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Gosnell, Little Queen Street, Hollorn. SELECT VIEWS OF JLOJVBOJV ^JVID ITS EJWVIROJfS; CONTAINING % Collection OF HIGHLY-FINISHED ENGRAVINGS, FHOM ORIGINAL PAINTINGS and DRAJVINGS, ACCOMPANIED BY COPIOUS LETTER-PRESS DESCRIPTIONS OF SUCH OBJECTS IN THE Metropolis and the surrounding Country AS ARE MOST REMARKABLE FOR ANTIQUITY, ARCHITECTURAL GRANDEUR, OR PICTURESQUE BEAUTY, VOLUME I. HonUan : PUBLISHED BY VERNOR AND HOOD, I'OULTRY ; J. STORER AND J. GREIG, CilAPEL STREET, PENTONVILLE. 1804. SUBJECTS TREATED OF IN THE FIRST VOLUME, A JLIST 0F THE FJLATES WHICH ILLUSTRATE THEM, Subjects treated of. 1. Alban's, St. Hertfordshire . . 2. Andrew Undershaft, St. Lead- enhall Street, London . . 3. Barking Abbey, Essex 4. Bow Bridge, ditto . . . 5. Canonbury, Islington . . 6. Charter House, London 7. Chingford, Essex . . . 8. Christ's Hospital, London 9. Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate Street, London 10. Eltham Palace, Kent . . . 11. Greenwich Hospital, ditto Plates illustrative. S. E. View of the Abbey Church. Interior of ditto. Vignette— Si. Michael's Church. Exterior of the Church. Vignette — Tomb of Stow the Historian. Barking. Vignette — The Abbey Gateway. View of the ancient Bridge and Village of Stratford le Bow. S. W. View of the Remains of the Old Manor House. View of the Hospital from Charter House Square. Ditto from the Gardens. N. E. View of the Church. ^^iew of (froiTi the Cloisters). Exterior of the Hall from the Entrance to Crosby Square. Interior of ditto. Vignette — Remains and Miscellaneous Antiquities. S. W. View of the Remains of the Palace. Interior of the ancient Hall. Vignette — John of Eitham's Tomb. Exterior of the Painted Hall. SUBJECTS OF THE PLATES Subjects treated of. 12. Lambeth Palace, Surry 13. London and its Vicinity 14. Paul's Cathedral, St. . . 15. Physicians' College, Warwick Lane, London .... 16. Sadler's Wells, Islington . 17. Stepney Church, Middlesex i8. Temple Bar, London . . - 19. Waltham Abbey, Essex . . 20. Westminster (the City) , . 2 1 . , Palace of . . 22. Windsor, Berks r I- 2. 3- 4- I. 2. 3- I. { r I. { Phles illustrative. General View of the Palace from the Gardens. Part of ditto from Bishop's Walk. Exterior of the Lollards' Tower. Interior of the great Hall. General View from Greenwich. Ditto from the Thames. Vignette — ditto from Bankside. Grand West Front, with Part of Ludgate Hill. Street Front of, with Part of Warwick Lane. View of, from the New Tunbridge Wells Gardens. S. E. View of the Church. Vignette — Miscellaneous Antiquities be- longing to ditto. Distant View, with Part of Butcher Row. N. E. View of the Remains of the Ab- bey Church. Interior of ditto. Remains of the Abbey Gateway. General View of, from Lambeth. Front View of Westminster Hall. The Painted Chamber, with Part of the House of Lords. DistantView of the Castle from theForest. Directions for placing the Vlatcs. It having been judged necessary to omit pngins; this work, in order that the purchaser miglit be left at liberty to arrange; the subjects treated of in a manner most agreeable to himself, the Binder is requested to observe — that Tlic following Pint PS face the respective Accounts to uliich they refer. t. Windsor (fiom the Foiest). ». S. E. View of the Abbey Church of St. A!- ban's — Herts. 3. The Hall of Greenwich Hospital— Kent. 4. N.E. View of Waltham Abbey Church- Essex. 5. S. E. View of Stepney Church — Middlesex. 6. View of London from Greenwich. 7. Westminster Hall. 8. St. Paul's Cathedral. t). Chingfoi-d Church — Essex. 10. S. W. View of the Remains of Eltham Pa- lace — Kent. 11. London (from the Thames). 12. Crosby Hall, London. 13. Christ's Hospital (from the Cloisters). 14. The Old Bridge at Stratford le Bow. 15. St. Andrew Undershaft, Leadenhall Street. 16. Lambeth Palace from the Gardens. 17. Temple Bar from Butcher Row, London. 18. Remains of Canonbury, Islington. 19. The Charter House from die Square. 20. Barking — Essex. 21. Sadler's Wells. 22. Physicians' College, Warwick Lane. 23. The City of Westminster from Lambeth. The Places of the Plates mentioned beloiv must he regulated by the Initial Letters of the Sheets. I. Interior of the Abbey Church, St. Alban's -.-.... to face Sheet z a. Interior of Waltham Abbey Church .....--.-.- Sheet 1 3. Waltham Abbey, Essex ............... Sheet h 4. The Painted Chamber, Westminster ........... Sheet cj_ 5. Interior of the Hall of Eltham Palace, Kent Sheet c c i. Interior of Crosby Hall ...... .......... Sheet f f 7. Part of Lambeth Palace from the Bishop's Walk .-.--.. Sheet x x 8. The Lollards' Tower, Lambeth Palace, Surry ........ Sheet y y -9. Interior of the Hall of Lambeth Palace .......... Sheet 3 b 10. The Charter House, London (from the Gardens) ....... Sheet 3 o \ \ \sV ■^ /.»: -0 n ST. ALBANS. St. Axbans, so denominated from its stately abbey, dedicated to the famous English proto-raartyr, St. Alban, is an ancient borough in Hertfordshire, about twenty-one miles from London, situated on the river Ver, a north-west branch of the Coin, at the junction of the two great Roman ways, leading from London and Maiden, formerly Camelodunum : it is a town of very remote antiquity, and was celebrated, even previous to the Roman conquest, being at that time the metropolis of Britain, and the residence of its most powerful princes. It is respectively distinguished in history by the names of Verulam and Verlamcestre, or Watlingacestre : the former appellation it received either from the Romans or the Britons, for its etymology is by no means ascertained : the latter from the Saxons, evidently from the Roman causeway on which it stands. In British times, Verulam was probably but a naked and defenceless place, protected chiefly by its woods and the great pool, the head of which, or the bank which was raised across the valley, in order to stop the water, is the only work now visible of British industry or skill; but, under the fostering protection of the Romans, it quickly arose to great eminence, being honoured by them, according to Tacitus, with the rank of a municipium, or city, enjoying equal privileges with the Roman capital. To this dignity it had been exalted in the short period of about twenty-one years from the first invasion of the island under Aulus Plautius. The Romans inclosed it with walls, built gates, and laid out the ground plot in regular streets, and its then flourishing condition is plainly indicated from this circumstance, that Roman coins, struck at that period, are now existing, which bear the joint names of Vcrulam'mm and Camelodunum. The attachment which the citizens felt to the Roman government, from these considerations, added to the great riches the ST. ALBANS. city contained, probably aroused the peculiar vengeance of the independent Britons, under Boadicea, who, in A. D. 6l, destroyed at London, Colonia or Colchester, and Verulam, seventy thousand Roman citizens and their allies in the most cruel manner, and demolished great part of the latter city. Paulinus Suetonius, the then governor of Britain, in return for her barbarity, attacked her forces, gained a complete victory, and put nearly eighty thousand to the sword. Shortly after this transaction, Verulam was rebuilt, and its inhabitants appear to have enjoyed their privileges until the Dioclesian persecution, A. D. 304, when the city was again rendered famous by the martyrdom of its citizen, St. Alban. On the descent of the Saxons, Verulam was probably one of their early conquests, though it is not mentioned by name, till the time of Uter Pendragon, a British prince, who, according to Matthew Paris, having opposed that people in a great battle, lay here a considerable time to recover from his wounds, and was at length cured, as Brompton reports, by resorting to a miraculous well in the neighbourhood. From this period the Roman city fell gradually to decay, and nothing important occurs in its history until the reign of Ofta the Great, king of "Mercia, when its very name and existence became finally lost and absorbed in the modern St. Albans (a). This town, which is (a) Many considerable fragments of the Roman Verulam still exist at a small distance from the present town, particularly an immense piece of the ancient wall, called Gorhambury Block, so denominated from the buri/, or dwelling of Abbot de Gorham, who resided here in 1151, and from these fragments the extent and magnificence of this great city, as it existed in the Roman times, may be in some degree estimated. The construction of this wall is manifestly of Roman tile, made on the spot, and of that sort or fashion which their writers describe by the Isodrome; that is, in equal or even courses, to distinguish it from those more rude and hasty works, where courses were not observed, and the flints are all faced and laid with great art and skill, cemented together by a composition of quick lime and sharp gravel, or very coarse sand. The town was probably built throughout of the same materials, and was bounded on the east and west, and these extremities joined, on the south, by a strong ■wall and a deep ditch, and on the north the defence, or boundary, was the great lake. The area of the station is ditferently estimated; according to Dr. Stukely's measurement, it is five thousand two hundred feet in length and three thousand in breadth. The compass of land included could be little less than one hundred acres, and the great lake, or pool, the site of which still retains the name of Fishpool Street, occupied at least twenty more. " The entrance on the south-east was at a corner of the cit)', but was secured by a double ditch and rampart, and probably two gates. I'he place of the streets is very uncertain at this day, except that the way from St. Michael's bridge, on the south side, was a main street, and but a few years sinrc the foundations of the south gate were dug up. Another street ]>asscd along the whole length of the city, from the south-east corner to the site where now stands the church. ST. AL15A\S. situated at a little distance from the ancient Vcrulani, on a sjiot of ground, formerly a wood, called Ilolmhurst, derived its origin from tiie following circumstance: Offa, having treacherously caused the death of Ethelbert, llie young king of the East Angles, who was making suit to his daughter Elfrida, was afterwards struck with remorse at the heinousness of the action, and resolved to have recourse, for the quiet of his conscience, to the usual expiation of the times, the founding of a convent. Having obtained the countenance of the Roman pontiff for this purpose, but being much perplexed in the choice of place, he is said to have received direction by a miraculous light from Heaven, which filled the chapel, in which he and his attendants were praying, with uncommon splendour. This circumstance, readily imagined in the enthusiasm of the moment, was soon followed by one still more remarkable : both strongly depict the superstition of the age. The king being at Bath, and undetermined to whom he should dedicate the intended fabric, seemed, in the rest and silence of the night, to be accosted by an angel, who admonished him to raise out of the earth the body of the first British martyr, Alban, and to place his remains in a shrine with more suitable ornament. This event, now reckoned most propitious, immediately determined him, and having consulted with Humbert and Unwona, who are styled "special counsellers of the king," a certain day was appointed to begin the search at Verulam, the place of his martyrdom and interment. This search was a work of some difficulty, for the memory of Alban, owing to various revolutions, and a lapse of five hundred years, had been nearly lost, and existed only in books of history and the relations of the and thence to Gorham Block. For the ancient and most frequented road, from the new town, (when it rose up,) to Redburne, was on the north side of the river." Many curious relicts of antiquity have been at different times discovered here, particularly during the government of the earlier abbots. In the reign of Edgar, a number of vaults, of the Roman buildings, the lurking holes of dissolute persons, were demolished, or stopped up, by Abbot Ealdrcd, who likewise levelled the ditches of the city, and certain dens or caverns, much infested by malefactors, and reserved the tiles and stones, to repair his monastery. Eadmer, his successor, continued this search, and his pioneers are said, in overthrowing the foundations of a palace, in the midst of the city, to have discovered in the hollow of a wall several books covered with oaken boards, and silken strings at them, " one of which contained the Life of St. Alban, written in the British tongue, the rest the Ceremonies of the Heathen. When they opened the ground deeper, they met with old tables of stone, with tiles also, and pillars, likewise with pitchers and pots of earth, made by potters, and turner's work, vessel? moreover of glasse, containing the ashes of the dead, &c." ST. ALBANS. aged. This is thought to have been principally owing to the devastations committed by the Pagan Saxons ; for St. Alban appears, previous to the coming of that people, to have had both a church and shrine, which, Bede says, was constructed with admirable art, though of timber and plank, and of consequence the sepulchre of the martyr had been in good repute, not only for the piety of Alban, but for the miracles then shown ; but, on the overthrow of his church, ' the place of it had been forgotten, and it required the ministry of an angel to point out the exact spot. " When the king, clergy, and people were assembled, they entered on this search with prayer, fasting, and alms, and struck the earth every where, with intent to hit the spot of burial; but the search was not continued long, when a light from heaven was vouchsafed to assist the discovery, and a ray of fire stood over the place, like the star that conducted the Magi. The ground was opened, and, in the presence of Offa, the body of Alban was found, deposited, together with some relicts, in a coffin of wood, just as Germanus had placed them, three hundred and forty-four years before." The legend informs us, that " all present shed tears of holiness and reverential awe, the relicts were conveyed in solemn procession to a little chapel, without the walls of Verulam, built formerly by the new converts of the martyr on the spot where he had shed bis blood. Here the king is said to have placed a circle of gold round the bare skull of the deceased, inscribed with his name and title, and to have likewise caused the chapel and repository to be enriched with plates of gold and silver, and otherwise decorated, till he erected the edifice he meditated. This transaction happened live hundred and seven years after the suffering of Alban, three hundred and forty-four after the invasion of the Saxons, and A. D. 791- And now Offa, having previously obtained from Rome various privileges and immunities, for his intended foundation, assembled all his nobles and prelates at Verulam, together with one JVillcgOil, wliom lie had chosen for abbot, and there, in the presence of them all, the building was begun with great solemnity, the king with his own hand laying the first stone, and recommending, in the most devout manner, the jMotection of the house " to thee, O Jesus! and to thee, () martyr, Alban! and to thee, O Willegod! witii maledictions on all wlio should disturb it, and eternal blessings on those Mho should be its benefactors!" ST. ALBANS. Such is said to have been the origin of the celebrated monastery of St. Alban, which, when finished, was endowed by the royal founder with revenues sufficient for the maintenance of one hundred Benedictine, or Black Monks; and was, besides, honoured with peculiar immunities and privileges, both by himself and successors. Its abbot took precedence of all others in England, according to the grant of Pope Adrian the Fourth, who was born near this town : " That, as St. Alban was distinctly known to be the first martyr of the English nation, so the abbot of this monasterie should, at all times, among other abbots of the English nation, in degree of dignity, be reputed first and principal;" and this privilege he continued to enjoy until, in later ages, it was usurped by the abbot of Westminster. He was dignified with the mitre and pastoral staff; acknowledged no spiritual power but that of the pope ; was the only abbot in England that was exempted from the payment of Rome-scot, or Peter- pence, as it was called ; and was entitled to hold episcopal jurisdiction over both clergy and laity, in all the possessions belonging to the monastery. During a period of more than seven centuries, this abbey continued to flourish, with various improvements, under the government of no less than forty-one abbots, many of whom enriched it with additional buildings and treasures, so that its extent was as great as its estates were immense, more resembling a town than a religious^ house. It had magnificent apartments appropriated to the sovereign and other noble guests, many of whom frequently honoured it with their presence, particularly the monarchs, Henry the Second and Henry the Third, the latter of whom was a liberal benefactor. Here, in the year 121.5, during the contest between King John and the barons, the former held a grand consultation, in the chapter house of the monastery, on the future plan of renewing and carrying on the war ; and here Louis, the dauphin, who arrived soon after, exacted, for similar purposes, a heavy contribution. The whole of this long-accumulated wealth and greatness, which had been daily " augmented and successively confirmed," saith Weaver, " by the charters of many of our English and Saxon kings and princes ; and much enlarged in all by sundrie abbots and other sincere, vvell-aftected persons," was swallowed up, in the royal vortex, at the dissolution, never to be seen or heard of more. ST. ALBANS. The person who governed the house, at this period, was one Boreman, or De Stevenache, who had been placed there by the king, for the sole purpose of making the surrender, and who was liberally pensioned, together with the majority of his monks, for their ready compliance. The annual revenues were valued, according to Dugdale, at ^!2102:7: 1, or ,£2510:6: 1, as Speed. Of this magnificent fabric, scarce a vestige is now left, except the gate-house, which formerly led to the abbey court-yard; a building reputed to have been the king's stable, now much modernized and converted into cottages ; a few scattered remnants of walls, and the conventual church. The gate-house is an extremely large, square building, standing parallel with the west end of the church, at the distance of about one hundred and fifty feet: this formed the principal entrance from St. Albans, and the upper part is said to have been anciently the prison of the convent, as it is now that of the town. Beneath is a spacious, pointed arch, with a beautiful groined roof, and the remains of the ponderous gates, still firm after the ravages of centuries, impress on the mind a powerful idea of the grandeur and magnitude of this once-celebrated monastery. Immediately opposite this gate, at a distance of about three hundred feet, stood a second, or lower gateway, much smaller, bounding the other extremity of the court- yard : this led to the abbey mills, but not the least trace of it now remains : both these gateways appear, from an ancient drawing, to have had turrets and battlements. The building, once the king's stable, is situated very near the latter. Proceeding eastward from what was once the abbey court-yard, the boundaries of which may be easily traced from different remnants of walls, we ascend an elevated portion of ground, extending along the whole south side of the church, evidently raised by the ruins of the various buildings which once occupied the site. Here we are enabled distinctly to ascertain the situation and dimensions of the grand cloisters which adjoined the transept to the south-west. The remains consist of two ranges of arches, nine of which run parallel with the nave of the church, and four with the western side of the transept: each arch is supported by beautiful, slender columns, little more than the capitals of which can be now seen, owing to the accumulation of rubbish. The former range is extremely elegant, and contains three small arches within a large one, adorned with a double trefoil ornament. Tlie latter are plain, and one of them, nearest the door, leading to the church, has a canopied ST. ALBANS. bracket for a statue: the door itself is most beautifully carved. The cross arches, which formed the roof to the above, are completely gone ; but the springs of them remain nearly perfect. The whole surface of the ground is covered with a short grass, and affords sustenance to a few sheep, whose solitary appearance considerably heightens the scene of desolation by which they are surrounded. The foregoing, including the church, are the only remains now visible. All the other parts of this extensive and stately foundation, its spacious cliapter house, sets of cloisters, chapels, halls, and numerous apartments, the work of centuries, have been long since levelled with the dust. The church fortunately escaped the " all-destroying hammers and axes of reformation," by the interest of Boreman and the liberality of the corporation and inhabitants; and, though it suffered much from the bigotry of the fanatics, during the civil wars, still, " at the approach to the town, either from London, Dunstable, or Watford, St. Albans church arrests the traveller's attention, and he beholds, with awe, a building so ancient, and in such preservation, as not to be equalled in Great Britain." This venerable structure, which possesses all the magnitude and dignity of the largest cathedral, is cruciform, measuring five hundred and fifty feet from east to west, or, including the Lady chapel, six hundred and six feet. The extreme breadth, at the intersection of the transepts, is two hundred and seventeen feet. The height of the body sixty-five feet, and of the tower one hundred and forty-four feet. The exterior is not very eminent for beauty, but the pile altogether has a vast air of simplicity and grandeur, to which its appearance of extreme age does not a little contribute. The walls, entirely round, are surmounted by a simple, brick battlement : nor does there appear to have ever been those light, elegant fly-buttresses and pinnacles depending from the roof, which so pleasingly vary the flat surface on the outside of many of our more elaborate churches. The western front is plain and low, and has neither niches nor statues: on each side are shields containing the arms of Mercia and those of the abbey. The great window is elegant, as is the porch beneath : the fretted roof of the latter being supported by beautiful slender pillars of grey marble, and the doors are exquisitely carved. Along the outside of the nave, both north and south, ST. ALBANS. e.\tends a range of narrow-pointed arches, some of which are glazed, though it does not appear, with certainty, whether the whole were constructed originally to enlighten the body of the church, or for mere ornament. In the aisles below, the windows are few and irregularly situated, and the walls much defaced by modern reparations of brick and flint. The eastern end of the church, which is of a later age, is more finished in its architecture, but its elegant windows, as well as those of the Lady chapel, are miserably patched and mutilated. Looking from this spot, towards the tower and transepts, we very plainly perceive, through the broken plaister, the Roman tile, of which the greater part of the edifice is composed. The tower is. a large, square building, with rectilinear projections, added in the time of Abbot de Trumpington: it is pierced with a number of singular apertures and windows, and terminated by a small, taper spire, with a vane containing the abbey arms. The extremities of the transepts, as well as the eastern end of the church, are adorned with handsome octagon turrets, embattled, and rising to a considerable height. The inside is divided into a nave, choir, side aisles, transepts, presbytery, or Saint's chapel, anti-chapel, and Lady chapel, besides other smaller recesses, or chapels, form' rly dedicated to particular patrons, and adorned with their respective altars, &c. The nave and choir are of an equal breadth, and separated by a chaste and elegant screen, anciently forming part of St. Cuthbert's chapel. Both are divided from the aisles, on each side, by eighteen massy pillars, of different forms and materials, supporting an extremely strong series of arches, principally of the Norman fashion. Over these rise a second row of lesser pillars, double the number of the first, and terminated in the same manner, above which branches the very curious, painted, timber roof. The two tier of arches, which support the opposite sides of the nave, are singularly different in fashion, as well as their pillars, the greater part being round, in the Norman style, and composed of layers of Roman tile and rubble, rudely finished and coated with a coarse cement, whilst those immediately answering, on the opposite side, are formed of Totternhoe stone, in the pointed manner, with clustered columns, highly wrought and ornamented. The choir is somewhat elevated from the nave, and the entrance to it contains a handsome, modern font, beyond which are the pews of tlie parishioners. It is bounded %i^^/'t<>T'of/^^yZ//^// {^m/tcLp I \Sl albaj^ /..•w..„yi./v««j/ .v«..-t,*„ », i»™. «. ,i„jj,.j^ j.,,„ « .„i^, „ ft,™,» ST. ALBANS. by a most magnificent stone altar-screen, carved into a profusion of forms, consisting of niches, pinnacles, vine foliage, &c. and reaching as high as the eastern M'indows. Behind this is the chapel which formerly contained the shrine of the saint, now the archdeacon's court. The chapel of the Virgin, which extends still farther eastward, is separated from this latter by the walls of the church, and a ruinated anti-chapel, forty-eight feet long, through which there is a common passage, leading to the town : both these chapels are totally distinct from the church, though there evidently appears to have been a communication with the side aisles formerly. The chapel of the Virgin was built by Abbot Hugo, assisted by the contributions of one Reginaldus, about the year 1300 : it is fifty-five feet long, twenty-five feet broad, and thirty feet high, and was anciently enlightened by seven elegant pointed windows, now mostly defaced : it had a turret at each corner, in one of which was a small chapel and altar, where mass was said for the dead, and the roof was elegantly painted and gilded : it was used for a place of worship, and had pews for the townsmen in the time of Weaver, but is at present stript of all its ornaments, and converted into a school-room. The present church of St. Alban was principally erected by Paul, the first Norman abbot, in the beginning of the reign of William Rufus, at which period the fabric, erected by Offa, had become extremely ruinous. The Norman architecture is, in consequence, preserved in the greater part of the building, particularly the choir, nave, transepts, and great tower; but a very considerable portion has been rebuilt in the various styles of the times, when repairs became necessary; the particulars of which maybe seen in the lives of the different abbots. The materials made use of by Paul were collected by his predecessors from the ruins of Verulam, and consist almost entirely of Roman tile, the untractable nature of which occasions the extreme rudeness in those parts of the edifice ascribed to him, and which form such a striking contrast to the beauty of other parts of a later erection. This want of uniformity, which so much disfigures the building, is particularly conspicuous in the body of the church, where we perceive the greater part of the south side, from the western door, nearly to St. Cuthbert's screen, composed of a series of most elegant pointed arches and clustered columns ; whereas, on the opposite side, a few arches only are in that style, and the remainder, for the whole length of the nave, are in the Norman ST. ALBANS. fashion and of the yei-y rudest workmanship ; the latter commence, in tliis place, in the most sudden manner, even to the half of a column (a), and are afterwards continued through the greater part of tlie church. From this statement, it will readily be perceived, that, in point of architectural elegance, St. Albans yields to many other churches, some of which are richly adorned with pinnacles, statues, fretted roofs, stained glass, &c. In fact, the character of this edifice is plainness and solidity, and this, joined to its magnitude and extreme antiquity, impresses the mind, if not with delight, yet with awe and veneration. (a) The mixture of pointed and round arches, in two sides of the same building, is so singular a circumstance, that many have concluded they both must have been erected nearly at one and the same period, and consequently that the pointed order was known long before the time to which antiquaries assion it. Mr. Newcombe, in his History of St. Albans, a \york to which we have been beholden, and otherwise containing much valuable information, has fallen into this error, and, in endeavouring to defend it, has committed many more. After stating Abbot Paul to be the founder of all that part of the church which is in the Norman style, the rudeness of which is very properly ascribed to the untractablc nature of the Roman tile, he continues, " when these materials were almost exhausted, the builders had recourse to the Totternhoe stone, and of that constructed all the beautiful parts below the rude ; and it may be proper to add, that we may here plainly discern the error of those critics in architecture who assert, that the pointed arch arose first in the time of Henry the Third, and that it is seldom found in earlier constructions ; whereas, in this structure, the pointed arch is to be seen in all the several specimens of o-ood and complete building : and the same was iindoiihledli/ erected in the time of the Corujua-or and his sons, before 1115." He adds, " in proof of this, let us take a view of the structure itself: just below the screen, on the south side, are four or five arches, or piers, of the most beautiful style in the whole building; and, directly opposite these, on the north side, five of themost rude and ordinary : the last are formed entirely of Roman tile, and the first of stone : this makes it evident, that, though the work was executed at or about the same time, yet it was neither by the same men, nor after the same plan ; nor was the same sort of materials used, at least in the external. But, as a mark of the antiquity of the former beautiful part, there may be seen, at the sjiring of the arches, the heads of Lanfranc, ofOffaandhis queen, and of Edward the Confessor, the venerable founders and benefactors; and over their heads are the arms of England, (the 4 lions rampant,) which were the arms of the said Edward, then the arms of Mercia (3 crowns), the arms of the abbey (a cross like St. Andrew's), the arms of France, and the arms of Westminster (3 birds), all cut in the Totternhoe stone, and very entire at this day." — " Whence then, it may be sairiorie eche weke in the yere, except Lenten xxxii. egges, or elles ii. d. ob. q. in money for them every weke, except iiii weke in Advent, in the wheche sche shall not pay but xvi egges be the weke ; and also sche must pay to the said priorie for every vigill fallynge within the yere viij. egges, or elles ob. dim. q. and iiii. part of q. in money for the same. " Beyinge of Butter. " And tl>en must sche purvey for fest butter of Semt Alburgh for xxxvii lades, and iiij. doubles, that is to say, the prioresse, ij. celleressys, and the kechener, to every lady and double i. cubct, every disch conteynyng iii cobcttes: and then must sche pay to the sayd ladys and doubles for the storying butter BARKING ABBEY. by V tymes In the yere, that is to wite, in Advent, and three tymes after Cristinas, to eche lady and double at every ob. and also sche must purvey for the said lades and doubles for the fest butter at Ester and Whitsontide, lyk as sche dyd at Seynt Alburgh's tyde : also sche must purvey for the sayd lades of the covent, and the said iiii doubles, and the priory for ther fourtnyght butter fro Trinitie Sonday unto Holy Rounde daye, that is to seyd, to every lady double, and priory, at eche fourtnyght betweene the sayd two festes i cobette butter, iii cobetts makyng a disch : and also sche must purvey to the said ladys with ther doubles to the fest butter of Assumption of our Lady, to eveiy lady and double i. cobett butter. " Hi/reing of Pastur. " And then must sche be sure of pasture for her oxen in tym of yere, as her servants can enfourme her. " Moivijng and making of Heye. " And also to see hyr heye be mowe, and made in time of y^ yere, as yeryng requeryth. " Costjjs of Reparations. " And tlianne must sche see that all manner of howses within her office be sufficiently repayred as well withought at hyr fyrmes, manners, as within the monastery. " This ys the Forme of hrening of the Celeresse Beofs ; foist the Clerhe shall enter into her Boke as followeth. " The Satyrday the xx daye of September she answereth of Iiii or v messes remayning in store of the last weke before, and of Ixiii messes of beofe comyng of an oxe slayn that same weke : and also sche must answere of iiii. xx messes of beofe be byr boughte of the covente, of that they lefte behynd of ther lyvcre paying for every messe i. d. ob. las in all by I. d. ob. summa cxlvii. messe, thereof delyvered to eche lady of the covent for iii dayes in the weke Hi messe of beofe, that is sonday, tewesday, and thursday : and thanne schall §che pay to the priory for the seid iii dayes vi messes of beof, for eche day ij messe ; and yff there fall no vigill in the sayd iii dayes, and where there falleth a vigill in ony of the iii. and the next settyrday sche must lokc what beof every houshold will have, and thereafter must sche purvey her beofe in the market ; for she shall stey but every forlnyght, and yft'sche be a good huswyfF. " The Levery of Red Herynge in Advent, " First sche schall delyvere to eche lady of the covent every weke in BARKING ABBEY. Advent for monday and wednysday, for eclie day to every lady iii hcryngs : and to the priory every vvekc in Advent for the sayd ij days viii heryngs. " The Levery of Almonda, Rysse, Fi/ggs, and Reyssom in Lcnton. " First to my lady abbesse in alniondes for Advent and Lenttyn iiii. 1. and to every lady of the covcnt for Advent and Lentten ii. 1. alrnondis, and to the prioresse ii celarisses and kechenerc for ther doubill to cche doubell ii. 1. " Rysse. " And eche lady of the covent for all the Lentten D. 1. ryse, and cche of the sayd iiii double to cche doable for all the Lentten D. 1. rysse. " Fyges and Reysons. " And eche lady of the covent every wekc in Lenton i. 1. fyges and reyssons, and eche of the sayd iiii doubles every weke in Lentton i. 1. fyges and reysons, and to the priori every weke i. 1. fygs and reysons. " Levery of Herynge. " And to every lady of the covent for every day in the weke in Lentton iiii heryngs rede and white, that is, every lady xxviii herynges be the weke, and to the priori be v dayes, that is, monday, tewsday, wedynesday, thursday, and sattyrday ; and the sonday they recevy fische, and for the friday f}gs and reysons. " Levery of Fische, " And to every lady of the covent in Lentton eche oder weke one messet salt fysch, and to the prioresse ii celleresses and kechener for the doubles eche other weke in Lentten, to eche double i messe salt fysch ; and to the priory eche other weke in Lentton ii messe salt fysch, every salt fysch conteyning vii messe. " Levery of Salt Salmon. " And to every lady of the covent in Lentton eche other weke i messe of salt salmon ; and likevvyse to eche of the sayd iiii doubles i messe of salmon; and in lykewyse eche other weke to the priorye ii. messe of salt salmon yeldyng ix messe* " Tlie Levery of Sowse. " Be it remembered that the celeresse must se that every lady of the covent have hyr levery of sowse fro my lady abbesse kychen at Martynmese tyme ; and every lady to have three thynges ; that is to sey, the cheke, the ere, and the fote, is a levery ; the groyne and two fete ys anodyr leveray ; soe a hoole hoggs sowsse shall serve three ladyes. And thanne must schc have for BARKING ABBEY. three doubles in lyke wyse, to every double three thyngs ; and the three doubles be the jjrioresse, the high celeresse and the kychener ; the under celeresse schall not have of double : and then must gyff to every lady and double before- said of sowce of hyre owne provisione two thyngs to every lady ; so that a hoole hogg sowse do serve four ladyes. " Pitaunce Pork. " And sche must remember to aske for the covent at my lady abbesse kychyn allwey at Martynmesse pittaunce porke for every lady one messe, and for foure doubles, that Is to sey, the priorisse, two celliresses, and the kychener, to every double one messe : and then must sche purvey pittaunce porke for the covent, wheche longeth to hyr owne office, for to doo at two tymes in wvnter, and that is, ones for Dame Alys Merton and another for Dame Mawte the king's daughter, at eche tyme to every lady one messe, and eche double one messe ; and every hogge shall yelde xx messe. " Pittaunce Mutton. " And also she must aske for the covent at my lady abbesse kychen pittaunce mutton three tymes in the yere, betweene the Assumption of our Lady and Michelmasse, at eche tyme to every lady one messe, and to the priorisse the high celleresse, and to the kychener for there doubles, for every double one messe, and every mutton shall yelde xii messe. And then must sche purvey for pittaunce mutton for the covent wheche longeth to hyr owne office to doo at two tymes in the yere, that is, ones for Syr William Vicar, and another tyme for William Dune ; to every lady and doubell beforesaid, one messe mutton at eche tym, every mutton yeldynge xii messe. " Soper Eggs. " And the under celeresse must remember at eche principal fest, that my lady sytteth in the fraytour ; that is to wyt, five tymes in the yere, at eche tyme shall aske the clerke of the kychen soper eggs for the covent, and that is Estir, Wytsontyd, the Assumption of our Lady, Seynt Alburgh, and Cristynmasse, at eche tyme to every lady two eggs, and eche double two eggs, that is the priorisse, the celeresse, and the kychener. " Rushealx in Lenton. " Also sche must remembir rusheaulx in Lenton, that my lady abbesse have viii of the .... " Leveraij of Geese and Hennes. " Also to remembir to aske of the kychju at Seynt Alburgh's tyme, for BARKING ABBEY. every lady of the covent halfe a goose, and for six double, for every double dim. goose, that is, the priorisse, two celeresse, the kychener, aud two chaun- teresse. Also to cchc at the said fest of Seynt Alburgh of the said clerke, for every lady of the covent oue lienue, or cllcs a coke, and for ix doubles, to eche double a henne, or elks a coke, and the be iii priorisses, the chaunteresses, ij cellerysses, the kychener, and the ii freytouresses. " Leverax) Bacon. " Also to remember to aske the levery bacon for the covent alwey before Cristmasse, at my lady abbesse kyehyner, for every lady of the covent iiii messe, and that is, to the priorisse the cellerysse, the kychener ; and sche shall understond that a flytch of bacon conteynigh x messe. " Leverey Ottmeale. " Also to remember to deliver every lady of the covent every monelh in the yere, at eche tyme iiii dyshes of otemelle, delivered to the covent coke for rushefals, for Palme Sundaye, xxi pounder fyggys. Jiem delyveryd to the sevd coke, on Sherthursday viii pounde ryse. Ite7n delyver)d to the said coke for Sherethursday x\iii pounde almans. Me7nora7Hlum that a barrell off herring shuld contene a thousand herrings, and a cade off herryng six hundreth, six score to the hundreth." The abbess of Barking was one of the four who were baronesses in right of their station (the other three were the abbesses of Wilton, Shaftesbury, and St. Mary at Winchester) ; and though her sex prevented her from having a seat in parliament, or attending the king in the wars, yet she always iurnished her quota of men, and had precedency of the other abbesses. In her convent we may perceive that she supported a correspondent state : her household consisting, besides the officers here enumerated, of chaplains, an esquire (a), gen- tlemen, gentlewomen, yeomen, grooms, a yeoman cook, a groom cook, &c. (e). (a) In 1400 Thomas Samkyn, esquire to the abbess of Barking, bestowed on St. Erkenwald's shrine in St. Paul's Cathedral a sil-ver ginlle. Vide Ace. of St. Paul's Cath. No. IV. (b) In the Land Revenue Office are two books belonging to this monastery, in which various other officers are mentioned : one of them contains the joint accounts of the Lady Mary Tyrrell, prioress ; Dame Elizabeth Derangman, sub-prioress ; and Dame Thomazine Jcrnny, sacrist ; and receipts and payments for the said monastery from 13 Hen. VII. to 30 Hen. VIII. The other contains the accounts of Dame Mary Windliam, cellaresa of the said monastery from 16 to 31 Henry Vlll.; and receiver's accounts on rolls, with a detail of the land, possessions, and revenues, annis 32, zz> 34> 35) Z^t 37> ""id 38 Heury VIII. BARKING ABBEY. The Abbey was surrendered to Henry the Eighth in November 1539, ivhen an annual pension of 200 marks was granted to Dorotliy Barley, the last abbess, and various smaller pensions to the nuns, who were then thirty in number. The site of the conventual buildings, with the demesne lands of the Abbey, were granted by Edward the Sixth to Edward Fyne, Lord Clinton, who the next day conveyed them to Sir Richard Sackville. Since that period they have passed through various families to the widow of the late Joseph Keeling, Esq. The manor of Barking, which probably formed part of the original endowment of the Abbey, continued in the crown from the dissolution till the year 1628, when Charles the First sold it to Sir Thomas Fanshaw for the sum of ^2000, reserving a fee-farm rent of ^l6o, which is now payable to the Earl of Sandwich. The manor has become the property of Edward Hulse, Esq. in right of Mary his wife, niece to the late Smart Lethieullier, Esq. who obtained it by purchase in the year 1/54. The other estates belonging to the monastery passed into various hands, and several of them are retained by the descendants of the possessors to the present day. Of the ruins of the conventual buildings there at present exist scarcely any remains ; the great extent of the plot they once occupied, is pointed out only by crumbling fragments of walls. The site of the Abbey church is visible just without the north wall of the parish-church, and its dimensions have been exactly ascertained by the praiseworthy zeal of Mr. Lethieullier, who employed persons to dig among the ruins, and by this means procured a ground-plan of the edifice, which has since been engraved by Mr. Lysons, in his Environs of London. By this plan it appears to have been constructed with a nave, choir, transepts, &c. as is usual in cathedrals and the larger conventual churches. Its whole length from east to west was 170 feet ; the length of the choir sixty feet ; the length of the transept 1 50 feet ; the breadth of the nave and side- aisles forty-four feet; the breadth of the transept twenty-eight feet; the diameter of the base of the columns that supported the roof, was eight feet and a half. Among the ruins an ancient fibula and a gold ring have been found ; both of which, the former from its legends, the latter from the Salu- tation of the Virgin Mary engraven on it, seem to have belonged to some of the inmates of the convent. At the entrance of Barking churchyard is an ancient square embattled gateway, with octagonal turrets, also embattled, rising from the ground on each side. The entrance arch is pointed ; above it is a niche, with a canopy and BARKING ABBEY. pinnacles. The apartment over the entrance is in an old record named " The chapel of the Holy Rood lofte atte-gate, edified to the honour of Almighty God, of the Holy Rood." Against a wall in this chapel is a representation of the Holy Rood, or Crucifixion, in alto relievo. This structure is generally called Fire Bell Gate, from its anciently containing a bell, which Mr, Lysons imagines to have been used as a curfew bell. 3 T BOW BRIDGE. The celebrated bridge called " Bow Bridge" crosses that fine stream of water the river Lea, which divides Essex from Middlesex, and is situated near the village of Stratford (a), about two miles to the east of London on the great Essex road. In common with Stratford on the opposite side of the river, and many other Stratfords in various parts of the kingdom, it takes its name from an ancient ford near one of the Roman highways ; but in the time of King Henry the First, a bridge of one arch having been built here over the river Lea, the place came to be distinguished by the addition of Atteboghe, Atteboughe, or At- Bow. Stowe, Leland, and other writers, all concur in ascribing the first erection of this bridge to Maud or Matilda, the queen of King Henry the First, as well as in the derivation of its name, of bow, or arched bridge, which it is said to have received from being the first arched stone bridge, at least in this county. The particulars of its foundation are given as follows : " This Matilda, when she saw the forde to be dangerous for them that travelled by the old foord over the river of Lue (for she herself had been well washed in the water) caused two stone bridges to be builded, of the which, one vi'as situated over Lue at the head of the towne of Stratford, now called Bow, because the bridge was arched like a bow, a rare piece of worke, for before that time the like had never been seen in England. The other over the little brooke commonly called Chavelse Bridge. She made the king's highway of gravel between the two bridges." He then goes on to inform us, that Maud, for keeping the bridges in repair she had built, gave certain manors to the abbess of Berking, and a mill commonly called Wiggon or Wiggen Mill, " for the (a) The parish lies within tlie hundred of Ossulston, and is bounded on the east by the river Lea which separates it from Low Leyton and Waltham, in Essex ; on the north by Hackney ; on the north- west by Bethnal Green ; on the west and south-west by Stepney ; and on the south-east by St.Leonard, Bromley. N N BOW BRIDGE. repayringe of the bridges and highwaie ; but afterwards Gilbert de Mountfitchet founded the abbey of Stratford in the marishes, the abbot whereof, by giving a piece of money, purchased to himself the manors and mill aforesaid, and covenented to repair the bridges and way, till at Fength he laid the charge upon one Hugh Pratt, who lived near the bridges and causeway, allowing him certain loaves of bread dailv (a), and by the alms of passengers he kept them in due repair, as did his son William after him, who by the assistance of Robert Passelew, the chief justice in the time of King Henry the Third, obtained these tolls — Of every cart carrying corn, wood, coal, &c. one penny ; of one carrying tasel, twopence ; and of one carrying a dead Jew, eightpencc ; and put up, a bar with locks on Lockkebreggs : but Philip Basset and the abbot of Waltham having broke the bar rather than pay the toll, the bridges and cause\^'ay i-emained unrepaired. In the mean time Eleanor, queen of King Henry the Third, caused them to be mended at her own charge by William the keeper of her chapel, and William de Carleton kept them afterwards in repair, till a new agreement (b) between the abbess and abbot took place for thai purpose (c)." (a) This Godfrey Piatt (Hugh Pratt) being holpen by the aid of travellers, did not only perform the charge, but also was a gainer to himself; which thing the abbot perceiving, withholdeth from him part of the bread promised, whereupon Godfrey demandeth a toll of the wayfaring men, and to them that denied he stopped the way, till at length, wearied with toil, he neglecteth his charge, whereof came the ruin of the stone bridges and way. (Leland). (b) This agreement happened in consequence of the abbot of Stratford neglecting the necessary repairs, and wanting again to throw the charge on the abbess ; but after a trial between them in February ijijj the abbot agreed, for himself and successors, to build, make, repair, and sustain the said bridges and causeways for ever, and for this agreement the abbess gave the abbot £o,oa in silver. The substance of this agreement was as follows : " Facta est concordia inter p'dcos abbatissam et abbatem sub hac forma, soil', quod p'dci abbas & conventus suus, concesserunt se et successores suos & ecclesiara suam de Stratford in spirituahb' & teraporalib' obligari et teneri tarn Dno Regi Angl' & hered' suis quam p'd'ce abbatisse & successor' suis abbatissis de Berkyngg ad constructionem facturam reparationem, & sustentationem p'dcor' pontium & oalcetorum faciend' in perpetuum & ad conservand' p'dam abbati?,sam & successores suos indempnes' & ad acquietand' contra omncs gentes, super reparatione, constructione, sustentatione, factura eorundem pontium & calcetorum et quod iidem abbas et conventus & dicta ecclesia sua conventualis de Stratford, cum omnibus rebus et possessionib' suis in spirituallbus & temporalibus districtioni & cohersioni Dni Regis, vicecom' & alior' ministror' Regis quorumquc, & pMce abbatisse successor' suor' & ballivor' suor' subjaceant, ad perfectionem & sustentationem omnium premissorum quotienscunque necesse fuerit: ita semper quod dicti abbas & conventus, suo periculo sumptib' «& expensis suis propriis, onera construc- tionis, factore, reparationis & sustentationis, ut prcdicitur, dcbent et suppoitare tenentur, & inde remancant obligati " Placita 9 Edw. II. (c) Stowc's Annals, cd. 1631, p. 1.19. BOW BRIDGE. The above accounts differ in many particulars from the following, wliich is more authentic, being given in on oath at an inquisition taken before Robert de Retford and Henry Spigurnell, the king's justices, in 1303(a). " The jurors declared upon their oath, that at the time when Matilda, the good queen of England lived, the road from London to Essex was by a place called Uae Old Ford, where there was no bridge, and during great inun- dations was so extremely dangerous, that many persons lost their lives, which coming to the good queen's ears, she caused the road to be turned where it now is, namely, between the town of Stratford and West Ham, and of her bounty caused the bridge and roads to be made except the bridge called C/ianer's bridge, which ought to be made by the abbot of Stratford. They further said, that Hugh Pratt living near the road and bridges in the reign of King John, did, of his own authority, begging the aid of passengers, keep them in repair. After bis death, his son William did the same for some time ; and afterwards, througii the interest of Robert Passelew, the king's justice, obtained a toll, which enabled him to make an iron railing upon a certain bridge called Lockbridge, from which circumstance he changed his name from Pratt to Bridgewryght, and then were the bridges repaired till Philip Burnet and the abbot of Waltham being hindered from passing that way with their waggons in the late reign, broke down the railing, whereby the said William being no longer able to repair it, kft the bridge in ruins, in which state it remained till Queen Eleanor of her bounty ordered it to be repaired, committing the charge of it to William de Capella, keeper of her chapel. After which one William de Charlton, yet living, repaired all the bridges with the effects of Bartholomew de Castello, deceased. The jurors added, that the bridges and roads had been always repaired by bounties, and that there were no lands or tenements charged with their repair, except for Chaner's Bridge, which the abbot of Stratford was obliged to keep in repair (b). In the year 1366 a toll was granted to the repair of Stratford Bridge, to continue during three years, it being very ruinous, and no one obliged to repair it (c)." The tenants of the abbey lands seem in the last century to have been (a) Lysons's Environs. (b) CI. 31 Ed. I. No. 170. (c) Pat. 40 Ed. III. pt. I. m. 12. Farther particulars of this bridge may be seen by consulting tP.e following records: — Clituj. ss ^ 37 Hen. III. m. i & 14. Claus. 9 Ed. II. m. 7. Inquis. 31 Ed. i. Placita, 6 Ed. I. 6 Ed. II. 17 Ed. III. P.it. 40 Hen. III. m. jj. » Ed. I. BOW BRIDGE. unwilling to stand to their agreement ; for in J 69 1 an information was brought in the King's Bench against Buckeridge and others for not repairing of a high- way, ratione teyiurte, by reason of their holding or tenure, between Stratford and Bow. It was tried at the bar by an Essex jury. The evidence for the king was, that Maud, the queen of Henry the First, built this bridge, &c. (to the tenor before mentioned) : that at the dissolution, the Stratford abbey lands being vested in the crown, were granted to Sir Peter Mewtis, who held them charged for the repairing of this highway, and from him by several mesne assignments they came to defendants, which being proved, those who held the abbey lands were ordered to abide by the terms of their tenure (a). The many necessary reparations Bow Bridge has undergone in a course of centuries, render it impossible to say what part of the original structure is at this time remaining ; but a portrait of its mere site has become interesting from the historical circumstances connected with it. The present Bridge consists of three arches, and bears evident marks of antiquity (b). The Lea, over which this Bridge is built, is a considerable river, and falls into the Thames about Limehouse, or Leymouth, as it was from that circumstance originally denominated. It is the principal river in the county of Hertford, from whence it runs by Middlesex and Essex, washing Low Leyion on the east, a village which evidently receives its name from it ; and so to Temple Mill, Old Ford, and Stratford le Bow, till it loses itself in the Thames. The jurisdiction of this river as well as the Thames, has long been claimed by the city, and allowed to a limited extent. In the reign of Elizabeth several improvements in its navigation were attempted, but were stoutly opposed by the Enfield millers and maltsters, who would have been prevented by this measure from engrossing and forestalling the market, which they were before enabled to do, as was shewn by an honest and sensible member of their own body in a letter to the queen's council. This occasioned an inquisition to be made, by which it was proved that the water of the Lea was a free stream, and the queen's highway, and the same was so declared to be, and violaters of this freedom ordered to be punished-. (a) Morant's Essex. (b) Stowe, in his Annals, says, " Now concerning these three middle bridges of Lea, of which the two be builded of stone, they be proper to three mills, whereof one, the master of St. Thomas of Acres, of London, made ; the others the maister of the bridge-house, London ; two of them which belong to Essex, the abbot of Stratford is bound to repair ; the third the bridge-masters of London, for the land uas escheated 37 Hen. IIL BOW BRIDGE. This river was always famous for the carriage of corn, malt, and other necessary commodities to the metropolis, and as such is mentioned in statutes and old law-books with particular marks of distinction. In the igth of Edward the Third it was found by the inquest. Que fewe de le Lee est haul estrele de le Roy (that the water of the Lea is the king's high street) ; and several persons having committed trespasses by hindering the free course of the same, who could not be discovered, the sheriff was ordered to make reparation. Other statutes, nearly to the same tenor, were passed in the succeeding reigns, when there being found to be great numbers de sJielpes deins le river de Lee, of shelves in the river Lea, notwithstanding former laws, the conservancy of it was committed by parliament to commissioners who were directed to remove the said obstructions. And in case asciine chivance, ou creance, any credit for any sums of money was necessary to enable them so to do, they were at the same time empowered to take and collect of any ship or boat freighted not more than 4d. for three years then next ensuing. At Old Ford, in the parish of Stratford, is a very ancient house, called King John's Palace, and as such noticed by Mr. Bagford (a) ; there does not seem however to be any existing evidence in support of this opinion. Mr. Lysons supposes this to have been the same house which is called in old deeds Gissing Place, or Petersfield, which, with nineteen acres of land in Old Ford, was conveyed in 1418, by John Gest, to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Will. Louthier, and others (b), and by Louthier the same year to Nich. Hulm, Raljjh Shakerly, and their heirs. As early aS the time of Elizabeth, the " Old Place," or " Great Place," was divided into tenements. The ancient gateway of this mansion, which is still standing, is of brick, and very curiously ornamented : a plate of it is given by Grose. In the vicinity of Stratford at Bow anciently stood the two monasteries of St. Leonard's Bromley, and Stratford Langthorne, before noticed, usually described as being at Bow, and frequently confounded together under the name of " Stratford Abbey ;" though toth are removed at some distance from the latter place, and situated in separate parishes. Remains of these two houses are still to be seen by a slight walk from Bow Bridge. Those of the priory of St. Leonard consist of a part of the conventual - (a) Bagford's Letter before the " Collectanea." (b) CI. 6 Hen. V. in i» & 14. . o o BOW BRIDGE. church now converted into the parish church. It is small, but not destitute of certain marks of antiquity, though they are at present in a great measure hidden. In the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary within the claustrum (cloisters) of this nunnery was interred Elizabeth, sister to Queen Philippa, and one of the daughters of William, Earl of Henault. Her will bears date anno 1375, wherein she gave a ring to Sir Thomas de Wodestok. In this church of St. Leonard lay likewise interred Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Forell, of the county of Essex. She died anno 1375. Also Joyce, the wife of Sir Hugh Blount, Knight, according to the Register, viz. Jocosa quondam Dni. Hugonis Blount Mil. by her last will, anno 1375, ordered to be buried in prioratu Sti. Leonardi de Stratford at Bow. Richard Gosselyn, citizen and ironmonger, by his last will bequeathed ten marks for mending the highway at Bromley : reckoning from the house of Steven Miller, usque ad domum monialium de Stratford (unto the house of the nuns at Stratford). Robert Sudbury, gentleman, of the parish of Bromley, in the county of Middlesex, by his will, October 3, 1484, gave to the altar of Paddyswyck, for tithes forgot, 20d. Item, To Katherine, prioress of the house of nuns of St. Leonard, of Stratford at Bow, and the convent, if they shall suffer his body to . be buried where his executors shall dispose it, his tenement in the parish of St. Leonard, in the east part of Eastcheap, London, on condition they should keep his anniversary on the day of his obit. Richard Baynard, of Messing, Esq. gave by will, anno 1432, to the abbess and convent of Barking, five marks to pray for the souls of Katherine and Isabel his daughters ; and to the nuns of Stratford 40s. to pray for his soul, and the souls of Johan and Johan, his wives ; and five marks to pray for his soul and Isabel Doreward's soul (a). In this church are still remaining several curious monuments, and some interesting antiquities. The monastery of Stratford Langton, or Lanthorne, was about a mile from Bow, in the parish of West Ham, situated in a low, marshy ground. It was founded in 1134 by William de Mountfitchct, and at its dissolution was possessed of revenues to the annual value of <^6oo. The last abbot, who (a) Register of London, < BOW BRIDGE. surrendered his house March 8, \53g, was William Iluddleston, wiio had a yearly pension allowed him of .^66: 13:4. The site was granted to Peter Meautys, Esq. ambassador from Henry the Eighth to France. To this abbot and convent of Stratford Lanthorne, the founder, William de Mountfitchet, gave the neighbouring church of Leyton (now Low Ley ton), by the name of Ecclesia de Leijn ; afterwards it was appropriated to that monastery, and a vicarage ordained therein, of which the abbot and convent were patrons till the suppression. They were likewise possessed of the manor or lordship of the same parish. In the church of this abbey, and not in that of the priory of St. Leonard's, Bromley, as is by some stated, was buried John de Bohun, the great Earl of Hereford and Essex (a). He died upon the festival of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian in the year 1335. Of this abbey, the only remains at present standing are one of the gate- ways leading to the parish church of West Ham, a mean structure of brick, and partly destroyed for the purpose of converting it into a dwelling ; several extensive fragments of walls, a stable in the adjoining field, said to have been a chapel belonging to the house, but bearing at present no evidences of such a destination, except that it stands due east and west ; and a very elegant arch near the Adam and Eve public-house. The arch is the remnant most worthy notice, being really beautiful, and preserved with much care. This is undoubtedly a part of the original building, and is richly ornamented in the Norman style. It in all probability formed the doorway, or western entrance to the church, several funeral relics having been at different times discovered near the spot ; particularly in the garden which extends to the east of it, where a stone coffin was dug up in 1770, and at another time a carved gravestone, on which were once some inscriptions cut in brass. The latter is, or lately was, kept in the kitchen of the Adam and Eve. In the adjoining field (probably the site of the cloisters) in 1792, several urns with three leaden coffins, an antique seal, and some old coins, were disco- vered. The above arch now forms the front of a small outhouse just its own height and width. The ground about it has been evidently much raised, for not above half of it is at present visible. The names of some of the abbots of this monastery, and the times they presided, follow : (a) Monast. Ang. vol. ii. p. 6&. BOW BRIDGE. Hugo, abbot, arMO 1236 and 1247. Willielmus, 1330. W. abbot, 1456. Hugo, 1488. William Huddlestone, 1539. The abbey mills, at a small distance from the ruins, still retain their ancient name and use, but the buildings themselves are modern. In the neighbouring church of Wes^t Ham is an old altar tomb, appa- rently of the age of Henry the Sixth, containing several coats of arms, and conjectured by Mr. Strype to have been erected over one of the lords abbots of Stratford, The parish church of Stratford le Bow is an ancient edifice, and was formerly a chapel of ease to the mother church of Stepney. It has been lately repaired, and does not contain any very curious monuments, if we except a very pretty one in the Gothic taste, at the upper end of the south aisle, having a brass plate, and an inscription to the memory of Grace, daughter of Alderman Wylford, who died in 1551. In this church were lately to be seen the remains of the Confessionary ; and underneath the belfry stands, now disused, an ancient font of the age of King Henry the Fifth. Stratford le Bow was anciently celebrated as a place of female education. For thus the father of English poetry, in his description of Dame Eglentme, the prioress : — French she spake full fetously. After the schoole of Stratforde atte Bovve, For French of Paris was to her vnknovvne (a). (a) Cant. Tales, prol. 4. CANONBURY HOUSE. The manor of Canonbury, or Canbury as it is termed in old writing-;, stands in the parish of St. Mary, Islington, at a small distance to the north-east of the church, and occupies an eminence commanding a fine view of the surrounding country and the metropolis. Who were its ancient possessors is not known. In the Doomsday Survey the canons of St. Paul's are said to have held four hides in Isendone (Islington), but whether these included the site of Canonbury manor is extremely doubtful. It is with more certainty believed to have been included in the estate of Ralph de Bemers, given by him to the prioty of St. Bartholomew in West Smithfield, and afterwards enumerated among several other possessions of that monastery in a confirmation grant of Henry the Third, under the description of " Omnes terras & redditus, cum pcrtinentiis , quos habet in villa de Iseldone de feodo Radulphi de Berneriis (^a) ." In this deed, however, it is not named, but is probably implied, as we know it to have continued the property of that house till the dissolution. On its being chosen for a mansion by the prior of the canons of St. Bartholomew, it perhaps assumed the name of Cunonsbury, bury being synonymous with bower or burgh, a dwelling (b). In 1539, on the surrender of the priory, the manor of Canonbury as part of its demesnes was bestowed on Lord Cromwell. On the attainder of that compliant instrument of the rapacious Henry it reverted to the crown, (a) Dugdale, Monast. ii. 386. (b) a stone still remains on the south side of the house, with the date of 1362, just ten years after the priory of St. Bartholomew had been exempted by King Edward the Third from the payment of tenths, fifteenths, and every other subsidy, on account of the disproportion of their income to their great expenditure in works of charity. John de Charleton was then prior. A print of this stone may be seen in .the Bibliotheca Topographies Britannica — No. 49. CANONBURY HOUSE. and from it a rent-charge of ^20 per annum was settled as part of the jointure of the divorced Anne of Cleves (a). Edward the Sixth, in the first year of his reign, granted the manor of Canonbury in exchange for the site of Tinemouth prior}', and in consideration of the sum of ^1252 : : 3 to John Dudley, Earl of Wai-wick, a branch of whose family had a lease from the prebendary of the neighbouring manor of Stoke Newington. Dudley in 1549 mortgaged this manor for =£\66o to John Yorke, Esq. citizen and Merchant Taylor of London. This mortgage was in a short time redeemed, and the manor conveyed by the earl back to the king, with whom it remained, however, only two years, and was regranted Nov. 8, 6th Edward the Sixth, to the same John Dudley, then Duke of Northumberland, whose ambition involved in ruin his own family, and his daughter-in-law, the excellent Lady Jane Gray. The manor of Canonbury having by this peer's death reverted to the crown. Queen Mary gave it to Sir John Spencer, Knight, afterwards an alderman of the city, and mayor in 1594. This gentlemen lies interred in the church of St. Helen, in Bishopsgate Street, and acquired such prodigious wealth that he became distinguished by the appellation of Rich Spencer (b). A charter of incorporation, which was granted to the company of butchers in l605, is signed by Thomas Egerton, Baron of Ellesmere, then lord chancellor, and dated at Canonbury, where that noblemen was at that time on a visit to Sir John Spencer. (a) The grant is dated Jan. 20, i5|f, 31 Hen. VIII. : after reciting various lands, tenements, messuages, &c. adds — " Et ulterins, de ampliori gratia nostra, damtu tt concedirmu fra-faiit Dom'ma: Anna de Cle-ve unam annuitatem s'fve annualem redditum •viginti tibrarum sterlingarum, exeuntem de manerio nostra de Canberye, in com. nostra Middlesexij", parcellam nuper possessionum dicti Thoma Cromivell nuper Comitis Essexitr, sol-vendum annuatim ad f est urn Sancti Michaelis ArchangeVt* " In tlie minister's or bailiff's accounts, 36 Hen. VIII. 1545, of the possessions of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, in the Augmentation Office, under the title " Annuitas," this possession is thus described : " Et in quadam annuitate per Dominum Rcgem conccssa Dominae Annas de CIcve, filia Johannis nuper Ducis de Cleve, Guligh, Gelder, and Barry, pro tcrmino vitx ejusdem Dominx Annx, si tamdiu infra hoc regnum Anglix habitavcrit & nioram fccerit, exeunte de manerio ibidem, per annum, prout in litcris cjusdcm Domini Regis patcntibus tidcm Dominx Anna;, inde confectis, datis apud Westmonas- terium 20 die Januarii, anno regni Regis Henrici Octavi prxdicti 31" plciiius apparet, &c. — 20I." (b) A particular account of Sir John Spencer may be seen in Mr. Nichols's History of Canonbury, from which most of the present article is borrowed. » liymcr, xiv. 713. CANONBURY HOUSE. William, second Lord Compton, afterwards Earl of Northampton, by marrying the only daughter of Sir John Spencer, became possessed, in right of his wife, of Canonbury, together with the rest of the immense property which devolved to her as the sole heiress of her father (a), and appears, in consequence (a) The following letter from this lady to her lord is printed in the Supplement to llie Universal Magazine for 1782, vol. Ixxi. and in Nichols's Hist, of Canonbury. It is undated, but supposed to have been written about 1617, and will enable the reader to judge of her immense wealth by the extent of her demands. " My sweete Life, " Now I have declared to you my mind for the settling of your state, I supposed that it were best for me to bethink or consider with myself what allowance were meetest for me. For considering what care I have had of your estate, and how respectfully I dealt with those, which both by the laws of God, of nature, and of civil polity, wit, religion, government, and honesty, you, my dear, are bound to, I pray and beseech you to grant me j£i6oo per annum, quarterly to be paid. " Also I would (besides that allowance for my apparel), have ^^600 added yearly (quarterly to be paid) for the performance of charitable works ; and those things I would not, neither will be account- able for. " Also I will have three horses for my own saddle, that none shall dare to lend or borrow ; none lend but I, none borrow but you. " Also I would have two gentlewomen, lest one should be sick, or have some other lett, also believe that it is an undecent thing for a gentlewoman to stand mumping alone, when God hath blessed their lord and lady with a good estate. " Also when I ride a hunting or hawking, or travel from one house to another, I will have them attending ; so for either of those said women, I must and will have for either of them a horse. " Also 1 will have six or eight gentlemen ; and I will have my two coaches, one lined with velvet, to myself, with four very fair horses ; and a coach for my women, lined with sweet cloth, one laced with gold the other with scarlet, and laced with watched lace and silver, with four good horses. " Also I will have two coachmen, one for my own coach, the other for my women. " Also, at any time when I travel, I will be allowed not only carroches and spare horses for me and my women ; but I will have such carriages as shall be fitting for all, orderly ; not pestering my things with my women's, nor theirs with chambermaids, nor theirs with washmaids. " Also for laundresses, when 1 travel, I will have them sent away before with the carriages, to see all safe ; and the chambermaids I will have go before with the greens, that the chambers may be ready, sweet and clean. " Also for that it is indecent to crowd up myself with my gentleman-usher in my coach, I will have him to have a convenient horse, to attend me either in city or in country. And I must have two footmen. And my desire is, that you defray all the charges for me. " And for myself, besides my yearly allowance, I would have twenty gowns of apparel ; six of them excellent good ones, eight of them for the country, and six others of them very excellent good ones. " Also I would have to put in my purse .i'2000 and ^200 ; and so for you to pay my debts. " Also I would have .£6000 to buy me jewels, and ^■'4000 to buy me a peari chain. " Now seeing I am so reasonable unto you, I pray you to find my children apparel, and their schooling ; and also my servants (men and women) their wages. « Also I will have my houses furnished, and all my lodging chambers to be suited with all such 3 I CANONBURY HOUSE. of this vast accession of wealth, to have been in a state of temporaiy distraction. He died suddenly June 24, l630. Spencer, Earl of Northampton, the only son of the above nobleman, and who succeeded him in titles and estate, married Mary, daughter to Sir Francis Beaumont, Knight, by whom he had issue six sons and two daughters. James his eldest son succeeded ; he was twice married, but left no issue by the first lady ; by the second lady, who was Mary, daughter of Baptist, Viscount Campden, he had three sons and two daughters. George, his eldest son and successor, married Jane, daughter of Sir Stephen Fox, Knight, by whom he had six daughters and four sons. Three of these died without issue ; the fourthj Charles, married Mary, only daughter of Sir Berkeley Lucy, Bart, by whom he had issue four daughters and two sons, Charles, who succeeded his uncle as seventh earl, but having no issue male, was succeeded by his brother, Spencer, the eighth earl, who married Jane, daughter of Henry Lawton, of Northampton, Esq. by whom he had issue a son and a daughter ; Charles, called Lord Compton, member of parliament for that borough, who married in 1787 the eldest daughter of Joshua Smith, of Earl Stoke Park, Wilts, Esq. and whose son and heir was born June 8, 1788. Of the old mansion at Canonbury great part is now pulled down, and the site occupied by modern houses. The present remains consist of a lofty brick tower, seventeen feet square and fifty-eight feet high, with some adjoining erections, and several large fragments of the park walls. These parts of Canonbury Place appear of no very ancient date, and are with great probability supposed to have been founded by William Bolton, prior of St. Bartholomew, furniture as is fit, as beds, stools, chairs, suitable cushions, carpets, silver warming-pans, cupboards of plate, fair hangings, and such-like ; so for my drawing-chambers in all houses, I will have them delicately furnished, both with hangings, couch, canopy, glass, carpet, chairs, cushions, and all things thereunto belonging. " Also my desire is, that you would pay all my debts, build Ashby House, and purchase lands ; and lend no money (as you love God) to the lord chamberlain, who would have all, perhaps your life from you. Remember his son my Lord Walden ; what entertainment he gave me when you were at Tiltyard. If you were dead he said he would be a husband, a father, a brother, and he said he would mairy me. I protest, I grieve to sec the poor man have so little wit and honesty, to use his friend so vilely. Also he fed me with untruths concerning the Charter House ; but that is the least, he wished me much harm ; you know him. God keep you and me from such as he is. " So now that I have declared to you what I would have, and what that is that I would not have, I pray that when you be an carl to allow me ^'looo more than I now desire, and double atte (a) Bishop De Northburgh was oiiginally a Dominican friar, and became chaplain and confessor to Edward the Third, being, according to the Latin of Robert de Avesbury, an historian who wrote in those times, valens clericus de conciliaris domini Regis existens & continue progrediens cum eodem ; — an able clerk, one of the council to the king, and constantly attendant on him. Edward conferred on Northburgh several ecclesiastical benefices; and on the death of Stratford in 1354 advanced him to the bishopric of London, which he enjoyed till the 9th of September 1361, when he died of the plague at Copthall, in Essex. In his will, bearing date the 13d of May in that year, besides his legacies to the Carthusian monastery, he bequeathed 1000 marks, which he ordered to be kept in a chest in St. Paul's cathedral, out of which any poor man might, on depositing a sufficient pledge, borrow £ia — the dean and principal canons ^20, or as far as forty marks — the Bishop of London ^'40 — and a nobleman or citizen .£10, for one year; but if the money was not returned, the preacher at Paul's Cross was to give notice that the pledge for it would be sold within fourteen days if not redeemed in the mean time ; and the surplusage, if any, of the pledge sold, was to be returned to the owner. lie likewise built a chantry in St. Paul's church. Dugdak'e Hist. St. Paul's. THE CHARTER HOUSE. fonnchition, and the bull of Pope Urban the Sixth for the better endowment of the monastery (a)." It appears from a deed in the British Museum (Bib. Cot. Nero, E. VI'. Regist. Muminentor' N. H. M. P. Johan' Jerusalem in Anglia) that Sir Walter Manny, the month preceding the date of his charter of foundatio!» (February), purchased an additional plot of ground situated near the former, probably to enlarge the bounds of the monastery. This deed is in French, and purports to be " An indenture made between the prior of St. John of Jerusalem (John Pavely), and the brethren of that hospital, and Walter, Lord of Many, Knt. Riciiard de Evesham, clerk, and Johan de Whitewell. By which indenture the said prior and brethren grant and confirm to the said Walter, Richard, and John, a parcel of ground lying without the bars of West Sniithfield, London, in a croft of land called Hart; cys croft, containing ten acres- and a half and thirty-six perches. Which parcel of ground lay between the land of the said prior and brethren on "the north, and the place called Neiv Chirche Heave on the south. To have and to hold, &c. as chief lords of the fee (de chief seigns. defee) by the services and dues of right accustomed. Paying yearly to the said prior, &c. twenty-five pence at four times in the year (vi/nt et synh south a quatcr tmes del an, &c.). The said prior, &c. to repossess the same premises, and whatsoever might be found thereon, on non-payment, unless other satisfaction was made according to the conditions therein specified. Done at Clerkenwell juxt. Londres, on Ash Wednesday, in full chapter, in the 45th year of Ed. IIL (b)." John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, married Ann, the daughter and heiress of Sir Walter Manny, and on that account was a benefactor to this house. The following bequests are extracted from his will, dated l6th of November 13 76. (a) Bearcroft's History of the Charter House, p. i?.-?. (b) Mr. Malcolm, who has copied this deed in his " Lomllnum Reill-vivum" seems to think ii an evidence of mis-statement on the part of Stowe and his transcribers, who say that the thirteen acres and one rod of ground on which the Charter House was biiilt, called " Spittle Croft," were purchased by Sir Walter, of St. Bartholomew Spittle ; whereas the quantity of land appears here to be but ten acres and thirty-six perches, and to have belonged to the hospital of St. John. The two purchases were, however, evidently made at different times, and were totally distinct ; the land mentioned in the above indenture being called " Harvey's Croft," and described to adjoin the New Church Hawe, or " Spittle Croft," as it had been before called ; not to mention the difference of date and other circumstances. Mr. M. himself afterwards adds, " This could not be the land Sir Walter added to three acres purchased by Ralph Stratford, Bishop of London, for a burial-place for the multitude who died of the plague, about the time mentioned by our historians, as the date of the deed is 1373 (1371)) and the pcstilenoe is stated to have happened in 1349." THE CHARTER HOUSE. " Le demoerant (remainder) da dite somme (^6oo) solt fait a la legllse o. Money given to poor householders was annually ^468 ; to lazar-houses, that they might not beg in the city, ^^60 ; besides ordinary fees for the good government of both houses, the officers of which then were an hospitaler, being a priest, five surgeons, two stewards, two butlers, two cooks, four porters, a schoolmaster and usher, three other schoolmasters, two clerks, two matrons, and forty-four women ; so that the ordinary charges then exceeded the receipts by .^£'377 : 5 :4 per year. Towards the discharge of this balance .£129:15:7 had been given that year, and the remaining ,£247:9:8 had been disbursed by the governors. L L CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. year each to 400 blind persons. This ought to be made known, because the funds have been often confounded with those of Christ's Hospital, which they do not in the least augment, the governors not being at liberty to apply those new funds to any of the uses of the Hospital (a). The several buildings of this charity are very extensive, consisting of various irregular parts, erected at different periods, and possess very little external beauty. The south front, which is hid by Newgate Street, is the handsomest. It is composed of a fine red brick, and is ornamented with Doric pilasters, placed on pedestals. This part of the Hospital was erected principally at the expense of Sir Robert Clayton, alderman and mayor of London, and was executed under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. It forms the principal entrance, and may be seen from the area to Christ's Church, to which there is a passage from Newgate Street. In a niche above the door is a statue of the royal founder Edward the Sixth, indifferently done, and much damaged ; and underneath the following inscription : " Edward the Sixth of famous memory, King of England, was founder of Christ's Hospital ; and Sir Robert Clayton, Knight and alderman, some time lord mayor of this city of London, erected this statue of King Edward, and built most part of this fabrick. Anno Dom. 1 682." Christ's Church, which stands on this spot, is a substantial stone fabric, finished in 1704. The steeple is lofty and handsome, the church itself spacious, and ornamented with a very rich altar-piece. The present edifice covers but half the ground of the ancient monastical church, or rather the site only of the (a) By deed dated 29th of March 1774, the Rev. William Hetherington made provision for the annual relief of " 50 persons blind and destitute of sight, born and residing in that part of Great Britain called England, at the rate of i:'io a year to each of such blind persons, being of sober life and conver- sation, cot receiving alms from any parish or place as paupers ; nor common beggars ; and not having any annuity, salary, pension, &c. for the term of his or her life to the amount or the yearly value of £io," &c. The persons to be rclteved by the aforesaid deed, were to be " such as were, are, or may be blind through age ; or being old, have, or afterwards may have the misfortune to be blind," and who were to be relieved in preference to younger persons. In consequence of this wish thus expressed, the age of the petitioners was formerly limited to sixty-one years ; but by later regulations (which by the same deed the general court were enabled to make), and the munificent additions made to the fund by several benevolent persons, it was agreed to admit blind people to petition when they have attained the age of thirty years, provided they are in all other respects duly qualified according to Mr. Hetherington's deed. The additions made to the bequest of the original donor are so important, that in the year 1800, 303 blind persons were relieved, and the number is said at present to amount to nearly 400. Towards this excellent charity some benefactors have left funds for the relief of thirty persons, and the late Benjamin Kenton, Esq. for no less than seventy-five. 5 CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. choir. The full half lyuig on the west is an open yard, and used for burying the dead (a). The Cloisters, yet standing, were part of the friary, but have been much modernized. They are very large, and serve at present as a thoroughfare to the Hospital, and a place for the boys to play in. Over them are some of the wards, and the great hall : both are well worthy inspection. In the cloisters, which are still used for interments, repose several of the officers of the Hospital, as well as some of its distinguished benefactors. Among the latter, the name of Mr. Thomas Firmin, a private citizen, merits preservation as an instance of uncommon liberality. His epitaph is said to have been composed by Dr. Fowler, Bishop of Gloucester, who knew him well, and is no panegyric (b) : " To the Memory " Of Mr. Thomas Firmin, late citizen of London, and one of the governors of this and of St. Thomas's Hospital. He was to the orphans of this a most tender father, and for the sick and wounded of the others a careful provider. He constantly expended the greatest profits of his trade, portions of his time, and labour of his thoughts, in works of charity, in providing work for thousands of poor people, in visiting and relieving necessitous families, and in redeeming debtors out of prison. He also gave away among vast numbers of poor, pious books writ by divines of the church of England. He took indefatigable pains in succouring the distressed refugees of France and Ireland. He was a most eminent example of improving all opportunities of doing good, of successfully provoking others to good works, and of an unfeigned charity both as to places and parties. He was very faithful and wise in disposing of public and private charities, and zealous for promoting of a reformation of manners. Yet after (a) The monastical church, which was destroyed by the fire of London in 1666, as before noticed, was first repaired and beautified, after the dissolution, in 1605, as were many other churches in London about the same time. " And then the country by degrees also, as one writes who lived in those times *, began to make their churches handsome and cleanly. And that not without good cause ; for there was not any church-work done in fifty years before, if you will believe that author." — " This church within some few years past had many repairs and charges. But we especially here remember the fair and spacious gallery that at the cost of the parishioners was erected in the north aisle in the year 1638, the charge of it amounting to .£149 : 10 ; a work very worthily supplying a necessity, and adding to this church a great deal of grace and beauty." Strype. (b) See a little book of his life published by Newbery. ♦ Edmund Howe, in his Chronicle. CHRIST'S HOSPITx\L. all he ascribed nothing to himself, acknowledging on his death-bed that he had been an unprofitable servant. And he professed that he hoped for salvation only from the mercy of God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ." Over the northern cloister was the ancient library founded by Whit- tlngton (a). This is very much modernized, but as a fragment is still curious. Another old building adjoining the western cloister is supposed to have been a chapel. It is supported on arches, which appear to have formed the side of a smaller cloister. Remains of stone walls indicate the site of other of the monastical buildings near the same spot. At the south-west corner of the cloisters is the mathematical school, beneath v^iich is a second entrance to the Hospital from Newgate Street, by a passage still retaining the name of ^' Grey Friars." Tiiis adjoins what was once the grand western front of the church. In a niche over this entrance is a fine statue of Charles the Second in his royal robes — and above, " Carolus II. Fundator." 1672. The writing-school is at the other extremity of the western cloister. It stands on columns, affording beneath a spacious play-ground for the boys in rainy weather, and likewise a passage to the cloisters from St. Bartholomew's Hospital : it had seven halls or shops formerly, which were let out to different trades, but are now all cleared away. This school is a handsome brick structure, founded by Sir Thomas Moore, Knight, alderman, and president of the Hospital. It contains desks for 300 boys, and cost J^jOOO. The founder's statue, in white marble, which represents him in his mayor's robes, &c. Jias tlais inscription beneath : " Anno Dom. 1694. " This writing-school and stately building was begun and completely finished, at the sole cost and charge of Sir John Moore, Knight, and lord mayor of the city in the year mdclxxxi, now president of this house, he having been otherwise a liberal benefactor to the same." (a) Whittington's charities to the city were very extensive. Besides the foundation of the library of Christ's Church, his executors by the directions of his will built and endowed a college founded in his name, and called WhiLtington's College, which stood in Tower Royal. This college was for thirteen poor almsmen, and divinity lectures to be read there for ever. They repaired St. Bar'.holomew's Hospital; assisted in the glazing and paving of Guildhall ; contributed J)alf the expenses of building the library there ; and erected the west gate of London called Newgate. CHRISTS HOSPITAL. The grammar-school is a large liandsorne brick building in the yard north of the cloisters, and near the above. It was erected in 1793. The great hall, a spacious room, in which the boys breakfast, dine, and sup, was repaired and fitted up after the great fire of London by Sir John I'rederick, alderman of London, and cost .^^5000. In this apartment is a prodigious large picture by Ferrio, which covers nearly the entire wall ; and though more remark- able for its size than its fine execution, is one of his best pieces, and really possesses considerable merit. Some of the heads are uncommonly well done. It represents James the Second amidst his courtiers receiving the president (jf the Hospital, several of the governors, and numbers of the children all kneeling ; Chancellor Jeftries is standing by him. This picture was intended as a compliment to Charles the Second ; but that monarch dying, the honour was paid to his successor, and the portrait of Charles is placed in a less conspicuous point of view, being represented with that of Edward the Sixth (half lengths), hanging in the same picture as portraits. In the back ground is a view of the mathe- matical school. Ferrio has, as usual, placed himself in one corner of this piece in a long wig. On the same side at the lower end is Edward the Sixth delivering the charter of the Hospital to the mayor and aldermen, who are in their robes and kneeling ; the boys and girls are ranged in two rows ; a bishop, probably Ridley (though not much like the usual portraits of him), is near the king. This picture is the work of Holbein, but, from the damage it has sustained by age, or rather injudicious repairs, it has been doubted to be of his hand. Tradition says, that this piece has been offered to be covered with broad pieces by way of purchase : but the same story is told of many other pictures. In this hall is an organ, by which the boys are accompanied in singing anthems. It was the gift of Edward Skelton, Esq. in ] 672, was built by Smith, and possesses a very fine tone. The court-room contains portraits of Edward the Sixth, and the chief benefactors to the Hospital. The portrait of Edward is by Holbein, an undoubted original, and extremely beautiful ; the figure is most richly dressed, with one of his hands on a dagger (a) . In a room entirely lined with stone are kept the records, deeds, and other writings of the Hospital. One of the books is a curious piece of antiquity. (a) It has been lately well engraved. M M CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. It is the earliest record of the Hospital ; and contains the anthem sung by the first children, verj' beautifully illuminated according to the custom of the time. - The greater part of these buildings being through age in a state of irrepa- rable decay, the governors have lately resolved to rebuild the whole. Subscriptions towards carrying this plan into effect are thankfully received at the- counting- house in the Hospital. In this Gfey Friars was formerly a stinking dungeon, of what antiquity is unknown ; but in Queen Mary's time vagabonds and idle persons were confined there. The porter of this dungeon was one Ninian. Here, we are informed by Fox, in his Martyrology (a), Thomas Green, servant to John Waylond, printer, was brought, and after some time was whipped unmercifully, having the correction of tliieves and vagabonds for a book called Antichrist, at the printing of which he had assisted. Many important changes have taken place in the management and internal economy of Christ's Hospital since its first foundation ; masters in several extra branches of education having been engaged (b) ; which has considerably enlarged the sphere of its utility. ; The food of the children, originally very homely, is now the best of its kind. It consists principally of bread and cheese, or butter for those who cannot eat cheese ; rice milk, boiled mutton and broth, boiled beef and pottage, roast mutton, &c. ; to which, on particular days, the liberality of various benefactors has added the occasional indulgence of roast beef and roast pork. Their bread is said to have been formerly very coarse and brown ; but good wheaten bread has long been substituted by the generosity of one of the treasurers (Mr. Breerwood). " When this was first brought into the hall in the bread-baskets," says a writer on the subject, " the poor children's hearts rejoiced, and they gave a great shout, praying God to bless their good treasurer." Particular form and decorum are observed in spending the Sunday after- noons. Besides the stated prayers of the day, and other services adapted (a) p. 1869. (b) Particularly a drawing-master, music-master, &c. The masters, officers, and servants on the present establishment, are very numerous. Many of them are resident in the house, as the treasurer, steward, apothecary ; masters for reading, writing, and mathematics ; three clerks, a matron, thirteen nurses, and five beadles. The non-residents are a physician, surgeon, music and drawing masters, surveyor, clerk, four itreet-vxnn, who clear the way for processions, and others. 2 CHRIST'S HOSPITAL. expressly for the use of the charity, and read by one of the senior boys, psalms are always sung, and accompanied by the organ, and, from the number of voices, have a fine effect. The order observed in the children's taking tlieir public suppers on the evening of this day, is also equally becoming, and affords an entertaining spectacle to a stranger. Other customs of a like interesting nature are observed at certain stated periods. In the winter after Christmas, when these public suppers of the children commence, the Hall is usually attended by a large, but select, company, admitted by tickets, which are easily obtained on proper application ; and the ceremony is worthy notice. The grand procession to Christ's Church (formerly to St. Bride's), at Easter, is generally witnessed by large crowds of people, and is a most interesting sight. The children are on this occasion honoured with the presence of the lord mayor and aldermen, perpetual governors of the charity, who go in state from the Mansion House to that church to hear divine service, attended by the different city officers, &c. and frequently followed by numbers of the gentry in their carriages. The boys belonging to the mathematical school walk with the insignia of their profession, as globes, quadrants, &c. and the other children likewise, as far as possible, bear emblems of the particular branch of study they pursue. This, added to their numbers, and other circumstances attending the ceremony, has a very impressive effect, and as a matter of mere curiosity must give great satisfaction. To the philanthropist, however, it will afford a subject of exultation, to see so many of the rising generation, who would otherwise for the most part be abandoned to want and neglect, thus excellently provided for ; and he will consider this charity, as it certainly is, a credit to the country, and an honour to human nature. This Easter procession of the children of the Hospital has been kept up ever since the first institution. On their return they receive refreshment at the Mansion House, together with a small sum of money each. CROSBY HALL. Crosby Hall stands in a court on the east side of Bishopsgate Street, at a small distance from the parish-church of St. Helen's, and is part of a large mansion built by Sir John Crosby, grocer and woolman, in the reign of King Edward the Fourth, on ground belonging to and adjoining the nunnery of St. Helen, of which a lease for ninety-nine years, viz. from J 466 to 1565, was granted him by the prioress (Alice Ashcfeld) and convent, at the annual rent of ^J 1 •.6:8. This powerful citizen was an alderman of London, mayor of the staple at Calais (a), and in 1470 served the office of sheriff in conjunction with John Warde (b), in which year the Bastard Falconbridge being repulsed in his illegal attempt at Aldgate, Bishopsgate, the Bridge, &c. by the gallantry of the citizens, Jieaded by the magistrates, twelve aldermen, with the recorder, were knighted in the field by King Edward the Fourth, among whom was Sir John Crosby (c). His death happened in 1475, four years after this period, and nine from the granting of the lease of the ground for the erection of Crosby House, which magnificent structure it is probable he had then scarcely finished ; " so short a space," observes Stowe, " enjoyed he that large and sumptuous building." This house, says the same author, he builded of stone and timber, very large and beautiful, and at that time the highest in London. The ancestors of Sir John Crosby (at least there is every presumption for supposing them his) are noticed as far back as the time of Edward tlie Third, (a) Holingshed erroneously calls him mayor of London, an honour he never attained. Vide the Catalogue of the Lord Mayors of London, Strype's Stowe, &c. vol. ii. (b) Son of Richard Warde, of Howden, in the county of York, and mayor in 1484, id Richard the Third. (c) The contention of, the rival monarchs Heniy and Edward, each of whom alternately swayed the sceptre, rendered this a year of such peculiar difficulty and peril to the chief city magistrate, that Sir John Stocton, who then held that office, Fabian tells us, fearing the return of Edward, who had just landed at Ravenspur, feigned himself sick, and his office was executed by deputy. CROSBY HALL. when mention is made of a Sir John Crosby, likewise knight and alderman of London, in a record in the Tower to the following effect : ^^Edwardus princeps Wallte Dux Corniihie concessit, &c. Edward, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, hath granted to Thomas Rigby, &c. the custody of the manor of Haneworth (a), and the advowson of the church of Haneworth, which was lately Sir John Crosby's, knight, late alderman of London, which he held of the same Prince Edward the day wherein he died, to have and to hold until the lawful age of his son and heir, called John Crosby." This grant was confirmed by the King. Another John Crosby (in all probability the person last mentioned, or a son of his) occurs in the year 140i, the seventh of Henry the Fourth, when it is said the same King gave to his servant, John Crosby, the wardship of Joan daughter and sole heir to John Jordaine, fishmonger, &c. ; which Crosby is, with great probability, conjectured to have been the father or grandfather to Sir John Crosby, the founder of Crosby Place. This nam.e of Crosby, according to the popular tradition current in the ' time of Stowe, was derived from an accidental occurrence : " it is a fable said of him to be named Crosby, of being found by a cross." But the historian rightly observes, that it could not apply to the last Sir John Crosby, from the name being to be met with before his time, as we have seen. Such an incident might not improbably, however, at first have given rise to the family name. Sir John Crosby was in his lifetime a liberal benefactor to the neighbouring monastery of St. Helen, " and gave 500 marks towards the reforming of that church, which was bestowed with the better, as appears from his arms both in the stone-work roof of timber and the glazing (b)." This sum, according to Holingshed, was given by Sir John Crosby for the repair of the parish, and not the conventual church (c), in the former of which he lies magnificently interred (with his wife Ann) (d) ; his arms, however, are not at present to be seen either in the (a) To the parish-church of this manor, Sir John Crosby, of Crosby Hall, bequeathed by will a sum of forty pounds for repairing the same : a circumstance which evidently proves his connexion with the Sir John Crosby above named. Haneworth stands on the river Thames, not far from Hampton Court, and in the time of Henry the Eighth belonged to the crown (as did Crosby House in London), and was so pleasantly situated, that that monarch delighted in it, says Camden, above any of his other houses. (b) Stowe, (c) Page 70J. (d) Their beautiful monument is on the south side of the altar-piece. It is a raised tomb of gray marble in the Gothic taste, decorated with the Crosby arms, and supports the alabaster effigies of Sir John and his wife, both of which arc recumbent. The figures are in good piescrvation; the knight has his arms conjoined over his breast, as has likewise his lady. His face is beardless, and the hair of his head cut CROSBY HALL. stone-work or roof of timber, but tbcy remain in the cast window of llic con- ventual church, with tliose of the city, the Mercers company, and Sir Thomas Grcsham, also a benefactor to the same church. To the ward of Bishopsgate, of which he was alderman, he left .^30, to be distributed to poor householders. To the parish-church of Haneworth, in Middlesex, before mentioned, he gave j^40; to the repairing of Rochester bridge ^lO; and to every prison in and about London liberally. Towards the making of a new tower of stone at the south end of London bridge, if tiic same was begun by the mayor and commonalty within ten years next after his decease, he bequeathed i^'ioo. He left a sum of money towards repairing the library of St. Peter's upon Cornhill, afterwards a grammar-school, where on the south side were formerly to be seen his arms. To the warden and commonalty of the company of Grocers, of which he was a member, he gave two large pots of silver chaced half gilt, weighing thirteen pounds and five ounces of troy weight, " to be occupied in their common hall, and elsewhere at their discretion;" and in the year 1477, in the mayoralty of Ralph Fitz Joceline, the executors of Sir John Crosby, by the directions of his will, appropriated a further legacy of ^'100 in repairing great part of London Wall; which gift the city commemorated by affixing his arms on it in two places (a). Of the fabric of Crosby House in its original state of splendour, we can only judge from what is now left; but its extent, as well as the contents and particulars of the demises granted to Sir John Crosby by the above-named prioress, may be understood by the grant of Crosby Place, and the appurtenances made by King Henry the Eighth to Anthony Bonvixi, the Italian merchant (b), short; over his shoulders is a robe, a fine collar hangs round his neck, and his body is armed. The lady is habited in the dress of the times in which she lived, and has likewise a robe, with tassels, depend- ant from a girdle which encircles her waist; her head-dress is of that square form represented in the portraits of the period. Two angels support their heads. The epitaph, now defaced, is given by Weaver, and is as follows: " Orate pro animabus Johannis Crosby Militis Aid. atquc tempore vite Maio- ris Staple ville Caleis; & Agnetis uxoris sue, ac Thome, Richardi Johannis, Johannis, Margarete, & Johanne liberorum ejusdtm Johannis Crosby militis, ille obiit, 1475 et ilia 1466 quorum animabis propi- tietur Deus." (a) The portion of London Wall repaired by the executors of Sir John Crosby was that large remnant still remaining at the back of Bethlem Hospital, and which originally reached from the church of AUhallows in the Wall to the Postern called Moorgate : on a part of the brickwork his arms are yet to be seen, but exceedingly defaced. (b) Henry was a great favourer of the merchants of this nation, for the sake of the magnificent silks, velvets, tissues of gold, jewels, and other luxuries, " for the pleasure (as he expresses it) of us and of our dearest wyeffthe queene." Rymer's Feed. xv. loj. E E CROSBY HALL. Rex omnihus, ^'f. aim Alicia Jshfeld, &c. ; wherein are mentioned first, the great messuage or tenement now commonly called Crosby Place, with a certain venell (a lane or passage) that extended in length from the east part of the said tene- ment to the corner or south end of a certain little lane north, turning unto the priory close ; also nine messuages situate and lying in the said parish of St. Helen's, whereof six were situate and lying between the front of the said tenement and the front of the bell-house or steeple of the said church, and another messuage of the said nine messuages which Catherine Catesby, widow, formerly held, situate within the gate and the steeple aforesaid, and the six messuages mentioned before, together with a certain void piece of land situate in the said parish, extending in length towards the east by the aforesaid messuage, which the said Catherine Catesby formerly held from the outward part of the plat or post of the bell-house, bordering upon the north part of the said six messuages, and King Street, unto the Churchyard there five feet and a half of assize, and thence extending in breadth towards the south, directly unto a certain tenement there formerly in the tenure of Robert Smith, and two messuages more of the said nine messuages jointly situate within the close of the said priory, of which one heretofore was in the tenure of John Crosby by the demise of Alice Woodhouse, late prioress; and the other heretofore in the tenure of the said Robert Smith. And these were the tenements and appur- tenances held of the priory of St. Helen's by Sir John Crosby (a). This stately fabric of Crosby Place, after the demise of its founder, was for some time inhabited by Richard Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard the Third, probably from its vicinity to the Tower, to which his nephews by his orders had been conveyed: "thesayde Duke," says Fabian, " caused the Kynge to be removed unto the Towre, and hys brother with hym ; but the Quene, for all fayre promyses to her made, kept her and her doughters wythin the foresayde seyntwary (the sanctuary at Westminster) ; and the Duke lodged hym selfe in Crosbyes Place in Byshoppesgate Strete." Here and at Baynard's Castle, both conveniently situated for the purpose, he carried on his various intrigues for gaining the crown ; after having won the mayor (b) and citizens to his interest, by the wily insinuations of Buckingham, (a) Strype's Stowe, vol. i. p. 435 (b) Sir Thomas Billesdon, haberdasher. Richard had large dealings with some of the citizens; and such circumstances have their influence. To the mayor of the preceding year (Sir Edmund Shaa, goldsmith) he ^vas a good customer; he calls him his merchant, and December i, in the first year of his reign, 1483, sold to him some of his plate, viz. " four pots of silver p arcel gilt, weighing twenty-eight pounds six ounces ; three pots and five bowls with a cover weighing thirty-five pounds ; twelve dishes, CROSBY HALL. a circumstance of which Shakespeare has not failed to make an admirable use in his well-known play of Richard the Third. Fabian's quaint way of narrating the effect of Buckingham's eloquence, and he was probably an eye-witness, is highly amusing : " Than uppon the tuysdaye folowynge, an assemble of the comons of the cytye was appoynted at the Guyldhalle where beynge present the Duke of Buck- ingha a wyth other lordes sente downe frome the sayde lorde protectoiir and there in the presence of the may re and corny naltye (Wm. Haryat Draper) re- hersed the ryght and tytle that the lorde protectour hadde to be prefered before hys of hys brother Kynge Edwarde, to the lyghte of the crowne of Englande. The wyche processe was in so eloquent wyse shewed and uttred wythout any impedyment of spyttynge or other countenaunce and that of a longe whyle, wyth so great sugred wordes of exhortacyon and accordynge sen- tence, that many a wyse man that day merveyled and commended hym for the good orderynge of hys wordes, but not for the entent and purpose the whyche thereuppon ensued." By this and other acts of popularity (or rather perhaps urged by their fears), " by little and little all folke," says Holingshed, " withdrew from the Tower, and drew unto Crosbies in Bishopsgate Streete, where the Protectour kept his household, so that the Protectour had the court, and the King was in a manner left desolate." To Crosby Place, the poet makes Richard invite the Lady Anne in the celebrated courtship scene ; and from Shakespeare's faithful adherence to histo- rical truth, the circumstance is probably correct. " Please you leave these sad designs To him, that hath more cause to be a mourner ; And presently repair to Crosby Place : Where after I have solemnly interr'd At Chert sey-mor\a.?:i'ry this noble king. And wet his grave with my repentant tears, I will with all convenient duty see you." (b) eleven sawcers, silver with gilt borders, weighing thirty-six pounds ; twelve plates, silver with gilt borders, weighing forty-four pounds eleven ounces ; moreover, two chargers, silver with gilt borders, two chargers, ten sawcers, an ewer parcel gilt, four chargers, two with gilt borders, two white. The weight of the said plate was two hundred and seventy-five pounds four ounces of Troy weight : and after 3S. 4d. the ounce came to £550: 13:4." Ledger book of Richard III. Vide Strype's Slowe, vol. ii. (b) Theobald's edit. vol. v.. 5 CROSBY HALL. Henry the Eighth, in the year 134'2, being possessed of this structure, as part of the dissolved monastery of St. Helen, made a grant of the same, as before mentioned, to the rich Italian merchant Bonvixi, or Bonvice ; " Know you that we of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, give and grant unto the said Anthony Bonvice, the reversion and reversions of the said messuage and tenement with the appurtenances, commonly called Crosby Place, and of all the said houses, soUars, cellars, garden, lanes, messuages, tenements, void places of land, and all and singular other premises, with the appurtenances, lying and situate in St, Helen's, and parcel of the said late priory, &c. Teste Rege apud Westmonast. Q. d'le Sept. an. regtii Reg. Henrici Oetavi 34." (a) One German Ciol, a foreigner, inhabited this house after Bonvice, and after him William Bond, alderman and sheriff of London, who died in 1576, and lies buried in the church of St. Helen's : "A merchant adventurer," says his epitaph, " and most famous in his age for his great adventures both by sea and land." The latter increased this house in height by building a turret on the top of it. It was afterwards purchased by Sir John Spencer, an alderman of Lon ■ don likewise, who is said to have made great repairs, and to have kept his mayoralty there in 1594, as likewise to have built a large warehouse near it. Here it was customary to lodge foreign ambassadors. In 1586 Henry 'Ramelius, chancellor of Denmark, ambassador to Queen Elizabeth, from Fre- derick the Second, King of Denmark, and also an ambassador from France, re- sided. In the first of James the First, when the ambassadors from the various states of Europe arrived in London, to congratulate that monarch on his acces- sion to the English throne. Monsieur de Rosni, great treasurer of France, afterwards the celebrated Duke de Sull)-, with his retinue, which was very numerous and splendid, were accommodated in Crosby House, for so Strype understands " the house then belonging to Sir John Spencer, within Bishops- gate." The same year were lodged here, the youngest son of William Prince o{ Orange, Monsieur Fulke, and the learned Monsieur Barnevelt, who came from the states of Holland and Zealand, of which he had the chief administra- tion, and who was beheaded in l6l8. This large and convenient house, soon after the great fire of London, was in part pulled down, and o'l the site of it and the gardens, the present Crosby Square erected. What now remains, and which we shall describe in the most (a) Strype's Stowe, vcl. i. li'nihn.rabU/hH Oriri iSet. liy V/nwr * /Awf l^ulliy.,lShftr. A J-ffnlil. i^fti .a' a pointed stone doorway ; v/hich (Mitrance communicates with a staircase leading to a small room filled with lumber, possibly a bedchamber. It has nothing, however, remarkable about it, and is probably a part of some later erections, or has been much modernized, as it bears no resemblance what- ever to the architecture of t^ie other parts of tiie pile . CROSBY HALL. A few remains, besides those already noticed, but of less importance, are still to be discerned in tracing the bomularics of Crosby Place ; particularly part of a large gateway at the south-east corner of Crosby Square, leading towards St. Mary Axe. This, with a small portion of the northern side next Great St. Helen's, and the beautiful key-stone in the roof of the recess in the Hall before mentioned, are thrown together, as fragments not unworthy preservation, in the Vignette. This gateway has been of stone, and evidently pointed, but the lower part only is original ; the upper, consists of a round arch of red brick, added on the erection of Crosby Square in 167 7- This gateway was a back entrance, and as it does not appear to have ever formed any part of a larger building, probably led to the gardens, or offices behind the house. ^f^'r==^>ei£^'' CROSBY HALL. All that remains entire of the front towards St. Helen's (now the northern end of the Hall), is a beautiful small stone doorway, with a window above it : these in the Plate are detached from the adjoining building : the rest is too much altered and modernized to afford any idea of its former state. We have omitted to notice that Crosby Hall, before it came into the possession of the present proprietors, was for some time occupied by a congre- gation of Protestant dissenters, which accounts for its being called Crosby Chapel. The wainscoting with which the sides were covered when it was fitted up for this purpose is still remaining. ELTHAM PALACE, KENT. Eltham, anciently written Ealdham and Aletham, from the Saxon cahl, old, and ham, a town or habitation, lies in the hundred of Blackhcath, at the distance of eight miles from London, on the road to Maidstone. The parish is bounded by Woolwich, Plumsted, and the extra-parochial hamlet of Kidbrook, on the north ; by Bexley on the east and south-east ; by Chistlehurst on the south ; by the extra-parochial hamlet of Mottingham on the south-west ; and by Lee on the west. It is most delightfully situated, contains a great number of respect- able houses, for the most part well inhabited, and consists of about '2880 acres. Of these, 36o acres are woodland, and 6o waste ; about three fifths of the cul- tivated land are arable (a). The manor of Eltham, which was a royal one from very remote antiquity, was held in the time of King Edward the Confessor, under the crown, by one Ahvolde. King William the Conqueror gave it to his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent; under whom it was held by Haimo the sheriff of the county (b). About four years after the doomsday survey was taken, Odo fell into disgrace, and being banished, and all his estates confiscated, this manor afterwards belonged partly to the crown, and partly to tlu> family of the Mandevilles, from whom it was called Eltham Mandeville. Edward the First gave his moiety of Eltham to the potent baron John de Vesci (c), who had lately married Isabel de Beaumont, the kinswoman of his Queen Eleanor. De Vesci afterwards obtained, (a) Lysons's Environs. (b) Haimo the sheriff, says the Doomsday record, holds of the Bishop (of Bayeux) Aletham, which is taxed at one suling and an half. The arable land is twelve carucates. On the demesne there are two ploughs. There are forty-four villans and twelve bordars, >vho employ seven ploughs. There are nine slaves, and twenty-two acres of meadow. There is pasture for fifty hogs. In the time of Edward the Confessor it was valued at ,t'i6 ; when it came into the possession of the present owner for dlxi; now at £io. Alwold held this manor of King Edward. (Hasted's Kent.) (c) Dugdale's Baronage. 5 ELTOAM PALACE. in exchange for other lands in the county of Bedford, Src. Walter de Mande- ville's share (a), and died seised of the same in I28g. Wm. de Vesci, his son and successor, a nobleman of great note and power (b), and much in the King's -confidence, died in the year 1297, having settled this manor with the greater part of his other estates on his natural son William de Vesci, who was slain at the battle of Strivelin, in Scotland, in the year 1314. Leaving no issue, the manor with other estates (pursuant to his father's settlement) devolved on Sir Gilbert de Aton, as his right heir. Sir Gilbert granted the manor of Eltham Mandeville to Geoffry Scroop, of Masham, who in 1318 procured a confirma- tion of it from the crown, and is said soon afterwards to have given it to Queen Isabel. In 1444 it was granted to Robert Dauson for seven years. In 1522 King Henry the Eighth bestowed the same on Sir Henry Guilford, the comp- troller of his household, for forty years. It was afterwards held by Sir Thomas Speke ; but having by his death fallen into the hands of King Edward the Sixth, was by him granted to Sir John Gates, lieutenant of the Tower, for life ; who enjoyed it, however, but for a short time, being executed for high treason in 1553, the last year of that king's reign. In 1568, the 11th of Eli- zabeth, the manor of Eltham was held by William Cromer, Esq. and Lord Cob- ham had a lease of it in ]5(}2. In the reign of King Charles the First the lease of it was held by the Earl of Dorset. In the time of the Commonwealth, the manor of Eltham was seized by the Parliament, and having been valued was sold with the manor-house, then called Eltham Place, and a great part of the demesne lands, to Nathaniel Rich, Esq. of Fulham. After the restoration. Sir John Shaw having purchased a subsisting term of this manor, procured a renewal of the lease in l663. It is now vested in Sir Gregory Shaw, Bart, to whom it has been renewed for eight years from April 1796, and again for seven years from 1804 (c). Tlie manor of Eltham extends over the whole of this parish, the hamlet of Mottinghain, and a ])arl of Chistlehurst ; and the tenants of it have been indulged with various gifts and exemptions (d). The kings of England had a palace here at a very early period, a moiety (a) Hasted's History of Kent, vol. i. p. 49- (b) He was justice in eyre north of Trent, governor of Scarborougli Castle, and lord justice of Ireland. He left an only daugliter, Isabel, married to Gilbert de Aton, Lord of Aton, in Yorkshire, to ivhom the estate in that county devolved, together with the title of Lord Vesci. (c) Lysons's Environs. (d) Stovve's Annals. ELTHAM PALACE. of the manor having remained in the crown till granted away by Edward the First, to John de Vesci ; and here were kept many of the joyous christmassings of ancient days. In 1270 Henry the Third kept a grand public Christmas at his palace of Eltham, being accompanied by his queen and all the great men of the realm. Anthony Bee, Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of Jerusalem, be- stowed great cost, we are (old, on the buildings of this Palace, and died there the 28th of March 13J 1 ; having, as it is said, given Eltham House to Edward the Second ; or, according to others, to Queen Isabel ; reserving only a life interest for himself (a). Edward frequently resided here ; and in the year 1315 his queen was brought to bed of a son in the Palace, who from the place of his birth had the name of John of Eltham. Possibly from that circumstance, this house has been, and still is, improperly called King John's Palace. Edward the Third held a parliament here in 1829, and again in 1375, when the Commons petitioned him to make his grandson, Richard of Bourdeaux, Prince of Wales. In the year 1364 he gave a magnificent entertainment at Eltham to John King of France, then a prisoner in England. Lionel, son of Edward the Tliird, being regent during his father's absence, kept a public Christmas at this palace in 1347 ; Richard the Second likewise kept his public christmassings here in 1384, 1385, and 1386. The last-mentioned year he gave a sumptuous entertainment to Leo, King of Armenia, on whom he likewise bestowed a handsome sum of money, and j^'lOOO for life. Henry the (a) Stowe says he builded the manor house, and gave it to the Queen ; which it was not in his power to do, from the statement given in the descent of the manor. Anthony Bee, it is well known, was a trustee under the will of William de Vesci ; and the only way in which the fact can be reconciled is, by supposing him (which is roundly asserted by some authors) to have betrayed his trust, and to have obtained fraudu- lent possession of the estate on his own account. This prelate, says Mr. Hutchinson, in his History of Durham, merits notice for the singularity of his character. He led the van of the first Edward's army gallantly against the Scots, and dared even to mate a harsh retort to a reproof from that stem monarch. At Rome he alone opposed a corps of ruffians who had forcibly entered his house. So active was his mind, that he always arose when his first sleep was over, saying, " It was beneath a man to turn in his bed!" He was so modest, that, although he smiled at the firown of a king, he never could lift his eyes to the face of a woman ; and when the remains of Saint William were to be removed to York, he was the only prelate whose conscious chastity permitted him to touch the sacred bones. Tet could this mir- ror of purity defraud the natural friend of his son the Lord Vesci, of a large estate luhich had been trusted to the Bishop's honour. Bee loved military parade, and had knights and soldiers always about him. Vanity prompted him to spend immense sums. For forty fresh herrings he once gave a sum equal to £40 sterling, and apiece of cloth which had proverbially been said to be "too dear for the Bishop of Durham," he bought and cut out into horse-cloths. To finish the story of this haughty priest : he once seized a palfrey of Edward the First as a deodand, and at length broke his heart at being ex- communicated by the Archbishop of York. B B ELTHAM PALACE. Fourth kept his Christmas atEltham in 1405, at which time the Duke of York was accused of an intention of breaking into the Palace by scaling the walls, for the purpose of murdering the king. He kept his Christmas here again in 1409 and 1412, and was residing at the same place when seized with the sickness which occasioned his death. Henry the Fifth kept his Christmas here in 1414, as did his successor, with much splendour, in 1429. Edward the Fourth bestowed much charge upon the repair of this Palace, and enclosed one of the parks called Home Park. Here his daughter Bridget, who became a nun at Dartford, was born in I486, and was baptized in the chapel of the Palace by the Bishop of Chichester. In 1483, the same king kept his Christmas here with most magnificent entertainments, two thousand persons being daily fed at his expense. Henry the Seventh built the front of the Palace towards the moat, and frequently resided there ; but it was neglected after Greenwich became the favourite country residence of his successors. Henry the Eighth came to Eltham but seldom; he kept, however, his Whitsuntide herein 1315 (when he created Sir Edward Stanley, Baron Monteagle, for his service at Flodden Field), and his Christmas in 1526; the latter with but few attendants, on account of the plague; it was therefore called the still Christmas. Edward the Sixth, on the death of Sir Thomas Speke, made John Gates keeper of Eltham Palace and Park, who was beheaded, as before observed, in 1553. Sir Christopher Hatton held the same situation under Elizabeth, and after him Lord Cobham, who had a grant of that office in 1502. King James the First was at Eltham in l6l2, which is the last time it appears to have been visited by any of the royal family. It was, during the civil wars, for some time in the occupation of Robert, Earl of Essex, the parliamentary general; who died there September the 14th, 1646, and was buried in West- minster Abbey. After the death of Charles the First, the Palace was surveyed, and valued at .^2754 for the materials. This survey is dated 1649, and is extremely interesting, as it enables us to form an idea, not only of the buildings then remaining, but of the extent and magnificence of the ancient pile itself, as it existed in its original state. " The capital mansion called Eltham" is therein described to be " built of brick, wood, stone, and timber ;" and to consist of one fair chapel, one great hall, forty-six rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars ; and above stairs, seventeen lodging-rooms on the king's side, twelve on the queen's side, and nine on the prince's side, in all tliirty-eight ; and thirty-five bayes of building. ELTHAM PALACE. or seventy-eight rooms in the offices round the court-yard, which contained one acre of grouncL None of the rooms were at this period furnished, except the chapel and haU. The house was reported to be much out of repair, and untenantable (a). Belonging to the Palace were three parks, called the Great Park, the Little or Middle Park, and Home Park. The Great Park contained 376 acres, according to the same survey : of this park Patrick Maule, Esq. groom of the bedchamber, was then ranger, as well as master of the game. The Little, or Middle Park, contained 333 acres ; and Home, alias Lee Park, in Eltham and Lee, 336 acres. The deer in all these parks had been destroyed by the soldiery and common people. In the three parks there had been 3700 trees marked out for the royal navy. In a book called " Mysteries of the good old Cause (b)", published 1660, it is said, " Sir Thomas Walsingham had the Home of Eltham given him, which was the Earl of Dorset's ; and the Middle Park, which was Mr. White's ; he has cut <^3000 worth of timber, and hath scarcely left a tree to make a gibbet." Sir Theodore Mayerne, the king's physician, had been chief ranger, &c. of Home Park, and resided in the lodge (now a farm-house). During the reign of Charles the First he had removed to Chelsea, and left an under-keeper in the lodge, as stated in the " Survey (c)." Of Eltham Palace, the principal remains are the great hall, where the parliaments were held and entertainments given, the extensive walls by which the whole site is enclosed, still pretty entire, two ancient stone bridges, the farm-house, and some detached offices. The hall is now used as a bam ; and the other buildings, converted into modern dwellings, are called, with the sur- rounding premises, " Court Farm." This was a moaled residence ; the ground-plot forms an irregular square, whose longest side is 400 feet, divided by the hall, &c. into two court-yards. (a) Parliamentary Survey in the Augmentation Office. (b) Lysons's Environs, vol. iv. (c) This celebrated character, who was a native of Geneva, had the singular honour to be retained as physician to four kings, namely, Henry the Fourth of France, James the First of England, and the two Charles's. Flis reputation in his profession was the consequence of his great skill and learning, and he may justly be considered as one of the reformers of physic. His portrait represents him a very fine looking man at the age of eighty-two. He is said to have died of the effects of bad wine, and foretold to his friends the exact time of his death. ELTHAM PALACE. This area is completely enclosed by a stone wall and the moat : the former is yet very perfect, of great thickness, and in some places from eighteen to twenty feet high. The moat is now destitute of water, but in other respects in the same state of perfection with the walls ; it measures from seventy to eighty feet in width, and is about fourteen or fifteen feet in depth. There are two bridges over it, one on the north side, or entrance from the town, and the other onthe south side, nearly opposite: the first has two arches, which are pointed and groined ; the arches of the latter ai'e bricked up. The width of each of these bridges is fourteen feet. The great hall is still in good preservation, and is a most noble remain, being 100 feet in length, fifty-six in breadth, and between' sixty and seventy feet high. It is built of a fine hard stone, and has a high pointed roof tiled, but which appears never to have been adorned with pinnacles like that of Westminster Hall. This immense room was enlightened by ten elegant- shaped windows on each side, all of which are now bricked up, though no other- ways damaged. These windows are separated only by narrow divisions, and are at a considerable height from the ground, their tops reaching to the edges of the roof. The walls at the two ends are entirely plain, and appear to have been always in that state; the upper end adjoined other buildings belonging to the Palace, traces of such a communication being very visible, as well as remains of foundations, &c. The original entrances are to the east and south-east ; the former by two small pointed doors adjoining each other, the latter by a third door, somewhat larger. The roof is of timber, finely wrought with Gothic ornaments, in the manner of Westminster Hall, though materially different in the form of its arches and decorations from that ancient piece of architecture ; it is still entire, and appears inno respect defaced except by dust and cobwebs. At the upper end of the hall, on the north and south sides, are large oblong recesses or windows, twelve feet in width, and nine in depth, reaching from the floor to the extremities of the ceiling. These, in all probability, were once filled with stained glass. A large portion of the beautiful stone frame- work of that on the north side has been destroyed, and its place supplied by a pair of folding barn doors, made for the purpose of admitting carriages, and assisting the operations of the flail; the other is but little damaged; the roofs of both are elegantly groined. At the east, or lower end of the hall, are remains of a ELTHAM PALACE. gallery, extending the whole breadth of the building, supported by clustered oak columns, beneath which are the doors of entrance. The walls of the hall measure upwards of three feet thick, and arc withinside, as well as without, entirely destitute of ornaments. Remnants of the ancient oak floor may still be traced under heaps of straw. The farm-house stands at the east end of the hall, nearly in a line with that building, but is separated from it by the way leading to the second court-yard. This, though much modernized, or rather disguised with whitewashing and plaster, is a part of the ancient Palace, and, from the style of its architecture, and the fashion of the stone door-case, windows, &c. probably one of the later erections of Henry the Seventh. From a curious plan of this Palace made in ]j09(a), soon after it had been completely repaired by the above monarch, the various buildings appear to have entirely surrounded three sides of the whole area. The apartments and offices, which are extremely numerous, are named ; among them are, the king's chamber, the queen's chamber, the buttery, brewery, spicery, chapel, the great gatehouse, and many others. These were all enclosed within the walls, but without them were other buildings devoted to more menial purposes, as tJie bakehouse, which stood at the north-east corner of the moat, where are now stables ; the chaudry, on the other side the bridge, the slaughterhouses to the south-east, &c. Of the greater part of these erections, not even the foundations can at present be traced (b). The approach to the ruins from the town has a remaikably fine effect; the expectation before we reach them being agreeably raised bv an extensive avenue of venerable trees, whose branches shade the path with appropriate solemnity. To the left is seen a large fragment of the park wall, with its ancient gateway ; then the moat with its grassy bottom, the stone bridge by which it is crossed, the high walls patched with ivy, and the magnificent hall. The appearance of these relics, though but " shades of departed greatness," is extremely impres- sive, and powerfully recalls the memory of other times. On crossing the bridge, the luill, with its long line of elegant pointed windows, is seen to great advantage, finch tinted by age, and in part shaded by the foliage of an immense tree, whose solemn branches are highly in (a) Vide Hasted's Hist, of Kent, vol. i. (b) a small view of the Palace was published by Stent, in 1650. C C ELTHAM PALACE. character. Below are some scattered cottages. Remains of arched doorways on this spot point out the sitviation of the gatehouse, or lodge, now titted up as modern residences ; but the roof of the gate itself is completely gone. The decayed walls which surround the Palace to the south-east, afford a view of some curious vaulted passages, communicating with the buildings above. They are composed of stone, but have been in various places repaired with brick, and being in parts broken and overgrown with ivy, &c. make this a most favourable point of view for a picture, especially considering the fine foreground which presents itself in the moat. There are many other stations, however, from which the ruins group uncommonly well. An ancient coin was found here, which, says Mr. Lysons, is no othenvays worthy notice, than as it occasioned a printed disputation between two eminent antiquaries, Mr. Clarke of Baliol College, and Mr. G. North, M. A. F. A. S. The former conjectured it to be a coin of Richard the First, while the latter contended it was a piece of base money called penny-yard-penny. In 1526, ordinances for the government of the royal household were made at this Palace. These have been lately published by the Society of Antiquaries, and afford a curious specimen of the ancient manner of living among the great. Eltham has been the chosen retreat of some great and celebrated characters ; the eminent painter Vandyke had here a summer residence, to which he often retired ; and here that singular and inconsistent character, John Lilburne, finished his unquiet life (a). Of later years it has derived considerable celebrity from the eminent botanist Dr. Sherrard, whose Hortus Ellhvn'iensis is a work well known. In a garden in the town is a green-house in which were formerly kept the exotics collected by him. Dr. Sherrard was assisted in his botanical researches by his gardener, Mr. James Gordon, afterwards a justly eminent botanist and nursery- man at Mile End. (a) John Lilburne, says Mr. Granger*, commonly called " Freeborn John," was the most hardened and refractory of all the seditious libellers of his time. Dungeons, pillories, and scourges, seem to have had no effect upon him. He was still contumacious, and continued to be the same turbulent incendiary that he was at first. He dared to oppose every government under which he lived, and thought he had as good a right to liberty, in its utmost extent, as he had to the element that he breathed. He looked upon all ordinances in religion as the worst kind of bonds and shackles, and the effects only of ecclesiastical tyianny. Being determined to enjoy the utmost " Christian liberty," he turned Quaker, and died in that communion. » Hist. Eng. vol. ii. p 339. ELTHAM PALACE. The church of this pleasant retired village adjoins the road or principal street, from which it is separated by a wall that encloses the whole cemetery ; but it is only remarkable for its deformity, and a singularly ill-shaped steeple. It contains, however, some handsome modern monuments. The churchyard is a large plot of ground, neatly kept, and is a thoroughfare. A stone adjoining the path here, records the memory of an inhabitant of the South Sea islands, who in the very dawn of manhood found a grave among " strangers thus far from his companions and his native home." Frederick Prince of Wales was created Earl of Eltham, in 1726; the title is now vested in his present Majesty. r ^ L ^' © ? M |«f (<• . ELTHAM PALACE. Of the illustrious native of this place, John of Eltham, whose tomb we have chosen for the subject of our vignette, but little is recorded. He was the second son of Edward the Second, by his queen Isabel, and died, without issue, at Perth, in Scotland, anno 1336. Fordun writes, that his brother the king (Edward the Third) stabbed him to the heart, at the high altar, after having upbraided him for cruelly burning a church, full of fugitives, at Lismahago : an improbable tale. His elegant tomb, on which lies his effigy armed and cross- legged, is in St. Edmund's chapel, Westminster Abbey. The arms of this prince were, a lion rampant guies, crowned or, a border sable besantee. \ V V \. s •. ^ ^ ^ vt <\ GREENWICH HOSPITAL. Greenwich has long been distinguished, in the English annals, as a favourite residence of the court, and the birth-place of several of our monarchs, particularly Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth : jt is likewise memorable as the scene of some remarkable transactions. Here, in 1553, the young and pious Prince Edward the Sixth breathed his last; and here, at a grand tilting match, held some years before, is said to have happened the occurrence which fixed the destiny of the accomplished Anne Boleyn. The queen, in the heighth of the amusement, accidentally dropped her handkerchief, the capricious Henry aft'ected to believe it a preconcerted signal of assignation ; and the circumstance, trivial as it was, being added to other charges, equally unfounded, cost that beautiful and unfortunate princess her life. A royal palace appears to have existed at Greenwich as early as the time of King Richard the Second, who collected, for the building thereof, for some years, a subsidy, or aid, termed Plesaiince. This palace was afterwards bestowed on Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, surnamed the Good, who called it, probably from that circumstance, Placentia. This superb edifice, of whose magnitude and splendour a tolerable idea may be formed from the prints published by the Society of Antiquaries, became, after the duke's death, again vested in the crown, and was enlarged and considerably improved by Henry the Seventh and Henry the Eighth. In the reign of Charles the Second, it had fallen so much into decay, that he resolved to pull it down, and erect a more magnificent palace on its site. A new building was begun by \V'ebb, from a design of Inigo Jones; but the first wing only was completed in the lifetime of the king. This he occasionally made his residence : he at the same time enlarged, walled, and planted the park, and built and furnished the Royal Observatory, for the use of the celebrated Mr, Flamstead, whose name it bears. GREENWICH HOSPITAL. On the demise of this monarch, a total stop was put to the completion of Greenwich palace, which for some time lay partly deserted, till, on the accession of William the Third, its destination was finally changed, and the palace, together with several other erections, and a considerable plot of ground, were given for the use of those English seamen, " who, by age, wounds, or other accidents, should be disabled from further service at sea; and for the relief of the widows and children of such as should fall in battle." King William also, by letters patent, in 1694, appointed commissioners for the better carrying into effect his excellent intentions, and therein " desired the assistance of his good subjects, as the necessity of his aft'airs did not permit him to advance so considerable a sum towards this work as he desired." In consequence of this intimation, benefactions were made from various parts of the kingdom, amounting to =£58,209, as we are informed by the tablets hung up at the entrance to the hall. Some years afterwards, the forfeited estate of the Earl of Derwentwater, valued at ^6000 per annum, was given by padiament, but has been since restored to the family. From these funds, great additions were made to the original fabric erected by Charles, which will be noticed in our description of the hospital, and the foundation, in its present state, is not to be paralleled, either for the splendour of the building or the grandeur of its establishment, by any in the world. This superb and extensive structure stands on the south side of the Thames, on a terrace, eight hundred and sixty feet in length, presenting a most magnificent front to the spectator. The entire edifice consists of four distinct piles of building, three having been added to the first erection by the respective monarchs whose names they bear. King William, Queen Mary, and Queen Anne. The two wings adjoining the Thames, built by Charles and Anne, are composed, as well as the greater part of the hospital, of the finest Portland stone. The interval which separates these buildings forms a grand square, two hundred and seventy-three feet wide. This extensive area is adorned with a fine statue of George the Second, sculptured by Rysbrach, out of a single block of white marble, that weighed eleven tons, taken from the French by Admiral Sir George Rooke. Beyond this square extends a second, one hundred and filteen feet wide, to which there is an ascent by a double flight of steps. At the back part of this square, in the centre, is situated the GREENWICH HOSPITAL. governor's house, an elegant stone building, behind which, at a moderate distance, the park, well planted with trees, the ranger's house, &c. rise with a noble ascent. This last-mentioned area separates, in the same manner with the former, the two most southern buildings, erected by William and Mary ; which, in their general forms, perfectly correspond with each other, and each range is terminated by an elegant dome. The two squares are intersected by a spacious avenue, leading from the town through the hospital, forming, with the areas, a sort of cross, which divides the whole into four distinct portions, each having its own proper courts, offices, &c. In describing, architecturally, the separate parts into which the hospital is divided, we begin with the two wings, which form the principal front, erected by Charles and Anne. These constitute the east and west sides of the great square, and are easily distinguishable by the different appearance of age in the stone. The first is said to have cost j£36,000. The other in every respect corresponds; both are of Portland stone, and rusticated. In the middle is a tetrastyle portico, of the Corinthian order, crowned with its proper entablature and pediment: at each end is a pavilion, formed by four corresponding pilasters, of the same order with their entablature, and surmounted by an attic story, with a balustrade, pediment, &c. In the north front of each of these two buildings, the pediment is supported by two ranges of coupled Corinthian columns, of excellent proportions, and the same order is continued in pilasters along the building. In the centre of each part, between these ranges of Corinthian columns, is the door, of the Doric order, adorned above with a tablet and pediment. Within the height of these lofty columns are two series of windows, enlightening two floors. The undermost, which are the smallest, have rustic bases crowned with pediments ; while the upper series, which are larger and more lofty, are adorned with the orders, and with upright, pointed pediments. Over these is an attic story. The entablature of the Corinthian columns and pilasters supports a regular attic course, the pilasters of this order rising over every column and pilaster of the Corinthian below, between which the windows are regularly disposed, and the top is crowned with a handsome balustrade. The southern buildings, which are continued from these, and face the area, form the sides of the second square, and have a general conformity with GREENWICH HOSPITAL. the preceding, though built in a finer and more elegant taste. In the centre of both is a range of columns supporting a pediment, and at each corner a range of Corinthian pilasters. The front is rusticated, and there are two series of windows : a colonnade adjoins each building. These colonnades are one hundred and fifteen feet asunder, the width of the square; and are composed of three hundred duplicated Doric columns and pilasters, of Portland stone, twenty feet higli, with an entablature and balustrade: each of them is three hundred and forty-seven feet long, having a return pavilion at the end, seventy feet long. The domes, at the end, are one hundred and twenty feet high, and are supported on coupled columns, with four projecting groups of columns at the quoins. Under the eastern dome is the chapel, and under that, to the west, the great painted hall. The sides of the gate, which opens to these buildings fi'om the park, are adorned with a large terrestrial and celestial globe, the stars of the latter being beautifully gilded. The chapel, which is perhaps the most chaste and elegant in Europe, has been but recently erected, the former one, which was very handsome, Laving been destroyed in the year 1779 by a dreadful fire, which likewise totally consumed the great dining hall, and eight wards, containing the lodgings of six hundred pensioners. The whole of this beautiful edifice is completed from the classical designs of the late . INIr. James Stuart, better known by the appellation of "Athenian Stuart;" and is allowed, by the best judges, to be a most beautiful specimen of Grecian architecture. We enter the chapel by an octangular vestibule, adorned with colossal statues of Faith, Hope, Charity, and INIeekness, designed by \A'est, and executed, in artificial stone, by Coade. From this vestibule there is an ascent of fourteen steps to the chapel, which the spectator no sooner enters than he is struck with mingled sensations of admiration and astonishment. This elaborate structure is one hundred and eleven feet in length and fifty-two in breadth, and is capable of conveniently accommodating one thousand pensioners, nurses, and boys, exclusive of pews for the directors and for the several officers, under officers, &c. After meditating a moment on the grand coup (Pail, in which the exquisite ceiling and altar-piece are particularly conspicuous, the spectator is recommended, before he proceeds, to observe the portal, or great door, by which he enters. GREENWICH HOSPITAL. This consists of an architrave frieze and cornice of statuary marble, the jambs of which are twelve feet high, in one entire piece, enriched with excellent sculpture. The frieze, which is the work of Bacon, consists of two angels, with festoons, supporting the Sacred Writings, in the leaves of which appear the following inscription: The Law was given by Moses ) But Grace and Tnith came by Jesus Christ. / The great folding doors are of mahogany, highly enriched, each door composed of a single plank. The whole portal is most elaborately sculptured, and the composition altogether forms an unrivalled specimen of the perfection of art. Within this entrance is a portico of six fluted marble columns, each of one entire piece, and fifteen feet high, with Ionic bases and capitals, designed from the antique, and crowned with an entablature and balustrade, enriched with suitable ornaments: these support the organ gallery. In the front of this gallery is a tablet, on which is a basso-relievo, representing angels sounding the harp. The pedestals on each side are sculptured with musical instruments, and on the tablet between is an appropriate inscription. The organ, by Green, is a handsome instrument, and possesses a fin© tone. On each side of it are four grand Corinthian columns, corresponding with the same number at the other end of the chapel. These support the arched ceiling and roof: their shafts are of Scagliola, in imitation of Sienna marble, by Ritcher, and have all the appearance of reality: the capitals and vases are of statuary marble : tlie columns, with their pedestals, are twenty-eight feet high. The chapel is enlightened on each side by an upper and lower range of windows, between which are the galleries, containing pews for the officers and their families : those of the governor and lieutenant-governor, which are opposite each other, are distinguished by naval ornaments. Above these is a richly-carved stone facia, on which stands a range of pilasters, of the composite mode, their shafts being of Scagliola, corresponding with those of the eight great columns, and jointly with them appearing to support the epistylum, which surrounds the whole chapel. Above this epistylum, which is enriched with angels bearing festoons of oak leaves, dolphins, shells, and other GREENWICH HOSPITAL. appropriate ornaments, rises the curved ceiling, divided into compartments, and encircled with foliage, golochi, &c. in the antique style. The recesses between the upper pilasters contain paintings, in chiaro oscuro, of the apostles and evangelists. The cantlivers, which support the galleries, are decorated with antique foliage, underneath which are fluted pilasters: the entablature over the pilasters is embellished with marine devices, the interval between with festoons, &c. and the pedestals of the balustrade, in the front of the galleries, with tridents and wreaths. The tablets in the middle of each balustrade are enriched with the hospital's arms, below which is carved a foliage in the Greek mode. Paintings, in chiaro oscuro, containing the principal events in the life of our Saviour, accompanied with ornaments of candelabra and festoons, adorn the spaces above the lower range of windows. At each end of the galleries are concave recesses, in which are the doors of entrance : these are decorated with enriched pilasters and entablatures, and a group of naval ornaments, crown, wreaths of laurel, trident, &c. The circular recesses above these doors contain paintings of the prophets in chiaro oscuro. But what more particularly claims attention, in this part of the chapel, is the large picture over the altar-piece, by West, representing the preservation tf St. Paul from shipwreck, on the island of Melita. This masterly production, for which, we are told, INIr. West received of" 2000, merits a particular description: it is twenty-five feet high and fourteen wide, and consists of three principal groups. The first, which is the lower part of the picture, represents the mariners and prisoners bringing on shore the various articles which have been preserved from the wreck : two of the passengers, who appear near these, are introduced by the artist with circumstances of peculiar interest. The first represents an elegant female, supposed to be a Roman lady of distinction, clasping, with affection, an urn, containing the ashes of her deceased husband, who had fallen in the wars of Judea: the other is a venerable old man, who, being infirm and unable to assist himself, is borne in the arms of two robust young men. In the middle part of the piece is the principal group, consisting of St. Paul, shaking into the fire the viper that had fastened on his hand, the brethren who accompanied him, his friend the centurion, and a band of Roman soldiers with their proper insignia. GREENWICH HOSPITAL. The third group consists of the hospitable islanders, who, from the summit of the impending rocks, are lowering down fuel and other necessaries for the relief of the sufferers. The sea and the wrecked ship appear in the back ground. This subject, which must be confessed to be most judiciously chosen, is throughout as judiciously handled, and in few instances do Mr. West's talents appear to greater advantage. The sombre tint, which pervades great part of the picture, admirably harmonizes with the gloominess of the scene. The figure of the apostle, though considerably less in magnitude than many of the surrounding groups, and removed to a greater distance, preserves its proper dignity of principal, not only from being placed in the middle of the piece, but from the painter having artfully contrived to throw the light of the fire full in his face, which beams with an awful benignity. The other figures are represented with characteristic expression, and throughout the whole the artist has displayed his usual attention to costume. This excellent production is inclosed in a very superb gold frame. On either side of the arch, which terminates the top of this picture, are angels of statuary marble, by Bacon, bearing the emblems of the cross and eucharist. The segment between the great cornice and ceiling contains a painting of the Ascension, by Rebecca, from a design by West. This forms the last of the series of paintings in chiaro oscuro, which surround the chapel, and contain the principal scenes in the life of our Saviour, commencing with his nativity. The altar-table, pulpit, and reader's desk, are in the same elegant taste with the rest of the chapel, and are composed of the richest materials, particularly the two latter, which are supported by beautiful fluted columns of lime-tree. The middle of the aisle and the space round the organ-gallery are paved with black and w^hite marble, in golochi, frets, and other ornaments; having in the centre an anchor and seaman's compass, the former done in mosaic. The pavement within the communion rails is of the same materials as that of the body of the chapel, and is surrounded with a border containing specimens of particular sorts of shot. In surveying this chapel, as well as every other part of the hospital, we are not only struck with the magnificence of the plan and the excellence of the GREENWICH HOSPITAL. workmanship, but we admire the characteristic propriety which regulates the most subordinate parts in reference to the grand design. Every ornament throughout is naval, and reminds the spectator of the destination of the building. The very pavement on which he walks is made subservient to this end, the stones being disposed so as to represent the points of the compass, the sphere, &c. The stone-posts are carved in the resemblance of cannon, the iron-work of the gates contains similar ornaments ; and, in fact, every part displays the judicious taste which directed it. The same admirable propriety is observed in distributing the pensioners, &c. to their respective places during divine service. The benches, which occupy the two sides of the chapel, and which are placed equidistant, have all their customary allotment of men, in full uniform. Each bench has its presiding boatswain, whose seat draws out from the end, and the whole form two regular rows up each side the grand avenue, in the middle of which their gold-laced hats are ranged in a straight line, marked out by the figures of the pavement. The intervals of the windows have seats a little elevated, containing the boys : other seats, in the same manner, are appropriated to the lieutenants, nurses, &c. and the whole are overlooked by the governors and officers in the galleries above. This attention to regularity not only preserves good order and discipline, but actually conduces to the grandeur of the scene. The whole group, when arranged, form a picture truly beautiful and interesting; and callous indeed must his heart be, who can behold this assemblage of naval worth without emotion ! The great hall, which occupies the building opposite the chapel, is, in its exterior, strictly conformable to that edifice, and its dimensions are nearly similar. It is entered by a vestibule, from which there is an ascent by a flight of steps into the saloon, or great hall. The ceiling of this, as well as the walls, is painted witli a variety of appropriate, historical subjects, portraits, and allegorical devices, by Sir James Thornhill. This work employed the painter upwards of nineteen years, and cost, afthe rate of X 3 per yard for the ceiling, and ,£" 1 for the sides, the sum of ,£6685. The money given by visiters, for viewing the chapel, hall, &c. is devoted, after a very trifling deduction to the persons who show them, to the maintenance and education of a number of boys, the sons of slain or disabled mariners, GREENWICH HOSPITAL. who are entirely provided for out of this fund, and taught such a share of mathematical learning as is necessary to fit them out for the sea-service. A purpose of such vast utility, answered by means apparently so inadequate, fully justifies the great expence bestowed in decorating these parts of the structure, which many have thought too lavish, but which, as the event proves, is amply repaid by the strangers it attracts. In the wing erected by King Charles, adjoining to the governors apartment, is the council room, in which are the following portraits: King William, Kneller; Queen Mary, ditto; George the Second, Shackleton; the first Earl of Sandwich, who gallantly perished at Sea, Lely ; Viscount Torrington, two, a whole and a half length, Davison; Captain Clements, Lely; Admiral Sir John Jennings, Richardson; Robert Osbolston, Esq. Dugard ; this gentleman gave jCQ0,0()0, the largest benefaction ever bestowed on the hospital by an individual; the late Earl of Sandwich, Gainsborough; and the head of a venerable old man, said to have been the first pensioner admitted on the foundation. Greenwich hospital contains near two thousand old, or disabled, mariners, besides one hundred boys, the sons of seamen, Avho are instructed in navigation, and bred up to the service of the royal navy; but there are no out-pensioners as at Chelsea. Each mariner has a weekly allowance of seven loaves, weighing sixteen ounces each, three pounds of beef, two of mutton, a pint of pease, a pound and a quarter of cheese, two ounces of butter, fourteen quarts of beer, and one shilling for tobacco money : the tobacco money of the boatswain is eighteen pence, and that of the other officers in proportion to their rank. Besides which, each common pensioner receives, once in two years, a suit of blue, a hat, three pair of stockings, two pair of shoes, five neckcloths, three shirts, and two nightcaps. For the better support of this hospital^ every seaman in the royal navy, and in the service of the merchants, pays sixpence per month. This is stopped out of the pay of all sailors, and delivered in at the Sixpenny Receiver's Office. This hospital has about one hundred governors, composed of the nobility and great officers of state. The principal domestic officers consist of a master or governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, three captains, six lieutenants, two chaplains, a physician and surgeon, clerk of the checque, and auditor. 2 GREENWICH HOSPITAL. Near the hospital are the infirmary and schools, two commodious brick buildings, designed by the before-mentioned Mr. Stuart; the former edifice is one hundred and forty-six feet long and forty-three broad; it has a colonnade of the Tuscan order, which is about twenty feet in breadth and nearly one hundred and eighty feet in length; the school-room is very spacious, being one hundred feet long and twenty-five feet in breadth. The infirmary was also erected from one of Mr. Stuart's designs ; it is square, and built of brick ; it is large enough to contain, comraodiously, two hundred and fifty-six patients. This fabric is one hundred and seventy-five feet in breadth, and nearly two hundred in length. k^iimbetity^i iliac r\ Jlliistratrii o,. Vi\mt\ -^ , -► tirniHiijrii «5 { ^. -'-''''4^ -7^^,.^. ^^^^^ 7/,.^,;^W. J.fn»i^i.At>tukfl eUn k KV }Krmln.WHmiu.ei Km. . yE.njAf«. LAMBETH PALACE. The name of Lambeth is Saxon, and variously written, as Lambhyde, Lamhythe, Lamhyt, Lamyte, or Lamhithe. It is also called in ancient writings and deeds, Lamhee, Lameth, Lamhei, Lamhed, and Lamhethe, which, according to Camden, signifies Partus sive navium statio lutea, viz. A dirty station (a). In the earlier times this was a manor, probably a royal one ; for the Saxon kings had a mansion here (it is supposed in that part of the parish now called Kennington), where they occasionally dwelt; and ancient historians inform us, that here the great Hardicanute died in 1042, amidst the jollity of a wedding dinner, held at the marriage of Toni, or Tuvi Prudan, with Gytha, the daughter of Osgod Clapa, two noble Danes. It is imagined by some that this prince was poisoned ; but the general supposition is, that he died of intemperance, and that the festival called Hog's Tide, or Hoch Wednesday, was kept for centuries afterwards in commemoration of this event, and of the consequent delivery of the kingdom from the dominion of the Danes. After the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold, the son of Earl Godvvyn, is said, without any formality, to have snatched the crown of this realm, and to have put it on his head with his own hands at Lambhythe (b). (a) The etymology of Lambeth, though sanctioned by the authority of Leland and Camden, did not satisfy Dr. Ducarel, who preferred a derivation from the Saxon words, lamb, a lamb, and byd, a harbour; to which Mr. Lysons remarks, the greatest objection is, " that it has no meaning." Dr. Ducarel, it is supposed, might adopt his opinion from Maitland, who observes, " that Lambeth, according to a certain antiquary, implies Lamehithe, i. e. a dirty situation or haven ; but that this seems to be a forced construction, seeing no part of the river Thames less deserves the appellation of Lamehithe than this, and he for this reason declares himself to be of opinion, it may be more reasonably called Lamb's Haven, and have been so denominated from the owner thereof." It is strange that Maitland should not have recollected how inconsistent his notion was with what he had previously acknowledged, that before the embanking of the Thames, St. George's Fields must have been under water every high tide ; nay, that part of them vi-ere under water not an age ago, and that therefore it must have been a dirty and unhealthy situation, arising from the stagnated waters. Addenda to Hist, of Lambeth. (b) Malsmbury. R R LAMBETH PALACE. About this period it was part of the estate of Goda, wife to Walter, Earl of Mantes, afterwards married to Eustace, Earl of Bologne, and sister to King Edward the Confessor (a), whose second husband, the Earl of Bologne, gave it to the see of Rochester, but reserved to himself the patronage of the church. The Conqueror seized it, and gave part of it to his brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, but restored it with the church ; which grant was confirmed in almost the same words by Rufus. It was appropriated to the maintenance of the monks (b). The charter of Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, gives, among other articles, to the monks of St. Andrew, at Rochester, 1000 lampreys out of Lamhea to their use. His successor, Ernulph, ordained, that Lamhert should furnish one salmon to the convent. A dispute arising in the reign of Stephen, between Bishop Ascelin and his convent, about the right to the churches of Lambeth and Hedenham, was adjusted by Imarus, Bishop of Tusculum, and apostolic legate. The monks set up the royal grant of it for their maintenance, and the Bishop being unable to bring any proof to the contrary, it was determined in their favour, and confirmed by Archbishop Theobald and Bishop Walter, by Archbishop Richard and Baldwin, and by King Henry the Second. In 1 1 97 Lambeth became the property of the see of Canterbury by exchange, transacted between Gilbert de Glanville, Bishop of Rochester, and the Archbishop Hubert Walter. Glanville reserved out of the exchange a small piece of land sufficient to erect a mansion for the use of the Bishops of Rochester whenever they came to attend parliament, which was afterwards called Rochester Place. In 1357 John de Shepey built Stangate Stairs for the convenience of himself and retinue to cross over into Westminster. Fisher and Hilsley were the last who inhabited this palace ; after their deaths it fell into the hands of Henry the Eighth, who exchanged with Aldridge, Bishop of Carlisle, for certain (a) In the Doomsday Survey, where it is mentioned under the name of Terra ^cclia de Lanehei, it is said to have been rated in the time of Edward tlie Confessor, " for ten hides, now for two hides and a half. The arable is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates and twelve villains, and twenty-six bordars having four carucates. Here is a church and nineteen burgesses in London, who pay a rent of thirty-six shillings, and here are three servants and sixteen acres of meadow ; wood to feed three hogs. In the time of King Edward (the Confessor), and afterwards, it was valued at ten pounds, now at eleven pounds. The Bishop of Bayeux holds within this manor a certain parcel of arable land, which before and after the death of Goda belonged to this church." (b) Ad victum monachorura Reg. RofF. 3. LAMBETH PALACE. houses in the Strand. Its name was changed to that of Carlisle House (a). The small houses on its site still belong to that see. Glanville, it appears, by the agreement between himself and Archbishop Baldwin, at the desire of Richard the First, gave up part of his court (airin) at Lambeth on the Thames, for the Archbishop and his successors to build on, " and also out of the court, twenty-four acres and one perch of his demesne, and the service of four acres of land at Hawise on the Thames, to build a church in honour of St. Thomas the Martyr, and aj)artments for tlic canons there attending, saving to the monks their right to the parish church of Lambeth in men and lands, and parishioners and tithes, and all offerings without the limits of our court, and the lands of our canons, and reserving the ditches round the court and garden, to let the water into the mill. The archbishops and their servants, and the canons and their servants, not to use, take, or hold, by gift or purchase, exchange, bequest, hire, mortgage, loan, or any other method, out of the said demesne lands oi the said monks or their men, beyond the said building, without the consent of the bishop and convent of Rochester. In exchange for this the archbishop gave up for the demesne of the said manor of Lambeth, a sheep-walk in the island of Gren, and all appurtenances in marsh- land, corn, &c. &c. then held by John, son of Eilgar, at the yearly rent of Qos. and other services for ever ; and further to augment this exchange, they granted that the services in three sheep-walks, then held of them in said island, should be paid by the hands of the said monks, and the tenants to be answerable to said monks, 1 R. (b)." It had been the design of Archbishop Walter to have erected here a college of secular monks, independent of those of Canterbury, a plan which originated with Archbishop Baldwin, and who intended it to have been built at Hackington, near Canterbury : but such a jealousy did these holy men conceive at the thought of a rival house so near to their own, and which they rightly judged was meant to humble the whole order of monks, and prevent their interfering in the civil and ecclesiastical constitutions of the kingdom, that, by their interest with the pope, the project was for the present laid aside. It was afterwards resumed by Hubert Walter, who thought the removal of the college to this distant manor could not possibly excite the fears of the monks ; but the latter, tenacious of their newly-assumed right of electing their archbishops, obtained a bull from (a) Ducarel's Lambeth. (b) Nichols's Hist, of Lam. p. 7. LAMBETH PALACE. • Archbishop Juxon, on the Restoration, found the Palace of his predecessors a heap of ruins. His piety rebuilt a greater part than could have been expected from the short time he enjoyed the primacy. He rebuilt the great hall on the ancient model, a fine noble fabric yet standing, and on this occasion gave a magnificent entertainment. The archbishop with his particular friends sat at the high table : the steward with the servants, who were gentry of the better rank, sat at the table on the right-hand side : the almoner, the clergy, and others, occupied the table on the left. None but nobility or privy counsellors were admitted to the table of the archbishop. The bishops themselves sat at the almoner's ; the other guests at the steward's (a). Archbishop Bancroft, who died in J 6 10, first began the fine library in this Palace, and left his books to his successors for ever. The succeeding archbishop, Abbot, bequeathed likewise a part of his books, distinguished by the mark CC, in the same unlimited manner. The worthy prelate Seeker, besides a considerable sum expended in making catalogues to the old registers of the see, left to the episcopal library all such books from his own private one as were not in the former, which comprehended much the largest and most valuable part of his collection. Archbishop Cornwallis bestowed many valuable books in his lifetime ; and the present archbishop has given a considerable sum for fitting up a proper repository fqr the valuable collection of manuscripts. Of the other improvements of this venerable pile we shall speak in describing the buildings themselves. Many additions have been made by the present amiable and worthy primate ; particularly, to the great gallery, which is near ninety feet long by fifteen feet nine inches broad, has lately been added a bow window. An opening has likewise been made towards the river by cutting down a few trees, which admits a most beautiful view of the water, part of the bridge, of the venerable abbey, and of the cathedral of St. Paul. The present Palace of Lambeth is conjectured to stand upon the site of the original manor-house of the Countess Goda, though it may be venturous to determine that any part of the Saxon fabric is still subsisting. Dr. Ducarel was of opinion that it might be little better than a common dwelling ; but as it was the place of residence of a king's sister, it is most probable that it was an habitation suitable to a person of her exalted rank. (a) Pennant's London. LAMBETH PALACE. THE LIBRARY occupies tlie four galleries over the cloisters, making a small quadrangle, a form very advantageously adapted to such a purpose. It is said by Aubrey (a) to have been founded by Archbishop Sheldon, but he could only have restored it, or probably have been the first to arrange the books after their dispersion (b), as in the will of his predecessor Abbot it is expressly mentioned to have been founded by Archl)ishop Bancroft : " Lett all men present and to come know and understand, that Richard Bancrofte, doctor of divinitie, first Bishop of London, and afterward promoted to the archbishopric of Canterbury, being for many years a great gatherer together of bookes, did voluntarily and of his owne action (as in his lifetime he had oft foretold he would), by his last will and testament, give and bequeath unto his successors the arclibishops of Canterbury for ever, a greate and famous library of bookes of divinitie, and of many other sorts of learning." The condition upon which Archbishop Bancroft left this library to his successors was, that it should on no account be alienated from the see, and that they should " yield to such assurances as should be devised by learned men" for its preservation. Otherwise he bequeathed it to Chelsea College, then about to be erected, or, if that should not be erected within six years after his decease, to the university of Cambridge (c). These books were remaining in the Lambeth library till 1646, two years after the execution of Archbishop Laud, when being seized by the parliament, the use of them was fiirst granted to Dr. Wincocke. They were afterwards (a) Perambulation of Surry. (b) Sheldon's will is conclusive as to his not being the original founder. '' Item, I give and bequeath to my successors archbishops of Canterbury, for ever, the several bookes, or volumes, men- tioned in the catalogue or shedule annexed, or hereafter to be annexed, to this my will, to-Mards the increase and impro'vement of the publique library of the see of Canterbury, now settled at Lambeth House." Ducarel's Hist. p. si- (c) Bancroft did not require a bond from his successors, that none of the books should be embezzled, as the condition of his bequest (which has been stated), but only that his successors " should yield to such assurances as should be devised by learned men." Respecting these assurances the succeeding archbishop (Abbot) consulted Sir Francis Bacon, by the command of James the First, who recommended an accurate catalogue to be made and laid up among the archives of the cathedral church of Canterbury, and a duplicate to be kept in the Lambeth library ; but stated it as his opinion, that the archbishops should not be required to enter into any particular engagement, by which some thousands of pounds might perhaps be forfeited for the accidental loss of a book of, comparatively, very small value. Abbot, in his will, only lays a solemn injunction on his successors to preserve the books carefully as he has done, but makes no mention of any other security. Z Z LAMBETH PALACE. given to Sion College, and at length many of them began to get into private hands ; so that probably fearing for their safety in times so inimical to learning, Mr. Selden suggested to the university of Cambridge their right to the books, and they were delivered pursuant to an ordinance of parliament, dated February 1647, into their possession. On the Restoration, Archbishop Juxon demanded the return of the library ; which was repeated by his successor Sheldon, as founded on the will of the pious donor ; and it was restored accordingly. An ordinance of parliament was likewise obtained at the same time, that such part of the collection as was in private hands should be immediately delivered up, and that the books in the possession of John Thurloe and Hugh Peter should be seized (a). The whole number of printed books deposited in the Lambeth library at the present time, is estimated at upwards of 25,000 volumes (b). Those of Archbishops Bancroft, Abbot, Laud, Sheldon, and Ten i son, are distinguished by their respective arms. Those which bear the arms of Whitgift were undoubtedly purchased of his executors by Archbishop Bancroft. There is only one volume in the collection known to have belonged to Archbishop Parker, which is a book of Calvin's writing. His arms are on the outside, and within is written, in red lead, " J. Parker," who was the Arch- bishop's son. An English Psalter printed by Daye, but without date, has likewise the following memorandum written by Dr. Parker's wife: " To the right vertuouse and honourable Ladye the Countesse of Shrewesburye, from your lovinge frende, Margaret Parker." The first complete catalogue of the printed books, which was formed on the plan of the Bodleian catalogue, was drawn up by Bishop Gibson, the editor of Camden, when librarian here, and is deposited in the manuscript library. In 17 18 it was fair copied by Dr. Wilkins, in three volumes folio, and has been continued by his successors to the present lime. Other catalogues of separate parts have been made by Dr. Ducarel. Among the printed books are some valuable for their embellishments. A fine copy of Speed's Great Britain in. two volumes, bound in morocco, has the maps and other plates beautifully emblazoned. (a) Mercurius Pollticus, May 17, 1660. (b) They were valued at X'zjoo, J. L. Neve's Lives, &c. LAMBETH PALACE. On a late trial, by which the present archiepiscopal residence was adjudged to be extra-parochial, it was urged by some of the counsel, that a religious edifice had formerly occupied this spot ; an assertion totally erroneous ; Lambeth having been originally no other than a manor-house, as has been shewn, belonging to the priory at Rochester, and was occasionally inhabited by one of the monks who as bailiiF or steward had the superintendance of the farm ; and as such it was not entitled to all the immunities annexed to the precincts of the convent to which it appertained. A religious house certainly existed hereabouts, the same being mentioned to be placed within this area or tract of ground, in a deed dated in 1 1 97 ; but that this chapel and area were situated not less than a quarter of a mile from Lambeth Palace, may be satisfactorily proved by an examination of an authentic conveyance in the Cotton library, which followed the first exchange made between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rochester monks in 1 189. This deed was executed after Baldwin had been compelled by the pope to demolish the chapel and college he had erected near Canterbury ; for being determined to pursue his plan at Lambeth, he at the instance and request of the king procured from the monks of St. Andrew at Rochester, ground on which he might erect a house for himself and successors, and likewise edifices for the prior and the canons of his college. In the deed the site for the intended archiepiscopal mansion is described to be a part of the court of the grantors as marked by certain bounds; and twenty-four acres and one perch of their demesne lands without the court were granted for building a church in honour of Bishop Thomas the Martyr, and for constructing habitations for the canons who were to serve therein. With an exception to Becket, there are, it is supposed, traces of some public act done in this house by every archbishop, from the time the monks of Rochester became possessed of it till its alienation (a) ; for though in some cases the name only of Lambeth is mentioned, yet it is so explicitly a\erred in (a) Whilst the manor of Lambeth was in the Rochester priory, the bishops of that see were accom- modated with a lodging in the manor-house as often as their business called them to London, and they were accustomed to receive from the demesne divers articles of provision. In compensation for these allowances a yearly pension of five marks was granted to them in perpetuity, payable out of the rectory of Lambeth, and ground was assigned Bishop Gilbert de Granville, whereon he built ;i house for himself and his successors. The ground is marked in the deed as being near the church of the blessed Stephen and Thomas towards the east, and when conveyed to the bishop there were upon it some of the dilapi- dated edifices of the dissolved college. LAMBETH PALACE. others that the archbishops were at the manor-house, that it may be presumed this was their regular inn. Archbishop Anselm ordained Sampson, bishop elect of Worcester, both deacon and priest, together with the Bishop of Hereford, in IO96, at Lambeth. The next year he ordained Hugh, Abbot of St. Austin, at Lambeth, in the chapel of the church of Rochester, where the Archbishop then lodged (a). He likewise presided in 1100 at the council held at Lambeth, which announced the legality of the intended marriage of King Henry the First with Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm, King of Scotland. Archbishops Ralph, Corboyl, Theobald, Richard, and Baldwin, all conse- crated at Lambeth ; and though we have no account of Becket's being there, yet on the vacancy of the see of Canterbury by his death, the suffragan bishops, in pursuance of the order of Richard de Luci, assembled at that place ; and, if not unanimously, they at least with one voice made choice of Roger, Abbot of Bee, to be his successor ; but he would not accept the trust. In 1345 (19 Ed. in.) John de Montfort, Duke of Brittany, did homage to the king in Lambeth Palace. (Collins's Peerage). Anno 1367, October 10, William of Wykeham was consecrated Bishop of Winchester, in St. Paul's cathedral ; but Simon de Langham kept the conse- cration-feast at Lambeth with the greatest magnificence. Anno 1408. In the account given of the convocation assembled by Arch- bishop Arundell, in St. Paul's cathedral, in June and July, it is related, that, after the session of July 26, the bishops, abbots, priors, chancellors of the two universities, doctors of divinity and laws, deans, deacons, archdeacons, and other venerable persons eminent in every branch of literature, to a number not easily to be computed, were entertained with elegance, and with great profusion of viands, by the archbishop in his manor of Lambeth. In omni epularum ahundantid, in manerio suo, lautissime conviviavit (b). In the rout of the Scots army, November 15, 1 542, the Earl of Cassils, who was one of the many persons taken prisoners, was sent to Lambeth Palace, and was kept on his parole. Archbishop Cranmer studied to free him from the (a) This chapel appears to have been richly and elegantly furnished by the Countess Goda, it being recorded of Ralph (brother of Ansfrid the sherifF), who was the first steward of the manor, that he never went to Rochester without carrying to his priory some of the ornaments that had belonged to their noble benefactress. Registrum Roffense. (b) WilUins, Concil. iii. p. 309. X LAMBETH PALACE. errors of popery, and was so successful, that this nohleniau became afterwards a great promoter of the reformation in his own country. (Burnet's Hist, of Reformation, voL i. p. 305.) An. 1446, October 21, Archbishop Stafford held at Lambeth a convocation of all the prelates resident in London, to deliberate about the payment of a tenth imposed by the Pope. The king's prohibition was offered as a plea for not agreeing to this demand. In 148] the bull of Pope Innocent the Fourth against the rebellious subjects of King Henry the Seventh, was exhibited to Archbishop Morton in a certain inner chamber within the manor of Lambeth. In 1533, May 28, Archbishop Cranmer confirmed at Lambeth the marriage of King Henry the Eighth with the Lady Anne Boleyn. And three years after- wards the same prelate being judicially seated in a certain low chapel within his house at Lambeth (in quodam basso sacello infra tsdes nostras infra Lamehilh), by a definitive sentence annulled the marriage between the same parties, the queen, in order to avoid the sentence of burning, having confessed to the Archbishop some Just and lawful impediments to her marriage with the king. A little before the latter event, viz. in 1534 (April 13), the commis- sioners sat at Lambeth to administer the oath of succession to the crown, upon the heirs of the same Queen Anne, to the clergy, and chiefly those of London that had not yet sworn ; who all took it, not one excepted. And a certain doctor, vicar of Croydon, .that it seems made some boggle before, went up with the rest ; of whom Sir Thomas More, who then stood by, made an observation, how, as he passed, he went to my lord's buttery-hatch, and called for drink, and drank valde familiariter ; whether, says he, sarcastically, it were for gladness or dryness, or quod ille notus erat pontijici. The same day were conveyed hither from the Tower, Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More, the only layman at this meeting, to tender this oath to them ; who both being separately called, refused (a). In 1537 the archbishops and bishops, by virtue of the royal commission, held various meetings at Lambeth Palace, to devise the " Godly and pious disposition of a Christian man," usually styled, from the composers of it, " The Bishops' Book ;" but were obliged to separate on account of the plague then raging at Lambeth, and persons dying even at the Palace-gate. Several circumstances respecting Cardinal Pole are noticed as having hap- (a) Denne's Addenda to History of Lambeth. T T LAMBETH PALACE. pened here, by Strype, Burnet, and other authors. In 1554, on his arrival froni the continent, having presented himself at court, he went from thence into his barge to his Palace at Lambeth, lately Archbishop Cranmer's ; and here he soon after summoned the bishops and inferior clergy, then assembled in convo- cation, to come to him to be absolved from all their perjuries, schisms, and heresies. The following month all the bishops went to Lambeth to receive the cardinal's blessing and directions. Archbishop Parker in the succeeding reign held several public meetings at this Palace for the transaction of business ; and in 1575 his successor, Grindal, made a grand public entertainment here, which was attended by great numbers of the nobility and gentry. In 1388, Archbishop Whitgift being so ill that he could not without danger of his life meet the convocation at Westminster Abbey, it was adjourned to Lambeth Palace. October g, l6lO, in pursuance of the king's letters patent. Archbishop Bancroft issued a prescript from his manor of Lambehith, for consecrating three bishops of Scotland who were then resident in England. Archbishop Abbot held, with his majesty's commissioners, many meetings at Lambeth for the trial of ecclesiastical causes (a), and in l6'22 sat with the Bishops of Winchester, Durham, Lincoln, and several privy counsellors, to inquire into the offences imputed to Anthony de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalato, who appearing personally, was, after a recapitulation of his many misdemeanors, in a long Latin oration, commanded by the archbishop in his majesty's name to quit the kingdom within twenty days, and at his peril never to return again. To these public acts, all tending to prove the residence of the archbishops at Lambeth Palace, might be added the several historical circumstances by (a) Complaining of the charges to which he was subject from the high commission court's being held at Lambeth Palace, he thus expresses himself in his narrative : " I think it may be justified by my officers upon oath, that since I was archbishop this thing alone has cost me out of my private estate one thousand pound and a half, and if I did say two thousand, it were not much amiss, besides all my trouble of my servants, who neither directly or indirectly gained £s by it in a whole year, but only travel and pains for their master's honour, and of that they had enough, my houses being like a great hostry every Thursday in the term, and for my expenses no man giving so much as thanks. " At the opening of the commission for the loan, when after some trial in Middlesex, the sitting was for Surrey, in my house at Lambeth, and the lords were there assembled with the justices of the whole county, I gave them entertainment in no mean fashion ; and I sate with them, albeit I said nothing, for the confusion was such I knew not what to make of it." Whitclock's Memorials, vol. i. 452, 455- y///i'/vi'/- r/ ///, ( ///r//r/, ^tr/z/A'/z/^'^fr/tr/Y . '..nj^ nMttujf^- 1: If. Ur<9-/fir^t^^m.-' Am/t,*jri.iUf^/\„^t^.^.ui^4. ..ii LAMBETH PALACE. which it has been distinguished ; but wliich we will postpone for the conclusion of our account, and in the mean time proceed witli a description of the fabric itself. Lambeth Palace is a large irregular pile of building, divided into a great variety of parts, and of which it is difficult to convey a distinct idea. The principal, and most interesting to a stranger, are, the magnificent brick gale- house or entrance, built by Archbishop Morton, the chapel, the ix.slry, the great tower called the Lollards' tower, the gallery, the cloisters and library above them, the hall, and the guard-chamber ; though there are besides many fine rooms and other erections of later date well deserving notice. The whole of these buildings, with the park and garden, occupy a plot of ground of nearly thirteen .acres, and the latter at a distance more resembles a town than a single residence. Proceeding along the first court-yard, and a part of the west cloister to which it leads, we ascend a large staircase on the left leading to the ancient CHAPEL. This adjoins the cloisters, of which it forms the northern side, and is bounded to the west by the Lollards' Tower, to the south by the gardens, and to the east by the gallery and other parts of the Palace. A place for the celebration of divine worship is very rationally concluded to have existed as a necessary appendage to the archiepiscopal residence from its first foundation, and the present building bears sufficient evidences of high antiquity to warrant an opinion of its being coeval, or nearly so, with that remote period. It consists of a body only, measuring seventy-two feet in length, in breadth twenty-five feet, and in height thirty feet, but divided into two, an inner and outer chapel, by a handsome carved screen. It has three windows on a side, and a larger one at the east and west ends. These windows are lancet-shaped, and bear a near resemblance to those in the choir of the Temple church. The western window is divided into five lights, the others into three. In the midst of the former, which is partly walled up, is a beautiful little Gothic shrine, or canopy, supported by an angel holding a shield of arms. The chapel has a flat pannelled ceiling, painted in compartments, and the pavement is composed of squares of black and white marble laid chequerwise. The present ornamented ceiling is the work of Archbishop Laud, whose arms are painted over the communion-table in eight different places. They are LAMBETH PALACE. also in the ante-chapel, above the west door of the choir, as Archbishop Juxon's are at the same end within the choir, which shews that they both repaired and beautified those parts. Laud gives the following account of this building in his time : " The chapel is divided into an inner and outer chapel ; and the partition or screen of the chapel which makes it two, was just in the same place where it now stands from the very building of the chapel." Before his time it " lay nastily, but he greatly repaired and beautified it." This edifice having been totally despoiled and desecrated during the time Lambeth Palace was possessed by Colonel Scott, the present elegant wainscotting and fittings up were most probably owing to the munificence of Juxon. They consist of an handsome range of pews or stalls on each side for the officers of the archbishop's household, with seats beneath for the inferior domestics ; — a screen, which divides the two chapels, the altar-piece, a gallery beneath the west window, containing a sort of reading-desk in front, but from its situation apparently built for an organ-loft, the pulpit, and some other decorations. Most of these parts are very beautifully carved, the screen is elaborately so, as well as the archbishop's seat or stall, which adjoins the inner side of it, and which is handsomely furnished. The altar-piece is of the Corinthian order, painted of a stone colour (as are all the other parts of the chapel), and gilded. The floor, which is raised a step for the communion-table, is railed in, and neatly carpeted, and above are the words " suksum cokda." On the south side is a plain moveable pulpit, and immediately opposite, over the vestry-room, a box with curtains, &c. for his grace's family to attend divine service. Notwithstanding the present handsome appearance of this chapel, it was undoubtedly more splendid in the Romish times. Cranmer is thought to have removed many of its superstitious decorations ; and those restored during the short primacy of Pole, were probably all taken away by Archbishop Parker. An organ was here, however, even in the time of the latter prelate, for he bequeaths " organa mea chorialia in sacello Lamhithi sita" to his successors : and Laud makes a similar bequest of one in his will (a) ; it is therefore some- what remarkable that the chapel should be at present unfurnished with this (a) " Item, I give to my successor (if the present troubles in the state leave me any) my organ in the chapel at Lambeth, provided that he leave it to the sec for ever. Likewise I give him my barge and the furniture to it. But in case the archbishopric be dissolved (as it is threatened), then I will that my executor add the organ, the barge, and such pictures as arc mine, to my estate, that is, if they escape pliinilering." Troubles of Archbishop Laud. Knarard ty XlU-^.^\'n •( DiwKtnf-' ty tVjJi^l.' C^M^ecmen^ efme pt^ia^^tmM/ (:?a^'P^?ia^ , ^ en. Me u/inA^z-^a^^/t/^'m'' ^^^^ U-aJcn.l'ub&ftiiXnxU LAMBETH PALACE. decent appendage. Bat the greatest beauty of this religious edifice before the destructive civil wars, was the very fine painted glass of its windows put up by Archbishop Morton, as appeared by his device in those windows. The subject represented by this glass was the history of man from the creation to the day of judgment, three lights in a window. " The two side-lights contained the types in the Old Testament, and the middle light the anti-type and verity of the New. The outward chapel had two windows with the day of judgment. There was particularly amongst them a crucifix" (probably a representation of tiie cruci- fixion, a necessary part of the scriptural story). Archbishop Laud, at his coming to Lambeth, found these windows " shameful to look, on, all diversly patched, like a poor beggar's coat," as his words are ; and repaired them. This laudable action of the prelate, which would now be justly esteemed a mark, of good taste and liberality, formed in that narrow age of puritanical bigotry the subject of a criminal charge ; it being alleged against him on his trial, " that he did repair the story of those windows by their like in the Mass Book :" but this he utterly denied, and affirmed that he and his secretary made out the story as well as they could by the remains that were unbroken. These beautiful windows were all defaced by our outrageous reformers in the last century, who, under pretence of abhorring idols, made no scruple of committing sacrilege (a). There is no account or appearance of interments in the chapel, except that of Archbishop Parker before mentioned. He died in 1575, aged seventy-two, and desired by his will to lie here. Accordingly, at his death, his bowels were put into an urn (a pitcher one writer terms it), and deposited in the Duke's chapel in Lam- beth church. His body by his request was buried at the upper end of this chapel against the communion-table on the south side, under a monument of his own erecting, and placed by his direction against that part of the chapel where he used to pray, with a Latin inscription composed by his old friend Dr. Walter Haddon. The spot where this prelate's body now rests is marked by the following notice cut in a stone of the pavement immediately before the communion rails : " Corpus ., Matth^i Archiepiscopi Tandem Hic QviESCIT." (a) Ducard's Lambeth. U U LAMBETH PALACE. The ancient monument, which originally stood near this spot, is at present placed in a corner of the vestibulum against the wall. It is a plain altar-tomb of gray marble in the Gothic taste, and has at one end a small brass plate with the following inscription, written and placed there by Archbishop Sancroft, in whose time the body was discovered by the interference of Sir William Dugdale, and re-interred as before noticed (a). Matth^i archiepiscopi cenotaphium -. corpus enim, (ne nescias lector,) in adyto hujus sacelli olim rite conditum a sectariis perduellibus, anno mdcxlviii, Effracto sacrilege hoc ipso tumulo, elogio sepulchrali impie refixo, direptis nefarie exuviis plumbeis, spoliatum, violatum, eliminatum ; etiam sub sterquilinis (proh scelus!) abstrusum: rege demum (plaudente coelo & terra) redeunte, ex decreto baronum Anglise, sedulo quaesitum, et sacello postliminio redditum, in ejus quasi medio tandem quiescit, Et Qviescat utinam, non nisi tuba ultima solicitandum. Qvi Denvo Deseckaverit, Sacer Esto. The communion plate in Lambeth chapel is mentioned to consist of the following utensils of silver gilt : A plate, or dish — two flagons — a chalice, or cup (on the cover a Iamb, holding a banner with a cross) — two candlesticks. This plate has generally passed from one archbishop to another, especially since the time of Sheldon, who gave it by will to his successors to hold in it a life interest (only). (a) " It was the vile Matthew Hardy that caused Archbishop Parker to be dug up and buried beneath a dunghill, sold the lead wherein he was enclosed, and converted the tombstone to a table for the use of his own house. But in 1661 the said Hardy vpas obliged, by an order of the House of Lords, to find the body and rcposit it near the place where it was before buried, and also erect a like monument over it (this must mean the original one), at his own proper cost and charge." (Kennel's Rcgist. and Chron.) LAMBETH PALACE. " The common prayer-books being old and worn out, Archl)ishop Herring bought several new ones in quarto, handsomely bound and gilt, and covered the great chair near the communion-table, with some silk, which was found in a chest in the vestry." It is now covered with tawny-coloured velvet. Besides the above, there appear to have been anciently more chapels, or places of prayer, within Lambeth Palace, mention being made of the great chapel in Computus BaUivorum, 15 Edw. IL as well as in other places, and also in the time of Chichele, when William Taylour was brought before him — " in capella majori infra manerium suum de Lamchilh pro tribunali sedente" which implies that there was a lesser one. Mention is likewise made of magmim oratorium domini & oratorium domini, which were distinct from the chapel. In which oratories were several ordinations, as we learn by the registers (a) . In Archbishop Peckham's register, 1280, is a memorandum for the repa- ration of the present chapel ; and in the register of Archbishop Arundel, mention is made of a new one, or at least a new altar in it (the words do not distinctly indicate which), being consecrated in 1407 (b). The crypt, beneath the chapel, is thought to be the oldest part of the Palace. It is very strongly vaulted with stone, and is thirty-six feet long by twenty-four feet wide ; the height of the roof from the ground is about ten feet. These vaults are now converted into cellars, but might possibly be once used for divine worship, as there is an entrance to them from the cloisters. At one end are remains of a building supposed to have been a bakehouse or kitchen. VESTRY. The vestry adjoins the east end of the chapel, and contains the following pictures : 1 . A small piece unframed, representing an emaciated figure in bed, a cap nearly drawn over his eyes, and apparently dead, said to be Archbishop Juxon after his decease. (a) Particularly in the time of Archbishop Arundel, as appears from the following instance. 26 of Teb. 1400, Sunday — " In oratoria infra manerium de Lambeth, Dnus. ordinavit Robert' Tunstall, rectorem eccP poch' de Kylcomb Mene-ven' dioc'," &c. (11) Dedicatio nave capelle Dni. infra manerium de Lambith. Memorand' quod die Jovis, 22 die mensis Decembris, A. D. 1407, et trans' Dni. anno ij, Dnus. Thomas (Cant' archiepus.) &c. consecravit sive dedicavit quoddam altare in capella annex' fini orientali medii camere Dni. noviter construct' infra manerium suum dc Lamhyth, in honore beatissime Virginis Marie & festi annunciationis cjusdem. Ducarel's Lambeth. LAMBETH PALACE. 2. An ancient painting on board, with a man and woman (three-quarter lengths), described as Martin Luther and his wife, but totally unlike the common portraits of the former, both in dress and feature (a). The figures in tliis picture (though in great want of cleaning) are beautifully painted, and have a wonderful air of nature. The man wears a Ccip of that form usually worn about the reign of Henry the Eighth, and is regarding the female, whose hand he holds, with a look of uncommon satisfaction. The lady appears with child, has a sort of Dutch face, but very handsome and fair, and a most admirable expression of modesty. Nothing can be finer than the heads and hands in this piece. 3. Dr. Whichcote ; 4. Mr. L. E. Diipin ; and 5. Williams, Bishc^ of Chichester, with the date i6Q4. 6. A small ancient painting on board of Cardinal Pole. 7. A young man in a clerical habit, or rather that of a student, with a motto beneath, " Rapido contrarium orhi" supposed to be Archbishop Sancroft when young. Date l650. 8. Archbishop Tillotson, unframed, 1694. 9. Bishop Evans of Bangor, afterwards of Meath, 1707. 10. Gardiner, Bishop of Lincoln, J 694. 1 1. A copy of Archbishop Warham. Another is in the library. The door leading from the great dining-room into the vestry was made by Archbishop Wake. Before his time there was no passage that way into the chapel, but they used to go out at the side door by the stairs, and descending two steps, went to chapel through the vestry by a door now stopped up, and which is converted into a press for hanging the surplices. rOST ROOM. This apartment (so called from a large pillar, or post, in the midst, which supports the roof) is a part of the building of the Lollards' Tower, and forms a sort of porch or entrance to the chapel. It has a flat pannelled ceiling, ornamented with grotesque figures of angels, bearing shields of arms, scrolls, &c. On the west side looking to the Thames are three pointed windows, and opposite is the doorway of the chapel, a large circular stone arch, enclosing two pointed ones in the Norman style, and surmounted by the arms of Archbishop Laud. (a) Neither the curious original picture of him in the Museum, nor that in the Lambeth gallery, beaif the least resemblance to this. ?^ I 4 5N AfiutHtgtjaeAfBrtiUinatn^KirLfuif. (_ ,; CM /■/'///(/,/ (VI /fit- uec/o/h 'M^ o/ //i<> J/^/ Lyu>iym.\l/a-//i/v^// i^^a/ffc( /iilirii'r or' l.olltml.ulYUvn X- I'lit- ximil,- ,'i' ItriliiKt I'ri thr \l',i//.< ino T-iif^^ lC. ^r/Z/^r/^^^/Z^A//.^ r/-/JM//;-r/,i%/,r,r . LAMBETH PALACE. Near one of the windows stand an ancient table, and a moveable pulpit or reading-desk. From this place, by a low pointed door and spiral stone staircase we ascend the Lollards' tower, at the very top of which is a small room, about twelve feet long and nine broad, which constant tradition has identified as the prison of the ancient religious sect called Lollards, and which indeed bears horrid evidences of such a desti- nation. This room is entered by a little pointed stone doorway, barely sufficient for one person to pass at a time, which doorway has an inner and outer door of strong oak, thickly studded with iron, and fastenings to correspond. The first thing that arrests the attention on entering, is, the large iron rings fastened to the wainscot which lines the walls. There are eight of these rings still firmly fixed, and about breast-high, in this order ; three on the south side, four on the west side, and one on the north side. The wainscot, the ceiling, and the floor of this chamber are all of oak, and near an inch and a half in thick- ness. It has two very small windows, narrowing outwards, one to the west, the other to the north. A small chimney is on the north part, and upon the sides are various scratches, half sentences, initials, &c. cut out with a knife, by the prisoners who are supposed to have been confined here. These sentences are all in the old English character, and in general written so rudely as to be not easily decyphered ; Dr. Ducarel has picked out the follow- ing, which are inserted in his History of the Palace: SDeo fit gtattatum (gratiaru) actio— petit 3fou0anl;am 3fl)e anlJ goljn JFpocKe iBarbur anti scanUelac 3\>^ cpppe me out of all el compene amen Cl)oma£i 9Sacar— il)e z^ta morinens ^I'c abit— austtn— So|)n maxi^ Cljessam 2:)octor— Ji3osce te I'ps 'm JFarlep— ii)e— 3fol)u (3fo!)an) JFpocke IPierre amacfefei, (3foI)n gorfe). X X LAMBETH PALACE. There are several names and other memorials besides the above, which may with some difficulty be traced ; and in one or two places is a crucifix, the letters 3f 115^5 ^"^^ other characters cut. By a small door opposite the entrance to the Lollards' prison, is a way to the leads of the chapel, from whence there is a very fine view of the Palace, park, gardens, &c. At the very top of this tower is fixed the chapel bell. The Lollards' Tower, in which the above prison is situated, and which probably received its name from that circumstance, stands at the south-west corner of the Palace adjoining the Thames, and is, as before observed, the work of Chichele, who was a very great builder and repairer here in the years 1424, 1425, 142g, 1431, 1444, and 1445(a), when he spent, as appears by his steward's accounts, large sums of money. This tower cost in the whole ^278 : 2 : ] 1 1, and each item of the expense is set down in the computus halli- vorum, or steward's accounts of the year. By these it appears, that every foot in height of this building, including the whole circumference, cost 1 3*. Ad. for the work. The iron-work used about the windows and doors amounted to 13121 lbs. in weight, at three-halfpence per pound, to ^10 : 14 : llj, and 3000 bricks were used for stopping the windows between the chapel and that tower. On the west side was a tabernacle or niche made, in which was placed the image of St. Thomas, which image cost 13^. Ad. A bricklayer's and a taylor's wages were then by the day, with victuals. Ad. without victuals, Qd. or Q\d. ; a labourer's with victuals, 3d. without victuals, 3|(/. But most of this tower was done by the gross, as the computers call it, or the great. To make way for the erection of this fabric, some other buildings on the same site, it seems, were taken down and cleared away, but of what nature they were, whether prisons or no, is not known. It is certain that the Archbishops of Canterbury had prisons here before this tower was built ; for we have an account of a married chaplain brought before Archbishop Arundel in the year 1402, out of his prisons within his (a) In this archbishop's time, the following places arc enumerated in the account of the Palace : The great chamber, the little chamber, study, parlour, ax prolocutorUim, great hall or porch, steward's chamber, steward of the household's chamber, auditor's chamber, registry, register's chamber, guard- chamber, camera armigerorum, the archbishop's oratory, the great oratory (this could not be the chapel> which is mentioned lower down), clerk of the kitchen's apartment, cook's room, chaudry, ewry, adjoining the chapel, storehouse, panlry, larder, fountain, or aqueduct in the kitchen, great cloister, little ditto, besides other meaner apartments. A rabbit-garden is also specified. LAMBETH PALACE. manor of Lambeth ; but it is now impossible to ascertain where those prisons stood. The Lollards were very much persecuted in the times of Arundel and Chichele ; and several of the proceedings against them are extant in the registers of this see (a). William Tailour, in particular, was brought to Lambeth before Archbishop Chichele, but he was not confined there, being expressly said, in Wilkins's Councils, to have been then, and long before, in the Bishop of Wor- cester's custody (b). However, some of the Lollards were undoubtedly confined in this tower, which still retains the Lollards' name, and has all the appearance of a prison. This we may reasonably conclude from the following circumstances: In 1402 it is expressly asserted, that some of the Lollards were examined here, in the time of Archbishop Arundel, and again in that of Archbishop Chichele ; and even John Wiclef is said to have appeared before delegates in the chapel at Lambeth. (T. Walsingham Hist, and J. Lewis's Hist, of J. Wiclef.) In 1511 Archbishop Warham's proceedings against divers reputed heretics in his court held at Lambeth, are mentioned in Bishop Burnet's History of the Reformation. And in 1531, during the primacy of the same, the venerable Hugh Latymer, after being excommunicated for a supposed act of contumacy, was ordered by the archbishop to remain in close custody in his manor of Lambeth . The exterior of the Lollards' Tower has a fine venerable appearance, and Is the only part of the Palace remaining that is built entirely of stone. It consists of a large tower fronting the Thames, and a smaller square projection on the south side, somewhat receding from it : the whole building is five (a) Reg. Chichele ii. fol. 57. a. (b) William Tailour, priest and master of arts, at his first appearance at Lambeth, September 12, being brought before Archbishop Chichele, found him in his library, sitting upon his tribunal, when Tailour confessed that fourteen years before he had been excommunicated by Arundel on a charge of heresy ; but, now abjuring such notions, and taking the requisite oath of submission to such sentence as should be subjoined, he was promised absolution, and on the 14th of the same month he was again brought before Archbishop Chichele in his chapel at Lambeth, and with the usual ceremony released from the excommunication. February 22, ,/,«./I/M/A;/.1Vi'>*W>MfnnA/lH^ LAMBETH PALACE. coped with stone, which do not terminate in pinnacles, but in large balls or globes. The roof on the outside is slated, and in the centre rises a lofty and elegant lantern, at the top of which are the arms of the see of Canterbury quartered with those of Juxon, and surmounted by the archicjiiscopal mitre. The interior is profusely ornamented : the roof in particular is constructed with much labour, and considering it was built in an age when such things were not usual, may be called a fine piece of workmanship. It is entirely composed of oak: on many parts are carved the arms of Juxon, on others those of the see of Canterbury and Juxon, or those of Canterbury only, and in other parts a mitre between four negroes' heads. At the upper end above the Archbishop's seat in the large north window the arms of the founder are again seen in stained glass ; they are likewise carved over the hall door with the date mdclxiii. and at the lower end is a screen of the Ionic order, on the top of which is his crest, a negro head crowned. The whole hall is wainscoted to a considerable height, and the floor is hand- somely paved. Two of the great oak tables have on them the date l664, and therefore were made at the charge of Archbishop Sheldon : the lov\'est on the east side is a shovel-board table. The reason (says the historian of the Palace) why such large halls were built in the seats and houses of our ancient nobility and gentry was, that there might be room to exercise the generous hospitality which prevailed among our ancestors, and which was, without question, duly exercised by most of the great possessors of this mansion, though not particularly recorded | but most eminently by Archbishop Winchelsey, and the Archbishops Cranmer and Parker. It was indeed suggested invidiously to Henry the Eighth, that Cranmer did not keep proper hospitality ; but Mr. Seymour, the person who had thus slan- dered him, being afterwards with his own eyes convinced of the contrary, made this confession to the king: " I do remember that I told your highness, that my lord of Canterbury kept no hospitality correspondent unto his dignity ; and now I perceive I did abuse your highness with an untruth. For, besides your grace's house, I think he be not in the realm of none estate or degree, that hath such a hall furnished, or that fareth more honourably at his own table (a)." (a) Strype's Memorials. What great hospitality Cranmer maintained, we may judge by the following authentic list of the officers of his household ; viz. steward, treasurer, comptroller, gamators, 3 B LAMBETH PALACE. Pole had a patent from Philip and Mary to retain 100 servants; which affords some idea of his hospitality and grandeur. Parker had a similar grant from Elizabeth for forty retainers, but he had a great many more^ as appears from the cheque-roll of his household : " All thes had allowance for their diett in the hall at Lamhith ; as first was the steward's table on the one side for himself, his two fellow-officers, gentlemen of the horse, secretaries, gentleman usher, that waited not at the archbishop's table, with other gentlemen waiters : and if al cold not sit thear thei were placed at the gentlemen's table. Next to that table, over against the steward's table on the other side of the hall, had the almoner his table, with the chapleins and the stewdents ; and either of thes tables had like allowance of diet, manchet and wine. Tlie gentlemen's long table, at first sitting was for some gentlemen of household and manors, and for the archbishop's waiters, when he had dined. On the other side against them sat the yeomen waiters and yeomen officers, that attended not, and meaner sort of strangers. At the table next the hall dore sat the cooks and attendant yeomen officers. Over against them sat the gromes before mentioned of the stable and other extern places. Then at the nether end of the hall, by the pantry, was a table whereat was dailie enter- tained eight or ten of the poor of the town by turns." " The sub-almoner had a chest for broken mete and brede, and a tub with clerk of the kitchen, caterer, clerk of the spicery, yeoman of the ewry, bakers, pantlers, yeomen of the horse, yeomen ushers, butlers of wine and ale, larderers, squilleries, ushers of the hall, porter, ushers of the chamber, daily waiters in the great chamber, gentlemen ushers, yeomen of the chamber, carver, sewer, cup-bearer, grooms of the chamber, marshal, groom ushers, almoner, cooks, chandler, butchers, master of the horse, yeomen of the wardrobe, and harbingers *. Correspondent to this numerous retinue was the archbishop's state. " There were generally three tables spread in the hall, and served at the same time: i. The archbishop's table, at which ordina- rily sate none but the peers of the realm, privy-counsellors, and gentlemen of the greatest quaHty. 2. The almoner's table, at which sate the chaplains, and all the guests of the clergy, beneath diocesan bishops and abbots. 3. The steward's table, at which sate all other gentlemen. The suffragan bishops were then wont to sit at the almoner's table ; and Archbishop Cranmer, in admitting his suffragan Richard Thornden, prebendary of Canterbury and bishop of Dover, to his own table, did him unusual honour ; which was therefore noted, to aggravate the ingratitude of that man in conspiring against the said arch- bishop f ." Besides this hospitality he administered proper relief to the poor at his gate J. • From a MS. in Lambeth hbrary (not numbered), intituled, " Orders and Statutes of Household, obseivcd in ihc House of Thomas Cranmer, sometyme Lord Archbishop of Canterbury." t Wharton's Observations on Strype's Memoiials of Cranmer, p. 258. Appendix. X Ibid. p. 45t. 4 LAMBETH PALACE. broken beer, for reliefe of other poore, as they wer put in bills parted among them." Strype gives us this further account of Archbishop Parker's hospitaHty : " In the daily eating this was the custom. Tlic steward with the servants that were gentlemen of the better rank, sat down at the tables in the hall on the right hand ; and the almoner, with the clergy and the other servants, sat on the other side ; where there was plenty of all sorts of provision both for eating and drinking. The daily fragments thereof did suffice to fill the bellies of a great number of poor hungry people that waited at the gate ; and so constant and unfailing was this provision at my lord's table, that whosoever came in either at dinner or supper, being not above the degree of a knight, might here be entertained worthy of his quality, either at the steward's or at the almoner's table. And moreover it was the archbishop's command to his servants that all strangers should be received and treated with all manner of civility and respect, and that places at the table should be assigned them according to their dignity and quality, which redounded much to the praise and commendation of the archbishop. The discourse and conversation at meals was void of all brawls and loud talking, and for the most part consisted in framing men's manners to religion, or in some other honest and beseeming subject. There was a monitor of the hall ; and if it happened that any spoke too loud, or concerning things less decent, it was presently hushed by one that cried silence. The archbishop loved hospitality, and no man shewed it so much, or with better order, though he himself was very abstemious." THE GUARD-CHAMBER adjoins the south end of the hall. It is a large state-room, fifty-six feet long by twenty-seven feet and a half wide, and is so called from having formerly contained the armour and arms appropriated to the defence of the Palace. By whom the arms for the defence of Lambeth were originally purchased does not appear, but they seem to have regularly passed from one archbishop to another. Archbishop Parker gave them to his successors, provided they were accepted in lieu of dilapidations (a). They were vmdoubtedly purchased by his successor, and so on ; for Archbishop Laud says, that he bought the arms at (a) They are thus described in his will — " Et omnia arma & impedimenta mea bcllica cum appen- dicibus suis omnibus in armariis Cantuar' & Lamhithi recondita, cum sellis equinis calybeis." LAMBETH PALACE. Lambeth of his predecessor's executors (a). In the plundering of Lambeth House in 1 642, the arms, the quantity of which had been extremely exaggerated in order to increase the popular odium against Laud, were removed. They were, however, restored afterwards, or replaced with others ; for some of the old muskets and bandoleers of an ancient make, remained during Archbishop Potter's time in the burj'ing-ground, the wall of which was pulled down by Archbishop Herring, and the arms disposed of elsewhere. The guard-chamber, the ancient repository for these weapons, is mentioned in records of considerable antiquity, and there is little doubt refers to the present building, which has every appearance of great age. In the steward's accounts of the 3d of Henry the Sixth, it is expressly noticed under the name of camera armigerorum. A. D. 1452. On account of the great infirmity of Archbishop Kemp, the convocation was adjourned from St. Paul's cathedral to the manor of Lambeth, to meet February 26, and to be continued from day to day. They assembled in the high great chamber (in aha camera majorij, and the collector of Nicholas the Fifth having represented the danger from which the pope and the conclave had escaped by a conspiracy planned to destroy them, the archbishop offered up a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for their deliverance. The chamber here noticed is most probably what is now called the guard-chamber. So also in the names of the rooms in the time of Elizabeth or James (b), the first is the hall, and the second the " great chamber," doubtless the same room. A. D. 1633, Sept. 19. Archbishop Laud, in pursuance of his Majesty's direction, requiring him " to use all such ceremonies and ofiices, and to carry himself with the same state and dignity, and to assume such privileges and pre-eminences as his predecessors had heretofore used and enjoyed," kept his solemn consecration-feast at his house at Lambeth, his state being set out in the great chamber of that house, and all persons standing before it in the accus- tomed manner, his steward, treasurer, and comptroller attending with their white staves in their several ofiices (c). This great chamber in which this feast was kept, it is plain was the same room mentioned above, though one would (a) History of Troubles of Archbishop Laud, p. 196. (b) Hist, of Palace, p. 84. (c) Le Neve's Lives of the Archbishops, vol. i. p. 127. LAMBETH PALACE. rather have expected that his grace would have thought it more suitable to his dignity to have held it in the great hall. The principal thing which distinguishes this chamber at present is, its venerable timber roof, which somewhat resembles the one in the hall, but is much less ornamented : the windows likewise are pointed, and of an ancient make. Over the guard-chamber door is the date 168I, which shews that there were some reparations made to it in Arclibishop Sancroft's time. The fine full-length portrait of Henry, Prince of Wales, son of James the First, now hanging over the chimney, was removed here from the lobby. The following places, though of less importance than those which have preceded, merit notice. THE PKESENCE-CHAMBER. This is a fine ancient room, thirty feet by nineteen, so called in imitation of the like apartments in royal palaces. The precise time of the erection of this part of the Palace is not known. Archbishop Parker describes it in his will, " In cuhiculo illo quod ministri re'^ii vocant presentiee." And earlier in the time of the same prelate, viz. March 10, 3559, it is said, " In a certain inner chamber within the manor of the arch- bishop at Lambhith, called The Chamber of Presence, the archbishop committed to Nicholas, Bishop of Lincoln, the ordination of such as were approved by his examiners. Then were ordained 120 deacons, thirty-seven priests; and seven took deacon's and priest's orders together." This room was formerly hung with tapestry, but being decayed, it was removed by Arclibishop Herring, who had the room handsomely wainscoted. It is at present only remarkable for the stained glass in the windows. Two of these contain portraits of St. Jerome and St. Gregory, with the following verses: St. Hieronimus. Devout his life, his volumes learned be. The Sacred Writt's interpreter was he. And none y^ Doctors of the church amonge Is found his equal in the Hebrew tongue. He lived in the time of Pope Damasus, A. D. 376. 3 c LAMBETH PALACE. On glass in the second window : Gregorius. More holy or more learned since his tyme Was none that wore the triple diadem ; And by his paynefull studies he is one ' Amonge the cheefest Latin fathers knowne. He lived about the year of our Lord 594. In the third or middle window is painted on the glass a very curious repre- sentation of a sun-dial, and also a view of the Theatre at Oxford, with this inscription : " Gilbertus Sheldon, archiep' Cantuariensis cancellar' univers' fecit. A. D. CIODCLXIII." On one side of this view the arms of Canterbury and Sheldon. Date over the door 1 68 1 . So that this painted glass was in all probability done in the time, and at the charge, of Archbishop Sancroft. In this room many causes relating to Merton and All Souls colleges have been decided in presence of the Archbishops of Canterbury as visitors. GREAT DINING-ROOM (a). This room measures thirty-eight feet three inches by nineteen feet six inches. It contains a series of portraits of all the archbishops of Canterbury from Laud to Cornwallis, in the following order: 1. Laud, l633. 2. Juxon^ 1660, from a good original at Longleat. 3. Sheldon, i663. 4. Sancroft, 1677. 5. Tillotson, J691. 6. Tenison, 1694, by Simon Dubois. 7. Wake, 1715. 8. Potter, 1736. 9. Herring, 1747, by Hogarth. 10. Hutton, 1757, by Hudson. 11. Seeker, 1758, by Reynolds. 12. Cornwallis, 1768, by Dance. In these portraits, remarks Mr. Lysons, we may observe the gradual change in the clerical dress in the article of bands and wigs. A large ruff anciently supplied the place of the former. Archbishop Tillotson was the first who wore a wig, which resembled his natural hair, and was worn without powder. (a) Archbishop Parker adjourned the convocation to April 27, to meet at Lambeth House Cad ades Lambethanas ) . The sixth session was held May 11, when the bishops assembled in the dining- room (in canaculo Lambethano), and treated about the aflPairs of the church, the book of articles, &c. in private (iecrete, rtmotis omnibiu arbitrhj. Wilkins'e Concil. vol. iv. p. »62. ^^f f ^! w ^ LAMBETH PALACE. THE OLD DRAWING-ROOMj formerly called le velvet room., from its being hung with purple and red velvet. " In camera quadam vacate ' le velvet room" infra cede: Lamhethanas" as this apartment is described in the register of Archbishop Wake (a). It measures eighteen feet ten inches by nineteen feet ten inches. The magnificent neiv drawing-room and dressing-room were built by Arch- bishop Cornwallis in 1 769, and are very noble apartments. The former measures thirty-three feet by twenty-two ; the latter sixteen by fourteen. Both these rooms are plainly furnished, but are highly recommended by their fine proportions. THE GREAT BEDCHAMBER is nineteen feet nine inches by nineteen feet one inch. Besides the above rooms are many others in this extensive residence, the greater part of which however contain nothing particularly interesting. Two or three are ancient, and may be mentioned as instances of the munificence of the prelates who founded them : these are the great parlour, now the steward's parlour, built by Archbishop Cranmer (b); the servants' hall, a large ancient room, supposed to have been built or repaired by Archbishop Bancroft, as it contains his arms, with his motto " Folente Deo ;" the great kitchen built by Archbishop Sancroft, about l685 ; the receiver's room ; and some others. The ancient coach-house, and the fine gateway, or principal entrance, may be reckoned among the out-buildings. The coach-house is a long pile of brick building, evidently very ancient from its curious pointed windows, and is supposed to be the work of Archbishop Stafford, being the same kind of brick -work as the east and west sides of Croydon palace erected by him. THE GATE-HOUSE. The " great gate" is mentioned in the steward's accounts, l5th of Edward the Second. Cardinal Morton rebuilt it about the year 149O in the manner we now see it. This is perhaps the most magnificent building of the kind at present remaining, not for the elegance of its workmanship, but for its vast size and (a) June I, 1718, fol. 166 b, part i. (b) Coenaculum infecius (hodie dictum, the great parlour) apud Lambeth construxit. MS. note in Antiquities of Britain, art. Archbishop Cranmer. LAMBETH PALACE. height. It consists of a spacious pointed gateway and postern, bounded by Hnirtense brick towers of a square form, embattled and coped with stone, and contains a great many apartments. The groined ceiling of this gateway is esteemed particularly beautiful. On one side is the porter's lodge, within which is a small room v\;here there are three great iron rings fostened to the wall. This is supposed from that circumstance to have been a prison in which the overflowings of the Lollards' Tower were confined (a) . Above this gateway and in the centre of the building, is a large room called the Record Room, wherein are kept the archives of the see of Canterbury (b). The outside towers are ascended by spira! stone staircases, which lead to the apartments on the different stories, now principally occupied as store or lumber rooms. The exterior roof of this large building is quite flat, and being leaded, serves for viewing the very extensive prospect beneath, which on a fine day is scarcely to be equalled : the whole of the Palace and grounds in particular are seen fi-om thence to the greatest advantage. At this gate the dole, immemorially given to the poor by the Archbishops of Canterbury, is constantly distributed. The word dole (c) signifies a share, and is still occasionally used in modern language. In former times it was understood of the relief given to the indigent at the gates of great men: Stowe, in his examples of housekeeping, laments the decline of this laudable custom in his day, which before had been so general, that almes-dishes (into which certain portions of meat for the needy were carved) were to be seen at every noble- man and prelate's table ; and the quantities of provision thus given away were prodigious. Richard de Berry, Bishop of Durham, in the reign of Edward the I'hird, had every week eight quarters of wheat made into bread for the poor, besides his alms-dishes, fragments of his house, and great sums of money bestowed by him in his journies. West, Bishop of Ely, in J532, daily fed 200 poor (a) These rings were evidently fixed in the wall when it was built, and prove this room to have been intended from the first for the same purpose as the prison in the Lollards' Tower. It is guarded by a double door : the windows are high and narrow, and the walls entirely composed of stone of a prodi- gious thickness. An additional confirmation is, that here is the same sort of writing as in the Lollards' Tower, cut in the solid stone with a knife or some other sharp instrument. The name of " ®tafton" in the old English character is perfectly legible, and near it are to be seen a cross and other figures rudely delineated. (b) The registry of the prerogative-oflfice was anciently in a ground room on the left-hand side at the going in at the gate, and afterwards at the right-hand of the same gate opposite to the porter's lodge. (c) It is derived from the Saxon fta:l, parj, portio, fron» bilan, dividerc, distiibucre. Cowel. 5 I'.iu.ui. l,:uli/,.i n.'tii fh> I'l.'Uttis.t.- fhr Sfrv.mts Hall /,■ \.Ji' 2. Omnmrn/tif (h-fsrs / thrm^d wiih ff/a£r'd hru-k\f I in thr oU waU vftif Iri/rf hrn/ . ^naniifj hy J tUif,- fmin a TVirvvM A> r n'>it^- LAMBETH PALACE. people at his gates ; and the Lord Cromwell usually the same number. Edward, Earl of Derby, fed upwards of sixty aged poor, besides all comers, thrice a week, and furnished on Good Friday 2700 people with meat, drink, and money. Others were equally liberal. The Archbishops of Canterbury, as first in place and dignity, appear to have exercised this ancient virtue of hospitality in a supereminent degree. In Arch- bishop Parker's regulations for the officers of his household, it was ordered that there should be no purloining of meat left upon the tables ; " but that it be putt into the almes tubb, and the tubb to be kepte sweete and cleane before it be used from time to time." But the charity of the prelates before that time was truly astonishing. Robert Winchelsey before named, during his primacy, we are informed by Godwin, not only maintained many poor scholars at the universities, but was exceedingly bountiful to other persons in distress, " inso- much," says he, " as therein I think he excelled all the archbishops that either were before or after him. Beside the daily fragments of his house, he gave every Friday and Sunday unto every beggar that came to his doore, a loafe of breade of a farthing price (which no doubt was bigger than our penny loafe now) (a) ; and there were usually on such almsdays in time of dearth, to the number of 5000 but in a plentiful 4000, and seldom or never under ; which rommunihus annis amounted unto .^500 a yeere. Over and above this, he used to give every great festival day 1 50 pence to so many poore people, and sende daily meat, drinke, and bread unto such as by reason of age or sickness were not able to fetch almes at his gate, and to sende money, meate, apparell, &c. to such as he thought wanted the same, and were ashamed to beg. But of all other, he was wont to take the greatest compassion upon those that by any misfortune were decaied, and had fallen from wealth to poor estate." The dole now given at Lambeth-gate consists of fifteen quartern loaves, nine stone of beef, and five shillings worth of halfpence. These are divided into three equal portions, and distributed every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursdav, among thirty poor parishioners of Lambeth. The beef is made into broth thickened with oatmeal, divided into ten equal shares, and is distributed with half of one of the loaves, a pitcher of the broth, and twopence, to as many poor persons, who are thus weekly relieved by rotation. Besides this relief, his (a) Stowe says it was a loaf of bread sufficient for that day. 3 D LAMBETH PALACE. Grace of Canterbury distributes a considerable sum annually to poor house- keepers (a). Adjoining the gateway on the right hand is a large modern house called the " New Buildings," first begun to be built by Archbishhop Tillotson about the year 1692, but finished by Archbishop Sancroft. On one side of this is the date l684, and the same date appears upon a sun-dial on the other side. The stone coins in the fore front shew where the first building ended, and the same is plainly to be distinguished in the back, front. A room which jets out over the hall door is said to have been Aj-chbishop Tillotson's study, from whence he had peep-holes into the hall, the court, &c. with glass in them, by which means he could see every body that came in and went out of the Palace. (a) By a minute in the churchwardens' accounts of Lambeth, dated December 30, 1656, it is ordered that care be taken to preserve to the parish their right to the coUendines belonging to the said parish, and that the charge thereof he defrayed by the churchwardens for the time being. This entry, Dr. Denne was of opinion, referred to the dole or weekly gift of provision at the Palace- gate, which was most probably withheld after the Long Parliament had seized the revenues of the see of Canterbury ; and that not coUendines, but corrodies, was the word intended. In support of this con- jecture it is observed, that among the servile tenures of lands in the parish of Lanchester, in Durham, it is mentioned, that when the villans mowed the lord's meadow, they were to have from their lord a mess called a corody : from which term Mr. Hutchinson in a note observes, that the word crocwdji is pro- bably derived, being a name in general acceptation in the north for a mess of oatmeal mixed with water, which is the diet of the Scotch shepherds, and much in use among the common people of the northern counties of England. A correspondent in the Gentleman's Magazine mentions a custom annually observed at Lambeth Palace-gate, which must not be ranked under the head of charitable gifts, but may however have a place here. " Mr. Urban, December 2, 1800. " Amidst severer studies I observe with pleasure that you sometimes condescend to investigate the origin of singular customs, and perhaps the following may be new to many of your readers. On the annual aquatic procession of the loid mayor of London to Westminster, the barge of the company of Stationers, which is usually the first in the show, proceeds to Lambeth Palace ; where for time immemorial they have received a present of sixteen bottles of the archbishop's prime wine. This custom, I am informed, originated at the beginning of the present century. When Archbishop Tenison enjoyed the see, a very near relation of his, who happened to be master of the Stationers' company, thought it a compliment to call there in full state, and in his barge : vjhcn the archbishop being informed that the number of the company within the barge was thirty-two, he thought that a pint of wine for each would not be disagree- able ; and ordered at the same time that a sufficient quantity of new bread and old cheese, with plenty of strong ale, should be given to the watermen and attendants ; and from that accidental circumstance it has grown into a settled custom. The company, in return, present to the archbishop a copy of the several almanacks which they have the peculiar privilege of publishing." LAMBETH PALACE. On the ancient brick wall immediately opposite this building, and which bounds the court-yard on the Thames side, are several devices in glazed bricks. Among them may be discerned three or four crosses of different forms very prettily worked, and which seem to fix the erection of this wall prior to the Reformation. PARK AND GARDENS. Much of the beauty of the extensive grounds belonging to Lambeth Palace is owing to the present Archbishop, who besides considerably enlarging them, has made many improvements, and caused the whole to be laid out with great taste. The park and gardens, before the recent additions made to them, were, as before noticed, estimated at nearly thirteen acres ; they now contain at least eighteen. Of this number the kitchen garden occupies between three and four acres, and has been walled in at a great expense. This, however, it amply repays by the quantity of fruit and vegetables it produces. These gardens have been long remarked for containing two uncommonly fine fig-trees, traditionally reported to have been planted by Cardinal Pole, and fixed against tliat part of the Palace believed to be founded by him. They are of the white Marseilles sort, and still bear delicious fruit. They cover a surface of more than fifty feet in height and forty in breadth. The circumference of the southernmost of these trees is twenty-eight inches, of the other twenty-one. On the south side of the building in a small private garden, is another tree of the same kind and age ; its circumference at bottom twenty-eight inches. At a small distance from the Palace stood formerly a curious summer- house (solarium), built in the time of Archbishop Cranmer, after an ingenious design of his chaplain, Dr. John Ponet, or Poynet, who had great skill and taste in works of this kind (a). This was repaired by Archbishop Parker, but falling (a) In Strype's Memoiials of Archbishop Cranmer is a circumstantial detail of the ceremonies used at the consecration of Dr. Ponet to the see of Rochester, June 29, 1550. Archbishop Cranmer collated him in 1543 to the rectory of St. Michael, Crooked Lane, in London (Nevvcourt Rcpcrt. vol. i. p. 486), and it was probably by his grace's interest that he obtained the eighth stall in Canterbury cathedral. In 1547 he was requested by his friend, Roger Ascham, to present an application to the archbishop for a license to eat flesh. Memorials, p. 167. He gave to King Henry the Eighth a dial of his device, shewing not only the hour of the day, but also the day of the month, the sign of the sun, the planetary hour, and the change of the moon. But what was more to his credit than being an eminent mathematician and an artist was, he shewed by his works in Latin and in English, that he was a man of great learning, and he is said to have been preferred by King Edward the Si.-ith in regard of some e.\cellent sermons he had preached before his Majesty. Godwin de Prassul. 2j8. LAMBETH PALACE. very much to decay was sometime since removed, and its site is now not exactly known. The small garden next the Thames was walled in and embanked by Arch- bishop Comwallis. On the 1st of January 1779, ^ dreadful storm, supposed equal to that of 1703, threw down three chimnies, unroofed great part of the Palace, and destroyed seventeen large timber trees in these gardens. In the same place, on the 26th of May 1784, a number of gold coins, supposed to have been deposited here in the time of Archbishop Laud, were found by several persons who were at work in the gardens. They were of three different sizes, in number 197, and were sold to one Fisher at his shop in Leicester Fields, the morning they were found. Fisher carried them imme- diately to Messrs. Floyer and Price, refiners, in Love Lane, Wood Street. The number which Fisher sold (170) were in weight 37 oz. 13 dr. at ^3: 17 : 6 per oz. for which Floyer paid to Fisher ^145 : 17 : 10. Mr. Floyer told Mr. Sampson, the archbishop's principal steward, that they were all coins of James the First and Charles the First (a). REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES. In 1381, during the insurrection of Wat Tyler, the rebels not only beheaded Arclibishop Sudbury, then high chancellor, but a party plundered this Palace, and burnt most of the goods, books, registers, and remembrances of Chancery. The author of an ancient chronicle (b), speaking of the manner in which the mob vented their fury on this occasion, says, " j4d manerium suum de Lamhilh descendentes, libros, vestes, mappas, et plura alia inihi Telicta igne comhusserunt, dolia vino referta confregerunt et liaiiserunt " Sudbury's Register Book fortu- nately escaped the devastation, and is still at Lambeth. The damages done by this lawless banditti were repaired in a great measure by Arundel and Chichele ; but much was left for their successors to do, as may be reasonably concluded from the sums of money expended by Morton and (a) Two of these were afterwards on sale at a silversmith's shop opposite Lancaster Court in the Strand, both with Charles the First's motto, Florent Concorilia Regno. See the plates published by the Soc. Ant. Gold Coins, p. xiii. Nos. i, 5, &c. (b) MS. in Benet college library, Cambridge. This is a continuation by John Malverne of R. Higden's Chronicle to 1394, beginning from 1136, and contains many curious particulars not to be found in our ancient historians yet published. LAMBETH PALACE. Warham. The latter In particular is said to have laid out ^30,000 (a prodi- gious sum in those days) in repairing and beautifying the archicpiscopal palaces, of which that of Lambeth, there is little doubt (though not expressly mentioned), was the principal. In the year 1501 Catherine of Arragon, afterwards queen of Henry the Eighth, on her first arrival in England, " was lodged with her ladies for some days at the archbishop's inne at Lambeth (a) ." It was afterwards honoured with the frequent presence of royalty. In 1513, during a visit, it is presumed, from Henry the Eighth to Arch- bishop Warham at this Palace, Charles Somerset was created Earl of Wor- cester (b). Anno 1543. Though in the instance next to be cited, the same prince did not enter within the walls of the Palace, yet his benevolent visit at Lambeth bridge to Archbishop Cranmer, the then most reverend owner of the house, deserves to be noticed. The occurrence alluded to is, the king's designedly coming one evening in his barge, and the Archbishop standing at the stairs to pay his duty, his majesty called him into the barge, in order to put him into a way to frustrate the malicious contrivances of Bishop Gardiner and others to accomplish his ruin (c). Queen Mary is said to have completely furnished Lambeth Palace for the (a) Stowe's Annals, quoted by Mr. Lysons. According to a MS. of the time, printed in the fifth volume of Leland's Collectanea, it should seem however that the princess was rather lodged at the manor- house of Lambeth, i. e. Kennington Palace, than the archbiihop's inn, which two were frequently con- founded. The passage is as follows : " Uppon the morrowe, being the viith daye of the moneth, the princesse tooke her jowrney to Chertsey, and there lodged all that night, and from thence passed toward Lambeth : and or ever she came fully to the said towne, beyond a village called Kingston uppon Thames, the Duke of Buckingham on horsebacke full rightly beseene, the Erie of Kent, the Lord Henry the Duke's brother, and the abbot of Bury, with a great many of the duke's gentlemen and yeomen in his livery of black and red to the number of three or fower hundred persons, met this noble ladie ; and after that the said duke had saluted her grace, the abbot of Bury declared goodly in Latin a certain proposition of her welcoming into the realme : and at that village they lodged all that night, and so accompanyed with her, in the morne right honorably conducted her to her lodging at Kennington, near Lambeth, where she continewed untill such season as her entring into the cittye of London might most conveniently in every manner be prepared, as well on the parte of her retinue of Spaine, as of her assistants of the realme of England, who by our souveraigne were assigned, as well for the increase and magnifying of her honnor and estate, as for the maynteynance of the old and famous appetites that the English people ever have used in the well- comming of acceptable and well-beloved straungeis." (b) Magna Britan. Antiq. et Nov. vol. vi. p. 258. (c) Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, p. 118. 3 E LAMBETH PALACE. reception of Cardinal Pole at her own expense, and to have frequently honoured him with her company. Anno 1556 (July 21 ), says Strype, the queen removed from St. James's in the fields unto Eltham, passing through the Park to Whitehall, and took her barge, crossing over to Lambeth unto my lord cardinal's place : and there she took her chariot, and so rid through St. George's Fields to Newington, and so over the fields to Eltham at five o'clock in the afternoon. She was attended on horseback by the cardinal, &c. and a conflux of people to see her grace, above ten thousand. In the winter of the same year, the queen removed from St. James's through the Park, and took her barge to Lambeth unto the lord cardinal's place, and there her grace dined with him and divers of the council ; and after dinner she took her journey unto Greenwich to keep her Christmas there (a). The following year the queen dined at Lambeth with the Lord Cardinal Pole, and after dinner removed to Richmond, " and there her Grace tarried her pleasure (b)." In 1558 Cardinal Pole departed this life at Lambeth Palace, though his name is omitted in the list given by Dr. Ducarel of prelates who died there. His body lay in state forty days, when it was removed to Canterbury to be interred. Queen Elizabeth was a frequent visitant to Archbishop Parker (c) ; and the confidence she reposed in that prelate, induced her to employ him in many affairs of great trust. On his first promotion to the archiepiscopal see, she committed to him in free custody the deprived Bishops Tonstal and Thirlby, the one Bishop of Durham, the other of Ely, whom to his great credit he entertained most kindly. These were both learned and excellent men, who (a) Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, p. 310. (b) These visits are noticed in the churchwardens' accounts of the parish. " 1555, 1557 — Payde to the ryngers when the king and the quene came from Hampton Court to Grenewich, in the monet of August — 8 ITS EJVFIROJVS^ CONTAINING 9i Collection OF HIGHLY-FINISHED ENGRAVINGS, FROM ORIGINAL PAINTINGS and DRAWINGS, ACCOMPANIED BY COPIOUS LETTER-PRESS DESCRIPTIONS OF SUCH OBJECTS IN THE Metropolis and the surrounding Country AS ARE MOST REMARKABLE FOR ANTIQUITY, ARCHITECTURAL GRANDEUR, OR PICTURESQUE BEAUTY. VOLUME II. iontion : PUBLISHED BY VEIINOR AND HOOD, POULTRY ; J. STOREU AND .T. ORF.IC, CHAPEL STREET, PENTONVILLE. 1805. Printed l\j S. Gosnell, Little Queen Street, lloltorn. SUBJECTS TREATED OF IN THE SECOND VOLUME, A LIST OF THE FJLATES WHICH ILLUSTRATE THEM. Subjects treated of. 1. Abbey of St. Petek's, Westminster ■< 2. A.DMIRALTY AND HoRSB GuARDS 3. Bartholomew, St. the GBEAT,West Smithfield 4. Brat, Berks 5. Chelsea College 6. Eton College, Bucks 7. Exchange, Royal, London . . . 8. Hampstead and Highgate 9. Maidenhead Bridge, Berks . 10. Marlow, Great, Bucks . . 11. Marks Hall, Essex . . . 10 1. f ^• 2. 3. 4. 1. / 1. 1. 2. 3. 12. OvERiEs, St. Mary, Southwark 13. SioN House, Middlesex . . 14. Stoke Pogis Church, Bucks . 1.5. Winchester House, Southwark \x. '. 1. {■• Plates illustrative. Westminster Abbey (Interior, looking towards the North Aisle). Ditto — Interior from Poets* Corner. Ditto — Entrance to St. Erasmus' Chapel ; and 4. Inside of ditto. Ditto— Chantry over the Tomb of Henry the Fiftli. Ditto — Vignette — Edward the Confessor's Shrine. Ditto — ditto — Entrance to Henry the Seventh's Chapel. Ditto — Outside of Part of Jerusalem Chamber; and 9. Entrance to Cloisters from Dean's Yard. . Ditto — Vignette — Entrance to Chapter House. View of the Horse Guards and Admiralty. Interior of the Church. Vignette — ^Tomb of Prior Rayhere. Remains and West End of Church (Exterior) . Vaulted Passage, Part of the conventual Ruins; and 5. Outside of eastern Cloister. Inside eastern Cloister. View of the Village of Bray. Ditto of Chelsea College. Ditto of Eton College, Bucks. Ditto of the Royal Exchange. Ditto of Kentish Town and Highgate from the South. Ditto of Hampstead, Middlesex. Ditto of Hampstead Church ; and 4. Highgate Church. Ditto of Maidenhead Bridge. Ditto of Great Marlow, Bucks. Ditto of Marks Hall, Essex. West End of the Church (Exterior). Vignette View — 'Bishop Andrews's Tomb. View of Sion House, Middlesex. Ditto of Stoke Pogis Church, Bucks. Remains of Winchester Palace; and 2. Win- dow in the Hall of ditto. DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES. The following Plates face the respective Accounts to tvhich they refer. I. view of the Horse Guards and Admiralty, s. Remains of St. Bartholomew the Great (West End of Church). 3. View of Bray — Berks. 4. Ditto of Chelsea College. 5. Ditto of Eton College — Bucks. 6. Ditto of Royal Exchange, London. 7. 8, and 9. Kentish Town and Highgate ft-om the South ; Hampstead — Middlesex ; High- gate Church ; Hampstead Church. 10. Maidenhead Bridge — Bucks. 11. Great Marlow — ditto. 12. Marks Hall — Essex. 13. St. Saviour's Church — Southwark. 14. Sion House — Middlesex. 15. Stoke Pogis Church — Bucks. 16. Remains of Winchester House — South- wark. The Places of the Plates mentioned beloiv must be regulated by the accompanying Description. t. Tomb of Bishop Andrews. a. Inside of St. Bartholomew's Church. and 4. Vaulted Passage, and Outside of the eastern Cloister — ditto. Inside of the eastern Cloister — ditto. Ditto of Westminster Abbey (North Aisle, looking towards Islip's Chapel). and 8. Entrance to St. Erasmus' Chapel, and Inside of the same— ditto. Chantry over the Tomb of Henry the Fifth. and II. Outside of Part of the Jerusalem Chamber ; and Entrance to the Cloisters from Dean's Yard. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The early history of this monastery, like the accounts of most places of remote origin, is involved in doubt. The oldest authorities on the subject concur in ascribing the first erection of a Christian church on this spot to Lucius, king of the Britons, and its refoundation to Sebert. Mr. Widmore, however, whose industry and opportunities of research entitle him to considerable credit, asserts he could find no satisfactory evidences to prove either Lucius or Sebert founders, and is inclined to believe it was built towards the middle of the eighth century, by some pious person whose name has not been transmitted to us. Later writers, although unable to offer us any thing better than uncertainty, have followed the opinion of Mr. Widmore, and treated as fables the accounts of other early and hitherto accredited annalists. Without entering into the question, we shall present the reader with the result of such inquiries as we have been able to make on the subject, and leave him to form his own conclusions. Sulcardus, the earliest historian of this church, of whose work a faint manuscript is yet preserved in the Cotton collection at the Museum, and who wrote in the year J 080, at the instance of the then abbot Vitalis, tells us, that Sebert, nephew to Ethelbert, king of Kent, and king of the East Saxons, having received baptism at the persuasion, and from the hands of Mellitus, who had been appointed bishop of London by Austin the monk, demolished a pagan temple at a place called TIu)rney, from being overgrown with thorns, and founded on its site a church to the honour of St. Peter. Fleet, one of the monks of Westminster, who lived in 1443, and who, though a late authority, appears to have copied some authentic pieces in being at his time, speaks to the same effect, as does also the ancient chronicle called Liber Regius ; but the words of Edgar's charter, written within a comparatively short distance of the time, are still more conclusive : Ecclesia beati Petri quce sita est in loco terribili qui ab incolis Thorneya nuncupatur, ab occidente scilicet urbis London, oUm WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Dominicce incarnation'is anno DCIV. Ethelberti hortatu primi Anglorum regia Christiani, destructo prius ibidem abominationis tempio regum paganorum, a Seberto pnedivite quondam sub regulo London, nepote videlicet ipsius regis con- structa fuisse asseritur. " The church of St. Peter, said to be built pursuant to the directions of King Ethelbert, by his nephew Sebert, under whose govern- ment London then was, in a certain terrible uncultivated place, called Thorney, from the thorns growing there," &c. The charter of Edward the Confessor, and in fact every subsequent deed, mention Sebert as founder ; and the circum- stance of his burial in the church, together with the anniversary obit kept for him among those of other benefactors, are additional reasons why he should not be deprived of this honour now. Offa the Great, King of Mercia, was the next principal benefactor of whom we have any certain account. His charter, dated in 785, is still remaining. One Ordbright, or Ordbrutius, was at this time abbot, previous to whose election the monastery had been for many years forsaken by the monks, and lay in ruins, a circumstance which is accounted for, by the relapse into paganism of Sebert's sons, who succeeded him in the government of the kingdom, and the uncertain state of things afterwards. Besides repairing and enlarging the church, &c. OfFa confirmed to it the various donations of his predecessor Sebert (as is supposed), and gave himself Blekingham, or Bleccingam, in the parish of Heandune (or Hendon), in the county of Middlesex, confirmed by charter of King Edgar, and afterwards (with other lands at the same place) by Edward the Confessor ; Tottenham, in Berwick, consisting of three hides of lands, confirmed likewise by the Confessor; as also Hame and Fentyn, con- firmed by the charters of both the latter princes. These two last places are, however, not certainly known to have been bestowed on the monastery by Offa, being said in Edgar's charter to have been the gifts of former kings, merely. But they were given either by him or his successor Kenulph, who was likewise a benefactor to this church, as his predecessor had been. This last prince not only confirmed the manor of Aldenham, in Hertford- shire (given to the convent by some unknown person, in the former reign), but remitted the payment of Romescol. He is likewise said in a charter of King Edgar's to have granted many privileges to the church, and to have bestowed on it several ornaments ; and in the charter of Archbishop Dunstan, to have endowed it with gifts and lands. Alfred the Great, in the same charter of Dunstan's, is ranked as the WESTMINSTER ABBEY. next benefactor, but the particulars of his donation are not mentioned. It is probable, however, that certain lands at Winnington , or IVenington, in Essex, afterwards confirmed by Edgar and Edward the Confessor, were of this monarch's gift. In the devastations by the Danes this Abbey shared the common fate of most of the religious houses, and continued in a partly ruinous state for a consi- derable time. At length in the reign of Edgar its deplorable situation excited the attention of the celebrated Archbishop Dunstan, who having ejected the priests and placed monks in their stead, built some houses for their reception. These he endowed with certain gifts of lands and money ; and anxious that the king should follow his example, procured a bull from Pope John the Thirteenth, inviting him to the undertaking. This bull is dated at Ravemia, the 20th kal. Feb. and begins " Johannes Episcopus Romcr, Edgaro Jilio suo," &c. Edgar immediately on the receipt of this deed issued his charter, in which, after parti- cularly mentioning the destruction of the pagan temple, the founding of a church on its site by Sebert, &c. and confirming the several former benefactions, he bestows on the church the following manors, viz. Holeivell, or Hohvel, in the county of Herts (afterwards confirmed by the Confessor, and said to contain six hides and a half, and in another charter five hides and a half). This manor continued in the convent till the suppression, when it was assigned by Henry the Eighth, as part of the revenues of the bishopric of Westminster. It was afterwards granted by Edward the Sixth to the Bishop of London, and still continues in that see, subject to the payment of a certain sum to the crown. Dacewith, or Datchivorth, in the same county, confirmed likewise by the Confessor, and said in his charter to contain four hides and one rod. Edgar attached certain privileges and exemptions to this land, as appears by his letters directed to Lonod bishop, and Beorn earl ; and the same were afterwards confirmed by William the Conqueror. It continued in the Abbey till the dissolution, and was granted to the see of London, about the same time with the manor of Holwel. Watton, in Herts. The Confessor's charter of confirmation describes it as containing four hides and a half. Cillington, or Chellington, said to contain three hides of land. William the Conqueror granted to the abbot of Westminster the liberty of hunting in VOL. II. X WESTMINSTER ABBEY. his land at Chelllngton, as also five houses. To these gifts of Edgar's Dunstan afterwards added Hendon, or Heandune, before mentioned, and to which appertained the former gifts oi Bleccingham, &c. granted by OfFa. This place, in the Confessor's charter of confirmation, is said to contain twenty hides. The abbot and convent of Westminster were not only possessed of the manor, but also presented to the church of Hendon, which they held till the dissolution, when it was granted with the rectory to Sir Thomas Herbert. Hanewell, or Hanwell, in tlie county of Middlesex, said, in the Con- fessor's charter of confirmation, to contain eight hides. This was annexed by Henry the Eighth to the newly-erected bishopric of Westminster, but was afterwards given by Queen Mary to Bonrior, Bishop of London, and still continues in that see. Mereton, or Merton, in Surry : in the Confessor's charter said to contain twenty hides. Pereham, or Parham, containing seven hides. Cowell and Eicell ; the latter said to contain two hides, and confirmed by Edward the Confessor, with privileges and exemptions. And lastly, Scepermon, or Sheperton, in the county of Middlesex, containing eight hides. Besides these donations this prelate bestowed many privileges on the church, and exempted it from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, and the payment of Romescot, as Ojffa, Kenidph, and Edgar had before done. In the time of Abbot Eadwine, who was chosen A. D. 1040, the Abbey, which had again sustained considerable injury, owing to the Danish incursions that succeeded the death of King Ethelred, was completely rebuilt in a more splendid style by the Confessor. The motive which induced the king to perform this act of piety, as related by the monks, was a miraculous dream of one IVlfine, or JVulfine, a brother of this house ; but the primary cause was a vow made by Edward while an exile in Normandy. Sir Christopher Wren, in his letter to the Dean of Westminster, asserts, that " the Confessor repaired this Abbey of King Edgar's" ; but Sulcardus speaks difi'erently. The apostolic letter of the Romish church which acquits Edward from the penance of pilgrimage to Rome, and which Sulcardus has preserved, pei'mits him to Iny out the money which might have been expended on the journey, either in the construction of a new church, or the repairs and enlargement of the old one. The words of the letter are, " Deinde prsecipimus tibi sal) nomine sanctfE obediential et poeni- tentiae ut expensas quas ad iter istud paravcras pauperibus eroges et cenobium WESTMINSTER ABBEY. monachorum, in honore Sancti Petri, apostolorum priiicipis, aut novum construas aut vetustum emendas." But in the deed of Edward, wliicli is given by the same writer, it is expressly stated that he had not only caused the old church to be destroyed, but a nkw one, prom the very foundations, to he built and dedicated in its room : " Itaque decimari praecepi omnem substantiam meam, tarn in auro et argcnto, quam in pecudibus, et oinni genere posscssionurn, et destruens veterem novam a fundamentis basilicam constnxxi, constructam dedicari feci 5 kal. Jan." Sulcardus tells us it was finished in a few years, that it was supported by many |)illars and arclies, and the fashion of it was in the shape of a cross ; a hint whicli sufficiently explains the remark of Matthew Paris, that it was built " novo composilioms genere," and served as a pattern much followed in the erection of other churches (a). In illustration of this passage it will be remembei'ed, that the Saxon as well as the Norman churches usually had the tower in the centre, and that the transept was an addition of the latter. A conjecture has more than once been hazarderl, that the Abbey of the Confessor stood upon a plot of ground different from the present structure; but its traces at this day are too few and too confused to settle tlie point with accuracy : certain it is, that the most ancient remains (though none of them can -be referred with any probability beyond the age of the Confessor) are to be found in the neighbourhood of what is called the little cloister, particularly in the apartments of Dr. IlifFe and Mr. Dak ins ; where the capitals and wavy mouldings of the Confessor's period may be plainly seen. An undercroft close by, in which the standard money of the kingdom is deposited, is perhaps the most perfect relic, although the difficulty of access renders it but little known ; and others might no doubt be found concealed behind modern buildings and convenient improvements. Nothing of this kind, however, can be discovered in the chapter-house, which was erected in 1250(b) ; though in the cellar beneath one part of it, belonging to Mr. Hughes, are the (a) Camden has given another description of the church, translated from a manuscript of the very- period : " The principal area or nave of the church stood on lofty arthe;; of hewn stone, jointed together in the nicest manner, and the vault was covered with a strong double-arched roof of stone on both .,ides. The cross which embraced the choir, and by its transept supported a high tower in the middle, rises first with a low strong arch, and then swells out with several winding staircases to the single wall up to the wooden roof, which is carefully covered with lead." Mr. Cough's edition of Camden, vol. ii. p. -. (b) a. D. 1150, " edificavit dominus rex capitulum incomparabile." Matt. Westm. A single epecimen of the ancient paintings that adorned it remains uncovered on the uainscotj a drawing from which was lately exhibited by Mr. Capon. 4 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. remains of what vfns probably part of the work of Abbot Lawrence, in the reign of Henry the Second, after the great injury which the Confessor's building had received by fire. The pillars in the centre are round and massive, without capitals ; but have a sort of fillet immediately under the springing of the arches, which are between the semicircular and pointed, and extend far beyond the limits of the building over them. What more of the buildings of the monastery beside the church itself, owed their erection to Edward the Confessor, it is at this distance of time difficult to say (a), though it seems very certain there were cloisters (b). Geoffrey de Mandeville, who distinguished himself at the battle of Hastings, mentions his having buried his first wife, Athelias, within them, as well as his intention of lying there himself. King Edward, besides various manors and other lands with which he liberally endowed this monastery, bestowed on it many vestments and ornaments for the celebration of divine service, and gave to it likewise the keeping of the regalia, a privilege said to have been originally granted to it by OfFa the Great. Many other benefactors likewise, influenced by the king's example, contributed to enrich the new foundation. Among these was Hugoline, his chamberlain or steward, who gave three rods of land at Istlip, and a chapel. This favourite minister of his prince was buried, according to Weaver, in an obscure place of the church, or rather the cloisters ; for on Henry the Thii'd rebuilding the Abbey, his body was taken up with that of Athelgold the queen, Edwyn the abbot, and Sulcardus the historian, and with them buried in a handsome tomb of marble, at the south side of the entrance into the new chapter-house ; which tomb was remaining in Fleet's time (c). (a) The Confessor's church is supposed to be introduced, with the figure of the king, in the Bayeux tapestry, engraved by Dr. Ducarel in the Anglo-Norman Antiquities, but exhibits nothing that can afford a good idea of what it might have been ; we can only see it was a lofty structure in the best style of the Saxon building. (b) Mr. Widmore supposes that the tomb moved from the old structure to the present cloister, and marked for Abbot Laurentius, ii 76, belongs to Vitalis ; that marked for Vitalis 1082, to Abbot Humey, i»ai; that called Gislebertus Crispinus's, 1114, to Gervase de Blois ; and the remarkable large stone known by the name of Long Megg, marked for Gervase de Blois, to have been laid over the twenty-six monks who died of the plague in 1349, and were buried in one grave. (c) The celebrated story of Hugoline and the Thief was fonnerly delineated in the tapestry hangings of the choir ; it is likewise wrought in l/njjo retiei'o on the beautiful stone screen of Edward the Confessor's chapel, and may amuse the reader who has not before heard it. It is as follows : — " One afternoon King Edward lying in bed, with his curtains drawn, a pilfering courtier came into the chamber,, WESTMINSTER ABBEY. William the Conqueror, after the victory of Hastings, directed his march to this church ; and to testify his extraordinary respect for the memory of his predecessor Edward, gave one rich pall to cover his tomb on solemn festivals, and two of inferior price to be used in common. He at the same time made an offering of fifty marks of silver, and presented upon the high altar a rich altar-cloth and two caskets of gold. The gifts and liberties granted by former princes were afterwards confirmed by him in about seventeen successive charters, some in Latin and others in Saxon. Besides which, himself bestowed on the convent the following lands : Batrychsea, or Patrichsea, now Battersea, in Surry. This manor had been part of the royal demesnes of Harold, as appears by William's charter, directed to Stygand the archbishop, and Falcatius earl. It was confirmed by Henry the First and Stephen, In the reign of Richard the First a cause was argued iu the court of king's bench, between one Stephen de Turnham and Ediline his wife, and the abbot of Westminster, respecting one rod and two hides and a half of land, held by the former in this manor, but to which they quitted claim on the abbot's granting them, in exchange, land at Westminster. William conceded likewise to this abbot, liberty of hunting in his manor of Batricksky, and by a subsequent charter releases it from sac, toll, theam, &c. Wandleswith, now Wandsworth, in Surry. Land at Tiliabury, or Tilbury, in Essex, together with the marsh there. The church of Roceland, in Hamp- shire, which he either gave or confirmed as a gift of the Confessor's, with the churches of Yppingham, Werley, Wineton, and Belcona. The church called New Kirk of London, confirmed afterwards by William Rufus and Henry the Second, by the name of Newe Kyrke. And a mill with its appurtenances situated at Strachford, now Stratford, in Essex. This latter donation, thougli apparently inconsiderable, was then of no small importance, as we find by the rates laid upon mills in the Domesday Record, and the various laws made to preserve them. Mr. Dart is inclined to believe, that from the advantages this and the neighbouring towns received from the above mill, and their dependance and finding the casket open, which Hugoline had forgot to shut, he took away as much money as he could well carry ; but not content, he came a second and third lime, until the king, who lay still all this while, and would not seem to see, called to him, and bid him make haste to be gone while he was well ; for if Hugoline came, and took him there, he might chance to lose not only his treasure, but his life. He was no sooner gone but Hugoline came in ; and perceiving the theft, was extremely surprised ; but the king pacified him by telling him, the person who had it itood in more need of it than either of them." VOL. II. Y WESTMINSTER ABBEY. on that account, originated the ancient custom of the inhabitants of Stratford and Stepney going at Whitsuntide through the city of London, in procession, to the church of St. Peter's, Westminster ; a custom from which they were released by Thirleby, whilst bishop of Westminster. Besides the above benefactions, the monks received from the Conqueror various lands in exchange for Windsor, which the king was desirous to enjoy, being very convenient, as his charter expresses it, for his retirement to hunting, by reason of the pureness of the air, the pleasantness of the situation, and its neighbourhood to woods and waters. In the reign of Henry the First, Herebertus, or Herbert, abbot of this monastery, founded the nunnery of Kilburne, in Middlesex, then the hermitage of one Godwyn, who was constituted the first master or custos, on its being made a cell to this church. It was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and assigned to three young maidens, attendants of Queen Matilda, named Emma, Gunilda, and Christina, and such others as chose to lead a religious life. They were enjoined to pray for the soul of King Edward, and the prosperity of the mother house, in all the liberties and immunities of which they equally particij^ated. Herbert endowed this cell with many of the abbey lands, and it continued to flourish till the general dissolution. Abbot Laurence, about the year 1159, caused the cells and outbuildings of the monastery to be repaired and new leaded, they having become ruinous in consequence of a fire which had happened some time before. Henry the Second about the same period granted the convent a sum of money to make stalls in the A^ew JVork, which seems to indicate that some reparations were likewise made to the church. Henry the Third's first building was a chapel dedicated to the Virgin, begun on Whitsun Eve, 1220, on the site of which the chapel of Henry the Seventh was afterwards erected. Matthew of Westminster speaks expressly of Heniy as the founder ; Rege Henrico III. existente aclhuc persuasore, fundatore, et primi lapidis in fundamento operis positore. Henry, however, was then but thirteen years of age ; and there are instruments still remaining, in the archives belonging to the dean and chapter, in some of which spiritual, and in others temporal, benefits, are granted to such as shall ct)ntriluite towards the buiKling ; so that by Jbundcr we are merely to understand that Henry was the patron and .principal benefactor of the work. The day after the foundation of this building Henry repeated the ceremony of his coronation, which at his accession in 121tJ WESTMINSTER ABBEY. could not be performed here, as the place was then in the possession of his enemies. Three years after this period (l'223) a furious assault was made upon the monastery by the exasperated citizens of London, who pulled down the steward's house, and did other considerable damage, in consequence of a dispute about the winner at a wrestling-match. It appears that the people at the Abbey were in some measure the aggressors, as the steward had armed them against the day which he appointed for a second trial of skill. Nothing more occurs relating to the repair or additions to the Confessor's structure until the year 1245, twenty-five years after the first chapel, when Henry finding the ancient church much decayed, took down the greater part of it to renew it, as some assert, upon the old foundations. Matthew Paris says, that he ordered the east end, tower, and transept, to be taken down and rebuilt in a more elegant form, at his own expense; and that he prosecuted these intentions with uncommon zeal, more perhaps than was consistent with honesty, is evident from various records in the Exchequer. In order to force a contri- bution from the citizens of London towards the building, he appointed a mart ■at Westminster to last fifteen days, during which time all trade and merchandise was to cease in the city, a restriction which they were glad to buy off with ^2000. The same year (1246) he ordered to the use of the new fabric £lb<^\ due from the widow of one David of Oxford, a Jew. In 1254 the king's treasurer and the barons of the exchequer were commanded to apply to it the annual sum of 3000 marks. In 1258, 1000 marks a year were ordered in the same way from the profits of the abbacy, while it lay vacant after the death of abbot Crokesley; and in 1270 it was certified that there had been applied to the same work ,^3754 paid by Lady Alice Lacy for eleven years' custody of her son's estate. The whole expense of the building is no where to be found ; but Mr. Widmore gathered from the archives, that so early as 12()1 the charges had arrived at somewhat more than ^29,600, a prodigious sum according to the then value of money. The work, as far as it was prosecuted in the reign of Henry the Third, may be easily distinguished from the parts erected at a subsequent period. It consists of the Confessor's chapel, the side aisles and chapels, the choir (some- what lower than Sir Isaac Newton's monument), and the transepts. The four pillars westward of the present choir, which have brass fillets, appear to finish Henry's work ; the conclusion of which is also marked by a striped chalky stone WESTMINSTER ABBEY. which forms the roof. In the remainder of the church, the bases of the pillars on which the body rests are not only higher, but there is an alteration of form in the upper windows. Even of these portions of the building it is, however, impossible to ascertain how much was finished before the year 1272, when Henry died. According to Fabian the choir was not completed till thirteen years after his death. But this is rather to be understood of the whole building ; for the choir was certainly completed, and the roof covered with lead, some years before, together with a bell-tower, as appears by the king's order to the keeper of his works at Westminster, to provide for the abbot a good strong beam to support the bells of the king's gift, and to deliver it to the sacristan : as also from another gift in the 39th year of his reign, of J 00 shillings to be paid half- yearly out of the Exchequer to the brethren of the gild at Westminster to ring the great bells there, until the king could provide them to the value of 100 shillings land or rent of this church. In his will Henry committed the completion of his plans to his son ; and left 500 marks to finish the shrine of Edward the Confessor (a). Besides this, and the expense of refounding the church, his benefactions had been numerous and costly, particularly of copes, jewels, and rich vessels. Some of these articles are curious. As first, in the 30th of his reign, he commanded the keeper of his exchequer to buy out of the monies there, as precious a mitre as could be found in the city of London, for the abbot's use, and also one great crown of silver to set wax candles upon in the said church. Two years before this he directed Edward Fitz Odo to make a dragon " in manner of a standard or ensign, of red samit, to be embroidered with gold, and his tongue to appear as though continually moving, and his eyes of saphires, or other stones, agreeable to him, to be placed in the church against the king's coming tliither." And the same year the queen having placed an image of the Virgin on St. Edward's feretory, he caused the same Edward Fitz Odo to ornament her forehead with an emerald and a ruby taken out of two rings which had been left him as a legacy by the bishop of Chichester. Before the year 1283 the beautiful pavement of the high altar was laid, for abbot Ware died tliat year, and was buried under it. (a) " Et fabricam ecclesix beat! Edwardi Wcsttnoiiasterii lego et cotnmitto praefato Edwardo primo. gcnito mco pcificiendum ; ad ferctrum vero ipsius Edwardi beati ptrficitiidum lego quingentas inarcas argenti," &c. Nichols's Royal Wilis, p. 16. 5 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. In the three reigns immediately succeeding, the work seems to have been nearly at a stand ; till a little before the end of Edward the Third's reign, Cardinal Langham gave Coo marks ; when something more was done in the pulling down and altering the western part which still remained of the Confessor's building (a). Nicholas Litlington succeeded Langham ; arid, chiefly with the sums left by his predecessor, made great additions to the Abbey. Widmore, from the records, says, " he built the present college hall, the kitchen, the Jerusalem chamber, the abbot's house (now the deanery), the bailiff's, the cellarer's, the infirmarer's, and the sacrist's houses ; the malt-house, afterwards used for a dormitory for the king's scholars, and the adjoining tower, the wall of the infirmary garden, a water-mill ; and finished the south and west sides of the cloisters." The following list of this abbot's donations, at the same time that it does honour to his munificence, will afford an idea of the splendour of this monastery. For the use of the abbot, a beautiful mitre, entirely covered with white pearls, which cost 100 marks. A pastoral staff, value ^18, and two silver chalices gilt. To the refectory, to be used there and in no other place, forty-eight dishes, two chargers, and twenty-four salts, all of silver, and weighing 104 pounds. Seven salts and two chalices of silver, weight ten pounds. To the abbot his successor, seven salts, twenty-four dishes, and four chargers of silver, weighing sixty-four pounds. Two cups for wine, weighing eight pounds. Another silver cup with a foot, value 100 shillings. Seven silver plates, weighing eighteen pounds. Two vessels for washing feet, with two water-vessels of silver, weighing ten pounds ; two other small silver vessels (a) Langham's benefactions to this monastery, exclusive of the above sum, are thus reckoned up by Dart. First he disburdened the church from a debt of 2800 marks, Bishop Godwin says aioo, being all money he had saved whilst monk and abbot. He gave books on several subjects to the value of ^800 : 15 : 10. Vestments for the service of the church to the value of .£437 '■ i- ij one of which alone cost 100 marks. Silver vessels gilt, some of which were lost at sea (for this prelate died at AvignonJ, some were sold to merchants, and several placed in the monastery, computed to be worth ^3900, and his debts any where due, amounting in all to ^3954 : 13 : 4. After being made cardinal of Pr^nette, he gave the convent 1000 marks to find two chauntry priests to pray for his soul and those of his parents ; and the manor of Bekeswell, and a mill, to augment the income of four monks. The whole of his bounty is computed by a brother of the house to amount to ^''10,800. VOL. II. Z WESTMINSTER ABBEY. for the same purpose, weighing eighteen pounds. And to his chapel various vestments, chalices, incense-pots, cruits, bells, vessels for washing feet, and pixes, all of silver gilt. Litlington died in ] 386. By Richard the Second the work of the Abbey was prosecuted with consi- derable spirit, under the direction of the abbot William of Colchester ; and it is to the munificence of that monarch we stand indebted for the beautiful porch which finishes the north transept. In his will he made a handsome provision toward the completion of the building (a), but almost all its clauses were neglected ; and as far as the progress of the Abbey is concerned, we must pass by his successor's reign in silence. Henrj' the Fifth, however, revived the matter, and not only gave considerable sums in person, but granted an annual pension for this pious purpose of lOoO marks a year. Under his son Henry the Sixth the work of building was neglected, if we except the beautiful screen of St. Andrew's chapel, curiously gilt, and emblazoned with armorial bearings, which was put up by abbot Kirton. But in 1470, when the queen of Edward the Fourth had taken sanctuary at the Abbey, and received respect from the abbot and monks, the king made some trifling donations, and the queen built a small chapel to St. Erasmus, pulled down by Henry the Seventh. Abbot John Eastney, during some part of this period, contributed toward the extension and completion of the church westward, and is thought to have presented a quantity of stained glass to adorn the great west window. He likewise built two of the windows of the south aisle, erected the screen to the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, and presented two images gilt for the altar of St^ Peter and St. Paul (supposed by Dart to have been placed near the vestry door), together with an image for the chapter-house on the vigils of those saints. King Henry the Seventh appears to have been too much engaged with his beautiful chapel to bestow any favours on the body of the church. In his lifetime he Is said to have given nothing to it ; and though he left 500 marks to it in his will, Mr. Widmore says he could never discover from the church archives that the money was brought to account. Be that as it may, the last arch is still marked by the portcullis of Henry the Seventh. The rents of several estates, it appears, and some annual contributions from the monks, were (a) " Item volumuset orclinamus quod tie omnibus jocalibus nostris residuis, videlicet cercliis now- chis, & aliis jocalibus quibuscunquc, perficiatur nova fabrica navis cccIcsIk Sancti Petri Wcstm. per no» incepta," &c. Royal Wills, p. 195. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. constantly applied. The latter abbots took the direction of the work upon them- selves. John Islip was the last during whose time any additions were made to the church. He erected the statues of the kings and queens who liad been benefactors in niches on the north side (most of which were thrown dow n in the time of the Commonwealth), rebuilt the abbot's house as it now stands, and some of the outbuildings, and erected the chapel of St. Erasmus, where he lies buried, together with the screen of that of St. John the Baptist. The whole building appears to have ended about the year 1500, although the two towers, which were afterwards carried on^ remained unfinished till completed by Sir Christopher Wren. On the dissolution, this great monaster}', the second mitred abbey in the kingdom, underwent the common lot of the religious houses. In 1534 the last abbot, under the ancient order of St. Benedict, William Boston, or Benson, subscribed to the king's supremacy, and in 1539 surrendered his monastery into the royal hands, and received as a reward the office of first dean to the new foundation, consisting of a dean and twelve prebendaries. Tliree years before the convent had made an exchange of the manor of H) de (now Hyde Park), Covent Garden, and other lands, for territories belonging to the dissolved priory of Hurley ; a proof of the rapacity of Henry, to take places so near London in exchange for others of much less value from their situation. By letters patent, dated December 17, 1540, the king constituted the Abbey a cathedral. Thomas Thirleby was appointed bishop, with a diocese, including all Middlesex, except Fulham ; but his government was but of short duration, for in 1550 he was obliged to resign his office in consequence of letters patent of King Edward the Sixth, together with his new diocese, to the Bishop of London, from whom it had been taken ; and an act of parliament was passed for continuing it a cathedral in the diocese of London soon afterwards. While the Protector Somerset ruled in the fulness of power, this sacred pile narrowly escaped demolition. " This man," says Dart, " whose chief religion was interest, and who stopped at nothing that might gratify his avarice, an avarice the most sacrilegious that any history affords us, taking its sordid flight at the most stately structures, and levelling the chief glories of our nation ; — this man came after the first gathering of Henry the Eighth, and finding not so plenteous a harvest, rather than not partake of the plunder, he WESTMINSTER ABBEY. pulled up the very orchard trees that were left, merely for fuel. The abbeys being gone, his sacrilege assaulted the cathedrals of this land, of which St. Paul's was a melancholy instance, whence he removed many cart-loads of the bones of persons of all degrees, and carried them to Finsbury to raise the soil for a windmill to stand upon, that he might employ the materials of the cloister and curious chapel where they lay to his own use. At the same time he destroyed that inimitable painting of Holbein's, called the Dance of Death, unequalled and invaluable (a)." Another instance of this man's rapine was his blowing up the stately and ancient church of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem with gunpowder (after its grandeur moved even Henry the Eighth to spare it), that he might build his own house with the materials, which by that means, and the ruin of several churches, he effected. By these degrees of sacrilege he arrived (O daring thought !) to attempt to throw down this celebrated and venerable church, expose the royal ashes of our princes, in such manner as he did the others, and employ the curious materials of this to the same use of building ; but a thought of this kind being in itself so unreasonably mischievous, he was prevented from putting in practice ; but by a bribe of not fewer than fourteen manors. " Mortals should be very delicate" (observes Mr. Pennant, speaking of this circumstance) " in pronouncing the vengeance of Heaven on their fellow-creatures ; yet in this instance, without presumption, without superstition, one may suppose his fall to have been marked out by the Almighty as a warning to impious men. He fell on the scaffold on Tower Hill, lamented only because his overthrow was effected by a man more wicked, more ambitious, and more detested than himself. In their ends there was a consent of justice : both died by the axe ; and both of their headless bodies were flung, within a very short space, into the same place among the attainted herd." In the reign of Queen Mary the former religion of the place experienced a brief restoration. She, with great zeal, restored it to the ancient conventual state ; collected many of the rich habits and insignia of that splendid worship ; established fourteen monks, and appointed for their abbot John Feckenhavi, late dean of St. Paul's, a man of great piety and learning, who took possession of the Abbey November 21. " And the morrow after the lord abbot, with his convent, went in procession after the old fashion, in their monks' weeds, in coats of black say, with two vergers carrying two silver rods in their (a) See account of St. Paul's Cathedral in this work. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. hands (a). He was deprived by Elizabeth in 156o, who changed it into a collegiate cluirch, consisting of a dean and twelve secular canons, thirty petty canons, and other members, two schoolmasters, and forty king's or queen's scholars, twelve almsmen, and many officers and servants ; under which govern- ment it still remains. Feekenham on his expulsion finished his days in easy custody in Wisbech castle. The history of this edifice since the above period is short. In the 8th and Qth years of the reign of William and Mary, an annual sum was voted towards repairing it, and in the Qth of Anne an act was passed allowing an additional ^4000 a year for the like purpose. Acts were also passed in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th years of George the Second, granting the same sums. Notwithstanding, in the year 1738, the works were at a stand for want of money, and a petition was presented, which was referred to a committee of the whole house. The aid granted in consequence was however but inconsiderable, and not until some time afterwards. It is scarcely possible to ascertain the amount of the various sums expended on these buildings during a period of more than five centuries, which time has now elapsed since the last foundation by Henry the Third, nor could the present efficiency of the gross sum be easily fixed were it known, on account of the continual fluctuation in the value of money. Under the modern colle- giate constitution, it appears that the dean and chapter had, from the time of their foundation to 1733, laid out ^'20,912:17:11 on the church and its dependencies, and applied the fees for monuments and burials to the fabric. Its present deplorable state calls loudly for redress. THE CHURCH, As the most important and perfect fragment of this monastery claims the first notice, and may serve, according to the observation of Browne Willis, as a representation of what sumptuous structures the other abbeys were, and how much it would have been to the honour and grandeur of this nation to have employed them, like it, to religious uses. This venerable fabric is 36o feet long, the breadth of the nave is seventy-two feet, and the length of the cross aisle 195 feet. The north side is the most interesting, and being now disen- (a) In IJ57 the Muscovite ambassador attended mass at Westminster Abbey, and afterwards diiied- with the lord abbot, and went to see St. Edward's shrine new set up ; andlten saw all the place through, (Londinium Redi-vivum.) VOL. II. A A WESTMINSTER ABBEY. cumbered of the buildings which were lately attached to it, presents a noble aspect ; yet it cannot be called beautiful, even according to a Gothic style, being wholly devoid of that unrivalled lightness by which many stupendous Gothic structures are distinguished : there wants distance likewise to give a good effect to the whole. In making the drawing for the annexed plate, a station has been chosen best calculated for a general view ; namely, the north-west angle of St. Margaret's churchyard. Here the celebrated porch of Richard the Second, rising perpendicularly with its tapering pinnacles, breaks tlie straight line of the roof, which is otherwise disgustingly long and regular, and a complete view is afforded of the elaborate chapel of Henry the Seventh. The north porch has been praised with a little extravagance ; it certainly adorns the building, but falls short of the degree of magnificence and beauty ascribed to it. The nave, both on the north and south sides, is supported by buttresses, finishing in turrets, once carved, but now made into plain pyramidical forms, and topped with crowns of freestone. These supporters were formerly deco- rated with statues, but the niches are now nearly all empty. Those which remain, and the fragments of the others, placed between the roofs of Henry the Seventh's chapel, are evidences ©f a high perfection in the art of sculpture. The upper parts of the western towers sufficiently ascertain their modern date by the mongrel style of the workmanship. The interior architecture of this church it is almost impossible to extol too highly, as a specimen of the excellencies of ancient art. It is in the usual form of a long cross ; and at the western entrance, where the entire plan is embraced at once, the S|jectator's mind is wholly filled with that admiration which we believe always results from the contemplation of similar edifices. The roof of the nave of this church and of the cross aisle is supported by two rows of arches, one above the other, the lower tier springing from a series of pillars of gray marble, each distant from the other eight feet, and the upper, from a second row of smaller pillars double the number of the first. Each of the principal pillars is an union of one round pillar and four of a similar form, but extremely slender. These aisles being very lofty, and one of the small pillars continued throughout, from the area to the roof, they cause a sensation that is uncommonlv grand and awful. The side aisles are lower than the nave in a just proportion, and unite likewise with the other parts of the /;difice to produce a very harmonious effect. The choir is one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is divided from the Westminster abbey. western part of the transept by a pair of noble iron gates, and terminates at the east by an elegant altar of white marble, unfortunately out of place, however, as it is of Grecian architecture. On the north and south it is inclosed by hand- some stalls in the pointed style. The floor is of marble flags, alternately black and white. The altar is inclosed by a very fine balustrade, and the pavement before it ornamented with the beautiful mosaic of Abbot Ware. The entire roof of the choir is decorated with small white tiles, and is divided into com- partments, bordered with gold carved work. Beyond the choir, and considerably elevated above it, stands the chapel of Edward the Confessor, whose beautiful shrine in ancient times was visible over the altar. This is surrounded by the sacristary, or area, containing various smaller chapels, and is bounded to the east by the magnificent chapel of Henry the Seventh. In describing more minutely the several parts of this extensive fabric, we shall omit the nave and its numerous monuments, which have already been repeatedly noticed, and begin with the eastern chapels, whose funeral memorials are generally more ancient and interesting, selecting however among these only the most eminent, and conclude our account with Henry the Seventh's chapel, and the lesser parts of the Abbey. THE NORTH TRANSEPT Is divided into middle, east, and west aisles, by two rows of tl.-ree pillars each. Four small pillars are bound to every column by two fillets, from the capitals of which ascend smaller pillars supporting the ribs of the roof. The arches are very pointed, and composed of numerous mouldings, which with the key- stones, 8cc. are all gilded. Over the great arches runs a grand colonnade of double arches, eight in number. Six have their mouldings adorned with foliage. Every arch has one pillar, and over it a cinquefoil within a circle. Above these a row of four glazed windows of one mullion and a cinquefoil. The north wall is highly ornamented, particularly that part of it which faces the middle aisle. It is divided into five slender compartments of unequal heights. The two great doors are separated by a tall slender pillar, tlie tops angular, and the mouldings adorned with roses supported above the pillar by a head. Between the arches and the first division are relievos of Sampson tearing asunder the jaws of a lion, birds, animals, and figures, branches of oak, and the headless statue of a man treading on another, a female by him, and the WESTMINSTER ABBEY. bust of an angel. The blank arches on each side contain two monuments-, inditiercntly executed, to the memory of Admirals Sir Charles Wager and Vernon. The second division, in height, is a colonnade of six arches, the pillars black ; the spaces above them carved into squares with ornaments. This is part of the ancient communication round the church through the piers. The third compartment contains six lancet-shaped arches, whose depths are sculp- tured with four circles each of foliage, in which are busts of angels and saints. The windows at the east and west ends have beautiful pedestals and statues ; the spaces round them filled with tracery. The fourth is another passage in the walls, in which are three arches ; within them cinquefoils. The pillars clusters of eight ; over them brackets of foliage and a head. At both extremities of the wall, angels performing on musical instruments are kneeling on the mouldings : the spaces between composed of the most delicate scroll-work. The last division reaches to the pointed roof, and contains a vast rose-shaped window, composed of sixteen large pointed leaves, those divided into as many smaller. The whole proceed from a circle in which are eight leaves. In this centre is an open book on a ground of deep yellow : the divisions of the circle straw colour. Beyond this is a band of cherubim ; and the large leaves filled by figures of the Apostles, &c. in colours beautifully clear and bright. The date in the glass is 1712. 'l"he extremities of this wall are ornamented in a manner equally rich with the middle. That to the west has a door with an angular top ; on its sides two lancet-shaped arches set with roses. The colonnade above consists of three semi-quatrefoil arches. The upper division commences on the capitals of the great pillars, and fills the pointed roof. It is separated by two columns into three arches, the middle highest ; each forming a deep recess with ribs ; in the centre a pointed window. All the spaces are carved into roses, &c. Strong arches cross the aisles from every pillar, the ribs of which at their intersections are carved into various forms ; among them are David playing on his harp, a seated figure, two seated figures and a scroll. It is necessary here to mention, that a seat or basement goes entirely round the church, and that on it are placed small slender pillars dividing every space, and forming a beautiful continuation of arches variously ornamented by figures on the mouldings, which reach in height to the base of the windows. Thus oa the western wall of tiiis transept we find St. Michael and the dragon, an WESTMINSTER ABBEY. angel, and broken figure falling, three saints, fancied animals, a palm-branch and scrolls, all greatly decayed. The preceding observations have been made with a reference merely to the architecture of the church. It is necessary to observe, however, that a vast crowd of monuments, many of them of great merit, but ill according with the style of the building, interfere with the parts and ornaments mentioned. Those most worthy of observation, are Lord Chatham's, Sir Eyre Coote's, a monument to the memory of Captains Bayne, Blair, and Lord Robert Manners (who all fell in a naval engagement under Rodney), and another very recently erected to the memory of the late Earl of Mansfield. The east aisle of this transept was anciently divided from the other two by a screen which passed north and south from pillar to pillar, and was parti- tioned into three chapels, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, St. Michael, and St. Andrew. These, since the Reformation, have been laid into one, and are now choked up with tombs ; but some remains of the screen yet exist behind Sir Gilbert Lort and the Duke of Newcastle's monuments. The altar of St. John the Evangelist was the first on entering the aisle. Those who heard mass at it were rewarded by an indulgence of tv/o years and thirty days. It is now in part hid by Sir George Hollis's tomb. A few feet farther stood the altar of St. Michael ; and at the north end St. Andrew had an altar. On the site of the former some years since stood a tomb erected to the memory of Lady St. John, buried there in l6l4, but which. Dart says, was imavoidably destroyed in repairing the church, and whose place is now occupied by the impressive tomb of Mr. and Mrs. Nightingale. The altar of St. Andrew faced Sir John Norris's monument. On one side of its steps are the remains of Abbot Kirton's tomb, who built the beautiful screen of this chapel, and near it the gravestone of Anna Kirton, buried l605, probably a descendant of the same family. A few of the monuments in these chapels should not pass without remark. The first in point of mei-it, and which has been the subject of much criticism, is that erected to the memory of " Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale, of Mamhead, in the county of Devon, Esq. who died July the 20th, 1732, aged fifty-six ; and of Lady Elizabeth his wife, daughter and coheir of Washington, Earl Ferrers, who died August the 17th, 1734, aged twenty-seven." A late writer, mentioning this monument, truly observes, " That it is characteristic from the key-stone of the gray marble rustic niche to the base of the yawning sepulchre, whose heavy VOL. n. B B WESTMINSTER ABBEY. doors have grated open to release a skeleton bound in its deathly habiliments, of such astonishing truth of expression, and correctness of arrangement, as it perhaps never fell to one man's genius beside to execute. The dying figure of Lady Nightingale seems to exert its last fading strength to clasp and lean upon her husband, whose extended arm would repel the unerring dart pointed at her breast (a)." The cenotaph of Henry, Lord Norris (for he was buried at Rycot), is after the fashion of Queen Elizabeth's time, ponderous, of costly materials, and gilt. The effigies resting beneath a tall Corinthian canopy possesses consider- able merit; and one of his six sons, who appear kneeling around it, has obtained much praise. This figure has one hand on his breast, the other a little removed from it, in an attitude of devotion inexpressibly fine, in defiance of the ungraceful dress of the time. Lord Norris died in 15 89 (b). The tomb of Sir Francis Vere in St. John's chapel, is another proof of the dawn of taste in the sculpture of that period. He died in 1608, distinguished by thirty years of able service m the Low Countries, in the reign of Elizabeth. His effigy lies in a gown, recumbent : over him four fine figures of armed knights, kneeling on one knee, support a marble slab, on which are strewed the various parts of his armour. At Breda is the tomb of Ingelbert the Second, Count of Nassau, who died in 1 504 ; executed on the same idea. The figure of young Francis Hollis, son of John, Earl Clare, cut off at the age of eighteen, in 1622, on his return from a campaign in the Netherlands, is well imagined. He is placed dressed like a Grecian warrior, on an altar, in a manner that reflects much credit on the artist, Nicholas Stone, or rather on the earl, to whom Mr. Walpole justly attributes the design. The upper part of the wall at the eastern end of the above chapels exactly corresponds with that of the west aisle. The east end of St. John the Evan- gelist's chapel contains a niche and several beautiful arches, part of the side of Abbot Islip's chantry. Behind Lord Norris's tomb are some fragments of the Arches on the wall ; and to the left a large angular-roofed door, the mouldings (a) Malcolm's Londinium ReJi'vi'vum. (n) Dug.iale'i Baronage, ii. 404. Dart by mistake calls this nobleman Frcmcls, who was grandson to Henry, and left only one child, a daughter. He fell a suicide, in a proud fit of resentment, for an imaginary affront on account of a Lord Scrope, which lie had not sense or courage to accommodate in a proper manner. Pennant. 4 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. resting on foliaged capitals of slender columns. In the north-east is a door now built up. The entrance from the chapels to the sacristary is in part blocked up by the enormous tomb of General Wolf, the work of Wilton, some parts of which are very fine. It stands on the site of two ancient tombs, formerly erected to the memories of Sir John Harpedon, and Abbot John de Estney. Dart describes these monuments to have been of freestone, and raised about four feet from the ground. The brass plates which covered them are now inlaid in the floor of the area. The former represents the figure of a knight armed, resting his feet on a lion, and his head on a greyhound. The inscription is torn off, but we learn from the register of the church that he died in 1457. The brass of Abbot Estney represents him in his mass habit, and is a curious specimen of ancient dress. This abbot's body, on the removal of his tomb, was found entire, clothed in crimson silk, and carefully restored. IsLip's Chapel, or chantry, is the next advancing up the area, and forms the principal object on the left hand of the annexed plate, which affords likewise a glimpse of the adjoining chapels of St. Erasmus and St. John the Baptist, and the ascent to the Confessor's chapel. Some writers have con- founded this chantry with the next chapel of St. Erasmus. On consulting the ichnography of the church however, it will be seen that they were always distinct, and that the former answers exactly to the square chapel of St. Benedict directly opposite, in the south aisle. Whether it might not have formed the eastern part of St. John the Evangelist's chapel, according to Dart's conjecture, or have been one of the lost chapels of St. Katharine or St, Anne mentioned by the same author, is doubtful. It is probable that Islip did no more than build the present screen, and make a floor for a chantry to which there is now a flight of wooden steps, and at the entrance a small door leading to the place where he lies. The basement of this screen is composed of quatrefoils, containing roses and fleur de lis, and over them a row of arches. The next division is separated by buttresses into windows of four mullions, with three tier of arches in height. The frieze contains reliefs of his rebus, an eye, and a slip or branch of a tree, and his name at length in the old character. The most beautifi.il part is seven niches above, with canopies of great taste and delicate workmanship. Farther to the east is another specimen of the same exquisite performance of niches and triple canopies, with their minute ribs, foliages, &c. and a row of quatre- WESTMINSTER ABBEY. foils at the base. That this also was the same abbot's work we have proof at the sides in a rebus of a hand holding a slip. The door was surmounted by a statue, but its bracket only remains, and ^ ||) 21. The inside of this chapel, or burial-place, is hid from view by a fence of rough boards nailed across the arches. It contains withinside the abbot's tomb. Consisting of a plain marble slab, supported by four elegant pillars ; his effigies, much emaciated, and resting on a winding-sheet, formerly lay beneath. Weaver says, that upon the wall over his tomb was " the picture of our Saviour Christ hanging on the crosse, seeming to call and to give good councell unto mankind in certain rimes ;" and under this crucifix the picture of the abbot holding up his hands and praying. His chantry, once used only for prayers for the deceased, now holds the clumsy presses and stiff waxen effigies of Queen Elizabeth, King William and Queen Mary, Queen Anne, and Lord Chatham. One of the small pillars embracing the great column in this place, having been cut away in the alterations made by Islip, it has been supported by a bracket, carved into his rebus, which we find repeated in the window of the chantry in two panes of coloured glass (a). The two magnificent tombs of Aimer de Valence, who was murdered the 23d of June, 17 th of Edward the Third, in France, and that of Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, fourth son to Henry the Third, called Crouchback, and who died in France 12g6, but was brought and interred here, nearly face Islip's chapel, and formerly composed the north screen of the platform to the high altar where they might be seen on withdrawing the tapestry hangings. These are generally esteemed to be the most elegant specimens of Gothic art in the Abbey, and were much admired by the late Lord Walpole. The first is an altar-tomb on a basement, which rests on the pavement of the aisle. Its side is divided into eight niches containing statues, now much injured, over which are trefoils within pediments, and between them seven shields on quatrefoils. The cross-legged figure of the deceased lies on the tomb, with the head supported by angels, the feet by a lion : the canopy is between four beautifully enriched buttresses, terminating in pinnacles. The arch is adorned by three pointed leaves and two halves. The roof finishes in a pediment. Within that and over the arch is a knight on horseback, with his sword brandished, going at full speed. Two brackets near the top support (a) Londinium Redivivum. WESTMINSTER ABBEV. angels. This tomb appears to have been wantonly defaced, but is represented in a perfect state by Dart, It was inlaid with stained glass, after the mo-aic manner, and the effigy dressed in scarlet, and richly painted and gilt ; time and dust have now nearly obliterated all its ancient splendour. The Earl of Lancaster's tomb is still more superb than the former, and was in the same manner painted, gilt, and inlaid with stained glass. His effigies lies cross-legged under a grand canopy of one great and two smaller arches, the inside of which has been a sky with stars, but is by age changed into a dull red. Upon the pediment were four angels on brackets, a knight on horseback within a trefoil ; and ten niches on the side of the tomb. On the basement towards the area are the remains of a curious, and perhaps the ancientest painting extant, but so much defaced as to be now scarcely perceptible. It contains ten knights armed with banners and surcoats of arms, and is thought to represent the earl's expedition to the Holy Land, the number exactly agreeing with what Matthew Paris says ; that there were himself, a brother, four earls, and four barons. Some of these may be traced, as one with a surcoat checque, supposed to be meant for the Lord Roger Cliffiard. The Annals of Waverly mention William of Valence and Thomas de Clare, but they are not distinguishable, the colours on their surcoats being lost. The surname of Crouchback is supposed to have been given to the above prince, from his bowing or bending in the back, though some have thought this opinion ridiculous ; and Harding, in particular, says it was a reflection made upon him by parties in government. Others imagine him to have been so denominated on account of his journey into the Holy Land with his brother Edward, where he wore the sign of the cross, anciently called a crouch (whence the name of crouched, or crossed friars), and that he was not in any respect deformed (a) . He married two wives ; Aveline, who died the first year of their marriage ; and Blanche, queen of Navarre, widow of Henry, who bore him three sons : (a) " His brother Edward and he associate To Jerusalem, their voyage them avowed. Two semely princes, together adioynate, In all the world was none them like alowed, So large and fair thei were, eche man he bowed. . Edward aboue his menne was largely seen By his shulders more hie and made full clene. VOL. II. C C WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, executed and accounted a saint in the reign of Edward the Second ; John, Lord Monmouth ; and John, who resided in France. The tomb of his first wife Aveline, which is now concealed by the stalls of the choir, adjoins the monument of Bishop Duppa. Dart tells us it is of Ireestone, made like a close bed, surmounted by an ancient Gothic arch, almost a half circle, and an obtuse rising over it, adorned on the top with a Jieur de lis. On the side of the arch, he adds, are vine-branches in relievo. The roof within, composed of many angles, shades the effigies of the lady, which is recumbent, clothed in a very antique dress, muffled under the chin, and a veil drawn over her. Her feet rest upon two lions, her head on pillows supported by angels, sitting on each side, and gilt and painted. On the side of the tomb are six niches, in which it seems the figures of six monks have been pourtrayed, and on the pedestal towards the area are remains also of painting. A print of this tomb may be seen in Sandford's Genealogical History. A little to the east of the screen of Abbot Islip's chantry, and adjoining it, is the chapel of Si. Erasmus, entered by a beautiful small pointed doorway, beneath the mouldings of which are angels holding the arms of Edward the Confessor and Henry the Third : the name ^ailCtUS CtaSinUS appears written above. On the riglit hand side a circular piece of iron is remaining, which formerly held the vessel for holy water. The roof of this entrance is divided by numerous ribs, and one of the keystones represents a female praying, sur- rounded by cherubim. At the upper end, and directly facing the door, on ascending one step, is a bracket, over which are the remains of the fastenings to the statue it supported. The rays emanating from its head are very perfect, painted on the wall ; and traces of rude flowers, not unlike those of the coarsest paper hangings, may be perceived on every side of it, intermixed with a few fleur-de-lis. The mouldings have been a bright scarlet and gold. On the left hand is a piscina, and opposite a second. Several staples in the wall lead us to " Edmond next hym the comVieit prince alive, ' Not croke-backed, ne in no wyse disfigured. As some menne wrote, the right lyne to deprive, Through great falsehed made it to be scriptured : For cause it should alwaye bee refigured, And mentioned well, his yssue to prevaile Vnto the Crowne, by such a gouemailc." Weaver's Fun. Mon. p. 478. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. suppose that many lamps were suspended before this statue, which might possibly be St. Erasmus. Dart is inclined to believe that an altar stood beneath it. Through the wall of this entrance is an aperture somewhat resembling a confessional. Nearly the whole area of the chapel is filled by the monument of Cecil, Earl of Exeter, an enormous tomb of the altar kind, on which recline the effigies of the deceased and his first wife. The north side is occupied by the tomb of Colonel Popham and his lady. In the place of the altar (which is said to have been dedicated to St. John the Baptist), at the east end, stands the va -t and splendid monument of Henry Carey, Baron of Hunsdon, who died 1596, aged seventy-two. A remnant of beautiful foliage which was over, it, and an elevation in the pavement, are the only mementos of this altar. The indulgence at it was for three years and 145 days. On the north-east side of the chapel there is a deep square recess, divided by a pillar. The hinges of a door to this locker for the altar utensils, are still visible, as are likewise the two arches and the ornaments of a seated figure, with foliage, over it. On the floor is an old altar tomb, and in the arch directly over it hooks for lamps. The south side of the chapel is formed by three ancient tombs. That of George Fascet, or Flaccct, abbot, is the western. It is an altar-tomb, with quatrefoils on the side, filled with shields of arms, and has a flat arched canopy, much decayed. On the cornice, intermixed with foliage, are the initials (S, $, and at the head are placed a shield, mitre, and helmet, belonging to some other monument (a). The time of this abbot's death is differently stated. The inscrip- tion in black letters, painted on the outer ledge next the area, and legible when Dart wrote, was Georgus Flaccet quondam Abbas TVestmonasterieiisis ohiit ; but the date which should have cleared up the difficulty was wanting. On this tomb is placed an ancient stone coffin, which has been broken through and greatly injured. Within are the oaken boards of the inner coffin, and on the top a large cross, shewing it to have belonged to an ecclesiastic. This is usually shewn as " the Bishop of Hereford's stone coffin," and supposed to have contained the body of Thomas Mijling, an abbot of this house, who was afterwards promoted to that see, and died in 1492. Milling is mentioned by Camden to have been interred in medio hnjns sacelli, which agrees with what (a) Probably to that of Bishop Ruthall, adjoining, which, when perfect, as giTen by Dart, had such an ornament fixed on each side at the top of the canopy. i WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Godwin says (a) : " but that he was removed," observes Dart, " upon making the Earl of Exeter's monument, is mere conjecture. Certain it is, that Richard de Crossley, abbot in Henry the Third's time, being buried in St. Edmund's chapel, and that chapel in time decaying, his body was carried to that of St. Nicholas, and laid under a little plain stone ; but afterwards, in Henry the Sixth's time, the body was taken up and seen in a stone coffin, whole and sound, dressed in his mass habit. And it is not unlikely that it rested there above ground until a more convenient repository happened on the tomb of one of his successors." He adds, and with reason, that the fact of this coffin's being Milling's is rendered additionally doubtful, both by the form and matter of it, stone coffins being very rarely or ever used here so late as the fourteenth century. " But however doubtful," says he, " the name of the owner of it is, the historian of this church, Mr. Keep, was much mistaken in asserting that it contained a body visible, but somewhat defaced by its removal ; which, if it was so, it has in thirty years, notwithstanding its stone security, met v«th strange alteration ; for, upon inspection, I could not perceive the least remains of bones, or any appearance that it had been inhabited, were it not for three or four oak boards (once the inward chest, a firmer proof of its antiquity), fallen flat one on the other, and lying at the bottom of the stone coffin (b)." There are, however, bones in this coffin at present, particularly a large thigh- bone, either placed there since Dart's inspection, or overlooked by him ; which last is the most probable. At the feet of Fascet's monument is another tomb, with five quatrefoils on the sides. This had a beautiful arched canopy which is now entirely destroyed, except part of the west end, where there are a shield, helmet, mitre, and this inscription ; DAI. AN. DNI. 1520. It was erected to the memory of Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, who died at his palace in London, and was interred in this chapel (c). The ancient inscription, now obliterated, was " Hie jacet Thomas Ruthall, Episcojncs Dunelmen. i^ Regis Henrici Septimi Secretarius, qui obiit 1524 (d)." (a) " Wcstmonasterii sepultus est in medio Capellx Sancti Joannis BapUstx, ubijuxta murum sep- tentrionalem, monumentum nescio quod parum operosum illius memoriae consecratum vidi." Godwinus de Pra;sul. p. 493. (b) Hist, of Westm. Abbey, vol. i. p. 191. (c) Godwin de Prsesul. p. 754. (d) There is a great disagreement in authors respecting the time of this prelate's death : Bishop Godwin states it to have happened in 1523, at the same time observing that the date in his monumental WESTMINSTER ABBEY. This prelate was born at Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, educated at Cambridge, where he commenced doctor of laws, preferred by Henry the Seventh to the see of Durham, and made privy counsellor to Henry the Eighth, who employed him in several embassies. The singular manner of his death may be seen in Godwin. He built the great chamber at Auckland, part of the bridge over the river Tyne, and intended to have rebuilt the parish church of Cirencester, but was prevented by death. The last tomb, which is very like the preceding in every respect, and is also without a canopy, was erected to the memory of Abbot William de Col- chester, a fact plainly indicated by the initials ([fH C embroidered on the cushion under his head, as well as by the mitre he wears, which is studded in a singular manner with pearls, and intended, no doubt, to represent the mitre covered with white pearls, mentioned in the former part of this account to have been made by Abbot Littlington, at the expense of 100 marks, and bequeathed by him for the especial use of his successor, who was this William of Colchester. This peculiarity has not been noticed before, but appears to us, joined with the other circumstance, to be conclusive, as to the identity of this tomb. The face of the effigies of this abbot is much disfigured, but is still very characteristic and expressive. A door now closed up led from Islip's chantry to the passage over the entrance of this, through the piers between the windows, to the place where Lord Hunsdon's tomb stands. A pillar over it terminates in a curious bracket of a man, who rests his elbows on his knees, and his head on his hand. An achievement, with a banner of Lady Hughes, hangs against the west wall, beneath which is an ancient arch containing at one end of it the altar-tomb of Thomas Vaughan, who lived in the time of Edward the Sixth, and at the other a seat. This chapel has six sides^ besides that to the south, which is the form of all round the church. St. PauFs Chapel has a screen on the eastern side of the door, formed by the tomb of Lord Bourchier and his lady. It consists of a low Gothic arch, bounded by two buttresses, at the base of which are a lion and an eagle supporting banners of arms, and at the top a shield, helmet, and crest. The upper part inscription is 15J4. In the notes to the same author it is said, " Decessit quarto Februarii 152* (anno exeunte) in palatio sue Londini." MS. Reg. Which of these dates is correct it does not appear easy to determine. The circumstance of the bishop's being buried here admits however of no doubt. VOL. II. D D WESTMINSTER ABBEY. is composed of a double tier of sharp-pointed arches, eight in a range : between them are the remains of coats of arms once richly emblazoned, and at the upper part other coats. On the frieze between these escutcheons may be traced, in text letters of gold, the half-decayed inscription of *' jQon nobis, ^Dne, won nobis, fieO nomini tuo Ua gloriam»" Two others, perfect in Camden's time, but now illegible, were, " £eam to die, to Wot for eber/' And " H'bonneur a ^itu, a nous meiti," Beneath the lower arch is an altar-tomb of gray marble, the sides of which contain shields within garters on quatrefoils ; the top sustains two oaken chests shaped like coffins, under which Keep supposes, but with little probability, the bodies of the deceased lay in leaden coffins. This monument was erected to the memory of one Lewis Robsert, a native of Hainault, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress to Sir Bartho- lomew Bourchier. He was standard-bearer to Henry the Fifth, knight of the bath, afterwards knight of the garter, and created lord Bourchier. He died in 1431. It is probable that this nobleman was related to the poet Chaucer, for the crest to his arms is that of Sir Payne Roet's, of Hainault, the father of Chaucer's wife, and Catherine Swinford, Dutchess of Lancaster. The arms of Roet are likewise on the screen, viz. three wheels or in a field argent ; as well as those of Chaucer, which are, argent and gules per pale, a bend counter- charged. Besides these are the arms of Stafford (Lady Bourchier having been first married to Sir Hugh Stafford). These, added to the arms of many others of the English nobility and gentry, must, when the painting and gilding were perfect, have made an extremely splendid appearance. The monument of Francis, Lord Cottington, buried in 1679, completely obscures the place of the altar in this chapel. It afforded to those who heard mass at it, two years and thirty days indulgence. Besides the above, several other noble and celebrated persons have monuments here ; as Frances, Dutchess of Suffolk, a most magnificent one, composed of porphyry and other valuable materials, but extremely corroded : the date 1587. Sir Thomas Bromley, who died the same year, and was lord chancellor to Queen Elizabeth. He lies in his chancellor's gown, under a grand composite arch on a sarcophagus; at the side of which kneel four sons in armour, and four WESTMINSTER ABBEY. daughters. Sir John Puckering's tomb is another erected about the same period, and, like the preceding, is lavishly adorned with statues, pillars of the richest orders, arches, heavy obelisks, and complicated scroll-work of fine marbles, painted and gilded. He was of Yorkshire, and died at the age of fifty-two, in the year 1596. His wife is at the right hand ; and eight daughters kneel before a desk at the foot of the tomb. The formal effigies of Sir James Fullerton and his lady are on an altar-tomb, with a plain arch in the wall, containing an inscription that his " remnant" lies here; and quibbles upon his name thus: " He dyed fuller of faith than of fears, fuller of rcsolucon than of pains, fuller of honor than of days." The altar-tomb of alabaster, supporting the figures of Sir Giles D'Aubeny and his lady, stands nearly in the midst of the chapel. He was lord lieutenant of Calais, chamberlain to Henry the Seventh, knight of the garter, and father to Henry, Lord D'Aubeny, the first and last Earl of Bridgewater of that surname, by this lady Elizabeth his wife, who was descended from the ancient family of the Arundells, in Cornwall. In his epitaph, given by Camden, but now illegible, he is said to have died the 22d of May 1507, and his lady in the year 1500. He is represented in complete armour, his head on his helmet, and in the collar and mantle of the order of the garter. The whole has been richly gilt. We now approach the chapel of Henry the Seventh, which we shall for the present pass, and proceed with the side chapels ; but must first admire the beautiful side of Henry the Fifth's chantry, which forms an arch across the aisle directly east of his tomb. It is supported at each corner by clustered pillars, at the termination of which are shields with his arms, surrounded by four angels, whose wings are disposed so as to form an imperfect quatrefoil. On the point of the arch is a shield, helmet, and crest : in the frieze a badge of deer and swans chained to a beacon. An historical composition representing the coronation of Henry the Fifth, fills the centre, which is a grand niche containing three canopies. The group consists of two prelates, who are in the act of placing the crown on the seated king, and two kneeling figures at the sides. On the right are nine small niches, with statues, and on their canopies deers and swans. On the left five niches and statues ; and on the tops of their canop'ies, statues under other canopies. The south side is nearly similar. The Chapel of St. Nicholas is the next in order, and is separated from the south aisle by an elegant screen, containing a door in the middle, with WESTMINSTER ABBEY. pierced arches over it ; and on each side three ranges of the same. The frieze is adorned with shields and roses. The tombs most claiming notice on account of their antiquity in this place are the following : One to the memory of William de Dudley, Bishop of Durham, who died in 1483. This is situated beneath the south window, and is an uncommonly beautiful specimen of the ancient monumental architecture. It is altar-shaped, and surmounted by an elaborate canopy. The altar part is adorned in the usual manner with quatrefoils and shields : these are in four compartments, and sepa- rated by pointed arches. The buttresses at each end have alternate arches, terminating in foliage, before which are pedestals, and once, possibly, statues, but which have been long since removed. Three other arches with the same ornaments form the canopy, the ribs within which spring from angels holding shields. A range of ten lancet-shaped niches fills the spaces on the sides of the finials, and is surmounted by a double frieze of grape-vines and labels. The engraved brass effigies, inlaid on the top of the tomb, has been purloined, but is represented by Dart, who has likewise preserved the inscription. The defaced monument of Philippa, Dutchess of York, is placed to the west of the screen. The effigies in an antique dress still remains, but the elegant wooden canopy is removed. The inside was painted to represent a serene night, with gilt stars, and contained a picture of the Passion. Many other monuments of a later date, and chiefly of the fashion of Elizabeth's time, fill up the remaining parts of the chapel, all of which have been repeatedly described. Chapel of St. Edmond. This saint was archbishop of Canterbury in the time of Henry the Third, and the anniversary held at his altar was on the l6th day of November. His chapel is divided from the aisle by a wooden screen, and is ascended, like that of St. Nicholas, by two steps. The two elegant monuments of William de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and John of Eltham, are on each side the door of entrance. The former stands on the right hand, and is an altar-tomb of gray marble ; the sides adorned with quatrefoils and shields, and the ends with ornamented pannels. It supports a broken wainscot chest, or sarcophagus, on which lies the oaken effigies, armed, and once completely plated with gilt copper, as was the whole upper part of the monument. The cushion is enamelled with little golden circles on a blue ground ; in them a quatrefoil of a lighter blue, enclosing a red cross. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Between are diminutive shields, gules, three lions or. The vest is sprinkled with small scutcheons, and covers the body of the figure ; the legs, head, and arms are clothed in mail. A small fillet of gilt copper encircles the head, which was once studded with coloured glass, imitating jewels, now picked out, and only the sockets remaining. The sword-belt is enamelled with a blue ground and fanciful gold ornaments : the shield is of enamel, and contains barry of ten, argent and azure, an orle of martlets gu/es. Thirty small images, viz. twelve on each side, and three at each end, formerly ornamented the sarco- phagus ; but the whole are now gone, and the arches which once enclosed them nearly swept away. This monument, when perfect, must have been uncom- monly splendid. The tomb of John of Eltham has been noticed, and a plate of it given in a former part of this work. It had originally a canopy of three arches, termi- nating in beautiful spiral ornaments, and must then have ranked among the richest in the church (a). Near it is a little altar-tomb, with diminutive effigies of William of Windsor, and Blanche of the Tower, children of Edward the Third. I'hey are of alabaster, and much worn. Their effigies of brass, and habited in a similar manner, are said to have been placed among the other children of Edward the Third, on the north side of his tomb, where the niches and their arms still remain. The tomb of Sir Bernard Brocas, with a long historical inscription, is placed against the vi-all on the south side. It is as nearly like that of Bishop Dudley, before described, as possible, but less elegant. The effigies is indiffer- ently sculptured. Other persons anciently buried in this chapel, and whose tombs are remain- ing, are, Robert de Walby, archbishop of York. His effigies engraved in brass, under a canopy, in pontificalibu.'i, is placed on a tomb a little raised from the ground. He died in 1397. Eleanor de Bohun, the wife of Thomas de Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, has a tomb with her effigies nearly similar. Beside her, under a marble slab, lies Mary, countess of Stafford, who died in 1693, and is said in the Latin inscription to have been a lineal descendant. The tomb of Humphrey, lord Bourchier, slain at the battle of Barnet in 147 1, contained, like the former, his figure in plated brass, but its place only now remains. (a) See the plate of it in Dart's Antiquities of West. Abbey, vol. i. p. 107. VOL. II. E E WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Some traces of the altar of St. Edmond may be discovered at the east end of this chapel, beneath two of the ancient arches in the wall, which still remain tolerably perfect. The angels over them contain scrolls and branches of oak, and a figure holding a crown in each hand. The intercoliimniation over the altar appears to have been covered by a painting, now nearly obliterated ; some very imperfect outlines of figures, and patches of red paint, being all that is visible. The Chapel of St. Benedict is the last in the area, and only contains one monument of any antiquity, viz. that of Simon de Langham. He was monk, prior, and afterwards abbot of this monastery ; thence successively promoted to the bishoprics of London and Ely, and in the end made archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal : besides these dignities, he held several livings m commendam, as the archdeaconry and treasurership of Wells and others, and was at different times treasurer and chancellor of England. His great bounty and liberality is a theme of praise with all writers. He died in 1376, and founded a chantry here for his father and himself. His tomb is of the altar form. Upon it lies his effigies robed and mitred, and exceedingly well sculptured, particularly the face and profile. It had formerly an oaken canopy over it, which was destroyed in erecting the scaffolding at the coronation of Queen Anne. The entrance to this chapel is at present entirely blocked up by a screen of monuments and their railings, which enclose it from the south transept and the aisle, but some remains of the altar and its platform exist, on the site of the Countess of Hertford's monument. The indulgence granted to those who heard mass at it was for two years and forty days. The remains of two ancient tombs, one erected to the memory of King Sebert, and the other to the children of Henry the Third, stand on this spot, and nearly face each other. The monument of Sebert, and a specimen of the paintings on it, have been published by the Antiquary Society ; the other appears to have been once richly inlaid with mosaic, and the arch above it to have contained painted portraits of the deceased, and to have been otherwise decorated. Both are now occupied, the one as a seat, the other as a desk, by the attendants who shew the Abbey. THE CHAPEL OF ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR Is situated immediately in the centre of the area, above which it is elevated several feet, and is ascended to by a small wooden staircase. It is bounded to *iiiiii,ii(iiiii(( ^ WESTMINSTER ABBEY. the west by a beautiful carved stone screen, and the back of the high altar ; to the east, by the magnificent monument and chantry of Henry tiie Fifth ; on the north by the tombs of King Henry the Third, King Edward the First, and Queen Eleanor ; and on the south by those of Edward the Third, Queen Philippa, and the monument of Richard the Second and his queen. The royal shrine stands conspicuously in the midst. The monument of Henry the Fifth, which is the first in size and magni- ficence, stands within a beautiful Gothic chapel built by Henry the Seventh, in compliment to his illustrious relation and predecessor. His queen, Catherine, had before erected his tomb, and placed on it his effigies cut in heart of oak, and plated over with silver. On this was his head of silver, and likewise his sceptre and other regalia, all of which, except the headless trunk, were purloined at the Reformation. A grand iron gate, divided into lozenges, containing quatrefoils, forms the principal front. Above the arch are six canopies divided by small buttresses, which, as well as their statues, are of the most delicate workmanship. The gate is bounded by octagon towers, similarly enriched, in which are winding staircases leading to the chantry above : the stairs wind round newels, whose capitals are praying angels : and the roof above is beautifully groined. The arched ceiling over the tomb forms the floor of the chantry, every part of which is elaborately sculptured. On the frieze are deer and swans chained to a beacon, the remains of emblazoned scutcheons, and other orna- ments : at the sides, buttresses dividing richly-wrought canopies. The niches vary in size. Seven are for figures as large as life. Of these the -middle statue is removed : the others are, a man kneeling at his devotion, a king erect praying, St. George and the Dragon, a seated female, a king and St. Dionysius. Multitudes of other statues of excellent workmanship adorn the eastern end. , This chantry had once an altar-piece of fine carving. The two steps are still in being, and the marks of its back against the wall, with a square niche on each side. Two other recesses remain on the north and south walls of the chantry, which have had shutters that have been wrested from their hinges now broken in the wall. Remains of the once splendid armour of Henry the Fifth are still to be seen hung around this oratory. Descending to the chapel we proceed with the other tombs which enclose it. Henry the Third was the first after the Confessor whose body was laid on this hallowed spot. His tomb is situated between the' second and third WESTMINSTER ABBEY. pillars on the north, and is admirably curious in the workmanship, as well as inimitably rich in the materials, though most miserably defaced. It is of the altar form. The side and end pannels are composed of slabs of fine polished porphyry, of a clear red ; the work round them mosaic of gold and scarlet ; the corners wreathed pillars, gilt and enamelled. The figure of the prince is of brass gilt, and is supposed to have been the first figure of the kind cast in England. It is recumbent, and has over it a wooden canopy, anciently deco- rated with painting, which is now by age nearly all blistered off. Edward the First (his son) lies between the next western pillar, and the last in the chapel, in a tomb remarkable for nothing but its plainness. His queen, the meek and beautiful Eleanor, lies between the first and second pillar, and from the east on the same side. Her figure of brass, richly gilt, rests on a tablet of the same, placed on an altar-tomb of Peizvorth marble. Edivard the Third was the third king whose ashes were deposited round St. Edward. His tomb is on the south side, between the second and third pillars. His figure at full length, made of brass, once gilt, lies beneath a rich Gothic shrine of the same material. His hair is dishevelled, his beard long and flowing. His gown reaches to his feet. Each hand holds a sceptre. The figures of his children in brass surround the altar-tomb. His worthy queen, Philippa, lies interred at his feet. Her figure in alabaster represents her as a most masculine woman. She died in 136g: her royal spouse in 1377' The tomb of Richard the Second and his consort Anne, daughter of Win- ceslaus, king of Bohemia, is the next in order. It was erected by Henry the Fifth. Their figures in the same metal as the former lie recumbent on it. The inside of the wooden canopy over them retains fragments of a very beautiful painting on a gold ground. Margaret, daughter to King Edward the Fourth, has a broken little wretched tomb at the feet of Richard the Second, projecting on the pavement ; and Elizabeth, daughter of Henry the Seventh, one nearly opposite on the south side equally plain. Besides these, there repose in this chapel, under stones once plated with brass, the bodies of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Glou- cester, and John Wallham, bishop of Salisbury. The brass on the gravestone of the latter still remains tolerably perfect, but that of the former has been long removed. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The solitary and forlorn SHRINE OP EDWARD THE CONFESSOR Now stands a mere skeleton of what it once was. This beautiful memorial consists of three rows of arches ; the lower pointed, the upper round. On each side of the lower was a most elegant serpentine pillar : the two western now only remain ; and a capital to the east. The wooden Ionic top is much broken, and covered with dust. The mosaic is picked away in every part within reach ; only three lozenges of about a foot square, and five circular pieces of the- rich marbles, remain. VOL. II. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Of the Inscription on the architrave the following is legible : " Omni . . . Insignis : ViRTUTEM : Laudibus : Heros : Sanctus Edward . . . ." On the south side, " Die . . . ." On the east end, " . . . . Moriens .... 1065 Super -^thera Scandit .... Sursum Corda . I. A. on the north side. — ^Thus translated : " The hero renowned for all virtues. Saint Edward the Confessor and venerable king, Dying the 5th of January, ascended to the skies." " Lift up your hearts 1" « He died Anno Domini 1065." THE CHAPEL OP HENRY THE SEVENTH (Nearly the rival in elegance with that of King's College, Cambridge) stands on the site of a still more ancient chapel dedicated to the Virgin. Henry finding the chapel of the Confessor too much crowded to receive any more princes, determined on the building of this, which, it appears by his will, he expressly intended as the mausoleum of him and his house, and prohibited all but the blood royal from being interred within its precincts. Abbot Islip on the part of the king laid the first stone on February 1 Ith, 1503. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The ascent from the Abbey is formed by a magnificent flight of twelve steps, over which rises a most beautiful arch of the same width as the nave or body of the chapel. Unfortunately it has very little light. The capitals of the pillars on the western side have a bear and staff, a greyhound and dragon on them : the angles on the sides of the great arches have the Icing's arms within quatrefoils, and those of the two sides his badges. A row of pinnacled and foliaged arches, divided by one bay, extend north and south over the entrances. The frieze is adorned with roses, and the whole is completed by a battlement. The roof is composed by seven rows of quatrefoils filled with the royal cogni- zances, between which are beautifully enriched pannels. On the platform of the stairs are two doors leading to the north and south aisles ; above them are arches, and vast blank windows of three mullions crossed by one embattled, which finish in beautiful intersections. One of these divisions on each side is glazed ; the other lights are only reflected. Ascending three steps higher, the interior displays itself in all its magni- ficence. It is entered by three portals of solid brass gilt, and exquisitely wrought. The ceiling first attracts the admiration of the spectator. It consists of several circles pannelled : in the centre is a lozenge within a lozenge, and eight quatre- foils round a lozenge, on which is a rich fleur-de-lis. The edifice below is divided into a nave and side-aisles like a cathedral. The aisles have four arches hid by the stalls : between them clustered pillars support great arches on the roof, each of which have twenty-three pendent small semi-quatrefoil arches on their surface. Four windows of a most elegant shape fill the spaces next the roof ; in all of them painted glass of three lions, fleur-de-lis, and red and blue panes. Beneath the windows the architect and sculptor have exerted their utmost abilities ; and the canopies, niches, and statues they have left are truly exquisite. There are five between each pillar. Trios of two-part pinnacled buttresses form the divisions ; the canopies are semi-sexagons, their decorations and open work are beautifully delicate ; over them are a cornice and a row of quatrefoils, and the battlement is a rich ornament of leaves ; the statues all stand on blank labels ; and although the outline of the pedestals is alike, the tracery and foliage differ in each. Beneath those are half-length angels, which are continued round the chapel. The pavement is composed of black and white maible lozenges, in which is a square something diflfercnt in the shape of the pieces containing a plate of WESTMINSTER ABBEY. perforated brass. This is the only memorial the present royal family have to distinguish the place for their interment, and the only monument to the memo- ries of King George and Queen Caroline, and late Duke of Cumberland. The western end is formed by the great brazen gates, and the superb western window which is above them. The centre gate is divided into sixty-five squares, containing a variety of devices, as pierced crowns, portcuUisses, the king's initials, fleurs-de-lis, an eagle, three thistles springing through a coronet, their stalks terminating in seven feathers, three lions and a crown supported by sprigs of roses, &c. On each division is a rose, and between them dragons. The smaller gates contain twenty-eight squares each with the above emblems. The two pillars between the gates are twice filleted, and the capitals are foliage. The animals, badges of the king, hold fanciful shields on them, but have lost their heads ; the angles of the three arches are all filled with lozenges, circles, and quatrefoils. Thirteen busts of angels crowned extend across the nave ; between them are five portcuUisses, three roses, and three fleurs-de-lis, all under crowns. From hence to the roof is filled by a great window of many compartments, so much intersected and arched, that a description would not be comprehended. The upper part contains figures in painted glass, crosses or prowns, and fleurs-de-lis, single feathers of the Prince of Wales's crest, red and blue mantles, crowns and portcuUisses, crowns and garters, crown and red rose, and two roses or wheels, full of red, blue, and yellow glass. But little light passes through this window, it is so near the end. The tombs of Henry the Seventh and his mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond, may be justly reckoned amongst the ornaments of this chapel. Both are of solid brass, gilt. The former consists of two parts, the tomb itself, and the screen or fence surrounding it. Keep quaintly describes the screen as " open at the top, with a continual battlement going quite round, where in the midst of every square and at each angle is a great rose, representing so many bulwarks encompassing a royal fort. The work," he adds, " that fills up these spaces and squares between each of the pillars from the bottom to the top, is all grate-work, representing the nature of a vine, curling and twining its branches to and fro, for the conveniency of the dragons and greyhounds to encounter or chase one the other, with which figures the whole work is interlaced (a)." The tomb within this grate was, according to Henry's direction, made of (a) Monumenta Westtnonasteriensia, p. 81;. VOL. II. G O WESTMINSTER ABBEY. a hard basaltic stone, called in the language of those days Tonche. The sides are decorated with small brass figures, and the royal arms and cognizances ; the effigies, of the king and queen, of the same metal, lie on the top, and are finely executed. The directions respecting this tomb, and for regulating the splendid services appointed to be said at it for the repose of the royal founder, fill the pages of a magnificent volume now deposited in the British Museum. Several Qurious particulars relating to the same are likewise contained in the will of Henry the Seventh, published by the late Mr. Astle. The Countess of Richmond's monument stands in the centre of the south aisle. It is a low altar-tomb, composed of black marble ; and the brazen effigies is unequalled, in point of merit, by any in the Abbey. There is a truth of expression in the face, hands, and drapery of this figure, which proves it to be oot only the work of a master, but an accurate and finished portrait of the deceased lady. It was executed by Torregiano, the same artist who made the tomb of Henry the Seventh. SOUTH TRANSEPT. This division of the church, better known by the name of " Poets' Corner," is similar in its architectural decorations to the north transept before described, and contains a great number of fine and interesting monuments. At the south end is the chapel of St. Blaze, said to have been anciently a depository for the regalia, and the various treasures of the Abbey ; a circumstance not improbable, judging from its massy fastenings. At the east end of this chapel are the remains of the altar and some curious painting (a). THE NAVE. The west end is filled by the great door and the magnificent window above it, the two being divided by a double row of pointed pannels, foiu-teen in number. A vast arch includes both, from the pavement to the roof, adorned with pointed pannels. The window consists of twenty-one compartments under the arch ; over them a row of quatrefoils : two of the mullions form arches with the sides, and in the middle are three compartments, the stained glass in which contains the figures of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; fourteen of the lower compartments liave as many prophets, &c. and beneath the king's arms, those of Westminster (a) See Malcolm's Londinium Redivivum, v. i. p. t$$. l^-nd,-nj\^'ul>'il .fifi' uSi-^iyTemtir lJ£iiiJJt tlu Chafiter-haia' H^'d'-, VOL, II. H H WESTMINSTER ABBEY. beautiful simplicity. It was used for the meetings of the House of Commons until the reign of Edward the Sixth, when St. Stephen's Chapel was fitted up for that purpose. The ancient crypt beneath the Chapter-house is well worth visiting. HORSE GUARDS AND ADMIRALTY. Having before noticed the Horse Guards and Admiralty in our survey of the city of Westminster, the notices we have to add as an accompaniment to the present plate will necessarily be slight. Both these buildings occupy part of the site of the vast palace of Whitehall ; the Horse Guards, as far as a judgment can be formed from old plans, standing on that spot anciently called the Tilt Yard, a place set apart for military exercises by Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth. An erection appropriated to the same purposes as the present one, existed in the reign of Charles the Second, who, shortly after his restoration, raised a body of men, and stationed them in barracks (they deserved no other name) built hereabouts, and on whom the appellation of Horse Guards was conferred. In the reign of his successor^ the bigotted James, when it was customary to mount guard at the two palaces of St. James's and Whitehall, a most constrained invitation was sent by that monarch to the prince of Orange to take his lodgings at the latter. The prince accepted it, but hinted that the king must previously quit. The old hero. Lord Craven, was on duty at the time, when the Dutch guards were marching through the Park to relieve, by order of their master. From a point of honour he had determined not to quit his station, and was preparing to maintain his post : but, receiving the command of his sovereign, he reluctantly withdrew his party, and marched away with sullen dignity (a). Mr. Pennant, from whom the above anecdote is copied, has given, in his Tour through London, a print of the building of the Horse Guards (b), as it was in the time of Charles the Second. In it is the merry monarch with his dogs ; and in the back view the Banquetting House, one of the gates, the Treasury in its ancient state, and the top of the Cockpit. The old building, to which the present has succeeded, was so mean, that both natives and foreigners, the latter especially, had long expressed their surprise, that the chief and most splendid of the military attendants on so great (a) Dalrymple's Memoirs. (b) From a painting in the possession of the Earl of Hardwick. VOL. II. O HORSE GUARDS AND ADMIRALTY. a prince as the monarch of Great Britain should be provided with no better accommodation while on the performance of their duty. These complaints were at length removed by the erection of the present edifice, which arose in the beginning of the year fifty-one, and was expeditiously completed. It is allowed to be a neat and compact piece of architecture, and appears to great advantage when viewed at a distance from the Park. It contains a variety of offices necessary for the transaction of all the domestic affairs relating to the government of the army ; all of them convenient, and some extremely elegant. The Admiralty Office originally stood at the south end of Duke Street, in a house first built for the lord chancellor Jeffries, until it was removed to Wallingford House against Whitehall, which was thought a more convenient spot, in the reign of William the Third. The situation of the present building is equally grand and commodious. Its front faces the noble street leadins from the statue of Charles the First to Old Palace Yard, and terminated by Alingdon Buildings. Behind is a handsome garden plot taken out of that part of the Spring Garden next the Park, and the Park itself extending far beyond, of which it commands an advantageous and ample view. The Admiralty contains in it, besides the hall and other common rooms, a great number of convenient offices for transacting the various branches of business in the naval department of Great Britain, and a suite of magnificent apartments for the residence of the commissioners who are in the execution of this high office. The back of this building next the Park is of red brick with stone quoins, and has a plain, uniform appearance, the ends only projecting out a little way beyond the other part, which is two stories high. The east, or principal front, is much amended by the elegant screen and colonnade of Mr. Adams, which is certainly a national improvement, especially when we recollect that it has been substituted to the two mean lodges that stood on each side of the gate, and that strikingly contributed to injure the effect of the whole building. A neat but costly addition has lately been made to the Admiralty for the purpose of a more suitable residence for its first lord. And since the com- mencement of the late war a Telegraph has been erected on the top of the principal building, by means of which signals are received and communicated with admirable facility to our fleets at all the principal ports. ST. BAKTHOLOMEW THE GREAT, WEST SMITIIFIELD. The particulars of the foundation of the priory of St. Bartholomew the Great, with an account of its founder Rayhere, are given in an ancient MS. in the British Museum (a), the substance of which is as follows : That Rayhere being a man " sprongyng and boryn of lowe kynage, whan he attayned the floure of youth he began to haunte the howsholdys of noblemen and the palics of prynces ; where, undir everye elbowe of them, he spread ther coshyngs, with iapys and flatteryngs delectably anoynting ther eevyes, by this man to drawe'to hym ther frendschippis ; and zit he was not cotent with this, but ofte hawnted the king's palice, and amoge the noysefull presse of that tumultuous courte enformd hymself with jolite and carnal suavyte, by the whiche he mighte drawe to hym the hertys of many oone. Ther yn spectaclis, yn metys, yn playes, and other courtly mokkys and trifyllys intendyng, he lede forth the besynesse of alle the day. And nowe to kyng's attendens, worn followinge the entente of grete men, presid yn proferynge servyce that myght piece them, besily so occupied hys tyme, that he mighte opteyne the rather the peticions that he wold desire of them." The manuscript proceeds with informing us, that being converted from this idle and vicious course of life, and " covetyng yn so grete a laboure to do the worthy fruytes of penaunce," Rayhere determined on a pilgrimage to Rome, the great expiatory offering in that age for all sins. Here, after paying his devotions at the shrines of St. Peter and St. Paul, he was visited with a grievous sickness, and, being near the point of death, he vowed, should he be permitted again to see his country, " he would make an hospitale in receacon (a) Cotton lib. Vespasian, b. ix. and Londinum Redivivum, p. 26*. TOL. II. F ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. of poure men, and to them so ther gadered necessaries mynyster after his power. And nat long after, the benigne and mercyfull Lorde, that byhelde the terys of Grechie the kynge, the importune prayer of the woman of Chanane, rewarded with the benefeit of his pite ; thus Hkewyse mercyfully he behelde this wepynge man, and gaf him his helthe, approved his avowe. So of his syknes recovered he was ; and in short time hole ymade, began homewarde to come, his vowe to fulfille that he had made." On the way, probably revolving in his mind what saint he should dedicate the intended fabric to, the apostle Bartholomew opportunely appeared in a dream or vision, '' pretendynge in chere the majestie of a kynge, of grete bewte and imperiall auctorite, and his yie on him fastyn'd : he seyd good wordes, wordes of consolacion, bryngyng goode tydyngs, as he schulde sey yn this wyse ; ' O man,' he seyd, ' what and howe muche servyce shuldes thou yeve ' to him, that yn so grete a peril (for the first part of the dream was of a '- most threatning nature), hath brought helpe to the.' Anoune he answerde to this seynte, ' Whatseuv myght be of herte, and of myghtys, diligently * shulde I yeve, in recompence to my deliverer. And then saide he, I am ' Bartholomew, the apostle of Jhu Christ, y' come to socoure the yn thyn * angwyshe, and to opyn to the the secrete mysteryes of hevyn. Know me trewly, ' by the will and comandemente of the Hye Trinity, and the cornyn favoure ' of the celestiall courte and consell, to have chosyn a place yn the subarbis ' of London, at Smythfeld, wher, yn myn name, thou shalte founde a churche, ' and it shall be the house of God ; ther shal be the tabernacle of the Lambe, ' the temple of the Holy Gost : this spirituall howse Almyghty God shall ' ynhabite, and halowe y', and glorifie y'. And his yeu shall be opyn, and * his servys yntending on this howse nyght and daye ; that the askir yn hit ' schall resceyve, the seker shall fynde, and the rynger or knokker schall enter : * trewly, every soule converted, penytent of his synne, and in this place praying, ' yn Hevyn graciously schall be herde. The seeker with pfite herte (for what- * suevyyr tribulacion) withoute dowte, he schalle fynde helpe. To them that ' with feithfull desire knoke at the doyr of the spowse, assistant angelys shal ' opyn the gates of Hevyn, receyvyng and ofFeryng to God the prayers ' and vowys of feithful peple. Wherefore thyn handys be ther conforted in ' God, havyng in hym truste ; do thou manly pethw of the costis of this ' bildynge ; dowte the nowght ; onely ycvc thy diligence, and my parte ' schall be to provyde necessaries, directe, bilde, and ende this wcrke ; ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. ' and this place to me accepte, witli evydcnt tokcnys and signys, protecte and ' defend contynually hyt under the schadowe of my wyngys ; and therfore of ' this werke knowe me the maister, and thyself only the mynyster ; use diligently ' thy servyce, and I shall schewe my lordeschippe.' — In these wordes the vision disparyschidde (disappeared) ." The two following chapters of the manuscript are comments, abounding with apt allusions, and many excellent moral sentiments. The narrative thus continues : " Howe the Kynges Favoure he hadde. The Precepte, and his Vowe fulfilled. " Therfore I passid that remayned of this way. He came to London ; and of his knowledge and frends with grete joye was receyved ; with whiche also, with the barons of London he speke famylyarly of these thynges that were turnyd and sterid in his herte, and of that was done about bin in the way he tellid it owte ; and what schulde ben done of this he concellid of them. He toke this.answere, that noone of these myght be pfyted, but the kinge were firste cowncellid : namely, sith the place godly to hym yschewed was conteyned withyn the kyng's market ; of the whyche it was not levefull to prynces, or other lordys of their ppyr auctoritate eny thing to mynyshe, neither zitte to so solempne an obsequy depute. Therfore, usyng theys mennys cowncell, in opportune tyme he dressid hym to the kynge, and before hym (and the bishoppe Richarde beynge presente, the whiche he hadde made to hym favorable byforne) effectually expressid his besynes, and that he myght levefully brynge his purpose to efFecte mekely besought. And nygh hym was He in whoes hande it was, to what he wolle the kynge's herte yncline ; and ynefFectualle these prayers myght nat be, whoes auctor ys the apostle ; whois gracyous herer was God. " His worde therefore was plesaunte and acceptable in the kyng's yie. And when he hadde peysed the goode wilt of the man, (prudently, as he was wytty) graunted to the peticioner his kingly favore, benynly yev'yng auctorite to execute his purpos. " And he havynge the title of desired possession of the kyng's maiestie, was right gladde. " Than nothynge he omyttyng of care and diligence, two werkys of pyte began to make ; oone for the vowe that he hadde made, another as to hym by pcepte was inioynde. Therfore the case prosp'ously succeeded, and after the Apostles word all necessaryes flowed unto the hande. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. " The chirche he made of cumly stoone work, tablew3'se. And an hospital house a Htell lenger of from the chirche by hymself he begun to edifie. The chirche was fowndid (as we have taken of oure eldres) in the moneth of Marche, in the name of oure Lorde Ihii Christ, in memorie of moost blesside Bartholomew Apostle, the yere from the incarnation of the same Lorde our Savyoure M"" C. xiij. Thanne haldyng and rewlyng the holy see of Rome, mooste holy fader Pope Calixte the secunde. " P'sidente in the churche of Inglonde, William Archebishoppe of Cauntirbury, and Richarde, Byshoppe of London : the whiche of due lawe and right, halowid that place yn the giste party of the forsayde felde (and byshoply auctoryte dedicate the same that tyme full breve and shorte) as a cymytery. " Regnyng the yonger son of William Rothy, first kynge of Englischmen yn the north, Herry the Firste, xxx'^ yere, and a side halfe, the thirde yere of his reigne. To the laude and glorie of the hye and endyvyduall Trynyte ; to hym blessjTige, thankynge, honoure, and empyer, worlde withoutyn ende. Amen." This account (apparently written by a monk of the house soon after its foundation) agrees with the narrative of Stowe and other historians, except with respect to Rayhere's having been king Henry the First's minstrel, or jester, which it appears he never was, as is commonly asserted, but only a promoter of the licentiousness which prevailed at that prince's court. Smitlifield, at this remote period, is stated to have been a common laystall, for voiding the filth of the city, as well as the common place for execution of criminals ; circumstances, which are confirmed in a succeeding chapter of the narrative, which likewise gives some further entertaining particulars of the foundation as follows : " Of the Clensynge of thys Place. " Truly thys place (aforn his clensynge) pretendid noone hope of good- nesse. Right uncleane it was ; and as a maryce, dunge, and fenny, with water almost ev'ytyme habowndynge ; and that, that was emynente above the water, drye, was deputid and ordeyncd to ihejuheit or gallouijs of thevys, and to the tormente of othir that were dapnyd by judiciall auctoryte. Truly whan Rayer haddc apj)lied his study to the purgacion of tliis place, and decreid to put his handc to that holy byldyng he was nat ignoraunte of Sathanas wyles, for he SI'. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. made and fej'iicy hymsclf unwysc ; for he was so coacted, and owtward ptenclid the chejr of an ydiotte, and began a htcU while to hyde the secretnesse of his soule. And the more secretely he wroght, tiic more wysely he dyd his werke. Truly, yn playnge unwise, he drewe to hyin the felischip of children and servants, assembly nge hymsclf as one of them ; and, with ther use and hclpe, stonys and othir thyngs (profitable to the bylynge) lightly be gaderyd togedyr. He played with them, and from day to day made hymself more vile in his own yen, in so mykill that he plesid the apostle of Cryiste, to whom he hadde provyd himself; throwgh whois grace and hclpe, whan all thynge was redy that semyd necessarie, he reyscd uppe a gretc frame. And now he was provyd nat unwyse as he was trowid, but very wyse ; and that that was hydde and secrete opynly began to be made to all men. Thus yn merveles wyse he consorttid in the Holy Gooste, and instructe with cunynge of trewith ; seide the worde of God feith fully by dyvse churches ; and the multitude both of clerkys and of the laite constauntly was exhorted to folowe and fulfyll those thynges that were of charite and almsdede. " Of this almen grettly were astonyd, booth of the noveltie of the areysid frame, and of the fownder of this newe werke. Who wolde trowe this place with so sodayn a clensynge to be purgid, and ther to be setLe up the tokenys of crosse ? And God there to be worshipped, wher siityme stoid the horrible hangynge of thevys : who shulcl nat be astonyd ther to se constructe and bylid thonorable b)ldynge of pite ? That shulde be a seyntwary to them that fledde therto, where siityme was a comyn ofFyryne of dampnyd peple, and a general ordeyned for peyn of wrechys. Who schulde nat mervel yt to be haunted ?" " Of the Ryotti/s and Assemblyngs of the advsarie Partys, and of the Pryvylegys of tlce Chirche. " Thus proceedynge the tyme, clerkes to leve undir reguler ynstltucion in the same place, in breif tyme were viey'd togedir. " Rayer optenynge cure and office of the P'orhede, and mynystrynge to them necessaries (nat of certeyn rentys), but plenteously of oblacions of feithfull peple. And n;it longe aftir, that drede that he drede come to hym, and that he dredyd happid hym. He was to sumc the odur of lyif unto lyif ; to othir the odirr of death yn to deith. Sume seid he was a deseyver, for cause that yn the nette of the grete ffy'scher evil fischis were medilled with goode. Aforne the houre of the last disseverawnce, his howseholde peple were made his enemyes, VOL. II. G ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. and so wys azenste hym, wykked men ; and wykydness lyid to hymself. Therefore with prikyng envye (many pvatly), many also opynly azenste the servante of God, cesid nat to gruge, and in dcrogacion to the place and plate of the same, browghtj-n many sclawnders, with thretnyngs. The goodes that they myght they withdrewe and toke away. Constreyned hym with wikkednes, made wery hym with injuries, provokid hym with dispites, bygilcd hym with symilate frendschippes ; and sume of them brake owte into so bolde avowednesse, that they drewe amonge themself a contracte of wikkid conspiracion, what day, sette and place, the servnt of God they myght, throwgh wyles and sutiltie, draw to ther cowncell with a deceyte ; and hym so ther p'sente to plucke from the stappis of his lyif. And so his remembraunce they vvolde had done awey from this worlde." Rayhere having, by the friendship of the king, defeated the plots of all his enemies, and finally completed his foundation, " after the servys of his prelacie xxij and vi moneths, the xx daye of Septembr, the vij moneth, the cleyhowse of thys worlde he forsoke, and the howse everlastynge he enterid, that fowndid this house, into the laude and honoure of ye name of Cryst ; that yn the howse of his fadir he myght be crownyd, yn his myldnes and yn his mercyes. — And yn this we truste, as we hope in the meritorie helpe of oure inyghty patrone, (to whom) the litill flohke of aiij chanons as a few sheippe he hath lefte, with litel lande, and right fewe rentys ; nevthelesse, with copious obvencyons of the awter, and helpynge of the nygh pties of the populous cyte they were holpyn. " Sothly, they florysch now with lesse fruite than that tyme whan the forsayd solempnyties of myracles were exercysyd ; by a lyke wyse as it were a plante whan y' is well rotyd, the ofte watyrynge of hym cesith, the tyme of a zere turned abowte succcdid into the ppositure and the dignyte of the Piore of this new plantacion admytted by the Byshope of London, lord Robert Thomas, one of the chanons of the chirche of Seynt Osyth. The zere of our Lorde M and C""" and xl.iiij, the sevyn indiccon reignynge Stevyn the sone of Stevyn erle Blesence the whiche promovyd Theobalde Blesence into the Archebisshoppe of Cawntirbery. " This Thomas (as we have pvyd in comyn) was a man of jocunde com- pany e and felowly jocundite ; of grete eloquence, and of grete cunynge ; instructc in philosophy, and divine bokys ex'cised. And he hadde y" in prompte whatsucv' he vvolde utter to speke y metyrly. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. " And he hackle in use evy soleinpne day, what the case icquyrid to dispense the worde of God, and flowynge to hym the piees of peple. He zavc and so addid to hym glorie utward, that ynward hadde zeve him his grace. He was plate to us mekly almost xxx zerc ; and in age an hundred wynter almost with hole wyttis with all crysten solempnyte tochynge Crystes grace, he decessid and was put to his fadrcs, the zerc of oure Lorde M.C. Ixiiiij ; of the paj)acic blesside Alexawnder the Third xv zere of the cownacion of the most unskunlitcd kynge of Englonde Heniy the Secunde xx zere the xvii day of the moneth of Janyv' in same zere of the elecion of lord Richard Archebyshop of Cawntirbury, aforne whom oure brethren were put and sette, and of his goode grace hym praynge, whom the grace of God from the forsayd paucyte encressid ynto xxxv, encryssyng w" them temp'all goodys Pmysid to becast to them that rckith the kingdom of God. " In this manys time grewe the plante of this apostolyke branch, yn glorie and grace before God and man. " And with moor ampliant b}lyngs were the skynnys of oure tabernaculys dylatid. To the laude and glorie of oure Lorde Jhu Criste to whom be honoure and glory worldo withowtyn ende. Amen." Amongst other memorable things touching this priory, observes Stowe, one is of an archbishop's visitation, which Matthew Paris has thus. " Boniface (saith he) archbit^hop of Canterbury in his visitation came to this priorie, where being received with procession in the most solemne wise, he said that he passed not upon the honours, but came to visit them ; to ^^hom the canon answered, that they having a learned bishop ought not in contempt of him to be visited of any other : which answer so much offended the ai'chbishop, that he forthwith fell on the sub-prior, and smote him on the face, saying ; Indeed, indeed doth it become you English traytours so to answer me ? Thus raging with oaths not to be recited, he rent in pieces the rich cope of the sub-prior, and trode it under his feet, andHhrust him against a pillar of the chancel with such violence, that he had almost killed him : but the canons seeing their sub-prior thus almost slain, came and plucked off the archbishop with such force that they overthrew him backwards, AA'hereby they might see that he was armed and prepared to fight. The archbishop's men seeing their master down, being all strangers (foreigners) and their master's countrymen born at Province ; fell upon the canons, beat them, tore them and trode them under foot. At length, the canons getting away as well as they could, ran blood}', miry, rent and torne, to the bishop ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. of London to complain, wlio bade them go to tlie king at \^^estminster, and tell him thereof: whereupon four of them ^veut thither, the rest were not able, they were so sore hurt. But when they came to Westminster the king would neither hear nor see tliem ; so they returned without redress. In the mean time the city was in an uproar and ready to have rung the common bell, and to have hewed the archbishop into small pieces, who was secretly crept to Lamhith, where they sought him, and not knowing him by sight, sayd to themselves, Where is this ruffian ? That cruel smiter, he is no winner of souls, but an exactor of money, whom neither God, nor any lawful or free election did bring to this promotion : but the king did unlawfully intrude him, being unlearned, a stranger born, and having a wife, &c. But the archbishop con- veyed himself over, and went to the king with a great complaint against the canons, whereas himself was guilty." To this priory King Henry the Second granted the privileges of a Fair to be kept yearly at Bartholomewtide, for three days, namely, the eve, the next day, and the morrow. To this fair, Stowe informs us, the clothiers of England, and drapers of London, repaired ; and had their booths and standings within the churchyard of this priory, closed in with walls and gates, locked every night and watched, for safety of men's goods and waives. A court of Piepowders was daily, during the fair, holden for debts and contracts. But now, says he, notwithstanding all proclamations of the prince, and also the act of parliament, in place of booths within the churchyaid^ only let out in the fair-time, and closed up all the year after, are many large houses built ; and the north wall, towards Long Lane, being taken down, a number of tenements are there erected for .^uch as will give great rents. The custos of the city, Rafe Sandwich, an. I2g5, had a contest with the prior of St. Bartholomew's, about the customs and benefits of this fair, he claiming the amount of all the toll the morrow after St. Bartholomew's day, and half of it on the preceding eve. Of this the king (Edward the First) took notice ; and the customs being appropriated to his use, at the time, as the city's privileges were forfeited, and in his hand, he sent the following brief, a little before the fair, to the custos and sheriffs, in order that the business might be decided by the king's treasurer and barons : " Dominus Rex, &c. The lord the king hath commanded the custoa and sheriffs in these words ; Edward by the grace of God, to the custos and sheriffs of London, greeting. Whereas the prior of Saint Bartholomew of ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. Smethefeld, in the suburbs of London, by the charters of our progenitors, kings of England, and our confirmation, claimeth to have a certain fair there every year, during three days ; viz. on the eve, on the day, and on the morrow of St. Bartholomew the Apostle ; with all liberties and free customs belonging to the feir : a contention hath arisen between the said prior and you the said custoSj who sue for us concerning the use of the liberties of the said fair, and the free customs belonging to it. And hindrance being made to the said prior by you the said custos, as the same prior asserteth, to wit, concerning a moiety of the said eve and of the whole morrow, before said : concerning which, we will, as well for us, as for the foresaid prior, that justice be done as it is fit, before our treasurer and barons of the exchequer, from the day of St. Michael next for one month. We command you, that sufficient security be taken of the said prior, of restoring to us the said day, the issues of the aforesaid fair, coming from the moiety of the foresaid eve, and of the whole morrow, if the said prior cannot then shew something for himself, why the said issues ought not to belong to us. We command you, that you permit the same prior, in the mean time, to receive the foresaid issues in form aforesaid. And you may have there this brief. Witness myself at Dunelm, the Qth day of August, in the 20th year of our reign (a)." About the year 14 10 great part of the priory was rebuilt. William Bolton, erroneously stated to have been the last prior, "was also," says Stowe, a " great builder there ; for he repaired the priory church, with the parish church adjoining. He built anew the manor of Canonbury at Islington, which belonged to the canons of this house, and which is situate in a low ground, somewhat north from the parish church there. But he built no house at Harrow on the Hill, as Edward Hall hath written ; following a fable then on foot. " ' The people,' saith he, ' being frighted by prognostications, which ' declared, that in the year of Christ 1524, there should be such eclipses in watry ' signs, and such conjunctions, that by waters and floods many people should ' perish : people victualled themselves, and went to high grounds for fear of ' drowning ; and especially one Bolton, which was prior of St. Bartholomew's in ' Smithfield, built him an house upon Harrow on the Hill, only for fear of this ' flood. Thither he went, and made provision of all things necessary within ' him, for the space of two months, &c.' (a) Strype's Stowe, vol. i. p. 71.?- VOL. It. H ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. " But this was not so indeed, as I have been credibly informed. It is true that this Bolton was also parson of Harrow, and therefore bestowed some small reparations on the parsonage-house ; and built nothing there more than a dove-house, to serve him when he had forgone his priory." Robert Fuller, the last abbot of Waltham, and also prior of St. Bartho- lomew, which latter he held in commendam with his abbacy, surrendered this house to Henry the Eighth on the 23th October 153g. Its annual revenues were valued at ^633 : 15. The ring of six bells belonging to the conventual church, were taken out and sold to the parish of St. Sepulchre's ; and the fabric itself being demolished to the choir, that was by the king's order annexed to the old parish church to enlarge it, and so was used till the reign of Queen Mary, who gave the remainder of the priory church to the Black Friars. By them it was used as their conventual church until the 1st of Elizabeth, when they were expelled; and it was again, wholly as it stood in the last year of Edward the Sixth, given by parliament, together with the old parish church, to the parish. The patronage, together with all the precincts of the monastery, were granted to Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich, chancellor of the court of augment- ations, and lord chancellor in the reign of Edward the Sixth, who resided on the site. And here the Earl of Warwick, and other of the nobles, repaired one morning, requiring him from that prince to resign the great seal. Here also dwelt another great counsellor of Queen Elizabeth's, Sir Walter Mildmay, chancellor of the exchequer. In the ^d of Elizabeth, another grant was made to the same Sir Richard Rich, by the title of Lord Rich, and to his heirs, afterwards Earls of Warwick and Holland, from whom hath descended the late possessor, William Edwardes of Johnstone Hall, in the county of Pembroke, South Wales, son of Lady Elizabeth Rich, and created, in 177^, Baron Kensington of the kingdom of Ireland. His lordship died Dec. 13, 1801 ; and was succeeded by his only son William Edwardes, now Lord Kensington. Newcourt, in his Repertorium, gives a list of the rectors down to Anthony Burgess, who enjoyed the living forty-six years. He died in August 170g. John Poultney. Thomas Spatemen, died 1737- Richard Thomas Bateman, 1738, presented by Edward Edwardes. John Moore, 1762, by the Bishop of London. '(* w lASTEH-sr SiDEof theCtOISTjER of S? Bi^aTHOL OMi: WS PSI OKY, ii^^g? v, '•'. \ V* 'i J ^S" If 'try, 4 ■;''-'•.- -.; m-&i^ VATD'l.TEJJ PAS SAGJE /',//•/ ,v'///,- /■/////.,■ ,./• STBAHTHOJLOMEWS rmOKT, D.a»:i inJraAJ by J CO ; J I^mU'i.ru*Sjl,dr,i^i8*i.lyKrmrt/i^.ltt^,JLJlirir.tJ,Cn^.Oit^SVHt.liMr-,IV%v I Hf^J,IV.iin, ' J. iir,^ t J.Crrir.lXlf^ /irr/t. flnirrtM, ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. The Rev. Mr. Henry Jcrom de Salis gave an original picture of Sir Walter Mildmay to the Earl of Sandwich, who presented it to Dr. Richardson, master of Emanuel college. A mezzotinto portrait was also published of him by Faber, among his set of founders. In the north aisle in the chancel is a monument thus inscribed : " Sacred to the memory of that worthy and learned Francis Anthony, Doctor in Physic. " There needs no Verse to beautifye thy Praise, Or keep in Memory thy spotless Name ; Religion, Vertue, and thy Skill, did raise A threefold Pillar to thy lasting Fame. Though poysonous Envy ever sought to blame. Or hide the Fruits of thy Intention ; Yet shall all they commend that high Designe, Of purest Gold to make a Medicine, That feele thy Helpe by that thy rare Invention. " He died the 2(5th of May l623, his age 74. " His loving son, John Anthony, Doctor in Physic, left this remembrance of his sorrow." A portrait by Cross, inscribed Johannes Anthonius, Londinensis, Medicince Doctor, and dated l623, is supposed by Mr, Granger to be intended for the above Dr. Francis Anthony, but the Christian name to have been put wrong. He was the inventor of the aurum potabile, which was for some time cried up as a panacea, and which he presented to the world as such. The excessive reputation of this medicine, says the above elegant writer, helped to sink it into contempt. It was moreover proved to have been hurtful (a). In the " Biographia" is a curious account of Dr. Anthony. Dr. John Anthony died in l655, and lies buried near his father. In the figure of a rose, " Oritur et Moritur. " Here lieth the body of Abigal Coult, the daughter of Maximilian Coult, who departed this life the 19th day of March lO'ig, in the 1 6th year of her virginity." (a) See Goodall's " Royal College of Physicians, London," 349. VOL. n. I ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. " Maximilian Coult, or Coke (a sculptor in the time of James the First), lived in Bartholomew's Close. In the register of the parish mention is made of the interment of his wife Susan, who died \6a5. He had two sons, Alexander and John : the latter was a stone-cutter, and was buried in the same parish, with the above (a)." A monument to the memory of Captain John Millet, mariner, who died 1660, has an epitaph beginning, " Desirous hither to resort. Because this parish was his port." A marble monument In the north wall of the south aisle, nearly at the back of the altar, contains an excellent bust, and this inscription : " Hie Inhumatum succubat quantum Terrestre viri vere venerandi Edwardi Cooke, Philosophi apprime Docti nee Medici Spectantissimi, qui tertio Idua Augusti, Anno 1052, Anno ^tatis 39, certa Resurgendi spe (uti necesse) naturae concessit. " Unsluce your briny Flood, what ! can you keep Your Eyes from Tears and see the Marble weep ? Burst out for shame, or if you find no vent For Tears, yet stay, and see the Stones relent." Against the wall at the lower end of the same aisle, is a monument for John Whiting, of London, Gent. " A man of an exemplary life ; sincere to his friends, to the indigent charitable, to all affable. He served with great reputation in the office of his Majesty's ordnance, in the reigns of King Charles the Second, King James, King William, and Queen Mary ; and in the first year of her late Majesty Queen Anne disengaged himself from all public business, the better to prepare for his blessed change. He left this world October the 20th, Anno Dom. 1704, ^tat. 64, in full assurance of a joyful resurrection. " He bequeathed, for the educating of twenty poor children in this parish, in which he was born, ^29 per annum, after the decease of his beloved wife, for ever." (a) See Anecdotes of Painting, p. 1C4. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. On a handsome modem tablet, " To the memory of Mr. Lockyer Davis (a), of the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, who departed this Hfe April the 23d, l/Ql, in the 73d year of his age. His tenderness and attention as a husband and father have rarely been equalled, but never exceeded. His integrity was inflexible. The solidity of his judgment and elegance of his manners (which were preserved by temperance to the latest period of his life) rendered him at once the instructor and delight of a numerous acquaintance ; his advice being ever solicited, and seldom taken but with advantage. Indeed, the chasm he has left in society will not be readily supplied ; for we may truly say with the poet, ' Take him for all in all, * we shall not look upon his like again'. " Also Mrs. Mary Davis, who departed this life November Q, 1769, and in the 48th year of her age. She was an affectionate wife, a tender mother, and a sincere friend." The last funeral memorial we shall notice is that of Rayhere, the founder, whose elegant tomb stands on the north side of the chancel. It has received but little injury except in some of the pinnacles, which have been replaced by little wooden balls and spikes, and the whole has been lately refreshed. He is represented in a black habit, bare head, shaven crown, and his hands conjoined. On each side of him, in attitudes of devotion, is a friar, or chantry priest, holding a large book, opened at Isaiah. At his feet an angel looking towards him, crowned, holding a shield of arms, which is gules, two lions passant gardant or. In chief two ducal crowns of the same. The inscription on the edge of the tomb is, Hicjacet Raherus, Primus Canonicus, ^ primus Prior hujus Ecclesite. The breadth of the church is sixty feet, the aisles twelve feet wide. The length of the present church (or chancel of the priory church) is 138 feet, which added to the eighty-seven feet, the length of the nave, makes the length of the priory church to have been 225 feet within the walls. There are fiye bells in the tower, on which 5520 changes were rung, consisting of forty-six grandsires, in three hours and forty-seven minutes, 27th of November 1737. (a) Of whom see Gent. Mag. vol. Ixi. p. 390. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. THE PARISH Was possessed of great privileges, some of wiiich are lost from disuse. Those that remain are : A person not a freeman of London may keep a shop, or exercise a calling or any trade, within the parish. The parishioners are exempt from serving on juries, and from all ward offices ; appoint their own constables, who are, however, subject to the city magistrates. By act of parliament they levy and assess themselves by taxes for paving, lamps, watching, lighting, and cleansing the parish. They are charged with no city taxes except for the London workhouse and the sewers. The bounds of the parish, as defined by the before-mentioned charter of Henry the Eighth, are well ascertained on three sides ; but the side next Aldersgate Street from Long Lane to Westmoreland Buildings, being not so easy to be traced by reason of its indentings, and being indiscriminately covered with buildings, has occasioned some disputes between the parish and the city of London. However wet and marshy the soil where the priory stands might have been seven centuries past, at the depth of nine feet under Long Lane (last summer) was found excellent large yellow gravel (a). The churchyard of St. Bartholomew, in ancient times, appears to have been a celebrated rendezvous for the youths of the various great public schools in the metropolis, who assembled there for the purpose of performing literary exercises, which were usually attended by numerous auditors. Stowe informs us, that this " arguing of the school-boys about the principles of grammar," was continued even till his time ; " For I myself in my youth," says he, " have yearly seen on the eve of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, the schollers of divers grammar-schools repair unto the churchyard of St. Bartholomew tlie Friorie, in Smithfield, where upon a bank boorded about under a tree, some one schollar hath stepped up, and there hath opposed and answered, till he were by some better schollar overcome and put down. And then the overcomer taking the place, did like as the first, and in the end the best opposers and answerers had rewards, which I observed not, but it made both good schoolmasters and also good schollers (diligently against such times) to prc'j)are themselves for the obtaining of this garland. I remember there repaired to these exercises (amongst (a) Londinum Redivivum. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. others) the masters and schollars of the free Scliools of St. Paul's in London, of St. Peter's at Westminster, of St. Tliomas Aeon's Hospital, and of St. Antho- nies Hospital : whereof the last named commonly presented the best schollars, and had the prize in those daies (a)." Smithfield is celebrated on several accounts ; at present and long since for being the great market for cattle of all kinds ; for being the place where Bartholomew Fair is kept, granted by Henry the Second as before noticed, during three days annually, to the neighbouring priory. It was long a season of great festivity ; theatrical performances by the better actors were exhibited here, and were formerly frequented by a great deal of good company. Of late years it has considerably degenerated, and become the resort chiefly of the lower order of people. For a long series of reigns Smithfield was the field of gallant tilts and tournaments, and also the spot on which accusations were decided by duel, derived from the Kamp-Jight ordeal of the Saxons. Here in 1374 the doating hero Edward the Third, in his sixty-second year, infatuated by the charms of Alice Pierce, or Piers, placed her by his side In a magnificent car, and styling her the Lady of the Sun, conducted her to the lists, followed by a train of knights, each leading by the bridle a beautiful palfrey, mounted by a gay damsel ; and for seven days together exhibited the most splendid justs in indulgence of his disgraceful passion. His grandson Richard the Second in the same place held several tournaments equally magnificent. In his ninth year, " there was a great riding," says Stowe, " from the Tower to Westminster, and every lord led a lady's horse's bridle ; and on the morrow began the justs in Smithjield, which lasted three days. These following bare them well : Henry of Derby, the Duke of Lancaster's son, the Lord Beaumont, Sir Simon Burley, and Sir Paris Courtney." In his fourteenth year, the same monarch caused a royal justing to be proclaimed, to be held in Smithfield, " to begin on Sunday next after the feast of St. Michael. Many strangers came from other countries ; namely, Valerian, Earl of St. Paul, that had married King Richard's sister ; the Lady Maud Courtney, and William, the young Earl of Ostervant, son to Albret of Baviere, Earl of Holland and Hanaylt." On the day appointed, " there issued out of the Toure of London," says (a) Stowe's Survey, p. ui. VOL. ir. K ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. the admiring Froissart, " fyrst threescore courses apparelled for the justes, and on every one a squyer of honour riding a soft pase. Than issued out threescore ladyes of honoure mounted on fayre palfreyes, aixl every lady led a knight by a cheyne of sylver, which knights were apparelled to just (a)." The last tournament of note with which this place was honouied, happened in the year 1467, when the Bastard of Burgundy, and the Lord Scales, brother to the queen of Edward the Fourth, agreed to try their prowess together. On this occasion the king caused lists to be prepared, " in length 120 taylor's yards and ten feet, and in breadth eighty yards and twenty feet, double barred, five feet between the bars, the timber work whereof cost 200 marks, besides the fair and costly galleries, prepared for the ladies and others." The first day they ran together with spears, and gained equal honour. The second day they combatted on horseback, when the Lord Scales' horse " having on his chafron a long pike of steel," thrust it into the nostrils of the Bastard's horse, who with the pain reared and threw his rider, which occasioned the king to part them. The third day they fought on foot with pole-axes, when the Lord Scales came off conqueror. The melancholy use to which Smithfield was appropriated in the days of religious persecution is well known. Here our martyr Latimer preached patience to friar Forest, agonizing under the torture of a slow fire, for denying the king's supremacy : and to this place our martyr Cranmer compelled the amiable Edward, by forcing his reluctant hand to the warrant, to send Joan Boclier, a silly woman, to the stake. Yet Latimer never thought of his own conduct in his last moments ; nor did Cranmer thrust his hand into the fire for a real crime, but one which was. venial through the frailty of human nature. Our gracious Elizabeth could likewise burn people for religion. Two Dutchmen, Anabaptists, suffered in this place in 1575, and died, as Hollinshed sagely remarks, with " roring and crieing (b)." But this was the only instance, observes Mr. Pennant, satirically, that we have of her exerting the blessed prerogative of the writ de kcrretico comhurendo. Her highness preferred the halter ; her sullen sister faggot and fire. Not that we will deny but Elizabeth made a very free use of the terrible act of her 27th year ; a hundred and sixty-eight suffered in her reign, at London, York, in Lancashire, and several other parts of the kingdom, convicted of being priests, of harbouring priests, (a) Froissart, torn. iv. ch. xxii. Lord Berncrs' Translation, ii. p. joj. (b) P. 1261. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. or of becoming converts (a). But still there is a balance of JO9 against us in the article persecution, and that by tlie agonizing death of fire : for the smallest number estimated to have suffered under the bigottcd Mary, amounts in her short reign to 277- The area of Smithfield is estimated to contain about five acres. Its form is that of an irregular polygon, consisting of five unequal sides. It was first paved over at the request of King James the First, in the year l6l4, at the charge of the city, the expense amounting to <^l6oo, and was nearly six months in finishing. The Hospital of St. Bartholomew, from its immediate vicinity and intimate connexion with the priory, though at present a separate parish, claims some notice in this place. To the foundation of this hospital and church, Rayhere and AfFune have already been shewn to have been joint contributors. Many miracles are related of St. Bartholomew during the progresses made by the latter when collecting viands for the sick, which in that dark age gained, no doubt. Implicit credit, and operated powerfully towards the completion of the design. It was built for a master, brethren, and sisters, and for the entertainment of poor diseased people till they got well ; of distressed women big with child until they were delivered, and were able to go abroad ; and for the support of all such children whose mothers died in the house, till they attained the age of seven years. Henry the First, by his charter, dated anno reg, sui 33. bestowed on the Hospital various privileges. It was suppressed in the 31st of Henry the Eighth, when its yearly revenues were valued at ^305, and shortly afterwards it was granted to the corporation of London, for the relief of the sick and maimed, and under their auspices it still continues to flourish for this best of purposes. Here all indigent persons, maimed by accident, are taken in at all hours of the day and night ivithout previous recommendation. The diseased are received only on petition, signed by a governor. There are besides always a number of out-patients relieved with medical aid from the funds of the charity. The present handsome building was erected by Gibbs, in the reign of George the Second (3 730), Sir Richard Brocas, knight, being lord mayor and president of the Hospital. It is of stone, surrounding a square. The principal front faces Smithfield, and consists of a spacious arched gateway, with a rustic basement. Over the keystone stands the pedestal to a statue of Henry the (a) Pennant's Tour, p. 190. Dod's Church Hist. ii. 3JI. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. Eighth, in a niche guarded hy two pillars on each side, of the Corinthian order ; on them a reversed circular pediment, supporting two recumbent human figures. The pilasters which sustain the pediment, &c. are Ionic, with festoons suspended from the volutes. Above are a clock, windows, and several tasteful ornaments, and in the tympanum the royal arms. The other parts of the exterior are mostly hid by surrounding buildings. The portal to Giltspur Street is a very good piece of architecture of the Doric order, in which are a large gate and footway on each side, and two round windows ; the basement rustic. Four pillars support the entablature and pediment. In the centre are a handsome Venetian window and two plain, and above them a circular and two attic windows. In the tympanum are some well-sculptured enrichments. On passing the gate, a row of good modern houses leads to another with vases on it. The outside south front faces a number of walls, but is very handsome. It consists of a basement, twelve rustic windows, and one arched door. The great staircase is a monument of the talents and liberality of Hogarth, being painted by that great and original artist at his own expense. The principal subjects are the Good Samaritan and the Pool of Bethesda. In another part is Rayhere laying the foundation-stone ; a sick, man carried on a bier attended by monks, &c. The hall is at the head of the staircase. It is a spacious apart- ment, and contains portraits of Henry the Eighth, Charles the Second, and a fine full length of the celebrated Dr. Radcliffe, founder of the magnificent library at Oxford, which bears his name. The Doctor well merits this compli- ment, having left to this Hospital ^^500 a year for the improvement of the diet, and ^100 a year for buying linen. A portrait of the patron saint, Bartholomew, ornaments the space above the chimney-piece ; and in the centre ■window is painted Henry the Eighth delivering the charter to the lord mayor : by him are prince Arthur, and two noblemen with white rods. The church of St. Bartholomew the Less stands on the eastern side of a passage leading to the court of the Hospital. At the west end is a square tower surmounted by a small turret. On the north and east it is enclosed by houses. The south side has three windows lately bricked up, and some ancient sculpture, as the arms of Edward the Confessor impaled with those of England beneath an imperial crown, and angels with blank shields and books. The north side of the hospital, the south side of the church, and a ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GRE/Vt. handsome house at the east end, of large dimensions, the residence of the vicar, form a pleasant court, once the site of the cloisters. From this place the upper part of the huilding lately erected within the old walls by Mr. Dance, may be seen over the battlements, above which it rises some height. The inside, by those who love the modern Gothic, will be thought elegant. Admirers of antiquity, however, we are persuaded, woukl have been better pleased, had it been repaired agreeably to the original model. The outline is an octagon, of which the east end is the chancel : the adjoining sides contain the reading-desk and pulpit. At the west end is a small organ. The whole has that half-ancient half-modern appearance, which characterizes the improved style of the present age. Several distinguished persons were interred in this church, some of whose monuments are remaining; the greater part are however destroyed. Amono- the former is a handsome tomb erected to the memory of Anne, wife of Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian library at Oxford. It stands at the back of the present pulpit. This lady, who, according to the parish register, was daughter of a Mr. Carew, of Bristol, and widow of Mr. Ball, was interred June 11, 161 1. The following is her epitaph : Thomas Bodleius, Eques Auratus, fecit Annae Conjugi piissimae, atque omnibus exemplis bene de se meritae, cum qua dulciter vixit annos 24. Her husband. Sir Thomas, died Jan. 28, in the following year, and was buried at Oxford at the upper end of the chancel of Merton College. This worthy man was a native of Exeter, and born March 2, 1544. The persecutions of Queen Mary and her agents frightened the family into Germany, and after- wards to Geneva, where Sir Thomas, who was then only twelve years of age, studied Hebrew, Greek, and divinity, under the most eminent professors. On the accession of Elizabeth he returned to his native country, and after finishing his education at Oxford, endeavoured to give it the ultimate polish by travelling. He was employed when he came back in several embassies to Germany and Denmark, and was afterwards sent to tlic Hague to manage the queen's affairs in the United Provinces, where he was admitted into their council of state, and sat next to Count Maurice. As a man of letters Sir Thomas Bodley merited much, but incomparal)ly more, in the ample provision he has made for literature, in which he stands unrivalled. His library, which he opened in VOL. II. L ST. BARTHOLOMEW TFIE GREAT, loQQ, is justly said to be a mausoleum which will perpetuate his memory a?} ioug as books themselves endure. He drew up the statutes for the regulation of this noble treasure of learning, with his own hand, and besides wrote memoirs of his life. On the other side of what was the chancel, is a monument to the memory of Robert Balthorpe, for thirty years serjeant-surgeon to Queen Elizabeth. He died in 159I, aged sixty-nine. Several broken slabs and traces of figures are scattered in the pavement ; but the gravestone and effigies of William Markeby and wife, 1438, engraved in the " Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain," are perfect. In a great vault beneath the church lies Sir Ralph Winwood, author of the " Memorials," the lady Winwood his wife, and Anne his daughter. The Hon. Sir John Travers, knight, secretary of state to Charles the Second, with his lady, and others of distinguished note, are interred in the same vault. " 1 556, the 5th day of Aug. Ann Westwicke, the wife of Mr. Westwicke, was buried; and lieth in O'' Lady chancell under the marble stone ; whereon is written, that Richard Sturgion, clarke of the crowne, lieth buried with Johan Iiis weife." The epitaph was as under : Here lieth now dead, which late was quick. The comely corps of Anne Westwick ; Who died in childbed of her first. Upon tb.e fifth day of August. Whose soule, doubtlesse, is, long ere this In Heaven with Christ, in joy and blisse : But yet, for order of Charity, Upon her soulc say, Jesu have mercy. u4nno Dom. 1356. To this church belonged an anniversary for the maintaining of a priest, to celebrate which, James Wilford gave one messuage in the parish of St. Michael, Crooked Lane, in the tenure of one John Johnson. John Clopton, Esq. by license of Edward the Fourth, founded in this church a perpetual chantry, calling it Fray's Chantry. And for maintenance thereof, and one yearly obit, he gave to the priest the manor of Collyngam- Hall, and divers lands belonging to it, in the county of Suflblk, to the value of ^16 per amium. ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. Dame Annys Say, widow, by her last will, made June 1 1th, 1478, bequeathed her body to be buried in the chureh of St. Bartholomew the Little, in Loudon, nigh the tomb of Sir John Fray, knight, her late husband, from whom the above chantry was denominated ; and left funds for a priest to sing for the souls of the Lord JVcnloch, Sir John Fray, and Sir George Say, her husbands, the trental of St. Gregory, in a place assigned him by Dame Margaret Leynham, the wife of Sir John Leynham, knight, which Margaret was her daughter. We cannot close our account of this Hospital, without paying the tribute of praise due to so excellent an establishment. That most urgent and helpless of all cases, of a poor person mangled in his body or limbs, by accident, without means, in himself or friends, of procuring medical aid, is relieved without rcsene ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT. or delav, and is as skilfully treated as if he commanded the wealth of the richest inhabitant of London. With respect to the diseased poor, a little form precedes relief ; but it is only to ensure the best application of the funds of the charity, which without this precaution might be wasted on the less, instead of the more pressing cases of necessity. Three physicians, three surgeons, three assistant surgeons, and an apothecary, all men eminent in their profession, besides dressers, &c. are in constant attendance. The extent of their labours may be shewn bv saying, that so long ago as 1 748, 7 1 93 patients were received in one year; and in the year 1790 there were under the care of the hospital 3/50 m-patients, and 8123 out -pa.i\eiUs, B RAY. Bray, a village in Berks, on the Thames, between Maidenhead and Windsor, is rendered memorable by the conduct of a vicar, who, according to Fuller, changed his religion four times in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and his three successors ; keeping to one principle, that of living and dying Vicar of Bray. This man (whose name appears to have been Symon Symondx) died in the forty-first year of Queen Elizabeth. Several late writers, however, particularly Ireland and Ferrar, who have noticed these circumstances, describe them as happening in the reigns of Charles the Second, James the Second, &c. This mistake throws the imputation of apostacy on the worthy person who held the vicarage, towards the conclusion of the seventeenth century. It should be remembered that the story was first published by Fuller in his Church History ; and as the author died in the year l66l, it is evident that it must have been circulated previous to that period. Camden supposes Bray to have been anciently inhabited by the Bibroci, who submitted to Caesar, and obtained his protection, and with it secure posses- sion of one of the most beautiful spots in this county. Philippa, the queen of Edward the Third, had rents assigned her from this, and the adjoining manor of Cookham. It is at this time considered as part of the royal domain, being attached to the liberties of Windsor Castle, and retaining some peculiar privi- leges, amongst which may be included an exemption from tolls in the adjacent market-towns. The number of houses in this village is about 100, besides some charitable institutions, the principal of which is an hospital, founded in the year 1627 by William Goddard, Esq. for forty poor persons, who, in addition to their place of residence, are allowed each eight shillings per month. The front of this edifice js decorated with a statue of the founder. The church is an ancient structure composed of various materials, and exhibiting a mixture of almost every style of architecture. VOL. II. t L BRAY. In Ferrar's Tour from Dublin to London, we are informed that some workmen digging in a bed of stiff clay a few years since, somewhere in this neighbourhood, discovered the perfect petrifaction of a turtle, weighing forty- nine pounds, and measuring sixteen inches in its largest diameter. BURNHAM ABBEY, BUCKS. BuRNHAM, a village that gives name to the hundred in which it stands, is situated about five miles to the north-east of Eton, and about two miles east of Maidenhead, in Berkshire. Here, A. D. Il65, Richard, king of the Romans, began a nunnery of the order of St. Augustine, which was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and consisted of an abbess and seven or eight nuns. In the Additions to Browne Willis's History of Abbies, the following particulars occur relative to this place. The first abbess on record was Margaret de Eston, elected anno 1265. She was succeeded anno 1273 by Maud de Dorkcester. Joan de Bedware died 1314; Idonea D'Audley, elected 1314, died 1324; Joan de Sommerville was elected J 324, and Joan de Dorney succeeding her was elected in 1330. Some- where about this time (viz. the reign of Edward the Third), Margery de Louch appears to have been abbess, and was succeeded by Joan Turner. Agnes Frankelyn, elected 1367, resigned 1393; Eliz. Ward, elected 1393; Alice Golafree, elected about 1406 ; Agnes Gower occurs 1457, as does Agnes Sturdys, about 1459 ; Joan RadclifFe resigned 1 506 ; Margaret Gibson succeeded 1507, and resigning in 1536 was succeeded by the last abbess, Alice Baldwin, who governed until its dissolution amongst the lesser monasteries. The yearly revenues of this house in Tax. Line, amounted to sS^S : 1 6 : 1 1 ; in 26 Hen. VIII. to ^^51 : 2 : 4. q. Dugdale ; ^Ql : 5 : 1 1. ob. Speed. The instrument of surrender is dated Sept. 1539, and signed by the abbess and nine nuns ; the four last of which were surviving anno 1553, and enjoyed their pensions, which were appropriated as follows, viz. ^. s. d. Alice Baldwin, abbess — — — 13 6 8 Anne Benfield — — — — 4 BURNHAM ABBEY. Alice Cells Margaret Browne 1 s. 6 d. 8 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 Elizabeth Woodforth — — — Elizabeth Loo — — — — Anne Nosys — — — — Margaret Mosse — — — — Bridget Woodward — — — Luce Packet — — — — In the augmentation-office is the original surrender, too long for insertion here ; and a letter from the visitors, recommending the religious to the king's favour, on account of their readiness to yield to his measures ; and the following survey of this house, taken among the returns of the lesser houses. " The monastery of the order of St. Austin, value ^51 : 12 :4. Nuns, Q ; incontinent, none ; all desire to go into religious houses. Servants thirty-seven ; whereof priests, two ; hinds, twenty-one ; women, fourteen. Bells and lead worth ^40: l6:8, the house in good estate. The value of the moveable goods ^45 : 17 : Q. Stocks and debts, none. Woods, l6o acres ; whereof in woods under twenty years of age, eighty acres ; old woods, eighty acres." The mansion-house of the convent seems to be entirely standing : it is built in the shape of the letter L, and made use of to hold husbandry imple- ments and produce, viz. hay, corn, &c. the tenant dwelling in a little house near it, where probably the chief hind anciently lived. It does not appear at what time the church was pulled down. The arms of this convent were or on a chief argent, three lozenges gules. The vicinity of Burnham Abbey is distinguished for the number of fine seats with which it is adorned, and the beauty and variety of its views. Amongst the former, the following claim particular notice : Taploe House, a seat of the Marquis of Thomond, late Earl of Inchiquin. This is seated on the brow of an eminence which commands a fine prospect of the Thames and the adjacent country. The park is stored with rich woods, and rendered beautiful by a bold inequality of surface. The noble trunk of a very aged oak, " Whose antique root peeps out Upon the brook that brawls along the wood," BURNHAM ABBEY. spreads its majestic branches on an eminence in the park, and is said to have been planted by the Princess, afterwards Queen Elizabeth, during the time of her confinement here. Mr. Ireland imagined this report to be untrue, as its size and venerable appearance intimate a much earlier existence. Dropmore Hill is the new-built villa of Lord Grenville, at Burnham, and is seated on the side of Wooburn Common. Its elevated situation commands the most extensive and varied prospects. VOL. II. 2 I BURNHAM ABBEY. At a small distance from Burnham Abbey is Britwell House, the seat of the late Lady Ravensworth, upon whose death it was purchased by Lord Grenville. It was lately the residence of Lady Camelford. Burnham East is a village about a mile from Burnham. Here is the seat of Captain Popple, now in the occupation of Mr. Otteley ; and here also are the handsome villas of Henry Sayer, Esq. and Mr. Stevenson. CHELSEA COLLEGE. Foremost among the military rewards of modern times stand Chelsea College or Hospital, and the out-pensions from that establishment ; institutions which do honour to the founder and to the nation, and which, by holding out to our soldiery the prospect of a comfortable retirement in their old age, encourage them to encounter death, wounds, hardships, fatigues, and the ravages of unwholesome climates, for the service of their king and country. This building stands on the northern bank of the river Thames, and was originally begun by King James the First, in the fifth year of his reign, for a college to consist of a number of learned divines, who being amply furnished with books, and all other necessaries and conveniences of life, and exempt from all worldly cares, might devote their whole time and abilities to the study and teaching of controversial divinity, especially those points in dispute between the churches of England and Rome ; and be able not only to convince the deceived, but also to establish the timorous and doubting in the principles held by the Protestant churches. For this purpose the king appointed and incor- porated the following provost and fellows by the title of King James's College, in Chelsea : Matthew SutclifF, Dean of Exeter, Provost. John Overall, Dean of St. Paul's. Thomas Norton, Dean of Winchester. Richard Field, Dean of Gloucester. Robert Abbot, Miles Smith, John Howson, Benjamin Chariort, John Boys, Peter Lilly, VOL. II. John Spenser, William Covitt, John Layfield, Martin Fotherby, Richard Brett, Francis Burley, M ). Doctors of Divinity. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. William Hellicr, Archdeacon of Barnstable, John White, Fellow of Manchester Colleare, | tt- ^ • ° \ Historians. William Camden, Clarencieux, John Haywood, Doctor of Laws, These were all men eminent in their day, and fully capable of executing tlie duties of the station to which they were appointed ; and some of them being afterwards promoted to bishoprics, or having died, the king by letters patent, dated 1022, nominated others, among whom was the famous Antonio de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalatro. The corporation was endowed with the reversion of certain lands in Chelsea, then under lease to Charles, Earl of Nottingham, in which were thirty years to come, and the governors were authorized by the king to receive of his loving subjects lands not exceeding in the whole the yearly value of ^3000 ; and it being thought by many judicious persons, that to bring water into London would produce a great and lasting revenue, his majesty likewise procured an act of parliament, authorizing the corporation of the provost and fellows of Chelsea College to bring water from the river Lea to the city of London, by cutting through any man's land they might find necessary, on paying the proprietor a reasonable compensation for the damage. The corporation having agreed with the Earl of Nottingham for the term of his lease, at the rent of sS7 '■ 10 per annum. King James himself laid the first stone of the intended College on a piece of ground of six acres, called Tkmnes Shot, and gave them a license to take fi-om Windsor Forest the timber necessary to complete it : the building, however, for want of money, went on slowly ; and before an eighth part was erected, according to the model proposed^ its farther progress was stopped, the whole of the ready money, amounting to ^3000, being expended. In this state it remained for some years ; but at length the king, anxious to advance a work in which his own credit was concerned, sent his letters, dated A. D. l6l6, to the Archbishop of Canterbury, requiring him to stir up all the clergy of his province to contribute towards it ; in consequence of which, collections were made in many piarishes ; but their produce, notwithstanding the eloquence with which the subject was recommended, being but small (possibly owing to the large sums which had been expended in the repairing of St. Paul's cathedral), was swallowed up by the fees and collectors, so that very little came to the hands of the provost : the building was therefore again stopped, and the project of the water-works came to nothing. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. About this time Dr. SutclifF, the first provost, dying, he, as an example to others, bequeathed towards the finishing of the work, four considerable farms, viz. Kingston, in Stavarton ; Hazard, in Haberton ; Appleton, in Churchton ; and Kramerland, in Stoke Rivers ; all in the county of Devon ; besides the benefit of an extent on a statute of .^4000, acknowledged by Sir Lewis Stewkeley, &c. ; but his example not being followed, nor any other bequests or donations accruing, the building was once more impeded, and the idea of completing it, after a time, was totally laid aside as impracticable ; and the estates bequeathed by Dr. SutclifF, except the estate called Kramerland, were returned to his heirs : the corporation was nevertheless kept up during the life of King James, and three provosts and various fellows successively appointed to fill up the vacancies which happened in that interval. It continued thus in a languishing state till the troubles under King Charles the First, when all thoughts of finishing it were given up : the foundation being represented by the fanatics as intended for the promotion, rather than the extermination, of the Roman Catholic religion. On the Restoration, the College, after having been appropriated to various purposes, and undergone many revolutions, was for a short time used for the meetings of the Royal Society, then newly established : but a plan to provide for old and disabled soldiers being soon afterwards proposed to King Charles the Second, by Sir Stephen Fox, ancestor of the present great statesman of that name, and then secretary of state, that monarch gave orders to convert the unfinished buildings of the College to their use ; whence it has still occasionally retained the title of the " College.' The old building being found inadequate to the purpose intended. Sir Christopher Wren was employed to begin the foundation of the present hospital on its site, towards which Sir Stephen contri- buted ^13,000, and the king very liberally : it was not finished however till the reign of King William and Queen Mary, when the expense amounted to ^150,000. The whole structure forms a prodigious range of buildings, and is of brick, except the quoins, cornices, pediments, and columns, which are of Portland stone. The principal building is a quadrangle, the north front of which opens into a space planted with trees, and laid out in walks for the pensioners ; the south front into a square, beyond which are gardens that extend to the Thames, affording not only a view of that fine river, but also of the county of Surry beyond it. In the centre of this edifice is a pediment supported by four columns. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. over which is a handsome turret, and underneath it an opening, which leads through the building : on one side of this entrance is the chapel, containing an altar-piece adorned with a fine painting of the Resurrection, by Sebastian Ricci : on the other side is the hall, where all the pensioners dine in common ; the officers by themselves. In this spacious room are a large equestrian portrait of Charles the Second, and several other pieces painted by Cook, from tlie designs of Verrio. The wings, which extend east and west, join the chapel and hall to the north, and are open towards the Thames on the south. These are nearly 36o feet in length, and about eighty feet in breadth : they are three stories high, and the rooms so well disposed, that they seem to combine every possible conveniency. On the front of the inner square is a colonnade extending along the side of the chapel and hall ; over which, on the cornice, is the following inscription : In SUBSIDIUM ET LEVAMEN EMERITORUM SENIO BELLOQUE FRACTORUM coNDiDiT Carolus II. AuxiT Jacobus II. Perfecere Gulielmus ET Maria, Rex et Regina, mdcxc. In the midst of the quadrangle is a bronze statue of King Charles the Second, in the ancient Roman dress, given by Tobias Rustat, Esq. and which cost ^500. It is placed on a handsome marble pedestal. Several buildings adjoin the principal one, which form two other large squares, and consist of apart- ments for the officers and servants of the house, for old and wounded officers of horse and foot, and the infirmary for the sick. An air of neatness and elegance appears in all these buildings ; and on which side soever they are viewed there seems a disposition of the parts, perfectly suited to the purposes of their construction, that is, for the reception of a great number of men, and their accommodation with all necessary conveniences. In the wings are sixteen wards, having in each ward twenty-six beds ; these afford accommodations for above 400 men, besides those contained in the other buildings : the pensioners consist of superannuated or disabled soldiers, who have been more than twenty years in the service, or have lost some limb in an engagement. They are clothed every two years in a uniform of red lined with blue : they are also provided with all other necessaries, diet, washing, and lodging. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. Belonging to this institution are a governor, lieutenant-governor, major, and adjutant; there arc also many other civil and military officers, clerks, domestics, and tradesmen (a). The pensioners in the house have a small weekly allowance for their pocket-money. This house being considered as a garrison, a regular guard is mounted every day, and there are prayers morning and evening in the chapel, performed by two chaplains, each of whom has a salary of ,^100 per annum ; the physician, comptroller, secretary, deputy, treasurer, steward, and surgeon, have also ^100 a year each ; and many other officers have considerable incomes by perquisites ; indeed, these serve to swell the expense to its present enormous sum, which is said to amount to nearly ^30 a year a man, for every invalid subsisted there. Besides these there are a great number of out-pensioners, who are allowed ^11 a year each. These charges arc defrayed by a poundage deducted out of the pay of the army, with one day's pay stopped from every officer and soldier in the service, and in case of a deficiency is supplied by parliament. A new building upon an extensive plan is nearly completed, situated below Sloane Square, Chelsea, intended as a Royal Military Asylum for educating about 500 children of non-commissioned officers and soldiers ; to erect and support which, parliament has granted a sum of money, and each regiment contributes one day's pay towards it. In the village of Chelsea once resided the great Sir Thomas More ; and his mansion-house, which (according to Mr. Lysons, vol. ii. p. 83) stood at the north end of Beaufort Row, was inhabited afterwards by many illustrious characters. The circumstance of his being buried in the church is disputed : it contains however a monument to his memory, and that of his two wives, with the date 1532. On it is a long Latin inscription composed by himself, and printed by Weaver (p. 522), giving an account of his father Sir John More, (a) It is a melancholy consideration, observes a modern writer, that among the many superannuated quarter-masters and Serjeants, in and about this hospital, none can be found worthy and able to fill up the inferior offices of the house, or to be employed as artificers to it : were there any properly qualified among them, it is not to be credited that these appointments would be bestowed on gentlemen's valet de chambres, or other discharged domestics, which is said to be sometimes the case ; as the persons who have the disposal of those places must well know how few rewards are in store for the inferior ranks of military men, particularly those above mentioned, and yet it is they who arc in a great measure the nerves and sinews of our armies, who bear the brunt of the battle and fatigues of the day ; to rob them of their right in this charity is peculiarly cruel, as it is in part the produce of their own money ; several cf the places, though of humble denomination, and small nominal salary, would be considered by many married subalterns as a nob!e provision for themselves and families. VOL. II. N CHELSEA HOSPITAL. his own honourable employments and preferments, and his voluntary surrendef of them to the king, that he might be the more at leisure to meditate upon immortality. The sciill of tliis great man, Mr. Granger informs us (upon the authority of Mr. Gosling, author of the " Walk round Canterbury," who had often seen it), was remaining in a vault called " Roper's Vault," at St. Dunstan's church in that city, enclosed within a small iron grate : it was the dying request of his beloved daughter, Margaret Roper, who lies there, to be buried with her father's head in her arms. At the upper end of Cheyne Walk is the episcopal palace of Winchester, purchased by act of parliament in 1 664, on the alienation of the demesnes belonging to that see in South wark and Bishop's Waltham. In the place called the Stable Yard, is a house which was the residence of Sir Robert Walpole. The lord Cremorne has an elegant villa on the Thames, with a good collection of paintings : and near it is the mansion of Lady Mary Coke, formerly the property of Dr. Hoadly, author of The Suspicious Husband. In the hamlet of Little Chelsea the Earl of Shaftesbury, author of the Characteristics, had a house, which he generally resided in during the sitting of parliament. It was purchased in 1787 by the parish of St. George, Hanover Square, as an additional workhouse ; that parish extending over great part of Chelsea. Many interesting monuments remain in the church and churchyard, in consequence of Chelsea having been thus early distinguished for illustrious inhabitants. In the former, to omit mentioning those of noble persons, we may observe there reposes the celebrated Dr. Adam Littleton, author of the well-known Latin Dictionary which bears his name, rector of this church, and one of the royal chaplains, who died in l6g4. Anne, the daughter of Dr. Edward Cliamberlayne, who was born in 1667 and died in 169O, aged twenty-three. From the curious Latin epitaph on this young lady, we learn that she fought in men's clothing, six hours against the French, on board a fire-ship, under the command of her brother. Contra Francigenas, Armis Habituq; virili. In Rate flammifera sex Horas, sub Duce Fratre, Pugnavit, dum Virgo fuit, dum casta Virago, Heroum poterat Stirpem gcnerare marinam, Ni prgematuris Fatis abrepta fuisset. CHELSEA HOSPITAL. In the cliurcliyanl lies Dr. Chamberlaync, fatlicr of the above, with a punning Latin epitaph, which, for its quaintncss, may detain the reader. He died in 1763. At a short distance is buried Sir Hans Siuane, Bart, founder of the British Museum, and an early contributor towards the establishment of the celebrated Physic Garden in this place. The latter was begun by the company of Apothecaries, who, in 1073, hired a piece of ground at Chelsea, by the Thames side, and prepared it as a botanical garden. Sir Hans (who had studied his favourite science there about the time of its first establishment), when he purchased the manor in 1721, granted the freehold of the premises to the company, on condition that they should present annually to the Royal Society fifty new plants till the number should amount to 2000. This condition was complied with, and in 1733 the company erected a marble statue of their benefactor by Rysbrack, in the centre of the garden. By the superfluities of the museum of Sir Hans Sloane, the famous coffeehouse in Cheyne Walk, called Don Saltero's, was chiefly furnished. Simon Box, who, as the inscription informs us, " served in the quality of a soldier to K. Charles L Charles IL K. James IL and King William and Queen Mary ; whose pensioner he was, belonging to their Majesties Royal Hospital," was the first interred in this burying ground, anno 1692. In this parish also lived and died (though removed for interment to West- minster Abbey) Anne Stanhope, wife to the protector Somerset. Of the place of her habitation there is this mention in the Records of the Rolls : — " That the Marquess of Winchester, then lord treasurer of England, had an house in Chelsea, situated where now stands Beaufort House, and he having a mind to change some lands with Robert Richardson, then rector of Chelsea, the said Robert did, by deed, bearing date May 3d, 1566, grant and confirm unto the said marquess about eighteen acres of glebe land, and to his heirs for ever, which grant was confirmed by Edmund [i.e. Grindal], Lord Bishop of London, as ordinary and diocesan : and by Anne, Dutchess of Somerset, who had a grant from Queen Elizabeth, dated July 3, in the second year of her reign, of the manor and advowson thereof for her life : and also by Queen Elizabeth herself, as having the reversion and perpetuity of right of patronage after the death of the said Anne, Dutchess of Somerset." The Chelsea water-works were constructed in 1 724, in which year the proprietors were incorporated. A canal was then dug from the Thames near Ranelagh, to Pimlico, where there is a steam-engine to raise the water into CHELSEA HOSPITAL. pipes, which convey it to Chelsea, the reservoirs in Hyde Park and the Green Park, to Westminster, and various parts of tlie town. The machinery of the water- works, is well worth inspection. On the site of a once celebrated manufactory of porcelain (in an old mansion by the water- side) has been a manufactory of stained paper, stamped after a peculiar manner, the invention of Messrs. Eckhardts, who likewise established at Whitelands House, in 1 791, a new and beautiful manufacture of painted silk, varnished linen, cloths, paper, &c. Near the King's Road is Triquet's manufactory of artificial stone, and that of fire-proof earthen stoves, kitchen ware, he. ETON COLLEGE, BUCKS. Te distant spires ! ye antique tow'rs ! That crown the wat'ry glade, Where grateful Science sti/l adores Her Henry's holy shade. Gray. This noble seminary of learning was founded by King Henry the Sixth, in tlie year 1440, for a provost, ten priests, six clerks, six choristers, twenty-five poor grammar scholars (with a master to teach them), and twenty-five aged alms- men, and directed to be called " The College Roiall of our Ladie of Eton beside Windesor." The building was begun at the same time with that of King's College, Cambridge (accounted a twin foundation), and is supposed to have been erected under the superintendance of the same architect. The particulars of both are amply detailed in Henry's will. In it the church or chapel of the College of Eton is directed to be built 207 feet long. Of this space the body, or ante-chapel, was to contain in length " from the quier dore to the west dore of the said church 104 feet of assize," and " the quier 103 feet of assize." The height of the quire from the groundwork to the battlement was to be eighty feet. A space of eight feet was to be left behind the high altar, " and from the said altare to the quier dore ninety-five fete ; so the said body of the church shall be longer than is the quier, from the reredosse (a), at the high altare unto the quier by nine fete, which dimensions is thought a right good, convenient, and due proportion." At the east end of the chapel was to be " a grete gable win- dowe of seven bays and two butteraces, and on either side of the said quier seven windowes, every windowe of foure bays and eight butteraces." The directions for erecting cloisters and other parts of the College are equally minute. " Item, the grounde of the cloyster to be enhaunsed higher than the olde grounde eight (a) Screen at the back of the high altar. ETON COLLEGE. feete ere it come to the pavement, so that it be set but two foote lower than the paving of the church, which cloyster shall conteyn in length, est and west, 200 feete ; and in breadth, north and south, l6o feete of assize. Item, the said cloister shall conteyne in breadth within the walls fifteen fete, and in height twenty fete, with clere stones round about inward, and vawted and embattled on both sides." — " Item, from the highway on the south side unto the wall of the College, there shall be a good high wall with towers convenient thereto ; and in like wise from thence by the water side, and about the gardens, and all the precincte of the place round about by the highway, until it come to the cloyster end on the west side." — " And as touching the dimensions of the housing of my said College, I have devised that the south wall of the precincte of the same shall containe in length 1440 feete of assize, the est wall 120O feete of assize, the north wall J040 feete of assize, and the west wall 1010 feete of assize," &c. &c. " And," it is added, " I will that the edification of my said College of Eton proceed in large forme, cleane and substantially, well reple- nished with goodly windowes and vaults, laying apart superfluities of too great curious workes of entaile and busy mouldinge." Agreeably to the last part of the founder's wishes we find the present building characterized by a noble simplicity. It consists of two quadrangles. One of them is appropriated to the school (which is divided into lower and upper, and each subdivided into three classes), and the lodging of the masters and scholars : the other contains the apartments of the provost and fellows, and likewise the library. The chapel is a fine Gothic structure ornamented with pinnacles and embrasures, and is somewhat similar in its disposition of parts to that of King's College before noticed. The whole mass of building, when viewed from a distance, has a very noble and striking effect. The scholars on this foundation are annually elected to King's College, Cambridge, but not removed till the occurrence of vacancies, when they are called according to seniority ; and, after they have continued at Cambridge three years, are entitled to a fellowship. Besides the king's scholars, there are seldom less than 300 noblemen's and gentlemen's sons, who board with the masters, and receive their education at this seminary. The origin of the singular custom celebrated at Eton every third year, on Whit-Tviesday, under the name of the Montem, cannot be satisfactorily ascer- tained, but may be traced as far back as the reign of Elizabeth, who, when on a visit to the College, desired to see an account of the ancient ceremonies observed 5 ETON COLLEGE. there from the period of its foundation. In the list was an annual procession of the scholars^ who on those occasions repeated verses, and gathered money from the public for a dinner, and other purposes. The ceremony of late years has been patronized by their Majesties, who have honoured the celebration with their presence, as well as a liberal subscription. On these occasions the whole school is assembled, and arranged in military order, with music and colours. The fancy dressQs of the saJt-bearers, and those denominated scouts, are of different coloured silks. Every person in the vicinity of Windsor is expected at VOL. II. K K ETON COLLEGE. these triennial assemblies to give something toward what is called salt-money ; and different parties are stationed on all the neighbouring roads to levy contri- butions from passengers, whose refusal to buy salt would perhaps be attended with danger. The amount of the sums collected is various, but it is said this present year (1805) to have been little short of ^3000. This is given to the senior of the boys on the king's foundation, called the Captain, previously to his removal to Cambridge. HAMPSTEAD AND HIGHGATE. The populous villages of Hampstead and Highgate, though highly interesting from their romantic situation, and the extensiveand beautiful views theycommand, afford few materials for description. The former (situated about four miles to the north of London) lies on the declivity of a hill, whose summit is an extensive heath ; many parts of which, consisting of broken ground, divided into enclo- sures, and well planted with elms and other trees, are extremely picturesque, and finely contrast with the metropolis and the innumerable objects in the distance. On the side of the hill to the east of the town is a spring of mineral water, strongly impregnated with iron, which was formerly much frequented. Adjoining to it is a long room, used, when the wells were in fashion, for prome- nades, public breakfasts, &c. It is now converted into a chapel of ease. In the adjoining walks several Roman sepulchral urns, vases, earthen lamps, &c. were dug up in 1774. On the other side of the hill is an ancient building called the Chicken House, in a window of which are small portraits in stained glass of James the First and the Duke of Buckingham. Tradition says, that it was one of that king's hunting seats. In the vicinity are a few other houses remark- able for their antiquity. The church was considered as a chapel of ease to Hendon until 1477, when it became a perpetual curacy, and has since been constantly annexed to the manor. It was rebuilt in 1747, and merits the appellation of a neat struc- ture, but possesses no further claim to notice. On a tomb in the churchyard, to the memory of the Hon. Miss Elizabeth Booth, and of her two brothers (by whose death, in 1757, the title of Lord De la Mere became extinct), are some very pretty lines, written by Mr. Cooper, author of the Life of Socrates, and of other ingenious pieces. Highgate occupies the summit of an hill adjoining Hampstead, and derives its name from its high situation, and a gate erected there about 400 years since. HAMPSTEAD AND HIGHGATE. to receive toll for the bishop of London upon an old road from Gray's Inn Lane to Barnet being turned through that bishop's park, which gate was removed about forty years since. This toll was farmed by Queen Elizabeth at ^B^O a year. On its site was once an hermitage ; near which Sir Roger Cholmely, lord chief justice of the queen's bench, built a free-school in 1562, which was enlarged in 1570, and a chapel added to it. This populous hamlet stands in the parishes of Homsey and Pancras. The chapel and two thirds of the village belong to Homsey. The chapel is an ancient stone structure, consisting of a middle and side ailes, decently fitted up, but noways remarkable. Immediately below Highgate stands Kentish Town, a very respectable village between that and London, containing several handsome houses, particularly an elegant seat built by the late Gregory Batemans, Esq. and intended as a kind of miniature of Wanstead House. Here is also a handsome chapel of ease to Pancras. Ken Wood, the beautiful seat of the Earl of Mansfield, is situate on a fine eminence between Hampstead and Highgate, and its extensive and elegant grounds contribute, in no small degree, to enrich the neighbouring scenery. These, with the wood which gives name to them, contain about forty acres, and are laid out with great taste. On the right of the garden front of the house (which is a very noble mansion) is a hanging wood of tall spreading trees ; and on the left the rising hills are planted with trees that produce a pleasing effect. This, with a sweet shrubbery immediately before the front, and a serpentine piece of water, render the whole a very enlivening scene. The enclosed fields adjoining to the pleasure-grounds, contain about thirty acres. Hornsey great woods, held by the Earl of Mansfield, under the Bishop of London, join this estate on the north, and have been lately added to the enclosures. MAIDENHEAD, BERKS. Maidenhead is situated on the borders of the Thames, in the parishes of Bray and Cookham. It was called in remote times South Ellington, and Sudlington ; but in the reign of Edward the Third we find the town incorporated under the name of the guild or fraternity of the brothers and sisters of Maidenldthe, from whence the present name of Maidenhead is evidently a corruption. Some visionaries deduce the latter appellation from a British maiden, one of the eleven thousand virgins said to have been martyred with St. Ursula ; but this derivation is supported by no kind of evidence, and the real origin of the name appears imcertain. The town principally consists of one long paved street, the south side of which is in the parish of Bray. It carries on a good trade in malt, meat, and timber ; and the inhabitants derive additional assistance from the passage of travellers, for whose accommodation several inns have been opened. The chapel is dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle and Mary Magdalen. The minister is chosen by the inhabitants, and is not obliged to attend the bishop's visitation. The charitable donations are numerous, but the respective sums are small. In that part of the town which lies in Cookham parish, there is an almshouse for eight poor men and their wives, founded in the year ] 659 by James Smyth, Esq. and endowed by him with ^40 a year. The present consequence of Maidenhead may be attributed to the building of the bridge, which took place about the reign of Edward the Third, by means of which the great western road was carried through the town. Previous to this, travellers usually crossed the river at a ferry called Babham's End, about two miles northward. The first bridge was of wood, towards the repairs of which the corporation was allowed a tree annually out of Windsor Forest. The present bridge is a work of considerable merit, and was constructed I'rom the designs of VOL. II. M M MAIDENHEAD. Sir Robert Taylor, between twenty and thirty years since. It consists of seven large semicircular arches, built with stone, and three smaller ones of brick at each end. The expense of building was ^19,000, independent of some conti- guous lands, purchased to render the work complete. The approach to this structure is grand and spacious ; the ends being formed with a noble curve outwards. Along the sides is a broad pavement, fenced with a handsome ballustrade. The view from the centre of the bridge is particularly pleasing, and extends to the hills of Cliefden and Taplow, which with their elegant mansions and pleasant meadows, form a very diversified and beautiful prospect. GREAT MARLOW, BUCKS. The manor of Marlow is of very high antiquity, having been part of the pos- sessions before the Conquest, of Algar, Earl of Mercia, from whose son it was taken by King William and given to his queen, Matilda. It is called in the Doomsday Survey, Merlaw, a name, according to the opinion of Camden, derived from the chalk commonly called marie found in this neighbourhood. Henry the First, who inherited the manor from his mother, bestowed it on Robert Melhent, his natural son ; from whom, after various intermarriages, it became the property of Gilbert, Earl of Clare. After him it was possessed by the Spencer family, and then by the earls of Warwick. On the death of the Countess of Warwick (wife of the celebrated Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick, called the Kingmaker), it reverted to the crown, and was leased to different persons ; but in the reign of Philip and Mary it was granted to William, Lord Paget, for ^1252. From the Pagets it passed through several intermediate possessors to Sir William Clayton, who purchased it in the year 1736, and in the younger branch of whose family it still remains. The town is most delightfully situated on the banks of the Thames, and consists of a single parish, which contains nearly 700 houses, and between 3000 and 4000 inhabitants. It is divided into two principal streets, in the form of a Roman T, and three smaller ones. The high street is spacious, on a gradual descent, and is furnished with some good houses. A handsome market-house has been lately built from a design of Mr. Wyatt's, and such other improve- ments are making as bid fair to render it in a short time a neat and flourishing town. The church is a large ancient structure, dedicated to All Saints. It consists of a body and two aisles, with a transept dividing it from the chancel. From the tower rises a wooden spire, erected in the year 1627. The inside is plain and decent. In the front gallery is a large hand-organ, put up by sub- GREAT MARLOW. scription in 1775. The chancel is separated from the nave by an ancient stone screen. The altar is of oak handsomely carved. The church contains a number of monumental inscriptions. The principal charitable institutions are two free-schools, founded by Sir William Borlase about l624. The one is for twenty-four boys, the other for the same number of girls. The boys are allowed 40s. each to put them apprentice. The almshouses for poor widows were founded in pursuance of a deed of trust, dated July 20, l608, and executed by John Brinkhurst, Esq. The rents of the estate appropriated for their support now amount to ^42 yearly ; this has enabled the trustees to add two persons to the establishment, which originally consisted of only four. Several other benefactions have at various times been vested in trustees for the use of the poor. The old bridge across the Thames at Marlow appears to have been of very remote antiquity, being mentioned in the patent rolls of Edward the Third, and his successors Richard the Second and Henry the Fourth. It was partly destroyed at the commencement of the civil wars in the seventeenth century, and though afterwards repaired, became in the year 1787 so ruinous and unsafe, as to occasion an application to be made to the county to rebuild it ; but the magis trates not thinking the evidence of its being a county bridge conclusive, refused to accede to the request ; on which a subscription was proposed by the Marquis of Buckingham, and ^1800 was raised in the year 1798, when the present bridge was erected. It is a commodious wooden structure, with the ballustrades painted white in imitation of stone-work, and when viewed from a distance, forms with the town, the river, and the surrounding scenery (which is richly variegated with the foliage of different coloured woods), a very rural and pleasing picture. MARKS HOUSE, ESSEX. Marks House, the manerial residence of the ancient lordship of Marks, in the county of Essex, stands about two miles west from the town of Romford. It is a very ancient structure of the quadrangular form, chiefly composed of timber and plaster, and is completely encircled by a moat, the water of which comes close up to the walls, and gives it a most romantic appearance. A small modern bridge with a railing forms the approach to the principal front, from each extremity of which rises a pointed pediment roof with an ornamented cornice, the interval being flat, with small attic windows. At two opposite angles is a square brick tower embattled. The whole mansion is now in a state of rapid decay, having been uninhabited for some years, and the furniture long since removed. In the year 1790 some of the family pictures were remaining, among which the following are noticed by Mr. Lysons : — Sir Thomas Harvey, knight marshal to Queen Mary ; Matthew Honey wood, Esq. a very good picture in Cornelius Jansen's manner ; Dr. Michael Honey wood, dean of Lincoln ; three or four of Mrs. Mary Honeywood, celebrated for her numerous progeny and descendants ; P. Honeywood, Esq. aged ninety-six ; and several others of the Honeywood and Mildmay families. Of the first possessors of Marks manor, nothing is recorded : the earliest owner of whom we have an account was Thomas Urswyck, who in the reign of Edward the Fourth held this manor, together with that of Uphaveringe or Gobions, in the same county. This person was elected common serjeant of London in the 31st of Henry the Sixth (1452), in the room of John Need- ham (a), and was chosen two years afterwards to the office of recorder, in which station he rendered signal service to Edward the Fourth. " By means of this (a) Pat. i E. IV. p. I, m. n. MARKS HOUSE. recorder Urswyck," says Stowe in his Annals, " whose persuasions were forcible with the citizens, King Edward the Fourth was received into London with generall applause, anno regni sui vndecimo ; who, entering into the bishop of London his palace by a posterne gate, there tooke King Henry the sixt, and the Archbishop of Yorke, George Neuill, prisoners, and sent them both to the Tower on Maundy Thursday."' The same year (1470) having assisted to quell the riotous attempt of the bastard Falconbridge, who, with a number of insur- gents, set upon the city at Aldgate, Bishopsgate, the Bridge, &c. he was, together with the lord mayor. Sir John Stockton, mercer, and eleven of the aldermen (all active in the same cause), knighted in the field by Edward the Fourth (a). In 1472, 22 Maii, he was constituted chief baron of the exchequer, and died in 1479, probably at this manor, as he lies buried at Dagenham, a very short distance from it (b). He left his five daughters co-heiresses (c) ; three of whom, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary, were, at his death, vinmarried ; the other two, Catherine and Ann, were married, the former to Henry Langley, and the latter to a John Doreward. To the Marks estate there belonged at this time about 360 acres of land and 110.?. rent (d). The next owner upon record was Sir George Harvey, lieutenant of the Tower, to whom Queen Elizabeth in the year lG02 granted the right of cutting twelve loads of forest wood, twelve loads of rushes, a buck and a doe, yearly ; and free warren for this manor in lieu of an extensive sheepwalk in Essex forest. His son Sir Gowan Harvey succeeded to this estate, and afterwards bequeathed the same to the Mildmays. To this gentleman and his heirs, lords of the manor of Marks, King James in l6l4 granted " a good fat buck, and a good fat doe," yearly, for ever, out of Hainault forest." A court Icct and court baron were claimed for this manor in the year 1034. (a) Strype's Stowe, vol. ii. p. jjj. (b) Fun.Mon. p. 6oi. Strype's Stowe, vol. ii. p. 224. (c) Esch. 19 Ed. IV. No. 75. (d) Lysons's Environs, vol. iv. p. 187. RICHMOND, SURRY. Say, shall we ascend Thy hill, delightful Sheen i Here let us sweep The boundless landscape : now the raptur'd eye. Exulting, swift to huge Augusta send; Now to the sister-hills (a) that skirt her plain, To lofty Harrow now, and now to where Majestic Windsor lifts his princely brow Enchanting vale ! beyond whate'er the muse Has of Achaia, or Hesperia sung ! O vale of bhss ! O softly-swelling hills ! On which the power of cultivation lies. And joys to see the wonder of his toil. Thomsom. Richmond, anciently called Sheen, a word in the Saxon language signifying resplendent, and allusive to the singular beauty of its situation, is deservedly accounted the finest village in England, and claims no less distinction in an historical point of view, as the favourite seat of many of our greatest monarchs. The manor of Sheen appears to have been in private hands until the reign of Edward the Firsts who was the first prince that made it the place of his occa- sional retirement. His son and grandson are mentioned to have resided after- wards at the same place. Yet it seems to be doubtful how far it was at this early period adapted to the reception of a prince's household ; and Mr. Manning is inclined to believe, that, during the reigns of Edward the First and his three immediate successors, there was no place of residence here which could be properly called a royal palace. Richard the Second is said to have been so much afflicted at the death of (a) Hampstead and Highgate. RICHMOND. his wife Anne, who died here, that he deserted and defiiced the mansion erected by his predecessors, and it lay in ruins till the reign of Henry the Fifth, who, as we collect from one of his biographers, rebuilt it in the beginning of his reign in such a manner as to render it a " deligJiiful mansion of curious and costly workmanship, and hefitting the character and condition of a king (a)." This splendid structure being entirely consumed by an accidental fire in 1498, Henry the Seventh, who was much attached to the situation, rebuilt the palace in J 501, in a style of much magnificence, and changed its name from Sheen to Richmond, of which place he was earl at his accession to the crown. Henry the Eighth, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth all resided here, and here the latter closed her illustrious career. It was afterwards the residence of Henry, Prince of Wales ; and Bishop Duppa is said to have educated Charles the Second here. The site of this once splendid palace is now occupied by houses erected on such parts of it as have been granted to different persons on lease from the crown. The town runs up the hill above a mile, from East Sheen to the New Park, and contains several respectable dwellings. Here are four almshouses ; one of them built by Bishop Duppa, in the reign of Charles the Second, for ten poor widows, pursuant to a vow he made during that prince's exile. An elegant stone bridge, of five semicircular arches, from a design by Paine, was erected here in 1777- The summit of Richmond Hill commands a luxuriant prospect, which Thomson, who resided in this beautiful place, has celebrated in the elegant lines quoted at the head of this description. He died hereon the 22d of August 1748, and lies buried at the west end of the north aisle of Richmond churL-lu , (a) Manning's Surry, vol. i. p. 411. ST. MARY OVERIES, OR ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK. Most of the historians who have written upon the subject, agree in the early accounts of the church of St. Mary Overee, the substance of which is as follows : — " First, that being no bridge, but a ferry to carry and recarry, whereby the ferryar gat great wealth ; lastly, the ferryman and his wife died, and bequeathed the same to their daughter, a maiden, named Mary Audery, who with the goods left to her by her parents, and also the profits which came by the said ferry, builded an house of sisters, which is the uppermost end of St. Mary Overies church, above the choir, where she was buried, unto which house she gave the oversight and profit of the said ferry ; but afterwards the same house of sisters was converted into a college of priests, who builded the bridge of timber, and from time to time kept the same in good reparations ; but considering the great charges of repairing the same, in the year 120g, by the aid of the citizens of London and others, they began to build the bridge of stone." This tradition is given by Stowe from the report of Bartholomew Linsted, alias Fowle, the last prior of St. Mary Overee ; but its truth has been doubted, because the work has been supposed too great and too disinterested for a college of priests, who were to give up the certain profits of the ferry, for those resulting precariously from an expensive undertaking, unless, perhaps, some annual compensation was made them in lieu thereof. Even the existence of a religious house in Southwark before the Conquest has been suspected : " Seeing," says Maitland, " that after the strictest search I cannot discover either by record or tradition (other than that of Linsted), that ever there was any such place in those parts before that time." The Domesday book, however, puts this oiu VOL. II. B ST. MARY 0\TiRrE^. of doubt, ]jy informing us, " Ipse episcopus habet wmm monasterium in Sud- werc/ie." Much of the uncertainty respecting the early history of this monastery, arises from the want of information as to the year wiien the foundation of London Bridge was begun, which is by no means settled. The first mention of a bridge is in the laws of Ethelred, which fix the tolls of vessels coming to Billingsgate, or ad pontem ; but this could not be built prior to the year QQZ,. when the Saxon annals inform us, Un/qf the Dane sailed up the river as high as Staines without interruption: nor yet after the year 101 6, in which Ethelred died ; and the great Canute, King of Denmark, when he besieged London, was impeded in his operations by a bridge, which even at that time must have been strongly fortified, to oblige him to have recourse to the vast expedient mentioned by ancient authors, of cutting a prodigious ditch on the south side of the Thames, by which he was enabled to comjjlete the blockade of the city. The onJy way of reconciling this difficulty, is by supposing the original bridge to have been built some time between the above two periods, which is highly probable. The college in the church of St. Mary Overee, in this case, must have been founded long before ; and, indeed, one Swithin, whom authors style a noble lady, is stated to have converted the first house of sisters into a college of priests about the year 900. But Maitland supposes, with much greater reason, that this Swithin was the famous St. Swithin, first ordained priest at Winchester, then made chancellor and president of the council to King Egbert, being at the same time bishop of this diocese, viz. from the year 858 to the time of his death in 802. As we cannot come to the exact time of the first founding of this house, we will begin from the time we find it called a priori/, by the name of St. Mary's priory at Southwark, or Over Rhe, from the Saxon word ree, a river. In the year H06, the 7th of King Henry the First, this monastery was refounded by two Norman knights, named William Ponte de la Arch and William Dauny, for canons regular. About the same period William Giftard, Bishop of Wincliester and lord chancellor, erected the body of the conventual rUurch : the same prelate is suj)posed to have built the episcopal palace adjoining, called Winchester House. From this time we have a list of the priors. Dugdale ascribes the foundation of this priory to Bishop Gifi^ltrd, and says that it was the second religious house on that side the river within the bills of mortality ; ST. MARY OVERIE&. but Tanner is clear that this great antiquary was mistaken, aiid is himself of opinion, that Stowc's account, making Giftard no more than a good benefactor, and the builder of the body of the church, is correct. Anno 1212, 14th of John. This year, on the 10th of July, an unparalleled calamity happened. In the night a great fire broke out in Southwark, which took hold of the church of Our Lady of the Canons, and spread itself towards the north side of the bridge, where, says Stowe, an exceeding great multitude of people being gathered, either to extinguish and quench it, or else to gaze and behold it ; suddenly the north part by blowing of the south wind Avas also set on fire ; and the people, which were even now passing the bridge, perceiving the same, would have returned, but were stopped by the fire : and it came to pass, that, as they stayed, the other end of the bridge also, namely, the south end, was fired ; so that tlie people, thronging themselves between the two fires, did nothing else but expect present death. Then there came to aid them many ships and vessels, into which the multitude so inadvisedly rushed, that the ships being thereby drowned, they all perished. It was said, that through the fire and shipwreck there were destroyed about three thousand persons, whose bodies were found in part or half burned, besides those that were wholly burnt to ashes, and could not be found (a). Anno 1298, 23d of Henry the Third. Peter de la Roach, lord chief justice and Bishop of Winchester, founded the chapel on the south side of the choir, called St. Margaret's chapel, afterwards converted into the parochial church of St. Margaret. Anno 1400, 2d of Henry the Fourth. About this time the whole church is said to have been rebuilt. Henry Beaufort, the second son of John of Gaunt, Cardinal of St. Euseblus and Bishop of Winchester, might have contributed towards the building, as his great wealth was proverbial. Wliat adds strength to this conjecture is, that the arms of the Beauforts are carved in stone on a pillar in the south cross aisle ; and by the remaining sculpture on each side, it appears to be done for strings pendant, and plated in a true-lover's knot, from a cardinal's hat placed over them. The arms are quarterly, France and England. In the year 1423, 2d of Henry the Sixth, James the First, King of Scotland, was married at St. Mary Overy's church to Joan, eldest daughter to John (a) Strype's Stowc, vcL i. p. 61. ST. MARY OVERIES. Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, brother to Henry the cardinal, which wedding we may suppose was celebrated with much pomp, as the match was procured for her by the prelate, in order to support his family by an alliance with that kingdom. This happened on the release of the Scottish monarch out of prison, who had remained there eighteen years, being taken by Henry the Fourth as he was going to the court of France. Anno I46g, gth of Edward the Fourth. This year the middle roof of the church at the west end fell in, and was repaired with wood-work ; the roof of the north cross repaired after the same manner. Of these reparations we shall take further notice in describing the church itself. Anno 1532, 24th of Henry the Eighth. On the 10th of April was a dole given at this church, at which such multitudes of poor assembled, that four men, two women and a boy, were smothered in the crowd (a). The next year, on the 1 1 th of November, was a great procession by the king's command, at which were the canons of this church with their crosses, candlesticks, and vergers before them, all singing the litany (b). At the dissolution of the religious houses this priory was surrendered up to the king, October 14, 1540, by Bartholomew Linsted, the last prior, who had a pension of ^100 per annum assigned him, which he enjoyed in 1553, at which time here remained in charge ^34:13:4 in annuities, and these pensions, viz. "^ To Thomas Hende, ^8. James Drinker, Thomas Lytlevvorth, Stephen Bysseter, • ^6 each. John Morepithe, and Edward Alleston, Yearly value of the priory " 1 ^656:10:0 on the surrender, ' : .^624: 6:6 by Speed (c), by Stowe (d), and by Dugdale (e) . In the December following the suppression of the monastery, the con- ventual church, was purchased by the inhabitants of the Borough, and made a (a) Stowe's Chronicle. (d) Survey of London, (b) Ibid. (e) Mon. Angl. (c) Speed's Hist. Great Britain. ST. MARY OVERIES, parish church, being dedicated to Our Saviour. The former parish church was St. Margaret's on the Hill, where now stands the Town Hall, which church of St. Margaret was given to the Borough by charter of Henry the First. This grant King Stephen confirmed ; and lastly, Henry the Eighth by act of parlia- ment passed A. D. 1540, anno regni sui 33, constituted the churchwardens a corporation, who received the tithes from that time till the year 1672. Many reparations have been made to the church at various times, since it came into the possession of the parish, which, as constituting a part of its history, it may be proper to notice. The following are the particulars as preserved in the church records. Anno 161 8, 15th of James the First. The screen to the entrance of the chapel of the Virgin Mary was this year set up, and three years afterwards the church itself was repaired in many places. In 1624 the chapel of the Virgin Mary was restored to the parishioners, it having been let out to bakers for above sixty years before, and ^200 laid out on the repair. The continuator of Stowe mentions this sacrilege in the following words : " But passing all these, somewhat now of that part of this church above the chancell, that in former times was called Our Ladies Chappell. " It is now called the New Chappell ; and, indeed, though very old, it may now be called a new one, because newly redeemed from such use and imployment, as in respect of that it was built to, divine and religious duties, may very well be branded with the style of wretched, base, and unworthy, for that, that before this abuse, was (and now is) a faire and beautifull chappell, by those that were then the corporation (which is a body consisting of thirty vestrymen, six of those thirty churchwardens), was leased and let out, and the house of God made a bakehouse. " Two very faire doores, that from the two side isles of the chancell of this church, and two that thorow the head of the chancell (as at this day they doe againe) went into it, were lath'd, daub'd, and dam'd up : the faire pillars were ordinary posts against which they piled billets and havens : in tliis place they had ovens, in that a bolting-place, in that their kneeding- trough, in another (I have heard) a hogs-trough ; for the words that were given mee, were these, ' This place have I knowne a hogstie.'' In another place was a store- house, to store up their hoorded meal ; and in all of it, something of this sordid kind and condition. It was first let by the corporation afore named, VOL. ir. c ST. MARY OVERIES. to one JVyat ; after him, to one Peacoche ; after him, to one Cleybrohe ; and last, to one Wilson, all bakers ; and this chappell still employed in the way of their trade, a bakehouse, though some part of this bakehouse was sometime turned into a starch-house. " The time of the continuance of it in this kind, from the first letting of it to Wyat to the restoring of it again to the church, was threescore and some odde yeares. In the yeere of our Lord God 1624, for in this yeere, the ruines and blasted estate, that the old corporation sold it to, were by the corpo- ration of this time repaired, renewed, well and worthily beautified : the charge of it for that yeere, with many things done to it since, arising to two hundred pounds." Anno 1672, 23d Charles the Second. This year the parish of Christ Church, Surry, was by act of parliament taken out of St. Saviour's, at which time the tithes ceased (a), and the churchwardens of St. Saviour's afterwards had power to raise and levy upon the parishioners a sum not exceeding ^350 per annum, to be thus applied ; To the two chaplains, each ^100 per annum. To the master of the free-school, ^30 per annum ; and the residue to be laid out in the repairs of the church. Anno 1676, 27th Charles the Second. A door made in the Magdalen chapel. Anno 1689. The fanes set up, as appears by the date pierced on them. " Anno 1703, 2 Annas. This year the church was laid throughout with stone, new pewed, and galleryed, the great vault sunk, the pulpit and altar-piece erected, the communion railed, and set with black and white marble, the choir enclosed by gates, the south and west windows opened and enlarged, and the whole new glazed, the sixth and seventh bells cast, chapels paved, and all the church cleansed, whitewashed and beautified, at the charge of the parish (b)." Anno 1734, 71-h of George the Second. This year the west end and south side were coated with brick, and coped with stone. The following year, the north cross and east end were repaired in a similar manner ; the south window was enlarged (i. e. all the beautiful stone tracery was taken out), and a clock placed over the same. All the eight bells were new cast with an addition of metal, by Mr. Knight (a) New View of London, vol. ii. S *• (^) Inscription in St. Margaret's chapel. Dimensions, ST. MARY OVERIES. of Winchester Yard, and made a peal of twelve bells, which was rung by the College Youths for the first time, on Saturday evening, August 2. Anno 1758, 31st George the Second. " Beginning of this year, repaired towards the east end ; in June, began to work on the outside of the steeple for placing a new clock." Anno 1759. " Continued the former repairs, and in April new-coated the north side at the west end with brick, and coped with stone. '' May 12, The clock finished, having then a white dial-plate with gold figures, which plate in four days after was painted black : Length of the minute hand, 5 feet. Circumference of the dial, 31 feet. Diameter of the bell, 5 feet 3 inches. Circumference, 6 feet 6 inches." May 14, being Monday, was a lecture by the Rev. Mr. Thomas Jones, chaplain here (a), which he continued every other Monday, and read prayers every day at eleven in the morning and seven in the evening, till August following, when it was thought proper by some persons, as the winter was approaching, not to have the same continued. In October this year, the west end, south side, and Magdalen chapel, were new coated with terras. Anno 1764, 4th George the Third. From June the llth to Sunday November the 25th the church was shut up, during which time it was new laid with stone, new pewed in the south cross-aisle, and a screen in the Gothic style put up and glazed in the said aisle, wainscotted in the north aisle, all the church whitewashed, the monuments beautified, and the whole new glazed at the charge of the parish, amounting to ^1400. This church was again thoroughly repaired in the year 1 800. St. Mary Overy is esteemed the largest parochial church in the kingdom, being nearly 300 feet long, and of a proportionable breadth. It is built cathedral- wise, that is to say, resembling a cross, and contains several chapels, which (a) He was a painful minister, followed much for his doctrine. On June lo, 1759, he published three Dialogues on the Salvation of Sinneis, which he in person distributed to every house, and " did intend to renew his visits once a year." He died June the 6th, 1762, aged thirty-five, and was buried in Bishop Andrews's vault ; but a handsome cenotaph was afterwards erected to his mcmoiy in Gt. Mar- garet's chapel. After his decease was published a metzotinto print of him, by Purcell, from a three- quarter portrait painted by Jenkins. ST. MARY OVERIES. liowever are not to be reckoned as parts of the original design, being added since. Much of the beauty of the exterior is deformed by modern additions, vhich, from a principle of economy, have been made with brick ; but the general uniformity of the plan is not materially injured by this means, and the whole may be still said to possess a grand and venerable appearance. This church was adorned outwardly at the east end, with six Gothic towers, jutting from the same in a square, wrought with pannels. These are joined to the roof, and made to strengthen it with arches, five of which are now remaining on the north side, at the east end, in an angular tower, new coated with brick, the entrance being in the bishop's court, and is masoned up. The west end is adorned with two octangular towers, coated half way from the top with brick ; the interval filled by a large handsome window and Gothic portico, and the walls on each side curiously inlaid with flint. From the centre rises a lofty tower supported by four strong pillars, the angles of which are strengthened by buttresses terminating in pinnacles. The battlements are composed of flints in squares, or chequer-work. The inside is supported by twenty-six pillars, thirteen in a range, dividing the nave from the side aisles, answerable to which are columns adjoining the walls, which, as they rise, spring into semi -arches, and every where meet in acute angles by their opposites, thereby throwing the roof into a variety of intaglios, or ornamental carvings. Some of these devices on the roof are well worthy observation, particularly at the west end. Among them are symbols of the Passion, as the crown of thorns ; the sun in full splendour ; the moon ; the cross, with the spear and reed on a shield, supported by an angel : others consist of roses, a cross between four roses, a cross dancette, in the first quarter a cinquefoil (these are the arms of the priory), a cheveron between five roses, two in chief, and three in base ; a cross in the first quarter, a lily in the second, third, and fourth ; a rose, a chief lozengy, a vine-leaf in bend, a bolt and tun, a tun supported by two foxes, a pelican piercing its breasts, a swan with wings expanded, &c. The roof of the north transept has the cross with the spear and reed in saltire, and two scourges ; three fishes fretted in triangle ; and is sustained by domi-angcls, as most of the arches are by monks heads. Among the ornaments the altar-piece claims precedence ; this, though modern, is extremely stately, being all of wainscot, and thirty-five feet high. It consists of an upper and lower part ; the latter is adorned with four fluted columns, and their entablature of the Corinthian order. In the intercolumni- 4 ST. MARY OVERIES. ations is the Decalogue, on slabs of white and veined marble, under a glorr, inscribed with the wordJEHOVAH, inHebrew characters, and triangular pediments, and between four Attic pilasters, with an acroteria of the figures of seven golden candlesticks, replenished with tapers, all which ornament is under a circular pediment belonging to the said Corinthian columns, which are placed between the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, written in letters of gold on black, each under a pediment, and between small pilasters. The upper part is adorned with four pedestals, and between them two Attic pilasters, with a small compass pediment : on these six, and one on the middle of the pediment, are placed seven lamps, and in the centre is a glory, with a dove descending within a group of cherubs, finely painted, and the whole represented to the view apparently by the withdrawing of a rich curtain. The communion-table is of oak, supported by sixteen twisted pillars, four at each corner ; the front is carved with festoons, and a glory with I. H. S. and gilt cherubs. The organ-gallery is of oak, very large and spacious : in the front are the royal arms, before the union, with supporters couchant. The organ-case is likewise of oak, and very lofty : it is elevated on ten square pillars, and is finely decorated, the upper part supporting a figure of King David between two Fames, standing in full proportion, and all gilt. Over the entrance of the west door are written in golden letters, on a black ground, the words of Genesis, xxviii. 17 — Psalm lix. 5 — and Jerem. vii. 2, 3. And over the great pilkr on the north side was formerly this distich : He that giveth to the poor. The Lord in Heaven will increase his store. Which seems to indicate that here was a charity chest (a) ; but the lines are now washed over, and the chest (if any) taken down. In describing the monuments in this church, which are many and curious, we shall begin at the entrance to the north aisle, and proceeding to the upper part, cross the choir to the west end of St. Margaret's chapel ; from whence proceeding to the left, we arrive at the Virgin Mary's chapel immediately behind the altar, which with a smaller chapel at the back of it, forms the eastern termination of the church. (a) By the Ixxxivth canon there is to be in every church a chest for ahns. VOL. II. D ST. MARY OVERIES. The first tomb in this circuit is that of the celebrated poet John Gower, which stands beneath a rich Gothic arch in the north wall. His figure is placed recumbent in a long gown ; on his head is a chaplet of roses ; and from his neck a collar of SS ; under his feet are three books, denoting his three principal works. On one is inscribed Speculum Meditantis, which he had written in French ; on the second, f^ox Clamantis, written in Latin ; and on the last, Confessio Amantis, in English. Above, on the wall, are painted three female figures crowned with ducal coronets, with scrolls in their hands. The first, which is named Charitie, has written on her scroll. En toy qui es fitz de Dieu le pere, Sauve soit que gist souz cest piere. On that of the second, who is named Mercie, O bone Jesu fait ta mercie, Ai alme dont le corps gist icy. And on the scroll of the third, named Piite, Pur ta pite Jesu regarde ! Et met cest alme en sauve garde. Gower founded a chantry for himself within these walls, and was also a signal benefactor to the church, which he contributed largely to build in its present elegant form. He was a man of family, and had a liberal education, according to the times, in the inns of court. Dr. Johnson, in his History of the English Language, speaking of Gower, says, he is the first of our authors who can be said to have written English, and that he may be considered as the father of our poetry. He was contemporary with, and the great friend of Chaucer, v\hom he styles " his pupil and his poet," a proof of seniority, notwithstanding he survived him. Grete wel Chaucer, whan ye mete ; As my Disciple and my Poete ; For in the fiowrs of his youth, In sondrie wise, as he well couth. Of Detees and of Songes glade, ^ The which he for my sake made. ST. MARY OVERIES. These excellent characters lived together in the most perfect harmony : Chaucer was a severe reprover of the vices of the clergy ; and each united in their great and successful endeavour to give a polish to the English language. Chaucer gave a free rein to his poetical mirth. " Gower's poetrj'," says Mr. Warton, " was grave and sententious. He has much good sense, solid reflection, and useful observation ; but he is serious and didactic on all occasions. He pi-eserves the tone of the scholar and the moralist on the most lively topics." These fathers of English poetry followed each other closely to the grave. Chaucer died in 1400, aged seventy-two ; Cower in 1402, blind and full of years (a). Lionel Lockyer, a famous empiric, whose pills were in high vogue in the reign of Charles the Second, is interred at the extremity of the north transept. His tomb is of black and white marble, decorated with columns, entablature, and arched pediment of the Ionic order, and supports his effigy, dressed in a furred gown and great wig. His epitaph is a fine specimen of the inflated style then in use for funeral inscriptions : Here Lockyer lies interr'd ; enough : his name Speaks one hath few competitors in fame ; A name so great, so gen'ral, it may scorn Inscriptions which do vulgar tombs adorn. A diminution 't is to write in verse His eulogies, which most men's mouths rehearse : His virtues, and his pills, are so well known. That envy can't confine them under stone : But they '11 survive his dust, and not expire Till all things else, at th' universal fire. This verse is lost ; his pills embalm him safe To future times without an epitaph. His pills were lately sold by Mr. William Nicoll, bookseller, in St. Paul's churchyard. Adjoining Dr. Lockyer's tomb is the image of a Knight Templar in a cumbent posture, his sword drawn, which he holds across his breast, and at (a) Pennant's Tour. ST. MARY OVERIES. his feet the remains of some animal, not easily distinguishable. The image is of wood, painted of a stone colour, and has been engraved by the Antiquarian Society. The monument of John Trehearne, gentleman porter to King James the First, at a little distance in the north aisle, represents himself and family in the grotesque habits of the time. The epitaph turns upon a singular and ludicrous thought : Had kings a power to lend their subjects breath, Trehearne, thou shouldst not be cast down by Death ; Thy royal master still would keep thee then. But length of days are beyond reach of men ; Nor wealth, nor strength, nor great men's love, can ease The wound Death's arrows make, for thou hadst these. In thij king's court, good place to thee is given, Whence thou shalt go to the King's court in Heaven. At the upper end of the aisle, on the south side, enclosed in a frame of glass, is the tomb of Richard Humble, alderman of London, on which are kneeling figures of himself in his formalities, his two wives and children, the whole painted and gilded in the style of Elizabeth and James's time. The inscription is the most pleasing part of this monument : Like to the Damask Rose you see. Or like the Blossom on the Tree, Or like the dainty Flower of Mai/, Or like the Morning of the Day ; Or like the Sun, or like the Shade, Or like the Gourd which Jonas had. Even so is Man, whose Thread is spun, Drawn out, and cut, and so is done. The Rose withers, the Blossom blasteth. The Flower fades, the Morning hasteth ; The Sun sets, the Shadow flies, The Gourd consumes, and Man he dies. ST. MARY OVERIES. Crossing the choir from the north aisle, we enter the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene. It is an out-building, but ancient, measuring fifty-seven feet in length, and forty-one in breadth, and is supported by two rows of pillars and arches. The west end once communicated v\ith the south transept of the conventual church, but is at present walled up ; the east end also was lighted by a small handsome window, against which the monument of the Rev. Mr. Jones is now placed. Two or three small recesses in the walls, which once held the vessels for the aqua henedicta, recall here the era of Catholic superstition. A few of the monuments in this cha|;el merit notice. The first at the west end, fixed against the wall beneath a staircase leading to the south gallery, is erected to the memory of William Emerson, " who departed out of this life the 27th of June, anno 1575, in the year of his age ninety-two:" and the inscription adds, " who lived and died an honest man." This pleasing little monument is decorated with a small figure, much emaciated, lying in a shroud on a mat, probably meant to represent the deceased. We say decorated, from the excellence of the sculpture, which is almost equal to the best plaster casts. The diminutive size of this figure has given rise to an idea, unsupported by any kind of evidence, that it commemorates a dwarf. Many tombs, however, exist, the effigies on which are equally small, and whose possessors are known to have been of the usual size. A monument at the south-east corner of the chapel, placed to the memory of John Bingham, Esq. sadler to Queen Elizabeth and King James, represents him in a scarlet furred gown and ruff, but is no otherwise remarkable. Beneath is a gravestone ten feet in length, on which was a border and figure in brass, of a bishop in pontificalibus, supposed for William Wickham, bishop of this diocese in 1595 ; but sacrilegious hands have purloined the brass, and with it the inscription which should ascertain this fact. Beyond St. Margaret's chapel, at the end of the south aisle, adjoining the entrance to the chapel of the Virgin Mary, is a singular emblematical monu- ment for William Austin, Esq. so full of allusions, and to us insipid ones, that we refer the reader to larger works for an explanation. This gentleman, who is said to have died Jan. ]6, i()33, aged forty-seven, wrote Divine Meditations on the Conception, Nativity, Passion, &c. ; likewise his own funeral sermon, from a text in Isaiah, chap, xxxviii. ver. 12, " Mine age is departed," &c. : in which discourse, speaking of his first wife and children, he VOL. II. E ST. MAHY OVErxIES. says, " The fellow of my bed, the playfellows of my house, the joy of my heart, and comforts of my life, are either clean gone, or much impaired ; I am, indeed, but half alive, and half dead ; for (like a blasted tree) half my body (the more loved part) is dead, and half my branches (the youngest and tenderest) are withered, cut off, and buried with her." This book of Medi- tations was published by Mrs. Anne Austin, his second wife and executrix, in 1635. The chapel of the Virgin Mary is supported by six small pillars, and is forty-two feet long. It is at present chiefly used for holding the consistory, or bishop's court, the north-east corner being expressly fitted up for that purpose; the other parts serve for the stowage of lumber. In this chapel, under the window, by the bishop's court, is an altar-tomb, with the effigy of a dead man, with a shorn crown, lying in his winding-sheet, apparently much emaciated ; the effigy is in length six feet eight inches, and has been supposed to represent old Audery, the father of the founder, but without the least reason. A smaller recess, or chapel, at the back of the Virgin Maiy's chapel, contains the monument of Lancelot Andrews, who died Bishop of Winchester in 1626. If ever any merited to be The universal bishop it was he ; Great Andrews, who the whole vast sea did drain Of learning, and distill'd it in his brain : These pious drops are of the purest kind. Which trickled from the limbeck of his mind. This pious and very learned prelate was elected Dean of Westminster in 1601, was consecrated Bishop of Chichester in l605, translated to Ely in 1G09, and from thence to Winchester in 1618. He was in high fiivour with James the First, and not less so with the public, whose esteem and veneration he merited by his great parts and virtues. Bishop Buckeridge, in a sermon preached at his funeral, informs us that he understood fifteen languages ; and justly observes, that all the places where he had preferment were the better for liini. The effigy on his monument represents him in bib robes of prelate of the Garter ; but the face is much damaged. On a tablet raised at his feet s I /I Bl S'^ O P A'N B R K Ws , I IK' - / SOUTHWARKo s&^ '^'^•^'•^.w.-a™ ,, r^r .ii..^^..i^.-' •""'"*■' "^' "^' J .,„,,»""• ST. MARY OVERIES. (whereon were placed his arms between two figures of Justice and Fortitude) is the following inscription : Sept. 21. Die Lunnc, Hora matutina fere quarta, Lancclotus Andrews^ Episcopus Wintoniensis, meritissimum Lumen Orbis Christian! inortiius est. Ephcmeris Laudiana. Anno Dom. 1626. ^tat. suae, 71. And at the head of the tomb, Monumentum quod hoc restitutum. Anno 1704. On the pavement near Bishop Andrews's tomb are two ancient stone coffins ; but we have no account left, where or at what particular time they were found ; nor is it known to whom they belonged. They are unquestionably of a great age. The length of one is six feet eight inches, the breadth at the head two feet, at the foot one foot four inches, and the depth ten inches. The other coffin is in length six feet, the breadth at the head one foot nine inches, at the foot ten inches, and its depth seven inches and a half. From their shallowness it is probable the lids were raised, but neither of them is at present remaining. It will not be proper to quit this chapel without noticing the monument of Thomas Cure, Esq. who is buried here, and whose name is well known as a considerable benefactor to the parish. This gentleman was sailer to King Edward the Sixth and Queen Elizabeth, and died in the year 1588, having first founded and endowed a college or hospital for sixteen poor people. The constitutions for the government of this charity, finely exemplified on vellum, and elegantly bound, are deposited in the custody of the head parish officer, called the college warden. By them a sort of monastic discipline is prescribed to the members of the intended college, who are to be elected from six descriptions of poor therein specified. This excellent foundation still exists. SIGN HOUSE, MIDDLESEX. THE SEAT OF THE DUKE OP NORTHUMBERLAND. The noble residence called Sion House derives its name from a celebrated monastery, " so named of the most holy Mount Sion," which once occupied the same site, and which was founded by Henry the Fifth on the dissolution of the alien priories for Bridgetines, or nuns of the oriler of St. Bridget. This order was instituted a few years before, by the celebrated Brigide, or St. Bridget, Queen of Sweden, on the Gilbertine plan, and was confirmed by Pope Gregory the Eleventh, in the first year of his pontificate. The convents of this order, in pursuance of the request of the foundress, were allowed to be double, or common to males and females, observing however to have a proper separation by walls to prevent the intercourse of the sexes, which were never allowed to see each other but in cases of great emergency. Her directions prescribed that there should be but one church for both monks and nuns ; that the former, as ministers of sacred things, should be below ; and the latter above, to say their service and prayers : both were to be subject to the government of the lady abbess, but the men only were to officiate at divine service, and have charge of the ornaments of the church ; they were allowed likewise to elect one of their own body by the name of prior, or confessor. She ordained that the religious should have lands and possessions for their support, but the superintendance of their temporal concerns to be vested in the abbess ; that it should not be lawful for either men or women to quit their monastery, but on very particular occasions, and with permission of the abbess. This order professed the rule of St. Augustin, to which additional constitutions were added by the queen. Some are of opinion, says Weaver, that this form of religion was first invented in Greece, but that the fathers had ordained that the men should SION HOUSE. -remain separated from the women, lest they should give occasion of scandal : wherefore Saint Brigide desiring to revive this order, she found means how, without any suspicion, the church and house should be common to both. She ordained that they should wear a russet habit with a cloak of the same colour, with a red cross upon their breasts. She would have but sixty nuns and five and twenty monks in every monastery : that is to say, thirteen priests according to the number of the thirteen Apostles, comprehending St. Paul : then four deacons ; who might also be priests, and representing the four doctors of the church ; and eight converts, who might always be ready to labour for the affairs of the house ; so as the friars and nuns all together made the number of the thirteen apostles and the seventy-two disciples of our Saviour. And to the end they might be distinguished one from another, the priests carried a red cross upon the left side of their cloak, under which cross they put a little piece of white cloth, as broad as a wafer, which they offered up in reverence to the holy sacrament. And the four deacons, for a difference from the priests, carried a round wreath of white cloth, which signified (as they gave out) the sapience of the four doctors, whom they represented ; and upon it they put four little pieces of red, made like unto tongues, to shew that the Holy Ghost inflamed their tongues to deliver the sacred mysteries of divinity. The converts wore a white cross upon their cloaks, to shew the kinocency of their lives, upon which there were five pieces of red, in commemoration of the five wounds of our Saviour (a). The king founded this house in his manor of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex, for as many nuns, priests, and lay brethren, as were equal in number to Christ, his apostles and disciples, viz. of virgins sixty, priests thirteen, deans four, and lay brethren eight. The two convents had but one church in common, the nuns' church being situated aloft in the roof, and that of the monks in the area beneath ; each severally enclosed, and egress forbidden to their inmates, except by the pope's special license. It was dedicated to St. Saviour, St. Mary the Virgin, and St. Bridget, and was amply endowed by its royal founder from the revenues of the alien priories, which he dissolved, insomuch, that the king, by act of parliament, forbid any future bequests to be made to the monastery, and ordained that any overplus which might arise from their revenues should be /listributed to the poor. The particulars of this foundation and its various possessions are specified (a) Fun. Mon. p. 140. SION HOUSE. nt length in a petition presented by the abbess and convent to King Henry the Sixth (a), which recites — " Tliat the late most noble King Henry, purposing to found and establish a house of religious persons within his manor of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex, and to endow the same with certain manors, lands, tenements, and possessions, of his special grace gave and granted to the honourable fathers Thomas, Bishop of Durham, Esmond, Bishop of Exeter, and afterwards of Hereford ; and to his most dear uncle Thomas, Duke of Exeter ; Henry Fitz Hugh, knight ; Roger Flore, and other persons since dead, a certain parcel of land of his domain within his manor of ' Istilvvorth within the parish of ' Tvvykenham,' in the said county, with all the erections then standing on the said parcel of ground, and the fisheries in the Thames thereto appertaining, viz. within the two banks of the said river ; together with a certain fishery called ' Route,' belonging to the said land in the said water of Thames ; a parcel of furze-land near Kingston upon Thames, in the county of Surry, called ■Hammeiuere ; one parcel of heath adjoining the same, enclosed by the Thames and ditches, and all the commodities to the said land, furze; and heath apper- taining ; one dove-house, and a certain parcel of land thereto appendant in Petersham, in the county of Surry ; one dove-house, and a parcel of land to the said dove-house adjoining, in Hamme ; two acres of land with their appur- tenances in Yeule, with the advowson of the church of Yeule ; the manor of Worton, by the name of all the lands, tenements, rents, and services, with the appurtenances, whicli Alice, tlic wife of Esmond Fauconer, held for the term of her life in Istilvvorlli, granted him by Edward the First, and which William Loveney held for the term of his life, from the said Alice, at the annual rent of seven marks, and wiiich was granted to the said William for the term of his life, the reversion, after the death of the said William and Alice, being to return to the crown ; the priory of Oterton, otherwise the priory of Otiyngton, with the appurtenances ; the priory of Mount St. Michael, in Cornwall, with the appurtenances ; one hundred and ten pounds issuing annually from the farm of the priory of Lancaster, to be paid by the hands of Giles Lovell, prior of the same, during his life, at the feasts of St. Michael and Easter; and the said priory of Lancaster, after the death of the said prior : 100 marks, (a) Rotol. Pari. v. iv. p. 243. VOL. II. R SION HOUSE. which Sir John Cornwall, knight, and Elizabeth Lancaster his wife, relict of John Holland, late Earl of Huntingdon, then held for the term of their lives, and the life of the longest liver of them, part of the possessions of the abbey of Sees, in the counties of Sussex and Lmcoln, after the death of the said John and Elizabeth, if the said John and Elizabeth should die during the lives of Nicholas laglolay, monk ; Richard Wakehurst, William Ryman, and Michel de Fourner, monk, the farmers of the said possessions, and who held the same to farm during the war, under the denomination of guardians of all the lands, tenements, and possessions, late of the alien abbey of Sees, with the appur- tenances in England ; and also the same lands, tenements, and possessions, on the tern)inalion of the term of their trust ; ninety-three pounds six shillings and seven-pence from the guardian of the manor of Michelhampton, parcel of the possessions of the abbey of Caine, with all the rights and appurtenances thereto belonging, after the death of Joan, Queen of England, if the said Joan should happen to die during the life of Katherine Bromwych, who held to farm the said manor with its appurtenances, during the aforesaid war, by the name of keeper of the manor of Michelhampton, belonging to the alien abbey of Caine, which sum of ^93 -.6:7 was granted by the late king to the said queen, to be received annually for the term of her life from the keeper of the said manor called Michelhampton ; and the said manor, with all its rights and appurtenances, after the estate of the said Katherine should cease, ^43 : 6 : 1 1 to be received annually by the hands of Richard Mawardyn and William Westbury from the manor of Tileshide, parcel of the abbey of Caine, and held by them to farm during the war aforesaid by the name of the manor of Tileshide, parcel of the abbey of Caine, with all its rights and appurtenances, rendering for the same annually ^43:6: 11 ; and the said manor, with all its rights and appurte- nances, after the estate of tlie said Richard Mawardyn and William Westbury should cease; £^^ : 13 : 4, which William Tristour Sadler was to receive annually from the farm of the priory of Lodres, and the lands, tenements, and possessions of the said priory, by the hands of the guardians, farmers, bailiffs, or other occupiers of the said priory of Lodres for the time being, until the sum of ^701 •.^•.^ should by him be satisfied ; to have and receive the same annually, provided the said sum of ^701 : 6 : 7 should be paid during the life of William Burnell, prior of the said priory of Lodres, and farmer of the same priory, its lands, tenements, and possessions, together with the same, after the estate SIGN HOUSE. of the said William Burnell should cease ; fifty marks which William Bourchicr, knight, was to receive annually during the term of his life, on condition that the war between the late king and France should so long continue, the same being part of 140 marks 6.s. Jd. which he, by the denomination of William Bourchier, keeper of the manor and rectory of Fclsted, with the appurtenances, in the county of Essex, parcel of the abbey of Caine, was bound at the feasts of Easter and Michaelmas to pay to the late king, and of which by his letters patent he afterwards acquitted the said William Bourchier ; forty marks yearly, receivable after the death of the said William Bourchier; ^£20 -.Q-.T, which Joan, Queen of England, was to receive annually during her life of the above William Bourchier, and the same sum after her decease, provided the said queen should die during the life of the said William Bourchier : ^\3 •.6:7 remaining from the rents of the said farm, and which the same William Bourchier was bound to pay yearly into the king's exchequer ; and also the manor and rectory above mentioned, itself, after his death : one yearly annuity of dBQO granted to the above-named queen for her life, and receivable from the keeper of the lands, tenements, and possessions, late of the abbey of St, Nicholas, in England, situate in the county of Bucks, and Spalding in the county of Lincoln, and the profits of the church of Cosham, payable by the hands of Hugh Lutterell, knight, and John Lutterell, who held the same to farm during the war aforesaid j the same annuity to be received on the decease of the said queen, if she should happen to die during the lives of the said Hugh and John Lutterell ; and alsO' all the same lands, tenements, and profits, after their estate therein should cease ; one portion of the church of Mertok, in the county of Somerset, late pertaining to the abbey of St. Michael ; and aho four tuns of wine of Gascony to be received yearly from the royal vineyards at the port of London by the hands of the king s chief butler, or his deputy, for the time being ; to have and to hold all the said priories, manors, lands, tenements, possessions, annuities, &c. with all their rights, members, liberties, and appurtenances, free and clear of and from all taxes, tenths, fifteenths, subsidies, and impositions levied, oc to be levied, at any time thereafter." It adds — " And the said late king by his letters patent likewise gave and granted to the said Duke of Exeter, by his then name and style of Thomas, Earl of Dorset, and to Henry Fitzhugh, Robert Morton, Esq. and John Rodenale, knight (since deceased), the' manors, rectories, and churches of Chilham^ SION HOUSE. ^lolesclie, and Treulcgli, witli their appurtenances, late pertaining to the abbe)^ of St. Bertine in parts abroad, together with all the knights' fees, advowsons, fairs, markets, liberties, franchises, profits, emolunnients, and appurtenances thereto belonging, or in any wise appertaining ; and by a special clause in the said letters patent, freed and acquitted the same from all tenths, fifteenths, and all other quotas and taillages whatsoever, as by a reference to the said letters patent will appear. " And whereas also, Thomas, Bishop of Durham ; John Stafford, treasurer of England, late keeper of the privy seal to your grace's father ; William Sevenoke, late mayor of London ; and Henry de Chadirton, being seised of the manor of Graundcostes, with the appurtenances in the county of Essex ; one maze, one , and two verges of land, twenty-four acres of heath, four acres of wood, twenty acres of pasture, seventeen shillings rent, and pasturage for 100 sheep in Isleworth, Twykenham, Worton, and Heston, in the county of Middlesex, proposed, agreeable to the will of your grace's father to bestow the same to the use of the said abbess and convent, and their successoi-s forever, in perpetual alms, but for which they want the royal licensee may it please your sovereign grace, with the consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in this present parliament assembled (the above premises considered), to approve, ratify, and confirm the said letters patent, and all things therein contained, &c." In the king's answer this petition was directed to be affirmed by the authority of the then parliament, saving to the mayor of London and his successors, and all other persons concerned, liberty to search and survey the said water of Thames, and retain their accustomed rights and privileges as before the granting of the said letters patent ; together with all right, title, action, and claim of rent, services, liberties, and franchises, appertaining to the said manors with their appurtenances, &c. by action, entry, distress, or other legal means : all abbots, priors alien, and their successors, claiming the said priories, manors, or possessions, or any part of the same (if such claim should be made), only excepted ; and saving that the clause relating to tenths, fifteenths, subsidies, or parts of tenths, fifteenths, or subsidies, and all impositions, quotas, taxes, or taillages whatsoever, should be in no manner affirmed, approved, or confirmed, by the authority of the said parliament ; and that the clause relating to the same should be expunged from the same bill. SrON HOUSE. Tlie original site of the monastery of Sion was most probably in the parish of Twickenham, it is supposed somewhere in the meadows now belonging to Lord Frederick Cavendish, which were formerly denominated Istelworth, or Twickenham parish. The dimensions the convent occupied, as stated in an ancient record (a), were, in length towards the river 2820 feet, and towards Twickenham field 1Q38 feet; and in breadth on the one side QSO feet, and on the other g6o feet. Some alien monks are said to have been once settled on the same site ; but this is highly improbable, as no notice whatever is taken of them in the record, which would most certainly have been the case had the circumstance been true. In the year 1438, just eighteen years after the foundation, Henry the Sixth granted permission to the nuns and convent to remove to a more spacious edifice which they had built upon their demesnes within the parish of Istelworth. The following is a translation of their petition, and the king's answer (e). " To our most sovereign lord the king the humble supplication of your poor and continual orators the abbess and convent of the monastery of St. Saviour, and of the saints Mary the Virgin and Bridget of Syon of the order of St. Austin, called St. Saviour, sheweth, that whereas your highness, by your gracious letters patent, with the advice and assent of your most dear uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and your council, granted license to your said suppliants, that they for certain causes in your said letters specified, might remove and pass from the place where they then dwelled to another place by them chosen, there perpetually to remain agreeable to the effect and purpose of the said letters patent, the tenor of which are to this petition annexed. In consequence of which they have removed to such their place and monastery, where they now dwell. May it please your royal majesty, for the worship of God, and the greater ease and surety of your said suppliants, by the authority of this present parliament, to authorize, approve, ratify, and confirm your said letters patent, Sec." The letters patent here referred to, after noticing the particulars of the original foundation of Henry the Fifth, proceed to state, that " the said abbess and convent had pi-esented their humble petition, setting forth, that their afore- said monastery was so small and confined in its dimensions, that the numerous persons therein, dedicated to the service of God (under certain regulations), (a) Inq. 4. H. 5. No. 16. (b) Rot. ParL VOL. II. S SION HOUSE. were not only incommodiously but dangerously situated, being sixty nuns or sisters, besides twenty-five men of religion (the latter of whom, however, dwelled by themselves in a separate convent, conformably to the apostolical decree and revelation, and the constitutions of the blessed St. Bridget, and only officiated as chaplains or clerks to the said nuns, in the celebration of divine service, and administration of the sacraments) : that in consequence thereof the said abbess and convent had chosen out a spot in the neighbourhood of their said priory, within the said lordship of Istelworth, more meet, healthful, and salubrious for them to inhabit, and had begun, and with great cost completed, the erection of a certain edifice more spacious and convenient, as well for the habitation of themselves as of the said religious brethren ; which monastery so built anew and enlarged, they have earnestly requested license of us, and of all concerned, to consecrate and set apart, as a habitation for them, the said abbess and nuns, and men of religion, and that they may remove to the same, and there perpetually abide in the service of God, and agreeable to the rules and institutions of their order. Know ye, we therefore of our piety (the premises duly considered, and such intention and proposition as aforesaid) have vouch- safed, confirmed, and by our license permitted them the said religious of the monastery of St. Saviour and St. Mary the Virgin and St. Bridget of Syon, professing the rule of St. Augustin, and commonly called St. Saviours, to the said mansion so chosen, and by the said abbess and convent erected, edified, built, and enlarged as aforesaid, to migrate, pass, and remove immediately, or when most convenient and expedient to themselves ; and have likewise granted them permission there perpetually to abide without any prejudice, loss, let, or diminution whatsoever of them the said abbess and convent, or their successors, in regard to any their possessions, goods, immunities, liberties, franchises, or rights, now or at any time heretofore possessed, or to them or their monastery in any manner belonging by purchase, gift, or otherwise, which might happen by such migration or removal ; and of our devotion, and from a desire to promote with our grace, favour, and help, the just, pious, and reasonable desires of the said abbess and convent, to such more healthful and salubrious spot as aforesaid, with the advice and assent of our most dear uncle Humphrey, Duke of Glou- cester, protector of our kingdom of England, and of oiu- own free motion, do grant, &c. for us and our heirs, to the said abbess and convent, and their successors, and to them afford special license to remove and pass from their present dwelling to such place above mentioned, so by them newly chosen, SIGN HOUSE. edified, constructed, and enlarged, there perpetually to abide agreeable to such their regulations and orders, without any the let of us or our heirs ; and that thenceforth no prejudice, loss, let, or diminution to them or their successors be made or done, &c. but that they be suffered to hold the same premises, and all and singular their possessions, manors, lordships, &c. peaceably, pleasantly, and quietly in all things as heretofore, such migration, translation, refoundation, or any statutes to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. In witness, &c." The plan of immuring male and female votaries within the same walls, was (as might be expected) not very favourable to the chastity of the latter ; at least if the following letter sent by Layton, one of the commissioners for searching into the abuses of monasteries, to Cromwell, be admitted as evidence, and there seems little doubt of the general truth of the statement. *' ALettore certefyinge the Incontynensye of the Nunnes of Syon ivith the Friores, and aftere the Acte done, the Friores reconsile them to God (a). " Indorsed *' To the Right Honourable Master Thomas Cromwell, Chiefe Secretary to the Kyng's Highnesse. " It maye plese your goodnesse to vnderstand that Bushope this daye preched and declared the kinges tytelle very well, and hade a grete audyense, the chorche full of people. One of the Focaces, in his said declaration, openly called him false knaue, with other foolish words (it was that foolish fellow with the corled head that kneeled in your waye when you came foorth of the Confessores chamber), I can no lese doe, but set him in prisone, vt pena eius sit metus aliorum. " Yesterday I learned many enormous things against Bushope, in the examinacion of the lay brederen ; first, that Bushop perswaded towe of the brederene to haue gone their wayes by night, and he himselfe with them ; and to the accomplishment of that, they lacked but money to buy them seculere apparell. Forther, that Bushope would have perswaded one of his laye brederen, a smithe, to have made a keaye for the doare, to have in the night time receiued in wenches for him and his fellowes, and specially, a wyffe of Vxebridge, now dwelling not farre from the old lady Derby, nigh Vxbridge : which wyffe, his old customer, hath byne many tymes here at the grates communyng with the sayd, and he was desirous to have her convoyed in to him. (a) Weaver's Fun. Mon. SIGN HOUSE. " The said Busliope also jierswaded a nunne, to whom he was confessor, ad libidinem corporis perimplend. And thus he perswaded her in confession, making her beleeve, that whensoeuer, and as ofte as they shold medle together, if she were, immediately after, confessed by him, and tooke of him absolution, shee shold be cleere forgeuen of God, and it shold be none offence vnto her before God. And she writte diueres and sundrye lettores vnto him of such their foolishnesse and vnthriftynesse, and wold have had his broder, the smith, to have polled out a barre of iron of that window, whereas (at which) ye examyned the ladye abbess, that he might haue gone in to her by night. And that same window was their commoning (communing) place by night. He perswaded tlie sextene, that he wold be in his contemplacion in the chorche by night, and by that meancs was many nightes in the chorche talkyng with her at the said grate of the nunnes quire, and there was ther meeting place by night, besides their day communications, as in confession. It were too long to declare all things of him that I have hard, which I suppos is true. " This afternoone I intend to make forder serche, both of some of the brederen, and some also of the sisters, for such like matteres : if I fynde any thing apparent to be true, I shall, God wyllynge, therof sertefy your mastor- shipe to-morrow, by vii in the mornyng. And after this daye I suppos there will be no other things to be knowne as yet here ; for I have already examined all the brederen, and many of them wold gladly departe hense, and be righte weary of their habbyte. Such religion, and fained sanctetye, God saue me frae! If Master Bedle had byne here a fryor, and of Bushope's counsell, hee wold right welle have helped him to haue broughte his mattores to passe, without brekyng vppe of any grate or yet counterfettyng of keayes, such capassetye God hathe sent him. '' From Syone, this Sondaye, xii Decembre. By the speedy hand of your assured poore preeste, " Richard Layton." King Henry the Fifth granted to the monastery of Sion an annuity of 1000 marks out of his exchequer, until it should be provided with other revenues ; and in the last year of his reign he procured an act of parliament, by which he was enabled to separate the manor of Isleworth from the dutcliy of Cornwall, and give it also to the convent. The endowments bestowed SIGN HOUSE. upon it by his successors were very ample. A reference to the various grants is given in the note (a). The revenues of this convent, according to Dugdale, amounted at the time of its dissolution, in 1532, to ,^1731 : 8 : 4| per annum (is). (a) Charter of confirmation, Pat. i. Hen. VI. pt. z. m. i. Various grants and confirmations, Pat. i. Hen. VI. pt. 3. m. 21. and pt. 4. m. 27. Pat. 6. Hen. VI. pt. i. m. 3. Pat. ii. Hen. VI. pt. 2. m. 44. Pat. 22. Hen. VI. pt. i. m. 9. (Eccles. Chilham, &c.) Pat. 22. Hen. VI. pt. i. m. 21. (Abb. de Fescampe, &c.) Pat. 22. Hen. VI. pt. 2. m. 9. (Hinton), and m. 1 1. (Michelhampton, co. GIouc.) P.it. 23. Hen. VI. pt. I. m. 17. Pat. I, Edw. IV. pt. 2. No. 69. and pt. 3. m. 2. and pt. 5. m. 46. Pat. 2. Edw. IV. pt. i. m. 23. (Priorat. de Mont. Michel, &c.) Pat. 2. Edw. IV. pt. 2. m. 17. Pat. 4. Edw. IV. pt. 4. m. 20. (Concess. plur. Manei.) Cart. 5. Edw. IV. No. 19. (Ampl. Concess. Libert. &c.) Pat. i. Hen. VII. pt. 4. July 7, m. 15. (Charter of Confirmation.) Pat. 3. Hen. VII. pt. i. Feb. 23, m. 5. (Fairs at Yeovill.) Pat. 7. Hen. VII. pt. 4. unic. June 7, m. 9. (Licence to appoint a coroner for the hundred of Istelworth.) Pit. 17. Hen. VII. pt. I. July 21, m. 7. (Appropr. Eccl. de Olney.) These are all the grants (says Mr. Lysons,. from whom this note is copied) which I could find either at the Tower or at the Rolls. (b) In the office of James West, Esq. (auditor of the land revenue), in Old Palace Yard, is a complete survey of all the manors, &c. belonging to the monastery of Sion in the year 1492 (7 Hen. VII.), with their clear annual income ; of which the ft/Ilowing is an abstract : Lane. — Tithes in Heyton, 8 marks. Midelton, 4I. Asheton, 4I. Bere, 40s. Pulton, 4 m. Tonesholme, 4 m. Gersyngham, 61. Newton and Balk, 4 m. Osclif, 20s. Catton, 81. Scotfield, 81. -^—— Skyrton, loL Pulton and Cleveland, 61. Merton, 7 m. Latton, 61. Boisham, 61. Carlton, 61. 13s. 4d^ Thornton, 8 m. Pulton, 5 m. Holmes, 4 m. Hebenyng, 10 m. Halmyn, lol. Syngelton Grange, 61. Fulwood, 40s. Pension from the vicar of Preston, 61. From the abbot ofFumess fora fishing, los. VOL. II. T The manors of £. s. d. Siissex.- -Wigenholte . - - 22 12 7 Gates .... 29 2 II Fishboume - , . 25 7 II Adrington - - . 22 5 Charlton ... 59 2 III Henyng ... 5 7 H Hampton and Fodrington 40 9 6i Shortesfield 18 13 9 Withiham ... II 18 2 Sumptyng ... 17 6 9 Wonnyngherst 14 15 II Basset's Fee ... 4 16 lO Eccleston ... 63 6 10 Brede, with a pension from the church, and a wood- fall .... 56 Clozic. —Cheltenham and Slaughter III 6 8 Minchinhampton 91 I 2\ Avening ... 29 I 4i Lane. — Aldclif (with tithes) 20I. os 6d. Newton, near Lancaster, 20I. Bolton, 61. Lands and rents in Hersham , 40s Tithes in Overton, 20 marks. Orton, SI. SION HOUSE. Richard Whitford, a monk, of Sion, was the author of various devotional works enumerated by Mr. Ames in his Typographical Antiquities. Amongst them was " The Martilogue, as read in Sion, 1526 ; — A Daily Exercise and Experience of Death, by the Old Wretch of Sion, R. W. 1532 ;— A Dialogue between the Curate and Parishioners for a due Preparation unto the Howselynge, 1537 ; — A Treatise of Patience, 1541," &c. Thomas Stanley, the second earl of Derby, who departed this life at Colham, in the county of Middlesex, was buried here, anno 1521 (a). By his last will he ordered his body to be interred in the priory of Burscough, in Lancashire, if he should decease in that county, but if elsewhere, then to be buried in the monastery of Syon, or college of Asherugge, Bucks, as his All the said property in Lancashire let to John de Shyngletonfor i6ol. per annum ; besides which ivas a pension of 8o m. paid by the vicar of Crofton, making 213I. 6s. 8d. with 20 m. more which the vicar had. Camb. — Hynton manor, 13I. is. yjd. Essex. — Fclsted and Grantcourt, 95I. Wilts. — Cosham, glebe and parsonage, 40 m. Tyleshide manor, 30I. Devon. — Oterton, 59I. i6s. id. Clifton, 4I. js. 7d. Yartcombe, 64!. 5s. 4d. Sidmouth, 44I. 9s. 8d. Axmouth, 39I. IIS. 4ld. Lodies, 94I. 3s. 4d. Budleigh, gross value 16l.3s.9Jd. (The clear value not certified.) Cormw. — Mount St. Michel, 40 m. Som. — Ye veil, 40I. Mcrtok, 41I. i8s. 4jd. Som. — Chilham,'« 24!. Fewlegh, > let at 20I. Molash, J 9I. 6s. 8d. (Clear yearly value of the three, 49I. 3s. 4d.) One tenement in London, 4 m. Some other tenements, the value not specified. A pension from the prior of Spaldynge, 40I. Eccleston, Suss. 20s. Navenby, Line. 40s. Botheby, Line. 26s. 8d. Willyngore, Line. 24s. Treford, Suss. 3s. 4d. Angefee, Line. 40s. Another pension, the place not mentioned, as. (The whole of the pensions 47I. i6s.) Manor of Istleworth, 85!. besides perquisites of court not specified. For bothes there at the pardon, at the pardon time*, 40s. io?d. The total value of the revenues here recited was 1616I. 8s. 55d. • In Hcarnc's Append, to Fordun's Chron. Scot. p. 1399, is a paper called " The Pardon of the Monastery of Sion ;" by which it appears that any person coming to the convent and giving alms, or somewhat towards the repa- ration of the monastery, was to receive a certain number of days of pardon, varying according to the festivals on which they came : but on the festival of St. Bridget, the patron saint of the monastery, which probably was the pardon time here mentioned, it is said, " who sum ever will come to the saide monastery, devotely there visiting the holie Vlrgen sent Briget, gcvyng sum almes to the siistentation of the same monastery, shall have pardon and clere remyssion in all easis reserved and unreserved ; and this pardon enduright from begynning of the first evynsong till the last c»ynsong be donne." Lysons's Enviions, v. iii- p. 86. (a) CoUins's Peerage, vol. iii. p. 69. SIGN HOUSE. executors should think fit, who chose the latter. He directed his body to be buried according to his honour, but without pomp or excess. Sion was one of the first of the larger monasteries which were suppressed, having been accused of harbouring the king's enemies, and being an accomplice with the holy maid of Kent. From this time (1532) till the close of Henry the Eighth's reign it continued in the crown, John Gates, Esq. being appointed by that monarch keeper of the conventual house. In 1541, Nov. 14, the unfortunate Catherine Howard was imprisoned here, and from thence removed only three days previous to her execution, which took place the 13th of February following. She was very strictly confined, we are told by Hollingshed, but served with all the respect due to a queen. On the 14th of February, five years later, the king's own corpse (whose funeral procession exceeded in magnificence any before or since), " being conducted in all imaginable solemn state from Westminster towards Windsor, rested one night at Sion, where divine services were celebrated for his repose." Edward the Sixth, in the first year of his reign, granted this convent with its appurtenances to the Protector Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who had before rented some premises at Isle worth under the abbess (a), and who began soon after to erect on its site the magnificent structure, whose shell, though variously altered, still remains. The gardens were enclosed by high walls before the east and west fronts, and were laid out in a very grand manner, but being made at a time when extensive views were deemed inconsistent witli the stately privacy affected by the great, they were so situated as to deprive the house of all prospect. To remedy that inconvenience, the Protector built a high triangular terrace in the angle between the walls of the two gardens ; and this it was that his enemies afterwards did not scruple to call a fortification, and to insinuate that it was one proof, among others, of his having formed a design dangerous to the liberties of the king and people. On his attainder and execution in 1552, Sion became forfeited, and Sir Thomas Worth was for some time keeper. In 1553 it was granted to John Dudley, Duke of Northum- berland, and became the residence of his son Lord Guildford Dudley, and of his daughter-in-law, the unfortunate Lady Jane Gray, who was at this place when the Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk, and her husband, came to prevail upon her to accept the fatal present of the croun ; and hence she was (a) Cart. Antiq. Augmen. Office, z. 23. SION HOUSE. conducted, as then usual on the accession of the sovereign, to reside for some time in the Tower. The duke being beheaded in the first of Mary, Sion reverted to the crown: Sir Henry Sidney was by the queen constituted keeper of the park and woods, but the house she kept in her own hands until the year 1557, when she restored the convent, and endowed it with the manor and demesne of Isleworth. Fuller, speaking of this transaction, says, " This, with the former (Sheen), cut two great collops out of the crown lands, though far short this second endowment of what formerly they possessed. It was some difficulty to stock it with such who had been veiled before, it being now thirty years since the dissolution, in which time most of the elder nuns were in their graves, and the younger in the arms of their husbands, as afterwards embracing a married life. However, with much adoe (joining some new^ ones with the old), they made up a competent number (a)." On the accession of Elizabeth, Sion, with the rest of the newly-restored monasteries, was finally dissolved. Clementia Thresham, the last abbess in the time of the former queen, died at Royston, in Northamp- tonshire, soon afterwards. Margaret Dely, one of the nuns, was buried at Isleworth in I56l ; the greater part of the convent, however, emigrated to the continent, taking their treasure with them, and in Fuller's time were established at Lisbon, where the convent flourished exceedingly. In J 604 Sion House was granted to Henry Piercy, ninth earl of Northum- berland, in consideration of his eminent services to the crown ; and his son Algernon employed Inigo Jones to new-face the inner court, and to finish the great hall in the manner in which it now appears. Charles, Duke of Somerset, having married about the year l682 the only daughter of Joceline, Earl of Northumberland, this mansion became his property, and he lent it to the Princess Anne, who resided here during the misunderstanding between her and Queen Mary. Upon the duke's death, in 1748, his son Algernon gave Sion House to Sir Hugh and Lady Elizabeth Smithson, his son-in-law and daughter, afterwards Duke and Dutchess of Northumberland, who made the greater part of the late fine improvements. The most beautiful scenery imaginable is formed between two of the principal fronts ; for even the Thames itself seems to belong to the gardens, which are separated into two pai-ts by a new seqxintine river, communicating (a) Chur. Hist. c. vi. p. 3571. SION HOUSE. with the Thames. Two bridges form a communication between tne two gardens, in one of which is a stately Doric coUunn, adorned at top with a finely propor- tioned statue of Flora. The greenhouse has a Gothic front, in so light a style as to be greatly admired. The back and end walls of it are the only remains of the old monastery. These beautiful gardens are stored with a great many curious exotics, and were principally laid out by Brown. The house is a majestic edifice of white stone : the roof is flat, and embattled, and at each of the four outward angles is a square embattled turret. The entrance from the high road is through a magnificent gateway, adorned on each side with an open colonnade. 'I'he ascent to the house is by a noble flight of steps, which leads into the great hall, a fine room of an oblong shape, sixty-six feet by thirty-one, and thirty-four in height. It is paved with white and black marble, and is ornamented with antique marble colossal statues, and a beautiful cast of the dying gladiator in bronze, by Valadier. Adjoining this room is a magnificent vestibule, in a very uncommon style ; the floor of scagliola, and the walls in fine relief, with gilt trophies, &c. It is adorned with twelve large Ionic columns, and sixteen pilasters oi verde antique, purchased at an immense expense : on the top of these columns are twelve gilt statues. This leads to the dining-room, which is ornamented with marble statues, and paintings in chiaro oscuro, after the antique. At each end is a circular recess separated by columns, and the ceiling is in stucco gilt. The drawing-room has a covered ceiling, divided into small compartments richly gilt, and exhibiting designs of all the antique paintings that have been found in Europe, executed by the best Italian artists. The sides are hung with a rich three-coloured silk damask, said to be the first of the kind ever executed in England. The tables are two noble pieces of antique mosaic, found in the baths of Titus, and purchased from Abbate Furietti's collection at Rome. The glasses are 108 inches by sixty-five. The chimney-piece is of very fine statuary marble, inlaid, and ornamented with or- mo/u. The great gallery, which also contains the library and museum, is 132| feet by fourteen. The bookcases are formed in recesses in the wall, and receive the books so as to make them appear part of the general finishing of the room. The chimney-pieces are adorned with medallions, &c. The whole is after the most beautiful style of the antique. Below the ceiling, which is richly adorned with paintings and ornaments, runs a series of large medallion paintings, exhibiting the portraits of all the earls of Northumberland in succession, and VOL. II. u SIGN HOUSE. other principal persons of the houses of Piercy and Seymour, all taken from originals. At the end of this room is a pair of folding doors into the garden, which uniformity required should represent a bookcase to answer the other end of the library. Here, by a happy thought, arc exhibited the titles of the lost Greek and Roman authors, so as to form a pleasing deception, and to give, at the same time, a curious catalogue of the authores deperditi. At each end is a little pavillion, finished in the most exquisite taste ; as is also a beautiful closet in one of the square turrets rising above the roof, which commands an enchanting prospect. From the east end of the gallery is a suite of private apartments very convenient and elegant, that lead again to the great hall. All these improve- ments were completed a few years since under the direction of that judicious architect, Mr. Robert Adam. STOKE POGIS CHURCH, BUCKS. Stoke Pogis is a large scattered village in the county of Buckingham, distant about twenty-one miles from the metropolis, which received tlie addition of Pogis, or Pogeis, from its ancient lords of that name. By the marriage of the heiress of this family to Lord Molines, in the reign of Edward the Third, this manor with other estates came into the possession of that nobleman, who some time afterwards is said to have procured a license from the king to convert the manor-house into a castle. From him it descended to the Hungerford flimily, who enjoyed it until the reign of Henry the Seventh, when by the intermarriage of Edward, sole heir and successor to the celebrated Lord Hastings, chamberlain to Edward the Fourth, with Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Hunger- ford, it became the property of the former, who shortly afterwards assumed the title of Lord Hungerford, in right of his wife, she being niece and also heiress to Robert, Lord Hungerford, Botreaux, Molines, and Moles, who was descended . from the heirs of those families. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, Francis, son and heir of the above,. was created Earl of Huntingdon, and left five sons, one of whom, Edward (who was elected a knight of the garter April 23, 1 Phil. & Mar. and installed May 29 following), was by Queen Mary created Lord Hastings of Loughborough, in the county of Leicester, as also made chamberlain of her household, and master of her horse; and dying at Stoke Pogis, where he bad. founded and endowed an hospital with a chapel, was therein buried. Henry Hastings, third earl of Huntingdon, knight of the garter, and privy counsellor to Queen Elizabeth, is generally supposed to have erected the mansion in Stoke Park, afterwards the seat of Lord Chancellor Hatton. Sir Edward Coke having married an heiress of the Huntingdon family, next resided here, and was visited in 1601 by Queen Elizabeth, whom he sumptuously, entertained, and presented her with a splendid set of jewels, &c. ; and here in 1.634 he died. It became afterwards the seat of Anne, Viscoiratess Cobham, VOL. II. p STOKE POGIS CHURCH. on whose death it was purchased by Mr. WiUiam Penn, chief proprietor of Pcnn-S) Ivania, in America, and now belongs to John Penn, Esq. his grandson. In Lady Cobham's time, Mr. Gray, whose aunt resided in this village, often visited Stoke Park, and in 1747 it was the scene of his poem called the Long Story (a.). The old manor-house, and the fantastic manners of Queen Elizabeth's time, in whose reign it was erected, are thus humorously described in the opening of this piece : " In Britain's isle, no matter wliere, An ancient pile of building stands : The Huntingdons and Hattons there Employ 'd the pow'r of fairy hands " To raise the ceiling's fretted height. Each pannel in achievements clothing, Rich windows that exclude the light. And passages that lead to nothing. " Full oft within the spacious walls. When he had fifty winters o'er him. My grave Lord Keeper (b) led the brawls : The seal and maces danc'd before him- " His bushy beard and sboe-strings green. His high-crown'd hat, and satin doublet, Mov'd the stout heart of England's queen. Though Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it. (a) Mr. Gray's Elegy, previous to its publication, was handed about in MS. and had, amongst other admirers, the Lady Cobham, who then resided in the mansion-house at Stoke Pogis. The performance inducing her to wish for the author's acquaintance. Lady Schaub and Miss Speed, then at her house, undertook to introduce her to it. These two ladies waited upon the author at his aunt's solitary habi- tation, where he at that time resided, and not finding him at home, they left a card behind them. Mr. Gray, surprised at such a compliment, returned the visit ; and as the beginning of this intercourse bore some appearance of romance, he gave the humorous and lively account of it which the Long Story contains. Notes to Gray's Poems. (b) Sir Christopher Hatton, promoted by Queen Elizabeth for his graceful person and fine dancing. Br.-iwls were a sort of figure-dance then in fashion, and probably deemed as elegant as our modern cutillious, or still mure modern quadrilles. Ibid. STOKE POGIS CHURCH. -" Tlicrc Forth from their gloomy mansions creeping, The Lady Janes and Joans repair. And from the gallery stand peeping. " In peaked hoods and mantles tarnish 'd, Sour visages enough to scare ye, High dames of honour once that garnish'd The drawing-room of fierce queen Mary." On the site of this ancient mansion (a), the present proprietor, Mr. Penn, ■has, within these few years, erected one of the most magnificent residences in this part of the country. This house was designed by Mr. Wyatt, but has since undergone several judicious alterations. It is built chiefly with brick, and covered with stucco, and consists of a large square centre with two wings. The north, or entrance front, is ornamented with a colonnade, consisting of ten Doric columns, and approached by a flight of steps leading to the marble hall. The south front, which is 196 feet in length, is also adorned with a colonnade, consisting of twelve fluted columns of the old Doric order. Above this ascends a projecting portico of four Ionic columns, sustaining an ornamental pediment. The interior of this fine seat corresponds with the grandeur of its outside, and contains several valuable pictures. The churchyard must ever be interesting as the scene of our bard's celebrated Elegy. It adjoins Stoke Park, and has a very neat and rural appearance. The church is a plain rustic edifice, of some antiquity, with a low tower and conical- shaped spire, but has none of those strongly marked features by which it is so admirably characterized in the poem ; and the " rugged elms" and " yew-tree's shade" appear to have been mere poetical accompaniments (b). Some of the (a) The ground-plan of it is now in Mr. Penn's possessioD. (b) Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wand'ring near her secret bower, Molest her ancient solitary reign. Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade. Where heaves the turf in many a mouWring heap, Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. STOKE POGIS CHURCH. surrounding scenery, however, finely corresponds, particularly to the south of the Park, where the eye is directed over a large sheet of water to the majestic castle of Windsor, beyond which Cooper's Hill and the Forest woods close the- prospect. The burying- place of the poet is vvithoutside the church, just beneath the eastern window, a spot which had been before consecrated by the interment of two of his dearest relatives. Here his remains lay unhonoured by even the slightest memorial till the year 1799, when Mr. Penn, with a liberality which does him great credit, performed the long-neglected task. The monument erected by this gentleman stands in a field adjoining the church, and forms the termination of one of the views from Stoke House. This elegant cenotaph is of stone, and is the principal object in the fore- ground of the annexed view, which likewise represents the east end of the church. Stoke House and Park, and other local subjects of interest. It consists of a large sarcophagus, supported on a square pedestal, with inscriptions on each side. Three of them are selected from the Ode to Eton College and the Elegy written in a Country Churchyard ; the fourth is as follows : This Monument in Honor of Thomas Gray, Was erected A. D. 1799, Among the Scenery Celebrated by that great Lyric and Elegiac Poet. He died in 1771, And lies unnoticed in the adjoining Churchyard, Under the Tombstone on which he piously And pathetically recorded the Interment Of his Aunt and lamented Mother. The following character of Gray is given in a letter written to Mr. Bosweli by the Rev. Mr. Temple, rector of St. Gluvias in Cornwall, first printed anony- mously in the London Magazine, which as we conceive authentic from the sanction of Mr. Mason, we shall therefore transcribe. " Perhaps he was the most learned man in Europe. He was equally acquainted with the elegant and profound parts of science, and that not super- ficially but thorough!)'. He knew every branch of history both natural and civil ; STOKE POGIS CHURCH. had read all the original historians of England, France, and Italy ; and was a great antiquarian. Criticism, metaphysics, morals, and politics, made a principal part of his study. Voyages and travels of all sorts were his favourite amusements; and he had a fine taste in painting, prints, arcliitcclure, and gardening. With such a fund of knowledge his conversation must have heen equally instructive and entertaining ; but he was also a good man — a man of virtue and humanity. There Is no character without some speck, some imperfection ; and I think the greatest defect in his was an affectation in delicacy, or rather effeminacy, and a visible fastidiousness, or contempt and disdain of his inferiors in science. He also had, in some degree, that weakness which disgusted Voltaire so much in Mr. Congreve ; though he seemed to value others chiefly according to the progress they had made in knowledge, yet he could not bear to be considered himself merely as a man of letters ; and though without birth, or fortune, or station, his desire was to be looked upon as a private independent gentleman, who read for his amusement. Perhaps it may be said, What signifies so much knowledge when it produced so little .'' Is it worth taking so much pains to leave no memorial but a few poems ? But let it be considered that Mr. Gray was to others innocently employed ; to himself, certainly beneficially. His time passed agreeably ; he was every day making some new acquisition in science ; his mind was enlarged, his heart softened, his virtue strengthened ; the world and mankind were shewn to him without a ma^ ; and he was taught to consider every thing as trifling, and unworthy of the attention of a wise man, except the pursuit of knowledge and practice of virtue, in that state wherein God hath placed us." As a poet he stands high in the estimation of the candid and judicious. His works are not numerous ; but they bear the marks of intense application and careful revision. His odes on the Progress of Poetrij, and The Bard, " breathe," says Mr. Mason, " the high spirit of lyric enthusiasm. The transitions are sudden and impetuous ; the language full of fire and force ; and the imagery carried, without impropriety, to the most daring height. They have been accused of obscurity : but the one can be obscure to those only who have not read Pindar ; and the other only to those who are unacquainted with the history of their own nation." " 111 the character of his Elegy," says Dr. Johnson, " I rejoice to concur with the common reader ; for by the common sense of readers, uncorrupted VOL. II. Q STOKE POGIS CHURCH. with literary prejudices, after all the refinements of subtilty, and the dogmatism of learning, must be finally decided all claim to poetical honours. The Churchyard abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind, and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an echo. The few stanzas beginning. Yet e'en these bones, are to me original ; I have never seen the notions in any other place ; yet he that reads them here, persuades himself that he has always felt them. Had Gray written often thus, it had been vain to blame, and useless to praise him." ^ ^ ^ Q w m "Is; ■\v. ^ ^Wm\\ WINCHESTER HOUSE, SOUTH JVJRK. Winchester House is said by Stovve to have been built about the year ] 1 07 by William Giftbrd, then bishop of that see, upon a piece of land belonging to the prior of Bermondsey, to whom the bishop paid an acknowledgment or quit- rent, as is evident by a writ directed to the barons of the exchequer in 1366, for the payment of eight pounds, due for the late Bishop of Winchester's lodgings in Southwark. It was the residence of the prelates during their attendance on parliament, and when perfect was undoubtedly one of the most magnificent of its kind in the city or suburbs of London. History informs us that Bishop Beaufort, on his being created cardinal of St. Eusebius in France, was on his approach to London met by the mayor, aldermen, and several of the chief citizens on horseback, and conducted by them in great pomp to his palace in Southwark. Many acts of the succeeding prelates are dated at this palace, which continued to be occasionally occupied by the bishops of Winchester till nearly the beginning of the seventeenth century, when it was deserted by them for the episcopal palace at Chelsea. In the civil wars Winchester House was for some time made a prison for the royalists. Sir Francis Doddington and Sir Kenelm Digby were both prisoners here at the same time, and here the latter wrote his book of Bodus, and diverted himself with chymical experiments, and the making of artificial stones, as rubies, emeralds, &c. It was sold by the parliament September 16, 1649, to Thomas Walker, Gent, for ^4380:8:3. The park belonging to the palace was included in the same indenture of sale ; but reverting upon the restoration to the rightful owner, the house was demolished, and the site of that and the park leased out and built upon, and is still part of the demesnes of the see of Winchester. This palace, with the other buildings belonging to it, we may reasonably VOL. II. N N WINCHESTER HOUSE. conclude formerly occupied in front most of that part of Bank Side now called Clink Street, as is still evident by the remains of its ancient stone walls ; and there can be no doubt but in its original state it had a complete view of the river Thames, though the street is now choked up with wharfs and manufactories. The buildings appear, in old plans of London, to have formed two court- yards, attached to which were various erections and offices for domestics. They were bounded on the south by beautiful gardens decorated with statues, fountains. &:c. and by a spacious park called Winchester Park ; on the north, by the river Thames ; on the east, by the monastery of St. Saviour's ; and on the west, by the plot of ground called Paris Gardens. To judge of the extent and grandeur of this vast pile when perfect, an intelligent spectator need only visit it in its present state of ruin. Time has not yet been able to extinguish the marks of venerable antiquity, though from its commercial situation few places have been more exposed to the attacks of violence. Of the side adjoining St. Saviour's Dock a considerable portion is still standing, tenanted by different families. Two sides of the principal qua- drangle, called Winchester Square, are converted into warehouses and stables, and in an adjacent street is the abutment of one of the gates. In most of these fragments the remains of ancient windows and arches may still be traced, which sufficiently evidence the very different uses to which they were once applied. ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON. It is well known that this expensive and princely pile arose from the muni- ficence of a private citizen. Sir Thomas Gresham. The first hint of the building was given him by a Welchman, one Richard Cloiigh, afterwards knighted, originally his servant, and in the year 156l, by his merit and industry, advanced by Sir Thomas to be his correspondent and agent in the then emporium of the world, -Antwerp. " Clough wrote to his master to blame the city of London for so necessary a thing, bluntly telling, that they studied nothing else but their own private profit ; that they were content to walk about in the rain more like pedlars than merchants ; and that there was no kind of people but had their place to transact business in in other countries (a)." Thus stimulated, Sir Thomas applied to the city, who having purchased and removed some tenements on the site of the Royal Exchange, gave him possession of the ground-plot ; and on June 7, 156o, he laid the foundation, and in November 1567, com- pleted what was then called the Bourse. Three years after its erection Queen Elizabeth paid Sir Thomas Gresham a visit, and after dining with him at his house in Bishopsgate Street, she went to the new Bourse, and inspecting every part of it, caused it to be proclaimed by sound of trumpet the Roi/al Exchange. This first pile was built of brick and covered with slate, and judging from the views of it engraved by Hollar, was inferior in grandeur to the present building, though it appears to have resembled it in fashion. It had in the centre (where now stands the statue of King Charles the Second) a lofty column surmounted by the founder's crest, a grasshopper : the upper part was filled (as was the case until the beginning of the last century) with shops, which on occasion of the queen's visit, were hung with the richest productions of the universe', to shew Jier majesty the prosperity of the commercial part of (a) Strype, vol. i. p. a6i. ROYAL EXCHANGE. her dominions. The expense of this noble design is not stated, but a judgment may be formed of it from the annual product of the rents of the shops to Sir Thomas's widow, which amounted to 5^751 : 5- The original structure having perished in the great fire, the present one was begun and finished by the city and the Mercers' company at the expense of ^80,000, whereof they each contributed a moiety. It was completed in 1669, and on September 28 of that year, it was opened by the lord mayor. Sir fVilliam Turner, who congratulated the merchants on the occasion. To attempt to describe a building so well known as the Royal Exchange would be superfluous. We may observe of it as of most other costly fabrics, that there is something to blame, and something to admire. The great defect is undoubtedly a want of sufficient space to view it in, which prevents the eye from comprehending the whole at once ; with this exception, the entrance must be allowed to be grand and august ; the two statues which adorn it are in a particular manner beautiful and admirable ; but then the tower which arises over it is a weight to the whole building, and is at the same time broken into so many parts, that it rather oflfends than pleases ; if reduced to half its present height it would harmonize abundantly better with the whole. The inside is light and airy, laid out in a very good style, and finished with great propriety of decoration. The statues of the British sovereigns are pecu- liarly appropriate and interesting, and though not all executed with the perfec- tion that could have been wished, are far from despicable (those of the early kings particularly), which were mostly the work of Gabriel Gibber. Those by Bushnell are of inferior merit. THE END. Printed by S. Gosnell, Litdc Queen btreet. Vi OS a]A)Nll3UV UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIIJRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on Che last dale stamped below. Form L9-Series 4939 y/^ ^lOSANCElfj 2 ^ 0^ ^iOJIlVDJO^ Iff^ ^OFCAllFOff^ 1% ^lOSANCflfx. J* C5 %- — n , -< ^/5li3AINn3WV^ ^lOSANCflfj> ,(?/^^ ^HIBRARYQc -''^aodnvjjo^-" -'^iojiTOJo'^ dJAINilhV. :AtlFO% ^OFCAllFORij^ ^ ,r finn i nv,- "J iJJiiY jur^ ^lOSANCElfj-^ O %li9AIN(13ftV ' J U J ' \ 1 1 ' 1 1 J 1 .^WEUNIVEP':■ AOSANCElfXy. 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