5^701 A A 2 8 1 4 1 1 N REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES l'> » iv ' '■?) ' <•? - / loss \- / ri winm j|. Ti T7l?=^!^l? \s (^/C^^SJx An Illustrated Text to accompany Hw Seven Etchings by A. H. Haig ^p-^i M j<-j LONDON ROBERT DUNTHORNE At the Rembrandt Head IN VIGO STREET 1885 #,?.,, ^1 ' ■i'-uf, 1 Mi; WW To all English-speaking people no name of any ancient building is probably more familiar or more venerable than that of the Great Abbey which Edward the Con- fessor founded at Westminster and dedi- cated to St. Peter in 1050 ; that is, at any rate, the period given without any his- torical doubt. Legendary history assigns the foundation to King Lucius in the second century, or to King Sebert in the early part of the seventh, with the pic- turesque stories of the fisherman Edric and his vision of St. Peter, whose consecration of the abbey, assisted by angels and the heavenly choir, caused it to be dedicated to that saint, etc., etc. But as far as these few notes, originally written in the form of ^j'l! {i'^O"'^ a letter to a friend, are concerned, we have %^^^^^\^^ to deal only with real history. Another '■^)' time we may have an opportunity to deal f(^^\ '^,>^^ ^iS with the legends. §s\j?;^ To the strangers of any race visiting ~^^ ^> 629803 $. X^y^l^^^--j.-vY down to modern days h ii((&,l)^^r^i1l\ l2"g"2g^ ^"^ glorified the country; all this, •^^.%M'-(f>^if and more, will ever make the old abbey worthy of a pilgrimage from far-off countries. To the not too critical stranger all will be glorious, and to the thoughtful archaeo- logist and artist all will be interesting, even should it be felt impossible to admit that the memories of so many famous men have here always been perpetuated in the best manner or in the best taste. We shall have something more to say about the monu- _^ ments presently, but let us first contemplate l]^JC\f fe the abbey as a building, not in the complete sense of an architectural analysis, but rather as a first impression upon the artistic mind. Let us enter by the North Porch, the only one now used in this year of grace 1885, when the dynamite scare has caused to be closed to the public the West Entrance, as well as that by the Poets' Corner. The ?-^L^^ great transept in all its length will be before fe^fe Itr^Uc^^ us, and impressive enough it is in its pro- -^'n5^f>r{^ portions ; the white marble statues, busts. r I '■^r 1 frri ^^^'y marring the general effect. The .(J7 |C "Vh r.', 7 >r'-^' I non-artistic public will turn to the right :^'^|^*-*X-V mm and left to admire the statues and monu ments, all rather more than less modern, I ""Mv.. "^ttililr'ii '" ^^^ whole transept, the north end de- | .^ [jjlji |l||i ^. -}^r^.T^-\ voted to monuments of statesmen, and the i:T(fo|c^i pJ'c ['yAlj/^AX^ south to those of poets and men of letters 1^=^^=^/^^^ generally, and hence called the *' Poets' Corner." In speaking of Westminster from an artist's point of view, I should like to imagine all these modern monu- ments and statues away, consigned to some other great national mausoleum or Campo Santo, and instead of them, here and there (^ •a- -?^ mf!^^ some tombs with recumbent figures and LJfei.^/'1 \^'~l beautiful Gothic canopies all in the grey j^s^M^ or brownish-erev tones of centuries. The ^- ^ M'^i^J^ \ -grey present arrangement disturbs the repose distressingly. Let us mention here that we perambulate the abbey in search of the harmonious and the picturesque, and that we will speak mainly from that principle ; h^ and I would now question whether the view obtained of the chancel, as seen from iJ ^<:^^ the transept, does not present something far finer than the views obtained of the transept alone. In the distance you have the beautiful Gothic tombs of Aymer de Valence, etc. ; above, the great arches, the fine triforium, and the clerestory ; and in the background you get a glimpse of the northern chapels. Here all is old except ^i^^\l!J^ the reredos and the objects in the fore- i-,'^iV^:*^o4: gv^ i_ ^2Ji^L^ i^^^^^ 65^a t'^ o> <0 6" ?^>)_^_^I B-L_L ground, but these, being dark, and in the shade, do not disturb the harmony. This view is probably finest lit up by the rays of the sun at noon of a summer's day. Pass- ing by the nave, where I have found but little that lends itself to my purpose, let us enter the aisles of the chancel, where, on the north side, I find my first subject. I chose this because here comes promi- nently into view, on the right side of the picture, the tomb of King Henry III., during whose reign the greater portion of the present abbey was erected. The tomb, containing mosaics and fine slabs of por- phyry and marble, is the work of a Roman artist, and was finished some years after Henry's death, which took place in 1272. Here is also to be seen the chantry of Henry V., a rich mass of sculpture, calling to mind the great altar-pieces of some Spanish cathedrals. Centrally in the pic- ture is seen the fine Gothic monument of Lewis Robsart, who at the battle of Agin- court so distinguished himself that King Henry V. made him his standard-bearer. The monument has unfortunately lost its recumbent figures. The tattered and nearly black banners suspended from the walls of the Chapel of St. Paul's add an interest of their own to the view, although some have wished them away. This said chapel is burdened with a colossal seated statue of Watt the engineer. That this man, whose existence has been of such 6 ^ fy h^ ^te enormous benefit to mankind, should de- ^^^^(JCl^o/ serve a colossal, a world-famed monument, y^^l/PTu il ^^^ ^''^ deny ? but one must deplore (( (^ jV V^ \^\S^'y>ji/jJj' its utter want of harmony with its sur- ^\v!s . '■»v^'^M^ {^ roundines. In aven« larmony with its sur- m venerable church such as /// — " — ~" ■/ " — "^^^^^^LJs^^^i^VVL ^■y^ foundings. In a venerable church such as 'f?/r^rrT''3 ^^T^)l/)i^ the abbey the monuments of old only seem <^4i,^^>}i^\^ ^liVY/Z^ ' i" their place, or if the memories of '^nVvV^Y/^'i it^ modern worthies are to be honoured there, x'rw^xv the kneeling attitude in which the families ,^ ^_^^ '*^-X^J^'^9^ from the Renaissance period are repre- ^^^i^ ^^tB^Wf^^ sented. There is a sense of repose about ^"^^/^i^r^ .C'\t\]^ty\ the recumbent hgures unattainable by the jr '"-^llf fl^CV^ ^^ standing statues, and these are often re- cTl^^VVv^-i/ presented, if soldiers, as Roman generals, ^I?^^^^ or else in togas or such like garments, ({L/yt\r W /^' ^v^yvv Tiarking no particular period, and least o w/)^^^^^^ all that in which they lived. At th( 'W, K^^^Sfp\'f entrance to this aisle, for instance, stands '^^^ST^^ Sir Robert Peel, like a Roman senator /^^L-ll!^^^:^' ^Yr ■^j^~'^\ P°s'"g *" the frigidarium of a Roman bath, (l'^SS^7M^j^ (S^O ^^f ^'^'^ "°t like an English statesman of the v^_r^_J/^7/ ^V./' \5lh nineteenth centurv. A better taste pre- ^TK^^^^-^ ■jC^' vailed in former days, when great men rJ~^ were represented on monuments in con- fj^ to^^^^ temporary costumes, and the knights in ir-=:^t. ^ wU^^^P^ their armour, with dignity reposing after c^tS^ ^ps^NJ^^^^^^ their active and often turbulent lives, ^ufl^^h^ V^l /I'^'il^-^/y '^^^X' i'^ nearly all instances, marked their [I ^^Al /vroT^i* perioa. ^v'^ir/ft Dean Stanley says: "We are some- Wt;^ times inclined bitterly to contrast the J^k^;^^^^^ 4 '^^9^^^%'^ placid dignity of our recumbent kings, with i^)^^^^^^*' ^^l^^r'M^ Chatham gesticulating from the northern ^rr.'j' ''^^^^J^V) transept, or Pitt from the western door, or '^Mi//^^\S^\ ^M^'^yyi'l Shakespeare leaning on his column in the ''l^vf/^^^^Ji'/l <(r^\^^^t^ Poets' Corner, or Wolfe expiring by the (i^g'&ij'K Ud^^^-f Chapel of St. John. But, in fact, they \^]^^^^-M are, in their different ways, keeping guard over the shrine of our monarchs and our laws, and their very incongruity and variety become symbols of the harmonious diversity in unity which pervades our whole com- monwealth." True, from such a purely historic point of view. But to the architect's and painter's vision more agreeable would it be were it still possible to see the beau- tne lower part or ine interior wans, or ac -ifr^Vjn^i^*-. least less mutilated and obscured by a host J^^C^I^wfi) of often very ugly monumental slabs, infe- %)<^^^i ^ rior statues, and all sorts of things, com- !i)/^^^^^^'^^ memorating certainly now and then noble ylA(^^^'M[ i 4 V' men and women, but right often also names whose memories could very well have been satisfied with the honours given to mortals in the ordinary public ceme- teries. And even speaking of men whose memories before all others deserve to be A kept green, poets and other men of genius, ;ff^.?'^^v IS It a right or a bust as that • a beautiful thing to put such 'jf (^^'pJ}\\Cr of Burns, for instance, where fj^(s'^/fn( D)|^J the dark piers ? Where is the harmony, '^^{i^^^^^ '^' f^^^^r&^S' Ti w^^^^ '^ ^^^ repose ? Pardon this digres- [ ' 555^r? /^ sion, and now let us proceed to the next : -^ P? subject, which is taken from St. Edmund's %U \\\ Chapel, on the south side of the choir. '{^\ 11 Possibly I should have retained the existing loi^ it; screen had it been in its original state, but t>\\ Y^ »»-rec (vj muti ilated as it now is with the ugly straight l^ I 'mm -\ t t: f72 and it would then be barbarous to ignore W ^Mk:jM\vr\ P them, but this one has only this excuse s\Ml^J%t\ i'^ from a pictorial point of view, that it may ^ ' '"^^^^^e-" yrJ e foreground the fine tombs of Ct^^^p^^/aU ^aM William de Valence, King Henry III.'s ^•\^^^.^'^\ ";^ half-brother, and John of Eltham, son of ^^f Vr^^ H Edward I. Under the arch of the chantry ^yl J^ of Henry V. are the steps leading to c\V g.U Henry VII. 's Chapel, the entrance to lE {\ which and that to Queen Mary Stuart's )^ monument form the subject of one of the aJ etchings. The tomb of William de Va- ^ ^^'^^'^ ^^_^. ^ <"- lence, now partly stripped of its copper ,\ Jr-^-'^^ 'f^^§\^i, and enamel (French work of the thirteenth '^'f^^^^ife f^/^PS^^M century), was erected by his son, Aymer '.-. \\/T?^ (\\ , over the tomb of Edward 5\ obtain a glimpse ■ Edward '\, I &>^y'V% ^}0S^^m in the frontispiece. .^^.^ ..^ ^ ^...^ [VW^^—'-^-'iri from St. Edward's time, and only the lower f^"]/]^'^^"^^'*' 1*^1 trom bt. r^dwara s time, ana only the lower >. |(/0>^|Vy\l ,U\ portion of the shrine just seen to the left cKlff^/'^^rlu '/[J] in the picture, the mosaic pavement, and A VuV^^ub the arches round the chapel, date from the time of Henry III. A portion of the chantry of Henry V. comes prominently |l/k/-/WKr)ll /V into view, and above on a beam are his li^vLo^v9i«ll shield, helmet, and saddle. To the right '] ^^^^^:^M is seen the tomb of Philippa, Queen of ^— - Hv"' Edward III. ~ (/\r^((^r^\P-\K' -tdward 111. There are, perhaps, few A ' M\V^^/JI^ spots in Europe surrounded with more ^ ^J:^^^^ regal and religious sentiment than this i}^''^^^^ picturesque chapel. Here have the Eng- /v^^^^^ iish monarchs been crowned from the time ' ' '^ If of William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria, and here lie buried, not only the ,,1' Confessor, but the kings Henry III., Ed- ward I., Edward III., and Richard II., as ^^^^^^Vv^^ well as the queens Eleanor of Castile and i^t^^^^}^|g^ ('ll V^^^i/ Philippa ; Edward the Confessor in the ^V^^^^V^^ -^A/^^^!b^ centre, the others, with the tomb of Henry j^^^^p^fM) WW'H v., encircling the chapel, north, east, and i.yilpAAi ^t^ylijjy south, the western end being occupied by 11 \V^^^))/ (^ \^Zj^ the altar-screen, against which stand, in vjy^'^^^^'l^ ^^^Tl? ^^^ chapel, the coronation chair and the vlvl^^^^^^v Si^ In the view of the chancel, taken from the south transept, will be seen the monu- ment of Aymer de Valence (1323), cousin of Edward I. and Earl of Pembroke ; to the east of this the tomb of Edmund :^'^> A !', it was actually proposed to destroy the j^^Xh^^'^V^ • venerable and beautiful tomb of Aymer de o5j---^!xVv5( -^ l Valence and to place that monument in its y[b ttT^M/T //;^<-Q=<^ Valence and to place that monument m its y^» -^ /?/; "{^ ./<>>.v\ ♦ interference of Horace Walpole, altered, ► I 5| '^ 2nd the cumbrous block of marble was (J, placed on the other side of the aisle, even vp subject, which may be called the Poets' Corner rather from the fact that it is seen been called the father or modern i.nglish poetry. The actual Poets' Corner, where lie men of letters from Chaucer to Dickens, 'i is somewhat more to the right of this view. While in this locality, let us step out through ^^ the door at the south-east corner of the transept and consider the aspect given in my Cp:;^^ subject called "Entrance to Poets'Corner." ' o-^^ Here will be seen, to the left, a portion of 1^ 'i.O %. feKi'' >^l :^a "Sf^-^fo 65^Kk<<3 house from the cloisters has been beautiful, ^^ and is a picturesque object now in its much mutilated condition, but its rendering I have avoided, owing to the depressed form of the low arches, which, to my thinking, mars the otherwise pleasing im- pression of the whole. But the nature of the cloisters themselves is shown in a sketch from the south-western corner, perhaps the latest part of the quadrangle. Within the compass of the very few remarks I have here ventured to offer, I I have been able to indicate only a few of [ the many charming attractions of the abbey and its precincts. Indeed, I feel ashamed j of the poverty of these indications ; on i the other hand, when such works as those by Sir Gilbert Scott, Dean Stanley, and f other learned writers and historians are to j be had, I have thought it best to confine . myself almost entirely to such points as j are in connection with my pictorial treat- ment of the abbey. These few " foot- prints on the sands of time " may easily I be obliterated by the feet of other wan- derers, who may be, as I have been, im- ,' pressed by the sublimity of the venerable Abbey of Westminster, tempered by a sense of regret for so many inharmonious j additions, or for what it has lost through i reckless mutilations. No doubt we could ; at one time have said with Byron — for ' 'J whom, by the way, 1 in vain search in the i aisles of Westminster — ! ^ " But thou, of temples old, or altars new, Standest alone — with nothing like to thee — Worthiest of God, the holy and the true. Since Zion's desolation, when that He Forsook His former city, what could be. Of earthly structures, in His honour piled, Of a sublimer aspect ? Majesty, Power, glory, strength, and beauty, all are aisled In this eternal ark of worship undefiled." ^ t lZzS^ ^. And possibly a time will come when these ]^ T'^^' *~^'^^y S ^ i.ny ''"y (i words, applied to St. Peter's great church v^jt r t>r"^ 7^^^^ ; at Rome, may be as truly or even more A //T'^^^^i), LIST OF THE ETCHINGS, SKETCHES OF WHICH FOLLOW. No. I. The North Chancel Aisle. „ 2. View from St. Edmund's Chapel. „ 3. Entrance to Poets' Corner. „ 4. A Dark Corner. (Entrance to South Aisle of Henry VII. 's Chapel.) „ 5. Poets' Corner. 6. View of Chancel from South Transept. „ 7. The Cloisters. \A^' ,\ §M m Size I5j in. X 232 '"• The North Chancel Ajsle. Size 155^ in. X ^sh '"• View from St. Edmund's Chapel. Size 7 in. X i if in- Entrance to Poets' Corner. A Dark Corner. Entrance to South Aisle of Henry VII. 's Chapel. Poets' Corner, Size 7^ in. x 12 in. oo X ON H en o U Hi X h ^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. AUG- RECD 151983 i'orm L9-50»i-ll,'50 (2554)444 I I »i t >k/ ki . U NA Haig - 5470 ImpreffSfions of W5H12 Westminster Abbey ~ii m ! t 1 * 4 » Iri-' 1*1