Old and New London, A Narrative of its History, its People and its Places.Illustrated with Numerous Engravings from the Most Authentic Sources. vol 6
Walford, Edward
1872-78
Southwark (continued).--St. Saviour's Church, &c.
Southwark (continued).--St. Saviour's Church, &c.
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Before proceeding with an examination of the various objects of antiquarian interest abounding in the locality, it may be as well to state that is a general name, sometimes taken and understood as including, and sometimes as excluding , , and . We shall use it, at present, in the latter sense. | |
Black's published in , divides the district south of the Thames into principal portions :-- is always called by Londoners; and very naturally so, for it has been a literally, having returned members to Parliament since the year of Edward I., and it was for several centuries the only adjacent to the of London and . Under the Reform Bill () its limits as a borough were extended by the addition of the parishes of , , and , and also of the
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The Liberty of the Clink, as we learn from the (), belongs to the Bishop of Winchester, whose palace, of which we shall presently speak, stood near the western end of , and who appoints for it-or, at all events, till very lately appointed--a steward and a bailiff. This part of appears not to kave been included in the grant to the City. | |
In the () we read,
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There is nothing romantic, to say the least, in the situation of . At the best it is a dead flat, unmixed by a single acre of rising ground. exclaims Charles Mackay, in
It is to be hoped that in this description of the character of the Dr. Mackay has written with a little of poetical licence, not to say exaggeration, as he certainly has over-stated the squalidity of their buildings. The huge palaces of commerce erected on either side of in give the most palpable contradiction to his statements, which perhaps were a little in excess of the truth in , when he wrote. | |
Down to the time of the demolition of Old , and the consequent formation of the present broad approach to the new bridge, retained much of its antique character. The old , then rich with its pointed gables, and half-timbered over-hanging storeys, with florid plaster-work and diamond casements, such as characterised the street architecture of ancient London--is now quite altered in appearance. All the picturesque features here mentioned have long been swept away, and their place was for a time supplied by the unbroken parapets and the monotonous brick front of lines of shops ; but even these in turn have in part been superseded by buildings altogether of another age and style; we refer to the Grecian and Italianised facade of the western side of the present [extra_illustrations.6.17.1] , immediately on our right as we leave the bridge. | |
writes John Timbs, in his
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Brayley, in his remarks:
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Near the foot of the bridge, and at the point where the high level of the bridge begins to slope down to the original level of the ground, the road is crossed by the railway bridge over which are carried the lines connecting station with the stations at and . Here, too, in the centre of the roadway, stood for some few years a clock-tower of Gothic design, surmounted by a spire, and originally intended, we believe, to have contained a statue of the Duke of Wellington. The tower itself was erected about the year , but the statue was never placed in it; and having been found to be a continual block to the traffic over the bridge, the tower itself was in the end demolished. | |
At the time of the alterations made here, in consequence of the rebuilding of , advantage was taken to carry out another improvement for the benefit of the locality, namely, the erection of a new market-place. Inconvenience having arisen from the situation of the old market, which used to be held in the , between and Hill, Acts of Parliament were obtained in the middle of the last century, in pursuance of which a market-house was erected on a piece of ground westward of the , called Rochester Yard, from having been formerly the site of a mansion belonging to the see of Rochester, which was taken down in the year , and the site of which is still marked by . The market-place now consists of a large open paved space on the south side of churchyard; in corner of it a neat granite drinking-fountain has been erected. Several buildings, of a light and airy character, to serve the purposes of the dealers and others in the market-which, by the way, is devoted to the sale of vegetables, &c.-occupy the south side of the open space; the principal feature in these buildings is the large central dome. A considerable addition of space was made to the market-place in by the demolition of the old , which had existed on that spot since the time of Queen Elizabeth. as we learn from the vol. xxxv. (),
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When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, following the example of her brother, Edward VI., she considered the importance of diffusing knowledge among the people, to forward which she not only re-founded the grammar-school of , but encouraged her subjects to such like acts of benevolence. | |
The priory church of St. Mary Overy, South- | |
wark, having been purchased by the inhabitants as a parish church, the desire of instilling useful knowledge among youth induced Thomas Cure, the queen's saddler, and several other benevolent persons, to found the grammar-school we are now describing for the instruction of boys of the same parish; and for this purpose they obtained letters patent from Queen Elizabeth, in the year of her reign. In these it is recited of the said grammar-school:--
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The new building having become sadly dilapidated in , the governors resolved on erecting a new school near , in , the ground being given for the purpose by Dr. Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, and accordingly the ancient grammar-school was taken down. We shall have more to say about when we reach . | |
[extra_illustrations.6.20.2] - of the finest parochial churches in the kingdom--in spite of the barbarous mutilation which it underwent when its nave was pulled down, is now almost the sole remaining object of In spite of the loss of its original nave, it is deservedly styled by Mr. A. Wood, in his
It is of the few parish churches in the kingdom possessing a still perfect. | |
Before the Reformation it was styled the priory church of St. Mary Overy, and its early history is almost lost in the mists of ancient tradition. There is a curious legend connecting the building of the original with the church of St. Mary Overy, but it has been much discredited. The story is related on the authority of Stow, who chronicled it as the report of the last prior, Bartholomew Linsted:-- | |
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The story of the miserly old ferryman, Audrey, Mary's father-how he counterfeited death in order that his household might forego a day's victuals, as he never supposed but that their sorrow would make them fast at least so long; and how strangely he was deceived--has already been told by us. As the story, however-regardless of its improbability --is as closely connected with this venerable fabric as it is with itself, we may be pardoned for recapitulating some of the main incidents of the tradition. No sooner had the old man-so runs the story-been decently laid out, than those about him fell to feasting and making merry, rejoicing at the death of the old sinner, who, stretched in apparent death, bore their rioting for a short time, but at length sprang from his bed, and, seizing the weapon at hand, attacked his apprentice. The encounter was fatal to him; and his daughter, the gentle, fair-haired Mary, the heiress of his wealth, devoted it to the establishment of a House of Sisters as above mentioned. The house bore her name of Mary Audrey, with the saintly prefix; but in the lapse of time, Audrey became corrupted into Some old writers, however, suggest that the religious house was originally founded in honour of the popular Saxon saint Audrey, or Etheldreda, of Ely. But a more | |
21 | probable derivation of the name than either of the foregoing is from that is Even in these days Londoners north of the Thames invariably designate the whole of the southern suburbs as and the phrase may perhaps be as old as the time of the building of [extra_illustrations.6.21.1] |
Long after the good Mary Audrey (or Overie) died-if, indeed, she ever lived--a noble lady named Swithen changed the House of Sisters into a college for priests; and in Norman knights, William Pont de l'Arche and William Dauncey, re-founded it as a house for canons of the Augustine order. Giffard, then Bishop of Winchester, built the conventual church and the palace in Winchester Yard close by. It was in this priory that the fire broke out in , when the greater part of was destroyed, and another fire breaking out simultaneously at the northern end of an immense crowd was enclosed between the fires, and persons were burned or drowned. The canons thus burnt out established a temporary place of worship on the opposite side of the main road, which they dedicated to St. Thomas, and occupied for about years until their own church was repaired. | |
The church was then dedicated to . In , Walter, Archbishop of York, granted an indulgence of days to all who should contribute to the rebuilding of the sacred edifice, and towards the end of the following century the church was entirely rebuilt. Gower, the poet, it is stated, contributed a considerable portion of the funds. | |
In Cardinal Beaufort was consecrated to the see of Winchester, and years later was celebrated in this church the marriage of Edmund Holland, Earl of Kent, with Lucia, eldest daughter of Barnaby, Lord of Milan. [extra_illustrations.6.21.2] himself gave away the bride and afterwards conducted her to the marriage banquet at Winchester Palace. It was in this church, too, a few years subsequently (), that James I. of Scotland wedded the daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of the great Cardinal, the golden-haired beauty, Jane Beaufort, of whom, during his imprisonment at Windsor, the royal poet had become enamoured, doubting, when he saw her from his window, whether she was At all events, the king describes her in his verses as The marriage feast on this occasion, too, was kept in the great hall of Winchester Palace, and in a style befitting the munificence of the cardinal. The marriage, as we are told, was a happy , and the bards of Scotland vied with each other in singing the praises of the queen, and in extolling her beauty and her conjugal affection. In James was murdered by his subjects, his brave queen being twice wounded in endeavouring to save his life. | |
At the dissolution of religious houses, in , the priory of black canons--for such was that of St. Mary Overy's--of course shared the general fate of monastic establishments; but the last prior, Bartholomew Linsted, had the good fortune of obtaining from Henry VIII. a yearly pension of . The inhabitants of the parishes of and St. Margaret-at-Hill--which latter church stood on the west side of the , on the spot till recently occupied by the Town Hall-purchased, with the assistance of Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, the stately church of St. Mary. The priory church was also at the same time purchased from the king, and the parishes were united under the title of , the priory church having been recognised by the name of for nearly years before. At the same time the churchwardens and vestry were constituted a years before that period a dole had been given at the door of the church, and so great was the crowd and pressure on that occasion that several persons were killed. In pre-Reformation times this church was the scene of many religious ceremonies and public processions. of these, conducted with great pomp and ceremony, is described by Fosbroke in his economy of monastic life, as follows:--
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Various alterations and restorations have at different times been made in the fabric of the church. [extra_illustrations.6.21.3] , at the eastern end, is a relic of the older edifce. The tower of the church was repaired in ; and in a complete restoration of the fine Gothic edifice was commenced. The brick casings with which gene. rations of Goths had hidden the beautiful architecture were removed; groined roof and transepts were restored, and a circular window of rare beauty [extra_illustrations.6.21.4] | |
22 | added. But even in this great work the taste of the age, as represented by the vestry and churchwardens, interfered; the noble vista of the longdrawn aisle was broken, and a new and sorry modern nave constructed in its place. [extra_illustrations.6.22.1] |
The edifice is very spacious, and is built on the plan of a cathedral. In its style of architecture, excepting its tower, it somewhat resembles Salisbury Cathedral. It comprises a nave and aisles, transepts, [extra_illustrations.6.22.2] with its aisles, and at the eastern end, as above stated, the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, or, as it is more commonly called, the Lady Chapel. Contiguous, but extending farther eastward, was added a small chapel, which in time came to be called the Bishop's Chapel, from the tomb of Bishop Andrewes having been placed in its centre. This latter chapel was entered from the Lady Chapel under a large pointed arch. The chapel itself was rather over feet in length, and had a stone seat on each side, and at the east end. However, as it was thought to injure the effect of the eastern elevation of the church, as seen from the new bridge road, it was taken down in the year . A view of the Bishop's Chapel, from the last sketch that was taken of it, is given in
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At the intersection of the nave, transepts, and choir, rises a noble tower, feet square and feet in height, resting on massive pillars adorned with clustered columns. The sharppointed arches are very lofty. The interior of the tower is in storeys, in the uppermost of which is a fine peal of bells. Externally, the tower, which is not older than the century, somewhat resembles that of St. Sepulchre's Church, close by Newgate. It is divided into parts, with handsome pointed windows, in storeys, on each front; it has tall pinnacles at each corner, and the battlements are of flint, in squares or chequer work. | |
This tower has been in great jeopardy on more than occasion, once through the vibration caused by the ringing of the bells, when damage was done to the extent of several ; and more recently, when the south-eastern pinnacle was struck down by lightning, and fell upon the roof of the south transept, doing considerable damage. | |
We are told that, during and after the progress of the Great Fire of London, Hollar busied himself from his old and favourite point of view, the summit of this tower, in delineating the appearance of the city as it lay in ruins, which is so well known to us by the help of the engraver's art. | |
The western front of the church, as well as its southern side, has been restored with rubble-stone within the last half century in a style that reflects but little credit on the architect. In each corner rises a slight octagonal tower. In the buttresses, on each side of the large window, flintwork is ornamentally inserted. Over the door, which is in compartments, in pointed arches, is a plain sunken entablature, occupying the space formerly devoted to a range of small pillars, forming niches, the centre having a bracket, on which is supposed to have stood the figure of the Virgin. From the repairs and alterations that have from time to time taken place in the fabric, the beauty of the interior, especially in the nave, has been much impaired. But it is still a noble structure; indeed, it has been proposed to restore the nave and make the church into a cathedral, as a memorial to the late Bishop Wilberforce. | |
The nave, as it at present exists, is awkwardly reached from the transept by a flight of several steps, a huge screen blocking up the view from east to west. The roof of the nave originally was supported by columns, on each side, of which the nearest the western end were of the massy round Norman character. The other columns were octangular, with small clustercolumns added at the cardinal points. Corresponding with these columns are semi-columns in the walls, from which spring the arches of the aisles. There is a gallery in the window storey of the nave, which was formerly continued over the arches of the transept and choir. The altar-piece, or screen, at the east end of the nave forms a complete separation between this part of the structure and the choir. In fact, the transepts and chancel, under the existing arrangements, are utterly useless. | |
From the great supporting columns of the tower to the altar-screen at the east end of the choir run lofty pointed arches, enriched with mouldings, and the groined roof, of stone, is exceedingly fine. The screen dividing the choir from the Lady Chapel is rich in its carving and decoration. On the east side of the south transept formerly stood the chapel of , founded and built by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester. This chapel was thus described by Mr. Nightingale in :-- A correspondent of the , writing in , says that it was this chapel, and not the Lady Chapel as had been previously stated, that contained the gravestone of Bishop Wickham, who, however, was not the famous builder of Windsor Castle in the time of Edward III., but who died in , the same year in which he was translated from the see of Lincoln to that of Winchester. he adds, This chapel was pulled down in . Amongst the alterations and additions consequent on its removal are the present windows and doorway of the transept. The angle formed by the north transept and the choir was formerly the Chapel of St. John, now appropriated as the vestry. Beyond the choir-screen, as already mentioned, is the Lady Chapel, which was restored by Mr. Gwilt in ; its gables and groined roof are very fine. In Queen Mary's time it was used as a consistorial court by Bishop Gardiner, and here Bishop Hooper and John Rogers were tried as heretics, and condemned to the stake. | |
After the parish had obtained the grant of the church, the Lady Chapel was let to Wyat, a baker, who converted it into a bakehduse. He stopped up the doors which communicated with the aisles of the church, and the which opened into the chancel, and which, though visible, long remained masoned up. In Mr. Henry Wilson, tenant of the Chapel of the Holy Virgin, found himself inconvenienced by a tomb and applied to the vestry for its removal, which, as recorded in the parish books, was very consented to,
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The following curious particulars of the Lady Chapel appear in Strype's edition of Stow's Survey:--
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The writer then goes on to mention the persons, all bakers, to whom in succession it was let by the corporation; and adds, that part was turned into a starch-house. | |
In this state it continued till the year , when the vestry restored it to its original condition, at an expense of . In the course of centuries it again became ruinous; and in a public subscription was commenced, and the beautiful chapel was thoroughly restored. The roof is divided into groined arches, supported by octangular pillars in rows, having small circular columns at the points. In the east end, on the north side, are lancet-shaped windows, forming great window, divided by slender pillars, and having mouldings with zigzag ornaments. At the north-east corner of the chapel, a portion had been divided off from the rest by a wooden enclosure, in which were a table, desk, and elevated seat. This part was the ; but it was usual to give this name to the whole chapel, in which the Bishop of Winchester, even almost down to the time of the above-mentioned restoration, held his court, and in which were also held the visitations of the deanery of . | |
At the east end of the Lady Chapel, as stated above, was Bishop Andrewes' Chapel, which was ascended by steps, and was so called from the tomb of [extra_illustrations.6.24.1] , Bishop of Winchester, standing in the centre of it. The Bishop's Chapel having been wholly taken down, this fine monument has been removed into the Lady Chapel. The Bishop is represented the size of life, in a recumbent posture, and dressed in his | |
24 | robes, as prelate of the Order of the Garter. Originally this tomb had a handsome canopy, supported by black marble pillars; but the roof of the Bishop's Chapel falling in, and the chapel itself being much defaced by fire, in , the canopy was broken, and not repaired. In taking down the monument, at the time of the demolition of the Bishop's Chapel, a heavy leaden coffin, containing the remains of the deceased prelate, and marked with his initials was found built up within the tomb; and on the reerection of the monument against the west wall of the Lady Chapel, the coffin was carefully replaced in its original cell. |
Dr. Andrewes, a prelate distinguished by his learning and piety, was of the translators of | |
| the Bible. He was born in London in , and received the rudiments of his education at the free school of the Coopers' Company, in , and afterwards at the Merchant Taylors' School. He afterwards graduated at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He soon became widely known for his great learning; and, in due course, found a patron in the Earl of Huntingdon, whose chaplain he became. After holding for a short time a living in an obscure village in Hampshire, he was appointed Vicar of , Cripplegate, and in a short time after, prebendary and residentiary of , and also prebendary of the collegiate church of Southwell. In these several capacities he distinguished himself as a diligeni and excellent preacher, and he read divinity | |
25 | lectures days in the week at during term time. Upon the death of Dr. Fulke, he was chosen master of Pembroke Hall, to which college he afterwards became a considerable benefactor. He was next appointed of the chaplains in ordinary to Queen Elizabeth, who took great delight in his preaching, and promoted him to the deanery of , in . He refused a bishopric in this reign, because he would not submit to the spoliation of the ecclesiastical revenues. In the next, however, he had no cause for such scruple, and having published a work in defence of King James's book on the against Cardinal Bellarmine, he was advanced to the bishopric of Chichester, and at the same time appointed lord-almoner. He was translated to the see of Ely in ; and in the same year he was sworn of the king's privy council in England, as he was afterwards of Scotland, upon attending his majesty to that kingdom. |
When he had sat years in the see of Ely, he was translated to that of Winchester, and also appointed dean of the royal chapel; and to his honour it is recorded of him, that these preferments were conferred upon him without any court | |
| interest, or solicitations on the part of himself or his friends: it is likewise observed, that though he was a privy councillor in the reigns of James I. and Charles I., he interfered very little in temporal concerns; but in all affairs relative to the Church, and the duties of his office, he was remarkably diligent and active. After a long life of honour and tranquillity, in which he enjoyed the esteem of successive sovereigns, the friendship of all men of letters, his contemporaries, and the veneration of all who knew him, Bishop Andrewes died at Winchester House, in , in , at the age of . | |
of the most ancient memorials preserved in the church is the oaken [extra_illustrations.6.26.1] of of the Norman knights who founded the priory; it is in a low recess in the north wall of the choir. But better known is the [extra_illustrations.6.26.2] , the poet, and his wife. says Cunningham,
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Gower, as we have stated above, contributed largely towards the rebuilding of the church at the close of the century. He was certainly a rich man for a poet, and he gave, doubtless, large sums during the progress of the work; but it is absurd to suppose, as some have imagined, that the sacred edifice was wholly built by his money. Lest any such foolish idea should be entertained, Dr. Mackay, in his places on record the following witty epigram:--
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The fact is that Gower was a not only in the court of Richard, but in that of the Lancastrian king who succeeded him. I ike many other poets, he and his reward was that, to use his own words, namely, to write a poem. It is commonly supposed that he was poet laureate to both of the above-mentioned kings; but if this was the case, the post was its own reward-at all events, no salary is known to have been attached to it. | |
Gower is, perhaps, the earliest poet who has sung the praises of the Thames by name. He relates in of his quaint poems how that being on the river in his boat, he met the royal barge containing King Henry IV. :--
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The Chapel of St. John, in the north transept of this church, having been burnt and nearly destroyed in the century, was sumptuously rebuilt by Gvwer almost at his sole cost; he founded also a chantry there, endowing it with money for a mass to be said daily for the repose of his soul, and an to be performed on the morrow after the feast of St. Gregory. In this chapel, we are quaintly told, The stone effigy on his tomb represented the poet with long auburn hair reaching down to his shoulders and curling up gracefully, a small curled beard, and on his head a chaplet of red roses (Leland says that there was a interspersed with the roses); the robe was of green damask reaching down to the feet; a collar of SS. in gold worn round the neck, and under his head effigies of the chief books which he had compiled, viz., the the and the On the wall hard by were painted effigies of virtues-Charity, Mercy, and Pity--with crowns on their heads, and each bearing her own device in her hand. That of Charity ran thus : That of Mercy thus:-- Whilst that of Pity ran as follows : Not far off was also a tablet with this inscription:-- Gower's wife, we may add, was buried near him. | |
We know little enough of Gower--the as Chaucer calls him-except that he came of a knightly family connected with Yorkshire, and that he owned property not far from London, to the south of the Thames, and probably in Kent. Though no lover of abuses, he was a firm and zealous supporter of the ancient Church, and opposed to the fanaticism of those sectaries who from time to time endeavoured to uphold the standard of reform in matters of faith. Henry IV., before he came to the throne, conferred on him the Lancastrian badge of the Silver Swan. | |
27 | |
writes Dr. R. Pauli, in his
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Gower's works maintained their popularity long beyond the age in which his lot was cast, as may be gathered from the fact that his was the mine from which Shakespeare drew the materials for his . In , when blind and full of years, he followed his old friend Chaucer to the tomb. Prosaic and unpoetical as is now the aspect of , there is no spot in this great metropolis more worthy of being called the Poet's Corner. Chaucer, as we shall presently see, has conferred upon the Tabard Inn a literary immortality. Shakespeare himself dwelt for many years in a narrow street close by the church of St. Mary Overy; there he wrote many of his great dramas, while the neighbouring witnessed their performance. Edmund Shakespeare was, as the register-book of the parish tells us, a no doubt through the connection of his brother with the Globe Theatre hard by. He was the immortal poet's youngest brother. The register at Stratford-on-Avon tells us that he was baptised there on the ; that of records the fact that he was buried here on the last day of the year . So probably William Shakespeare stood by his grave. Such is the brief summary of all that is known to history of Edmund Shakespeare; as Mr. Dyce remarks,
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[extra_illustrations.6.27.1] , the friend and fellow play-writer with Shakespeare, died of the plague of London, in , at the age of , and was buried in this church. He had survived his friend and literary partner, Beaumont--with whom he lived at Bankside-just years. John Fletcher was a son of the Rev. Dr. Richard Fletcher, who was successively Bishop of Bristol, of Worcester, and of London, under Queen Bess. The names of Beaumont and Fletcher appear as jointly responsible for upwards of dramas, but there are reasons for thinking that Fletcher had not much to do with more than half that number. The circumstances of his death are thus described by Sir John Aubrey:--
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writes Dr. Mackay, in his
Born at Salisbury, in the year , and having been educated at Alban Hall, Oxford, Philip Massinger, the playwright and poet, and the friend and immediate successor of Shakespeare, came to London to seek his bread by his pen, which furnished nearly plays for the stage. But in spite of their great celebrity at the time when they were written and performed, few of them are known to the present race of playgoers. is occasionally performed; and the and (altered from ) have been found amongst modern revivals. Massinger's last days were probably spent in , though accounts differ as to the latter portion of his career. He died in , for the register in that year records, that is, a non-parishioner. It is probable, therefore, that he wished in death to be joined with some of those who had been his fellow-craftsmen. His grave is unmarked by any stone or other memorial. [extra_illustrations.6.28.1] | |
Among the remaining monuments in is bearing the following epitaph on a member of the Grocers' Company:--
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Another epitaph to a girl years of age contains this quaint thought, borrowed from an earthly court:--
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Near the tomb of the poet Gower is [extra_illustrations.6.28.2] , an emaciated figure, in a winding-sheet, lying on a marble sarcophagus. At the back is a black tablet with the following inscription in letters of gold:--
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A curious effigy is that lying on the floor, on the east side of the north transept, which has been supposed by some persons to be that of the old above spoken of. Grose has inserted a representation of this figure in his observing that it is a skeleton-like figure, of which the usual story is told that the person thereby represented attempted to fast for days in imitation of Christ, but died in the attempt, having reduced himself to that appearance. There is also an engraving of this effigy in J. T. Smith's , to. Be this figure, however, who or what it may, at all events its monument has long survived him; whether he carried passengers over the river Thames, or was occupied in teaching others how to cross that last fatal river which, as John Bunyan so quaintly says, can matter but little to us now. | |
parish church differs in point of clerical administration from almost every other church in the kingdom, for it has neither rector nor vicar, nor what is popularly called a but under a peculiar grant the tithes are secured to the churchwardens for the maintenance of chaplains or preachers at their pleasure. These chaplains are neither presented nor inducted like the incumbents of parishes in general. In fact, the parishioners elect their own preachers, like Congregationalist bodies. | |
There is an interesting view of St. Mary Overy's Church among the etchings of Hollar; it was worked at Antwerp in . The view is taken from the north, and shows a porch leading into the north aisle of the chancel; there is also an ugly side aisle of Jacobean architecture running on the north side parallel to the nave. Another etching by the same artist, of which we give a copy on page , taken from the other side of the church, shows a glimpse of and the City across the river. Hollar's studies of buildings, his little landscape and water-side etchings, are always charming. He is an excellent delineator of architecture, his drawing and perspective being admirably executed. He can render landscape also with great subtilty, giving, for instance, in a small sketch of a few inches square the knolls and hollows of a piece of hilly river-bank with marvellous truth and naturalness. Some has written of Hollar that,
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The antiquarian author of tells us that in his day, when the churchwardens and vestrymen of St. Mary Overy's met for convivial purposes, of their earliest toasts was that of their church's patron saint, under the irreverent name of It is to be hoped that such gross irreverence is now at an end. | |
and its neighbourhood have, however, much historic interest on quite another score; for adjoining the northern side of , and on the site of , Sir Anthony Browne, Viscount Montague, built after the Dissolution a handsome mansion, which gave name to the still existing [extra_illustrations.6.29.1] . In the memorable year , Lord Monteagle was residing there when he received the anonymous letter advising him The suspicions excited by this mysterious warning led to the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. Monteagle. was rewarded by a grant of per annum in | |
29 | land and a pension of in hard cash; and in remembrance of the great event, persons then and afterwards residing in were exempted from actions for debt or trespass. The place became, in fact, a sort of minor sanctuary. the privileges of which grew ultimately to be such a public nuisance that they were suppressed by the strong arm of the law. |
Footnotes: [extra_illustrations.6.17.1] High Street [extra_illustrations.6.20.2] St. Saviour's Church [] See Vol. II., p. 9. [extra_illustrations.6.21.1] William of Wickham, Bishop of Winchester [extra_illustrations.6.21.2] Henry IV. [extra_illustrations.6.21.3] The Lady Chapel [extra_illustrations.6.21.4] Norman Arch [extra_illustrations.6.22.1] Crypt of St. Mary Overy [extra_illustrations.6.22.2] a choir [extra_illustrations.6.24.1] Dr. Lancelot Andrewes [extra_illustrations.6.26.1] cross-legged effigy [extra_illustrations.6.26.2] monument on the east side of the south transept, to John Gower [extra_illustrations.6.27.1] Fletcher [extra_illustrations.6.28.1] Tombs and Monuments in Southwark [extra_illustrations.6.28.2] another which exhibits a diminutive effigy of a man [extra_illustrations.6.29.1] Montague Close |
