Londina Illustrata. Graphic and Historical Memorials of Monasteries, Churches, Chapels, Schools, Charitable Foundations, Palaces, Halls, Courts, Processions, Places of Early Amusement, and Modern Present Theatres, in the Cities and Suburbs of London and Westminster, Volume 1
Wilkinson, Robert
1819-1825
Monument of Sir Andrew Judde, Knight: In the Church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate Within.
Monument of Sir Andrew Judde, Knight: In the Church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate Within.
In the commencement of the Will of this eminent and benevolent Citizen, there appears the following passage concerning the erection of the curious and stately sepulchral memorial which is represented in the annexed Engraving. [*] Whether the latter part of this direction were faithfully performed, is certainly very questionable. The verses inscribed upon the Monument are positively unintelligible, without some previous information of the marriages and issue of Sir Andrew Judde; and it is remarkable that his very name was perhaps originally wanting upon this sepulchral memorial: for though it now appears inscribed upon the lower part of the base, it is evident, from the description of the tomb by Edward Hatton, published in , that such a distinction did not then exist. says he, [*] In consequence, therefore, of these circumstances, the ensuing description of this Monument will be better understood, if it be preceded by some notices of the family of Sir Andrew Judde. | ||||
He was the eldest son of John Judde, of Tunbridge, in the County of Kent, by Margaret, daughter and, seemingly, heiress, of Valentine Chiche, and widow of—Clovell, of Essex. She was related to the famous Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, by her mother, Philippa, daughter of Sir Robert Chichele, Knight, his next brother.[*] As the pedigree of Sir Andrew Judde does not appear to have been entered in the Heralds' Visitations of either Kent or London, nor in the genealogical collections relating to the same places, it probably cannot now be ascertained who were his wives and issue, so quaintly mentioned in his epitaph hereafter given. His marriage appears to have been with a Mary, by whom he had sons, of whom, John and Richard, are mentioned in his will, and daughter. His wife was named Agnes, or Annys, as it is written in the epitaph; an attempt to imitate the soft Italian pronunciation of the age, almost universally adopted in England in the century. His wife, who appears to have survived him, was another Mary, daughter and coheiress of Sir Thomas Mirfine, Knight, Sheriff of London in , and Lord Mayor in , by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Angel Dom, or Doon, Knight, and Alderman of London.[*] By this lady he had Alice, his only surviving daughter, and at length heiress, who married Thomas Smythe, of Westenhanger, in Kent, Esq. Farmer of the Customs of London under the Queens Mary and Elizabeth, and thence commonly called To this daughter Sir Andrew gave the Manors of Westure and Ashford, in the of Chart and Longbridge, in Kent, bought by him of Sir Anthony Aucher and Joseph Polsted, to whom the latter was granted by King Henry VIII., on the Suppression of the Religious Houses; which Manors descended to the great grandson of the above marriage, Philip Smythe, Viscount Strangford. Sir Andrew Judde was also possessor of a part of a small manor called Barden House Farm, bought of the Family of Fane or Vane, in the year of Elizabeth, -; which being vested with his other estates in his daughter Alice, was settled on her husband, Thomas Smythe, who, upon his decease, gave it to his son, Sir Thomas Smythe, of London, Knight, with whose descendants it probably still remains.[*] Sir Andrew Judde served the office of Sheriff with John Wilford, in , the year of Henry VIII. and that of Lord Mayor in -, the of Edward VI. During his Mayoralty he entered into a bond for himself and the Corporation of London, with the King, for the sum of lent by the celebrated house of Anthony Fugger, and Co. Bankers at Antwerp; the King giving Sir Andrew a recognition to indemnify the City in the transaction.[*] Besides his public employments, this eminent Citizen appears to have travelled to various parts of Europe, and even to Africa; and to have held the office of Mayor of the Staple.[**] | ||||
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Sir Andrew Judde is stated in his epitaph to have died in ;[*] and according to the direction in his will already cited concerning his burial, he was interred in the Church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate Within, London, when the mural Monument represented in the annexed Engraving, was erected to his memory against a main pier at the eastern extremity of the choir, on the north side of the altar. It is of discoloured alabaster, painted and gilt, rather small in size, and of the peculiar character of the memorials so accurately described by the Rev. J. Dallaway, which, says he, in [*] It consists of a handsome entablature, supported by Corinthian fluted columns, between which are arched alcoves, with desks for prayer, covered with fringed cloths. Before that on the north side is the figure of Sir Andrew Judde, kneeling on a cushion and holding a book, clothed in armour, with a red gown, and broad gold collar above it: and behind him kneel the effigies of his sons mentioned in the epitaph, dressed in black gowns and coats; of whom are advanced to manhood, others being represented as children. In the south alcove are female figures, in black gowns and hoods, which may represent either of the wives of Sir Andrew, or more probably his wife and her daughter. The monument is surmounted by a handsome arched panel, containing a shield with helm and crest, and full mantling of red and white. The escutcheon is charged with the arms of Judde, quarterly, and Gules, a fesse embattled and counter-embattled between boars heads erased close, Argent: and coats Azure, lions rampant Argent; the armorial ensigns of Chichele, the family of Sir Andrew's mother.[*] Crest, on a wreath a boar's head couped at the neck Argent, armed and crined Or. Beneath the alcoves is a rich base, divided into compartments, inscribed with the following verses; which being exhibited in the Plate in their original arrangement and orthography, the general reader will perhaps be more gratified with, by finding them here inserted in a form somewhat modernised.
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The name of Sir Andrew Judde will ever stand pre-eminently conspicuous upon the long and honourable list of those Citizens of London, who have devoted a large portion of their wealth and possessions to the support of their less fortunate fellow-creatures, and the purposes of general benevolence; since his charities provided alike for the infirmities of destitute old age and the education of unassisted youth. The of these institutions is fully described in another article of this work; and the present account of the Founder appears to be an appropriate place for giving some notices of the latter, though it be but indirectly connected with the City of London. | ||||
The Free of Tunbridge, the native place of Sir Andrew Judde, was founded and endowed by him, under Letters Patent of Perpetuity, dated , the year of Edward VI. He erected the School-house at the north end of the town, the original building being upwards of feet in length, in front, constructed in a plain, neat and uniform, style, with the sandstone of the vicinity.[*] For the endowment of both his foundations, he bought estates in the name of himself and Henry Fisher, who was afterwards his Executor, and confided the management of those estates as well as of his School and Almshouses to the Skinners' Company, of which he was a member. The following extract of his Will describes the property, which was all situate in London, and contains some particulars concerning the School.[*] | ||||
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After the decease of Sir Andrew Judde and Henry Fisher, to whom the property now described was originally conveyed, Andrew Fisher, the son of the latter, endeavoured to impeach the conveyances, and the whole affair was brought before the Parliament for examination. In the Journals of the , Elizabeth, , Monday, , appears an entry certifying to the House, that the Right Hon. Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor, &c. and others, to whom had been committed the examination of a deed in the name of Henry Fisher, supposed to have been forged,— At this time the Skinners' Company expended the sum of in prosecuting these and other suits; for Fisher again endeavoured to deprive both the School and Corporation of the property, under pretence that the latter was not rightly named in the Act of Foundation, which being again brought before the upon the Company's petition, with Fisher's consent, another Act was passed, -, the of Elizabeth, confirming the former, for the better assuring of the lands and tenements belonging to the Free-School of Tunbridge.[*] | ||||
Footnotes: [*] Will in the Prerogative Office, Register 2 Noodes, Quire 58. [*] New View of London. Lond. 1708. 8vo. Vol. i. p. 277. In the copy of this work with MS. Notes and remarks in the Reading-Room of the British Museum, it is added Sir Andrew Judde is now (about 1798) on the monument. [*] History of Kent, by Edward Hasted, Vol. ii. Canterbury, 1782, fol. p. 336, notes—Stemmata Chicheleana. Oxf. 1765, 4to. p. 1. No. 1. [*] County Genealogies: containing Pedigrees of Families in Kent, collected by William Berry. Lond. 1830. fol. p. 39. [*] Hasted's History of Kent, Vol. iii. Canterbury, 1790. p. 258. The farm, or demesne, lands of the Manor of Esture, or Estover, were long since alienated by one of the Smythes, Viscounts Strangford; since which time they have remained with other owners than those of the Manor. Ibid. p. 259. [*] Warrant-book of King Edward, cited by W. Maitland in his History of London, Lond. 1772, fol. Vol. i. p. 247. In the Journal of King Edward's Reign published in Burnet's History of the Reformation, (Records referred to in the Second Part) there are several entries concerning this transaction with the Foulcare at Antwerp, though the name of Judde does not occur in any of them; but on March 1st, 1550, there is the following passage, which probably relates to Sir Andrew:—Sir John York made great loss about £ 2000 weight of silver, by treason of Englishmen, which he bought for provision of the Mints. Also Judd 1500, and also Tresham 500; so the whole came to £ 4000. Sir Andrew Judde's name appears repeatedly upon the Patent-Rolls of the Reign of Edward VI. There is also in the City ordinances a relique of his year of government, called Judde's Law, which was passed October 13th, 1551, 5th Edward VI., for restraining orphans under guardianship of the corporation from throwing themselves away in marriage, and preventing other misdemeanors. Stow's Survey of London, by Strype, Edit. 1720. Vol. II. Book v. Chap. xxi. p. 322. The family of Fugger, mentioned above, originated in some extremely wealthy merchants, principally resident at Augsburg, some of whom were ennobled by the Emperor Maximilian I., and were the ancestors of the Fuggers, Counts of Swabia. They became allied to the most illustrious houses of Germany; and a very fine biographical and genealogical history of the principal members of the family, illustrated with 127 portraits, was published by Dominic Custos, an Engraver of Antwerp, under the title of Fuggerarum Imagines, in three parts, 1593, 1618, 1620, folio. A fourth part was added in 1754, called Pinacotheca. Biographie Universelle. [**] President of the Company of Merchants of the Staple of Wool, &c. an office and incorporation known to have existed in England as early as February 15th, 1313, in the reign of Edward II. Annals of Commerce, by David Macpherson. Lond. 1805, 4to. Vol. i. p. 478. [*] Weever, in his Funeral Monuments, Lond. 1631, fol. p. 323, most unaccountably says, This Andrew was Lord Mayor of London the yeare 1550, the fourth of King Edward the Sixthe. Dyed the yeare following, and was buried at St. Helen's aforesaid, within Bishopsgate Ward. [*] Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, Vol. i. Lond. 1826, 8vo. p. 328. [*] The Arms of Judde are sometimes drawn and blazoned with a fesse raguly; and those of Chiche within a bordure Argent. [*] Hasted's History of Kent, Vol. ii. p. 346. A considerable addition, however, was erected at the back of the master's dwelling in 1676, by the Skinner's company, together with a hall or refectory for the scholars; and there now also belong to the establishment, detached offices, a garden, and a play-ground. A small, but elegant library, was built at the united expense of the patrons of the school, and the Rev. James Cawthorn, Master from 1743 to 1761.—Ibid. note u. [*] Copies of the principal instruments relating to the foundation and endowment of this School will be found in the Appendix to the First Report concerning Charities for the Education of the Poor, 1819, pages 240-255. [*] Hasted's History of Kent, Vol. ii. p. 346. Notes x, y.—Stow's Survey of London by Strype, Vol. II. Book v. Chap. ix. Pages 61, 187, 188. |