historical incidents connected with that early building
will be found on a subsequent page.
In the year before this calamity (April 5th, 1086), Maurice, chaplain
and chancellor to William the Conqueror, had been consecrated
Bishop of London by Lanfranc. Unlike most of William's nominees to
bishoprics, Maurice's moral character was disreputable; but he was a
man of energy, and he set to work at once to rebuild his cathedral,
and succeeded in getting from the king abundance of stone for the
purpose, some of it from the remains of the Palatine tower by the side
of the Fleet River, which was just being pulled down, having been
hopelessly damaged by the fire[1], and some direct from Caen.
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