THE WAX EFFIGIES
... “_We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep._”
SHAKSPEARE (_The Tempest_).
Before speaking of the other parts of the Abbey buildings we must not
forget the little Islip Chantry, or upper part of Abbot Islip’s
beautiful chapel in the North Ambulatory. In this Chantry are the
presses which contain the celebrated wax effigies of which we so often
hear.
In olden times it used to be the custom to carry effigies in the funeral
processions of sovereigns and of other important personages, and to
leave these effigies standing beside the grave for a month or more after
the funeral. This custom succeeded to the yet older one of carrying the
dead body of the sovereign with its face exposed, in order to show that
the sovereign was really dead, and that there had been no foul play. In
those days, unfortunately, foul play was not very uncommon, as we see in
the case of Edward II and Richard II.
The oldest effigies were not made of wax, but of wood, and they had
heads, hands, and feet made of plaster. The effigy of Henry V was made
of boiled leather, or, as an old description says: “boyled hides.” In
later days people learned to make effigies in wax, and some of them were
no doubt very good portraits. There are eleven of these wax effigies
still shown in the Islip Chantry.
The oldest which now remains is that of Charles II, which stood for a
long time beside his grave in Henry VII’s Chapel. The face is just like
the pictures we see of Charles II. He wears the blue and red velvet
robes of a Knight of the Garter, with collar and ruffles of real, and
very beautiful, point lace. The effigy of Queen Elizabeth is a
Restoration, and no doubt a copy of the original, which had got quite
worn out by 1708. Some people think the head may really be that of the
first effigy. The face is very sad and worn, and looks as if Queen
Elizabeth had been very unhappy in her old age. We recognise the
familiar Elizabethan dress, the ruff, the high-heeled shoes, the pointed
bodice and wide skirts.
[Illustration:
[_D. Weller_.
QUEEN ELIZABETH.
]
[Illustration:
[_D. Weller_.
CHARLES II.
]
Next to Queen Elizabeth stand the effigies of William III and Mary II,
which are placed together in one large case. The crown is on a pedestal
between the two figures, and both sovereigns carry the sceptre and the
orb, so as to show that they reigned jointly, Mary not being
Queen-Consort merely. William was evidently a good deal shorter than his
wife, for he stands on a foot-stool in order to look equal in height.
Mary wears a brocaded skirt, and a purple velvet robe over it. She also
wears imitation paste and pearl ornaments and beautiful lace in her
sleeves. The last effigy of a sovereign is that of Queen Anne. She is
represented seated, and is dressed in robes of brocaded silk. She wears
many ornaments, and has a crown over her dark, flowing hair. Her face is
rather fat, with a kindly, good-natured expression.
Close to the case which holds the effigy of Queen Anne is a figure of
General Monck, in armour. This figure used to look very much battered
and greatly the worse for wear, but it has lately been rather mended up.
The cap is the famous one mentioned in the _Ingoldsby Legends_, in the
well-known lines—
“I thought on Naseby, Marston Moor, and Worcester’s crowning fight,
When on my ear a sound there fell, it filled me with affright;
As thus, in low unearthly tones, I heard a voice begin—
‘This here’s the cap of General Monck! Sir, please put summat in.’”
General Monck, afterwards Duke of Albemarle, is buried in Henry VII’s
Chapel, as we have already said.
The next effigy is that of Frances Theresa Stuart, Duchess of Richmond
and Lennox, a great beauty in her day. She was maid-of-honour to
Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. She sat as a model for the
figure of Britannia on a medal which was struck to commemorate the
Treaty of Breda, when peace was made between the English and Dutch after
the first Dutch War. This was in 1667. The figure of Britannia is no
doubt the same that we now see on our pennies and halfpennies. Frances
Stuart is dressed in the robes she wore at the Coronation of Queen Anne.
Beside her is her parrot, which died a few days after her. This lady
left particular orders about her effigy, directing that it should be “as
well done in wax as can bee—and sett up in a presse by itself, ... with
cleare Crowne glasse before it, and dressed in my Coronation Robes and
Coronett.” The effigy at first stood beside the Duchess’s grave in Henry
VII’s Chapel.
Next to the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox stand the effigies of
Catherine, Duchess of Buckinghamshire, and her little son, the Marquis
of Normanby, who died when a child. The Duchess, with her husband and
children, are buried in Henry VII’s Chapel, and a large monument is
erected there to the Duke, who was distinguished as a politician,
soldier, and man of letters in the reigns of Charles II and James II.
The Duchess of Buckinghamshire died in 1743. Her effigy is dressed in
the robes that she wore at the Coronation of George II. This lady
settled all about her own funeral with the Garter King-at-Arms, and was
quite afraid lest she should die before the grand canopy came home. “Let
them send it,” she said, “though all the tassels are not finished.”
Buckingham House, where the Duchess lived, was built by her husband on
the site of the present Buckingham Palace.
In the middle of the Chantry is a glass case containing the effigy of
Edmund Sheffield, last Duke of Buckinghamshire, and son of the Duchess
whose effigy has just been described. The young Duke died in Rome in
1735, aged only nineteen. This effigy, which is a very fine one, was the
last ever carried at a funeral. The Duchess wanted to borrow the great
Duke of Marlborough’s funeral car for the funeral of her son. But Sarah,
the celebrated Duchess of Marlborough, replied very haughtily that “it
carried my Lord Marlborough, and it shall never be profaned by any other
corpse.” Whereupon the Duchess of Buckinghamshire retorted: “I have
consulted the undertaker, and he tells me I may have a finer for twenty
pounds.”
There are two other wax figures in the Chantry, but they are not,
properly speaking, effigies, because they were not used in the funeral
processions, but were only put up to attract sightseers. These figures
represent two very eminent Englishmen, namely, William Pitt the elder,
afterwards Lord Chatham, and Lord Nelson. Both figures are remarkably
good, and must be excellent likenesses. Lord Chatham wears his peer’s
robes, and a wig, such as was then the fashion.
Lord Nelson’s effigy is dressed in naval uniform; all the dress, except
the coat, belonged to Nelson himself. The eye-patch for Nelson’s blind
eye was found attached to the inner lining of the hat when Maclise
borrowed it to copy for his well-known picture, “The Death of Nelson.”
These wax effigies, then, are not mere curiosities, but are interesting,
both as showing us an ancient funeral custom and as representing people
who played a part in the English history of their day.
[Illustration:
[_W. Rice, F.R.P.S._
SOUTH CLOISTER.
]