Part 16
Against the wall, in the centre of the East Walk, is a monument to the memory of GEORGE WALSH, Esq., with the following inscription:--"Near this place are deposited the remains of George Walsh, Esq., late Lieutenant-General of his Majesty's Forces, and Colonel of the forty-ninth Regiment of Foot, who died October 23, 1761, aged seventy-three.
"The toils of life and pangs of death are o'er, And care, and pain, and sickness, are no more."
To the memory of JAMES WILLIAM DODD, who for thirty-four years was one of the Ushers of Westminster School, the duties of which he discharged with consummate ability. The Westminsters, his pupils, resident at the boarding-house under his immediate care, have, bewailing his loss, caused this tablet to be erected. He died on the 29th day of August, 1818, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.
Beneath is a monument to preserve and unite the memory of two affectionate brothers, valiant soldiers and sincere Christians: SCIPIO DUROURE, Esq., Adjutant-General of the British Forces, Colonel of the twelfth Regiment of Foot, and Captain or Keeper of his Majesty's Castle of St. Mawes, in Cornwall, who, after forty-one years' faithful services, was mortally wounded at the battle of Fontenoy, and died May 10, 1745, aged fifty-six years, and lies interred on the ramparts of Aeth, in the low Countries; and ALEXANDER DUROURE, Esq., Lieutenant-General of the British Forces, Colonel of the Fourth, or King's own Regiment of Foot, and Captain or Keeper of his Majesty's Castle of St. Mawes, in Cornwall, who, after fifty-seven years of faithful services, died at Toulouse, in France, on the 2nd January, 1795, aged seventy-four years, and lies interred in this Cloister.
In the next arch has been lately erected a tablet, sacred to the memory of WALTER HAWKES, who, serving in the East Indies, and having deserved well during the space of more than twenty-seven years, almost worn out with sickness and wounds, as he was now returning to his native country, being overtaken by a storm in the Indian Ocean, was, together with his dearest wife, the partner of his life and danger, alas! swallowed up, and perished by shipwreck, never to be too much lamented, the year of our Lord 1808. Struck with so sad a fate of his companion, William Franklin put up this stone; for both were King's scholars in this school, brought up in the same studies, together endured arduous warfare.
NORTH WALK.
On the left, near the door, is a marble slab to the memory of JOHN CATLING, who died March 3, 1826, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. He was Verger and Sacrist, successively, of this Collegiate Church under five Deans, the duties of which he performed with the most zealous and undivided attention, for the long period of fifty-two years, respected by his superiors for the fidelity, respectability, and humility, with which he filled the offices, and beloved by all who knew him in private life, for the many virtues which adorn the man. Lady LONDONDERRY was buried underneath it.
A tablet to the memory of HARRIET, wife of the Rev. John Bentall, one of the Ushers of Westminster School. She died August 7, 1838.
The next is an epitaph remarkable for its quaintness, and inscribed to the memory of WILLIAM LAURENCE, in these lines:--
"With diligence and truth most exemplary, Did William Laurence serve a Prebendary; And for his pains, now past, before not lost, Gain'd this remembrance at his master's cost. Oh! read these lines again!--you seldom find A servant faithful, and a master kind. Short-hand he wrote; his flower in prime did fade, And hasty death short-hand of him hath made. Well couth he numbers, and well-measured land; Thus doth he now that ground whereon you stand, Wherein he lies so geometrical: Art maketh some, but thus doth nature all." _Ob. Dec. 28, 1628, Ætat. 29._
A tablet to the Rev. GEORGE PRESTON, A.M., who was several years Under-Master of Westminster School. He died September 8, 1841, aged fifty-two.
Near to this is a tablet lately erected to the memory of WILLIAM MARKHAM, D.D., Archbishop of York, who died November, 1807, aged eighty-eight, and was buried near this spot.
On your left is a tablet to the memory of EDWARD AUGUSTUS WEBBER, a King's scholar, son of James Webber, D.D., Dean of Ripon, and Canon of this Church; who was drowned in the River Thames, June 11, 1833, aged seventeen, and buried near this spot. The inscription is as follows:--"H.S.M. Edoardus Augustus Webber, Jacobi Webber, S.T.P., ecclesæ Riponensis Decani, et hujusce Præbendarii filius natu secundus in amne Thamesi, eversa turbine navicula e quatuor mersis adolicentibus unus periit die 11 Junii, 1833, anum agent 17mo. Alumno suavissimo desideratissimo, id quod parentes miseri perferre nequibant, præceptores condiscipulique tranquam fratrem lugertes ademptum pro more ac pietate Westmonasteriensi exequias reddiderunt."
The last worthy of note in this Walk is that to the memory of WILLIAM EGERTON GELL, Esq., who, after a long and severe affliction, departed this life on the 17th of May, 1838, aged fifty-six years; in him many will have to deplore the loss of a generous and kind-hearted friend. "Comfort the soul of thy servant, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul."--_Cundy, sculptor._
WEST WALK.
On the left door of the Abbey is a monument, erected by John English Dolben, Esq., "To the memory of EDWARD WORTLEY MONTAGUE, who was cast away, on his return to England, in 1777, from the East Indies, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. In memory of their friendship, which commenced at Westminster School, continued for some time at Oxford, not diminished by the greatest distance, scarcely dissolved by death, and if it please God, to be renewed in heaven.--J. E. D., to whom the deceased bequeathed his books (and appointed joint residuary legatee), erected this monument."
FRANCIS SMEDLEY.--Adjoining the Godolphin monument is a neat tablet to the memory of the above, who was High Bailiff of Westminster for twenty-two years. Born September 15, 1791; died February 25, 1859.
The next is a monument that deserves particular attention, as it commemorates a charity, which otherwise might, in time, like many others, be perverted or forgotten. The inscription is as follows:--"Here rest, in hope of a blessed resurrection, CHARLES GODOLPHIN, Esq., brother of the Right Honourable Sydney, Earl of Godolphin, Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain, who died July 16, 1720, aged sixty-nine; and Mrs. GODOLPHIN, his wife, who died July 29, 1726, aged sixty-three; whose excellent qualities and endowments can never be forgotten, particularly the public-spirited zeal with which he served his country in Parliament, and the indefatigable application, great skill, and nice integrity, with which he discharged the trust of a Commissioner of Customs for many years. Nor was she less eminent for her ingenuity, with sincere love of her friends, and constancy in religious worship. But as charity and benevolence were the distinguishing parts of their characters, so were they most conspicuously displayed by the last act of their lives: a pious and charitable institution, by him designed and ordered, and by her completed to the glory of God, and for a bright example to mankind; the endowment whereof is a rent-charge of one hundred and eighty pounds a-year, issuing out of lands in Somersetshire, and of which, one hundred and sixty pounds a year are to be ever applied, from 24th June, 1726, to the educating eight young gentlewomen, who are so born, and whose parents are of the Church of England, whose parents or friends will undertake to provide them with decent apparel; and after the death of the said Mrs. Godolphin, and William Godolphin, Esq., her nephew, such as have neither father or mother; which said young gentlewomen are not to be admitted before they are eight years old, nor to be continued after the age of nineteen, and are to be brought up in the city of New Sarum, or some other town in the county of Wilts, under the care of some prudent governess or schoolmistress, a communicant of the Church of England; and the overplus, after an allowance of £5. a-year for collecting the said rent-charge, is to be applied to binding out one or more poor children apprentices, whose parents are of the Church of England. In perpetual memory whereof Mrs. Frances Hall, executrix to her aunt, Mrs. Godolphin, has, according to her will, and by her order, caused this inscription to be engraven on their monument, 1772."
The next is a neat tablet, in memory of the Rev. EDWARD SMEDLEY, A.M., Rector of Powderham, and of North Bovey, in the county of Devon, and from 1774 to 1820, one of the Ushers of Westminster School; born Nov. 5, 1750, died August 6, 1825. Also of HANNAH, his wife, daughter of George Bellas, Esq.; born August 21, 1754, died October 17, 1824. This tablet is erected by their surviving children.
"To you, dear names, these filial thanks we give, For more than life, for knowledge how to live-- For many a rule with holy wisdom fraught, And works embodying the creed you taught; For faith triumphant, tho' the lips which told Its glowing lessons, now, alas! are cold; Faith, which proclaiming that the dead but sleep, Invites us home to those whom here we weep."
--_Westmacott, jun., sculptor._
On the left is a tablet with a coat of arms over, and a music-book under it:--"Near this place are deposited the remains of BENJAMIN COOKE, Doctor in Music of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and Organist and Master of the Choristers of this Collegiate Church for above thirty years. He departed this life on the 14th of September, 1793, and in the fifty-ninth year of his age."
ENOCH HAWKINS, Esq., Gentleman of her Majesty's Chapel Royal, and Vicar Choral of this Collegiate Church, who died on the 9th January, 1847, aged fifty.
Upon a tablet that has emblems of music,--"To the memory of JAMES BARTLEMAN, formerly a Chorister and Lay-Clerk of Westminster Abbey, and Gentleman of his Majesty's Royal Chapel. He was born the 19th of September, 1769, died the 15th of April, 1821, and was buried in this Cloister, near his beloved master, Dr. Cooke."
In this walk is erected a monument to W. BUCHAN, M.D., author of the Domestic Medicine, who died in 1805.
A tablet with inscriptions, to Mr. JOHN BROUGHTON, and his wife Elizabeth; she died in 1714, and himself in 1789. Also R. MONK, Esq., died in 1831; his wife CATHERINE, 1832.
"WILLIAM WOOLLETT, born August 22, 1735, died May 22, 1785." The genius of engraving is represented handing down to posterity the works of painting, sculpture, and architecture. A monument with his bust on the top.
Near to this will be seen a tablet in memory of ELIZABETH WOODFALL, younger daughter of the late Henry Sampson Woodfall, having lived many years in Dean's Yard, contiguous to the Abbey, and died 12th February, 1862, at the age of ninety-three.
Having exceeded the bounds at first intended, we shall conclude in the words of an ingenious writer on the subject of this Abbey:--"I have wandered," says he, "with pleasure into the most gloomy recesses of this last resort of grandeur, to contemplate human life, and trace mankind through all the wilderness of their frailties and misfortunes, from their cradles to their graves. I have reflected on the shortness of our duration here, and that I was but one of the millions who had been employed in the same manner, in ruminating on the trophies of mortality before me; that I must moulder to dust in the same manner, and quit the scene to a new generation, without leaving the shadow of my existence behind me; that this huge fabric, the sacred depository of fame and grandeur, would only be the stage for the same performances; would receive new accessions of noble dust; would be adorned with other sepulchres of cost and magnificence; would be crowded with successive admirers; and, at last, by the unavoidable decays of time, bury the whole collection of antiquities in general obscurity, and be the monument of its own ruin."
The Chapter House and Ancient House of Commons.
On the left as you enter the Chapter House is a stone coffin which was found on the removal of the accumulated earth and rubbish which for many years had hidden the lower parts of the buttresses of the north side of the building; some ancient walls of considerable extent were discovered, and about five or six feet below the surface an ancient stone coffin was brought to light. It possesses great interest from its being the only Roman remains yet discovered. One side of it is beautifully wrought, with a sunk panel, having at each end the conventional Roman ornament called the Amazon shield, while the panel itself is occupied with the following inscription, in the best style of the old Roman lettering--
+-------------------------------+ | MEMORIAE·VALER·AMAN | | DINI·VALERI·SVPERVEN | |TOR·ET·MARCELLVS·PATRI·FE[CE]R.| +-------------------------------+
from which it appears to show that it is in memory of one Valerius Amandinus, and that his two sons made it to his honour. The lid is wrought with a slight cope, having a Maltese cross, terminating at the foot with a trefoil. There can be no doubt that the coffin once contained the body of this Valerius, which was afterwards displaced for the reception of an ecclesiastic, when the old lid was made in its present shape. The date of the first interment may be ascribed to the 3rd century, while the latter may belong to the 12th century. The skeleton within the coffin is in good preservation, considering the great lapse of time. There was nothing to indicate the rank of the ecclesiastic, for such he probably was; but he must have been a tall man, of great vigour, and barely of middle age.
The Chapter House of Westminster was built in 1250, by Henry III., on the site of the earlier Chapter House belonging to the Abbey, as founded by Edward the Confessor. It was, from its beauty, called "The Incomparable Chapter House." It has been used for three purposes.
I. It was the chamber in which the Abbot and Monks, in the times of the ancient monastery, held their "Chapter," or meeting for discussion and business; their meetings were held once a week. The Abbot and the four chief officers of the convent sat in the ornamented stalls opposite the entrance. The Monks sat on the stone seats round. The culprits, if there were any, knelt to receive their judgment before the Abbot's seat, and were scourged before the central pillar.
II. Almost from the time of its first erection, it was used for the sittings of the House of Commons. The House of Commons came into existence in 1265, and at first sat in Westminster Hall with the House of Lords; but in 1282 they parted, and from that time for nearly 300 years its meetings were held in the precincts of Westminster Refectory (now destroyed), but usually in the Chapter House, which was lent to the Commons by the Abbot for that purpose. The Speaker probably sat in the Abbot's stall, and the Members of Parliament in the seats of the Monks, and on the floor of the house. To the central pillar were attached placards and notices relating to the business or the conduct of the Members. Here were the debates on all the Acts of Parliament, passed from the time of Edward I. till the Reformation. There also were, from time to time, convened other assemblies for special purposes. Henry V., in 1421, summoned a meeting of 60 Abbots and Priors, and 300 Monks to discuss the reform of the Benedictine order; and Wolsey, as Cardinal Legate, in 1523, summoned the convocations of Canterbury and York, in order to be on a spot beyond the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The last Parliament which is known to have sat here was that which was assembled on the last day of the reign of Henry VIII. It will be seen that this building, from having for three centuries been the seat of the House of Commons, has been the scene of the chief acts which laid the foundation of civil and religious liberty of England, and was the cradle of representative and constitutional government, of Parliament, Legislative Chambers, and Congress throughout the world.
III. On the dissolution of the Ancient Monastery in 1540, the Chapter House passed into the possession of the Crown; from that time the Dean and Chapter of Westminster have held their meetings in the Jerusalem Chamber. In 1547, the first year of Edward VI., the House of Commons was transferred to the Chapel of St. Stephen in the Palace of Westminster, in which they remained till it was burned down in 1834. From that time till 1863 the Chapter House was used as the depository of the public records. During this period it was fitted up with book-shelves, which disfigured and concealed its beauties; its roof was taken down; its windows were filled up; and it was divided into two stories. In 1865, after the removal of the records to the Rolls House, in the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the Chapter House, in the 600th anniversary of the House of Commons, which it had so long sheltered, its restoration was undertaken at the request of the Society of Antiquaries, by Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and by Mr. Cowper Temple, as First Commissioner of Works, and the requisite sum granted by Parliament for the repairs, which, under Mr. Gilbert Scott, have restored it as nearly as possible to its original state. The roof has been entirely rebuilt. The paintings, which were concealed by the book-shelves, are now disclosed; those at the east end, over the stalls of the Abbot and his four chief officers, are of the 14th century, and represent seraphs round the Throne of the Saviour. Those round the walls were painted in the 15th century, by one of the monks of the convent, named John of Northampton, and represent scenes from the Revelation of St. John, with pictures of fishes, birds, and beasts underneath. The figures on each side of the entrance, representing the Angel and the Virgin Mary, are ancient. The central figure is modern, but represents what was formerly there. The tiles on the floor, covered with curious heraldic emblems, are also now seen for the first time. The tracery of the windows has been restored after the model of the one which had been left uninjured on the northwest side. It still remains for them to be filled with stained glass, according to the original design.
INDEX.
Abbey founded, 3
---- rebuilt and endowed, 4
---- pulled down and enlarged, 4
---- Admission, Hours, &c. of, 2
Aberdeen, Earl of, 54
Addison, Joseph, 28, 101
Agar, Doctor, 69
Aiton, Sir Robert, 20
Albemarle, Dukes of, 24, 30
---- Duchess of, 24
Alfred, Prince, 25
Altar Decoration, 12
Amelia, Princess, 25
André, Major, 91
Anne, Queen, James II.'s Daughter, 24
---- Princess, 25
---- Queen of James I., 27
---- Queen of Richard II., 36
---- Queen of Richard III., 113
Anstey, Christopher, 107
Argyle, Duke of, 28, 104
Arnold, Dr. Samuel, 64
Athelgoda, Queen of King Sebert, 11
Atkyns, Edward, and Sons, 103
Bagenall, Nicholas, 19
Baillie, Dr. Matthew, 45
Baker, John, 71
Balchen, Admiral, 59
Banks, Thomas, 73
Bankes, Cornet W. G. Hawtrey, 53
Barnard, Bishop, 37
---- Major-Gen. Sir H. W., 53
Barrow, Isaac, D.D., 101
Barry, Sir Charles, 80
Bartleman, James, 123
Barton, Samuel, D.D., 114
Bath, Earl of, 32
Beauclerk, Lord, 61
Beaufoy, Mrs., 73
Beaumont, Francis, 115
Belasyse, Sir Henry, 30
Bell, Dr. Andrew, 98
Bentall, Harriet, 120
Bentinck, Archdeacon, 9
Beresford, Lieutenant, 41
Beverley, Countess of, 18
Bill, Dr. William, 11
Billson, Dr., 12
Bingham, Sir Richard, 93
Birch, Martha, 113
Blackwood, Sir Henry, 55
Blair and Bayne, Captains, 51
Blanch of the Tower, 14
Blois, Gervasius de, 118
Blow, John, Doc. Mus., 65
Bohun, Hugh de, and Mary, Grandchildren to Edward I., 38
Booth, Barton, 111
Boulter, Archbishop, 62
Bourchier, Lord, 32
Bourgchier, Sir Humphrey, 15
Bovey, Katherine, 86
Bradford, Bishop, 62
Bringfield, Colonel, 73
Brocas, Sir Bernard, 15
Bromley, Sir Thomas, 31
Broughton, John and Wife, 123
Browne, Thomas, 42
Brunel, I. K., 73
Bryan, Captain, 65
Buchan, Dr., 123
Buckingham, Countess of, 20
---- Dukes of, 27
---- Duchess of, 27
Buckland, Very Rev. W., D.D., 86
Buller, Right Hon. C., 56
Burland, Sir John, 97
Burleigh, Lady, 19
Burney, Dr. Charles, LL.D., 95
---- Chas. Mus. D., 64
Busby, Richard, D.D., 114
Butler, Samuel, 110
Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, 63
Byrcheston, Abbot, 119
Campbell, Sir Archibald, 102
---- Sir James, 102
---- Thomas, LL.D., 107
Camden, William, 99
Canning, George, 49
Canning, Lord, 49
Cannon, Robert, D.D., 87
Carew, Baron, and Lady, 19
Carey, Thomas, 38
---- Henry, Baron of Hunsdon, 38
Caroline, Queen, 25
---- Princess, 25
Carteret, Philip, 70
---- Edward de, 70
---- Elizabeth, Lady, 68
Casaubon, Isaac, 100
Catling, John, 120
Cecil, Lady, 18
Chamberlain, Hugh, M.D., 63
Chapel of St. Benedict, 10
---- St. Edmund, 13
---- St. Nicholas, 18
---- Henry VII., 21, 117
---- St. Paul, 30
---- St. Edward (& Shrine), 33
---- St. John, 40
---- Islip, Abbot, 40
---- St. John the Evangelist, 42
---- St. Andrew, 42
---- St. Michael, 42
Chardin, Sir John, 90
Charles II., 24
Chatham, Earl of, 51
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 111
Cherbury, Baron of, 16
Children of Henry III. & Edw. I., 12
Choir, New, 5
Cholmondeley, Viscount & Sons, 71
Churchill, George, 92
Clanrickard, Countess of, 75
Claypole, Elizabeth, 28
Cleves, Ann of, 113
Clifford, Lady, 18
Clyde, Lord, 80
Cobden, Richard, 57
Colchester, William of, 39
Conduit, John, 81
Congreve, William, 84
Cook, Benjamin, Doc. Mus., 122
Cooke, Captain Edward, 43
Cooper, Ensign Lovick Emilius, 53
Coote, Sir Eyre, 55
Cornewall, Captain, 82
Coronation Chairs, 36
Cottington, Lord and Lady, 32
Cottrell, Clement, 89
Courayer, Peter Francis, 118
Courcy, Almericus de, 66
Cowley, Abraham, 112
Coxe, Sir Richard, 100
Craggs, Secretary, 83
Creed, Richard, Major, 92
---- Richard, Lieutenant, 93
Crewe, Lady Juliana, 37
---- Jane, 37
Crispinus, Geslebertus, 118
Croft, William, Doc. Mus., 65
Crokesley, Abbot, 17
Crouchback, Edmund, 40
Cumberland, Dukes of, 25
D'Almade, Henry, 37
Dalrymple, William, 97
Daubeny, Lord, and Lady, 31
Davenant, Sir William, 114
Davidson, Susannah Jane, 44
Davis, Colonel, 75
Davy, Sir Humphrey, 43
Denham, Sir James Stewart, 70
Dickens, Charles, 105
Dimensions, 4, 22, 118
Dodd, James William, 119
Dorchester, Viscount, 32
Douglas, Lady Margaret, 22
Draiton, Michael, 110
Dryden, John, 113
Dudley, William de, 19
Dunbar, Viscount, 69
Duppa, Bishop, 41
---- Sir Thomas, 67
Duroure, Scipio and Alexander, 120
Eastney, Abbot, 41
Editha, Qn. to Edward the Confessor, 34
Edward the Confessor, 38
---- I., 37
---- III., and Children, 35
---- V., 29
---- VI., 26, 28
Edwardes, Sir H., 58
Egerton, James, 76
---- Penelope, 75
Eland, Lady, 39
Eleanor, Queen to Edward I., 34
Elizabeth, Queen, 29
---- Princess, 25
---- of Bohemia, 23
Eltham, John of, 13
Essex, Countess of, 32
Evremond, Lord of St., 108
Exeter, Earl of, 39
Fairborne, Sir Palmes, 90
Fairholm, Sophia, 97
Fane, Sir George, and Lady, 19
Fascet, Abbot, 39
Ferne, Bishop, 17
Filding, Ann, 89
Fire, 4
Fleming, James, 88
Fletcher, Lieutenant-Colonel, 77
Folkes, Martin, 93
Follett, Sir William Webb, 54
Forbes, Benjamin and Richard, 46
Fox, Right Hon. Charles James, 76
Frederick William, Prince, 25
Freke, Elizabeth and Judith, 96
Friend, John, M.D., 84
Fullerton, Sir James, and Lady, 31
Galofre, Sir John, 12
Garrick, David, 99
Gay, John, 105
Gell, William Egerton, 121
George II., 25
---- Prince, 24
Gethin, Grace, 96
Gifford, William, 99
Gloucester, Duke of, 23, 36
---- Duchess of, 16
Godolphin, Earl, 90
---- Charles, and Wife, 121
Goldsmith, Oliver, M.D., 104
Goodman, Gabriel, D.D., 10