opposite the very venerable church; and this church must be associated
with the mansion, for it is the resting-place of nearly all its ancient
owners. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and consists of a
nave with north and south aisles, a spacious chancel, and a substantial
tower, surmounted by a tall spire, at the western extremity of the nave.
The church bears evidence of being built at two distinct periods, or, at
least, of having undergone considerable alterations. We find, according
to Dugdale, that the south aisle was built by Henry de Erdington; for in
the 12th Edward II. he gave a certain rent-seck of _vid._ per annum to
the maintenance of the gutter betwixt the church and it. In this grant
he terms it “Nova capella beatæ Mariæ de Aston;” thus proving it to have
been (with the north aisle, which is precisely similar) erected during
the prevalence of the decorated style. But, unfortunately, owing to some
injudicious repairs a few years since, the whole of the windows, of
which there are three, on each side, and one larger, at the eastern and
western ends, were deprived of both mullions and tracery, and, no doubt,
at the same time of several interesting portions of stained glass, of
which we have a description in Dugdale, but which is now nowhere to be
found. This, combined with the loss of the high-pitched roofs, gives a
poor appearance to the interior. The tower and spire are by far the
finest portions of the building, and add greatly to the beauty of the
whole. The tower is of four stories, with battlements and pinnacles; but
its chief peculiarity is the belfry story, which is decorated on three
sides by six long and narrow compartments, the two centre ones of which
are pierced, and have louvre boards for the better distribution of
sound; on the fourth or south side are only four of these compartments,
the space for the two others being taken up by an octagonal turret
staircase, that adjoins this portion of the tower. The spire is
octagonal, plain, but of a good substantial character; and from its
details, with those of the tower, which exhibit some deviations from the
true principles of pointed architecture, we may safely trace their
erection to the early portion of the sixteenth century.
The pillars and arches of the nave, of which there are four on each
side, seem to belong, like the exterior, to a transition period, as
their general character is decorated, whilst there are several
mouldings that may be ascribed to the early English period. Among the
modern barbaric “restorations and improvements” to which this fine
church has been subjected, may be mentioned the plaster ceilings, the
altar-screen of Roman design, and an odious assemblage of pews of all
shapes and sizes; but it may be hoped, from the good spirit that has
lately directed the introduction of some ancient stalls from Leicester
at the entrance of the chancel, a richly-carved lecturn, and last,
though not least, the establishment of a choral service, that in a few
years this noble edifice may resume its pristine splendour and
magnificence.
In monumental architecture this church will be found to possess an
interesting series. The most ancient, from the character of its design,
evidently belongs to the latter part of the fourteenth century; it is
supposed to be to the memory of one of the now extinct but once powerful
family of Arden. It is an altar-tomb of alabaster, supporting effigies
of a knight and lady, and is situated against the north wall of the
chancel. Towards the eastern end of the north aisle are two monuments
that will next require our attention. The first, an altar-tomb, around
the side of which are angels bearing shields, and still retaining traces
of their original painting and gilding; on the top are the painted
effigies of William Holt, Esq. and Joan his wife, and the inscription
(now obliterated) originally bore the date of 1423. Against the north
wall, near this tomb, is a mural monument containing the effigies of
Edward Holt, Esq. and Dorothy his wife, under an arch of Roman design,
kneeling one on each side of a small lecturn or desk. This monument
bears the date of 1592. In the pavement near is a large slab, containing
the effigies in brass of the Thomas Holt and his wife Margaret, who, as
we have mentioned, was Justice of North Wales during the reign of Henry
the Eighth. The next monument demanding notice is situated against the
north wall
[Illustration]
of the chancel, and forms the subject of the accompanying vignette: it
is of a bold character, but, in its minor parts, exhibits a sad falling
off in execution as compared with the more ancient ones to which we have
referred.[55] It is to the memory of Edward Devereux, Esq. of Castle
Bromwich Hall in this neighbourhood (a seat now possessed by the Earl of
Bradford), and the Lady Katherine his wife, and was erected A.D. 1627:
it bears their effigies, with those of their children, painted and
habited in the costume of the early part of the seventeenth century.
There are also two other monuments, which, though not immediately
connected with the text, may not be left unnoticed. One of these bears
the effigies of Sir Thomas de Erdington and his lady, Joyce; the other
is also supposed to belong to a member of the same family. They
originally stood in the south aisle, which was erected by their
ancestor, Henry de Erdington, in the reign of Edward II., and used as a
chanting chapel for the family, but were removed a few years since to
their present position on the south side of the chancel. They are both
good specimens of the monumental sculpture of the middle ages.
Recently a beautiful memorial window of stained glass has been erected
at the west end of the south aisle, which for excellence of design and
richness and harmony of colour, is hardly surpassed by the best
specimens of ancient days.
Among the very numerous series of mural monuments with which this church
abounds, we need only observe that there are several to the different
members of the Holt family, and one, in particular, to the good and
worthy knight Sir Thomas, the builder of the present hall; but from
their wholly unsuitable character for a Christian temple, and from their
abounding in pagan emblems and decorations, they serve only to disfigure
the walls of the sacred and very venerable edifice.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by G. Cattermole. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
THE BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL, WARWICK.]
BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL,
WARWICK.
Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most exquisitely beautiful examples of
sacred edifices in Great Britain. It was founded by that famous Earl of
Warwick, who, early in the fifteenth century, upheld the glories of his
line, and transmitted his abundant honours unimpaired to his
posterity,--the Talbots, the Dudleys, the Willoughbys, the Grevilles,
and the Nevils.[56]
The purpose of its erection was to supply a fitting mausoleum for the
noble family of its founder; yet few of his successors are there
interred; for, having subsequently become entitled to the patronage of
the Holy Abbey of Tewkesbury, they preferred it as their place of
sepulture--and the great Earl is nearly the only one of his proud and
lofty race whose ashes moulder beneath the fretted roof of the graceful
and magnificent structure. It was commenced 21st Henry VI. and finished
3d Edward IV.; occupying a period of twenty-one years, and costing
£2,481 4_s._ 7_d._--an enormous sum, of which some idea may be formed
from the fact, that, at the time, “the value of a fat ox was 13_s._
4_d._” The Chapel was not, however, consecrated until the 15th Edward
IV., when John Hales, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, was specially
commissioned for the purpose by John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester.
The Church of St. Mary, Warwick--to which the Beauchamp Chapel is
attached--is of very early date. Of its foundation, prior to the
Conquest, there is conclusive evidence; for in “the Survey,” it was
certified to have “one hyde of land in Myton, given to it by Turchil de
Warwick, which land was then valued at ten shillings.” It was made
collegiate by Hen. de Newburg, first Earl of Warwick; and his son Roger,
in 1123, largely augmented its revenues.
The riches and piety of subsequent Earls of Warwick contributed to its
grandeur and importance; and at the survey, 26th Hen. VIII., previous to
the dissolution, its revenues were certified to amount to £334 2_s._
3_d._ A fire, in 1694, destroyed the whole of the edifice, except the
choir and the Beauchamp Chapel; and when the Church was rebuilt it was
from a design of Sir Christopher Wren. It is, nevertheless, conspicuous
for no architectural beauty, except the fine proportions of its Tower.
The choir--a part of the ancient church--is a rare example of the
architecture of the period. It was built by Thomas de Beauchamp, about
the 43rd Edward III.; and his remains, with those of his Countess, a
daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, were interred in a sumptuous
tomb, placed in the centre of the edifice erected for their reception.
Nearly five hundred years have passed since the Earl was laid there, and
the mason, the gilder, and the sculptor, laboured to perpetuate the
memory of a great soldier, who led the van at Crecy, bled at Poictiers,
“did great service in a sea-fight,” “warred against the infidels,” and
drove a besieging army from before Calais, by the mere sound of his
name,--yet the monument endures almost unimpaired by time; telling its
high tale of glory after a lapse of half a thousand years.[57]
A vaulted corridor extends from the transept nearly the whole length of
the choir on its north side. This has been divided by a screen of blank
panelling, and the eastern portion formed into a “Vestrie.” The
remainder is used as a north entrance to the Church, having also an
entrance into the Chapter House. This building is hexagonal on its
exterior end, and is now appropriated as a mausoleum, to which those who
love the muse will resort as to a place of pilgrimage, for here repose
the earthly remains of that “servant to Queen Elizabeth, Chancellor to
King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney,” whose name will be as
imperishable as that of the dear brother of his heart, whose friendship
was the climax of his fame, and the consummation of all his ambitious
hopes. The monument to the memory of Fulke Grevill consists of a
sarcophagus, placed beneath a heavy canopy, supported by Corinthian
columns. It is a heavy and ungraceful erection--rendered picturesque,
however, by the ancient helmets and glaives laid upon it, and the
moth-eaten banners, and rusted armour, that hang above the tomb.
The entrance to the Beauchamp Chapel is by a descent of several steps,
from the south transept of the Church, beneath a doorway of
finely-carved stone--the work of a
[Illustration]
native artist, “a mason of Warwick,” in 1704. Entered, the spectator
beholds a sepulchral chapel, built in the “style of the later Gothic,”
of limited extent--its size being 58 feet in length by 25 in breadth,
and its height being 32 feet--but of surpassing beauty. The light is
supplied by three large windows in the upper part of the side walls
(north and south), on the west by a window which looks into St. Mary’s
Church, and by a large window on the east. Formerly, they were all
richly adorned with painted glass, of which some valuable relics yet
remain. The east window is, however, even now, nearly perfect, and may
be considered one of the finest examples of the art to be found in the
kingdom. “Indeed,” (we quote from a writer in “The Antiquarian and
Architectural Year Book,”) there are few windows of painted glass
remaining in ecclesiastical or other buildings
[Illustration]
in England that can, for its dimensions, exceed, either in beauty or
general treatment, this Eastern Window of the Beauchamp Chapel.” Its
value has been diminished by carelessness in repairs; some parts having
been displaced: but the figures, which form its primary objects, are
gorgeous specimens of art, on many accounts of rare value to the
antiquary. The ceiling of the Chapel is ornamented with groined ribs, at
the intersections of which are bosses elegantly painted and gilt. Old
oak seats, richly carved, antique desks, niches--which, according to
Dugdale, formerly held images of gold, each of the weight of 20
lbs.--and various other objects--minor, though of considerable
interest--demand attention; but their examination may be postponed until
a small oratory--of exquisite beauty--has been inspected. It is reached
by a short flight of stone steps--the roof is fan-work,
groined--peculiarly light and elegant; and a range of high and narrow
windows open into the Chapel. Scattered about are some reliques--save
for their antiquity, out of keeping with the peaceful and secluded
character of the small confessional--glaives and head-pieces--one of
which bears indisputable evidence that the wearer died not in his bed.
From this oratory, some half-dozen steps, “worn by the knees of fervent
devotees,” afford ascent to a small confessional, formed in the
thickness of the south wall of the choir. Both these interesting
objects, are represented, by woodcuts, on the preceding page. The
ceiling and sides partake of the elegant character already described;
and here could the holy father, through a small opening, unseen, witness
the elevation of the Host, or listen to the o’erburthened penitent.
[Illustration]
The grand object of attraction in the Beauchamp Chapel, however, is the
gorgeous tomb of its founder. It is an altar-tomb, of Purbeck marble,
bearing the recumbent effigy of the Great Earl, in fine latten brass,
gilt. His head, uncovered, rests upon a helmet, and at his feet are a
Bear and a Griffon. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses”
that yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, kept
extended by five transverse brass rods, on which formerly was hung a
pall “to keep the figure reverently from the dust.” Around the tomb, in
niches, are fourteen figures, in “divers vestures, called
weepers”--friends and relatives of the deceased, who mourn his loss.
Between each weeper are smaller niches, raised upon pillars, containing
whole length figures of angels, holding scrolls inscribed--
Sit deo laus et gloria: defunctis misericordia.
The following inscription is on the edge of the tomb, running twice
round, in the old English character, and freely interspersed with the
Earl’s crest, the bear and ragged staff:--
“Preieth devoutly for the Sowel whom god assoille of one of the
moost worshipful Knyghtes in his dayes of monhode and conning
Richard Beauchamp late Eorl of Warrewik lord de spenser of
Bergavenny, and of mony other grete lordships, whos body resteth
here under this tumbe, in a fulfeire vout of Stone set on the bare
rooch, thewhich visited with longe siknes in the Castel of Roan
therinne decessed ful cristenly the last day of April the yer of
oure lord god M. CCCCxxxxix, he being at that tyme Lieutenant
gen’al and governer of the Roialme of Fraunce and of the Duchie of
Normandie. by sufficient Autorite of oure Sov’aigne lord the King
Harry the vi. thewhich body with grete deliberacon’ and ful
worshipful condiut Bi See And by lond was broght to Warrewik the
iiii day of October the yer aboueseide, and was leide with ful
Solenne exequies in a feir chest made of Stone in this Chirche
afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last will And
Testament therein to rest til this Chapel by him devised i’ his
lief were made. Al thewhuche Chapel founded On the Rooch, And alle
the Membres thereof his Executours dede fully make and Apparaille
by the Auctorite of his Seide last Wille And Testament And
thereafter By the same Auctorite They dide Translate fful
worshipfully the seide Body into the vout aboveseide, honured be
god therfore.”[58]
The effigy may be considered as one of the finest works of this class
executed during the middle ages, and it derives additional interest from
the fact of the original contract for its construction being still in
existence. Of this beautiful work the late C. A. Stothard executed four
views, in his magnificent volume on the Monumental Effigies of Great
Britain, in a spirit worthy of so fine a subject. He ascertained that
the ponderous figure of latten or bronze which lay upon the altar-tomb
was loose, and with considerable effort succeeded in turning it over,
when the armour at the back was found to be as carefully and accurately
represented as in front, having all the parts of a suit, its straps and
fastenings, displayed with singular minuteness. It is, in this respect,
a perfectly unique effigy, and of great value to the historic painter,
or student in ancient armour. On the preceding page we have given the
two views of the effigy, as pictured by Mr. Stothard.
The Chapel contains other monuments of rare beauty and exceeding
interest. The most remarkable is that to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester--“Queen Elizabeth’s Leicester”--and his Countess. It is
erected against the north wall, and consists of a heavy canopy,
profusely ornamented, supported by Corinthian pillars, beneath which is
an altar-tomb supporting the recumbent figures--that of the Earl being
in armour, over which is a mantle bearing the badge of the Order of the
Garter on the left shoulder, the French order of St. Michael on the left
breast, and the Garter is round the knee--that of the Countess is
attired in the robes of a Peeress, a circlet of jewels round the head,
and wearing the high ruff of the period. A Latin inscription gives us in
full the proud titles of the famous favourite of the “Maiden Queene,”
who “gave up his soule to God his Saviour on the 4th day of September,
in the year of Salvation, 1588,” and informs us also that “his most
sorrowful wife, Lætitia, daughter of Francis Knolles, Knight of the
Order of the Garter, and Treasurer to the Queen, through a sense of
conjugal love and fidelity hath put up this monument to the best and
dearest of husbands.”
Of the other tombs “of note,” may be mentioned that to Ambrose Dudley,
the virtuous brother of Elizabeth’s Peer; that to the infant son of
Robert Dudley,--“a noble impe,” a “childe of grete parentage, but of
farre greter hope and towardnes;” and that to the Lady Katherine
Leveson, one of the Dudleys, who “taking notice of these Tombes of her
noble Ancestors being much blemisht by consuming time, but more by the
rude hands of impious people, were in danger of utter ruine by the decay
of this Chapell, if not timely prevented, did in her life time give
fifty pounds for its speedy repair.”
In all respects the Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most interesting of
the venerable Ecclesiastical remains yet existing in Great Britain. Time
has done it little injury; and it escaped the perils incident to the
civil war--when all external tokens of piety were considered insults to
the Deity they were designed to honour. Moreover, its history is nearly
perfect: the very estimates, bills, and discharges of the builders, the
gilders, and the glaziers may be examined, in the actual presence of the
works they executed centuries ago.
Viewed in association with “the Castle,” of which it may be said almost
to form a part, its importance is greatly enhanced. And, in reference
merely to actual beauty of the design, and the exquisite character of
the work, it may be said to vie with any structure of the kind, not only
in Great Britain, but in Europe.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
CHARLECOTE, WARWICKSHIRE.]
CHARLECOTE,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Charlecote--famous in association with the early history of William
Shakspere--has undergone little change since he who was “for all time”
wandered along the thick-hedged lanes. So primitive is the “ancient
neighbourhood,” that Fancy may, almost unbidden, call up the old glories
of the place,--may hear the voice of Sir Thomas Lucy chiding his keepers
for the loss of his fallow-deer, and the half-suppressed “chuckle” of an
unnoticed bystander who, thereafter, was to fill the world with his
fame. The Mansion seems quite unaltered; the village church precisely as
it was at “the Reformation;” the humbler dwellings, of red brick, are
only a little older the park palings merely made picturesque by
overgrowing lichen; and the Park, as well as the “sweet Avon,” exactly
as they were two centuries and a half ago; the one
[Illustration]
“flowing gently;” the other supplying, as of yore, many--
“An oak, whose boughs are moss’d with age,
And high top bald with dry antiquity;”
while the same deer--“dappled fools”--only look more conscious than they
did, of assured safety in
“their assigned and native dwelling place.”
Art and Nature seem both to have stopped short of all “improvement;”
there has been no need of the one to disturb the renown which the
locality receives from the other; even the “stocks” that stand under a
group of “Patrician trees” at Hampton Lucy, are suffered to die of
natural decay; and it is as certain that the “bonny sweet Robin,” whose
song we heard from the hawthorn in the churchyard is the progeny of him
who sung there when Elizabeth was queen, as that the lord of the mansion
is the descendant of that very Sir Thomas Lucy who sat in judgment upon
the youth who
“obscur’d his contemplation
Under the veil of wildness.”
This unity of character has been most carefully preserved in the new
buildings erected on the estate, of which the annexed wood-cut will
afford evidence.
[Illustration]
It is difficult to descend to simple facts while describing a
neighbourhood so suggestive of thought--so redolent of fancy. The Lucys,
who occupy to-day the manor in which they lived three hundred years
ago--“good old English gentlemen” of the present, as of the olden
time--have inherited, without break, from father to son; adding little
to their hereditary property, and losing no part of it by carelessness,
profusion, or vice; generally, they seem to have been peaceable and
liberal manorial lords, studious to make their tenantry prosperous and
their dependants comfortable; dwelling apart from the bustle of action,
and the stir of contentious life, even rumours of “oppression and
deceit” seem rarely to have reached them; “exempt from public haunt,”
they passed their days happily and slept together--a long line of
kindly, if not great, men--under the roof tree of the little church
where monuments loftier than their own ambitions have been raised to
perpetuate their names.[59]
The history of Charlecote and its Lords, is given with great minuteness
by Dugdale. Charlecote, Cherlecote, or Cerlecote, as it is written in
Domesday Book, was, previous to the Conquest, in the possession of one
Saxi, but afterwards became the property of the Earl of Mellent, and
doubtless came from him to Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick,
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F.W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
CHARLECOTE GREAT HALL.]
whose son, Roger, (23rd Henry I.), gave half a hide of land lying in
Cherlecote, with the tithes of the whole lordship, and “two mills” to
his newly founded Collegiate Church of Warwick. He also enfeoffed
Thurlestane de Montfort of large possessions in this county, whose son,
Henry, with Alice de Harecourt, the widow of Robert de Montfort, his
elder brother, gave all the village of Cherlecote to Walter the son of
Thurlestane de Cherlecote, which grant was confirmed to him and his
heirs by letters patent from Richard the First, with divers immunities
and privileges thereto: all of which were ratified by King John, in the
fifth year of his reign. From this Walter de Cherlecote (who was a
knight), by Cecily, his wife, descended William, who assumed the name of
Lucy, she perhaps being heir to some branch of that family.
Our space may be better occupied than in carrying their history from
this remote age to the present day.
The Mansion was erected in 1558, by Thomas Lucy, who, in 1593, was
knighted by
[Illustration]