FAYRE WARWICK TOWN: ITS HISTORY AND ROMANCE
The town of Warwick is undoubtedly of very ancient origin, and from the
earliest period of its existence has been considered the chief town of
the shire. It is situated upon a rocky plateau on the north side of the
river Avon, and blessed with a dry and fertile soil, with luxuriant
meadows on one side and well–wooded and well–cultivated lawns on the
other.
It seems not unlikely indeed that Gutherline or Kimberline, one of
the British kings who lived in the time of Christ, was the founder
of the first settlement at Warwick, and that Guiderius, the former’s
son, enlarged the town and bestowed upon it considerable privileges.
Originally, according to Rous, it was known as Cær–guthleon, contracted
into Cær–leon, derived from Cær, a fortress, and Guthline, the name of
its founder.
It was upon the site of an ancient church of All Saints founded by St.
Dubritius that the first castle was ultimately built; and about this
time that King Vortigern gave his ill–judged invitation to the Saxons,
who, arriving nominally to assist him against the Picts and Scots,
turned their swords against the nation to whose assistance they had
come.
St. Dubritius fled during these disorders to Wales for safety, and
abandoned Warwick, his cathedral, and his see to the mercy of the
invaders.
One ancient historian gives a vivid description of the rapine and
destruction to which the centre of England in general, and Warwick in
particular, was at that time subjected. And in his pages one sees the
surging hosts of Picts and Scots and Britons and Saxons contending for
the mastery of what was, even in those days, one of the most fertile
and desirable districts of all England.
Raided, burned, with many of the inhabitants put to the sword, Warwick
lay in ruins until the coming of King Warremund, the forbear of the
kings of Mercia, who rebuilt the town. Under his rule and that of his
descendants the town is stated to have flourished and grown in size and
importance until the coming of the Danes.
After some years, in which it once more lay in ruins, Warwick rose
phœnix–like from its ashes under the hand of Lady Æthelflæd, daughter
of King Alfred the Great and wife of King Æthelred. This princess in
the year 915 built the first castle and a fortification called the
Dungeon (donjon or keep?), and this building served as a residence of
the earls from that date for a century and a half, until the coming of
William the Conqueror.
In the early years of William the Conqueror, Turchill, a Saxon, was
Earl of Warwick, a man of great power, possessions, and influence; and
he it was who was commanded by William the Conqueror to fortify the
town more strongly by means of walls and ditches, and to add to and
strengthen the existing castle.
A little later King William gave to his Norman favourite Henry de
Newburgh the title of Earl of Warwick and a grant of the castle, town,
and suburbs, to be held in _capite per Servitum Comitatus_. The new
Earl conferred upon one of his priests one–tenth of his tolls, as an
offering for the health of his soul. And Roger de Newburgh, his son,
who succeeded him, £4:10s. rent for a similar purpose to his priest.
In 1261, in the reign of Henry III., John de Plessetis, who had
married Margery, the last heiress of the De Newburghs, and thereby had
succeeded to the earldom, granted to the burgesses a charter to enable
them to hold each year a fair lasting three days, for which privilege
they paid no toll,—a concession of far more value and importance than
appears to the uninitiated.
The male branch of the De Newburghs failing, the family was succeeded
by that of Mauduit, and one of these, William, who was a supporter of
Henry III., was surprised and taken prisoner during the wars of the
barons, and, in consequence of the capture, the walls of Warwick Castle
were destroyed. He was also obliged to pay for the ransom of himself
and his Countess the then large sum of 1900 marks (about £1250). He
died childless, and was succeeded by his sister’s husband, William de
Beauchamp, who in the reign of Edward I. possessed the borough in chief
in 1279, and also held annually a fair, which lasted for sixteen days,
commencing on the eighth day before the Feast of St. Peter ad Vincula,
and a weekly market on Wednesdays.
A strange sidelight on these days is thrown by the record that there
was a pillory and tumbril as well as assize of bread in connection with
this fair. De Beauchamp also instituted a fifteen days’ fair, which
commenced on the eve of the Feast of St. Peter and Paul.
In the year 1290 William de Beauchamp’s successor, Guy, finding it
necessary to undertake considerable works for the walling in of the
town and the paving of its streets, was granted a patent by Edward
I. by which he was entitled to receive a toll during seven years on
all vendible articles. But the works not having been completed within
that period, he and his successor Thomas obtained an extension of the
original or similar patents for ten years longer.
A very interesting circumstance in connection with the Thomas de
Beauchamp we have just referred to, who had in 1351 a charter of free
warren at Warwick, is that he “at the suit of his lady, and for the
health of his own soul and his ancestors’ souls,” freed the traders
resorting hither for the future from terrage, stallage, and all other
sorts of toll. The petition having been made because the said traders
had been, by the heavy exactions of previous holders of the title,
driven away from the market at Warwick, to the great detriment of the
town.
The Municipal history of Warwick is unfortunately very obscure,
although there seems little or no doubt that the town was anciently
incorporated and had the privilege of returning members to Parliament,
but when it was first incorporated, and whether such incorporation
and privilege continued without interruption is not ascertainable. A
record, however, exists that there was a Mayor in 1279, in the reign
of Edward I., and that twenty–one years later the Mayor of the day and
bailiffs were ordered to allow Phillip de Rout and William de Serdely
reasonable expenses for their services as members of Parliament for
that year. Afterwards, however, in the reign of Edward III., the King’s
mandate for the same purpose was, strange to tell, addressed to the
bailiffs only.
The earliest known date of incorporation under royal charter with the
designation of bailiff and burgesses occurs in the reign of Philip and
Mary, but it is certain that letters patent were granted by Henry VIII.
in 1546 to the borough under the Municipal title of “burgesses only.”
This grant of letters patent was confirmed by one from James I. in
1613, and was again followed by another during the reign of William and
Mary, bearing the date of March 5, 1694, which remains the governing
charter of the borough down to the present time.
The history of the town of Warwick has, as we have remarked in a
previous chapter, been largely that of the county itself, and during
the ages when wars and revolts swayed parties in England the town
played its part in the romantic and tragic happenings of those times.
The old stone cross, which stood at the intersection of the two ancient
and principal streets as late as the reign of James I., has long
ago disappeared, but in few towns in England are there more notable
survivals of ancient times to be found than in Warwick. One of the most
interesting buildings is the ancient Chapel of St. James, now known as
the West Gate, and formerly as the Hongyn Gate, standing where the High
Street terminates, on the crest of the hill, supported for its entire
length by a lofty groined archway, itself placed on the bed–rock which
rises several feet above the road surface. This structure anciently
formed a defensive gateway to the old and fortified town.
In the reign of Henry I. this chapel was given by Roger, Earl of
Warwick, to the Church of St. Mary. That it was of very small value
is proved by the fact that in 1368, in the reign of Edward III., the
latter was estimated at only £1.
[Illustration: LEICESTER’S HOSPITAL, WARWICK.]
In 1383, in the reign of Richard II., the advowson was given to the
Guild of St. George, and the fraternity established in Warwick the same
year was founded by a license granted to Robert Dynelay, Hugh Cooke,
and William Russell on the 20th of April, giving them privilege to
extend their numbers by admission of other inhabitants of the borough,
and to build a chantry for two priests to sing mass every day in the
Chapel, which stood over the west gate, for the good estate of King
Richard and his consort Ann; of his mother, also Michael de la Pole,
and all the brothers and sisters of the said Guild during their lives
in this world, and for the everlasting happiness of their souls,
as also for the souls of King Edward III., Edward Prince of Wales,
the father of Richard II., and their royal progenitors, and all the
faithful departed.
Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, eventually had license to give
the advowson of the Church of St. James at the same time that the Guild
brethren purchased two houses, a loft, and the quarry in Warwick for
their use.
At length, however, the Guild of St. George the Martyr and the Guild
of the Holy Trinity and the Virgin, in the early part of Henry VI.’s
reign, became one, and four priests belonging to the Guilds sang
masses; two of them at “Our Lady’s Chapel” in St. Mary’s, and the
others in the two chapels built over the gates. This Guild also paid in
part the secular canons attached to St. Mary’s Church, gave a weekly
dole of alms to eight poor people of the Guild, and also assisted in
maintaining the great bridge over the Avon.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the establishment was granted
by Edward VI., on July 23, 1551, to Sir Nicholas l’Estrange, Kt. and
his heirs. And from him it passed into the possession of Robert Dudley,
Earl of Leicester, who made it in 1571, in the reign of Elizabeth,
a hospital for twelve men, called brethren, and a master, who must
be a clergyman of the Church of England; the preference being given
to the Vicar of St. Mary’s if he offered himself for the post. The
appointment of these brethren is vested in the heirs of the founder,
now represented by Lord D’Lisle and Dudley, of Penhurst Place, in the
county of Kent, who is a descendant of Mary, the sister of Robert
Dudley, who married Sir Henry Sidney, of the same place.
The brethren elected to this foundation must, according to the
statutes, be either tenants or servants of the founder or his heirs,
and resident in the county of Warwick, or soldiers of the Sovereign,
more especially those who had been wounded on active service; the
latter to be chosen from the parishes of Warwick, Kenilworth, and
Stratford–on–Avon, or from those of Wooton–under–Edge and Erlingham, in
the county of Gloucester.
Of recent years radical changes have been made in the charity, one of
these being that provision is now made for the housing and maintenance
in the hospital itself of twelve women, wives of the brethren.
Nowadays, as none of the founder’s heirs have tenants resident in
either of the two counties, the brethren are chosen under the second
provision we have mentioned, and all of them have been soldiers of the
Crown. Here now dwell in comfort and peace the master and the twelve
brethren, the former having a salary of £400 and a residence; and
the latter pensions amounting to £80 each, with separate apartments,
consisting of bedroom, sitting–room, and pantry, with the use of a
common kitchen and the services of a cook and housekeeper.
There are many interesting customs in connection with the hospital;
one of which is that the brethren must daily attend service in the
chapel, and are obliged when they appear in public to wear a blue gown,
on the sleeve of which is worn a silver badge with the crest of the
bear and ragged staff. With one exception these badges are the ancient
ones originally provided; the exception being a modern reproduction in
facsimile of the badge which was stolen many years ago.
The beautiful specimen of a half–timbered building, which stands raised
upon a lime–shaded terrace above the road level, is approached through
an arch gateway, above which is the inscription, “Hospitivm Collegiatvm
Roberti Dvdlei Comitis Leycestriae,” with the date 1571, and the Dudley
device, a double–tailed lion rampant in the left spandril, and the
device of the Sidneys, a barbed dart, in the other.
On the front of the house is a fine old sun–dial, with the initials E.
R., and there are also thirteen shields, with the armorial bearings of
the various families connected with the founder, the most distinguished
having been placed over the archway leading to the inner quadrangle. On
the north side of the latter is the master’s residence, behind which is
a pleasant old–fashioned garden, from the western side of which there
is a fine view of the surrounding country and the distant Cotswold
Hills.
The garden contains a famous mulberry tree, almost old enough to
be historic, and in summer time the spot is gay with the bloom of
old–fashioned flowers. There is a charming vista of foliage and lawn
through a fine Norman circular–headed arch which, found during repairs
to the chapel, was erected in its present position some years ago. On
the eastern side of the garden is an open space, and the brethren’s
apartments are arranged on the south and west sides of the quadrangle.
On the right side of the latter is the famous old kitchen, in which
the brethren pass a great deal of their time on chilly days, smoking
and chatting, often fighting their battles o’er again, surrounded by
many historic relics, including a handsome black oak cabinet once in
Kenilworth Castle; an ancient Saxon chair; and another used by James I.
at the supper he took with Sir Fulke Greville.
One of the most interesting relics is the portion of a curtain from
Cumnor Hall, said to have been worked by ill–fated Amy Robsart. Amongst
the more martial are halberds and pistols of ancient date, the King of
Dahomey’s State execution sword, and some interesting copper tankards
dating some two hundred years back.
The great banqueting hall, in which Sir Fulke Greville in 1617
entertained James I., is on the western side of the quadrangle, but it
has fallen on evil times, and is now divided up into domestic offices.
The chapel in which the brethren worship is reached by a flight of
steps from the outer terrace, which runs in front of the almshouses at
an elevation above the street. The tower of the present interesting
building was in all probability erected by Thomas de Beauchamp about
the end of the fourteenth century, and on the embattled parapet are to
be seen his arms.
In 1863 the stability of the building gave some cause for anxiety,
and flying buttresses were added on the south side for the purpose
of strengthening it. Prior to that date the chapel was unfortunately
disfigured by several eighteenth–century additions, which were removed
and a thorough and well–advised restoration undertaken.
Dividing the chapel into almost equal portions is a finely–carved oak
screen, within which are the stalls of the brethren and officials. Near
the altar is an interesting piece of needlework of floral design, said
to have come from the hands of Amy Robsart.
Beneath the chapel is the gateway, similar to that on the eastern side
of the town, built on the sandstone rock and with strong vaulting,
which formed a part of the twelfth–century fortifications.
A little beyond Northgate Street, on a knoll, stands the Priory,
formerly dedicated to St. Sepulchre, and founded by Henry de Newburgh,
first Earl of Warwick, as a monastery for Canons Regular. At the
time of the Dissolution of Monasteries this ancient foundation was
granted to a trusted retainer of John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland,
Thomas Hawkins, whose father sold fish at the town Market Cross.
Unappreciative of either antiquity or the traditions of the building
into whose possession he had come, Hawkins, as might be anticipated,
pulled down the monastery and on the site of it erected the present
building, which was finished about 1565.
In this fine old Elizabethan mansion, with its many windows and
gables and air of ancient peace, is a lofty hall and a magnificent
old oak staircase and oak–panelled dining–room. The south front is
comparatively modern, as it was rebuilt about the middle of the
eighteenth century; but the north front still preserves many of its
original features.
One of the most interesting incidents connected with the house was the
surprise visit paid by Queen Elizabeth on August 17, 1572, who, coming
over from Kenilworth unexpectedly, found the Earl and Countess of
Warwick at supper, and sat down to the meal with them. The owner of the
house was confined to his bed; but the Queen, who, if tradition may be
believed, was less austere than historians would have us infer, setting
aside ceremony, visited “the good man of the house, who at that time
was grievously vexed with the gout.”
The first owner of the Priory, by means of grants and judicious
purchases, managed to accumulate a large amount of property, which, in
less than four years from the date of his death—occurring in 1576—his
son Edward had squandered, even to the selling of his home to Sergeant
Puckering, then Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, whom he sought to cheat
by means of a fraudulent conveyance. Hawkins was prosecuted in the Star
Chamber, and eventually ended his days in the Fleet Prison.
The Priory remained in the possession of the Puckering family until the
beginning of the eighteenth century, when it became the property of a
Mr. Henry Wise, a superintendent of the Royal Gardens at Hampton Court.
Although this fine survival of domestic architecture of Elizabethan
times was of necessity acquired by the Great Western Railway Company
in the middle of the last century, in connection with the extension
of their line to Birmingham, it fortunately escaped destruction, and
was eventually sold by the Company to Mr. Thomas Lloyd, a banker of
Birmingham.
At the foot of Smith Street, which runs down from the East Gate, stands
the fine old house known as St. John’s Hospital, founded in the reign
of Henry II. by William de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, as a hospital in
aid of the poor, and for relief and reception of strangers.
The first occupants of this interesting building were Knights
Templars, who were succeeded by the Knights of St. John. After the
Dissolution of Monasteries it fell into the hands of one Anthony
Stoughton, a descendant of whom—Nicholas Stoughton—erected the present
building at the commencement of the seventeenth century. The property
eventually came into the possession of the Warwick family, and still
remains so. The interior of the house is well worth inspection, as it
contains a fine Jacobean oak staircase, and a panelled, tapestry–hung
room.
Of the many churches, stated to have been ten in number, in addition
to the Priory, Nunnery, and other religious houses which existed
in early times, little is known; but two—those of St. Mary and St.
Nicholas—which still survive were, even in the reign of Edward III.,
found to afford sufficient accommodation for the inhabitants of the
town. Indeed, an ancient decree dated 1367 enjoined upon all persons
that they should attend the church of St. Mary. The sites of several
other churches, it is true, are known, but nearly all visible traces
of them have long ago disappeared. Of these aforetime ecclesiastical
buildings the church of St. Michael, in the northern part of the town,
is nowadays a blacksmith’s shop, whilst that of John the Baptist was
formerly near the centre of the market–place, and St. Helen’s was
replaced by the Priory of St. Sepulchre. The church of St. Peter, which
was pulled down in the reign of Henry VI., stood in the middle of
the town, and another dedicated to the same saint was built over the
eastern gate, whilst St. Lawrence’s was situated on the western side.
Of the religious houses few traces remain, all of them having been
dissolved, and many of them entirely pulled down at the date of the
Reformation.
[Illustration: BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL, WARWICK.]
St. Mary’s, the principal and beautiful church, stands upon the site
of a much earlier building, which existed prior to the Conquest, and
was in 1123 made collegiate by the transferring of the Collegiate
Church of All Saints from within the Castle. It is probable that the
present building was either rebuilt or very much enlarged by Roger de
Newburgh in the reign of Henry I. And Thomas de Beauchamp, in the reign
of Edward III., commenced to re–erect the choir; whilst his son, also
Thomas, who succeeded him, completed the rebuilding of the whole church
in 1394. This undertaking had been necessitated by the damage the
building had received from fire during the reign of Stephen. The work
was completed at the end of the fourteenth century; and the chapel of
Our Lady, now generally known as the Beauchamp Chapel, was added during
the middle part of the fifteenth century.
Just three hundred years after Thomas de Beauchamp had finished the
rebuilding of the church it was once more almost entirely destroyed by
a most disastrous fire, which broke out near the west gate of the town
on the 5th of September, 1694, and eventually destroyed the greater
part of Warwick. In terrible alarm many of the inhabitants removed
their furniture and belongings to St. Mary’s for safety, and it is
generally supposed that some articles amongst the number must have
been partially burnt and smouldering, as the church took fire from the
interior, and the tower, nave, and transepts were completely burnt out,
and the shell so damaged as to necessitate the remains being pulled
down.
Almost immediately a subscription was set on foot for relief of the
distressed inhabitants and the rebuilding of the church, with the
exception of the eastern portion, which fortunately had been saved. The
work was entrusted to Sir William Wilson, of Sutton Coalfield; and seen
from a distance the church and tower present an imposing and indeed
pleasing appearance; but architectural students on nearer inspection
find their sense of congruity disturbed by the medley of the Gothic and
Classic styles which are embodied in the design.
The tower is 130 feet to the top of the battlements, and 44 feet
additional height is gained by the crocketted pinnacles, which are
eight in number. In it are hung ten bells, the first nine having been
cast during the years 1700 to 1710, and the tenth bell in 1814. The
chimes every four hours play a tune, which is changed at midnight
of each day. On Sundays, the _Easter Hymn_; on Mondays, _Home,
Sweet Home_; Tuesdays, _Jenny Lind_; Wednesdays, _The Blue Bells of
Scotland_; Thursdays, _There’s nae luck aboot the Hoose_; Fridays,
_Life let us cherish_; Saturdays, _Warwickshire Lads and Lasses_.
The present church, which consists of a chancel, nave with aisles,
transepts, and a western tower, and the chapter–house on the north
and the Beauchamp Chapel to the south of the chancel, presents a
somewhat incongruous appearance owing to a reckless mixture of designs
both inside and out. The interior, which has no special features of
note, contains, however, a large number of eighteenth–century marble
monuments of considerable interest, though unpretentious in character.
At the west end of the church is a bust of Walter Savage Landor the
poet, who was born at Warwick on January 30, 1775, in the old–fashioned
house just below East Gate, and died at Florence on September 17, 1864.
In the north transept, on the east side, near the door, is an
interesting mural brass of the sixteenth century, with effigies of
Thomas Oken and his wife Joan. The inscription, which is a quaint
one, runs thus, “Of your charyte give thanks for the soules of Thomas
Oken and Jone and his wyff, on whose soules Jesus hath mercy, Jesus
hath mercy, Amen. Remember the charyte for the pore for ever. Ao dni:
mccccclxxiii.”
This Thomas Oken, who was born of poor parents in the town, became very
wealthy, and left estates of very considerable value for the endowment
of local and educational charities.
On the north side of the entrance to the Beauchamp Chapel is a marble
slab, on which are the incised brass effigies of the second Earl of
Warwick, Thomas Beauchamp, and his Countess Margaret, who died in 1401
and 1406 respectively. The monument is an interesting one, as the
effigies show the Earl clad in full armour, with his feet resting on
a bear, whilst the Countess wears a low–bodied gown, over which is a
long mantle–like garment fastened at the breast; on her head is a cap
with her hair falling in long ringlets on to her shoulders; at her feet
is a dog, wearing a collar of bells. This brass, which is valuable to
students of costume and archæologists alike, was originally fixed to
the upper portion of a high tomb, which stood at the eastern end of the
aisle, and was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1694.
The chancel or choir is generally supposed to have been erected by
the second Thomas Beauchamp about 1392. The style of the east window,
however, and the panel–work of the exterior of the east wall makes it
probable that these portions were at all events altered from their
original state by Richard Beauchamp, the builder of the adjoining
chapel.
On the north side of the altar is an interesting and originally groined
recess, faced with three arches, which in all probability was used as
“The Holy Sepulchre” during Passion Week in the olden times.
At St. Mary’s, Warwick, prior to the Reformation, the host and crucifix
were borne in procession on Good Friday through the church to the north
side of the chancel, after which they were deposited in the sepulchre,
the door was then shut, and on that and the following night was watched
by persons specially chosen for the purpose: in imitation, of course,
of the soldiers set to guard the body of Christ. Early on Easter
morning the host and crucifix were removed with great ceremonial, the
priest pronouncing the words, “Surrexit, non est hic.”
The reredos is modern, as are also the carved oak stalls. In the
middle of the choir is a high tomb, with the recumbent effigies of the
first Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and founder of the choir,
who died in 1369, with his Countess Catherine, who was a daughter of
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. The tomb is a very elaborate one, and
around it are thirty–six niches, each one containing a figure supposed
to represent a connection or descendant of the house of Beauchamp; the
panels beneath the niches containing small shields with coats–of–arms,
now, alas! greatly defaced.
Although Queen Elizabeth is said to have buried this nobleman with
great solemnity, apparently her generosity extended no further, for no
monument or inscription marks the spot.
The former chapter–house now serves the purpose of a mausoleum, the
inner side of it being rectangular and the outer semi–hexagonal. Around
the sides are nine stone seats, placed under recessed canopies. In the
centre is a large and heavy–looking tomb of the famous Fulke Greville,
the first Lord Brooke, who died at the age of seventy–four on September
30, 1628. Round the edge of the upper slab is the following somewhat
strange inscription, “Fulke Grevill, servant to Qvenne Elizabeth,
conceller to King Iames, and frend to Sir Phillip Sydney. Trophaevm
peccati (a trophy of sin).”
Fulke Greville’s death was an exceedingly tragic one, and occurred in
the following manner. Having omitted to reward one of his old servants
named Hayward, who had spent a long period in his service, and being
expostulated with for the omission, he was stabbed in the back by
Hayward in his bedroom at Brooke House, London, which stood near the
present Brooke Street, on September 30, 1628. The murderer, apparently
struck with remorse, left his master bleeding to death, and going into
another room locked the door and stabbed himself in the stomach with a
sword.
The crypt of St. Mary’s is interesting from the fact that three of
the four pillars which divided it longitudinally are undoubtedly the
remains of the ancient church of Roger de Newburgh, which was erected
early in the twelfth century; the remaining pillar is in the Decorated
style of the fourteenth century, and is probably part of the work of
Thomas de Beauchamp.
A portion of the old town cucking stool, used in former times for
the ducking in a horse pond of disorderly women and scolds, is now
preserved in the crypt.
The architectural gem of St. Mary’s Church is undoubtedly the Chapel of
Our Lady, generally known as the Beauchamp Chapel, which is one of the
finest buildings of its kind in the kingdom, and was founded under the
will of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, as a mortuary for himself,
and was commenced in 1443, but although completed twenty–one years
later was not consecrated until 1475.
An immense sum, amounting to £2481 : 4 : 7, was spent upon the chapel
and the tomb of Richard Beauchamp. Estimates place the sum spent upon
this beautiful memorial at thirty–five to forty thousand pounds in
the money value of the present day. The building is one of the most
magnificent and pleasing examples of the Decorated Gothic style; the
exterior enrichments, consisting of delicate tracery, panels, and other
decorative adornments, present a most interesting and rich appearance.
Elegant buttresses with pinnacle terminations support the walls, and
on the south are three fine six–light windows of beautiful design.
The eastern gable contains a canopied niche, in which are figures
of the Virgin Mary with the child Christ, and on either side of her
representations of Simeon and Anna the Prophetess.
The chapel is entered by a doorway situated in the south transept of
the church, the hollow moulding of which doorway represents foliage and
the ragged staff, which is the cognisance of the Beauchamps, and above
this is to be seen the Arms of the family on a shield, supported on
either side by the bear and ragged staff.
The interior of the chapel is exceedingly rich; the windows are
imposing ones, filled with good stained–glass, and beneath them are
canopied niches. The ceiling is nearly flat, as is also that of the
chancel of the church; it has groined ribs resembling net–work.
The stalls, situated on each side of the chapel, are of carved oak, the
arms being in the form of bears, griffins, and lions with standards
having carved finials. The altar–piece, which is in low relief,
represents the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, and is by Collins of
Warwick, who executed the work from a design by Lightoler in 1735. It
is perhaps unfortunate that the altar–piece does not harmonise with the
architectural scheme of the chapel, although the work is good; but the
canopy above is of quite indifferent merit.
There are four monumental tombs of great antiquarian and artistic
value: the centre one that of the founder, Richard Beauchamp, and the
one next to it on the western side the tomb of Ambrose Dudley, known as
the good Earl of Warwick. Against the northern wall is a fine monument
to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the favourite of Elizabeth, and
his Countess. The recumbent figures of the Earl and his wife are
coloured, and placed on a tomb in front; whilst against the southern
wall is the monument of “that noble impe, the young Lord Denbigh, their
infant son and heir.” These monuments, which represent a period of some
hundred and fifty years, are not only interesting from a historical
point of view, but more especially to students as representing the
changes which took place in the fashion of sepulchral monuments during
that period. A record exists that during the Civil War in 1642 the
Parliamentary forces, under the leadership of Colonel Purefoy, “did
break into the chapel and beat down and deface these monuments of
antiquity.” But it seems probable that their depredations were chiefly
confined to the pulling down of the altar, as none of the tombs show
signs of having been seriously damaged.
The great tomb of Richard Beauchamp, which represents such an
excellent example of the art of the period, is constructed of grey
Purbeck marble, with its sides divided in five compartments; each of
the latter holding a large canopied niche, referred to in the contract
as a “principall housing.” There is a similar niche above, and these
divisions are flanked by sunk panel–work, the decorative part of
which is beautifully carved. Underneath each of the principal niches
is a carved quatrefoil within a square, bearing a shield charged
with armorial bearings enamelled on copper. The principal niches,
numbering fourteen, contain a like number of images, called “weepers
and mourners”; these are made of latten, a variety of brass, and
are gilded. Of these figures seven are males and seven females, and
they represent persons of rank who were connected either by blood or
marriage to Earl Richard.
[Illustration: GUY’S CLIFFE MILL.]
The small niches, which number eighteen, contain images or angels cast
in the same metal, which was generally used for sepulchral brasses and
metal ornaments of tombs, and these also are richly gilt. They bear
scrolls in their hands on which are engraved the following words, “Sit
Deo Laus et Gloria, Defunctis Misericordia.” The metal–work of this
magnificent tomb was carried out by one William Austen, citizen and
brass–founder of London, who agreed to “cast and make an image of a
man armed, of fine latten, garnished with certain ornaments, to wit
with sword and dagger, with a garter, with a helme and crest under his
head, and at his feet a bear musled, and a griffon perfectly made of
the finest latten, according to pattern and layde on the tombe.” He
also agreed to supply and erect a “hearse.” This hearse was an open
metal canopy of bars and hoops, shaped very much like the rest used
in hospitals to prevent the weight of the bedclothes troubling the
patient, over which a pall was thrown, and that on the Earl’s tomb is
one of the very few now remaining intact.
This beautiful memorial is fortunately almost as perfect as the day on
which it was erected, more than four hundred years ago. On the moulded
verge of the tomb runs a long English inscription in raised black
letter characters, with the bear and ragged staff intermixed, setting
forth how the deceased had been buried, when and where he had died, and
his titles and accomplishments, and relating how his “bodye with great
deliberacon and ful worshipful conduit bi see and by lond was broght to
Warrewik the iiii day of October the yer aboueseid, and was leide with
ful solenne exequies in a feir cheste made of stone in this Chirche
afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last will and
Testament, therin to reste til this Chapel by him devised i’ his lief
were made.”
It is in St. Mary’s Church that the Warwick doles of bread are
distributed on Sunday mornings, irrespective of creed, by the parish
sexton. The doles, which were instituted by Joseph Blissett in 1713,
and a Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Smith about the same date, consist of
thirty–two loaves, eight threepenny and twenty–four twopenny,—the
former for the married, the latter for bachelors, spinsters, widows,
and widowers. The providing source is derived from rent charges on
houses in High Street and Church Street.
The only other church of interest in Warwick is that of St. Nicholas,
situated almost opposite to the entrance of the castle. The date of its
foundation is not known with accuracy, but it would appear to have been
prior to the Norman Conquest. The present building, which consists of a
tower, spire, nave with aisles, and chancel, was erected in 1780 upon
the site of an ancient church. According to one authority the chancel
was in ancient times the choir to the House of Nuns, destroyed by
Canute the Dane about 1016, but afterwards restored.
Very little can be said for the present erection, which is a very poor
specimen of architecture, and is only of interest in that it contains
some interesting seventeenth–century monuments of the Stoughton family,
and an excellent specimen of a brass with effigy of Robert Willardsey,
first vicar, who died in 1424.
Once a walled town of great strength, of these ramparts scarcely any
traces now remain with the exception of those immediately adjoining
the east and west gateways. Warwick of to–day, with its country town
life and its race–course, seems to have little in common, other than
the survival of interesting buildings and its magnificent castle, with
those ancient times in which the cry of “A Warwick! a Warwick!” often
raised in battle and feud, struck terror into the hearts of those who
heard it.
A little more than a mile to the north of Warwick, on the Coventry
Road, stands the famous Guy’s Cliff, now the seat of the Percy family,
beautifully situated amongst a wealth of trees overlooking a fine
stretch of the Avon. Anciently, and up to the reign of Henry IV., the
place was known as Gibbeclyve, and the name it bears at the present day
would appear to have been given it in memory of the redoubtable Guy of
Warwick, whose somewhat mythical exploits caused him to take a high
place as a popular hero during the Middle Ages.
Unfortunately for those to whom these legendary tales appeal strongly,
there are no mention of Guy’s exploits in any authentic Chronicle or
records of ancient times.
Tradition, however, states that in the last years of the fifth or
the first years of the sixth century St. Dubritius, who subsequently
became Bishop of Landaff and afterwards Archbishop of Wales, founded an
oratory here, in which long afterwards a devout hermit dwelt. The spot
remained thus, only distinguished by a hermit’s dwelling, until the
reign of Henry V., who whilst on a visit to Warwick Castle came to see
Guy’s Cliff, and decided there to found a chantry for two priests.
An interesting fact in connection with this chantry is that John Rous,
the Warwickshire antiquarian and historian, was once a priest here. At
the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Religious Orders the property
was granted to one Sir Andrew Flammock, knight, whose daughter and
heiress married John Colburne in 1579, who obtained a grant of the
chapel from Queen Elizabeth. The property has since then passed through
many hands, and from a family named Greatheed passed into that of Lord
Percy in the spring of 1891, through the marriage of a descendant of
the Greatheeds with the honourable Charles Bertie Percy.
The house is one of the most picturesquely situated in Warwickshire,
and is built on a sandstone cliff overhanging the river, which widens
into a large pool or lake in front. The mansion itself has very
ordinary architectural features, but it contains many interesting
pictures and curios.
One picture possesses a romantic interest from the fact that it was
painted by Mr. Bertie Greatheed, and is of such a horrifying character
that it is hidden from ordinary view by doors specially constructed in
front of it. This painting, which is known as “The Cave of Despair,”
represents the scene described by Spenser in his _Færie Qeene_, Book I.
Canto ix. The weird ghastly figure of Despair nearly nude, with clasped
hands, unkempt hair, and deeply sunk eyes, sits in the centre of the
cave, staring out abstractedly at the spectator. A stabbed corpse, with
up–turned eyes and an agonised expression of face, lies on the left;
whilst on the right is a Red Cross knight, typical of resolution under
awe–inspiring circumstances. Behind him is the terror–stricken face of
another spectator. This picture, apart from its gruesome realism and
subject, is of considerable artistic merit, and is certainly one to
“haunt” those who have been fortunate or unfortunate enough to see it.
There are a number of other pictures by the same artist. One of the
most interesting of these pictures is a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte,
which tradition says was painted from a sketch made on the artist’s
thumb nail during a personal audience.
It was here at Guy’s Cliff, when a young girl of seventeen, in the
autumn of 1772 and early part of 1773, that Sarah Kemble, afterwards to
become famous as Mrs. Siddons, stayed as a companion.