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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

DISSERTATION

ANTIQUITIES

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN,

WORCESTERSHIRE.

BY THE

REV. H. CARD, D.D. F.A.S. &c. kc. &c.

VICAU OF fillEAT MALVERN.

And O, yc swelling liills, ami spacious pluins!

BcRpront from shore to sliore with steeple towei-s.

And Hpircs wiiosc " silent tin^'er points to heaven ;"

Nor wanting at wide intervals the bulk

Of ancient Min?ter, lifted ahove the cloud

Of the dense air which town or city hrecvis

To intercept the sun's glad heams, — may ne*er

That true succession fail of Knglish hearts.

Who with ancestral feeling, can perceive

What in those holy structures ye possess

Of ornamental interest, and the charm

Of pious sentiment diffused afar,

Ami human charity, and social love. — Wordsworth.

Nor rough, nor hancn, are the winding ways

Of hoar antiquity, but strewn with tlowei-s. — Warton.

LONDON:

PRINTED roll J. <;. \ F. lUVlXGTON,
ST. Paul's ciiikiii vaud, and Waterloo place, i'vi.i. mai.l;

S: SOI, It nv uincK, woucrsTF.it.
ISM.

LONDON :
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,

ST. JOHN'S-SQI'ARE.

(S90

DEDICATION.

TO HER ROYAL HIGHNESS

THE DUCHESS OF KENT.

Madam,

My pleasing labour is now finished; for pleasing
I can truly call it, since it was undertaken at the desire of
your Royal Highness, graciously communicated to me on a
recent occasion. I am far from thinking my performance
])erfect, but do not imagine any thing I can add of sufficient
value to require longer delay in placing it before your Royal
Highness, with every sentiment of profovuid respect.

I have the honor to remain,
Madam,
Your Royal Highness' most obliged,

and most dutiful Servant,

HENRY CARD.

THE VICARAGE,
September 8, 1834.

(i3;a2i^i'i

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN,

WORCESTERSHIRE.

If antiquity impart additional dignity to the temple as well as to the
palace — and what acute observer of the human mind will dispute this
fact ? — then must those Christian edifices reared by the pious muni-
ficence of our forefathers excite our deepest reverence, and call forth
our most fervent aspirations for their preservation. Unquestionably
]ni who has perused the frightful accounts unfolded at the Visitations
of the Abbeys — the detestable crimes practised in those cloisters of
iniquity and impurity', — cannot but acknowledge that Henry VIH.,

' " 1 know not by what right," observes Mr. Ilallam, " we should disbelieve the
reports of the visitation under Henry VIII. entering, as they do, into a multitude of
specific charges, both probable in their nature, and consonant to the unanimous opinion
of the world." Middle Ages, vol. iii. p. 352, 353. For additional coniinuation of
these assertions, see Fosbrooke's British Monachism, vol. i. p. 127, where that writer has
thoroughly exposed the delinqiicncies of the Monks. But nothing can be more indis-
putable than the fact, that the monasteries were the chief or sole preservers of the
historical Memorials of their times, however just may be the remark of Gibbon, " that
of such manuscripts, the casualty of fire, or the slow progress of damp and worms,
would often endanger their limited and precarious existence." See his Miscellnneous
Works, vol. ii. p. 709. We learn from Spelman, that some sympathy for the fate of the

2 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

in their suppression, rendered an essential service to the cause of true
religion. Glorious as the era of the Reformation was, still it will
l)e ever matter of regret to the real lovers of the fine arts, whether
Roman Catholic or Protestant, tliat so many stately Abbeys, monu-
ments of tlie skill as well as the piety of our ancestors, should have
been demolished or dilapidated. Among, however, those national
ornaments which escaped the hand of destruction, the conventual
church of Great Malvern still retains most of its original perfection.
Occupying a spot as lovely as the eye ever rested upon, and built
after the customary form of a cross, this venerable structure, in its
magnitude, proportions, and decorations, with its dark grey tower
so full of impression and effect, — with its pierced battlements and
graceful pinnacles, — presents a most beautiful specimen of that
florid style of English architecture which prevailed in the reign
of Henry VII. The whole length of this majestic and picturesque
fabric, as given by Mr. Chambers in his History of Great Malvern ',
is an hundred and seventy-one feet, its breadth sixty-three feet.
The height of the nave is sixty-three feet ; and that of the tower a
hundred and twenty-four feet. Congreve must have had a building

Monks and Nuns was felt on the part of the Commons, as Henry was obliged to send
for them, and to declare, in his usual bluff manner, that if the Bill were not passed,
which put him and his heirs in possession of all monastic establishments, with the property
belonging to them, both real and personal, he would cause some of their heads to be
struck off. History of Sacrilege, p. 183.

' P. 53. Before the demolition of the South Transept Aisle, and of the Lady Chapel,
at the east end of the church, which Cole the antiquary states to have been about fifty
feet in length, (see MSS. Brit. Mus. vol. x. folio 119), the building must have been quite
cathedral-like in appearance. Well, indeed, may Cole style it, " a most noble structure."
The old parish church was dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle, and stood near the
present church, at the north-west corner of the church-yard. Its length was ninety feet,
its breadth tliirty-six, and it had one small chapel to the south. See Thomas. Antiq.
Priorat. Majoris Malveme, p. xci.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 3

of this sort in his mind, wlien, iu that noble passage of his Tragedy,
he exclaims, —

" How reverend is the face of this tall pile,
Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads
To bear aloft its arched and ponderous roof,
By its own weight made stedfast and immoveable,
Looking tranquillity '."

In the middle ages^ art commenced with sacred subjects. Indeed,
ecclesiastical architecture was the chief boast of those dark times.
Churches, therefore, independently of early religious associations,
must always be objects of great interest, as they illustrate our history,
and the state of the arts at the time in which they were erected. It
is painful then to remark, that, after such a lavish prodigality of ex-
penditure, we have so few beautiful new Churches to compensate for
the loss and decay of the proud fanes of olden times. AA'hile these
fill the beholder with awe, admiration, and delight, there is nothing
in those to raise the mind to a loftier state of thought and feeling ;
the latter — sublime structures, and therefore awakening sublime emo-
tions, — are as distinguished for their vastness, grandeur and science,
as the former are devoid of such qualities or attributes.

Unfortunately, our present system of education pays little or no
attention to art ; or that great desideratum in our Universities, a
Professorship of Ecclesiastical Architecture from the era of the Norman
Conquest to that of the Reformation, — a period in which is exhibited
such boundless variety in all the diflercnt gradations of style, — would
long ago have contributed not only to form the national taste upon

' Mourning Bride, Act ii. Scene 1.

* According to the authority of Mr. Ilallnm, and no higher can be produced on the
subject, tlie Middle Ages comprise about one tlious.-ind years, from the invasion of France
by Clovis, to that of Naples by Charles VIIL Vol. iii. p. .^OS.

U 2

4 I'RIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

purer principles, but might have drawn the notice of the Government
to the better preservation of those highly interesting edifices which
have not sunk under the ruthless fury of the fanatic, or the more
silent operations of Time.

Formerly, upon this subject, there was an intensity of religious
feeling, instead of that obtusity which has been for so many years
past but too apparent on the part of those who have directed the
movements of the State. No stronger proof of this assertion can be
afforded, than that Sir Reginald Bray, the restorer of the Priory, a
brief history of which we are about to give, was, to use the parlia-
mentary phrase of this day, the Premier of Henry VII. His memory
is immortalized by the unrivalled skill and taste displayed by him in
the construction of Henry's Chapel at Westminster, " that glorious
work of fine intelligence V' and in the completion of that of St.
George's in Windsor Castle. The other points in his character entitle
him to an honourable renown. It was the complaint of a great states-
man and historian^, " that we are often declaiming about the wisdom
of our ancestors, without knowing what they mean, or hardly ever
citing any particulars of their conduct or of their dicta." That we
may not commit the error here censured, we will show in what a
brilliant light Sir Reginald's character is set by an ancient writer.

' The pretensions of Alcock, Bishop of Ely, have been advanced as a participator with
Sir Reginald, on this memorable occasion. But this is pure assumption with many.
We believe, that the evidence of Sir Reginald being the architect of this wonder of the
norld, as it has been styled, will stand the strictest examination. There is just cause
for regret, that we are still without any certain or accurate knowledge upon the subject
of the other edifices constructed by him. " It is surprising," observes Jfr. Britton, " that
more particulars of this truly eminent man, and of the public buildings he is said to have
designed, have not been satisfactorily developed." Architectural Antiquities, vol. iii.
p. 34, .35.

' See Correspondence of the late Gilbert Wakefield, B.A. with the late Right Honour-
able Charles Fox, p. 86.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 5

" After the death of this noble Princess Elizabeth, departed Sir
Reginalde Brayc, Knight of the Garter, a very ffuther of his country,
a sage and grave person, and a fervent lover of justice. Insomuch
that if any things had been done against good law or equitie, he
would, after an humble fashyon, reprehende the Kinge, and gyve him
good advertysement how to reform that offence, and to be more cir-
cumspect in another like case. Of the same vertue and honest
plainness was John Moreton, Archbyshop of Canterbury, which died
two years before. So these two persons were over restrayned of the
Kinge's wilful scope and unbridled liberties : whereas the rude and
ignoraunt people say and affirm that theyr counsaile infected and cor-
rupted the Kinges clean and immaculate conscience contrary to his
princely disposition and naturall inclination. Such is ever the errour
of the common people : but surely as longe as the Kinge would heare
and obeye such as warned him of his office royall and kingly duetie,
he could in no wise erre or swarve aside '."

In thus recoi'ding the courageous wisdom and public virtue of this
pillar of the state — for Sir Reginald shone as a soldier as well as a
counsellor — we shall so far testify our respect for the observation just
quoted, as to give a few more particulars respecting this most liberal
benefactor, or to speak more correctlj', second founder of the Priory.
The place of his nativity was St. John's Bcdwardine', in Worcester-
shire, and he entered into public life wiiji manj' of the external
advantages of birth and fortune. His ancestors came to Enjiland with
William the Concpu-ror. Sir Richard, the father of Sir Reginald,

' Sec MS. LansJowiic, JIus. Brit. No. 'J7S; IJishop Kennel's Collections, fol. L'(>2.

l5o;j.

' Some writers represent him to have been a native of Great Malvern ; but others,
who are better informed on the subject, aj^rec with Nash, that he was born in the parish
above mentioned, in 1st Richard 111, 1 183.

6 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERX.

and, according to some, physician to Henry VI. was of Eaton Bray,
in the county of Bedford, and endeared himself so much to the King,
as to be sworn of the Privy Council. Sir Reginald early gained the
good opinion of Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derb}', and
ultimately became a chief instrument in assisting her son, Henry, to
mount the English throne. Great undertakings require great quali-
fications and abilities. And when that master-stroke of policy — the
union of the two Houses of York and Lancaster, by the marriage of
Henry with Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. was projected by the
Duke of Buckingham, and Moreton, Bishop of Ely, they fixed on Sir
Reginald as the person to carry it into execution. In these words
did Moreton specify his merits to the Duke. " He is sober, secret,
and well-witted, and his prudent policy is known to encompass things
of great importance." The firmness, temper, and address of Sir
Reginald, in an enterprise where so many discordant feelings and
embroiled interests were concerned, led finally to complete success:
for he drew over to the cause of his mistress. Sir Giles D'Aubeny,
Sir John Cheyney, and other persons of great weight in the kingdom.
As a reward for having acted so prominent a part in this transac-
tion, Henry, at his accession, loaded him with estates and offices of
large profit. In 1494, he was elected High Steward of Oxford; and
he did not disappoint the hopes of that learned body in maintaining
their rights and privileges. Henry, in his letters-patent to his said
Steward, knight of his body, recognising, no doubt at Sir Reginald's
urgent solicitation, the franchises of the University, as including,
besides other matters, the right of hearing the criminal causes of
scholars and other privileged persons, accepted the nomination, and
allowed him and his other assessors (named in the patent) or any two
of them, to proceed in the common form against offenders. On the

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 7

marriage of Prince Arthur, the dowry of the Princess was guaranteed
to her by the Duke of York, the two Archbishops, the Bishops of
Winchester and Lincoln, and Sir Reginald Bray. The eminent ser-
vices which he had rendered to Henry procured him also the dignities
of Knight of the Garter, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Bred a soldier as well as a politician, his skill and gallantry were con-
spicuously displayed in the decisive battle of Bosworth Field, and in
that of Blackheath, where the Cornish insurgents were completely
routed. In short, placed in employments which he executed with
equal ability and integrit}', it was his rare good fortune to enjoy
uninterruptedly the favour of one of the most sagacious and sternest
Monarchs that ever held the British sceptre. Sir Reginald died on
the 5th of August, 1502-3, and was buried in the middle of a Chapel
at Windsor, which was founded by him, and still bears his name : and
Churton, summing up his character, says, " that he received from
the Crown innumerable patents, marks of favour, grants of emolument,
which, as they did not corrupt, served only to display the integrity of
the senator and the statesman : while his counsel carried so great a
sway witli the court, that, liail he not died before Henry, the acts of
rapacity and opjjrcssion with which that Monarch's later annals are
disgraced, would no doubt have been less numerous and less flagrant,
if not entirely prevented '."

According to Bishop Tanner and Dr. Nash, the Priory of Great
Malvern first rises into notice from a very remote period. The former
says, " here in the great wild forest was an hermitage, or some kind
of religious house for seculars, before the Conquest, with some en-

' The most authentic information of Sir Roginatd Uray will be found in Dugdalc's
Baronage; Kippis's Edit, of the Biog. Brit. art. Bray; Churton's Lives of the Founders
of Brazen-nose College ; and Manning's Suney.

8 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

dowment by the gift of King Edward the Confessor;" and the latter,
speaking of Malvern in his Collections for the History of Worcester-
shire, observes, "Before the Conquest it was a wilderness thick set
with trees, in the midst of which some monks, who aspired to greater
perfection, retired from the Priory of Worcester, and became hermits.
The enthusiasm spread so fast that the number soon increased to three
hundred, when, forming themselves into a society, they agreed to
live according to the order of St. Benedict, and elected Aldwin,
one of their number, to be superior. Thus was the monastery
founded about the year 1083, with the consent and approbation of St.
Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester." It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary
and also to St. Michael, as we learn from an original charter pre-
served in the British Museum '.

In the Annales Wigornienses, we are expressly told that Aldwin
was the founder of the Malvern Monaster)', a.d. 1085. William of
Malmesbury has furnished us with a somewhat detailed account of
the circumstances which induced him to commence the undertaking.
What person at the present day does not feel a peculiar pleasure,
especially if he have an archaic' tone of mind, M'hen satiated with
our profitless philosophizing, he turns to the simple but graphic tales

' See Dugdale's Monast. Angl. N.E. Part xxii. p. 440.

' Whether an}' of our readers be possessed with the feelings and sentiments we are now
about to speak of, would puzzle us as much to determine as a dubious case of law :
but we have known those who entirely participate in them ; to whom the study of the
dusty record and the mildewed charter has the same inexpressible charms as the sweet
chirpings of birds in woods and fields, the soft rippling of streams, and the rude whistling
of the winds, have for others. " I have heard one of the greatest geniuses this age
has produced, who had been trained up in all the polite studies of antiquity, assure me,
upon his being obliged to search into several rolls and records, that, notwithstanding such
an employment was at first very dry and irksome to him, he at last took an incredible
pleasure in it, and preferred it even to the reading of Virgil or Cicero." Spectator,
No. 447.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 9

of the good old gossiping chroniclers. For, in that pictorial age, of
which we are discoursing, when the manners and opinions of con-
temporaries were so naturally represented, there was no wide gulf
fixed between fancy's regions and those of sober reality ; between the
dim and tremulous twilight of uncertainty, and the steady effulgence
of convictidM, but annalists and their readers — rari nantes in gurgite
vasto', — were alike content to wander on in " the palpable obscure"
of the time, yielding unhesitating confidence to its delusions and its
dreams. Whenever the writer is firmly assured of what he relates,
his narrations generally bear an impress of truth to others. Indeed
he demands, and expects their faith in all that he propounds, as if
what he had ascertained to his own conviction was equally clear to
them. Such a national Chronicler was William, the Monk of Malmes-
bury ; for in his day the literary man was only to be found in the
monastery. None then handled the pen to any useful or edifying
purpose, but the member of a chapter or of a convent ^ The following

' " The gross mass of tlie laity, from the baron to the mechanic, were then more
addicted to the exercises of the body than to tliose of the mind. Few among them could
read, still fewer could write : none were acquainted with the Latin tongue ; and if they
sometimes listened to a tale of past times, their puerile love of the marvellous would
prefer the romance of Sir Launcclot, or Sir Tristram, to the authentic narratives most
honourable to theu- country and their ancestors." See Gibbon's Address upon the Study
of the History and Antiquities of Great Britain; Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 709. But even
at the end of the sixteenth century, the ignorance and barbarism of the times were such,
that Marlow, " he of mighty line," makes one of the clowns, in his tragedy of Faustus,
say to another, " Snail, what hast thou got there, a book ? why thou can'st not tell ne'er
a word on't."

' And not many there either. Parchment was an article of great expense, from its
scarcity, in those days, which was another obstacle to the spread of knowledge, and
an excuse to so many of the Monks for being content to sit lazily and proudly in (heir
ignorance, Mr. Ilallam quotes Warton for the fact, that no parchment could be procured
about 1120, for preparing an illuminated copy of the Bible. Middle Ages, vol. iii. p. .'J.'JS.
We shall offer no apology to the curious reader for presenting to him our researches upon

10 , PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

legend, connected with the history of the Priory, may aptly serve as
an illustration of the foregoing remarks. Our translation, it will be
seen by the learned reader, is almost a literal one.

There was one Aldwin, a monk, wlio, witli a single companion
named Guido, lived as a recluse in that very densely wooded chase,
which is called Malvern. After long struggles of conscience, Guido
considered it absolutely necessary, as the shortest path to glory, to
visit Jerusalem, and see the Lord's sepulchre, or meet a blessed death
by the hand of the Saracens. Aldwin was disposed to follow his
example, but first consulted his spiritual adviser Wolstan. The prelate
dissuaded him, and cooled his ardour by saying, " Do not, I beseech
thee, Aldwin, go any where, but remain in your place : believe me,
you would wonder if you knew what I know ; how much God is about
to perform through you in that place." The monk having heard this
departed, and now remained firm in purpose, and soothed every sorrow
by the hope of the prophecy. Nor was it long after that the prophecy
hastened to its fulfilment. One after the other successively came, to
the number of thirty. Abundant were the stores of provision which
flowed in upon them from the neighbouring inhabitants, who judged
themselves happy in being permitted to minister aught to God's ser-

tbis subject. Many entries occur in the Wardrobe Accounts of various kings' reigns, and
in the Pipe Rolls, duplicates of which are now in the British Museum, of the sums paid
for parchment. One of these entries, in the printed Wardrobe Account of the 28th
Edward I. p. 51, is Juliane atte Flode, de Wyntonia, pro pcrgamens empt' de eadem per
Johem de Langeford pro expens' garde robe Regis, videlt pro 40 duodenis pergamen'
precio duodene 12d. — 21. Os. Od. — et pro 15 duodenis precio duodene 18d. — 1/. 2^. Gd.
per manus predicte. I. ibidem 15 die Marcii Siimnia. 3/. 2s. 6d." From this entry it
would appear, that 40 dozen skins, at 12f/. per dozen, cost 21. ; and 15 dozen of, perhaps,
a superior quality, or larger size,' cosf 1/. 2s. 6d. ; so that parchment must have been sold,
in Edward's reign, after the rate of Id. and lid. per skin. In another part of the same
Wardrobe Account, (28 Edward I.) GO dozen skins of parchment, with carriage of same
from Lincoln to Westminster, including cordage for packing them, cost 71. 12s.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. H

vants ; or if there chanced to be need of any thing, they supplied the
want by faitli, deeming it a little matter to be without carnal food,
seeing that they grew fat upon spiritual joys '. It would appear, by
the following story, that the same Bishop (Wolstau) did not want just
vision to discern that the spirits of men must become pure from their
errors and vices by first suffering for them, and that without continual
training and tutoring, spiritual growth would not proceed in that way
so as to be conducive to any permanently good purpose.

One Swclf, a merchant, had been accustomed to visit him once a
year to receive his advice in the healing of his spiritual ailments.
Once on a time, after giving the absolution, he observed, " You often
repeat the sins which you have confessed; because, as the proverb
goes, opportunity makes the thief. Wherefore I advise you to become
a monk, which, if you do, you will not long have the opportunity for
those sins." Upon this, the other rejoined, that he could not possibly
become a monk, because he found it so difficult to bring: his mind to
it. " Go your ways," said the Bishop, in somewhat of a passion ; " a
monk you will become, whether you choose it or not, but only when
the appliances and means of vice have wa.\en old in you." Which fact
we afterwards witnessed, because, when now broken down by old age,
and warned by disease, he betook himself to our monastery : but
though he had many times repented, yet, nevertheless, as often as any
one reminded him of the Bishop's saying, he still laboured to check
his temper, and to soften his disposition '.

In another respect, also, the prediction of this eminent saint ^ of the

' Sec Note A, Appciulix. ' See Note B, Appendix.

* " WilsU'inus in sanctitate nostro sxculo nomatissimus." Vide (Jul. Malm. De Vilis
Pontificum, fol. 159. After this quotation we must suppose the mitred priest's pretensions
to canonization indisputable : but popular fame is not always to be taken as the best
criterion for the honours of saintship. Had some of tliosc worthies, who have been so

12 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

monastic calendar (Wolstan) was verified. After Aldwin had procured
letters-patent from Pope Gregory VII. and William the Conqueror,
Urso d'Abitot, or D'Abtot, a Norman baron, whose property was con-
siderable in this county, as well as other magnates, became a great
benefactor to the Priory. It was honoured also in a particular man-
ner by acts of liberality on the part of Henry I., who, besides
confirming all former grants, by his Charter, dated 1271, annexed
various lands to it. In No. IX. of the Charters and Instruments, in
the new edition of Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, are enumerated
the possessions, temporal and spiritual, of the Priory, at the period
of its taxation by Pope Nicholas IV. 1291.

It was fortunate for the prosperity of this establishment, that
Walkerius, or Walcher, its second prior, trod in the steps of the first,
in all benevolence to man, and in all humility to God. The zeal of
the faithful may well be supposed to have been eager to heap bounty
on him, who was so much an object of reverence, that to disbelieve
the words of Walcher, was, according to William of Malmesbury,
doing an injury to religion'. An epitaph is but au imperfect test
of merit, but, as an opinion on the worth of individual character, it

dignified, lived in the present day, we should naturally conclude that the police officer, or
the cachipoUis, as he is styled in Wiclif's New Testament, {Dcdis of ApostoUs, c. xvi.)
would have failed in his duty, if he had not provided his thief-catching apparatus as a
means for preventing them from further tainting the community by the badness of their
characters. In exemplification of this remark, take the following story of what occurred
to St. Martin, as given on the authority of Bellarmine, by Bishop Philpotts. " He had
long entertained some pretty strong doubts of the propriety of the devotions offered by
the people in his neighbourhood to a supposed saint ; because, in truth, there was nothing
very certain or satisfactory in the traditions concerning him. One day, when St. Martin
was at his prayers, the ghost of this personage appeared to him, and frankly confessed that
he was a damned spirit; that when alive, he had been a robber, and that he suffered death
for his crimes by the hand of the public executioner." Letters to Butler, p. 35.
' " cujus verbis qui non credit injuriam religioni facit." De Regibus, &c. &-c.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 13

is at least deserving of equal regard with an eulogy on the living. He
then must be an epitaph-hater, who would deny that some grains of
truth may not lie witliiu the monkish lines inscribed on a stone of
coffin-like form in memory of Prior Walcher, which was dug up in
May, 1711, in a garden adjoining the church-wall, on the south side
of the nave, on which the Priory cloisters were supposed to have
stood ; a circumstance, be it observed, which gives a sort of warrant
to the conjecture that he was buried in them.

Philosophvs dignvs bonvs Astrologvs, Lotheringvs,
Vir pivs ac hvmilis, monachvs, Prior hvivs ovilis,
Hie jacet in cista, Geometricvs ac Abacista,
Doctor Walchervs ; flet pltbs, dolet vndiqve clervs ;
Hvic Ivx prima mori dcdit Octobris seniori ;
Vivat vt in coelis exoret qvis qve fidelis. mcxxxv '.

' " Here lies entombed Walcherus of Lorraine, Prior of this Convent, noted for his
piety and humilitj', a distinguished Philosopher, a good Astronomer, Geometrician, and
Arithmetician; universally lamented by Laity and Clergy. He died on the first day of
October, advanced in years. Let every true Christian fervently pray, that he may live
in Heaven." — It is a debateable point among the critics, at what period these Latin
rhymes made their appearance in the world : and that verses of this kind should be
designated Leonine, has puzzled the learned Canulcn himself. " Riming verses, which
are called Versus Leoni, / know not wherefore (for a lyons taile doth not answer to the
middle parts as these verses do), began in the time of Carolus Magnus, and wore onlv in
request then and in many ages following, which dclighteth in nothing more than in this
minstrelsie of meeters." Remains, 1G14, p. 337. Might not this name have been given
to them after Leo the Great. The whole ancient Roman Liturgy was generally known
by the name of tlie Leonine Sacramentarj', though it is believed to have been equally put
together by Gclasius I. and by St. Gregory. Tiie monks, in honour of Leo, may likewise
have distinguislied these verses by liis name. Heame, in the Preface to his History of
Glastonbury, p. xivi. asserts, that a brass plate was found on the inscription of Walchcr's
tomb in Great Malvern Church : but, as tlie lively Walpole says, iu his letter to Cole on
this subject, " Tom Hearne must have here mistaken brass for stone." Cole's MSS.
vol. XXV. fol. 194. We presume that no objection, which will be deemed valid, can he
made to the assertion of Cole, " that the use of brass plates lor monumental inscriptions
was not introduced so early as the lime of Henry I."

14 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

" My soul deligliteth," exclaims the author of Vatliek, " in a
legendary tale of the monastic sort;" and old Grose, no inconsiderable
name among those who are skilled in legendary lore, was used to say
to his boon companions, " that he loved a good ghost story, as much
as the clown did wrestling and single-stick." Perhaps some of our
readers may have the same bent of mind for the marvellous, " for
those bodyless creations that ecstacy is very cunning in," and there-
fore it would be uncourteous in us not to indulge their taste in this
respect ; especially, as it is incumbent upon us, in our capacity of his-
toriographer to the Priory, not to abbreviate or slur over any circum-
stance or event, which may revive the long-forgotten reputation of its
Superiors. The following story, related to William of Malmesbury
by him wliose epitaph we have just transcribed, must show in what
high estimation he stood with his contemporaries, when this chronicler
can invest fancy's air-drawn pictures with all the characters of a real
transaction ; can consider them as having sufficient warrant to be
entitled to a respectful belief, merely because they emanated from the
brain of Prior Walcher. " Read not to believe and take for granted,"
was a piece of advice from Lord Bacon, that would have been thus
answered with contumelious scorn in the words of Spenser, by the
lovers of the preternatural and visionary.

" Why then should witless man so much miswecn
That nothing is but that which he hath seen."

" Not more than fifteen years have elapsed," said Walcher, "since
a contagious disease attacked the Prior of that place, and afterwards
destroyed many of the monks. The survivors at first began each to
fear for himself, and to pray and to give alms more abundantly than
usual : in process of time, however, for such is the nature of man,

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 15

their fear gradually subsiding, they began to omit them. The cellarer
more especially, who publicly and laughingly exclaimed, that the
stock of j)rovisions was not adequate to such a consumption as was
going on ; that he had lately hoped for some reduction of expense,
considering there had been so many funerals, but that his hopes were
at an end, if the dead consumed what the living could not. It hap-
pened on a certain night, when from some urgent business he had
deferred going to rest for a long time, that having at length got rid
of the difficulties which delayed him, he went towards his dormitory.
Singular is the circumstance now to be related. He saw in the
Chapter-house the Prior and all who had died that year sitting in the
order they had dt'parttd, whereat he was affrighted and endeavoured
to escape ; but was detained by force. Being reproved and corrected
after the monastic manner with the scourge, he heard the Prior speak
precisely to the following effect : — That it was foolish to be ravenously
seeking profit by another's death, seeing that all men were subject to
one common fate. That it was impious for a monk who had passed
his whole life in the service of the church to be grudged his pittance of
pay for a single year alter his death : that he himself should die very
shortly ; but that whatever others might do inr liiui, should rcdountl
only to the advantage of those whom he had defrauded : that he
mitilit now <'o, and endeavour to correct bv his example those whom
he had corrupted l)v Ids language. lie departed, and demonstrated
that he had seen nothing imaginary, as well by the recent marks of
the scourging, as by his death, which shortly followed '."

Before parting with Malmesbury, we cannot forbear adst riing to
his, apparently earnest desire to taki' the monastery of Malvern under
his especial protection. lie is anxious to hold it up to universal

' Sec Note C, Appendix.

16 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

respect; thou<>h he shows himself not to be the blind and indiscrimi-
nate eulogist of it, whon he closes his general remarks by saying, in
the way of brotherly counsel, that " he hands down this place to
immortal hope, while the penury of mortal things distracts and stimu-
lates the monks'."

The mitred Abbots of Westminster, ever since the period when
Gislibertus Crispinus, one of their number, bestowed several manors
and estates upon the Priory, had claimed pre-eminence of power over
it. In the reign of Henry II. a violent dispute arose between Richard
Ware, Abbot of Westminster, and Godfrey Giffard, Bishop of Wor-
cester, respecting the subordination of Great Malvern. Being both
men of inflexible spirit, and of equal energy, the litigation was long
protracted ; at last Edward I. in the plenary exercise of his royal
authority, brought this great cause of contention to an amicable
settlement : the Priory being made a grateful offering to the ambition
of the Abbot, and the Manor of Knightwick, in this county, given
to the Bishop and his successors ^ But although placed in this
instance under the jurisdiction of Westminster, the Prior and Convent
appear to have always acted as an independent corporation ^ with
respect to the mass of property they had accumulated in the counties
of Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, and Warwick : for the Priors, like

1 " Ad iramortalem spem commemoro, dum mortalium rerum pemiria monachos

trahit et animat." De Monasteriis, fol. 1C2.

' For evidence upon these points, vide Rcgist. chart, et privileg. Abbatiae Westmonast.
MS. Cotton. Mus. Brit. Faustina. A. 111. Malvern, fol. 276. Carta Godefridi Wygnrn
epT qd in cella maiori Malvemie nullam habeat jurisdictione. C. Ixxxv. fol. '276^
Composico int. Westm. & Malverne capit Ixxxvj. fol. 277"^. Rex Edwardu5 confirmat
forraam pacis factam in V. Driiii. G. AVygom. Epm. & Westm. sup. cell. Malvern, cap.
Ixxxvij. fol. 279. Assensus Prioris & Convent Malvern sup ordinaciSn Dm Edwardi
Reg. cap. Ixxxix.

' See Tanner's Notitia Monastica.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 17

many otliers of tlicir order, were desirous of procuring real property
by purchase, as well as by charters of donation, tliough sometimes
they alienated their lands in favor of their relations and friends'.

In 1151, 5 Henry II. William Burdet assigned to Roger, then Prior
of Malvern, Avercote or Aucote Monastery, in Warwickshire, as a cell
to that Prior)'. There was also another cell at Brockbury, in the
parish of Colwall, Herefordshire. Yet over these, the Abbots of
Westminster exercised no sort of control in the disposal of their reve-
nues or appointments. The occasion which led to the foundation of
the little monastery of Avecote is quite dramatic as to incident, but,
as an atonement for bloodshed, not uncommon in those ferocious
times. We shall give this tale to the reader in the direct and simple
narrative of Dugdale.

" William Burdet being both ii valiant and devout man, made a
journey to the Holy Land for subduing of the infidels in those parts,
and his steward, whilst he was thus absent, solicited the chastity of
his lady, who resisted those his uncivil attempts with much scorn ;
whereupon he grew so full of envy towards her, that so soon as he
had advertisement of his master's arrival in England, he wont to meet
him ; and to shadow his own foul crime, complained to him of her
looseness with others : which false accusation so enraged her husband,
that wlien lie came home, and siu- approaelud to receive him with
joyful embraces, he forthwith mortally stabbed her; and to e.xpiate
the same unhappy act, after he understood the truth, he built this
monastery '."

' llanc terrain tenuit Sirof de Episcopo, tempore Rcf;is Eilwardi, quo mortuo dcdit
Kpiscopus filiam ejus euru liac terra, cuidam suo milili, qui et matrein pascerct, et Episcopo
inde servirct. See Proofs and Illustrations, Part II. p. ccclxvi. in Sir Francis Palgravc's
Rise and Progress of tlie English Coinmonwcalth.

' Monas. Aiigl. p. •l.'iS.

18 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

At the time of the dissolutiou of religious houses, the Priory was
valued, according to Dugdale, at £308. Is. 5^d., and according to
Speed, at £375. Os. 6^d., Tanner's M. T. Valor and Stevens's Supple-
ment give £307. Is. 4|(/. as the summa clara. i. e. the net amount.
Among its possessions are the manors of Wortefield, Newland, and
Powyke, in the county of Worcester, Northwode, in Shropshire, the
town of Hatfield, and lauds in Baldenhale Malvern, Branncsford and
Lye, tithes at Archcsfonte, in the diocese of Salisbury, of the yearly
value of 40s. Tlie Priory of Malvern had likewise the appropriate
churches of Longeney Powyke and Malvern, the patronage of the
churches of Hanleye, in the deanry of Powyke, of Upton Snodbury,
in the deanry of Pershore, and of Eastleach, in the deanry of Fayrford,
in the county of Gloucester'. -

" From the age of Charles Martel," emphatically asks a writer as
eloquent as he is profoundly learned, " down to tlie reigns of Henry,
or Joseph, or Napoleon, when could the Pontiff or the Priest retain
any possessions which the King and the soldier were determined to
acquire^?" We are not, therefore, to be surprised, that the domains
of this Priory should have shared the fate which befell ecclesiastical
possessions more or less in every country in Europe. The level of the
ocean changes. Field after field, as wave follows wave, has the Priory
been stripped of, by that great innovator Time, to use the often-quoted
words of Lord Bacon ; so that if one of its monks, who lived in the
twelfth or fourteenth century, could now revisit Malvern, he would
find all its fair acres alienated or sold'; and if he awoke from his

' Nash, vol. ii. p. 122, 123.

^ See the Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, by Sir Francis Palgrave,
Part I. p. 169.

' We learn, upon distinct authority, that Philip and Mary confirmed a purchase made
by Henry Fayrefeld, of the manor of Woodfelde, in the county of Worcester, of part of

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 19

long slumber with his recollective faculties strong about him, after
gazing intently upon tliat church and well known cross ', he would,

the lands of the dissolved monastery of Malvern. See Dugdale, Jlonast. Angl. N. E.
p. 441, but into whose hands the other portions of the domain fell, we cannot discover
with any certainty.

' Crosses, we are told by a writer to whom every student of ecclesiastical architecture
is highly indebted, were erected at the entrance of churches, to throw the mind into an
attitude of solemn thought and reverence. See Britton on Stone Crosses. May I avail
myself of this opportunity (for want of a better) of saying a few words upon some
animadversions which have been passed upon me for not removing a cross in the interior
of this church. To tlie prattle of the ignorant, and the sneers of the superficial, 1 will
not throw out a sentence in my defence : but I would endeavour to propitiate those of
sounder and more impartial understandings, by addressing them in these lines and note of
our great philosophic Poet :

" Yet will we not conceal the precious cross.
Like men asliamed.

" The Lutherans have retained the cross within their churches : it is to be regretted that
we have not done the same." Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Sketches, p. 123. Similar
sentiments were once expressed to me by the late Mr. Davison^^7io;HCH meniorahile —
a name never to be pronounced by low as well as high Churchmen, without a pause of
admiration. If moral and intellectual excellences — if orthodoxy without any species of
bigotry — if an ardent desire to advance the great cause of Christianity in every quarter
of the globe — if a firm attachment to our ecclesiastical establishments, without any
hunting after professional honours — if singleness of purpose — if inflexible integrity and
extensive charity, without ostentation — be among the best recommendations for a
bishopric — as sure they arc, or ought to be — then should not this man have died without
a mitre on his head. Alas! how many eminent pastors, patterns to believers, " in faith,
in purity, and in conversation," have been removed in the midst of their days and
usefulness ; " perhaps to tell us," says one, distinguished alike for his piety and talents,
" that the Lord's cause does not depend on any instruments, however necessary as well
as desirable they seem to us — but upon Himself, who has the residue of the Spirit." —
In the last number of the Uritish Critic, p. 242, the epithet illiislrioits is aflixcd to the
name of Davison. Now those, who were not thoroughly acquainted with his great
intellectual superiority — with his vast reach and comprehension of view — especially those
who know his work on Prophecy only by hearsay, in every chapter of which there are
marks of deep thouglit and a most powerful mind, may not perh.ips consider tlie foregoing
terra as truly applicable to the subject of these hasty observations. The number, however,
of his important christian virtues — and the variety of his attainments, which mark the
highest order of intellect, fully sanction an epithet appropriated only to those who are

20 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

turning his ej'es towards the monastic refectory", have as much diffi-
culty in recognizing it, as tlie way-faring man in discovering a safe
tread between shifting sands and mirages; so different an aspect has it
assumed under the lapse of ages. That hall, where he held high
festivals with his Prior and brethren, is now converted into a barn ;
and the oaken board on which he partook of his meals, changed into
mangers for horses and oxen.

In the Gate-house, however, of the Priory, disfigured and deterior-
ated as it is, he would still discern some of the features remaining as
he left them. This genuine and interesting piece of antiquity is of
the perpendicular style of architecture, being erected about the same
period as the greater part of the church. The front is composed of
two divisions ; the arch has a square head, and the spandrils are filled
with quatrefoils enclosed in circular ribs ; on each side arc five
pannels witli cinquefoil heads, and pannels charged with shields : over
all is a boldly projecting cornice, which runs along the front of the
structure, and forms the base of the upper division. Springing from
the apex of the arch, on a moulded corbel, is a highly enriched oriel
window, having its angular mullions relieved with delicately carved
pinnacles. On each side are eight transom-headed pannels, two of
which are perforated as windows. At each angle of tlie front of the
building is a buttress of two stages, the face of the lower one being

gifted wath the rarest mental endowments. Indeed the appointment of such a character
even to a i'rebendal Stall, will throw a moral splendour over the administration of Lord
Livei-pool, whenever the disposal of his church patronage shall be discussed. But, ere
long, I hope to have a fitter opportunity of paying my unbiassed tribute of respect to
this most distinguished Minister of the Gospel, than is presented in the corner of a note.

' Refectories, or Fratries, were large wainscoted halls, with a crucifixion above the
boards, a dresser, almories or cupboards, windows opening unto the kitchen, through
which the meat was served, and desk with a bible for reading during the dinner. See
Fosbrooke's Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, Vol. I. p. 108.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN'. 21

pannelled : while at the west side we find a number of painted tiles
fixed on the wall near the roof, similarly ornamented to some of those
in the church. There are good reasons for believing that this Gate-
house is now not more than half of its original size, for the roof is
without its corresponding parts, and the back is cased with nothing
but common brick. Here, perhaps, was a chronicle composed, and
the original deposited among other muniments kept under the triple
keys of the Superior of the House ; while some of the rooms were
aj)propriated for the distribution of eleemosynary gifts ; for it will be
reckoned among the chief merits of the monastic establishments, next
to their successful promotion of agriculture', and the estimation which
is due to them as conservatories of mental treasures, that a great
portion of their wealth was employed in the daily' exercise of acts of
charity and benevolence.

' If their inmates did not deeply cultivate the study of divinity, we may conclude that
they did well in the useful philosophy of the spade; for we are told hy Mr. Turner,
" that Domesday Survey gives us some indication that the cidtivation of the church lands
was much superior to that of anj' other order of society : they had much less wood
upon them, and less common of pasture: and wliat they had appears often in small
irregular pieces : while their meadow was more ahundant, and in more numerous distri-
butions." See his valuable History of the Anglo-Saxons, Vol. II. p. 1C7.

' According to that close observer of human nature, Piers Ploughman, or Robert
Langland, or John Malvernc, for so the author of the Vision of William has been
variously styled, the dole was not dealt out so liberally to the beadsman at the gate of
the abbey and priory as some of those who would wish to get rid of the system of tythes
assume it to have been.

" Little had lordes to do to give lands
from tiieir heirs
To religious that have no ruthe

though it rain on their aultrcs.
In many places there the parsons

be themselves at ease.
Of the poor they have no pitie, and
that is their poor charilie."

But whoever was the writer of these Visions, tiiere is uncommon tact evinced in his

22 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

One more observation respecting the Gate-house, before we take
leave of this part of our subject. It lias been remarked by Dr.
Johnson, in his life of Milton, that " every house in which this great
man resided is historically mentioned, as if it were an injury to neglect
naming any place that he honoured by his presence." In like manner
may we say that this Gate-house ' is honoured, as there is a tradition,

description of manners and character, while he has delivered what has been boldly called
" prophecies of the history of the Reformation." The vehicle of allegory serves to
shelter the satirist; but satirist as he was, he has imparted to many of his lines that
rural and touchingly simple air which must ever continue to please. Even to the unpoetical
reader, the musings on Malvern Hills, with which he opens the poem, will not be dis-
tasteful ; there are many passages also full of the facetious humour of his great contem-
porary, Chaucer. " The Vision," remarks the great Selden, " is WTitten in a kind of
English metre which for the discovery of the infecting corruptions of those times, I prefer
before many of the more seemingly serious invectives, as well for invention as for
judgment." Note in Polyolbion, fol. p. 109. Hollinshed, Stow, and Wood, thus allude
to this writer, who has studied so thoroughly the characters and manners of his fellow
countrymen and contemporaries. " Among the learned men of that age, (Edward 111.)
was Robert Langland, a secular priest, born in Salopshire, in Mortimer's Clebury."
llolinshed, ed. I. Vol. II. p. 1003. — " This year, John Malverne, fellow of Oriel college,
in Oxford, made and finished his book entitled the Visions of Piers Plowman." Stow"s
Ann. p. 238.—" Robertus Langland Johannes Malverne nonnullis appellatur : fertur
autem inter sui steculi poetas maxime facetos exeelluise." Wood, Hist, and Antiq. Univ.
Oxon. 1. ii. p. 10. 7. — And Spenser assigns to him a high poetical rank, when he says,

" Go but a lowly gate among the meaner sort.
Dare not to match thy pipe with Tityms his style.
Nor with the Pilgrim that the Plowman plaid awhile."

Epilogue to ShejihercCs Calendar.

' The following is a description of part of the Gate-house of the Priory of Bridlington,
in Yorkshire, as surveyed by one of Henry the Eighth's general surveyors, and the remains
of the Malvern Gate-house would encourage the opinion, that it had not been without similar
accommodations ; so that the King, during his temporary sejour there, would not have
been without what may be called the salu7i and boudoir of those days. " At the cummyng
yn of the said Priory is a Gate-house foure square of Towre facyon, buylded Ffrestone,
and well covered with leade. And one the South Syde of the same Gate-house ys a
Porter's lodge w' a Chymnej', a rounde Stayre leding up to a hye Chamber wherein the
thre Weks Courte ys always kepte in w' a Chymney in the same, and betweene the Stayre

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 23

which, according- to Cole, represents with much probability, that
Henry VII. took up his abode there — the sovereign upon whom Bacon
has pronounced this noble eulogy. "His laws (whoso marks them
well) were deep and not vulgar; not made on the spur of a particular
occasion for the present, but out of providence for the future ; to make
the estate of his people still more and more happy, after the manner
of the legislators in ancient and heroic times '."

The readers of our popular histories are imbued with the notion
that the patrician class were the chief instigators with Henry to com-
mence his work of spoliation on the ancient Church. True it is, that
they shared in the division of the bounty, and many of them most
larg(!ly, but those, whose knowledge is not merely superficial, are
well aware that the sole suggestor and prime agent and director of
this doubtful and dangerous experiment was the Secretary Cromwell.
"^e," says the accurate Strype, "had the great stroke in all this.
All these counsels and methods were struck out of his head; for which,
as he received the curse, and brought upon himself the hatred of many,
80 many more, well affected to a reformation of superstitions in the
Church, extolled him highly*;"' although we question much whether
these very persons would have been so desirous of pushing matters to
extremity, could they have anticipated that the secularization of the
monastic estates, however defensible enough in itself <iu Protestant
principles, would have led to the plunder of bishoprics under our good
virgin Queen'.

foote and the same hie Chamber where the Courte ys kepte be tow proper Chambers one
above the other w' Chymneys." Arch.xologia, Vol. XIX. p. 27«. AVo are informed by
Du Cange sur Joinvillc, Tom. II. p. .'J2. tliat tlie descendants of Hugh Capet hchl their
courts in tliese places in imitation of the Hebrew kings.

• Historic of King Henry Vll. Lond. 1047, p. 72.

• Annals of the Reformation, Vol. VI. p. 205.

• Sec Lansdownc MSS. No. 090. fol. 225. Bishop Kcnnctl's Coll. Vol. LVI. for .nn

24 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVRRX.

Wlicn this bold minister drew up his indictment against the monas-
teries, and made a condemnatory matter of it, the good Bishop Latimer
petitioned that two or three religious houses in each county, and in
particular that of Great Malvern, might be suffered to remain, and
their estates converted to educational purposes. The letter of solici-
tation from this staunch champion of the Reformation to Cromwell,
that Great Malvern might not be under his ban, is still extant. We
shall give it to the reader in its rough black-letter language, without
any attempt to modernize it, that he may see the production in all its
rusticity, plainness, and strength. Now we remember to have read
somewhere of a person who refused to peruse some old book because
it had such very poor spelling ; but we hope that this address of
Latimer will not be deemed beneath notice on that account, when it
is so valuable as a specimen of the idiomatic English of the age, and
likewise most valuable as reflecting great credit upon Malvern Priory,
seeing that its character was such as to influence a man of his
apostolical purity of manners to stand forth its advocate.

" But now syre a nother thynge, that by your favour I myglit be a
motionare unto you, at the request of an honeste man, the Prior of
Grett Malverne, in my dioc. referryng the successe of the hooU matter
to your ownly approvyd w^'ssdoom and benyinge goodnesse in everj-
case ffor I knoo that 1 doo play the ff'owU, butt yett with my foolyssh-
nesse I sumwhatt qwiett an unqwiett man, and mytygatt hys
heuynesse, which I am bold to doo with you, ftbr that I kno by
experience your goodnesse, that you wyll here with fowlls in there
freylnesse. Thys man both heryth and feryth (as he sayth) the

account of Scambler, Bishop of Peterborough, resigning a good part of his bishopric into
the Queen's hands. We could easily multiply instances of this kind. But this proof is
sufficient for the purpose.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 25

suppressioiie of hys Howse, wicli tliowgh lie wyll be coiilbrmable in
all poyntts to the kyngs hynesse plesewre and yours ons knoyn, as
both I advertysed him, ande also hys bowndon dewtye ys to be, yett
neurthelesse yf he thowght hys interpryesse shuld natt be mystake nor
turne to ony displesewr he wold be an humble sewtere to your lord-
shype, and by the same to the kyngs good grace for the upstandynge
of hys forsayd howse, and contynuauce of the same to man}' good
purpassesse, natt in Monkrye, he mayneth natt soo, God forbyd, butt
ony other ways, as shuld be thought andeseyme good to the kyng's
majestye, as to mayntayne tochynge prechynge, studye, with prayynge,
ande (to the which he ys much gyvyne) good howskepynge ; for to
the vertu of hospitalyte he hatlie byn grettly inclynyd from hys
begynnynge, and ys very much commendyd in thes partees for the
same : so that if ccccc. marks to the kyng's hynesse, with cc. marks
to yourselffe for your good wyll might occasione the promotione of hys
intentt, att leste way for the tyme of hys lyffe, he doubtyth natt to
make hys frends for the same, yf so lytuU cold bringe soo much to
passe. The man ys old, a good howskepere, fedyth many, and that
dayly, for the contreth ys poore and full of penurye : and, alas my good
Lord, shall we nat see ij. or iij. in every shy re changyd to such remydye?
" Thus too, thys honeste man is importunyte hath browght me to
be younde my dewtye, savyng for the confydence and truste that 1
have always in your benignytye. As he hath knolege froom you, soo
he wyll prepare for you, ever obedyentt to your aduertyessmentt.
Syr Wylliam Kyngston can make reportt of the man.

"H. L.

"13 Dccemb.

"Jiartl. WiGOr'."

' The whole of this letter is given in Dugdalc's Monast. Angl. N. E. p. 1.')]. We
h.ive cited only the passages iii point with our subject.

26 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

When the Priory was dissolved, it was granted by Henry, together
with certain lands and tenements immediately adjoining, and others in
Upton and Hanley, to William Pynnock and his heirs, who in the
following year alienated the same to John Knottysford, Esq, Serjeant
at Arms, from whom the Church was purchased by the inhabitants of
Malvern ; and to the happy circumstance of its being made parochial,
we owe the preservation of a fabric so touching to the heart of the
Christian, and which serves to gratify the eye of the painter as well as
of the antiquary, from its having all the painter's beauties of intricacy
of form, and light and shade. The older portions of the Church, the
round piers worked with plain capitals, the semi-circular arches of the
nave, are decidedly ' architectural features of an early Norman origin,

' The following judicious hints upon the subject of Saxon and Nonnan edifices, we
would recommend to the especial notice of certain dilettanti antiquarians, who are so
oracular in their fiats as to what are, or what are not, buildings of a Saxon or of a Norman
date. " On that part of our architectural history which follows the departure of the Romans
from Britain, and which precedes the Norman conquest, there is of course great obscurity ;
Init while in the days of Dr. Stukeley and Horace Walpole there appears to have been
much too easy an admission of Saxon dates, on the mere appearance of the semi-circular
arch, I think there has been of late perhaps too great a leaning the other way ; and
because we cannot directly prove that certain edifices are Saxon by documentary evidence,
we have been induced too easily perhaps to consider that no Saxon buildings did exist,
and have not given ourselves the trouble sufficiently to examine our earlier Nonnan
works, to see if they were not some of them entitled to be considered as erected before the
conquest. I confess I have myself been heretofore of this class of doubters as to Saxon
dates ; but having in various parts found buildings which are not Norman, and which
from their peculiar construction cannot well be considered either as modern, or as any
intermediate style, I think they must be anterior, and therefore entitled to be called
Saxon." See four most instructive letters on the Ecclesiastical Architecture, by Thomas
Rickman, Esq. in the twenty-fifth volume of the Archasologia, Lett. III. p. IGG. These
very remarks were made to us by King Leopold, when we had the honour of being his
duclor historicus while viewing the church. This is not the place to eulogize his Majesty's
taste or learning, or else, \vithout exaggeration, we might add, that his knowledge of
ecclesiastical architecture, especially of what belongs to the continental buildings called
Gothic, is as accurate as that of the late Mr. Hope's on the costume of the Ancients. A
professional architect might profit by his Majesty's judgment.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 27

and coeval with the foundation of the monastery; the rest of the edifice
is an elegant and diversified specimen of design and embellishment in
the latest period of tlie pointed style.

Both Dugdale and Nash observe a total silence respecting the Lich-
field ' MS. which instructs us to believe, that Henry VII., his Queen,
and the Princes Arthur and Henry, were so captivated with the scenery
of Malvern, that the stained and painted windows in the Church,
casting " a dim religious light." and constituting one of its most
striking and attractive ornaments, were introduced by the devotional
munificence ^ of these royal personages. Whatever uncertainty may
exist as to the extent of their bounty to the Priorj', \\ e tliiiik it may be
fairly and legitimately inferred, that they were in some manner,
though now unknown to us, benefactors to it, from the fact, that in the
large window in Jesus' Chapel, which forms the extremity of the north
transept, were the figures of Henry VII. armed and crowned with an
imperial crown ; on his upper garments the arms of France and
England ; behind him, Elizabeth his queen, with the same arms on
her garment ; behind her, Arthur, Prince of Wales, likewise armed ;
behind him. Sir Reginald Bray, (which last two figures still remain
perfect after 300 years), bearing in a shield argent a chevron, between
three eagles' legs erased sable : behind him, Sir John Savage and Sir
Thomas Lovell, all kneeling, bearing palm branches lifted up to heaven
\\ itli the inscription. Orate pro bono statu iiobiUssimi ct cxcellentisshni
regis Henrici Septimi et Elizahclhe regine ac domini Arthur t principisji Hi
corundcm, nee non predilectissime consortia sue et suorum trium militum '.

' See Chambers's Historj- of Malvern, p. 31. for an account of this manuscript.

' Nasi), in his Addenda, Vol. II. p. 53, says that " the painted glass in Malvern
church was chiefly put here in the time of Henry VII." but he quotes no authority for
this assertion.

' Latin terms have a larictij of acceptations, but there cannot be a doubt, I apprehend,

E 2

28 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

Mr. Dallaway, in his Anecdotes of the Arts, has indulged in many
fanciful speculations : for instance, his conjecture that the pointed
arch originated from mere love of novelty, or in the caprice of the
Italians ', is unsupported by the authority of any one fact. It is,
however, " passing strange," that in speaking of the interior of this
church, he should have ventured peremptorily to affirm, " that all
the stained glass remaining is but poorly executed," when so many
compartments of the windows supply the refutation of the extrava-
gant assertion. The rich stained glass, which admits its light into the
church, in red, purple, and yellow streams, and especially from that
brilliant colour the ruby, now in great measure lost, has been pro-
nounced by connoisseurs^ on this subject, to afford exquisite specimens,

that Dr. Nash is chargeable with an error in an eminent degree, when he translates Miles
into Esquire. Hist, of Worcestershire, Vol. II. p. 1.31. — Down from Roman to what has
been called kitchen Latin, — that is the Latin of the monasteries, — no instance can be
produced of the word Miles bearing any other meaning in inscriptions than that of
Knight or Soldier of Christ. The writer, in his description of the arms in the church
of Great Malvern, in the time of Charles, to whom we shall have hereafter to refer, may
be said to agree with every other authority on this subject when he recites, " that the last
of the three attenders on theyre M"" is S' Thomas Lovell, a Pryvie Consellor."

" Pray for the good estate of the most noble and excellent King Henry VII. and of
Elizabeth his Queen, and of the Lord Prince Arthur, their son, as well as of his most
dearly beloved consort, and of their three knights." The orate pro anima was discontinued
tempore Ed. VI. See Gough, Introd. p. 305. To those who are unacquainted with the
Mediaeval Archaeology, it is fitting to remark, that the records and Latin compositions of
that period universally drop the a in the diphthong ce ; that is, they give regine, e.\cellen-
tissime, sue, &c. &c. &c. in the room of reginae, excellentissimK, suae.

' P. 2. The tower of the Schools at 0.\ford is of the Italian order, and as little like
true Gothic, as the Church of Great Malvern is to a Grecian temple.

• In his brief but well written account " of St. Mary's Church, Worcestershire," Mr.
Neale, alluding to the painted and stained glass, says, " that many beautiful specimens
remain :" and again, in reference to this subject, " there is still sufficient remaining to
attest its original splendour." In speaking of stained glass, Mr. Rickman, in his Letters
on the Ecclesiastical Architecture of France, Archseol. Vol. XXV. observes, " that a careful
examination with a good telescope is (from its distance from the eye) essential to a proper

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 29

not to be surpassed by any which adorn cathedrals of the first class in
this kingdom. The west window of the chapel, to which we have just
alluded, consists of three divisions, all entire ; and the beauty of the
drawing, and the splendour of the colours, excite great admiration.
Among other subjects contained in them are these ; tlie Salutation of
Elizabeth, the Visitation of the Angel to Mary, the Nativity, the Pre-
sentation in the Temple, the Blind restored to Sight, the Resurrection
of Lazarus, the Multitude following our Saviour, and the Last Supper.
The great east window also still glows witli those gorgeous colours
that modern art in vain attempts to equal, realizing all that the poet'
has so eloquently described : —

" As diamonded with panes of quaint device
Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes,
As are the tiger-moth's deep damask'd wings ;
And in the midst 'mong thousand heraldries
And twilight saints and dim cmblazonings,
A shielded scutcheon blush'd with blood of queens and kings."

appreciation of its value." We have made this experiment, and therefore can vouch,
(exclusive of the high authority of Mr. Rickman) that the fact is true to the letter.

' See the description of Agnes praying beneath the painted window, in one of the best
productions of that extraordinary young man, the late John Keats, who is said by some
to have fallen a victim to early studiousness ; and by others, to the poisoned arrows of
criticism. That he was " cursed with too much sensibility," is sufficiently obvious, from
the following passage in the Preface to his Endymion : — " This may be speaking too
presumptuously, and may deserve a punishment, but no feeling man will be forward to
inflict it : he may leave me alone, with the conviction that there is no fiercer hell than the
failure in a great object." His fate may be likened to that of

" A bud bit by an envious worm

Ere it could spread its sweet leaves to the air,
Or dedicate its beauty to the sun."

Dwelling, in the true sj)irit of criticism, more upon the beauties than tlie defects of this
youthful genius, we shall say, at the hazard of forfeiting all pretensions to nicety of discri-
mination, that there arc many passages in his Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and in

30 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

By a benefaction from the late Princess Charlotte of Wales, the
west window in like manner has been filled with splendid representa-
tions of Pontiffs, Prelates, and Saints, brought from less observable
situations in other parts of the church.

Among the Harleian MSS.' is an account, written in the time of
Charles I. of the arms in the church of Great Malvern. The follow-
ing quotations from it will not only be acceptable to the mere anti-
quaiy, but from their plaintive moralizing tone leave a pleasing im-
pression upon the minds of those, who relish the simple reflections and
phraseology of the earlier annalists, and which are in such strict
keeping, as the painters call it, with their subject ; while the pom-
pous inscriptions, which sometimes accompany royal shields, have in
them the sting of an epigram, since they oftener show what they
whom they commemorate ought to have been, than what they actually
were. " Let no man deceive you with vain words," is the admonition
of an apostle, which the sage or the moralist will apply to those who
seek to blazon forth a name to the world, which wisdom had consigned
to oblivion : for how many, canopied in state, have been such idolaters
of vain glory, or oppressors of their species, that bursts of scorn or
indignation escape at the very sight of their proud monuments.

After alluding to the representation of Prince Arthur, " nypt in
the bud w"' an untymely deathe, so that he hasted fyrst who by
nature's course shoulde have gon last," our genealogist thus proceeds :
" Lastly I conclude w* the large west windowe, representinge to vs
the dreadfull daye of Judgment wheareon the ryght hand is Quarterly
Fraunce and England, supported w"' towe boares. Argent, and couered

his noble fragment of Hyperion, which render him fully deserving " laurea donandus
Apollinari," of the sacred name of poet, and therefore justly entitled to a niche in the
temple of Fame.

' No. 2205. fo. 17 — 19. Armes in the Churche of Great Malvern.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 31

w''^ a Duke's crowne, Or. The Duke's crowne shewethe hee was yet
a subiect, although these Amies w'^out difference threaten that hee
aymethe at a kingdome, W^*" he cruelly won, and drowned hys singular
wysdome, renowned valure, and other rare partes, in a blouddy
vsurpation. Richard the thyrd, haddest thou deepely consydered
of the Judgment seate (the resemblance wheareof by all lykelihood
thy bounty here erected), thou wouldest never so highely have prysed
a puffe of ambition. On the other syde are the Armes of hys Duches,
afterwardes Queen disorderly marshalled and thus quartered. 1 . Gules
a fesse between six crosses croslets Or. 2. Or. three cheuerons Gules.
3. Quarterly Argent and Gules fretted Or a bendelet Sables. 4. Checkic
Or and Asure a cheueron Erin. Impalinge Gules a Salteyre Argent
couered w''' lier husbandcs, and supported w"' towe beares Argent.
So Royalty beginnethe and endethe the Armoiy of this Charge'."'

If rareness heighten the interest of that which in itself is interesting,
either as an object of taste or of high antiquity, then the carved stone
image in the recess of Jesus' Chapel claims particular notice. Stukeley -
described it to be a kni^Iit covered with a mail and his surcoat: in his
right liand a halbert like ;t picka.\e ; in his left, a round target.
Gough ^ saj'S, this figure is in the oldest mail armour ; and Carter*

' This remarkable coat of arms is still in existence, and is now to be found in the third
window on the south side of the nave. The following opinion is given by Xash, on the
authority of George Lord Lyttleton. " The two shields, containing the arms and supporters
of Richard III. and the other tliose of his Cjueen, have both coronets over thcni, which,
perhaps, is the earliest instance of coronets borne over the arms of princes and nobility
as at this day." Addenda, vol. ii. p. ,^)3. The late Lord Colchestei first pointed out these
arms to us ; and he observed at the same time, that it cost him a good liour's work before
he could discover them, in consequence of their having been completely misplaced by an
ignorant glazier.

' Itinerarium curiosum.

' Sepulchral Monuments in Great Britain. ^

' Ancient sculpture and painting.

32 PRIORY OF GREAT iMALVERN.

States, that no similar figure ever came under his observation. Upon
the principle just referred to, the yellow or orange-coloured tiles in
the pavement of this church are not to be overlooked ; they are finely
glazed, and richly ornamented ; many with armorial bearings : those
of the woman-hearted Confessor ', of Henry VII. (France and England
(juarterly ') of the Abbey of Westminster, and of several great baronial
families. But as a more specific mention may be desiderated by those
who are versed in the science of heraldry, the following then will,
perhaps, be interesting to persons of such tastes.

" ] . A cross moline inter 5 martlets for y« Abbey of Westminster to
w*^*" this Priory belonged.

2. Three Lions passant gardant for England, or King Henry y« 3"^
who was a great Benefactor.

' " The woman-hearted Confessor prepares
The evanescence of the Saxon line."

Eccles. Sketches, p. 33.
But we should be disposed to dispute the accuracy of this epithet, if meant to refer to all
the actions of this last legitimate Anglo-Saxon king. In the bestowal of his ecclesiastical
preferments, there was nothing timid or vacillating in his conduct. He treated the autho-
rity of the Pope with the same bold disregard as Martin Luther himself would have done,
if invested with similar powers and functions. " When Edward the Confessor," says Sir
Francis Palgrave, " notified the promotion of a prelate, it was by the promulgation of a
charter, whicli stated, that he had given and granted the bishopric, and all that tliereto
belonged. Not the slightest allusion is made to the will of the Pontiff, or the postulation of
the Clergy : he declares his will and pleasure, and in terms more than emulating those
employed by our eighth Henry in the plenitude of his power. The same royal authority
controlled the other branches of ecclesiastical promotion. The abbot was elected by the
king's consent ; he resigned his monastery in favour of a successor, by the king's license ;
and when the Bishop wished to remove his See, he applied in the first instance, not to
the Pope, but to the King." The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, Part I.
p. 173, 174.

' " The first instance extant of an approach to the system of quartering arms, which," says
Sir Nicholas Harris Nicholas, " was not regularly adopted in this country until the reign of
Edward III. is afforded in the Bohuns." See Remarks on the Seals attached to the Letter
from the Barons of England to Pope Boniface the Eighth. Archaeologia, Vol. XXI. p. 192.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 33

3. A Bend cotised inter G Lions rampant, for Bohun Earl of
Hereford.

4. Barry of G on a Chief, 2 Pallets inter 2 Esquires, an Escocheon
of Pretence Ermine for Mortimer Earl of March.

5. Quarterly on f. 2'' and 3"^ a Fret, over all a Bend for Spencer
Earl of Glocester.

6. A Fess inter 6 Martlets for Beauchamp ' of Powike.

7. 3. Cheuronels for Clare Earl of Glocester.

8. A Fess inter G crosses botony for Beauchamp Earl of Warwic.
The same arms are on y'' Floor in divers parts of y^ Church.

Checquy a Cheuron, and y« arms of Bracy, viz. : a Fess and 2 Mullets
in Chief: with this Date all behind y"^ Altar after y^ aforesaid
8 Coats.

There have been some, and those professed antiquaries too, whose
notions on these tiles are certainly of a most original nature, conceiv-
ing them to be Alhambra tiles, brought from Portugal, although there
is such clear and decisive evidence of their having been manufactured
in Britain. Now the least learned antiquary is aware, that after
heraldic devices were carved or painted upon escutcheons, or stained
in glass in consecrated places, they were painted upon glazed bricks
and tiles on the floors. During the middle centuries, most of the great
Abbeys and Priories had kilns for preparing them, from which also the
conventual churches were siijjplied. The most obvious and rational
conclusion therefore is, that the monks, having acquired this branch
of encaustic painting, devoted much of their leisure time to it. At
first these tiles, baked almost to vitrification, and admirably calculated
to resist damp and wear, were of an irregular shape, but afterwards
they were made equilateral, and about four inches square ; " and when

' De Bello-Campo, as it is vrittcn in some charters ami otlior public instruments.

34 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

arranged and connected," observes Mr. Fosbrookc', " produced an
effect very much resembling the Roman designs, yet wanting their
simplicity and taste. There will be, however, with the most sceptical,
a perfectly satisfactory settlement of the question as to their being of
foreign fabrication, when they learn, that within the last year a kiln ^
has been discovered on the Priory farm, in which were found tiles of
the same dimensions and materials as those that decorate the floors of
the church. On one of these tiles, which is fixed in the third pillar
on the north side of the nave, we have an inscription, which, for its
curiosity, is well worthy to be recorded ; and, when translated into
intellio-ible Eno-lish, will read thus : —

Clirnfec . nioit . iit . Ifffc .
mai . not . cu . rntturf .
gat . nolu . Host. ni. Self,
of . nat . jjoto . ait . Stiiic .
but . pat . j)oto . gfbrst .
un . to . in . Scrtur . rtirc .
anS . fu . jjit . abailc . iir .
i)it . ii . but . abcntiuf .

Think man thy life
May not ever endure
That thou dost thyself
Of that thou art sure
But that thou givest
To thy executors cure
An ever it avail thee
It is but a venture '.

' Encyclop. of Antiq. Vol. I. p. 104.

- See Note D. Appendix.

■■ A tile with the same inscription as that just mentioned was dug up in the ruins of an
old house called the Ranger's Lodge, now the property of Lady Lyttleton. In alluding
again to this venerable person, for whether referring to her virtues or her years, the epithet
venerable is strictly applicable, as her Ladyship has now attained the honoured old age of

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 35

The spectator of antiquarian taste will examine with attention a
small chapel in the aisle of the church, the vaulting of which is deco-
rated with fan tracery, and other analogous enrichments. The exterior
of this chapel, or perhaps it was nothing more than a recess occupied
by an ancient tomb, at all events it is quite erroneous to style it, as
some have done, a Confessional ', is pannelled with quatrefoils, over
which is a cornice with figures bearing shields. His eye, after survey-
ing a screen of beautifully carved oak on the left side of the chancel,
will also notice the range of antique stalls, the subsellae of which
exhibit various grotesque and other carvings in alto relievo. Among
the subjects are to be seen a miser on his death-bed, with the priest at
his head, and a leach at his feet, to whom he is offering his money
bags ; 2. the prodigal son ; 3. a small figure holding a large goblet in
each hand, designed, no doubt, for an emblem of gluttony, as he is

ninety-one, we cannot refrain from saying that her coronet well deserves to be entwined
with the wreath of public gratitude : indeed, her benevolent feelings, like the genius of
some great men, may be said to bum brightest at the last. Without specifying the
numerous charities elsewhere bestowed by this ornament of her sex, for of them we
have a perfect knowledge, suffice it to observe, that in this parish, and within a few years,
her Ladyship has made extensive additions to the Sunday school, erected at her sole
expence — contributed largely to the school of industry — to the infant school, of both of
wliich she was tlie establisher, besides being a most liberal benefactress to the North-hill
Royal school, and other institutions of this place. And all these things " that are
excellent, lovely in conduct, and of good report," have been done by this admirable
woman out of an income which many in the station of life to which she belongs would
deem inadequate for its due maintenance. Truly then, may we exclaim, in the words of
the great Father of English poetry, " she will be holden digne of reverence." AVho
indeed can fail to be struck with the image of such excellence ?

' Directly opposite to this description of a Confessional, is that which has been called
so in this church. " On each side of the altar at Crcwkernc, in Somersetshire, is a door
leading into a small room ; tliat by whicli tlie penitent entered for confession has two
swine carved over it, to signify their pollution : that by which they returned, two angels,
to signify their purity. At Gloucester, the Confessional is a large chair by tlie side of
tlie door." Fosbrooke's Encyclopa'diu of Antiquities, Vol. I. p. 07.

36 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

sitting over the fragments of a repast; 4. three rats strangling
a cat.

Swift, in one of his cutting sarcasms, called our churches the dormi-
tories of the living . Hhe Miserere was a very ingenious expedient of
the Priors for preventing theirs from becoming so. It was indeed as
admirable a contrivance against the indulgence of fits of somnolency,
as the American camp meetings are for keeping alive the excitement
of fanatical passions. Dr. Milner has thus accurately described this
monitor to drowsy monks : — " The small shelving stool, which the
seats of the stalls formed, when turned up in their proper position, is
called a Miserere. On these, the monks and canons of ancient times,
with the assistance of their elbows on the upper part of the stalls, half
supported themselves during certain parts of their long offices, not to
be obliged always to stand or kneel. The stool, however, was so con-
trived, that if the body became supine by sleep, it naturally fell down,
and the person who rested upon it was thrown forward into the middle
of the choir. The present usage in this country is to keep them
always turned down, in which position they form a firm horizontal
seat ; an indulgence that was very rarely granted to those who kept
choir in ancient times'."

' Historical Account of Winchester Cathedral, Note, p. 60. If the reports of the
Commissioners at the General Visitation of the Monasteries were not extant to assure us
that so many brotherhoods had completely debased themselves in sensual indulgence, we
should have doubted, from the severe daily discipline with which they were fenced in,
that human nature could have fallen into such corruption. The following regulations, if
strictly enforced, were surely calculated to restrain the monks, since a rigorous employ-
ment of time has always been considered as the best security against the practice of every
species of wickedness. Matins, or ^latutina, or Lauds, from midnight until Prime. The
morning service commenced about three a. m., and was called Matins, or Lauds. Prime,
or Prima ; from about six a. m. Tierce, this service immediately succeeded Matins.
" If the office of Lauds be finished by daybreak as is fit, let them begin Prime ; if not
let them wait for daylight. Tierce, or Tertia, from about nine a. m. to Sext. Sext, or

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 37

Confining ourselves to the illustration of the antiquities of the church,
we shall pass over in silence its modern monuments and inscriptions.
On a very handsome monument of alabaster, on the steps, by the
south side of the altar, and standing on a sort of chapel beneath it,
are the figures of John Knottesford, Esq., and Jane, his lady, in
recumbent postures. He is represented, in plate armour, on the altar
monument ; several children are at their sides. Against the east arch
at their feet, on a piece of marble, are these arms, viz. S on a cross
engrailed A a mullet for Knottesford, impaling O. 2 Pallets G for
Knightly. Under them is this inscription : " Here lieth the body of
John Knottesford, Esquire, servant to King Henry the Eighth, and
Jane his wife, daughter to Sir Richard Knightly, who being first
named to Mr. William Lumley, had issue John Lord Lumley, and by
John Knottesford had issue five daughters and coheirs : he dyed in
the year 1589." At the head of the tomb is a large figure of a
lady kneeling before a desk, and looking towards the altar, with these
arms on the desk, viz. A. G lions rampant, S for Savage impales
Knottesford, being the eldest daughter Anne, who caused this monu-
ment to be erected.

The remains of many of the ancient family of Lygon ' in this

Sexta, from about twelve, or noon, to Xones. Nones, or Nona, from about two or
three p. m. to Vespers. Vespers, or Vespera, from about four o'clock to Complin, or
second Vespers. Completorium, or Compline, Second Vespers, about seven o'clock." See
Chronology of History, by Sir Harris Nicholas, p. 184.

' See MS. account of Worcestershire families sub uomiiic, in Biblioth. Societ. .\ntit].
also Genealogy of the Beauchamp Family in Genealogical History of the Crooke Family,
by Sir Alexander Croke, D.C.L. Oxon. 1832, Vol. III. p. 140 : and that of Dr. Nash
previous to the Lygon connexion with the baronial family of Beauchamp of Powyke,
Hist, of Wore. Vol. II. p. 264. We are told by this last writer, that the Lygons had a
right to quarter twenty-seven coats of arms, Vol. II. p. 117. After this minute observa-
tion, it is extraordinary, that in his account of the parish of Mamble or Mamelc, and
enumeration of tlie lords of the soil, he should, if acquainted with tlie fact, have omitted

yS PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

county have here found their resting places. The inscriptions over
them chiefly commemorate their household virtues, domestic affections,
and social charities. But in reading the simple and affecting lines
affixed to the stone which records the death of Maria, wife of William
Lygon of Madresfield, we feel that we are treading on the ashes of
her, who was not beautiful only, but united with transient beauty the
more durable gifts of piety and virtue.

" Stay, passenger, and from this dusty ume
Both what I was and what thou must be leame.
Grace, \nrtue, beauty, had no privilege
That everlasting statute to abridge,
That all must die ; then, gentle friend, with care
In life for death and happiness prepare."

" Hark — speaking to themselves
Are Malvern sweet nine bells ;
Now they troll — troll — troll '."

Thus blithely is supposed to have sung a poetical pastor of Malvern,
whose lays on another subject we shall give as an appropriate conclu-
sion to our Dissertation. But where are the other three? (for six
only now remain,) is the first and natural question of the lover of
campanology. Gone, irrecoverably gone, to St. Mary Overj^'s church
in Southwark, is the sorrowing reply. Through whose instru-
mentality, or for what price, or upon what occasion — on these points
we are unhappily without the irresistible evidence of dates, figures, or

to notice that Henry Lijggon received the manor of Mamele in the reign of Henry the
Fourth. For this statement see the learned work just referred to. Vol. II. Book III.
Chap. I.

' For a further reference to the supposed author of these lines " of rude and homely
vulgar poesie," see Note at the end of our Dissertation.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 39

facts. When Cole was at Malvern, in 1746, the Parish Clerk told
hina ' that they had been sold some fifty or sixty years ago. This
great antiquary, however, seems, from some subsequent remarks
which he makes on this su])ject, to have been as incredulous
respecting the truth of this statement, as he would be upon that of an
old legend.

But if it be a sad truth to learn that a grand act of larceny has
been committed on three bells, it would have been still sadder if the
tenor bell had been removed, as it is the most musical and the most
ancient of them all, bearing the following inscription, in what appears
to be the Lombardic^ character, since it exactly resembles the motto
on the earliest seal of the city of Norwich ^, which is assigned by
most of our eminent antiquarians to that origin.

The antiquity of this bell may be startling to some of our readers,
who are not aware that bells were used in the time of the Anglo-
Saxons. If our assertion be not sufficient, the following passage from
the venerable Bede will, it is hoped, satisfy the most sceptical on this
point. " She, while tarrying at that time in the Sisters' Dormitory,
suddenly heard in the air the well known sound of a bell, whereby,

' MSS. Brit. Mus. Vol. X. fol. ll'J.

' " The Lonibardic running-hand was a branch of the Roman, modelled after that used
in the sixth and seventli centuries. There is a striking resemblance between the Loni-
bardic and Merovingian running-hands. Lombardic characters are still to be seen in
some charters of the thirteenth century, even in Germany. The affinity between the
Roman, Lombardic, and Merovingian ninning-hand is so great that they may be consi-
dered as one." Encyclopa-'dia of Antiquities, Vol. L p. 484.

' See ArchsElogia, Vol. XXI. p. 80.

' Decyphered in Roman characters, this inscription stands thus : " Virginis cgrcgiae
vocor campuna Mariac." — i. e. " I am called the Virgin Mary's IJell."

40 PRIORY OF GREAT MALYEllN.

when any one had been called from this life, they were wont to be
roused or summoned to prayers'."

Malvern Church, indeed, seems fated to experience every sort of
spoliation. Its very porch has fallen into lay hands ; and its roof
would not now have been crumbling into ruins, had not the lead been
stolen. Its exterior truly may be compared to those cabinets of ivory
one sometimes meets with in old family mansions, scratched, flawed,
splintered, carrying all the marks of time-worn decay. " Albeit,
however unused to the sanguine mood," we cannot quite despair that
public piety and liberality will preserve an Edifice which is connected
with so many associations of the historical kind, and which calls up
so many sentiments delightful to minds of pure taste and religious
sensibility. We trust then, that the hope is not presumptuous, espe-
cially after the example of the Illustrious Personage ^ to whom these
pages are inscribed, — an example which has such various and noble
claims to respect and imitation, that those of the upper classes of the
Laity, as well as of the Clergy, who have resorted to Malvern for the
renovation of their health, and not in vain — will do something — will
do a little — will do all they can to save the exterior from further
dilapidation ; now that our humble efforts, may we be permitted to
add without incurring the risk of being taxed with the fault of
egotism, have been crowned with complete success, in repairing
the interior. That this assistance is not craved before it is pecu-
liarly needed, the Extract in the Appendix, from a Report given of

' " Haec tunc in dormitorio sororum pausans audivit subito in aere notum companae
sonum, quo ad orationes excitari vel convocari solebant cum quis de saeculo fuisset
evocatus." Hist. Eccles. Gentis Angl. Lib. IV. Cap. XXIII.

' The Duchess of Kent marked the Church for an object of her beneficent liberality,
soon after her arrival at Malvern. Her Royal Highness's donation of £50. was imme-
diately followed by a similar sum from King Leopold.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 41

the State of the Church, at a general meeting of the parishioners, in

1831, will bring before them evidence broad and undeniable as the

light of day. At a time when there are those who impiously desire

to signalize themselves by pulling down churches, — let us trust that

this disgraceful fact will so rouse the holy zeal of every true lover of

God and man, and more especially of those who are dedicated to the

service of the Church, — will so animate them, that they make no delay

in preserving those ancient places of divine worship which are still left

to us.

Eighty-three years ago, the following remark was made by that

distinguished ornament of our Church, Bishop Butler: — " In the

present turn of the age, one may observe a wonderful frugality in

every thing that has respect to religion, and extravagance in every

thing else. But amidst the appearance of opulence and improvement

in all common things which are now seen in most places, it would be

hard to find a reason why these monuments of ancient piety should

not be preserved in their original beauty and magnificence '."' Some

there are who think, that symptoms of this disposition are appearing

in the present time : speaking for ourselves, we cannot imagine the

return of that day of VandaVism and Fanaticism, when Christian men

of this country shall become supinely negligent of upholding and

adorning their terrestrial sanctuaries, before they pass into their

Maker's temple of the heavens. Horace told the Roman people,

that

" Dii niulta neglecti dederunt
Hesperia; mala luetuosas,"

and predicted, that their misfortunes would not terminate, till they
had repaired the fanes of the gods : —

' See Primary Charge to the Clergy of Durham, a. d. 17j1.

42 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

" Delicta majorum immeritus lues,
Romane, donee tenipla refeceris
jEdesque labentes deorum et
Foeda nigro simulacra fumo."

And if this Protestant nation shall ever become settled into a profound
indifference respecting the fate of its fabrics consecrated to the pur-
poses of religion, it will, we fear, cease to be the favoured country
for the diffusion of the triumphs of truth ; and instead of being thus
exalted above all the kingdoms of the earth, it will lose the protec-
tion of heaven, because no longer deserving it. For where is the
people, we would ask, with whom the Giver of all Good has dealt as
he has dealt with us ? But if that prophecy is no longer to receive
its accomplishment, which proclaims, that " Kings and Queens shall
be the nursing fathers and mothers" of our Church, adieu to the
magnificence of this nation's destinies • — the beauty and strength of
our Israel are gone — never to rise again.

David calls the house of God, " the beauty of holiness." Yet there
are some of such perverted taste and feeling, as to deem no place holy
which is beautiful ; wliile again we meet with others who are fully
persuaded that to bestow much cost and care upon any ancient religious
edifices of a cathedral character, " partakes," to use the words of Sir
Walter Raleigh, " of a kind of popery, and proceeds from an idola-
trous disposition." To such as may labour under this mean and fan-
ciful apprehension, we would respond in the exclamation of the great
Chillingworth : " What, if out of devotion towards God, out of a
desire that he should be worshipped, as in spirit and truth in the first
place, so all in the beauty of holiness — what, if out of fear that too
much simplicity and nakedness in the public service of God, may
beget in the ordinary sort of men dull and stupid irreverence, and out

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 43

of hope that the outward state and glory of it being well disposed
and wisely moderated, may engender, quicken, increase, and nourish
tlie inward reverence, respect, and devotion which is due unto Gods
sovereign majesty and power — I say, what if out of these considerations,
tlie governors of our Church, more of late than formerly, have set
themselves to adorn and beautify the places where God's honour dwells,
and to make them as heaven-like as they can with earthly ornaments
— is this a sign that they are warping towards popery ? Is their
devotion in the Church of England an argument that she is coming
over to the Church of Rome?"

Now even a Bolingbroke would not be thought a stranger to those
hallowed emotions which are elicited " by the solemn magnificence of
a well ornamented church'." Can their zeal then be questioned on
the subject, whose I'eligion is not a transient impulse, but a permanent
principle, producing an uninterrupted series of useful exertions ?
Can we entertain the suspicion for a moment that they will not })nt
forth their influence to restore the exterior of the venerable church of
Great Malvern to its pristine state of beauty and magnificence ? No
— we feel confident, that such will answer as willingly to our simple
but Christian appeal as a band of faithful warriors would to the
trumpet-call, which summons them to preserve their honour, tlieir
freedom, and their loyalty.

It will not be straying materially from the subject of this Disserta-
tion, to close it with an old Song, the date of which composition,
whether written in tlie reign of James the First, or at a later piTJoiI,
has baffled the researches of the most persevering antiquarians*. Tlie

' See Philosophical Essays, Vol. II. p. .3-24.

' " One copy," says Xash, " was found dated IGOO, but on what authority I know
not." Hist, of Wore. Vol. II. p. 127- We have seen an old common-place book of the

o 2

44 PRIORY OF GREAT xMALVERN,

worthy rhymer will certainly not take his place among the Immortals
of this earth, as the}' are called, for not a single trace of the higher
poetry of his betters, is discoverable in this production, but still we
are indebted to him for his quaint memorial lines, since they are
authority for the interesting fact, that Great Malvern was as famous
in by-gone days, as it now is, for the salubrity of its air, and the
medicinal properties of its waters.

" As I did walk alone,
Late in an evening,
I heard the voice of one
Most sweetly singing ;
Which did delight me much,
Because the song was such.
And ended with a touch,

O praise the Lord.

" The God of sea and land,
That rules above us,
Stays his avenging hand,

'Cause he doth love us;
And doth his blessings send,
Altho' we do offend,
Then let us all amend.

And praise the Lord.

Rev. .John Webb, in which it is said that Edmund Rea, wlio was Vicar of Great Malveni,
in 1610, was the author of this song, and of the metrical fragment quoted a few pages
before, though we desire not to be understood as contending for the positive certainty of
this assertion. Webb was incumbent in 1708. " He gave," says Cole, " 100'"''' in order
to get the Queen's Bounty toward the augmentation of the Vicarage, wliich is about
.55 per afin." 1\ISS. Vol XXV. fol. 194. The reader will bear in mind that this was
written in 1746. The date of Cole's Letter to his friend Walpole respecting " the
inexactitude of Tom Heame," was September 30, 1780.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 45

" Great Malvern on a rock,
Thou standest surely ;
Do not thyself forget,

Living securely ;
Thou hast of blessings store —
No country town hath more —
Do not forget therefore,

To praise the Lord.

" Thou hast a famous church.
And rarely builded ;
No country town ' hath such.

Most men have yielded ;
For pillars stout and strong.
And windows large and long,
Remember in thy song.

To praise the Lord.

' The lady who, in our hearing, desired a rustic of Malvern not to call it a lorvn, as slie
did not wish to be reminded of gas-lights, flag pavements, and noisy streets, will consider
our Poet as sinning most egrcgiously against all propriety in here using tlie word " town."
That others may not suppose he has committed a great blunder, and violated all historical
truth, we will cite, for their instruction, the following passage from a writer who appears
to have investigated the subject in all its bearings. " We imagine that a town, according
to tlie import of its name, must consist of houses, built side by side, and standing in
rows, streets, or lanes. But the primeval town was a tract of land enjoyed by a com-
munity ; and it mattered little whether the dwellings were placed side by side, or disposed
up and down the township. Nay, a town may be a very good town, according to the old
law, though not a house remains standing. It is equally erroneous to consider, with
Hume, tliat trade formed the characteristic of the burgess. He may have cheapened and
chalfered, and bought and sold ; but in his primitive occupation he was a tiller of land,
for it was the land, the burgage, which gave him his qualification. In Ireland, the word
totvn retains its real sense ; and as Miss Edgeworth informs us, English visitors are often
perplexed by its application, and it was probably in use among the Bclgic Britons before
tlie Saxon invasion. Ton, in the ancient British language, is still applied to a hu-ge tract
of pasture land." Edinburgh Review, Vol. XXXVI. p. 311. Sir Francis Palgrave, in his
Analysis of the Anglo-Saxon State, oliserves, " the first and prim.iry element appears to
be the community, whieli in England during the Saxon period, was denominated the
tuiiii or loviiship; {tun, hora lynan, to enclose, ibid.) In times comparatively modem,
tliis tenn has liccome less frecpiently used, and has been often superseded by tlie word
manor." The Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, Part I, p. 05.

46 PUIOIIY OF GREAT MALVERN.

" There is God's service read,
With reverence duly ;
There is his word preached,

Learned and truly ;
And ev'ry Sabbath day,
Singing of psalms, they say,
'Tis surely the only way.

To praise the Lord.

" The Sun in glory great.
When first it riseth.
Doth bless thy happy seat.

And thee adviseth ;
That then it's time to pray,
Tliat God may bless thy way.
And keep thee all the day.

To praise the Lord.

" That thy prospect 's good,
None can deny thee ;
Thou hast great store of wood,

Growing hard by thee,
'WTiich is a blessing great,
To roast and boil thy meat.
And thee in cold to heat,

O praise the Lord.

" Preserve it, I ad\'ise.

Whilst that thou hast it ;
Spare not, in any wise,
But do not waste it,
Lest thou repent too late,
Remember Hanley's ' fate.
In time shut up thy gate.

And praise the Lord.

' It is supposed by some " that Hanley's fate" has reference to Richard, the great Earl
of Warwick and Salisbury, who obtained possession of this Castle by marriage, as we
are told by Nash, vol. i. p. 557, but he being attainted of high treason, his estates were
escheated to the Crown.

PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN. 47

" A chace for royal deer,
Round doth beset thee ;
For many I do fear,

For aught they get thee ;
Yet, tho' they eat away
Thy corn ; thy grass, and hay ;
Do not forget, I say,

To praise the Lord.

" That noble chace dotli give

Thy beasts their feeding,

AVTiere they in summer live,

With little heeding ;
Thy sheep and swine there go.
So doth thy horse also,
'Till winter brings in snow.

Then praise the Lord.

" Turn up thine eyes on high.

There fairly standing,

See Malvern's highest hill,

All hills commanding ;
They all confess at will
Their sov'reign, Malvern Hill,
Let it be mighty still.

And praise the Lord.

" W[\cn western winds do rock,
Both town and country ;
Thy hill doth break the shock.

They cannot hurt thee ;
When waters great abound,
And many a country's drown'd,
Thou standest safe and sound ;
O praise the Lord.

" Out of tl\at famous hill,
There daily springeth,
A water passing still,

Wiicli always bringeth,
Great comfort to all them.
That are diseas'd men,
And makes them well again,
To praise the Lord.

48 PRIORY OF GREAT MALVERN.

" Hast thou a wound to heal,
The which doth grieve thee ;
Come then unto this well,

It will relieve thee ;
Noli me tangere,
And other maladies.
Have here their remedies —

Prais'd he the Lord.

" To drink thy water's store,
Lie in thy bushes,
Many with ulcers sore,

Many with bruises.
Who succour find from ill.
By money given still —
Thanks to the Christian will,
O praise the Lord.

" A thousand bottles there
AVere filled weekly,
And many costrils rare,
For stomachs sickly ;
Some of them into Kent;
Some were to London sent ;
Others to Berwick went —

O praise the Lord."

APPENDIX.

Note A.

" Aldwinus erat quidam ab eo factus Monachus sicque in vastissimo illo
saltu quod Malvernum vocatur Eremiticam \itam cum Guidone socio exercebat.
Guidoni post longos agones compendiosius ad gloriam visum, vt lerosolymam
iret, vbi labore itinerario vel Domini sepulcrum videret, vel foeliciter manu Sar-
raccnorum mortem anticiparct. Aldwinus, eidem sententiaj inductus, consilium
tamen cum patre Wilstano quajsiuit. Dissuasit Pontifex, et ardentem refrigerauit,
dicens : ' Noli sodes Aldwine quoquam ire, sed in loco mane : crede mihi, mira-
reris si scires quod scio : quantum in illo loco per te Deus operaturus est.' Dis-
cessit hoc audito Monachus, firmoque iam durabat in proposito, leuabatque spe
prophetiae omne genus erumnae. Nee multo post vaticinium propcrauit im-
pleri: — ^veniebantque ad Aldwinum alter post unum, — tertius post alterum, et
ita vsque ad tricenariitm ' numerum : affluebatque eis in primis victualium copia,
vicinis beatos se iudicantibus, qui aliquid Dei famulis impertirentur. Quod
vero eis deerat, fide supplebant, duni parvi facerent, si carerent carnali cibo,
qui spirituali pinguescebant gaudio." — Saville's Scriptorcs, fol. Lond. 159G. Gul.
Malmesb. do (jcstis Pontificum Ansl. Lib. iii. fol. 160.

Note B.

" Sewlfus quidam ncgociator ad eum quotannis venire consucverat, vt ejus
consilio morbis mcderctur aninia;. Cui semcl post absolutionem factam dixit,
Sa^pe peccata, quae confessus es, reiteras, quia (vt dicitur) opportunitas latronem

' The following Note should have been inserted in the body of the work. Due praise is to be
given to Nash as a diligent collector of what others have written on the anti(|uilies of his county ;
but he is often most careless in his (quotations. By a stroke of his magical pen, thirty eremites
are here turned into three hundred. As there were no political economists — no Professors
Malthus's in those days, to point out the evils incident to a redund.-int |Hipulation, a community
of three hundred taking possession of an uncultivated tract of land, might have increased the
danger of perishing by starvation, or the diseases which not unfrequcnlly result from insuAicient
diet.

II 2

52 APPENDIX.

tacit. Quare consulo vt Moiiaclius fias : quod si feceris, hoium peccatoruin oppur-
tunitate carebis. Cum retulisset ille, non se monachum pro rigore propositi fieri
posse. Substomachatus Episcopus, Vade (inquit), Monachus fies, velis nolis ; sed
ci'ini \'itiorum vtensilia in te scnucrint. Quod nos postca vidimus ; quia in nostro
Monasterio, iam senectute fractus, morbo admonente conuersus est. Sed licet
multotiens poenituerit, quotiescunque tamen dictum Episcopi aliquis praesentasset
ei, reuocabat impetum, remolliebat animum." — Gul. Malmcsb. de gestis Ponti-
ficum Angl. Lib. iii. fol. 160.

Note C.

" Sed quia Fuldense ccenobium nominaui, dicam quod ibidem accidisse vir
reuerendus mihi narrauit, Walkerius, Prior Maluerniae, cuius verbis qui non
credit iniuriam religioni facit. Non (ait) plusqua quindecim anni sunt, quod in
eodem loco exitialis lues grassata, prius Abbatem corripuit, mox multos Mona-
choru extinxit; superstites primo quisqj sibi timere, orationes et eleemosynas
largiores facere ; sed processu temporis, vt est omnium hominum natura pede-
tentim metu dempto omittere ; Cellerarius praesertim qui palam et ridicule
clamitaret, non posse penum tot expensis sufficere ; sperasse se nuper aliquod
alleuiamentum, pro tot elationibus funerum : nibil ultra spei esse, si quod viui
nequissent mortui consumerent. Itaque cum quadam nocte propter necessaria
soporem distulisset diu, tandem elaqueatis morarum retibus in dormitorium ire
pergebat ; et ecce rem miram auditurus es : videt in capitulo Abbatem, et omnes,
qui obierant illo anno, eo quo excesserant ordine sedere : timidus et efTugere
gestiens, vi retractus est ; increpitus et Monastico more flagellis exercitus, audiuit
verba Abbatis in banc omnino sententiam, Stultum esse de alterius morte emolu-
raento inhiare, ciira sors cuiusque sub eodem pendeat fato. Impium esse cum
Monachus omnem vitam in Ecclesiae consumpserit obsequio, vt careat saltern
vnius anni post mortem stipendio : Ilium citissime obiturum, sed quicquid pro eo
fieret ad aliorum, quibus abstulerat, refundendum commodum, iret modo et alios
corrigeret exemplo, quos corruperat verbo. Abijt ille, et nihil se vanum ^^disse
tarn recentibus plagis, quam proximo sui obitu monstrauit." — Willielmi Malmes-
buriensis de gestis Regum Anglorum [de Willielmi primo. Lib. iii.] p. 65. edit.
Lond. 1596.

Note D.
The following remarks are the result of an investigation on this subject by Mr.
Eginton, a young architect of much promise, and a devoted admirer of buildings

APPENDIX.

after the Gothic manner. The paper was drawn up at my request; and with it
Mr. E. has obhgingly prepared a drawing as a suitable accompaniment to his

interesting observations.

" The tile-kihi was discovered seven feet under ground, on huid formerly
belonging to the Priory of Malvern, and carefully opened in the presence of Dr.
Card, and several other gentlemen interested in the study of antiquities. A
correct idea of it is formed from the accompanying section, its length being 35 feet.

t^y

A R'lMAN TILE-IOLN, M funnaJjyUiiRVXY EGQf TON.ARCHXTECT .

" The arch most exposed to heat was composed of brick, and the outer arch of
common red tiles. The sides were carefully backed in with Malvern rag-stone,
evidently to prevent the kiln bursting from the intense heat ; and the eqdal
necessity of protecting tlie crown of the arch probably suggested the idea of
burying the kiln. The floor, on which there can be no doubt the tiles were burnt,
was ingeniously constructed with bricks, the outside ones being worked into the
wall at the springing of the arch, the ends of which being bevelled, the middle
brick acted as a key-stone; a peculiarity in this lloorwas its remaining unvitrilied,
altiiough the whole of the bricks in the arch, and even the tiles of the outer arch.

54 APPENDIX.

were perfectly glazed. The floor on which the fire was placed being the natural
soil (marl), was bui-nt till in hardness and colour it resembled lime-stone. As no
apertures were discovered for the escape of smoke, and as a quantity of charcoal
was found near it, it is probable the tiles discovered were similar to those in the
Churches of Great and Little Malvern, but these differ in external appearance
from most that I have seen, in the characters, or pattern upon them. In most
instances the pattern is sunk in the body of the tile ; in these it is painted upon
the surface. It may therefore be reasonably conjectured, that the same ingenuity
which planned this Church, discovered this means of ornamenting it."

We must here avail ourselves of this opportunity to bring into notice the
following extract from a Report of the state of the exterior of the Church, at a
General Meeting of the Parishioners of Great Malvern, held on the 27th of May,
1831, at the Vestry Room.

"The roofing and the masonry of the Church, however, (then in a mouldering
state,) were left untouched, as the money collected by the Reverend Vicar was no
more than sufficient to defray the expences for flooring and pewing, and restoring
other parts of the Church ; and now, after a further lapse of fifteen years, the
roof, both in its tiling and timber, is so dilapidated, that unless it is soon repaired
in a substantial manner, it will threaten ruin to the whole of this venerable
structure, which has so long attracted the notice and admiration of the antiquary,
and of every man of taste and science. Besides the roof, the exterior walls of
the nave, chancel, and side aisles require a thorough repair and fresh cementing.
The battlements and pinnacles which surround the tower and the body of the
Church, want new stone work. The crockets, finials, and mouldings of the
exterior require to be re-sculptured ; and, for the permanence of the foundation,
new drains are absolutely necessary."

N.B. Shortly will be published the names of those Gentlemen who have
already contributed their donations for the foregoing objects. In the meantime
it may not be improper here to add, that Subscriptions for the repairs of the
Church will be received by the following banking houses : Coutts & Co , Strand ;
RoBARTS & Co., Lombard Street; and Berwick & Co., Worcester. •

GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON.

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