NORTHUMBERLAND. The figures on each side are Faith and Hope; and those
above are two weeping Genii over her urn, mourning for her loss. The
inscription, after reciting her Grace's illustrious descent and titles,
concludes with her character, who, "having lived long an ornament of
courts, an honour to her country, a pattern to the great, a protectress to
the poor, ever distinguished for the most tender affection for her family
and friends, she died December 5, 1776, aged sixty, universally beloved,
revered, and lamented. The Duke of Northumberland, inconsolable for the
loss of the best of wives, hath erected this monument to her beloved
memory."--_Read, sculptor._
Against the screen is a Gothic monument with the effigy of a lady in
robes, very antique. The lady, by the inscription, appears to be PHILIPPA,
second daughter and co-heiress of John, Lord Mohun, of Dunstar; married
first to Sir Walter Fitzwalter, Knt., secondly to Sir John Galofre, Knt.,
and lastly to Edward Plantagenet, Duke of York, who was slain in the
battle of Agincourt, 25th of October, 1415. She died in 1431, without
issue.
In the middle of the Chapel is a fine monument to the memory of Sir GEORGE
VILLIERS, who died Jan. 4, 1605, and his lady, MARY BEAUMONT, created
Countess of Buckingham in 1618. She died on April 19, 1632, aged
sixty-two, whose son, by the favour of James I., was advanced to the
dignity of the Duke of Buckingham.--_Stone, sculptor._
KATHARINE VALOIS, Queen of Henry V., who died at Bermondsey Abbey,
Southwark, in January, 1437, was buried in the Chapel of our Lady at the
east end of the Abbey, where she remained till her grandson, Henry VII.,
built his chapel, when her remains were placed near to her husband in a
chest, and finally deposited under Sir George Villiers' tomb in 1776.
In this Chapel lies interred, THOMAS SPRAT, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean
of Westminster, who died May 20, 1713. Also his son, THOMAS SPRAT,
Archdeacon of Rochester, who died May 10, 1720, aged forty-one. Also many
other persons of distinction, of the Percy, Seymour, and Burleigh
families, which we have not space to insert.
At the door of this Chapel was buried that great and learned antiquary,
Sir HENRY SPELMAN, who died in 1641.
On leaving this Chapel, opposite to you, there is affixed to the corner of
Henry V.'s Chantry, a bust with Latin inscription, to the memory of Sir
ROBERT AITON, Knt., who, in the reign of James I., was in great reputation
for his writings, especially in poetry. He died in 1638.
On the right, against the screen of the Chapel of St. Nicholas, is a
monument erected to the memory of Sir THOMAS INGRAM, Knt., Chancellor of
the Duchy of Lancaster, and Privy Councillor to Charles II. He died
February 13, 1671.
[Illustration: CENTRE, HENRY VII'S CHAPEL.]
IV.--Chapel of Henry the Seventh.
[Illustration: The Gates are Brass.]
1. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, 1628.
2. Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, 1720.
3. The Duke de Montpensier, 1807.
4. An Urn containing the heart of Esme Stuart, son of the Duke of
Richmond, 1661.
5. Lodowick Stuart, Duke of Richmond, 1623.
6. Henry VII. and Queen, 1503 and 1509.
7. The Royal Vault of George II., 1760.
8. Augusta Elizabeth Frederica, 5th daughter of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl
of Elgin and Kincardine. The beloved wife of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley,
Dean of this Collegiate Church. For thirty years the devoted servant
of Queen Victoria and the Queen's mother and children; for twelve
years the unwearied friend of the people of Westminster and the
inseparable partner of her husband's toils and hopes, uniting many
hearts from many lands, and drawing all to things above. Born April 3,
1822. Died March 1, 1876.
"We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the
brethren."
The ascent to this Chapel is from the east end of the Abbey, by steps of
grey marble, under a stately portico, which leads to the gates opening to
the body, or nave of the Chapel. Before you enter you may observe a door
on each hand, opening into the side aisles, for it is composed of a nave
and side aisles, every way answering to the plan of a cathedral. The gates
by which you enter the nave are all well worth your observation; they are
of brass, most curiously wrought, in the manner of frame work, and the
panels being filled with the portcullis and crown; three fleur-de-lis;
falcon and fetterlock; the union of the roses of York and Lancaster
entwined in a crown; the thistle and crown; the initial R. H. and a crown,
and the three lions of England. Being entered, your eye will naturally be
directed to the lofty ceiling, which is in stone, wrought with such
astonishing variety of figures, as no description can reach. The stalls
are of brown wainscot, with Gothic canopies, most beautifully carved, as
are the seats, with strange devices, which nothing on wood is now equal
to. The pavement is of black and white marble, done at the charge of Dr.
Killigrew, once Prebendary of this Abbey, as appears by two inscriptions,
one on a plate of brass, infixed in the rise towards the founder's tomb,
the other cut in the pavement. The east view from the entrance presents
you with the brass chapel and tomb of the founder; and round it, where the
east end forms a semicircle, are the Chapels of the Dukes of Buckingham
and Richmond. The walls of the nave and aisles are wrought in the most
curious figures imaginable, and contain one hundred and twenty large
statues of Patriarchs, Saints, Martyrs, and Confessors, placed in niches,
under which are angels, supporting imperial crowns, all of them esteemed
so curious, that the best masters have travelled from abroad to copy them.
The windows, which are fourteen in the upper, and nineteen in the lower
range, including the side aisles and portico, were formerly of painted or
diapered glass, having in every pane a white rose, the badge of Lancaster,
or an H, the initial letter of the founder's name, and portcullises, the
badge of the Beauforts crowned, of which a few only are now remaining. In
the upper window, east end, Henry VII. is represented in stained glass.
The ceiling is of stone, and persons can walk between the roof and
ceiling, where there is a spacious room, lighted by Gothic openings
through the wall.
_General Admeasurement of the Interior._
Ft. In.
Length of the Nave 103 9
Breadth of ditto 35 9
Height of the Nave to vortex of the Vaulting 60 7
Length of the Aisles 62 5
Breadth of ditto 17 2
Entire Breadth of the Chapel 70 1
Height of West Window 45 0
Breadth of ditto 31 0
_Entrance Porch or Vestibule._
Extent from North to South 28 4
Breadth 24 9
SOUTH AISLE.
[Illustration]
1. Lady Margaret Douglas, 1577.
2. Mary, Queen of Scots, 1587.
3. Margaret, Countess of Richmond, 1509.
4. Lady Walpole, 1737.
5. General Monck, Duke of Albemarle, 1670.
In front of this Monument is the Old Royal Vault, containing Charles
II., 1685, King William III., 1702, Prince George of Denmark, 1708,
and Queen Anne, 1714.
Here is a handsome monument, on which lies a lady finely robed, to Lady
MARGARET DOUGLAS, daughter of Margaret, Queen of Scots, by the Earl of
Angus. This lady, as the English inscription says, had to her
great-grandfather, Edward IV.; to her grandfather, Henry VII.; to her
uncle, Henry VIII.; to her cousin-german, Edward VI.; to her brother,
James V. of Scotland; to her son, Henry I. of Scotland; to her grandson,
James VI.; having to her great-grandmother and grandmother, two Queens,
both named Elizabeth; to her mother, Margaret, Queen of Scots; to her
aunt, Mary, the French Queen; to her cousins-german, Mary and Elizabeth,
Queens of England; to her niece and daughter-in-law, Mary, Queen of Scots.
This lady, who was very beautiful, was privately married in 1537, to
Thomas Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, upon which account both of them
were committed to the Tower by Henry VIII., her uncle, for affiancing
without his consent, and he died in prison; but this Margaret being
released, was soon after married to Matthew, Earl of Lennox, by whom she
had the handsome Lord Darnley, father of James I., whose effigy is
foremost on the tomb, in a kneeling posture. There are seven children
besides round the tomb of Margaret, of whom only three are mentioned in
history, the rest dying young. This great lady died March 10, 1577.
Next is the magnificent monument to MARY STUART, Queen of Scots, erected
by her son, James I., soon after his accession to the English throne. This
princess was born Dec. 7, 1542. She was daughter and heiress of James V.
of Scotland, who, dying when she was only a week old, succeeded to the
crown. Married first, April 28, 1558, at fifteen years of age, Francis,
Dauphin of France; secondly, Henry, Lord Darnley, July 29, 1565; and
thirdly, Bothwell. Her subjects becoming offended, she was compelled to
resign her crown to her infant son, James, by Lord Darnley; she eventually
sought refuge in England, but Queen Elizabeth committed her as prisoner to
the Earl of Shrewsbury at his houses of Hardwicke and Chatsworth, in
Derbyshire, where she remained seventeen years a captive. She was thence
transferred to the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, and shortly afterwards
tried and condemned for engaging in a treasonable correspondence with the
Queen's enemies. She was beheaded in the hall of Fotheringay Castle, in
Northamptonshire, February 8, 1587. Her remains were first buried in
Peterborough Cathedral; but James had her body privately removed to this
Church, in Oct., 1612, under the superintendence of Neile, then Dean of
Westminster, and buried in a vault beneath this monument.--_Stone,
sculptor._
HENRY, Prince of Wales, eldest son of James I., born Feb. 19, 1593, and
after giving great promise of a blessing to his country, died of a fever
at St. James's palace, Nov. 6, 1612, in the 19th year of his age, and was
buried by the side of his grandmother.
In the same tomb are the remains of ARABELLA STEWART, four children of
Charles I.: ELIZABETH of Bohemia, daughter of James I.; Prince RUPERT her
son; ANN HYDE, first wife of James II., and ten of his infant children;
WILLIAM, Duke of Gloucester, son of Ann, and seventeen of her infant
children.
The next is the monument of MARGARET, Countess of Richmond, mother of
Henry VII., by Edmund Tudor, son of Owen ap Tudor, who married the widow
of Henry V. of England, and daughter of Charles VI. of France. This lady
was afterwards married to Humphrey Stafford, a younger son of Humphrey,
Duke of Buckingham, and lastly, to Thomas Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby; but
by the two last had no children. The inscription mentions the charities of
this excellent Princess; such as giving a salary to two monks of
Westminster; founding a grammar-school at Wimbourne, and two colleges, one
to Christ, the other to St. John his disciple, at Cambridge. Of this
lady's bounty, forty poor women partake every Saturday afternoon, in the
College Hall; each of them has twopence, one pound and a half of beef, and
a fourpenny loaf of bread. She died in July, 1509, in the reign of her
grandson, Henry VIII.--_Torrigiano, sculptor._
Opposite is a figure to the memory of Lady WALPOLE, with the following
inscription:--"To the memory of Catherine, Lady Walpole, eldest daughter
of John Shorter, Esq., of Bybrook, in Kent, and first wife of Sir Robert
Walpole, afterwards Earl of Orford, Horace, her youngest son, consecrated
this monument. She had beauty and wit, without vice or vanity, and
cultivated the arts without affectation: she was devout, though without
bigotry to any sect; and was without prejudice to any party, though the
wife of a minister, whose power she esteemed but when she could employ it
to benefit the miserable, or to reward the meritorious; she loved a
private life, though born to shine in public: and was an ornament to
Courts, untainted by them. She died August the 20th, 1737."--_Valory,
sculptor._
At the end, a monument to the memories of GEORGE MONCK, and CHRISTOPHER,
his son, both Dukes of Albemarle; also, ELIZABETH, Duchess Dowager of
Albemarle and Montague, relict of Christopher. George Monck, Duke of
Albemarle, was younger son of Sir Thomas Monck, born at Potheridge, Devon,
December 6, 1608. He entered the army as a volunteer in 1625, under Sir
Richard Grenville. At the death of Cromwell he took an active part in the
restoration of Charles II., for which he was loaded with honours, and died
in the esteem of his sovereign, in 1670, in the sixty-second year of his
age.--_Scheemakers, sculptor._
At this end is the Royal Vault, as it is called, in which are deposited
the remains of CHARLES II., who died February 2, 1685; WILLIAM III., who
died March 8, 1702, and Queen MARY, his consort, who died December 28,
1694; Queen ANNE, died August 1, 1714; and Prince GEORGE, who died Oct.
28, 1708.
THE NAVE.
From this aisle you enter the nave of the Chapel, the stone ceiling of
which is curious, and the gates are brass. Here were installed, with great
ceremony, the Knights of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, which
order was revived in the reign of George I., in 1725. In their stalls are
placed brass plates of their arms, &c., and over them hang their banners,
swords, and helmets. Under the stalls are seats for the esquires; each
Knight has three, whose arms are engraven on brass plates. The small
shelving stool which the seats of the stalls form when turned up is called
a _miserere_. On these the monks and canons of ancient times, with the
assistance of their elbows on the upper part of the stalls, half supported
themselves during certain parts of their long offices, not to be obliged
always to stand or kneel. It is so contrived, that if the body became
supine by sleep, it naturally fell down, and the person who rested upon it
was thrown forward on the middle of the choir.
In the centre, between the Knights' stalls, is the Royal Vault, where
their Majesties GEORGE II. and Queen CAROLINE are buried; the Prince and
Princess of WALES, two Dukes of CUMBERLAND, the Duke of YORK, Prince
FREDERICK WILLIAM, the Princesses AMELIA, CAROLINE, ELIZABETH, LOUISA,
ANNE; and the two infant Princes, ALFRED and OCTAVIUS, children of George
III., were removed in January, 1820, to the new royal vault at Windsor.
What is chiefly to be admired here, as well for antiquity as fine
workmanship, is the magnificent tomb of HENRY VII. and ELIZABETH his
Queen, the last of the house of York who wore the English crown. This tomb
stands in the body of the Chapel, enclosed in a curious chantry of cast
brass, most admirably designed and executed, and ornamented with statues,
of which those only of St. George, St. James, St. Bartholomew, and St.
Edward, are now remaining. Within it are the effigies of the Royal pair,
in their robes of state, lying close to each other, on a tomb of black
marble, the head whereof is supported by a red dragon, the ensign of
Cadwallader, the last King of the Britons, from whom Henry VII. was fond
of tracing his descent, and the foot by an angel. There are likewise other
devices alluding to his family and alliances; such as portcullises,
signifying his relation to the Beauforts by his mother's side; roses
twisted and crowned, in memory of the union of the two Royal Houses of
York and Lancaster. There are six compartments, three on the north, and as
many on the south side of its base. The first compartment on the south
side contains the figures of the Virgin Mary with our Lord in her arms,
and that of the Archangel St. Michael. The figures in the scales, though
now mutilated, were meant for personal representations of moral good and
evil; the Saint is weighing them in his balance; the good preponderates;
but the Devil, who is represented by the figure under his feet, is
reaching with one of his clawed feet at the scale which contains the
figure of Evil, in order, by the addition of his own force, to render that
the heaviest. The first figure in the second compartment is doubtless
intended for St. John the Baptist, he having a book in his left hand, with
an _Agnus Dei_ impressed upon it. The other is a figure of St. John the
Evangelist, and the figure of the eagle. The first figure of the third
compartment is intended for St. George; the other figure, from the pig's
head visible near him, the frequent symbol by which he is denoted, is
intended for St. Anthony of Vienna. The first figure in the fourth
compartment, north side, is meant for Mary Magdalen, supposing her to hold
the box of ointment. The other figure represents St. Barbara, who was the
daughter of a Pagan, and dwelt with her father in a certain tower. To this
tower adjoined a garden, in which the father determined to build a bath,
with the necessary accommodation of rooms, and therein to make windows to
the number of two only. Being about to undertake a journey, he left his
instructions with the artificers, which his daughter presumed to vary, by
directing them instead of two to make three. Upon her father's return, he
inquired into the reason of this deviation from his orders; and being told
that in allusion to three persons of the Holy Trinity his daughter had
directed it, he found that she was become a convert to Christianity; and
being exasperated thereat, stimulated the Emperor to a persecution of the
Christians, in which she became a martyr to the faith. The first figure in
the fifth compartment is intended for St. Christopher, bearing our Saviour
upon his shoulder. The other figure is thought to be St. Anne. In the
sixth and last compartment, the first figure is intended for King Edward
the Confessor; the other figure is a Benedictine Monk. Henry VII. died
April 21st, 1509, and his Queen, February 11th, 1502.--_The work of
Torrigiano._
EDWARD VI., grandson of Henry VII., who died July 6th, 1553, in the
sixteenth year of his age, and seventh of his reign. On the holy table is
the following inscription in Latin:--"In place of the ancient altar,
destroyed in the civil wars, to the honour of God and in pious memory of
Edward VI., who is buried beneath, this holy table, in a gentler age, was
placed by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., Dean of Westminster. 1870."
On the south side of the tomb of Henry VII., in a small chapel, is a
monument to LEWIS STUART, Duke of Richmond, and FRANCES, his wife. The
brass effigies are represented as lying on a marble table, under a canopy
of brass, curiously wrought, and supported by the figures of Faith, Hope,
Charity, and Prudence. On the top is a fine figure of Fame, taking her
flight, and resting only on her toe. This illustrious nobleman was son to
Esme Stuart, Duke of Lennox, and grandson of James, nephew of James I., to
whom he was First Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Privy Councillor, a
Knight of the Garter, and Ambassador to France on behalf of Scotland. He
died Feb. 16, 1623. His lady was daughter of Thomas, Lord Howard of
Bindon, son of the Duke of Norfolk, by Elizabeth, daughter of the Duke of
Buckingham. She died Oct. 8, 1639.--You will likewise see here a pyramid,
supporting a small urn, in which is contained the heart of ESME STUART,
son of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox, by Lady Mary, daughter of the Duke
of Buckingham. He died in France, August 15, 1661, aged eleven years, and
was succeeded in all his titles by Charles, Earl of Lichfield, his
cousin-german, who died December 12, 1672, and is here interred.
This monument was originally of great splendour, hardly surpassed by any
in the Abbey, being wholly composed of jet black marble and bronze gilt.
The combined effects of neglect, corrosion, and spoliation had at last
rendered it an unsightly wreck, when, in 1874, its almost complete
restoration was undertaken by the direction and at the sole cost of the
Earl of Darnley, who is a lineal descendant in the female line of the
ancient Stuart family.
A monument to the DUKE DE MONTPENSIER, who is represented with ducal
coronet and robes, and his remains are beneath. On the front of this tomb
is the following inscription:--"The most illustrious and Serene Prince,
ANTHONY PHILIP, Duke of Montpensier, descended from the Kings of France,
second son of the Duke of Orleans, from his earliest youth bred to arms,
and even in chains unsubdued; of an erect mind in adversity, and in
prosperity not elated; a constant patron of the liberal arts, polite,
pleasant, and courteous to all, nor ever wanting in the duties of brother,
neighbour, friend, or in the love of his country. After experiencing the
vicissitudes of fortune, he was received with great hospitality by the
English nation, and at length rests in this asylum for kings. Born July 3,
1775. Died May 18, 1807, aged thirty-one. Louis Philip, Duke of Orleans,
erects this monument in memory of the best of brothers."--_Sir Richard
Westmacott, sculptor._
The next is an excellent monument to the memory of JOHN SHEFFIELD, Duke of
Buckingham, where, on an altar, lies his Grace's effigy, in a Roman habit,
with his Duchess, Catherine, natural daughter of the Duke of York,
afterwards James II., sitting at his feet weeping. In the reign of Charles
II. as the inscription sets forth, he was General of the Dutch troop of
horse, Governor of Kingston Castle upon Hull, and First Gentleman of the
Bedchamber; in that of James II., Lord Chamberlain; and in that of Queen
Anne, Lord Privy Seal, and President of the Council. He was in his youth
an excellent poet, and, in his more advanced years, a fine writer. His
love of poetry is conspicuous, by the esteem and regard he had for the two
great masters of it, who flourished in his own time, Dryden and Pope, to
the first of whom he extended his friendship, even after death, by
erecting a monument to his memory. To the latter he did honour, by writing
a poem in his praise. Over his Grace's effigy are inscribed in Latin,
sentences to the following import:--"I lived doubtful, not dissolute--I
die unresolved, not unresigned. Ignorance and error are incident to human
nature. I trust in an almighty and all good God. O! thou Being of Beings,
have compassion on me;" and underneath it.--"for my King often, for my
Country ever." His Grace died in the seventy-fourth year of his age, Feb.
24, 1720, leaving the publication of his works to the care of Mr.
Pope.--_Scheemakers, sculptor._
The remains of JAMES I. are in the tomb of Henry VII. This Prince reigned
over Scotland 59 years, and over England 22 years. He was son to Lord
Darnley, by Mary Queen of Scots. He died March 16, 1625, aged 61, after a
long and peaceable reign. The remains of his Queen, ANN of Denmark, are in
the tomb in front of the monument of Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham. She
died March 2, 1619.
On the north side of Henry the Seventh's Chantry, in a chapel, is a very
antique monument, decorated with several emblematical figures in brass,
gilt, the principal of which is Neptune, in a pensive posture, with his
trident reversed, and Mars with his head crouched. These support the tomb
on which lie the effigies of GEORGE VILLIERS, Duke of Buckingham, and his
Duchess, the great favourite of James I. and Charles I., who fell a
sacrifice to national resentment, and perished by the hands of Felton,
August 23, 1628, who had no other motive of action but the clamours of the
people. CATHERINE, his Duchess, was interred in the same vault, April 8,
1643.
CROMWELL, four of his family, and six officers were buried in the vault at
the end of this chapel. Their remains were removed at the Restoration.
The following are also interred in this portion of the Chapel:--JOHN
CAMPBELL, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, 1743. EDWARD VI., ELIZABETH
CLAYPOLE, second daughter of Oliver Cromwell, 1658.
NORTH AISLE.
[Illustration]
1. Monument to Queen Elizabeth, 1602, and her Sister Queen Mary, 1558.
2. Mary, Daughter of James the First, 1607.
3. Edward the Fifth and Duke of York, 1483.
4. Sophia, Daughter of James the First, 1606.
5. Marquis of Halifax, 1695.
6. Earl of Halifax, 1715.
From hence you pass to the North Aisle, by a door on the right hand, where
is a monument to the memory of CHARLES MOUNTAGUE, the first of this family
that bore the title of Lord Halifax, son of George Mountague, of Horton.
In the reigns of William III. and George I. he was placed at the head of
the Treasury, where, undertaking the reformation of the coin, which in
those days was most infamously clipped, to the great loss of the public,
he restored it to its proper value. For these and other public services,
he was first created Baron, and then Earl of Halifax, and died May 19,
1715.