Keep the great judgment day always in view,
Look at your work, as you'll look at it then,
Scanned by Jehovah, and Angels and men.
Dare to be right, dare to be true;
God who created you, cares for you too,
Wipe off the tears that His striving ones shed,
Counts and protects every hair of your head.
Dare to be right, dare to be true;
Cannot Omnipotence carry you through?
City, and Mansion, and throne all in view,
Cannot you dare to be right and be true?
Dare to be right, dare to be true;
Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue
The pathway by Saints, and by Seraphim trod
The pathway which leads to the City of God."
Bolingbroke (Henry St. John) Lord Viscount, descended from an ancient
and noble family as we have already seen. His Mother was Mary, daughter
of Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. He received a liberal education at
Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, and when he left the University was
considered to possess uncommon qualifications, but with great parts
he had strong passions, which as usually happens, hurried him into
many follies and indiscretions. Contrary to the inclinations of his
family he cultivated Tory connections, and gained such influence in
the House of Commons, that in 1704 he was appointed Secretary of War
and of the Marines. He was closely united in all political measures
with Mr. Harley; when therefore that gentleman was removed from the
seals in 1707, Mr. St. John resigned his office; and in 1710, when Mr.
Harley was made Chancellor of the Exchequer, the post of Secretary of
State was given to Mr. St. John. In 1712, he was created Baron St.
John of Lediard Tregose in Wiltshire, and Viscount Bolingbroke. But
being overlooked in the bestowal of vacant ribands of the Order of the
Garter, it is said he resented the affront and renounced the friendship
of Harley, then Earl of Oxford, and made his court to the Whigs;
nevertheless, on the accession of George 1st, the seals were taken
from him. Having been informed that a resolution was taken to pursue
him to the scaffold for his conduct regarding the treaty of Utrecht,
Signed 11th of April, 1713, he withdrew into France and joined the
Pretender's[1] service and accepted the seals as his Secretary. But
he was as unfortunate in his new connection as those he had renounced,
for the year 1715 was scarcely expired, while being attainted of high
treason at home, he was accused by the Pretender of neglect, incapacity
and treachery, and had the papers and seals of Foreign Secretary's
Office taken away. Such a complication of distressful events threw
him into a state of reflection that produced by way of relief "a
consolatio philosophica," which he wrote the same year under the title
of "Reflection upon Exile." The next year he drew up a vindication
of his conduct with respect to the Tories in the form of a letter to
Sir William Wyndham. In 1718 his first wife died; in 1720 he married
a niece of the famous Madam Maintenon and widow of the Marquis de
Villette,[2] with whom he had a very large fortune. In 1723, after
being in exile seven years, the King was prevailed upon to grant him
a free pardon, and he returned in consequence to England. But his
spirit was not satisfied within while he remained a mere titular Lord,
and excluded from the House of Peers. His recall had been assented to
by Sir Robert Walpole, but he cherished a secret dislike to Walpole
and regarded him as the cause of his not receiving the full extent of
the King's clemency. Walpole invited Bolingbroke to dine with him at
Chelsea, but it appeared to Bolingbroke rather to shew his power and
prosperity than for any other reason. Horace Walpole, the celebrated
son of the Minister, says in his "Reminiscences" "Whether tortured at
witnessing Sir Robert's serene frankness and felicity, or suffocated
with indignation and confusion at being forced to be obliged to one
whom he hated and envied, the first morsel he put into his mouth was
near choking him, and he was reduced to rise from the table and leave
the room for some minutes. I never heard of their meeting more." He
distinguished himself by a multitude of political writings till the
year 1735, when being thoroughly convinced that the door was shut
against him, he returned once more to France. In this foreign retreat
he began his course of letters on the Study and Use of History for Lord
Combury, to whom they are addressed. Lord Bolingbroke was born and
died in the family Mansion at Battersea. The house was very large,
with forty rooms on a floor; but with the exception of a wing,[3] it
has long since been taken down and otherwise appropriated.[4] Dives'
Flour Mills cover a portion of the site where once stood this venerable
mansion. Upon the death of his father, who lived to be extremely old,
Lord Bolingbroke settled at Battersea, where he passed the remaining
nine years of his life in philosophical dignity. Pope and Swift, one
a great poet, the other a great wit of that time, almost adored him.
Arbuthnot, Thompson, Mallet, and other contemporary men of genius were
his frequent visitors. Mr. Timbs says "here took place the memorable
destruction of one of Bolingbroke's most celebrated works, his 'Essay
on a Patriotic King,' of which the noble author had printed only six
copies, which he gave to Lord Chesterfield, Sir William Wyndham,
Lyttelton, Pope, Lord Marchmont, and Lord Combury, at whose instance
Bolingbroke wrote the essay. Pope lent his copy to Mr. Allen, of
Bath, who was so delighted with it that he had five hundred copies
printed, but locked them up in a warehouse, not to see light until Lord
Bolingbroke's permission could be obtained. On the discovery, Lord
Marchmont (then living at Lord Bolingbroke's house at Battersea), sent
Mr. Gravenkop for the whole cargo, and he had the books carried out
on a waggon and burnt on a lawn in the presence of Lord Bolingbroke."
Pope, when visiting his friend Lord Bolingbroke, usually selected as
his study a parlour (the grate and ornaments were of the age of George
1st) wainscoted with cedar, and overlooking the Thames, in which he is
said to have composed some of his celebrated works. It is well known
that he received from him the materials for his famous poem the "Essay
on Man."
[Footnote 1: Pretenders, a name given to the son and grandsons of
James II. of England. The Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart,
Chevalier de St. George, born 10th June, 1688, was acknowledged by
Louis XIV. as James III. of England, in 1701 proclaimed and his
standard set up, at Braemar and Castletown, in Scotland, landed at
Peterhead in Aberdeenshire from France to encourage the rebellion
that the Earl of Mar and his adherents had promoted, 25th December,
1715. This rebellion having been soon suppressed, the Pretender
escaped to Montrose (from whence he proceeded to Gravelines) 4th
February 1716. Died at Rome, 30th December, 1765. The Young Pretender,
Charles Edward, was born in 1720, landed in Scotland and proclaimed
his father King 25th July, 1745; gained the battle of Preston-Pans,
21st September, 1745, and of Falkirk, 27th January, 1746; defeated at
Culloden, and sought safety by flight 16th April, 1746. He continued
wandering among the wilds of Scotland for nearly six months, and as
£30,000 were offered for taking him, he was constantly pursued by the
British troops, often hemmed round by his enemies, but still rescued
by some lucky incident, and at length escaped from the Ulst Morilaix
in September. He died 31st January, 1788. His natural daughter assumed
the title of Duchess of Albany; died in 1789. His brother, the Cardinal
York, calling himself Henry IX. of England, born March, 1725, died at
Rome in August, 1807.]
[Footnote 2: When he was about twenty-six years of age he was married
to the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Winchescomb, of Bucklebury,
in Berkshire, Bart., and the same year, 1700, he entered the House of
Commons, being elected for the Borough of Wotton-Basset in Wiltshire,
by a family interest, his father having served several times for the
same place.]
[Footnote 3: The ceilings of three of the chambers upstairs are
ornamented with stucco-work, and have in their centres oval-shaped oil
paintings on allegorical subjects.]
[Footnote 4: Bolingbroke House was pulled down about the year 1775. The
pictures were sold by auction.]
Lord Bolingbroke was born about the year 1672, or as some think, in
1678; he was baptized October 10, 1678; died December 12, 1751, and
left the care and benefit of his M.S.S. to Mr. Mallet, who published
them together with his former printed works in five vols. 4to.; they
are also printed in 8vo.
Lord Bolingbroke sank under a dreadful malady beneath which he had long
lingered--a cancer in the face--which he bore with exemplary fortitude.
"A fortitude," says Lord Brougham "drawn from the natural resources of
his mind, and unhappily not aided by the consolation of any religion;
for having cast off the belief in revelation, he had substituted in
its stead a dark and gloomy naturalism, which even rejected those
glimmerings of hope as to futurity not untasted by the wiser of the
heathen." He used to ride out in his chariot every day, and had a black
patch on his cheek, with a large wart over one of his eyebrows. He was
thought to be essentially selfish; he spent little in the place and
gave little away, so that he was not regarded much by the people of
Battersea.
A popular writer states that "Bolingbroke's talents were brilliant and
versatile; his style of writing was polished and eloquent; but the
fatal lack of sincerity and honest purpose which characterised him,
and the low and unscrupulous ambition which made him scramble for
power with a selfish indifference to national security hindered him
from looking wisely and deeply into any question. His philosophical
theories are not profound, nor his conclusions solid, while his
criticism of passing history is worthless in the extreme. He was one
of those clever unscrupulous men, unhappily too common, who forget
that God has something to do with the government of this world as well
as themselves, and who in spite of their ability, can never see that
swift destruction treads like Nemesis on the heels of those who dare to
trifle with the interests and destinies of a great people."
His opposition to revealed religion drew from Johnson this severe
remark: "Having loaded a blunderbuss and pointed it against
Christianity he had not the courage to discharge it himself, but left a
half-crown to a hungry Scotchman to pull the trigger after his death."
Oliver Goldsmith in his life of Lord Bolingbroke says: "In whatever
light we view his character, we shall find him an object rather more
proper for our wonder than our imitation; more to be feared than
esteemed, and gaining our admiration without our love. His ambition
ever aimed at the summit of power, and nothing seemed capable of
satisfying his immoderate desires but the liberty of governing all
things without a rival."
On the site of the demolished part of Bolingbroke House,[1] a
horizontal Air Mill was erected in 1790, of a conical form, 140 feet
in height, and having a mean diameter of 50 feet; it was 54 feet at
the base and 45 at the top. It was originally applied to the grinding
of linseed for oil, and subsequently by Messrs. Hodgson, Weller and
Allaway, of malt for the Distilleries, which were at that time in
extensive operation here. Mr. Thomas Fowler erected this mill, the
design was taken from that of another on a smaller scale, constructed
at Margate by Capt. Hooper. It consisted of a circular wheel, with
large boards or vanes fixed parallel to its axis; and upon the vanes
the wind acted as to blow the wheel round, one side of it being
sheltered from the action of the wind by its being enclosed in frame
work, with doors or shutters to open and admit the wind, or to shut and
stop it. If all the shutters on one side were open, whilst all those on
the opposite were closed, the wind acting with diminished force on the
vanes of one side, whilst the opposite vanes were under shelter, turned
the mill round; but whenever the wind changed, the disposition of the
blinds had to be altered, to admit the wind to strike upon the vanes
of the wheels in the direction of a tangent to the circle in which
they moved.--_Dr. Paris's Philosophy in Sport._ "The Mill," says Mr.
Timbs, "resembled a gigantic packing case, which gave rise to an odd
story, that when the Emperor of Russia was in England in 1814, he took
a fancy to Battersea Church and determined to carry it off to Russia,
and had this large packing case made for it; but as the inhabitants
refused to let the Church be carried away, so the case remained on the
spot where it was deposited." The Mill served as a landmark for miles
around, being more conspicuous an object at that time than the lofty
square tower of Watney's Distillery a little further westward is now.
At length the upper part of the Mill was taken down; the lower part
is still used for grinding corn. Capper, referring to this Mill, says,
"it had 96 shutters, which though only 9 inches broad, reached to the
height of 80 feet; these by means of a rope, opened and shut in the
manner of Venetian blinds. In the inside, the main shaft of the Mill
was the centre of a large circle formed by the sails, which consisted
of 96 double planks placed perpendicularly, and the same height as
the shutters; through these shutters the wind passing turned the Mill
with great rapidity, which was increased or diminished by opening or
shutting the apertures. In it were six pairs of stones, in which two
pair more might be added. Adjacent were Bullock Houses capable of
holding 650 bullocks, which were fed with the grains and meal from the
Distilleries."
[Footnote 1: The part left standing formed a dwelling house for Mr.
Hodgson.]
[Illustration: ST. MARY'S CHURCH.]
ST. MARY'S CHURCH forms an interesting object from the water. It was
re-built by Act of Parliament passed 14 Geo. 3. The former church,
which was built of brick, was found to be in such a dilapidated state
that the Vestry deemed it more than desirable to erect a new church
than to enlarge and repair the old one. Their unanimous resolution
in this respect met with the sanction of Earl Spencer; his lordship
in compliance with a petition generously granted the petitioners in
the year 1772 a piece of ground, etc. for the enlargement of the
church yard. During the re-building of the church, divine service
was conducted in the tabernacle at the Workhouse. The cost of its
erection was about £5,000, which sum was raised by a brief by the sale
of certain pews for 99 years, by the sale of some estates or docks
belonging to the Parish, and by granting annuities on lives; the leases
expired Michaelmas, 1876. It was opened for divine service November 17,
1777. The ground given by the Earl Spencer for the enlargement of the
church yard was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford, on Wednesday,
the 15th of April, 1778. The Church is built of brick and has a tower
with a conical copper spire at the west end, besides a clock and
porch.[1] The belfry contains a set of eight bells, which, in addition
to their ordinary Sunday chimes, ring out their merry peals on special
occasions.
[Footnote 1: An Entrance Portico of the Doric order was added to the
Church about the year 1823.]
"Ring out the old year's evil,
The world, the flesh, the devil;
Let them go! let them go!
And ring in the Prince of Peace,
Messiah's gentle reign.
And let war and bloodshed cease,
And righteousness obtain.
Ring out the old year's crimes,
And ring in the new year's birth,--
Good words, good deeds, good times;
Oh, were ever sweeter chimes
Rung on this fallen earth
Since creation's virgin anthem rang,
And morning stars together sang?"
"Chime on, ye bells! again begin,
And ring the Sabbath morning in."
Six of the old bells were in the Old Church but re-cast, and two
were added to them. Length of church, 88 feet; breadth, 49 feet 3
inches.--_Rev. Owen Manning, S.T.B._ In digging for the foundation of
the present structure was found an ancient coffin lid of stone, on
the top of which was a cross fleury. The Rev. Erskine Clarke in an
article headed "S. Mary's Church in the Last Century" has furnished his
parishioners with some interesting details gathered from the Parish
books respecting the re-building of the Parish Church. He says: "It
does not appear that our ancestors were more expeditious in carrying
on business of this nature than we of the present day, as the first
resolution to inquire into the state of the old Church[1] was passed by
the Vestry in December, 1769, whereas the re-building was not finished
till November, 1777. The first suggestion was to sell a portion
of Penge Common in order to raise the money required, but it was
afterwards found that the condition of the church was so bad that the
money raised by this means would not be sufficient for the necessary
repairs. On March 1st, 1771, it was ordered by the Vestry that an extra
estimate be made of the needful repairs, allowing for enlargement of
the chancel to the north wall, to elevate the roof and make galleries,
and to raise the bottom of the church so high as five inches from the
present coming in, and that the Vicar and Churchwardens wait upon Lord
Spencer to get his sanction and assistance for this, and to enlarge
the church yard. On December 14, 1771, it was resolved this Vestry is
unanimously of opinion (there not being one dissenting voice) that a
new Church shall be built in this Parish at an expense not exceeding
£4,000: the said sum to be raised by annuities at the most advantageous
rate; and the interest or annuity thereon to be paid by a rate not
exceeding sixpence in the pound. That twelve gentlemen be nominated to
be a Committee for carrying the above-named purposes into execution,
and that the following gentlemen be the said Committee with such others
as choose to attend, all having voices. Viz.:
The Revd. Mr. Fraigneau, Vicar.
Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Dixon, Churchwardens.
Mr. Camden, Mr. Bremmer, Overseers.
Isaac Akeman, Esqr.
Chrisr. Baldwin, Esqr.
Philip Worlidge, Esqr.
Mark Bell, Esqr.
Thos. Bond, Esqr.
Thos. Misluor, Esqr.
Philip Milloway, Esqr.
And that any five of them be a Committee to transact the business. And
that the said Committee may adjourn themselves from time to time, to
such place as they shall think proper and at their own expense: and
that the Vestry Clerk be ordered to attend the said Committee at all
times of their meeting. In the following year we find that the petition
to Lord Spencer to present an additional piece of ground was granted,
for the following resolution is recorded in the Parish Books on April
21st, 1772. 'That the Rev. Mr. Fraigneau, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Dixon
do wait upon the Right Hon. Earl Spencer on behalf of the Parish of
Battersea, to return his Lordship their hearty thanks for his noble
and generous grant of the houses and ground north and south of the
present entrance to the church yard.' In March, 1773, a plan prepared
by Mr. Dixon was laid before the Vestry, and it was unanimously
resolved that the said plan be carried into execution with all possible
expedition, and the expenses not to exceed £3,000. On March 1, 1774,
it was reported to the Vestry by the Church Committee that it would
be necessary to apply to Parliament for power to sell some estates
belonging to the Parish, and also forty pews in the new church in
order to procure necessary funds. From this time to the reopening of
the Church there is no further reference to the restoration except an
order for the payment of £18 for 'alterations to the Tabernacle at the
Workhouse which was used for Divine Service during the re-building
of the Church.' The entire cost of the Church was £4950 13s. 9½d.
The following entry is made in April, 1778. Entered by order of the
Reverend Mr. William Fraigneau (Vicar), Mark Bell and John Camden,
Esquires, Churchwardens. The new Church of Battersea Parish was
opened for Divine Service on Sunday, the 17th of November, 1777.
The additional ground for enlarging the church yard granted by Earl
Spencer, was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford, on Wednesday,
the 15th of April, 1778. Towards the end of the year 1778 we find the
inhabitants of Battersea developing a musical taste. A faculty was
applied for to erect an organ, the petitioners making their request
on the ground that an organ would be 'a decent and agreeable addition
and ornament to the Church.' The faculty was granted, and an organ
was erected at the west end of the gallery where the present one now
stands."--_St. Mary's Battersea Parish Magazine_, Nov. 1876. The organ
has been removed to a place under the gallery, adjacent to the choir,
and the Church has been re-seated.
[Footnote 1: There is a river view of Battersea by Boydell, which shows
the old Church as it stood in 1752.]
The following copy of one of these leases on which the pews in St.
Mary's Church were held, will be read with interest.