The Office has been informed that, while taking measurements of Chester Cathedral for their Standard Issue Wee Parasol scale model, a team of ants from Health & Safety (Ant Division) have made an unexpected discovery.
Simon Turner (Ant No. 380), Senior Structural Adviser, said, “Whilst measuring a little-used passage adjoining the cloisters, I noticed a discrepancy between our internal and external measurements. The discrepancy warranted further investigation, revealing a void behind timber panelling which appears to date from Tudor times. To my great surprise, within the void I discovered a previously unrecorded stained-glass window depicting a strikingly Tiggy-like feline.”
The work was initially thought to be a late-medieval style recreation by Mrs Gladys M. Dillwyn-Llewelyn, who is known to occasionally work in stained glass. However, Mrs Dillwyn-Llewelyn, while flattered, confirmed that it was not her work. It has since been examined by a medieval stained-glass specialist from The Grosvenor Museum, who believes it contains the hallmarks of local artist Christopher Holder, who was active in Chester during the mid-sixteenth century.
Preliminary research suggests that the cat depicted may be Lady Tigridia of Chester (c. 1552–1567), Chief Rat Catcher to the Bishop, Keeper of the Cathedral Cellars & Inspector of Ecclesiastical Rodents – and, according to surviving genealogical evidence, potentially a direct ancestor of Tiggy.
Cathedral records indicate that Lady Tigridia rose to prominence due to her exceptional rodent-catching abilities, for which she was granted freedom of the Cathedral and an annual stipend of twelve herrings.
Also concealed within the void was a document relating to the unsolved murder of a senior member of the Cathedral clergy in 1556 – identifying Lady Tigridia as a prime suspect and potentially explaining why the window was subsequently concealed.
Tiggy has instructed the Department for Archiving & Historical Research to reopen the 470-year-old investigation immediately. She has also requested confirmation regarding whether the twelve-herring annual stipend was hereditary.