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FRONTISPIECE 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 PART OF THE SOUTH WALK OFTHE CLOISTERS WESTMINSTER ABBEY 
 
 SHEWING PART QF. THE MASONRY OFTHE rr T - B C ENTURY.- W ITH WALL & DETAILS OFTHE I4 1 
 
GLEANINGS 
 
 FROM 
 
 WESTMINSTER ABBEY 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE GILBERT SCOTT, R.A., F.S.A. 
 
 WITH APPENDICES, SUPPLYING FURTHER PARTICULARS, AND 
 COMPLETING THE HISTORY OF THE ABBEY BUILDINGS, 
 
 BY 
 
 W. BURGES, F.R.I.B.A. 
 J. BURTT, ESQ. 
 
 G. CORNER, E.S.A. 
 
 W. H. HART, F.S.A. 
 
 J. J. HOWARD, F.S.A. 
 
 REY. T. HUGO, M.A., F.S.A, 
 J. HUNTER, F.S.A. 
 
 H. MOGFORD, F.S.A. 
 
 J.H. PARKER, F.S.A. 
 
 REY. M. WALCOTT, M.A., F.S.A. 
 REY. T. W. WEARE, M.A. 
 
 REV. PROFESSOR WILLIS, M.A. 
 
 Illustratcb bg tmnunms flairs anb Itokals. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED. 
 
 (iHforb anb fArtibon : 
 
 JOHN HENRY and JAMES PARKER. 
 
 1863. 
 
$Jrin:teb b» Messrs, JJarker, Cormnarket, (fh'forb. 
 
TO THE VERY REVEREND 
 
 BICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, D.D., 
 
 DEAN OF WESTMINSTEK, 
 
 Collection of 3Essap t 
 
 , TO ILLUSTRATE THE HISTORY OF THE ABBEY, 
 
 WITH HIS KIND PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/gleaningsfromwes00scot_0 
 
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 r FHE rapid sale of the first edition of this work makes 
 no apology necessary for the publication of a second 
 edition ; rather, perhaps, some explanation is required of 
 the long delay which has occurred in producing it. 
 This has arisen from the time required by the engravers 
 for the number of new illustrations ; and full advantage 
 has been taken of this for the elaborate researches of 
 Mr. Burges in the new and admirable papers which he 
 has added to the volume. These have indeed required 
 more time than was expected, but the reader will be 
 well satisfied with the result, and the inconvenience of 
 a few months’ delay has been cheaply purchased by the 
 addition of so much valuable matter. The papers added 
 to the present edition are those on the Metal- work, the 
 Mosaic Pavements, the Retabulum, the Sedilia, the Coro- 
 nation Chair, the Shrine, and the Tombs. 
 
 When the first edition appeared, the critics, wdiose 
 business it is to make mountains of molehills, discovered 
 half a dozen palpable misprints which they magnified 
 into grave errors ; and as they observed that the name 
 of the Editor was not given, they very unjustly held 
 Mr. Scott responsible for these errors. 
 
 The Editor had no wish to avoid his proper respon- 
 sibility, and the only reason for not giving his name in 
 the first instance was that all the parties concerned were 
 perfectly well acquainted with it, and it was a matter of 
 no public interest, while if given at all it seemed to 
 require some explanation ; but as this has been called 
 
VI 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 for it is now given. Mr. J. H. Parker happened acci- 
 dentally to be present when his friend Mr. Scott gave 
 his Lecture on the Abbey, and was called upon by 
 him to make some additional observations. This cir- 
 cumstance called his attention forcibly to the words 
 with which Mr. Scott had concluded, in which he sug- 
 gested that the outline which he had given should be 
 filled up by others whose time was not so fully occupied 
 as his own. After the meeting was over, Mr. Parker 
 proposed to Mr. Scott to endeavour to carry out this 
 suggestion — to publish his sketch with engravings to 
 illustrate it, and get all the help he could to fill out the 
 details. Mr. Scott assented cheerfully to the plan, and 
 lent his drawings to be engraved. They have acted 
 cordially together throughout, and the notes added by 
 Mr. Parker, as Editor, were made with Mr. Scott’s entire 
 consent and approbation, as this appeared more con- 
 venient than making any alteration in the text. They 
 had at first expected that the Papers read by others 
 on the same occasion would have supplied most of the 
 additional information that was required ; in this ex- 
 pectation they were disappointed, and other friends 
 were asked to supply the deficiencies. 
 
 There are still some subjects omitted which might 
 very well have been included, but they were fearful of 
 increasing the bulk of the volume too much ; and these 
 Gleanings do not profess to be a complete history of the 
 Abbey ; they are rather intended as a supplement to 
 other larger and more elaborate works, merely supplying 
 in a popular form such information as is not readily 
 accessible. 
 
 The Turl, Oxford, 
 
 May 1 , 1863 . 
 
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 rpHIS little volume owes its origin to a meeting of the 
 London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, held 
 on the 25th of October, 1860, in the Precincts of the 
 Abbey, where the Society were most kindly and cor- 
 dially received by the Dean and Chapter. On that 
 occasion Mr. Scott’s admirable paper on the architectural 
 history, which he modestly calls u Gleanings,” was re- 
 peated, having previously been delivered to the In- 
 stitute of British Architects. This paper relates chiefly 
 to the church, with slight notices of the other build- 
 ings, and concludes with a suggestion that these notices 
 should be enlarged and more thoroughly worked out. 
 The other papers read upon the same occasion, and 
 which are here added as an Appendix to Mr. Scott’s 
 paper, go a good way to supply the want which he 
 pointed out ; and the few connecting links which were 
 still wanting have since been furnished by the kindness 
 of Mr. Weare and others interested in the subject. The 
 Fabric Poll of 1253 had fortunately been discovered by 
 Mr. Burtt a short time before in the Public Eecord 
 Office, together with some others of less importance, but 
 not without value, which are included in the Appendix, 
 together with the admirable notes of Professor Willis, 
 explaining the technical terms, and making that gene- 
 rally intelligible which without this help was a sealed 
 book to most readers. The authentic accounts of the 
 building of the nave in the fifteenth century (see p. 212), 
 
Vlll 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 and the circumstance that the celebrated Lord Mayor 
 Whittington was one of the Eoyal Commissioners, and 
 the one who advanced the money for that purpose 
 on the security of certain dues, as stated in the deed 
 here reprinted, are not entirely new facts in the history 
 of the Abbey, but are certainly not generally known. 
 The particulars respecting the abbot’s house, opportunely 
 supplied by Mr. Corner, and the division of it into the 
 Deanery, the College Hall, and the Jerusalem Chamber, 
 as explained by Mr. Hugo and Mr. Weare, have not 
 previously been made out so clearly. The notice of the 
 Modern Buildings within the Abbey precincts, supplied 
 by the Eev. Mackenzie Walcott, brings down the his- 
 tory of the buildings of Westminster Abbey to the 
 present time. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 OF THE TIME OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 Early history of the fabric. Notices of it in William of Malmesbury and 
 Matthew Paris, 2. — In the Lives of Edward the Confessor, 3. — By Sir Christopher 
 Wren, 3. — Dimensions of the early church probably the same as of the present 
 one, 4. — Portions of the Confessor’s work still existing, 5. — Substructure of the 
 dormitory, 5. — Early shaft and capital, 7. — Capitals carved afterwards, 8. — Chapel 
 of the Pyx, 9. — Robbery of the king’s treasury in the time of Edward I., 10. — Iron 
 gratings introduced into windows, 10.' — Early doorway, 11, and window, 12. — 
 St. Catherine’s Chapel, c. 1160, was the Chapel of the Infirmary ; remains of, 13. — 
 Hall of the Infirmary, rebuilt by Abbot Litlington, 14. 
 
 V 
 
 THE CHURCH OE THE TIME OE HENRY THE THIRD. 
 
 The existing church, its claims upon our study, 16. — The change of style in 
 France and England : English works of this period, 1195 — 1215, more advanced 
 than French, 16. — Windows of the two countries compared, 17. — Plate-tracery, 
 18. — Bar-tracery, earliest example at Rheims, c. 1240, note, 18. — At Notre Dame, 
 Paris, and other French examples of about the same date, 19, and Plates it. — Y. 
 — The French chevet and radiating chapels, 19. — Amiens the general type, 19 ; 
 and Beauvais in some instances, 20. — Sketch-book of Wilars de Honecort, 20. — 
 The work at Westminster not French, 21. — The earliest example of bar-tracery in 
 England, 21. — Plans of setting out the chevet, or apse, and radiating chapels, 22. 
 — The chevet at Westminster, 23. — Section of the church different from French 
 examples, 24. — Spaciousness and beauty of the upper story, or triforium gallery, 
 25. — The flying buttresses resemble French work, 26. — Mathematical proportions 
 of the church, 26. — Richness of internal details, 28. — The triforium arcade, 28, 
 and Plate VI. ; and wall arcade, 29. — Arch mouldings, Plate vii. — R ose windows, 
 30. — Pattern of rose window on a paving-tile, 30. — Other paving-tiles, Plates vm. 
 and ix. — Works of Henry III., completed in 1269, terminated on the west side 
 of the crossing, or transept, 31. — Works of Edward I., 32. — Clear-story window of 
 choir ; and of nave at the junction, Plate x. — Beautiful carving of the foliage, 32. 
 
 — One French carver employed, the rest English, 32 Figures of angels in the 
 
 spandrels, 34. — Bosses of the vaulting, 34. — Original details of the exterior all 
 destroyed, 34. — The north porch called Solomon’s Porch, 35. — A central tower 
 originally contemplated, 37. 
 
 b 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Cloisters of Henry III. and Edward I., 37. — The eastern wall of the cloister 
 occupies the place of the western aisle of the transept under the triforium gallery, 
 37. — Part of the cloister built by Abbot Litlington in imitation of the earlier 
 work, 38. — Fine doorway in the cloisters, 38, and Plate xii. — Windows of the 
 church and chapter-house, 38. 
 
 The Chapter-hotjse commenced in 1250, 39. — Originally superior to the one 
 at Salisbury, but dreadfully mutilated, 39. — Used by the House of Commons, 39. — 
 Afterwards as a Record Office, 39. — Great beauty of the remains, 40. — The fine 
 central pillar, 40. — Stalls of stone, carved and painted, 42. — Vestibule of chapter- 
 house, 43. — Fine pavement of encaustic tiles, 45. — External details destroyed, 46. 
 — Chapel of St. Blaise, or the Old Revestry, 47. — Bridge from the dormitory to 
 the church, 48. — Figure of a female saint painted on the wall, 48. — Staircase 
 to the dormitory, 49. — Space under it long filled with dry rubbish, including old 
 parchment rolls, 50. — Door covered with human skins, 50. — Parchments carefully 
 examined, 52. 
 
 The Cloisters continued and completed by Abbot Byrcheston, 1345; Lang- 
 ham, 1350 ; and Litlington, 1366 ; part pure Decorated, other part early Per- 
 pendicular, 52. 
 
 The old Norman nave whitewashed in the time of Edward III., 53. — Rebuilding 
 continued by Abbot Litlington, 53. — Gallery of south transept in which the 
 archives of the church are kept, 54. — Oak chests of the thirteenth century, 55. — 
 Another of the time of Henry VII. contains deeds relating to Henry the Seventh’s 
 chapel, 55. — A wooden chest in the Pyx chamber, 55. 
 
 Documentary evidence extracted from the Records by Mr. Burtt, 56. — Date of 
 chapter -house proved to be 1245 to 1253, the same date as the Sainte Chapelle at 
 Paris, 56. —Notices from the Fabric Rolls, 57. — Outlay upon the abbey in the first 
 fifteen years exceeded half a million of our money, 58. — Shrine of Edward the Con- 
 fessor, 58. — Tessellated or mosaic pavement before the altar executed by workmen 
 from Rome under Abbot Ware, about 1267 or 1268, 60. — Tombs of Henry III., 
 &c. enriched with early Italian art, 60. — Retabulum of the high altar, preserved 
 in south aisle, a wonderful work of art, 61. — Tomb of William de Valence, 61. — 
 Tomb and effigy of Queen Eleanor, 62. — Tombs of Edward Earl of Lancaster and 
 others, 62. — Architectural character and decorations of these tombs, 63. — Remains 
 of the old stalls, 66. — Conclusion, 67. 
 
 The Altar Screen, 67. — Restored, 68. 
 
 HENRY THE SEVENTH’S CHAPEL. 
 
 CHIEFLY EXTRACTED FROM BRAYLEY’s HISTORY, BY I. H. PARKER. 
 
 Properly the Lady-chapel, at the same time a mortuary chapel, 69. — The best 
 specimen of the Tudor style, 69. — Built by the royal gang of workmen, 70. — Ex- 
 planation of free-masons, 70. — Henry VI. and Henry VII. to some extent architects 
 themselves, 70. — Chiefs of the royal masons, 71. — The present low estimation of 
 the Tudor style unjust, 71. — Fan-tracery vaulting exclusively English, 71. — Holin- 
 shed’s account of the foundation of this chapel in 1503 ; repeated by Stow, 71.—’* 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Stone from Huddlestone, Yorkshire, 72.— -The will of Henry VII. the best history 
 of the chapel, 72. — Extracts from the will relating this history, 72. — The king’s 
 tomb, 72. — The figure of the king, 73. — The iron grating or railing for the tomb, 
 73. — Finishing of the chapel, with images, &c., 73. — 5,000Z. paid to the monastery 
 for the work, 74; and as much more as might be required to be paid, 74. — 
 Indentures between the king and the abbot, 75. — Three of the monks, scholars 
 of Oxford of the degree of B.D., to say divine service daily, 75; under the lantern 
 in the middle of the church, 76. — The building complete to the vaulting before 
 the death of Henry VII., 76. — Indenture with Torrigiano for making the tomb, 
 77. — Another indenture with him for an altar with a rich canopy, 77. 
 
 BE CENT HISTORY OF THE CHAPEL, FROM BRAYLEY. 
 
 Little repair for three centuries ; exterior ruinous in 1803, 77. Roof had been 
 repaired in 1793, 77. — Eire in the roof and lantern of the church deprived the 
 Chapter of funds for the chapel, 77. — Dean Vincent applied to the Treasury and to 
 Parliament for funds in 1806; referred to the Committee of Taste; £2,000 granted 
 to begin with in 1807 ; repairs carried on till 1822, at a total expense of £42,000 : 
 James Wyatt, architect; Jeremiah Glanville, clerk of the works; Thomas Gayfere, 
 mason, 78. — Application to Parliament for the restoration of the chapter-house 
 recommended : the present state of it a disgrace to the country, 79. 
 
 NOTE BY W. BURGES, ESQ., ON THE TOMB OF HENRY VII. 
 
 Tomb made of touch-stone, with copper-gilt effigies ; arrangement of altars ; 
 easternmost bay of the stalls modern, 80. — Thorpe’s plan of the chapel from the 
 Soane Museum, 82. — The tomb originally designed in the Gothic style, but the 
 design not carried out, 83 ; the present tomb executed by Torrigiano, in the newly- 
 revived Classical style ; also that of the Countess of Richmond ; gradual change of 
 style ; use of painting and gilding continued, 83. — Caxton’s printing-office over 
 the vaults of the aisles of this chapel, probably in the triforium, 84. 
 
 The Metal-work, by W. Burges, Esq., 85. 
 
 Necessity for metal screens, 85 ; often simple, but sometimes elaborate, 85. — 
 Abp. Langham’s, 85. — Many screens removed in 1822; that of Queen Eleanor 
 replaced by Mr. Scott. Five examples only now remain, 86. — Grille, or screen 
 for the tomb of Queen Eleanor, described, 88; was the work of Thomas de 
 Leghton, 90. — Railing of tomb of Abp. Langham described, 90 ; of chantry of 
 Henry V., 91. — Brass gates of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, 92, and Plate xv. — 
 Brass grille of the tomb of Henry VII., 93, and Plate xvi. — Ironwork on chests 
 in the triforium, and in the chamber of the Pyx, 95, and Plates XVII., xvm. — 
 Forcer from the Pyx chamber, 96. 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Mosaic Pavements, by W. Burges, Esq., 97, and Plate xix. 
 
 Pavements in Pome, 97. — Opus Alexandrinum, materials of, 97. — Imitated at 
 Westminster by tlie artist Odericus, 98. — Glass mosaic on the shrine of the Con- 
 fessor, executed by Petrus civis Romanus, a.d. 1269, and the pavement by Odericus, 
 a.d. 1268, under Abbot Ware, 99. — Inscription preserved by Camden, 100. — 
 Additional mosaics under Edward I., 102. — Opus Alexandrinum at Canterbury, 
 executed by an English workman, 103. 
 
 The Petabulum, or Reredos, by W. Burges, Esq., 105, and 
 Plates xx. — xxiii. 
 
 Petabulum discovered by Mr. Blore, 105. — Its dimensions, 105. — View shewing 
 it in MS. of funeral of Abbot Islip, 105. — Date of it, the end of Henry III., 106. — 
 Of English manufacture, not French, 106. — Mode of construction, 107. — Processes 
 employed, 108. — Subjects of the pictures and iconography, 111. — Account Poll for 
 a frontal of the altar, 56 Hen. III., 113. 
 
 The Sedilia, by W. Burges, Esq., 115, and Plate xxiv. 
 
 Importance attached to sedilia, 115 ; often of stone, but those at Westminster 
 of wood, 115 ; described by Sir J. Ayloffe, 115. — Architectural features, 117. — 
 The colouring, 118. — Date, Edward I., 119. — Figures described, 119. 
 
 The Coronation Chair, by W. Burges, Esq., 121, and Plates xxv., xxvi. 
 
 Chair described by Mr. Hunter, 121. — The celebrated stone brought from the 
 abbey of Scone, 121. — An emblem of sovereignty, 121. — Extracts from the Ward- 
 robe Accounts of Edward I. for making the present chair, 122. — Manufacture and 
 decorations of the chair, 124. 
 
 The Shrine oe Edward the Confessor, by W. Burges, Esq., 127. 
 and Plates xxvii., xxviii. 
 
 Usual place for shrines, 127. — Component parts of a shrine, 127. — Some carried 
 in procession; others fixed, as at Westminster, 128.— Description of this shrine, 128. 
 — Inscription upon it, 130. — Original tomb of Edward the Confessor, 131. — Open- 
 ing of the tomb, a.d. 1101, by Abbot Crispinus, 131. — Present shrine erected by 
 Henry III., 132. — Extract from Liberate Roll of 26 Hen. III., 132. — Riches of 
 the shrine, 134. — The body translated to the new shrine a.d. 1269, according to 
 Matthew Paris, 135. — Views of the shrine from an illumination in a MS. of the 
 thirteenth century, 136. — Offerings at the shrine by Edward I. and II., 139. — 
 Riches all swept away at the Reformation, 140. — The present wooden shrine, the 
 work of Abbot Fakenham, in the time of Queen Mary, 140. — Extract from Patent 
 Roll 51 Hen. III., 141. 
 
 The Tombs in Westminster Abbey, by W. Burges, Esq., 143 — 192. 
 
 Preliminary remarks, 143. — The earliest tombs in the cloisters mutilated, 144. 
 
 Thirteenth Century. — Catherine, infant daughter of Henry III., 145. — 
 Henry III., 147. — Queen Eleanor, 151. — William de Valence, 155. — Aveline, 
 Countess of Lancaster, Edmund Crouchback, Aymer de Valence, 159. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 Fourteenth Century. — Children of Humphrey de Bohun, 164. — King Sebert, 
 165. — Edward I., 166. —John of Eltham, 167. — William of Windsor and Blanche 
 de la Tour, 169. — Queen Philippa, 169. — Abp. Langham, 171. — Edward III., 172. 
 
 Fifteenth Centttey. — Richard II. and Anne of Bohemia, 174. — Sir Bernard 
 Brocas, 176. — Henry V., 177. — William de Colchester, 178. — Philippa, Duchess of 
 York, 178. — Lord and Lady Bourchier, 179. — Princess Margaret of York, Princess 
 Elizabeth, 180. 
 
 Sixteenth Century. — Abbot Fascet, 181. — Sir Giles Daubigny and Lady, 181. 
 — Margaret, Countess of Richmond, 182. — Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York, 182. 
 —-Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, 184. — Abbot Islip, 185. — Chaucer, 186. — Anne of 
 Cleves, 187.— Sir F. Vere, 188. 
 
 THE BRASSES. 
 
 Fourteenth Century. John of Waltham, Richard Waldeby Abp. of York, 
 Thomas of Woodstock Duke of Gloucester, Eleanor de Bohun Duchess of 
 Gloucester, 189. 
 
 Fifteenth Century. Sir John Harpedon, Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Baron 
 Carew and Lady, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Dudley Bishop of Durham, 190 ; Abbot 
 Esteney, 191. 
 
 Sixteenth Century. Sir Humphrey Stanley, Dr. Bill, 191. 
 
 The Crypt, by Orlando Jewitt, 195, and Plate xxix. 
 
 Under the chapter-house only, 195. — Plan, octagonal; roof, vaulted; recess for 
 altar ; crypt much smaller than the chapter-house above it, 195. — Walls 18 feet 
 thick, internal part supposed to belong to the early work commenced in the time 
 of the Confessor, 196; but cased within in the Early English period, 196. — 
 Leaden collars used to the capitals, 197. 
 
 Further Remarks on the Buildings of Edward the Confessor, by the 
 Rev. T. W. Weare, M.A., Under Master of Westminster School. 
 
 Narrative of the monk Sulcardus, 199. — Characteristics of the early work in the 
 dormitory and substructure, 200 ; and the late Norman work in St. Catherine’s 
 chapel, 201. — Synod held in this chapel in 1162, 202. — Masonry of the south wall 
 of the cloister, part of the Confessor’s work, with shafts inserted and vaults added 
 by Abbot Litlington, 202. — This wall formed one side of the great refectory of 
 the Confessor, 203, and the ornamental wall-arcade remains on the inner side of 
 the wall, 204. — The windows inserted by Abbot Litlington, 204. 
 
 Abbot Litlington’s Work. 
 
 Simon Langham elected Abbot in 1349, afterwards Bishop of Ely and Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury and Cardinal ; he died in 1376 ; bequeathed a large sum of 
 money to the fabric, 206. — Abbot Litlington’s work not commenced till after the 
 death of Langham, and built with his money, 206. — Therefore between 1376 and 
 1386, when Litlington himself died, and his initials are on various parts of the 
 work, 207. — His work not in the Perpendicular style, 207. 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 THE COLLEGE HALL. 
 
 Timbers of the roof, windows, painted glass, music-gallery, carved woodwork, 
 207. — Ancient kitchen, with its fireplaces, 208. — Archways and cellars, with 
 groined stone vaults, 209. — Architectural character of Litlington’s work quite 
 transitional from the Decorated to the Perpendicular style, 210. — The Litlington 
 tower, 211. 
 
 The Nave. 
 
 The Royal Commission oe Henry Y. to Sir Richard de Whittington 
 and Richard Harowden, to rebuild the nave, 212. — This Sir Richard Whittington 
 was the celebrated Lord Mayor, 212. — Account Rolls of these Commissioners, 213. 
 
 The Jerusalem Chamber, by the Rev. T. Hugo, M.A. 
 
 Built by Abbot Litlington, 215. — Sketch of the life of that abbot, 215. — His 
 handsome gifts to the abbey, 216. — Exact situation of this chamber, 216. — His- 
 torical notices of it in the chronicles. Death of Henry IV. in this chamber, 
 217. — Edward Y. said to have been born in it, 218. — Room refitted by Dean 
 Williams in 1624, 218. — A committee on Church matters first met in this chamber 
 in 1640, 218. — Painted glass and tapestry in it, 219. 
 
 The Abbot oe Westminster’s House, by George Corner, Esq., E.S.A. ; 
 with Notes by the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott, M.A., E.S.A. 
 
 Royal grant of the abbot’s houses called Chenygats, to T. Thirleby, Bishop of 
 Westminster, 221. — The house afterwards divided, 221. — Part given to the king’s 
 scholars, and part to the dean, and part for the convocation, 221. — A tower at the 
 entrance of which the groined vault remains, 222. — Abutting on “the Elms,” 222. 
 — The King’s Almshouse, or the Almonry, 222. — The Broad Sanctuary, 223. — The 
 Calbege, 223. — The Blackstole Tower, 224. — The Erayter Misericorde, 224. — The 
 great Convent Kitchen, 224. — The Oxehall, 224. — The Milldam, 224. — The Long 
 Granary, 225. — The Brewhouse and the Bakehouse, 225. 
 
 The Jewel-house, by I. H. Parker, E.S.A. 
 
 Built in the time of Richard II. ; now the Record Office of the House of Lords ; 
 exact situation and present state, 226. — Royal licence for exchange of land to 
 build it upon, 227. 
 
 Modern Buildings, by the Rev. M. Walcott, M.A., E.S.A. 
 
 Asliburnham House; the Cottonian Library; the great fire; anecdote of Dr. 
 Bentley ; the Guildhall, 228. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Fabric Poll of a.d. 1253 , with Explanations by Professor Willis. 
 
 This Roll discovered in the Public Record Office by Mr. Burtt, 231. — Contains 
 the building accounts for thirty-two weeks, 231. — The saints’ days or feasts as- 
 signed alternately to the king and to the masons, 232. — Accounts for each week 
 divided into wages and purchases, 232. — One week complete given as a specimen, 
 233. — Number of workmen employed, 233. — The belfry, 234. — Form-pieces, for 
 window tracery, 235. — Stone brought from Caen and Reigate, 236. — Chalk for the 
 pendentia, or vaults, 236. — Iron from Gloucestershire, 236. — Merenemius, the 
 timber-merchant ; Calfonarius, the lime-burner ; Cuparius, the cooper ; Junctor, 
 the joiner, 236. — Asselers, ashlar stones; Fssicis, stones prepared for courses of 
 masonry ; boseus and claves, bosses ; buscell, bushel, or large round stones shaped 
 by task-work, 236. — Chamberand’ , chamerants, chaumeres, jawmers, stones for the 
 jambs of doors or windows; cerclies, serches, old French words for carved pieces of 
 stone; Fscus, scutis, skew-stones; Folsuris cum filo, voussoirs with a filleted 
 moulding, 237. — Forimells, formellis, form-pieces; Lothenges , lozenge-sliaped 
 pieces ; orbilons, round pieces ; perpens, parpens, perpent-stones ; scention, or 
 scenhon, scutcheons; tablements, stringcourses, 238. 
 
 Extract from the Smaller Roll of 1253, mentioning canvas for the win- 
 dows of the chapter-house at that date, 252. 
 
 Abstract of the Accounts of the Works of the Church and the King’s 
 Houses for 1267-8, from the Pipe Rolls, 52nd, 54th, 55th, and 56th Henry 
 III., 253. 
 
 Abstract of the Accounts of the new work of the old Church of West- 
 minster, 15tli and 18th Edward III., a.d. 1342, 255. 
 
 Abstract of the Accounts of Brother John de Mordone for the work 
 of the new Cloister, 23rd to 39th Edward III., 256. 
 
 Abstract of the Accounts of Brother Peter Coumbe, keeper of the 
 new work of the Church of Westminster, 11th to 23rd Richard II., and 1st 
 to 13th Henry IV., and 3rd to 9tli Henry V., 258. 
 
 Extract from the Pipe Roll 41 Henry III., a.d. 1256-7. For the purchase 
 of marble at Corfe, and to Master Simon de Wells for his expenses in making the 
 tomb of the Princess Katherine, 261. 
 
 Extract from the Pipe Roll 52 Henry III., a.d. 1267-8. For the purchase 
 of marble at Purbeck, 261. 
 
 The Library of Westminster Abbey, by W. H. Hart, F.S.A., 262. — Forms 
 for the Coronation Service, 266. — Abbot Litlington’s Service-book, 272. — Flores 
 Historiarum, or Chronicle of Matthew of Westminster (MS.), 273. — Indentures 
 between Henry VII. and the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, 273. 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 On Ancient Bindings in the Library, by Joseph J. Howard, F.S.A., 274. 
 
 The Organ oe Westminster Abbey, by W. H. Hart, F.S.A., 279. 
 
 On Some Discoveries in Connection with the Ancient Treasury at 
 Westminster, by Joseph Burtt, F.S.A., Assistant Keeper of the Public Re- 
 cords, 282. 
 
 The Monuments in Westminster Abbey as a Museum of Sculpture, by 
 Henry Mogford, F.S.A., 291. 
 
 On the Order of the Bath, by John Hunter, Esq., F.S.A., 296. 
 
 Ancient Arms in Westminster Abbey, 298. 
 
 Chronological Table of the Abbots, Priors, Bishops, and Deans of 
 Westminster, 300. 
 
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Plan of Westminster Abbey, and adjoining Buildings, shewing the 
 Dates of the different Parts . . . folded at the end. 
 
 Plate I. South Walk of the Cloisters, shewing part of the masonry 
 
 of the eleventh century, with details of the fourteenth frontispiece 
 
 Westminster Abbey Church, from the Bayeux Tapestry . . 1 
 
 Archway in the Dark Cloister. [Part of the Substructure of Dormitory.] 6 
 Early Norman Pillar. [a.i>. 1066.] . . . .7 
 
 Early Norman Capitals, with later Norman Sculpture . . 8 
 
 Chapel of the Pyx in its present state, 1859. [Part of the Substructure 
 of a.d. 1066.] ...... 9 
 
 Window of the Dormitory. [ c . 1080.] . . . .10 
 
 Doorway in the Vaults under the Dormitory, [a.d. 1066.] . . 11 
 
 Small Window (Exterior and Interior) in the Southern part of the 
 
 Confessor’s Work under the Dormitory . . .12 
 
 Part of the Norman Arcade of the Refectory to the Infirmary, [c. 1160.] 13 
 
 Fragments of late Norman Ornament found under the pavement of the 
 Nave in 1848 . . . . . .15 
 
 Plate II. Origin of Window-tracery. Triforium, Peterborough Cathe- 
 dral, a.d. 1140; St. Maurice, York, c. 1160; Porch of St. Mary’s, 
 Shrewsbury, c. 1180 .... facing 18 
 
 Plate III. Progress of Window-tracery. Bourges Cathedral ; Chartres 
 
 Cathedral; Tours Cathedral ..... ibid. 
 
 Part IV. Apsidal Chapel of Rheims Cathedral, (from Viollet-le-Duc) . ibid. 
 Plate V. Auxerre Cathedral ; Bourges Cathedral ; St. Martin-des-Champs, 
 
 Paris; Sainte Chapelle, Paris .... ibid. 
 
 Plan of Apse, Westminster Abbey . . . .23 
 
 Buttress, &c., South side . . . . .25 
 
 Plate VI. Triforium Arcade, Henry III. Exterior and Interior facing 28 
 Plate VII. Profiles or Sections of Mouldings . . . ibid. 
 
 Wall Arcade . . . . . .29 
 
 Plates VIII. and IX. Paving Tiles . . . facing 30 
 
 Restoration of the Rose Window . . .31 
 
 Plate X. Clerestory Windows. 1. Choir ; 2. North-east angle of Nave, 
 
 (eastern jamb t. Henry III., western jamb t. Edward I.); 3. Junc- 
 tion of Styles, Nave, (eastern jamb t. Edward I., western jamb 
 t. Richard II.) ..... facing 32 
 
 Capitals of Wall Arcade . . . . .33 
 
 Spandrel with Shield ..... ibid. 
 
 Spandrel with Figure . . . . .31 
 
XV111 
 
 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 Plate XI. Window in the East Walk of the Cloisters. Capitals at 
 
 the north-west and south-east angles of the Cloisters . facing 38 
 
 Plate XII. Eastern Doorway in the Cloisters. Early English, 
 
 c. 1250. Western doorway in the Cloisters, Perpendicular, c. 1380 facing 38 
 The Chapter-house in its present State . . . .40 
 
 Plate XIII. Restoration of the Chapter-house . . facing 40 
 
 Foliage over the entrance to the Chapter-house . . .44 
 
 Plate XIV. Restoration of the Chapter-house: — 1. Entrance from 
 the Cloister; 2. Vestibule to the Chapter -house ; 3. The Inner En- 
 trance ; 4. Eastern Stalls .... facing 45 
 
 Chapel of St. Blasius, or the Old Revestry . . .47 
 
 Spandrels in south aisle of Nave, shewing the junction of the work of the 
 
 thirteenth century with that of the fifteenth . . . 54 
 
 Miserere of the thirteenth century, preserved in Henry the Seventh’s 
 
 Chapel . . . . . . .66 
 
 Thorpe’s Plan of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, from the Soane Museum 82 
 Grille of the Tomb of Queen Eleanor, a.d. 1294 . . .89 
 
 Part of the Screen of the Chantry of Henry the Fifth . . 91 
 
 Plate XV. Part of one of the Gates of Henry the Seventh’s 
 
 Chapel ...... facing 92 
 
 Plate XVI. Part of the Grille of Henry the Seventh’s Tomb . ibid. 
 
 Plate XVII. Early English Chests in the Triforium . facing 94 
 
 Plate XVIII. Early English Chest in the Chapel of the Pyx, and 
 
 Details of Iron-work on Chest .... ibid. 
 
 Forcer from the Pyx Chamber and Pattern upon it . .96 
 
 Plate XIX. Mosaic Pavement on the Altar Platform, and patterns 
 
 of it . . . . . facing 97 
 
 Mosaic Pavement in the Chapel of Edward the Confessor . . 102 
 
 Plate XX. The Reredos, from an Illuminated MS. . . . 104 
 
 Diagram of the Retabulum ..... 110 
 
 Plate XXI. Central Compartment of the Retabulum . facing 110 
 
 Plate XXII. End Compartment of the same . . . ibid. 
 
 Plate XXIII. Dexter Side of the same . . . facing 112 
 
 Plate XXIV. The Sedilia .... facing 115 
 
 Plate XXV. The Coronation Chair . . . facing 121 
 
 Plate XXVI. Details of Ornamentation of the Coronation Chair facing 124 
 Plate XXVII. Shrine of Edward the Confessor, from an Illumi- 
 nation ...... facing 136 
 
 Plate XXVIII. Another view of the Shrine, from the same 
 Head of Henry III., from his Monument 
 Part of the Inscription on his Tomb 
 Head of Queen Eleanor 
 
 — Queen Philippa 
 
 Edward III. 
 
 Richard II., and Anne of Bohemia 
 
 Plate XXIX. The Crypt, and Plan of the same 
 Details of Capitals of Shafts, shewing the lead-fixing 
 
 facing 138 
 
 . 148 
 
 . 150 
 
 . 153 
 
 . 171 
 
 . 173 
 
 175 
 
 facing 195 
 196, 19 
 
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 Plate XXX. Part of the Refectory: the Wall and Arcade, c. 1066; 
 
 the Windows, c. 1380 .... facing 199 
 
 Plate XXXI. Details of Abbot Litlington’s Work. Initials of Abbot 
 Litlington in the Head of a Window of the Hall, a.d. 1376 — 1386. 
 
 Part of the old Carved Woodwork, now built in with Modern Work 
 at the end of the Hall. Window of the Hall of the Abbot’s House, 
 a.d. 1376 — 1386, now the Scholars’ Hall . . facing 202 
 
 Plate XXXII. Part of the Roof of the Hall of Abbot Litlington, a.d. 
 
 1376 — 1386. Part of the old Screen of the Hall . . ibid. 
 
 Fireplace in the Kitchen, shewing the Seat in the chimney-corner and 
 
 the Window over it, still remaining, (1861) . . . 208 
 
 Archway, now forming the Passage from Little Dean’s Yard to Great 
 
 Dean’s Yard, part of Abbot Litlington’s work, a.d. 1376—1386 . 209 
 
 Plate XXXIII. Part of the Vaulting of the Cloisters over the 
 Lavatory, a.d. 1376 — 1386. Part of the Vaulting of the Cellars of 
 Abbot Litlington’s Work under the present Porter’s Lodge, a.d. 
 
 1376 — 1386 ..... facing 210 
 
 Plate XXXIV. The Jerusalem Chamber. Plan of the Abbot’s House, 
 now the Deanery, the Scholars’ Hall and Kitchen, and the Jerusalem 
 Chamber . . . . facing 216 
 
 Plate XXXV. Plan of the Precincts of Westminster Abbey, from 
 
 a Map of Westminster of the time of Queen Elizabeth . facing 224 
 Plan of the Jewel-house, with the groining of the Basement . . 226 
 
 Plate XXXVI. View of the Principal Chamber in the Basement of the 
 Jewel-house, a.d. 1377-80. Smaller Room in the Basement of the 
 Jewel-house ..... facing 226 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GLEANINGS FROM WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 A LECTURE DELIVERED TO THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH 
 ARCHITECTS, BY GEORGE GILBERT SCOTT, R.A. 
 
 I have given my Paper this title with the intention of 
 expressing that it is intended in no degree as an historical, 
 architectural, or antiquarian treatise on this magnificent build- 
 ing, but simply as a casual notice of objects or subjects con- 
 nected with it which have occurred to me as being less known 
 or less generally noticed than they deserve. I had long ago 
 thought of writing such a paper, but during the interval my 
 intention has been in great degree forestalled, both by my 
 having occasion myself at several times to call attention to 
 many of the points I have now to notice, and by the in- 
 teresting discussion introduced some years back at this Insti- 
 
2 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 tute, by Professor Donaldson, on the shrine of Edward the 
 Confessor. 
 
 Though I use the word 4 Gleanings/ I do not mean to imply 
 that the harvest is over. On the contrary, the antiquarian and 
 documentary part of the subject is, I am convinced, not only 
 unexhausted, but scarcely entered upon ; we really know next 
 to nothing of the actual history of this, the most nationally 
 interesting of English churches. 
 
 The information given us in the published histories is 
 meagre in the extreme, while the Public Records and the 
 Archives preserved in the church seem till lately to have 
 been only very partially searched for information as to its 
 structural history ; but happily, while my Paper has been in 
 hand much has been done to supply this want by my kind 
 and able friend, Mr. Burtt, at the Record Office, which I shall 
 have to allude to as I go on. 
 
 All we know of the earliest history of the fabric is, that 
 there existed a church here in the days of King Offa, and 
 that this (or a successor of it) was rebuilt, and the Abbey re- 
 founded, by Edward the Confessor. One of the first thoughts 
 which occur to us in considering the history of our Abbey is, 
 then, the question as to what kind of church was that which 
 preceded the present structure, and which we know to have 
 been erected by this sainted monarch. As, for example, what 
 were its size and form? Was it on the small scale which 
 appears to have been common among Saxon buildings, or of 
 the gigantic dimensions adopted by the Normans P And, again, 
 was its architecture more on the Saxon or on the Norman 
 type ? 
 
 William of Malmesbury, writing in the following century, 
 speaks of it as 44 that church which he, the first in England, 
 had erected in that mode of composition which now nearly all 
 emulate, in its costly expenditure or, in other words, it was 
 the earliest Norman church. 
 
 Matthew Paris, in the thirteenth century, merely adapts 
 the same statement to his own times, saying that the Con- 
 fessor 44 was buried in the church which he had constructed 
 in that mode of composition from which many of those after- 
 
3 
 
 The Time of Edward ihe Confessor. 
 
 wards constructing churches, taking example, had emulated 
 in its costly expenditure evidently considering its style the 
 same as that of the Norman churches with which he was 
 surrounded. 
 
 Sir Christopher Wren gives us, as he says from an ancient 
 manuscript, the following particulars : — 
 
 “ The principal area a or nave of the church, being raised high, and vaulted 
 with square and uniform ribs, is turned circular to the east; this on each 
 side is strongly fortified with a double vaulting of the aisles in two stories, 
 with their pillars and arches : the cross building contrived to contain the 
 choir in the middle, and the better to support the lofty tower, rose with 
 a plainer and lower vaulting, which tower, then spreading with artificial 
 winding stairs, was continued with plain walls to its timber roof, which was 
 well covered with lead b .” 
 
 a [It would appear that in the transcript of this MS. used by Wren this word 
 was written arece, instead of arce. Domus arcs, literally the house of the Altar, 
 obviously means the choir, whereas Wfen has taken it for the area, or nave, which 
 makes an important difference. From other passages it is clear that the choir was 
 the only part finished at the time of the dedication.— Ed.] 
 
 b Since reading my paper my attention has been called to the “ Lives of Edward 
 the Confessor ” among the documents published under the direction of the Master 
 of the Rolls. In one of these I find the original of the passage referred to by Sir 
 Christopher Wren. It runs thus : — 
 
 “Principalis arse domus altissimis erecta fornicibus quadrato opere parique 
 commissura circumvolvitur ; abitus autem ipsius sedis dupplici lapidum arcu ex 
 utroque latere hinc et inde fortiter solidata operis compage clauditur. Porro crux 
 templi quse medium canentium Deo chorum ambiret, et sui gemina hinc et inde 
 sustentatione mediae turris celsum apicem fulciret, humili primum et robusta 
 fornice simpliciter surgit, cocleis multipliciter ex arte ascendentibus plurimis 
 tumescit, deinde vero simplici muro usque ad tectum ligneum plumbo diligenter 
 tectum pervenit. Subter vero et supra disposite educuntur domicilia, memoriis 
 apostolorum, martyrium, confessorum, ac virginum consecranda per sua altaria. 
 Hsec autem multiplicitas tam vasti operis tanto spatio ab oriente ordita est veteris 
 templi, ne scilicet interim inibi commorantes fratres vacarent a servitio Christi, 
 ut etiam aliqua pars spatiose subiret interjaciendi vestibuli.” 
 
 I may mention that the document in which this occurs was written between 
 the death of the Confessor and of Queen Edith, (i.e. between 1065 and 1074). 
 In the same volume occurs a description of the old monastery, written during the 
 reign of Henry III. It is in Norman-French verse, and the following is the 
 translation given : — 
 
 “ Now he laid the foundations of the church with large square blocks of grey 
 stone ; its foundations were deep, the front towards the east he makes round, the 
 stones are very strong and hard, in the centre rises a tower, and two at the west 
 front, and fine and large bells he hangs there. The pillars and entablature are 
 rich without and within, at the bases and capitals the work rises grand and royal, 
 
4 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 From the above, one would by no means infer that the 
 church was of small dimensions, and I am very much dis- 
 posed to think that it may have been nearly, or quite, as large 
 in its elementary scale as the present structure. Edward the 
 Confessor having spent so much of his early life in Normandy, 
 it is unlikely that he should be content with the dimensions 
 of a Saxon church ; indeed, had he been so, he had one to his 
 hand without building a new one ; and as he was greatly en- 
 larging the monastic establishment, it seems probable that in 
 rebuilding the Abbey church he would adopt the scale which 
 was becoming common in Normandy. Harold, we have every 
 reason to believe, did the same in building his church at Walt- 
 ham ; for whatever may be the merits of the disputed question 
 as to whether any part of his work yet remains, there can be 
 no doubt that his choir, at least for a time, co-existed with the 
 present nave, and agreed with it in elementary scale. Again, 
 we have no reason to believe that the choir of Westminster 
 Abbey was rebuilt between the days of Edward the Confessor 
 and those of Henry III., which would have been inevitably the 
 case had its scale been diminutive ; and, if it did exist through 
 that interval, we have full proof that it was as long as the 
 present eastern arm of the church ; for the present position 
 of the transept we know to be identical with that of the Con- 
 
 sculptured are the stones and storied the windows; all are made with skill of 
 a good and loyal workmanship ; and when he finished the work, with lead the 
 church completely he covers, he makes there a cloister, a chapter-house in front, 
 towards the east, vaulted and round, .... Refectory and dormitory and the offices 
 in the tower.” (The expression “les officines entur” does not, I believe, mean 
 “ the offices in the tower,” but the offices around or in due course.) 
 
 From the first extract it is evident that the eastern portions of the Confessor’s 
 church were erected previously to the demolition of the old church, and so far to 
 the eastward of it as to allow of a large portion of the nave being built between 
 them, probably as an abutment to the central tower. From the second it will be 
 seen that, when completed, there were two towers at the west end of the nave, 
 but neither of them afford full evidence of the completion of the nave by the Con- 
 fessor himself, though the use by the earlier writer of the words “ mediae turris” 
 seems to imply either the existence or the intention of erecting others. It is, 
 however, manifest that they were not erected by the Confessor, as the western 
 part of the nave is expressly stated to have been left standing to avoid the inter- 
 ruption of the services, and as the Confessor died immediately after the conse- 
 cration of the new building, the work could not possibly have been carried on till 
 afterwards. — G. G. S. 
 
The Time of Edward the Confessor . 
 
 5 
 
 fessor’s church, from the fact of the remains of his dormitory 
 abutting against it in the usual manner; while the eastward 
 extent of the old church is defined almost with certainty by the 
 fact that the Lady- chapel was erected against it in the early 
 days of Henry III., some years before he commenced rebuild- 
 ing the church itself. The dimensions of the ancient nave are 
 less easy of conjecture. The width, I think it probable, would 
 have agreed with the existing one ; and if the Confessor 
 adopted, as I imagine, the usual scale of the great churches 
 of the Normans, there is no reason to suppose it to have 
 been much shorter than at present, — an opinion which is to 
 a certain extent corroborated by the size of the cloister court, 
 the north and east sides of which would have been defined 
 by the external walls of the nave and the dormitory, and its 
 southern limits by the refectory, in which there exist early 
 remnants sufficient to shew that it occupies its original site. 
 
 The completion of the square thus marked out carries us to 
 
 within three bays of the western towers; and as cloisters 
 
 rarely reached the end of a nave, it leaves it as a probable 
 
 inference that the old nave did not fall short of the length 
 of that now existing. 
 
 At St. Alban’s and Winchester, which were erected within 
 the same century, the elementary scale, or width from centre 
 to centre of the piers, is about the same, the length of nave 
 considerably in excess, and the original length of the Norman 
 choir also greater. The structural choir, or eastern arm, at 
 Westminster, is in fact so short as to preclude the idea of its 
 having been rebuilt during the later Norman period, being less 
 than that of many early Norman choirs. 
 
 We now come, however, to surer ground : I mean the por- 
 tions of the Confessor’s work which still exist. These consist 
 of the substructure of the dormitory, forming a long range of 
 building running southwards from, and in a line with, the 
 south transept, and passing under the library and the great 
 school-room, which now occupy the position of the ancient 
 dormitory. 
 
 The substructure is vaulted in two spans, and is divided 
 longitudinally by a range of massive round columns, the whole 
 
6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 being seven and a-half bays, or about 110 feet, in length from 
 the vestibule of the chapter-house to the cross passage now 
 leading into the little cloister, and formerly to the infirmary. 
 
 Archway in the Dark Cloister, Westminster. 
 [Part of the Substructure of Dormitory, A.D. 1066.] 
 
 This range was probably, in the first instance, continuous and 
 open, like that at Fountains Abbey 0 , but was very early divided 
 into separate compartments, as I shall presently shew. It is 
 so seldom that we find constructive columns remaining in this 
 country of a date earlier than the Norman Conquest, that it 
 is an object of some interest to see what form they exhibit, 
 though I admit that, date alone excepted, this can hardly be 
 called a Saxon work, whilst its unimportant purpose forbids 
 us to take it as a fair example of any style. There are only 
 one or two, I think, of these columns which retain their 
 pristine form, the others having been altered at subsequent 
 periods. 
 
 c [It is more probable that the partitions have been removed at Fountains; 
 these substructures were originally divided by partitions into different small 
 cellars or store-rooms ; the partitions have very commonly been removed, and the 
 space thus thrown open is often erroneously called the ambulatory. Such sub- 
 structures have been preserved in numerous instances, as at Chester, Llanercost, 
 Sherborne, &c., &c. — Ed.] 
 
The Time of Edward the Confessor . 
 
 These consist of a cylindrical shaft, 3 ft. 6 in. in diameter, 
 and 3 ft. 4 or 5 in. high. 
 
 The capitals have a vast 
 unmoulded abacus, seven 
 or eight inches deep, 
 supported by a mould- 
 ing, if such it may be 
 called, consisting of no- 
 thing but a frustrum of 
 an inverted cone, the 
 most pristine form, al- 
 most, to which a capital 
 could be reduced, tho- 
 roughly efficient, but 
 with the least possible 
 amount of workman- 
 ship, not unlike what 
 we may imagine may 
 have been the first type 
 of the Doric capital, and 
 but one step removed 
 from its apparent proto- 
 type among the tombs at Beni Hassan. 
 
 We must not, however, for a moment suppose that this 
 rudely pristine form was that usual at the period, except in 
 rough and unimportant situations. We know that in the con- 
 temporary work at Waltham the capitals were enriched with 
 ornaments of brass, and that much earlier Saxon columns had 
 enriched capitals' 1 . We must simply view it as a specimen 
 of the honest simplicity with which they treated the less im- 
 portant portions of their structures. It is, in fact, only one 
 step more plain than the capitals in the crypt at Winchester, 
 which was constructed some twenty years later. The bases 
 very closely resembled the capitals, but have, like them, gene- 
 rally been altered from their original form. 
 
 Early Norman Pillar. [A.D. 1066.] 
 
 d [The existence of any Saxon capitals enriched with sculpture in stone remains 
 to be proved. — E d.] 
 
8 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 These columns carried plain groining e , with square trans- 
 verse ribs, partly constructed of tufa. 
 
 It is somewhat curious and interesting that during the Nor- 
 man period the majority of the capitals have been altered and 
 enriched in various ways. Being within reach, their massive 
 plainness seems to have tempted the monks to try experiments 
 upon them, and we accordingly find the original block cut into 
 a great variety of forms, some of them of considerable richness. 
 The state of the capitals shews that the building was already 
 subdivided, as the alterations are often totally different on the 
 two sides of the capital, leaving a narrow intervening frustrum 
 of the original, representing the thickness of the partition. 
 Some are roughly chopped into a form, preparatory to the en- 
 riching process, which has not been completed. 
 
 Early Norman Capitals, with later Norman Sculpture. 
 
 The accompanying woodcuts shew some of the altered forms 
 which the capitals assume. The bases were also altered, and, 
 in some instances at least, the floor so much lowered that the 
 lower part of the columns had to be cased with new stone. 
 
 The first bay of this early work adjoins the outer vestibule 
 of the chapter-house, and is imperfect, having been shortened 
 by the later buildings which here abut against it. The capital 
 of the column here visible is entirely altered to a round and 
 slightly enriched form. 
 
 e [Transverse rib-arches, but no groin-ribs; these were not introduced till 
 a subsequent period ; a vault groined without ribs is one of the marks of early 
 Norman work.— Ed.] 
 
The Time of Edward the Confessor . 
 
 9 
 
 Next to this comes the celebrated chapel of the Pyx. This, 
 as is well known, has long been held by the Government. 
 
 Chapel of the Pyx in its present state, 1859. [Part of the Substructure of A.D. 1066.] 
 
 It formerly, I believe, contained the records of the Treasury, 
 but now contains only empty cases and chests, with one ex- 
 ception, in which the paraphernalia for the trial of the Pyx 
 are contained. I have recently, through the kindness of the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary to the Treasury, 
 visited, for the first time, its mysterious recesses: a formidable 
 visit, requiring the presence of representatives of the Treasury 
 and the Exchequer, with their attendants bearing boxes which 
 contain six mighty keys. 
 
 It occupies two bays of the Confessor’s work, a detached 
 column standing in the centre. This column bears marks of 
 a partition having at one time abutted against it, on otie side 
 of which the capital has been made round and slightly en- 
 riched, while on the other it has undergone no alteration but 
 the rough canting off of its angles, as if preparatory to further 
 alteration. The column which is partly built up in the north 
 wall is on this side altered exactly as on the other, where it is 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 seen in the adjoining chamber, shewing, probably, that there 
 was no partition against it. That on the south side I was not 
 able to examine, owing to the presses by which it is concealed. 
 The portion of it which is visible on the other side of the wall 
 is one of those in which I have found the capital unaltered, 
 and I was curious to see if the opposite side was so too ; but 
 was disappointed. In one of the eastern bays of the chapel 
 the stone altar remains nearly entire. It is perfectly plain, 
 and has in the middle of its top a large circular sinking, appa- 
 rently for the reception of a portative altar- stone ; though the 
 form is, I believe, unusual. Adjoining the altar is a detached 
 piscina, in the form of a column : it appears to be of the thir- 
 teenth century. The windows, which are very small, and pro- 
 bably of the same date, are doubly and very closely grated, and 
 well they might be so, for we learn that during the reign of 
 Edward I. the king’s treasury here was robbed of £100,000, 
 which he had laid up here for the Scotch wars, for which the 
 abbot and forty monks were sent to the Tower on suspicion. 
 I fancy that the chamber was brought to its present form and 
 its security increased after that event. Of the contents of 
 the Pyx Chapel I will speak presently. The bays of the 
 early work beyond the 
 cross passage to the lit- 
 tle cloister are simply 
 waggon - vaulted, as is 
 that passage itself, as 
 well as that which is 
 called the dark cloister, 
 which I suppose to bs.of 
 the same age. [See the 
 w r oodcut on p. 6.] These 
 waggon-vaults are form- 
 ed of tufa laid in rubble- 
 work, and still shewing 
 the impressions of the 
 boards of the centering 
 on the mortar. Of the 
 
 Window of the Dormitory, [c. 1080.] 
 
 walls of the dormitory f itself con- 
 
 The dormitory was partially burnt in 1448. 
 
The Time of Edward the Confessor . 
 
 i 1 
 
 siderable portions remain. Several of its walled-up windows 
 are visible in the great school, and the exterior one remains 
 little altered excepting by decay. It has a shaft in each 
 jamb, and is like early Norman windows. The capitals have 
 been of the earliest cushion type, precisely like those in the 
 refectory g . 
 
 [At the extreme south end of the dormitory, towards Little 
 Dean’s Yard, there is an early wall, forming originally one 
 angle of the court, though 
 now hidden in the cellars 
 of the canons’ houses, which 
 join on to the substructure 
 of the dormitory before de- 
 scribed. In the transverse 
 wall is a doorway of the 
 time of the Confessor, which, 
 as might be expected, is 
 quite plain, round-headed, 
 and recessed, but square- 
 edged, without any cham- 
 fer ; this is the inner side ; 
 the outer side is quite plain, 
 not recessed, nor chamfered, but with the jambs, or sides of 
 the opening widely splayed : it appears to have been a door- 
 way from one apartment to another, and not an external 
 doorway ; this wall, probably, was under the extreme south 
 end of the dormitory of the time of the Confessor. 
 
 The other wall forms an angle with this, which it joins 
 close to the doorway and on the east side of it. In this 
 second wall is a small loop window of very early character, 
 with long-and-short work in the jambs, and widely splayed 
 within. The top of this window is cut off by the vault, which 
 is a plain barrel- vault of Norman work ; in the outer wall are 
 
 e [There is a decided difference in the masonry in the walls of the dormitory 
 and that of the substructure under it, shewing that the work had been sus- 
 pended for some years; this wall of two peiiods can be distinctly seen on the 
 east side of the dormitory, in what is now a racquet court for the Westminster 
 scholars. — Ed.] 
 
 Doorway in the Vaults under the Dormitory. 
 [A.D. 1066.] 
 
12 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 the marks of a round-headed Norman window, bricked up. 
 
 Small Window (Exterior and Interior) in the Southern part of the Confessor’s Work 
 under the Dormitory. 
 
 The thick, early wall has evidently been cut away in a semi- 
 circular form to receive the vault upon it, and about two feet 
 from it on the inner side is a Norman flat arch-rib, to carry 
 the vault, shewing that it was intended originally to remove 
 the old thick wall, but it was afterwards suffered to remain as 
 a partition. This Norman vault added on to the Confessor’s 
 work shews an enlargement of the buildings in the twelfth 
 century. The Norman barrel-shaped vault which runs across 
 the south end of the substructure of the dormitory extends far 
 beyond it, being not less than fifty feet long by about seventeen 
 wide, and divided into two parts by the cloister wall before 
 mentioned. The end next Little Dean’s Yard has evidently 
 been shortened, as the arch is walled up by a comparatively 
 modern wall. There is the springing of a second vault still 
 further to the south, cut off by the staircase to the school-room, 
 which now occupies the southern part of the ancient dormi- 
 tory : the northern end is occupied by the chapter library. 
 The earlier wall under this vault, with the window in it, is at 
 present under the vestibule to the school-room and the school 
 library ; it probably formed a part of the offices of the Abbey 
 in the time of the Confessor. — Ed.] 
 
The Time of Henry the Second. 
 
 *3 
 
 The only other part which is at all likely to belong to the 
 Confessor’s buildings is a part of the south wall of the refec- 
 tory, in which a round -arched wall-arcading is still to be 
 traced. As the Confessor increased the number of monks to 
 seventy, he would want eating as well as sleeping room in due 
 proportion, and in the absence of opposing evidence, it is likely 
 enough that this may be a portion of his refectory h . 
 
 The next building which I will notice is the chapel of St. 
 Catherine, a work of the succeeding century. It was the 
 chapel of the infirmary, and occupies a position not dissimilar 
 to the corresponding chapels at Canterbury, Ely, and Peter- 
 borough. 
 
 The usual form of infirmary of a monastery was very similar 
 to that of a church, with this simple difference, that the quasi- 
 nave was very long, and was divided at about one- third of its 
 
 length from the east by a cross wall perforated only by a central 
 doorway; the western portion forming the infirmary proper, 
 the eastern portion being the nave of the chapel, and a chancel 
 extending still to the eastward. 
 
 h Since writing the above it has been discovered that the lower parts both 
 of the northern and of the eastern walls are of the same date, and retain the 
 wall-arcading, though walled up. A part of this has been carefully opened out, 
 (see Plate). The order is square, and the capitals are of the earliest form of 
 the cushion type, consisting of an inverted cone intersecting with the vertical 
 faces of a cube. The abaci are chamfered and quirked, and the bases are conical, 
 resting upon square blocks. The whole is executed in chalk, including the 
 roughly hewn and wide-jointed ashlar on both sides of the wall. 
 
14 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 This arrangement allowed the sick monks to hear the services 
 as they lay in their beds, while the convalescent could readily 
 transfer themselves to the chapel. This may still be traced out 
 at Canterbury, Ely, and Peterborough ; and there is a nearly 
 similar building still in use (though unconnected with the 
 cathedral) at Chichester; as also (with more or less variation) 
 at Bruges, at Lubeck, and, I dare say, many other places 1 . 
 Now, I imagine it is possible that the Westminster infirmary 
 may originally have been of the same description. The chapel, 
 of which the remains are sufficient to shew its plan, agree with 
 it precisely ; but the infirmary proper is gone, and may, I 
 fancy, have been destroyed when the small cloister was built. 
 If so, it no doubt extended westward to the wall in the dormi- 
 tory. This, however, is a mere suggestion, and would be dis- 
 proved if the small cloister can be proved to be of earlier date, 
 which I see that Widmore imagines it to be. In that case, 
 I should suppose that the infirmary surrounded it. 
 
 I have recently discovered an old hall of the date of Abbot 
 Litlington, who is known to have built a new house for the 
 infirmarer. It abuts upon the south side of St. Catherine’s 
 Chapel, and has a doorway into the chapel. It was, no doubt, 
 the hall of the infirmarer’s house, and was probably used by 
 the convalescent patients k . The garden now called the College 
 Garden was originally the infirmary garden. 
 
 The chapel consisted of a nave and aisles, of five bays long, 
 with a chancel of which I cannot ascertain the length. It is 
 of very good late Norman, and in its details much resembles 
 that at Ely, even to the setting of the octagonal columns angle 
 foremost; but it is less rich. 
 
 The west doorway is of Abbot Litlington’s time, {temp. 
 Edward III. and Bichard II.) The pier of the chancel-arch 
 was discovered last year, while making alterations in an ad- 
 
 1 [As at Sherborne, Dorsetshire, and at Leicester. — Ed.] 
 
 k Professor Willis (to whom we owe the discovery of the form of the old 
 infirmaries) has recently pointed out the existence of a similar hall at Peter- 
 borough, where it is distinctly mentioned in an ancient document, which he 
 quoted. It is close to the infirmary. I think, too, that the same may be traced 
 at Ely in immediate contact with the infirmary. 
 
The Time of Henry the Second. \ § 
 
 joining building, but was unfortunately destroyed before I 
 could see it. 
 
 The hall I have mentioned had a gallery extending oyer the 
 aisle of the chapel, with a fireplace in it. 
 
 I have been able to preserve and expose to view the hall, 
 with the exception of this gallery, which I was unable to save, 
 though its fireplace still exists. The parts of the chapel which 
 were formerly enclosed in the adjoining building are now 
 exposed to view. 
 
 The only other Norman remains that I am aware of are some 
 rather rich fragments, found under the nave floor, when the 
 new stalls were being erected in 1848. 
 
 Fragments of late Norman Ornament found under the pavement of the Nave in 1848. 
 
 I see that in the time of Henry II., or thereabouts, stalls 
 are mentioned as being made for the new work.” This looks 
 as if the western part (which contained the stalls) had been 
 rebuilt, but I am inclined to think that the new work was the 
 chapel of St. Catherine, just built, the altar of which is said to 
 have ranked second among them all. 
 
THE CHURCH OF HENRY THE THIRD. 
 
 I now come to the existing church, a building which does 
 not owe its claims upon our study to its antiquarian and histo- 
 rical associations, intensely interesting though these must he to 
 every man worthy of the name of an Englishman. It has 
 claims upon us architects, I will not say of a higher but of 
 another character, on the ground of its intrinsic and superlative 
 merits, as a work of art of the highest and noblest order; 
 for, though it is by no means pre-eminent in general scale, 
 in height, or in richness of sculpture, there are few churches 
 in this or any other country having the same exquisite charms 
 of proportion and artistic beauty which this church possesses ; 
 a beauty which never tires, and which impresses itself afresh 
 upon the eye and the mind, however frequently you view it, 
 and however glorious the edifices which, during the intervals, 
 you may have seen ; and I may add, which rides so trium- 
 phantly over the dishonour which, under the name, for the 
 most part falsely assumed, of high art , more modern ages have 
 ruthlessly heaped upon it. 
 
 The period of the erection of Westminster Abbey was one 
 of the greatest transitional epochs of our architecture. During 
 the latter half of the twelfth century the Romanesque, or 
 Hound-arch Gothic, had, both in France and England, trans- 
 formed itself by a thoroughly consecutive and logical series of 
 changes into the Pointed-arch style, and in both countries that 
 style had been worked into a state of perfect consistency, and 
 in each it had assumed its national characteristics, so that the 
 works in the choir at Lincoln, the Lady-chapel at Winchester, 
 and the western portals of St. Alban’s and Ely, all of which 
 date from 1195 to 1215, mark the perfectly -developed Early 
 English style, and are readily distinguishable from the con- 
 temporary works in France. 
 
Origin of Window Tracery. 
 
 7 
 
 The English works of this period have, at least to our eye, 
 a more advanced appearance than the French. The round form 
 of the abacus, the greater richness and delicacy of the mould- 
 ings, and generally a more decided severance from the massive- 
 ness of the Romanesque forms, give to the works I have alluded 
 to a later appearance than what we observe in buildings of the 
 same precise period in France. The leading characteristics 
 were, however, much the same. The windows especially, in 
 both countries, consisted, for the most part, of individual lights 
 placed either singly or in groups. The chief variety from this 
 was when, as was usual in the triforium openings and in bel- 
 fries, two or more such lights were placed under a comprising 
 arch, the interval below which was very usually pierced with 
 circular or other openings. This was not, chronologically 
 speaking, a step in advance of the detached light, but had all 
 along been its contemporary, whether in the Romanesque, the 
 Transitional, or the Early Pointed styles, and both were equally 
 in use in France and England. In domestic work, the last- 
 named type (that with two or more lights under a comprising 
 arch) was always prevalent, on account of the smallness of the 
 intermediate divisions, which, from an early period, it was 
 customary to reduce to a thin shaft of marble or plain stone, 
 as we see in our own country even in Romanesque works, as 
 at the Jews’ House and the building commonly called “ John 
 of Gaunt’s Stables” at Lincoln, Fountains Abbey, Richmond 
 Castle, &c. a As a general rule, however, the more detached 
 form was, for a long time, the prevalent form in churches 
 both in France and England. The difference between the course 
 pursued in the two countries was this, that while in England 
 the special energies of the builders were directed to the perfect- 
 ing of the more usual type, the French began early in the thir- 
 teenth century to shew a preference for the other, and rather 
 
 a [In the choir of Peterborough Cathedral, built as early as 1140, some of the 
 compartments of the triforium have small round openings deeply sunk in the 
 head. Although not actually windows, the principle is precisely the same, and 
 this is the earliest example of an approach to plate-tracery which has been ob- 
 served ; at St. Maurice’s Church, York, is a window which is one step further in 
 advance, having a larger opening in the head under the arch ; a window in the 
 porch of St. Mary’s, Shrewsbury, is another step in advance, the opening being 
 still larger and a quatrefoil: see Plate II. — Ed.] 
 
 D 
 
18 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 to neglect the perfecting of the more typical form. Both forms 
 were frequent in each country, but the efforts of the English 
 were rather directed to the one, and of the French to the other. 
 The consequence was that, while in England the grouping of 
 distinct lights was being brought to the utmost perfection, the 
 French were engaged, more especially at least, on a number 
 of tentative steps towards what became afterwards the mul- 
 lioned and traceried window. I will not attempt a history of 
 this invention, but will just call attention to one or two of its 
 steps. At Bourges we have the earlier type in its full per- 
 fection, the space between the comprising and comprised arches 
 and the piercings of the head being a flat face. At Le Mans b 
 and Tours we find these spaces cut out parallel to the lines of 
 the openings, not, however, moulded into what is called bar 
 tracery, but as if sawn square through, — a very clumsy and 
 crude contrivance, very inferior to the plate tracery it was 
 intended to improve. At Bheims, so far as I know, is seen 
 the earliest introduction of the perfected principle. We find 
 there, for the first time as I believe, the pierced spandrels and 
 gussets moulded as the openings themselves, and the principle 
 of bar tracery completed, though with some remaining imper- 
 fections. It is ver}^ difficult to fix dates to these transitions. 
 Bheims Cathedral was commenced in 1212, and it is generally 
 supposed that the first architect, De Coucy, completed the aisles 
 in 1220 or 1225. M. Viollet-le-Duc c , naturally enough, seems 
 puzzled at finding perfect traceried windows at so early a 
 period, and suggests it as probable, as the transept of the same 
 work does not exhibit equal advancement, that the aisle win- 
 dows were altered by him a little later. 
 
 Certain it is that neither Bourges nor Chartres d , which were 
 built about the same time, give any evidence of a like pro- 
 gression ; while the intermediate step at Le Mans and Tours 
 would appear, from many of its accompanying details, to be of 
 later date than that given to Bheims. Had Wilars de Honecort 
 
 b [The choir of Le Mans was completed and the windows filled with painted 
 glass in 1255 . — Ed.] 
 
 c [We are indebted to this gentleman for the annexed woodcut of the apsidal 
 chapel in question, taken from his admirable Dictionnaire de V Architecture Fran- 
 qaise, t. ii. p. 473. See Plate IV. — Ed.] 
 
 d [The choir of Chartres was consecrated in 1260 . — Ed.] 
 
ORIGIN OF WINDOW TRACERY. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Triforium, Peterborough Cathedral, A.D. 1140. 
 
 St. Maurice, York, c. 1160. 
 
 Porch of St. Mary’s, Shrewsbury, c. 1180. 
 
PROGRESS OF WINDOW TRACERY- 
 
 PLATE III 
 
 Tours Cathedral. 
 
PROGRESS OF WINDOW TRACERY. 
 
 PLATE IV, 
 
 Apsidal Chapel of Rheims Cathedral. (From Viollet-le-Duc. ) 
 
PROGRESS OF WINDOW TRACERY, 
 
 PLATE V, 
 
 E 
 
Of the Chevet, or A pse . 
 
 9 
 
 put a date to his “ Sketch -book e ,” which gives these very win- 
 dows at Rheims, the difficulty would perhaps have been solved. 
 
 The windows with similar tracery in Notre Dame, at Paris, 
 M.Yiollet-le-Duc, from internal evidence, dates from 1235 — 1240. 
 The cathedral at Amiens presents difficulties as to date f almost 
 equal to that at Rheims, but, on the whole, we may fairly sup- 
 pose this development to have become pretty common in north- 
 ern France by about 1230 or 1235, though not to the extent 
 of superseding either the detached light or the plate tracery. 
 Pierre de Montereau, the architect to the Sainte Chapelle g , in 
 which the perfected tracery prevails, built also the refectory 
 of St. Martin des Champs, in which it does not appear at all. 
 
 During the same period the peculiar, and afterwards stereo- 
 typed, French arrangement of the chevet , or apse, with its group 
 of radiating chapels, had been brought by many steps to its 
 final development. 
 
 Radiating chapels, growing out of the main apse or its aisles, 
 had been early used. In this country we find them at Glou- 
 cester and Tewkesbury, and in the foundations recently exca- 
 vated at Leominster, all of the Romanesque period ; and later 
 we find them at Pershore, and later still at Battle Abbey. The 
 French characteristic, however, was the arranging of them in 
 polygons fitting to one another, and to the sides of the poly- 
 gonal aisle of the main apse, — a sort of corona of little chapels 
 mathematically fitted together and their axes radiating to the 
 centre of the apse, at or near which the high altar was usually 
 placed. This we find in many tentative forms, but the system 
 appears to have been brought to perfection at Rheims and 
 Amiens ; the latter of which churches seems to have hence- 
 forth been taken as the type on which, in the majority of 
 
 e [The “ Sketch-book” of Wilars de Honecort shews that the plan was altered 
 after the work was begun : the basement of these chapels is round, the upper part 
 after the change of plan is polygonal. Probably this change was made on purpose 
 to introduce the new-fashioned windows with tracery, which could hardly be con- 
 structed in a curved wall ; a flat surface being necessary, it was obtained by this 
 change of plan : these windows belong to the later portion. 
 
 See Wilars de Honecort, by Willis, p. 209. — Ed.] 
 f [The choir of Amiens was consecrated in 1244. — Ed.] 
 s [The Sainte Chapelle was built between 1245 and 1257- — Ed.] 
 
20 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 cases, though subject to some varieties, the grouping of eastern 
 chapels was founded, as at Beauvais, Cologne, Altenberg, and 
 a host of other instances. The two German apses last named, 
 I may mention, however, seem to have had Beauvais rather 
 than Amiens for their immediate type h . 
 
 There can be little doubt that King Henry III., during his 
 sojourns in France, became enamoured of this arrangement, 
 which in its perfected form he may have seen in course of 
 being carried out at Amiens, Beauvais, Rheims, and elsewhere. 
 It would naturally strike him as well suited to the reconstruc- 
 tion of the eastern portion of a church already possessing an 
 apse with a continuous surrounding aisle. Whether this pro- 
 ject had been formed when the Lady-chapel was built in 1220, 
 it is impossible to ascertain. This was begun in the same year 
 with Amiens Cathedral, and eight years later than Rheims, so 
 that it is not impossible ; though the extreme youth of the king 
 would in that case compel us to transfer the originating of the 
 scheme from him to the abbot. However this may be, it is 
 probable that it fell readily into the subsequently adopted plan, 
 as we find no disturbance of the regularity of the division which 
 would otherwise have been the case. 
 
 Judging from internal evidence, which is all we have to go 
 upon till the public documents and the archives of the Abbey 
 are more thoroughly searched, I should imagine that an Eng- 
 lish architect, or master of the works, was commissioned to 
 visit the great cathedrals then in progress of erection in France, 
 with the view of making his design on the general idea sug- 
 gested by them. Would that, like his contemporary Wilars de 
 Honecort, he had bequeathed to us his sketch-book ! 
 
 h That Beauvais, rather than Amiens, was the type from which Cologne was 
 imitated, is proved by a little piece of evidence which has recently come under 
 my notice. The pinnacles over the eastern chapels at Beauvais are of a very 
 peculiar form, consisting of a pinnacle standing on four detached shafts, and placed 
 over another pinnacle of which the pyramidal part runs up in the midst of the 
 shafts of the upper one, and terminates under its canopy. Now the late M. Zwirner, 
 the architect to Cologne Cathedral, shewed me a model of just such a pinnacle, 
 and informed me that it shewed the original form of those round the apse there, 
 but that he had substituted solid pinnacles for the sake of strength. The existence 
 of so unusual a feature in the same position in two buildings so distant one from 
 the other could not be accidental. 
 
Of the Chevet , or A pse. 
 
 21 
 
 The result is precisely what might have been expected from 
 such a course. Had a French architect been sent for, we should 
 have had a plan really like some French cathedral, and it would 
 have been carried out, as was the case with William of Sens* 
 work at Canterbury, with French details. As it is, however, 
 the plan, though founded on that common in France, differs 
 greatly from any existing church, and it contains no French 
 detail whatever, excepting the work of apparently one carver. 
 I have sometimes fancied that I could detect a French mould- 
 ing in the water-tabling of the external buttresses, but these 
 are themselves restorations, and are so decayed that I cannot 
 make sure of their section. If it be so, it is just one of those 
 exceptions which prove a rule. 
 
 The architect, however, in imitating the great contemporary 
 churches in France, did adopt another of their great charac- 
 teristics, the bar tracery of their windows. I am not aware 
 that it exists in a perfect form in any earlier English work, 
 though often closely approached. It is said that Netley Abbey 
 was erected about 1240, and the eastern part of Old St. PauFs 
 is said to have been consecrated in that year. And as both of 
 these contained perfected tracery, the substantiation of those 
 dates would establish for us an earlier claim ; but on the whole, 
 I think we may fairly yield this development to our neighbours, 
 and consider this to be about the period at which we borrowed 
 it; though so perfect is the catena of transitional steps, that 
 we should have had no difficulty in tracing out the history 
 of the development from English examples ; the only step 
 which I miss in them being that which I have given from 
 Le Mans and Tours ; on which, however, I have never heard 
 any stress laid. 
 
 This church is, then, remarkable as marking — 1st, the in- 
 troduction of the French arrangement of chapels, which, how- 
 ever, failed to take root here ; and 2ndly, the completed type 
 of bar tracery, which was no sooner grafted on an English 
 stock than it began to shoot forth in most vigorous and luxu- 
 riant growth. 
 
 Though the French type was, as a general form, adopted in 
 planning the chevet with its circlet of chapels, I know of no 
 
22 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 French church from which the actual plan could have been 
 taken. 
 
 The simplest mode of setting out the chevet with its chapels 
 is that adopted at Rheims, which is effected by simply describ- 
 ing a semicircle upon the transverse line passing through the 
 easternmost of the main range of columns, and of a diameter 
 equal to the width from centre to centre of those columns, and 
 inscribing in it a semi - decagon, whose angles will give the 
 centres of the piers, — the same operation being repeated for 
 those of the aisles. 
 
 At Amiens the system is different ; the two semicircles are 
 described, one for the piers and the other for the aisle, and 
 about each of these it would seem that the normal idea was 
 that a portion of a dodecagon should be circumscribed ; but, in 
 fact, the sides are a little less than those of that figure. 
 
 On the outer circuit of the aisle, seven angles of the quasi- 
 dodecagon represent the centres of the piers between the ra- 
 diating chapels, while on the inner circuit five angles of the 
 smaller quasi-dodecagon represent the centres of five of the 
 piers of the apse ; the two remaining piers being placed at 
 the points where the transverse line, which cuts off the seven 
 sides of the outer apse, intersects with longitudinal lines, which 
 pass through the centres of the main ranges of piers. 
 
 It will be seen that this gives a bay of a width intermediate 
 between those of the apse and those of the main arcade, but in 
 a line with the latter. The chapels are alike in the width of 
 their arches, but differ in the westernmost sides of the western 
 chapels not radiating in a regular manner. 
 
 The chevets at Beauvais and Cologne differ from that at 
 Amiens in this, that the dodecagons are mscribed, instead of 
 being am^mscribed. It follows that only five of the angles 
 of each dodecagon represent the angles of the outer or inner 
 apse ; the remaining angles of the former are formed by spread- 
 ing the side of the figure outwards till it intersects with the 
 line of the aisle wall, and those of the latter by drawing a 
 transverse line from these points to its intersection with the 
 longitudinal lines of the main range of columns as before. 
 The consequence is, that the first side of the apse has a 
 
Of the Chevet , or Apse . 23 
 
 slight inclination, instead of being parallel to the axis of the 
 church i . 
 
 The chevet at Westminster differs greatly from any of the 
 above. The sides of the apse are five in number, as at Hheims ; 
 but instead of being five sides of a decagon, the three eastern- 
 most are sides of an octagon, and the others incline but slightly 
 from the sides of the church. The great peculiarity, however, 
 is in the chapels, which occupy so much more than the semi- 
 circle as to do away with one of the non-radiating chapels, 
 reducing the space it usually occupies to an irregular pier, and 
 introducing opposite to it in the aisles a bay of very irregular 
 form. I had long noticed this peculiarity, though I had thought 
 it an irregular contrivance to give greater size to the apsidal 
 
 Plan of Apse. 
 
 chapels ; but from finding the setting out of the work remark- 
 ably exact, I was led to think that some mathematical prin- 
 ciple must have been acted on, and, having had most careful 
 
 1 These definitions are open to some modifications for irregularities admitted 
 in the setting out. 
 
2 4 
 
 Gleanings from W estminster A bbey. 
 
 measurements made and tested in every way, I find this to 
 have been the case. 
 
 The system is this : the two semicircles are drawn as before, 
 the diameter of the inner one being the width from centre to 
 centre of columns ; a semi-octagon is inscribed in this ; three 
 of its angles give the centres of the piers of the outer and inner 
 apses, the remaining sides of each apse being formed by spread- 
 ing them till they meet the main longitudinal lines. It most 
 resembles the principle followed at Beauvais, but differs from 
 it (besides the smaller number of the sides) in the outer and 
 inner apse being exactly alike in principle, and all their sides 
 equal, and both set out in regular radiating lines, instead of 
 using the transverse line adopted at Beauvais. This system 
 has great advantages : it avoids the narrowness of the apsidal 
 bays, so apparent in most of the French examples; it gives 
 a beautiful gentleness of transition from the main arcades into 
 the apse, and it also gives a great boldness and expanse to the 
 chapels, — advantages purchased cheaply at the expense of one 
 of the square chapels on either side, and a certain degree of 
 picturesque irregularity in the aisles. It should be mentioned 
 that the setting out in this church is remarkable for its regu- 
 larity and exactness, though the drawing of an intricate mathe- 
 matical figure on the ground, some 120 feet wide, necessitated 
 some trifling deviations from absolute precision. 
 
 The section of the church, also, differs much from that of 
 the great contemporary buildings in France. 
 
 The earlier French Pointed churches had retained the Ro- 
 manesque system of having not a mere triforium, but a distinct 
 upper story over the aisles, often with a second range of vault- 
 ing. The same occurs, though not vaulted, in many of our own 
 Early Pointed churches, especially where they resulted from 
 the piecemeal reconstruction of their Norman predecessors. At 
 Amiens and Rheims, as at Salisbury, Whitby, Rievaulx, and 
 indeed the majority of our churches of the thirteenth century, 
 this second story was represented only by the space intervening 
 between the roof and vaulting of the aisles. At Westminster, 
 however, for some special reasons, the second story, which we 
 
The Triforium. 
 
 *5 
 
 know to have existed in 
 the Confessor’s church, was 
 continued in its successor, 
 probably to admit more nu- 
 merous spectators on grand 
 occasions, such as corona- 
 tions and royal funerals. It 
 was obtained, not so much 
 by increasing the height 
 of the triforium arcade, as 
 by flattening the aisle roof, 
 so as to allow of a wall 
 of considerable height to 
 the triforium, the story 
 being lighted by short 
 windows of a quasi - tri- 
 angular form, filled in with 
 cusped circles. 
 
 The spaciousness of this 
 upper story is quite sur- 
 prising to those who see 
 it for the first time. It is 
 capable of containing thou- 
 sands of persons, and its 
 architectural and artistic 
 effects, as viewed from dif- 
 ferent points, are wonder- 
 full}" varied and beautiful. 
 
 I have sometimes doubt- 
 ed whether, however, this 
 arrangement was contem- 
 plated when the building 
 was commenced. There is 
 about the intersection of 
 the aisle roof with the fly- 
 ing buttresses a want of 
 system which does not seem 
 of a piece with the studious 
 exactness of other points 
 
 Buttress, &c., Westminster Abbey, South Side. 
 a Cloister, h Triforium of two Stories, c Clerestory. 
 F 
 
2 6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 of the design, but is more like the result of an alteration of 
 the design during its execution. It gives also to the tran- 
 sept elevation a high-shouldered look, which is detrimental to 
 its elegance, and, while it adds to the external importance 
 of the aisles, it rather takes from the dignity of the clerestory 
 by concealing its natural spring from behind the abutting roof 
 of the aisles. 
 
 I may mention, that the very same arrangement w r as followed 
 in the contemporary work in the north transept at Hereford ; 
 indeed, the very cusping of the circular windows which I have 
 recently discovered there seems to be exactly copied from those 
 in the same position at Westminster. 
 
 The arrangement of the flying buttresses, divided into two 
 parts by a second buttress and pinnacle, is more like French 
 work than English : (see p. 25.) 
 
 Of the mathematical proportions on which the design of the 
 church has been founded, it is hardly safe to speak : this is 
 a subject on which so much uncertainty and consequent dif- 
 ference of opinion exists, that it would be unwise to be dog- 
 matic or to adopt any theory too positively. The proportions 
 are, however, so pre-eminently satisfactory to the eye, that it is 
 not unprofitable to examine into them, for whether the result 
 of accident or intention, the lessons to be learned are the same ; 
 indeed, it is perhaps almost more instructive to find that pro- 
 portions arrived at by tentative experiments and a correct eye 
 coincide with some mathematical principle, than, after trying 
 many geometrical formulao, to find one which gives a result 
 satisfactory to the eye. That beauty of proportion may be re- 
 duced to mathematical principles I have no doubt ; but, as 
 mathematical forms are of infinite variety and of very unequal 
 beaut}^, w r hile the reasons why one is more pleasing to the eye 
 than another are, to say the least, very occult, it seems to 
 follow that the laws of proportion must be investigated by 
 a process partly tentative and partly geometrical ; the pro- 
 portions dictated by the eye and those resulting from mathe- 
 matical forms being mutually tested the one by the other, till 
 we are able to determine which set of geometrical propor- 
 tions is most beautiful, and which among the forms which 
 
Proportions. 27 
 
 please the eye are capable of being reduced to mathematical 
 proportions. 
 
 As an illustration of this, I remember, many years since, 
 while looking at a plate in “ Britton’s Antiquities,” in which 
 he gives internal arches from a number of our cathedrals, I set 
 myself the task of determining which were the most beautiful 
 in their proportions. To my surprise, I was compelled to choose 
 the ;two which apparently most differed the one from the other 
 — in fact, the tallest and the shortest of the set. I was per- 
 plexed at so contradictory a result, but, as I could not go against 
 the dictates of my eye, I endeavoured to investigate the cause, 
 and had much pleasure in finding that both (as shewn in the 
 drawing at least) might be resolved in equilateral triangles, the 
 Westminster arch having three, and that from Wells only two 
 of them in its height. I have somewhere heard that in an old 
 work of the Freemasons it is said that good proportions may be 
 obtained from the square, but better from the equilateral tri- 
 angle ; and I have little doubt that it is true. If the principle 
 of the triangle is applied in the present case, the main section 
 may be said to have a height of three equilateral triangles 
 described upon the transverse width of the church from centre 
 to centre of the columns, which dimensions seem in all churches 
 to have been taken as the elementary scale on which the pro- 
 portions were founded. Another proportion, common in old 
 works, is derived from the diagonal of the square of this mea- 
 sure. Both have been claimed as the system made use of at 
 Westminster, but the more closely one examines into it, the 
 more clear it is that the equilateral triangle is the figure made 
 use of. I have made careful measurements, and find it fully 
 established that this is the case. I find that the elementary 
 width is about five inches greater in the transept than in the 
 choir and nave. Possibly it had been affected in the latter case, 
 as it would appear to have been in the aisles, by some acci- 
 dental cause, — probably the positions of the Norman walls which 
 existed to the westward long after the works of Henry III. and 
 Edward I. were completed, — for the difference is clearly not 
 accidental, being most systematically carried out and adhered 
 to throughout, to a fraction. If we take the larger of these 
 
28 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 dimensions, it will be found to agree very closely indeed with 
 the different parts of the church. The height of the nave 
 exceeds the three triangles only by about eight inches. The 
 height to the triforium stringcourse exceeds half that dimen- 
 sion, or the three triangles, or the semi-scale, by only four 
 inches ; and the height of the triforium itself is four inches in 
 excess of one of these minor triangles : differences so small as 
 to be invisible in so great a height. This agrees with the 
 theory laid down by Professor Cockerell, in his excellent paper 
 published by the Archaeological Institute in their Winchester 
 volume. He defines it in this way, that if you assume double 
 aisles to the nave, (i.e. if you treble the elementary width,) the 
 equilateral triangle described on this width will give the height 
 of the vaulting. In the ichnography, the proportions are far 
 less exact. The idea would appear to be that the length of the 
 church should consist of four, and the length of the transept 
 of two, of the heights of the great triangle last named. This 
 is, however, by no means exact, and one cannot lay much stress 
 upon it J '. 
 
 I may here mention that the same system holds good in the 
 chapter -house, of which the height agrees with that of an 
 equilateral triangle described on its diagonal ; or, more properly, 
 each of its arches, from the central pillar to the angle shaft, 
 has the height of two triangles, or of a regular vesica piscis. 
 
 The details of the internal design greatly exceed in richness 
 those of French works of the same age, excepting only in the 
 extent to which the capitals are foliated. 
 
 The arch-mouldings are peculiarly beautiful, as will be seen 
 by the accompanying sections. (See Plate YII.) The trifo- 
 rium arcade is as beautiful as any which can perhaps be found. 
 That to the eastern part of Lincoln may be almost richer, 
 but its proportions yield in beauty to those of Westminster. 
 The richness of the whole is also vastly increased by the wall 
 
 j From further examination since writing the above, I believe that both in the 
 aisles of the nave, and in the lengths of the church and of the transept, the pro- 
 portions reached to the centres of the walls, instead of (as was more usual) their 
 internal face. If so, the last-named proportions would be almost exact. 
 
THE TRI FORIUM 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 

 
 
 
MOULDINGS. 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 Window-jamb, Aisles. 
 
 SECTIONS OF MOULDINGS. 
 
 Wall-arcade, Aisles. 
 

 
 
The Wall A rcades. 
 
 29 
 
 surfaces between the arcbes being enriched with a square 
 diaper. The wall arcading is of exquisite design, and the spaces 
 
 over it were filled with most beautiful foliage, with figures in- 
 terspersed, while the spandrels of the cusping were filled with 
 ornamental painting. When, to the richness of architectural 
 detail, we add that of material, — the entire columns and all 
 the subordinate shafts being of marble, and the remainder of 
 stone of several different shades of colour, — the magnificence 
 of the internal design must have greatly exceeded that of 
 its French prototypes. The only one point which strikes 
 the eye as looking less rich, is the use of merely moulded 
 capitals to the main pillars. This, however, arose from their 
 being of Purbeck marble. It is true that at Ely and else- 
 
30 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 where, as in our own chapter-house, the carved capitals are of 
 this stubborn material ; but its use may, nevertheless, be ac- 
 cepted as a fair excuse for moderating the workmanship. The 
 internal designs of the transept ends are truly magnificent — 
 indeed, I doubt whether their equals can be found elsewhere. 
 The manner in which they continue the lines of the general 
 design, and yet add diversity to the forms, is truly artistic. 
 
 It is most unfortunate that the great rose windows have lost 
 their original character; I have, however, a strong impression 
 that the old ones may have, in their leading subdivisions, re- 
 sembled that now existing in the south transept, and that the 
 design has been simply translated from that of the thirteenth 
 to that of the fifteenth century. I have attempted in the ac- 
 companying drawing to translate it back again, and you will 
 see that it makes a very fine window, in perfect accordance 
 with the character of the church, and very much like several 
 existing specimens. You may say that this is pure conjec- 
 ture, and so it is, but it is a conjecture not devoid of some 
 collateral corroboration, for, singularly enough, there exist in 
 the chapter-house some encaustic tiles of a pattern evidently 
 copied from a rose window, and agreeing precisely in its divi- 
 sions with that under consideration, representing even the shafts 
 with their caps and bases. It will be seen that my translation 
 of the existing window into Early English almost precisely 
 resembles the pattern given on those tiles. The square form 
 in which the circle is inscribed seems to be original, from 
 the systematic way in which the vaulting is accommodated to 
 it, but it must be admitted, on the other hand, that there are 
 in the eastern jamb of the south window some indications of the 
 design having been altered from the original intention ; though, 
 as I think, this was an alteration made during the progress of 
 the work, as neither the opposite jamb of the same window, nor 
 either jamb of the opposite window, shew any such indications. 
 The south window was, I believe, renewed in the fifteenth 
 century, and again in the seventeenth; Sir Christopher Wren 
 informs us that it had been renewed about forty years before 
 the date of his report. 
 
 The north window received its present form in the eighteenth 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 PAVING TILES. 
 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 PAVING TILES. 
 

The Rose Windows. 
 
 3 
 
 century, and in no degree resembles its predecessor. Whether 
 that which Sir Christopher Wren reports, to be in a dangerous 
 state was the original one, we have no means of telling ; its 
 divisions, however, judging from Hollar’s print, must have been 
 generally similar to those of the southern window. 
 
 Restoration of the Rose Window. 
 
 The works undertaken by Henry III., and completed in 
 1269, terminated immediately to the west of the crossing : the 
 line of junction can be readily traced. I think the older work 
 may have included one bay of the great arcade and aisles, or, 
 to say the least, some of its details were continued in that bay ; 
 but in the first clerestory window of the western arm the change 
 is clearly seen in the diversity of its eastern from its western 
 jambs. (See Plate X.) 
 
3 2 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 The five bays west of the crossing are the work of Edward I. 
 
 They differ chiefly from the work of his father in the plan 
 of the columns, which have four attached and four detached 
 shafts, (the latter in most instances secured by fillets of brass,) 
 in the greater number of the ribs of the vaulting, and in the 
 substitution of shields for carved enrichments in the spandrels 
 of the wall-arcading. The rib-moulds of the vaulting are also 
 different, the capitals of the wall-arcading are moulded instead 
 of being carved, and the triforium has no enrichments in its 
 arch-mouldings ; but in the main the design may be considered 
 to be the same. 
 
 In both, the carved foliage is at the point of transition from 
 the conventional to the natural. It is not in any degree inter- 
 mediate between the two, but they stand on equal terms side by 
 side, each in its integrity, and each excellent of its kind. 
 
 Unhappily, however, the sculptors of more recent times, con- 
 vinced that Gothic architecture is discordant with their own 
 “high art,” have shewn such praiseworthy determination in 
 destroying, root and branch, the discordant element, and the 
 destructive atmosphere of London has shewn so strong a sym- 
 pathy with the practitioners in high art, that between the two 
 we have little left of the carving of the lower parts (on which 
 the greatest amount of study had been expended) but a few 
 mutilated and crumbling fragments — “ the gleaning of the 
 grapes when the vintage is done.” 
 
 These melancholy relics are, however, sufficient to shew us 
 the value of what we have lost. 
 
 I have before mentioned that the hand of one French carver 
 may be traced in the work. This is the case chiefly among the 
 capitals of the wall-arcading. Many of these are of the English 
 type of the period, but among them are two kinds, both of 
 which are in their carving distinctly French. The one is the 
 crochet capital, the stalks of which are terminated, not as in 
 English work with conventional, but with exquisite little tufts 
 of natural foliage, such as may be seen in the wall-arcading 
 of the Sainte Chapelle, and many other French works of the 
 period. In the other, natural foliage is introduced creeping 
 up the bell, and turning over at the top in symmetrical tufts. 
 
CLERESTORY WINDOWS. 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 North-east angle of Nave. 
 a Eastern jamb, temp. Hen. III. 
 b Western jamb, temp. Edw, I. 
 
 Junction of styles, Nave. 
 
 a Eastern jamb, temp. Edw. I. b Western jamb, temp. Rich. II. 
 

 
 
 
The Carving. 
 
 33 
 
 In both the foliage is smaller and less bold than in French 
 work, and the architectural form of the capital is English. 
 
 Capitals of Wall Arcade. 
 
 The spandrels oyer the wall - arcading are exquisitely beau- 
 tiful. Some are only diapered in square diaper, like the span- 
 drels of the triforium, some are ornamented with conventional 
 
 Spandrel with Shield. 
 
 and some with natural foliage, with or without figures, and 
 some with subjects. Those in the western arm contained shields 
 of a large number of the great men of the day. The great 
 majority have given place to modern monuments, but the few 
 which remain are nobly executed. They are curiously hung by 
 
34 
 
 G lea} dugs from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 the arm-straps to projecting heads. In those parts of the tri- 
 forium which cross the ends of the transepts there have been 
 figures in all the spandrels. Of these, the two central ones in 
 the north transept are gone, and the corresponding figures in 
 the south transept are much decayed, hut those in the angles 
 of both, being executed in a superior material, are more or less 
 perfect. They all represent 
 angels censing, and are ex- 
 ceedingly fine, after mak- 
 ing due allowance for the 
 height at which they were 
 intended to have been seen. 
 
 Below these, in the north 
 transept, there are figures 
 in the window -jambs, and 
 busts of angels in medal- 
 lions in the soffits of the 
 window -heads. They are 
 shewn as bearing musical 
 instruments, &c., forming 
 what is called a “ Divine 
 liturgy.” They seem to 
 have been well executed, 
 though now much de- Spandrel with Figure, 
 
 cayed. 
 
 The bosses of the vaulting are generally very nobly executed, 
 particularly those over the choir, (I mean Edward the First’s 
 work, west of the crossing,) some of which are among the finest 
 I have ever seen. Several bosses in the western aisle of the 
 north transept contain well-executed figures and groups sur- 
 rounded by foliage. 
 
 Of the original details of the exterior it is nearly impos- 
 sible to form anything like a correct idea. The whole was 
 greatly decayed at the commencement of the last century, and 
 was re- cased, almost throughout, with Oxfordshire stone, by 
 Sir Christopher Wren and his successors, the details being 
 altered and pared down in a very merciless manner ; and the 
 work, thus renewed, has again become greatly decayed. There 
 
The Exterior. 
 
 3 5 
 
 is, in fact, scarcely a trace of any original detail of the east- 
 ern portion of the exterior left. The modeller employed by 
 Sir Christopher Wren seems to have had more respect for the 
 'details than his master, for, while the latter has destroyed the 
 external shafts of the windows, and represented their capitals 
 by huge ungainly acorns, the modeller has in several instances 
 shewn the originals quite faithfully. 
 
 The exterior is thus described by Keepe, in 1683 : — 
 
 “ On the north side you rather behold the skeleton of a 
 church than any great comeliness in her appearance, being so 
 shrivelled and parcht by the continual blasts of the northern 
 winds, to which she stands exposed, as also the continual 
 smoaks of the sea-coal which are of a corroding and fretting 
 quality, which have added more furrows to her declining years, 
 that little of her former beauty now remains. On this side is 
 a most noble door or portal, with a porch thereunto that opens 
 into the cross of the church, and on each side thereof two lesser 
 porticoes, one of which only serves at present for the conve- 
 nience of entering therein. This porch in former times hath 
 been of great esteem and reputation, assuming to itself no less 
 a name than that of the porch of Solomon. That it hath been 
 a curious, neat, and costly porch in foregoing times, the re- 
 mains thereof do at this day in some measure declare ; for 
 therein were placed the statues of the Twelve Apostles at full 
 proportion, besides a multitude of lesser saints and martyrs to 
 adorn it, with several intaglios, devices, and fret-works that 
 helped to the beauty thereof. But that it came in any pro- 
 portion to the stately, rich, and noble porch of King Solomon 
 is not to be imagined; nor can we think that those who 
 christened and gave it that name were so ignorant or so vain 
 as so to believe ; but as a thing excellent in those times, 
 and far surpassing any of the same kind, it was looked 
 upon as a piece of work well deserving no common name, 
 and therefore had the title of Solomon’s porch appropriated 
 thereunto.” 
 
 Crull, writing in 1711, says : — “ The very remnants which 
 are obvious to our sight even to this day, may soon convince 
 us of its ancient beauty and magnificence. For this portico 
 
 H 
 
36 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 still retains entire below two of these admirable statues, besides 
 two others quite defaced, and two more over the eastern part 
 of the portico, and as many over the western door, through 
 which you enter on the north side, pretty entire, being all un- 
 deniable witnesses of their former excellency.” 
 
 These magnificent portals formed, beyond a doubt, the most 
 sumptuous external features in the church, and should be espe- 
 cially mentioned as another imitation from French cathedrals. 
 It is curious that this is, so far as I am aware, the only in- 
 stance in which those glorious portals, so common in France, 
 were directly imitated in an English church. From the existing 
 remains, as well as from the above description, the portals must 
 have been gorgeously rich. There are a number of mouldings 
 still existing in the original stone, and which clearly contained 
 rich foliage, like that still remaining in the doorway to the 
 chapter-house, but now carefully cut out. The places where 
 the figures of the apostles stood are readily to be distinguished, 
 and an old print shews one also on the central pillar of the 
 double doorway, no doubt a figure of our Lord. 
 
 The tympana of the smaller openings retain their original 
 stone, which is decorated with circular panels, no doubt once 
 containing sculpture, but the great tympanum is renewed ap- 
 parently without any regard to the original form. There were 
 formerly gabled canopies to each portal, but now the central 
 one has an ogee canopy, and the others none. The whole of 
 this once magnificent front has been wretchedly tampered with, 
 and even the design of the rose window was altered (about 
 1720) from the form shewn in the old prints to one of miser- 
 able poverty. 
 
 Dart, writing in 1723, says : — “ This stately portico is 
 now lately beautified, the time-eaten sculpture and masonry 
 pared away, the Gothic order justly preserved, and the whole 
 adorned with a magnificent window designed by the ingenious 
 Mr. Dickenson, Surveyor of the building.” 
 
 I should mention that the name of “Solomon’s Porch” was, 
 I believe, really applied to a large porch erected against the 
 central portal in the reign of Diehard II. 
 
 It is a question on which much difference of opinion exists, 
 
The Cloisters. 
 
 37 
 
 whether a central tower was ever contemplated. This feature 
 was nearly universal among the great English churches of the 
 period; but as this church was designed on a French type, and 
 as the churches of the period in France very seldom have cen- 
 tral towers, it seems most natural to suppose that it was not 
 intended to have erected one here. On the other hand, Sir 
 Christopher Wren distinctly states that the commencement of 
 a tower existed in his time; indeed, in one of Hollar’s views 
 there are clear indications of it, (and internally it is evident 
 that the centre was not intended to be vaulted at the level 
 of the nave and choir). M. Yiollet-le-Duc also seems to think 
 that even in France this feature had often been contemplated; 
 so that it seems that there is as much to be said on one side as 
 on the other. I cannot, however, think that the comparatively 
 slender piers on the crossing (to the extreme beauty of which 
 I should have especially called attention) could have been in- 
 tended to carry, at the most, more than a very light structure. 
 Even at Salisbury, where the piers are far more massive, the 
 lower story of the tower is very lightly built, and clearly 
 without any intention of supporting the enormous superstruc- 
 ture which has since been added, and under the weight of 
 which it has become so terribly crushed. 
 
 The cloisters were carried by Henry III. and Edward I., in 
 each case, as far only as their respective portions of the church 
 extended. The part built by Henry III. occupies, as is so well 
 known, a very singular position, being in fact within the walls 
 of the church, and forming a lower story to the western aisle 
 of the transept. This, as I conceive, arose from the position 
 of the cloister being determined by the older works, and from 
 the church of the Confessor having had no western aisle to the 
 transept. King Henry, however, built the eastern wall of the 
 cloister a few bays further than the cloister itself, for the pur- 
 pose of forming entrances to the chapter-house and dormitory. 
 Edward I. afterwards carried on the north walk of the cloister, 
 just as far as he did the church itself. The other bays of that 
 side were built late in the fourteenth century, in imitation of 
 the older bays, an almost solitary instance of the style of one 
 period being absolutely copied in a later work. We find here. 
 
38 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 at the corner where they resumed the style of their own period, 
 the singular anomaly of art — an Early English and a Perpen- 
 dicular capital cut by them on the same block of stone, and 
 their mouldings intersecting one another k . The late imitators 
 seem to have been sorely puzzled with the detached cuspings 
 in the old circles, and to have made some very awkward at- 
 tempts at reproducing it, or at least as to the mode of fixing 
 it in its place. 
 
 The doorway from the church next the cloister is a very fine 
 work, but in a lamentable state of decay. The window open- 
 ings of the early parts of the cloister have been glazed in their 
 traceried heads only, the glazing being stopped upon a hori- 
 zontal iron bar, grooved at the top to receive it, and running 
 along the springing line of the arch. This system was con- 
 tinued in the later work ; indeed, it was, I find, the customary 
 mode of dealing with cloister openings. Those at Salisbury, 
 Canterbury, and Gloucester, works of very different periods, 
 were, I think, all of them glazed in this manner. 
 
 In the church we have no windows of more than two lights, 
 so that the tracery is in its most normal form. In the 
 cloister, however, the windows are of three lights, and the 
 tracery is not only in circles, but in quatrefoils and trefoils, 
 while in the chapter-house, as we shall presently see, were 
 windows of four and five lights, shewing that the principle 
 of window-tracery had been brought to a considerable pitch 
 of development. 
 
 In all the circles in the tracery, whether in the church, the 
 cloister, and, no doubt, in the chapter-house, the cusping was, 
 according to the custom of the period, worked separately from 
 the tracery, and fitted into grooves in its reveals, while the 
 heads of lights are almost always left uncusped, the chapter- 
 house forming, I think, nearly the sole exception. 
 
 One feature, more French than English, I may mention 
 here : I mean the great width of the window -lights, which are 
 generally between four and five feet wide, and must have 
 afforded a noble scope to the glass painter. 
 
 k A similar instance occurs at the south-east angle. 
 
DETAILS OF THE CLOISTER. 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 Capital at the North-west Angle of the Cloister. Capital at the South-east Angle of the Cloister. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DOORWAYS IN THE CLOISTER. 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
 Eastern Doorway in the Cloister, Early English, c. 1250. 
 
 Western Doorway in the Cloister, Perpendicular, c. 1380. 
 
The Chapter-house. 
 
 39 
 
 We now come to the CHAPTER-HOUSE. 
 
 Matthew Paris, under the date of 1250, says, after stating 
 that the king had rebuilt the church, “ Dominus Rex sedificavit 
 capitulum incomparabile.” I judge from this that he com- 
 menced it during that year. It was, indeed, an incomparable 
 chapter-house ! That at Salisbury was not yet commenced, 
 and though evidently built in imitation of this, and having 
 some features of greater richness, it still would have yielded 
 the palm to its prototype at Westminster. 
 
 Its beauties, however, are unhappily now for the most part 
 to be judged rather by imagination than by sight, for seldom 
 do we see a noble work of art reduced to such a wreck ! It 
 appears that, as early as the days of Edward III. (certainly 
 before 1340), it was made over, I suppose occasionally, to the 
 uses of the House of Commons, on condition that it should 
 be kept in repair by the Crown. In or after the reign of 
 Edward VI., however, St. Stephen’s Chapel being given up to 
 the House of Commons, the chapter-house was converted into 
 a public Record Office. In or about 1740, the vaulting was 
 found to be dangerous, and taken down ; and before this, in 
 1703, we find that Sir Christopher Wren having refused to put 
 up a gallery in it, it was made over to the tender mercies of 
 some barbarian, who fitted it up for the records, with studious 
 regard to concealment or destruction of its architectural beauties. 
 
 I undertook, some years back, the careful investigation of 
 its details, and such was the difficulty presented by the fittings 
 and other impediments, that, though every possible facility was 
 afforded me by the gentlemen in charge of the records, it occu- 
 pied me (on and off) for several months. 
 
 I believe, however, that I succeeded in getting at nearly 
 every part of the design. The internal view which I exhibit 
 (see Plate XIII.) was founded on the result of my examina- 
 tions, and I think you will agree with me that a more elegant 
 interior could scarcely be found. The diameter of the octagon 
 is about 58 feet, and the height to the crown of vaulting about 
 54 feet. The diameters of those at Salisbury, Lincoln, and 
 York seem all to be nearly the same with this ; probably the 
 polygons were in each case inscribed in a circle of about 
 
 i 
 
40 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 60 feet diameter, measured, perhaps, in the clear of the vault- 
 ing-shafts. 
 
 The Chapter-house in its present state. 
 
 The central pillar still exists, and is about 35 feet high. 
 It is entirely of Purbeck marble, and consists of a central shaft, 
 surrounded by eight subordinate shafts, attached to it by three 
 moulded bands. The capital, though of marble, is most richly 
 carved. I may mention that on the top of the capital is a sys- 
 tematically constructed set of eight hooks of iron, for as many 
 cross-ties. The same was the case at Salisbury, and I have no 
 doubt that the hooks on the columns in the church are many 
 of them original, and were intended for security during the 
 progress of the works. The windows are almost entirely walled 
 up, though a considerable part of the tracery, no doubt, re- 
 mains imbedded. Their design is, however, readily ascertain- 
 able, one of them being a blank, owing to one face of the 
 
PLATE XIII. 
 
 RESTORATION OF THE CHAPTER HOUSE WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
The Chapter-house. 41 
 
 octagon being in contact with the transept of the church : 
 a nobler four-light window could hardly be found. 
 
 The window oyer the doorway is most carefully walled up 
 with ashlar, but from the bases visible on its sill, we see that 
 it was of five instead of four lights, — no doubt to avoid the 
 stumped look it might have had from being so much shortened 
 by the height of the doorway and the abutting vestibule. I 
 had often wondered that, while the windows generally are 
 walled up with brich ) this should be filled with stone ; but on 
 taking out one of the ashlar stones to ascertain the section of 
 the jamb, what was my surprise at finding them to consist 
 entirely of the lengths of the moulded ribs of the lost vaulting, 
 carefully packed, like wine bottles in a bin, with their moulded 
 sides inwards ! I made a still more interesting discovery in 
 the spandrels of the doorway below. The gallery crosses the 
 head of this doorway, and the presses for records were fitted so 
 closely to the wall that nothing could be seen. I was one day 
 on the top of one of these presses, and on venturing to pull 
 away an arris fillet which closed the crevice between it and 
 the wall, I perceived the top of an arched recess in the wall 
 behind the press, and on looking down into it I saw some 
 round object of stone in the recess below. My curiosity being 
 excited, I let down into it by a string a small bull’s-eye lantern, 
 when, to my extreme delight, I saw that the mysterious object 
 was the head of a beautiful full-sized statue in a niche. Per- 
 mission was speedily obtained for the removal of the press. 
 The statue proved to be a very fine one of the Virgin, and in 
 the spaces adjoining were angels censing. I afterwards found 
 that it formed part of an Annunciation; the angel having been 
 on the other side of the door. This last-named figure has, how- 
 ever, been long since removed into the vestibule. Its wings are 
 gone, but the mortices into which they were fixed remain. 
 Both are fine works, though not devoid of a remnant of Byzan- 
 tine stiffness. 
 
 The doorway itself has been a truly noble one. It was 
 double, divided by a single central pillar and a circle in the 
 head ; whether pierced or containing sculpture, I have been 
 unable to ascertain, as it is almost entirely destroyed. The 
 
42 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 jambs and arch are magnificent. The former contain on the 
 outer side four large shafts of Purbeck marble. Their caps 
 are of the same material, and most richly carved, and the 
 spaces between the shafts beautifully foliated. I exhibit casts 
 of several parts of this doorway. The arch contains two orders 
 of foliated mouldings, one of which, on either side, contains 
 a series of beautiful little figures in the intervals of the en- 
 twined foliage. To get at some of the details of this doorway 
 I had to creep on a mass of parchments and dust ten feet deep, 
 and, after taking out the boarding of the back of the cases, 
 to examine and draw, by the help of the little bull’s-eye lantern 
 before-mentioned ; a most laborious operation, and giving one 
 more the look of a master chimney-sweeper than an architect. 
 
 The walls below the windows are occupied by arcaded stalls 
 with trefoiled heads. The five which occupy the eastern side 
 are of superior richness and more deeply recessed. Their capi- 
 tals, carved in Purbeck marble, are of exquisite beauty. The 
 spandrels over the arches are diapered, usually with the square 
 diaper so frequent in the church, but in one instance with 
 a beautifully executed pattern of roses. One of the most re- 
 markable features in the chapter-house is the painting at the 
 back of these stalls. The general idea represented by this 
 painting would appear to be our Lord exhibiting the m} T steries 
 of redemption to the heavenly host. In the central compart- 
 ment, our Lord sits enthroned ; His hands are held up to shew 
 the wounds, and the chest bared for the same purpose ; above 
 are angels holding a curtain, or dossel, behind the throne, and 
 on either side are others bearing the instruments of the Passion. 
 The whole of the remaining spaces are filled by throngs of 
 cherubim and seraphim. The former occupy the most im- 
 portant position, and are on the larger scale. In the two 
 niches, to the right and left of the central one, are two che- 
 rubim nearly of human size. They occupy the centre of the 
 niches, and with their wings nearly fill them. Their heads 
 are of great beauty, and are very perfect, and apparently 
 painted in oil. They have each six wings, two crossing over 
 their heads, two spreading right and left, and two crossing 
 over the knees. The prevailing colour of the wings is blue, 
 
The Chapter-house. 
 
 43 
 
 the symbolical colour given to cherubim; and the feathers 
 have eyes like those of the peacock, to carry out the idea, 
 “ they were full of eyes within.” One of these principal angels 
 holds a crown in each hand, and the other a crown in one hand, 
 and something like a gem with two depending strings in the 
 other, symbolizing the rewards of heaven purchased by the 
 redemption. On one of them the names of Christian virtues 
 are written on the feathers of the wings, as, e. g., officii sin- 
 cera plenitudo ; voluntatis discretio ; simplex et pura intentia ; 
 munditia carnis ; puritas mentis ; confessio ; satisfactio ; cari- 
 tas ; eleemosina ; orationis devotio ; simplicitas ; humilitas ; fide- 
 litas, &c. In the outer niches were several cherubic figures 
 of smaller size, their faces strongly expressive of sorrow at 
 seeing the wounds of the Saviour ; and in the background 
 above and the foreground below are throughout a multitude 
 of seraphim, whose prevailing colour is, as usual, red, and the 
 expression of the faces most striking. All the figures have gilt 
 nimbi of rich patterns. The whole is executed in a highly 
 artistic manner, and though the features are in some cases not 
 quite consistent with the ideal of angelic beauty, the expressions 
 are very striking. I imagine the painting to have been exe- 
 cuted about the middle of the fourteenth century, which is, I 
 find, the same as the opinion arrived at by Sir Charles East- 
 lake. In some other parts of the arcade are paintings of a 
 very inferior character and of much later date. They repre- 
 sent the earlier scenes in the Apocalypse. I have not noticed 
 any merely decorative painting, excepting in the heads of the 
 five principal stalls, which are coloured and gilt. 
 
 The Chapter - house is approached from the cloister by an 
 outer and an inner vestibule. The former is entered by the 
 magnificent portal, which you must all so well know, in the 
 cloister. It is a double doorway, the outer arch of which is 
 of two foliated orders ; one of them contains in the entwined 
 foliage a series of figures forming a Radix Jesse. The tym- 
 panum is exquisitely decorated with scroll-work, and formerly 
 contained a sitting statue (probably of the Virgin and infant 
 Saviour), under a niche, and supported on either side by angels, 
 which yet remain, and the more perfect of which is very beautiful. 
 
44 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 This doorway was magnificently decorated with colour and 
 gold, traces of which are still clearly visible. 
 
 Foliage over the entrance to the Chapter-house. 
 
 It is in a most lamentable state of decay, but I have, as 
 I trust, arrested the progress of disintegration, by a process 
 which I am largely making use of throughout the interior of 
 the church, and which has already been applied to the wall- 
 areading and the triforium almost throughout the church, as 
 well as to the majority of the royal monuments. Its effect is 
 to harden and set the crumbling surface, so as to stereotype 
 the work in the state in which it now is. The surface is so 
 tender, that we cannot venture to touch it before the operation 
 is performed. We therefore merely blow away the dust with 
 a pair of bellows, with a long flexible tube and nozzle, and 
 inject the solution with a syringe perforated with a number 
 of small holes, so as not to disturb the crumbling surface, 
 which, after the operation, becomes quite hard and rigid. 
 
 The outer vestibule is exceedingly low, owing to the neces- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
XIV. 
 
 L 
 
 1. ENTRANCE FROM THE CLOISTER 
 
 2. VESTIBULE TO THE CHAPTER HOUSE 
 
 RESTORATION OF THE CHAPTER HOUSE WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
The Chapter-house. 
 
 4<5 
 
 sity for the dormitory to pass over it to effect its communication 
 with the church. It is vaulted in two spans, supported by 
 small Purbeck marble columns. The bosses of the vaulting 
 are of great merit. The vaulting was, till recently, mutilated, 
 to allow of a staircase to the room above, now the library ; but 
 on discovering and restoring the ancient staircase, which I 
 shall presently mention, I was able to complete this vaulting, 
 and to remove a brick wall which divided the vestibule in its 
 length, and enclosed the marble pillars. On the side which 
 had been enclosed the ancient paving remains, deeply worn by 
 the feet of the monks. 
 
 From the vestibule are doorways on either side, the one into 
 the old revestry of the church, (now walled up,) and the other 
 into a curious chamber, which I shall have to describe. 
 
 At the further end of this vestibule is a second doorway, 
 leading into the inner vestibule, which is very different in its 
 design. Being free from the depressing cause before men- 
 tioned, it rises to a considerable height, and contains a flight 
 of steps occupying its whole width and leading to the great 
 portal of the chapter-house. It is vaulted in one span, divided 
 into two unequal bays, one of which has contained a remark- 
 able window, now destroyed, but of which, by cutting into the 
 walls, I have been able to gain some clue to the design. On 
 the opposite side are two windows, now walled up, which gave 
 a borrowed light to the altar in the revestry, erroneously known 
 as the Chapel of St. Blaise. 
 
 The floor of the chapter-house is probably the most perfect, 
 and one of the finest encaustic tile pavements now remaining. 
 It is, happily, in a nearly perfect state, having been protected 
 by a wood floor. 
 
 I have thorough^ examined it, and find it to be arranged 
 in parallel strips from east to west, the patterns changing in 
 each strip, though repeated on the corresponding sides. Many 
 of the patterns are most noble in their design, and some of 
 extraordinary delicacy and refinement. The uniformity of the 
 pavement is in one place disturbed by the insertion of a num- 
 ber of tiles containing figures, such as St. John giving the ring 
 to the Confessor, &c. Many of the patterns have been pretty 
 
4 6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 correctly copied by Mr. Minton in the pavement of the Temple 
 Church, and many are given by Mr. Shaw in his recent work 
 on “ Encaustic Pavements.” 
 
 Of the external details of the chapter-house scarcely a trace 
 remains ; decay and mutilation have brought their work to a 
 final completion. Nor am I aware of any old prints or descrip- 
 tion which would aid in the recovery of the design. But I have 
 recently spied out from the window of a neighbouring house a 
 small portion of external tracery, wdiich I had not seen before h 
 
 The records are now in great measure removed, and soon 
 will be entirely so. Let us hope that the Government will re- 
 collect the condition of five centuries back, — that they should 
 keep the building in repair, and that they will give it up to 
 the Chapter, with a restoration fund proportioned both to the 
 extent of the dilapidations and the merits of the building. I 
 have omitted to mention that the chapter-house is raised on 
 a crypt, which is vaulted, like the superstructure, on a central 
 pillar. This pillar is round, and, curiously enough, is carefully 
 hollowed out at two stages, as if for the concealment of valu- 
 ables. The crypt contains a recess for an altar, with piscina, 
 locker, and the marks of a screen. The crypt was filled up 
 some feet above its natural level with earth, but I have lowered 
 this to the original level m . 
 
 I mentioned just now the two doorways which open (or once 
 opened) from the other vestibule, and the chambers into which 
 they led. Allow me to describe these chambers. 
 
 1 I have since examined this carefully, and find that the external mouldings, 
 &c. of the windows were exactly like those of the interior. Some few others of 
 the external features have been preserved by the buildings which till recently 
 abutted against them. 
 
 111 It is a curious fact that the walls of the crypt are about 17 feet thick, while 
 those of the superstructure are scarcely 5 feet. This is rendered the more per- 
 plexing by the fact that at about 5 feet from the external face there appears to be 
 a straight joint in the thickness of the walls, as if the chapter-house had been built 
 round the crypt of an eai’lier building. The whole of the internal surfaces, how- 
 ever, appear of the later date, and I find that the axis of the crypt produced 
 westward would not coincide with any of the divisions of the Confessor’s build- 
 ings : otherwise I should have supposed that the crypt contained, as the nucleus 
 of its walls, those of the Norman chapter-house. 
 
Chapel of St. Blaise. 
 
 47 
 
 One is now mistakenly called the Chapel of St. Blaise ; but 
 in the older accounts is denominated the Old Revestry. It 
 occupies a space which is very frequent in abbeys, intervening 
 between the transept and the entrance to the chapter -house, 
 
 Chapel of St. Blaise, or the Old Bevestry. 
 
 and often called by the expressive name of “ the slype.” It is 
 little known to visitors cf the Abbey ; but it is a most pic- 
 turesque, and, as I think, beautiful room, and the skill shewn 
 in rendering so irregular a space sightly, and in vaulting it 
 methodically, is very remarkable. Its main approach (now its 
 only one) is the doorway in the centre of the south transept. 
 This doorway, we are told by Dart, was “ enclosed with three 
 doors, the inner cancellated, the middle, which is very thick, 
 lined with skins like parchment, and driven full of nails. These 
 
 K 
 
4 8 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 skins they, by tradition, tell us were some skins of the Danes 
 tanned, and given here as a memorial of our delivery from 
 them. The doors are very strong, but were, notwithstanding, 
 broken open lately, and the place robbed.” 
 
 Of these doors only one now remains ; but we see the marks 
 of the others. This offensive custom of lining the doors of 
 sacred treasuries with leather, made, not I conceive from the 
 skins of Danes, but from those of persons executed for sacrilege, 
 was, no doubt, intended as a means of terrifying less hardened 
 depredators, but was not always effectual. 
 
 As this chamber is lofty, and intervened between the dormi- 
 tory and the church, it was necessary to provide means for the 
 monks to cross it, to get to their nocturnal services. This was 
 effected by a kind of bridge at the west end of the chamber, 
 from which the doorways are still visible which led from the 
 dormitory into the church, and from the latter of which there 
 was a detached winding staircase in the corner of the transept, 
 where now Roubiliac’s monument to the Duke of Argyle stands. 
 It is shewn in all the old plans, and was probably removed to 
 make room for that monument. The western division of the 
 chamber was clearly the vestiarium. It had in Dart’s time 
 “ a set of cranes of wood, swinging as if in a rack, on which 
 formerly the copes and vestments in common use were hung n .” 
 In the triforium there is a quadrant -shaped cope -box, pro- 
 bably belonging to the revestry. There are several aumbreys 
 in the walls. The eastern portion was, however, clearly a 
 chapel ; indeed, the vestries of our old churches were generally 
 chapels, as is shewn by the piscinae almost always, and the 
 altars occasionally, remaining in them. The altar -step and 
 some traces of the lower course of the altar still remain. The 
 former has a curious semicircular projection in its centre. 
 
 Over the altar still remains a full-length figure painted on 
 the wall. It is a female figure, crowned, holding a book in 
 one hand, and in the other carrying, apparently, a gridiron, 
 or possibly some musical instrument ; immediately below it is 
 
 n Some racks of a similar description remain still, or did lately, in a forsaken 
 vestry at Aylesbury Church. 
 
The Pyx Chamber. 
 
 49 
 
 a small painting of the Crucifixion, and on one side is the figure 
 of a monk in the attitude of prayer, from which, in the direction 
 of the principal figure, are painted the following lines : — 
 
 “ Me, quem culpa gravis premit, erige Virgo suavis ; 
 
 Fac mihi placatum Christum, deleasque reatum.” 
 
 Whether the “ culpa gravis ” consisted of a disregard of the 
 human hides placed, in terrorem, upon the door, and this paint- 
 ing was the penitential offering of a pilfering monk, I leave 
 others to judge. I have never been able to discover what saint 
 this figure represents, nor the meaning of the badge which she 
 bears. It is, on the whole, fairly drawn, though unduly elon- 
 gated, and appears to have been painted in oil. 
 
 To the south of this altar are the borrowed lights from the 
 inner vestibule of the chapter-house, already mentioned ; the 
 adaptation of the vaulting to suit these windows is exceedingly 
 skilful and elegant. 
 
 This most interesting room has, unhappily, been long used 
 for the reception of all sorts of odds and ends, to its great dis- 
 figurement and injury. It was there that the iron- work torn 
 down from the royal tombs at the time of the coronation of 
 George TV. was deposited. Of this I have had the happiness 
 of restoring a considerable part (that to the tombs of Queen 
 Eleanor and of Henry V.) to its place, but some yet remains. 
 
 The other chamber I wish to describe is a very different 
 one. It is a low vault, forming an imperfect portion of one 
 of the bays of the Confessor's work, already described, and 
 containing a portion of one of the Saxon columns. Within it, 
 however, is a separate structure of less early date, and long 
 used as a wine-cellar. This inner structure is built up to the 
 old vaulting, but has a low and sloping covering of stone. 
 When I first entered this place I was much perplexed to guess 
 its meaning, but, after somewhat lengthened consideration, it 
 occurred to me that it was the substructure of the original 
 stairs to the monks' dormitory, which idea agreed well with 
 the existence of a walled - up doorway opposite to it in the 
 cloister. I, about the same time, happened to notice in the 
 manuscript Lives of the Abbots, preserved in the library, that 
 one of them (Abbot Byrcheston) was said to be buried opposite 
 
50 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 the vestibule of the chapter-house, and near the entrance to 
 the dormitory ; a definition of their relative positions which 
 at once confirmed my idea, and at the same time pointed out 
 the walled- up doorway, close to the portal of the vestibule, as 
 having been the entrance to the dormitory. 
 
 I obtained leave of Dean Buckland to make an opening in 
 the wall by which the doorway was blocked up, but was at 
 first impeded in my examination by finding that the space 
 within the door was filled completely up with that useful mate- 
 rial technically known as “ dry rubbish,” which, on the per- 
 foration being effected, shot down like an avalanche into the 
 cloister. After taking out some cart-loads, we came to the 
 sloping platform, from which, however, I was disappointed at 
 finding that the steps had been removed, excepting a portion 
 of the bottom one, which still remained in its place, and was 
 of Purbeck marble. 
 
 The sill of the doorway was worn deeply with the feet of the 
 monks, and more so on one side than on the other, shewing 
 that only one leaf of the folding-doors was generally used. 
 
 In the dry rubbish were many interesting fragments ; among 
 which were some embossed and coloured mouldings, like those 
 in St. Stephen's Chapel. This now forms, once more, the en- 
 trance to what was the dormitory, but now the library. 
 
 But let us return for a few moments to the chamber below. 
 
 On the inner side of the door I found hanging from beneath 
 the hinges some pieces of white leather. They reminded me 
 of the story of the skins of Danes, and a friend to whom I had 
 shewn them sent a piece to Mr. Quekett, of the College of Sur- 
 geons, who, I regret to say, pronounced it to be human. It is 
 clear that the door was entirely covered with them, both within 
 and without. I presume, therefore, that this, too, was a trea- 
 sury ; and I have a strong idea that it then formed a part of, 
 and that its door was the entrance to, the Pyx Chamber, and 
 it is possible that, after the robbery of the chamber before 
 alluded to 0 , the King, finding that the terror of human skins 
 offered no security, remodelled the chamber, and intrusted the 
 safety of his treasury to the less offensive, but more prosaic, 
 defence of massive and double doors and multitudinous locks. 
 
 0 See p. 10. 
 
The Pyx Chamber. 
 
 
 I have one more tale to tell about this chamber of mystery. 
 There is between the walls which carry the stairs and the wall 
 of the chamber itself a long and very narrow interval, just wide 
 enough to squeeze through. When I gained access to this 
 chamber, now more than ten years back, on going along this 
 narrow crevice, I found its floor heaped up several feet deep 
 apparently with stones and rubbish. While standing on this 
 heap, I was puzzled by finding it spring beneath my feet, and 
 stooping down and clearing away a little rubbish, what was my 
 astonishment at finding that I was standing on a large heap 
 of parchment rolls ! It proved, however, to be less of a find 
 than I at first hoped, for it consisted mainly of packets of 
 ancient writs from the courts of justice, interesting only from 
 their age, which varied, I think, from Edward III. to Henry 
 VII. There were also a number of fragments lying about of 
 little turned boxes of wood. An unhappy accident intervened. 
 I happened suddenly to be called for a few minutes from this 
 newly-discovered record office, and forgetting to lock the door, 
 a party of Westminster school-boys got in, and, unmindful of 
 the human skins, made free with the parchments. A little 
 disturbance ensued, a fresh padlock was shortly afterwards put 
 to the door, and I have been excluded for ten long years from 
 my treasury ; though, as I understood that the parchments had 
 been cleared away, I soon ceased to stand disconsolate at the 
 gate of this dusty Eden. 
 
 While preparing the present paper, however, I again ob- 
 tained admission, when, to my surprise, I found my old friend 
 the parchment heap still where I had left it in 1849. I now 
 examined it quietly, and succeeded in turning up a number of 
 the little boxes of which I had before seen the fragments only. 
 They are small turned boxes of poplar, or some other soft wood, 
 not unlike an ordinary tooth-powder box, but a little larger. 
 The covers are sewed on with a leather or parchment thong ; 
 and on the underside are usually written a few words describing 
 the contents. On opening them I found that each contained 
 one or more little parchment deeds with seals affixed ; they 
 seem all to relate to the affairs of private individuals ; and 
 their great interest is in the earliness of their dates, which 
 
52 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 vary, as far as I have ascertained, from the time of Henry III. 
 to that of Edward III. They are, many of them, in a perfect 
 state of preservation, — in fact, as fresh almost as when new, 
 and are beautifully written, and the seals are often very good. 
 
 Among the parchments were lying fragments of encaustic 
 tiles of beautiful patterns, similar to some of those in the 
 chapter-house, and the glaze so fresh as to lead one to think 
 they had never been trodden upon. 
 
 Since then the whole mass of parchments, &c., has, by the 
 direction of the Dean, been carefully removed into the Abbey 
 library, where they will be duly examined and cared for. The 
 lower part of the heap was one mass of decay. I have no doubt 
 that they had in former times been carefully stowed away in 
 the space below the dormitory stairs, but had been turned out 
 when this was converted into a wine-cellar ; which, by the 
 dates of the lots of wine chalked up over the bins, was at least 
 sixty or seventy years back. 
 
 The next work in date to that of Edward I. seems to have 
 been the alteration of the refectory and the completion of the 
 eastern walk of the cloister. Of the former I can find no 
 record. The windows and doorways are of good Middle Pointed 
 character ; but of the latter we have a full account in the Fabric 
 Rolls, shewing that it was erected in and about the year 1345, 
 by Abbot Byrcheston. It comprises the rich vaulting over the 
 outer portion of the chapter-house, with the very remarkable 
 window opposite to it, and the adjoining bays as far as the end 
 of this side of the cloister. The vaulting of the principal bay 
 was richly decorated with gold and colour, and the central boss 
 retained at the commencement of the present century the pulley 
 for raising a light in front of the chapter-house door. 
 
 The completion of the cloister was commenced in 1350, by 
 Abbot Langham, (afterwards archbishop and cardinal,) and pro- 
 ceeded slowly but regularly throughout the whole of his abbacy, 
 and was completed by his successor, Abbot Litlington, in 1366 ; 
 under whose direction, indeed, while prior, the previous works 
 had been carried on. We have here, again, a period of archi- 
 tectural transition. Byrcheston’s work of 1345 is the purest 
 
The Nave . 
 
 <53 
 
 flowing Decorated; but the remainder is very early Perpen- 
 dicular, so far as we can see, for the tracery is gone from the 
 southern or earlier range. This side we know was in hand in 
 1355, and one of the two doorways in it (I think the smaller) 
 was inserted in 1358 ; but even taking the year in which the 
 whole is distinctly stated to have been completed, 1366, we 
 have a remarkably early date for work distinctly Perpendicular 
 though of a very superior character, and very elegant in its 
 mouldings. 
 
 During the reigns of Edward II. and III. it does not ap- 
 pear that the rebuilding of the church was proceeded with ; 
 indeed, we find many entries of small sums expended on re- 
 pairing its windows, &c., and on whitewashing the interior of 
 the old Norman nave. 
 
 During the reign of Richard II., however, the rebuilding 
 was proceeded with. We find entries of the cost of breaking 
 down the old walls, and considerable outlay for stone, marble, 
 labour, &c., shewing that the work proceeded vigorously. About 
 the same period — indeed, commencing in the latter part of the 
 previous reign— -most extensive works were here carried on in 
 the monastic buildings. These were for the most part paid for 
 out of a bequest, and, perhaps, out of previous gifts, from Car- 
 dinal Langham, who, as we have seen, had been abbot here, 
 and made the fabric of the Abbey his residuary legatee. The 
 works in question were carried out by his very active suc- 
 cessor, Abbot Litlington, in whose time were erected (besides 
 the south, the west, and the remainder of the north walks of 
 the cloister which had been commenced in Langham’s time) the 
 abbot’s house, including its hall and great chamber, (the former 
 now used as a dining-hall for the King’s Scholars, the latter 
 well known as the Jerusalem Chamber,) the sacrists’, cellarers’ 
 and infirmarers’ houses, and a number of other buildings. 
 
 From this time the nave slowly progressed till the disso- 
 lution of the monastery, the west window being finished by 
 Abbot Esteney in Henry the Seventh’s time, and the western 
 towers left unfinished by Islip, the last abbot worthy of the 
 name. The most remarkable characteristic in these later works 
 
<54 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 is their continuing the general design of the earlier portions ; 
 not copying the details, as was done in the cloister, but apply- 
 ing details of their own period to the general forms of the 
 preceding age. So that, to a casual observer, the building 
 presents throughout its interior a homogeneous appearance. 
 
 Spandrels in South Aisle of Nave, shewing the junction of the work of the thirteenth 
 century with that of the fifteenth. 
 
 There is one part of the interior of the older portion of the 
 fabric which I have not yet more than cursorily alluded to, — I 
 mean the gallery in which the archives of the church are kept. 
 It occupies the space above that portion of the cloister which 
 passes through the aisle of the south transept. It is ap- 
 proached by a door opening on to the roof of the cloister to 
 the south of the transept. The first bay you enter has from 
 an early period been enclosed by timber partitions, plastered 
 over to form a room for the more important muniments. 
 On this plastered partition is a large outline painting of the 
 White Hart, the badge of Richard II., shewing the early 
 date of the obstruction ; but the other two bays form a gallery 
 
The Muniment Room. 
 
 55 
 
 or upper aisle, open to the church. The details of the upper 
 portions of the aisles may be advantageously studied from this 
 gallery, and, on its own account, it is worthy of a visit. The 
 shortened columns — that is to say, the parts of them which 
 rise above the gallery — are treated as entire pillars with bases 
 of their own, presenting a singular contrast to the lofty pro- 
 portions to which the eye has become accustomed. The views 
 into the church from this chamber are picturesque and beau- 
 tiful in the highest degree. 
 
 The contents of the chamber are highly interesting, consist- 
 ing of a number of large oaken chests in which the muniments 
 are deposited. Several of these are evidently of the thirteenth 
 century, and are very curious. There is a handsome trunk of later 
 date in the enclosed space, containing the original indentures 
 of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, being agreements with, I think, 
 nineteen different parties, (abbots and other authorities,) bind- 
 ing them and their successors to see that the rules of his founda- 
 tion are carried out; but the long-headed King was not wise 
 enough for his generation, for his own bluff son cut the ground 
 from under him, by abolishing the offices the holders of which 
 he had made responsible for the performance of his injunc- 
 tions. I have no doubt that the contents of these ancient 
 coffers would throw much light upon the architectural history 
 of the Abbey. The particulars I have given of the works 
 from the time of Edward III. onwards, were, by the permission 
 of the Dean and Chapter, extracted a few years since from the 
 Fabric Foils by my kind and able friend Mr. Burtt, of the 
 Record Office, and have been communicated to me while this 
 lecture has been in hand. 
 
 I will here mention that several of the chests in the Pyx 
 Chamber closely resemble those in the muniment-room ; so 
 much so, as to make it evident that they also were made in the 
 thirteenth century, and even by the same men. There is, in 
 the Pyx Chamber, another of the same date and higher finish ; 
 it contains dies of medieval coins, and has iron-work of very 
 good character. Others are of different subsequent dates ; one 
 of them, made of oak and covered with leather, is very much 
 like that of Henry VII. just alluded to ; another is made of 
 
 L 
 
5 6 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 deal and thickly plated with iron. There is among them a 
 very curious leather case, strapped with iron, and stamped all 
 over with fleurs-de-lis, exactly agreeing with descriptions of the 
 cases of ancient documents given by Sir Francis Palgrave. 
 There is also among them another curious leather case, appa- 
 rently to receive a vessel of some kind. 
 
 Having now gone generally through the fabric, I will next 
 advert briefly to some interesting documentary information 
 from the public records which has quite recently been com- 
 municated to me by Mr. Burtt. Of the kindness of this gen- 
 tleman I cannot speak too strongly. He has, while my paper 
 has been in hand, given himself infinite trouble in searching 
 for notices of the works, and with very considerable success. 
 I am aware that the details of antiquarian documents are not 
 well suited to a paper like this, and I will therefore only advert 
 to a few important points. 
 
 The first of them is this. As Westminster Abbey is about 
 the earliest work with perfected tracery in this country, and 
 as the building of the first portion of it by Henry III. ex- 
 tended over a space of twenty-four years, i.e. from 1245 — 1269, 
 it becomes important to ascertain how early in this period the 
 style of its architecture can be proved to have been defined. 
 Now, a single entry in the documents in question has for ever 
 settled this point. I have before stated that the most advanced 
 part of the work (as to style) is the chapter-house, as that con- 
 tained traceried windows of four and five lights in a very deve- 
 loped form, the tracery not confined to circles, but containing 
 great quatrefoils, and the heads of the lights being trefoiled, 
 which is not the case in the church. Now, it would be most 
 useful to know the exact date of these windows, for though 
 Matthew Paris gives 1250 as the year of commencement of the 
 chapter-house, it may have spread over an indefinite length of 
 time, and the windows have belonged to twenty years after 
 that date. Let us look, then, to the bills. Here we find in 
 a roll, bearing date 37th Henry III., or 1253, and expressly 
 called the eighth year from the beginning of the work, an item 
 of “ 300 yards of canvas for the windows of the chapter-house,” 
 
Documentary Evidence of Dates. 
 
 57 
 
 followed immediately by items for the purchase of glass, shew- 
 ing that the windows in question were completed in 1253, 
 which I see was the year before the King, in company w r ith 
 St. Louis, visited the Sainte Chapelle at Paris, which was then 
 scarcely completed, and the style of which indicates exactly the 
 same degree of advancement. (See Plate Y.) I find also that 
 during the same year the beautiful entrance or vestibule to the 
 chapter-house was erected. (See Plate XI Y.) 
 
 The church itself was by this time — indeed, as early as 1249 
 — in a state of rapid progression, so that the architecture must, 
 in the main, have been quite settled from the time of its com- 
 mencement. 
 
 The entries found by Mr. Burtt are, for the most part, of 
 a somewhat general character ; but it is stated in the Pipe 
 Polls that further particulars have been sent in to the Trea- 
 sury. These bills of particulars have, it is feared, been for the 
 most part lost ; but Mr. Burtt has succeeded in finding one 
 complete one for about half- a -year, probably 1253, which is 
 of so interesting a character that we publish it, with notes by 
 Professor Willis, in continuation of this series of papers. It is 
 a perfect bill of quantities of the work done during twenty-five 
 weeks, giving the names and measurements of every mould- 
 ing, and every detail of the work, and forms a very curious and 
 interesting illustration of the architectural nomenclature of the 
 period. Attached to it are two amusing little letters from the 
 quarry-master at Purbeck, promising ship-loads of marble, and 
 begging for speedy orders on the ground of other pressing 
 business. 
 
 The notices I have adverted to in the Fabric Polls of the 
 works from Edward the Third’s time onwards are also very de- 
 tailed, and give curious particulars as to the mode of employing 
 men at that time. They appear to have been fed and clothed by 
 the employer, and the clothing would appear to be by no means 
 to be complained of. In one year we have an entry of 15s. 
 (equal to eight or ten pounds) for a fur robe for the chief 
 mason ; but another year nothing entered for his robe, because 
 this independent gentleman “ refused to receive it on account 
 of the delay in its delivery.” 
 
^ 8 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 Going back to the earlier accounts, I may mention that ex- 
 tensive works appear to have been going on at the same time 
 in the palace and its chapel, including a great deal of decora- 
 tive painting ; also that the belfry of the Abbey was being 
 built, which stood somewhere northward of the church, and of 
 which, I believe, that some remains existed at a somewhat 
 recent date. 
 
 The outlay upon the Abbey during the first fifteen years of 
 the work, would, if translated into our money value, consider- 
 ably exceed half-a-million. I must not, however, follow up 
 these details on the present occasion. 
 
 I have dwelt so long upon the fabric that I must content 
 myself with a cursory notice of a few of the internal contents of 
 the church, to which I chance to have paid particular attention. 
 
 That most remarkable work, the Shrine of the Confessor, has 
 been so largely dwelt upon before the Royal Institute of British 
 Architects, when the subject was brought forward a few years 
 back by Professor Donaldson, that it would be superfluous to 
 go again into the minutise of the investigation, to which I 
 devoted a great amount of time, and was ably followed up by 
 my talented friend Mr. Burges. 
 
 I will content myself with a summary of results. 
 
 Shortly after my appointment to the Abbey, in 1849, I was 
 led, owing to a visit paid to the church by Le Pere Martin 
 with myself and some members of the Ecclesiological Society, 
 to devote a good deal of attention to ascertaining, so far as 
 possible, the ancient form of the shrine ; the results of which 
 I gave in a correspondence with a leading member of that 
 Society. I removed the brick wall which then blocked up the 
 west end, and exposed the marks shewing where the altar had 
 been fixed, and came to the conclusion that the pillars now at 
 that end were formerly detached, and probably carried lights. 
 Probably they were the ‘ feet* which King Henry III. is said to 
 have given for certain lamps to be burned before the shrine p . 
 
 p Mr. Burges has since discovered, from illuminations in a manuscript preserved 
 in the University Library at Cambridge, that these columns did not hear lamps, 
 but figures of St. John and the Confessor. 
 
The Shrine . 
 
 <59 
 
 The retabulum occupies, as I ascertained, its proper position, 
 excepting that it has been lifted three inches above its original 
 level, a fact proved by its intercepting the space required for 
 the completion both of the ancient and the more modern in- 
 scriptions, for neither of which there is now sufficient room. 
 
 The front and what is seen of the back of the retabulum, 
 being decorated with mosaic, and the edge left plain, it follows 
 that the latter must have been more or less concealed. I judge, 
 therefore, that the detached pillars must have been placed very 
 close to them. 
 
 Extracts have been kindly communicated to me by Mr. John 
 Gough Nichols, from diaries kept during the days of Queen 
 Mary, shewing that the body of the Confessor had been re- 
 moved, and the shrine wholly or in part taken down at the 
 Dissolution, but restored in Queen Mary's time, when the pre- 
 sent wooden shrine q , the cornice, the modern inscription, and 
 the painted decorations were added. I am inclined to think 
 that the marble substructure was only taken down far enough 
 to allow of the removal of the body, as its parts have been dis- 
 placed in refixing so far down as that, but no further. The 
 altar either had not been removed, or was probably re- erected 
 at the same time, and was, I think, not removed again till the 
 Great Rebellion, being needed at coronations, on which occa- 
 sions a table has since been substituted under the old name of 
 “ the altar of St. Edward." I found at the back of where the 
 altar has stood a slab, apparently taken from some monument 
 of the seventeenth century and used as material for repairs, 
 which confirms this idea. There is, in Abbot Litlington's Ser- 
 vice-book in the Library, in the initial of the Service for St. 
 Edward's day, a view of the shrine, though I fear an imaginary 
 one. The substructure is speckled over to represent the mosaic 
 work, but the seven arched recesses for pilgrims to kneel under, 
 which really occupy two sides and an end, are all shewn on one 
 side ! The shrine itself is shewn lower than was usual, and 
 a recumbent figure of the Confessor is shewn on its sloping 
 covering. I will only add that I opened the ground round the 
 
 q I do not know whether the present wooden structure is of this or of a later 
 date : it certainly looks later. 
 
6o 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 half-buried pillars at the west end, and found them to agree in 
 height with those at the east, which they so much exceed in 
 diameter, and that I have been so fortunate as to recover the 
 broken parts of one of the eastern pillars, and to refit and refix 
 its numerous fragments with the help of one new piece of only 
 a few inches in length, so that we have now one perfect pillar. 
 
 In connection with the shrine I will allude to a little dis- 
 covery which I have shewn to many, I dare say, now present. 
 There is a sarcophagus- shaped slab in the floor immediately to 
 the east of the shrine, which is said to commemorate a son of 
 William de Yalence who died young. The cross and inscription 
 are nearly obliterated, hut its eastern end is covered by the step 
 to the tomb of King Henry Y. A very painstaking friend and 
 assistant of mine (Mr. Irvine), in examining the point of junc- 
 tion between the step and the slab, perceived signs of some 
 substance being inlaid into the latter. I obtained permission 
 to remove a portion of the step, when we found that the slab 
 had been inlaid with brass and glass-mosaic, and was, no doubt, 
 executed when the shrine was in hand. 
 
 A large portion of the pavement before the altar was exe- 
 cuted by Roman workmen, and with materials brought from 
 Rome by Abbot Ware, about 1267 or 1268. Of the curious 
 inscription, a part giving the list of those concerned in the 
 work is still legible, being “ Tertius Ilenricus urbs Odoricus et 
 Abbas Odoricus being the artist, and “urbs” of course mean- 
 ing Rome, as is proved by Ware’s own epitaph, which says, 
 when speaking of these stones, “ quos hue portavit ab urbe 
 
 It is curious that both in the monuments inlaid with glass- 
 mosaic, and in the pavements in which the inlaying material 
 is chiefly porphyry, the artists, as a thing of course, adopted, 
 as the matrix, Purbeck marble in place of the white marble 
 they were accustomed to use in Italy. 
 
 The tomb of King Henry III. is too well known to need 
 description here, but that of some of his children and grand- 
 children in the south aisle is but little noticed; indeed, its 
 Italian forms so much resemble those of a modern monument 
 that it usually passes for one. 
 
 Taking the tombs of the Confessor, of Henry III. and his 
 
Mosaic Pavement before the A Itar. 6 1 
 
 daughter, and of young De Yalence, in connection with the 
 pavement before the high altar, and that of the Confessor’s 
 Chapel, I should doubt whether — I will not say any church 
 north of the Alps — but, I may almost say, whether any country 
 north of the Alps, contains such a mass of early Italian deco- 
 rative art ; indeed, the very artists employed appear to have 
 done their utmost to increase the value of the works they were 
 bequeathing to us by giving to the mosaic work the utmost 
 possible variety of pattern. 
 
 Another object which does not receive the attention it de- 
 serves is the retabulum from the high altar, now preserved in 
 a glass case in the south-eastern aisle. 
 
 It is a very wonderful work of art, being most richly deco- 
 rated with glass, gold, and painting, and probably with precious 
 stones, and even with casts of antique gems. The glass enrich- 
 ments are of two sorts : in one the glass is coloured, and is de- 
 corated on its face with gold diaper; in the other it is white, 
 and laid upon a decorated surface. The great charm, however, 
 of the work must have been in the paintings. They consist 
 of single figures, in niches, of our Lord and SS. Peter and 
 Paul, and two female saints, and a number of small medallion 
 subjects beautifully painted r . 
 
 Next to the Italian tombs, one of the most interesting is that 
 of William de Yalence. I am not aware whether any old ac- 
 count of this monument exists, but I suppose we may fairly set 
 it down as a French work, and probably executed by an artist 
 from Limoges, though the custom of referring all enamel works 
 to that particular seat of the art is not, I think, borne out by 
 facts ; indeed, it would appear from the old accounts that enamels 
 for the shrine of the Confessor were executed here, whether by 
 an artist from Limoges is unknown, though we know that one 
 was employed in England shortly afterwards. 
 
 The execution of these enamels is truly exquisite — so much 
 so that it is only by the closest examination that any idea can 
 be formed of the wonderful delicacy of the workmanship. 
 
 r An excellent description of this work is to be found in Sir Charles Eastlake’s 
 “ Materials for a History of Oil Painting / 3 
 
6 2 
 
 Glecmings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 The monument was thus described by Keepe, 1683 : — 
 
 “ A wainscot chest, covered over with plates of brass, richly 
 enamelled, and thereon the image of De Valence, Earl of Pem- 
 broke, with a deep shield on his left arm, in a coat of mail with 
 a surcoat, all of the same enamelled brass, gilt with gold, and 
 beset with the arms of Valence, &c. . . . Pound about the inner 
 ledge of this tomb is most of the epitaph remaining, in the 
 ancient Saxon letters, and the rest of the chest covered with 
 brass wrought in the form of lozenges, each lozenge containing 
 either the arms of England or of Valence, alternately placed 
 one after the other, enamelled with their colours. Pound this 
 chest have been thirty little brazen images, some of them still 
 remaining, twelve on each side, and three at each end, divided 
 by central arches that serve as niches to enclose them ; and on 
 the outward ledge, at the foot of each of these images, is placed 
 a coat of arms in brass enamelled with the colours.” 
 
 Since this time the greater part of what is above de- 
 scribed has disappeared, shewing that the spoliation of the 
 Abbey is not generally chargeable against the rebels, but has 
 gone on in modern times during the contemptuous domina- 
 tion of Classic taste. 
 
 The tomb of Queen Eleanor, with its exquisitely elegant 
 effigy, is too well known to need any description from me. I 
 have had the privilege, since my connection with the Abbey, 
 of promoting the restoration to it of the beautiful piece of iron- 
 work which overhangs it, and which had been removed in 1822. 
 The effigy, with that of Henry III., was executed by an artist 
 named Torrell, supposed by Sir Pichard Westmacott, I think 
 without evidence, to be an Italian. It is one of the finest which 
 remains in any country. 
 
 Were this paper devoted to the monuments alone, I would 
 have attempted a description of the tomb of Edmund Earl of 
 Lancaster, brother to Edward I., and of Aveline his wife. 
 These magnificent monuments, viewed as architectural works, 
 seem to be intimately connected with several cotemporary 
 works, especially the Eleanor crosses, and the tombs of Arch- 
 bishop Peckham at Canterbury, and of Bishop de Luda at Ely, 
 all executed between 1290 and 1300. One of their special 
 
Tomb of Queen Philippa . 
 
 6 3 
 
 characteristics is the extreme closeness with which nature is 
 followed in their foliated carvings, every portion of which is 
 taken directly from some actual plant, with no further conven- 
 tional treatment than was necessary to adapt it to its position. 
 These works occupy the middle position between the conven- 
 tional foliage of the earlier and the almost equally conventional 
 foliage of the later divisions of our architecture. It is, in fact, 
 a mistake to call the foliage, even of the later parts of the 
 Decorated style, natural. The use of really natural foliage is 
 very seldom found after the end of the thirteenth and the few 
 earliest years of the fourteenth century, and marks, if I may 
 so say, the resting-place between the conventionalism of ap- 
 proach and the conventionalism of departure from nature ; the 
 conventionalism of strength and of weakness — of vigour and 
 of lassitude. 
 
 But the most remarkable characteristic of the two monu- 
 ments is the splendour of their decorative colouring. The 
 figure sculpture, though possessing considerable merit, is not 
 so fine either as in the nearly cotemporary monuments of 
 Henry III. and of Eleanor, or in the somewhat later one of 
 Aymer de Valence. The effigy of Edmund is, however, a very 
 noble and dignified work. 
 
 The adjoining tomb of Aymer de Valence is evidently an 
 imitation of those last described, but does not equal them either 
 in its architecture or its decorations, though far exceeding them 
 in the merits of its sculpture. I have seen no old accounts of 
 this tomb, but I fancy that the sculpture is Erench, both from 
 a decidedly French character in the architectural carving of 
 the niches which contain the statuettes, and from the similarity 
 of the statuettes themselves to some of the same period pre- 
 served in the Hotel Cluny at Paris. 
 
 These, and the effigy itself, rank among the finest specimens 
 of medieval sculpture. 
 
 The tomb of Queen Philippa stands, perhaps, next to them 
 in beauty and interest. It is undoubtedly a foreign work, as 
 in the account of its cost, still extant, it is said to have been 
 executed by one “ Hawkin Liege, from France.” Its character 
 seems to me rather Flemish than French, and very possibly 
 
 M 
 
6 4 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 the artist may have been from Valenciennes, the seat of her 
 father’s court. 
 
 The monument, as you will recollect, consists of an altar- 
 tomb of dark marble overlaid with niches of open-work in white 
 alabaster. These niches contained thirty statuettes of different 
 personages, connected by relationship or marriage with the 
 Queen. Nearly the whole of the tabernacle- work, though 
 shewn as perfect in the prints of the early part of the last 
 century, has since disappeared. 
 
 The end of the tomb has been immured in the lower part of 
 the chapel of King Henry V., and thinking it probable that 
 the tabernacle-work and statuettes might remain within the 
 enclosing masonry, I obtained permission of Dean Buckland to 
 make an incision into it, which I found could be done without 
 injury to the later monument : I was so fortunate as to find 
 several niches in a tolerably perfect condition, with two of the 
 statuettes quite perfect, and a number of fragments of others. 
 I found also in the tabernacle-work a most beautiful little 
 figure of an angel with the wings of gilt metal. The figure 
 had lost its head, but I was so fortunate as to discover it en- 
 veloped in a lump of mortar. I found also enough of the archi- 
 tectural features to serve as a guide to the recovery of the entire 
 design. Mr. Cundy, the Abbey mason, made from the informa- 
 tion thus obtained a restored reproduction of the end of the 
 monument, which he exhibited in 1851. 
 
 One of the niches and several other portions were afterwards 
 found to be deposited in Mr. Cottingham’s Museum, and having 
 been purchased from him, have been refixed in their places. 
 
 One very curious feature in the design is a scroll like the 
 crook of a pastoral staff between the niches at the angles of 
 the monument ; the architectural details had no decorative 
 colouring, but the foliage was gilt. The arms were of course 
 coloured, and the figures had beautiful patterns, chiefly in gold 
 upon the draperies ; the hair was gilt, the pupils of the eyes 
 touched in with blue, and the lips with red. The head-dresses 
 of the female figures are beautifully enriched with gold and 
 colour. One of the heads was unfortunately broken off while 
 opening it out, for I should mention that the figures were en- 
 
Tomb of Queen Philippa. 
 
 6 5 
 
 closed in a solid mass of rubble-work. This head I had a 
 cast made from, and the decoration exactly copied on it. I 
 had also a cast made of the angel before mentioned, and most 
 fortunate it was that I did so. 
 
 I afterwards most carefully replaced them with my own 
 hands, fixing them in their places with shellac; but, though 
 I told no one I had done so, and though they were quite out 
 of sight, I was disgusted to find, the next time I examined the 
 monument, that both of them had been stolen ! They were so 
 difficult of access that this act of wanton depredation could 
 only have been effected by a person well acquainted w T ith what 
 had been discovered, and that with considerable difficulty. It 
 is most deeply humiliating to think that persons capable of 
 appreciating the value and interest attached to such objects, 
 should be so utterly lost to all sense of honour and decency as 
 to perpetrate such a deliberate robbery. I would not go so 
 far as to flay this wretched being, as would, perhaps, have been 
 done of old, but I should rejoice in the opportunity, according to 
 the figurative expression still extant among our rural popula- 
 tion, of witnessing the “tanning” of the rascal's “hide.” If, 
 however, what I have said should chance to meet his eye, let 
 him know that there is still for him a locus poenitentice, and that 
 if he will anonymously restore what he has filched, his base- 
 ness shall be forgotten. 
 
 I should mention that the lost head is so like that of the 
 Queen herself, that it is not improbable that it may have been 
 intended for her, though she does not appear in the imperfect 
 list of statuettes given in the old histories. The open-work of 
 the niches over the head of the effigy itself has been filled in 
 with blue glass. The magnificence of the entire work may be 
 imagined when it is known that it contained, when perfect, 
 more than seventy statues and statuettes, besides several brass 
 figures on the surrounding railing. 
 
 Somewhat parallel to this, both in material and workmanship, 
 was the monument of John of Eltham, brother to Edward III. 
 I shall not enter into any description of this work, however, 
 further than to advert to its beautiful canopy, which is thus 
 described by Keepe : — “ A canopy covering the whole with de- 
 
66 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 licate wrought spires and mason’s work, everywhere intermixed 
 and adorned with little images and angels, according to the 
 fashion of those times, supported by eight pillars of white 
 stone, of the same curious wrought- work.” 
 
 This canopy is shewn in Dart’s view of the monument, but it 
 was taken down about eighty years back, on the ground of 
 insecurity. It has often been stated that portions of it were 
 preserved at Strawberry Hill, but I have never been able to 
 ascertain the truth of this. If any one should know of the 
 existence of such fragments, I should be truly obliged by their 
 informing me of them. 
 
 The original stalls of the choir seem to have been retained 
 in a more or less perfect state till late in the last century. 
 They are shewn in the view given by Dart ; and in that given 
 in Sandford’s account of the coronation of James II. the cano- 
 pies are shewn supported by single shafts. I observed, when 
 the new stall- work was being put up in 1848, that a closet 
 under the organ was lined with old boards which appeared to 
 have formed a part of the back of the ancient stalls, for I could 
 distinguish, by the discoloration of the wood, the form of a 
 t refoiled arch supported by a shaft with a band at half its height. 
 At a later period, on looking into this closet, I was glad to see 
 the boarding still there ; but, on looking into it again while 
 preparing this paper, I found that our careful clerk of the 
 works had caused it to be neatly painted, so that this little 
 memento is lost. 
 
 There remains, however, in Henry the Seventh’s Chapel one 
 of the ancient Early 
 English misereres, and 
 a fragment of another 
 has been preserved. 
 
 They have both good 
 Early English foliage s . 
 
 There is a great 
 fund of minor sub- 
 jects on which a se- 
 
 Miserere of the thirteenth century, preserved in 
 Henry the Seventh’s Chapel. 
 
 s There were found in the hall of the King’s Scholars two remnants of the 
 original stall-ends, with Early English carving. See Abbot Litlington’s Hall. 
 
The Altar Screen . 
 
 67 
 
 parate paper could be very advantageously written, but I must 
 leave them unnoticed on the present occasion*. I have gone 
 over my ground as rapidly as I was able, but have more than 
 doubled the allotted time, but Westminster Abbey is at least 
 worthy of an extra hour ; and I will only add, that I recom- 
 mend all students of Gothic architecture residing in London 
 to devote to it every extra hour they have at their command. 
 London has been pretty much denuded of its medieval remains, 
 but like the Sybil's books, those which remain are worth as 
 much almost as the whole ; and to live in a city which, amidst 
 its gloomy wilderness of brick and compo, contains so glorious 
 and exquisite a work of original art as this, is a privilege which 
 few other cities could offer us. Let us make use of it. 
 
 THE ALTAR SCREEN. 
 
 The question has sometimes been asked, “ What was the 
 origin of the present altar-screen, which, though executed in 
 artificial stone, backs up and seems to form a part of the beau- 
 tiful fifteenth-century screen which faces the chapel of Xing 
 Edward the Confessor ?” 
 
 We learn from Neale that the marble altar-piece erected in 
 the time of Queen Anne was taken down in 1820, during the 
 preparations for the coronation of King George IY. 
 
 ee On removing the altar-piece,” lie says, “ it was discovered that the west 
 front of the screen, against which it had been built and fastened to with 
 
 4 Among other things I should have given a description of the Coronation 
 Chair, and of the figures remaining in the panels of the old sedilia, commonly 
 called the tomb of King Sebert. The former is a truly magnificent piece of 
 decoration, bat sadly mutilated. The decorations are somewhat peculiar; the 
 whole seems to have been gilt on a thick coating of gesso, and while still soft, 
 the foliage, &c., to have been traced upon the gold, and indicated merely by 
 pricking the outline and the intervals between the leaves. Of the eight figures in 
 the sedilia two only remain perfect. They appear to have been slightly touched 
 up, hut are mainly original. They represent, I believe, King Henry III. and 
 King Sebert. The figure of King Edward the Confessor, on the back, which is 
 given by Malcolm in his Londinium Redivivum, can now with great difficulty be 
 distinguished. The painting in the canopy of the tomb of Richard II. ought 
 also to have been noticed. The diapered ground is still very perfect, but the 
 painting of the figures has almost entirely perished. 
 
68 
 
 Gleanings from W cstminster A bbey . 
 
 iron cramps, was wrought in a similar style of rich sculpture to the east 
 front ; though, from the dilapidations it had sustained at different periods, 
 its original beauty was altogether deteriorated. The architraves and cavettoes 
 of the doorways still displayed considerable remains of elegant and deeply- 
 perforated foliage, and many remnants of sculptural ornament, including 
 various pieces of a painted and gilt cornice, fragments of gilt foliage, mould- 
 ings, lions’ heads, &c., were found among the rubbish. The whole screen, 
 indeed, had been richly embellished with gilding and painting; the ground 
 was, generally, either of a red or azure colour, but had been covered with 
 whitewash. All the projecting parts of the large niches at the sides had 
 been cut away ; and the central part was formed into a large square recess 
 or panel. Whether there had ever been any historical sculptures on the 
 entablature, to correspond with those on the east front, could not be ascer- 
 tained, the whole frieze having been converted into a deep cove.” 
 
 Mr. Neale also states (writing in 1822 or 23) that the Dean 
 and Chapter had determined to restore the screen as nearly as 
 possible to its ancient state, and that working drawings for the 
 purpose were then making from actual admeasurements under 
 Mr. Wyatt’s direction. The work was executed in artificial 
 stone by M. Bernasconi ; and Mr. H. A. Smith, a well-known 
 architectural modeller, informed me some time since, that he 
 worked on the restoration when a boy, and he gave me a frag- 
 ment of the old work which he had then picked up; it is 
 beautifully executed in fire-stone, and coloured red. Mr. Smith 
 also wrote for me to Mr. Brown, who had acted at the time as 
 foreman to M. Bernasconi, and who has kindly sent me the 
 following information. He says that the cove was left plain, 
 but had been originally filled with subjects in sculpture, as 
 that on the other side, but that they had been so mutilated 
 that it was impossible to restore or even to make out the 
 subjects; the canopies were copied from the old ones, except- 
 ing the patterns of their vaultings, which were varied ; but in 
 restoring which, however, they followed one pattern only : the 
 mouldings were strictly copied from the originals ; there were 
 no remnants of the figures in the niches ; there was a piece of 
 cresting or brattishing found, but they thought it did not seem 
 to be original. 
 
 G. G. S. 
 
HENRY THE SEVENTH’S CHAPEL. 
 
 Henry the Seventh’s Chapel has been so frequently engraved 
 with all its beautiful details a , and is so thoroughly well known, 
 that any account of it here may appear superfluous, yet our 
 Gleanings would be very incomplete if we passed it over en- 
 tirely, and though we cannot expect to discover anything new 
 about it, our readers may be glad to be reminded of some of the 
 leading points relating to it. Any account of the Abbey church 
 would be obviously incomplete without the Lady-chapel belong- 
 ing to it, and though not commonly so called, this magnificent 
 chapel clearly is the Lady-chapel at the same time that it is the 
 mortuary chapel of the monarch whose name it bears. The 
 original Lady-chapel was undoubtedly on the same site, but in 
 all probability it was not so large b : in mentioning the original 
 Lady-chapel we mean only that belonging to the church of 
 Henry III., for it is certain there was no such appendage to the 
 church of Edward the Confessor ; the fashion did not come in 
 until after his time, nor before the latter part of the twelfth 
 century. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe that this chapel is the 
 richest specimen in existence of that peculiarly English style 
 commonly known as the Tudor style, and of that very re- 
 markable and admirable kind of vaulting known as fan-tracery 
 vaulting, which is also peculiar to England. It is too much 
 the fashion to depreciate and run down this style because it 
 belongs to the latest period of Gothic art, and naturally, there- 
 fore, wants the boldness and vigour of the earlier styles ; but it 
 
 a The best works are “ The History of Westminster Abbey,” by E. W. Bray ley, 
 with Plates by J. P. Neale, usually called Neale’s Westminster Abbey, 2vols., 4to., 
 1818; and Cottingham’s “ Henry the Seventh’s Chapel,” imperial folio, 1817, a series 
 of large lithographical plates with all the details. 
 
 b In addition to the Lady-chapel founded by Henry III. in 1220, an adjoin- 
 ing tavern, called the White Rose, and the small chapel of St. Erasmus, built by 
 Elizabeth Widville, queen of Edward IV., were pulled down to make room for 
 the present chapel. 
 
70 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 is far from being devoid of merit, and the strong hold which it 
 has on the popular mind, to which it is always more attractive 
 than the more severe early style, is itself a proof of merit. We 
 may consider the elaborate ornament as very much overdone in 
 the eye of a more pure taste, but there is no denying that it has 
 great richness of effect, and for the vaulting, that fan -tracery 
 vaulting is the highest development of skill in construction, 
 not only in the architect but in the workmen. 
 
 This point, of the necessity of a gang of skilled workmen ac- 
 customed to work together, for the production of the great works 
 of medieval art, has not been sufficiently attended to. The fables 
 of the Freemasons have produced a natural reaction, and the 
 degree of truth which there is in their traditions has conse- 
 quently been overlooked. We know that each of our great 
 cathedrals had a gang of workmen attached to it, in regular 
 pay, almost as a part of the foundation, for the fabric fund could 
 not be lawfully diverted to any other purpose ; and these work- 
 men became by long practice very skilful, more especially the 
 masons, or workers in and carvers of free stone, as distinct from 
 the labourers, who merely laid the rubble-work for the founda- 
 tions and rough parts of the fabric. From various indications 
 it would appear that there was also a royal gang of workmen in 
 the king’s pay, by whom the great works ordered, and perhaps 
 designed, by the king himself were constructed. The wills of 
 Henry VI. and Henry VII. seem to shew that those monarchs 
 were, at least to some extent, architects themselves ; they give 
 the most minute directions for the works to be done, just as 
 any architect might have done. St. George’s Chapel, Windsor ; 
 King’s College Chapel, Cambridge ; and Henry the Seventh’s 
 Chapel were probably all executed by the royal gang of masons. 
 
 It is on record that the work of the Divinity School in Oxford 
 was suspended for several years in consequence of the skilled 
 workmen being sent for to Windsor by a royal w T rit : the very 
 beautiful and scientific vault of the Divinity School does not 
 receive the attention which it deserves, being so much nearer to 
 the eye than the others, giving it the advantage so far that 
 it can be more easily examined. It seems probable that the 
 office held by William of Wykeham, and at a later time by Sir 
 
Chapel of Henry VII. 
 
 7 1 
 
 Reginald Bray, was in fact that of chief of the royal masons, 
 and it may be in this manner that Sir Reginald Bray has long 
 had the credit of giving the designs of Henry the Seventh’s 
 Chapel, although there is no evidence that he even gave the 
 idea of it ; he died soon after the foundations were laid. 
 
 The low estimation in which the style of this chapel is held 
 by our modern dilettanti is really unjust ; each style has its 
 own merits ; we may prefer one without depreciating the other. 
 Yery different was the estimation in which this Tudor style was 
 held by our ancestors : old Leland called it Orbis Miraculum , or 
 “ the Miracle of the World,” and so it was long esteemed. 
 Perhaps this exaggeration one way, has produced the present 
 reaction to the other extreme. We should bear in mind that 
 the chief architect of France, M. Yiollet-le-Duc, warmly and 
 honestly acknowledges his admiration of the English fan- tracery 
 vaulting, which is quite unknown in France ; and he points out 
 the reason of this, — that the French vaults are constructed on 
 a different principle, much more simple, and much cheaper, but 
 much less scientific than the English, and that French work- 
 men, accustomed to work in their own way, could not have built 
 a fan-tracery vault. 
 
 The following is the account of the foundation of the chapel 
 given by Holinshed : — 
 
 “ An. Reg. 18 ; 1503. * In this eighteenth year, the twentie fourth 
 
 daie of Januarie, a quarter of an honre afore three of the clocke at 
 after noone of the same daie, the first stone of our ladie chapell within 
 the monasterie of Westminster was laid, by the hands of John Islip, 
 abbat of the same monasterie, Sir Reginald Rraie knight of the garter, 
 doctor Barnes maister of the rolles, doctor Wall chapleine to the kings 
 maiestie, maister Hugh Oldham chapleine to the countesse of Darbie 
 and Richmond the kings mother, sir Edmund Stanhope knight, and 
 diuerse others. Ypon the same stone was this scripture ingraven : 
 “ Illustrissimus Henricus septimns rex Angliae & Erancise, & dominus 
 Hibernise, posuit hanc petram, in honore beatee virginis Marise, 24 die 
 Jannarij ; anno Domini 1502: Et anno dicti regis Henrici septimi 
 decimo octauo.” The charges whereof amounted (as some report, vpon 
 credible information as they say) to foureteene thousand pounds c .’ ” — 
 {Neale, vol. i. p. 6.) 
 
 c Equal to about 28,000£. of our money. 
 
 ■ N 
 
7 2 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey . 
 
 Stow repeats the same account : the only additional information 
 which he gives is that the stone was brought from Huddlestone 
 quarries in Yorkshire d . 
 
 The best history of this chapel is, after all, to be found in the 
 will of the royal founder, which was conscientiously followed by 
 his executors, excepting that the design of the altar was changed 
 according to the new fashion which had come in before it was 
 executed : — 
 
 “ ‘ And forasmoche as we haue receved our solempe coronacion, and 
 * ffor the King’s holie Inunccion, within our monastery of Westm’., and 
 
 Sepulture.’ that within the same monasterie is the com’en sepulture 
 of the Kings of this Reame ; and sp’ially bicause that within the same, 
 and among the same Kings, resteth the holie bodie and reliquies of 
 the glorious King and Confessour Sainct Edward, and diuse other of 
 our noble progenitours and blood, and sp’ially the body of our graunt 
 Dame of right noble memorie Quene Kateryne, wif to King henry the 
 Y th ., and doughter to king Charles of ffraunce; and that we by the 
 grace of God, p’opose right shortely to translate into the same, the 
 bodie and reliques of our Yncle of blissed memorie King Henry the 
 VI th ., ffor theis, and diuse other causes and consideracions vs sp’ially 
 moevyng in that behalf, we \Vol that whensoever it shall please our 
 Salviour Jehu Crist to calle vs oute of this transitorie lif, be it within 
 this our Royme, or in any other Reame or place withoute the same, 
 that oure bodie bee buried within the same monastery ; That is to saie, 
 in the Chapell where our said graunt Dame laye buried ; 
 the which Chapell we have begoune to buylde of newe, 
 in the honour of our blessed Lady. And we wol that 
 our Towmbe bee in the myddes of the same Chapell, 
 before the high Aultier, in such distaunce from the same as it is ordred 
 in the plat made for the same Chapell, and signed with our hande : In 
 which place we Wol, that for the said Sepulture of vs and our derest 
 late wif the Quene, whose soule God p’donne, be made a Towmbe of 
 
 d It is singular that the stone brought from so great a distance at an enormous 
 expense should have ultimately proved so bad that the whole of the exterior has 
 had to be entirely renewed : but it did last about three hundred years, whereas 
 the stone, also brought from Yorkshire, for the Houses of Parliament, built in 
 imitation of this chapel, seems likely to perish in thirty, and this after the country 
 had been at great expense in n aking enquiries and experiments by the most 
 scientific men of the day ; and yet there stand the ruins of Roche Abbey, and 
 various other buildings of the once despised Middle Ages, as sharp and as fresh as 
 the day the stone was cut, more than six hundred years ago. 
 
 ‘ The King’s 
 Chapell.’ 
 
 ‘ The King’s 
 Towmbe.’ 
 
Chapel of Henry VII. 73 
 
 Stone called touche, sufficient in largieur for ys booth : And upon the 
 same, oon ymage of our figure, and an other of hers, < The King’s 
 either of them of copure and gilte, of suche faction, and Ymage.’ 
 in suche maner, as shalbe thought moost conuenient by the discrecion 
 of our executours, yf it be not before doon by our self in our daies. 
 And in the borders of the same towmbe, bee made a conuenient 
 scripture, conteignying the yeres of our reigne, and the daie and yere 
 of our decesse. And in the sides, and booth ends of our said towmbe, 
 in the said touche vnder the said bordure, wee Wol tabernacles bee 
 graven, and the same to be filled with Ymages, sp’cially of our said 
 avouries, of coper and gilte. Also we Wol that incontinent after our 
 decesse, and after that our bodye be buried within the said towmbe, the 
 bodie of our said late wif the Quene bee translated from the place 
 where it nowe is buried, and brought and laide with oure bodye in our 
 siid tombe, yf it be not soo doon by our self in our daies. Also we 
 Wol, that by a conuenient space and distaunce from < The grate for 
 the grees of the high Aultier of the said Chapell, there the towmbe.’ 
 be made in lenght and brede aboute the said tombe, a grate, in maner 
 of a Closure, of coper and gilte, after the faction that we have begoune, 
 whiche we Wol be by our said Executours fully accomplisshed and 
 p’fourmed. And within the same grate, at owre fete, after a con- 
 uenient distaunce from our towmbe, bee maid an Aultier, in the honour 
 of our Salviour Jh'u Crist, streight adioynying to the said grate, At 
 which Aultier we Wol, certaine preists daily saie masses, for the weale 
 of our soule and remission of our synnes, vnder such maner and fourme 
 as is couuenanted and agreed betwext vs, and th’abbot, Priour and 
 Conuent, of our said monasterye of Westm"., and as more sp’ially 
 appereth by certaine writings indented, made vpon the same, and 
 passed aggreed and concluded, betwix us and the said Abbot, Priour 
 and Conuent, vnder our grete Seale and signed with our owen hand 
 for our partie, and the conuent Seale of the said Abbot Priour and 
 Conuent for their partie, and remayneng of recorde in the Eolles of 
 our Chauncellary. 
 
 “ ‘And if our said Chapell and towmbe, and oure said wifs Ymagies, 
 grate and closure, be not fully accomplisshed and p’fitely finisshed, 
 according to the premisses, by vs in our lif-tyme, we , The finisshing 
 then Wol, that not oonly the same chapell, tombe, of the King’s Cha- 
 ymagies, grate and closure, and every of theim, and al grate, a^d^cio- 
 other thinges to them belonging, with al spede, and sure -’ 
 assone after our decease as goodly may be doon, bee by our executours 
 hooly and perfitely finisshed in eury behalve, after the maner and 
 
74 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 fourme before rehersed, and sutingly to that that is begoune and doon 
 of theim : But also that the said Chapell be desked, and the windowes 
 of our said Chapell be glased, with stores, ymagies, armes, bagies and 
 cognoisaunts, as is by ys redily diuised, and in picture deliv’ed to the 
 Priour of sainct Bartilmews besids Smythfeld, maister of the works of 
 our said Chapell ; and that the walles, doores, windows, Archies and 
 Vaults, and ymagies of the same our Chapell, within and wkmt, be 
 painted, garnisshed and adorned with our armes, bagies, cognoisaunts, 
 and other conuenient painteng, in as goodly and riche maner as suche 
 a werk requireth, and as to a King’s werk app’teigneth. 
 
 “ * And for the more sure p’fourmance and finisshing of the pre- 
 misses, and for the more redye payment of the money necessary in that 
 behalf, we have dcliued in redy money before the hande, the some of 
 vMli, to the Abbot, Priour and Conuent, of our said Monastery of 
 'Westm., as by writings indented betwixt vs and theim, testifieng the 
 same payment and receipte, and bering date at Richemount the 
 thretene daie of the moneth of Aprill, the xxiiii yere of our reigne, it 
 dooth more plainlie appiere : the same five thousand pounds and every 
 parcel thereof, to be truly emploied and bestowed by th’ Abbot of our 
 said monastery for the tyme being, about and vpon the finisshing and 
 p’fourmyng of the premisses from time to tyme, as nede shall require, 
 by th’ advise, comtrollement and ou’ sight, of such p’sones as we in our 
 live, and our executours after our decesse, yf they be not doon in our 
 live, shall depute and assigne, without discontynuing of the said works 
 or any parte of theim, till thei be fully p’formed, finisshed, and accom- 
 plisshed.’ ” — [Neale, vol. i. pp. 7, 8.) 
 
 A number of indentures are extant between the king and 
 the abbot and convent of Westminster for the more effectual 
 carrying out of the royal intentions for the service of the 
 chapel. Some of these are preserved in the Public Record 
 Office, others in the library of the Dean and Chapter. The 
 king took, as he thought, every possible precaution, but he 
 little foresaw the great change which was to come over his 
 realm in the time of his son, and how futile all his precautions 
 would prove, so far as the letter of them is concerned. Let us 
 hope that the spirit of them is not lost, and as the object of the 
 king was the perpetuation of the true Christian faith in his 
 realm, and in his Abbey of Westminster, that this object will 
 never be lost sight of, as it certainly is not by the present Dean 
 
Chapel of Henry VII . 75 
 
 and Chapter. The reform of abuses is very far from destroying 
 the main object. 
 
 One of these indentures will suffice to shew the minute care 
 bestowed by the king on his object : — 
 
 “ 1 This Indenture made betwene the moost cristen and moste ex- 
 cellent Prince kyng henry the seventh by the grace of god kyng of 
 Englande and of ffrance and lord of Irlande the xvi daye of July the 
 nynetene yere of his moost noble reigne and John Islipp Abbott of the 
 monastery of Seynt Petre of Westm.’ and the Priour and Convent of 
 the same monastery, Witnesseth,’ &c. — 
 
 “ After providing for the saying of certain collects, psalms, and 
 orations, during the King’s life and after his decease, it proceeds thus : 
 * And the said Abbot Prior and Convent covenanten & graunten and 
 theym and thair successours bynden to the said king our Souayn lord 
 and his heires and successours by these presents, that the same Abbot 
 Priour and Convent and their successours from the date of these p’sentes 
 shall provide ordeigne have fynde and kepe ppertually for ever While 
 the world shall endure thre monks of thordre of Saynt Penet in the 
 said monastery ouer and above the noumbre of the monks that ought 
 to be had and susteyned in the same monast’y by reason of the fundacion 
 thereof or oderwise. In which mona’sty the said kyng oure sou’ayn 
 lord willeth & determyneth by godds g a ce his body to be buried and 
 enterred : and where it is the very mynde will and entent of the said 
 king our sovereyn lord to have thre chauntery monks Docto r s or 
 bachelers of Divinite in the same monastery there ppetually whill the 
 world shall endure to say daily masse divine s’ vice w 4 p a yers observ a nce 
 & ceremonies & in such man 1 fourme tymes ordre and places as hereaft’ 
 ensueth in these Indentures, fforasmoch as there be nowe noo such 
 Doctors ne batchelers of the same monast’y mete and hable for the 
 same Chauntries and service ouer and beside the Abbot Priour and 
 Monks daily of the said monastery therfor,’ — the Abbot &c. covenant 
 that ‘ thre monks of the said monks now being or that hereafter shall 
 be Scholers in the vniuersite of Oxenford do take the degree of batche- 
 lers of Divinite in as brief and convenient tyme as may be had and 
 done ;’ — the said monks to say daily mass and divine service, whilst 
 the world shall endure, for the King and Realm, 1 the soul of the 
 Princess Elizabeth the late Quene his wif,’ their children and issue, 
 Prince Edward the King’s father, and Margaret his mother, ‘ and after 
 the decease of the said king oure Souvrayn lord, then to pray specially 
 and principally for the soule of the same kyng our sou’rayn lorde and 
 
76 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 also for tlie soule of the same quene and the soules aforesaid and all 
 cristen soules With suche observaunce and ceremonies and in suche 
 places tymes man’ fonrme and ordre as hereafter ensueth. That is to 
 say, that the said thre chaunt’y monks and ev’y of theim at the Aultier 
 under the lantern place e betwene the Quere and the high Aultier in 
 the said monastery, till the Chapell of oure lady in the said monastery 
 which oure saide sou’rayn lord the kyng hath nowe begon he fully 
 edified and bilded at the coste and charges of oure said Sov'rayne lord 
 the kyng his heires or executo r s, and a tombe there made for thenter- 
 ment of the body of our said sou’rayn lord the kyng and a closure of 
 metall in maner of a Chapell made theraboute and an Aultier enclosed 
 within the same at the coste and charge of the said kyng our sou’rayn 
 lord his heires or executo r s, which Aultier vndre the said lanteme place 
 and also an herse with a hundreth Tapers stonding vpon and aboute 
 the same he nowe p’vided and there made and sett by our said sourayne 
 lord the kyng there to stonde vnto the tyme the said Chapell of our 
 Lady and tombe w t the said closure theraboute, and the Aultier within 
 the same be so made, shall say their masses daily, except the dayes 
 called Shevethursday Goodfryday the Yigill of Ester and the daj’es of 
 coronacions of Kynges and Quenes of Englande cristenyng of thair 
 children and enterrement of the body of any King or Quene of Englande 
 or any of thair children in the same Monastery and the daies necessary 
 for the preparyng of the place ynder the said lanterne place for euery 
 of the same causes, and the dayes necessary for the remou'eng of all 
 such thinges shalbe brought sette and made in the said place ynder the 
 said lanterne for euery of the said causes only. And that the said 
 Abbot Priour and conuent,’ &c.” — (Neale, yol. i. pp. 12, 13.) 
 
 It may be inferred from different circumstances, that before 
 the king’s decease in April, 1509, the building was completed 
 to the vaulting ; and the monarch, in his will, is particularly 
 urgent that all the works be immediately “ accomplished and 
 performed.” For this purpose, only nine days previously to 
 his death, he delivered 5,000/. in “ redy money, before the 
 honde ,” to Abbot Islip ; and directed, if that sum should be 
 
 e From this passage it is evident that there was at that time an open lantern 
 over the central space “ between the quire and the high aulter,” the quire being 
 then, as now, in the eastern part of the nave, immediately to the west of the 
 crossing or transept. Might not such an open lantern be easily constructed of 
 wood and replaced; and would not such a restoration be a great improvement 
 to the church ? 
 
Chapel of Henry VII, 
 
 77 
 
 insufficient, that his executors should advance to the said abbot 
 as much more as might be requisite for the full completion of 
 the edifice. Henry died on the 22nd of April, and was buried 
 here with vast pomp on the 11th of May following. Between 
 that time and the month of October, 1512, it is highly probable 
 that the whole of the superstructure was finished, as an indenture 
 was then entered into with Torrigiano, for the making of the 
 royal tomb ; the ‘ closure* for which had been commenced before 
 the king’s death. Four years afterwards, in 1516, another in- 
 denture was made with Torrigiano, for erecting a rich canopy 
 and altar, “ wfin the new chapell which the foresaid late King 
 caused to be made at Westm./* by the 1st of November, 1519. 
 We may therefore assume, with every degree of probability, 
 that the internal arrangements of this magnificent structure 
 were entirely completed at that period. 
 
 The following extracts from Brayley’s History will suffice to 
 record the recent history of the fabric : — 
 
 “ During the three centuries which had elapsed from the foundation 
 of Henry’s Chapel to the year 1803, it had undergone but little repair; 
 and its external state had become so completely ruinous, that the safety 
 of the whole fabric was endangered. Some years before this, indeed 
 in 1793, it had been necessary to repair the roof; the expense, about 
 1,900Z., being defrayed from the revenues of the Church. Reparations 
 on a more enlarged scale were projected, and the late James Wyatt, 
 Esq., the surveyor-general, was employed in restoring a part over the 
 eastern window, for the purpose of ascertaining the expense of re- 
 pairing the whole, when the fire in the roof and lantern of the Abbey 
 Church, which happened from the neglect of the plumbers, occasioned 
 an almost immediate expense to the Dean and Chapter of 3,848^., and 
 thus depriving them of the means of proceeding with the intended 
 repairs of the chapel. 
 
 “ In this state of circumstances, the solicitude of every admirer of 
 the architectural splendour of this edifice was highly excited ; for at 
 the very period when the fire happened, the two western turrets, which 
 had been found to be in a most dangerous condition, were in progress 
 of being taken down ; the windows were propped with timbers, several 
 of the 1 flying buttresses, or cross-springers, had sunk through the 
 decay of their abutments, and all the exterior ornaments, battlements, 
 pinnacles, &c., were utterly dilapidated ; so that the entire building 
 
yS Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 had assumed the appearance of an almost ‘ shapeless mass of ruin.’ 
 The south and south-east sides were particularly decayed ; the weather 
 haying made deeper inroads upon those fronts than on the opposite 
 sides. 
 
 “Whilst it was yet undetermined what measures to pursue, the late 
 Dean of Westminster, Dr. Vincent, through whose indefatigable and 
 most praiseworthy exertions this chapel is, in a very great degree, in- 
 debted for its restoration, was informed that, in a conversation on the 
 subject which had taken place between Lord Grenville, the late 
 Marquis of Buckingham, and other dignified persons, and in which the 
 deficiency of the Dean and Chapter’s pecuniary resources had been 
 noticed, Lord Grenville had used the interrogation, Why don't they 
 apply to Parliament ? — The advice implied by this question was not 
 lost ; the Dean immediately addressed a Memorial to the Lords of the 
 Treasury, accompanied by a letter, in which he requested to state to 
 their Lordships the different proposals which had been made for 
 repairing the chapel, together with an estimate of the expense, ‘in 
 order to procure their recommendation of the matter to Parliament.’ 
 The Memorial was dated on the 15th of November, 1806; and on the 
 5th of December, the Lords of the Treasury referred the consideration 
 of the subject to the ‘ Committee for the Inspection of the Models for 
 National Monuments,’ &c. (generally called the ‘ Committee of Taste’) ; 
 in consequence of which, and of further proceedings, a Petition from the 
 Dean and Chapter was presented to the House of Commons, in June, 
 1807, with the approbation of the late King; and on the Beport of 
 a Committee appointed to examine into its allegations, the sum of 
 2,0002. was granted towards the projected repairs. . . . 
 
 “ Prom which period the repairs were progressively carried on till 
 they were entirely completed by the restoration of the western or stair 
 turrets, and of the small windows of the side aisles, in the last months 
 of the year 1822 ; the whole being finished and the scaffolds struck on 
 Christmas Eve. In the base of the ornamental dome which crowns 
 the south-east turret, the following inscription was cut: — ‘Bestored 
 1809, Anno Begni 50 Geo. III. William Vincent, Dean; James 
 Wyatt, Architect; Jeremiah Glanville, Clerk of the Works; Thomas 
 Gayfere, Mason.’ — Similar inscriptions were cut on other turrets, only 
 varying in the date of the year in which they were executed, and in 
 substituting the name of ‘John Ireland, Dean,’ for that of Vincent, 
 after the decease of the latter. 
 
 “The aggregate amount of the Grants made by Parliament for the 
 repairs of this chapel, is somewhat more than 42,0002., which sum has 
 
Chapel of Henry VII . 
 
 79 
 
 been expended in a manner that confers distinguished honour on all 
 the parties concerned. The renovation of the external architecture 
 has been complete ; and, with the exception of the ornamental parts 
 of the ‘upper battlement/ as it is called, though in fact only a pierced 
 parapet, all the ancient work has been correctly imitated ; not alone 
 in its general forms, but likewise in its exuberant detail of enriched 
 panelling, embossed niches, fretted tracery, and heraldic and decorative 
 sculpture. Were some portion of the national riches more frequently 
 devoted to similar objects of elegant art, and to the general cultivation 
 of the kindred sciences of literature and painting, it would conduce far 
 more to the permanent renown of the empire, than the expenditure of 
 all its treasures in the heart-sickening calamities of sanguinary warfare, 
 however glorious its victories or extensive its dominions. 
 
 “As the judicious advice of the ‘Committee of Taste’ had deter- 
 mined the Dean and Chapter to have every part of this magnificent 
 fabric restored, as nearly as possible, in exact conformity to the original 
 building, there was but very little occasion for the interference of the 
 Architect ; all the labour of arranging the work, tracing out the details 
 and ornaments, and supplying defects from corresponding parts, being 
 left to the discretion and industry of the Mason. The task was an im- 
 portant one ; and though it might not demand a genius of the first 
 order, it required professional skill, a practised eye, and a sound judg- 
 ment : — it is no eulogium to say that the execution of this task could 
 not have been entrusted to a more capable artizan than Mr. Gay fere.” 
 — ( Neale , vol. i. pp. 21 — 27.) 
 
 We hope that the advice given by Lord Grenville to Dean 
 Vincent, and so judiciously acted upon by him, will not be lost 
 sight of by the present Dean and Chapter, and that the Parlia- 
 ment of Queen Victoria will treat the Chapter-house with the 
 same good taste and liberality which the Parliament of George 
 IV. shewed in the case of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel. The 
 claim is a far stronger one, for in place of the decay of time 
 only, as in the instance of the chapel, we have in the case of 
 the chapter-house actual violence committed by Parliament 
 itself, which first took possession of it for its own meetings, and 
 then mutilated it for the purpose of turning it into a public 
 record office, for which it was singularly ill-suited. We believe 
 that to this day the remains of this beautiful structure are still 
 the property of the nation, and not of the Dean and Chapter, as 
 
 o 
 
8o 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 it did not form part of the grant of Henry the Eighth. It is 
 obvious that the Dean and Chapter cannot be called upon to 
 repair a building which does not belong to them, and we trust 
 that Parliament will not hesitate to restore to the Dean and 
 Chapter not only the ruins of their beautiful Chapter-house, but 
 will accompany the grant by such a sum as will enable them to 
 put it into a proper state of repair. This appears to be only 
 common justice. We hear that if Parliament will grant the 
 ruins and 20,000/. towards the dilapidations, the Dean and 
 Chapter are willing to /undertake the perfect restoration of this 
 beautiful building, the present state of which is a disgrace to 
 the country. 
 
 We have been favoured by Mr. W. Burges with the follow- 
 ing note respecting the Tomb of Henry YII. : — 
 
 Britton, in his account of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel in the “Archi- 
 tectural Antiquities of Great Britain,” has printed two or three docu- 
 ments which give us very considerable information on the progress of 
 the tomb and other portions of the chapel. 
 
 The first is the will of Henry YII. Prom it we learn that the 
 original tomb was to be made of touch-stone, with copper- gilt recum- 
 bent effigies, while the sides and ends were to be occupied with small 
 images of the King’s patron saints, also in copper-gilt, within taber- 
 nacles, equally of touch-stone. The more general practice was to make 
 the sides of the tomb of black marble with the tabernacles in white 
 marble, but the testator in this instance would appear to have wished 
 the whole to be in black. His tomb was to be contained within an en- 
 closure of copper-gilt, which was begun at the time the will was written, 
 and within it at the eastern end was to be erected an altar with a 
 wooden dossel covered with plates of gold. Again, the enclosure was 
 to stand in “the myddes of the same chapell before the high aultier,” 
 a position which is again indicated by the words, “ That by a conue- 
 nient space and distaunce from the grees of the high aultier of the said 
 chapell there be made a grate.” From this it would appear that the 
 tomb was to be in the middle of the chapel and before the high altar, 
 but this view of the matter is in direct contradiction to all the old 
 plans of the building, for example, the one in the Thorpe drawings 
 now in the Soane Museum, and what Sandford says in his Life of 
 Edward IV., all of which indicate the tomb as we see it at the present 
 day. How this raises the question as to whether the tomb has been 
 
Tomb of Henry VII 
 
 81 
 
 removed from its original place, say in the time of Queen Mary. It is 
 just probable that the high altar was taken down in Edward the Fourth’s 
 reign, and afterwards re-erected by his sister: perhaps it was then 
 thought that the tomb and its grille was in the way, and it was there- 
 fore removed to its present situation. However, Henry the Seventh’s 
 will was so much modified that it is very probable that the original 
 arrangement was never carried out. Still it must be confessed that the 
 more usual arrangement was to place the founder's tomb before the 
 great altar of a chapel rather than behind it. 
 
 The will then goes on to speak of the “ high aultre within our said 
 chapell called our Lady aultre,” and every other “ aulter being within 
 our said chapell of our Lady, bee thei of the sides of the same, or in 
 any other place within the compasse of the same.” Mention is also 
 made of the “ aulter of our said uncle of blessed memory King Henry 
 VI.,” and the beginning of the document tells us “ That we by the 
 grace of God propose right shortly to translate into the same (chapel) 
 the body and reliques of our uncle of blessed memory King Henry VI.” 
 How all this gives us the following altars : — 1. the high altar, dedi- 
 cated to the Blessed Virgin ; 2. the altar within the enclosure of the 
 tomb, dedicated to our Saviour; 3. the altar of King Henry VI. : and 
 then there are spaces for six more at the ends of the aisles, and in the 
 side chapels of the apse. I conceive the ancient arrangement as origi- 
 nally contemplated to have been as follows : — In the middle of the 
 stalls was the king’s tomb and altar of our Saviour ; then followed the 
 high altar, somewhere near where the tomb is now ; and at the extreme 
 east end in the bay window the tomb of Henry VI., which, from a 
 drawing in the Cottonian Collection, Aug. 2, Vol. i., would appear to 
 have consisted of the same arrangement as that of Henry V., viz., the 
 tomb below and a chantry chapel above, supported on four pillars. 
 We must remember that Henry VI. was never canonized, the scandal 
 being that Henry VII. found it cost too much, and therefore the altar 
 designated in the will as that of Henry VI. would refer to the chantry 
 altar above his tomb. Another curious fact would go somewhat to prove 
 the point, for the sill of the eastern bay window is so low that there 
 would be no place for an attached altar and its dossel, that represented 
 on Thorpe’s plan looking very much like a make-shift. However this 
 may be, we know that the body of Henry VI. still remains at Windsor, 
 and that neither the canonization or removal ever took place. 
 
 The document above alluded to, viz. Thorpe’s plan of the chapel, 
 which is to be fcund among his other works preserved in the Soane 
 Museum, is not only valuable as shewing us the position of the other 
 
82 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 altars, but exhibits the arrangement of the stalls prior to their being 
 altered in the reign of George I. It is generally asserted that a new 
 bay of stalls was then added on either side ; by a comparison, however, 
 of Thorpe’s plan with the actual building, we shall find that the num- 
 ber of the stalls remains the same, the only additions being two rows 
 of canopies, which however were supplied by cutting off the hinder part 
 of the original ones f . 
 
 Plan of Henry VH.’s Chapel, from the Soane Museum. 
 
 Stalls, Henry VII. ’s Chapel. 1. From Thorpe’s Plan. 2. Present arrangement. 
 
 f I believe that most of the details of the plan will he found correct in the 
 woodcut; unfortunately, by the will of Sir J. Soane the trustees were unable to 
 grant the power of tracing it until their next meeting, and having been obliged to 
 make a hasty sketch of it, it is just probable that there may be some slight inac- 
 curacies. It is quite time that something should be done with this at present very 
 useless institution. An Act of Parliament might surely be obtained for handing 
 over the pictures to the National Gallery, the library and librarian (salary included) 
 to the Institute of British Architects, the sarcophagus, manuscripts, and antique 
 gems to the British Museum, while the rest of the collection is of very little value. 
 
Tomb of Henry VII. 
 
 83 
 
 The next document given by 13 r it ton is entitled “ An estimate of the 
 charge for making of a tomb for King Henry YII., which plot was after- 
 wards disliked by King Henry YIII. and altered as it now stands.” 
 From it we find that the pattern was made by Master Pageny, and 
 that the king’s three master masons were to work the black touch- 
 stone and white marble, the former to be used for the base and 
 ledger and the latter for the sides and ends. Lawrence Imber, carver, 
 was to make the patrones in timber of the various images, which 
 were afterwards to be cast in copper by Nicholas Ewen, coppersmith 
 and gilder. Lastly, a quantity of painting was to be done by four 
 men’s hands within a year. The whole number of figures is stated to 
 he nineteen, of which (most probably, for the account is rather con- 
 fused) Drawswerd Sherif of York was to execute two recumbent 
 effigies and a kneeling one of the king. The kneeling figure was pro- 
 bably a substitution for the golden one directed in the will to be placed 
 on the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor. 
 
 Now this tomb was probably only a slight modification of the one 
 Henry YII. refers to in his will, and which was clearly a Gothic design. 
 
 There is no doubt, however, hut that Torrigiano made the tomb as 
 we now see it, for an indenture between him and Henry YIII. relative 
 to the making of a tomb for the latter king is referred to in Neale’s 
 “ Westminster Abbey.” And in this we find casual mention of a tomb 
 that Torrigiano had contracted to make in 1512, and which he had 
 then finished. 
 
 The tomb of the Countess of Richmond (Henry YII.’s mother) is 
 likewise by the same artist, but inasmuch as there are sundry Gothic 
 details in it we may naturally suppose it to be a prior production. 
 
 Another document given by Britton proves that Torrigiano made the 
 high altar. Sandford gives a print of this, p. 496, edition 1707. Here, 
 however, as far as we can judge by the plate, we see a very different 
 and coarser description of art ; so much so, that it is difficult to con- 
 ceive the altar and the two above-mentioned tombs to have been the 
 work of the same man. Perhaps we may suppose Torrigiano to have 
 changed his style after his visit to Italy in 1518, when he tried to in- 
 duce Benvenuto Cellini to come over here and work with him. At all 
 events, in the chapel of Henry YII. we trace the gradual departure 
 from medieval art. Thus the chapel and the brass screen are purely 
 medieval, and there are also traces of the same style in the Countess 
 of Richmond’s tomb ; the king’s monument is pure Italian renais- 
 sance, hut still very delicate and beautiful, while in the high altar, 
 which by the indenture was to be finished and erected by Nov. 1519, 
 
84 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 the details and members are coarse and heavy. This latter was de- 
 corated with subjects relating to the life of our Lord, and consisted 
 of four pillars supporting a square ceiling, at the four corners of which 
 were angels of terra-cotta, so made as to look like marble, and support- 
 ing the instruments of the Passion. The altar proper was placed below 
 this canopy, and presented a slab of touch- stone, supported by sundry 
 bronze balusters ; within was an image of the dead Christ, made of 
 burnt clay and coloured. It will be remembered that a tomb and 
 effigy of burnt clay made by Torrigiano are still to be found in the 
 chapel of the Polls in Chancery-lane. 
 
 Another curious fact in the history of this chapel is, that some years 
 back, when the pockets of the aisle vaults were cleaned out, a crumpled 
 and very dirty leaf of one of our earlier printers was discovered among 
 the rubbish, which had never been disturbed since the building had 
 been erected. This in itself is not very important, but it is curious in 
 connection with the fact that Caxton is said to have set up his first 
 printing-press in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey, and it has often 
 struck me whether the very spacious triforium of the church could have 
 been the scene of his labours. Might not a careful search in the floor 
 of this triforium bring to light evidence of this, either in the shape of 
 an old type, or some other relic of early printing? The triforium 
 would be just the place for a workshop, and at the same time suf- 
 ficiently inaccessible to prevent intrusion. 
 
THE METAL-WOEK 8 . 
 
 There are two common errors into which would-be church 
 restorers are particularly liable to fall ; these are to imagine, 
 firstly, that churches and cathedrals are better for being iso- 
 lated ; and secondly, that tombs and works of art are improved 
 by the removal of their railings. With regard to the former, 
 a moment’s reflection ought to teach them that the aim of the 
 original architect, after making a convenient building with all 
 its necessary appendages, such as cloisters, canons’ houses, &c., 
 was so to group these latter with the main edifice as to obtain 
 a number of ever- varying and picturesque views. As to the 
 tombs, the said architect well knew that man in every station 
 and of every period is pre-eminently a destructive animal, he 
 therefore took very good care to surround the tomb and its 
 elaborate imagery with stout iron railings, so as to disappoint 
 the fingers of the idle and maliciously disposed. 
 
 Yery often these railings were simple affairs, such as that 
 which protects the tomb of Archbishop Langham in St. Bene- 
 dict’s Chapel ; but sometimes they were exceedingly elaborate 
 works of art, and displayed wondrous workmanship, such as we 
 still see at Westminster and at Windsor. Unfortunately, up to 
 the present period it has been the fashion to get rid of the more 
 simple of these railings, the result but too often being to the 
 detriment of the monument : where, however, the richness of 
 the workmanship has caused them to be preserved, the tombs 
 as a general rule have suffered but very little. Witness that 
 of Henry VII., which is nearly as perfect as on the day it was 
 finished. Anciently the feeling for the preservation of the tomb 
 was sometimes carried so far that the iron-work must nearly 
 have hidden the work it was made to protect. Thus the tomb 
 of the Duke of Berry, in the Sainte Chapelle at Bourges, was 
 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
86 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 surrounded by an exceedingly plain and close grille of iron, 
 which must have greatly hindered any very distinct view of 
 the imagery within. 
 
 If we look over the plates in Ackerman’s or Neale’s History 
 of the Abbey, we shall find that nearly every tomb was in some 
 measure protected by a railing ; and if we push our enquiries a 
 little further, we shall discover that they were mostly removed 
 in 1822, when the Dean and Chapter took the exhibition of the 
 Abbey into their own hands. Of course they were actuated by 
 the best of motives, and were guided by the opinion of the day ; 
 and indeed we are now only just beginning to suspect that they 
 were in the wrong ; but so strong then was the feeling on the 
 point, that even the beautiful iron- work of Queen Eleanor’s tomb, 
 after having been spared in this first razzia, was removed under 
 the inspiration of (I believe) no less a person than the late Sir 
 Francis Chantrey ; that sculptor doubtless thinking that it 
 interfered with the beautiful profile of Torel’s masterpiece, and 
 forgetting that the iron-work was as much a portion of the 
 general composition as the statue itself, and that they should 
 never have been divided. Its subsequent restoration to its 
 right place is, I believe, due to Mr. Scott. 
 
 At present, therefore, the iron-work of the Abbey may be 
 divided into three classes. Of these one has been sold or lost, 
 in fact, has disappeared ; the second has been removed, and still 
 remains in the Abbey, but not in its original place, being stowed 
 away in the triforium, and in the slip commonly called the 
 Chapel of St. Blaise ; while the third division still remains in 
 its place : luckily it happens to be by far more valuable and 
 sumptuous than all the rest, and we may well console ourselves 
 for the loss of the remainder by the thought that few churches 
 in Europe can shew more beautiful and sumptuous works in 
 iron and brass than those we are about to examine. 
 
 At present these examples are reduced to five only, but they 
 all differ in construction and ornament, and moreover are most 
 excellent examples of their several kinds. They are, 1. The 
 grille at the top of the tomb of Queen Eleanor ; 2. The railing 
 round Archbishop Langham’s effigy ; 3. That at the west end 
 of the chantry of Henry Y. ; 4. The brass or copper gates of 
 
The Metal-work. 87 
 
 Henry the Seventh’s Chapel ; and 5. The beautiful brass grille 
 round the tomb of the latter King. 
 
 The famous grille made by Master Thomas de Leghtone for 
 the tomb of Queen Eleanor does not appear to have been de- 
 signed so much for the protection of the tomb as to prevent 
 ill-disposed persons from getting into the Confessor’s Chapel 
 by climbing over the effigy ; in fact, it only commences at the 
 top of the altar- tomb, and then, curving outwards, finishes 
 at a comparatively small height above its springing. 
 
 It is easy to conceive why this arrangement obtained, for we 
 must remember that the Confessor’s Chapel contained not only 
 the golden shrine of that saint, but in all probability an altar of 
 reliques, which would be placed where Henry the Fifth’s chantry 
 now stands. The altar of reliques would of course contain many 
 rich and costly reliquaries, and thus afford an additional reason 
 for making the place secure. This object was doubtless effected in 
 the first instance by high and close grilles, which went all round 
 between the pillars of the chapel, and the whole effect most pro- 
 bably resembled the altar of reliques at Arras, as shewn in the 
 sixth volume of Didron’s Annales Archeologiques. Now when 
 Henry III. and Queen Eleanor’s tombs were erected b , these high 
 grilles were necessarily removed, and the tombs being very lofty, 
 at least from the ambulatory side, the only precaution necessary 
 was to devise some means of preventing the evilly disposed from 
 climbing over. This was most effectually done by means of 
 a curved grille, such as we see on Queen Eleanor’s tomb (see 
 p. 662). Whether that of her father-in-law had a similar one 
 is a doubtful point ; all we know is that there certainly was an 
 account sent in for iron- work for it. Again, we are equally in 
 the dark as to whether the fronts of the tombs themselves had 
 a grille to protect them ; it is very true that there are sundry 
 holes in the basement, and in the pillars on either side of these 
 tombs, but somehow or other they do not correspond, and it 
 would be a most hazardous thing to build up any theory upon 
 them. We only know that the tomb of Queen Philippa, which 
 
 b It is not very clear when Henry the Third’s tomb was erected. What little 
 evidence there is rather goes to prove that it was in hand between 1280 and 1290 ; 
 the two effigies, however, were made at the same time. 
 
 P 
 
88 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 was very rich, had such a protection ; as also the tomb of 
 Edward I., which was very plain 0 , or at all events is at the 
 present day, although in all probability it was covered with a 
 richly embroidered pall (as tombs now are in Turkey), or by 
 some painted decoration either on linen or on wood ; for there 
 is a certain mysterious account year after year for wax used 
 “ circum corpus” of Edward I., which some think may refer to 
 the candles burnt round the tomb, and others to the wax cloths 
 with which the body was enveloped, hut which might possibly 
 have been used in the shape of a varnish to certain painting 
 either on cloth or on hoard d . 
 
 But to return to the grille of Queen Eleanor, which affords 
 an excellent illustration of how the most beautiful art may be 
 united to the most commonplace purposes and materials. Its 
 construction is as follows: — There are two horizontal bars, the 
 lower one 1J in. by 2 in. in section, and the upper one If in. 
 by \ in. The former is made the stronger because it has to 
 support most of the weight of the rest ; while the latter (the 
 \ in. being the top dimension) is situated higher up and con- 
 siderably more forward. These two bars are connected together 
 by perpendicular curved bars of various thicknesses, some much 
 wider than the others : the wider ones, 2 in. broad by \ in. 
 thick, form the principal divisions, which are again subdivided 
 by other and thinner bars — all, however, following the same 
 curve ; and, lastly, the spaces thus obtained are filled with 
 foliage of the most varied and beautiful description. This 
 foliage is formed of iron bars, ornamented on their front surface 
 with various mouldings, and bent into the required curves ; 
 and on to them are welded sundry leaves, stamped when hot 
 by means of an iron mould. Now when a stalk springs from 
 the main divisions, or whenever a leaf is welded on to a stalk, the 
 
 c A view of Edward the First’s tomb is given by Dart, in which the railing 
 is distinctly shewn. It consisted of bars crossing each other at right angles, the 
 upright bars at either end finished with a little bust, those between them with 
 fleurs-de-lys. 
 
 d Upon a careful inspection of the pillars on either side of the royal tombs in 
 Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, I am very much inclined to believe that over- 
 hanging grilles, somewhat similar to that on the tomb of Queen Eleanor, were 
 attached to the tombs of Queen Philippa, Edward III., and Richard II. 
 
The Metal-work. 
 
 89 
 
 Grille of the Tomb of Queen Eleanor, A.D. 1294. 
 
 point of junction is concealed by an ornament. In the former 
 case it is a six-leaved rose, of which there are two varieties, one 
 large and the other small. In the latter case, however, the 
 expedients are more various : sometimes it is effected by means 
 of another leaf, with a small stalk welded on to the point of 
 junction, and then turned back so as effectually to hide the said 
 welding point ; sometimes several small leaves are thus em- 
 ployed, but not unfrequently an ornamental band goes three 
 parts round the point of junction at right angles to the curve. 
 As to the leaves themselves, I counted about six varieties, but 
 looking at the work as a whole, nobody would suspect the de- 
 signs to be so few, so well are they arranged. The curved bars 
 connecting the top and bottom rails, and forming the divisions 
 of the compartments, are likewise stamped on their faces with 
 mouldings, of which there are about four varieties ; and the 
 same thing may be said of the stalks. I should mention that 
 a very curious ornament occurs in the larger curved bars, viz., 
 sundry little studs or nails inserted at regular intervals and 
 riveted on the back. The same thing occurs in some of the 
 
9° 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 roses, but in this case it was formed by drilling a bole in 
 the iron stamp. 
 
 From the accounts of the executors of Queen Eleanor, pub- 
 lished by the Roxburghe Club, we find that Thomas de Leghton 
 was paid 12/. for making this grille, besides 20s. extra for the 
 carriage of the work and for his own and assistants’ expenses 
 in London during the fixing. Mr. Digby Wyatt, in his “ Metal- 
 work,” has conjectured that by Leghton is meant Leighton- 
 Buzzard, in Bedfordshire ; and he supports his theory by the 
 publication of part of the iron- work on the door of the church 
 at that place, which certainly looks like the work of the same 
 hand. Another door, with furniture of a similar kind, occurs 
 at Eaton Bray, also in Bedfordshire e . 
 
 The railing which separates Archbishop Langham’s tomb 
 from the ambulatory may simply be described as a top and 
 bottom rail, with connecting upright bars, 1 in. by 1 in., which 
 end in spikes. The top rail is 2J in. b} r lj in., and to it is 
 attached a moulded cornice, 3 in. deep, by means of iron straps 
 which go round it at intervals. The angle uprights, however, 
 are much stouter than the others, being 2 in. by 2 in. ; they 
 also rise higher, and end in a moulded and embattled top, 
 which doubtless supported some figure or badge. Again, the 
 angle-pieces do not go through the top rail, which is widened 
 at these points ; and notches being made in it, the angle- 
 uprights are fixed in the notches, and further secured by 
 tenons and pins. 
 
 The iron railings round the tombs of Edward the Black Prince 
 and Henry IV., at Canterbury, are constructed in this manner. 
 
 The next grille in order of time is that which forms the 
 entrance to the under part of the chantry of Henry V. As a 
 composition it looks exceedingly elaborate, but when carefully 
 examined it almost resolves itself into the repetition of a single 
 pattern. In fact, if we compare it with the grille of Queen 
 Eleanor’s tomb, we find that we have left art and arrived at 
 mere architecture. 
 
 The railings which defended the other three sides abutting 
 on to the ambulatory were very plain and solid, and little more 
 
 e See Brandon’s Analysis. 
 
The Metal-work. 
 
 9 
 
 than the usual upright and horizontal bars. It will be observed 
 that the other tombs were not defended on the inside, (i. e. the 
 
 Part of the Screen of the Chantry of Henry the Fifth. 
 
 chapel side,) but an exception was made in the present instance, 
 inasmuch as parts (tradition rather varies as to which) of the 
 effigy of Henry Y. were covered with plates of silver, and the 
 grille was therefore made very strong and very close. The 
 construction resolves itself into a series of upright and horizontal 
 bars halved into one another and riveted together, the main 
 bars, as usual, being much larger and wider than the rest. In 
 front of the smaller ones is riveted a small circular bowtell, 
 which with the bars themselves is bent at the heads of the 
 compartments into semicircular arches. On the sides of all the 
 bars, both large and small, is a wide and very shallow groove, 
 which serves as a rebate for a series of very small bars, each cusped 
 in the middle, thus forming a sort of tracery resembling a series 
 of squares set one upon another, but with a line drawn from 
 each angle. Behind these, again, we find thin sheet iron pierced 
 with pointed trefoils following the lines of the tracery before 
 
92 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 mentioned. We learn from Neale, that in his time some of the 
 principal bars were decorated with three gilded fleurs-de-lys on a 
 blue ground and three gilded lions on a red ground, alternating 
 with each other, and the rest had swans and antelopes f . 
 
 Before leaving the Confessor’s Chapel, it may be observed that 
 we have lost the railing of Edward the First’s tomb, the angle 
 irons of which were finished by heads ; and also that which pro- 
 tected the beautiful work of Queen Philippa’s tomb : its history 
 was very curious, it having been bought by her executors and 
 set up here after doing duty round the tomb of a bishop in 
 St. Paul’s Cathedral. 
 
 We must now proceed to the gates of Henry the Seventh’s 
 Chapel, (see Plate XY.) These are in brass, that king having 
 evidently thought iron too mean a material for his sumptuous 
 building. Their construction is of the simplest, being merely 
 skeleton-framed wooden doors covered with cast-brass plates, 
 which, like nearly all the bronzes of the Middle Ages, have 
 been richly gilt. Indeed, the artists of those times appear to 
 have had but little admiration for metal in its oxidised state ; 
 and I am by no means certain whether sundry passages in 
 Pliny do not give us very good grounds for supposing that 
 their taste in this matter was shared by the ancient Greeks, 
 who would appear to have possessed the secret of some varnish 
 which preserved the metal from the effects of the weather. 
 
 The brass castings covering the wood-work of the gates at 
 present under consideration are seldom in greater lengths than 
 2 feet 6 inches ; and as they are applied in halves at either side 
 of the wood, they are secured to the wood and to each other by 
 means of iron rivets, which pass through sundry small roses 
 occurring at certain intervals on either side. The junctions 
 where the rails and stiles meet, and where consequently the 
 metal is mitred, are covered by large flat roses ; but how they 
 are secured from falling out is more than I could discover, 
 although I had the advantage of the experience of my friend 
 Mr. Skidmore, who together with two of his workmen was kind 
 enough to devote some considerable time to the question. Fur- 
 ther ornament was obtained by inserting thin bronze castings 
 
 f The smith was Roger Johnson of London. 
 
THE METAL-WORK. 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 

 
THE METAL-WORK- 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 Q 
 
The Metal-work . 
 
 93 
 
 between the edge-moulds of the back and front pieces, thus filling 
 the panels with pierced ornament from one- eighth to three- 
 sixteenths of an inch thick ; and as the bronze covering of the 
 rails and stiles finishes with a head, the junction of all the pieces 
 is so well managed that it is difficult at first sight not to believe 
 that the whole was cast in one piece. The buttresses at the 
 edges of the folding doors are also most beautifully worked, and 
 the same may also be said of the single lock-plate, which has 
 escaped the cupidity of those people whom Stowe calls “ lewd 
 fellows,” one of whom, he tells us, stole away in the year 1569 
 divers parcels of brass and copper that adorned the tomb, 
 but was afterwards punished. This lock-plate has been pub- 
 lished in Wyatt's “ Metal- work,” but unfortunately, by some 
 mistake, has been coloured to represent iron instead of bronze. 
 Although at first it looks as if made of several plates super- 
 posed, as in iron- work, yet it will be found that the artist very 
 properly took advantage of the fusible character of the material 
 he had to work on, and confined himself to two thicknesses 
 only, the various projecting planes being cast in one piece and 
 then worked up with the burin. 
 
 The badges in the perforated panels are, — 1, crown and 
 portcullis; 2, falcon and fetterlock; 3, R. H. bound together 
 with a chain, and a crown above ; 4, a crown in a rose-bush ; 
 5, ditto in a thistle ; 6, three fleurs-de-lys ; and 7, three lions. 
 
 There can be but very little doubt concerning the date of the 
 fourth object of our enquiry, viz. the splendid gilt-brass grille 
 which surrounds the tomb of Henry Yil. (see Plate XVI.), for 
 that king in his will distinctly refers to it as a “ grate in man- 
 ner of a closure of coper and gilt after the faction that we have 
 begoune.” In all probability the artists were Englishmen, for 
 there is a marked difference between the details of the closure 
 and the details of the tomb : thus those of the former are me- 
 dieval, and, curiously enough, there is very little of the stiff 
 Perpendicular style to be found in the tracery. Yet it is by 
 far more English than the grille of Edward the Fourth’s tomb 
 at Windsor. It is also a more harmonious composition than the 
 latter, for in the present case the little pillars support groining 
 which takes the cornice and a heavy parapet, whereas at Windsor 
 
94 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 there is a row of very large and unmeaning canopies, which 
 cover nothing whatever, unless we imagine the whole to have 
 been raised on a high stone or marble plinth, which might 
 possibly have afforded space to put statues upon. 
 
 The grille of Henry the Seventh’s tomb may best be described 
 as a parallelogram in plan, the principal projections being a 
 large pillar at each angle and two shallow projecting porches 
 on the north and south sides. Its construction is in principle 
 the same as the doors, only far more elaborate, and with the 
 great difference that the interior supports are of iron and not 
 of wood ; the junctions are also, if anything, better and more 
 neatly made. At each angle of the parallelogram, and at either 
 jamb of the doorwa}^, is a very strong iron rod. These eight 
 rods support a very strong square bronze casting, very like a 
 miniature tubular girder, the lengths of which, dovetailed to- 
 gether, run all round. The dimensions of this girder are about 9 
 inches deep and 4 inches wide, the sides being about three-quar- 
 ters of an inch thick, and through it run cross-pieces of iron 
 at every bay, taking the cornice and parapet ; the other parts, 
 such as the little columns, tracery, &c., are all put together most 
 carefully with keys and lockets, and to a certain degree support 
 themselves : great strength, however, is got in the middle rails, 
 which go continuously from one point of support to the other, 
 all the upright lines of the tracery butting on to them. At the 
 angles of the porch, and at each corner of the grille near 
 the large columns, are two rows of niches, once containing 
 figures, of which unfortunately only six are left out of thirty- 
 two. Thus on the easternmost side we have none, on the south 
 St. Edward, St. Bartholomew (holding his skin), and St. John ; 
 on the west St. George, and on the north a figure Neale calls 
 St. Basil. These figures, although they possess a certain energy 
 of expression, are by no means to be compared with the little 
 figures of Torrigiano’s that we see on the side of the tomb ; on 
 the contrary, there are several signs of inferior artistic know- 
 ledge to be detected, (for example, the drawing of the eyes of 
 St. Bartholomew) ; and the draperies are moreover arranged in 
 such a manner as to make it evident that they had been cast 
 from wooden models : but beyond this there is really not a fault 
 
THE METAL-WORK 
 
 PLATE XVII 
 
 Early English Chests in the Triforium, 
 
 
THE METAL-WORK, 
 
 PLATE XVIII, 
 
 Early English Chest in the Chapel of the Pyx. 
 
The Metal-work. 
 
 95 
 
 to find in the workmanship, or indeed in the design, if we con- 
 sider the age in which it was done ; while the inscription run- 
 ning outside and inside the horizontal rails is quite a model 
 in its way for ribbon black-letter. 
 
 There are still certain peculiarities about this grille which 
 the antiquary would gladly have cleared up if possible, and 
 which will probably only be explained by documentary evi- 
 dence. For instance, did the great angle columns ever support 
 anything — say statues or beasts P Also, plates of bronze are 
 placed on the top of the bronze girder and its transverse pieces, 
 so as to form a sort of gallery all round the top — was anything 
 (reliques for instance) placed on it? And again, what was the 
 filling-in of the bronze bars which once formed a flat canopy 
 over the altar P It is to be hoped that some of these queries 
 may hereafter be answered, and indeed so much has lately been 
 found out concerning the Abbey that in future we need scarcely 
 despair of anything. 
 
 To give an idea of the amount of spoliation that, has taken 
 place, it may be remarked that not one of the four great angle- 
 pillars retains the least trace of the filling-in of any of the 
 various hexagonal and other patterns of which they are com- 
 posed; and it is only from Dart's plates that we find these 
 fillings-in consisted of crowned roses, portcullises, and tracery. 
 
 The rest of the iron-work of the Abbey may be disposed of in 
 a very few words. In Henry the Seventh's Chapel are one or 
 two good door-handles ; and in the space over the eastern walk 
 of the cloister there are one or two chests, of which an idea 
 may be formed from the accompanying woodcuts, (see Plate 
 XVII.) In all probability they are of about the same date as 
 the earlier parts of the church — a supposition w r hich is supported 
 b}^ the resemblance between the lesser one and another very 
 like it in the sacristy of Salisbury Cathedral, which presents 
 a nearly similar arrangement in the carving of the feet. 
 
 A long chest divided into four compartments was preserved 
 in the chamber of the Pyx : its iron-work, although simple, is 
 exceedingly good, and much resembles that on Queen Eleanor's 
 tomb. (See Plate XVIII.) It is now in the Record Office. 
 
 One or tw^o specimens of cuir bouilli used to be kept in the 
 
 R 
 
9 6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbcy. 
 
 Pyx Office. Luckily they have followed the fortunes of the 
 chest, and are now under the care of Mr. Burtt in the Becord 
 Office. One of these is a forcer, a receptacle for documents, 
 not unlike a kettledrum in shape ; it is bound with thin strips 
 of iron, and has one lock, and provision for four padlocks. The 
 other specimen is part of a case for a silver ewer. 
 
 Forcer from the Pyx Chamber. 
 
 Pattern on the Forcer. 
 

 
 
MOSAIC PAVEMENT. 
 
 PLATE XIX, 
 
 Patterns of the Mosaic Pavement. 
 
THE MOSAIC PAVEMENTS a . 
 
 Most travellers who have visited Rome and the southern 
 parts of Italy cannot fail to have been struck with the very 
 beautiful pavements adorning those churches which were either 
 built or repaired during the Middle Ages. Sometimes, indeed, 
 the pavement is the only ancient portion remaining, the rest of 
 the edifice being but too frequently altered to suit the corrupt 
 taste of the last three centuries. 
 
 These pavements belong to the class of mosaic called Opus 
 Alexandrinum, and are composed of small pieces of porphyry, 
 serpentine and palombino, arranged geometrically in a ground 
 of cippolino or other white marble. These materials, for the 
 most part, were derived from the spoils of ancient buildings, 
 and many must have been the column that was sawn into slices 
 by the mosaicist : a proof of this is to be found in the gallery 
 outside the Capella Reale at Palermo, where part of a column 
 is still to be seen with a slice half cut ofp. 
 
 The ancients got their porphyry from Egypt ; and as it was 
 to be obtained in large masses, we find it far more plentifully 
 used than the serpentine b , which is found in the shape of nodules 
 in the mountains of Laconia. It is for this reason that the 
 large circles in the mosaic pavements are generally formed of 
 porphyry, and not of serpentine, for there were large columns 
 of the former, whereas the largest known piece of the latter 
 (in St. Lorenzo at Rome, I believe,) is only a thin oval of about 
 4 ft. in its longest diameter. The palombino is a white stone, 
 not unlike clunch, only much harder c . Palombino is the Roman 
 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
 b This is, of course, a different stone from the modern serpentine. Mr. C. H. Smith 
 informs me that it belongs to the same geological formation as the porphyry ; the 
 ancient name was Lapis Lacedemonius. 
 
 c Mr. C. H. Smith says that it is a true marble; it is supposed to be identical 
 with the corallitic stone of Pliny. It is now found near Assisi and in Sicily. 
 
98 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 name for it : in Sicily it is called lactemusa. The Romans 
 are even said to have imported it into this country for their 
 pavements. As to the cippolino, it is a white marble with green 
 streaks, and derives its name from its resemblance to the colour- 
 ing of an onion. The pavements of Opus Alexandrinum look 
 very much better when cippolino was used as the material to 
 enclose the tesserae ; but in the Middle Ages the artists were not 
 very particular, and we frequently meet with other sorts of 
 white marble doing duty instead. A similar latitude was also 
 observed with regard to the eyes of the circles, which occasion- 
 ally present us with many varieties of precious marbles. The 
 great desideratum, however, was that they should be hard, for 
 no stones possess this quality in so great a degree as the ser- 
 pentine and porphyry ; which may often be found perfectly 
 intact when the cippolino has been worn into holes. Again, 
 no marbles are so intense in colour as these are, and accord- 
 ingly we find them almost exclusively used in conjunction with 
 the palombino for the tesserae. The latter stone also appears 
 to have the property of throwing up and enhancing the colours 
 of the two former ; and where attempts have been made to 
 substitute white marble for it, as in the late repairs of the 
 Canterbury pavement, the result has been exceedingly un- 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The general arrangement of an Italian pavement will be 
 better understood by a study of the Westminster example, 
 (Plate XIX.) which is an exceedingly fine specimen, than 
 by any detailed description ; the only difference being that 
 Odericus the artist was obliged to use Purbeck instead of cip- 
 polino, and to put more mosaic in the eyes of his circles 
 than he would have done in his own country, where por- 
 phyry, serpentine, and other hard marbles were at hand in 
 pieces of considerable size. In the thirteenth century it was 
 part of the duty of every abbot, when promoted to the office, 
 to go to Rome to get his election confirmed. This no doubt 
 was a very vexatious obligation, and often led the new digni- 
 tary and his abbey into considerable expense, and even debt ; 
 but at the same time it had this good effect, that it brought 
 Churchmen of all nations together, and no doubt rubbed off 
 
The Mosaic Pavements. 
 
 99 
 
 many angles and softened many prejudices. Abbot Ware, who 
 was elected in 1258, shortly afterwards went to Rome, where 
 he stayed two years ; on account, as we are told, of his having to 
 borrow a thousand marcs for his expenses. However this may 
 be, he employed his time well, for to him we may fairly consider 
 ourselves indebted for the glass mosaic on St. Edward’s shrine, 
 and the stone mosaic in front of the high altar, at Westminster ; 
 the date of the completion of the former being 1269, and of 
 the latter 1268. In the one case Petrus civis Romanus was the 
 artist, and in the other a certain Odericus. As there is no 
 mention of the abbot on the shrine, we may conclude, that the 
 king was at the total expense of the work ; but on the pavement 
 we are, or rather were, told (for the inscription is all but oblite- 
 rated) that “ Odericus et Abbas hos compegere porphyreos 
 lapides and again, the inscription on his tomb, which evi- 
 dently formed part of the pavement, testified that 
 “Abbas Ricardus de Wara qui requiescit 
 Hie portat lapides quos hue portavit ab Urhe.” 
 
 From all this we may fairly presume that Abbot Ware, at 
 his return from his long stay in Rome, or at some subsequent 
 voyage d , for he was almost always travelling, brought over from 
 Rome two artists; viz. Odericus, to do the stone pavement, 
 which he intended to present to his abbey church ; and Petrus, 
 who was skilled in glass mosaic, which would of course re- 
 quire a different manipulation to the stone, the glass having 
 to be broken by means of two hammers, and afterwards ground 
 down ; while the porphyry and serpentine, from their extreme 
 hardness, would require considerable experience of another 
 kind to cut them properly. We must do Odericus the justice 
 to say that he performed his task in a good and workmanlike 
 manner, and were it not for three peculiarities we might easily 
 believe that the whole had been put together in Italy instead 
 of in England. 
 
 d Widmore, in his History of Westminster Abbey, says Ware was at Rome in 
 1267, but does not give his authority. Widmore, however, is a careful writer, 
 and would not have made the assertion without something to found it on, more 
 especially as he thinks that it was in that year that Ware brought over the 
 materials and workmen. 
 
i oo Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 The first of these peculiarities, viz. the substitution of Pur- 
 beck for cippolino, was forced upon him by our country, which 
 does not produce white marble. The second is the insertion of 
 three inscriptions by means of brass letters let into sundry of 
 the Purbeck borders. Unfortunately, Purbeck marble is not 
 a very enduring material in a damp situation, and the conse- 
 quence is that so much of it has been replaced, and so much 
 destroyed, that it is very difficult to make out the exact position 
 of many of the letters. The inscription as preserved by Camden 
 runs as follows : — 
 
 “ Si lector posita prudenter cuncta revolvat 
 Iiic finem primi mobilis inveniet. 
 
 Sepes trina, canes et equos, homines, super addis 
 Cervos et corvos, aquilas, im mania caete 
 Mundi quodque sequens pereuntis triplicat annos, 
 
 Sphsericus Arclietypum globus hie monstrat microcosmum, 
 
 Christi milleno bis centeno duodeno 
 
 Cum sexageno subductis quatuor Anno 
 
 Tertius Henricus Rex, Urbs, Odericus, et Abbas, 
 
 Hos compegere Porpliyreos Lapides.” 
 
 Mr. Jewitt in his admirable woodcut has indicated the brass let- 
 ters actually remaining by making them black. Of the others, 
 which are more lightly shaded, many of the casements remain, 
 but the majority have left no traces whatever. The last four 
 lines of the inscription, which contain the date, clearly went 
 round the square which contains the great lozenge and its circles ; 
 the fifth and sixth lines ran round the centre circle and its sur- 
 rounding satellites e ; while the place of the first four lines is ex- 
 ceedingly doubtful : they might have gone round the outside of 
 the great lozenge and its circles ; or they might have occupied 
 an outer border enclosing the whole composition, but which 
 was probably utterly destroyed when the altar-piece was put 
 up in the time of Queen Anne f . The third deviation from 
 
 e There is a casement of a continuous strip of brass round here, which is pro- 
 bably a medieval restoration of part of the original inscription. In the thirteenth 
 century the artists preferred to insert the letters separately into the stone. 
 
 1 On the ledge of the basement of Edward the First’s tomb is a piece of Purbeck, 
 the edge of which has been worked into the moulding. On the top of it, however, 
 are the casements of some Lombardic brass letters forming KE’TINI, perhaps 
 a contraction for Katherini. They have been sometimes supposed to have formed 
 
The Mosaic Pavements. 
 
 101 
 
 Italian practices is the introduction of glass mosaic round the 
 great centre circle, and in the two oblong panels on the north 
 and south sides g . Now we know that Abbot Ware was buried 
 on the north side of the choir, and beneath his own pavement ; 
 it is therefore by no means improbable that the difference of 
 material in these two spaces may indicate the sites of tombs, 
 more especially as we see the casement of a continuous strip of 
 brass in the west and south sides of the northern panel, which 
 we might perhaps venture to appropriate to Ware 11 . The 
 southern panel may mark the place of interment of his suc- 
 cessor, Abbot Wenlock, who had an epitaph of exactly the 
 same length : it ran thus — 
 
 “Abbas Walterus jacet hie sub marmore tectus 
 Non fuit austerus sed mitis famine rectus.” 
 
 The pavement, more particularly in those parts towards the 
 east end, exhibits numerous traces of repairs in modern marbles, 
 which are most likely traceable to Queen Anne’s time, when 
 Dart tells us that the workmen who were putting up the pagan 
 altar-piece were with difficulty prevented by the exertions of 
 Lord Oxford and the Bishop of Rochester from destroying the 
 whole. As it is, we have lost one-half of the eastern border. 
 The eye of the great centre circle has also a very modern look, 
 and was most probably originally occupied with an engraved 
 
 part of the pavement of the great altar, but as no such word or part of a word 
 occurs, the theory will not hold. The letters, however, are clearly of the same 
 date, and in all probability formed part of a tomb. 
 
 g The only Italian pavement I know exhibiting glass mosaic, is that in the 
 hall of the Ziza, Palermo : but the Ziza was a Moorish palace, and the mosaic in 
 question might have been executed by Moorish workmen. However that may be, 
 it is only suited for pavements in hot countries, where Oriental custom demands 
 that the shoes be taken off before entering the apartment. The glass mosaic at 
 the Ziza is in a very good state of preservation, but at Westminster it is worn 
 down and much broken. 
 
 h The exact position of Ware’s tomb appears to be rather doubtful. Camden 
 says that he was buried “ sub opere tesselato.” Weever, “ Here lieth before the com- 
 munion table the body of Kichard de Ware, . . . upon whose gravestone this brass 
 epitaph is engraven.” In Kemp’s time the brass was gone from the slab ; and 
 Dart assures us that during the alterations the stone was removed. It is just 
 possible that Kemp might have mistaken the tomb of some other ecclesiastic, 
 despoiled of its brass, for that of Ware, and that Dart might have followed the 
 tradition, for we know that several other interments took place on the north side 
 of the pavement. 
 
102 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 plate of brass. The eyes of the four small surrounding circles 
 are also not entirely satisfactory to the antiquary. 
 
 In Edward the First’s time there would appear to have been 
 another importation of glass and marble tesserae, — the former 
 for the adornment of his father’s tomb, and the latter for the 
 pavement of the Confessor’s shrine 1 ; as we find in the pay- 
 ments by Queen Eleanor’s executors (among whom was the 
 King himself) the sum of sixty shillings to William le Pavour, 
 “ pro pavimento faciendo in Ecclesia West.” Now this amount, 
 which represents some <£45 or £50 of our money, is far more 
 than would be required for making good those portions of the 
 pavement on either side of the tomb which might have been 
 disturbed by the scaffolding and hoarding required for the work 
 in hand ; and the question naturally suggests itself, whether it 
 might not refer to the supplying the Purbeck marble for the pre- 
 sent pavement in St. Edward’s chapel, cutting the casements for 
 the mosaics, and laying it down afterwards. This is the more pro- 
 bable when we look at its construction, so different to that in the 
 choir, which is regular Opus Alexandrinum, and where the Pur- 
 beck marble is jointed to the centres of the circles it encloses. 
 
 In the present instance, however, a small pattern is cut 
 
 Mosaic Pavement in the Chapel of Edward the Confessor k . 
 
 5 Leland, in his Collectanea, tells us that this pavement was made from the re- 
 mains of the marbles used in the tomb of Henry III. This is improbable, as only 
 a few large pieces of serpentine and porphyry were required in the tomb; but, at 
 all events, it shews the tradition respecting the date of the pavement. 
 k From Brandon’s Analysis. 
 
The Mosaic Pavements . 
 
 i°3 
 
 in square slabs of Purbeck, and could easily be prepared in 
 advance, and would require little skill to lay down. The dis- 
 position of the circles partakes more of a diaper than any 
 Italian example, and in all probability must be referred to 
 a Northern workman endeavouring to do something like Abbot 
 Ware’s pavement, only in his own way. In the usual accounts 
 of the Abbey, both pavements are said to contain porphyry, 
 lapis-lazuli, jasper, Lydian, and serpentine marbles. Of course 
 there is no doubt about the serpentine and the porphyry, but the 
 lapis-lazuli is a pure myth, the writers having mistaken the 
 blue glass mosaic for that material. As to the other marbles, 
 a very interesting account might be formed of those to be found 
 in the eyes of the various squares and circles : for instance, in 
 the presumed memorial to Abbot Ware there are to be found 
 pieces of Bosso Antico and Bianco Nero, both very rare marbles ; 
 but these were confined to the centres ; the diapers and con- 
 volutions being invariably made of porphyry, serpentine, and 
 palombino. When, therefore, we find other marbles introduced 
 in these situations, we may be almost sure that they are resto- 
 rations. 
 
 Both pavements are in bad condition, owing to the decay of 
 the Purbeck. This is more especially the case with that in 
 St. Edward’s Chapel, and the Dean and Chapter have very pro- 
 perly caused it to be covered with boards, leaving, however, 
 a small portion, which is nearly perfect, uncovered. 
 
 There is a third pavement of Opus Alexandrinum, at Canter- 
 bury, occupying the space immediately westward of the shrine 
 of St. Thomas a Becket. Here also the materials have evidently 
 been brought from abroad, but have been put together by an 
 English workman, for we find forms such as are seldom or never 
 found in Italy, and thin lines of brass around them : black 
 marble is also sunk to receive other forms, and the diapers 
 have a very Northern appearance. 
 
THE REREDOS. 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 View shewing the upper part of Altar-screen, part of one of the drawings of Abbot Islip’s Funeral, 
 from a MS. in the Heralds’ College. 
 

 
 
 
THE RETABULUM*. 
 
 Some twenty years ago Mr. Blore, who was then architect of 
 the Abbey, had the good fortune to discover, on the top of the 
 waxwork cases in the upper chapel of Abbot Islip, the very 
 beautiful specimen of thirteenth-century decoration which is now 
 placed at the back of the sedilia over King Sebert’s tomb. It 
 is almost impossible to say distinctly for what purpose it was 
 originally intended, but the supposition that it was the reta- 
 bulum placed at the back of the high altar has perhaps the 
 highest claims to our attention. On the other hand, it might 
 have been a frontal, or even one of the sides of the cooperculum, 
 or covering of St. Edward’s shrine. Its dimensions, 10 ft. 11 in. 
 by 3 ft. 1 in., would serve for any of these purposes, although 
 perhaps a little too long for a frontal b . It is also a curious 
 fact that the plain space at the back of the present altar cor- 
 responds with this 10 ft. 11 in. dimension, although very much 
 stress can hardly be laid upon this, inasmuch as the side of the 
 present altar-screen towards the choir is a plaster restoration 
 of a fifteenth- century work. The view shewing the choir, in 
 the MS. of Abbot Islip’s funeral, now in the Heralds’ College, 
 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
 b At the end of this chapter is added a transcript of part of the Chancellor’s Boll 
 of the 56th Henry III.; in it we find an account of — 1. Two pictures “ decently 
 painted,” and placed before the altar of the Blessed Virgin ; 2. The painted taber- 
 nacle around the bed of the king ; 3. The wooden statue, plated with silver and 
 ornamented with gems, for the tomb of the Princess Katherine; 4. A frontal for 
 the great altar, which took the labour of three women for three years and three 
 quarters; it was enriched with jewels and enamels, and must have cost upwards 
 of £4,000 of our money ; 5. The trifura (?) of the bases and columns around 
 the shrine of St. Edward ; 6. A chest wherein to deposit the said ornaments. The 
 total amount of this little bill would be about £6,000 of our money. 
 
 Our retabulum, with its false jewels, would hardly have been w'orthy to have 
 been used in conjunction with so precious a frontal; the latter, however, was 
 probably displayed on grand occasions only. 
 
io 6 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 (published in the Vetusta Monumental) which might have 
 resolved our doubts in this respect, affords us no information, 
 inasmuch as the whole of the middle of the altar-screen is 
 represented as hung with black c . 
 
 Whatever might have been its destination, it is a most valu- 
 able specimen of the art of the latter end of the reign of Henry 
 the Third, or of the beginning of his successor, for to this period 
 several circumstances would lead us to refer it : for instance, 
 the mixture of the conventional crockets and the naturalistic 
 finials, besides the occurrence of the castle of Castile and the 
 eagle of Germany among the ornaments. M. Yiollet-le-Duc, in 
 his account of it in his Dictionnaire Raisonne du Mobilier Frangais , 
 claims it as being of French manufacture, without giving any 
 reason for his assertion. It is very true that among the orna- 
 ments there are the fleur-de-lis and the castle, but at the end of 
 Henry the Third’s reign England was equally connected with 
 Castile, by the marriage of Edward to Eleanor, sister of Al- 
 phonso. We also meet the lion of England repeated in several 
 situations, to say nothing of the eagle belonging to Richard, the 
 king’s brother. We likewise know that Henry was in the habit 
 of buying expensive altar-pieces, for among other accounts there 
 is one in 1272 in which Master Peter de Ispannia is paid 80/. 
 for two pictures ( tabulis ), decently painted, and deposited before 
 the altar of the Virgin at Westminster d : and we also learn that 
 
 c This view is one of the most valuable documents we have for giving us infor- 
 mation respecting the ancient state of the abbey. It shews us the angels on the 
 pediments of the De Valence and Crouchback tombs, as well as the coopertoria 
 above them. We also see that at a short distance above the altar-screen there is 
 a sort of flat ciel or canopy, above which are a crucifix, the Mary and John, and two 
 cherubim, probably the same that Edward of Westminster was commanded in 
 1251 to buy for the nave of Westminster Abbey, (see Close Rolls quoted by Sir C. 
 Eastlake in his “ Materials for the History of Oil Painting,”) and which were most 
 likely afterwards removed from the roodscreen to the screen of St. Edward’s 
 Chapel. Between the ciel and the screen, and resting upon the top of the latter, 
 are figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, besides something in the middle which looks 
 like a ciborium. Beyond this, again, is an oblong picture in compartments, and 
 which may possibly be the old retabulum, disused when the new screen was erected 
 in Henry the Sixth’s time, and put up here to preserve it. The original screen 
 was probably only an iron grille. 
 
 d Rot. Cane. 56 Hen. III., compot. William de Glouc., at the end of this chapter. 
 
The Retabulum . 
 
 107 
 
 his wages were sixpence per day in 1257, so that he was a real 
 painter and not a mere picture-dealer e . Under these circum- 
 stances, therefore, more especially when we consider the very ex- 
 cellent art displayed in the painted chamber, M. Yiollet-le-Duc 
 must not be surprised if, as Englishmen, we demur to his asser- 
 tion, which by the way he supports by no manner of proof. 
 
 The construction of the retabulum is as follows : — A wooden 
 panelled tablet is made, upon which the projecting portions of 
 the framework and architecture are affixed by pins and glue : 
 of course it would have been easy to have made many of these 
 out of the solid, in the same manner that ordinary stall-work is 
 executed, but then there was the chance of solid wood splitting, 
 an occurrence which would have been exceedingly disastrous to 
 the painting and gilding ; so the modern upholsterer’s plan 
 was adopted, of using many pieces, gluing them up separately, 
 and reversing 1 the grain of the wood f . The framework divides 
 the whole composition into five compartments ; of these the 
 centre and end ones are filled by architectural compositions con- 
 taining painted figures, while the other two are subdivided into 
 a sort of diaper composed of the junctions of four compound 
 squares. The interiors of these latter have painted figure-sub- 
 jects, but the interstices are reserved for plates of glass en- 
 riched with gilding. 
 
 The framework being finished, the first care of the decorator 
 was to glue pieces of vellum over all the joints g . This precau- 
 tion secured them from opening at the time, but, unfortu- 
 nately, when the retabulum became dilapidated and the vellum 
 became partially exposed, the variations of the atmosphere 
 began to act; and it curled, and thus brought off the gesso in 
 many places. The next thing the decorator did was to cover 
 the whole surface with a coating of whitening and size, forming 
 the gesso to receive the painting and gilding. Of the former it 
 may be remarked that it was executed in distemper, and then 
 
 e Rot. lib. 41 Hen. III., m. 3. 
 
 f The retabulum being kept in a case it is difficult to ascertain the exact con- 
 struction, owing to the impossibility of seeing the back. 
 
 g M. Viollet-le-Duc says that vellum was glued over the whole surface ; this is 
 clearly a mistake. 
 
 T 
 
o8 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 covered with a coating of oleaginous varnish, thus rendering 
 the whole effect very like that of an oil painting, but without 
 the tendency to sink in which occurs so often in the usual oil 
 process unless it be painted exceedingly thickly and solidly. 
 
 In the gilding, however, many processes were employed, such 
 as the following h : — 
 
 1. Where the gilding was to be left plain the gold leaf 
 (which, by the way, was rather thicker than what we use) was 
 laid on the gesso ground by means of white of egg, and then 
 burnished. 
 
 2. The gilding forming the grounds of the pictures has 
 a reticulated pattern. This was effected by scratching the 
 gesso ground before the application of the gold. The little 
 ornaments which occur within each reticulation were stamped 
 with a punch before the ground had got too dry. The Roman 
 picture-frame makers are very expert at this sort of work at 
 the present day. 
 
 3. This sort of work also occurs in the framework, occupying 
 the spaces between the imitation enamels, (of which more here- 
 after,) but it is further enriched by the application of glass 
 imitations of precious stones. The bed of the stone was hol- 
 lowed in the gesso, and after all the rest had been gilt and 
 burnished, the stone was put in its bed and secured by a chaton 
 of some hard cement resembling our putty ; this also was after- 
 wards gilt. The bed was occasionally left gilded, or else coloured 
 so as to shew up the stone ; in two instances it has been coloured 
 red, and in another there are traces of silver leaf. 
 
 4. In the columns of the architecture we find another process. 
 They were gilt and burnished, and a pattern was then worked 
 on them by means of a very dark colour, (almost black,) but 
 applied in such a body as to stand up from the surface 1 . A 
 coating of red coloured varnish over the whole completed the 
 work. 
 
 h Most of these processes will be found in Mrs. Merrifield’s excellent translation 
 of Cennini. (Lumley, 1844.) 
 
 5 M. Viollet-le-Duc says that these patterns were stamped on the gesso when 
 wet, (as No. 5,) then gilt, and afterwards coloured black. Upon close inspection I 
 distinctly saw the gold surface where the raised colour had come off, which of 
 course would not have been the case if it were stamped. 
 
The Retabulum. 
 
 109 
 
 5. Two of the columns in the centre compartment appear to 
 have been treated differently. A leaden or wooden stamp was 
 engraved like a seal, and when the gesso was wet it was applied 
 all over, so as to cause a raised surface ; the whole was then 
 gilt and burnished. I have, however, very strong doubts as 
 to whether the ornament of the two columns in question was 
 effected by this process, and whether it may only be a variety 
 of No. 4, the raised colour having been pink instead of black ; 
 but so minute and regular is the decoration that its execution 
 would certainly have taken immense time and pains. 
 
 6. The imitation enamels which occur in the framework and 
 in the principal parts of the architecture were thus made. The 
 gesso ground was gilded and burnished, and upon it was 
 painted the various colours of the enamels by means of tempera. 
 All of them except the red are opaque, but instead of imi- 
 tating the champleve enamels, which at that time were the 
 most fashionable, the artist appears to have taken for his 
 models the more ancient cloisonne process, leaving thin lines 
 of the gold ground to separate his colours k . Over all was placed 
 a thick piece of white glass, which was further prevented from 
 slipping on the two sides where it was not supported by the 
 beads of the framework by two thin pieces of brass let into 
 the ground ; the cement resembling putty was then applied all 
 round and gilded as in the case of the jewels. In those in- 
 stances where there were no beads at all to protect the glass, as 
 in the ornaments which occur in the middle panels, a shallow 
 brass box was nailed to the wood, and inside we find the gesso 
 ground, the gilding, the painting, and the glass secured with 
 putty. In the woodcut several of these boxes are shewn as 
 empty, and displaying the heads of the nails, while others are 
 represented as perfect, and with the glass and the painting 
 beneath. 
 
 7. The interstices between the stars of the penultimate com- 
 partments are filled in by large pieces of blue glass with a pat- 
 tern of thin gold foliage on the upper surface. The metal in 
 this instance appears to be applied by means of something not 
 
 k It is almost needless to state that champllve enamels have the ground hol- 
 lowed out to receive the enamels ; in the cloisonne, on the contrary, these hollows 
 are made by means of thin strips of metal soldered on to the ground. 
 
1 1 o Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 unlike the fat oil we gild with at the present day, and the glass 
 is put on the gesso ground, and has no pallion or foil beneath. 
 The putty, or rather its substitute, is used to fix these pieces of 
 glass to the framework and to each other where they touch. 
 
 Another variety of this work occurs in the upper part of the 
 central compartment 1 . Here blue and red glass is cut into small 
 pieces, and joined together by means of the putty : the red 
 pieces, which are hexagonal, have a gilded lion within a border, 
 but the blue, which are square and very small, have no orna- 
 ment at all. As a general rule, this oil gilding on the glass 
 has not stood well. Pieces of glass are also used in various parts 
 of the architecture ; they are represented black in the woodcut, 
 but in reality are red, blue, and green. The practice of using 
 glass in small spandrels of arches and tracery was a very 
 common one at the period this retabulum was made, and we 
 shall see it employed in the sedilia, the coronation chair, and 
 the great tombs in the choir. 
 
 8 . A few words should be said about the jewels, all of which 
 I am afraid are false. Besides the false jewels there are false 
 cameos, of which two remain perfect, while there are the glass 
 grounds of three others. Of those which remain one represents 
 two heads, perhaps Castor and Pollux, and the other an em- 
 press ; they have evidently been cast from antiques, but touched 
 up and modelled by the medieval artist. The mode of manu- 
 facture appears to be the application of an impression made in 
 the putty to a piece of coloured glass. In the present instance 
 the grounds are blue. The medieval modelling of the casts from 
 the antique strongly reminds us of Matthew Paris’s drawing of 
 the great cameo at St. Alban’s. 
 
 1 The upper part of the end compartments have the imitation enamel ; the plates 
 of glass are here comparatively very large. 
 
THE RETABULUM, 
 
 PLATE XXI 
 
 2. 1. 3. 
 
 Central Compartment 
 
 1. Our Saviour. 2 , The Blessed Virgin. 3. St. John. 
 

 
 
 
THE RETABULUM. 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 
 4. 
 
 End Compartment, (dexter side). 
 
 4. St. Peter. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Retabulum . 
 
 m 
 
 We now come to the Iconography, which will better be un- 
 derstood by a reference to the diagram, p. 110. In the centre 
 of all (Ho. 1) is a standing figure of our Saviour as Creator. 
 With one hand He blesses, and in the other holds a globe : this 
 latter contains, first of all water, with a boat on it ; then land, 
 with trees, an animal, and a bird (crane ?) ; and lastly, clouds 
 and a flying bird m . The right hand, which is raised in the act 
 of blessing, has the appearance of having been touched up. As 
 to the features, it may be observed that the nose is long, the 
 alae raised up, and there is very little drawing in the mouth, 
 the corners of which go down. 
 
 On the dexter side of our Lord (Ho. 2) is the Blessed 
 Virgin. She holds a palm branch, brought to her from 
 heaven by the Angel Gabriel shortly before her Assumption n . 
 On the sinister side of our Lord (Ho. 3) we find St. John. He 
 holds the palm in his right hand, for, according to the legend, 
 he bore it before the body of the Virgin during the funeral. In 
 his left he holds his Gospel. 
 
 The end compartment on the dexter side (No. 4) is occupied by 
 a figure of St. Peter. This is by far the best figure in the reta- 
 bulum ; it is also the most perfect. With his right hand he in- 
 dicates the two keys which he holds in his left. In the face we 
 remark the high forehead, the large space between the eyebrow 
 and eyelid, the curved lower eyelid, the bald head. The hands 
 also are fairly drawn, which is more than can be said for the 
 feet of our Lord. The opposite compartment at the sinister 
 end doubtless presented us with a figure of St. Paul, but every- 
 thing here has been obliterated, and the oak itself covered with 
 a neat coating of white paint. The same remark applies to the 
 w r hole of the penultimate sinister compartment : the dexter 
 one has been much more fortunate, and there we find tolerably 
 preserved paintings of the miracles of our Lord in three out 
 of the four stars which compose the pattern. 
 
 In In the apse of the church of Grenna, in Sweden, the Creator holds a large 
 circle, in the middle of which is the world : this contains water, with a fish in it 
 and a boat on it ; while the land is represented by a hilly landscape, with two 
 castles, and a man walking by the edge of the water. See Mandelgren’s Monu- 
 ments Scandinaves, Paris, 1860. 
 
 ” See Golden Legend — The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 U 
 
2 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 No. 5 represents the Healing of Jairus’s Daughter. The girl 
 has long flowing hair, and the coverlid of the bed is made of 
 fur (vair). Our Lord holds a cross in one hand, and clasps the 
 girl’s hand with the other. On one side are the Apostles in the 
 usual drapery, and on the other the father and friends in tight 
 secular garments. Some architecture shews that the scene takes 
 place inside a house. 
 
 No. 6 is the Restoring Sight to the Blind Man. Our Saviour 
 is stooping down and grasping the clay with His hand ; not 
 writing on the ground as M. Viollet-le-Duc thinks, who sees 
 in the subject the woman taken in adulter}\ Around stand 
 the Apostles. 
 
 No. 7 is totally ruined ; we only know that it was an out- 
 door subject from some scraps of grass in the foreground. 
 
 No. 8 is the Feeding the Five Thousand, and offers nothing 
 very remarkable. It should be observed that all the paintings 
 are on a gold ground, and in all of them lines of gold are 
 applied in patterns on the borders of the garments. 
 
O O 
 
 THE RETABULUM 
 
 PLATE XXIII 
 
 5. The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter. 6. Christ Restoring Sight to the Blind Man. 
 
 7. Obliterated. 8. The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 
 
 I 
 

ACCOUNT FOR A FRONTAL OF THE ALTAR, &c. 
 
 CHANCELLOR’S ROLL, 56 HENRY III. 
 
 ( From the Public Record Office .) 
 
 Compotus Willielmi de Gloucestria de denarijs receptis de thesauro 
 Regis per manus thesaurarij et camerariornm de Garderoba Regis per 
 maims diversorum custodum ejusdem et aliunde ad di versa jocalia 
 Regis facienda et reparacione et emendacione eorundem, ad frontale 
 majoris altaris Westmonasterij ymaginem argenti ultra tumbam Kate- 
 rine filie Regis, ad operaciones feretri beati Edwardi, et ad alias 
 diversas operaciones Regis faciendas, per Henricum Otindone pro se 
 et alijs executoribus testamenti ejusdem Willielmi per breve Regis in 
 quo premissa continentur. 
 
 Idem reddit compotum de xx. marcis receptis ad scaccarium per 
 manus thesaurarij et Camerariorum ad aurum emendum anno. Et de 
 xx. libris receptis per manus eorum anno xl. Et de xx. libris receptis 
 per manus eorundem anno xlj super di versa brevia sua de liberate. 
 Et de xx. libris receptis per manus eorum anno eodem. Super breve 
 Regis continens cclxiij 11 viij 8 v d . Et de xvij u x s receptis per manus 
 eorundem in termino Sancti Micbaelis anno xlij. Et de iiij xx xix u xvj s 
 viij d receptis per manus eorundem per perticulas ad aurum emendum 
 anno eodem. Et de lxx. marcis receptis per manus eorundem in ter- 
 mino Sancti Micbaelis anno xlvj. Et mbnbcclxix 11 vi s receptis de 
 garderoba Regis temporibus diversorum custodum ejusdem garderobe 
 Regis. Summa nfinfmVj 11 xij s viij d . In thesauro nichil. Et magistro 
 Retro de Ispannia pro ij. tabulis decenter depictis et depositis ante 
 altare beate Marie in ecclesia Westmonasterij iiij xxli . Et magistro 
 Willielmo pictori monacho Westmonasterij pro tabernaculo depicto 
 circa lectum Regis in camera sua apud Westmonasterium xx. marcas. 
 Et in quadam ymagine lingnea ad tumbam Katerine filie Regis in 
 ecclesia Westmonasterij xv s . Et in argento posito ultra predictam 
 tumbam desuper per totum xj u xij s viij d . Et in operacione dicte yma- 
 ginis jam argenti xij 11 . Et in auro ad eandem deaurandam ix 11 iij s iiij d . 
 Et in lapidibus ibidem ciiij xx tarn perlis quam amatistis ad ornamenta 
 ejusdem ymaginis xl s . Et in xij. ulnis de canabo ad frontale magni 
 altaris ecclesie predicte et cera ad eundem pannum ceranda v s vj d . Et 
 in vj. marcis auri ad idem frontale liiij. marcas. Et in operacione dicti 
 
114 Frontal of the A Itar , &c. 
 
 auri et sessura et filatura ejnsdem iiij 1 ' xiiij 9 . Et in ij. libris serici albi 
 et in duobus serici crocei ad idem opus xxxv 8 . Et in perlis albis pon- 
 deris v. marcarum et dimidiae ad idem opus lxxj 11 . Et pro grossis 
 perlis ad borduram ejusdem panni ponderis ij. marcarum xiij u dimidiam 
 marcam. Et in una libra sericij grossi x 8 . Et in stipendio quatuor 
 mulierum operancium in predicto panno per iij. annos et iij. partes 
 unius anni xxxvj 1 '. Et in Dcciiij xx vi. eslmallis a [eslmall’] ponderis liij 8 . 
 ad borduram predictam. Et lxxvj. asmallis a [asmall’] grossis ponderis 
 lxv 8 ad idem frontale iiij xx j u xvj 8 . Et pro dl. gemectis positis in pre- 
 dicts borduris lxvj 8 . Et in castoniis b auri ad dictas gernectas impo- 
 nendas ponderis xij 8 vj d , cxij 8 vj d . Et in factura earundem xxij 8 . Et 
 in pictura argenti posita subtus prcdicta [p’dic’a] asmalla [asmall’] 
 ij. marcas. Et in vj. ulnis cardonis de viridi iij 8 . Et in carbone cera 
 borosia arguella cinere filo feni cinere a cero et quatuor pellibus mul- 
 tonum cum clavis xxxiij 8 viijd. Et in stipendio Magistri Walteri 
 aurifabri diversis temporibus lxxiij 8 . Et in stipendio magistri Edwardi 
 aurifabri per idem tempus iiij u xj 8 iiij d . Et in stipendio Eoberti et 
 Thome aurifabri operancium vj. marcas iiij 8 pondere auri scilicet in 
 trifura [t’fur’a 0 ] basorum et columpnorum circa dictum feretrum lx 8 . 
 Et in una area [acha] empta ad predicta et alia omamenta imponenda 
 iiij 9 . Summa misarum reparacionum et emend acionum predictorum 
 ccciiij xx xix u xvij 8 . Et debet m 1 m 1 dc vj H xv s vj d . Idem reddit com- 
 potum de eodem debito. In thesauro nichil. 
 
 a Enamels. b Chatons, ‘settings/ c query. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
THE SEDILIA 
 
 PLATE XXIV 
 
THE SEDILIA a . 
 
 A very small acquaintance with the churches of our own 
 country is sufficient to convince the student of architecture 
 how much importance our forefathers gave to the stone seats 
 we usually find in the south walls of chancels, and which are 
 usually known under the name of the Sedilia. Very often, in- 
 deed, as at Tewkesbury and at Heckington, we see the work of the 
 sculptor and carver most lavishly applied to stone, but at West- 
 minster, for some reason or other, they are executed in wood, 
 and instead of the sculptor and carver the painter and gilder 
 have been called in to complete the decoration. Wood- work 
 of the thirteenth century, as everybody knows, is excessively 
 rare, and still more so are those few specimens which were once 
 resplendent with colour and gold. Unfortunately, no one piece 
 of furniture at Westminster has suffered more mutilation than 
 the Sedilia, and we now see a mere wreck of what they were when 
 first erected in the latter part of Edward the First’s reign, for 
 to this period several circumstances would lead us to refer them. 
 However, a tolerably accurate idea of their former state may be 
 obtained if we consult the second volume of the Vetusta Monu- 
 menta, published by the Society of Antiquaries, where some very 
 satisfactory plates (considering the period at which they were 
 executed) are to be found, illustrating a paper read before the 
 Society in 1778, by Sir Joseph Ayloffe. The occasion was this. 
 It appears that some pieces of tapestry, evidently mediaeval, (for 
 they represented the deeds of Edward the Confessor and the 
 coronation of sundry kings,) were put round the two easternmost 
 bays of the choir at the coronation of Charles I. There they 
 were allowed to remain until the Great Rebellion, when they 
 were taken down, and not restored until the coronation of 
 Charles II. In 1706, when the new altar-piece was erected, 
 
 1 By W. Barges, Esq. 
 
 X 
 
n6 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 they were removed for good, and other pieces substituted which 
 are now preserved in the Jerusalem Chamber. They, in their 
 turn, gave place to a wainscoting in 1775, when Sir J. Ayloffe 
 luckily seized the opportunity to have both the sedilia and the 
 tomb of Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, properly drawn and 
 described ; and it is only by looking at the Vetasta Monumenta , 
 or, better still, at the original coloured drawings in the library 
 of the Society of Antiquaries, that we discover how very much 
 we have lost since that date. 
 
 Most Sedilia consist of three niches, the seats of which gene- 
 rally rise as they approach the east, and were appropriated to the 
 priest, deacon, and sub-deacon. Usually another niche, forming 
 part of the same composition and situated still further eastward, 
 contains the piscina. Now at Westminster there are certainly the 
 four niches, but no appearance of a piscina : perhaps a drain in 
 the floor did duty instead, as we occasionally see elsewhere. 
 At present the three intermediate pinnacles on the north side 
 finish with heads, and do not go down to the ground ; but in the 
 plate of the Vetusta Monumenta two of them are shewn going 
 down, leaving the middle one as at present. In all probability 
 they all went down alike. Again, the plate shews a sort of high 
 box, which we are told had even then fragments of precious 
 stuffs adhering to it ; but this was evidently not original, for it 
 was far too high to sit upon, and there could not have been 
 steps up to it, for the bases of the buttresses finish on an ori- 
 ginal stone step some eight inches above the ground. Unfor- 
 tunately, when the wainscoting was removed at the coronation 
 of George IY. or shortly after, the Sedilia appear to have come 
 to grief, for they were raised bodily the height of a foot b , the two 
 
 b If we take a section through the Sedilia we shall find that the ancient seat 
 must have been at the level, and indeed on the top, of Sebert’s tomb. In this 
 calculation we must allow, first of all, the eight-inch step mentioned by Sir 
 J. Ayloffe, and secondly, we must bring down the whole Sedilia some fifteen 
 inches; i.e. to their old level. This view of the matter is confirmed by a woodcut in 
 the “ Gentleman’s Magazine” for 1825, p. 303. In it we distinctly see the state 
 of the Sedilia subsequent to the removal of the wooden box shewn in the Vetusta 
 Monumenta. This box was taken away at the request of Mr. Harding, from whose 
 work (Antiquities in Westminster Abbey) the woodcut was borrowed. The Sedilia 
 are shewn at their proper level, and underneath the seat — which there appears to 
 
The Sedilia. 
 
 1L 7 
 
 intermediate supports we see in tbe plate taken away, and in- 
 stead of the high box or seat, a plaster imitation of Sebert’s 
 tomb was substituted. It is much to be hoped that the known 
 good taste of the present Dean and Chapter, as well as that of 
 their accomplished architect, will make short work of the latter 
 eyesore, and cause an oak seat to take its place. Nobody, in- 
 deed, for one moment wishes for a complete restoration, for 
 mutilated and repainted as are the decorations, they still give 
 us, with the help of documents, a tenfold better idea of the 
 ancient state of the Sedilia than any modern work could 
 possibly do. That the Sedilia are really wanted is evident by 
 the modern bench shewn in the woodcut ; and when we have 
 such Sedilia as those at Westminster one can only regret that 
 they are not in actual service. 
 
 In an architectural point of view the most noticeable things 
 are, 1. the amount of cusping and foliation shewn in the arches 0 , 
 which is rather an unusual feature in such early work ; 2. the 
 comparative heaviness of the principal mouldings for a wooden 
 construction ; this remark, however, does not apply to the fo- 
 liations, which are of edge-tracery ; 3. the resemblance of the 
 crockets to those on the coronation chair ; 4. the flat spaces 
 between the little columns at the back which take the vaulting- 
 ribs ; and which, I cannot help thinking, must once have been 
 connected with other mouldings and columns. Sir J. Ay Ioffe, 
 indeed, tells us that he found the space coloured red ; but then 
 that might have been an ancient restoration. 
 
 By means of the drawings in the library of the Society of 
 Antiquaries, and with the help of the few vestiges which 
 remain, we are enabled to ascertain pretty accurately the 
 scheme of colouring. The processes also appear to have been 
 much the same as we find in the Retabulum. Thus there was 
 
 be entire — is shewn the back of the arch of Sebert’s tomb. At that time, however, 
 the two intermediate buttresses had disappeared, and we are further told in a note 
 that “these canopies have been recently painted.” (1825.) Tlie removal of the 
 wooden box also brought to light the lower part of the figure of an ecclesiastic in 
 the compartment between the two kings, thus shewing that the upper part must 
 have been destroyed after the wooden box had been erected. 
 
 c According to the print in the Vetusta Monumenta the trefoiled circles in the 
 pediments were again foliated. 
 
1 1 8 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 the usual coating of gesso, then the principal mouldings (all of 
 which were gilded) had a raised pattern stamped on the gesso 
 when it was wet, and, according to the description, some of this 
 gilding was burnished and the rest left dead. The hollows 
 were also picked out with red, and the centre circle and its 
 trefoil were filled in with pieces of red glass placed upon a 
 gilded ground d , but the spandrels of the canopy had blue glass 
 on a silver ground. As the blue glass covered a considerable 
 surface, it was applied in several pieces. Doubtless this glass was 
 formerly decorated with a gilded pattern on its upper surface, 
 such as we still see on the Ketabulum, but as the gilding was 
 only applied by means of fat oil and not burned in, it was 
 very liable to come off, and is therefore not mentioned by Sir 
 Joseph Ay Ioffe. Inside, we are told that the little columns and 
 the ribs of the vaulting were in white and black, while the 
 spandrels of the latter were red ornamented with white foliage ; 
 all of which was probably an ancient restoration, as it is ob- 
 viously out of keeping with the richness of the canopies and 
 the figures in the panels. These latter betray most evident 
 signs of having undergone a very large amount of restoration, 
 white having freely been substituted for the gilding. At present 
 two only of them remain, viz. the most eastern and the penul- 
 timate, both representing kings ; the former is generally sup- 
 posed. to represent King Sebert: and in the woodcut in the 
 “ Gentleman’s Magazine,” above referred to, there are traces of an 
 ecclesiastic, probably Bishop Mellitus, at the bottom of the next 
 compartment. However that may have been, there is positively 
 nothing whatever whereby to identify the King with Sebert ; on 
 the contrary, tradition states that he was represented on one of 
 the panels on the south side over his tomb ; and it is hardly 
 probable that he should have been painted twice over ; therefore 
 it is just probable that the figure may represent Henry III., and 
 the ecclesiastic might have been Abbot Ware. However, there 
 is little doubt about the next figure being an English king, for 
 the ground is red, and diapered with little golden lions. All 
 the historians tell us that it is the portrait of Henry III., but 
 
 d The three corbel-heads, representing two kings and a bishop, were decorated 
 with imitation jewels. 
 
The Sedilia. 
 
 119 
 
 it is just as likely that it may be Edward I., (in whose reign 
 this piece of furniture was made ;) more especially as this is 
 a younger looking figure than the other, and wants the beard 
 which we see both in the painting of the elder king and in the 
 bronze effigy of Henry III. The last compartment is quite 
 bare on either side ; this is accounted for by Gough, who tells us, 
 in the introduction to his “ Sepulchral Monuments,” that it 
 was deprived of its remaining colours when it was taken out 
 to form a “ passage to some of the royal family, who were seated 
 in this tomb at coronations.” From what can be made of out 
 of these paintings, they appear to have been executed in a very 
 spirited manner, and are quite equal, if not superior, to con- 
 temporary Italian art ; it should also be remarked that they 
 are considerably above life-size, and have been painted in the 
 usual manner with tempera, and then covered with an oleaginous 
 varnish. As to the last panel on the north side, we have no in- 
 dications whatever about it. 
 
 We are more lucky about the south side, which stands im- 
 mediately over King Sebert’ s tomb ; indeed, up to the last few 
 years the Sedilia were always described as being part of the 
 tomb itself. 
 
 Here, we read, were pictures of St. John the Baptist, King 
 Edward the Confessor, St. Peter, and King Sebert, with verses 
 by way of question and answer beneath ; and Weever, in his 
 “ Funeral Monuments,” has preserved those belonging to St. 
 Peter ; they ran thus : — 
 
 “ Hie Rex Seberte pausas, mihi condita per te 
 Hsec loca lustravi, demum lustrando dicavi.” 
 
 Of these, only one figure remained when Dart published his 
 work : he calls it Sebert, and says (in which he is followed by 
 other writers) that there is a turban on his head. However, 
 Malcolm, in his Londinum Redivivum , 1803, has given a plate of 
 the figure from a drawing made in 1791 by Mr. Schnebbelie ; 
 and from it we distinctly learn that it was Edward the Confessor, 
 and that the turban was all a mistake ; besides, the king held 
 the ring in his hand, and was distinguished by a nimbus, all 
 of which indicate very clearly whom the painter intended to 
 
120 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 represent. Of the remaining figures not a vestige has been 
 left. It is also rather doubtful where the verses were placed, 
 for the figures on the north side go very nearly to the bottom, 
 and although the lower part of the figure drawn by Schnebbelie 
 is destroyed, yet if we complete it, it would leave but very little 
 room, if any, for the inscription. 
 

 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
THE CORONATION CHAIR. 
 
 PLATE XXV. 
 
THE CORONATION CHAIR 
 
 Thanks to the industry of the late Mr. Joseph Hunter, we 
 have more documentary evidence regarding this well-known 
 piece of furniture than of almost anything else connected with 
 the Abbey. In vol. xiii. of the “ Archaeological Journal” will 
 be found a most interesting article by this gentleman upon 
 “ Edward the First's Spoliations in Scotland, a.d. 1296.” From 
 it we find that the king took the castle of Edinburgh at the be- 
 ginning of June, and we also learn from an inventory that three 
 coffers containing plate and jewelled vessels were sent to West- 
 minster. At the beginning of August he visited the abbey of 
 Scone, where the kings of Scotland had always been crowned, and 
 where he found the “ fatal stone” enclosed in a chair. No stone 
 ever had so wonderful a history ; it was said to have been the 
 identical one upon which Jacob's head rested when, at Beth- el, 
 he saw the vision of the angels ascending and descending : it 
 had from thence travelled into Egypt, from thence to Spain, 
 thence to Ireland, and lastly to Scotland. Moreover, King 
 Kenneth caused, the following distich to be engraved upon it : — 
 
 “ Ni fallat fatum Scoti quocunque locatum 
 Invenient lapidem regnare tenentur ibidem.” 
 
 A prophecy which was of course fulfilled when James I. was 
 called to rule over the whole island b . However, Edward had 
 very different views on the matter. In his eyes it was both 
 a precious relique, and an emblem of sovereignty which it was 
 most desirable to remove from the eyes of the Scottish people ; 
 and accordingly we find that it was removed, for shortly after his 
 visit several inventories make mention of “ Una petra magna 
 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
 b Ihere is a rectangular groove, 1 ft. 2 in. by 9 in., on the upper surface, which 
 may probably have received an engraved plate of metal. 
 
 Y 
 
122 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 super quam reges Scociae solebant coronari.” As to what be- 
 came of the original chair the documents give us no informa- 
 tion, but we do know, thanks to Mr. Hunter, pretty accurately 
 the history of the present one. It appears that the king in- 
 tended in the first instance to make the chair in bronze, and 
 that Adam, the king’s workman, had actually begun it ; indeed, 
 some parts "were even finished, and tools bought for the cleaning 
 up of the casting. However, the king changed his mind, and 
 we have accordingly 100 shillings paid for a chair in wood, 
 made after the same pattern as the one which was to be cast 
 in copper c % ; also 13s. 4d. for carving, painting, and gilding 
 two small leopards in wood, which were delivered to Master 
 Walter the painter, to be placed upon and on either side of 
 the chair made by him d . The wardrobe account of the 29th 
 Edw. I. enables us to follow the progress of the work, for 
 Master Whiter is there paid 19s. 7d. “for making a step at 
 the foot of the new chair, in which the Scottish stone is placed 
 near the altar, before the shrine of St. Edward, and for the 
 
 c Had the chair been made in metal, it is most probable that all the tracery 
 would have been pierced. In Shaw’s “Dresses and Decorations of the Middle 
 Ages” there is a print of a silver chair still preserved in the city of Barcelona; 
 it is almost entirely composed of pierced tracery : the supposed date, 1395. 
 
 d “ Eidem [id est Adse] pro diversis custibus per ipsum factis circa quandam 
 cathedram de cupro quam Bex prius fieri preceperat anno xxv° post reditum suum 
 de Scocia, pro petra super quam Reges Scocise solebant coronari inventa apud Scone 
 anno xxiiii t0 superponenda juxta altare ante feretrum Sancti Edwardi in Ecclesia 
 Abbathise Westmonasterii : et nunc eadem petra in quadarn cathedra de ligno facta 
 per Magistrum Walterum pictorem Regis loco dictse Cathedrae quae prius ordinata 
 fait de cupro est assessa : videlicet pro una Cathedra de ligno facta ad exemplar 
 alterius cathedrae fundenda de cupro, c. sol. — Et pro M 1 D. lib. cupri emptis una 
 cum stagno empto ad idem cuprum allaiandum, xii. lib. v. sol. — Et pro vadiis et 
 stipendiis unius operarii fundentis eandem cathedram et preparantis pecios ejusdem 
 una cum formis ad hoc inveniendum et faciendum; per certam conventionem 
 factam cum eodem, x. lib. — Et pro stipendiis diversorum operancium in metallo 
 predicto post formationem ejusdem cathedrae mensibus Junii et Julii ante primum 
 diem August! anno xxv° quo die dictae operationes cessarunt ex toto per preceptum 
 Regis ratione passagii sui versus Elandriam, ix. lib. vii. sol. xi. den. — Et pro 
 ustilementis emptis pro operationibus predictis et emendacione aliorum per vices 
 xl. sol. — Et pro duobus leopardis parvis de ligno faciendis depingendis et deauran- 
 dis, et liberatis Magistro Waltero pictori ad assidendis super cathedram de ligno 
 factum per dictum Magistrum Walterum per utrasque costas xiii. sol. iiii. den. per 
 compotum factum cum eodem apud Westmonasterium xxvii. die March anno xxviii 0 . 
 Summa xxxix. lib. vi. sol. iii. den.” 
 
The Coronation Chair . 
 
 12 3 
 
 wages of the carpenters and of the painters, and for colours and 
 gold employed ; also for the making of a covering to cover the 
 said chair e .” The present step and lions are modern work. 
 
 The step may have been a sort of platform, occupying that 
 space at the extreme west of the Confessor’s chapel which is 
 now unpaved f . The destination of the chair appears to have 
 been very clear, from the following entry by a contemporary 
 hand in the inventory of the last year of Edward’s reign 
 “Mittebatur per preceptum regis usque abbathium de West- 
 monasterio ad assedendum ibidem juxta feretrum S u Edwardi 
 in quadam cathedra lignea deaurata quam Rex fieri precepit 
 (ut reges Anglise et Scocise infra sederent die coronationis 
 eorundem s,) ad perpetuam rei memoriam.” Walsingham, how- 
 ever, says, “ Jubens inde fieri celebrantium cathedram sacerdo- 
 tum.” Most probably both accounts are true, and in Walsing- 
 ham’s time it might have formed a seat for the priest who 
 officiated at the altar of St. Edward. 
 
 The next thing we hear of the stone is contained in- a royal 
 writ of July 1, 1328, addressed to the abbot and monks of 
 Westminster, saying that the council had come to the deter- 
 mination to give up the stone, and enjoining them to deliver it 
 to the sheriff of London, to be carried to the Queen Mother. 
 This resolution does not, however, appear to have been carried 
 out, for the Scotch have never shewn the stone to have been in 
 their possession since Edward carried it off, and we Londoners 
 have always been able to point to it. 
 
 Thus far Mr. Hunter ; it now only remains to say a few 
 words respecting the manufacture and decorations of the 
 chair. 
 
 e “ Magistro Waltero pictori, pro custubus et expensis per ipsum factis circa unum 
 gradum faciendum ad pedern novae cathedrae in qua petra Scociae reponitur juxta 
 altare ante feretrum Sancti Edwardi in Ecclesia Abbatiae Westmonaster’ juxta 
 ordinationem Regis, mense Martii, et in stipendiis carpentariorum et pictorum 
 eundem gradum depingencium, et pro auro et coloribus diversis emptis pro eadem 
 depingenda ; una cum factura unius cassi pro dicta cathedra cooperianda, sicut 
 patet per particulas inde in garderoba liberatas, i. lib. xix. sol. vii. den.” 
 
 f The marble throne in the Capella Reale at Palermo, which by the way is 
 ascended by five steps, is likewise placed at the extreme west end of the building. 
 g The words within brackets are scratched out in the original. 
 
124 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 It is made of oak, fastened together with pins, and covered with 
 a coat of gesso, which was afterwards gilded. From the multipli- 
 city and fineness of the moulding it is very easy to credit the ac- 
 count of its being a copy of a work intended to be cast in bronze. 
 In many instances, also, the mouldings have rather less projection 
 on their starting from the ground of the panels than we should 
 give to wood- work. The two little leopards probably surmounted 
 the two pinnacles of which we still see the remains on either side ; 
 or they might have been intended as rests for the hands, and 
 placed at the extremities of the arms. The arms themselves 
 appear to have been moulded, but it is very difficult to say 
 much about the matter, as they are covered with a stuffed 
 canvas padding. The stone is placed immediately below the 
 seat, and was anciently only seen through the open quatrefoils, 
 of which those in the front are all broken away, while the 
 others have lost the shields which they once enclosed. Although 
 many of the mouldings rise in a shallow manner from the 
 panels, yet there are others in which there is a good one-eighth 
 of an inch before the mouldings begin ; this is the case in the 
 circles on the outside of the arms, and in those in the tracery 
 in the back. We may in these instances fairly suppose that 
 circles of coloured glass upon a gilded or silvered ground were 
 inserted, the outside of the glass having a thin pattern in gold, 
 like what we have seen in the Sedilia and the Retab ulum. There 
 can be no doubt but that some sort of ornament was applied to 
 the pediment just below the crockets. It might have been, 
 like the framework of the Retabulum, composed of spaces of 
 gold ground with jewels, alternating with imitation enamels ; 
 but from what remains of the gesso ground I am very much in- 
 clined to give the preference to a mosaic of differently- coloured 
 glass, ornamented on its upper surface with gilding, in fact, 
 a variety of the mosaic in the upper part of the centre com- 
 partment of the Retabulum. In this instance the pattern would 
 appear to have been a succession of parallelograms touching 
 each other, but with the angles cut off so as to afford space for 
 the insertion of triangular pieces of a different colour. But 
 the great ornament of the chair was the gilding, and here we 
 find a process hitherto new to us. 
 
THE CORONATION CHAIR. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. 
 
The Coronation CJiair. 
 
 12 5 
 
 The surface was first of all covered with the usual gesso, 
 then gold applied by means of white of egg, then burnished, 
 and a pattern pricked upon it with a blunt instrument before 
 the ground and gilding had lost their elasticity. Great care 
 was required to prevent the instrument with which the dots 
 were made from going through the gold and shewing the 
 gesso underneath, and still greater patience in executing a de- 
 sign, every line of which was to be expressed by very small 
 dots alone. Of the exterior little is to be said beyond that the 
 panels are filled up with dotted foliage, and that there is no 
 work bestowed on the gilding of the mouldings. It has long 
 been known that the inside of the arms was decorated with 
 diapers, and that there were some remains of a figure on the 
 back, but no one as yet has had the patience to make a careful 
 drawing of them. However, my friend Mr. Tracy some short 
 time ago very kindly consented to make the attempt, and by 
 the help of a dark lantern and a strong lens he has been enabled, 
 assisted by a large amount of perseverance, to produce the draw- 
 ings from which the accompanying woodcuts have been made. 
 On the dexter side is foliage with very spiritedly executed birds, 
 on the sinister a diaper of compound quatrefoils, each of which 
 enclosed a different subject ; thus in one we see a knight on 
 horseback brandishing his sword, in another a monster’s head 
 ending in foliage, &c. This custom of filling in diapers with dif- 
 ferent subjects was continued still later, and we find it occurring 
 in what are called the Flemish brasses, such as those at Lynn 
 and St. Alban’s. It should be remarked that the quatrefoils 
 are by no means drawn with mathematical precision, the artist 
 then, as now, not finding the cramped position in which he was 
 obliged to draw them favourable to his work. 
 
 The upper part of the figure at the back is totally and irre- 
 trievably gone, and it was only by the most diligent research 
 that Mr. Tracy was enabled to make out what is shewn on 
 his drawdng. The figure probably represented a king seated, 
 his feet resting on a lion. The front of the throne is panelled, 
 and the panels filled with foliage. The cushion on which he is 
 seated is diapered in lozenges, while the back exhibits a series 
 of quatrefoils connected by pellets. 
 
126 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 Such is the coronation chair and such its decoration. When 
 in all the freshness of its glass mosaics and its historiated gild- 
 ing, it must indeed have been an artistic piece of furniture. 
 We hear a good deal about the revival of mediaeval art, and one 
 school especially is loud in its claims for our own English 
 variety ; when are they going to give us Retabula, Chairs, and 
 Sedilia such as we see at Westminster P 
 
THE SHRINE OF ST. EH WARD THE CONFESSOR". 
 
 In almost every great cliurcli or cathedral of the Middle 
 Ages we find some place, generally between the high altar and 
 the Lady-chapel, devoted to the large shrine in precious metal 
 containing the reliques of the saint to whom the church owed 
 its prosperity. Thus at Durham there was the shrine of St. 
 Cuthbert, at Ely that of St. Etheldreda, and at Canterbury that 
 of St. Thomas “ the holy blessed martyr,” not to mention those 
 at St. Alban's and St. Edmundsbury. It is needless to observe 
 that in every instance the Deformation made very short work 
 with these shrines, whose rich materials (to say nothing of the 
 objections to them as objects of religious veneration) were- cer- 
 tain to secure their destruction by the not very scrupulous men 
 who governed England in the first half of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. But, first of all, let us understand what were the com- 
 ponent parts of a shrine of the first class. There were at least 
 four distinct parts : — 1. the stone basement, at the east end of 
 which was 2. the altar. The use of the stone or marble base- 
 ment, which was frequently perforated with small niches, was 
 to support 3. a wooden structure covered with plates of gold or 
 silver, and often enriched with jewels and enamels. In order to 
 preserve the precious metals from the atmosphere, and at the same 
 time to cover up the feretory, as the top part was called, when 
 it was not desired to shew it, there was 4. the cooperculum b , 
 or a wooden covering suspended from the vaulting above by 
 ropes, and lifted by means of a counterpoise. Shrines of lesser 
 dimensions were kept in all sorts of places, such as above and 
 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
 b I have used the word cooperculum for the wooden box covering a precious 
 shrine, in order to make a distinction between it and the coopertorium, which, as 
 we know from the accounts of Queen Eleanor’s executors, was the name given to 
 a flat wooden canopy such as we see over Richard the Second’s tomb. 
 
 Z 
 
128 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 within altars, and were moreover often carried in procession ; 
 but those of the first class, such as that of St. Edward at West- 
 minster, would appear to have been always stationary, and 
 indeed were very little more than ornamented coverings to the 
 body, which was deposited in the upper part of the stone base- 
 ment. An illumination in Lydgate’s Life of St. Edmund 0 shews 
 very clearly the whole arrangement, with the exception of the 
 coopertorium, to which Mr. Scott first drew my attention, he 
 having found it mentioned as occurring at Durham. Mention 
 of it is also made in the Colloquies of Erasmus* 1 , where Ogygius 
 says, “ He opened to us the chest in which the remains of the 
 body of the holy man are said to rest/’ On which his com- 
 panion Menedemus asks him, “ Did you see the bones ?” and 
 Ogygius replies, “ That indeed would not be possible unless 
 you had ladders, for a wooden chest covers the golden one, 
 and being lifted up by means of ropes discloses inestimable 
 riches 0 .” Of all the shrines which once adorned our island, 
 there remain but the lower basement of the one at West- 
 minster and a portion of that at Ely f . The latter was divided 
 into two parts ; the lower one consisted of an open vaulted 
 space, while the upper, which rose to a considerable height, 
 was decorated with niches, and contained the bodies of St. 
 Etheldreda and other saints. The basement at Westminster 
 is more perfect, and Mr. Scott thinks that the lower portion 
 of it has never been disturbed ; however, there is not the least 
 doubt but that the cornice is a restoration by Abbot Faken- 
 ham in the time of Queen Mary. The material is Purbeck 
 marble, decorated with glass mosaic, the whole clearly the 
 work of Peter the Roman citizen, as the inscription tells us. 
 
 The lower parts of the north and south sides are pierced with 
 three niches ; it was in these that sick people were frequently 
 left during the night, in the hopes of a cure being effected by 
 
 c British Museum, MS. Harl. 2,278. 
 
 d Teregrinatio Heligionis Ergo. 
 
 e The usual representation of the shrine of St. Thomas & Bechet simply shews 
 the lower story and the cooperculum. The ridge of the latter was decorated with 
 three finials. 
 
 f There is also part of the basement of a shrine used as the pulpit in Chester 
 Cathedral. 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor . 129 
 
 the intercession of the Saint. Above these niches is a num- 
 ber of panels filled in with mosaic and pieces of porphyry and 
 serpentine ; they enclose a space in which the body of St. Ed- 
 ward is at present deposited. It appears that when the fere- 
 tory was destroyed the body was taken away and buried some- 
 where in the Abbey, and Mr. Scott thinks that the shrine was 
 only disturbed so far as was necessary to effect that purpose g . 
 At the east end were two twisted pillars, one of which, by the 
 care of Mr. Scott, has been restored from the remaining frag- 
 ments ; of the other only the capital remains ; but at the west 
 end there is a large slab inlaid like the rest of the work, and 
 forming a sort of reredos. At the sides of this there are no 
 mosaics, but two holes, which may possibly have served as at- 
 tachments to the hooks into which were inserted the brass rods 
 supporting the curtains which were usually placed on either 
 side of altars, to prevent draughts of air from making the 
 candles flicker. In small altars the ends of the rods were sup- 
 ported by strings, and in larger with little brass pillars. 
 
 At the same time it should be noticed that there are the re- 
 mains of two pillars larger than those at the eastern end, which 
 may possibly have fulfilled this office, although it is more likely 
 that they were placed at the sides of the reredos, and are the 
 identical pillars shewn in the Cambridge MS., as supporting 
 figures of St. Edward and the pilgrim, which must not be con- 
 founded with two other figures of the same personages pre- 
 sented by Edward II. ; these latter were of gold. 
 
 Of the mosaic it may be remarked that Peter the Poman 
 artizan appears to have adapted his work in some slight degree 
 to suit the Northern taste. Thus the back of each of the niches 
 for the infirm worshippers is divided by thin tracery, form- 
 ing the space into two lancets and a circle above ; in these is 
 introduced the mosaic ; so that when perfect the effect must have 
 been very like a stained-glass window. 
 
 Again, on a flat space just above the capitals of the eastern 
 
 g The account of the destruction of St. Cuthbert’s shrine by the Commissioners 
 in Henry the Eighth’s reign shews us that the body was in that case deposited 
 in a precisely similar position to that of St. Edward at Westminster. See The 
 Antiquities of Durham Abbey. 
 
130 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 columns, and running round the south, east and north sides, was 
 formerly this inscription, of which some of the letters still re- 
 main, and more doubtless would be discovered could the plaster 
 containing Fakenham’s inscription be cleared away. The old 
 lines, which were in letters of blue glass, ran thus : — 
 
 ANNO MILENO DOMINI, CUM SEPTUAGENO 
 ET BIS CENTENO, CUM COMPLETO QUASI DENO 
 HOC OPUS EST EACTUM QUOD PETEUS DVXIT IN ACTVM 
 ROMANI'S CIFIS, JIOMO CAUSAM NOSCEEE SI VIS 
 EEX EUIT HENEICUS SANCTI PILESENTIS AMICUS h . 
 
 Matthew Paris tells us that the translation of the reliques took 
 place in 1269, which agrees perfectly with the inscription. 
 
 Unfortunately we are totally without means of forming any 
 authentic idea of the exact form of the golden feretory that was 
 placed above the marble and mosaic base. If we could believe 
 the Cambridge MS. and the initial letter in Litlington’s Service- 
 book, we should consider it as rather low with a sloping top ; 
 but the former MS. was written and illuminated in all proba- 
 bility some considerable time before the translation, and the 
 latter is not worthy of much credit, inasmuch as it represents 
 the six niches of the basement all on the same side. It is 
 much more reasonable to suppose that when F akenham made the 
 present wooden erection he followed the old form, which then 
 must have been fresh in the recollection of very many persons, 
 and that the old arrangement was like that of many other large 
 shrines, viz. an edifice with a high-pitched roof, having aisles 
 at the sides, and perhaps at the ends as well. 
 
 The history of the manufacture of the shrine given by 
 Henry III. will probably never be known entirely until all the 
 accounts of his reign relating to the fine arts are published l , 
 but the following will give some idea of the proceedings. 
 
 h The letters in Italics denote those which are visible in consequence of 
 the destruction of the plaster covering the inscription at the east end. 
 
 » This would of course be a long and difficult work, but surely a sufficient sub- 
 scription might be obtained for the purpose should the Government decline, as it 
 most probably would, to undertake it. My friend Mr. Joseph Burtt, to whom I 
 owe many of the following extracts, assures me that most curious and valuable in- 
 formation respecting our national art is to be found in these various rolls. 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor . 131 
 
 We learn from Ordericus Vitalis that Edward the Confessor 
 was buried before the altar which St. Peter had blessed with 
 the working of miracles. This is confirmed by Fabian, who 
 tells us that the old sepulchre of Edward was on that side of 
 the choir where the monks sing; and most of those engaged 
 in the repairs of the choir in 1848 will remember the cist 
 of a tomb discovered under the central tower. 
 
 The next thing we hear about the tomb is that the Conqueror 
 was crowned at the side of it, and presented two palls as cover- 
 ings, thus shewing that in all probability it was a very plain 
 affair, like tombs in the East at the present day, which are 
 often covered with palls in a similar manner. However, shortly 
 after we find that a stone tomb, very costly, was erected at the 
 Conqueror’s expense, and when the sanctity of Edward was 
 demonstrated by the miracle of Wolstan’s crozier, which stood 
 upright on the tomb and could be displaced by no one except 
 Wolstan himself, William forthwith called in the aid of the 
 goldsmith, and we accordingly read of a sepulchre decorated 
 with gold and silver k . This must not be confounded with a 
 shrine or feretory, for Edward was not as yet canonized, but it 
 was by no means uncommon to erect tombs decorated with the 
 precious metals over distinguished personages. For instance, 
 we find William Rufus thus honouring his father’s memory at 
 St. Stephen’s at Caen ; and the fashion continued down to the 
 middle of the fifteenth century, as we see by Henry the Fifth’s 
 effigy, which is said to have been plated with silver. 
 
 In 1101, some discussion having arisen as to whether Ed- 
 ward’s body was incorrupt in consequence of his chaste life, 
 Gilbertus Crispinus, the then abbot, caused the tomb to be 
 opened. Aelred of Rievaulx, to whom we owe most of the fore- 
 going information, has left us a very interesting account of the 
 transaction. The body, as surmised, was found to be incor- 
 rupt, and Gundulph, the famous bishop of Rochester, who tried 
 to obtain a hair of the yellow beard as a relique, was unable to 
 pull it out. 
 
 Peter of Blois, the next abbot, endeavoured to obtain the 
 canonization of the holy King, but the Pope appears to have 
 
 k Sulcardus. 
 
132 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 turned a deaf ear to his solicitations ; most probably on account 
 of Peter himself, who is by no means well spoken of by the 
 chroniclers of the abbey. 
 
 His successor, Abbot Laurentius, managed the matter much 
 better, and in 1163 the body of Edward, which was still in- 
 corrupt, was transferred to a higher tomb and rich feretory, 
 King Henry II. and Becket being present and assisting. The 
 latter gave a great image of ivory beautifully framed. 
 
 The ring said to have been given Edward by St. John the 
 Evangelist was removed and kept as a relique, while the vest- 
 ments in which he had been originally buried were made into 
 three copes by order of Laurentius. We are left quite in the 
 dark as to the position of the new tomb and shrine, but it is 
 not unreasonable to suppose that it might have been erected 
 immediately at the back of the high altar, so that the shrine 
 could be seen above the dossel. 
 
 After this we hear no more about it until 1236, the year of 
 Henry the Thirds marriage, when we find him ordering his 
 treasurer to see that an image in the likeness of a certain queen 
 be made, after the fashion of one previously made, to put on the 
 shrine of St. Edward l . 
 
 In 1241, Matthew Paris tells us that King Henry caused 
 a shrine of the purest gold and the most costly jewels to be 
 elaborately constructed at London by picked workmen, for the 
 reliques of St. Edward to be placed therein. 
 
 This is confirmed by the following notice of payment, which 
 I owe to Mr. Burtt : — 
 
 LIBERATE ROLL, 26 HEN. III. 
 
 “ Deliver, of our treasure, to our beloved clerk, Edward the son 
 of Otho, 258Z. 9«. 3 \d., for the acquittance of the works ( operationes ) 
 done by our order at Westminster, from the day of the Holy Trinity 
 in the 25th year of our reign, to the feast of SS. Simon and Jude 
 next following. Deliver also to the same 10 marks for a certain 
 
 1 Rot. Claus. 20 Hen. III. The years of Henry’s reign begin on the 28th of 
 October, and thus comprise two months of one year and ten of another. In the fol- 
 lowing account I have given the year in which the ten months occur as the equiva- 
 lent of the year of Henry’s reign, as strict accuracy is not wanted for our purpose. 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor. 133 
 
 wooden shrine for the work {opus) of St. Edward made by our order; 
 and to the same 6l. 10s. for marble bought for the same shrine by 
 our order.” 
 
 We here see the wooden shrine upon which the gold and 
 silver was to be attached, and which was necessary for the 
 workmen to set out their work before they began. The marble 
 was evidently for the new basement, which, if ever it was 
 executed, was thrown aside for the mosaic one which Petrus 
 civis Pomanus finished in 1269. 
 
 It is very probable that the workmen worked in the King’s 
 palace in the same manner as Torel appears to have done after- 
 wards, and as we find skilled artists having their ateliers in the 
 Louvre under Louis XIV. However that may have been, we 
 find notices of sundry payments to the workmen “ ad operationes 
 feretri beati Edwardi.” 
 
 In 1245 the King began to rebuild the church itself, having 
 previously erected the Lady-chapel, (the latter commenced in 
 1220 ,) but most likely the shrine itself was not disturbed until 
 the very last moment, (1252,) when it became absolutely neces- 
 sary to do so, and it was then perhaps taken to the palace and 
 placed somewhere near where the workmen were employed, 
 probably with a view to the adaptation of the old metal and 
 jewellery to the new shrine. The order runs thus : — 
 
 ‘‘Edward of Westminster is commanded" 1 to cause to be made in 
 the new part of the workshop of the shrine of St. Edward (‘In novo 
 opere fabrics feretri beati Edwardi"”) at Westminster a chapel where 
 it can be most commodiously placed, of the length of forty feet and 
 of the breadth of twenty-five feet, and the wall to be (covered) with 
 plaster of Paris, and the story of St. Edward to be painted in the said 
 chapel; and the lower chamber be wainscotted, in which the story 
 of St. Eustace is to be painted, and in the window of the gable the 
 story of Solomon and Marculphus.” 
 
 m Rot. Claus., 37 Hen. III., mem. 22. 
 
 n I give this translation of the passage with very great diffidence. Mr. Burtt, 
 than whom nobody is a better authority, thinks the passage simply stands thus, 
 “ In the new work of the fabric of the shrine,” and refers to the chapel of the 
 Confessor. At the same time it should be remembered that in Florence at the 
 present day the place where the cathedral accounts, models, plans, &c. are kept, is 
 still called the opera. 
 
1 34 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 This temporary chapel might have been like some other 
 domestic chapels mentioned in Parker’s “ Domestic Architec- 
 ture/’ where that portion used as the nave is divided into two 
 stories, the upper one for the masters and the lower one for the 
 servants, so that both could hear the same service. In the 
 present case the usual pilgrims were to be provided for, and 
 the division of the limited nave into two stories would he 
 doubly necessary. 
 
 In 1253, Henry made his will 0 ; in it he leaves five hundred 
 marks of silver to finish the shrine of St. Edward. 
 
 In 1258, Abbot Ware went to Rome and stayed two years. 
 On his return he might have brought over the materials for 
 the base of the shrine, and for his pavement ; or he might 
 only have ordered them, and brought them over, together with 
 Odericus and Petrus, in 1267, hut this is a point which is very 
 likely to be some day cleared up at the Record Office. 
 
 In 1260 p, we find Edward Fitz Otho keeper of the shrine, 
 in which office the prior and sacrist of the abbey were joined 
 with him. This was a very likely proceeding, if the shrine 
 were kept in the palace. Edward Fitz Otho was the King’s 
 architect and man of business, and watched things for his 
 master : the prior and sacrist w^ere adjoined in the interest of 
 the monastery to which the shrine legally belonged. 
 
 In 1267, political necessities obliged the King to pawn the 
 jewels belonging to himself and to the abbey. The late Hudson 
 Turner published a list of some of these in the “ Manners and 
 Household Expenses in England in the Thirteenth and Four- 
 teenth Centuries' 1 ;” and the following gold figures will give 
 some idea of the riches of the shrine : — 
 
 “ St. Edmund. Crown set with two large sapphires, a ruby, and other 
 precious stones, worth 867 
 
 “King. Ruby on his breast, and other small stones, 487 
 
 “King. Holding in his right hand a flower, with sapphires and 
 emeralds in the middle of the crown, and a great garnet on the breast, 
 and otherwise set with pearls and small stones, 56 7 4s. Ad. 
 
 0 See Nichols, Royal Wills. p Rot. Claus. 44 Hen. III. 
 
 9 Rot. Pat. 51 Hen. III., mem. 20. At the end of this notice will be found 
 a transcript of so much of the original as relates to the shrine. 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor. 135 
 
 “ King with a garnet in his breast, and other stones, 521 . 
 
 “ King with sapphires in his breast, and other stones, 59 /. 6s. 8 cl. 
 
 “Pive golden angels, 30/. 
 
 “Blessed Yirgin and Child, set with rubies, emeralds, and garnets, 200/. 
 
 “ King holding shrine in hand set with precious stones, 103/. r 
 
 “King holding in one hand a cameo with two heads, and in the 
 other a sceptre set with rubies, prasinis, and pearls, 100/. 
 
 “ St. Peter, holding in one hand a church, in the other the keys, 
 trampling on Kero, with a large sapphire in his breast, 100/. 
 
 “A Majesty with an emerald in the breast, 200/. 
 
 “ There is also mentioned a great cameo in a golden case, with 
 a golden chain, valued at 200/.; and another cameo, 28 /.” 
 
 The arrangement of these statues might have been this. At 
 one end was the Majesty, at the other the Blessed Yirgin ; each 
 side was divided into five niches or divisions, each containing 
 a king; and above them, perhaps in another series of niches 
 forming a clerestory, were angels ; or, as the whole five angels 
 were only worth 30/., they might have been very small and 
 placed on the finials of the pediments of the niches. The other 
 side does not appear to have been completed, for only three 
 statues are mentioned, and no angels. 
 
 The King’s necessities also obliged him to pawn and even to 
 sell sundry others of the valuables belonging to the Abbey. In 
 Pat. Hot. 51 Henry III. mem. 18, he binds himself to restore 
 them under pain of having his chapel laid under an interdict. 
 
 At last his affairs came round, and in 1269 we learn 
 from Matthew Paris that at the instance of Henry King 1 of 
 England the body of St. Edward the King was solemnly trans- 
 ferred to a shrine of gold which he, King Henry, had prepared 
 for it. This date also agrees with that on the basement of the 
 shrine. Wikes tells us that Henry was buried in the old grave 
 of the Confessor, and the expressions made use of by other au- 
 thors in describing his burial, such as “ante magnum altarem,” 
 and “ coram magno altari,” would certainly not be applicable to 
 the position of his present tomb. 
 
 Among the many valuable documents lately published by 
 the Master of the Bolls is a life of St. Edward in Norman- 
 
 r This was doubtless a statue of Henry himself. 
 
 A a 
 
1 3 6 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 French, from a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge. 
 Very little is known of the author beyond that he was attached 
 to the Abbey at Westminster, and that the work was written 
 and illuminated for Eleanor, the queen of Henry III., some- 
 where about the middle of the thirteenth century s . Unfortu- 
 nately his work is little more than a metrical translation of 
 Aelred, and finishes with the account of the opening of the 
 tomb described by that author ; but the illuminations most pro- 
 bably shew us the shrine as it was when the artist made the 
 illuminations, and on that account it has been considered ad- 
 visable to engrave two of them. The first occurs in p. 55 of 
 the MS., and is curious as shewing us, 1st, the pillars on either 
 side of the shrine surmounted by statues of St. John the Evan- 
 gelist and Edward the Confessor ; and it is by no means un- 
 likely that the two large twisted columns which we now see 
 at the western end of the basement of the shrine served for 
 a similar purpose t ; probably the old statues were transferred 
 to them, and in course of time in their turn gave way to two 
 golden ones presented by Edward II. u ; 2ndly, we should re- 
 mark the shrine itself, which may perhaps represent that made 
 when the Saint was canonized ; and, 3rdly, the infirm persons 
 creeping through holes in the tomb. The latter was by no 
 means an uncommon practice, and in several parts of France 
 tombs of this description still remain. Thus at St. Omer the 
 
 s Lives of Edward the Confessor, edited by Henry Richard Luard, M.A. 1858. 
 
 1 In the Chancellor’s roll printed at the end of the account of the sedilia will 
 be found the entry relating to the tritura (tritura polishing) of the bases and 
 columns around St. Edward’s shrine : this was in 1272. As the payment was made 
 to goldsmiths it probably refers to the shrine itself. 
 
 u My friend Mr. Burtt has kindly communicated to me another entry relative to 
 the marble columns around the shrine; it will be observed that these columns 
 were made during the time Queen Eleanor’s and Henry the Third’s effigies were 
 in hand. One of the easternmost columns has a foliaged capital, which would 
 correspond with the date of the entry. 
 
 “ Westminster. 
 
 “ Liberate Roll 18 and 19 Edw. I. (1290.) 
 
 “ Edward, &c., to our Treasurer, &c. Deliver of our treasure, to brother Rey- 
 mond of Wenlock, a monk of Westminster, forty-six shillings and eight-pence for 
 the making of three marble columns, which, by our command, he lately caused to 
 be made around the shrine of St. Edward in the church of Westminster — 46s. 8d.” 
 
Illumination from the Life of St. Edward in the University Library at Cambridge. 
 
 SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 PLATE XXVII. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor. 137 
 
 basement of the tomb that supports the effigy of that saint is 
 hollow, and the trefoil arches in the sides are pierced. 
 
 In a little village near Beauvais, in a desecrated chapel, we 
 find the tomb of St. Arnould. The upper slab, which is very 
 thick, has an incised figure with canopy, &c., but in the sides of 
 the tomb are circular holes, and the panels at the ends have 
 also been pierced. The story goes, that up to the time of the 
 great Revolution it was the custom for sick people to creep in 
 at one hole and out at the opposite, and repeat this through 
 all the apertures, finishing with those at the end. The cere- 
 mony was repeated three times, and the sick person finished 
 with drinking a cup of water from the neighbouring spring x . 
 
 The other woodcut shews the deposition of the body in the 
 tomb after Gundulpli had vainly tried to abstract one of 
 the hairs of the beard. It is the last illumination in the MS., 
 and is curious as giving us a side view of the shrine shewed 
 in the preceding illustration. We are still, however, with- 
 out any authentic material wherewith to make a restoration 
 of the shrine which Henry dedicated in the last years of his 
 reign, and which took so long making. It is of course just 
 possible that the illuminator may have represented it in the 
 MS., but then he must have seen the designs only, for the 
 original was far from completion in the middle of the thirteenth 
 century. The drawing, however, corresponds to a certain de- 
 gree with the objects described in the inventory. 
 
 Very shortly after Henry had assisted at the translation of 
 the body into the new shrine, a very sad event caused an ad- 
 dition to the ornaments of the chapel. His nephew Henry, 
 when returning from the crusade in which St. Louis had died, 
 was assassinated at Yiterbo by Simon and Guy de Montford 
 during the elevation of the Host. Matthew of Westminster 
 tells us that his heart was placed in a gilt cup near the shrine 
 of St. Edward in the church at Westminster. Dante, who very 
 properly places his murderer in the Inferno, and up to his chin 
 in the river of blood, relates that the centaur who was then 
 
 x An account of this tomb, from the pen of my learned friend the Abbe 
 Barraud, with an illustration of the incised effigy, will he found in one of the late 
 volumes of the Memoires de la Societe Academique de VOise. 
 
Gleanings fi'om Westminster A bbey. 
 
 138 
 
 guiding Virgil and himself, shewed them a shade all alone 
 in the corner, (on account of the almost unheard-of impiety 
 of the deed,) saying, “This one struck in God’s bosom the 
 heart which is still honoured on the Thames L” 
 
 The Italian commentators tell us that the heart was placed 
 in a cup, and deposited on the top of a column in the middle of 
 London Bridge. The anonymous commentator, as quoted by 
 Arrivabene z , gives another account : — 
 
 “According to the Ultramontane custom, the heart was taken to 
 England, and carried to London, where, in a covered golden chalice, it 
 was placed in the hand of a statue over the river at London, called 
 the Thames, and there is honoured; and on the garment of the said 
 statue is written, ‘ Cor gladio scissum do cui consanguincus sum,’ — ‘ I 
 give the heart cut with the sword to him to whom I am related i.e. 
 to the King Edward.” 
 
 It is difficult to believe the Italian account of the heart being 
 placed on London Bridge in the face of the direct testimony of 
 Matthew of Westminster, a contemporary writer, and one living 
 on the spot. In all probability the commentators were misled 
 by Dante, who frequently expresses the name of a town by the 
 river upon which it stands. At the same time the Latin inscrip- 
 tion on the statue would also point to Westminster Abbey, the 
 consanguineus being referable to the Confessor. 
 
 Edward I. made the Abbey the depository of the most 
 precious spoils taken in his Welsh and Scottish wars. Here, 
 in 1284, Alphonso, his eldest son, “offered up a certain orna- 
 ment of gold which had formerly belonged to Lewellyn, Prince 
 of Wales, with other jewels also, which were applied to adorn 
 the tomb of the blessed Edward a .” Two years after, the King 
 
 y “Poco pm oltre il Centauro s’affisse 
 Sovra una gente che infino alia gola 
 Parea die di quel bulicame uscisse. 
 
 Mostrocci un’ ombra dalFun canto sola, 
 
 Dicendo : Colui fesse in grembo a Dio 
 Lo cor che’n sul Tamigi ancor si cola.” 
 
 Inferno, xii. 115. 
 
 z Arrivabene, II secolo di Dante, p. 47. Wikes, a contemporary writer, uses 
 the expression, “ in vase quodam satis prope scrinium in quo Beati Regis Edwardi 
 reliquiae reconduntur.” 
 a Matt. West. 
 
SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 PLATE XXVIII. 
 

 
 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor. x 39 
 
 coming to Westminster, “ conveyed a considerable portion of 
 the Cross of our Lord, adorned with gold and silver and pre- 
 cious stones, which he had brought with him from Wales and 
 in 1297 he offered to the blessed King Edward, through whose 
 merits he had acquired the regalia of the kingdom of Scotland, 
 a throne (probably the coronation stone) and sceptre and crown 
 of gold. 
 
 Edward II. at his coronation offered a pound of gold made in 
 the likeness of the Confessor, and a mark of gold in that of 
 St. John the Evangelist under the form of a pilgrim. It is 
 needless to describe the other reliques and gifts attached to 
 the shrine, more especially as none of them remain. One 
 of the last and most valuable (if indeed it were ever given) 
 is indicated in the Will of Henry YII. b : — 
 
 “ Also we wol, that our Executours yf it be nat doon by our selfe 
 in our life, cause to he made an Ymage of a King, representing our 
 owen persone, the same Ymage to be of tymber, covered and wrought 
 accordingly with plate of fyne gold, in manner of an armed man, and 
 upon the same armour a Coote armour of our armes of England and 
 France enameled, with a swerd and spurres accordingly ; and the same 
 Ymage to knele upon a table of silver and gilte, and holding betwixt 
 his hands the Crowne which it pleased God to geve us, with the victorie 
 of our Ennemye at our furst felde ; the which Ymage and Crowne we 
 geve and bequethe to Almighty God, our blessed Lady Saint Mary, 
 and Saint Edward King and Confessour. And the same Ymage and 
 Crowne in the fourme afore rehersed, we wol be set upon, and in the 
 mydds of the Creste of the Shryne of Saint Edward King, in such 
 a place as by us in our life, or by our Executours after our deceasse, 
 shall be thought most convenient and honorable.’ ’ 
 
 This practice of setting a figure on the crest of a shrine 
 was rather common. St. Alban’s shrine is said to have had an 
 equestrian statue of one of the Saxon kings attached to it, and 
 one of the illuminations in Lydgate’s “Life of St. Edmund” 
 shews a similar figure, also mounted on horseback, on the side 
 of the roof of the shrine c . 
 
 All these riches were of course swept away at the Keforma- 
 
 b See Britton’s Henry the Seventh Chapel, p. 19. 
 c Brit. Mus., MS. Harl., No. 2,278. 
 
1 40 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 tion, and, as Mr. Scott very justly observes, there is but too much 
 reason to fear that the body of the Confessor was removed and 
 buried in some obscure place. The two entries pointed out to 
 him by Mr. Gough Nichols are to be found in the “ Chronicle of 
 the Grey Friars of London,” and in the “ Diary of Henry Ma- 
 chyn,” both published by the Camden Society. They run 
 thus : — 
 
 “Item, the v day of Januarii (1555) was Sent Edwardes day, and 
 thene was sett up the scrynne at Westmynster, and the aulter with 
 dyvers juelles that the qwene sent thether.” — Chronicle of the Grey 
 Friars of London. 
 
 “ The xx day of Marche (1557) was taken up at Westminster again 
 with a hondered lights, Kyng Edward the Confessor in the sam plasse 
 wher ys shryne was, and ytt shalle be sett up agayne as fast as my Lord 
 Abbot can have ytt done, for ytt was a godly shyte to have seen yt, 
 how reverently he was cared from the plasse that he was taken up 
 wher he was led when that the abbay was spowlcd and robyd ; and 
 so he was cared and goodly syngyng and senssyng as has bene sene 
 and masse song. 
 
 “xix day of April . . . the duke of Muscovea . . . (went) up to se 
 sant Edward shryne nuw set up .” — Diary of Henry Machyn , 1550 
 —1563. 
 
 The present wooden shrine is clearly Abbot Fakenham's 
 work. He also restored the stone basement, filled up those 
 parts which had lost their mosaic with plaster, and painted the 
 imitation mosaics and inscription which we now see. The shrine 
 does not appear to have been disturbed on the restoration of the 
 reformed religion by Elizabeth, and we hear nothing more about 
 it until the time of James II., when the contents of the coffin 
 were partly examined, as will be seen from the following quota- 
 tion from Dart : — 
 
 “ One Young belonging to the choir of this church, which Young, by 
 the way, was no other than Henry Keep, who in King James the 
 Second’s time, being reconciled to the Church of Home, changed his 
 name, sometime after the Coronation of King James the Second, ob- 
 served the chest before mentioned to be broken, as he supposed, by the 
 fall of a beam from the coronation scaffolding, which had broken a hole 
 in the lid over the breast. He went with two friends who came to see 
 
Shrine of Edward the Confessor. 141 
 
 the tombs, and fetching a ladder to see if the report was true, found 
 it so. Upon which putting in his hand he turned the hones, and found 
 upon the shoulder blades a crucifix richly adorned and enamelled, and 
 a gold chain of twenty inches long, with pieces of linen and gold- 
 coloured silk; the head was solid and firm, the upper and lower jaws 
 full of teeth, and a list of gold round the temples, and much dust in 
 the coffin : this cross he presented to the king, who he says thereupon 
 ordered the coffin to be enclosed in a new one two inches thick, and 
 cramped with iron wedges.” 
 
 The crucifix would appear, from the description of it by 
 Keepe, to have been one of the jewels mentioned in the Chro- 
 nicle of the Grey Friars as given by Queen Mary. The present 
 state of the shrine will better be learnt from the description 
 of Mr. Scott, to whom we all owe so much for the elucidation 
 of the history of the principal public building in England. No 
 one would wish to see the shrine and regal monuments restored, 
 but at the same time there could be little objection to removing 
 the plaster put on by Fakenham, so as to enable us to read the 
 original inscription, and to find out the form of the original 
 cornice. 
 
 PAT. ROLL, 51 HEN. III., m. 20 dorso. 
 
 {The preamble .) 
 
 Rex omnibus, etc., salutem. Cum aurum et lapides preciosos et jocalia 
 deputata, casse sive feretro, in quo corpus beatissimi Edwardi Regis disposui- 
 mus collocari, et qusedam aha preciosa monasterii nostri Westm’ pro nostris et 
 regni nostri imminentibus necessitatibus acceperimus ; quorum partem jam 
 vendidimus, partem obligavimus, et aha intendimus pro eisdem necessitatibus 
 obhgare : qua? omnia abbati predicti monasterii restituere infra annum a festo 
 sancti Michaehs proximo computando promisimus bona fide nos ad hoc heredes 
 nostros et bona nostra specialiter obligando. Et ut de numero et quantitate 
 ac valore et estimacione dictarum rerum certitudo plenior habeatur res ipsas 
 numerum quantitatem valorem et estimationem ipsarum prout res ipsee per 
 fideles nostros estimate sunt presenti scripto fecimus annotari. * * * * * 
 Una ymago beati Edmundi Regis cum corona, et ij. grossis saphiris, et j. 
 balesio sito in corona et ij. prasinis d et alijs minutis lapidibus ponderis vj. 
 
 d Prasinis, root of emerald (?), or perhaps bloodstone. 
 
142 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 marcarum x s vj d precij quatuor viginti et sex librarum. I. imago aurea unius 
 Regis cum balesio in pectore et alijs lapidibus minutis ponderis v. mar- 
 carum ij s vj d precij xl. et viij. librarum. Una imago unius Regis tenentis 
 in manu dextra florem cum sapliiro smaragdinibus in medio coronse et magna 
 granata in pectore perlis et alijs minutis lapidibus tarn in corona quam in 
 corpore ponderis v. marcarum precij lvj. librarum iiij. sol et iiij. den. I. imago 
 unius Regis cum granata in pectore aurea cum smaragdinibus granatis et 
 alijs minutis lapidibus ponderis v. marcarum v s x. den. precij lij. lib. I. imago 
 Regis aurea cum saphiris in pectore et smaragdinibus et bales’ in medio coronse 
 et sapliiris et granatis in corona et circa corpus ponderis v. marcarum ix. 
 sol et viij d precij lix 11 vi s et viij. den. Quinque angeli aurei ponderis trium 
 marcarum iiij. sol. precij triginta librarum. 1. imago beatse Marise cum filio 
 coronata per circuitum tarn in coronis quam in alijs membris cum rubettis 
 smaragdinibus sapliiris et granatis ponderis vij. marcarum xvj. den. precij 
 cc. libr’. Una imago unius regis aurea tenentis feretrum in manu sua per 
 circuitum bales’ sapliiris pulcris et in corona cum rubettis et esmalT ponderis 
 v. marcarum v. sol ij. den. precij c. et iij. libr. Item imago unius regis tenentis 
 cliamaliutum e cum ij. capitibus in una manu in alia septrum cum bales’ prasinis 
 et perlis per circuitum ponderis vij. marcarum x. solid et x. den. precij c. libr. 
 Una imago Sancti Petri tenentis in una manu ecclesiam, in alia claves, 
 et calcantis Neronem cum sapliiro grosso in pectore et in circuitu cum 
 prasinis perlis et saphiris ponderis ix. marcarum et iiij 8 precij c. libr. Una 
 magestas aurea in capsa lignea cum pulclierrima smaragdine in pectore per 
 circuitum cum smaragdinibus et perlis in corona cum chamahuto prasinis et 
 sapliiris per circuitum ponderis x. marcarum vij 8 vj. den. precij cc. libr. Aurum 
 in licis (?) cum chamahuto ponderis viij. marcarum viij 8 et iiij. den. precij c. et 
 xij u . Unus saphirus pulcherrimus ponderis xlij. den. precij c. marcarum. Item 
 alius saphirus precij x. marcarum. Item unus saphirus precij v. marcarum. 
 Item vj. saphiri precij x. librarum. Item viij. chamahuta in capsis aureis cum 
 smaragdinibus per circuitum ponderis iiij 8 . vj. den precij xx li . Unum par 
 bacinorum auri ponderis xlvi 8 precij triginta et quatuor marcarum. Una cuppa 
 clara ponderis vij. marcarum precij centum solidorum. Duse cuppse veteres 
 ponderis vij. marcarum x 8 precij tanti. Unum magnum chamahutum in capsa 
 aurea cum cathena aurea precij cc. libr. Item unum chamahutum cum capite 
 sine capsa precij octo viginti libr’. — Testificantur per dilectos et fideles nostros 
 magistrum Thomam de Wymondham, Thesaurarium nostrum in Anglia, Nicho- 
 laum de Lenkenor, Thesaurarium Garderobse nostrse et Petrum de Wyntonia 
 clericum ejusdem garderobse. In cujus rei testimonium presens scriptum 
 sigillo nostro et reverendi patris domini 0., sancti Adriani Diaconi Cardinalis 
 apostolicse sedis Legati duximus roborandum. Apud Stratford primo die 
 Junij. 
 
 e Chamahutum, ‘ a cameo.’ 
 
THE TOMBS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 Churches may be said in one respect to resemble individuals, 
 inasmuch as some are much more lucky than others. Thus in 
 France, Amiens and Chartres are both fortunate churches, for 
 they have suffered comparatively little from either the ravages 
 of time or the fury of revolutions. In our own country the 
 pre-eminently lucky church is Westminster, and it may be 
 questioned whether any other sacred edifice in Europe can 
 shew us such a complete series of monuments so well preserved 
 and so little touched by the destroying hand of the restorer. 
 Most fortunately, none of the tombs at Westminster have under- 
 gone the hazardous process of restoration, and it must be the 
 wish of every lover of the fyie arts that it may never be at- 
 tempted. At the same time, there is really no reason why the 
 gilded bronze effigies, which from the nature of their material 
 have their details as perfect as when they were sent out of the 
 workshop, should not have their surfaces cleansed of the thick 
 coating of dust and oxydation which has gradually accumu- 
 lated ; but it is most fervently to be hoped that the time may 
 never come when we shall add new hands and new noses to 
 those constructed in more fragile materials, and thus destroy 
 their value as landmarks in the progress of art. 
 
 St. Denis once had a collection of tombs which quite rivalled 
 Westminster; but, unfortunately, revolutions appear to be like 
 certain diseases, the longer they are delayed the worse they are, 
 and so one fine day the mob of Paris went to the church, broke 
 open the tombs, disinterred the bodies, and committed atrocities 
 too horrible to mention. The consequence is that the series of 
 effigies at St. Denis is reduced to a number of effigies detached 
 from their tombs, and still worse, restored under the auspices 
 a By W. Burges, Esq. 
 
144 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 of Louis Philippe. Westminster, on the contrary, was much 
 more fortunate during our Civil War. London and West- 
 minster always held with the Parliament, and there was there- 
 fore no ill feeling to be aroused as in the case of Lichfield, 
 where the cathedral had to stand a regular siege. It is very 
 true that sundry soldiers were quartered in the church, and 
 misbehaved themselves, as soldiers are exceedingly apt to do 
 when quartered in such places ; and it is also very true that 
 they broke up the organ, dined on the Communion-table, and, 
 dressed in surplices, ran after one another as hounds and hare ; 
 still the present state of the monuments is quite sufficient to 
 shew that they could have done comparatively but little injury. 
 We must also remember that the Great Rebellion was not 
 directed against the aristocracy as a body, but rather against 
 the regal prerogatives and the State religion, and that no in- 
 considerable number of the nobility and gentry belonged to the 
 Parliamentary party, and were not likely to allow the tombs 
 of their ancestors and connections to be wantonly injured. 
 
 The earliest monuments in Westminster Abbey are the three 
 battered and almost obliterated effigies to be found at the east 
 end of the south walk of the cloisters ; where both Flete and 
 Sporley tell us that most of the abbots were buried. Doubt- 
 less some of the tombs may have disappeared during the re- 
 building of this part of the edifice in Litlington’s time, but 
 in all probability the destruction of the major part must be 
 referred to later periods, for it is only in comparatively late 
 years that these three effigies have been placed in a position 
 to secure them from further injury. As it is, so much have 
 they suffered that they are quite valueless as works of art. 
 The first one, attributed to Yitalis, 1032, is a mere block of 
 stone with a raised effigy in low relief, and we can just dis- 
 tinguish that a pastoral staff was held across the body. The 
 next in order is inscribed with the name of “ Gislebertus Cris- 
 pinus here the figure is in low relief, the ground being sunk 
 in the stone; i.e. it is a representation of the body in the coffin. 
 In one hand there is a book or cup, and the other grasps 
 a pastoral staff of which the crook points outwards — thus by no 
 means supporting the common belief that an abbot has always 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 145 
 
 the crook of his staff pointing inwards as his rule only extends 
 to his own house, whereas the bishop bears the crook outward 
 because he is entrusted with the care of a diocese. The third 
 effigy is simply a shapeless mass of stone ; the name “ Lauren- 
 tius” being cut on it. Now it must be observed that all these 
 inscriptions are quite modern, and that we have nothing what- 
 ever to guide us in attributing these effigies to any particular 
 abbots of Westminster. As they are in a very damaged state, 
 having only of late years been rescued from the feet of the 
 Westminster scholars who used to play in the cloisters, it would 
 be simply waste of time to say anything more about them. 
 
 Doubtless in the interval between the two rebuildings of the 
 church by Edward the Confessor and Henry III. there must 
 have been numerous interments, and consequently a nearly cor- 
 responding number of tombs, but not one of them is to be found 
 in the new building. The fact is, that architects and workmen 
 in those days were just as careless as architects and workmen 
 of the present day, and if we wanted any remains of the early 
 tombs we should have to seek for them in the walls and foun- 
 dations of the present building. There are numerous instances 
 of this practice, and the complete disappearance of all monu- 
 mental remains at Westminster of the Norman and Transition 
 periods may in all probability be referred to this cause. How- 
 ever, no sooner was the new choir completed than numerous 
 interments began to take place. The first of these in order of 
 date is — 
 
 Catharine, daughter of Henry III., ob. 1257. 
 j&outf) Slnffulatorj). 
 
 Concerning this princess, who died at the age of five years, 
 Matthew Paris tells us that she was dumb and fit for nothing 
 ( inutilis ), but very beautiful ; adding, moreover, that the queen 
 was so afflicted at her loss that she fell dangerously ill, and 
 could obtain no relief either from medical skill or human con- 
 solation ; and a little farther on we are informed that the king 
 also fell ill on account of the successes of the Welsh, as well as 
 of grief at the illness of the queen and the loss of his daughter. 
 Altogether, there is something so very pathetic about the whole 
 
1 4 6 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 story that it is almost a wonder that none of our poets have 
 made use of it. We all know that wondrous and powerful poem 
 of Browning’s, about the Cardinal giving orders to his sons 
 about his tomb in St. Prassede, at Rome : here is surely a sub- 
 ject noways inferior to it. Moreover, we find accounts in the 
 last year of the king’s reign concerning two statues, one of 
 brass and the other of silver, to be placed upon her tomb. 
 In all probability the silver image represented St. Catharine, 
 while the bronze one might be a kneeling figure of the princess b . 
 It could not have been an effigy, as the top of the table of the 
 tomb is occupied with mosaic. The tomb is thus formed. 
 Between the chapels of St. Benedict and St. Edmund there 
 occurs a considerable blank space. There is not room enough 
 for two arches of the arcade, which runs all round the building, 
 and there is too much for one. The matter was compromised 
 by making only one arch, but it is much wider than ordinary. 
 At some distance below the springing occurs another arch, but 
 segmental, and forming a recess, in which is placed the tomb. 
 Thus we have, 1 . The tomb, which very likely was made out of 
 the remains of the mosaics brought from Rome by Ware for St. 
 Edward’s shrine. The design is very simple, but it has suffered 
 greatly from most of the precious marbles and mosaics having 
 been taken away. The top, however, is tolerably perfect. The 
 
 b Master Simon of Wells was paid five marks and a half for his expenses in 
 going to London for a certain brass image to set on her tomb. Gough, Sep. 
 Mon., refers us to Eymer, but the reference is wrong. As to the silver image, see 
 the original document printed in the present work at the end of the account of 
 the Retabulum. (Rot. Cane. 56 Hen. III.) Gough goes on to say that the king 
 had a competition of artists for the statue, but gives no authority at all for this 
 statement. Perhaps the occurrence of two statues may be explained by supposing 
 that the king was not satisfied with the bronze one, and ordered a silver one as 
 more costly. The traces of irons on either side of the arcade may be the remains 
 of iron stanchions to hold lights, or of a protecting grille. 
 
 The following entry refers to the first arrangement of the tomb, before the 
 present mosaic monument was erected : — “ 43 Hen. III. Pay from our treasury to 
 Alberic de Fecamp and Peter de Winchester 500 marks for a cloth with pearls, 
 for a reading-desk, to be placed at the front of the altar and tomb of Catharine 
 our daughter, and for certain tables which we have caused to be placed at the altar 
 of the Blessed Mary at Westminster.” See Devon’s Introduction to the “ Issue 
 Roll of Thomas de Brantingham, 44 Edw. III.” 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 M7 
 
 material is Purbeck. 2. The space at the back of the recess be- 
 tween the top of the tomb and the segmental arch. This was 
 painted with four kneeling figures, probably representing the 
 Princess Catharine and her brothers Richard, John, and Henry, 
 all of whom died young. In Dart’s view of the tomb the four 
 figures are represented as being tolerably distinct, but at the 
 present day nothing is to be made out beyond the fact that the 
 surface has been painted. 3. The space between the segmental 
 arch and the trefoiled arch of the arcade. This also, we are 
 told by old authors, has been painted with the representation 
 of the interior of a church ; but perhaps it was simply a painted 
 niche or border round the silver statue of St. Catharine, which 
 was fixed in the middle of this space. At present the two 
 pillars of the niche are tolerably distinct. 
 
 The whole of the stone arcade and segmental arch was elabo- 
 rately coloured and gilt. From the circumstance of the employ- 
 ment of mosaic, and from the silver statue not being put up 
 until the last year of Henry’s reign, it is not improbable but 
 that the date of at least those parts of the tomb would be in 
 that year, and not in 1267, the year of the death of the princess. 
 
 The next tomb in point of date would be the shrine of 
 the Confessor, but that has already been made the subject 
 of a separate notice. 
 
 Henry III., ob. 1272. 
 
 ©onfcssoPg Chapel. 
 
 If we judge by the date, Henry the Third’s own tomb would 
 follow that of his daughter, but we know that it was not com- 
 pleted until 1291, and there are very strong reasons for believ- 
 ing that a translation of the body took place from another tomb, 
 which Wikes tells us was the old one where St. Edward the Con- 
 fessor was originally interred. Matthew of Westminster, a con- 
 temporary, also says that “ coram magno altare dignam meruit 
 sepulchram and in the letter of the nobles to Edward I., then 
 in the Holy Land, they inform him that his father was buried 
 “ante magnum altare 0 .” Again, there is a very curious notice 
 given by Walsingham, both in his Hist. Ang. and in his Hypo- 
 e Foedera , vol. i. pt. ii. p. 497. 
 
148 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 digma , under the year 1281, which runs thus : — “ In this year 
 Edward caused the tomb of his father at Westminster to be 
 greatly honoured with precious stones of jasper, which he had 
 brought with him ‘ de partibus Gallicanis.’ ” It is very true 
 that Walsingham finished his History in 1422, and therefore 
 cannot be a first-hand authority for what happened in 1281 ; 
 but this is a fact which he was not likely to invent, and doubt- 
 less copied from some older historian. Also, in 1290, Master 
 Henry of Lewes is paid for iron- work to the tomb d ; and in 
 the year after we find Master William Torel employed on a 
 bronze statue of a king at the same time that he was work- 
 ing at the three statues of Queen Eleanor for her three 
 tombs. There can be but little doubt that the statues of 
 Eleanor and of Henry are by the same hand, and from all 
 these circumstances w^e may be pretty well certain that 
 Henry w T as buried first of all before the high altar, that some- 
 time before 1280 a fresh supply of mosaics and porphyry had 
 been obtained from Italy, and that the work went slowly on 
 until it was completed by Torel’ s bronze figure in 1291 e . An- 
 other very curious circumstance is, that the 
 accounts of the executors of Queen Eleanor, 
 whence we learn so much about Torel, do not 
 state that Torel made a statue of Henry III., 
 but of a king f . JNTow when we examine the 
 statue under consideration, we shall find it 
 simply to be a thirteenth-century ideal statue 
 of a king, certainly not a portrait effigy like 
 those of Edward III. and Richard II., for it 
 is absolutely free from the defect in the eyelid mentioned by 
 Matthew Paris, and represents a much younger man than the 
 
 d Comp. Gard. 18 Edw. I. 
 
 e It is not improbable that the translation of the body took place in 1291, as the 
 Abbess of Fontevraud had then the heart of the king delivered to her, it having 
 been left to that abbey in his will. 
 
 f The following entry completely clears up all doubt as to Torel being the 
 artist who made Henry’s effigy : — 
 
 “Exitus Pasc\ 19 Edw. I. (1291). 
 
 “ Willielmo Torel factori imaginis de cupro ad similitudinem Regis Henrici 
 patris Regis nunc x 11 . super facturam ejusdem imaginis.” 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 49 
 
 king was at the time of his death. We shall also see the same 
 peculiarities in the statue of Queen Eleanor. The tomb itself 
 deserves notice as being double, and indeed viewed from the 
 ambulatory it appears triple, for first of all there is the panel 
 in the wall which makes up the difference of level between 
 St. Edward’s Chapel and the surrounding aisle. This panel 
 was doubtless once painted, like that below Queen Eleanor’s 
 to mb. It is also to be observed that the two steps below the 
 panel jut out in a very singular manner, and quite unlike any 
 of the other steps in the ambulatory. Above this panel is the 
 first mosaic tomb, presenting nothing particular towards the 
 aisle, but on the chapel side having three small recesses. These, 
 are generally said to have been aumbries for the vestments used 
 at the shrine ; it is far more probable, however, that they con- 
 tained rich reliquaries, for had they been aumbries there would 
 have been doors, but there are none, and no possibility of put- 
 ting any. Again, they are decorated with mosaic at the back ; 
 and thirdly, in the pavement below and at the top of the cor- 
 n ice above there are traces of holes for the insertion of the iron 
 uprights of a metal grille. 
 
 Above is the second mosaic tomb, remarkable for a large slab 
 of porphyry inserted on either side. The mouldings and details 
 of these two tombs are exceedingly like those of the shrine, 
 and betray the work of an Italian architect ; occasionally, how- 
 ever, the “civis Eomanus,” whoever he may have been, has 
 allowed himself to be influenced by the Northern architec- 
 ture around him ; but such instances are very rare and very 
 unimportant, such as a small Early English trefoil leaf on one 
 of the capitals. The reason for this double tomb was probably 
 that it was considered inexpedient to place the body so near the 
 reliques of the lower tomb, and therefore the upper one was con- 
 structed to receive it. Above all is Torel’s effigy of the king, 
 a work of which it is almost impossible to speak too highly : it 
 has been gilt, like most of the bronzes of the Middle Ages, and 
 the ground of the slab is powdered with engraved little leopards 
 in lozenges. The effigy itself is probably merely a representa- 
 tion of the wax figure on the bier at the funeral, for the back 
 is sunk into the ground. The head also does not much depress 
 
1 5 ° 
 
 Gleanings from W estminster A bbey. 
 
 the upper pillow, and for this reason the back of the crown is bent 
 flat. The face is purely conventional, and such as we shall see 
 in nearly every effigy of the period. The hair has a small tuft 
 in front, and then hangs down in a wave on either side of the 
 face, and finishes in a roll a little below the ears. The eyes 
 have the lower eyelid very nearly straight ; the nose is slightly 
 aquiline ; the forehead high ; and the lines of the mouth go 
 down : there is a very slight moustache, and a small curling 
 beard. The hands are very good, but not cast from the life, 
 like those of Torrigiani’s effigy of the Countess of Richmond ; 
 on the contrary, Torel knew exactly where to stop in imitating 
 nature. The borders of the various garments, as well as the 
 crown, are pierced with holes, probably for the attachment of 
 jewels or borders. A sceptre was placed in each hand, and 
 there was a canopy at the head and two lions at the feet, all 
 of which are now gone. Above the statue, and to secure it 
 
 Part of Inscription on the Tomb of Henry HI. 
 
 from the falling dust, is a wooden coopertorium, evidently of 
 a later date than the tomb, but still retaining traces of having 
 been painted. The last thing to be noticed is a small trefoil 
 niche, five inches high and an inch and a half deep, cut in the 
 Purbeck shaft of the pillar, close to the head of the effigy. 
 It may have contained some relique or writing, covered with 
 a piece of glass. 
 
 Towards the eastern end of the Confessor’s Chapel is a slab of 
 Purbeck, very much worn down, but still retaining traces of 
 the matrices of two brass shields. It stops abruptly at the step 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 * 5 * 
 
 forming the entrance to the chapel of Henry V. We owe it to 
 Mr. Scott that a portion of this step has been made moveable, 
 and thus the uninjured part of the monument exposed to view. 
 It appears to have been a Purbeck slab, inlaid with a brass 
 cross, and with brass letters round the edge. The field, as the 
 heralds would call it, was occupied with glass mosaic ; of course 
 a fillet of Purbeck separated the mosaic from the brass, &c. 
 Mr. Scott is inclined to think this monument commemorates the 
 infant son of William de Valence?; but if it be allowed to hazard 
 a conjecture, it might just as likely be the monument of Al- 
 phonzo, eldest son of Edward I., who died in 1284, aged 12. 
 Matthew of Westminster says that his body was honourably 
 buried in the church of Westminster, near the shrine of St. Ed- 
 ward, where it was placed between his brothers and sisters, who 
 were buried before him in the same place. As it is, four of the 
 letters of the inscription remain on either side. Those on the 
 south are T s JY (T) most likely part of the words “ pries 
 pur Fame and on the north side AY . 
 
 Queen Eleanor, ob. 1290. 
 
 <*fonfeSSop£ ©!)apd. 
 
 It is very seldom that we know the whole history of a tomb 
 so perfectly as of this one ; thanks to the liberality of Beriah 
 Botfield, Esq., the whole of the executors’ accounts have been 
 published by the Roxburgh Club, and we are thereby enabled to 
 trace its progress step by step. It appears that no less than 
 three tombs were erected to this queen : one in Lincoln Cathe- 
 dral over her viscera ; another in the church of the Blackfriars, 
 at London, over the heart h ; and a third in Westminster Abbey 
 
 s Dart thinks it commemorates Roger de Wendover, who died 1250, but this 
 would he before the introduction of Italian mosaic into England. 
 
 h I have to thank my friend Joseph Burtt, Esq., for the following extract 
 relative to the angel which carried the heart of the queen : — 
 
 “ Exitus Mich’, 18, 19 Edw. I. 
 
 (In the church of the Friars Preachers, London.) “ To the same (the Master 
 of the Wardrobe) v. marks paid to John le Convers for making the tomb of the 
 lady the Queen, formerly consort of the King. To the same x. marks paid to 
 Adam, the goldsmith of the said queen, for the work on one angel made to hold 
 the heart of the queen.” 
 
15 2 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 over the body. The first was destroyed in the seventeenth 
 century by the Parliamentarians ; the second doubtless perished 
 at the dissolution of the monasteries ; and the only one that has 
 escaped is that at Westminster: but so beautiful is the effigy, 
 and so valuable an example is it of the beau ideal of the thir- 
 teenth century, that of all the tombs in the Abbey this is the 
 last one that could be spared. The lower part of the tomb, 
 towards the ambulatory, is occupied with a panel similar to that 
 at the base of Henry the Third’s monument ; but in this case a 
 good deal of the painting remains, not sufficient however to enable 
 us to make out the subject. Probably had John Carter applied 
 his strong varnish to this as he did to the base of Edmund 
 Crouchback’s tomb, he might have destroyed the original, but 
 at the same time left us an etching of the subject. As it is, the 
 original is too far gone to teach us anything. What we do 
 know from the roll is, that Master Walter of Durham was the 
 painter ; and all we learn from the original is that the paint- 
 ing is done on the stone itself without any gesso ground, and 
 that the background is of a green colour, (perhaps blue origi- 
 nally). There are four figures at the easternmost end, in secular 
 costume, one having little buttons down his sleeves ; then a long 
 tomb, or table, or shrine occurs ; and lastly, more figures, too 
 dilajfidated to make out. It is by no means unlikely that it 
 may represent one of the apocryphal miracles of the Virgin, 
 more especially as Dart gives the following account of it : — 
 “ There yet appears a sepulchre, at the feet of which are two 
 monks \ at the head a knight armed, and a woman with a child 
 in her arms.” Above is the tomb proper, of Purbeck marble, 
 most likely designed by Torel, for the mouldings are exceed- 
 ingly small and delicate, and there are a good many crockets and 
 finials, — in fact, it is exactly what a goldsmith might be ex- 
 pected to do. At the same time the coats of arms under the 
 trefoiled panels are capital examples of heraldic drawing, the 
 style being more natural than we find in later times, when 
 heraldry became more of a science than it was in the thirteenth 
 
 1 These are the secular figures. A sketch of the knight and lady, probably 
 the Blessed Virgin, will be found among the Powell collection of drawings in the 
 British Museum. 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 1 <53 
 
 century. The tombs at Lincoln and Blackfriars must have been 
 much richer than this, as they had brass figures at the sides. 
 On the top of the Purbeck tomb is the chef-d'oeuvre of William 
 Torel, goldsmith and citizen of London, and who for the honour 
 of our country appears to have nothing whatever to do with 
 the Italian family of Torelli, as the name Torel occurs in docu- 
 ments from the time of the Confessor down to the said William : 
 in fact, the attempts of various art critics to prove that the 
 artist of this beautiful figure was an Italian are perfectly in- 
 explicable ; for if we look at the contemporary Italian work at 
 Pisa and elsewhere, we shall find that the English and French, 
 so far from being behind the Italians in the thirteenth century, 
 were if anything in advance of them. On examining the statue 
 we discover the same conventionalities as we see in that of 
 Henry III. Thus the line of the lower eyelid is straight, the 
 alse of the nose are small, (the nose in this instance is straight) ; 
 there is not much drawing in the mouth, but the middle line 
 goes down a little at either end ; and the hair flows down th e 
 back in very strong wavy lines. Now Eleanor at the time of 
 her death was over forty years of age, and had had several 
 children, it is therefore most improbable that this can be a por - 
 trait statue : and to a certain degree we are the gainers ; for 
 however curious it would have been to have seen the real like - 
 nesses of Henry III. and of Eleanor, it is still more so to have 
 the ideal beauty of one of the great periods of art handed dow n 
 to us in enduring brass; for surely the thirteenth- century 
 artists had just as good a right to have their ideal as the Greeks 
 had. It is very true that eyes with straight lower eyelids are 
 very seldom seen in nature, but still they do 
 occur, and just as often as the Greek facial 
 angle ; and moreover, in conj unction with 
 grey eyes (also the fashionable colour in the 
 Middle Ages) the effect is exceedingly piquant 
 and intelligent. But to return to Eleanor. 
 
 The effigy rises above the ground exactly in 
 the same manner as that of Henry, i.e. the 
 back is not accounted for, and the back of 
 the head is treated in a similar manner, as is also the crown. 
 
1^4 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The garments consist of two long dresses, the outer one with 
 short and wide sleeves, and a cloak. In one hand the queen 
 held a sceptre, and in the other the string which fastens the 
 cloak around the neck. In the usual accounts of the tomb she 
 is said to have held a crucifix, now destroyed ; but a glance at 
 any of the seals of ladies of the period will shew this to be 
 a very common attitude, and that it is simply the string of 
 the cloak that is grasped, and not a crucifix. The crown and 
 the edges of the garments, as well as the string of the cloak, 
 present us with numerous small holes, shewing that ornaments 
 or borders of some kind have been attached. 
 
 As far as can be seen, the casting of the figure has been 
 made in one mould, and must have been rather a difficult 
 one to execute. We know from the roll that 726 pounds 
 of wax were carried from Torel’s house to the “ Domum 
 Domini,” (the Palace P) besides sundry other parcels of wax 
 bought at different times. Much of this was doubtless for 
 the purpose of being made into candles, but from the ex- 
 pressions used in the roll some of it must have been used 
 for the effigies, which were executed by what the French 
 call the cire perdue process K William Sprot and John de Ware 
 furnished the metal, and sundry golden florins for the gilding 
 were bought from the merchants of Lucca. As to Torel, he 
 appears to have been continually receiving small sums. The 
 whole sum paid to him was £113 6s. 8d., which the editor of 
 the roll calculates at about £1,700 of our money ; not such very 
 bad pay when we consider that three out of the four statues were 
 probably copies of each other. Master Thomas de Hokyntone, 
 who is doubtless the same person as Thomas le Charpentier, did 
 all the woodwork, such as hoarding, scaffolding, raising the 
 statues to their places; and also the coopertorium, which was 
 
 j The following account probably relates to the casting. Issue Roll, 17 Edw. I. : — 
 
 “ To Hugh de Kendall \l. 16s. 4 \d. for erecting a certain in the burial-place 
 
 of the Abbot of Westminster, in which the statues of King Henry and Queen 
 Eleanor are being made.” See Devon’s Introduction to the “ Issue Roll of Thomas 
 de Brantingham, 44 Edw. III.” In Devon's “Pell Records” the same entry again 
 occurs, but the omitted word is supplied as a “ wooden building.” The date, 
 17 Edw. I., is evidently wrong, as the queen was then alive. 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 55 
 
 painted by Master Walter of Durham. This has disappeared, 
 and been replaced by a Perpendicular one, most probably when 
 Henry the Fifth’s Chapel was erected. In the notes on the iron- 
 work will be found a description of the beautiful ferramentum, 
 made and fixed by Master Thomas de Leghtone, and in those 
 on the mosaic pavements an explanation of the sixty shillings 
 paid to William le Pavour. 
 
 William de Valence, ob. 1296. 
 
 JSt. lEtununto’g ©Dapel. 
 
 Among the Bodleian MSS. at Oxford is an account of the 
 executors of Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester, from which 
 it appears that somewhere about 1276 £40 5s. 6d. were paid to 
 Master John of Limoges for the making and carriage to Roches- 
 ter of a tomb for the said bishop. The tomb itself has dis- 
 appeared, but the entry is most valuable as a proof, did we need 
 one, that large works as well as small ones were manufactured 
 and exported from Limoges. The storehouses of St. Denis are 
 said to still contain portions of the enamelled effigies of John of 
 France and his sister Blanche, children of St. Louis, the former 
 being tolerably perfect. These effigies came from the abbey of 
 Royaumont, and drawings of them when in their perfect state 
 will be found in the Gagnieres collection, now forming part of 
 the Bodleian Library. Gagnieres drew several other enamelled 
 tombs and effigies, one of which, in the abbey of Fontaine 
 Daniel, bears no small resemblance to that of William de Va- 
 lence. Lobineau, in his Britany, has also given plates of one or 
 two elaborate enamelled tombs. 
 
 There was also the enamelled monument of Thibaud, Count 
 of Champagne, at TroyesL But after all, no example of Limoges 
 work has come down to us more perfect than the effigy of 
 William de Valence. It has been but too often the fashion to 
 attribute all champleve enamels to Limoges, whereas there is no 
 doubt but that enamelling was practised in almost every city of 
 Europe. The great distinction between the works at Limoges 
 and other towns was this, that Limoges had many manufactories 
 
 k See Arneaud’s Troyes. Some of the enamels of this tomb are at Troyes, in the 
 possession of the Abbe Coffinet. They are very beautifully and delicately executed. 
 
 D d 
 
156 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 and exported an immense quantity of work. It thus becomes 
 a question to know whether this effigy of William de Yalence 
 is native or Limoges work. I think, however, that the ques- 
 tion must be decided in favour of the latter. In the first place, 
 the preceding entry shews us that tombs were made at Limoges 
 and transported into our own country ; and in the next, the 
 present effigy betrays distinct traces of foreign costume, in the 
 surcoat being semee with ecussons, and in the shield being 
 placed on the hip — both French peculiarities 1 . Again, the 
 artistic execution of the figure is very much worse than would 
 have been the case in England in 1296. 
 
 We have seen Torel model the figures of Henry III. and 
 Eleanor in wax, and afterwards cast them in bronze. The 
 present effigy is executed in entirely a different manner. It 
 is first of all carved in oak, and then covered with thin plates 
 of copper engraved, the junctions being for the most part hidden 
 by borders of filigree work set with imitation gems. Some of 
 the plates, such as those forming the ground on which the 
 figure is placed, are entirely covered with champleve enamel, 
 while in other parts these decorations have been executed on 
 separate plates of metal, and then put on, as in the case of the 
 little shields on the surcoat. 
 
 The lower tomb, which is of stone, and of native workman- 
 ship, presents nothing very remarkable, the sides being occu- 
 pied with compound quatrefoils containing the arms of England 
 and De Yalence alternately. At the angles are some pieces of 
 diaper, so irregularly placed that one is almost inclined to be- 
 lieve that they at one time have done duty somewhere else m . 
 Upon this same tomb is placed a wooden chest, once covered 
 
 1 See Shaw’s Dresses and Decorations, effigy of Comte d’Evreux. 
 
 111 These diapers are of two different sizes. The west end of the tomb is quite 
 plain. The screen which now shuts off the chapel from the ambulatory is a Per- 
 pendicular one, and it is by no means improbable but that before its erection the 
 tombs of John of Eltham and William de Yalence, with some slight additions of 
 grilles, might have done duty instead of a regular screen. We know that the tomb 
 of John of Eltham had a canopy, and it is perhaps not so very improbable but that 
 something of the same kind may have obtained in the case of the tomb under con- 
 sideration, but having fallen into decay when the present screen was erected, it was 
 taken down. 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 '57 
 
 with gilt and enamelled copper, but of which nearly every 
 morsel has been stripped off. The design was evidently a series 
 of shallow arcades, with enamelled backgrounds and raised 
 figures ; the latter must very much have resembled those two 
 exhibited at the Loan Museum by H. Moreland, Esq. n The 
 arcades were most likely supported by pillars, and on the top of 
 the base of the wooden tomb and in front of each niche was 
 a round enamelled plate, containing the arms of the person 
 occupying that particular arcade. One or two of these roundels 
 still remain. On the top of the wooden tomb is the figure of 
 William de Valence, represented in the military dress of the time. 
 The principal peculiarities consist, 1. in the armour being with- 
 out any intermixture of plate, although the earlier brasses of Sir 
 John d’Aubernoun, 1277, and Sir Roger de Trumpington, 1289, 
 present us with genouillieres ; 2. the mail gloves are divided 
 into fingers ; 3. the surcoat is covered, with small shields ; and 
 4. the shield is worn on the hip instead of on the left arm. The 
 differences in the details of the heraldry may possibly be re- 
 ferred to the same cause, although it must be confessed that in 
 the thirteenth century people were hardly so particular about the 
 details as they became at the end of the fifteenth century, when, 
 like other arts in a state of decay, it became a science. Thus 
 the number of bars of the azure and argent in the De Valence 
 coat differs considerably ; in the stonework and on the pillow 
 it is a harry of five, on the enamelled ground a harry of eleven, 
 on the ecussons a harry of nine, and on the shield a harry of 
 fourteen ; the number of martlets on the orle is also different 0 . 
 The strips of filigree which occur in sundry parts of the effigy are 
 simply so many expedients to hide the junctions of the sheets of 
 thin metal with which the wooden core is overlaid. The work- 
 manship is also rather coarse when compared with contemporary 
 work, even when due allowance is made for the difficulties ot 
 repousse work. The type of features is also entirely different 
 
 n These two little figures, with their enamelled backgrounds, once belonged to 
 l’Abbe Jourdain, of Amiens. They were said to have come from somewhere in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 0 My friend Mr. J. W. Papworth tells me that the number of bars is of no im- 
 portance. 
 
158 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 from that we find in the other contemporary effigies in the 
 Abbey, and this is due not to its being a likeness of William de 
 Valence, (for portrait- effigies hardly came in until the middle 
 of the fourteenth century,) but to a different school of art and 
 to sheer inability to do better. Thus the eyes have no corun- 
 cula ; the lower lid is curved, and the top of the nose sharp and 
 ill drawn ; the lips are also very thin. The back of the effigy 
 impenetrates into the table on which it is placed, and the head 
 lies in a similar manner on the pillow. 
 
 What portions of enamel have come down to us of this effigy 
 are very beautifully and delicately executed, and shame anything 
 that can be done at the present day. A proof of this might 
 be seen last year at South Kensington, where M. Barbedienne 
 of Paris was the only one who produced anything at all decent 
 in the art. All that time has left us of the enamels of the 
 De Valence tomb are the pillow, the girdle, the guige for the 
 shield, the shield itself, three of the escutcheons on the surcoat, 
 a small piece of the table on which the figure is laid, and one or 
 two of the roundlets charged with arms which were placed at 
 the feet of the mourners round the tomb. On the other hand, 
 we have lost, besides sundry accessories of the figure, nearly the 
 whole of the ground of the table, some thirty-one small figures of 
 mourners made of gilt metal with backgrounds, with enamelled 
 diapers, and the same number of small niches, which doubtless 
 had enamels in the spandrels if not in other parts. 
 
 Hitherto the tombs we have considered have been made of 
 foreign materials, and to a certain extent by foreign workmen. 
 Our chronological order now brings us to a series of monuments 
 of which both the materials and workmanship are indigenous. 
 
 The beginning of the present century found us working with 
 so many shams, that we had at last begun to think stone 
 and oak valuable for their own sakes, instead of considering 
 them simply as the materials for decoration. Hence a few 
 years ago the proposal to paint either stone or oak was con- 
 sidered a barbarism. Our ancestors, however, went on a very 
 different plan. 
 
 In England in the thirteenth century, the numerous quarries 
 of native marble, which now present us with so many varieties 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 59 
 
 of this valuable material, were unworked ; the only exception 
 being the Purbeck marble, which, as everybody knows, is to 
 be found in nearly every large building erected during the 
 Middle Ages. The alabaster can hardly be said to have come 
 into anything like general use until the first half of the four- 
 teenth century. Most monuments were therefore executed in 
 stone, but inasmuch as stone, especially the softer sorts, is ex- 
 ceedingly liable to get broken and dirty, these stone monuments 
 were almost always covered with painting and gilding, not only 
 for the sake of ornament, but for their preservation. The group 
 of tombs which next attracts our notice are all executed in 
 this manner, and, as far as we can ascertain after making 
 allowance for sundry varnishings and restorations, their effect 
 must have been gorgeous in the extreme. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, ob. 1273 ; 
 
 Edmund Crouchback, her husband, ob. 1296 ; and 
 
 Aymer de Valence, ob. 1326. 
 
 <£ \) o i v*. 
 
 These three tombs occupy the north side of the sacrarium, 
 those of Aveline and Aymer de Valence filling up the western- 
 most bay, while that of Edmund Crouchback takes up the whole 
 of the easternmost. They are all on the same plan, and it is 
 not unlikely that they may have been the work of one artist. 
 The idea was doubtless taken from the hearse and the lights 
 which covered the coffin when the funeral service was performed. 
 Thus, first of all, we see a basement with little figures of the rela- 
 tives as mourners ; on the top of this is the recumbent effigy of 
 the deceased, with angels at the head and an animal at the feet ; 
 while over all is a lofty pedimented stone canopy, supported by 
 columns and buttresses rising from the angles of the basement. 
 
 The decorative painting was similar to that we have seen 
 on the sedilia, i.e. a coat of gesso was placed over the whole 
 surface, and the projecting parts gilt, as in the mouldings and 
 foliage, or left white and decorated with little lines in red, 
 as in the buttresses ; the hollows and receding parts had 
 actual colour, such as red or dark green, but the surfaces of 
 the vaultings were treated as separate pieces of decoration, 
 
160 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 sometimes being blue with gold stars, or white with a natural 
 vine-branch. The figure was of course made as much like 
 life as possible, and was thrown up from the surrounding 
 colour and ornament by having the slab on which it rests 
 coloured black. The painting appears to have been executed by 
 the ordinary process of distemper covered by an oleaginous 
 varnish. However, when the sedilia were brought to light 
 sometime after George the Fourth’s coronation, these tombs 
 seem to have been touched up as well. Thus all the finials 
 and many of the pinnacles were restored p , and the whole sur- 
 face gone over with a thick coating of Japan gold size, the new 
 parts and defective portions of the old painting having pre- 
 viously been neatly painted dull red. The Japan gold size, 
 while it has certainly kept the paint and gesso from falling 
 off, has turned so dark that it is often very difficult to find 
 out what was the original colour. 
 
 The polychromy of these tombs has never been published, and 
 it is very much to be desired that something should be done in 
 that direction before it is too late. The natural effect of so 
 much gold as we find used would be monotonous, and in parts 
 very heavy, were not means devised of cutting it up : this was 
 done by stamping a pattern on the wet gesso in the same 
 manner as we have seen done in the sedilia. But about the 
 end of the thirteenth century a new process had come into 
 use for gilding, and this was the employment of Armenian 
 bole, a fat reddish earth. Cennini has left us very par- 
 ticular instructions as to how it is to be applied these are 
 too long to repeat here, but the sum of them is that the 
 bole is ground up with white of egg, and four coats of the 
 mixture passed over that portion of the gesso ground to 
 be gilt ; when dry, it is smoothed with a piece of linen, and 
 sometimes burnished, so as to ensure perfect smoothness ; the 
 gold is then laid on with white of egg, and finally burnished. 
 He also tells us that sometimes bole is put into the gesso. In 
 the tombs under consideration the coating of bole over the 
 
 p The original state of these monuments can be seen in Neale, and in the second 
 volume of Monumenta Vetusta. 
 
 *1 Mr. Merrifield’s translation of Cennini, chap, cxxxi. (London : Lumley, 1844.) 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 6 
 
 gesso is distinctly to be seen. Another way of decorating 
 a gold moulding was to divide it into a series of rectangular 
 compartments, alternately long and short; the long ones con- 
 tained coats of arms, and the small ones a gold rose on 
 a black ground. By means of the golden roses and the quan- 
 tity of gold in the armorial bearings a sufficiency of the metal 
 was left to enable it to count as a gold moulding, but then it 
 contained so much colour as to make it a most agreeable con- 
 trast to the others. The outer moulding of the pediments in 
 the tombs of Aveline and her husband are thus treated. 
 
 Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, was the daughter of William 
 de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, who died in 1260. Being the 
 greatest heiress in the kingdom, Henry III. caused her to be 
 married to his second son Edmund in 1269 : she is supposed to 
 have died in 1273, as Edmund married Blanche of Navarre in 
 the succeeding year. Her monument, although the most simple 
 of the three, is perhaps the best as regards the beauty and 
 severity of its architecture. It consists, 1. of a basement con- 
 taining six figures of mourners in as many niches, the coats of 
 arms which occur in the spandrels being only rendered by 
 painting ; 2. A recumbent effigy of the lady. The mantle is 
 so arranged by being tucked under each arm as to give two 
 centres of folds, and greater intricacy is also obtained by 
 making the edges of one garment cut across and yet follow the 
 folds of an under one. At the feet are two dogs biting each 
 other in play, and two angels support the head. Stothard has 
 published a beautiful engraving of this effigy, shewing the 
 original colours; but at present the sculpture is so much de- 
 faced that it would be rather a difficult task to trace them. 
 Over all is, 3. a trefoiled cusped arch supporting the pediment. 
 The spandrel between the arch and the pediment is occupied 
 by a trefoil, which in Sir J. Ayloffe’s time presented traces of 
 two angels, and part of a sitting figure (perhaps Abraham with 
 the soul) above them r . The ribs of the vaulting were painted 
 red, and the filling-in left white, with naturally-coloured vine- 
 branches. It is generally believed that this tomb was at one 
 time open to the ambulatory, like the other two, but an ex- 
 r See Momimenta Vetusta, vol. ii. 
 
1 6 2 Gleanings from W estminster A bbey. 
 
 animation of the masonry at the back will shew that this could 
 not have been the case ; in all probability it had anciently 
 a painting, either of the deceased herself, (as was the case on 
 the tombs of St. Louis’s children at Boyaumont s ,) or of the 
 Blessed Virgin. The sub-basement on the ambulatory side in 
 Dart’s time was occupied by a Perpendicular altar-tomb, which 
 has now disappeared. 
 
 Her husband’s tomb is the next in order. He was the second 
 son of Henry III., and is distinguished in history by being at 
 one time dignified by the title of King of Sicily, the Pope 
 having offered him that kingdom in 1254, after it had been 
 refused by his uncle Bichard. The only result, however, was 
 the emptying of the king’s treasury and a heavy crop of debts. 
 He accompanied his brother Edward to the Crusade in 1271, 
 and died at Bayonne in 1296, giving orders that he was not 
 to be buried until his debts had been paid. 
 
 This tomb presents the novel feature of a triple canopy, not 
 unlike the one which once covered the tomb of John of Eltham ; 
 but in the latter case the space covered by the canopies coincided 
 with the space occupied by the figure ; in the Crouchback tomb 
 the central canopy alone covers the figure, and what was placed 
 under the other two remains a matter for conjecture. The 
 tombs represented in the Gagnieres collection at Oxford unfor- 
 tunately give no solution of the question. On the ambulatory 
 side there is the usual rich basement, with its painted plinth, 
 which in this case is not panelled. Fortunately, it occurred to 
 John Carter to draw the latter, which he tells us he was en- 
 abled to do by putting a coat of strong varnish over it. The 
 said coating of varnish certainly did no good to the w T ork, for 
 very little of it is to be seen at the present time ; but it enabled 
 Carter to publish it in his “ Ancient Painting and Sculpture,” 
 and to shew us that there were represented ten armed knights, 
 each holding a spear with a banner attached; there were 
 no shields, but seven of the surcoats had been emblazoned. 
 It has been attempted to identify these ten knights with 
 Edward, Edmund, and the four earls and four barons they 
 led with them to the Crusade, but the arms on the surcoats 
 s See the Gagnieres Collection in the Bodleian Library., 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 163 
 
 do not well agree with the bearings of those who really did 
 go, and so we are left in doubt regarding the personages re- 
 presented. The tomb itself has ten little figures, crowned, on 
 either side. The heads are rather large in proportion to the 
 height ; and the drapery, although well executed, is too com- 
 plex, like that of the effigy of Aveline. The shields in the span- 
 drels have the gold on a raised ground. 
 
 The effigy is exceedingly good. The eyes have the usual draw- 
 ing, but project, and the lids are heavy. The face is very much 
 decayed, so that very little can be learnt from it. The armour 
 has been left plain by the sculptor, the links of mail being 
 stamped on the gesso. The shield has been attached to the left 
 arm, but is now gone ; but the armorial bearings were emblazoned 
 on the surcoat, and the mail gloves are divided into fingers. 
 At the same time none of the body impenetrates into the slab, 
 and everything is accounted for. Two angels support the upper 
 pillow. As regards coloured decoration, this is by far the best- 
 preserved monument of the three : the lower stages of the but- 
 tresses are coloured white with red lines, and have imitation 
 tracery and pediments painted on them ; the weatherings, how- 
 ever, have been gilt. When we get up higher we find real sculp- 
 tured tracery, which is coloured red, while the ground is gilt 
 and incised and partially coloured, like portions of the retabulum . 
 All the gold foliage is .outlined in black, as we see in the 
 Sainte Chapelle, and the label mould of the pediment is em- 
 blazoned with coats of arms. Both in this tomb and in that 
 of Aymer de Valence, old authors tell us of inlays of various- 
 coloured glass in the buttresses and spandrels of the cusping. 
 There is, however, not a single trace of it to be found now- 
 a-days, although I believe I did see small portions of it about 
 fifteen years ago. Neale goes further, and asserts the presence 
 of iridescent mother-of-pearl both in the tombs and in the 
 sedilia, but there he was probably mistaken ; nor have I ever 
 found any trace of the employment of this substance (sup- 
 posed by the Comte de Laborde to be the porcelain of the 
 Middle Ages) in any monument in England or France. In 
 this tomb we note the progress of architectural decoration, 
 as exemplified in the profusion of cusping in the arches; and 
 
 e e 
 
164 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 in the last tomb of the three we find a still further advance — 
 the arches and cusps have begun to vibrate, the ogee form 
 commences, and all severity is lost. 
 
 Aymer de Yalence was the son of William de Yalence, whose 
 enamelled effigy we have noticed in St. Edmund’s Chapel. He 
 was much employed in the Scotch wars of Edward I., but does 
 not appear to have possessed the qualities of a great general. 
 Under Edward II. we find him at Bannockburn, and he was 
 afterwards engaged in the punishment of Gaveston, who had 
 nicknamed him Joseph the Jew, from his tall figure and 
 dark complexion. After sitting in judgment on Humphrey 
 de Bohun, he accompanied Queen Isabella into France, and 
 was there assassinated in 1323. 
 
 The sub- basement of this tomb, towards the ambulatory, has 
 not the usual panel, and nothing whatever remains of the deco- 
 ration. The tomb itself, on either side, has eight little figures 
 of relatives in secular dresses, exceedingly well sculptured ; the 
 niches under which they stand have columns instead of but- 
 tresses; and the grounds have been painted alternately green 
 and red. The effigy is treated very much in the same manner 
 as that of Crouchback, except that at the head there are two 
 angels, who support the soul, represented as a naked figure 
 enveloped in a mantle. The shield in this case has also dis- 
 appeared, and the genouillieres are of plate, not mail. The tre- 
 foil on either side of the pediment, as also on that of Edmund 
 Crouchback, contains the deceased armed at all points, and riding 
 011 his war-horse ; in this respect resembling the well-known 
 Scaliger tombs at Yerona, where the apex of the monument is 
 also occupied by an armed equestrian figure. If Aveline’s tomb 
 presents us with the best architecture, that of De Yalence appears 
 to me to bear off the palm as regards figure sculpture ; it is ex- 
 ceedingly good, and not unlike what a Greek would have done 
 had he lived at the commencement of the fourteenth century. 
 
 Children of Humphrey de Bohun, circa 1300. 
 i$t. tf)c Bapttgt. 
 
 This is the appellation usually given to a tomb placed on the 
 stone seat at the north side of St. John the Baptist’s Chapel, 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 1 65 
 
 although there is no very good reason for the name. It has all 
 the appearance of having been moved from some other place, 
 and, if a suggestion be permitted, it may probably be the same 
 tomb which, in Richard the Second’s time, was removed from 
 St. Edward’s Chapel to make way for his own monument, and 
 for which a charge is made for the repainting. The top and 
 bottom are composed of Purbeck marble, and the stone sides 
 are occupied by a small trefoiled arcade, supported by little 
 columns having caps with natural foliage and octagonal abaci. 
 By a careful inspection we see that it has once been coloured 
 and gilded, the arcades having contained suspended shields on 
 a gold ground. Although built into the wall, there are certain 
 circumstances, such as the arcades at the end being smaller 
 than the others, which would almost lead to the conclusion 
 that this tomb was narrower at the foot than at the head. 
 
 Sebert, 1308. 
 j&outi) glmbulaton). 
 
 King Sebert, we are told, was converted to Christianity by 
 the preaching of St. Austin, and having ascended the throne 
 in 600, died in 616, and, together with Ethelgoda his queen, 
 was interred near the high altar of his church at Westminster. 
 His tomb was restored, by the Confessor, but on the rebuilding 
 by Henry III., his remains, together with those of his queen, 
 of Hugoline, (the well-known chamberlain of Edward the 
 Confessor,) of Abbot Edwine, and of Sulcardus the historian, 
 were taken up and temporarily deposited in the Chapel of the 
 Pyx. In 1308, however, a tomb was made underneath the 
 sedilia in the space corresponding with the sub-basement of 
 the other monuments in the ambulatory. It consists of a re- 
 cess with a segmental arch, the mouldings which go round it 
 being coloured and gilt ; the soffit has also a trailing vine re- 
 presented on a white ground. At the eastern end are the 
 remains of a crowned female head wearing the wimple, and 
 at the western is a small wheel, perhaps part of a figure of 
 St. Catharine. The back of the tomb is evidently an in- 
 sertion of later times, as it consists of Perpendicular tracery, 
 and moreover presents us with the rose en soleil, the badge 
 
1 66 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 of Edward IV. The lower part of the tomb is occupied by 
 a stone coffin, with a black marble top, which, however, does 
 not appear to have been made for the place. 
 
 Edward I., ob. 1307. 
 
 <£cmfeggor’$ <£f)apel. 
 
 Edward I. died at Burgh- on- the- Sands, Cumberland, and we 
 learn from Matthew of Westminster “ that he commanded his 
 body not to be buried where it was, but to be carried with the 
 army until all Scotland was finally reduced. But this command 
 could not be effectually fulfilled, therefore his body was conveyed 
 to England, and buried at Westminster in the following year, 
 on the 18th day of October, near St. Edward, at the head of his 
 father’s grave.” 
 
 Nothing can be plainer or more rude than this tomb, and 
 from the occasional entry in the records “ de cera renovanda 
 circum corpus regis Edwardi primi V’ it would appear that the 
 outer linen cloth was kept waxed, probably with a view of fulfil- 
 ling the king’s dying injunction at some future time. The entry 
 occurs as late as the reign of Richard II., and the intention 
 was probably laid aside at the change of dynasty. 
 
 The old historians of the Abbey shew us a coopertorium over 
 this tomb, and some iron railings at the side of the ambulatory. 
 It is well known that all great shrines had a watcher, whose 
 duty was to watch over the valuables during the night. At 
 Canterbury, St. Alban’s, and Oxford, wooden erections remain 
 all on the north side, which were appropriated to the watchers. 
 That at Oxford is over a tomb, and the question arises whe- 
 ther a similar arrangement obtained over the monument of 
 Edward I. at Westminster. Anciently, however, the tomb did 
 not look so rude as at the present day, for it was probably 
 covered with an embroidered pall. 
 
 In the third volume of the Arch&ologia will be found the oft- 
 quoted account of the opening of this tomb in 1774. The body 
 
 1 A good deal of discussion has been bestowed on this entry. The fact of the 
 crown being of different workmanship looks very much as if at some time or other 
 the cerecloth had been renewed. 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 167 
 
 was found to be contained in a Purbeck marble coffin, and 
 wrapped up in a large waxed linen cloth. The head and face 
 were covered with a sudarium of crimson sarcenet. When the 
 external wrapper was removed, the body was discovered to be 
 clothed in regal vestments. These consisted of a dalmatic of 
 red silk damask, upon which was arranged a stole of white tissue 
 about three inches in breadth, crossed over the breast. This 
 stole was ornamented with quatrefoils of filigree work in metal 
 gilt, each set with five false gems. The intervals between the 
 quatrefoils had bead-work, to imitate pearls ; over all was the 
 royal mantle of rich crimson satin, fastened on the left shoulder 
 with a very rich fibula of gilt metal and imitation gems. In his 
 right hand the king held a sceptre 2 ft. 6 in. long, with a cross, 
 and in his left a rod 5 ft. \ in. long, the top of [which termi- 
 nated in three sets of oak-leaves in green enamel, surmounted 
 by a dove enamelled white. There was also found a crown, 
 but of very inferior workmanship. 
 
 Hitherto we have examined two distinct series of monu- 
 ments ; the one partly of foreign origin, made of Purbeck, and 
 decorated with mosaics ; the other, entirely national, the mate- 
 rial being stone, painted and gilt. To these succeeds a third, 
 for the most part composed of various descriptions of native 
 marbles, often used in conjunction with gilt bronze or a certain 
 small amount of colour and gilding. Queen Eleanor’s tomb may 
 be considered as the first of the series, the next being that of 
 
 John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, ob. 1334. 
 
 J5t. lEtmumtfg (£f)apcl. 
 
 He was the second son of Edward II., and died at the 
 age of nineteen at Perth, in Scotland. The funeral, from con- 
 temporary accounts, appears to have been celebrated in the most 
 sumptuous manner, the Abbey receiving as much as <£100 value 
 for horses and armour presented as offerings. This custom of 
 offering armour was by no means uncommon in the Middle 
 Ages ; and among other instances we find it mentioned in the 
 Chartulary of St. Alban’s that a certain benefactor left a suit of 
 armour to the abbey. At Chartres, until very lately, a votive 
 suit of armour hung up in the cathedral, and has since been de- 
 
1 68 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 posited in the museum. The date is about the end of the four- 
 teenth century, but from the size it must have been intended 
 for a child. There is also very good reason, from a passage 
 in the Roman clu Petit Jehan de Saintre , for supposing that it 
 was by no means an uncommon thing to clothe the statue of 
 St. George in real armour. 
 
 But to return to the monument of John of Eltham. The base 
 and panelled plinth are of stone ; the tomb itself of alabaster, 
 with slabs of black slate half an inch thick forming the grounds 
 of the niches in which are placed the little figures of the mourners. 
 The upper slab is of Purbeck marble, but the armed effigy is made 
 of alabaster, and would appear from Stothard’s plate to have 
 had as usual some slight painting and gilding, to shew off the 
 material. The whole was formerly surmounted by an elaborate 
 triple stone canopy, something like that of Edmund Crouch- 
 back, but the little buttresses which supported it went down to 
 the ground, and they, as well as the canopy, were doubtless 
 highly coloured and gilt. Somewhere about 1760 this canopy 
 appears to have become ricketjq and the Dean and Chapter, 
 frightened at an accident which had happened at the funeral of 
 Lady Elizabeth Percy, where the top of a monument actually 
 had fallen down and killed a man, ordered it to be dismounted". 
 Nobody knows what became of the fragments. The effigy is an 
 exceedingly curious and valuable specimen of military costume, 
 displaying nearly the same peculiarities as the brasses of Sir 
 John de Creke and the younger Sir John d’ Aubernoun v . Thus 
 we see that curious garment the cyclas, cut so much shorter in 
 front than behind ; then, beneath it, the gambeson ; then the 
 coat of mail ; and lastly, the haqueton. The sword-handle is 
 also beautifully sculptured, and the shield is a very valuable 
 example of heraldic drawing. Part of the coronet — which, by 
 the way, is surmounted by leaves — has been inserted in metal, 
 and from it hangs a vandyked ornament (probably representing 
 
 u See Nichols’s Literary Anecdotes, vol. iii. p. 745, quoted in Wilson’s letter- 
 press to Pugin’s Specimens of Gothic Architecture. The same Dean and Chapter 
 had actually consented to pull down the tomb of Ayraer de Valence to make way 
 for a monument to General Wolfe. 
 
 v See Boutell’s Brasses. 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 169 
 
 leather x ), which according to Stothard has been coloured red. 
 The shoulders are not entirely accounted for, and the slab on 
 which the figure rests slopes upwards towards the middle. The 
 features are rather coarsely rendered. 
 
 The little figures of weepers are open to the criticism of 
 being placed in exaggerated attitudes, while the heads and 
 hands are too large ; there is, however, a good deal of life 
 and expression in the faces. The figures are all crowned, 
 and are excellent studies of costume. 
 
 William of Windsor, and 
 Blanche de la Tour, ob. 1340. 
 
 &t. I&timunto’g (£j)apd. 
 
 These children of Edward III. are commemorated by two 
 very small alabaster effigies placed side by side upon a small 
 Purbeck tomb. The inscription, which is gone, was engraved 
 on a strip of brass. The sides of the tomb, which are divided 
 into a series of very long upright trefoiled-headed panels, pre- 
 sent us with the first traces of the Perpendicular style, and of 
 the decadence of medieval art. At the bottom of each panel 
 is a quatrefoil surmounted by a moulding, which breaks out 
 into a shallow plinth for a statue, probably of alabaster. These 
 statues have all disappeared, and at present there does not ap- 
 pear any means by which they could be attached to the ground. 
 Another peculiarity is, that the inner edge of the tracery is 
 relieved from the ground. The effigies are very small, being 
 only twenty inches long ; and although the children represented 
 died quite young, they are in the full costume of the time, of 
 which they are very good illustrations. 
 
 Queen Philippa, ob. 1369. 
 
 ©onfessov’s ©|)apd. 
 
 This tomb, of Flemish workmanship, is composed of black 
 marble, with effigy, mourners, and tabernacle- work of alabaster, 
 slightly enriched with colour and gilding : thus the foliage has 
 
 x The lace which attaches the bascinet to the camail passes through this piece 
 of leather. 
 
170 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 been gilt, the coats of arras emblazoned, and gold patterns 
 freely applied to the dresses of the figures. I must refer the 
 reader to Mr. Scott’s excellent account of this tomb in an 
 earlier part of the present work. The following documentary 
 evidence has been published in Devon’s “ Pell Records” : — 
 
 “ Issue Roll, Michaelmas, 40 Edw. III. 
 
 “ Jan. 20. To Hawkin (de) Liege, from Prance, in money paid to him 
 in discharge of 200 marks which the Lord the King commanded to be 
 paid to him for making the tomb of Philippa, Queen of England, the 
 King’s consort, by writ of Privy Seal, 133/. 6s. 8d.” 
 
 “ Issue Roll, Eastee, 50 Edw. III. 
 
 “ May 21. To John Orchard, stonemason of London, in money paid 
 to him by his own hands for making divers images in the likeness of 
 angels for the tomb of Queen Philippa, late Queen of England, within 
 the abbey of St. Peter, Westminster, by writ, 5/.” 
 
 “June 28. To Stephen Haddele, valet of the King’s household, in 
 money paid to him by the hands of John Orchard, stonemason, 100s., 
 in discharge of 18/. 2s., which the Lord the King commanded to be 
 paid him for divers costs and expenses incurred about the tomb of 
 Queen Philippa, late Queen of England, within the abbey of the 
 blessed Peter at W estminster ; for the portage and carriage of certain 
 iron- work from the church of St. Paul’s, London, unto the same abbey, 
 1 0s. ; for making eight bars and two plates of iron, together with 
 a battlement around the said iron- work, 62s. ; also for painting the 
 same iron- work of a red colour, 30s. ; for six angels of copper placed 
 around the said tomb, 12/. ; and for two images of alabaster placed 
 upon a small marble tomb for an infant son and daughter of the 
 Queen, 20s. : by writ of privy seal, 18/. 2s. y ” 
 
 “ To Henry of Wylughes, the keeper of the old works of the church 
 of St. Paul’s, London, in money paid to him by his own hands in 
 payment of 40/., which the Lord the King ordered to be delivered to 
 him for an iron tomb lately existing above the tomb of the Venerable 
 Eather Michael, late Bishop of London, without the west porch 
 ( hostium ) of the same church, bought from the same Henry for the 
 King’s use for the tomb of Philippa, late Queen of England, within 
 the abbey of the blessed St. Peter at Westminster.” 
 
 y These are evidently the effigies of William de Windsor and Blanche de la 
 Tour. See p. 169 ante. 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 171 
 
 Of all this iron-work not a single piece remains at the present 
 time; but if we may judge by the glimpse given of it in Neale’s 
 work, it was rather an ordinary affair of plain upright bars. 
 
 The effigy is probably the first one in Westminster Abbey 
 which has any claims to be considered a por- 
 trait. Some parts, such as the head-dress, 
 have been elaborately coloured and gilt. At 
 the intersections of the net forming the hack 
 of the head-attire were placed small glass 
 beads, which appear to have been fixed by 
 means of a metal pin : only one of them 
 remains. The queen holds the string of 
 her mantle in one hand and a sceptre 
 in the other, as in the case of Queen Eleanor. The simple 
 canopy of the former effigy has in the present case developed 
 into a most elaborate composition of • buttresses, niches, and 
 pinnacles, and the two columns on either side of the figure 
 which formed part of the canopy have here become a series of 
 small niches enclosing figures. We shall see the same arrange- 
 ment around the effigies of Edward III. and Richard II. 
 
 Gilt metal and coloured pastes were profusely applied to 
 decorate this effigy, as is shewn by the numerous holes. Pro- 
 bably no other tomb has suffered equally with this, and perhaps 
 it is the only one which would bear restoration. Mr. Blore, in 
 his “ Monumental Effigies,” has given an excellent idea of 
 what it anciently was ; without, however, restoring the little . 
 figures of mourners or the curious curved ornaments at the 
 angles. 
 
 Archbishop Langham, ob. 1376 . 
 
 ©fjapel of j&t. Hthnetuct. 
 
 Langham, who held the office of Abbot of Westminster be- 
 fore becoming Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal of Prse- 
 neste, was a great benefactor to the monks, leaving them in his 
 will books, vestments, and silver-gilt vessels, besides a sum of 
 money to help the rebuilding of the nave where his father 
 was buried. 
 
 f f 
 
172 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The tomb and effigy are of alabaster, and the bottom and top 
 slabs of Purbeck marble, the latter having remains of an inscrip- 
 tion engraved on brass. The alabaster was relieved, in the tomb, 
 by the emblazonment of the coats of arms, which are enclosed in 
 the Perpendicular panel which afterwards became almost uni- 
 versal : it consists of a quatrefoil, with loops in the angles to 
 make out the square. As to the effigy, it is a fair piece of work, 
 but the features are by no means well drawn : and the little 
 angels at the pillow are no better. There is a piece of blue 
 glass inserted in the back of one of the gloves, and traces of 
 similar insertions elsewhere. Gilding was doubtless employed 
 on the effigy. 
 
 The iron railing protecting the tomb on the side of the 
 ambulatory is very good, and from Dart’s account there appears 
 once to have been a coopertorium, which he describes as being 
 nearly broken away at “the previous coronation.” 
 
 Edward III., or. 1377. 
 
 ©onfeggot’s ©frapel. 
 
 This is one of the richest monuments in the Abbey, being 
 hardly eclipsed by those of Henry III. and Queen Philippa. 
 The material is Purbeck, with gilt metal effigy, statuettes, and 
 coats of arms, the latter emblazoned by means of enamel. Ac- 
 cording to Froissart, Queen Philippa when dying made this 
 request to Edward among others, viz., “ That you will not choose 
 any other sepulchre than mine, and that you lie by my side in 
 the Abbey of Westminster.” 
 
 The sub-base on the ambulatory side presents the usual per- 
 pendicular quatrefoil, each of which was filled in with an en- 
 amelled shield. Above, on the sides of the tomb itself, the 
 work becomes more complicated, six niches alternating with 
 five perpendicular panels ; the lower part of each niche is occu- 
 pied by a quatrefoil, which also encloses enamelled arms of the 
 personages represented in the niches. These enamels are evi- 
 dently English manufacture, for we miss the inner outline 
 which is found in all the Limoges work. The red enamel like 
 sealing-wax, which few of our modern workmen can obtain, is 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 73 
 
 much more granulated than the other colours. The thickness 
 of the metal varies one- eighth to one-fourth of an inch ; the sur- 
 face is gilt, and those parts where argent is required silvered. 
 The Purbeck is very much decayed, but Mr. Scott’s application 
 of shellac and spirits of wine appears to have been successful 
 in stopping the progress of the evil, at least for the time, for it 
 has hardly been done long enough to enable us to pronounce an 
 opinion with any certainty. 
 
 The gilt bronze effigy is remarkable as having connected 
 with it the tradition that the features have been cast from 
 a mould taken after death. It is very possible that such may 
 have been the case, as Cennini in his work gives particular di- 
 rections for taking casts from the life, recommending that rose- 
 water be mixed with the plaster when the patient should happen 
 to be “ a person of high rank, such as a lord, a king, a pope, or an 
 emperor z .” However this might have been in the present in- 
 stance, the cast only extended to the fea- 
 tures, as the beard and hair are conven- 
 tionalized, and not in the best manner. The 
 costume consists of the usual mantle and long 
 tunic, with tight sleeves, and the shoes are 
 engraved in imitation of sandals. The pil- 
 lows, sceptres, and lion at the feet have quite 
 disappeared. At the sides of the effigy, under 
 canopies, are little angels, very flat and 
 wooden in treatment, and at the head is a large canopy, by no 
 means too well designed. 
 
 The little brass figures occupying the niches on the south side 
 (those on the north are quite gone) are liable to the same ob- 
 jections as the little angels, viz. of being very stiff. The little 
 figures remaining are Edward the Black Prince, Joan de la Tour, 
 
 z Painters in Cennini’s days must have followed a very general sort of business, 
 for chapter 161 is headed, “ How having painted a human face, to w T ash off and 
 clean away the colours.” The colours were to he tempered with yolk of egg, or 
 “ if you desire to make them more brilliant, with oil or with liquid varnish, which 
 is the most powerful of temperas.” The next chapter (162) is devoted to dis- 
 suading young ladies from using colours or medicated waters to their skin. It 
 is rather difficult to imagine a lady desirous of making a good appearance at 
 a drawing-room securing the services of a K.A. 
 
174 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 Lionel Duke of Clarence, Edmund of Langley Duke of York, 
 Mary Duchess of Brittany, and William of Hatfield. The edges 
 of the garments are cut into leaves. Over all is a coopertorium 
 of carved wood, with imitation vaulting, pinnacles, and but- 
 tresses, and indeed is the best thing about the monument; 
 for although the materials are very rich, the art has evidently 
 taken a downward course. There would appear to have been 
 a projecting ogee canopy in front of the cusped arches of this 
 coopertorium, in the same manner as in the arcading of the 
 Lady-chapel at Ely, but in the present case there is no con- 
 nection whatever with the arches behind. 
 
 Richard II., ob. 1399. 
 
 Anne of Bohemia, ob. 1394. 
 
 CTonfe$$or'$ Chapel. 
 
 This tomb is simply a copy of that of Edward III., both as 
 to materials and workmanship ; the only difference being, that 
 as it has two effigies it is somewhat wider. The little statuettes 
 and the enamelled coats of arms entirely disappeared shortly after 
 the death of Queen Anne, as Dart tells us. We find from the 
 two indentures published in Rymer’s Fcedera , that it was to be 
 completed in two years from Michaelmas 1395. The first of 
 these informs us that Henry Yevell and Stephen Lote, citizens 
 and masons of London, engaged to make a tomb of fine marble 
 after a model bearing the seal of the Treasurer of England ; it 
 was to have recesses on each side for six images, and spaces for 
 escutcheons of copper and brass a . By the other indenture we 
 learn that Nicholas Broker and Godfrey Prest, citizens and cop- 
 persmiths of London, were to make two images of metal gilt, 
 one to resemble the king and the other the queen ; and that the 
 said figures were to be placed on a metal table, gilt, and orna- 
 mented with fretwork of fleurs-de-lis, lions, eagles, and leopards. 
 There was also to be a tabernacle, with “ hovels or gabletz ” 
 of gilt metal and double jambs, with two lions at the feet of the 
 king, and an eagle and leopard at those of the queen. There 
 
 a This seems to have been modified afterwards, as there are recesses for eight 
 figures on either side. 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 *75 
 
 were also to be twelve images of saints in metal gilt at the sides 
 of the tomb, and eight angels on the top round the figures, and 
 certain escutcheons engraved and enamelled. 
 
 The marble- work was to cost 250 /., besides a gratuity of 20/. 
 more if it gave satisfaction. The metal- work cost 400/., making 
 a total of 670/., about 10,000/. of our money. 
 
 The exact way by which Richard came to his death is one of 
 the most obscure points in English history ; and that his con- 
 temporaries were no better informed than we are, may be seen 
 from the following account in Froissart : — 
 
 “ It was not long after this that a true report was current in London 
 of the death of Richard of Bordeaux. I could not learn the particulars 
 of it, nor how it happened, the day I wrote these chronicles. . . 
 
 When the funeral car of King Richard had remained in Cheapside two 
 hours it was conducted forward in the same order as before out of the 
 town. The four knights then mounted their horses which were wait- 
 ing for them, and continued the journey with the body until they came 
 to a village where is a royal mansion called Langley, thirty miles from 
 London. There King Richard was interred. God pardon his sins and 
 have mercy on his soul.” 
 
 He was afterwards removed to this tomb by Henry V. b 
 
 The effigies sink into the ground just below the shoulders. 
 The faces are evidently 
 portraits, and there has 
 been very great care taken 
 with the work ; thus there 
 are badges and patterns 
 pounced all over the gar- 
 ments, and the treatment 
 of the hair is exceedingly 
 good. We now observe a change in the royal costume, the 
 king wearing a sort of tippet to his mantle. These figures, 
 unlike the others we have been considering, are cast in several 
 separate pieces, and the consequence is that the arms, pillows, 
 and several other adjuncts have been stolen. 
 
 b Issue Roll, 1 Hen. V. : — “To John Wyddemer, joiner, 4 1. for making a ‘horse- 
 bere,’ a coffin, and other things for the removal of the body of King Richard from 
 Langley.” See Devon’s “ Pell Records.” 
 
176 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The coopertorium over the tomb is remarkable as being the 
 only one exhibiting distinct traces of painting. The under part 
 was divided into four rectangles, with figures : the two end 
 ones were each occupied with two angels supporting a shield. 
 Of those in the middle the westernmost one exhibits traces of 
 a Trinity, and the easternmost the coronation of the Virgin ; 
 this latter is the best preserved of all. The gesso ground, 
 where not painted on, has been stamped with a raised diaper 
 of little quatrefoils, and the red bole has been used as a pre- 
 paration for the gold c . 
 
 Sir Bernard Brocas, ob. 1400. 
 
 St. IE tumult)’* ©Jjapcl. 
 
 Sir Bernard Brocas was chamberlain to Queen Anne of 
 Bohemia, and was beheaded in 1400 for conspiring against 
 Henry IV. Both the tomb, canopy, and effigy are of stone, 
 and were doubtless anciently coloured and gilt. The tomb, 
 which is recessed in the wall, is covered with a canopy com- 
 posed of sundry pinnacles and arches, with crocketed pedi- 
 ments. At the sides are two large niches, once containing 
 figures. The whole composition is a very common one, and by 
 no means good ; probably the best thing about it is the in- 
 scription on brass, which is a very good specimen of black 
 letter, every word being separated by an animal or piece of 
 foliage. The effigy, however, is a very good illustration of the 
 armour of the period, but serious doubts have been entertained 
 as to whether it is not a restoration. The shield shewn in 
 Stothard’s engraving, and which has now disappeared, must 
 certainly have been modern. The battlemented edge of the 
 slab, upon which the figure rests, is a very good feature. 
 The bascinet is cut square at the face, the features are coarse, 
 
 c Issue Roll, 19 Richard II . : — “ To John Haxey, 20 1 . for painting the cooperto- 
 rium of the tomb of Anne, late queen of England, and for the removal of a tomb 
 near the tomb of the said queen ; also for painting the same tomb when removed, 
 and for painting an image to correspond with another of the king, placed opposite 
 in the choir of the aforesaid church.” This image of the king was doubtless the 
 one now preserved in the Jerusalem Chamber. 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 1 77 
 
 and the spurs have enormous rowels. At present the effigy 
 is painted white. 
 
 Henry V., ob. 1422. 
 
 dTfjapel. 
 
 Henry died at Vincennes, and most splendid funeral services 
 were celebrated at Paris, Pouen, Canterbury, and St. PauPs, 
 London. In the account of the iron- work of the Abbey, it has 
 been shewn how this tomb and the chantry above it occupies 
 the site of the altar of reliques. Henry did not displace the 
 latter, but merely shifted it to the chantry above his tomb ; 
 the ascent being made by the two richly carved and perforated 
 staircases on either side of the great arch. The under part of 
 the chantry is elaborately groined, and thus affords place for 
 the tomb, which was secured towards the chapel by the iron 
 traceried grille, made by Roger Johnson, and on the ambula- 
 tory side by some very stout and plain railings, shewn in Neale’s 
 engraving. These precautions were fully warranted by the rich- 
 ness of the effigy, which was of wood overlaid by plates of 
 silver, the head being said to have been solid metal, by which 
 we may perhaps understand that it was a casting, in distinction 
 to the rest of the figure, formed of thin metal beaten down 
 on to the oak, such as we have seen in the tomb of William de 
 Valence. However this may have been, there is very fair evi- 
 dence for believing that all the silver disappeared at the latter 
 end of the reign of Henry VIII., and nothing now remains but 
 a battered oaken figure deprived of its head ; but judging from 
 that, the folds of the drapery must have been rather coarse. 
 
 The tomb is of Purbeck, with large wide niches at the sides, 
 probably for groups of alabaster or bronze. At either end 
 there is a flat broad panel, which may perhaps have been 
 painted d . Between the towers is a thick wooden bar, in the 
 middle a shield, a tilting helmet, and saddle : the latter was 
 originally covered with blue velvet, powdered with gold fleurs- 
 de-lis ; the shield had a blue silk damask lining with fleurs- 
 de-lis, and across the middle, on crimson velvet, an escarbuncle. 
 
 d The panelled basement in tlie ambulatory has had metal shields, probably 
 enamelled. 
 
tyS 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 This latter and the fleurs-de-lis are worked in a yellow silk imi- 
 tating gold. In the chantry there are sundry recesses for re- 
 ceiving the reliques, and remains of the attachments of flap 
 doors. The outside of this chapel, which is carried on over the 
 ambulatory, is richly adorned with figures under niches, among 
 which are the coronation of the king, and the king on horse- 
 back represented twice over. 
 
 Upon the whole, the art of this tomb may be considered as 
 an improvement, but it is very far behind the contemporary 
 monument to the queen of Charles Durazzo, in the cathedral 
 of Salerno. 
 
 William de Colchester, or. 1420. 
 
 <£I)apd of St.^ojn ffie baptist. 
 
 He was abbot of Westminster. The tomb and effigy are in 
 stone, coloured and gilt, but now much decayed. The tomb 
 presents the usual Perpendicular panels, and is in noway re- 
 markable. The engraving in Stothard’s work shews the poly- 
 chromy of the effigy, but which has now almost entirely dis- 
 appeared. The orphreys of the alb and chasuble and the em- 
 broidery of the maniple are raised in gesso previously to 
 being gilt. The features, although much destroyed, appear to 
 have been a portrait, the wrinkles in the corners of the eyelids 
 being very marked. The little angels at the head are well de- 
 signed, and the drapery resembles very much that in the figures 
 of the tomb of Henry Y. Although no inscription remains, 
 there is no doubt about the identity of this monument, for the 
 letters W. C. are sculptured on the mitre and on the pillow. 
 
 Philippa, Duchess of York, ob. 1431. 
 
 <£|)apd of i$t. i/ltcljclass. * 
 
 This lady married three husbands, viz. Lord Fitzwalter, Sir 
 John Golofre, and Edmund Langley, Duke of York, fifth son 
 of Edward III. The tomb and effigy are of stone. The whole 
 was probably coloured at one time, but is now, with the excep- 
 tion of the shields in the usual Perpendicular panels, painted 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 179 
 
 white. Doubtless some restoration has taken place here, as the 
 pillow on which the head of the effigy rests has a sixteenth- 
 century arabesque pattern carved on it. The figure itself is 
 not well composed, but is curious as shewing the widow’s cos- 
 tume. There is no animal at the feet, which are covered by the 
 long drapery. The most interesting feature was the oaken 
 canopy, now destroyed, but shewn in Dart’s work ; the four 
 supports were independent of the tomb, and carried a cooper- 
 torium, decorated, like that of Edward III., with pinnacles and 
 arches. In this case, however, the under surface was flat in- 
 stead of groined ; and we are further told that it was coloured 
 blue, with gold stars, and contained in the middle a repre- 
 sentation of the “ Deity and Crucifixion,” (perhaps the most 
 Holy Trinity). 
 
 LoDOWICK RoBSERT; LORD BOURCHIER, OB. 1431 , 
 and his Lady. 
 
 CFfiapd of St. 13 atd. 
 
 Lodowick Robsert, a native of Hainault, was standard-bearer 
 to Henry V., and married Elizabeth, heir to Sir Bartholomew 
 Bourchier ; his family appears to have been connected in some 
 manner with that of Chaucer. 
 
 This tomb, in an architectural point of view, is one of the 
 most remarkable in the building. First of all, it forms part of 
 the screen which is carried over it ; secondly, the difficulty of 
 the double tomb being so much wider than the screen is got 
 over by connecting it on the inside (where the extra width 
 occurs) with the screen by means of flying buttresses ; thirdly, 
 lions and eagles are introduced at either end on both sides 
 as supporters of banners, the staves of which are most ingeni- 
 ously made to form part of the buttresses ; fourthly, the banners 
 themselves fill up the angles of the canopy of the tomb ; and 
 fifthly, sundry parts of the screen are left plain and unpierced, so 
 as to afford space for painting sundry small coats of arms, with 
 the following inscriptions, now very nearly effaced : — on the top 
 cornice, non nobis dne non nobis sed nni tijo da gloriam ; 
 above the coats of arms which occur immediately beneath the 
 
180 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 cornice, and which were supported by gilded angels, l’hon- 
 neur a dieu a nous merci ; and over the lower line of shields, 
 learn to die to liye ever. The achievements on the top of 
 the canopy are also well worthy of attention. Unfortunately 
 this tomb has been restored, and the two coped vmoden coffin- 
 lids which anciently covered the tomb removed and a neat 
 flat top substituted. I believe this took place when Watts’s 
 monument was erected, and when, among other improvements, 
 the beautiful grille was taken down from Queen Eleanor’s 
 tomb. 
 
 Altogether the family of Lord Bourchier must have got hold 
 of a first-rate architect : it is much to be wished that his name 
 could be found, but not being a royal tomb I am afraid that 
 the chances of doing so are very small indeed. 
 
 The Princess Margaret of York, ob. 1472. 
 
 Confessor’# Chapel. 
 
 Between the tombs of Edward III. and Richard II. there 
 is a little stone monument with an upper slab of Purbeck, now 
 without any effigy or inscription ; it has evidently been moved 
 from some other part of the church, and the historians of the 
 Abbey give us sundry inscriptions which were on the square 
 plate of brass occupying the top and the strip of the same metal 
 which went round the upper moulding. It has originally been 
 placed on some steps, (perhaps in the ambulatory,) as marks 
 of them are seen at the sides. 
 
 Margaret, the daughter of Edward IV., died when only 
 eight months old, and we accordingly find the tomb, as in the 
 instance of the children of Edward III., very small indeed. Of 
 course we have no means of judging what was engraved on the 
 square plate of brass. A similar tomb occurs in the same 
 chapel between the tombs of Henry III. and Queen Eleanor : 
 this commemorates 
 
 The Princess Elizabeth, ob. 1495, 
 
 Confessor'# Cfjapel. 
 
 Daughter of Henry VII., who died at Eltham when only 
 three years old, and had a most splendid funeral. The base and 
 
The Tombs . 
 
 181 
 
 body of the monument are Purbeck, but the upper slab is of 
 black marble : on it are the metal attachments for the gilt bronze 
 effigy, and at the foot a casement for a brass plate which con- 
 tained the inscription. 
 
 Abbot Fascet, ob. 1500. 
 
 ©Ijapel of <St. 3)o[m tl)e Baptist. 
 
 This monument, together with Puthall’s, forms a substitute 
 for a screen to the chapel. The composition consists of the 
 usual Perpendicular tomb and panels, enclosing shields e , the 
 top slab being in Purbeck. Over all is a canopy not unlike 
 a fourpost bedstead closed at the ends. The side towards the 
 ambulatory is grated with iron. The effigy is gone, but on 
 the top is placed a stone coffin, generally attributed to Abbot 
 Milling, (1492,) but Dart tells us that “ some say it con- 
 tains the body of one of the De Bohuns, Earls of Hereford/’ 
 which from the look of the cross fleury sculptured on the lid 
 is not unlikely. Below the cross, and cutting across the stem, 
 which ends in three steps, is the casement for a small brass in- 
 scription. Camden says that Milling was buried in the middle 
 of the chapel, and removed on the erection of the Earl of 
 Exeter’s monument. 
 
 Sm Giles Daubigny and Lady, ob. 1507. 
 
 St. paut'g Cljapd. 
 
 Sir Giles was Lord Lieutenant of Calais and Chamberlain to 
 Henry VII. In its original state this monument consisted of 
 a Purbeck tomb, with coloured panels surmounted by two ala- 
 baster effigies, decorated, as alabaster effigies usually were, 
 with a little gold and colour. Unfortunately the restorer has 
 painted them all over, perhaps in the last century, and the con- 
 sequence is that no part of the colouring of the effigies can be 
 depended upon. Apart from this, the costumes are very good 
 illustrations of the fashions of the time, more especially as the 
 knight wears the full insignia of the Garter : the art, however, 
 
 e In one of these the chef in the arms of Westminster occupies a good two- 
 thirds of the shield. 
 
182 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 is rather coarse. The tomb has twisted columns at the angles, 
 which, however, are quite ornamental, as they support nothing 
 beyond a portion of the moulding of the upper slab. The panels 
 at the sides, which are flat and bad, have had the grounds 
 gilded and the straps of the shields painted. 
 
 Margaret Countess of Richmond, ob. 1509. 
 
 ?i?cnrr> ffic Sebentlj’s CCljapd. 
 
 This monument is the first one in the church which exhibits 
 the introduction of a foreign style, no less a person than Torri- 
 giani having been employed as the artist. The tomb itself is of 
 black marble, with gilt bronze shields. The effigy and canopy 
 above it are also in gilt bronze. The former is most excellently 
 executed, the features and hands being evidently casts from the 
 life. At the feet there is a hind, resting partly on the long 
 drapery. The lady wears the widow’s dress. The canopy is 
 particularly curious, as exhibiting Flamboyant tracery, and 
 a curious enriched moulding, resembling coins or little discs 
 strung together. Round the verge of the upper slab is an 
 inscription by Erasmus, for which we are told he was paid 
 twenty shillings, by no means bad pay when we consider the 
 value of money in those days. 
 
 Henry VII., ob. 1509. 
 
 Elizabeth of York, ob. 1502. 
 
 In the notice of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, p. 80, will be 
 found an account of the original tomb mentioned in Henry’s will, 
 and which was clearly a Gothic design. This, as we know, was 
 superseded by a Classic one, executed by Torrigiani, and which 
 will bear comparison with any other work of the time, either in 
 Italy or elsewhere. It appears to have been made somewhere 
 about 1512, probably just before his visit to Florence, when he 
 endeavoured to persuade Benvenuto Cellini to come and work 
 for him in England. Cellini, who himself was by no means 
 a pattern of Christian meekness and long-suffering, gives the 
 following description of his brother artist : — 
 
 “ About this time there came to Florence a sculptor named Piero 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 183 
 
 Torrigiani, who came from England, where he had been for many 
 years; and since he was a great friend of my master, he came to 
 him every day ; and having seen my drawings and work, said to me, ‘ I 
 am come to Florence to get as many young men as possible, for having 
 to do a great work for my king, I want the help of my Florentines, 
 and as your way of working and drawing is more that of a sculptor 
 than of a goldsmith, and as I have great works in bronze to do, I will 
 make you at the same time rich and perfect in your profession.’ 
 
 “ This man was exceedingly well made, very bold, and had more the 
 air of a soldier than of a sculptor, and with his fierce gestures, his loud 
 voice, and his frowning eyebrows, was enough to frighten any man : and 
 every day he talked of his feats among those beasts of Englishmen f .” 
 
 This was bad. enough, but when he proceeded to relate how he 
 disfigured the nose of Michael Angelo for life, Cellini had had 
 quite enough of him, and consequently refused to go to England 
 in such company. Had he consented, the Vita would doubtless 
 have been enriched with a most amusing series of chapters 
 about his own feats among “those beasts of Englishmen/’ and 
 at the same time with some information (which at present is 
 deficient) respecting the progress of art under Henry VIII. 
 
 Torrigiani’ s visit to Florence was in 1518, and the work he 
 had in hand was probably the tomb of Henry the Eighth (never 
 finished) and the high altar of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel. 
 The latter was unfortunately destroyed by the Puritans in the 
 Great Rebellion, but judging from the print of it Torrigiani 
 by no means improved his taste by his visit to his native 
 country; on the contrary, he brought back the latest Italian 
 fashion, and the altar was coarse and heavy when compared 
 with the beautiful Renaissance of the monuments of the 
 Countess of Richmond and Henry VII. g 
 
 The latter work may be described as a tomb of black marble, 
 with gilt bronze effigies and enrichments. There are also one 
 
 1 Vita di Benvenuto Cellini , bk. i. chap. 2. 
 
 g The end of poor Torrigiani is almost too well known to be repeated. Having 
 a difficulty with a Spanish nobleman about a statue of the Virgin, (for he left 
 England and went to Spain,) he broke up his work, was denounced as a heretic, 
 and starved himself in the prison of the Inquisition. 
 
 In his youth we are told that he used to break up the models of his fellow 
 pupils if they were better than his own. 
 
184 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey. 
 
 or two bands of white marble inserted in various places, of 
 which the upper one, forming a hollow moulding almost imme- 
 diately below the effigies, is most remarkable for the extreme 
 beauty of the arabesque ornament. The sides of the tomb are 
 occupied by wreaths of bronze foliage, separated by pilasters 
 of the same metal. Inside each wreath are two little statues, 
 of the most wonderful workmanship. The east and west ends 
 are devoted to heraldic ornaments. 
 
 Above are the portrait-effigies, which are also most exceed- 
 ingly well executed, especially the hands. The draperies have 
 evidently been studied from nature, but are very far from at- 
 taining the beauty and simplicity we see in ToreTs work. At 
 each corner of the upper slab is seated a child ; these formerly 
 held banners, which are now gone. 
 
 Both this tomb and that of the Countess of Richmond deserve 
 a great deal more study than has usually been given to them. 
 Had they been placed in France or Italy instead of in England, 
 casts of them and of their details would be in every plaster shop 
 and in every drawing- school. 
 
 Euthall, Bishop of Durham, ob. 1524. 
 
 (£i)apd of <St. 3)ol)n ffie Baptist. 
 
 The chief point of interest connected with this prelate is 
 the story of his having sent an inventory of all his property 
 to Henry VIII. in mistake for a volume of State papers ; the 
 consequence was that he died of chagrin. Shakespeare has 
 used the incident in his play of Henry VIII., but has ap- 
 plied it to W olsey, and made it one of the causes of his fall. 
 The tomb, which is of freestone and much decayed, is on the 
 same plan as that of Fascet, viz. the four-post bedstead ar- 
 rangement of canopy, and, like it, forms a substitute for the 
 screen. Dart shews the canopy as perfect ; at present, however, 
 it is destroyed. The only parts remaining are the two heraldic 
 achievements, shewing the shield and helmet surmounted by 
 a mitre. They were originally placed in the middle of the 
 canopy. As to the effigy, it is very coarse art, and from the 
 nature of the stone is much deca}^ed. 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 185 
 
 Abbot Islip, ob. 1532. 
 
 Ifeltp’# <$ljapd. 
 
 Islip was in his clay a great builder. He continued the west 
 fa9ade of the Abbey, and was also concerned in the building of 
 Henry the Seventh's Chapel. 
 
 The MS. roll of the ceremonies of his burial in the possession 
 of the Society of Antiquaries h , has before been referred to as 
 affording us valuable glimpses of the state of the Abbey just 
 before the Reformation. The fourth compartment shews his 
 chapel with the screen removed, so that the tomb is apparent. 
 According to the roll the tomb consisted of a bottom and top 
 slab of black marble, the latter supported by four brass pillars. 
 The print in Dart goes thus far with the MS., but that author 
 tells us that on the lower slab there was formerly an emaciated 
 figure or skeleton in a shroud, the whole made in alabaster. 
 The MS., on the contrary, shews a figure of the abbot in 
 Eucharistic vestments. We learn from the same authority that 
 there were two altars in the lower chapel, one inside the win- 
 dow, and the other at the foot of the effigy, where the Hatton 
 monument now is. On the wall above was a painting of the 
 Crucifixion, and over it another of the Assumption. Over the 
 altar in the window was a sculptured half-figure of our Lord 
 issuing from clouds, and attended by two little angels. This, 
 which still remains, although in a mutilated state, is supposed 
 by Neale to be a portrait of Islip. The MS. also shews us the 
 little figures in the niches, forming the parapet of the upper 
 chapel, over the altar of which was another painting, repre- 
 senting, firstly, the Crucifixion surrounded by the instruments 
 of the Passion ; and, secondly, the Last Judgment over it. In 
 this case the lower chapel was probably the chantry, the upper 
 being dedicated to the saint whose chapel was displaced to 
 
 h In the account of the Retabulum, this roll is stated by mistake to be in the 
 Heralds’ College. It is divided into five compartments: — 1. is a figure of the 
 abbot ; 2. Islip is on his death-bed, and visited by his avoutries, or patron saints ; 
 3. is a view of the choir, shewing the chapelle ardente over his body ; 4. is a view 
 of his chantry and tomb, and 5. is an initial letter with an exterior view of the 
 abbey. In it we see the unfinished west towers, and the commencement of an 
 octagonal fleche at the intersection. 
 
i8 6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 make room for Islip’s tomb and chantry. It is in this upper 
 chapel that the wax- work and ragged regiment are deposited. 
 Not many years ago it used to form part of the duty of the 
 vergers to shew these, but thanks to the good taste of the 
 Dean and Chapter this is now stopped. Dart gives the follow- 
 ing account of them : — 
 
 “ Over this chapel is the chauntry, as I take it, of Islip, to which we 
 ascend by stone steps. In it are two large presses of wainscot, con- 
 taining the effigies of our princes and other great persons who have 
 been buried here, which were carried in open chariots at their funerals, 
 and laid under hearses in this church. There are many of them, but 
 sadly mangled ; some with their faces broke, others broken in sunder, 
 and most of them stripped of their robes, I suppose by the late rebels. 
 I observe the ancientest have escaped best, I suppose by reason their 
 cloaths were too old for booty. There is, as I take it, Edward III. 
 -with a large robe once of crimson velvet, but now appears like leather. 
 There is Henry Y., but I can’t suppose it that carried at his funeral, 
 for that was made of tann’d leather ( cuir bouilli ), but this is of wood, 
 as are all the old ones. The later are of stuff, having the heads only 
 of wood, as Queen Elizabeth, who is entirely stripp’d, and James I. 
 The others are so mangled, I know not what to make of them.” 
 
 Chaucer, ob. 1400. 
 lEast cut) of j&outf) STvangept. 
 
 Although our great mediaeval poet died in the first year of 
 the fifteenth century, yet chronologically his tomb must be 
 placed after that of Islip. The original memorial appears to 
 have been a very plain affair, for Dart tells us he was buried 
 before the chapel of St. Benedict : — 
 
 “ Where is a stone of broad grey marble, as I take it. It was not 
 long since remaining, but was taken up when Mr. Dryden’s monument 
 was erected, and sawn to mend the pavement. Upon the corner pillar 
 of St. Bennet’s Chapel hung anciently a leaden plate, with his epitaph 
 written by Surigonius, a poet of Milan, printed before his works. 
 This was all the monument Chaucer had till about the year 1555, 
 when Mr. Nicholas Brigham erected this in a convenient place as near 
 bis grave as he could, on which was formerly painted his picture in 
 a blank on the north side of the epitaph, but now quite defaced. It 
 
The Tombs. 
 
 ,87 
 
 was exactly like the painting of Ocklefe l ; printed before the old 
 edition, and was remaining in Mr. Ashmole’s time, who in one of his 
 
 treatises has given us the monument On the inside of 
 
 the tomb were his arms, now gone, but the same are painted over it 
 under the arch of the church wall.” 
 
 The monument is of Purbeck, but the front of the canopy 
 has been restored k . It consists of a tomb, with the usual 
 Perpendicular panels, and is placed in a recess in the wall, 
 which is longer than the tomb. The architecture is very 
 Gothic for the time, and looks more like the end of Henry the 
 Eighth’s time than that of Queen Elizabeth. Perhaps it is an 
 old tomb used up K The back is divided into three compart- 
 ments : according to Dart, the middle contained the inscriptions 
 and coats of arms ; that to the north had a full-length picture 
 of Chaucer ; and that to the south another figure, which might 
 perhaps represent Brigham. 
 
 Anne of Cleves, ob. 1557. 
 
 ©fcotr. 
 
 This is a stone altar-tomb, with two detached pedestals. It 
 occupies the space between the two pillars to the westward of 
 the sedilia, and is only the commencement of a large monument 
 of a similar kind to those of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen 
 of Scots. Sir J. Ayloffe, in the second volume of the Vetusta 
 Monument a, thinks the design and workmanship due to Theo- 
 doras Haeveus, who in 1576 constructed a curious column or- 
 namented with sixty sun-dials for Caius College, Cambridge, and 
 who was described in the inscription as “ Artifex egregius et 
 insignis architecture professor.” The ornaments consist of the 
 arms of Cleves and Juliers, the initials A. C., and sundry repre- 
 sentations of skulls, a fashion which began at the end of the 
 
 * Copies of this portrait are found in one or two MSS. of Ocklefe’s book; one 
 of these copies is engraved in Shaw’s Dresses and Decorations, from the additional 
 MS. in the British Museum. 
 
 k The original canopy, which by the way was much decayed, was sold at the 
 sale of Mr. Cottingham’s collection. 
 
 1 An examination of the exterior panelling on either side of the canopy supports 
 this view, for the panels end very abruptly, and are different on either side. 
 
 H h 
 
1 88 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 fifteenth century and continued almost down to our own days. 
 It obtained its climax in that wretched piece of bad taste the 
 Nightingale monument, which could only have been put up in 
 the age which produced Voltaire : no Greek, no Roman, no 
 medieval artist would ever have thought of anything so ugly 
 and so disgusting. 
 
 Str F. Vere, ob. 1608. 
 
 St. 3}ol)n i\)c 3EbangdtSt. 
 
 Although it does not come within the scope of this work to 
 describe the post- Reformation monuments, yet that to Sir F. 
 Vere is so original and so good that it naturally forms an ex- 
 ception. Like Islip’s tomb, it consists of two slabs of black 
 marble, viz. a lower and an upper, but the latter, instead of 
 being supported by pillars, is carried by four of the good 
 knight’s companions in arms : both they and the rest of the 
 figures and ornaments are executed in white marble. On the 
 lower slab is a recumbent figure of Sir F. Vere, who by the 
 way was celebrated as a warrior in — 
 
 “The spacious times of great Elizabeth.” 
 
 His cloak is wrapped around him like a Roman toga, one hand 
 being hidden by it. Above, on the top slab, are the various 
 pieces of armour forming his equipment m . 
 
 The only other modern monument at all deserving of notice 
 is that of the Due de Montpensier, the brother of Louis 
 Philippe : but here the figure is represented as asleep, which 
 is surely a mistake, for a church is hardly a place to go to 
 sleep in. The great charm of the old effigies is that they are 
 not asleep, but alive and praying. 
 
 It would be easy to make a number of very amusing ex- 
 tracts from the description of the modern tombs given in 
 Neale’s work, but the subject is far too serious to be viewed in 
 that light ; it is only permitted to hope that some time or other 
 
 m While in this part of the Abbey mention should be made of an incised stone 
 close to the Norris monument ; it has evidently been much cut about, but enough 
 remains to shew that it decreased towards the feet, and had a bold trefoiled cross 
 incised. 
 
The Brasses . 
 
 189 
 
 the various Pagan divinities, and still more objectional alle- 
 gorical figures, may be obliged to remove from the chief church 
 of Christian England. 
 
 THE BRASSES. 
 
 An account of the tombs of Westminster Abbey would be 
 incomplete without some notice of the brasses. Owing to the 
 value of the material most of these have been stolen, so that 
 many other churches can shew a better collection ; however, 
 sufficient evidence remains to shew that there must have 
 been a very large number of them at Westminster, although 
 we have no reason to believe that any of them were very 
 remarkable. 
 
 The following is a list of those which have escaped : — 
 
 John of Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury, ob. 1395. (Con- 
 fessor’s Chapel.) He was interred here at the command of 
 Richard II. The composition is a series of niches and figures 
 forming a canopy, within which is the figure. The whole is 
 now much worn and dilapidated. 
 
 Richard Waldeby, Archbishop of York, ob. 1397. (St. Ed- 
 mund’s Chapel.) This is the usual composition of the figure 
 within a canopy, while an inscription runs round all. The 
 figure holds a cross in the left hand, the right is raised in the 
 act of blessing. 
 
 Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, ob. 1397. (Con- 
 fessor’s Chapel.) He was murdered at Calais by command of 
 Richard II., and buried at Pleshy : the body was afterwards 
 removed here. The brass is entirely gone, but by the marks 
 in the stone and the engraving in Dart we are enabled to form 
 a tolerably accurate notion of it. A series of niches and figures 
 run all round. In the space thus enclosed was a figure of the 
 duke, under a niche at the top of which were three other 
 niches, that in the centre containing a representation of the 
 most Holy Trinity, and the side ones the Blessed Virgin and 
 a bishop, (perhaps a mistake of Dart’s for St. John). 
 
 Eleanor de Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester, ob. 1399. (St. 
 Edmund’s Chapel.) After the murder of her husband she re- 
 
1 90 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 tired to Barking Nunnery. The monument consists of a low 
 altar-tomb, the whole of which is inlaid with the usual inscrip- 
 tion, canopy, and figures ; it is certainly by far the best brass 
 now remaining in the church, and although the features are 
 not particularly well drawn, the draperies are exceedingly well 
 disposed. She wears the wimple and plaited barbe. It is a 
 curious fact that the badge of the swan has been mutilated in 
 every instance. There are also traces of variously coloured 
 resinous compositions filling up the engraved parts. 
 
 Sir John Harpedon, ob. 1457. (Ambulatory.) This brass, 
 according to Dart, was once placed on the top of a tomb raised 
 four feet from the ground, and forming part of the screen of 
 the chapel of St. John the Evangelist : its position is clearly 
 shewn in the plan attached to his work. There is nothing re- 
 markable about it beyond that the armour is the same on both 
 the arms, and that lead or pewter has been employed as ar- 
 gent in the armorial bearings. 
 
 Sir Humphrey Bourchter, ob. 1470. (St. Edmund’s Chapel.) 
 He was killed at the battle of Barnet-field, fighting on the 
 Yorkist side. He is also known as the father of Lord Berners, 
 the translator of Froissart. The tomb, of Purbeck with panelled 
 sides, is raised some eighteen inches from the floor. On the top 
 was the figure, (now gone,) surrounded with little coats of arms 
 and shields, the guiges of which form the Bourchier knot. 
 The helmet, crest, and lambrequin still remain, and form a very 
 excellent example of heraldry. 
 
 Baron Carew and Lady Margaret, his wife, ob. 1470. (St. 
 Nicholas.) This is a plain Purbeck tomb ; it has had brass 
 shields inlaid in the sides, and an inscription round the top 
 slab, but they are now all gone. 
 
 Sir Thomas Vaughan, ob. 1483. (St. John the Baptist.) A 
 plain Purbeck raised tomb. Small brass scrolls and shields 
 have been inserted in the side and end. It is under an ugly 
 four- centred arch, made at the expense of the thirteenth- cen- 
 tury arcade. On the top is the figure in armour, but imperfect 
 at the feet. The features are rather well drawn. 
 
 Dudley, Bishop of Durham, ob. 1483. (St. Nicholas.) It is 
 not uncommon to find one tomb resembling another during 
 
The Brasses. 
 
 * 9 * 
 
 the Perpendicular period, and accordingly we find the present 
 monument very like that of Sir Bernard Brocas; the only 
 difference being that the present one has had a brass, now 
 gone, instead of an effigy, and that the sides have the usual 
 Perpendicular panels, and brass shields, the latter now de- 
 
 Abbot Esteney, ob. 1498. (Ambulatory, north side.) This 
 abbot deserves notice for two reasons ; first of all, he was 
 Caxton’s patron; and secondly, in his time the obligation for 
 the new abbot to go to Borne was remitted. Dart tells us that 
 this brass was in his time on the top of a raised tomb, forming, 
 with Sir J. Harpedon’s monument, part of the screen of the 
 chapel of St. J ohn the Evangelist. It is shewn in the MS. of 
 Islip’s funeral before referred to. 
 
 The tomb, it appears, has been twice opened, once in 1706, 
 and secondly in 1772. As usual, the body was found dressed 
 in eucharistic vestments, similar to the figure on the brass : 
 the latter is enclosed in a triple-arched canopy, and a label 
 issues from the mouth with the words exultabo in deo jhu 
 meo : the pastoral staff points outwards. Yery similar was the 
 brass of Abbot Barton, 1466, now entirely gone, but repre- 
 sented in Dart as perfect. The feet rested on crowned eagles. 
 Yery near where Abbot Esteney’s brass is now deposited is 
 a stone entirely despoiled of its metal : we are told that it con- 
 tained the effigies of Thomas Browne and Humphrey Roberts, 
 monks of the Abbey, who died in 1508. 
 
 Sir Humphrey Stanley, ob. 1505. (St. Nicholas.) This brass, 
 which resembles many others of the same period, is engraved 
 in BoutelPs “ Monumental Brasses,” p. 78. The armour is 
 curious as shewing the defences for the left shoulder as being 
 different from that of the right ; in fact, in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury the armourers were always endeavouring to supersede the 
 shield by making the defences of the left arm stronger and 
 larger. Lead is again employed in this instance to express the 
 argent in the coats of arms. 
 
 The last brass is that of Dr. Bill, ob. 1561, (St. Benedict,) 
 the successor of Fakenham. He is represented in a doctor’s 
 gown. There is a good deal of cross-hatching in the drapery, 
 
192 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 and the whole work looks rather earlier than the seventeenth 
 century. The tomb is raised 2 ft. 6 in. from the ground. 
 
 Among other revivals of medieval arts that of monumental 
 brasses has not been forgotten. In the nave, near the pulpit, 
 is a large figure of Robert Stephenson, the civil engineer. It 
 is very fairly designed, but unluckily the artist has omitted 
 to place anything at the feet, and the consequence is that 
 the figure looks as if it were swimming, more especially as it 
 is embedded in polished granite instead of Purbeck or black 
 marble. In the Middle Ages he would have had his feet on 
 a model of the horse of iron, which he brought to perfection, 
 and which as much surpasses Cambuscan’s “stede of brass” as 
 the architecture of the thirteenth century does that of our own 
 time. The other modern brass represents a modern warrior 
 and his lady in the costume of the first part of the fifteenth 
 century. No one for a moment doubts but that Sir Robert 
 Wilson would have been the same brave man whether it had 
 been his lot to fight in a suit of plate armour or in a red coat 
 and epaulettes : but this is decidedly a revival in the wrong 
 direction ; we want the spirit, not the letter, in a case like this. 
 No doubt it would require a very clever artist to have ar- 
 ranged the modern costume, but it has been done, and can 
 therefore be done again. 
 
 The female costume at the commencement of the present 
 century was not particularly graceful, but there are a series of 
 plates of the fashions of that time drawn by the late T. 17 wins. 
 Esq., which are so gracefully arranged as to leave nothing to 
 desire. The small additional expense in securing the services 
 of a thoroughly good artist is hardly worth considering when 
 the work is meant to last for centuries, and, above all, to be 
 placed in Westminster Abbey, the most beautiful building we 
 Englishmen possess. 
 
INDEX TO THE TOMBS. 
 
 N.JS. Those with the asterisk prefixed are trasses. 
 
 Aveline, Countess, 159. 
 
 *Bill, Dr., 191. 
 
 *Bohun, Eleanor de, 189. 
 
 Boliun, children of Humphrey de, 164. 
 ^Bourchier, Sir Humphrey, 190. 
 
 Brocas, Sir Bernard, 176. 
 
 *Carew, Baron, 190. 
 
 Catharine, Princess, 145. 
 
 Chaucer, 186. 
 
 Cleves, Anne of, 187. 
 
 Colchester, William de, 178. 
 Crouchback, Edmund, 159. 
 
 Daubigny, Sir Giles, 181. 
 
 ^Dudley, Bishop of Durham, 190. 
 Edward I., 166. 
 
 Edward III., 172. 
 
 Eleanor, Queen, 151. 
 
 Elizabeth, Princess, 180. 
 
 Eltham, John of, 167. 
 
 *Esteney, Abbot, 191. 
 
 Fascet, Abbot, 181. 
 
 Henry III., 147. 
 
 Henry V., 177. 
 
 Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York, 182. 
 # Harpedon, Sir John, 190. 
 
 Islip, Abbot, 185. 
 
 ^Kirton, Abbot, 191. 
 
 Langham, Archbishop, 171. 
 
 Montpensier, Due de, 188. 
 
 Philippa, Queen, 169. 
 
 Bichard II. and Anne of Bohemia, 174. 
 Richmond, Margaret, Countess of, 182. 
 Robsert, Lodowick, 179. 
 
 Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, 184. 
 
 Sebert, 165. 
 
 ^Stanley, Sir Humphrey, 191. 
 ^Stephenson, Robert, 192. 
 
 Valence, Aymer de, 159. 
 
 Valence, William de, 155. 
 
 ^Vaughan, Sir Thomas, 190. 
 
 Vere, Sir Francis, 188. 
 
 # Waldeby, Richard, Archbishop of 
 York, 189. 
 
 # Waltham, John of. Bishop of Salisbury, 
 189. 
 
 ^Wilson, Sir Robert, 192. 
 
 Windsor, William of, and Blanche de la 
 Tour, 169. 
 
 * Woodstock, Thomas of, 189. 
 
 York, Princess Margaret of, 180. 
 
 York, Philippa, Duchess of, 178. 
 
INDEX TO THE CHAPELS, &c. 
 
 Ambulatory : Tomb of Princess Catha- 
 rine, 145; of Sebert, 165, Brass of 
 Sir John Harpedon, 190; of Abbot 
 Esteney, 191. 
 
 Choir : Tomb of Aveline, Countess of 
 Lancaster, 159; of Aymer de Va- 
 lence, 159; of Edmund Crouchback, 
 159 ; of Anne of Cleves, 187. 
 
 Confessor’s Chapel : Tomb of Henry 
 III., 147; of Queen Eleanor, 151; 
 of Queen Philippa, 169; of Edward 
 III., 172 ; of Bichard II., and Anne 
 of Bohemia, 174; of Edward I., 166; 
 of Henry V., 177; of the Princess 
 Elizabeth, 180 ; of the Princess Mar- 
 garet of York, 180. Brass of John 
 of Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury, 189 ; 
 of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of 
 Gloucester, 189. 
 
 Henry the Seventh’s Chapel : Tomb 
 of Margaret, Countess of Kichmond, 
 182; of Henry VII. and Elizabeth 
 of York, 182. 
 
 Islip’s Chapel : Tomb of Abbot Islip, 
 
 185. 
 
 Nate : Brass of Robert Stephenson, 
 192; of Sir Robert Wilson and his 
 Lady, 192. 
 
 South Transept : Tomb of Chaucer, 
 
 186. 
 
 St. Benedict’s Chapel : Tomb of Abp. 
 
 Langham, 171. Brass of Dr. Bill, 
 191. 
 
 St. Edmund’s Chapel : Tomb of Wil- 
 liam de Valence, 155 ; of John of 
 Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, 167 ; of 
 William of Windsor and Blanche de 
 la Tour, 169 ; of Sir Bernard Brocas, 
 176. Brass of Eleanor de Bohun, 
 Duchess of Gloucester, 189 ; of 
 Richard de Waldeby, Archbishop of 
 York, 189; of Sir Humphrey Bour- 
 chier, 190. 
 
 St. John the Baptist’s Chapel: 
 Tomb of the children of Humphrey 
 de Bohun, 164 ; of William de Col- 
 chester, 178; of Abbot Fascet, 181; 
 of Ruthall, Bishop of Durham, 184. 
 Brass of Sir Thomas Vaughan, 190. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist’s Chapel : 
 Tomb of Sir F. Vere, 188 ; of the Due 
 de Montpensier, 188. 
 
 St. Nicholas’ Chapel : Tomb of Phi- 
 lippa, Duchess of York, 178. Brass 
 of Dudley, Bishop of Durham, 190; 
 of Baron Carew and Lady Margaret 
 his wife, 190; of Sir Humphrey Stan- 
 ley, 191. 
 
 St. Paul’s Chapel : Tomb of Lodo- 
 wick Robsert, Lord Bourchier, and 
 his Lady, 179 ; of Sir Giles Daubigny 
 and Lady, 181. 
 
- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i i 
 
 
THE CRYPT. 
 
 PLATE XXIX. 
 
 Plan of Crypt of Chapter-house. 
 a Recess for Altar. b Piscina. c Ambry. 
 
 Crypt of Chapter-house. 
 
THE CRYPT. a 
 
 The crypt of Westminster occupies only the space under the 
 chapter-house ; there is none under any part of the Abbey. 
 It is approached by a passage leading from the south transept 
 past the end of the old revestry, and which enters the crypt 
 on the west side. It is now in almost total darkness, most of 
 the windows having been blocked up, and light only admitted 
 partially by one or two. 
 
 It is octagonal in plan, and had originally windows on six of 
 its sides, the west being occupied by the entrance- door, and the 
 north-west coming opposite the solid masonry of the wall did 
 not admit of a window. 
 
 The roof is vaulted, with plain chamfered ribs, which rise 
 from a massive pillar in the centre, and are supported at the 
 angles by slender detached shafts having plain capitals and 
 moulded bases, each standing on a small plinth carried across 
 the angle. The central pillar is very short and strong, being 
 about 6 feet high and 3J feet diameter ; it has a moulded base 
 and a plain rounded abacus. The pillar is hollowed out in 
 two places, the lower one with its opening towards the east 
 and the upper towards the south ; the spaces are circular and 
 smoothly cut, as are also the sides of the openings, but there 
 are no appearances of there having been doors to them. 
 
 The east side of the crypt is occupied by a recess for an 
 altar, having its piscina and locker both remaining, but of 
 quite plain 'work. In the jambs are also mortice holes, shewing 
 that a screen of some sort had been placed before the altar. 
 
 The crypt is of much less dimensions than the chapter-house 
 above, the circumscribing circle of the former having a radius 
 
 By Orlando Jewitt. 
 
196 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 of about 30 feet, while that of the crypt has only about 15 feet. 
 The external dimensions of each are of course the same, and 
 the difference is occasioned by the enormous thickness of the 
 walls, which are 18 feet. It has been conjectured that the 
 internal part of the walls belongs to the early work commenced 
 in the time of Edward the Confessor, and that the chapter - 
 house being too small for the ideas of the Early English archi- 
 tect, he enlarged it by building his wall on the exterior of the 
 old work; but this can be only conjecture, as there is no part 
 now visible which is of earlier date than the thirteenth century, 
 the whole having been cased at that time. 
 
 This supposition, however, receives considerable confirmation 
 from the circumstance that there is a decided break in the 
 masonry at about thirteen feet from the interior, and that the 
 five feet exterior to this are evidently of a later date, as may 
 be seen on the sides of the window openings. It is, however, 
 so blocked up by modern additions that it is not possible to get 
 more conclusive evidence than this. 
 
 The whole of the interior is clearly Early English, ver}^ 
 plain, as might be expected in such a 
 situation, and not of very early character, 
 as may be seen by the bases both of the 
 centre pillar and the small shafts, and 
 which are similar to, but not identical 
 with, some of those in the north aisle of 
 
 the choir. The capital of the central capital of 
 
 • . , . , Central Pillar. 
 
 pillar is very plain, being merely a 
 rounded abacus. The capitals of the small 
 shafts have a very plain abacus, merely rounded 
 and under-cut, and have had neck-moulds, now 
 entirely gone, their places being supplied by 
 a ring of lead having a projecting point in the 
 centre. 
 
 On investigation it will be found that this leaden collar is 
 the cause of the destruction of the neck-mould, and it will be 
 found too that the capitals in the vestibule of the chapter- 
 house leading out of the cloisters above, are in precisely the 
 same state. The capitals and shafts, which are of Purbeck 
 
The Crypt . 
 
 197 
 
 marble, have been bedded together by 
 means of lead poured in while in a molten 
 state. The capital and shaft were a little 
 separated, and the lead was poured in by a 
 small opening ( 5 ) drilled through the capital 
 immediately above the neck-mould, and 
 no doubt prevented by a collar of clay from running out until 
 it was cold. In the vestibule the process is very clearly seen, 
 and capitals may be found in all states, some with the neck- 
 mould shewing the lead in its perfect state, some with the 
 stone partly broken away, and some, like those in the crypt, 
 
 The neck-mould partly 
 broken away. 
 a a Lead. 
 
 The neck-mould entirely 
 gone away. 
 a a The ring of lead, 
 
 Capital in the Vestibule of the 
 Chapter-house, a a Lead. 
 
 entirely decayed, and leaving nothing 
 but a perfect collar of lead and the 
 projecting knob in the middle where 
 it was poured in. 
 
 There is no doubt that the heat of the melted lead, when 
 poured into this calcareous stone, would have the effect of partly 
 calcining it, and rendering it more friable than it otherwise 
 would be; and the alternate expansion and contraction of the 
 metal, small though it be, would in a long series of years be 
 quite sufficient to cause, as we see, the destruction of the mould- 
 ing ; particularly as by the under-cutting for the reception of 
 the lead it was very much weakened at its junction with the 
 bell. The shafts were also fixed in the bases in the same way, 
 but as there is here more solidity, so much damage has not 
 been done. 
 
 This mode of fixing may probably account for a good deal of 
 the destruction which has taken place in the Purbeck shafts in 
 many of our most beautiful buildings, and which can scarcely 
 be set down as an item to the “ wisdom of our ancestors.” 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PLATE XXX 
 
 DraMmy.^JjnarMfed,byJ^e<IE& wx, . 
 
 PART OFTHE REFECTORY WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 THE WALL & ARCADE. C. 1066 - THE WIND OWS.C. 13 80. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * .A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * , . M 
 
 
FURTHER REMARKS ON THE BUILDINGS OF 
 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR 3 . 
 
 It appears from the almost contemporary narrative of the 
 monk Sulcardus that, whatever may have been the size of the 
 original Saxon Abbey occupying the site of the present edifice, 
 the whole church and its adjacent outbuildings were recon- 
 structed anew, on a much larger scale, by the pious munificence 
 of Edward the Confessor. Sulcardus was a monk of Westmin- 
 ster, and by the dedication of his account of the lately erected 
 Abbey to the Abbot Vitalis, may be presumed to have written 
 it in the Conqueror’s time— Yitalis dying some years before 
 that prince b . 
 
 The words of this annalist, and others of later date, are as 
 follows : — Sulcardus says, “ Monasterium est dirutum ut sur- 
 geret nobilius.” As to the structure itself, it was “Diversis 
 fultum columnis ac multiplicibus volutum hinc et inde arcubus.” 
 William of Malmesbury states that the Confessor “Ecclesiam 
 sedificationis genere novo fecit which same church, adds Mat- 
 thew of Westminster, “ a fundamentis construxerat.” Matthew 
 Paris corroborates this adoption by King Edward of what was 
 then a style unknown in Saxon England ; his words are : “ Se- 
 pultus est (Hex Edwardus) Londini in Ecclesia quam ipse novo 
 compositionis genere construxerat, a qua post multi ecclesias 
 construentes exenrplum adepti opus illud emulabantur.” 
 
 We may therefore regard these remains of the Abbey of 
 Edward the Confessor as the earliest specimen of the Norman 
 style in England, and as the great exemplar from which the 
 many noble abbeys and cathedrals of the Norman period were 
 subsequently erected ; a special interest, therefore, assuredly 
 attaches to these venerable relics, apart from their locality. 
 
 The Abbey of the Confessor must have been very nearly, if 
 
 a By the Rev. T. W. Weare, M.A. 
 b Widmore, History of Westminster Abbey. 
 
200 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 not quite, of the same extent as the present Abbey, commenced 
 by Henry III. We can still trace no inconsiderable portion , if 
 not of the Confessor’s Abbey-church, yet of the buildings of the 
 monastery adjacent, as has been shewn by Mr. Scott. (See p. 6.) 
 
 Proceeding southward from the south transept of Henry the 
 Third’s church, the remains of the Norman work of 1060 — 1066 
 are first detected in the east cloister. The masonry of the 
 chapel of the Pyx exhibits the wide joints, found everywhere 
 in Normandy in buildings of this century, an indication seldom 
 leading to an erroneous conclusion. The quality of the mortar, 
 and the shaping of the stones by the hand-axe, the marks of 
 which are still visible to the eye, are characteristics which are 
 in distinct contrast to the fine-jointed masonry, and the smoother 
 surface of the stones, implying a better kind of tool, as found 
 in the work of Henry two centuries afterwards. From the 
 chapel of the Pyx, continuing southward, to the archway open- 
 ing into Little Dean’s Yard, the whole substructure is of the 
 same date and character. The chapel of the Pyx itself has been 
 already described, (seep. 9). Though this chapel itself is not 
 accessible to the ordinary visitor, being in charge of the Go- 
 vernment officials, yet the same style in all its details is to be 
 seen in the adjacent bays, or compartments, which have lately 
 been cleared out and are now open to inspection. The whole 
 range, numbering about seven bays of vaulting, formed the 
 substructure to the dormitory of Edward’s monastery. The east, 
 west, and south walls of Westminster School, which occupies the 
 exact position of this ancient dormitory, — and even in its mo- 
 dern aspect forms one of the noblest rooms in the kingdom, — 
 still exhibit portions of early masonry, into which more re- 
 cent alterations have been engrafted c . Pude as they are, these 
 traces are full of interest. Here we behold the first attempt of 
 Norman-Gothic architecture in England ! The seed was here 
 sown. A native impulse to improve upon the humbler works 
 of their Saxon forefathers disdained not, with true wisdom, to 
 
 c [There is, however, a difference in the masonry observable above the level 
 of the vault, to be seen in what is now the racquet-court, and it would appear 
 that there was an interval of a few years between the lower part and the upper 
 part of the wall. — E d.] 
 
The Dormitory. 
 
 201 
 
 look abroad, if perchance from thence might be derived ideas 
 taken from existing models of that grander scale of church 
 building which the Saxon monarch had seen in Normandy, but 
 of which as yet there was nothing among his own subjects. 
 It was late in life that the project was adopted, and he did not 
 live to see its full completion by the customary ceremony of 
 consecration ; but the work was carried on with diligence, and 
 finished within a few years d . Like many other works under- 
 taken in a good cause, the projector lived not to see it finished ; 
 but it may without hesitation be said, that in the renovated 
 abbey and monastery of 1060 King Edward the Confessor left 
 a work behind him destined to bring about mighty changes in 
 his land. The introduction amongst the Saxon native work- 
 men of a model, struck out by the more original and influential 
 mind of their Norman neighbours, became a fulcrum, by which 
 in its time was effected a complete revolution in the thoughts, 
 the genius, and the skill of the native architects of the island, 
 — architects as yet unborn, but soon to arise to carry the 
 Pointed architecture of the Christian Church to its highest 
 standard of perfection. 
 
 The substructure of the Confessor’s dormitory continues 
 southward beyond the limits of the present school-room, as we 
 have seen, (p. 11) : there seems, however, to be evidence to the 
 eye that some alterations were perhaps here made in the twelfth 
 century. Manifest traces of this latter date are still existing 
 on the eastern side of the Little Cloisters, and here the great 
 advance made within the sixty or seventy years which had 
 elapsed since the Conquest, by the rivalry implanted on English 
 soil with the more finished works in Normandy, is clearly in- 
 dicated in the diminished 6 size and yet greater height of the 
 columns, the character of the capitals, and the mouldings em- 
 ployed in the chapel of St. Catherine, which stood here, (see 
 p. 13). The exact date of the building of this chapel is not 
 
 d “ Pestinatur opus ex praecepto Regis cceptum, et post paucos annos perfectum.” 
 — Sulcardus. 
 
 e Whewell, Arch. Notes, 3rd ed., p. 87. — Tupper, Prov. Philos, on “ Beauty — 
 “ I judge that beauty and sublimity be hut the lesser and the great ; 
 
 Sublime, as magnified to giants, and beautiful, as diminished into fairies.” 
 
 k k 
 
202 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey, 
 
 known, but it must have been some time before 1162, for in 
 that year the King commanded a synod to be assembled in this 
 chapel to determine a question of privilege between the convent 
 of St. Alban’s and the Bishop of Lincoln f . 
 
 Let us now retrace our steps from this farthest point where 
 vestiges of the Norman portion of the abbey buildings still 
 remain, and wend our way again through the dark cloister, 
 and under the barrel-vaulting of the Confessor’s age, to the 
 south-eastern angle of the great cloisters. On the eastern wall 
 of this part of the cloisters, it was before observed, the masonry 
 indicates clearly, by the size of the stones employed, and the 
 character of the mortar, and its wide joints, that here a portion 
 of the Norman work was made use of when the eastern cloister 
 was built in Henry the Third’s time. The beautiful Early Eng- 
 lish finished masonry of the thirteenth century is here dovetailed 
 into the more solid walls of the Confessor’s date, which were cut 
 away, only where necessary, to admit the additions and altera- 
 tions of the later date. This custom of turning to account the 
 masonry of an earlier age, where not interfering with the 
 general character of that subsequently inserted, seems to have 
 been more generally in use than at first sight the eye is pre- 
 pared to expect. 
 
 On returning now to the south cloister, and passing west- 
 ward along its entire length, to the casual observer there are 
 no indications that the solid wall on the left hand is of an 
 earlier date than the vaulting overhead and the side-shafts 
 from which the vaulting-ribs spring. Yet late observation has 
 brought to light the fact that the entire extent of this wall is 
 part of the Confessor’s work. Abbot Litlington (of whom we 
 shall presently speak in connection with his additions and alter- 
 ations at the end of the fourteenth century) here followed this 
 plan, — he cut away the Norman wall where needed, and let his 
 vaulting-shafts into the solid stone- work ready to his hand. 
 We shall presently see the character of this wall, as evidenced 
 by an examination of the other side. Here it may be observed 
 that the arrangements as to ground-plan made by Abbot Litling- 
 ton about 1380 were simply commensurate with the Norman 
 
 f Holinshed. 
 
The Refectory. 
 
 2°3 
 
 work of the eleventh century, which he replaced by his own. 
 The cloisters of the Confessor were of the same size as those now 
 in existence, and this southern wall, with the sure testimony of 
 its peculiar masonry to be seen throughout its whole length, is 
 a proof of the extent of that earlier work which Litlington but 
 partially removed when he built the south and west cloisters as 
 we behold them now. The realization to the mind, then, of 
 the extensive scale of the ground-plan of the Confessor’s abbey, 
 and its appendages, will give some idea of the solemn grandeur 
 and vast proportions of the Norman buildings of that most 
 interesting century, when, escaped from the trammels of their 
 Roman models, and unlike their cousins along the Rhine, the 
 great architects of Rollo’s race conceived and executed designs 
 entirely their own, no longer repeating the idea of the Basilica, 
 a ground-plan incapable of much expansion, but adopting the 
 cruciform arrangement of the church itself, and grouping their 
 conventual buildings around on a scale of grandeur till now 
 unknown ; a type which, surpassed in beauty and elegance, no 
 doubt, by the daughter style of two centuries after, yet in point 
 of solemn dignity and simple sublimity may challenge compari- 
 son with any. 
 
 Such an extensive ground-plan covered with buildings con- 
 nected with his monastery would seem to prove that the num- 
 bers of the fraternity of Benedictine monks here assembled 
 under the shade of his great Abbey were considerable. Accord- 
 ingly we find it stated by William of Malmesbury that the 
 Confessor increased the number, though the exact amount of 
 such increase is not specified. The language employed would, 
 however, imply that sixty or seventy monks must have been 
 then on the establishment. Two centuries later there is precise 
 evidence that the number of the brethren was eighty. But 
 taking the lesser number, the refectory to accommodate even 
 sixty or seventy monks must have been of no ordinary dimen- 
 sions. And such we find to be the case. Until lately but very 
 scant traces were known to be in existence of the great refectory 
 of the Confessor, though its site was not unknown. A late ex- 
 amination of the south wall of the south cloister, (above spoken 
 of,) and of its southern face, has, however, brought to light the 
 
204 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 full extent of this noble hall, erected by the Confessor for his 
 monks. The garden of “ Ashburnham House,” one of the pre- 
 bendal residences, is bounded on the north by the south wall of 
 the cloister. The masonry of the lower half of this wall, on the 
 garden or southern face, is of the same character as its northern 
 face, visible on the other side in the cloister. But to place the 
 evidence of the masonry beyond all doubt, a late inspection has 
 led to the detection of an early s Norman arcade running the 
 entire length of the wall. The upper portions, resting on this 
 lower wall of eleventh- century masonry, are of Decorated cha- 
 racter, and most probably the work of Abbot Litlington. The 
 windows with their transoms are indicative of the latter half of 
 the fourteenth century. (See Plate XXX.) But here we have, 
 in the evidence afforded by this arcade, a proof that the extent 
 of the Confessor’s refectory was on the same scale as that which, 
 three centuries afterwards, was adopted by the abbot whose 
 alterations in Richard the Second’s time have claimed so much 
 attention in all accounts of the fabric of the Abbey. The extent 
 of the hall, for it measured 130 feet long by 38 in breadth, will 
 give some idea of the scale on which this first genuine Norman 
 work erected on English soil was executed, and of the magni- 
 ficence and grandeur which must have characterized this Abbey 
 and its attendant buildings at a period when such a scale would 
 scarcely have been expected. The general entrance-doorway 
 to this refectory must have been where the present doorway of 
 the later date still remains. There are traces in the south side 
 of this spacious hall which seem to shew that the kitchen, &c., 
 may here, at this south-west angle of the great parallelogram, 
 have been attached to the main apartment. Fragments of 
 Roman tiles, here and there worked into the walls, seem to 
 indicate the very early character of the masonry, and to suggest 
 that possibly, in his expansion of the monastery in 1060, the 
 
 s The stone of these remains of the eleventh century is still undecayed ; that of 
 Abbot Litlington’s time has perished considerably. A geologist should be able to 
 name the locality whence the former was obtained, with a view to its employment 
 in our public edifices. [It is believed to be Reigate stone, and the upper part of 
 the wall, which is Litlington’s work, is of clunch only. It owes its perfect pre- 
 servation to having been protected from wet by the cloister. — Ed.] 
 
The Refectory. 
 
 20 5 
 
 Confessor made use of whatever remains of a still earlier date 
 were capable of being worked up with his own additions. The 
 arcade above spoken of is also here to be traced at the east end, 
 and in the south-west angle, though but for a few yards ; suffi- 
 cient, however, remains to prove the length and the breadth of 
 the refectory erected by King Edward, as given in the above- 
 named dimensions. 
 
 With these lately-discovered remains of the Confessor’s work 
 the vestiges of the eleventh century cease, the rest of the cir- 
 cumjacent buildings being all of the last quarter of the four- 
 teenth century, and forming part of the great additions or alter- 
 ations then made by Abbot Litlington, of whom now it is time 
 that we should more particularly speak. 
 
ABBOT LITLINGTON’S WORK. 
 
 In the year 1349 Simon Langham was elected Abbot of 
 Westminster. His name is deserving of special record, not 
 only on account of his subsequently high positions, as Bishop of 
 Ely, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Cardinal, but also for his 
 munificence to the Abbey. His will is given at length in 
 Widmore’s History : by it he left the residue of his vast property 
 especially to the fabric of the monastery : — “ Residuum vero dic- 
 torum fructuum et omnia alia bona mea quaecunque et qualia- 
 cunque, ubicunque reperta fuerint, lego fabricae monasterii 
 Westmonasterii predicti h .” Langham resigned his abbacy in 
 1362, on his first promotion to Ely. His death took place in 
 1376, from which date the moneys bequeathed by him by will 
 would become available. He was succeeded as abbot in 1362 by 
 Nicholas Litlington, whom he subsequently appointed executor 
 of his will. It is not likely that the considerable additions to 
 the fabric, commonly assigned to Abbot Litlington, were com- 
 menced by him before the death of his friend the Cardinal, w T hose 
 bequest supplied the money for their erection and construction. 
 Again, there is evidence still remaining in the fact that Lit- 
 lington’s initials are visible in stone as well as in painted glass, 
 (as will be seen below,) that it was after the Cardinal’s death, 
 and the receipt of the bequest, that he began the work of decora- 
 tion. He scarcely would have ventured to claim to himself by 
 the insertion of his own name, the credit of the work due to the 
 munificence of the real donor, his predecessor in the abbatial 
 chair, whilst yet that predecessor was alive. We have, there- 
 fore, two limits between which the extensive alterations, usually 
 assigned to Abbot Litlington, must have been completed, viz. 
 the death of Cardinal Langham and his own, or, the ten years 
 between 1376 and 1386. These dates are therefore of some im- 
 portance, as fixing the exact time of the construction of the 
 
 h This residue amounted to 10,800Z., an immense sum in those days; [equal to 
 nearly 2OO,OO0Z. of our money]. 
 
DETAILS OF ABBOT LITLINGTON’S WORK. 
 
 PLATE XXXI. 
 

 
 
 
 
DETAILS OF ABBOT LITLINGTON’S WORK, 
 
 PLATE XXXII, 
 
 (1.) Part of the Roof of the Hall of Abbot Litlington, A.D. 1376-1386. 
 

 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Abbot Litlingtoris Work. 
 
 207 
 
 west and south walks of the cloister (see Frontispiece), and of 
 the other works, of which we will now take a rapid survey. 
 
 Abbot Litlington appears to have executed the trust com- 
 mitted to him with considerable skill and taste. Great changes 
 had already at this time (1376-86) taken place in the Pointed 
 Architecture of the earlier part of the century. The genius of 
 William of Wykeham had conceived a new arrangement for 
 those most important members of a Gothic window of many 
 lights, the mullions and tracery lines ; and in the chapel of 
 New College at Oxford, and perhaps also in some portions of 
 Windsor Castle, (the noblest example of his skill,) was exhibited 
 the model from which the Perpendicular style peculiar to 
 England originated. But Litlington did not follow this new 
 idea, though its merits were many, and its beauties not a few, 
 and peculiar to itself. Such a contrast with the character of 
 the earlier work, as seen in the north and east walks of the 
 cloister, would have been harsh and inharmonious. He changed, 
 indeed, with the changes in style then in progress, but he was 
 careful to preserve consistency ; and hence it is that although 
 far inferior in beauty of plan and details to the two walks of 
 the cloister of the earlier date, those of 1380 (the western and 
 southern) are yet in good keeping with them, and apart from 
 their proximity to their more successful rivals, may well claim 
 admiration i . Beside these two walks of the cloister, Litlington 
 seems to have entirely re-edified the abbot’s residence, and the 
 conventual buildings, which now form the eastern side of Great 
 Bean’s Yard. The College Hall of the Queen’s Scholars, of the 
 Elizabethan foundation of an after age, was built by this abbot, 
 for the hall of the abbot’s residence. The timbers to support 
 the leaden roof still remain in part as he left them ; the braces 
 of the principals (1) at the extreme north and south ends dis- 
 playing some bold and well-executed trefoil and other tracery, 
 indicative of a style agreeing with this date. [The rest of the 
 roof is of much later date, of Elizabethan character, and was 
 probably a part of the alterations made after the dissolution of 
 the abbey, when the school was founded.] 
 
 The windows of the hall are of two lights, and of simple 
 * On the bosses of the vaulting the initials N. L. are still to be traced. 
 
2o8 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 tracery in the heads (2), [the character of which is of the time 
 of the change from the Decorated to the Perpendicular style]. 
 Portions of the painted glass still remain, and the initials (N. L.) 
 of the Abbot are here also to be seen (3). The hall is still in- 
 teresting, as a representative of its several dates of construction, 
 though its fair proportions are somewhat shorn by the addi- 
 tion at its southern end of a music -gallery, of apparently the 
 Elizabethan era. There are still remnants to be found, here 
 and there, of diaper and carved floral woodwork of the four- 
 teenth century (4 and 5), inserted among the panelling of the 
 later date. Adjoining the hall is still to be seen the ancient 
 kitchen and other outbuildings of this Litlington restora- 
 tion. [The old fireplaces remain, with their stone arches ; in 
 one is the oven, in the other the chimney-corner, partly pro- 
 tected from the fire b}^ a short piece of wall or solid stone screen, 
 and over the seat in the chimney-corner is a window, modern- 
 
 (6.) Fireplace in the Kitchen, shewing the Seat in the Chimney-corner and the Window 
 over it, still remaining (1861). 
 
 ized indeed, but still evidently in its original place. A window 
 in the chimney is not a very common feature, but it occurs in 
 
A bbot L itlingtoii s Work. 
 
 209 
 
 several instances in the old cottages in Pembrokeshire; we 
 should hardly expect to find an example of this old arrange- 
 ment still remaining in the heart of London k (6) .] 
 
 The substructure of all the canonical residences running 
 southward from the Deanery, (itself the Abbot’s house of old,) 
 displays a range of vaulting of simple and elegant character (7), 
 
 (8.) Archway, now forming the Passage from Little Dean’s Yard to Great Dean’s Yard, 
 part of Abbot Litlington’s work, A D. 1376—1386. 
 
 k [In some old houses in Ireland, where the chimney-stack and fireplace is in 
 the middle of the house, there is a sort of window or opening from the chimney- 
 corner into the porch, so that a person sitting by the fireside could see who came 
 in at the outer door before opening the inner one. — Ed.] 
 
210 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 with, here and there a window of the period still remaining to 
 testify the character of the whole when complete, before the 
 tasteless alterations of subsequent centuries destroyed the work- 
 manship which they were as unable to appreciate as to imitate. 
 Two archways still remain, in the length of this substructure, 
 connecting Great Dean’s Yard with the courts to the eastward 
 of it (8). They are of the style to which their known date 
 would assign them; though perhaps a close consideration of 
 their details (such as the cavetto and double ogee mouldings) 
 would lead to the conclusion that those characteristics, hitherto 
 assigned to the fifteenth century, are here found in one of the 
 earliest examples of their application K 
 
 The ten years above named seem to have been made the most 
 of, for in addition to the works just spoken of. Abbot Litlington 
 appears to have restored, or extended, the entire circle of con- 
 ventual outbuildings of less important character than the pre- 
 ceding. According to Widmore, he “ built the kitchen, the 
 Jerusalem chamber, the abbot’s house, now the deanery,” and 
 also the “ houses of several officers, as the bailiff’s, the cellarer’s, 
 the infirmarer’s, and the sacrist’s ; the great malt-house, lately 
 (i.e. in 1751) the dormitory of the King’s scholars 1 * 111 , and the 
 tower adjoining, late the lodgings of the second master; the 
 stone wall of the infirmary garden, now the College Garden,” 
 
 1 [The whole of Abbot Litlington’s work is in a style of transition between the 
 
 Decorated and Perpendicular styles ; it is almost impossible to say to which of these 
 received styles the mouldings and details can be referred. As the divisions of the 
 styles of Gothic Architecture are entirely arbitrary, arranged for general conve- 
 nience, and for the use of beginners in the study, it is perfectly natural that this 
 sort of mixture of the styles should take place for a certain period between each of 
 the great changes. The latter part of the fourteenth century was the period when 
 the Perpendicular style was coming into general use, but was not fully established : 
 as the distinction is less marked than in the similar period between each of the 
 other styles, it has been commonly overlooked, but the same overlapping of styles 
 occurs at this period as in the similar transition between the other styles. This 
 is more marked and prominent between the Norman and the Early English styles, 
 and therefore that is commonly called the period of transition, but a similar period 
 exists equally between each of the other styles. — Ed.] 
 
 m An engraving is given in the “Alumni Westmonasteriensis,” edit. 1852, of 
 this dormitory of 1720, and the adjoining tower. The present dormitory on 
 the western side of the college garden is in the Italian style, and was built from 
 the design of the Earl of Burlington about 1722. 
 
DETAILS OF ABBOT LITLINGTON'S WORK 
 
 PLATE XXXIII 
 
211 
 
 Abbot Litlingtori s Work. 
 
 [still remaining,] “the water mill, &c., &c., besides the south 
 and west sides of the Great Cloisters.” (9.) 
 
 In the passage leading to the Little Cloisters a turreted 
 dwelling-house still remains in fair preservation, which is called 
 by the name of “ the Litlington Tower whilst on the eastern 
 side of the eleventh century substructure in the dark cloister, 
 and of Westminster School above, there are buildings of appa- 
 rently the end of the fifteenth century, though with so many 
 details of preceding styles as to lead one to conclude that 
 a work of adaptation was here effected. A small chapel adjoin- 
 ing the residence perhaps would indicate that here the Prior 
 of Westminster had his abode — an officer next in dignity to 
 the abbot. The interest, however, attaching to these later 
 erections is not equal to that called forth by the remains of the 
 earlier ages, to which we have thus endeavoured to draw 
 attention. 
 
 T. W. W. 
 
 M in 
 
THE COMMISSION TO RICHARD DE WHITTINGTON, &c., TO 
 REBUILD THE NAVE OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 It has long been known, both by history and by the archi- 
 tectural details, that the nave of the abbey church was rebuilt 
 in the fifteenth century, although the general style of the choir 
 of the thirteenth has been so well followed that casual observers 
 are quite unconscious of the change of style. (See woodcut, 
 p. 54.) There is every reason to believe that the old Norman 
 nave was left standing until that time, and we have seen by the 
 accounts that workmen were employed to remove it, prepara- 
 tory to the construction of the new nave. It has not been 
 generally known that in 1 Henry V., a.d. 1413, a royal commis- 
 sion was issued to Richard Whityngton, and Richard Ilarowden 
 monk of the abbey, for carrying on the work of rebuilding the 
 nave ; which we here reprint from Rvmer’s “Foedera,” vol. ix. 
 p. 78. The Rev. Samuel Lysons, in his recent life of Sir Richard 
 Whityngton, the celebrated Lord Mayor of London, considers 
 this commissioner for rebuilding the nave of the abbey church 
 to be no other than the wealthy merchant himself a : it will be 
 observed that in the account rolls he is called Richard de Whit- 
 tington, whilst the other commissioner is called only Richard 
 Harowden a monk of the abbey. 
 
 a Mr. Lysons says, — “ So high was the king’s opinion of Whittington’s good 
 judgment and taste with regard to the improvements in the city, that we find the 
 following entry in the Minutes of the Council at the Tower of London, 27th May, 
 3rd Henry V. (1415) : — ‘ Item, que le dit Maire ne face rien en la dite citee touchant 
 la demolicion d’aucuns lieu ou murs en la dite citee sans l’avis de Whittington,’ 
 &c. {Bill. Cotton. Cleopatra, F. iii. f. 145, a contemporary manuscript.) Such 
 was the confidence which King Henry Y. placed in this illustrious citizen, that he 
 had no person to whom, for sterling integrity, for taste in architecture and zeal 
 for improvement, he could better intrust the repair of that noble fabric, the Abbey 
 Church at Westminster, the nave of which had been burnt down in a former reign, 
 and had remained in ruins for many years.” — The Model Merchant of the Middle 
 Ages , Sfc., by the Rev. S. Lysons, 8vo., Gloucester, 1862, pp. 59, 60. 
 
 At the Meeting of the Archmological Institute at Worcester in 1862, Mr. Lysons 
 exhibited a piece of sculpture of the fifteenth century representing a boy with 
 a cat in his arms. This sculpture formed a part of the decorations of the front 
 of the house of the Whittington family at Gloucester, built or rebuilt by the 
 nephew of the celebrated Lord Mayor, and affords strong evidence that the 
 family acknowledged the truth of the legend of the cat. 
 
Building Accounts for the Nave . 
 
 213 
 
 Pro Ablate Westmonasterii quo Rex Regalitatis Insignia suscepit. 
 
 A.H. 1413. 
 Anno 1 Hen. V. 
 Pat. 1, Hen. V. 
 p. 4, m. 5. 
 
 
 Sciatis quod de gratia 
 
 Rex omnibus ad quos &c. 
 nostra speciali, 
 
 Et pro salute animae nostrae et ob reverentiam Dei et 
 Beati Petri in cujus bonore Abbatia W estmonasteriensis dinoscitur 
 dedicari ac etiam gloriosi Confessoris Regis Edwardi et diversorum 
 inclitorum Progenitorum nostrorum quondam Regum Angliae in Ab- 
 batia prae dicta quiescentium. 
 
 Necnon pro eo quod in eadem Abbatia prout placuit Altissimo In- 
 signia Regalitatis nostrae suscepimus. 
 
 Yolentes pro construe tione et reparatione Navis Abbatiae illius (quae 
 a diu Ruinam passa fuit et infecta remanet) cum bonis nobis a Deo 
 collatis et conferendis quam citius commode poterimus providere. 
 
 Concessimus, dilectis nobis in Christo Abbati et conventui Abbatiae 
 praedictae, in auxilium Perfeetionis et constructionis Navis praedictae, 
 Mille marcas percipiendas annuatim quamdiu nobis placuerit, videlicet : — * 
 
 Quingentas Marcas de Exitibus Hanaperii Cancellariae nostrae per 
 manus custodis ejusdem pro tempore existentis. 
 
 Et Quingentas marcas de custuma Lanarum, Coriorum et pellium 
 lanutarum in Portu Civitatis nostrae Londoniae per manus collectorum 
 ejusdem custumae pro tempore existentium. 
 
 Ad Terminos Paschae, Nativitatis S. Johannis Baptistae, S. Michaelis 
 et Natalis Domini per aequales portiones. 
 
 Et ulterius, pro pleniori* et celeriori executione concessionis nostrae 
 praedictae prospicere volentes ac de fidelitate et circumspectione dilec- 
 torum nobis Ricardi Whityngton, et Ricardi Harowden Monachi Ab- 
 batiae praedictae, plenius confidentes assignavimus ipsos Ricardum et 
 Ricardum ad praedictas mille marcas in locis praedictis annuatim ad 
 terminos praedictos recipiendum, et ad easdem Mille marcas circa Per- 
 fectionem et Constructionem Navis praedictae, per super visum carissimi 
 consanguinei nostri Edwardi Ducis Eborum et Yenerabilis in Christo 
 patris Henrici Episcopi Wyntoniensis Cancellarii nostri Avunculi 
 nostri carissimi fideliter expendendum. Ita quod iidem Ricardus et 
 Ricardus rationabilem compotum de summis per ipsos virtute literarum 
 nostrarum praesentium recipiendis et circa perfectionem et construc- 
 tionem Navis praedictae ut praemittitur expendendis eisdem Duci et 
 
2 1 4 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 Cancellario quoties et quando ad hoc fuerint debita requisiti reddant 
 et reddere teneantur. 
 
 In cujus, &c. 
 
 Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium Decimo quarto die Decembris. 
 
 Per ipsum Regem. 
 
 Some of the accounts of these commissioners have been pre- 
 served, and we subjoin extracts from them. 
 
 Account of Richard de Whittington, and Richard Harowden monk of 
 the Abbey of the Blessed Peter of Westminster, of their receipts and 
 expences about the construction and repair of the nave of the Abbey, 
 from 7th of July 1 Henry V. to Christmas anno 4, being 3 years, 
 1 quarter, and 83 days. 
 
 Receipts, 1,397/. 6s. 8</., in six sums from the Royal Exchequer at 
 various times, and one from the Xing’s own hands. 
 
 Purchase, carriage, &c., of stone from Reigate, Stapleton, and Bere ; 
 and of rag. 
 
 And for 12 bases, 24 pillars, and 24 capitals of marble, with the 
 freightage thereof, and their making in gross, by John Russe and 
 Richard Knappe, in the 3rd year, 16/. ; viz. for 1 base, 2 capitals, and 
 2 pillars, 2 marks; and for the above 12 bases, 24 pillars, and 24 
 capitals of marble, 1 6/. 
 
 200 boards called “ regold,” “ waynyschoote,” and “ estrycheboorde,” 
 bought for making moulds thereof, 4/. 4s. 10 d. 
 
 Making of long “ staybarres,” hoops, crocketts, and divers other 
 iron- work for the works aforesaid. 
 
 Lead for one side b of the nave of the said work, 88/. 13s. 4 d. 
 
 Small nails for the moulds, 8^Z. ; 2 dozen of parchment for the 
 same, 6s. 8 d. 
 
 Repair of two lodges within the church aforesaid, one covered with 
 tile, the other with reeds, 26s. 8 d. 
 
 Wages to 20 regular and 4 casual masons, 2 casual setters c , 1 regular 
 carpenter working about the scaffold, and newly making the roof of 
 one side of the nave of the said monastery, 4 casual carpenters. An- 
 nual fee of William Colchester, head mason, for ordering and surveying 
 the work, 10/. per annum. 
 
 Total, 1,490/. 11s. b\d . ; one lot of marble remains. 
 
 b “ costa.” 
 
 c “ positores.” 
 
 I. H. P. 
 
THE JERUSALEM CHAMBER 3 . 
 
 The Jerusalem Chamber 1 ’ now existing was built between 
 1376 and 1386, by Nicholas Litlyngton, Abbot of Westminster. 
 Few details of his life and good works have been committed to 
 the press ; but among the Cottonian Manuscripts is a very in- 
 teresting record, in which many of his benefactions are enu- 
 merated, and an opportunity is thereby afforded us of entering 
 in a measure into the peculiarities, and in estimating the excel- 
 lences of his character. A short resume of these will not unfitly 
 introduce the history and description of an edifice with which 
 his honoured name is indissolubly associated. 
 
 Nicholas Litlyngton was Prior of Westminster at the time 
 of Abbot Simon de Langham’s elevation to the see of Ely, and 
 was thereupon elected abbot in April, 1362. He had greatly 
 benefited the house while he was simply one of the brethren, 
 especially by procuring the custody of the temporalities during 
 three vacancies. On his advancement to the chief place of 
 government in his monastery, he shewed himself a most careful 
 and judicious defender of its rights, and an unwearied improver 
 of its possessions. It appears that a great storm of wind had 
 just then made havoc of the manor-houses and other buildings, 
 but within three years he rebuilt them, and left them in better 
 order than they were before. The abbot’s house, from the 
 foundation, was among his new buildings, with the west and 
 south sides of the cloister, the houses of the bailiff, infirmarer, 
 
 a From a paper read in the Jerusalem Chamber, at the Meeting of the London 
 and Middlesex Archaeological Society, Oct. 25, 1860. By the Rev. Thomas Hugo, 
 M.A., F.S.A., &c. 
 
 b It is not impossible that this room may have derived its name from the fact 
 that it adjoined the Sanctuary, as in the account of the death of Pope John we 
 read, “ Nec provid'd quod est Romae ecclesia Jerusalem dicta, id est, visio pads; 
 quod quicunque illuc confugerit, cujuscunque criminis obnoxius, suhsidium in- 
 veniet. Ibi cantat Missam Papa trihus Dominicis, quibus praetitulatur ‘ Statio ad 
 Jerusalem.’” — W. Malmesb. de Gestis reg. Angl., lib. ii. p. 67. — M. W. 
 
21 6 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 sacrist and cellarer, a great malt-house with a tower, a water- 
 mill and the dam, with stone walls, and a stone enclosure of the 
 garden of the infirmary. In these works he was much assisted 
 by the funds left by his predecessor c . 
 
 Among the rooms of the abbot’s house, already mentioned, 
 was the room called the Jerusalem Chamber. It abuts at 
 a right angle on the southernmost of the two towers which 
 adjoin the great western entrance to the nave of the abbey, and 
 is thirty-six feet long and eighteen wide. It has two pointed 
 windows on the west, and on the north a large square win- 
 dow, divided by several mullions, between which are inserted 
 among the white quarries some very interesting specimens of 
 ancient glass. The chamber formed either the withdrawing- 
 room to the abbot’s hall, to which it is contiguous, or else was 
 itself a Guesten Hall for the constant influx of strangers who 
 enjoyed the good abbot’s hospitality. Some imagine it to have 
 been the abbot’s chapel, but its position militates against the 
 accuracy of such a supposition. It was not the first time that 
 a chamber of a similar name existed either on the same or 
 a neighbouring spot. 
 
 c He also gave a mitre of the value of a hundred marcs, a pastoral staff of the 
 value of Yol ., a great missal for the high altar, and two silver-gilt chalices. Also 
 other books of the Divine Offices to the chapel of the abbot and house of the 
 infirmary; and to his own chapel, vestments and other sacerdotal ornaments, 
 chalices, censer, incense-pyx, hell, basin, and a pyx of silver-gilt. He also gave 
 to the convent for their use in the refectory, there to be enjoyed and nowhere 
 else, 48 dishes and 2 chargers, and 24 saltcellars of silver, of the weight of 104 lbs. 
 To the same brethren also, for the misericordia house, and nowhere else, 24 dishes, 
 12 saltcellars, and 2 chargers of silver of 10 lbs., weighing 40 lbs., and two books 
 of coronations marked N and L. Also to his successors in the abbacy he gave 
 24 dishes, 12 saltcellars, and 4 chargers of silver of the weight of 64 lbs. ; 2 silver 
 jars for wine, of the weight of 8 lbs. ; one silver cup with a water-jug of silver gilt, 
 value 100s.; 12 silver plates, of 12 lbs. weight; 2 basins, with 2 water-jugs of 
 silver, of 10 lbs. weight ; and 2 silver basins for lavatories, of 7 lbs. weight. The 
 grant was dated at Westminster, 9th May, 1378. In return for these benefactions 
 it was ordered by the convent that after his decease he should daily be remembered 
 by them in their graces after dinner and supper, and at mass, together with the 
 souls of the faithful departed. He died on the vigil of St. Andrew the Apostle, 
 a.d. 1386, and was buried within the entrance before the altar of St. Blase, under 
 a marble slab, decently adorned, that bore a long epitaph which is given by 
 Sporley in the MS. from which these details are taken, (MS. Cott. Claud. A. viii., 
 ff. 63, 63 b, 64). 
 
THE JERUSALEM CHAMBER. 
 
 PLATE XXXIV. 
 
 Plan of the Abbot’s House, now the Deanery (D), the Scholars’ Hall (A), 
 and Kitchen (C), and the Jerusalem Chamber (B). 
 
The Jerusalem Chamber. 
 
 21 7 
 
 The earliest historical reference to this chamber is probably 
 in the account of the death of Henry IY., in the Continuatio 
 Historic Croylandensis, where it is said that the King, relying 
 upon a deceptive prophecy, proposed to set out for the Holy 
 City of Jerusalem ; but, falling into mortal sickness, died at 
 Westminster, in a certain chamber called of old time Jerusalem, 
 and so fulfilled the vain prediction d . Fabyan, one of the most 
 valuable of our old English chroniclers, gives us a very curious 
 and minute account of this interesting circumstance. He is 
 recording the events of the fourteenth year of Henry’s reign, 
 and thus describes its sudden termination : — 
 
 “ In this year, and 20th day of the month of November, was a great 
 council holden at the White Friars of London, by which it was among 
 other things concluded that, for the King’s great journey, that he in- 
 tended for to take in visiting of the Holy Sepulchre of our Lord, 
 certain galleys of war should be made, and other purveyance con- 
 cerning the same journey. Whereupon all hasty and possible speed 
 was made ; but after the feast of Christenmasse, while he was making 
 his prayers at S. Edward’s shrine, to take there his leave, and so speed 
 him upon his journey, he became so sick that such as were about him 
 feared that he would have died right there. Wherefore they for 
 his comfort bare him into the abbot’s place and lodged him in a chamber, 
 and there upon a pallet laid him before the fire, where he laid in great 
 agony a certain time. At length, when he was comen to himself, not 
 knowing where he was, he freyned [asked] of such as then were about 
 him, what place that was ; the which showed to him that it belonged 
 unto the Abbot of Westminster, and for he felt himself so sick he com- 
 manded to ask if that chamber had any special name, whereunto it was 
 answered that it was named Jerusalem. Then said the King, ‘ Loving 
 be to the Father of Heaven ; for now I know that I shall die in this 
 chamber, according to the prophecy of me before said, that I should 
 die in Jerusalem.’ And so after he made himself ready and died 
 shortly after 6 .” 
 
 The account of what may be considered the most interesting 
 occurrence connected with this chamber would hardly be con- 
 sidered complete without some reference to the scene of our 
 great dramatist, although it varies from the authentic narrative, 
 
 d Her. Angl. Scr. Vet., Oxon. 1684, tom. i. p. 499. 
 e Fabyan’s Chronicle, ed. 1559, pp. 388, 389. 
 n n 
 
2 i 8 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 in his play of “ Henry IV.” The dying King inquires, as 
 though half-expectant of the answer, — 
 
 “ Doth any name particular belong 
 Unto the lodging where I first did swoon ?” 
 
 The Earl of Warwick answers : — 
 
 “ ’Tis called Jerusalem, my noble lord.” 
 
 And the King replies : — 
 
 “ Laud be to God ! Even there my life must end. 
 
 It hath been prophesied to me many years, 
 
 I should not die but in Jerusalem ; 
 
 Which vainly I supposed the Holy Land. 
 
 But bear me to that chamber ; there I’ll lie ; 
 
 In that Jerusalem shall Harry die f .” 
 
 There is an ancient tradition that Edward V. was horn in 
 this room, and baptized here shortly after his birth by the 
 Abbot of Westminster. 
 
 We have no mention of any use made of the chamber for 
 a long time subsequent to this occurrence. In the year 1624, 
 John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln and Dean of Westminster, 
 entertained the French ambassador here with great splendour 
 and at considerable cost. And it is probable that the archi- 
 tectural peculiarities of the room, as we now see them, which 
 are of the period of James I., the alterations in the fireplace, 
 before which, according to the chronicler already quoted, the 
 couch of the dying King was laid, the ceiling, and the armorial 
 bearings in the north window, were the work of this dignitary. 
 In March, 1640-1, an assistant or sub-committee of about twenty 
 individuals, partly Episcopal and partly Presbyterian, was ap- 
 pointed to prepare matters for the cognisance of the superior 
 committee, established to examine into “ innovations in matters 
 of religion.” The afore-mentioned Bishop Williams was chosen 
 to preside over both assemblies, and the sub-committee held for 
 awhile its meetings in this chamber. The violent behaviour of 
 the Presbyterian faction in the House of Commons wholly pre- 
 vented any good that might have resulted from these delibera- 
 tions, and the sittings were soon and abruptly terminated. In 
 f Second Part of “ Henry IV./' Act iv. sc. 4. 
 
The J erusalem Chamber. 
 
 219 
 
 later times tlie chamber has been used for the custody of the 
 regalia during the night before a coronation. The abbots were 
 the official keepers of these insignia of royalty, a privilege which 
 is thus in some degree exercised by their modern representatives. 
 The room is also used for the sittings of Convocation, and for 
 the meetings of the Dean and Chapter. 
 
 The painted glass in the north window is much more ancient 
 than any portion of the edifice in which it now finds a place. 
 There was probably a Jerusalem Chamber in this church as 
 erected by Henry III., for the “ Continuator” already quoted 
 speaks of one so called 11 ab antiquo and these may have been 
 among its ornamental accessories. The costume of the figures 
 bears out this supposition. The first Jerusalem Chamber was, 
 as I suppose, furnished with decorations from subjects in the 
 Gospel narrative painted upon its walls, and hence obtained its 
 characteristic title. And by means of these and other adorn- 
 ments the windows themselves were made to harmonize with 
 the rest of the structure, and to play their part in the general 
 design s . The tapestry is of the time of Henry YIII., with the 
 exception of one piece, which is of the period of the first J ames, 
 and is very similar to the well-known examples in the Great 
 Hall at Hampton Court Palace. The portrait of Diehard II., 
 now suspended on the south wall, is one of the most interesting 
 of its class. It was formerly in the choir, where it seems to 
 have been in danger from coming in too close a contiguity with 
 the backs and heads of divers Lord Chancellors and others who 
 occupied the stall behind which it was placed. DarCs descrip- 
 tion of it in its then condition is valuable, as it was written 
 before the renovations to which it has since been subjected : — 
 
 “ On the south side of the choir, by the pulpit,” he says, “is ail 
 ancient painting of that unhappy beautiful prince, ltichard ij., sitting 
 
 s The subjects of the painted glass are : — 1. The Slaughter of the Innocents. 
 2. The Stoning of St. Stephen. 3. The Last Judgment. 4. The Descent of the 
 Holy Ghost. 5. The Ascension. 6. St. Peter walking on the Sea. 7. Beheading 
 of St. John the Baptist. 8. A mutilated shield of later execution, bearing the 
 arms of Bishop Williams, the arms of the see of Lincoln, and those of the deanery 
 of Westminster. All these are more or less patched, and the heads of the seven 
 Scriptural subjects are filled up with blue glass of the period of James 1. Many 
 of the figures have also received sundry renovations within the last few years. 
 
220 
 
 Gleanings from Westminster A bbey . 
 
 in a chair of gold, dressed in a vest of green flowered with flowers of 
 gold and the initial letters of his name, having on shoes of gold 
 powdered with pearls, the whole robed in crimson lined with ermine, 
 and the shoulders spread with the same, fastened under a collar of gold ; 
 the panel plastered and gilt with several crosses and flowers of gold em- 
 bossed. The length of the picture is 6 foot and 11 inches, and the 
 breadth 3 foot 7 inches h .” 
 
 Such is the famous Jerusalem Chamber, of which it may be 
 said, great as the commendation is, that for historical associa- 
 tions and artistic accessories it is second in interest only to the 
 venerable Abbey with which it has been so long and so in- 
 timately connected. 
 
 T. H. 
 
THE ABBOT OF WESTMINSTER’S HOUSE. 
 
 [The following extract from the Patent Polls, communicated 
 to us by Mr. Corner, although of somewhat later date, forms an 
 appropriate conclusion to our sketch of the history of the 
 Abbey buildings. The notes were supplied by the Bev. 
 Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, F.B.S.L., F.S.A.] 
 
 By letters patent of Jan. 20, 32 Henry VIII. [a.d. 1541], 
 whereby the King endowed his newly-erected see of West- 
 minster with manors, lands, tenements, and advowsons in Essex, 
 Berks., Yorkshire, Bucks., Gloucestershire, Herts., Hunts., Lin- 
 colnshire, and Northamptonshire ; he also granted to Thomas a . 
 Bishop of Westminster, and his successors for ever b , all the 
 
 a Thomas Thirleby, the first and only Bishop of Westminster; consecrated Dec* 
 19, 1540, translated to Norwich 1550, and to Ely 1554. He was compelled to 
 resign the see on March 29, 1550. By charter dated at Croydon, Sept. 7, 1556, 
 Queen Mary reinstated the monks and appointed John Feckenham abbot; but on 
 July 12, 1559, he was deposed by Queen Elizabeth, who refounded the Abbey as 
 a Collegiate Church, on May 21, 1560. The day, probably, is not far distant when 
 a Bishop of Westminster may again be consecrated, to relieve the Bishop of London 
 of a considerable portion of his extensive diocese. 
 
 b He had, however, no successors, and after the abolition of the bishopric of 
 Westminster, the bishop’s palace, or abbot’s house, was divided, a part only being 
 assigned to the deanery : this consisted of the eastern wing, with a room over the 
 west walk of the cloister. The abbot’s hall and kitchen, which formed the west 
 wing of the house, were assigned to the use of the scholars of the King’s School, 
 founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1560. The building at the north side of the abbot’s 
 court, in which was the solar, upper chamber, or withdrawing-room of the abbot’s 
 house, called the Jerusalem Chamber, (see Plate XXXIV.,) was assigned to the use 
 of the Convocation of the Clergy, a purpose for which it is very inadequate. On 
 April 17, 1640, Convocation met in Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, ( Lathbury , Hist, of 
 Conv., p. 221,) and again in 1700, though the Archbishop had fixed the Jerusalem 
 Chamber for the place of meeting, (Ibid., p. 285). A similar story to that of the 
 death of Henry IV. in “Jerusalem,” is related of Pope Sylvester III. in the 
 Eulogium Historiarum, vol. i. pp. 256, 257. Thomas de Elmham, the contem- 
 porary of Henry IV., when relating the story of the King’s death, calls the 
 chamber “Bethlehem” : — 
 
 “Ficta propbeteia sonuit quam vivus habebat, 
 
 Quod sibi Sancta fuit Terra lucranda cruce ; 
 
 Improvisa sibi Sacra Terra datur, nescius bospes ! 
 
 In Betblem camera Westque Monasterio.” 
 
 Wright's Folit. Songs, ii. 122. 
 
 There was a church of Bethlehem in France, near Nevers. 
 
222 Gleanings from Westminster Abbey. 
 
 site and circuit of the mansion-house and dwelling commonly 
 called “ Chenygats c ,” wherein William [Boston or Benson], 
 late abbot of the late monastery of Westminster, inhabited, to- 
 gether with all buildings, houses, and ground within the said 
 site, &c., with the gardens and orchards thereto adjoining : in 
 which said site or circuit is a certain tower, situate and bein^ 
 at the entrance of the said dwelling d ; which said tower contains 
 in length, from the east end abutting on the cloister of the said 
 late monastery to the west end abutting upon the “ Elmes e ,” 
 by estimation 67 feet ; and in breadth at the west end, from 
 the north side to the south side, by estimation 24 feet 2 inches : 
 and another building and house, with a garden and ground 
 adjoining, containing by estimation, from the aforesaid tower to 
 the church of the said late monastery, in width, at the east end 
 abutting on the cloister of the said late monastery, 124 feet ; 
 and in width, at the west end abutting towards the house of the 
 poor, called “The Kyng’s Almeshouse f ,” 170 feet; and in 
 length, on the north side abutting on the church of the said 
 late monastery and upon the King’s street called “ The Brode 
 
 c So called from the practice of fixing a chain across the gate which formed the 
 entrance to the cloisters. There is a chain now drawn across the entrance of 
 Dean’s Yard, St. Paul’s : the chain-gate still remains at Wells, and the Cheyney 
 Court at Winchester ; and there was a chain gate forming the entrance to St. Mary 
 Overy’s, from the High-street, Southwark. 
 
 d The groined vault of the basement of this tower is still perfect, and has small 
 openings in it, according to the custom in castles of the same] period, (the end of 
 the fourteenth century,) probably for the purpose of pouring down water upon any 
 fagots that might be collected there by an attacking party with the intention of 
 setting the gate on fire ; thus shewing that the precincts of the Abbey were fortified. 
 e “ The Elms,” now called Dean’s Yard. 
 
 f “ The Almonry was on the south-east side of the Broad Sanctuary, and was 
 divided into the Great Almonry, which comprised two parts, consisting of two 
 oblong portions parallel to the Tothill streets, and connected by a narrow lane, the 
 entrance being from Dean’s Yard ; and the Little Almonry, running southwards at 
 the end of the Great Almonry. At the lower end was St. Anne’s Chapel, which in 
 1576 was used as a storehouse by St. Margaret’s Parish ; opposite to it were alms- 
 houses founded by the Lady Margaret, mother of King Henry VII., for poor 
 women. To the north of the Almonry, and on the south side of the gate-house, 
 was an almshouse founded by Henry VII., for thirteen poor men.” — ( Walcott’s 
 Westminster , pp. 89, 273, 278, 280.) Dart, in his Westminster Abbey, p. 66, 
 mentions that the Duke of Somerset pulled up “ the orchard ” of the convent ; 
 the site is commemorated in the present Orchard-street. 
 
The Abbot's House . 
 
 223 
 
 Sentwarye g ,” 258 feet, and on the south side abutting on “The 
 Elmes,” 239 feet. And also the fourth part of all the great 
 cloister of the said late monastery, with the buildings situate 
 and being above the same, which said fourth part is contiguous 
 and next adjoining to the same mansion-house and dwelling in 
 Westminster aforesaid : and all that building and house called 
 “ The Calbege 11 ” and “The Blackestole” there, which contains 
 
 s Now called <f The Broad Sanctuary/’ 
 
 h Calbege ? from calle, a ‘ coif/ or ‘ cowl/ and bege, e big / words given by Mr. 
 Halliwell. Ducange says that colobium, (v. Calabum ,) from which our word 
 f cowl’ is derived, is “ cucullus ille sive superhumerale quo induuntur servientes ad 
 legem in Anglia/’ and Honorius defines colobium “ cucullata vestis /’ it was the 
 proper dress of a monk. The suggestion receives some likelihood from the name 
 of the adjacent Black Stole tower. The name, however, may refer to the rotatory 
 chimney -top which was in use in the sixteenth century, and is mentioned by Sir 
 I. Harington in his Metamorphoses of Ajax, written at the close of that period. — 
 {Britton’s Arch. Diet., p. 101.) 
 
 In illustration of the word calbege, may be mentioned the following curious or 
 personal names of domestic buildings, &c. : — “ Hie (scil. Johannes Ipstoke) durn 
 esset elemosinarius fecit altum aedificium in foro videlicet G-arejfes.” — {Abb. de 
 Burton, Mon. Anglic., p. 274, 2nd Edit.) (Item dedit le Belhouse orchard .) 
 Cir. 1430-2: “Inceptum fuit opus lapideum fontis in foro juxta le Garretts.” — 
 {Ibid., p. 275.) 
 
 At St. Edmund’s Bury, Richard of Colchester, sacristan, “Fecit novam aulam 
 quae dicitur Spane ad recreationem conventus.” — {Ibid., p. 301.) Dominus de 
 Newport, sacristan of Bury, “ Magnam campanam in majori campanario quae dicitur 
 Newport fieri fecit.” — ( Ibid .) At Peterborough there was “ magna turris lapidea, 
 vocatathe Knyghte’s Chamber/’ besides agate called “Bulhithe,” “porta vocata Le 
 Hevyn Gates,” and “portae vocatae le Redde Gates.” {Monasticon, i. 402.) At 
 Glastonbury there was “ a chamber called paradyse,” besides others called “ the red,” 
 “the broad,” “ Paulett’s,” &c. {Collinson’s Somerset, ii. 260, 261.) Britton men- 
 tions a tower called Le Camba de Berbegal, c. 1298. — {Arch. Diet., p. 53.) 
 
 1505. In the inventory of Hales Owen Abbey, we find these entries : — “ In the 
 Caleys, iii. mattrass, &c . ; in the Ostre [at Rochester mention is frequently made 
 of Ostripanes — Custum. Boffense, p. 25] in the Steward cliambre, a fedir bede, 
 &c. ; in Botulph’s chambre, a fedyer bede, &c.” — Nash’s Worcestershire, vol. ii., 
 App., p. xxii. b. There is a Callis Court in the Isle of Thanet, {Masted’s Kent, 
 vol. iv. p. 360;) Caleys Lands, and Callis Court, in Kent, {Ibid. 204, 708,) and 
 a Caleys at Oakham. York-street, Westminster, was formerly called “ Petit 
 Caleys,” from being the residence of the woolstaplers. A derivation of Callis has 
 been made from calcetum, ‘ a causeway.’ At Stamford, Oakham, &c., however, it is 
 the local name for an almshouse, possibly denoting the bedehouse erected for de- 
 cayed woolstaplers of Calais. In a conveyance by John Islip, Abbot of Westminster, 
 to Henry VIII., “ Pety Caleys” is said to be “ a certain great messuage or tene- 
 ment commonly called Pety Caleys, and all messuages, houses, barns, stables. 
 
224 
 
 Gleanings from W estminster A bbcy. 
 
 in length, from the north end abutting on the aforesaid tower, 
 to the south end abutting on the tower called “ The Blackstole 
 Tower by estimation 88 feet : and all buildings, land, and 
 ground being within the aforesaid edifices called “The Calbege ,, 
 and “ The Blackstole” on the north part, and the buildings and 
 houses called “The Frayter Misericorde k ,” and the great con- 
 ventual kitchen called the great Convent Kitchen l , on the east 
 part. And also all that other great stone tower in Westminster 
 aforesaid, situate and being in a certain place commonly called 
 “The Oxehall” 1 :” and the houses and buildings there being 
 and situate there between the great ditch called the Milldam on 
 the south part, and the aforesaid barn on the north part : and 
 all other buildings, houses, gardens, land, and ground there 
 situate, lying and being between the said barn and between the 
 said houses and buildings on the west part, and the said great 
 
 doveliouses, orchards, gardens, ponds, fisheries, waters, ditches, lands, meadows and 
 pastures, with all and singular appurtenances in any manner belonging to the said 
 great messuage, &c.” — (Trial, Burrell v. Nicholson, p. 45.) 
 
 * There is still a tower over the entrance into Little Dean’s Yard, which may 
 have been the Blackstole tower ; in this case the calbege would have stood between 
 it and the porter’s gateway-tower, and the building which occupies that position 
 retains its ancient walls. The king’s wardrobe in the reign of Edward VI. was 
 kept in the massive jewel-tower, now at the end of the college mews, having been 
 given to King Ed ward III., with a small close, by the abbot in 1377. Litlington’s 
 tower was used as a belfry in 1708, for in Hatton’s New View it is spoken of as 
 “ a small tower, in which are six bells to ring in peal.” The door and doorcase in 
 it were brought from the Star-chamber by a late occupant, Mr. R. Clarke. 
 
 k The monks’ hall in a monastery, in which the brethren ate and drank the 
 misericord — an indulgence or extra allowance over and above the regulation-fare — 
 by permission of the abbot. It was distinct from the common refectory. There 
 was a misericord at Tewksbury. (Willis, Mitred Abbeys, i. 182.) 
 
 1 This was at the west end of the great ball or refectory, between it and the 
 present porter’s lodge. 
 
 m “ The oxehall, which is mentioned in connection with the great barn and the 
 milldam, was no doubt the stable for stalling the oxen in the outer or base court 
 of the abbey. There was an ‘ ox house’ at Tewksbury Abbey, among the out- 
 buildings. (Willis, Mitred Abbeys, i. 182.) A parish of the name of Oxenhall 
 (before Domesday Survey, Horsenhall), and another called Oxinton, or Oxendon, 
 ‘ from the number of oxen kept there,’ are mentioned in Atkyns’ ‘ Gloucestershire,’ 
 pp. 311, 312 : there is another place of the same name in Northamptonshire ; and 
 a place called Oxenhall, or Oxney field, occurs in Raine’s ‘ Durham,’ iii. 397, in 
 which the tenant was bound to carry to the bishop ‘ wine with a wain of four 
 oxen.’ Oxinhale occurs among the estates of the Hospitallers.” (The Knights 
 Hospitallers in Kngland, Camd. Soc. Fubl., p. 30.) 
 
THE PRECINCTS. 
 
 PLATE XXXV. 
 
 I 
 
 A Abbey Church. 
 
 B IAtlington's Bell Tower. 
 
 C Cloister. 
 
 D St. Margaret's Church. 
 
 E Tower , over the entrance to Little Bean', 
 Yard. 
 
 F Granary and Brewhouses. 
 
 G Gatehouse. 
 
 H Broad Sanctuary. 
 
 I Gate to Palace Yard. 
 K Almonry. 
 
 L Orchard. 
 
 M Stream of water. 
 
 Plan of the Precincts of Westminster Abbey, from a Map of Westminster, undated, but probably 
 of the time of Queen Elizabeth, in the possession of the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott. 
 
 O O 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Abbot’s House . 
 
 225 
 
 tower called “ The Long Granarye 11 ” on the east part, and be- 
 tween the buildings and houses called “ The Bruehouse” and 
 “ The Backehouse” of the said late monastery on the north part 
 and the aforesaid great ditch called “The Milldam” on the 
 south part. 
 
 n In June, 1815, opposite to the house now occupied by Dr. Cureton, consider- 
 able portions of the granary, built c. 1380, which had been used as the scholars 
 dormitory, ( Willis , Mitred Abbeys, i. 205), were discovered; at right angles ran 
 the brewhouse and the bakehouse. The granary, elevated on a substructure, had 
 a large central tower and a line of fine windows in two stories. A view is given 
 in “Gent. Mag.,” Sept., 1815, pi. i. p. 201. The foundations of the present dor- 
 mitory were laid “7. Kal. Maii. mdccxxii.” The large double gate-house which 
 stood at the entrance of Tothill-street is drawn in “ Gent. Mag.,” March, 1836. 
 The Convent Garden (now vulgarised into Covent Garden) with the abbot’s lands 
 called “ the Elms,” the “ Long Acre,” and “ the Seven Acres,” were granted at 
 the dissolution to the Protector Somerset. 
 
THE JEWEL-HOUSE. 
 
 Plan of the Jewel-house, with the groining of the basement. 
 
 Few persons are aware that the King’s Jewel-house, built in 
 the time of Richard II., is still standing. The walls are per- 
 fect, even to the parapets, and the original doorways remain, 
 their heads being of the form called the shouldered arch, so 
 much used in domestic work throughout the Middle Ages, from 
 the twelfth century to the fifteenth. The interior has been en- 
 tirely altered to fit it up for a Public Record Office, and it is still 
 the depository of the records of the House of Lords. A modern 
 vault has been introduced over the first-floor room, probably as 
 a security against fire, this room having had originally a wooden 
 ceiling ; but fortunately, the ground rooms having long been 
 used for a kitchen and offices, and being below the level of the 
 present street, have been preserved intact, with their original 
 groined vaults, with moulded ribs and carved bosses, evidently 
 a part of the same work as the cloisters and other vaulted sub- 
 structures of Abbot Litlington. 
 
 This tower is situated to the south of the chapter-house, and 
 
THE JEWEL-HOUSE, 
 
 PLATE XXXVI, 
 

 
 
 
The Jewel-house. 
 
 227 
 
 at the back of the houses in Old Palace Yard : the entrance 
 being through a Government office, admittance is commonly re- 
 fused, but the antiquary who wishes to explore these remains 
 may do so by explaining that the part he wishes to see is the 
 basement or kitchen occupied by Mrs. Yincent, the housekeeper, 
 and that he does not wish to go into the Record tower itself ; 
 in which there is nothing for him to see, so far as the archi- 
 tecture is concerned, all vestiges of antiquity having been care- 
 fully destroyed. The following extracts from Widmore give the 
 history of this building, or at least the purchase of the ground, 
 and there is no doubt that it was built or rebuilt immediately. 
 
 From Widmore' s Enquiry, Sfc., 4to., 1473. 
 
 “In the last year of King Edward III., an exchange was made be- 
 tween that prince and the convent ; the King had from them a part, 
 either of a tower, which was afterward the King’s Jewel-house, and 
 is at present the Parliament- office, or else the ground on which this 
 building stands : I have given the authority for this because there 
 may be some doubt as to the meaning of the writer ; but the place is 
 so particularly described, that I think there can be no question con- 
 cerning that. The church had no lands in return for this, but only 
 which yet might possibly be as agreeable to them, a licence to purchase 
 in mortmain forty pounds a year.” 
 
 From Niger Quaternus,fol . 79. 
 
 “Anno regni regis Edwardi tertii quinquagesimo primo, septimo die 
 Junii, idem dominus rex licentiam dedit abbati et conventui West- 
 monasterie perquirendi terras, tenementa et redditus ad valorem quad- 
 rigenta librarum per annum. Statuto, &c., ad manum mortuam, &c., 
 non obstanto. . . . Et hsec licentia concessa est pro magna parte cujus- 
 dam turris in angulo Palatii privati versus austrum una cum quadam 
 clausura juxta Turrim prsedictam ex parte occidentali infra clausum 
 abbatise et solum Sancti Petri domino regi concessum. . . . Erat autem 
 inter Turrim prsedictam et murum Infirm arii, ubi nunc est clausura 
 prsedicta, via pedestris et carectaria usque ad angulum turris,” &c. 
 
 The title of the writing is “Licentia regia data abbati Westm. 
 perquirende terras et tenementa ad valorem 40Z. pro parte Turris 
 Yocatse le Jewel-house,” &c. 
 
MODERN BUILDINGS. 
 
 [ Communicated by the Rev. Mackenzie F. C. Walcott, M.A., F.R.S.L . , F.S.A.~\ 
 
 Ashburnham House was in 1708 the residence of Lord 
 Ashburnham. Considerable portions remain in it which were 
 built by Inigo Jones, and were illustrated by Sir J. Soane. In 
 1712 the Cottonian Library was removed hither to a gallery 
 within the King’s library, and adjoining the south cloister. In 
 the disastrous fire of 1731, a large number of MSS. were re- 
 moved to “ the large boarding-house opposite,” and Dr. Friend 
 used to relate with glee that Dr. Bentley, the King’s librarian, 
 sallied out in his night-shirt and a flowing wig with the Alex- 
 andrian MS. under his arm. Camden the antiquary lodged in 
 “ the Gate-house near the Queen’s Scholars’ chambers.” The 
 “ Terrace” was begun after the year 1815. 
 
 The Sanctuary Church is described in Archceologia, i. 35, 
 and Entick’s “ Maitland’s London,” ii. 1343. Hear its site the 
 present Guildhall was built in 1805, on the foundations of the 
 old belfry-tower. (Widmore, p. 11.) The old Guildhall stood 
 on the west side of King- street, about fifty feet to the south of 
 Great George-street ; an ancient painting representing it — 
 perhaps the gift of a Duke of Northumberland — was transferred 
 to the walls of the present Sessions House. 
 
 At the entrance of the Little Sanctuary, in the early part of 
 the last century, a groined cellar was discovered near some re- 
 mains of a stone gateway ; it was probably a portion of the 
 house of the porter. The entrance-gate from the Sanctuary 
 into King-street was removed before the year 1708. The gate- 
 house with its double gates at the west entrance of the Abbey 
 was built by W. de Warfield, cellarer, in the reign of Edward 
 III. ; on the east side was the Bishop of London’s prison for 
 clerks convict; and over the south gate leading into Dean’s 
 
Modern Buildings. 229 
 
 Yard was the prison for debtors and State criminals. Dr. 
 Johnson longed to see its demolition, as it was “a disgrace to 
 the present magnificence of the capital, and a continual nuisance 
 to neighbours and passengers.” In 1776 it was destroyed. 
 
 The names of Yine-street and Bowling-street recall the vine- 
 yard and bowling-alley of the monastery. In the overseers’ 
 books of St. Margaret’s for the year 1565, “ the Yyne garden” 
 and the “ Myll next to Bowling Abbey” are duly rated. The 
 site of Black Dog Alley was Abbot Benson’s garden ; and the 
 Hostelry garden extended over the ground which lay between 
 the bowling-green and the river bank. In the register-book of 
 the treasurer of the Abbey, this entry occurs under the year 
 1733 : — “ Hostry Gardens, with the houses thereupon built. 
 Bent, 10/. 13$. 4 d. } and four capons or 12 shillings.” Great 
 College - street was long called the “Dead Wall,” owing to 
 the houses fronting the wall of the infirmary garden built 
 by Abbot Litlington. 
 
 The formation of the present Dean’s Yard is first mentioned 
 in a petition of the churchwardens, vestrymen, and other in- 
 habitants of the united parishes of St. Margaret and St. John, 
 presented March 5, 1753, to the House of Commons, which 
 states that “ a Bill was pending to enable the Rev. W. Mark- 
 ham, D.C.L., Thomas Salter, Esq., and others, to build houses 
 and open a square in and upon a certain piece of ground called 
 Dean’s Yard, Westminster, and certain pieces of ground con- 
 tiguous thereto.” {Walcott’s Hist, of St. Margaret’ s, p. 99.) 
 Dr. Markham, afterwards Archbishop of York, was head master 
 of Westminster School from 1753 to 1764. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 FABRIC ROLL OF 1253, 
 
 WITH EXPLANATIONS BY PROFESSOR WILLIS. 
 
 Among the records deposited in the Public Record Office, one has 
 been lately discovered by Mr. Pnrtt, entitled “ A Roll of Payments of 
 Wages, and of Purchases for the Works at Westminster, 37 Henry III.” 
 
 It contains the entire accounts of the building works during thirty- 
 two continuous weeks, beginning with the first week after Easter, 
 which in that year, 1253, fell on April 20 ; consequently the works in 
 question began on Monday, April 28, and the last week of the roll 
 ended with Saturday, December 6. The account for each week is 
 complete in itself, hut no day of the month is mentioned, neither are 
 the weeks numbered continuously, although for convenience I shall 
 designate them as if they had been, and have accordingly added con- 
 secutive numbers in parentheses to these weeks in the complete copy 
 of the Roll below. 
 
 The first six weeks are indicated as first, second, &c., after Easter 
 (Ebd’ prima post Pasch’ . . .) The seventh week was Whitsun week, 
 and was evidently kept as a holiday, but is not mentioned in the roll ; 
 the week next following the sixth after Easter, being termed the first 
 after Pentecost, is thus actually the eighth week from the beginning of 
 the account roll. This enumeration continues to the fifteenth week, 
 which is termed the eighth after Pentecost. The sixteenth week begins 
 anew series, termed the first, second, &c., “after the agreement for 
 wages for eight weeks,” (Ebd’ prima post pacacione a stipendior’ pro 
 viii t0 Ebd’.) This enumeration continues through twelve weeks, and 
 carries us to the end of the twenty-seventh week of the roll. The 
 twenty-eighth is termed the first week after the feast of All Saints, and 
 the succeeding the second, third, &c., concluding with the “ Ebdomada 
 v ta ,” or thirty-second week of the whole, which closes the account. 
 
 At the head of each week one or more saints’ days are sometimes 
 
 * Pacatio .... pactum, conventio. — Ducange. 
 
232 Appendix.' 
 
 mentioned in a peculiar manner. Thus, to begin, the complete title of 
 the first week is, — 
 
 “Ebd’ prima post Pasch’ continente festum Apostol. Philip’ et Jacobi p’ die’ Jovis 
 quod est d’ni Regis et festu’ Inventionis S ce Crucis p’ die’ Sab’ quod est cem’tar’.” 
 
 ‘First week after Easter, containing the feast of the Apostles Philip 
 and James on Thursday, which belongs to the King, and the feast of 
 the Invention of the Cross on Saturday, which belongs to the masons.’ 
 The second week is similarly said to “contain the feast of St. John ante 
 portam Latinam on Tuesday, which belongs to the King;” and the 
 third week is “sine festo.” Thus throughout the roll feasts occur, 
 sometimes two in a week, but generally only one. Fourteen of the 
 weeks have none. Whatever feasts are mentioned, however, are 
 assigned alternately to the King and to the masons. The only inter- 
 mission of this rule is in the twenty-seventh week, where the feast of 
 SS. Simon and Jude ought to have been given to the masons, but is 
 assigned to the King, apparently because of the fact stated in the title 
 of the week, that it is the first day of his regnal year b . 
 
 It may he presumed, therefore, that the feast-days thus assigned to 
 the masons were kept as a holiday, and that they worked on the feasts 
 assigned to the King, who in this roll is the employer of the masons. 
 
 I am not aware that this curious custom has been noticed by any 
 previous writer. I have set down in the note below the list of the 
 saints’ days selected c . It is probable that in other years some other 
 principal saints would have been also included which happen in this 
 year to fall on a Sunday. 
 
 Having now discussed the titles to shew the mode of designating the 
 weeks, we may examine the accounts themselves. They are placed, 
 for every week, under two heads, the wages and the purchases, or 
 emptiones. The sum of each of these is separately stated, as well as 
 the total. The nature of these payments will be best understood by 
 giving a translation of one week complete ; for, generally speaking, the 
 workmen, the materials, and other items recur nearly in the same order 
 
 b This is the title of the twenty-seventh week : — “ Ebd’ xij a contin’ festu’ Apo- 
 stolor’ Sim’ et Jude quod est dni’ Regis anno Regni Regis Henr’ xxxviij™ inci- 
 piente et festu’ o’ium S’cor’ p’ die Sab’ quod est cem’t. . . 
 
 c List of the feast-days assigned alternately to the King and the masons, and 
 marked R and C accordingly: “Philip and James, R; Inven. S. Crucis, C; John 
 ad port. Lat., R ; Ascension, C ; John Bapt., R ; Thom. Mart., C ; Magdalen, R - 
 James, C ; Pet. ad vine., R; Assumpt., C ; Decollatio, R ; Nativ. B.M., C ; Michael, 
 R ■ Trans, b. Edw., C ; Luke, R; Sim. and Jude, R; Omn. S’co’m, C ; Martin, R ; 
 Edmund, C ; Katerina, R ; Nicholas, C.” 
 
Fabric Roll of 1253. 
 
 2 33 
 
 in every week. There is a great advantage in this ; for as the same 
 terms are repeated, it happens that in some cases they are written more 
 at length than in others, or spelled in a more intelligible manner, and 
 thus the collation of so many examples of the same word greatly assists 
 the interpretation of the unusual or technical expressions. 
 
 “Second week after Easter, containing on Tuesday the feast of St. John ante 
 portara Latinam, which belongs to the King : — 
 
 “To wages of 49 cutters of white stone, 15 marblers, 26 stonelayers, 32 car- 
 penters with John and his partner at St. Albans, two painters with an assistant, 
 13 polishers, 19 smiths, 14 glaziers with four plumbers, 15 n 10 s l d . [This will give 
 an average of Is. 10 d. per week.] 
 
 “ To wages of 176 inferior workmen with overseers and clerks, and two two-horse 
 carts daily, 9 1 17 s 2 d . [About 9d. a week.] 
 
 “ Sum of wages, 25 1 7 s 3 d . 
 
 “ Emptions. — To Master Albericus for arrears of form-jpieces .... 66 s ; 53 feet 
 of parpents, 4 d per foot; 59 feet of voussoirs with fillets at 3 d per foot; 1,221^ feet 
 at 3 d per foot ; .... 50 assises at 5 d each assise ; 42 chamberands ; 22 feet of 
 maignans ; 243 feet cerches ; 9 feet of bosses ; and seven steps, cut by taskwork, 
 7 1 13 s l d . 
 
 “Item, for 9 capitals, 68 feet of escus, 1,591 feet of cerches, 54 s 4 d . 
 
 “ Item, for 25 hundred and a-half quartern of chalk for the vaults, 8 s 7 d .” 
 
 “ Item, for 22 hundred and 3 quarterns of freestone, 6 1 16 s 6 d . To Roger of 
 Reygate for 8 hundred and a quartern of freestone, 53 s 7| d . To Richard the lime- 
 burner for 3 hundred of lime, 15 s . To Agnes for two hundred and a half of lime, 
 12 s 6 d . To Richard of Eastcheap for 2 dozen hurdles or crates d with poles, 9 s 7 d . 
 To Richard Oggel for 5 dozen hurdles with poles, 12 s 6 d . To Henry of the bridge 
 for iron nails and whetstones e , 19 s 8 d . To Benedict for carriage, porterage, and 
 weighing of 23 cartloads of lead, 9 s 4 d . To Richard for litter*, 18 d . 
 
 “Sum total of emptions, 27 1 12 s 10| d . 
 
 “ Sum total of the week, 53 1 and li d .” 
 
 This week may be taken as a fair specimen of the whole. The first 
 part informs us of the number of workmen of each kind that were 
 
 d In the Westminster Rolls (printed by Smith, Antiq. of Westminster, p. 182, 
 and Brayley and Britton, Hist, of Houses of Parliament, pp. 151, 153), “ Hurdles 
 for the scaffolds of St. Stephen’s Chapel” occur 4 Ed. II I., &c., with beams, and 
 poles, and “leather thongs to tie the said beams and hurdles together.” The origi- 
 nal Latin is not generally given in these publications, but in one case Smith (or 
 rather Hawkins), p. 184, has “ twenty -four hurdles pro viis super dictam scaffot- 
 tam,” which explains the use of the hurdles to serve in lieu of the planks we now 
 employ. 
 
 e “ Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis ferri et gressiis,” xi xs. But in the previous week 
 we have “ Henr’ de Ponte p’ grese ad Martella acuenda.” Ducange gives “ gres- 
 SIUS, silex ; Gall, gres,” (i.e. sandstone or grit). The grese for sharpening the picAs 
 or stone-hammers is therefore, not the English word grease, as it might appear, but 
 a whetstone. 
 
 f “Literia, stramentum.” — -Ducange. 
 
2 34 
 
 A ppendix . 
 
 employed in daily labour; the second part gives the materials and 
 their carriage. The number of white stone-cutters was gradually in- 
 creased from 39 in the first three weeks to 78 in the fifteenth week, 
 and diminished again to 35 in the last weeks. The marblers, about 16 
 in the first eight weeks, were suddenly increased to 49 in the ninth 
 week, who remained at work till the eighteenth week, and then 
 were suddenly reduced to 31, and went on diminishing to 7. The 
 stone-layers vary from 35 to 4. The 32 carpenters working in 
 the first seven weeks are then reduced gradually to 9 only. The 
 polishers are about 15, and the smiths 18 throughout; and about 
 14 glaziers employed in the first ten weeks are suddenly reduced to 
 6 for a month, and then to 2 for the remainder of the time. The 
 inferior workmen vary from 220 to 37. The gross amounts are : 
 Stipends, 696?. 85. 7 d.: Emptions, 891?. 9 s. h\d . ; giving a total of 
 1,587?. 185. 0 Id. 
 
 Erom these particulars the nature of the work may be surmised ; 
 but, unfortunately, there are very few exact indications of the actual 
 buildings upon which the workmen were employed. The only evidences 
 of this kind that I have detected are the following, numbered to corre- 
 spond with the weeks in which they occur : (1), tables or planks for 
 the chambers of the king and queen ; (7), panels for the king’s bed, 
 and for a table in the scaccarium; (3), 100 tiles provided for the king’s 
 chapel; (15), task-work at entrance of the chapter-house, (It., p’ 
 tasch’ int°it s capituli 1. s.). From the 19th to the 26th and 31st weeks, 
 charges occur in nearly every week for nails for the church and 
 belfry; and in the 25th week Roger the Plumber is paid 10?., and hi. 
 13s. 4*?. for task-work at the belfry ( berefridam ). This was probably the 
 detached belfry of the Abbey church, which is known to have stood on 
 the north side, upon the site of the existing Sessions-house. 
 
 Stukeley gave drawings of it in th q Archceologica, vol. i. p. 39, under 
 the name of the Sanctuary , but states that it was still called the Belfry. 
 Stow relates that Edward III., about 1347, built to the use of St. 
 Stephen’s chapel, in the little sanctuary, a “chlochard” of stone and 
 timber covered with lead, &c. Widmore (History of Westminster 
 Abbey, p. 11) found it mentioned for the first time in a charter of 
 Edward I. (1290) : “It was then called the bellfrey and continued to 
 be used as such, or at least to go by that name till the present towers of 
 the church were built by Abbot Islip.” The roll we are now examin- 
 ing shews that it was in course of construction and apparently covered 
 with lead in 37 Hen. III. The building represented by Stukeley is 
 of stone and in two stories, of a form well adapted to serve as the sub- 
 
Fabric Roll of 1253 . 
 
 235 
 
 structure of a lofty timber* framed tower, similar to that of Salisbury 
 destroyed by Wyatt, but preserved to us in the drawings of Price. The 
 wooden tower had disappeared long before the time of Stow, and the 
 stone substructure was pulled down in 1750 to make way for a new 
 market-house. It bad been for a long while occupied as a cellar for 
 the Quakers’ Tavern in Thieving-lane. The market-house was in turn 
 pulled down about 1770, and the present Guildhall built as nearly as 
 possible upon the site of the old belfry. 
 
 In the second week Magister Albericus is paid for task-work of the 
 form-pieces , (“pro tascha formarum,”) that is, for window tracery , pro- 
 bably of the Abbey church, and also 6?. Os. 10^. in the twenty-fifth. 
 On the back of the roll it is recorded that on Tuesday of the fourth 
 week after Pentecost s, on the morrow of the blessed Thomas the 
 Martyr, Master Albericus with three associates began the task-work of 
 three windows. Also that on the Monday after “ ad vincula S* Petri,” 
 (that is to say, in the fifteenth week of the roll, ) two parcels of coloured 
 glass, valued at 12s. 2 d. a parcel, and two of white glass at 6s. each 
 parcel, were delivered to Master Henry to be employed in the task- 
 work of the windows, charging per foot wrought of coloured glass 8 d. } 
 and of white glass 4.d. 
 
 Another memorandum records that on Monday, the morrow of 
 St. Bartholomew, (August 25,) the work in the king’s quarry began. 
 
 Attached to the roll in the sixth week is a letter from Robert de 
 Bremele to Master John de Oxonia h , informing him that he has de- 
 spatched a boat-load of marble by William Justice, to whom five marcs 
 and a-half and ten shillings are to be paid for freight. He also pro- 
 mises to send another boat-load before Pentecost, and a third if he can 
 find a vessel to convey it. Similar letters are attached to the second 
 week and to the twenty-second. 
 
 The Eruptions in each week’s account include, in the first place, 
 pieces of free-stone cut by task-work into various shapes required for 
 doors, windows, arches, vaults, or other portions of the structure, and 
 made ready for setting. These are sometimes separately enumerated by 
 name, as in the second week above, and furnish very curious illustra- 
 tions of mediaeval nomenclature. But in the latter part of the roll 
 such pieces are all entered in the general form, “ In diversis modis 
 france petre ad tascham cisse,” 1 to various shapes of free-stone cut by 
 task-work,’ and similarly for marble. Next occur stones from the 
 
 £ i.e. the eleventh week of the roll. 
 
 h John of Oxford occurs in the Westminster Rolls published by Smith, p. 184, 
 5 Edw. III. 
 
236 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 quarries, probably in a rough state, or at least only fit for plain walling. 
 These are “Came stone’ ’ (Caen stone); “Reygate stone,” generally 
 from Roger de Reygate, and sometimes described as free- stone, “ franca 
 petra,” e.g. (8), “ Rog° de Reygate p’ v c and di f a nce pet% xxxy s. ix<£. 
 Grey stone, “petra grisea,” (6) and (10), “pro ii. navatis grise pet,” and 
 (9) and (10) chalk for the pendentia, — “creta ad pendentia,” the latter 
 being the term universally employed in mediaeval documentsfor the vaults 
 that rest upon the ribs. In (24) we have “ p’ marmore apud Cerne xviij u 
 xix s .” Beside these, other materials for building occur, as ( 1 ), “ mmcccc. 
 ferri tenacis de glovemia, iiii H xiij 8 ,” iron from Glocestershire, and as in 
 the specimen week inserted above (p. 233). In some of these entries 
 we obtain names of trades which are of unusual occurrence. Thus (6), 
 (21), and (12), “ Ade Merenemio pro bordis et lateis,” i.e. Merenemius, 
 a timber merchant, from Meremium. Ricardus Calfonarius the lime- 
 burner (from Calcifurnium or the Trench Chaufournier) occurs through- 
 out. In (4), (13), (25), Ricardus Cuparius *, or Cuvarius, the cooper, 
 from Cupa and Cuva ; in (1), Jacob Junctor , the joiner, for tables; and 
 in (6), “ Jacobo Junur p’ panell’ ad lectu d ni Regis jungendis,” &c. 
 
 The masons’ terms for shaped stones are for the most part the same 
 that I have discussed in my “Architectural Nomenclature 11 ,” in the 
 fifth edition of the “Oxford Glossary,” 1850, and elsewhere, but they 
 furnish a variety of spellings which are often instructive. I subjoin 
 a list of those which appear to require explanation. They are arranged 
 in alphabetical order, and the numbers in brackets prefixed to each 
 word indicate the weeks of the roll in which it occurs : — 
 
 (1,3, &c., &c.) Asselers , or ashlar stones. 
 
 (3) (2). “1. assists p’ assise v.d.” . . . (5). xxi. Essicis , — stones pre- 
 pared for coursed masonry, from the Trench assise. 
 
 (2) (3) (5). “ix. ped de bosseus . . . xxxiiij. ped de boseus,” — the 
 carved stones placed at the intersection of the ribs of vaults, which are 
 still called bosses , (vide “Arch. Nom.,” p. 43, and “Glossary”). They 
 were sometimes termed keys, or claves , of which the present roll has an 
 example in (6), “ ii. Clavibus et viij. Capitrel.” 
 
 (4) . “ . . . xli. busceir, p’ buscell iij d .” (7). “ p’ xi. busch’, xix 8 . 
 Will. Jacobo p’ cc and q a rt°n bush’, v s . vij d . ob.” (16). “ . . . q a rtn 
 busch ix d .” The first entry is in a list of stones shaped by task-work, 
 and I know no other instance of this use of the word. 
 
 But in another list of stones (3) we find “ xvi. ped et di et di’ q a rt r n. de 
 grossis rotundis ,” which seem, for want of technical name, to be simply 
 
 * This is given by Ducange. 
 
 k Vide “ Publications of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, vol. i., 1844.” 
 
Fabric Roll of 12 , 53 . 
 
 2 37 
 
 called great round stones; and in ( 2 ) “xxij. ped maignanz,” which 
 appear to be merely large stones (magnums), from the old French 
 maigne. It may he supposed in the same way that the “ bushel stones” 
 above were round stones, suitable for a column, which were so distin- 
 guished for the moment because they happened to he about the size and 
 shape of a bushel measure, (about eighteen inches across and eight 
 inches thick). 
 
 The other two examples of the word bushel are at the end of the 
 Emptions, amongst hurdles, “bokettes,” &c., and are probably bushel 
 baskets, or bushel measures of some article not mentioned. 
 
 (3) . “xi. ped de Chapem't bowe” occurs but once, with nothing 
 to indicate its meaning. 
 
 (2). “xlij . chamberand'R (3). “ cxvj. chamland’,” also (4) (5). I 
 have found this word repeatedly in the accounts of King’s Hall, Cam- 
 bridge. Thus in 6 Edward IV. in the form chamberli nt, and in 
 6 Henry VI. as “xix. ped de chamer ants pro magna porta f and soon 
 after, “xxiiij. ped d sjambes.” In 4 Henry V., “lapid’ vocat champysfi 
 and in 5 Henry V. “ . . . jambysl* I have also found it in other 
 account rolls, and in my “Nomenclature,” art. 81, have given another 
 form apparently of the same word, namely chaumeres , which I supposed 
 to be jawmers , or stones for the jambs of doors or windows. The 
 spelling of the above examples appears to shew that this word is the 
 same as the French chambranle, the ornamental border or set of mold- 
 ings about a door, window, or chimney, and in these early examples 
 was used for the molded stones of the jambs, if not also for the arch- 
 molds, or at least for the hood-molds. 
 
 ( 2 ). “ ccxliij . ped cerches” (9). “ cclxviij. ped de serches.” Cherche 
 and serche are old French words for circular arcs, and are used by work- 
 men for convex or curved pieces. In this place they may mean convex 
 stones, such as would be employed in building cylindrical piers. 
 
 (2). “lxviij. ped de escusR (3) also (9). “iiij xx et x. et di ped’ de 
 scutisF (5). “xvij. ped de escum’t.” These are skew-stones, i.e. 
 stones cut with a bevel edge. Similar terms occur frequently in 
 masons’ accounts. (Vide Skew, Skew-table, &c., in “ Arch. Nom.” and 
 “ Glossary.”) 
 
 ( 2 ) (3) (9). “Folsuris cum filo.” (4). “ Rotundis folsuris cum 
 fillet ,” i.e. voussoirs with a filleted molding. 
 
 (4) (5) (3). “ Eotundis folsuris,” i.e. voussoirs with round 
 
 moldings. 
 
 (9). “iiii xx v. folsurse chanferete,” i.e. chamfered voussoirs. Clian- 
 frain means also channeled or furrowed, and therefore we may include 
 voussoirs with moldings under this expression. All these are 
 
 Q q 
 
A ppendix. 
 
 238 
 
 voussoirs for molded arches or ribs, and as they occur in company 
 with “chalk for the vaults and bosses,” ( creta ad pendentia,) are 
 intended for their ribs. 
 
 (5). Forimells. (3). Formellis . The same as “form-pieces,” namely, 
 the stones cut for tracery. (“Arch. Nom.,” p. 48, and “Glossary.”) 
 
 (5) . Lothenges , stones cut into the form of the heraldic lozenge , per- 
 haps for paving. 
 
 (6) . “It’ Rog°. de T r ri pro iiij. orbilons xxxiij. sol.” This word 
 only occurs in this example, and here in small number. We may guess 
 the thing to be a carved boss or bracket of a globular form; or, as 
 orlile is the rim of a wheel, they may be stones in a ring form for 
 tracery. 
 
 (2) (3). . . . perpens , parpens , or through stones. — (Vide Ferpent- 
 stone in “ Glossary.”) 
 
 (4). Scention , or scenhon ‘. This is a word which frequently occurs, 
 with varied spelling, in masonic documents. (Vide Scutcheon in “Arch. 
 Nom.” p. 37, and “ Glossary.”) It is always used far stones with an 
 obtuse external angle. 
 
 (3) . “ c. et iiij xx ped. de tablementsP — stringcourses. (“Arch. Nom.,” 
 p. 25, and “ Glossary,” art. Table.) 
 
FABRIC ROLL OF 1253. 
 
 (l.) a Ebd’ prima post Pasch’ Continente festu Apostolor’ Philip’ et Iacobi 
 p’ die Iovis quod est dn’i Regis et festu Inventions See Crucis p’ die Sab’ 
 quod est cem’tar’. 
 
 In stipendiis xxxix. albor’ ciss’ xiiij. marmor’ xx. cubitor' xxxij. carpent’ 
 cu Ioh’ ap’d Scm’ Alban’ iij. Pictor’ xiij. Poll’is xix a . fabor’ xiiij. vitfar’ cu 
 iiij or . plubator’, xiiij 11 xij s . 
 
 In stipend’ c.l. minutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ cler’ et duab? bigis diurnis, vj h 
 et xvj s . 
 
 S a stipen’, xxj H viij\ 
 
 Emptiones Henr ’ Fab\ Bernard’ de Sc’a Osida p’ v c iiij xx et viij. ped’ de 
 Asselers ciss’ ad tasch’, xiiij s viij d . It’ Henr’ de Chersaulton’ p’ vj c et d’i 
 Crete ad pend’ ciss’ ad tasch’, xxvj d . It’ Nich’ Scot et sociis suis p’ portagio 
 pet e , vj s vij d . It’ p’ mmm. vj c f a nce pet e , x 11 xvj s . Rog’ de Reygate p’ m. 
 f a nce pet e , lxv s , p’ ij. navat’ grise pet e , xiij s iij d . It’ p’ v e calcis, xxv s . Ade 
 Meren’ p’ meremio bordis et latis xxxiij s x d . It’ Jacobo Junctor’ p’ Tabul’ ad 
 cam’as d’ni Regis et Rigine et p’ pamestrs ad lectu dn’i Regis, lxiiij s ij d . It’ 
 Ric’ de Estchepe p’ virgis et craticul’, iiij s vj d . It’ Ric’ Ogul’ p’ craticul’, v s . 
 Ric’ Crucar’ p’ bochetis, iij s vj d . Walt’ Box p’ cordis, viij s vj d . Henr’ de 
 Ponte p’ Grese ad Martella acuenda, iiij s . It’ eide H. p’ clavis f’i, xiij s . Ric’ 
 de Celer’ p’ mm. cccc. ferri tenacis de Glov’nia, iiij 11 xvj s . It’ p’ cariagio dci’ 
 f’ri, iij s iiij d . It’ Mich’ Tony p’ xxiij. chareis plubi, l u . It’ Pain p’ cyn’es 
 plubi fundend’, xl s . It’ Joh’ Sige p’ xiij. m. et d’i tegul’ cu portagio et 
 cavill’, xxviij s xj d . 
 
 Sm a empeionu, xxvij 11 xij s iiij d . 
 
 Sm a total’ Ebd’, xlix 11 iiij d . 
 
 (2.) Ebd’ ij a post Pasch’ contin’ festu bi’ Joh’is an’ Porta Latina p’ die 
 martis quod est d’ni Regis. In stipend’ xxxix. albor’ ciss’ xv. marm’ xxvi. 
 cubitor’ xxxij. carpent’ cu I. et socio suo ap’d Sc’m Alban’ Duob? Pictor’ cu 
 s’viente xiij. poll’ xix. fab or . xiiij. vit 5 ar’ cu iiij or plubator’, xv 11 x s d’. In 
 stipend’ clxxvi. op’ar’ cu custodib? clericis cu ij. big’ diurnis, ix 11 xvij s ij d . 
 
 Sm a stipend’, xxv 15 vij s iij d . 
 
 Emptiones. Mag’ro Alb'co p’ arreagiis formar’ et . . . . lxvj s , p’ liij. 
 ped’ de p’pen’ p’ ped’ iiij d , lix. ped’ de folsur’ cu fil’ p’ ped’ iij d , m 1 cc. et xxj. 
 ped’ et d’i p’ ped’ iij d . . 1. assisis p’ assise v d , xiij. chamberand’, xxij. ped’ 
 maignanz, eexliij. ped’ cerches, ix. ped’ de bosseus, et vij. passib? cissis ad 
 tasch’, vij 11 xiij s j d . It’ p’ ix. capitell’, lxviij. ped’ de escus, m. v c iiij xx xj 
 
 a The continuous marginal numbers in parentheses at the beginning of each 
 week are inserted to correspond with the previous explanations. 
 
240 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 ped’ de cerch’, liiij s et iiij d . It’ p’ mm. v c d’m q a rt’ pendent’ Crete, viij* yij d . 
 It’ p’ mm. cc. et iij. q a r france petre, vj 11 xvj s vj d . Rogero de Reygate p’ 
 viij c q a rt franc’ petre, liij s vij d ob’. Ricard’ Cal’fon p’ ccc. calc’, xv s . Agnes 
 p’ cc. d’m calc’, xij s vj d . It’ Ricard’ de Estchep p’ ij. duoden’ craticl’ar’ cu 
 virgis, ix s vij d . Ricard’ Oggel p’ v. duoden’ craticl’ar’ cu. virg’, xij s vj d . 
 Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis ferri et gressiis, xix s viij d . Bened’co p’ vect r a, 
 portag’, et pesg’, xxiij. charr’ plumb’, ix s iiij d . Richo’ p’ litia, xviij d . 
 
 Sm a total’ emp’conu’, xxvij 11 xij s x d ob’. 
 
 Sm a total’ Rbd’, liij u et d’ ob’. 
 
 Upon a Schedule attached to the Roll. 
 
 Magr’ Joh’ de Oxonia suus R. de Bremel’. Salute. Mitto vob’ una navata 
 marmoris p’ Osmundu Latore p’senciu cui li’re faciatis q a tuor lib’r et iij. sol’ 
 et dimid’ marca . . q’ a m 1 acomodavit ad navim hon’anda .... una .... 
 inarenarios ut alias ad s’viciu n’r’m fiant p’mciores et q’ a cici’ pot’itis m 1 den 
 h’re faciatis. 
 
 (3.) Ebd’ iij a sine festo. Tn stipend’ xxxix. albor’ ciss’ xv. marmor’ xxvj. 
 cubitor’ xxxij. carpent’ cu I. et sociis ap’d S’c’m Alban’ Pet’ Pictor’ xv r1 ’ 
 Poll’ xvij. fab or xiiij. vit'ar’ cu vj. plubat’, xvij H xj s . It’ in stipend’ cc. mi- 
 nutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ cler’ et duab? bigis diurnis xiij 11 iij 8 x d . Sum a 
 stipend’, xxx 11 xiiij 8 x d . 
 
 Empciones. ix. ciss’ p’ xxxvj. assisis et d’i ciss’ ad tasch’. It’ p’ Ixvj. ped’ 
 de p’arpens. It’ p’ xiiij. ped’ et d’i de folsuris cu filo. It’ p’ xxix. ped’ et 
 d’i de Rotundis folsuris. It’ p’ cxvj. ped’ de Cham’ and’. It’ p’ xij. ped’ de 
 formell. It’ p’ xxxiiij. ped’ de boseus. It’ p’ xj. ped’ de Chapemet bowe. 
 It’ p’ iiij xx et x. et d’i ped’ de scutis. It’ p’ c. et iiij xx ped’ de tablem’to. It’ 
 xxxij. ciss’ p’ m. cc. et j. ped’ de asselers, vj 11 xij 8 vij d ob’. 
 
 S a tasch’, xvj 11 x 8 iiij d . 
 
 It’ in cxlvj. ped’ et d’i de g°ssis columis marmoris. In cxlj. ped’ et d’i de 
 g a cilibz col’m marmor’, ix. ped’ de bos’ vj. ped’ et d’i de tabul’m et vj. basis 
 et vj. chepit*s et xvj. ped’ et d’i et d’i q a rt’ii de g°ssis rotund’, ix 11 xvij 8 viij d 
 ob’, p’ mm. viij c f a nce pet e , viij 1 * viij s . Rog’ de Reyg’ p’ vj c pet e , xxxix 8 . Ric’ 
 Cast p’ ij c calcis, x s . Agn’ p’ cccc, et iij q a rt’ii calcis, xxiij s ix d . It’ p’ cccc. 
 et xl. caretatis sabul’ fodend’ et cariend’, viij s x d . It’ Ric’ Estchepe p’ iiij. 
 duod’ craticul’, xij s vj d . Ric’ Ogul’ p’ vj. duod’ craticul’ cu virgis, xv s . Henr’ 
 de Ponte p’ xj. garbis asseri clavis f’ri cu dimidia duodena cenevect, xxv 8 vj d . 
 It’ in c. tegul’ cavatis ad capella Regis, xviij d . 
 
 Sum a emptionu, xxxj 11 xiiij s v d . 
 
 Sum a total Ebd’, lxij 11 ix 8 iij d . 
 
 (4.) Ebd’ iiij ta sine festo. In stipend’ xij. albor’ ciss’ xvj. marmor’ xxxj. 
 cubit’ xxxij. carpent’ cu I. et sociis ap’d S’c’m Alban’. Pet’ pictoris xv. poll’ 
 xvij. fab or xiij. viPar’ cu vj. plubator’, xviij 11 iiij 8 . It’ in stipend’ ccxiij. op’ar’ 
 cu custod’ cler’ et ij. bigis diurnis, xiiij 11 d’. 
 
 Sum a total’ stipend’, xxxij 11 iiij 8 i d . 
 
 Emptiones p’ xl. assisis p’ ass’, v d . It’ p’ viij. ped’ Scenhon’ p’ ped’, ij d . 
 
Fabric Roll of 1 253 . 
 
 241 
 
 It’ p’ 1. ped’ et d’i de formell’ ’p ped’ ij d , pro xlj. buscell’ p’ buscell’ iij d , pro 
 clxxiiij. ped’ et di Cham’and p’ ped’ ij d ob’. Pro lviij. ped’ et d’i de parpen 
 p’ ped’ iiij d p’ viij. ped’ de folsur’ rotund’ p’ ped’, iij d . It’ p’ xij. ped’ de 
 rotund’ folsuris cu fillet .p’ ped’, iij d ob’ p’ lxvj. ped’ de Scenh’ p’ ped’ iij. q a r, 
 iiij u xviij 8 x d . It’ p’ ij. navat’ pet e de Came, xij 15 pac’. It’ p’ mmm. c. 
 et iij. q a rt’ij f a nce pet e , ix 15 x s yj d . It’ Rog’ de Reygate p’ yj c et d’i pet e , 
 xlij s iij d , p’ ij navat’ grise pet 6 , xiij s iij d . It’ Ric’ Calf’ p’ cccc. et d’i calcis, 
 xxij s vj d . Agn’ p’ cc. et q a rt’ij calcis, xi s iij d . It’ Ric’ Estchepe p’ virgis, 
 iiij s iiij d . It’ Ric’ Ogul’ p’ craticul’, xv s . Ric’ Cunar’ p’ utensil em’d, 
 xviij d . Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri, xvj s x d ob’. 
 
 S a empcionu. xx 15 xvj s iij d ob’. 
 
 Sum a total ebd’, liij u iiij d ob’. 
 
 (5.) Ebd’ v a contin’ festu assentio’is quod cem’t. In stipend’ xlj.albor’ ciss’ 
 xvj. marmor’ xxxj. cubitor’ xxxij. carpent’ cu I. et sociis ap’d S’c’m Albanu 
 Pet° Pictor’ xv. poll’ xvij. fab or xiij. vit'ar’ cu vj. plubator’, xviij 1 * et x s . 
 
 In stipend’ cc. et xiij. op’ar’ cu custod’ et cler’ et ij. bigis diurnis, xij 11 xix d . 
 
 Sm a stipedior’, xxx 11 xj s vij d . 
 
 Emptiones p’ xxj. Essicis vj. ped’ et d’i parpen lx.xiij. ped’ de folsur’ cu 
 filo viij. ped’ de rotud’ folsur’ xxxviij. bosseus et xlv. ped’ de cham’and’ 
 cxxxiij. ped’ de forimell’ cxviij. lotbenges xvij. ped’ de esscum’t mmm. ix c 
 xxxvj. ped’ de asselers, ix 11 iiij s ij d . It’ Ade de Aldewyehe cu sociis p’ v m v c 
 pendetis crete cissis ad tasch’, xiiij 8 viij d . It’ p’ mmm. france pet e , ix 15 . 
 Rog’ de Reygate p’ viij 6 pet e , lij s . It’ Ric’ Calf p’ v c et iij. q a rt’ calcis, xxviij s 
 x d . Agn’ calf’ p’ cc. et d’i calcis, xij s vj d . It’ Ric’ de Estchepe p’ v r gis et 
 bacul’, v s vij d . Ric’ Ogul p’ v. duoden’ craticular’, xij 8 vj d . Henr’ de Ponte 
 p’ clavis f’ri et cera cu pice, xiiij 8 p’ ceruris curie, xx d . Laur’ vit 5 ar’ p’ ij. 
 sum’ vit 1 color’ iiij. sum’ albi vit 1 et viij. pisis vit 1 albi, Iij 8 . Richer de Oce 
 xxx. fescell’ lit’ i ad fab 5 cas, iij 8 iiij d . 
 
 Sm a total’ emp’conum, xxviij 11 xiiij d . 
 
 Sm a total’ Ebd’, lviij 15 xij 8 et ix d . 
 
 (6.) Ebd’ vj. sine festo. In stipend’ xlj. albor’ cissor’ xvj. marmor’ xxxv. 
 cubit’ xxxiij. carpent’ Pet 0 . Pictor’ xv. poll’ xviij. fabror’ xiij. vit 5 ar cu vj. 
 plumb’ xix 15 , et xix d . In stip’ cc. et xiij. minutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ et cl’icis 
 et ij. bigis diurn’, xiiij 15 et j d . 
 
 Sm a total’ stipend’, xxiij 15 et xx. den’. 
 
 Upon a Schedule attached to the Holt. 
 
 Magr’ Joh’i de Oxonia suus Rob’ de Bremele eande q a s 5 salute et se totu. 
 Mitto vob’ una marmoris navata p’ Will’m Justise cui h’re faciatis p’ frecto 
 q’n ; marcas et dimid’ et dece solid’ et mittam vob’ Deo favente una navata 
 ante Pentecost’ et t’ciam si navim possim ad d’cam pet a m deducenda invenire 
 Sciatis adventu meu in Sept’ Pentecost’ et no’ ante qr tepp’ n’c instat in q° 
 ip’e absente negocia n’ra n’o b’n possunt expediri. 
 
 Sm a total’ debiti a Pasch’ usq’ vigil’ Pentecost’ p’ vj. ebd’, ccc. 
 
 Ixj 15 xiiij 8 viij d ob. 
 
242 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 Emptiones xlj. ciss’ p’ diversis tasch’ france pet e ad taschia cisse, iiij 11 xvj 8 
 vj d . It’ Rog’ de T r ri p’ iiij. orbilons’ xxxiiij. sol’. It’ p’ ij. clavib? et viij. 
 capitrel’ cu mm. c. lxvj. ped’ de asselers ad tasch’, iiij 11 ij s vij d ob’. It’ p’ 
 tasch’ xxxiij. marmor’ p’ iij. Ebd’ ad tasch’ c r ca marmor, xj 11 xvij d . 
 
 It’ debent r Agn’ calf’, xl s . 
 
 It’ p’ mmmm. v c pond’ crete cissis ad tasch’, xij s . It’ p’ mmmm. yj c france 
 pet e , xiij 11 xvj s . It’ Rog’ de Reygate p’ ix c et d’i france pet e , lxj s ix d . It’ p’ 
 ij. navatis grise pet e , xiij s iij d . Ric’ Calfon’ p’ vij c calcis, xxxv s . Agn’ Calf’ 
 p’ cc. calcis, x s . It’ Will’ Porcar’ p’ vj c et lx. caretatis sabul’, xiij s ij d ob’ 
 Ric’ de’ Estchepe p’ ij. duoden’ craticuF, yj s . Ric’ Ogul p’ vij t6 duoden’ cra- 
 ticul’ cu vurgis, xvij s vj d . Ade M’in’ p’ bordis et lateis, xv s yij d . Jacobo 
 Junur p’ panell’ ad lectu d’ni Regis jungendis et p’ tabul’ ad Scacariu et aliis 
 tabuF de Sape, lxvj s vj d . Henr’ Net p’ xj c . busch’, xix 8 . Will’ Jacobo p’ cc- 
 et q a rt°n busch’, v s vij d ob’. Ric’ Cop’ p’ bokettes, iij s . Bened’ Meren’ p’ 
 vect r a meremij, y s . Henr’ de Ponte p’ q a rt°n de gatis, iij s v d . It eide p’ 
 xxxij. garbis asseri cu clavis f’ri, xliiij s v d . Henr’ Eab° p’ incude et coreo ad 
 Folles cop’iendos, x s ij d . Joh’ Sige p’ mm. tegul’ cu’ cavills, iiij s iij d . 
 
 Sum a empcionu, lij 11 x s ij d ob’. 
 
 Sum a total’ Ebd’, iiij xx et v 1 ' xj s x d ob’. 
 
 (8.) b Ebd’ prima post Pentecost’ sine festo. In stipendiis xlij. albor’ ciss’ 
 xviij. marmor’ xxviij. cubitor xxxiij. carpent’ Pet’ Pictor’ xv. poll’xvij. fabror’ 
 xiiij. vit’ar’ iiij. pliibat’ cuj. s’viente, xix 11 xiiij 8 x d . In stipend’ cc. et xx 
 minutor’ op’ar’ cu custodibz cler’ et duab? bigis diumis, xiiij 11 viij 8 vij d . 
 
 Sum a stipendior’, xxxiiij 11 iij s v d . 
 
 Emptiones. Pro arreagiis marmor’, xv 11 xvj s vij d . In mm. ccc. et d’i f 4 nce 
 pet 6 , vij 11 xij d . Rog’o de Reygate p’ y c et d’i f a nce pet e , xxxv 8 ix d . It’ Ricard’ 
 Calfonar’ p’ \ c et iij. q a rt’ calc’, xxviij 8 ix d . Agnes p’ ccc. calc’ xv. sol’. It’ 
 Ricard’ de Estchep’, vj 8 et ij d . Ricard Oggel p’ craticl’is, x s . Ricard’ Cunar 
 p’ x. bokettis et emendac’o’e utens’, iij 8 et vj d . Henr’ de Ponte pro clavis 
 ferri, ix s d’ ob’. Nich’ Scot’ p’ portag’ franc’ pet e infra Pent’, xiij d . 
 
 Sm a Empc’on’m, xxviij 11 vj s xj d ob’. 
 
 Sm a total’ Ebd’, lxij 11 x s iiij d ob’. 
 
 (9.) Ebd’ ij. 9tinent’ festu Sci’ Joh’is Bap’e p’ diem Mart’ qd’ est d’ni 
 Reg’. In stip’ Iiij. Albor’ cissor’ xlix. marmor’ xxviij. cubitor’ xxviij. carpet’ 
 Pet’ Piet’ or xv. poll’ xvij. fab or xiiij. viFar’ iiij. plubat’ cu s’viente, xx 11 xv d 
 ob’. It’ in stip’ cc. et xx. minutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ et cl’icis et ij. big’ diurn’ 
 xij 11 viii d . 
 
 Sm a total’ stip’, xxxij 11 xxiij d et ob’. 
 
 Empciones p’ vij c . lvj. lothenges lviij. assis’ xx. ped’ et d’i de p’pen iiij xx . 
 iiij. ped’ et d’ de folsur’ cu filo xxxix. ped’ de formell’ cclxviij. ped’ de 
 Serches c. et vij. ped’ de scutis iiij xx v. folsur’ chanferite. It’ p’ v m ix c iiij xx 
 asselers ciss’ ad tasch’ xvj 11 xj 8 ij d . p’ mmm. vij c pendentis crete ciss’ ad tasch’ 
 
 b The 7th week of the roll being Whitsun-week, was omitted, as explained 
 above. 
 
2 43 
 
 Fabric Roll of 12 , 53 . 
 
 ix s xj d p 5 navata f a nce pet e de Came, vij 11 . It’ p’ mm. vj c et iij. q a rt°n france 
 pet 6 , viij 11 vj d . Rog’ Reygate p’ yj c et d’i pet e , xlij 8 iij d . Ric’ Calf p’ v c 
 calcis, xxv s . Agif Calf’ p’ cc. d’i calcis, xij s vj d q a . Muliere de Ey p’ sabul’, 
 vj s . Alan’ de Ey p’ sabul’, vj s viij d . Ric’ Ogul’ p’ v r gis, x s . Henr’ de Ponte 
 p’ clavis f’ri, xvj s iiij d ob. Peki’ p’ ceruris, xxiij d . Sum a Empcionu, xxxviij 11 
 iij s vj d ob’. 
 
 Sum a total’ Ebd’, lxx 11 v s x d . 
 
 (10.) Ebd’ iij a sine festo. In stipend’ lvj. albor’ cissor’ xlix. marmor’ xxviij. 
 cubitor’ xxiij. carpent’ j. Pictor’ Ade Dealbartor cu s’vient’ xv. poll’ xvij. 
 fab’ror’ xiiij. vifar’ iiij. plubar’ cu s’vient’ xix 11 iij s . It’ in stipend’ cc. et xx. 
 minutor’ cu custod’ et cler’ et ij. bigis durnis, xiij 11 viij s . 
 
 Sum a stipend’, xxxj 11 xj s . 
 
 Emptiones p’ stipend’ plubator’ p’ vj. ebd’, lxxj s . In mm. et iij. q a rt°n f a nce 
 pet 6 , vj n iiij s vj d . Rog’ Reygate, p’ vj c pet 6 , xxxix s . p’ mmmm. et ix c crete ad 
 pendentia, xxix s iiij d ob’. p’ ij. navat’ grise pet 6 , xij s vj d . Ric’ Calf’ p’ cccc. 
 et d’i calcis xxij s vj d . Agn’ Calf’ p’ ccc. et d’i calcis, xvij s vj d . Ric’ Estchepe 
 p’ y r gis et craticul’, vij s . Ric’ Ogul p’ craticul’ et virgis, xiiij s . vj d . Carbonar’ 
 p’ carbone, xij s iiij d . Ilenr’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri, vj s iiijd. Laur’ Vifar’ p’ 
 ij. sum’ vit 1 color’ et j. sum a albi, xxx s . Rog’ Borser p’ vij sum’ vit’ color’ 
 lxxvij s . Richer’ de C u ce p’ ij. pefs de marmor’ pol . . . , vj s . Magro’ Odon’ 
 p’ lit’io ad loges, ij s viij d . 
 
 Sum a Empcionu, xxiij 11 vij s ij d ob’. 
 
 S a total’ ebd’, liiij 11 xviij 8 ij d ob’. 
 
 (11.) Ebd’ iiij a cotin’ festu bi’ Thom’ Martiris p’ die Lune quod est cemt’. 
 In stipend’ lx. albor’ ciss’ xlix. marmor’ xiiij. cubitor’ xxj. carpent’ Joh’ cu 
 carpent’ et s’viente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ Pet’ Pictor’ xv. poll’ xvij. fab r xiij. 
 vifar’ iiij. plubat’ cu vij. s’vient’, xxj 11 v s . iij d ob’. In stipend’ cc. et xv* 
 minutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ cler’ et ij. big’ diurnis, xj 11 xvij s x d ob’. 
 
 Sum a stipendior’, xxxiij 11 iij s ij d . 
 
 Emptiones p’ diversis modis france pet e ad tasch’ ciss’, viij 11 xj s x d . It’ p’ 
 div’sis modis marmoris ad tasch’ ciss’, xxiiij s vij d . It’ p’ mm. vij 6 et iij. q a r’ 
 f a nce pet 6 , viij 11 vj s vj d . It’ Rog’ Reygate p’ m. c. et iij. q a rt’ france pet e , 
 calcis, v s . Ric’ Estchepe p’ v r gis, iij s . Ric’ Ogul p’ craticul’ et v r gis, vij s vj d . 
 lxxvj s iiij d ob’. Ric’ Calf’ p’ v c et d’i calcis, xxvij 8 vj d . If Agn’ Cafon’ p’ c. 
 Ham’ v r gator p’ carbon’, xx d . If Henr’ de Ponte p’ c. ferri, xv s j d . If eide 
 p’ clavis f’ri, x s . 
 
 Sum a Emptionu, xxv 11 ix. sol’ ob’. 
 
 Sum a total’ Ebd’, lviij 11 xij s ij d ob’. 
 
 (12.) Ebd’ v a sine festo. In stipend’ lx. albor’ ciss’ xlix. marmor’ xiiij. 
 cubitor’ xvj. carpent’ Joh’ cu carpent’ et s’vente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ Pet’ Pictor’ 
 xv. poll’ xvij. fab or vj. vifar’ iiij. plubator’ cu vij. s’vient xxj 11 v 8 iij d ob’. In 
 stipend’ cc. et xv. minutor’ op’ar’ cu custod’ cler’ ij. bigis diurnis, xiij h xix 8 
 vj d ob’. 
 
 Sum a stipend’, xxxv 11 iiij 8 et x d . 
 
A ppendix. 
 
 244 
 
 Emptiones. Joh’ Benet p’ iij. capital’, iij s . It’ p’ rammm. v c et xxviij. ped’ 
 de Asselers ciss’ ad tasch’, cxiij s ij d ob’. It’ p’ mmm. cccc. et iij. q a rt°n f a nce 
 pet 6 , x 11 viij s vj d . Rog’ Rejgate p’ vij 6 et iij. q a rt°n pet 6 , I s iiij d ob’. Ric’ Calf 
 p’ v c et d’i calcis xxvij s vj d . Agn’ p’ d’i c. calcis, ij s vj d . Ric’ de Estchep’ p’ 
 v r gis et craticul’, v 8 x d . Ric’ Ogul p’ v. duodenis craticul’, xij s vj d . Ade 
 Merenemio p’ v m liteis, I s . It’ Rog’ de Berklg’ p’ ij. caretatis carbonis, iiij 8 
 iiij d . David clerico p’ v. caret’ carbon’, x s . It’ Heur’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri 
 ad plubu, xij s ix d . It’ eide p’ cera et pice ad cem’t, xv d . Joh’ Sige p’ xvij m 
 tegular’ cu cariagio, xxxix 8 iiij d . 
 
 Sum a emptionu, xxvj 11 xv 8 d’. 
 
 S a total’ ebd’, lxij 11 . 
 
 (13.) Ebd’ vj a cont’ festu Magdalene p’ die M a rtis quod est d’ni Regis, et 
 festu b’i Jacobi p’ die Ven’is quod est cemt’. 
 
 In stipend’ lxvj. albor’ ciss’ xlix. marmor’ xiiij. cubitor’ xvj. carpent’ Joh’ 
 cu carpent’ et s’viente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ Pet’ Pictor’ xv. poll’ xvij. fab or vj. 
 vit'ar’ iiij. plubat’ cu vij. s’vient’, xxij li . In stipend’ c. et xl. minutor’ op’ar’ 
 cii j. biga diurua custod’ cler’, vij 11 ix 8 . 
 
 S a stipend’, xxix 11 ix 8 . 
 
 Emptiones. In div’sis modis france pet e ad tasch’ cisse, cxix 8 iij d ob’. It’ 
 in div’sis modis marmor’ ad tasch’ cissi, xxij 8 ix d . mmm. et c. france pet e , vj H 
 vj s . It’ Rog’ Rejgate p’ ccc. et d’i pet e , xxij 8 ix d . Agu’ p’ c. calc’, v 8 . Ricard’ 
 Calfon’ p’ iiij 6 , xx 8 . Rad’ Bleur p’ iij. caret’ carbon’, vj 8 vj d . Ricard’ Cupar’ 
 p’ utens’ emend’, xiij d . Ricard’ de Celar’ p’ v m iiij 6 iiij. charg’ ferri de 
 Glov’nia, x H xvj 8 . It’ p’ cariag’ d’c’i ferri, vj s iiij d . Plenr’ de Ponte p’ clavis 
 ad Ecc’am et Berefridu, x 8 x d ob’. 
 
 Sm a Emp’conu, xxviij 1 * vj s d’. 
 
 Sm a total’ ebd’, lvij 1 * xv 8 j d . 
 
 (14.) Ebd’ vij a 9tin’ festu b’i Pet* Advincula p’ die Yen’is quod est d’ni 
 Regis. In stipend’ lxviij. albor’ ciss’, xlix. marmor’ xiiij. cubitor’ xvj. carpent’ 
 Joh’ ap’d S’c’m Alban’ c’ca lect°n cu carpent’ et s’viente Pet’ Pictor’ xv. poll’ 
 xvj. fab or vj. vit'ar’ iiij. plubator’ cu vij. s’vient’ cu custod’ et cler’, xviij 1 * xj 8 
 v d . In stipend’ vj xx et xiij. op’ar’ cu biga, vij 1 * ij d ob’. 
 
 Sum a stipend’, xxv 1 * xj 8 vij d ob’. 
 
 Emptiones m’. de xij 11 ij 8 et xj d debit’ p’ marmor’. In iij. navat’ marmor’ 
 xxvij 11 iij s vij d . In mm. ix c et iij. q a rt°u f a nce pet 6 , viij 1 * xviij 8 vj d . Rog’ Rej- 
 gate p’ viij 6 pet 6 , lij s . Ric’ Calf’ p’ cccc. et d’i calcis xxij 8 vj d . Agn’ p’ c. et 
 d’i calcis, vij 8 vj d . Ric’ Estchepe p’ virgis, vj s viij d . Rob’ Cofere p’ ceruris, 
 ix d . Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri ad nundin’ Westm’, xxxiiij 8 xj d . 
 
 S a Empcion’, xlij 11 v s vj d . 
 
 S a total’ ebd’, lxvij 11 xvij 8 d’ ob’. 
 
 (15.) Ebd’ viij a sine festo. In stipend’ lxxviij. albor’ ciss’ xlix. marmor’ 
 xiiijc’ 1 cubitor’ xvj. carpent’ cu I. ap’d S’c’m Alban’ cu s’viente Pet* Pictoris 
 xv. pollisor’ xvj. fab or vj. vit'ar’ iiij or Plubator’ cu vij. s’vient’ et cu custod’ et 
 cler’, xix 11 xix 8 vij d . In stipend’ vj xx xv. op’ar’ cu biga diurna, viij 11 x 8 ix d . 
 
 S a total’ stipend’, xxviij 11 x 8 iiij d . 
 
Fabric Roll of 1 2 53. 245 
 
 Emptiones p 5 diversis modis f a nce pet e ad tasch 5 cisse, viij u xiiij 8 iiij d . It’ 
 p 5 tasch 5 int°it 5 capituli, I s . It 5 p’ div’sis modis marmor 5 ad tasch 5 ciss 5 , xl s 
 ij d . It 5 p 5 iiij or pis 5 .... iiij s . It 5 p 5 navat 5 pet e de Came, xiij 15 vj s . It’ p 5 
 mm. ccc. et j. q a rt 5 france pet e , vj u x s vj d . Rog’o Reygate p 5 vj c et iij. q a rt°n 
 pet e , xliij s x d ob 5 . Ric 5 Calf 5 p’ cccc. et q a rt°n calcis, xxj 8 iij d . Ledulfo p 5 m. 
 bord 5 c s . Walt’o Box p 5 xij ci chareis plubi cu portagio vect r a et pesagio, xxvj h 
 xij s . Henr 5 de Ponte p 5 assero clavis cera et pice, xlix s ij d p 5 mmmm. cavil - 
 lar 5 , vj d . 
 
 Sum a emptionii, lxx 15 xij s ij d ob’. 
 
 Sum a total 5 Ebd 5 , iiij xx xix 15 xviij 8 vj d ob 5 . 
 
 (16.) Ebd 5 prima post Pacacione stipendior 5 p 5 viij t0 Ebd 5 contin 5 festu 
 Assuptio’is b’e Marie p 5 die Yen’is quod est cem’t 5 . In stipend 5 lxviij. albor 5 
 ciss 5 xlix. marmor 5 xiiij cl cubitor 5 xvj. carpent 5 cu I. ap’d S’c’m Alban 5 cu 
 s’viente Pet 5 Pictor’ Ade Dealbator 5 cu s’viente xv ci , poll 5 xvj ci fab or duo vit‘a- 
 rior 5 cu cler 5 et virgator 5 , xiij 15 xij s vj d . In stipend 5 vj xx xviij. minutor 5 op’ar 5 
 cu biga diurna, viij 15 xviij 8 . 
 
 Sum a stipendior 5 , xxvij 15 x s vj d . 
 
 Emptiones p 5 mcc. et iij. q a rt°n f a nce pet e , lxxyj 3 vj d . It 5 Rog 5 Reygate p 5 
 vj c et d’i pet e , xlij s iij d . Ric 5 Calf p 5 cccc. et d’i calcis, xxij s vj d . Will 5 Por- 
 cario p 5 m. caretatis sabul 5 sedend 5 et cariand 5 ad tasch 5 , xxj s vij d . Ric’ 
 Eschepe p 5 craticul 5 , iij s vij d . Will 5 Jacob 5 p 5 q a rt°n busch 5 , ix d , p 5 ij. caretatis 
 carbon 5 , iij s ij d . Henr 5 de Ponte p 5 clavis ferri, vij s vij d ob 5 . 
 
 S a empcion 5 , viij 15 xviij 8 . 
 
 Sm a Ebd 5 , xxxvj 15 viij 8 v d ob 5 . 
 
 (17.) Ebd’ ij a sine festo. In stipend 5 lxviij. albor 5 cissor 5 xlix. marm 5 xiiij. 
 cubitor 5 xvj. carpentar 5 cu Joh’e ap’d S’c’m Albanu cu serviente Petro Pictore 
 Ada Dealbatore cu s’viente xv. poll 5 xvj. fabror 5 ij. vit 5 ar 5 cu. cl’icis et virgator 5 , 
 xviij 15 xij 8 et vj d . In stip 5 vj xx xviij. minutor 5 op’ar 5 cu biga diurna, viij 15 vij 
 viij d . 
 
 Sm a total 5 stip 5 , xxvij 15 iij 8 viij d . 
 
 Rmpc'ones. In div’sis tasch 5 france petre et marmoris, xiij 15 xj s ix d ob 5 . In 
 m. ix c et dim’ france petre, cxvij. sol. In vc france pet e de Reygate, xxxij 8 vj d 
 Ricard 5 Calfonar 5 p 5 v c calc 5 , xxv s . Agn’ p’ c. et dim 5 calc 5 , vij 8 vj d . Ricard* 
 de Estchep 5 p 5 craticl’is, xxvij d . Ricard 5 Oggel p’ c a ticl’is, iij s . Nicol 5 Duket 
 p 5 nav 5 carbon’ xv. sol’ Henr’ de Ponte p 5 clavis ferri, xx 8 iiij d ob’. 
 
 Sm a empcon’um, xxiiij 15 xiiij 8 v d . 
 
 Sm a total’ Ebd 5 , lj 15 xviij 8 j d . 
 
 (18.) Ebd 5 iij. continent 5 Festu Decollaco’is S’ci Joh’ Bape’ p 5 d’ie Yen’is 
 q’d est d’ni Reg 5 . In stipend 5 xlix. albor’ cissor’ xxxj. marm 5 xiij. cubitor’ xiij. 
 carpentar 5 mag 5 I. cu s’vient 5 mag’ Pet 5 j. Dealbator 5 cu s’vient 5 xv. poll’is 
 xviij. fab or ij. vit 5 arior’, xiij 15 xv 8 viij d ob’. It 5 in stip 5 iiij xx et xj. minutor 5 
 op’ar 5 cu custod 5 et cl’icis et j. biga diurna c. et vj 8 viij d ob 5 . 
 
 Sm a total’ stipend 5 , xix 15 ij 8 et v d . 
 
 r r 
 
246 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 Emptiones. In m. v c et dim’ franc’ pet e , iiij 1 ' xiij s . Roger’ de Reygate p’ 
 ij c et dim* franc’ pet 6 , xvj s vj d . Ricard’ Calfonar’ p’ iiij c et dim’ calc’, xxij 8 
 vj d . 
 
 Sum a emptionu, vj 1 ' xij s . 
 
 S a ebd’, xxY 11 xiiij s v d . 
 
 (19.) Ebd’ iiij a sine festo. In stipend’ xlix. albor’ ciss’ xxxj. marmor’ xiij. 
 cubitor’ xiij. carpent’ magr’ I. cu s’viente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ P. Pictor’ A. de 
 albator’ cii s’viente xv. poll* xviij. fab or ij. vit'ar’ custod’ cu cler’ xv 11 vj s ij d . 
 In stipend’ iiij xx xj. minutor’ op’ar’ cu biga diurna c. et xv s ix d . 
 
 S a stipend’, xxj 11 xxiij d . 
 
 Emptiones. In div’sis modis france pet 6 ad tasch’ cisse, vj 1 ' xv d ob’. In 
 div’sis modis marmoris ad tasch’ cissi, lxv s ix d ob’. It’ p’ ix c et iij. q a rt°n 
 france pet e , lviij s vj d . It’ Rog’ Reygate p’ v c et q a rt°n, xxxiiij* d’ ob’. Ric’ 
 Calfon’ p’ cc. et d’i calcis, xij s vj d . Ric’ Estchepe p’ c a ticul’, iij s iij d . Henr’ 
 de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri ad ecc’am et beref’, xiiij 8 iiij d . 
 
 S a tasch’, ix H vij s ob’. 
 
 S a emptionu, vj 1 * iij s viij d ob’. 
 
 S a Ebd’, xxxvj H xj s vij d ob’. 
 
 (20.) Ebd’ v a 9tin’ festu Nativitatis b’e Marie p’ die Lune quod est cem’t’. 
 In stipend’ xlix. albor’ ciss’ xv. marmor’ 'xiij. cubitor’ xiij. carpent’ magr’ I. 
 cu s’viente Pet’ Pictor’ A. Dealb’ cu s’viente xv. poll’ xviij. fabror’ ij. vit'ar’ 
 cu custod’ et cler’, xv 1 '. In stipend’ iiij xx xj. minutor’ op’ar’ cu biga diurna 
 iiij 1 ' xiij s ix d . 
 
 S a stipend’, xix 11 xiij s ix d . 
 
 Emptiones p’ vij c et d’i Pnce pet e , xlv s . Rog’o Reygat’ p’ c. et iij. q a rt°n 
 pet 6 , xj s iiij d ob’. Will’ de Came p’ v c esselers, xj s xj d . Ric’ Calf’ p’ iiij c calcis, 
 xx s . Ric’ Estchep’ p’ virgis, ij s viij d ob’. Ham’ p’ ij. carecatis carbon’, V s vj d . 
 Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri ad ecc’am et berefrida, ix s viij d . 
 
 S a emptionu, v 1 ' xvj d . 
 
 Sum a Ebd’ xxv 11 iiij d . 
 
 (21.) Ebd’ vj a sine festo. In stipend’ lvj. albor’ ciss’ xv. marmor’ xxiij. 
 cubitor xiij. carpent’ I. ap’d S’c’m Alban’ cu serviente Pet’ Pictor’ A. Deal- 
 bator’ cu s’viente xv. poll’ xviij. fab or ij. vit'ar’ cu custod’ et cler’, xvij 1 '. In 
 stipend’ cviij. minutor’ op’ar’ cu biga diurna, vj 1 ' xvij s . 
 
 Sum a stipend’, xxiij 1 ' xvij s . 
 
 Empciones. In div’sis modis f a nce pet 6 ad tasch’ cisse, vj 1 ' v s x d . In div’sis 
 modis marmoris ad tasch’ ciss’, iiij 11 vij s x d ob’. p’ f 6 cto navatis marmor’, lxvj s 
 viij d . It’ in m. vj c f a nce pet e , iiij 1 ' xvj s . Rog’ Reygat’ p’ ccc. france pet 6 , xix s 
 vj d . It R. p’ cccc. et d’i calcis, xxij s vj d . It’ Ade Meren’ p’ bordis et lateis, 
 xxiij s vj d . P’ portagio busch’, ij s vj d pac’. Ric’ Estchepe p’ v r gis, vij s ij d . Ric’ 
 Cuner’ p’ bokettis, iij s ij d . It’ p’ v. caretatis carbon’, xij s viij d . It’ Joh’ de 
 Gisors p’ xxviij. chareis et xv 1 ' plubi cu portagio pesagio, lxiij 1 ' x s vj d . It’ p’ 
 vect r a et portagio ap’d Westm’, vij s ij d . Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis Ecc’e et 
 beref’, xix s ix d ob’. Will’ de Aq a p’ tasso st a minis, viij s . 
 
 Sum a emptionu sin’ freto marmor’, iiij xx et v 1 ' iij s viij d . 
 
 Sum a total’ Ebd’, cix 11 viij d . 
 
Fabric Roll of 12 , 53 . 
 
 247 
 
 In a Schedule attached to the Roll. 
 
 Magr’ I. de Ox’ R. de Bremel’. Salut’ et amoris dulcedinem. Mitto vob’. 
 una’ marmoris navata p’ Will’ de la Lake latore p’senc’ cui h’re faciatis p’ 
 frecto vij. m a et dimid’ p’ . . . . Sciatis ip’m p’mptu ee et paratii ad obsequiu 
 dn’i Reg’ un’ si plac? q a scici’ pot’itis .... frect’ pagat’ Yalt’ sp’ in D’no — 
 Distfngatis illu fide mediante it’u redeundi. 
 
 (22.) Ebd’ vij a sine festo. In stipend’ lviij. albor’ ciss’ xiiij. marmor’ xxvjo 
 cubitor’ xiij. carpent’ I. ap’d S’c’u Alban’ cn s’viente Pet 1 Pictor’ A. Dealbat’ 
 cu s’vient’ xv. poll’ xviij. fab or iij. vit'ar’ cn custod’ et cler’, xvij 11 vij 3 . In 
 stipend’ vj xx minutor’ op’ar’ cii biga diurna, vij 11 xij s d’. 
 
 Sum a stipend’, xxiiij 11 xix s d’. 
 
 Emptiones p’ m. viij® et q a rt°n f a nce pet e c. et ix s vj d . It’ Rog’ de Reygate 
 p’ vij c et d’i f a nce pet e , xlv s vj d p’ ij. navat’ marmor’ It’ Ric’ 
 
 Calf’ p’ cccc. et iij. q a rt°n calcis, xxiij s ix d . It’ Ric’ Ogul p’ craticul’ et virgis, 
 xx s . Ric’ miner’ p’ utensilib,? ij s . Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis ecc’e et boref’ cn 
 cera et pice, xij s ij d ob’. 
 
 S a empcionu, x 11 xij 3 xj d ob’. 
 
 S a Ebd’ xxxv 11 xij s ob’. 
 
 (23.) Ebd’ viij a 9tin’ festu b’i Mich’ p’ die Lnne quod est d’ni Regis. In 
 stip’ lx. albor’ cissor’ xiiij. marm’ xxxj. cubit’ xiiij. carpent’ I. ap’d S’c’m 
 Albanu Pet 1 Pictor’ Ade Dealbator’ cn s’vient’ xv. poll’is xviij. fab’or iij, 
 vit'ar’ cn custod’ et cl’icis, xv 11 xv s ix d ob’. In stipend’ vij xx xv. minutor’ 
 op’ar’ cn ij. bigis dium’, viij 11 iiij s ix d ob’. 
 
 Sm a total’ stipend’, xxiiij 11 vij d . 
 
 j Emptiones. In div’sis modis france pet e ad tasch’ cisse, xj 11 xvij d ob’. It’m 
 in div’sis modis marmoris ad tasch’ cissi, lxxv s iiij d . It’ p’ m. ccc. et d’i f a nce 
 pet e , lxxix 3 vj d . Rog’ de Reygate p’ ccc. et d’i, xxij s ix d . It’ Ric’ Calf’ p’ 
 ix c et q a rt°n calcis, xxxj s et iij d . Agn’ Calf’ p’ c. et d’i calcis, vij 3 vj d . It’ 
 Ric’ de Estchep’ p’ v r gis, v s viij d . It’ Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis ferri, xviij 3 j d . 
 
 S a empcion’, xxiij 11 xvj s vj d . 
 
 S a Ebd’, xlvij 11 xvij 3 d’ ob’. 
 
 (24.) Ebd’ ix a sine festo. In stipend’ xlij. albor’ cissor’ xiiij. marmor’ xxxj. 
 cubitor’ xiiij. carpent’ I. cn s’viente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ Pet 1 Pictor’ Ada Deal- 
 bator’ cn s’viente xv. poll’ xviij. fab or iij. vit'ar’ cu custod’ et cler’, xviij 11 iij 3 
 x d . In stip’ vij xx et xv. minutor’ op’ar’ cu vj. bigis diurnis, x 11 v 3 ix d . 
 
 S a stipend’, xxviij 11 ix s vij d . 
 
 Empciones. In div’sis modis f a nce pet® ad tasch’ ciss’, vj 11 iiij 3 viij d . It’ p’ 
 m. c. et q a rt°n f a nce pet 6 , lxxiij 3 d’ ob’. Rog’ de Reygate cc. et q a rt°n pet e , 
 xiiij 3 vij d ob’. It’ p’ navat’ france pet e de Came It’ p’ marmore 
 
 ap’d Cerne, xviij 11 xix 3 ob’. It’ p’ navat’ Grise pet®, V s ix d . It’ mag’ro Will’ 
 de Waz p’ p’stito, xv 3 vj d . It’ Ric’ Calf’ p’ viij® calcis, xxx 3 . It’ Agn’ Calf’, 
 p’ cc. calcis, x s . It’ Will’ Porcar’ p’ m. vj® et d’i c. sabulonis, xxxv 3 viij d . It’ 
 
248 Appendix. 
 
 Mauric’ de Aq a p’ meremio, iiij u xiij s iiij d . Ric’ Eschepe p’ v r gis, iij s d\ Ric’ 
 Ogul p’ y. duod’ craticul’, xij s yj d . It’ Pekin p’ em’d de ceruris, xx d . Henr’ 
 de Ponte p’ clavis, iiij 8 vj d ob’. 
 
 Sum a empcionu, xlj u xv s vj d . 
 
 Sum a total Ebd’, lxix 11 xv s d’. 
 
 (25.) Ebd’ x a contin’ festu T a nslationis b’i Edward’ p’ die Lune quod cem’^ 
 . . . . b’i Luce Evangeliste p’ die Sab’ quod est d’ni Regis. In stipend’ lviij. 
 albor’ ciss’ xxvj. marmor’ xxxiij. cubitor’ xv. carpent’ I. cu s’viente ap’d S’c’m 
 Alban’ P. Pictor’ Ade Dealbat’ cu s’viente xvj. poll’ xviij. fab or iij. vit'ar’ j. 
 pliibat’ cu custod’ et cler’, xvj 11 y s . In stipend* vij xx et xviij. minutor’ op’ar’ 
 cu vj. big’ diurn’ vij H . 
 
 S a stipend’ xxiij 11 v 8 . 
 
 Emptiones. Mag’ro Alb’co p’ tasch’ form’, vj H x d . In div’sis modis f a nce 
 pet e ciss’ ad tasch’, lxxj 8 iij d . It’ in div’sis modis marmor’ ad tasch’ ciss’ iiij 11 
 xiij 8 d\ It’ p’ m. cc. et q a rt°n f a nce pet e , lxxix 8 vij d ob’. Rog’ de Reygate 
 p’ ccc. pet e , xix 8 vj d . It’ p’ pet H de q a r Regis p’ c. et q a r, viij 8 ix d . Ric’ Calf 
 p’ vj e et d’i calcis, xxij* vj d . Agn’ Calf’ p’ ccc. calcis, xv s . Ric’ Estchepe p’ 
 virgis, v 8 vij d . Ric’ Ogul p’ duoden’ et d’i craticul’, iij* ix d . Ric* Cunar’ p’ 
 d’i duod’ boketis, xxv d p’ v. caret’ carbon’, xiij 8 viij d . It’ Will’ Plubar’ 
 p’ tasch’ beref’, x 11 . Rog’ Plubar’ p’ tasch’ beref, c. et xiij 8 iiij d . Henr’ de 
 Ponte p’ clavis ad ecc’am et beref’, xij s ij d . 
 
 Sum a emptionu, xxxiij 11 x d ob’. 
 
 S a ebd’, lxij 11 xv 8 x d ob’. 
 
 (26.) Ebd’ xj a sine festo. In stipend’ lviij. albor’ ciss’ xv cT marmor’ xxxiiij. 
 cubitor’ xiiij. carpent’ cu I. et s’vn’t ap’d S’c’m Alban’ P. Pictor’ dealbator’ 
 cu s’viente xv. poll’ xviij. fab or ij. vit'ar’ j. plubar’ cu s’viente cu v r gator’ et 
 cler’, xix 11 iiij d . It’ in stipend’ vij xx et xvij. op’ar’ cu vj. bigis diurn’, x 11 viij® 
 iiij d . 
 
 S a stip’, xxix 11 viij 8 viij d . 
 
 Empciones. In div’sis modis f a nce pet e ad tasch’ ciss’, Ixxiij 8 v d ob’. It’ p’ 
 viij c iij. q a rt°n f a nce pet e , lvj s iiij d ob’ de q a r’ d’ni Regis iij. q a rt°n, v s iij d . 
 Rog’ Reygate p’ cc. pet% xiij s . Ric’ Calf’ p’ v c et q a rt°n calcis, xxvj 8 iij d . 
 Agnes Calf’ p. ccc. calcis, xv s . Ric’ Estchepe p’ v r gis, vj s x d . HenP de Ponte 
 p’ clavis Ecc’e et beref’, xx s d’ ob’. 
 
 Sum a emptionu, x 11 x s iij d ob’. 
 
 Sum a total’ Ebd’, xxxix 11 xix 8 . 
 
 (27.) Ebd’ xij a contin’ festu Apostolor’ Sim’ et Jude quod est d’ni Regis 
 anno Regni Regis Henr’ xxxviij V0 Incipiente et festu O’ium Scor’ p’ die Sab’ 
 quod est cem’t. In stipend’ lviij. albor’ ciss’ xv cI marmor’ xxxiiij. cubitor’ xiiij. 
 carpent’ cu I. et s’viente suo ap’d S’c’m Alban’ P. Pictor’ dealbator’ cu s’viente 
 xv. poll’ xviij. fab or ij. vitfar’ plubator’ cu s’viente iiij. v r gator’ cu cler’, xviij 11 
 x s . In stipend’ vij xx op’ar’ cu vj. bigis diurnis, ix 11 viij 8 . 
 
 S a stipend’, xxvij 11 xviij s . 
 
 Emptiones. In div’sis modis f a nce pet e ad tasch’ cisse cu creta ad penden- 
 cia, iiij 11 xvj s iiij d . In div’sis modis marmoris ad tasch’ ciss’, lxix 8 ob’. It’ de 
 
Fabric Roll of 1253 . 
 
 249 
 
 q a reria d’ni Regis c. et q a rt°n france pet 6 , viij s ix d . It’ Rog’ Reygate p’ cc. et 
 q a rt°n pet 6 , xiiij 8 vij d ob’. It’ p’ vij c france pet e , xlv 8 vj d . It’ Ric’ Calf’ p’ 
 cccc. calcis, xx s . Agn’ Calf p’ d’i c. calcis, ij s yj d . Ric’ Estchepe p’ craticul’, 
 vij s viij d . Ric’ Ogul p’ yj. duoden’ craticul’, xvij s yj d p’ yect r ra meremii, x s . 
 Ham’ p’ carbon’, iij s iiij d . Henr’ de Ponte p’ clavis f’ri, iiij* iiij d . 
 
 S a empcion’, xiiij Ij ix s yij d . 
 
 S R Ebd’, xiij 11 vij s vij d . 
 
 (28.) Ebd’ prima post festu Om’n’m Scor’ sine festo grossa stipendia albor’ 
 cissor’ solet decrescere. In stipend’ lviij. albor’ ciss’ xj. marmor’ xj. cubitor’ 
 xiiij ci carpent’ I. ap’d S’c’m Alban’ cu s’viente P. Pictor’ A. Dealbatior’ cu s’ 
 xyj. poll’ xyiij. fab or duor’ vifar’ cu cler’ et custod’, xviij 11 . In stipend’ vij xx 
 minitor’ op’ar’ cu iij. bigis diurnis, vij H xij s . 
 
 Sum a stipend’ xxv 11 xij s . 
 
 Empciones. In div’sis modis f a nce pet 6 et marmor’ ad tasch’ cissi, iiij 11 xiiij s 
 iij d . If in ccc. et d’i de q a reria d’ni Regis, xxiiij s vj d . It’ Rog’ de Reygate p’ 
 cccc. et d’i f a nce pet e , xxix 8 iij d . It’ p’ m. ccc. pet 6 , iiij 11 iiij 5 yj d . If Ric’ Calf’ 
 p’ c. et d’i calcis, vij* vj d . Ric’ Estchepe p’ y r gis, ix s vj d . Ric’ Ogul p’ iiij. 
 duoden’ craticul’, x s . Henr’ de Ponte p’ cepo et uncto, ij s iiij d . 
 
 S a emptionu, xiij 11 xxij d . 
 
 S a ebd’, xxxviij 11 xiij s x d . 
 
 (29.) Ebd’ ij a contin’ festu b’i Martini p’ die Martis quod est d’ni Regis. 
 In stipend’ xxxiiij. albor’ ciss’ vij. marmor’ y. asseditor’ ix. carpent’ I. cu 
 s’viente ap’d S’c’m Alban’ P. Pictor’ xiij. fab or ij. vifar’ iij. v r gator’ cu iij. 
 cler’, viij 11 iij® iiij d ob’. 
 
 If in stipend’ xxx. minutor’ op’ar’ cu duab? bigis diurnis, xxxv s . 
 
 Sum a stipend’, ix 11 xyiij 8 iiij d ob’. 
 
 Empciones. Rog’ Plubario p’ cbarea plubi ult a porticu Ecc’e ad tasch’ 
 op’ati, xj* x d . If p’ ix c et d’i f a nce pet 6 , loj 8 ix d p’ d’i c. pet 6 d’ni Regis, iij 8 
 vj d . Rog’ Reygate p’ cccc. et q a rt°n pet 6 , xxvij 8 vij d ob’. Ric’ Estchepe p’ 
 v r gis, iiij 8 . Henr’ de Ponte p’ Oleo et venis, ij s iij d ob’. Ham’ p’ carbone, iiij 8 . 
 
 Sum a emption’ c. et xv 8 . 
 
 Sum a Ebd’, xv 11 xiij 8 iiij d ob’. 
 
 (30.) Ebd’ iij a 9tin’ festu b’i Eadm’ p’ die Iovis quod est Cem’t. In stipend’ 
 xxxv. albor’ ciss’ vij. marmor’ v. cubitor’ ix v6 carpent’ Ioh’ de S’co Albano cu 
 s’viente mag’ri Pet 1 pictoris xiij. fab or ij. vifar’ cu custod’ et cler’, ix 11 xviij 8 
 ob’. In stipend’ xxxv. op’ar’ cu duab? bigis diurnis, xl s . 
 
 Sum a stipend’ior’, xj 11 xviij s ob’. 
 
 Emptiones xxvj. tasch’ p’ div’so modo f a nce pet 6 ad tasch’ cisse, cij s v d . If 
 yj. marmor’ p’ div’se modo marmor’ ad tasch’ ciss’, xxxj s x d . It’ de q a reria 
 Regis p’ d’i c. pet 6 , iij 8 vj d . Roger’ Reygate p’ ccc. pet 6 , xix s vj d . If p’ vj c 
 et iij. q a rt°n pet e , xiiij* x d ob’. If Ric’ Ogul p’ ij. duoden’ craticul’, v s . Henr’ 
 de Ponte p’ cera pice et carbone marino, v s j d . 
 
 S a emption’, x 11 xj 5 ij d ob. 
 
 S a total’ Ebd’, xxij 11 ix s iij d . 
 
2,50 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 (31.) Ebd’ iiij a 9tin’ festu S’ce Katerine p’ die M a rtis quod est d’ni Regis. 
 In stipend’ xxxv. albor’ cissor’ vij. marmor’ iiij. cubitor’ ix ve carpent’ I. ap’d 
 S’c’m Alban’ cu s’viente mag’ri Pet 1 Pictoris xiij. fab or ij. vit’ar’ ij. plub’ cu 
 s’vientib? cu cler et iij. custod’, viij u xj s . In stipend’ xxxvij. op’ar’ cu ij. bigis 
 diurnis, xlj s x d ob’. 
 
 Sm a total’ stipend’, x 11 xij s x d ob’. 
 
 Empciones. In mcc : Crete ad tasch’ cisse, ij 8 vj d . It’ de q a reria Regis p’, 
 q a rt°n, xxj d . Rog’ de Rejgate p’ cccc. et q a rt°n pet e , xxvij 8 vij d ob’. It’ p’ m. 
 c. et q a rt°n pet e , lxxiij s d’ ob’. Ric’ Estchepe p’ v r gis, iij s x d . It’ Henr’ de 
 Ponte p’ assero et clavis f’ri ad beref’, yj s vij d ob’. 
 
 S* empcionu, cxv s v d ob’. 
 
 S a total’ ebd’, xvj u viij s iiij d . 
 
 (32.) Ebd’ y ta contin’ festu b’i Nich’ p’ die Sab’ quod est cem’t. In stipend’ 
 xxxv. albor’ cissor’ vij. marm’ iiij. cub’ ix. carp’ Joh’ ap’d S’c’m Albanu cu 
 s’viente magri Pet 1 xiij. fab°r’ ij. vit'ar’ ij. plumb’ cu s’vient’ custod’ et cl’ic’, 
 viij li xviij 8 . In stip’ xxxvij. minutor’ op’ar’ cu ij. big’, xlj 8 x d ob’. 
 
 Sm a stipend’, x H xix* x d ob. 
 
 Emptiones. De quarr’ d’ni Reg’ p’ iij. q a rt’ franc’ pet c , iiij 8 x d ob’. Roger 5 
 de Reygate p’ ccc. et dim’ franc’ pet e , xxij* ix d . It’ p’ ix c et q a rt’ franc’ pet e , 
 lx® d’ ob’. It’ Henr’ de Ponte p’ carbon’ marin’, x®. 
 
 {In dorso ) m d q’d die Iovis an’ festu decollaco’is b’i Joh’is de Mag’ro Joh’ 
 le Scul’ xxxiij c f’ri. It’ d’cs Joh’ le Somnt’ recepit eode d’ de ballivis d’ni 
 Regis mmmmcc. metalli. It’ restat in deposito cc. et fere d’i cupri. 
 
 {In dorso ) m d q’d Ebd’ iiij ta Die m a rtis in c a stino b’i Thom’ martiris mag’r 
 Alb'cus cu iij. sociis incepit tasch iij. fovar’- 
 
 (In dorso ) m d q’d die Lune in c a stino b’i Barth’ inceperut op’ari in q a rreria 
 d’ni Regis. 
 
 {In dorso.) Hec est lib’atio vit 1 f’ca Mag’ro Henr’ die Lune post. Ad vin- 
 cula b’i Pet’ 1 a r’ R’ II. xxxvij 0 videlic? ij. Sum* vitri colorati preciu summe 
 xij s et ij. Sum a vitri albi preciu summe, vj s . Sum a den’ xxxvj® de quib? tenet r 
 respondere. In taschia fenestraru sic taxata p’ pede op’ato vit 1 colorati viij d 
 p’ pede op’ato vit 1 albi iiij d . 
 
 It’ d’ m a rtis in c a stino Nat’ b’e Mar’ eide Henr’ vj. pile vit 1 color’ p’ciu, 
 iiijd It’ eide ij. sum’ vit 1 albi xij s d’i sum’ vit' 1 color’ p’ vj 8 . 
 
1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 * T 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Stipend. 
 
 Emptiones. 
 
 Total. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 49 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 o 
 
 i-H 
 
 53 
 
 0 
 
 1* 
 
 30 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 31 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 62 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 32 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 H 
 
 53 
 
 0 
 
 H 
 
 30 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 58 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 33 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 52 
 
 10 
 
 2* 
 
 85 
 
 11 10* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S ma total. Pasch .usq u 
 vigil Pent, p’ 6 Eb- 
 dom. 361Z. 14 s. 8 U. 
 
 34 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 111 
 
 62 
 
 10 
 
 4* 
 
 32 
 
 1 
 
 Hi 
 
 38 
 
 3 
 
 6 i 
 
 70 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 31 
 
 11 
 
 0 
 
 23 
 
 7 
 
 2i 
 
 54 
 
 18 
 
 2* 
 
 33 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 9 
 
 of 
 
 58 
 
 12 
 
 H 
 
 35 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 62 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 29 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 57 
 
 15 
 
 l 
 
 25 
 
 11 
 
 n 
 
 42 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 67 
 
 17 
 
 l* 
 
 28 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 70 
 
 12 
 
 2 i 
 
 99 
 
 18 
 
 6* 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 
 0 
 
 36 
 
 8 
 
 5 * 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 51 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 25 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 * (9 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 on 
 8* / 
 
 36 
 
 11 
 
 7* 
 
 19 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 0 
 
 85 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 109 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 19 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 Hi 
 
 35 
 
 12 
 
 0* 
 
 24 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 23 
 
 16 
 
 6“ 
 
 47 
 
 17 
 
 1* 
 
 28 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 41 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 69 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 33 
 
 0 
 
 10* 
 
 62 
 
 15 
 
 10* 
 
 29 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 3i 
 
 39 
 
 19 
 
 0 
 
 27 
 
 18 
 
 0 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 42 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 25 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 38 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 4* 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 4 * 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 o* 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 2i 
 
 22 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 10i 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 5* 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 10* 
 
 (+4 
 
 17 
 
 0) 
 
 (+15 
 
 16 10*) 
 
 696 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 791 
 
 19 
 
 3§ 
 
 1,587 
 
 18 
 
 o* 
 
 t (Not inserted in roll.) 
 
EXTRACT FROM THE SMALLER ROLL OF 1253. 
 
 “Compot’ div’sar’ op’acionu, ec’ce, capituli, berefridi et curie Westm’ anno 
 r’ R’ Henr’ xxxvij 0 op’is incepti viij T0 .” 
 
 “ Emptioues * * * * * * 
 
 “In cc v xx ulnis de canevasio ad fenest*s capituli iiij u vj* iiij d ob\” 
 [Compotus diversarum operacionum ecclesi®, capituli, berefridi et curiae West- 
 monasteriensis anno regni Regis Henrici xxvii 0 et operis incepti viii T0 . 
 
 Emptiones 
 
 In cc v xx ulnis canevasio ad fenestras capituli iiij u vj s iiij d ob’.] 
 
 This extract from the smaller roll for the same year, with the more 
 full and larger roll already given, is important, on account of the men- 
 tion of canvas for the windows of the Chapter-house, which shews that 
 these windows were so far completed in 1253 as to require to be en- 
 closed with canvas until the glass was ready for them. 
 
FABRIC ROLLS OF WESTMINSTER. 
 
 [In addition to the foregoing Fabric Roll of 1253, so admirably 
 explained by Professor Willis in a manner which no one else could have 
 done, several other Rolls, or portions of Rolls, relating to this building 
 are extant ; but they do not appear to contain any additional information 
 until we come to the following, from the Pipe Roll of the 52nd Henry III. 
 and three following years, which are sufficiently important to be worthy 
 of a place here; and for the convenience of our readers we give ab- 
 stracts of them in English. It will be observed that the accounts for 
 the church, and those for the King’s chambers in his palace adjoining, 
 are so much mixed up together that they cannot now be separated ; 
 and that the expenditure going on at Westminster during this period 
 was from £20,000 to £40,000 a-yearof our money, — so that the public 
 buildings at Westminster were as expensive then as they are now.] 
 
 PIPE ROLL 52 HENRY III. a.d. 1267-8. 
 
 Account or the works of the church or Westminster and the King’s 
 houses there, from the feast of the Nativity of our Lord in the fifty-first 
 year to the feast of St. Michael in the fifty-second year, by Master Robert de 
 Beverley, mason, and brother Ralph, the convert of the Abbey of Cumber- 
 mere, put in the place of Alexander the carpenter and John de Spalding, by 
 the King’s writ directed to Adam de Stratton, clerk, warden of the same 
 works, by the view and testimony of the same Adam. 
 
 The same renders account of 140/. received of the King’s Treasury, and of 
 435/. 135. 4 d. received of the issues of the King’s seal, and other receipts, 
 making in the whole 1,303/. 65. 8 d . 
 
 Works in the great and little hall, and King’s chamber. 
 
 Paid for free-stone as well from Caen as Reigate, flints, chalk, plaster, lime, 
 windage, buckets, and the carriage of the aforesaid to the works aforesaid, as 
 contained in the particulars delivered into the Treasury, 283/. 145. 10 \d. And 
 in great timber, boards, rafters, as well of oak as of alder, hurdles, laths, rods, 
 grease, glue, and certain other small things used at the said works, with the 
 carriage thereof, 771. 9 s. 4>d. And in lead, iron, steel, coal, brushwood for 
 making the iron-work, locks, cords, glass, wax, pitch, and other necessaries for 
 the glass windows, as well at Havering as at Westminster, and for making 
 
A ppendix. 
 
 2 M 
 
 cement, and the carriage thereof, 1602. 5s. 9 d. And in hollowed* (or fluted?) 
 tiles, litter, reeds bought for covering the walls of the works aforesaid, and 
 divers of the King’s houses, with their carriage, 112. 9s. 9 \d. And for the 
 wages of certain masons (or plasterers) paving b before the shrine of Saint 
 Edward ; carpenters, painters, plumbers, glaziers, inferior workmen and masons’ 
 workmen, carpenters, painters bj task work, and expenses of persons sent to 
 divers places on account of the said works, 6142. 10s. 1 \d. 
 
 PIPE POLL 53 HENRY III. No Entry. 
 
 PIPE ROLL 54 HENRY III. a.d. 1269-70. 
 
 Account op works at the church op Westminster and the King’s 
 houses there, from Christmas in this year to the feast of the Purification 
 of the Virgin in the fifty-fifth year. 
 
 He renders account of 48 72. 2s. 3 \d. received from the King’s Treasury, and 
 other sums, making a total of 1,3612. 3s. 1 \d. 
 
 And in marble, free-stone as well from Caen as from Reigate, flints, plaster, 
 chalk, carriage of the aforesaid, windage, and other necessaries for the same 
 works, as is contained in the particulars delivered into the Treasury, 4582. 12s. 9 d. 
 And in great timber, boards, rafters, as well of oak as of alder, laths, hurdles, 
 rods, grease, glue, and other small necessary things for the said works, as in 
 the said particulars, 532. 15s. 11 \d. And in lead, iron, steel, coal, brushwood 
 for making the iron-work, locks, cords, glass, wax, pitch, and other necessaries 
 for the glass windows, and for making cement, canvas for closing the windows 
 of the aforesaid church, with the carriage thereof, 1402. 14s. And in hollowed (?) 
 tiles, litter, stubble for covering the walls of the same church, 42. 11s. 4^c2. 
 And in gold in leaf and enamel 0 , divers colors, and other necessaries for the 
 pictures of the tomb d in which reposes the body of the blessed Edward, and 
 for the painting of the figures in the said church e , and in the great chamber of 
 the King, 322. 16s. I^c2. Wages of masons and other workers, 6702. 5s. 10 \d. 
 
 PIPE ROLL 55 HENRY III. a.d. 1270-1. 
 
 Account op works at the church of Westminster, &c., from the feast of 
 the Purification of the Blessed Virgin to the same feast in the fifty-sixth 
 year. 
 
 Receipts, 1,1962. 19s. 5^c2. 
 
 Marble, free-stone, &c., (as before,) 3482. 14s. 6 g 2. Timber, &c., (as before,) 
 252. 11s. 2>\d. Lead, &c., (as before,) 1972. 10s. 4^c2. Tiles, &c., (as before,) 
 72. 15 s. 4 \d. Gold, in leaf, and divers colours, and other smaller necessaries 
 for the painting of the images in the said church and the King’s great chamber, 
 172. 17$. 3 \d. Wages of workmen, 6982. 0s. 10 \d. 
 
 PIPE ROLL 56 HENRY III. a.d. 1271-2. 
 
 Account op the works op the church at Westminster and the King’s 
 houses there, from the feast of the Purification of the Virgin in this year 
 
 a “canillis.” b “ cementariorum pavatorum.” c “admallis.” 
 
 d “ c’apse.” e “ ad picturas imaginum.” 
 
Fabric Rolls of Westminster . 
 
 2 55 
 
 to the feast of St. Edmund the King and Martyr (November 20) next fol- 
 lowing, before the King was buried ; by Master Robert de Beverley, mason, 
 and by the view of Adam de Stratton, clerk of the Exchequer. 
 
 Receipts 1,212 /. Is. 0 \d., (from various sources, as before). 
 
 And in marble, free-stone as well from Caen as Reigate, flints, &c., (as be- 
 fore,) 205/. 6s. 10 \d. Timber, &c., (as before,) 13/. 14s. 7d. Lead, &c., (as 
 before,) including glass and other necessaries for the glass windows, as well for 
 the houses as for the church aforesaid, 20/. 13s. 3 \d. Tiles, &c., (as before,) 
 8/. 5s. And for three wooden angels made by task-work and placed in the 
 aforesaid church, 20s. And for wages of certain pavior masons making the 
 pavements before various altars in the said church, carpenters, painters, and 
 other workmen, “and of a certain workman making a clock by task-work f ,” 
 648/. 12s. 8 d. 
 
 PIPE ROLL 1 EDWARD I. No Entry. 
 
 [The next accounts which appear to he important for the illustration 
 of the architectural history of the building are those of the middle of 
 the fourteenth century, 15 Edward III., 1342, and subsequent years, 
 which fix the date of one side of the cloisters. Like most of the 
 building accounts of that period, they contain a great deal of incidental 
 information, often of an amusing character also. The walls of the old 
 Norman nave were not taken down until 1388, as appears from a pay- 
 ment to “three labourers for taking down the walls of the old church” 
 in that year.] 
 
 Account op “the new work of the old church” op Westminster, 15 
 
 Edward III. (1342). 
 
 Four stones bought for making capitals, 2s. 
 
 301 quarters of iron bought at London for making the windows of the 
 church, 11s. 4c/. 
 
 Wages of a mason for repairing bays of windows for one week, 2s. 6c/. 
 
 Making 4 stone capitals, 2s. 8c/., each 8 d. 
 
 Hire of a mason for 1 \d. a-day for placing said capitals and repairing 
 columns, 7\d. 
 
 3^ cwt. (300^) of slacked lime for whitening the walls and making 
 mortar, 11s. 8 d. 
 
 To plasterers for plastering and whitening the moiety of the said church by 
 special agreement, 40s. 
 
 One carter hired for a day to carry sand for them, 6 d. 
 
 Wages of a smith making the iron-work for four windows, 8s. 6c/. 
 
 4 barrels bought for making laths for staying the rafters, 4s. 4 d. 
 
 11 corbels of stone bought, 5s. 4c/. 
 
 Wages of 2 masons clearing drains, and making and placing the said corbels, 
 21 days, 10s. 6 d. 
 
 f “r* cuj’da op’arii fac orlogiu ad tascba.” 
 
2 5 6 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Paid to Walter le Bole, mason, for the repair and making of four windows 
 and one great pillar, by special agreement, 20/. 
 
 His wages for making parapets, 60s. 
 
 Dress, boots, gloves, and food found. 
 
 Account 18 Edward III. (1345). Receipts, 30/. 10s. 8\d. 
 
 20 marks received from the Abbot for making a cloister. 
 
 Payments to masons, and to two other marble masons, 2s. 10 d., (carpenters 
 and tilers in the cloister). 
 
 Wages of two bedders of stone, also bread and ale given to the masons; 
 Abbot’s men and many others working on Monday that they might better ex- 
 pedite the work on account of water in the foundation, 7\d, 
 
 Purchase of stones “ de Caen,” “ de coyn,” “ de gobet.” 
 
 Account of Brother John de Mordone for the work of the new clois- 
 ter, 23 to 26 Edward III. (1350 — 1353). Receipts, 71/. 6s. 5 d . 
 
 Wages of two masons from feast of St. Michael to Eeb. 23 (21 weeks), 70s., 
 when a new agreement was made with them, on account of flesh time, whereby 
 each had 4 d. a week more, viz. 2s. a week from Eeb. 23 to Michaelmas. To 
 one of them, as master of the work, 26s. 8 d. over his wages, and for his dress, 
 13s. 4 d., for two pair of shoes, 3s., and to their boy, 12 d. 
 
 Wages of Adam de Wytteneye, a bedder of stone, for 34 weeks, from the 
 feast of the Purification, 66s. 8of. ; his servant, 48s. 
 
 Wages of a quarrier for same time, 73s. 8 d . ; also of boys. 
 
 63 cart-loads of stone from the quarry to Battersea, 4/. 14s. 6 d . ; carriage of 
 same from Battersea to Westminster by water, 7s. 10 \d . ; carriage of same 
 from the water to the church, nothing, because in the sacrist’s carts, but in 
 expences of those helping to load the carts, 2s. 
 
 5 cwt. (500) of slacked lime, 33s. 4 d. 
 
 2 boat-loads of lime for “waites,” 24s. 
 
 Sawing boards for making girths g , 3s. ; wages, nails, &c. 
 
 200 spike-nails for the scaffold, 14 d . ; 25 others, 5s. 2 \d. 
 
 Cement for joining the stones, 6 d., besides wax from the sacrist. 
 
 Making mason’s tools for the year, 4s. 8d . ; two bundles of steel for tools 
 for the quarry, 20 d. ; putting on the steel and sharpening the tools. 6s. 
 
 2 boat-loads of rag (stone), 22s. 
 
 Twenty-fifth year. 
 
 60 feet of “ logemetz,” of rag (stone) bought for the work of the Prior in 
 the cloister, 17s. 3 d. 
 
 3 sarcophaguses bought of the parish of St. Margaret, 6s. 8d. 
 
 One bag of lead bought for strengthening the joints of the vaulting, 7s. 
 Total, 21/. 18s. 10 d. 
 
 Twenty-sixth year. 
 
 A third mason at work from Nov. 19 to May 28. 
 
 s “cinctures.” 
 
Fabric Rolls of Westminster . 
 
 2 <57 
 
 Wages of a fourth mason from Nov. 24 to Michaelmas, 44 weeks, at 3s. 2c?. 
 per week, 6?. 19s. 4c?. ; tunics for same. 
 
 Three carts hired for two days to carry lime from the chapel of Tothill to 
 Westminster, Id. each per day. 
 
 Various necessaries for the work, — cement, iron, digging sand in the 
 cloister, — 1 man, \\d. a day, making a cincture. 
 
 1 bedder of stone hired for a week for the expedition of the vaulting work 
 on account of the danger of frost, 2s. 6c?. 
 
 Total, 61?. 10s. Id. 
 
 Account of Brother John de Moudon eor the work of the new 
 cloister, from Michaelmas in the twenty-sixth Edward III., to same feast 
 in twenty-seventh. 
 
 Payments to 4 masons, 2 being occasional, provided with winter dresses 
 beside their own. Head mason’s fee 26s. 8c?. ; nothing for his dress this year 
 because he refused to receive it on account of the delay in its delivery. 
 
 Total, 64?. 19s. lc?. 
 
 Account Michaelmas 27 to 28 Edward III. Receipts, 34?. 6s. 8c?. Ex- 
 pended, 63?. 8s. 5c?., in excess. 
 
 Wages of one bedder of stone for 40 weeks, making the foundation of the 
 work on the side of the refectory, 70s. ; to a boy helping him, 40s. 
 
 One mason hired for four weeks to make keys to the vaultings, 13s. 4c?. 
 
 Account Michaelmas 28 to 29 Edward III., for the work of the said 
 cloister. 
 
 Wages of two regular masons, two casual, one bedder and helper. 
 
 One hundred feet of cut rag-stone bought for the lodgment of the founda- 
 tion, 58 s. 4c?. 
 
 Given to one marble mason for 2 weeks, shaping and polishing the said 
 stones and others. 
 
 Twelve cartloads of stone for making “ lystes” in the vaulting, bought on 
 account of the default of stone in the quarry, 18s. 
 
 Receipts, 41?. Is. 8c?. Excess of expenditure remains, 63?. 4s. 
 
 Account Michaelmas 29 to 30 Edward III. 
 
 Among receipts are 20s. from the Cellarer of Westminster for stone sold to 
 him for making a new furnace for lead ; and 40s. for stone sold and taken for 
 the King’s work at Windsor. 
 
 Wages of masons as before ; and for supply of stone, &c. 
 
 Receipts, 69?. Excess of expenditure, 46?. 14s. 10|c?. 
 
 Account 30 to 31 Edward III. As before. 
 
 One bedder of stone hired, for accelerating the vaulting, for three weeks, 9s, 
 Newly making iron-work for two windows, 21s. 
 
 Making a pit in the quarry for getting stone, by a certain agreement, 6?. 
 Making a door in the south part of the cloister, with iron-work bought for 
 the same, 40s. 
 
 Receipts, 28?. 13s. 4c?. Excess, 81?. 14s. 1 \d. 
 
A ppendix . 
 
 2 5 8 
 
 Account 31 to 32 Edward III. 
 
 Precept of the Abbot [Langliam] for the acceleration of the said work. 
 Wages of 6 masons — some casual, — one bedder of stone, 78s. the year, and 
 one servitor, 18s., by agreement, besides his table with the sick to save expence. 
 
 Expences of 2 masons at the quarry for 2 weeks, shaping and sculpturing h 
 stone for the windows and other necessaries, 6s. 
 
 Receipts, 78/. 16s. Excess, 771. 19s. 8 \d. 
 
 Account 33 to 31 Edward III. As before. 
 
 Wages of J. Langelod sculpturing stones for 8 weeks, 6s. 
 
 Iron-work for three windows in the cloister, raised this year, weighing 
 200 lb., 37s. 4£ 
 
 Receipts, 45 /. 5s. 4 d. Excess, 90/. 6s. 2 \d. 
 
 Account 35 to 36 Edward III. Much as before. 
 
 Metal bought for making a new “ cimbal” in the cloister, and for twice 
 melting the same, 50s. 
 
 Receipts, 73/. 17s. M. Plus, 6/. 4s. ll\d. 
 
 Account 36 to 37 Edward III. As before. 
 
 To another labourer for digging the foundation for four weeks, 8s. 
 
 Eor iron-work of a window in the new locutory, 13s. 4 d. 
 
 Excess, 10/. 12s. 10|^. 
 
 Account 38 to 39 Edward III. Receipts, 45/. 4s. 10c?. 
 
 3 masons at 2s. per week, and their livery of bread and ale. 
 
 Sum of all expences, 45/. 4s. 10 d. And so they are equal, the cloister being 
 finished. 
 
 Account op Brother Peter Coumbe, keeper op the new work op the 
 church op Westminster, of all receipts and expences from the 'Vigil of 
 St. Michael, 11 Richard II. (1388), to same feast in next year. 
 
 Receipts, 180/. 3s. 4 d., of which, surplus of last account, 28/. 15s. 4 \d. 
 
 Eee of Master Yevelee, chief mason, 100s. per annum, and for his dress and 
 furs, 15s. ; do. of Robert Kentbury, 13s. 4 d. ; tunic of Thomas Padington, 10s. 
 
 Five masons for 17 weeks (15/. 11s. 8 d.), one for five weeks, 6 labourers for 
 17 weeks at 20 d. each, four bedders of stone for three weeks, three others for 
 four weeks, two others for ten weeks. 
 
 4,400 sacks of slacked lime, 52 carts of sand, luncheons for the masons, 
 bedders and labourers, 23s. 
 
 Wages of three labourers breaking down the walls of the old church and 
 doing other things. 
 
 Expences at quarry, garden at Battersea hired for putting the stone in, farm 
 of the quarry at Chalfdon, 66s. 8 d . ; 440 loads of stone from the quarry to 
 Battersea, 44/. — 2s. a load. 
 
 Paid to a mason of Couf, in part payment of 40/. for a marble pillar, 10/. 
 Receipts, 4/. 3s. 11 \d. in excess. 
 
 Account 17 to 18 Richard II. 
 
 Arrears, 33/. Receipts, 476/. 16s., — of which 60/. from the King, 66/. 13s. 4 d. 
 h “scapulandis.” 
 
Fafo ic Rolls of Westminster . 
 
 2 <59 
 
 from the Duke of Lancaster, 66/. 13s. 4c?. from the sale of gold cloths of- 
 fered at the burial of Queen Aim, 66/. 13s. 4c?. from the herce of the said 
 Queen. 
 
 Wages, 86/. 11s. 6 d. Henry Zyevely, chief mason, 6 regular and named 
 masons, 3 casual, 3 casual setters. 
 
 Emptions and expences, 159/. Os. 9 \d . ; for North stone bought, 34/. 7 s. 10c/.; 
 for marble this year, 80/. ; 50s. for 10,000 tiles for the stone house at Bridge- 
 court ; 61/. 0s. 2d. for luncheons of the workmen. 
 
 Account 12 to 13 Richard II. 
 
 Receipts, 109/. 6s. 
 
 Four regular masons, casual bedders and masons, two regular labourers, 
 four casual ditto. 
 
 Conveyance of stone ; paid for one marble column this year, 30/. ; carriage 
 of ditto from the Thames, 5 s. 2d . ; for the iron-work of two windows, weighing 
 1,0001b., at 13s. 4c/., 8/. 3s. 4c/. ; for three windows weighing 9001b., 71. 7s. 
 Account 14 to 15 Richard II. 
 
 A chief and 6 regular masons, two casual ditto, one casual bedder, three 
 labourers and quarry men. 
 
 Garden at Battersea for stone, 3s. 4c?. ; paid for a marble column, 70/. ; car- 
 riage of same from the Thames, 10s. ; paid for tables for moulds, 21s. 6 d. 
 
 Account 18 to 19 Richard II. 
 
 Receipts, 443/. 11s. 4c/., including 106/. 13s. 4c?. from the King at divers 
 times, 111/. 13s. 4c/. from sale of gold cloths ; also other cloths. 
 
 Wages, &c. : one chief, ten regular and 6 casual masons, the c< table” ex- 
 pences of one mason’s apprentice Is. per week, two casual setters, two car- 
 penters working upon the new house for the masons, and another house in 
 Tothill-street for 22 weeks, at 2s. 6c/. each. 
 
 Carriage of stone from Reigate ; 62 tons of stone from Caen, at 6s. ; 64^- 
 tons from the North parts, at 7s. 6c?. per ton; for marble this year, 40/. 
 
 Foreign expences : for black cloth bought for the burial of Queen Anne, 20/.; 
 for making 100 dresses, 33s. 4c/.; paid to the dauber for the lodge for the 
 masons and the house in Tothill-street, 15s. 6c/. ; 18/. for 200 pieces of great 
 timber; for the iron- work of one window, weighing 401 qrs. 3 lbs., 70s.; for 
 pavement without the gate towards the King’s palace, 24s. 
 
 Account 19 to 20 Richard II. 
 
 Receipts, 253/. 3s. If d . : from the King nothing this year ; from gold cloths 
 offered on the anniversary of Queen Anne, 73s. 4c?. 
 
 Stone and carriage, 152/. 11s. 6 d . ; for iron-work of windows, weighing in 
 the whole 1,871 lbs., price the 100, 16s. 4c?. ; expences of the sacrist to 
 Purbek, 45s. 2 \d . ; another going to the North parts to purchase stone, 
 7 s. 10 d. 
 
 Account 20 to 21 Richard II. 
 
 Receipts, 3 77/. 3s. 8 d . ; including 100/. from the King, and 42/. 13s. 4c?. 
 from gold cloths sold. 
 
 Wages, 187/. 7s. ‘6d. 
 
260 Appendix . 
 
 For marble this year, 40/. ; for North stone, due for the preceding year, 
 20/. 65. 8 d. 
 
 Paid for the iron-work of one window of the chancel, 71. 135. 11c/. 
 
 Expences about the repair of houses in Westminster, 7s. Id. 
 
 Account 22 to 23 Richard II. 
 
 Receipts, 79/. 65. 4c?., and 144/. 135. 4 d. 
 
 Items as before ; paid for marble, 60/. 
 
 Account 23 Richard II., 1 Henry IV. 
 
 Payments to Thomas Lippynham and two others, at 35. 4 d. per week each. 
 A mason and another man, 3 labourers and 2 apprentices. 
 
 Account 1 to 2 Henry IY. 
 
 Receipts, 8 71. 85. 
 
 Wages, &c., 62/. 55. 10c/. ; fee of Master William Colchester, chief mason, 
 1005. the year, and for his dress and furs ; two workers, four masons, 2 setters, 
 3 labourers. 
 
 One pillar of marble bought, 40/. ; 50 loads of Reigate and 117 tons of 
 North stone. 
 
 Account 2 to 3 Henry IY. 
 
 Pillar of marble, 40/. ; to the smith for making iron-work for the church, 
 375. 4 d. 
 
 Account 4 to 5 Henry IY. 
 
 Paid for marble, 80/. 
 
 Account 9 to 10 Henry IY. 
 
 No wages ; under “ foreign payments” are entered purchases of 300 sacks 
 of lime, 5 loads sand, 4 ditto loam, 3,000 plain tiles, 1 bushel tile-pins, (a tiler 
 and his labourer for 10 days,) 2,000 roof-nails, 3,000 traunsons, 3,000 spriggs, 
 600 spikings, 300 feet of table oak, hooks and hinges weighing 42 lbs., 4 locks 
 and keys. 
 
 Account 11 to 12 Henry IY. 
 
 No wages , 8fC. ; “ foreign payments” include materials for roofing, and tiler 
 and man for 18 days. 
 
 Account 12 to 13 Henry IY. 
 
 No expences; but claim for 154/. 95. 10 d. as owing to the “new work.” 
 Account 13 Henry IY. to 3 Henry Y. only refers to the houses. 
 
 Account 3 to 4 Henry Y. 
 
 32/. expended in the “new work of the church.” — Mem.; this set of ac- 
 counts confined to the management of property assigned to the “ new work” 
 of the church, not to the progress of that work. 
 
 Ditto to 8 Henry Y. 
 
 Account 8 to 9 Henry Y. 
 
 Among expences is payment for making (by a carpenter) of “ a new palace 
 at the Bell.” At the end the balance said to be handed over to “ the Lord the 
 Abbot, the Surveyor of the nave of the church of Westminster made by the 
 Lord the King.” 
 
Fabric Rolls of Westminster. 
 
 2 6 1 
 
 [Since the publication of the first edition Mr. Burtt has discovered 
 a few more interesting passages in the Rolls : being entered under the 
 county of Dorset, they had escaped his attention in his former search. 
 The first, it will he seen, relates to the tomb of the Princess Katherine, 
 respecting which some particulars have already been given. We then 
 get a notice of the purchase of a small quantity of marble, at a date 
 between the Pabric Roll of 1253 and the earliest entry hitherto found 
 in the Pipe Rolls relating to the church, a.d. 1256-7. The other extract 
 is merely for the carriage of the marble.] 
 
 PIPE ROLL 41 HENRY III. a.d. 1256-7. 
 
 Doeset et Sum’set’ — Et Mag’ro Sim’ de Well’ ad exp’nsas suas ! eundo 
 v’sus Westnfi ad mandatu R’ ad faciendu ibid’ quenda tumulu ult a corp’ 
 Kat’ine fil’ R’ ii. m’ p’ br’ R’. Et in car’ ut’nsiliu suor’ ad op’aco’em d’ci 
 tumuli iiijs. t’ viij d. p’ id’ br’. 
 
 Et in marmore empto ap’d Corf ad op’aco’nes eccl’ie Westm’ v. m’ p’ br’ 
 R’ de C m’ p’ visu & test’m Mag’ri Joli’is cementar’ & Mag’ri Alex’ carp’ntar’ 
 c’todu ear’d’ op’aco’nnm. 
 
 Doeset and Someeset. — And to Master Simon de Wells for his expenses 
 in going to Westminster by the King’s command, there to make a certain tomb 
 over the body of Katherine the King’s daughter, two marks (1/. 6s. M.), by 
 the King’s writ. And for the carriage of his utensils for the work of the said 
 tomb, 4s. 8d. by the same writ. 
 
 And for marble bought at Corf for the works of the church of Westminster, 
 five marks (3/. 6s. 8^.), by the King’s writ for 100 marks, by the view and 
 testimony of Master John the Mason and Master Alexander the Carpenter, 
 Wardens of the same works. 
 
 PIPE ROLL 52 HENRY III. a.d. 1267-8. 
 
 Doeset and Someeset. — Et i’ toto marmore R’ que emptores . . . (ad) hoc 
 assig’ti emer’t ap’d Purbik’ ad op’ac’ ecc’e Westm’ cariand’ p’ aq? de Purbik’ 
 usq? Westm’ xij li. viiis. vj d. p’ br’ R’ & vis’ & test’ p’d’cor’ W. & H. 
 (Will’i cl’ici t’ Hug’ Kene). 
 
 And for all the King’s marble, which the purchasers thereto assigned 
 bought at Purbeck for the works of the church of Westminster, bemg carried 
 by water from Purbeck to Westminster 12/. 8s. 6 d., by the King’s writ, &c. 
 
THE LIBRARY OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY*. 
 
 The associations connected with the venerable edifice under whose 
 shadow we are now assembled are such that the man of thought can 
 scarcely fail to be struck by them. The Abbey itself, with its long 
 chain of history from the King and Confessor St. Edward to the pre- 
 sent time, arrests our attention; hut as we gaze on the glorious pile 
 with wonder and admiration, we are reminded of an association which 
 so completely identifies this Abbey with what may be termed the origin 
 of our literature, that we may be allowed to pause and reflect. It is 
 here, within the walls and under the protection of Westminster Abbey, 
 that the first English printing-press was reared ; it is here that William 
 Caxton, the first English printer, laid the foundation of that art which 
 has given to us what is now as necessary to mankind as bodily suste- 
 nance, namely books and libraries. For a library is not to be considered 
 a mere luxury, a picture-gallery or museum of curiosities, available 
 only to the few, it is in these days of intelligence and improvement 
 a necessity for all; a library such as this is a grand storehouse of 
 materials from which we gather learning and knowledge ; knowledge 
 divine, which leads to heaven ; knowledge which will make the poor 
 man rich, and will give the rich man what is above all gold and silver, 
 the power unto wisdom which “is glorious and never fadeth away.” 
 
 This library was founded about 1620, by Lord Keeper Williams, 
 (whose portrait yet hangs here,) during the time he was Dean of 
 Westminster. The books were originally kept in one of the chapels in 
 the Abbey, but were afterwards removed to their present quarters. 
 
 In 1644 the books are stated to have suffered from a conflagration, 
 but whether this catastrophe took place before they were removed 
 hither or no, cannot be ascertained. The printed books number about 
 eleven thousand volumes, and include many valuable works. Among 
 them are the Complutensian Polyglott, 1515, in six vols. folio ; Walton’s 
 Polyglot t, dated in 1657 ; several valuable Hebrew Bibles, ranging in 
 date from 1596; various Greek and Latin Bibles, and several English 
 ones, including Cranmer’s of 1540, and the first and second editions of 
 Parker’s, or the Bishops’ Bible, in 1568 and 1572. Bituals and Prayer- 
 
 a From a paper read in the Library, at the Meeting of the London and Middle- 
 sex Society, Oct. 25, 1860. By W. H. Hart, F.S.A. 
 
The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 263 
 
 books, the works of the ancient Fathers, the Schoolmen, and the Re- 
 formers, are in great plenty. English theologians and English histo- 
 rians also abound, including the Legenda Nova Anglice, London, 1516; 
 and Parker, De Antiquitate Neele sice Britannicce , London, 1562. 
 
 Heraldry is not largely represented in this library, but in classical 
 literature there are ample materials both for the industrious student 
 and the curious bibliographer. Again, here is the first edition of the 
 works of Plato, printed at Venice, in 1513 ; this is on vellum. A valu- 
 able book is here preserved, — it is one of those printed at Oxford during 
 the fifteenth century, — Johannes Latteburius in threnos Jeremie , Capitulis 
 C XV., folio, Oxonii , Anno dn'i 1482, ultima die mensis Julii. From 
 a memorandum on the first leaf of this book it appears that in 1563 it 
 belonged to Thomas Sackomb, who purchased it of John Avyngton, 
 a monk, also Scholar and Bachelor of the Cathedral Church of Win- 
 chester, and afterwards Professor of Theology. Several of the books 
 here bear the signature of William Camden, in small and neat cha- 
 racters; they were doubtless gifts from him. 
 
 On one of the leaves of a copy of an early printed English book, 
 “ The Dialogue of Dives and Pauper,” printed by Richard Pynson 
 in 1493, in excellent condition, is this inscription, partially defaced: 
 11 Iste liber constat . . . Banbury . . . Osneye.” Dnder this are 
 three shields, the centre one containing these arms, Argent, two 
 bends, azure ; the two others are alike, each one containing a device 
 like a merchant’s mark, possibly standing for H. A. W., but this is 
 doubtful. 
 
 The signature of John Fox the martyrologist occurs on the title-page 
 of a book entitled Gasparis Megandri Tigurini in Epistolam Pauli ad 
 Ephesios Gommentarius, Basil, 1534. Two others are on a copy of 
 JVIelancthon's Loci Communes Theologici, 1548. 
 
 A book here preserved, entitled Descriptio Britannice, Scotice, Lly- 
 hernice, et Orcliadum , ex libro Pauli Jovii Episcopi Nucer, was once 
 the property of Robert Glover, Portcullis Pursuivant at Arms, but 
 afterwards passed into the possession of another proprietor, as appears 
 by an inscription on the fly-leaf ; and the second possessor has added 
 this somewhat sarcastic remark, “ Sic transit rerum proprietas.” 
 
 In a copy of Ben Jonson’s works, 1640, these verses are on a fly- 
 leaf : — 
 
 : Tho’ cruel Death has this great Conquest made 
 And learned Johnson in his urn is lay’d 
 Nere shall his fame be in y e tyrants pow’r 
 For y l shall live when Death shall be no more.” 
 
264 Appendix. 
 
 In another part of the same book : — 
 
 “ Lord give me wisdom to direct my ways 
 I beg not Riches nor yet Length of Days. 
 
 Farewell.” 
 
 In a “ Daily Office for the Sick,” &c., 1699, is this note : — 
 
 “ If this be lost and you do find, I pray you to bere so good an mind as to re- 
 store un to the seme that here below heth set her name. H. G.” 
 
 In Lombardica Hystoria, 1490, is this amusing note : — 
 
 “ Thomas Tyllie ys my name 
 And with my hand I cannot mend this same 
 He that dothe reade and not understande 
 Ys lyke to a blinde man led by y c hai de 
 Who, yf the guide be not suer and sounde 
 Ys lyke often tymes to ly on the grounde 
 Therefore good reader let theise be thy staye 
 And be not unmyndfull of them every daye. 
 
 For feare of fallinge as ofte doth the blinde. 
 
 And so by false guiders the truth shall not finde, 
 
 W ch greatly doth greve the blind for the tyme, 
 
 And thus craving pardone I make up my ryme. 
 
 “John Lee. Thomas Tyllye. 
 
 “An 0 Dni 1586.” 
 
 On the fly-leaf of Heylyn’s “Help to English History,” (London, 
 1670,) is this short but very expressive admonition : — 
 
 “Exodus 20th c. 
 
 ‘ Thou shalt not steal/ ” 
 
 In the binding of a book entitled Homeliarius Doctorum , 1494, are 
 two interesting documents, nearly perfect, only just so much having 
 been cut off from the edge as to destroy perhaps the last two words in 
 each line. They are on parchment, and were pasted inside the covers, 
 but are now disengaged from their fellows by the joint action of time 
 and damp. 
 
 The first consists of the will of Robert Atte "Wod, Alderman of 
 Oxford, dated the 28th day of May, 1461, just thirty-three years prior 
 to the date of the book itself. By it he bequeaths his soul to Almighty 
 Grod and all the saints, and his body to be buried in the church of the 
 Blessed Mary of Oseney, near the grave of his father ; and after making 
 gifts to various churches, he provides for a chaplain to offer up the 
 Mass for his soul, and the soul of Cicely Herberfeld, for whom he was 
 bound, (i.e. he was under obligation,) in the church of St. Martin at 
 Oxford for four years. He also gave to Joan his wife, for her life, 
 
The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 265 
 
 a tenement in the parish of St. Thomas, called Bokebynders Place; 
 and after her death, then according to the form and effect of certain 
 indentures between the abbot of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of 
 Osseneya, and himself. This will was proved in the Ecclesiastical 
 Court at Oxford. 
 
 The other document is undated, but is probably of the same period 
 as the will. It is a petition, in English, and is remarkable for the 
 title it assigns to the magnates of the city of London, namely, that of 
 “ sovereigns.” It runs thus : — 
 
 “ To the Ryght honourable and gracyous lorde end worshypfull souveraignes the 
 Mayre and Aldremen of yis noble Citie of London. 
 
 “Besechith full humblely your poore and perpetuell oratrice Johan Pentrith, 
 widowe, late th . . . John Pentrith, youre trewe Servaunt and Officere, that 
 
 it may please you and goode graces in . . . deracion of the longe daies of 
 
 theire continuaunce in youre service withinne this Citee of L ... of the gret 
 and importable penurye that youre sayde poore oratrice seth tyme of hir sed 
 h . . . decesse hath longe tyme continued and abyden unto the gret peine and 
 
 hevynesse of your . . . suppliant, the which she cannot well long tyme endure 
 
 without youre goode and gracious . . . relief. To yeve and graunt unto youre 
 
 saide poore oratrice some annuell refresshament . . . gracyous almesse and 
 
 goodnesse in relevynge and refresshing of hir said poverte and heu .... for 
 the tendre love that ye have hadde unto hir said housbond, atte reverence of 
 almyght .... and in wey of cliarite, and youre saide poor wydowe and 
 perpetuell oratrice shall pra .... for you hir lyf durynge,” &c. 
 
 In another book, Homiliarum Opus , E. Adami Sasbout, Delphii 
 Lovanii, 1556, are two parchment deeds, which have been made use of 
 for binding purposes. They are not so perfect as the previous speci- 
 mens, but they yield some little information as to property and persons 
 in the city of London. 
 
 By the first one John Brother, son and heir of Adam de Brother, 
 grants to Adam de Brauncestre and another, goldsmiths, of London, 
 and their heirs or assigns, two marks annual rent, which the same 
 Adam and Thomas purchased of Adam Brother his (grantor’s) father, 
 issuing out of the principal messuage, and the tenement adjoining, 
 in the parish of Saint Mary Magdalen, in Old Fish-street, near the 
 said church. This deed is of the reign of Henry III. or Edward I. 
 The other deed is very fragmentary. By it John de . . . rd, citizen 
 and vintner of London, gives to Edward de Westsmethefield, London, 
 and Boger de Creton, certain lands, the locality of which does not 
 appear. It is dated at “ Iseldon,” (Islington,) 8 Edward III. 
 
 Another series of books which have not only a local, but also a great 
 historical interest, are the books used at the coronations of the sove- 
 reigns of this realm. 
 
266 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The first two are histories of the solemnity ; one entitled, — 
 
 “ The entertainment of His Most Excellent Majestie Charles II., in his passage 
 through the City of London to his Coronation, containing an exact accompt of the 
 whole solemnity : The Triumpliall arches, and Cavalcade delineated in Sculpture ; 
 the Speeches and Impresses illustrated from antiquity. To these is added a brief 
 narrative of His Majestie’s Solemn Coronation : with his magnificent proceeding, 
 and Royal Eeast in Westminster Hall. By John Ogilby. London. Printed by 
 Tho. Roycroft, and are to be had at the Author’s house in King’s Head Court 
 within Shoe Lane. M DC lxii.” 
 
 The other entitled, — • 
 
 “The History of the Coronation of the most High, most mighty, and most ex- 
 cellent Monarch, James II. by the Grace of God King of England, Scotland, 
 France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., and of his Royal Consort, Queen 
 Mary : solemnized in the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, in the City of West- 
 minster, on Thursday the 23 of April, being the Festival of St. George, in the year 
 of our Lord 1685. With an exact account of the several preparations in order 
 thereunto, their Majesties’ most splendid processions, and their Royal and Magni- 
 ficent Feast in Westminster Hall. The whole work illustrated with Sculptures. 
 By his Majestie’s especial command. By Francis Sandford, Esqre., Lancaster 
 Herald of Arms. In the Savoy: Printed by Thomas Newcomb, one of His 
 Majesties Printers, 1687.” 
 
 We then come to George the Third’s reign. Here is a book hand- 
 somely bound in red morocco, and gilt, and the inner sides of the covers 
 ornamented with gold and flowers. It is entitled, — 
 
 “ The Form and order of the service that is to be performed, and of the cere- 
 monies that are to be observed in the Coronation of their Majesties King George III. 
 and Queen Charlotte in the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster, on Tuesday 
 the 22nd of September, 1761. London : Printed by Mark Baskett, Printer to the 
 King’s most Excellent Majesty, and by the assigns of Robert Baskett, 1761.” 
 
 And then in their order are the hooks of George the Fourth, William 
 the Fourth, and our present sovereign, the Lady Victoria. The last 
 one, however, is simply stitched in black paper covers. 
 
 It is stated that in the library founded by Hr. Williams in Redcross- 
 street, Cripplegate, were many manuscripts, which were burnt, and 
 among them the pompous and curious hook of the ceremonies of the 
 coronation of the kings of England. 
 
 There seems to have been in former times one hook or standard for 
 the ceremony of our coronations, for in the Harleian MS. (British 
 Museum), FTo. 310, art. 4, there is a transcript from some hook of 
 authority, hut the date does not appear. It is entitled “ A CoHection 
 out of the Booke called Liber Regalis remaining in the Treasury of the 
 Church of Westminster touchinge the Coronation of the Kinge and 
 Queene together accordinge to the usuall forme, Pag. 4.” 
 
267 
 
 The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 It proceeds thus 
 
 “ The place where the Kinge is to be crowned is the churche of Westminster 
 graunted to it by divers charters to be Locus Institutionis et Coronationis Regia 
 et Repositorium Regalium Insignium imperpetuum. 
 
 The tyme, if it may he with conveniencye some sollempne hollidaye or Sunday. 
 
 The person that is to annointe and to Crowne the Kinge is the Lo. Archbishopp 
 of Canterburye. 
 
 Against the Sollempnitie a square stage is to be sett up closse to the fower highe 
 pillars hetweene the Quiere and the Altar, with railes about it. 
 
 The stage is to be covered with Tapistrye, and the Rayles allsoe to be covered 
 richlye. 
 
 There must be two paire of Stares from the stages, one to the Queere Westward, 
 and the other to the Altar Eastward. 
 
 Uppon the Stage are two Thrones of Estate to he set upp, one for the Kinge, 
 and another for the Queene set out richlye. 
 
 The King’s Throne to be heigher then the Queenes. 
 
 On the South side of the Altar is a Chaire to be sett for the Kinge, and annother 
 not soe highe on the North e side for the Queene, with lowe stooles and Quishions 
 for either of them to praye at. 
 
 In Saint Edwards Chappell a Travers is to be set upp wherin the Kinge dis- 
 roheth himselfe after the Coronation is donne. 
 
 Where allsoe a stoole, and Quichions (to pray at), and a Chaire for the Queene 
 to repose hirselfe in the meane tyme are to be made readdye. 
 
 Your Lo’pp is to put the Kinge in minde, the eveninge before the Corronation, 
 to give himselfe to contemplation and prayer as in the booke, pag. 6. 
 
 Your Lordshipp is to deliver to his Magestye the Tunica or Shirte of redd Silke 
 which hee is to weare next over his Shirte, to which Tunica his Magesties Shirte 
 and other wearinge Apparrell is to be fitted because of the annoyntinge. 
 
 There are to be delivered allsoe thease Regalia to whome his Magestie shall 
 appoint, 
 
 viz. 
 
 The Ivory Rodd with the Dove, 
 The Scepter, 
 
 The Crowne, 
 
 For the Kinge, For the Queene, 
 
 The Regalia, 
 
 The Patten, 
 
 The Scepter w th the Crosse, 
 
 The longe Scepter, 
 
 The rodd w th the Dove, 
 
 The Spures, J 
 
 All the other Regalia, together with the Ampall wherein is the oyle which the 
 Kings and Queenes have bine annoynted, he layed reddye on the Altar. 
 
 That the Crowne and other Rohes which the Kinge putteth one after the Coro- 
 nation to he layed readdye in the Travers in St. Edwards Chappell. 
 
 The heire of the Lo. Beauchampe of Bedford Almoner for the Coronation daye 
 is to have care that Clothes be spread on the ground from the Pallace Hall dore to 
 the stage in the Church. 
 
 JDiaconus W'estm r semper lateri Regis adharendo prcesens debet esse pro dicti 
 Regis informations in hiis qua dicta Coronationis concernunt solemnitatem. 
 
 The Archebishoppes and Bishopps of this Kingdome present with the Churche 
 and Queere of Westminster are to meete the Kinge at the Pallace Gate. 
 
268 Appendix. 
 
 Two Bishopps appointed by the Kinge are to carrye first the Regall, 2 The 
 Patten. 
 
 Then three Peeres, Duces sive Comites Regni excellentiores, fyc., are to beare 
 
 1 The Scepter with the Crosse. 
 
 2 The Longe Scepter. 
 
 3 The Rodd with the Dove. 
 
 After whome 3 swords borne by the Earles of Chester, Huntingdon, Warwicke. 
 
 Then unus de Magnatibus ad hoc per Regem assignatus is to carrye the Spurres. 
 
 The Kinge goeth next under a Canopye borne by the Barones of the Cinque 
 Portes, 4 of them at a Staffe, supported by the Bishopps of Durham and Bathe. 
 
 After the Kinge followe 3 Peeres carryinge the 
 
 1 Ivorye Rodd. 
 
 2 The Queenes Scepter. 
 
 3 The Queenes Crown e. 
 
 Then the Queene, under a Canopye borne likewyse by the Barons of the Cinque 
 Portes, supported likewyse by 2 Bishopps, hir gowne and habite discribed in the 
 booke. 
 
 The Kinge and Queene are receaved into the Church with an Anthum or 
 Hyrame. 
 
 They passe upp the Boddye of the churche to the Thrones of Estate, and they 
 repose themselves eyther of them, in sede sibi apta , and not in the Thrones. 
 
 The Kinge beinge seated as aforesayd the Archbishopp, {preeunte Marescallo 
 Regni) goeth to all the sides of the Stage speakinge to the people ipsorum in- 
 quirens voluntatem Sfc. 
 
 Duringe which the Kinge standeth upp and turneth himselfe as the Archbishopp 
 speaketh to the people. 
 
 The people shewe their consent by their acclamations. 
 
 An Anthem’s sunge. 
 
 The Archbishopp whilest it is singinge goeth to the Altar. 
 
 The Queene allsoe, supported by 2 Bishopps, goethe after the Kinge to the Altar 
 to a place provided for them. 
 
 The Kinge offereth first Pallium unum et unam Libram auri and then kneelethe 
 and the Archebishopp sayth a prayer. 
 
 A Bishopp then beginethe the Sermon which the Kinge and Queene heere by 
 the Altar. 
 
 After the Sermon the Archebishopp asketh the Kinge whether he be pleased to 
 take the oathe which his predecessors usually tooke. 
 
 The Kinge willinge therunto goeth to the Altar to take it. 
 
 The Archbishopp asketh the 3 first questions, and the Kinge severallye an- 
 sweareth unto them. 
 
 Then annother Bishopp readeth the last Questionne, and the Kinge answarethe 
 to y t in the words as theie are sett downe (viz‘) 
 
 Archebishopp. — S r Will you graunte and keepe and by your oath confirme to 
 the people of England the Lawes and Customes to them graunted by the Kings of 
 England your lawfull and Relligious Predecessours, And namelye the Lawes Cus- 
 tomes and Franchises graunted to the Clergie and to the people by the glorious 
 Kinge St. Edward your predecessour, accordinge and conformable to the Lawes of 
 God and profession of the Gospell established in this Kingdome, and agreeinge to 
 the Prerogatives of the Kings thereof and to the auntient Customes of this 
 Realme. 
 
The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 269 
 
 The Kinge answarethe 
 
 I graunt and promise to keepe them. 
 
 Then the Metropollitane shall declare unto the Kinge what the things are he 
 shall sweare unto. 
 
 Metrop. — S r Will you keepe peace and agreement entyerlye accordinge to your 
 power both to God, the Holye Church, and the people ? 
 
 The Kinge. — I will keepe it. 
 
 Metro’p. — S r Will you to your power cause Lawe, Justice, and discretion in 
 mercy and truthe to be executed in all your Judgements ? 
 
 The Kinge . — I will. 
 
 Metrop. — S r Will you graunte to hould and keepe the Lawes and rightfull cus- 
 tomes which the Commaltye of your Kingdome have, and to defend and uphould 
 them to the honor of God, soe much as in you lyethe ? 
 
 The Kinge. — I graunte and promise soe to doe. 
 
 Legatur admonitio sequens ab uno Kpiscopo coram omnibus clara voce , sic 
 dicendo. 
 
 Domine Rex a vobis pardonari petimus , et unicuique de nobis et Kcclesiis nobis 
 commissis canonicnm privilegium et debitam legem atque justitiam concernetis et 
 defensionem exhibeatis, sicut Rex in suo Regno debet unicuique Kpiscopo et Kccle- 
 siis sibi commissis. 
 
 Respondet Rex 
 
 Animo liberti et devoto, promitto vobis et pardono quia unicuique de vobis com- 
 missis canonicum privilegium et debitam legem atque justitiam servabo et defen- 
 sionem quantum potuero adjuvante Domino exhibeo , sicut Rex in suo Regno uni- 
 cuique Kpiscopo et Kcclesiis sibi commissis per Rectum defendere debet. 
 
 This beingedone the Kinge comethe to the Alt »r, and layinge his right hand one 
 the Bible, saithe thease words 
 
 Thease things which I have before promised I shall observe and keepe soe God 
 me helpe and by the contents of this booke. 
 
 The Kinge returneth to his seate of Estate againe, and the Archbishopp be- 
 ginethe the Mymmes Veni Creator Spiritus Sfc. the Queere singinge it. 
 
 The Kinge and Queene kneele downe, and the Archbishopp sayth a prayer. 
 
 After which the Letanie is sunge, at the end whereof are prayers proper for the 
 solempnitye. 
 
 The Letanye ended the Archbishopp sayth alowd, clara voce ; 
 
 Lifte up your heartes. 
 
 It is verry meete and right &c. 
 
 Then the King arrisethe and goeth to the Altar, and then putteth of his other 
 garments, and the Archbishopp openinge the places to he annointed, first annoynteth 
 his hands saying unguantur manus dfc. 
 
 The Queere singinge an Anthem, and after it the Archbishopp sayth a prayer. 
 
 Then he annoynteth his brest, and betweene the shoulders, and both the shoulders 
 the bendings of the Armes, the Crowne of his head. 
 
 Then the Deane of Westminster closeth his robes againe. 
 
 The Queere in the meane tyme singinge an Anthem, and after the Archbishopp 
 sayth 2 prayers. 
 
 St. Edwards Ivorye Combe is to be used if the King’s hayre after annoyntinge 
 lye not smoothe. 
 
 Then the Colobium or Dalmatica is put on his Magestye by the Deane of 
 Westminster. 
 
 u u 
 
270 
 
 Appendix . 
 
 After which done the Arclibishopp sayth a prayer. 
 
 Then the Deane puttetli on the 
 Kinge 
 
 } 
 
 The super tunica, 
 Tinsin hose, 
 Sandalls. 
 
 The Spurres are put one by a Nobleman. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp, after he hath layd the sword on the Altar and sayd 
 a prayer, he delivereth it to the Kinge sayinge 
 
 Accipe Gladium Sfc. 
 
 A Peere girteth it about the Kinge. 
 
 Then tbe Armill is putt aboute the Kings necke, the Archbishopp saying Accipe 
 
 Armillas. 
 
 Then y e Mantle or open Pall is put one by the Deane, the Archbishopp sayinge 
 Accipe Pallium Sfc. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp taketh the Crowne and sayth 2 prayers, then crowneth 
 the Kinge sayinge 
 
 Coronet te Deus Sfc. 
 
 The Queere singinge an Anthem. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp taketh the Ringe, sayinge 2 prayers, and putteth it on 
 the Kings finger saying 
 
 Accipe Reg ice dignitatis Annulum Sfc. 
 
 And then sayth a Prayer. 
 
 Then the Kinge putteth on the Lynnen Gloves which are parte of the Regalia. 
 
 Then the Kinge taketh of his sword wherewith he was girte before, and goeth 
 to tbe Altar and offers it, which the Cheife Nobleman present by offeringe, re- 
 deemethe, drawethe out and carrieth naked before the Kinge duringe the 
 Sollempnitye. 
 
 The Archbishopp then delivereth to the Kinge the Scepter with the Crosse 
 sayinge 
 
 Accipe Sceptrum Sfc. 
 
 And sayth a prayer. 
 
 Then he delivereth the Rodd with the Dove into the King’s left hand sayinge 
 Accipe virgam virtutis. 
 
 And then blesseth the Kinge sayinge 
 
 Renedicat tibi Dominus, Sfc. 
 
 The Kinge kisseth the Archbishopp and the other Bishopps that assiste. 
 
 After this the Kinge goeth from the Altar up to the Stage, all the Peeres 
 attendinge. 
 
 The Queere singinge Te Deum Sfc. 
 
 Which beinge done the Archbishopp Inthroneth the Kinge in his Throne sayinge 
 
 Sta et retine a modo Locum,, which donne all the Peeres doe theire Homage to 
 his Magestye and then put their hands and touche the Crowne together. 
 
 Then the Kinge for his ease deliverethe the Scepter and Rodd to whome he 
 pleasethe. 
 
 Thease things done the Archbishopp goeth to the Altar and the Queene goeth 
 thither likewyse and kneeleth downe. 
 
 The Archbishopp sayth a prayer. 
 
 The Queene arriseth, then the cheifest Ladye present taketh of the Queenes 
 Coronet, and then openeth hir brest, and then kneeleth againe. 
 
 The Archbishopp pouretli the oyle on the Crowne of hir head saying In 
 nomine Sfc. 
 
The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 271 
 
 Then he sayth a prayer. 
 
 The Cheife Ladye then closethe hir Robes at hir hreste and pntteth on hir heade 
 a linnen Quoyfe. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp putteth on the Queenes Ringe sayinge Accipe An - 
 nulum Sfc. 
 
 And then sayth a prayer. 
 
 Then he taketh the Crowne and layeth it one the Altar sayinge a prayer. 
 
 The Queene arisetli, and the Archbishopp taketh the Crowne and layeth it on 
 the Altar sayinge a prayer. 
 
 Then hee pntteth the Crowne on hir heade sayinge 
 Accipe Coronam. 
 
 After that sayth a prayer. 
 
 The prayer beinge donne the Archbishopp delivereth the Scepter into hir right 
 hand, and y e Ivory Rodd with the Dove into hir left hand, and sayth a prayer. 
 
 Then y e Queene arriseth and goetli forthe from the Altar supported by two 
 Bishopps upp to the Stage, and passinge by the Kinge doth Inclinare Regi ; ejus 
 Magestatem ut decet adorando. 
 
 After which shee is lead to hir throne and is placed in it without further 
 Ceremonye. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp goeth to the Altar and heginneth a Communion, first 
 saying a prayer. 
 
 The Epistle and Gospell are read by 2 Bishopps. 
 
 Then the Nicene Creede. 
 
 That donne, the Queere singeth in the mean tyme while the Kinge and Queene 
 come downe to offer, the Kinge goeth first to the Altar and offereth bread and 
 wyne for the Communion. 
 
 Then returning to the Chaire goeth againe and offereth a Marke of gould. 
 
 Then the Queene goeth to the Altar and offereth. 
 
 Then the Archbishopp pronounceth over them a blessinge. Which beinge donne 
 tlieie are brought hacke to theire chaires hard by the Altar. 
 
 The Archbishopp proceedeth with the praier and then with the Confession. 
 
 After the Archbishopp hath communicated himselfe, and those that assiste him, 
 the Kinge and Queene come to the stepps of the Altar and receave the Communion. 
 
 The Archbishopp ministereth the bread and y e Deane of Westminster the cupp. 
 
 That donne the Kinge and Queene are brought backe againe to theire Thrones, 
 and there staye till service be ended. 
 
 After which the Kinge and Queene come downe frome theire Thrones in Estate, 
 and .goe to Kinge Edwards Chappell. 
 
 There the Kinge taketh of the Crowne and delivereth it to y e Archbishoppe. 
 
 The Queene doth y e like. 
 
 Hee layeth them on the Altar there. 
 
 The Kinge withdraweth himselfe into the Traverse there prepared, and y e 
 Queene reposeth hirselfe untill y e Kinge returne. 
 
 In y e Traverse the greate Chamberlaine of England taketh of K. Edwards Robes 
 and delivereth them to the Deane of Westminster. 
 
 The Kinge putteth on his owne Robes Royall which were prepared for him to 
 weare that daye. 
 
 He goethe forthe of y e Traverse to Kinge Edwards Altar where the Archbishopp 
 putteth on the Kinge and Queenes heads y e Imperiall Crownes theie are to weare 
 that daye. 
 
272 Appendix. 
 
 The Kinge and Queene take into tlieire hands againe each of them theire Scepter 
 and Rodd. 
 
 The Trayne is sett in order, and the Kinge and Queene goe backe in most 
 solempne manner to y e Pallace y e same waye theie came. 
 
 The Kinge and Queene withdrawinge themselves after dinner, the Scepter and 
 Rodde parte of the Regalia are to be redelivered to the Deane of Westminster.” 
 
 Manuscripts. 
 
 The greater part of the manuscripts perished in the fire before 
 spoken of, but there are a few left, and among them are some valu- 
 able specimens. 
 
 In the Harleian MS., Ho. 694, are contained numerous catalogues 
 of various libraries, and among them a list of the manuscripts here, 
 compiled apparently in the year 1672. It is entitled, “ Catalogus 
 Codd. MSS. in Bibliotheca Westmonast. An 0 1672.” This contains 
 above three hundred volumes, all of which are briefly specified. 
 There is a good sprinkling of classical authors, the ancient Bathers 
 of the Church, and several books which, if now in existence, would 
 have been well worthy our attention. Among these are — 
 
 “ An English new Testament with a Calender of the Epistles and Ghospells. 
 
 “ An old Missall with the Roman Calender before it. 
 
 “ Two other Missalls. 
 
 “ A treatise how to live godly ly, Beginneth, a Treatize y 1 sufficeth to each man 
 and woman to live after if they wolen bee saved. 
 
 “ A book of prayers to certaine Saints with the pictures. 
 
 “ The Summary of the whole Bible collected by Wickliffe.” 
 
 Next come several books on legal subjects, gavelkind, pleadings, 
 statutes, and forms of writs ; then a curious book entitled, — 
 
 “ The method of preparing food, or concerning the ancient culinary art, in which 
 are elucidated the names of the dishes had at the dinners of Coronations and 
 Installations.” 
 
 The magnificently illuminated missal or service-book, prepared in 
 the year 1373 under the care of Nicholas Litlington, at that time 
 abbot of this church, is in most excellent preservation, with scarcely 
 a blemish throughout, except those owing to design. 
 
 The first volume commences with the consecration of salt for the 
 holy water. It contains offices for the Sundays of the whole year, 
 from Advent to the twenty-fifth after Trinity; likewise several of 
 the principal festivals. 
 
 The second volume contains the Mass and the service for Passion- 
 week, at great length ; the office for the coronation of the king and 
 queen, and that for the queen only when not crowned with the 
 
T he L ibrary of W estrn inster A bbey. 273 
 
 king ; the office for the royal funerals ; several offices for inferior or 
 national saints, as Edward the Confessor, Edmund, Dunstan, Laurence, 
 Catherine, &c. 
 
 By a proclamation in Henry the Eighth’s time, renewed under 
 Edward the Sixth, all services, litanies, and hooks of prayer were 
 ordered to be purified from all the remains of popery ; and in con- 
 sequence of this, the very name of the Pope has been erased from 
 many Missals, and in this of Litlington’s the name of St. Thomas 
 a Becket is erased from the calendar, as also the office for his festival. 
 
 There is a very curious piece of history respecting a manuscript 
 still preserved in the library, entitled “Flores Historiarum , or the 
 Chronicle of Matthew of Westminster.” In some rhymes written by 
 a monk of Westminster on the life of Henry the Eifth, (contained in 
 Cotton MSS. Brit. Mus., Cleopatra B., and lately edited by Mr. Charles 
 Augustus Cole in the series of Chronicles now being published under 
 the direction of the Master of the Rolls,) the author, after describing 
 the bounteous gifts made by the King to the Church of Westminster, 
 mentions in particular two precious books and a sceptre which he 
 restored to the same church : — 
 
 “ Psalterium carum, sic Flores Historiarum 
 Restituit gratis ad Westmynstre vir pietatis.” 
 
 There can be but little doubt that the Flores Historiarum spoken of 
 by the chronicler is the identical volume still in the library, while 
 there is every reason to believe that the “precious Psalter” is none 
 other than Litlington’s Missal. 
 
 We have here the ancient Chronicle of England commonly called 
 the “Brute;” which is a compilation from the History of Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth. There is an abundant supply of copies of this Chronicle 
 throughout the manuscript repositories of this country, especially at 
 the British Museum. 
 
 Here also is a curious manuscript on subjects of natural history, 
 with coloured representations of various animals, preceded by draw- 
 ings of human monstrosities, and a view of Adam’s naming the 
 animals. 
 
 A book, which though not in the library, is yet connected with the 
 Abbey, demands a few passing words. In the Public Record Office in 
 this metropolis is preserved a book containing the various indentures 
 between King Henry YII. and the abbot and convent of Westminster 
 concerning the prayers to be said for himself and family during his 
 life, and the performance of services for their souls after their decease. 
 These indentures are dated July 16, 1504, and they enumerate with 
 
274 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 great precision all the services which were to he held, and the various 
 collects and psalms to be used from and after the execution of the 
 deed. Special prayers were to be said daily in the regular services 
 of the Abbey for the prosperity of the King and his family ; there was 
 to he a “herse” set round with 100 tapers, which the King provided 
 till the chapel was erected in which his tomb was to he placed, and an 
 “ Anniversary” was to be performed upon February 11. At certain of 
 the Masses said by the chantry-monk appointed for that purpose, he 
 was to turn his face 11 at the firste lavatory” to the people, and bid 
 them pray for the King thus : — 
 
 “ Sirs, — I exhorte and desire you specially and devoutly of your charitie to praye 
 for the good and prosperous estate of the Kyng oure Souverayne Lorde Kyng 
 Henry the vij th , founder of thre masses perpetually to be sayd in this monastery, 
 and for the prosperity of this his reame, and for the soule of the moost excellent 
 Princesse Elizabeth late Quene of Englande, his wif, and for the soules of their 
 children and issue, and fur the soule of the right noble Prince Edmund late Erie of 
 Richemont, fader to oure said souverayne lorde the Kyng, and for the soules of all 
 his other progenitours and auncestres, and all cristen soules.” 
 
 This hook is illuminated, and is superbly bound in velvet, and the 
 seals of the contracting parties are enclosed in small silver skippets. 
 
 ON ANCIENT BINDINGS IN THE LIBRARY b . 
 
 The examples of fifteenth and sixteenth century impressed leather 
 bindings in this library are numerous, and many of them are of very 
 rare occurrence in other collections. 
 
 The first I would describe is the cover of a book printed at Basle in 
 the year 1502. On one side of this volume is the representation of 
 St. John the Baptist preaching. He is clad “in raiment of camel’s 
 hair,” and is standing on a mount, behind three branches of trees tied 
 together, resembling in shape the letter H. The people surrounding 
 him have their hands clasped in prayer. 
 
 On the reverse side of the volume is impressed the figure of St. James 
 holding in the left hand a staff and wallet, and supporting with his 
 right a youth who is suspended from a gibbet. 
 
 The legend is thus narrated by Pope Calixtus II. : — 
 
 “A certain German, who with his wife and son went on a pilgrimage to St. 
 James of Compostella, having travelled as far as Torlosa, lodged at an inn there ; 
 
 b Read in the Library, Oct. 25, 1860. By Joseph J. Howard, F.S.A. 
 
The Library of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 2 75 
 
 and the host had a fair daughter, who looking on the son of the pilgrim (a hand- 
 some and graceful youth), became deeply enamoured ; he being virtuous, and, 
 moreover, on his way to a holy shrine, refused to listen to her allurements. Then 
 she thought how she might be avenged for this slight put upon her charms, and 
 hid in his wallet her father’s drinking cup. The next morning, no sooner were 
 they departed than the host discovering his loss, pursued them, accused them be- 
 fore the judge, and the cup being found in the young man’s wallet, he was con- 
 demned to be hung, and all they possessed was confiscated to the host. 
 
 “ Then the afflicted parents pursued their way lamenting, and made their prayers 
 and complaint before the altar of the blessed St. Jago; and thirty-six days after- 
 wards, as they returned by the spot where their son hung on the gibbet, they stood 
 beneath it weeping and lamenting. 
 
 “ Then the son spoke, ‘ O my mother ! O my father ! do not lament for me, for 
 I have never been in better cheer; the blessed Apostle James is at my side sus- 
 taining me, and filling me with celestial comfort and joy.’ The parents being 
 astonished, hastened to the judge, who at that moment was seated at table, and 
 the mother called out, ‘ Our son lives.’ The judge mocked at them. * What sayest 
 thou, good woman ? Thou art beside thyself. If thy son lives, so do those fowls 
 in my dish.’ And, lo ! scarcely had he uttered the words when the fowls [being 
 a cock and a hen] rose up full feathered in the dish, and the cock began to crow, 
 to the great admiration of the judge and his attendants. 
 
 “ Then the judge rose up from table hastily, and called together the priests, and 
 the lawyers, and they went in procession to the gibbet, took down the young man 
 and restored him to his parents, and the miraculous cock and hen were placed 
 under the protection of the Church, where they and their posterity long flourished 
 in testimony of this stupendous miracle.” — Mrs. Jameson’s Sacred and Legendary 
 Art , ed. 1850, p. 140. 
 
 In the chapel of St. James, four miles from Spoleto, are frescoes 
 representing the miracles of this saint. In one compartment St. James 
 is represented sustaining a youth who is suspended from a gibbet 0 . 
 The example before you is the only instance I have seen of this saint 
 being so represented on early bindings. 
 
 The next binding is a very beautiful example of early art, and appears 
 to be of the same date as the volume, which was printed by Wynkin 
 de' Worde in 1511. On one side is represented, under a canopy, the 
 figure of St. Barbara, surrounded by a floriated border, in which are 
 introduced lions, birds, &c., and on a scroll the legend sancta 
 Barbara ora [pro nobis]. She is holding in her right hand a palm- 
 branch, (the emblem of martyrdom,) and in her left the Bible. By 
 her side is a tower, and the ground is powdered with fleurs-de-lis. 
 
 The legend as given by Mrs. Jameson d is as follows : — 
 
 “ Dioscorus, who dwelt in Heliopolis, had an only daughter named Barbara, 
 whom he exceedingly loved. Fearful lest from her singular beauty she should be 
 demanded in marriage and taken from him, he shut her up in a tower, and kept 
 
 c Mrs. Jameson’s Sacred and Legendary Art, ed. 1850, p. 144. <l Ibid. 
 
276 
 
 A ppendix . 
 
 her secluded from the eyes of men. The virtuous Barbara in her solitude gave 
 herself up to study and meditation ; and the result of her reflection was that idols 
 of wood and stone worshipped by her parents could not have created the stars of 
 heaven on which she so often gazed. So she contemned these false gods, but did 
 not as yet know the true faith. 
 
 “ Now in the loneliness of her tower the fame reached her of the famous doctor 
 and teacher Origen, who dwelt in Alexandria. She longed to know of his teach- 
 ing, and wrote to him secretly. On Origen reading the letter he rejoiced, and 
 sent to her one of his disciples, disguised as a physician, who perfected her conver- 
 sion, and she received baptism from him. 
 
 “Her father, who was violently opposed to the Christians, was at this time 
 absent; but previous to his departure he had sent skilful architects to construct 
 a bath chamber of wonderful splendour. One day St. Barbara descended to view 
 the progress of the workmen, and seeing that they had constructed two windows 
 commanded them to insert a third. When her father returned he was much dis- 
 pleased, and said to his daughter, ‘ Why hast thou done this ?’ and she answered^ 
 ‘ Know, my father, that through three windows doth the soul receive light, — the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and the three are one.” 
 
 “ Then her father being enraged, drew his sword to kill her, but she fled to the 
 summit of the tower, and he pursued her; but by angels she was wrapped from 
 his view and carried to a distance. A shepherd betraying her place of conceal- 
 ment, her father dragged her thence by the hair, and beat her, and confined her 
 in a dungeon, denouncing her to the Proconsul Marcian. Her father, seeing no 
 hope of her renouncing Christianity, carried her to a certain mountain near the 
 city, drew his sword and cut off her head; but as he descended the mountain 
 there came a most fearful tempest, and fire fell upon this cruel father and con- 
 sumed him/* 
 
 On the reverse side is a representation of the mass of St. Gregory, 
 who is seen officiating at the altar, surrounded by his attendant clergy ; 
 immediately over the altar is the Saviour, supported by two angels, 
 His feet resting on a chalice. 
 
 The legend is as follows : — 
 
 “ On a certain occasion when St. Gregory was officiating at the mass, one was 
 near him who doubted the real presence ; thereupon, at the prayer of the saint, 
 a vision is suddenly revealed of the crucified Saviour Himself, who descends upon 
 the altar, surrounded by the implements of the Passion.” 
 
 Another representation of St. Barbara is impressed on the cover of 
 Gregory’s “Decretals,” printed by Eegnault in 1519. The figure of 
 the saint is similarly treated to the example last described. 
 
 On the cover of a small hook entitled Apparatus Latina Locutiones 
 is impressed the representation of the wise men’s offering. The Virgin 
 is seated with the Saviour on her knee ; behind her is Joseph ; in front, 
 the wise men with crowns on their heads are offering cups of various 
 shapes. The binder's device, or merchant’s mark, (with the initials 
 B. I.,) is in the foreground. 
 
The L ibrary of Westminster Abbey . 277 
 
 Many of the bindings are impressed with the royal arms, badges, 
 &c., and I have placed on the table several of the more remarkable 
 specimens. 
 
 The impressed cover of a volume entitled Annotationes in Pr overbid 
 Salomonis, printed by Froben, is deserving of notice. On one side is 
 represented the Tudor rose, surrounded by the legend, — 
 
 “ Hec rosa virtutis de celo missa sereno 
 Eternu florens Regia sceptra feret.” 
 
 On either side are two angels ; above the legend are two escutcheons, 
 the dexter charged with the arms of St. George, and the sinister with 
 those of the City of London; on another shield at the base are the 
 initials and merchant’s mark of the binder ; and on the reverse side of 
 the cover are the arms of Trance and England, quarterly, surmounted 
 by a ro\al crown, and supported by two angels. The initials of 
 William Bill, D.D., Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Dean 
 of Westminster, who died in 1561, and was buried in Westminster 
 Abbey, (where there is a brass to his memory,) are stamped on the 
 covers of this volume. 
 
 On the cover of a work printed by Jehan Petit early in the sixteenth 
 century, entitled Sermones de Adventu , are represented on one side the 
 arms of Henry VIII. (France and England quarterly), impaling 1 and 
 4, quarterly, Castile and Leon; 2 and 3, Aragon and Sicily; and on 
 a point in base a pomegranate erect, slipped, proper, for Granada. 
 The arms are supported by two angels, and surmounted by an imperial 
 crown. On the reverse side are the royal arms (France and England 
 only) supported by the dragon and greyhound ; above the shield, which 
 is surmounted by the imperial crown, is a rose, on either side of which 
 are two angels with scrolls. Immediately under the arms is the port- 
 cullis, allusive to the descent of the house of Tudor from the Beaufort 
 family. 
 
 The Tudor rose, fleur-de-lis, castle, pomegranate, and other royal 
 badges, frequently occur on impressed bindings temp, sixteenth century. 
 In the example on the table the binder’s device and initials, as well as 
 the badges above mentioned, are represented. 
 
 On the cover of a small volume printed in the year 1542, is impressed 
 the portraiture of Charles V., Emperor of Germany. He is represented 
 in armour, holding in his right hand the orb, and in his left the sceptre, 
 surrounded by the legend, — 
 
 “ CAROLVS V. ROMA IMP. SEMPER 
 AVGVST. JETAT SVE XLII.” 
 
 X X 
 
278 
 
 A ppendix. 
 
 Above is a shield charged with the imperial arms, (a double- headed 
 eagle displayed,) and beneath are the two columns of Hercules, with 
 the motto plus oultee. 
 
 The binder’s name in full is seldom found impressed in bindings. 
 There is, however, a very interesting example in this library, stamped 
 on the cover of a small volume printed by Eegnault in the year 1555. 
 The following legend, viz., Johannes he wovdix antweepie me 
 eecit, surrounds a square-shaped compartment, within which is re- 
 presented a lion rampant, ensigned with an imperial crown, probably 
 intended for the arms of Flanders. 
 
 The arms of Edward IV. are impressed on the covers of a manuscript 
 Book of Prayers. The arms, supported by two lions, are surrounded 
 by fleurs-de-lis and hearts, and round the extreme verge is the repre- 
 sentation of a hand, the first finger extended. It is not in the form for 
 the act of blessing. It may have had reference to the hand on one of 
 the sceptres of France, seeing it is associated with the fleur-de-lis. 
 
THE ORGAN OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY a . 
 
 With reference to the old organ, Mr. Hart observed that he conld 
 give no particulars of any instrument previous to the Great [Rebellion, 
 for on that event nearly all the organs in England were broken up and 
 destroyed by the Parliamentary troops; but on the restoration of 
 Charles II., and the return of affairs to their old channel, there was 
 naturally a great demand for organs, or rather for organ-builders. 
 Among these was the great Bernard Smith, many of whose works now 
 remain, such as the organ at the Temple Church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 
 and elsewhere. He was organ-builder to the Boyal Chapels, and was 
 succeeded in his business by his pupil, Schreider, who, from being his 
 apprentice, became, by a not unusual course, his son-in-law, and con- 
 structed the organ now in this Abbey b . It originally stood in the first 
 bay from the transept, on the north side of the choir, to accompany the 
 chants, services, and anthems of the daily matins and evensong. The 
 situation was exactly over the monuments of Blow, Purcell, and Croft, 
 who were buried under the organ which in their lifetime they had 
 performed upon. Erom a memorandum in a MS. book in the custody 
 of the Precentor, the organ seems to have been placed at the west end 
 of the choir in 1730: — “The new organ built by Mr. Schreider and 
 Mr. Jordan was opened on the 1st of August, 1730, by Mr. Robinson ; 
 the anthem, Purcell’s, O give thanks .” 
 
 The instrument was divided into two cases, one containing the great 
 
 a By W. H. Hart, E.S.A. 
 
 b The following quibbling epitaph upon Schreider appeared in Webb’s Collection 
 of Epitaphs, vol. ii. p. 76 : — 
 
 “ On the celebrated Mr. Christopher Shrider. 
 
 Here rests the musical Kit Shrider, 
 
 Who organs built when he did bide here ; 
 
 With nicest ear he tun’d ’em up ; 
 
 But death has put the cruel stop : 
 
 Tho’ breath to others he conven’d, 
 
 Breathless alas ! himself is lay’d. 
 
 May he, who us such keys has given, 
 
 Meet with St. Peter’s keys of Heav’n ! 
 
 His cornet, twelfth, and diapason. 
 
 Could not with air supply his weasand : 
 
 Bass, tenor, treble, unison. 
 
 The loss of tuneful Kit bemoan.” 
 
280 
 
 Appendix . 
 
 organ and swell, the other the choir organ, and was placed over the 
 screen, as most of you may recollect. It had three rows of keys, and 
 twenty-three stops ; the total number of pipes being 1,348. 
 
 It remained thus till 1847, when great alterations were made in the 
 arrangements of the Abbey itself, including the remodelling and alter- 
 ation of the instrument. It was thought desirable, among other im- 
 provements, to obtain, if possible, a complete view inside the Abbey 
 from end to end; and to effect this the organ was divided, as you may 
 now see it, into three cases : one, placed on the north side of the 
 church, in the fourth arch from the opening of the transept, contains 
 the great organ ; another exactly similar is placed fronting it in the 
 corresponding arch, on the south side of the church, and contains the 
 swell ; and a third, placed over the arch in the screen, contains the 
 choir organ. 
 
 At the time of this alteration several new stops were added, and it is 
 now an instrument worthy of the church it stands in ; the richness 
 and fulness of tone given by the diapasons of Schreider, and the bril- 
 liancy of the full organ, will not easily be forgotten by those who 
 enjoy a musical taste. 
 
 The instrument contains three manuals and a pedal organ. 
 
 The swell extends from CC to E in alt, (54 notes) ; the great organ from 
 CCC to E in alt, (66 notes) ; the choir organ from GG to E in alt, (59 notes) ; 
 and the pedal organ from CCC to D, (29 notes). 
 
 The great organ contains the following stops ; those marked with an asterisk 
 are new, (that is, were added at the time of the alteration) : — 
 
 *Open diapason throughout. 
 
 Open diapason, from CC. 
 
 Double diapason, from CC. 
 
 Stopped diapason, throughout. 
 
 Principal, ditto. 
 
 ♦Diapente (or quint), from CC. 
 
 Twelfth, throughout. 
 
 Eifteenth, ditto. 
 
 Stopped flute, from CC. 
 
 ♦Sesquialtera, five ranks, throughout. 
 
 Eurniture, three ranks, ditto. 
 
 ^Contra-trumpet, (unison with double diapason,) from C,-\ 
 
 * Grand Posaune, (unison with diapason,) from CC, . . >Reed stops. 
 
 ♦Clarion, (unison with principal,) throughout, . . . 
 
 The swell contains, — 
 
 Open diapason, throughout. 
 
 Stopped diapason, throughout. 
 
28 
 
 The Organ of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 ■ s 
 
 Octave below diapasons. 
 
 Reed stops. 
 
 ^Bourdon, from CC to B, 
 
 ^Double diapason from C, 
 
 Principal, throughout. 
 
 ^Fifteenth, throughout. 
 
 *Sesquialtera, three ranks throughout. 
 
 ^Hautboy, throughout, 
 
 ^Cornopean, throughout, .... 
 
 ^Contra-fagotto, (unison with double diapason), throughout, 
 
 ^Clarion, (unison with principal,) throughout. 
 
 The choir organ contains, — 
 
 Open diapason, from G. 
 
 Stopped diapason, throughout. 
 
 ^Principal, throughout. 
 
 Flute, (wood,) throughout. 
 
 *Hohl flute, (metal,) (unison with diapason,) throughout. 
 
 Cromorne, from C, (reed stop). 
 
 The pedal organ contains,—* 
 
 ^Diapason, 32 feet. 
 
 Sub-bass, 16 feet. 
 
 The instrument has five couplers : — 
 
 1. Couples the swell to the pedals from CC to middle D. 
 
 2 Couples the choir organ to the pedals. 
 
 3. Couples the great organ to the pedals. 
 
 4. Couples octave pedal to the great organ ; that is, when this and the 
 previous coupler are drawn out, the pedals act in octaves on the key- 
 board of the great organ ; thus, the lowest pedal takes CCC and CC 
 on the great organ. 
 
 5. Couples the swell to the great organ. 
 
 There are three composition pedals : one adds the chorus and reeds (viz. the 
 principal, quint, twelfth, fifteenth, flute, sesquialtera, furniture, contra-trumpet, 
 grand posaune and clarion) to the great organ ; another adds the first five of 
 these stops only ; and the third takes off the effect of the other two. 
 
 Such, then, is a brief technical description of this magnificent instrument 
 which now graces the Abbey Church of St. Peter, and those who can appre- 
 ciate the excellence of a choral service as it should be performed, will not be 
 slow in rendering their tribute to the character of the services which day by 
 day resound with praise and thanksgiving from the walls of this old and solemn 
 fane ; — with psaltery, harp, and organs, “ let every thing that hath breath 
 praise the Lord. 55 
 
ON SOME DISCOVERIES IN CONNECTION WITH 
 THE ANCIENT TREASURY AT WESTMINSTER a . 
 
 This discovery was made by Mr. Scott when prosecuting his ex- 
 amination of the remains of the Confessor’s building. It was first 
 brought to my notice upwards of eleven years ago, when I was desired 
 by that gentleman to assist him in examining what seemed a heap of 
 rubbish, but which, when trodden on, was more “springy” than its 
 external appearance justified. It was in a kind of cellar close to the 
 cloister door of the Chapter-house underneath this chamber b , into 
 which no daylight could enter, and in a part of the chamber which 
 consisted only of a narrow walled-up passage. Our examination was 
 then only a slight one ; but I saw enough to enable me to see that the 
 bulk of this mass of 1 1 rubbish’ ’ appeared to consist of documents of 
 a public nature that had probably by some accident been separated 
 from the contents of the ancient treasury, which once occupied the 
 adjoining chamber. 
 
 I have said that the mass to which my attention was drawn by 
 Mr. Scott was at once seen to contain public documents. The requisite 
 steps for their examination were taken, and I have made an official 
 report upon the collection, of which a specimen is before you. The 
 great bulk of the documents were found to be ordinary judicial writs, 
 from the reign of Richard II. to that of Henry YI. ; many of which were 
 in very bad condition. They were mixed with a considerable quantity 
 of ordinary brick rubbish, which has been carefully sorted over, aud 
 the documents, &c. picked out. Hext to the writs, the greater por- 
 tion of the mass consisted of the small turned wooden boxes, or “ skip- 
 pets,” and fragments of similar boxes varying much in size. I may 
 say that these little boxes are precisely similar to those ordinarily in 
 use for depositing documents in the Royal Treasury, of which a few 
 specimens still remain in the collection belonging to that department. 
 
 a Read in the Library of Westminster Abbey, Oct. 25, 1860. By Joseph Burtt, 
 Esq., Assistant Keeper of the Public Records. 
 
 b See Mr. Scott’s paper, “Gleanings from Westminster Abbey,” p. 9, for the 
 precise locality. 
 
Discoveyies in connection with the Ancient Treasury. 283 
 
 When placed in such small boxes they were generally packed in 
 chests, drawers, or “ forcers. ” About one hundred of these “ skippets” 
 were thus found ; in twenty-four of which the contents agreed with 
 the description written upon them, and were in excellent condition. 
 
 Generally speaking, they contained private deeds, to which private 
 individuals only were parties ; but transactions were constantly arising 
 between the Crown and its subjects, by which such documents came 
 into its hands. Among them, however, are a few instruments of more 
 than ordinary interest. These are — Documents relating to the Order 
 of the Holy Trinity for the redemption of captives; a Letter from 
 Iving Edward III. under the Privy Seal, directing the transmission 
 of certain muniments ; the Excommunication of a Canon of Hereford ; 
 a Letter to King Edward II. respecting letters to the King’s enemies 
 in Scotland, found in a ship wrecked off Yarmouth; Pardon to the 
 Nobles who had warred against the Despensers ; and a Letter from 
 Thomas de Wodestock, son of Edward III. 
 
 The descriptions upon the lids of the “ skippets” are remarkable 
 from the occurrence of a word which probably explains the occasion 
 of their having found their place among the contents of the Treasury. 
 Nearly all these endorsements have the word “dedictum,” more or 
 less contracted, following the name of the person to whom the deed 
 refers. Pendering it as “forfeited” or “surrendered,” it doubtless 
 records a fact of which there is now no further evidence. Its occur- 
 rence upon similar boxes has not been noticed; hut it was the custom 
 to deposit forfeited documents in the Treasury. 
 
 In continuing his description of this portion of the building, Mr. 
 Scott says : — 
 
 “ I presume, therefore, that, this, too, was a treasury ; and I have a strong idea 
 that it then formed a part of, and that its door was the entrance to, the pyx 
 chamber; and it is possible that, after the robbery of the chamber before alluded 
 to, the king, finding the terror of human skins offered no security, remodelled the 
 chamber.” 
 
 It is with reference to this great robbery of the royal treasury that 
 I have to present to you a few particulars, which will, I trust, be of 
 some interest. I cannot claim for them any great novelty, as they are 
 nearly all in print, hut in such print that their readability (to the uniniti- 
 ated) is not much improved. The detailed account of the judicial in- 
 vestigations into this most daring and important robbery, (to the value 
 of about two millions of money,) which has been printed in one of the 
 Pecord publications, has not, I believe, been turned to any further 
 account. It will be found, however, to be full of illustrations of the 
 
284 
 
 A ppendix . 
 
 manners and state of society of the times ; and considering that we are 
 now oyer the very chamber from which the treasure was taken, and 
 that the whole of the immediate locality was the scene of the various 
 circumstances which are most distinctly and minutely referred to 
 in the account, I thought some of those details might be acceptable 
 to you, as they hear closely upon the subject in hand, and the event 
 itself perhaps accounts completely for the discovery now brought to 
 your notice. 
 
 I shall make no attempt to trace the history of the ancient treasury. 
 From the earliest times, and in many countries, the royal treasury had 
 been associated with a place of worship. At Westminster the exchequer 
 was held in a portion of the royal palace ; the king and the abbot were 
 generally much associated together ; the palace and the monastery were 
 contiguous ; a strongly-built vault was at the king’s service as a store 
 room for his jewels not in general use, his plate and the cash that might 
 not be wanted but for some great occasion. At later periods we have 
 complete inventories of every article in the treasury, and most interest- 
 ing they are, but there is none at this particular date. It is well known, 
 however, that what is now called the “regalia” of the Crown, much 
 household jewellery and plate, and articles of value and special rarity 
 not required for the ordinary use of the sovereign or his household, 
 or the State, — together with the more valuable records and many 
 precious relics, — were kept in one of the royal treasuries. If such 
 articles were required for ordinary use or for any special occasion, 
 they were delivered out by, and to, the proper officer, under the 
 safeguard of a carefully executed indenture, which set out minutely 
 a description of the articles, and, if of the precious metals, their 
 weight and estimated value. The king’s treasury at Westminster 
 was certainly so stored at the period in question. In the year 1303 
 Edward I. was preparing to take summary vengeance upon the Scotch 
 for their so-called rebellion against his power. He probably antici- 
 pated a stubborn resistance, for he had consigned to the safe keeping 
 of his treasury a large sum of money for the purpose of this war, and 
 yet no subsidy had been granted since that two years previously. On 
 the 14th of March he left Westminster ; he lingered about the neigh- 
 bourhood of London for a short time, and then advanced slowly north- 
 wards, reaching Newcastle on the 6th of May. 
 
 About the first of that month, or late in the preceding, (for the 
 accounts vary a little,) the treasury was broken into, and the treasure 
 carried off. From Linlithgow, on the 6th of June, the King issued 
 his first writ directing the investigations into the matter ; and among 
 
Discoveries in connection with the Ancient Treasury . 285 
 
 the numerous documents of that year, and their elaborate entries of 
 every kind of material and necessary of war at the opening of the 
 campaign in Scotland, there occurs an entry of the payment of four 
 pounds on the 20th of June, (equal to nearly sixty pounds of the 
 present currency,) to one of the head officers of the chamber and his 
 clerks, who went to London “to survey the treasury at Westminster, 
 on account of the king’s wardrobe near the Chapter-house at West- 
 minster being broken open.” 
 
 From Kynlos, on the 1 0th of October, a writ was directed to Eoger 
 Erabazon and other j ustices, reciting, that whereas the Abbot of West- 
 minster and forty-eight brethren “commonachi ejusdem domus,” (who 
 are mentioned by name — the writ is printed in Eymer, ii. p. 938 ,) and 
 thirty-two other persons there named, were indicted for the robbery 
 and had been committed to the Tower, — and they assert they are 
 falsely so charged and beg that the truth may be enquired into, — the 
 said justices are directed to hear and determine the same. 
 
 And the King acted with his usual vigour in the matter. Writ after 
 writ was addressed to the magistrates of London, Middlesex, and 
 Surrey; — they knew him too well not to act vigorously upon them; 
 — and terror was struck into the hearts of the robbers. Jurors were 
 summoned from every district in which any portion of the crime ap- 
 pears to have been perpetrated, and we have (as I have already said) 
 a tolerably complete account of all that took place. It must be borne 
 in mind that the office of jurors was then to collect evidence, and give 
 it and support it in every way. They were summoned, not as now from 
 their ignorance , but for their knowledge , of the facts. In every ward 
 in the city, in numerous hundred courts of the contiguous counties, 
 evidence was given upon the subject. 
 
 The sacrist of Westminster having found certain cups, &c., spoke to 
 some of the monks, and asked their advice thereon. They advised him 
 to consult John de Foxle, and he, not knowing of the robbery, advised 
 that the Abbot should maintain his right to them as being found within 
 the liberty of the church. Other proceedings of the sacrist, if truly 
 reported, leave no doubt of his guilt. William the Palmer, the keeper 
 of the King’s Palace, said he often saw the sacrist, the sub-prior, and 
 other monks go in and out, early and late, about the time of the 
 burglary, and they often carried many things towards the church — he 
 knew not what. John Albon was the designer of certain utensils for 
 breaking open the treasury — Alexander de Pershore threatened to kill 
 him if he revealed the design — and on a certain day he saw the same 
 Alexander and certain monks enter a certain boat of the Abbey at the 
 
 Y y 
 
286 
 
 A ppendix . 
 
 King’s bridge, and take with them two large panniers covered with 
 black leather, in which there was a great weight — he knew not what. 
 The same persons returned late in another boat and landed at the 
 Abbey mill. John de Ramage was suspected because he was often 
 going in and coming out of the Abbey, and on a sudden he dressed 
 himself very richly, bought horses and arms, and boasted that he was 
 able to buy a town if he pleased. John de Linton scattered dirt on 
 the ground near the treasury, and destroyed all traces of the robbers. 
 It was he who sowed hemp in the cloister garth. 
 
 Many persons, especially goldsmiths and dealers, appear to have been 
 implicated through the agency of the sacrist and the actual robbers. 
 Richard de Podelicote went to Northampton and Colchester to get rid 
 of some of the jewels there; and several worthy citizens of London 
 are recorded as having purchased some “ cheap” lots of precious stones 
 and plate. 
 
 Just before the robbery some friends of William de Palais 11 met in 
 a certain house within the close of the prison of the Pleet, together 
 ■with a horseman and four ribald persons unknown, and there staid two 
 nights eating and drinking, and in the middle of the third night they 
 went armed towards Westminster and returned in the morning. This 
 they did for two nights, and then came no more. And as the treasury 
 was broken into about that time — say the jurors — they were suspected 
 of the felony.” Much of the treasure seems to have been hid in the im- 
 mediate neighbourhood of the Abbey, to be carried off at the convenience 
 of the thieves. A linen-draper at St. Giles had a large pannier full of 
 broken vessels of gold and silver sent to him by certain monks of West- 
 minster, about wdiich he became so alarmed when the royal procla- 
 mation was published, that he gave it to a shepherd-boy to hide it in 
 Kentish-town, where it was found. Some of the treasure found its way 
 across the water, but was not traced, although the boatmen of the 
 river from Lambeth to Kingston were examined. The case against the 
 sacrist and the monks appears to be that the robbery could not have 
 occurred without their knowledge, the gates of the Close must have 
 been opened to admit some of the thieves, and they had the keys of 
 them, while they refused admittance to a man who had bought the 
 herbage of the cemetery, as they knew what was hid there, and that 
 afterwards much treasure was known to have been taken to the sacrist’s 
 house, and claimed by him. I am sorry to say, too, that even their 
 antecedents were brought forward to strengthen the case against them, 
 for it is said there was “ a great suspicion against the monks because 
 four years ago an attempt was made to break open the treasury in the 
 
Discoveries in connection with the A ncie 7 it Treasury . 287 
 
 cloister, which was enquired into, and the Abbot made peace with the 
 King respecting it.” 
 
 It seems that the Master of the "Wardrobe himself, John de Droke- 
 nesford, was present in London, on the King’s affairs, when the inves- 
 tigations into the robbery were commenced. On the 20th of June he 
 came to Westminster, where he was informed of the robbery, and in 
 the presence of Kalph de Sandwich, Keeper of the Tower of London, 
 two Justices of the King’s Bench, the Mayor of the city, the Prior 
 of Westminster, and others of the neighbourhood, “he produced the 
 keys of the said treasury, which had been kept in a canvas pouch 
 sealed with the perfect seal of the King’s cofferer, and carried by him ; 
 and he took the said keys and opened the doors of the treasury, and 
 entered therein with the company assembled, and he found the 
 treasury broken into, the chests and coffers broken open, and many 
 goods carried away.” An indenture, describing with great minute- 
 ness the exact state of the case, was drawn up ; and in this curious 
 document we get a complete view of the interior of the vaulted 
 chamber below, and the anxious assembly investigating the extent 
 of the damage that had been so ruthlessly committed. It gives three 
 lists, headed “ Jocalia dimissa in thesaurario,” “Jocalia furtive sur- 
 repta de thesaurario Domini Regis et postea re-inventa,” and “ Jocalia 
 inventa in custodia Sacristse Westm’.” It was evident, however, at 
 once, that many more valuables might have been carried off had the 
 robbers been more accomplished in their craft, for there appears a long 
 and goodly list of jewels, rings and plate of various kinds, including the 
 King’s great crown and three other crowns embellished with precious 
 stones, which had been left behind. The thieves had been embarrassed 
 by the very richness of their spoil. The poor man who became a robber 
 of the royal treasure because he had lost 14/. 17s., and who had for 
 his confederates the servants of the palace and abbey, might well have 
 been afraid to seize the royal crown and other jewels. 
 
 It would have been simply impossible to have got rid of them or 
 turned them to account. Obtained by the spoiling of a castle or the 
 sack of a town, the contents of the treasury would have been a rich 
 booty indeed, and would have afforded splendid trophies. As it was, 
 and even at the reduced prices which robbers always obtain, had they 
 not been disturbed, they would have been able to divide among them- 
 selves a sum equal to the whole proceeds of a subsidy levied upon the 
 length and breadth of the land, and collected by the whole power 
 of the State. That the robbers had not completed the work they had 
 planned, is evident from the list of valuables which the party assembled 
 
288 Appendix . 
 
 in the chamber found upon the floor. With a feeling approaching to 
 horror they must have picked from the dirt at their feet “ the ring 
 with which the King was consecrated,” and “the secret seal of the 
 King’s father,” which were found among fragments of vessels of gold 
 and silver, spoons, knives, and rings of various kinds. 
 
 There is little reason to doubt that a large quantity of the treasure 
 — that consisting of the plate and jewels — was recovered. One of the 
 principal thieves, Richard de Podelicote, was found with £2,200 worth 
 in his possession. This man himself subsequently confessed the whole 
 matter, and so did another of the robbers. Their accounts are not 
 quite consistent, which is usually the case. Podelicote is always 
 spoken of as the great culprit, and in his confession he takes the 
 whole blame of the matter, as well as of a previous robbery of the 
 conventual plate from the refectory. I will read a small portion 
 of his story : — 
 
 “ He was a travelling merchant for wool, cheese, and butter, and was arrested in 
 Flanders for the King’s debts in Bruges, and there were taken from him 14 1 . 17 $., 
 for which he sued in the King’s Court at Westminster at the beginning of August 
 in the thirty-first year, and then he saw the condition of the refectory of the 
 Abbey, and saw the servants bringing in and out silver cups and spoons, and 
 mazers. So he thought how he might obtain some of those goods, as he was so 
 poor on account of his loss in Flanders, and so he spied about all the parts of the 
 Abbey. And on the day when the King left the place for Barnes, on the following 
 night, as he had spied out, he found a ladder at a house which was near the gate 
 of the Palace towards the Abbey, and put that ladder to a window of the Chapter- 
 house, which he opened and closed by a cord ; and he entered by this cord, and 
 thence he went to the door of the refectory, and found it closed with a lock, and 
 he opened it with his knife and entered, and there he found six silver hanaps in an 
 ambry behind the door, and more than thirty silver spoons in another ambry, and 
 the mazer hanaps under a bench near together : and he carried them all away, and 
 closed the door after him without shutting the lock. And having spent the pro- 
 ceeds by Christmas he thought how he could rob the King’s treasury. And as he 
 knew the ways of the Abbey, and where the treasury was, and how he could get 
 there, he began to set about the robbery eight days before Christmas with the 
 tools which he provided for it, viz., two ‘ tarrers,’ great and small knives and other 
 small ‘ engines’ of iron, and so was about the breaking open during the night hours 
 of eight days before Christmas to the quinzain of Easter, when he first had entry 
 on the night of a Wednesday, the eve of St. Mark (April 24) ; and all the day of 
 St. Mark he stayed in there and arranged what he would carry away, which he did 
 the night after, and the night after that, and the remainder he carried away with 
 him out of the gate behind the church of St. Margaret, and put it at the foot of 
 the wall beyond the gate, covering it with earth, and there were there pitchers, 
 cups with feet and covers. And also he put a great pitcher with stones and a cup 
 in a certain tomb. Besides he put three pouches full of jewels and vessels, of 
 which one was 4 hanaps’ entire and in pieces. In another a great crucifix and 
 jewels, a case of silver with gold spoons. In the third ‘ hanaps,’ nine dishes and 
 
Discoveries in connection with the Ancient Treasury. 289 
 
 saucers, and an image of our Lady in silver-gilt, and two little pitchers of silver. 
 Besides he took to the ditch by the mews a pot and a cup of silver. Also he took 
 with him spoons, saucers, spice dishes of silver, a cup, rings, brooches, stones, 
 crowns, girdles, and other jewels which were afterwards found with him. And he 
 says that what he took out of the treasury he took at once out of the gate near 
 St. Margaret’s Church, and left nothing behind within it.” 
 
 The other robber who confessed speaks of a number of persons — two 
 monks, two foresters, two knights, and about eight others — being 
 present at the “ debrusure.” His account, too, makes it a week later 
 than the other. 
 
 The affair was evidently got up between the sacrist of Westminster, 
 Kichard de Podelicote, and the keeper of the Palace, with the aid of 
 their immediate servants and friends. Doubtless they speculated upon 
 comparative impunity, while the King was so far away and occupied 
 on such important matters, and they arranged accordingly. An extra- 
 ordinary instance of the amount of cunning and foresight exercised by 
 the robbers is shewn by the circumstance of the cemetery — the green 
 plot enclosed by the cloisters — being sown with hemp early in the 
 spring, “so that the said hemp should grow high enough by the time 
 of the robbery that they might hide the treasure there, and the misdeed 
 be unknown.” This shews that the plot was deeply laid and the 
 crime long prepared for. Prom the confession it will be seen that 
 upwards of four months were consumed in making an entry into the 
 treasury. 
 
 Doubtless the criminals had their deserts, though the record does not 
 give the sentences passed upon them. 
 
 But it is time that we returned to the collection before us, and 
 I will now attempt to shew how it is connected with the tale we have 
 heard. 
 
 In some further portions of his lecture Mr. Scott describes the low 
 vault which is outside the pyx chamber, and how by scientific induc- 
 tion he had arrived at the conclusion that this exceedingly enigmatical 
 portion of the structure had once been a part of the treasury, and had 
 been perhaps separated from it in consequence of the great robbery. 
 I think this conclusion, arrived at inductively, is fully borne out by 
 the documentary evidence. 
 
 I have already noticed the Indenture by which the keeper of the 
 wardrobe acknowledged the receipt of the recovered treasure. I think 
 it may be safely inferred from this that the articles were at once re- 
 moved to one of the other treasuries — probably that of the royal 
 wardrobe in the Tower. It was doubtless then decided to make 
 
2 9° 
 
 A ppe7idix. 
 
 alterations in the chamber for the purpose of ensuring the safety of its 
 future contents, as the structure itself had been attacked by the robbers, 
 and seriously injured. Its restoration to a state of strength and 
 security appears to me to be shewn by an entry upon the Pipe Roll 
 of the succeeding year, where the Sheriff of London and Middlesex 
 claims 51. 7 s. 10^. for “ paving the house of the treasury of the King’s 
 wardrobe below the Chapter-house of Westminster, and repairing the 
 doors and other things thercin. ,, This amount (^upwards of seventy-five 
 pounds of our present currency) was considerable, and would be suffi- 
 cient for the alterations which appear to have been then made. Perhaps 
 the terms used in describing the repairs may be thought to indicate 
 how the treasury had been entered by the robbers. 
 
 When it was first re-occupied does not appear, but there is evidence 
 that it was so in the year 1327, as there is an indenture of that year in 
 existence specifying the delivery of the contents of that treasury from 
 an outgoing treasurer. The alterations made consist of the building of 
 the wall across the northern side from east to west, at the intersection 
 of one of the central columns, shutting out a window in the east wall, 
 the doorway in the Chapter-house vestibule, and the steps which gave 
 access to the dormitory. It was the southern portion only (now the 
 pyx chamber) which was subsequently used as the treasury, though 
 probably the occupation of both continued in the royal officers. The 
 collection, then, was found in what was the northern portion of the 
 ancient treasury chamber. 
 
 In conclusion, I would wish to draw attention to a few of the pieces 
 of iron-work now exhibited, which appear to me to have belonged to 
 some large leather bag, or “ forcer” as it was called. One of these bags, 
 characteristically ornamented, is still in the pyx chamber. There are 
 notices of their being used for the conveyance of the stolen treasure, 
 and they are referred to as regular places of deposit in Bishop Staple- 
 ton’s Calendar. 
 
THE MONUMENTS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY AS 
 A MUSEUM OF SCULPTURE a . 
 
 Westminster Abbey may justly be appreciated as a museum of 
 British sculpture, offering the earliest examples of the sculptor’s art, 
 from its erection in the thirteenth century, and continued to the pre- 
 sent day. 
 
 Although it contains some works by the hands of foreigners, yet, as 
 their skill was employed in commemoration of British sovereigns and 
 British worthies, the designation that it is a national collection, or 
 museum of national sculpture, may fairly be accepted, because, although 
 they are the productions of foreign artists, they were unquestionably 
 executed in the British dominions. 
 
 In the reign of Henry III. the present edifice was begun on the 
 ruins of a former erection ; every monument it now contains commences 
 from this epoch. 
 
 The first statue which demands attention is that of Henry III., in 
 the chapel of Edward the Confessor, a recumbent figure cast in brass, 
 and the earliest known to have been cast in England. On the adjoin- 
 ing tomb to this is placed the recumbent figure of Queen Eleanor, wife 
 of Edward I. Both these statues have been reputed to be the works of 
 Pietro Cavalini, who was supposed to have come here from Italy for 
 the purpose. [But from the “ Accounts of the Executors of Queen 
 Eleanor,” printed for the Boxburgh Club by Beriah Botfield, Esq., in 
 1841, we find that the statues were executed by Master William Torel, 
 who probably gave the design for the whole tomb ; the marble work 
 was executed by “ Bichard de Crundale.” Mr. Hudson Turner, who 
 •edited these accounts for Mr. Botfield, conjectured that Master William 
 Torel was the same as Master William the Florentine painter, employed 
 by Henry III. Among the sculptors of the Eleanor crosses were 
 “ William of Ireland” and “ Alexander of Abingdon.” Torel, or Tyrrell, 
 was a common English name at that period, and the sculptor of these 
 figures may therefore have been an Englishman. Other figures nearly 
 equally fine at Wells and Lincoln are of about the same period.] 
 
 a Bead in the Abbey Church, Oct. 25, 1860. By Henry Mogford, F.S.A. 
 
2 9 2 
 
 A ppendix . 
 
 Considering the extraordinary beauty of this statue of Queen Eleanor, 
 it would he gratifying to our natural feeling, or pride, if it were 
 authenticated to be the work of a native artist. 
 
 It merits in the highest degree every praise ; the beauty of the 
 features and the elegance of the hands are not surpassed, if equalled 
 even, by any similar work in the Abbey. The small heads of two 
 angels on the canopy at the head of the figure are replete with the most 
 charming sweetness and innocence of expression. 
 
 The effigies of Edmund Crouchback and of Aymer de Valence follow 
 the series in order of date. No record exists of the authors of these 
 remarkable monuments, which is to be regretted, as the mutilated re- 
 mains of the small statuettes, called pleureurs, (or weepers,) in the 
 niches beneath, indicate a grand dignity and breadth of treatment. 
 
 Hitherto no record or tradition naming the authors of the numerous 
 fine recumbent figures of our sovereigns or others has been discovered, 
 some of them wondrously enamelled, until the name of Torrigiano 
 appears. He erected the magnificent tomb in the chapel of Henry VII., 
 and is the sculptor of the effigies of that sovereign and his wife, and of 
 the figures of cherubim at the angles. Another of Torrigiano’s works 
 is that of Margaret, Countess of Eichmond, mother of Henry VII. 
 These productions of Torrigiano’s skill are not of a very high order of 
 art comparatively. The tradition that he broke the nose of Michael 
 Angelo in a fit of jealousy at the transcendent talents of the greatest 
 of modern sculptors, has certainly foundation for the motive by com- 
 parison of their respective abilities. 
 
 Passing over the intermediate period of time until the reign of 
 James I., the first authenticated works of sculpture in the Abbey ap- 
 pear to be those of Nathaniel Stone, a native of Exeter. According to 
 Walpole, he was paid 4s. lOd. daily while in the King’s employ. The 
 recumbent statues of Queen Elizabeth and of Mary Queen of Scots are 
 attributed to him ; it is certain that he made the monuments of 
 Spenser, Prances Hollis, and the Countess of Buckingham. 
 
 Of the famous sculptors of a later date, the most important in the 
 series are Eoubiliac and Eysbrach. Scheemacker is also of the epoch, 
 although inferior to the two preceding artists. 
 
 Eoubiliac’ s grandest works are in the Abbey. The monuments of 
 his skill here are those of Handel, his last work, and of the Duke of 
 Argyle in Poets’ Corner, that of Sir Peter Warren in the north transept, 
 and the celebrated one in St. John’s Chapel to Mr. and Mrs. Night- 
 ingale. 
 
 All the statues to these monuments are worthy of being rigidly 
 
The Monuments as a Museum of Sculpture . 293 
 
 studied, and the result will surely tend to a very high estimation of 
 this artist’s merits. 
 
 The Nightingale monument, as it is usually called, demands an 
 inquiry of another nature. Does not the embodying or manifestation 
 of the awfulness of death in the form of a human skeleton enveloped 
 in drapery, border on absurdity, or even profaneness? It is both an 
 aesthetic question and one of higher feeling, of religious awe. 
 
 Rysbrach may be well studied in the two monuments in the nave, 
 at the entrance of the choir, of Sir Isaac Newton and of the second 
 Earl of Stanhope. 
 
 The statue of Shakespeare, in Poets’ Corner, is a favourable specimen 
 by Scheem acker. 
 
 The names of other sculptors here comprise a series of great extent, 
 mostly native. A work by Grinling Gibbons, in the north aisle of the 
 nave, is not worthy of his reputation. Quellinus and Coy se vox indicate 
 a foreign origin, and Hubert le Soeur, who made the equestrian statue 
 at Charing Cross of Charles I., has also a specimen of his art in the 
 Abbey. 
 
 To come down to our own time, there are fine works by the familiar 
 names of Bacon, Flaxman, Chantrey, Nollekens, Westmacott, Banks, 
 and others. Of living sculptors of distinguished merit may be cited 
 Baily, Gibson, Calder Marshall, and several more. 
 
 The portrait statues are doubly interesting, first, because they repre- 
 sent the features of the individuals, and secondly, the accuracy of the 
 costume of the times. The features are mostly well preserved, except- 
 ing those only of the Crusaders and of the Countess of Lancaster, in 
 the choir, which have much suffered. Some few of the portrait statues 
 are habited in the Homan costume of former times. In future ages, 
 nevertheless, antiquaries will be sorely puzzled at the fanciful en- 
 velopes given by the sculptors of our days, as exemplified in the statue 
 of the late Sir Robert Peel, by Gibson of Rome. 
 
 Among the sculptured statues forming the decoration or exempli- 
 fication of the virtues of the several individuals, there will be seen an 
 abundance of angels and cherubs ; every virtue is personified in marble 
 to excess. Figures of Fame are blowing trumpets. In this Christian 
 church there are statues of Minerva, Neptune, Hercules, with other 
 pagan deities ; charity children are not omitted ; and to complete the 
 variety, there are not wanting Negroes and Red Indians. There are 
 here also a great number of statues and statuettes, either of attendants, 
 children of the deceased, saints or other, as weepers over the deceased. 
 
 Nor are animals forgotten ; a couple of lions by Wilton are on the 
 
 z z 
 
A ppendix . 
 
 294 
 
 monument of General Wolfe. Two magnificent specimens of this king 
 of animals by Elaxman, on the monument to the memory of Captain 
 Montague, deserve the highest encomium ; it is at the west end of the 
 north aisle. 
 
 The sculptures which may he considered as adjuncts to the architec- 
 ture are very numerous, and consist of a considerable number of saints 
 in niches or on brackets. Of these, worthy of special notice, are two 
 statues now existing in the chapter-house, representing the Annuncia- 
 tion; they are of a very simple and of archaic character — probably 
 their execution dates from the erection of this part of the Abbey. 
 There are equally in the upper spandrils of the north transept angels 
 of grand character, nearly life size. Casts have been lately taken of 
 these, which may be seen to advantage where they are for the present 
 placed, in the triforium, by those who are disposed to perambulate this 
 part of the sacred edifice. Here will be found many singular and 
 interesting sculptured corbels. 
 
 The chapel of Henry VII. alone contains more than one hundred 
 statues of saints in niches, and busts of angels on the cornice that runs 
 round the chapel and part of the side aisles ; the carvings to the seats 
 are of great variety and excellence in execution. Some of these carv- 
 ings represent sacred subjects, whilst others are of a profane cha- 
 racter. 
 
 The chantry enclosing the tomb of Henry V. is also profusely deco- 
 rated with statues and statuettes in niches, as well as with bassi relievi. 
 One is said to represent the coronation of the sovereign. The whole 
 are deeply imbued with a good feeling for fine art. 
 
 [Of about the same date are the sculptures in the frieze of the screen 
 that separates the chapel of St. Edward from the choir, and which 
 represent in fourteen compartments the principal occurrences of the 
 Confessor’s life. The figures of this composition are of small size, very 
 simple in execution.] 
 
 To resume, and give some idea of the immense amount of the wealth 
 of sculptural art herein contained, it may be briefly stated that the 
 Abbey possesses sixty-two recumbent statues of life size ; several of 
 these are of bronze, and have been highly gilt or richly enamelled, the 
 remains of this decoration being still visible. There are forty-six por- 
 trait statues, life size or colossal, six sitting and six kneeling portrait 
 statues, and ninety-three busts or medallion portraits. 
 
 Of allegorical statues, already alluded to, there are 204, and beyond 
 this vast amount an almost unlimited number of bassi and alti-relievi 
 corbels and spandrils richly sculptured of all epochs, besides the multi- 
 
The Monuments as a Museum of Sculpture. 295 
 
 tude of heraldic representations of lions, dogs, griffins, and other 
 animals, either natural or imaginative. 
 
 I trust it will he admitted that we possess in this magnificent Abbey 
 a museum of sculpture eminently national, unequalled in extent in 
 any other place or country, of surpassing beauty, and of the highest 
 artistic excellence. 
 
 The study of this immense collection will afford intense gratification 
 to the historian, the antiquary, the archaeologist, and the lover of fine 
 art. The public feeling is becoming daily more awakened to the 
 treasures we possess, and to the determination to preserve them to our 
 posterity. 
 
ON THE ORDER OF THE BATH a . 
 
 Mr. Hunter remarked that the history of the institution of the 
 Order of the Bath may be divided into three periods : the first ending 
 with the coronation of King Charles II., when for the last time Knights 
 of the Bath were made according to the ancient forms ; the second 
 commencing from the revival of the Order by His Majesty King 
 George I., on the 18th May, 1725 ; and the third, on its re-organiza- 
 tion and enlargement by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, on 
 the 2nd of January, 1815, in the reign of His Majesty George III. 
 In the first period it was only customary to make Knights of the Bath 
 at the coronations of sovereigns or their queens-consort, or on the 
 creation of the Prince of Wales or the Duke of York. There was a 
 creation of knights on the marriage of the Duke of York in 1477 ; and 
 again in 1501, on the marriage of the Prince of Wales. 
 
 The earliest mention since the Conquest of the ceremony of bathing 
 at the creation of a knight appears to be that of Geoffrey, son of Fulk, 
 Count of Anjou, who on being contracted to marry the daughter of 
 King Henry I., was knighted by that monarch at Rouen; and it is 
 evident by the language of the chronicler that the solemnities then 
 observed were usual in all similar cases. 
 
 The first name on the list having pretensions to being a chronological 
 one, is Sir Thomas Esturmy, who was created on the 17th of July, 
 1204 ; after which, at different periods, sometimes upwards of twenty, 
 at others more than fifty or sixty, were summoned to receive the 
 honour. The ceremony at that time was no small undertaking. It is 
 fully described by Anstis ; and in Bysshe’s edition of Upton there is a 
 series of engravings of the ceremony copied from original drawings, 
 which Anstis conjectured to have been made in the reign of King 
 Edward IY. or King Henry VII. 
 
 Upon the accession of Queen Mary a new form was observed, and 
 Letters Patent were issued on the 17th of October, 1553, appointing 
 Henry Earl of Arundel to exercise everything on behalf of Her Majesty, 
 to make such persons knights as shall be named by her, so as not to 
 exceed the number of threescore. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth followed the example of her predecessor, and de- 
 
 a Read in King Henry the Seventh’s Clnipel, Oct. 25, 1860. By Mr. John 
 Hunter, F.S.A. 
 
The Order of the Bath. 
 
 2 9 7 
 
 puted the Earl of Arundel, then Lord Steward of the Household, to 
 confer knighthood upon so many as she should name, so as not to ex- 
 ceed thirty. King James appointed the large number of sixty-two to 
 he made knights at his coronation. Eifty-nine were appointed at the 
 coronation of Charles I.; and on the return of Charles II., in May, 
 1660, he was attended by Knights of the Bath and their Esquires. At 
 his coronation he appointed sixty-eight persons to he created. This 
 creation was the last until the Order was newly arranged by George I. 
 in 1725. 
 
 The first notice of any insignia or badge being worn round the neck 
 of a Knight of the Bath is in 1614. John Lord Harrington of Exton, 
 who received that dignity at the coronation of James I., died in 1613; 
 and in the following year the sermon preached at his funeral was pub- 
 lished, illustrated by an engraving of the jewel worn by the deceased 
 nobleman as a Knight of the Bath. 
 
 One of the knights made at the coronation of Charles II. was Sir 
 Edward Walpole, (grandfather of Sir Robert Walpole, first Earl of 
 Orford,) on whose badge the present motto occurs. 
 
 Although the badge was directed to be worn from the neck, it w r ould 
 appear that the Knights of the Bath imitated the Knights of the Garter 
 by wearing it under the arm, as they are represented in some portraits 
 of the time with the riband over the right shoulder, such persons 
 having been made knights at the coronation of King Charles I. in 
 1625, or King Charles II. in 1661. 
 
 The second period of the Order was when, by the advice of Sir 
 Robert Walpole, it was appointed there should be a Great- Master and 
 thirty-six Knights, the first Great-Master being John Duke of Mon- 
 tague; and, 
 
 The third period of the Order was from its extension to three classes, 
 on the 2nd of January, 1815, which was rendered necessary in conse- 
 quence of the conclusion of the protracted but glorious w T ar in 1814. 
 
 On the 14th of April, 1847, Her Majesty was pleased to enlarge 
 the Order, and to direct that it should consist of the Sovereign and 
 a Great-Master, and of 952 Companions or Members, to be divided into 
 three classes. The Order was again enlarged on the 31st of January, 
 1859, it being then ordained that the total number of Companions 
 should be 985. The first class to consist of seventy-five members, to 
 be designated Knights Grand Cross; the second class to consist of 160, 
 styled Knights Commanders ; and the third class of 750, to be desig- 
 nated Companions of the Order. 
 
ANCIENT ARMS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 The following list of ancient arms remaining in the Abbey 
 is printed from Sir Harris Nicolas’ Roll of Arms temp. Hen. III. 
 It was drawn up by Mr. Willement. 
 
 IN THE SOUTH AISLE, ON THE WALL, BEGINNING FROM 
 THE TRANSEPT AND PROCEEDING WESTWARD. 
 
 No. 1 a cross patonce between five birds or\ 
 
 This shield is sculptured. No inscription remains to it. 
 
 2. Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or. 
 
 Sculptured. The inscription gone. 
 
 3. Destroyed. 
 
 4. Or, four pallets gules. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 5. Gules, seven mascles or, 3, 3, 1. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 6. Quarterly gules and or, a bendlet sinister, and a narrow 
 
 bordure, sable ; over all, a label of five points argent. 
 Sculptured. The inscription gone. 
 
 7. Argent, a lion rampant gules, crowned or; a bordure sable, 
 
 charged with twenty- two bezants. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 8. Gules, three lions rampant, 2 and 1, argent. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 9. Yaire, or and gules. 
 
 The sculptured coat has been defaced, and this has been 
 painted subsequently in its place. 
 
 “ Gtjill’ : C : De Eerrariis de Derbia.’ 
 
 10. Azure, six lions rampant, 3, 2, 1, or. 
 
 Painted only. 
 
 “ Guil : be Loga-Spata C. Sara.” 
 
 11. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, have all been destroyed. 
 
 17. Argent, a fess gules between three popinjays, proper. 
 
 Painted only. No inscription. 
 
 a Not as the martlet is now represented, but with beaks, legs, and long tails. 
 
A ncient A mis in Westminster A bbey . 
 
 299 
 
 N 0 . 18. Quarterly, per fess indented, argent and gules. 
 
 Painted only. No inscription. 
 
 19. Per pale, .... and .... a lion rampant 
 
 Only painted, and tlie colours not visible. 
 
 “Roge de MonteacutoV’ 
 
 20 two bars 
 
 The colours destroyed. 
 
 “Rogeeus de Venaeles.” 
 
 IN THE NORTH AISLE. 
 
 1 an eagle displayed c 
 
 Sculptured. No colours or inscription remain. 
 
 2. Azure semee de lis, or. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 3. Or, three chevrons gules. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 4. Or, a cross gules. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 5. Gules, a lion rampant, double queued, argent. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 6. Chequy or and azure. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 7. No arms or inscription remains. 
 
 8. Gules, a cross vaire, argent and azure. 
 
 Sculptured. No inscription. 
 
 9. Neither arms nor inscription. 
 
 10. Quarterly gules and or; in the first quarter a mullet argent. 
 
 Only painted on the wall. No inscription. 
 
 11. No arms remain; but part of an inscription, “ Joannes.” 
 
 12. Or, a maunche gules. 
 
 Painted only. 
 
 “ Heneicus de Hastinges.” 
 
 There is little doubt of the shields having been originally 
 continued to the west end, but no others remain on this side. 
 
 T. W. 
 
 b Evidently an error in the coat or inscription. 
 
 c It is not quite evident whether this eagle had a single or a double head, as it 
 has been defaced, but it is presumed to have been single. 
 
A Chronological Table of the Abbots, Priors, Bishops, and Beans of 
 Westminster, from the presumed Foundation of the Abbey Church in 
 604 , to the year 1863 . 
 
 ABBOTS, PRIORS, &c. Elected 
 
 ABBOT. 
 
 Orthbriglit 604 
 
 PRIORS \ 
 
 Germanus 
 
 Aldred 
 
 Sytvard 675 
 
 Osmund 684 
 
 Selred 726 
 
 Orgar 744 
 
 Brithstan 765 
 
 ABBOTS. 
 
 Ordbright, or Alubrith . . . 
 
 Alfwius 796 
 
 Alfwius II 820 
 
 Algar 846 
 
 Eadmerus 
 
 Alfnod 
 
 Alfric, or Alfwold 940 
 
 Wlsius, or Wulsinus . . . (?) 960 
 
 Alfwy, or Aldsius 
 
 Wulnoth 1017 
 
 Edwyn 1049 
 
 Goiffridus, or Geoffry .... 1068 
 
 Vitalis 1076 
 
 Gislebertus Crispinus, or Gilbert 
 
 Crispin 1082 
 
 Herebert, or Herbert .... 1121 
 
 Gervaise de Blois 1140 
 
 Lanrentius, or Lawrence . . . 1159 
 
 Walter 1175 
 
 William Postard (?) 1191 
 
 Ralph Papylion, or de Arundel . 1200 
 
 William de Humez, or Humeto . 1214 
 
 Richard de Berkynge .... 1222 
 
 Richard de Crokesley .... 1246 
 
 Philip de Lewesham .... 1258 
 
 Richard de Ware, or Warren . 1258 
 
 Walter de Wenlock 1284 
 
 Richard de Kedyngton, or de Sud- 
 bury 1308 
 
 William de Curtlyngton, Carth- 
 
 ington, or Curlington . . . 1315 
 
 Thomas Henley 1333 
 
 *- This list of Priors is of doubtful authenticity. 
 
 ABBOTS, PRIORS, &c. Elected 
 
 Simon de Kyrcheston . . . . 1344 
 
 Simon Langham (afterwards Car- 
 dinal) 1343 
 
 Nicholas Litlington 1362 
 
 William de Colchester .... 1386 
 
 Richard Harweden 1420 
 
 Edmund KyTton 1440 
 
 George Norwych 1462 
 
 Thomas Millyng 1469 
 
 John Esteney 1474 
 
 George Fascet 1498 
 
 John Islip 1500 
 
 William Boston, or Benson (after- 
 wards Dean) 1533 
 
 BISHOP. 
 
 Thomas Thirleby 1540 
 
 DEANS. 
 
 William Beiison 1540 
 
 Richard Cox, or Coxe .... 1549 
 
 Hugh Weston 1553 
 
 ABBOT. 
 
 John Feckenham 1556 
 
 DEANS. 
 
 William Bill 1560 
 
 Gabriel Goodman 1560 
 
 Lancelot Andrewes 1601 
 
 Richard Neile 1605 
 
 George Montaine, or Mountain . 1610 
 
 Robert Tounson 1617 
 
 John Williams (Lord Keeper) . 1620 
 
 Richard Steward 1644 
 
 John Earles 1660 
 
 John Dolben 1662 
 
 Thomas Sprat 1683 
 
 Francis Atterbury 1713 
 
 Samuel Bradford 1723 
 
 Joseph Wilcocks 1731 
 
 Zachary Pearce 1756 
 
 John Thomas 1768 
 
 Samuel Horsley 1793 
 
 William Vincent 1802 
 
 John Ireland 1816 
 
 Thomas Turton 1842 
 
 Samuel Wilberforce 1845 
 
 William Buckland 1846 
 
 Richard Chenevix Trench . . . 1856 
 
mi 
 
 PLAN OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 

 
WORKS ON 
 
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 3Srr|ffoIogg, 
 
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 THE GLOSSARY OE ARCHITECTURE. 
 
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 3 
 
ARCHITECTURAL TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 ENGLISH COUNTIES. 
 
 OR, AN ARCHITECTURAL ACCOUNT 
 OE EVERY CHURCH IN 
 
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 Its Dedication, — Supposed date of Erection or Alteration, — Ob- 
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 N.B. Each Church has been personally surveyed for the occasion 
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 ENGLISH CATHEDRALS. 
 
 THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF 
 
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 GLEANINGS FROM WESTMINSTER ABBEY. By 
 
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 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 4 
 
ARCHITECTURAL TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
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 DOVER CASTLE, 
 
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 Sylvanus Urban, in again offering a Volume to tlie kind friends 
 who have for so long a period patronized the labours of himself and his 
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 will he found to strengthen his claim to their continued favour. The 
 usual wide range of subjects has been preserved. . . . The series of papers 
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 tion, is that by Mr. Buries, on Art applied to Industry; it is completed 
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 ture on the Architecture of Switzerland, in which a subject that has 
 hitherto received but little attention is very happily treated. Also 
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 the Magazine will also be found replete with interest. The proceedings 
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 Cf c? -&3 % 4"7 
 

 
 
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