[Illustration: _Shrine of Edward the Confessor._
WESTMINSTER ABBEY.]
Historical Description
OF
WESTMINSTER ABBEY;
ITS
Monuments and Curiosities.
[Illustration]
PRINTED FOR THE VERGERS IN THE ABBEY,
BY JAS. TRUSCOTT AND SON, SUFFOLK LANE, CANNON STREET, CITY.
OF ADMISSION.
_The North and West doors are open to Visitors. Guides are in attendance,
from nine until six every day, except_ SUNDAY, CHRISTMAS DAY, _and_ GOOD
FRIDAY. _The Abbey is not open to Visitors after the Afternoon Service
during the Winter Months._
THE SERVICES.
_On Sunday the entrance to the Abbey is by the North and South Transepts.
Divine Service at_ 8 A.M., _at_ 10 A.M., _and at_ 3 P.M.; _and from Easter
to the end of July, at_ 7 P.M. _At the usual Sunday Services, and on Saint
and Holy Days, at_ 10 A.M., _there is a Sermon. The Holy Communion is
celebrated on the first Sunday in the month, at the_ 10 A.M. _Service, and
on other Sundays (except when otherwise ordered) at_ 8 A.M.
The names of the several Chapels, beginning from the south cross, and so
passing round to the north cross, are in order as follows:--1. St.
Benedict; 2. St. Edmund; 3. St. Nicholas; 4. Henry VII.; 5. St. Paul; 6.
St. Edward the Confessor; 7. St. John; 8. Islip's Chapel, dedicated to St.
John the Baptist; 9. St. John, St. Michael, and St. Andrew. The three last
are now laid together. The Chapel of Edward the Confessor stands, as it
were, in the centre, and is enclosed in the body of the Church. Keep on
your right, and the Chapel of St. Benedict is adjoining the Tombs-gate, in
which Chapel several Deans were buried. Dean Ireland was buried in front
of Camden's monument, in the same grave with Mr. Gifford, his associate
through life.
Several men intercept all persons as they approach the Abbey, to show
them the Courts of Law, Westminster Hall, &c., which are open all day;
persons attending to them are oft-times prevented from seeing the
Church for that day, as the hours of service intervene.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Of the Foundation of the Abbey.
Of the Founding of an Abbey on Thorney Island, where that of Westminster
now stands, there are so many miraculous stories related by monkish
writers, that the recital of them now would hardly be endured. Even the
relations of ancient historians have been questioned by Sir Christopher
Wren, who was employed to survey the present edifice, and who, upon the
nicest examination, found nothing to countenance the general belief, "that
it was erected on the ruins of a Pagan Temple." No fragments of Roman
workmanship were discovered in any part of the building, many of which
must undoubtedly have been intermixed among the materials, if a Roman
temple had existed before on the same spot.
Nor is the dedication of the first Abbey less involved in mystery than the
founding of it. The legend says that Sebert, King of the East Saxons, who
died in 616, ordered Melitus, then Bishop of London, to perform the
ceremony; but that St. Peter himself was beforehand with him, and
consecrated it in the night preceding the day appointed by his Majesty for
that purpose, accompanied by angels, and surrounded by a glorious
appearance of burning lights.
That this legend continued to be believed after the building itself was
destroyed, will appear by a charter which we shall have occasion to
mention hereafter; and though nothing can with certainty be concluded from
these fictions, yet it may be presumed, that both the ancient church
dedicated to St. Paul, in London, and this dedicated to St. Peter, in
Westminster, were among the earliest works of the first converts to
Christianity in Britain. With their new religion, they introduced a new
manner of building; and their great aim seems to have been, by affecting
loftiness and ornament, to bring the plain simplicity of the Pagan
architects into contempt.
Historians, agreeable to the legend, have fixed the era of the first Abbey
in the sixth century, and ascribed to Sebert the honour of conducting the
work, and completing that part of it, at least, which now forms the east
angle, which probably was all that was included in the original plan.
After the death of that pious Prince, his sons, relapsing into Paganism,
totally deserted the church which their father had been so zealous to
erect and endow; nor was it long before the Danes destroyed what the
Saxons had thus contemptuously neglected.
From this period to the reign of Edward the Confessor, the first Abbey
remained a monument of the sacrilegious fury of the times; but, by the
prevailing influence of Christianity in that reign, the ruins of the
ancient building were cleared away, and a most magnificent structure, for
that age, erected in their place. In its form it bore the figure of a
cross, which afterwards became a pattern for cathedral-building throughout
the kingdom. That politic Prince, to ingratiate himself with his clergy,
not only confirmed all former endowments, but granted a new charter, in
which he recited the account of St. Peter's consecration, the ravages of
the Danes, and the motives which prompted him to restore the sacred
edifice to its former splendour, and endow it with more ample powers and
privileges. This charter concluded with solemn imprecations against all
who should in time to come, dare to deface or to demolish any part of the
building, or to infringe the rights of its priesthood.
Henry III. not only pulled down and enlarged the plan of this ancient
Abbey, but added a Chapel, which he dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; but
it was not till the reign of Henry VII. that the stately and magnificent
Chapel now known by his name was planned and executed. Of this Chapel, the
first stone was laid on the 24th January, 1502, and when completed was
dedicated, like the former Chapel, to the Blessed Virgin. Henry, designing
this as a burying-place for himself and his successors, expressly enjoined
by his will, that none but those of the blood-royal should be inhumed
therein.
From the death of Henry VII. till the reign of William and Mary, no care
was taken to repair or preserve the ancient church. By the robberies made
upon it by Henry VIII., and the ravages it sustained during the unhappy
civil commotions, its ancient beauty was in a great measure destroyed; nor
did their Majesties go about to restore it, till it became an object of
parliamentary attention, and till a considerable sum was voted for that
purpose only. This vote being passed, Sir Christopher Wren was employed to
decorate it and give it a thorough repair, which that able architect so
skilfully and faithfully executed, that the building is thought at this
day to want none of its original strength, and to have even acquired
additional majesty by two new towers.
In 1803 the lantern of the Abbey was destroyed by fire, owing to the
negligence of the plumbers, who were employed in repairing the lead flat.
This part being the junction of four long timber roofs, it was a merciful
providence the whole of this much-esteemed, august, and venerable pile,
had not been utterly consumed. The young gentlemen of Westminster School
highly distinguished themselves by their exertions for the preservation of
the church. The room is handsomely finished, and more suitable with the
rest of the building than the old one.
_General Admeasurements of the Interior of the Abbey._
Ft. In.
Length from East to West 375 0
Breadth from North to South 200 0
Do. of Nave and Aisles 75 0
Height from Pavement to Inner Roof 101 0
Do. do. to the Roof of the Lantern 140 0
The new Choir, designed by Mr. Blore, Architect to the Abbey, is in the
style of architecture which prevailed during the reign of Edward the
Third; and executed by Mr. Ruddle, of Peterborough, in 1848.
The Dean and Sub-dean's stalls are on either side of the arch, and are
alike in general design, but that of the Dean being more elaborate in
ornamental detail. They are octagonal in plan, and have projecting groined
canopies, with pediments springing from moulded shafts with carved caps;
above the canopies rise an octagonal turret with a spire. The arch is
enclosed under a triangular pediment, the space between the pediment and
the arch being filled with tracery; the centre of which is a cinque foil
enclosing a shield bearing the arms of Edward the Confessor; the ground of
this is carved, and the hollows of the pediment and arch mouldings are
filled with four-leaved flower peculiar to the style.
The Canons' stalls have groined canopies with pediments, and the space
between the pediment and canopy filled with open tracery; the canopies
spring from slender moulded shafts with carved capitals, and are separated
by buttresses terminating in pinnacles between the pediments.
The pew fronts are worked in tracery with deep mouldings, and the panels
are divided into compartments by buttresses decorated with tracery,
crockets, and finials.
The caps and poppy-heads of the desk ends, and the ornamental accessories
of the stall work and pews, are carved to represent the foliage of ivy,
maple, oak, willow, hop, vine, &c. The carving and tracery exhibit a great
variety of design, and are entirely the production of hand labour; the
total number of stalls is fifty-two.
The Organ, which formerly stood in the centre, and consequently obstructed
the view from west to east, was, in 1848, entirely rebuilt by Mr. Hill,
New Road, London. It is placed on the north, south, east, and west sides
of the screen, and has three cases. The two principal cases, viz., those
under the north and south arches, contain, respectively, the "great" and
"swell": the "solo" and part of the "pedal" organs being placed on the
west side, and the small case on the east side of the screen facing the
choir contains the "choir" organ. The organist sits behind the latter
organ, where the manuals, or key boards, are placed. It may easily be
imagined, that to connect these distinct organs with the manuals and
pedals, and thus bring them under the command of the performer, was an
undertaking of no ordinary difficulty. It has, however, been successfully
accomplished by Mr. Hill, who has, by means of a nice mechanical
adjustment, succeeded in producing a perfectly easy and light touch. The
instrument is now considered one of the finest, as regards tone and
construction, in the kingdom. Number of stops, fifty-five, the majority of
the pedal stops, being on the great organ sound board.
The marble pavement of the choir was given by Dr. Busby, who was buried
beneath it in 1695.
The length of the choir, from iron-gate to altar-rail, is one hundred and
sixteen feet six inches; sacrarium, twenty-four feet six inches; altar,
fourteen feet six inches; full length, from iron-gate to altar screen, one
hundred and fifty-five feet six inches; breadth, thirty-five feet six
inches.
The New Reredos.
The Reredos, which is recently put up, is chiefly of white and coloured
alabaster from Staffordshire, but combined with a reddish spar from
Cornwall: the latter material being adopted from its hardness to give
greater strength to the more prominent parts, and from its deeper tone to
give a variety of colour to some of the features of the work, which, if it
had been made wholly of one material, would have appeared monotonous. It
consists of a facade occupying the whole space between two main pillars,
having two doors, one on each side of the altar, giving access to the
shrine behind. The doorways are arched and richly moulded, and the hollows
are filled with bold carving deeply undercut. On either side of each door
is a large canopied niche with pedestal, in which are figures of Moses,
St. Peter, St. Paul, and David; and on the inner side of each large niche
are two smaller ones placed vertically. These niches are all most
elaborately wrought with tabernacle work, richly groined and surrounded
with pierced tracery, carved bratishing, and complexly terminated with
pinnacles, flying buttresses, and spires, all profusely crocketed and
finialed. The whole is surmounted with a carved and sculptured cornice of
bold proportions. The sculpture, which lies in a large and deep hollow
moulding, contains, like the side towards the shrine, fourteen subjects,
but they are all scriptural. They are as follow:--1. The Annunciation; 2.
The Birth; 3. The Adoration; 4. The Baptism; 5. The First Miracle; 6.
Preaching to the Multitude; 7. Gathering the Fragments; 8. Raising of
Lazarus; 9. Triumphal Entry; 10. Agony in the Garden; 11. The Crucifixion;
12. The Resurrection; 13. The Ascension; 14. The Gift of Tongues. Among
these are interspersed on shields in trefoils the following monograms and
emblems:--Alpha and Omega, Agnus Dei, The Chalice, I.H.C., Instruments of
the Passion, A Glorified Cross, The Descending Dove. Above the sculpture
is a hollow moulding filled with richly carved foliage deeply undercut,
and above all is a rich course of carved strawberry-leaf bratishing.
In the space between the inner niches and above the table is a recess
wherein is placed an elaborate and minutely finished picture of the Last
Supper, in Venetian glass mosaic. It is of large size, and is admirably
designed and executed.
The table, which is composed of black and green marble, stands on an
elaborately wrought frame of cedar wood. Besides five sculptured panels,
and figures of the Evangelists between pillars, it is otherwise richly
carved and studded with inlays. The subjects are:--1. Adam and Eve in
Paradise; 2. Their Expulsion; 3. The Crucifixion; 4. The Resurrection; 5.
The Ascension.
To complete the altar table, there has recently been added a super-altar
or shelf of cedar wood, embellished with panels of foliage and monograms,
richly carved and gilt. And to complete the Reredos and the mosaic
picture, there has been added rich surroundings of cedar wood. Below is a
base containing seven zigzag panels of eight points, filled with pictures
in mosaic and enamel, and studded with gems. The pictures are, the
Annunciation in the centre, and portraits of holy women of Scripture:
Ruth, Anna, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Dorcas. On this base
are pilasters at the ends of similar work, and between are two slender
detached pillars, all supporting seven canopies of rich tabernacle work,
the central one over the principal figure being the largest. All are
profusely gilt.
The floor in front of the reredos is wholly new. That of the upper dais is
composed of pleasing patterns of inlaid marble work combined with gold
glass. That of the lower dais, and of the dais of the sedilia, is composed
of rich and varied patterns of red, green, grey, and buff patterns, in
every tone of those colours; the three large circular discs are of purple
porphyry, rosso antico, similar to the slabs which decorate the shrine and
the tomb of Henry the Third. The steps and bands which surround the
patterns are all of Purbeck marble.
The stone seat on the south side, which was lately hidden, has now been
restored to its original state and use, and the old wood canopies all
forming the sedilia, have been lowered on to the seat of stone and made
complete. Viewed as a whole, the rich colours of the alabaster and spar,
with its delicate and intricate tabernacle work, the interesting
sculpture, the glorious mosaic picture, the richly wrought table below,
and the elaborate inlaid marble floor in front, all combine to give an
impression of the greatest grandeur, the utmost durability, and the
highest art. The whole was executed under the direction and
superintendence of G. G. Scott, Esq., R.A. The mosaic picture was designed
by Mr. Clayton, and executed at Venice by Dr. Salviati. The table was
executed by Messr. Farmer and Brinley, the sculpture of the cornice by Mr.
Armstead, and the alabaster and marble work by the Abbey masons, Henry
Poole and Sons.
It may not be uninteresting here to add that, in the exploration to which
this work gave opportunity, there were discovered on the north side of the
sacrarem and lower dais, about three feet below the pavement, the bases of
three piers which were left here of the old Abbey of the Confessor. They
are of early Norman character, and, from their position, shew that that
early structure was nearly equal in size to the present structure of Henry
the Third. They possess such great interest that means have been adopted
so to cover them with the pavement that they can be uncovered and exposed
to view.
On the sides of the altar are the curious and ancient monuments of King
Sebert; Ann of Cleves, Henry the Eighth's wife; Aveling, Countess of
Lancaster; Aymer de Valence; and Edmund Crouchback. The mosaic pavement
was done by Richard de Ware, Abbot of Westminster in the year 1260, who
brought from Rome the stones, and workmen to set them; it is much
admired; and there were letters round it in brass, which composed Latin
words. The design of the figures that were in it was to represent the time
the world was to last, or the _primum mobile_, according to the Ptolemaic
system then in vogue, and was given in some verses, formerly to be read on
the pavement, relating to those figures. The following explanation is
given of them:--
If the reader will probably revolve all these things in his mind, he will
find them plainly refer to the end of the world.
The threefold hedge is put for three years, the time a dry hedge usually
stood; a dog, for three times that space, or nine years, it being taken
for the time that creature usually lives; a horse, in like manner, for
twenty-seven; a man, eighty-one; a hart, two hundred and forty-three; a
raven, seven hundred and twenty-nine; an eagle, two thousand one hundred
and eighty-seven; a great whale, six thousand five hundred and sixty-one;
the world, nineteen thousand six hundred and eighty-three; each succeeding
figure giving a term of years imagined to be the time of their
continuance, three times as much as that before it.
In the last four verses, the time when the work was performed, and the
parties concerned in it, are expressed; that Henry III. was at the charge;
that the stones were purchased at Rome; that one Oderick was the master
workman; and that the Abbot of Westminster, who procured the materials,
had the care of the work.
The solemn offices of crowning and enthroning the sovereigns of England
takes place in the centre of the sacrarium, and beneath the lantern is
erected the throne at which the peers do homage. When the crowns are put
on, the peers and peeresses put on their coronets, and a signal is given
from the top of the Abbey for the Tower guns to fire at the same instant.
To take an advantageous view of the inside, you must go to the west door,
between the towers; and the whole body of the church opens itself at once
to your eye, which cannot but fill the mind of every beholder with the
awful solemnity of the place, caused by the loftiness of the roof, and the
happy disposition of the lights and of that noble range of pillars, by
which the whole building is supported. The pillars terminate towards the
east by a sweep, thereby enclosing the Chapel of Edward the Confessor in a
kind of semicircle, and excluding all the rest. On the arches of the
pillars are galleries of double columns, fifteen feet wide, covering the
side aisles, and lighted by a middle range of windows, over which there is
an upper range of larger windows: by these and the under range, with the
four capital windows, the whole fabric is so admirably lighted, that the
spectator is never incommoded by darkness, nor dazzled with glare.
Painted Glass.
Within the last five years twenty-two windows have been enriched with
stained glass: eight in the Lantern or Central Tower; six in the South
Clerestory of the Nave; one in the Apse; seven in the North Transept. The
object has been to lay the foundation of a general design illustrative of
a portion of the "Te Deum."
The eight windows in the Lantern or Central Tower represent angels, and
round the sustaining arches is inscribed,--"To Thee all angels cry aloud,
the heavens and all the powers therein; To Thee cherubin and seraphin
continually do cry: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, heaven and
earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory."
The six windows in the South Clerestory, west of the Transepts represent
Prophets, in illustration of that verse in the "Te Deum:"--"The goodly
fellowship of the prophets praise Thee."
It is hoped that this commencement may lead not only to the completion of
what has been begun, but also to the enrichment of the corresponding
windows on the north side of the Nave, in illustration of the "Noble Army
of Martyrs."
The Clerestory windows eastward of the Transepts offer the means of
representing the "Glorious Company of the Apostles."
In the east window in the Apse, below the Clerestory, are the figures of
St. Peter and St. Paul.
This window was enriched to the "Glory of God's House," and as a token of
respect and affection for the Venerable WILLIAM H. E. BENTINCK, M.A.,
Archdeacon of Westminster, who, in 1859, completed his fiftieth year as a
dignitary of this Collegiate Church.
The next thing observable is the stained glass in the three windows at the
east end, containing each two figures. In the left window, the first
figure represents our Saviour; the second, the Virgin Mary; the third,
Edward the Confessor; the fourth, Henry III.; the fifth, St. Augustine;
the sixth, Melitus, the Bishop of London, in the right hand window.
The window of stained glass in Henry V.'s Chantry, was at Dean Ireland's
expense, by Willemont; the arms are those of Edward the Confessor, Henry
III., Henry V., Dean Ireland's, and the Abbacy of Westminster.
I.--Chapel of St. Benedict.
[Illustration]
1. Archbishop Langham, 1376.
2. Countess of Hertford, 1598.
3. Dr. Goodman, Dean of Westminster, died 1601.
4. Son of Dr. Sprat, 1683.
5. Cranfield, Earl and Countess of Middlesex, 1645.
6. Dr. Bill, first Dean under Q. Elizabeth, 1561.
Under the Monuments of Deans Goodman and Sprat, was interred (Dean
Vincent), the late Dean, 1815.
In the Chapel of St. Benedict is an ancient tomb of stone, having formerly
a canopy of wood, on which lies the effigy of Archbishop LANGHAM, who, as
the Latin epitaph round his tomb sets forth, "was Monk, Prior, and Abbot
of this Abbey; afterwards elected Bishop of London; but Ely being then
also vacant, he made choice of that see; that he was Primate and
Chancellor of England; Priest-Cardinal, afterwards Bishop-Cardinal, of
Preneste, and Nuncio from the Pope; and that he died on the Feast of St.
Mary Magdalen, in the year 1376, on whose soul God have mercy, and grant
him the joys of heaven for the merits of Christ."
On the east, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a fine monument to
the memory of Lady FRANCES, Countess of Hertford. The Latin inscription
sets forth, "that she was wife to the noble Earl of Hertford, son to the
renowned Prince Edward, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Hertford, Viscount
Beauchamp, and Baron Seymour; that she was daughter to the noble Lord
William, Baron Howard of Effingham, Knight of the Garter, High Admiral to
Queen Mary, and Lord Chamberlain and Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth, &c.;
that, for her many graces, both of mind and body, she was highly favoured
by her gracious Sovereign, and dearly loved by her noble Lord, who, in
testimony of his inviolate affection, consecrated to her memory this
monument. She died in the forty-fourth year of her age, May 14, 1598."
On the south side is a monument to the memory of Dr. GABRIEL GOODMAN. The
Latin inscription intimates, "that he was the fifth Dean of this Church,
over which he presided for forty years with much applause; that he founded
an hospital, and instituted a school at Ruthin, in Denbighshire, where he
was born; that he was a man of regular and devout life, and that he died
in 1601, aged seventy-three."
On the same side is a monument to the memory of GEORGE SPRAT, second son
of Dr. Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster, by his
wife Helena, descended from the ancient and honourable family of the
Wolseleys, in Staffordshire, who lies interred in the Chapel of St.
Nicholas. He died an infant of a year old, in 1683.
In the centre is a monument erected in memory of LIONEL CRANFIELD, Earl of
Middlesex, by his relict, Lady Ann. The Latin inscription on this monument
is to this effect;--"Sacred to the memory of Lionel Lord Cranfield, Earl
of Middlesex, who by that discerning prince, King James I., being called
to court, was for his excellent parts bountifully rewarded, both with
honours and fortune; being made Master of the Requests, and of the
Wardrobe, President of the Court of Wards, and Privy Councillor. The new
and illustrious, as well as difficult province of Lord Treasurer of
England, he filled, which services how indefatigably he underwent, his
title of Knight, Baron Cranfield, and, lastly, Earl of Middlesex, with
various other honours, abundantly testify. He died the 6th of August,
1645, aged about seventy. He was twice married. By his first wife he had
three daughters; Elizabeth, Countess of Mulgrave; Martha, Countess of
Monmouth; and Mary, who died unmarried. By the second, who survived him,
he had three sons, and two daughters; James, heir to the honours of Earl
of Middlesex, Lyonel, and Edward; Frances, Lady Buckhurst; and Susannah,
who died an infant."
Near Bishop Langham's tomb, is a table monument, inlaid with a brass
plate, designed for Dr. WILLIAM BILL, Dean of Westminster, Master of Eton
College, Head of Trinity in Cambridge, and Chief Almoner to Queen
Elizabeth, as appears by his inscription. He died July 5, 1561. On a brass
plate are some Latin verses, setting forth "that he was a good and learned
man, and a friend to those that were so; that he was just and charitable;
and that the poor, as well as the three Colleges over which he presided,
sustained an irreparable loss by his death."
Besides those above recited, there lie interred in this Chapel, CATHERINE,
daughter of Dr. Dolben, Bishop of Rochester, Dean of Westminster, and
afterwards Archbishop of York; a Countess of Kildare, in Ireland; and Dr.
JOHN SPOTSWOOD, Lord Archbishop of St. Andrew's, Primate and Lord
Chancellor of Scotland, who died in 1640.
On the left of the gate of entrance to the Chapels, is the ancient
monument to SEBERT, King of the East Saxons, who first built a church
nearly on this site, and died July, 616; also of ATHELGODA, his Queen, who
died September 13, 615.
It may here be observed, and to some will no doubt be interesting, that as
the date of King Sebert is the _earliest_ known respecting the Abbey,
George II. was also the _last_ King buried in Westminster, including in
all thirteen English Sovereigns whose remains repose within these
venerable walls (and fourteen Queens, that is, once reigning sovereigns,
or the consorts of kings) embracing a period of more than twelve hundred
years. The Kings buried in the Abbey--Sebert, Edward the Confessor, Henry
III., Edward I., Edward III., Richard II., Henry V., Edward V., Henry
VII., Edward VI., James I., Charles II., William III., George II., all of
which can of course be ascertained by a careful perusal of this guide
book.
Over the tomb of Sebert, enclosed under glass, is an elaborate work
(measuring about eleven feet in length, and three feet in height), which
appears to have originally formed part of an altar decoration of the
fourteenth century; the ground-work is oak; over the joinings, and on the
surface of some mouldings, strips of parchment were glued. On this
framework, covered with a gesso ground, various ornamental compartments
and architectural enrichments are completed in relief. The work is divided
into two similar portions; in the centre is a figure which appears to be
intended for Christ, holding the globe, and in the act of blessing; an
angel with a palm branch is on each side. The single figure on the left is
St. Peter; the figure that should correspond on the right, and all the
scripture subjects on that side, are gone. In the compartments to the
left, portions of three subjects remain; one represents the Adoration of
the Kings; another, apparently the Raising of Lazarus; the subject of the
third is doubtful, though some figures remain; the fourth is destroyed.
The small compartments in the architectural enrichments are filled with
variously-coloured pieces of glass inlaid on tinfoil, and have still a
brilliant effect. The compartments not occupied by figures were adorned
with a deep blue glass resembling lapis lazuli, with gold lines of foliage
executed on it. The smaller spaces and mouldings were enriched with cameos
and gems; some of which still remain. This interesting work of art lay
neglected in a Chapel near the North Transept, till Mr. Blore, with the
permission of the Dean and Chapter, had it placed for security in the case
in which it is now seen. It is supposed to have originally formed part of
the decoration of the high altar. Its date may be fixed at the close of
the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century.
Between this Chapel and the next, is a monument of Mosaic work, erected
for the children of Henry III. and Edward I. This certainly was once a
rich and costly monument; for in the records of the Tower, there is the
King's order for erecting such a one in this place, and for allowing
Master Simon de Wells five marks and a half to defray his expenses in
bringing from the city a certain brass image to set upon the tomb of his
daughter Catherine, and for paying to Simon de Gloucester, the King's
goldsmith, seventy marks, for a silver image for the like purpose.
On the left, before you enter the Chapel of St. Edmund, is a large stone,
once plated with brass, under which was interred Sir JOHN GALOFRE; he was
famous in the reign of Richard II., for his wisdom and valour, and was
prosecuted by the discontented Lords. He died at Wallingford, in
Berkshire, in 1396.
The tombstone, with inscription on a brass plate of Dr. BILLSON, is seen
on the floor, next that of Sir John Galofre. He died in 1616.
II.--Chapel of St. Edmund.
[Illustration]
_Left Hand._
1. John of Eltham, Son of Edward II. 1334.
2. Earl of Stafford, 1762.
3. Monck, Bishop of Hereford, 1661.
4. Children of Edward III., 1350.
5. Duchess of Suffolk, 1563.
6. Holles, Son of Earl Clare, 1662.
7. Lady Jane Seymour, 1560.
8. Lady Katharine Knollys, 1568.
9. Lady Elizabeth Russel, 1601.
10. Lord John Russel, 1584.
11. Sir Bernard Brocas, 1339.
12. Sir Humphrey Bourgchier, 1471.
13. Sir Richard Pecksall, 1571.
14. Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, 1617.
15. Earl of Pembroke, 1296.
16. Robert de Waldeby, 1397.
17. Duchess of Gloucester, 1399.
18. Countess of Stafford, 1693.
19. Dr. Ferne, Bishop of Chester, 1661.
20. Above the Duchess of Suffolk's Monument is one to Mary Countess of
Stafford and her Son, 1719.
On the left as you enter is a monument sacred to the memory of JOHN of
ELTHAM, second son of Edward II., and so called from Eltham, in Kent, the
place of his nativity, where our English Kings had once a palace. His
statue is of alabaster, the head encircled in a coronet of large and small
leaves, remarkable for its being the first of the kind. His habit is that
of an armed Knight. He died in Scotland, in 1334, at the age of nineteen,
unmarried, though three different matches had been proposed to him; the
last of which, to Mary, daughter of Ferdinand, King of Spain, he accepted,
but lived not to consummate it.
At the foot of this is a monument with the following inscription:--"In
this Chapel lies interred all that was mortal of the most illustrious and
most benevolent JOHN PAUL HOWARD, Earl of Stafford, who in 1738 married
Elizabeth, daughter of A. Ewens, of the county of Somerset, Esq. His heart
was as truly great and noble as his high descent. Faithful to his God. A
lover of his country. A relation to relations. A detester of detraction. A
friend to mankind. Naturally generous and compassionate, his liberality
and his charity to the poor were without bounds. Being snatched away
suddenly by death, which he had long meditated and expected with
constancy, he went to a better life the 1st of April, 1762, having lived
sixty-one years nine months and six days." The figures round the
inscription are the ancient badges of honour belonging to the Stafford
family, who descended by ten different marriages from the royal blood of
England and France.--_Invented and stained by Chambers._
Next to this is a small table monument, on which lie the figures of
WILLIAM of WINDSOR, sixth son of Edward III., who died in his infancy; and
of BLANCH of the TOWER, sister to William, who likewise died young, having
obtained their surnames from the places of their nativity. About 1350.
Against the wall is a monument of NICHOLAS MONCK, Provost of Eton, Bishop
of Hereford, and brother of George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, &c. He died
December 11, 1661, aged fifty.--_Woodman, sculptor._
On an altar tomb lies the effigy of LADY FRANCES, Duchess of Suffolk. She
was the daughter of the famous Charles Brandon, by Mary, the French Queen,
daughter to Henry VII., and became herself Duchess of Suffolk, by marrying
Henry Grey, then Marquis of Dorset, but upon her father's decease created
Duke of Suffolk, and afterwards beheaded for being concerned in dethroning
Queen Mary. She died in 1558-9.
Against the wall above is a monument to the memory of MARY, Countess of
Stafford, and of HENRY, Earl of Stafford, her son, who died abroad in
1719, and was buried in this Chapel.
The next, representing a youth in Grecian armour sitting on a Greek altar,
to the memory of FRANCIS HOLLES, by John, Earl of Clare his afflicted
father. This brave youth, after returning home from a campaign in
Flanders, died August 12, 1622, aged eighteen. His epitaph is thus
written:--
"What so thou hast of nature or of arts,
Youth, beauty, strength, or what excelling parts
Of mind and body, letters, arms, and worth,
His eighteen years beyond his years brought forth;
Then stand and read thyself within this glass,
How soon these perish, and thyself may pass:
Man's life is measured by the work, not days;
Not aged sloth, but active youth, hath praise."
--_N. Stone, sculptor._
Next are two tablets, one to the memory of the Right Honourable the Lady
KATHERINE KNOLLYS, chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and
wife to Sir Francis Knollys, Knt., Treasurer of her Highness's household.
She died January the 15th, 1568. This Lady Knollys and Lord Hunsdon, her
brother, were the only children of William Carey, Esq., by Lady Mary, his
wife, one of the daughters and heirs of Thomas Bulleyne, Earl of Wiltshire
and Ormond, and sister to Anne Bulleyne, Queen of England, wife to Henry
VIII., father and mother to Queen Elizabeth. What is farther remarkable,
Lady Knollys' only daughter was mother of the favourite Earl of Essex.
The other to Lady JANE SEYMOUR, daughter of Edward, Duke of Somerset, who
died March 19, 1560, aged nineteen.
On an altar sits, in a sleeping posture, the figure of Lady ELIZABETH
RUSSEL, daughter of Lord John Russel, in alabaster. She pricked her finger
with a needle, which is supposed to have caused a lock-jaw, and occasioned
her death. On the plinth of the pedestal is--"_Dormit, non mortua
est_"--(She is not dead, but sleepeth). Died 1601.
Lord JOHN RUSSEL, second son of Francis, second Earl of Bedford, and his
son FRANCIS, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, Knt., and widow
of Sir Thomas Hoby, Knt. He died in 1584. He is represented in a cumbent
posture, habited in his coronation robes, with his infant son at his feet.
His lady was esteemed the Sappho of her age, being well versed in the
learned languages, and an excellent poet; five of the epitaphs on this
tomb are of her composition, of which three are in Latin, one in Greek,
and the other in English, which is here transcribed as a specimen, the
rest being to the same purport:--
"Right noble twice, by virtue and by birth,
Of heaven lov'd, and honour'd on the earth,
His country's hope, his kindred's chief delight,
My husband dear, more than this world's light,
Death hath me reft. But I from death will take
His memory, to whom this tomb I make.
John was his name (ah, was! wretch, must I say?)
Lord Russel once, now my tear-thirsty clay."
Next is a very ancient monument, representing a Gothic chapel, and in it
the figure of a Knight in armour, in a cumbent posture, with his feet
resting on a lion's back. This was erected for Sir BERNARD BROCAS, of
Baurepaire, in the county of Hants, Chamberlain to Ann, Queen of Richard
II. But this Princess dying, and Richard falling under the displeasure of
his people, who deposed him, Sir Bernard still adhered to his Royal master
in his misfortunes, which cost him his life. He was publicly beheaded on
Tower Hill, January, 1399, and here buried.
In front of this is a low altar tomb, on which has been, in plated brass,
the figure of a Knight in armour, his head reclining upon his helmet, and
one of his feet placed upon a leopard, the other on an eagle. By the Latin
inscription this Knight was HUMPHREY BOURGCHIER, son and heir to John
Bourgchier, Lord Berners, who espousing the cause of Edward IV. against
the Earl of Warwick, was slain in the battle of Barnet Field, on
Easter-day, 1471.
Next is the monument of Sir RICHARD PECKSALL, Knt., Master of the
Buckhounds to Queen Elizabeth; first married to Alianer, the daughter of
William Paulett, Marquis of Winchester, by whom he had four daughters; and
afterwards to Alianer, daughter of John Cotgrave. On the bases of the
pillars are Latin verses thus translated:--
"Death can't disjoin whom Christ hath joined in love;
Life leads to death, and death to life above.
In heaven's a happier place; frail things despise:
Live well to gain in future life a prize."
He died 1571.
The next is a most magnificent monument to the memory of EDWARD TALBOT,
eighth Earl of Shrewsbury, and his lady, JANE, eldest daughter and
co-heiress of Cuthbert, Baron Ogle, whose effigies in their robes lie on
a black marble table, supported by a pedestal of alabaster. He died
February 8, 1617, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.
In front of this is the gravestone to the memory of EDWARD, Lord Herbert,
Baron of Cherbury, in England, and of Castle-Ireland, in Ireland, who died
December 9, 1678, aged forty-six.
On the right is the ancient monument of WILLIAM DE VALENCE, Earl of
Pembroke, lying in a cumbent posture on a chest of wainscot, placed upon a
tomb of freestone; the figure is wood, covered originally with copper
gilt, as was the chest on which it lies. In the year 1296, he was slain at
Bayonne treacherously. His body was afterwards brought to England, and
honourably buried in this Chapel, and an indulgence of one hundred days
granted to all devout people who should offer up prayers for his soul.
On the floor is a tomb to MARY, Countess of Stafford, wife to the
unfortunate Viscount Stafford, beheaded in the reign of Charles II., on
Tower Hill, Dec. 29, 1680. She was lineally descended from the Barons and
Earls of Stafford, and was daughter and heiress to the noble house of
Buckingham. She died Jan. 1693.
The next is a tomb on which is a lady in a widow's dress, with a barb and
veil, cut in brass, round which is an inscription in old French, importing
that ALIANER DE BOHUN, daughter and heiress of Sir Humphrey de Bohun, Earl
of Hertford, Essex, and Northampton, and wife to the mighty and noble
Prince of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Essex and Buckingham, son
of Edward III., lies interred here. This lady, who was the greatest
heiress in England, was deprived of her husband by the cruelty of his
nephew, Richard II., who, jealous of his popularity, most treacherously
betrayed him by a show of friendship; for coming to visit him at Plashy, a
pleasant seat of his in Essex, and staying supper, in duty he thought to
attend his Majesty to town; but at Stratford was suddenly surrounded by an
ambush of armed men, who privately hurried him on board a ship, and
carried him to Calais, where, by the King's order, he was stifled between
feather beds in 1397. After this melancholy circumstance, his lady spent
the rest of her days in the nunnery at Barking, and died October 3, 1399;
from whence her remains were brought and here interred.
There is also an Archbishop buried here, as appears by a very antique
figure in a mass habit, engraven on a brass plate, and placed on a flat
stone in the pavement, over the remains of ROBERT DE WALDEBY, who, as
appears by the inscription, was first an Augustine monk, and attended
Edward the Black Prince into France, where, being young, he prosecuted his
studies, and made a surprising progress in natural and moral philosophy,
physic, the languages, and in the canon law; and, being likewise an
elegant preacher and sound divine, was made Divinity Professor in the
University of Toulouse, where he continued till called by Richard II. to
the Bishopric of Man; from whence he was removed to the Archbishopric of
Dublin; but not liking that country, upon the first vacancy he was
recalled, and advanced to the see of Chichester, and afterwards to the
Archbishopric of York. Such is the history of this great man, who died May
29, 1397, as gathered from an inscription formerly very legible, but now
almost obliterated.
At the foot of Waldeby is a blue marble slab, which covers the remains of
Dr. HENRY FERNE, inlaid with five shields in brass, surrounded with an
inscription. He was Chaplain Extraordinary to Charles I.; by Charles II.
made Bishop of Chester, which he lived to enjoy about five weeks, dying
March 16, 1661.
Also a black marble slab which covers the remains of EDWARD GEORGE EARLE
LYTTON BULWER LYTTON. Born 25th May, 1803; died 18th January, 1873.
1831-1841, Member of Parliament for St. Ives and for Lincoln; 1838,
Baronet of the United Kingdom; 1852-1856, Knight of the Shire of the
County of Hertford; 1858, one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of
State, Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and George; 1866, Baron Lytton of
Knebworth. Laborious and distinguished in all fields of intellectual
activity, indefatigable and ardent in the cultivation and love of letters.
His genius as an author was displayed in the most varied forms, which have
connected indissolubly with every department of the literature of his time
the name of Edward Bulwer Lytton.
In this Chapel lies interred Abbot CROKESLEY, who died July 18, 1258.
On the right, on leaving this Chapel, is a fine bust of RICHARD TUFTON,
third son of Sir John Tufton, Bart., and brother of Nicholas E. Thanet. He
died October 4, 1631.
III.--Chapel of St. Nicholas.
[Illustration]
_Begin on your Left._
1. Lady Cecil, 1591.
2. Lady Clifford, 1679.
3. Countess of Beverley, 1812.
4. Duchess of Somerset, 1587.
5. Westmoreland Family, 1618.
6. Baron Carew, 1470.
7. Nicholas Bagenall, 1688.
8. Lady Burleigh, 1589, and the Countess Oxford, 1588.
9. Dudley, Bishop of Durham, 1483, and Lady St. John, 1614.
10. Daughter of Christopher Harley, Ambassador of France: her heart in
the Urn, 1665.
11. Lady Ross, 1591.
12. Marchioness of Winchester, 1586.
13. Duchess of Northumberland, 1776.
14. Philippa, Duchess of York, 1433.
15. Sir George Villiers, and his lady, Countess of Buckingham, 1605
and 1632.
16. Sir Humphrey Stanley, 1505.
On the left, as you enter this Chapel, is a monument erected for LADY
CECIL, a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and daughter of Lord
Cobham, who having married Sir Robert Cecil, son of William Lord Burleigh,
Treasurer of England, died in childbed two years after, viz. in 1591.
Next is a monument on which a long inscription in English is fairly
written, setting forth the descent and marriage of Lady JANE CLIFFORD,
youngest daughter of the Duke of Somerset, and wife of Charles, Lord
Clifford and Dungarvon, who died Nov. 23, 1679, aged forty-two.
On a small tablet is this inscription, with the motto--"_Esperance de
Dieu_. ISABELLA SUSANNAH, wife of Algernon Percy, Earl of Beverley, died
Jan. 24, 1812, aged sixty-one."
On a gravestone in front of this monument, engraved on brass, is the
figure of Sir HUMPHREY STANLEY, knighted by Henry VII., for his gallant
behaviour under his cousin, Lord Stanley, at the battle of Bosworth Field.
He died March 22, 1505.
Near this is the monument of ANN, Duchess of Somerset, wife of Edward,
Duke of Somerset, brother of Henry VIII.'s third wife, Queen Jane Seymour,
and uncle to Edward VI., and sometime Regent during his minority, but
afterwards disgraced; accused of treasonable and felonious practices
against the King and Council, tried by his Peers, acquitted of treason,
but condemned of felony in levying armed men contrary to law, for which
crime he was sentenced to be hanged; but, in respect to his quality, was
beheaded on Tower Hill, Jan. 22, 1551. She died April 16, 1587, at
Hanworth, aged ninety.
On the right, Sir GEORGE and Lady ELIZABETH FANE, who are represented
kneeling on each side a desk. She was the daughter of Robert, Baron
Spencer, of Wormleighton, and wife of Sir George Fane, of Buston, in Kent,
remarkable, says her inscription, for her ancient descent, but more for
her own virtues. She died in 1618, aged twenty-eight.
Beneath this is an ancient monument placed over Nicholas, Baron Carew, and
the Lady MARGARET, his wife, daughter of Lord John Dinham, and, it is
thought, mother of Sir Nicholas Carew, beheaded in Henry VIII.'s time, for
holding a correspondence with Cardinal de la Pole. He died December 6,
1470, she December 13, the same year.
In the front of this is a pyramid erected to the memory of NICHOLAS
BAGENALL, a child of two months old, overlaid by his nurse, the 7th of
March, 1688.
Next to this is one of the most magnificent monuments in the Abbey,
erected by the great Lord Burleigh to the memory of MILDRED, his wife, and
their daughter Lady ANN, Countess of Oxford. On this tomb is a Latin
inscription, explaining the figures, and setting forth their respective
virtues and accomplishments, particularly those of Lady Burleigh, who,
says the inscription, "was well versed in the sacred writers, and those
chiefly of the Greeks, as Basil the Great, Chrysostom, Gregory, Nazianzen,
&c." She gave a scholarship to St. John's College, in Oxford, legacies to
the poor of Romford, where she was born, and to those of Cheshunt, where
she lived, and left money at both places to be distributed every year to
poor tradesmen. She died, after being forty years married, April 4, 1589,
aged sixty-three. Her daughter Ann married, at fifteen, Edward Vere, Earl
of Oxford, and died June 5, 1588, seventeen years after, leaving three
daughters.
Next to this is a monument to the memory of WILLIAM DE DUDLEY, alias
SUTTON, son of John, Lord Dudley; he was Archdeacon of Middlesex, Dean of
Windsor, and, in 1476, Lord Bishop of Durham. On the tomb was inlaid a
brass figure, in episcopal vestments. He died in 1483.
The effigy of Lady St. JOHN lies in this recess. She was daughter of Sir
William Dormer, and widow of John, Lord St. John, of Bletsoe. She died on
the 23rd of March, 1614.
Near this is a pyramid to the memory of ANNA SOPHIA HARLEY, a child of a
year old, daughter of the Hon. Christopher Harley, Ambassador from the
French King, whose heart, as appears by the inscription, he caused to be
enclosed in a cup, and placed upon the top of the pyramid. She died in
1601.
The next is a monument to the memory of Lady WINIFRED, married first to
Sir Richard Sackville, Knt., and afterwards to John Paulet, Marquis of
Winchester. The Latin epitaph imports, that she was descended of
illustrious parents, and married first a gentleman of an ancient house,
whose ancestors were renowned before the Conqueror's time; that her second
husband was of noble blood; and that being severed from both by death,
her soul will rejoice in Christ for ever. She died in 1586.
Above is an ancient monument to the memory of Lady ROSS, daughter of
Edward, Earl of Rutland. She died April 11, 1591.