"She had thrown herself headlong into the Protestant cause. She
had dressed up a cat in a rochet to irritate the bishops; and had
insulted Gardiner, as she passed by the Tower, 'It is well for
the lambs when the wolves are shut up.' Naturally in her own turn
she had to fly after her husband's and her daughter's bloody
death, and lived just long enough to see the betrothal of her
daughter, Catherine Grey to the Earl of Hertford, and to enjoy
the turn of fortune which restored her to the favour of
Elizabeth, and allowed her sepulture beside her royal ancestors.
The service was probably the first celebrated in English in the
Abbey since Elizabeth's accession; and it was followed by the
Communion service, in which the Dean (Dr. Bill) officiated, and
Jewell preached the sermon. Could her Puritanical spirit have
known the site of her tomb, she would have rejoiced in the
thought, that it was the first to displace one of the venerated
altars of the old Catholic saints."
The effigy, a very noble one, clasps a book, presumably intended for
the Bible, in her hands, doubtless another evidence of her
"Puritanical spirit," and which she probably deemed of more importance
than the choicest relics of "saints" preserved in the "venerated
altars" that teemed around.
Adrian Stokes, or Stock, Esq., who married the Duchess of Suffolk, 1
March, 1555, just twelve months after the Duke's death, is said to
have acted as her Master of the Horse. In spite of this disparity of
social position, and also of age (he being about seventeen, and the
Duchess thirty-two years old at the date of their marriage), the union
appears to have been a happy one (she only survived four years), for
at her death in December, 1559, she left him in possession of large
estates in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. In 1571 Stokes was
returned to Parliament for Leicestershire, having under his charge the
Lady Mary Grey, his step-daughter, and about that period, married
secondly, Anne, widow of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton. He died without
issue 30 Nov., 1586. He erected this fine monument to her memory.
His ward the Lady Mary Grey appears to have had no higher ambition in
the selection of a husband, than her mother's second venture, having
married, as previously related, Martin Keys, Groom-Porter to Queen
Elizabeth. It may be, her step-father's social position was against
anything better.
The memorials of Cicely Bonville, Marchioness of Dorset, are fairly
numerous and interesting. "The walls of many churches," says Mr.
Davidson, "in the neighbourhood of this lady's extensive possessions
testify by the arms and devices of her family and connections, that
she employed a part of her immense wealth by assisting in their
erection."
The most considerable of these, is the beautiful Chapel on the north
side of the nave of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, at Ottery, and
known as the "Dorset aisle," which without doubt she built. It is of
considerable size, and its fan-traceried vaulting very rich; on the
pillars of the arcade are the arms of Bishop Oldham, and his rebus,
_an owl holding a label in its beak inscribed with the last syllable
of the prelate's name_, =ham=,--1504-19; and also of Bishop Vesey his
successor, 1519-51. This shews that its erection occurred within those
dates, after her marriage with the Earl of Wiltshire, but before her
death, which took place about 1530. Studding the moulding under the
parapet outside are the family badges, the Harington _fret_, Stafford
_knot_, _bull's-head_ of Hastings, and Bourchier _knot_, often
repeated, while over the porch-entrance are the denuded remains of
what was evidently the armorial achievement of this lady. There is a
shield surrounded by the Garter, but the bearings are quite
undecipherable, except the traces of a _fret_, the supporters appear
to have been a _lion_ on the dexter side, and on the sinister an
_antelope_. Above the shield is a helmet, and remains of a crest. At
the top and in the base of the panel is the Stafford _knot_, of large
size, and on each side this device is repeated alternately with the
_mullet_ of Bonville.
These arms together with some other sculpture within the porch, appear
to have been designedly mutilated, perhaps after the attainder and
execution of the Duke of Suffolk, by order of Queen Mary, similarly to
the manner the heraldic achievements of the Countess of Salisbury in
her beautiful Chantry in the Priory Church of Christ Church, Hants,
were commanded to be obliterated ("_delete_") by Henry VIII., after
her savage beheading.
The outer armorial panel is supported by columns with a crocketted
canopy, and figures of angels stand on the pillars; at their base are
small shields with the _merchant's mark_ and _initial_ of Goodwyn of
Plymtree, who held that manor of the Hastings family at the time.
There are several of the original bench-ends within the Chapel; on
one is a large _double rose_ and on another _pomegranates_, but they
are of comparatively plain character in carved detail.
At the meeting of Henry VIII. and Maximilian at Terouenne in 1515,
Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham was "attired in purple satin, his
apparel full of _antelopes_, and _swans_ (of Bohun) of fine gold
bullion, and full of spangles." Henry Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire, his
brother, and second husband of Cicely Bonville, bore on his banner the
_swan_ (of Bohun) amid _semee of Stafford knots_, with the motto,
"HUMBLE ET LOYAL."
Knightstone, in Ottery St. Mary, originally the inheritance of the
Bittlesgate family, became the property of the Marchioness of Dorset
in 1494, the remainder having previously been vested in William, Lord
Bonville. On the attainder of her grandson, the Duke of Suffolk, in
1554, it was purchased by Mr. William Sherman, a merchant of Ottery,
who died in 1583, and whose brass effigies are on the pavement of the
south aisle of the church.
In the church of Limington near Ilchester, Somerset, two memorials are
found, but whether they are to be considered mementoes of Cicely
Bonville, or of her son the second Marquis, is not so clear. These
consist of two finely carved bench-ends, in the chancel. They are of
considerable height, having _fleur-de-lys_ shaped finials on the top,
and below occurs, on one the _rose_, and on the other the
_pomegranate_, of Henry VIII. Then follows a large shield,
quarterly,--1 and 4, _six mullets pierced, three, two, one_
(BONVILLE).--2 and 3, _a fret_ (HARINGTON); and under this the
initials W. C. joined by a cordon. Beneath are four _roses_, single
and very thickly double, alternate.
The Bonvilles acquired considerable property in Limington, Somerset,
of the representatives of the De Gyvernay family. The last of them
Henry de Gyvernay died seized of the manor 35 Henry III., leaving a
daughter Joan married to William de Shareshull. The very fine and
well-preserved effigy in the uniquely-groined north transeptal
Chantry, was probably placed to the memory of one of them (although
the armour and appointments are comparatively late), and the other
three earlier effigies on the floor doubtless represent preceding
generations.
The initials W. C. on the bench-end evidently allude to Walter Cocks,
incumbent of the parish, who was inducted in 1535, patron the Marquis
of Dorset. This would be about five years after Cicely Bonville's
death, and in the lifetime of her son, but the marshalling of the arms
seems to allude more directly to his mother.
On escutcheons in the panels of the carved parapet of Axminster church
are the Harington _fret_, and the Stafford _knot, surmounted by a
crescent_; this last badge having allusion to Henry Stafford, Earl of
Wiltshire, her second husband, he being the second son of Henry, Duke
of Buckingham. "As the manor of Uphay in the parish belonged to her,"
remarks Mr. Davidson, "it is not surprising she should have
contributed to the enlargement of the church at Axminster."
Among the shields shewing the descent of Walrond, that formerly had
place on a screen in their Chantry in Seaton church, is one charged
with the Stafford _knot_ and _crescent_, probably included out of
compliment by the squire of Bovey to his noble neighbour of Wiscombe.
It also occurs over the tower door at Hawkchurch, together with the
arms of Daubeney, and the Abbey of Cerne.
But the most interesting of all, is the presumed effigy of Cicely
herself, in the portion remaining of the once beautiful church of
Astley, in Warwickshire. This, for a long time fixed upright in the
wall of the tower, at the west end of the choir, now reclines on a low
tomb. The figure is of alabaster, with pyramidal head-dress, gown
richly embroidered and gilt, and mantle, on which are traces of
crimson colour, the head rests on a cushion originally guarded by
angels. From her girdle are suspended an _aumoniere_ on the right side
and a rosary on the left.
There are two other effigies, also in this church, sculptured in
alabaster. One, a knight with hair polled, in full plate armour, and
collar of S.S. His head rests on a helmet, and his feet on a lion. The
other, a lady, has long flowing hair to the shoulders, on her head a
coronet with traces of _fleurs-de-lys_ and pearls, necklace, and
wearing also the rare Yorkist collar of Suns and Roses, from which is
suspended the Lion of March. The remains of angels support the
cushions on which her head rests.
The ladies are much shorter in stature than the knight, and the
probability is they all occupied separate tombs, which stood in the
side chapels originally existing attached to the antient chancel,
before it fell down and was rebuilt at the time the body of the second
Marquis was discovered, at the end of the seventeenth century.
The knight is apparently the earlier effigy of the three, probably
dating about 1480-90, the lady with the coronet next, or about
contemporary, and the lady in the pyramidal head-dress considerably
the latest, as shewn by her costume, which would accord very nearly
with that worn at the era of Cicely Bonville's death.
Sir Edward Grey, uncle to Thomas Grey, first Marquis of Dorset,
married Elizabeth, sister and heir of Thomas Talbot, Viscount L'Isle.
15 Edward IV. he was created Baron, and 1 Richard III. Viscount
L'Isle, died in 1492, and bequeathed his body to be buried in the new
chapel of Our Lady, begun to be built by himself in the College of
Astley, where the body of his late wife Elizabeth lay interred. His
daughter Muriel was the first wife of Henry Stafford, Earl of
Wiltshire, second husband of Cicely Bonville. A guess may be hazarded
that these figures represent Sir Edward Grey and his wife Elizabeth.
[Illustration: BENCH-END. LIMINGTON CHURCH, SOMERSET. Circa 1535.]
Before we close our account of the Bonville and Grey memorials, we
propose to include--from its uniqueness of example--another
remembrance to a presumed second-cousin of the Lady Cicely, that we
discovered among the fine series of bench-ends in a visit to the
little church of Barwick, near Yeovil, on our way back from Limington.
It is one of a pair in the chancel, almost alike, the only difference
being--and here note the evident purpose conveyed in all mediaeval
symbolism--that one shield, the earliest in the succession is
suspended by a guige from _a hawthorn tree in blossom_, and the later
one from _a hawthorn tree in fruit_. The arms on the first are,
dexter, quarterly of four:--1 and 4. _On a chief a fleur-de-lys, in
base a mullet pierced_ (ROGERS).--2 and 3. _Fretty, and a chief_
(ECHYNGHAM); impaling,--_In chief quarterly, 1 and 4, six roundels, 2
and 3, three camels; in base, guttee_ (----?). On the second bench-end
are ROGERS and ECHYNGHAM, quarterly as before, impaling COURTENAY and
DE REDVERS quarterly.
[Illustration: BENCH-ENDS. BARWICK CHURCH, SOMERSET.]
"The family of Roger or Rogers," says Mr. Batten, "whose chief seat
was at Bryanstone, Dorset, held Barwick for six generations, extending
to the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth." John Rogers
married Anne, daughter of Thomas de Echyngham, Lord of Echyngham in
Sussex. His grandson Sir John, married presumably--for singularly her
name does not as yet appear to be identified in the pedigree--Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir William Courtenay of Powderham, who died in 1512, by his
wife Cicely, daughter of Sir John Cheney of Pinhoe.
Sir William Courtenay's mother was Margaret Bonville, daughter of Lord
William Bonville, and so great-aunt to Cicely Bonville, and Elizabeth
Rogers of the Barwick panel, was her second cousin.
They were buried at Bryanstone, and on the floor of the chancel of
that church, without the rails, says Hutchins, "on the gravestone are
the brass effigies of a man and a woman kneeling and their hands
elevated. Over are the arms of Rogers and Echyngham quarterly, and
under the woman, Rogers impaling Courtenay, and this inscription:--
=Of your charitie pray for the soules of John Rogers esquyer and
Elizabeth his wyfe which John decessed the day of in the
ye'r md^c and Elizabeth decessed the first day of October
in the ye'r of our Lord m d^c xviii on whose soules J'hu have m'cy=
on other bench-ends at Barwick are the initials W. H. and date 1533,
probably for William Hooper, patron of the benefice at that time. The
date of the Limington bench-ends is almost contemporary."
A round-about digression, you will say, gentle reader, but how
interesting is it, thus in our little pilgrimage, to connect the
relationship of these old sculptures, and make their personal history
live again; verily, if there be any charm belonging to these
researches into the past, herein it is found.
Of the early inheritances of the Bonvilles, Wiscombe, and Shute, on
the attainder of the Duke of Suffolk both fell to the Crown, and Queen
Mary granted them to her Secretary, Sir William Petre.
Wiscombe, toward the end of the sixteenth century, appears to have
been the residence of Robert Drake, Esq., probably under grant from
the descendants of Sir William Petre. He was the son of John Drake,
Esq., of Ashe, Musbury, who died 4 Oct., 1558, by his wife Amy
daughter of Roger Grenville, Esq., of Stow, who died 18 Feb., 1577-8.
He married Elizabeth--daughter of Humphrey Prideaux of Theuborough,
north Devon, who died 8 May, 1550, by his wife Joan daughter of
Richard Fowell, of Fowells-combe, in south Devon,--by whom he left a
large family.
William, the eldest son, was of Wiscombe. He married Philippa, sister
of Sir Thomas Denys, died in 1619, leaving six children, of whom
Thomas the eldest succeeded him at Wiscombe, and died in 1661.
Henry was of Childhay, an old picturesque seat in the parish of
Broad-Winsor, Dorset. This he acquired by his marriage with Amy,
daughter of John Crukerne, of Childhay, and widow of Sir Arthur
Champernowne, of Modbury, Devon. He died in 1640.
Nicholas, a pensioner of James I., died 1640. He married Jane,
daughter of William Tothill, "youngest of thirty-three children," she
died 1622.
Robert, a colonel in the army, together with Humphrey his brother, a
captain, were both killed at Ostend early in 1604.
Bernard, also described as of Wiscombe, married Elizabeth Densloe, and
John, died without issue. Three of the daughters were named Gertrude,
Ursula, and Amy.
The old historian, Westcote, thus refers to the untimely death of
these soldier-brothers,--
"Wiscombe; where liveth a generous family of Drake; of which race
there were lately two brothers, (besides others) Robert and
Henry: (the sons of Robert:) the first, a colonel of much worth
and esteem with the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands; and the
other a captain: both taken away in the flower of their age: a
great grief to their friends and loss to their country."