Historical Description of Westminster Abbey Part 17

EXPLANATION OF THE SUBJECTS.--The Pilgrims are arranged in the following manner:--The Departure from the Tabard, thus:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

1. The Reve. |4. The Knight. |7. The Serjeant of Law.

2. The Manciple. |5. The Yeoman. |8. The s.h.i.+pmanne.

3. Chaucer. |6. The Squire. |9. The Doctor of Physick.

The Arrival at Canterbury, thus:

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

10. The Somptnour. |13. The Monk. |16. The Frankelein.

11. The Pardoner. |14. The Prioress. |17. The Plowman.

12. The Parson. |15. The Nun. |18. The Clerk of Oxenforde.

_Arrangement of Portraits in Tracery._

Wickliffe. Strode.

Edward III. Chaucer. Philippa.

Gower. John of Gaunt.

Above is a neat monument to the memory of John Roberts, Esq., the very faithful Secretary of the Right Honourable Henry Pelham, Minister of State to George II. This marble was erected by his three surviving sisters, in 1776.--_Hayward, sculptor._

ABRAHAM COWLEY.--This monument, though apparently plain, is very expressive; the chaplet of laurel that begirts his urn, and the fire issuing from the mouth of the urn, are fine emblems of the glory he acquired by the spirit of his writings. The Latin inscription and epitaph on the pedestal is thus translated into English:--"Near this place lies Abraham Cowley, the Pindar, Horace, and Virgil of England; and the delight, ornament and admiration of his age:--

"While, Sacred Bard, far worlds thy works proclaim.

And you survive in an immortal fame, Here may you, bless'd in pleasant quiet, lie!

To guard thy urn may h.o.a.ry Faith stand by!

And all thy fav'rite tuneful Nine repair To watch thy dust with a perpetual care!

Sacred for ever may this place be made, And may no desp'rate hand presume t' invade With touch unhallow'd this religious room, Or dare affront thy venerable tomb!

Unmov'd and undisturb'd, till time shall end, May Cowley's dust this marble shrine defend!"

"So wishes, and desires that wish may be sacred to posterity, George, Duke of Buckingham, who erected this monument to that incomparable man. He died in the forty-ninth year of his age, and was carried from Buckingham House, with honourable pomp, his exequies being attended by persons of ill.u.s.trious characters of all degrees, and buried August 3, 1667." His grave is just before the monument, as appears by a blue stone, on which is engraven his name.--_John Bushnell, sculptor._

Affixed to the pillar, on the left, is a tablet to the memory of Mrs.

MARTHA BIRCH, who was daughter of Samuel Viner, Esq., and first married to Francis Millington, Esq., afterwards to Peter Birch, Prebendary of this Abbey. She died May 25, 1703, in the fiftieth year of her age.

The next monument was erected to the memory of Mr. JOHN DRYDEN, by the late Duke of Buckingham, who valued his writings so much that he thought no inscription necessary to spread his fame.--"J. Dryden, born 1632, died May 1, 1700. John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, erected this monument, 1720."--_Scheemakers, sculptor._

Against the screen of the Choir, is the monument of ROBERT SOUTH, D.D., who is represented in a c.u.mbent posture, in his canonical habit, with his arm resting on a cus.h.i.+on, and his right hand on a Death's head. In his left he holds a book, with his finger between the leaves, as if just closed from reading; and over his head is a group of cherubs issued from a mantling, beneath which is a long Latin inscription, showing that he was scholar to Busby, and student at Christ Church, Oxford, and Public Orator of that University; that, by the patronage of Lord Clarendon, he was made Prebendary both of Westminster and Christ's, and afterwards Rector of Islip, where he rebuilt the parsonage-house, and founded and endowed a school. His sermons have a peculiar turn, and are still much admired. He died July 8, 1716, aged eighty-two.--_Bird, sculptor._

Between this and Dr. Busby, a small portion of ANN of CLEVES' monument is to be perceived. She was sister of the Duke of Cleves, was contracted in marriage to Henry VIII., and received with great pomp on Blackheath, January 3, 1539, married to the king on the 9th, and in July following divorced, with liberty to marry again; but being sensibly touched with the indignity put upon her, she lived retired in England, with the t.i.tle of Lady Ann, of Cleves, and saw the rival who supplanted her suffer a worse fate. She survived the King four years, and died in 1557.

A still more unfortunate Queen lies near this last, without a monument; viz., ANNE, Queen of Richard III., and daughter of Nevil, the great Earl of Warwick. This lady was poisoned by that monster of cruelty, her husband, to make way for his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of his brother, Edward IV., and sister of the unhappy youths he had caused to be murdered in the Tower, which marriage he never lived to consummate, being slain at the battle of Bosworth Field.

Above is a tablet to Dr. Vincent, with the inscription thus translated:--"Here rests whatever is mortal of WILLIAM VINCENT, who having received his education in this College, returned to it when he had completed his academical studies, and from the situation of Junior Usher, arose to that of Head Master; he was at length exalted to the office of Dean of the Church, for which he entertained the greatest affection: on the subject of his life, his literary attainments, and his moral character, let this monumental stone be silent. He owes his origin to the respectable family of the Vincents, of Shepy, in the county of Leicester; he was born in London, 2nd November, 1739, and died on the 21st December, 1815."

Doctor RICHARD BUSBY.--On this fine monument is the effigy of this learned grammarian in his gown, looking earnestly at the inscription. In his right hand he holds a pen, and in his left a book open. Underneath, upon the pedestal, are a variety of books, and at the top are his family arms. The inscription is very elegantly written, and highly to his praise; intimating that whatever fame the school of Westminster boasts, and whatever advantage mankind shall reap from thence in times to come, are all princ.i.p.ally owing to the wise inst.i.tutions of this great man. He was born at Lutton, in Lincolns.h.i.+re, September 22, 1606; made Master of Westminster College, December 23, 1640; elected Prebendary of Westminster, July 5th, 1660, and Treasurer of Wells, August 11th, the same year; and died April 5th, 1695.--_Bird, sculptor._

Affixed to the pillars in this cross are two tablets; one to the memory of Dr. ANTHONY HORNECK, who was born at Wettenburgh, in Zealand, but educated at Queen's College, Oxford; was King's Divinity Professor and Chaplain, a Prebendary of this Church, and Preacher at the Savoy. He died of the stone, January 31, 1696, aged fifty-six. The other to the memory of Dr.

SAMUEL BARTON, a Prebendary of this Church, and a person of admirable genius and learning. He died September 1715, aged sixty-eight.

In front of Dr. Barrow's monument, lies the remains of that once celebrated poet, Sir WILLIAM DAVENANT, who, upon the death of Ben Jonson, succeeded him as Poet Laureate to Charles I., but having lost his nose by an _accident_, was cruelly bantered by the wits of the succeeding reign.

He was a vintner's son at Oxford, whose wife, being a woman of admirable wit and sprightly conversation, drew the politest men of that age to their house, among whom Shakspeare was said to be a frequent visitor. His education was at Lincoln College, where he became acquainted with Endimion Porter, Henry Jermain, and Sir John Suckling. He died in 1668, aged sixty-three.

Not far from Davenant lies Sir ROBERT MURRAY, a great Mathematician, and one of the founders of the Royal Society, of which he was the first President, and while he lived the very soul of that body. He died suddenly, July 4, 1673, in the garden at Whitehall, and was buried at the King's expense.

In front of Dryden's monument, is an ancient stone, on which, by the marks indented, has been the image of a man in armour. This covers the body of ROBERT HAULE, who, at the battle of Najara, in Spain, in Richard II.'s time, together with John Shakel, his comrade, took the Earl of Denia prisoner, who, under pretence of raising money for his ransom, obtained his liberty, leaving his son as a hostage in their hands. Upon their coming to England, the Duke of Lancaster demanded him for the King; but they refused to deliver him up without the ransom, and were therefore both committed to the Tower, from whence escaping, they took sanctuary in this Abbey. Sir Ralp Ferreris and Alan Buxal, the one Governor, the other Captain of the Tower, with fifty men, pursued them, and having, by fair promises, gained over Shakel, they attempted to seize Haule by force, who made a desperate defence, but being overpowered by numbers, was slain, August 11, 1378, in the choir before the prior's stall, commending himself to G.o.d, the avenger of wrongs. A servant of the Abbey fell with him.

Shakel they threw into prison, but afterwards set him at liberty, and the King and Council agreed to pay the ransom of his prisoner, 500 marks, and 100 marks a-year. Some years afterwards Shakel died, and was buried here in 1396.

Under the pavement, near Dryden's tomb, lie the remains of FRANCIS BEAUMONT, the dramatic writer, who died in London in 1628, and was buried here, March 9, without tomb or inscription.

The new stained gla.s.s windows at the south end of the Transept of the Abbey were executed by Messrs. Thomas Ward and J. H. Nixon, 1847: description as follows:--

In the centre of the Rose Window, the name "JEHOVAH;" in the circle surrounding the figures of angels.

In the large circle of surrounding lights are thirty-two separate subjects taken from the princ.i.p.al incidents, miracles, and events in the life and sufferings of our blessed Redeemer.

The height of the figures are nearly three feet. The subjects selected for this circle are as follows:

1. The nativity of Jesus Christ.--_Luke_ ii. 7, &c.

2. Simeon's prophecy.--_Luke_ ii. 25.

3. Jesus reasoning with the doctors.--_Luke_ ii. 46.

4. The baptism of St. John the Baptist.--_Matt._ iii. 13.

5. The preaching on the Mount.--_Matt._ v. 1, &c.

6. Water made wine.--_John_ ii. 4.

7. The money changers expelled from the Temple.--_Matt._ xxi. 12.

8. The woman of Samaria.--_John_ iv. 7.

9. Walking on the sea.--_Matt._ xiv. 29.

10. Raising of Jairus' daughter.--_Mark_ v. 41.

11. The pool of Bethesda.--_John_ v. 4, &c.

12. The Centurion's faith.--_Matt._ viii. 8, &c.

13. John's disciples sent to Christ.--_Matt._ xi. 2, &c.

14. The Magdalen anointing the feet of Christ.--_John_ xii. 3.

15. The Syrophenician woman.--_Matt._ xv. 15.