London and Westminster are two twin-sister cities, as joyned by one street, so watered by one stream; the first a breeder of grave magistrates; the second the burial-place of great monarchs.--Heywood's Porta Pietatis.

The

City

Liberties

Although the present Church of St. Margaret retains no traces of details earlier than the reigns of the Plantagenets, yet, says Mr. Mackenzie Walcott,

there is, with the exception of the Abbey of St. Peter and

St. Paul's Cathedral

, no other ecclesiastical edifice throughout London and

Westminster

which can boast a greater antiquity, or more interesting foundation.

The original structure dated from a few years before the Conquest. We are told that Edward. the Confessor, finding, as was natural, that a population was growing up around the Abbey walls, and was continually increased further by a miscellaneous crowd of persons who, for good or for bad reasons, sought the shelter of the Sanctuary, raised here a church in the round arched Saxon style, and dedicated it to St. Margaret. Another account represents the king as simply intending to benefit the respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Whichever account is true, at all events thing is certain--namely, that Edward was the great friend of the monks of , and he was naturally anxious that their spiritual meditations should not be broken in upon by parochial duties or secular cares.

This edifice appears to have stood until the reign of Edward I., when it was almost wholly taken down and rebuilt. Very extensive alterations were made again in the reign of Edward IV., at which time, according to Mr. Timbs, the surrounding level of the ground was feet lower than now, and a flight of stone steps led up to the nave.

The present building is a plain, neat, and not inelegant Gothic structure, with a panelled roof, slightly curved. In the old days, before the parishioners began to repair and restore it, the church must have been really handsome in its details, as it still is in its proportions, which are much admired for their harmony. In the tower is a peal of bells; these, however, are seldom rung, as on Sundays they would interfere with the services in the Abbey, close by. Formerly the

The entrance-porch of the nave forms the framework to a beautiful picture. Lofty arches, of a very light and elegant character, with spandrils enriched with quatrefoils and trefoils springing from clustered columns, divide the nave from the aisles. On the right hand, in front of the chancel-arch, is the pulpit, considered the most richly ornamented in the metropolis. The edifice is lighted by a series of large windows; that at the east end is very large and beautiful, and is filled with painted glass. It was made by order of the magistrates of Dort, in Holland, and designed by them as a present to Henry VII., for his new chapel in ; but that monarch dying before it was finished, it was set up in the private chapel of the Abbot of Waltham, at Copt Hall, near Epping, in Essex. There it remained till the Dissolution, when it was removed to New Hall, in the same county, and on General Monk coming into possession of that place, he preserved the window from demolition. In , when this church underwent a thorough repair, the window was purchased by the inhabitants of the parish for guineas, and placed in its present situation.

The subject is the Crucifixion, with numerous subordinate figures, all which are of admirable execution. On the side is King Henry VII., and on the other his queen, both kneeling. Their portraits are stated to have been taken from original pictures, sent to Dort for that purpose. Over the king is the figure of St. George, his patron saint, and above that a white rose and a red ; over the figure of the queen is a representation of St. Catherine of Alexandria, with the instruments of her martyrdom, and above the saint are the arms of the kingdom of Granada. The window occasioned a considerable agitation in the parish, and gave rise to some. religious controversy at the time of its insertion. Among the accessory parts, there is a representation of a devil carrying off the soul of the impenitent thief, and an angel performing the same office for that of the penitent . It was determined by some pious Protestants that this was downright Popery, if not blasphemy, and that such

superstitious allegories

The putting up of this splendid window gave rise to a serious and tedious law-suit against the churchwardens, which was brought forward under an old dormant statute of Edward VI., namely,

An Act for abolishing and putting away divers Books and Images,

superstitious image or picture;

Annual Register :

An appeal came lately before the Court of Delegates, between the Dean and Chapter of

Westminster Abbey

and the parishioners of

St. Margaret's

, concerning the painted window in the church: the bill was ordered to be dismissed, each side being condemned to pay its own costs.

The memory of the successful issue of this trial is perpetuated in a very beautiful and richly-chased cup, stand, and cove, silver-gilt, weighing upwards of ounces, which Mr. Samuel Pierson, who had been churchwarden for successive years, presented during the time as a gift for ever to the churchwardens of the parish. It is the

loving cup

Close by the north-west porch of the church is an ancient and massive carved seat, evidently of the century; on it every Sunday, after morning prayers, and a loaf of bread are given away to each of poor widows belonging to the parish, the bequest of Mrs. Joyce Goddard, in .

In various parts of the church are monuments, more or less sumptuous and tasteful, to Mr. James Palmer, the. founder of Palmer's Almshouses, and a native of the parish; to Thomas Arneway, and to Cornelius Vandan, both large benefactors of parish; the latter monument bears the date .

At the eastern corner of the south aisle, in an enclosure forming a vestibule to both the vestry and the church, are some very interesting monuments.

Founder's Tomb

Opposite to it is a [extra_illustrations.3.569.1] ,

who, as early as the year

1477

, set up a printing-press in the Abbey,

Reader, should you reflect on his errors, remember his many virtues, and that he was mortal;

The question has more than once been started as to the burial-place of Wenceslaus Hollar. In the introduction to the catalogue of the exhibition of his etchings at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, Vertue is quoted by the compiler as having found the register of his death at , which agrees with the account of Aubrey. But in Mr. Jesse's

Memorials of London

New Chapel

Petty France

.

near the north-west corner of the tower

of which religion,

I suppose he might be ever since he came to Arundel House.

In the ambulatory, near the door of the porch under the tower, is a mural monument to Mrs. Elizabeth Corbett, which is of considerable interest on account of its inscription, consisting of lines of verse from the pen of Pope. The literature of tombstones is not always of a -rate order; but it deserves to be noted that Dr. Johnson, in his

Lives of the Poets,

Here rests a woman, good without pretence,

Blest with plain reason, and with sober sense

No conquest she but her own self desired,

No arts essayed, but not to be admired.

Passion and pride were to her soul unknown;

Convinced that virtue only is our own:

So unaffected, so composed a mind,

So firm, yet soft, so strong, yet so refined,

Heaven, as its purest gold, by tortures tried;--

The saint sustain'd it, but the woman died.

I have always,

considered this as the most valuable of all Pope's epitaphs: the subject of it is a character not discriminated by any shining or eminent peculiarities; yet that which really makes, though not the splendour, the felicity of life, and that which every wise man will choose for his final and lasting companion in the languor of age, in the quiet of privacy, when he departs weary and disgusted from the ostentatious, the volatile, and the vain. Of such a character, which the dull overlook, and the gay despise, it was fit that the value should be made known, and the dignity established. Domestic virtue, as it is exerted without great occasions, or conspicuous consequences, in an even unnoted tenor, required the genius of Pope to display it in such a manner as might attract regard and enforce reverence. Who can forbear to lament that this amiable woman has no name in the verses? If the particular lines of this inscription be examined, it will appear less faulty than the rest. There is scarcely

one

line taken from common places, unless it be that in which

virtue only

is said to be

our own

. I once heard a lady of great beauty and excellence object to the

fourth

line, that it contained an unnatural and incredible panegyric. Of this let the ladies judge.

over,

her own self.

has also the honour of holding the remains of Skelton, the merry poetlaureate of Henry VIII. Over his tomb is the following whimsical inscription :--

Come, Alecto, lend me .thy torch,

To find a churchyard in a church porch;

Poverty and poetry this tomb doth enclose:

Therefore, gentlemen, be merry in prose.

On the walls of the vestry hang old and curious prints giving views of the interior of the church in the reigns of Charles II. and of William and Mary, with the in state attending the service. The latter engraving is a copy of the print by Brook, prefixed to Warner's edition of the

Book of Common Prayer,

Down to a very recent date, the Speaker and the used to attend this church in state upon the days of what were known as the

State Services,

Mr. Speaker

Mr. Mackenzie Walcott enumerates the following names in a list of the most eminent Puritan divines who have occupied the pulpit of :--Calamy, Vines, Nye, Manton, Marshall, Gauden, Owen, Burgess, Newcomen, Reynolds, Cheynell, Baxter, the

critical

illuminated

windmill with a weathercock atop;

There are some who will betray

three

kingdoms for filthy lucre's sake,

This church has had several distinguished clergymen as lecturers and curates since the time of the Commonwealth, among whom we may name Dr. Outram, the accomplished Oriental scholar, and author of

De Sacrificiis;

to hear God praised, and not himself;

As might be expected, the church does not now possess all that it could boast of in the way of accessories and ornaments before the Reformation. Besides its nave, it once had a choir, now almost wholly removed; and in its side aisles were chapels with altars dedicated to St. Margaret, St. George, St. Katharine, St. Cornelius, St. Erasmus, St. John, and to St. Nicholas and St. Christopher. The churchwardens' accounts, still existing, serve to show with how much of zeal and devotion these altars were maintained down to the time of their dismantling by order of Henry VIII.

Some idea may be formed as to the rapidity with which ecclesiastical changes were wrought in the system of the English Church when we add that whereas in the sum of was paid to Clerke

for making thymage

(sic) of

St. Margaret,

taking down the Roode Mary and John,

taking down the tabil

(sic),

or the high altar,

cleaving and sawing the Rood Mary and John.

for ringing at the beheading of the Queen of Scotts.

1563

.

Item.-To

the paynter of Totehill Street for payntinge of certeyn blew crosses to be fyxed upon sundrie houses infected, vj.

A century later, a cross was the mark of an infected house. years afterwards the dogs were supposed to carry the plague about in their coats, on which the inhabitants commenced a crusade against them, and resolved to abide in their filth and carelessness. In the next years the persecution was renewed, and in a plague devastated the parish, when among the entries is the following :--

Payd for the graves of CCCCLI. poore folk xxxvijs vijd.

pitch and tarre for the visited houses,

12d.

,

papers with Lord, have mercy upon us!

12

d

for killing of fourscore dogs.

ringing at the time when the Parliament-house should have been blown up.

Butts

Tuthill Fields.

In , the plot of Edmund Waller, the poet, designed to resist the violent councils of the Parliament, was made known in .

At a solemn fast, when they were listening to the sermon, a messenger entered the church, and communicated his errand to Pym, who whispered it to others who were placed near him, and then went with them out of the church, leaving the rest in solicitude and amazement. They immediately sent guards to the proper places, and that night apprehended Tompkyns and Waller, having yet traced nothing, but that letters had been intercepted, from which it appeared that the Parliament and the City

were soon to be delivered into the hands of the Cavaliers.

In September of the same year the Solemn League and Covenant was taken in this church by both Houses of Parliament, the Assembly of Divines, and the Scottish Commissioners.

Mr. Nye read the Covenant from the pulpit, all signifying their assent to it byholding up their hands; and the members afterwards signed the parchmentroll, and then Dr. Gouge implored a blessing upon their act.

In the general spoliation of the churches which took place after the

martyrdom

the font was broken down, and replaced by a miserable pewter basin, the organ was sold to a Puritan brazier, the altar destroyed, the beautiful chancel-screen hewn down, monumental brasses were torn from the graves of the sleeping departed, monuments and inscriptions were irreparably defaced.

One

scene,

is preserved to us of those troublous times, which is a memorable example of Religion turned into Rebellion and Faith into Faction. On

December 20, 1648

, the notorious

Hugh Peters

, the pulpitbuffoon, as he is styled by Dugdale, preached his memorable sermon before the

House of Commons

; and the following description of it forms part of the evidence upon which he was condemned, and made to suffer the just recompense of his guilt on

October 16, 1660

, presenting a memorable spectacle of meanness and a thorough coward's heart.

I passed through

St. Margaret's

Churchyard to go on my way home again. . . . I perceived all the churchyard full of musquets and pikes upon the ground, and asked some of the soldiers who were there guarding the Parliament, that were keeping a fast at

St. Margaret's

. Who preaches? said I. They told me, Mr. Peters is just now gone up into the pulpit. Said I, Well, I must needs have the curiosity to hear that man, having already heard many stories about his preaching, though God knows I did not do it out of any matter of devotion. I crowded near the pulpit, and came near the Speaker's pew, .. and I saw a great many members there whom I knew well.

the great Barabbas, the murderer, the tyrant, and the traitor.

The notice of any parliamentary assistance being granted to occurs in the year , under the Commonwealth.

It is most probable,

that soon after the ancient chapel of St. Stephen had been yielded up by King Edward VI. to be a place no more of prayer, but for the deliberations of the

House of Commons

, the members of the lower House of Parliament attended divine service in

St. Margaret's Church

while the Lords went to the Abbey. In the reign of King James I., however, we have certain proof of their partaking of the Holy Sacrament in

St. Margaret's

.

Long sermons, it is well known, were the rule of the day under the Puritan . Thus we read that

on Tuesday,

November 17, 1640

, was the Fast Day, which was kept piously and devoutly. Dr. Burgess and Mr. Marshall preached before the House, at least

seven

hours between them, taking their texts from Jeremiah i.

5

and

2

Chronicles ii.

2

,

In ,

the State's Arms,

that the churchwardens prepare the King's Majesty's arms, to be richly carved, made, and gilded, after the bestmanner that can be invented, with as much grace as may be, to be set up in the parish church of St. Margaret, and to be as fair and beautiful in every respect as the King's Arms are set up in and about the City of London.

The gallery in the church was built in the north aisle in , and in it was determined to build another over the south aisle,

exclusively .for persons of quality.

About the sermons of the time and the demeanour of the congregation Dr. Johnson relates a singular

Burnet and Spratt were old rivals. On some public occasion they both preached before the

House of Commons

. There prevailed in those days an indecent custom: when the preacher touched any favourite topic in a manner that delighted his audiences, their approbation was expressed by a loud hum, continued in proportion to their zeal or pleasure. When Burnet preached, part of his congregation hummed so loudly and so long, that he sat down to enjoy it, and rubbed his face with his handkerchief. When Spratt preached, he likewise was honoured with a like animating hum, but he stretched out his hand to the congregation, and cried, Peace, peace; I pray you, peace!

Burnet's sermon,

was remarkable for sedition, and Spratt's for loyalty. Burnet had the thanks of the House; Spratt had. no thanks, but a good living from the King, which he said was of as much value as the thanks of the Commons.

A curious traditionary custom had been preserved here, to commemorate the restoration of the Royal Family. A triumphal arch was raised every year in the church; but early in the last century a portion of it, happening to fall, killed a carpenter, whereupon the vestry directed that

the triumphal arch behind the pulpit should be taken down, erected by Sir William Playters, Knt.

In the church was repaired, and its tower cased, the expense of the undertaking being defrayed by a Parliamentary grant, in consideration of its being the church where the members of the attended divine service on stated holidays.

The celebrated Whitfield, too, preached of his extraordinary discourses in this church Sunday evening in ,

having actually seized possession of the pulpit by violence; and then was locked up in it by the sexton, and kept there guarded by

six

lusty fellows, to the great confusion of the bewildered congregation.

In , the formally renewed a resolution which had been passed in , but had gradually come to be neglected, to the effect

that for the future no person, except the chaplain, who was under the dignity of a Dean or the Degree of Doctor of Divinity, be recommended to preach before this House.

it should be a lesson to all kings lest they should come to the same end.

In the vestry directed that

the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul should be painted, in imitation of statuary, by Mr. Cassali, and placed in niches on each side of the altar of the church.

In -, and again in , there was a performance of sacred music in this church, the oratorio of the

Messiah

An anecdote illustrative of what may be styled electioneering piety, is told about this church. In the year a printed notice was stuck upon the doors and walls of the church, Sunday morning, to the effect that

The prayers of the congregation are earnestly desired for the restoration of liberty, depending on the election of Mr. Wilkes.

In , in , John Milton was married to his wife, Katherine Woodcocke, of the parish of . Here, too, [extra_illustrations.3.574.1] . Cyrus Redding remarks that all the good and orderly traits of the poet were contemporary with his married life, neither before nor after which had he any fixed or settled habits.

He lost his early bad habits when he married, and fell into them again, afterwards, when he became a widower.

In this church was baptised, in , Barbara Villiers, afterwards the notorious Duchess of Cleveland, of whom we shall have more to say hereafter, when we come to treat of and its neighbourhood.

Mr. Wood, in his

Ecclesiastical Antiquities of London,

scala coeli

In the north porch, between the outer and inner

For many years, down to the time when Parliament came to a decision on the subject of intramural interment, the churchyard of had been a standing disgrace to the parish, in consequence of its overcrowded condition. In Dr. Reid reported that

the state of the buryingground was prejudicial to the air supplied at the Houses of Parliament, and also to the whole neighbourhood; that offensive emanations had been noticed at all hours of the night and morning;

fesh meat was frequently tainted by the deleterious gases issuing from this churchyard.

It has frequently been proposed to remove even the church itself, as obstructing the view of the Abbey. Many persons, however, are of opinion that it serves to set off the larger edifice, whose grandeur is all the more clearly seen when placed in close contrast with the humble parochial edifice. Canon Conway remarks that-

It may be questioned whether the removal of the church would greatly improve the view of the Abbey from the northern approach, inasmuch as the great length of the Abbey when seen in full flank (as may be noticed from

Vauxhall Bridge

) must awkwardly expose the defect occasioned by the absence of the central tower.

The alterations and improvements in the neighbourhood of the Abbey date from about the year . Hunter, writing in , congratulates his readers on the fact that at the cost of nearly half a million

the whole of the buildings which obscured

St. Margaret's Church

, between

King Street

and

Palace Yard

, have been removed, and also those in the

Broad Sanctuary

east and west of the new

Sessions House

.

An unique relic belonging to this parish is the [extra_illustrations.3.575.1]  in the keeping of the Past Overseers' Society. It is an object of antiquarian curiosity, and an article of considerable intrinsic value. Its history is curious and interesting. The original oval-shaped box, made of common horn, and of a portable size for the pocket, was purchased by a Mr. Monck at

Horn Fair,

This box to be delivered to every succeeding set of overseers, on penalty of

five

guineas.

The original horn box being thus ornamented, an additional case of silver, lined with crimson velvet, was provided for it, and this, in its turn, became enveloped in a , , and case, each bearing proofs of the liberality of its several custodians--the senior overseer for the time being --silver plates engraved with emblematical and historical subjects, portraits, and inscriptions. The outer case, which was added in , is an ovaloctagon, and stands about feet in height. Its sides and top are completely covered with plates of silver, engraved with the names of the overseers and churchwardens for the various years, and a few lines recording some of the principal public or local events for the time being. The last addition made to it is divided into parts, in consequence of the diminution of space, and bears the following inscription:--

This Plate and the one at the foot were added by the Overseers for the year ending April, 1875. St. Margaret's. St. Join's. J. W. King.W. J. Bennett. F. Davis.J. Margrie. Churchwardens. C. Shadwell.G. T. Miller. W. C. Scrivener.G. Cook. Dr. Livingstone's Remains deposited in Westminster Abbey, 18th April, 1874. The Boundaries of the United Parishes perambulated, l4th May. Mr. Disraeli publicly unveiled the Statue of the late Lord Derby, at Westminster, 11th July. The Duchess of Edinburgh gave birth to a Son at Buckingham Palace.

Among the historical subjects engraved on the inner cases are, a view of the fireworks in , to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la- Chapelle, in ; Admiral Keppel's Action off Ushant, and his acquittal after a court-martial; the Battle of the Nile; the Battle of Trafalgar, ; the Battle of Waterloo, ; the Bombardment of Algiers, ; the interior of the old at the Trial of Queen Caroline, ; and the Coronation of George IV. and his visit to Scotland, in . The whole of these subjects are beautifully engraved, as also are the portraits, of which there are several, embracing among others, John Wilkes, churchwarden in , and afterwards Lord Mayor of London; Nelson, Duncan, Howe, Vincent, Fox, and Pitt; George IV. as Prince Regent, the Princess Charlotte, and Queen Charlotte. The most interesting engravings, perhaps, are those of local subjects, such as the

View of the North Front of

Westminster

Hall;

Interior of

Westminster

Hall, with the Volunteers of the City of

Westminster

attending Divine Service at the Drumhead on a Fast Day,

1803

;

Old

Sessions' House

;

View of

St. Margaret's

, from the Northwest,

The top of the case has a representation of the Guardians of the Poor in the Boardroom, and an inscription, which runs as follows:--

The original box and cases to be given to every succeeding set of overseers, on penalty of

fifty

guineas,

1783

.

In , Mr. Read, a past overseer, detained the box in revenge, because his accounts had not been passed. An action was brought against the offender, which was long delayed, owing to members of the society giving him a release, which he successfully pleaded in bar to the action. This rendered it necessary to take proceedings in Equity; and accordingly a bill was filed in the Court of Chancery against all , and Mr. Read was compelled to deposit the box with Master Leeds until the end ot the suit. long years of litigation ensued. Eventually the Chancellor directed the box to be restored to the Overseers' Society, and Mr. Read paid in costs . The extra costs amounted to , owing to the illegal proceedings or Mr. Read. Some were at once raised, and the surplus spent upon adding a case, of an octagon shape. The top records the triumph- Justice trampling upon a prostrate man, from whose face a mask falls upon a writhing serpent. A plate, on the outside of the fly-lid, represents the Lord Chancellor, Lord Loughborough, pronouncing his decree for the restoration of the box, .

On the case is an engraving of the Anniversary Meeting of the Past Overseers' Society, with the churchwarden giving the charge previous to delivering the box to the succeeding overseer, who is bound to produce it at certain parochial entertainments, with pipes of tobacco at the least, under the penalty of bottles of claret, and to return the whole, with some addition, safe and sound, under a penalty of guineas. plate on the outer case records the royal command for the box to be taken to Buckingham Palace, and the fact of its inspection by Her Majesty, the Prince Consort, and the royal family. A tobaccostopper of mother-of-pearl, with a silver chain, enclosed within the box, completes this unique memorial of the kindly feeling which perpetuates year by year the old ceremonies of this most united parish, and renders this traditionary piece of plate of great price, far outweighing its own intrinsic value.

The parish of in olden time extended as far as , and even up the Strand as far as the western boundary of the houses in Danes. Though the site of the old palace of , to the extent of about acres, was made extra-parochial at an early date, yet the registers of this parish contain records of a great number of baptisms and burials from almost every part of it which can be identified by name--the Palace itself, the Queen's House, the Pantry, the Laundry, the Chapel, the Tilt-Yard, the Privy Garden, the Tennis Court, and lastly the Cock-pit.

It may be well to conclude this chapter by remarking that is dedicated not to the holy Queen of Scotland, as most persons imagine, but to St. Margaret

Virgin and Martyr of Antioch,

The Martyr of! Antioch.

[] Burning of William Flower, St. Margaret's Churchyard

[] Raleigh Window, St. Margaret's Church

[extra_illustrations.3.569.1] mural tablet in memory of William Caxton

[extra_illustrations.3.574.1] Thomas Campbell was married

[extra_illustrations.3.575.1] tobacco-box snuff box