The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent, vol. 3
Allen, Thomas
1827
In capello beatae Mariae de Barking.
Richard III. new built this chapel, and founded therein a college of priests, consisting of a dean and canons, all which that king placed there. The deanery he gave to Edmund Chaderton, a great favourite of his. The canonries he disposed, at the time that Chaderton was made dean, to these persons following, viz. Mr. Thomas Cowton, a canon there; Richard Baldry another; Mr. Jane another; Richard Seifie, another; Maculin Cosin, another. Hamond de Lega was buried in that chapel. Robert Tate, mayor of London, , and others, were there buried. | |
The college was suppressed and pulled down in the year , the of king Edward VI. The ground was employed as a garden plat during the reigns of king Edward, queen Mary, and part of queen Elizabeth, till at length a large strong frame of timber and brick was set thereon, and employed as a storehouse of merchants goods brought from the sea, by sir William Winter, &c. | |
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It is an impropriation, in the gift of the archbishop of Canterbury, about per annum value, in lieu of tithes. | |
The church is situated on the north side of , on the east side of ; it is the most spacious and handsome of the few churches which escaped the fire of London. The plan as usual gives a nave and side aisles, in addition to which are porches north and south, a square tower at the west end, and a vestry attached to the eastern wall. The superstructure is principally ancient, and in its general features shews the style of building which prevailed about the reign of Henry VII. The tower is more modern, being built in ; it is a heavy tasteless brick erection in stories; the west front is the only portion visible until the elevation clears the roofs of the adjacent houses; in the lower story is an arched doorway with a porthole window above; the succeeding stories have arched windows, the upper being repeated in every aspect of the elevation; the whole is finished with a parapet; on the platform is a mean turret ending in a cupola; between the and stories is a projecting beam sustaining the dial. The west end of the north aisle has a large low arched window made by mullions with cinquefoil heads into lights; the end of the south aisle is concealed by a house. The north side of the church is partly built against; in the remaining portion are windows with low pointed arches made by mullions into lights; the porch has a modern archway with enriched spandrils worked in composition, and it is covered by a house. The east end of the church has a large and elegant pointed window made by mullions into lights; the head of the arch occupied with the elegant foliated tracery of the century ; this window was restored in stone in ; the aisles have each windows of lights similar to those before described. The wall beneath the principal eastern window is occupied by an attached vestry, a modern building in the pointed style, with low arched windows in the eastern wall. The south side of the church has windows of lights, as before described, and a porch similar to the north side, to which is attached an octagon turret staircase; the internal doorway of the porch has in of the spandrils, fishes fretted in a triangle, the arms of some benefactor; a portion of this aspect of the church, like the northern, is built against; a clerestory rises above the aisles, sustaining even windows with low arched heads on each side, they are all, with the exception of the extreme ones, divided by mullions into lights, the latter have only lights; the walls have but few buttresses, and these are irregularly placed, and the elevations are finished with modern parapets and coping. The interior is built entirely in the pointed style, but displays distinct specimens of that sort of architecture. The nave comprises arches on each side, sustained on circular pillars with simple capitals, the whole possessing a surprisingly massive character. The division of the south aisle is deficient, and the site | |
742 | is now occupied by a house ; the corresponding portion of the north aisle is used as an engine house. The architecture of the nave marks the date of its erection to have been the latter end of the century, viz. the reign of Richard I. who founded a chantry as before recorded. The chantry comprizes arches resting on the usual clusters of columns; the archivolts are elegantly carved with mouldings, the nearest the nave being of the lowest declension of the pointed arch; the extreme ones, which abut on the eastern wall, are more acutely pointed, owing to their span being less than the others; the age of this portion is the latter part of the century, having been built by Richard III. and it is coeval, or nearly so, with all the windows, except the eastern, which is a century earlier. The pillars between the nave and chancel are singularly composed of half a circular and half a clustered column worked together. The aisles are continued without interruption along both nave and chancel; the latter was formerly parted by screens from its aisles, which in consequence formed chapels, and are often spoken of under that name: in the older histories, the northern is said to contain the lion heart of the Richard. At present, the pulpit alone marks the division. The roof of the church, re-constructed in , is plastered; the central portion is marked by long pannels with cinquefoil extremities; it is not arched, but rises into a very obtuse angle; the ceiling of the aisles is horizontal and perfectly plain. |
The altar is distinguished by a modern screen of oak, enriched with carvings in lime-tree, and divided into compartments by Corinthian columns sustaining their entablature; the decalogue is inscribed in the central intercolumniations, and the lateral ones are occupied by paintings of Moses and Aaron; the Creed and Paternoster are inscribed on paintings outside the screen; the rails of the altar are composed of a handsome ballustrade entirely constructed of brass; on the altar, which is insulated, are massive candlesticks. The window over the altar has some modern stained glass occupying the tracery in its arch; it consists of minute statues of the apostles, accompanied by the sun and moon and various unmeaning subjects; the pulpit and desks are affixed against the northern pillar, which divided the nave and chancel, the former is hexagonal and executed in carved oak; the style of the decorations shews the early part of the century; the sounding board is more modern, it is inscribed . now almost obliterated by varnish. A gallery crosses the west end of the nave and aisles; in the central portion is a large organ; the front of the gallery is ornamented with upright pannels with arched heads. The font is situated in the south aisle of the chancel; it is a shallow circular basin of capacious dimensions sustained on a pillar, the whole being composed of a beautiful and curious sort of mottled marble. The cover is exceedingly handsome; it is carved | |
743 | with statues of boys and fruit in a bold style of sculpture; it is more ancient than the font. The monuments in this church are very numerous. In the north aisle of the chancel is a handsome altar tomb; on the dado are quatrefoils enclosing blank shields; at the back are brasses, represents a man and sons, and the other a woman and daughters. At corner is a shield of arms, sa a chevron engrailed erminois, between eagles displayed or. The south aisle of the chancel has a similar altar tomb, but less magnificent; on the dado are lozenges containing quatrefoils, apparently of modern formation; against the back wall is a small brass, painted with the Resurrection. |
At the east end of the south aisle is a handsome monument representing a sarcophagus with a bust of the deceased, weeping boys, &c. by Scheemakers; it is to Anne Colleton, youngest daughter of sir Peter Colleton, bart.; she died . | |
On the south side of the south aisle is a monument with a man and woman kneeling at an altar to the memory of Francis Carell, citizen and skinner, who died . | |
Attached to the column of the south aisle from the east is a brass plate, representing a man, his wife, sons, and daughters, in a kneeling position. Between them is a shield of arms, and beneath the following inscription:--
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The brasses are in good preservation; in the north aisle of the church is a large slab with a male and female effigy, beneath which is the following inscription : | |
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In the opposite aisle is another of a knight and a lady, with a broken inscription; the date . | |
The taste for a single pillar as a monument, which prevailed at part of the century, is displayed in instances iii this church; on the north wall is a Doric column surmounted by an urn inscribed to Giles Lytcot, esq. of Langthorn, Essex; died ; at the base is a terrific skull. On the south wall is another of the Ionic order, sustaining a coat of arms; on the pedestal an inscription to the memory of John Winder, of Gray's-inn, esq. who died . | |
Adjoining the altar tomb, in the north aisle, is a handsome monument with the figure of a man kneeling at a desk, to the memory of Hieronimi Benolius Bergomi; died , aged . | |
Against the east wall of the north aisle, is the following shield:-- | |
Quartelly. . , battle axes erect, in a bordure engrailed or. . Party per pale, and , an eagle displayed with heads counter-changed, and gorged with a ducal coronet, . Or. demi lions passant gardant in pale . on a fesse or. escallop shells A martlett in the centre for difference. | |
A tablet attached to the gallery records the following donation :
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Another tablet records an accident which threatened destruction to the church, viz.
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