Part 2
On the east, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a fine monument to the memory of Lady FRANCES, Countess of Hertford. The Latin inscription sets forth, "that she was wife to the noble Earl of Hertford, son to the renowned Prince Edward, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Hertford, Viscount Beauchamp, and Baron Seymour; that she was daughter to the noble Lord William, Baron Howard of Effingham, Knight of the Garter, High Admiral to Queen Mary, and Lord Chamberlain and Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth, &c.; that, for her many graces, both of mind and body, she was highly favoured by her gracious Sovereign, and dearly loved by her noble Lord, who, in testimony of his inviolate affection, consecrated to her memory this monument. She died in the forty-fourth year of her age, May 14, 1598."
On the south side is a monument to the memory of Dr. GABRIEL GOODMAN. The Latin inscription intimates, "that he was the fifth Dean of this Church, over which he presided for forty years with much applause; that he founded an hospital, and instituted a school at Ruthin, in Denbighshire, where he was born; that he was a man of regular and devout life, and that he died in 1601, aged seventy-three."
On the same side is a monument to the memory of GEORGE SPRAT, second son of Dr. Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster, by his wife Helena, descended from the ancient and honourable family of the Wolseleys, in Staffordshire, who lies interred in the Chapel of St. Nicholas. He died an infant of a year old, in 1683.
In the centre is a monument erected in memory of LIONEL CRANFIELD, Earl of Middlesex, by his relict, Lady Ann. The Latin inscription on this monument is to this effect;--"Sacred to the memory of Lionel Lord Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, who by that discerning prince, King James I., being called to court, was for his excellent parts bountifully rewarded, both with honours and fortune; being made Master of the Requests, and of the Wardrobe, President of the Court of Wards, and Privy Councillor. The new and illustrious, as well as difficult province of Lord Treasurer of England, he filled, which services how indefatigably he underwent, his title of Knight, Baron Cranfield, and, lastly, Earl of Middlesex, with various other honours, abundantly testify. He died the 6th of August, 1645, aged about seventy. He was twice married. By his first wife he had three daughters; Elizabeth, Countess of Mulgrave; Martha, Countess of Monmouth; and Mary, who died unmarried. By the second, who survived him, he had three sons, and two daughters; James, heir to the honours of Earl of Middlesex, Lyonel, and Edward; Frances, Lady Buckhurst; and Susannah, who died an infant."
Near Bishop Langham's tomb, is a table monument, inlaid with a brass plate, designed for Dr. WILLIAM BILL, Dean of Westminster, Master of Eton College, Head of Trinity in Cambridge, and Chief Almoner to Queen Elizabeth, as appears by his inscription. He died July 5, 1561. On a brass plate are some Latin verses, setting forth "that he was a good and learned man, and a friend to those that were so; that he was just and charitable; and that the poor, as well as the three Colleges over which he presided, sustained an irreparable loss by his death."
Besides those above recited, there lie interred in this Chapel, CATHERINE, daughter of Dr. Dolben, Bishop of Rochester, Dean of Westminster, and afterwards Archbishop of York; a Countess of Kildare, in Ireland; and Dr. JOHN SPOTSWOOD, Lord Archbishop of St. Andrew's, Primate and Lord Chancellor of Scotland, who died in 1640.
On the left of the gate of entrance to the Chapels, is the ancient monument to SEBERT, King of the East Saxons, who first built a church nearly on this site, and died July, 616; also of ATHELGODA, his Queen, who died September 13, 615.
It may here be observed, and to some will no doubt be interesting, that as the date of King Sebert is the _earliest_ known respecting the Abbey, George II. was also the _last_ King buried in Westminster, including in all thirteen English Sovereigns whose remains repose within these venerable walls (and fourteen Queens, that is, once reigning sovereigns, or the consorts of kings) embracing a period of more than twelve hundred years. The Kings buried in the Abbey--Sebert, Edward the Confessor, Henry III., Edward I., Edward III., Richard II., Henry V., Edward V., Henry VII., Edward VI., James I., Charles II., William III., George II., all of which can of course be ascertained by a careful perusal of this guide book.
Over the tomb of Sebert, enclosed under glass, is an elaborate work (measuring about eleven feet in length, and three feet in height), which appears to have originally formed part of an altar decoration of the fourteenth century; the ground-work is oak; over the joinings, and on the surface of some mouldings, strips of parchment were glued. On this framework, covered with a gesso ground, various ornamental compartments and architectural enrichments are completed in relief. The work is divided into two similar portions; in the centre is a figure which appears to be intended for Christ, holding the globe, and in the act of blessing; an angel with a palm branch is on each side. The single figure on the left is St. Peter; the figure that should correspond on the right, and all the scripture subjects on that side, are gone. In the compartments to the left, portions of three subjects remain; one represents the Adoration of the Kings; another, apparently the Raising of Lazarus; the subject of the third is doubtful, though some figures remain; the fourth is destroyed. The small compartments in the architectural enrichments are filled with variously-coloured pieces of glass inlaid on tinfoil, and have still a brilliant effect. The compartments not occupied by figures were adorned with a deep blue glass resembling lapis lazuli, with gold lines of foliage executed on it. The smaller spaces and mouldings were enriched with cameos and gems; some of which still remain. This interesting work of art lay neglected in a Chapel near the North Transept, till Mr. Blore, with the permission of the Dean and Chapter, had it placed for security in the case in which it is now seen. It is supposed to have originally formed part of the decoration of the high altar. Its date may be fixed at the close of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century.
Between this Chapel and the next, is a monument of Mosaic work, erected for the children of Henry III. and Edward I. This certainly was once a rich and costly monument; for in the records of the Tower, there is the King's order for erecting such a one in this place, and for allowing Master Simon de Wells five marks and a half to defray his expenses in bringing from the city a certain brass image to set upon the tomb of his daughter Catherine, and for paying to Simon de Gloucester, the King's goldsmith, seventy marks, for a silver image for the like purpose.
On the left, before you enter the Chapel of St. Edmund, is a large stone, once plated with brass, under which was interred Sir JOHN GALOFRE; he was famous in the reign of Richard II., for his wisdom and valour, and was prosecuted by the discontented Lords. He died at Wallingford, in Berkshire, in 1396.
The tombstone, with inscription on a brass plate of Dr. BILLSON, is seen on the floor, next that of Sir John Galofre. He died in 1616.
II.--Chapel of St. Edmund.
[Illustration]
_Left Hand._
1. John of Eltham, Son of Edward II. 1334.
2. Earl of Stafford, 1762.
3. Monck, Bishop of Hereford, 1661.
4. Children of Edward III., 1350.
5. Duchess of Suffolk, 1563.
6. Holles, Son of Earl Clare, 1662.
7. Lady Jane Seymour, 1560.
8. Lady Katharine Knollys, 1568.
9. Lady Elizabeth Russel, 1601.
10. Lord John Russel, 1584.
11. Sir Bernard Brocas, 1339.
12. Sir Humphrey Bourgchier, 1471.
13. Sir Richard Pecksall, 1571.
14. Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, 1617.
15. Earl of Pembroke, 1296.
16. Robert de Waldeby, 1397.
17. Duchess of Gloucester, 1399.
18. Countess of Stafford, 1693.
19. Dr. Ferne, Bishop of Chester, 1661.
20. Above the Duchess of Suffolk's Monument is one to Mary Countess of Stafford and her Son, 1719.
On the left as you enter is a monument sacred to the memory of JOHN of ELTHAM, second son of Edward II., and so called from Eltham, in Kent, the place of his nativity, where our English Kings had once a palace. His statue is of alabaster, the head encircled in a coronet of large and small leaves, remarkable for its being the first of the kind. His habit is that of an armed Knight. He died in Scotland, in 1334, at the age of nineteen, unmarried, though three different matches had been proposed to him; the last of which, to Mary, daughter of Ferdinand, King of Spain, he accepted, but lived not to consummate it.
At the foot of this is a monument with the following inscription:--"In this Chapel lies interred all that was mortal of the most illustrious and most benevolent JOHN PAUL HOWARD, Earl of Stafford, who in 1738 married Elizabeth, daughter of A. Ewens, of the county of Somerset, Esq. His heart was as truly great and noble as his high descent. Faithful to his God. A lover of his country. A relation to relations. A detester of detraction. A friend to mankind. Naturally generous and compassionate, his liberality and his charity to the poor were without bounds. Being snatched away suddenly by death, which he had long meditated and expected with constancy, he went to a better life the 1st of April, 1762, having lived sixty-one years nine months and six days." The figures round the inscription are the ancient badges of honour belonging to the Stafford family, who descended by ten different marriages from the royal blood of England and France.--_Invented and stained by Chambers._
Next to this is a small table monument, on which lie the figures of WILLIAM of WINDSOR, sixth son of Edward III., who died in his infancy; and of BLANCH of the TOWER, sister to William, who likewise died young, having obtained their surnames from the places of their nativity. About 1350.
Against the wall is a monument of NICHOLAS MONCK, Provost of Eton, Bishop of Hereford, and brother of George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, &c. He died December 11, 1661, aged fifty.--_Woodman, sculptor._
On an altar tomb lies the effigy of LADY FRANCES, Duchess of Suffolk. She was the daughter of the famous Charles Brandon, by Mary, the French Queen, daughter to Henry VII., and became herself Duchess of Suffolk, by marrying Henry Grey, then Marquis of Dorset, but upon her father's decease created Duke of Suffolk, and afterwards beheaded for being concerned in dethroning Queen Mary. She died in 1558-9.
Against the wall above is a monument to the memory of MARY, Countess of Stafford, and of HENRY, Earl of Stafford, her son, who died abroad in 1719, and was buried in this Chapel.
The next, representing a youth in Grecian armour sitting on a Greek altar, to the memory of FRANCIS HOLLES, by John, Earl of Clare his afflicted father. This brave youth, after returning home from a campaign in Flanders, died August 12, 1622, aged eighteen. His epitaph is thus written:--
"What so thou hast of nature or of arts, Youth, beauty, strength, or what excelling parts Of mind and body, letters, arms, and worth, His eighteen years beyond his years brought forth; Then stand and read thyself within this glass, How soon these perish, and thyself may pass: Man's life is measured by the work, not days; Not aged sloth, but active youth, hath praise."
--_N. Stone, sculptor._
Next are two tablets, one to the memory of the Right Honourable the Lady KATHERINE KNOLLYS, chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and wife to Sir Francis Knollys, Knt., Treasurer of her Highness's household. She died January the 15th, 1568. This Lady Knollys and Lord Hunsdon, her brother, were the only children of William Carey, Esq., by Lady Mary, his wife, one of the daughters and heirs of Thomas Bulleyne, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and sister to Anne Bulleyne, Queen of England, wife to Henry VIII., father and mother to Queen Elizabeth. What is farther remarkable, Lady Knollys' only daughter was mother of the favourite Earl of Essex.
The other to Lady JANE SEYMOUR, daughter of Edward, Duke of Somerset, who died March 19, 1560, aged nineteen.
On an altar sits, in a sleeping posture, the figure of Lady ELIZABETH RUSSEL, daughter of Lord John Russel, in alabaster. She pricked her finger with a needle, which is supposed to have caused a lock-jaw, and occasioned her death. On the plinth of the pedestal is--"_Dormit, non mortua est_"--(She is not dead, but sleepeth). Died 1601.
Lord JOHN RUSSEL, second son of Francis, second Earl of Bedford, and his son FRANCIS, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, Knt., and widow of Sir Thomas Hoby, Knt. He died in 1584. He is represented in a cumbent posture, habited in his coronation robes, with his infant son at his feet. His lady was esteemed the Sappho of her age, being well versed in the learned languages, and an excellent poet; five of the epitaphs on this tomb are of her composition, of which three are in Latin, one in Greek, and the other in English, which is here transcribed as a specimen, the rest being to the same purport:--
"Right noble twice, by virtue and by birth, Of heaven lov'd, and honour'd on the earth, His country's hope, his kindred's chief delight, My husband dear, more than this world's light, Death hath me reft. But I from death will take His memory, to whom this tomb I make. John was his name (ah, was! wretch, must I say?) Lord Russel once, now my tear-thirsty clay."
Next is a very ancient monument, representing a Gothic chapel, and in it the figure of a Knight in armour, in a cumbent posture, with his feet resting on a lion's back. This was erected for Sir BERNARD BROCAS, of Baurepaire, in the county of Hants, Chamberlain to Ann, Queen of Richard II. But this Princess dying, and Richard falling under the displeasure of his people, who deposed him, Sir Bernard still adhered to his Royal master in his misfortunes, which cost him his life. He was publicly beheaded on Tower Hill, January, 1399, and here buried.
In front of this is a low altar tomb, on which has been, in plated brass, the figure of a Knight in armour, his head reclining upon his helmet, and one of his feet placed upon a leopard, the other on an eagle. By the Latin inscription this Knight was HUMPHREY BOURGCHIER, son and heir to John Bourgchier, Lord Berners, who espousing the cause of Edward IV. against the Earl of Warwick, was slain in the battle of Barnet Field, on Easter-day, 1471.
Next is the monument of Sir RICHARD PECKSALL, Knt., Master of the Buckhounds to Queen Elizabeth; first married to Alianer, the daughter of William Paulett, Marquis of Winchester, by whom he had four daughters; and afterwards to Alianer, daughter of John Cotgrave. On the bases of the pillars are Latin verses thus translated:--
"Death can't disjoin whom Christ hath joined in love; Life leads to death, and death to life above. In heaven's a happier place; frail things despise: Live well to gain in future life a prize."
He died 1571.
The next is a most magnificent monument to the memory of EDWARD TALBOT, eighth Earl of Shrewsbury, and his lady, JANE, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Cuthbert, Baron Ogle, whose effigies in their robes lie on a black marble table, supported by a pedestal of alabaster. He died February 8, 1617, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.
In front of this is the gravestone to the memory of EDWARD, Lord Herbert, Baron of Cherbury, in England, and of Castle-Ireland, in Ireland, who died December 9, 1678, aged forty-six.
On the right is the ancient monument of WILLIAM DE VALENCE, Earl of Pembroke, lying in a cumbent posture on a chest of wainscot, placed upon a tomb of freestone; the figure is wood, covered originally with copper gilt, as was the chest on which it lies. In the year 1296, he was slain at Bayonne treacherously. His body was afterwards brought to England, and honourably buried in this Chapel, and an indulgence of one hundred days granted to all devout people who should offer up prayers for his soul.
On the floor is a tomb to MARY, Countess of Stafford, wife to the unfortunate Viscount Stafford, beheaded in the reign of Charles II., on Tower Hill, Dec. 29, 1680. She was lineally descended from the Barons and Earls of Stafford, and was daughter and heiress to the noble house of Buckingham. She died Jan. 1693.
The next is a tomb on which is a lady in a widow's dress, with a barb and veil, cut in brass, round which is an inscription in old French, importing that ALIANER DE BOHUN, daughter and heiress of Sir Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hertford, Essex, and Northampton, and wife to the mighty and noble Prince of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Essex and Buckingham, son of Edward III., lies interred here. This lady, who was the greatest heiress in England, was deprived of her husband by the cruelty of his nephew, Richard II., who, jealous of his popularity, most treacherously betrayed him by a show of friendship; for coming to visit him at Plashy, a pleasant seat of his in Essex, and staying supper, in duty he thought to attend his Majesty to town; but at Stratford was suddenly surrounded by an ambush of armed men, who privately hurried him on board a ship, and carried him to Calais, where, by the King's order, he was stifled between feather beds in 1397. After this melancholy circumstance, his lady spent the rest of her days in the nunnery at Barking, and died October 3, 1399; from whence her remains were brought and here interred.
There is also an Archbishop buried here, as appears by a very antique figure in a mass habit, engraven on a brass plate, and placed on a flat stone in the pavement, over the remains of ROBERT DE WALDEBY, who, as appears by the inscription, was first an Augustine monk, and attended Edward the Black Prince into France, where, being young, he prosecuted his studies, and made a surprising progress in natural and moral philosophy, physic, the languages, and in the canon law; and, being likewise an elegant preacher and sound divine, was made Divinity Professor in the University of Toulouse, where he continued till called by Richard II. to the Bishopric of Man; from whence he was removed to the Archbishopric of Dublin; but not liking that country, upon the first vacancy he was recalled, and advanced to the see of Chichester, and afterwards to the Archbishopric of York. Such is the history of this great man, who died May 29, 1397, as gathered from an inscription formerly very legible, but now almost obliterated.
At the foot of Waldeby is a blue marble slab, which covers the remains of Dr. HENRY FERNE, inlaid with five shields in brass, surrounded with an inscription. He was Chaplain Extraordinary to Charles I.; by Charles II. made Bishop of Chester, which he lived to enjoy about five weeks, dying March 16, 1661.
Also a black marble slab which covers the remains of EDWARD GEORGE EARLE LYTTON BULWER LYTTON. Born 25th May, 1803; died 18th January, 1873. 1831-1841, Member of Parliament for St. Ives and for Lincoln; 1838, Baronet of the United Kingdom; 1852-1856, Knight of the Shire of the County of Hertford; 1858, one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and George; 1866, Baron Lytton of Knebworth. Laborious and distinguished in all fields of intellectual
## activity, indefatigable and ardent in the cultivation and love of letters.
His genius as an author was displayed in the most varied forms, which have connected indissolubly with every department of the literature of his time the name of Edward Bulwer Lytton.
In this Chapel lies interred Abbot CROKESLEY, who died July 18, 1258.
On the right, on leaving this Chapel, is a fine bust of RICHARD TUFTON, third son of Sir John Tufton, Bart., and brother of Nicholas E. Thanet. He died October 4, 1631.
III.--Chapel of St. Nicholas.
[Illustration]
_Begin on your Left._
1. Lady Cecil, 1591.
2. Lady Clifford, 1679.
3. Countess of Beverley, 1812.
4. Duchess of Somerset, 1587.
5. Westmoreland Family, 1618.
6. Baron Carew, 1470.
7. Nicholas Bagenall, 1688.
8. Lady Burleigh, 1589, and the Countess Oxford, 1588.
9. Dudley, Bishop of Durham, 1483, and Lady St. John, 1614.
10. Daughter of Christopher Harley, Ambassador of France: her heart in the Urn, 1665.
11. Lady Ross, 1591.
12. Marchioness of Winchester, 1586.
13. Duchess of Northumberland, 1776.
14. Philippa, Duchess of York, 1433.
15. Sir George Villiers, and his lady, Countess of Buckingham, 1605 and 1632.
16. Sir Humphrey Stanley, 1505.
On the left, as you enter this Chapel, is a monument erected for LADY CECIL, a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and daughter of Lord Cobham, who having married Sir Robert Cecil, son of William Lord Burleigh, Treasurer of England, died in childbed two years after, viz. in 1591.
Next is a monument on which a long inscription in English is fairly written, setting forth the descent and marriage of Lady JANE CLIFFORD, youngest daughter of the Duke of Somerset, and wife of Charles, Lord Clifford and Dungarvon, who died Nov. 23, 1679, aged forty-two.
On a small tablet is this inscription, with the motto--"_Esperance de Dieu_. ISABELLA SUSANNAH, wife of Algernon Percy, Earl of Beverley, died Jan. 24, 1812, aged sixty-one."
On a gravestone in front of this monument, engraved on brass, is the figure of Sir HUMPHREY STANLEY, knighted by Henry VII., for his gallant behaviour under his cousin, Lord Stanley, at the battle of Bosworth Field. He died March 22, 1505.
Near this is the monument of ANN, Duchess of Somerset, wife of Edward, Duke of Somerset, brother of Henry VIII.'s third wife, Queen Jane Seymour, and uncle to Edward VI., and sometime Regent during his minority, but afterwards disgraced; accused of treasonable and felonious practices against the King and Council, tried by his Peers, acquitted of treason, but condemned of felony in levying armed men contrary to law, for which crime he was sentenced to be hanged; but, in respect to his quality, was beheaded on Tower Hill, Jan. 22, 1551. She died April 16, 1587, at Hanworth, aged ninety.
On the right, Sir GEORGE and Lady ELIZABETH FANE, who are represented kneeling on each side a desk. She was the daughter of Robert, Baron Spencer, of Wormleighton, and wife of Sir George Fane, of Buston, in Kent, remarkable, says her inscription, for her ancient descent, but more for her own virtues. She died in 1618, aged twenty-eight.
Beneath this is an ancient monument placed over Nicholas, Baron Carew, and the Lady MARGARET, his wife, daughter of Lord John Dinham, and, it is thought, mother of Sir Nicholas Carew, beheaded in Henry VIII.'s time, for holding a correspondence with Cardinal de la Pole. He died December 6, 1470, she December 13, the same year.
In the front of this is a pyramid erected to the memory of NICHOLAS BAGENALL, a child of two months old, overlaid by his nurse, the 7th of March, 1688.